Jaden Larson: Finding Answers

Hard Times

It's not everyday you hear that you are not actually the child of the people you live with. On top of that, knowing you are not originally from a planet you considered home is like adding insult to injury. Young Jaden Larson was probably the first person in history to find out this ugly truth. Along with this, seeing the person who raised you as your mother lying in pieces outside a house of unknown horrors, their blood all over the ground, is not a good add-on! For an eleven year kid, this is a lot to handle. "Jaden, mom was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She is not our biggest worry right now" said Lucy, trying to comfort Jaden. "She's your mom. My mom is somewhere on another planet, maybe dead, maybe alive. The woman that died was more than a mother to me. She was  the one who took me in, the one who made the person, well, whatever I am, today. She was the one who used to do everything for me, even though she didn't know where I came from" replied Jaden, firmly, to the shock of Lucy. Then , Lily and James, their close friends, entered the room. "Your dad let us in" said James. "Lucy's dad" corrected Jaden. "Jaden, I still consider you to be my little brother. We have been through too much together" said Lucy, who was desperate to make Jaden feel better. "We have two days, before it comes. Something has to be thought of, for the sake of our planet" said Lily, after a long, strange silence. "You can think of something" said Jaden. "I need to find my real parents". "Are you mad? Tell me, Jaden, are you on Earth's side, or are with the invaders?" asked James. "I need to do this for the Earth. If anyone would be able to help us, it would be them. I am their son, and parents would do anything for the well-being of their children" replied Jaden, who sounded like he had just come out of the largest war in history. "I will come with you" said James, just before Lily could scream "NO". "But-" said James, until he was interrupted by Frederick Larson, Lucy's father. "What's all the screaming about?!" he asked. "Dad, Jaden wants to go to Neptune, to find his real parents" said Lucy, almost in tears. "They would  the only ones willing to give us answers about the weaknesses and such of Neptunians" said Jaden, defending his intentions. After a long and hard think, Frederick spoke out. "If this is the only way, then it must be done. Jaden will also see his real parents". Jaden smiled for the first time in a long time. "On one condition" said Frederick, which changed Jaden's expression completely. "I come with you" said Frederick. "Dad, it's too dangerous!" pleaded Lucy. "We lost mom, now we don't want to lose you too! At least Jaden has a chance of surviving". "Jaden needs someone with him, and I really want to see his parents,and tell them face-to-face that I took Jaden as my own" replied Frederick, with fire in his eyes.   

An Unexpected Encounter

A silent afternoon was what came after that episode, with Lucy still trying to convince her father not to go through with it, using fake tears, which Lucy was really good at. However, although valiant and award worthy, her efforts didn't do her her any good. Frederick Larson was looking forward to going to Neptune so much, he even packed some scientific equipment to collect things and investigate them! "Are those really necessary?" asked Jaden, wondering if there would even be time to sight-see. "We could be the discoverers of something out there, something different, if we investigate it" replied Frederick. "Just don't try to 'investigate' my parents" commanded Jaden, who had a sense of nervousness within him. "Okay, now listen up" said Lily. "When Lucy and I were there, briefly it may be, we saw floating things. Nothing was touching the ground, and I expect you won't either. The people, well, they looked.....indescribable. Some are green, some are blue, some are purple, and some are orange, as I seem to recall". "There was also one red guy" added Lucy. "The automobiles, well, we saw none. I managed to catch one disappear and reappear about sixty meters away". "They can teleport themselves?" asked Jaden. "As some theories may suggest" said Lucy. "What have you packed dad?". "Clothes, food, water and weapons like knives and potatoes, just in case" replied her father. "Only one thing left to do" said Jaden. "Leave". After a short walk, they made it to the house, only to have Jaden hearing strange noises, like banshees screeching inside. "I can sense it" murmured Jaden. "What?" asked Lily, who wasn't confused by all the strange thing happening to Jaden anymore. "Someone is inside, someone of my kind" replied  Jaden. All the 'byes' and 'good lucks' had been passed among them, an it was time to enter the house, the same house that had trapped the gang inside for a short period of time, the same one that had sucked Lily and Lucy into Neptune, the same house where they met Reakton Carstonomin. Mr.Larson approached the door slowly, signalling Jaden to stay back for a moment or two, and the door opened. Out stepped Rick Taylor, at least, that's what he called himself. "Ah, my friends, how are you?" he said in a very friendly tone. "We know who you are" said Jaden. "Oh, I see. Keeping this ridiculous act going was the toughest thing I ever did. I expected you to eventually discover yourself, Dasyertos Ploghenstael" he said, pointing towards Jaden. "I could sense that you learned it from this, weak, unreliable, filthy male-guardian of yours. By the way, I was the one who killed your meager, pathetic female-guardian" said Rick, with delight in his tone. Jaden felt a rush within him, one he never felt before. His first concern was about his real name. Was he really called Dasyertos? He wasn't even sure if it was full of anger, sadness or confusion, or a blender full of all three. "Why, why did you have to do that? Why did you have to hurt so many of us?" pleaded Jaden. Before he even got an answer, Jaden saw something hit Reakton, a book. It was his own diary. He wasn't sure who brought it, but all he heard was Lucy's voice saying "Dad, Jaden, run into the house!". By instinct, Jaden threw his father into the house, and then ran in himself. He looked back and saw the doors closing, and the last thing he saw was Reakton Carstonomin become about six times larger. He ran back towards the doors in an attempt to save his friends, but he realized that Reakton had locked it shut.

