Domel Arcturus

We landed somewhere outside Arkari on a coordinate dad gave us. I immediately walked out of the ship and met with dad, whose small team was already prepared to get into the colony and secure it from pirates. We already prepared ourselves on our ship.

Seeing that we were already prepared, dad nodded and said, "Any questions before we continue?"

"Just one," said Zarya. "Aren't we a little short?"

"The team's not intended to secure the colony," said dad. "I told Xilna's fleet to help us secure it. Our job is to find the Trikelian responsible for all this and extract Areil and Timetis. They were in Arkari when they lost contact with Lekan. They wanted to go check, but all outgoing ships were destroyed or otherwise disabled. I happened to get their frequency on my Pathfinder when we reached the planet's orbit."

In case you forgot, Areil was the one who assisted Sel in extracting George and Zarya to safety. George was unconscious, so he might not know who that was, but Zarya knew. When dad said Areil's name, she walked to dad and said, "I know Arkari like the back of my wing. We can get in and stay out of the pirate's sight. Do you know where they are?"

Dad gave her the coordinates. She inputted the coordinate in her own Pathfinder, but after seeing it, she put it away.

"It seems you know where they are," said dad.

"I grew up in Arkari," she said. "I know the colony like the back of my wing. But, in this case, they are in my home."

"What a coincidence," said dad.

"Not if you happen to leave your Pathfinder device behind," I said. While my Pathfinder was still working despite its (extended) age, it was damaged during our escape from Aurelis Three. I left it in the house before we departed to Lekan for our briefing on Ijuri.

Dad nodded, "Alright," he said. "Then lead the way."

"We'll need to find the other Saukaurs, too," said Astha. "I hope they know where to hide or stay out of trouble, but we still need to find them."

"I'll go with you," said Sel. "Having a Vyrnian will just make things harder given their size."

"Me too," said Kilkaja.

"No, you don't," said Sel. "Go with the others. "We'll be..."

"I want to help," said Kilkaja. "My empathic sense can help you find them. I can't just sit back knowing that people are hurt out there."

In any case, both Astha and Sel might want to argue with Kilkaja to try and keep him safe. We did, too. However, for some reason, I was compelled by his desire to help. Everyone did not want to argue about it, and even Astha and Sel understood what Kilkaja wanted.

"Alright," said Sel with a sigh. "But stay close. Your job is to use your psychic barrier to shield us from harm. Understood?"

Kilkaja smiled and nodded.

"Good luck," I said to them.

"You too, Domel," said Sel as we split up.

We followed Zarya into several alleyways and climbed some buildings. We had no luck traveling on ground level due to the pirates, but we could stay out of sight if we stayed on the roof and resorted to using what Vyrnians do best: gliding. George rode on my back as we glided from roof to roof. Even so, we got detected anyway since we were twice the size of most aliens.

However, we were still on the upper hand. The only way for them to fight us properly was to either climb the building or use a flying vehicle, which they did not have. Not only that, we had a strategic position on the roof. Not many of the pirates were on the flat roofs and we managed to dispatch those taking position up there. The buildings on Arkari were made for Vyrnians, so it made sense for them to be higher than most other buildings. It's almost like the plan for the city of dragons on Earth, where the Order's headquarter was located. I think the name was Qeveriyt or something.

We quickly found ourselves near the healing center and Zarya's house. Many Vyrnian bodies were strewn across the roads and those who were alive ran past us. We were then surrounded by pirates, who clearly wanted to kill us. They were only Orians, of course, and that made things easier. I simply needed to use my electric energy conversion and zapped all of them. I controlled my energy release so it was not fatal.

But the Orian pirates were not the only ones accosting us. The others started to actively engage the pirates along with me, and sure enough, we were outnumbered. I knew fighting these pirates were useless, so we quickly made a defensive formation as we slowly retreated into Zarya's home. Areil and Timetis were already by her porch, but they could not access the home, even through the supposedly 'open' balcony (she used a force field to prevent home invasion). Zarya quickly put her hand on the door. It slid open and they quickly got inside.

I covered the rest of them as we moved in. Zarya managed to turn on her perimeter force field just as our backs bumped the door. I quickly opened the door and got in.

"By Amarta's Grace, am I glad to see you," said Timetis as he looked at me and dad.

"What happened, Tim?" asked dad.

"The pirates attacked us and we were forced to hide," said Areil. "We lost contact with Lekan just as they attacked this colony. Good thing we got the signal of Arcturus's Pathfinder. It's in here, but...well, it's locked."

"At least you two are safe," said dad. "And now...we must get to Lekan and see what happened there."

Before we could do that, however, we realized that there was something that we needed to deal with: the Trikelian that escaped Orlonel. The worst case scenario was that it attacked Lekan first, then Arkari, but the creature who inhabited me had a different idea after reading my mind.

"Oh, but your tentacle monster's in this colony," said the creature. "It's still here, and it has taken over someone you know."

"Someone I...what the hell do you mean?" I said.

"Oh, you'll see. You'll find the answer in the square."

I was rather suspicious of this otherworldly dragon creature, but then, I was curious. Why was it helping me? It had not even say anything about its involvement with the Trikelians. And who was this person I knew? Was it someone from Lekan?

