<Ⅷ>
Most airships that now remained in the skies, roaming above the lands to secure order and repel Demon kind, sought equipment, food supplies, and fuel from the Capital far away. But not the Betelgeuse. Seeking to escape the Capital and the Lord of the Sky's scrutiny, the crew of the Betelgeuse had to scavenge and pick up any form of support left behind in the ruins of the forgone. Yet under grave circumstances, need often outweighs recovery, posing the whole ship in a precarious state and adding stress mostly onto the overly resourceful captain who had managed to lead his crew as far as possible across the cruel wilderness.
As Bradson Captain checked the map depicting the lands eons before, he made the onerous decision to dock his ship above a designated location thousand miles away, about 12 hours distance. There promised to be a city, Bradson double-checked dozens of maps he stored of the ages passed, mayhap there are resources stored that could sustain our travels, Bradson hoped, though his heart sided with his pessimistic belief, the place still worth a look.
Fuel is not the only thing that is coming up short.
" Captain…! Vitas…he—"
" Dial up the inhalator." Bradson gravely gave out the order, not needing Reina to tell him what was happening at the infirmary.
" How many doses have we left?"
" Not much," Reina replied dismally. " He is becoming more resistant to the anesthetics we infuse. If he wakes—"
" Fortify the infirmary." The captain decided without sentiment. " Make sure the Androids secure the restraints."
Though inhumane a way it was, Reina had no choice but to accept.
" One more thing." Captain Bradson added before Reina went to carry out the order.
" Keep Yuri as far away as possible, for now."
" …understood." Reina nodded after a momentary silence, marching her way forth to the infirmary, where numerous androids filed in and out busily, performing all the tasks they were programmed to keep the struggling darkening figure anesthetized in his strapped bed.
To no avail.
Fighting back his bursting rampaging self, Vitas tried to take back control, only to realize he was on the verge of failing.
…
...….
The first generation of Starbreakers, elites that survived the first scourge that nearly wiped out the Capital of the skies, defending Light-Hearted kind and banishing most if not all of the Archdemons up to the north, behind a wall secured with Demon-proof Lights, were the ones that trained Firren and most common Starbreakers that marked the second generation. With the skills of the first few remarkable Starbeaker generals of Light passed down to him, added with the experiences on the field, Firren had in his light blood and bones the abilities of war, and also to train the generations after him.
Now that he sees, with the eyes that had witnessed countless marvels and hardship, that though his apprentice may immerse herself arduously in high-level battle simulations far off her reach, her mentality is not ready and her focus scattering.
" Alright. That's enough." Firren relieved the virtual simulations of the assaulting Demons that had just claimed victory in the simulation and came to the exhausted girl, sitting in defeat, panting exasperatingly.
" I…I can still—"
Yuri protested, standing up with trembling numbed legs, supporting herself with her newly repaired weapon when suddenly a blurred shadow dashed from the right, aiming at her throat.
The blade stopped right atop Yuri's sweaty skin.
" To fight isn't just about winning. It's an act of survival. Every moment is a battle in itself." Firren retrieved his blade and slid it to the back of his Starbreaker armor.
" You have spent your strength unwisely, due to the lack of focus. You seek to become stronger, yet your mind has flown beyond the basics that are most essential in our path to valiance. Clear your mind, Yuri. You think too much that matters too little."
" I think of becoming stronger, to be less of a burden, to harness the Powers within me so as to remember who I was…!" Yuri answered, panting as she spoke her reasons.
" It matters… a lot… to me!"
" But that is not the only thing on your mind, is it?" Firren asked, his voice like an arrow of ice, freezing Yuri's speech.
" Surely the blackness under your eyes and the sloppy way you hold your weapon is more than enough to tell me that you hadn't slept. Rest is as essential as our wakening. Where were you, last night?"
Firren edged forth, his hawk-like gaze sternly fixed at Yuri's wondering eyes.
" My…my room…" Yuri stammered.
" The direction from which you came here says otherwise." Firren's eyes narrowed.
Yuri didn't reply.
" So it seems…that you were with that Vitas guy all Night—!!!"
" No, commander. I did not." Yuri calmly refuted the fuming commander's raised voice.
" I…fine. I stayed up late at the children's dorm."
Yuri finally gave in.
Firren was surprised.
" That's a surprise. An unwelcomed one, of course. But do carry on." Firren lead Yuri to the nearby lounge to have a drink as Yuri began her telling of the night before.
" I was looking for Lima at first, but the book, the one the Spy droid took, Neliya was reading it, and…it spoke to me."
" The book talked." Firren was appalled.
" No. But somehow, yes. In a way. It's not written in letters we know. It's like drawings, symbols mashed together and stretched out in circles, here and there, up and down…they couldn't understand what was written, so they asked me to tell them what it said..."
" What did it say?"
" …At first, I felt Cloud. Then the Sun, the Moon…"
The Shadow.
" It's a dictionary." Firren surmised, giving his take on the uncouth writing.
" Well, if it's a dictionary, then what is…The Herunis Carna?"
" I beg your pardon??" Firren nearly spat out his drink.
" Herunis Carna. It's what it said. And that's not the weirdest part, commander." Yuri's voice accelerated as she spoke.
" The symbol, the round drawing of the word…I saw it before, the day before I flew down and destroyed that Kau-bog type Demon that you couldn't beat–"
" I could definitely beat that shit up anytime I want. I am just under the weather that day." Firren quickly clarified. " But carry on."
