14: How To Proceed

Back on Earth, Evermore watched as her only son vanished from her sight. Seeing nothing of him as the Dragur punched him...

"Leave her," Hogwood warned. Zac dropped onto the floor and Rocco just stared at the spot where Machi was. And the others watched... as Lady Evermore Harkness lost control. As Machi theorised, one of them needed to rampage almost to defeat this dragur, and damn well Evermore was going to rampage after losing her only child.

She didn't know if he was alive. If he was dead. All she knew was that he wasn't here. In front of her, making snarky remarks or revealing some secret he shouldn't have known. She never regretted anything more than not showing him the love he deserved, realising she should have spent more time with him, and been his mother.

"I guess I have to stop this now." Dawson turned his head and immediately went to attack. Freed was shocked his attack was blocked but it didn't matter, the fight was over.

"Freed is working with the Dragur?" Rocco asked.

"Gerhad let's go!" Freed yelled and the Dragur retreated. But Evermore wouldn't let him go and struck him.

'Shit, she truly is an elemental. Did she just decide to specialise in electromagnetism?' Freed thought. And as the snake he is, he abandoned the Black Dragur grabbed the ship and left Academy City - knowing now 3 elementals were gathered on this tiny tiny rock known as Earth. 'Are the Heavens truly against me?' He chuckled and the others around him never questioned his strange acts.

***

NEWS: Lady Evermore Harkness defeats one of the strongest beings known alone.

"This should be a time to celebrate." People discussed. "Where is Lady Harkness?" Everyone gathered in front of her offices. Watching the doors open, everyone watched and then cheered for Lady Harkness. Unlike her people, who were feeling relief and happiness, she was solemn, dressed in all black, trying to look as put together as possible but she couldn't do it.

"Last week... we faced a massive threat. However, it was defended against by a group..." She looked down at the script and shook her head. "Only one person... isn't here today to celebrate with us." Everyone wondered what she was doing. Advised that she was to keep Machi's incident a secret. "He's the one that... realised what the enemy was after... ensured that we all survived. A-And that was my son..."

Never had the public seen their leader so... broken. So vulnerable. But they realised, many realised that the woman before them was a mother above all else. And no layers, no titles, no strength perceived... could hide her pain of losing a child. The child that made her a mother. A son of her first love and dead husband Rylan. Her only child. This is when Jo took over. Zac just held her as she slowly broke down in his arms.

And no one could judge. No one was allowed to judge. The fight was won, but at what cost?

"Today is the day the three circles will begin to plan and train its citizens to survive and fight. This attack was not random and the enemy behind it... was the same one that killed Rylan Harkness. He's a force to be reckoned with and each of the circles will begin immediate planning to set up countermeasures to his ability. And also against all Dragurs that enter the Southern World."

Dawson just worried. Everyone had their worries and grief, but his worry wasn't just about losing the kid he swore to protect after his best friend's death. If the book was out of existence, then it would reappear. That's what ability books do after all. So... somewhere in that wider galaxies beyond their tiny galaxy...

laid the item that Freed was searching for.

"Mama look!"

Everyone in the small village watched as something fell from the sky, almost like a meteor striking down on them, but it was too small and too already in their atmosphere, when all of a sudden, a being, similar size to them, having tan to light skin and long hazelnut hair, clutching onto a book, fell on top of one of the stalls.

"I'm OK!" He groaned, definitely not okay from the long fall he had. But the ki that he possessed somehow saved him from... death.

The townsfolk gathered around to see the unconscious being. "Mama, what is that thing?" They've never seen a kind like that before. But as the eyes opened, everyone backed away. "Where am I?" He questioned and they were shocked they were able to speak in the same tongue.

Someone examined the book in his hands and gasped. "That's... the book of Boreas! Are you Boreas?" One asked eagerly and he rubbed his head with his free hand.

The boy shook his head. "I'm Machi. Who's Boreas?"

Everyone just looked at the boy and his mind recalled the last thing he remembered. That's when he looked at the beings around him.

"Dragurs..."

They weren't shocked he knew of their kind when a baby one approached him. "I'm Plue. My mama rules this village!!" Machi couldn't help but smile, finding the baby dragur cute - he wasn't judgemental as he thought he'd be - when the ruler approached Machi.

