Chapter one. Artemis.

“There are billions of stars out there, billions of patterns to make, and billions of colors to see, yet on our own, we can only see so much. One day, I hope to go out there, and see all the stars and constellations no one else has seen.”

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“RAAAAAAGH!” The black monster yelled. It was two stories tall and had blood-red eyes, large arms, and hard scales for skin. It was wreaking havoc in the streets of Shibuya, the people screaming and running in fear. One man tripped as he was running, he tried to rise but he twisted his ankle. The creature was getting closer, he screamed for help, but he couldn't be heard, nor was there anyone to attempt it, too gripped by fear to lend aid and too busy with fleeing. He looked back, the monster hovering above. He was rattled, shaking in his shoes. Its arm moved to the side, ready to swipe at him in a fatal push. He closed his eyes, his last thoughts to be of his family.

“No, you don't!” Said a female voice. 

A spear of blue light hit the chest of the monster, pushing it back. It stumbled but still stood.

“Huh?” The man opened his eyes and looked back, feeling a wave of relief at who he saw.

Behind stood a five-foot three-inch tall woman in a whitish blue dress shirt with a white scarf that went around her chest that had a star-shaped button on it, a skirt the same color as the shirt that went to her knees with a bedazzled star pattern on them, and bright blue heeled dress shoes. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail, her eyes a soft brown, having clean white skin on a slender but busty body. In her hands was a rod-like wand with two side guards, the colors being the same as her dress. 

“Nice shot Princess.” Said the one beside her. She was a black anthropomorphic cat that stood three feet eight inches tall. She had lime green eyes, a red sailor shirt with a blue tie, and a pair of red shorts with black trim, holding in her hands a silver sword with a white stripe down the middle. She was flat-chested, average-weight, and had wide hips.

The monster glared at the woman and cat, charging at them.

The woman looked at it confidently and fearlessly. “Let's go, team!”

“Right!” Came the collective voices of four other women and four other female anthropomorphic animals who all leaped out from behind the first woman. 

There was a light brown-skinned woman with a red button-up sailor shirt with a red tie and dark blue ripped jeans. She was the same height as the first woman with a toner more curvaceous body while wearing black-sleeved gloves with spikes on the knuckle along with a pair of red sneakers. Her hair was short cut, spiky, and blood red along with her eyes.

Next to her was a three-foot-six-inch tall Doberman. She had black eyes, wore a red top that was sleeveless and shoulderless, cutting off at the top of her stomach, a pair of black jean shorts, bright red and spiky fighter gloves, and thich red leg braces. There was a tuft of red on the top of her head, and she had a wide but flat stomach, and a sizable chest.

There was a woman with black hair, currently in a bun, being evenly five feet tall. She wore a green top with tassels that connected to the wrist and shoulders, lime green baggy pants, and a pair of black dress shoes. Her eyes were blue, her skin was tan, and she was somewhat skinny, with an average but somewhat ample build. In her hands were large fans with feathers on the ends.

On her side was an anthropomorphic green parakeet that was three feet two inches tall having wings that were arm shaped but still functioning like wings with the five fingers out on the end being the same color as her wings but not as feathery. Around her large chest was a white sash and her bottoms were red and legless, tightly constrained against her rather big rump. 

Then came a white-haired bright skinned lady who was four feet two inches tall, had her hair in twin tails, and wielded a pair of six-barreled pistols with a pink rose pattern on them. She wore a bright pink shirt that had an opening to show some of her cleavages to her size E bosoms with short-sleeved brown shoulder guards, having on a pair of red slacks that were loose but not so loose around her shapely lower half also wearing around her hips two belts that leaned on the side with bullets on them, her shoes having half an inch of a heel on them.

Next to her was an otter that was a foot shorter with bright pink eyes, her sizes were slightly bigger, and she wielded a rifle with sunflower patterns. Her clothing was nearly the same except her colors were yellow and her top had no window with a sash that had bullets on them going around her chest.

Next was a five and a half foot lady with long blue hair and red eyes wearing light samurai armor, the top being just the chest plate, having on the leg armor to cover her lower legs and some black spandex underneath as pants. She only had the armor top covering her upper half, not even wearing arm armor, wielding a black katana with its equally black sheathe resting on her hip. Her body was sleek and slender, and with admirable portions.

Next to her was a gray cat that was nearly three feet nine wearing the same type of armor except she had arm guards. She was not as slender, but her portions were just as admirable to any man, also having black eyes and a thick twisted strand of blue hair going down the left side of her ear. She wielded a spear with a long curved glaive at the end.

“RAGH!” The monster swung its large arm.

“Megaton,” The woman with the gauntlets charged up energy in her fist, swinging to meet it with the creatures, “Punch!” Their fists clashed and the creatures were pushed back.

The Doberman jumped to its chin, red fire engulfing her foot. “Burning kick!” She raised her foot to its chin, kicking it up.

“Sin slash!” The one with the katana slashed her sword in its middle, a black flash emanating from it on contact, making the monster bend forward.

“Spiral thrust!” The gray cat spun her spear, a twist of black and white energy engulfing it before thrusting it at its open face, ramming it back a few steps.

“Rose shot!” The girl with the pistols shot two blooming rose pattern energy shots at its lower leg.

“Sun blast!” The otter shot the other leg with a piercing yellow shot that had sunflower petals emanating from it. When the shots hit, the monster tripped, falling to its knees.

“Wind cross!” The one with the fans swiped a cross of winds at it.

“Scattering feathers!” The parakeet summoned feathers of green light on her arms before flinging them at the monster, the ethereal feathers meeting with the wind cross, empowering it. Once it connected the black beast fell back.

