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Amanda stood in the heart of the Celestial Arc, her hands still trembling. Her mind was spinning so fast, it might as well have been orbiting Saturn. Everything was too much: the ship, the stars, the glowing twins, the tall woman with goddess energy, and most of all… Dave.
She turned to Adele, trying to form a sentence. "You said… I'm… one of them?"
Adele didn't answer right away. She paced slowly, eyes thoughtful.
"You're not just human, Amanda. You never were."
Amanda blinked. "Okay. Cool. Thanks for the identity crisis. Want to throw in a horoscope reading too?"
Zyra giggled and whispered to Zei, "I like her. She's funny. Can we keep her now?"
Zei didn't even blink. "We've barely kept you. Let's not collect strays."
"Hey!" Zyra slapped his arm. "That's rude. She's not a stray—she's like a… mystical cat."
Dave rubbed his temples like an exhausted babysitter. "This is getting out of hand."
Amanda stepped forward. "Hold on, back up. What do you mean I was never human?"
Adele stopped pacing. "You are a Nephire. A guardian species. Ancient protectors created to keep the balance and guide the Sphires… to keep them in check if they ever lost their way."
Amanda's throat went dry. "That's… that's just stuff my mom told me when I was a kid. Stories. Legends. Like bedtime tales—"
"They weren't tales," Adele interrupted gently. "Your mother… isn't your real mother. She was entrusted with you. Long ago, the last Nephires, fading from existence, gave their offspring—you and another girl—to human caretakers. Your memories were sealed. But your blood remembers."
Amanda staggered back, bumping into the wall. "So… wait. Betty—she's one too?"
"Yes," Adele nodded. "She is the other Nephire."
Amanda sat down on a glowing bench, trying to breathe. "Okay. Wow. So, I'm some ancient warrior alien babysitter, my best friend is also an alien, my fake mom knows bedtime stories that are actually history lessons, and Dave has a spaceship."
"Welcome to Tuesday," Dave muttered.
Zyra leaned down next to Amanda. "So? How do you feel? Are you gonna shoot lasers out of your eyes? Or do you summon lightning with your eyebrows?"
Amanda laughed weakly. "I don't even know how to do taxes."
Zei crossed his arms. "She doesn't know how to do anything yet. This is a liability."
Zyra gave him a look. "She's not a weapon. She's a person."
"She's both," Adele said, looking at Amanda seriously. "That's why Dave brought you here. He planned to erase your memory. But… I can't."
Amanda's eyes snapped up. "Wait—what?! You were gonna wipe my mind?!"
Dave raised his hands. "In my defense, you weren't supposed to be involved. You showed up at my house and started asking questions."
"I came because you fought a monster in the school parking lot like a cosmic ninja! I think I earned a few questions!"
"It wasn't a ninja move," Dave muttered. "It was a slow right hook."
Zyra burst out laughing. "I like her. You should let her join the crew."
"No," Dave snapped.
Zei nodded. "Agreed."
Amanda stood up, exasperated. "Wow. I feel so wanted."
"Listen, I'm just trying to keep things quiet," Dave said. "You don't understand the kind of attention this brings."
Amanda folded her arms. "So you're the almighty Space Lord, and I'm supposed to just go back to school and pretend I don't know what you are?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation.
"…You're unbelievable."
Zyra clapped her hands. "Group hug!"
"No," everyone said at once.
Suddenly, Adele's eyes sharpened.
Her voice cut through the humor like frost: "We have a situation."
Everyone straightened.
"An artificial floating city is under attack," Adele continued. "Grazans."
Dave groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Nooo, not them."
Amanda looked around. "Who are the Grazans?"
"Rock monsters. Ugly. Loud. Love to loot. Kind of like if a mountain had teeth and bad parenting," Zyra said casually.
"They hunt planets," Zei added. "Sometimes for bounty. Mostly for destruction."
Dave turned to Adele. "This really the time?"
Adele smiled slightly. "I think it's the perfect time to test her."
Dave paled. "Oh, no. No no no. We don't even know if she can fly."
Amanda raised her hand. "I definitely can't fly."
"Then you'll fall with style," Zyra winked.
In an instant, the Celestial Arc shimmered—and appeared directly above the invaded city.
Below: chaos.
Smoke billowed from ruined towers. Fires raged. Citizens ran. The sky was full of small fighters, lasers, and screams. Giant stone beasts leapt from building to building.
Amanda looked out the window and whispered, "We're not really doing this, right?"
"We're doing this," Adele said—and with a snap—
They were on the ground.
Teleportation always made Amanda feel like her stomach had been thrown into a black hole, and she wobbled when she landed.
Screams echoed. People cried. Fires roared.
Dave stretched his neck, cracked his knuckles. "Time to have fun."
Zyra zipped off in a blur of light, blasting through two Grazans like a firecracker. Zei unsheathed glowing blades and sliced three monsters clean in half with surgical calm.
Dave? He transformed in a flash of white, blue, and gold. His armor glowed like a myth reborn. He floated toward a crumbling tower, glanced at it, and it repaired itself—just from his presence.
Amanda stood frozen. "Is this real? Is this actually happening?"
Before she could answer herself, a Grazan lunged from the smoke, roaring, claws raised—
It never reached her.
It exploded mid-air.
She blinked.
Nothing touched her.
She turned.
Dave stood behind her, arms folded, unimpressed.
"Oh," she breathed. "You did that."
He raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome."
"…Not bad."
Across the sky, Adele was floating gently, eyes closed, radiating calming waves of thought into the hearts of the terrified people below. Screams turned to sighs. Panic faded. Peace replaced it like dawn chasing out the night.
Within minutes… it was over.
The city, once wrecked, was whole. Not a single citizen injured. Not a single Grazan left. Even their king—a mountain-sized brute—was gone.
Amanda stood in the aftermath, mouth open. "What… just happened?"
Dave dusted off his armor. "Wednesday."
Adele transported them back to the Celestial Arc before the crowd could mob them.
Amanda sat down, stunned. "That was… that was insane. Like a dream."
"Oh shii—" she suddenly said, eyes wide. "It's been hours since we were at your house! What's Mira gonna think?!"
Dave rolled his eyes. "Time moves different in space. She probably thinks we're still in my room."
In a blink—they were.
Back in Dave's room.
It was exactly how they'd left it. Except now, Amanda was sweaty, confused, and still holding a rock from the alien battlefield she hadn't noticed picking up.
She sat on the bed in silence.
Trying to process.
Then—
KNOCK KNOCK
The door creaked open.
Mira entered, holding a tray with warm cinnamon rolls.
"Well," she smiled. "Excuse me—just bringing snacks."
Amanda nearly jumped, looking anywhere but Mira's face. "H-hi, thank you, smells amazing, gotta go bye—"
She bolted past Mira and vanished down the hall.
Mira watched her run off, then turned to Dave slowly.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Did you fumble?"
Dave looked at the cinnamon rolls, then at the door Amanda ran through.
He chuckled. "She'll probably be back tomorrow."
Mira smirked. "Nice."
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