In the popular resort town of Summers, in a well-liked tavern near the beach...

It is the morning after the fateful events that took place in the first part of the prologue.

From where he idly stood in the corner, Deckard Petersen kept his eye on the Tough Guy at the bar, because he had a feeling that a scene was about to occur.
The Tough Guy had clearly had too much to drink. His speech was slurred, he was spilling his drinks everywhere with his wild gestures, and he was attempting to hit on the serving girl at the bar. Although she kept refusing, the Tough Guy was too intoxicated to take no for an answer.
Deckard sighed in disgust. It sickened him that so many people in the world had no concept of self-control. It was partly the serving girl's fault, too; she should have known enough to refuse to give the Tough Guy any more drinks before he was too drunk.
After a while, the Tough Guy started to get mad at the girl for rejecting his advances, and he angrily slammed his meaty fist on the bar. She backed away from him, becoming afraid, as he looked as if he were going to jump over the bar after her.
Deckard shook his head; the situation had gone far enough. He went over and stood next to the Tough Guy at the bar. The serving girl sighed in relief as he approached.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises," he stated. Deckard always made this request at the beginning; he preferred to avoid bad situations.
The Tough Guy turned to him angrily. "Can't you see I'm busy?" he demanded. "Who the heck are you, anyway?"
Deckard folded his arms. "I'm the bouncer."
This caused the Tough Guy to erupt into laughter. "YOU? The bouncer? Don't make me laugh! What bar owner in his right mind would make a wimpy kid like you a bouncer, anyway?"
Deckard ignored the insults. "I'm going to give you one last chance to leave voluntarily," he said. "If you refuse, I will remove you by force."
The Tough Guy waved him off. "Beat it, kid, before I break your--"
In a single lightning-quick movement, Deckard flicked his wrist, which suddenly held his weapon, the Shining Wind Sword. About a second later, the front of the Tough Guy's Hawaiian shirt split in half and fell open. The Tough Guy looked at his ruined shirt in disbelief, and then looked at Deckard in a new light.
"If you refuse to leave again," Deckard said calmly, bringing up the Shining Wind Sword, "you will lose your pants next. And I'm sure that you've already had enough embarrassment at the hands of a 'kid.'"
Even drunk, the Tough Guy understood the danger of provoking Deckard again. He silently turned and left the bar.
"I thought so," Deckard muttered, putting the Shining Wind Sword away.
The serving girl smiled gratefully at Deckard. "Thanks, Deckard," she said. "I was afraid he was going to come over the bar after me."
Deckard looked at her, and his eyes narrowed. "That was partly your own fault, Lexa," he reprimanded her. "You should have known better than to give him more drinks when he's clearly had enough."
Lexa hung her head. "I know..."
Deckard's frown became a small smile. "But you're still new here," he continued. "And these guys can be pretty demanding when it comes to drinks."
She looked up, and returned his smile. "Thanks, Deckard."

Deckard spent the rest of his shift talking to Lexa while watching out for any other disturbances. After the episode with the Tough Guy, however, the other patrons had the sense not to get out of hand.
Finally it was 5:00 AM, and his shift was over. "Well, I'm done for tonight, so I'm going home to get a nap," he said to Lexa. Straightening his jacket, he turned to leave and tell the owner that he was going home.
"Deckard, wait!" called Lexa.
He turned back to her. "What is it?"
"Well..." She paused for a moment. "I get off in two hours. Do you want to walk me home?"
Deckard raised an eyebrow. "Walk you home?"
She nodded. "Well, we're friends, right?"
He smiled. "In two hours, I'll come back and walk you home. Okay?"
Lexa smiled back. "Okay. See you later, Deckard."
Deckard nodded, and walked off. He went to tell the owner he was finished, and then he left the bar.

