A ship travels through space, passing planets by, searching. At the helm of the ship stands a figure clad in armor, a longsword at his hip, and he gazes out the ship's window. He sighs, eyes glancing side to side out the window, searching. His arms are crossed in front of him, and he stands straight and poised. Another figure approaches from behind, adorned with orange and white colors, and places his hand on the armored's shoulder. "We will find it, Exeter," the orange figure says, adjusting his welder's goggles to fit him better.
"Easier said than done, Doctor," the armored man responds.
"Please, I told you that you can call me Albert," he chuckles in response.
Doctor Albert Overbuild is a master and expert in all aspects of architecture and visionary inventions. Donned in orange and white, he is protected by his invention that he wears, which is a mechanical invention that resembles arms that can reach, with a three-prong grabber at the end of both arms. He adjusts his welder's goggles again, pushing them up from the sliding down the bridge of his nose.
"Why must you insist on being informal, Doctor?" Exeter asks.
Duke Exeter is a knight and warrior, having spent most of his days training and on the battlefield. Under his steel armor are blue and yellow, the traditional cloths of knighthood. A longsword glows a soft blue, with a shield on his back to match. Exeter has spent the past couple of years as a commander of the knights, devising strategic battle plans to protect the general public. Here, he planned the ship's mission to find the Imagination Nexus, the last known source of pure Imagination.
Jogging slightly in towards the helm, before ending his momentum by wrapping one arm around Exeter's neck, is a man unkempt with matted hair and a strong body odor. Wrapping his arm around Exeter nearly causes Exeter to lose his balance before catching himself. "What's the point of 'formal' among friends, ay?" The man says, his face too close for comfort.
Exeter removes his arm and takes a step to the side, away from the man. "I would expect friends to remember personal space, Storm," Exeter says.
Hael Storm is an avid adventurer, explorer, and navigator. His specialty is the sea, however, he can easily circumvent the stars just the same. He wears a green vest with brown trousers, a scimitar on one side of his hip with a flintlock pistol on the other. Hael steps forward ahead of the two men, peering out of the ship's window. He spreads his arms wide, "Now this… this is space!" Hael drops his arms and rests his left hand on the hilt of his scimitar, and his right hand on his hip.
"We are getting close. I can feel it," a man says, staying further back from the rest of the group, standing in the corner lightly obscured by shadow.
Duke Exeter turns back to face the voice, then waves him over. "You do not need to be ominous, Typhonous. Come into the light."
Baron Typhonous steps closer into the light, though still keeping his distance from the group. "We have been traveling for sixty days now," Baron says, also gazing out of the ship's window, "We must be getting close."
Baron Typhonous, cloaked in all black, is a scholar and a tycoon. Coming from a family of massive wealth, he pours his inheritance into the research and invention of the Imagimeter, a center console used to locate different planets while traveling. Baron studied every book that touched on the subject of the Imagination Nexus, and its planet Crux. The coordinates of Crux, however, have been lost in translation. Baron Typhonous funded this expedition, recruiting Doctor Overbuild for his architect skills. They still needed a navigator, which Hael Storm stepped up for the job, but Baron was unable to trust a pirate. Doctor Overbuild, to ease the tension, recruited the knight Duke Exeter as a means of security and protection. The four men have set off on the journey to find Crux, to find the Imagination Nexus, which is believed to hold the last source of pure Imagination. In all the planets, Imagination is the source much like electricity. It is utilized as an energy source, and in this day and age, nearly every planet is experiencing a drought. Imagination wells are drying up, and the general public is starting to panic. It has been sixty days since the four men had launched their expedition.
The Imagimeter starts with a low hum before increasing in volume and intensity. All four men turn their immediate attention to the center console, Baron speed-walking closer to it. As the Imagimeter reaches a high pitch hum, a beam of light of shimmering blue shines horizontally out of the center, directed forward but slightly skewed to the left. Enthusiasm spreads on Baron's face, and he points in the same direction as the light with the scepter he had been holding. "Follow the light!" Baron demands.
Hael Storm lets out a hearty laugh as he lightly jogs to the control console. He pushes a few buttons and turns a wheel slightly to alter the current course of the ship to follow the beam of light. As the ship continues onward through the vast and empty space, a planet starts to appear in view. Baron looks back and forth between the planet in view, and the book in his hand. "This is it! This is Crux, the last known location of pure Imagination!"
Doctor Overbuild adjusts his goggles, "I can hardly believe it! Here I thought we would be searching until we got bored!"
Duke Exeter turns his attention to Albert Overbuild, "You didn't believe in your expedition?"
"Ah- uh- well… It was just so hard to believe," Overbuild chuckles bashfully.
