Welcome to the Library

A peculiar collection of stories and characters of very weird worlds. Run by @claire-starsword and a mysterious otherworldly librarian. Have a good time and feel free to ask about anything that picks your interest. [links]

[starsword-library]

In the first story, there are two kids and it's the end of the world.

They had once been very happy and carefree kids, seeing the bright side of everything, all the time.

She always felt free to let her mind wander anywhere she wanted, he always had hope for the future.

When the end of the world drew near, she felt free to try everything she could to stop it, he had hope they could be heroes.

When everything failed, she was free to explore the wreckage in search of a last chance, he had hope for a new beginning.

Now that everything is gone, she doesn't think her freedom is worth anything. She is free to go anywhere, but there's only emptiness everywhere. She is free to think of anything, but no thought will bring any change to the dying universe. She is free to dream of anything, but no happy fantasy will bring a smile back to his face after all their failures.

She is free to do anything, yet all she wants is to stay beside him and hold his hand and remind him he is not alone. She doesn't blame him. They weren't meaningless. They stayed the best of friends until the very end and that has to count for something.

And it does, because his smile comes back. Soft, pained, but still there. Not a smile of happiness, but the smile of someone who is glad to have known happiness in the past at least.

"Why are you smiling now?" she asks.

"Well, that's what everyone says we do, right? Look at the bright side of things. You just reminded me of that right now, so thank you."

"And how did I do that? I’m sorry, but right now even I'm not seeing the bright side of this."

"Yeah, I know. That's because there's not really any bright side to this. I mean, it's really dark here isn't it? So I've decided, I'm gonna make a new bright side."

And in a flash of light, he was gone, just like everything else.

In the second story, there's nothing because it's the beginning of all worlds.

It's dark and lonely and dull, as if nothing would ever happen, as if nothing would ever change.

And yet it's vast and free, as if anything could happen, as if anything could grow there if only it had a chance to exist, a spark to start it.

And then a ray of light comes by.

It's fast, it's bright, and it contrasts so strongly against the darkness that even though it's gone so quickly, it's effects are still felt forever.

Bright stars sparkle against the black. Specks of color break the monotony of the vast space. And planets rotate and orbit, restricted and predictable but never still.

And the ray of light still continues its path. It never stops, it never returns, and it never stays for long. But some planets catch a few sparks from its trail, and slowly, very slowly, something grows from it.

Soon the planet won't be the only thing around moving. There will be something else, much smaller and uncertain. It will spread, it will feel, it will wonder about the land below it and the stars above it and the flow of time around it, and it will strive to exist against all odds.

It's life. It's hope. If everything goes well, it will also be freedom. And it will love to smile.

After all, hope is a smiling face. Not a smile of happiness, but the smile of someone who feels there's still happiness to be found in the future.

___

Next Story> List of Stories

[starsword-library]

The monster said their master awaited in a chamber deeper into the cave, so Verona went ahead in the given direction. It was frankly, a boring investigation so far. The so-called graveyard didn't actually have graves or any sign of ancient civilization, at least not where Verona could see it. Perhaps those were hidden deep under the dark waters that surrounded the pathways she walked on. Not that she cared, it was actually better to go through just a boring cave instead of some creepy ghost town.

What truly mattered is that the huge gate at the end of the path was very out of place. It was intricate metalwork, where she hadn't seen a scrap of metal so far, and decorated with art in relief. While her vision was good enough in the dark, she picked up a glowing rock under her feet to illuminate and examine the details.

The bottom seemed to depict people, perhaps an army given their weapons and armors. There weren't many features to try and determine their species, though it stood out to Verona that they didn't have fins nor tentacles nor any features common in the aquatic people of the planet. Much like Verona herself they had only two arms and two legs, and something like hair, but no ears atop their heads, not to mention warlions would never depict warriors like that, all that equipment was dishonorable to them. Yet here one of the soldiers' weapons was the centerpiece, so big it was likely represented out of scale.

It was an odd weapon, like a spear, with several sharp ends instead of only one, spreading out in different directions. It was raised above the soldier's head, against... something. It was massive and Verona couldn't make out much of the shape, only that it had claws or tendrils or whatever those sharp things were turned against the army, so it was likely their enemy. From where the odd spear pierced it ran a crack, farther and farther up to the top of the gate, so high Verona couldn't see, tearing the enemy's image in half.

The chaotic shape of the crack was much like a lightning bolt, which got Verona's attention. Was that really a spear, or a lightning rod? She had no idea what a lightning rod even looked like, but they had come here to investigate a myth about thunderstorms, so it would be promising if the scene depicted was related.

Unfortunately that was as far as her thoughts went, she had no clue what that image was trying to tell. She almost wished Chrys was there, they were the artsy one who knew how to interpret stuff. At the same time Chrys was a rod of all kinds of trouble so she was glad they agreed to stay where it's safe this time.

...As she thought that, she turned to take a good look around and confirm they hadn't sneaked in after all. With friends like that who needs to be wary of enemies. But the cave looked as empty as always. Well, Cheryl was probably watching over her, but Verona had no hope of besting her stealth skills, and it was her actual job. If that master monster (monster master? whatever) stood past this gate, it was they likely hoped to trap her within the chamber as soon as she came in. She had to believe Cheryl would find a way to get past that and back her up.

Done with the observation, she took a step forward and attempted to open the gate. It was heavy and felt stuck for a moment, before sliding to the sides slowly, and to her surprise flooding the cave with light much brighter than the glowing rocks around.

The chamber was a well-lit room, white lights on in the high ceiling behind transparent panels. The floor was still made of the same round dark blue stones, though their glow was dimmer, while the walls and ceiling were a mix of rectangular slabs of the same material, golden metals panels and the occasional tube or wire twisted in weird directions. There were also several golden pillars in that same supposedly-a-lightning-rod shape spread evenly through the room, and in the center of it was...

Not a monster, but a nightmare and a ghost.

A little sister, looking just the same as when Verona last saw her.

<prev   next>[coming soon] read from the start

[starsword-library]

“Wait, it’s you?” Verona exclaimed. Whatever Cheryl shot had fallen to the ground with a muffled thud, enveloped in some viscous cage that Verona found disgusting and a bit familiar.

“Oh, you know them, dear?” Cheryl peeked from behind her. “Hmm, two wings, big red eye, that’s very much what you described from your last trip, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, spying on us again!” Verona unsheathed her claws. “You’re making it personal now, freak!”

“Aah!” The monster flopped away from her as much as they could, the cage wobbling and tumbling sideways with the movements. “I’m outta here, I’m-” They shut their eye tight and their body darkened for a moment, but quickly snapped back to normal colors. “I, what is this horrible cage, it sealed my form?”

“So it seems,” Cheryl said with a smile, “a bunch of you have been so frail as to poof at the first hits in battle, and then Verona said you were being slippery on purpose too, so we had to figure something out.”

“Yeah, who made this in such short time, though?” Verona asked.

