Time for chapter 3! I won't give away all my references from last chapter, but Ko-36 was a reference to the planet from Power Rangers in Space, Ko-35. I had my fun, now you have yours, enjoy!

Chapter 3: Answers

The next morning, there was one important question that had to be answered before Rosalina could take Zion outside the bedroom.

"Would you prefer a wheelchair, or have me carry you via levitation?"

For someone with Zions standing, or lack there of, it was a valid question. However, he preferred to be more in control of his own movement.

"Could you bring me my suit? I'd like to see if the legs are still functional, that way I can walk on my own."

Nodding, she replied, "Certainly, just one moment."

It took only a few minutes, but Rosalina returned with his space suit. She was levitating it behind her as she entered the room, the suit itself still in separate parts. She lowered them onto the bed for him to inspect.

"I was able to get everything off of you when you arrived here, no one has touched it since now."

"Thank you very much." He took stock of the suit, it was in horrible condition. The whole thing was completely out of power. Chest was a wreck, and the arms were mangled. The only saving grace was that his prosthetic leg section was still intact. "Well, it's not powered so it won't bend like a regular leg, but I can at least use it to walk like a regular prosthetic. Might be able to salvage the rest later." Even with one arm, it took him only a moment to equip his right leg. After moving it a bit, he slowly rose from the bed. "Okay, let's go."

Rosalina guided him out of the room, and once he passed through the curtains doorway, he was met with the most wondrous sight.

"My God."

He had been and seen many space stations before, but none could match this view. The observatory was completely open. He moved towards the patio in front of him, looking down on the universe below. He wondered for a moment how we was breathing, but then he turned and saw what lied in the center of the floating wonder.

"Is that an actual star?!" He exclaimed.

Rosalina giggled at his outburst, "Indeed, this observatory if powered by many individual power stars, and grand stars. With their power, we're able to go anywhere in the cosmos."

Zion was mesmerized, there were various lumas coming and going, a tall spire, and a few floating areas not accessible by land. 'Makes sense, they can float.' He thought to himself.

"Come," Rosalina said, interrupting his thoughts, "let us go to the library. We can talk undisturbed there." It was a quick walk, but even then Zion was taking in how fantastical everything looked. Seeing something so unfamiliar and different, he was starting to finally understand her words from yesterday.

Eventually, they entered the library. There was a comfortable looking red cushion, and a small rocking chair with a green back to it.

"Would you like a seat?" Rosalina asked.

"No thank you," he answered, "I did enough of that yesterday."

She nodded in reply, and took a seat in the rocking chair, "Now then, since you've now seen the observatory, is there anything that you've noticed?" It was an open ended question, asked that way on purpose. She wanted to see if he finally understood what she said the day before.

Zion sighed, "I noticed plenty. My universe has plenty of advanced technology and powers, but nothing comes close to this place. It's just so...for lack of a better word, magical." Rosalina nodded, not saying anything that would interrupt his train of thought. " Between what I remember, what you've told me, and what I've seen, not to mention the lack of hostility, I'm inclined to believe what you told me yesterday. I'm truly in another universe."

Rosalina nodded again, "I'm glad we've come to the same conclusion. Black holes are mysterious, nothing that goes in ever comes out. You not only survived, but were found and rescued in another universe. I can only believe that fate brought you here." She seemed pleased.

Zion on the other hand, "So now what? I've got nothing left."

Rosalina wasn't sure what he meant, "I'm sorry?" She asked.

He clenched his fist, "I'm a soldier, I've been trained to fight since I was given my arm and leg. My life's purpose was to wage war against Horde. Now I'm injured, powerless, and have no way of getting back…" Zion leaned against the wall and slumped to the ground, "I've lost everything I've ever known, my comrades, my foes, my ambitions...my dreams…all gone." He sat on the ground, feeling broken, lost. He might have lived, but the black hole might as well have killed him. Even now he could feel his very soul being sucked into it, leaving his body. There was nothing left for him, just an infinite abyss of emptiness...

A light touch on his right shoulder, a shining light in the darkness, he came to his senses. He looked up to Rosalina who gave him a light smile.

"The observatory is the home for all who are lost. You are still alive. You may not see it now, but fate has kept you alive for a reason. You may not know it yet, but you will find your new purpose, your new reason for pressing forward. Until that day comes, my home will be your sanctuary, and I will be here to help you."

