• • Sunset: Heroes of the Milky Way
• August 23, 2026

Sunset: Heroes of the Milky Way (Chapter 36)

Alloya Ra’non

Heart to Heart

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I have her, I have my daughter, and she is not going anywhere without me. I will bring her home, put her in a bed, and then I will finish this fight. That way we never have to come back to this forsaken planet again.

I look around at the Rivertans littered around us. Two Riverti women, four Watree, and all injured in some way or another. There must have been a fight, and that fight probably caused Aleti’s heat beam.

An older Riverti woman starts to get up and notices my presence, immediately matching my gaze. She looks up and down at my daughter and I before moving to the younger Riverti woman. The younger one looks like she took a real beating. 

The one Watree woman is on the ground, rolling back and forth, groaning and gurgling. I look over at her and see that half her face is burned. She must have been the one attacked by Aleti. Why would Aleti side with a Riverti? What were the Watree doing?

‘The Watree men were doing what men do when pillaging,’ Rega hisses. As soon as the team separated she has been in a pretty shit mood. ‘You say that like I’m ever happy. You were nearly within my grasp, but… fear got in the way.’

I didn’t realize you fear me.

‘Funny, you always seem to think its about you until it’s boring.’

I can already sense the complaining coming my way.  

I let go of Aleti’s head so I can call Terra. “Rango, I found her,” I announce into the microphone.

He answers immediately, “I heard. Already told the others. They should be meeting up with you any second now.” 

“Thank you, Terra. Were you and Womby able to get the Rango inside Ramone’s walls again?” I inquire. 

“Yes, I’m coming to you now,” Terra informs me.

“No,” I tell him. I have a plan in mind for him. “Now we’re searching for someone else”

“For who?” Terra asks with great interest.

“For Lamberine. We’re not letting that scumbag get away.” Once Lamberine is dead, Womby can handle things here. I’ve meddled enough.

“You don’t want me to bring the Rango for you and Aleti first?” Terra asks.

“It’s just going to be her and me, I’ll take her to meet you,” I say.

I feel Aleti shuffle in my arms, trying to move her head to face away from my chest. She tries to tell me, “No, we need to take them us. Need to help Readine.”

“Readine?” I ask curiously. Is that the one with the burnt face or the one with the shit kicked out of her?

“This Readine,” I hear someone I say. It was the older Riverti woman. I can easily assume that the younger, hurt woman is Readine.

I turn to Aleti to inquire, “Why do you want to help her?”

“Readine, Tele too, they helped me. After I transformed, and while I was fighting the Watree here. I could have died or worse without them,” she informs me as she closes her eyes again. 

Well, if they helped my daughter then I guess I owe them.

Lamberine has not been seen since the Tourney, but since the Watree tunnels were destroyed, and we have control of the exit, he has to still be somewhere in the city. I will not rest until I find him and crush his head in my hands.

‘That’s it? That’s the best death you could come with?’ Rega comments with condensation double layered over her tone.

Have a better idea? I ask rhetorically.

‘Show him your throat,’ she snaps at me. Here I thought she preferred being inside me opposed to Aleti. Then I feel Rega’s presence pushed away and I smile over why.

An all too familiar voice from above assures me, “Don’t worry, Cap, he’s not getting away, not today.” Clay lands a few feet in front of me.

Clay’s common companion swoops down to perch himself on a broken piece of a building beside. “If he can worm his way out of this city, then we don’t deserve to catch him.”

“Hideo that’s not… that’s not really the vibe we want to go for.”

“Well, you didn’t tell me about any vibe, I’m not telepathic.”

“I thought it was obvious!”

I ignore them as I hear the sound of rushing water, and see a stream of water defying gravity. For some reason I think of the time Clay said he leaps like a frog. He touches the ground for only a second to bounce back into the air, moving swiftly. When the water takes its spot to complete the triangle around me, it forms into Womby. 

