Stereo Part 2: The Pregamble

“The beginning is not a time to act, it is the time to plan. Speaking of, the beginning is the time to gather what you already know and embrace it. Happiness is not eternal. Nothing is” - Champions of Merris

Chapter 6: Merris

Merris. Home of the legendary Alytes. This was my home, this beautiful planet was where I’d been for all nineteen years of my life. The yellow-sky world was where I still belonged. When I was locked inside my home for seven months, I believed the best part about being liberated from house arrest was taking my first steps outside, into my front yard. I was wrong, the truly magnificent view beyond the floating sky island had proved it. Becoming a free citizen of Merris and walking on a surface that wasn’t wood was relieving, and the touch of healthy grass was especially special. Yet there was something about the world around me. It had changed in the seven months I’d been imprisoned. The floating island of Alon, the eastmost island of the planet, had changed physically. While looking around the landscape, I also noticed something else. There was going to be an abundance of new Milock devices and news I missed out on. For example, I had just learned flying and landing a ‘crafter on public helipads was now legal, which was previously reserved for high-end citizens, such as lawyers, doctors, and many other occupations whose works required Gyrocrafters. I could only assume a new bill regarding ‘crafter parking in the Multigan Council was the cause of that. The first thing I needed to do when I finally got my freedom was to find something to do. I just had breakfast, but a nice little snack at Wood’s wouldn’t hurt, right?

Yes, it would, my favorite Hen Stew diner was shut down for a Milock Diner. The previous Milock Diners had failed miserably, but the company was still hungry for money it seems, and of course, there was no one in line, meaning I could get my diabetes- I mean Strawberry Croissants for an amazing deal of fourteen whole credits when I made sixty per Phantom hour, which was about ninety minutes (forty if I worked for sixty minutes). Merris was a nice planet, but the Iron Star City known as Alon was the Vice Capital Island which was as good or even greater than the Capital known as Merril. After consecutively eating both half-foot croissants, I looked at the Bookstore of Alon. I was quite pleased when arriving the location hadn’t gone out of business. The walk there was peaceful too. I only had to run three miles from the diner and was already there. Alon was a magnificent island to run on, I could get in my daily jog while having my fair share of classic Alon entertainment. For example, seeing a man in a superhero costume scold someone who looked like a stereotypical villain from a child’s cartoon for “looking too suspicious.” Merris Man memes were the very bane of my existence. I had grown used to seeing peculiar sights, however, since I’ve always seen them. Otherwise, the jog to the bookstore was uninteresting. What happened when I was at the entrance of the bookstore, was, however, more interesting, and disturbing. A jolt of pain sparked from the lower half right side of my leg, I looked down and realized my ankle was bleeding. The unfortunate circumstance slightly made me nervous. I had worked up an extremely high pain tolerance, but a simple gash somehow made me flinch. Ignoring it, I went into the bookstore with a red stain on my hands, hoping no one would ask me why. The science fiction shelves were wonderful, with the release of Mount Island, the fourth novel in the Mount series. There were posters, trailers, and even a Milock buddy- I mean Socializer that would greet you and answer any questions about the novel. I picked up a copy of Mount Island on the bottom shelf like I always do. As I brought the book to the Milock device with the telescreen, I brought out my Alon Contract, all cities and islands of Merris had a system called Contracts where people paid for all of their products in physical bars and ingots crafted by ores and paid later via labor, such as working hours. For example, you could buy Milock devices which were worth around two-hundred diamond coins but you would only be required to work as many hours as you shopped, usually four phantom hours (ninety minutes). Another interesting thing that was exclusive to Merris was not believing everything you heard. That last sentence was an example, that quote wasn’t exclusive to the yellow planet. And the sentence before that was also a lie. What commenced was a simple payment experience. I handed the Milock two fifty-ounce Jade coins to pay for the second installment in Mark Mann’s Mount series. I handed over the Sci-Fi story to the Socializer who accepted my payment and placed a bookmark in the middle of the page. He extended a claw-shaped hand to mine and I held the book. I thanked the Milock and exited the store abruptly, satisfied. The yellow sky was as bright as ever, at noon. I walked out of the store and walked towards an alleyway, as there was a shortcut for the location I would arrive at next.

There, I heard a few shouts and ignored them, I wasn’t the type of person to stick my nose in somewhere where it didn’t belong. I continued walking down the alleyway made out of black bricks. The route was surprisingly clean, there were rarely gangs or violence, the key word being “rarely.” This is why I kept a single Scorpion Sword concealed in my back pocket. It wasn’t much, people could still see it, but it’s a lot less suspicious than having it in my hand, which I reserved for my book. At a turn, my Milock Calculator turned on, and I received a call. Calculators were devices solely made for productive purposes, they had a screen and keyboard attached and they could fit into average pockets. I received a text message from an unknown ID. The black screen lit up with the words “180, 20 en route” in Times New Roman font. I looked behind me at looked twenty feet upward. Porched on a balcony guarded by steel rails, a Korean-American muscular young adult man pointed a Barrett M82 at my head, with his hand on the trigger. Turning in the opposite direction, I grabbed my Scorpion Sword from the back pocket and pointed it downwards as the man fired. The bullet bounced off of the downward-facing Milock device and flew toward the balcony above the attacker, smashing it, and the remains crashed onto the unnamed stalker. The man tried to dodge, but as he tried to jump the railing interfered with the fall, catching him unbalanced as he fell twenty feet in the air, landing on his head.