“Time to finish this!” The first one said, jumping up with the black cat, gathering power into the tip of her rod. “Blue shine,” The power turned into a large ball of blue, “crash!” She threw it down to the beast.

“Blue shine,” The cat gathered energy into her blade, a blue light engulfing it before she trusted it at the ball, “power stab!” The blade of light hit the orb, speeding it down to the monster.

It broke through its chest, a large crash emanating from impact as the ground around it cracked. It made one last cry before its eyes went lifeless, falling limp with a hole in its chest.

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“They’ve done it again!” Said the news reporter on tv, an image of the girls and the animals beside him in the background.

“I’ll say!” Said the news lady on the other side. “The guardians have saved the night, taking down that monster with impressive teamwork!”

“You can say that again! These are the seventh group of Guardians of the World and they aren't disappointing!”

“Some are speculating they might catch up to the Guardians in Asia even though those Guardians have been around for a year!”

“Well I can see it, these girls are definitely a different cut of heroes! Maybe it's just cause Shibuya is the best!”

“Oh don’t start that again!” The audience laughed along with her.

“Hm…” The tv was going on but the boy at the scope on his patio wasn't listening. He was too busy messing with the outer lens. He was five foot two inches tall, had black soft spiky hair, and green eyes, and was somewhat lean. He was currently wearing a black shirt with an artistic picture of a galaxy on it, and khakis. He looked through the telescope, looking up at the clear night sky. “Hm… those stars definitely can make a connection but… somethings missing.” He removed himself from the scope and took out his phone and pen, writing in the notepad app. “Collection northeast of my house at this angle… alright!” He put his phone away. “More hidden stars to find!” He stretched and yawned, heading to bed which was right next to the patio door. He flopped down and drifted to sleep.

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He rode his bike down the street. It was close to eleven and the sky was somewhat cloudy. He turned into the parking space of the observatory. The observatory he went to was connected to a space station, one with its own rocket and astronauts. He headed to the front door to park and chain his bike on the rails, heading inside. He walked up to the front desk.

“Hey, Isaac.” Said the front desk lady.

“Hey, Bell.” Isaac smiled. “Dex here?”

“Got here five minutes ago. He's already in the expedition room.”

“Sweet, thanks!” He walked past, taking a right. He made his way to the doorways to the room, going up to the security guard. 

The guard was six foot tall, very muscular, had a bushy handlebar mustache, and sharp fierce black eyes. He wore a cap but Isaac knew he had a short mohawk underneath. He had a serious expression but when he saw Isaac approaching he put on a smile and tipped his hat. “Morning Isaac.”

“Morning, Dixon.” Isaac waved. “Need to do an alien check?”

“Hehe, yep. ID please.”

“Sure thing.” He took out his wallet, took his id out, and handed it to him.

“Let’s see… Isaac Jourad. Born June seventeenth, 2004 meaning you're nineteen. You live five minutes from here at the Megaplex apartments, room 225. Hmmm… favorite food?”

“Salsbury burger with a medium fried egg topping.”

“Alright, clear! You're not an alien!” Dixon gave him his card and punched in the code for the door, unlocking it and letting him in. 

“Thanks, Dixon.”

“You're welcome!”

Isaac walked into the room, walking through the short hall that held the plagues and names of famous astronauts of the station. He stopped for a second at the last one, making a smile before looking forward and walking forward. He entered a large dome room that had a large telescope in the middle that was high up and condensed while the roof was closed, surrounding it being a few rings displays of items found on space expeditions, each with an interface to show information on the object, mostly showing ores but a few being strange items, some even items that people have attempted to link to the guardians. There was also a set of screens below the roof's rim that were currently off.

“Welcome, Star Seeker!” Said a man at the top of the stairs near the scope. He was an inch shorter than Isaac, had blond shaggy hair, green eyes, and thin round brown framed glasses. He was a bit thin, wore a brown jacket with a black shirt underneath, and a pair of blue exercise shorts with a green trim. He slid down the ladder. He looked to be the same age as Isaac

“Greetings Star Guide!” Isaac greeted with a smile. “What'd you want to show me?” 

“Oh, nothing, just an early peak at last trip's findings.”

Isaac’s eyes lit up. “You got early access!?”

“Yep! They're letting me set it up and I just know you'd want to see this!”

“What is it?”

“Heh.” He pulled a round flat purple gem from his pocket. “Check it!”

“Oh pretty! They find this on one of Jupiter's moons?”

“Yep. They found another strange object on the planet and these were inside.”

“Another unknown shuttle?”

“Yep. Get this, it was apparently new.”

“Really? Was it crashed?”

“Yep. Dixon’s thinking it was a space fight with aliens.”

“Sounds crazy but it's a better explanation than what we got… or don't got.”

“Hah yeah. There were ten of these gems and Gramps let the others keep theirs while he put his on display.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“Yeah, but check this out.” He reached into his jacket pocket. “While checking this thing out I accidentally dropped it in front of an LED light I had on my desk,” he pulled out an LED flashlight, “and found this.” He set the light to blue and shined it on the surface of the gem, pointing it down. On the floor came a picture that had circles of various sizes, small star-shaped dots, a few squares, and an arrowed line that went across, making turns around the circles and squares as if it was a path.

“Whoa! Is that… a map?”

“I think so, but of what? I don't recognize these squares or these circles.”

“Judging by the stars, I'm thinking it's some sort of star map?”

“Not of our galaxy 'cause if these circles stand for planets their sizes are off.”

“Then it's gotta be a foreign galaxy… meaning-”

“Aliens.” He put the light and gem away.

