• • Sunset: Heroes of the Milky Way
• June 22, 2025

Sunset: Heroes of the Milky Way (Chapter 21)

Clayton Knight

Stealth, One More Time

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I’ve been trying to figure out Alloya’s plan for ‘revolution,’ for a while now. First, she has Hideo and I go make sure the Waverites butt out, but wouldn’t we want them on our side? She tells me that the Watree need to fight for themselves, another group of people can’t fight their battles for them. I don’t know how to get the Watree to fight for themselves, and for some reason she now thinks this Rom can. That’s why Alloya, Hideo, and I are walking through the caves underneath Ramone, where Rom is apparently preparing for the Ruleden Tourney.

As we walk through the caves underneath Ramone, I turn to Hideo to ask him a question. “I realize that we can see in the dark because, well, we’re us, but how the hell do the Watree?”

With open gesture of his palm, “Well, this really is simple biology. They probably evolved after spending thousands of years down here.”

“But then wouldn’t the Watree have become a different species by now?” I’m guessing here, my biology is rather lacking.     

Hideo begins to rub his chin. “That’s a good point, though I would think that a species would need more than just better eyes to become a new species.”

Alloya suddenly stops in front of us. She takes down the hood of her cloak as she looks down at us to whisper, but the kind of whispering that everyone can hear, “Can you two be quiet?! We’re trying to move around with as few people knowing we’re here!”

In unison Hideo and I look between each other and say, “Sorry.”

Alloya shakes her head as she puts her hood back on and turns back around. “I swear, it’s like whenever this team has down time we go off on ridiculous tangents.”

“Hey, we’re a curious bunch. ” 

“Ugh,” Alloya groans, “only a little further to Agro-Ramone.”

I don’t recognize the first half of that name. “Is that how they name the underground towns? They just add Agro to surface city?”

“Probably.” 

It makes me wonder how the Watree towns and cities that aren’t under a Riverti city. There’s gotta be a lot. I turn to ask Hideo— 

Without turning around, “Don’t even,” Alloya suddenly warns.

“Ugh.” 

Alloya’s been on edge since we dropped off the Shatter Drive. The stress seems to be getting to her. Back on the Noland, before our break-up — if it can be called that — she told me about how she convinced Commander Starden to help her. Alloya had to pitch to him the change of Rivertan society.

Yeah, lofty goals there, but apparently he agreed to it. 

Now I think she has a deadline of the Tourney, putting immense pressure on herself to fix a society in a week.

That’s insane.

I’d normally try and talk her out of those kind of ideas, but I don’t know if I’m really ready for that, or if she is again. Usually talking things out between us ended with our mouths locked.

“We’re coming up on the town,” Alloya warns us, “Hideo, you said there would be rooftops?” 

He whistles and informs us, “Indeed, just like the buildings in the that other town Terra’rork and I went to.” 

“You forgot the town’s name didn’t you?” I ask him with an arch of my brow.

“There were more important things to notice, believe it or not.”

I start to see the dim lights of street lamps ahead. I guess the Riverti are at least take care of that. Can’t have their slaves getting lost on the way to work. 

“Let’s hurry.”

Then Alloya breaks into a fast run, causing Hideo and me to break into a sprint to catch up, easily breaking over fifty miles per hour. Of course I can see us moving clearly, but at this speed with the combination of our black cloaks, we’ll hopefully just confuse the eyes of any onlookers. 

Each step launches Hideo forward several yards at a time, where Alloya and I take a whole lot of steps to go fast. The light starts to shine on us more and more, and before I know it Alloya touches it and jumps up high out of sight. Hideo quickly moves in front of me and extends his wings so the wind Alloya caused carries him after her. 

As soon as the light touches me, I grabbed my cloak from the inside with my hands and tug it closed before I leap up. Then I start to fly mid air up towards the rooftop. 

Quickly, I have to make a hard stop to not hit the ceiling. I look forward and see Hideo moving up behind Alloya, who is already looking over the edge. The distance between the rooftop and the rock ceiling is less than six feet, so I bend down to a crawl. Hideo and Alloya seemingly found that they had to do the same to get mildly comfortable. 

I crawl over to Alloya’s left side to go prone. I look around at the town, and the buildings really inspire me of old indian pueblos back on Earth, only poorer and dirtier. I don’t think the homes are made out of clay, but maybe something similar. There are holes in the walls in place of windows, and the heat begins to make even me sweat.

I hear Hideo whistle again before he informs us, “Appears that barely anyone is home.  I think they’re at work still.”

