Chapter 13: Revelation

The next couple of days, I tried to get into Chiri's confidence. I helped her with school as much as I could, hoping she would open up to me and tell me everything. It was a small chance, but I had to try. I didn't want to scare her off by questioning her. My plan didn't seem to work so I tried hinting at it, trying to get her to unconsciously open up. However, that failed too. My hints seemed to go over her head. Finally, one day after school, Chiri confronted me.

"H-hi, Hana. T-thanks for helping me out. I-I think I can trust you now," Chiri said to me. "I-I hope I'm not making a mistake," she mumbled to herself.

"We should probably go someplace private to talk. You don't want other people to hear, right?" I said, barely containing my excitement.

Chiri nodded so I led her down the street to the park. Once there, I led her into the abandoned gazebo. She looked extremely scared and more than a little nervous about telling me. I didn't blame her. I'd probably be nervous too, sharing a secret with a near stranger.

"What did you want to tell me?" I asked, trying not to shout from excitement.

"U-um… W-what I'm going to tell you sounds a little crazy so… p-please don't laugh!" Chiri sputtered nervously.

"I promise I won't laugh. Trust me, nothing you're going to say will sound crazy to me."

"O-ok. Um… y-you see… I-I'm… not exactly from here."

"Here as in Japan?"

"N-no. I-I mean I'm not from Earth."

This kind of surprised me. I never really thought about there being other planets with life besides Earth and Shizin. I also wasn't surprised. Chiri seemed too ignorant about the world to be from Earth.

"Ok… who are the people you mentioned that are in trouble? Who's attacking them?" I asked, trying not to panic.

"Um… m-my clan, no, my world is in trouble. I-I'm actually what you Earthens call a subterranean. M-my planet is mostly uninhabitable above ground so just about everyone lives underground."

That explained why her skin and hair were so light.

"Who's attacking your planet and why?" I asked, fearing the answer.

"Um… I-I'm not really sure. A-all I know is that they are destroying our underground homes by using some sort of magic."

"What kind of magic?"

"Um… W-well, the surface of my planet is extremely hot. T-that's why we don't live above ground. T-the invaders are somehow making the surface volcanic and the lava has been flooding our tunnels and killing us either by…" Chiri paused, on the verge of tears. "...b-burning us alive or... s-suffocating us with smoke."

I mentally sighed with relief. I was glad Kagaku and his minions weren't somehow still alive. However, this new threat sounded just as dangerous. I need to tell Kusumura just in case they attacked Shizin. Maybe he could send some warriors to Chiri's planet and help them drive the evildoers away.

"I think I can help you with your problem. It's kind of a long story, but I know about another planet. I… uh… kind of saved it from disaster. Anyways, I'm sure they'd be happy to help you and your planet. They know what it's like to be taken over by a malevolent force."

"R-really?! Y-you'll help me?!" Chiri exclaimed, brightening. "H-how will we get to this planet? D-do you have a ship?"

"Uh… no, not exactly. Um… just close your eyes and hold my hand. I'll tell you when we're there."

Chiri looked at me suspiciously but did what she was told. Once she had done that, I threw the Warp Seed up into the air and whispered "Shizin." A bright light enveloped us. I hoped that it would transport Chiri too. I had never traveled with another person before. Finally, the light receded so I opened my eyes. I'm happy to say that Chiri was still with me, clutching my hand in fear. Uhc

"You can open your eyes now. We're here."

Chiri slowly opened her eyes. Then, she looked around in wonder.

"Welcome to Shizin. I know it's not much at the moment, but we're getting there."

"It's wonderful," Chiri gasped without a trace of a nervous stutter.

"Let's go see the king. We might be able to get him to send an army to your planet. He's a pretty nice guy. He also… kind of owes me a favor anyway," I proclaimed, feeling kind of guilty.

She nodded so I led the way to the castle of bushes. When Chiri saw it, she once again gasped in awe and wonder. As we walked closer to the doors, the radish guards gave me and Chiri a strange look. I ignored them and continued on. Eventually, we made it to the throne room, where Kusumura was sitting on his throne.

"Hello, Hana!" he exclaimed, breaking into a smile. "Who's your friend here? I've never seen her before."

"That's probably because she's not from here," I said, trying to sound casual.

That got his attention. The king looked at me with big eyes.

"What do you mean, not from here? Where did she come from? Why is she here?"

"Well… she's from a planet that's currently under attack, kind of like Shizin was before. She came here to get some help."

I nudged Chiri, indicating she needed to explain her situation.

"D-Daichi, my planet, is under attack by an unknown force. Um… I-I don't really know who they are, but they are killing my planet. T-there's a possibility that they could attack this one too. I-I don't know what their main goal is or anything about them. P-please help my planet!" she cried.

The king looked at me questioningly. I shook my head. I knew what he was thinking. The culprits weren't somehow Kagaku and his minions. Kusumura sighed with relief.

"Stop crying, young one. I will help your planet. All you need to do is tell me the exact location of Daichi. We will do our best to help your people defeat this unknown threat," Kusumura said gently.

Chiri looked up, hopeful.

"Um… M-my planet is in the Andromeda Galaxy about twenty lightyears in."

"Why don't we just use the Warp Seed? I know the name of her planet so why can't I just transport everyone there at once?" I asked, confused as to why Kusumura needed to know the exact location.

"W-Warp Seed?" Chiri asked, also confused.

"Yeah. It's the thing that got us here. Here, I can show you."

I pulled out the golden Seed and showed it to her.

"W-woah! H-how does it work?" she asked, interested.

"Well, all you have to do is throw the Seed up and say the name of the place you want to go. That's what the bright light was earlier and the reason why I didn't need a ship to get here."

"A-amazing! W-with this, help can arrive on Daichi in no time!"

I looked to the king. He looked more than a little nervous.

"I have never tried to transport many people using the Warp Seed. I do not know if it would work or not or what the consequences would be if it does not work," he said nervously.

"W-we have to try! W-who knows how long it will take you to get to Daichi! W-what if we're too late?!�� Chiri cried.

"Very well. We will attempt it. However, if it does not work, we will travel to Daichi the long way."

I nodded. I hope I'm up to this task.