A Most Unlikely Hero Vol. 7 Read online

  Not even a second later, his vision went dark.

  3

  I was walking with Dad. He was taking me to meet someone. He wouldn’t tell me who we were meeting, only that it was a surprise.

  “Are we there yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “… Are we there now?”

  “No.”

  “How about now?”

  “… No.”

  “What about—”

  “We’re almost there, Alex.” Dad laughed and ruffled my hair. “Just be patient.”

  “I don’t know what that word means,” I lied. “I’m only four.”

  “A four-year-old who built a miniature robot.” Dad gave me a look that all but said he didn’t believe me. I ignored him.

  The place where we were walking was really pretty. There was grass and trees and no walkways. I liked that—no walkways. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but I didn’t like them either. Back when we lived in Mars City’s eastern district, I would always walk in the exact center of every walkway because I was afraid I would fall off.

  I looked back at Dad. He was a lot taller than me… well, I guess that wasn’t so surprising since he was an adult and I was just four. Bright silver hair sat on his head a mess of spikes. The fringe of his bangs hovered over his bright blue eyes. He had long, pointed ears and two wings, pinons that jutted from his back and were covered in pristine silver feathers. He looked down at me and grinned.

  “Is something wrong, Alex?”

  “No…” I shook my head. “I’m just surprised you’re not using the illusionist.”

  “Haha! Well, the person we’re going to meet is super important, and she already knows what I really look like.”

  “That so?”

  “Just so.”

  “And you won’t tell me who?”

  “I said it was a surprise.”

  “Whatever. It’s not like I care.”

  “Hmm… if you say so. Oh, look! We’re here.”

  I looked at the house that we stopped in front of. It wasn’t very large, just a regular, one-story house with several windows, door, and a fence. It was probably made from plasteel, but I couldn’t tell for sure. I preferred using durasteel for my inventions. It was stronger and didn’t break as easily.

  We walked up to the front door. Dad knocked on it three times, and then waited. There was a muffled shout, followed by footsteps from beyond the door. I was tempted to put my ear against the door, but I knew my dad wouldn’t like that.

  The door opened and a woman stood in the doorway. She had brown hair and dark eyes that created a contrasted with her pale skin. The hem of her long, white dress fluttered as she moved. She was wearing an apron as if she’d been cleaning when they arrived. Upon spotting Dad, the woman’s pink lips curved into a wonderful smile.

  “Sandalphon!” the woman greeted, using Dad’s real name. Huh, so she knew his real name. “I didn’t expect to see you for another hour or so?”

  “I thought we’d come early,” Dad said.

  Behind the woman was a little girl. She had long brown hair like the woman, her mother, I guess, and the same colored eyes. Her button nose made her look super cute. As she caught me staring at her, she hid behind the woman. I guess she was shy.

  “Dad, who are these people?”

  Dad smiled at me. “Alex, I’d like you to meet your new mom and little sister.”

  4

  The next morning was a rush to get ready. While Alex had packed everything up, there were still a lot of last-minute things that he needed to do. He also had to make breakfast, lockdown his lab so no one would go in and accidentally activate one of his and Gabrielle’s not-working inventions, and then he had to make sure Alice knew what she needed to do.

  “I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, so I’ve made sure to prepare over two weeks’ worth of food,” Alex was telling Alice.

  “I know.”

  “I also made sure you have enough soap and shampoo to make it through a month,” Alex continued. “All of it is in the cupboard next to the clothing rack in the changing room.”

  “I know. You told me that last night.”

  “Also--”

  “Don’t go down to the lab.” Alice rolled her eyes. “I know. You don’t need to worry. Going down to your lab is too troublesome for me.”

  “Right…”

  Alex reached out before Alice could say anything and pulled her into his chest.

  “W-what are you doing?!”

  “Please take care of yourself.” Alex hugged Alice close. They may not have been related by blood, but he loved her as if they were. “I know it’s troublesome, but make sure you do all your homework, don’t talk to strangers, keep that stun gun I made on your persons at all times, and for the love of Mars, don’t just watch Titan Girls all day!”

