Buzz Buzz, Tori, Leicra and Gran found themselves back on the surface of Earth once again when the golden light faded. They were in a field of dry, thin grass, which was almost completely barren. A large, white building surrounded by spiked fencing stood by its lonesome just a few meters away. Tori dropped her Starman illusion with the sparkle of her hands.

“So… Where are we now?” Gran asked, looking around.

“A Chimera lab!” Tori answered. Everyone looked at her with surprise.

“You know this place?” Leicra asked.

“Well, I haven’t visited it, but that’s definitely a Chimera lab.”

“And what exactly is a Chimera?” Buzz Buzz asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t-?!” Tori sighed. “…Chimeras are, frankly put, freaks of nature. There’s the organic Chimeras, which are mixtures of two or more creatures, and then there’s the mechanical ones, which are… they’re just cyborgs. Really angry cyborgs.”

Everyone was silent for a few moments.

“…Let’s try to make this visit as quick as possible,” Buzz Buzz finally said. Everyone agreed.

The front door to the lab was already unlocked. Buzz Buzz voiced concern over it, but Tori didn’t seem to bothered.

“I always do a bunch of jobs for the doc, I’m a pretty common sight around Chimera labs. The doc sometimes teaches me about making ‘em, too!” Tori explained as she and the others walked into the lab. “Good thing I liked biology in high school.”

The Chimera lab was empty. Cold and empty. The lights were still on, at least.

“Are Chimera laboratories usually this empty…?” Leicra asked.

“Nope,” Tori replied. “Maybe no one’s attending this one right now.”

“But if that were the case, wouldn’t the door be locked?” Gran asked.

“Hm. That’s a good point.”

Deciding not to stand around and dwell any further on the subject, Tori led Gran and Leicra further into the Chimera lab, with Buzz Buzz perched on her shoulder. There wasn’t a lot to see around the halls of the lab - just the blue hexagonal tiles of the floor and the circular doors all lined up on the left. They checked the rooms on the other side of each and every one. Most were simply empty, like the rest of the lab. There was one in particular that caught the four’s attention, near the end of the hallway. It appeared to be a storage room of sorts, containing an assortment of parts from an assortment of animals in green jars on the shelves. In the left corner of the room was a pile of what appeared to be scrap metal. Buzz Buzz flew off Tori’s shoulder and onto the pile of metal.

As Buzz Buzz crawled about on the pile of metal, Leicra looked over at Tori. “You seemed surprised that Buzz Buzz didn’t know what a Chimera was. Why is that?”

Tori furrowed her brow. “Well, I thought that the Starmen might have tried their hands at making Chimeras, probably to try and understand how the Pigmasks did it and outdo them. I was thinking that Buzz Buzz, when I first found him, was an attempt at a mechanical Chimera, but I guess not…”

From atop the pile of metal, Buzz Buzz noted, “Hm. These are Starman shells.” He flew back onto Tori’s shoulder and added, “But the Starmen wouldn’t make Chimeras. That would be sinking down to their level, in their eyes.”

Tori squinted at him. “What makes you so sure?”

“…Instinct.”

The four carried on exploring the empty Chimera lab. They poked their heads into more empty rooms before heading up to the next floor. The second floor was just as empty as the first. There was a low, rumbling noise from far away - Tori just assumed that it was either a machine left idling somewhere, or everyone was hearing things. Either way, it wasn’t anything to worry about.

The second room that the four looked into had something of interest. It was dark, and the only source of light was the computer sitting at the other end of the room. The screen was left on a folder of files.The four curiously crept up to the idling computer, and Tori sat down in the computer chair. The first few files were named in similar fashion: “Project Aw3s0m3 Entry”, and then whatever number entry it was. The rest were named differently: “Take Two Entry”, then whatever number entry it was.

“That’s a lot of entries for a project… A lot more than I’ve ever seen in one place,” Leicra commented.

“You guys wanna check ‘em out?” Tori asked.

