“Jam is just as good, isn’t it?” Ryuu said.

“We can’t give this to them now!” The Chlorophite shouted at Ryuu. “We’re done with your foolishness!”

“Settle down, Councilman Decid.” Foosha said. “Mr. Aka, we place a certain expectation on our captains, you’ve been with us nearly a year now and you have displayed a variety of foolish actions.”

“Civil unrest among tribes, ruining scientific data, causing rapid evolution and extinction of a newly discovered species. I don’t even know how you managed that last one!” The Hydrogenite spoke next.

“Perhaps we’re being a bit too harsh on Ryuu.” The human said. This was Baron Ramses, a blind member of the Council.

“We bought him in on your recommendation, Ramses.” The Hydrogenite said. “I’m not inclined to believe your testimony when you’ve never seen the boy.”

“I may be blind, Windy, but that doesn’t mean I cannot sense his potential.” Ramses said. “I know it didn’t come up, but perhaps we don’t need to punish the boy.”

“We were getting to that. Ryuu, do you know what the Adventurer’s Guild is trying to achieve?” Foosha asked.

“All I know is that we’re trying to find Rothmore’s Treasures.” Ryuu said.

“Yes, Asterios Rothmore, the greatest Treasure Hunter in the 88 Systems. Some even consider him the king of the 88, up until his death 20 years ago.” Foosha said. “He hid his treasures all around the 88 Systems in an attempt to keep them out of the hands of evil.” 

“You mean someone like the One with Inverse Sight?” Windy said. “You can just say it, Ryuu isn’t a child.”

“I would’ve rather it not come up, it’s only an urban legend.” Foosha said as he looked back at Ryuu. “You need not concern yourself with it. I will take what Ramses said into consideration.”

“Thank you, Foosha. Perhaps we can come to a better solution to the issue.” Ramses said.

“For now, you are to remain on the Exceed until we find that solution.” Foosha said. “If we discover that you have left, then there will be greater consequences.”

“Yes sir… I’m glad you didn’t ask about the Bearbulls.” Ryuu said.

“What about the Bearbulls?” Foosha asked as Ryuu hurriedly left.

After running out of the council chambers, Ryuu makes his way to the central atrium. The central atrium is the city center of the Exceed, a large open space filled with shops, restaurants, and apartments. Ryuu stood in front of the Gecko’s Tail, a diner, watching his crew through this window.

“How am I gonna talk to them, how am I gonna tell them that we might not be Questers soon.” Ryuu said.

“You could just go talk to them.” A random passerby said to Ryuu.

“I wasn’t talking to you, mate.” Ryuu said.

“Well, you shouldn’t talk out loud then. Do an inner monologue, jerk.” The passerby continued walking.

“Thank you! You’re right!” Ryuu said as he charged into the Gecko’s Tail.

Ryuu walked over to his group’s table, and called out to the woman at the counter. 

“Silica, can I get a cuppa?”

“Sure thing, Ryuu!” The woman at the counter said, Silica Flak. She’s the owner of the Gecko’s Tail and a Geckomander, a lizard-like species.

“You seem happier, Red.” Clef said. “I take it your meeting with the council went well?”

“It went spectacular, my feathered friend!” Ryuu said as he sat down.

“We got suspended, didn’t we?” Kidd said.

“How did you know?” Ryuu asked. “I just got here.”

“You were way too excited compared to earlier.” Flora said. “Besides, you twitch when you lie.”

“I wasn’t twitching, what are you on about?” Ryuu said.

“I saw some twitching.” Silica said as she placed Ryuu’s drink on the table. “Sorry for the intrusion.”

“Okay, yeah. We’re suspended until they figure out my punishment.” Ryuu said. “I’m sorry guys.”

“It’s not your fault, Ryuu!” Scuttles said. “You’re just an immense screw-up!”

“That’s not helping, Scuttles.” Ryuu said.

“I doubt it’s gonna be long, they’re probably gonna put you on trash duty for a week.” Clef said. 

“No, it sounds like it’s gonna be a lot worse this time. You haven’t destroyed something we were supposed to retrieve yet.” Doc said.

“That’s also not helping.” Ryuu said.

“I’m sure whatever it is, you can just power through it.” Kidd said. “Get back in their good graces.”

“Oh my god… Kidd you’re a genius!” Ryuu shouted. “I know exactly how we’re gonna get back into their light.”

“I don’t like the sound of this.” Doc said.

“We just need to go back and investigate that signal from that weird planet.” Ryuu said.

“We can’t! We’re supposed to stay on the Exceed.” Doc said.

“That’s where you come in, you and Scuttles are gonna stay on the Exceed to keep the council from figuring out we’re gone.” Ryuu said.

“I wanna go though!” Scuttles said.

“Sorry little man, but we need you to stay here and help Doc with hiding this.” Ryuu said.

