0

Black Suns
By: Gregory Tyson
 Introduction
The year is 2040, in which many humanoid species not native to Planet Earth roam on. Sonny
Hillshire, a former member of the Black Suns, tries to make a living in the ever so confusing
world whilst taking care of two people, one of which is a child of a friend he knew. During his
past as a Black Sun member, he was known as the “Black Demon” from the war. Despite this,
there are greater evils that dwell in the world as he also wants to know what happened to his
wife, as well as a mysterious hunter who wants to kill him and his past coming back to haunt
him.
 1

Chapter 1: Any Story Is Boring to Start Off With, But

They Get Better Over Time
Rain. The thunderous, pitter-pattering drops of water that fall from the gray-clouded
skies. Of course, maybe that was Mother Nature’s way of relieving tension and stress that she
endured for many years. Almost as if she was crying. Or maybe God felt like flushing the skies
so that his paradise could at least look prettier to his people on the planet. Whenever it rains,
someone’s day is either going well or going terrible, whichever one it was.
It rained terribly on the midday of April 9, 2040 in the cities of Burlington Vermont. Traffic was
heavy, yet some people, or creatures, found it relaxing, possibly due to the rain. However, things
were not so relaxing at a cemetery on a hill. Standing on said hill was a tombstone titled “Blithe
Hillshire” as a person wearing a black raincoat and carrying a yellow umbrella with flowers on it
stood over the tombstone. Said person was a black man appearing in his 401s and somewhat
plump around the waist, but still capable of movement. He seemed despondent as he looked at
the tombstone, wondering what the future lay ahead of him.
“Damn”, he cursed under his breath as he was looking up at the rain. It definitely didn’t help that
this rain was indeed a reminder of his younger days. Not since he was a man of action in a war
eight years ago. He wanted to forget it but couldn’t since those were the years of when he served
and was also discharged. It began thundering, which was a sign of the storm getting worse and a
message for him to leave.
No later than 10 minutes, he got home to his apartment in Burlington, which was no better than a
run-down dump as he was already down on his luck. His somewhat bitter, yet sarcastic nature
reflected on where he lived. A somewhat working 50-inch television that depended on an
antenna for channels sitting on a desk with some gaming consoles underneath, as well as a coffee
table in the middle of the room littered with mail and other sorts of papers were just the
beginning of it.
As he plopped down on the somewhat nearly broken blue sofa, he stared blankly at the
television, not caring to even take off his coat.
“Mr. Hillshire!” a funny voice that sounded male called out, drawing his undivided attention to
it. “Have you paid the rent yet?”
“Yeah!” The man replied back, somewhat lying through his mouth. Today was the day the rent
was due, and he completely ignored it. If he didn't pay it in time, he and the person staying with
him would be kicked out.
“Are you sure you’re not lying about that?” the funny voice asked. “Remember last time when
Miss Flordia tried to beat the rent out of you?”
“Ugh… Don’t remind me.”

1
Sonny is actually 40 years old.
 2

To this Mr. Hillshire person, it made him shudder about what happened last time in his mind as
he remembered. Someone being called his “landlord” decided to try beating him when he arrived
late without payment. However, coming from the bathroom three doors down the hall was an
Arabic man with some dark skin, wearing a blue shirt and khakis, not even having any shoes on
his feet. He seemed to be in his 20s2 and didn’t look to be any less scrawny than any other people
in his age range.
“Akeem, any calls when I left?” Mr. Hillshire asked, not even paying any attention to where his
living associate was.
“No. But Mr. Hillshire…may I ask why you left?”
With a vague response as he tugged on the tip of his hat, Sonny replied, “I dunno. I needed fresh
air.” He didn't want to tell him the real reason why he left, as it was more personal for him. As he
looked up to the surprisingly clean ceiling, he heard a knock on the door, which sounded more
aggressive. To him and Akeem, this was a troubling sign as this was someone they knew, which
terrified Akeem and annoyed Mr. Hillshire.
“Hey, Sonny!” the voice asked harshly and loudly, being somewhat of an elderly woman’s tone.
“Where’s my money?!”
“You didn’t pay her?!” Akeem asked in a rather surprised and panicked voice.
“Uh…no,” Sonny answered calmly. He began to roll out of his jacket pocket what appeared to be
a wad of cash stretching to about seven hundred dollars and approached the door with it in his
hand.
“I’ve got it right here!” Sonny yelled back, hoping to get the person off his back already. He then
opened the door and was greeted by an elderly woman3 with dark skin similar to his and gray,
frazzled hair. She also wore a red dress that was colorful with some pink, orange and yellow in
between, along with the black flats that told a different story. She seemed to be peeved as usual,
but her face turned to surprise as Sonny opened his hand to reveal cash for her.
“...Huh,” the woman said, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve paid me. But that doesn’t excuse you for
not handing it directly to me earlier.”
“Well, I-” Sonny began, before being cut off by the woman.
“Zip it!”, she snapped with a demanding finger in his face. “And another thing! Why haven’t you
answered my calls?!”
“Well, I had to go do something to clear my head.” Seemingly, that was true.
“I ain’t buying it.” The woman gave Sonny a rather unpleasant look, staring him in the eyes as
she crossed her arms. “This is the sixth time you’ve gone on this strange day. Every other six
years you leave and go where, exactly?”

2
Akeem is 25 years old.
3
Miss Flordia is 75 years old.
 3

“Nowhere,” Sonny answered.

“Pfft,” the woman scoffed. “People don’t just go nowhere. I know something you don’t.”
“Huh?” Akeem answered questioningly.
“What’s that?” Sonny asked intriguingly.
“...It’s that woman of yours, isn’t it?”, the woman asked, which was in a rather calm tone. “I
know how much she meant to you.”
“...A woman…?” Akeem asked, hearing this for the first time. “Mr. Hillshire, you were
married?”
“...Yeah”, Sonny answered, seemingly looking down at the floor. “My late wife.”
“So that’s why…” Akeem said, understanding it.
“Well, I’m glad to have my money”, the woman said as she closed her eyes for a moment and
folded her arms in contempt before opening said eyes. “But I still expect you to have my money
next time, or you’ll be saying hello to my eviction notice.”
She then left as Sonny closed the door, feeling relieved even though he kept thinking about his
late wife. However, knowing Akeem looked like he was about to say something, he quickly
interjected with a “Don’t ask”. As the minutes passed by with the two on the couch, another
knock was on the door, which didn’t sound aggressive at all. Rather, easier and
gentler…and…lower. Sonny answered the door, to which he was shocked as he had to look
down. Standing no taller than him was a Japanese girl who wore a blue raincoat with a hood
covered over her head and wore matching blue rainboots with pictures of a green dinosaur with
orange shoes on them.
“Oh, hell no!” Sonny shouted, thinking that this was some lost soul who would annoy him to no
end. He didn't want any visitors at this time of the evening.
“Who is it?” Akeem asked from the couch, wondering who was at the door.
“...Excuse me,” the little girl said. “Are you Mr. Sonny Hillshire that my mommy knew?”
“...What?” Sonny asked, bewildered as to whom the little girl was.
“My mommy.” Sonny then kneeled down to her, meeting her at eye level.
“I-I’m sorry little one, but who is your ‘mommy’?”
“Kimiko Tetsuya.”
Sonny’s eyes went in shock, having a memory about the woman the little girl said. He
remembered a woman by that name, but he wanted to make sure.
“I know of your mother,” he replied, “But you’re barking up the wrong tree. I’ve already got a
mouth to feed, and I don’t need another.”
 4

“But-” the little girl said, having worry in her eyes, “But my mommy wanted you to take care of
me if something happened to her!”
Sonny’s eyes were wide in shock, realizing that something did happen to her. This little girl
wouldn’t be here otherwise. He really wanted to turn her away, but couldn’t as he was watching
her about to cry. Eventually, he caved in with a sigh.
“...Fine, come in,” he answered in a defeated tone. The little girl came in with a smile and made
her way to the couch. Akeem noticed the girl, which made him wonder who she was.
“Who are you?” Akeem asked, never seeing the girl before.
“I’m Kira Tetsuya,” the girl happily answered. “Your skin’s brown and dirty.” Akeem’s face
grew annoyed quickly as a twitch happened under his eye as he turned away.
“Mr. Hillshire, why’s there a girl in here?” he asked whilst hiding his anger.
“She belongs to a friend of mine,” Sonny said, sitting down. He noticed her boots, which were
familiar to him as a character he could recognize as they had a green dinosaur with orange shoes
on them.
“So, you like Yoshi?” he asked with a smile.
“Yeah!” she said whilst giggling. “He’s my favorite!” Sonny couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.
Video game characters were nothing new to him and anyone who sported such a thing would
earn praise and a compliment from him. Hell, they were welcome in his book.
“She called me ‘brown and dirty’,” Akeem muttered in a somewhat restricted tone.
“Get over it,” Sonny said, not even meeting his eyes. He wanted to ask the little girl something,
but didn’t want to pry into her mind as she was a fragile child.
“My mommy said you were a great Black Sun soldier,” Kira said, looking at Sonny’s eyes.
“Even saved my uncle.”
“...Yeah, I was…” he said, hiding some of his emotions in that tone. He sighed and looked down
to the floor, remembering the good old days as a Black Sun soldier.
“But if you’re a Black Sun soldier, why are you here?” Kira asked. Sonny knew that he couldn’t
lie towards a child, so he decided to be upfront and honest with her.
“...Listen Kira,” he said, wanting to at least get her to understand. “I was discharged years ago.
Branded. Said I committed the ultimate sin against God and our country.”
“What’s the ultimate sin that led you to leave?” she asked.
“...Betrayal,” he answered coldly.
“You never told me that,” Akeem said.
 5

“You weren’t a part of it,” Sonny said. “So, Kira… How long do you think you’re going to be
here until your mommy picks you up?”
“...Never,” Kira answered worriedly. “She’s dead.”
Sonny’s eyes went from worry to shock in less than a second.
“Dead?” he asked puzzlingly.
“Somebody killed her,” she said begrudgingly. To Sonny, this was a straight up shock. He never
imagined that a friend of his would die from a murder. However, the gray atmosphere ended
when the door opened, being the same elderly woman from before.
“Sonny, I want to-” she said as she came in before noticing Kira, which cut her sentence and
turned it into something else. “Who’s this?”
“Kira Tetsuya,” Sonny said. “She belongs to a friend of mine.”
“...Is she visiting?” the woman asked.
“...No. She's going to be staying here.”
“Hmph,” the woman said. “Looks like I’ll have to increase the rent again. Just like you brought
that sand-blasted grease monkey4 over there last time.”
“Hey!” Akeem spat, knowing whom she was referring to.
“...Gran, don’t do that,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I’m already paying an ever-increasing
price as the economy isn’t helping by any means. I don’t need you to do it.”
“Hmph,” the woman said. “I should get more money out of you. I’m gonna beat you until I get
my money’s worth outta your ass. I’m going to do what the economy is doing.”
“You don’t scare me,” he said, looking her in the eye.
“And I’m not scared of you,” she retorted back.
“Surely, we can come to a compromise,” Sonny said. “They’re living under my roof. I do most
of the bills. The least you can do is slack up on rent.”
“If I was a politician, I’d bleed your ass dry,” she amusingly said.
“Then what do you want me to do?” he asked, getting somewhat serious with her.
“I dunno. Work harder?”
“You can’t be serious,” he said. “I’m already working hard enough.”
“With those games and being a deadbeat?” she asked. “Unless you can show me that you’re
capable of working a job, then I’m going to increase the rent.”

4
A reference to Wakka’s usage of calling the Al-Bhed that term from Final Fantasy 10.
 6

“Wait a minute, Miss Flordia!” Akeem said. “That’s unfair! You can’t do that! We’ve done
nothing wrong!”
“Oh?” Miss Flordia asked amusingly. “What about the time you broke the damn window a few
months ago? Or broke my hundred-thousand dollar wine that can only be served towards special
customers?”
“Those were accidents!” Akeem shouted. “And that wine tasted like crap! Who even drinks such
bleached fruit?!” He had tasted that in the past, which was completely awful except for anyone
who was either tasteless or could stomach it. As for the window, he accidentally fired an arrow
into it whilst practicing it one day.
“To you it’s crap,” Miss Flordia shouted angrily, “But to those kinds of customers, it’s a rare
delicacy! In fact, I’m going to double the rent this time around!”
“You heartless piece of-,” Sonny was about to shout before he was cut off by Kira as she shouted
“Stop!!”, which got the two of them to look at her. “Mr. Hillshire didn’t do anything wrong! He’s
a good guy!”
Miss Flordia sighed. “...I can at least admit that he is indeed a good man. But that’s only what
being a good man is.”
“Look Gran,” Sonny said, trying to reason with her, “I want to at least pay you, but the jobs I
take on don't do much and don’t offer much pay. Do you think it’s fair on these two if they have
to leave without me?”
“...Please, Miss?” Kira asked worryingly. “I don’t have anywhere else to go…” She really didn't
have any other place to go. Miss Flordia looked towards Sunny and the run-down room they
were living in as she pondered for a moment before deciding on something.
“...Fine,” she uttered. “I’ll allow it. But pull your weight. Unless that boy over there decides to
get into the job market.”
“Oh, he will,” Sonny said with a few nods. “I’ll be certain of it.”
“Good,” she said. “Let’s keep it that way.” She left through the door and closed it, hoping to at
least leave it right there.
“Who was she?” Kira asked.
“Our landlord,” Sonny answered. “She’s Miss Flordia. She gives us grief and is mean at times,
but the thing is…she was the one to take me in when I was down on my luck.”
“But why is she mean?” Kira asked.
“...To be honest,” Sonny said as he sat back down on the couch and looked at the blank television
screen, “I wish I knew myself…”
***
 7

Somewhere in the universe, a meeting was taking place. Humans and humanoid-like
creatures of many races, being those so bizarre that they were from other planets with a similar
society. Most of them wore suits and ties and dresses, and even carried briefcases as if they were
about to discuss the most political thing in history. Said meeting took place inside a large square
dome with pillars to stack, but that was nothing compared to the inside.
The interior was…round to say, which contradicted the outside look of the place, but did have its
upsides. There was a large roundtable in the middle of the room followed by rows of benches
that connected all around, serving no purpose whatsoever other than an audience chamber.
However, above all that was a tall chair with a gold rim and blue seating that would be sat in by a
head of said place, which was already occupied by a cloaked figure that concealed their
appearance.
As many attendees had sat down behind the benches, the most prominent ones sat at the large
roundtable, ready for discussion as they sat down in their chairs and placed their briefcases on
the table.
“All rise,” a male voice said, making certain to have his words heard loud and clear. Said voice
came from a creature that had the head of a jackal and the body of a human and wore a red robe
that covered his body with the golden plate around his neck, symbolizing his importance. He
stood in front of the cloaked figure5, acting as the voice of this meeting. As everyone rose out of
their seats, the jackal raised a hand and swiftly gestured, making them sit back down.
“...We are here today to talk about the problem with the Universal Trade Party,” the jackal
continued. Many members looked around in confusion, whilst those at the roundtable already
knew of what happened.
“It appears that a certain vessel was bombed in advance as it was heading towards Planet
Blazzar. It carried lots of important cargo, most of which is now lost.” Most members began
talking with one another, with some concerned and others still lost as to what was just being
discussed.
“Sources reveal that the attack on Planet Girrim’s cargo vessel came from rebellious members of
the Black Sun corps.” Nodding heads and talks began as everyone was on board with it. The
name “Black Sun” was a familiar name that no one should ever forget. Not since its time of
formation.
“However, it was a lone ship that was not actually affiliated with it. They are considered to be
rejects who oppose the very democracy we uphold.” The conversation kept going, which
made…some sort of sense.
“Is Sephiroth6 part of this with that long sword and one wing?” a male member from the table
blurted out. Whilst some were laughing from the comment, the jackal seemed displeased by his
outburst, less from said outburst and more likely some sort of name he said.

5
…This cloaked figure is very important. Keep that in mind.
6
A reference to Sephiroth, a character from Final Fantasy 7.
 8

“Please keep those childish insults away,” the jackal obliged. “This is a house for adult
discussions, not children’s uncultured games.”
“Boring-ass Pokemon7,” another member muttered under their breath whilst chuckling to
himself. Some of the others were also chuckling from his comment, which annoyed the jackal.
“I heard that!” the jackal shouted. “One more childish mention and you’ll be thrown out! You’re
members of each planet representing the Universal Alliance System, so grow up already!!” The
whole room went quiet as no more outburst would happen.
“Since 6408 years ago, this place has stood proud throughout change. Each and every one of your
ancestors has stood for that change. And now, we’re to execute a new form of democracy.”
“What kind of democracy is that?” a member asked.
“A galactic one,” the jackal answered. “One where every planet across the galaxy can have free
rein of voice.” The room was now conversing about the new idea that was proposed.
“What about our galactic forces?” another member asked.
“We are currently working on expanding our forces for better communication across the galaxy,”
answered the jackal. “I have faith that under all this, we shall be united as one galactic militia.”
“And finances?” asked another.
“We’re changing a few policies on that,” answered the jackal. “Despite our galactic banks, we’ve
completed universal transfer of money.”
“Is the reason the economy is more expensive is due to that attack on the vessel heading to Planet
Zalagmus?” asked a female member.
“Yes,” the jackal answered back. “As much as it is unnecessary, that cargo is extremely
expensive and very rare. Due to that loss, we’ve had to increase the prices until a certain budget
limit can be met.”
“What can we do about it?” asked another female member.
“Our forces will handle this,” the jackal answered whilst bearing a strange grin. “For now, we
shall implement a new law.”
***
Hours had passed to where it was nighttime. Usually kids would be in bed at this time,
but little Kira wasn’t, as she was up playing on the Nintendo Switch with the game she played on
the screen called ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’. Sitting with her was Sonny Hillshire, who
was familiar with this game as well. As for Akeem, he had gone to bed. Apparently, she was
playing an avatar that was dressed in pink, along with the blonde hair, crown and white gloves to
complete the look.
7
Pokémon reference. I hope we’ll get a jackal Pokemon one day. Probably in the future…
8
Nintendo 64 reference.
 9

“I’m Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom!” Kira said.

“Yes you are,” Sonny said, glistening over the fact that he played this game. Actually, Akeem put
in more hours of this game than Sonny would have ever done. Despite that, he actually bought
the game for himself to play, but everytime he wanted to, life got in the way, leaving him to rely
on Akeem to do it for him. Akeem put in the work with almost every game Sonny bought.
“Mr. Hillshire, what are those papers and stuff on the table?” Kira asked, looking at the papers on
said table.
“It’s my work.” Sonny began to examine some of the papers, rolling his eyes over reading some
of them.
“It sounds boring.” Kira began kicking the air in a rather playful way as she hung upside down
whilst playing the game.
“I know. It really is.” He placed the papers back on the table, watching her play the game. “You
seem like you’re familiar with video games.”
“My uncle would show me to play when I was 5.” Kira sat upright, not even losing any
concentration of her game. But to Sonny, he noticed something in the air, which caused him to
get up off the couch and look outside, which not to his surprise was a Japanese man in his mid
30s9 crouching on the balcony railing holding twin swords. He had on a black jacket with the
black shoes to match and had hair that appeared to be shaved otherwise.
“Yo, Sonny!” the man said in a cool voice. He also seemed to know Sonny on a personal level to
be in his presence. However…
“Get off my balcony, Jankey,” Sonny said, attempting to push him off.
“It’s not ‘Jankey’!” the man said, trying to resist Sonny’s pushing efforts. “It’s Eiji!”
“You are a damn Jankey!” Sonny continued pushing him off, which successfully worked as Eiji
fell off, landing into a pile of bags of trash that cushioned his fall. He then went back inside, to
which Kira was confused as to what happened.
“What happened?” she asked, wanting to know.
“Nothing happened,” he responded back, not wanting to draw their curiosity. As he sat down to
continue watching Kira’s game, he heard a soft groan from his couch, which to him, didn’t seem
strange at all but did annoy him to no end. He sighed and got back up, wanting to get rid of what
was there.
“Kira, move from the couch for a second,” Sonny said. She did so without any questions and
allowed him to do whatever, which was tipping the couch up a bit.

9
Eiji is 39 years old.
 10

“...You can come out now,” he said, expecting a result. A figure rolled out of the couch,
appearing to be a woman10 of similar skin color to Sonny’s wearing a tightly black dress with a
red belt around her waist and wore yellow tall boots. Her dyed red hair was long and appeared to
be a puffy afro stretched like a star. The most unusual thing about her was her pupils, which were
star shaped.
“Aww, and I wanted to listen to your ass hit the couch some more,” the woman said. “If only the
little girl wasn’t around…”
“Stella, get lost.”
“Sure, sure,” she said as she got up and walked towards the door. “But I’ll keep watching you…
Forever…and ever…” She left, closing the door behind her. Sonny could only shake his head in
disbelief with eyes closed whilst Kira tilted her head in confusion. This wasn't the first time he
encountered her and her stalker behavior, which was right after he left the Black Suns.
“Who was that weird woman?” Kira asked, finding Stella’s presence strange.
“My stalker,” he bluntly replied. “Been doing that since I met her after I left the Black Suns.”
“She’s weird.”
“I know. Everyone is.” However, their so-called minutes of peace would end when the door was
kicked to the floor. Standing in front of the outside door was a woman11 having a similar skin
tone to Sonny’s. Her hair was a double-dutch braid and wore a black cloak with boots to match.
She also carried twin swords that were already drawn in her hands, but the most unusual thing
was what covered her eyes, which was a visor with a glowing red light on it that lit up the room.
To Sonny, this woman was indeed familiar, but also terrifying. She was intimidating enough as
the visor’s light alone suggested that this was a killer with killer intentions as she bore no smile
on her face, but pure anger that lay behind the glowing visor. It scared Kira enough to stand
behind Sonny, knowing she was a bad character to mess with.
“W-W-Who is that, Mr. Hillshire?” she asked in a frightened tone. Sonny didn’t answer her
question as he knew he had to get her out of here.
“Kira, go wake up Akeem and escape through the backdoor,” he calmly said. Kira didn’t ask any
questions and ran away to the back room whilst he confronted the female stranger. The woman
wasn’t even interested in Kira running away at all. Rather, she was focused more on Sonny as
she had her visor set on him and him personally. She began to approach him without any sign of
fear and determined to attack him.
“...Azalea,” he calmly said, not wanting to cause a scene.

10
Stella is 30 years old.
11
Azalea is 39 years old.
 11

“I want your head, Hillshire!” Azalea demanded with a hint of anger in her voice. Sonny slowly
walked back as Azalea approached him. He knew she meant business whenever she was after
him.
“Please don’t break anything. I already have a hard time paying the rent.”
“You’ll be paying more than rent when I kill you.”
“To be fair, I can’t pay if I’m dead.” She took a swing that he ducked, slicing the lamp in half as
the pieces fell to the ground. She was not going to let him out of her sight.
“To be honest, wouldn’t you face charges of killing an unarmed man?”
She didn’t answer and took another slice at him as he ducked again. Out of all the days that he
wanted some peace and quiet, today was the day she had to show up. He didn’t really want to
fight her, but the situation proved otherwise. He reached into his coat pockets and pulled out two
black pistols that emulated green magical energy from its exterior and pointed them at her whilst
circling around the couch.
“I don’t want to do this,” he said, looking at her with some signs of remorse. “I’ve killed many in
my days during my time as a Black Sun soldier. But you are one of the few I don’t want to kill to
weigh on my conscience…”
As she didn’t respond whilst she took another slice at him, he noticed that he was by the entrance
and made a dash for it, running down the stairs of the outdoor rain as Azalea chased after him,
pulling a hood over her head to embrace the rainy weather. Sonny had to run into the garage to
grab a white moped, hoping to escape her. He began revving the moped up before taking off
through the door, going down a dirt road alley littered with trash.
In no time, she was right behind him, keeping up with some white aura imbued in her boots that
allowed her to move as fast as the motorcycle Sonny had acquired.
“You’ve gotta be freaking kidding me!” Sonny uttered out, noticing that she was within arms
length of him. He saw her bounce off the walls and was about to land in front of him, causing
him to turn around. She was still running after him without any signs of slowing down. However,
she then stopped, which confused him but kept going. Her swords began conjuring flames and
plunged them into the ground, forming a cracking trail that eventually unearthed under Sonny’s
moped, delivering an earthly blast that sent him flying off the motorcycle and fell on the dirt on
his face whilst said motorcycle bounced further down the road with visible signs of damage.
He got back up, but Azalea ran towards him at such speed that he wasn’t able to defend himself.
At this point, he prepared for the worst as he closed his eyes, ready to be sliced apart until he
heard a clang sound. As he opened his eyes, he recognized a person standing before him,
blocking Azalea’s sword with one of their own.
“Hey, Sonny!” the voice shouted, “Am I still a Jankey?!”
“Eggy!” Sonny said, relieved to see him again.
 12

“My name’s not ‘Eggy’, it’s ‘Eiji’!” he said. Azalea backed off, realizing that she stood before
someone who was not her intended target.
“...Move,” she said calmly, “You’re not my target.” She had no intention of bringing harm
towards Eiji unless he was truly another target for her, which he wasn't.
“Guess what?” Eiji responded, not even wavering from her visor. “As long as you target my
good friend here, I won’t allow it.” Eiji was more likely a close friend of Sonny's, being a guy
skilled with dual swords similar to the assassin that stood in front of them. Their friendship goes
back as far as when they first met during their first year in the Black Suns. As for what
mispronounced names Sonny calls him other than his real name, it depended on how he acts in
front of him.
“Same here,” said a female voice. Said voice came from Stella, who carried a whip and an
extendable mace in her hands, ready to use them. Despite being Sonny's stalker, she cared about
him deeply…or rather too obsessively. Anyone that attempted to harm him would meet her
face-to-face.
“Harm one hair on my adorable Sunshine and I’ll be your nightmare, bitch,” she menacingly
replied. However, Stella’s appearance surprised Azalea for some strange reason, especially her
star-shaped pupils, as if she was familiar with their shape.
“So there’s another…12,” she thought. It was indeed a strange sight for her, but she had no time
to-
“Sonny!” another voice shouted, which came from the rooftops. Said voice came from Akeem,
who carried a bow infused with an ice-cold aura around his arrow. Kira was next to him, still
terrified. Looking all around her, she knew that killing Sonny at this point would be worthless, as
he had backup.
“What are y’all doing here?” Sonny asked, wondering why they were indeed there. However,
Azalea sheathed her swords and gave Sonny a glare, wanting to get something across.
“...You’d better watch your back,” she declared, making certain that her words were heard.
“Until then, I’m going to get your head eventually. And I suggest the rest of you follow suit.”
She then jumped at an impossible height, leaping over buildings and disappearing into the cities
to never be heard from again.
“Man, she’s good at that,” Stella remarked, looking into the direction Azalea went in. At least the
danger was over for them.
“Well, I have you all to thank,” Sonny said, getting back up.
“Just who was that?” Eiji asked, never really seeing Azalea before.
“...Azalea,” Sonny replied. “She’s been after me for some time now.”
“Must be a real pain for you,” Stella said, feeling somewhat bitter.
12
Hmm…I wonder what that means…?
 13

“I know, I know. Look, let’s go back inside. I’d prefer to sleep this off.”
***
30 minutes later, Sonny, along with Akeem and Kira returned to their apartment as they
made their way up the steps, only to see Miss Flordia standing in front of their doorway, or rather
where the door once was. However, her expression was more…surprising as she didn’t seem
angry at all as she saw them even though her arms were folded.
“...You survived,” she bluntly remarked, having no bitterness in her tone.
“Yeah,” Sonny said.
“Are you angry at us, Miss Flordia?” Kira asked.
“Mad?” she said , knowing what the child saw earlier. “How can I be mad when there’s a person
hunting after my renter?”
“Wait, you know who attacked us?!” Akeem asked surprisingly.
“Of course. That woman’s been after him for years.” She then noticed that they were wanting to
go back to their apartment, which allowed her to continue saying something.
“If you think I’m going to charge more for this mess that woman caused, don’t. This was a
surprise attack.”
The trio sighed with relief, continuing their way up the stairs. Whilst Akeem and Kira went back
into the apartment, Miss Flordia stopped Sonny, wanting to speak with him for a moment.
“Come talk to me downstairs,” she said. A few minutes later, they were in what appeared to be a
wine bar which contained shelves full of many different kinds of wine behind a bar counter that
was enclosed for the safety of the bartender. The area also had tables with accessories on them,
and a window in the back room that was wide enough to gander out of. The bar was indeed
empty, save for Sonny and Miss Flordia.
The two were sitting on barstools with glasses on the counter as she poured him his favorite kind
of wine, which was a dark red liquid. Hers was already filled with two glasses of water for the
two of them next to their wine.
“...I know you don’t drink much, but I thought I’d pour one for you,” she said, taking a sip of her
wine.
“...Thanks,” he said, looking at his glass. It had been a while since he did drink, so he decided to
take a sip. Alcohol wasn’t really his thing, as whenever he would drink wine, it would only be
one glass.
“That woman has been after you since your wife died, hasn’t she?” Miss Flordia asked, trying to
at least clear the air.
“...Yeah,” he answered grimly. “She never did like me.”
 14

“Sometimes, that’s what tragedy does to someone.” Miss Flordia took another sip of her wine
and looked at its contents whilst swishing it around. “It can either make or break a person.”
“I often think about her.” Sonny took another sip whilst looking at the bar for a fresh reminder.
“Not a day goes by since then. I often wonder what happened on this day.”
“She met an unfortunate fate, didn’t she?” Miss Flordia picked up a glass of water and drank part
of it, putting down her nearly empty wine glass. “Who caused it?”
“I dunno, but whoever it was, I’m going to find that person and give him a bullet from hell.”
Sonny took another sip of his wine before putting it on the counter and grabbed the glass of
water, taking a drink. “Perhaps I want my pain to end. Unfortunately, I have to continue
suffering.”
“I suffer too, you know.” Miss Flordia drank the last bit of wine and placed it on the counter
whilst drinking the water. “My husband died years ago in that war. Never even got to have
children, but of course, I didn’t think I was ready to take on the role of a mother. Not until you
came here.”
“Gran, I never regretted that day.” Sonny took a sip of wine that was nearly half empty. “I
wanted kids myself until I took Akeem under my wing.”
“In this world, there are good parents and bad parents.” Miss Flordia looked towards the window,
noticing the humanoid creatures walk on by. “No matter what species you are, there’s a yin and a
yang. Life paints us an ugly picture, whilst death presents us a beautiful one.”
“There’s been problems with my years.” He looked at his hands, being reminded of the war he
took part in. “These hands have been stained in red from what I believed to be victims. Victims
who died for glory and profit.”
“...I take it that six years ago that’s when you came to me.” Miss Flordia seemed somewhat
concerned as she looked at Sonny. “
“A soldier without honor is an empty shell of himself.” Sonny studied the ceiling as he drank his
water as it was half empty. “I’ve been stripped of my accomplishments and thrown out because
of the truth. Then as I got out eight years ago, she was dead. I blame myself.”
“Do not put yourself down.” Miss Flordia sighed as she looked through the window. “No one’s
responsible. It happened. Right now, those two are all you need to take care of.”
“Sure. Thanks, Gran.” Sonny got up from his barstool and pulled out his wallet, wanting to tip
Miss Flordia. However, she put out a hand to halt him.
“Don’t. It’s on me tonight.”
“Alright.” Sonny left through the door as Miss Flordia noticed that his wine glass was half
empty. She knew that when a wine glass is half empty in Sonny’s case, it meant something
worrying. Still, she had no choice but to pick it up along with her glass and pour it down the
 15

sink. She began washing them out and placed them on her shelf along with her wine bottle that
she corked for the night and placed under the counter.
She looked to her window, noticing some couples walking hand in hand, which reminded her of
when she and her husband did the same thing. She thought to herself, “Fredrick, you and that
man share a similar disposition. I wonder how fate works…”
***
Somewhere in a ship sailing through the galaxy far, far away, a group of rebels were on
board. The ship, whilst it had the words “Black Suns” on its exteriors, did not contain any
members belonging to the faction. Well, maybe... Inside, humanoid creatures were moving and
stacking cargo as necessary for travel, whilst others were patrolling the halls. At the command
deck, a few individuals were staring ahead, but out of all of them, three were humans.
One human in particular stood out the most due to the hair, being a brightly white-skinned
woman in her 40s13 wearing a white coat dress with a long odachi14 and a short jutte sheathed
together on her back. Next to her white tennis shoes was a red pail with a silver lid on it.
However, her hair was red with orange tints on the ends and her eyes were blue. She bore a witty
smile and chuckled to herself as she looked out the window about…something…
“Miss Washington, we’re about to enter the Zalagmus section,” a male creature being
half-human, half spider having four arms announced as he approached her. Her smile didn’t even
break.
“I hope they have some useful weapons,” Miss Washington happily said. “God knows they’re
not even packing in the right department…”
“That sounded a bit sexual,” a dark-skinned man replied with a posh tone from afar. Said man
seemed to be in his mid 40s15 carrying a violin in his white-gloved hands and dressed in what
appeared to be a butler’s attire and had a curly mustache. His build was somewhat lanky, as he
was taller than Miss Washington and had somewhat long arms. “Please be careful with that
madam, or you’ll disgust me with your-”
Before he could finish and without warning, Miss Washington drew her long odachi and swiftly
took a swing at him within a millisecond, only for him to block the sword with a violinist’s bow
that strangely didn’t even snap, not even surprised at her unsettling grin.
“...Watch your words,” she said. “I prefer to speak disgustingly whenever I please.”
“That is highly uncivilized,” he remarked with no change in tone or expression. As she sheathed
her odachi, he then pulled out a pocket duster broom from the insides of his suit to brush his
shoulders off, not liking dust to be on him. “I’m so glad I’m not married.”

13
Miss Washington is actually 40 years old.
14
A Japanese sword. Known for its incredible length.
15
Jacques is 45 years old.
 16

“Jacques, unless you want to ‘crank one out’ with that hand of yours every night, I don’t give a
rat’s ass.”
“Now, now,” a female voice said, approaching them. “Resolve whatever and cease functions with
this pointless banter.” Said woman appeared Chinese with short twin pigtails and wore a white
chef’s outfit with the complete black pants and shoes to match. She also carried two frying pans
in her hands, which looked clean on the insides. Unlike Miss Washington, she looked to be in her
30s16.
Miss Washington herself broke from her clash with Jacques and slowly turned to her, this time
without a smile.
“This is anything but pointless,” Miss Washington said. “Now, please go back to your ‘Cooking
Mama17’ sessions.” The woman gave her an eye roll and went through the slidable door. Minutes
later, their ship was passing through the Zalagmus section, which was a green cosmic belt and
not too far away from them was a green planet. However, they were being tailed by some ships,
which sent a warning alert to them. The ships were visualized on screen as a warning siren rang
out.
“We’re being tailed!” a male elf with dark skin shouted as he was looking at the monitor at his
station showing the ships.
“Are they armed?” Jacques asked.
“Yes. And they’re prepared to fire.”
“Fools,” Miss Washington said with a grin on her face. “Deploy…‘it’.”
From the ship’s rear, it unleashed a quick electric string that not only blocked the lasers they
fired, but also disabled their vessels, rendering them immobile.
“Nice,” Miss Washington said. “Now, boost it! We’ve got the upper hand!” The ship’s engines
glowed orange and jetted off towards the green planet. The other vessels could only watch them
get away as they could not move.
“They’re going to enjoy eating electricity for a while,” Miss Washington remarked. “Next stop,
Planet Zalagmus. And sooner…Sonny Hillshire… Whenever possible…”
***

16
She is 36 years old.
17
A reference to the game series “Cooking Mama”.
 17

Chapter 2: When Paying For Something, Make Sure It

Goes To A Good Cause, Not Your Local Official
A week later back on Earth, Sonny, Akeem and Kira were chilling back at their
apartment. Neither Sonny or Akeem had work today, so things went slow. The door to their
apartment was also fixed and was not even charged for it, which made things seem good. In the
middle of daybreak as no signs of clouds passed by in the skies, creatures of all kinds walked the
streets of Burlington. The next day, Sonny and Akeem were off to work. This left little Kira into
the hands of Miss Flordia, who was open today with no customers being present in her bar.
“Do you go to school, little girl?” Miss Flordia asked, intrigued that Kira didn’t go to a place that
children her age would normally go.
“No,” she answered bluntly, “My mom said school is a prison for kids.”
“Smart woman,” Miss Flordia remarked. “There’s no need for a child like you to be conformed
by the education system.”
“What do you do here?” Kira asked, wondering what Miss Flordia did for a living.
“Look around.” Miss Flordia gestured with a hand around the room to get an idea into Kira’s
head. However, Kira’s face was mixed with curiosity and confusion as she tilted her head, which
made Miss Flordia think of something different to explain to her.
“...Sweetheart, I do business in service. Customers come in here and drink, and pay me for it.
Mostly for a good time.”
“Do they grope you?” Kira asked, which actually shocked Miss Flordia. She didn’t expect that
kind of question to pop up, and of course, no little girl should worry about it… At least at her
age…
“No, but I’ve been verbally yelled at times,” Miss Flordia remarked. “Nothing really serious.”
“Miss Flordia, can I ask a question?”
“What is it, child?”
“Why are you so mean to Mr. Hillshire?”
“Sweetheart, I’m not mean to him. It might appear that I am, but life is not making it any easier
nowadays.”
“So if I work hard like him, things will never amount to me being great…?"
“...Smart little girl, aren’t you? School isn’t even necessary for you. I had dreams once. Had to
give them up. Now I work here.”
“Life is sad.”
“I know.”
 18

***
Meanwhile, where Sonny worked at, which was a desk office job, he appeared slumped
over and bored out of his mind, since desk jobs were not something he enjoyed, but the pay was
good enough for rent. The computers he worked at were faster than the one at his apartment, but
somewhat restricted as he was not allowed to surf the internet for video games or listen to music,
either video game music or real music.
The office was busy with a row of boxed-in walls with desks filled with people typing and
wearing suits for business and looking like the average corporate man and woman slaving
themselves in the name of the company. Said company? Maggot Enterprise, a coding company.
“Ugh…I hate it here,” he thought. This was the greatest example of a braindead atmosphere in
his eyes. No means to having fun… Not able to even have any thoughts about anything outside
of work, and the worst part? No means to even think for yourself. All because of this one boss he
was working under. A tall white man appearing in his 50s walked towards him with some papers
in his hand and dropped them on Sonny’s desk. However, the man stopped as he noticed Sonny’s
posture.
“Mr. Shillhire?” the man asked, which caused Sonny’s right eye to twitch.
“It’s ‘Hillshire’, not ‘Shillhire’,” Sonny sternly corrected.
“Oh?” the man asked puzzlingly. “What’s the difference?”
Inside, Sonny was seething with rage as he gritted his teeth hard. He wanted to choke his boss
with his bare hands. This was the 30th time he mistakenly called him that as he worked here. He
wondered if he was doing it deliberately as some sort of insult rather than a joke. But he had to
calm down, or else he would be fired and never have another opportunity to pay the rent.
“How many more days until I choke that bastard with a cord?” he thought. He could imagine
doing that to him, wrapping the cords around his neck as he would be gagging and gasping for
mercy. That would show him. But then he would either be charged with attempted murder or
actual murder. Depends on which route the boss would take. He had to shrug off his thoughts for
now and focus on making it through this “hell” of a day.
Several hours later, it was quitting time. This was Sonny’s favorite time, as he was able to do
things that his office restricted him from. At this point, the office was like a cage to him. At that
same time, Akeem was also getting off from work and the two of them met together at the bus
stop as the sun was going down, riding together and sitting in the same seat whilst the bus was
crowded.
“How’s that boring job?” Akeem asked.
“Boring as a bag of rocks mixed with yarn documentary and celebrity crap,” Sonny answered.
However, two seats behind Sonny an old Irish man was doing…weird movements in his pants,
which caught Sonny’s eye and forced him to look away.
“Dammit, he’s jacking off,” he replied in a somewhat disgusted tone.
 19

“That old guy?” Akeem asked, attempting to turn around.

“Don’t look at him!”
“I ain’t!” Akeem looked back ahead. There were more humanoid creatures that were around,
where sounds like giggles, gossip about what celebrity did what and the usual dull conversation
would fill the atmosphere, but there was a weird…moaning sound that Sonny could clearly hear
from behind, which was an A’lamar18 woman wearing a red dress who seemed to be…moving
her body in a very strange way. She was even looking at him whilst doing it! This was enough to
enrage him to a great degree and stood up to make his voice loud and clear.
“What the hell is wrong with this society?!!” he shouted. “Is this ‘Sex and the City on
Wheels’?!”
Everyone turned in his direction as even the pants holding man and the moaning A’lamar woman
had to stop what they were doing.
“Shut up, incel!” A woman from the front shouted.
“‘Shut up’, you say?!” he retorted back. “Maybe get off your ass and mate with a real man!”
“...Oh my God,” Akeem quietly said to himself.
“My ‘ass’ gets more men in a week than you do within a year!” the woman countered.
“And what’s your problem with people wanting to learn about sex?” a man asked.
“It’s pursued to an unhealthy degree!” Sonny shouted. Then he turned to the pants man. “You!”
He pointed at the man who gave him a crazed look back, “Stop wanking on this bus! There are
children here, unless you’re a diddler!” And then he turned to the A’lamar woman. “And you!”
He pointed at her, “Quit rubbing with the motion of the bus towards people like me! It’s
disturbing and you both should be locked up!”
The woman was so angry and appalled that she packed her bags and rang the string on the
window so that she could get off. However, no later than five minutes, Sonny and Akeem got off
at their own stop, which was closer to their home apartment anyway. They then went to their
apartment, which Kira was expecting to see.
“Mr. Hillshire!” she said, running to his legs in a hug.
“Hey Kira…,” he said in a rather exhausted tone. She broke off the hug and noticed that he
began to sit down on the couch in a slumped down position, blankly staring at the tv.
“Can I play Super Smash Bros Melee?” she asked.

18
A race known as the A’lamarians. They have deep blue skin and two tubes that connect from the head to the neck.
Their noses are also darker, and their teeth are slightly sharper.
 20

“...Sure,” Sonny said as he allowed her to without even budging an inch or moving an eye.
However, there was a segment on tv that caught their attention. It featured a Caucasian politician
in his 40s19 wearing a white suit with a golden tie.
“Hello, fellow Burlingtons,” the man proudly proclaimed. “It is I, Councilman Ray Albright.
Recently, we have been building homes for the homeless. And right now, we’re at an all-time
standstill.”
“Pfft,” Sonny scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What a joke. That’s probably nothing.”
“We’re entering a new world where our economy is struggling, and I’d like for people to pitch in
and help support the means to build our homeless folks a new home.”
“Whatever happened to the homeless shelter?” Sonny asked, not even phased by it.
“Our city is an ever-growing civilization. We wish to attract more tourists.”
“...And there’s the punchline…” Sonny remarked. He then turned off the television, to which
Akeem and Kira were confused by.
“Sounds like Mr. Albright is wanting to make a contribution to the homeless,” Akeem said.
“Why does he wear that colorful suit?” Kira asked, taking note of Mr. Albright’s suit.
“Kira, some people like to make themselves look richer than they appear,” Sonny answered.
“You think he’s not doing anything, don't you?” Akeem asked, seeing Sonny not even caring one
bit about the councilman.
“Of course. You read me like a book.” Sonny got up and pressed a button on his tv, which
showed the image of Super Smash Bros. Melee on it. Kira then ran for a controller as well as
Akeem and began playing it, all the while Sonny watched with a smile on his face. However,
outside of their door was a cloaked person who had a long blue bag carried by the strap on her
shoulder. This person seemed to have followed Sonny and Akeem from the bus. The person gave
a knock onto the door, which only Sonny answered.
“...Who are you?” he asked, not even knowing the person who stood in front of him.
“I see you’ve calmed down from being on that bus,” a female voice said. Sonny raised an
eyebrow, to which the voice was familiar. However, he got an even bigger shock when the
cloaked figure lowered the hood, revealing to be an Indian woman whose face had a red jewel
sticker attached to her forehead and seemed to be in her mid 30s20, not having a wrinkle under
her eyes.
“Y-You’re…!” Sonny stuttered, realizing who she was.
“It’s been a while, Sonny,” the woman said with a smirk on her face.