“So we’re early,” Alloya figures, “let’s wait on the building closest to the cave and wait for everyone to come back home. Then we can spot Rom.”

“Do we even know what he looks like?” I ask her.

“If he’s really six feet tall I’m sure we can figure it out when we see him,” Alloya replies.

“You have too much faith in Clay’s abilities,” Hideo jokes.

“I will stick my foot up your ass, bat.”

“I’m seriously regretting bringing the two of you along,” Alloya comments to herself as she rubs her fingers on both sides of her temple.

Hideo TriVi Die-Ve Eron

“Hideo, wake up,” I hear someone say as I’m shoved. 

“Wha? Huh?” are the two sounds I make as I am awoken but these plebs. Quickly, I whistle to make note of where I am. I notice it is Clay’s arm that has been shoving me back and forth. I yell at him, “Hey! You, Human, enough!”

“Shhh!” he shushes me quite loudly as he lets go of my shoulder. “Let everyone know we’re here why don’t ya.”

I was sleeping, he could have woken me up in a calmer way. Lucky I don’t blast him in the face. I glare at him as I turn back onto my stomach and crawl near the edge of the roof. Clay crawls to the left of Alloya, who is currently watching the ground below intently. Only her hands and the front of her face is uncovered by her cloak, which I assume is black. I hear that’s a dark color.

“Eh, why are we being stealthy again?” I sneer to them.

“I thought you liked stealth?” Clay mentions with a smug smile. I raise my hand to argue, then I remember the last time we had a conversation about this. 

Alloya explains, “We don’t want anyone saying we were here for the Riverti. One would hope that the Watree are still loyal when it comes between their own, or else this all will fall apart.” 

“Which probably wouldn’t want us around their crown jewel.”

“Exactly.”

“There are a lot of ‘ifs’ around this, Captain.”

“That’s the job these days.”

I hadn’t checked to see the people walking by. I crawl close to the edge of the roof and whistle, taking a scan of the cave entrance nearby that connects this row of houses to several different places, some or all of which are working areas. The Watree aren’t back yet, but I can hear them walking through the cave corridors.

I then go back to resting on my chin to wait with the other two. I prepare myself to hear the same kind of feelings and words from these people as the town I visited with Terra’rork a few weeks before.

After a few minutes they begin to pour out slowly and all out at once. The adults sound exhausted, but the kids don’t. I wonder if they go to school to receive some kind of education while their parents are working. 

They’re probably only taught how to do their parents jobs. That way no one can stand a chance in the Mental challenge in the Ruleden Tourney. I pay attention for the one Rivertan that is six feet tall, trying not to get distracted. The terrible thing about being able to listen in as well as I do, is that I can hear the bones grinding from every laborer, the pained breathing caused by a mixture of dehydration and exhaustion, but what really makes me cringe, is the one person who’s just dragging along a dead leg. He obviously has a kind of disability, but is working anyway. 

I start to get lost in this, this collision of noises no one else hears.

A hand rests on my shoulder, and I pay attention to my right. It’s Clay’s hand. “Don’t get lost, no matter how hard it is.” 

I guess I had been making faces while I was listening.

I don’t respond, I just go back to listening for whoever comes through. I expand my search to double check that I don’t miss anyone, inspecting everyone’s physical body and not anything else. I simply can’t find him though. 

“I don’t hear him anywhere,” I whisper to Clay and Alloya. 

“I’m not having any luck seeing him either,” Alloya admits. She glances at Clay who just shakes his head. “Okay then, maybe he’s training somewhere. After everyone is inside we’ll sneak through the caves, quietly.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Okay, Captain.”

We’re about to do the waiting again, when I hear children still walking down the street. They bring a ball, and start kicking it in the alley between two houses. The alley is lit, and in view of any houses across the skinny street. They seem scrawny, but I assume they don’t use up all their energy at school.

Maybe I can go down and ask them. Little kids aren’t smart, they won’t think to hide someone like Rom, would they? Also, being the Waverite, they’ve probably seen my people around before. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too strange.

I turn to Alloya and think to ask permission, but I stop to think whether or not that’s a good idea. She’ll probably say no, and then we’ll waste time looking for him, though we’re not losing track of anything. Still, to act on my own, right or wrong, would be a mean thing to do, and being mean to Alloya would put me over the level of acceptable stupidity.

“Captain,” I begin to get her attention. She turns towards me.

“Yes?” she answers.