“No giving info in front of the enemy, dear,” Cheryl answered, not taking her eyes away from the monster. Verona huffed, but didn’t press it.

The monster suddenly perked up, twisting into an upright position and stretching their wings as much as they could, giving both women a fierce look. “Well, it doesn’t matter!” My master wanted to meet you here anyway, that you would come so fast without an invite is just a lucky coincidence! Hehe, thank you for making it easier for us.”

Verona hissed, while Cheryl remained undeterred. “You’re welcome,” she almost sang. “What does that master of yours wants from us, though?”

“A mere courtesy he offers to all noble heroes, don’t worry. I can’t give the details, it would ruin the point.”

“Fascinating.” She turned to Verona. “What do you think, darling?”

“Obvious and lazy trap, but we can’t ignore a monster hanging on an inhabited planet, especially a ‘master’ of some sort. I go meet him, you stay behind to look after this idiot and help if you find an opening.”

“That’s my job,” she did a carefree salute, a tentacle cheerfully tracing an arc past her head, “I’ll support you when you least expect it.”

<prev   next> read from the start

[starsword-library]

[starsword-library]

[starsword-library]

“I’m fairly sure you were around when we decided I was coming here alone,” said Verona, side-eyeing her girlfriend, who had somehow silently followed her to the cave’s entrance. What she had just said was a bluff, honestly. While she knew Cheryl had been walking close to her when they arrived at the lake, she wasn’t sure at all if she had stayed around while the group talked, because it was hard to keep track of Cheryl sometimes.

“Oh don’t worry dear, I heard everything, but I came prepared from the start,” Cheryl answered, tapping the bow of her hat, which produced an unusual clicking sound. “Wouldn’t be my first time in a thunderstorm.”

“I’m both frightened and intrigued.” Verona said, raising an eyebrow. Cheryl just laughed. “I’ll tell you later, then. But it is funny that you all came here without realizing the danger.”

“It wasn’t that funny, and I am ready for danger at all times, okay?” That earned more giggling from Cheryl. “This whole thing sounded pointless from the start, I didn’t think we’d do much, I came to keep an eye on them if anything popped up anyway. Let’s just take a look around and maybe they’ll drop it.”

Cheryl nodded and they entered the cave. The rocks were damp and slippery, and their eerie glow made it easier to see the narrow pathways within the cave, surrounded by still waters.

“But you know,” Cheryl said, tapping her chin, “it is weird how that little scientist came here without a plan.”

“Yeah, I wanted to keep an eye on her too, I don’t,” her hands tightened into fists, “I don’t like any of this, okay? I’m letting this be ‘cause Chrys wants it, this magical thing is everything to them. I’m, I’m trying to make peace with it but, I still don’t like it. It’s their lifeforce, it’s not supposed to be played with like that, and if it comes to hurting themself to help others, I know they’ll do it all the time. And I can’t say anything, ‘cause it’s their choice, also I’m the same anyway. But for a random one to come and encourage this, to treat it like an experiment, I can’t stand it. I don’t know how long I’ll be putting up with this.”

Cheryl came closer and gently squeezed Verona’s shoulder. “I knew you wouldn’t be okay with this, dear, even if you are right that it’s Chrys who gets to decide anyway. I, have an odd feeling about this all too. Far it be from me to suspect my boss and coworkers,” she raised a tentacle dramatically, “but everyone jumped in this magic gun a bit too eagerly. Ash was let in too easy because of it, then Mag, and now even Staph suddenly cares enough about some urban legend, and the boss has been consulting they and their datefriend about this sometimes? We’re definitely in for more than just Chrys becoming a healing wand, I just wish I knew what’s the plan, if there’s any.”

Verona stared at her and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m concerned at how do you know all that as usual, but I guess I did sign up for this.”

“You very much did, darling,” Cheryl winked, striking a pose with a tentacle on her hips.

“Yeah, yeah,” Verona rolled her eyes, “but what does Ash have to do with this? Nothing had happened to Chrys at that time, ey just joined the team quickly because we need all the help we can get against the monsters. At least that’s what I was told.”

“That was the verdict, yes, but not the reason ey were considered in the first place. We’re a forgiving place, but a criminal with ties to Aries wouldn’t have been excused that easily, ey’re not even that sorry about eir misdeeds. What picked the Sidereals’ interest was the curse rumors.”

“You mean, that ey’ve been cursed to burn forever? Fairly sure ey admitted emself that was a lie. Ey have a million backstories like that, Chrys thinks ey don’t know the truth emself, you know, they’re like, the mystery past duo, that’s the basis for that relationship I think.”

“Fair enough,” Cheryl laughed, then took off her hat for a moment to wipe off something, except Verona didn’t buy the act and was immediately alarmed. “But yes, they also concluded it wasn’t true, but still kept em around for the firepower.” She flipped the hat to wipe off the other side, exposing what Verona knew was an inventory warp. “I feel they’re still hoping for something to come up on that front.”

In a blink she pulled out a gun off the warp and shot it towards the ceiling. A yelp rang out, and something came crashing from above. Verona rushed to get Cheryl behind her, both assuming a defensive stance, Cheryl’s weird looking gun firmly aimed at the newcomer.

“Speaking of, something came up on our front, dear.”

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[starsword-library]

To Verona’s pleasure, they indeed found a path across the lake, made of the same dark blue rocks as the mountain ahead.

“Magical or not these things sure are slippery,” Verona warned, “be careful not to fall.”

“Yup,” Chrys agreed. “Good thing we’re looking for a cave, if we had to climb the mountain if would be nasty, to say the least.”

“I wish I knew more about geology to understand these rocks,” Mag said, picking up a few loose pebbles, “but the texture looks different than Curit metal at least. We really seem to be dealing with something new.”

“You know any way we can test their magicness?” Chrys asked, rubbing and clicking some pebbles together. “I don’t feel anything from them, but it’s not like I realized Curit was doing something to me back then, you know.”

“Unfortunately I don’t have any equipment on me that can measure Star Beating in objects. That’s why I’m collecting some, so we can take a look at them later. You should be alert to how bigger rock structures feel to you, though. My theory was that you reacted to the energy flow of the big buildings of Curit, after all. If any little item helped you, you would have probably unlocked your powers long ago just with regular items.”

“Fair enough, I’ll stay tuned.”

Verona looked up, and then stopped walking, ears twitching.

“Well, for what’s worth, I can feel something in this place,” she said.

“You mean the gathering of clouds up there?” Chrys said, pointing upwards, where a mass of clouds hung above the mountain’s peak, even though the rest of the area was clear. “Yeah, Asterozone is a rainy place, probably because of all the water, and sometimes it gets weird like that.”

“That’s not what I meant, I meant what you were just talking about.” She turned to them. “You said it yourself before, didn’t you? That our powers could be kind of similar? Nemean training does involve controlling the Star Beating inside us, and then our skin has a special reaction to it. It’s not magic because we can only control our own, within our own body, but you did something to me back then, and honestly that was creepy, I’m still not sure how I feel about that, but it made me think if I can do anything to others too, and I think I can sense stuff at least. Maybe, maybe I’ve even felt it before when-” she glanced at Mag for a moment then looked away from all of them, “when you regenerate, I mean.”

