Ruster was holding the picture, looking at it attentively. "Talk about coincidence... This is unbelievable!" he said. He looked at Luke's face that seemed to be day dreaming. "Luke..." He calmly called him.
"They were telling the truth..." Luke slowly whispered right after he snapped back from the flashback he just had.
"The truth?" Ruster asked.
"Tell me, can the Wardoks shapeshift to any human face anytime? Regardless of the age?" Luke asked curiously as he tightly grabbed Ruster from the shoulders. Ruster made a weird facial expression and moved Luke's hands away from his shoulders. The question seemed very strange to him, but he answered anyway. "In theory, yes, but shapeshifting is really hard the second time, so once you take a shape it's better to keep using it."
"I thought so..." Luke said.
"What's the big fuss about? Why are you asking me this?" Ruster as he sat on the bed.
Luke made a long sigh, and then he told Ruster about the time he met with Kei's Grandpa, and the wierd story they joked with him about it. And then he continued telling him about his relationship with Kei.
"They got you good!" Ruster shouted. 'That's my brother... He would've become a great jumper." he sadly said. Luke didn't respond, he wasn't very good at dealing with awkward situations.
"I was told that he was assassinated 2 years ago, but I didn't know the details of it... " Ruster said, "I'm sorry you got framed for my brother's death, Luke... " he sadly added
"Honestly, I didn't care about that back then...I was just sad that I've lost a dear friend." Luke responded, "And I'm sorry for your loss, Ruster..." he added.
"I'd be lying if I said that I don't miss him, but still, I'm very proud of him, he died as an honorable wardok" Ruster shouted with dedication. " I only regret not coming back to him in time..." he sadly added.
"I didn't know he ended up in Japan though..." Ruster said. "The last time when we've separated, we were somewhere in north Africa, specifically in a country called Morocco."
Luke jumped on his bed as well then he laid down. "When did the two of you came to our world?" He asked.
"Exactly 100 years ago." Ruster quickly answered as if he was actually keeping track.
"ONE HUNDRED YEARS!" Luke shouted in shock as he stood, then quickly put his hands on his mouth realizing he was too loud.
"Luke, keep it down, it's too late to be this loud!" Luke's mum shouted from the living room. Luke apologized and then asked Ruster quietly. "100 years! How old are you then?"
"This year I'll be 756 years old" Ruster answered with a wired smirk on his face.
"SEVEN HUNDRED N' FIFTY SIX!" Luke screamed again.
"LUKE DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE!" Luke's mother furiously shouted again, this time even louder them him. "Alright Mum, I'm sorry, this is the last time, I promise..." The obedient son replied. "You should stop surprising me Ruster..." He said. "So you're 756 years old, damn you're an old bag of blue meat!" Luke said hilariously.
"Hey! No, I'm still a teenager in Wardoks time!" Ruster said defensively. "Yeah, I get it, you're just 756'teen years old haha!" Luke said hilariously and started laughing. Ruster held it at first, but then he couldn't resist, the joke was really funny! He busted in tears as well!
"The kids are being loud..." Luke's mother said to her husband. "Aren't you happy about it, honey?" Her husband answered with a warm smile. Luke's mom made a sigh of relief, then said. "You're probably, right, it's been a long time since I've heard Luke laugh this hard..." She smiled.
After exchanging some other jokes and having fun, they both laid down on their beds peacefully. "Ruster, why did you come to our world 100 years ago?" Luke asked.
Ruster was quiet for a while and didn't answer, "Ruster?" Luke called him again.
"Because I was weak..." He answer and covered his head with the pillow. "Weak?" Luke asked.
"All of my brothers and sisters were killed during the Fives' War in our world, I couldn't protect them, I was weak, I only got away with Pumperkei." Ruster said. He stopped talking for a moment, then he said "And now, I failed him too, and, because of me... now he's dead..." with tears on his eyes.
Luke didn't talk back, because he felt that Ruster was in pain, he just kept silent hearing his new friend grief. Deep inside Ruster felt that the death of his brothers was his fault. "If only I was stronger... None of this would've happen." He said while speaking in a crying tone. Luke could hear his weeping under the pillow. He could feel Ruster's pain and sadness.
When Luke felt that Ruster stopped crying and grieved enough, he said. "Ruster, I only saw you fight once, but I really think you're strong!". He turned on his stomach and looked at Ruster who was hiding under the pillow. "I mean the way you beat those guys back then was inexplicably cool, and I want to know more about what you can do!". The he asked. "Ghost, do you think Ruster is weak?"
"Certainly not master Luke!" Ghost answered from within Ruster's body. "I think master Ruster is the bravest warrior I've ever accompanied." he followed.
"Oh, that's great, you agree with me..." Luke answered.
"Affirmative master. He spent the last 100 years training just to steal the stone and save both your worlds. I've never been with a warrior this brave." Ghost added.
Ruster was listening to them buttering him up attentively, until they stopped. He peeked at Luke from underneath the pillow, and said " Why did you guys stopped buttering me..." Then after a quick moment of silence they started laughing again.
But then Ruster got serious again, but now it's wasn't because of the past, but because of what's coming next. Although he doesn't show it, his main concern was destroying the cluster stone, and rebuilding the Wardoks world. "Today was very intense for me... " he said, " I had a plan to destroy the stone, but from what I heard from Captain Loppy, That plan went down the drain..." He continued.
"Who's Loppy again?" Luke awkwardly asked.
"The guy whom you cut the arm..." Ruster said, and finally remembered this important detail. "Oh, yeah! That reminds me, how did you use my armor?!" Ruster asked
Luke rubbed his head and looked at the roof for a moment. "I have no idea!" He shamefully answered. " All I remember was that I tried to wake Ghost up, then I kept hearing that voice calling my name. Suddenly, it happened."
