The year is AC199. The Earth has recently completed its newest colony in the Kaui sector. The Earth began building colonies in the millenium of 3000. The first was completed on the moon, on January first. This started the era of after colony. The year was AC001.
Our species has prospered beyond what any of the original five scientists could have imagined. There are over 16.1 billion humans through out the galaxy. Very few people actually live on the Earth anymore but most colonies are no farther out then the moon. There are three outer colonies: Two are located on Mars and mine, Epyon, by far the most distant of the colonies. My colony’s on the far edge of the Milky way. We’re located on a tiny, lone planet, circling a red sun. There are exactly 101 residents of our planetary colony. We are three light years from Earth and nearly as far from any other life, whether it is human or not.
My name is Tengokou Ma and I am the first baby to be born in this colony. I am number 101. The 100 elected residents arrived here three months ago. You’d think I was of natural family but I was bred and born to be a soldier. After my birth, I immediately went into training and testing. Some say, “You can’t do much with an infant” but you’d be surprised. I have much training ahead.
It is the eleventh year of my birth and my training is completed. I must now go to receive my mission. I have been in this lab all my life. The intense training has changed my appearance. My once black hair has faded to a faint lavender color. My eyes have faded also, to a mild blue-gray with black diamonds framing the irises. I am so use to being alone. I have only seen six faces through my training: four soldiers, my comrades, and two doctors, my only family. I’m almost afraid to leave here because I won’t see this place again. I will no longer know the comfort of the room around me. The white tiled floors and smooth plastered walls, the doctors always there to watch over me, soon this will only be a memory.
Today, I am going before the governing council. I have only heard of them. My comrades and I must present ourselves and receive our mission. The doctors dress us in white military suits with black boots. There is blue and gold in my jacket to show I am the leader.
Our mission is clear. We are equipped with new weapons of mobile artillery. They are the first of their kind. We pilot them internally and they resemble giant robots. They’re made of titanium with a deep black color and wings the color of blood. These suits are practically indescribable. They are compatible with any form of battle, from space to air to land to sea. We must attack, capture, and destroy the Earth, its colonies, and all that live within.
Our new weapons stand twenty-five meters tall with incredible speed, agility, and power. A single shot from the main cannon could easily take out half our colony. We load our weapons onto our shuttle and then we board. Just the seven of us will be going towards the other colonies. (The two doctors and us five soldiers.)
The doctors fly the ship as we train in the simulation lab. Our flight to the colonies should take a month and three days. We have many conversations during training, some stranger than others.
“Tengokou Ma, what’s your name sir?”
“Heavens Demon.”
“Have you named our weapons?”
“Ma Scythe.”
“We are pilots of the Demon scythe!”
“That will be our cry in battle.”
We continue to work as we near the outer orbits of the Earth’s solar system.
I look out the window as we pass Neptune and I long for home. I had been outside my walls once before, when I was little, and I remember exactly what I saw. It was over whelming, the beautiful blue and green scapes, such peace. I just can’t describe how I felt, what I saw.
I enter the cockpit and approach the older of the doctors.
“Doctor B? Why do we despise the Earth?”
“Tengokou, we were elected to our colony but it felt like we where being punished for some crime so we planned retaliation six months before we left. That’s where you come in. You where specially bred to be a perfect soldier and upon your birth, our plan was set into action.”
“Did I come out like you wanted me?”
“You’re better then we could’ve dreamed. When we built up you mental and physical power, your hair and eye color faded. It’s as if your body was saying that those two things weren’t necessary.”
I sit in the chair between the doctors and look at the universe around us. What’s it gonna be like with so many people?
We climb into the cockpits of our weapons and seal the hatches. The bay doors open and we are released into space. Our weapons are in aerial mode as we fly to the martian surface. The color of Mars reminds me of our sun, deep and red. We land on the sandy surface and our suits convert to land, stealth mode. Hell will strike on the people of these two colonies. The words replay in my mind, “17 billion will die”, but that’s just a number.