I ran to the left, meeting two other lads desperate to end my life, this time, it would be more efficient and effective to use hand-to-hand combat against these two. Also, it would be fun to smash a Kitsune-mask-wearing skinny knife-wielding opponent into a brick wall. I removed an uneven brick from the wall and placed my foot-long sword in the space, piercing the brick behind the one I pulled out. I threw the beautiful-looking black brick at the one on the left, he collapsed shortly after. The one on the right, with a blue hoodie drew a short knife, a simple punch to the temple did the trick. The Korean man that fell from the balcony had regained consciousness and running towards me, I held my long Scorpion Sword and used it as a handlebar to do a backflip, kicking the balding man in his chin. He went back to his nap on the concrete floor. After waiting a few seconds, I confirmed all my attackers were down. I pulled out my Milock Calculator from my front pocket and did a little reverse engineering to make sure no armed assets were following me. I refreshed the Calculator and found out there was one final enemy on my tail. Terron, this time. Usually, the mages were easy to spot, when they were in their uniforms. Spies probably won’t wear clothes that attract attention to themselves. I walked out of the linear alleyway and into the more urban streets of Alon. I looked to the right and saw a traffic light, surprisingly not made by Milock, but by Orbital, another technological company. I waited into the light turned yellow and dashed across the street. I was sure the last Terron assassin was eliminated, a few car honks and the sound of a crash reinforced that belief. I waited in front of a bakery and refreshed the Milock device multiple times. There were no more enemies on my tail. Once the adrenaline washed away, I nearly passed out and tripped to the nearest water fountain, and almost choked on the liquid. Remembering how insane I looked to my fellow citizens, I started walking home, like a normal person would. I jogged all four miles without encountering any problems. My clothing choice didn’t make the sprint suspicious as well. I arrived at my house, which was very basic. A rectangle-shaped area with a basic triangle-shaped roof on top. Somehow, these teenagers knew I was a part of a secret society when I’ve been training in said society, for probably longer than they’ve been alive. I shut the door tightly and barricaded the door with a wooden chair. One of my educators had taught me that you should every moment away from battle relaxing, to calm your nerves and prepare for the unexpected (There was no possible way one could expect the unexpected). I went to my personal work office and looked outside the window. Merris’ sky was turned dark by the night. Placing the novel on a white desk, I sat in my chair. I checked my watch, it was now 9:00 P.M. as I looked out the window. Paranoia took over me and I grabbed a second Scorpion Sword and left my house.

I walked into my front yard just to check. After that, the backyard was next. As I expected another masked intruder was jumping on my roof from my dumpster in the backyard. Entirely in black, the interloper was wearing a biker’s helmet, and I followed him. I jumped on my dumpster and grabbed the edge of my roof and the invader ran across it. The linear path surrounded by two ramps was awful for running (away from me). I quickly chased down the masked man on the rooftop and tackled him. Maybe I was too forceful since there was a massive hole in my roof after I forced him on the ground for some mysterious reason. It didn’t matter, I had the money to replace it and I wasn’t forced to call a construction company from indoors now. The intruder had kicked both of his legs into my knees to get me off of him. He got up quickly and drew a short blade, I dodged a few of his cuts before kicking him in the abdomen. He rolled back and kept the blade in his right arm, extending it as long from him as possible. He did not like close combat. As much as he didn’t like it, I was going to bring the fight to him anyways. I sidestepped to my right and threw the second Scorpion Sword into my left hand. Lunging at the intruder proved quite painful as he let out a scream of anguish as his biker helmet and mask broke. I kneeled and uncovered his mask, using my swords to raise the helmet.

I’ve seen some strange things as of late, however, this had to take the crown for the most mysterious, but only for a few moments, only increasing the strangeness of the situation. Removing the visor which was now cracked, I saw the scarred face of Henry Rose, also known personally to me as my best friend. A diagonal slash across the dark-haired man’s face made him instantly recognizable. The Cuban-American man looked at me and said “Good job, you passed the test, I need you to do something for us.”

“So I assume the first attack was planned right?” I replied.

“What?”

“What?”

“Every time you complete one of your goals, another challenge appears, why die with many uncomplete works when you could spend your entire life dedicating yourself to one project?” - The Kitsune Accords

Chapter 7: Report

As the stolen Gyrocrafter reversed into the port, a very happy Kitsune-masked man smiled on his throne. He stood up and inspected the Blue Moltagen harvest. While Moltagen was very useful, it was not inexpensive. That’s the part where artificial and natural minerals could modify the important material. The man had just taken a smoke of Amber, however, when he held a piece of the blue ore to his mask, it turned from a bright, fiery orange to a lightning-blue color. The eyes and mouthpiece of the mask turned blue when the rest of the mask went gray. The leader of Ares smiled. The rest of the stolen Gyrocrafters were painted with a red illustration of the nine tails of a Ninetails. The Kin successfully bested Alyte Terry Raptors in a fair duel with his Naginata named after his title, Kin. The man from Ares named Issac Kitsune returned to his throne. He was not a believer in wasting materials on trivial items such as jewelry, weapon displays, or statues. He looked to his right and turned on the Milock Socializer. The machine’s magnet-shaped arms spun before displaying a message on its wide screen. The panel showed a cyan background with white font, it was not difficult to read, however. On the top of the panel, it read the words “INCOMING TRANSMISSION.” The rest of the Milock’s screen displayed a tall figure with a narrow, long face concealed by an Oni mask. The dark-haired man smiled through his devilish mask and smiled upon his dark-red-haired apprentice kneeling through the screen.

“Great Champion Vales, I ask for another mission from the elegant leader’s mind and pockets,” exclaimed the Ares leader and continued with “to fill my own with dignity and honor.”

“In that case,” replied the narrow-faced man, continuing “there is a Barbarian hideout with mysterious organisms and I’m in the mood for science experiments as of right now. You will get another promotion if you successfully give me 25% of the hidden weapons, which will be divided equally among your competitors. More details will be added during the mission”

“The Great Champion assigns it, and the Champion will complete it,” said the Kitsune leader before ending the transmission by ordering the Socializer to shut down. Its magnet-shaped arms were put on the side of its stick-shaped body, and the widescreen turned into complete darkness.