19
Ray Albright is 48 years old.
20
Advika is 38 years old.
 21

“...Advika. Why, you’ve never changed since then, have you?”

“It’s been quite a while since that war.”
“You’re still in the Black Suns?”
“No. I got released a year ago after completion. The rest of that was trying to find you.”
“Who is it?” Akeem asked as he heard their voices.
“Nobody,” Sonny said, not wanting to involve them in it.
“Who’s that?” Advika asked, wondering about the voice she heard. With a sigh, Sonny decided
to open the door fully, allowing her in. Akeem and Kira had paused their game to notice Advika,
being a complete stranger in their presence. She also took in the two other souls in the room,
thinking it was strange to see.
“I see you’ve got a girl and a young man around,” she said. “Are you a babysitter?”
“W-Well…no. I’ve taken them under my wing.”
“I see.” A grin crept up on her face with something she had in mind to ask. “Have you
considered having flings?” This kind of question was enough to shock both Sonny and Akeem,
but not Kira as she was confused by what it meant.
“What’s a ‘fling’?” she asked.
“Uh, nothing!” Akeem said, covering on Sonny’s behalf. “Let’s go and uh…play some Animal
Crossing in the back!” He took Kira to the back room, which allowed Sonny a little breathing
room.
“What brought that up?” Sonny asked.
“Oh, nothing,” she said as she looked towards the floor. “I just wanted to get another reaction
from you.” She began chuckling to herself as Sonny was somewhat confused by.
“...So, how are those other two?”
“Those two?”
“No. You know who I mean.”
“Oh, ‘Eggy’? He’s alright. Acts like a Jankey sometimes whenever he comes here. As for Little
Miss Washington…I don’t know…”
“Well, that’s a good thing. At least they’re alive.”
“But, why are you here?”
“I wanted to see you again. After hearing your voice on that bus, I figured I might as well follow
you.”
“Ah. That makes sense. So, do you live around here?”
 22

“Yeah. Although…I don’t have the same luxuries as my neighbors are quite noisy and
uh…stupid.”
“We have those kinds of people here in the world.”
“Well, I see you’ve got things going for you, so I’ll leave.”
“Alright. See ya.”
***
The next morning, a big meeting took place in Burlington. It appeared that Councilman
Ray Albright along with several other council members were standing atop a platform in front of
a crowd of hundreds including new reporters of a few local stations. They were wanting to know
of his plans regarding the homeless community. Ray Albright himself stood amongst his fellow
members with a smile on his face, giving off a warm, friendly vibe as he waved a hand at the
crowd.
“Mr. Albright, is it true?” one reporter asked. “Are you planning to build a community for the
homeless?”
“Mr. Albright, is it true that people’s money is being used to build the homeless community for a
good cause?” asked another.
“Mr. Albright, what do you and the rest of the council members have in store for Vermont?”
asked another reporter.
“I say yes to all of it!” Mr. Albright exclaimed. “Our plans are to include an increase in prices for
using electricity.”
The noisy crowd went silent upon hearing the news. Some even stared at each other whilst one
person coughed to reduce the silent awkwardness.
“...Uh, why?” asked a man.
“It’s like this,” Mr. Albright explained. “Our resources are being used at an ever increasing rate.
If we don’t curb it, we’ll lose it. Do not look to me for it, as Vermont’s governor has suggested it
thanks to looking in, so if you have a complaint, take it up to him and the Selective.
“The Selective and the governor must be under the influence of Emperor Palpatine21,” one voice
said under his breath, which got a few chuckles here and there.
“Now, now,” Mr. Albright said, trying to calm the crowd down, “Let’s be reasonable. If we do
this, we’ll have raised tourism. And besides, even though taxes will be raised, it’ll be at least for
two months.”
The crowd began complaining, with so many voices flooding in that Mr. Albright had to find a
way to calm them down.

21
Star Wars “I am the Senate” Palpatine joke.
 23

“Please settle down, ladies and gentlemen!” Mr. Albright shouted. “It’s only for two months!”
“That’s not the issue!” a woman shouted.
“This is theft!” a man shouted.
“Oh, great…” Mr. Albright said under his voice whilst sighing to himself. “We’re in for a pickle
of an event…”
***
Back at the bar under the apartment, Miss Flordia was manning the station, to which
there weren’t any customers around still. Despite this, it wasn’t that time of the day yet, to which
she was glad that Kira wasn’t going to witness… At least, not yet. She wanted nothing more than
to have Kira away from this, as she wasn’t at an appropriate age where she was to understand
what she would witness. She and Kira were watching television, to which a show about the
world economy was playing.
“Miss Flordia?” Kira asked as she looked directly into her eyes, “Why do we need money?”
“Because we need it to survive,” she replied whilst looking blankly at the numbers flashing
across the screen.
“That’s dumb,” Kira said, sporting a very pouty face.
“I know, child. But such is the way of the economy.”
However, the program swapped to Ray Albright talking about his plans to help the homeless.
“Councilman Ray Albright is planning to raise taxes for Vermont as the usage of electricity is on
the rise,” a woman said over the footage.
“Pfft,” Miss Flordia scoffed, “Greed.”
“We’ve done nothing but use much more electricity since the past 20 years,” said Mr. Albright.
“As such, until it is sufficient to be lax on this, it is necessary to do this.”
“Is that bad?” Kira asked as she turned to her with curiosity.
“Yes,” Miss Flordia bluntly replied as she met her gaze back. From the doors, Sonny had
appeared, which was unusual for both Kira and Miss Flordia as he was supposed to return later in
the day.
“Hey, Gran,” Sonny said as he sat down and sighed to himself. “Hey Kira.”
“Sonny, why are you here so early?” Miss Flordia asked.
“I got fired,” he answered.
“Fired?!” Miss Flordia sharply shouted. “You mean to tell me you lost money?!”
“It’s not my fault my boss is an ass,” Sonny replied.
 24

“That was hard earned money!!” she shouted. She had a ticked off expression that otherwise
spoke volumes to Kira.
“Why are you so angry anyways?” Sonny asked with a hint of direct anger in his voice.
“Because Mr. ‘Notso Bright’ had something to say about raising our taxes!!”
Sonny’s eyes began to widen in shock.
“Damn…!” Sonny mumbled under his breath. Miss Flordia sighed and sat down next to him,
placing a hand on his shoulder.
“...Look, I know we have unpleasant bosses that we work under, but-”
“Would you rather I be unhappy with a miserable job I can’t even stand?”
“...Fair point. Well, what are you going to do now?”
“I dunno. Probably try to pass the time with a little video games. Kira, want to play a little
‘Double Dash22’ with me?”
“Yeah!”
***
At a history museum, a horde of men and women in elegant suits and dresses belonging
to rich and high societies were witnessing what was about to make the most important mark in
history…if you were like them. The thing that would glue them together? An ePhone23 being
placed on display in the middle of the room on a pedestal that had stanchion ropes around it.
Security guards were also nearby as they stood by the four doors, ensuring protection. The
ePhone itself had a gold cover that was embedded in rare diamonds that shone from the display
lights hitting it as it was propped up on a gold stick, which made it all the more valuable…except
that it was only for display and nothing else.
The only thing needed to complete it was a rare and highly expensive screen protector, which
would be placed on by a robotic arm, ensuring that no fingerprints were to be on it.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a calm male voice said to his audience as he stood in front of the
pedestal, “We’re about to witness the greatest display in the history of technology itself.”
The crowd began to lean their bodies closer in order to witness the phone on display.
“The ePhone that was developed in five months contains the greatest look for all of mankind. A
replica was made, but this is the real deal. And to complete it, the machine shall install the screen
protector. Then it will be covered by a glass cube to make it last forever.”
A robotic arm lowered itself from the ceiling with a screen protector in hand for the phone, to
which it was going to place it on. However, a curious Eiji from afar another exhibit couldn’t help

22
A reference to the GameCube game Mario Kart: Double Dash.
23
A parody of the iPhone.
 25

but look at it and wanted to touch it. He also noticed security standing near the doors so that no
one could even think about getting close to it, so it left only two options: One, run as fast as
possible to touch it and escape security, or two, make certain that someone could bail him out
after.
But suddenly, he was beaten to the punch by another curious man who managed to sneak past
security and touched the phone, causing gasps and angry faces among the crowd as he left a
fingerprint on the screen. He took off with security running after him.
“Dammit,” Eiji muttered. “Beaten to the punch.”
“Ladies and gentlemen…,” the speaker depressingly said, “...A million dollar phone is now
ruined…”
***
Three hours later, Sonny and Kira were walking around on the streets hand in hand.
Despite this, it was actually like he was a father figure to her despite their color. However,
unknown to them, Stella was looking at them from afar between two buildings…like a stalker
would. She grinned as she was following them without even being spotted.
“...Keep on walking,” she said whilst admiring the view that was Sonny himself, or rather his
buttocks. As she kept following him and Kira, Advika walked towards him, which surprised
Stella.
“Sonny!” Advika said. “And little Kira.” She kneeled down to her height and patted her hair with
a smile, earning somewhat of a chuckle from Kira.
“You’re that cloaked lady!” Kira said whilst pointing to her.
“Indeed I am.” She then got off her knees and asked Sonny, “What are you doing out and
about?”
“Looking around,” he said nonchalantly.
“So am I! Well, not really.”
Stella was getting steamed at Advika until she was noticed by her from the corner of her eye.
“Do you have a stalker?” she asked whilst looking at Stella. Sonny turned around to which Stella
had to hide, but she tripped on a garbage can in the alley, making a loud noise that startled some
passerby. Sonny and the two girls had approached her, not even surprised in the slightest.
Awkwardly, Stella turned to them with a sheepish grin despite being covered in some garbage.
“M-May I help you…?” she asked whilst nervously chuckling.
“Stella, go home,” Sonny said sternly.
“Stella?” Advika asked curiously. She looked at her closely, or more particularly her hair and
eyes, finding it strange about her appearance.
 26

“You’re that stalker lady!” Kira exclaimed, pointing at her.

“I don’t believe it!” Advika said surprisingly. “Your stalker’s a Staravian?!”
“A ‘what’ now?!” Sonny shockingly asked.
“S-So what?” Stella asked unflatteringly. “You make it sound like I’m some kind of new
exhibit!”
“Well, to be honest, your species isn’t exactly…known here,” Advika said.
“Does that mean she’s the only one here?” Kira asked curiously.
“Who knows? She could probably be the only one of her kind.” Stella looked to the ground with
a worried look on her face, which caught Sonny’s attention.
“...You are the only one, aren’t you?” he asked. All Stella could do was nod slowly and get back
up on her feet to recover.
“...I’m…the last of my kind, I think24,” Stella said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to be bothered
by it, though.”
“Did something happen?” Sonny asked, wondering of her origin.
“...It’s fine,” she said, trying to ease the situation. “But now that you’re here, I feel much better
already.” Sonny, along with Kira and Advika, turned around and walked off, pretending that
nothing happened here.
“W-Where are you going?!” she called out. “I didn’t even explain myself!”
Whilst walking, Advika had something to say to Sonny.
“Hey Sonny?” she asked, “Did you pay your taxes yet?”
“Nope,” he answered bluntly.
“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but uh…I’ve heard on the streets that the homeless
people haven’t received their funds for their housing yet.”
“That’s odd. Why not?”
“I dunno. Perhaps our council members never intended to do anything with the money.”
“Oh, they’ve got a reason. I’m just going to get my source of information from someone…”
***
The next morning, or rather, the day of taxes, everyone was lined up in front of the Office
of the Additives25 with their tax files in hand, ready and completed. Some were even shoving

24
Keep that in mind for now…
25
A parody of a place where people go to pay their taxes. Also might not be the only method to pay and not really
the accurate way…
 27

each other in line, whilst others were throwing hands, leading to a beatdown. The police at this
point didn’t even bother to break it up, as they were expecting either money handouts, or a cup of
coffee, whichever one would come first. Hell, they were even sitting on their butts and
pretending that nothing was happening whatsoever.
At the least, Miss Flordia was in line and rolled her eyes over such barbaric behavior. But she
was also glad that this foolishness would earn her way in line faster. Several hours later, taxes
were filed and everyone went back home like it never happened. However, in the City Hall,
several council members were tallying up their taxes, to which almost few were showing up,
which was strange.
“That’s weird,” a councilman said, “There’s only a few of the taxes that are here.”
“Where’s Councilman Albright?” a councilwoman asked.
“Oh, he said he had to go patch things up with some people in the community,” another
councilman said. Unbeknownst to them, Councilman Albright was filing the rest of the taxpayer
money and slipping thousands of cash into his pockets whilst looking back at the entrance of a
room to make sure no one was able to see him. But not known to him, Eiji was secretly recording
him using a phone as he hung from a ceiling standing up with his shoes glowing with faintly
green energy26.
“With this taxpayer money, I’ll be able to get that phone they won’t allow to the public, and it’ll
be all mine,” Councilman Albright said whilst chuckling to himself.
“...Oh, it’ll be all yours, alright,” Eiji whispered to himself. “It’ll be the last thing you’ll ever get
your hands on…”
Moments later, everyone in Vermont was called to City Hall by Sonny… Well, actually, the
council members did most of that. Most were unhappy by their mere presence here, since some
of them would rather drink or pig out and play video games. Even the homeless people were
around to hear the news.
“Greetings, fellow Vermont citizens,” a councilwoman said on microphone to make her voice
heard loud and clear. “It appears that your taxpayer money has not been sent through our
checks.” The entire crowd began exchanging looks with one another, as well as jeering over the
fact.
“We believe that whoever it was will set us back and force us to owe the government.”
“Well, find them!” a man shouted. “Half-Life 327 is about to be released, and I don’t want to miss
the announcement!”
“My show called ‘Vampire Kingdom28’ will be on tonight!” a woman shouted. “It’s a season
finale with a great twist at some point!”

26
Gravity mana. I'll probably explore a bit of that in another book…
27
“Where is Half-Life 3?” joke.
28
Not a real show. Only exists in this series.
 28

“Now, now,” the councilwoman said, trying to ease the crowd. “We are merely asking that
person to step forward so that whatever we’re doing later can be attended to.”
“Actually, none of us has to step forward,” a voice called out. Walking through the crowd that
moved out of the way of the person was Eiji, who had a phone in his hand. Sonny was also
following behind, appearing that they had something to say.
“I think one of our council members is guilty of this,” Eiji continued.
“G-Guilty?!” some people asked in disbelief.
“Councilman Albright!” Sonny shouted as he pointed to him. “I’m calling you out!”
Gasps were heard all around, whilst whispers could be heard here and there among the crowd.
Even Miss Flordia was in shock. Councilman Albright’s face was of shock and surprise, as this
was him being put in the spotlight.
“M-Me?” he asked somewhat half-nervously as he pointed to himself. “What have I done?”
“...Eggy, if you will?” Sonny asked. Eiji began to walk to the podium and pressed the button on
his phone to turn up the volume and played the video, which featured Councilman Albright’s
voice. With the microphone, it amplified the sound, making it clear for everyone to hear. Upon
hearing the video and the councilman’s voice, everyone was in complete disbelief including the
other council members.
“Y-You stole our tax paying money?!” one voice angrily called out.
“What about our housing?!” a homeless man angrily asked. “You promised us new housing to
help us on our feet!”
“Councilman Albright!” a councilwoman said disgruntedly. “How could you?!”
“I…I…,” Councilman Albright said as he fumbled with his words, trying to think of new words
to get himself off the hook. However, realizing that he couldn’t explain his way out, he pulled
out a gun from his suit pocket in panic and was about to point it at someone until it was shot
right out of his hand. Looking in the direction where the bullet was fired, Sonny had a pistol that
was smoking, suggesting that he was the one who fired it.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Sonny said, “Unless you want murder to be added to your list
of charges?”
“And you also have money in that suit, if I recall,” Eiji said. Councilman Albright could see a
sea of angry faces that were wanting answers immediately.
“What’s the real reason why our taxes went up?!” a woman angrily asked.
“If you don't know,” Eiji began to explain, “He stole all the money just so he could purchase a
million dollar phone from the museum of expensive feats, which I believe he has on him right
now.”
 29

“What?!” Miss Flordia shouted fiercely as she walked towards the podium with the people
moving out of her way. “You mean to tell me that you stole all of our hard-earned money…to
blow it on a damn phone?!”
“I-I-I-It’s a…one of a kind…?” Councilman Albright asked nervously with a grin, only noticing
that Miss Flordia’s eyes were indeed furious as she approached him without any fear and without
warning, she slapped him hard in his face.
“You jackass!!” she bellowed as she proceeded to beat him with her hands and feet, knocking
him to the ground as he tried shielding himself from her assault. “All of our money meant to help
the homeless was nothing more than a damn ruse! It’ll be hard to bring that back!! Our country
will be set back in development!!”
No one didn’t even tried to stop her including the other council members as in their heads, he
was getting what he deserved. Hell, some even wanted to beat him up themselves, but watching
one old woman doing it was good enough. They even cheered her on. However, two policemen
on standby had to break it up eventually as one took her away whilst the other escorted Mr.
Albright in a police car. Later on in the Burlington County Detention Center, Sonny, along with
Akeem and Kira, visited Miss Flordia in her cell to see how she was doing.
“Hey, Gran,” Sonny said with a smile on his face, “How you feeling?”
“How am I feeling?” Miss Flordia asked in a rather questionable tone. “I’m pissed! A
councilman stole our money and blew it all on a goddamn phone! How selfish can a person get
with money?!”
“Well, you did beat him within an inch of his life,” Sonny remarked. “But he had it coming to
him. I knew that ‘homeless sheltering’ thing was nothing but hot air. Plus, not everyone paid
their taxes until today.”
“...Thanks, Sonny,” she said, calming down.
“Don’t thank me,” he said, “Thank Eggy for it.”
“Eggy?” she asked puzzlingly.
“The Jankey that kneels on my balcony. You’ve seen him before.”
“Oh, him.”
“My name’s not ‘Jankey’!” Eiji said angrily, causing the others to turn around to meet him as he
walked towards them. “And I managed to get this.” He pulled out a phone that seemed to be one
of a kind.
“Is that…the phone?” Sonny asked.
“Oh yeah. He purchased it with the money, and thanks to my quick hands, I got it.”
“Eggy, you idiot!” Sonny said. “That’s evidence! And you just had your hands on it! They’ll
think you have it!”
 30

“Oh, not really. I’ve got a replica. The real one was returned by the police when they found it in
Mr. Albright's possession. It’s now sitting at the museum, although its value has decreased since
someone had touched it.”
“...You’ve gotta be kidding,” Sonny remarked. “Who the hell would place a phone in a museum
and at such an outrageous price only to decrease it if a person touches it?”
“Rich people who don't know what to do with themselves.”
“Ah. It makes sense. Rich stupidity.”
“How can phones be expensive?” Kira asked.
“The same way they make cars expensive,” Sonny added. “Cheaply made with the intent of price
gouging.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Miss Flordia remarked.
“But there’s something that’s been bothering me,” Sonny said.
“What?” Eiji asked. Sonny’s face turned serious as he began to explain.
“He had a gun. Surely, a council member wouldn’t have one on his or her person. So, is there
something more to him than we thought…?”
***
Somewhere in Burlington, a ship was passing by in the night skies. The building
appeared to be an abandoned warehouse as the inside was completely dark. In one room, it was
occupied by a few people, with only two being human. Behind the desk sat a man in his 50s29
smoking a cigar that burned bright enough to make out the mustache he sported. Apparently, he
was receiving news about…something.
“...So the ray of idiocracy has been arrested?” the man asked. “Pathetic. Couldn’t even help
himself.”
“We do have evidence of the ones responsible,” a suited man with a hat and shades answered as
he pulled out a phone with footage of the crowd at city hall on the screen and gave it to the
leader. As he played the footage, he paused it and gave the man a confused look.
“This footage is terrible!” he said. “You couldn’t get a better shot of that? And who am I
supposed to see?”
“Uh, boss?” the man said. “Turn the volume up, and maybe-”
“I don’t want the volume up! I don’t even know how to work this damn thing! You kids and your
damn complicated technology nowadays…” The other man sighed to himself, knowing this was
going to be a while. However, a female Wilmareena with the tentacle-like locks for hair and
wore a black suit made for men stepped forward with a phone in hand containing pictures on

29
He is actually 50 years old.
 31

screen and handed it to the boss to see. As he examined the picture, he grinned as if he knew who
was on it.
“...So… These two are responsible, eh?” the boss asked with curiosity. “Those two are from the
Black Suns… Sonny Hillshire and Eiji Kashikoi.”
“Are you familiar with them?” the other man asked.
“Yes…” he wittingly said. “I’ll never forget what they almost did to me…and my arms…”
***
 32

Chapter 3: When Women Go Shopping, They’re

Energized. When Men Go Shopping, They’re
Exhausted
The next morning, things went back to normal. Well, it would have if a certain
councilman didn’t try blowing the money off on a million dollar phone. However, the state
managed to return the real one, but only with half the price since not many investors were
interested in a phone that was ruined by a simple touch…which is quite stupid. And now, the
state was set back in production and economic value.
Anyways, Miss Flordia was released as her charge was minor and continued business as usual as
she got back home to the apartment that her three associates shared. As she sat down in her
place, she was still steamed after the revelation of what happened to the taxpayer’s money. In
order to release the flames that resided in her, she had to resort to something…
Elsewhere, people were gathering at a mall in Vermont, which was opening for the first time.
While most of the excited party about this were women, the men on the other hand looked
exhausted. Most of them dashed in as the ribbon was cut, with some of them even dragging their
spouses with them by the arm so they could feel ‘important’ and ‘attentive’. The men didn’t even
want to be here at all.
Hours had passed and by the time everyone was out of the mall, most of the women were
walking out with confidence and full of energy as if they were supercharged by the mall itself,
whilst the men were crawling on their hands and knees, heavily panting as if they ran marathons.
Even the buff-looking men looked as if they trained for five hours with no rest as they were
carrying loads of bags their women left for them to take, only to collapse on the pavement.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment in Sonny’s run-down room, he, Akeem and Kira were
watching a news segment on the television that didn’t seem like much. The bulletin had a black
woman with a neatly frazzled afro and wearing a black anchorwoman’s dress sitting in a chair
looking at the viewers as she delivered the story.
“In other news,” the woman began as the bulletin line revealed a headline titled ‘Diarrhific
Death’ on the screen, “A man has died from what appears to be from ‘passing stool’ too much.”
“‘Passing stool’?” Kira asked with miring curiosity.
“38-year old David Schweinholtz was found dead in his home on his ‘porcelain throne’
yesterday,” the woman continued. “Authorities were called in after his wife had found him dead
in the bathroom in that state. No signs of foul play were present, but as authorities moved him
from his bowl, it appeared that he died from ‘passing too much stool’ in one setting as matter
was found in said bowl.”
“Damn, that’s an awful way to die,” Sonny remarked. “And to be found like that, he’ll be a
laughingstock forever.”
 33

“It’s too late,” Akeem commented as he was scrolling on his phone, seeing images of the man in
memes on the internet, “He’s already trending on social media and even memed about it.”
The screen then showed a new topic with the bulletin having a headline titled ‘Mall-Mania’. The
woman appeared to have smiled a bit, knowing this was a topic she was going to enjoy.
“Moving on, today was the new unveiling of the new mall that has opened up in Burlington
Vermont,” she happily sounded. “I know a lot of you ladies were excited to run to this, as I was
too.” However, her smile then diminished, which caught Sonny and Akeem off-guard. “But we
women wanted men to experience the thrill of shopping, and it seems that they were not as
enthused with it like we are, which proves that men and women are from different planets.”
“What the hell does that have to do with the topic?!” Sonny remarked, seeming somewhat
irritated by her words. “This is nothing more than gender politics being shoved in our local
news!”
“Whilst our female superiority shows our dominance in the shopping centers, one man collapsed
despite being a bulked hunk,” the woman briefed. “Many women have remarked today’s
shopping experience as ‘The Grand Central Station of Womanhood’.”
“I don’t believe this…” Sonny dryly remarked, rolling his eyes at the absurd news report.
“Gender politics has been a thing since 2010, and it got worse. What is humanity coming to?”
“Gender politics?” Kira asked, wanting to know what it was. “You mean like boys vs girls with
words?”
“Exactly like that.” Sonny picked up the remote from the table in front of him and pressed a red
button to turn off the television. However, a knock rang on his door, which sounded aggressive
and was a telltale sign that it was-
“Sonny! Akeem!” the voice shouted, seemingly familiar to them. “Get your asses out here! I’m
going shopping today, and I need you two to help me!” Sonny and Akeem groaned as they
slumped to the floor in exhaustion, knowing that this was something they hated to do, especially
since this was their ‘lazy day’. Kira herself tilted her head in confusion as she tried examining
both of them like a curious dog.
“I haaaaaate shopping!” Sonny said exasperatedly. “This is not my day…”
***
Ten minutes later, Sonny, Akeem, Kira and Miss Flordia had arrived at what appeared to
be the new mall that was six stories tall and made out of bricks. There was a crowd of women
already at the double doors that had mall security trying to keep the people under control. Inside,
the quads made their way into the mall, although Sonny and Akeem were dragging themselves
behind due to the ‘mall-like’ atmospheric fatigue they were feeling. This sight alone annoyed
Miss Flordia as even Kira, who was skipping happily, had to stop and look behind to notice
them.
 34

“Come on, you lazy bums!” Miss Flordia shouted. “You both can’t be that out of shape for
shopping! You men today!”
“G…Gran…” Sonny said grimmingly whilst hunched over, “I hate it here… I hate it every time
you bring me here…”
“M…Me too…” Akeem also grimmingly remarked. However, a person caught Sonny’s eye as he
noticed a white uniformed officer that seemed to be a Navajo man in his 40s30 with a badge
shaped like a moon on his chest and a serious face. Said man also noticed Sonny, which made
him bore a scowl on his face as if they were familiar. Sonny quickly maintained his stance and
walked towards the man with an inch of anger as he wanted to do something…drastic to him31.
As the two approached each other, they seemed to glare at one another like they were going to
kill each other in the pettiest of ways.
“What the hell are you doing here, Moonjavo?!” Sonny asked with a tone of anger in his voice.
However, the Navajo man took off his right glove and slapped him on his cheeks.
“It’s not ‘Moonjavo’, it’s ‘Navajo’ you dumbass!” the man snapped back.
“You just committed assault!” Sonny said.
“That’s two cents per breath you waste, pitiful man.”
“I didn’t come here to look at your ugly ass!”
“You’re a sight for my sore eyes!”
“Kiss my ass!”
“You threatening me?!” Both men pulled out their guns and pointed them at each other as their
loud voices had drawn people including the security towards them. However, they began firing at
each other, not even getting hit by a single bullet despite being in close range to each other. But
they had to stop due to their guns running out of ammo. Two security officers rushed to the
scene, only to be stopped by the Navajo officer himself as he raised a hand.
“Everything’s fine, go back to busting criminals shoplifting,” the Navajo man calmly said. The
security men went back to their posts, seeing the situation being resolved by someone they
viewed as respectable. However, he gave Sonny a glare as he did one back.
“You’ve got some nerve showing your ugly mug here,” the Navajo man said.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you say,” Sonny replied in earnest. “I didn’t want to be here, but yet
I was dragged.”
“I see you’re still that pitiful man who was branded like an idiot from that crappy military.”
“Watch your mouth. I was not a coward. I was only tired of living a lie.”

30
Adriel is 42 years old.
31
The beginning of a joke that’ll continue until a certain point. Just play along for now.
 35

“That’s basically 800,000 dollars of you living a lie for eight years straight. And an additional
100 dollars for being a sad excuse for life.” Sonny’s face was irked, wanting to really punch him.
The Navajo man then looked to see Miss Flordia approaching them, seemingly as if he knew her.
“And I assume that woman over there is who you pay rent to? My, how the mighty have fallen.
You could have, I dunno, pay the rent on time instead of slacking off to even give her a cent?”
“Okay, you’ve got three seconds to leave before I pummel that face of yours into asphalt.”
“Dumbass, we’re in the mall. And it’s ‘ceramic cladding’!” The Navajo man walked off, not
wanting to deal with Sonny's mere existence anymore. Miss Flordia then slapped Sonny on the
back of his head, not happy with his behavior just a moment ago.
“Stop causing a scene with your dramatic bullcrap!” she angrily shouted. “You and that damn
Indian officer always stir up trouble!”
“Me?!” Sonny shouted as he rubbed the back of his head. “He’s the one who started it!”
Miss Flordia sighed and shook her head in disappointment, knowing it would be pointless to
argue with him. “...Nevermind. Let’s continue shopping.” Sonny groaned, knowing it would be a
hell of an hour to shop. However, unknown to the four, they were being watched by two shady
people who were in the clothing section wearing shades and a hat.
“...Ugh… More suffering…”
***
Elsewhere, Advika was shopping in the same place Sonny and the others were, only she
was perhaps…three floors up. Why was she there? Unknown. Perhaps to buy something. She
was carrying a long blue bag that concealed something in it, being some sort of long, somewhat
weirdly shaped thing. She began to eye the dresses that were available on display, which would
compel her to get it, but because of her religion, she walked away from it. However, she spotted
Eiji, who was busy trying out suits. He was even grinning at the thought of him looking sharp in
such clothing that he could probably score a date or two. This sight alone made Advika chuckle,
finding it funny by his actions alone whilst she approached him.
“Eiji!” she said, waving at him as she got closer. To Eiji’s surprise, he felt as if he was meeting
an old friend as his face lit up with joy.
“Advika?” Eiji walked towards her as she already had her hands out and hugged her, having not
seen her in some time since their earlier years in the Black Suns.
“...I see you’re still trying to score a date,” she said with a smile. “You already look charming.”
“Oh, this suit?” he asked. “I wish I could score a date, but girls just don’t like me.”
“Aww, really?” She got closer, admiring his suit. She felt the sleek textures of the fabric itself,
seemingly impressed by it. “Well, who knows? You might want to show them those swordman
skills of yours.”
 36

“Pfft, they’d walk away even if I did that.”

“How’s your uh…parents?” This triggered some sort of reaction from Eiji, which he didn’t really
want to talk about.
“They uh…died two years ago. The same time I was discharged from the Black Suns…”
“Oh. That’s too bad.”
“What about yours?”
“...My mother’s not really speaking to me. But my father and I still talk. He’s even proud of me
for being a Black Sun member.”
Eiji then noticed the bag she was carrying which looked to be heavier than he thought. “That’s
good. Um, what’s up with the uh-”
“Oh, it’s for emergency use. Never know when it’ll come in handy.”
“Yeeeeeah…”
“So, why are you shopping here? You don’t seem like the type to come here often.”
“Oh, I just wanted to make myself prettier by using pearls.” Eiji raised an eyebrow, questioning
the motive behind it, but shrugged it off.
“...I’m not even going to question it at this point.” He then spotted Sonny, along with Akeem,
Kira and Miss Flordia walking down the aisle. However, only Sonny and Akeem were dragging
behind, seemingly wanting to go home already. At the same time, they were unaware of two
people following them.
“Hey, Sonny!” Eiji shouted.
“Ugh…,” Sonny groaned. "It’s the damn Jankey.” Miss Flordia and Kira walked on ahead into
the dresses section, not even caring about leaving the boys behind.
“Hello Sonny and Akeem,” Advika gladly said. “Tired?”
“Very,” Akeem gloomingly replied. Meanwhile, the two dressed men appeared to be talking via a
private phone link, which was somewhat understandable considering that the two were talking to
someone who was doing something shady. They hid in plain sight whilst pretending to look at
mens’ pants and shirts for style. However, who should show up walking down the aisle of suits
than Sonny’s worst enemy, the Navajo man himself?
Said Navajo man was whistling to himself whilst on patrol until he noticed Sonny, making his
lips turn into an unpleasant scowl. Hearing the footsteps, Sonny perked up and approached the
man in anger and within seconds, literally butted heads with each other, eyes glaring closely at
each other despite being in each other’s faces.
“You show your ugly-ass face in front of me again?!” the Navajo man said, trying to push
Sonny’s face away with his own. However, Sonny pushed him back.
 37

“’My ugly-ass face’?!” he retorted. “You block out the sun with yours!”
“The mirrors would shatter into billions of dollars upon seeing yours!”
“You smell like an elephant’s dung!”
“You look like one!”
“No, you!”
“Why, I oughta-”
He then noticed Advika, who captivated him upon seeing her beauty and had stopped his words
as he pushed Sonny out of his way to meet up with her. He then grabbed her hands and raised
them to his chest level, staring deeply into her pretty brown eyes.
“Ah, a pretty phoenix, I see,” he said, which confused the group. “Why, beauties of the stars that
have plagued my ancestors still happen with your eyes. A diamond could be billions of dollars to
purchase, but all that pales in comparison to the price of you and your beauty.”
Advika was somewhat surprised to hear such words from this man. It sounded very flattering to
her as she was blushing, but all that changed when Sonny managed to strike him down to the
floor on his stomach with a fist.
“Where the hell did you get those words from?!” he shouted. “Corny-ass Moonjavo!”
“Sonny, it’s all right,” Advika said, trying to ease Sonny's temper. She then kneeled down to the
Navajo man, having a smile on her face. “I appreciate it, but dating isn't my thing for the time
being.” The Navajo man groaned, but looked up at her face, still being mesmerized by it.
However, loud voices from which could be assumed to be a walkie-talkie in his pocket rang out.
“Suspect in floor four spotted,” the walkie talkie said. “We have a shoplifter, 10-4.” The Navajo
man got up and looked at Advika, still looking into her eyes as he placed his hands on her
shoulder. “I have a job to do. But this shall not ruin what I see in you.” He then dashed off to the
nearest stairs, heading up to never be seen again.
“Tch,” Sonny scoffed. “Jackass.”
***
Elsewhere on other floors in the mall, the women were busy trying on various clothes.
Their male partners were not at all eager to even be here. Some wanted to go to the bathroom in
order to avoid “time” with the women of their lives, whilst others were being forced to try on
clothes that their female companions wanted them to wear. At this point, refusing to do so could
result in two things: One, risk getting yelled at by the women and any other possible women in
the area, or two, the women leave them behind and give them the silent treatment should they get
home.
To the men, it felt like a trap. They had little room to escape and their shopaholic partners
weren’t making it any easier. Their only choice was to stay and please their wives, no matter how
 38

unpleasant it was. Even if the men could sneak to the bathroom, their partners would get
suspicious over such a short period of time of their absence. However, on one such floor, a
shoplifting incident was taking place, which caught the attention of everyone there.
For the men, this was exciting to see, as this was “chaotic” to them and could alleviate the
boredom their wives bestowed upon them. They even followed behind from a distance as the
Navajo chief and a young white man wearing a similar uniform excluding the swirly glasses
were chasing a white woman in a white dress and heels who had a purse full of hats that looked
far more expensive to get. Two security officers blocked her way, to which the woman threw her
heels towards their faces, knocking them down to the floor and making her way down the stairs
for an escape.
The woman was on the same floor as Sonny and his allies were, to which she was headed their
way. The other men were drawn to the commotion, which helped them take their eyes off their
women. The Navajo chief and the swirly glassed man were following right behind her.
“What’s going on?” asked Kira upon seeing what was happening.
“Finally, some chaos!” Sonny said as his posture recovered. However, he didn’t have much
experience running, and using a gun in a public place like this would lead to an arrest since he
wasn’t a trusted official.
“That woman is really excited,” said Kira.
“No, she’s a shoplifter,” Miss Flordia remarked as she shook her head. The woman began
picking up clothes from the racks and threw them at the two officers, to which caught them
off-guard. Seeing other security officers headed her way, the woman bolted down another way.
Some of the desk clerks also joined in, to which the woman was forced to use her feet to
accelerate using a boost of some sort of blue ether that ran a trail down from her legs to said
feet32, catching everyone off-guard.
“That’s no ordinary shoplifter!” Sonny remarked. The woman was so fast that she was able to
bolt out of the door.
“She’s too fast!” shouted one officer.
“We’ll never catch her!” remarked another. However, Advika felt that she needed to do
something about it.
“Not for long,” she said as she stepped outside and noticed the shoplifting woman walking as if
she was home free. No one knew what her words meant until she pulled something from her long
blue bag and what she held shocked everyone except perhaps Sonny and Eiji. The item in
question? A Nuclear Launcher, which was long and potent and had six square holes that were
pitch black. The weapon itself was a strange one, almost as if it was crafted by some intelligent
person since it seemed very advanced compared to a regular launcher.

32
She'll be explained in a future book…
 39

“Get ready to make an arrest, officer,” she said, charging the launcher. The square holes beegan
glowing pink as she looked through the scope on its side for a better aim at her distant target.
“Stop her, chief!” one security officer said. “Aren’t you and that nerd part of the ‘White
Moons’?!”
“...Yes, but,” the Navajo chief said, continuing his words as he observed her, “She doesn’t seem
intent on killing our target.”
As the launcher’s holes glowed a very bright pink to signal its readiness, her fingers, whilst ready
at the trigger, shouted, “Gumbazooka!!!” and fired a large pink ball that rocketed towards the
woman in a very silent manner to the point that she was unaware of it coming. Of course, it was
already too late for the woman as at the last second she turned around and was engulfed in a very
sticky pink substance that stopped her completely.
The woman struggled, only to realize that she couldn’t escape it, which shocked everyone upon
what Advika could do. The security officers, along with the Navajo chief and the swirly glasses
boy, ran past everyone and apprehended the woman as they took her away, albeit struggling since
she was still covered in the pink substance.
“...So, let’s keep shopping,” Advika said as she turned to the crowd with a smile on her face,
pretending that nothing happened whatsoever. However, most of the women left whilst dragging
their partners away from the scene, save for a few who thought that she was cool, whilst most of
the men stayed behind. Claps, which began slowly built into an applause followed by cheers.
Sonny and Eiji had approached her, still somewhat shocked, but more accepting of it as this was
their friend from that Black Suns war that could do such a thing.
Sonny placed a hand on her shoulder as he looked into her eyes with a smile spelled of
confidence.
“You haven’t changed a bit,” he said.
“Well, I tend to…come prepared,” she said. “Be thankful I’m not carrying flasks.”
“You were a knack for using nuclear weapons back then,” Eiji said.
“That was truly a dangerous yet admirable feat,” said Miss Flordia, who was approaching them
in a happier manner with a slogging Akeem carrying tons of bags behind and a happily skipping
Kira in high spirits. Miss Flordia’s appearance was certainly interesting towards Advika as she
eyed her yellow dress.
“Oh?” she asked. “Are you the landlord that rules over Mr. Hillshire?”
“That I am,” Miss Flordia responded. “I see that you’re one of his Black Sun friends.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she happily said. Sonny noticed Akeem was about to keel
over and stepped in to take some of them off his hands.
“Thanks,” Akeem said. “I feel like I was about to die.”
 40

“Is it over, Gran?” Sonny asked, hoping that it was in his head.
“Yes boys,” she said, “It’s over.” Sonny and Akeem breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“You hate shopping, Sonny?” Eiji asked, puzzled by how he could not enjoy shopping like he
did.
“You must be a woman,” he responded.
“No, I just want to look sharp for the ladies,” Eiji smoothly responded as he tugged at his suit. It
earned an eye roll from Sonny, whilst for Advika, it earned a chuckle out of her.
“I don’t care if you wear a suit,” Sonny said, “You’re still a monkey underneath it.”
“Well, I think you look like a handsome man,” Miss Flordia said with a smile on her face as she
noticed his suit.
“It’s nice to know when some people appreciate style,” Eiji said as he looked at Sonny.
“...Moving on, did anyone notice how that woman managed to excel her speed like that?” Sonny
asked. “The only one I know who could do that so far is Azalea.”
“Speaking of,” Eiji prodded, “Where is she?”
“I don’t want to know,” Sonny remarked. “I don’t even want to think about her for the time
being… For now…I just wanna go home…”
***
Fifteen minutes later, everyone went back home. The women had a day of shopping,
which thrilled them whilst the men were just glad to be home. For Sonny and Akeem, they were
relieved to be home as they just wanted to relax. But for Kira and Miss Flordia, they got what
they wanted and felt energized from their shopping spree. Inside their bags was one red dress for
Kira, whilst for Miss Flordia there were five dresses, three of which she would probably never
wear. Miss Flordia sighed happily to herself, seemingly relieved from some of her stress.
“I feel a little better, knowing that I’ve done something today,” she said.
“Miss Flordia?” Kira asked. “Why were Mr. Hillshire and Akeem tired when we were
shopping?”
“I don’t know. It must be a guy thing. We women shop to feel like we conquered something, you
know? Men just want to sit in luxury like leopards.”
However, she then remembered something.
“...Then again, not all men are like that33…”
***

33
Remember Eiji?
 41

Meanwhile at a warehouse, a man was smoking a cuban cigar as he was being greeted by
the Wilmareena woman with the strange tentacle-like curls in her hair and wearing a suit meant
for men.
“Sir,” she said, holding up a phone, “It’s for you.” The man grabbed the phone and answered
“Hello?” as there was someone on the other line.
“Boss, there’s another member of your two most hated archnemesis,” the voice on the other line
said.
“Really?” the man asked intriguingly. “What do they look like?”
“It’s an Indian woman,” the voice answered. However, it shocked the man as he never thought
there’d be a woman amongst his most hated enemies.
“An Indian woman?!” he answered harshly. “Since when did Indian women decide to fight?!
They should be caring mothers and housekeepers, not fighters!”
“Well, you’re not going to like this,” the voice continued. “She carries a strange type of
launcher.”
“Impossible!” the man shouted. “Just who else is in it?!”
“We don’t know. We’re still eyeing them.”
“Good. Keep doing so. I’d prefer to know my enemies just as much…so that I could destroy
them…”
***
 42

Chapter 4: Dining Is Supposed To Be A Pleasant

Experience, But Sometimes Chaotic
Two days later, Sonny, Akeem and Kira were sitting on the couch watching the television
as there was a news segment on it. The same black woman from two days ago was reporting on
topics that were trending right now. Seeing said woman on the television earned an eye roll from
Sonny, knowing that her last segment made him rethink twice on whom to trust on the news
segment.
“We begin with today’s news coming out from Minnesota”, the woman said as a bulletin titled
“T-Pose Terror” appeared on the screen. “A Minnesota man is found to have suffered from the
effects of what scientists call the ‘T-Pose Virus’ in his own bedroom.”
“I remember watching a Youtube video about that,” Akeem remarked.
“So have I,” Sonny said.
“The girlfriend of the afflicted said that during their ‘passionate moment’, her boyfriend started
to make a weird sound before standing upright on their bed with his arms stretched out and
became unresponsive after she tried calling his name multiple times with no answer.”
“Geez,” Sonny said, “The last case of this was reported back in 2032. Never thought I’d see it
again…”
“This case however, isn’t new,” the woman continued. “The T-pose virus was last recorded in
2032 when only ten people in different countries around the world suffered from it.”
“The T-Pose virus sounds too funny to be taken seriously,” Kira remarked.
“But there are new cases of the T-Pose Virus surfacing in today’s world,” the newswoman
remarked. “Another case started in Savannah Georgia when an elderly woman began stretching
her arms out in a t-like position as she was just getting a cup of coffee at Cosmobucks34.”
“Even the elderly are affected?” Akeem asked whilst raising an eyebrow.
“But human beings are not the only animals to be affected by this virus,” the woman continued.
“In a San Diego zoo exhibit, a silverback gorilla was documented T-Posing, which scared off the
female gorillas that were his potential mates. And in an Ohio zoo exhibit, a male lion was
documented to be suffering from the virus as it stood upright with its forelegs stretched outwards
like human limbs.”
“Damn,” Sonny said. “This is starting to either sound like we’re part of the Matrix or a video
game at this point.”

