15 years later...

Prince Krel calmly walked into the great hall of the palace, reading something on a holoscreen. He heard a rapid flapping as he passed under the balcony, and without looking up, instinctively stepped to the side. His sister, princess Aja, came crashing down right where he'd been standing just a second ago. She groaned and slowly stood up, rubbing the back of her head.

"You've jumped off of everything but the roof." Krel deadpanned, still not looking up from his holoscreen.

"I almost had it that time!" Aja retaliated, shuffling her wings until they folded neatly against her back. Krel rolled his eyes, lowering his holoscreen and putting his two left hands on his hip.

"Stop trying to somehow get your crippled wing to work for five mekrons and get ready for tomorrow, Aja. Please." He said. Aja raised a brow.

"Uh... What's happening tomorrow?" She asked, genuinely unaware. Krel let out an exasperated sigh.

"The coronation ceremony, Aja! Seklos and Gaylen, how could you not know?! It's all Mama and Papa are talking about!" He exclaimed. He spread his luminous, feathered wings, which greatly resembled his father's, for emphasis. Aja rolled her eyes.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I honestly could not care less about the coronation." She said flatly. Krel flailed his four arms, nearly dropping his holoscreen.

"You have got to be kidding me! You're going to be declared Queen-In-Waiting, Aja!" He said a bit loudly, growing visibly irritated. Aja crossed her four arms and turned away from him.

"I don't want to be Queen-In-Waiting! I just want to live!" She argued. Krel's gaze dropped to her folded wings, which looked a lot like her mother's. The right one didn't quite tuck in right, and the feathers were crumpled and didn't glow as brightly as those on the left wing. He sighed.

"I don't think that's the real reason, sister." He said lowly. Aja turned back to him, giving him a look that was void of any discernable emotion.

"Okay, fine." She huffed. "I'm not fit to rule. Happy?"

"What?" Krel asked, not understanding. Aja sighed heavily.

"I'm not fit the be Queen-In-Waiting. I'm not fit to be queen." She said. Krel blinked a few times.

"How are you not fit?" He asked.

"For one, I didn't even know about the coronation." Aja pointed out dully, putting her four hands on her hips. Krel put a hand over his eyes.

"That's not something that makes you unworthy of the throne. And besides, you won't even do any real 'ruling' for a few more keltons." He said. Aja mumbled something under her breath, then stretched out her lame wing.

"Who wants to be under the reign of a flightless queen? Our wings are a symbol of hope, of freedom. I can't even get off the ground..." She sighed, tucking her wing back in. Krel stared for a second. He remembered when they were younger, staring at the sky together. He remembered the strange, fidgety feeling that'd told him he belonged up there. Their parents had told them that all Akiridions felt this stirring.

"It means you're ready to fly," Fialkov had explained, to the twins' absolute excitement. Krel had easily taken to the air, but Aja was met with the shattering disappointment of not being able to fly at all. She'd been trying and trying ever since, jumping off heights and flapping madly to no avail. Deep down, Krel really did pity her, but it was extremely annoying to constantly have to watch for when she'd next come falling from the sky.

"You shouldn't feel that way. After all, our four arms also symbolize hope. You can swing a serrator with the best of them. I could never dream of having the strength you've got." He said, trying to sound encouraging. It was true, though. What Aja lacked in flight, she made up for double time in athleticism.

"I know... I don't get why Mama and Papa feel like they need to protect me." She said lightly, giving her brother a small smile. Krel chuckled, satisfied with the fact that he'd seemed to have successfully reassured his sister--at least for now.

"Just promise me you won't run away again." He said. Aja laughed mischievously.

"No promises."

"You better not. I'm warning you."

"We'll see."

Aja had taken to running away. A lot. It was driving the king and queen crazy. They did tend to be a bit overprotective of her because of her vulnerability, but Krel knew all too well she could take care of herself.

Not that he liked her absence, though.

A high-pitched bark interrupted them, a purple and pink creature buzzing into the room on blue bumblebee-like wings. The animal collided with Aja, who welcomed it with an affectionate embrace.

"Luug! There you are! Where have you been?" The Akiridion dog licked her face in response. Krel smiled to himself. Luug always did bring his sister happiness. He turned, bringing his holoscreen back up to continue reading.