Deckard Petersen was 18 years old. He had disorderly black hair, which he never even attempted to do anything with. His sharp, dark eyes suggested a calmness and an innate wisdom not commonly found in people. He usually dressed in dark, loose clothing with a navy blue jacket. He carried himself with an air of calmness and confidence.
He didn't even know what town he had originally come from; his parents had died when he was very young. Although the government had placed him in a foster home, his foster family was abusive, and he ran away. By stowing away on ships and airplanes, Deckard traveled to many other countries.
Long ago, Deckard had realized that his life had no meaning. He had no family, no one who cared if he lived or died. So he had made an oath to himself: he would give meaning to his life himself. To do this, he would constantly work at improving himself, in body, mind, and soul. He began to work out and train his body; in doing so, he inevitably learned the arts of fighting. He meditated daily and worked on developing his PSI gift, which he had discovered when he was very young. He always trained to become better than he was, and he never gave up. During his stays in other countries such as Dalaam, Deckard had learned the indigenous fighting styles and methods of meditation, and he applied them all to his training.
Four years ago, he had trained in Dalaam under a mentor who had taken him in. When the time had come for him to leave, his mentor gave him the Shining Wind Sword, a sacred talisman that had once been wielded by a Dalaamese hero who had lived many centuries ago. "It belongs with you now," his mentor had said. "You possess the same qualities and potential as the hero of yore. I know that you will use it for good."
The sword was Deckard's most prized possession. He had trained long and hard to learn how to wield it, and his skill with it had greatly increased. He also was able to easily conceal it within his clothing, to keep people from noticing it.
Two months ago, Deckard had come to Summers. He had found that he liked it here; for the first time ever, he felt in his heart that he was home. Because he was so comfortable here, he had decided to stay for a long time, if not permanently. The owner of a local bar called the Anti-Stoic Club had seen Deckard's fighting ability, and had offered him a job as a bouncer. Deckard had accepted the job so that he would earn some money; the job paid well, because he was very good at it, and the owner liked him.

Deckard crossed the road and went down to the beach. Since it was 5 in the morning, the beach was all but deserted; there was an Overzealous Cop in the distance, but he kept his distance from Deckard; Deckard had shown them a few weeks ago that attacking him for no reason was a very bad mistake.
He calmly walked down to the ocean's edge, and gazed out to the horizon. He liked to do this every morning, because it was very calming. Since there was no one there yet, it was quiet and peaceful.
Normally, the next thing he would do would be to go back to his apartment and take a nap for a few hours. But he had told Lexa that he would walk her home, and so sleep would have to wait.
With a swift calm motion, Deckard unsheathed the Shining Wind Sword and assumed his fighting stance. He then began to train.

2 hours passed before he knew it, and it was soon 7:00 AM. The first few people were beginning to come down to the beach, and they stared in wide-eyed interest at the young man practicing his movements and swinging a beautiful sword.
Deckard frowned; he didn't like people watching him train, the way they stared at him as if he were crazy. He stopped and swiftly put the Shining Wind Sword away, and left the beach, going back to the Anti-Stoic Club.