“Um, can I assume we’re talking about Lamberine? I don’t hear anything in the microphone when I’m water, and I still don’t have super hearing.”

It has been a long time since it was the four of us all out in the field. I envy that for Womby it’s only been a few weeks. 

I chuckle and inform him, “Yes, we’re talking about Lamberine. About finding him.”

“Oh okay,” Womby replies excitedly. Then he smashes his right fist into his other palm before saying, “Have some past grievances to take up with him.

“Why are you doing that with your fist? It’s not any less unintimidating when Clay does it.”

“I don’t do that.”

“Because I make fun of you. You’re well trained.”

“Enough,” I order them, “we have a mission, all we have to do is find him.” 

Clay asks me, “What do you want us to do, Captain?”

Aleti grabs my shoulder and asks me, “Help me up.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, please,” she grits as she already starts forcing herself up. I help and pull her to her feet quickly. When she is standing she rests her head on my shoulder and holds on to me. I hold her steady by the waist. 

I look at my three friends around, now waiting for my command.

I give my command, “You asked what I want you to do? I want you to see everything, hear everything, feel every inch in of this city. I want to be sure that he has no place to hide. No holding back, find him.”

All three of them smile, and ascend. Clay turns into his sun form and flies straight up into the sky. Hideo turns into sound, where his body becomes near transparent and disappears like wind. Womby turns into his gigantic Hydroninad form and slithers away, growing bigger the farther from us he gets.

They all have their mission, and they are going to do their damndest. Now I have to do mine.

Aleti separates herself from me, still hanging onto me by both shoulders. I think this is the first time I have taken a good look at her face. It’s been squashed against me this whole time. I see the black eye, the purple bumps and bruises. 

I haven’t… I’ve never seen her take a beating like this before. Her father made sure that she wasn’t placed on the war path like I was, a scholar through and through, even for her extracurriculars. 

So this… this is because I failed her, failed to protect her. I have tried keeping secrets and it has not worked. The ways of my kind, my people, the ways I was taught; to be patient and to wait for the perfect opportunity, means nothing if you are blind to what happens while you wait.

Aleti asks me, “Mom, what’s happening to me? What are these powers? When they were acting up during the tournament, Hideo said I should ask you. Did you know?” I see the tears well up in her eyes when she realizes the bitter truth. “Did you know about my powers?”

I decide now, at the worst to time, to be honest with her. “Yes, I have known since you saved Clay back on the Noland. It was you who defeated Chronos, with the power you took from Clay.”

The tears drip down her face, but she doesn’t sob, she’s not inconsolable. Maybe her face is too numb to do that, or maybe she doesn’t have the energy. “Why?” she cries out. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

She falls to her knees and dips her head. I immediately fall with her.

I try to explain myself. “I wanted to be sure at first. I had no confirmation but—” 

That’s not it. 

“I was afraid to admit it. You were showing signs of an ability to take powers from the demons, and using them like our powers. I knew I would have to tell you something I would never wish upon you.” She lifts up her head to look at me. “Something that was told to me when I was younger than you, something that terrified me.”

“What is it?” my daughter asks to know.

“I didn’t want to tell you that you were the most powerful person in the galaxy. You don’t just take the power of Guardians, if I’m right, the power you take could be unlimited, and… it’s destructive. That’s not you.” 

I wanted to say evil, rather than destructive, but she can’t handle that right now.

‘Evil, such a presumptuous word to describe something you don’t understand.’

As usual, I ignore Rega. “The pressure, the responsibility that goes with that. When I was a child all I worried about was hurting others, like I did my parents and my brother. That pain alone is something I never wanted for you.” I feel tears of my own coming through. “But as I grew older, as you are now, I realized how people thought of me. How they never wanted to be my friend, how they wanted a weapon, a deterrent, or a messiah. Just as many wanted me gone, simply for existing, because they feared me.”
“Mom,” Aleti sobs as she touches my cheek.