"Okay, well, I've still got a lot to read up on before tomorrow. Don't forget about the ceremony. That would be embarrassing." He said. Aja sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I won't forget." She said, mildly amused. Krel calmly walked away, hoping she'd actually show up at the coronation.

~~~

The wind rushed across her wings, carrying her high above the city. She was alone. The skies were her's.

Her core buzzed excitedly, the speed of the air streaking her hair back invigorating. She was free. She belonged up here.

She was flying.

Aja woke up suddenly, a twinge of sadness gripping her core when she realized she'd just been dreaming.

Again.

She'd had that same dream night after night for keltons. She wrapped herself in her wings and snuggled down into the covers as sunlight streamed in through the window. Coronation day. She sighed. Luug ran up from the foot of her bed to lick her face, wagging his tail.

"Ugh! Luug! Stop it!" She complained groggily, pushing him off and sitting up. Luug stared at her, his buggy eyes wide and innocent. She scratched his ears with a small smile. The dog helped her forget it sometimes. The longing. She wanted to fly so much her core would literally ache at times, but she kept it to herself. Something told her that wasn't very good for her mental well-being, but she never told anyone nonetheless. She hugged the wiggly animal with a quiet huff.

"Who am I kidding... I can't stay here." She said softly. She slid silently out of bed and walked up to the window. She could see Akiridion citizens down below in the city, flying about their own business. None of them had the large, feathered, angel-like wings that royals possessed, but they all had wings of some sort--and the one thing Aja didn't have.

Flight.

With a heavy sigh, she put her serrator on her belt, threw a cloak on her shoulders that covered her wings, and grabbed her hoverboard. She silently slipped out of her room and down the palace halls. She passed Krel's room, knowing he was probably in there preparing for the ceremony.

"I'm sorry, little brother." She whispered. She beckoned Luug with one of her lower hands and continued to sneak around all the servants and guards who were busily wandering the halls, preparing things for the coronation. She felt guilty running away again, but she just couldn't stay. She couldn't be Queen-In-Waiting.

She stealthily slipped undetected out the the palace doors. After a little more sneaking past guards, she was on the streets. She hopped on her hoverboard and rode away, Luug buzzing along beside her.

~~~

Krel was a nervous wreck. Today was the big day. He was going to be King-In-Waiting. Fialkov was helping him get ready, making sure his wings were clean and straight.

"This is a very important ceremony, my son." He said. Krel sighed shakily. He knew.

"What if I'm not ready? To be king, that is."

"My son, no one is ever ready to be king."

"But what if I'm not good enough?"

Fialkov chuckled. He put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"No king is perfect. You just have to try your best to make the right choices. And your sister will be there to help you."

Krel sighed. He wasn't so sure about that.

"She doesn't want to be queen." He said. He ran a hand through his spiked hair.

"I know." Said Fialkov. "She made that pretty clear to your mother last night." Krel turned around to face his father, who no doubt wasn't nearly done smoothing his wings. He didn't care.

"What? I know she told me, but I assumed it was something she wouldn't share with anyone else."

Fialkov turned his son back around to finish with the boy's wings.

"Yes, she told your mother all about it. She was pretty upset. She seems to lack some self-confidence." He said. He paused, putting one of his four hands on his chin.

"Does she tell you things?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't she? I'm her brother."

"Does she tell you things she doesn't tell us?"

Krel stiffened for a second. Kleb it, he'd made it obvious, hadn't he? Saying not wanting to be queen was something he thought she wouldn't share had totally given it away.

It was completely true. Aja told him pretty much everything. He was holding on to a whole plethora of secrets he'd promised not to share, even if he did think their parents should know. If his father decided to grill him now, she'd kill him.

"After the ceremony, we're going to have a talk." Said Fialkov. His tone told Krel there would be plenty of questions. Kleb. Aja's going to stomp me. Fialkov huffed with satisfaction.

