Present Day
Galaxy Cauldron
Light does not always equate to good. Darkness does not always equate to evil.
Two lone figures stood on what was left of the last planet in this Galaxy; the final battle between the foes had been so fierce that nothing living or inanimate was safe.
One figure was bathed in light, wearing pure white, her bright glow waved in the power building up around her; she cast a long shadow on the terra. Cosmos had long white hair. Her dress was short and it had a white collar, short yellow sleeves with wings, and multicolored ribbons in the middle of the skirt underneath a broach that looks like the broach that she wears below her collar. Both of the broaches had a yellow star on them and wings attached to the right and left sides, with the broach above the multicolored ribbons having two white ribbons coming out of it. Her footwear consisted of white high-heeled shoes with wings. Additionally, her accessories consists of the aforementioned broaches, white rings on each of her fingers (except for her thumbs), white earrings, a tiara with white beads and a yellow star in the middle, a white choker with a yellow star in the middle, and white barrettes. She also donned a long white cape.
The other figure was cocooned in darkness, from her dress to the frightening void that swirled all around her, she cast no shadow in the dying land. Chaos had long black hair going down to her feet, onyx eyes and reddish brown skin. On her forehead she has a black star with a black feather through it and her earrings were red triangles. She wore a brown black leather dress with a black corseted front, her collar and boots shared the same brown colour. She had black feathery crow wings and similar feathers on her shoulders.
"I'll stop you! I can't give up!" The warrior in white cried at her foe.
Her foe showed no fear or emotion at the decree.
"My creations…" The white clad woman wept openly. "All gone, because of YOU! Your EVIL ends HERE!" She screamed and clasped her hands over her breast.
The mistress of the inkiness was not moved by the others accusations.
The energy around the warrior of light charged the air, and the light around her became brighter, she prayed to all the goodness in the world, she prayed on the souls of her creations. As she did this other powers of light in this world and on the other side joined with her. Her white light was joined by a prismatic splash of colors of all hues. Finally she let this final power go and it hit the dark woman engulfing her. When the attack was expended Cosmos fell backwards; her life force drained.
The brilliance dimmed, and the blackness remained. The other warrior finally moved, slowly she walked over to the others' downed form.
Eyes of sapphire blue looked down and into those of pale grey; there was no malice in her gaze, only pity. "You still don't understand, sister."
"Just kill me, so I can be with by creations again." Cosmos huffed. "You win; you can destroy the Universe like you've always wanted to."
Chaos shook her head. "I did not destroy this Galaxy; we did because you still do not understand." She then sat down. "As for the Universe, it will grow and expand like always, some parts will flourish, and other parts will wilt and die." The void seemed to pulse outwards, but it got no bigger. "Which creations do you mean? The ones you had and sacrificed to become what you are now, or the ones from before?"
"Just let me die." Cosmos sighed, he was in no mood to by toyed with.
Chaos was unaffected by the other's demands. "You say it like it is some sort of final end to everything. Is that how you see it now? Is that why you did what you did?
"I didn't want anyone to die; I just wanted everyone to be happy." Cosmos looked away.
Chaos shook her head. "That is not the way of the Universe; you know that. Everything lives, and then dies, and returns to the ether."
"I just wanted…happiness forever." Cosmos was unrelenting. "To be the light…in everyone's life."
Chaos looked grim. "You regained your light, but you did not truly understand the brilliance of it. You are like an earthen moth trying to embrace fire." Chaos placed her palm on Cosmos's brow.
The warrior in white stiffened not at the touch, but at the memories. They flooded in, lives she had lived, and the grim ends. More tears flowed as she relieved in seconds several lifetimes; she felt her consciousness ebbing. The warrior started to whimper.
Chaos talked as Cosmos suffered through her memories. "We tried to make you remember, but every life you failed to see beyond you. As a Star, Planet, and more, you made the same mistakes that led you back to similar ends." Chaos smiled. "You've always been stubborn; a little dense, afraid of the dark, and at the mercy of your emotions." The dark warrior then sighed.
Cosmos's breaths came in gasps and hitches; she looked at Chaos, all at once she understood everything and nothing at all. Her mind could not process all that he had remembered, seen, and felt.