“Hah! Dixon’s gonna get a kick outta that!”

“He will but I wanna wait till our drills are over before telling him.”

“Good idea,” Isaac chuckled nervously remembering the last time Dixon was amoured by the possibility of alien life that he had nearly forgotten to turn off the treadmills. The two nearly tripped and got flung.

“Speaking off, he’s about to switch out. Let's get going, Star Seeker!”

“Lead the way, Star Guide!” Isaac stepped aside to let his friend go first following behind as they exited the room. Isaac stopped again at the photo from before, looking at it and pointing up. “Upwards to the stars!” He went back to following the friend who waited for him. The picture showed a male and a female astronaut pair smiling as they got ready to board the shuttle.

Dixon was waiting outside to greet the two as another guard took his place. Isaac and the other one saluted him.

“Isaac Jourad reporting for duty!”

“Dex Mitchell, reporting for duty!”

“Alright!” Dixon puffed his chest. “You future astronauts ready for your training!?”

“Yes sir!” Isaac and Dex responded.

“Good! Now today will be a bit light since we got a meteor shower to watch but I don't wanna see any slacking, got it!?”

“Sir!”

“Good! Now fall in!”

“Yes sir!” They did a 90-degree turn to the right, Dixon doing the same but his left.

“Now, march! Hup, two three four!” The three marched their way to the space station where Dixion had them do some exercises.

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Isaac lay on his couch, it was nearly 9 pm. He held something up in his hand, a small ring with a black gear in the middle ridge. He kept his eyes on it, twisting it around in his hands.

“They’re ok right!?” His voice pleaded in his head.

“I want a recovery launch set pronto!” Said the voice of someone in command but with a hint of worry in his voice.

“I'm sorry… this was… in his hands,” Dixon said sadly in his mind.

“....What are you trying to tell me?…” Isaac said to himself. He sighed and lifted himself. He looked at the time before placing the ring in a box on the coffee table, closing and locking it. “Gotta meet Dixon and Dex in a few… got time to see that constellation again.” He went to his room, went to the patio to get to his telescope, looking through. “Alright… it was right next to the little dipper… there it is. Let's see what shape I can make with you… Looks kinda like uh, hm?” He spotted a moving white light. “An early meteor?” It moved slowly but was growing in size. “A growing meteor?” The light grew brighter and brighter and bigger. It looked as if it was getting close to him. “....The heck!?” He removed himself from the scope, looking up to see the now quickly moving meteor whizz close to his general area. “Holy-!?” He stepped back.

There was a loud crash and a large shake that rumbled around him. The object made an impact in a nearby junkyard, slamming and crashing through piles of junk as it slid through the earth. It startled everyone, some coming out of the apartments to see what happened, nearby dogs barking and a few sirens blaring. Isaac nearly fell from the shaking, shock on his face as he looked at the rising smoke that came from the impact zone. He stood like that for nearly five seconds before collecting himself and rushing out. He ran down the steps and got to his bike, hurriedly cycling to the entrance of the junkyard, making sure to remember where the meteor landed. He got to the entrance where luckily not many were around, especially the police, got off his bike, not even parking it, jumped and climbed over the entrance gate, and ran in. His heartbeat accelerated in excitement, wondering what kind of rock fell to earth or if it even was a rock, could be another unknown shuttle. He found the skid trail and could hear his heart thumping in his ear as he followed it to the end. There was some steam but it was already thinning as he got there.

Isaac stopped in his tracks and his eyes went wide as soon as he laid eyes on what had fallen. “What the…” he expected a rock or something strange but this wasn't the type of strange he expected. At the end of the groove was a yellow-striped egg, one that was cracked in half, water dripping from it. In front of the egg lay a slightly moist pure white cat with a small black stone that had a white insignia on it. “A cat?... Did… it come from that egg?” He looked up at the night sky. “Space have a baby or did an alien momma cat lose its kid?” He looked back at the cat. It was softly breathing, unconscious. He was a bit unsure of what to do but he didn't want to leave it there. He took a picture, feeling like he'd need the evidence, before sliding down and approaching the cat. He knelt, about to grab it until he looked at the stone. ‘It came with it so maybe I should take it with me?’ He reached for it and took hold. As soon as his palm made contact with its surface, it lit up and became attached to his hand. “What the-!?” He tried to shake it off but it wouldn't remove from himself. Just then the cat rose, catching his attention.

The cat opened its yellow-colored eyes, his pupils looking cold and emotionless. “Syncing.” It said.

“The hell!?” Isaac was startled by it talking.

“Star Dusk energy undetected… Injecting.”

Isaac felt a tingle go up his body, his veins lighting up from where the stone was to all of his body, the color being purple. It disappeared after a few seconds, his body still feeling tingly.

“Scanning star signature… Linking.” A purple circle emerged from below the cat, surrounding him. The center of it had the symbol of the moon while between the gap of the circle were four white diamonds, each pointing in four different directions.

The stone in Isaac’s hand melted and morphed around his hand, startling the man as it went around his hand, taking the shape of a fingerless glove with an insignia on the back of it. “Huh!?”

“Link established.” The circle faded and the cat fell forward, falling unconscious again.

Isaac stood there, trying to process everything that just happened. He pinched himself to see if it was a dream, the pain telling him it isn't. “What just….what happened!?” He heard sirens, meaning the police had arrived to check out the area. “Oh, crud!” He was about to flee, seeing as he was trespassing but stopped, looking back at the cat. “...Ugh!” he rushed to pick it up, running out with him. He managed to slip past the policeman who came in, went to another entrance that was further away, got to his bike, and set the cat in the basket before riding off to the observatory. When he got there he went to the side entrance, knowing it'd be unlocked for him. He rushed in, holding the cat close, dashing past the Expedition room to go upstairs onto the sky deck which was next to the roof of the expedition room. It was a wide-open field that acted like a hill with green natural grass. Laying on it were Dex and Dixon.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Hey, Star Seeker!” Dex waved.