Leicra looked around, then nodded. Tori opened the first of the Project Aw3s0m3 logs and read it aloud.

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 1.

“Jan 3, 200X.

“We have managed to obtain a Starman and research its physiology. We are still in need of a subject for the project.”

Tori paused. “Well that was boring.”

“…I’m… curious…” Leicra murmured, “…about what they were planning to do with that Starman…?”

Tori opened the next of the Project Aw3s0m3 logs.

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 2.
Jan 4, 200X.

“A man who I have never seen before has been brought into the lab. The foot soldiers who brought him in say they found him in a strange machine that had landed north of the lab. Since no one has volunteered, we will be using this man as the human base for Project Aw3s0m3 - the first ever human/Starman Chimera.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 3.
“Jan 5, 200X.

“The Chimerization finished just an hour ago. Project Aw3s0m3 is currently undergoing post-Chimerization fatigue, as expected. He is estimated to recover in another two days.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 4.
“Jan 7, 200X.

“Project Aw3s0m3 has fully recovered from his post-Chimerization fatigue. Since this Chimera has the potential to be quite powerful, we will give him another day to get used to his new self. We have run diagnostics on his PSI capabilities. They are much larger than we could have ever imagined, and the newly-added Starman parts have only added to it. We may have to remodel him with higher-ranking Starman parts if he grows powerful enough.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 5.
“Jan 9, 200X.

“Project Aw3s0m3 has begun his PSI training. He picked up PK Beam Alpha very quickly. He shows a lot of promise. With further training, we can have him use the Omega level in just over a month. We have also begun thinking of a proper name for him.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 6.
“Jan 11, 200X.

“A meeting was held for us to decide on a formal name for Project Aw3s0m3. We have decided on the name Starmera.

“Project Aw3s0m3’s training with PK Beam Alpha is nearing completion. We will soon move on to PK Beam Beta.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 7.
“Jan 12, 200X.

“Project Aw3s0m3 has started refusing to obey our orders. A meeting will be held to figure out what to do about this.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 8.
“Jan 13, 200X.

“Our meeting yesterday brought no immediate results. Our best course of action is contacting the lab on the Nowhere Islands to see if they have any ideas. In the meantime, we will continue to try and train Project Aw3s0m3 to the best of our ability.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 9.
“Jan 17, 200X.

“We have just finished contacting the Nowhere Islands Chimera lab. Their half human Chimera has not been trouble for them so far, so they were unsure of what to do.

“Project Aw3s0m3 is becoming increasingly angry at us. We may have to put him into the containment area if his behaviour continues or grows worse.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 10.
“Jan 19, 200X.

“Project Aw3s0m3 has gone missing from the Chimera lab. The machine his human base was found in has gone missing as well. He could have gone anywhere in the world. We have notified the other 200X Chimera labs of this, and have requested that if they see him, to apprehend him immediately.

“We are unsure of where to go next with human/Starman Chimeras as of this log.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 - Entry 11.
“Feb 10, 200X.

“I have filed a request for more Starmen to be brought to the lab. Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter. I realised that had we used any other human for Project Aw3s0m3, their PSI abilities would be lacking. If we are to truly understand the Starmen’s physiology, we need to separate their metal shells from whatever may be inside.”

The four were dead silent.

“Well,” Gran murmured, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“What about the Take Two entries?” Leicra asked.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Tori muttered under her breath as she opened the first of the Take Two logs.

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 1.
“Jun 12, 200X.

“The Starmen and their separated shells that I requested back in February have arrived. There are more to the Starmen than I originally thought - they are whole organic beings underneath the shells! I must remember to give my thanks to the soldier who hunted down and deshelled the Starmen.”

Tori stared at the entry log for a couple of moments, then glanced at Buzz Buzz. Buzz Buzz shared her wide-eyed expression.

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 2.
“Jun 17, 200X.

“Fully analyzing the deshelled Starmen took much longer than I originally thought. While our data is not 100% complete, as there is certain information we are only able to get if the specimen is alive, our understanding of Starmen has grown significantly. We are ready to make another human/Starman Chimera at any time.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 3.
“Jun 19, 200X.

