Chapter 1: The Clashing Lights

Yes, this is what you think it is. When I looked back on the original story, I realized I really didn't want to continue it. It was plain that my plans for the story had evolved half-way through writing and some things just didn't fit anymore. I could have gone back and re-worked some of the chapters, but I had to ask myself if it was really worth that much effort. It wasn't really a mess, but it wasn't something I wanted to deal with it. So I decided to scrap it and start over. The original will continue to stay up since I know some people will always love it and revisit it, and I won't take that away, so don't worry there.

Secondly, this story is going to branch out a bit more. I'm not going to be following the exact game or anime formula this time, though it'll mostly stick to the anime formula. However, do not think that this is just a re-write of Shooting Stars. Some things have completely changed, some characters are completely different, and the execution of pretty much everything has been altered. Once in a while something'll happen that will abruptly alter the direction of the story, as I've decided to make some characters too rational for the plot's own good. The first chapter should give you a good idea by what I mean.

Third, the chapters will be more consistent in length, and overall shorter. Most chapters will be hovering around 4-7k words. I'm not trying to be cheap, but it makes sense to try and keep things from being overwhelming and fluctuating wildly. It also keeps scenes more separated and easier to digest.

And finally, somehow, someway, this story ended up becoming about 500% more character-focused than I ever planned. It was something that just sort of happened to fill in the gaps left behind by the shifting plot. Whether this is good or bad for you is up to personal preference, just keep that in mind if you're wondering "where are the fights?". They're still there, but just in significantly smaller numbers.

Beta: Omegaxis1

In the gentle cradle of infinite nothing, a space station drifted peacefully, turning on its great axis. The stark whiteness that would normally be described as sterile seemed to glow proudly in the sun's harsh rays. With artificial gravity, solar power, a small garden, water recycling and more, it was almost entirely self-sustaining, and one of the greatest constructs of its time.

But its goal was what was truly groundbreaking.

Contact with other intelligent life forms. And not just the old-fashioned way of using radio waves to send an outdated wavelength, taking years to even send, much less receive, anything, but faster, near real-time communication. It would only take a few weeks, or even days, to send and receive a message. It wasn't nearly as fast as what they hoped to achieve one day, but they progressed by leaps and bounds every couple of years.

At least that's what 'The Peace' was supposed to do.

The 'Brother Band', as the signal had been playfully dubbed, had never made true contact. A blip here, a few seconds or so there, but nothing that could be thought of as more than background interference. There was a false alarm several months back when they tried a new planet that got many hopes up, only for the transmission to be attributed to the abnormal magnetic field surrounding the strange rock.

Of course, this was enough to get the needed funding so the project wasn't simply canceled like its predecessor. It helped that they were designed to be a multi-function station; they were able to conduct several other experiments and even served as a hub for repair crews for the satellites. Even if contact was the main objective to the public's eye, really it was more of a pet-project tacked on at the end. Really the Brother Band was going to be applied to better communicate with future off-world mining sites. But nothing got funding and approval like 'aliens', and so turned the political machine.

And today it seemed like it would finally get the results that few expected to ever happen.

Just not the ones hoped for.

Nothing could be done against the attack, and within seconds all of their safety precautions and firewalls were obliterated. The failsafe's failsafe was greedily torn to pieces and communications collapsed when the final server nearly caught fire from the backlash. Because of this, the ground team had no idea what took place between that moment and the next three minutes and twenty seconds when the entire station abruptly experienced a catastrophic failure and exploded.

The base's destruction wasn't noticed until a full ten minutes after it happened because every person on the ground was busy trying to figure out what happened when all three of the major satellites decided to simultaneously all but shut down the moment problems arose on The Peace. And then the other support satellites abruptly began going a haywire with energy spikes they'd never even theorized were possible. More than a few of them were completely fried, and suddenly the ground was very, very, worried about chunks of metal upwards of thirty tones being knocked off course and back to Earth as the energy spikes threw their navigation systems to hell.

For several long minutes, the entire world was effectively blind.

But when the main satellites finally cut back on with a shudder, the entirety of ground control wished that they weren't able to see. Because someone took control of one of the support satellites that'd also revived when The Peace didn't come back online, and they were forced to realize that there wasn't anything there anymore. Just the scattered remains floating drunkenly or burning to ash as they fell through the atmosphere.

It would be three days before Subaru Hoshikawa learned of his father's assumed death.

