Saved by the Mighty Normie

Early the next morning, Kita and Mackie began to talk about a being known as the Dreamer. The Dreamer was held captive by the Anomaly during one of the wars between the Anomaly and the Nexus with their Dragoran Allies. This was Mackie and Kita's mission before they were captured. The only intel they have is that the being is located deep in Anomaly territory inside a subterranean compound.

"They said this being had powers of a god that decimated their forces in a matter of minutes." Mackie commented, enthusiastic about the Dreamer's feat.

"If they were a god, they wouldn't have been caught." Star scoffed, briefly taking over Zini just to interject with something snarky. Contrary to what Caprice's history books said about the Dreamer, what the Nexus about them intrigued Star and Zini.

"That kind of power can help us win this war we're currently losing." Mackie continued in her admiration of this being. She believed they'd be willing to help them if they were freed from their prison.

Upon reaching Destiny, the people were so excited to see the Royal daughters, Mackie and Kita. But none showed as much excitement towards their companions. Especially, Zini who they show clear sigh of detest for. On sighting her purplish brown skin and scales, they quickly concluded it was the Stardust Dragon. This made them maintain their distance from her. While they warmly welcomed their royal girls, they questioned why the Stardust Dragon was in their company.

Mackie and Kita persuade them not to treat Zini harshly. They tried to explain that Zini was on their side. But the people wouldn't believe it.

"Why would the Stardust Dragon have anything to do with us?" one lady thought. "She's not here to help." Zini could hear all their condescending remarks.

The nagging sensation Star felt to silence her doubters almost made her lose it until Glen placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Don't let them rustle ya like that." Glen's calm tone soothed Zini but to Star's dismay. Star really wanted the townspeople to shut up.

"We want them to accept us, not fear us." Zini reasoned with her.

"Whatever!" Star scoffed.

The people simply didn't accept the fact Zini wanted to help for no other reason than out of the kindness of her heart. They, however, kept their reaction in check because they were dealing with the Royal daughters of Queen Miranda. If they saw Zini as a friend, insulting her would be a big no-no. Especially in front of Mackie. She had a reputation of punishing bullies publicly as well as privately.

On arriving at the palace, all except Zini and Maryna were received warmly. The guards at first tried to restrict Maryna until Mackie assured them that Maryna too was a friend. From then on, they left Maryna alone. As for Zini, they just gave her unwelcoming glares when she met them eye to eye. All their thoughts about her were negative. 

Queen Miranda was glad to see her daughters back. The two women gave their narrations, recounted all that they went through, and how Glen along with Zini helped save them. Queen Miranda was impressed by the powers Zini possessed. At first she had a negative view of the Stardust Dragon but after hearing about her heroism, this changed drastically.

"Stardust Dragon?" Queen Miranda scoffed at the name Zini was given by the public and then suggested, "I think the Stardust Girl has a better connotation!" 

Queen Miranda also thanked Glen for striving to save her daughters. Mackie narrated to the Queen how they want to help free the the humans as well as their fellow Nexus being enslaved by the Anomalies. Queen Miranda told them this would be a risky task to undertake without the help of the Dreamer. She narrated how the Dreamer was captured by an Anomaly patrol throughout the war-torn areas. Word had gone round that the Dreamer was imprisoned in a cryo-pod in a subterranean compound. They believed this place to be currently abandoned.

Queen Miranda called one of the guard captains who first found the abandoned lab. She told them to rest at the palace for the next few days before embarking on the journey. They all agreed to this. All through their stay at the palace, Glen did as much as he could to get the attention of Mackie through gifts only to be embarrassed publicly as well as in private. Miranda assured Zini that Glen will finally give up on Mackie and turn his attention to Zini. Zini hoped for that day to come soon but Star was pessimistic. Glen was a human, one of the Normies, as the Anomalies would say. On the fact of her heritage, Glen may not pick interest in her because of what she was. His surface thoughts about Zini suggested she looked better when she had the IE.