The ship enters the planet's atmosphere, and starts the descent to land. The beam of light adjusts itself, keeping steady on the location of the Imagination Nexus. As the ship engages its landing gears, Doctor Overbuild reads from the monitor near him. "It appears the atmosphere is similar to that of our residential planets. We should be able to breathe here just fine."
The ship lands, and its doors open with a hiss. Cold air rushes in the ship to replace the warmth, and Hael shivers. "Mighty cold planet, I'll say."
Baron, unfazed, walks down the ramp of the ship and toward the building structure that emits the strong blue light. The other three follow closely behind. "The Nexus Temple," Baron says without breaking his stride, "Home to the last pure Imagination."
The four men enter the Nexus Temple, shimmering blue surrounding them. They make their way to the center of the Temple where the blue light shines the brightest. At the center is a large cylinder beam of pure Imagination, emitting a bright blue light that illuminates its entire surroundings. The four men approach slowly, gazing upon the beam in awe. Around the perimeter of the room are hundreds upon hundreds of translucent light blue figures, blank-faced and asleep in their own pods. "Mythrans…" Doctor Overbuild says in awe, wiping dust from his goggles.
"I did not believe they were real…" Baron says, watching them cautiously.
"I hear that they are beings made from pure Imagination, descended from the First Builders," Duke Exeter says.
"Beings that uphold the 'Code of Honor', which inhibits our Imagination and creativity," Baron says with a tinge of disgust.
"Oh, uh, I have heard that the 'Code of Honor' actually protects us!" Doctor Overbuild shares positively.
"Whatever they are… it's creepy. Why haven't they woken up or notice our arrival?" Hael asks in a gruff, distrusting.
"We are not a threat… Maybe they sense that," Duke Exeter says, approaching the pure Imagination.
As the rest of them approach the large beam of light, a warmth can be felt, emanating from the Imagination. Duke Exeter peers into the beam, and imagines a detailed castle fit for a knight. A small castle model apparates in front of him, matching what he had envisioned. "Extrodinary…" he says, bewildered.
"That's the beauty of Imagination! All of our creativity," Doctor Overbuild says, peering into the beam, and a small robotic creature in the shape of a dog appears and becomes real, jumping into Overbuild's arms and sounding a mechanical bark, "All of our creativity can come to life!"
Hael also gazes upon the Imagination, a grey parrot flies out of the beam and rests directly on Hael's shoulder. Hael reaches up and runs his index finger along its forehead and down its back. "It's… real…"
Baron glances around at the dormant Mythrans, huffs, then turns his attention back towards the Imagination beam. While the others were distracted by their own creations, Baron tests the limits of what the Imagination can create. He envisions a spider, disfigured with chaos. As the vision starts to form to life and become tangible, he uses hit septer to hit and launch the spider into the beam. When it enters, it grows in size, becoming as large as a two-story house. Once it reaches its peak growth, it steps out of the beam, its focus on the three men. Baron could not help but let out a bit of a laugh before it starts sounding maniacal.
"Wha… What did you do?" Doctor Overbuild says, stepping backwards and behind Exeter. Duke Exeter draws his longsword and shield, taking a step forward toward the spider being.
"This!" Baron Typhonous shouts, gesturing to the Giant Spider. "This is my research! Imagination knowing no bounds! No "Codes of Honor"! Imagination flowing free from any rules! The Universe will be under… MY… TYCOON!"
As Typhonous laughs louder and more meniacal, the Giant Spider turns its attention to the man. It crawls to him, and Baron takes notice. "Not now, my pet! First, you must get rid of those three buffoons!"
The Giant Spider stops abruptly, seemingly lost in thought. It looks back at the others, Duke Exeter and Hael Storm armed with their weapons while Doctor Overbuild is behind them, holding onto the mechanical robot dog. They do not move, only watching, only observing. The Giant Spider looks forward at Baron Typhonous. "Don't look at me, you big stupid idiot! Do I as say! I created you!" Baron yells.
The Giant Spider lets out a low hiss sound, it's purple eyes turning red, and launches forward towards Typhonous. Baron attempts to turn and run from the attack, but he was not quick enough. The Spider lands on top of him, pinning him to the ground, and starts to drag him backwards into the beam of light. The three others watch, not knowing what will happen or what was to come. As the Giant Spider and Baron Typhonous enter the beam of Imagination, dark purple chaotic energy gathers at the base and swirls upward, enveloping the blue bleam. As this happens, the once dormant and blank faced Mythrans' eyes go from nonexistent to a bright glowing ethereal blue.
As the once bright blue beam turn to dark purple, pieces of ship debris fall from the sky and into the Nexus Temple. "What's happening?!" Hael yells.
"This dark energy must have destroyed the ship!" Doctor Overbuild explains.
More and more ship debris fall and crash into the Temple, breaking through the celing. Duke and Hael duck down, adamant that they will all be crushed, but find that they still remain unharmed. They look up to see Overbuild holding the debris in the air, a soft blue glow emanating from each piece. "The Imagination is still strong here, despite it's corruption!" He says.