Entering the Portal

Being in the house again made Jaden feel anxious. It brought back some memories; being sucked in because only he heard an anonymous voice telling him to; fighting off ghosts that came from Neptune; and meeting Reakton Carstonomin. With these things stuck in his head, and the fact that his friends were in danger, it was tough for Jaden Larson, as he was called on Earth, to concentrate on the issues ahead of him. He had to find the room where the portal was located, and then he had to guide his so-called father into it. He recalled being pulled into a room after Lucy and Lily, so he had to go into the room before his. That he did, with Frederick Larson following him. But, he didn't go into a portal. He searched everywhere around the room, but the portal was missing. "Why are we searching through the room?" asked Frederick, who was extremely puzzled. "The portal was in this room a few days ago" replied Jaden. "Jaden, you are a Neptunian. You should be able to sense where the portal is" said Frederick. Jaden knew his Earth-dad was right. He forgot everything everything around him, and began to see things. He saw the room he was in, and the portal to Neptune being inside it. "It's next door" said Jaden, who moving towards the portal like a magnet. When they entered the room, Jaden fell out of the trance. "Are you ready, son?" asked Frederick. "Dad, we will make it through this, trust me". And so, they went through.....

A Lucky Break

When they reached Neptune, which felt like only a second, they hit the floor hard. Jaden landed on his left arm, which was with a much greater force than on Earth, because the gravitational force is greater than that of Earth. Trying as much as he could to forget the pain, he then remembered what he had learnt in school: 'Neptune is a gas planet. If you attempted to go into it, you would float right through it.' "Dad, how are we on land?" he asked, confused and in intense pain. No answer. "Dad?". No answer. Jaden turned around only to see nothing but turf. He was now alone in a planet he only read about as a massive blue ball with no solid surface and loads of storms. Jaden decided to find some locals. 

After a few minutes of walking, Jaden wandered into what he thought was a city. The buildings were floating, but they were much higher than the buildings on Earth. In fact, they made the Empire State look like a person, in terms of size. "Hang on" Jaden thought. "I'm the only thing on the ground. People are floating above me". Without thinking for a moment, Jaden saw an orange, six-eyed, two-mouthed, ten-nosed, five-armed and three-legged person and screamed "Hello? Can you help me?" The creature approached as if Jaden was a Neptunian. Then Jaden remembered that he is one. "Yes dear?" said a female's voice, as she handed him a pair of shoes. "Put them on, they would help you float like us" she said. Jaden put it on and instantly got the fright of his life. "Don't worry. They are just adjusting to your mass and structure". After seventeen seconds, they did. "They recognise you. You are from here" she said. "Thank you" Jaden said, as he was gliding through the air, whatever Neptunian air was made of. "Do you know anyone named Ploghenstael?". The woman, as Jaden thought she was, said in a surprised tone "that is my last name". Jaden realised now that he was standing opposite his own mother, his birth mother, the one that had brought him into this universe. "Err... miss, my name is Dasyertos, I think I am your son". The woman collapsed. She was now lying down, floating in mid-air. She had fainted, and it was only now that Jaden remembered his Earth father. He turned around, only to find nothing. His father, the one who took him in for eleven years, was missing on a planet that was hundreds of times larger than Earth and is known to humans for having only gas, no life and loads of storms. 