“A Morning on Epyon”
It’s early morning as he awakens. Laying on his worn cot, Tengokou Ma stares through the window in the ceiling. His lavender hair, paled by years of training frames his thin face. His gray-blue eyes, accompanied by black diamonds, lightens his face but signifies his work for the eleven years of his life. As he rises, he surveys his small room. The smooth clay and plaster walls with white tiled floors. He makes his way to the bathroom, brushing the wall along the way. His blue shorts stand out against his muscular, mildly tan body. His walk shows his experience and intelligence. Though, there’s a lack of knowledge beyond military training. He looks in the mirror and remembers what he learned. He looks back to his cot, the one he’s slept on since birth, and wonders why that’s the most important part of his day.

“The Final Colony”
(He lands his mobile weapon on a sandy beach. Tengokou Ma has been in space with his crew for four months now. Hopping from colony to colony, destroying each one along the way for the mission. His pale lavender hair has grown out past his shoulders. His military uniform is ripped and warn. He and his four comrades have split up to destroy the few remaining colonies on Earth. He approaches a small village when something in his mind tells him to stop. He abandons his cockpit to scout the jungle surrounding the village, which is rimed by the beach and ocean. He is progressing farther in when someone begins to follow him. He is a hundred meters from the village, when an eight-year-old girl jumps from a bush and pulls a gun on him. She is about four foot eight with jet-black hair that is straight, long, and kind of spiky on the top.)
“Who are you? Why’re you here?”
“I am the great destroyer, Tengokou Ma!”
(She backs away and a note of question comes to her voice.)
“Why’re you Heavens Demon?”
(He laughs.)
Tengokou Ma: “My mission is to destroy all that condemned my colony.
Tell me your name and you’ll be commended for
bravery on my colony.”
“My name’s…. Miria, but I don’t want to be commended, I want to live.”
Tengokou: “Why’s your name future? You have no future! No one else
had a choice to live, why would I give you one?”
(He quickly jumps at her, grabbing the gun from her hand.)
Miria: “I want to help! Take me with you so I can help destroy this
world.”
Tengokou: (Turns to walk away.) “I have no room. My ship was
destroyed and all I have left are my comrades and our
weapons.”
(Miria runs and grabs him by the arm. He looks down at the little girl.)
Miria: “I’ll give you fuel and food. Enough to get home!”
Tengokou: “I have no home!” (Thinks for a moment.) “Get your things
and tell no one of this.”
(The little girl runs off and Tengokou returns to his weapon. When the little girl arrives, they climb into the cockpit and blast off for the outer sphere. He hovers above the Earth, waiting for his comrades to join him, and then they will complete their mission. When the five suits finally reunite, they each fire a shot, destroying the planet and all that exists on it. As they fly back to Epyon, Tengokou speaks to his comrades.)
“17 billion were to die but I saved one!”

“Return to Epyon”
“I’ve been in space for four months now. One month has passed since my comrades and I destroyed the Earth and completed our mission. The little girl beside me is sound asleep. We’ve gotten to know each other well in the last month.”
(The mobile weapons blast through space on the journey home. These five unique suits of destruction have retained their color through the fighting. The black armored shell is made from titanium and each suit has wings the color of blood. The weapons are in space aerial mode, which resembles a high tech shuttle or airplane.)
(Tengokou Ma spends hours at a time staring out of the cockpit window into the open universe. His pale lavender hair has reached the small of his back and his eyes have dimmed to a faint gray, almost white. Miria lays beside him. She has remained the same since the day they met. Her long, black, spiky hair is past her knees and her black eyes have remained shiny against her tan face. Tengokou begins to doze off as well, when a transmission comes over the intercom. A Message begins crackling.)
“Warning…..enter..ing..wa…war zone! Turn….back.”
(He ignores the message and turns the intercom off and finally gets the sleep he has avoided since he left home. He had to leave behind his white laboratory room, with tiled floors and his worn, green cot, the one he has slept on since birth.)