“I didn’t want that for you…  Once you learn, and you’ll have to, you’ll scare everyone. If people find out, that you might have the power of the demons… I can’t imagine they’ll accept that.”

“I don’t want this!” my daughter tells me.

“I know, and I would take it away, take on myself if I could, but I can’t, and I can never be more sorry.”

“What if I can’t control it?!” she asks me. 

“I don’t know,” I admit, I cannot lie to her anymore today.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she cries as she slumps against me once more, and once more I envelop her into my arms. 

“I know. I know,” I tell her. 

I just want something else to say to her! ‘I don’t know,’ and ‘I know,’ they don’t mean anything. They can’t help her. They can’t take her powers away or keep them secret. All I can do is apologize, “I’m so sorry.”

‘And here I thought life with you would never bring me joy.’

Wombinal Reeky-tite

This should feel good, great even. Being back on my first mission with the team since we separated. Crap, if anything this should feel like the norm, it was only a few weeks ago that we were together saving the world as we always do, but it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like it’s been… forever… much longer than just two weeks.

It feels barren, hollow, devastating. This is my home planet, my people, all tearing each other apart. I can blame Clay, and my friends for their hands in causing this, but I know the truth.

‘This was a long time coming,’ Tortugan reminds me. I don’t know if it is a good thing to have him back. ‘Hmm.’ 

I hate that. I hate that he listens, comments, but never responds. Never acknowledges anything that’s not just information. Even this complaining about him, he ignores. It is patronizing, and incensing.

Then there’s the fact that I wish I was enjoying this more. My mind tells me that I should enjoy being a part of the team, as if I haven’t seen them in forever. This feeling is more than just me missing them. I feel like I actually haven’t been around my family in a very long time.

Then there are these new powers. I don’t understand how I have them, how I know how to use them. Was Lamberine really telling the truth when he said that he got me this far in days? He couldn’t have been, he has to be lying. I remember following his orders on Riverteria, but I feel like there is a missing portion in my memory that has a different story to tell. 

I need to find him. 

Alloya said to feel every inch of this place, and she was talking to me. Water doesn’t have to be a liquid to be everywhere, it’s already in the air, and in our bodies. I can… should… be able to find anyone within this range.

I stop slithering in my Hydroninad, something I did not expect to be able to do for years. I stop moving, and I focus. I try to feel through everything, and everyone.

It’s easy to distinguish those I know, like Alloya and Aleti embracing, but everyone else? I get lost kind of easily, confused and misdirected through all of this traffic. Still, I need to push through. 

I focus on Lamberine, old, slow, ugly, Lamberine. I know exactly what he looks like, which should allow me to quickly sense someone with his exact form.

Outlines of people’s bodies form in my head, popping up and being tossed aside, apparition-like almost. Then I hit this clot. Person after person, appearing in my head, slowing me down, clogging up my train of thought so to speak. Why is this happening? 

They are all together, that is why I’m suffering this interference. Why are they all together? 

I change my focus to everyone, taking note of each position that everyone is in. They all see to be running. Not away from each other, but towards. 

There is going to be a fight, a huge one, hundreds of people in town square. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who is fighting who. I have to stop it.

‘Lamberine,’ Tortugan reminds me. 

Lamberine can wait! I snap at my demon, but of course, he doesn’t answer back.

Weeks ago, strange to say, getting there in time would have been a problem, but not anymore. This will make them stop, pronto. 

I crane my neck high above the buildings. I don’t know my body’s maximum length with only my own matter, but I can hollow my insides to increase the length. This way everyone can see me towering above the buildings before I even get there. I see them, Watree and Riverti collide as I catch sight of them. Admittedly, when there is a fist coming at one’s face I can understand why I might not be the center of attention.

Still, how to distract them? Something they would all have to notice. 

I take in a deep breath, which is a huge one in this form, then I roar. It’s hard to describe how I sound. I don’t sound like a Hydroninad, or like a very tall person. I probably don’t even sound the same to them as I do to myself. To me… I almost sound like I am yelling ‘core.’

