Joshua woke up to his hair being played with, and a woman giggled as her face felt familiar. His vision became blurry once he saw her blonde hair flowing down her shoulders, her slightly tanned skin, and her green eyes with freckles covering her. Joshua’s hair fell over him as his own green eyes grabbed to get used to the light, though once he gained his vision, he only realized it was a worker, her face filled to the brim with white makeup.

Joshua looked disappointed as he shooed her away with his hand, much to her dismay. Joshua pulled himself up but to the reaction of a harsh pain in his rib. Shirtless, he could see his injury, and while the swelling was slowly fading away, he could not help but react to the sharp pains that attacked his body.

Standing up from the mat on the floor, he looked at the wooden walls around him, reminding him of the architecture of the past. The walls were soft and easily penetrable, made up of some tarp material. This place seemed a lot more conservative than the marble-created city of Caldera, but his examination came to a close once Miss Zulu entered the room.

"Well, Joshua, how was your night's rest?” She asked sincerely.

Joshua had seen her without makeup before; her pale skin, black hair, and piercing eyes were obviously like none he had ever seen before, but they were also intimidating.

"It was fine; I'm still thinking about the plan once I leave.” He fumbled on his next few words: “Until then, I need information."

"Information you will get soon. If we take a walk in the garden outside, I can explain anything. Trust me, nobody will recognize us.” She pushed.

"How do you even do all this work here, leader of one of the sections under the police department?" Joshua asked, curious about her answer.

"Blending in has always been a habit of mine, and I share that with no power, I had to use some underlying ways to get what I wanted, but now that I am at the pinnacle of my career for an ordinary village girl like me, taking risks is still not out of the ordinary. Especially as a reptile," she replied slowly.

She turned around and walked outside the room, clenching Joshua’s hand and dragging him out of the room. Before he could contest, one of the ladies in a floral dress threw a shirt at him while giggling.

–

Miss Zulu and Joshua walked outside, and the blossoming pink blood tree’s leaves fell gracefully to the floor. The leaves fell and graced slowly on Joshua’s head as they walked around the gated pathway by the side of the complex.

It was noon at the moment, and the streets were not very crowded. Many had just woken up during the day, and wooden and silk monuments towered over others, giving off a vintage style of an unknown culture.

"Do you know what beauty is, Joshua?” Miss Zulu asked.

"I don't know; it looks good, I guess,” Joshua responded.

Miss Zulu cracked the pink leaf in her hand as she restrained herself.

"Well yes, that is what I thought, but as I built this district for fun and for people to enjoy, a multitude of crimes happened here, and I was strict. I destroyed the beautiful nature that this district held. The customs and culture could never be broken and could always be rebuilt. It’s not the woman, not the rich men who flaunt their money; it’s the ideals one holds.” Miss Zulu explained.

Joshua paused for a moment, confused about her answer.

"So all this crime, prostitution, adult theater, trafficking—it's just the ideal’s on hold, and that’s why you let the cesspool of crime get so bad here.”

Miss Zulu smiled. “Holding one’s true nature or true goals back never does any good; I am creating a city of dreamers where freedom cannot be pummeled into the ground by authority; my position means nothing but to command, and I only command the freedom for others.”

Joshua kept himself paused in space, thinking about her words and the events that led the two to meet each other.

"It's weird how our events turned out. A woman like you knows who I am and saving me doesn't make me believe in that ideology; no, in fact, this whole situation feels weird. A secret Reptilian who is also a commander is coming to help somebody who's supposed to be a sworn enemy, even on both sides''

He thought it was only by chance that she came to the forest where he was resting; close to death, he was about to pull the Trump card out, but she had stopped him from doing so, and somehow she was the section 6 leader.

"You didn’t meet me by chance in the forest, didn't you?” Joshua questioned.

Miss Zulu smiled; her sharp teeth popped out as she wrapped her tongue around it.

"Yes, it wasn’t, but I was not scared; I did it out of my own will. It proves the essence of freedom, Joshua; freedom saves people, and it can save you. Freedom is needed for my people also."

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"But too much freedom can also cause problems.”

Miss Zulu snarled at that statement; her face was pushed to become more distorted and ugly than it was. Only then could Joshua see all her flaws.

"No, that is only what you think; anything that helps the law of freedom is not a problem; only in the controlled mind is it."But maybe you don't desire freedom, Joshua, so what do you desire? That desire must mean something, even if you had to kill everyone you knew.” She pointed her finger at his chest. Joshua wanted to restrain himself, but he no longer could; a woman like her was not in the right mind.

Joshua grabbed her by her collar and lifted her, the other woman paying no attention as the pink leaves swooped and swiveled over their faces.

"My desire is nothing; you may have helped me, but you must refrain from pushing boundaries you should not cross."

Joshua dropped Miss Zulu and walked away, grabbing the sharp pains in his ribs. Miss Zulu only smiled as he turned his back away.