(The five weapons blast through the universe towards home. The five pilots have found peace from completion of their mission and now rest up for their arrival home. The autopilot guides them safely towards Epyon when suddenly, an electrical storm strikes, causing the systems to malfunction. The weapons swerve out of control on a crash course directed at an alien planet. The pilots awaken and strain to gain control as they enter the planet’s atmosphere. If they do not gain control soon, they will crash.)
(The damaged weapons lay covered in vines and trees on the jungle terrain of this mysterious planet. The pilots slowly crawl from their cockpits; Tengokou is helping Miria. The victims gather at the crest of a hill.)
Soldier: “Where are we? What happened?”
Tengokou: “I wish I knew.”
Miria: (Runs ahead.) “We’re lost?”
Tengokou: “No. We’re stranded, not lost.”
Soldier: “We should scout ahead and look for help.”
All: “Right.”
(They move on into the jungle, in search of life. Tengokou holds onto Miria, keeping her by his side. It doesn’t take long before sounds of life are heard ahead. They move into the darkness towards the noise. Not long after entering the darkness, they come upon a tiny clearing. Noises can be heard all around as they stand in the middle of the light.)
Tengokou: “You stay here. I’ll scout ahead with Miria.”
(Tengokou leaves his crew and reenters the darkness on the other side of the clearing with Miria. When their captain is out of sight, the four pilots take a seat on the grass. In a flash, someone runs from the cover of the trees and trips a line. A net surrounds the pilots, suspending them in mid air.)
Soldier: “Who’s there? Hello?”
(The unclear figure disappears back into the trees and the pilots are left to hang. They settle in the net for a long stay: who knows when Tengokou will return?)
(They walk deeper and deeper into the jungle, Miria clutching Tengokou’s hand. They are stumbling down a rocky slope towards a stream when Miria steps wrong and they begin sliding over the rocks, towards the water. With no way to stop, they fly off the edge and are thrown into the water. They struggle to stay above the water and against the current, swimming towards the shore. Hopelessly, they are swept down stream in the freezing water. They sink towards a huge waterfall when suddenly, they’re pulled from the cold by a mysterious figure. The two are laid against the warm sandstone shore and they fall into a deep sleep.)
(Tengokou wakes and looks at his surroundings; his last memory was being in the river. He is now laying on the banks of the river and the sun is setting. The sky has a deep red color to it as the sun disappears behind the mountains. He feels his dry clothes slide against his body as he sits up. In an instant, he remembers Miria and looks around to see if she survived. A fire crackles behind him and he turns to see a dark figure leaning over Miria, cleaning a scrape on her leg. Tengokou jumps to his feet and pulls a gun on the shadowed person.)
Tengokou: “Get away from her!”
”I will not hurt her.”
(Tengokou slowly approaches and kneels down by the little girl’s side. He grabs her arm, pulling her away from the mysterious person, while still holding the outstretched gun.)
“I was only cleaning the cut on her leg.”
Tengokou: “Who are you?”
“I’m Tenchi Ryuu. But you can call me Tenchi.”
(Tengokou sits by the fire, cradling Miria in his arms. Tenchi sits again and pulls out a pan of food, handing it to Tengokou.)
Tengokou: “That’s an interesting name you got, Tenchi!”
Tenchi: “You know mine but what’s yours?”
Tengokou: “They call me Tengokou Ma. You can choose what to call
me, it really doesn’t matter.”
Tenchi: “Maybe we used to be friends. Angel and Heaven belong
together.”
Tengokou: “But I’m heaven’s demon and she’s future.”
Tenchi: “Perhaps.”
Tengokou: “Did you pull us from the river?”
Tenchi: “Yes.”
(They relax and lay back. It is going to be a long night and Tengokou’s journey begins again in the morning. Tengokou watches his new friend as he begins to fall asleep and notices how much he looks like Miria. He has long, spiky, black hair past his knees and deep rich eyes. He is tall and muscular with tanned skin. He wears an armored chest plate and black pants. Tengokou finally falls asleep, still holding Miria in his arms.)
