• • Sunset: Heroes of the Milky Way
• April 12, 2026

Sunset: Heroes of the Milky Way (Chapter 31)

Hideo TriVi Die-Ve Eron

Romulic 

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“That’s bullshit!” Aleti screeches. Girl read my mind, though, she really didn’t have to..

All around us the Watree are a mixed bag of groans and swearing. It’s strange, they’re upset, but not riotous, which I would be. It’s almost as if they’re angry at themselves. They had hope, and if history taught them anything — if they were taught history — hope was for fools.

Rom should have won, and there is no way those biased judges didn’t purposely make their scores so that Rom would lose by 0.1 points! They’re rubbing their control in the faces of people who don’t know how to fight back.

That’s really what this whole contest is. A tradition based around insulting a whole group of people to their face. 

First, the Riverti invite the Watree into their homes, feed them their spectacular food, and put on an exciting, dangerous show, where they’re teased with the possibility that everything they’ve experienced today can be theirs.

Then the Riverti remind their Watree counterparts that they will always belong beneath their feet..

“Hideo,” Sevine mutters next to me calmly. I turn my head towards her to show that I am listening, the non-Waverites tend to think I’m not listening if I’m not facing them. “I know you are angry, we all are, but you need to calm down.”

“Excuse me?” Why do I need to calm down? I highly doubt Sevine knows Waverite facial features so well to tell that I am seething with rage, so much so I could go snap the necks of each of those judges.

“You’re pulsating energy. My ears are ringing, and I am sure that everyone else’s will too,” she informs me. 

Oh, the moment she points it out, I feel it, the silent pulse. 

I’m letting my anger get the better of me and my powers are reacting. I can’t do this, me of all of the Guardians. Alloya, Jackal, Clay, it is so easy for them to tell when their powers are acting up. So easy to direct it or warn others. Sound waves cannot be seen, and it only takes one power spike that no one can avoid to kill everyone around me. 

I take deep breath and try to go to a happy place. When I find that I cannot I turn to Yarg.

Yarg, buddy, I need your help. Tell me a joke, I plead.

I get a worrisome response. ‘Yarg…. Yak…ya…’

Well, that doesn’t sound good. Yarg? What’s wrong buddy? 

I can feel Yarg trying to reach out to me, but it is as if he doesn’t have the strength to do so. I try to look for his power in my own consciousness, and I find a trail. I whistle, only somewhat differently in a way only I can. I try to follow an energy signature. There is a trail of energy, much like Yarg’s, and pooling into one person.

Aleti.

Is this why Alloya said to leave her behind if things go bad? Is Aleti stealing Yarg’s power? If this keeps up I’ll start feeling the effects myself, but I can’t just leave and abandon her and everyone. 

I listen to her body, and it is telling of a rage more intense than mine. I cannot imagine that this is all Aleti, even considering how Rom was slighted. Did Yarg’s energy cause this?

I lean in close and whisper to her, “Aleti, you have to calm yourself. Something’s wrong.”

In a growl she tells me, “Did you just fucking notice?”

Hmm…. hmm… hmm… I do not like the way she spoke to me, especially since she’s never done it before.

“Tell me, Hideo, you, my mom, Clay, Womby, all of you watched and let people can get away with slighting an entire race like this for years? How do you just stand there and not go on a rampage? They’re made a game of— of— of— of fucking… ragebaiting us! The fucking Prime Minister or whoever puts on this show, they just want everyone to come, have a nice day, and go home and slit their wrists. 

“But no, the Guardians haven’t done a thing about it, for years for some, decades for some of you. That’s all I want to do right now, fight it.” 

If this girl only knew.

I try to remind her, “Aleti, please think about the fact that we expected this. We expected Rom to lose this contest. Do you know why?” She turns her head to face and somehow I feel something deadly emitting towards me. “Because we know Rom can win the next two, and they can’t cheat him the way they did here. We have to believe in him.”

I don’t believe the words as I say them. They can cheat anyway they like, but we can’t do a thing about it.

