"So that's a mission colony?" BC asked, staring at the screen above the bridge. "I've never seen one."
The projected monitor displayed a space station surrounded by asteroids.
The captain explained the station's origin. "They prospered during the Terraforming days as a relay base, but now it's useless. It's almost lonely just looking at it."
Mobius stood next to BC, observing the screen. "It looks like an ordinary futuristic space station to me."
Inside the station, Meia led a recon party to see what they could salvage. Her team consisted of herself, Barnette, Dita, Hibiki, Jura, and Pyoro.
They were all in the central room of the station. Dita stared in awe at the ceiling far above them. "It's amazing that the captain remembered this old station!"
"It's officially called a mission," Pyoro informed her.
"Enough chatter already," Meia instructed. "We've got a lot of work to get done here."
"You call this work?" Pyoro asked the Dread leader. "All you're doing is looting the place."
"Consider it gathering abandoned assets, then," Meia said to the NAVI bot.
"You say tomato, I say looting," Mobius quipped over the radio from the bridge.
Meia smirked, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Easy for you to judge, since you're the one who stayed on the ship."
Mobius chuckled, his tone light yet professional. "Well, someone has to defend the ship while you're down there 'gathering abandoned assets.
The team exchanged uneasy glances. Hibiki, sensed something watching them and looked up at the rafters, just in time to see a shadowy figure flit away and ever the impulsive, he immediately gave chase, Pyoro trailing behind. "I'm telling you, I saw something watching us," the young pilot insisted.
"Are you sure you're not just being paranoid?" Pyoro asked before something large and furry dropped down in front of them.
The creature had red fur and carried what looked like a small machine.
"W-What the heck is this thing?" Hibiki stammered, taking a step back.
The creature grinned mischievously before lunging forward. Hibiki ducked, but the creature's true target was Pyoro. It grabbed the white NAVI bot and began licking him like a lollipop, much to Pyoro's horror.
"Knock it off, Utan," a stern voice ordered.
Hibiki turned to see who had spoken. A tall man, dressed in tribal clothing with ceremonial paint on his face, stood there. A red eye patch covered his right eye, and a small green bead was strapped to his forehead by a thin lace.
"You're a man!" Hibiki exclaimed, his earlier fear replaced by excitement. "You must've come here to save us!" The Vanguard pilot ran over to the stranger, only to freeze as the man pulled out a gun and pointed it squarely between his eyes.
Hibiki's breath caught in his throat, his excitement evaporating as he stared at the gun inches from his face. But before he could react, the man sensed something behind him. He swiftly ducked around Hibiki, wrenching the boy's arm behind his back while aiming his gun at Meia's chest. She stepped forward calmly, unphased, and aimed her laser ring at his forehead.
"You're a woman, huh?" the man asked, his grip on Hibiki firm but not overly harsh.
"So what if I am?" Meia responded, her voice steady as she held her ground. The man released Hibiki, who quickly jumped to her side.
"It's my policy never to kill women," the man explained, his tone almost conversational as he heard movement behind him. He smiled, twirling his pistol around his finger before tossing it to his other hand, letting it hang harmlessly. "I get it, you've got me outnumbered."
Jura stood behind him, the tip of her rapier pointed at his neck. "What's he doing here?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "He's a man."
Barnette quickly snatched the man's gun away while keeping her own weapon trained on him.
"So, I'm guessing you're some kind of gang?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.
Meia corrected him. "We prefer to be called pirates."
The man glanced at Hibiki and smirked. "Even that little lady over there?"
"Hey, I'm a guy, jackass!" Hibiki yelled, his face turning red with frustration.
The man's smirk faltered for a second before he burst into loud laughter.
"What's so funny?" Hibiki demanded, his fists clenched.
The man quickly calmed down and offered a half-apology. "I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to laugh, but you've got to admit, it's easy to mistake you for a girl because, well, you're such a cute little thing."
Hibiki growled in annoyance, but before he could retort, Dita screamed from behind them. Utan had grabbed hold of her leg and was enthusiastically licking it.
The man pointed at Dita and his friend. Meia nodded, allowing him to approach and break them up while keeping a watchful eye on him.
