2298
Gertok Galaxy
Planet Celestine
The Celestine Kingdom

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At the same time, the Citrine Dragon had entered the Gertox Galaxy. Despite the time difference between both dragons when they left Planet Earth, they arrived on opposite sides of the galaxy.

Solana, Fletcher, Malyla, Sammy, Adel, and Pedro looked around at the desolation before them. 

Adel's eyes sparkled as he looked at the twinkling, colorful light show displayed before him. "These stars . . . they're beautiful. I don't recall seeing them in our galaxy." He mused, recalling his bedroom ceiling was the Milky Way Galaxy in painted form, he did so himself.

Sammy stood on his tippy toes and peered out. "Where are we, Princess Solana?" He asked, turning his head to look at the Solari Princess. "We are not in the Milky Way Galaxy, at least not anymore!"

Solana tapped on the holographic keyboard in front of her. "Oh," She paused at the words that popped up. "It says we are in the Gertox Galaxy . . . my home," She trailed off with a misty look in her eyes as she blinked a few times, straightening up.

Pedro turned his attention towards Solana, tilting his head to the side. "Your home? Do you live around here? Exactly where do you live?" He questioned, feeling bewildered about this whole situation. "I know you're an alien princess but . . ."

Solana sighed heavily, quite annoyed by all the questions she was being bombarded with. "Yes, my home. I live on Planet Celestine, home to Solari, like me, and Lunari, like my sister. It is not too far from here, it should be just past the next planet we pass."

Pedro blinked a few times. His brain slowly processed the new information he was given. "How did we get from Earth to here in what?" He questioned, glancing at his watch. "Two minutes?"

Malyla looked at her watch and indeed only two minutes had passed since they left. "Two minutes? It took two minutes to get here. We were screaming for two whole minutes? Are you kidding? Are you sure? Is that watch broken? It's broken, right? Did you forget to put it in the light last night?"

Fletcher put his hand up, immediately silencing Malyla. "Calm down. I know this is a lot to take in but we need to keep a level head and not bombard Princess Solana with all these questions."

Pedro scratched his head, a thoughtful look on his face. "It has only taken at least three years to go anywhere in our solar system." He mused, turning towards Solana. "Do you by chance know what happened?"

Solana frowned at the question. "Do I look like I know?" She countered with her own question which made everyone fall silent. 

Adel didn't like the uncomfortable silence. "You said you have a sister? What happened?" He asked hesitantly, trying to find something that wouldn't annoy her.

Solana wasn't in the mood to explain but it was better to shut them up with the information they wanted. "Our planet was under attack by Emperor Oucxian and the Cerkoik. Mother and Father gave us these artifacts: my cuff bracelet and my sister, our Father's circlet crown. Mother used a book similar to Sammy's to send my sister and I off somewhere safe."

"Little did I know it would take 10,000 years for us to be found. And not to mention the Celestial Dragons are, in fact, real, or at least two of them. The others I do not know, nor do I care. Mother thought putting our trust in hunks of crystals would be the saving grace, well, she is wrong. A myth is not going to help." She commented indifferently.

Everyone was taken aback but Malyla. She might have been a bit cynical at times, but Solana was on another whole level. "What exactly are the Celestial Dragons?" She flatly asked, speaking for everyone.

Solana inwardly sighed and turned towards them. "The Celestial Dragons are commanded by the Celestial Guardians through Celestial Artifacts. They were once brave warriors from different planets who came together to defend the universe. They suddenly vanished only to become a myth told to children as a bedtime story. Luna loved it. I did not."

Sammy's eyes widened and brightened up upon hearing Solana's story. "Wow! That's so cool! Does that mean we get to be the next Celestial Guardians since you've got one of the dragons!" He excitedly asked, jumping up and down.

"No," Solana sharply snapped, seeing the young boy so happy about it reminded her of Luna. "You will be returning to Earth as soon as we land. This is not your responsibility, it is mine. You are from Earth, you could not possibly have what it takes to be the Celestial Guardians."

"How do you know? You have no idea what we've gone through. Earth has been through a lot of wars, we've read about them in history." Adel forced out through gritted teeth, nails digging into his palms. "And watched movies about the blood wars in history class."