“You see that meteor fall near your place?” Dixon asked.

“Hm? Where'd you get the cat?”

“The meteor hatched it,” Isaac answered.

“Huh?” 

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Dixon and Dex looked at the photo Isaac took after hearing him explain what happened.

“So the cat hatched from a space egg?” Dex asked.

“Seems like it.” Isaac nodded.

“If I didn't know you or have this photo then I’d call you a liar. Still, this is crazy.” He sat next to Isaac, looking at the cat.

Dixon sat on the other side. “So… does that mean it's an… alien?” Dixon said with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Could be. Know any other talking cats?” Isaac asked.

“The guardians have talking animals.” Dex reminded.

“Yeah, but those gals are anthropomorphic, remember?”

“True but you forget they can go feral to hide their identities. Remember that rogue Guardian in Russia? The one that showed her identity?”

“Yeah, but that means the Guardians' familiars are alien and that this guy's a familiar too.”

“Could be.”

“Few issues though. One being that he’s a male, since the Guardians and their familiars are all women, remember?”

“He could be the first,” Dixon suggested.

“I’m not so sure, why have a male one all of the sudden, plus it doesn't answer where he came from nor about this glove.”

“Maybe it's how you become a guardian?”

“Lemme see,” Dex asked.

“Here.” Isaac attempted to take it off. “Hm?” He tried to pull it off but it didn't move. He tried again but harder. “Hnnnng!” He gave it his best but it didn't budge. “It won’t come off!”

“Lemme try.” Dex took hold and tried the same, getting the same results. “Dang, it's really stuck.”

“Allow me.” Dixon took hold of it. “HMMMMMNG!” He gave it a mighty tug, pulling more so his hand than the glove.

“OW! Stop!” Isaac pulled back, getting his hand from his grip. “That hurt!”

“Oh sorry. You ok?”

He rubbed his wrist. “I think. This thing's really on th-” He flexed his hands to ease the tenseness and when he closed his fingers and then quickly opened them, a circular display with a yellow ring on the outside appeared. “Whoa!” The ring had an assortment of blue and red diamond-shaped icons, each with a few connected stars, while the inner circle had an opaque image of three empty diamonds in a row connected by one line.

“What is that?” 

“I-... I don’t know.”

“What’d you do?” Dex asked.

“I just opened my hand, that's all!”

“What’s it do?”

“You expect me to know!?”

“Well… touch it?”

“Huh?... I… ok?” He touched one of the icons on the ring and it centered on his finger. He moved it to the center and let go, the color fading as the stars grew. There were four in a line, the middle bottom one sticking out to the side. “What is this?” 

“Looks kinda like some sort of touch screen,” Dixon mentioned.

“Hmm.” He pressed the icon with two fingers and rotated it around, spreading his fingers to expand it, making it longer. He did it again but the other way, going back to regular before expanding outwards, stretching to the lengths he pulled. He did a quick swipe and it flipped around. “It IS like a touch screen.”

“Yeah but for what?” Dex questioned.

“No clue. I wonder.” He placed his open hand in the center and quickly closed it, making the display shrink and disappear. 

“It's gone.”

He opened his hands up again the same way the first time, bringing it back. “Now it's back.” He opened and closed it multiple times, even trying different gestures that didn't work. “Seems to be tied to this specific motion.”

“Think there's a settings option?”

“Did you see o-”

“Mmmmng.” The cat stirred in Isaac’s lap.

“He’s waking!”

The cat rose and blinked a few times, looking up to those above him, his vision clearing up. His eyes were different, as last time they were emotionless, yellow, and cold but now they seemed to be warm and currently with the emotion of confusion not to mention blue.

“Hi there.” Isaac smiled, a bit confused as he thought the color of his eyes was yellow.

“...Who…who are you?” The cat asked.

“Holy stardust, he talked!” Dex said in disbelief.

“I told you,” Isaac stated.

“Am… am I not supposed to?” The cat tilted his head.

“N-no it’s not that, it’s just…well… cats don't really talk.” Dixon nervously chuckled.

“They don’t?”

“Nope… you… are a cat right?” Isaac asked.

“I… yeah I think so… Um sorry but…where am I?”

“Oh sorry!” Dixon cleared his throat. “You, sir, are at the observatory station connected to the space station of Planetoid Searchers! A company devoted to finding the wonders of space! Right now we're in the observation fields! My name is Dixon West, I’m not only the security guard but I'm also the trainer of two future space explorers! Introductions!”

“Dex Mitchell! Age eighteen!” Dex saluted.

“Isaac Jourad! Age nineteen!” Isaac saluted.

“Perfect!” Dixon thumbed up.

“Uh… You guys are really eccentric.” The cat nervously laughed.

“We’re just passionate about our spacial goals! Now then, what's your name?”

“My name? It’s… it’s…… what… What is my name?” He looked down, trying to think.

“Hm?” Isaac looked at him concerned along with the others.

“I… I don’t… I don’t remember…”

“You don’t?”

“No, I… I don’t even remember anything before this… There’s nothing…” His eyes went wide, realizing his lack of memory.

“Hold on, there’s not even a faint of a memory?” Dex asked.

“No… I…” He looked up at them. “What was I doing before this!? Where did you find me!?”