“That sounds fun! But how are we gonna get the Comet flying with that grounder on it.” Clef said.

“Doc, can you disable it?” Ryuu asked.

“Is there any stopping you if I don’t?” Doc asked.

“Nope!” Ryuu said.

“Fine, I’ll disable it, but I don’t know how long I can hold the council off.” Doc said.

“Just give us a few hours, we’ll be doing this in the middle of the night anyway.” Ryuu said.

“Fine…” Doc said.

“Good! Everyone meet in the ship bay at midnight.” Ryuu said as he stood up. “Make sure you’re not followed.”

Ryuu ran off as the other crew members looked at each other, worry filling their faces. Later that night, the group met up in the ship bay with bags, they went up to the ship and examined the side.

“How are we gonna get this thing off the ship?” Clef asked.

“Are you guys sure you want to do this?” Doc asked. “What if we get caught?”

“We’re not gonna get caught, Doc. Just disable the grounder.” Ryuu said.

“Fine…” Doc takes something out of his pocket that looks like a screwdriver, it begins to buzz after being held up to the grounder, which fell off the side of the ship soon after.

“Okay, let’s get going. Six hours until anyone comes down here.” Ryuu said.

“Let’s hurry up then. We have no time to lose.” Kidd said as the group ran up onto the ship.

“Remember, if anyone comes down here, chase them off.” Ryuu said.

“Are you sure we can’t come with you, Ryuu?” Scuttles asked.

“Sorry buddy, we need some people here to keep watch.” Ryuu said.

“Just hurry, it shouldn’t take more than a few hours.” Doc said.

“Yeah yeah, just keep anyone from coming down here. We’ll let you know if something is gonna hold us up.” Ryuu said.

“Wait, did our comms even get fixed?” Doc asked.

“Kinda, goodbye!” Ryuu ran onto the ship.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN KINDA!?” Doc yelled. “RYUU, DON’T JUST WALK AWAY!”

With the group on the ship, it begins to take off and leave the safety of the Exceed. Doc and Scuttles looking at each other, worried, walked off.

Ryuu and the others were sitting in the ship’s cockpit, Clef at the helm. Ryuu looked out at his crew.

“Flora, how far out are we from that planet?” Ryuu asked.

“We should be making it there soon, maybe about ten minutes at our current pace.” Flora said.

“Good! Anything else we might need to worry about?” Ryuu asked.

“Other than those weird rings around that planet, I don’t think there’s anything that would prove to be difficult to traverse.” Clef said. “Some stupid rings shouldn’t be too hard for me to get around.”

“Little full of yourself, ain’t ya?” Kidd asked. “People don’t take kindly to those who hog oxygen.”

“I don’t hog oxygen you walking fart.” Clef said.

“I have more class than a fart!” Kidd said.

“Put a sock in it, you two! We’re almost there!” Ryuu shouted out and pointed to the window.

Facing the front window, the group looked out to the giant planet they had found earlier in the day. The faint signal had started to appear again, it was growing stronger as the ship approached the planet.

“We’ll be landing soon, so we should all buckle down so we can land. Safety first!” Flora said.

“Who needs safety, we got work to do!” Ryuu said as Flora stared a hole into his head. “Okay, fine…”

As the ship approached the planet’s surface, some of the ship’s technology started to cut in and out.

“What’s going on with our stuff?” Clef asked. “Maps are flickering!”

“It must be the planet’s atmosphere, this is probably why it wasn’t charted.” Flora said. “It’s a shame Scuttles isn’t here, he would’ve loved to start mapping this place.”

“Chances are we won’t be able to map it with regular Digi-Maps when we land if all our stuff is stopping this close to the planet.” Kidd said. “Speaking of, why is the engine still working?”

“I don’t cheap out on engines, I bought one that won’t be screwed up by things like this.” Clef said. “Just strap in so we can land.”

As the group buckles up to go down to the planet, we move back to the Exceed where Doc and Scuttles are walking back home. Our duo was spotted by Councilwoman Suki, the Aquax member of the Council.

“Doc, Scuttles… What are you two doing up this late?” Suki asked, confused.

“Miss Suki, I didn’t expect to see you around here.” Doc said, awkwardly.

“Um, I guess it is a bit strange this late.” Suki asked.

“What are you doing up this late?” Scuttles asked.

“Oh, I was just checking on my research.” Suki said. “Say, does Ryuu know that you’re out, Scuttles?”

“Does Ryuu know that I’m out? Yes, he does!” Scuttles shouted.

“Well, you two best hurry on home then, not much you can do out and about at this hour. I’ll see you tomorrow at the lab, Doc?” Suki asked.

“NO!” Doc shouted, looking back at Suki. “I mean… I need tomorrow off, something came up and I need to do it tomorrow.”

