The craft which was propelling Hitoshi, Emycho and Tayyuk towards Ardonia made its way through the tunnel of hyperspace at unfathomable speed.

With it traveled an entire fleet of other spacecraft, piloted by the galaxy's most wanted, criminals who were only in it for the reward Princess Maina of Ardonia might give them were she rescued.

Hitoshi's face was full of resolve and determination. There seemed to be nothing stopping him from saving his girlfriend, no matter what the cost. Nothing else was on his mind as he stood there, peering through the windscreen of the spacecraft.

Tayyuk's expression was also that of a somber and serious sort. He knew that they were all flying into almost certain war. He gripped the control wheel tightly as he piloted the craft.

Emycho, however, seemed to be in another state of reality, literally, altogether, at least to her. Her vision seemed to slowly fade into white as everything around her disappeared.

The extradimensional being looked around in apparent surprise as she was surrounded by a blank, white nothingness. Slowly though, the nothingness began to mold itself into some kind of concrete high structure, a Citadel of sorts, in the middle of which Emycho stood.

As the Citadel took form, six humanoid figures, not dissimilar in appearance to Emycho, stood in a circle around her, like some kind of council. She knew exactly where she was.

The fifth dimension.

Nothing material existed in this realm. Nothing real in the eyes of man existed here. Nothing man or many other carbon-based lifeform in the universe can comprehend existed here. The laws of physics did not seem to affect affect the ethereal entities that dwelled in this white blankness.

"Emycho," spoke one of the fifth-dimensional beings in the all-speaking tongue that they all speak. "You have acted against the laws that govern the material universe."

Emycho did not speak. They spoke the truth.

"You have interfered with the businesses of carbon-based lifeforms," spoke another of the glowing white beings forming the council atop the Citadel. "Fifth-dimensional beings never interfere with the material universe except in greatest need. It is a very serious offense."

"That is true," said another. "Your violation must not go without punishment--"

"May I speak?" said Emycho, interrupting them.

The council of fifth-dimensional beings looked at one another and one of them, who seemed to be the leader, nodded at the accused.

"What you say is true," said Emycho with a slight hint of emotion in her voice. "I have committed a grave violation. We are supposed to be watchers of the universe, not deities."

"That is correct," said one of the entities surrounding her. "Then why did you act against that, our most sacred of laws?"

"Has emotion clouded your judgement, Emycho?" said another. "You know all too well that emotion is not necessary with our kind. Logic governs us, not emotion. It is what separates us from carbon-based lifeforms."

"And why is it that we are separate from them?" demanded Emycho.

The council felt silent.

"We are not beings of necessity," said the entity in the middle. "We simply govern the material universe and all life in it. But should we not act while crimes are being committed--"

"The businesses of carbon-based lifeforms are their own," said the leader of the council. "We do not interfere--"

"My friend will die!" said Emycho with a raised voice that echoed throughout the white nothingness that surrounded the Citadel.

Once again the council fell silent.

"Have you begun to feel an attachment to the material universe and its inhabitants? asked one of the fifth-dimensional beings. "That is a serious violation--"

"I submit myself to punishment, council of the Citadel," said Emycho as she stood firm. "But only after I finish my mission with the human and the Tytonian."

The council of fifth-dimensional beings once again looked at one another before turning to the accused.

"Very well, Emycho," said the leader. "If it is important to you to help these carbon-based lifeforms, we shall permit you."

"Know this," spoke another of the council. "Once your so-called 'mission' is complete, we shall carry out your sentence."

"The offense you have committed is punishable by the cessation of your existence," said the leader.

Emycho hung her head as she stood there.

"Understood," said she. "I thank you."

The leader of the council nodded, and slowly the Citadel, the fifth dimension and the ghostly forms of the fifth-dimensional beings faded away, and Emycho was back on the ship headed to Ardonia.

"Emycho," said Tayyuk, who apparently had been calling her attention. "Hey, Emycho!"

The ethereal entity looked upon him with her jet black eyes.

"We're here," said Tayyuk. "Ardonia."

Their craft and the fleet of pirate ships had jumped out of hyperspace and came into view of the desert planet.

"T-This is Ardonia?" said Hitoshi, astounded at what he was seeing. "This is Gliese 667 Cc...?"

All this time, I didn't think this would be a reality until way into the future, thought Hitoshi. But right now, I have to save Mai-san.

