_STELLE_
'Where am I?' were my first words as I opened my eyes. There was a young woman in front of me. She had red wine-colored hair that was tied in a messy ponytail with two loose bangs hanging on either side of her face. Her eyes were of a similar, lighter color, and she wore dark pince-nez sunglasses on top of her head and a pearl earring in her right ear.
She looked gorgeous more than anything.
"A space station, but that's not important right now," the mysterious woman answered. "Listen, you are in a daze right now. You don't know who you are, or what you're going to do next. You think I look familiar, but you're not sure if you should trust me. All you need to know is that I'm leaving, and you will be left all alone in this space station. From now on, you needn't think about your past or doubt yourself."
"Listen, in the near future, you will encounter all kinds of perils and hardships, but you will also have many wonderful experiences. You'll meet companions who treat you like family and embark on surreal adventures with them."
"At the end of your journey, all that perplexes you and troubles you will resolve."
"This is your future that Elio has foreseen. Do you like it?"
I took a moment to answer. "I guess."
"It's like a weaving brocade – you and I can only add one gold thread each time, but eventually, we will make a gorgeous pattern." The young woman smiled.
"How long do you need?" Another person with silver hair suddenly interrupted, popping out in my line of vision. "According to the script, the Astral Express crew is arriving soon. We should avoid being seen by them."
"I know, Silverwolf. Just give me another minute," she replied to the silver-haired girl, annoyed, and turned to look at me again. "I must leave now. Listen. Don't worry. Someone will come and find you very soon. Just go with them. You won't remember a thing."
"Kafka…" Those words suddenly left my mouth, as the woman in front of me was strangely familiar, like I've known her my entire life.
"When you have the choice, make the one you know you won't regret." Those were her last words as I slowly closed my eyes. Strange, I wasn't tired, but the want to close my eyes overtook me.
Darkness.
"Weren't their coordinates sent out from the space station?"
"Who cares? They're here and alive. Do they look like a mannequin to you?" A
"I wish I could go with them. And, uh, guys, there's an unconscious lady over there. I think she needs help,"
"Oh no! Is she dead?!"
"Wait, let me check her status…"
"Weak heartbeat and pulse… March, you better do CPR quick."
"Eh? Why me?! I've never done it before. Ethan, you do it!"
"Huh? Why me?! No way, I don't even know how to do it!"
"Fine! How about you, Dan Heng?"
"…I'll try."
At that moment, I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a guy's face leaning over me. I blinked, confused, and before I could say anything, that guy's face was pushed away by a pink-haired girl.
"Wait—stop it, she's awake!" exclaimed the pink-haired girl close to me.
With her help, I slowly pushed myself upwards, feeling a slight headache. Dizziness almost made me tumble if I were not careful.
"Are you alright? Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?" the pink-haired girl asked, worriedly.
"I… don't remember a thing," I answered quite hesitantly. No memories began to surface as to why I was here and what I was doing before this. I tried to remember, but it seemed blocked out.
"So, amnesia then?" Another voice sounded. I looked towards it and saw a young man with black hair crossing his arms. "At least she's not dead."
"Hey, Ethan! That's quite rude, you know?"
Ethan, that was his name. I noted with a look.
"What? I'm speaking facts. If she's unconscious here for who knows how long, at least she was lucky enough not to get killed by those things for being asleep. I'm pretty sure she's the daughter of Lady Luck for being that lucky. I wouldn't even be surprised if that were the case."
The pink-haired girl seemed to give up talking to him. "Whatever you say." She turned back to me. "Anyways, can you at least remember your name?"
My name? I thought. Strange, I don't remember anything, but I remember my name.
"Stelle," I answered.
"Stelle, that's one heck of a name—OW! Hey, what was that for?"
"For being rude!"
"You little—"
"Guys, stop," the annoyed guy with a green robe said, bringing the two bickering people to a stop.
"She/He started it!" they both said in unison.
The guy ignored them. "Ahem. Nice to meet you, Stelle. My name's Dan Heng. These two here are March 7th and Ethan," the boy now introduced himself as Dan Heng continued. "This space station was just attacked by the Antimatter Legion. We came to help with the rescue at the request of Lead Researcher Asta. You're from the many ones we rescued."
"The Antimatter Legion?" I asked, tilting my head curiously.
Dan Heng opened his mouth to answer, but Ethan answered instead.
"They're basically some fuckers that want to bring destruction to all worlds for their genocidal god…. What? What are you looking at me like that?"
"You just said a bad word."
"What are you? A child?"
"Hey!"
"Anyways, what Ethan said is true in most cases. They're here to invade the space station. The real reason is still unknown." Dan Heng elaborated.
"Yeah, we're lucky that the most dangerous Lord Ravager isn't around, just some nasty minions. We'll take care of those invaders soon, don't worry," March assured with a confident smile.
"Then where should I go?" I asked, feeling lost.
"Back to the master control zone. Asta and the other researchers are gathered there," Dan Heng replied.
"Plus, that's where we parked the Astral Express!" March cheerfully added. "Don't worry, we'll protect you from the monsters and clear up this mess—"
"Teh."
She paused and turned her head sharply at Ethan, who whistled under her gaze.
"The Astral Express crew?" I asked again.
"We're members of the Astral Express crew aside from Ethan here," Dan Heng answered. "Well, the Express has dealings with Madam Herta, so we come to visit the space station from time to time."
"We just so happened to arrive during this… invasion. Of course, as a—ahem—crew of heroes, we are happy to lend a hand. If you've never seen it, the Express comes here once in a while," March added, with a few pauses here and there.
I looked towards Ethan and pointed at him. "What about him?"
Ethan appeared to notice me pointing at him. "Me? I mean, I was just dragged here by them. Basically, I am more like a victim."
I blinked. A victim? I slowly turned toward Dan Heng and March with a questioning gaze.
"Ahahaha, don't mind him. He's just helping us since he's familiar with this place more than us," March said, trying to clear the misunderstanding.
I nodded, though looking back at Ethan, he seemed to have other thoughts, or maybe it was just me.
"Arlan. I need to find him. He's the head of the security department. He should be able to help us," Dan Heng suddenly said.
"Arlan? Oh, I met him earlier," Ethan spoke out. Heads turned to him.
"Where is he now?" Dan Heng asked.
Ethan shrugged. "I don't know. The last I've seen him was the part where he saved me."
"I see. I'll try to scan the area and look for him," Dan Heng gave a slight nod.
"Good luck on that. The chances of us finding him here are pretty slim," Ethan pointed out.
"I'll take my chances."
"You stay safe, Dan Heng," March said, bidding farewell to the leaving Dan Heng.
March then turned towards me. "Maybe we should get you a weapon to protect yourself," she suggested with a smile. "Though it's only a suggestion, you're gonna be pretty safe with me." Her smile turned into a confident grin as a hand was placed on her chest.
Ethan suddenly approached us, eyes on me. "I'd rather you take the suggestion—Gah!" March suddenly jerked her elbow into his ribs. I winced at how painful it must have been, judging from his expression.
Ethan's expression turned from pained to pure rage. "I've had it with you. Come here!"
"Ah! Dan Heng! There's a weird-looking monster here!"
I looked at the two who were chasing each other around like cat and mouse, tilting my head. Is this normal? My lips fell into a flat line as my gaze then shifted elsewhere and locked onto something I found. A baseball bat?