“We have just received word that the soldier who deshelled the Starmen would be willing to undergo Chimerization for us. He will be coming over to the lab tomorrow. We are eternally grateful for his contributions, both present and future.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 4.
“Jun 20, 200X.

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two’s Chimerization finished half an hour ago. He is currently undergoing post-Chimerization fatigue, as expected. He is estimated to recover in two days. Since the human base does not have PSI, it will be interesting to find out how the Starman genetics will influence this aspect. We are formally naming Take Two Starmera 2.0. The original Project Aw3s0m3 will be formally known as Starmera 1.0.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 5.
“Jun 22, 200X.

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two has fully recovered from his post-Chimerization fatigue. Like with the original Project Aw3s0m3, we will give Take Two another day to get used to his new self. We have run diagnostics on his PSI capabilities, and the results are better than we expected. Take Two has a “PP Pool” of 90 points. I am very glad that Take Two has the ability to use PSI - I’m not sure what we would do if he didn’t.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 6.
“Jun 24, 200X.

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two has begun his PSI training. His growth, as expected, as a lot slower than the original Project Aw3s0m3’s. We are expecting Take Two to master PK Beam Alpha in about a month.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 7.
“Jul 1, 200X.

Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two has mastered PK Beam Alpha much quicker than he anticipated. He must be very determined to be the best he can be. We have estimated that he will master PK Beam Beta in a week or two.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 8.
“Jul 3, 200X.

“We previously had no troubles with Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two’s diet, as we had learned from his behaviour that Starmen may have very slow metabolism. Earlier, I went to go get some lunch when I found that all my donuts had vanished from the fridge. I asked my colleagues where they had gone, and they said that they seen Take Two with all of them. I asked Take Two about it - he openly admitted to eating all of them. I am unsure whether it is Starmen or Take Two’s human base that has a sweet tooth.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 9.
“Jul 11, 200X.

Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two has mastered PK Beam Beta. We advised him to take a rest for a day or two, but he ignored us. He has already started trying for PK Beam Gamma. This near-constant training is harmful for Take Two. We will have to find a way to get him to rest.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 10.
“Jul 12, 200X.

We have made a place in the break room for Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two. If we can lure him in, we will be able to use sleeping gas on him and get him to rest. We may have to erase his human bases’ memories. They may be the reason Take Two wants to train constantly.”

“Project Aw3s0m3 Take Two - Entry 11.
“Jul 12, 200X.

He outsmarted us.”

Tori looked at the bottom right-hand corner of the computer screen.

“Crap,” she muttered. “July 12 is today.”

A slow tapping came from outside the room.

“It is.”

The four turned around to see a humanoid figure leaning in the doorway. He wore a helmet similar to the Pigmask helmet, but his had a visor instead of eyeholes, and had a distinct shine. He wore a custom made Starman shell with the head removed. The rest of the shell was near identical to a normal Starman shell, the only difference was the Pigmask’s emblem in place of the Gysienn emblem. Some thick, cream-coloured fur poked out from the small space between his helmet and his shell.

“I thought you and those others would show your faces around here eventually,” the humanoid said. “Yeah, it’s me, Starmera 2.0.”

Buzz Buzz darted into Tori’s pocket, then peeped out.

“You think you’re something special, rebelling from the army?” Starmera 2.0 scoffed. “Get real. You might have PSI, and you might be a rebel, but nobody’s going to remember you.”

He walked inside the dimly lit room. “But me? Everyone’s going to remember me.”

Starmera 2.0 held out his hands, then fired a PK Beam Beta. Tori ducked, and the beam barely flew over her head. It instead hit the computer, burning a hole in the screen.

Tori gritted her teeth. “Ooh boy, the doc is not gonna be happy with that.”

She stood up as she added, “And how’s he gonna feel when I tell him that his prized Starmera was the one who did it?”

