watching through broken screens
before the vessel had been set into motion towards the prologue of the universe’s new story, firefly’s life consisted of being sealed inside a lifepod to recuperate from her ever diminishing health and only being able to be out in the open long enough to accomplish her tasks — SAM granting her the chance to stretch these moments of freedom ever so slightly. and because her time was fragile and limited, she rarely had the opportunity to explore the vastness of the cosmos like the rest of the stelleron hunters.
the only times she got to see more than what she could obtain on her own was when the group brought back souvenirs to keep her company while she medicated within her lifepod upon her request.
from keychains to postcards to posters that were hung around the walls in the room where she rested, firefly did not take anything brought to her — big or small — for granted. she loved every materialistic thing she was given and thanked everyone wholeheartedly for offering her that sliver of happiness despite it not being mandatory.
but her favorite had to be an animated series from a world long forgotten given to her by kafka.
one day, kafka wheeled in a small television with technology that had been severely outdated and placed it near the entrance of the pod in the perfect spot where firefly could see the screen clearly. a rectangular box-like item was then inserted into the slot of the television, and the woman pressed a button before turning to look at firefly from outside the sturdy glass.
“ i figured you might like something antique, something different. although, we might have to get silver wolf to program a means to play these for you while we are away, so you aren’t left with a static screen to stare for hours. that wouldn’t be fun. ”
then she pressed another button, and the once blue screen now showed illuminating, brilliant colors dancing around in hypnotic manners, and firefly’s sunset eyes instantly lit up in awe and wonder.
starlight brigade, the name of the show she fell in love with.
a show about a young idealist kid that goes to space and joins others like him in order to help protect the galaxy from the reaches of evil and darkness — a rather overused, cliche troupe but the girl was enamored by it. . . . because she saw herself as that kid.
spaceships, cosmic battles, teamwork, exciting adventures, conflicts, sacrifices, loss — it was as though this show was retelling her life story but with an obvious chipper tone and different twists. following the main character and imagining herself in his shoes, the girl would spend hours watching the series back-to-back as she allowed her mind to wander and envision a brighter tomorrow. eventually, silver wolf did in fact build a 3D printed remote control with all its functioning bits that worked perfectly with the ancient tech for the pod-ridden girl to be able to watch the series however she wanted with a simple press of a button.
it was her favorite thing to do after a mission.
it was rare to see firefly genuinely smile, but many sunny grins came forth when her eyes found themselves glued to the screen. the colors, the images, the characters, the messages — they were all warming and encouraging for her to relax back into. the other stelleron hunters took notice of her excitement when it came to the series as it would be a topic that firefly would share with them when given the opportunity : blade seemingly didn’t care, silver wolf suggested she could turn the old video tapes into digital copies for easier access, kafka felt a sense of pride in herself for hitting a jackpot when she found the show itself amongst the rubble, and caelus . . . caelus would give her a thumbs up and a smile.
but that thumbs up and smile spoke a million words.
because out of everyone, caelus was the only one who took interest in the pretty visuals and colors bouncing around in the strange, bygone box that was always sitting in the best angle for firefly to see. whenever he had the free time, he would enter her recovery room, grab himself a chair ( sitting on it backwards which she never understood as to why ) and watch the show with her no matter if he missed a chunk of an episode by the time he got there. of course, he would spark up a conversation, mainly asking if she was okay, before he would silence himself and allow the both of them to immerse themselves in the world of the funky cartoons fighting evil polygons in space.
and his presence always made watching the show that much more special.
however, due to her entropy loss syndrome, even while she was recovering within her lifepod, it would still drain her energy to where she sometimes ended up falling asleep in the middle of watching the show with caelus around. it would make her feel embarrassed as she considered it rude to slumber when there was another party involved, but he never brought it up. instead, whenever she did wake back up to her room covered by a blanket of darkness, the fluorescence light emitting from her pod would reveal a sticky note left on the glass with a handwritten message, always saying: sleep well, goodnight :)
and she kept every single note in a box hidden in a compartment besides her lifepod — it was her nightly good luck charm.
then one day, firefly was watching the series on her lonesome, engrossed as always as she was coming up with a million topic conversations she could bring up to caelus the next time she saw him since the two hadn’t really talked about it, and she wanted to break the ice between them a little more. but as the main character turbo-boosted his spaceship into the big lair where all the evil resided, the shockwave of the attack knocked him out cold and caused his inner light to vanish. the rest of his crewmates screamed out to him, worried for his well-being, and then the screen faded into black. shortly after, the words “To be Continued.” appeared for a brief moment before the tape ended all together.
