Author's Note: Unedited Chapter
The trio moved towards the entrance and wasted no time in boarding it.
The interior lit up upon their infiltration and Gustav proceeded to move towards the seat before the control panel.
Endric joined Gustav and Sersi took off the space suit before strapping in. At that point, Gustav was tapping on his dimensional bracelet to pick their destination point.
Endric squinted his eyes as he noticed something in the distance. It was very far from their current position but he could make out five figures."Looks like they have also gotten what they came here for. They might try to cause us some trouble," Endric voiced as he noticed the five figures were headed in their direction.
"Then we should leave here as soon as possible," Gustav responded while tapping his dimensional bracelet.
The figures had drifted closer at this point and were funnily waving their arms.
"Wait," Endric quickly grabbed Gustav's left wrist.
"Cancel dimensional travel," Gustav called out before it completely counted down to zero.
"What is it?" Gustav questioned while furrowing his eyebrows.
"They're not here to cause trouble," Endric responded."Mhm?" Gustav shot a glance at the Ozis group.
Minutes later, all five of them were within the sitting area of the massive spacecraft which was structured like a living room.
"We need your help," Vilax stated.
Gustav had a slightly suspicious look as he turned to glance at Endric before staring back at the group of Ozis.
"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Gustav questioned with slight menace.
"No, we're serious. We need your help… both of you," Osiark added from the side.
"You need the help of a universal fugitive? How ironic," Gustav let out a light scoff after responding.
"Will you help us or not?! Tch!" Milox yelled in annoyance.
"Watch your tongue before you lose it," Gustav said with a soft but extremely intimidating tone.
"You…" Milox pointed in anguish but Vilax quickly cut him short before he could say anymore.
"We got information on the whereabouts of our missing people who are currently in captivity. We can't get them back with our strength alone," Vilax explained with a pleading tone.
"Hmm, you should be aware that I came to the Xelios Tower for my agenda. Where did you get the impression that I would be willing to leave what I am after to help you guys? Perish the thought," Gustav stated with a tone of indifference.
"Please… I know how it looks… You are being blamed for the destruction of our planet and wanted by the alliance… you have no reason to help us but we can't get our people back without your help. I am not asking you to let go of your agenda, I am just asking that you render us a little assistance," Vilax kept trying to make Gustav see reason.
"No. Go find help somewhere else. There are still millions of Ozis who were saved," Gustav crossed his leg with an unbothered look.
There was no way he would be willing to carry other people's weight on his shoulders when he was supposed to head back to earth to follow the necessary procedures in recovering Angy and Falco.
"The problem is, we can't," Osiark voiced with a look of despair.
"Hmm?" Gustav exclaimed, looking confused.
Vilax proceeded to bring out a scroll. The scroll opened up and floated in mid-air. One could see constellations, galaxies, and planets outlined on it with a small glowing dot at the northeast corner.
"This scroll is meant to lead us to the location of the being responsible for holding the rest of our people captive but the moment he moves, his location would be lost to us and this scroll will become useless," Vilax narrated.
"That's unfortunate," Gustav didn't seem much bothered by the explanation but Vilax continued.
"We can't head back to the ring because Seifiling would be gone by the time we manage to amass a strong enough force to save our people. This means the whole trouble we went through to get the information on their whereabouts these past couple of months would have been for nothing. We need to go after him immediately but our group isn't powerful enough and that is why we need your help," Vilax stopped after mentioning that much.
"Nah I ain't interested. I've got my matters to attend to," Gustav said while standing to his feet.
Endric didn't try to intercede for them because he believed the decision should sorely rest on Gustav. However, Sersi didn't feel the same.
"Father… please help Vilax," Sersi pleaded from the side.
Vilax and everyone else was instantly taken aback the moment they heard her advocate for them. They hadn't expected it but they noticed the bit of gentleness in Gustav's eyes the moment he turned around to stare at Sersi.
"You said the tower didn't take as much of your time as you expected so maybe you can just use a little of that time frame to help them," Sersi added with a pleading tone.
It was true that Gustav estimated a longer time frame than he spent in The Xelios Tower but he didn't know how long it was going to take them to travel to wherever they needed to in space and get the other Ozis back.
"Even if I decided to help them, what is the guarantee that it wouldn't take much of my time? Time is a luxury that is extremely precious to me right now," Gustav shook his head.
Since he had been presented with the opportunity to get back to earth that quickly, he was going to make use of it.
"How much time can you give us?" Milox suddenly questioned with a desperate tone.
"Hmm? Who allowed this monkey to speak?" Gustav asked with a repressed expression.
Milox fell to his knees in the next instant and bowed his head.
"Please, I don't care whatever you call me, just help save our people," His actions and words surprised everyone in the vicinity. Gustav included.
"We will make do with whatever time you give us and once that time is up, regardless of whether our people have been saved or not, you can leave," Vilax joined Milox in pleading.
Gustav squinted his eyes as he contemplated his decision.
"Please help us," The rest of the Ozis fell to their knees as well, pleading for Gustav's assistance.
"That's enough. You can get up now," Gustav said with a slight look of benevolence.
"Does that mean you have agreed to help us?" Vilax's expression beamed up as he inquired.
"One week… I will only input one week of my time in helping you lots recover your people. After that you are on your own," Gustav stated with a strong tone.
"Thank you!" Vilax and everyone else showed their appreciation enthusiastically.
"Don't thank me yet," Gustav turned away and walked towards the control room.
"What are you waiting for? Come input the coordinates into the star navigation system," Gustav called out to Vilax who instantly responded by jumping to his feet and following after Gustav.
The rest of the Ozis decided on who they would send back to the ring to give the others information on what they were up to.
After a couple of minutes, preparations were complete and four Ozis were left within the spacecraft with Gustav, Endric, and Sersi.
"Let's go," Gustav stated while powering up the engine.
Twwhhhiiiii~
The spacecraft bolted into the distance in the next instant.
….
….
….
In an unknown region in space, hundreds of millions of beings stood underneath a blood-red sky, engaging in all sorts of activities.
Some looked like large beasts with long sharp tails, some looked humanoid with oddly shaped heads, some others looked metallic with glowing chests and backs. Some even looked like half toads and humans, while some looked like evolved insects.
One couldn't count just how many different species could be spotted strewn across the unknown location.
Some were tilling the ground as farmers would do and planting odd-looking seeds. While some mounted technological machinery and vehicle to perform the same task.
Some were lifting heavy loads and moving them from place to place. Some were building structures and beautiful looking roads… all kinds of activities could be witnessed.
One common thing was the mysterious purple collar around the necks of most of the species. The species that didn't have necks, had this purple collar around a different part of their body. There was not a single being there that did not have this collar except for one…
At the top of a tower a figure with a cylindrical head, clad in a long, black jacket, watched these beings engage in various activities with a proud smile on their face.
"The capturing has proved rather useful… I am 60% closer to finishing," He voiced cynically, sending silent chills across the environment.
"I should move onto the next capture zone once the PO has more information for me," After saying this his figure vanished from sight.
Four eyes flickered open and what appeared in view was an outdoor pool.
