A Thousand Points of Light
Stargazing
All right, since I had the time (and the story idea), I decided I might as well whip this little story up. Like my last one, it's got a humourous take on things – the world of Mega Man Star Force was never overly serious, anyways.
Thanks to those who reviewed the last time.
Title: Stargazing
Summary: What better way to unwind after a disastrous training session? Stargazing is, after all, oh so romantic.
Genre: Humour/Romance
As the old saying goes, the only thing in Echo Ridge higher than Vista Point was the Wave Road above Vista Point.
Okay, so it's not a particularly old saying. Yes, I concede that it's not much of a saying at all. In fact, I don't think I've actually heard anyone ever say that before right now. It is, however, most certainly true. That good enough for you, you pedantic thimble-rigging literalists? Good. Now shut up.
Back to aforementioned 'Vista Point Wave Road'…
A casual observer (well, okay, a casual observer who would just so happen to possess the ability to see EM Wave Beings via various methods such as actually being an EM Wave Being oneself, or owning and using an article that granted one the same abilities as Geo's Visualizer, in which case he wouldn't really qualify as a 'casual' observer anymore, but – you know what? Forget it.) might have noted that upon the Wave Road above Vista Point lay two figures, both looking rather worse for the wear. Neither of them moved for a very long moment, until the one clad in blue stirred faintly.
"Unh…" He said, in the universal groan of somehow who is hurting a lot and doesn't really want to get up, except that it's probably in his best interests that he do so. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he shifted his gaze to the pink-clad form that lay slightly beside him. "Hey," he said softly, extending his right hand (as his left hand was currently transformed into the vaguely lupine-shaped head of an energy being) and poking her in the shoulder. "You okay?"
In response, Harp Note tensed, and pushing against the ground, managed to turn over so that she was facing the sky. "Just. Peachy." She said in a voice that indicated she was anything but. Then she looked over at the blue bomber, a curious look in her eyes. "So what happened, Mega Man? Did we win?"
"Well, I don't see any viruses around, so I'm guessing yes," Mega Man closed his eyes and sighed. "We won… somehow."
The musical warrior grimaced and rubbed her shoulder, where a rather deep cut was clearly visible. "I don't know if this session is evidence that we should hold more such training sessions to improve our teamwork, or that we should never come within twenty feet of each other while in EM Wave Form ever again for reasons of personal safety."
Mega Man let out a weak chuckle in response, before glancing at the wound on her shoulder. "Um… does that hurt?"
She was barely able to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. For all that Mega Man was a great friend, he sometimes asked some really dumb questions. "Well, how do you think accidentally stepping into the cutting range of a Widesword would feel?"
"Oh… sorry." Mega Man set back, with a sigh. "…Was that before or after I activated the Poison Panels over the area you were standing?"
"Not sure," The blonde confessed. "I do know it was before I accidentally wrapped you up with my guitar strings."
"And that occurred before you hit me with your Pulse Wave, thereby stunning me and leaving me open to attack."
"And after that you were so eager to get out of the way of the Mettenna's Groundwave that you crashed straight into me when I was trying to avoid that Melamander's Tailburn, resulting in both attacks hitting us." Harp Note shook her head.
"And lest we forget," Came Lyra's voice from the head of Harp Note's guitar, dripping with sarcasm. "Our brilliant finale."
"All right! That's it!" Mega Man snapped. "Star Force, Green Dragon Mega Man! Wave Change!"
There was a flash of brilliant light, and when it cleared, Mega Man was significantly changed, now clad in viridian armour instead of the usual sky blue. Harp Note paused to take in the suddenness of the transformation – and the huge surge of power she felt emanating from him.
Mega Man was quite obviously annoyed with the hash they'd been making of the fight so far. Charging forward, he held up a single gleaming card. "Star Force Big Bang! Elemental Cyclone!"
Instantly a howling tornado whipped up around the battlefield, gathering thousands of razor-sharp leaves within it. With a roar, Mega Man unleashed the full fury of the cyclone at the foes before him, blowing them away.
So exuberant was he at the success of his attack that it took him several seconds to realize that viruses weren't the only thing that had been caught up in the storm.
"GEOOOOO!" Harp Note screamed, forsaking their EM Wave Form identities in her panic. "HEEEELLPPPP MEEEE!!"
"Huh? Ack!" Mega Man blanched as he saw his friend trapped in the middle of the vortex. He really wasn't used to having to be careful about where he aimed his attacks of mass devastation. "Hang on! I'm coming for you!"
Charging forward, he extended his hand into the cyclone to grab her – and came to the unhappy realization that the pull of the cyclone was far stronger than he had anticipated. In a split second, he had been whisked into the centre as well. Harp Note had the time to shoot him a look of abject disbelief before she returned to screaming.
There was simply nothing for either of the Wave-changed humans to do but to tough out the windstorm. When it finally dissipated, dumping the both of them onto the Wave Road, neither moved for a very long time.
"I think got a leaf in my mouth, too." Harp Note sighed as she spat at the ground. "Good thing we have these eyeshields, or we'd probably have our eyeballs sliced to ribbons by now."
Mega Man shuddered at the unpleasant imagery. Meanwhile, the head at the end of his left arm took this opportunity to speak up.
"Well, at least we can rest easy that the next time the planet gets threatened, we won't have to wait until the enemy comes to get our asses kicked. We can manage just fine by ourselves."
The stony glares from the other three beings present informed Omega that such humour was probably best saved for later.
Wearily, Mega Man opened his folder and withdrew a pair of D. Energy Subcards. Tossing one over to his friend and battlemate, he ingested the other one, sighing as he felt renewed energy flow through his body. "Well, that's enough for one day. Let's pulse out."