“I think I could ask those kids where Rom is,” I tell her. Before she can open her mouth to say no, I suggest that, “This is probably a dumb idea, risking our detection, but I think being a Waverite wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows. We could save time getting lost in those caves, and if I did get caught, they couldn’t immediately assume I’m the Guardian. I think I have a…” Alloya’s face doesn’t seem to be budging no matter what I say. “I brought food I could give to them, being all scrawny and all.” Alloya turns away from me and looks back at the street. 

Disappointed, I slump down to the floor. I expected this I guess. Why be surprised, it doesn’t make much sense to risk it, should have just kept to myself.

“Well, are you going to go?” Alloya asks me in a surprise.

I head lifts right up, trying to makes sure I heard that right.

“Yes, you heard that right, now go.” 

I, in turn, put on a nice smile this time instead of my usual demonic one, and crawl off the roof and start gliding to the ground. 

As if on cue, one of the kids knocks the ball out of the alley towards me. I dash to the middle of the street, and stop it with my foot. The kids start to chase after it and see me, causing them to stop in their tracks.

I reach back to the hood of my cloak and pull it down to reveal my face and species. Then I wave to them. They wave back awkwardly. Then I clasp the ball in my right foot, and flip up behind my head, causing it to go up above my head so I can then I hit with my head towards them.

One of them catches it with their hands. I guess they aren’t playing any kind of football game. Though they start to walk up to me now. 

The one with the ball starts to speak, and I realize it’s just a really scrawny little girl. “Cool trick mister, but Teran ball is played with your hands, mainly palms. Like this!” Then she tried to show me how to play by bouncing the ball with her palms. The ball is really bouncy, but must be pretty soft because it doesn’t make much noise. 

The other kid, which is a boy, speaks up. “Sal, he can’t play right, he has no hands!” 

The girl though does not take this criticism, pointing out, “He has palms though doesn’t he?!” 

I raise my palm, which is attached to my wing, and profess, “She’s right, I do have palms.”

“Whoa,” both kids say in unison.

The boy asks, “Whatcha you doin’ here?” I wonder if the automatic translation causes this, but I notice that this boy is dropping some letters here and there.

“Well, first, I like to give you something,” I respond to avoid the question. I need their trust before I ask about Rom. So I reach back to the pack slung around my shoulder and unzip it. I take out two sea-nupple fruit bars, and offer it to the kids. “Here’s a snack, I have too many, tell me if you like it.”

In hindsight, the kids probably shouldn’t be eating food from a stranger, but I’ll chalk it up to my inviting personality. 

The girl and boy both make the sounds people make when they have good food. 

“This is great!” the girl exclaims as she holds the fruit before her. “Never had one of these before, what are they?”

How do they not know? “They’re made with sea-nupples… they’re one of the most common fruits on your planet. You haven’t had any before?”

They both look at each other and shake their heads. “We don’t get the food the landies do. Thanks, mister.”

“No problem,” I tell them. I should have expected this, but somehow this planet and it’s people always seem to blindside me. I move on to my question. “Hey, I’m looking for Rom, want to give him one of these fruits to help him for the Tourney. Do either of you two know where he is?”

“Oh, I know! I know!” the boys chants as he raises his right hand to the side. 

“You do not!” the girl berates. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as Clay once told me.

“Do too! He’ll be liftin’ boulders near the stream! He says its to be big an’ strong!” the boy pleads, making poses and pretending to flex his muscles at the same time.

The girl smiles and corrects him, “No! That’s Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it’s not actual boulders dummy! Also today’s Monday! He’ll be practicing his super punches, and kicks! In a… in his… I think it’s dodo? I forget what it’s called.”

“Dojo?” I ask the girl and she nods. “Where can I find this dojo?”

The girl points towards the cave everyone came from, and says, “Turn left in the beginning. Then go past three rights, then make a right on the fourth. The cave will be curvy and snaky, but the dojo will be on the right. If you hit the classroom you’ve gone too far!”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it!” I thank the two of them.

“You’re welcome!” the boys says. Then he announces, “I’m goin’ to go share some of this with my sister. Bye stranger!” The boy then turns away and starts running back home with the sea-nupple in his hand. 

The girl on the other hand looks at her friend running away, then back at me before continuing to eat the sea-nupple. 

“Don’t want to share with anyone?” I ask her curiously.

“I’m an only child,” she informs me between bites and chewing.

“Not with either of your parents?” 

“Nah, they would just tell me to have it.”

“That’s true, but it’s always nice to offer.” She considers my advice for a second, and does this funny thing where she nods her head back and forth. 