Chrys’ eyes widened at her after hearing that. They quickly changed that to a smile, though far from the usual one. “You never mentioned that but sure, fun, so let me see I got it right,” they said fast, getting closer to her, “you mean there’s magic in the clouds, is that it? You think we should be paying attention to that instead of mountain, is that it?”

“Kinda, and you don’t need to be so desperate to change the subject, I wasn’t going to dwell on it,” she said with a scowl, and after a moment pat their head a little, looking away. That softened up their expression. “I mean, it’s just a feeling I have so let’s not ignore the darn mountain when we came for it, I’m just saying that the clouds might be important.”

“Oh, that makes sense actually!” Mag exclaimed. “The story says that the magic happens when lightning strikes. If the clouds are charged with magical power, then the lightning must bring it down. Now we just need to understand how the cave reacts to it, and everything will be explained!”

“You’re probably right, nice job Mag,” Chrys grinned at her, “So, we just gotta observe the cave for a while, I guess?”

“Is it even safe to just stay here and wait for a thunderstorm? I think we did not think this through.”

“You’re right…” Mag’s ears drooped. “Maybe we should keep some distance, or return later with better equipment.”

“Well, I can take a look at least, I’m not wasting this trip,” Verona said. “But yeah, you should all stay back unless it clears up.”

<prev   next> read from the start

[starsword-library]

Verona landed the ship on a deserted beach close to the coordinates she had of Staph’s hometown. Not that they were expecting to see it. Asterozone’s inhabitants were aquatic and needed extra equipment to be able to breathe out of water. Few of them would go through such hassle if they didn’t have any intergalactic business to conduct, and this town looked very far from any bustling metropolis.

“Makes you wonder what kind of kid Staph was to sneak out up here of all places,” Verona pointed out as they walked through the grey sand, looking for signs of the so-called Jellyfish Graveyard which, according to what they researched before leaving, was supposed to be on the surface. “I mean, sure, I’ve done my share of stupid escapades as a kid, but I didn’t steal diving gear for it at least.”

“Well, we know what kind of adult Staph is now,” Cheryl laughed. “Always thought they were too spunky to be just on the maintenance side of things.”

“Yeah I dunno, I don’t actually know them much. Or Vinessa too,” Verona  added.

As they went further, the sand gave place to purple rocky terrain with the  occasional patch of dark grass. The few animals on the way would quickly flee, probably not used to strangers walking around. But the team’s eyes weren’t so much on that as they were on the dark blue mountain peak that could be seen in the distance. That was their destination. It reminded Mag of home, of Curit’s giant buildings made to absorb and conduct Star Beating. She wondered if the material was really similar. Staph had mentioned the cave glowed, and Curit’s metal did no such thing.

As they got near, they were greeted by a huge wall of purple bricks.

“Yeah, this should be it,” said Verona, looking on her phone, “seems like the wall was built to discourage people from going in, but it’s not even guarded? I guess it’s a hassle to put people here when you all live underwater.”

“Still, it’s awful that a historical site is treated this way!” Mag pouted. “I should report that to the responsible authorities.”

Verona sighed, not taking her eyes off her phone. “What makes you think they don’t know already, they’ve dealt with the planet longer than us. Let’s just be grateful it makes it easier for us to sneak in, there’s should be a gate somewhere around according to this.”

“If it was being overseen properly we wouldn’t need to sneak in!” Mag rebutted as they started to go around the wall, “we could just ask for permission, we’re researching the place after all.”

“That really works for you every time?”

“Mostly, it’s impossible to get isolated planets to cooperate, unfortunately, but we get clearance from the majority of the integrated ones. Professor Wiz and the rest of university staff deal with the paperwork so I don’t know the details, but who would want to hamper the progress of healing technology, we do provide it to the whole galaxy in return!”

“That’s a fair point,” Cheryl said, joining the conversation, “we all own Curit more than we realize, don’t we? Guess that explains why the boss accepted you coming over so quickly, he must really respect your work.”

“That’s good to know,” Mag smiled, “I was surprised too, I never heard of any other student who got to work with the Defense Force, they say you usually stay out of public view unless there’s danger around. I expected to go my whole life without meeting you.”

“So I gotta know,” Chrys chimed in, grinning as usual, “are we worth getting shot by robots? I’m gonna hear ‘yes’ no matter what you say because I know we’re great, I just wanna see if you know it too.” Verona and Cheryl were both snickering at that.

“Uh, I,” Mag stuttered, her hands shaking in the air, “I don’t think there’s a good answer to this, I won’t celebrate that a crisis happened, but I don’t regret anything from that time either, I guess I’m just glad you saved us, and now I know firsthand how important your job is, so I just want to get good results for you all as soon as possible.”

“Then guess you’re in luck, ‘cause I think I see the gate right there,” Verona said, pointing ahead, and she was right.

It was a gate made of rusty blue bars, locked with a padlock and chain that looked just as old and worn out. That wasn’t the part that got their attention though. Behind the gate was a huge lake surrounded by lush grass, and on the other side they could finally see the base of the dark mountain they were chasing so far. Mag saw from the corner of her eye that Chrys already had got their camera out, already taking shots.

“Sure hope the entrance has a solid path to it somewhere, I’d hate to swim through all that,” said Verona, one foot already in the gate’s bars. “Anyone’s gonna need help climbing this?”

“Thank you, but I can fly over it just fine,” Mag said.

“Hey, that’s right,” Verona turned to her, “you could have flown over the wall all this time, couldn’t you? Not that it’d be too helpful if you can’t carry people. Can you?”

Mag shook her head. “I don’t think so, our flight ability is magical so we can move with little effort, but that don’t apply to moving other things. That requires much more strength.”

“Yeah, I thought that would be too absurd.”

“Indeed, I guess those of us in need will have to stick to the ladyknight and no one else, right?” Cheryl winked at Verona, but she seemed to ignore it, already starting to climb.

“No you won’t, you have a lot more limbs than me and I know you can put them to use.”

Chrys raised their hand. “So, what would happen if I tried to take on the offer?”

“I’ve seen you climb straight walls, you can do this!” she shouted exasperately, already on top of the gate.

“Okay Verona so for who, exactly, were you offering help?” Chrys asked, a arm vaguely gesturing to the rest of the team.

Verona landed on the other side with a jump, and turned back to them, waving her arms in Mag’s direction.

“I forgot Mag flies, okay? She’s always on our height so I, it just slipped my mind! She’s the newbie so she gets the help, you two just like playing dumb and I’m not helping, I’m having a lazy loop this time!”

“This wounds me,” Cheryl pouted. “But I suppose a bit of exercise is fine,” and she began climbing, slower than Verona. Meanwhile, Chrys took off their boots and launched themself on the wall, somehow clinging to it and moving up. It took Mag a moment to remember they had claws, that was probably how they were doing it.