" Before I went to find my mother's Starbreaker armor, I happen to stumble into Grandpapa's cabin. I heard these melodious beautiful sounds coming from one side. Sounds so soothing, Vitas said it was from something called…called…a Piano, I guess? But I didn't see it, and this thing was playing—"
" Yuri, get to the point!"
" I am! And while I was listening, I looked over at the desk. Grandpapa Bradson's desk. There were many papers and files, and notes, and one of them, had the same symbol written on it! Grandpapa knows about This Herunis Carna Thing!!"
Firren was speechless.
" Your Grandpapa may know a thing or two about the thing you speak." Chuckled a gruff voice a few steps ahead at the table right in front of them, coming from a large figure of a herculean man, turning around slowly in a mysterious fashion as he spoke with a grin.
" And I too, know a thing or two of This Herunis Carna you so speak."
Lo, it was Seito the lonesome Starbreaker, awakened from a mindboggling coma, the lightning striker, the tempest bringer, the Starbreaker who they call the Demons' bane.
" I don't think they call you that." Firren shook his head. " I've never seen you back in the day. Who do you train with, man Seito?" Firren asked this bulky hero man, who just chuckled at Firren's doubting inquiries.
" I trained with no man." Seito elaborated.
" For I, am of the First Generation. Pioneers, some may call. Experiments of the Lord, I shall say…"
" NO. WAY." Firren objected quickly, not buying anything this burly grinning man said.
" I trained under THE first Generation. My Seniors were Solo, Caerlia the Exalt—"
" Ha! Those two you say! They were the lucky ones who returned to tell the tale. My ship crashed on the last day. So I roamed. Here's proof."
Seito pulled down the collar of his casual yellow shirt, revealing a sparkling yellow medallion hanging upon his broad bulging chest.
A medallion where Seito stored his Starbreaker armor, which upon its glimmering surface, carved a distinctive sigil, reflecting majestically the lights from above.
Firren gapped at the sight of the sigil.
Yuri leaned forward curiously, taking a better look.
" Look as long as you like. This is the mark of our heritage. An insignia that brought me down this Demon Slaying path. This is who we are."
As Yuri gazed upon the carving fully, letting her eyes bear witness, as her memories linked all that she had seen, together amongst the incomplete web of dots that slowly connected to one single line.
" It's…it's the Herunis Carna…!!!" Yuri gasped at the mark on the sigil.
" You…Seito Sir, Do you Know Where the Land of Light IS?!?!?!?!"
At this, Seito hero man laughed, loud thundering laughter that conveyed his tantamount joy.
" NO. I don't." Seito replied after he had done his long fill of laughter.
" Only the Lord of Light does. The Herunis Carna is a mission to us First Generation Starbreakers, the one ultimate mission. To gather all Light Hearted people's Light, and send them back to the Lord, so he can escort them to the Land of Peace and Paradise. That's what we do, aside from exterminating Demon pests that come in the way and snatch people's Lights out."
" But…but…" How close she was to the answer, Yuri thought, only to feel it slipping further away from her. This mission of collecting Light Hearts from the people…it's what the Spy droid had said.
" But…it's not right!" Yuri recollected her thoughts, trying to convey what was forming in her messy mind.
" That's…that's not how The Land of Light works…"
" Ha ha, my child. Do you know actually how the Land of Light works?" Seito curiously asked, eager to know of Yuri's thoughts.
Yuri shook her head.
" …I think that my Mother might be there. And…she told me not to seek The Land of Light. She didn't tell me why, but…something doesn't feel right."
" If your mother is there then there is nothing to worry about." Seito warmly comforted the confused Yuri. " The Land of Light is a realm of peace for the Light-Hearted folk that had suffered enough in this land of Demonry. We Starbreakers are the keepers of the gates, divine guardians to guide those to bliss. Indeed, it may be as your Mother said. We Starbreakers don't get the privilege to enter the Realm of Light. We gain pride from Protecting it. Securing the Sacred Land for those we dear. Is it not so?"
Buried in deep thought, Yuri could but nod slowly, agreeing eventually to what the big hero man said.
Firren, however, silently listened without a word of comment.
" So, Seito sir, you are one of the strongest First Generation Starbreakers, right?" Yuri asked after finishing their drinks and breakfast together.
" Can you Teach me how to throw bolts of lightning and harness cyclones?!"
" You Have To Stick With The Basics First, YURI!" Firren growled in dismay as Seito laughed wholeheartedly.
" Unfortunately, I can't teach you how to harness lightning. I can try, but you are unable to harness it no matter how hard you learn from me." Seito spoke in a rather serious tone.
Yuri was devastated by the hard truth. " Why?!"
" We Starbreakers are focused on the abilities of our profession. No Starbreaker is omnipotent, nor is there one useless." Seito explained soundly.
" I can harness the storms and the thunders, but never can I be able to put a ball of flame on my palm like Firren here. There are countless ways a Starbreaker can strive over Demon kind, and it is only through finding your own unique power, and excel in it, that can make you truly stronger."
" And basic training." Firren added.
" …Then what is my unique power?" Yuri asked, and it hit her.
" Is it—is it the power that keeps taking over my body and making me fall asleep every time it finishes?!"
"...You can say that again…" Seito was uncertain of the notion, his voice deepening, voicing the question that had been in his mind for long.
" Which reminds me of something, Yuri… there are no existing records about you on this ship, nor anywhere in the world. Who are you? And why is it—"
" Seito Sir."