Fletcher glanced over at Adel, noticing his body language and quickly adding something to prevent Solana from snapping at him. "You make it sound like you have no faith in the Celestial Dragons, when you have one of how many?"

"Ten," Solana replied. "There are ten altogether. Eight more are to be found, however, the others are lost and it would be a fool's journey to find them. We have no clue where they are let alone where the artifacts lie. Legend has it the artifacts were separated from the Dragons, once found they will lead to the other dragons. It was a way to make sure they could never be used separately."

"Then if that's true, how did the Citrine Dragon get us here?" Pedro asked, earning a look from everyone else. "What? It's a reasonable question."

Solana pointed to the book Sammy had in his arms. "I can only speculate that that book's crystal conducts power for this dragon to work, connected with my cuff bracelet giving it power for one trip and one trip only. Although, I am not sure how or when, there is a lot about the dragons and artifacts that are unknown."

"You have crystals that conduct power?" Malyla had never heard of using crystals as powers. Now, she had heard of people using crystals or other things, claiming they can heal or purify, which wasn't true.

Solana nodded, feeling a little less tense about answering their questions. "It is common to use crystals as a power source since they generate their own power, never needing to be charged, but can break and wear down over time. All crystals come from a planet that naturally produces them. Now, there are many other ways to produce energy. Some species can produce arcane or ion energy which can be made as power."

Pedro was completely invested in how alien technology works. "That's cool. I never knew there was so much out there. It makes me think Earth is behind on its technological power sources advances, I mean, we have solar power, but it's about the only power we have besides electric which is still powered by the sun."

"Your little planet is far in the galaxy, there is not even any alien life - as you say - in the next three galaxies. As far as I knew, Earth did not exist when I was alive. Your galaxy seemed to have been fairly new." Solana randomly mused, shrugging her shoulders.

Adel recalled the many things he had learned about how old the Earth is. "Some say six or seven thousand or less, others say millions of years. We don't truly know how old the Earth is, everyone has their own beliefs on it." 

"I am more inclined to say it is younger than 10,000 years. The galaxy is rapidly growing over time, new planets and solar systems grow each day . . ." Her voice trailed off and her eyes went wide as she saw what had become of her planet as they entered the atmosphere and flew over the ground. 

She dug her nails into the armrest, her nostrils flaring and her eyes narrowing as his face entered her mind. "Emperor Oucxian and the Cerkoik are going to regret their actions." She growled.

Fletcher could sense anger boiling inside the Sunari princess, which unsettled him. "This must be hard for you, isn't it?" He softly asked, trying to tread as lightly as he could.

Solana pulled her eyes away and met Fletcher's. "Hard? Understatement." She replied without hesitation, loosening her grip on her armrest. "The last time I saw my kingdom, I was watching Mother and Father rotate the sun and moon."

"Wait," Malyla looked at her friend, a quizzical expression growing on her face as her tone turned bewildered. "Rotating the sun and moon? Don't the plants do that themselves?"

Solana slowly nodded, resting her hands on her lap. "At one time, yes, but once the Twilari disappeared both the Sunari and Lunari were given powers to rotate the sun and moon each day - every ketu -" She paused, realizing they had no clue what that was. "It is half a day, twelve hours in your time."

Fletcher turned away from the window towards Solana. "Why did you mistake us for subordinates of Emperor Oucxian? We look nothing like you, at least, in terms of certain things -" He stopped himself before he could say something he'd regret.

Solana sighed gently, looking down at her lap. "I did not know what you were. I was concerned that he had sent people to locate us, considering he might have learned what Mother and Father had done to my sister and I. He is intelligent and open-minded in certain aspects. I will give him that. You can see why I was on guard."

Fletcher's eyes swept over everyone in the cockpit, seeing their attentively listening expressions. He turned back to Solana. "Why is he doing all this? Why is he attacking planets and destroying civilizations?"

She earned glances from everyone, and a rather uncomfortable aura surrounded them. "I am not entirely sure why. Father and Mother never knew, they speculated he was looking for a new home planet for him and the Cerkoik. He and his people would either have the inhabitants surrender, or he would imprison them, or he would annihilate them for their opposition against him."

Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just explained. "it is none of your concern. What I choose to do is myself and myself only. You will be going home as soon as I find a way for you to, so, just enjoy what time you have here." She replied sitting back down in her chair.