34
Parody of the real life Starbucks.
 43

“And in other news,” the woman said, “A woman is suing JCNickols35 over accusations of
sexism after she believes that men should not be allowed to shop there. She claims to have been
raped at JCNickols by a man who tried to sexually force himself onto her in the women’s isle,
although police say otherwise...”
“Women today,” Sonny snidely remarked as he shook his head in disbelief, “They’ll do anything
to claim sexism.”
“And our final piece of news comes from our local city,” the woman said as she had a smile on
her face. “Celebrity James Marshall is coming to our fair town today for a dining session at
Hartford Delite in Burlington. I know you ladies will be screaming to meet him, as will I. So-”
Sonny then pressed a button on his remote to turn the television off, not wanting to hear any
more drivel.
“Who’s John Marshall?” Akeem asked.
“I have no idea who the hell that is,” Sonny said.
“Can we go dining today?” asked Kira.
“...Well, sure,” Sonny said. “I mean, it’s not like we don’t get the opportunity to go and enjoy
ourselves.”
“I’d like to do that,” Akeem said.
“Isn’t that kind of gay to go with a guy to a dinner?” Sonny asked.
“No,” Akeem assured. “Just as long as I enjoy the food, that’s all that matters.”
“Yeah, that’s gay.”
Akeem rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Well, whatever. I just hope the food’s good there.”
***
Ten minutes later at night, the trio had arrived at Hartford Delite, which was a standalone
building on its own with the fancy green neon signs spelling its name out above the double
doors. Miss Flordia did not come as she had customers for the night to serve. For Sonny, he wore
a black vest over a gray shirt with black leather pants and shoes to match, whilst for Akeem he
wore a white tuxedo with black collars, a black tie over the white buttoned up shirt along with
the matching white pants and shoes. As for little Kira, she wore a red dress and shoes suited for
her age along with the black stockings and wore a matching red hair band.
As they went inside, they were greeted by a host who wore the usual black suit and white shirt
underneath with the black bowtie to appear fancy including the white gloves.
“Good evening,” the man said to them, “How may we serve you today?”

35
Parody of the real life JCPenny.
 44

“Table of three,” Sonny said.

“Right this way.” The man showed them around the area as there were voices and such, making
it livelier by the second. The room had tables with white cloths on them and red chairs of four
placed underneath each table. Dressed people were sitting at some of the tables eating what the
restaurant served, and tall, potted plants were lined by each table to enhance the experience.
Unbeknownst to the trio, Stella was peeping from a plant pot in a yellow dress and heels, peering
through binoculars. Apparently, she was stalking Sonny36.
“Alright,” she whispered as she took a look at his rear, “Lemme get a good look at that big
ass…” Whilst she was looking at Sonny’s rear, two gentlemen wearing shades and black suits
walked by and sat down at a table not too far from where Sonny, Akeem and Kira were. They
were looking at their menus that had various steaks with sides that looked too good to pass up.
“So,” Sonny inquired, “What will you guys be having?”
“I’ll have the Ribeye Steak with Broccoli and Feta Pasta Salad,” Akeem answered as he placed
his menu down.
“I’ll have the Zalfrinian37 Chicken Surprise with Ko’maras38 Beans,” Kira answered. Sonny and
Akeem looked at each other with puzzled faces, then to the menu, which had exactly as Kira
said, and then at her.
“...I’ve never had that before,” Sonny remarked. “Are you sure you want that kind of meal?
Maybe a more…appropriate meal for someone your age…?”
“I want that meal,” she asserted. She was not going to change her mind on what she wanted
anytime soon, so Sonny left it at that.
“Okay. Suit yourself.” As a waiter approached their table, the two gentlemen peered up from
their menu as they had their eyes on the table where Sonny, Akeem and Kira sat at. One of them
pulled out a phone as he went outside whilst the other one stayed to watch and called a person on
the other end, to which a male voice answered, “Yeah?”
“Boss,” the man said in a low tone, “We are at the restaurant where Sonny Hillshire is indulging
himself.”
“Good,” the other voice said in a more smooth-like way as if he was grinning, “Who’s he with?”
“Two people. One of which is a child, and the other is an Arabic male in his 20s.”
“Interesting. I did not take him for a person who looks after a child. Keep me informed on him.”
“Yes, Boss.” The man then hung up and went back inside to continue his stakeout. A minute
later, a red Tesla Model SRT39 pulled up to the restaurant. Stepping out of said vehicle was a

36
…As usual.
37
A chicken delicacy from Planet Zalfron, which won't be explored in this book.
38
Another planet that will be explored in another book.
39
…I picked this out of convenience…
 45

black man wearing a suit similar to what Sonny wore with two bodyguards at his side. As they
entered, they were greeted by the same host as he had a smile and said in a surprised voice
“Why, if it isn’t John Marshall! How may we serve you today?”
“Just like a regular,” he responded.
“Right this way,” the host said and showed him around. People were looking up from their tables
to see him in person. However, because of restaurant etiquette, they couldn’t shout or holler
about his mere presence. Some could only look at him and grin whilst others whispered amongst
one another. A news reporter, being the same woman that Sonny, Akeem and Kira saw on the
news, was also in attendance as she was following him and his guards for a quick interview.
Akeem saw the man from the corner of his eye and instantly knew who he was.
“Sonny, that’s him!” Akeem whispered. Sonny gave a quick glance to the man and rolled his
eyes, not even caring about him in the slightest.
“So that man is him?” he asked with an intrusive voice. “Not impressive in person.”
“Is he that celebrity that the woman on the news said?” Kira asked with curiosity.
“Yeah,” Sonny flatly answered without even so much as changing his face. “He’s not any more
special than us. He’s only that way because the media and his fans glorify him. Speaking of…”
His voice trailed off as he saw the woman following Mr. Marshall with a pen and some paper for
jotting down notes.
“...That newswoman is over there. Looks like she wants to either get an autograph, or an
interview.”
Mr. Marshall then sat down at a table with his two bodyguards as a waitress took their order.
Afterwards, the newswoman sat at the table where he was, talking to him with a smile on her
face. At the same time, Sonny got up and headed to the bathroom, but unbeknownst to him, one
of the men spying on him got up and went after him. As he stood in front of a urinal and did his
business, the suited man softened his footsteps as he pulled out a gun from his suit pocket and
pointed it at Sonny’s back.
“Don’t move, Hillshire,” the man said in a calm, yet threatening voice, wanting to strike a bit of
fear in Sonny. Noticing that Sonny was done, he continued pointing at him as he asked,
“Finished your business?”
“...Who the hell are you?” Sonny asked calmly, not even turning around as the man sauntered
himself without any stagger in his footsteps.
“You zipped up?40” the man asked, which raised an eyebrow from Sonny.
“What the hell kind of question is that?!” Sonny yelled in a soft tone. “What man would ask
another man that question in a bathroom?!”

40
…Never ask that in a bathroom.
 46

“You zipped up?!” the man asked in a more demeaning tone.

“Yes!” Sonny answered back.
“Then raise your hands.” And raise said hands Sonny did as the man pointed a gun in his back.
“Move. You will sit with us.” The man escorted Sonny from the bathroom as they passed the
mirrors and the sinks.
“Uh, I didn’t wash my hands,” Sonny said. “Would you mind if I do it? So I won’t spread
germs?”
“Sure. Make it quick.” He turned on the sink, which spewed a mixture of hot and cold water.
Sonny pressed a button on a soap dispenser that released liquid soap and rubbed his hands
together before putting them under the water, scrubbing them for a good 20 seconds. He got a
glimpse of the man in the mirror holding him hostage and wondered what was really going on in
his head as he turned off the water and reached for a towel dispenser, which gave him a brown
paper towel to use to dry off his hands.
“Alright, I’m finished,” Sonny said. “Let’s go.” And off they went. But before they completely
exited the bathroom, Sonny did a 180 as he grabbed the gun and raised it up to avoid a possible
bullet fire, kicking the man into the wall, knocking the gun out of his hand, which landed near
his feet. With a quick reaction, Sonny grabbed it and pointed at the man.
“Who are you and why are you targeting me?!” Sonny demanded, wanting to know more
answers. The man only pressed a button near his ear, which confused him for a second until he
thought that he could be calling for backup. In response, he got behind the man as he kept his
gun pointed at him from a distance as he got back up. A moment later, another suited man
appeared in the bathroom with a gun in his hand, to which Sonny secretly pulled out a gun from
his suit pocket, pointing both guns at them.
“You,” the man called out, “Drop your guns.”
“Drop yours first.”
“No, you.”
“You’re not making the situation easier. Either you drop your gun, or I kill him.”
“You won’t. I’ll kill you first.”
“I’m faster with a gun than you. You and your partner won’t last long if you pull the trigger. Now
drop your gun.” The man was wanting to shoot Sonny first, but knowing of his status, he
dropped his gun to the ground.
“Now answer me this: Who are you and why are you targeting me?!” Sonny demanded even
more.
“...The truth is,” one of the men began, “Our boss has been dying to see you again.”
“Your boss, huh?” Sonny flatly asked. “Who’s this ‘boss’ of yours and does he know me?”
 47

“Oh, he knows you a hell of a lot,” the other man said. “He’s been interested in you and that
Asian man ever since.”
“...What?” Sonny quietly uttered to himself.
“Don’t worry about it,” the man said with a smile. “We won’t ruin your dinner…but just know
that…you’ll die trying your meal before it arrives.”
“...What the hell are you on about?!”
***
Back at the table where Akeem and Kira were sitting, they were wondering where Sonny
was since he wasn’t back yet.
“Man, Mr. Hillshire sure is taking a while with the bathroom,” Akeem remarked.
“Is he having tinkle problems?” Kira asked.
“I hope not.” However, they noticed two suited gentlemen entered the restaurant, where instead
of going to the bathroom where Sonny and the two other suited men were, they headed towards
Mr. Marshall and his two bodyguards.
“Can I help you two gentlemen today?” Mr. Marshall asked with a friendly smile on his face.
“Oh, but I’m not taking autographs at the moment, if that’s what you’re here for.”
“No worries Mr. Marshall,” one of them said. “We’re not here for an autograph. We’re here to
hold you hostage.” Mr. Marshall and his bodyguards along with the newswoman raised an
eyebrow at them until they saw their guns revealed from their coats pointed at them without
distant eyes looking.
“If you utter a word, we’ll kill you. All you have to do is cooperate.”
“Alright, nobody moves!” the other man shouted, catching everyone’s attention as they saw a
pistol being held in his hand. “We bring you no harm, but if you dare dial a phone number to the
police, you’ll die. And don’t even think about leaving.” He then gestured to the window, in
which suited individuals similar to their wear were outside, terrifying the guests.
“Now, we just want one thing, and one thing only. Either the man known as ‘Sonny Hillshire’
comes out and goes with us, or this celebrity, his bodyguards and the lady here bite the bullet.
Your choice.” Most of them were unable to even move a muscle, including the staff.
“This is bad!” Akeem whispered. “Could this be why Mr. Hillshire couldn’t come out of the
bathroom?”
“Hey you!” one of the men shouted towards Akeem. “What are you whispering about?!” A
suited humanoid creature came from the bathroom dragging Stella by her poofy hair as she was
flailing her arms and legs around whilst shouting…
“Let me go! Why are you targeting my man?!”
 48

“Sir, she was around the men’s bathroom,” the creature said. “I presume that Mr. Hillshire is
there.”
“Good. Some of you tie her and the rest of the people here up including the staff.” As they
carried out the demands, everyone was tied up, including the staff.
“Damn!” Akeem cursed under his breath. He realized that Sonny was alone by himself and a
couple of goons who were wanting to kill him or take him away, whichever route they took. Two
of the suited men went into the men’s bathroom with guns already drawn. Inside, Sonny heard
footsteps, which to him meant that they weren’t from good people. As soon as one of them was
in sight, Sonny punched them square in the jaw, knocking them to the floor and pointed one of
his guns at the other man, forcing him to stop.
“I don’t know who you are or what your boss wants with me, but if he wants a date, then tell him
I don’t have any in my calendar,” he said.
“Are you willing to kill all of us?” one of them said. “Sooner or later, we’ll turn this place into a
bloodbath unless you cooperate with us.”
“What?!” Sonny shouted, knowing that both Akeem and Kira were in danger. However, he
thought that should he kill these four men right now, everyone’s lives were in jeopardy. So he
had no choice but to drop his guns to the floor and surrender.
“...Alright, I’ll cooperate. But don’t hurt anyone here. They just wanted to enjoy a meal.”
“Good answer, but you didn’t need to make an irrelevant sentence.” One of the men went to pick
up the guns and pointed them at Sonny, even gesturing for him to walk ahead as they headed out
of the bathroom. Everyone was shocked to even see Sonny and the four men walking together.
“Mr. Hillshire!” Akeem shouted. But he noticed that Sonny’s facial expression wasn’t of worry,
but rather of calm demeanor as he didn’t even look in his direction. However, before the men
could escort Sonny outside, sounds of police sirens came closer to the restaurant until police cars
were seen outside flashing red and blue. Exiting one of the vehicles was a Navajo man in a white
coated police uniform along with a white man wearing swirly glasses and carrying a bazooka on
his back41.
“Who the hell called the White Moons?!” one of the men shouted. The dining guests were
somewhat relieved that they were here. Outside, the other police members were being instructed
to carry out tasks such as surrounding the building and providing cover for the Navajo man as he
walked towards the door with a pistol drawn whilst other suited men were preparing for police
break-in as they had guns drawn as well.
“They only sent one officer to deal with us,” one of the men said. “How pathetic.”
“This is the White Moons Force!” the Navajo man shouted. “We got a call about a disturbance
here! Whoever you thugs are, you’re all under arrest!”

41
He’s a character that’ll be introduced in the next chapter…
 49

“You won’t get us! We have hostages! One in particular we’ll be taking!”
“You won’t escape with a single one so long as we’re here, dammit!”
“Boys, I think it’s time to introduce a little ‘gift’ for our ‘lone ranger’ out there,” the man said
whilst chuckling alongside his fellow suits. However, an explosion rocked the place, terrifying
everyone in the building.
“What the hell was that?!” one of them shouted. Sounds of footsteps ran through the building as
the establishment was now filled with White Moons officers with weapons drawn and ready to
fire.
“Drop your weapons!” one of the officers shouted. Knowing that this was a win or lose situation,
the suited men decided to comply and dropped their weapons. Walking into the door was the
Navajo man himself, appearing as calm despite the situation.
“Take them all in,” the man said. However, when he got a look at Sonny, his face went sour as if
he didn’t even want to see him. But he did know that he was familiar. However, Sonny noticed a
suited man behind the Navajo officer, prompting a quick response as he swiftly kicked and
punched the men behind him and knocked their guns away, grabbing them whilst shouting
“Moonjavo!!” as he fired a single bullet towards the suited man before falling to the carpet on his
rump, striking him in the chest. As the Navajo man turned around, he saw his so-called
“assailant” on the ground with only a bleeding chest wound and a gun laying near him.
“Damn,” the Navajo officer said under his breath. Whilst not impressed by what Sonny did, he
had his duties to perform. A moment later, most of the officers had reprimanded them to their
squad cars and hauled off except one lone car that belonged to the two parties. Ambulances were
also there with the red lights flashing despite no one from the restaurant being injured except the
threats. The restaurant people were freed, with most of them never really forgetting the
experience including the staff. However, that dining experience would come to a close for the
night as it would be something to have all members heal from. But not without taking their food
home.
Outside, Sonny was with Akeem and Kira, holding bags that contained their dinner as they took
bites into them. To their surprise, the dinner was actually delicious despite not experiencing the
‘dining experience’.
“Wow, this tastes really good!” Akeem said as he took a bite out of it. Sonny and Kira also were
savoring the flavor, having the same experience.
“This is good!” she said as she took a bite out of the strangely shaped chicken that didn’t look to
be from this planet.
“I think it’s because of the chaos,” Sonny replied as he took a bite out of his food. “That said,
you two okay?”
“Yeah,” Akeem answered.
 50

“It was really scary,” Kira replied. Sonny then put down his bag and held his arms out, allowing
them to join together for a hug. They continued hugging until they felt the complete
embracement.
“Mr. Hillshire,” Akeem commented, “Earlier you seemed calm as they were about to take you
away. Why?”
“I dunno,” Sonny replied. “Maybe I was thinking something good would happen.” Standing in
the doorway that caught their attention was the Navajo man himself and the bazooka carrying
guy, which turned Sonny’s smile into a frown.
“Moonjavo,” he replied with a bit of bitterness in his voice. However, it irked the man as he bore
a scowl on his face.
“It’s not ‘Moonjavo’ you dumbass!” he shouted. “It’s Navajo!!”
“My bad,” Sonny dryly responded. “Not my fault your race is hard to pronounce.”
“Go kick a bucket in the River Styx,” he said. He walked off with the bazooka guy with swirly
glasses, only to stop a moment.
“...Uh,” he started off, trying to find the words. However, he couldn’t. The only thing he could
say was, “Yeah” before walking off towards a black police car with the White Moons badge
symbol on the door.
“Mr. Hillshire, he didn’t even say thank you,” Akeem inquired. “He should be glad you saved his
life!”
“Yeah!” Kira responded.
“Oh, trust me,” Sonny said with a smile, “He’s too proud to admit that he got his ass saved by a
former Black Suns member.” Not long after, celebrity John Marshall had appeared alongside his
two bodyguards and saw Sonny, wanting to speak to him.
“Hey,” he began whilst greeting him with a smile. “You’re that man who shot at that guy with a
quick trigger.”
“I am,” Sonny said. “What’s it to you?”
“I admire your style. Perhaps I’ll make a movie inspired by you. You’re a hero.”
“Don’t call me a ‘hero’. I’m not that at all, nor do I like hearing such a word.”
“Okay. Well, you’re still a hero in my book. Look forward to my movie a year from now.” Sonny
rolled his eyes in annoyance as Mr. Marshall and his two bodyguards entered their red Tesla
Model SRT and drove off. Whilst watching them drive in the distance down the road, he couldn’t
help but think back to what he had experienced just earlier. The newswoman was about to
approach her news van along with her cameraman when she saw Sonny, wanting to speak to him.
 51

“Hey,” the woman started off as she gave a warm smile, which drew their attention. “You’re that
man that helped save the restaurant from those suited men.”
“...So what if I am?” he asked in an unamusing tone. “I don't want to be called a hero.”
“Why not? I thought you were one when you saved-”
Sonny had to stop her there with a “Don't”, which confused them. “I'm not really a hero, so don't
call me one,” he assured with his voice being somewhat serious.
“Then why spring into action?”
“I did it because it's the right thing to do. Anyone with that mindset could've done it.”
“...I see.” The woman looked somewhat disappointed, not expecting that kind of response. “Well,
keep your ears open for the news. I'll mention your name and-”
“Don't mention my name. That's all I ask.”
“...Okay, sir. Take care of yourself.” The woman and her cameraman headed towards their van
and drove off, somewhat satisfied with their report.
“Why don't you want to be called a hero, Mr. Hillshire?” Kira asked.
“I agree,” Akeem said. “You did what would be-”
Sonny then had enough. In a serious, yet somewhat menacing tone he said, “Akeem. Kira. Stop.
Didn’t you hear me say it to that woman? Don't call me that.” Not wanting to push him further,
they left it at that.
“Mr. Hillshire…,” Akeem began as he was changing topics, “Those guys earlier… Why were
they after you?”
“I don’t know, but they said that their boss was dying to meet me again,” Sonny answered as it
was in a somewhat calmer but worried tone.
“Does that mean someone hates you from your time as a soldier?” Kira asked.
“Only time will tell,” Sonny replied whilst looking at the moon itself. “Only time will tell…”
***
At some sort of abandoned warehouse, two suited members were reporting to a shady
figure that smoked a cigar in darkness, only revealing gritted teeth.
“Boss,” one of the suited members replied, “It appears that trying to capture Sonny Hillshire was
unsuccessful. Some of our members were arrested.” However, the man’s cigar burned brighter
with intensity as if it could melt ice and revealed a scowl, showing his furious teeth that bit down
on the cigar hard like paper.
“What?!!” he shouted with anger in his voice. “Bull!”
 52

“Perhaps we should know his weakness,” a female voice said from the shadows, attempting to
prevent him from losing it. In view came a female Wilmareena with the tentacle-like locks for
hair and wore a male suit to complete her look.
“T’Alma,” the boss responded with a smile. “You’ve given off a good statement. What kind of
weakness should we see?”
“Something that hits close to home,” she replied.
“A child?” he asked.
“No. It is enough to motivate him to come here. However, it’s not enough to tug the strings.”
“Then you and a few others shall take that reign. Keep surveying him of his whereabouts.”
“Yes sir,” she replied as she disappeared into thin air.
“Karmak,” the boss said to the large, broad man, “Make certain that our counterfeit deal doesn’t
fall under. I’d hate for it to go sour and ruin us.”
“Aye,” Karmak replied and walked off into the darkness, leaving the boss to himself. Knowing
that his two greatest enemies were still out there, he was getting restless.
“I can’t live comfortably if those two are still out there…”
***
 53

Chapter 5: Bank Robberies Have Very Little Success

The next morning, Sonny, Akeem and Kira were in their apartment watching the latest
news, which contained information from last night. Of course, they all knew it as they were there
when it happened. They explained it to Miss Flordia last night, who was glad to see that they
were unharmed, but warned Sonny to keep both Akeem and Kira out of danger, which he agreed
to without hesitation. On the television screen, the newswoman from last night was reporting as
usual, which made Sonny's eyes roll.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” she started off. “We begin with news from last night.
Hartford Delite, a local restaurant around these parts was under attack by suited men with hats
and shades. It was unknown as to what their goal was, but thankfully, it was resolved.”
“...Moonjavo's getting all the credit,” Sonny murmured.
“The White Moons were called by someone, not naming who, to respond to the situation. At the
same time, celebrity guest John Marshall made his ravishing appearance there, and
‘you-know-who’ got to ask questions about the experience and his upcoming movie plans.” She
began giggling, which didn't seem appropriate to the viewers at home, but let it slide anyway as
she cleared her throat to calm down.
“O-On the other hand, Chief Adriel of the White Moons along with his partner Lieutenant Ian
Sanitas had subdued them successfully and thank goodness, no one was hurt. But it also seems
that another person decided to play a role in helping them.”
“That’s you, Mr. Hillshire!” Akeem exclaimed. “She’s mentioning you!”
“Not wanting to reveal his name, the man had some expertise in saving lives. Without him, it
would've been the end for a Chief of the White Moons.”
“Hah!” Sonny exclaimed as he stood up proudly with a ‘triumphant’ grin on his face. “Take that
and shove it up your ass, Moonjavo! In fact, suck it!”
“And now with some recent-"
Sonny turned off the television with a remote, having about enough with the news.
“Let's go to Cheshire Park and relax,” Sonny said to brighten the day. “Me and Akeem don't have
work today, so it's a nice day for ice cream.”
Ten minutes later, they arrived at their local park licking ice cream from their cones as they sat
on the bench in front of a fountain watching people play with either their children or their pets.
Whilst it was a warm sunny day, it had a few dark clouds that passed by every now and then. But
it didn’t bother them. Sonny's favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate, whilst for Akeem, it was
cherry. As for little Kira, it was cookies and cream.
“It’s a nice day to relax,” Sonny said whilst looking at a Caucasian woman in some sports wear
jogging past them.
 54

“Yep,” Akeem responded. “It’s nice to break from the games.”

“I hope you’re not playing World of Warcraft or League of Legends,” Sonny said whilst raising a
stern eyebrow. “Those games are nothing more than loot boxes and microtransactions at this
point. And they’re bleeding you dry.”
“Do I look like an idiot?” Akeem asked inquiringly. “I don’t throw money away like that. That’s
what losers do.”
“Is it like how businesses are nowadays?” Kira asked.
“Yep,” Sonny quickly answered with a smile. “Just like that with a grain of salt.” Unbeknownst
to them, Stella was peeking at them through binoculars behind a tree from a distance, most likely
trying to spy on Sonny himself. She was mostly grinning as she looked at Sonny, viewing him as
eye candy.
“...Delicious,” she uttered to herself as she began licking her lips in delight. She wanted nothing
more than to be the ice cream in Sonny's hand right now as he took a lick of it. However, her
attention was then grabbed by some suited men that were also spying on Sonny behind the trees.
“What are they up to now…?” she said to herself. She knew them from the restaurant last night
and was tied up, unable to even do anything in said situation, which made her feel somewhat
disappointed in herself. But, not wanting to increase tension, she decided to keep watch on them.
As Sonny and his two associates got up to walk somewhere, Stella decided to trail with them, as
did the other suited people.
“Damn,” she muttered under her breath, “They’re becoming a nuisance.” She decided to keep
following Sonny and his two associates whilst tailing the suspicious people. As Sonny, Akeem
and Kira were going further in the park, she saw an Asian man wearing a casual black jacket
with a white T-shirt underneath, whom they were familiar with.
“Hey Eggy,” Sonny casually spoke to him.
“It’s not ‘Eggy’, it’s Eiji!” he said, trying to correct him.
“Oh. Well, where were you last time?”
“Whaddya mean?”
“I mean, like where were you last night? I could’ve used a hand there.”
“Did I miss something?”
“He meant where were you when it came to that restaurant incident last night,” Akeem chimed
in.
“I was occupied at my gaming session with the gang,” Eiji replied.
“Bullcrap,” Sonny remarked, refusing to believe it. “You did no such thing.”
“Oh really? Ask any of my buddies and they’ll confirm my alibi.”
 55

“Fine. I’ll take it.” But Eiji noticed something strange going on, especially with the suited men
spying behind places like trees, benches or better yet, the park’s fountain.
“Uh, Sonny?” he asked whilst having a somewhat wide-eyed expression as he looked at the
suited men, “Are you famous or something?”
“Huh?” Sonny asked. As Eiji pointed to a tree, the men hid themselves carefully as Sonny,
Akeem, and Kira looked behind to see nothing, then turned back to him.
“Are you going crazy or something?” Sonny asked.
“I saw some suited men hiding behind some things such as trees, benches and even the fountain.”
What tipped Sonny off was the ‘suited men’ part, which he knew he had a bad experience with.
“Eggy, cover me. Akeem. Kira. Get somewhere safe.” Sonny gradually walked towards the trees
where the men were as Akeem and Kira went to find safety behind a large rock, and with quick
senses, saw a punch coming his way and blocked it, whilst countering with a punch of his own,
knocking the man to the ground and completely unconscious. In turn, more of them approached
Sonny with guns drawn. Eiji used the trees and his quick speed to avoid bullets being fired in his
direction whilst Sonny pulled out his own guns to fire with his quick fingers, striking most of
them in the chest without even missing.
Five more of them came out of hiding from various places to go after both Sonny and Eiji, only
for Sonny to fire some mana-infused bullets to hit three of them, whilst for Eiji, he pulled out his
dual swords that were well covered and used the hilt part including his hands to knock two of
them out. Unbeknownst to them, one suited man had a gun pointed at Sonny whilst hiding
behind a tree. For Stella, he was nearby, so to help out, she had a whip and flailed it with success
as it knocked the gun out of his hand and was knocked to the ground with a mace.
“Man, we made it look easy,” Eiji said. Stella had come towards them with a smile on her face,
mostly towards Sonny.
“Hey boys,” she smoothly said whilst leaning on Sonny, forcing him to back away.
“Stella?” Eiji said, noticing her whip and mace in hand.
“Are you stalking me as usual?” Sonny asked.
“Nooo…,” she answered innocently.
“But changing topics, what’s going on?” Eiji asked.
“Seems someone wants me dead,” Sonny said. “Eiji, do you know anyone we fought during our
time as Black Suns members?”
“No. Not anyone I know.”
During their group discussion, a female Wilmareena was hovering above in the skies, paying
attention to everything they did just now.
 56

“Hmm…,” she said to herself. “They’re more skillful than I thought. Perhaps Hans will have a
bit more trouble with this. I’d better pursue them some more to see a great weakness…”
***
Back at the abandoned warehouse, the boss was walking around to a destination he had in
mind as he entered a port harbor with a large ship loading boxes onto the pier. He was not alone,
as one of his right handed men who was large in frame stood by his side. Two gentlemen walked
towards him, seeming to be very important men as they wore green suits meant for negotiating
profits and businesses.
“You have the goods?” one of them asked.
“Right this way,” the boss said as he showed them around, to which they entered a part of the
building that was supplying drugs, weapons and explosives, all of which were laid out on tables
being shown in dim-lit spots.
“Take as much as you’d like,” he said. “We’re making more anyway and they’re not stopping
anytime soon. Give him my regards on his behalf.” One of the gentlemen went back to the ship
to get others to retrieve the items. Once the transaction was done, the boss received his
counterfeiting money, and the suppliers got their items and sailed off into the wild blue.
“That went well,” the boss said.
“Da,” the large broad man said. However, the boss had received a call from someone whose
voice was female on the other end.
“Boss, it appears that those two you seek to kill are quite skillful as ever before,” the voice
reported. The boss’s face bore a scowl, knowing just how much of a threat they were. He even
remembered the moment they cut his arms off and shot him in the chest back in his drug and
weapon dealing days, almost leaving him for dead. “They took down our people without a
struggle.”
“T’Alma, kill them,” he said bitterly.
“Not yet,” she replied. “Wouldn’t you agree that luring those two to you would be best?” The
boss gave a bit of thought to her words, realizing that it would be better. After all, he fantasized
that he could kill them with his own two hands and get his revenge. He then looked to the two
large mechanical arms on his back as they balled into fists similar to what he was doing at the
very moment. It gave him a grin on his face as he chuckled to himself.
“Very well,” he said. “Keep surveying him. I trust your intellectual skills. You always knew
best.”
“Yes sir,” she replied before she hung up. The boss then continued to himself as he pulled out a
cigar and put it in his mouth, lighting it using a lighter and smoking it.
“Vermont’s going to be in trouble. ‘Phase two’ is going underway…”
***
 57

Several hours later, Sonny, Akeem and Kira had returned home with Miss Flordia
relaxing in her favorite place, her bar. She was expecting them, but not to yell or anything. Eiji
and Stella were watching through the window, since they’ve never been there and didn't know if
Miss Flordia would allow them in or not.
“Welcome back, you three,” she said. “I take it that a stroll in the park allowed you to relax?”
The trio gave some weird looks, which raised an eyebrow from Miss Flordia.
“...Was it not relaxing?” she asked further.
“Well…” Sonny started off as he rubbed his neck and looked down at the floor, unable to lie to
her, “Not really…”
“Oh lord,” she uttered, knowing that he had gotten in trouble once again, “Can’t you go a day to
relax without causing trouble?!”
“It’s not his fault,” Akeem interjected. “Some people want to kill him.”
“Who?!” she shouted, ready to hunt them down with riled up energy for an elderly woman. “I'll
castrate the bastards!”
“I don’t know,” Sonny replied. “I remember one of them mentioned that their boss was ‘dying to
meet me and Eiji again.’” Miss Flordia could only sigh whilst shaking her head, knowing full
well the dangers Sonny had gotten himself into that weren’t really his fault.
“Is it just like last night?” she asked, knowing what said event took place. Sonny, Akeem and
Kira could only nod, which gave her an answer.
“You Black Suns people and your dangerous lifestyle. How can you rest when your past is
catching up to you? Then again, everyone’s past tends to catch up on them.”
“I know,” Sonny replied. “I know that all too well...”
“What do you mean, Mr. Hillshire?” Akeem asked with inquiry, wanting to know. Sonny could
only look down with regret, knowing what he could say would bring up past scars.
“...I’ve killed innocents,” he said bitterly, which sent the others except Miss Flordia into shock.
Even outside, only Stella was shocked as Eiji himself knew the experience as well.
“I-Innocents…?” Akeem asked. Then he remembered what Sonny said last night. ”...So that's
why…”
“M-Mr. Hillshire…?” Kira said with worry.
“What does he mean?” Stella asked as looked at Eiji, who had a similar face of regret. That look
alone was all it took to give her something to go off of.
“...He… He did it?” she asked, to which only Eiji nodded without a word. However, he did want
to add his two cents into it.
 58

“But he’s not the only one…,” he grimaced. “I took part in it as well...” Stella’s face was
somewhat mortified, but more with worry.
“Innocents that we didn’t even know at the time,” Sonny continued. “The Black Suns were
nothing more than mere pawns for military personnel to carry out covert operations...”
“Even my late husband would attest to that,” Miss Flordia said. “Last I spoke to him, he was
quite broken over the phone…”
“We thought we were doing a great deed for our country, but in truth we were living lies,” Eiji
remarked. “We’re nothing more than murderers and can only live with that guilt…”
“But what about that war that happened 9 years ago?” Akeem asked.
“That war was different,” Sonny remarked. “It was more of a battle for the fate of Planet Earth
against alien invaders.”
“It was a year after the war that he learned the truth,” Miss Flordia said.
“Kira?” Sonny asked, which grabbed her attention. “Can you still live with me, knowing the
truth?”
It took her about a moment to let it sink in, with her answer being a nod.
“...Then I’ll do my best to make sure that I’m not failing you two.” Outside, T’Alma was
watching them from an alley, getting a glimpse of who Sonny was with.
“...She seems to be someone he confides with,” she said to herself whilst tapping her fingers on
her chin. “Perhaps that’s the way to get him to the boss…”
***
Several hours later, it was around midnight. One of Burlington’s national banks, called
‘Branchtree National42’, was closed for the night. Despite this, security guards were patrolling
around the halls. Some suited humanoid creatures carrying black suitcases and wearing black
face masks to cover their appearances were prowling on the outside getting ready to sneak in as
they were looking for access to the building. There were security cameras around the building, to
which the suited humanoids began covering them up using ink from their guns. Once every
camera was covered, the lockpickers were trying to get in through the back, which was a success.
However, they had two obstacles they needed to get rid of. One was the security guards walking
around. The other was the security cameras. Their identities could get caught on CCTV footage,
which in turn could reveal their leader. So with communication, they decided to split up, with
one group going after the security guards, whilst the other would cover the cameras with ink.
As some of them saw security cameras, they instantly gummed them up, whilst the others began
whaling on security guards, even placing tape on their mouths and tying them up so they
couldn’t scream or go after them. They also had to drag them into hidden spots so as not to know
where they were going. As time would pass as all the security cameras and guards were out of
42
Not a real bank in Vermont.
 59

the way, they came together towards a large, round vault door, which appeared to be their main
goal. But before they could approach it, they peered from a corner to notice two security
cameras, which were inked up instantly. With no camera to see them, the vault breakers then
went to work. Noticing the combinations on it, they already had the code to open it due to their
assaults on the security guards. As they tried them out, a click sound was heard, which meant
that they had access. Two of them grabbed the wheel and pried it open, revealing an iron bar
door.
Knowing it was another obstacle, the lockpickers were up next. They didn’t even need a key for
it. They started picking the lock using their own tools, which made a click sound, meaning they
now had access. The door was now open and they had all access to the money inside. However,
this wasn’t a typical robbery, as despite them taking stacks of money from the small cabinets,
they were being replaced with their own type of money stacks that mimicked it. Over an hour of
replacing half of the money, they fixed everything back and made it look like there wasn’t a
robbery. This wasn’t the only bank to be broken into, as every bank in Vermont was undergoing
the operation at various times throughout the night43.
The next morning at around nine, Sonny, Akeem and Kira were on the couch eating their cereal
as they were watching an anime featuring a man wearing a straw hat, a red buttoned up shirt and
short blue overalls44 on the television. It was close to ending, to which a special announcement
came on the screen.
“Damn,” Sonny said. “Oda45 sure knows how to end stuff on a cliffhanger.”
“But it’s reaching its final conclusion,” Akeem remarked. However, a knock was heard on the
door, to which Akeem got up to answer it. Opening the door stood Eiji, who looked to have
news.
“Jankey?” Sonny said.
“It’s not ‘Jankey’, it’s Eiji!” he remarked. “And did you guys see the news?!” The trio had
confused looks to present to him, wondering what he meant. Knowing that it would be faster to
just show them, he grabbed the remote off the table despite Sonny’s protest to turn it on their
local news channel, which featured a different woman reporting as a red bar ran across the screen
titled ‘Breaking News: Vermont Banks Infiltrated’. The footage that was on now appeared to be
one of Vermont’s banks called ‘Branchtree National’.
“...Authorities right now are trying to figure out who the party was responsible for the
infiltration,” the woman said. “As a result, all banks will be closed until further notice.”
“What the hell…?” Sonny could only utter out as he was watching it before Eiji turned it off.
“That’s only half of it,” Eiji exclaimed. “The security guards said that they were attacked by the
thieves, but there was no evidence of a robbery!”

43
This would be the best bank robbery ever…if it didn’t contain a single flaw…
44
Luffy, the main character of One Piece.
45
Eiichiro Oda, specifically. He is the creator of One Piece.
 60

“Damn!” Sonny exclaimed with a grin. “Those robbers must be craftier than ‘Lava’s Twelve46’!”
“But if there’s no robbery, then why would the perpetrators even break into the banks?” Akeem
asked, to which both Sonny and Eiji noticed that he raised a good point.
“True,” Sonny remarked as he rubbed his chin, “But maybe there’s more to it…”
“Huh?” Kira asked.
“Never mind that,” Sonny said, “You two stay here for the time being. It’s dangerous.”
“But Mr. Hillshire!” Akeem interjected as Sonny and Eiji walked out of the door before Sonny
stopped and gave him a look back, one that was a ‘Don’t say anything else’ type of look, making
him shut up before leaving out of sight. As Sonny and Eiji went to Branchtree National Bank,
they saw police cars around the area along with yellow tape to prevent civilian access. Among
the police was a Navajo man wearing a White Moons uniform and a man with swirly glasses
wearing a similar uniform standing next to him. They appeared to be talking to news reporters
and cameras, to which they didn’t have anything new to say and wanted to continue
investigating.
Upon seeing the Navajo man, Sonny bore a scowl on his face, not even wanting to speak to him.
Eiji noticed his scowl, wondering what or who was bothering him.
“What’s wrong?” Eiji asked as he noticed that Sonny’s facial expression was different.
“Nothing,” he said, feigning the tone in his voice.
Eiji shrugged. “...Alright, if you say so.” He didn't want to press it further. Passing the two by,
they wanted to speak with other reporters. However, the Navajo man noticed them, attempting to
stop them by shouting “Hey!” as only Sonny ignored the voice whilst Eiji stopped.
“Hey you!” the Navajo man shouted. “No civilians on the-” he then paused mid-sentence as he
saw Sonny’s face, which made his mouth curl into a teeth-gritting scowl as he marched right
towards him.
“Why the hell are you here?!” he shouted.
“None of your damn business!” Sonny retorted back.
“What’s going on?!” Eiji exclaimed.
“You two are civilians!” the Navajo man shouted. However, the man with the swirly glasses
came in by trying to deliver a great swing with his sword, which they had to move out of the
way, but his target wasn’t really Sonny or Eiji at all.
“Damn you, Ian!!” the Navajo man shouted as he grabbed him by his neck collar. “You
intentionally tried to kill me just now, didn’t you?!”

46
Parody of Ocean’s Eleven, a movie.
 61

“I’m so sorry, Chief Adriel,” Ian replied in a rather snarky tone, “I didn’t see you there and
thought I was slicing my sandwich.”
“That’s bullcrap!” he snapped. To both Sonny and Eiji, or rather Sonny in particular, this was the
first time he saw this kind of dynamic between two White Moons officers.
“Anyways, get off the premises!” Adriel demanded as he looked at the duo, particularly at
Sonny.
“No,” Sonny said. “We’re here for answers.”
“You won’t get any so long as I’m here!”
“But we need to know who’s behind this!” Eiji said.
“Look, this is police work,” the chief said. “Go bug someone else and leave or else I’ll use
force.”
“Yeah, and then it’ll be an abuse of power,” Sonny remarked.
“Just get the hell out of here!!” the chief shouted. His face looked to be turning 50 shades of red
and about to explode. Not wanting to anger him any further, Sonny and Eiji had vacated the
premises. As they returned home, they peered into the bar to which it was empty as no light was
on.
“Gran!” Sonny called out. Unfortunately, there was nothing but silence. “Gran?” Noticing the
silence and no answer, it seemed strange to Sonny that Gran wasn’t here at all. It was beginning
to creep up on him of her sudden absence.
“...That’s odd,” he said. “She’s usually here. Where would she go at a time like this without
telling me?”
“Perhaps she’s gone shopping?” Eiji asked.
“Not likely. She’d have either called me or left a note here on the table.” As Sonny and Eiji went
up to his apartment, he knocked on the door, wondering if Akeem and Kira were inside.
“Akeem!” he called out. “Kira! You two still here?!”
“Mr. Hillshire!” a voice answered that gave Sonny a little bit of relief. As the doors opened,
Akeem and Kira greeted them, to which they thought it was strange to see them back again so
quickly.
“Something wrong, Mr. Hillshire?” Akeem asked.
“Did you two happen to see Gran leave?” Sonny asked.
“No,” Kira answered. “She’s not in the bar?”
“No, we just checked,” Sonny replied.
 62

“Why’s Miss Flordia gone?” Eiji asked. From the corner, Stella ran towards them shouting
“Sonny!”, although she tripped a bit, catching their attention.
“Oh no…,” Sonny said as he groaned. “...The stalker’s here.” As Stella got back up, she brushed
off her pants, seemingly to have news for them.
“Sonny, it’s awful!” Stella said. “The old lady was kidnapped!” Everyone’s eyes widened in
shock, but it hit close to home with Sonny. Miss Flordia was like a mother to him as he was a son
to her.
“Who kidnapped her?!” Sonny said with eyes now dead set to go after the perpetrator.
“I-It was-” she said, before a female Wilmareena in a men’s suit hovered down to, catching her
attention. The four tried to match her gaze from off the balcony, seeing the Wilmareen woman
standing there.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” she remarked.
“Y-You!” Stella snapped.
“Where’s Gran?!” Sonny called out in anger. However, when Eiji got a look at her, he felt his
heart being set ablaze. His face was blushing a bit from her appearance alone, viewing her as if
she was a potential love interest.
“D-Damn!” he shouted as everyone’s attention was focused solely on him. “S-She’s gorgeous!”
Everyone’s faces…well, except the Wilmareena woman seemed to have faces of disgust,
wondering where his head was at the moment. Said Wilmareena woman was blushing a bit,
knowing that this was the first time she was complimented by a man in a long time. Of course,
she began clearing her throat to maintain her composure.
“T-T-Thank you,” she uttered somewhat loudly to everyone to hear. “But I’m not here for
flattery. I’m here to test myself against you all.
“Where’s Gran?!” Sonny snapped. “I won’t ask again.”
“She’s unharmed, but not here,” the woman said. “I am T’Alma, and someone who’s been
observing you.”
“So you spied on me?!” Sonny spat. “Is that why those suited men were after me?! Who’s your
leader that wants to meet me so bad?!”
“You’ll find out,” she inquired. "Beat me, and I’ll tell.”
“Aww,” Eiji groaned. “Do we have to fight the hot chick? I already like her!” Again, T’Alma
began blushing a bit from his compliments, whilst Sonny and Stella had faces of disgust towards
him.
“Where’s your head at, Eggy?” Sonny asked. “We’re fighting her, regardless.” He then pulled out
his two dual pistols, whilst Stella had a mace and whip ready in her hands. As for Akeem, he had
a bow and arrow ready with Kira behind him strangely not worried in the slightest. Reluctantly,
 63

Eiji drew out his dual swords with a sigh despite not really wanting to fight T’Alma. Determined
to get her back at any costs, Sonny said icily…
“If you won’t tell me, then I’ll make you.”
***
 64

Chapter 6: Guilt Taints The Soul From Our Pasts

Whilst everyone was wanting to relax from the suited people, things took a turn for the
worse. Miss Flordia was suddenly kidnapped, and now Sonny and friends were up against
T’Alma, a female Wilmareena who could spell trouble for them. At the same time, all of
Vermont’s banks were not only robbed of half their money, but they were also replaced with fake
currency, which remains a mystery as it is currently being investigated by the White Moons…
Speaking of, Chief Adriel and his assistant Ian Sanitas were observing the scene of the ‘robbery’
that took place last night. Barring people away from the scene using yellow tapes, they needed to
keep their focus on the task at hand. As they went inside, a security guard showed them to the
vault where he believed was robbed.
“I believe they targeted here,” the security guard said as he reached into his pocket to grab a key
and proceeded to open the door for them to go inside. “I was tied up, but none of my belongings
were stolen. But I still don’t understand why they did it.”
“Perhaps they’re skillful enough to evade the radar,” Chief Adriel commented.
“This is a bank robbery I’ve never seen before,” the security guard answered. They got a good
look inside the vault, which appeared to be clean as if there were no signs of anything that
happened.
“Looks too clean,” Chief Adriel responded as he looked around in the file cabinets filled with
money. “We’re looking at skillful lockpickers. Did the security cameras catch anything?”
“No,” the security guard answered. “Strangely though, they blacked out during the time of the
robbery. There’s no signs of hackers as the cameras had footage after it was over and didn’t catch
a single soul except some water being sprayed on them.
“Hey Chief,” Ian said, “I need a hose to cool you down.” However, his comment irked the chief,
knowing said intentions behind it.
“Shut your mouth,” he icily warned as he gave a stare at him. Ian wasn’t even fazed in the
slightest. He began examining the stacks of money, in which nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
But he did have an idea.
“Someone give me a lighter,” he asked, to which Ian pulled one out of his pocket. However,
seeing said lighter attempted to raise some red flags in Adriel’s head, knowing that this could be
one of Ian’s tricks to ‘kill’ him.
“Keep your lighter,” he said. “I don’t need to die right now.”
“You could borrow mine,” the security guard said as he pulled it from his pants pocket. “I
sometimes have a smoke break at night.” Chief Adriel took it and flicked the switch, to which a
flame erupted. He then held one stack towards the flame, which made his eyes widened in shock
for a moment.
 65

“Damn, they’re good,” he replied. But he noticed that even though the money was legit, there
was something that gave it away. “They managed to get even smarter except for a visible
watermark mismatch of the word ‘reserve47’”.
“What does that mean?” the security guard asked.
“Counterfeit money,” Ian answered.
“C-Counterfeit money?!” the security guard asked in shock.
“Yeah…” Chief Adriel said. “If we hadn’t found it by now, Vermont would be in a state of
turmoil and wiped off the map completely by the government as well as innocent people being
arrested48.”
“They replaced half of the stolen money…with counterfeit money?!” the guard asked, still in
shock.
“What if some of it were to never be found in people's bank accounts?” Ian asked with a serious
face.
“That…is up to debate.”
“Then that only leaves one question on the table,” Ian proposed.
“W-What?” the guard asked. Adriel turned his attention towards the counterfeit money with a
serious face.
“Who’s behind it?”
***
Back to where Sonny and the party were, they were about to fight against T’Alma. With
weapons drawn and ready, they wanted answers. Well, everyone except Eiji, who was developing
a crush on the female Wilmareena and didn’t want to even fight her at all.
“Sonny,” he said worryingly, “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“She took Gran,” Sonny sternly said to him. “Besides, your monkey-like interest is strange.” He
began pointing a gun at her, which shocked Eiji as he fired a mana-infused bullet at her. T’Alma
stood there with no worry as it came to her and waved a hand, which stopped it in mid air as if it
was by some sort of invisible force. It even surprised the party from her action alone, but to
Stella, she somewhat knew what she was.
“Impossible!” Sonny spat as he saw the bullet drop to the ground.
“Impossible it is not,” T’Alma said.
“She’s a Wilmareena,” Stella said as the others except T’Alma looked at her with confused
glances.
47
It is spelled "reserv" without the last "e".
48
This won’t really happen in real life, as it would be too extreme by government standards…I hope…
 66

“‘Wilmareena’?” Eiji asked.