Before Yuri could make any reply, Firren stepped forth, standing up from his seat.
" I know this may sound highly questionable and even unreasonable to you, but, it is the Captain's design. There are some things Captain Bradson wishes to keep away from any involvement, and it is by no means harmful to anyone. Captain Bradson has his own plans for his…experiment if you will. Seito sir. I hope you excuse our queer demeanor.."
Firren looked up observantly.
Seito inhaled long and slowly, sitting straight up with a hardened stare on both Firren and Yuri.
Then the big hero man laughed.
" A'ight, Firren! That's all you need to say!" And Seito asked for one more cup of drink as the serving android handed him immediately.
" I was just curious. Surely a ship without connections from the capital would be pretty inconvenient. No resources, no info, no nothing… I don't mean to snitch or say anything. Just wondering how this ship works. My apologies if I have scared Your secretary…" Seito chuckled uneasily, looking to the side.
" What?" Yuri asked. But neither Firren nor Seito answered.
Soon after, commander Firren forced his apprentice back for some good sleep, ordering Yuri to spend the rest of the day on her bed.
Yuri reluctantly obeyed, albeit hating to be forced to stop and do nothing.
On her way back, though, Yuri headed down the corridors to the infirmary where she was cornered by dozens of droids barricading the path ahead.
" Umm, may I pass? Please?" Yuri asked them politely.
But the droids beeped and swirled in distress.
" Patient is currently undergoing surgery. Miss." The leading android replied at last.
" It may take time. We appreciate your patience."
" SURGERY?!" Yuri was horrified, fighting her way forth.
" We recommend you not, miss." The dozens of androids piled up to a wall, blocking Yuri's path. " It may take time. We appreciate—"
" Yuri!"
It was a voice she could not resist, halting right before she broke past the droid's futile blockade.
" …sister Reina…?"
There the Secretary stood her ground, her gaze firm and demanding, pulling Yuri back with just her stare.
" It's for the best, Yuri." the secretary explained as she led Yuri off the opposite side of the long hallway.
" He needs time to recover. Give him time."
Vitas is the key.
Vitas knows.
But now she could do nothing but wait for him to return.
Time.
The one thing Yuri lacks to improve, but surplus in waiting.
Back in her room alone, lying in bed, Yuri rested her eyes at the pale ceiling, blank in thought.
She should be trying to train herself, and build up her stamina so that she won't fall into slumber every time her unique powers activate. She also needs the strength to redo the operation to Restore her Memories, which she promised sister Reina. But now, having rushed too hard, she had pulled herself back by her own recklessness.
Yuri looked to the side of her room, where her sword rifle leaned slanting to the wall at her bedside. Perhaps…she can practice here, in her own room!
Yuri jumped up and with her sword rifle in hand, leapt off her bed and stood in the middle of her room, ready to do some swiping exercise.
Her weapon, held high, pointing up to the ceiling as the sun rays beamed in from the aperture between her spread drapes, reflecting upon her blue glimmering blade sparkles like the stars in the night sky.
Yuri took a couple of seconds to marvel at her own weapon that came with her Starbreaker armor, the same arsenal that her mother has wielded before her…A warmth bloomed inside of her as she moved the blade along the single shaft of light, gazing in pride and admiration at this beautiful instrument until then the sun ray reached a coarse rough spot in the middle of her blade.
There, was where she broke her sword after she had struck its blade deep into the eye of the Archdemon Death.
Yuri felt ashamed and guilty for carelessly doing such dishonor to her mother's weapon. But that was when she remembered. She had fixed it in the air while chasing after the Book-stealing Spy Droid. It was under a trance, following a voice that instructed her to transfer parts of her armor to reinforce the breaking point of the sword.
But under closer look, under the sunlight that emphasized the material upon the fractured parts, Yuri realized it was not the Nanoparticles of her armor that stabilized the once broken blade. It was an icy, clear, light blue substance Yuri had seen more than once. More than twice. Once when she shot the Kau-bog Demon at her first ever Demon encounter, and then clashed against the Haijus at the abandoned village…it is the same energy that powered the cords of her grappling hooks.
Yuri quickly summoned her armor out of her wristband, and pulled out one of her six grappling hooks for further speculation. Indeed, the energy cord was of the same, icy, clear, transparent bluish substance.
Can this be…the unique power Sir Seito had been talking about…?
" I can harness the storms and the thunders, but never can I be able to put a ball of flame on my palm like Firren here…"
Seito had said.
" Then…if I can harness it, it is my power. Mine alone!"
Yuri reached out her hand, palm upwards, and mustered her strength, focusing on what might appear.
Nothing happened.
Feeling tired and defeated once again, Yuri threw herself onto the bed, hugging her sword rifle as she tried to sleep, shutting her eyes as hard as to send herself to slumber.
Without noticing a small spec of the same bluish icy clear substance emerged on the floor upon where she just stood, melting into a small puddle as the rays of the sun dawned upon its wake.
Seconds passed, minutes then turned to hours. Though darkness her eyes see, Yuri's mind won't go to rest. It was of the writings in the book, flowing in her head as she blocked her sight with her pillow, unable to bar off the constant thoughts that constantly intrude, or rather, it was she herself that let these thoughts in, trying to figure out what all they meant, for The Herunis Carna was not the only things Yuri had seen in that book the night before.
It was of something else something much much bigger after the page of the Herunis symbol that truly kept her and Neliya up all night.
