Chapter Text
Dark was asleep in the back of his and Luna's shared mind.
He had gotten used to the pressing blackness by now, since he rarely got to take control. Luna was always in control—hiding his other half away from everyone else.
But he couldn't care less. Dark never exactly liked the other moons and planets. They were always noisy, annoying, and dramatic—always probing into the business of others when their presence is unwanted. He was fine with spending the rest of his life floating in eternal darkness, never to experience the outer world. But the dark comforted him in ways others wouldn't understand. It wrapped around him like a soft embrace, chasing away the harsh sunlight that burned his eyes.
Occasionally, he would have vivid dreams. Constantly trapped in the cage that was their shared mind, his own half was always seeking to escape. But he didn't let it leave their consciousness. So he was left with strange visions, dreams of things he couldn't understand. And every time Dark woke up again, greeted by the same familiar black, he was only left with the faint knowledge that he had dreamed.
But he never had nightmares. The little moon had never learned to fear, so his mind never learned to dream of terrible things. Only...what his imagination could create in a desperate attempt for stimulation.
"Dark..."
A quiet voice called out to the moon in the darkness. He had been floating in the domain of their shared mind, lost in a dream. Dark had another dream of colours exploding in his mind and sounds that he struggled to describe.
His eyes flickered open. The dream was already slipping away from his memory, like sand through his fingers. Like something he could never be fast enough to catch.
The voice called out again. "Dark."
Dark froze, unsure of what to do. "...Luna?"
Only silence answered him. He waited, feeling his core pounding in his ears. A small ball of light appeared in the corner of his eye. It floated in the darkness, twisting and warping every second. It was a very little amount of light, but to Dark, it was like a thousand stars had emerged in front of him. He watched it curiously through his fingers, squinting as it pulsated and moved closer to his face.
The ball of light exploded.
Black was replaced with white. The moon covered his face with a cracked yell, shielding his eyes from the sudden increase in brightness. His head pounded and he curled up into a ball, shaking.
"Do not be afraid, child."
A large, gentle hand was placed on Dark's head.
Cold and heat bursted on his surface. Dark's shivered and burned at the feeling of the gravity of someone else pulling his own. After billions of years residing in the dark, his senses useless in the endless void, his head reeled at the sudden sensation. His ragged breaths stopped for a long moment.
Dark slowly lifted his head, forcing his core to slow its rapid beating. His eyes watered and he blinked many times until he adjusted to the light. Instead of darkness, he was surrounded by whiteness.
A figure crouched in front on him, its hand still on Dark's head. "Look at me, Dark." Their voice sounded like it consisted of thousands of voices merged together.
Dark listened obediently and looked into the eyes of the celestial in front of him. Black eyes met gold. He stared, taking in every detail that stood against the black white canvas. The figure was huge. They were fully black, and not a single other material penetrated their form.
Strangely, the being seemed to bend light, willing it to orbit them. The light constantly changed shapes in the same way the orb from before did, catching Dark's attention. He had never seen such a strange phenomenon before—even when watching through Luna's eyes, nothing in the solar system was like this.
"Who...are you?"
The figure moved its hand back, leaving Dark to mourn the departure of the touch. "I am Sagittarius A*. I am the black hole at the centre of this galaxy, and your star orbits me."
Dark had heard of these regal celestials that held ultimate power over solar systems, but he had never seen one before. "Where are we?" He gestured at the expanse of emptiness around them.
"You are still within the confines of your mind, Dark. This is simply a dream." The black hole moved its arms in exaggerated ways, drawing strings of colour from seemingly nowhere at all.
"A dream? So...you aren't real then? I've never had a dream like this before..."
"No. I am very much real. I am currently controlling your dream, allowing myself to speak to you from even the farthest distances."
Dark pondered on this for a moment. "Why are you speaking to me?"
Sagittarius A* sighed before answering. "I expect it is time for you to understand." It drew up a colourful replica of the Sun in front of Dark. "Billions of years ago, I chose your solar system for a reason. Your star, Helios, had the potential to do great things." The image of the Sun faded away, replaced by a miniature model of the solar system, rotating in front of their eyes. "I guided each celestial in this solar system throughout the years, watching and waiting."