Aleti gets real close, and I can feel it now, what feels like my own energy being stolen by her. I start learning backwards away from her as Aleti gets closer. I am up against Sevine, feeling weak. Aleti tells me, “You didn’t believe in him a few minutes ago, or the time before that, or the time before that.”

I practically fall into Sevine and she catches me. “Hideo! You’re so hot! Like literally burning up, what’s wrong?”  I cannot form words, and my lips start to feel parched. My body feels weak, my arms are heavy. Sevine lays my head down in her lap. I reach out, reaching for Aleti.

I whisper, “Aleti…” When she gets closer to me, I feel my own energy emitting, but for some reason only me. No one else seems to be affected. I whisper, if it can be even be called that, “You’re, hurting me….”

“What?” she responds in a normal voice. “How?” The slight change in her from worry to rage allows me to regain some composure. 

“Just, calm yourself, please,” I plead with my hand reaching towards her.

Pekipsea looks over at me and questions Aleti, “What are you doing to him? Whatever it is, stop now!” 

“I don’t know! I don’t have powesr!” Aleti yells, which does not help me.

“Shh…” I go in a shush. 

Aleti suddenly takes my hand, as she tries to calm herself. As her body calms itself to the lower but still high state of anxiety that goes with being concerned, I instinctively try to steal back some of my own strength. I don’t know how I know how to do that, but somehow I just do, like knowing how to swallow almost.

Eventually, I get my breath back. I tell everyone, “I think I feel better.” I sit up from Sevine’s lap but then feel dizzy again and fall back down.

Aleti apologizes, at first reaching her hands towards me, but then hesitates before bringing them back.  “I’m so sorry! I don’t know what, or how I was doing this to you! Can you get up?”

“No way should he try to get up, we need to get help,” Sevine tells everyone as she checks my forehead again.. 

“But where would we get it for him?” Torun points out.

“Everyone calm down. Calm is the key word everyone needs to remember. If Aleti can just stay calm through everything that will happen next I’ll be able to recuperate enough, to help myself. 

“I think.” 

“Hideo?” Aleti asks, sounding as if she is about to cry, “What is happening to me?”

“I don’t know, but I am one-hundred percent sure your mother does. We need to stay in place, stay calm, stay here. I don’t feel like I can do anything right now, but you, you need to make sure that you don’t do anything.”

“What would make me do something?” Aleti asks, definitely confused and worried. 

“The next contest.”

Clayton Knight

The hate boiling between the Watree and Riverti is about to become palpable, if isn’t already. It’s not anything I can fix, it’s something I need to make worse. Not only that, I need to focus on what comes next. 

I move to the entryway to the arena stands. Like a stadium on Earth, the walkway is huge to accommodate a lot of people walking through it at once. At the end is a railing I can lean on with a perfect view of the arena. I just need to hang out here, and pay attention. 

I have the trigger in my pocket.It isn’t sensitive so I have to push down firmly, I have to make the choice to use it. 

‘You don’t have to, no matter what happens,’ Sera tells me.

When did you grow a conscious?! I shout at her in my mind.

‘When you decided to be whipped. You plan to do what I would do, but only because you care too damn much about Alloya.’

Shut up. Since when do you even care about what I do? How I feel?

‘I’ve always cared! I’ve always cared about you. That’s why I do what I do. Why I try to convince you to let go, to not care so much,’ she explains. Where did this all come from? ‘Pain comes from caring. If you were colder, you wouldn’t be in pain so much.’

If I were cold I wouldn’t be me, I remark. 

‘No, don’t be cold, just colder. I don’t want you to not be you, that is not what I want at all,’ she expresses to me. I dip my head down as I try to process this. 

I thought you hated me, I admit.

‘No, never. I just, I’m a creature that has been around since maybe even the dawn of the universe. I don’t know for sure, I barely remember what it was like before I was sealed in Guardians,’ Sera tries to explain. ‘I don’t know how else to be how people are.’

Well you aren’t a person, I tell her.