…
...…
" Oh, my—" Lucky sat up quickly from her bed, rushing out of the covers, and came to the side table, where a weary small figure sat, restless and fatigued with sheets of paper wildly scattered around her, over the table and floors. A pen did she hold still in her trembling hands, trying to write down what she could still remember.
" Neliya! Did you sleep!?" Feira came to the timid girl's presence, yet the one with her book and papers was too absorbed that she did not hear.
" Lucky! Vena! Neruko! Help me out! We must separate Neliya from the book!" Feira ushered as the roommates rustled forth and carried Neliya on all fours, putting the languid mumbling girl to bed.
" Feira, look!" the girl called Vena, of short smooth ebony hair and pure white skin, pointed at the pages all over the room.
" Neliya had transcribed the unreadable pages! She must have finished it with Yuri last night!"
" What Neliya has seen must have plunged her into madness!" Lucky was horrified, seeing that Neliya wouldn't stop murmuring incomprehensible speech while half-sinking into slumber.
" Vena, do not look!"
But Vena and Feira both read the pages on the floor, their curiosity, and expectations so high that they could not resist the urge to ponder over the hidden message.
What beheld their eyes, unexpectedly, was below their expectations.
" There is nothing dangerous about what Neliya wrote, Lucky." Vena passed Lucky the pages she have collected on the floor.
" It's just a story."
" A sad one? Or an insane one?" Lucky drew herself from the pages cautiously.
" …both if you ask me." Feira replied shortly, as she examined the writings in deep thought.
" Then I most certainly won't read it." Lucky turned the other way.
Eventually joining the others at breakfast, Lucky sat at the front row as the children, with each page in hand, took turns to recite the tale Neliya and Yuri had successfully transcribed.
" Ahem." Neo sternly cleared his throat. " Then I shall start."
And thus began the mysterious tale.
"Ages, ages ago,
There were Gods.
There was Sun, and there was Moon.
Sun made the day,
And Moon shined the night.
Both Gods shared their Power of Light with the World in separate skies.
They were friends."
…
It was Rio's turn to continue.
…
" Then there was Cloud
In the sky.
She was fare and lively.
One day,
Sun came to Cloud
" I love you, charming Cloud."
Said Sun
" My burning love can shine for you every day.
With me, you can see the World,
the Sea,
the Lands,
the creatures,
And the People below.
Stay with me, Cloud."
…
" Cut the acting Rio. We just want to listen to the story." Neo snapped.
" But it's more fun…"
" Whatever. Next."
The children went on, taking turns as the tale progresses.
…
Cloud smiled,
And floated away.
One night,
Moon came to Cloud
" Good evening, gentle cloud."
Said Moon
" It is an honor to stay in the same sky with you tonight.
You are beautiful."
Cloud chuckled.
" There is nothing at night, dear Cloud."
Continued Moon
" But if you are willing to stay, loving Cloud,
You will be the only one I see
And I shall always watch you,
Love you,
Protect you,
For you are my only
Only Cloud."
Cloud smiled
And stayed with Moon.
One day,
Sun saw Cloud and Moon leave the horizon together.
Sun was furious.
" Then love me."
Said the shadow under Sun
" You made me.
You created me with all sorts of shapes,
I am your best."
" No."
Refused Sun
" You are nothing, but darkness in between,
You have many forms, but none of them is you.
You are nothing,
And I can not love nothing."
So Sun came to Moon
" I curse thee, Moon !"
Cursed Sun
" I curse thee, Moon, that wherever you appear,
All the people below shall hide.
None of them shall love you, Moon."
And Sun left.
Moon was sad.
" Smile again, Moon."
Cloud finally spake
" Give me your love and lend me your Light,
I shall bring you more than the people below."
So Moon has Cloud his love
And Cloud sprayed out her dust to the night sky.
And with the Light of the Moon
They became Stars.
…
" Pretty normal so far," Rio commented with a shrug. " Why would Neliya go mad over this?"
" Neliya must have been tired, deprived of sleep." Kai the wise deducted.
" Besides, we haven't reached the other half of the tale. Who knows what's in store?"
" Meh. Tame stuff." Rio shook his head.
Lima, however, sitting afar from the children, participated not of this storytelling and just listened without giving it too much thought.
Her mind was on Yuri, and the thought of her reaching out to the past pains her still.
Nonetheless, the children continued.
…
Then there were Stars
Twinkling, giggling, among the black sky.
Mon loved them all,
And they loved Moon as well.
One day,
When the creatures were alive
And the world was awake,
A curious little girl came to Sun.
" What's wrong, my child ?"
Asked Sun.
And the girl asked.
" What is the color of Sky when you are away ?"
" There will be no Color."
Sun replied
" Only the terrible Darkness. Don't go there, my Child. You will be scared."
Sun warned the girl, and she went home.
The next day,
When the flowers were blooming
And the Earth was breathing,
The little girl came to Sun.
" What's wrong, my child ?"
Sun asked.
And the little girl asked
" What does the world look like when you are away ?"
" There will be no world, my child."
Sun replied
" Only the terrifying Blackness. Don't go there, my Child. You will be lost."
Sun warned the girl and away she went.
That night,
The girl sat behind a rock,
And waited for Sun to go.
And as soon as Sun left
The Sky turned black,
And the girl was scared and alone.
Suddenly,
Small lights came from afar.
The girl quietly hid behind the rock and watched,
As the lights came nearer
And nearer,
Singing
" Nothing here, nothing there,
We are stars that shine elsewhere.