  “I-idiot, brother,” Alice mumbled into his chest as her arms wrapped around his middle. “No fair… hugging me so suddenly.”

  “I’m hugging you because I love you.”

  “T-troublesome.”

  Alex and Alice were standing in the hallway with Ariel, Gabrielle, Michelle, and Nyx.

  Gabrielle and Nyx were dressed and ready to go. Gabrielle wore her brand-new translucent crisis suit, which blended so perfectly with her skin that Alex could only tell she was wearing it from the glossy sheen. Over her crisis suit, she wore a white unitard. It didn’t cover her legs and about 50% of her butt cheeks, which were exposed until just below her knees, where a pair of white boots began. The unitard was short-sleeved, so most of her arms were bare as well.

  Nyx wore the same outfit that she always did, a black dress that didn’t even reach the middle of her thighs, sleeveless, and several bands that went around her arms and legs. Black boots covered her feet.

  While Alex was hugging Alice, Gabrielle was giving her sister last minute instructions as well.

  “Don’t forget to call me if something comes up,” she said.

  “Of course.” Michelle gave her sister a gentle smile. “If anything happens, we shall make sure to call you.”

  Gabrielle nodded. “Also, make sure you go to school every day. Try to make friends. You’ve been given a really unique opportunity. Don’t waste it.”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  “And before I forgot, make sure not to touch any of the inventions inside of the lab. A lot of them aren’t finished yet.”

  “Don’t worry so much, Big Sis.” Ariel gave her sister a grin and a thumbs up. “We’ve got this!”

  “I do wish you would let us go.” Michelle placed a hand on her cheek. “However, I do understand why we cannot. Please do not worry, Honorable Sister. I will keep Ariel and Alice out of trouble.”

  “Huh?!” Ariel gave Michelle the stink-eye. “What do you mean ‘keep Ariel out of trouble’?! If anything, I’m the one who’s going to be keeping you out of trouble.”

  “You say that, but…”

  “Don’t just leave your sentences half-finished! If you have something to say, then say it!”

  “Hey, Ariel,” Alex said as he let go of Alice.

  “What is it?” Ariel asked, blushing when he came up to her and placed a hand on her head.

  “I want to thank you for last night,” Alex said.

  “Oyo?” Michelle perked up. “What happened last night?”

  “Shut up!” Ariel shouted at her sister.

  “Thanks to you, I got back some of the memories about mine and Alice’s parents.” Alex ran his hand through Ariel’s hair. It was really soft. “It means a lot to me. Thank you.”

  Ariel looked at the ground. “W-whatever. I only did it because I wanted to see if I could. I wasn’t doing it for you.”

  They finished their goodbyes, Alex gave Alice, Ariel, and Michelle a few last-minute instructions, asked them to be careful, and then he, Gabrielle, and Nyx took a shuttle to the Mars Spaceport.

  The Mars Spaceport was a building that had been built into the dome. It protruded out, a massive structure of durasteel and glasteel that extended for about one hundred meters in all directions. On the outside, it didn’t look like much, but the inside was another story entirely.

  “So many people…” Gabrielle murmured as she, Alex, and Nyx entered the spaceport.

  “There are always people coming and going from Mars,” Alex explained. “There’s a lot of trade that goes on between planets, so a good deal of these people are either traders dealing with goods, or business men and women heading to another planet in order to broker a trade agreement.”

  “Uh huh…”

  “And she’s not listening.”

  Gabrielle’s head turned this way and that, taking in the sights with eyes that sparkled like a child’s on Mars Day. Alex could understand why. She had never been to the spaceport before, having used her teleportation device to transport herself inside of the dome.

  Alex grabbed Gabrielle’s and Nyx’s hands and tugged on them. “Come on. Let’s hurry up and stick together. We need to meet with Azazel and Prince Arthur.”

  Alex walked past several large pillars, massive cylinders of durasteel that acted as supports for the building. The sound of hundreds of feet pounding against the floor drowned out his own footsteps. Gabrielle and Nyx kept close to him, with Gabrielle even going so far as to hug his arm to her chest.