“KOOOOOAAAARRRR!!!!” 

One by one the people stop fighting to look at me. When I am done I slither towards them with my head craned up. Once there is only one building between me and them, I command them to, “Separate.” 

Some rush back to their starting lines while some walk slowly, some even walk backwards to keep their eyes on me. Though once I pass over the last building they all hurry as to not be touched by my massive form.

Suddenly Tortugan gives me advice. ‘You must decide how you wish to speak to them.’

I would ask what you mean by that, but I bet you won’t answer.

‘Speak to them as you are now, and you will breed fear. They will stop, but it will be from fear of death. It’s the quickest solution, but puts no wounds on the road to healing. Speak to them as a Rivertan, as one of them, and then you might get some to throw down their anger, but only if you say the right things. Can you do that?’

I have never had any kind of help from him before, and now I have to admit, it’s not bad, simply too true. I understand what he means, I just don’t know if I can. A quick solution is not worth it. The Ruleden Tourney was a quick solution, and only made the problem worse.

I look at all of their faces, the ones looking across from themselves are full of anger, but the ones looking at me, they show something different. Not fear or anger anymore, maybe pity? For my position between them? Maybe something else, maybe hope. They hope I will side with them. I need to speak to those people, convince them that they will not die, they will be better off, if they simply work together in this crisis. 

Now or never I guess.

Hideo TriVi Die-Ve Eron

I barrel roll and turn at 90 degree angles, spinning and moving at any and all opportunities. At all moments I am inches from touching something, from tearing myself apart, but I never do. I sense the location of everything within a several mile radius. I play a game by getting so close to buildings, cars, and people. Testing to see if my reflexes are as good as they have always been, and they are.

I hear everything people are saying too. I hear the cries of fighting and pillaging. All it takes is for me to make a couple of turns, pass through some unsuspecting wastes of life, and it’s all over, back to my mission. 

For some reason though, I can’t find the one person I want. I search aimlessly, easily covering half the city in a matter of minutes. Not only that, if Lamberine were to move in someplace I have already been, the trail of waves behind me would disappear, telling me the shape and look of the person who passed through. Never has it been someone even close to Lamberine’s age, height, or gait. 

If I were a politician, a complete waste of space, and one of the top five most hated people in the city at the moment, where would I go? I wouldn’t want to risk going through the city. What is left? The only other thing would be….

The Watree tunnels. Impossible, they all collapsed for the most part. No one can get around effectively in there now. What if a tunnel were specifically made for escape? One with pillars of metal, I’m sure the Prime Minister of the planet’s most powerful nation could have that built one to escape from the capital. Especially if one is evil like him, if one is Omniguard.

When Terra told us that Lamberine admitted to being Omniguard as reasoning behind setting Womby on us, I wasn’t as shocked as everyone else. Not only had everyone thought Omniguard long gone with the Lupians, but that seemed too easy. No, what was really shocking was that Omniguard was alive in the leader of the Rivertans.

Cause just… really? Seems kind of lame. Why couldn’t it be a Waverite? We’re cool, we know how to commit crimes. 

Sure, it was always possible for Omniguard to build itself back up among the Regamorphs, but I was really hoping for something different in a cool way. The organization originally only inducted the first two species to develop space travel… publicly anyway. Rivertans were never wanted among their ranks for their lack of technological advancements in space travel, and Rivertans never wanted to join because of their isolationist mentality. 

But like, Waverites have space travel? Sure, we didn’t own up to it after awhile, but that should have just impressed an organization like Omniguard.

If Lamberine truly is Omniguard, then I wonder what does this mean for the group’s position on other species? 

My own specifically.

Was that not obvious?

Still, the idea of a tunnel has to be a real theory on why we haven’t found Lamberine yet. If there is a tunnel, where would it lead? Would it lead to the ocean? No, the water pressure would be too great for any surface dwelling Rivertan at this depth. They evolved as amphibians, not deep sea beasts… I think. Lamberine would need a ship to leave the city. 

