The delicious smell of hotdogs greeted them as they reached the jeep. Layla had laid down a beanbag for Mattie to sit comfortably while Nina sat at the back of the jeep. Surya dumped his pocket’s contents into Mattie’s lap—rocks, weird fossils, and small bird skull, which Mattie picked up delightedly.

“Gosh, I’m old!I used to be able to hike, like, all the time”, Jamie groaned and flopped on the beanbag next to Mattie. “Mmm, that smells great, Bee. Gimme a plate?”

“You’re not that old. You still sleep with stuffed animals”, Nina commented, which caused Layla to laugh out loud and Mattie frown.

“No way! Jamie is totally old!” Mattie argued. “She’s like, suuuuuuper old, and she pays taxes and—AAAAAHHH!”

Whatever Mattie was going to say next was lost when Jamie smothered him. Mattie struggled back with all his might, and Surya and Nina giggled at the childish display. The roughhousing soon ended with Mattie shouting in victory as he successfully smothered Jamie with his beanbag. Eventually, Layla rushed to help her wife and helped Mattie back onto the beanbag.

Surya claimed Jamie’s hat, while Nina took pictures of him wearing it. It seemed that she was very into taking pictures lately. “I want to remember you guys, even after I’m getting adopted! You’re like my first brothers!”

Surya was touched by her exclamation and gave her shoulder three squeezes. She smiled at him and asked to borrow the hat, before prancing to the clearing and took pictures of the sky.

“Oh!” Nina squealed. “Birds!”

Surya looked up to where she was looking up to the sky and saw seven dots flying in a V-formation. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this.

“Those aren’t birds. Those are planes!” Mattie argued.

“No way, dummy! Commercial planes don’t fly in a V-formation, right Jamie?” Nina turned to Jamie and Layla. Layla didn’t answer, but she took out binoculars from the jeep and frowned at whatever she was seeing.

“Those are… ships? Are those UESA ships?” she asked, handing the binoculars to Jamie. Jamie was quiet for a moment, before shaking her head.

“No, I’ve never seen anything like it before…” she said. “I don’t think it’s ours.”

Yeah, Surya reallyhad a bad feeling about this.

“Get in the car”, he said. When the others seemed to freeze, he repeated, louder. “Get in the car! Come on!”

Layla and Jamie still looked confused, but they carried Mattie into the jeep. Surya pulled Nina’s hands along and slammed the door, just as Jamie finally started the car and drove down the rocky path. Surya knew, though, that the ships would soon catch up with them.

Suddenly, the car jerked into a stop, causing Mattie, Surya, and Nina to stumble forward. One of the ships held the car by using a purple beam that came from its wings. This time, Surya hated being right. There was no chance they could escape seven Vaidessian ships—fighters, Aenzel called them.

“Get out of the vehicle!” A robotic voice came from one of the ships.

“Stay calm. It’s gonna be okay”, Jamie said, even as Nina started crying. Jamie and Layla climbed out of the jeep first and Surya could hear Jamie say, “Please don’t attack us. There are civilians and children.”

“Get out of the vehicle!” the voice repeated. Things would get ugly, Surya thought, if they didn’t follow through.

He gave Nina encouraging squeezes before pushing his own way out of the jeep. His hands and legs shook really badly and he stayed close to Jamie and Layla, who were trying to shield them from the Vaidessian ships.

Seven ships surrounded them and they looked like what Surya imagined evil spaceships would look—black, pointy, and terrifying. Aenzel’s ship was damaged just from taking down two of them, and now there were seven?!

“Tell us where you are hiding the Lazarus’ Chart!” a different voice demanded. So they werelooking for the map. Surya thought his mom leaving Earth was supposed to make Earth safe. So why the bad Vaidesse were here?!

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Please let us go!” Layla shouted above the whirs of engine, clutching desperately at Surya and Jamie.

Two things happened then: one, the ships began charging their weapons. And two, a figure jumped off the cliff above them and landed on one of the ships with a loud bang.

Surya recognized their cloak; it was Aenzel.

Aenzel moved like a hero straight out of action movies. They stabbed the cockpit of the ship below them, the blade of their spear apparently was sharp enough to cut through metal. Just as the first ship spiraled downwards to crash at the bottom of the rock formation, Aenzel jumped in front of Surya and his family and threw several circular things to three of the ships. They exploded into thousands little pieces. Layla and Jamie shielded Surya and Nina from the debris—but Surya couldn’t help but stare in awe at Aenzel.

“Go, mister ninja!” Mattie shouted in encouragement from inside the jeep.

The rest of the ships finally caught up to Aenzel and began shooting. Jamie and Layla pulled Surya and the others to hide behind the jeep, just as Aenzel was lunging at the Vaidessian ships. Their spear sliced one of their wings, but one of the ships attacked them.

Aenzel landed right in front of the jeep, clutching their side and wheezing out in pain. Their mask fizzled out, revealing their face.

Jamie and Layla gasped. Nina screamed. Surya felt anger rise in his chest—he couldn’t just watch while Aenzel was fighting for all of their lives.

With a fierce battle cry, he picked up rocks and pebbles and threw them as hard as he could.

Some of the rocks got sucked into one of the ships’ engine and it sputtered out before it blew up. Mattie and Nina cheered, but Surya focused his attention to the remaining ship.

It seemed to realize what Surya did and charged its weapon. Before it could shoot him, though, Aenzel roared—actually roaredlike a lion—as they jumped onto the top of the ship. They drove their spear into the cockpit. Before it could crash, however, Aenzel ripped its windshield open and made the ship land on the cliffside, behind where Jamie’s jeep was.

As the rubble settled and the dust cleared, Surya caught the tail end of Aenzel’s shouting into the ship’s communicator. Enraged shouting followed, but it was too gibberish for Surya to understand. Aenzel cut it off by destroying the ship’s control and disabling the engine next. The battle was won, but somehow Surya could feel that it was not over yet.

Aenzel climbed down the remains of the ship, slightly limping but victorious—but when they turned at Surya, their eyes filled with unmistakable worry. They stepped closer to where Surya was being held behind Layla and Jamie, their movement slow and hesitant.

“S-stay away!” Layla shouted at them, even as Surya tried to pry himself out of her deathly grip.

Aenzel’s ears drooped, but a hard line was set around their face. It was determination, Surya recognized. And somehow, somehow he could tell that this was it—this was where Aenzel would leave him, just like his mom left his dad all those years ago.

Surya reached forward as further as his short arms could reach while being held back by Layla, and somehow managed to pull at the end of their cloak. Aenzel turned, surprised, and their eyes met.

“Don’t go”, Surya pleaded, pouring every single wish and prayer into his words. He couldn’t make his mom stay all those years ago and all the prayers in the world couldn’t make his dad to come back; but maybe… maybehe could make Aenzel not to leave him.

The hardness on Aenzel’s face crumbled, slightly, and Surya could feel his own heart shatter.

“Ma’a kovati”, Aenzel said, prying Surya’s fingers off their cloak.

Without another word, they climbed up the cliff to where their ship was waiting. Surya watched it go up and up and disappeared beyond the orbit.

Ma’a kovati. Surya didn’t understand what it meant. But the way Aenzel said it, it sounded so much like ‘goodbye’.