"Plue come back here." She said softly and everyone parted to allow their ruler to come through and examine what arrived at her settlement.

'Carbine I'm dreaming right...?' Machi asked. 'I'm seeing a Black Dragur. Right?'

'Yes.' He confirmed but could feel the shock he was also experiencing.

The lady looked at Machi and saw the fear in his eyes. "You've seen my kind before? I'm not shocked. But you are injured. Come along we need to treat your wounds." She said and Machi really couldn't fight back, he was definitely in pain and it seemed like the situation they - well Machi and the consciously present Carbine - were in wasn't a hostile one.

Machi just followed the Black Dragur and headed into a hut where she grabbed some leaves native to the planet and wrapped them around his wounds. They didn't feel good but it wasn't like he could argue, he was in pain. But, Machi never let go of the book and looked to the Dragur.

"What's your name?" Machi asked as she treated his wounds. 'Do they even have names?' He wondered and she didn't bat an eye and answered. "I'm Jisa." Focusing on the wounds, she found them familiar.

"I see you fought against another one like me. Gerhad."

"I didn't think to ask his name since he was trying to kill me and get this book." Machi bit and she just smiled, which had Machi wondering a few things. But never asked.

"I didn't think so. I'm shocked you survived."

"Believe me, so am I." He sighed solemnly and Jisa just continued treating his wounds. Jisa looked at his face and noticed he wasn't old. Rather young, like a baby in her eyes. "What galaxy do you come from?"

"GALAXY?!"

Everyone heard him yell and they ran in to see Machi rocking back and forth. "I'm doomed. I am never getting home." He cried and Jisa asked them to leave. Seeing his distraught face, she watched as Plue walked in with a strange device.

"Mister you forgot this!"

His game. That's when the images of his weakness ran through his mind. His inability to act when the situation needed it most. And to protect himself.

***

Machi began assimilating well with the Dragur and Jisa was accepting of the human into their village. Discovering that Machi was thrown into the Calecus galaxy, which is on the opposite side of the Milky Way galaxy, he wondered what the way home would be. How galactic travel worked. But he also wondered how Jisa knew of his home. But judging by the look on her face, she looked guilt-ridden and shameful. So he didn't pry. Couldn't really when Plue began messing with his game.

"Dragurs are made not born." She began, "We aim to increase our power to dominate the universe. Gehard and his faction swept over 25 galaxies. The entire dragur force owns 10% of all galaxies." Hearing this shocked Machi. After all... they weren't part of the 10%. "I know. It's shocking to hear that the takeover was unsuccessful. Before I deserted the Dragur empire, I... heard of a mission. A blue dragur landed on a planet and all of a sudden, it died. Not many planets had forces that could defeat a blue dragur so our interest was piqued."

Plue was sitting on Machi's lap and listening too. "We found out that the planet consisted of specialised beings that could use magic. Or we thought it was magic. I don't know. But I heard that the command fleets deemed the planet hard to conquer. I guess things have changed in the years that happened."

Hearing the story, Machi went thinking back about his father. Just thinking about how... he was strong and brave to live through everything he did. How he didn't hesitate to sacrifice himself. "If Gehard has been defeated, then that takeover will never happen without the top elites from all over coming. Specifically, the one who rules all Dragur."

"Freed?"

The name only caused Jisa to tilt her head into confusion. "No his name is Liberatus." Before she knew it, Machi tossed a cup across the room. "It's Latin for Freed. How strong is this commander of yours? Stronger than all the black Dragur you have?"

That's when she chuckled. "Obviously. And there are to my knowledge... 50 of them. All ranked from 1-50."

"And my mama is 3!"

Jisa could only smile at Machi who didn't seem happy or upset by that fact. "So, it's impossible to kill him? Damn, I was hoping to get some good hits in on him. A human rules the Dragur. Now that's some irony."

*

'In my stories, the time skip for the main character doesn't happen until they've achieved something great and they've encountered a distant enemy that they need to train for.'

Carbine just listened to what he was talking about. 'But am I at the stage where I haven't even gained the power to do anything? I have an evil megalomaniac after me and this book for fuck sake. Do I just accept and stay here hoping to get a boost before I decide to make my way home?'