“Eh, alright,” she concedes. “Bye stranger!” Then she too is gone. 

With my mission accomplished, I start to turn towards the cave where Alloya and Clay will assuredly meet me. As I’m walking though I hear someone call.

“Hey you! Wait! I heard you talking to those kids. What do you want with Rom?” It sounds like an aggressive adult man calling out as he walks towards me. 

I quickly turn around to face him, and start waving my hands back in forth to symbolize a misunderstanding. “I just want to talk to him! Nothing sinister or anything.” Maybe sinister wasn’t the best choice of words. 

“As if you’re going to talk to him. You got some explaining to do camper,” he insults me. 

The hell does ‘camper’ mean? Is that like, for Waverites? 

I really don’t want to spend time talking to this man, then I might not actually see Rom. In this moment I make a rash but understandable decision, the only decision one should make. 

I kick dirt from the ground towards his eyes, and run in the opposite direction, like any sane man would. 

I hear Clay laughing, and I see him fall off the roof near the cave entrance. That bastard is laughing and rolling in the dirt. Alloya floats down, holding a hand to her mouth.

I embarrassingly tell them, “I know where to go, follow me, assholes.” Clay is on his hands and knees, and since he is having a hard time getting up, I kick him right in the ass out of rage, and start running. Clay is too busy laughing to be angry I assume, because when I whistle he’s following me but still laughing. Alloya then catches me to, no longer chuckling to herself.

“I’m sorry Captain, I wasn’t careful enough,” I apologize. 

Alloya shakes her head and lifts up her hand as she keeps up with me. “Don’t apologize. We know where he is, and we can get there before we’re stopped.” 

Aleti Ra’non   

Terra and I walk down the sidewalk, and now that everyone knows that we’re on the planet the people are introducing themselves and greeting us at every turn.

It is so annoying.

I’ve been famous for an hour and I can already accept that it is, in fact, not actually fun.

Someone is stopping us at every corner, and acting like we just need to trade life stories, as if we want to hear everything they have to say because they’re fans. They don’t even know me, they assume I’m my mom. I’m not that old.

All in all, it takes us hours to walk several blocks, and now we’re almost at the doorstep of the Reeky-tites. Please let them be normal people, please don’t harass us with their day.

It’s pretty terrible that I would prefer for them to be in need of help instead of happy and overly friendly.

“Terra, please tell me we’re close!” I beg of him.

In an amused tone he reminds me, “You can just ask the Rango yourself. Didn’t you bring your earpiece.”

I lie, “I had forgotten it back on the ship…” 

The last one left was not cleaned by whoever used it first, probably Hideo, and I was not about to stick it in my ear.

Terra chuckles, then asks the Rango through his own earpiece for me. “Did you hear that ship? We’re that close? Okay, thank you.” Then he turns to me and comments, “The Rango said just clean your earpiece next time.” 

Damn snitchin’ ship. 

“Also, we’re around the corner. We cross over this small bridge and then make a right. Not much more, promise.”
I sigh and turn back forward. One thing is true, the city is pretty, even underwater. I thought the undersea dome cities would be dark and ugly, but a lot of light still gets through, and regulated rivers act as roads between the sidewalks. I remember Clay saying that it reminded him of Venice, a city on Earth. 

There aren’t any places like this on Reganora, and I’m a little jealous that every city on Riverteria is supposed to be this pretty, more or less. Though, the lack of actual roads does mean that if we don’t want to walk we need to take a small boat… which Terra will not fit in… so that means we have to walk.   

More Riverti people try to stop us and strike up a conversation, but I attempt to make it clear that we can’t with the age-old, universal excuse. “Sorry, we’re going someplace, and I need to go to the bathroom.” 

People apologize and move on. Why didn’t I just say that before?!

When we go around the corner, I open my mouth to ask Terra what’s their house number, when I see some kids ahead of us. They have this kind of red spray that’s sticking to the wall. 

“I think those kids are making graffiti,” Terra mutters. I’ve never heard of that term before. I ask him what it means. “Graffiti is when people, usually young people, take colored spray and write things on walls. I’ve never seen it, but it used to be common on our planets back then. Our police crackdown pretty hard on vandalism and stuff like that.”

I shake my head. No one has the confidence to risk getting caught.

“If that’s the Reeky-tites’ home, I bet I can guess what they’re doing,”  I hiss.. 

I start to run towards the kids and yell, “Hey! What are you doing?”

The kids looked up, and screamed in fear, “It’s the Captain, she’ll like-, throw you into the ocean!” 

