Chapter 16
"I don't like lying to Tanah and the others." Thorn mumbled for the umpteenth time as he sunk further into his seat next to Solar. The latter rolled his eyes.
"I heard you the first five times."
"I'm just saying... maybe it's a bad idea. We should just head straight to the station." Thorn insisted, "We might get karma for lying!"
Solar held back a sigh, "Do you want to help Blaze or not?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then we're doing this. We'll only take a quick look at this planet, and check for a power sphere named RevBot." Solar said typing away on the controls of their space pod, "Once we confirm he's harmless, Blaze would finally have his head in the game and be done with all the future none sense."
"But... what if he's dangerous?"
"Then we contain him and make sure he stays dormant forever."
"That's kind of... harsh."
"Look, if he's one of those power spheres we can't reason with, then it only make sense we keep him asleep." Solar then turned his attention to his watch, "Also, shut down your location channel in your power band. We can't have them figuring out where we're heading. Especially Blaze."
"But the others won't be able to communicate with us if we did that! Don't you think they'll find it even more suspicious and get worried?"
"We lose signal during flight all the time. They won't notice a thing."
Thorn conceded as he did what his brother told him, "I don't know, Solar. I have a really bad feeling about this."
This time, Solar couldn't hold back his sigh. He turned to Thorn and placed a comforting hand to his shoulder, "Trust me on this, okay?"
Wide green eyes looked at him hesitantly, and Solar almost faltered with his decision when Thorn finally nodded.
"Okay. I trust you."
There was a 'beep' from one of the screens and Solar turned back to look, "Good, 'cause we're finally here."
He looked out the window and watched as the planet of different hues of green slowly grew closer.
"Planet Rhadamanthus."
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As soon as Solar had stepped foot on the planet, he couldn't help but feel... a sense of familiarity as he looked around the jungle they were in.
"Woah. Déjà vu." Thorn spoke up as he skipped next to him, "Have we been here before?"
"Of course not. It's probably because all the planets we've been through are always filled with jungles." Solar said as he took out a scanner and pointed it at the trees then at the bushes that surrounded them, "Alright, we're all clear."
"What's that for?"
"It's to make sure that all inanimate objects around us are not monsters in disguise." Solar winced as his boot sunk too deep in the moist ground before continuing on their path, "Don't want us making the same mistake as last time."
"Oh, that's handy."
"And it's also a motion-sensor. Any movement will give out an alarm-"
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!
"Like that?" Thorn asked innocently and Solar was quick to pull him behind a tree when darts suddenly whizzed past his head.
"Eep!" Thorn summoned one of his thick vines in front of them just as an axe hit it with a loud THWACK!
"What the..." Solar was pretty sure this was not a power sphere's doing.
"Give up! You are surrounded!"
The two looked up at the voice that echoed through out the forest floor. Solar hastily raised his hands once he realized who they were dealing with.
"We come in peace! We're just some earthlings searching for something! We don't want to hurt any Rhadamians!"
"Pfft- you sound like an alien who's about to do an invasion."
"Shut up, Thorn. Not. Helping."
He, of course, did his own research about the planet and was aware of those who inhabited it. Though, he was pretty sure they were known to be nocturnal and if his calculations were correct, it was supposed to be late in the afternoon by this hour... and also, the sun was out and everything.
There was a moment of tense silence and he could feel Thorn tugging at his sleeve nervously, "Maybe we should-"
His words were cut short when figures suddenly dropped from the trees around them. Thorn squeaked in surprise and practically hid behind Solar, while the latter looked up at the six-foot creature that now towered above them.
A blue humanoid frog looked back down at them with its eerie protruding eyes. It wore something like a hunter's outfit with one of the handmade axes strapped against its hip and in its webbed hands was an intricately designed blow dart.
Solar was itching to grab their weapon just to get a good look at it but refrained from doing so once the alien before them spoke.
"You need to leave this planet at once." Came the feminine tone of the hunter before the two brothers.
"Look, we don't mean any harm, we're just looking for something-" Solar started only to be interrupted.
"Yes, we've already gathered that much," Another Rhadamian approached them, eyeing the two warily, "Whatever you are looking for must wait at least until nightfall. The day time is dangerous. It may find us."
"What will?" Thorn asked hesitantly.
"The floating orb, bathed in a red glow." The alien hissed as she kept looking around as if expecting it to jump out any time soon
Solar jolted upon hearing this, "Orb?!"