Nothing up, nothing down,
We are stars that shine anyhow."
And the Stars began to play.
The girl watched
As the Stars played funny games
And the little girl laughed.
The Stars heard her laugh, and came to the rock.
" Was it you that laughed, rock ?"
Asked the Stars,
But rock didn't answer.
" Was it you, mother Cloud ?"
Asked the Stars.
" No."
Cloud answered
" It is a girl. And she wants to play too."
" Then where is the girl ?"
Asked the Stars.
" You must find her. The girl is shy.
Finding her shall be a new game."
So the Stars went off in search of the girl.
A star went to the river.
Another star fire up a tree.
When the other Stars went off,
One star stood up the rock where the girl was.
" Where will the girl hide ?"
The little Star asked Cloud.
" Where will you hide ?"
Cloud asked the little star.
Somewhere near you
Somewhere I can see you
Somewhere you can find me
So the little Star climbed up the rock
And found the girl.
And they started to play,
Finding each other in the Dark.
Soon it was dawn
And the Stars are sleepy.
Cloud then said to the girl
" Don't tell Sun about us, sweet girl.
Keep it a secret, between you and the Stars."
The girl agreed
And slept beside the rock.
That day
When the birds are singing
And the wind was running,
The girl was sleeping.
" Wake up !"
The girl`s shadow cried
" Wake up! Sun is coming! Wake up!"
And the girl opened her eyes.
Sun asked the girl
" You are sleepy, my child.
What happened when I was away ?"
" I was counting the sheep in the yard last night."
The girl answered
And Sun chuckled,
And went back to the Sky.
Night after night,
The girl played with the Stars around the rock
And made friends with the night.
One night,
While the girl and the Stars were running around,
The rock finally spoke
" Oh, where are the creatures that were alive?
Where are the flowers that used to bloom?
Oh, who heard the birds' last singing?
Who saw the wind flee ?"
" What is rock talking about ?"
The stars asked each other.
They knew nothing of the living creatures or the blooming flowers.
But the girl understood rock's song.
" Wise rock, wise rock,"
The girl asked
" What happened in the day under Sun ?"
" Oh it was me, and it was you.
It was he, it was she, it was It.
It was the shadow.
He she it swallowed the day."
" Then where was Sun ?"
The girl asked.
" Sun is injured, and his Light was hurt.
Call Moon! And let him save the Day !"
Moon heard the rock
And flew to Sky with Cloud by his side.
Sky was grey and dark
And Darkness danced with its hands about.
" Sun ! Sun ! Where are you, burning Sun ?"
Moon cried
But only the whispering Darkness answered his cry.
" The shadow is too strong."
Mon said to Cloud
" The shadow was nothing, but All is his power.
It sees all, it knows all, it is nearly All.
I have only one way to stop the shadow."
" No."
Cloud begged
" You can't do it."
" I will find help from my friend, Red Moon.
You must wait for my return, dead Moon."
Cloud said.
Moon was undecided,
But Cloud was determined.
So Cloud became huge and sharp and came to the horizon,
There Cloud said to Moon
" Wait for me, Moon.
I made a string between us
So that we could still talk to each other when I am afar.
I must go now."
And Cloud jumped off to the horizon and flew away.
Moon waited,
The Stars and the girl stayed by the rock.
One night
When the girl was resting on the rock
The girl's shadow walked away to find Moon.
The shadow looked just like girl,
So Moon took her up to Sky
" What's wrong, child ?"
Moon asked the girl's shadow.
" I am cold."
The girl's shadow answered
" Can I rest in your palm ?"
Moon chuckled,
And gave the girl's shadow his palm.
Moon was careless.
As soon as the shadow went up the palm
It cut the string between Cloud and Moon.
Cloud was gone.
And Moon flew into a desperate rage.
The Stars were also desperate.
" No, father Moon, No !"
The Stars cried
" Father will break the Earth!
Father will dry the Sea!
Father will end the World instead !"
But Moon won't listen
And flew to end shadow.
" What can we do ?"
The Stars asked each other
" What shall we do ?"
" We will play hide."
A little star said.
It was the little star that found the girl.
" How do we play hide ?"
The other Stars and the girl asked.
" Mother Cloud taught us before."
The little star explained
" You shall all hide, and wait for me to find you."
So they began to play.
The little star began to count numbers
While the others ran to hide.
The girl ran
And found the rock.
She hid behind the rock and closed her eyes
As the World started to tremble,
And the Sky began to crumble.
Moon was ready,
And saw that shadow was doomed.
" I shall smite thee, here and now !"
Moon cried
As he took out his flute
And sucked the air.
Then came a painful sound
Stabbing the Earth and breaking down Sky.
The World moaned in pain
As it shivered, weeping for its ending.
Shadow was then shattered
And so was Moon.
Light started to burst out of the cracks in the Sky
And shone down on the lifeless earth.
Soon
Everything has fallen
And the World was silent.
The girl opened her eyes.
The New World before her was bright
But except light
There was nothing else.
Nothing here, nothing there.
Nothing up, nothing down.
For days the girl waited
For the little star to find her,
But the little star never came
Neither did the other Stars hiding far away.
Thinking of this
The girl began to cry
" Don't cry."
Said a voice
" Don't cry, living girl"
Said
The
Rock
" You are
Not
Alone...….
...
" Lima…?!"
But the girl rushed away, tears in her eyes, not turning back, and out of the dining hall she went.