“Dude! We’d hit the dome!” 

Upon that realization they pull no stops running away from me. Admittedly, I’m not in shape, and I feel tired before I even get to the graffiti.

Then I stand straight up and look at the door. In big, scrawling letters, the kids sprayed out, ‘UNDERBEL’ in red. I assume I interrupted their vandalism, but I know they meant to put ‘underbelly.’

I turn to Terra to ask, “Should we try to clean it off?” Terra then looks down at me with these honest eyes of pity. “Yeah, dumb question. Should I?” 

“If you can find something,” Terra offers. 

I look around aimlessly, and now admittedly pointlessly. What would work as a good cloth? Then I look down at my… white… cloth jacket, the customary Regamorph outfit… I got a black tank-top underneath so it’s fine? I guess I could make another with the Proto-analyzer later.

I take off my jacket and walk to the water street to dip my whole jacket into the water. Then I hurry back up to the door where it says ‘UNDERBEL.’ 

“People suck,” I mutter. Then I slap the jacket against the door, and start slathering it against the door. The spray instantly starts smudging, and dripping to the ground. I put both hands on the jacket against the door, and wipe it up and down. The words smudge and drip. I get to the point where it only says, ‘UNDER,’ and the rest is this red gunk on the door.

A moment like this kind of confirmed it for me that I’ve lived a sheltered life. Sure, I know what prejudice is, conceptually, but I’ve experienced it like this. Back home, everyone followed the rules, we all respected the parts of each other that we could not change…

But, that doesn’t sound right either. History is written by the victors, it’s a sentiment not even the victors deny, but they’re sort of telling on themselves. On Reganora, people don’t breed with others who don’t have one of three hair types, who are too short, or need glasses. What if we did have different skin tones on the home planet? 

A year ago, I would have said that Riverteria should be more like Reganora, but what they’re already on their way? 

Or maybe I’m worried about nothing. Before recently, the system I’m questioning has kept me safe, has given me a peaceful life, and given me among many others opportunities to support the world. Does that count for anything?

“You should probably wash the jacket in the water,” Terra says, breaking me from my thoughts. 

I check out all the red stains on my jacket and think, “Yeah, you’re right.” I start walking back to the river road, where I just dunk it over and over. 

Then I hear a creak behind me, and I quickly turn around with my upper body. I see the door start to open and this Riverti woman in the doorframe. I assume it’s Mrs. Reeky-tite. The look on her face is nothing but shock and surprise, seeing a giant Techanot and a Regamorph with a soaking wet jacket. Then she hears the drops of water on the door. She looks around and sees the first half of ‘underbelly,’ and the sigh on her face tells me she knows exactly what was there.  

She starts motioning me to come over. “Come over here, sweetie, I’ll wash that jacket for you.”

I stop dunking the jacket and walk to her. I look at the jacket and admit, “I don’t think this is getting fixed.”

“Nonsense,” she denies.

“Mrs. Reeky-tite, we need to talk to you,” Terra interjects. So this was indeed Womby’s mother. They don’t have the same skin color, Womby being several shades lighter, but they had the same shade of green for the webbing between their fingers. He even has her point chin. 

“Terra’rork please just call me, Pekipsea,” she says. For the record, Pe-kip-see. “You’re older than me, so please don’t call me Mrs. Reeky-tite.” Then she starts motioning him forward towards the door, but I stop her. She looks at me strange and then at Terra. The moment when she realizes, “Oh, I forgot, he won’t fit through the door.”

A small smirk forms from Terra’s lips, and he tells, “Don’t worry about it. Can you and Mr. Reeky-tite come with us for a walk to talk? I think it’s obvious what we want to talk about..”

Pekipsea grows this face of disappointment. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s not good for us as it is, and being seen in public with you, that could make us a target.”

Terra does not take no for an answer. “Let me guess, you stay in your house all day, everyday, and you only leave for supplies and groceries.” Pekipsea narrows her eyes at him. “I’m right, no need to answer. And to be honest, that’s no life. I have a better option.”

Pekipsea crosses her arms as she asks, “Really? Do tell.”

Terra tells her to, “Help us help the one you love the most. Womby needs our help, and we need your help to figure out what’s wrong with him. Leave this place, come with us, help us figure this stuff out.” Then he shakes his head as he surmises that, “Staying with us has to be better than hanging out here.”

Pekipsea looks at Terra longingly, wanting to take him up on his offer. She is probably considering the consequences and if it is worth it. She purses her lips, and then moves half way inside. 