Resist as he might, tears began to fall freely down his face. He tried to respond, but couldn't, he could only cry. Rosalina dropped down to her knees, and embraced the wounded soldier. All he could do was return her embrace.

After their session in the library the day before, Zion spent the rest of the day exploring the ground floor of the observatory. This mostly consisted of the Terrace, and the garage. He couldn't climb the blocky stairs to the kitchen, and he couldn't figure out how to reach the fountain looking area. After doing so, he picked a random book out of the library, and read the day away, stopping only when a luma brought him a meal on Rosalina's request. Eventually he turned in for some well deserved sleep.

Today, he had a game plan. His wounds were healing nicely, and he felt little pain. He was going to work on repairing his suit. Purpose or not, if he wanted to feel whole again in terms of mobility. The suit was a must. He was able to have Rosalina help him take everything to the garage area. If something made a mess or caught fire there, it wouldn't get on anything important. Once everything was there, he was brought a set of tools from a robot. Apparently his types were called Gearmos. Then he started digging into his task.

Watching from a distance, Rosalina smiled. Now that his life was no longer in immediate danger, she was enjoying the fact that another human was living on the observatory with her. The many lumas were great company sure, but they were still young unable to fully grasp some concepts. She hasn't known Zion long, but he seemed honest. Once she takes care of checking out a few developing galaxies, she'd like to talk with him, learn more about him. It had been ages since there was a human she could call a friend.

Zion had to face it, things looked rough. The legs were the least damaged, some simple welding and they'd work fine. Although it would only serve as armor due to the fact that they drew power from the chest, which was, "Chestplate is shot to hell, damn." Not only was it practically ripped to shreds, the special fusion core that powered it was totaled. "Nothing but scrap metal now," he said, tossing the spherical battery to the ground. Now he would have to completely rebuild the chest, and worst of all, find a suitable replacement power supply.

The arms were also mangled, the crystals used to power their blades shattered to bits. They were still pretty nice gemstones though, so he held onto them. By some miracle, his helmet was intact. Minor cracks, but not enough to completely rupture. Good thing too, he would have suffocated for sure of it had.

"Thank God for miracles, I suppose...now where to start?" He wondered aloud.

"How is everything Zion?"

He turned to face Rosalina, who was approaching him, "Oh, well, I'm doing ok; can't say the same for my suit."

"Yes," she said, looking at the silver armor, "it certainly appears in rough shape. How does it function? Perhaps we can find some way to fully repair it?"

Zion gestured to the busted chestplate, "Well this piece holds the fusion core, the main source of power, problem is the core blew open, so it's nothing but junk now." He pointed to the old core on the ground. "Without the core, the suit is powerless. I could still wear it for the sake of armor, but little else."

"I see," she said, placing a hand on her cheek in thought. "How about your prosthetic arm, does it work similarly to your leg?"

It was a good question, no one who wasn't familiar with him would know otherwise. "Well, without the suit, the leg works like a regular prosthetic. I wear it, and use it as my leg, but I can't bend it or control it. The arm, however, plugs directly into me. I lost my arm in combat, so they grafted a new one on."

"They?" Rosalina inquired.

Zion resumed his explanation, "The USF, stands for United Space Front. We were our universes defenders against Horde." Rosalina nodded in understanding, "Anyway, when my arm is plugged in, I can fully control it like my regular arm. Honestly, I'd like to get that up and running first. That way I would have two arms instead of one."

Rosalina stepped forward, "Four arms, don't forget I'm here to help," she said with a smile.

Zion returned her smile with one of his own, "Thanks Rosalina, I really do owe you, for everything."

"Think nothing of it, I simply-" she was cut off.

"I can't 'think nothing of it'. Not only did you save my life, but you're feeding and housing me. I can't thank you enough." He looked at her seriously, "Thank you, Rosalina."

She was stunned by his display of gratitude. She had seen this kind of gratitude before, but never been on the receiving end of it. For a moment, the slightest of blushes could be seen on her cheeks. "You're welcome, Zion." There was a moment of awkward silence, before she spoke up again. "Now then, your arm right?"

Hope everyone liked it. Shouldn't be long before the next one. Feel free to leave a comment, I always enjoy feedback!