Kaatz entered the chamber of the master. He was not sure what kind of effect his report would have on Master Giaguo; for the first time, he was afraid of what the master would choose to do. If Master Giaguo was angered enough by what Kaatz had to say, Kaatz surely would not live much longer.
The reason for Kaatz's uncertainty was that in the entire time he had been in Giaguo's service, Kaatz had never once failed in a mission. This was the first time he had not accomplished his objective; despite the extenuating circumstances that had led him to give up the mission, Kaatz had a feeling that Giaguo was not going to be very happy with him.
He bowed to the back wall of the chamber. "Master Giaguo, I have returned," he announced.
As usual, part of the back wall swiveled around to reveal Giaguo's tank. The alien stared at Kaatz expectantly with his piercing black eyes. "And what of your mission, Kaatz?" he asked, his voice assuming an interrogative aura and echoing throughout the chamber. "Is Target Priority One finally mine?"
Kaatz could not meet Giaguo's gaze. "I... I aborted the mission, Master Giaguo," he replied.
As Kaatz had expected, the alien's eyes narrowed, and his voice took on an aura of displeasure. "What did you say...?"
Kaatz closed his left eye. "I aborted the mission."
The aura of displeasure grew even larger. "Aborted? YOU? I could expect such a thing from Pokey, but from YOU, Kaatz? I hope that you have a good explanation for your actions."
"I don't know if it's a good explanation or not," Kaatz admitted. "But... There is another in the royal line of Dalaam."
At this, Giaguo's displeasure was overcome by surprise. "What? But that line was ended! YOU of all people should know that!"
"It is not ended," Kaatz corrected. "There is another. His name is Kato."
"Are you certain of this?" asked Giaguo.
"I am," Kaatz confirmed. "Not only did he wield the equipment of the emperor, but he looks exactly like his father."
Giaguo thought for a moment. "If this is true, then it was an error to declare the line ended fourteen Earth orbits ago."
Kaatz folded his arms. "14 years ago, it was not an error, Master Giaguo," he said. "This Kato was a young boy; he could not have been more than 12 or 13 years old. He was born AFTER we... ended the line."
"Even if this is true," said Giaguo, "we still made an error. When the royal line of Dalaam was destroyed, my people should have made certain that it could not be renewed. Now, this mistake may cost us."
Kaatz looked down again. "In any case, Master Giaguo, when I encountered him, I was so overcome by shock that if I had stayed there, I would not have been able to function to the best of my ability. If I had stayed, it is possible that Zain might have defeated me."
At the mention of the chosen leader, Giaguo resumed his expectant stare. "What was Zain like, when you encountered him?" he asked. "Did you fight him?"
Kaatz nodded. "I did. He is the only one of these 'Chosen Eight' that we need to worry about." He paused for a moment. "Master Giaguo, Zain is an empathic psychic."
"I already know that," Giaguo replied. "I learned that much from Mister P's report. How did he use this power, in your fight with him?"
"His use of the empathic PSI is very unfocused," Kaatz answered. "Most of the time, he didn't even seem to understand what he was doing; he simply did it." Kaatz remembered the way Zain had actually caught one of his pseals and thrown it back at him. "And as he became more and more angry, his power became stronger and stronger, until it was almost on a level with my own."
"I see," Giaguo said. "And what causes him to become angry?"
Kaatz stared grimly at the alien. "Threats to his companions," he stated. "In particular, he became angriest whenever the welfare of Target Priority One was threatened."
Giaguo's voice adopted an aura of thoughtfulness. "This will not do..." he said, partly to himself. "I must have Target Priority One, and Zain must be destroyed. If what you say about him is true, then his potential is high enough to be a minor threat to our operations."
"That is the idea of the 'Chosen Eight' foretold in the 'Apple of Enlightenment,'" Kaatz remarked. "To be a threat to ones such as us."
"You are correct," Giaguo agreed.
Suddenly the door to the chamber opened, and a Mook Senior entered, looking worried. "Master Giaguo! Master Giaguo!" it cried, waving its tentacles frantically.
Kaatz responded, automatically falling into his role as Giaguo's second-in-command. "The master is here," he declared. "Speak your trouble."
The Mook Senior turned to Giaguo's tank. "Master Giaguo, the weather control device that you ordered us to plant in the Earth town of Troisemburg has stopped functioning!" it exclaimed.
The master's black eyes widened. "What?"
"It's true!" cried the Mook Senior. "It stopped working! The precipitation over the Earth town has vanished!"
Giaguo stared at the tentacled alien. "What caused this?" he demanded, his voice adopting an interrogative aura.
"We don't know for certain," the Mook Senior answered, "but something seems to be... interfering with the device's transmission."