Thus they all got to the other side, Verona gently helping Cheryl to come down despite their early banter. Mag carried Chrys’ boots with her, though they didn’t put them back on.

“Thanks Mag, but just leave them around here, I’ll pick them when we come back, don’t wanna them getting dirty or ripped with all this.”

Verona stared at them, raising an eyebrow. “What’s this now, you never cared before. Given everything they go through I’d guess they are sturdy enough for you.”

Chrys shrugged. “I guess.”

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[starsword-library]

As Verona kept bragging about, travelling to Asterozone was easy and fast, as the planet was full of life and thriving businesses. Mag spent most of the short trip talking with Chrys, as they asked for help with a peculiar task.

“You want to name your spells?”

“Well, I thought it would be both useful and fun,” Chrys said, “because last time I didn’t do healing, I did a different thing to help Verona recover from using her skill. So if I keep learning new things with new effects it will be hard to keep track of them all if we keep calling them ‘Chrys’ spell, oh no, not this one, the other’. Better to clear up what we’re talking about, right?”

“Yes, that makes a lot of sense!” Mag nodded excitedly. “I still don’t fully get what your second spell was, but it was indeed not healing, so we should record these variations. Do you have any names in mind already?”

Chrys got up from their sitting position on the floor, pulled out a small notepad from their pouch and read from it:

“My star mute for ages Tripped in shadows and let out a yelp It still won’t give useful answers But it answers now”

Mag blinked, unsure of what she had just heard. What part of that was the name?

“That,” Chrys explained, picking up a few pages between their fingers, “was the eleventh pitch, before I gave in to the fact science will probably want something more direct, so maybe we can just call it Star Heal.”

“That sounds more reasonable, if a bit simple. But the techniques used in healing items have more formal names, so maybe keeping it simple will help distinguish from those, actually. Besides, it’s your power so it’s fair that you get to choose. I, did not understand your other idea though.”

“Not really an idea, I never named anything other than art pieces so I started writing poems to jog my mind I guess. Then I realized I suck at naming those too.” They laughed, waving the notepad carelessly, the pages they had previously picked up flapping up and down. “Now I just have some poems.”

“I see. I don’t really understand poetry, but you did just give a good name suggestion, so maybe it did help after all.”

“Nah, I just stopped the silly streak eventually and looked up videogame stuff instead, if there’s one thing that knows about classifying spells it would be those, you know.”

“Oh, you’re right! I used to check some of those for that exact reason. Most are just fiction but I’ve seen some based on actual myths.” Mag sighed. “I’d love to reference them too, but I don’t recall any spell being mentioned by name in the ancient texts I’ve studied. They all seemed to be from people who were just meeting the spellcasters, not anyone that already had the knowledge.”

“That sucks in the sense that we won’t get any help from them, but I’m kinda thrilled to blaze the trail, you know. We can start simple but as the spells get stronger we gotta give them some flair, the moment I do something worth calling ‘Supernova Healing’ or something you’ll know I’ve made it in life.”

“That makes no sense, supernovas collapse, that implies something that’s getting weaker actually.” Weaker and dying, which did not sound good at all for a power that ran on Chrys’ life force, but she didn’t want to bring it up unless they pushed it. It had been a while since Chrys had said reckless things.

They frowned at Mag’s words. “Oh. Damn Mag, I think you just ruined a lot of dramatic titles around the galaxy right now.” They shrugged. “Eh, I’ll figure something else when I get there. I knew cool names were more the warrior side of things. For example,” they raised their voice, turning to the pilot seat, “I bet Verona could pull it off right.”

Cheryl, next to Verona, turned to them, eyebrows raised. Verona however remained unmoved, save for an ear twitching.

The scene remained frozen like that for a moment, Cheryl having turned back to Verona, still with a puzzled expression. Then Verona’s shoulders rose and fell as she sighed loudly, and slowly turned to face Chrys.

“Alright. I’ll bite. What are you talking about.”

“Naming your attacks, like those action series, you know the ones, ‘Take this, my Fist of Destruction!’, that kinda thing.”

“I’m unbiting it, shut the hell up.” She turned back to the controls.

“I mean, it can be workshopped,” said Cheryl. She —Mag had asked her actual pronouns after hearing she was Verona’s girlfriend— had a finger over in her mouth in a thoughtful way, or maybe it was just to hide the smirk in her lips.

“Cheryl, no, c’mon, you’re my only hope here!”

Cheryl got up from her seat and spun away from Verona in a graceful motion. “Shocking twist, t’was I, the traitor!” She announced with arms stretched wide. “See, that’s the kind of emotions we need to aim for here, the hot burning thrills of a warrior of justice! The Golden Fist of Payback! The Sacred Claws of Smiting Evil!”

“The Onslaught of Retribution, doom of every wrongdoer!” Chrys added.

“If I did not love this ship so much I would be flinging it into the nearest star right now,” Verona screeched, “that’s how much I hate this conversation!” But her voice cracked up at the end and she couldn’t hold back the laughter, so maybe that was a lie.

It was with that merry mood that the ship finally landed on their destination.

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[starsword-library]

“So, you three have work to do somewhere?” Cheryl asked, after bringing everyone’s food to the table. “I never see your face here unless Verona’s taking you somewhere, dear.” They pointed at Chrys.

“I’ll ignore the sour note on that sentence ‘cause my money is fine where it is, thank you, so yeah, we’re going to Asterozone check out some magicky folktale that sounds fake, but my stuff also sounds fake so at this point who knows, you know?”

“I know it doesn’t sound likely,” Mag added, “but my entire work has been finding links between myths of different planets, so there is a chance we can find something useful.”

“It sure is an interesting line of work,” Cheryl said, “and it’s been a while since I’ve been on Asterozone, it’s a beautiful planet for diving and sailing and all the aquatic fun.”

“You’re sounding like you wanna come,” Verona raised her eyebrows at them, smiling, “but we’ll likely just be talking to a bunch of superstitious folk and then checking out a graveyard of all things, it’s not some fun vacation, Cheryl.”

“It totally is, because you said you didn’t want hard work these loops,” Cheryl said, arms wrapping around Verona’s neck, one playfully poking her cheek. “Besides, trips for learning can be quite charming if you’re on the right spirit, if you keep this up I’ll really have to go and make sure you’re not wasting a lovely time being grumpy.”

Verona rolled her eyes. “You sap of a girlfriend. You sure it’s fine for you? You’re literally in the middle of your job.”

“Oh don’t worry, no one will forget how delicious my food is after a single loop, I’ve done this before. Besides, after watching you all do your job maybe it will be easier to convince the kids everything’s fine.”

“Well, if you think it’s gonna help then sure.”

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[starsword-library]

“Sorry Cheryl, I didn’t realize-” Verona was talking to the alien who had remained in the room.