At last, the leader of Ares sat on his throne made of the skin of different predators, such as Velociraptors, Lungers, and Helmons. His legs graced the gravel floor, leading to steps to the throne, and he slid the throne into the room in the back. The wall behind the throne were double doors that retracted when the Kitsune-masked man pushed his legs forward and the rail attached to the throne moved backward. The throne retracted completely and the man was in an entirely different room than he was previously. He got up from his throne and went to another set of double doors opposite of where the throne was facing, he opened them to the most important room for today. This was the day it should happen, The Awakening. The man from Ares entered the circular room, where three massive banners were attached on each side of the wall, on the left, center, and right. On the floor, there was a void of absolute darkness with Terron materials and Sykokin remains convulsing out and in of the hole. The Kitsune leader was kneeling, his Naginata slashing the black and purple materials, attempting to destroy the remains and ores. The Naginata was not making a dent, the corrupted materials only cursed the man and his weapon further. He felt hopeless like he could not slaughter the core of the very bane of his bloodline, yet he could not give up, because his brother did not. He felt like every inch of pain and suffering was entering his soul and mind, but he resisted. The man from Ares did not back down, he opposed the animal-like impulse of avoiding pain at the cost of progress. The Naginata named Kin was changing in appearance. The steel forging the iconic blade turned dark, and the handle of the weapon looked like it was dipped in Terron poison, as it changed into the color of a galaxy purple. The poison had entered the thin man’s veins yet he did not panic, discipline was always the key to survival. The once blue Kitsune mask had turned a deep shade of purple, but what never changed was Issac Kitsune. He would remain the same person. The Ares leader looked at the Terron materials and Sykokin remains, this was his brother’s grave, he had died killing the Kitsune’s bloodlusty rivals, the Terrons. Issac Kitsune mourned his brother, named Issac Kitsune. He prayed and left the mysterious room, with vengeance in his masked eyes.

“The weakness of all organisms is to underestimate their enemies and overestimate their abilities” - Barbarian Lessons

Chapter 8: Plan

Like a Ferret dashing away from a predator, Wonder Gatrous jumped from tree to tree. He ran across the trees in the large Barbarian forest in the afternoon, the time was six, in phantom hours. The Eackle arrived and stood straight in front of the Barbarian International Facility (BIF). Gatrous approached the end of the large maze and greeted his titan-sized accomplice. The winged soldier was seven feet tall, and had a paint job colored after the black and red planet, at least the Muko area was bright and green. The two Barbarians shook hands and Gatrous adjusted his eyepatch on his right side. They both entered the facility and Eackle spoke professionally “Terry Raptors, captain of our mortal enemies, the Alytes, has been eliminated, unfortunately, Issac Kitsune, the man who slayed Raptors, is planning on invading the unnamed planet we plan to harvest Moltagen from. It is believed the Kitsune-masked nemesis is working for your father’s archnemesis, it would be an ideal way to earn his respect if you were able to defend the Moltagen transport and he would likely grant you the title of Barbarian Superior. You could be the youngest leader the Barbarians have served, my friend.” Looking back at Gatrous, the young prodigy looked a lot like Terry Raptors. Both wore a fashionable style and conducted behavior that would be considered epic by their followers. The friends continued to walk through the large facility. The marble floor was white and clean, scientists experimented on projects, Gatrous entered a hallway and took a right. The wooden double doors concealed the biggest Barbarian project done in the last decade. The Mosquito Colony.

Eackle flew onto a platform above with his red wings. The surface of the platform was black with yellow railings, its purpose was to inspect and work on the large rocket. Gatrous followed his friend using the steps. He admired how large the machine was, he predicted the missile to be approximately one hundred forty-seven feet tall. The Barbarian heir smiled as he knew he would enter that shuttle which represented all of Barbarian effort and history. It was called the Bloody Peacemaker and he wanted to step inside of it. But first, the young Barbarian would have to quickly review the mission before the rocket was fully constructed in about ten days. He admired the top of the missile before leaving for the strategy meeting. It was a cherry red color with a sharp eye shape while a strip of sharp teeth was wrapped around the diameter. Gatrous gestured for Eackle to deform and once again, there were Axaus and Cackle, two of his best friends. The three Barbarians walked down the stairs with hands behind their backs, Gatrous only did the pose since he thought it would be considered “professional.” The trio known as Reorder took a right and entered a hallway with a steel door at the end. Gatrous turned the handle and opened the door. Entering the room, the young team was greeted by the Lead Barbarian Flame Manager. “Good evening, Representative Felch” Gatrous said while extending his hand for a handshake. The Barbarian Manager replied to the gesture by extending his right hand forward, the two shook hands. Stifle Felch invited the trio to sit down at the office table located inside the room. Steel chairs surrounded the large table as Gatrous, Axaus, and Cackle took a seat each.

The Lead Manager wore Desert Sykokin bones that acted as armor from around his short black hair to his muscular biceps. He had put a Sykokin’s jawbone in between his head, where two sets of teeth were coming out of his head. He had used spray paint to make it the color of Barbarian Peace Officer uniforms. He used the blood of Terrons which had been turned green from Moltagen consumption and Alyte armor pieces to make the black color. Felch made sure to restock regularly. After they had each taken a seat at the table, Stifle activated a telescreen, the device was made by Barbarian manufacturer Orbital. The black screen changed into a red one as it was turned on. Black Georgia text accompanied the deep red screen. Felch displayed a mugshot on screen before finally breaking the awkward silence “As you know my friends, there is a large Moltagen production on the unnamed planet. For now, we have decided to call this world ‘Stereo.’ The name originates from the mental power Terrons use to inflict an uncomfortable sound on their enemies. A painful ringing stuns the target and paralyzes them. Four of our twenty-one Barbarian Frontliners have unfortunately learned this the hard way.” Gatrous raised his hand before respectfully intercepting the Flame Manager’s statement “So that is where Project ‘Cept comes in, correct?”