"Alright, Utan, that'll be enough out of you!" the man scolded, lifting the creature by the collar of its clothes. Utan had an apologetic smile as the man continued, "Your partner's in trouble over here, in case you haven't noticed, and you're doing nothing but being useless."
The man swiftly grabbed Pyoro from Utan and turned around, launching the unconscious NAVI bot at Meia. The impact knocked her down, sending the group into a brief moment of chaos.
"Damn you," Barnette growled, but before she could react, Utan jumped onto her head and then into the rafters.
Jura charged at the man, swinging her rapier. He ducked under the attack and rolled back, sprinting down the hall just as the entire station began to shake violently.
Outside the station, the many asteroids anchored to it began shooting out several plate-shaped objects that ejected defense drones.
"All hands, prepare for battle!" BC ordered as Mobius sprinted out of the bridge, his mind already in sharply focused for the upcoming battle.
Entering the hangar, Mobius quickly climbed into his fighter. "Mobius 1, launching!" he announced as his canopy closed with a hiss.
"Roger, Mobius 1," Belvedere confirmed from the bridge. "Good luck out there."
Mobius, "I won't need it" he responded, a rare moment of battle chatter from him as he took off from the Nirvana, entering the fray. His eyes quickly scanned the radar, spotting the Dreads and Vanguards leaving the mission station. "Engaging the closest enemy group," he reported, his voice steady.
The Nirvana's shields activated, and the battle erupted in chaos.
"Mobius 1 has shot down an enemy," Belvedere announced from the bridge, her tone calm despite the tension.
"Already?" Ezra asked, "Mobius is amazing."
"These are just low-budget defense drones" Mobius told them over the radio, "They're nothing special."
"Salvage party taking off from the mission station," Aramone added, keeping track of the team's movements.
Hibiki activated the Vanguard's battle axe, swinging it in a wide arc and slicing through two enemies. A third drone, however, rammed into him, causing him to drop his weapon. "Dammit!" Hibiki growled, struggling as the drone pushed him away from his allies.
"So?" Jura asked seductively as her Dread hovered next to his Vanguard, her voice playful despite the battle.
"So what?" Hibiki snapped, his frustration evident.
"Are you ready for me?" the blonde pilot teased, her tone laced with suggestion.
Hibiki blushed, his temper flaring. "Are you still on about that?!"
Before Jura could respond, her Dread's warning alarm blared. An enemy drone scored a hit on her ship, sending it rocking. The drone was swiftly destroyed, and an F-22 roared past her, leaving a trail of vapor in its wake.
Jura ran her hand over her ear, straightening her hair. She sighed, slightly flustered. "Thanks, Mobius."
"Don't get distracted," Mobius replied, his tone firm but not unkind. "Eyes front and concentrate."
Jura bristled slightly at the admonition but couldn't help feeling a grudging respect for Mobius's focus. "Yes, sir," she muttered under her breath, snapping her attention back to the battle.
Suddenly, a bright light flared beside her. Jura snapped her head around to see Vandread Dita hovering next to her Dread, the large mech ready for action.
"I don't believe this!" Jura yelled, her frustration mounting. "I won't forgive you for that, Dita!"
Dita, unfazed, pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at Jura. "Too bad! I guess you won't be combining today!"
"You're both insane if you ask me," Hibiki muttered, trying to keep his focus on the battle.
"Alright, let's go!" Dita cheered, her enthusiasm unyielding.
The Vandread's cannons moved into position over the mech's shoulders, charging with a high-pitched whine before firing. The beams cut through the darkness of space, vaporizing the mission station in a single, blinding blast.
With their connection to the mission station severed, the remaining drones shut down, drifting lifelessly.
"The battle's over," Ezra announced with a smile, relief evident in her voice. "All pilots returning to base. Once again, no damage to Mobius 1."
Magno looked over to Ezra. "Tell Mobius I'd like to see him."
"Roger," Ezra replied.
Magno sighed as she surveyed the debris field of the former mission station. "All that money we could've made," she groaned. "What a waste."
"That's my line!" the stranger from the station chimed in as his image appeared on the bridge's main screen. "My engine was damaged because I wanted to be nice and help you ladies out. So, what are you going to do about it?"
Magno's eyes narrowed as she regarded him. "Who do you think you're talking to? We're pirates, and we never asked for help."
