Chapter 6 "Jade Wolf"

Chapter 6
Jade Wolf

PLANET ZAP

“Why this planet?” Zack asks curiously. “It’s not that I’m complaining… I’m happy to get out of the spaceship and stretch… but I’m just wondering.”

“Clear,” Knapp nods his head at her.

Clear hands the tablet to Zack and begins to explain, “This is the tablet that Knapp received from the Fifth Universe… at least, in a different form of this universe. The next person whom the Fifth Universe wanted us to look for has the power to control gravity.”

“And plus, we had looked into this planet a little bit before we got here. According to the tablet, this planet is not going to survive for very long. It’s way too polluted and may be too late to be fixed. There are way too many oil industries that continuously drill into the planet for uh, ‘resources,’” Knapp says with a quote air for the last word.

“How long does this planet have?” Sybil asks curiously.

“Probably five years,” Clear answers. She shakes her head sadly and says, “That’s exactly why I made a huge upgrade for our spaceship. As you can see, it’s powered by purely solar. With the help of my lightning energy as necessary, of course.”

“Logy and I will be going out first. We just need to find out who is doing this to the planet. We just need names of the owners of those oil industries,” Knapp says. “Then, we will come back by the end of the day and give you what we learn from the citizens.”

“Okay, any questions?” Clear asks.

~*~

Logy cannot help but stare at the odd color of the clouds, which are covering the entire sky and blocking the sunlight from reaching the surface of the planet.

“Clear told me that those clouds had always covered the sky for the last few centuries. So, people who live on this planet… they have never seen the sun in their lifetimes before,” Knapp says in sign language without using his voice at all. To him, it is easier not to use his voice so that he does not have to think of two completely different grammar structures at the same time. He has been improving a lot and begins to sign full sentences faster and faster.

“That’s sad,” Logy says with a soft expression on his face.

It takes them half an hour before they eventually reach a town called Hazardville. They end up going into a local coffee shop and order their own coffees before taking seats at one of the small round tables.

Every time Logy reads someone’s mind, he relays the information to Knapp in the entire sign language. An hour has passed, and nothing important regarding the oil industries has come up at all.

Until a man in a suit who is standing in a long line.

Logy widens her hazel eyes as if he is hearing something terrible. He looks back to Knapp and says in sign language, “Friendly Energy is the name of one of the large oil industries… It seems like he is panicking inside for some reason. Behind you.”

Knapp briefly turns his head toward the man who is practically sweating in his black suit.

Logy continues in sign language once again, “So… he is thinking like this, ‘What am I supposed to do? It’s all over the news! Is someone getting fired? No… What if someone gets killed?’”

The Universe Warrior calmly takes a sip of coffee from his third cup. He asks, “What else?”

“It’s just panicking nonsense,” Logy shakes his head. He waits for a short time and then says, “The owner of Friendly Energy… His name is Abura Don’yoku. Ohhh, it gets even better! It’s like every secret of his is being revealed to me!”

“What?” Knapp asks curiously.

“The Council is responsible too. They have always turned blind to the real problem in this world. They had always taken bribes from Friendly Energy and other oil industries. That probably explains the reason why there are not too many laws to regulate oil drilling.”

“I need names,” Knapp says.

“Nothing comes up.” Logy shrugs his shoulders. He looks back at the man in the suit. “Hey, he got his order and is leaving.”

“Let’s follow him!”

~*~

They end up losing him once the man in the suit gets in a black limousine, but they get more information than they expected.

They return to the spaceship and tell everyone about what they have found so far.

“Friendly Energy, eh? That cannot be good,” Clear shakes her head. “They have way too many allies on this planet. It’s no wonder they get away with everything.”

“Even the Council is included… It’s no wonder this planet is doomed from the start,” Sybil mumbles. “I wonder if the Prime Minister already knows about it?”

“I hope not,” Knapp says angrily. “Or else I would make him pay everything for what the planet is suffering.”

“I say we kick some butts!” Zack slams his fist on his other open palm. He exclaims in excitement, “Wow! I’ve always wanted to say that!”