‘Heh, you’re right about that,’ she chuckles. Sera never chuckles at anything besides pain. ‘Maybe you should have just grown funnier.’ 

There it is, that last word.

Then the announcer begins talking about the next contest. The one for all the marbles, at least for me.

“Well, in this next contest for the mental challenge, the contestants will be given a quiz made up of questions from multiple subjects,” I hear her voice explain over the speakers. “They will both receive their own separate questions. Whoever gets ten questions correct first wins, but they must win by two so if one is at nine they can’t simply win by being given their question first. Some questions will be multiple choice, some will not.” 

This… god, this is going to be so boring. Why do they frontload the exciting contests?

‘They don’t usually get this far I would bet. Which would you assume to be more fit? The malnourished workers, or the well-fed, well-trained athletes?’

You’d think they would have have seen Rom and Sevine coming then.

‘Lamberine did, that’s why Womby was performing.’

I look up to see Rom and Ray-whatever facing the announcer, while she stands next to a huge box with screens on all four sides, this way everyone can see. I assume the questions will pop up on them. Both contestants have a large podium with microphones to stand against. 

The announcer asks, “Are both contestants ready?” Both nod their heads. “Good, let’s begin!” 

Absolutely no one cheers this time.

“First question!” the announcer cheers to no applause.“Loser of the last contest can answer the first question.” Throughout all of this, Rom keeps a straight face. I think he manages expectations better than anyone else here. 

Then the question appears. The announcer reads out loud to everyone, “What is the oldest metropolitan city on Riverteria today?”

It takes Rom half a dozen seconds to think up the answer. “Kay-lin City?” he answers with a hint of doubt.

The screen turns green with the words ‘CORRECT’ in big yellow letters, or at least I think so when I start to hear happy murmuring among the Watree around me. Many are surprised since they didn’t know the answer. Would have figured that’s common knowledge.

‘What’s the oldest city on Earth right now?’

… fair point.

‘How about just the U.S.?’ 

Leave me alone.

The announcer claps excitedly for Rom then turns to his opponent. “Raynine are you ready for your question?” The Riverti contestant nods her head. Then it pops up for the announcer to read. “In the Battle of the Song during the first Water Rebellion, which General led the River army to victory?”  

Whoa, deep dive for me. How long ago was the Water Rebellion? Also, since when were the Riverti called the River and the Watree just Water?”

‘The Water and River are the names of the people from the original countries of Rivertans that warred for control of Riverteria, or at least how they’re translated to me.’ 

How the hell did you know that? I inquire.

‘Womby told Terra’rork about this people’s history while you were asleep once.’ When she realizes that I am even more confused she clarifies, ‘Just because you are asleep doesn’t mean your ears don’t still work. I don’t sleep so I’m always still listening.’ That explains a lot actually. Rarely has someone ever snuck up on me in my sleep, and now I know why. ‘Let’s agree that my sense of self-preservation is stronger than yours.’

I chuckle before telling her, That’s ironic considering you’re the overpowered being of unlimited energy.

‘Who is still currently bound to a mortal Human,’ Sera adds. I guess I do make her vulnerable. ‘That you do, and pay attention to the questions, you’ve already missed Rom get one wrong. Also wouldn’t hurt for you to learn something.’

I do as my demon recommends for once and look at the scoreboard, which is now 1-1. I continue watching as the Raynine girl steps up to the plate. Her next question is, “Who wrote the three Laws of Physics?” 

Wasn’t that Newton? Learned that from Bill Nye. The theme song immediately pops into my head.

‘Focus!’ Sera yells at me.

Raynine, finally remember her name, answers, “Dr. Alretta Tel.” Then the screen signals that she is correct.

Yeah, makes sense that they… weren’t talking about Newton. 

Now the score is 1-2, Raynine’s favor. It is still early on so no reason to panic. 

Then Rom’s turn came. The announcer asks him if he is ready and when he is, his question pops up. “Which country started the Second Great War?” 

These history questions are really cutting deep. 

‘Would you even know?’

Shut up.

