Chapter Text
Caelus’s vision was hazy when he first woke up. The floor beneath his body was cold – way… way too cold. And though the pounding in his head was enough to burst his skull open, he summoned whatever strength he had to reach out for his sister’s hand. After an agonizingly slow and shaky glide to graze their fingers together, he noticed a familiar silhouette in front of him. Her delicate eyebrows were scrunched in worry and her apricot lips pursed in an anxious smile.
Stelle woke up milliseconds after, confusion evident on her face. She shot a relieved smile at her brother, which he mirrored, before they both turned to the woman who took them as her own.
“Kafka…?” Stelle croaked.
“Great,” the woman drawled. (Was she smiling because…?) “So you remember me.”
What a stupid comment, Caelus thought; of course they remember her. He would have voiced it aloud had it not been how crappy he felt from waking up.
He saw Kafka’s lips move, but Caelus was unable to process any of her words. It felt as if someone had stuffed cotton into his ears. Just as he was finally adjusting to the setting they were in — which was an unfamiliar one at that — his senses kicked into overdrive when Kafka voiced out a fear he didn’t know he had until now.
“–None of that matters. All you need to know is I’m leaving, and you two will be left all alone on this space station. From now on, you needn’t think about your pasts or doubt yourselves.”
… Leaving?
“Listen, in the near future, you will encounter all kinds of perils and hardships, but… you will also have many wonderful experiences. You’ll meet companions who will treat you like family, and embark on surreal adventures with them…
“At the end of your journey, all that perplexes you and troubles you will resolve. These are your futures that Elio has foreseen. Do you like it?”
“Where are you going…” Caelus rasped, ignoring her question as desperation began to seep into the deepest pores of his bones.
“The next stop,” the woman replied, shrugging, “to pave the way for the future that is written. It’s like… weaving brocade. We can only add one gold thread each time, but eventually, we will make a gorgeous pattern.”
“How long do you think you need?” an impatient voice interjected. “According to the script, the Astral Express crew is arriving soon. We should avoid being seen by them.”
“I know, Silver Wolf,” Kafka huffed. “Just give me another minute.”
“No,” Caelus whimpered. “Kafka… W-wait–”
“I must leave now,” she interrupted, her voice soothing. “Don’t worry, someone will come and find you very soon, just go with them. You won’t remember a thing except me.”
“ MOM! ” the boy cried, sitting up suddenly. Pain and discomfort pulsed through his body down to the smallest fibers of his nerve endings. He cradled his head in his hands as Stelle feebly reached out to reassure her twin, missing the dirty glare Silver Wolf shot at him.
“When you have a chance to make a choice,” Kafka began, placing a gentle hand on Caelus’s chest. She slowly eased his body down so that he was lying on his back again. The steel ground beneath him felt like it was about to swallow him whole as he helplessly watched his mother rise from her crouch. Her unreadable smile was the last thing he saw before succumbing to his need for rest. Her soothing voice rang in his ears.
“Make one that you know you won’t regret.”
__________
The last time the Astral Express had visited the Herta Space Station, Asta had relayed to Himeko that the genius scientist had somehow acquired a Stellaron to study it. At first, the crew found it hard to believe. It was impressive to hear that Madam Herta captured one, but at the cost of defending the staff of her namesake galactic post was not something the Express crew was fully prepared for. It was doable, yes.
But it would have meant the end for the Express – and the absolute extinction of Akivili’s will – if they were just a hair more unprepared.
When they had found the twins, Stelle had stirred awake right as March and Dan Heng approached them. When the Astral Express’s guard had questioned her, she had ignored him and her eyes had widened with panic. She was ready to shake her brother back to life like a madman had it not been for Dan Heng’s intervention.
“Weak heartbeat and pulse…” he muttered. “March, you better do CPR.”
“Huh?!” the girl in question squeaked. “Hehe… I-I’ve never done it before! Dan Heng, you do it!”
Dan Heng was… not ready to admit that he didn’t actually know how to do CPR either. Perhaps against his better judgment of (hopelessly) calling for a real medical professional in the midst of an emergency evacuation, he leaned in (too close–) .
Instinctively, he had also closed his eyes.
“Wait – stop it!”
Dan Heng stifled a glare in her direction as March pushed his face away forcefully. There was a more considerate way to stop him from his ministrations (not that she would have listened). March leaned in even closer to the silver-haired boy’s space, a wide smile painting her lips. “He’s awake!”
“You’re awake…” Stelle echoed, relieved. She dove in to wrap her arms around her brother’s neck, cradling the back of his head with one hand.
“Are you all right?” March asked. “Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?”
“... I…” Caelus began, his voice hoarse, but he didn’t trust himself to continue his thoughts after waking up. Instead, Caelus held onto the arm that Stelle had wrapped his head with and allowed himself to be soothed by his sister’s touch, even taking a second to nuzzle the crook of her neck.
This was the most scared he’s ever been, and he didn’t know why.
Dan Heng wasn’t sure what was shared between the pair aside from hushed reassurances and steadfast gazes. When they finished, the twins looked warily at him and March. Though the Trailblazers made it very clear through their previous actions and body language that they had no ill intent, Stelle had still positioned herself in front of her brother.
A protective measure, Dan Heng noted.
“I don’t remember anything…” Caelus finally settled on saying.
“Aw, this isn’t good…” March remarked, worried. “Can you try harder? I’m sure you can at least remember your name…”
“... My name is Caelus,” he answered hesitantly. “And… this is my sister, Stelle.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Dan Heng began, nodding in acknowledgement. “My name’s Dan Heng, and this is March 7th. This space station was just attacked by the Antimatter Legion. We came to help with the rescue at the request of Lead Researcher Asta.”
