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Kofi put his arm back to shield Rocki, but she was already pushing past him to dash into her sister's arms. As much as he wanted to watch her teary reunion with Aley, he forced himself to keep his eyes on the sariun, who was dismounting his bike.

Xinn growled when their eyes met. Valicara.

The aggressive sound made Kofi's wings flare in alarm. Sariun.

Xinn ducked into a defensive crouch, blades springing into his hands as Kofi beat his wings once, raising his hands to summon plasma if he needed to.

"What the heck?" Aley ripped herself from Rocki to witness the two males starting a showdown. Rocki immediately pulled her a few steps back. "Xinn..." He can't start a fight! But how are you supposed to convince a literal general to not battle with his enemy?

"Kofi," said Rocki, one arm around Aley's shoulders. "No fighting. You agreed."

He glared at Xinn. "As long as there is a sariun in my sight, I'm going to be prepared for a fight."

"Xinn isn't going to start anything," said Aley. "Right?" The last word was harshly focused towards Xinn, whose eyes never left Kofi.

He didn't answer. Not if that valicara is going to try to take you away.

"Xinn! Back off. We promised we were here to talk, not fight. And certainly not try to kidnap each other. Right?"

"Right," Rocki agreed. "Both of you, back up. Far enough that if one of you makes a move, the other can react to stop it."

Kofi scowled, but slowly let his foot slid back until he could take a small step away—just enough so the sariun knew he was willing, but still not giving the enemy any advantage. Xinn also took a step back, tossing his blades away. They continued to eye each other and back away until he felt like they were at a reasonable distance—close enough to still hear and talk to the girls, but still far enough it would take a few steps to get to them, which was plenty of time to react.

Once their little dance was complete, Rocki looked at Aley. "Are you okay?" she asked, pushing her away to arm's length so she could look over her sister's whole body. "Have they been treating you decently?"

Aley snorted. "Are you kidding me? We should be worried about you! I've heard about how the valicara are. And I also heard that you had an injured leg! Who did that to you? Does it hurt?" She glared at Kofi before examining both of Rocki's legs. He better not have been the one to do that. I would be tempted to sic Xinn on him.

"I'm fine, it was... um, an accident." I'll explain later. "But don't pretend like you're okay. What did they do to you? Have they fed you at all?"

Aley stared at her in confusion. "Of course they did. I'm not the one who was kidnapped by complete psychopaths."

Not kidnapped by psychopaths? Rocki studied her eyes for a moment before glancing at Kofi. "Do the sariun have any sort of mind-wipe or hypnotic abilities?"

"I'm not aware of any, but that doesn't mean they don't," he said, glowering at the sariun. "What did you do to her?"

Xinn glared back, showing his fangs. "Bold of you to accuse me of harming a savioress when you bring one who has an injured leg."

"You think we did that on purpose?" he snarled. Well... Arinda actually did do that on purpose... But we didn't mean for that to happen!

Rocki waved a hand, catching their attention. "Stop that. We're here so that Aley and I can talk, yes? Let's not get off track." She turned to her sister. "Tell me what happened to you. The last I saw was a sariun had you slung over his shoulder and that was almost two weeks ago. Did they bring you straight here?"

"Oh boy." Aley blew out a breath. "It's been crazy." She spilled everything that happened, from Xinn and his team breaking into her apartment to writing her note on the end of the outreach letter, although she did exclude a few details, such as kissing Xinn.

Kofi kept his eye on the sariun during the story, trying to figure out if he was playing any sort of mind games with Aley and making her say good things about him. She did have a few colorful descriptions about him near the beginning of her story though, so perhaps that was her honest view of it.

"That's... actually not as bad as I thought it would be," said Rocki. I mean, I'm glad that they were kind to her, but now I'm confused. After hearing what I have about the sariun I was sure that she would be worse for the wear. "I..." She glanced at Xinn. "Thank you. For taking care of her."

He locked eyes with her. This is the person Aley loves most in the world, he thought. And she's thanking me for caring for her. He nodded sharply.

"Okay," said Aley. "Your turn. When I last saw you, this blondie was literally flying you away." She raised an eyebrow at Kofi.

Rocki sighed, rubbing her forehead. "What didn't happen to me over the past two weeks?" As she told her story, Aley gasped, growled, and made frustrated, theatrical gestures growing more indignant with every incident she was told about.

"What. The. Heck." Her voice was raised to practically shouting when Rocki finished. "All of that happened to you?! While I was locked up in a prison cell?!"

Hmm, a cell... Kofi thought. I wonder if that would have kept Rocki out of trouble. It almost worked with Aley, and she seems to be a bit more high-strung than Rocki. Maybe I'll suggest keep Rocki in her room if we keep having problems...

