The New Beginning

People were rushing to help Freta, who was lying unconscious on the floor. Akira didn't know much, but he knew two things. One, someone's planet, along with everyone on it, had disappeared. Two, that someone was actually Freta. The old guy, the second captain, was shouting orders for everyone to stop panicking and go back to their stations, but things were getting out of his hand.

Akira felt's Max's fingers digging into his shoulder. He yelled out in pain. "Hey, you are hurting me!"

"Ah, sorry about that," Max said taking his hands off Akira. "Sorry about that. I didn't notice I was hurting you."

"What's going on here?" Akira asked, rubbing his sore shoulders.

But Max didn't reply. Akira stared at him for a while, at his glossless red mask. The tall guy was looking up at the high ceiling, apparently lost in some deep thought. Akira raised his hand and began reaching out, stopped himself before he could touch Max's arms, and looked around at the commotion.

Guess this is my chance, he thought and took a step away from Max.

Max didn't react. It seemed he was still thinking about something. Akira took two more steps and got no reaction from Max or anyone else.

"I'm out," he muttered under his breath and began walking as fast as he could towards the nearest escalator. Soon, he was out of the main room and was back in the labyrinth of corridors with moving floors.

Akira remembered the path they had taken to reach the central room, which was a good thing. He peered at the people and aliens nearby to see if they were interested in him? No one was. So, Akira climbed back on the moving floor that would take him back to the first room, which, if Akira remembered correctly, Max had called the entrance.

"But wait," Akira muttered and jumped off the moving platform, startling a fat alien with a small trunk who was standing on the stationary floor that flanked the moving one.

The alien was staring at Akira,  but Akira didn't pay him any attention as he had remembered that the entrance, the first room, only had one hallway leading out of it.

"Why in the world did he call it an entrance?" Akira thought out loud.

"Are you looking for the entrance?" the fat alien asked. His voice sounded funny, and he was spitting more and speaking less.

"N-No," Akira said reluctantly. "Exit. I want to go outside."

"Ohhh. Outside, huh? I don't know if that's a good idea," the alien said, showering Akira with alien saliva. "Take that path." He didn't use his hand but his trunk to point. "Take the first left, then the second right, and take the first stair you come across."

"Thanks," Akira said and wiped the slimy liquid off his face. "Thanks a lot, sir." He turned around.

"Who are you?" the alien asked. "Never seen you before. Are you a new candidate taking the entrance exam?"

"Oh. Yeah." Akira looked back at the big guy. "That's right." Akira again turned around.

"But isn't it months away? Aren't you too early?"

"Yes," Akira said,faking a smile. "I got mixed up with the dates. That's why I'm going back."

"I see," the alien said. "Okay. Bye. Hopefully, I'll see you again." He began waving his short trunk.

I don't know about that, Akira thought and began running toward the hallway the alien had pointed with his trunk. Akira followed the big guy's direction and soon found himself walking past a long room with a see-through wall. Snaking cables covered the interior of the room, and giant empty pods lined the opposite side of the glass wall. Akira glanced at the pods, past his partial reflection, and saw that one of them was full of liquid, and a person was floating inside it.

Akira stopped dead and pressed his head against the glass wall, cupping his hand around his eyes. "Rin?"

She stood suspended in blue liquid, bubbles popping out of her mouthpiece. She looked different, thanks to her short hair waving straight in the water and an eerie blue light casting dark shadows on her face. Akira squinted harder and realized that most of the burned marks around her arms and head had disappeared. Akira sighed, glad that Rin was doing fine. But all the relief disappeared as soon as he remembered about Pako. He wondered if he should go back and look for Pako. He didn't trust these people. If they found out that Pako was a thief, they would probably punish him.

But there is no way I can help him, Akira thought, no way at all.

He still had his face glued to the glass and was staring at Rin when one of the medics who had earlier carried Rin came into his view with a clipboard in her hand.

The medic stared at him, and her went wide and her lips started moving, but Akira didn't hear anything coming out of her mouth. The glass was soundproof.

"Uh..." Akira spun around and bolted.  He glanced behind and saw the medic woman had come out and was now looking for him. "Damn it."

A few seconds later, Akira came across a rather dilapidated staircase. He was not sure if this was the right staircase as it looked as if it hadn't been used for a long time. He looked up and saw a small, metal door with a diamond-shaped porthole. A very bright, white light was streaming out of the porthole.

Akira climbed up to the small door. There was a plate on the door with words carved in a language Akira couldn't understand. He touched the plate, ran his fingers over the bumpy words. The thing was freezing. Gulping hard, Akir stood on his toes and peered into the porthole above the plate. What he saw made his heart jump right into his throat. Everything was gleaming and white.

"Still want to go out?" Max's voice said.

Akira glanced behind and gazed at the red mask topped with a bushy white hair.

"Where are we?" Akira asked though he already knew the answer. 

"Antarctica," Max said.

"What does that mean?" Akira pointed at words etched in the metal.

"We still don't know what that means," Max said. "Before becoming our headquarter, this place used to be a spaceship of an ancient alien race that's long gone. Anyway, let's go back."

"No," Akira said, clutching the cold door.

"Oh, don't worry," Max said and raised his hands. "No one is going to erase your memories now."

"I don't trust you," Akira said, still clutching the door.

"Relax, Akira," Max said. "There is no need for us to clear your memories now. We realized that you are capable of using cosmic energy. We want you."

"Wait," Akira said, his heart beating faster. "Are you for real? I feel like I know where this is going."

"Yes, yes," Max said and made his masked head go up and down. "You are a smart guy. You have heard what's coming. We need people to fight for us. So, we want you to join us after--"

"I'm in," Akira said.

"Whoa. Calm down. Hold your horses. Let me finish first. We want you to take the Guardian's Entrance Exam."

"Exam?" Akira asked. "Why can't I just join you right away?"

"That's not how this works. We want people who'll help us. We don't want people who need our helping," Max said. "Anyway, I've been asked to take you back to your home--only if you accept to take the exam."

"If I say yes," Akira said, "you'll take me back to my home?"

"Yes," Max said.

Akira laughed and slumped to the floor. The day had taken an immense toll on his body. "I'll participate. Please take me back home."

"Right away," Max said and gave him a dramatic thumbs up.

Akira now knew that when Max said right away, he really meant that.

Two minutes minutes later, Akira was back in his bed, back in Japan. He was itching, wanted to take a shower, but at the same time didn't want to leave the comfort of his bed. He had assumed that he wouldn't be able to sleep with dirt and his dried sweat sticking on his skin. But his exhaustion overpowered his discomfort, and he was soon drifting into sleep.

That night, he dreamed about the green woman and the magical stone. He saw many other things, but he only remembered about the woman and the stone.

Akira overslept and didn't open his eyes until he felt something warm, rough, and wet and rubbing against his cheek.

"Whahh..." Akira slowly opened his eyes and saw a black cat floating over his head.

"Yo."

"Pako?" Akira said and jumped out of his bed. "W-what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean-yo?" Pako asked and plopped down on Akira's bed. "From today onwards... I'll be living here."