“She’ll be fine, don’t apologize, I’ve been talking things with her from the start,” they said, putting a tentacle on Verona’s shoulder and giving her a light peck on her cheek. “It’s just, she had a fight with Mel so things will be harder for her for a while, you know how close they are.”

“Yeah, of course this is all a mess isn’t it?” Verona said, shaking her head. “Is Dust playing mediator then? Don’t envy him a bit, though this is his fault too so noose fits the crime I guess.”

Cheryl chuckled. “We’re all goofing up a bit with this, I can’t be that harsh on the kid.” They then put the tip of their tentacles on their hips. “But that’s enough standing around in my place, alright? I know you’re all here for breakfast so no reason we can’t talk with a full table, right? You two getting the usual?” Chrys and Verona nodded. “And you dear,” they turned to Mag, “it’s your first time here, so here’s the menu, no rush in deciding.”

Mag picked up the paper, barely looking at Cheryl. She had been all that time staring blankly at where Dust had been. “He’s a cometfish, isn’t he?”

“Uh, what?” Cheryl blinked in surprise. “You mean Dust? I have no clue what species he is, honestly.”

“Yeah no one keeps track of that, why do you care?” Verona added.

Mag’s hands moved up and down emphatically. “This isn’t any species. Cometfishes are a myth. Just like camouflaging chamedrakos are a myth. Just like you,” she pointed at Chrys, “are a myth. Is everyone in this force a living legend?”

“Not me, I’m just a Nemean,” Verona answered immediately with a wide and snarky smile that turned into a sneer terrifyingly fast. “Seriously, what’s wrong with you, someone just had a panic attack in front of you and this is what you care about? Curit is a ball in the middle of nowhere but I thought they still taught some manners there!”

Mag flinched at the words. “I’m, sorry, I didn’t mean to be hurtful, it’s just been in my mind since I arrived, that’s all. And I do worry for how that worker acted, but what can I do, I don’t even know who they are. Was that because of me? Why?” Despite having started apologetic, Mag became more frantic as she talked. She had some frustrations built up from the last loops. “I barely arrived here, I don’t know why that other kid broke into my room, I’m still learning a lot of things, and I’m willingly to do anything to work well along you but I can’t do it if I don’t know what’s wrong!”

Verona looked away, still gritting her teeth. Chrys looked like they were about to say something, but Cheryl opened their mouth first:

“Sorry dear, we do owe you an explanation, we didn’t think things would get this hectic with your arrival.” They looked at the other two, a tentacle on Verona’s shoulder. “Verona, Chrys, you two can pick your table already, I’ll bring your orders soon.”

“Cool, very subtle way to defuse the situation I guess,” said Chrys.

“Ah shut it, you do the same all the time,” Verona sneered, grabbing them by the hood and pulling them away. Cheryl chuckled at their antics before turning back to Mag.

“So you see, that girl who was just here, she isn’t really an official worker here, she’s too young. She just likes the cafe, so I teach her some stuff, let her help around.”

“That makes sense, Chrys did mention the other kid was too young to be a member of the force too. Is it the same for Dust? He invited me to his workshop, but he also said his parent works here, so is that it? Are they all children of the Defense Force’s members?”

“Dust, yes. He’s pretty much a genius, that kid. His parent has taught him a lot on robotics and programming, he’s certainly going to join the force officially as soon as he hits adulthood.” Cheryl laughed. “Maybe by then he’ll be less of a prankster.”

“Well, he did apologize to me, so I think he learned his lesson. I’m not angry at him.”

“That’s good to hear, he did look a tad too cheery for someone who got the scolding of his life, I guess it’s because he fixed things with you at least. That’s great.” Their expression then fell a bit, although keeping the kind smile. “But like I was saying, that’s just Dust. Liza and Mel’s situation is more delicate. They don’t have parents. The Force took them in after an accident with their family, they’ve had it rough.”

“I see.” Mag knew that would be a traumatic thing for most kids, even if she could not empathize much. She didn’t know her parents, nor did she get attached to any of her caretakers in childhood. Because of her special treatment as a mutant, she grew more interested by the researchers overseeing her. Professor Wiz in particular had been with her since always, even now he was her main role model as to what she should be as an adult. But that wasn’t the same as a parent, right?

Still, she tried to imagine how she would’ve felt if she had lost Professor Wiz back when she was younger.

…

Oh.

That was possibly the worst thing to imagine.

Cheryl was still talking. “So they are a bit scared of certain things, that’s why Mel pulled that on you, they got worried about something and went overboard. We should have watched them more closely. And Liza got very angry when she found out, and at the same time she worries for them, you know? She feels very responsible for Mel in general, so she blames herself for letting them be so reckless, and at the same time she’s afraid you’ll hurt them back. It’s all very silly, but she has reasons to feel that way, it’s a long story, I don’t wanna talk about it behind their backs.”

“That makes sense, I guess. Can I just talk to these two then? I mean,” she pouted, “if Mel didn’t apologize so far I guess they still wouldn’t listen to me, but what about Liza? Should I clear things up with her? I have no intention of hurting anyone. I just want an apology, and if they hate me too much for one, then I just want them away from me.”

“I was hoping for something like that, yeah, but given how she acted here, she’s still really shaken up, so maybe give her some more time, okay? But I’ll let her know how you feel. Then she can decide when to talk to you.”

“Thanks. I hope she feels better soon.”

“Me too, dear. And,” they tapped the menu in Mag’s hands, “about time you too feel better with some food in your stomach! I can help you pick something if you unsure, I’ll be working on the others’ food while you think.”

<prev   next> read from the start

[starsword-library]

Verona looked unimpressed by the whole plan as Mag explained it, yet she accepted to give them a ride immediately.

“I mean, sounds like a wild chase if you ask me, people look at any spooky place and say it’s magical, it’s just like, easy answer to things. But sure, it’s Asterozone, getting there is a breeze anyway, and I don’t wanna pick another serious job yet, I’d rather look after you for now and get some rest.”

“Oh, so being around me is relaxing now?” said Chrys with a wide grin.

“Don’t make me go back on this you troublesome jerk, you need me for the ride.”

“Fair, no trouble until we get there.”

The shopping district was a maze of buildings all in some shade of red, with no shortage of diners, cafes and restaurant right at the entrance. Mag followed Chrys and Verona into one of moderate size, with tables, chairs and benches made of a wine red colored wood.

There was no one at the tables when they entered, but the sound of chatter led their eyes to the counter. Mag quickly recognized one of the people there as Dust, but didn’t know the other.

Judging by the apron and how they were handling plates on a cupboard, they probably worked there. They looked like a chamedrako, but the face was somewhat different than the usual, with a longer snout and sharp teeth poking out.

Mag wasn't sure if that was a normal variation, nor did she had the time to ponder, because as soon as they turned to her, their eyes widened, and their scales gained stripes of a more intense color (the actual color changing trait of chamedrakos, Mag recognized). The room was filled by the sound of glass breaking, a plate meeting an unfortunate end.

