“Hey! Wake up, heroes! There’s important stuff going on outside that I bet heroes like you would want to know about!”

The four all groaned as they sat up. Poking his head inside the tent they were sleeping in was a giant bird similar to Xa, but with dark green eyes instead. He also seemed to be a bit smaller.

“…Who’re you?” Tori drowsily asked.

“Tu, Xa’s brother. She told me all about you, don’t worry. Now come on!”

Tu took his head out of the tent and stood up outside. Leicra was the first to get up and go outside, after having grabbed the Meteoran Sword. Buzz Buzz was second. He stretched, then warmed up his wings. He buzzed outside, and hovered in the air while he waited for Gran and Tori. Gran, after putting on her vest and beanie, helped Tori out of her sleeping bag. She waited for the latter while she grabbed a bottle of water Xa had given to the four the night before, splashed it on her face, then drank the rest. The two of them then walked outside, and Buzz Buzz landed on Tori’s shoulder.

“So what is it that’s going on?” Leicra asked Tu, looking up at the giant bird.

“One of the weirdos that came to Saturn recently’s at the outdoor stage we have nearby. The loser said he had something important about the Hero of the Meteorite to announce and needed everyone important to come…” Tu explained. “There’s a few Starmen there already, and the Mr. Saturns came anyway. I’m gonna go on ahead - Xa’s already there, too. You guys can walk there. Just keep going forward, then take the first left you find. Real simple to get there.”

With that, Tu took off, blowing a gust of wind into the quartet’s faces. They watched as he became a golden speck in the distant sky.

“Well, let’s get going,” Tori finally said. “Whatever that fart face wants to say, it might help us along. Maybe.”

Tori started walking down the blue metal platforms, and Leicra and Gran followed. They walked in quiet - there wasn’t really… much to talk about. Once they found the first left fork in their path about 20 minutes later, they took it, then continued. About five minutes later, they heard another set of footsteps.

Everyone whipped around. Leicra held up the Meteoran Sword with both hands, while Tori held up a finger with PK Fire sparks dancing above it. A few feet away was General Genesis, the Final Starman they had met back in the Starman Stronghold. His face lit up when he saw them.

“Oh! Hello again!” he waved.

The four sighed with relief, and relaxed.

General Genesis walked up to them and asked, “Are you four headed to the stage too? I heard there’s something going on there, and I figured Astra and Elex would be there.”

“We are,” Tori replied.

“Do you want to come with us?” Buzz Buzz asked.

“Yes! …Please.”

Tori motioned for General Genesis to follow as she turned around and continued walking. Genesis did so, moving to the left of Leicra.

He looked Leicra over, then asked, “Did you get into a nasty fight, or something?”

Leicra inquisitively hummed. General Genesis pointed at the star now etched onto their chest.

“Oh! Um… yes,” Leicra lied.

“That opponent of yours really must have done a number on you,” General Genesis commented. “A… really well done number? I don’t know why they would make a star over your emblem, but it’s their choice, I guess.”

The group continued walking in silence for a few minutes before General Genesis let out a small gasp. He looked at the four, a gleam in his eye, and said, “I just realised something! You know that mysterious voice that’s with you? It sounds a lot like Captain Zeta!”

“…Does he?” Tori asked.

“Mhm! I knew him! …While he was still alive,” Genesis added.

Gran furrowed her brow. “What happened to him?”

“Well funny you should ask! Because I know exactly what happened! I was there!” Genesis said. “It was only a couple of months ago… Captain Zeta broke out of the Stormin base, and conducted a jailbreak. He managed to break everyone in his cell hall out and lead them to the exit. But even though he shut off a good third of the security cameras, us Starmen staffing the base still caught him. Once #1563-ε sent out the message that Zeta had escaped, I decided I would be the one to catch him. The other humans he broke out still managed to slip past me, unfortunately, and I didn’t exactly… want to harm Zeta, but he didn’t want to come back to us. So I used a couple Starstorms on him and he was as good as finished. #1563-ε didn’t want a dead human around, so I threw him outside. I don’t remember exactly where, but it was somewhere near the base.”