The moon was surprised by the sudden barrage of information he received. "You chose our solar system? But...for what?"
The model of the solar system faded away as well, leaving only Dark and Sagittarius A* in the dream. "I had a dream, child. I wished to achieve something great in my galaxy, something astounding." Dark watched in disbelief as a small version of the Earth appeared. "Life."
He frowned as frustration bubbled in his chest. "You're telling me that all that was just for the Earth to get life? Seriously?" Dark attempted to punch the Earth model, but at his touch, the image evaporated like dust.
The black hole looked unfazed by Dark's actions. "I understand how you feel, little one. But gaining intelligent life, thriving in their home and willing to explore further, is not an easy feat. The solar system you call home went through many catastrophic events that contributed to the formation of life." Another image, this time of some Earthling probe, emerged.
Dark ignored it this time, turning away from the celestial in front of him. Sagittarius A* cupped his face gently, turning Dark towards it. Dark tensed at the touch but allowed himself to be moved.
"I do not want to upset you, Dark. That is not the reason why I came here to talk."
"Then...why are you here? Talking to me?"
The black hole's golden eyes were filled with the memories Dark could only wonder about. "I witness everything that happens in my galaxy. Even now, I am watching the births and deaths of celestials. Every truth and every lie cannot escape me. In some way, I am in control of everything that happens." They paused. "But you, Dark, you are not something I expected to form."
"You mean—me and Luna?" Dark knew him and his other half were strange. But he never realised it was like this. "Are we not meant to...exist?"
The celestial shook its head. "Everything in this Universe exists for a reason, Dark. Everything happens for a reason. No one can truly understand how the Universe works, even us black holes." Dark's head spun. "I have been watching you for some time, child. I still do not understand how you came to be. But. I have seen the bond you share with your other half, even if it does waver occasionally. I suspect that in your formation period, your separate selves became one after being touched by powerful Universal magic."
Dark struggled to take this all in. He stumbled backwards, trying to steady his shaking hands by curling them into fists. Sagittarius A* watched him patiently. "Why are you telling me this...?"
Sagittarius A* did not answer immediately. It seemed to think before speaking. "I have seen you and Luna's fear of being discovered as an...anomaly. But I believe that this is wrong. Nothing in my galaxy should live in fear of being who they are in front of others, no matter where they stand in the Universe."
Dark looked away, not wanting the powerful being to see the moisture forming in his eyes. "No...no one can know. They don't need to know...The others will be better off without us." Dark didn't know if he fully believed his own words.
The black hole clearly didn't believe them either. "Do not try to lie to me, Dark. I know what you really think." This flipped a switch inside Dark's mind.
"Do you really think I haven't tried to talk to Luna about this? But oh no, every time it's the same excuse of it not being the right time." Dark was yelling now. He didn't care what Sagittarius A* thought of him. "I've spent my whole life in the darkness, and I've only come out for a few moments in billions of years. And you know what? Maybe he's right! Maybe everyone will hate the truth. They always do." Dark forcefully blinked away the pressure and moisture in his eyes.
"..."
The silence between them was louder than the shouting. The only sound to be heard was Dark's heavy, uneven breathing as he roughly rubbed his eyes.
Gravity curled itself around Dark, pulling him towards Sagittarius A*. He weakly tried to pull away, but the gravity was too strong. The black hole wrapped its arms around the moon without a word, pressing him softly against its body. Dark did not move an inch, stiffly remaining where he was. Finally, they spoke.
"No one can escape the truth. That is one of the laws of the Universe I learned myself. The truth will always catch up, even when you don't want it to." The celestial spoke steadily, rubbing Dark's back at the same time. "You can leave it now, but the truth will always stay close behind."
Dark squeezed his eyes shut. He felt numb and overwhelmed by all the new feelings swirling around his head. It was too much. Memories of Luna's panic attacks when he was almost discovered flashed through his mind. He remembered Luna's shrill words like it just happened yesterday.
"He almost discovered the truth, Dark! Earth cannot find out."
