I was bored. Incredibly, stupidly bored, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I was lying on the bed in my dorm, wishing the mattress was more comfortable. There was something I could have been doing right then, but it didn't seem worth the effort.
I could have tried cleaning up my room. There was some old pizza on the wall, left over from one of the GEARS University Anniversary Parties, and dirty clothes all over the floor. Even the bed was unmade, and I was on top of it. I didn't even know the last time the sheets had been washed. However, if I had ended up getting my room in working order, when I left and came back, it would once again be a disaster area. One of the stupid Wolfblade boys from across the hall would show up and wreck the place. It made me wish we had keycards so only the owner would have access to his or her dorm, and actually keep personal items in our rooms without fear of thieves or pranksters from different houses.
I sighed dispiritedly, and heaved myself off the Ebilcorp-supplied mattress. I walked over to the wardrobe, put on my Runehawk uniform, and tied the ends of my medium-length brown hair into a ponytail. I had already taken a shower earlier. After arranging my bangs so they wouldn't get in my way, I shut the door to my room and travelled down the hall to the elevator, and pressed the button that would take me to the Runehawk common room.
Primarily known as academics, Runehawk members are often teased by members of our rival house, Wolfblade, for being meek and untested in combat. It should be noted, however, that Dean Warlic himself was once a Runehawk, as was Sys-Zero. Plus, we beat Wolfblade in the last GEARS Games, so they shouldn't be bragging.
However, I sort of agreed with their interpretation of our fashion sense. The boots were very strange looking, and I knew for a fact that mine were too big. The train that's attached to the back of the uniform is kind of impractical, because when you're piloting your mecha or your starship, you're going to end up sitting on it. It was better-looking than the standard pilot uniform, though, so I didn't have the heart to bring it up with Jaania, our house leader.
When the elevator arrived at my destination, I disembarked. Smiling at Jaania, who smiled back, I strode to the back of the room and admired our personal artifact. It's a cube, covered with strange symbols and glowed blue. I don't know what it was for, exactly, but when I asked Jaania, she just smiled that soft smile at me and told me that it was left behind by the dragons, which didn't tell me anything at all.
When I turned back towards the elevator, however, Jaania said, "Hold on for a moment, Astra. I need to give you something." She moved over to the laser blade rack, which was situated next to the fire. She selected a staff, topped with our house symbol, and handed it to me. "I know that this isn't a laser blade, but seeing as you already have a black belt in that system, I've decided to give you all the information I have on mana manipulation. Here," she said, and pulled a book from the shelf. The cover was Runehawk blue, inlaid with a green eagle. "This is a book of spells. Only use them if absolutely necessary."
"Why are you giving me this?" I asked, flattered, but nonetheless rather embarrassed and surprised. Jaania had never shown any particular interest in me before, despite being our house-mother.
"You are receiving a very important mission from the dean today. You will need these items and skills to successfully carry out this mission. I wish you the best of luck."
She smiled at me, then shooed me in the direction of the elevator. "Go. Dean Warlic is expecting you."
I stepped into the lift, and pressed the button for floor 5. The doors opened on floor 4, which is where the dorms are, and let on a Mystraven pilot, who pointedly ignored me.
Mystraven is… Well, to sum it up in a word: mysterious. I think they're the ones who get along best with Mysterious Johnson, who, quite frankly, sometimes gets on my nerves. The other stereotypes, as far as jobs go, are like this: Wolfblade is the best at the hospital and the police station, and Runehawk's place is at the museum. Funny thing is, I personally like spending my time with Nurse Helia at the hospital a whole lot more than I like the museum. It might have something to do with the fact that I grew up helping out there…
Anyway, from what meager information I can gather, Mystravens are quick, cunning, and quite sneaky. Their mechs have high dodge capabilities, and their weapons have fast cool-down times. They also like to see Runehawk and Wolfblade argue with one another, as they just sit there and watch the show.
The Mystraven in the elevator did not get off at the dean's office with me. I guess she was going to class or something.
As I stepped into Dean Warlic's office, I tried to avoid the still, glassy gaze of the eyeball displayed on the front of Warlic's desk. It didn't move, but the thing still freaked me out. Tek, the resident mechanic who takes care of our mechs here in Soluna City, said that it had something to do with Jimmy the Eye, but when I asked what that was, she wouldn't answer. I guessed that it was related to Jimmy The Eye Pod, a mecha whom I had fought on numerous occasions.
Dean Warlic sat at his desk, with his elbows on the table and his chin resting on the intertwined fingers of his hands. It's hard to tell what he's thinking, sometimes. His fiery eyes always manage to stay expressionless, even in the face of crisis.
There was something else in the room, though, something incredibly out of place. There was a phone booth sitting off to the side of the desk.