(The sun breaches over the mountains and streams through the trees, shining on the soldiers who are still in the net. One begins to stir from within, waking the others. Meanwhile, in another part of the woods, Miria and Tengokou still lay asleep as their new friend fishes in the stream. After pulling a few fish from the stream, he returns to the fireside and begins cooking the fish whole. The smell pulls Miria from sleep and she sits up. Looking around to figure out where she is, she spots Tenchi by the fireside. She slowly gets up and begins backing away but trips over Tengokou. This pulls him from sleep and he sees Miria scrambling away from the fire.)
Tengokou: “What’s wrong, Miria?”
Miria: “Who’s that?”
Tengokou: “That’s Tenchi. He pulled us from the river yesterday.”
Miria: “What’s he still doing here?”
Tengokou: “He’s gonna help to fix our ships. That reminds me; we need to go find my
crew. They’ve been out there all night.”
Tenchi: “Your crew?”
Tengokou: “yeah, I have four pilots with me.”
Tenchi: “You may want to hurry over there.”
(Tengokou looks at him a little funny and then gets up. Tenchi quickly shows them the route back across the river and into the woods. They run up the path, winding through trees and hopping shrubs and fallen tree trunks. They come around a sharp turn and enter into the opening. Tenchi hurries towards the hanging net with Tengokou and Miria right behind him. One of the soldiers looks at them groggily and blinks to clear his vision.)
Soldier: “Is that you Tengokou Ma?”
Tengokou: “What happened?”
Tenchi: “I kinda trapped them before pulling you from the river.”
(Tenchi pulls out a knife and cuts down the net, letting the pilots out. After the pilots stretch out and they are introduced to Tenchi, they all head to their mobile weapons. After showing them the way, Tenchi leaves and says he will return with tools to fix the weapons. The pilots and Miria work to clear off the weapons as they wait for Tenchi’s return. A couple of hours pass until Tenchi finally returns with loads of new parts and tools. He immediately begins work on the machines with help from the other six.)
(Two days have passed and the repairs are finally complete. Tenchi supplies them with a carrier for them and their weapons. The pilots and Miria climb into the shuttle and prepare to take off when they hear cannon shots. The engines are fired up as sparks fly around the ship and trees are shot out of the way. Tenchi hurries to the main hatch and enters through the emergency escape tunnel. He rushes to the bridge and takes the controls, quickly taking off and avoiding destruction. As they blast towards outer space, shots are fired at them repeatedly. They are nearly shot down but make it to the outer atmosphere, finally headed back to Epyon. Once the ship is stabilized, Tengokou approaches Tenchi.)
Tengokou: “Why’d you do it?”
Tenchi: “You mean board the ship and guide you to safety?”
Tengokou: “No. Why’d you abandon your home world to save our lives,
knowing you can’t go back.”
Tenchi: “I told you when we first met. You’re heaven, I’m the angel, and Miria’s the future!”
(Tengokou leans back in his chair and just smiles. He has finally found peace and happiness. He finally realizes true friendship and what he missed in his eleven years of secluded training. Tengokou begins to imagine his return home and slowly falls into a deep sleep. This is probably the most peaceful night sleep he has ever had and he is surrounded by those closest to him: his four comrades, the little girl Miria, and his new best friend, Tenchi.)

“Miria”
It’s been ten years since I was brought to this new world. I was eight when I met Tengokou and abandoned my home to go with him. I guess you could say I was naïve. We destroyed the Earth with his comrades and blasted off for their home colony, Epyon. On the way here, we crash landed on an alien planet and met Tenchi. He helped us out and came back with us. Now we all live here on Epyon and are considered heroes. Tenchi became the lead technician for the colony and Tengokou commands the military forces. Tengokou’s comrades were given positions on the governing council since they are much older then he is. Even though the colony has remained peaceful, Tengokou decided to save the mobile weapons they used against the Earth. I just turned eighteen and graduated from high school. Tengokou’s been taking night classes at the college.