Ruster told Luke that it was very strange, you can't use an armor if you don't fuel it with your Ki energy. "It already hard for an ordinary wardok to use an armor, so it should be the case for humans too." He said. "I think you're very special Luke, somehow, you managed to do it." he followed.
"But I must telling you something..." Ruster intensely said. "You are now a target of Captain Loppy, and he'll surely comeback for you!" he warned him. Luke didn't make any reaction this time, he just asked calmly. " Why? Because I cut his arm?".
"No!" Ruster answered. "Because you saw him! And Wardoks always kill the humans that see them."
Luke made a curious expression, this answer didn't fully satisfy him. so he asked. "But why? What the issue with that? I saw you, why didn't you kill me then?".
Ruster felt stressed from this answer a bit, he couldn't look at Luke directly, so he moved his eyes elsewhere, and he kept quiet. "Answer me" Luke asked again.
"Master..." Ghost spoke unexpectedly. "Don't worry about it Ghost... I got this" Ruster said. He told Luke that the reason for that is the secrecy of their existence, the Wardoks take this matter very seriously, and it is the only thing they agree upon. "Loopy's pride won't let him overlook this, he will comeback for you, even if no word about this spread, he won't accept it, he's just too prideful."
Luke seemed to be convinced by now, and although Ruster explain the trouble he's in, he remained calm anyway. "I see..." he said.
Ruster thought that Luke may be more worried, but that wasn't the case. "I admire your courage Luke, but I don't think you fully grasped the danger of the situation!" Ruster announced worryingly. Luke made a quick shoulder shrug and said. "I have more important stuff to worry about, like the invasion you told me about... What should we do regarding that?"
Ruster's eyes lit up for a moment, he felt immense respect towards Luke because he was more concerned about the humans more than himself, and that was sometimes Ruster looked up the most. So he made a little smile of excitement and pridefully stood up, he joined his hands in in admiration and told Luke from the bottom of his heart. "I am really grateful to anyone or anything that made our meeting possible! O'kla Mo Centuri my friendo". Ruster looked at Luke who didn't know what all this commotion was about, then explained. "It means thank you very much in my language."
"You're welcome..." Luke answered confusedly while looking at Ruster who was still holding his palms joined and now bent down a little out of utter respect.
Luke didn't like the formalities very much, he was more a friendly kind of person, so he quickly wanted Ruster to move on so he asked. "Seriously, what are we going to do about the invasion."
Ruster stood straight up as his eyes glowed with fire within his soul, he made a large smile and clenched his fist in front of Luke, and shouted. "I'm gonna fucking stop it!"
Luke had to match his enthusiasm, so he stood up as well, clenched his fist tight, and pushed it against Ruster's fist, then he announced. "We're gonna fucking stop it!"
As they kept looking at each others eyes filled with dedication, they weren't aware of what they just made. From two races bound to fight for eternity, Luke and Ruster just made the impossible happened, and gave birth to the first ever Human-Wardok alliance in thousands of years!
It was getting very late, so our two friends went to bed because chatting doesn't have a stop, they agreed to discuss the details of how to save the human world in the morning.
"Luke, one more thing before we sleep..." Ruster said. "What do you need, Ruster?" Luke answered.
"You didn't tell me how did you get out of being accused for my brother's death?" Ruster asked
"Oh, about that..." Luke explained that when he was on trial, everything was against him, the video, the circumstances, the students... everything. However, at the last moment, a police inspector came as a witness and provided some classified information to the judge and the jury, that turned thing out. We don't know what he said, or what he brought out. But it turned out well for him.
"That inspector's name was, Johnathan Willow!"
###########
Back in the junkyard, the police and the press where roaming the place, lights and cars everywhere.
"What are those things...?" A police officer asked his colleague, they were looking and Squala and Caditz bodies being moved but the equipped personnel.
"I have no idea... but you know what scares me the most....?" The other police officer asked. "What?" The first one curiously asked again.
"Whatever killed these aliens, is still out there...." He worryingly said, making his other colleague swallow his saliva from the fear of that thought.
behind these two officers a young man in his late twenties walked by, he was a tall man, with black hair combed to side, he looked firm with a steady posture, and his cloak move while his was walking with great prestige. "I need all your reports on the scene officer!" He shouter.
A young officer came running to him and saluted him. "Inspector Willow, We've reach the owner of the yard Sir, he currently being interrogated by Officer Ymaguchi. in the mean time, I checked the reception for video tapes from all of the camera, all of the electronics are defective and non functional Sir." he reported.
"Thank you officer, any other news from your colleagues?" Inspector Willow asked.
an other office came running towards him, he was holding a plastic bag on his hand. "Sir, this is the only thing we've found that seemed out of the ordinary... It looks like a weird hat Inspector." He reported as well.
"A hat?" Inspector Willow asked as he grabbed the bag from his hand.
He checked the hat very carefully, then tried to read the name on the inside label. It brought out his flashlight, and pointed it at the text on the label. The he could clearly read "Property of Luke Jones."
The inspector felt that he heard that name before, then he remembered the boy whom he went to his trial for murder. "Luke Jones... I remember now... looks like there is more in that kid that meets the eye!"
Hey all,
First of all, sorry for the long wait, I know I stopped writing, and that's bad.
But now I'm back, with full dedication and motivation to continue this work.
I'll make a posting plan and share all the details of the posting pattern I'll be following. I'll post this with the next chapter.
I hope you'll enjoy reading my story The Curse Of Wardoks as much as I enjoy writing it for you.
Thank you all! and enjoy.