We haven't used phone booths in ages. We have wireless headsets instead, as well as video connections. The only planet in our galactic sector that still uses them is Zargon, where their resident superheroes sometimes used to use them to change into their costumes. Of course, with Starfire as their only superhero now, the rest are changing over to using her specialized mechs.
So, there was a phone booth sitting there, next to Warlic's desk. It had something that looked like an umbrella that got struck by lightning stuck to the top of it.
"Ah, Astra, you've arrived," Dean Warlic said. "In light of your achievements regarding several different planets in the Solaris system, you have been selected for this very sensitive mission. Now, I'm afraid I will not be able to contact you during this mission. Also, very important: You will not have access to any of your mechs. You will discover the nature of this mission when you arrive at your destination. Please enter the phone booth and dial this number." He handed me a slip of paper with the number 2-141-556-2113 typed neatly on it in black lettering. He also handed me a sealed envelope. "Give this to me when you get there." What the heck did he mean by that?
Very confused, but not brave enough to tell the dean that I doubted him, I saluted him. "Yes, sir."
"Very well. Step into the booth and dial. Good luck." He rested his chin on his hands, and got back to his paperwork.
Dubiously, I opened the door to the booth, stepped inside, and subsequently discovered that it was just as cramped as it looked. I picked up the phone and quickly dialed the number. There wasn't an answering dial tone, which sort of worried me. I stood there for a moment, holding the receiver to my ear, not sure what I was supposed to do, when the box decided for me.
The small, enclosed space began wildly spinning, and something that sounded suspiciously like lightning began knocking it back and forth. The glass was a bit fogged up, so I couldn't make out the outside very well, but it looked sort of like a very large wind tunnel, as if I was caught in a very cylindrical, sideways tornado.
When the box finally came to a stop, I was sitting on the floor, hands over my head, quivering like the scared little girl I used to be.
The door was suddenly yanked open, and I looked up to see a man with a gigantic hammer. This realization, of course, made me want to curl up in a ball even more. I didn't, though. I just stared up at him with wide, green eyes.
He wasn't all that bad-looking. He had brown hair, with bangs that completely covered his eyes, and a nice enough face. He was wearing an emerald green robe of some sort, with a train not unlike my own. His was the same dark green as his shirt, though, and had embossed grey 'C's on the ends. Unfortunately, the only thing I could focus on was his uncomfortably wide smile.
"Hello there!" he said, flashing his very bright teeth at me, and I blushed. I do not spend a lot of time hanging out with the guys at GEARS University, as most of them are complete jerks, with the exception of Starbuck. The men I do interact with are my superiors, so it's not like I get embarrassed around them.
"Hi," I mumbled back.
"So, where'd you get this? This is my time machine, yeah?"
I was unsure if I should answer his question, as I didn't understand it myself.
What did that mean, that it was his time machine? As he kept staring at me expectantly, or what looked like staring at me as much as was possible without being able to see his eyes, I gave him a mumbled half-answer. "Um… Warlic gave it to me? I think?"
He had pretty sharp hearing, and actually understood my answer, based on his reply. "No, it couldn't be Warlic… I made this with Lim, and my past and future selves. And Selene, and Balinia as well… And Warlic definitely wouldn't keep something like this. He'd probably give it to Doctor When or something…"
Before I had a chance to react to this extremely odd response, someone else interrupted. "What the hell are you doing, Cysero?"
This confused me further. I had personally met Sys-Zero, who had been assimilated by a Shadowscythe, last year. It had taken his old commander, who was now Queenadent, to snap him out of it. He was dark-skinned, and had wild yellow hair that stuck up at odd angles. He always had these big flight goggles on, which prevented me from getting a good look at his face, but it was still obvious that the man blocking the exit from my rather unusual mode of transportation was not Sys-Zero.
I hastily grabbed for the staff and tome that Jaania had given me. I hadn't had a chance to take a look in the book yet, but I assumed I would need it for whatever was outside.
Cysero moved out of the way, revealing an irate-looking warrior. "Hey, Milodith! I didn't see you there!"
"As usual, you lunatic, you completely ignored my question." Her foot was tapping impatiently, and I slowly rose from my huddled position on the ground.
The girl certainly did not look happy. She was wearing a suit of medieval-looking armor, and had an impressive sword swung across her back. A scowl marred her face, and her messy black hair seemed to be in a state of permanent state of sticking up off the back off her head, giving the illusion of wind blowing it back. The hairstyle sort of reminded me of the superheroes on Zargon.
Her scowl deepened when she noticed me. "Who is this?"
I flashed a hesitant smile at her. Cysero replied, "I haven't the faintest clue. She was in there when I opened the door."
I hastily cleared my throat. "My name is Astra, ma'am."