It’s late at night and I’m having trouble staying awake. Tengokou told me not to wait up but I don’t care. He should be home soon. Him and Tenchi haven’t changed much in ten years. Tengokou is now six foot one and his hair has nearly grown to his knees. Tenchi has remained the same but seems more relaxed. I’ve also gotten taller and have more of a figure. I wonder if Tengokou notices.
He’s finally home, I hear him outside. It’s dark in here as he comes in, except for the flicker from the tv. He opens the door slowly, hoping not to wake me, and turns on the light. He walks into the living room with its white walls and matching carpet. The coffee table and the tv are the only other things in the nearly empty room. He shuts off the tv and approaches me as I sleep on the couch. He scoops me up in his arms and carries me to my room. No matter how gentle he is, it always seems to wake me.
“Tengokou?”
“You didn’t have to wait up.”
“I wanted to!”
He takes me down the hall and into my room. He turns on the light and lays me on my bed. I pull up the blankets as he sits next to me and I lean against him.
“Hey Ten?”
“What?”
“Answer a question for me.”
“Like what?”
“Will you marry me?”
He laughs his adorable laugh, just like every other time I ask him. He gets up and leaves the room, turning off the light on the way. Before he shuts the door, he looks back at me.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow Miria.”
It’s early morning and the sun’s just peaking over the mountains. I walk beside Tengokou Ma as we head to the fields outside of town. Tenchi meets us there everyday to exercise and hangout. He always seems to beat us to the top of the hill with the lone tree. Tengokou runs ahead when he sees that Tenchi’s already there. Tenchi kicks and punches at the air and flips back. Tengokou faces him and they begin to spar. I just sit under the tree and watch their duel. Once they’ve gotten tired, they sit beside me under the shady tree.
Tenchi: “Hey Miria.”
Miria: “Hey.”
Tenchi: “Tengokou, is it just me or is she distracted?”
Tengokou: “She asked me again last night and I said I’d tell her today.”
Miria: “Well?”
Tengokou: “Well what?”
Why does he like picking on me? Tengokou gets up and heads into the fields alone. What’s he up to?
Miria: “He likes picking on me.”
Tenchi: “I’d say he likes you.”
Miria: “If he didn’t, I would’ve died on Earth.”
We get up and head into the city. Tengokou will catch up with us later.
Tenchi: “If you marry him, you’ll be future demon.”
Tenchi’s funny. He’s always known how to make me laugh. I wonder what Tengokou’s doing?
It’s been two days and Tengokou Ma hasn’t been seen. Tenchi took off early this morning to look for him. I wonder where he went? Tenchi said he’d meet me at the park tonight. He’s been acting different too. Maybe I can go to the military base for awhile. They always let me see the new weapons they’re working on. I also like sitting in the cockpit of Tengokou’s mobile weapon.
Tenchi told me to meet him here tonight but where is he? I’ve been sitting on this park bench for forty-five minutes and he’s not here yet. Maybe he found Tengokou. What’s that noise I hear, could it be Tenchi?
Miria: “Is that you Tenchi?”
“No.”
Miria: “Who’s there?”
Tengokou comes out from the shadows. I can’t believe it’s him. I run over to him and give him a big hug.
Miria: “Where were you?”
Tengokou: “Thinking.”
Miria: “About what?”
He takes me by surprise, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
Miria: “Ten, you never hug me.”
Tengokou: “Marry me Miria?”
I look into his eyes and see what I’ve always felt. It’s the same look I saw on Earth. He acts on his feelings and does what he’s told. Even though he blew up my world that day, he’s the warmest person I’ve ever known. I never knew a guy could say I love you just by looking in his eyes.

“You blew up my world,
my home, destroyed,
but my soul will never be a void,
because you said, ‘I love you’.”
for the future,
from the past.

The End