The purple Imagination beam gathers more dark energy, and lets out purple lightning strikes as a form of release. Duke Exeter, with his shield of steel, is able to repel the energy strikes. "We need to come up with a plan!" Duke yells, raising his shield for every energy attack.
Doctor Overbuild waves his hands around, guiding each ship debris in the air into the font that originated the Imagination beam. The debris successfully plugs the hole, and the chaotic purple energy was no more, leaving the Nexus Temple in total darkness.
"Well… at least it didn't get worse!" Hael says, arms at his side in triumph.
As if that phrase was meant to tempt fate, a low rumble can be heard and and a low tremor can be felt. The ground floor splits open, a bright yet dark energy can be seen from the floorboards. The cracks of the floor multiply and spread, threatening to bring the Nexus Temple crumbling down. "The stress of containing the dark energy is too much!" Doctor Overbuild yells. "We have to get out of here!"
Exeter quickly glances around the Temple. "There is no time." Duke Exeter says calmly, sheathing both his longsword and shield. He reaches out and grabs Doctor Overbuild's and Hael Storm's arm. The two men look at him in confusion. "I thought you need personal space, my friend?" Hael asks, a nervous chuckle escaping.
"This place will blow," Duke says, eyes closed.
"Uh… Wha-" Hael starts before getting interrupted.
In an instant, the dark purple beam of energy erupts from the plugged hole and throughout the cracked flooring. The tremors increase, and pieces of the planet start to break away. Doctor Overbuild, overwhelmed with fear, turns his attention back to Duke Exeter, whose eyes remain closed. A soft and faint blue glow radiates from him, and the floor they stand on remains untouched, but threatened. Overbuild closes his eyes as well, trying to focus, trying to imagine. Imagine if they survived. Imagine if they were unharmed. Hael Storm also tries to imagine, his focus being the safe return home. Imagining being home, never having taken the mission to find Crux. Imagining not being quick enough to stop Baron Typhonous from his plans.
The planet erupts and dismantles into hundreds of smaller pieces, floating in space, surrounded by the dark energy. After the rumbles slow to a stop, and the tremors end, they all open their eyes. They stand on a small platform, outerspace all around them, as if they were on the smallest moon plausible. They look out onto all of the large debris of Crux. "What… what do we do now?" Hael asks, breaking the long silence.
Doctor Overbuild looks down at his hand, palm closed. A soft blue glows from within. He opens his hand to find a small shard of light, a small piece of the Imagination Nexus. "This," he says, studying the shard, "Will be our chance to make things right."
Doctor Overbuild closes his eyes once more, and focuses on the shard. It hovers in his hand, and emits a small bright beam. The dark energy surrounding all of the floating pieces of Crux dissipates, and lush green can be seen forming from a distance. "Are they… becoming their own planets?" Duke Exeter asks in wonderment.
"Imagination… will be given to everyone…" Doctor Overbuild says woefully, opening his eyes and gazing at the shard with sadness.
Hael puts his hand on Overbuild's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Albert," Hael says, "We did the best we could with what we knew."
"I… should've known better…" Overbuild says, safely tucking the Imagination Shard away in a secure pocket in one of his inventions.
Duke Exeter glances around at his surroundings, finding more debris on the ground. He approaches the debris, and imagines making a spaceship out of the pieces. Like it was natural, he raises his arms and hands, and guides the pieces in the air, connecting them and forming a ship. When completed, the door of the ship opens. "Uh… will it work?" Hael asks.
Exeter does not say anything, but only walks forward towards the ship. The other two follow closely behind, and all three of them board the ship. All ship controls function as they should, and it begins to lift off. As it hovers above the ground, Hael glances around some more. "What do we do now?"
Exeter stares out of the window, deep in thought. "We cannot fight him alone… We will need an army…"
"Where do we find this army?" Hael asks.
Duke Exeter sighs, then raises his hand to his chin, lost in thought.
"What if…" Overbuild says softly, " …What if we organized the army with the inhabitants of the worlds who will want to colonize these new planets? They are the ones most affected by this."
Duke Exeter looks up at Doctor Overbuild, who then averts his eyes to the ground. "That is a brilliant idea, Doctor," Exeter says, "They have reason to protect their newfound homeworlds now, and we have the most battle experiences to teach and lead them."
Hael Storm lets out a hearty laugh, "Never did I think a pirate could lead, but here I am!"
Exeter also lets out a small chuckle, yet Overbuild remains silent. He stares wistfully out the ship's window, looking upon the hundreds of newly formed planets. Duke approaches him from behind, but keeping his distance. "We will fix this… Albert." Duke says to him, soft and gentle.
Overbuild turns around to face him. "I sure hope so."