"Your will's what drive me," it said. "With my power severely limited, all you have to do is command me."

"What if I command you to die?" I said, testing it.

It chuckled. "I can still see the future, you know. You might've did just that in several realities. I'll just tell you that even I can't kill myself. My reality's completely different than yours."

"So, you're telling me you're already dead?"

"The concept of death is foreign to us," it said. "Whatever knowledge we have is far too much for you to handle. Challenge me, and you might end up living the rest of your existence broken."

"Is that one of the futures you're talking about?" I said, subtly challenging him.

"Maybe. Oh, and you might want to hurry. that Vyrnian already knows about your actions. A cornered animal is the most dangerous of them all."

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That wasn't an exaggeration, and we would know about it when we got to the square.

I told the others about the Trikelian's location and what it had done. While Areil and Timetis did not understand how I got that information, the rest who were with me on Ijuri knew and understood.

"But, who's the one we know?" asked dad.

I knew whoever it was, it would be devastating for dad and his allies. It was clear from what the creature said that the someone we knew was not from our group or even a Vyrnian from Arkari, knowing that it would specifically consider Zarya.

Thus, we decided to face the truth, and went to the square as directed by Zarya. We fend off many pirates along the way while preparing for what's expecting us in the Square.

As I suspected, it was one of the Vyrnians from Lekan. Even worse, I knew her. She was Artemis, the same Vyrnian who helped with the distraction during our fight to take back the Lekan base from the Nuoevans. Both Areil and Timetis saw her and was surprised, and quickly becoming worried for the rest of the Vyrnians on Lekan that were still unaccounted for. When I found her, she seemed to be standing there, apparently waiting for anyone. I hoped we were not too late, but at that time, I had no idea how to fight the Trikelians.

Dad walked closer and closer to Artem and said, "Artem, we need to talk."

"Yes, we do, general," she said. Her expression was blank. "Yes, we do."

"First, I need to know. Why Artem? Don't try to dodge the question, Trikelian. I know it's you."

She did not answer, so dad walked up to her and said, "Is it that hard to follow? You already showed your hands, so it's no use trying to dodge it. Tell me why. The people of Arkari are peaceful Vyrnians. I know your only purpose is to make us Vyrnian suffer. Was it revenge for our sealing? Or was it simply out of malice? Tell me. Now."

"Because Vyrnians are the only compatible lifeform," said the Trikelian with Artem's voice. "The only one we've made compatible out of the other races in this galaxy."

"We?"

"The Vyrnian you know is no more," she said. "And you're mistaken. This is not revenge. It's part of the plan to free our leader. Ijuri is part of that plan, as we knew how important your son is, even more than you've ever known."

"My son? Arcturus has nothing to do with the planet or your plan. He's simply a victim."

"Ah...but he isn't just any victim," said the Trikelian. "The black site on Ijuri was made solely to study the crack of space and time to an unknown dimension where our leader is. But, despite of knowing how to access the crack, we need to modify the genetic pattern of potential candidates so they will survive the other dimension."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We have made countless experiments in several galaxies in this universe, but your galaxy has the right parameters for a perfect experiment. We did experiments to all the races, but most of them ended up in failure and twisted their lives forever. We tried to give the Felinians an ability to control time, but it resulted with them adapting to it and use it to extend their lives eight more times. We gave the Nuoevans psychic abilities, but one small mistake led to an entire race using it in expense of other's suffering. But all of those did not give us the answers we seek, all because of their incompatible, primitive minds, and their selfish desires."

"Are you telling me that you're responsible for all that? I want to just call you a sick bastard, but I guess you're already a monster to begin with."

"Insult me all you want. You are already one million years too late," said the Trikelian with a chuckle. "We were responsible for your evolution into an energy converting vessel capable of great things, well beyond the capabilities of those primitive creatures. We made you the perfect hosts for us to return to the cracks. All is perfect, until you came along, Domel Andrates."

I turned to dad, who simply said, "I am the reason your plan went awry, isn't it? Because I found out about your involvement with the cult."

"You knew the Vyrnian Empire was compromised, and with a group of influential Vyrnians of your time, plotted for our downfall. But, even with all that effort, your are still a fool. Do you even consider that we anticipated you? Thus, we hastened our plans by framing your son to get him out of the planet. Our little thorn, however, came from the President of the Empire and his Exodus Protocol to seal the planet. Many of us did not expect this. If it wasn't for him, we would've taken over the remains of the Vyrnian Empire and hastened our research to free our leader."

"Which clearly makes you the desperate one for taking over this colony," said dad.

"The Vyrnians of this colony will make such a good host. The Trikelians will rise, Domel Andrates, and you will lose. We will free our leader from his dimensional prison, and we will be victorious. We will make sure you suffer as we make sure your son would never be free and lost himself. It is our greatest revenge on the one who thwarted our plan!"

You know, I shuddered when that Trikelian declared that I would be tortured in front of my dad. While I knew dad would suffer from it, I knew I would be helpless to resist, and I would no longer be myself. However, dad was already angry by this Trikelian's declaration. He finally decided that this annoying Trikelian had said enough. He pulled out the Draconis and powered it up with his fire-based conversion. However, the Trikelian laughed.

