The absolute silence of space was so oppressive it seemed like a physical weight. From their position on the Moving Palace, they peered out over the star before them, whirling and writhing with swirls of blinding red. Just beyond the star's light, he could barely make out the dark shape moving within it.
"What an ugly existence," his Lady spoke from the throne beside him, peering over to him with bright eyes, waiting for confirmation. "Don't you think so, Elpis?"
He bowed his head. "Of course, Lady Pandorana."
"A pathetic star and its dull little satellites. Formed from corruption." She held out a hand. Moving before her, he kneeled, helping her down from the throne. Her steps pattered across the stone until she reached the edge. She pressed her hands to the forcefield. Her gaze passed over them, and she smiled. "But we're going to make them pure again." She turned back to him. The red light fell over her tan skin—in the reflection, he could see the star's inhabitant moving. "Look how big he's gotten!"
The entity's roars were silent. Still, it broke over the palace in waves. Elpis shuddered, the walls crumbling in spots around them. It grew stronger by the minute.
Her eyes glistened. "I think it's time we fed him."
Episode 1: A Soldier, Far From Home
Seattle, Washington. 2005.
The sun wasn't awake yet—high above, speckles of stars stood out like powdered sugar on a stove top. At 5:00 AM, the whole of Seattle was quiet. It was one of the only times Rory could get some peace in this city. Plus, it was better to be outside pretty early. Most of the folks who would have been lurking along the street side saved their business for the deep night. Those crooks were too lazy to wake up before daybreak.
The bright pinpoints shown down on her from the blackness. From atop the railing, Rory heard a rustling beside her. She peered over, and brightened to see that same little visitor that often came around. "Well, hey there. Didn't know I was going to be having a guest tonight."
Little cat stared at her. Slowly, she took a seat on the porch's railing, her tail flicking.
The little orange tabby had been creeping around the neighborhood for weeks. It had to be a stray, and it must not have liked people too well, because it always kept its distance. Still, it seemed to have taken a liking to her.
Rory rubbed her fingers together. "Pst-pst. Come on, little cat. You're probably hungry, aren't you? Or thirsty?" Rory always imagined it was a girl.
The cat blinked at her, then pattered along the rail to stand by her feet. It butted its head against her calf.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Rory reached down, scratching at its ruff. The smell of peach drifted up from her teacup. "You know, I just can't take my eyes off this one star? Same star, every night. It's like it's staring at me."
The cat gave a little Brrrp?
The star was so small. It was off behind so many others that were larger than it was, but for some reason it stood out. It's tiny ring of light seemed slightly red, like a harvest moon.
Rory snorted. "Weird, huh?"
She sat up, watching as the cat stepped away from her. It moved back to her bedroom door, meowing.
"Sorry, sweetheart. I would bring you in, but my mama would never let me keep a cat in the house." Sighing, she gulped down the rest of her tea, setting the cup down on the peeling deck wood. Rory stretched over her head, the sleeves of her wind suit crinkling. She grinned at the cat. "But I know where to get you something good. Want to come with me?"
The cat said brrrp?
She took that as a yes.
She always waited until she was out of the neighborhood to get started, where no creeps were prowling in the alleys and the buildings got big without being real skyscrapers.
The sun was beginning to rise as she made her way down the boulevard. "We're talking the scenic route, baby girl."
The cat pattered along beside her.
It may have been a result of her watching too much Fresh Prince growing up, but her color-block wind-breaker was hands-down her favorite piece of clothing. Of course, she only ever wore it on mornings like these.
The sky shifted black to bright blue just as she moved into the city proper. She looked down at the little cat. "Can you keep up?"
Rory eyed an upcoming alley—as good a place to start as any. Her heart leapt with adrenaline as she targeted a particular spot on the brick. Surging forward, she jammed her foot up, and then she was in the air.
Quick—in a spinning motion, she launched herself from one wall to the other, back, forth. Letting the momentum carry her, she hooked her hand over the ledge of the building, propelling herself up.