"Is that so?" the man replied, smirking as he held up Pyoro. "Then I guess you don't mind if I keep this little guy, huh?"
"Oh no, Pyoro!" Dita gasped, her voice filled with concern.
Magno sighed in resignation. "I guess we have no choice. Come on board, then."
"Right-oh!" the man agreed with a thumbs-up. "And maybe while we're at it, we can do a little business!"
As the screen vanished, BC turned to the captain. "Is this wise, Captain?"
"Pyoro is one of our crew, BC," the captain replied, her voice firm. "Besides, if he tries anything funny, we'll simply relieve him of his worldly possessions."
In an auxiliary docking bay, the strange tribal man entered the ship along with Utan and Pyoro. He was immediately greeted by a platoon of guards, their glowing rings aimed directly at him.
The man grinned, rubbing his hands together. "My, this ship sure has a lot of lovely young ladies on it." He walked toward them, introducing himself with a flourish. "The name's Rabat. Nice to meet you all!"
He began handing out business cards to each guard, his charm unabated. When he spotted Jura standing against the wall, he smiled wider. "Oh, you're that nice young lady with the saber, aren't you? Here you go," he said, offering her a card as well. "A memento."
Jura awkwardly turned away, clearly uncomfortable with how casual this man was. "I don't want one," she muttered, her unease palpable.
On the bridge, Mobius and the captain watched Rabat from a camera feed next to her terminal.
"I don't trust him," Mobius said, his tone serious as Meia appeared on the camera, escorting Rabat to the bridge.
The captain narrowed her eyes. "He definitely has his own agenda, but it's unclear at this point what it is."
Mobius nodded. "Well, it goes without saying that we should keep a constant eye on him."
When Meia arrived on the bridge with Rabat, Mobius gave the man a quick, assessing glance before leaning back against the wall, using the casual manner to conceal his military training.
"A ship with only three men on it and the rest are women, huh?" Rabat asked the captain, his tone casual yet probing. "So what kind of pirates are you?"
"Those men are prisoners of war," Magno replied, her voice cold. "We're from Mejere, and with the exception of Mobius here"—she gestured toward him—"those men come from Tarak."
Rabat listened, his curiosity piqued as he childishly explored the bridge, pressing several buttons until a screen displayed Bart in the helmsman portal.
"Don't catch a cold in there, buddy," Rabat chuckled, clearly amused, much to Bart's dismay.
"So if those other guys are from Tarak, where's he from?" Rabat asked, glancing over at Mobius with a curious look.
Before the captain could respond, Mobius cut her off, his tone guarded. "Ever heard loose lips sink ships?"
Rabat paused, his smirk faltering slightly at Mobius' curt reply. "Not one for sharing about yourself, huh? That's alright, I understand."
"So what is it you want from us?" Magno asked, her voice cool and measured.
"Oh, nothing much," Rabat replied with a nonchalant shrug. "My engine was damaged, so I'd like to stay here for a while until I can get it fixed." He paused, a sly grin creeping onto his face. "And maybe do a little business while I'm here?"
"That's fine with me," Magno agreed, her tone cold, eyes narrowing slightly.
Rabat nodded his thanks before turning to leave the bridge. As he exited, he cast a final glance back at Mobius, a flicker of curiosity still in his eyes.
"Should I shoot him?" Mobius asked, his gaze following Rabat's departure.
"Later," the captain replied, her tone softening as she turned to Mobius. "I asked you to come to the bridge because I'd like to discuss the dreams you've been having, more particularly the one from a few nights ago."
Mobius glanced around the bridge, noting the presence of the three bridge bunnies and Meia. He met the captain's eyes and gave a slight nod. "Very well, but not here."
The captain acknowledged his request with a nod of her own. She then instructed BC and Meia to join them in the conference room. Her chair slid back, carrying her up a ramp that led to the more private area.
As Mobius made his way to the conference room, he mentally prepared himself, knowing that this would be a difficult conversation. The memories he was about to share were ones he had kept locked away, and now, for the first time in years, he was going to bring them into the light.
Entering the conference room, Mobius noticed the captain was already watching Rabat through a camera feed. Rabat was seated at a table, a briefcase in front of him filled with various pieces of jewelry.