“They’re known for their psychic powers,” Stella bluntly answered. ”I read about it.”
“Amazing,” T’Alma replied. “For a planet that knows very little of us, it’s remarkable that I run
into someone who does.” Akeem then fired his arrow, to which she waved her hand again
without even looking into his direction, making it drop to the ground.
“Damn!” Akeem muttered to himself.
“At this point, you’ll never defeat me with those weapons,” T’Alma said. Seeing that both Sonny
and Akeem’s weapons were useless, Stella decided to swing her long mace at her, which T’Alma
caught with ease using her psychic power. However, this worked in Stella’s favor as a glint shone
in her eye and lashed her whip, managing to hit T’Alma in her side, catching her off-guard as the
mace fell to the ground with her narrowly dodging it in time.
“Ha!” Stella proudly proclaimed with a grin on her face. “Didn’t see that one coming, did you?”
Whilst T’Alma was recovering a bit, she noticed Stella’s star-shaped pupils, which somewhat
shocked her.
“A Staravian?!” she thought. “They were all wiped out during that-” She shrugged off that last
thought, knowing where she was.
“Miss T’Alma,” Eiji said as he sheathed his swords, “I’d rather settle this with words. Perhaps
tell us where Miss Flordia is, and I’ll take you out on a date that’ll give you the most romantic
experience in your entire life.” Whilst everyone else gave him strange looks, T’Alma was
blushing more than usual, which made her look away for a moment. To her, she never had a
relationship with a man, especially a human, someone who was a different species compared to
her, and she never received a compliment from a genuine person.
“...Have you no shame?” Sonny asked.
“I don’t have shame if I find a woman attractive regardless of what she looks like!” Eiji boldly
proclaimed. Again, she blushed from his words as she pressed her cheeks with her hands, trying
to contain her feelings. With her guard down, Akeem prepared another arrow and fired it, only
for her to grab it an inch close to her side with her psychic power.
“A-As much as I’d like to, I’d-” she said, before being cut off as she saw an orange ball of
energy headed towards her from behind, which forced her to jump away as it blasted the area
near her feet. Sonny and the party had to shield themselves as the dust stirred up in the air and as
it cleared, a charred spot formed from where the impact happened.
“Who fired that?!” T’Alma exclaimed. But she got her answer as she saw an Indian woman with
a red jewel upon her forehead wearing a dress mixed in orange and blue and sandals that were
more casual to slip on. The most surprising thing was the strange-looking Nuclear Launcher she
carried. But to Sonny and Eiji, she was familiar to them.
“A-Advika?!” Sonny exclaimed.
 67

“I arrived not too late,” Advika said. “What’s going on?”

“You almost killed my date!” Eiji spat. His face was peeved, even though he was surprised to see
Advika again.
“Your date?” Advika asked as she tilted her head a bit in confusion. “I didn’t know you
Americans do dates like this.”
“We don’t,” Sonny sharply replied.
“That’s it!” Eiji shouted. “No more violence against her! I’d hate to damage a pretty woman like
her!”
“E-Enough,” T’Alma said whilst blushing. “I’ve seen what you all can do. Unfortunately, I
cannot give you the location of my boss.”
“Why not?!” Sonny spat. “Whoever he is, I’m going to break his neck! Now tell me where he
is!”
“...Look to an abandoned place where ships gather,” she said as she began floating up.
“Wait!” Sonny called out to her.
“Can I have your phone number?!” Eiji shouted. “I’ll give you mine!” But his words would only
fall on deaf ears, as she was no longer in sight.
“Dammit!” Sonny shouted in frustration.
“Sonny, calm down,” Advika said, trying to ease his nerves. “Now what happened?” Sonny then
sighed, trying to calm himself down.
“...Gran’s been taken,” he replied.
“I see,” she bluntly responded. “Well, you won’t believe this. Apparently, the White Moons had
made a discovery about the bank robberies.”
“Oh?” Eiji asked with curiosity.
“Yes. It turns out that not only did the robbers take half of the money, but also replaced it with
counterfeits.”
“C-Counterfeits?!” Eiji asked with shock in his voice.
“What’s a counterfeit?” Stella asked.
“Fake money made to imitate the real currency,” Advika said. Stella tilted her head in confusion
as she raised an eyebrow, not understanding what it meant.
“It’s like trying to pass off a cupcake as a muffin49,” Sonny replied to make it simpler for her.
“Oh!” Stella exclaimed, finally getting it. “That’s bad.”

49
This analogy could definitely fit in with the MLP universe.
 68

“Who’s been manufacturing it?” Sonny asked.

“That’s just it,” Advika continued. “The White Moons and the police can’t find out who’s
responsible for this. There's no trace or fingerprints or anything.”
“If they hadn’t figured it out sooner, our state would be wiped off the map.”
“Seriously?!” Stella exclaimed.
“Very,” Sonny answered. “And I can’t just sit here whilst there’s someone out in the world trying
to kill me. I’ll have to go after the leader that wants me dead to stop this.”
“I’ll help!” Akeem said.
“You stay here and protect Kira,” Sonny said. “It’s too dangerous for a young man like you to get
involved in this.”
“But-”
“No buts!” Sonny interrupted. “Stay here and protect Kira. I don’t want anything happening to
you two.” Akeem had no choice but to take it for what it was and realize that he was right.
“...Alright,” Akeem receded.
“Sonny, I’m coming too,” Eiji said. “No sense in dying alone.”
“We all die alone,” Sonny reiterated.
“I’ll come too!” Stella exclaimed as she bounced.
“No,” Sonny said. “Stay here with Akeem and Kira.”
“I have to stay here with the ugly nerd and child?” she asked, stopping in her tracks.
“Hey!” Akeem shouted, seemingly offended by her comment. “I’m not ugly!”
“I think it’s for the best,” Advika said. She then walked towards her side and whispered in her
ear…
"...Sonny might give you head pats if you do a good job.” It made Stella grin, picturing it in
reality.
“All right!” she happily said. “I’ll do it for head pats!”
“You’re tagging along too?” Sonny asked as he looked at Advika joining his side.
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “You need someone with some power by your side, just like
during that epic war.”
“It’s like we’re the three musketeers!” Eiji said, raising a fist in the air with confidence and a
smile. “Or the three heroes of an epic RPG.”
 69

“We’re off,” Sony said as they took off in a vehicle Little did they know, a woman with blue hair
wearing a red visor whilst holding dual swords was watching them as she stood on top of the
apartment roof before taking off in the same direction. Whilst Stella ushered Akeem inside, he
wanted to know where Kira was.
“Kira!” he called out. No response. “Kira?”
“Is that the name of the girl?” Stella asked.
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Kira?” Akeem asked.
“You don’t think she…?” They both exchanged glances with each other, only to assume the
worst.
“Oh no…”
***
Back at the warehouse, the leader and his henchmen were busy with their handling of the
money in the suitcases. Most of them were giving half of the money to their investors, whilst
they kept the rest. However, the leader received a call from T’Alma, which surprised him.
“Hello?”
“Boss,” T’Alma said, “The White Moons have figured out the counterfeit money replacement.”
“Well, it’s too late for them,” he replied. “They’ll never get their money back. Vermont is
doomed.”
“Also…,” she said with some worry, “Those two people you want dead will be heading towards
your base.”
“Not to worry,” the leader assured with a smile. “I thought that since we’d be found out, I’m
taking a leave of absence. What’s the point in staying when I can get away with the crime?
Whether or not they figure it out, it’ll be too late anyway.”
“...Very well, sir. I shall accompany you.” The phone then hung up, with the leader stepping into
a place that was familiar to him. It was a rather dim-lit room as an elderly dark-skinned woman
was tied up in a chair.
“Don’t worry, lady,” the leader said. “Your adult child is coming to save you.”
“He’ll put a bullet in your ass,” the lady said.
“Not anymore. I had a change of plans. I wanted my revenge, but what’s the point of holding old
grudges? By the time they get here, I’ll be long gone.”
“Where?!”
“I don’t even have to tell you.”
 70

“You son of a bitch!!” she spat.

“Boys, tape her mouth. It’s annoying already.”
His men went towards her with a roll of duct tape and peeled off enough to fit her mouth and
taped it, muffling her voice.
“That oughta silence her.” He and his boys then walked out of the room and gathered up the
suitcases filled with real money, now heading towards the dock where a large ship was waiting.
A minute later, T’Alma showed up at the docks, whom both he and his associates were waiting
on. As they were all set, the ship sailed off into the blue yonder. Two hours later, Sonny, Eiji and
Advika had approached the abandoned warehouse. Strangely, it was empty.
“Yo!” Eiji called out, to which Sonny hit him in his side.
“Don’t shout, Jankey!” Sonny spat under a whisper.
“This place is strangely quiet,” Advika said as she took a good look around.
“Don’t let up.” Sonny pulled out his dual pistols as Eiji pulled out his swords.
“I wonder where that cute girl is,” Eiji said whilst looking around.
“Is that creature all you can think about?” Sonny asked.
“I think it’s sweet,” Advika surmised with a smile.
“I think it’s disgusting,” Sonny dissed. A loud bang from their right put them on edge, readying
their weapons. However, there wasn’t anything that appeared, which relieved them.
“Do you think they took Miss Flordia?” Eiji asked.
“I dunno, but I hope they didn’t.” Even though Sonny answered calmly, they could tell his words
wavered a bit in tone.
As they wandered around, they stumbled into an old storage room. The place apparently was
cleaned out, save for a box left abandoned. They looked inside, to which they saw only a gun not
packaged.
“Well, that’s pitiful,” Sonny exclaimed. “Come to think of it, your ‘love interest’ said to come
here, didn’t she? If so, then where is she?”
“I don’t know!” Eiji spat.
“Let’s not argue,” Advika advised.
“Let’s split up. We may get somewhere.”
“Agreed.”
 71

The three went their separate ways as they looked around the warehouse. On Sonny’s end,
however, he came across a room that was dark, but had an elderly person sitting in a chair asleep
and tied up with tape around his mouth. This person was who Sonny could recognize.
“Gran!” he called out as he ran to her side. Hearing Sonny’s voice woke her up, and when her
vision came to, she was glad to see him. He then took the tape off her mouth.
“Sonny!” Miss Flordia said as he was untying her from her chair. When he was done, she stood
up to hug him, glad to see him.
“Gran, I’m glad you’re alright.” The hug was concluded as Miss Flordia had something to say.
“Are you here alone?”
“No. Eggy and Advika are here with me.”
“Let’s find Eiji. It’s better if both of you were here.”
A minute later, Sonny was united with Eiji and Advika, who were glad to see Miss Flordia again.
“Alright, you two listen,” she began. “The man after you goes by the name ‘Armin Hans’. Does
that ring a bell with you two? Because he swore to kill you both.”
Sonny and Eiji turned to each other, knowing the name.
“...Yeah,” Sonny uttered.
“We know him very well…,” Eiji said.
“Why does he want you two dead?” Advika asked with curiosity.
“It had something to do when we were still in the Black Suns,” Sonny said. “Armin Hans was a
drug dealer at the time.”
“We were tasked to stop him,” Eiji joined in. “Sonny and I… Well, I slashed his arms off, whilst
Sonny delivered a bullet in his chest. We thought that was the end of that.”
“That sounds like enough of a motive for him to hate you both,” Advika chimed in.
“That man is also responsible for the counterfeit money being put in Vermont,” Miss Flordia
added.
“Wait a minute,” Sonny said, remembering something. “Remember that gun in the box, Eggy?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s similar to what Ray Albright50 used.”
“That crooked man was working with him?!” Miss Flordia spouted.

50
That “selfish” character from Chapter 2.
 72

“But that drives another question,” Advika said, trying to figure it out. “Why would Ray Albright
want to steal our taxpayer money?”
“I think there’s an ulterior motive here,” Sonny said. “Perhaps he wasn’t originally tasked to steal
all of our taxpayer money… Perhaps he was…going to replace half of it with counterfeit money.
But greed got the better of him.”
“If he hadn’t done that, then half the citizens of Vermont would be arrested for counterfeit
money!” Eiji exclaimed. “But what if not all the counterfeit money has been found in Vermont’s
banks?!”
“Then we’d expect an investigation into our state’s currency by the U.S. Government,” Miss
Flordia surmised. “If that happens and they find them being used, then Vermont would be
history.”
“Gran, where is Armin?” Sonny asked.
“He didn’t tell me. He refused to say anything about it.”
“Dammit.”
“If that’s the case, then we’ll have to find Mr. Albright,” Advika suggested.
“That ain’t possible,” Sonny said. He's being held at a prison facility for trial, which means
access will be denied. Even if we manage to speak with him, he’ll just double down and be
stubborn.”
“Looks like we're out of options,” Advika surmised. “Now what?”
“Eiji, take Gran home,” Sonny uttered.
“Alright.”
“Advika, you're with me.”
“Sure.”
***
Meanwhile, Stella and Akeem were out on the streets looking for Kira, who had
somehow escaped from their care.
“Kira!” Akeem called out.
“Little girl!” Stella shouted. But nothing. However, they ran into the area of the bank where the
White Moons were investigating.
“Halt!” one of them shouted. “No civilians allowed in the area!”
“Mister, we’re trying to find someone!” Akeem exclaimed. “Her name is Kira Tetsuya.”
“She’s uh, Asian and a little girl!” Stella exclaimed.
 73

“Too vague of a description,” the officer replied.

“She uh…has on a shirt with Yoshi on it.”
“Still too vague,” the officer replied once again. “That could be anybody in this state.”
“Damn!” Akeem cursed and groaned.
“We’ll have to look elsewhere.”
“Wait, wouldn’t she have perhaps followed my darling Sonny?”
“That’s a high possibility, but Mr. Hillshire would get angry at us for going where he was.”
“It’s worth a shot.”
“Alright. But I’m not going to take the blame for this.”
***
Outside on the ocean outskirts, Armin and his associates were still sailing the seas. He
grinned, knowing he got away with what he did. He wanted to see Vermont wiped off the map.
Ever since he was a younger man, opportunities either came with little money or none at all. But
he found his success. Well, as a drug dealer at the time, anyway. But he somehow had a second
chance at success somewhere in his life…
As the ship continued its path, some of them noticed a giant ball of fire in the sky, which made
them worry.
“What the hell is that?!” One of them exclaimed as he pointed to it. Armin looked up and was
somewhat shocked at what he was witnessing.
“A ball of fire?!” he exclaimed. “T’Alma, get ready to reflect it!”
“Sir, I can’t!” she said. “I have psychic powers, but they are nowhere near as powerful as
whatever that is!”
“Dammit!” he cursed. “And this ship isn’t armed with weapons!”
Some of his henchmen had guns at the ready, pointing them at the fireball.
“Fire!” one of the men shouted.
“Hold your fire,” Armin said. However, the fireball was launched towards their ship, causing
panic on deck as many people ran away in fear. But the fireball only struck the hull, leaving a
hole in it and causing it to sink.
“Turn around!” Armind shouted. “The ship’s flooding! At this point, we’ll never reach Canada!”
The ship began turning around, albeit very slowly. As it did, a flaming figure that looked like a
woman with flowing hair and white eyes had landed on deck, striking fear into the people. Said
person wielded a naginata attached to a red pole in her right hand.
 74

“Who the hell are you?!” Armin shouted, wanting to figure out what he was looking at.
Strangely, the flaming woman didn’t melt the deck as she walked towards him. Most of his
subordinates had to move out of the way so as not to risk getting burned. Armin fell on his rump,
backing away in fear as if he was looking at Death itself.
“...Go back…” the woman said, which her voice seemed to echo. “...Go back to where you came
from…”
“W-W-We’re going back!” he stuttered. As the ship finally made its full turn, it was sinking
faster than normal.
“We’re sinking!!” one of the men shouted.
“Does this ship come with life rafts?!” Armin shouted.
“No! It never had any!”
“W-Well…good thing we didn’t make it that far out… I surmise that it’ll take 20 minutes to
return…”
As 20 minutes passed, the ship managed to make it back to the docks, only with a problem.
“We can’t reach the dock!” one of the men shouted. “Our ship sank too low! It’s sink or swim
right now!”
“Aw hell…!” Armin said.
“Actually, there’s a lower port around here that one can easily get on,” T’Alma explained.
“Of course you’d say that,” Armin said, looking at her. “You can fly, unlike us and some of us
can’t even swim!”
“Sir, you can’t swim?”
“No!! Water has always been my natural enemy ever since I was a boy!”
T’Alma sighed, but Karmak had approached as he picked up Armin with one arm and threw him
up on the dock, landing somewhat unharmed on his stomach. As he got back up on his feet, he
checked his chest area, hoping that whatever was underneath his shirt wasn’t damaged.
“Hey Karmak!” he yelled. “Warn me next time when you do that!” T’Alma then floated back
down at his side, realizing what she had done.
“Sir, I just remembered,” she began, “Those two people are probably here expecting us.”
“Armin Hans!!” a voice called out. It was none other than Sonny Hillshire, with Advika by his
side appearing in view from an open door. His guns were drawn at the ready, as was Advika’s
bazooka.
“Well, look who finally appeared from the shadows,” Armin said with a grin. However, his grin
turned into confusion when he noticed Advika.
 75

“A woman with a bazooka?” he asked. “Who’s she?! Where’s that monkey man?!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sonny assured. “I don’t know how you managed to come back from
death, but I’m gonna make sure you die this time for messing with me.”
“To be fair, I was going to ignore you, until you arrested that idiotic councilman of mine,” he
retorted.
“Speaking of, he was going to replace our taxpayer money with fake money, wasn’t he?”
“A shame he failed to wait. I could’ve wiped Vermont from history should the government get
word of it. But because of that idiot, I had to move on to phase two.”
“Yeah, well ‘phase two’ is going down the toilet right about now.”
Armin then had a smile on his face, which raised both Sonny’s and Advika’s eyebrows.
“Oh, is it? I beg to differ. If you thought phase two was about the banks, then you’re dead wrong.
There’s more to it…”
“What?!”
Armin began chuckling in a somewhat sinister tone, which raised an eyebrow from Sonny and
Advika.
“Fake money in mails ring a bell? Two of them are going to the government right now...in yours
and Eiji’s names through a donation.”
“You son of a bitch!” Sonny spat.
"Who knows? There could be more. More than the likes of you can stop."
"...What?"
“Too bad you’re facing off against me alone. Without that monkey, you’re about as useless as a
footstool.”
“He’ll come around eventually. For now, I’m going to see if I can put a bullet in your ass.”
***
 76

Chapter 7: Behind An Intimidating Person Lies A

Gardener
After managing to free Miss Flordia in the abandoned warehouse, Sonny and Advika
were to take on Armin Hans and his henchmen whilst Eiji himself took her home. Little did they
know before that, a mysterious flaming woman managed to force Armin and his henchmen to
turn back, leading to their inevitable encounter. At the same time, Stella and Akeem were
looking for Kira, who disappeared some time after Sonny, Eiji and Advika had departed. But
they weren’t alone as a woman wearing a glowing red visor was standing on the roof, watching
all of this take place. Her attention was more focused on Sonny than everyone else…
Back to where Eiji was, he and Miss Flordia were cruising down the street in a car. Along the
way, he noticed heavy police and White Moons presence. Among it, he saw Stella and Akeem
running around, prompting him to stop to talk to them. Opening the car door, he got out, which
Stella and Akeem were glad to see a friendly face despite being out of breath.
“Aren’t you two of Sonny's friends?” he asked, seeing that it was strange to see them here. “Why
are you here running out and about?”
“Kira’s missing!” Akeem exclaimed. “She wasn’t at our apartment when you three left!”
Miss Flordia got out of the car as well, seeing Akeem in a somewhat panicked state.
“Little Miss Kira’s gone missing?!” she exclaimed.
“We’re trying to find the little girl right now!” Stella said.
“Did you get the White Moons to search for her?” Eiji asked.
“They can’t go search for her unless we have a photo,” Stella said. “If we don’t find her, I’ll
never be able to get my head pat from Sonny!”
Stella began making a pouty face with arms crossed, wanting that ‘reward’ from Sonny. This put
Eiji in a tough situation. He knew he had to go back and help Sonny, but at the same time, Kira
was missing. But he then had a solution.
“I’ve got an idea,” he said. “Miss Flordia, do you mind being in the presence of a White Moon
officer?”
“No,” she replied.
“Then the star-hair and glasses boy will escort you to them and you’ll tell them where to go to
stop the mastermind behind this.”
Stella and Akeem then looked at each other with confused looks. They were just called ‘strange
names’ by a guy they didn’t know.
“...My name’s Stella,” she flatly said.
 77

“...And my name’s Akeem,” he bluntly replied. Eiji only shrugged his shoulders.
“Whatever. Just do that.”
“But what about the little girl?” Stella whined.
“That’s why I’m going back,” Eiji replied. “I’m going to find her there. You said she went
missing when me, Sonny and Advika left, right?”
“Yeah!”
“Then she could be there.”
“But why would a little girl-” Miss Flordia asked, trying to find an answer to her question before
something ran across her mind causing her to shake her head in disbelief. “No… It can’t be…
No, she couldn’t be…”
“‘Couldn’t what’?” Eiji asked.
“It’s nothing,” Miss Flordia assured. To Eiji however, there was more behind her words than
what she was implying.
“You look like you know something,” he said.
“...It’s best if it isn’t mentioned for now. You two just take me to the White Moons officer. You
on the other hand have some business to take care of.”
“Alright,” Eiji replied. “You three be safe.”
He then got back into the car, starting it up and turned around to go in the direction he came
from, leaving Miss Flordia with Stella and Akeem. Back to Sonny and Advika, they were facing
off against Armin Hans, the mastermind of the counterfeit bank heist. His two partners, Karmak
and T’Alma were fighting by his side. But he didn’t want to fight Sonny…yet. He needed to see
for himself if he was still capable of doing what he did in the past. So he…
“Men, attack!” he shouted and pointed, wanting his henchmen to attack, but all of them
hesitated, not even wanting to attack Sonny.
“What the hell’s wrong with you all?!” he inquired. “Attack!”
“Boss, with all due respect,” one of the men said, “They’ve got powerful weapons and skills!
That man is literally a walking aimbot! He took down our men like they were nothing!”
“And that woman carries a powerful bazooka!” another man said. “We’re no match for that!”
“Shaddup, all of you!” he shouted. “Cowards! If you wish to prosper, then either die to them or
die to me!”
Having no choice, his men charged forward with guns blazing, forcing Sonny and Advika to run
for cover, which was behind two steel boxes. Bullets struck them, which also meant that Sonny
was unable to fire back. To Advika, she needed to open a window for him, so she prepared her
 78

bazooka, which the lights were already glowing blue and with one point and fire, a ball that
appeared to be made out of wind shot out, which exploded above ground and sent half of the
men flying around the docks.
Seeing that this was his chance, Sonny opened fire with rapid precision, striking the rest of the
henchmen in the chest with mana-infused bullets. The remaining few whimpered and stopped in
their tracks. Whilst most of them ray away, one of them ran towards Armin, to which his
response was to use one of his extended claws from his back to grab him and toss him into the
ocean.
“Sir, you didn’t have to do that,” T’Alma replied.
“It doesn’t matter,” Armin responded. “It’s time to clear the arena. I see that you still have that
skill under your belt, Hillshire.”
“And I see that you’ve got some new equipment,” Sonny retorted. Too bad that once you lose
those, you’ll be unarmed like last time, no pun intended.”
“I don’t see a sword in your hand, Hillshire,” Armin replied. “Unless monkey-boy or that
girlfriend of yours next to you can cut them, then I’ll proceed ripping you apart!”
Sonny and Advika exchanged glances with each other, seemingly flustered knowing what he
meant. Deep down inside, they were just mutual friends.
“Uh, we’re not together,” Sonny assured, waving his hands.
“Yeah, we’re just friends,” Advika responded, also waving her hands.
“Well, whatever!” Armin sharply replied. “T’Alma! Karmak! Kill them.”
T’Alma and Karmak stepped forward, with Karmak cracking his knuckles and chuckling, ready
to inflict a world of pain on the duo. At the same time, Armin stepped a few feet back, not
wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
“Getting your minions to fight us,” Sonny said. “You’re more of a coward than they are.”
“At least they have some sense,” Advika chimed in, which Sonny nodded in agreement. Armin
paid no heed to their words, grinning all the while he let his two best henchmen fight for him.
T’Alma had a hand out, ready to use her psychic powers. However, she noticed that Sonny did
not have his pistols drawn.
“Not wanting to fight me?” she asked, inching closer to him.
“I can’t do that,” he answered. “One, I know how it went last time, and two, a certain someone
you and I know would be pissed if he should see his crush badly injured.”
“...Him,” she uttered under her breath. Advika and Armin were confused, wondering what that
meant. Although, Advika knew who Sonny meant and his words were with care, which made her
smile a bit.
 79

“What the hell is he talking about?” Armin asked.

“N-Nothing, boss,” T’Alma answered. Sonny could tell she was lying since she didn’t seem to
look in anyone’s direction.
“Well, I’ll take on the big one,” Advika advised.
“What?!” Armin exclaimed. “You?! You’re just a woman with a bazooka. Karmak fears no one.
Without that bazooka, you’re just an ordinary woman easy to kill.”
“Let me fight her,” Karmak obliged. “I don’t care if she has weapon. I demolish it. And then I
take on plump man over there next after I break her apart.”
“...Big words coming from an empty mind,” Advika uttered under her breath. “Let’s take this
elsewhere. Sonny, you can handle things, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Ladies first,” Karmak suggested.
“I don’t think so,” Advika said. “I see that the minute I turn my back, you’ll attack me.” It
shocked Karmak wondering how she deduced that, given that was actually in his mindset.
“H-How?!” he asked.
“Just a feeling.” She then smiled, gesturing for him to walk past her. As he did, she followed
after him, going through the doors.
“Who is she?” Armin asked in thought. This was something he never saw before. But seeing that
Sonny Hillshire was alone, he could ease his fears.
“Not so useful when you don’t have someone to help you,” Armin replied as he stepped forward.
“T’Alma is your crippling weakness, as your weapons can’t work against her psychic powers,
and you can’t even bring yourself to kill her in the name of all things woman.”
“I’m more reserved nowadays, so long as no one messes with me,” Sonny said. However, Armin
threw a fast extended punch, which Sonny shielded himself as it knocked him back into a wall.
However, he wasn’t done. T’Alma used some sort of telekinetic force with her hand held out,
grabbing Sonny by the throat, but not to choke him. Rather, to hold him there. Before Armin
could throw the second punch, he heard a voice shout his name.
Appearing in front of him stood Eiji with swords drawn out. It shocked T’Alma and Armin, but
with different reactions. T’Alma’s was of worry due to Eiji’s appearance, whilst Armin’s was
with a grin.
“H-He’s here…” she uttered under her breath.
“Took you quite long enough,” Sonny uttered.
“So, Monkey-boy arrives,” Armin said. “You look quite half the man you always were.”
 80

“...Don’t say that,” Eiji coldly said, which confused T’Alma. Sonny knew deep down just how
sensitive it was for him to hear such implied words.
“I’m sorry, I forgot my audience,” Armin replied with a smile.
“Those are some new expensive-looking arms, Armin,” Eiji replied somewhat normally. “It’d be
a shame if someone were to…cut them off again.”
“Too bad for you,” Armin responded. “You may have cut my arms off, and Sonny may have shot
me in the chest, but I’ve been given a second chance. You both stopped me as a drugman, but I
now rule as a counterfeit king!”
“Eggy, he’s mailed our names to the government,” Sonny said.
“What?!” Eiji exclaimed. This was news to him. “Well, that’s interesting to-”
“In fake money,” Sonny interjected.
“T’Alma, kill them both,” Armin ordered. However, T’Alma hesitated a bit, to which Armin
noticed. Eiji then sheathed his swords, not wanting to fight her, but he didn’t really sport a smile.
“...If I had known you’d be working for a scumbag like him, I’d come after him sooner,” Eiji
commented. “Shame such a pretty face has to work under someone so crass.”
T’Alma’s face was blushing, although she was attempting to hide her smile. It caught Armin’s
attention as he noticed her reaction.
“Are you…in love?!” Armin asked. “With monkey-boy?! You’re a Wilmareena for God’s sake!
Your kind doesn’t engage in that! How disgusting for two different species to like each other…”
“Hey!” Eiji shouted. “Take that back! She’s a person to me!”
“She’s no person,” Armin said. “She’s a species of another race. I took her in when life failed
her. I gave her a job, and nothing more. T’Alma, kill them or else!”
“T’Alma, you don’t have to listen to him!” Eiji called out. “You’ve lived a life without a
purpose. You can be whatever you want. True freedom is in your heart.”
“Do that, and you’ll be shunned once again by those who mocked and belittled you!”
Listening to both of their arguments, T’Alma was beginning to feel the pressure. She had a past
of troublesome things and was never really accepted even in society as a little girl. Other people
of her species also didn’t care about her. There was so much going through her head that she-
“Stop!!!” she shouted, with heavy breaths to keep herself calm. She floated in the air, looking at
both Eiji and Armin with worry in her eyes.
“Eiji, you’re a nice man,” she said. “You’re the only one so far who’s shown me what feeling
appreciated is like. And Armin…you’ve taken me in when no one would accept me and allowed
me to work and earn money so I couldn’t live poorly. But right now, I want to be alone…”
 81

She flew off into the distance, with tears flowing down from her face. She couldn’t choose
between two conflicting choices, so she had to leave. On one hand, she had appreciated Eiji for
showing her that there are those who would still like her regardless of her race. But on the other
hand, she was grateful to Armin for taking her in and allowing her to work without worry and
providing for herself. But now it was difficult to take a side. So…she left.
Back to where the three men were, Armin seemed distant as he watched her take off into the
distance.
“...She’s had a hard life,” he replied. “I know what that’s like.”
“You don’t know what that’s really like,” Eiji retorted. “She didn’t seem too happy to be working
under you.”
“...Eggy…” Sonny said under his breath. He could understand what he was saying, which
allowed him to get a grasp of his feelings.
“So long as I’m here, I’m her ticket to freedom,” Eiji replied as he readied his swords. “Sonny,
let’s take him down again for old time's sake.” Sonny got up, recovering himself as his only
response was…
“Yeah.”
***
Back where Stella, Akeem, and Miss Flordia were, they headed towards the bank where
the two White Moons officers were, as well as trying to find Kira. There, they bumped into Chief
Adriel and Lieutenant Ian Sanitas, who were instructing other officers in the area.
“Hey!” Chief Adriel called out, “No civilians allowed!”
“Chief Adriel!” Akeem exclaimed. “We need your help!”
“Uh, we’re a little busy,” the chief explained as he gestured around at the officers running just
about.
“But it’s important!” Stella exclaimed. “It relates to the banking incident!”
It intrigued Chief Adriel and his partner.
“Go on,” he encouraged.
“The man responsible is named Armin Hans,” Miss Flordia explained. “He and his little minions
stole half of Vermont’s money and replaced them with counterfeit money just to-”
“Wipe it off the map, I know,” Chief Adriel replied, finishing Miss Flordia’s sentence.
“His hideout is in an abandoned warehouse near the ocean. I was taken hostage!” However, he
took a look at Miss Flordia, noticing that she was familiar to him. Then it hit him, remembering a
certain mall where an incident took place.
 82

“You!” he exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows as he pointed at her. “You’re the woman that
black-ass slave hangs with!”
She took offense, not from her own stance, but rather Sonny’s as her face had an ‘Excuse you?’
look.
“...What did you just say about my son51?” she asked calmly despite rage hidden in her tone.
“Punk-ass negro idiot,” he uttered, “I can see where he got it from.”
Miss Flordia was now steamed, ready to swing on him, which forced Stella and Akeem to
intervene, holding her back as she struggled in their arms, flailing to get free.
“You call yourself a ‘chief of the force’, you jackass?!” she furiously raged. “If Sonny was here
right now, I’d rather he put a bullet in your ass for that!”
“Jeez, what’s with you and Mr. Hillshire being mean to each other?!” Akeem exclaimed.
“We hate each other,” the chief explained. “So long as he lives, he insults my entire being.”
“Where is Hillshire?” Ian asked with a grin on his face, curiously not for his benefit, but rather to
either find out where the mastermind was, or piss off his boss even more, which could earn a
laugh out of him.
“He’s at the warehouse fighting against Armin Hans himself,” Stella replied.
“Pfft, if that guy kills him, God forbid he makes me happy,” the chief responded, which set Miss
Flordia off even more. It was getting harder to hold her back, even with Stella and Akeem doing
it together.
“Come here!!” she shouted. “I’mma slap the native out of your ass!!” As they were trying their
best to keep Miss Flordia from breaking free, their attention would be changed as a familiar little
Japanese girl approached them, who was familiar to Akeem and Miss Flordia.
“Kira!” Akeem exclaimed. “There you are! Where were you?!”
“I wanted to help!” she exclaimed.
“Little girl, go home,” the chief replied. “We don’t need children involved in this casualty. That
goes for the rest of you.”
“Sure, but you’d better act like a police chief instead of a jackass, or I’ll slap your entire ancestry
out of shape,” Miss Flordia demanded, giving him a glare and a point of fury before walking
away with Kira next to her. Akeem and Stella did the same as the four of them got into the car
and drove off.
“Ian, stay here,” Chief Adriel replied.
“Chief Adriel,” Ian answered with a wry smile. “Go piss him off even more.”

51
She treats him like he is her only son.
 83

“I intend to. But I’d rather you get rid of your plot to murder me out of your mind whilst I’m
gone.” Chief Adriel headed towards his car as he asked a group of White Moons Officers to
follow him and as he entered a police car and drove off, so did the officers, following him on his
journey.
“Oh, don’t worry…,” Ian uttered to himself with a grin on his face. “I don’t intend to kill you.
Rather, I want you to suffer slowly for my enjoyment…”
***
Inside the warehouse before all of that was happening, Advika was taking on Karmak,
Armin’s right-hand man. Compared to her, he was a hulking beast. Her specialized bazooka was
her only offensive weaponry, which she relied on. She knew she couldn’t take him on physically,
as she was not experienced in physical combat. That was more of Sonny and Eiji’s specialty, but
mostly Sonny’s. Even if she was, she’d doubt she would land a few good hits on him to hurt.
Besides that, Karmak began swinging his arms and throwing air punches, which pushed Advika
back a bit, using her bazooka for weight and defense. At the same time, he approached her
slowly with a grin on his face, feeling confident in his strength.
“You can’t cower behind weapon,” he responded. “My fists will destroy it eventually.”
Advika knew she had to do something, and fast. During her usage of defense, she was charging it
with the holes flashing orange and ready to fire. As Karmak threw another air punch, she used
that window delay to pick up her bazooka and point it at him, firing an orange orb of energy at
him. Of course, he saw it coming his way without breaking stride and as he got closer to it, he
grabbed the orb with both hands, and with a bit of struggle, snuffed it out between his palms like
it was nothing.
“Puny little weapon does nothing to me,” he gloated. “I crush pathetic thing! And your head…
will be the next!”
“Don’t count me out,” Advika replied. “I’m just getting warmed up.”
“Too bad that warm up is breeze to my hands.”
Advika had to ponder for a moment, seeing as how the attack she launched a moment ago didn’t
work. There was a drawback with her bazooka despite it being powerful. It couldn’t be used for a
minute after its use, as it would enter a cooldown state. This left her somewhat vulnerable to
close range attacks. She could leave her bazooka, but knowing that the big galoot could destroy it
should she leave it unattended, she chose to stand by it.
But she couldn’t sit by and do nothing, as she noticed Karmak’s fists radiating a green aura,
which to her was strange, but an element she knew very well. She then looked at her bazooka,
noticing that it was ready once again. But she had to wait for another opportunity as Karmak
brought his fists down to the ground, summoning vines of green aura that appeared out of thin
air. As she picked up her bazooka and made to run, one of the vines ensnared her right foot,
 84

causing her to trip onto her stomach, dropping her bazooka in the process as it slid not too far
from her. Of course, Karmak noticed it being in front of him, finding it intriguing.
“Impressive weapon,” he remarked, studying its contents as he held it in his hands. “No bazooka
in world looks like this. Is it personal present?”
“Yeah, from my father,” Advika assured. “And that type of mana you used earlier… That’s plant
mana. Are you some sort of gardener?”
“...In spare time, yes. But I do job mostly.”
Advika on the other hand didn't think this was something he should be doing. One, it didn't make
sense that a gardener would be in this type of business, and two, she felt that he could do better
with himself if he found a place to welcome him. So she decided to reason with him. Talk to him
at least to ensure she could reach his heart instead of using violence.
“Why work for a man like that? What does he offer you other than money or troublesome
opportunities? Have you no passion for your own hobbies?”
“Hobbies are optional. Money is forever.”
“Money isn’t everything. My family is rich, but only in my country. Here, I am about as rich as a
middle-class American still struggling to get somewhere in the world.”
“Hence why counterfeit exists. Money is unfair here.”
“True, but… You do not need to be cold. Your heart… It rings true to your passion. Be a
gardener. Use your hands to protect nature. Don’t let them be used for evil.”
“You not understand. Money too expensive here.”
“Even if so, try another country that suits your needs. Work for yourself, not others.”
“What country you recommend?”
“...Australia. Best place to be a gardener. Open areas, lush wildlife. All yours to achieve peace.”
He then placed her bazooka down next to her, having to rethink his course of action. Australia. It
sounded nice. He could picture what he could do there with the fields.
“...Australia. Me like. Sounds peaceful. Was wanting to visit such place, but never had
opportunity to. Question?”
“Yes?”
“How is money there?”
“Well, living there is expensive, but job payment is good. Gardeners are in high demand over
there.”
“Hmm… Boss will be mad, but…will think of it.”
 85

He took his leave without saying a word, which concluded his battle with her.
“I hope he finds his inner peace there…”
***
At the abandoned warehouse, Sonny and Eiji were fighting against Armin Hans. Since
T’Alma needed time alone to herself, she was not an opponent for them to fight. But it made it
all the more worthwhile as this was more personal between them. Armin threw his extendable
claws at them as they blocked the hit, but Eiji was grabbed by one and held in front of Sonny like
a hostage.
“I have monkey-boy as a hostage, Hillshire!” Armin exclaimed. “Touch me, and I’ll gladly break
his neck. You'll pay for what you did to me.”
“Oh please!” Sonny scoffed. “Your drugs would’ve endangered America. And ‘drug cartel’? Get
a real job and stop mooching off others.”
“Only people like you would say that. You have no idea how hard it is to make a living today.
The rich get richer whilst the poor have to suffer and make very little to get by. This is what
happens when there aren't any available options that pays off.”
Hearing that, Sonny could indeed relate. After all, he did get into a job that didn’t pay well
enough.
“...You know, it’s strange how we can have one thing in common,” Sonny responded. “You’re
right about one thing. It is hard making a living today. The economy’s prices are skyrocketing,
taxes are being at unreasonable demands, and employment sucks.”
“C-Can I chime in?” Eiji asked, not even being choked by Armin’s large metallic claws. “Even
though the economy sucks now, at least there are other options.”
“Like what?” Armin asked. “This is why crimes like counterfeits and drug trades exist. When
people aren’t given a better service nor are paid greatly for it, they turn to a life of crime. The
system is rigged. And I refuse to hear sympathy from my two greatest enemies!”
He then tossed Eiji towards Sonny, knocking him to the ground. Pulling out a phone, he dialed a
phone number, which grabbed Sonny and Eiji’s attention.
“What are you doing?!” Sonny asked. “Who are you calling?!”
“Men,” he said calmly with a smidge of anger in his voice, “Blow the banks to kingdom come.”
He then hung up, with Sonny and Eiji getting back up with shock on their faces.
“Are you insane?!” Sonny exclaimed. “You’re going to blow up all of Vermont’s banks?! You
already replaced half of their money with counterfeit money! Leave it at that!”
“Oh, you don’t get it,” Armin replied as he began chuckling. “It’s more than that. Right now, the
White Moons probably figured it out. And for those that haven’t…should go boom. No more
money, no know-it-all cops to investigate, no problem.”
 86

“That’ll create a ruckus!” Eiji exclaimed.

