The sword flashed through the air, its shining blade knocking the weapons from her hands. Another flash and she was sprawling on the ground, an inelegant mess.
That insolent blob! Who did he think he was, to take her victory? She had expected the Dreamstalk to choose a hero, but not one with this degree of skill! The pink abomination took anything she threw at it, and then sent it right back. Such a hideous creature didn't deserve to so much as look at her, yet it was able to match her might and exceed it.
Words echoed through the hall, and she realized that she was speaking. She was angry. Indignant.
With rage filling her heart, she flew off the balcony towards the massive vine and its flowerbud. Energy flowed from the plant, filling her with power and pain. Her wings disconnected from her back, ripping the nerves apart as the golden filigree broke away from skin.
Energy erupted from the opening flower bud, blinding her. She reached out, casting a spell to tap into the flower's magic.
The roar of energy drowned out her screams of agony.
O-O-O
The screams ringing in her ears greeted her in the waking world.
She blinked, realizing that she had risen to a sitting position. She was in a small room. It was cozy and quaint. It felt… different. What was this place? How did she wind up here? The last thing she remembered-,
Nothing. She could remember nothing.
She knew that this should be worrying. She couldn't remember where she came from, how she got here, or even her own name. Just the idea should have been terrifying. But it wasn't. It was liberating. Like taking off a lead coat.
She looked around at her surroundings. A bed. She had been laying on a bed made of several smaller mattresses. Someone had draped a blanket over her while she slept. She pushed the blanket off and rolled over to her front, experimentally stretching the muscles on her back. Something on the corner of her vision twitched, and she turned her head to see what it was.
Wings, made of twisting gold. It was an elegant design, to be sure. Two wings on each side. That meant she was an insect of some kind. And she should be able to fly. That would probably be necessary, since she couldn't feel any kind of legs.
The first attempt, with broad sweeping wingbeats, proved entirely fruitless. As she sped up her wingbeat, she quickly began to buzz her wings so quickly that she couldn't even see if they were moving. Her body, large and heavy though it felt, slowly lifted off of the mattresses.
Now that she was airborne, she took another look around the room. It looked like it belonged to someone, and was well lived-in. The walls were painted a gentle pink, which made her just a little nervous for some reason. Against one wall was a full-length mirror, reaching from the floor to the ceiling far above. That little facet confused her, as most people wouldn't need a ceiling that high. Still, she nearly hit her head as she hovered into an upright position.
Her gaze was drawn to the mirror, and she hovered closer to it.
The creature she saw was elegant, graceful, and imposing. Indigo and gold, with pinks and purples. Just looking at the creature evoked a feeling of inferiority; a feeling that she would never be as divine as this paragon of royalty-
It was wearing a simple cotton dress.
No – she realized – she was wearing a simple cotton dress.
The creature in the mirror - as alien and strange as it was - was her. She was the elegant wasp in the mirror. It was strange; she didn't feel like the vision of beauty in the mirror. She felt clumsy, too big for her own body. Bloated.
The door to the room creaked open, and she whirled around. Surprise caused her to rise a bit higher, which in turn caused her head to connect hard with the ceiling. Someone cursed, the deep drawl unfamiliar to her. "Sorry 'bout that miss. Didn't mean ta startle ya."
She winced, rubbing the top of her head. "Ow…"
The door opened further, and a diminutive figure walked in. Its body was covered in dark fur, with two pointed ears atop its head. The nearly luminous yellow eyes looked up at her, and the feline's face twisted in a grimace. "Didn't realize ya were that big. Prob'ly should've used the barn t'give ya some room."
"Barn…?" She muttered to herself, furrowing her brow. She blinked, trying to remember something. Anything. "Um. I'm sorry, where am I?"
"Green Acres Farm," The feline creature answered, "Our own little slice'a Popstar." He paused. "Don't blame ya fer not knowin', ya weren't exactly coherent when Barney found ya in the Dreamstalk."
That word. Dreamstalk. That was familiar. "Dreamstalk?"
"Wow, yer really not from 'round here." The feline scratched his head. "'s a magical plant. Dropped from the skies n' started growin' everywhere. I think it's from some place called Floralala? Somethin' like that." The feline shrugged.
"Floralia?" The name slipped through her lips before she could even process it.
"Yeah." The feline gave her an odd look. "Are ya from there?"
"I…" She reached up to rub her temple, blinking. "I… don't know. Maybe?"
"Sounds ta me like ya've got some amnesia." The feline sat down in a wicker chair next to the door. "M'name's Wesley. Can ya remember yers?"