“Correct” replied Felch. The Barbarian heir remained quiet for the rest of the meeting as Stifle continued “We need team Reorder to arm our Frontliners with the appropriate technology, you have ten days before you enter the rocket and twenty days on the Bloody Peacemaker to construct thirty Orbital Disrupters, Alytes may try to intercept us with Milock gear.” After processing all of the information, the trio waved a respectful gesture to Felch and abruptly left the room.

“My happiest moments as a Great Champion were not in any political or dangerous setting, it was the times I spent with my son. Not my heir or my apprentice, my son.” - Dendrick Rose

Chapter 9: Reunion

Somehow, the ordeal with one of my best friends got even weirder. Turns out, the attack composed by those Kitsune-masked teenagers was not a test, it was a life or death situation. After Henry explained the situation to me, we went outside. He had another thing to explain, why he attacked me. It was a “test” to see if I was strong enough. What did I need to be strong enough for? School, but not quite school. Machama Academy wanted all of its top graduates back, making my Seven Years Degree meaningless. The questions kept piling up. Why did I need to go back to school? Why was my friend so excited about it? Why was I more confused than dreadful about the information? Most of the questions I asked could be solved with one answer. Exploration. Machama listed its top students (including me) and tested them with a battle with a classmate. Henry told me all of this information while he led me to the academy, not like I didn’t know where it was, I went there for seven years of my life. Walking across only a few sidewalks at night (with only tiny amounts of jaywalking) could take us directly to the famous academy. Of all tourist attractions, a school was usually not a particularly exciting location. Merris’ most prestigious academy took that concept to another level, there wasn’t an extravagant entrance to the academy. There wasn’t even a school at all! There were only two entrances to Machama Academy, under a manhole cover and a downward-facing ramp. Henry took the route which led to the manhole cover. Luckily, no one saw two weapon-wielding men going down a steaming manhole cover in the middle of the night. My best friend climbed down the hole first while I went second. The underground facility didn’t look like a place that would be hidden under a manhole cover. It was large, clean, and beautiful. There were a lot of students and educators conversing with each other. I steadily climbed down the red ladder and looked around the familiar area.

The place had changed significantly, but I could still recognize some features of the academy when I attended. Only during my final years at Machama Acamdey, I understood the significance behind the name. Known to legend were five of the original Champions, Aaron, Astroid, Machama, Generator, and Predox. Machama was more of a concept than one physical entity, it’s a celebration of Alyte technology and evolution. This entire facility was meant not to make Alytes the strongest in the solar system or Solar Tree or whatever you want to call the collection of planets and factions. I admired the colorful interior of the facility where splashed colors shined on bright mirrors. The climb down the ladder was short, but the ceiling under the bunder was quite tall.

The room of the bunker was massive, it was hard to believe an entire school could fit under the city, it was even bigger than many other academies. I followed Henry as he walked through the large common room, passing by sets of blue bunk beds. Henry’s stride was graceful but powerful, the white-haired knight grabbed a sword that had been experimented on. A Taser had been attached to the Milock sword on the handle with the work of a bunch of wires. Henry inspected the sword before shouting “Here” as he threw the abomination to me, my instincts caused me to grab the device, unfortunately by the handle. Henry’s exclamation of a quiet “Sorry” was not enough. We continued walking toward the front of the room, I was trying to hide my convulsing hands. After a while, we arrived at a subway section of the academy. A Speedcrafter was (figuratively) flying on the indoor railroad. There was a loud sound as a strong gust of fresh ‘crafter air blasted the two of us.

Alyte technology always amazed me even though I had lived and grown up in an area where Milock gear was everywhere. Even though I had never ridden a Speedcrafter, Henry’s career as a knight relied on advanced Alyte technology. He gestured for me to move forward, I knew how to board any ‘crafter. Stepping aboard the high-powered train, I took a seat at the closest exit to the left, Henry sat next to me. Coincidentally, as I was suspicious about not recognizing any classmates like Henry had told me, a familiar face came into view on my right. A brown-haired woman gazed her gray eyes at me. Eighteen-year-old Envie “Sprout” Suzanne greeted me with a blow to the abdomen, the punch was swift but majestic as her soft hand made physical contact. That specific greeting was registered in my mind as the gesture of my closest ally. While Henry was comedic even on the battlefield, he made some hilariously awful decisions on most missions. If he didn’t inherit his father’s blade, I would not believe my friend would have the Alyte expertise to survive. In fact, on one of the many missions we did together, Sprout and I were responsible for defusing a Terron-class bomb, while Henry threw javelins and shoved anyone who got in our way. Despite being of average height, he was very strong, he nearly broke my hand during arm wrestling when we were twelve. Sprout always looked at me with an informal gaze in the past, not much has changed though. I looked in her direction and gave her a more formal and friendly fist bump, in an almost quiet voice, she replied “Nice to be back.” The Alyte’s voice was smooth and calming, just like her fighting style, Organized Alyte Combat. The technique was often deadly but clean, little to no blood was spilled in a duel. The Speedcrafter was approaching our stop, only about two-hundred feet away. When the Speedcrafter stopped abruptly, Henry and Sprout didn’t even flinch. Henry laughed when I fell to the floor and picked me up by the neck, we all exited the doors quickly.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

The square-tiled floors of the Training Bunker awaited us. The color palette of the region was blue and white instead of the standard Alyte color scheme black and blue. There was an upward-turning ramp that we walked up and took a right. We laughed and conversed along the way, it was nice to socialize again after seven painfully long months. Henry opened a set of double doors as we followed the white-haired knight.