It would be another six and a half months before he knew of the FM life forms.

Subaru Hoshikawa, a small burnet boy only eleven years old, simply laid on his back, staring aimlessly up at the stars with light brown eyes clouded with melancholy. For as long as he could remember he had always loved to stargaze. He knew the constellations by heart and how they changed position with the seasons, and how to tell what time of the month it was by the moon. As long as he could see the sky, he could never be truly lost; he had long ago memorized the permanent map that was the night sky. It had taken years of simply staring up at the sky, counting and watching, but when he opened a book about constellations he realized he already knew them all. He was only lacking the names.

Of course, he no longer looked up at the sky as he once did, with such fascination and wonder, but now observed it with bitter sadness and longing.

He had always felt like there was… something… up there that he wanted to see, to meet. That feeling had only amplified with the death of his father until it had turned into almost a physical need. He'd gladly give up almost anything just to know what he was looking for. And for some reason, he felt so… paranoid, like something bad was going to happen. And not just 'fail school' or even 'his father died' bad, but somehow even worse…

Like the whole friggin world was going to end or something. Subaru clutched his father's pendant tightly and felt its strange warmth.

Despite what his mother had hoped, him receiving his father's pendant and the in-progress Visualizer hadn't helped that feeling the least bit. In fact, it had only made it several times worse, to the point he wondered if his father's spirit were haunting him. But he could see she was hurting so much and trying so hard to keep everything stable for his sake, so he couldn't bring himself to tell her. And he lied smoothly with a smile and buried his worries under rigorous self-education and research. Maybe if he learned everything he wanted, he'd be able to figure out what this feeling was. If nothing else, stuffing his mind with knowledge squeezed out his worries, and he was pretty sure it'd become a coping method. But at least it was a productive one.

Letting out a sigh, Subaru tried to wipe such thoughts from his mind. His father had died, and there was no way he could say that it didn't bother him in some way. It was something that was hard at any age, much less when he was barely eleven. Heck, he hadn't been to school since the… event, and the only reason he acted anything near normal because he had to be strong for his mother. Just like she was for him.

His mom had taken the loss hard, grieving for months and not going to work for as long as she could, listlessly dragging herself around the house. She was just lucky that her employer had been friends with her and his father, or else Subaru doubted that he would have let her take almost four straight months off. It was only very recently that his mother could smile again without it being painful to look at. Even if it was a small, sad smile, it was still something. And he decided he'd protect it no matter what.

Even he could tell she was still close to falling into full-blown depression- and next time she may not be able to pull herself out. He knew it was perfectly fine for boys to cry, but he couldn't let himself wallow anymore. Life was moving forward whether or not he was ready.

Subaru knew he was mature for his age. He doubted most other kids would continue to educate themselves only a week or so after their father's death, or that they'd help with the housework even before that, and stop crying even earlier than that. Even if it was for the sake of being distracted, he still did it all by himself, without anyone asking. So the brunet couldn't understand the constant paranoia he was feeling- as if it were a… a sixth sense or something. Like when someone just knew they were being watching, but they couldn't figure out who. And over time it hadn't faded at all; heck it had gotten stronger over the past few days.

And that feeling had for some reason led him here -in the middle of the night no less- on a rather cheap green bike he had all but outgrown, to a field overlooking the vast expanse of water that was the nearby bay. He didn't know why, but here just felt… right. Yeah, like he needed to be here, for whatever reason. So he had flopped down onto the grass on his back, ignoring the potential stains he could get on his clothes. Right now he just wanted to look up at the stars mindlessly once more. Besides, he'd taught himself how to get stains out a couple of months ago, until one could only see the spot if they knew where to look.

Shifting slightly, Subaru bought the green glasses that were the Visualizer over his eyes, brushing a few brown hairs out of the way. And then the hidden world was reviled as faint, yet always-there (and visible clearly only at night), rainbow-colored wavelengths moving across the sky. A kaleidoscope of hues that shifted and lit up the inky sky, yet were almost blotted out by the moon's reflected light. A bunch of tiny aurora bordelaise of energy and information that was smothered by the city lights beneath them.

Allowing himself to fall into an almost trance-like state at the specular light show above him, Subaru finally felt at peace for the first time in months. It was only temporary, only something that could be brought on because of this moment, but that didn't make it any less important. With all the recent tension and stress, he was so close to just snapping he hadn't even realized it himself until those three from school had decided to try and drag him back to that place…

Letting himself grimace a little at that memory, Subaru tried and simply clear his mind and force the tension and stress to lessen at least a little. Most others his age were so annoying sometimes, why couldn't they just be a little less loud, a little less tiring?