"The orb had hit many of our tribesmen during the day when it hunts." One of the aliens that sat on one of the trees spoke up, "When you become the target, you become rabid and completely mindless. The complete opposite of what we are."
Thorn and Solar exchanged looks.
"I believe... what's been hunting you is what we're looking for."
The surprised and horrified looks they got immediately made Solar explain further, "That orb, is actually a power sphere. It's kind of a super powered robot that we have to retrieve and protect."
"Enemies!" One of aliens next to Solar hissed as she pointed an accusing finger at him, "You dare protect this- this power sphere that had killed our own?!"
"Wait... k-killed?" Thorn shrunk back as their glares then turned to him.
"Wha- that's not possible! The Power Spheres are not capable of killing anyone!" Solar insisted, his own eyes wide in horror.
The alien in front of them put a hand to one of her companions who was about to retort and spoke instead, "As our own kind get turned into these monsters, they would somehow find their way back to our village and attack the defenseless people. No matter what we did. We couldn't get them to remember us."
The one on the tree said darkly, "It was either the people or them."
It was like being poured a bucket of cold water as Solar immediately understood what they meant.
"We realized that this couldn't go on, so we had to either try and capture this orb or chase it away during the day when the village is defenseless."
To have to fight and kill one of their own.
"We tried capturing it but we often end up with more casualties and our previous leader... he... he almost destroyed the entire village-"
"-so we decided it was too risky trying to contain this orb and opted to chasing it away whenever we spot it by using our axes and the booby traps lying around."
It was a familiar story.
"I did come from the future! There's this evil power sphere who transformed you guys into the bad guys and I had to fight you off—"
A story that he had hoped to believe was false.
"Solar?" Thorn tugged at his sleeve once more, trying to get him to snap out of his horrifying realization. Meanwhile, the tribesmen seemed to be looking up at the sky that was now turning to orange, which was not surprising since the day time in that planet was considerably short.
"We can now head back to the bog." One of the aliens spoke up, "The fog there will be thick enough for us to be hidden by the orb and have everyone safe. The villagers will awaken soon."
The leader of the group nodded her head towards her allies and gave Solar and Thorn a wary look, "I do not believe you are evil, earthlings. But your endeavor is not something we wish to support. We will not aid you nor interfere with your search but do heed our warnings."
She put a webbed hand over Solar's shoulder, "Having to fight against your own is not something you wish to experience."
And with that, the frog-like creatures leaped back into the high trees, leaving Thorn and Solar alone in the now darkening jungle.
Everything around them seemed more eerie and the light manipulator grabbed his brother's hand trying to push down the feeling of wrongness and how this was indeed, a bad bad idea.
Thorn yelped in surprise as he started dragging him back to where they came from. He wanted to be out of the planet as fast as he can, but he couldn't use his 'Solar leap' and leave Thorn behind.
He had miscalculated.
"You were right, Thorn."
Where was RevBot now? If the Rhadamians had been nearby, does that mean the power sphere would tend to roam around in this particular area?
"We have to go back to the pod and remake our plan-"
Rustle.
Before he could even say anything a red beam suddenly headed straight for them and Solar quickly pulled his brother to the side.
"Tembakan Solar!" His own light beam hit where the source of the attack was- causing a small explosion. He quickly pushed Thorn.
"Run! NOW!"
"But-!"
He shoved him once more as he looked back and saw the scorched but empty space he had hit. Alarm bells were now ringing in his head as he finds himself thinking back on how Blaze had tried to warn them over and over again...
On how the possibility of time-travel was now, most probably true...
On how he may end up repeating an incident that his brother had been fighting to avoid...
He knew he couldn't fight the power sphere now. And capturing it, completely unprepared, was too risky and difficult that even a group of aliens couldn't do it.
It also seemed to know its way around the jungle and was doing a good job of keeping itself hidden as it attacked them.
This was an obvious disadvantage as Solar and Thorn were trapped in this unfamiliar territory and were vulnerable to its attack at any moment- wait!
His scanner could detect the power sphere!
He quickly stopped on his tracks and let Thorn run ahead of him. He quickly hid behind one of the trees and pointed his gadget behind him towards the bushes.
Please, please, please let this work-
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!