The room the three of us entered was even more significant than the common room of the academy, the students' ages ranged from the first year twelve-year-olds and the seventh year eighteen-year-olds. At this moment while I was observing the students, Sprout parted ways with us, exclaiming she had to regroup with her squad for an upcoming mission. Henry’s eyes furrowed but he didn’t say anything. The knight gestured for me to follow him and not get distracted especially with Milock devices. I habitually inspect any Milock technology I had not previously checked out. I tried extra hard to remain focused, but there were a few challenges. There was an Alyte weapon display on my left, containing Scorpion Swords, the legendary Cobra Sword Terry Raptors uses, and much more. There was a vast range of weapons of different sizes that I wanted to wield. I eventually prevented myself from grabbing a Milock device or tool and stayed walking beside Henry. As we arrived closer to our destination, I was getting increasingly more nervous, I doubt Machama would make me return to guide traffic stops. He only smiled more, however. At least I was confident in my tools and abilities, I’m sure the mission would not be too dangerous if only the two of us returned.

I was incorrect for two reasons. We had finally walked to our destination, in front of a Gyrocrafter that could contain approximately twenty Alytes. There were ‘crafters that could host two Alytes, so I knew the mission was much more resourceful and important than I originally thought. The ‘crafter was facing toward a chute that allowed Alytes vehicles to enter and exit, stunning any other vehicle which was not registered and disabling them. The Gyrocrafter was so large, there were two floors for Alytes to enter the ‘crafter from, the top and bottom floors composed the massive vehicle. We stood behind a staircase that led to the bottom floor where Henry greeted a gray-haired middle-aged man with an Alyte tophat with a formal handshake. Afterward, he greeted me and introduced himself “Hello Mr. Aero, you’re probably wondering why you’re in this situation. I’m Conductor Fern, head researcher of Alon. You’re assigned with Henry Rose and Envie Suzanne to travel to Stereo, the unmarked planet. Further details will be provided.”

“Yes, sir, I will do anything an Alyte Conductor says. Especially if it includes the extermination of Barbarians and Terron” I replied. Even though the chance was slim, one could still hope, I’ve been longing to spill as much Barbarian blood as possible. The Conductor issued a gesture and a pink-haired young woman walked forward formally, her personality and appearance would soon contradict that, however. The woman’s bright hair was tied professionally in a ponytail. Her bright green eyes followed mine, exactly at each other. This stranger somehow looked familiar, her face resembled someone I knew. When she walked forward, Fern introduced the woman “Gentlemen, this is eighteen-year-old Melissa “Hazane” Gatz.

The daughter of Archduke Gatz is to be escorted to several unnamed towns and villages on Stereo where she will inspect the planet’s exotic minerals and transport them to the A.Y.E.L.F (Aligned Yunuko Exotice Labs Facility).” Henry and my eyes widened finding out the young woman was the heir of Archduke Gatz. The Archduke was our teacher, the one who taught us and many other students the power of emotions and steady wielding. Tragically, he made his last stand two years ago, taking an entire Barbarian village of soldiers with him. The cruel news arrived at me when I was in my final year of Machama. The event was the true final test of emotions. I believed I pass, but it only came with time. Getting my mind off the topic, we introduced ourselves using our real names. Hazane replied by shaking both of our hands enthusiastically. Henry could tell she was very energetic indeed. She turned and faced Fern, next to me on my left. “I know all of this may be progressing very quickly, especially after you’ve been imprisoned in your own house for seven months, but the academy has decided to give the three of you seven days to prepare for this mission.” Conductor Fern saluted to us and left to deal with other tasks. After processing this information, Hazane could not bottle her excitement, and started bombarding me with questions, Henry tried to hide his jealousy. After answering a few basic questions I noticed how unfamiliar her Alyte gear was. I had believed I was an odd Alyte fighter, instead of using a sword and shield while wearing heavy armor, I wielded two short swords while wearing a large Alyte jacket and a helmet most of the time. It looked like Hazane was wearing roller skates while wielding an automatic crossbow. The equipment was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Hazane seemed to be quite skilled in her gear, her movements were unpredictable and fast as well. Gathering everything, I realized this would be a very long week.

“Do not be fooled by the fact the Alyte champion was born and lived his first nineteen years on Merris as an outsider, the planet of Stereo was his homeworld.” - The United and Divided

Chapter 10: Stereo

My brother is going to give me his famous weapon, Kin. I shouldn’t get my mind caught up in that fact, however, I need to complete this mission first to make my elder brother proud. I was already prepared, wearing an Ares Orbital bodysuit and equipped with my trusty camera in my right hand. I preferred the mission where weapons weren’t necessary. The planet’s atmosphere was foggy. Seeing the ice-colored sky, I decided to get this mission done quickly and jumped off the metallic rock and fell slowly and gracefully. Landing on the ground quietly, I walked forward and inspected a set of buildings, people lived here once. Barbarians, Terrons, and even fellow bounty hunters could’ve looted this place and remained in the ghost town. I proceeded slowly, making sure no one else was there. The buildings were much larger than the ones found on a planet like Merris. The houses looked to be constructed from a back and deep blue rock found commonly on the planet. It was very dense, I crouched near an especially massive building, it had gears turning at the top of the tower.

Moltagen was being produced from the well, the Terrons would try to eliminate this source, making Moltassa the only planet on which Moltagen could be produced. I couldn’t look at the tower for too long, I needed to bring this Moltagen back to the Ares base. I brought out a metal bucket provided to me by my older brother and placed it under a chute where Moltagen was spilling out. Calculating the bucket would be full in seven minutes, I climbed up to the rock where I was previously and took out my camera. The green and black colored device manufactured by Orbital never failed me. It only took a minute for me to take all of the pictures of the ghost time I needed to. They were beautiful, I expected nothing less from a camera of such a high reputation. There was something out of the ordinary I noticed, which was not good. When there was something even remotely interesting, my mind urged and forced me to inspect it. There was a long-flowing gust of smoke coming to the left of the abandoned town, coming from behind the middle of two large rock walls. What was it? Time to find out.