“Torun! Pack your bags! We’re leaving!” Then she turns back to Terra to ask, “You don’t think anyone would come for us on the Rango? We wouldn’t want to endanger anyone…” She trails off at the end. 

Terra’s smile makes him look sly. He points out to her, “We have the most powerful beings in the known universe living as roommates on that ship. Pardon my language, but who would have the balls?” 

Alloya Ra’non

We lost what is probably now a mob a few turns back. Hopefully, they’ll stay far behind us for a long time. 

“The gym should be right here,” Hideo recalls as he rounds the corner. 

I pass Hideo as we round the corner. The gym is pretty simple and small, filled with only a couple different materials to hit. There are wooden posts and boulders placed throughout, as if simulating multiple enemies. Some of the wooden posts are broken, as if clobbered in half.

Clay then runs into Hideo, but I ignore the immature slurs that follow. I keep walking through to find Rom. I try smelling around to find for him. The stench of sweat is strong in here, and I look down at the ground to find the drops of it to prove I’m not crazy. Someone was here recently, but when and where did they go?

TAP! TAP!

What was that? I start looking around me but I see nothing.

TAP! TAP!

That time it sounds like footsteps.

TAP! TAP! SWIRL!

I hear the sound of wind swirling above me and turn in time to cross my arms to block a blue foot from connecting with my neck. I slide back a couple feet and bring my arms down to see my attacker.

“Rom, I presume?” 

This Rivertan is indeed as tall as they say. Easily six feet, he’s taller than Clay, and a few inches shorter than me. He’s pretty ripped too, a four-pack. I can see it since he is not wearing a shirt. 

Interestingly, the sharper scales that are under a Rivertan’s armpits, next to their abdomens and around their rib cage are red. Rare.

“Yes, and you’re going to wish you never came down here,” he growls before rushing me. 

I try to reason to him, “Listen, I’m not here to-” but I’m interrupted by his fist barreling towards my face. 

I swipe with my hand and catch his wrist. I send him flying past me, which should have left him open, but he instead follows the momentum of his punch plants his hands on the ground, spinning his leg up to try and hook me in the face with his heel.

I am quite stunned and impressed by this quick thinking, and I forget to stop it. He rocks me on the chin, and I have to roll with it to recover, but as I’m rolling he’s jumping up to bring his fist down on me, so to give me a boost once I’ve rolled onto my head, I push up with my arms and force myself away, narrowly missing his blow.

I’ve leap two yards away from him and shed off my cloak to wear only my regular combat gear. I have my batons on my back, but I have no intention of seriously hurting him.

“You know you can’t win this,” I warn him. “You do know who I am, right?”

He nods his head. “I do, and Captain, if you were willing to use more of your power you would have done so already to crush me.” He has me there, and his perceptiveness makes me smile. “Don’t underestimate—”

I rush him as he’s speaking, exerting superior speed with my powers and he stops on his own. I go into a slide to make him think I’m going for his legs, which prompts him to jump backwards slightly, which would have been a good dodge if I planned to attack from below. 

While sliding, I use my flight to lift up and do a forward flip from a laid back position on the ground. I bring my legs together and slam them down on Rom’s forearms which barely make it in time. Because his block came late, he falls backwards onto his behind from the pressure. 

“Captain!” I hear Clay yell behind me as he and Hideo get close. 

I hold my hand up in a straight hand to signal to tell them to wait. “Stay back, I’ve got this handled.” 

With that comment I make eye contact with Rom as he sits on his butt, lifted up by one hand. I smile at him to enrage him. This in turn causes him to grit his teeth over the perceived fun I’m having. He then leans back to bring his legs up to his chest, and prepares to jump from a lying down position to a standing position. 

As he is doing that I leap forward and kick Rom right in the chest in one fluid movement. 

Rom goes hurtling through a wooden post. I fly after him, but when I get to the post I don’t see him. Suddenly, I hear footsteps behind me and the groaning someone makes when they lift something heavy. I swivel around to my left as I bring up my left arm. I pool a temporary burst of power to give my block more strength as a wooden post is swung at me. 

When Rom connects a wooden post with my arm it shatters into many fragments, then I punch Rom in his face. He is shocked to say the least from the wood shattering, and now my fist is wiping that shock off his face.

Rom falls to the ground face first. He groans and slowly tries to get up. I bring up my right foot and slam it down on his back. 

I finish my early statement. 

“As I was trying to tell you, I didn’t come here to fight you, though that sparring match was entertaining. I came to talk, so calm down and I won’t kick your ass again.” He tries to struggle under my heel, but I order him sternly, “Heel, you can’t win this.”