“Exactly!” Armin remarked. He then drew his claws towards both Sonny and Eiji as they ducked
and weaved each attempt. To their surprise, his mechanical arms sparked with electricity, and as
he raised his fist, he slammed it down, creating an electric shock wave that Sonny jumped to
avoid but electrified Eiji in place as he was instantly punched into the wall. But this proved to be
useful as Sonny pointed his pistol and fired a single round into Armin’s chest, which made a
weird ‘ding’ sound.
“What?!” Sonny remarked in shock. However, Armin began laughing, knowing it all too well.
“What’s the matter, Hillshire?” he shouted. “Can’t put a bullet in my chest this time?!”
“Eggy!” Sonny called out. But he was then punched by one of Armin’s mechanical claws, being
knocked into the wall. Both claws then grabbed the duo as they raised them in the air, clutching
them hard as they felt their lives being squeezed out. They let out screams as they felt the grip
getting tighter around their bodies. They knew Armin was serious as they could even feel his
rage with the crushing grip.
“That’s right, you two!” Armin remarked. “Scream! I want to hear those bones snap! You
crushed my business once, and you’re attempting to do it again! Well, not anymore! Soon, you
two will be ruined and so will Vermont! Two for the price of one!”
As they screamed louder from the pain of being crushed, it would eventually stop as his
extendable mechanical claws were cut off by the springs, dropping them to the ground with loud
thuds. The claws opened as they broke, freeing the duo. When they looked, they were shocked
by who stood in front of them. Said person appeared to be a blue-haired, double-dutch braided
woman wearing a glowing red visor and wielding two swords, both of which she sheathed back
into her scabbards.
Whenever she appeared, it would usually put Sonny on edge, knowing that this was serious.
However, the air was a bit calmer… Almost…serene as if her intentions were different.
“W-Who the hell are you?!” Armin asked albeit nervously. “His girlfriend?!”
However, it seemed that his comment struck a bad cord with her, and with only unsheathing one
of her swords halfway, he felt a piece of his hair being sliced off by some unknown force before
she sheathed it again, giving Armin a look with her intensely glowing red visor, which freaked
him out.
“A-Azalea!” Sonny called out. Unfortunately, she didn’t even look in his direction.
“She sure picked a time to show up here…!” Eiji muttered under his breath.
“No one kills him except me,” Azalea uttered out, not even breaking her expression.
“Who are you?!!” Armin asked loudly. “Why are you coming up in here saving their asses if you
want him dead?! What’s the point of that?!”
 87

Azalea walked away quietly whilst ignoring his words, only stopping a few feet away as she had
something to say.
“Hillshire, you’re a disappointment,” she remarked with disappointment in her tone. “Take him
down already. I can’t kill you if you’re this pathetic to stop a person of your past. Besides, your
head is mine and mine only to take.” She then went on her merry way quietly, as she disappeared
from their view. Armin was so scared that he fell on his rump in fear.
“Y-Y-You’ve got issues!” Armin quipped, still shaking in fear from what he was experiencing.
Sonny and Eiji got back up, knowing what they had to do.
“Now that the intimidation factor is over, we’ve got an edge,” Eiji replied.
“That’s right,” Sonny answered. “We’ve got my assassin to thank for once. Looks like you can’t
grab us now with those claws of yours anymore.”
“You think you have me beat just because that scary woman showed up and saved your ass?!”
Armin remarked. “You haven’t begun to imagine what I have up my sleeves!”
He then bent forward, revealing two glowing white lights from his torn mechanical claws that
put the duo on edge. It got brighter as it sparked powerful electricity, suggesting that it would be
a stronger attack.
“Eggy, any ideas?!” Sonny demanded.
“Sonny, fire at those holes,” Eiji answered. “If you do, then the bullets should stop whatever
attack he uses.”
Before he could react, Armin fired, shooting a stream of electrified balls in their direction. The
duo moved in opposite directions, but this alone made Armin grin with delight as they noticed
the balls were following after them like homing missiles. For Sonny, he turned around and
pressed both pistols to the ground before pointing them at the ball and fired bullets infused with
brown energy, which struck the ball and destroyed it. As for Eiji, he scraped both of his swords
on the ground as the blades had brown energy on them and did an upward curve before thrusting
them both onto the electric ball, destroying it as it fizzled out.
All of this, and Armin…was impressed to say the least.
“Congratulations,” he remarked. “You’ve managed to showcase a little fancy powerplay. But
such a display is only a feat, and nothing else.”
An explosion then ran out from a distance, which the present people knew all too well what it
was.
“There goes one bank,” Armin replied with a grin.
“Damn!” Sonny cursed.
“I wonder how many problems you can solve before it’s too late…”
 88

***
 89

Chapter 8: Mana Is The Source Of Life Itself

Whilst Sonny and Eiji were taking on Armin Hans, Advika went against Karmak, his
right hand henchman. Despite this, Karmak was revealed to be a gardener due to his plant mana,
allowing Advika to reach into his heart As for Sonny and Eiji, they were about to be crushed to
death until they were saved by the scary assassin Azalea. Meanwhile, Stella and Akeem along
with Miss Flordia went to inform the White Moons of the real mastermind behind the counterfeit
bank heist as well as find little Kira. Thankfully, they found her, but in a very strange place at a
very convenient time… Huh. But with that out of the way, they are going to be needing more
help than ever, as the banks were going to go…boom by Armin’s orders.
Whilst the duo was tangling with their past enemy, a certain White Moons cop was heading to
the abandoned warehouse with a squad in tow. Chief Adriel didn’t go here to save his most hated
enemy. Rather, he needed to bust the one responsible for everything. It wouldn’t take him long to
reach the warehouse. Of course, he and his squad didn’t sound any alarms along the way as they
believed that such sounds would scare off the criminals. As they parked somewhere not too far
away from the warehouse and exited the vehicle, they wasted no time running inside with
weapons at the ready.
Looking inside, he saw Advika standing by a door holding her special bazooka, which made him
blush a bit. Seeing her again meant more than anything in the world right now to him.
“M-Ma’am?” he called out to her as he approached. She turned around, which captivated him
upon her beauty despite her not being aware of it…somewhat.
“Oh, it’s you,” she answered back. Fortunately, she gave him a warm smile, which made it all
worthwhile to see her as he approached her.
“You’re that nice man that talked to me in such an endearing way at that new mall.”
“And you’re that same beautiful woman with the same pretty eyes at that same mall.”
In Advika's head, it was the same Chief that held her hands and spoke similar words to her. “Yep,
you’re him. I assume you’re going to stop the man behind this?”
“Of course.”
She looked out the door, seeing Sonny and Eiji fighting Armin. “Well, you’ll have to wait on
that. Sonny and Eiji are outside on a date with him.”
Hearing Sonny’s name then froze his world, turning the lush fields in his vision into a burning
field.
“Hell no,” he mumbled under his breath as he turned around sharply. It confused Advika until
she understood his reaction.
“Why do you hate Sonny so much? I noticed that every time you two see each other, you butt
heads.”
 90

Unfortunately, he didn't want to give her a real reason. He was afraid of what he would see from
her face should he tell her. “It’s…nothing. But are you alright, my angel?”
She chuckled, although she knew he was hiding something. “You don’t have to flatter me. But
I’m fine. Are you going to do something about the explosion towards the banks?”
He looked to himself in confusion until he remembered hearing a loud boom on the way in his
car. Fearing the worst, he pulled out his walkie-talkie to call someone, which was a familiar
voice.
“Ian, get the rest of the Moons to stop any other possible explosions around Vermont’s banks.”
“Chief Adriel, there have been a few explosions in other areas, but we’re working on it,” Ian
replied on the other line. That was all Chief Adriel needed to hear as he cut the communication
off.
“So, what does the madman look like?” Advika pointed out the door, granting him a look. He
could see Sonny and Eiji seemingly exhausted, and getting a look at the madman himself, he was
wondering why he was even needed. But at the same time, he had to do something. Knowing that
he was the one responsible for the counterfeit heist meant taking him down. But he also could
see that during their fight, it was more personal.
“I take it that they have a history with each other,” Adriel commented. Advika could only nod in
agreement.
“Well, as much as I’d like for Negro boy to suffer, action must take place now.” He decided to
take action and step outside, whereas Armin noticed the chief.
“The White Moons are here?!” Armin exclaimed. Sonny and Eiji turned around to see him,
which to Sonny didn’t bring the greatest feeling in the world.
“...You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Sonny muttered under his breath.
“I am Chief Adriel of the White Moons Force in Vermont! You over there are under arrest!”
“Quite strange for a lone White Moon officer to arrest me,” Armin remarked.
“Who says I’m alone?” he added as a dozen other White Moons officers quietly approached from
behind Armin with weapons such as guns and rifles pointed at him. Sonny could only roll his
eyes, not even caring in the slightest that his ‘rival’ was trying to out-best him once again.
However, Armin still had a smirk on his face despite being outnumbered.
“...Is that the best you can do, officer?” he asked curiously. “Whilst you’re here attempting to
‘arrest’ me, other banks are going to blow up over time. You’re wasting your time here.”
“Hence why I’m not worried. I have other officers doing that. I apologize for interrupting this
reunion, but we have a duty to perform. Your counterfeit schemes end here.”
Armin’s mechanical hands began sparking, and with one hand, he punched the ground, emitting
an electric shockwave that knocked the White Moons officers into the waters. Chief Adriel’s
 91

response was to pull out a revolver, ready to fire it as he stood next to Sonny and Eiji, only there
was…a-
“Don’t stand next to me, Moonjavo,” Sonny remarked, which made anger bubble in Adriel’s
body. “I don’t like people such as you cramping my style like you did just a moment ago.”
“Oh please!” Adriel retorted. “You looked like you were struggling with the Asian man here to
take down a criminal!”
“At least I arrived early to meet said criminal unlike you! You probably took the Trail of Tears to
get here, didn’t you?!”
“I didn’t descend from the Cherokee, dumbass! Your people took the Slave Route to get here!”
“Can we not fight right now?!” Eiji loudly interjected. “We’re about to take Armin Hans down!”
“As much as I enjoy this pointless banter, there’s only three of you and one of me,” Armin
replied. He held his palms out as they were surging with electricity and fired a loose blast that
destroyed a chunk of the ground and nearby boxes, destroying their cover. They were forced to
run elsewhere behind another stack from the other side of the building.
“That arm of his is starting to get on my nerves,” Eiji replied.
“Is he wearing a metal suit?” Adriel asked.
“No. He’s only protected around his upper body.”
“And you two didn’t think to aim at his legs or head because…?”
“Shut it, Moonjavo!” Sonny exclaimed. “He uses electric mana against us! We can’t even get
close to him!”
“My name’s not ‘Moonjavo’, it’s ‘Navajo’!!!” he angrily responded. “Get it right, dumbass!”
“Not my fault you come from the moon,” Sonny retorted. Before Adriel could respond, Armin
fired another loose electric blast, destroying their cover.
“This isn’t the first grade!” Armin shouted. “Time to face me like men!”
“I’ve got an idea,” Eiji inquired. “His arms are his only point of weaponry. I can slash his arms
off, but I’ll need a distraction.”
“Distraction provided,” Adriel responded. “That cute woman in there could work.”
“I really want to spit on you, but she can provide a good enough distraction,” Sonny assured.
“I’ll inform her,” Eiji responded as he took off running into the building, not even raising the
slightest ounce of worry towards Armin.
“Monkey-boy decided to hide like a monkey would,” Armin said. But then he remembered
something…
 92

“Wait a minute… That girl’s in there and fighting Karmak! I assume he took care of her.”
“She has a way with things that gives her the solution,” Sonny replied as he knew her personally.
Armin fired another electric blast, splitting them up. Both Sonny and Moon- Adriel52 had their
guns ready and began firing at him, only proving it to be ineffective as their bullets ricocheted
off his body, but for a twist, they infused mana in their barrels, providing them a new round of
bullets that they fired, which he had to dodge.
“Judging by those electric attacks, you must’ve been an engineer in your time,” Adriel said.
“How do you think I crafted my arms?” Armin replied.
“Without any arms, crafting is impossible for you,” Sonny retorted.
“Making fun of the disabled, are we?” Armin responded. “A guy with no arms can still be the
brains. I even designed weapons for a living!”
He then pointed his mechanical hands like a gun, in which the tips of his two fingers had a spark
of electricity flowing from them and fired electric-like energy bullets at them at a rapid pace,
forcing them on the defensive.
“Dammit, I can’t even get close!” Adriel exclaimed. One shot in particular knocked him onto his
rump. However, he had some sort of idea in mind. From his back with a quick reaction, he pulled
out a double-barreled, sawed-off shotgun and with one hand, pulled the trigger to fire a round as
he caught Armin off-guard. The bullet struck him in the stomach area, which didn’t hurt him but
managed to knock him off balance due to the power difference.
“Now!!!” he shouted, signaling for Sonny to do something. Instead, a ball of energy containing
air was fired, which sent him flying a few feet in the air. As he landed on his butt, Eiji came from
behind, causing Armin to turn around and with his twin swords, he slashed his mechanical arms
off, causing him to scream as he saw them drop to the ground with electricity fizzling from them.
As Eiji jumped out the way, Sonny fired a mana bullet imbued with red energy that managed to
pierce through Armin’s armor and through the chest. He groaned in pain as he could feel it, but
couldn’t touch through flesh.
Joining them was Advika herself with her bazooka in hand, which surprised Armin himself.
“Impossible!” he exclaimed.
“Well, we did it again,” Sonny said with a smirk. “Rings a familiar bell to you?”
“...Not once, but twice…?!” Armin exclaimed. “Even Karmak has failed me…”
“He’s moved on to better, greener pastures,” Advika assured.
“So he had his own agenda…” Armin murmured to himself.
“Who is this guy?” Adriel asked. “I want to know.”

52
I was about to mistakenly call him “Moonjavo”. Thanks, Sonny!
 93

“Armin Hans,” Eiji replied. “That’s all you need to know other than him being the mastermind of
being a counterfeiter.”
“Good,” Adriel responded as his White Moons officers appeared on the scene. “Armin Hans, you
are hereby under arrest for counterfeiting, tampering with state money and destruction of
government property. And don’t try anything, or else more charges will be pending for you.”
“I hate you both,” he seethed, looking at Eiji and Sonny with hatred in his eyes.
“To be fair,” Sonny explained, “Your biggest mistake was not leaving us alone. Revenge doesn’t
suit you at all.”
However, Armin began chuckling, which confused both Advika and Adriel, but not Sonny and
Eiji.
“...I’ll surrender. I may have lost the battle, but I’ve won the war. You don’t know who you’re
messing with, even if I’m gone…”53
As the officers escorted him away, it confused Advika and Adriel.
“What did he mean by that?” Adriel asked. “I know there’s more to his words than he intended.”
Sonny and Eiji looked distant, which raised an eyebrow from Adriel.
“...There’s nothing behind it,” Sonny implied.
“...Except that he’s sending the government counterfeit money by mail…” Eiji added.
“Well, that doesn’t sounds so bad as it-”
“...In our names,” Eiji finished. Adriel paused for a moment, seeing as this was an opportunity to
see his most hated rival be out of his hair for a good while.
“...Well, sucks to be you,” he implied. “We’ve got our mastermind suspect. Only thing I can say
is…good luck.”
“Wait a minute!” Advika called out to him as he walked away, causing him to stop. She didn’t
seem too pleased by his remark. “How can you do that?! My friends will be tried for a false
crime and you’re walking away?!”
“...Pretty lady,” Adriel said, not even meeting her gaze. He knew from the tone of her voice that
she was miffed. “There’s nothing more I can do. That’s up to the government.”
As he walked away, Advika turned her attention back to her friends.
“He can’t walk away like that!” she exclaimed. “It’s wrong! The White Moons and the police
should have every reason to look into this! You’re both innocent!”
“...What can he do?” Sonny asked. “Even if the police look into it, they don’t have any actual
evidence to prove it’s not from us.”

53
This quote will be very important later…
 94

Advika sighed heavily. “...Seriously?”

“It’s only a matter until the government has the final word. We don’t have a say in it until
otherwise.”
***
A week later, the counterfeit scheme was being revealed in all sorts of news outlets, even
from the internet. Word was heard all around the country as people started talking about the
arrest of the mastermind and his desires of revenge against society. Of course, confusion and lack
of pity were abundant in societies, thinking and believing that his words were utter nonsense and
the ravings of a lunatic who couldn’t cope with society. But not everyone was against him. Even
Sonny understood it.
With the counterfeit heist now over, there was one more thing to solve, which was the money
that had Sonny and Eiji’s name on it. The government had seen it. They were reviewing it, and
taking in account Armin's confession, they had one other thing to do to resolve all this: A
hearing. Said hearing would determine the fate of both Sonny and Eiji on whether to press
charges or not. All they required was their testimonies and the jury’s decision. Should Sonny and
Eiji not attend, then it’ll solidify the record.
But they did attend. Together. But not in an average courtroom. Instead, it was a private one54
where Sonny and Eiji were standing on a platform that appeared to be dimly lit. Then sounds of a
loud click followed by an overhead light shone in their faces, startling and blinding them as if
they were on a performance stage, only with empty darkness around them. Then another click,
revealing an elderly white man with a long gray beard wearing a black robe of importance above
them. He seemed less than pleased due to his “intense” expression as he stared at them for a
moment before he-
“Sonny Hillshire and Eiji Kashikoi,” the man loudly declared, as if he was talking to a crowd in a
veil of darkness. “You are charged with possession of counterfeit money that has been mailed to
us. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty, Your Honor,” Sonny replied.
“Er, Not guilty as well, Your Honor,” Eiji answered, only somewhat nervously as he was in an
unfamiliar room speaking to a rather intimidating man.
“We of the council have reviewed your histories, and by this, you had dealt with a person named
‘Armin Hans’, a wanted drug dealer during your service as Black Sun members. Recently, he had
confessed that he was the one responsible for Vermont’s counterfeit crisis.”
“That is correct, Your Honor,” Sonny answered.
“But counterfeit money has been found in envelopes with your names on it with no actual trace
of his fingerprints. Explain yourselves.”

54
This kind of court doesn’t exist in real life. Since they’re former Black Sun members, they are brought here to
settle things with this court through their testimonies to prove their innocence.
 95

“We had no idea of this until he told me and Eiji about it. As for fingerprints, he lacks those. If
you were to search the warehouse, you’ll probably find evidence of it.”
“‘Probably’ is not enough of an answer. It implies a guess. Do you or do you not possess
knowledge of making counterfeit money?”
“Your Honor, we do not,” Sonny inquired. “You could search my apartment and Eiji’s if you
don’t believe us. We have no actual knowledge of making counterfeit, as we intend to earn it
honestly.”
The elderly man paused for a moment to recollect the information he received, and with loud
clicks, lights shined on twelve other elderly people in attendance around the duo, also wearing
black robes of importance.
“Then the jury will decide your fate.”
The light then faded from the elderly man, turning Sonny and Eiji’s attention to them as their
lights were still on. They began pressing buttons based on their testimonies and when they were
finished, they had their words.
“We of the jury will declare you two innocent,” one woman replied. “But we shall continue to
monitor the actions that you two do.”
A click followed by a light that shined on the elderly gentleman from before turned their
attention to him for the final word. He slammed his gavel to-
“This hearing is adjourned!” he shouted. The entire area then went dark, save for Sonny and
Eiji’s spot.
Eiji sighed. “Well, that was nerve-racking.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
***
Several hours later, Sonny had returned back home to his apartment where Miss Flordia,
Akeem and Kira were waiting for him in the bar. They were sitting in their chairs, with Akeem
playing on a handheld game system and Kira watching him play. As for Miss Flordia, she was
drinking water from a bottle. When he entered the bar and called out to them, Akeem and Kira
ran towards him for a hug as they answered back, whilst Miss Flordia came with a piece of paper
in her hand, glad to see him again.
“Home free?” Miss Flordia asked with a smile on her face.
“For now,” Sonny answered. “But I’m just glad that I don’t have to deal with that idiot enemy
ever again.”
“That Indian woman told us about what happened between you, Eiji, and that crazy man.”
“Moonjavo also helped, despite me hating every second of it,” Sonny added.
 96

“Oh, him…” Miss Flordia gloomingly responded. It raised Sonny’s eyebrow from her tone of
voice, wondering what it meant. Even Akeem and Kira seemed despondent upon hearing such a
name despite it being said incorrectly.
“You don’t like him either?” he asked.
“...Let’s just say that he shouldn’t be in uniform with that attitude,” she added.
“He’s very racist,” Akeem implied.
“Just be thankful it’s towards me and not every black person,” Sonny replied.
“Did you hear what was on the news?” Kira asked.
“No.”
“The White Moons managed to apprehend most of that man’s henchmen in Vermont,” Kira
answered.
“That’s…good, I guess,” Sonny assuredly answered.
“Sonny!” a voice happily called out. From the door that came running towards him in open arms
was Stella, who seemed to be more than glad to see him as she began hugging and trying to kiss
him as he was trying to push her off until Miss Flordia had to pull her by her star-like afro with a
rather displeased look on her face.
“Who the hell is this?!” Miss Flordia shouted.
“I’m Stella Cosmos!” she exclaimed as she began touching Sonny, which he rejected as he
backed up a few feet with an annoyed face.
“Well, keep those hands to yourself, miss,” Miss Flordia insisted as she pulled her away.
“Get out, stalker,” Sonny insisted.
“Not until I get my head pat,” she inquired as she lowered her head, ready for one.
“W-What?!” Sonny asked, knowing something about it. “...I see a certain ‘person’ has been
filling your head about such things. I need to talk to ‘her55’ about that…”
“Who’s that?” Miss Flordia asked.
“Nobody you need to worry about. I’m off to see about something…”
***
Little did everyone in Vermont know, there was darkness brewing. A plan that Armin had
implemented from the very beginning. Due to his expertise in making weapons, he had secretly
traded them for counterfeit money to someone. To whom they were, it was unknown.
Somewhere in Vermont, a secret duo were watching the news of Armin’s arrest. One man in

55
He’s mentioning Advika here. Just saying.
 97

particular seemed to know who defeated Armin, as neither the White Moons nor the police had
their “hands” on it.
“Pathetic,” a man’s voice uttered. “That fool was taken down by Sonny Hillshire and Eiji
Kashikoi. Quite ironic, really. And he was half the man I exchanged weapons with for counterfeit
money.”
“You sound like you have a grudge against those two,” a female voice inquired.
“Nonsense. I know this is their handiwork. One man chose to live like a normal person in order
to escape his past, whilst the other can’t decide on whether to accept one nationality or the other.
Truly, these are perplexing times.”
“Perplexing as they are,” the female voice continued, “They’ve got skills.”
“Skills they have,” the male voice continued, “But do they actually know how to use them, or do
they have to slowly remember it? That Hillshire character is one who is most concerning…”
“How so?” the female voice asked.
“Simple. During his time as a Black Sun member, he was known as the ‘Black Demon56’. I
wonder if he still has it…”
“Are you saying that he actually has it?”
“Oh, I’m quite sure. He just needs…the right push. He and his friend think it’s all over, but soon
they’ll be begging to die. Phase 3 is on the way…”
“Ooh, how sweet!” the woman cooed eerily. “I can’t wait to watch!” She began giggling like a
child, which somewhat irked the male voice.
“But first thing’s first… Let’s see where Armin went wrong and analyze who he was up
against…”
***
Back where Sonny was, he was walking downtown, apparently visiting a local coffee
shop. This place was one he frequently visited and couldn’t say no to. At least, he could use this
place as a getaway from Akeem and Kira whenever he needed to. Unfortunately, he took one
good look at a sign, and seeing the prices for such things, he had no choice but to leave.
“That moron was right…” he muttered under his breath. It was still strange to see how the
economy was increasing prices. Back in Sonny’s time, he could see prices being reasonable, but
now? Not anymore. And he couldn’t spend money on too many video games, since they were
getting expensive to even own one. He sighed as he took a look at Vermont’s streets that had the
everyday humanoids walking around as if nothing happened.

56
You’ll know what it is as you get further into a certain chapter.
 98

“...The economy’s not fair,” he uttered to himself. “Jobs are getting harder to find, and even if
one gets a job, the pay’s a total bitch. Then there’s the issue of personal independence. The
corporations want obedient workers, like George Carlin57 said…”
He continued to walk down the streets until he heard a voice call out to him. Something about
the voice made him perk up, not out of anger, but surprise and a bit of joy.
“Hillshire!” the voice called out again.
“...That sounds like…” his voice trailed off until he turned around and saw an elderly man
walking towards him. His expression brightened upon seeing the man, who seemed to be in his
sixties58, having a brighter skin complexion compared to his and wearing a White Moons
uniform, except the badge, despite resembling them, had an extra depth to it, suggesting
importance. The man’s silver hair was more kempt despite drooping somewhat over his forehead
and had a thick beard of similar color. He also smiled as he saw Sonny, seemingly familiar with
him.
“It’s been a while,” the man spoke.
“Admiral Gant,” Sonny said with a smile. Somehow, this man’s appearance had a warm aura to
Sonny.
“Your head is as bald and smooth as the hills you take on.”
“And I see you’re still swimming with a fiery passion into your golden years… Or should I say
‘silver’ years?”
The man began laughing heartily at his comment. “Oh, Hillshire. I’m still swimming just as good
as I’ve always been. Why don’t you take a swim sometimes?”
“Er, no thanks. I don’t swim with a passion. But to change topics, I know you aren’t here to just
see me.”
“You’re right. I’m here to congratulate you.” Admiral Gant looked around, noticing that someone
who he thought would be there wasn’t. “Where’s that Eiji character that hangs around you at
times?”
Sonny shrugged. “I dunno. Doing monkey business as usual.”
“‘Monkey business’?” Admiral Gant asked as he was playing with his beard between his fingers.
“That’s a bit mean, isn’t it? To call your friend that.”
“Nah. He doesn’t mind it. He even takes it as a compliment.”
“You people today are a strange case.”
“It’s no stranger than the Alpha Generation.”

57
A comedian.
58
Gant is 66 years old.
 99

Admiral Gant’s face went from his cheerful self to a somewhat serious one. “The Alpha
Generation isn’t to be taken lightly, you know.”
Sonny raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”
“You and I belong to the Millenial and Gen Z group. But the Alpha Generation is a strange new
breed. You are aware of how our world is composed of mana and how we use it, correct?”
“Yeah, I’m familiar with it. But what does this have to do with our generations?”
“In the past, mana was difficult to even use for older generations with only a few capable of
mastering it, except they would be exhausted from its usage. Over time, generations could use it
easier. But then you have the Alpha Generation.”
“...I’m curious to know what’s so different about us and the Alpha Generation.”
“Well, according to scientists, the Alpha Generation had something called an ‘ubermana’ gene,
which is a combination of many types of mana fused to create mutated genes. With it, they
harness unique powers. Why, the possibilities could be endless.”
“Sounds a little too out of control if you ask me.”
“But be wary of it. You don’t know who has it unless it begins at home with a child59.”
“I’ll…keep that in mind. But moving on, you’re congratulating me for what, exactly?”
“You and your friend along with Chief Adriel managed to capture a criminal. If I’m not
mistaken, there was a woman amongst you, wasn’t there?”
“Yes. But-”
“I know. ‘Don’t mention his name’. Anyways, I thought I’d congratulate you and your friends’
efforts to stop an old enemy of yours.”
“I had to go to a hearing, just FYI.”
“You were cleared, yes? If so, then there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be seeing you, Hillshire.”
Admiral Gant left, giving Sonny some food for thought as he went home like…
“...Ubermana, huh? Is the next generation really that special…?”
***

59
Hmm…I wonder who that could refer to…?
 100

Chapter 9: An Adult Is Just A Grown-Up Child

After defeating Armin Hans and being cleared of during a private hearing, Sonny and Eiji
could go back to living their lives peacefully again… That is, if they could live peacefully. The
whole state of Vermont was unaware of an evil that was brewing with harmful intentions. But for
now, the state could breathe a sigh of relief. Whilst Sonny and Akeem were out for the day, Kira
and Miss Flordia were staying in the bar with a male customer who only wanted water. After he
left, Miss Flordia had something on her mind.
“Kira, where did you go that day?” she asked.
“I went out to find somebody to help Mr. Hillshire,” she answered. However, Miss Flordia
wasn’t buying it for a second.
“I don’t think so, little girl… Or should I say ‘young lady’?”
Kira’s eyes went from confused to shocked.
“W-What do you mean?” she hesitantly answered.
“Kira, deny it all you want, but there’s no hiding it. You’re not really a little girl, are you?”
Seeing how serious Miss Flordia was, she couldn’t lie to her as she looked to the floor. She had
no choice but to come clean. Her entire body was engulfed in a bright white glow, which forced
Miss Flordia to cover her eyes, and when the glow stopped, there stood Kira, no longer a little
girl, but a teenager as she was taller and more mature-looking. Her hair was also longer and had
a set of different clothes to go with it, being that of a more crimson red dress that didn’t cover her
feet.
“...How did you know?” she asked.
“I thought it was strange that a little girl would come out of nowhere and see Sonny without
adult supervision. Not to mention, you seem to know how to find him, which is something a
child would struggle to do on their own.”
“...It was that obvious, huh?”
“There’s also another issue that bothered me. You showed up right when we were looking for
you at that place near the bank. I get the feeling that you were the one who stopped that convict
from escaping Vermont…”
“...Okay, yes, I did do that. I didn’t want him to get away with it and hurt Mr. Hillshire further.”
“You do realize you’ll have to come clean with him eventually, right?”
“I know, but…you don’t know how hard it is to not have a childhood and enjoy it.”
“Huh?”
 101

“You see, my mom and dad had to move somewhat. My mom had died, but my father… He’s
still out there. It was always trying to survive the very dangers that managed to find us…”
“Judging by that display, that was ‘aging mana’, wasn’t it? Only witches can use that.”
“My mom was a witch.”
“That explains a lot.”
“My mom said that witches were of a superior breed until a twinkling star vaporized the
planet60.”
“Sounds awful. But uh…you make sure that Sonny knows what you really are.”
“Alright…”
***
At a coffee shop, Sonny was using a laptop to find jobs to employ in. Notably, he was a
jack of all trades. As he was finished applying, he got up from the table and walked outside,
standing on a curb edge of the street, which wasn't busy at all. However, he felt the atmosphere
getting colder for no reason and as he looked up, the clouds were gray, seemingly overcast.
“Damn, what a way to remove shadows,” he muttered. As traffic passed by on the busy streets
with a commercial truck being the final pass in view, he saw what appeared to be a man standing
on the other side of the street who came out of nowhere. Said man had a large, gray afro that also
matched the color of his eyebrows and wore a long gold coat that seemed more religious as a
straight white line went from the collar of his neck to the end of the robe. His skin tone was
somewhat different to Sonny’s, but the most unusual thing was his right eye, which appeared to
not only have a scar, but also a burn mark over it, with a slightly white pupil as a result. He was
even carrying…a white book titled in gold “Deliverance From Evil”.
This man carried an abundance of ominous energy that made Sonny’s blood run cold. It was as if
he was familiar with him. Sonny’s expression was quite serious, with his body somewhat shaking
and his hands reaching into his pants pockets to feel for an imaginary gun that he would use to
fire…if such a gun was there, that is. The man’s face was equally serious, except his stature was
calm and composed.
“It’s him again,” he thought. “Cloudred Plainsborough61. I thought you were dead. Seems you’ve
decided to make your little ‘grace’ from heaven to here…”
“I am quite alive and well,” Cloudred said telepathically, which surprised Sonny, not knowing
that he could communicate via thoughts. “Oh? You seem surprised. Last time we fought, I didn’t
have this ability62. But thanks to My Lord, I have been granted to peer into the minds of living
beings such as you. I sense you carry many sins upon your back.”

60
Keep that in mind. It’ll surface again at some point in the future…
61
Remember him. He’s very important…
62
Mental mana, which grants the user the ability to read minds. It doesn’t cost much to use at all.
 102

“My sins don’t concern you! Why the hell are you here?!”
“To keep an eye on our fair world…and you.”
“Go spy on someone else, you sick son of a bitch.”
“Such ugliness coming from a monster. That demon63 resides in you. And such sins…do not
deserve friends.”
“Kiss my ass. You ain't me. What the hell are you worrying about?”
“It is not me who worries, but rather you. You’re shaking. You don’t even have a gun on you, and
yet, you’re reaching for something that doesn’t exist.”
“Shut up!”
“Stop fighting and let the Lord take you to a better place.”
“I said shut the hell up!”
“You’ll get your punishment eventually. You can’t escape God’s wrath forever. We shall meet
again, only…one of us will lose the battle…”
Another truck passed by, and as it did, Cloudred…was gone just like how he appeared -
nowhere. Seeing him disappear made Sonny feel at least a little relieved, but he knew that
something was wrong. He looked up at the sky, which showed signs of clearing up as the sun
peered through, shining a ray of light on the city. For a brief moment, it felt like time had stopped
for him during the whole exchange.
“...The Seven Heavens64,” he muttered as he walked across the street as he saw no cars coming
by. “He can kiss my ass. I’ve got my own problems to deal with…”
***
At a grocery store named ‘Willymart’, Akeem was working as a cashier, wearing the red
apron with his name tag on it. It appeared to have been a week on this job for him. He wasn’t one
to talk to people outright as he was somewhat of a recluse. But he needed the money. Sonny
losing his job meant that he had to work harder to help pay the rent - not that Sonny would pay
on time. Business was slow as usual since there weren’t as many customers around.
“I miss playing games at home,” he thought, daydreaming about what he had done before all this.
He then pulled out his phone to check the time. Still 2:30. Could the time get any slower? He
really wanted to run off, but couldn’t as money called more than goofing off. However, the
people would get a shock as a masked gunman entered the place with a pistol drawn.
“Give me the money!!” the masked gunman demanded in a loud voice. He then headed towards
a female cashier, who didn’t hesitate to give him the money from the register. In secret at his
station, Akeem ducked down to pull out his bow and arrow, which he managed to quietly
63
This’ll be seen later…
64
Keep that in mind. It’ll be mentioned again in a future edition…
 103

smuggle in without his boss knowing. Actually, he got here very early and concealed the weapon
with a black bag to prevent cameras located outside from identifying it. He’s been doing this
since his first day on the job in case of situations like this.
As the gunman managed to get about four more cashiers to fork over the cash from the register,
he headed towards Akeem’s station, knowing someone was there.
“Come out there and hand over-” the gunman started until he saw Akeem pointing a readied bow
and arrow at his face to fire. The customers were somewhat scared given the situation, but most
of them were rooting for Akeem deep down to stop this. His boss on the other hand had just
come on the scene, surprised to see Akeem with a weapon in hand.
“Drop the gun and the money and you may have a lighter sentence,” Akeem demanded.
“Hey man,” the gunman calmly spoke as he dropped his gun and raised his hands up,
surrendering himself. “I have a wife and three kids at home. I don’t want to die. I just want to get
money to support them.”
Hearing this surprised Akeem, not expecting a robber to mention family. The gunman dropped
his gun and a second later, a security guard came and escorted him outside in handcuffs.
Although the customers breathed a sigh of relief, Akeem’s boss wasn’t too happy with how he
handled it.
“Akeem!” he called out. Akeem rolled his eyes, knowing that there was going to be some stern
words behind closed doors. A minute later, they were in the boss’s office.
“Mr. Hashaad,” the boss implied, “You do know that we at Willymart do not condone the usage
of weapons in our store.”
“What do you want me to do, let him rob us and run off?” Akeem inquired. “That security guard
would be too late to stop him.”
“Even if so, you shouldn’t have used such unconventional means.”
“How is protecting myself and everyone else considered ‘unconventional means’?!”
“Mr. Hashaad. This is not a video game. This is real life. What would happen if you fired that
arrow and it hit someone like one of our employees or our customers?”
“I was in his face! There’s no way he would’ve moved out of the way in time! Even if he did, I
was only warning him to stop!”
His boss then had a very serious face. “...Mr. Hashaad, you’re fired.”
Oof. Not the words he wanted to hear. But he was not alone as his co-workers were listening in,
more likely in support of Akeem. Understandably, he was quite ticked off as this was his first
week working and perhaps the last. He didn’t expect this to happen for doing the right thing. As
Akeem got up from his chair with a rather despondent expression, one of his coworkers called
out to the boss.
 104

“Sir, please wait!” one of them said. “He saved us all! Shouldn’t he be congratulated instead of
being fired?”
“I don’t make the rules here. Weapons are not permitted under any circumstances. He could’ve
put us all in danger.”
“Good, I don’t work here anymore!” Akeem shouted as he took off his apron and tossed it on the
boss's desk in danger before he went out the door. Two minutes later, he had his bow and arrow
in a bag on his arm as he walked from Willymart. He never looked back at it. The only thing he
wanted to do was catch the bus home. An hour after waiting at the bus stop, a bus came and he
boarded it, expecting it to be full of people. However, he noticed that there were only two people
on the bus, which was the driver and a woman who seemed strange even by human standards.
Said woman seemed to be in her 40s65 with short blonde bangs and wearing a red-orange tunic
that covered her legs except her brown boots. She also wore a green scarf that covered her neck,
which would almost match her pupils. The strangest thing about her was her ears, which were
elf-like and her irises were thinly oval-shaped. She didn’t seem to care about what was going on
around her as she had her arms folded.
“...Doing the right thing cost me my stupid job,” Akeem muttered. He sighed, looking forward to
getting home and playing video games once again. But the elf-like woman could hear him
despite being somewhat far. Judging by the tone of his voice, she could tell that he had a hard
day, which piqued her interest as she got up and sat a seat behind him.
“Excuse me,” the woman began, “But are you okay?”
“Huh? Me? Yeah. Just had a hard day.”
“I figured. You lost your job, and I know how that feels.”
It took Akeem by shock just how she managed to say what he had uttered under his breath.
“Wait, did I just…? But…”
“I have good hearing, which is unfortunately one of my curses…66”
“...Who are you?”
“I don’t give my name to strangers, no matter who they are. And I don’t expect you to give me
yours either, as we may never see each other again.”
“But-”
“This is my stop. Take care of yourself.”
She pulled the yellow cord by the window, which rang a sound that told the driver she was
getting off and as it did, she got off, leaving Akeem the only human passenger on the bus. For

She is 42 years old.

65

66
She comes from a species that has exceptionally good hearing. Unfortunately, it also allows them to hear things,
which I'll let you, the reader, figure that out…
 105

the first time, he was the only person on the bus despite the driver being present. It was…an
uneasy feeling. He felt alone, with the air growing cold and the atmosphere abandoned. He had
to get off as he had a very weird feeling about it. Seeing as this was his stop, he pulled the yellow
cord and got off, walking back to the apartment for a good ten minutes.
As he got there, he saw Sonny sitting on the steps playing on his Nintendo Switch, seemingly
smiling for the first time in a long while. It was even stranger to Akeem as he never saw him
smile like that before. It reminded him of himself when he would be playing video games.
“Mr. Hillshire!” Akeem called out and waved, which Sonny noticed and waved back. He rushed
up the steps, wanting to join him.
“How’d your day go?” he asked.
“I got fired. I tried to stop a robbery, which was successful until my boss fired me. I thought I did
the right thing.”
Sonny could understand what he went through. It was no different from when he was a Black
Sun member. He thought he was doing the right thing at first until… Well, never mind.
“Honor is something a person should have. If some people can’t see that, then they’re delusional.
Just know that I’m proud of you for doing what you’ve done.”
Akeem smiled, feeling glad from Sonny's words and knowing that someone believed he was in
the right. “...Thanks, Mr. Hillshire.”
“No problem.”
Akeem then sat down next to him on the steps as he had his bag sitting on his feet. He also
wondered about him playing on the steps as he took a look at the console. “By the way, why are
you out here playing on your Nintendo Switch?”
Sonny smiled as he kept playing. “I got a new game today called ‘Dankey Kang Country:
Greenhouse Warming67.’”
“Oh, I’ve heard about that game! It’s about time Nintendo realized how important the Dankey
Kang series is!”
“True.”
“Have you been inside yet?”
“Yes. I assume Kira was with Gran, so I’m just killing time until dinner. By the way, it’s takeout
with Jonny’s68.”
“Sounds good for dinner. I did meet a lady on the way home.”

67
A parody video game of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Also references the internet meme, Dankey
Kang.
68
A parody restaurant of Denny’s.
 106

Sonny’s expression perked up. “Oh?”

“She could hear what I said under my breath.”
“Sounds like a nice woman.”
“She was kind of strange looking, as I noticed her ears being pointy and wore a long, red-orange
tunic.”
Sonny’s expression turned from confusion to surprise, somewhat connecting the dots.
“...Pointy ears… Red-orange tunic… Did she happen to have blonde, short bangs and green
eyes?”
“...Yeah?”
Sonny knew who it was. “...It can’t be…”
Akeem raised an eyebrow in confusion. “...Do you know her?”
“...Somewhat. Don’t worry about it.”
“You know, you make things like old acquaintances a secret.”
“Well, it’s more adult-like.”
“Still, is she someone you know from your past?”
“Yes. But I didn’t expect her to be here on Earth.”
“Huh? Does she live elsewhere?”
“No. She’s a traveling merchant in space. She couldn’t be here on Earth without a good
reason…”
As Sonny had to ponder that, he noticed Miss Flordia returning home on her white moped with
brown bags containing the Jonny’s logo on them.
“Food’s here,” Sonny assured. He and Akeem rushed down to help Miss Flordia with the bags,
but noticed that Kira wasn’t with her.
“Hey Gran, where’s Kira?” he asked.
“She’s waiting for you two inside the apartment.”
“I didn’t see her in there earlier when I went to fetch my game.”
“Go take that bag to her. I’m sure she has some explaining to do.”
As Sonny grabbed both his and Kira’s bag, Akeem grabbed his, allowing Miss Flordia to park
her moped into the garage. They went up the stairs, hoping to dig in with Kira to almost be a
complete set of a family. When they went inside the apartment, they were instead greeted by a
 107

teenage Japanese girl sitting on the couch wearing a green shirt containing the words ‘Shifting
Sand Land’ on it, including the blue pajamas.”
“Hello Mr. Hillshire,” she said with a smile. “Akeem.”
“My shirt!” Akeem emphatically announced.
“Who the hell are you?” Sonny asked. “How’d you get in my apartment and how do you know
my name? Where’s Kira?”
“M-Mr. Hillshire… About that… Well, it’d be better to show you…”
She stood up, and her entire body began glowing, which caused Sonny and Akeem to turn to
each other until they noticed her shrinking to a child’s size, which looked familiar. As she
stopped glowing, what stood in front of them was little Kira, the one they were used to. She was
still wearing Akeem’s shirt and pants, although it looked awkward on her as her arms and legs
barely poked out of the sleeves. They were completely shocked, seeing as Kira was not as “little”
as she seemed…
“Impossible!” Sonny exclaimed.
“...It’s me,” Kira assured them.
“Kira’s not a little girl anymore?!” Akeem exclaimed.
“I knew it the entire time,” Miss Flordia said as she was entering the room.
“You knew?” Sonny asked.
“Did it not occur to you how strange it was when she appeared at your door in the rain without
an adult present?”
“...That’s true…”
“...I’m sorry about keeping my real age from you two. I didn’t mean to. I just had to revert to a
child-like state to preserve my energy.”
“...So, how old are you really?” Akeem asked. Miss Flordia slapped him in the back of his head,
having a frown on her face.
“Ow! Why’d you do that for?!” Akeem cried out, feeling his head from her impact.
“Never ask a woman her age, you sand-blasted grease monkey.”
“It’s alright, Miss Flordia,” Kira said. “I’m actually 18 years old.”
“Let’s just sit down and eat,” Miss Flordia said. “I feel my food getting cold.”
A minute later, they sat at the table and ate their dinner whilst discussing the issue. For Sonny, he
had a burger with crispy fries like everyone else did, whilst for Akeem, he had a chicken
sandwich along with Miss Flordia. As for Kira, she had a fish sandwich.
 108

“...So, you’re saying that your father’s still around?” Akeem asked.
“Yes,” Kira answered.
“I’d like to meet him one day.”
“He’s a traveling welder. He might stop by one day.”
“So, Sonny…” Miss Flordia began, attempting to change topic, “Have you found a job yet?”
“I have,” he answered. “Gonna try to be a package handler.”
“Those jobs suck,” Akeem replied.
“Didn’t you get fired?” Miss Flordia asked intrusively.
“It wasn’t his fault,” Sonny chimed in. “His boss prioritized the robber getting away instead of
Akeem defending himself.”
“Man, what is happening in our society today?” Miss Flordia asked as she shook her head.
“The answer’s obvious,” Sonny replied with a smile. “We live in a society69.” Then something
clicked in Sonny’s head over a conversation he had with a certain police admiral.
“...Kira, about that aging thing… Are you from the Alpha Generation?”
Everyone in the room was puzzled as to what brought this on by Sonny.
“...Alpha Generation?” Akeem asked.
“Do you mean by being born after 2010?” she asked.
“Yeah, that.”
“Yes. I was born in 2022.”
“What’s so important about the Alpha Generation?” Akeem asked.
“They’re those mutants with extraordinary DNA,” Miss Flordia answered.
“They can also utilize mana in such a way that is even greater than the previous generation, like
me,” Sonny chimed in.
“I can combust into flames!” Kira exclaimed.
“Don’t do that here,” Miss Flordia warned. “The cost of running this apartment is high enough
already.” Sonny had thought of something that he needed to do. Or rather, what he and Akeem
discussed.
“...Excuse me,” Sonny said as he got up from his seat. “I’m going out to get a bit of fresh air.”