"My name…" She rubbed both temples, face scrunching as she tried fruitlessly to remember. "I can't remember…"
"Well, what's the last thing ya do remember?"
"The last…"
She couldn't even touch the star warrior with her spells. He was too blindingly fast. He had discarded his weapon for the time, using his innate powers to hurl star-shaped blasts of power at her. In rage, she unleashed a barrage of curved blades. The star warrior leaped over the blades, turning around and opening his mouth to catch and swallow one. A helmet of gilded steel manifested atop his head, a pink hand snatching the blade from atop the helm and hurling it through the air at her. She fluttered upwards to dodge, only to misjudge and take the blade through one wing. The curved blade boomeranged backwards towards her-
She collapsed forwards, sprawling on the mattresses and clutching at her head. She could remember pain, now. Not much else. Flashes of a night sky, filled with stars and levitating crystals. And… pink. Something pink that hurt to think about.
The feline – Wesley – had rushed to her side. "You okay there? I din't mean fer that ta happen."
"Stars… I remember stars. And pain. That's it." She screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of pain. "I'm okay. I think."
"Gave me a scare there miss." Wesley sighed in relief. "So. No name, no past, nothin'. Sounds ta me like yer in a rough place here."
"I… yes. I think so." She pushed herself back into a sitting position. She blinked a few times, rubbing her head at the base of her antennae. "I'm terribly sorry to be causing you so much trouble, Mister Wesley. I'm afraid I have no way to repay you…"
"It's nothin', miss. Happy to help." Wesley paused. "And it's just Wesley. No need fer anythin' special." The feline paused again, furrowing his brow. "Now, this might sound a bit stupid, seein' as ya already said ya couldn' remember nothin', but ya got anywhere ta go?"
She had to think for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I don't think so." She paused for a moment, thinking. "I… I'd like to repay your kindness somehow. You said this was a farm? Could I help out somehow? I… don't know if I have any skills that could be of use, but I'm very big, so I might be able to do some manual labor."
Wesley looked at her hands, an eyebrow lifting. "Well, lookin' at those hands I'd say ye've never worked a day in yer life, but if yer willin' ta help then I won't turn ya down." He shrugged, heading over to the door. "Just rest fer a bit now, though. Orchid said yer healthy but dehydrated so I'll get ya some water real quick, and then we can take a little trip 'round the farm."
The door snapped quietly shut behind the feline, leaving her alone. Now that silence returned, the room felt incredibly empty. She hadn't noticed it before, but now the absence was crushingly oppressive. She hovered above the mattresses, taking deep breaths.
Almost unconsciously, she started wringing her hands. Just on the edge of her hearing was a faint buzz, almost imperceptible. The edges of her vision began to dim as her eyes fluttered, her breathing accelerating as her breaths became shallower.
The air was pressing down on her. Suffocating.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe!
She rushed across the room, hands scrabbling on the doorknob as she desperately tried to open the door. She finally managed to grab the doorknob, twisting it as she flung the door open-
Standing right on the other side of the door, a plastic bottle of water in one hand, was Wesley. The feline was looking up at her with an eyebrow raised. "Ya doin' okay?"
"I…" She took a few deep breaths, blinking to clear her vision. She backed up until she was over the mattresses again. "I don't… I don't know." She swallowed and shook her head. "I think so. I just… that was odd." After taking a moment, she continued, "I'll be okay."
"Ya sure? Don't wanna let ya hurt yerself."
"I'm sure." She nodded.
"Well, if ya say so." Wesley shrugged, twisting the cap off of the water bottle and handing it to her. "Just lemme know if ya feel lightheaded or somethin'."
"Th-thank you." She took the bottle in both hands, afraid of dropping it. The opposite nearly happened instead, as her grip crushed the bottle a little bit. A small amount of water splashed on the matresses below her as a result. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean -"
"Don' worry 'bout it. It'll dry." Wesley cut her off, giving a smile for a brief moment. "Now then, I'm gonna go get Orchid to take a look at yer head. Will you be okay?"
"I should be." She took a sip from the water bottle before amending her statement. "Um, actually. I would rather not be alone."
Wesley stopped, just about to step outside the room, and stepped back in. "Aright then. Lemme just…" He leaned out of the doorway a bit, shouting down the hall. "Quartz, dear, can ya fetch Orchid?"
"I'll make sure she's right there," A voice from somewhere down the hall called back.
"Thanks dear." Wesley pulled his head back into the room, talking to her again. "Orchid'll be 'ere in a bit. She's a leafan, an' she's got a knack fer herbs an' medicine. She'll take a look at yer head an' see if there's anythin' to be done 'bout that amnesia."
