I was at the library, reading a book, when there was a huge crash outside. I ran out, when all of a sudden, a claw reached out and grabbed me. Due to the cloud of dust, I could only see the shape, but I knew who it was; Xenon. Wait. Where was Vilgax? Come to think of it, Xenon seemed pretty worn down. He had multiple abrasions, too. What could be going on?
"Tech..." He began. What he said next was a simple word, not threatening in itself, but it's purpose for being uttered would be enough to make my blood run cold.
"Help."
Then he collapsed.
I had teleported Xenon and I to Apocalypse Earth, there being the only place out of the way of our dimension's threats. The Metamentians were willing to help, being that their world was completely cut off from anyone else without interdimensional capabilities. I asked the Metamentian doctor what was wrong with Xenon.
"It seems as if his life force is being drained somehow." The doctor said. "Exactly how is unknown, as he has no injuries besides some cuts and mild abrasions."
"So basically, he has basic battle injuries, but his life is still somehow in danger." I said.
"Correct."
Suddenly, Xenon woke with a start.
"Not drained. Consumed." He said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I'm not a true being. I'm a clone from the Codon Stream."
"What?!" I yelled in shock. "You seem true enough!"
"Yes. I'm an exact DNA copy of a Cerebrocrustecean named Argon."
"Why are you just randomly spurting the truth now? How is that relevant?"
"My life force is connected to Argon's. As soon as I sensed his life being drained, which is what I thought at first too, I rushed to my-or, Argon's-home planet. When I got there, the whole place was unbelievably bright, due to a number of light streams coming from the inhabitants going towards something. I first thought that it was an electric attack, but I realized that it wasn't electricity. I turned towards the destination of these beams...and...and..."
He stopped talking and shuddered, as if trying to get rid of some memory in his head.
"What happened, Xenon?"
"It...it was horrible. A large orb, glowing like a star, growing bigger with every second. And as if it's mouth lined with horrid, sharp teeth and tentacles with hooks instead of suckers weren't bad enough, it had no face or body, but the worst thing was that it radiated pure evil, enough to fill me with dread and despair. I attacked it, but it just laughed. It shot a small beam at me, but when it struck, I was blown away like a bug in a tornado. I knew that only one person could help, and that was you."
"Why would you feel bad around evil? You're evil."
"Good to see someone fell for my illusion."
"Illusion?!"
"I'm not truly evil. Vilgax is, but I'm not. I just act that way because I was expected to be. When I escaped from the Codon Stream, everybody thought I would be evil. Clone stereotype. I decided to act the part due to peer pressure. I really hate being evil, but I hate even more that I'm so good at it."
"You would do a better job being good than evil, I'll bet. Besides, you would sure show everybody if you were good! You gotta go with your heart. If your ambitions are good, you should be, too!"
"Do good guys get blown up?"
"Occasionaly, but very little."
"Count me in!"
"And you can count on me to help you save your sorry hide!"
Xenon glared at me.
"Sorry. Instinct."
I inspected Xenon's ship. It was set up like a house, probably because it was his house.
"Nice place you've got here." I said. "You could set up a luxury shuttle service or something."
"Not to mention it can go as fast as any good racerocket." Xenon said with pride.
"It seems strangely familiar, though..."
"I call it the Crustetron 3.0. You destroyed the other two."
"Oh, right. I forgot."
I suddenly saw a planet shining like a beacon in the vastness of space. The shine was black and red, though, like some malevolent force was consuming it.
"Hey, Xenon, that wouldn't be..."
Xenon ran over and gasped.
"Encalophus IV!"
"What could do that?!"
"What I encountered earlier. But I worry...what could it be?"
I didn't know either, but I kept my questions to myself from then on.
When we arrived, I immediatly felt what Xenon had described. It was a horrible feeling. But there was something Xenon had not described. It was something...human. Xenon stumbled out of the ship behind me. We had to find the source of this fast. I looked up... and there it was. I turned into an alien I called Rammoth and used his climbing skills to make my way up the tower with Xenon hanging on tightly to my tusks. When I got to the top, I turned into Psikick and sent a mental probe into the light. I reeled back, struggling to stay concious. I had encountered a wall of pure emotion, destroying my concentration. It wasn't just one emotion, it was all of them combined. Only one thing could use emotions as a weapon-an Emotispecter! I figured that since Emotispecters could control emotion, I shouldn't be something vulnerable to that power. I turned into Chiller, and shot a beam of ice at the light. Instantly, the light faded, along with anything else out of the ordinary. I spotted a frozen Emotispecter and transformed back to myself.
"I suspect that Emotispecter was behind everything. The monster was a manifestation of some emotion, probably rage or something similar." I said.
"Then why is my life still being consumed?" Xenon asked. Come to think of it, that feeling of something human still lingered.
Suddenly, I heard clapping, but it was slow and sarcastic. I turned and gasped. It was a human! Obviously a man, he was dressed in strange armor, and carried a box around his neck that was absorbing the Cerebrocrustecean's life force.
"Excellent work, Tek." He said in a deep, crackling voice. "Of course, this was only a test to see how clever you were, and the extra life force power doesn't hurt-me-but still a job well done."
"Who are you?!" I yelled, more out of shock than anger, which is really saying something.
"I am Aranos De Phares, lord of Egypt, time, and soon the universe! You may be wondering how I came to be here, but all I'm going to tell you is what I already have. Ta ta!"
And with that, he vanished. I noticed a strange device attached to the Emotispecter.
"Mind control device." Xenon said. "Best to smash it when the thing thaws out. Off topic, I feel a whole lot better now. That human must have been the master behind all this.
"Yes, but what disturbs me even more than what his orgins might be is that he said this was only a test."
"That is troublesome. Well, we better go. I'll drop you off, then I have to go sort a few things out. First thing, break up the team with Vilgax. The guy is a moron."
I laughed. "Agreed to not disagree on that one!"
And with that, this chapter is over, with one less enemy and one new ally. He was pretty convincing as an enemy, though, I'll give him that much.