69
A quote reference from Joker, the main villain of the Batman franchise.
 109

As Sonny had departed from the door of the apartment and closed it, he spotted what appeared to
be a woman from below that Akeem had described earlier: blonde hair, green eyes, wearing a
reddish-orange tunic dress and of course, the pointy ears.
“...Ellen,” he uttered under his breath. However, the woman’s face bore a scowl as if he said
something offensive.
“My name’s not ‘Ellen’, it’s Ella, dumbass!” she shouted angrily. “I don’t resemble that damn
woman70!”
“My bad. It’s uh…been a while.”
“Yeah, it has. Too long.”
Sonny made his way down the stairs, wanting to meet her face to face as well as getting a closer
look at what she looked like. He also knew that she wasn’t open to hugging and ‘friendly
greetings’.
“Why are you here?”
“Word has traveled around that you live here. Fitting, really.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Just seeing what it is.”
“You came here to insult me?”
“No.”
“You know, what’s been happening with you ever since? I’ve never heard from you.”
“I don’t answer calls, as I’d like to be at peace. And if you must know, I’m doing trade across the
galaxy.”
“...Galaxy?” Sonny then remembered someone, or if Ella could provide information about a
person he also knew.
“...Did you uh…meet that ‘woman’?”
Ella raised an eyebrow. “Who?”
“Pail71.”
“Oh, her. Yeah. I didn’t have much to say to her except good luck.”
“You let her off the hook?! You do realize how insane she is, don’t you?”
“She seemed to be in the right mind. Going around slaying those who wronged her.”

70
A reference to the infamous celebrity Ellen DeGeneres. I’m just poking fun.
71
Remember that name!
 110

Sonny sighed. “...Never mind. I want you to know that I-”

Ella then raised a hand, stopping Sonny mid-sentence.
“...Hillshire. We’re not friends. Merchants cannot be friends with associates. I follow two things:
One, I focus on money, and two, I like to live prosperously without problems.”
“It seems that being a merchant has also made you colder.”
“Hillshire, I’m only one woman. The world cannot be nice. You already know this. Developing a
thick skin helps. Something you probably forgot after that war.”
Sonny’s eyes grew cold. He began remembering his time after the war, which infuriated him.
“...Don’t bring that up. I’d prefer you don’t.”
“...Then we’re done here. I’m going back into space. Keep your wits about you.”
She then walked away, which left Sonny rather speechless. He remembered a woman named
Pail, which to him drew cause for concern as he looked up to the skies. Elsewhere in Vermont’s
jail, a commotion was going on in the office of the warden. Two white men in gray officer
uniforms were apparently talking to the elderly man with a gray beard behind the desk, who
didn't seem too happy as he heard-
“...What do you mean he’s gone?!” he shouted angrily as he slammed his hands on his desk. “No
one can escape under our watchful eye!”
“But that’s just the thing,” one of the men began. “A janitor that was assigned for cleaning duty
said that he went missing. There’s no evidence of escape in his cell. I think he-”
“Don’t you finish that sentence,” the desk man warned as he pointed a finger in their faces. “It’s
bullcrap! Mana is nothing but some sort of fantasy some weirdo pulled out of his ass72! I refuse
to believe it!”
The two men looked to each other with worry, knowing that whatever they would say would fall
on deaf ears.
“We’ll file a report to the White Moons,” the other man said.
“See to it that you do, or else turn in your badges.”
***

72
Hey! I resent that!
 111

Chapter 10: Disputes Between The Poor And The

Rich Is A Never-Ending War
Now that the truth was revealed about Kira, Sonny and the gang accepted her, now seeing
her as a potential ally from the Alpha Generation. At the same time, Sonny also met Ella, a
traveling space merchant who seemed to have met an old friend of his, although it brought worry
to him about it. But in Vermont’s prison, something was wrong. A prisoner who was supposed to
be in there was considered ‘missing’, and a report was filed to the White Moons.
Speaking of, at a white building titled ‘Vermont’s White Moons Precinct’, the Admiral was
sitting in an otherwise neat and tidy office that appeared to be his as there were photos of him
and another woman along with Sonny in them on his desk. Behind his pristine red chair was a
window that allowed him to see the streets of Vermont, which would be about night time.
Apparently he had received news from the prison, which made him confused. He was reading the
documents, which to him made no sense.
“...This can’t be,” he muttered. Ten minutes later, he called for a meeting with the force, which
consisted of men and women of many races and species wearing white uniforms in a large room
for roll call and other such means. Among them was Chief Adriel and Lieutenant Ian, both of
whom were part of the meeting as organizers.
“Attention White Moons Force,” the Admiral loudly proclaimed, “Apparently, Vermont’s prison
facility has reported that Armin Hans has escaped.”
Confused looks were all around the room.
“I know, I know. We all thought that he would be at that place serving his crimes, but
unfortunately he has somehow escaped. According to a report from the prison facility, there has
been no signs of an escape attempt.” The Admiral then scratched his beard. “But there’s
something that’s been bothering me about his escape. There’s no trace of him leaving the cell,
which could only mean one thing: The ‘Armin Hans’ we arrested possibly doesn’t exist.”
“Impossible!” one member shouted.
“Perhaps someone else is pulling the strings, which means whoever it is, used this ‘Armin Hans’
character as a diversion, and if so, why?”
“Then what are we supposed to do?” another member asked.
“Since none of the associates of this Armin Hans character are willing to speak with us, we’ll
have to place this state on lockdown within two hours, provided that I explain to the governor
about the situation.”
“Do you want us to closely survey the population?” Chief Adriel asked.
“If possible, yes,” the Admiral answered.
 112

Whilst his orders were given, he thought to himself, “I should relay this to Hillshire, knowing
that it could be more personal with him…”
***
Two hours later at the apartment, Sonny, Akeem and Kira were watching the news, which
featured a black woman that they were familiar with. The screen was filled red with the title
“Breaking News” in large yellow letters, which caught their attention.
“Breaking news,” the woman began as she looked at the camera for her views at home to see,
“The White Moons of Vermont has issued a state lockdown.”
“What?!” Akeem exclaimed.
“Unfortunately, the Admiral of the White Moons wishes not to disclose the reason why, but he
did say that the White Moons force will survey the population to figure out a certain issue as well
as offering protection.”
“There has to be a reason for this,” Sonny said with a serious face. He then heard his phone ring,
which drew his attention. Looking at it, a name titled “Admiral Gant” was on the screen, which
surprised him. Knowing it was from him, Sonny stepped outside, walking down the stairs as he
answered it whilst not knowing that two suited men “appeared” at his apartment door and headed
inside.
“Admiral Gant?” he asked, wanting confirmation.
“Hillshire, are you alone?” Admiral Gant asked. “I mean, alone where no one can hear you.”
“Hold on a moment.” Sonny ducked into an alleyway, feeling alone.
“I am now.”
“Good. What I’m about to disclose is something that can’t be mentioned around anyone else
except you and the White Moons.”
“...I’m listening.”
“Remember Armin Hans?”
“Yeah.”
“It turns out that he doesn’t really exist.”
“...What?”
“We thought he did, but there’s no trace of him being in the prison. We suspect that he was a
puppet used by the real perpetrator to create a red herring.”
“...I see. Is that why you placed a state lockdown?”
“Yes. I wanted to trap the mastermind here. We’re surveying the area with helicopters and drones
as we speak.”
 113

“Well, I don’t know what’s happening, but I hope it gets resolved soon.”
“Same here. Remember: Not a word to anyone about this. It’ll cause panic.”
“Gotcha.”
Admiral Gant hung up as Sonny walked back to his apartment, not knowing that a certain
red-haired woman with star-shaped pupils somewhat overheard his conversation as she hid
behind a trash can, quietly following after him. As he entered inside, it was strangely empty.
Nothing was taken, but Akeem and Kira were not present. The television was still on with a
commercial playing that featured a woman and a man in white silk robes twirling around in a
field surrounded by fruits.
“Akeem!” he called out. “Kira?”
Nothing. No sound or anything. He thought of going down to where Miss Flordia was, hoping
that she wasn’t gone as well this time. But his fears were relieved as she was there in the bar
looking out her window, seemingly lost in thought about something. As he entered the bar, she
turned around without raising any ire, not expecting Sonny to be here but did notice that he had a
look of worry on his face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Did you see Akeem and Kira leave?”
Miss Flordia shook her head. “No. Why?”
Sonny pondered for a moment, which to him didn’t make any sense. How could they have gone
within that minute Sonny stepped out to answer a phone call? Just as he was pondering that
thought, he received a phone call out of the blue. Looking at the screen, it was still making noise,
but the screen itself had nothing but a blank black background with the only thing for action was
the green icon containing a phone symbol on it.
Looking at it, Sonny felt uneasy about it as a phone call with no words or numbers to even
indicate a person behind it was the scariest thing no human wants to answer. It could be death
himself, or a call from the void of the unknown. But Sonny had to find out something, so he
swiped the icon right, and answered it.
“Hello?”
The other line had sounds of what appeared to be breathing, followed by chuckles from an
elderly man.
“Who is this?!” Sonny demanded. The other line was silent for only a moment until he heard a
female voice on it.
“...M-Mr. Hillshire…” the voice said in a rather sad tone. Sonny’s heart began to sink as he was
bubbling up anger under a composed voice.
 114

“Kira,” he called out. However, her voice was no more as she didn’t answer back. Instead, what
did answer him was the same sounds of chuckling from an elderly man.
“Who the hell are you?! Where’s Akeem and Kira?!”
Before he could get an answer, the phone hung up on him. Miss Flordia was now worried as
there seemed to be darker implications from the phone call.
“Somebody has them?” she asked. However, he got a strange sound from his phone, and as he
checked it, he saw a text message on his screen that had no identity of the sender. It read:
If you want to find your precious “children”, then come to the place where things were
originally made. That is, “if” you’ll be made to get here. Bring Monkey-Boy here as well for
a final bout.
Reading it made Sonny’s blood boil, but knew he had to get Akeem and Kira back at all costs.
But first thing’s first. Where’s “Monkey-Boy”, a.k.a. Eiji Kasjhikoi? Well… In a large green
dumpster not too far from where Sonny’s apartment was, Eiji was sleeping on top of black bags,
which appeared comfy to sit on as if they were pillows. Actually, they were inside the bags. The
dumpster also smelled surprisingly clean and has been sitting there for years, never to have been
touched by any city officials since they forgot such a thing existed.
He appeared to be mumbling in his sleep, tossing and turning over as he seemed to be having a
really good dream. Well, almost good until he was interrupted by a loud knock on his dumpster,
which made him jump. It was actually coming from Sonny, who didn’t seem amused as he
looked at him from above. He was also alone, not wanting Miss Flordia involved with this and
was carrying his dual pistols in his coat pockets for battle.
“Get up, Eggy,” Sonny said. “We have business to take care of.”
“...Huh?” Eiji surmised, bewildered by his demeanor. It didn’t take long for him to notice that he
was carrying his dual pistols in his coat pockets that he knew they were going to fight.
“Who are you going after this time?”
“‘We’.”
Eiji noticed that Sonny’s face, despite being his usual expression, had a sense of anger behind it.
Even his tone suggested it, which also made his face serious as he went into the corner of the
dumpster to retrieve his dual swords and jumped out, joining him on his quest. They were
unaware of a red star-haired Staravian woman secretly following them as she also had weapons
at her disposal, which were a whip and an extendable mace. Even her face was serious, moreso
to match Sonny’s disposition.
Elsewhere at a condo in Vermont, Advika was sitting on the balcony sipping a cup of tea when
she saw her phone glowing as it rang. She didn’t recognize the number, so she shrugged and
muted it, continuing her activity as usual. But she did hear a familiar voice call out her name.
 115

“Sonny?!” she answered back, looking for where he was until she looked down from her
balcony. She also saw Eiji with him, and they both had weapons on them, ready to do something.
“Want to come with us?” he asked, looking up.
“What’s happening?!”
“I’ll explain on the way.”
Knowing that they wouldn’t have weapons on them for no reason, she ran into her room to grab a
bag to house her large bazooka in and zipped it up before bolting out the door. A minute later,
she met up with Sonny and Eiji, wondering what they were about to do.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Someone kidnapped Akeem and Kira,” he reiterated.
“Oh, that’s terrible!”
“I know where to go. An old factory is where I must kick the ass of someone.”
“Alright. I understand.”
As they set off, they were unaware of a blue haired, visor wearing woman in a black coat
watching from above the roof of the condo Advika stayed at. She also had her swords at her
sides and followed them silently in the night. At the same time, a suspicious person73 was
watching them heading in their intended direction. At the abandoned factory, the boss was
receiving word about three figures heading their way.
The abandoned factory was just as it sounded. It was really old as there was peeling paint,
revealing chips of the old red walls. Some of the walls were painted with graffiti containing
illegible words not known to any language studied in the world. Conveyor belts were still
around, and seemed to be operational despite years of no usage as guns were lined up and pulled
down the belt.
The people around were wearing suits, similar to the ones that worked for the so-called “Armin
Hans” criminal. If anything, this started to sound like-
“Prepare the city for our welcoming message!” a man loudly boasted, raising a black gloved
hand along his response as he stood on a metal platform. Said hand belonged to a white man in
his 50s with neatly styled white hair, along with the beard and mustache. He also wore a black
jacket with his pants and shoes matching in color. He bore a striking resemblance to a
certain…someone. One of the henchmen pulled out a phone and called someone to deliver the
message on a private line, which was heard loud and clear.
At a building where rich people were partying, an explosion rang out, causing screams and panic
among the partygoers. Some were wondering why they were being targeted. It didn’t take long
for police to respond as they were trying to find who was responsible. Unfortunately, they didn’t

73
This person will show up when everything's said and done…
 116

find anyone as the perpetrators had fled the scene without even being spotted. This also
prompted them to contact the White Moons for this, knowing they could get further ahead on this
than they could.
In a police car, Chief Adriel and Lieutenant Ian Sanitas were patrolling around when they got a
radio call saying:
WM-1108, we have reports of an explosion that has targeted the Vermont Privilege Gathering
near your area. Police are wanting a response to this situation as immediately as possible.
“Tch,” Chief Adriel scoffed. “Worthless police.”
“They’re more useful than you,” Ian retorted with a smile. Adriel gave him a mean look from the
corner of his eyes without taking his eyes off the steering wheel.
“One of these days, I’m going to get back at you for those so-called ‘harmless pranks’ you did to
me ever since you were assigned under me five years ago…” Their vehicle sped up as they were
going to head in the direction of the explosion, which would take about two minutes. However,
they saw another explosion in the distance, which caused them to stop their car.
“Dammit!” Chief Adriel cursed.
“These explosions are starting to feel familiar,” Ian commented.
Adriel gave him a sure look. “Don’t assume without context.”
Ian’s face on the other hand was serious. “Chief, this is not a joke. That explosion that targeted
the privilege gathering… It’s starting to sound like something from that fake ‘Armin’
confession.”
Chief Adriel pondered on that for a moment. Ian seemed somewhat insane, and managed to put
up with his cruel antics most of the time, but when he had a serious face, he knew to take his
words seriously.
“...Then that means only one thing. We’ve had the wool pulled over our eyes…”
Ian grabbed a radio caller exclusive to the White Moons and began contacting other members,
warning them of possible explosions in their areas. Then a certain phrase from ‘Armin’ came to
mind for Chief Adriel:
...I may have lost the battle, but I’ve won the war. You don’t know who you’re messing with, even
if I’m gone…
“No…!” Chief Adriel uttered out. “It can’t be!”
“‘It can’t be’ what, Chief?”
“...It’s not possible…! The Admiral was onto something…!”
Ian raised an eyebrow. “Onto what?”
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Chief Adriel slowly turned his head to him with a blank look and uttered, “...Cloning mana.”
***
Back in front of the abandoned factory, Sonny, Eiji and Advika were on their way. The
boss had already informed his minions to kill them on sight should they see them. And see them
they did. Some of them were pointing guns at the trio from the high windows, preparing to fire.
In front of the large doors stood two burly men wearing sunglasses and black coats, presumably
to act as bouncers.
“If it isn’t the boss’s two most hated men,” one of them said.
“Why’s there a lady with you?” the other asked. “She going to be your therapist?”
The trio said nothing. Sonny looked up, seeing the men in the windows pointing guns at him and
his friends.
“Why the need to arm yourselves over three people?” Sonny asked.
“Unless you’re willing to surrender or die quietly, we can’t take that risk.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Then turn around.”
“How about this? You two let me and my friends in, and-
Before Sonny could finish, one of the gunmen in the window groaned in pain as if he was cut,
followed by another man reeling over, dropping his weapon. It didn’t take longer than a mere
five seconds for all the gunmen to be downed by some unknown assailant.
“What the hell?!” one of the men said.
“Don’t get distracted,” the other assured. “We ain’t letting you in.”
“If you don’t, I’m going to give you the pain I feel right now,” Sonny said as his knuckles were
hardening.
“Let’s have it!” the other man dared. But he would get his words as Sonny moved so fast that to
the regular eye it looked like he delivered one punch to the duo, when it was actually three
punches, causing them to grasp their abdomen in pain as they were on their knees before keeling
over on their stomachs. It was as if Sonny had somehow ruptured their nervous system.
“Let’s go.”
“You didn’t have to be that violent,” Advika said.
“They didn’t give me a choice. Besides, they’re going to be kissing the ground for a while.”
As they headed inside, they took cover behind unoccupied barrels, readying their weapons. More
suited men began firing bullets at them, which struck the barrels. Luckily, the barrels had a very
rough exterior. Advika knew that she would have to give Sonny and Eiji the opening they
 118

needed, so she pulled out her bazooka, which had blue lights glowing. When it was ready, she
pointed it at the army of suited men headed their way and fired a ball of wind, which exploded,
creating a great gust of wind that knocked most of them off their feet as well as sending them in
various directions across the room.
Seeing that she provided them the opportunity, Sonny and Eiji bolted forward, using the walls to
provide cover to themselves. From Sonny’s right, he could see suited men coming down the hall
with guns in hand where Eiji was, as did Eiji on Sonny’s side with the other men carrying
swords, daggers and scimitars.
“Gunmen on you right!” Sonny shouted.
“Swordsmen on your left!” Eiji responded. Sonny wasted no time as he began infusing gray
particles in his pistols and began firing gray bullet shaped mana at the men, falling them instantly
whilst Eiji, infusing blue mana in his legs and feet, sprinted forward towards the swordsmen,
slicing every sword, dagger and scimitar in sight as well as knocking them out using his back
hands. They listened closely for more footsteps, to which there were none. At least, none so far.
Eiji retreated to Sonny’s side as did Advika with her bazooka in hand, ready to fire again once
the coast was clear.
“Think there’s more?” Advika asked.
“I don’t think so,” Sonny responded. But to be sure, he had to look around to which no footsteps
were made. To conclude, Sonny shook his head.
“We’re clear for now.”
“Where do you think those two are?” Advika asked.
“We’ll have to split up to find them,” Sonny assured. “Advika, if you find them first before us,
don’t hesitate to escape with them and protect them at all costs.”
Advika nodded. “I shall.”
She ran off in the other direction, ducking behind boxes for cover on the way.
“Eggy, you’re with me.”
“What for?” he asked.
“Someone wants us to fight for their final bout. Considering how smart you are, you’ll provide
me some backup and an opening.”
“Got it.”
The duo ran down a hallway, seeking coverage before going through operational double doors
that slid out for them, which was the strangest thing.
“You think someone’s expecting us?” Eiji asked.
 119

“I think so,” Sonny answered. “Explains why there’s no gunmen after us. Either that, or someone
else is taking care of them for us. But then again…”
Whilst running, he looked around, not seeing any signs of people or dropped weapons.
“No, something suspicious is going on. No signs of bodies at all.”
Somewhere else in the abandoned factory, the boss’s henchmen were arming themselves with
weapons, only for the boss to wave a hand to stop them.
“Not yet,” he assured them. “That was exactly why Armin failed, and why I intend to correct his
mistake, even if he was a living manifestation of me.”
“What do you want us to do?” asked one henchman.
“Wait for the duo in this room. Great power comes in greater numbers, wouldn’t you agree?”
Then he walked around, looking at each and every member in the room.
“This society is corrupt. The rich have too much of a foothold amongst the general populace. But
no more. They shall fall. And so too my two greatest enemies. They almost shut me down that
day. They’re just like them.”
Then he looked towards the ceiling.
“I’ve ran my business for years through darkness. My counterfeiting and drug schemes may have
failed, but now, society’s empire shall fall…along with those two.”
Most of his henchmen nodded in agreement.
“Greed. Wealth. Selfishness. Together, they breed depravity, poverty and despondency. Exactly
what they want. And they shall feel our wrath as it comes crumbling down on them. How many
casualties of the rich have there been?”
“All across Vermont, a hundred,” another henchman replied.
“An excellent number. But the biggest casualty will be what will happen should that gunslinger
and monkey-boy see to their precious jewels being broken...” He then chuckled in a sinister tone
to himself. “...Let’s see if the rumors are true…”
***
In the night cities of Vermont, there was mass panic everywhere as the bombings had
startled the civilians, thinking that they were going to be next. At the same time, the police and
the White Moons were attempting to try and get the citizens under control and to safety, as well
as trying to stop the bombings. At least for the White Moons, the perpetrators’ goals were clear,
which was targeting rich establishments containing people of the rich class.
Chief Adriel and Lieutenant Ian were riding along a highway as they saw fires around them. But
there was one rich establishment that they headed towards that the perpetrators were perhaps
 120

going to target next, which was called “Goldberry Inc”, a well-known broker company among
the world.
“Good thing ‘that’ isn’t bombed,” Chief Adriel remarked. “If they attacked it, who knows what
might happen to Vermont’s stock market?”
“They’re going to target that next,” Ian said.
“Then we’ll have to beat them there.”
Their police car floored in full gear towards Goldberry Inc, which only took them two minutes.
As they got there, they had to contact a few White Moons officers nearby via a radio, which they
received word back that they’d come to where they were. A minute later, five White Moon
officers appeared on the scene as only Chief Adriel was the one to meet up with them. Ian
Sanitas was watching from the back of the building for suspicious activity.
“Stand by the building on each side for watch,” Chief Adriel issued. As they got their orders,
they surrounded each corner of the building with weapons ready in hand. Chief Adriel on the
other hand went inside the building, noticing that lights were on and the place had people inside
seemingly calm. When some of them noticed Chief Adriel with a pistol in hand, it made them
afraid of what he might do, even though he had no interest in them at all.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said, assuring them that he would bring them no harm. “I’m here to
protect-”
Before he could finish, a loud explosion rang out in the building, which sounded like it came
from above. It caused the people to panic as they feared for their lives.
“Dammit!” he cursed. The people headed out of the door, but as they did, a suspicious man in a
suit came down the stairs, which prompted him to take action. He ran towards him shouting
“Halt! White Moons!” The suited man made no attempt to run as he didn’t even turn around to
face him. However, the man then secretly slipped something in his mouth and gulped it down as
Chief Adriel caught up to him.
“Who are you?” he asked as the man turned around to face him. However, the man’s face crept a
grin, which confused him.
“Why are you smiling?”
No words.
“Why did you set off that bomb?! Who are you working for?!”
Still nothing. But the man did make an utterance under his breath, “Down with the rich…”
The Chief wanted more answers out of him, but his questions would have to be put on indefinite
hold as the man began convulsing violently for no apparent reason, followed by frothing of the
mouth, a nosebleed and red eyes. The Chief tried to restrain him, but by the time he did, the man
stopped convulsing. He checked for a pulse, only to find none at all.
 121

“Damn!” he shouted. Two White Moon officers came into the building to assist the chief,
noticing that he was standing over a suited man who was unresponsive.
“What happened?” one of them asked.
“...He’s dead,” Chief Adriel uttered. “Possibly took something to prevent himself from being
caught for speaking.”
“We’ve got other officers escorting citizens to safety,” the other one said. But Chief Adriel had
something in mind to ask them.
“...Which one of you have Negro slave’s number?”
***
 122

Chapter 11: The Heart Grows Fonder In Darkness

The whole state of Vermont was now in trouble as explosions rocked the buildings that
pertained to the rich. So far, almost 200 people have died from the explosions alone. The White
Moons were doing their best to combat it, only for it to be too late. Chief Adriel managed to get a
break, only for one of the bombers to commit suicide. At the same time, Sonny, Eiji and Advika
were attempting to hunt down the man responsible for not only attacking the state but also
kidnapping Sonny’s two personal keepers.
Speaking of, as Sonny and Eiji were heading down the halls, they were unaware of a red-haired
Staravian woman following them. But she had just lost track of them. Looking around at the old
halls, she found it quite interesting, but her curiosity would be put on pause as a suited man had
jumped in front of her from out of nowhere, which led to a rather…awkward situation.
Smiling nervously and letting some chuckles out in between, she asked, “...Wanna be friends?”
This attempt failed, as a moment later, she was running down the halls screaming as the suited
man fired bullets at her, missing with every one of them. She saw a barrel and ducked behind it,
but using her mace, she swung it hard enough to strike the man in the face, knocking him out
cold as he fell to the floor on his back, dropping the gun in the process.
“Phew,” she uttered out as she wiped her forehead. Knowing that she was lost, she decided to
take a look around. Whilst the environment she was in was new, she didn’t mind, as this would
be something she liked to do. Straying further away from both Sonny and Eiji, she forgot the
entire reason she was there. Coming from out of the other doors was Advika, who seemed
somewhat worried but jumped in surprise when she saw the Staravian woman.
“S-Stella?!” Advika exclaimed, surprised to see her.
Stella tilted her head in confusion. “...Who are you again?” She couldn't remember who she was,
yet she was speaking to her as if she was familiar…
“I’m the one who was walking with Sonny that day. Also, when we-”
Stella finally remembered. “Oh, you’re that woman!”
“Yes! But, why are you here?”
“I’m following after my Sunshine!”
Advika knew who she was talking about, which made her smile a bit. “Ah, but he has gone in
another direction opposite of us.”
“Dammit!”
“Not to worry. We’ll fare through this. Let’s uh…go this way. I didn’t find the children but I
know it’ll lead us into another path.”
Stella pumped her fists in the air. “Yes!”
 123

***
Back to where Sonny and Eiji were, they were exploring more of the abandoned factory.
Some of the walls were in illegible text graffiti paint, with some drawings containing star-like
symbols and two sets of wings, The most out of place painting is a strange, unidentifiable
creature that looked to be out of this world. No, rather, out of any universe that no creature could
identify at all. It was even pictured above an orange circle runic that seemed to represent the
sun74.
“What the hell even is that?” Sonny asked, looking at the strange creature depicted in the
painting.
“I dunno, but someone’s been interested in stars,” Eiji commented.
“Think this has any meaning?”
“It probably does. What it is, I don’t know.”
“Forget about it. Let’s try to find the mastermind behind this.”
Before Sonny and Eiji could dash, Sonny’s phone was ringing, which confused him for about a
moment. As he pulled it out, it was some random number he had no idea about.
“Who the hell’s calling me?” he asked. He swiped up on his phone, which allowed him to speak
to the other line.
“Hello?”
“Is this Sonny Hillshire?” a male voice on the other line asked.
“Are you a scammer?”
“No, I’m calling from the White Moons.”
Hearing the word “White Moons” raised Sonny’s interest a bit.
“White Moons, huh?”
“Uh, our chief had wanted to tell you that the one responsible is-
“If it’s the chief, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve got to kick someone’s ass, and I don’t need to waste
time listening to the words from a sorry-ass Tomochichi clone.”
He hung up the phone, putting that conversation aside. “Come on, Eggy. Let’s go.” The two of
them made a run for it, continuing down the hall as usual. They approached the stairs, to which
Sonny stopped in his tracks to say, “Hell no.”
“Oh, come on!” Eiji cried out loud, passing Sonny to stand on the fourth step.

74
…Hmm…
 124

“Nope. Not doing it. If I’ve seen one thing from video games, it’s that the next stairs contain
enemies, and we’d be wasting energy getting up there.”
“There’s no elevator here, and I’m betting you’re lazy!”
Sonny sighed. “...Damn. I’ll have to step up there, then.”
As they were climbing up the steps, they were unaware of a suited man watching them from
above. Said suited man was walking towards a private corner and pulled out a phone, contacting
his boss.
“Boss, they’re heading towards the second floor.”
“Interesting. When they get here, which is not for long, the big surprise will be for them.”
As time had passed, a mysterious blue-haired, visor-wearing woman holding two swords in her
hands slowly walked down a corridor on the third floor, seemingly expecting someone. For her,
she could see in darkness since her visor could outline anything…except in red. Some of the
suited men were lying on the ground covered in blood, writhing around in pain from the slash
wounds she inflicted on them. But they weren’t her targets. Rather, they were “obstacles”. The
sounds of her footsteps filled the room like a killer on the prowl.
Making her way towards a door, she opened it, continuing her way down the corridor, which was
long and dark, but to her eyes was still bright. She had no signs of fear in her walking, knowing
that nothing would best her here out of all places. She had to find whatever it was she was
looking for at any cost. As she reached the end, there was another door she opened, revealing a
stretched metal platform for her to walk on, along with another door to pass through.
Back to where Sonny and Eiji were, they entered a room where the suited men that supposedly
tried to shoot them down were writhing in pain with blood staining their suits. To Sonny, he
knew of what happened here. But despite the men groaning, the room was eerily silent save for
their footsteps.
“Boy, they sure know how to silence the room, don’t they?” Eiji asked. Sonny didn’t even
respond as he paid no attention to the men and only had one focus in mind.
“Uh, Sonny? Mind not being so serious?”
Again, he said nothing.
“Jeez, he’s being somewhat quiet… I hate it whenever he does that…”
They had approached a door that was different, as it had double doors that seemed to be
old-fashioned as one would have to push or pull them open, depending on what side of the doors
they were on. As both Sonny and Eiji had passed through the doors, they knew they had to be on
their guard. An attack could happen anywhere when they would least expect it, so they ducked
down near the walls of the door. Looking around, they noticed that the room was strangely silent.
No one appeared to be in it save for them, which added to the eerie atmosphere.
 125

“What the hell’s going on here?” Sonny asked himself in thought. There was no way he would
just charge in with guns blazing. It would attract too much attention and could lead to him
getting killed for leaving himself open. Peering from the corner, there was no one around at all. It
was as if it were nothing but a ghost room. Gesturing with his pistol, he urged Eiji to get up and
position himself in front for cover. Using said pistols, Sonny pointed them in both directions,
making sure that he would target whoever would attack.
As they inched closer to a door, they passed through, not realizing that someone was watching
their every move from above. The next room they entered was filled with stairs leading all the
way up to another door.
“Ugh, they’re going to be killing us with these damn stairs,” Sonny remarked.
“Now you say something,” Eiji commented as he turned around, which earned an annoyed look
from Sonny.
“Just go up those damn stairs.”
Eiji shrugged. “If you say so.”
As they both made their way up those “damned stairs” and passed through the door, they ducked
in the corner of the door, crouching behind the walls to avoid being in the open. However, this
time they saw suited men around, which were strangely a lot of them in one area. They also
seemed to be pointing their guns their way, as if they were expecting them to be here.
“Sir, they’re here and we’ve got em’!” one of the henchmen shouted, which caused the others to
wander over and notice them as well. The boss himself made his way towards them with a grin
on his face, wanting to get a good look at them. As Sonny and Eiji saw their boss, it sent them
into shock.
“I-It can’t be!” Eiji exclaimed.
“Armin?!” Sonny remarked with an eyebrow raised.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m not him, although you are…half correct,” the man said.
“No…” Sonny replied. “Wait a minute. Now I know who you really are. You’re Manfred Hans, a
wanted man amongst the Black Suns, aren’t you?”
“Manfred Hans?” Eiji asked. “But wait a minute! What about Armin? Are you two brothers?”
“You could say…” Manfred explained, “But we are one and the same.”
It took Sonny a mere moment to connect the dots, only to realize something that made his eyes
widen.
“Impossible!” he exclaimed. “But how?! How did you do such a thing?!”
“Easy. Cloning mana.”
“C-Cloning mana?!” Eiji exclaimed in shock. “Then that means…”
 126

“That’s right,” Manfred explained. “For years, you two fought a person that didn’t exist. How
does it feel to know that you’ve been fighting a ghost all this time?”
“I figured that fight was somewhat easy,” Sonny remarked. “But the armor… The fighting… The
voice-”
“-Was all me. I created him with my mindset, but he was only half of me. Why not kill two birds
with one stone? He’d handle the drugs, and I’d handle the deep operations. That way, I’d be
unstoppable. Oh, and by the way… This city will be struggling through darkness.”
“What the hell does that mean?!” Eiji asked.
Sonny then raised his voice with anger. “Alright you son of a bitch, where’s Akeem and Kira?!”
“Who?”
“You know what I’m talking about!”
Manfred chuckled. “Oh, them. Why don’t you take a look for yourself? They’re over there tied
up.”
As he gestured in that direction, Sonny and Eiji walked over to see both Akeem and Kira tied up
and apparently bloodied, even unconscious as they seemed to have endured signs of bruising. For
Eiji, it was disheartening to see them like this, but for Sonny, he was beginning to feel something
dark bubbling from within.
“I figured that they were probably the key to leading you two here. You both took away one of
my assets, and I get to take away one of yours… Or two. You decide.”
There was no doubt that this scene was beginning to play a familiar image in Sonny’s mind,
which was something that he didn't want happening again. As he kneeled down with hands on
the floor, he was showing signs of what appeared to be an “out-of-body experience” as Eiji only
heard him growling like some demon, which alerted him. When he noticed that Sonny’s
breathing was becoming erratic followed by the lack of pupils and jittery body expressions, he
was terrified beyond belief and backed up.
“S-Sonny…!” he cried out. “Control yourself! Don’t give in!”
Apparently, his words didn’t ring in. To Manfred on the other hand, this was what he was waiting
for.
“You monster!” Eiji shouted as he turned in his direction. “You did this to trigger him, didn’t
you?!”
Manfred said nothing as he still kept that grin. His henchmen on the other hand were confused,
wondering what he meant. Even though Manfred didn’t say anything, Eiji had to find a way to
get through to Sonny before it was too late… Whatever that was, to say the least…
“Sonny! Don’t give into your darkness! He’s trying to get into your head!!”
 127

His words still fell on deaf ears as Sonny was still growling with gritted teeth showing and
shaking uncontrollably. But Eiji’s words would be too late as there was black mist surrounding
Sonny. His hat was knocked off by some strange force, which made some of the henchmen
tremble in fear, knowing something wasn’t right. Sonny’s head was twitching uncontrollably as
well, as if he was being possessed by some supernatural force beyond normal means.
“That’s right, become that ‘mess’ for me,” Manfred replied.
“Uh, sir?” one of his henchmen said. “Is that normal?”
“Very.”
“It’s too late…” Eiji uttered under his breath. Sonny’s face was showing signs of black markings
that stretched all over, along with his hands being covered in that same blackness. When it was
all done, Sonny let out a loud, inhumane roar that could be heard miles away despite being in the
factory. Said scream broke the factory’s windows and knocked some of the henchmen
unconscious. Somewhere in the factory, Advika and Stella heard the roar, which only Advika
would know of.
“Sonny!” Advika cried out and made a dash forward, which made Stella run after her with a
rather confused look on her face.
“What’s happening?!” Stella shouted.
“No time to explain! We have to get to Sonny before it’s too late!”
Stella decided not to ask further, noticing that Advika’s face was one of worry, which meant
something was wrong. In another part of the factory, a blue haired visor wearing woman
overheard the roaring and immediately ran into another door, knowing who it was. Back to
where the real event was taking place, Sonny stood back up, or what “seemed” to be Sonny as it
had a scowl on its face with pupiless eyes staring at Manfred and stood in a rather unhinged
position as one arm drooped more than the other.
His teeth seemed sharper than an ordinary human, and his hands were twitching at random
intervals. Said hands however…had longer nails and long spikes were sticking out from the back
of his coat75. His appearance terrified some of the henchmen, but only Manfred wasn’t fazed in
the slightest.
“Alright, boys!” Manfred shouted as he pointed at Sonny. “FIRE!!!”
His henchmen fired bullets at the seemingly intimidating Sonny that was walking towards
Manfred without any sound, which seemed to have no effect as the bullets passed through him
like they were entering water. He didn’t even stop as if the bullets never hit him at all. One
henchman threw his sword at him, which stabbed him, only for it to be absorbed through his
body. Again, he continued moving as if it never happened. Some of his henchmen ran for their
lives, not wanting to get mixed up in this.

75
This is the “Black Demon” that was mentioned.
 128

“That’s right… Come closer.”

Sonny continued edging even closer to Manfred, who didn’t even seem scared in the slightest, all
the while the henchmen that stayed continued pouring bullets into Sonny, which were being
sucked through his dark, mysterious body. Then he swung at Manfred, knocking him a few feet
away, bouncing around whilst his henchmen panicked. As soon as they crowded around
Manfred, Sonny let loose like a wild beast, knocking them away into walls with his arms. Some
of them were probably dead from the attack…
Manfred’s face was somewhat bloodied up, but this was what he was planning. Sonny was still
swinging like a madman, knocking more of them away in order to reach Manfred. When Sonny
managed to get closer to him, a man jumped in between them, acting as Manfred’s aid. Said man
appeared to have a large, gray cloud-like afro, a gold robe, a scar over his right eye along with
the cut and carried a white book titled in gold ‘Deliverance From Evil.’
The man brought Sonny even more rage, causing him to roar again, but much louder. As Sonny
charged in, the man pointed his fingers, which were glowing white and fired a bright ball of
energy, which penetrated through Sonny’s body, causing him to shine a bit. However, this “light”
was bringing in more harm than good as Sonny screamed in pain, causing him to grovel on the
floor as if his whole body was being wrecked internally and spiritually.
“No!” Eiji cried out. “What are you doing?! You’re hurting him!”
“...Hurting him?” the man questioned. “I’m merely saving a life. You would want the same thing,
wouldn’t you?”
“But not like this!”
The man gave Eiji a cold look. “...Fool. Your heart cares about this…‘monster’ roaming about in
this world and yet, he is quite disrespectful towards you. Then again, he’s not the only one
battling with two sides of himself…”
“...Thank goodness you showed up,” Manfred said respectfully. “I was about to die by that
creature’s claws.”
“You deserve it!” Eiji shouted. However, the cloud-haired man didn’t seem to care in the
slightest about it. But he did feel some traces of energy in the atmosphere that were from-
“...The police are coming,” the cloud-haired man inquired. Then he turned to Manfred. “I suggest
getting away from here.”
“No!” Eiji shouted as he pulled out his swords. “He’s not escaping this time!”
As Eiji ran towards Manfred as he was escaping, the cloud-haired man held out a hand, which
stopped Eiji short and hoisted him in the air as if he was being choked by some invisible force. It
forced Eiji to drop his swords to the ground and tried grasping his neck for invisible hands. Not
intending to kill him, the cloud-haired man let him go, dropping him to the ground to catch his
breath.
 129

“Do you have plans for this one?” the man asked.
“Yeah, imprisonment,” Manfred replied. “Boys, tie him up.”
His henchmen came towards Eiji, tying him up entirely as they escorted him out of the room.
Manfred then emitted flames from his hands, which allowed him to fly away as he exited
through a window with police sirens just about heading towards the building. Sonny on the other
hand was no longer screaming, with his face and hands no longer having the black markings on
him as he was unconscious. For whatever reason, he could sense two people heading to the room
where he was, taking his leave.
Entering the room from another side moments later was Advika and Stella, who were shocked to
see Sonny down on the floor.
“Sonny!” Advika cried out as she ran to his side. Stella also followed suit, wanting to see what
happened. Looking around, she noticed the men that were bloodied and bruised along with some
of the floors and walls torn.
“...We were probably too late,” she grimaced. However, her attention turned towards Akeem and
Kira, who were bloody and bruised around the face, bringing great horror to her face as she ran
towards them.
“Little one! Akeem!” She rocked them both, which they woke up from.
“...What’s…going on…?” Akeem asked as he came to his senses. Advika hugged them despite
the blood, glad to see them still alive.
“...That’s what I’d like to know,” Stella replied. Akeem and Kira noticed Sonny, who was on the
ground unconscious and ran to him shouting out his name.
“What happened to him?” Kira asked.
“...Never mind that, where’s Eiji?” Advika asked.
Stella tilted her head. “Who?”
“The Asian man,” Akeem responded.
Stella still didn’t understand. “...You’re gonna have to be more specific.”
Akeem sighed. “Carries dual swords?”
Stella shook her head. “Nope. Still not enough.”
Akeem had a look of disappointment on his face, not wanting to even say it at this point.
“...Jankey?”
Stella finally understood. “Oh yeah! I remember him now!”
Advika’s only thought was, “...It took her longer to recognize him by using a certain word.”
 130

“...Why don’t you join him?” a metallic voice asked from afar, which came from a white woman
standing in the doorway. However, her appearance was somewhat strange, as she was wearing
earpieces that looked to trace radio signals based on the three poles, with the ones on the end
being longer. One of her arms resembled a long black cannon, which was pointed at the group.
“...A cyborg?” Akeem asked.
“Don’t try anything funny,” she said. “If you do, I’ll blow your heads off.”
“...Better to meet with him than searching for nothing,” Advika advised.
“But what about Sonny?” Stella asked.
“Oh don’t worry,” the woman said. “He’ll be fine. Just join your other friend.”
“...You won’t hurt him, would you?” Kira asked.
“No harm shall come to him,” the woman reiterated. “I promise.”
“...We’ll go, but you’d better keep to your word, or else,” Advika warned. She led them out of
the door into a narrow corridor without a word. Moments later, the White Moons showed up,
with the leader being Chief Adriel himself. The team took a good look around and noticed the
suited men laying around covered in their own blood.
“...What the hell happened here?” one of them asked. Adriel noticed Sonny on the ground, which
to him would bring delight to see him in such pain. However, he knew something wasn’t right.
“Hey Chief,” one of them began as they saw Sonny, “Isn’t that…?”
“...Yeah,” Adriel bluntly replied. “Take him in. We need to question him on something.”
Appearing out of nowhere was a cloud-haired man from before carrying a book. It caught them
by surprise as if he came in from the winds themselves.
“...There’s no need to question anything,” the man said. “Take a good look around at the dead
men in the room. He is the true culprit for this.”
“...How can we trust you?” Adriel asked. “You came out of nowhere with words like some sort
of whisperer.”
“My words speak true like the lord. He is responsible for this.”
“...Even if so, then tell me how he’s responsible for the bombing of rich establishments? It’s still
continuing.”
“...You’re siding with him? I believe you and him have a history of disliking each other.”
“Evidence speaks louder than personal feelings. I will not trust the words from a random stranger
pretending to be some sort of ‘voice from God’.”
“Then I ask you this: Are you aware of the sins he carries? Destruction follows him everywhere.
The best course of action is to imprison those who bring such acts without fail.”
 131

“...Then I’ll ask you this: Do I give a damn? For all I know, he perhaps killed them in
self-defense. We don’t see eye-to-eye, but even I know he’d never kill for no reason.”
The cloud-haired man shook his head in disbelief. “...Pathetic. Refusing to see the inevitable. Do
with him however you want, but know this: He is the Black Demon, and he will bring
destruction to humanity.”
The man left as he came, which was from nowhere.
“...Take him in. You two will do the questioning, as I’d prefer not being in the same room as him.
As for the charges, I’ll see about that…”
***
Back at the apartment, Miriam Flordia was sitting on a stool drinking wine from her glass
whilst watching the news showing the most recent attacks happening. The television, being a
60-inch flat screen, was hanging above a wall in the corner, providing everyone a view. The
screen was viewing an area where the last bomb blew up. Reporting on the scene was an Indian
woman wearing a red coat and pants that would usually be worn by a man as she was holding a
microphone whilst gesturing towards the destruction itself of a now dilapidated building.
“Ten minutes ago, an explosion rang out, destroying the building that was Warwick Heights
behind me. The White Moons and police officers believe that the bombing attacks are similar to
the ones that were discovered to have been the work of Armin Hans.”
Miss Flordia took a sip of her red wine, pondering about the situation. “...I wonder where Sonny
is… I don’t like for him to be out there during this kind of event…”
However, there was a segment change in which they received another breaking news story,
which featured the picture to shift towards a man dressed in all white, seemingly posh despite the
situation.
“We’re receiving another breaking news story, which comes from the White Moons themselves.
They have a man in his 40s in their custody. White Moons Chief officer Adriel Calian had found
the man who was unconscious at an abandoned factory.”
“What the hell?!” Miss Flordia shouted as she stood up from her stool, staring at the television.
She knew very well who they were talking about. Speaking of, back at the White Moons
headquarters, Sonny was in a white room with a table and two chairs, appearing conscious
enough to get an understanding of where he was. Sitting in those two chairs were two White
Moon officers, both of which Sonny didn’t recognize. One of them was black, whilst the other
was white.
“Why am I being interrogated?!” he asked. “There’s a madman on the loose!”
“We were wondering about the bodies of the suited men and what’s been happening,” one of
them replied. But this didn’t give Sonny a good feeling.
 132

“...Oh no,” he muttered under his breath. He came to a realization of what had happened. “...I… I
lost control, didn’t I…?”
The two men raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant.
“...Uh, ‘lost control’?” one of them asked.
Sonny’s face seemed to be a mix of worry and panic. “Is Kira and Akeem okay?!”
“...Who?” the other officer asked, seemingly perplexed.
“...There were two people in there. I… I saw them on the ground with bloodied faces. I lost
control of myself and don’t know what happened next. It’s all a blur as this place is the only
recollection of my whereabouts so far.”
“...Do you know who the madman is?” one of the officers asked.
“...Yes. Manfred Hans.”
“Hmm…”
The officer scrolled through his laptop of what appeared to be criminal databases of various
offenders, some even wanted by the state. Typing in the man’s name Sonny provided, it yielded a
positive result. Walls of texts indicating his crimes were listed, such as Robbery, Illegal Weapons
Trading, Counterfeiting, and Illegal Drug Trafficking. But the officers noticed something very
strange about it.
“...I don’t believe it…” the other officer said. “...His crimes are similar to Armin Hans’s! That
means the Admiral’s theory is true! But how did he clone himself?!”
“...Cloning mana,” Sonny responded. “I don’t know much details about it, but I do know that
when me and Eggy were fighting the ‘fake’ Armin, he was weaker than before.”
“...And the disappearance…”
“...Was him calling the clone back to restore his own power.”
“...How dangerous is he?”
“Very. He crafts weapons for a living. Me and Eggy were tasked with trying to find him, which
was Armin instead. He was using the clone…to study us!”
“What about the drugs?”
“I don’t know. He was given them to sell. But can I ask this?”
“Ask away.”
“...Will I be charged?”
“That depends. Did you do it in self defense?”
“...Judging by how I lost control of myself in anger as some other being… I think it was.”
 133

“...The chief wanted to hold off on that.”