Starmera 2.0 froze for a moment, then hunched his shoulders. Buzz Buzz fell back into Tori’s pocket and cast PSI Shield Sigma.

“And there you go again, with the random PSI Shields,” Starmera 2.0 muttered. He fired another PK Beam Beta, only for it to dissipate when it hit Tori’s PSI Magnet Alpha.

Leicra fired a PK Beta Gamma at Starmera 2.0, hitting him right in the stomach and turning his attention towards them.

“You!” he growled. “You’re the one who Beamed me back in Summers, aren’t you?!”

“That would be correct, yes,” Leicra replied. “I do not think this is the time for a conversation, however?”

Starmera 2.0 huffed. “I hate it when my enemies are right.”

He dived at Leicra, outstretching a hand for their bandana. Leicra smacked the back of his helmet when he got within range, sending him to the floor.

“Good work, Leicra!” Gran cheered.

Tori strode over to the fallen Starmera 2.0 and used PSI Magnet on him yet again. Leicra followed up with another PK Beam Gamma. Starmera 2.0 gingerly got up onto his knees, then grabbed Leicra’s leg. He pulled them down to the floor. Leicra fell down on their back with a loud, ringing clang.

“And I bet you think you’re some kind of big shot, with that bandana,” Starmera 2.0 growled to Leicra, who was frantically sitting up. “There’s a reason Giygas took all of you off the battlefield.”

Starmera 2.0 held a hand out and charged up another PK Beam Beta. Though the sound of it was drowned out by the charging of the PK Beam Beta, Buzz Buzz darted out of Tori’s pocket and rammed his horn against Starmera 2.0’s back as hard as possible. Starmera 2.0 lost focus, and let the beam fire early. He looked around.

“The hell was that,” he muttered to himself.

Buzz Buzz darted back into Tori’s pocket.

“…Hm. Weird.” He looked up at Tori and asked, “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“What?” Tori asked.

Starmera 2.0 growled. “Acting dumb again, are ya? God damn it, I should have figured you would!”

Starmera 2.0 got to his feet. Sparks danced at Tori’s fingertips, and she let loose a PK Thunder Gamma. Dark clouds lined the ceiling, and three bolts of lightning shot down from them. The first missed. The second struck Starmera 2.0. The third he narrowly dodged.

Starmera 2.0 chuckled under his breath. “You know you can’t beat me. Use PK Thunder Gamma as much as you’d like. It won’t be enough to defeat me.”

Starmera 2.0 fired another PK Beam Beta at Tori. It successfully hit her.

“I’m still gonna try,” Tori growled.

“Good luck with that. Unlike you, I was built to la-”

Starmera 2.0 was cut off by the chilling wind of a PK Freeze Beta surrounding him. The wind turned to ice that encased him, then burst.

“Don’t be so full of yourself,” Gran sternly told Starmera 2.0. “There’s a difference between stating facts and bragging.”

Starmera 2.0 huffed. He fired a PK Beam Beta at her, too. The fight continued on for a while. Starmera 2.0 would fire beams, Tori would used PSI Magnet, then fire a PK Thunder Gamma or a PK Fire Beta, and Leicra would throw in PK Beam Gammas whenever they saw the chance. Gran had to heal with Lifeup Beta and Buzz Buzz had to set up PSI Shield Sigma on occasion, but they mostly stayed out of the fight. Starmera 2.0 was right - he was built to last. Even with the most powerful PSI attacks Tori and Leicra could muster, it didn’t seem like they would beat him anytime soon. The battle got to a point where everyone involved was running low on PP - Tori had been from the start, since her PSI Illusion drained almost all of her PP while she was in the Starman Stronghold, and Leicra and Starmera 2.0’s continuous use of their highest level PK Beam was starting to drain their PP pool.

Though his breathing was now ragged, Starmera 2.0 commented, “Taking down you lot was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I didn’t think you would get me to run out of PP. But I made you run out of PP too. I can still beat you. This will pay off.”