"Domel Andrates, the fool who lived," it said. "You've been humiliated and put in your place. But, I know a Vyrnian's feelings well, general. I know this Vyrnian matters a lot to you. Do you really want to kill her to shut me up."

"Gloat all you want, Trikelian," said dad. "If you're not a coward, fight. Otherwise, I'll kill you and Artem."

"So, you've decided, then?" said the Trikelian. "However..."

Without any warning, it dashed towards dad. He was ready to intercept it, but it stopped in front of him and quickly twisted its body. Artem's tail whipped dad's unprotected side and he was thrown aside. The whip was strong enough to throw dad aside, and judging by his reaction, I knew it was a strong attack. However, it also broke Artem's tail.

"I can boost her muscles to exceed her limit. You may have decided to kill her, but for me, she's nothing more than a body I can replace. In fact, a dead Vyrnian is much easier to control than a live one."

The fact that it used Artem's body and damaging it made me angry. However, you could not underestimate a Trikelian with a sadistic personality such as this one. I had a feeling that Artem was still alive in there and we needed to try and take the Trikelian's control away from her.

I knew this fight was no longer an honorable fight, so I jumped the Trikelian-controlled Artemis from behind and let out a strong burst of electricity. The Trikelian, however, anticipated this and, without even turning Artem's head, elbowed me with such force that it broke several of my ribs and threw me away.

While I was dazed, the creature inhabiting me appeared in front of me as dad and the Trikelian fought each other. I wondered why it showed itself, until it talked.

"So, you want to save her," said the creature. "Do you know how?"

"I don't," I said. "But electricity might work."

"Oh, yes, it might," it said. "But be cautious. You might end up killing the poor Vyrnian."

"Then, any suggestions? Because I really need it right now."

"You got the right idea, but you need a little...help. That Trikelian seems to annoy and anger you, so why not give it a piece of your mind."

Not sure what the creature was talking about, I simply asked what's the plan. It gave me a cryptic response.

"You'll know after you got her again. This time, let me do my job."

I did not understand what it was trying to do, but for some reason, I trusted it. I knew what it was doing and seemed to be sure about it. Thus, after recovering, I started a counterattack. After it dodged dad's attack, I quickly made a tail sweep to make it lose its balance. Then, after I finished the sweep, I quickly used the momentum of the sweep to kick Artem's body hard enough to send her flying. It wasn't as hard as the one it did since I could not break my bones, but it was enough for me to rush her and pinned her body to the ground. I knew this would not work that well since the Trikelian could forcibly boost her body. However, this was the only chance the creature had.

"Whatever you do, do it now!" I shouted.

The creature then showed itself. The Trikelian saw the creature, too, and it suddenly showed anger, expressed with Artem's face.

"You!" it exclaimed. "The bane of our leader!"

"Oh yes, I am!" said the creature. "And this is a hello from the dragons of Ossogoth, you insufferable piece of shit!"

I was so close to the creature that I realized what it was doing, and let me tell you something. That was the moment where I was on the verge of losing my mind.

The creature let out a psychedelic imagery that made me think that I accidentally ate one of those drugs. However, it soon became worse and worse to the point I looked away. It did not leave my mind, even after I closed my eyes. I could not even describe it. However, it was not as intense as what the Trikelian was experiencing, for I could hear it shriek, first using Artem's voice, then using its own voice.

"If you are still sane and can hear me," said the creature's voice. "End it with your electric touch. Give it a good shock."

I was concerned about Artem's body, but I did it anyway. I sent a strong burst of electricity that went through Artem's whole body and got to the Trikelian, effectively severing its control over Artemis. I opened my eyes and saw it tried to get away, but before it could recover, dad quickly stabbed its eyes with the Draconis. It made a pained shriek while flailing around, but in the end, it finally expired. Its body quickly turned to dust.

I sighed in relief before I heard a cough under me. I looked down and saw Artem, who looked up and said, "Arcturus...you almost killed me."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I said. "It's...kinda necessary..."

Then, unexpectedly, she punched me. I kind of deserved that since, well, I electrocuted her. That turned out to be the last of her remaining energy. The trauma of being under a Trikelian control and the electric shock I gave her finally caught up one her, and she became limp.

The light banter quickly turned to panic. I thought the shock was too strong. A Burst could kill a Vyrnian if the bottled up energy was enough. However, as dad ran to me and checked on her, he said, "She's still breathing."

I sighed as I said, "Thank Amarta."

"That's one hell of a gambit there, son," said dad. "You could've killed her."

"I admit, I lost control. I didn't know I bottled that much energy in me."

"But I'm partly at fault, too," he said. "I could've used the easier way out, but you risked freeing her from the Trikelian's clutches. Thanks, son."

Yeah. This could go both ways. My relationship with the rest of dad's group would be damaged if I ended up accidentally killing her while trying to save her. Dad could also potentially caused that damage, too, if they knew he was really going to kill Artem to save her.

But, in the end, we won, and that's what's important.