"So he's a con man, then," Mobius remarked, his voice tinged with mild disdain.
The captain nodded, her expression unreadable. "It's starting to look that way." She looked up at Mobius and motioned for him to sit across from her.
BC and Meia took their seats on either side of the table, directly across from one another. The atmosphere in the room was heavy, the usually comfortable space now feeling almost oppressively quiet.
"Now then," Magno began, her voice gentle yet firm, "the first dream you had—the one where a city was bombed."
Mobius took a deep breath, his eyes momentarily closing as he steeled himself. "I was born in a small town called Nasuno in the Republic of Delarus, a small but peaceful country. The specific time that you saw in my dream was..." He hesitated, the words catching in his throat. "It's one of the most important parts of my past. At the time, I was preparing for Claire's 15th birthday. Claire... the girl you saw in my dream... was my little sister."
He paused again, gathering his thoughts as the memories flooded back, unbidden. "The bookstore I visited in my dream was one of Claire's favorite places to go. She loved to read, dance, swim... but out of all her hobbies, her favorite thing to do was pester me." A nostalgic smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but the pain in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Whenever I would go out for a morning or nighttime run, she'd want to join me, even though she could never keep up, which would make me slow down..." Mobius paused once more, blinking rapidly as he felt his throat tighten.
Magno, sensing his struggle, spoke softly. "Take your time, I know this must be hard for you."
Mobius exhaled slowly, forcing himself to continue. "She wasn't just my sister, she was my best friend. As much as I complained about her always wanting to follow me around, I never felt happier than when we were together. I visited that bookstore every day for an entire month, slowly making payments on a book that was going to be released the week of Claire's birthday. The book was the last of a highly praised series called Prophecy of the 22."
"The series focused on a character as she moved through her life, facing hardship after hardship, as well as the joys in life. Each book was numbered and titled in accordance with the twenty-two major arcana found in a tarot card deck. The series started with book 0, The Fool, and was going to end with 21, The World. The final book was released the week of Claire's birthday, and she was really looking forward to it. The owner of the shop was always good to us; he'd always talk to us about history and antiques. He was really fascinated with that sort of stuff."
"Since he was always so nice to us, I bought him an antique saber. I gave it to him the same day I picked up Claire's book. We talked for a bit, then I returned home to hide it. Her birthday was the next day..."
"I went to pick her up from school that day, and that's when..."
"The attack came?" BC asked gently, her voice breaking through the silence.
Mobius nodded, his expression grim. "We were a coastal town, about six miles inland, but somehow the bombers managed to slip in undetected. We didn't have air raid sirens, we only had sirens for severe weather like hurricanes, even then they didn't start going off until it was too late. I looked up just as the bombs started falling. My first thought was to run and find cover. I ran for a few blocks until I realized I wasn't going to outrun them, and hiding in a building was certain suicide."
"So you decided to hide underground?" Magno asked, her voice softening as she tried to guide Mobius through his painful memories.
Mobius nodded, his gaze distant. "When I saw that manhole cover in the street, I knew it was my only shot. I pulled it open and tried to get the attention of as many people as I could. The bombers were getting closer, so I closed the cover and ran deeper into the sewer with the others before we took cover."
As he continued, the sounds of that day echoed in his mind—the screams of panic and terror from the people on the streets, the deafening roar of the bombers overhead. He hesitated, the memory threatening to overwhelm him, but he pressed on.
"We waited, I don't know for how long we just hid and waited, until everything—everything but the ringing in our ears—stopped. Slowly, we returned topside to see what was left of our home." His voice wavered, and he paused, struggling to push down the pain. "I don't know how long I wandered in the streets, looking at the destruction and the dead. I was in shock, I forgot what I was doing before they showed up. That's when I looked at the horizon and noticed the bombers were heading in the same direction as Claire's high school." His voice broke slightly as he mentioned her name. "I started running for Claire's school, calling her name the entire time."
He paused again, swallowing hard before continuing. "When I got there, half the school was collapsed and destroyed. I ran inside, ignoring everyone telling me not to go in. Claire's class was on the third floor, the same side of the school where the wall collapsed."