Knapp smirks at Zack as he says, “I agree with you… but we can do that later. First… we will go back to the coffee shop tomorrow and… I pray to Hikyou-sama that he shows up again. Then we will catch him and question him.”

“So when you say ‘we,’ does that mean we are also coming?” Clear asks.

“Yes,” the Universe Warrior says cheerfully. “We will be in two groups of two people each. Clear and Zack, you will be together. Logy will be with me. I will confront that guy. I will give you a signal if I need your help.”

~*~

On the next day, the four warriors of the Dark Team end up going to the same local coffee shop, hoping that the same man in the suit shows up.

Clear and Zack take a round table and are chatting with each other like a couple in a relationship. Logy and Knapp take their own table at the opposite side of the shop and are chatting like best friends.

Logy is still listening or at least eavesdropping on others' thoughts, hoping that at least one of them is also involved but finds nothing at all. Most people cannot help but think about what they are supposed to do if the planet does not survive long enough.

After about two hours, Knapp notices that Logy is getting more and more tired every five minutes. He asks in sign language, “Do you need a break?”

“No, I am fine,” Logy waves his hand as if he dismisses the question.

“You shouldn’t use your mind energy way too much. It also drains your life force if you overdo it,” Knapp says worriedly. “It’s been a couple of hours already. I think Clear and Zack have enough coffee anyway.”

Logy takes a look at Clear and Zack, who seem to be bored out of their minds. He gives a light chuckle and turns back to Knapp. “Ok. I will just take a short walk.”

“Great! I need to stretch my legs anyway, so I’m joining you too. I will signal Clear and Zack that you need a break,” Knapp says. He taps his forefinger on the table, sending a trail of darkness to the other group’s table before taking the form of words.

Without looking at Knapp, Clear gives a quick thumb-up.

Knapp opens the door, holding it for Logy to leave the coffee shop. The deaf warrior smiles tiredly at him and mumbles a short thank-you.

Logy has not taken more than ten steps when he starts to lean against the wall of another building.

“Are you ok?” Knapp asks worriedly only to realize that Logy has closed his eyes, so he has not seen what he said. He taps on the deaf man’s shoulder, trying to get his attention.

Logy half-opens his hazel eyes and says, “Hm?”

Knapp repeats his question. As usual, Logy says he is fine but Knapp is starting to think that there is more to how Logy uses his power.

“You used your energy yesterday and then today again. You need to get some rest, and we can try again tomorrow.”

“N-no!” Logy cries. He takes a deep breath, not realizing that his face is turning a little pink. “I am fine… I promise! I just need a little more time to get my energy back.”

When he finally gets out of the haze, he looks up only to get startled by how close he is to Knapp. His face is redder than ever, so he looks away from the Universe Warrior, avoiding eye contact. “U-um… Y-you’re a little c-close.”

He feels the Universe Warrior’s hand grabbing his own jaw and then moving his face until they are looking each other straight in the eyes. That is when Logy notices that Knapp’s eyes are no longer dark brown.

Knapp’s eyes are practically drowning in the sea of whiteness and darkness. Logy almost shivers but manages to stop himself.

Knapp’s mouth is moving but Logy knows what he is saying after reading his lips. Logy. Should he let the Universe Warrior whatever he wants? What about his girlfriend?

Logy holds his breath when he realizes that Knapp is leaning closer and closer to him. Should he stop him? He should. But why is he not stopping him at all?

The Universe Warrior suddenly stops just an inch away from Logy’s lips. He turns his head towards a new icicle which has already pierced through the wall of the building. That is when he realizes that he senses a few more fast approaching presences of incoming attacks.

He quickly turns around and points his palm at the flying icicles. He manages to stop them just a few feet away. He quickly scans the area, including the roofs of the buildings but is not able to find anybody who attacks at the distance.

Are they onto us already? Knapp frowns. When he turns to Logy, he is shocked to see him already collapse to the floor. He says in concern, “L-Logy!”

He quickly puts his arms under Logy’s knees and neck and lifts him. We need to get out of the enemy’s sight. Fast. But before we do…

He taps one of his feet, sending a trail of darkness into the coffee shop. He quickly takes off through the streets, hoping that the enemy at least loses sight of them.