“Uh,” He looked at Isaac.

“Well,” Isaac started, “You sorta… crash landed here… and came out of an egg.”

“An egg!?” The cat exclaimed. “Was I hatched!? Am I part bird!? Wait, I crashed here!?”

“Yeah. Thought you were a meteor at first.”

“I came from space!? Am… am I a newborn!?” He was starting to lose it. “I’m a baby… but wait babies can’t talk!”

“Neither can cats,” Dixon said.

“Ok, let's take a breath here.” Isaac petted him. “You're too big to be a baby and who knows, maybe that egg was just some sort of pod. It was a big crash so let's just assume it's amnesia you got. You're no bird cat.”

The cat took a few breaths before taking a deep one, letting his pets calm him. “Ok… amnesia… that makes sense. If I got amnesia then… I’ll just…. remember again… that’s how it works right?”

“Yeah. Still though maybe we should turn you over to the authorities, they may be able to figure you out better than us, especially considering they might have that pod.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Dex suggested.

“Huh? Why not?”

“He’s clearly not from this world, looking like a cat or not. Who's to say they won't lock him up and run experiments on him.”

“L-lock me up?” The feline froze at those words.

“I doubt they'd do something that cruel to a visitor from another planet,” Dixon said.

“You say that but remember Captain Jek? He always says capture first, ask later.” Dex brought up.

“W-well yeah, but-”

“Plus they don't know if he's a threat or not, so they might detain him till they find out, and who knows what nut job or scientist would try to do.”

“De-detain?” The cat didn't like that.

“Doesn't help that he has amnesia, they’d try to use that as an excuse to keep him locked up. We've seen people still hold distrust for the guardians, after all, not including those that wanna do tests.”

“T-...tests!?” The cat started to shiver.

“Those are just blind idiots that can't see the good they’ve done.” Dixon defended.

“That's beside the point. There are those that fear the unknown, especially ones from unknown origins. It's a paranoia that sticks even if shown reasons for it not to.”

Isaac wanted to retort but knew he had a point. “He’s right. They could hold him and snoop around for evidence of him being a threat, even if it’s something unrelated, and use it as an excuse to poke around inside. Even then maybe we can turn him into someone we-”

“Don’t.” The cat spoke.

“Huh?”

“Don’t turn me in… please,” He looked up with pleading eyes filled with fear, “don’t lock me up, don’t let them do anything to me.”

“Uh… I don’t-”

“Please!” He jumped up onto his chest. “I’m not a threat! I promise! I won’t hurt anyone here I swear!”

“Let’s ju-”

“I WON’T DO ANYTHING I PROMISE, JUST PLEASE,” Tears went down his face, “DON'T LET THEM TURN ME INTO A LAB RAT!!” His voice was rattled with dread and terror.

“...” Isaac placed his hand on the cat's back. He could feel his desperation. “We won't, ok. Well just… figure it out on our own I guess.”

“Really?”

“I’m pretty good with researching and Dixon’s got a tight lip and good connections. I’m sure with the three of us helping, we’ll find your memories in no time!” Dex smiled.

“I'm always willing to help out an alien, especially if it'll lead to learning about your world.” Dixon smiled.

The cat calmed down. “Thank you.” he smiled with genuine relief.

“It's only right I help since we're linked apparently,” Isaac said.

“Linked?”

“Yeah. Remember what you said when I grabbed that stone?”

“What stone?”

“The one that turned into this glove,” Isaac showed the glove, “as soon as I touched it you woke up for a few seconds saying you were linking up.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Hm. Maybe it was before you lost all your memories?”

“I don’t-” His stomach grumbled. “Oh… can I… get some food?”

“Sure, I’ll go get some tuna from the office! Be right back!” Dixon ran off.

“Is that… racist?” Dex wondered.

“Nah, I'm sure it's fine.” Isaac chuckled.

Dixon set an open can of tuna in front of the white feline. “Here ya go!”

“Hm.” The cat reached in to take a sniff, his tail wagging slightly as he took in a yummy scent. “Smells good!” He took a bite, chewing before freezing. “HNK!”

“What’s wrong? Is it bad?”

“...” He grabbed the can, dove his face in, and started chowing down.

“I'm thinking the opposite.” Isaac laughed.

“Thwis esh dwileshius!” He said with a mouthful of tuna.

“I got more if you want seconds,” Dixon said.

“Thwank wou!”

“You're welcome… uh… what do we call you?’

“Hm?”

“Right. We should name him.” Isaac realized.

“Can't just keep calling him cat,” Dex added.

“Any ideas?”

“Hmmm,” the cat licked his lips free of tuna, “Well I came from an egg so… Omelet?”

“Too foody. You came from space so how bout Twinkle?” Dex suggested.

“A bit… sparkly for me.”

“E.T.” Dixon suggested.

“No E.T.” Isaac and Dex said in unison.

“Aww.”

“How bout… Dipper?” Isaac suggested.

“I'm not a dip.” The cat chuckled.

“Comet?”

“Ehh.” He didn't look too sure about that one.

“We're gonna need to brainstorm.”

“Obviously. Can I have more tuna please?”

“Sure.” Dixon opened up another can.

Dex’s phone buzzed, it was his alarm. “Oh, hey it’s about to start!”

“Hm?” The cat peeked out his can of fish.

“Oh really!? Sweet!” Isaac said, excited, Dixon and Dex sitting next to him.

“What's starting?”

“A meteor shower.”

“Meteor shower?”

“It's when a bunch of meteors pass by, creating a spectacle for those who watch,” Dex answered.

“That sounds dangerous.”

“They burn up in the atmosphere so no one gets hurt.”