She swung over onto the gravel rooftop. Yes. Wind whipped past her face as she grinned uncontrollably and kept running.
"Come on, little cat," she laughed. "Don't fall behind."
Mreow. The little orange cat appeared over the roof's edge.
Rory raised her eyebrows. Wow. That's one agile cat. She was expexting to have to come back for her, but apparently not.
When Rory was young, her mother used to scold her for climbing the walls in the hallway of their apartment. She didn't remember it, but she could believe it. Now, she just preferred rooftops. Freerunning could feel like the most natural thing in the world, when you were in it.
Her arms pumped at her sides, the breeze catching in her jacket. Her plum-woven braids whipped behind her, as her chest heaved, and she propelled herself onto the next rooftop, then the next. It was almost like flying.
The skyline of Seattle sped past her. It was crazy to think how much the city had changed in just the past ten years—far off, she could see the needle glistening in the sunlight, almost reflective since it's futuristic chromatic revival. On every side, each rooftop housed their own little gardens and green houses, vines spilling over the edges. Seattle had moved up from being one of the most beautiful cities in the US all the way to number one.
And dang, if it didn't make for a good run. Made her feel like a superhero, sometimes.
Running out of breath, she spied the roof top she'd been waiting on—leaping across, she rolled to a stop before standing again. "You still here, little cat?"
After a moment, the cat moseyed up beside her, licking its paw.
She had expected it to give up. "You're really a special little cat, aren't you?" Hanging her legs over the roof's edge, she scratched behind one of its orange ears. "Very impressive."
The cat purred. Rory'd always thought the little markings on her forehead were cool, the little crescent pattern in her fur. She could see them extra clear, just then.
"Alright. I promised you some breakfast, didn't I?" Scanning over the edge, she found a spot that would let the little cat get down. "Come on, then."
Jumping up, she turned and hung over the edge of the roof, dropping down each level by the window frame until she was close enough to make a landing. The little cat followed behind her, jouncing down the fire escape.
She rounded the corner, emerging out on the front-side of the building—Clarke's Convenience. Unzipping her jacket, she pulled it off to straighten out her work uniform beneath. "Hold on," she said, wiping a bead of cooled sweat off her forehead. "I'll bring you something."
The cat—she was going to have to name it at some point—just stared, watching with huge eyes as she entered the market.
Some older hits from back in 2020 bopped through the overhead sound system. Rory shook out her jacket, stowing it on the coatrack left for employees.
Brenda, her boss, blinked at her from over the counter as she entered. "Well you're here early."
"Just went for a run this morning." Rory slicked a hand over her braids, sweeping them back in order. She grabbed a sandwich from the cold case. "Plus, I've only got a half-shift today. Might as well get done as soon as I can, Ms. B. Can you ring me up?"
Brenda was a full-figured, older white lady with two kids. She'd been good to work for since Rory had started high school, even letting her on unofficially while her mama was trying to get her work permit registered. She talked about her kids almost constantly, and, when she wasn't, she was trying to mother her too. She was good people.
"Well," Brenda said, "I won't complain about the early assist." She eyed the sandwich. "Egg salad for breakfast, Rory?"
"Kinda." Rory's eyes drifted over the standing stock—today was going to be busy. Her eyes caught on one of the magazines waiting to be shelved.
NASA RELEASES UPDATES ON EXPLORATION OF PROXIMITOUS-50: NEW INFORMATION ON THE CLOSEST STAR SYSTEMS TO EARTH
Including a new exoplanet in YZ Ceti, unusual activity from Trappist-1, and the abrupt disappearance of HR 8832, NASA this week…
Disappearance? How could a star just disappear? Rory frowned. Maybe it went supernova or something. As much as she enjoyed watching the stars, pointing out the constellations, she wasn't an astronomy expert. She made a note to read that later.