Sammy frowned, puffing out his bottom lip and slumping his shoulders, bunching his back. "Do you know how long that would be?" He asked, pulling out the glossy puppy eyes, placing his hands on the armrest, and gazing up at Solana.

Solana looked down at the young boy. 'He reminds me of Luna.' She thought to herself, her expression never faltering from its stoic gaze. "Perhaps less than a ketuxi - I mean day?" 

Sammy's pouty lip grew bigger as he heaved a heavy sigh. "That's not very long," He mumbled, plopping down on the floor and crossing his legs. 'I wish we could stay here longer. It's just so interesting and not like boring old earth.' He thought to himself, skulking over his thoughts.

Malyla looked around, it seemed like something straight out of any elven-esque novels. "This is your kingdom?" She asked with wide eyes. "Despite the ruins it's kinda pretty, not gonna lie." She marveled, finally letting her grumpy mood soften.

Solana turned her head to look back at Malyla. "It was more beautiful 10,000 years ago. When the palace was in its prime it was a sight to behold. During the night the palace mirrored the night of the Lunari and during the day, well, mirrored the day of the Solari. Now it's fluctuating between the two since the sun and moon are out of balance for who knows how long."

Malyla thought about the sun and moon being out of balance. "Couldn't you fix that when we get there? Isn't it dangerous to have them out of balance?" She asked, speaking what everyone was thinking.

Solana shook her head but then recoiled. "For you, yes, for myself and Luna, no." She replied, pausing for a moment and then continuing. "I cannot. I do not exactly have full power over the sun. I only would be able to during a ceremony between myself and my Lunari husband, Mother, and Father would turn over their powers to us."

Pedro caught the fact that she would be marrying a Lunari, or maybe she had, he couldn't figure it out. "Are you married?" He blurted out, gaining glares from the others.

Solana was amused that he had thought that she was married. "No, I am not. I did have a fiancé, unfortunately, I do not know what happened to him. Luna did not like him, it was amusing to see her disdain for him and her occasional prank at his expense." 

Malyla pointed her finger through the windshield towards what looked like a mountain, a dark bluish metallic mountain approaching in the distance. "What is that? Are we going to crash? The dragon is heading straight for it!" She exclaimed, anxiety welling into her chest.

Solana narrowed her eyes, trying to make out what they were approaching. "We are not going to crash." She replied, sitting back in her chair and letting out a small sigh. "You worry too much."

As they moved closer, Adel noticed the neon yellow flashing lights at the top of the door, which seemed to echo the glowing eyes of the dragon from the reflection above. "Princess Solana, do you know something about this? You don't seem shocked at all."

Solana turned her head, looking back at the others who were waiting for an answer. "I assume this was a secret project my father was working on. As much as I hate to admit it, I think he and Mother believed that Luna and I will become the next Celestial Guardians since we have the dragons. That we would find the others, appoint guardians and take back the universe from Oucxian. None of which is going to happen."

Sammy felt like something snapped at her harsh words. "Why not? Your parents entrusted you with this huge task! Who else is going to save the universe from Emperor Oucxian?" He exclaimed, dumbfounded by her words.

Pedro had to agree with Sammy on this, nodding his head he spoke. "How else are you going to take down Emperor Oucxian? You have the element of surprise within reach. How can you not want to find the others and appoint guardians?" He added to what Sammy said.

Solana did not appreciate them second-guessing her decision. "I do not have to answer you. I will contact the Galactic Alliance and see what they plan to do in taking down Emperor Oucxian."

Sammy scoffed, which earned him looks from the others. Never had they heard him scoff, never in his whole life. "It's been 10,000 years! What have they done? You don't even know if Emperor Oucxian is still around. There is a lot you don't know and you're making rash judgments." He exclaimed, his eyes dancing with fire.

Solana was taken aback by his words, although he had a point. She decided to ignore him and turned her attention to the hanger door that was opening. 

The Citrine Dragon made its way through the door, landing in the middle of the hangar and shutting down. The door closed behind it, eloping everyone in complete darkness. 

As the others grabbed their flashlights, Solana opened her palm and a ball of light grew in her hand. "Stay behind me at all times and don't wander off. I don't need to deal with playing hide and seek with you." She snapped, a bit more harshly than she would have hoped.