Mobius clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as he recalled the scene. "When I got inside her classroom, I saw Claire lying next to the teacher's desk. I held her in my arms, yelling—yelling for her to wake up, but...it was too late, she was dead. A part of the ceiling had collapsed and hit her on the head."
He stopped, unable to continue for a moment, the weight of the memory pressing down on him. The room was silent, the only sound his ragged breathing as he fought to regain control.
"And?" the captain gently prompted, giving him the space he needed to continue. "When did the enemy take over your town?"
Mobius took a deep breath, forcing himself to keep going. "The Usean Continental War had begun right after the attack on my country, as well as the Republic of Amber. Erusea didn't waste time marching their soldiers into our countries afterward. It had been a couple of months since they took over; day after day, I watched them. I wanted nothing more than to get back at them for everything they did."
His eyes darkened as he remembered the hatred that had consumed him. "One day, I watched an Erusian soldier trip a guy coming out of a restaurant. The man spilled his water on the soldier's uniform, and the soldier... he just shot him in broad daylight. No one did anything—they didn't go to his aid, didn't even try to stop him from bleeding to death. They just walked away." His voice grew cold, filled with the same resolve that had driven him all those years ago. "That was it for me. I couldn't take it anymore."
"So you went out for revenge?" Magno asked, her voice calm but tinged with understanding.
Mobius nodded slowly, his expression hardening. "I wanted them to suffer."
Magno recalled the rest of his dream, how he had methodically hunted down the soldiers, tricking them, drugging one, and then picking them off one by one. She remembered how he had infiltrated the enemy's HQ, shut down their defense network, and then signaled ISAF to liberate the city. He had been cold, precise—driven by a singular need for vengeance.
"And after your town was liberated?" Magno asked, knowing the story's path but wanting to hear it from him.
"I joined ISAF," Mobius said, his voice steadier now as he recounted his military career. "I wanted to be a fighter pilot. Everything important to me was taken by airborne enemies, so I was going to take the skies from them. I joined ISAF and immediately began my training as a fighter pilot. In the G-force simulators, I was on the verge of passing out multiple times, but I refused to allow myself to. I didn't sleep, didn't eat—I didn't even rest until I was able to complete an entire simulation run without taking any damage."
He paused, his voice tightening as he added, "I didn't talk to anyone. I kept to myself the entire time. Only the commanding officers knew my real name, so everyone else just started calling me Mobius because of the Mobius strip I always carried with me. Claire used it as her bracelet, and after she died, I kept it as a reminder—a reminder of what I was working toward, a catalyst for my determination."
"Is that how you became known as Mobius 1?" BC asked, her tone reflective, as if contemplating the significance of the name.
"Yeah," Mobius replied, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I was scheduled for my first sortie with other members of the 118th Tactical Fighter Wing. We were sent on an air-to-surface mission to destroy Erusean supply ships, but our intel was off, and because of that, I was the only one who survived the mission. The flight lead had finished the mission with me, but he had to eject on the way back—they never recovered his body."
He paused, the memory of that first mission still fresh in his mind. "I returned to base, and after the official mission report came in, everyone started calling me Mobius 1—not just because I was the only survivor, but because I didn't sustain any damage during the mission."
"Captain!" Ezra's voice suddenly cried out, interrupting the somber mood. A screen appeared in the center of the table, showing the bridge operator's concerned face.
The captain turned to Ezra calmly. "What is it, Ezra?"
"Hibiki and Rabat are fighting in the hangar. What should we do?"
Mobius was on his feet instantly, his focus shifting from past to present. "I'll deal with it."
He entered the hangar just as Rabat knocked Hibiki to the floor, the sound of the impact echoing through the space. Rabat's movements were deliberate, almost predatory, as he stepped on Hibiki's head, pinning him down. Dita tried to intervene, but Rabat kicked her aside without hesitation, his focus entirely on the young pilot.
Rabat picked Hibiki up with ease and threw him into a wall, the clang of metal reverberating through the hangar. He turned away from Hibiki, a sneer on his face as he mocked him, his voice dripping with disdain. "A man speaks with words from his heart," Rabat said, his tone condescending, "not the words he heard from others."
Hibiki struggled to stand, using the wall for support as Rabat slowly approached him, like a predator closing in on its prey. Mobius watched, his mind racing. He didn't know if Rabat intended to kill Hibiki, but he wasn't about to stand by and find out.