  It was easy enough to spot Azazel. Really, Alex would have had to be blind to miss him.

  Azazel was tall, easily standing at around 244 centimeters if not taller. Strapped to his chest was a large, segmented breastplate. Thick pauldrons covered his shoulders, and the grieves that he wore went up to his knees, glinting as sunlight reflected off of their polished surface. Hair the color of dirty snow drifted lazily in the breeze created by atmospheric generators. Dark purple eyes
glowed brightly within their sockets. Two massive white wings jutted from his back, flapping like real wings, and long, pointy ears protruded from either side of his head.

  The people were giving Azazel a wide berth. They stared at the giant angelisian with frightened eyes. Since there was basically this massive no-man’s-land around him, it made spotting Prince Arthur, who stood next to Azazel, much easier.

  “Ah! Princess Gabrielle! Groom-to-Be!... Nyx,” Azazel’s greeting of Nyx was much colder than when he greeted Alex and Gabrielle. “I see you have no luggage. I’m assuming everything is in your D-space?”

  “That’s right,” Gabrielle chirped.

  “Are you sure you wish to come with me?” asked Prince Arthur. “This has nothing to do with you. You’ve no obligation to help me.”

  Alex frowned. “And I told you that it does. I’m also not doing this for free. There are a few things I’d like in exchange for helping you.”

  “Ah ha!” Prince Arthur barked. “I see. I see. You are a shrewder man than I thought. Very well. Let us be off.”

  Prince Arthur’s vessel was located within a private docking bay. Being the crown prince of another solar system apparently made him something of a VIP.

  The docking bay that Prince Arthur’s shuttle sat in was massive, which was funny because the shuttle itself was quite small. Streamlined and elegant, the shuttle reminded Alex of an arrow. The front was tapered into a point. A viewport made of black glasteel, or a similar substance, created a vizier in the front and was undoubtedly the cockpit. The rest gleamed silver.

  Several people were waiting for them.

  “Karen, Yumi… Kazekiri?” Alex blinked. “What are you doing here?”

  “I… I heard you were leaving, so I have decided to see you off,” Kazekiri said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t to see you off, you know!”

  “Ah ha. Very true. Thank you, Kiri-Kiri. This really means a lot to me.”

  “I wish you would stop calling me that…”

  Alex wouldn’t lie and say that Kazekiri coming to see him off didn’t warm his heart. They had only recently become friends, thanks to a few chance encounters, but Alex now considered her to be one of the most important people in his life. She had also really helped him out the other day when he’d been suffering from indecision on what to do about Gabrielle.

  Kazekiri twirled a strand of long, flaxen hair between her fingers. Alex had always thought she had gorgeous hair. They contrasted with her dark eyes, but complimented her fair skin. She wore the blue unitard with purple edgings that marked her as a part-time employee of the Mars Police Department. Alex tried not to let his eyes be drawn to the way the unitard strained against her breasts, or how it conformed to her thin waist and hips… or how lovely her thighs looked in blue.

  It was difficult.

  At least I got a handle on keeping those voices out of my head.

  The voices, which he had taken to calling Voice Number One and Voice Number Two, had been silent for a while now. Alex didn’t actually know if this was his doing, or if there might have been another reason.

  “Promise me you’ll take care of yourself out there,” Kazekiri said. “There’s no telling what sort of trouble you’ll run into.”

  Alex grinned. “I’ll do my best.”

  Nodding, Kazekiri looked away, and Alex wondered if he’d said something wrong, but then Karen stepped in front of him. She was giving him a slightly amused look. Her lips were quirked into a grin.

  “I had no idea you and Kazekiri got along so well.”

  “I-it’s not that we get along!” Kazekiri shouted. “It’s just… we’re friends, so I…”

  “Right. Right. Friends.” Karen chuckled a bit, and Kazekiri quickly turned her head. “Anyway, Alex. I can’t really stop you from going, but I want you to promise me that you’ll try not to be as reckless as you usually are.”