“…Huh,” Tori muttered to herself.

“Why did you just openly tell us you’ve commited murder?” Leicra asked.

General Genesis shrugged. “Well, it’s not like I’m going to get fined for it, is it? And besides, a dead rebel is better than a… not dead rebel.”

Leicra exchanged a worried glance with Tori.

“Oh! We must be here!” General Genesis chirped.

And sure enough, they were. There was a stage made of what looked to be some sort of Saturnian rock. The seats, which formed a semicircle around the stage, were simply layers of the same rock that gradually got higher into the bubbled atmosphere. Said layers were separated only by four aisles carved into the rock, and the first row sat only a couple of feet away from the stage. Many Mr. Saturns, a few Starmen; Captain Astra and Elex included, as well as a handful of regular soldiers and another Final Starman sitting on the opposite side they were, Xa and Tu perched on the highest seats, and some strange, light blue aliens no one recognised. Standing on the stage was Porkey, still within the confines of his mech, with a microphone protruding from the back of it and positioned in front of the glass that separated him from the outside world. He glanced over at the four and General Genesis, then smirked.

“Come in, come in!” he greeted with a smile all too wide. “I’ve saved some seats just for the four of you, but your other friend will have to find a spot for himself.”

The quartet gave a glance to General Genesis as he gave a defeated shrug. He edged his way past them and as close to Captain Astra and Elex as he could. The four then made their way down the aisle carved out between the seats, and Porkey soon pointed them to a trio of front rown seats with “reserved” signs sitting on them. They moved the signs off the rock, then sat down. Buzz Buzz remained perched on Tori’s shoulder, though tense and his brow furrowed.

“Now let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Only two of the regular Starman soldiers cheered. Some Mr. Saturns joined in if only to follow the others that were leading. All of the light blue aliens that were gathered cheered, and cheered the loudest. Porkey quietly uttered a thank you once the crowd died down.

“Now as many of you are aware, the fabled “Hero of the Meteorite” the local legends speak of is here on this very planet. It is said by the Apple of Enlightenment itself that he will ride a meteorite from here to Earth and inform a very special boy of his destiny. And aren’t we all excited to see him save the world?”

More cheers erupted from the crowd than the last time, but the cheers only came from the Mr. Saturns and Xa and Tu.

Porkey cleared his throat, then continued, “I know I’m not. Now, how many of you have heard of Captain Zeta, the rebel Starman captain?”

All of the gathered Starmen booed and hissed, and the light blue aliens made… some sort of uncontent noise. Xa and Tu simply exchanged confused looks.

“Alright, settle down, you Starmen here.” Porkey waited quietly as the Starmen fell silent, then continued, “Now you may be wondering, why would I bring those two up one after another? And it’s a valid question. On the surface, those two have nothing to do with one another. But you’ll soon see that not everything’s as it seems.” He glanced down at Buzz Buzz, a sly grin on his face, as he asked him, “Isn’t that right, little bug?”

Buzz Buzz felt an arm instinctively press up against his body.

“I had a very interesting conversation with the Hero of the Meteorite and his friends yesterday. Oh yes, very interesting indeed. I made an attempt to take some visiting Starmen with me and enlist them into the ranks of my own army, and,” Porkey paused to let out a couple of coughs and wheezes, “get this! The Hero defended them! He insisted that I leave them alone. I let those Starmen off the hook, but only to play along with him.”

Xa spoke up, telling Porkey, “And how is that suspicious? Even if one is your enemy, it is still befitting of a hero to be kind to others off the battlefield.”

“Do you remember what he said to me?” Porkey asked.

“Not word for word, but yes.”

Porkey sighed, a small smirk on his face. “I don’t quite remember it word for word either, don’t you fret. But what he concluded with-” Porkey chuckled. “‘By taking them away and forcing them to work for you, you are taking away their free will. And I will not stand by and allow you to do that.’ …The very same words Captain Zeta spoke to me when I attempted to take the Starmen with me all those years ago. Surely that is no coincidence.”

