"BUHAHA! What's that look on your face?" She laughed like a maniac: "Jeez, calm down. I was just kidding... Probably..."

"PROBABLY?!" I yelled. One thing you don't know about me is that I'm a total coward. She continued, "Well, I didn't mention something important to you, Felix. The aliens spot the time-traveled humans like you and kills them".

"Is it really a common thing that people travel in time like me?" I asked.

"Yes, you know that coffee shop you came from?" she asked.

"The cosmic coffee shop?" I said confusedly, "What about it?"

"It's made and served by aliens," she whispered, "even the barista that made the coffee for you; she's an alien costumed as a human".

I got shivers when I heard what Lia had said, and then I asked her, "But why do they do that in the first place? Why'd they want to collect humans like Pokémon and kill them?"

"Actually, I still don't know, and that's why I'm helping you," she replied. "I'll tell you more details when we head to my place again; we're in the earth's orbit, as you see; act normal."

"Okay."

After a few minutes, we landed on earth. I was thinking of what Lia has said to me on the spaceship, and my mind still can't absorb any of these. Will I be able to survive here? Or am I just going to die? Nah, man, this is going to be tough.

As we arrived at Lia's place, she closed the door with a somehow high technological lock, and we took a place on the couch so we could start our chat. "Hey weirdo, do you want to go back to your era or not?" Lia asked, and after a whole minute of thinking, I replied, "Yes, I want to".

"Okay! Now let me tell you exactly how they get rid of the time-traveled humans here", she said. "First, they take off their skin, then they cut their fingers, then they..."

"JUST SAY WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS BEFORE TAKING OFF THEIR SKIN", I screamed my heart out of my chest, interrupting her.

"BUHAHAHA!" she laughed a devil's laugh. "I can keep doing this with you all day!" she said, and then took a deep breath, and her face started to act all serious. Then she continued, "Okay, now listen carefully. They find the human lost in front of the coffee shop. One of the true aliens spots them and sneakily talks to them to convince the person that he's dead now and this is his afterlife, and we are all wandering zombies. When they get the person's trust, they take him to fight Tervano* and tell the person that the Tervano will send them to a better place, full of magic, full of food and alcohol, and full of money".

"What's the Tervano?" I asked.

"It's a huge alien, approximately twenty meters high," she said. "I heard from a freshman in my college that no one has ever beat that alien before, but they say that if it happens and the human beats the Tervano, he'll go back to his era and the aliens will wash his brain as if nothing happened, but we're still not sure about that since no one has ever beat the Tervano before. You should be really thankful that I spotted you first before the aliens did".

"Yeah, so I should beat the unbeatable alien to go back home? How in a cheesecake should I do that?" I said

"I'll get you all the weapons you need, and I'll teach you the Tervano's weaknesses, and I'll do whatever there is to help you", Lia said.

"But what if I died?" I sadly asked. Lia looked down, speechless, for a few seconds, but then she raised her head and looked into my eyes excitedly.

"I'll bring you back to life! That's a promise!" She said this while holding both of my hands.

"Are you playing games? Is that even possible?" I asked while slowly removing her hands from mine.

"Well, have you even thought that it is possible to travel to a place like this in the first place?" she said, staring into my soul.

Lia's words made me think of a lot of things; she meant that everything is possible when she asked me that question. Lying on the guests' bed that's made of a huge balloon of water, I was rethinking about fighting the Tervano. I asked myself, How long am I going to be a coward? I mean, I really like the adventure, and I hated the boring life I've been living in my era, and God led me into this beautiful era. But how could I beat an unbeatable thing?

I fell asleep after two hours of overthinking and woke up the next morning. She was angrily looking at me. I thought that she was selfish; she wanted me to risk my life just because she's curious about what the aliens do to humans and to answer her questions, but now, after overthinking all night, I think she really wants to protect me, but why? I wondered.

"G'day, Lia, are you still angry?" I asked her while smiling, then she turned her head to the other side, so I took a deep breath and said, "I'll fight that Tervano. Shall we start our first lesson, captain?"

"Really?! Uh, I mean good for you," she replied. "Let's start after breakfast. Come here".

During the breakfast, "Sorry for being nosy, but I'm curious; where's your family?" I asked.

"They're in a better place", she said. "Sorry to hear about that," I unhappily said while looking down.

"Huh, I mean, they escaped to Uranus years ago", she confusedly said.

I looked at her speechless with a poker face.

"HAHA, you thought they were dead??" She sarcastically said, "Okay, stop playing; let's start our battle lessons".