a cliffhanger — it wasn’t a big deal. other episodes had the same transition and would pick up in the next episode.
but . . . there wasn’t another episode.
because when she asked about it to kafka, all she received was a shrug and the words “ that was all i was able to retrieve. ” and that formed a dark cloud over firefly’s head who then got drenched by the heavy rainfall that descended upon her mood. the heroes were so close to defeating the forces of evil — how can it end like this? all she was left to cling onto was the vision of the main character slumped in the back of his spaceship as darkness engulfed him infinitely ; that was not a sight she was willing to accept. it didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel justified, the heroes had done everything they could to get the happy ending they rightfully deserved . . .
despite her insides crumbling at the thought of not being able to finish the series, firefly kept her emotions in check on the outside. to be shedding tears towards something as mundane as a television show was not accepted by the terms and conditions of the military life she had escaped from — she is to venture forth no matter the circumstances.
and yet, there was caelus who wasn’t ashamed to grit his teeth and ball his fists in frustration at the revelation.
“ i’ll help you find the next episode, ” he said with full, fiery determination in his golden irises.
he had caught her as she was in the process of slipping back into her pod after a successful mission of their own, one of her hands being encapsulated by the larger hands belonging to him. the light from her sunset eyes grew dim after she confessed to him that they weren’t going to be able to watch more of the show because there was no more to watch — half of her was defeated by the fact and the other half was saddened that those special moments she spent with caelus might never reoccur again. they hadn’t talked much outside of their time together in her recovery room due to the conditions of her being stuck in the pod and him being out putting in work — so the girl begrudgingly accepted them parting away once more.
but he surprised her when he held onto her hand, looked at her with such sincerity in his eyes. the grip he had on her was undeniable, and she grew to love the sensation he offered in that very moment — her otherwise cold skin felt the relief of warmth. it was then that firefly decided she didn’t want him to let go of her hand ; she wanted this closeness to remain with her for the rest of her life and beyond death. for it was not only his touch and his eyes that pulled her into an embrace, but the energy she felt coursing through him from his pulsing palms cupping her weak hand was mesmerizing.
she wanted to be his friend.
and thus, time slipped pass between their fingers like sand as the two continued their journey through the cosmos as partners seeking closure of their favorite show. throughout, they would indulge in rewatching the series, enamored by the bright colors and joyous vibes that emitted from the screen. they no longer sat in silence but engaged in fruitful conversation about the characters and their tactics, putting themselves in their shoes to see how different the outcomes would’ve been. they shared countless smiles and laughs with one another along with tears and frustrated groans, and at the end of the day, they would both rehearse endings to their time spent together — no cliffhangers allowed.
“ i promise to give you the most beautiful daydream, ” caelus vowed to her. “ and part of that daydream includes a proper ending to our favorite show. ”
and she sealed his promise with a golden heart-shaped lock . . . even when he ultimately forgot where he placed his key.
firefly couldn’t bear to watch the show after caelus left — too many memories would distract her from continuing her lifelong mission. she asked silver wolf to store the tapes away somewhere safe until the right time would come for her to say hello to an old friend again. and yet, even as years passed, bits and pieces of the show would resurface in her mind as it never truly left her peripheral — the theme song being the catchiest as the lyrics never fogged from her memory.
as firefly finished conversing with silver wolf over the details of her mission in the land of dreams — something she had never had the opportunity to experience herself — a familiar tune floated in golden melodic notes from a distance like a siren luring her in. it was away from the path where she needed to trend on, but it would only be for a moment, the urge to follow the music was stronger. she had a few minutes to spare before she needed to position herself, so she had to act fast, sprinting through ballooned decorated streets as the music grew louder and louder until she ended up face to face with a large television screen showcasing nostalgic colors in harmonic dances.
the window of shock withered itself into a broken symphony of tears and choked sobs as firefly cowered herself with a hand covering her mouth to prevent attention from the outside to interfere with her moment of weakness. as the upbeat music continued to sway around her, she wallowed in her sadness as a contrast — visions of the times of the past flooded her mind, all with the face of caelus and his words of a promise repeating like a chorus to a song.
she had found a fragment of their show . . . but where was he and the ending he swore to find?