"Here you go." Brenda passed her the sandwich. How did you get here so fast, anyway? I thought buses didn't run this early."
"I ran the buildings," Rory tore the package open with her teeth.
Brenda huffed, apparently not having realized what she meant when she said a run. "Girl! You're going to get yourself killed one day, I swear. That stuff's dangerous."
Rory shook her head. "Okay, Ms. B." She pulled out the sandwich, moving back out the door. "Okay, little cat. I got your breakfast—"
The empty street stared back at her.
Rory blinked, peering down both sides of the road. Nothing.
She lowered her arm, the sandwich hanging limp in at her side.
Where did she go?
At 2:00 PM, Rory emerged from the convenience store, stretching over her head. It had been a pretty busy day, for a Saturday. She was just glad to be off at this point.
The sun had shifted, the afternoon light filtering down through trees boxed along the roadside, leaving shadowy patterns like lace on the side walk. It was a beautiful day, and she had time. I should stop through the park.
Moseying down the street, jacket tied around her waist against the spring heat, she thought back to the article she'd picked up earlier.
…Trappist-1 exhibiting solar flares at the greatest rate seen since its initial discovery.
HR 8832, however, has been home to an even greater phenomena. On the ARC probe's most recent relay of the area, the star of the HR 8832 star system seems to have disappeared completely. Astronomers charged with the research are baffled, though several theories have arisen.
"It's possible there's been a malfunction in the ARC's relay system," suggested Team Lead Justin Harris. "It's also possible that, at the time of the star's reading, their was some sort of immense dark matter storm—we've seen dark matter, even in the little we know about it, cause this kind of interference before.
The most alarming factor is that the exoplanets within the HR 8832 are exhibiting effects from this blackout. The planet's temperature readings have all dropped exponentially, and some even appear to be coming out of their accepted orbits. This would suggest that, indeed, something has happened to star HR 8832. We're going to continue looking into it."
How weird. Rory peered off into the trees, approaching the park in the distance. You'd think if it was a supernova, they would have picked up on that right away. They didn't even mention it. But what could cause a star to disappear?
The Freeway Park was quiet. Usually, on the weekend, places like this were slammed, but she couldn't even hear any kids running around. Birds sung in the trees above her, the blue sky shining through the trees, but she could help but feel a little uneasy.
She looked back down to the foot path, and her footsteps slowed as she noticed a shape on the pavement. Unmoving.
And bright orange.
Her heart clenched. "Oh no." Quickly, she jogged up to the shape in the path, confirming just what she had feared. "Oh no, little cat. Are you okay?"
Little cat was still—she couldn't see any injuries. Maybe she was just hurt? She could probably get her to a vet, though she didn't have anything to pay them with. She stroked over the cat's warm fur, tears welling up. "What happened to you?"
She saw that little crescent-shaped patch on her forehead—poor thing. Though, now that she was looking at it up close, it didn't actually seem to be fur there? Just a little shape. Maybe a birthmark?
She stroked her thumb over the shape.
It hit her like lightening. Rory seized, an ache in her head bursting into being behind her eyes. What is…? Before she could understand what was happening, blackness swum in her vision, and she hit the pavement.
Rory didn't know where she was. She peered into the blackness, stars on every side. Before her, there was a shape—round, bright yellow-orange, and dotted with red. Transfixed, she reached a palm out. She could feel something familiar. It was the same feeling she had, she realized, when she looked up at the stars in the early morning.
She could hear a voice. It was like it was coming from inside:
Do you remember?
She could see a hot sheen, she noticed, bright on her dark skin. Coming from behind.
Do you remember?
Hello?
She turned. Red light and heat towered over her like the sun. It opened up, a gaping maw, and roared.
Hello! Oh, gosh, oh no—
She jolted. Had she passed out? Her vision was hazy at the edges, but she could already tell it was much dimmer outside than it had been before. How long had she been out? She groaned.