I looked inside the metal bucket as I made my way to the smoke, it was a quarter of the way from being full of Moltagen. I promised myself to look only at where the smoke was coming from, nothing else. The smoke looked more white than usual, I assumed it was because of the planet’s atmosphere. Stereo’s surface was very flat and uninspired, making running across the land simple. I approached the rock wall on the right and looked at where the smoke was. I saw the trail seemed to come from the east, so I went to the right. The air was extremely foggy beyond the ghost town. I could barely see a thing. Thankfully, there was an Orbital device for my issue, there was an Orbital device or tool for basically every situation you could get into. Following the air-borne trail of smoke for around two miles, the fog cleared and I saw a Barbarian base one-hundred feet in front of me. The journey hadn’t been difficult, the metallic ground was slightly slippery due to the small session of rain hours before I arrived. The destination was more horrifying than the journey. The Barbarians had already established a significant research facility on the unmarked planet. Ares thought we were the first to discover the remarkable planet. I couldn’t blame them, the discovery was made just days after my brother slayed Terry Raptors on March 20, 14203. This would put my brother’s company in a predicament. I snapped a few photos of the Barbarian base behind a natural rock structure, careful not to caught. The camera only enhanced the view of the set of buildings and facilities. I smiled intently every time the camera made its signature snap sound. The satisfaction was immeasurable. My brother will be so proud of me once I completed the mission and returned with ten extra photos of a Barbarian base. After that, Issac would likely give me all of the equipment I needed to become a Sin Hunter. I could finally join my elder brother in raids against Barbarians and Alytes. Every bounty hunter could bring a large sum of wealth every day, bringing our reputation in the Solar Tree even higher. Or should I say Stereo, like the Alyte fools would call the collection of all twelve planets? I also found the source of the smoke, a crashed Barbarian ‘flamer and Terron ‘copter, the two vehicles must’ve dueled in air combat and destroyed each other. There were no bodies inside both of the flying machines. The smoke abruptly stopped after I placed a small rock on the source. I had explored enough.

The journey back to the ghost town was as uninteresting as the journey to the crash site. I walked through the dark blue sky when it was still only morning. This time, I ran to the ghost town, being as quick as possible. I didn’t want to risk any ‘flamers spotting me. Reaching the abandoned village, I picked up the bucket full of Moltagen, I also threw two rocks into the bucket. Learning the properties of the object which built nearly forty percent of this planet would be a huge advantage. I picked up the ample bucket by the handle and climbed up the rock I jumped off, once again. This time, the process was longer since one of my hands was occupied with holding the rare materials. I placed both of my feet on the edges of the structure and lunged upwards. Repeating this process, I reached over the wall in about eighty seconds. Looking behind me, I took one last picture of the ghost town from a high vantage point. Continuing with my assigned mission, I leaped and fell down sixty-four feet on the metallic floor without injury. I saw my ride, a beautiful Cruxin, an Ares-manufactured transport vehicle. The design was slick, the front of the ship long and pointy. The heavy but speedy triangle-shaped device had columns to support it during landing and parking. The massive vehicle had a half-cylinder-shaped chute with a ladder carved inside used for climbing. I walked to the transport ‘xin and entered via the yellow ladder. Upon entering, I moved to my left and placed the bucket in an even larger container at the bottom of the pilot’s seat. After securing the materials located inside the bucket, I sat in the pilot seat. It was made out of Iron and solid Moltagen, Ares designers loved to waste precious materials on irrelevant objects, but at least the seats were comfortable. I pressed the top button of a clock-shaped timer and it revealed I took twenty-two minutes to complete the mission. Subtracting the ten minutes it took for me to get to the ghost town, meant I took about twelve minutes to run to the smoke source, run back to the town, and back into the ship. So in total, I ran six miles in twenty-two minutes, which was not great, not even for a fourteen-year-old hunter, which is probably why my brother didn’t trust me with being a bounty hunter or arm me with a proper weapon. I activated the sharp jet with a press of a single green button and the vehicle exited out of parking mode. Pulling a string caused it to become airborne. After those two steps, I took the infinity-shaped wheel and headed off of the planet.

The Barbarian Base had hundreds of scientists and engineers occupying the location at the moment. These ranged from computer programmers to biology professionals. The one-hundred-eighty occupants would do their very best to make sure Wonder “Ferret” Gatrous and his team named Reorder would be able to have a variety of tools and information to claim the planet as Barbarian territory. This would also mean that the Barbarians would officially claim the only Moltagen source besides the Terrons. Therefore, allowing them to easily wipe out the Alytes for good. Professor Joshua Gladian instructed his four apprentices to work on finishing the Bloody Peacemaker’s prototype before leaving the large research lab and into the unfamiliar landscape that was Stereo. The professor managed to catch a glimpse of an unknown jet speeding up and shooting off the planet, it was yellow-colored, but he didn’t see any other identifying properties. Immediately, the wise old Frenchman ran to the nearest facility he could. He remembered to take a picture of the unidentified flying object, but not with a normal camera. Orbital technology was adamant about enhancing gear in the most unique ways possible. The device used to take the photo was unique to Barbarians and bounty hunters, a RetinaMotion headset. The gear strapped around the scientist’s head and right eye had successfully solidified another piece of evidence. After taking off the tool by the white straps, Gladian ran as fast as he could to a small research facility to the left of him. He noticed a structure with a white exterior with a black sign above the transparent door with moving big red letters, which read “REPORT FACILITY.”