"There we are! Now don't mess them up before the ceremony starts." He said, patting his son on the shoulder briefly. Krel silently rolled his eyes. That meant he couldn't go for a quick glide around the palace tower before the coronation as he had planned. Flying calmed his nerves.

~~~

"Luug!" Aja yelled angrily, bounding after the dog. Luug had grabbed her serrator and run off with it. Typical. Just when she thought she could relax and forget about her problems for a while, things got crazy again. She struggled not to let her lame wing flail out from under her cloak. It was weaker than her good wing, and when she ran, it tended to just refuse to stay folded. It didn't help at all that it didn't fold right anyway, which was just one more problem to add to the pile.

Luug ran right through the middle of a circle of teenagers, crushing the skeltegs fighting in the center of them.

"Hey!" One yelled.

"Watch it!" Snapped another.

"You crushed my skelteg!" One complained.

"Sorry!" Aja apologized as she raced after the dog. "Lost pet!"

Luug was extremely fast for his size, not to mention the advantage he had over his master of being able to fly. That was irritating. Even her pet could fly, and she was stuck on the ground. This was becoming a really bad day.

"You know Luug, you are ruining a perfectly lively day!" She called out to him, growing tired of the dog's activity. Luug did not in any way listen. He kept running and buzzing out of her reach, like it was a game. He darted out into the street, reaching the other side just as a wave of traffic hit. Aja skidded to a stop, extremely annoyed. Now she'd have to wait to cross.

"Luug, I will have you turned into flexel!!" She yelled with a sudden burst of fury. She leapt up into the air, hopping on the tops of the passing vehicles and landing expertly on the opposite sidewalk, startling a few passersby. She resumed running. She was gaining on the purple troublemaker, slowly but surely. Suddenly, her brother contacted her, the beep of the comm making her jump.

"Oh, hey, little brother." She greeted a little sheepishly.

"Where in Gaylen's name are you?!" Krel demanded through the hologram. His tone made her flinch.

"I'm just in the city--Luug decided to-"

"Don't Luug me, Aja! What are you doing?! The ceremony is about to start, so if you don't get here in five mekrons, Mama and Papa will stomp you!" Krel cut her off, and he sounded serious. She felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Krel. I'm not coming to the ceremony." She said, still running after Luug as she spoke. Krel was silent for a long time.

"... you're running away again?" He asked, something else hidden in his annoyed tone. Aja sighed. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she just couldn't attend the coronation. She was about to answer him when he spoke again.

"Hey, why are you actually running?"

"Like I tried to tell you earlier, Luug decided to run away from me."

"Great."

Krel's amused sarcasm lightened the conversation slightly. Aja chuckled to herself.

"But please, Aja, just come to the ceremony. It'll save you a lot of trouble with our parents." He pressed. She shook her head slightly.

"No, I can't..."

"Aja..."

"Say hi to Mama and Papa for me." She said, finalizing the issue. She turned the hologram off, ending the transmission. She sighed through her nose. Maybe I should go to the ceremony... No, not happening. She couldn't be queen. She wasn't the right one for that job.

Luug yapped gleefully as he ran out in front of her suddenly. Taking her chance, she dove upon him, securing him in her four arms as she rolled into the counter of a nearby vendor, several bystanders jumping aside.

"This is not a toy!" She grumbled, yanking her serrator out of the dog's mouth. Luug whimpered innocently, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. She sighed.

"Maybe even flexel is too good for you." She muttered, smiling a little.

~~~

Krel put his head on the table. Aja wasn't coming. He wasn't sure he could do this without her. Fialkov came up behind him, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Krel, I'm really sorry, but Loth Saborian has informed us-"

"That Aja ran away and won't be attending the ceremony? I may have talked with her."

Krel lifted his head. He took a deep breath.

"It's okay. She's a free spirit." He tried his best to sound like he didn't care. But he did care. Gosh, he cared.

"If you say so. But remember, she'll always be there for you. You're siblings. Family is an unbreakable bond, no matter how much she wants to deny she's a royal. You're all each other has." His father said quietly. He stood with a nervous huff.

"Come, now. We must begin." Fialkov said simply, ushering his son out into the royal stadium. Krel became rigid as he entered the wide open space, a million pairs of eyes on him in an instant. He settled uncomfortably into a position between his parents as they stood in the center. Commander Varvatos Vex was standing nearby, serious as usual. Coranda waved one of her four hands out to the crowd.

"For hundreds of keltons, Akiridion-5 stood divided between two houses: House Akram of my ancestors, and House Ventis of my husband's." She announced, beginning the event.

"Until finally, the two houses were joined into House Tarron, bringing peace to our planet." Fialkov continued. He turned to his son, setting a blue, crystal-like device to float in the air. Krel gazed at it curiously as two circles appeared at it's center, merging into one. He flinched when a small laser-like stream began to run across his forehead.

"This ridge proves you worthy of the crown of Akiridion, which has stood for rightousness since ages past." Fialkov recited the ceremony, spreading his wings wide. Coranda did the same. When the king finished speaking, Krel floated off the ground for a moment, wings spread as his core glowed and an image of their planet formed around him. He dropped lightly back to the ground, eyes wide.

"It is done!" Coranda announced. Krel gently touched the new ridge on his forehead, smiling a little.

Elsewhere, Aja could hear the applause of the crowd from a distance for the new King-In-Waiting. She leaned against the side of a building, wondering if she should have attended the ceremony with him...

A/N
Chapter one complete! I hope this AU is interesting enough for you. I plan to take the story in a few different directions than the show did, and I also want to focus more on Aja because literally every fanfic on Wattpad is about Krel.

I like comments! Please tell me what you think and if you have any ideas. I might use them!