Kaatz folded his arms, wondering what had happened to the device. "What sort of interference?" he asked.
The Mook Senior held out a device in one of its tentacles. "We recorded some of it," it replied. "You can listen to it for yourself."
Kaatz pressed a button on the device to play back the recording. Amidst a large amount of static, the faint sound of a melody could be heard.
The effect on Giaguo was astonishing. Upon hearing the melody, he let out a colossal shriek of agony and began thrashing around in his tank.
Kaatz stared at the alien in surprise. In all the years he had served Giaguo, he had never seen the master like this before.
He reacted instinctively, crushing the recording device in his metal right hand. The melody stopped, and Giaguo stopped thrashing. The master was clearly still injured, though; his limbs were somewhat curled up around his body, and his eyes were squinting in pain.
"Master Giaguo, are you okay?" asked Kaatz.
It was a moment before the master could answer. Finally, he said, "I am not badly injured. It... The sound was not complete."
"What was that sound, Master Giaguo?" Kaatz inquired. "I have never seen you react in such a way before."
Giaguo's voice adopted an aura of understanding as he realized what had happened to him. "That is the sound that defeated Giegue," he answered slowly. "When he returned to the homeworld after his failure to conquer this planet, none of us believed his story about a terrible sound that could harm us in such a way... We all thought that he was trying to cover up his failure with a lie."
Then the alien's eyes narrowed. "But he was telling the truth all along..."
He looked at the Mook Senior, who had brought him the recording. "You now know too much," he declared, an aura of decisiveness in his voice. "Now we must make certain that you cannot speak of this."
The Mook Senior became very frightened, realizing what the master was about to do. "B-But Master Giaguo... I won't tell anyone, I promise!"
"You are correct," Giaguo agreed. "You will not tell anyone."
Suddenly, Giaguo released a strange energy wave from his "forehead." Kaatz involuntarily flinched; he had never been able to understand the nature of this attack, and as for the person that the master used it on...
The energy wave struck the Mook Senior, and the unlucky tentacled alien disintegrated, shredded apart on the molecular level.
If Giaguo had had a mouth, he would have smiled. "That should take care of that," he stated, his voice filled with contentment.
Kaatz turned to him. "Master Giaguo, was that really necessary?" he asked.
"Of course it was," Giaguo replied. "The Mooks are a subservient race, living only to serve my people; we conquered them long ago, just as we are conquering Earth now. If the Mooks realize that my race has a weakness, they may attempt to exploit it, in order to gain their freedom."
"You are right, Master Giaguo," Kaatz agreed, nodding. "I hadn't thought of that."
Giaguo stared at Kaatz. "This sound is a sizable threat to my kind. If I weren't certain of where YOUR loyalties lie, Kaatz, you would have shared the Mook's fate. I believe that I can trust you with this secret."
Kaatz nodded. "Of course, Master Giaguo."
"Very good. Now, about the 'Chosen Eight...'"
"It's possible that they may have already visited one or more of the Sanctuaries," admitted Kaatz. "Despite the guardians that were placed there."
"We do not know that for certain," Giaguo countered. "In any case, Zain MUST be destroyed, and Target Priority One must be mine."
Kaatz had been thinking about something for a while, and he decided to see what the master thought of it. "I have been thinking, Master Giaguo," he said. "What if we did not have to destroy Zain? What if we could somehow... get him to join OUR cause, instead of the one he follows now?"
Giaguo stared at him. "...Do you even think that it is possible?"
"I think we could," said Kaatz. "He is still young; young enough that he may yet be shaped."
The master thought on this. "...An empathic psychic IS quite a rare occurrence," he accepted. "If we could get him to join us, then I would have the leader of Earth's 'Chosen Eight' at my command. Combined with the abilities of Target Priority One, I would become unstoppable even among my own people; I would emerge dominant as the ruler of the universe."
He nodded his alien head at Kaatz. "You may do what you see fit to get him to join us," he said, his voice sounding pleased.
Kaatz bowed. "Thank you, Master Giaguo," he said. "First of all, I believe that we should cease our pursuit of them for the time being," he suggested. "With the way that Mister P and I have been chasing them, I do not believe that Zain will be of a mind to... negotiate with us. If we leave them alone for a while, he may become more amenable to what I have to say."
Giaguo stared at him. "As I said, you may do what you see fit," he replied. "However, you do not have an unlimited amount of time, Kaatz. I want Target Priority One, and because no one has been able to capture her yet, my patience is wearing thin."
Kaatz smiled. "If all goes well, Master Giaguo, Zain may hand over the girl to you himself."

Meanwhile...

