This oneshot is set right at the end of the Golden Age and the beginning of the Collapse.

"Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive."

Fyr sighed contentedly as his car sailed down the wide paved street, whisking by the hustle and bustle of the city. The day was bright and clear, bringing with it a sense of optimism that only summer could provide. It was nice of his boss to let him off early. Granted, things were generally slowing down in the cafe at this time so full staff wasn't necessary.

Fyr closed his eyes and turned his face toward the open window, allowing the warm wind to wash over him. He couldn't wait to get home. Russell was supposed to be able to come over for the first time since he'd begun his senior year at the local university and Fyr was looking forward to catching up with him. They'd order takeout, play some video games… Heck, maybe Josh would be able to make it over.

Right at that moment, Fyr's peaceful supposings were broken by the sound of screeching brakes. His eyes flew open just in time to see the side of a black SUV looming up at him before he was jolted forward and everything was thrown into darkness.

Fyr felt like his head was underwater. Everything felt weighed down and fuzzy. He attempted to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge. He lay there for several minutes, trying not to panic. Finally, he heard what he thought was the sound of a door opening.

"What have we got?" asked a male voice.

"Patient is a 22-year-old male involved in a traffic collision that resulted in trauma to the frontal lobe, lacerations on the face, and a possible grade 3 concussion," a female voice replied, "Also, the 6th, 7th, and 8th ribs on his left side are fractured. There is no sign of displacement and no pleural effusion."

Are they talking about me? I'm fine.

"Any internal bleeding?"

"Negative."

"Is the frontal lobe trauma serious?"

"We can't be sure until the patient regains consciousness, but the skull was not broken or punctured in any way."

Fyr heard papers rustling. After a short period of silence, the male voice spoke again. "Well, we can't start treatment until we know the severity of the head trauma... What's the status on the lacerations?"

Fyr heard footsteps approach. "There are three distinct cuts across the face and even more on the upper torso. They'll heal but he'll have the scars for the rest of his life."

A burst of adrenaline broke through his haze and his eyes flew open. "What?"

Two pairs of startled eyes stared back at him. The young woman was quick to start checking his breathing and vision, her pale pink scrubs rustling quietly as she worked. The middle-aged man appraised him from slightly further away, one of his hands tucked into the pocket of his lab coat while the other was clutching a chart that Fyr guessed was his. "Hello," he said, "I'm Dr. Matthews and that's Nurse Serena. Can you tell me your name?" He asked like it was something he already knew.

"Uh, Fyr Allerton."

Dr. Matthews nodded. "Do you know where you are?"

Fyr looked around. "Pretty sure I'm in a hospital, doc."

Matthews gave a small smile. "Yes. Vancouver General to be exact. Can you tell me today's date?"

"Uhhh it's a Friday, right?"

The man smiled again. "Close enough. Now...do you remember what happened?"

Fyr frowned and tried to recall, but everything seemed disconnected. He shrugged. "No clue."

The doctor sighed. "You were in an accident. Your vehicle collided with another at an intersection. Your seatbelt was not on, so when you crashed, the force sent you through the windshield of your car."

Fyr shook his head slowly. "No...the car's self-driving. There's no way I could've crashed."

"I'm afraid it's true, Fyr. As reliable as cars today may be, there's only so much they can do in the face of such a collision."

Fyr nodded, not really taking the words in. "So what's the damage, doc?"

"You broke three ribs on your left side. You suffered head trauma that resulted in a grade 3 concussion, as Miss Selena was just confirming. The shattered glass from the windshield caused lacerations to your face and upper body and we're pretty sure they're going to scar." Numbly, Fyr raised a hand to his face, feeling three distinct areas of gauze and tape. "You're very lucky," said Matthews, "You easily could have lost an eye. You came close, too."

"So...how long's it gonna take for me to heal?"

"The main thing is you'll need to get plenty of rest. We're going to monitor you here for a few days for signs of potentially permanent brain damage. After that, you will be allowed to leave, provided that you have someone you can stay with?"

Fyr felt his stomach drop. "Why?"

"You'll be recovering from a concussion so someone needs to be around to supervise you and watch for any complications that might arise. Is there someone that you can stay with for a few weeks?"

Fyr racked his brain. His parents had died several years ago in a boating accident and his friends were both too busy to watch him. Then the answer came to him. "My sister works in the Ishtar Academy on Venus. I can probably stay with her."

Dr. Matthews nodded, looking relieved. "Good… I'll be back in a couple hours to check up on you but for now, some friends of yours have been waiting to see you." With one last smile, Matthews and the nurse left the room.

Not long afterward, the door burst open as Russell and Josh pushed their way in, making their way to his bedside. "Hey man," said Josh with a grin. Fyr smiled weakly back, wincing as the movement pulled at his bandages.

"How're you feeling?" asked Russell.

"Like a legend."

He laughed. "So did the doctors tell you what's wrong?"

Fyr nodded. "Broken ribs, broken head, broken face."

"The whole shebang huh?" said Josh.

"Yep."

"Everything'll heal though, right?" asked Russell.

"Ribs and head should. The doc said I'll have scars though."

Josh shrugged. "It's cool. I heard chicks dig scars."

Russell scoffed. "Girls couldn't care less about scars. It's all about how you got them. They wanna head the story."

"No problem," said Josh, "We'll tell everyone that you fought an Ahamkara."

"Ahamkara aren't real, you idiot."