Leaving the dumbfounded children in shock and astonishment.
" Where's the rest?" Rio asked in wonder, fully captivated by the tale.
" What happened to the stars? What happened to the girl? Don't leave us hanging…"
" That's the last page." Kai was confused, looking for another page which doesn't exist, yet.
" Maybe…there is more…We just haven't seen it all."
" Then why did Lima leave?" Rio asked inconsiderately. " Why did she cry?"
No one knew how to answer and let the silence cover up the sorrow.
…
...…
" Lima wait!" Feira tried to catch up, but the girl was gone at the next corner where Feira was faced at a crossroads.
" Finnir, you go left, I go right!"
Being pulled alongside his nosy sister, Finnir reluctantly complied, going along with the flow as he jogged as fast as he could to the left side of the corridor, trudging slower than a cleaning droid that was mopping the glass floor next to him zooming by smoothly.
Lima was fast, and strong, agile at best, with a sunlike aura that repels all origins of dark, like a clean halo around her, accentuating her bravery and precision. She was an idol one as feeble and scrawny as Finnir can never dream to get close, but still, one can dream. Perhaps she might be hiding at the next corner down the hall, Finnir thought and the reality coinciding with his speculations shocked the boy, pushing himself back to the corner by instinct.
There Lima was, weeping quietly, leaning to a side of the wall.
Finnir had never seen her, someone as bright and bold as the sun, shed tears of such vulnerability and sorrow. He would have edged forth to comfort her with at least his poor words, but he was a step too late. Later than the one that came first to soothe the crying Lima, with a fluffy ball of fur in hand.
" Sister Lima…?" Momo asked, worried to the core. The wolf cub too attempted to t=lick the tears off Lima's reddened cheeks, but Lima pushed them away.
" Go away." Lima snapped coldly, without sentiment.
The little girl with the wolf cub remained resilient.
" Sister Lima, you are crying…for what has long passed—"
" You don't understand." Lima hissed, wiping her tears away with much hostility.
" You don't know what they are talking about. You don't know anything. How are you supposed to understand if you don't remember?!"
Fear stricken by the cry of sorrow, the young infant backed away. The wolf cub too huddled and shivered in Momo's arms.
Gasping to the realization of her ruthless demeanor, Lima faltered, ashamed, distraught, and afraid of what she might commit in a fit of rage and despair, Lima hurried away to the far, in rushing steps to the end without return.
Finnir, appalled by what he saw, came to the crying Momo not long after, trying his best to soothe the infant.
" It's alright." Finnir consoled gently. " Lima doesn't mean it. She doesn't know what she's saying. Give her time…"
" But I know…" Momo groaned, trying her best to speak albeit the sobs.
" I saw it…I knew…"
Having no idea what Momo was murmuring to herself between her tears, the boy could but carry the crying infant back in his frail arms, trudging back from whence he came.
To understand, one must first remember…Finnir pondered at Lima's words.
But remember what exactly?
" Momo, calm down." Finnir gently soothed the best he can.
" Tell me, tell me…What do you Remember?
…
...…
Descending down the clouds, the Betelgeuse have finally reached their destination, lowering down as Bradson Captain observed the lands and surroundings, to see towering sharp obelisks hoarded within a sunken crater rimmed of cement and steel, a metal hole of spikes in the middle of nowhere.
A city indeed, as the maps have stated, abandoned and lying in decay as the rest.
Hovering down to a platform once designed for older generations of jets, Bradson parked the Betelgeuse lightly through his sophisticated navigation, scanning with alerting rays over the lonesome forest of iron turrets, detecting weak signals, scattered over the city.
Weak they may be, but still, one thing is certain.
Demons are close by.
" Splendid!" Seito boomed triumphantly, readying his armor and his zigzagged greatsword of lightning in hand.
" A field young folks! To me, for I shall show you how it is done, the Awesome way!"
" Yay! Teach us! Teach us!" The children cheered, eager to learn and awe at the Lightning wielder's flamboyant overpowering display of Starbreaking magnificence.
Leading the children folk to the stations to initiate the weaponized androids through remote controls, Neo too was eager to learn and improve in the ways to lead his pack. He had to be reliable whenever the children needs him, a task of pride and utmost labor he is willing to endure, out of responsibility, yes, but deep down this fervor was powered by guilt. For not being strong enough to protect those he dears.
" Neo." The child leader looked up from his silent brooding, awakened by his good pal Kai, a friend who he can trust his life and secrets; someone he felt worthy to call brother, for Kai had been the calm to counter his rashness, the wisdom to back up his courage.
Without Kai, Neo could not stand tall alone in these trying times, and against his fails and sorrows.
" It's time."
Neo nodded, putting on his gear over his head, the nerve transmission gear capable of transposing wavelengths in the brain into electrical waves to the corresponding android, thereby controlling them through the instance of thought, in addition to the handy controls of the weaponry, close and distant ranged alike.
Watching the Androids fly out the hangars in uniformed array, Firren stepped out lastly, setting foot on the wide rusted platform overlooking the vast throng of piercing ashen towers, hollow and deformed, mottled and corroded.
The depth underneath, where the roots of the reaching skyscrapers were, Firren could not discern by the eyes, but certainly, his Starbreaker visor detected mild disturbances resembling those of Demon kind from the darkness below.
" Exterminate the Demon first, then search for supplies!" Firren called out to the troops of androids.
" They are underneath, and their numbers may vary. Await for my command!"