"It is alright, Joshua; life will give you these twists and turns, but remember, you are hindering yourself from what is of the utmost importance.

—

Madam Bourget and Lieutenant C sat with each other over the desks. Lieutenant C gulped as he waited patiently for Madam Bourget's next words. Her eyes were glaring at him like a beast.

"I don’t blame you anymore; it was in the heat of the moment.” Madam Bourget explained, breaking the silence. "But you hold too little information, so maybe it is time for me to give you the information needed and the reason his capture is so important.”

"Was it because of him murdering the entire Jom-Suttur clan?"

"No, actually, that would technically be a favor for us. The Kingship and Suttur families have gotten increasingly more reckless and have been putting the edges of the Inter-Galactic Democratic Republic in danger. This cycle of recklessness has been going on for thousands of years, and their King, Barov Suttur, has taken many chances to express his dislike for us. In maybe a few hundred years, one of our sides will be annihilated.” Madam Bourget explained that her face kept being serious.

"Then, why don’t we attack first, especially with one of their clans gone? They control many planets by us, and it would not be that hard to just get rid of them.” Lieutenant C argued.

Madam Bourget looked in silence, her lips puckering. She ruffled in her pockets as she laid down in her chair deeper.

"The Golden Knights, that’s why.” Madam Bourget silently said.

"Who are they?" the question arose.

"The 30 greatest fighters in the galaxy, trained from birth, holding the strongest armor and weapons the galaxy has ever seen, King Barov has had collections from eons ago, and he has created 30 people whose sole purpose is to offer themselves towards the empire. It doesn’t help that at least three of the holy weapons are held by the Big 10."

Lieutenant C’s jaw fell to the floor.

"Wait, you mean?" Lieutenant C asked surprisingly.

"Yes, three of the strongest artifacts in the world are in their position; it used to be four.”

"How so.”

"Now that is where Joshua comes in; the Jom-Suttur clan has a tradition of passing down one of the holy weapons to one of the prodigies of their clan.” Madam Bourget bit her lip, looking at Lieutenant C up and down.

"But since they’re gone, that means..."

"Yes, Joshua, or Franz Ferdinard Jom-Suttur, holds one of the holy weapons, and its retrieval is of the utmost importance because if we do, we can turn the tide from their side to our side in one fell swoop."

Lieutenant C tapped his fingers as he was in thought, and Madam Bourget stood up, closing the window to the outside world. Making them the only two that were visible. She put her finger on his chest and came closer to him, smiling.

Lieutenant C did not know what she was doing as she grabbed his tie, pulling on it.

"I suggest you do not move.” She licked her lips.

Lieutenant C gulped as he picked up his hands. Both of their faces got close to each other, but Lieutenant C hesitated. She was beautiful, yet this didn't feel right. Why now, why ever? The emergency beeping alarm sounded, and the two looked as it beeped. Madam Bourget cursed and scowled, and Lieutenant C sighed in relief.

Madam Bourget went to the beeper and pulled it to her ear, and a message came out. One where she could only hear.

"It seems Section 6 was under attack.”

"Joshua."Lieutenant C seethed.

–

Madam Bourget and Lieutenant C’s vehicle floated into the premise; ongoing lookers murmured about the unfamiliar technology in front of them; some looked, loathing the police forces that had just arrived.

Madam Bourget and Lieutenant C went through the virtual electrical ropes using their identification badges.

"Who's the lead here? I am Madam Bourget, Section 7 commander, and I demand to see the lead.” Madam Bourget ordered.

One of the men looked up hurriedly, fear in his eyes. Madam Bourget glared at him, ready to grab him, when suddenly someone huffed a cigarette towards her.

"Hello, Madam Bourget, I’m the lead here.” The man said energetically that he had slicked-back black hair and a sharp jawline, with a light stubble across his beard, but noticeably he had very thick sunglasses.

"What is your name?” She ordered.

"Second, in Command Prime, me and Miss Zulu help work to make this division a better place.”

"Well, it doesn't look like it.” Madam Bourget scoffed, looking at the place around her.

"Yes, but in Miss Zulu’s eyes, it is a beauty, and it is very much a sight to behold, isn't it? We may have a few conflicting views, but I am not angry about my position.” Prime forebode.

"Well, Mr. Prime, tell me what happened here.” Madam Bourget commanded once more.

"Alright, fine, but you have to promise to take me out later,” Prime smirked.

"You're lucky I don't shove your head up your ass.” Madam Bourget was angered.

Lieutenant C made a swaying motion on his neck towards Prime as he sighed in defeat.

"Fine, it was a four-way fight; from what I hear, everybody went rouge.”

"Between who?”

"Miss Zulu, Commander Zi of the third section, Intergalactic Criminal Franz Ferdinard Jom Suttur, and reptiles of the revolution.”

Madam Bourget stood in shock.

"Who died?” She asked silently.

Prime smiled before revealing what had just happened.