Chapter Five : Space Mission

''The full brunt of the forces came down as Andromeda left, taking Spica with her , constrained. Dozens came, armed with their guns , and automatically began to shoot at them. Steven and Rigel ran at the bubbles containing a restrained Misty along with White and Blue, or , their gemstones at least. The gunfire became too high as they were stopped by Brandon, who erupted a wall of fire in front of them. They turned back .''

''" We have to go !!! " he shouted. Rigel was shot in the shoulder, giving him a nasty pain , but a moderate bruise. The soldiers advanced intimidatingly, their presence felt by all of them .''

Adalene threw a cherry bomb at one of the soldiers, causing him to grunt in pain .

''" We have to go, mom !! " Brandon said. Misty told them to go in an aggravated tone, claiming that she had a plan. The horn of three Tripods sounded as they blasted the buildings near the park, causing them to explode violently. The debris showered onto the area where the Heart Of Darkness was currently, causing the weapon to create an electromagnetic wave which knocked out all of the power the city had. The Tripods were now blasting at the fighting area, trying to kill the others .''

" Misty, I'll come back for you !! " Brandon exclaimed .

''" Just go, dude !! " Misty repeated. " I have a plan !! Now go ! "''

Adalene and the others gathered .

''" Retreat, " Adalene shouted. " Everyone retreat !! "''

''The group, Yellow and Steven ran from the park , exiting the area. At the body of a deceased Cassiopite, Steven turned back from the escaping team , and looked at the soldier's belt. A small machine was attached to it, sleek and comfortable to hold .''

''" It looks like a warping wielder . " he said. " This little baby might come in hand- OW !!! "''

''One of the soldiers shot at Steven, although it bounced off of his shield. The recoil from it nearly broke his arm .''

''Heat Rays began skimming at the area as Steven left, unscathed. The blasting was fierce, causing them to fall back even more. As they ran past the streets that led to the surrounding city parts, carnage was apparent. Broken water mains, obliterated buildings. There was no World Trade Center on the horizon. It had collapsed. Quasars flew overhead in titanic groupings. Yellow surveyed the damage with a keen sense of regret. Adalene, Steven , Rigel and Brandon were all fatigued and torn-up emotionally. Steven and Brandon the most. Steven because he had accidentally shattered his " friend " Jasper, and as of now , was unable to heal her. Brandon because he had lost Spica, the love of his life. His wife. In the hands of someone tyrannical, someone mentally destructive. Another wave of electromagnetic power surged through the city. The Heart Of Darkness was why all this was happening, and Andromeda had brought it here. She wanted Earth dead .''

She wanted them dead .

''In the Mothership, Andromeda beamed in , adjoined by a squirming , struggling Spica. Several workers, including Vega and Intersia were in the ship , tending to the deployment of more forces onto Earth. Much to Spica's surprise, the invasion had started in several major cities around the world. In China and Japan respectively, most of their military power had died , leaving the nations vulnerable. The U.S. had already been conquered, explaining the absence of troops in the cities. Andromeda had already won the war for the planet, but she was not satisfied with it. She wanted the planet to die .''

''The soldiers armed at her post gave a salute and bowed. She nodded her head and brought Spica in with her, closing the doors that led to her private chambers. Spica had stopped struggling, having a plan in mind .''

''However, as soon as the doors closed , Andromeda struck Spica in the mouth , sending her flying to the wall. Spittle flew from her mouth as she was stunned for a moment, before recomposing herself. Andromeda was livid, her eyes bloodshot .''

''" Why are you doing this ? " she asked. " Why the hell did you left me on Cassiopeia to die ? "''

''Spica smirked. Even after getting struck with enough force to cave a grown man's skull in, she laughed. It hadn't done much really. She know that Andromeda was holding back .''

''" You weren't going to die . " Spica said. " The explosion was not that big ." She smiled .''

Andromeda's eyes widened .

''" Over eighty thousand people died in an instant !!!!!!!! " she shouted, acting if that number was of any importance. So what. Big fucking deal .''

''" But that's not the answer I am looking for, " Andromeda walked over to Spica a little. " Why did you leave me for this pitiful world ? "''

''Spica's eyes squinted a bit in confusion. She was purely confused. " Pitiful ? "''

''" Yes !! " she shouted again. " You are going to live for thousands of years !!!! You will outlive everything and everyone on this world before you even manage to look fifty !! You will see this world burn to the ground and crumble to dust before your own eyes !! Why do you care about these things ????!!!!! "''

''Spica stood up. Slowly .''

" I care because I love them . " she answered .

" WHY ?!! WHAT CAN THEY DO FOR YOU ??! THEY ARE USELESS CREATURES !!"

''Andromeda was hesitating from hitting Spica, trying to not damage the ship from the recoil. Spica was frowning harshly. She never wanted this very moment. In it, almost everything that she had done was unjustified. Just one wasn't .''

''Brandon and the others were on the top of an apartment building, watching above to avoid being seen. The sky was flooded by hundreds of Quasars, all of them seeming to be headed in the same direction. The landscape was littered with destroyed buildings, debris and Tripods walking among the carnage .''

