It was a stormy Friday morning, and, in the academy, the third-year junior class was waiting anxiously for their first LAGOS Terra Mission. They all knew theirs was coming up, since the freshmen had told them the rumor that it was the only way they’d be able to go on to the upper classes. They were also nicknamed the Xterra-Zero class, which meant that theirs was the strangest class ever, even though they had never gone on a mission to save a planet in their lives. That morning, the only person missing from their small homeroom class was the youngest and most important cadet in their class, the Saving-Stone Wielder, Taran. She was the only student at the Academy who could sense the exact location of a planet’s Saving Stone, upon landing on any planet. She could never keep away from the Saving Stone that was held on reserve in the Academy, which was there in case the planet the Academy resided on was in danger of Self-Destruction. Taran also had a secret: she had a personal Saving Stone for her own body, because, when she was born, she had been on the verge of death until the Saving Stone Spirit gave her a small, fist-sized (for an infant) Saving Stone, which kept her soul from the verge of leaving her - it was the only thing that kept her together in one piece. Taran raced through the empty halls to her homeroom, where everyone was waiting for her, so that they could find out about their first LAGOS mission. She flung open the doors and launched herself into the only empty seat, which was embarrassingly in the front row. “What took you so long?” hissed Rytoridiss, who sat directly behind her. He glared into the back of her head. “You made us late to hear our first LAGOS mission, stupid.” “What?!” she squeaked, eyes wide. “What Rytoridiss just told you is completely correct. We are finally going to give you all this crucial LAGOS mission. It will take place on the planet Nauchtterra,” uttered their professor, Stella Roserade. “N-n-Nauchtterra?” Taran managed to squeak out, looking panicked. She reached at her Saving Stone, which was on a strong but delicate-looking silver chain that hung around her neck. Taran had started to freak out because Nauchtterra was the last place that she would ever go. That was because it would nullify the Saving Stone around her neck, which meant that she would be very weak; even walking around would tire her easily. “But what about my, erm, condition?” “You know fully well that we’re going to need you with us if we’re going to save that planet. Despite your condition, we have to take you along. How long do you think you can stay on Nauchtterra for?” Ms Roserade inquired. “At most, a week. Maybe a little longer, but it depends on how much action I’ll be part of.” She grasped her Saving Stone, comforted by its warmth. “But everyone knows why I can’t be there, because of my Saving Stone.” No one was surprised at the mention of her personal Saving Stone. They had seen her use it to speak with the Saving Stone Spirit to ask about her abilities. Some of her classmates had watched her, so they kept it to themselves, but asked her about it later on. She, in turn, was surprised at their questions, and then told the class about it during homeroom. “This is the planet’s condition,” murmured the stone she held. She jumped in her seat. “The planet’s ruler wants to destroy the planet; he is power hungry, and will stop at nothing to take the destruction sword of his planet and destroy his entire solar system, without taking account of the consequences.” An image flashed in her head of a man about the age of eighteen, with dark black hair and dark, calculating blue eyes. He seemed to be about six and a half feet, even when sitting in his throne, which was exactly what he was doing in the image. “Are you always going to tell me stuff like this?” she huffed under her breath. “I know this stuff, so you need to listen.” He rolled his eyes and gave her an annoyed gesture of his hand, acting as though brushing away an annoyance. “Also, the Saving Stone is under the newly-created ocean near his castle and his arena. It’s in an underground cave. The Stone is a bright aquamarine blue, and the size of a baby’s head. There’s a small gold spot on the stone, where, if you touch it, it will place the world back into total goodness, but you shouldn’t do that unless you want all of the people that live there to disappear. “Truthfully, I have no clue as to why I did put that on there, but, whatever you do, don’t touch that spot. Just use your power to shield the planet and revive its life and sense of fun. Also, if you don’t mind, could you try to remove the spot? I’m really busy, so I’ll help you out a little when you try. It should resonate with the Stone I gave you, so that should help you with it.” “Thanks,” she mumbled. An image of the Spirit’s grinning face and black hair like midnight appeared before her eyes. He wore a blue robe and held a Saving Stone the same color as his robe. “You’re welcome! Tata!”