~*~

“Logy, wake up!” Knapp says, not caring if Logy can hear him or not. He just wants to say something that may wake him up somehow. He gently shakes the deaf warrior’s arm, but Logy is not waking up at all.

They are at the abandoned dock. At least it looks to be abandoned because of an old, large, and rusty cargo ship still parked next to the dock. So many litters all over the area as well. It seems like no one has been here for years.

Suddenly, four people jump from the cargos in different directions until they land safely on the concrete floor, surrounding Knapp and Logy completely.

Knapp does not even bother to look. He is too preoccupied at Logy for the half minute until he realizes that the deaf Fantasian is not waking up anytime soon.

“Who are you?” One of the strangers asks demandingly. “Why were you following the director of the logistics department?”

Is he talking about the man in the suit who Logy and I saw yesterday? Well in this case, it’s going to save us a lot of time.  Knapp slowly gets up and turns around entirely, facing two people. The third and fourth people are still standing behind him. He gives them a half-smirk as he says, “I am the Universe Warrior. I was sent here to find the culprit who is harming this planet.”

“Universe Warrior, eh?” The second stranger, female this time, asks with a raised eyebrow. She tucks her wavy red hair behind her ear. “Is that some kind of codename you are using to protect yourself?”

The third stranger behind Knapp narrows his pale eyes in anger. A light breeze gently ruffles his light blue short hair. “If you go after the Friendly Energy… you and your friends will die. If you’re lucky enough, you will suffer at the end instead.”

“What exactly is it that Friendly Energy is doing that they are trying to silence everyone?” Knapp asks. “Why isn’t the Prime Minister and the Council doing something? Is it because the entire Department of Justice is corrupted too --”

“Shut up,” The first stranger with near-medium black hair with a few bangs in different sizes in front of his forehead says dangerously. “Do you want to die now rather than later?”

“Calm down, Fall,” The fourth and last stranger snickers like someone is in huge trouble. She winks one of her orange eyes as she plays with the ends of her long blonde hair. She is wearing a school uniform - white shirt with a large orange bow at the middle of her chest and orange skirt. “You always kill first before we get information.”

“Do you want to die too, Spring?” Fall snaps as he is shaking his angry fist. He is wearing brown baggy pants and black jacket with white tank-top underneath.

“Spring is right,” the red-haired woman places her hand on her waist and continues, “As long as I want to finish this mission fast, we need to find out who exactly he is. He may have friends out here… Like that unconscious friend of his. Isn’t that why you sent your icicles to, at least, disable him from fighting, Winter?”

“That’s right, Summer.” Winter shifts his pale eyes toward the unconscious deaf man. “Speaking of which… Universe Warrior, I strongly recommend you to answer our questions if you don’t want your friend to die.”

Fall lifts his hand until he is pointing it at Logy. “Half Gravity.”

“Hm?” Knapp raises an eyebrow. “You can control the gravity?”

Logy starts to glow in the purple aura and then is being lifted into the air but before he even reaches to two feet above the floor, Knapp swings his arm sending a mixture of whiteness and darkness at his own member of Dark Team. The second Logy gets hit by Knapp’s power of the universe, he falls back to the concrete floor.

“What?” Fall asks. “Did… did you just cancel out my gravity energy?”

“Attack all at once!” Summer yells as she is powering up a large fireball. Snowflakes are surrounding Winter until they are being gathered into one icy orb hovering above his palm. Spring bends her knees before snaps them, jumping high into the air. Fall points both of his purple-glowing hands once again at Knapp.

None of their powers are effective against Knapp. They just dissipate into the air the second they hit him. After Spring drops herself from the air, her fist, which is bursting with white energy, lands a hit on Knapp’s face, but it does not send him flying away at all.

Instead, Knapp is just standing with no emotions being displayed on his face with Spring’s fist on it. He grabs her wrist before she can pull it away and asks, “Is that all you can do?”

“W...Who the hell are you?” Spring asks, completely startled by Knapp’s eyes being swam in the sea of whiteness and blackness.

“I told you. I am the Universe Warrior.” Knapp flashes a big grin on his face. “I serve the Fifth Universe.”

