"...Watching stars as we drift on by…"

To think that they would meet again in these circumstances.

Firefly still felt far from ready to tell him everything, but she no longer had a choice in the matter.

How well would Caelus take it? From what she'd heard from Kafka, Blade, and Silver Wolf, they were on fairly neutral terms with the Astral Express, but she had yet to see their attitude towards a Stellaron Hunter up close for herself.

Right now, she watched over him as he slept soundly, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm reminiscent of a sea that was at rest, free from the storm.

Caelus' facial features were in a similar relaxed state. A stark contrast from the face he adorned when he stepped in to save her from the Bloodhounds or when that Memetic Entity had attacked them.

Firefly's hand had moved closer to him without thinking. If she were being honest, she had no qualms with it until she saw the cold steel of the Fyrefly Type-4 instead of her own body.

I can't. She was here to protect Caelus and reveal the whole truth to him first and foremost. Forgoing the safety and firepower of her armor would be foolish, not to mention that it would leave both of them vulnerable.

But…

He was right there. Firefly couldn't wait any longer, recalling her armor and basking in the surprisingly fresh, humid air of the dreamscape she brought his unconscious body to.

A hesitant finger surged forth, poking Caelus' right on the cheek. He groaned in his sleep, facing away from her as he hugged an imaginary pillow nestled within his dream in a dream.

Firefly pouted, repositioning herself to accommodate his new sleeping posture and continuing her assault. There was just one problem, and she hadn't considered it until now.

It was easier to be in a suitable position to tease him earlier as he was initially sleeping on his back, facing the sky. Now that Caelus was resting on his side, she had to crawl on all fours to do as she did earlier.

That put Firefly's face just a few inches away from him. If she leaned forward, that would spell a disaster for both parties involved, especially for the only one awake to witness it.

Still. She argued it wasn't like he'd just make that specific move so soon–

In imitation of a baby sleeping in a crib, Caelus' head moved forward as his entire body spun in a circular motion akin to a wheel. That tiny movement was the breaking point, and his nose bumped into hers.

Firefly fought back a squeal and instantly jumped backward, feeling like she'd been set on fire despite her unique tolerance to high temperatures.

Still shaking, her hand brushed against her face, and it really was hot. Enough to set an entire planet ablaze.

What am I doing?!

It was one thing to tap on his face once or twice harmlessly, but had she not reacted quickly enough, then there the situation could have been–

"Sorry, Firefly." Her heart stopped.

He's awake?

"C–Caelus?" Firefly yelped, "How long have you been…?"

A myriad of apologies were being thought of by her brain, and she spewed them out of her mouth just as quickly.

"If I was just a little faster, then…" Firefly's tangent was cut off when he heard him continue to speak, almost breathless.

She breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't actually awake yet, merely sleepwalking or something of the sort.

However, saying that her curiosity was satisfied would be a lie. She was sure he was perhaps talking to her, but what exactly was it? As wonderful the short time they had spent together was, surely it was too short to make enough of an impression for him to dream?

"...Maybe you wouldn't have…"

Oh.

Her expression grew dark as she got back on her feet. The Fyrefly Type-4 armor encased her again without so much as a word. Taking a deep breath, she continued to stay on the lookout.

That's right. Firefly was ecstatic to see him again, and she'd gotten carried away, acting as if it was already a done deal.

Caelus was not in that same scenario. In their battle, where she fought him as the Stellaron Hunter Sam, it was painfully obvious how much her supposed death impacted him.

Even the heat of battle did nothing to hide how exhausted he was. The Trailblazer had been running himself ragged since then, getting to the bottom of it with the rest of the Nameless, only for it to appear in vain when Robin shared that same fate of "death".

Firefly knew what that Memetic Entity truly was. She knew that all it ensnared were simply taken somewhere else. Caelus didn't. He'd thought that all that happened was failure after failure to uncover the mystery shrouding the Watchmaker's Legacy.

"If I'd told you what I knew back then, would you still…" Would he still have embraced her as he did? Accepted her as she was?

Like last time, at the edge of that golden dream. She'd lay bare to him again without fear. Gone was the Penacony Grand Theater, shining as brilliantly as the sun. There were no stars trailing the night sky to cheer them on, not even a song that reflected how she'd felt at the time.

All they would find in this deeper part of the dream would be silence and the cold, hard truth. If Caelus grew to despise her for withholding this secret, if he saw her as an enemy, that would be fine, too. After all that she'd done, it would fall within her expectations.

A groan broke out and stopped her train of despondent thoughts. She pretended not to notice, continuing to have her back to him.

"You're…"

"Stellaron Hunter," Seeing as he was still gaining his bearings, she finished his sentence for him, "Sam."