He found Lexa telling the bar owner that she was done for the night. After she finished, she saw him and came over. "Ready to go?" he asked her.
She nodded, brushing back a few blond tresses.
They left the bar and headed in the direction of her apartment. "Thanks for waiting and walking me home, Deckard," she said gratefully.
Deckard shrugged. "It's fine."
She laughed. "You know, it's kind of funny," she said. "I've been working at the Anti-Stoic Club since last week, and I've seen you there every night I've worked. And until last night, I don't think I ever really noticed you before."
He shrugged again. "Believe me, you're not the first, nor will you be the last."
Lexa looked over at him as they walked. "Does it ever hurt?"
Confused, Deckard looked back at her. "Does what hurt?"
"People not noticing you."
Deckard shook his head. "Not really," he said. "I don't need anyone else. All I need is already here, within me."
"Well..." Lexa reached out and took his hand in her own. "From now on, I'll always notice you."
Deckard looked down, embarrassed; he hadn't expected this. "Well... Thanks," he finally said.
She smiled at him, and he slowly smiled back.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Deckard saw movement. Immediately, some sixth sense warned him that something was wrong. He looked over to see what it was.
A nearby road sign was moving toward them. Deckard's jaw dropped. What the...?
Lexa was puzzled by his surprise. "What's wrong, Deckard?"
"Over there," he replied, pointing.
She looked over and gasped. "Why is that sign moving? HOW is it moving?"
"I don't know," he said, "but I don't think it's friendly. Get behind me."
She did so, and Deckard unsheathed the Shining Wind Sword. When the Crazed Sign was close enough, Deckard slashed in a smooth, swift motion.
The sign fell into pieces, and stopped moving. "Well, that takes care of that," Deckard said.
He was about to put the sword away when Lexa screamed behind him. "Deckard, there's more of them!" she cried.
He whirled around; three more Crazed Signs were approaching them, and other ones were going after the other people on the street. Most of the people saw the signs and ran for their lives. A few people stopped and stared at the signs, wondering how ordinary road signs could possibly be moving; they were quickly beaten down by the signs.
Deckard analyzed his enemies as they approached. He could defeat them with his sword, but he had a better plan.
He placed two fingers to his forehead and concentrated. "PSI Thunder Beta!"
Two thunderbolts struck down from the heavens, smiting two of the Crazed Signs; they were electrocuted and stopped moving.
Lexa looked at Deckard in awe. "How did you do that?" she asked.
"It's PSI," Deckard replied, moving away from her to calmly dispatch the third sign with his sword. "I attacked them with my mental energy."
Lexa didn't have time to ask him anything else, because a taxi suddenly drove up the road and headed straight for her. "Deckard, help!"
He turned around and saw the oncoming taxi; it had no driver. Shoot, he thought. It's moving too fast; I can't make it to her in time, and I can't attack with PSI because she's in the way. He placed two fingers to his forehead again and concentrated. "Shield Beta!"
She started in surprise as the power shield enveloped her body. An instant later, the taxi crashed into her.
Because of the power shield, Lexa was only hurt a little; she was knocked down, and she hit the ground hard. The rest of the Mad Taxi's attack was reflected back onto it, damaging it significantly. It only had a moment to collect itself before Deckard finished it off with a slash of his sword.
He went back to Lexa. "Are you okay?" he asked, helping her up.
"I... I think so," she said. "It hurt, but I don't understand why that didn't kill me."
"I protected you with my PSI," Deckard explained. "You're still injured, though; I'll help." He concentrated again. "Lifeup Alpha!"
Almost instantly, Lexa's wounds were gone. She smiled at him. "Your power is really useful," she said, impressed.
There wasn't any more time to talk, because more Mad Taxis were heading right for them. Deckard faced them and concentrated. "PSI Fire Alpha!"
The fire attack hit the taxis and ignited their fuel tanks, causing them to explode.
Deckard looked around for any more enemies, but there were no more; the signs and taxis that hadn't attacked them had gone off into other parts of town. Deckard's eyes widened as he realized that some of the people who had been attacked by the cars and signs were no longer there; it was as if they had disappeared.
