The Gathering

Rachael bent down as she struggled to catch her breath. "You said you had a plan, you dumbass!" she shouted in frustration. "I can't believe you made us run like wild dogs."

"Seriously Stefan!?" Christina chimed in, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "Running was your plan all along? You're stunningly crazy."

"We lose them, don't we?" Stefan scoffed, his face unrepentant. "So skip your whining and let's go." He trudged past the girls, leading the way down the road ahead.

Rachael and Christina glared at him as he walked past, but soon joined him. After walking for a few more miles they finally arrived at Tina's house. Rachael pressed the doorbell, and they waited in silence for a response.

Stefan's eyes darted nervously toward Rachael. "Are you really serious about this?" he asked, his heartbeat racing with each passing second of waiting.

"Do I look like I'm joking!?" Rachael snapped, giving Stefan a look that made him cringe.

The door finally swung open, and Tina appeared, tilting her head. However, as she took in the sight of the trio standing on her porch, her face transformed into a picture of ambivalence.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

Christina burst out laughing, amused by the look on Tina's face. "Oh my God! What's that expression?" she said.

"It's a mixture of anger and surprise," Stefan said, grinning larger to suppress his fear 

Rachael added, "And confusion. Maybe there's a bit of fear in it," before turning to Tina. "We're here to see your dad. I hope he's at home."

"Why do you want to see my dad?" Tina groaned, her eyes fixed particularly on Stefan.

"It's none of your concern. Either you show us the way, or we find it ourselves, and we'll meet him," Stefan said, brushing past her into the house.

Rachael and Christina shrugged and followed.

Tina's ire turned to fear, her patience wearing thin. "Are you messing with me?" she yelled. "Get the fuck out of my..."

"This is urgent, Tina," Christina whispered. "This is about Mike, he's... Ugh, God! I don't even know how to explain it." 

"He's in Perebia at the moment," Rachael helped her complete it. "He's now the Jyuran... err... whatever you know him as. Bat boy?" 

Tina's jaw dropped in astonishment. "How'd you know about that?" she asked, her words almost suppressed to a whisper.

"It's a long story; we need to meet your dad, please, Tina," Rachael implored, now staring at her in the eyes.

Tina hesitated for a moment, her gaze darting between the trio's faces before nodding. "Follow me," she said, leading them to the sitting room.

When they entered the room, she told them to sit, but none of the trio could bring themselves to sit where they were uninvited. Instead, they stood awkwardly, their eyes scanning the room, probably for any potential threat.

Tina took a deep breath before shouting up the stairs, "Dad! Dad, come down here, you have uninvited guests!"

The guests tensed, but none could summon the courage to speak.

After a full minute of awkward silence, Jake Edwards, Tina's father, appeared upstairs. He took slow steps down the stairs, his eyes trained intently on his visitors standing downstairs.

When he reached the bottom his face turned unreadable as he scrutinized the trio's faces. "Who are you and what can I do for you guys?" he asked.

Rachael took a deep breath, bracing herself for the reaction that would follow her revelations. "Good morning, sir; we're Tina's schoolmates," she began. "I'll just cut to the chase. My brother stole your box. Actually, I brought him here to borrow some books, but he mistakenly took it, not knowing it's Pandora's box. He opened the box and... heavens know what he saw in there that turned him into a half-alien or a so-called Jyuran that's going to save, not our world, but the Anthropter's planet. And now that he's gone, my parents are getting suspicious of his disappearance, and we're desperately in need of your help since you're the only one who would understand our situation," she concluded, finally exhaling a deep breath.

Jake furrowed his brows in bewilderment. "Excuse me, young lady," he said, "can you repeat everything you just said in a slow, calm, and understandable version because I can't seem to understand a single word?"

"It seems we're done for," Stefan, standing beside Christina, whispered into her ear, his voice trembling with fear. 

Christina's expression was equally worried, her eyes locked on Jake's face, perhaps waiting for his reaction.

*****

As Mike, Miram, and Garo approached the cavern, they began to hear indistinct murmuring echoing from within. The murmuring grew clearer as they advanced, and they soon found themselves standing at the entrance of the cavern.

The cavern was dimly lit, with the only light coming from the soft ray of orangish sky shining through the cavern's mouth. The trio's eyes adjusted slowly to the dim light, and they saw about ten Anthropters sitting on the floor, their attention focused on Cat, who stood on a raised platform at the front of the room.

Cat's voice was clear and confident as she concluded her sentence. "... and the only thing we could do is to keep our hopes up." The room fell silent for a moment before Mat spoke up his concerns.

"But this is dangerous; if things go awry, we're all going to meet our demise."

"Exactly! What if he's overcome by Jran's soul?" Dango nodded in agreement. "How would we escape the consequences?"

"What are you suggesting we do now then?" Thanny chimed in. "We suppress him or what? End him without even giving him a chance?"

The room fell silent once more. Then, Kit's loud, tiny voice cut through the silence, commanding the attention of the room.

"In my own opinion," she began. "I believe the fact that he suppressed Jran's vengeful soul until now is enough to rekindle our hope, as we've lost it all thinking the Krara is defiled. I think this is the right time to put our trust in the new Jyuran."

"How can we be sure he's not lying to you, Cat?" Rildeo asked. "We all know the Krara still has Jran's soul in it, and anyone who wields the power would be consumed immediately, so how was he able to hold Jran's soul till this moment?"

Rildeo's words sparked a wave of discord among the council, plunging the cavern into an uproar. The Anthropters began to argue among themselves, their voices rising in a cacophony of doubt and fear.

Mike, however, stood apart from the chaos, his mind racing with thoughts and questions. Djuma was wrong; Jran's soul wasn't in the memories; it was in the krara. So how was he able to vanquish him each time he tried to take control? He doubted Christina's intervention was enough.

The answer to his question remained a mystery, and if there's one thing he knew for certain, it's that there's nothing Cat could do to solve this situation.

He had to prove himself to the council that he was ready to sacrifice his all to protect the people. He needs to prove himself worthy of the Krara and show them he's the Jyuran Perebia have been waiting for.

With a newfound sense of determination, Mike felt a surge of power course through his veins. He swished toward the raised platform where Cat stood, his eyes glowing with an unnerving energy.

The cavern fell silent, the Anthropters' eyes fixed on Mike in a mixture of awe and fear. The air was thick with anticipation, and Mike needed no one to tell him that this was his moment.