“Here they come!” Isaac pointed up.

Everyone looked up, including the feline. The first one streamed by, followed by another, and more quickly followed, streaking by in a burning white light that faded in a bright shimmer. They all looked at the hundreds of meteors showering by in awe, the cat's eyes lighting up as he watched it all. His tail started to slowly wag as he marveled at the show. Isaac looked down at him, smiling at him being amoured by the falling rocks. 

They sat there till the last meteor passed by. 

“That was a good one!” Isaac said.

“Got a count, Dixon?” Dex asked.

“Ehhh I think there were about a hundred fifty-three,” Dixon answered.

“I got one seventy-two.”

“Really?”

“That was amazing!” The cat said, turning to face them.

“Heh, they're always awesome to see no matter how many times I've seen them.” 

“Always a spectacle, someday I hope for a shooting star shower,” Dex said.

“Ain't that the same?”

“I hope not, shooting stars means more to discover and more constellations to see,” Issac said. He turned to face the cat. “Still, glad you enjoyed it all… Artemis.”

The cat's ears perked up. “Artemis?”

“It's the name I thought up. Like it?”

“Artemis…” He smiled, “It’s great! I like it!”

“Artemis it is!”

“It seems fitting.” Dex smiled.

“Now that we have that settled, I got something else!” Dixon stood up.

“What’s up?” Artemis asked.

“Hehehe.” He went around the corner to grab something. He came out holding a backpack with a big dome window on the back. The back flap of it was a plastic shell, it was big and square shaped, big enough to hold a small creature, while the second inner flap was more flexible, able to stretch out to hold various items. The colors of it were dark blue and purple swirled together. “Found this when I went to get tuna! It's a cadet backpack with a second cadet docking! It's a great way to carry Artemis around!”

“Oh cool!” Artemis ran up to him.

“Hehe,” Dixon bent down and unclipped the outer hatch, opening it up, “wanna try it?”

“Yeah!” He hopped in, walking around and looking through the window. “Roomier than I thought!”

Isaac and Dex approached them.

“You look comfy,” Isaac commented.

“It really I-... uh…” He paused and yawned, “Sorry.”

“Heh. You're probably still tired, you did eat a lot of tuna.” Isaac took the backpack, putting it on. “Let's head home… I'm gonna need a litter box.”

“Litter box?”

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Isaac walked into his apartment holding a litter bin and a container of litter. He set the backpack down and Artemis let himself out. 

“So where you gonna put that?” Artemis asked, jumping out onto the couch.

“In the kitchen.” Isaac headed past the living room, taking a right to enter the kitchen. He set the box down next to the trash can and filled it with litter. “Alright,” He walked back into the living room, “your bathroom is set.”

“Cool. How do I use it?”

“You just… pee then bury… I guess.”

“Huh. Ok.”

“C’mon, let's head to the bedroom.”

“Kk!” He ran up to him, going into the bedroom. It was average size with a single twin-sized bed next to the patio doors. Adjacent to the bed and next to the nightstand was a dresser with a 40-inch flatscreen on top with a PlayStation five console next to it and a controller charging station. Next to it was a small mini fridge. Across from the dresser were three bean bag chairs of different colors. Next to those against the wall was a shelf with different items, one a spaceship model, one a moon figure, one a figure of a Gundam Barbatos, and one a framed picture of an aurora borealis. Artemis went to the bean bag chair and hopped on it, walking around before laying on it. “Comfy.”

“Yeah, they were cheap too.” Isaac sat on his bed.

“...Thanks.”

“Hm?”

“For taking me in… and not letting anyone… do things to me.”

“No problem.” He smiled. “We won't let anyone mess with you.”

“You’re even letting me stay here… I really appreciate it.”

“It’s only fair since we're linked.” Isaac showed the glove, showing the back of it.

“I still don't remember that.”

“Yeah, I expected that.” He chuckled.

Artemis stretched and yawned. “I’m gonna sleep now. Good night.” He curled up and closed his eyes.

“Good night, Artemis.” While Artemis fell asleep, Isaac took a look at his glove. “Hm…” He took out his phone and took a picture, doing a Google search. He got results on fingerless gloves, some with insignias that were different compared to his. He tried optimizing the search by adding things like stone to glove, glove from space, or glove from an egg. He got nothing remotely the same. He tried to focus solely on the symbol, finding nothing similar. He sighed and lay down, looking at the clothing again. He tried to remove it again, with the same results as last time. He grumbled, opening up the display again. He looked at the ring with diamonds that had star patterns in them. He dragged the one he messed with before into the center, flipping and twisting it around, not understanding what it does at all. He messed with it, finding out that if it's double taped it reverts to normal and that he could add a second one. “Hm… what happens if I add a different one?” He asked himself. He tapped and dragged a different blue diamond, one with a straight array of five connected stars. He dragged it to the center and once it set, a ring of words came around the edge and his voice echoed what was said from the display. 

“No combination.” His voice said from the display.

“What the-!?” Isaac was startled to hear himself from the imagery. “That was… my voice… but why?... No combination?... what’s that mean?... Maybe… I have to make something?...” As he looked at the gathering currently there he noticed a shape he could make. He reached for it and placed the bottom edges of the identical ones together, having them angled from each other, making it look like a bow. He then placed the line to connect both ends. “A stringed bo-” He let go and set the line, the words changing.

“Bow of light.”

“Wha- Bow of light?”

“Realization.”