Chaos removed her hand and stood up. "Maybe this time you'll get it, and balance will be restored, I am hopeful but the others not so much." She sighed once more. "We are connected; two sides of the same coin, not opposites, but pieces that make a greater whole." She looked off into the void she loved so dearly. "Please try to understand."
The woman clad in dark matter nodded and tendrils slithered out and wrapped around Cosmos; and in seconds the one called goddess was no more. All that remained was an eight pointed star shaped prismatic crystal; Chaos held out her hand and let the gem hover over her palm for a moment. She then lifted it to the vastness of space and watched it as it flew off to return to the Galaxy Cauldron; she blew a kiss at it when it was just no more than a glint in the distance.
"Do you really think she can heal herself? She's lived so many lives, and still she is cuckolded by this whole good and evil nonsense." A figure stated as she moved up behind Chaos.
Chaos nodded. "She is the youngest and has much to bear; she needs time, and guidance. Eventually she'll understand again, and we will be aligned." The gods in dark colors looked out to the Universe. "She does not believe in herself, and that is why she lost her mind in the first place. We need to be patient, and hope she'll realize in her heart who she really is meant to be."
"What do we do in the mean time?" The figure asked as she gestured to the four other figures standing near the void.
Chaos thought about it, and then came up with an idea.
She turned to the others behind her. "Iron Man, tell the others I have a plan, and this time we'll need everyone's help. Perhaps together we can help him to find his way."
Iron Man, the one who knew Cosmos best before she had lost her way, nodded; in a flash of lightning he was gone.
Chaos looks at the others standing near her Void. "Loki, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Hulk come closer, here's what we'll do."
Chaos conferred with the other warriors on ways to help Cosmos regain her mind. It would be an elaborate stage with happy endings, and sad dramatic middles. The stage was set in the far reaches of the Universe, on a small bumpkin planet called Earth, starring Cosmos reborn as a human prophet. Cosmos's old family played their parts and left clues along the way wishing that this revolution of the wheel would be the last. They hoped that soon they would have Cosmos back to her old self, and the Universe would be healed once more.
Miraculous Tragedy
"We mustn't keep meeting like this. Communication between the people of the Asgard and the Midgard is forbidden. It is the way of the gods. We mustn't fall in love . . . But it's already too late."
A thousand years ago in a small meadow a man and woman sat together. The man was tall with raven hair that went passed his shoulders. His pale skin contrasted with his hazel green eyes and thin light pink lips. His hunter green tunic blew lightly in the breeze. The woman that sat in his arms had long black hair and dark eyes and reddish brown skin. She wore a blue sleeveless top with white beads and a long grey dress. She also wore earrings with white beads.
He pulled her close and smiled as her hair brushed his neck. She nestled her head against his chest and sighed. They sat under a large cherry blossom tree and were surrounded by additional trees, red and silver roses bloomed on various bushes, and the green grass was slightly damp like a meadow on a spring morning. There was a light breeze that blew rustling his hair and causing her onyx strands to dance with his. It was a forbidden embrace but they didn't care, at this moment they were the only two people in the universe. The woman sighed again and the man spoke as he stroked her hair, his voice was silky and elegant. "Penny for your thoughts my dear?"
The woman removed her head from his chest and looked up at him. Their eyes met. She smiled that smile that always made his heart beat a bit faster. He smiled back at her and she was glad she was already sitting because his smile always made her weak in the knees. His eyes looked down at her with deep love in them but she always noticed a twinkle of mischief. Her eyes were such a striking deep onyx, the color of night that he always found himself drowning in them. She moved some of his hair out of his eyes as she spoke. "I was thinking about the first time you appeared to me in this place."
He leaned down and gently kissed the top of her head. She laid her head back down on his chest. "I thought I had wondered off into a dream and you were an angel."
She laughed and lifted her head to face him again. "Angel? I hardly think that is the case. You know that I am a goddess."
He looked at her seriously. "You will always be so much more than that to me. I have never felt as accepted, complete and peaceful as I do when I'm with you."