The harbor, that would have to be where the tunnel would lead to. The decent amount of water still there would seriously hinder my ability to sense anything though. I should tell Womby to change his search area, or I could get Clay to vaporize the water. 

I change my trajectory upwards over the city and make a turn near Clay. If Womby gets to Lamberine first, he may kill him before I can have my turn.

As I fly towards Clay, I don’t feel the blinding light pass through me. I wonder if he’s dimming himself for a reason. I fly around him, and ask, “Had any luck?”

Angrily he answers, “No, I’ve looked this whole place up and down, and can’t find him.”

“Well I think I know why. I have this theory that he isn’t even in the city, but below ground, to avoid any confrontation.”

“How would he have a tunnel below? The Watree’s were destroyed,” he points out as he crosses his arms.

“True, but this is a corrupt evil politician. Is it really unfathomable that he would use tax paying dollars to make himself an emergency exit? Could have even gotten help from his Omniguard pals.”

“Hmm, I guess,” Clay goes as he puts his hand to his chin. Then he asks me, “What do you want me to do?”

“What makes you think I want you to do something?”

“Why else would you be wasting time here talking to me?”

I tell him, “I need you to vaporize all the water in the bay so I can search the place. Lamberine would need a ship to exit the city on a normal day. While he wouldn’t be able to because of you, the tunnel should still come out near the harbor.”

“If there is one,” Clay points out, making sure I know of his skepticism. “I’ll do it for you real quick, then I’m going back to scouring the city.”

“That’s all I ask,” I assure him.

In a flash Clay quickly flies over the bay and with a shining wave of his hand he turns the water into steam. The guy is really handy.

I fly over the bay and hold my hand up to give him a high hive. There is a split second where I wonder if he sees, but he raises his hand and our hands make a very weird yet satisfying clapping noise.

CLASP!

Alloya Ra’non

As I help Aleti lay down on the couch in the lounge of the Rango, Terra comes down with the Reeky-tites. Tele is trying to carry the beaten Readine to the couch across from me and Torun goes to help her.

He goes to lift Readine’s left arm over his head while offering, “I’ll help you with her.”

As soon as he touches her arm Tele swats him away and snaps at him, “We don’t need your help!” 

I have Torun’s wife help them instead. “Pekipsea, help the poor girl would you?”

“Sure,” Pekipsea agrees begrudgingly. I don’t blame her for not being enthusiastic about her husband’s treatment, but I think the mistrust is understandable. 

Terra asks me, “Who should I help first?”

“I’ll tend to Aleti. Help this girl,” I tell him. Then I turn back to my daughter, with her looking up at me. 

She asks me with a twinge of fear and curiosity, “How are you going to tend to me?”

“I’m going to teach you the easy trick of charging up your power, Terra and Jackal taught me when I was a beginner like you.” Better now while she is too injured to go out of control, or at least when I think she is. “That should heal these flesh wounds, and any internal bruising. If I teach you now you’ll definitely feel the difference.”

She narrows the one eye not swollen as she asks, “How do I charge my power through something other than anger and pain?” Her words are sharp, remembering what set her powers off at the Tourney, thinking of yet another secret I must keep. To think I just swore I would stop doing that, but I can never tell anyone how Rom died.

I bring my left hand to the side of her face, then I reach back and place my middle finger where her skull rounds off. I explain, “Your powers should be fully awake now. Do you feel a slight pressure, a wall that just seemingly misses your brain?”

“Yes,” she gasps with this confused face of realization. “It’s like something is always resting against my head.”

“That feeling will go away once your power is able to flow freely. For now your conscious is going to act like a small valve. Now that you know this tiny wall is there. You can grab onto it.” I can tell that she is trying by the look on her face, and the one of surprise and fear when she naturally knows how to grip it. When she makes eye contact with me, I continue my lesson. “You’re just going to lift it up, and it is very important that no matter what you do, don’t let go of the valve, or just slam it shut. You’ll give yourself a very painful headache.” 