"Agreed." The musically-inclined heroine nodded, and both of the warriors vanished in flashes of blinding light.
They shortly reappeared on the metal deck of Vista Point, dressed in everyday street clothes. Well, the hooded sweater with the fluffy bobbles at the top might have raised an eyebrow or two, but Sonia had opted for taking it off and letting it hang behind her back, at least for the moment.
Her green eyes sought out of her friend, who was standing there. Wounds sustained in EM Wave Form tended not to be carried over to the real world, unless they were really serious ones, but the ache and weariness of battle most certainly did. Geo Stelar, her best friend and Brother, looked an utter mess.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that she would hardly be in a better state.
He turned to her. "So… you heading home now?"
"Mm, I guess." Sonia sighed. "First, though, I just need to sit down for a bit." Moving over to a nearby bench, she plopped herself down on it, leaning back and staring up at the midafternoon sky.
"That sounds like a good idea, actually." Geo admitted as he walked up beside her and settled himself down on the same bench.
Things being the way they were, both exhausted kids were sleeping peacefully within two minutes. Omega and Lyra paused to trade the EM Wave Being equivalent of shrugs before heading back into their respective transers to catch some downtime.
Sonia was the first to wake up. She did so with a start, glancing around wildly. "Uh? Where-" Then she noticed that it was night already. "Wha- Lyra! Why didn't you wake me?"
"Well, you two looked so cozy together that I didn't particularly feel like snapping you out of it." Came the voice from her guitar.
"C-cozy?" She sputtered. It was only then that she noticed that Geo had somehow managed to end up with his head on her lap. Predictably, her face went as pink as her sweatshirt.
Gingerly, she prodded Geo on the shoulder. Stirring, he glanced up into her face.
"Mornin'" He mumbled, wearing a sleepy smile. Then it registered to him that lying half-splayed out on Sonia's lap probably wasn't normal 'waking up' circumstances and he jerked away as if she was a venomous critter or something of that nature.
"'Morning' yourself, sleepyhead," Sonia smiled at him, conveniently ignoring the fact that she had likewise been unconscious until half an hour ago. "It's nighttime already."
"Oh… oh." Geo rubbed the back of his head. "S- sorry about falling asleep on… uh, well, you know. I'm really sorry."
"No worries." Sonia chuckled. With a sigh, she leaned back on the bench again. "It's not like anything happened, after all."
"Eh heheh…" Geo chuckled nervously, trying to disguise the fact that he was sweating bullets. "Well, if there's nothing else, then I should probably be going, now." Thus saying, he stood.
Sonia pursed her lips. "Uh, Geo…"
He turned back to her, a curious look on her face.
"Would you… uh, would you mind staying out here a little longer? With me?"
"Huh? But I – don't you have to go home, Sonia?"
She let out a sad laugh. "Sure, Geo. Who's waiting for me back there, again?"
Geo's face closely resembled the expression he had once made after biting into a lemon thinking it was an orange. "Oh. Yes." He managed to squeak out.
Sonia sighed. "No offense to you, Lyra, but sometimes… sometimes I want some human companionship, you know?"
"None taken." Came the voice from her transer.
Geo nodded and settled down beside her. "Well, mom didn't say that I needed to hurry back for anything, and if it's an emergency, she can always call, so…" He paused and reached over to grasp Sonia's hand. "I guess I could stand to spend some time with you."
The musician smiled gratefully at him. "Geo… thanks."
The two of them were silent for a long moment, merely staring up at the stars that twinkled high overhead. Then Geo pointed.
"Look, that's Gemini."
"The twins, right?" Sonia smiled. "And over there – that's Orion."
"When I was a kid, I always liked coming out here at night to watch the stars." Geo said dreamily. "It was like… I dunno, like the whole universe was putting on a show, just for me."
"Really?" Sonia shifted her gaze so she could look at him. "Me too. On nights when there wasn't anything else for me to do, I'd just find the highest spot I could… and stargaze."
"Mm."
The next few minutes were spent in comfortable silence, the two friends simply enjoying the company of the other. Finally, at last, Sonia reluctantly broke the silence.
"Thanks, Geo," she said softly. "Thanks for spending time with me, but… I think I should be going now." The young hero could hear the apprehension in her voice.
Sonia… As alone as Geo had felt before, he knew that what Sonia had to endured was worse yet. Even in his darkest moments, he'd always had his mother's care and concern, and a set of welcoming arms should he ever desire. But Sonia… Sonia had no such comfort. She was alone.
"Sonia," he wasn't aware of him opening his mouth, but as he did, and she turned to look at him, an idea popped into his head. "Would you like to stay for the night?"
Her reaction showed that she clearly hadn't been expecting that to come out of his mouth, although from the looks of things, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant proposition either.
"Uh, um…" She said softly. "Would it really be okay? I mean… you haven't told your mom…"
"Oh, don't worry. She's pretty easy-going. She won't mind." Silently, Geo crossed his fingers behind his back.
"My clothes…"
Geo grinned. "We can be at your house and back in no time if we take the Wave Road. Any other objections?"
Sonia chuckled and shook her head. "None that I can think of."
The two of them lay in the darkness of Geo's bedroom, both staring at the ceiling. Geo had graciously given up his mattress for Sonia and was now lying in his sleeping bag, hands folded behind his head.
"Geo?" Sonia's soft voice floated over to him. He turned over to regard her.
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted to tell you… I feel safer when I'm with you. I'm not really sure why, but I do."
Geo paused for a moment and laughed. "Even when I accidentally hits you with a Widesword attack?"
Though he couldn't see Sonia, he could tell by her tone of voice that she was grinning. "Even when you accidentally hit me with a Widesword attack."
And at that, the two of them went to sleep once more.
Together.
Story End
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