"Wait no," said Fyr, "I like where this is going. Fyr: the great Ahamkara slayer."

"Who said you killed it?" said Russell, "Have you seen your face? It definitely walked all over you." They laughed. "So when do you get out?"

"They said I had to stay here for a bit. Then I guess I'm going to Venus."

Josh's eyebrows furrowed. "Why Venus?"

Russell snapped his fingers. "You're going to stay with Emmy aren't you?" Fyr nodded. "Does she know you'll be heading out to see her?"

"...Not yet."

"Then you'd better call her, my friend. Josh and I will wait outside." Josh opened his mouth, but before he could protest, Russell was dragging him out into the hallway, closing the door after them.

His sister picked up after almost three rings. She sounded more than a bit irritated. "Listen, whoever this is. It's busy over here and I have a lot on my plate so this better be important."

"Hi, Emmy."

The shift in Ember's tone was instantaneous. "Fyr?" she said in surprise, "What's up? I haven't heard from you since spring."

"Uh, long story, but I'm kinda in the hospital right now."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I sorta was in a car accident."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad. Just a few scars and some cracked ribs. Also, I got a concussion and the doc over here says I should stay with someone for a bit just in case. You mind if I mooch off you for a couple weeks?"

"Not at all. I should be able to clear it with my supervisors if you can get a note from the doctor."

"Great," said Fyr in relief, "They're gonna keep me here for a few more days but after that, I'll be on the next transport to Venus."

"Sounds good. I'll get things set up for you up here. Make sure you get some rest."

"Sure, sure. Love you, Emmy. I'll see you in a few days."

"Love you too, Fyr. See you then."

Fyr was barely halfway through his first week on Venus and he was already bored out of his mind. You'd think being on a new planet would be interesting. Well, it would be if he actually got to see any of the sights. Instead, he was confined to the Ishtar Academy and the quarters he shared with his sister. Every day all he did was shadow her at work. He supposed he'd be more invested if he was a genius like everyone else in the place. But he'd never been that interested in that sort of thing. After all, he'd opted out of college.

Today, Ember was in a meeting with one of her superiors. He wasn't sure what it was about. Maybe a promotion? The point was, he wasn't allowed in, granting him free range of the campus. He spent most of the time wandering around. Don't see what makes this place so cool. You'd think they'd have some alien stuff lying around or something. Suddenly the ground under him began to shake, rattling things on their shelves. Alarms began to sound and a voice over the intercom informed him that a quake was occurring.

Fyr sighed and turned around to head back the way he'd come. In the time that he'd been on Venus, he'd experienced two different quakes. That was one of the drawbacks about Venus: all the volcanic activity. He knew where most of the safe rooms were and he was on his way to the nearest one when a new set of alarms began to blare, sounding more urgent. His earpiece began to buzz, signaling a call. He answered it. "What's up?"

"Fyr, where are you?" His sister's voice sounded panicked.

"Dunno. But I'm heading to one of the safe rooms now."

"Forget about the safe room! Just get-" A burst of static cut off the rest of her words.

"What? Why?"

"The quake- least of- worries! Rasputin- arrival of an unident- entering- system- and- of Planetary Defense Network!"

"Rasputin what?"

"Reports- coming in- Traveler is leaving Io- towards Earth! We're evac- facilities! Get to the- and meet me-!" The call ended.

Fyr's head spun as he tried to make sense of what his sister had said. Something about Rasputin and the Traveler. Whatever had happened, it was clear that the Academy was evacuating. He had to get out. He whirled and ran down a different corridor, hoping it would lead him to an exit.

He ran through a side door and down some stairs, coming out into a large underground space that seemed to be some kind of storage room. Somewhere nearby, a pipe had ruptured, releasing a continuous spray of water that already covered the floor. The ground was still shaking violently as he made his way through the room. Dust rained from the ceiling and he saw several of the support pillars beginning to crack. He stopped moving, trying once more to get a hold of his sister. But the only thing he could hear was waves of static.

Suddenly he heard the awful noise of splitting stone. He barely had time to look up before the pillar next to him buckled. He let out a yell as he was knocked off his feet, his legs pinned under the weight of the collapsed pillar. As he frantically tried to shift it off, he was aware of the water from the busted pipe slowly rising under him. He thrashed back and forth, but the pillar wouldn't budge.

The water rose was up to his ears now, muffling the alarms and making everything seem far away. Fyr continued to struggle with the pillar as the water moved higher. He had to get out of here. He had to meet Ember outside. He had to get off Venus and see his friends again. He had to live. Then the water crept over his face and the world became hazy and distorted.

He held his breath as long as he could until he reflexively heaved in a huge breath but got water instead, filling his mouth and nose. For a few moments, his lungs were on fire, a burning more intense than anything he'd ever felt before. But gradually, the pain lessened and Fyr's vision faded away to nothingness.

A/N: I already had some of this one written so it was pretty easy to finish. But that's three down and four to go! I hope you guys are enjoying these. Fyr dies right as the Collapse is beginning when the Darkness is first detected and the Traveler leaves Io for Earth. For anyone who's interested, here's what Ember was saying:

"Forget about the safe room! Just get out! The quake is the least of our worries! Rasputin detected the arrival of an unidentified threat entering the system and assumed control of the Planetary Defense Network! Reports are coming in that the Traveler is leaving Io and heading towards Earth! We're evacuating all facilities! Get to the nearest exit and meet me in front of the Academy!"

Until next time, everyone!

- TheWolfParadox