“…Moonjavo,” Sonny thought.
“There was also something that bothered both him and us. A strange man visited and tried
persuading the chief to arrest you, but the chief strangely went against it.”
“What?!” Sonny exclaimed. “Give me a description!”
“Well…,” one of them began, “...He had a gray afro resembling a cloud and wore a strange gold
coat. He was even carrying a book with him and had a burn mark over his right eye including the
scratch.”
This was all Sonny needed to get a bigger scope on it.
“...Son of a bitch,” he said. “...Cloudred.”
“...‘Cloudred’? You know him?”
“It goes far back from when I fought in that war. Let’s just say that he’s quite the troublesome
preacher.”
“We…kinda got that impression from him as well. Quite wordy, I might add.”
“Yeah, he has a habit of saying weird crap. Tends to get into your head too.” Sonny paused for a
moment, trying to connect the dots.
“...Were you given a call to head towards the factory?”
“Yes! How did-”
“...I believe he might have been your caller. All to get me in prison.”
“He mentioned that you were the…‘Black Demon’? And said that you were to bring destruction
to humanity… What did he mean by that?”
“...I can’t deny that ‘Black Demon’ thing. Whenever I get really angry, I lose control and become
‘that’. It’s pretty dangerous, as I’m not myself and can hurt anything like an uncontrollable beast.
But that ‘destruction’ to humanity drivel…is crap.”
“...Can’t deny that.”
“...Did you happen to bump into my friends whilst there?”
“...No. You were the only one there other than the dead men in suits.”
…That must mean…they were taken somewhere…, he thought. “Look, I’ll face my
consequences later. Right now, I have to stop Manfred before this country is blown to kingdom
come.”
“...Sure. We’ll let you go. But do you know where he’s headed?”
“...I can only think of one place…”
 134

***
Back at the abandoned factory, Eiji, Advika, Stella, Akeem and Kira were sitting in a
room that was made of nothing but bricks and concrete. There were no windows, and the only
exit was the metal door in front of them. They were also without their weapons, which were
confiscated from them by some of the henchmen that stayed behind.
“...Maaaaaan, this is boring!” Stella loudly proclaimed.
“We’ve gotta get out of here,” Akeem said.
“But how?” Kira asked. “They took all of our weapons!”
“...Not all of them,” Eiji said with a grin on his face. Even though he didn’t have his dual swords,
it seemed that he had something planned. He began reaching into his jacket pockets to pull out
what appeared to be small metallic balls that would fit in a person’s pocket. The only one who
recognized them was Advika, since she and Eiji fought together during that war and knew of its
usage.
“...What are those?” Stella asked, seemingly confused.
“Eiji, you brought those pocket bombs with you?” Advika asked.
“Damn right I did!” he boldly claimed. “That cyborg thought she was going to get away with it,
but these babies here are almost undetectable. Also made by me.”
“Amazing!” Akeem exclaimed.
Stella rolled her eyes. “Meh.”
“Now stand back, everyone. One bomb oughta blow that door wide open. But if it does, there’s
no point in wasting time, as that cyborg could be standing watch. So make a break for it, okay?”
Everyone nodded in agreement and stood a good distance away as Eiji pressed the head of a
pocket bomb and placed it by the door before making a break for the back wall like everyone
else. They covered their ears which after 10 seconds, the bomb exploded, blowing the door down
to the ground. Afterwards, the others took off running down the left corridor whilst Eiji looked
around, wondering where the cyborg woman was. Strangely, she was not in sight.
“...That’s strange,” Eiji thought. “Where is she…?” Little did they know that the cyborg woman
was in a mess of her own. She was facing off against a blue-haired, visor-wearing woman
carrying dual swords in her hands.
“...Who are you?” she asked the blue-haired woman.
“...Where’s Hillshire?” she asked back.
“Who?”
“...You’re in my way. By the time I-”
 135

Before she could finish her sentence, the cyborg woman’s arms turned into a long cannon and
fired electric balls, which the blue haired woman sliced them like they were nothing. But the
cyborg didn’t give up. Returning the cannon arm to human form, her other arm then turned into
an electrical cannon that charged up electricity and fired an electric beam, which the visor
wearing woman sliced the ground once to summon a wave of dirt that impacted the beam,
causing a mini explosion that rocked the factory. Seeing as how that didn’t work, the cyborg
woman noticed her walking slowly towards her, causing her breaths to become rapid with fear,
seeing an enemy she couldn’t take down at all.
“What the hell is she…?” The cyborg woman thought as she backed away. But her efforts were
useless as within the blink of an eye, the blue haired woman disappeared, only to be behind her
without any warning. As she turned around, her arms were sliced off, revealing circuit wires that
fizzled along with drops of red liquid that looked like blood, only it was more electric-like.
“...I’ll ask again. Where’s Hillshire?”
“H-He’s been taken by the White Moons! Don’t hurt me anymore!”
“...And what has your leader planned?”
“...T-To hurt the wallets of the rich…!”
The woman said nothing else and walked off as if she76 was now useless to her. The only thought
the cyborg woman had was…
“…Why do I sense intense hatred in her?”
***
Some time later in the cities of Vermont, an eager Manfred Hans was flying over the
destruction of rich facilities caused by his henchmen. Smoke and fires were burning just around,
which was what he was wanting. To see the destruction of the rich was his dream, and he got it.
Unbeknownst to him, his henchmen were being defeated by White Moon officers and taken in.
Some have committed suicide by cyanide tablets to prevent leaking further information about
their leader, which would already be too late as a certain “someone” had told them who he was.
But Manfred’s goal wasn’t with just the destruction of rich establishments. His real goal? To
make sure that the wealthy didn’t get the upper hand ever again. The way to do that was to pay a
visit to the most important place where all business would be conducted in the most humane
manner: Vermont’s Purple Collaboration. Considered the “General Assembly” of this world, it
was where people of all kinds of races came together to serve for Vermont’s future with the
power of law & order.
Why was Manfred going here? Well, what does the Purple Collaboration and the wealthy have in
common? Tax exemption. Something that Manfred hated and wanted to get rid of. He had an
idea in mind, which he sinisterly smiled at the opportunity. Inside, people wearing suits were
scrambling to figure out what to do since the situation outside was drastic. Some were carrying
76
…Yeah. I'm sorry if you were wanting more from her. Perhaps in another novel…
 136

stacks of papers, whilst others held digital tablets with information on bills and laws they were to
implement.
The Purple Collaboration didn’t look, well, purple at all except for the carpets and drapes on the
insides. It really looked to be a House of importance including the gold dome with a statue of a
man and woman holding swords up together on top to represent justice and equality. Manfred
landed on the step, to which he could easily walk inside thanks to the chaos he and his henchmen
managed to cause. However, a security guard spotted him approaching from the corner ever so
calmly inside with a grin on his face, signaling trouble.
“Hey!” the guard called out. Manfred gave no response and continued walking like no one was
even there.
“Hey you!”
Nothing.
“...Is he deaf?” the guard thought. He pondered about it for a second before reaching at his
holster for a gun and pointed it at him, which Manfred immediately noticed as he turned around.
Just by placing a metallic hand out, the guard’s gun was suddenly yanked away and drawn
towards his hand like a magnet, rendering him unarmed. In response, Manfred fired the gun at
the guard’s head, killing him instantly.
More security guards headed in the direction of where the shoot was heard, which led them to a
walking Manfred. Knowing he could be dangerous, they drew their weapons, only for Manfred
to pull them away like magnets by holding out his hands. With a gesture, he made the weapons
levitate for a few seconds before balling up his hands, crushing them into pieces as they fell to
the floor.
The guards knew what they were up against, so they charged at him, only to meet their demise
by a finger point charged with electricity that blasted the carpets, shocking them to death as they
screamed until their breaths left their bodies. Only thing left of them were charred bodies. He
continued walking as if nothing happened until he reached the room of importance itself. The
peoples’ attention were drawn towards the sounds of screaming followed by sounds of electricity
buzzing about behind the double doors.
Some were worried about the threat that was coming closer to them, and as the double doors
opened, they saw Manfred, now without a smile on his face as if the place he was visiting was a
great disappointment. Some of them were attempting to grab their phones, only for Manfred to
place his hands out once again to draw everyone’s cellphones to him and by balling up his fists,
he crushed them into pieces, dropping them to the floor for them to see.
“Who are you?!” one man shouted.
“Why are you attacking the Purple Collaboration?!” a woman shouted.
 137

“...What a disappointment,” Manfred responded. “They should call this the circus. Now, no one’s
leaving the room, and no one’s going to be calling for help. Any attempt to do so, and this
building will go boom.”
“You’re a monster!” another man shouted.
“...You know what?” Manfred began. “...I think it’s time for a change in politics.”
He placed his hands down on the carpet, emitting electrifying shocks to everyone in the room,
killing all of them instantly except one, who was the Head Chair.
“...You killed this place’s members!” the Head Chair shouted.
“...Good. Maybe I can use you to make a point.”
“...What?”
“You people think you’re so high and mighty behind those damn chairs and those damn laws.
Your bills and laws aren’t meant to keep everyone in check. It’s to give the rich more power and
keep the poor down.”
“That’s not true-”
“Shut the hell up! Society failed me. The rich get fatter with no effort, and the poor work so hard
for nothing. You and this damn Collaboration out of all people are the reason why.”
“So you’re the one who’s behind all the bombings!”
“I figured that since the rich don’t care about people in general except those wealthy like them,
I’d hit them where it hurts the most: their wallets.”
“You realize you’re causing our economy to go broke, right?!”
“Much better so that the field is leveled for everyone. And now I can at least say goodbye to the
man who started it all.”
He pointed a finger at the head chair as electricity sparked in his fingertip, getting ready to fire
until he heard a voice shout “Stop!” Turning around, he saw Sonny staring at him with fierce
eyes and pointing a gun at him. Of course, Manfred grinned, knowing that seeing Sonny again
would yield a different result. And the best part for him? He was alone.
“...Hillshire!” he boldly proclaimed. “I thought you were arrested for killing my henchmen.
Surprising to see you get here so fast. Where’s Monkey-boy? Turned tail and hid in the trees?”
“I’m here to pound that face of yours in,” Sonny retorted. “As for Eggy…I don’t know. And
never mind me getting here. I’m going to stop you regardless of how I feel about the situation. I
can’t play video games if you’re out here destroying the flow of the economy. ”
“Then let’s see you try to kill me right here, right now. I’m not Armin, you know.”
 138

Not wasting a second, Sonny fired, only for Manfred to place one hand out, stopping the bullet in
mid-air by some kind of force.
“What?!” he exclaimed. Then Manfred drew his guns away with a hand and crushed them into
pieces.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Manfred said. “Those were your greatest weapons, weren’t they? I didn’t
mean to break them like that.”
“...You’re going to pay for doing something to me earlier, especially with Akeem and Kira.”
“...Funny. I never pictured you as a caring man. You were more like a rampaging monster to me.
Monsters don’t deserve to have people around.”
“...Now you’re starting to sound like someone I truly hate.”
“You and Monkey-boy are powerless against me. In fact, here!”
He pointed a finger filled with electricity at the Head Chair and fired, piercing through his chest
to kill him.
“Dammit!” Sonny cursed. He had to get closer to him, and close he tried doing as he rushed
towards him. Knowing where this was going, Manfred placed his hands down on the carpet,
letting loose an electric blast that knocked Sonny off his feet, sending him bouncing down the
hall.
“You’ve gotten soft, Hillshire! What happened to that Black Demon I met earlier? Doesn’t seem
like he wants to come out again!”
As Manfred got closer to him, he fired an electric bullet shaped mana to his chest, wounding him
badly as he groaned in pain. Sonny grasped onto his chest to try to stop the pain, knowing just
how badly it would be if it reached ever so slightly towards his heart, or worse, his throat.
“...There’s nothing more satisfying than to inflict pain upon you for ruining my business,”
Manfred stated. “But then again, that’s only a taste of it.” He then kicked him in the face. As he
tried again, Sonny grabbed his foot to lift his leg, tumbling him over.
“...Don’t think you’re getting away with this,” Sonny said.
“...Oh, but you see…I have.”
“...And to what victory?”
“Everything.” Manfred threw a punch, only for Sonny to move his head to the side and punch
him in the face. In retaliation, Manfred fired another electrical bullet to his chest, causing him to
groan in pain even more. This time, however, Manfred wasn’t smiling.
“...I’d love to kill you, but I have a better idea in mind. I’m going to learn from Armin
and…leave you alone as I continue to do damage.”
 139

Manfred then flew off, leaving a badly wounded Sonny to perish on his own, except…he didn’t.
Still breathing and clinging onto his life, Sonny got back up, although he was struggling as he
had two holes in his chest.
“...That psychopath aims as bad as he fights…” he uttered. A lone security guard, being female,
saw him in such a bad state that she called out to him as she rushed to his side. A minute later, he
was assisted by White Moon officers, who escorted him to a local hospital. 30 minutes later,
Sonny awoke to see his friends there, which shocked him as he didn’t expect to see them again.
“Sonny!” Eiji cried out, seeing that his friend recovered. However, Stella jumped onto Sonny’s
bed, attempting to give him a hug until he pushed her off him.
“...Dammit, stalker!” Sonny uttered out, feeling the pain from his chest wounds. He then
remembered knowing what happened after he blacked out. But there was one thing that had
confused him.
“...How did you guys know I was here?” he asked.
“Azalea told us,” Akeem said.
“Akeem… Kira… You’re both alright.”
“…Sonny?” Advika said. “...Are you…feeling okay?”
“I am. How’s Vermont so far?”
“In trouble,” Eiji said. “Manfred’s bombing more rich-owned businesses including banks, as well
as anyone who’s a banker.”
“...Manfred?” Advika asked.
“Remember Armin?” Eiji reminded her.
“Oh, him. Wait… How does Armin…? U-Unless… Did he clone himself?”
“Cloning?” Stella asked.
“Cloning mana, specifically,” Eiji reassured. “After all this time… We were chasing after a fake
person that didn’t even exist…”
“...That’s only half of it,” Sonny said. “Manfred is far more potent now that he has his full
strength again.
“What do you mean by that?” Eiji asked.
“Eiji, I would advise against using swords. My guns are in pieces because of him, and worst of
all… The son of a bitch can fly!”
“Eh?!” Akeem shouted. “How?!”
 140

“I dunno. You’ve seen ‘Iron Madam77’, right?”

“Oh. He flies using his hands… That’s…interesting.”
“...And I can’t sit here guessing what that maniac and his goons will blow up next.”
“But Mr Hillshire…” Kira started, “You’re still hurt.”
“...Kira, Vermont’s in danger right now. I know the White Moons are keeping him at bay. But
he’ll continue until all the world’s rich establishments are destroyed, and it won’t be just
Vermont. Not to mention, there’s a game on sale I want to buy on Sunday.”
“‘Demon Queen: Depths of Hell78’?” Akeem asked as Sonny smiled.
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s bust him out of here!” Stella said.
“How?” Eiji asked.
“Uh…”
“...Just escort me out of here with a jacket over my head. The staff’s dumb, anyway.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll foot the bill,” Advika said.
“First thing’s first: Take me home. There’s something I need to grab…”
***
Somewhere in Vermont, the White Moons were attempting to stop Manfred Hans down
by firing bullets at him, only for the efforts to be fruitless as he raised a hand and stopped the
bullets, throwing them back at the officers, killing some of them and wounding others.
“...Fools,” he said under his breath.
“How skillful is he?!” one member shouted. Another explosion rang out, demolishing another
rich-owned building.
“Dammit,” one of the chief officers uttered. “If we don’t stop him and his henchmen, I feel as
though it won’t just be Vermont, but rather this country itself.”
From in the skies above, military jets were called in to stop the threat by the government
themselves. One of them fired a missile at Manfred, only for him to point a finger filled with
electricity and fired an electric mana-infused bullet, blowing up the missile like it was nothing.

77
A superhero parody of “Iron Man”, the titular protagonist of his series from the Marvel comics and movie
franchise.
78
A made-up game by me. Supposed to be the sequel of the first two games “Demon Queen” and “Demon Queen:
The Underworld”.
 141

“...Annoying flies,” he muttered. One of the officers on the ground held an EMP Rifle and fired
an electromagnetic force at him, hoping to disable his mechanical parts. However, the pulse
seemed to be drawn towards him, which he welcomed. It electrified his body, but instead of
either shutting him down or shocking him, it seemed to be magnifying his powers, giving him an
electric boost.
“Sir, the EMP doesn’t work!” one of the officers said.
“I see that!” the chief shouted. But Manfred turned his attention towards the two Military jets
and with two fingers pointed, he fired a great electric beam that destroyed the two jets like they
were nothing. But knowing he couldn’t stay too long in the air, he floated back down onto a
rooftop to recharge.
“...I can hear the rich crying now,” he said. “Soon, they won’t have a leg to stand on.” He then
received a call from someone he knew, which he answered without hesitation.
“...Mikallia79?” he asked.
“...Sir, the prisoners have fled!” she said. “They must’ve escaped when I got preoccupied by that
woman!”
“...A woman?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.
“...The woman I encountered must’ve been very strong as I couldn’t land a single bullet on her
and she cut my cybernetic arm off like it was nothing!”
This…woman she was mentioning made him ponder a bit.
“...Did she have blue hair?” he asked.
“Y-Yes. How did you know-”
He interrupted her. “...That might’ve been the same woman Armin faced off with. No wonder
Hillshire and Monkey-boy had an easier time with him.”
“But never mind that. Are the wealthy places being destroyed as you wish?”
“Yes. A dream come true. If I’m to be stopped, it’ll be too late. I’ve already won. Hillshire and
Monkey-boy can’t stop me.”
“...What will you do now since you’ve completed your goal?”
“Once I’m done here, me and my henchmen are going to the next state, which is Washington.
There, I’ll truly destroy the foundation of this country and set free the unfortunate.”
***

79
The name of the cyborg that Advika, Stella, Akeem and Kira had met. Also escorted them into a cell to hold them
there.
 142

Chapter 12: If Someone Has an Item on Sale To Get,

Don’t Mess With Their Day
As Vermont’s wealthy-owned establishments were being bombed by Manfred Hans and
his henchmen in the night, the government decided to take measures to ensure the safety of the
citizens by the use of the Military. As Sonny attempted to stop Manfred, he realized that he was
far more skilled than his clone. In a hospital where he lay after coming close to near death,
Sonny and his friends had to sneak out to defeat Manfred once and for all, but first, they had to
make a pit stop to the apartment, where Sonny believes that he needed to get something…
Whilst that was going on, the White Moons and the police were keeping Manfred at bay…if they
can, that is. Their job was hard enough as is, since not only they had to deal with Manfred, but
also the explosions that targeted rich-owned businesses and banks. Police were in shootouts with
the henchmen, providing a life or death response on both ends. There already were casualties, as
some of the henchmen had been killed either by the White Moons themselves, the police, or by
suicide. Some of the White Moon officers and the police were also killed by the henchmen, since
some of them were caught off-guard.
“Dammit, when is this madness going to end?!” shouted a police officer as he was firing bullets
from his rifle at a henchman before he was shot in the head, dropping his rifle in the process.
Two other officers took his place, shooting the same henchman in the head as he dropped his
weapon as well. Then they observed the downed officer’s wounds, only to see that he wasn’t
responding.
“Damn,” one of them cursed under their breath. But they overheard a radio call, which sounded
like:
Massive casualty at the Collaboration. Members of the committees including the head-chair were
killed, along with security officers. I repeat: Massive casualty at the Collaboration. Members of
the committees including the head-chair were killed, along with security officers. Suspect still at
large.
“Son of a bitch!” one of them shouted. “Our economy’s going to be owing a massive sum after
all this is over!”
“Calm down,” the other officer assured him. “I’m sure there’s a way to bounce back.”
“No there isn’t! We’re screwed! This country’s already in debt as it is!”
“Focus on the enemy!” another officer shouted. They set aside their issues and focused on taking
down the henchmen. Back at the apartment, Sonny was being escorted up the stairs by both Eiji
and Akeem, with Kira, Stella and Advika sticking behind for support. From outside the window
of the bar below, Miss Flordia noticed them going up the stairs, hoping that Sonny would be
okay.
 143

As they got inside, Sonny let them go, assuring them that he could still walk. Looking around,
the place was still the same, since the couch, television and video games were left untouched.
There wasn’t much worth stealing away. But Sonny headed to his room, which consisted of a
single bed and lamp above a nightstand near it. Pulling the drawer of the nightstand, he saw a
pair of leather gauntlets that seem more battle-oriented. He remembered what they were, which
was something he wore during his time as a Black Sun member.
Carefully slipping the gloves inside his coat pocket, Sonny believed that this would help him out.
But before he could make it out, he heard a voice call out to him from outside, knowing who it
was. Bursting into his room was Miss Flordia herself, who noticed that he was shot in the chest,
which the holes were somewhat semi-repaired by some sort of mana80.
“Sonny!” she cried out, worried about his condition. “You’ve been shot?!”
“Yeah, but it’s-”
“It’s a very big deal! You’re out there getting hurt! You can’t just die on me! I’ve already lost one
man. I don’t need to lose you too.”
Sonny placed a hand on her shoulder. “Gran, I assure you-”
“No! I was hoping you’d be able to bring Akeem and Kira back, which you did, but seeing you
get hurt like this…I just wanted you to come home safely. And not to mention, why were you
being pulled into the White Moons station?”
“They needed answers.”
Miss Flordia sighed. “...I don’t get it. You’re always putting yourself in danger. I just wish you
didn’t have to go out there, even as of right now to combat some psychopathic lunatic.”
“...I get it, Gran. But even if I’m still hurt, I can’t sit here whilst said maniac is on the loose. If
the police, or the White Moons or the Military can’t stop him, then who will? Me and Eiji were
probably the ones at fault, since we never knew he existed.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
“...Gran, I wish I could explain it. But during our time in the Black Suns, we took down Armin
Hans, and we believed it was case closed. But we were oblivious to the man known as ‘Manfred
Hans’. He’s the true mastermind behind this, and I feel like we should stop him.”
“Sonny, please! I don’t want you going out there!”
“Gran, please hear me out! If me and Eiji don’t stop him, he won’t just stop at Vermont. He’ll
target the highest place of order, which is Washington’s foundation. And we’re the only ones
who know about him.”

80
Healing mama, to be specific. Heals the user, which slowly restores wounds to make it look like it never
happened. Used mostly by doctors.
 144

He placed his hands on her shoulder. “...We’ll come out of this alive, I promise. Just stay here
with Akeem and Kira.”
Gran sighed as she looked at him worryingly, knowing that talking him out of it was no use.
“...Fine. Go ahead. But don’t get shot again. And make sure to kick his ass.”
Sonny chuckled. “...I’m gonna do just that.”
Miss Flordia hugged him, making sure that he could still be around for her. In the living room,
Eiji and Advika, along with Stella, Akeem and Kira were watching the latest news showing the
White Moons officers and the police fighting against Manfred’s henchmen in shootouts, swords
and bare-knuckle brawling.
“Will our state ever recover?” Akeem asked.
“At this point, probably not,” Advika replied. “When there’s a massive destruction of
government property, things get a lot more expensive and it’s harder to borrow money when it’s
already in debt.”
Sonny and Miss Flordia came from his bedroom, drawing all eyes to them.
“Let’s go, you three,” Sonny said as he looked at Eiji, Advika, and Stella.
“You got those gauntlets?” Eiji asked.
“Yeah. Eiji, you still got those Pocket Bombs?”
Eiji shook his jacket. “Never leave home without it.”
“...And Advika?”
“My flasks?” she asked on his behalf. “Yeah.”
“Flasks?” Stella asked. “What are they for?”
“You’ll see,” she assured her with a smile.
Stella smiled. “Oh, okay.” She then pulled out her whip and mace. “Well, I have my whip and
mace just in case!”
“...We’re set. Akeem and Kira, stay here with Gran, okay?”
“Sure Mr. Hillshire,” they responded in unison. Sonny hugged them both, making sure that he
wouldn't part on dead terms.
“Let’s go kick his ass.”
As Sonny and the others ran out of the apartment, Azalea was standing on the rooftops watching
them leave down the streets. However, she didn't follow him. She could've, more likely to be of
some assistance, but she didn't budge an inch. However, what she had witnessed when he was
escorted home and what she had done for his allies was that he valued the people closest to him.
She could understand his actions, if only for a minute.
 145

“... Don't die.”

***
On a rooftop somewhere in a city that was burning, a dark-skinned man with a gray
colored cloud-like afro and wearing golden robes stood atop a roof. He was reading from his
book as he looked at the destruction without so much of a smile, and he was not alone. Standing
by him was a pale-faced woman with blue hair that looked to be “wet” wearing a white spotted,
blue dress with the matching blue flats. She carried a yellow umbrella decorated in sunflowers
that she had opened to stand under despite it not raining.
Her facial expression was more stoic as her eyes and lips were more relaxed, but not in the
smiling sense. She was also somewhat shorter than the man, only by a foot.
“...This is the first sign of mankind’s destruction,” the cloud-haired man said. He then shook his
head in disappointment. “Pitiful. Those two carry sins well beyond evil.”
“Then why help them?”
“To see if this can be resolved by that demon. It's a trial that he has to overcome.”
“...Those fires, no matter how big or small, will always be a reminder of the darkness of
humanity,” the woman spoke, but rather in a flat tone.
“...The Supreme One is most displeased at the moment. I wonder if humanity can fix this.”
“They’re gonna need a miracle…and a shower once this is over…”
***
Elsewhere at a square in Vermont, Admiral Gant was answering questions from the local
press. Given this, there was no doubt that he was being pressured by the public to give reassuring
statements in order to keep people from worrying about their lives.
“Admiral Gant, how much longer will it take for the White Moons and the police to stop the
madman behind the attack?” one reporter asked as he pointed a mic towards him.
“I don’t know,” he said as more reporters were wanting answers. “We’re doing the best we can. I
can assure you that based on these attacks, the mastermind is targeting wealthy-owned
businesses and banks. The middle and low class do not have to worry.”
“Admiral Gant, what if they target your station or any police station next?” asked another
reporter.
“Our station is being well-guarded. But all we ask is that those who are still outside to stay
indoors until this is all over.”
“Admiral Gant, is it true that this is the work of the same madman from the counterfeiting
scandal?” asked a female reporter.
 146

“We are still not sure. We have an investigation in progress, and until we get the full details, we
cannot confirm if this is one and the same.”
Admiral Gant sighed, knowing that he had been at this for about an hour. It was one thing being
a White Moons Admiral, but the biggest weight that he would have to carry would be to assure
the public of what not to do during a crisis like this one. The only words he could say under his
breath were…
“...I’m gonna need an aspirin after this is over…”
***
In a city on the rooftop, Manfred was watching his glorious destruction carried out with a
smile on his face. He felt powerful, and no one could stop him at this very moment. An
explosion rang out from nearby, which was a local bank. He could still hear gunfire, along with
screams. Looking down at the streets, he saw military tanks coming to the scene, suggesting that
this was a greater threat than before. He even heard a military helicopter flying close to him with
a man pointing a rifle at him. In response to this, he raised a hand and pulled the rifle away,
causing the man to fall to the ground and break it into pieces. Then he fired an electric ball from
his hand at the helicopter’s blades, causing it to swerve erratically before it crashed into another
building, killing the pilot.
As the man got up, Manfred pointed a hand to fire an electric-fused bullet at his heart, killing
him instantly.
“This is the Military!” a male voice responded. “Surrender now, or you’ll die a death far more
gruesome than WW2!”
“...Idiots,” he mumbled under his breath. He paid no attention to them and flew off, calling a
henchman about the situation.
“How many establishments left?” he asked.
“Two,” the henchman answered.
“Marvelous. I can hear their wallets crying.”
He then hung up as he landed on another rooftop that didn’t seem accessible by any floor. He
figured that there would be no one to get up there except a military jet or helicopter.
“No one can stop me.”
***
Somewhere away from the chaos in Vermont, Sonny, Eiji, Advika and Stella were in a
yellow pickup truck. The person who owned it? Stella, of course. Her parents gave her the truck
this year after getting her license. However…she wasn’t a very good driver as she swerved every
way on the road, unable to drive straight, making Sonny, Eiji and Advika nervous to no end.
Other cars trying to flee the chaos had to move out of her way for fear of either endangering
themselves, or worse, her.
 147

“Who the hell turned you loose with a goddamn truck?!” Sonny shouted as he was being
bounced somewhat to his sides, even hitting Eiji a couple times in the head.
“My parents gave me this!” she exclaimed. “I passed my driver’s license earlier this year!”
“Has anyone ever told you that you can’t drive?!” Eiji shouted. “This feels like a roller coaster
ride!”
“My parents said I can drive very well,” she stated. Sonny and Eiji looked at each other in
disbelief, knowing something was wrong with that statement.
“They must be blind as a goddamn bat!” Sonny said. “And stupid!”
“L-Let’s enjoy the ride whilst we still can,” Advika nervously replied.
“I’m more surprised that despite the bumps we’ve hit along the way, we haven’t gone off-course
or crashed!” Eiji shouted.
As the truck kept swerving just about on the road, they saw bodies of White Moons officers,
police, and Manfred’s henchmen littered about on the street and sidewalks.
“Damn, this looks more like a warzone,” Eiji commented as he looked upon the destruction.
“...I’m surprised Manfred isn’t wearing the Infinity Gauntlet right now,” Sonny replied.
“Why? You wanted him to snap half the world away?” Eiji asked.
“...What’s an Infinity Gauntlet?” Advika asked, curious about their conversation.
“It’s what Manos81 wore in that movie ‘Infinity Zone82’ to wipe out half the universe,” Stella
responded.
“...Sounds terrible,” Advika said.
“The sequel after it sucked,” Sonny said.
“It also left a lot of plot holes that they were too lazy to fix,” Eiji commented.
“Don’t forget character,” Sonny added.
“I’m sorry, but how does that relate to what’s happening now?” Advika asked, seemingly
confused.
“Well, it feels like we’re fighting against a powerful foe,” Sonny answered.
“Oh,” Advika nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Uh, Sonny?” Eiji asked. “Where would Manfred be right now?”
“...There’s no point in going to the Collaboration,” Sonny answered. “I’d say…follow the trail of
bodies.”
81
A parody of the character Thanos from the Marvel movie series.
82
A parody of the Marvel movie “Avengers: Infinity War”.
 148

“Sounds creepy,” Stella said.

“Well, that’s what it’s going to be when we catch up to him,” Sonny said. Advika noticed Chief
Adriel on the streets holding a shotgun as he was hiding behind a police wall for cover.
“Stella, stop,” Advika said, and stop Stella did as she caused the truck to brake rather hard on the
concrete to the point where Chief Adriel himself heard and saw it coming his way and jumped to
nearly avoid getting hit, rolling to safety. Of course-
“Dammit, stalker!” Sonny shouted. “You should’ve ran him over!”
“I’m sorry!” Stella cried out.
“...Sonny,” Advika said in a rather concerned, yet stern voice as she met his eyes.
“Jeez, man, you’ve got issues!” Eiji said, seemingly concerned.
“It’s not my fault his handiwork taints my soul,” Sonny said. Advika came out of the truck,
which brightened the chief’s face as he got up to meet her eyes.
“The pretty angel returns,” he said. “What brings you to this horrifying place?”
“You’re a White Moons chief, right?” she asked. “Can you take us to where this ‘Manfred’
person is?”
Chief Adriel kneeled in front of her like he was a soldier at her beck and call. “Anything for you,
my beautiful butterfly.”
“Stop being corny, Moonjavo!” Sonny shouted from the window, to which Adriel’s eyes were
twitching upon seeing him again.
“...I refuse to ride with that moron,” he said.
“Okay, seriously. What happened between you two?”
“...I’d rather not say. But I’ll escort you to where you need to go.”
Advika sighed and shook her head as Adriel headed towards a police car, attempting to call his
fellow officers for Manfred’s current location. After that was all said and done, he rode off, with
Stella following after him.
“...Should’ve ran his ass over,” Sonny muttered. “Could’ve made him look like his ancestors…”
“Sonny,” Advika said, but in a more forceful tone. “What is going on between you two? Every
time you both meet, you’re always bickering and coming to blows.”
“...He started it,” Sonny answered. Advika wasn’t buying it for one second.
“...I’ll let it slide, but I want an answer eventually.” Advika assured. Thirty minutes later, Adriel
had taken them to where they were needed, which was the source of the warzone itself. Adriel
parked the car somewhere safer, as did Stella, almost hitting a wall.
 149

“Did you go to the Gotham Academy of driving?” Sonny asked.

“Nope!” Stella exclaimed.
“...Never mind. Let’s go.”
The group exited the truck with weapons in hand, witnessing military tanks and lots of police,
along with White Moon officers attempting to bring Manfred down. Adriel exited the car with
both a revolver and a shotgun in hand.
“He’s up there,” Adriel pointed out. “We don’t know why, but it’s hard to reach him unless the
military’s jets and helicopters were used, but the military doesn’t want to waste any more money
with their destroyed toys, so we’re on our own.”
“...We’re coming for you, you crazed lunatic,” Sonny said. “Advika. Stalker. Cover us.”
Sonny and Eiji charged forward with Sonny picking up a dead officer’s pistol from his holster for
protection and began firing at multiple henchmen, striking them in the chest. Chief Adriel on the
other hand was providing cover for both Advika and Stella as they were moving in closely. From
Stella’s side, a henchman with a pistol was about to fire until he was shot by Adriel himself,
giving them both relief.
Stella saw another henchman and used a whip to pull him towards her, then swung her mace at
him, knocking him out cold. Advika then pointed her bazooka at the henchmen horde and fired
an orange ball that blew them away, clearing a path. When Sonny and Eiji reached the area, they
had to get his attention somehow.
“Hey, Manfred!” Sonny called out to him. “Come face me, you coward!”
“And me!” Eiji added.
“You two show up at last together, eh?” he replied. “Good. It’s going to be a funeral for the both
of you.”
“Says you!” Sonny retorted. “Come face me like a man!”
“I don’t stoop to your level. If you wanna fight me, get your asses up here.”
“...We have to get up there,” Sonny said, seeing as how Manfred wasn't budging an inch.
“I’ve got an idea,” Eiji proposed.
“Let’s hear it, egghead83.”
“Advika’s air blast from a flask could be our only solution, but it’s very risky.”
“There’s a chance we’ll die, right?”
“Yeah.”

83
There's a reason why Eiji is called an “egghead”. You’ve probably figured it out by now.
 150

“Advika!” Sonny called out to her.

“Yeah!” she answered back.
“How powerful of an air blast you can make from a flask?”
“Perhaps 200 points of pressure!”
“...That’ll be enough to get us on top of the building,” Eiji calculated.
“We can’t waste this opportunity. Advika! Fire when ready!”
“Right!”
She put down her bazooka to pull out a flask and three test tubes from her bag, with one of them
having a deep blue liquid in it, and the other two being white. She then put on gloves and
uncorked them, mixing the three into a flask and corked it, shaking it up before she saw the
desired color she needed. With a good toss, the flask landed in front of Sonny and Eiji, which
created a powerful current of wind that lifted up the debris as high as the towers themselves.
“...Ready?”
“Yeah.”
They went towards it and jumped, being taken in with the current itself as it propelled them up
enough to see where Manfred was. But there was one thing they had to be aware of, which they
were. Manfred was already pointing a hand in their direction, which increased the danger as they
dropped closer towards him.
“We can’t counter him from the air!” Sonny said.
“Yes we can!” Eiji shouted. He pulled out a pocket bomb from his jacket pocket and tossed it at
Manfred, ensuring that it would hit. But it didn’t quite reach him as it blew up a few feet away.
But it did provide them enough cover to land safely on the roof.
“So you two finally showed up together,” he said.
“We did it once before, but you had your guards around,” Sonny stated. “Now we’ll see how
tough you really are without them.”
“And no more cowardly tricks!” Eiji said as he was going forward with swords ready. “It’s going
to end right here, right now.”
“Too bad, Monkey-boy!” he said as he raised his hands, drawing Eiji’s swords towards him and
tossed them off the building. “You’re unarmed!”
“So you say!” he shouted as he pulled out a pocket bomb. Manfred prepared to raise a hand to
draw whatever it was he had, which Eiji wanted. As he pressed the button, he tossed the bomb, to
which Manfred wanted to draw more weapons away, but the second he heard the bomb ticking,
he placed his hand down, dropping the bomb to the floor as it exploded, rocking the building, A
piece of the top dropped onto the roads below, creating debris. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
 151

“You’ve got some dangerous weapons, Monkey-boy!” Manfred shouted. “Too bad they’re from
an insane person like you!”
“I’m a genius, you son of a bitch!” Eiji stated. Manfred pointed his finger at him, charging the tip
with electricity. As he fired, Sonny and Eiji split up randomly, running towards him. For Eiji, he
could only rely on kicks as should he use any more Pocket Bombs, he could endanger himself
and Sonny, never mind Manfred if they exploded.
“It’s not too ‘genius’ if you’re going to endanger your partner in crime over there,” he explained.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on it!”
Manfred began firing rapid electric shots at them, forcing them to keep their distance. It would
be hard to get close enough to him.
“Dammit!” Sonny cursed. “I don’t have a weapon.” But then he remembered something. He
pulled from his jacket pocket two pairs of leather gauntlets and a set of keys to his apartment. He
placed the keys in one of his gauntlets before putting them on without Manfred paying any
attention.
“Come fight me like a man!” Sonny shouted as he ran towards him, to which Manfred placed
both hands at them, one being used to fire an electric blast at Eiji and another to draw Sonny
towards him, noticing his weapons.
“Oh, is that something for me to take?” he asked as he pulled Sonny closer. But this worked to
Sonny’s advantage as that was what he was wanting. Holding the gauntlet with the keys in it up,
he readied his other fist and as Manfred got him, Sonny threw a punch to his face, knocking him
to the ground.
“What the hell?!” Manfred exclaimed in surprise as he felt his face.
“My gauntlets are not made of metal,” Sonny stated.
“But how did I-”
With a smile, Sonny shook the leather gauntlet that had his keys in it, which gave Manfred the
answer.
“So that’s why. In that case, I’m going to ensure you don’t do that again!”
“Then fight me, man to man, unless you’re scared?”
“Pfft. I ain’t scared of you. I’ve won, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”
“You’re right. There isn’t a thing I can do about it. You’ve already caused enough trouble. But I
know this. There’s a sale this Sunday.”
“What the hell does that have to do with this situation?”
“Everything. If you cause more trouble, then I’ll never get it, and it’s one of my favorite games.”
 152

Growing somewhat enraged, Manfred fired more electric shots at Sonny, which worked for Eiji
as he was serving as a distraction. Sneaking up from behind, Eiji held a Pocket Bomb, wanting to
set it the second he got close enough to plant it on Manfred. However, Manfred turned around,
blowing his cover. Without using any ounce of mana, he slapped Eiji, knocking him a few feet
away. To him, this was getting irritating.
“Enough!!” he shouted. He then took to the air, only emitting rocket energy from his back as
another explosion rang out, being that of another bank. He placed both of his hands out, charging
an electric attack that would be somewhat potent enough to deal with his enemies. Looking at the
flooring of the roof, he grinned, knowing what they were standing on.
“Coward!” Sonny shouted.
“What’s he doing…?” Eiji asked as his words trailed off.
“I’m gonna jumpstart your entire souls!” he shouted as he fired an electric blast that touched the
metal roof grounding, electrocuting both Sonny and Eiji to the point where not only they
screamed, but they stumbled a few feet back before dropping to the ground. The electricity
emitted was far greater than expected. Their bodies were shaking completely from nerves alone,
and they could feel their hearts beating out faster and more irregular, close to death. Then their
consciousness began fading, but they had to keep fighting it.
“I’ve got a great idea!” Manfred shouted as he looked at them. “A way to end both of you in one
fell swoop! I’m gonna level this building and you both, and you’ll never be heard from again!”
His hands began charging very powerful electricity, which spelled trouble for them. They were
still fighting their irregular nerves, which they could at least feel a bit of movement, but not
enough to alert them in time. With so much power packed into his hands, Manfred could feel
victory in his hands. However, he saw a large, orange orb fired in his direction, causing him to
move left to avoid it. When he looked down, he saw who fired it.
“That damned bazooka woman!” he uttered. He wanted to deal with her, but knew that he had to
take care of his greatest enemies first.
“...She’s no threat. She’s just someone with a weapon.”
He reached into his coat pocket and tossed a grenade down at Advika, who saw it coming from a
distance and ran with her bazooka on her back. When it landed, it exploded as it hit the concrete,
sending debris everywhere. Several of his henchmen saw her running and pointed guns at her
until they were shot by Chief Adriel himself, dropping their weapons in the process
“Are you alright?!” he called out to her.
“I’m fine-”
Before she could finish, a henchman was within close range of her and was about to fire until a
mace went flying his way, knocking him out cold. Standing by the wall of the building where
Sonny and Eiji were fighting was Stella herself. It seemed that she had some sort of idea.
 153

