Nine planetary cycles until exams begin.
Planet: None
Stellar System: BD3583 (Based on Toi-700)
Number of Stars:1
Galaxy: Viridion Galaxy (Milky Way)
Star Type: M-Type (Red)
Number of Planets: 4 (1 in the habitable zone, 1 in optimistic habitable zone)
Kaeline stared down Finn as Kaito and Elysia exchanged surprised glances in the background, neither one unsure of what to say in the moment. The silence in the training room was intensely loud, each passing second felt like an eternity for Finn as sweat trickled down the side of his face.
That's when… ever so subtly, the corner of Kaeline's lips twitched upward.
She crossed her arms before beginning to speak.
"You wish to defeat Nara huh? Hmmmm… She murmured before turning away slightly, still looking at him.
"You may train under me. But if I find you cannot keep pace, then our agreement ends. This condition will remain until you obtain your license. Understood?"
Finn straightened immediately, barely able to contain his excitement as he blurted out.
"Yes!—I mean… yes, Sensei!"
Kaito watched his little bro with pride and excitement sparkling in his eyes. He began to walk over to him to give him a fist bump, but before he could get close, something zipped past his head. The sound of metal lodging in the wall behind him echoed, followed by a high-pitched shriek from Elysia.
He whipped his head around only for his eyes widened at what he saw. Kaeline emerged from the waist up from a shadow on the wall next to the training room's door, restraining Elysia in a full nelson.
"She's… appearing from the shadow… Just like before. She can hop from shadow to shadow like that?" Kaito thought to himself.
He looked over just to the left of them to see a kunai lodge into the wall, on the same shadow Kaeline appeared out of. He focused his eyes to see a subtle black essence flowing around it.
"Wait. That's like before. When she appeared out of my shadow back on Nara's homeworld, there was a kunai lodge into my shadow with her essence flowing around it. Does that mean her essence needs to touch a shadow before she can travel through? That's such a broken ability… What kind of affinity is that? Better yet, you're able to create abilities like that with affinities? Just what other abilities will I see out there? Just what can I–" He thought to himself before being interrupted by Kaeline's voice.
"Just where do you think you're going… Elysia?"
"Miss Kaeline…! I—I was just… going to the restroom?" Elysia squealed, wiggling trying to break free from her grip.
Kaeline's eyes shot across the room, landing on the clearly marked restroom at the opposite side.
Elysia nervously glanced at the door then silently began to glow before she slowly turned her head back. Slowly but surely, her eyes eventually locked onto Kaito's, silently pleading for rescue. Kaito wasn't having any of that and threw his hands up immediately.
"OH HELL NO! Leave me out of this!"
Kaeline ignored their humorous back and forth, a hint of anger coming with her words now.
"You foolish girl! Do you realize how reckless contacting your sensei without telling me first? When did you contact them? With what device? You've put countless lives at risk because of this, do you understand?"
Elysia's expression changed, her playful demeanor fading into genuine remorse.
"I—I know, Miss Kaeline. But… but I was certain no one else would find out—"
"How do you know that for sure?" Kaeline cut her off abruptly, tightening her grip slightly.
Elysia grew quiet, her eyes glistening as realization began to dawn on her of the potential consequences of her impulsiveness. A heavy, tense silence filled the entire room. Kaito looked between them with growing unease, before finally stepping.
"Kaeline-sensei, don't you think you might be overreacting just a little? Elysia didn't mean any harm, and besides, she found out crucial information about my powers, right? Maybe cut her some slack this time."
Kaeline hesitated for a bit as her fierce look softened gradually. With a reluctant sigh, she released her grip on Elysia, allowing her to slump into Kaito's arms.
Elysia leaned against him, catching her breath.
"Thank… you… Kaito dear." She whispered to him, who nodded quietly in return.
"You're right, in a way." Kaeline finally said as she took a step back, her voice much calmer.
"But you don't fully understand the truth of the situation, Kaito."
Kaito looked puzzled.
"The truth…? What do—"
But she ignored him and looked back over to Elysia.
"Tell me, Elysia. Why? Why risk reaching out to that place for information about Kaito's biology when it's something we could've figured out ourselves eventually?"
Elysia was quiet for a moment before softly responding.
"That's… not why I reached out."
Both Kaito and Kaeline jolted up slightly in surprise.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Kaito asked.
Kaeline narrowed her eyes again, now more curious than angry.
"Then why exactly did you do it?"
"It was… for Aqua."
A wave of confusion washed over the two, both stunned silent. Kaeline spoke first, breaking the brief silence.
"Explain yourself."
Elysia clenched her fists gently.
"With Aqua's disrupted essence flow in her head, the only person I could think of who could possibly help her is my sensei back on my homeworld."
"You mean you—" Kaeline began as her eyes widened.
"Yes, I want to take Aqua to my homeworld. It's the only chance we have to save her."
