Chương 81: Episode 26: Getting Down With It

I opened my eyes and instantly knew something was wrong. I was somewhere else, floating in a vast void where something had swallowed the universe whole and left nothing behind except one massive, silent planet below me. A soft light-brown world wrapped in a faint glowing atmosphere, its rings cut through the emptiness without warmth or light. Staring down at it, I felt like an insect drifting in space next to a god.

"Hey." I spun around to find Power floating in the void as if he belonged there, arms crossed and staring straight at me. Something was off. Half of his face was fractured like broken glass, and his eyes bled a heavy blue light that felt like it could see right through me.

"I think you know why you're here, Olsen," he said. My chest tightened.

"For what exactly?" He let out a deep sigh and floated closer, gently placing a hand on my head.

"You don't have to change…"

"But I have to!" I snapped before he could finish, jerking away to put distance between us. Instant regret hit me, but I shoved it down.

"If I'm not like the other Earthnites, then how does that make me a warrior?!"

"It doesn't," Power replied calmly.

"It only consumes you…"

"Then let it consume me!" The words tore out of me. I grabbed my head, turning away with my eyes squeezed shut.

"They all just! I'm too different! I'm not like them, they're not like me! I just don't belong!" Silence hit hard before I felt him move closer again.

"You're not wrong…"

"I know," I cut in quickly, my voice quieter now, but sharper.

"I feel like being a real Earthnite makes me stronger. It makes me fearless. It makes me better than the person I was." Slowly, I turned back to face him, feeling completely exposed.

"I want to be a warrior," I said softer this time.

"Someone who fights harder. Someone who doesn't feel fear." I swallowed.

"Because I am scared. Of Dominator. He's more experienced than me, stronger than me, better than me in every way. He's unpredictable, and I just can't beat him. I almost died to that old man." I clenched my fists.

"I feel like if I stay like this, if I force myself to be like them, maybe I won't be afraid anymore." For a moment, Power did not respond.

"You're absolutely right," he said softly. I blinked, caught off guard.

"But there are a few things you're missing," he said, stepping closer to place a hand on my shoulder. This time, I did not pull away.

"You don't have to be fearless, and you don't have to erase who you are to become stronger. Yes, it's made you stronger, but it's also made you less like you. Right now, I can barely see Olsen in you." That stung. My eyes dropped. Power looked past me at the lone planet below.

"In life, sometimes we don't fit in, but that doesn't mean we have to change ourselves just to force it. You don't have to become someone else just to be accepted." A quiet snap echoed through the void, and the darkness exploded into color as thousands of identical pink planets filled the vacuum around us. Every single one was a duplicate except for the ringed planet below.

"Copying everyone else? It's boring," Power said, glancing around at the copies before locking his gaze back onto the lone world.

"But being different makes you one of a kind." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The planets flickered and vanished one by one until everything dissolved back into silence and void. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was back in the Station of Zeniths. Angel strutted forward, tipping his glasses with a smirk, fists clenched.

"Cool moment and all," he said dryly, "but about the Lost Gem—anyhoo of where it is? Heroes are already dealing with CyberBots through that hole." Everyone turned toward the gaping brown rift at the far wall. Dark, vast, like the throat of some endless cave. Intelligence clacked away at his console, silver eyes flicking toward Angel.

"That's what we're working on. Good call, Angel." Passion practically exploded with pink light, pumping her glowing fists in the air.

"Wooo! Count me in!" She bounced onto the couch beside Eli, nearly knocking him over. Strength pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. But Passion, you're on Liberation duty."

"Don't worry!" Liberation chirped, leaping onto Passion's back like a toddler.

"I'll be good!" Chaos rippled. Ryan came barreling forward, dragging Mr. Bassi's limp form.

"Okay—but what about this guy?!" Power folded his arms, sighing, "I knew keeping him in the fight was a mistake." Intelligence crouched, scooped Bassi up, and carried him toward the cybernetic doors with a silver glow.

"We'll handle him." I rubbed my head, still dizzy from the dimensional whiplash.

"So… what now?" Angel answered by slamming a strange half-blue, half-silver watch onto his arm. The thing pulsed with energy, crackling with portal light. His grin spread wide.

"Now?" he said.

"We suit up." Angel's suit glitched. Everyone froze as his armor warped, stuttering through broken pixels—until finally, it fused. Cybernetic owl wings burst open. His suit gleamed violet and blue, a hexagon pulsing in the center of his chest. His helmet curved into a sharp owl's head with glowing yellow eyes and jagged horns. A metallic tail whipped behind him, claws gleaming razor-sharp. He slammed a foot on the table, voice echoing with triumph.

"This is going to be awesome."

The mountain meadow was peaceful in that almost suspicious way, as if the world were holding its breath without knowing why. Sunlight spilled across the grasslands in warm gold while birds chirped overhead and herds of dinosaurs grazed lazily, their low calls rolling across the cliffs like calm thunder. At the edge of the meadow, the thick forest stood unmoving, packed tightly like silent watchers while small animals darted through patches of flowers.

Triceratopses chomped loudly through fern bushes, microraptors hopped branch to branch, ankylosauruses lumbered like tanks, and towering brachiosauruses brushed the sky with gently swaying necks. High above the clouds, suspended in the air, Basher hovered completely still with energy flickering faintly around his body. Inside his ear, a mic activated with a sharp crackle. The voice came through clear, cold, and unbothered.

"The plan is that you and the other Admirals ask for the Lost Gem's location. If nothing, then you might as well fuck up the Lost World of Zeriath until you get an answer." Basher did not respond or hesitate; he simply smiled. A streak of sky-blue energy ripped across the heavens as Basher launched forward, turning into a living missile. The air screamed around him as he curved mid-air, both fists angled downward, shattering the clouds behind him as he dove faster into the descent.

The ground collapsed upon impact as a blinding explosion tore the land apart in violent fractures, shaking the mountain from the inside out. Dinosaurs stumbled into each other, smaller creatures vanished beneath stampedes, and birds exploded into the sky as the peaceful rhythm of the meadow vanished. Basher rose untouched from the smoking crater, energy snapping off his body in violent streaks of blue and yellow while his cape whipped through the shockwaves.

"Wow, I can't believe this place is already taken," he muttered, his voice rolling across the destruction. A smirk pulled at his face.

"Sorry, folks. Only one could stay here." He swung his arm, splitting the earth open as jagged lines tore through the meadow and magma blasted upward, turning the ground against everything standing on it. Basher rocketed upward again without looking back, tearing through clouds as energy trailed behind him. Mid-flight, he casually flipped and dove headfirst, compressing the air around him into a violent cone of pressure.

The second impact erased what was left, shattering the mountain completely as cliffs collapsed and land crumbled into dust and fire. Basher shot back upward through the destruction, slicing through smoke and debris like a blade of light. His admiral's cape whipped violently behind him as he accelerated, wind screaming and energy snapping while his mustache flapped wildly in the draft. He grinned.

Far below, beyond the ruins, a massive brown city of wooden buildings and cottages stretched across the land, completely unaware of what was coming. Basher stared and chuckled, tilting his head slowly.

"Heh… What a good ol' city." He paused, his grin widening.

"Meaning a good ol' catastrophe."