Malyla looked at the light in Solana's hand as he flicked on her flashlight. "I thought you said you didn't have any powers?" She inquired sarcastically, feeling a little cocky about her comment.

Solana frowned, turning to face Malyla. She took a deep breath and brushed past her, walking out of the dragon. "I said I did not control the sun, I never said anything about not having powers at all." She replied, her tone just as sarcastic as Malyla's had been.

Fletcher ignored the two girls as he walked around the hangar, looking with his flashlight. "This is a massive hangar. It must've taken years to build all this, especially since it seemed no one knew about it."

Adel walked over to what looked like an elevator and rubbed his hand over the thick layer of dust. "I found our way up!" He called out but then realized there was no power, judging by hearing Pedro try and turn on the lights. "Scratch that, no power."

Solana walked over to a wall and pulled open a hidden door. The creaking echoed throughout the hanger, causing everyone to cover their ears. "Do you not have spacecraft back on Earth? Anyone with a brain would know there is always some way up during a power outage." She condescendingly asked, putting one hand on her hip.

Malyla was slowly growing more ticked with Solana but she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yes, we have spacecrafts back on Earth. They're nothing like this." She replies, trying to sound as polite as she could through gritted teeth.

Solana made the light in her hand glow brighter, looking up the shaft and at the ladder. "I think it will hold us. I will go first." She declared, making the light in her hand float above her.

Fletcher put his hand out in front of her, stopping her from going. "Now wait, I don't think it's smart that you go first. We have no clue what is waiting for us up there, and I think it would be best if I went first." He said, not taking no for an answer. 

Solana knew it wouldn't exactly be smart to go up first considering she was the heir to her kingdom. "If you must. Just do not take forever to climb up. We will be right behind you."

Pedro slipped beside Solana and flashed a smile. "Hi, uh, yeah, so where exactly are we going?" He asked, wondering where she was leading them too. "You haven't exactly told where this leads to."

Solana wasn't used to telling others what she did or why she made certain decisions. "If you just know, we are going to the bridge. It is the central command and chances are, if Luna did arrive before us, she would be there. If she did not arrive first, she would still go there. It's only logical." She said, watching Fletcher climb. "Who is next?"

Sammy dashes past Pedro with a grin on his face. "Me!" He exclaimed, starting to climb up after his guardian. Pedro followed behind, next was Malyla, Adel, and lastly Solana who thought it was best if she was the last, for her protection. 

Fletcher pushed open the door once at the top and climbed into the dark hallway. He helped each one of them up, one after the other. He turned around and flashed his flashlight around. "I would say it hasn't been used in 10,000 years."

Malyla noticed what looked like massive cobwebs in the corners of the hallway. It sent a chill down her spine just thinking about them. "Do you by chance have spiders?" She asked Solana, pointing to the webs.

Solana walked over to the webs that Malyla had spoken about. "I do not know what spiders are, but these come from a species of creatures called Siliuni. They are around, the size of your head, black with a yellow spot on its back, have long teeth, ten legs and are a little fuzzy. They are harmless and prefer the dark and quietness, hardly ever a bother. We use their webs as fabric since it is strong and durable, yet light and airy." She replied, walking down the hallway. 

Solana approached the door to the bridge, she noticed it was ajar, there was a dim light emanating from the room and soft voices. She put her hand out, stopping everyone and putting her finger up to her lip. 

"Better safe than sorry," She whispered, pulling out her dagger and took a deep breath and swung the door open as fast as she could, light flooding the hallway and making everyone close their eyes to adjust to the brightness.

🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑

A/N:
It took a few days to write this. I had been kinda busy. But I'm really happy with how things turned out. I'm kinda on a roll with these chapters and I'm very proud of myself.

Chapter Talk:
Solana is a little temperamental but I suppose that is due to how she is. She doesn't always stay like this, she's gotta go through character growth, and the same goes for Malyla and her sour attitude.

I can't wait for everyone to meet each other. Especially when Adel meets the Desert Sands Prep Academy gang since that is his dream college. I do have it Malyla is a little hostile towards them because Desert Sands Prep is a branch of the SERA Institute.

Thanks for reading!