Winter scowls deeply as he yells, “Why you…!” He quickly stomps one of his feet on the concrete floor, creating and extending the new trail of ice until it reaches Logy. Knapp quickly lets go of Spring’s wrist as he turns around.

The deaf warrior flips his body into the air with the help of his hands and then lands his feet on the concrete floor which is not being engulfed with ice.

“What?!” Winter asks in surprise.

“About time you woke up!” Knapp says in both voice and sign language. “I was so worried!”

Suddenly, a lightning bolt coming from nowhere crashes into the concrete floor, denting it into a small crater. It then takes the form of a woman, who is on one of her knees. She then gets up and gives every assassin a hard stare.

“Clear…” Logy says.

A large cargo nearby suddenly disappears into the air and is replaced by a man with a cheerful smile on his face.

“Zack, you’re late,” Clear snaps.

“You were way too fast!” Zack laughs heartily.

“They are no original spies…” Winter frowns in concern.

“I could have taken care of them without you,” Knapp gives his comrades a light chuckle. “But any help is more than appreciated!”

Fall is about to move when he gets stopped by Knapp suddenly appearing in front of him due to a fast movement. “Tch!”

Logy gets into a fighting pose as he gives Spring a hard stare. The female assassin is feeding her energy into all his fists and feet as she moves one of her feet backward a little bit as if she plans to strike him down anytime soon.

“You’re mine!” Clear says loudly as she points a forefinger at Winter. The blue-haired assassin scowls deeper than before.

“Oh my,” Zack scratches the back of his head with a cheerful look on his face, but Summer does not look too amused at all. “Do we really have to fight?”

Summer reaches out her hands, face-up, in the air at her chest level. An orb of fireball appears hovering above each of her hands. She effortlessly throws them at her cheerful opponent.

Zack instantly splits his legs just before the fireballs can hit him. Instead, the fire attacks go flying over him.

“What?” Summer asks in surprise but quickly shakes it off. She creates a larger fireball - in the size of a bowling ball. She throws it once again, but Zack quickly switches with a light pole. She quickly scans the area but cannot find him. She frowns in frustration, “Tch!”

“Do we still really have to fight?” Zack asks. He is sitting at the edge of the dock, pouting in disappointment.

“Stop playing around!” Summer yells angrily. She slams her hand on the concrete floor, sending a trail of fire towards the cheerful warrior of the Dark Team.

Zack quickly rolls away from the way of fire but Summer throws a few more fireballs at him. He whines loudly, “Man! I’m already getting tired!”

He has been training but he has not trained as long as Knapp, Logy, and Clear have. He has pretty lousy stamina, but he is still working on it though. He only has a switch energy, and it is not exactly an attack type of energy so it is not very helpful at all.

He barely dodges from all of the fireballs, but now he is out of breath. Summer notices this by seeing how often Zack pants.

“Now die!” Summer yells as a flaming ball appears above her and begins to grow bigger and bigger until it is the size of a standard car.

Oh crap! I can’t dodge like this! Zack freezes at the sight of the large fireball. He is still sweating a lot and is panting heavily. He does not even have time to think what to switch with but he quickly yells, “Switch!”

“What?!” Summer cries in surprise as a mast suddenly appears in place of Zack and gets hit by the large flaming ball. It turns out that the mast has been ripped from the cargo ship. She senses her opponent’s presence so she quickly turns around and throws another large fireball at him.

Before she knows what has just happened, she is now standing in front of the approaching fireball. She does not have any time to dodge at all, as she gets crashed by the fireball.

“Oh shit! It’s my bad! I was trying to find something to switch with but all I was thinking about was you,” Zack yelps in panic, watching Summer collapse to the floor.

Not too long ago while Zack and Summer were still fighting, Clear and Winter are combating each other with lightning and ice powers. Lightning bolts are constantly flickering around her entire body.

Every time Winter sends icicles flying toward Clear, they are always hit by the lightning bolts. So he decides to go in for close combat. Covering his fists with the ice, he throws multiple fist-shaped ice at her while they are just a few feet away from each other.

Clear quickly gets down with her entire body completely on the cold concrete floor. Lightning bolts are being shot out of her fingertips and are spreading all over the floor, heading straight for Winter.