  The Story of Neptune

Jaden Larson, or as he was originally called, Dasyertos Ploghenstael, had been having the worst of weeks. His mother died, his friends and sister were in trouble, he lost his father on Neptune and he found out that he was not from Earth. He desperately needed answers, but more than answers, he needed food. His appetite and hunger seemed to shoot skywards after he landed on Neptune. But he wasn't sure how. He was from this planet, but he was brought up on Earth. He didn't know why. His Earth mother just died in seconds in front of the portal house. He had no clue how. His Earth father vanished in seconds without him realising it. He didn't know why and how. Neptune wanted to invade Earth and his real mother fainted at the sight of him, for reasons unknown.

Jaden Larson needed answers, and he approached his unconscious mother for some. She woke up after a few minutes, and she almost fainted again. "I thought....I thought you would be dead in that horrible planet". Jaden was astonished at the attitude of the woman. "Earth is a magnificent planet, why would you think of it as horrible?" asked Jaden. "Come into my house, I will tell you everything". Jaden agreed. Before he knew it he was on a pod travelling around the planet, at speeds unimaginable, but strangely, he couldn't feel it. He got to observe the structure of the planet, and wondered how astrologists couldn't see what he was seeing now. The entire blue ball had only solid land the size of Earth, and the rest was just gas. This was completely made of buildings and monuments, but no roads, which then Jaden understood was because the pods was the mode of transport for everyone. Then, Jaden noticed the house-like structures which formed another layer on the other side of the pods, and it was obvious where the Neptunians lived. It struck Jaden that the entire planet resembled an atom, one with three shells and many, many electrons, thousands of them. After a long, quiet while, Mrs.Ploghenstael opened the door to her floating home and welcomed Jaden in. Jaden couldn't stop thinking about his father, who was out there somewhere, confused, stranded or even dead. "Twelve years ago, Dasyertos, twelve Earth years-" "I would prefer it if you called me Jaden" interrupted Jaden. "Jaden....a strange name. Alright, moving on, twelve Earth years ago, there rose a man by the name Reakton Carstonomin" continued Mrs. Ploghenstael. "I've met him" said Jaden. "He killed my Earth mother and is probably torturing my allies as I speak". "I expected you to come across him some time if you survived there. He emerged with a slogan: 'The people of this planet, every planet, are useless. They must be ordered by the higher authority, people like me. They must be thrown around like rags and be demanded to work for their superior forces.' This man ruled this planet for four years before he attempted to rule others. His first mission was to send a young one to mars, where he would send back information about the people and place". "There is a Neptunian on Mars?!" asked Jaden, as though demanding for an answer, but then softened his voice, realising he was screaming at his own mother. "Yes, however, this mission was a failure entirely because he lost signal and no contact could be made with him. His name is, or was, Polystone Expertiona. But Reakton did not stop there. His second project was Earth, and he wanted you. Your father fought like a saviour , Dasyertos-" 
"Jaden!"
"Alright, Jaden. He fought like a saviour but he couldn't protect you, and was killed right before my eyes and you were taken away from me, Jaden. You, Jaden were Reakton Carstonomin's second project. It was testing for me, but I got over it, however, every now and then I used to think you were no more, especially since your Earth guardians ripped the camera and mic off you. I thought they were torturing you. But now I'm glad to see you back and in safe hands."
"Hang on" said Jaden. "Why do I not look like a Neptunian?".
"You see, my son, the creatures of Neptune have a magnificent ability to change their form and look like the natives of any place they inhabit" replied Mrs.Ploghenstael. "Why, look at you now, your beginning to look like a Neptunian. Jaden immediately looked down and indeed, he was turning a sky blue and he was growing two more eyes!
"And ever since he left, followed you so that he could take Earth as his own, Neptune has become a beautiful planet and everything seems better. My name is Lexily by the way. Are you going to be staying her-"
BOOM!!!
Lexily was interrupted by a huge explosion outside, and as Jaden saw through the window, a house next to theirs had blown up, to ashes, and there was no sign of anything or anybody around. Jaden ran outside, hoping for any sign of anything. He looked around, not seeing anything. When he looked back at his mother, he noticed the terrified look on her face. Before he could ask her why, WHAM!!!
Someone or something hit Jaden hard with a stick on the back of head, knocking him out cold...

Stay Tuned for Part 4 of the Jaden Larson Series. What mysteries and unexpected twists lie ahead?