"Are we safe now?" Lexa asked him.
He turned to face her. "I think so," he answered.
Suddenly a strange new being phased into view in front of them. The newcomer was composed mostly of tentacles, and it had two large eyestalks on what could be considered its head. "You must be rather strong, if you can defeat my inanimate minions with such ease," it said.
"Who are you?" Deckard demanded. "Why are you doing this?"
"I am an Abductor Mook," replied the alien creature. "The new master's conquest of this pathetic world is commencing. Because of this, I have been sent here to gather good specimens of you ugly Earth people, for the new master's designs. I was sent here because this area has one of the most diverse Earthling populations on this pitiful planet."
Lexa stepped away from it, and Deckard raised his fist. "What do you mean?"
The Abductor Mook laughed, or at least made a strange noise that sounded sort of like laughter. "You are a worthy human specimen," it said. "I will collect you for the new master."
In response, Deckard raised his sword menacingly. "You'll do no such thing," he said through gritted teeth.
The alien made the weird laughing noise again. "You may have defeated my inanimate minions, but I assure you that I am much stronger than they are," it promised.
Deckard turned to Lexa. "Lexa, stay out of the way," he said. "This is going to be dangerous." She nodded and moved out of the way. Deckard then focused his attention on the enemy in front of him. "Whatever your plans are," he said angrily, "I won't let you collect people like that! It's inhuman!" He formed his stance, ready to fight this creep.
"Inhuman?" replied the Abductor Mook. "Do I look human to you, Earthling?"
Deckard answered by quickly dashing forward and slicing at the Abductor Mook with his sword. However, he hit only empty air. Deckard's jaw dropped. How did it...?
"You are fast for an ugly Earthling, but not fast enough," the Abductor Mook taunted, now behind Deckard. "PSI Freeze Beta!"
The air around Deckard froze as he tried to dodge it. He managed to escape, but the ice attack caught his sword arm, freezing it solid.
The Abductor Mook laughed. "I am impressed that you managed to mostly dodge that," it said, "but it looks like you won't be able to move that arm for a while."
Deckard looked at his frozen arm (with the sword frozen to it), frustrated at his failure to escape the attack. I should have been faster than that, he thought. I should have seen the attack coming and evaded it easily.
He faced the Abductor Mook again, ignoring his arm. Placing two fingers to his forehead with his good arm, he concentrated. What kind of PSI should I use? he wondered. I should probably use fire, but fire isn't focused; I could inadvertently hit Lexa. And I don't know how to use that ice attack, so I'll have to go with lightning. "PSI Thunder Beta!"
Two bolts of lightning struck down at the Mook... And hit the spot where it had been an instant ago. "It can't be!" Deckard cried in surprise.
The Abductor Mook was now behind him again. "I think that perhaps I should tell you this, inferior Earthling. I am not a normal Mook. Abductor Mooks are an elite class of Mook, greater even than Mook Seniors. You are skilled, but you are nowhere near my level."
Deckard turned to face it, but it was suddenly behind him again. "If I wanted to, I could finish you off right now," the Abductor Mook stated, "but that would defeat the purpose of collecting you for the master. It will be easier if you just give up, Earthling. You must be able to see by now that I can easily evade all of your attacks; you have no chance of hitting me."
Slowly, Deckard turned around. He squeezed his eyes shut, frustrated.
He had always trained to better himself and improve his abilities; it was the meaning of his life. Never before had he met someone who was beyond his level of skill. Now that he had met someone who could run circles around him, he didn't know what to do.
I can't just give up, he thought. I can't...
Lexa looked at him in concern, seeing how upset he was. "Deckard..."
Deckard gritted his teeth, steeling his resolve. I won't just give in, he promised to himself. I still have one attack left. I've never had to use it before, but it's all I have left.
He concentrated. "Healing Beta." His sword arm unfroze, returning to normal.
