Ch. 1: Boredom

Vexus was bored. She had finally regained control of Cluster Prime as of late, due to the fact that Vega had been assassinated just a few weeks ago.

"I don't know what to do anymore..." The queen covered her face with her hands and sighed. Even the prospect of getting young XJ9 to join the Cluster was beginning to fade, as she had no idea where the blue robot was, due to surveillance of the planet Earth.

She sighed depressedly yet again. "What to do, what to do..."

----

Kage looked up at the clouds in the sky. They just drifted by without a care in the world. He raised his automail right arm up and spread out his fingers, as if trying to catch one of the condensed masses of water vapor.

The 21-year old began to think. How dull has my life become...? he pondered. Ryota's already been with Reiko for a really long time, and there's no girl that'll date me. Friggin' right arm and left leg...

Getting up, he leaped off the roof of Ryota's Fantasian mansion and landed on the ground. He walked inside and saw his two best friends sitting together on the couch, watching television. "Maybe I could borrow an airship for a while," he mumbled to himself, "and leave this planet for a while."

As it turned out, Mog sat between Ryota and Reiko, and looked up at the alchemist. "Kupo," he greeted.

"Hi Mog," Kage responded, rubbing the moogle's head. He then sat on an armchair and closed his eyes.

"Do anything interesting today?" Ryota asked, finally noticing his friend.

"No. Just watched the clouds. Hey, I have a question."

"What?"

"What's your smallest airship?"

Ryota shot him a curious glance. "The Epoch. Why?"

"D'you mind if I borrow it for space travel for a while?"

Ryota grunted. "Well...I guess not."

"Are you really that bored?" Reiko asked.

"Yeah. I need to leave Fantasia for a bit. Thanks Ryo." With that, Kage proceeded to his room, grabbed his provisions, and went to the hangar. He boarded the small yellow spacecraft capable of time travel and took off, sailing into the black void.

"Now, where to go?" The red-eyed alchemist activated a holographic map and viewed the Milky Way galaxy. The Fantasian planet system wasn't far from Earth, and the latter was located rather close to a large green planet. A tap on the planet in question revealed its name; Cluster Prime. Humming a tune, Kage flew towards it.

----

Vexus sat just outside the throne room on the balcony, watching the sunset. Robots and people, due to a civil reform, hustled and bustled far below her.

Just then, she looked up and saw something in the distance. It was rather small, and as it descended, she could see a black-haired figure in the cockpit. With a telescopic zoom of her eyes, Vexus saw his black jacket with sleeves that reached his wrists. He had black pants, boots, and red irises that seemed to glow in the waning sunlight.

Intrigued by this new arrival, the queen of Cluster Prime flew off towards its landing area.

----

"Made it," Kage said to no one in particular as the Epoch's landing gears touched the ground. He was "parked" in a small lot for other spacecraft. As he got out, he saw someone standing in front of the ship.

She was a robot. She wore green and yellow striped clothes. She looked somewhat Egyptian, and wore the same kind of crown a pharaoh would wear. Her chest was...noticeable, to say the least, and her green eyes went perfectly with the rest of her sleek, slender body. Kage had never seen a more beautiful woman.

"Um...hi," he said nervously.

"Hello," she greeted. "Welcome to Cluster Prime."

"Thanks. Are you supposed to be the welcome party or something?"

She raised an eyebrow. "No. I'm the queen of this planet."

Kage's face turned a brilliant shade of red. "Oh! Pardon me, your majesty...heh."

She chuckled. "Ah, humans. Such interesting creatures. What planet do you hail from?"

"Amestris. It's a planet of alchemists not far from the Fantasian planet system."

"I believe I've heard of it, but my memory is too foggy to remember. Oh well. The hotels and apartments aren't far from here, mister..."

"Kage. Kage Ryoma Nakamura, your majesty."

"Very well, Kage. If you'll excuse me, I have important matters to attend to. Farewell."

Vexus looked at him one more time before flying back to the palace. He watched her, and smiled.

As she flew, Vexus began to think. Interesting man. He's in his twenties, and was rather handsome...