"Liza?" Dust yelped in surprise, head quickly turning from the newcomers back to the worker. He reached a fin to them, but they flinched backwards.

"I'm sorry!", they shouted, hands clawing their head, "I'm sorry Im' sorry I'll, I'll get..."

Their words became a jumbled mess as they rushed to the back door, barely noticing that someone had just come out of there to see the mess.

"Oh dear, that went badly," the new alien pouted, "Dust, can you go after her? I can clean this in a blink, tell her it's fine."

"Yeah of course!" he said, flying over the counter and to the back door.

Flying.

Oh.

<prev   next> read from the start

[starsword-library]

"Asterozone, huh? Been a while since I've been there, didn't hear about any magical lightning either, wanna check it out then?" Chrys said as soon as Mag told them everything. "We can ask Verona to take us there I guess."

"It's a stretch, but I don't have any other plans yet so I thought it could be interesting to look into it," Mag answered. "Better than repeating the same tests for you, and even if your magic doesn't react to that cave, the myths might still be worth checking out. They might be related to the other myths of spellcasting I know."

"Sure, then let's ask her. We gotta have some food first though. I haven't shown you the shopping and food areas yet, have I? Let's go wake Verona up with the promise of breakfast at Cheryl's so that she doesn't hate us so much for it."

"Why would she?" Mag asked. "She is usually not awake this early?"

Chrys chuckled. "It's always too early for Verona."

They took the elevator to the base floor of the dorm building and Chrys led Mag to Verona's room, knocking a few times.

"What's it?" came Verona's voice from inside.

"We gonna grab food at Cheryl's, you coming?"

"Just a moment," she answered, and Chrys dropped to the ground, hands behind their head like someone fully ready to relax for a while.

But Verona did come only a moment later, briefly looking at Mag and nodding as a small greeting before scowling down at Chrys, who had already got up to a sitting position with a look of surprise in their face.

"Huh, you were actually up already?"

"Yes, you jerk, now get up too."

"Hey, I'm not mocking you, you know," Chrys said, getting back on their feet as she asked. "Just wondering. Would you feel better or worse if I also claimed to be worried?"

"Worse. I'd rather you just be as nosy as your face shows," she answered as they headed out of the building. "It was nothing, I just had a stupid dream and woke up a bit earlier, that's all."

"The kind of stupid that makes you wanna mock your subconscious like a 0 stars movie review or the kind you don't wanna talk about?"

"The latter. The review just says 'nope', and the stars are upside down, and I guess also not there because there are zero of them." She slapped a hand on her head. "Why do I even play these games with you, it already got stupid too."

"I dunno, Verona," they said, laughing, "you picked the option to not talk and then talked, can't really blame me here."

"Sure, whatever."

"If it helps I can do mine too, I'd say..." They spun a finger in circles while trailing off, "three out of five chalks. No magical revelations this time, just Monice Glory and our ever growing flower graffiti, were just chilling to be honest. Three out of five chalks."

"So you dreamed of the same thing again, huh?" Verona pointed out. "I've heard some people's dream pick off from where they stopped last time but honestly didn't think it was true."

"You said there was nothing about your magic this time," Mag said, joining the conversation, "but did she say anything new about herself? Any info helps if we'll try to figure out who she is."

"Yeah, we should get into that soon I guess," said Chrys. "Fun thing is that this time the place wasn't totally empty, she was drawing more flowers on some wall, she didn't know where it had come from either. I felt it was a spaceship and she mentioned it's been a long time since she had been to space. Which is normal I guess, but if we are just unlucky enough we might be chasing some really secluded girl too."

Verona rolled her eyes. "Fantastic. So we're not gonna just be able to search the internet, figure it's just some actress your brain got stuck on, there mystery solved, that's what you mean?"

"That was my feeling, yeah, but I didn't do this obvious thing yet so might as well start now," they said, pulling out their phone and starting to type on it.

"Yup," they said after a few swipes on the screen, "gotta say pals, these results look preeeetty disappointing, I think the internet just let us down."

"Yeah it does that sometimes," Verona snorted at her own remark.

"So she is either hard to find, or simply made up from your subconscious, that complicates things," Mag said. "I guess studying this kind of repeated dream is the way to go. Have you been writing them down? I can record everything you tell me but as the actual dreamer you can likely do it in more detail. Also, keep telling us if you have more of them."

"Yeah, sure, if she comes by again I'll just ask her things. It's kind of fair, you know, this time she asked me a lot about my travels. She really loved it, I had the feeling she was kind of adventurous herself, so I'd like to hear what she has to share too."

Verona stared intently at them.

"Something wrong, Verona?"

She sighed. "You look kind of fond of her already, I don't know, it's gonna be weird if she doesn't exist. Or if... I don't know, literally anything, we don't know her!" she threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

Chrys just laughed. "Verona, if she's made up I can handle what my own brain throws at me, and if she's not and there's a mind control conspiracy going on, better to uncover it sooner than later, right?"

"No, that possibility hadn't even crossed and I am more worried now thanks to you, as usual!" she growled.

"Gee, wonder how you'll feel then when you find out Mag and I wanna hang out on an old graveyard for the loop."

Verona kept scowling at them for a moment, and then very slowly turned to Mag, her mouth a tight line as if trying to hide her annoyance, though a pointy fang was still poking out of there anyway.

Mag wanted to show her annoyance too at how Chrys had turned their plans into a joke for no reason, but under that stare she couldn't find the nerve to do anything but mumble:

"That's, not how I'd have phrased that, Chrys."

<prev   next> read from the start

[starsword-library]

It was early in the morning. Chrys had already joked enough about there being no real morning or night in the dark void of space, but Mag didn’t have any other words to describe the time of loop nor did she intend to break the solid routine she had kept for a lifetime. If she was getting her full eight bells of sleep it was night. If she was getting a snack and starting out her report for the loop it was morning. Hopefully it would stay simple as that.

She was almost done with said routine when she heard a knock in the door. A surprise, but given the incident on her arrival she was glad people had the sense to knock now.

She opened it up to find the receptionist from that loop, Vinessa, with someone else she hadn’t met yet. She sure could recognize the species though! An asterfish from Planet Asterozone, often mentioned in healing classes due to their ability of-

“Good morning, Mag,” Vinessa greeted politely, and Mag had to stop her reminiscing, “I hope I didn’t wake you up or anything.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I wake up earlier than this anyway,” she answered, noticing how Vinessa too still described the time as morning normally. Maybe only Chrys had a chaotic view of things.

“That’s good to know. I just came here to hand out your official ID, it’s finally ready. I’m sorry that it took this long, especially since I heard you had trouble with the temporary one…”

“Oh, so you heard about it,” Mag says while picking up the card Vinessa handed out, “don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault, and I talked it out with who did it already. Well, one of them at least.”

“Yeah, bet you’re not the only one to give them an earful about it,” the asterfish added. “I hear those two are so grounded that fish kid shouldn’t even be floating the tip of his tail around for a while.”