He stops struggling and finally gives in.

Clay and Hideo come over now that they won’t be in the way of my fight. Clay tells Hideo, “He’s pretty good. I would be surprised if he lost the Battle challenge.”

Hideo reminds us, “That’s all nice and dandy but winning one challenge isn’t going to help the Watree. “ Hideo then specifically questions me, “What can he do to fix that Captain?”  

“I’m glad you asked,” I respond kindly, “but before I even waste time with any plan I have to ask Rom something.” 

I lift my foot off of him, and he moves to his feet to position himself between us. When none of us respond to him, I think he gets the message that we don’t fear him in the slightest.

Then Rom somewhat composes himself, standing up straight and patting the dirt off of him. He opens his mouth to speak, but knows not what he wants to say. 

I speak for him, “I’ll speak now. Rom, where do you come from?”

Rom hesitates and inhales before answering. His brow furrows forward, which now makes him look older. I wonder how old he is. “I’m from Telos. A completely underwater town.”

Hideo adds, “If it’s underwater, can we assume that there’s no Riverti city above.” Rom nods his head. “I bet you didn’t learn what the surface was like for a long time.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Rom responds. “It’s a large town in the middle of the Romulic Ocean. It’s surrounded by other small underwater towns, but no Riverti cities.”

I put my hands behind my back to twiddle my fingers as I ask, “Rom, would you say that you’re famous among the Watree?”

Rom scrunches his face in confusion. “Um, no? Probably not. How should I know? I don’t know everybody with light skin.”

Clay asks curiously, “Then how do the Watree learn about the results of the Tourney?” 

“Oh, well, the week of the Tourney underdwellers are all invited to the surfacedweller’s cities to watch the Tourney, in community centers and what not. The idea of that was if we win, we would just walk into their new homes, but…” 

“That never happens,” I finish for him. 

“Yeah,” he confesses in a sigh. “My parents told me how it’s become another way for the surface dwellers to rub their happiness in our faces, I don’t know. I think most people get scared to see us walking around up top.”
When he says that Clay looks at me to share a smile. What I need is for all the Watree to be able to know Rom, to care about him, but seeing him on television is probably the next best thing when I know everyone will see him. 

Clay then turns back to Rom to ask rhetorically, “Why wouldn’t they be scared of a bunch of hungry dogs at their door?”

I always hope for Clay to give a metaphor that we all understand, and it never happens.

“Um, what are dogs?”

Clay’s eyes spread wide when he realizes no one else knows his Earth animals.

Hideo articulates to his friend, “Hey, do we look Human to you? Does it seem like we’ve lived on Earth?”

“Nobody asked you!” 

Here they go again.

“Free speech. Wait sorry, now I think I’ve said a concept you don’t understand. My bad.”

“I will break my foot-”

“Enough!” I interrupt them. “Sometimes I wonder if you guys are even friends.”

Rom inquires from me, “Are they always like this?” 

“Yes,” I admit while dipping my head. I then look back up at Rom and see his face has softened. Maybe buffoonery is endearing to him. “I need to ask you one more question to make sure anything is going to work.”

“Ask away,” Rom responds. 

I ask plainly, “Can one Watree perform in multiple challenges?”  

Rom becomes confused again, and then starts shaking his head. “No, no, no, no! That’s a terrible idea!” he shouts at me.

“Why?” I question him. “The Riverti already don’t see you as the proper threat, they think of you as some savage brute. They won’t see you coming in a second challenge, and after the first, everyone will be behind you. It’s the best way to gather as much support as you can muster.”

“Listen, I know even if I win the Battle challenge, we still lose the Tourney, but winning even one will mean a lot. If I win one challenge, and we still lose the Tourney, that’s still hope people gain for the next one. To train others. Do you know who I would have to face in the Endurance challenge?”

I smile at him because he misunderstands me. “One, the galaxy does not have time to wait for the Rivertans to get their shit together in twenty-five more years. Two, I know that Womby is competing in the Endurance challenge, and would one-hundred percent, kick your ass in whatever it is you have to do. Three, I wasn’t talking about the Endurance challenge.”

Rom looks even more stunned. “You, want me, to compete in the Mental challenge? Do I look smart to you?!”

Hideo jokes, “No one looks smart to me.”

We both ignore him, and I tell him, “You don’t seem like an idiot, and I think we can help you prepare for it.”

“We can?” Clay questions.