"Gotcha-"
"AAAHH!" Solar swerved to see Thorn suddenly getting caught inside a net that quickly pulled him up into one of the trees branches.
"Thorn!" He yelled in horror when he remembered one of the Rhamadians talking about booby traps earlier, "Solar le-"
"Surrender and join my revolution."
The light manipulator swerved to see the power sphere now perfectly exposed with its red glowing eyes pointing at his vulnerable brother.
...and suddenly he was in a dark, musty cave, surrounded by his other brothers, as well.
They looked different.
They had silver hair and red eyes... all except Blaze who was on the dirty ground before them.
He was desperately clinging to Ying's watch, face filled with fear and determination.
Then Ice, who stood beside him, held RevBot towards their brother and spoke, "RevBot. Do it."
"NO!" Solar screamed, forcing himself back to reality as the power sphere shot out another red beam towards Thorn.
What had he done?
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"You have to calm down!" Fang insisted as Blaze kept pacing behind him, letting out literal steam once in a while.
"Shut up! I'm trying to remember the planet's name!" Blaze growled out, "Focus on manning the ship, Spikey!"
"What did you just call me?!"
"I said-"
The two were interrupted by the door from the cargo area opening, revealing a worried Gempa who was continuously typing on his watch.
"I can't contact them at all."
This only seemed to worsen Blaze's anxiety as he hastily asked, "Did the others find anything from the nerd's notes?!"
"Not yet. But we're almost finished skimming through it." Halilintar was next to enter along with Taufan, Ice and Ochobot, "You have to calm down though, what if you're just overthinking this?"
"You're seriously still doubting me after I showed you proof about the power sphere I was talking about?" Blaze shook his head, "I don't have time for this- Gempa! Do you have a list of all the planets?! I think the planet's name started with an 'R'!"
"Look, maybe it's best we head to HQ instead? Who knows, maybe Solar and Thorn are already there." Taufan tried suggesting only to be glared at by Blaze.
"For once, let me just do this!" Blaze exploded, flames shooting out of his clenched fists in frustration, "I will gladly do anything you want if you would just help me get to RevBot's planet and help me prove that those two idiots didn't head there!"
"Blaze-"
"I just want to make sure they're safe!" He turned to Gempa.
Gempa froze at the intensity of his glare before eventually, relenting, "Alright... I understand, Blaze. As soon as we get the name, we'll use Ochobot's transportation powers to get there."
"What?! Isn't that going overboard-"
"Have you guys ever thought- that what if Blaze was right all along?" They all turned to Fang, who continued stirring the ship, "What if instead of trying to dismiss his thoughts, you actually think of it as a worst-case scenario that can still actually happen? I mean seriously- the guy already showed you hard evidence that was secretly researched by your genius brother. What else do you want?"
Stunned silence followed and Blaze couldn't help but turn to his friend with a mixture of gratitude and a bit of guilt for the name calling earlier.
He then opened his mouth to say something when Ying and Yaya burst through the front deck, the latter waving the paper she held excitedly, "We found the planet's name! It's 'Rhadamanthus'!"
The name immediately struck a familiar chord and Blaze quickly grabbed the paper and passed it to his friend, "That's it! Quick! Fang! Get the coordinates so that Ochobot can transport us there!"
"On it." Fang took the paper handed to him and started typing away on the controls.
"Wait, guys- look!" Ying, who had approached the controls to observe their course, pointed at one of the screens that was flashing red, "It's a recorded message from the emergency pod Solar and Thorn took!"
"Quick! Play it!" Blaze said, the feeling of anxiety rolling in his stomach.
Ying pressed the play button without a second to waste.
"... pod damaged... can't... proper message..."
"What?! Did someone attack them?!" Hali exclaimed looking horrified and angry.
"...it's me, Solar... I... Blaze-"
Blaze jolted at hearing his name. A bad feeling was slowly settling in his guts as he listened to the other's next words.
"I"m sorry... I should've... Listened."
"No..." He muttered, earning him some concerned looks.
"We... went to Rhadamanthus... and... saw RevBot..."
Blaze took in a sharp breath while his brothers turned to him with wide unbelieving eyes.
"...the Rhadamians... tried... to warn us... we... tried to... escape..."
His hands started to tremble and he willed himself not to fall into another panic attack as he forced himself to listen to the next words he hoped he wouldn't hear.
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"Thorn... was hit... he turned... Reverse."
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End Of Chapter