Kaito stepped forward, completely startled.
"Wait a minute, Elysia! Are you serious? I thought your homeworld—your entire galaxy, even—was forbidden territory! You told us that outsiders would be killed on sight!"
Kaeline nodded.
"Exactly. I'm just as curious. How exactly do you propose we do this?"
Elysia gathered herself, staring Kaeline dead in her eyes before dropping the bombshell that sent shockwaves throughout the room…
"You're going to sneak us in, Miss Kaeline."
Kaito stood there frozen, staring at Elysia blankly, his mind struggling to fully grasp what she just said.
"...Sneak us in?" Kaito repeated quietly.
"To your galaxy?"
The room remained silent as Kaeline continued to stare at Elysia.
"Elysia… do you even realize the gravity of what you're proposing? If anyone from our galaxy, let alone your homeworld, discovers outsiders like them sneaking around. Not only that, do you understand what would happen to you once your people finds out you returned? Not only will your life be in danger, but also your very own sensei. You do remember… don't you?"
Elysia broke eye contact, looking down at her feet, her face full of guilt. But Kaeline didn't relent.
"Think about Aqua, too. She's so powerful, yet we barely know anything about her. We don't even fully understand who—or what—she truly is. She doesn't even know herself. Are you truly prepared to risk so much on a gamble like this?"
The weight of Kaeline's words pressed down on her. Yet, after a long tense moment, she lifted her head and found the courage to speak.
"I understand the risks, Miss Kaeline. Truly, I do. But…But we don't have the luxury of waiting anymore. We're running out of time." Elysia replied, her usually bubbly tone gone entirely.
Kaito's heart skipped a beat.
"What do you mean 'running out of time'? You said Aqua would recover. That she'd be okay."
Elysia turned to him, with worry all in her eyes.
"Yes, Kaito dear, Aqua herself will most likely recover physically, but... that's not what I meant."
"Then what is it?" He asked.
Elysia hesitated, looking away briefly, before reeling herself back in to speak.
"The… the captain and Talon… they plan on turning Aqua over to the Space Rangers."
The revelation hit Kaito like a front kick to the chest, driving the air right out of his lungs. His eyes widened, jaw hung low… completely speechless. Kaeline spoke up in his place.
"How exactly do you know about this, Elysia?"
"Last night, after everyone left the medical bay, Talon came in. She instructed me to have Aqua prepared for transport after we leave the licensing station. Once we land in Starfall City on Zarithis, a squadron of rangers will be waiting to take Aqua into custody."
"Are you serious?" Kaito asked, his voice breaking with disbelief and anguish all over his face.
"Is… is that really true, Elysia?"
Elysia couldn't bring herself to look at him. Her voice was barely loud enough to be heard by anyone in the room as she whispered.
"Yes, it's true."
A storm of emotions began to run rampant within Kaito in mere moments. Images of Aqua, alone and frightened, imprisoned for crimes she never wanted to commit flooded his head. His teeth clenched so hard, they nearly began to crack.
In the back, Finn watched quietly with confusion all over his face. Despite the chaos, his mind raced trying to piece together the puzzle unfolding before him. But the one question most baffling of all that continued to lap around his head was…
"Why does it feel like Kaeline is following Elysia's commands, rather than the other way around?"
Kaeline continued to question Elysia.
"Have you even thought this through, Elysia? Sneaking onto your homeworld isn't as simple as you make it sound. What's your plan to extract Aqua safely? And what about the crew? Are we simply going to abandon them? Even then, what ship would we use to escape? How would we even obtain enough Aetherium crystals for a jump of that magnitude?"
Elysia lowered her head again, overwhelmed beneath her intense scrutiny. Her shoulders slumped down, her voice trembling as she whispered.
"I… I don't know. I didn't think—"
"You didn't think!? Elysia, this isn't a game! Countless lives are at stake—"
"I'll do it."
Kaito's voice cut over Kaeline's words, immediately commanding everyone's attention as the entire room went silent.
"What did you just say?" Kaeline asked.
Elysia stared wide-eyed at him as he took a confident step towards Kaeline.
"You said adrenaline can amplify my essence, didn't you, Elysia?" He asked calmly.
Elysia's eyes widened, instantly recognizing what he was implying.
"Yes, Kaito dear, it does—but you can't possibly—"
"Good." He interrupted, cutting her off mid-sentence. He raised his hand deliberately, his finger pointed straight toward Kaeline and his purple essence began to erupt around him.
Kaeline's posture instantly shifted and her eyes locked onto him, taken aback by the intense, unwavering resolve emanating from him. In that moment, the playful, friendly persona Kaito usually carried melted away, replaced by a presence so powerful, so unshakable, it sent a chill down everyone's spine, even hers.
"If that's the case… Then you're going to train me to use this power… to defeat the captain."