She was still hearing a voice, she realized.
"Hello? Oh, thank goodness. You have to get up quickly, Aurora, it's coming back!"
Aurora? No one called her her full name except her mama, and this wasn't her mama's voice. And, wait, what was coming back? Her head throbbed, and she sat up, her vision clearing.
There was no one there.
All around here, the park was empty. Sunset rained color from above, and shadows. No people, though. She stood—she was sure she'd heard someone talking to her. "Hello?" Her voice echoed back to her from all sides.
"Down here, Aurora!"
Rory's eyes widened. They darted down to the pavement, where little cat had gotten back up. Thank goodness.
But wait.
Little cat narrowed her eyes. "Aurora! We have to go now!"
"What the hell?" Aurora scrambled back.
"Language!" Little cat frowned at her. "Rude!"
"You can talk?"
The cat sighed, shaking her head. "Yes, finally. I was starting to think we would never make the connection." Her eyes shot wide again. "But there's no time to talk! That beast is coming back, you need to hide until you can defend yourself!"
As if on cue, Rory suddenly picked up heavy footsteps in the distance. Dread fell over her. Little cat was right—something was coming. "Okay."
Reaching down, she scooped up little cat. "Hey! I'm not a sack of potatoes!" Little cat dug her claws into her shirt.
Hugged her to her body, Rory took off.
The steps behind faltered—then picked up again. It must have seen her. Where could she hide? Her eyes widened. The rooftops! It couldn't follow her. She made a break for the nearest alley, shooting for the wall at the end. "Hold on," she told Little Cat.
"Oh no, not this again," the cat whined.
Using her momentum, Rory hit one, two, three steps up the wall, catching the ledge with her free hand before pulling herself up. She rolled over to the rooftop.
She ran. The afternoon sky blasted bright from behind her. She could here the footsteps, faintly, but they were getting farther and farther away. After a minute or so, the exertion caught up with her and she collapsed, knees falling hard onto the rooftop.
She panted. "What was that thing, little cat?"
The cat detached herself from Rory's shirt, dropping to the gravel. "It's hard to explain, but it used to be a person. Now, he's in the clutches of the pithos." She licked her paw passive-aggressively. "And my name is Celene."
"The pithos?"
"I can explain later. For now, that thing is coming for you. You must defeat it!"
Defeat it? Rory gestured to herself. "With what? My incredible fashion sense? Girl, I don't have any weapons!"
"Here."
At that moment, a light seemed to project from the birthmark on Celene's forehead. Rory watched as the light resolved into a shape. What was that? It looked almost like the spirit stick at her high school, but it had a brooch on the end with a symbol like a B. Wait, no, she recognized that—it was beta, the Greek letter. β.
"There. Take up your scepter, and transform! Quickly, Aurora. I don't want you to get hurt." Somehow, the cat looked legitimately worried.
Transform?
Reaching down, she grasped the…the scepter. As her hand closed around it, power shocked up through her finger tips.
"Now, say Crystal Power Beta, make-up!"
What else could she do? The words stumbled through her lips.
Light, light like darkness. What is happening?
She could feel something happening, even as her vision was lost—something wrapped over her arms, her arms, her legs, her torso. It wasn't over her clothes; it was more like they were being replaced. Something burned on her forehead.
The light faded.
Her feet hit the rooftop. Had she been floating? She gaped. The uniform was bright and dark, a dark leotard keyholed at the hips, a dark skirt, accents in marigold, a bow in orange. "What…is this?" Though, this uniform looked kind of familiar, actually.
Her eyes flew open when she realized where she'd seen one similar. She brought her hands to her chest. "Holy shit! Am I like Sailor Moon?"
Celene narrowed her eyes. "You're exactly like Sailor Moon."
Crunch.
Rory's eyes moved to the edge of the roof top. The ledge was cracking under the grip of a huge, monstrous hand.
She backed up.