With a decisive step forward, Mobius made his move.
Mobius walked over to Hibiki, his steps measured and purposeful. The moment he stepped between them, he pulled out his handgun, without a word, fired a single shot into Rabat's right shoulder. The crack of the gunshot echoed through the hangar, a sharp contrast to the tense silence that followed.
Rabat hunched to the side, his hand instinctively flying to his wounded shoulder. He gritted his teeth against the pain, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at Mobius. But the cold, unyielding glare Mobius leveled at him was more chilling than the bullet.
"Give me an excuse," Mobius said, his voice low and menacing. There was no hesitation in his words, no hint of doubt. It was a simple, deadly promise.
Rabat's bravado faltered for a moment as he met Mobius' gaze. There was something in those eyes—something lethal and resolute—that made him hesitate. He had seen killers before, men who could take a life without a second thought, but there was something different about Mobius. He wasn't just a man capable of killing; he was a man who had made peace with it.
Before Rabat could respond, Meia's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "That's enough!" she commanded from the doorway.
Meia strode into the hangar, her laser ring trained on Rabat. There was an undeniable authority in her stance, a clear message that she was in control. In the doorway, Duelo, Bart, Jura, and Barnette stood with several other crew members, all of them glaring at Rabat, their collective presence reinforcing the fact that he was outnumbered and outgunned.
Rabat looked around, assessing his situation. He wasn't stupid. He knew when he was beaten. With a sigh, he straightened up as much as his injury would allow and raised his free hand in a gesture of surrender. "Alright," he said, his tone almost mocking. "I know when I'm not wanted. I'll take my leave now."
Mobius didn't lower his gun as Rabat had turned his back and started walking away. Even then, his eyes never left the man, watching and following every move he made with the caution of a predator assessing a potential threat, ready to respond and to kill. Only when Rabat disappeared from view did Mobius finally lower his weapon, his expression unreadable.
Rabat made his way back to his ship, where his partner, Utan, was waiting. Utan quickly bandaged Rabat's shoulder, his movements efficient but tinged with concern. Rabat winced slightly as the bandage was tightened, but he waved off Utan's worried grunts. "I'm fine," he muttered, though his pride was more wounded than his flesh.
As they left the Nirvana, Rabat couldn't help but glance back at the ship one last time. "That Mobius guy," he said, half to himself, half to Utan. "There's something about him."
Inside the Nirvana's bridge, Aramone announced, "Rabat's ship is departing, Captain."
Magno smirked, a predatory glint in her eye. "Parfet, fire up the engines. It's time we do what pirates are meant to do."
The Nirvana's engines roared to life, and the ship surged forward, pursuing Rabat's fleeing vessel.
"I'm not going to let you get away," the captain murmured under her breath, her voice laced with determination. "I'm going to strip you of everything you've got."
Inside his ship, Rabat leaned back in his seat, watching the stars streak past as Utan piloted. "That Peksis Pragma, that big machine, and that Mobius guy," he mused, his thoughts lingering on the strange events aboard the Nirvana.
Utan grunted, pointing at the radar. The screen showed the Nirvana rapidly closing in on them.
"They sure are persistent," Rabat remarked with a smirk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small remote, his finger hovering over the button. "But persistence only gets you so far."
With a press of the button, the Peksis suddenly shut down, sending the Nirvana's engines offline and bringing the ship to an abrupt halt.
"Engineering, what the heck are you guys doing?" Bart yelled, his voice filled with frustration. "He's going to get away!"
"I don't know," Parfet replied, her voice strained. "All of our systems just went down. I think the device I got was faulty—somebody file a complaint!"
Magno clenched her fists, her frustration palpable. "He got us this time," she growled, watching Rabat's ship escape into the distance.
That night, Hibiki sat alone in front of the stream in the garden, his gaze fixed on his reflection in the water. The cool night air did little to soothe the turmoil in his mind.
"It doesn't matter what he said," Meia's voice broke the silence. She was leaning against the railing on the edge of the observation platform, her expression unreadable. "Everything he said was nonsense. He was nothing more than a con artist."