When they exited the cave that led to the Tranquil Zone, Zain and his friends were met by a most welcome sight.
It had stopped raining.
Eyes wide with disbelief, they looked up to the sky through the cover of the trees. The black clouds were still there, but they were beginning to become lighter; it was only a matter of time before they dispersed.
"I... I thought it was never going to stop raining!" Karen exclaimed.
Guy looked at her. "All things come to an end," he said. "Even if it does not seem that they will."
Zain smiled at the brightening sky. "I'm more concerned with beginnings than ends right now," he said. "We have the melody of the Tranquil Zone, and now we'll be beginning a new journey to the next Sanctuary."
"This is true," Kato agreed. It was the first time he had spoken since they had visited the Tranquil Zone. On the way back through the cave, he had been strangely withdrawn, as if he were thinking hard about something. Zain was glad that he seemed more light-hearted now; whatever had been bothering him before, Kato seemed to have gotten over it now.
Karen smiled. "Now that we've visited the Tranquil Zone, we're one step closer to finding Neil," she said happily. Guy nodded in agreement.
Sasha looked at Kato. "Um, Kato," she said, "since the Tranquil Zone is your Sanctuary, did it give you any... powers? Lumina Pillar gave me a new ability, although I haven't really had a chance to use it yet."
Kato nodded. "The Tranquil Zone did grant me a new ability," he confirmed.
"Really?" asked Zain. "What ability?"
"Watch." Kato crossed his arms and concentrated. "PSI Form Change!"
The others watched as Kato was enveloped in white light. His shape grew taller, until he reached Zain's height.
When the light faded from his body, everyone gasped in surprise. Kato had transformed into an exact copy of Zain, from his green eyes and blond hair down to his clothing. The only difference was that the goggles around Kato's head were whole, while Zain's lenses were broken.
The transformed Kato smiled. "Impressive, isn't it?" he asked; his voice sounded exactly like Zain's.
Sasha smiled. "That's a really neat ability, Kato," she said.
Guy nodded in agreement. "If you ever were required to disguise yourself, you could do it with ease."
Zain scratched his head, frowning. "I think it's kind of creepy," he remarked. "It's like looking into a mirror."
Karen thought of something. "Kato... Since you turned into Zain, do you also have his powers now? It would be really neat if we had two people who could use Zain's Hyperion attack."
"I will try," Kato said. He turned away from the others, facing an empty part of the forest. Thrusting his hand outward as Zain did, he shouted, "PSI Hyperion Alpha!"
Nothing happened.
Kato turned back to the others. "It seems that I while I can emulate others physically, I cannot emulate their abilities. I suppose that, whichever form I take, I still possess my own abilities."
"That's too bad," said Karen.
"Not really," Zain countered. "Didn't you see Kato's Starstorm attack? It was just as strong, if not stronger, than Hyperion."
"Oh," said Karen. "I forgot about that."
"Yes, the Starstorm is quite a potent ability," Kato agreed. "My father mastered its ways during the war against Giygas. He taught me how to use it, but I have not mastered it yet."
Then Kato got an idea. "I am going to try something," he said. Crossing his arms again, he concentrated once more. "PSI Form Change!"
Kato, still looking like Zain, was enveloped in white light again, and his shape grew even taller. When the light faded this time, Kato looked exactly like...
"Kaatz!" cried Zain. Everyone stepped back in surprise.
Indeed, Kato had transformed into Kaatz. He looked exactly like the enemy that they had fought in the hotel, wearing a flowing black trenchcoat. However, there was a very noticeable difference...
Karen blinked. "You... You don't have any of those robot parts," she said, surprised.
Kato looked at his right hand; unlike the real Kaatz's right hand, Kato's was still the original hand, made of flesh. In addition, his face was whole, with two human eyes.
"This is what I wanted to test," Kato explained in Kaatz's voice. "I wanted to see whether or not PSI Form Change would emulate artificial body parts, such as the ones that the real Kaatz has. Apparently, it does not."
He sighed. "It's too bad," he said. "Since I cannot emulate others' abilities, I suppose I cannot use any of Kaatz's pseal powers in this form."
Zain noticed something. "You know, Kato," he said, "now that I see Kaatz without those artificial parts... He kind of looks like you. I mean, he kind of looks like your regular form."
Kato's, or rather "Kaatz's," eyes widened. "What?"
"You're right, Zain!" Karen agreed, surprised. "They DO look a lot alike, except for the age!"
Kato shook his head. "I do not understand," he said. "There is no reason why I would look like him."
He concentrated. "Revert!"
Becoming enveloped in white light yet again, Kato shrank back to his original size, and resumed his normal form.
Guy nodded. "Yes, there is definitely a similarity."