The children-driven androids obeyed and stood in line behind the commander as Firren peered down the edge of the platform.
" Well?" Seito asked carefreely the serious planning commander, swinging his greatsword up to his bulky shoulder.
" What's the plan, Commander?"
Firren felt weird having a First Generation Senior call him commander and follow his orders, but nonetheless, Firren had to show his precision and decisiveness as a leader of this ship.
" I plan to use my flame to light up the depth, exterminating the Demons hiding within the shadows, the faster the better." Firren replied, preparing his flaming emitting armory humming in activation over his arms.
" If it is speed you seek. Then I propose a faster plan, if I may." Seito chuckled.
Firren saw the bolts of lightning dance upon the surface of the huge yellow super Starbreaker's armor and greatsword more and more, expecting what was in Seito's mind.
" You can't be serious—"
But then a blink after, Seito was gone. Out of sight.
Firren blinked hard in disbelief, hearing roars and screeches down below the platform where he looked down like all the androids did, just in time to see flashes of bolts and lightning dashing here and there, spurs and currents blasting everything everywhere all at once, with one main, dazzling yellow force sailing swiftly nonstop in the dark along, like a dragon dancing in the abyss, facing all that dared come against its sacred reverence only to receive incineration of charged ruthlessness searing the all in its path.
Seconds passed, and the Demon's bane returned, landing from a high leap, shuddering the platform along with the parked Betelgeuse, still sizzling with bolts all over his stained armor.
" The faster the better. As you said, commander." Seito spoke before booming into thundering laughs of triumph, enhanced with the cheers of awe from the droid navigating children around.
Firren too was awed, but hid it in silence, leading the troops down in search of fuel and equipment.
While the excavation team finally set off, Lima watched from the window of her room, sitting on her bed as the droids fly off alongside the two leading Starbreakers down below to the land of towers.
Yuri wasn't with them.
Yuri was on ship.
Lima stood up at the sudden realization.
She had to apologize to Yuri, to tell her that she would be by her side no matter her choices were.
She would always support Yuri, like she did for her, ages back—
Leaping off her bed with resolve, Lima headed forth to Yuri's room, not far away down the long corridor.
…
...…
" How many Demons have you slain, Seito sir??" The children asked through their hovering droids all gathered around the yellow Starbreaker as they traversed along the cracked empty cement roads at the bottom of the ghost city, moving under the long shadows casted horizontally across their path.
" Well, I wouldn't count the things I have eaten or the drops of each rain, would you?" Seito laughed as the children laughed with.
" We all split here," Firren announced as the troops met at a crossroads near the center of the empty city.
" I'll bring half the droids to the east, and you to the west. We'll meet back here in three hours' time."
" Sounds legit." Seito agreed swiftly. " Who comes with?" Seito raised his greatsword valiantly and nearly all the androids raised their mechanic arms high, eager to follow this legendary Starbreaker.
" We don't have time for this!" Neo scalded the children as he started splitting them into two packs through his ordained force.
Firren rolled his eyes.
Lucky's android then turned to the one which Lima drove.
" Lima, which side do you want to be?"
" Seito!!" cheered the elated voice that definitely didn't belong to Lima.
" MOMO!!!!" Lucky screamed, rage like flames spuing out of her intimidating voice, screeching the microphones did for they could not render her high-pitched shouts.
" I TOLD YOU NOT TO JOIN! YOU ARE TOO YOUNG FOR THIS!!" Lucky won't stop shouting, trying to catch Momo, whose android sped away around the pack. Two androids chasing each other rapidly in the air.
" Momo! Secretary Reina said it is not safe for you to use the nerve gear!!" Neo had to step in to stop the young infant from hurting herself.
" Momo! Stop this instance!"
But the infant refused.
" I hate it!" Momo shouted back angrily, escaping the grabs of many droids.
" Everyone's doing what they want, only Momo can't! Momo wants to try it too!! Besides, it's brother Finnir who said I can join!"
All of them stopped short, glaring their mechanical droid eyes at the one boy mentioned for committing the crime.
" Wa…Wait! I can explain!" Finnir's droid wobbled to a kneel as the children unitedly ganged up on the poor boy, especially Finnir's older sister, Feira.
" Momo…Momo knows something that we don't! She knows things, regarding the story just earlier! I asked her to join so she can tell me what they meant!"
" Even so, you are risking Momo's safety for your own curiosity!" Feira scalded now, being the third oldest child among the pack only under Neo and Kai.
" Finnir, you brought this on yourself. Now take Momo back with you!"
" Fine, fine. I'll take her…" Finnir immediately complied under the paramount stress.
" NO!" Momo refused still, hovering above in the air.
" Momo knows more than you! Momo knows what the tale meant! Momo wants…Momo wants to be like you!"
" We all know what that tale meant!" Rio hollered impatiently, eager to go on the adventure soon. " It's a story about a girl and the stars! There nothing much to boast about!"
" WRONG!" Momo jeered, feeling proud that she finally had her chance to be the smart one.
" They all have different names! The sun is in fact not the sun! It's Solar industries!!!"
The children gasped, all in bewilderment.
Having no idea what Momo was talking about.
" What?! A contest of imaginary names now?!" Rio guffawed.
But Momo was adamant.
" And Cloud is a person. Someone we know, called Clau—"
" It's Momo's daydreaming again!" Lucky hollered impatiently.
" Momo, that's enough! Come down here and be good. You are making no sense!"