"She's been really worried about you!"

Trying to ignore thoughts in his head that were trying to surface again and ruin his peaceful moment, Subaru almost didn't notice the streak of light across the sky, or the one quickly following it.

But he most certainly noticed when the two lights clashed together, creating a small, yet intensely bright, burst of light.

Sitting up suddenly, Subaru adjusted the Visualizer slightly as if to make sure he had seen what he thought he had. But then where did those lights go…there! Light a shooting star, a brilliant blue streak tore across the sky, before an equally bright streak shot after it, the two colliding for a second with a surge of power. Breaking away from the short struggle, each flew through the sky, only to curve sharply and clash once more.

"It looks like they're fighting…?" Subaru wondered as the lights coiled and broke apart in some twisted dance.

Then they stopped, the two apparently…looking at each other? At least that's what it seemed like as the two lights stopped moving with both only a short distance apart, hovering far up in the sky, one blue and the other green. It looked like they were sizing each other up after that clash. Were they actually sentient or just basic programs like Wave Viruses gone out of control?

And then it happened.

Both grew brighter suddenly before charging at one another, meeting one another halfway with an explosion of power and light. Then it was over, and the green light fell from the sky, almost limp. The other light reared back and gathered itself, before shooting off after its prey like a falcon. Subaru gasped as he recognized a killing blow when he saw it, and he gripped his pendent tight at the irrational fear he felt. It felt oddly hot and Subaru realized his hands were sweaty. What was he so worried about?

No matter the answer he may have reasoned, his fear was unneeded, because suddenly a terribly bright red light was there, knocking the striking blue light away. The red light fell and caught the other light that had nearly been destroyed, and for a terrifying moment, he thought it had been killed by the red light. But no, the red light was so shockingly bright that the other light just wasn't capable of competing.

The red light almost completely blotted out its companion with its intensity, and Subaru had no doubts it could devour the one it'd protected, easily. Unlike the other lights, the red light was far more compact, and, instead of being a vague blob, the red light seemed to have a shape startling humanoid-like. Despite that, it shined with such a fierce inner light that Subaru was amazed the sky wasn't lit up like it were day. The attacker light, looking like a tiny ember in comparison, reared back angrily and slowly, cautiously, drifted away from the red light. It seemed to debate for a moment before turning and flying away.

Yeah, Subaru would've run too.

The two remaining lights separated a little and seemed to be communicating with each other somehow. Well, he assumed they were, since they were clearly intelligent enough to pick sides, and why else would they float only a short distance apart for so long? Curious and a little bit terrified (what were these lights, no, forget that. What was the red light!?) Subaru stared and tried to figure out how they were communicating. There wasn't a change in brightness, and no other visual cues seemed to be given, so maybe something to close to verbal? Direct exchange of information through some sort of telepathy? Something he couldn't perceive with just his Visualizer? No wait, the red light had shifted oddly, pulsing a bit and…

Subaru risked pulling the Visualizer off for a moment to wipe the lenses as if some invisible fingerprint was blocking his view. Looking at the spot where the lights should be but weren't, the brunet couldn't help but feel annoyed that there wasn't anything there to indicate that they were there. No glow, no sparkle, nothing he could see at this distance at lea-

There was a figure in the sky. Standing there as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Subaru's brain froze. Lights were one thing, but now there was a person levitating? He couldn't see much from this distance and the city lights directly behind it nearly blotted it out, but he was one-hundred percent sure there was someone there. Something, actually, because people didn't just float like that, and he couldn't tell if the stuff flowing in the wind behind it were weird wings, tentacles, a tattered cape, or if they had really, really long hair for some reason, but it made it almost impossible to see anything.

Even then Subaru was pretty sure they were staring right at him.

Without making eye contact, Subaru knew he was being looked up and down. Studied, really. The figure, little more than a dot of what might have been red and gold, turned after a few moments and Subaru released a breath. The figure then walked across the air as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then wavered like a mirage, and disappeared.

Subaru suddenly felt weak-kneed and fell back into the cool grass.

I've decided to stop going overboard on character descriptions (for the most part) since I've posted a few sketch designs on my deviantart under the same name as this account.