Kato shrugged. "It must simply be a coincidence," he stated.

By the time they returned to the northern outskirts of Troisemburg, the sky had become even brighter; the dark clouds would soon be all gone.
"I'm really glad it stopped raining," said Sasha, smiling. "Things almost seem more hopeful now."
Zain nodded. "They do, don't they?"
"Perhaps you should call Mr. Maybee, as he suggested earlier," Guy offered.
"Oh, yeah," replied Zain. "I almost forgot about that."
He got out the phone number that Sasha's father had given him, and then rummaged through his backpack, digging out the Receiver Phone. "I'll call right now," he said.
Zain dialed the number on the Receiver Phone, and then waited for someone to pick up on the other end. After about three rings, Zain heard a click as someone picked up. "Hello, Samuel Maybee speaking for Orange Enterprises."
"Mr. Maybee!" said Zain. "It's me, Zain!"
"Hi, Zain," said Sasha's father. "Did you visit the Sanctuary?"
"Yeah," Zain replied. "We have its power now."
"That's wonderful news. Is Sasha okay?"
Zain nodded on a reflex, forgetting that Samuel couldn't see him. "She's fine, sir. She saved my life at the Tranquil Zone." Overhearing him, Sasha smiled at him.
Samuel paused for a moment. "She did? I guess when you said it wasn't one-way, you really meant it."
"I meant it," Zain confirmed. "Did you find out anything about the next Sanctuary?"
"I may have found something," Samuel replied. "I had forgotten about it before, but when I reviewed my files, I remembered. There's another location that has been called a 'sanctuary' against evil, although there isn't as much information about it as there was about the Tranquil Zone."
"You found another one?" said Zain. "That's great, Mr. Maybee!"
"There's just one thing, Zain," Samuel continued. "It's in Quattro City."
Zain's eyes widened in surprise. "Quattro City?"
"Quattro City?" Guy repeated, overhearing him. "Quattro City is quite far from Troisemburg."
"I guess we have a long way to walk, then," said Zain with a sigh. "Since the bus service is cancelled."
"No, Zain," said Sasha's father. "You won't be able to reach Quattro City by land. You'd have to take the road through the Northern Wetlands, and with that huge rainstorm we've had, the road will be flooded over. Even if you COULD walk the distance, it would take you days to reach Quattro City on foot."
Zain scratched his head with the hand that wasn't holding the phone. "So how do we get there, then?" he asked.
Samuel already had a plan. "Go to Hawkland International Airport," he instructed. "Once you get there, go to the ticket seller. You'll find that five tickets, one for each of you, have already been purchased for the next available flight to Nordfour International Airport in Quattro City. When you get to Nordfour, call me again and I'll give you more information."
Although he was surprised by the lengths that Sasha's father was going to in order to help them, Zain accepted his help gratefully. "We'll do that, then," he said. "Thank you for all your help, Mr. Maybee."
"You're welcome, Zain," said Samuel. "Think nothing of it. You have a destiny to fulfill, and besides, you've done so much for Sasha that I'll never be able to fully repay you. Can I talk to her before you hang up?"
"Of course," said Zain. He handed the Receiver Phone to Sasha and walked over to his other companions, giving Sasha some privacy.
"So what are we doing?" asked Karen.
"Sasha's dad thinks he might have found another Sanctuary," explained Zain.
"And it is in Quattro City," Guy added.
Zain nodded. "That's right."
"How will we get there?" asked Guy. "Surely the roads through the wetlands have been flooded by all of the rain."
Just then, Sasha finished talking to her father and rejoined the group. She handed the Receiver Phone to Zain, who put it away. "What are we going to do?" she asked.
Kato folded his arms inside his cloak. "Apparently, we are going to Quattro City."
"Quattro City?" Sasha repeated. "Where's that?"
"It's a long ways northeast of here, across the Northern Wetlands," Karen explained. "It's huge; it's a lot bigger than Troisemburg. Quattro City is the closest thing there is to a metropolis in the northern Hawkland region."
Sasha smiled. "It sounds a lot like Shean."
Guy raised an eyebrow. "Shean?"
"It's a huge city in Falconland," Sasha described. "It's about a few hours away from Greyhamel, my home town."
Zain grinned. "Maybe I can visit there someday."
"That may be even sooner than you think, Zain," Guy supposed. "After all, one of the Sanctuaries may be in Falconland."
Karen sighed. "That would be great," she said sarcastically. "I'd probably go crazy from everyone calling ketchup catsup."
"Pardon my forwardness," said Kato suddenly, "but were we not talking about Quattro City? How are we going to get there?"
"Well," answered Zain, "we have to go to the airport."

To be continued...