  Alex wanted to tell her that he never acted recklessly, but that would be a lie. After having caused several hundred million credits worth of property damage during routine missions as a cadet, he knew this to be true.

  “I promise.”

  “That’s all I can ask for.” Karen nodded, and then she surprised him by grabbing his head and pulling it into her chest. Alex was about to panic as his nose became buried in the valley of her breasts. Her next words stopped him. “Take care of yourself. I want you to come back safe and sound.”

  Alex couldn’t speak, but the words served to calm him down. He looked up and nodded. Karen smiled before letting him go.

  “I will.” Alex turned to Gabrielle and Nyx. “You two ready?”

  “Yes!” Gabrielle said, while Nyx merely nodded.

  “Princess Gabrielle! Please be safe!” Azazel was crying as Alex, Gabrielle, and Nyx wandered up the small boarding ran in the back. “Please don’t do anything reckless! And please don’t take apart the prince’s spaceships! A-and always brush your teeth!! Oh! Why do I feel like a parent watching his daughter go away on her honeymoon!! My wives don’t even have kids!”

  “Put a sock in it, Azazel!” Karen snapped. “Wait. Did you just say wives?”

  The last thing Alex saw before the boarding ramp was sealed shut was Karen grabbing Azazel by the ear.

  Turning to view the shuttle’s interior, Alex wondered if maybe he had been expecting more, because he was honestly disappointed with how plane it looked. There were several seats located on either side of the shuttle, and there was a doorway that led into what he guessed was the cockpit. However, nothing really stood out. It looked like any number of small shuttles that he’d seen.

  “Prince Arthur,” Gwenn said as she stepped out from the cockpit. “We are ready to launch.”

  Gwenn was an older woman with light brown hair tied into a severe bun. The hem of her black and purple dress swished around her legs as stopped before them, hands clasped in front of her. Numerous frills outlined the dress. It made her look a lot like a classic maid. Meanwhile, the rimless glasses that she wore gave her a studious appearance.

  “All right.” Prince Arthur turned to them. “You three had better get yourselves strapped in.”

  “Okay!” Gabrielle grabbed Nyx’s hand and pulled her to one of the chairs.

  Alex looked dubious. “Can this thing really take us all the way to Camelot?”

  “Of course not,” Prince Arthur said with a grin. “This shuttle is just what we used to talk here. It’s not fit for space travel. However, it will at least take us back to my flagship.”

  “Flagship?”

  Prince Arthur said nothing more, and Alex, Gabrielle, and Nyx strapped into their seats, while the prince entered the cockpit with Gwenn. Minutes later, the shuttle rumbled. Alex felt his stomach drop and his throat tighten, but having already experienced this sensation once before, he was more prepared for it this time.

  There were several viewports that they could look out of. Small bubbles that offered a little window to the outside world. Through it, Alex watched as the ship spun around, orienting itself toward the exit. Then the world outside moved by faster before, with a sudden start, the interior was gone and the barren landscape of Mars opened up before them. However, even that eventually disappeared to be replaced by the inky blackness of space.

  “Are you nervous?” Nyx asked Alex.

  He smiled at her. “I’m better now than I was during the rescue operation last week.”

  “Don’t worry!” Gabrielle beamed at them both. “If you get space sickness, I can always use Mr. Healer to make you better!”

  “Does it work?” asked Nyx before Alex could accept her offer.

  “Well… there are still a few bugs that I need to work out.”

  “Then no thanks.”

  “Aw!”

  A few minutes later, as the ship was sailing through the void of space, Alex finally saw something in one of the viewports. It was just a tiny speck at first. However, it became larger as time passed. Soon, Alex realized what it was. A ship. No, a massive ship.

  At a glance, Alex could only judge it to be about maybe a kilometer in length. Silver. Gleaming in the darkness of space. Reminiscent to a sword, the ship seemed almost flat--relatively speaking. While one end converged into a point, the other became what looked almost like a hilt. The closer they got, the more details Alex could pick out. He could see no fuselage, but there were numerous blinking lights flashing across its surface. Several small potholes on the surface made him wonder if perhaps they were gun ports.