He kissed the dark star mark on her forehead feeling the warmth of it on his lips. When they parted she laid her head back on his chest. "I am content to stay like this forever but you know if they find out they will never allow it..." She looked up at him and her face changed from content and happy to fearful and sad "...if they find out you are here..."
The man put his slender finger to her pink lips. "We mustn't think of such things. When our secret comes to light it will be too late and..."
"Then let us leave this place, now." She pleaded pulling herself up out of his lap and grabbing his hand forcing him to stand as she started to walk put his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him so she was facing him. She always felt small under his broad frame. He put a gentle hand on her cheek. "You know there is nothing I would like more but I still have a few more preparations to make. We do not want to go only to have…"
Suddenly the meadow was bathed in a flash of silver lightening and a loud crack of thunder. Followed by a bright flash of rainbow light. The once bright and happy meadow was plunged into darkness. The man stood, his clothes began to change and in their place he wore shining gold armor that covered his chest and arms. A hunter green cape flowed behind him and gold horned helmet covered his head. He stood protectively in front of the woman. Before them stood the only two people they feared, the ones that could threaten the happiness they had found with each other. The man who appeared by rainbow light was older with long silver hair and beard. He wore golden armor with a red cape flying behind him and a gold horned helmet. His right eye was covered by a golden eye patch. Gungnir his golden spear glowed threateningly in his left hand. When he spoke his voiced boomed with anger. "Loki Odinson…"
Loki looked at Odin and spoke quietly. "How did you know where I was…"
Odin bellowed in anger. "Did you think you could hide from his sight forever?"
Loki looked confused at first. Then cursed as realization of his mistake hit him. In his rush to return to her he had forgotten to conceal himself from their watcher. He cleared his throat to speak again as he felt his love shiver with fear behind him and tightened her grip on his arm. "All father please we lo…"
Odin raised Gungnir threateningly. "Enough!"
The woman standing beside Odin was Cosmos. She had long, wavy, hair which was golden orange and gradated into a bright red. She wore a soft lime green dress that reached down to her feet. She had red eyes.
Cosmos had changed much since her Fall. And this Earth was her jurisdiction. Chaos had chosen not to interfere, and thus had made it taboo, to her own downfall: she had fallen in love.
Cosmos' facial expression was triumphant but her voice was no less harsh as she looked at the woman behind Loki. "Chaos you have broken a taboo. You both have risked war and death on your worlds. By your own vow, Chaos, you must be separated. You..." She pointed to Loki "...will depart from this land and never return. I, Cosmos, Empress of Kinmoku-sei, capital of this Galaxy, order you to forget her as she belongs in the Otherworld, a place of solitude that she chose..."
Loki was about to speak in protest but before he could Chaos jumped out from behind him and stood in front of him like a fierce lioness, her voice hard as she spoke. "I did not choose my solitude! You thrust it upon me when you betrayed me, sister! You will not banish me from the universe that I helped to create! I have found my kindred spirit in Loki and I will never love another as I love him."
"You create nothing but darkness and pain." Cosmos bit back. "Evil is born and wars begun because you exist. That is why I must end the cycle here."
Cosmos looked to Odin and nodded sadly. "Since you refuse to follow our request willingly..." Odin's angry voice bellowed through the meadow.
"We will not leave you with a choice." Cosmos finished. A round silver crystal appeared in her hands and began to glow bright. She closed her eyes as Odin spoke "Heimdall, Return us to Asgard!"
As soon as he mentioned the watchers name Loki threw two throwing knives at them from his belt as a distraction and grabbed Chaos hand. Together they tried to run towards the silver portal that had brought him here. Lightening cracked and just before the couple reached their destination they were ripped away from one another. Loki was consumed by rainbow light while Chaos started to glow silver. Their hands barely touched as they screamed the others name.
The last of her that Loki saw was her body collapsing in on itself and crystallizing into a single grey gem in the shape of a lotus flower. In another moment the six petals of the flower separated and changed to different colors.
The colored stones flew off into space, and the single grey stone flew far, far, in the direction Loki knew to be the Galaxy Cauldron.
"Loki . . . You are my first love. My only love. Even if we're reborn in another life, we'll find each other. And then . . . We'll fall in love again . . ."
