D-007

3 Minutes since launch.

"So…uh…you guys found the going home button yet?"

"You utter fool, Icarus!"

"It seems like depending on this planet's people was a dreadful mistake. A child sent on something of this scale…it's ridiculous."

"Come on, I am not that young, Kujo is in the same semester as me in college and …wait hold on, how do you even have a kid at that age-"

"Sōda, wasureteita! Musume wa ima, baka to issho ni iru! Musume wa mō dameda!"

"Can you stop speaking in gibberish for once?!"

"Gibberish?! Don't you dare insult my culture, Eraba reshi mono yo!"

"Seriously, stop saying that Raba crap-"

Suddenly, an ear-piercingly loud buzz cuts through the argument.

The trio cover their ears as it subsides.

"H-hey…static…can you…hear me?"

A familiar voice.

The static stops for a second as they hear a female voice going "YOU BETTER GIVE ME BACK MY ICARUS IN ONE PIECE OR I WILL TIE YOUR TAILS SHUT, YOU HEAR ME?!"

More static…

Icarus: "Where is the sound even coming from…? I don't see speakers-"

A different, softer female voice is heard through the mess: "MISSES ROSE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT HAMMER-""

More static…

"Hellooo, is this thing on?" The connection stabilizes, the static fades and the crew slowly uncover their ears.

Cosmo: "Oh, it's the fox." Her sigh of relief is enough to fill up a balloon on its own.

Itadori interjects with deafening enthusiasm. "Watashitachi wa sukuwa remashita. Taisetsuna musume ga sukuwa reta ndesu, watashi no musume ga!"

Miles: "Yeah…about that…"

Cosmo and Itadori immediately feel a weight on their heart. Icarus raises an eyebrow at Miles understanding Itadori.

Cosmo: "What's wrong?"

Miles: "You guys can't go home anytime soon."

Itadori: "Detarameda!"

Cosmo: "What do you mean? We just left!"

Miles: "Well, the ship is programmed to follow the closest path to each of the emeralds' signals before coming back to Earth. There is no manual piloting system in place."

Itadori: "What?! Is there no method of returning to Earth early?"

Miles: "The tech was based on their own, so I didn't want to risk them having some sort of remote access or backdoor…in simple terms, I didn't want to risk them having access to how the ship functions, so the functionality is stored offline aboard the ship."

Cosmo: "Off…line?"

Miles: "Meaning it is stored locally, and cannot be updated from my end either. There is no way to come back to Earth without at least passing by each planet first…and we do not have the time to spare for you "

Itadori: "Chikushō…"He clenches his fists in frustration at the situation.

Miles: "In other news, you guys should reach the first planet in…huh…that's not…" his voice trails off.

Icarus: "What's going on?"

Miles' confidence is slightly wavering "W-well, based on the communication with the planets…you should be there by the 10th day…but…the emerald signal is 12 hours away? The distance doesn't match up…hold on, I will see what I can do."

And he closes the connection.

Itadori: "...we are all doomed."

Icarus: "Hey, it's not all bad…"

His voice trails off as Itadori walks past him, dragging his feet in utter defeat as he climbs up the small floor elevator.

Icarus looks at Cosmo for reassurance but finds none as she rolls her eyes and turns away to stare at the window. Her expression reeked of boredom, practically dozing off at the sight of it all.

He was initially confused as to what she was even looking at, but as he walked towards her, he quickly realised that they were well beyond the atmosphere already. Cosmo has seen this countless times, forcibly. For her, it was what most people would think of when they see the road to their local grocery store.

For Icarus, however…

No words can describe the sheer magnitude of it all. No Virtual Simulation, no picture in a science book, none of it could even come close to grasping what the world outside of our world looks like. Seeing the Earth decrease in size as they distance away from it…and yet, the most shocking part…was how free it was all like. No borders. No limits, no boundaries. The rules of nature didn't decide current fashion trends or whatever new dangerous pranks high school students were doing. It was all so…liberating. Chains being cut after being born in them. Everything felt insignificant. It was uncharted territory. Perhaps the mortal mind was never supposed to get such a glimpse at how unimportant it is. For all of its decades of positive advancements and all of its centuries of corruption and destruction…nature stood unfazed. Like it did 50 years ago. Like it will 50 years from now.

The realization of something greater mesmerized the young Icarus like nothing else did, the hope of joy and wonder glimmering brighter than the literal sun aiming its unfiltered, pure rays at the ship as it cruised. A light brighter than anything Cosmo had ever seen.

A simple glance to her right was all it took.

For Icarus, he was gifted with the greatest ability for exploration. He could go anywhere, anytime, within the blink of an eye, and yet this sight was something far beyond anything he could have seen down there.

For Cosmo, she was gifted the ability to grant life, she understood it better than anyone, and yet Icarus' soul burned brighter than anything she could have ever grown on her own.

Their souls were always dimly lit, just enough to see two steps ahead.

But for a brief moment, their souls shone bright enough to see the entire world.

It was but a fleeting moment, and it disappeared as fast as it came, as Cosmo shrugged it off and decided to go to her cabinet as well.

Although Icarus tried to take in every moment, he eventually dozed off peacefully.

The hours pass, and the ship prepares its automatic landing…

To Planet Foralon.