Something that might have once been a man pulled itself up on the rooftop. It staggered to stand. Body crooked, it grinned across at her. "Star Soul detected."
Celene hissed. "Here it comes!"
The creature stalked towards her.
"What do I do?" She scrambled away as it moved towards her.
"You must tap into your power, Sailor Beta! Free this man from the pithos!"
It lunged. It still sort of look like a person, but its arm had grown into something that looked more like a monstrous bear's paw. Wicked claws extended from shadowy fur. Rory jumped out of the way (thank god all the free running had made her so agile,) rolling to land behind the creature.
It growled, turning back to face her undeterred.
Fighting a monster. How was she supposed to do that? Her chest heaved with exertion as the thing came towards her again.
Celene, from the other side of the roof, shouted, "Use your scepter!"
As Rory leapt away again, the creature seemed to hesitate—before turning towards Celene. "Interference…" it wheezed, "…will not be tolerated."
Celene yelped, running up onto the ledge before the creature stalked towards her.
Rory's eyes widened. If that thing knocked the little cat off the roof, she was done for! She looked at the scepter in her hand, the β shining back at her. Come on. Help me out here, magic wand. Her gaze flicked back to the monster, still in pursuit of Celene. "Hey," she shouted across the rooftop. The thing stopped, turning to look back at her. She thrust the scepter in its direction. "Pick on someone your own size, creep!"
The creature stared for a moment before its grin seemed to get impossibly wide. "Star Soul collection re-initiated."
Okay. It was moving towards her. It's now or you're going to die, Rory.
As the creature drew near, something came to her. Like remembering a quote from a song; the phrase rose in her mind with conviction.
Dire Stellar Gust.
Rory inhaled sharply. Thrusting the scepter out beside her open palm, she shouted the phrase. "Dire Stellar Gust!"
The wind came from nowhere. Behind, yet somehow, it didn't seem to hit her. The creature screamed as a barrage of dark wind, like starlight, came at him—the starry flecks within seemed to be sharp. Trying to escape, but already a black smoke sluffing off of it and into the air, it stumbled back—
-and over the ledge.
"Oh, shit—" Working on instinct, in the split second she's seen him go over she redirected the wind down to the alley's floor.
Celene jumped up beside her "Language!"
Rory peered over the edge.
Down in the alley, a guy was groaning, the wind dissipating where it had caught him. Whew.
Groaning, he clutched his head, no trace of the bear claw or the inhuman grin.
Thank goodness.
He opened his eyes, gazing up at her. "Whoa."
Rory realized she probably shouldn't be seen like this. Rising from the roof's ledge, she took off, dusk descending around her.
She figured out how to turn back just before she got back into her neighborhood. Her work uniform, her tennis shoes, the color-block jacket around her waist reappeared as if nothing had happened.
Getting down, the walked back home.
Her mama stopped her as soon as she got in the door. She ached all over—that thing didn't even land a hit, so how did that work? "Whoa there, girlie. You're back from work awful late."
She could smell barbeque chicken, mac n' cheese, and greens on the countertop. "Yeah," she quickly lied, "I was chilling with Narma after work, but I started feeling bad. Is it okay if I eat in my room?"
Her mama frowned at her. It must have sounded weird. Rory never made requests like that. Moving over, she pressed the back of her hand to Rory's forehead. "…you don't feel hot." She slowly grasped the plate before handing it over. "Just this once. Feel better, sugar."
Once in her room, Rory pulled out her phone and shot a text to Narma.
Hey, if my mom asks I was at your house this afternoon ok
Youd be doing me a huge favor. I owe you! v.v
What's this? Rory up to some salacious activity?
Well you u gotta tell me everything.
Not salacious! o.o
You wouldn't believe me if I told you
I got you girl. But I expect deetz at first opp
There are no deetz! But thank you!
Wow boring
At least she had that covered. She really was exhausted. After scarfing her dinner as fast as possible, she set her plate aside and passed out.