The display turned white and enlarged, waving through his hand in a second before dispersing. “Whoa!” A bow made of solid light that was the same shape as the one he made on display appeared attached to his hand. He wasn't holding the bow but it stayed attached to his palm. He tried to shake it off but it didn't move. He grabbed it with his other hand, able to remove it only for it to be stuck on the other hand. “God… grrr!” He tried to shake it off more with no results so he tried to grab it from other places, grabbing and pulling on the bow. Once he did an arrow of light formed, pulled by the string. “Huh?... What is this!?” He nearly yelled. He didn't wanna let go, afraid the arrow would shoot so he slowly moved back, the arrow disappearing. “Ok then… How do I get rid of this thing?” He tried opening his hand to bring up the display but it didn't come. “Oh come on, now you dismiss yourself!?” As soon as he said that, the bow disappeared. “Oh, now it goes!? How’d I do that!?” He looked at his glove, confused and a bit frustrated. He heard Artemis grumble and he looked to see if he woke the cat up. Luckily he didn't but he was worried he might if he kept this up so he laid back, deciding to sleep it off and figure it out tomorrow.

----------------------------------------

Morning came and Isaac woke up with a big yawn and a stretch. It was about 8:02 am. He looked at the beanbag to see Artemis wasn't there. “Artemis?” Isaac called out.

“In the restroom!” Artemis called out from the other room.

‘Must be using his litter box.’ He thought, getting up to use the bathroom himself. He took his phone, seeing that he had a message from Dex.

-Hey Star Seeker! I decided to do some research for you and found something that could help in finding out about Artemis. I linked the way to a museum that has one of those mysterious shuttles on display and in the description, it mentioned something about hatched eggs but no signs of life. sounds familiar right?- The text read.

“Yes, it does,” Isaac said to himself, entering the bathroom. “Huh?”

“Hm?” Artemis looked at Isaac as he was washing his front paws in the sink, using soap and everything. “Y'know it's rude not to knock.”

“...What are you doing?”

“Washing my paws. It's what you do after using that right?” He pointed his tail at the toilet.

“How do you even know that? Better yet, how'd you even use it?”

“I saw you do it last night. You woke me up when you bumped the beanbag and I saw you heading here, doing your business. I wasn’t able to fully mimic you, but I adapted.”

“Uh-huh… I'm honestly kinda impressed… though I feel like I bought a litter box for nothing.”

“Sorry.” He dried his paws on the towel.

“It’s fine,” Isaac sighed. “Anyways, there's someplace Dex told me about that has something that could help us figure you out.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, it's a museum with a crashed unknown shuttle.”

“Unknown shuttle?”

“Yeah, a few years ago some explorers on Mars found a crashed unknown space shuttle. What was found were unknown items and tech never seen before. They were able to use some of it to greatly expand their space expeditions, able to invest more into other planets, where more unknown shuttles were found.”

“That's so cool!”

“Right!? They even put some of their findings on display. The one that we're going to apparently had something related to the egg I found you in.”

“Oh? That could lead to some clues!”

“Yeah!... Also…”

“What’s up?”

“Well… I was messing with the glove last night and… something happened.”

“Like what?”

“Well I aligned the star alignments to make something and my voice came from the display saying Bow of Light.”

“Realization.”

The display appeared with the combination of the Bow of Light and went through his hand, the bow appearing once it passed through, attached to his hand. “Ah!” Issac was startled along with Artemis.

“Whoa! What is that!?” Artemis said, jumping back in surprise.

“It’s that bow I made, but I didn’t make the symbol again.”

“Well…what’s it do? I mean it's got no arrows.”

“You think, but,” Isaac pulled the bow and the light arrow appeared.

“Oh, it makes its own. That’s cool.”

“Now how'd I get rid of this again?... Dismiss?” The bow dissipated.

“Now it’s gone.”

“Yeah… wonder what happens if I make other combinations… I’ll ask the others about it later, until then, let's head to the museum.”

“Ok.”

“First I need you to leave.”

“Huh?”

“I still gotta pee.”

“Oh.”

----------------------------------------

Isaac wore a brown tan jacket over a blue and red shirt and a pair of jeans, walking up to the museum wearing the backpack that held Artemis inside. He bought a pass and assured the front desk person he'd keep Artemis contained. He was told the way to the exhibit, heading to the west side where it was.

“Remember Artemis, only meows ok?” Isaac told his feline companion.

“Ri- uh, meow!” Artemis replied.

“Good job.”

As they made their way there they passed by several people. Isaac paid no attention to them, more focused on the display, curious about what they'd find.

“Um… Isaac?”

“Meows, Artemis.”

“Yeah but-”

“We don’t want any attention drawn to us right now, so please don't talk.”

“I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

“Huh?” 

“Look around.”

“Hm?” Isaac looked around at the people nearby. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary but then he started to notice a few strange things. Some people were standing near some exhibits, looking at them with blank faces, some were talking to each other but their mouths were the only thing moving, no expressions being shown either. They were like stiff puppets, few people gave them weird stares. “That’s… weird.”

“Right?”

“Uh… Let's just… ignore it. Cmon.” Isaac decided not to think much about it, back on the path to the shuttle. He turned and saw it in the middle of a large, surrounded by more stiff people. “Just… ignore them.” He went up to the display, getting by some people to look at the plague in front. “Hm…” He gave it a read to see what he could find.

Artemis looked out and made eye contact with someone who turned to face him. He shivered. “M-...Meow.” He nervously meowed. They turned back to the display, letting the cat breathe in relief. “Phew… Hm?” He noticed a mark on their cheek. He looked closer, wondering what it was. Then it got bigger, showing itself to be a crack, one coming down and opening up its cheek further. “Eee!” It creeped him out.