"Thank you, I appreciate that." She nodded.
"In th' meantime, we gotta figure out what t' call ya. 'Cause I've been referrin' t' ya mentally as 'wasp lady' an' it's kinda rude, t' be honest," Wesley said, scratching his head, "I don't just wanna call ya somethin' without yer input, y'know?"
"I think I understand." She took another drink of water, then carefully set it on the floor. "But I do not have any thought as to how to fix this issue."
"Well, my always go-to is t' begin by lookin' at unique features an' go from there. Yer a very unique individual, at least for these parts." Wesley scratched his chin. "Lessee… yer some kinda wasp, with golden wings, an' ya came outta a flower. Lots t' pick from, I guess."
"Well…" She frowned. "Those open up quite a few options. The family of creatures wasps fall into is Vespidae, which could be the root for several names. Alternatively gold is referred in many older languages as aurum, which is also - what?"
She blinked, looking at Wesley. The feline had a contemplative look on his face.
"Well, if nothin' else, we know for sure that in yer previous life ya were well-educated," He said, "Let's start with that first one then. Vespiday. Could go with somethin' like Vespa, or Vesper."
"Hmm." She furrowed her brow. Vesper had a nice ring to it, but it didn't sound right to her. The association with wasps was accurate, but it felt… wrong. In a way she couldn't really place. "I don't particularly feel like either of those is right."
"Then we move onto the other one. Gold, or,uh, aurum. Aurelia, Auriel, Gol-"
"Auriel," She interrupted, straightening. "I… I think I like Auriel."
"Auriel it is then." Wesley nodded, giving her a toothy smile. He extended one hand. "Pleased t' meet ya."
Auriel, newly named and feeling much better about her situation, took Wesley's hand. She shook gently, noting the limited movement range of his much smaller limbs and trying to be cautious with her ungainly strength.
It was only a moment later that a small leafan poked her head around the doorframe. Her leaves were vibrant colors, and a pale orange flower bloomed from the top of her head, matching the color of her skin. She gingerly nudged Wesley, drawing his attention.
"Oh, perfect timin' Orchid." Wesley stepped aside, gesturing for Orchid to enter the room. "Orchid, this here's Auriel. Auriel, this's Orchid. She's been makin' sure yer healthy while yer sleepin'."
"A pleasure to meet you, Orchid." Auriel bowed her head. "Thank you for watching over me in my unresponsive state."
Orchid's cheeks darkened several shades before she responded with a quiet, almost inaudible "You're welcome."
"Orchid, Auriel here's got some headaches and a serious case of amnesia. Could you take a look at her t' see if ya can help out?" Wesley asked.
Orchid nodded, a pair of vines sprouting from underneath the flower on her head and reaching up to Auriel's face. Auriel held still as she was gently probed. The vines tapped all over her head, at her temples, around her antennae, and on the forehead before being retracted. Orchid hummed to herself as the flower on her head opened, a smaller flower rapidly growing within. When it was full-grown, it opened to release a pleasant, soothing scent.
"Is this helping?" Orchid asked softly.
"It smells quite pleasant, but my headaches stopped a little bit ago. It's not returning any memories to me, either," Auriel said sadly.
"Hmm." Orchid retracted the flower, and it sank smoothly back into her head. "I'll put something together for any headaches you have in the future. Make sure to drink water."
"Yes, of course." Auriel nodded, picking up the water bottle and drinking the rest. "Thank you."
"Are ya feelin' well enough t' w- fly?" Wesley asked.
Instead of responding, Auriel buzzed her wings, hovering up above the mattresses. She had finally figured out her balance, though she still almost bumped her head into the ceiling.
"C'mon, I'll introduce ya t' the rest've the family," Wesley gestured for her to follow, stepping out into the hall.
Auriel followed, ducking her head and spreading her wings at just the right angle to pass through the doorway. The hallway beyond was just barely large enough for her to fly comfortably, so she was careful to keep her course straight to avoid bumping into the walls. More importantly to avoid bumping into the picture frames hanging from those walls. She didn't want to disturb such happy faces, displayed on the walls with care.
In short order Wesley led her into a living area, where a couple more figures were seated on a couch. One was a hovering individual, their small body supporting a much larger head. They lacked limbs - kind of like Auriel - with hands that floated a short distance away from their body. They wore a simple outfit, composed of a sleeveless shirt and skirt, with a sun hat covering their eyes. If, indeed, they had eyes. It was hard to tell.