The warrior just humphed, in a way that was unnervingly reminiscent of a
Wolfblade student I had beaten in a mecha battle. It had been a friendly spar, but the girl seemed extremely offended at my offer of "good game." She had demanded a rematch, in the form of a laser blade duel. I defeated her again, and she had stomped off in a huff. Whenever I saw her around Soluna City, she would just scowl at me, her face twisted into a mean-spirited sneer. This girl, though, seemed to have noticed the "ma'am" I had tacked on to the end of my sentence, and her expression softened a bit.
"You're a mage, right?"
I stared blankly at her, before looking down at the staff and book of spells in my hand. "I guess I am…?" What's a mage? Is that a practitioner of magic or something? Was Jaania planning on teaching me the ways of a mage? Wow, she must really see some potential in me!
She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "Go talk to Selene then. She may be a rogue, but she has some really good connections with the magical community. But watch out. Her dragon bites."
My eyes widened, and my hands fumbled so much that I almost dropped my staff. "D-dragon?"
"Yeah. You ok? You look a little pale." I was, in fact, caught in a combined state of shock and awe. A real dragon.
"S-sure. I'm fine. Where can I find Selene?"
Milodith sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "She's probably at the inn. It's just over there." She pointed behind her, where the road continued to make its way through town. She stepped aside, and, gathering all my confidence, I walked in the direction of the inn. I pretended not to notice when she followed me at a discreet distance.
The town reminded me, in a way, of Lagos, with its medieval architecture and the strange clothing people wore. Outside the inn, I met a kid who looked about fourteen, only two years younger than I was, but looked much fresher. The smile on his face showed that he had never been faced with serious combat, never had to live through war. He was lucky. I didn't have that innocence at his age.
I spent the first few years of my life on the planet Yokai. When I was only three, pirates attacked our village. My parents handed me over to a neighbor, who was a doctor from Loreon, and told her to get me out of there. This neighbor ended up being Nurse Helia, who managed to get me to the safety of Soluna City. My parents weren't so lucky. They were killed in the raid.
I don't remember my parents. The memories of a three-year-old are fuzzy and distorted, so I don't even know what they look like. All the knowledge I have of them came from Nurse Helia, who told me that they were kind, caring people, and loved me very much. I do have some special clothes from Yokai, though. I bought them a few years ago while I was visiting there, searching for Jemini. I had stuffed them (after shrinking them) into the pouch that I always kept at my hip (the shrink ray was in there too, along with the reverse switch) before I left the dorm, so a piece of home was still with me even in this strange and unusual place.
I smiled at the kid, who already looked like he was going to grow up big and strong. "Hello," I said.
"Hi!" he replied, a big, sincere grin on his face. "I'm Ash! I'm going to be the greatest knight in all of Lore!" Man, did that kid make my heart ache. As well as my ears.
"Who are you? I haven't seen you around here before… Are you from Yokai?"
My smile froze on my face. I turned to look at Milodith, who was standing beside me. "You have interplanetary travel here?" I hissed out of the corner of my mouth.
"No," she scoffed, but quietly, so that Ash couldn't hear. "Yokai is just another name for the Isle of the Wind, on the other side of the continent. Why? Are you from a planet called Yokai?" It was obvious that she was still doubted the sincerity of my story.
I nodded, and turned back to Ash. He showed no sign of overhearing our conversation. "Yes, I am. I'm Astra. I'm a… uh…" I couldn't very well say "mecha pilot" could I? He wouldn't have any idea what it meant. I remembered the staff in my hands again. "…mage! Yes, I'm here on orders from my teacher to study dragons." I held out a hand, which he shook, a little too enthusiastically for my taste. I felt like I was shaking hands with Mysterious Johnson. I just hoped my excuse seemed plausible.
"So, you want to see the Guardian Tower's library, then? There's a lot of information about dragons up there. Or do you want to meet a real dragon? Selene's got one. Her name's Lyra, and she's green. Selene's inside, at Serenity's Inn, if you want to speak to her. She's really nice! She saved Falconreach from the Dark—"
At some point during Ash's blathering, Milodith had found a chance to sneak up behind him and cover his mouth. She was quite stealthy for someone who was dressed in full plate armor. It was quite a hilarious picture, actually, as Milodith was about a head taller than Ash.
"Thank you. We were just on our way to speak with her."
Ash seemed rather unfazed, as if things like that happened all the time. "Oh, Milodith, didn't see you there. Oh, say hi to Robina next time you see her, okay?"
"Will do," replied Milodith, through gritted teeth. Ash didn't seem to notice her hostility. Milodith practically shoved me into the inn, not even giving me a chance to take a look at the request board in the foyer.
She stopped at the front desk, which was manned by pretty young woman with blonde hair. "Hi, Serenity. Is Selene here?"
Serenity (who I assumed was the innkeeper) smiled and nodded. "She's in the back."
"Thank you." Milodith grabbed my arm and proceeded to drag me through the common room and into what looked like a disused storeroom.