Winter quickly slams one of his hands on the floor, creating a large wall of ice. It takes thousands of lightning bolts until it is being crushed into smaller pieces. He gasps when Clear is running fast toward him.

Clear lands a punch on Winter’s face. It is loaded with smaller lightning bolts, so it really stings hundreds of times just like a bee sting. Winter stumbles backward a little and then puts his palm on his burning face, trying to cool it down. He growls and says, “Tch!”

The blonde-haired warrior of the Dark Team forms a huge smile on her face. “All we want is to talk to you.”

“Never!” Winter yells angrily.

“What is so bad that you will not tell us anything about Friendly Energy? Aren’t they supposed to be friendly?” Clear jokes.

“Now die!” The blue-haired assassin shouts. Clear is oblivious to a huge ice block floating above her, so it just slams onto her against the concrete floor. He gives a relieved sigh along with sweats sliding down his face. It had taken a lot of ice energy for him to create that large block.

There is a sudden flash of light within the ice block. In an instant, it gets cut into hundreds of pieces. Winter blinks in surprise as he says, “Huh?”

“Oh wow! That was so close!” Clear exclaims in surprise, her hand on her chest. Her heart has not stopped beating so fast at all. She flashes a big grin as she says, “Now it’s my turn!”

She slightly moves one of her feet, which suddenly sends lightning bolts all the way toward Winter. The assassin does not have any time to think of escaping right before he gets electrocuted, screaming in pain until he passes out.

Meanwhile, Spring rushes toward Logy and then throws a fist, but the deaf warrior quickly moves his head to the side, evading the strong fist. He sidekicks her in the stomach, making her stumble a little bit.

“Ugh!” Spring grabs her throbbing stomach. She scowls deeply and then leaps from the floor into the air. She lifts her foot, feeding energy into it before she does an ax kick.

But Logy quickly jumps backward, avoiding Spring’s kick as she lands her heel on the floor. Even though it is concrete, she still manages to place a large dent into the floor.

Holy shit! If she had hit me with that huge amount of strength, I would’ve blown into pieces! Logy widens his hazel eyes in surprise. He has been training with Knapp ever since the day he joined the Dark Team. In the beginning, he was at a disadvantage because the power of the universe is blocking him from peeking into Knapp’s thoughts so he always goes with guesses where he will get hit. He still got hit by nearly one hundred percent but week by week, the percent began to fall.

It is thanks to that training that Logy is able to dodge every single punch and kick from Spring without having the need to read her mind in order to protect her next movements.

“Damn it…! Only if I can just hit you one time!” Spring clenches one of her hands into a fist, making it glow in white aura once again. 

Logy is planning to leap backward only to find himself pressing against one of the old cargos. Instead he quickly ducks down just as Spring punches the cargo, literally blowing it into pieces.

The deaf warrior takes the chance to kick Spring in the jaw so hard that she gets knocked out.

“Where were you going?” Knapp says in amusement. “As you probably know by now, we are no original people.”

Fall frowns. He begins to wonder if they have messed with the wrong people, who can kill them all?

“I am so glad that you found us,” Knapp says cheerfully. “I have been looking for a warrior who controls gravity… and that’s you!”

“But we are the enemies! I was sent to kill you!” Fall yells angrily.

“Maybe it's fate,” Knapp shrugs his shoulders. Soon, he realizes that he is being shadowed by something above so he looks up to find two large cargos hovering in the air. “Oh crap!”

Fall quickly opens his fist, sending two cargos falling onto Knapp. “Gravity x2!”

The second the cargos hit the concrete floor which instantly turns into a large crater, they literally get half flattened. Fall gives a relieved sigh and then turns around, about to help out his comrades --

“Not yet!” comes a yell from Knapp.

“What?” Fall raises an eyebrow as he turns back to the crater. He gasps in awe as he watches the crushed cargos being lifted.

Knapp effortlessly lifts the cargos with only one of his hands as he walks out of the crater. He tosses the cargos toward the empty area. He flashes a big grin on his face and says, “Man, that was so close! Not only did you make objects defy gravity, you also crashed them with it!”