I bet this would be something that the Riverti and Watree learned differently. Maybe the Watree just never even learned about this to begin with. 

Rom answers, “The country of Water.” I bet that must have hurt, to throw his own ancestors under the bus, even if they hadn’t been the ones to cause it. I doubt the Riverti would like to own up to such a history.

My instincts are found to be correct, as the same screen flashes for correct answers in bright yellow letters. Evening up the score, 2-2. 

Raynine’s turn comes up next with the question, this time science oriented, “What is the element next to Au on the periodic table?” 

You know, it’s pretty strange that the periodic table gets translated to me, though I guess elements would be the same everywhere. 

‘Their base atomic numbers won’t change depending on where they are so as long the elements are numbered that way, they will appear in the same order as every species’ periodic table as long as they have discovered the same elements,’ Sera informs me. Apparently she is a nerd, and Riverteria has gold too.

Raynine answers, “Hg, Mercury.” 

The screen tells her she is correct. 

Then it is Rom’s turn, his question staying history themed. “Which country won the Battle of the Romulic Sea?”

Okay, you know, I’m starting think there’s some reason that all of Rom’s questions are history questions. Its almost as if to get them right, he has to agree with Riverti’s way of thinking.

With an almost pained face, Rom answers, “Water.” 

The words ‘INCORRECT’ appear on screen. 

I listen in to hear a flurry of different remarks from the Watree. “That’s a lie,” “bullshit,” “propaganda,” and I have to ask the question. In what schools would they have learned any of this? Winning a battle isn’t like some moral victory. Hideo’s not suddenly right about his poor taste in movies because he beat me in a sparring session. I don’t get why they’re so upset.

But seeing the writing on the wall, regardless, I need to start preparing myself. I don’t listen to Raynine’s next quiz question to ask Sera something.

‘Hmm?’

When do I push the trigger?

‘Simple, when he has no chance of catching up, but victory isn’t one step away,’ she offers. I think I understand. 

I pull out the trigger to inspect it. It is very simple in design, I guess, at least from the outside looking in, but somehow it ‘s so very complicated in its purpose. 

Sera lauds, ‘Huh, still even now, there isn’t a problem a well planned assassination can’t solve, or worsen.’

I ask her, What do you think will happen?

‘What Alloya expects to happen, for the most part. Just think a little.’

Now the question goes back to Rom as Raynine has five points, maintaining a streak of correct answers.

Rom’s next question is an English question, or whatever their language is called. First question that I’ve paid attention to that wasn’t about history. I ignore this one too since I can’t find the error in a sentence I can’t read it.

Strangely, I hear a lot more Riverti bored by this question, and a lot of Watree struggling to guess the answer. Maybe their language is like the English of Rivertan languages, where makes so little sense that they have spelling bees.

‘Doubt it.’

Fuck off.  

I wait for Rom to answer and get the question correct. When he does, there is still a two point lead, 3-5. If they both get all the following answers right, Raynine wins. I place my thumb over the trigger, and feel my own heart race as I work myself up.

Sera tries to calm me, ‘Calm down, don’t do anything you’ll regret. And especially don’t do anything too early.’

I lift my thumb off of the trigger. 

Raynine’s next question is history oriented, proving Alloya right in her educated hypothesis about the quiz portion of the challenge. “How long did the Second Water Rebellion last for?” the announcer reads.

Raynine answers almost immediately, “Thirteen years,” and her answer is deemed correct. I listen for Watree grumbling, but not many disagreeing with the answer. Numbers feel hard to remember or argue. 

Plus, her answer to the question is probably true.

Then people’s attention turn to Rom to see him answer this next question correctly or incorrectly. I hear gasps when the question pops on the screen. 

Then the announcer reads it outloud, “What race did Guardian Romulic Reeky-tite belong to?” 

Shit, I did not know that Romulic, the ocean that Rom is named after, is a past Guardian. Is that why everything has his name? I mean, it makes sense. 

I should get an ocean named after me, or my great grandpa or something.

Heh, I wonder how far back this Romulic is.