“A hatched egg was discovered inside, which is now on display in room seven.” Isaac read. “Guess we’re going to tha-” The sound of an alarm cut him off. Isaac and Artemis were startled, wondering what was going on. “That's not the fire alarm.”

The shutters closed, closing the doorways and the windows.

“What’s going on!?” Artemis asked in a bit of a panic.

“I don’t know!” There was some chatter around him by those just as confused and more scared than him, however, the strange ones remained stiff and in place for a few seconds before they slowly started to shake. “H-hey are you ok?” He asked one of them. Their shakes became more violent and cracks started to form around their bodies. Isaac took a few steps back, looking startled by their cracking bodies.

“GRAAAAALSH!” A roar emerged from them before their skin shattered, and monsters appeared in the place of the people. They had large hands with claws and skinny purple bodies, and they had no feet, the lower half of their legs being sharp spikes. Their jaws were rigid with flat blocky chins and they had no teeth with blank white eyes. They wore silver chest armor with shoulder guards, a helmet, and gauntlets that only covered the knuckles of their hands. Everyone screamed.

“What the hell are those!?” Artemis shouted.

“I don-”

“Soldiers!” A male voice spoke from the intercom. “Apprehend all that see, if they resist, incapacitate them, and if you see any guardians, go loose!”

“What?” The creatures turned to face him, coming closer, their jagged legs breaking into the ground. “Oh, crud.” Isaac backed up, looking around to see the few other people running only to be chased. Isaac took a page from their book and ran for it, running to the gate, hoping there'd be a way to open it up. He stopped halfway, noticing two other monsters coming to him from in front. “Double crud!”

“They’re getting closer!” Artemis called out.

“What do I do!? What do I do!?” He started to panic as he was about to be surrounded. He then remembered something, looking at the glove. “What if I…” He thought about it for a second, and seeing no other choice, he determined himself and reached his arm out. “Bow of Light!”

“Realization.”

The bow appeared on his hands and he aimed and pulled the string, letting go to release a bow of light straight into the chest of a monster. It groaned in pain, falling back and sliding a bit. It rose slowly and painfully, blood fading from where the arrow struck and stayed. Isaac was both surprised and glad that it had an effect, drawing his next arrow and launching it at the other creature, managing to get its shoulder, making it lose balance and fall back. He ran to the gate, looking around for a hopeful chance that there was a way to open it. He didn't see any. “Crap!” He turned around to see three monsters running up to him, one being the one he shot in the chest. He shot another at that one, it swinging its claw to deflect, before leaping at him. Isaac ran off, missing its strike, shooting back at it and hitting it in the side. He kept running, hoping to find a way out of there. “You ok Artemis?” He asked his feline companion.

“...” Artemis didn't respond.

“Artemis?”

“AAAAAH!” A womanly scream. There was a lady and her child cowering before a monster raising its arm, about to strike.

“Damnit!” Isaac drew an arrow and fired at its torso, making it lean back. He ran up to it and swung the bow at its leg, causing it to trip. He came up to the woman and kid. “C'mon, we gotta- Huh!?” As he went to them he failed to notice another monster come from behind her. “Oh, crud!!” He didn't have time to pull the string or aim so pulled them in and attempted to shield them, bracing for impact. Then his backpack snapped open. The beast was knocked back after a strong blow to the chest, pushing it away. “Huh?” Isaac heard it tumble and looked back to see Artemis standing before him. “Artemis?”

“RAAGH!” Yelled the monster from before, going up to strike Isaac, the lady, and her child.

Isaac turned to it, trying to think of what to do but in that split second, Artemis had already leaped to it, kicking his back legs into its face, knocking it back, and landing on his own feline feet. “Whoa…” Isaac was surprised. “Artemis how did you-?”

“Armitizing.” Artemis flatly said. A purple circle appeared below, the same one from when Isaac first found him. From the circle came threads of purple light, going around his legs, body, and head, forming something as if it was stitching itself onto him. Around his legs were dark purple braces, his chest had a sleeveless armored vest, and he wore a thin helmet that had no chin guard and looped around his ears. One of the diamonds on the ring popped out in front of him. He bit into it, sparks emitting from where he bit as it took form, becoming a short katana with a silver blade and a black handle. 

“Wh-what the-!?”

Two monsters came at Artemis from the front, one about to strike him only for the cat to leap at it and slice it in half, jumping off its upper half to avoid the strike of the others, twisting in the air to decapitate it.

“Holy stars…” Isaac was taken by surprise by the cat's actions.

The creature he first knocked over raised and dashed to Isaac. Artemis looked back and jumped at it, cutting off the hand it was attempting to attack with and launching off its arm to slice through its neck. The one Isaac had tripped raised with two others of its kind coming to back it up, but before it could fully rise, Artemis threw his sword at its head, jabbing it in not embedding it deep enough for it to do much though it did move its head back. He leaped and bit into its neck, twisted around, and moved it with him, launching it at the other two, using his tail to remove the sword flinging it up. He managed to crash them down and while they were trying to get up, he jumped up and caught the blade, going down on them and cutting through their bodies with ease and having their split bodies fall to the ground.

Isaac was at a loss for words, watching Artemis turn and approach him. He noticed his eyes were different, being the color yellow and having no emotion, being completely cold. “Artemis?”

“Master,” Artemis jabbed his sword into the ground so he could talk clearly, “I sense multiple enemies in the surrounding area. Your current combination isn’t well suited for this so I would suggest combining different star points, less you would rather I handle it.”

“... What…what are you, Artemis?” Isaac asked in genuine confusion.

“I am your familiar, Master.”

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End.

Next chapter. The Familiar of the Moon.