Fall scowls, trying not to show how scared he actually is. He has never met someone so strong like Knapp.

“Say, Fall…” Knapp smirks. “Why don’t you quit being an assassin and join us?”

“Gravity times five!” Fall yells as he sends purple energy flying from both of his hands towards Knapp.

Soon, Knapp gets completely engulfed with purple energy. The concrete floor can no longer hold him any longer as it gets dented… dented again… until it becomes yet another crater.

Yet Knapp is just standing there, even with purple energy clinging closely to his entire body. He quickly swings his arm, disappearing purple energy in an instant.

Fall collapses to his knees. He is staring at the Universe Warrior in awe. It is as if Knapp… He… was a god.

He glances around only to realize that every single one of his comrades have been defeated as well. He asks shakily, “W-where the hell did you come from? W...What is it exactly that you’re after?”

“We were sent by the Fifth Universe,” Knapp repeats the same answer but then adds, “Because this planet is in trouble.”

“The entire economy practically belongs to the oil industries… If… If there are no more oil industries, then how is it supposed to help us without them? There would be no heat, transportation, and… jobs.”

“There are alternative energies to use. Solar, wind....”

“There’s no point. We rarely have winds, and we never have sunlight… It’s thanks to the clouds caused by the oil drilling,” Fall mumbles. “We… really need our jobs… even if we hate it.”

“Why don’t you just quit?” Clear suggests.

“We would either starve to death or get killed.” Fall shakes his head. “But we already knew what we were getting into. We are risking our lives for our families.”

Logy starts whispering into Knapp’s ear. The Universe Warrior raises an eyebrow and asks, “The other assassins already have families of their own… but you don’t. Why are you still doing it?”

“I… I have a sister… Actually, I had one. She had always been sick for the past five years… and we already knew that the pollution from the oil drilling was causing her to become severely ill. But we didn’t have money for health care… so that’s why I signed up for this assassination crap. Even with the top doctors in this world, they could not help her at all. She passed away a few weeks ago.” Tears begin to fall from his blue eyes. “I… I was lost without her at first. Then, one day I ran into Miho, er I mean, Summer, and she was in the same situation as I was and suggested that I volunteer to help sick homeless people who did not have any money for health care.”

He places his hands on the floor, still on his knees and asks, “So… how are you supposed to help us all? What… what are we supposed to do… without Friendly Energy?”

Zack glances at Clear worriedly only to get an honest ‘I don’t know’ shrug in return.

“Well? If you were sent here to save the world by the so-called universe, why didn’t you come here sooner?!” Fall yells angrily, still looking at the concrete floor. His tears keep falling to the floor. When he gets no answer, he gets even angrier. “Why don’t you answer me?!”

“Knapp…” Logy says softly only to stop from saying another word when he looks at the Universe Warrior.

Knapp has a dark look on his face. He says firmly as he begins to walk away, “Let’s go.”

~*~

It is the first time that the child form of the Fifth Universe has been with Knapp all night. Sybil has been feeling that someone is watching them, so she decides to sleep in a different room instead or else she would not get some rest knowing that they are not alone.

Knapp has not been sleeping either. He is looking at the wall, knowing as well that behind him, Kawaii is standing and watching in the middle of the room. 

How are you supposed to help us all? Knapp recalls Fall’s question for the thousandth time tonight. Not only Friendly Energy but also other oil industries are the reason why the citizens of Planet Zap are able to work to feed their families.

He eventually sits up on his bed and then turns to Kawaii who is still staring back. He says softly, “They said that this planet has been declining for the past few centuries…”

As usual, Kawaii does not say a word.

“What…” Knapp places his head on his hand. “What the hell has Double God been doing? Why… Why didn’t he do anything to prevent this in the first place?”

He looks back up to Kawaii and asks, “What should I do? This… I…! You wanted me to save this planet, didn’t you? Then just tell me what to do! The people… they are dying!”

When he does not get any response from Kawaii, he sighs lightly and then lies back on his bed and turns over, not wanting to look into Kawaii’s dull eyes any longer. He begins to close his dark brown eyes.

“Double God is not here.”