“Okay,” Aleti responds. Then her chest starts moving up and down. “I’m scared,” she admits in a whisper, but her eyes are wide open, and loud. “What if it’s too much and I transform again?” 

I promise her, “If it seems like you’re going out of control,” I put both of my hands on her temple and pool my energy into them, creating a blue-green aura around her head, “I’ll stop you, I’ll keep you here with me.” 

She brings her hands up to mine and holds them. She thinks she is ready to go and looks for me to tell her to try. I nod my head, egging her on.

Aleti, with my confirmation, lets her head rest all the way back and lifts the valve. I can feel her let a little energy in; I feel the energy of demons, not Guardians, leak into her skull. Not enough to fix anything more than a heachache.

“You’re going to have to let in more, Aleti,” I tell her. She opens the valve more, and energy leaks through. As it starts to fix the injuries on her face, Aleti’s eyes open. She looks at me, no longer afraid but surprised as her face heals completely. 

Instantly giving in to her natural sense of curiosity, she opens the valve more. She sees that she has so much more control over her power when she asks for it, when she knows its there, versus when it forces its way into her. 

As more and more energy runs through her body, everything starts to heal. In a matter of seconds Aleti is completely fine. I remind her then that she is no longer healing, but charging her power. “Aleti, you’re fine now. Stop.”

It takes her a second to register what I said, but then she immediately closes her internal valve. She quickly sits herself upright like she just woke from a good nap. I withdraw my hands from her face and maintain my spot kneeling on the floor next to the couch. 

Aleti looks down at her hands, looking at them as if they are foreign to her. She tells me without looking at me, “This power, its how you heal and always seem to get back up, isn’t it Mom?”

“Yes.” I wonder how many other powers she gains simply from her connection to demons. She must have gotten our translation ability too. None of us noticed, but she shouldn’t have been able to speak to Rivertans otherwise I would think. 

“Cool, isn’t it?” I try to lighten the mood with a joke.

She does say anything, already consumed by her own little world

I hear Torun comment, seemingly watching and listening to this whole interaction. “Funny one to talk about that.” Being a part of the Guardian bloodline, yet not having any powers, he must have an interesting point of view. 

“What now?” Aleti asks. Then she looks past me at Terra fixing up Readine, his insides covering her. “How is Readine?” Aleti motions to lay her feet on the ground and sit up on the couch. I stand and move out of her way to begin waiting for a call from any of the guys.

Terra informs everyone, “There was some internal bleeding, I couldn’t have helped her if I had waited to help you first. Let’s not go into the nitty gritty, else you may lose your lunches. We move her to the infirmary instead of the lounge.”

“What are you doing to her now?” Tele asks him.

“Simply filling in a few cracked bones. I could leave them to heal on their own, but why not fix it now,” Terra reckons. “Also,” he adds, “Someone should go get her some clothes. I had to cut them open, and even the remains are going to be gross.”

“I’ll get her something from the Proto-analyzer,” Aleti volunteers. “Get me new clothes too.” Swiftly she gets up and moves like nothing had ever happened.

Tele watches my daughter in awe. “Amazing that she can move after the beating she took,” she mutters. Then she turned to me. “Can all of you recover like that?”

“Some of us better than others,” I inform her.

Then I hear a voice come through my earpiece. It’s Womby.

“Captain, Hideo found Lamberine, along with some guards.” 

Finally. 

“They appeared in the harbor, but Clay disintegrated the water so they are trying to hide in the hatch. They’ll have to leave sooner or later.”

I try to contain my more sadistic smile. “He can’t go out without a ship, and without the water no ship is being transferred to the ocean.”

“Do you want us to take him to you?” he asks me.

I grow devious smile. I am going to enjoy this, and I am not going to stain my home with his insides. “No,” I order Womby, “wait until I get there, let him hide like a coward in his hole. I want to see it.”