A grave mistake!

Kan'lai narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist in fury.

Even with the power of the elements in him, he had never felt so weak and helpless as he had felt this year.

First, his chief and other important people in their tribe were all taken away by powerful invaders, holding sticks which could kill people and paralyze them over long distances.

They came in floating metal houses, something which he hadn't imagined to be possible.

But oh, how cruel they were!

Kan'lai had lost count of how many people in his tribe and smaller tribes had been killed to satiate the curiosity of the invaders who wanted the knowledge of the elements.

The chief could only hand over himself to prevent a wanton massacre from those cruel people.

Over the months, those invaders had set up a house of steel, ordering and forcing people in the lands to bring them a constant supply of the awakening stones.

Unable to take it anymore, he and others like him had fled their tribes and now lived underground, like rats.

And now, other invaders had arrived, this time much more in number than the previous ones.

Why couldn't they leave their land alone?

Why did they come here to lord over them?

With the powerful tools and floating hunks of steel they had, were they not satisfied?

With the immense physical power they had, why did they have to lust after the power of the elements?

Kan'lai couldn't understand their greed.

But from the day the first invaders had arrived, he knew that they would never have peace.

It was only a matter of time before some invaders decided to wipe them out and forcefully take their planet, their home.

Moving rapidly through the tunnels, he finally arrived in an open but dark cavern.

Stretching out his palm, the rocks of the wall opposite him came tumbling down, revealing a hewn passageway.

Hurriedly, he entered but not before rearranging the wall, restoring it to its' normal state.

'Kan'lai, you bring news?' asked a guard at the end of the passageway.

Kan'lai nodded grimly. 'Yes, brother. But it is not good news. Calamity has befallen us.'

The guard sighed and made way for Kan'lai to exit the passageway, allowing him to arrive at the biggest cavern, easily five times the size of a football field.

Here, countless natives slept, rested and trained.

This was where they had fled to.

Upon his appearance, everyone turned to look at him.

What news did Kan'lai bring today?

Had the invaders left?

With all eyes on him, Kan'lai moved forward, as people made way for him to pass, till he arrived at an elevated rock.

Sitting on it was a young girl, barely sixteen summers old, sitting in a lotus position, her eyes closed.

She was incredibly beautiful, pure as a blossoming flower.

Her raven black hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall.

Kan'lai knelt respectfully and bowed his head.

'My princess, I bring news.'

The girl took a deep breath, creating ripples in the surroundings around her.

She finally opened her eyes, revealing bright blue irises. 'Kan'lai, what news do you bring?'

…

'Who are you?' a soldier asked the native.

No reply.

'What is your name?'

Silence.

'I don't think he knows how to speak Gaian or the Federation language. Do we have any sign language experts here?' asked General Mathers.

The native had finally woken up, looking around in fear as everyone eyed him warily.

Brutus had trapped him in an earthen prison which only revealed the upper parts of his shoulders and above.

One soldier came forward and performed various hand signs but the native looked at him like an idiot.

'I guess sign language doesn't work either,' Denzel said.

The soldier walked back embarrassedly amidst chuckles from his friends.

'If he's here, then it means we have a whole colony of natives living underground. We have to find them,' said Jax.

'More appropriately, we have to find a way to get him to lead us to them,' General Mathers said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Moments later, his eyes brightened. 'I have an idea.'

He turned to Jax. 'How do your trackers work?'

'Micro-sized, painless, hard to notice, and I can sense them in a ten kilometer radius,' Jax replied proudly.

'Very good. They will have to do for now.'

A few minutes later, the native was released from the earthen prison.

Much to his shock, his captors who had been watching him warily, holding those dreadful weapons, decided to let him go and continued taking the awakening stones!

Clearly, he wasn't important in their eyes, something he was thankful for.

He hadn't come this close to death ever since he became a scout!

He had to let everyone know about these invaders and that some could even use the power of the elements!

Looking around him warily, he slowly backed off into a corner, waiting to make sure he was truly unnoticed and ignored.

Quietly, he slipped away, disappearing into the shadows.

General Mathers, who had his back to him, curled up his lips in a smile.

The fish had taken the bait.

…

'More invaders have arrived, princess, and they are as numerous as the sand on the seashore!' exclaimed Kan'lai.

Gasps echoed throughout the entire cave.

More invaders, so many that they were like the sand at the beach?

Their planet was doomed!

'They wear blue and gray armor and carry those dreadful sticks,' Kan'lai shuddered in fear as the blaster rifles appeared in his mind.

'How many have been killed?' the princess asked calmly.

'None that I saw, princess. They only paralyzed them. They have only been attacking the settlements.

They want to probably capture and turn us into their slaves!'

Murmurs of worry and anxiety filled the cavern as everyone began to discuss the consequences of the appearance of these invaders.

The princess instantly became thoughtful

What was the motive of these new invaders?

Unlike the previous invaders who had been interested in the awakening stones, these invaders were only attacking their settlements.

But why?

The princess didn't totally agree with Kan'lai that they wanted to turn them into their slaves.

There had to be a deeper underlying reason behind it.

'Kan'lai, keep on investigating and following these invaders. I want to know what they want from us, and their every move.'

'Yes princess!' Kan'lai kowtowed respectfully.

At that moment, one scout came rushing in, panting and huffing.

His skin was charred and his hair stood on edge as if he had experienced a nasty electric shock.

'Princess! Princess! Important news!' he wheezed, stumbling through the natives in the cavern till he arrived at where the princess was, panting heavily.

Everyone looked at him.

'What is it, Ha'man, and what happened to you?' asked the princess.

'The invaders, they are in the caves! They are transporting thousands of awakening stones away!

Some of the invaders can even use the power of the elements!' Ha'man replied, trying to catch his breath.

All the natives let out gasps of shock and horror.

The new invaders could use the power of the elements?

The princess furrowed her brows.

Was her earlier conjecture wrong?

Were they truly here for the awakening stones?

Kan'lai asked, 'How did you end up in such a state?'

'They captured me, princess, but I was able to escape to bring this important piece of news to you!' Ha'man replied, looking at the princess with adoration.

For the princess, he had been captured by the enemy and managed to escape!

Surely, he would be rewarded for his contribution!

But it was all worth it if he could see the princess' beautiful smile.

For the princess, every torture was worth it!

The princess furrowed her brows. 'How did you escape?'

'They trapped me in an earthen prison and discussed what to do with me in their language. I didn't understand what they said but their leader decided to let me go so they could focus on the awakening stones!'

The princess exchanged glances with Kan'lai worriedly.

'Did anyone notice or follow you?' asked Kan'lai.

'No! With how fast I am, even if they noticed my escape, they can't chase me!' Ha'man replied proudly.

'Did any of them touch you?' asked the princess.

Ha'man furrowed his brows. 'I think so. Before they released me, one rubbed my hair,' he replied after some thought.

Kan'lai walked over to him and raked his fingers through Ha'man's hair thoroughly.

Ha'man frowned. 'What are you doing?'

Kan'lai ignored him.

Seconds later, he pulled out a tiny metal contraption, from underneath his hair, holding it between his thumb and forefinger.

Narrowing his eyes, he crushed it into bits.

'Ha'man, you fool, you've led the invaders here!' the princess sighed.

'What?' Ha'man asked in astonishment.

'Can't you see? They purposely let you escape!'

Ha'man's eyes widened in horror.

He had brought calamity upon the tribe.