BEYOND THE EXOSPHERE

As the four Xeridians closed in, their eyes blazing with an inner fire, Jexter knew she was running out of options. Her eyes flashed as she summons ice to freeze two of them. Being fire based aliens, the Xeridians effortlessly melted her ice with their heat emitting bodies. As the four rogue aliens surrounded the 2 girls attempting to roast and eat them, Jexter's heat vulnerability is displayed again for the third time. It's so extreme this time around that she falls to the floor unconscious. "Jexter!Jexter! Wake up….. wake up!!! Sallie shouted and panicked as she couldn't take down the Xeridians on her own, since she had no superpowers.

In the "heat" of the moment, a tall dark-complexioned male figure with rainbow colored hair and eye appears out of nowhere. He grabs Jexter's unconscious body and yells at Sallie, "Cover your ears." "Who are you?...Why??" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion. The male figure continued, "Just trust me. Cover your ears, it's for your own good." Sallie's eyes widened in confusion, but she complied, covering her ears. This male figure unleashed a powerful Sonic scream that shatters the four Xeridians to pieces.

As the debris settled, Sallie approached him cautiously. This male figure was named Vlares, an Echoflux. The Echoflux was another race of aliens with super Sonic screams. They had a humanoid appearances except from their natural rainbow colored eyes and hair. Sallie marveled in awe as Vlares hurriedly carried Jexter's unconscious body as if he knew her. Vlares gazed at Sallie, "Well don't just stand there, follow me."

Sallie was unsure if she could just trust another strange alien she just met. But with Jexter's life hanging in the balance, she had no choice. As she followed Vlares, she becomes lost in confusion about his mysterious connection to Jexter.

"What is this place?" she asked."This planet were are on is called Echoflux-2, my homeworld. It's a place of great scientific discovery." Sallie's curiosity was piqued, "What kind of discoveries?" Vlares explained, a hint of pride in his voice. "We've developed advanced technology that allows us to harness the power of sound. It's a unique ability that sets us apart from other alien species." Vlares navigated, finally stopping at a giant, silver laboratory.

 "Welcome to my research refuge," Vlares said, gesturing to the laboratory. "We'll be safe here." Inside the lab, Vlares brings a serum and pours it into Jexter's mouth. This causes Jexter to slowly regains consciousness, opening her eyes. She expresses great surprise as she seems to recognize the male standing before her. "V-Vlares?…..is it really you?"

Confirming it was him, her eyes flashed with great anger. "You're not going to pretend like nothing happened, are you, Vlares?"

Vlares quickly replies, "I know what I did, Jexter. I was wrong and I am sincerely and deeply sorry."

"Deeply sorry! Deeply sorry! Will Deeply sorry change the horrible thing you did?" Jexter replies. Sallie's eyes darted between the two of them, confusion written across her face. "What's going on?" she asked. She noticed that Vlares and Jexter seemed to recognize each other.

Jexter's continues to express her sudden bitterness and anger towards Vlares with her voice. "Where have you been? Well, it doesn't matter because I am gonna kill you myself." Her ice powers comes to life as she attempts to attack Vlares. Sallie interrupts, "Hold on Jexter, this guy here saved our lives. We would have been killed by those fire aliens if he did not intervene to save us." 

Jexter continues in a rude tone, "Back off Sallie, you don't know anything about this monster standing here before us. He probably saved our lives so he can sell it himself. Before I came to earth 6 years ago, I was here on this planet, Echoflux-2. Vlares and I, we were together…or at least I thought. I was deeply in love with him, but I didn't know he was using me to get access to the Zhilak (Oncolyte)."

 Vlares' eyes locked onto Jexter's, filled with regret. "I'm sorry, Jexter. I was blinded by my ambition and greed. I am a changed man now."

Jexter's anger boiled over, her voice rising. "Why should I trust you?" You have no right to apologize, Vlares. You used me, and now you're going to face the consequences. Because of you, my planet is slowly dying."

Sallie expresses surprise, "What do you mean by 'slowly dying'?"

Jexter explains to her, "He is the cause of it. He is the reason why I was a spy on earth in the first place. He stole the Zhilak from my planet and sold it to different aliens across the universe. As a result of this, the Xilorian government assigned different spies to different planets where the Oncolyte has been scattered across. I was assigned to earth and I have been there for the past 6 years. That was how I met you Sallie." Jexter's continues expressing herself as her anger didn't seem to cease. "During a vacation to this planet, Echo-flux, I met Vlares and fell in love with him deeply. He pretended to love me but he was just using me. He said he wanted to escort me back to my own home planet, Xilor, but that was just the ignition of the problems."

Jexter was fooled by love and she brought Vlares to Xilor not knowing he had plans of his own. Vlares, being an Echoflux, possessed technology way advanced beyond that of the Xilorians themselves. With a machine known as the "Resonance Drill," he drilled through Xilor's core without causing catastrophic damage. The Resonance Drill enabled him to extract the Zhilak without disrupting the planet's internal structure. This technology was unknown to the Xilorians, which is why they didn't detect the drilling operation.

They were unaware that Vlares had covered his tracks as well. They only discovered that the Zhilak was missing after it was too late. By that time, Vlares had already sold the Zhilak which was scattered across the galaxy. Since retrieving it would have required a massive effort, the Xilorians assigned different spies to different planets. The spies were tasked to gather enough of the mineral to hopefully sustain their planet until a more permanent solution could be found.

Sallie's eyes widened in shock. "So, the Oncolyte that crashed on Earth six years ago, it was because of Vlares?" Jexter nodded, her anger still simmering. "Yes, that's right. And now, my planet is dying because of the Oncolyte's exploitation. The Xilorians need it to survive." 

Vlares took a step forward and shamefully knelt down before her, his hands outstretched. "Jexter, please. I want to make things right. I know I made a mistake, but I have changed and I can prove it to you. Let me help you repair your ship." Jexter scoffed. "It will change nothing!!! You can't undo the damage you've done, Vlares. But I suppose you can start by helping us repair our ship."

Vlares nodded, his expression filled with guilt. "I'm ashamed of what I did, Sallie. I was desperate to get my hands on the Oncolyte, and I didn't care who I hurt in the process."

Vlares' eyes locked onto Jexter's, filled with regret. "Jexter, I..." but Jexter cut him off, her voice cold. "Don't bother, Vlares. I don't want to hear your excuses. You should be behind bars on Xilor right now."