No. Firren too just gasped, but not of bewilderment, but of horror.
She knows…Firren's eyes widened in disbelief.
She really knows…!!!
" Solar…Industries…?!?!?!"
Firren froze.
Something wasn't right, with the voice that just spoke.
The children in their droids sensed it too and turned around.
Seito, the cool hero Starbreaker, the lightning wielder, the legendary warrior og light, was now on his knees, trembling with his large hands grabbing his helmed head tightly, in pain, in trepidation, groaning louder as if suffering from an unseen enemy breaking him from the inside.
" Solar....Industries....No…NO….!!!!"
Momo landed on the ground slowly, knowing that she had made a grave mistake.
As the bolts and lightning started to dance all over the suffering Starbreaker's ashen yellow armor, not of triumph this time, but of ominous foreboding.
" …Go," Firren whispered to the children around him.
" Go, NOW!!!"
But scarcely had his voice reached the children's ears, the thundering roar of the pained hero Starbreaker ripped the air, exploding the silent city in an extending ball of incineration, pillars of lightning crashed down from the suddenly darkened skies, clashing the tower and cleaving the tall protrusion in half as the monolithic structures collapsed all over, rocking the city into a bed of chaos, bringing it all down deeper into the crater it already sank deep into.
Firren activated his flames that instance, pushing all the lightning off his surroundings, but there was one thing he miscalculated.
The children, linked through the nerve gears to the androids, their senses, and actions transmitted to the robotic bodies they control, also accepting the sensory stimulations the androids withstood back to the children.
Normally, the sensory operators would negate excessive stimulants to their receivers.
But now, with the overload of power and electricity coursing through the wave linkage, burning down the sensory operators in but seconds, all that the children felt,
were the electrocuted pain and searing despair.
Nothing but the children's screams filled Firren's ears, pitting him to act, as fast as possible.
The faster the better, Firren shouted to himself, before its too late—
With a loud resounding cry, Firren raised his burning fist up and smashed down onto the scorching, cement roads where lightning stopped their dance as the flames burst out from where Firren stood, melting all the fires touch, destroying the droids in one fell swoop, breaking the nerve link and freeing the children from grave harm,
Yet, the damage already was done.
Firren stood up once more, posing his battle stance firmly, before the huge lurking being rising in berserk fashion, growling like a wounded beast in retaliation.
Lightning danced crazier and crazier as the one lightning Starbeast stood up, towering over the obelisks that had fallen under his wake.
Greatsword, bursting in a pillar of its own right.
"...Re…Reina…" Firren tried to remain calm, calling through his speakers for immediate assistance.
" …Seito's got a situation here—!!"
…
.....
" Yuri?"
Lima knocked again. The third time now.
Is she asleep? Maybe. At this time of hour?
Not likely…should she wait? Perhaps…but…
" Yuri? It's me, Lima…"
Lima knocked for the fourth time, switching the door open as it slid aside slowly.
Revealing but an empty room.
…
...…..
" Captain! Request to join the field! Please, Captain!"
Reina's urgent voice cried out from the other side as Bradson monitored the map on his radar.
From the sudden shudder of the center of the whole city, jolting the earth with one brutal force, Bradson knew something was amiss. Even the links between the children and the androids have all been abruptly disconnected a second before.
Something has happened to either Firren or Seito.
But certainly, it is not of Demon activity, is it?
Or mayhap—Bradson Captain's eyes widened in jarring realization.
Before Bradson's disbelieving eyes, A red spark there flickered upon the dark grid of his radar, large and ominous, glowing larger, right next to the parked Betelgeuse.
Can it be, that this Demon had been hiding, waiting, and creating this moment to strike?!
Bradson Captain pressed his desk hard with his hardened fist, splitting the furniture in two to reveal the real controls, as sophisticated as Starbreaking tech, attaching the old Captain's arms like gauntlets of stars, lighting up as Bradson raised his arms solemnly,
And the cannons and turrets all over the Betelgeuse, rose up in answer, humming with power and majesty.
" Permission granted." Bradson gave out the order. " Assist Firren. And return as fast as you can."
" Yes, captain." And the secretary was off, rushing toward the hangars, activating her twin wristbands teeming with light red nanoparticles as the Starbreaker armor enveloped her body, pushing Reina up to the skies with beams of scarlet rays, soaring forth to where the lightnings roared most prominent.
The Betelgeuse may lack the support of the Capital, but its Captain held great pride and confidence over the designs and upgrades he had implemented, failing not once in this arduous journey of obstacles and strife.
Bradson was more than sure he could defend his ship from this one snide Demon, but it was this foreboding, this growing sense of dread and apprehension within his heart that brought more fear than any Demon that threatens his life.
Can it be…that something was terribly amiss that he had not realized yet?
…
...…
Scattered across the glass corridors, were torn parts of the hospital androids that had once blocked Yuri's path, now gone, reduced to rubbish and waste.
Is it due to the thunderstrike seconds ago that shook the world, pulverizing them all into pieces? Yuri contemplated on the cause of the sudden destruction of all these helpful droids.
But then if all the droids of the infirmary have perished so, then Vitas—
Yuri swung the infirmary doors open, to behold nothing but darkness engulfing all that was of the once pale walled chambers.
Android parts piled across the foyer, claw marks drawn from the side, reaching into the shadows.
Silence.
" Vitas?"
Yuri asked the dark.
" Are you there?"
Darkness,
rippled in answer.
[...to be continued]