Fish, huh? That was the impression Mag had gotten from Dust’s avatar on the chat, though she didn’t recognize the exact species. Not like she knew many after all. Her area of study left her with more knowledge of mythical fish that could fly through space itself than real, well known fish. Not that myths weren’t popping up everywhere in this Defense Force either way.

But a third one was just too much, wasn’t it?

Well, he was friends with the camouflaging chamedrako…

“By the way, didn’t introduce myself yet, right? Sorry about that,” the asterfish said, and Mag was glad to be dragged away from senseless speculation, “I’m Staph, I do maintenance on the inventory systems here, and I’m also Vinessa’s datefriend. They were coming here anyway and I tagged along ‘cause I was kinda curious, you’re studying something about myths for Chrys’ healing shtick, is that it?”

Oh. The topic is back already. At least that was the part Mag was supposed to think about, she thought. “Yes, that’s why I’m here.”

“That sounds like a fun job!” they smiled. “You looked up anything on the Jellyfish Graveyard?”

“Jellyfish Graveyard? No, I haven’t heard such a name before.”

“Yeah I thought so, it’s not a big epic tale or anything. You see, on my planet there’s this old cave complex, it’s called the Jellyfish Graveyard because an old jellyfish species used to live there but then went extinct I think, so it’s just there now, and when I was a kid I lived close to it and some people would talk about how it’s a place often hit by storms and lightning, and that if you were inside the cave when the lightning struck you’d get magical powers.”

“That’s curious. You know what the cave is made of? If it’s a material that naturally contains magical energy, or if it reacts to lightning in some odd way, that would be enough to start rumors of magical activity.”

“Sorry I can’t remember the name, I just remember, and definitely not from sneaking out there as a twerp,” they add with a sly smile, “that it’s some weird, glowy kind of rock. Like, they’re not much by themselves, but with a whole wall of them, you kinda don’t even need a lantern to explore. It’s a great place for an adventure, at least until your parents find out,” they laugh. “It’s been a long time, so I dunno if it was really anything special, but all this talk of spellcasters going around made me think of it so I thought I’d tip you on it.”

“It definitely sounds interesting, thank you!” Mag answers, already feeling the thrill of discovery as usual. This was exactly what she hoped being off-planet,  new things to research, new paths to follow. Even if that lightning thing was fake she could still dig deeper on it and try to compare it with other myths she knew. That’s what she eagerly wrote on her report after Vinessa and Staph left. Now all she had to do is discuss it with Chrys.

<prev   [extra]   next> read from the start

[starsword-library]

Well.

Chrys wasn't the only one dreaming of odd girls lately.

Hers doesn't teach magic though.

<prev   next>

[starsword-library]

The sky over the training arena was grey like static. It had always looked like static, befitting a broken country.

Throwing punch after punch at that little girl wasn't having any effect. She parried every blow, her fur sometimes glowing the golden color of Nemean armor so that no claw could make a single scratch on her.

"You need to be more careful, Verona," she would always say, with that serene, unshakable stance of hers. "A Nemean's power is to protect, right? You can't give in to your anger, you need to protect yourself first of all."

That was ironic coming from her. Wait no, it wasn't. She had always been the pacifying one, the one who lived hiding and waiting and never got into trouble. "I'm biding my time, sister, one day we'll be free to get everything we want," she would say with a cheeky grin when it was just the two of them, showing what might have been her true colors, or just her way to appease Verona. Did she even have some secret plan for her future back then, or was that just drama from a spoiled youngest sister? Everything she did was wait with that self righteous poise of hers, and in the end she got nothing. And Verona with her short temper didn't get much either.

That's what is off about this whole thing isn't? That armor, the warrior act, none of them belonged to her. "Hell, you've never been to the arena even. I've had this dream before, haven't I?"

next> <Previous Story

[starsword-library]

They entered the next room and met head on with the dragon.

It was huge, the room also being bigger to accommodate it, with shiny silver scales that shone orange when reflecting the light of the torches. It also had big blue eyes that widened as it noticed the strangers who had invaded its lair. It rose up from its lying position, stretched out its wings, looking even bigger now, and growled.

Dust got right in front of Mel and assumed a defensive position behind their shield, waiting for the dragon's first move.

The dragon swung its claw at them. Dust pushed Mel backwards and flew up with amazing speed. The claw hit the shield, bending it like trash in a single hit. Dust swung the knife at the creature's arm, but it did nothing besides a noise of metal clashing. Noticing the beast had open jaws close to them now, Dust turned and flung the wrecked shield on its face, trying to get the other side of its head, where Mel couldn't see them anymore.

Mel watched in awe and fear. Neither of them had any hope of damaging that big thing, but Dust looked so skilled up there... maybe they would find a weak spot? If so, then what Mel could do?

It was a mistake to get Dust hopeful for a superpower. Mel's special skill wasn't at all useful for this. Still, if Dust was up close to a beast's jaws and still trying their best, Mel had no excuse to not try everything.

So the next time the dragon launched a claw at Dust's direction, it was distracted by a rock hitting its belly. It quickly looked around to find the attacker, but saw nothing. That was Mel's superpower after all, camouflage.

The pebbles Mel was flinging while running around weren't doing any damage, but luckily they were enough for the creature to starting completely ignoring Dust. It dropped its head low, searching the cave floor attentively. It was the perfect chance for Dust to strike a weak point.

Except... Dust wasn't doing that. They were floating close to the dragon's head, and Mel could somewhat hear their voice, but not make out the words. Why even make out any words, why would they be talking.

They hadn't given up on fighting, had they?

That couldn't be it, that shouldn't be it. Mel had been so scared through all of this and sucked it up only because Dust did so too and it had been fun and it would be everyone's freedom but if Dust was going to give up then it had all been a waste!

"Why are you wasting time just stab it already!" Mel lashed out.

And screaming kinda defeats the point of camouflage.

The dragon reached out and Mel couldn't run in time, only kick and yell while caught in the beast's grasp.

The struggle didn't last long though, because Dust let out a scream so loud it was distorted by the speakers, and flung themself at high speed directly at beast's eye.

"Ow!" it roared, sounding surprised, and loosening its grip on Mel, who squirmed out of it.

Dust seemed to have barely seen any of it, they just kept slashing at the eye, now closed. "Don't hurt them," they screamed, "I'm your opponent, you can't hurt them, I brought them here so you can't hurt them!"

"Dust," the dragon was answering? And sounding kinda panicked too. "Dust, stop, Dust, it's me, of course I'm not going to hurt you Dust, you were the one who started fighting. Dust, listen to me."

Dust must have eventually listening, because they stopped, and went limp, arm and knife just dangling by their side as they watched the creature.

Then they screamed again.

"Par?"

Wait, what?

"Yes, Dust, it's me."

"Wait, what?" Mel couldn't help but say it out loud this time.

"And I don't believe I've met this invisible friend of yours before," the dragon said, much calmer now, as it -they?- turned to Mel's direction.

