Author's Preface
Back on Earth, inside the DETA facility, Rowlo and the others were getting used to the area they would now be staying in. Vero took Peter and Rowlo around while Mindy showed Jaylia around the complex.
Mindy led Jaylia to her room, which honestly wasn't bad all things considered. There was a queen-sized bed in the middle along with a bathroom and shower attached. The walls were plain, but the room itself was surprisingly spacious.
“Are all the rooms like this?” Jaylia asked, looking over at Mindy as she gestured her into the room.
“Yep. There’s a shower in there if you need one. Honestly, you guys don’t have to think of this place like a prison.”
“I mean... we can’t leave, and we have to listen to orders or whatever. A nice room doesn’t really change that, Mindy.”
“Hmm... I know.” Mindy looked away for a moment. “Maybe one day things will change, but for now we just make do. We are allowed temporary free roam off world though, so that’s a plus.”
Jaylia let out a deep sigh and slowly walked farther into the room.
“I’m gonna go take a shower, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Meet me outside when you’re done and I’ll show you the rest of the complex.”
Jaylia nodded before heading inside to freshen up.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the complex, Vero was showing Rowlo and Peter to their room. Inside were two twin beds within a relatively spacious area. Like Jaylia’s room, the walls were mostly plain.
“Here you are,” Vero said, gesturing into the room.
“Thanks... I guess,” Rowlo replied as he walked inside.
“You can leave your swords in there and meet back up with me later. I gotta show you around unfortunately.”
“You don’t sound too excited about that,” Peter said with a hint of annoyance.
“Well they said I gotta, so that’s what ima do, okay. Ima grab something to eat. I’ll see yall in like thirty minutes or so.”
“Tch... I guess so,” Rowlo scoffed.
Vero closed the door behind them, and both Rowlo and Peter immediately collapsed onto the beds.
“So... Pete, we’re basically in a fancy prison, huh?”
“Well we’ve been forcibly employed so... slavery I guess.”
The two glanced at each other for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter at the absurdity of the situation.
“...Rowlo, bro, your dad’s secretly a government agent now. What?!”
“Yeah...” Rowlo sighed as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Seems we really can’t catch a break yet, huh.”
Jaylia put on a change of clothes. Some special DETA clothes were in her room, so she changed into them. They immediately adjusted to her size.
“Hmm neat...” she muttered to herself.
She went outside to meet Mindy, who was leaning against the wall playing on her device. As Jaylia walked toward her, Mindy looked up and put away her game.
“You’re always playing that game. What is it?”
Mindy got a slightly sad look on her face when Jaylia asked.
“...It’s the only thing I had on me when they found me apparently...”
“Oh... I’m sorry...”
“Don’t be. Let’s go.”
She took Jaylia by the hand and began showing her through the various facilities in the complex.
They passed through the medical wing, foosoo training areas, and an artifact containment sector.
As they walked through, countless alien devices pulsed and vibrated. Strange energy flowed through some while others moved in ways that seemed unnatural.
“What the hell is this place...?” Jaylia asked, staring at the artifacts.
“Artifacts recovered on DETA missions. A lot still aren’t fully understood. They’re researching some in the research wing.”
“This is crazy...”
As they walked, in the corner was a black staff covered in ancient alien carvings. Jaylia looked at it, seemingly drawn toward it.
She slowly approached it and reached out her hand.
Instantly golden light began flowing through the staff, seemingly gaining power. Then—
“Hey! Don’t touch that!”
Jaylia quickly pulled back her hand and the light slowly faded from the staff.
“Mindy what is this? It feels...”
“It’s off limits is what it is. Let’s get out of here before you get us both in trouble.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the complex, Vero continued showing Rowlo and Peter through the facility, including training grounds, simulation rooms, and even a foosoo training room.
Inside the training room were many different aliens using their abilities in different ways. One controlled water in separate floating spheres while another seemed able to enhance his physical power at will. There were many others controlling different elements and doing things they didn’t fully understand.
“So you train your foosoo here too?” Rowlo asked.
“Sometimes, but honestly field work is always the best.”
“Makes sense. My sensei always said actual experience beats theory.” Peter said nostalgically.
“I still think it sucks humans aren’t born with foosoo though. Their powers look so cool.”