“Hurry up this way!” she shouted, which Advika did and got to her side safely. When the smoke
cleared, Adriel made his way towards the girls whilst watching his back.
“Everyone okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Advika said.
“We’ve got to get up there!” Stella said.
“But this building may collapse,” Adriel warned. “We’d be in as much trouble as those two are.”
“Isn’t there a way to the roof?” Stella asked.
“This building has an entrance to the roof,” Adriel explained. “If memory serves me correctly, it
was sealed off ten years ago due to improper insulation, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find it.”
“We’ll have to find it fast,” Advika said. “If we don’t, then Sonny and Eiji will die.”
“Let’s go!” Stella shouted as she ran towards an elevator. Advika and Adriel did the same in
hopes of finding the secret entrance. Back to where Sonny and Eiji were, Manfred was about to
spell their doom as his hands were fully charged with electricity.
“This is where you end!” he shouted. Both Sonny and Eiji could feel their muscles coming to,
but not all of them. Their legs were the only muscles that couldn’t move.
“Sonny!” Eiji called out to him. “With those Gladiator’s Gauntlets, how far can you throw?”
“Enough to reach the bastard,” he replied. Eiji then tossed a Pocket Bomb towards him, wanting
him to use it.
“We’ve got one chance. Don’t fail me.”
“...I’ll strongarm it.” Sonny picked up the bomb with his right hand and pushed the head, starting
a timer, and threw it with great force before tumbling over on his stomach. Luckily, Manfred
couldn’t see it as it was tiny until a metallic clang happened. He looked at his hand, seeing the
pocket bomb attached to it and heard the ticking, which sent panic amongst his brain.
“What the fu-” was the only thing he could utter out until it exploded, sending his flight pattern
into an erratic direction until he crashed down in front of them with a burned face mark, along
with his now missing arms, which were the result of the blast. His blown off arms were leaking
blood, and his mechanical equipment were all but fried, save for his backup energy supply.
“No!!” he shouted, seeing how he was defeated. “...I was so close to killing you both…”
“...I told you, I have a sale on Sunday,” Sonny reiterated. “I don’t want people like you ruining
my sale.”
“...I don’t understand you. You were on the verge of dying, and yet, the only thing you can think
about is a sale…”
“It’s very important to me. I don’t want to miss it and not get a good deal on the game.”
 154

“...You know, with all those electric mana attacks, you could’ve been an engineer or an
electrician,” Eiji chimed in. “You could’ve made more money that way.”
“Or be a crafter,” Sonny added.
“...Save it,” Manfred uttered. “...What would be the point of that? I’d be nothing more than
another selfish person adding to the cause.”
“...What ‘cause’?”
“...A lack of opportunities. That’s why crime is so high. Our opportunities are taken from us, and
they expect us to work with the scraps they give us. Charge us more for things, whilst the
wealthy don’t have to pay a dime for it.”
“...Can’t argue with you on that. The system is screwed up. I can't believe I'm sympathizing with
an enemy once again. But whether you're Armin or Manfred, you made it worse for everyone
else.”
“Ditto,” Eiji added. “Thanks to you, we can’t even enjoy ourselves.”
“...Who cares? I’m done. I’ve achieved what I wanted, and I have no regrets. I’m the result of
their ‘solutions’.”
“...Do us a favor: When you go to jail, don’t think of us. Think of yourself and what you’ve
done.”
As Sonny turned around, he was unaware that Manfred was about to kill him with his exposed
mechanical arms that were turning red as if he was generating heat from it.
“Sonny!!!” Eiji cried out to him, unable to save him. It would be too late for Sonny to turn
around as he wouldn’t see what he would do. Then a gunshot rang out, surprising both Sonny
and Eiji. Manfred was an inch behind him, seemingly struggling to even lay a finger on him. He
couldn’t muster any words and fell to the ground in front of him, dead as a doorknob. The side of
his head had a bullet hole, and when Sonny and Eiji turned their attention to their right, it was
pretty clear who delivered the final shot, being that of Chief Adriel himself holding a revolver as
he seemed to be coming from an entrance.
“...We’re even,” he said. However, it irked Sonny even more that his ass was saved by his
loathsome enemy.
“Dammit, Moonjavo!!” he shouted angrily. “Stop stealing my moment! You and your damn
Cherokee invaders always ruin everything!”
“Oh shut the hell up, negro slave!” he retorted back. “I saved your stupid ass, and this is what I
get?! I oughta slap the black off your skin!”
“At least I have some skin, unlike you!”
“At least I have hair, unlike you!”
 155

Eiji sighed and shook his head whilst shrugging as they continued arguing. Stella and Advika
came up, seeing the commotion unfold.
“Go back to Canada, you son of a bitch!”
“And you go back to Africa with your inbred family!”
“My family’s not inbred! Your family’s been screwing each other since they drove your asses
out!”
“Your family is nothing more than tribal cannibals from the Zika-infested river!”
Finally, Advika had enough.
“Stop!!” she shouted, startling everyone around her. “What is wrong with you two?! Why have
such animosity towards each other and sling such offensive words?! You saved each other, so let
that go already!”
Both Sonny and Adriel didn’t want to be in the same room with each other, so Sonny left,
followed by Eiji, Stella, then Advika and finally, Adriel himself. Two hours later, everything had
calmed down as the remaining henchmen were arrested and brought to custody. There were
casualties as some police and White Moon officers were killed in the tragedy. But at least
everything was over. However, there was one thing that Manfred was right about. He did win, as
he managed to cripple every wealthy owned business and establishments in Vermont.
Whilst the fires were still burning all around Vermont, a sudden downpour was cast, raining upon
the fires to put them out. From atop a roof stood a cloud-haired man and a blue haired woman
carrying a yellow umbrella decorated in sunflowers watching the police, ambulances and fire
department attempting to do their jobs.
“...I envy the flames,” the blue haired woman said. “They can dance, unlike the rain.”
“...Rain symbolizes that everything is over according to the lord.”
“...You mean, my rain?”
“That too.”
“What now?”
“Humanity has to pick up its pieces. We shall return to our lord’s place.”
“Surely, our lord should feel somewhat better about all this.”
“Let’s hope so.”
A bright gold pillar of light was then cast on them, and when it vanished, so did they. Two weeks
later, everything was back to being peaceful. Construction began on the broken establishments,
including the roadways themselves, which were no longer littered with corpses. Tributes and
memorial services were held for the fallen, which bore a heavy toll on the state. Since the actions
of one madman had caused massive casualties, it also meant that Vermont would have more to
 156

pay for, which incurred the national debt. This also involved the government, which had to look
into Vermont’s history.
In response, prices were increased in an effort to help bounce the country back, which didn’t sit
well with the people, but it also helped them as those who worked would get more money in the
process. Back at the apartment, rent was still the same, as it hadn’t affected this area. Kira and
Miss Flordia were sitting in at the bar as there were more customers than usual, most of them
being police and White Moon officers. Some needed to get blackout drunk to forget the past two
weeks, whilst others were just drinking for the taste of victory before they could be on their way.
“...So many drunk men are around,” Kira remarked, seemingly nervous from the atmosphere.
She could smell the ‘drunkenness’ in the atmosphere.
“They’re here to forget two weeks ago’s madness,” Miss Flordia replied. “Can’t blame them.
Some lost friends, others suffer from trauma. It helps to forgive and forget.”
“But that’s an unhealthy way to do it.”
“True, but…they’re adults. I only serve them drinks, and that’s it.”
“Do they ever fight in such a state?”
“Rarely they do, but some of them help me out in case things do get rowdy. Tell you what: why
don’t you go into the apartment upstairs and wait for both Sonny and Akeem to get home? I’ll
handle the rest here.”
Kira nodded. “Okay.” Two hours later, Sonny and Akeem had returned home with smiles on their
faces. Upon seeing them, Kira ran towards Sonny with open arms.
“Mr. Hillshire, you’re back!” she said, hugging him. Of course, he hugged her back.
“You must’ve had a rough day yourself,” Sonny said.
“Miss Flordia’s been having a lot of customers lately. Most of them being police and White
Moon officers.”
“Can’t blame them. Tragedy struck them. But there has to be a better way to cope than relying on
alcohol.”
“Mr. Hillshire, don’t you drink alcohol?” Akeem asked, knowing that he does.
“Yeah, but I only drink a little bit of it. The problem with drinking is that people can’t control
their intake, suggesting that gluttony is upon them.”
“...I don’t understand. Why drink if you’re only consuming a portion of it?”
“It’s called ‘balance’, Akeem. Master that, and life goes much smoother.”
“...Cool,” Kira mused. “My father could learn from you…”
“He has a drinking problem?” Sonny asked.
 157

“...Well…somewhat. But only when he would go out.”

“Sounds like he has a social drinking problem.”
“I wonder… Do people really need drinks to have fun?”
“Nope. In fact, let’s have fun right now. Boot up ‘Demon Queen: Depths of Hell’ for me,
Akeem.”
“Yeah!!” Akeem exclaimed as he pressed the button on the console, booting up the game as
Sonny went into his bedroom to change. Granted, he got it two weeks ago on that same Saturday
that it was on sale from his local area. Kira plopped on the couch as did Akeem, waiting for
Sonny to get back, and as he did, he was wearing pajamas to ensure his comfort level. As he sat
down in between them, he picked up the controller and let out a relaxing sigh, knowing that this
was his favorite part of the day.
“...Let’s beat the boss of the fourth level.”
***
Elsewhere at the United States’s greatest capital of importance84, a nationwide meeting
was happening. The place, being called the ‘Collection85’, it contained the collectives86 from the
Building of Indicatives87 and the Selective88. Their issue? It all stems from Vermont, which was
the main topic at hand. Inside, flags from each state were flown as each collective member of
their states were in their seats behind the neatly polished desks, ready for ‘business’. One person,
being the semi-old Caucasian guy with the gray beard and wearing glasses, a black suit and
green tie, was the supreme chair as he began the opening statement with the stack of paper being
on his desk.
“...Two weeks ago, Vermont was under the attack of an economic terrorist. His actions, along
with his party have decreased the number of businesses, and affected the money supply. As a
result, this nation’s currency has tripled in debt.”
Then he flipped the page.
“The amount of money needed to repair the economy is far greater than the week before. Too
much has happened, and it is becoming severe. Unfortunately, should Vermont suffer another
attack, it will have no choice but to sell its businesses to accommodate.”
“We can't do that!” a member from Vermont blurted out as he stood in defiance. “It was hard
enough as it is when our banks were attacked! Vermont can't sell its businesses just because of a
few maniacs!”

84
…Yeah, going to bore you a bit with some “politics”.
85
A parody name of the U.S.’s Congress.
86
The people of Congress.
87
A parody name of the U.S.’s House of Representatives.
88
A parody name of the U.S.’s Senate.
 158

“...A few?” the supreme chair asked begrudgingly. “Indicator Goldsmith, are you not aware of
what has transpired in your own state?”
“W-Well, I-”
“One: Vermont had only half the money in taxes due to a corrupt councilman. Two: There are
reports that counterfeit money is still in the names of your citizens. And three: Not only were the
banks attacked, but also the military and the rich-owned establishments.”
Indicator Goldsmith looked down to his desk. “...I’m well aware of that.”
“Not to mention, Vermont's members of the Collaboration including the Head Chair were killed.
That is why because of said attacks from one madman and his legion of oppressors, that should
another attack happen, it'd be on your line.”
Indicator Goldsmith fell silent, feeling powerless to even get a word in. He knew of what
happened, but the consequences were even greater in currency.
“Supreme Chair,” a member from Wyoming spoke up from his mike, “It is perhaps not the fault
of the State that such unruly people are willing to destroy its system without consequences.
Perhaps it lies in the psyche of availability.”
“...Explain.”
“According to Josh Rosenberg’s ‘The Opportunity of Mentality’89, people who were given
opportunities that complimented them would significantly reduce crime. I believe that Manfred
Hans was a victim of such negligence. Perhaps he was abandoned by the system.”
“Nonsense. There are faults within it. People murder out of emotion and desperation. The human
psyche is a very complicated one. Crimes are not always from one’s upbringing, but rather from
being a caged bird not understanding how the world works.”
“Are you saying that his actions are from not understanding our world?”
“I did not imply that. But based on his actions, it's pretty clear he failed to understand the way of
the world. His mind was weak, and instead of seeking out help, he chose this path, disregarding
his fellow men and failing to look into something that helps our society.”
“...Whilst I cannot argue with that, it's still possible that he-”
“Enough! We have two types of minds in this world: The strong-minded and the weak-minded.
The weakest always falls, whilst the strongest govern. It is the state of animalkind.”
The Wyoming member slammed his fist onto the desk, startling those near him as he stood up
with fierce determination in his eyes and gritted teeth. “We are elevated beyond that! The
strong-minded is supposed to help the weak-minded and build them to be strong-minded
individuals! What good is that when they're constantly being kicked without a word in it?!”
“...Then what do you propose?”
89
Don't bother looking that up. No such person wrote a book like that.
 159

“A solution. Vermont is not the only state to be damned by the actions of one man. Several of our
states have fallen victim to the actions of destructive people because they were neglected by the
system.”
“I am aware of that.”
“If a poor man on the streets suffered from a heart attack, will his fellow man and woman stop to
help? Or will they keep walking, pretending he never existed?” He then looked to other members
as he continued. “If a child is suffering because he can't find help, will society answer his calls?”
Or will a massacre happen?”
“...What do these questions have to do with Manfred Hans?”
“Everything. Perhaps he was not rewarded properly for what he contributed at some point in his
early years. If more opportunities were given and people were rewarded for their actions, crime
would decrease significantly. That is where a solution is formed.”
“... Let's hear it.”
“...The Economic Opportunities Act of 2040.”
Everyone in the room reacted with shock.
“Mr. Scott!” the Supreme Chair sharply said. “Are you unaware of an act similar to what you're
proposing?!”
“I am aware of that.”
“That would mean we’d have to borrow more money! The budget is already tight-lid enough as
it is!”
“But that's just it. The programs offered so far do not increase the solution, but rather hinders it.
We need more programs that can accommodate people. In turn, the budget will increase when
mankind works together instead of alone.”
“Impossible! This will create conflicts!”
“It shall not. Despite there being races from other planets on Earth, even they can come to a
conclusion.”
“...Any voices from other states on this matter?”
A member from Iowa, a woman, stood up. “Based on what we've heard so far, I believe that
more opportunities will lead to more success.”
The Supreme Chair then looked to everyone in the room. “...Anyone object to that?”
Silence. Most were in favor of this new ‘solution’. One member, being a man from New Jersey,
stood up with a question in mind. “Is this an update to the one from 1964?”
 160

Indicator Scott turned to the man. “...We’re merely borrowing it. But with it comes some changes
that shall fit with the modern world.”
“Will there be more job opportunities?” another member asked, being from New York.
“There will. Based on our country’s history of capital criminals, we have to ensure that our
citizens are to be serviced properly to reduce such growth of criminals.”
The Supreme Chair then flipped to the back of the sheet. “The room is open to suggestions from
those of other states.”
One member stood up, being another woman from Pennsylvania. “Based on the loss of property,
wouldn’t it also be better if Vermont were to borrow our services?”
“It shall cost, but we’ll figure out the formalities later. Anyone else?”
Silence.
“Then the favor is granted in support of the creation of the new act. Does Vermont object to
this?”
Mr. Goldsmith of Vermont stood up, now relieved to hear his colleagues pitching in to help. “We
do not.”
The Supreme Chair slammed his gavel in approval. “Good. Now, moving onto other problems to
tackle…”
***
Somewhere in a place that wasn’t on Earth, or any part of the universe, seven people
were positioned in a smiley-faced line, with two of them already being familiar, facing what
appeared to be some sort of black orb with an orange aura around it floating in the air. They
didn’t seem nervous, nor agitated by its appearance as if they were already familiar with it. The
area itself seemed to be of pink clouds they were standing on, which seemed endless, whilst the
skies had a bluish hue to it along with a sunset that stood in place, forever.
Out of the two members, one of them having a gray colored cloud afro and gold robes, and the
other having blue wet hair along with the white spotted blue dress and carrying a yellow
umbrella, the other four have been standing here for some time before they came.
“...How’s the situation in Vermont?” asked a man, who seemed to have brown skin and was bald,
seemingly wearing brown desert clothing that covered his torso, and his shoes were of brown
sandals, showing his bare feet as to express comfort. He was also the tallest of the group, and
seemed a bit heavier in his torso, but otherwise appeared muscular by his arms. He also appeared
to be praying, more likely for good luck.
“...It’s resolved itself,” the cloud-haired man replied. “At least humanity is attempting to correct
itself for now…”
 161

The bald man began sniffling, as if brought to tears. Well, his eyes were watery. “...So sad! I
feared the worst from them!”
He started crying, which irritated one member next to him, which was another man that wasn’t as
tall as him. Said man was of a lighter skin color and had a black afro with a yellow streak on it.
He wore a black, sleeveless toga with gold trimmings around the openings that showed off his
toned arms, with the right arm having a lightning scar on it. As for his shoes, he had on black
gladiator sandals for easier footwork.
“Man, you’re crying already?!” he shouted. “It’s only been a minute!”
“But… It’s sad!”
The toga wearing man shook his head. “Pathetic! Stop before you bring a sandstorm here in our
holy place.”
Next to him was a woman who sighed about the banter. Said woman had on a long, white winter
jacket that almost covered her white leggings along with the mittens that matched the color and
the fur boots, dressing as if it was extremely cold in the atmosphere. Peering through the fur-like
hood was her snow-white hair, which also matched the color of her eyebrows.
“Must you two be at odds with each other?” she asked unamusingly, wanting them to stop.
“Oh, relax,” another woman said, wearing a light mint green dress that seemed to flow with the
winds themselves despite none being present. Even her hair was the color of her dress, but she
didn’t wear any shoes at all, seemingly a free spirited woman. “It is the nature of man.”
Everyone’s attention was then turned to the black orb, as if it said something that only they could
hear loud and clear. They kneeled before it like it was some sort of divine being.
“...Yes, My Lord,” the cloud-haired man replied and then addressed everyone on its behalf.
“Earth still has many sins, most of which we cannot erase. But for now, we keep our eyes, ears
and hearts open.” The orb then said something again only for their ears.
“...As you wish, My Lord,” the cloud-haired man answered once again. “Planet Lydor90 has
committed many sins, far greater than Earth’s. We shall join you in its liberation from evil.”
A large, golden pillar of light then shined on everyone, and as it disappeared, so did they, leaving
the area silent. Back at Eiji’s ‘dumpster home’, he was chilling on top of his mattress with the lid
of the dumpster closed to prevent an ‘invasion’ as he was watching the latest news unfolding on
his laptop. Apparently, it seemed to be a different topic as it wasn’t talking about the recent
events that happened two weeks ago.
On the screen, a white woman wearing a black newswoman’s dress seemed to be on the scene
reporting an event that happened somewhere else where a truck carrying pressure-treated wood

90
Planet Lydor is a planet home to the Lydorians, half-human, half-humanoid race. They believe in doing things
their intended way and reject outside objects. They also have a weapon that could surpass a God.
 162

had crashed into a tree from the air…for some reason… Police were there, seemingly to look
inside the truck from a ladder to see if a person was alive.
“Good morning, Anna,” the woman began as she was viewing the scene herself. “I’m here live in
Buffersville, South Carolina on Jerkshire Road. What’s happening behind me is that a truck
driver had crashed into a tree thirty minutes ago.”
“Damn,” Eiji remarked. “How did that truck get into the tree?”
As that was said, the police appeared to be carrying a man wearing construction clothing and
seemed to be in an unnatural position as his arms were stretched out and his feet tight together.
His face was also stoic, which seemed all too real to believe as if he was in some sort of trance.
The newswoman also noticed the man, getting a glimpse of what really happened.
“A-As you can see, that truck driver being carried away is positioned very strangely, similar to
the incidents in other states being affected by a thing called the ‘T-Pose Virus’.”
“Again?!” Eiji exclaimed.
“Judith, from what I’ve gathered, the T-Pose Virus is not as life-threatening, but also a serious
condition,” another woman commented from her station.
“That’s right, Anna. According to scientists, the T-Pose Virus happens when T-cells align
together at various parts in the body in the shape of the letter ‘T’, overriding all body functions
and causing them to pose like the man you just saw being carried away by police.”
“Does anyone know what causes it?” Anna asked.
“Unfortunately, no. Scientists are still studying what causes victims to t-pose, and-”
“H-Hold on that thought, Judith,” Anna said from the studio as she was hearing another piece of
news that just came in to her.
“Judith, this just came into the studio. Apparently, a pilot for an airplane that was originally set to
takeoff from here was seen t-posing in the cockpit next to his co-pilot. Most of the passengers
were ordered off the flight in hopes to prevent any more victims.”
“Jeez, this is starting to sound like something from a Twilight episode, only ten times crazier,”
Eiji remarked.
“Police are attempting to check if anyone else has symptoms relating to the T-Pose Virus, but so
far it only happens out of nowhere. And to think that it isn’t just humans that suffer from this, but
other animals.”
“It sounds scary, Anna,” Judith replied. “Who knows? It might happen here, or near any
neighborhood...” But Eiji noticed that she seemed more sorrowful by her expression.
“...Is there more to this virus than meets the eye?” he thought. He then clicked off the video and
began typing up the “T-Pose Virus” in a search box, only to receive limited information on the
topic on the screen. Granted, this was a new type of virus that had recently surfaced. But there
 163

were reports of people t-posing in some parts of the country. Hell, even one report had an
owner’s dog out of all things suddenly t-posing during a walk.
Eiji clicked on it out of interest, only to see an image of a German shepherd standing upright like
a human with its forelimbs stretched out unnaturally and its hind legs tucked together. It
appeared that the owner had taken a picture of it as it happened, but no video has occurred of the
incident.
“Damn, it’s starting to get serious,” he said. “I hope it doesn’t happen here…”
***
Back at the White Moons Office, Chief Adriel and Ian Sanitas were reading reports of
burglaries that happened in the town of Burlington. To them, this was expected of their jobs, but
this was-
“This is ridiculous!” Chief Adriel blurted out as he looked at the reports involving said
burglaries. “So many thieves out and about, and yet, none of them are smart enough to get a
damn job!”
“Is it pissing you off that much?” Ian asked with a wry smile on his face. “If you’d like, I could
give you-”
“Piss off. I don’t need Pandora’s Box91 from you.”
“The Admiral wanted to know if you’d like to take a vacation for a month.”
“Really?” Adriel dreamt about that vacation for months. At first in the past, he turned it down,
but due to the severity of two weeks ago, he could really use it. Not to mention…he needed to
get away to reduce his stress levels from a certain-
“...I could finally tune in to my roots and avoid that black son of a bitch92. Nothing can ruin my
vacation to the Bahamas.” He began smiling as he pictured the perfect vacation. A tropical island
with the warm sun covering his body as he meditated, a lush ocean, incredible service, a cabin
for him to sit in and read a good book, and of course, try to mingle with the ladies. It would
definitely do him some good. However, Ian smiled, imagining something far worse for the chief.
“...I’m also going to the Bahamas as the Admiral requested that I’d learn from the best…”
Adriel’s smile then turned into a frown, seeing the sun turn into clouds, which created a
downpour on his perfect fantasy setting mixed with maniacal laughter and never-ending torture
from the lieutenant. This would be a nightmare.
“...N-No…” he thought. A month…with him? Between Ian and Sonny, well…there was no
‘middle ground’ for him. Both would be a nightmare to be, and it just so happens to be one of the
lesser two evils. “...My vacation…! My sunny setting…! My peace and quiet…! My… My time
with the ladies…over!”

91
A reference to all the bad things it brings.
92
Oof! That hits a little too close to home, doesn’t it?
 164

“So, Chief… Or should I say…‘cabin mates’?”

Seeing the nightmare getting worse, Chief Adriel dropped to his knees as he looked like he was
about to cry. Then he let out a loud “NO!93” before seeing the fantasy fade out of existence…all
the while Ian was laughing sadistically from seeing the chief’s reaction. His scream was so loud
that people from the other rooms came in to see the chief sulking on the ground. His dream…was
over. Back at the complex where Advika stayed, she was on the phone with someone dear to her.
It seemed that it was about events that happened two weeks ago.
“Yes, father,” she said, understanding him. “Your bazooka still works. I’m glad to have it made
by you.” She then frowned as there was something on her mind. “...Is Mom still mad at me?”
The father sighed on the other line. “...Yes. But don’t let that bother you, pumpkin. You at least
made your father here proud.”
Advika smiled. “Thank you, Dad.”
“I’m glad that out of my children, you chose to be a Black Suns member. If only your oldest
brother Raul was alive to see you now…”
Advika frowned again. “...I still wish he hadn’t committed suicide…”
“I know. It’s sad, but we live with it. How’s those friends of yours?”
“Oh, they’re great, Dad! They’re still the same guys that I met back then. But I’m still wondering
about another one who I haven’t seen lately…”
“Who?”
“It’s…hard to explain. She tends to travel in space and never likes to talk to others unless it was
about business.”
“I see. I-”
The father was then interrupted by a female voice that seemed younger as she shouted “Hi!” to
Advika, making her smile.
“...Hey, Tia,” Advika warmly said.
“Dad said that you were involved with those people that took down an economic terrorist.”
“Yes, I was. How’ve you been?”
“Somewhat good. I miss you, big sister. Things get a bit lonely without you here.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I'll visit sometime soon.”
“Okay. I’ll give Dad back the phone. I just wanted to say hi.”
As her sister left the phone, her father came back on.

93
…Darth Vader reference.
 165

“...Advika, have you heard?”

“No. What?”
“...The T-Pose Virus.”
“...Oh, that.”
“Has it happened in Vermont yet?”
“No.”
“Thank goodness. It’s becoming a scary phenomenon. Being stuck in a suspended stance.”
“By the way… What is it?”
“It’s said that the t-cells line up like the letter ‘t’ in various areas of the body, suspending any
other function than to stand like a test character in a video game…or so based on 3D modeling
communities.”
“Well…it sounded unbelievable at first, but now it’s a reality.”
“True, but this is the most recent documented case of the virus on Earth since 2032. But it's not
natural.”
“...Huh?”
“Advika… That virus according to me…is manmade.”
“‘M-Manmade’?! Why would someone make such a thing?”
“Other than humor, I think it could be for a different and more sinister purpose…”
“...I-I see…”
“...But don’t worry about that, pumpkin. Just enjoy your time. Meanwhile, me and my lab
associates will continue research on it. Take care, here?”
“I will.”
Her father then hung up, giving Advika something to think about.
“…T-posing…? Are we…in a virtual reality…?”
***
At a house in Vermont, Stella was visiting her parents, in which a yellow truck was
present on the street…as it was parked strangely. Inside, she and her parents were sitting at the
dinner table eating spaghetti out of all things with broccoli as a side vegetable. Her parents were
of a similar skin as her, with only two differences. One of them being their pupils being more
human-shaped and their eyes being colored in brown.
“This dinner’s delicious!” Stella remarked after taking a bite of her food.
 166

“Uh…thank you, Stella,” her dad remarked. “But you’ve been complimenting on how my food
tastes ever since you were a kid. Don’t you think it’s time to stop?”
“I can’t help it. But I like it when you cook.”
“Well, what if I told you that your mother was the one who made this?”
“What?! Mom?! Is this true?”
Her mother nodded. “Your father taught me a few things.”
“Amazing…!” Stella exclaimed. “I have two parents that can cook!”
“I thank you for the compliment, but it’s not really a big deal or anything.”
“Stella, how’s the truck you’ve been driving?” her father asked. “Has it served you well?”
“Oh, it has! Thank you both once again!”
“You’re very welcome, Stella. Oh, by the way, there’s a rumor going around about a deranged
serial killer that preys upon swordsmen94.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a strange one, actually. Nobody’s heard about it until just today.”
“The news talked about it after police discovered a swordsman’s body floating down the river.
His face was even carved like it was some sort of brutal surgery procedure…”
“How disturbing…” the mother remarked with a shiver.
“It’s things like that which make me afraid of where the heads of people are today…”
“Who knows where he’ll strike next?” the mother remarked.
“Stella, be careful out there. Just because you live in the sewers doesn’t mean that the killer isn’t
around.”
“I will, Dad.”
***
Somewhere in space and not too far from Earth, a lone merchant ship appeared to be
leaving a planet that it had done business with. At the captain’s deck stood a woman who
appeared to have blonde hair, ears shaped like an elf’s, and wore a red-orange tunic dress with
the scarf around her neck being green, almost matching the color of her eyes. Sitting next to her
was a large, muscular man with white hair who had a caucasian skin complexion almost like
hers, wearing a red sleeveless vest and blue jeans. He also wore boots, with the weirdest thing
about him was his pupils, which were bright blue and his irises being star-shaped.

94
…Might introduce the character in the next book…
 167

The woman appeared to be holding a glass of red wine nearly empty as she was staring at the
vast areas of space. She sighed to herself.
“...Those people were asses,” she remarked. “Give them something that helps them out and
they’ll give you their asses to kiss. Idiots.”
“They aren’t used to receiving foreign items,” the white haired man replied. “Also, they’re not
interested in accepting ‘enhancements’. Perhaps their belief in using their already naturally
powerful materials is enough for them.”
“Still doesn’t give them a reason to be idiots. I hope I never do business there ever again.”
The white haired man then got up and looked back at the wall, as if he sensed something.
“Someone pull up a rear-view monitor!” he shouted. One of the men typed a few buttons and
managed to put a rear-view monitor on the screen, showing the planet they left. As he looked
closely, he saw a sparkle in the thickest of the stars, which went towards the planet.
“What’s wrong?” the elf woman asked as she looked at him. For some reason, the man had an
expression of worry, as if he had experienced it before. The sparkle then disappeared as it went
through the planet, which didn’t do anything at first…until the planet slowly turned orange,
confirming the man’s fears.
“...No…” he uttered under his breath. Nobody on the ship understood his fear until…it
happened. The planet turned fully orange before a massive explosion ruptured the depths of
space, sending shockwaves that rocked their ship.
“What the hell happened?!” the elf woman shouted. But to the white-haired man, it was a reality
that was frightening beyond any comprehension.
“...According to the ‘Act of God’…that planet never existed…!”
She slowly turned to him with a puzzled look. “...Who?”
“...‘O95’… ‘It’ that has no true form…”
“...Well, at least ‘it’ did me a favor. Maybe God heard me…”
***
On another planet known as Planet Zalagmus, a blue ball of gas, Miss Washington along
with Jacques were inside a shelter for rebels. A whole month had passed since they were there,
as they were tasked to take down someone who was on Miss Washington’s ‘hit list’. Said target
was to be a female Zalagmarian that she wanted to kill so badly for some reason. The
Zalagmarians, being a humanoid creature with features similar to a human’s like any other with
some differences. They had four eyes, allowing them to see in four dimensions, and had four
arms, giving them extra hands for holding multiple things at once. Their skin color on the other
hand were either black, brown, green, or white depending on how they were born.

95
Keep that letter in mind. It’ll be very important.
 168

So far, Pail and Jacques had evaded detection as their ship had landed somewhere out of public
view and blended in with the rebels, intentionally telling them of their plan, which had to take a
month to do. Said refugees were not Zalagmarians, but instead, humans and other humanoid
creatures. One in particular was a Klauvarian woman, having features such as gray skin,
extended sides on her face but no hair whatsoever, and a short tail. Even stranger was the winter
clothing she wore, which was of Russian origin. She wore a brown fur coat along with a
matching hat, gloves and boots that were from the country itself, suggesting that she may have
lived on Earth at some point…
She seemed to have been acquainted with Miss Washington and Jacques, who already treated her
like one of them despite Miss Washington’s…eerie demeanor.
“...So we’re going to kill her and set off a revolution?” the Klauvarian woman asked.
“No, Miss Miyori, we’re going to escape after killing her,” Jacques informed. “Starting a
revolution will only result in us being spotted.”
“But why kill her if she’s a selector96 that happens to be part of the Seven Heavens?” Miyori
asked.
“Because I can’t stand those bastards,” Miss Washington said with a smile. “So called ‘holier
than thou’ attitude, yet are nothing but lost souls.”
“S-Speaking of,” Jacques started as he pulled out a phone and pressed a button to show an
insider report. “The galactic media never reported this, but according to an independent journal
source, Planet Lydor has been blown to nothingness.”
Shock was registered amongst the rebels, including Miss Washington herself, who wasn’t
smiling at all as she slowly turned to him.
“...What the hell did you just say?” she asked coldly.
“I-Impossible!” exclaimed a humanoid creature.
“...It seems that the ones responsible are beyond our realm.”
“...Well, I'll be damned,” Miss Washington uttered.
“What do we do now?” Miyori asked.
Miss Washington had a grin on her face once again as she already had something in mind. “Isn’t
it obvious? I’m going to kill Selector Ki’karris97 and sever one of their ties.” Then she turned to
Jacques.
“Clean up the body?” he asked flatly, knowing what he was supposed to do when the time came.
“Aw, Jacqy!” she said in a cooing voice, “You know me so well.”

96
A parody title of the U.S.'s senator.
97
A made up name for the Zalagmarian.
 169

As the three set off to find this Ki’karris character, somewhere in a building where political
businesses regardless of how good or shady it was would be conducted, Ki’karris herself
appeared to be enjoying a meal native to her homeland, along with her dealer who wore a white
cloak with gold trimmings to conceal themselves. Ki’karris had on her homeland’s clothing,
which was a gray political suit that fit to the torso, along with the white shirt underneath and gray
pants with black shoes to complete the look. Actually, her clothing seemed to be something that
Zalagmarian men would wear. Apparently, she had wanted to meet with the cloaked man in
secret.
Her shady business and why she was the woman Miss Washington wanted dead? Child
trafficking, and in one of the worst ways for her dealings, which was to send the children off
somewhere to be ‘cleansed’ for the new world. In Miss Washington’s book, she could kill two
birds with one stone: Sever a tie with the Seven Heavens, and stop the suffering of many
children.
“...Have the children been prepared?” the cloaked man asked.
“Very,” Ki’karris replied. “They’re ready and rounded up for departure. Human children are so
easy to possess.”
“Make certain that no mention of our encounter or our presence is spoken to outsiders.”
“Do I look like a woman who’d go against my word?”
As she got up after finishing her food, the cloaked man followed her down a corridor that no one
else knew except herself, which was a large room with cages housing human children in chains.
Surprisingly, they were not beaten or anything, but they had looks of either uncertainty or fear
based on the situation.
“Ever since that Founder98 came to me, he entrusted them to be in my care until he found the
perfect conditions for them,” she assured as she looked at the children.
“They’ll be excellent vessels for the new world,” the cloaked figure replied. “Their bodies can be
used to accept the souls of those before them. Unfortunately with our last batch, it didn’t go so
well.”
“How many casualties?”
“Hundreds. All of them weren’t worthy.”
“I think some of them are worthy.”
“Give them to us, and we’ll absolve you of your sins including this one.”
“Certainly.”
Outside the political building, the rebels were surrounding the entire place, ensuring there would
be no getaway. But they were wrong. Atop the political building, a ship was hovering over,

98
A position that works among the Seven Heavens. I'll explain in another book…
 170

attempting to leave quickly if the mission was complete. Some of the other rebels were already
inside looking for clues to Ki’karris’s corruption and crimes. In her room, they collected
evidence such as documents detailing her paying bribes to other leaders on other planets,
trafficking children of other races from other planets, and a newspaper article titled “Madame
Senator Executes Ex!” on it, which dated back five years ago.
Inside, Miss Washington, along with Jacques and Miyori the Klavarian woman were scaling the
building in hopes to catch the senator and take the children back safely. To them, however, the
place was strangely empty. No guards or anything to take them down, and it was also silent
except for their footsteps. Deep in her mind, Miss Washington was wondering if the senator
didn’t have the money to afford protection or that she intended on making it easier for them, or
that she was confident in getting off scot-free. But it didn’t matter. She was going to kill her
anyway. She could smell her within her grasp. Literally.
On the rooftop, Selector Ki’karris and her hooded accomplice were escorting human children
towards the ship in hopes of getting away and delivering what she had promised in exchange for
absolution of her sins. But she could tell that trouble was on her way as she ushered them onto
the ship, wishing that they could move faster. But trouble found her…or rather smelled her as
Miss Washington, Jacques and Miyori had hunted her down.
“Dammit!” Ki’karris cursed as she saw them. She was familiar with them as she was warned
about them hunting down those who had a connection with the Seven Heavens from a potential
buyer. Upon seeing her, Miss Washington had a frown on her face even though she was starving
to kill her. It was more likely the crime she was witnessing in front of her, which she absolutely
despised.
“...Hi Selector,” she greeted her in an unpleasant tone as she pulled out her long odachi, ready to
strike. “You’re going to die. And I won’t send your soul to heaven, either. I’m actually the devil
collecting tainted souls.”
Jacques and Miyori ran past them to head towards the children as the last two were boarded, only
to be stopped as Miyori spat something in the hooded figure’s face, causing him to scream in
pain before Jacques delivered a gloved hand to his back, knocking him out cold as he fell a
hundred feet to his eventual death, splattering blood on the concrete.
“Filthy mongrel,” Jacques remarked as he looked at the corpse. “Why do such creatures like us
make such a big mess?”
Miyori went inside the ship, escorting the children out one by one. As all of them were out, Miss
Washington seemed somewhat relieved, although her attention was focused on Ki’karris.
“You people again?!” Ki’karris asked, seemingly irritated by their appearance alone. “Can’t you
leave well enough alone?!”
“Don’t play that game, Selector,” Miss Washington remarked. “It’s time to take you to hell.”
Knowing that she was up against three people, Ki’karris pulled out a dual-bladed naginata, which
could be taken apart for two weapons in two of her hands, which she did. There was no turning
 171

back now. For Miyori, she could see this would be a gruesome fight, and looking at the children,
she didn’t want them witnessing such a thing, so she jumped above the children and, with a
strange blue light forming around their feet, they disappeared99, easing Miss Washington’s fears.
Only Jacques was left, who had to oversee what would happen. Of course, Ki’karris saw all of it
gone before her eyes.
“No!” Ki’karris bellowed out, seeing her last chance at salvation gone. “I’ll never be clean! You
damn rebels!” She then pulled out two shields, using them to protect herself in her other two
arms, which Miss Washington didn't even seem worried about in the slightest as she had a jutte
in her pocket. Ki’karris charged forward with her naginatas and swung upwards twice, which
Miss Washington already saw a weakness as she dodged back with no effort. With her right hand
open, she pulled the jutte out, which Ki’karris saw her doing and raised her shields to cover her
face and torso.
“Too late…,” Miss Washington thought, seeing that the shields were something she was
expecting as she jabbed both shields once at a time at such speed that Ki’karris couldn’t keep up.
Then Miss Washington used her odachi to slice upwards, breaking both shields as if they were
like candy glass.
“What?!” Ki’karris exclaimed, not expecting her shields to break. But what lay in horror for her
was what she was seeing based on Miss Washington’s face. She had a grin like a predator about
to eat their next meal, which caused her to back up, scared for her life. It was as if the fight itself
was exciting her.
“...She’s a demon…!” Ki’karris thought. She never met someone like this before. Miss
Washington put her jutte away to use her odachi, slicing wildly like a madman, forcing her on the
defense as she had to use her dual naginatas to protect herself. Each strike she blocked felt like
bites from hungry wolves, and she was also certain that she was receiving cuts to her face and
arms…from some invisible force.
“What the hell is she?!” Ki’karris was facing a terrifying foe that scared even her. Each strike she
blocked, she saw her grin getting wider, and she also could’ve sworn that she saw her licking her
lips in delight during this process. She never thought she would meet someone so…bloodthirsty.
So…savage to the point where she was questioning if she was even human at this point. Jacques
on the other hand didn’t even seem fazed in the slightest, as if he’s experienced this many times
before.
With two final swings, Miss Washington knocked her naginatas out of her hands, which landed
away and appeared chipped from the strikes. Seeing she was without a weapon, she had no other
choice.
“D-Don’t kill me!” Ki’karris shouted as she was on her hands and knees in front of her,
surrendering herself. “P-P-Please! You want money?! No, maybe some men? No? How about a
place to call home?! I’ll get you whatever you want!!”

99
She’s using teleportation mana, which doesn’t cost much to use. Teleports the user to the place they imagine, with
the distance and intended destination depending on the user’s powers.
 172

Unfortunately, Miss Washington had other plans. She could hear her chuckle a bit before
erupting into loud cackling, which confused her from her sudden…laughter.
“This is hilarious!” Miss Washington remarked. Then her laughter stopped before she stabbed
Ki’karris in her brain, then retracted it as she sliced downward to cut her head off, causing her
body to fall limp to the ground as a pool of purple blood formed from the open neck with the
head rolling to Miss Washington's feet. Her odachi was now covered in the same blood as it
dripped from the tip of the blade to the ground.
“...But I don’t like you,” she remarked as she looked at the head.
“I’ll clean it up,” Jacques offered. An hour later, Miss Washington, Jacques and Miyori were
present on the ship, with Miyori being a new member. They had children aboard, which they had
to take along as the Seven Heavens could be looking for more. Some of them were running
around playing whilst others were hanging around the adults that were playing video games for
their enjoyment.
“Miss Pang100 is going to have a full day with the children,” Jacques said as he looked at the
children. “My lady, it is no fun cleaning up after your mess.”
“I bet you get a real kick out of saying that, don’t you?” she said.
“I do not.”
“What of the rebels on that planet?”
“They have successfully released evidence of Miss Ki’karris’s crimes. I assume that they’ll find
her body and treat it like a murder from an opposing party.”
“Good. Now they won’t have to use children to transfer souls into101.”
“But My lady, if I may ask, where are we headed next?”
Miss Washington smiled. “...Planet Zalfron. There’s a man I have to kill. He smells dirty to me.”
***
Somewhere on Earth in Vermont, despite the trouble being over, a new one was brewing.
In a large cave, members dressed in black robes with red trimmings on them were gathering
together chanting…something. Some of them were carrying people who were stuck in a t-pose
position with stoic, unflinching expressions. What purpose was this for? No one knows…until
now. Deeper in the cave, a large runic circle made out of black mana was seen on the flooring,
which were to be summoning something.
Members of this group had set down the t-posing victims on the ring-like lines of the runic circle,
positioning them like a five point star. Once that was done, five individuals had stood behind the
victims and were prepared to do something. They stood out from the rest of the members as their

100
That is the Chinese woman's name. She was the one with the double frying pans from Chapter 1.
101
…This will be an important thing in the future…
 173

robes had different colors other than black and seemed to be more important in their roles. The
chanting had gotten louder as it was time for something to happen…
A feminine voice, which came from the green-robed chanted in a strange language, which
sounded like:
“Grat ir pris frim setur ke dostrus, miot kervis sel fre jih gamor. Sek daluk vod melik ge fribus.
Kosus mel abstus vrei dubestros102!!”
For the final touch, she shouted, “Revevus103!!”, which created a flash of light that blinded
everyone else, forcing them to cover their eyes. Lightning then followed, along with orange
flames that circled around the ring, and cold air filling the cave before it disappeared.
The chanting stopped, and what stood in front of them was some sort of spirit that resembled an
elderly black woman with rotting flesh. Her hair was frazzled and ghastly white, which flowed as
if there was a gust of wind present despite there being none, and wore old sorcerer clothing that
were tattered and ripped. The lower half of her body was nothing more than flowing entrails,
which added to her ghostly look. Her eyes, well, one of them had no eyelid skin to cover them,
being completely open. Said skin itself looked to be falling apart, and her hands were close to
being bones, with some of them being exposed through her skin104.
“...It is complete!” the green-robed woman said with glee in English. “The Great Sorceress105
returns!”
“...What is this year…?” the ghostly woman asked, her voice echoed like the wind, as well as
being hoarse and old as time itself.
“It is 2040,” the green-robed woman replied. The ghostly sorceress began coughing, which
didn’t make any sense to the group due to her being a ghost.
“...Impossible,” she remarked. “...400 years have passed since I was alive… My life… Why
summon me in an unfamiliar era…?”
“We wish to end humanity's foolishness. And learn from the greatest.”
“...Interesting… Such humans that wish for the end of their species as I have… They took
everything away from me…and still live in innocence… This world was mine for the taking…
And I shall take again…what I have lost…”
The green-robed woman kneeled, which also signaled others to do the same. “...Then we are at
your command. Tell us of your plan to take this world…”
“...I need…vessels… Bring me the vessels…and I can restore my powers once again… Bring all
except the rib vessel…”

102
Made up language by me. It translates to: “From the depths of the great darkness, bring forth the soul that is the
ruler. Give to it that time has ruined. Create life for what we summon!!”
103
“Resurrection!!!”
104
The villain for the next book…
105
Remember that title.
 174

“...I’m sorry?”
“...There is a special place I must get it from… The likes of which you’ll never reach…106 Then I
can take the world once again…”
***
TO BE CONTINUED…

106
Uh-oh! I get a bad feeling about this! I hope she doesn’t- *screams*