“We can. Do you guys know how we test Regamorphs in our schools?” I ask them all. Hideo and Rom shake their heads as expected.

Clay assumes, “Don’t you just use pen and paper?”

I tell them that, “No, with a machine that goes on a student’s head. Called a Tutor,” I know simplistic name, “but it knows if the one wearing it understands the information completely or not. If they don’t, they fail the question.”    

“Wow, Regamorphs aren’t lax about anything are they? They brainwash you into learning.” 

I flash a look at him, before turning back to Rom. 

“What we can do is hook you up to one and download the subject that the Mental challenge is going to be about.”

Rom still isn’t sold. “How would that teach me everything though? We have a week. Do you even know how the Mental Challenge works?” I open my mouth to answer but he doesn’t give me the chance. “We are given a pre-decided subject, and then given a project on it. I can’t learn everything in a week!”

“But you can learn one subject, especially since the Tutor connects to your brain. You can take one test in less than a minute.”

Clay exasperates, “Jesus, how long are your kids’ school days?”

“Many hours. The Tutor is only for tests because it can be dangerous to use for several hours.” When I mention that Rom recoils. “We’ll be careful. You’d be monitored the whole time, and we have the best healer in the galaxy to keep you in shape.”

Rom isn’t sold, which I guess is understandable. “I don’t know…”

“It can work,” I assure him, “and we can find out the subject of the mental challenge.”

“The Rango’s computers recently got an upgrade, or more of a downgrade to be able to go through Rivertan files,” he explains.

“But that would cheating,” Rom points out.

“The Riverti make up the challenges and without a doubt tell the contestants. It’d be evening the playing field,” Hideo reckons.

“I don’t— I’m not,” Rom stutters. “I got to where I am now-”

I interrupt by putting a hand on his shoulder and finishing his sentence. “Through hard work and perseverance, and that’s respectable, Rom. But it’s time that one side stopped being respectable when the other never was. Honor isn’t a code that everyone can live by. Sometimes it holds you back.” I then attempt to appeal to his loyalty to his people. “This could be the chance to save your people.”

Rom shoves off my hand and demands to know, “Why do you care so much? You’re not Rivertans, any of you!”

“Obviously,” Hideo comments.

“So why are you here? Need new puppets on top?”

I correct him there, “We don’t want to put the Watree on top. We want everyone on the same level. For what’s coming, we’re going to need everyone.” 

Rom looks even angrier when I say that. 

Clay walks up to Rom and tells him truthfully, “Listen, everyone knows that to switch lives with you is the life the Riverti probably deserve, but wouldn’t that make you as bad? Why not break the cycle now? Be better.”

“You don’t understand!” Rom accuses us. “How is that fair punishment?”

“It’s not,” Clay admits, which I bet must be hard for him, “it’s no way in hell a worthy punishment, but let us say you win, and you switch. Then the Watree are the ones living above, and the Riverti are down here slaving away for generations. What would you just become?”

“Justified,” Rom argues.

“You become everything you hated, and then Rivertans, will still be slaves. Try and remember this,” Clay pleads, “you’re all Rivertans.”

Rom shakes his head, and asks, “You’re only speaking to me. How are you supposed to convince other underdwellers of this?”

I jump back into the conversation. “We can’t, you can.”

“Me?” Rom exasperates.

“Yes you, with Womby.” I say.

“The traitor?!”

“The half-breed, the Guardian,” I clarify. “He could-”

Rom interrupts, “He won’t convince people! He won’t even want to!”

“Not at first, still need to unbrainwash him.” I drop that information to try and convince Rom of Womby still being a Watree.

“He’s brainwashed?” Rom mutters.

“We think so. Prime Minister Lamberine implied as much,” I tell him. 

Rom shakes his head. “Even still, I don’t know if together we could convince people.”

Clay intercedes again. “Don’t doubt the power of those who set an example. We don’t expect massive change overnight, and let’s be honest, the Riverti wouldn’t move overnight. Put the right mindset in people, and it can wrack their minds. Guilt, is an excellent motivator, and so is rage.”

“I don’t know if it’s going to work,” Rom utters hesitantly.

I admit, “It probably won’t, but it’s about time somebody tried.” 

Rom turns his head, and looks me in the eye. He goes to open his mouth when we are interrupted.

“Get away from Rom!” I hear someone scream, followed by the sounds of many footsteps.

We walk away from all of the posts and boulders and see everyone.

Hideo mutters, “I was wondering when the mob would come to get me.”

Then someone yells, “That’s the bastard that kicked the dirt into my eyes! Who does that?!”