“Oh, I see… shouldn’t be an issue then, I’ll just have someone cover for you tomorrow.” Suki said as she began to walk off. “Enjoy your night, boys.”

“You too, Miss Suki!” Doc said.

“You almost got us caught!” Scuttles said. “You gotta learn how to lie!”

“I’m bad at lying though, you know I could never lie.” Doc said.

“Probably would’ve been better to say that before you willingly stayed behind.” Scuttles said. “There was a big chance of us having to weave some fake story.”

“I know I know! But how bad could it be? Ryuu said that they’ll be back before morning hours.” Doc said as the two continued walking.

Afterward, the other group made it to the planet, successfully landing in a large plains area. Flora took out a small, clear tablet, a Digi-Map. Turning it on, the screen only produced static.

“Dammit, the map isn’t working. We’re on our own here.” Flora said.

“What about the ship?” Kidd asked. “We can’t go off without losing track of it.”

“I’ll take note of where we came from as we follow the signal… luckily the planet’s atmosphere isn’t affecting it.” Clef said. “It’s weird… some of our stuff is affected while the rest is fine.”

“Sure you can keep track of that?” Kidd asked.

“I have a notepad and pen, duh.” Clef said.

“Let’s head out then, which way do we go?” Ryuu asked.

“Signal is coming from the east. Shouldn’t be too far.” Flora said. “Clef, you made sure to land close to the source, right?”

“Of course, I always hit my target.” Clef said.

“Off we go, team!” Ryuu said as the crew began walking. 

After walking for about an hour, the group came across a strange grouping of trees. The trees appeared to be growing right next to each other with no way past them.

“What the hell, this can’t be right.” Flora said as she looked either way, taking a walk around the trees, they seemed to be forming a large barrier around something. “It’s one big circle.”

“The signal is on the other side of these things.” Clef said.

“Well, let’s cut them down then!” Ryuu’s arm transformed into a dragon’s arm, he was ready to cut up the trees.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Flora said. “These are Block Wood Trees.”

“How can you tell?” Kidd Asked as he knocked on the trees, which made a metal ding sound. “What the hell… these ain’t trees.”

“Block Wood is a unique type of wood that has certain metallic properties.” Flora said.

“I bet these guys cut down all the same!” Ryuu said as he slashed at the trees, proving useless as the trees remain undamaged.

“That’s why they’re called Block Wood Trees, they’re the ultimate natural shield.” Flora said. “These must’ve been deliberately placed here, they usually grow close together… but not this close.”

“How are we gonna get on the other side?” Ryuu asked.

“We probably won’t be able to go under, so the only way would be over.” Clef said as she looked up.

“Okay, I’ll boost you guys up.” Ryuu said as he got on his knee, putting his hands on the ground.

After climbing atop the trees, the group would find a camp. There was a tent, a small pond, a fire pit, as well as a small farm. Hopping down into the camp, the group looks around with Kidd kneeling next to the fire pit, it seems to have been put out recently.

“Whoever was here must’ve spotted us coming.” Kidd said. “Couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes… no, six minutes.”

“So somebody did send out a signal, I wasn’t delusional!” Ryuu shouted.

“Hush up!” Clef said. “We don’t know who else might be around.”

“Nah, there was only one person here…” Kidd said. “I only see one set of footprints.”

“What about the signal?” Flora asked.

“It’s coming from the tent…” Clef said, looking over at it. “Be careful…”

“I’ll go check it out, that’s what a Captain does after all.” Ryuu said as he slowly approached.

“Don’t go dying, Ryuu.” Kidd said as Clef socked him in the stomach.

“He’s not gonna die!” Clef said as she turned to the tent. “But… just be careful!”

Ryuu continued to approach the tent until he was right at the front of it. Kneeling to the tent, he hesitated to put his arm out to open it. Shaking his head, he unzipped the tent and opened it, revealing only one thing within it. Ryuu picked up the object, which was a small computer chip.

“What is this?” Ryuu asked.

“That’s the source of the signal.” Clef said as the group formed a circle around it.

“Whoever sent out the signal ran off… and left the thing creating the signal behind?” Kidd said. “That’s stupid.”

“Unless…” Flora began to speak as a giant net was launched at the group, trapping them.

“What the hell!?” Clef shouted as a cloaked man emerged from a pile of leaves, pointing a gun at the group.

“This was a trap? Dammit, I must’ve missed something!” Kidd shouted.

“Who are you?” Ryuu asked the figure.

“Who am I?” The figure asked. “I could be asking you lot the same thing.” 

The man took his hood down, revealing that he was a much older man. He was the inhabitant of this camp, seeing our group as enemies.

“Here’s what’ll happen, you’ll get to the count of three to start talking, or this place is gonna be a graveyard.” The man said.