Vero paused for a moment, looking over at the others training.
“Honestly I don’t agree. Humans not having a foosoo led to a lot of innovation on this planet. Other worlds just use their foosoo for everything. Pretty boring if you ask me,” Vero said with a shrug.
“Hmm... I guess.”
After being shown around, both groups eventually returned to their rooms to finally get some rest.
For the first time in what felt like forever, things were actually quiet.
Right before going into her room, Mindy stopped Jaylia for a moment.
“Hey...”
Jaylia turned around and looked at Mindy.
“You know... it’s kinda nice having another girl around. All these years I’ve mostly gone on missions with Vero, so it’s nice to have a change of pace.”
Jaylia smiled and nodded.
“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Mindy nodded and let the door close behind her.
Back in the boys’ room, it wasn’t long before Peter was fast asleep on his bed. Rowlo got ready for bed too, exhausted from the long day.
Then suddenly...
The sound of the door opening could be heard.
Rowlo looked up and saw his father standing there smiling with a box of donuts in his hands.
“Hey kiddo, I got donuts...” he said with a wide grin.
Rowlo sat up and looked over at him with a sarcastic expression.
“Can’t we just make that stuff out of thin air here?”
Delo nodded.
“Yep, but come on... are you trying to say you’re too old to spend some time with your old man? Or wait no, maybe you’re too important now.”
Delo gave a sarcastic mocking bow.
“Forgive me, oh great one.”
Rowlo scoffed and got up.
“You’re full of it, Dad.”
Rowlo followed his father to the mess hall. The complex was quieter now with far less activity. Most of the operatives had already gone to sleep, though many of the aliens were still active, likely species that were mainly nocturnal.
Delo and Rowlo sat down at a table and opened the box to start eating.
“So... pretty crazy huh? Everything that’s happened,” Delo said before biting into a donut.
“Well I didn’t know you were the head of some secret organization for one, but honestly... everything that’s happened has been insane. I still can’t fully believe it.”
Delo chuckled slightly.
“Yeah... aliens, time travel. It’s quite a bit huh.”
Rowlo paused for a while, clearly thinking deeply about something.
“Dad... I tried to go to the moment right before Solomon was taken. We have a time machine, but I still don’t understand why it didn’t work.”
Delo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Time travel is dangerous, Rowlo, and not everything is so easy to change. If I had to guess, the Time Rangers blocked your jump remotely to protect timeline integrity.”
“Tch... that’s so stupid. What’s the point of having a time machine if we can’t do anything?”
“You can do a lot, Rowlo, but just remember it’s a tool, not something to toy around with.”
Rowlo grew more somber.
“So... do you think I’d be able to go back and find Mom? We could find out what happened to her... maybe even save her.”
Delo’s face suddenly grew stern and somber when he heard Rowlo mention his mother.
“Rowlo... kid... I know what happened to your mom.”
Rowlo slowly put down the donut in his hand and immediately looked up.
“What...?!”
Delo paused for a moment, thinking back.
“She’s alive, Rowlo... but no one can reach her where she is now, and no one knows how. We were with DETA back then too... There was an experiment involving other dimensions and well...”
“So she’s out there somewhere...” Rowlo tried to hold back tears but failed completely. “...Thank God.” He sobbed quietly.
Rowlo wiped his tears before looking back at his father with determination in his eyes.
“Couldn’t we just go back to the experiment and stop her from getting trapped?”
“Who knows what would happen if we did that.” Delo sighed deeply. “I’d rather not mess with the timeline too much.”
“Yeah... you’re probably right. I mean if we can find a way to that dimension or whatever, we can save her, right?”
“Maybe, but no one knows how... like in the entire universe. So if you figure it out, let me know.”
“Well...” Rowlo laughed weakly. “I can’t say I don’t have time now. Hey, you know Dad, if you came with us on a trip through time you could become immortal too. Then neither of us would have to age.”
Delo paused and looked upward as if remembering something important.
“I think I’ll have to think about that... maybe one of these days.”
Rowlo nodded with a grin and reached for another donut.
Suddenly Delo got up from the table.
“Well... I hope you guys are ready. Tomorrow you head out to Kudos.”
Rowlo looked down at the half-eaten donut in his hand before nodding.
“Yeah... we’ll get Solomon back for sure.”