Starmera 2.0 lunged for Tori, shoulder out in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. Tori stepped out of the way, then kicked him. Starmera 2.0 grabbed Tori’s leg, then swung her over his shoulder and threw her to the ground. Gran rushed to her side and helped up her back, giving her a Lifeup Beta as well. Tori waited for Starmera 2.0 to run up close to her. Once he did, she uppercutted him. Starmera 2.0 stumbled backwards, then shook his head as if to shake off his pain. Tori looked past Starmera 2.0’s shoulder, then smirked.

“You know what also pays off? Being on guard.”

Starmera 2.0 put his hands on his hips. “Hah, yeah, maybe you should tell that to your Starman friend - they’ve been a terrible dodger.”

And as if on cue, Leicra fired a PK Beam Beta right at his back. Starmera 2.0 was knocked down to the floor. The wires inside his shell fizzled and sparked.

“Damn it… Not again…” he rasped. “You lot will pay for this. Maybe it won’t be me delivering your just desserts… but they will be delivered.”

With those last words, Starmera 2.0 fell unconscious.

The only noise that filled the air was the fizzling of Starmera 2.0’s shell. It was a while before Leicra asked, “…Is everyone okay?”

“I’m pretty sure,” Tori replied.

Buzz Buzz peeped out of Tori’s pocket and loudly exhaled.

“That was one of the most frightening situations I’ve ever been in,” he muttered.

“But it’s over now,” Gran replied.

Hurried footsteps from afar made their way to the room. An elderly man wearing thick, round glasses came in, and gasped in horror.

“What happened?!” he exclaimed.

“Oh… Hey doc!” Tori waved. “Um. He attacked us.”

“And… what about the computer…?” he asked.

Tori, Leicra and Gran looked behind them at it.

“Oh. I dodged a PK Beam and that got hit instead.” Tori turned back to the doctor. “Sorry.”

The doctor sighed. “Well, it can’t be helped.” He looked up at Leicra and Gran and said, “My name is Doctor Andonuts. I’ve been here for the last few days helping Starmera 2.0. I was hoping I would be able to head back to the Nowhere Islands tomorrow… but I suppose I’ll have to stay here a bit longer.”

“It is nice to meet you, Doctor Andonuts,” Leicra said.

“Is Starmera 2.0 going to be okay?” Gran asked.

“Yes. I’ll probably have to wipe most of his memories, though,” Doctor Andonuts replied.

“That seems a little extreme…” Buzz Buzz commented.

Doctor Andonuts gasped. “A sapient insect?”

“Yeeees, he… He sure is,” Tori replied as Buzz Buzz muttered to himself under his breath.

“I thought sapient insects weren’t in this time period! Could I study you?”

“Nnnno…?” Buzz Buzz replied.

“Oh. I see.” Doctor Andonuts adjusted his glasses. “So Tori, where are those Tangoos?”

Tori clapped her hands together and laughed nervously. “Well you see, doc, um… They really don’t like being taken away from their home, as it turns out! Like most things. And uh… also… I need to talk with you about something.”

“Does it involve not bringing the Tangoos here?”

“Yes.”

“Then go on ahead.”

Tori took a deep breath in. “Giygas was never supposed to conquer Earth, and the only way to fix this mess is by getting the Pigmasks and the Starmen to stop fighting, and then we need to get a stone to the chosen one - don’t question it please - and basically, could you please ask King P to stop fighting with the Starmen?”

Doctor Andonuts put a hand to his chin.

“Just like, ask him to move his reign somewhere else!”

“…Okay. I will try,” Doctor Andonuts said. “But I can’t promise anything.”

Tori’s face lit up. “Thank you~!”

The Sound Stone began glowing golden again, blinding Buzz Buzz immediately. Doctor Andonuts raised an eyebrow at Tori’s pocket.

“What’s going on now?” he asked.

Tori fished the Sound Stone out of her pocket and told him, “Travel by magic-imbued stone! Completely uncontrollable!”

The golden glow filled the room, taking Tori, Buzz Buzz, Leicra and Gran away again.