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S PLAYIN-"

"Let's start with Tervano's weaknesses; you'll be surprised when you know them!" she laughed. "She's really sensitive!"

"She?!!!"

"Yeah, she!" Lia said. "She's a female, and guess what? She's really sensitive and likes flower bouquets! Give her a flower, and you win".

"For real?!" I asked, not believing a word.

"Yeah, for real! Just make her heart flatter, that's all", she said. "But be careful; she won't forgive you if you do something wrong, like telling her she's beautiful when you're having a disgusted face, because she's really ugly"

"So how am I going to do this? I'm either terrible at lying or making a girl's heart flatter", I said. "I have the sharpest tongue ever."

"I know, man", she said, "but you don't have any choice".

"But how'd you know that she's a female?" I asked. "The aliens aren't that stupid to tell their monster's weakness".

"They didn't say anything," she replied. Then she brushed her hair back with her hand saying, "I have my own ways".

She looked really cool when she said that. My heart almost skipped a beat, I wonder why.

"Also, I heard that the alien soldiers will train the Tervano today, want to see it?" Lia asked.

"Sure"

She threw some clothes in my face and said, "Then change into these clothes and wear your red glasses; the training is starting soon"

As I got changed, we headed out of the place and reached the battlefield. There were a lot of Zornians and Regazians everywhere. I was amazed by this unearthly view, and after a while, I heard drums beating loudly and trumpets blowing, but it was robots that were blowing and drumming! The view was amazing, the arena was literally floating, and the audience chairs were flying! Where's the gravity? Don't even ask.

People were sitting on their chairs using a ladder with separate steps; each step could carry one person and send him to the place where the ticket for the chair was, then rush to the ground to carry another person and deliver him, and so on! I never imagined that view or that technology before! People here are definitely living on another level!

The fight began, and the Tervano appeared. She was enormous and hideous! Her skin was a deep green color, and she had seven eyes, four limbs, and no legs! She had the lower body of a foul-smelling snail. And every time she moves, she leaves a dark liquid on the ground; it was horrible and smelled! As the fight began, the Tervano roared and charged at the audience, sending many flying out of their chairs. The robots that had been playing the drums and trumpets quickly transformed into weapons and began to attack the Tervano. The Zornians and Regazians in the audience cheered and shouted as the battle raged on.

The Tervano was a powerful opponent, and she quickly took out several of the robots. She spat acid at them, threw huge rocks at them, and even stomped on them. The robots were relentless, but they were no match for the Tervano's strength and power. One of the robots, a large and powerful model, managed to land a decisive blow. It fired a missile that hit the Tervano in the eye, and it staggered backwards.

The other robots took advantage of Tervano's weakness and attacked her en masse. They fired lasers at her eyes and mouth, and she began to scream in pain. Tervano lashed out in retaliation, but she was outnumbered and outgunned. One by one, the robots fell to the ground, defeated, but the Tervano was also wounded and battered. The audience, which had been cheering and shouting, was now silent, watching the battle with bated breath.

Tervano knew that she was outnumbered and outgunned, but she refused to give up. She stood her ground and roared a challenge at the remaining robots. The robots charged at the Tervano, and the battle resumed. The Tervano fought, but she was no match for the robots' superior firepower. She was wounded again and again, and her strength began to wane.

Finally, the Tervano collapsed to the ground, exhausted and defeated. The robots stood over her, their weapons trained on her. The audience watched in silence, their hearts pounding in their chests. The robots raised their weapons to deliver the final blow, but then something unexpected happened.

Tervano's wounds began to heal, and her strength began to return. She stood up and roared a challenge at the robots. The robots were stunned. They had never seen anything like it. The Tervano was stronger than ever before. She charged at the robots, and they scattered in fear. The Tervano chased the robots down, one by one. She destroyed them all, until there was only one robot left standing. The robot was the one that had fired the missile that had wounded her in the eye.

The Tervano faced the robot, and the two of them stared each other down. The robot was terrified, but it refused to go back down. It raised its weapon and fired at the Tervano. The Tervano dodged the blast and lunged at the robot. She grabbed it by the throat and lifted it into the air. The robot struggled to break free, but the Tervano was too strong. Squeezing the robot's chest, the Tervano lifted it higher and higher. The robot's eyes bulged, and finally, the robot's head exploded, and its body fell to the ground, lifeless.

Tervano stood over the robot's body, her chest heaving. She had won the battle, but it had been a costly victory. She had been wounded many times, and she was exhausted. But the Tervano was also triumphant. She had defeated the robots. She roared a victory roar, and the audience cheered.