Eto stood there, still looking at the hole which appeared because of the impact of the knight. The sound around him was numb. Something in the distance could be heard. Veronica's voice really had to get to him.

'Eto, Eto, are you listening?' she said and finally, he returned to reality.

The moment his mind returned and he reacted to Veronica, the glowing light on his arm disappeared.

'What is it?' he asked like he forgot that she was standing behind him.

In front of them the rubble of stones started to move and soon the soldier appeared out of the hole with scratches and dents all over his armor.

'Eto, little brat. And you,' he said while the helmet turned at Veronica. 'Eto's little helper is called Veronica. The lying bitch.'

His helmet started making scanning sounds and lights appeared on his helmet while watching Veronica.

'Send this to the captain. Let him know our brat has some helpers.'

The moment he said those words, Veronica felt scared. They knew who she was and they would hunt her together with Eto. She looked at Eto who was looking determined towards the knight.

'Now I will take you both in,' the knight said. He dropped what was left of the sword and jumped to Eto and Veronica.

'Oh no, you don't,' Eto replied and he also jumped forward and both their fists met in the air.

The knight tried to kick Eto but he evaded it. The heavy black armor around the leg nearly touched Eto.

Eto pushed back and prepared a new attack.

His arm started to glow again and he hit the knight again in the chest, sending him away again. The knight disappeared again in the rubble he was thrown in before.

While Eto came to the ground, the light on his arm faded again.

'Eto we have to go!' Veronica screamed and she turned to run away. Eto looked in the direction he punched the knight and he couldn't see him. Maybe this was the best moment to flee. He turned around and joined Veronica in their escape.

It seemed like most of the townsfolk had escaped or were reaching the edge of the town. Eto looked up to the sky while running and he could see hundreds of spaceships coming from the surface, trying to escape from the planet in between the big black starships.

'This way,' Veronica said and she ran towards a big green hangar.

Unlike the stone houses, this hangar was made of wood, protected by iron plates.

The front door was partly open and Veronica walked in while Eto was still observing the building.

'What is this place?' he asked and even though Veronica was searching for something, she replied.

‘This is the market hanger. We come here to store our products while we're on the market selling them.' She kept running in between huge crates and some ships that were parked here.

She kept searching while Eto observed all the machines and crates he saw. They were all locked with a panel to enter a code and he was wondering what was inside them. He walked towards a crate to inspect it but Veronica yelled something.

'Ah, here it is,' Veronica said and she dragged a huge cloth from a big machine.

When the cloth was pulled off, Eto could see that the machine was actually a little spaceship.

'Wow,' he said with surprise. He couldn't remember the last time he saw a spaceship. When he quickly thought about it, he couldn’t remember ever seeing a spaceship up this close.

'I knew it was here. One of the pilots of this cargoship told me on the market they would stay a few weeks' Veronica said and she checked if the doors could be opened. She typed a password and the shutter from behind opened.

‘Yes,’ she said with happiness and she walked in.

‘How do you know the password?’ Eto asked puzzled but still he followed her inside.

‘I was asked to place their order of Borner beans from the farm here. It seems they didn’t change the password.’

She looked at Eto who still didn’t quite understand and Veronica tried to calm his mind.

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‘Borner is a peaceful planet to trade and rest. There is a lot of trust between the travelers and people here.’

She moved to the front in the little cargo ship and found her way in the cockpit.

Eto walked around, looking at the inside of the ship with big eyes.

The cargo ship had a little cube shaped cockpit at the front and the back was bigger and also cube shaped. Different boxes were stacked in the back, ready for transport. On the outside, the ship stood on four legs with two by the side and one on the back and one on the front.

'Can you fly this?' Veronica asked. With a big smile Eto shook his head. 'No' but now he wished he could, looking at different buttons in the cockpit. Veronica sighed.

'Well, I think I can give it a try. I flew the local ships with my dad. The only difference should be that this one can go into space.'

Eto's heart made a little jump. Thinking about going into space made him super excited. He noticed how his hands started to shake a little bit.

Outside they heard another explosion and they both looked through the front window into the hangar.

'Could that be the knight?' Eto asked while looking at the door they came through.