The spacecraft, accompanied by the criminals and ne'er-do-wells Tayyuk had recruited, closed in on Ardonia, entering its atmosphere.

Meanwhile in the city of Mirgathol, a sound like an alarm was blaring loudly.

The reptilian colonists were shouting orders as they all mobilized and boarded their spacecraft, ready for battle with whoever had entered Ardonian space. The native Ardonian slaves were all herded away somewhere by their masters, but they knew what was happening.

It was war.

In the palace that used to belong to King Zoluur and Queen Alleina, Ay-Shinn sat on the king's throne as he listened to the blaring of the alarm.

"So someone's rescuing the princess after all," said the overlord with a smirk. "Interesting."

In the dungeons, Maina and Zenna heard the alarm as well.

"What is that?" said Zenna, looking around in her cell.

"An invasion," said Maina, grasping the bars of her cell. "Someone has entered Ardonian space."

At that the princess's eyes widened.

Could it be...? she thought.

Meanwhile up in the orange Ardonian sky, Tayyuk noticed some harsh beeping on the ship's console.

"What in the hell?" he said as he looked at the small screen and saw several red dots heading right for the green dot that indicated their ship. "Oh, crap. We've got incoming."

Hitoshi's eyes widened in panic as he saw several spacecraft similar to the one they were in come into view.

"That's a lot of bad guys," he said as he manned the guns on the ship. "Okay, here we go."

The enemy ships closed in on theirs and the band of space pirates as both sides started firing energy beams at one another.

It has begun.

There were more of Ay-Shinn's ships than there were on the other side, so the odds were stacked against Hitoshi and company. More pirate ships were being downed by the colonists than the other way around.

"Dammit, we're getting killed out here," said Tayyuk, having downed two or three enemy craft.

"P-Please be careful," said Hitoshi, sitting prostrate on the floor of the ship, panicked by the entire situation.

"This is war, kid," said Tayyuk almost calmly. "Can't be too careful."

Having said that he dodged a blast from an enemy ship that chased them around the war zone.

"Oh, God...!" said the aghast human boy as he clutched the walls of the craft, desperately trying to stay in place during the twists and turns.

"Someone get him off my ass!" grunted Tayyuk.

That moment Emycho slowly closed her eyes as she began to float in midair inside the craft. Then with a zip, she was gone.

"W-Where'd she go?" asked Hitoshi, looking around.

"Don't ask me," said Tayyuk as he made sharp turns, dodging every blast their pursuer fired at them.

Suddenly there was a zigzag flash of white, and following it, a series of explosions and crashing enemy ships.

"Whoa, what the hell was that?" said Tayyuk, wondering what had done that.

Hitoshi too was confounded. Was it a weapon?

There was another white zigzag beam and more of Ay-Shinn's troops fell. Where the streak ended there was a glowing white humanoid figure.

"I-Is that...?" said a shocked Tayyuk.

"Emycho-san," said Hitoshi, also flabbergasted.

It was indeed the fifth-dimensional being who destroyed those enemy spacecraft. She floated in the middle of the war zone, shining brightly in an almost divine state.

The enemy then turned their attention towards Emycho and flew towards her, firing energy blasts which only seemed to merely be absorbed by her own brightness.

The glowing white apparition then went into a fetal position and, with a loud yell, a blinding light emanated from her body, and with it many of the ships were vaporized.

In the craft, Hitoshi watched, and was astounded to see how powerful Emycho really was.

"That girl can kick ass," said Tayyuk with a smirk as he downed a third ship with three blasts.

"Y-Yeah," said Hitoshi with a smile as the craft flew over Mirgathol City.

From a balcony in the palace, Ay-Shinn watched the battle rage on.

"A band of pirates and scum?" said the reptilian, appearing mildly amused. "They must be more desperate than I thought. Hehehehe."

"What is that, my lord?" said one of the guards by his side. "There was a blinding light and it obliterated many of our ships."

"Hmmm," said Ay-Shinn, looking intently at the battle as he noticed the white streak zigzagging its way through many a spacecraft and destroying them. "I do not know."

"My lord, incoming!" said the other guard, who noticed that one ship was headed their way.

Ay-Shinn saw it too as it got nearer. His snake-like pupils narrowed as his eyes widened before his guards pushed him out of the way.