''" I think the plan is obvious, " Brandon said , trying to stay composed and well put together. " We've got to get to Spica and bring her back . "''

''Adalene gazed upon the devastated city and the numerous Tripods that were perambulating through the destruction. The city however was silent and eerily calm. It seemed as if no one had survived the attack as the machines searched for survivors .''

''" Our plan is that we must stop the Black Hole Generator from being activated . That is the priority ," she said. " If we cannot stop that machine, the entire world is doomed . "''

She then turned slightly as Brandon reasoned with her .

" Mom, we , I , can't function without thinking the worst that might be happening to Spica in that freaky ship . We have to --"

The others stood and watched as they talked .

''"Um, Miss Adalene , " Steven added. " It is going to take some time for the Cassiopites to fix all the damage Misty and Rigel caused to the machine . "''

''Adalene listened, concocted another plan , one which would let Brandon and the others leave to get Spica. It was risky, but the world would end if things don't go according to plan .''

''" Go then, save your wife ," Adalene said softly. " You, Steven and Rigel can go to save Spica . Yellow Diamond , Windy and I will stop the Cassiopites and rescue our allies . "''

''Yellow, despite being a war-hardened gem , was intimidated by the thought of having to deal with those brutes by herself. With Blue and White, she felt invincible , but she was really alone here .''

" By ourselves ? You are kidding me, aren't you , Adalene ? "

Adalene breathed in .

" We will manage . "

Brandon sighed in relief as Steven and Rigel teamed up .

" Thank you, mom . " he said , " I'll come back , I promise you ."

She smiled .

''" So, where to ? " Steven asked. The three were on the street now, trying to figure up a plan to get to Spica , in which would require a shuttle of sorts. The sky was particularly calm at the moment as there was no Quasars in the sky. At near four in the morning, the moon was near the horizon , barely peaking above the smoking , destroyed city .''

''" We need some sort of ship or something to get up there . " Brandon said. " Any ideas ? "''

''Rigel thought for a moment, then it came. The scouting ship they had earlier that day, it was still in good condition. Rigel glanced about, looking for a particular cream coloured building he and Windy parked it next to. It peaked over the other buildings, a few blocks away .''

''" Oh, I have one . Follow me ! " Rigel said. The others were a bit confused but followed anyway .''

''Misty and the other Diamonds were still contained in their bubbles, with Blue and White still reduced to only their gemstones. The Tripods that marched upon the park were marching around the vicinity, securing the militia that populated the area. The Heart Of Darkness was being repaired as multiple Mortaxans surrounded it. The sky ...it was quiet. It was almost as if, no one had invaded at all. All of the flying ships and Tripods, with the exception of the three near the park , had all seemed to vanish. Misty dug into her pocket and grabbed the handle of her knife, when something happened at the corner of her eye. One of the Tripods had lowered itself near a group of smoldering trees, and an arm- no, more like a tentacle of sorts had grabbed something , no- not something , someone. The loud engine of the Tripod sounded as the machine risen and walked over to the area the militia was in, and dropped it near them. A few of them gave glances of shock as they looked at the charred corpse. The machine overhead walked back into the city, followed by the other two , blasting away at the buildings nearby that still stood .''

''" Its her, " one of the soldiers said. " Andromeda's sister . Our Commander . "''

''A commotion had erected among the soldiers as Misty's blood ran cold. The body was picked up and carried, the burnt , disfigured corpse of Dahlia Vexan. Misty's eyes widened and began to fill with water. Although it was silent, it was the first time Misty had cried in years .''

''" No ," Misty whispered. " You can't be dead . You have to be alive . You're a hardy bitch . You can't be--"''

A fire lit her aflame .

The same teardrop shaped ship that seemed to crash into the city yesterday, had managed to somehow remain intact and in good working order , propped up on its side by an apartment building .

''" This is it . " Rigel said. " If its still good, we can get Spica back and fly back here . "''

''Brandon and Steven agreed, and it seemed that all good things were coming their way. As the three stood and glanced through the car's window, a man looked back at the two of them and screamed , startling them .''

" Alien freak ! " he shouted, running out of the car and into the ravaged city .

''" People can be so annoying sometimes . " Brandon quipped, irritated by a lack of sleep as he and the other two ran to the ship and inside. As Steven got to the controls, Rigel shoved him out of the way and began to fly the ship .''

''" I'm driving ! " he said. Steven was taken slightly aback by his childish demeanor, but bigger things were ahead of them as they ascended into the sky , beyond the clouds. Soon they were in the stratosphere as they continued, New York appearing as a smoky dot on a map. The sky turned from from a dawn-coloured purple to a deep blue, then inky black as the ship exited the atmosphere and veered through the cold, starry vacuum .''

''" Alright, now , where is the mothership ? " Rigel asked as Brandon worked with an apparatus unknown to him. It seemed rather similar to GPS, with a grid-filled screen , a blue ball to represent Earth , a smaller , grey one to symbolize Luna and some kind of object almost halfway between them with a triangular shape .''

" Well, it seems like the ship is roughly ninety-thousand miles from Earth , a little under half of the distance from Earth to the moon . "

Rigel's eyes widened as he looked outside the windshield, the ship rather conspicuous in sight due to its titanic size .

''" Guys, I see it , " he said , bewildered. Brandon and Steven glanced out as well, eyes widened. " The Mothership'' !!"