It is an echo. Distorting echo throughout the room. Knapp snaps his eyes open and then bolts up from his bed. Unsure if he is imagining or not, he asks, “Did… did you say something?”

Kawaii is stepping backward towards the wall of the room, not looking away from Knapp at all. Before he disappears into the wall, he says, “It’s not too late.”

Knapp has been staring at the wall where the child disappeared into for ten minutes, pondering what the hell exactly what he means by what he just said. It’s not too late? What the hell?

~*~

“Good morning, Sybil…” Knapp yawns loudly as he scratches the back of his head. He did not sleep at all last night. He was trying to figure out what Kawaii just told him. “Sorry about last night… It’s just that… he wouldn’t go away. I had no idea that you could feel his presence.”

“No, it’s ok,” Sybil smiles as she wraps her arms around Knapp’s waist, looking him straight in the eyes. “You can’t help being the Universe Warrior.”

“Either way, I feel bad for dragging you like that… I… I never expected this to be… my life.”

“Don’t be sorry. This isn’t like you at all,” Sybil raises an eyebrow. “Is it because of this planet?”

“I… I’m so afraid,” Knapp mutters as he tightens his hug a little bit. “What if I fail?”

“We all fail once in a while,” Sybil gently runs her fingers through Knapp’s black hair. “Although when it comes to lives… it has to be the biggest burden ever that you will carry… but… You accepted the day you were told that you were the Universe Warrior. There’s no turning back. It’s on you.”

“Yeah… I know,” Knapp says softly as he pulls back from the hug. “Have you had any vision lately? About this planet, to be specific?”

Sybil shakes her head. “I haven’t had any vision since we landed on this planet. I can’t control it… it just comes and goes as it pleases. I don’t know what the fate of this planet will be.”

~*~

Clear kicks the door open, startling men and women in nice suits in the conference room as she yells, “Good morning, everyone!”

She dumps a small generator on the fancy table and slaps lightly on it with her hand. She says cheerfully, “Do any one of you know what this thing is called?”

“S-security…!”

“Sorry!” Clear giggles. “I knocked them out. I am so happy to see all of you! Oh wait… are we in the Friendly Energy’s headquarter? Do you know who Abura Don’yoku is?”

“You’re speaking to him right now,” Abura calmly gets up from his chair as he briefly adjusts his black tie. He quickly fixes his dark green hair by combing it neatly. “I suggest you get out of here or else you will be dead.”

“Oh, wow. You’re threatening a lady? How rude!” Clear pouts angrily as she crosses her arms. “I didn’t even have a chance to explain what this most amazing thing ever is!”

Abura calmly picks up his smartphone and begins to dial until it gets picked up. “This is Don’yoku. There is someone that I need you to kill…” That smirk of his suddenly fades away from his face. “Excuse me? You quit? You… Don’t you need money?”

He angrily slams his finger on the screen of his phone and then dials another number. “This is Don’yoku --”

His face goes red in anger suddenly. He dials a third different number and then starts talking, “This is Don’yoku speaking… Yes, that’s correct… I need you to kill someone for me… what? Look… I know where you and your family live, so you can’t escape the contract -- Dammit!”

“Sir, is everything ok?” One of the women asks worriedly.

“Shut up,” Abura snaps and then presses the numbers for the last time. “Fall? This is Don’yoku… It’s fucking about time that you asked what I want you to do! Spring, Summer, and Winter all quit on me. What the fuck happened?!”

Clear is grinning widely.

“I want you to kill this woman who interrupted my meeting… and then kill Spring, Summer, and Winter!” Abura pants heavily after screaming every word. His face turns more and more pale. “You… you too?”

He growls loudly and then throws his phone very hard at the floor, breaking it completely. He gives Clear a deadly glare.

“Well, then! Let’s start my presentation, shall I?” Clear exclaims in excitement. “This thing is called a generator! It can be powered by sunlight! Instead of… you know, shitload of oil drilling, which is killing off your planet!”

~*~

Fall rubs his throbbing forehead after he hangs up on Abura. He turns to Spring, Summer, and Winter and asks, “Now what?”