Rocki shrugged. "I guess." She glanced at Kofi, then back at her sister. "I'm really glad that you're okay. Kofi made it sound like the sariun weren't going to take care of you at all."

Xinn stiffened a little but kept his face blank. Does he honestly think that we're the monsters?

"That's what Xinn said about the valicara." Aley's eyebrows pushed together. "So... no one is really... bad, I guess?"

Rocki was quiet for a minute, staring at some distant sand as she thought. The valicara all said that the sariun are the most evil things they know. But they took really good care of Aley and it sounds like they're just... people. Well, aliens. And then the sariun seem to think that the valicara are horrible, but they're clearly not. Are we missing something? Or is it just that they don't know or like each other?

"I guess not," she said slowly. "Seems like just a case of prejudice."

Xinn and Kofi stared at each other.

It can't be, they both thought. Can it?

"Maybe it has to do with whatever started the war in the first place," said Rocki. "Were things bad before then?"

Kofi shrugged. "Don't know. I wasn't around and I've never researched."

Xinn also shook his head with a shrug.

"Well at least tell me what started the war," she said.

Aley opened her mouth to share what Xinn had told her, then realized she probably wasn't the expert witness in this case and kept quiet.

"I don't really know what led to it," said Kofi, "but I do know that at one point the valicara and sariun met for a peace talk. But the sariun brought in soldiers to the meeting and had planned an ambush while our leader and his advisors were helpless. We had to summon our army as quickly as we could, and they barely made it there in time to save them."

Xinn snarled. "What kind of false history lessons are the valicara teaching? The valicara were trying to con us. There was no ambush plan—the valicara were the ones who drew up the agreement and they added hidden stipulations to take sariun land and people! We tried to leave but they already had their army assembled and attacked us."

Kofi's wings flared. "I'd say it's the sariun giving false teachings."

Aley jumped in front of Xinn before he sprung his blades again. "Woah, woah, woah. Sounds like there is a lot to unpack there, but we're not really here to discuss the past. We've got to figure out what we're going to do about this prophecy thing. By the way, are we sure that it's real? Because I'm still not so positive."

"Yes," Xinn and Kofi said, then glanced at each other.

Aley looked at her sister. "Rocki, what do you think?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I did a little research while they were trying to decide a meeting place. It kind of makes sense. And, honestly, after meeting Lindka, I'm more inclined to believe in that sort of thing."

Aley scratched her jaw. "Okay, wait, what exactly does the prophecy say again?"

Rocki wasn't completely sure of the wording, so she looked at Kofi, but he was staring at the something in the distance. Since no one else said anything, Xinn spoke up.

"When the war has raged and burned one hundred years standing long, the clashing of stars will come to an end. Killed by one swift stroke, cut into ribbons over latter years. Who is this savior to be? They are two made from two. An abomination in our eyes, but a speck in the eyes of others. Find them on a planet of mystery where they live unawares. When they are found, the end of the war is near. They who have the savioresses have the victory."

While he spoke, Kofi kept his eyes on the smudge of forest in the distance. I feel like I can see a lot of movement over there. It's kind of far to tell though... Something gray and blue flashed in front of one of the border trees. That's a sariun for sure. I think they're scouting. Keeping an eye on us. I don't like that. We don't have any backup out here. I had better contact Sovereign Faish. He stepped away but made sure to keep his eye on Xinn.

"The prophecy was helpful when it came to finding us," said Rocki. "But it doesn't give us much advice on how to actually end the war. The vision Lindka gave me isn't really helpful either. All I can figure from it is that we need to do this together."

Kofi took the earpiece out of his watch and put it in, directing the call to Sovereign Faish. "Sovereign," he whispered when he heard the other greet him. "There appears to be a collection of sariun gathered at the edge of the forest. They haven't advanced at all, but it worries me."

"That does seem unsettling. Do you want me to send a regiment?"

He hesitated. "It's your decision, Sovereign."

"I'll send some soldiers your way. Just in case. Keep your ear open."

"Yes, Sovereign." Kofi ended the call but kept his earpiece in and stepped back to where he had been standing before.

Xinn watched him carefully. Perhaps checking in with his leader. Or calling in their strike crew to steal the savioresses.

"So..." Aley spread her hands. "We know nothing. We've got this whole big mission to end a war between two aliens species and we have absolutely no idea how we're supposed to do it?" She pushed her hand back with one hand.

"It seems that way. I guess we have to figure it out on our own." Rocki sighed heavily.

Aley groaned. "Why can't these things ever be easy?"

A corner of Rocki's lip quirked up. "Because it wouldn't make for a good story otherwise."