Zini thought the IE was the only solution to the matter to make herself blend in more. She asked if it was found in this kingdom. On inquiring from Mackie, she came to confirm that Image Emulators were available but very rare. Mackie assured her she would help get one. With help from one of the palace maids, Mackie was able to get one for Zini. With this, Zini was able to conceal the purple color of her skin, and the scales again. This went a long way to help Zini get over the people's detest over her too. As for Glen, though he didn't say it, mentally he liked the look Zini's IE gave her.

For the next two weeks that they remained in the palace, Zini was almost accepted as a normal human, nobody made jest of her again or saw her as an outcast. She was pleased with this. For years, she longed to be accepted by the humans and treated like family. She had been lonely for a long time and suffered from an inferiority complex. She had no confidence. Here she is now at the palace of Queen Miranda, with her best friend Maryna and her new friends, Glen, Mackie, and Kita. She was treated like a daughter by Queen Miranda. Queen Miranda believed in her, encouraged her and gave her support that Zini lacked even from her own parents. She was indeed feeling at home. The security and care of being at home surrounded Zini.

"Just because you have tech to hide who you are on the outside, doesn't mean some still won't know what you are on the inside." Star's antagonistic voice echoed throughout Zini's mind.

Zini ignored Star's condescending remarks and began to believe that for now, changing her appearance was for the better.

In the afternoon, Zini and the others embarked on the journey into Anomaly patrolled territory. The initial plan was to leave at daybreak, but the delay was someone who came to visit Kita all the way from Dragora.

"Andy!" Kita's eyes lit up upon seeing him. They embraced each other affectionately and kissed.

Who was Andy? His full name is Andrew Rayne II, prince of Dragora, son of Andrew Rayne II, Grandmaster Reign. Andrew's father sat on the council of Dragora as the chief Wiseman. His son was quite the inventor. His first invention was something called the Diamond Power Forge. In this world, Diamond is an element that holds a secret power—one that only skilled engineers could tap into with advanced cybernetic applications. At face value, Diamond is used as currency while others cannot be due to their volatile nature. Miners must exercise extreme caution when digging for them because they don't know whether they'll come across a jewel or a bomb. Andrew II was such a young man with the smarts to crack this code. With DPF, any gadget can display elemental properties. Moreover, the DPF rendered the innate volatile nature of some diamonds inert.

Andrew imbued his staff with DPF tech to give it fire-wielding capabilities. For the Nexus and Dragoran races, DPF transformed their society. DPF was Andrew II's creation, and he was quite proud of it.

Kita was initially a fangirl of his work. Yet they grew to love each other over the years, thus be more than friends. After the war, they planned on getting married. Everyone was happy for them except Mackie.

Star sensed a small sibling resentment coming from her.

"Mackie liked him, but he chose Kita." Zini inferred from Star's handy empathic abilities. "Yet she finds Glen too basic." Zini laughed after using her telepathy to find out why Mackie doesn't like Glen.

"And he finds you too much of a loose cannon." Star sneered. 

"That will change." Zini countered.

"If you say so." Star's tone of disbelief ended with a hopeless sigh.

Kita introduced him to Zini and her fellow Anomaly, Maryna. At first sign of disgust and hatred appeared on the face of Andrew Rayne. He knew the Anomaly people as enemies and never expected Kita to have them for company. But Mackie explained all their encounters with Zini. How Zini, despite being an Anomaly, never hated or mistreated humans. She also further explained to him how Zini's own father degraded her growing up and later banished from the Anomaly kingdom. She met Glen, who later embarked on a journey with her to save Kita and Mackie. After that they saved Maryna, an Anomaly hated for her lack of powers and also because her family was responsible for Caprice's first rebellion. Andy's opinion of both Zini and Maryna changed in that instant. He from then on gave Zini and Maryna equal treatment, welcoming them as his friends too. He spent most of the morning with Kita in her chamber. This of course made Mackie both uncomfortable and jealous. She really loved Andrew, but Kita stole his heart from her.

Andrew stayed behind and waited for Kita in Destiny. Glen and Maryna didn't go on the rescue mission either. They were too much in awe of Andrew's DPF tech and wanted to learn much about it. While Andrew demonstrated the uses of DPF to the two, the other three ladies left for Anomaly controlled territory. Those who went on the mission to rescue the Dreamer with Zini, Mackie, and Kita were a small battalion of Nexus soldiers.