Hibiki clenched his fists, his knuckles white as he tried to suppress the anger and doubt swirling within him. "I know that," he muttered, "but he was still right about one thing. I hate to admit it, but I don't have any words to call my own, only what I've heard from others." He looked up at the stars, their cold, distant light offering no comfort. "When I do get up on my own stage, I wonder what kind of lines would come out of me. Heh, I'm looking forward to that day, but at the same time, I'm a little bit scared. I'm kinda worried that my play would be a comedy."
Meia's expression softened slightly as she turned to face him fully. "It doesn't matter how silly the lines are," she said gently, her voice carrying a rare warmth. "If they come from the heart and spirit without any lies, nobody would laugh at you. Or at the very least, I wouldn't."
Hibiki looked at her, surprised by the sincerity in her words. For a moment, the tension in his chest eased, and he allowed himself to believe her. Meia gave him a small nod before turning to leave, leaving Hibiki alone with his thoughts.
As she walked away, Hibiki's mind continued to churn. "Am I really a man?" he whispered to himself, his voice filled with doubt. "Or do I just think I am? Since I ended up here, I've been trying to prove to everyone—no, I've been trying to prove it to myself. Hibiki the man—what a joke. I'm nothing, at least not compared to him."
His thoughts drifted back to the moment in the hangar. "He's returned from every battle without a scratch, and then he just steps between us and shoots him... He just shot him, didn't say anything to him or try to fight him."
Hibiki looked back up at the stars, their light reflecting in his eyes. "What is it about him? He annoys the crap out of me, he pisses me off, but I kind of feel like I want to be like him, someone strong enough to protect everything."
In the cafeteria, Mobius was sitting at the same corner table he always occupied. He was resting his head against his fist, his gaze fixed on a card in a plastic gem case in front of him. His finger tapped rhythmically against the case, his mind far away.
"You need something, Meia?" he asked without looking up, sensing her presence before she even spoke.
"How do you do that?" Meia asked as she walked over to the former ISAF pilot and sat across from him.
Mobius continued tapping his finger on the card, his eyes distant. "I've had a lot of people observe me over the years. Eventually, you develop a sixth sense for when someone's eyes are watching you."
Meia glanced down at the card on the table, her curiosity piqued. "The World?" she asked, reading the name printed on it.
"Each of the books came with a corresponding arcana," Mobius explained, his voice quieter now, more introspective. "Our house was also destroyed during the bombing. Only three things survived: a picture of me and Claire with our parents, and the book with this card."
Meia noticed the single tear forming in Mobius' right eye, though he quickly blinked it away. His finger stopped on the center of the card, his expression momentarily softening before he forced it back into its usual stoicism.
"I went to her grave every day," Mobius continued, his voice thick with emotion, "and read this book next to her tombstone, making sure to tell her the key points that were happening in the story. I think she would've been happy with the ending. The hero of the story had been blessed by a dying angel, and she used her new power to forever separate Hell from Earth. Of course, she died at the end, but her sacrifice kept the world safe from evil for the rest of time."
He fell silent, the weight of his words hanging in the air between them. Meia watched him, her heart heavy with a sympathy she couldn't fully express. She realized then that the man before her, so strong and unyielding on the outside, carried a burden of grief and loss that few could understand.
"A year before she died, just after the Judgement book was released, I took Claire to a fair outside of town. We had a lot of fun that day," Mobius began, his voice tinged with both warmth and sorrow. "Before we left, she wanted to stop at the fortune teller to have both of our fortunes told. The fortune teller used tarot cards to divine our futures. She said there were great things in my future, that I'd be a hero to countless people. That's when she flipped over The World."
Meia listened in silence, her eyes drifting down to the Tarot card on the table. She felt a pang of empathy, sensing the weight that Mobius placed on that memory. It wasn't just a card to him; it was a connection to his sister, a symbol of the future he never had the chance to have, one he could only imagine for himself.
"I've never been one to believe in that kind of stuff," Mobius continued, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But Claire found it interesting." His smile faded slightly as he recalled her words. "She said that might have been my future, but I was already a hero to one person…to her."
"Maybe it was just because you were her big brother," Meia offered gently.
Mobius looked at Meia, the faint smile returning, though it was tinged with a deep sadness. "Coming from someone with a background like yours, that's a pretty interesting thing to say."