"You're finally awake, Fire– Sam continued, "I've been waiting on you for quite a while."

This was more difficult than she'd been expecting. If the temptation of putting her armor away while he was asleep was already too much for her to resist, then how long would she last now that he'd woken up?

"In my dreams, that fiery embrace," Caelus stood up, approaching her with no fear, "It was you."

"...You're sharp." It was all she could say, stunned into silence as she was, his words bypassing any armor her mind could conceive, physical or mental.

As expected of Elio's script, it was on the nose as always. The fate of this land and her own had become tangled up in each other before she could even try to change it for herself.

Firefly finally understood the Stellaron Hunters' fixation on the Astral Express. To blaze a trail to the unknown fringes of existence, forging their own paths as they collectively united under the path of the Trailblaze.

"Eleven times, I've tried to reach out to you. Eleven times I've failed." The Stellaron Hunter envied them. They alone were to decide their fate, a privilege she'd been yearning for since her inception.

Even among their limited numbers, Firefly's methods were limited by the purpose given to her. A disposable weapon, through and through, pushing forward in the face of death like fireflies would to a flame.

"Now that it has come to this, the truth will be revealed." Her muscles tensed up, well hidden under the confines of the armor she called her only lifeline and coffin, even as it slowly faded to show what was hidden underneath. Even in this dream, her impossible wish couldn't come true. The chains of reality were still very much present.

She hesitated, just for one instant. Was it right to do this? What she had in mind was undeniably selfish, and the consequences of doing so were in scope beyond her comprehension. Any regrets she might have because of this one moment could never be taken back.

Alarm bells were going off in her head, too many for her to think clearly. It was always like this, contemplating life, death, and the purpose of her existence. Even after escaping that barren land of scorched earth, the answer was still the same, and she hated it.

Yet there was something else burning in her chest, telling her to go on. This sensation had only ever blossomed within a few times. That night where she traced the stars, her awakening above a ruined planet, a waltz where dreams end, and this moment right now.

"This is to show you…" Firefly couldn't defy the script, nor could she change the fate that lay ahead of her.

"...All that I am." But perhaps he could.

She pushed through with as much bravado as she could muster, but when it was all said and done, and his eyes laid upon her for the first time since her supposed death, it evaporated as easily as a forest lake in a wildfire.

Thud. Caelus took one step forward, a dark shadow creeping over his features.

Firefly instinctually took a step back. Was she intimidated? Slightly.

Thud. He took another, closing the distance in strides. It wouldn't take many more for him to reach her.

But it wasn't that intimidation that made the Stellaron Hunter falter. If she had to describe it, it would be fear.

Thud. There wasn't much time left. The Trailblazer was bound to reach her any moment now.

It wasn't fear of him harming Firefly but rather of Caelus distancing himself from her.

Thud. He was right in front of her now, yet she still couldn't read his expression at all, even as one of his arms started to move.

She slammed her eyes shut, resigning herself to her fate. He could do whatever he wanted, just so long as he didn't hate her…!

A shadow swallowed Firefly whole. It felt like fighting that Emanator of the Nihility all over again, each slash sent her way promising the bittersweet embrace of oblivion. Unable to weather the storm of nervousness, she opened her eyes, on the brink of tears…

…Only to find her soul wrapped in warmth, "...Eh?"

"It really is you…" Caelus whispered, his voice sending chills up her left ear and throughout her entire body. Out of all the things the Trailblazer could have done, he embraced her, his head leaning against her shoulder for support as his firm hands hugged her with the softness of a child's stuffed animal.

"C– Caelus?" Firefly stammered indignantly. This was better than anything she could have hoped for, but how was she supposed to react to this?

"Hm?" He feigned confusion, yet she could somehow feel a tiny smirk on his face despite it being completely out of her sight. The nerve.

"You're just…" She struggled to think properly as if she'd been taken back to the dream's edge, "...Accepting it like that?"

"Accepting what?"

"...I'm a Stellaron Hunter." Her body made a half-baked effort to free itself of his embrace, but he didn't budge.

The Trailblazer chuckled, "You're not the first one I've met."

"I lied to you."

"You said there were some things you couldn't tell me," He pointed out, "That's not lying."

"But…" She trailed off, no longer having anything else to accuse herself of. Did she really want him not to hate him if she was so eagerly badmouthing herself?

"...I'm glad you're still alive."

Firefly raised an eyebrow, opening her mouth to ask him when she felt like someone had suddenly put ice on her shoulder. She didn't make a sound or move as the chill seeped in through her clothes, she only glanced at Caelus as he didn't say anything, his face completely hidden in her shoulder.

You're just as at a loss for words as I am.

Firefly smiled, hugging him ever so tighter, "So am I."

"...A touch, a glance, fly away…"