The craft had crashed into the balcony before either guard could fire his blaster at it. The impact instantaneously killed them both.

Smoke rose from the downed ship, which lay halfway inside the palace. The cockpit popped open, and out stepped Tayyuk and Hitoshi, with Maina's blaster in hand.

"Wow, that was rough," said the bounty hunter, smirking as he took his chained blades.

"How do you know they're keeping her here?" said Hitoshi, looking around in the great hall.

"Where else do you think that creep would keep his prize princess?" said Tayyuk.

There was an unnerving sound of eroding rubble behind the two as something rose out of it.

"Oh, look who it is," said Tayyuk with a slight glare as he assumed a battle stance.

"Bounty hunter," said Ay-Shinn as he dusted the rubble off of his shoulders. "I knew you had no honor. Not to worry, I already have the princess."

"A-Ay-Shinn...?" said Hitoshi, whose skin crawled at the very presence of the reptilian overlord. "Where's Mai-san?"

"Isn't that the question of the day," said Ay-Shinn with a chuckle. "Sadly she has to answer for her crimes against Ardonia."

"Crimes??" said an outraged Hitoshi. "You conquered this planet! You murdered her parents... You answer for your crimes!"

"Ahahaha!" laughed Ay-Shinn mockingly. "Is this love, earthling? Tell me, what compels you to attempt this dangerous rescue, if not love?"

"I..." said Hitoshi, averting his gaze before turning back to the alien. "I love Mai-san. She is my girlfriend. And I will not allow anyone to take her from me."

At that he pointed Maina's blaster at Ay-Shinn.

"Hehehehe," he chuckled. "It has been a while since I scarred by a blast from that weapon."

There was the sound of multiple footsteps as a whole squad of Ay-Shinn's soldiers surrounded Hitoshi and Tayyuk, pointing their blasters at the two. Both boys stood their ground and heightened their guard.

"Well," said Ay-Shinn, stroking his chin with a smirk, "I think the Ardonian people would want the former princess' death sentence carried out as soon as possible."

"D-Death sentence??" said Hitoshi, eyes wide in horror.

"That is correct," replied Ay-Shinn, smiling nonchalantly. "Desertion is her crime. And the people have spoken."

"You..." said Hitoshi, his eyes now burning with rage at the conniving reptilian.

"Ahahahahaha!" Ay-Shinn laughed. "Well, I do hate to miss out on this lovely conversation with you, but unfortunately, you have to die."

With that, the soldiers all seemed to put their guns off safety as they aimed at the two.

"Destroy them," said Ay-Shinn with an evil grin.

"Like hell," said Tayyuk as he spun the blades around in a cyclone-like attack, killing several soldiers at once.

Others fired their weapons at the Tytonian, but his quick reflexes were enough to help him avoid getting shot. He downed many a reptilian with the fluid movements of his chained weapons.

Hitoshi, however, just stood there, frozen in place by fear. He had never been in a battle before, and he did not know what to do, even with his weapon in hand.

"Don't just stand there, you idiot!" said Tayyuk as he plunged one of his blades into the gut of one reptilian soldier. "Shoot somebody!"

That moment one of the aliens had pointed a blaster at the human boy. Out of impulse the latter pointed at the former and fired with his eyes closed.

When he opened them, the reptilian lay lifeless on the palace floor with a smoldering hole in his chest.

"Nice shot, kid," said Tayyuk as he continued his flurry of attacks, dropping several of the invaders.

Hitoshi then smiled and nodded as he continued shooting at the reptilians, mostly with his eyes closed. He killed a few, wounded some and missed most.

Ay-Shinn hissed as he turned away from the battle and walked briskly away towards the dungeons as the two boys were occupied.

In the cells, Maina and Zenna could hear the commotion.

"They appear to have entered the palace, Milady," said the ebony-skinned Ardonian.

"Yes, I hear it," replied the princess, a tiny glimmer of hope sparkling in her eye.

Has her boyfriend come to rescue her from the clutches of the evil reptilian invader? Such a thought completely contradicted Hitoshi's rather cowardly personality.

Then again the boy was so determined not to let the Earth men in black take her.

The two girls heard the sound of metal hinges opening as some light penetrated one side of the dungeons, accompanied by the familiar shadow of one of the reptilians.

It was Ay-Shinn.