“We wait,” Zack says cheerfully as he steps out of the shadows. He looks up at the clouded sky. “I don’t know what is going to happen but… Knapp cannot sit around and allow this planet to die at all. Besides, Clear is really good at changing people’s perspectives when it comes to science and engineering stuff!”

“This Universe Warrior… Is he really going to save us all?” Winter asks seriously.

Zack scratches the back of his head nervously. “To be honest… I don’t know… but either way, this planet is not going to survive for another five years. So… rather than sitting around, he wants to do something.”

~*~

Logy steps out of the same local coffee. He takes a sip of his hot tea and sighs lightly as hot liquid goes down his throat. He then joins the crowd of citizens walking by.

A few minutes later, he stops walking in the middle of the crowd and then looks up at the sky. Even though there is nothing there, he does it on purpose.

A man notices Logy just standing and looking at the sky so being confused yet curious, he follows Logy’s glance until he spots a man figure hovering in the sky. “W...What?”

More and more people join them as they spot the odd man hovering motionlessly in the air. They wonder how it is possible that he can fly.

Hovering high in the air, Knapp is completely engulfed in the swarming white and black energy as he is holding the Divine Sword; its tip facing the clouded sky. His eyes are fully closed as if he is concentrating on gathering the universe energy.

He raises the sword even higher into the air and then opens his eyes, which are also swimming in the sea of whiteness and blackness.

Nearly everyone in the city has dropped whatever they are supposed to do and is watching him by now. They even stopped their vehicles just to get out and watch.

“Sword of the Fifth Universe,” Knapp says out loud. He launches himself with the universe energy. He slashes the Divine Sword through hundreds of miles of clouds across the sky.

Somewhere else, Logy finishes his hot tea with a smile on his face. He then turns to make his way through crowds, being careful not to bump hard into some of them.

The first ray of sunlight in the last few centuries reaches to the alley where the former assassins and Zack are and then extends all over the city. Spring closes one of her eyes as she places her hand on her forehead, shielding them from the bright light.

“Zack…” Fall says softly, his eyes never leaving Knapp at all. “Is he a god?”

“No…” Zack gives him a light chuckle. “He is just a warrior who protects the universe.”

~*~

Nearly all people in the world have been outside all day, trying to soak in as much sunlight as possible.

The Dark Team, except Logy, is back at their spaceship. Sybil warmly welcomes them back with a feast for dinner.

“So, what do we do?” Zack asks before he takes a bite of a slice of the apple pie.

“That’s up to the people of this world,” Knapp says. “Clear brought the solar-powered generator to Friendly Energy, right?”

“Actually, there’s more to this story,” Clear snickers before she continues, “When the sunlight came, Abura was fired by the board. Just instantly. Guess people don’t want to do shit for him anymore. The Friendly Energy wants to try my generator and do reverse engineering to see if they can build several - much larger than mine.”

“And the Prime Minister and the entire Council resigned just an hour ago…” Zack adds. “It’s amazing how one sunlight woke up everyone and changed everything.”

“Hey, guys, Look who’s here,” Logy waves his hand as he enters the dining room with Fall. “Sybil, you haven’t met him yet. His name is… um...”

“Jade Wolf,” Fall responds with a smile on his face. It is the first time that the Dark Team sees him smiling like that.

“It’s nice to meet you. I am Sybil,” Knapp’s girlfriend bows her head politely. “If you are hungry, then please come and join us!”

“It’s a pleasure to have you join us!” Knapp says cheerfully. “But it’s not that I don’t want you here. I do - We do. I just have a question… What are you doing here?”

“Spring, Summer, Winter, and I… we all agreed to split up. We have way too many terrible memories of assassinations… They have their families to take care of, so we agreed that it’s best for us not to see each other anymore.”

“Oh, man. That sucks,” Zack says sadly.

Jade shakes his head, his smile not going away from his face. “So I heard that you’re looking for a fighter who controls gravity…”

“We are!” Knapp gets up from his chair fast. “But are you sure? This is your home. Don’t you want to rebuild it…?”

“I do, but…” Jade reaches out his hand for Knapp to shake. “I want to fight alongside you, Universe Warrior. To protect the universe, where my home planet is being sheltered.”