Meia hesitated, reflecting on her own experiences. "It's true that those of us from Mejere believe all men to be our enemies, and both Tarak and Mejere will never believe that men and women used to live together in the same families, but… somehow, I don't see it as impossible."
As Mobius looked at her, Meia found herself drawing parallels between their lives. Despite their vastly different circumstances, they both had lost something precious, something that had shaped who they had become. She realized then that they weren't so different after all—both of them were driven by the ghosts of their pasts, by the need to find meaning in their losses.
"Maybe you and I are supposed to be the ones to reunite the two genders," Mobius said with a hint of amusement. "By living together, we can unite all" his sarcasm starting to bubble to the surface.
Meia's face flushed at the suggestion, her thoughts momentarily scattered. But when Mobius chuckled and added, "I'm kidding," she felt a small wave of relief, though the idea lingered in her mind.
"What was she like?" Meia asked, steering the conversation back to safer ground.
Mobius closed his eyes for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Claire was something special. I can only count a few times when she wasn't smiling, always happy and loved everyone."
Meia watched him closely, noting the way his expression softened as he spoke about his sister. It was rare to see him like this, so open and vulnerable. She could see that Claire had been the light in his life, the one person who had kept him grounded.
"And what about you?" Meia asked, her curiosity piqued. "What were you like back then?"
Mobius' smile faded completely, and his expression darkened. "That's the problem. I can remember everything from my past except myself. My name, my age, I can't remember a damn thing about myself, but everything else is as clear as day. Figures, huh?"
Meia felt a surge of sympathy as she looked at the card on the table. She understood what it was like to be haunted by memories, to be defined by what you had lost. "Maybe there's a reason for that," she said softly.
Mobius looked up from the card, his eyes meeting hers. There was a flicker of curiosity in his gaze, as if he was searching for answers in her words.
"There's a book I read once as a child," Meia began, her voice distant as she recalled the story. "It was about a girl who couldn't remember anything about herself—not her name, not her age—but she could remember everything else, including the place where she grew up. Strangely enough, her home was also destroyed, although in the story, it was destroyed by monsters. No one knew her name, so everyone just called her Angel for all the good deeds she did. When she sealed away the last of the monsters and saved the world, she finally remembered her name."
"What was it?" Mobius asked, genuinely curious.
Meia smiled faintly. "Meia."
Mobius chuckled, the tension in his expression easing. "Really?"
Meia nodded, her smile growing slightly. "My mother loved that story, and when I was born, she named me after the girl in that book. She showed it to me when I was six. I remember asking her if I had the power to help people like that girl did. She said I had the power to do whatever I wanted to—all it would take is the motivation to set out on my path and the will to see it through."
"Maybe that's it, then," Mobius said, his tone lighter. "Once I help all of you stop the harvest and save Mejere and Tarak, I'll remember my name." He chuckled again, a bit of his sarcastic humor returning. "Of course, I'd have saved two worlds, so my track record would be just a tad higher than that girl's."
Meia scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully. "That sounds like something a man would say," she teased, though she continued to smile. "But there is something about you…"
Mobius dropped his smile and looked at her, intrigued.
"Even though you mainly keep to yourself, you exude this aura of some kind," Meia continued, her tone more serious. "Something that makes people rally around you. It's strange. I don't fully understand it, but I almost feel as though as long as you're with us, we can't lose."
Mobius hummed thoughtfully. "Sky Eye, the callsign of the AWACS operator assigned to most of my sorties, said the same thing once. I remember him saying, as we were flying to destroy Stonehenge, that the world was in need of new heroes… Me, a hero, that's pretty funny."
"A hero, huh?" Meia said with a small smile as she stood up, ready to leave. "Maybe that's why I respect you so much—someone I could follow and trust to get me through to the other side unharmed."
As Meia walked away, leaving Mobius alone again, he ran his hand over his jet-black hair and sighed. "A hero, huh?" he murmured to himself. "I ended a war, but can I really save two worlds from destruction?"
His thoughts drifted back to Sky Eye's last words after Megalith was destroyed. "Heroes really do exist. We've just seen one."
Mobius stared at the card on the table, his finger tracing its edges as he contemplated the weight of those words. Could he really be the hero they needed, or was he just a man trying to outrun his past?