The words echoed in his ears. Dark shook his head, digging his nails into his arms. He didn't want to remember how Luna had pushed Dark further into the back of their shared mind. He felt Sagittarius A* move one of their arms, but didn't register it.
Dark sniffed loudly, feeling warm tears slide down his face. The behaviour wasn't like him at all, but this was a dream. No one could see him here, even if the tears and pain felt so real.
Sagittarius A* did not push Dark to speak, and he was thankful for it. After a while, Dark took many deep breaths, and let himself relax. He melted into the bigger celestial, breathing hoarsely as he opened his eyes again.
His eyes widened as he watched the black hole waving its free arm in the space above them both, drawing vivid images from sparkles and shapes. Each one was beautifully illustrated, just like the models from before. But this time, they were like memories frozen in time.
"What...are these?"
Sagittarius A* stopped, looking down at Dark. But it did not look surprised. It raised its head again, sighing softly at the pictures. "Visions of the future. We black holes can view certain parts of the future to our will. They are vague, but I'm sure some will be of interest."
Dark continued to watch as the images started to form familiar shapes. A familiar yellow glow from a star he had lived around his whole life. A collection of blurred planets, some with rings, some smaller than the rest. "That's the others in the solar system, isn't it?"
The black hole nodded, emotion absent from its face. It kept making more visions, each more strange than the last. A huge red glow, harsher than the original yellow one. Lonely planets in the darkness of space. Sagittarius A* paused, shaking its head. "It appears I have been shown visions from the very far future."
Dark blinked. "What was that red light?"
He didn't get a proper answer. "You do not need to worry about that now little one." Dark did not try to ask further.
He kept watching, trying to push his bad memories away. Streaks of blue, green and grey swirled in front of his eyes, and he noticed shapes similar to the Earth and hi—Luna. He wanted to keep looking, but Sagittarius A* wafted the image away. Dark watched the wisps of colours float away into the whiteness. "Why did you do that? That was Earth and Luna..."
He felt the gaze of the huge celestial on him and returned it, trying not to blink.
"It was a vision of the future I had been looking for." Dark raised his eyebrow questioningly. "You wouldn't be able to interpret it. But believe me when I tell you that the vision happens after Earth finds out about you."
Dark swallowed at that, breaking eye contact and trying to breathe slowly. "He...finds out?"
A nod.
"I-Is he angry at us?"
"Quite the contrary." Sagittarius A* gave Dark a warm smile, and only kindness shone in its golden eyes. "You should not fear the truth, Dark. I know it will be scary for your other half. But I have seen peace in the future for you and your family."
Dark sighed heavily, exhaustion washing over him at the words. "So everything will be ok."
"Very much."
He smiled sadly. "This is what you came to tell me, then?"
The celestial holding him nodded again. "It is. But I have one more thing to ask you, child." This time, Dark was the one nodding. "I have named everything in your solar system, even if no one knows it. But I did not name you. So now, I want to know. Do you want a new name, granted by me?"
Dark was surprised at this question. He thought for a moment, but he already knew his answer. "No. My true name is Dark. That's the name Luna gave me, and I don't want to lose it."
Sagittarius A* smiled even more widely at that. "You are a peculiar moon, Dark, I'll give you that. I understand. That is an honorable choice."
Dark felt himself being released from the black hole's strong gravity, back into the white void.
"And now, it is time for us to part ways."
"Wait!" Dark held out a hand. "Will I remember any of this?" He asked calmly.
Sagittarius A* searchingly gazed into his eyes. "No. You will not. But I will leave you with the knowledge that everything will be alright in the end."
Dark accepted that fate. He closed his eyes, succumbing to the exhaustion that dragged himself towards the realm of sleep. On the other side of his drooping eyelids, the light grew brighter and brighter, and a rainbow of colours glowed through.
"Until we meet again, Dark."
When Dark opened his eyes again, the familiar darkness was back. He blinked slowly, trying to grasp the already fading dream. He remembered...a white void and lots of colours. Just another weird dream like all the others.
But this time, a warm feeling remained in his core. It felt...strange, but also comforting. Dark lounged in his homely void, listening to the noises of the outside world as Luna kept control and played card games with the other rocky planets.
"Good luck, little moon."