The Abductor Mook stared at him. "What are you doing?" it demanded. "There is no way that you will be able to hit me."
"We'll see about that," said Deckard. Free to move his sword arm again, he brought it up and gripped the sword in two hands, forming a new stance. "I have one attack left, you alien creep," he spat. "If you think that I'll just give in to you, you're dead wrong."
The Mook laughed. "Very well, ugly Earthling," it said, amused. "Let us see this final attack of yours. I guarantee that it will not touch me."
Lexa cheered Deckard on. "You can do it, Deckard!" she called.
Deckard closed his eyes and concentrated, harder than he ever had before. His PSI responded, gathering about him in an aura of mental energy. He focused all of his psychic power into what he was about to do next.
The air around Deckard began to crackle with energy. The Abductor Mook's eyestalks widened. "What's this?"
"Dodge this!" Deckard cried. "PSI Eternal Wind Sword Alpha!"
Suddenly Deckard blasted forward at an amazing speed, faster than he could normally move, and crashed into the Abductor Mook. Almost instantaneously, he slashed at the enemy over and over again. The psychic power that Deckard had built up greatly enhanced the strength and speed of his attack. He slashed at the enemy again and again, as many times as he possibly could.
Finally, he had to stop. Breathing heavily, Deckard slumped forward, leaning on his sword for support. All of his built-up psychic energy had been expended, and he was completely drained.
The Abductor Mook stood behind him. "That was an impressive attack," it said. "We did not even know that one could power a physical attack with psychic energy."
With much effort, Deckard turned around to face it. So even that didn't work, he thought in despair. There was nothing else he could do; that last attack had taken all of his energy. He could barely move.
"Deckard?" Lexa asked, concerned about him. "Are you okay?"
The Mook started laughing again--and then stopped. About three-fourths of its tentacles suddenly fell off. One of its eyestalks widened in surprise as the other one fell off. "It cannot be!" the Mook cried. "How did you do this?"
Deckard smiled. His attack had worked after all. The Abductor Mook had been very fast, but it wasn't invincible.
The Abductor Mook's one remaining eyestalk stared at itself in disbelief. "You... You actually hit me!" it cried.
Its disbelief turned to rage. "You... You... You will pay for this!" it shouted at Deckard. "I no longer care about capturing you! Because of you, I have been horribly maimed, you ugly Earthling!"
Deckard's smile widened. "What's the matter?" he asked, his speech becoming slurred; he was so exhausted he could hardly stand. "Not having fun anymore, because your prey can bite back?"
"I will make you pay for your insolence!" the Mook shouted. "I will make you feel tenfold the pain you have caused me! You will suffer for what you have done!"
Then its eyestalk focused on Lexa. She stepped back, afraid. It turned to her. "Because of what you have done to me," it told Deckard, "this other Earthling you care for will receive my retribution."
Lexa was frozen in terror. Deckard's eyes widened as he realized what the Mook was going to do. He stepped forward, almost collapsing from the effort. "Don't hurt her!" he cried.
"Hurt her?" the Mook repeated. "I will do no such thing. My mission is to gather prime specimens of Earthlings for the master's plans. By taking this particular one, you accursed Earthling, you will be forced to live the rest of your life with the knowledge that you could do nothing to save her! You will feel this pain as long as you live!"
"Lexa, run!" Deckard cried. "Get out of here! Run away!"
"But what about you?" Lexa cried back.
"That doesn't matter!" Deckard replied. "Just get out of here! Run!"
Reluctantly, she listened to him. She turned and fled.
"Do you really think you can escape?" the Abductor Mook asked sarcastically. It pointed one of its remaining tentacles at Lexa. "Paralysis Alpha!"
Lexa's body suddenly became numb, and she couldn't move. "Deckard, help!" she cried frantically.
The Abductor Mook approached her triumphantly. "You are mine, Earth female," it said insidiously.
In desperation, Deckard ran toward them, despite his exhaustion. "Lexa! No!"
His legs collapsed under him, and he plunged into blackness. The last thing he heard was the Abductor Mook laughing.

