Jade lay on the hospital bed inside the stark white room. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, taking in the sterile surroundings. Moments later, the door creaked open.
“You’re awake.” The nurse entered, carrying a tray of food. Setting it down on the small table beside him, she added, “Here’s your meal. I should inform Mr. President.”
Without waiting for a reply, she left the room. Jade sat up and began eating.
Minutes later, President Avon entered quietly. Jade had already settled back onto the bed.
“Hi, Jade. Feeling any better?” Avon asked, taking a seat beside him. “You went unconscious right after defeating that Skimal.”
Jade’s jaw tightened. “I need to get back to Takeki.”
“No need to worry. I’ve already sent a message of appreciation... and updated everyone on your condition,” Avon assured him.
“What?!” Jade bolted upright. “Saz didn’t send me here—it was a mistake.”
“What do you mean, a mistake?” Avon asked, puzzled.
Jade let out a weary sigh. “The last Grogg stuff... it was true. I traveled to another planet. There was this strange machine controlling the Skimals—used to fly them to Earth. I wanted to destroy it, but an alarm went off.” His voice lowered, tinted with worry. “The Grogg arrived on a space shuttle, beat me badly. Somehow, I escaped by the skin of my teeth and ended up here on Visgard.”
Avon whistled softly. “Wow. You went through all that?”
Jade nodded, a grim smile forming. “He actually survived on their spaceship. Who would've thought they had more than one?”
“So, any new discoveries?” Avon leaned in, curious.
“First, he controls the Skimals—I don’t know how. Second, he’s still recovering. And third, I think we’re up against not just him, but the entire universe. Earth is doomed.” Jade flopped back onto the bed, exhaustion creeping in.
“Don’t be so quick to give up,” Avon stood, offering encouragement. “You should take some soldiers to the other planets and try destroying those machines.”
“Hmph, easier said than done. I need to... see my family—”
“I know. We’ve prepared a bike for you, ready whenever you are.” Avon gestured toward the door.
Jade opened it. “How fast is it?”
“Just as fast,” Avon replied with a smile.
Stepping outside, Jade found himself on an island surrounded by scattered trees. Soldiers stood guard nearby.
“Wow. Never thought I’d set foot here,” Jade muttered, making his way to the bike.
He started the engine and studied it for a few moments before grinning at Avon.
“Told you—we call it the VIS Bike.” Avon smiled back as Jade accelerated away.
At 400 mph, it would take no more than three hours to reach Takeki village.
***
“Why lump us all together? What reason do we have to side with them?” Cindy complained bitterly as she walked home with Dr. Bryan and Mark.
“The village is divided now. How can we even face the last Grogg?” Dr. Bryan asked.
“Tch. I wish Jade had never done what he did,” Mark grumbled.
“Wait, what exactly did Jade do?” Cindy asked, confused.
Mark glanced at Dr. Bryan for confirmation. The doctor shrugged.
“(Sighs) Jade is the real king,” Mark finally revealed.
“Hm. Okay, that was uncalled for. Can you repeat that?” Cindy said incredulously.
“You heard right,” Dr. Bryan confirmed.
“Alright, explain what’s going on,” Cindy demanded, stopping in her tracks.
“It’s a long story…”
***
“Mom, are we really just going to leave like this?” Selina snapped angrily.
“Of course we are. This isn’t a picnic,” Rhen replied coldly.
“Pjay and Vedry were lucky to get off with just injuries,” Racle said sadly.
“Sorry, how is that our problem now?” Selina shot back.
“Maybe it’d be more fun traveling with them,” Racle mused.
“This isn’t traveling—it’s exile! Why would it be fun?” Selina shouted.
“Come on, you two. Are you going to keep fighting like cats and rats on a walk?” Rhen scolded them both. She sighed and muttered, “What’s your father even doing at a time like this?”
“But Mom, how do we expose the truth?” Racle asked.
“That won’t be easy,” Rhen said, a smirk playing on her lips. “But once they fall into our trap... boom. It’ll all blow up.”
“What trap?” Selina pressed.
“You’ll see when the time comes. Things might not go as planned though,” she warned cryptically.
***
Meanwhile, Peter had arrived home, hastily packed a bag, and set out on a journey to leave Takeki village.
***
“I can’t believe you hid this from me all this while,” Cindy said, after Mark finished explaining what had happened. “What about my brother? He doesn’t even know he’s serving the wrong king.”
“We had to keep it secret. The fewer who know, the better. We can’t let Saz get suspicious if Peter acts out of character,” Mark explained.
“So, what do we do now?” Cindy asked anxiously.
“We wait for Jade to arrive,” Mark said.
“I doubt he’s coming in peace,” Dr. Bryan added.
“Definitely not,” Cindy agreed.
“That’s why we have to rescue as many citizens as possible. The crossfire this time won’t be good,” Mark warned.
“Shouldn’t we inform the other villages?” Cindy asked.
“This is an internal conflict. It doesn’t concern them,” Mark replied.
“Didn’t you forget someone?” Dr. Bryan asked.
“Vedry!” they all exclaimed.
***
After two hours riding the bike, Jade neared the village border. In the distance, multiple figures emerged from the outskirts.
“Is that… Selina?” Jade murmured to himself. “What are they doing out here?”
Curious, he sped up.
On the other side, Selina spotted the bike approaching.
“Mom, someone’s coming on a bike. Think it’s Dad?” Selina asked.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Rhen replied. The three of them ran toward Jade.
As he neared, Jade slowed, dismounted, and ran to them.
They embraced tightly, happiness flooding through them.
“What are you all doing out here at this hour? It’s past seven,” Jade said with concern and a smile. “Let’s head back.”
Rhen sighed deeply. “Bad news, honey. We were exiled.”
“Exiled?” Jade chuckled in disbelief. “Seriously? By who?”
“Saz, of course. Who else would have the power?” Rhen said.
“Did everyone agree to this?” Jade asked, his expression darkening.
“Not really. Long story short, nobody agreed. But when Saz warned that if you returned to fight, they wouldn’t back down, Peter, Mark, and his family objected. Now Drek’s in charge of the army, and none of us are part of the pillars anymore,” Rhen summarized.
“We don’t have time for this madness. I provoked the last Grogg. It won’t be long before he descends on Earth,” Jade said firmly as they began walking.
“So the last Grogg actually survived?” Rhen asked.
“Yes. And he’s stronger than anything I’ve ever faced,” Jade admitted.
“How do you mean?”
“I hate to admit it, but we fought. He defeated me in less than a minute.”
“A minute?!”
“Yeah, a minute,” Jade confirmed grimly. “Looks like we’re in for quite a surprise.”
.....
...