"How unexpected that an earthling would attempt a rescue," said Ay-Shinn with a frustrated smile as he approached Maina's cell with his hands behind his back.

The Ardonian's lips widened into a gaping smile.

"Don't look so hopeful, my princess," said Ay-Shinn. "My soldiers will take care of your human and his Tytonian compatriot."

"We shall see, reptilian," said Maina with a defiant smirk.

Ay-Shinn produced a key and opened Maina's cell. He then took a pair of shackles and put them around the girl's wrists.

"I'm sure he will be wanting to see his... 'girlfriend', is it?" said the alien as he yanked the Ardonian out of the cell and proceeded to walk with her toward the exit.

Suddenly Maina performed a back flip, landing behind her captor and wrapping the chains of her shackles around the scaly neck as hard as she could.

Choking, Ay-Shinn desperately tried to pry off the chains as they slowly tightened around his windpipe. He gasped for air, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"How does it feel, monster?" hissed Maina as she further pressed the chains against the invader's neck with the intent to kill.

Slowly, Ay-Shinn's eyes rolled back into their sockets as his body quivered and went limp.

The girl released the scaly body, panting heavily and collapsing on her knees.

"Princess...!" said a shocked Zenna, who was watching what had happened.

Maina continued to pant, herself bewildered at what she had done. She looked at her shaky hands and her eyes welled up.

Now was not the time to get emotional. The Ardonian princess proceeded to search Ay-Shinn's body and found the keys he used to unlock her cell. She checked which one to use to unlock her shackles and did so successfully.

"Princess Maina," said Zenna with a smile. "Good work."

Maina turned to her maidservant in her cell, smiling, and proceeded to fit the key in the lock, opening it.

"I shall free you, dear Zenna," said the princess as she tried fit each key into the lock on Zenna's neck chain. When she found the one key to unlock it, she wasted no time in freeing her dearest friend.

Of course, hugs were exchanged between the two girls.

"Thank you, Maina," said Zenna, holding Maina close to her as her eyes welled up.

Maina stroked the other girl's platinum blonde hair as she hugged her tightly.

"It is the least I can do for you, my beloved servant," she said tearfully before cupping Zenna's cheeks. "Now let us get out of here."

The dark-skinned Ardonian girl nodded as both young women ran out of the cold dark dungeons.

Meanwhile the remnants of the soldiers tasked to kill Hitoshi and Tayyuk closed in on the two.

The human boy pointed his blaster at the reptilians cornering them, while the Tytonian bounty hunter held his blades at the ready. But their enemies seemed undeterred. All seemed hopeless.

Suddenly there were a barrage of energy blasts from behind the reptilians, and several fell dead.

The ones who still stood turned their attentions towards the unknown assailants but were gunned down as well.

Hitoshi and Tayyuk looked at the origin of the shots and saw two girls holding the same kind of blasters as Hitoshi.

"M-Mai-san...!" said Hitoshi with widened eyes.

"Hitoshi...!" said Maina, looking back at him, equally astounded.

The bespectacled boy wasted no time in running towards the alien princess and embracing her.

"I'm so glad you're safe," said Hitoshi as he hugged Maina tight.

The girl hugged back, snuggling against the human boy's neck.

"You came," said Maina as she held Hitoshi close to her. "You actually came..."

"What can I do?" he said as he released her from his hug. "I can't just let an evil alien conqueror take my girlfriend from me..."

The Ardonian princess looked back at the bespectacled human, flustered. Zenna, meanwhile, stood at her side, smiling.

"Oh," said Maina as she put her hand on her maidservant's shoulder. "This is Zenna, my most trusted servant and my best friend."

Putting his blades back on his back, Tayyuk walked to Hitoshi's side and looked up and down on Zenna's glossy dark, buxom body while giving a wolf whistle.

"W-What do you stare at, Tytonian," she said as she held her arm close to her body, blushing.

"S-So what do we do now?" asked Hitoshi.

"We free the Ardonian people," said Maina. "Many are still slaves to the reptilians."

"Alright," said Hitoshi with a nod. "Let's go."

Hitoshi, Maina, Tayyuk and Zenna then proceeded to head out of the palace, fighting off any opposition they encountered as they went out into the city of Mirgathol.

In the cold, damp floor of the dungeons however, Ay-Shinn lay still, but alive. As he opened his eyes, the snake-like slit pupils narrowed as he hissed with rage.