When he finally came to, Deckard was in someone's house. He sat up slowly; his body ached terribly.
There was a dark-haired woman in the room with him; she was sitting in a chair, resting. When she saw him awake, she stood up and went to him. "You finally woke up," she said.
Deckard stared at her. "Who are you?" he asked. "Where am I?"
"My name is Vera," the woman replied. "My husband brought you here; this is our house." At Deckard's puzzled expression, she continued. "He found you lying in the street, near some broken signs. When he brought you here, he said that they were the same signs that had suddenly started attacking people. Since you apparently tried to fight the signs, my husband appreciated what you did, and brought you to our house so that you could recover."
Then Deckard remembered everything that had happened. He hung his head, ashamed of himself. "Lexa..."
Vera stared at him in puzzlement. "Who?"
Deckard looked up at her; she seemed like a nice person. So he told her everything that had happened.

"So you see," he concluded miserably, "because of my stupid pride, Lexa was kidnapped by the aliens."
He clenched his hand into a fist out of frustration as a tear ran down his cheek. "It's all my fault. If I had just given up, and let the alien take me, it would have left her alone. It's all my fault."
Vera placed her hand over his. "Maybe you're right, Deckard," she said. "But then again, that alien might have taken her anyway, even if you had given up and allowed yourself to be taken. A lot of people vanished after the attack; she could have been one of them anyway."
Deckard looked up at her. "What?"
Vera smiled. "You're putting all the blame on yourself," she said, "but in reality you are not to blame. Even if you hadn't fought it, there was nothing stopping the alien from taking her or hurting her; from what you told me about it, the alien would almost certainly have taken her anyway. The one who is truly to blame is the alien, for abducting people like this."
Slowly, Deckard nodded. "I understand," he said. "Thank you, Vera."
She nodded back. "You're welcome, Deckard," she replied. "You fought bravely against the attack when most other people ran away. I must also thank YOU, for what you did."
Deckard smiled, and looked down. "But I still have to find her," he said.
"What?"
Deckard looked up at Vera again. "Lexa. No matter whose fault it is, that Mook thing took her. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met, Vera; she doesn't deserve this. I have to find her and rescue her."
"I understand that," Vera replied, "but you have no idea where to find the aliens. Unless you get some idea of where to look, it will be like searching for a needle in a very large haystack."
"I know," he acknowledged, "but I still have to do this. It's the right thing to do."
Vera thought for a moment. "Well," she said, "you said that the alien was called an Abductor Mook, right?"
Deckard nodded.
"Well," she said, "The Chosen Four who fought in the war against Giygas 30 years ago once battled strange aliens called Mooks. Perhaps this new one is related to them in some way."
"You think so?" said Deckard.
"Yes," said Vera. "So, if you were to find one of the Chosen Four, perhaps they could help you find the aliens and rescue Lexa."
"That's a great idea!" said Deckard. "But where could I find one of them?"
Vera thought on this. "Hmmm... Well, there's Dr. Jeff Andonuts," she said. "He's the only one of the Chosen Four I know anything about."
"Where can I find him?" Deckard asked.
"When I was younger, I read some information that the media had obtained on the Chosen Four," she answered. "Jeff Andonuts' father had a laboratory in Winters, far to the north. If you went there, maybe you would find him, or at least a clue on where to find him."
"Okay, then," he agreed. "That's what I'll do, then." He got out of bed, ignoring his aching muscles.
"Are you sure you're okay to move around?" Vera asked him, concerned.
"I'll be okay," Deckard assured her. "I've rested long enough. I can't rest anymore until I find Lexa."
"Take this, then," Vera said. She held up the Shining Wind Sword. "My husband found it near you when he saw you."
Deckard took the sword and sheathed it. "Thanks. Thank you for everything you've done for me. And when you husband comes home, please give him my thanks too."
"I will," Vera promised. "Just please don't overstrain yourself, Deckard. You won't be any use to Lexa if you get yourself killed. If you need to, you can stay at our house whenever you like."

Deckard then went to the Anti-Stoic Club and told the owner that he had to quit his job for a while. The owner said that he understood, but he asked Deckard to come back and resume his job once he found Lexa; of course, Deckard agreed.
After that was taken care of, Deckard got on a bus and headed for Summers International Airport, to take an airplane to Winters.
On the way to the airport, he looked out the bus window, at the world around him. Despite his best efforts, however, thoughts of Lexa kept occupying his mind.
There was no one else like her. She had held his hand, and she had said, "From now on, I'll always notice you." No one else had ever told him anything like that.
Deckard had always been a loner; without a family, he had given his own meaning to his life. But now, in such a short time, there was someone else who also gave meaning to his life. Deckard realized that Lexa meant more to him than his own life.
I won't let you down, Lexa, he promised. I won't stop until I've found you. I'll go through anything and anyone to find you. I don't care how many Abductor Mooks I have to fight, I won't stop!
With this resolve, Deckard watched as the bus bore him to the airport.

Little did Deckard realize that his search for Lexa was part of something much larger, and that his own destiny awaited him...

And so begins Deckard Petersen's part in the story...