“What are you saying?!” Tu shouted.

“Saturnians and aliens, the Hero of the Meteorite you so adore or hate, he… is really Captain Zeta himself!”

The crowd erupted into noise. The Mr. Saturns babbled to each other in confusion, the Starman yelled, and the light blue aliens made some weird noise that no one knew the emotion of. Xa and Tu exchanged glances once again.

“Settle down, settle down!!” Porkey boomed, then hacked and coughed.

General Genesis stood up with haste. “But Zeta is dead! I killed him!”

Once Porkey’s coughing fit had died down, he looked up at General Genesis. “…That’s what you think. Tell me, General, what did you do with Zeta’s body once you had… ahem… “killed” him?”

“I, well… I just chucked it outside the base he was being contained in. I figured he wouldn’t have survived my attacks, and he would rot away soon enough,” General Genesis told him.

“Did you check for a pulse?”

“No.”

Porkey cracked a smirk. “A fatal mistake.” He then looked out across the audience and announced, “He’s still alive, and he’s taken the form of a bug! He’s taken the form of your hero! He is nothing more than a lying backstabber who cares only for himself! So watch yourselves. You might be the next person he betrays.”

The microphone in front of Porkey returned to the inside of his mech, and he walked off the stage and away from it and the now confused crowd. Buzz Buzz had dug his hands into Tori’s uniform as far as he could. He could feel the tension in his body, and it threatened to rip him apart. Tori and Leicra looked over at him, the former with concern and the other with sadness-laden betrayal. Gran had opted to look up at the starry sky, instead.

Leicra pried their eye away from Buzz Buzz, stood up and scanned the now shifting crowd for General Genesis. They soon spotted him, and tapped Tori’s other shoulder as they began to head for the nearest aisle. They stared silently at her for a moment before walking over to the aisle and walking up it to Genesis. Tori tapped Gran’s shoulder, then pointed in Leicra’s general direction before standing up and catching up to them. Gran followed as she did so.

General Genesis was with Captain Astra and Elex, informing them of some important business they had to attend to immediately.

“Um, General?” Leicra asked, tapping General Genesis’ arm gently. Genesis turned around to face Leicra, giving an inquisitive hum.

“Where are you off to?”

“Oh, I’m just about to take these two back to the Stronghold. Lord Giygas needs them to sen- …do some important time-sensitive stuff,” General Genesis replied.

Elex leaned to the side to glare daggers at Buzz Buzz. “Hey. Hero. What’s your name? I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again.”

“Buzz Buzz.”

Elex humphed. “Fitting name for an insect.”

General Genesis sighed. “Come on, you two. Let’s get you back to the Stronghold. We don’t have much time.”

With that, General Genesis gave Leicra and short wave goodbye, then walked away with Captain Astra and Elex in tow. The quartet watched them walk away into the distance.

“…We’d better head back to our tent,” Tori finally said.

---

It had been a quiet day for the quartet, Xa and Tu. Nobody was quite sure what to say to one another. There was a hushed word passed from one to another every now and then. Dolphin had come over at one point, and asked what was wrong. Xa told him in private, if only vaguely.

And now, here the four who had traveled so far together, in their sleeping tent again, but far more distant to one another compared to the previous night.

It wasn’t how Tori wanted things to be.

She doubted it was how anyone wanted things to be. But she knew that Buzz Buzz was feeling the worst after the announcement Porkey had made. He now sat far from the others, curled up and trying to keep himself warm on top of a container of sanitary items on the other side of the room.

Tori rolled over in her sleeping bag. “Hey Buzz Buzz? You still awake?”

Buzz Buzz shifted, then replied, “Yes.”

Tori patted the ground in front of her. Buzz Buzz didn’t move.

“Come on, man. Talk it out.”