I ask Sera, Do you know how far back this guy goes?

‘Of course not, there wasn’t space travel to Earth before you were fifteen,’ she pesters me. ‘How would I have encountered him?’

I don’t know. You just seem to know shit that you shouldn’t.

I focus on Rom, and pay close attention to his body language. He looks angry as he looks down at his podium. He grips the sides tightly and I can see him trying to fight against gritting his teeth. This question must be something that breeds a lot of contention among the Rivertans. I can tell that Rom is considering whether or not to say what he believes in or what he should say. He has to know that such a decision could mean life or death. 

‘Clay,’ Sera calls for my attention. ‘If he doesn’t answer what they want to hear, that’s essentially is the same as giving up…’

What are you getting at? I demand to know.

As if taking a sigh first, Sera points out, ‘If he answers how I think he will, the most effective time to push the trigger would be seconds afterwards, before the next questions comes.’ I can already picture the turmoil among the Watree if they think Rom is punished for this. ‘Let me push the trigger if he gives in.’ I look back at Rom, and the tension is rising in the stadium as he takes so long to answer. 

The announcer informs him, “I am sorry, but you only have a minute left to answer or the question is considered wrong.” Rom simply shakes his head in response.

‘Don’t live with this,’ Sera tells me, trying to convince me to give control over to her. ‘I’ve done enough bad things in my very long life that this won’t bother me one bit.’

I thought you said you don’t want to control my male body? I question her.

‘I can make an exception for 30 seconds! Give me control!’ she orders me. I feel the pressure of her presence against my mind. 

I respond with a powerful and resounding, No. This is my body. My choices. I’m not gonna hide behind you.

This time more calmly she tells me, ‘I promise, I’ll give back control immediately.’ After a couple second long pause, she asks sounding hurt, ‘You don’t trust me, do you?’

Surprisingly, Sera, I think I do trust you, I tell her.

Then time comes when Rom answers. He sounds loudly and proudly, “Romulic Reeky-tite was Watree.”

When the screen says ‘INCORRECT’ the Watree yell in a mass uproar.

“That’s bullshit!” 

“You tell them!” 

“All lies!” 

“Romulic was ours!”

“Romulic!”

“Romulic!” 

“Romulic!”

People start chanting and stomping their feet, the stadium seemingly begins to shake. At first I think they were chanting the name of the old Guardian, but now I think they mean to chant the Rom before them.

Time seems to slow as I watch Rom, so far away, turn and look at the crowd. He smiles in a way that has to being expressing only pride. He should feel proud, as his people are proud of him. They chant his name and give him a feeling I can only imagine.

Then he closes his eyes. 

He does not open them. He knows, he has to.

“Now is the time, isn’t?” I whisper to myself. I sound like a crazy person. Then I look down at the trigger in my hand and place my thumb over it. 

‘You are going to feel terrible about this, forever you know?’ Sera says.

Maybe, I admit. Probably.

Then I push in the trigger.

It takes a few seconds to activate, then I see it.

Rom begins choking. The capsule of Cylon has exploded in his mouth, and is currently running down his throat. 

Cylon is a poison that melts the insides of a person, violently, and gruesomely. I see Rom bend over, his green blood dripping out of his mouth, and pooling onto his podium. He falls over onto the ground and people go silent.

For Rom, Alloya had put in the numbing agent, Rylon, which has effects even more powerful than Cylon. Rylon is commonly used with Cylon among spies so they would not feel the pain, but allows for Cylon to make sure that the victim cannot possibly survive.

Rom does not scream, or make a face of extreme pain because of that. Still, he knows he is dying as his jaw melts apart, and his insides start disappearing. His jaw falls off and people gasp and start puking at the sight. 

Raynine and the announcer have genuine faces of horror as Romulic is publicly assassinated after bravely making a sign of rebellion and contempt for the lies of those who have oppressed him and his people for so long.

He spasms on the ground for a few more minutes. Then he stops. 

Romulic is dead. The Rom I had only just met a week ago is dead. 

And I killed him.