Gladian knocked on the door and a woman with short bluish-black hair opened it on the inside. He greeted her but didn’t say anything. He looked to the left, where a large telescreen was positioned, with several other scientists near it, inspecting the moving images displayed on it. He climbed a short flight of stairs and moved to the Facility Leader, on the right. The man named Javos Rose was from Cuba-Bartos. The aging man with gray hair gazed at Latassa with his dark gray eyes with a flat expression. The young scientist handed over his RetinaMotion headset to the older gentleman. Rose gracefully took the device off of the Frenchman’s hands and examined it closely. He removed a small circular chip from the headset’s strap and placed it under the Orbital projector which was displaying the photos. In seconds, the projector processed the data from the headset’s chip and created a visual drawing of the pictures taken on the headset. Javos requested every researcher in the lab focused their attention on the projected photos of the unidentified jet. The yellow-colored vehicle appeared on the front wall, where everyone was now looking, including Latassa who took the photos. Murmurs and gasps filled the room instantly, Rose readied himself for what he was about to say. The elder suspected his nephew may have been the pilot of the triangle-shaped ‘xin, Henry. The traitor who made alliances with Alytes and fled to Merris. After Javos was unable to kill the deceiver in a raid and couldn’t confirm the traitor’s father had indeed been dead, he was denounced to the rank of a scientist, losing his ability to wield his forged weapons. The ancient researcher vowed never to make that same mistake ever again, at any cost.

The lower-ranking biologists studied the high-quality images taken by Latassa. They worked vigorously to find the source of the vehicle and the most ideal way to track it. It was natural for their thirst for blood, they were Barbarians, after all. Most of them didn’t even think about taking a break, the researchers wanted to identify this flying object and destroy the individual who dared trespass on Barbarian property. The intruder didn’t seem to be an Alyte or Terron, meaning they would have no idea how brutal the Barbarians would be to their wrongdoers. The unknown intruder would face a life of pain and suffering, as was the Barbarian Path of Justice. There will be no rest until this interloper is caught. Every scientist made sure this statement would be made true. Clicking sounds could be heard all over the room, workers furiously finding ways to identify the intruder, they would not be interrupted, not for anything. Latassa however did not join the squadron of hardworking researchers, he instead left the room for what he believed was a more important task.

“While preparing a plan, you will run into the impossible choice, to gamble or to not gamble?” - 12 Ways to Properly Plan

Chapter 11: Gamble

So, this was my life now. Going to an alien planet with one week to prepare. I don’t know how to think anymore, I just can’t. Well, the least I could do is to do… Something. Something like actually contributes to this mission. To begin preparations, I chatted with Henry and Hazane to ask them a few simple questions about what to expect. Both my oldest and newest friends supplied me with chunks of information each. Are there going to be unknown species on the planet: No. Have the Barbarians settled a base on Stereo yet: Yes. What is the gear which powers our Gyrocrafter: Milock Alyte-Exclusive 14200 or something? Once my most interesting questions were answered, Henry went to his old locker room. I realized in all seven years of attending Machama, I never thought if graduates' lockers were cleaned out or not. I followed him to the locker room, behind the station our Gyrocrafter was being hosted. The white wall had a blue design pointing to the left, indicating the location of the lockers. I walked quicker than Henry since I longed to hold a weapon that wasn’t a Scorpion Sword. I remember the Milock devices I wielded during my years attending Machama. Claws that had liquid Moltagen attached to them, an M9 which extended a long blade when fired, and my favorite, a dual-edged Katana. I had individually crafted my weapons since I was truly passionate about learning to become as resourceful as an Alyte could be. That included crafting and forging your tools and weapons. I remember the cause of the creation of the double-edged Katana, I had bought a steel one when my previous weapon broke in half. Improvising, I attached the broken half of the previous Katana and attached it to the edge of my fresh new one, facing slightly downwards. The newly-forged Katana could slash twice in a single movement. I remember the satisfaction of creating the final project after spending hours of trial and error failing. I had spent all night in my room attempting to forge the blade. The final result was worth it, though. I had achieved a mastery not yet learned before. The art I liked to call “Alyte Instincts,” is the mindset of solving problems with your mind more than your physical strength. I rummaged through my old locker and was surprised to see the Katana, rusted but still useful, it was positioned next to an expired can of Mawl, an energy drink with 2% Moltagen. I threw the depleted can in the trash can nearby. After processing the item, the Milock on the surface of the container gave a hearty smile to me and the hologram went silent. I showed Henry my nostalgic weapon and he smiled with one eye on me and another concealed by his fluffy white hair. He also showcased the tool he had personally created, a Moltagen Drill. Usually used for construction the drill carved a hole in a surface and filled it with Moltagen, since the substance was quite sticky. I however had used it during a mission to carve a tank of oil in ten minutes using a timer and retractor attached to a string. The goal was to blow stuff up. Since then, Henry made sure to lock his locker and all times. I didn’t blame him, I didn’t trust myself most of the time. After the two of us armed ourselves with the finest Alyte tools, we decided to speak with Hazane to see who we were dealing with. I wanted to identify her personality and how I should react when we’re in certain situations. For example, a Knight may need assistance with technical problems, while a programmer may need to get an enemy off their tail, and an Alyte Finger Dancer will not have any flaws and could realistically complete any mission by themself. Seriously, those soldiers were to be feared, they knew hundreds of war tactics that involved just their hands. Physical fighters always creeped me out, to be completely honest. The way their fingers clenched and made brutal contact with their enemies made me feel on edge, even if they were Alytes like me. The energetic and pink-haired woman was found rollerskating in a large circular ring as she was smiling brightly. She found a way to make her hair, which was tied in a ponytail, extremely long. She spotted me and turned her grin a larger curve than half of the skating ring itself. She dashed toward me and Henry with both of her rollerskates still attached. She was like a bubble of energy constantly bursting. This time, she was the one who was bombarding me with questions. Mostly about my gear and missions. There were only three more days until our Gyrocrafter was to be released to the unfamiliar planet. Remembering how anxious I was preparing on the first day, I noticed how much confidence I gained over a few days. I also noticed how fast I prepared my belongings, I organized and prepared everything I needed to in just two days. Spending hours upon hours packing up and transporting resources became my daily routine for forty-eight hours. Hazane asked me how I was able to do it so fast and replied with the fact I had nothing else to do. She, of course, distracted herself with rollerskating all day long. After I told the pink-haired woman this, she continued bombarding me with questions.