"Oh yeah." Dust flew down to Mel's side, and Mel turned off the camouflage. "This is Mel, we met not long ago in that same spot of always! They are from the institute too. And I had no clue they could turn invisible, that was your superpower? That’s awesome!"

Mel chuckled, quite proud of having impressed Dust despite not doing much, and then quietly waved hello to the dragon, not understanding what was up but deciding to play it cool. At the same time, Mel couldn’t help noticing that by the pronouns they had used, Dust really had no clue about Mel's gender. Neat. But it wasn't time to think about that, was it?

"It seems that there are many kids in that institute. It also seems that you attract them somehow, Dust." Dust only laughed at that. Mel wondered which other kids did they know. The only ones Mel know there were their own siblings, and none of them had escaped outside. "So, you made a new friend and immediately decided to drag them to a forbidden and dangerous place, is that it?"

"Uh, that's," Dust stuttered, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I just wanted to see the dragon! I knew you were doing something here and I wanted to help, but I know you don't think I'm ready yet, so I had to prove to you that I could withstand the heat and, and," they lowered their head, "then I got Mel involved and I wanted to show something cool, but instead I," Sob. Oh no, they were crying. "I, I had no idea how to..."

Their voice died down. The dragon patted their back with one of their claws, which still looked kind of scary really, but Mel could see it was a gentle move.

"Uh, Dust," Mel tapped them, trying to show them a smile, "you know I'm okay, right? I had fun and everything, you really looked cool with that knife all the way up there." It wasn't a lie. To Mel, Dust was kind of a superhero already. A silly, idiot superhero who shouldn't be crying.

Dust gave a little nod and hugged Mel with such strength that it felt like a tackle. Mel hated that they started crying too, but it had been a weird day and too much had happened. Way too much. They vaguely noticed that the dragon had started to pat their back too.

"Kids?" the creature called. "Maybe we should talk upstairs. Dust, I don't know what you did to the suit, so I'm not sure how long you can stay here."

"Yeah, and I can't wipe my tears with this helmet..." they whined, though the airy sound after might have been a laugh. Mel hoped it was. Dust then pointed to the dragon. "You coming up with this body, or...?"

Aaaand Mel was back in the "wait what" stage of things.

"No, it's too big to even go out. Also, it's not finished yet. That's why I didn't tell you about it," said the dragon, lying down and closing their eyes as if going to sleep.

The entire cave seemed to shimmer for a moment, and then change. In place of the torches that lit the place now there are simple orange lights.

"Wait, the whole cave was a hologram?" Dust said.

"Many have called my security lax, but the point still remains that I don't want to set any intruders on fire."

That was said by the dragon's voice, but it didn't come from the dragon's body. It came from the farthest corner of the room, where a door Mel hadn't seen before had opened. From there came a small cylindrical robot with wheels and a simple blue visor at the top.

Dust didn't seemed at all surprised by that, and just started talking to them, "So the whole thing in the pathway, with the flames and all, was that all hologram too?"

"Yes, Dust, in no moment did I intend to fry my own kid, or anyone else's kid," the robot said, spinning their visor between Dust and Mel, and Mel couldn't take it anymore.

"Wait, wait, wait, what is going on, Dust?" they asked, "I thought you were exploring this place for the first time, but you actually knew the dragon, and know this robot, and they have the same voice, and, wait was the dragon a robot, is that it?" It did look metallic. Mel felt stupid to only think of it after losing their cool.

"Sorry, sorry, I'll explain. I wasn't lying to you, I swear," Dust said. "You're right, the dragon was a robot, I really didn't know that, okay? I kinda started suspecting it when we finally saw it, but," they shifted uncomfortably, "I panicked when the claws came, and I just thought I had to defeat it before it hurt us. I really didn't think any of this well, sorry."

Mel didn't know what to answer. It hurt to know it wasn't a real dragon and that nothing would change, but it wasn't the first false alarm they had ever got, was it? And Dust hadn't tricked them, so it was fine.

"I apologize too," the robot said, "I should have just talked to you from the start, but, I did get curious as to how you'd act in that situation. I suppose I'm still not as optimized for parenting as I am for watching."

Dust flew to hug the bot. "No way, you're the best! I mean, the flames, the talking, you did all just like that movie we watched the other day, didn't you? That's so cool, were you really going to let me play here when it was ready?"

"Yes, I thought you'd have fun, though the overheating became a bigger problem than expected. I'll work on it, okay? And you have to promise me that you won't try to face beasts with kitchen utensils anymore."

Dust turned their head away. "Uh, yeah, sorry, it was the best I could find. Can we fix that lid or...?"

"No, I think it's beyond repair. I need to tweak the control on those claws." The robot turned to Mel again. "You're really not hurt, are you, Mel?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Looking back at it, Mel had been so scared to be caught by the dragon, they didn't realize its grasp was pretty weak for its size. The thing wasn't trying to hurt them at any moment, they were the kids who panicked. "So, you're a robot, but you're also Dust's parent, and you build other robots? Is that what's going on?"

"Basically, yes. You can call me Meta, I'm an AI made to study and simulate the galaxy's lifeforms."

"Including the rarest ones, like me," Dust chimed in, pointing to themself, "and dragons! Those are the ones we are looking for now."

"Yes, dragons have been elusive so far. The robot is based on a speculative model only."

"That's cool. My family's been looking for dragons too, for a long time, since we descend from them. My sister is super cool 'cause she looks a lot like them, she even has wings!"

"Seriously? I wanna meet her!" Dust said.

"I... have heard the stories about the chamedrakos' genealogy, yes," said Meta, not as enthusiastic as their kid, "though I never found evidence. I didn't know the institute had someone like that."

"Yeah, she's a bit sick so she can't go out much."

"Ah, that sucks, I guess it's kinda like Damian..." said Dust, "You sure you're okay there? There sure seems to be a lot of people getting sick there."

"I'm fine, I take my medicine every day so nothing's gonna happen," Mel answered. "Who's Damian?"

"I told you I had other friends from there, remember?" Dust said, "Damian was one of them. But, some time ago, he kinda uh, freaked out while we were playing." They rubbed their neck with one of their hands. "He was acting really weird and said he was sick, so he went back, and I haven't seen him since then." They turned to their parent. "You did ask about him there, didn't you, par?"

"Yes I did. They didn't tell me much, though. It's a private institute, they don't reveal much to the public. I suppose I will have to escort Mel back there now, so, I'll try to find something out."

"I can try looking for that guy too if you're worried," Mel added. "I never heard of a Damian there before, but I can ask."

"Thanks, Mel." Dust said. "And you take care too with your medicine, I wanna play with you again! You know, with an actual good plan next time."

No promises. Mel had no clue in how much trouble they'd get from sneaking out this time, it would probably be way harder to do it again. Maybe Meta could talk it out with the other adults? Who knows.

But Mel had just offered Dust help, so there was no backing out of it. They wanted to come back and play more with that weird family of two people and deadly inventions.

"Yeah, I'll take care."

_

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