The other figure was a stout one, and Auriel recognized their species immediately. They were a rocky, an earth elemental of Popstar. This one was composed of white crystals, with rounded edges instead of the sharp points that one would expect of a crystalline creature.
"Sina, Quartz, this here's Auriel," Wesley introduced, nodding first to the hovering individual and then to the rocky. "She's got a bad case of amnesia and needs a place to stay fer a while."
"Hello there," The rocky said, "I'm Quartz. I take care of the finances and earthworks around here in Green Acres."
"Heya, I'm Sina. I'm a nESP, in case you were wondering. I'm a psychic, but I specialize in telekinetics because if I try any telepathy there's a tiny chance that I'll make someone's head explode. I'm not from Popstar, so I get a lot of people wondering what my whole deal is and, uhm…" She spoke in a long, rapidfire stream of words before coming to a stop. "I hope that dress is fitting well. I didn't have a whole lot of time to take measurements before doing the cutting and sewing so if you want another one I can go ahead and do that at some point."
"It fits wonderfully, thank you Sina," Auriel said.
Sina put her hands to her cheeks and flushed red. "Oh gosh."
"Sina, dear," Quartz said, "Be polite."
"Sorry," Sina squeaked.
Orchid walked past Auriel and hopped up on the couch next to Sina, nudging the nESP with the side of her head. Orchid leaned over and whispered something, which sent Sina into a fit of giggles and blushing for a few moments before she calmed down.
"Barney," Quartz called into another room, "Can you come in here, please?"
"One moment!" A chipper voice responded. Auriel heard a door close.
A moment later, a large bronto burt walked into the main living area. He was orange, rather than the usual pink for his species, and somewhere around twice the rather diminutive size that most bronto burts were. He had one insectoid wing limp, swollen around the shoulder that it was joined to.
"I had my wing in the fridge like you told me to, but it's still super sore," The bronto burt said, "I don't think the- oh!" He stopped, eyes widening as he spotted Auriel. "Hi! You're awake!"
"I am." Auriel nodded.
"Auriel, Barney here's the one who found ya. He got ya outta the flower of the Dreamstalk and brought ya back here." Wesley walked over to the bronto burt and pat him on the side.
"Thank you for helping me, Barney," Auriel said, "I am given to understand that when you found me, I was unconscious?"
"Yes, and inside the Dreamstalk vine I was growing." Barney nodded. "Then these black orb things attacked, trying to get to you for some reason. We tried to fight them off, but the only thing that stopped them was the Dreamstalk itself, or, I think it was the Dreamstalk that did it."
"Then it seems I am in your debt. All of you." Auriel bowed her head. "I do hope that I will be able to repay your kindness."
There was silence for a few moments. Auriel began to worry that perhaps she had said something to offend them. The mere thought she may have slighted these people made her inordinately nervous. Fortunately, she needn't have worried.
"Oh nonsense. You don't need to repay anything. We'd be terrible hosts if we exacted a price for helping someone," Quartz declared, hopping off the couch. "Come with me, dear. You must be dreadfully hungry after sleeping for so long."
Quartz started walking towards the kitchen.
Auriel felt a weight in her chest lift. Anxiety that had been brewing beneath the surface vanished in an instant. In its place was a warmth, one that was unfamiliar but very welcome.
Perhaps, she thought to herself, this is what life is supposed to be like?
A/N:
A new chapter? For this story? Four years later? It's more likely than you think.
So yeah, we're back. I'm going to try to keep up with this story from now on, but no promises. It seems I have a habit of taking a multi-year break from a story and then coming back to finish it, so let's see if that keeps up.
As for the actual contents of this chapter, I think it's mostly self-explanatory? I was originally going to go with Vesper as Sectonia's name while she has amnesia, but something about that didn't feel right, four years later. Even without the mirror's corruption or her memories, Sectonia still has quite a bit of vanity, and would rather be named after gold if she had the choice. At least, that's my in-universe justification. Really it's just because I feel like Auriel sounds better.
For those returning to this story, the description has changed. When I started this story I was unaware that, of the characters to have Soul Boss forms, Sectonia and Drawcia are the ones who died at the end of their stories (And Haltmann/Star Dream, but he's a unique case and we'll get back to him later). Although in Drawcia's case it's more a case of her never returning in any form outside of callbacks, while it is absolutely confirmed that Sectonia is dead. Marx and Magolor both canonically return in Star Allies, and Void is eternally rebirthing itself.
In any event, I hope my returning readers enjoy this chapter, and new readers enjoy this story so far. Leave a review if there was anything you particularly liked/disliked, and I'll do my best to improve.
