After everyone voted to let me go, everyone in the room stood up. A look of sadness and reluctance permeated the crowd like a blinding fog. When I went out the tent, I wanted to go to Jessica's ship immediately. There's no point in staying here any longer. If I stay here, more lives will be put at risk. I found my path blocked by Agent Jackson. In front of me, I saw tears rain down from her eyes. I approached her and soon found myself swept up into a hug.

"Are you sure you have to leave now?" Agent Jackson said, her voice barely concealing her sadness.

"I must. It's for the good of the world." Agent Jackson hugged me tighter. I understand her not wanting me to leave. To be honest, I know the Plexions won't keep their word. I know that even if I go up there, they still will invade. But, if I can at least buy Earth some time I will.

"You will come back, won't you?" Agent Jackson asked. I looked into her eyes and gave her a straight answer. Even though I don't know if I'll be coming back or not.

"I will" With that, Agent Jackson let me go. But letting me go still didn't prevent her sobbing. Sobbing I could still hear from the ship. I got on and watched as the ground started to go away from us. Soon, we were high above the ground and heading toward the Plexion ship. I will admit, I'm very nervous. I don't know what will happen when I arrive. I don't know if they'll arrest me or kill me or... whatever they do. Is going to that Plexion ship a good idea? I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't be going. I mean, we don't know if they will really keep their word. Plexions don't exactly have a good reputation. I'm sure that being good hosts isn't on their mind. Maybe we should... no. No, I can't be getting cold feet now. I'm been saying all this time that I have to go up there. I can't chicken out! Earth will be destroyed if I don't go up there. Now's not the time for cold feet. But can I really do this? Can I really stop them? I have to. There's no if, an or buts about it. If I am to save Earth, I must. And besides, it's not like I'll be going alone. I have Tristan and Jessica with me. They have my back. Plus, they have experience dealing with Plexions. We can do this! I'm certain of it. Suddenly, I feel a hand gently squeeze my shoulder. My eyes look and find Tristan behind me.

"You okay back here Rain?" Tristan asked as I turned around to face him.

"I'm fine. Thanks" I say as I get past him. However, before I could get to the cockpit, I feel Tristan's hand tightly squeeze my shoulder. My eyes look at him. Tristan's expression is stern. So stern it looked like it was made of steel. I didn't know if I should ask him what's wrong or not. Luckily, Tristan spoke before I could.

"I never told you about what happened at the beach did I?" I shake my head. Tristan let's go of my shoulder and asks me to follow him. I nodded and followed him a few steps into a small room. When I entered, Tristan shut the door behind me and gestured for me to sit. When I do, Tristan starts talking.

"I'm sorry for being so secretive but I just want us to know about this. I want this to be between you and me." But why? Does he not trust Jessica? I ask him.

"I'm not as trusting as you are Rain. I've been betrayed one too many times. Not that I see Jessica as betraying me. But still. You promise to keep this a secret?" Tristan asks, his eyes piercing mine with sharp daggers. I nod. With that Tristan begins to tell his story. I first thought he would be telling me what happened after the beach, but instead he told me everything. His whole life story. When he told me, I felt honored he trusted me this much. I guess I have a good friend.

"So, where do you want me to start?" Tristan asks. I just shrugged and let him talk.

"A long time ago, I was born into a family of intergalactic doctors and humanitarian workers. My mother was a nurse that worked all over the galaxy. My father was doctor who only worked on Earth. When I was born, I had an identical twin brother. His name was Mordecai Lykanth. We grew up together and were almost inseparable. That was until Mordecai went missing a year ago. When I heard about his disappearance, my family and I were devastated. We couldn't believe he went missing. So, to look for him, I traveled the galaxy searching for any leads to his whereabouts. Of course, along the way, I may or may not have saved the galaxy on multiple occasions. But that's not important. I spend several months looking for him without any leads. That was until I got a message from my brother saying he had been kidnapped by the Plexions and needed my help. Of course, being the good brother I was, I went to help him. Only... when I got there... I found him but he betrayed me." Tristan stopped and wiped his eyes. I went over to hug him. When I hugged him, I felt Tristan hug me back. I also felt his chin sit on my shoulder. When we hugged, I saw that Tristan could no longer contain his tears. His eyes soon became like little waterfalls. Little sad waterfalls. A lump started to swell in the back of my throat. The temptation to cry came to me. I rejected it but I started crying anyway. Soon we both were in tears. However, unlike Tristan, I didn't have anything to cry about. I was crying because Tristan was crying. But either way, we both were in tears. As Tristan continued to cry, I tried to calm him. I tried to tell him everything is okay, even though it wasn't. I tried to encourage him, but none of it did any good. Then again, none of what I'm saying can change the past. It can only calm the present. As I tried to comfort him, Tristan continued telling his story. As he did, I saw his tears go away. His sadness, I could tell, was starting to be replaced with anger.

"Mordecai... he betrayed me. He kidnapped me and... turned me into one of them. He was the one who put the B-Virus needle into me. My own brother was the one who stabbed me in the back. He infected me! He made me hurt and infect people. He made me try to kill you. He is the reason why I can't bear my own guilt! He..." I interrupt him.

"Shhhh. It'll be okay Tristan. It isn't your fault. You were not yourself. The B-Virus was controlling your actions. Don't blame yourself for what you're not guilty for." When I said this, I felt Tristan's arms coil around me tighter. My eyes saw him lift of his head. His eyes bore directly into mine.

"I knew you would say that. But you don't know what it's like. Having your will sapped from you. You not being able to control what you're doing. You can only imagine what it's like. But even imagination doesn't do it justice." I feel my eyes bore back into Tristan's.

"I know. But you can't blame yourself. Tristan, don't blame yourself. You never did any of that. You're too sweet to do those things. Plus, quite frankly, brooding on these things won't change them. You can't change the past. All you can do is strive for a better future. You know?" Tristan's stern expression suddenly became a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks Rain. You truly are the best friend I could ever have. It's no wonder I spent the past few months in federal prison thinking about you." Immediately, my face lifts up. He went to federal prison?! Seeing the look of shock on my face, Tristan starts explaining.

"Should have known you would pick up on that. I guess you can't sandwich a detail like that between two complements." I could feel my eyes narrow at Tristan. Can he just explain to me how he ended up at federal prison? Come on already.

"Well, after I told you to run away, I was arrested. Since I attacked several police officers and caused damage to state property I was originally imprisoned in state prison. However, they moved me to federal prison because of my powers. For a couple months, I was kept in solitary thinking of nothing but you. And also how to prank the guards with my powers. They always kept thinking that they dropped their guns. But anyway, I only got out of prison because the government wanted to find you. Apparently, they noticed some weird stuff happening with you. So since they knew I was affiliated with you, they wanted to interrogate me about your whereabouts and other information. Of course, being the loyal friend I am, I didn't tell them anything. But that's pretty much my life up until the point I met you again. Any questions?" Tristan asked. Suddenly, the door opened. Jessica popped her head and looked at us.

"Yeah, I got one. You two need any more alone time?"

"Jessica!" I said. My body sprang into action and chased her down the hall to the cockpit. When I got to her, my hands pushed her gently. Jessica busted out laughing. I would have been little mad had it not been for us getting closer to the Plexion ship. The Plexion ship loomed over us like a black cloud. When I saw how huge it was, I knew that there was no turning back. Soon we landed inside the massive ship. There's no turning back now. We landed there not knowing what the Plexions have up their sleeve.