'Let's not wait to find out,' Veronica said. 'Get in.'

Inside the cockpit were two chairs in front of the main window, surrounded by buttons and handels. Behind them were two other chairs but besides that there wasn’t that much space.

'Let's see,' Veronica said while sitting on the left chair.

She pushed a few buttons and the system started to power up. Eto saw in her face that she was glad she could get the ship working.

'Alright, then it's this and this one' she mumbled to herself while pushing a few buttons.

The moment she pressed the last button, they could hear the engines on the back of the ship start. Slowly the ship started to tremble due to the engines.

'Alright' she said and she strapped herself in. Eto didn't say a word as he followed her example.

A voice started talking in the cockpit.

'Cargoship 554627 preparing for takeoff, opening hatch now.'

The sound of doors moving came from outside and Eto bended over the button to look out the window.

The roof of the hangar started to open and he soon realized that the ship started to float and began to rise.

The ship moved quicker by the second and it didn’t take long for it to leave the hangar and it was floating in the air. A view of a burning Apul appeared in front of them.

'Hold on' Veronica said when they were hanging above the hanger. She could see the big knight walking the street and making his way to the hangar.

She pushed a stick that was made for steering and soon the ship moved to the front and started to make speed. Eto could feel his body being pressed in the chair.

'Once we get through the atmosphere I can check the stability. I just want to get out of here,' she said with haste and Eto nodded, not wanting to complain.

The town was still burning underneath them but after the ship gained speed, Veronica pulled another stick back to move the ship up, into the dark sky.

She pressed a few buttons, not exactly knowing why they needed to be pressed but the system suggested it.

More ships came from the planet and were moving in different directions. The cargo ship passed the first big ship but it didn't move. They were just hanging there. Both Eto and Veronica looked outside, surprised by their easy pass.

The light of the burning town started to fade behind them and the dark sky in front of them swallowed their view.

The ship began to tremble and a warning sign indicated that the stability and gravity should be turned on. The moment Veronica pressed it, she could feel the ship getting more stable and both she and Eto didn't feel the pressure anymore. Eto moved his arms, checking if he really could move again.

'Aren't your parents going to be worried?' Eto asked, remembering Eugene and Elly. Veronica had a troubled face and realized that she had to inform them.

She searched for the communicator and pressed for the signal of their house. After a while it was answered and her father came up on the screen.

'Veronica, where are you? Are you alright?' he asked and her mum came behind him. They both looked worried, seeing their daughter on a communicator of an unknown ship.

'I'm fine dad but there is trouble.'

Eugene looked at Eto like he wanted to think that he was responsible for that. Eto saw his eyes and he couldn't blame him. Somehow, this was indeed his fault.

'If you return home, we will try to figure something out' but Veronica shook her head.

'I'm sorry dad but I'm not coming back. I'm going to bring Eto to Etoile. We are entering the atmosphere.'

'You are what?' her mother responded, almost knocking Eugene to the side. Veronica tried to ignore the tears she saw appearing in the corners of her mothers eyes.

'Why are you leaving? It's not up to you to bring Eto home.'

Veronica looked at Eto and thought about the knight.

'Generation Zeo came searching for Eto. He is in danger and they are also after me for helping him. Both of us are not safe on the planet. You are not safe if we stay.' Veronica tried really hard to make it sound like this was the best choice while deep down she wanted to return to her parents.

Eugene sighed. 'The soldiers of the council just informed us that they are arriving soon. They will deal with Generation Zero and you guys can return. It would be safe.'

Veronica wanted to believe that and she could feel tiny tears appearing, thinking about leaving her parents behind.

'It will not be safe, dad. For both of us.'

‘Not out there, where the safety of the council can’t help you,’ Eugene yelled.

Veronica looked at Eto, remembering the power he had when he fought against the knight.

'Can you believe me if I tell you that being with Eto is maybe the safest place for me to be?'

She tried to hold her tears, just as her mum tried. Her father didn't respond but he only looked at Eto who looked back at him.

He knew his daughter. He knew she was determined to bring Eto to Etoile. He knew she would not turn around. He said nothing but turned to Eto.

'Take care of her. Take care of our little girl, Eto' he said with a heavy heart.