Buzz Buzz was still for a few more moments, staring at the spot Tori had patted, before hesitantly buzzing over to it.

“You sure you don’t want to come any closer? It’ll be warmer.”

“No thanks.”

Tori shifted in her sleeping bag. There was an awkward air of silence between the two of them before she said, “So… this morning was… interesting.”

Buzz Buzz shot her a frown. “Don’t sugar coat it.”

Tori sighed. “I wasn’t expecting that to be what Porkey was gonna say. I thought he was just gonna… spout off Pigmask propaganda or something.”

“Well, he didn’t, and now no one trusts me!”

“That’s not true!” Tori told him, her voice almost rising to a volume where Leicra and Gran would be woken up. She quietened herself as she said, “I trust you.”

Buzz Buzz looked up at her, having been shocked for a moment. He blinked back any tears that may have formed, paused, then climbed up onto the sleeping bag and sat next to Tori’s head.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I should have told you - Leicra and Gran too - earlier.”

“What? Na, you don’t have to apologise!”

“But shouldn’t I? I kept the truth from you.” Buzz Buzz laid his head down into his arms.

“Listen, Buzz Buzz, it’s okay. I probably would have done the same thing. But like, worse than you.”

There was a silence between them that seemed to drag out for far too long.

“I kinda figured you might have been Zeta. That was my second guess,” Tori told Buzz Buzz.

Buzz Buzz raised his head. “It was that obvious?”

“Not really, but like, I was kinda just observing the little ways you acted and thinking about things I heard, and I just- I dunno. It was kinda like a puzzle.”

Buzz Buzz rested his head again. “I suppose I should tell you everything.”

“What? No, you don’t have to do that-”

“Please.” He almost sounded desperate. “It’s the least I can do for keeping the truth from you for so long.”

Buzz Buzz took a breath in, then exhaled. “It all started ten years ago. Some of Giygas’ ships had come to Metis Cove, and told us all of the invasion. They said that if we refused to cooperate with them, they would kill us all. And I… I let them take me. I stood up, and said that I would join them as long as they left the village alone.” He paused for a moment. “I know now that didn’t work the way I intended it to. I worked among the ranks of Giygas’ army for many long years. And over those years, I began to think that the Starmen were doing Earth good by conquering it. I was young and gullible. Very, very gullible.

“I got a robotic arm and some armour to help me along. The robotic arm allowed me to use PK Thunder up to its Gamma level, and it cost less PP than usual, too. Only a year after I had joined, Porkey joined too. He got his first time machine; a piece of advanced alien technology from Giygas himself, and with it, he became Giygas’ second-in-command and the link between the one I knew and the sane version of him just a few years in the past. Was I jealous? …Yes. I was very jealous. I was a year older than him, and I was only a captain.

“It was after Giygas had successfully conquered the earth that Porkey rebelled. He wanted to take Earth for himself, and he wanted to take all of the Starmen with him to use as the soldiers of his own army. At the time, I thought… I thought the Starmen weren’t as evil as most of them are. I defended the Starmen. I stood up to Porkey, fought him, and won. It was a shallow victory. He ran away.

“It was after that I… started to think a bit more. I knew that life working in Giygas’ army was always awful, but I never stopped to think why that was. And when I did, I realised that the Starmen, Giygas, everything… It wasn’t any better than how Porkey was. I wasn’t helping anyone on Earth by doing what I was doing. I was only part of the problem. I never found the courage to rebel myself for years to come, though. But… the jailbreak I attempted… you know all about that.”

Tori nodded.

Buzz Buzz sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if any of it was worth it.”

“Well… you learned from it. That counts towards something, right?”

“…I suppose it does.”

“And hey. Porkey’s a big fat jerk. You’re one of the most selfless people I know.”

Buzz Buzz smiled for the first time that day.

“Do you feel better now?” Tori asked.

“A little bit, yes.” Buzz Buzz then yawned quietly.

“Goodnight, Buzz Buzz.”

“Goodnight.”