After about twenty minutes of doing nothing except answering questions, I finally had time to relax, even if was only for a short moment. I lay down on my bed inside my room, like I did years ago. I recalled memories with Henry and Sprout, two of my best friends. We three were a trio, a team. Most missions were done with only the three of us, with no backup. Henry was the strong piercing javelin, Sprout was the logical calculator, and I was the fast and devastating force of nature. Well, as devastating as I could be since I mostly prioritized speed. I could recall my favorite memories of us for hours upon hours, but the circumstances forced me to enjoy it for about two minutes. I had a mandatory meeting. I hated meetings, all of them. Yet, I tidied up and looked at the clock, 2:05 P.M. was striking. The hands were pointing Northeast, where the conference room was. Leaping up from my bed, I dashed out of my room and turned to the right, where a corridor with rooms on each side surrounded the area. The first room on the left was my destination. The Milock door asked me for the room password, as it extended its arm to mine, a flat and black surface. The device would dispense a metal key if I offered the password. I leaned into the machine’s screen and whispered “Steroids.” The word was naturally selected after we found out the planet had Moltagen, a substance that could enhance our abilities. The Milock Socializer identified my sound and displayed a screen with a blue background where a drawing of the room key was located. After a few seconds, the drawing of the silver key was accompanied by a white loading bar, displaying the percentage of the dispensing key. Once the bar was full at one hundred percent, the screen transitioned to a black background with the text “THANK YOU.” I pressed the “Next” button and the Milock’s arm sent the key via a tube, into the black surface. Somehow, the drawing, while beautiful, didn’t depict the elegance of the key quite right. The physical object was marvelous, no amount of art could level with its magnificence. I had to remind myself I had a meeting to stop myself from gazing at the silver-pink-colored item for too long. I grabbed it with my right hand and put the transparent item through the grey-colored lock and twisted the pretty object. At last, the white door slid open, inviting me inside. The door was designed to fit four different keys inside, after the fourth, it locked indefinitely. The door was designed so only the invited could enter, no one else. I entered the room, which felt more like traversing through another dimension. I could hardly believe I was still at Machama Academy. The white walls and floor illuminated the room while I was seated in a black rolling chair, facing Hazane and Henry across the black marble table. It was time to endure the agony of long evidence sessions. It was an Alyte tradition to present evidence to plan every move along the way. I greeted both of my allies before admitting I was the “Conditions Conductor.” The term’s meaning was quite complex, but to put it simply, the Conditions Conductor informed the other Alytes about the equipment and tools they had on them. I started to speak first, facing my companions, “We will be traveling by a Gyrocrafter II Medusa to the national planet Stereo. The ‘crafter will be equipped with multiple tools and weapons which can be used at any time during the mission. These range from Milock Beacons to Alyte Flame Daggers. Does anyone here have any questions?” I asked with an inviting tone. “Are there going to be any other drugs there?” Said Henry unironically. I shot him a disappointed look and he sank into his chair. Sure, Moltagen was by definition a drug, but it was more beneficial than most substances I took. Moltagen could change the entire outcome of a battle. It was no wonder why Terrons were the most terrified warriors in the Solar Tree (Alyte name for the collection of all twenty-three planets with life in the galaxy). And why everyone wanted to find their planet which naturally produced Moltagen. The substance was expensive and resourceful to produce artificially, which is why there wasn’t even a source to create artificial Moltagen. The Barbarians had tried once, yet they failed after their lack of wealth became their downfall. This is exactly why they’re more determined than anyone to claim this planet as their own. Alytes however planned exactly what they were going to do and when before acting. Evidence of Terron battalions had appeared on Stereo, yet this didn’t worry us or any other Alyte at all. Hazane spoke next, as the “Navigator” of our group. In an energetic voice, the hyper woman spoke swiftly “The planet known as Stereo is not currently known to be home to any unique species, as a report from our spies has said.” As Hazane continued to inform us about the new Moltagen planet, I placed essential tools found on the Gyrocrafter onto the marble table, using visual evidence so my two allies could see. This included a ‘crafter small engine, two large storage boxes, and a single vial of natural Moltagen. Even though the large boxes were hard to carry onto the table, Hazane was still explaining the foreign planet’s landscape after the time-consuming process. “The rocks found across the surface are described as hard, dense, and found all over the surface of the planet” the bright-pink-haired woman continued. It was hard to keep up with all of the information she spewed out. Henry, who sat across from me showed me a look that proved it. He was actively attempting to process all of the information but he was sweating nervously. After four minutes of nothing but speedy speaking, Hazane took a large breath as she finished with her speech. Even exhausted, she still looked energetic. I waited a few short seconds to confirm if my pink-haired ally was truly done, or if she just took a breather. Fourteen seconds have passed now and Hazane said one last sentence “Well, did you get all of that?”

That statement made me realize I not only had to hear all of that but remember it as well. In truth, I remembered two statements, there is a planet, and Stereo is the name of the planet. Of course, I only jest, but it really does feel like I recalled two facts. Henry, on the other hand, did not have anything to say, like me and Hazane. His only job on the mission was to be a weapon of mass destruction. And I know he is going to be great at it, he always was. Every mission I’ve been on him was brutal. The three of us unanimously shook hands together formally and walked out of the room, starting with me. These last three days before we arrive at Stereo will go by too quickly, I know it.

[INFORMATION RETURNED]

Language: MerrisOFFICIAL

{access IMPORTANT FIGURES’ PROFILES.MerrisOF}

[return IMPORTANT FIGURES’ PROFILES]

Console: {

* Henry Rose

* Melissa Gatz

* Issac Kitsune

}