“Lead Researcher Asta?” Caelus parroted.
“Uh-huh,” March supplied. “A petite cutie with pink hair. Madame Herta appointed her to be the acting lead researcher. That girl really needs to step up. I can’t believe her own employee doesn’t even know her name…”
“The Antimatter Legion?” Stelle asked.
“Goons owned by the Destruction,” March filled in again. “You’re lucky the most dangerous Lord Ravager among them isn’t around. Just some nasty minions. We’ll take those invaders out soon – don’t worry!”
“In that case… where should we go?”
“Back to the master control zone,” Dan Heng replied this time, folding his arms across his chest. “Asta and the other researchers have gathered there.”
“Plus that’s where we parked the Astral Express!” March piped up. “Don’t you worry, we’ll protect you from the monsters and clear out this mess.”
In a voice imperceptible to the Express crew members, Stelle had murmured, immersed in her own thoughts, “The Astral… Express…” She wasn’t sure why, but she knew something about those words carried a weight that would forever change her and Caelus’s lives. She glanced meaningfully at Caelus, who looked back at his sister as they were thinking the same thing.
They decided to split up. Dan Heng went on his own in search of Arlan while March offered to guide the twins to the Master Control Zone for safety. When they all came together again with an injured Arlan, the Head of the Security Department, Dan Heng was prepared to do the bulk of the fighting. Yet, he was taken aback during their run-ins with the Legion.
Considering he was stuck with three amnesiacs – two of which had only woken up just moments ago – it was remarkable how combat came so naturally to the twins. To make things clear, Dan Heng wasn’t even sure if they were truly amnesiacs… he suspected they were hiding something, but for now, the siblings were fighting alongside him and March. And the more allies they had right now, the better.
Eventually the four of them reunited and were ambushed by more soldiers from the Antimatter Legion. A surprise attack was never welcome, but the Legion’s underhanded tactics were more callous than usual this time around. He was relieved that his Cloud Piercer was sturdy enough to deflect the Voidranger Trampler’s arrow. Aeons forbid he was a nanosecond too late and it had actually injured Caelus.
Thankfully with Himeko’s intervention, the subsequent battles with the Ravagers became child’s play. Yet even with the navigator’s insistence to bring the twins with them, the fight with the Doomsday Beast was far from easy.
He had only woken up moments ago, but when March’s life was in danger, Caelus jumped in to shield her from a devastating blast. Dan Heng, who was the quickest on his feet out of all the Express crew, was too far away from his fellow Trailblazer and made a futile attempt to drag or push or do anything to keep March away from the attack. Time seemed to slow down everyone in the battlefield, yet everything was also happening too quickly. The Express guard was sure he heard Stelle scream out Caelus’s name and darted towards her heroic but foolish brother. But unlike Dan Heng, Stelle had made it to Caelus–
The nova of golden light that played out before Dan Heng was both the most beautiful and most haunting sight he laid his eyes on. How was it that in the span of 15-20 minutes since meeting Stelle and Caelus that their innocent lives were taken too? He stood there, dumbfounded and speechless and
helpless
, as the twins’s bodies were eaten up by the Doomsday Beast’s blast. The horrifying, guttural screams echoed louder than the Beast’s roars and explosion as Caelus and Stelle were engulfed in what Dan Heng could describe as two microsuns–
The destruction ceased before it got too out of hand thanks to Mr. Yang stepping in. Two back-to-back forehead knocks with his cane later, Caelus and Stelle went limp. Dan Heng caught the former and March the latter in their arms.
“M-Mr. Yang,” March stuttered, panicked. “Are they–”
“They’re okay now,” Welt reassured. “Let’s talk somewhere else.”
__________
They were hearkened as the space station’s heroes. Volun-told to be Madame Herta’s new experiment subjects for her… Simulated Universe. Recruited as the two newest members of the Astral Express. And, as Himeko later revealed, two human hosts who both had one half of a Stellaron in their bodies.
They were enigmas who popped out of thin air. Dan Heng had seen his fair share of mysterious happenings, but never someone who could host a Stellaron in their body without the cancer going berserk – let alone two people who could do it. He had hoped that maybe there would have been a forgotten recording from previous archivists about the phenomenon, but alas, his search came up with nothing after browsing through the records for hours.
The Express guard’s thoughts were interrupted when Caelus had opened the door to the archives. Dan Heng’s visitor shot him a bashful smile when the former had asked, “Can I help you?”
“Pom-Pom said it’s dinner time.”
Dan Heng blinked. “Please tell the conductor I will be there momentarily.”
Caelus made a small affirming noise but did not deliver the message right away. Instead, he stepped more into Dan Heng’s room, awestruck. The archivist noticed this and, without looking up from his screen, he said, “This is open to everyone on the Express. I enter the collected info into the archive’s data bank.”
Dan Heng points to the wall in the far corner, eyes still glued to his own screen. “Do you see the terminal over there? It can be used to view information already stored in the data bank. Do give it a go.”
“Y-You don’t mind?” Caelus stammered.
“As I already said, the archives are open to everyone.”
“I… thank you.”
Dan Heng watched Caelus settle into the corner terminal from the corner of his eyes. Whatever he was trying to search for, he was invested in it. That was good for Dan Heng, he needed the peace and quiet for his own research, and they stayed like that – wrapped in their own research – until a not-so-considerate door slamming open from the train conductor snapped them back to reality.
After dinner, Dan Heng and Caelus return to the archives to resume their research. The Express guard doesn’t ask the other man what he was researching. After all, he’s sure Pom-Pom had debriefed the newcomer that everyone on the Express had their own secrets, and unlike some of his crewmates, Dan Heng understands when people want to keep their privacy. He hopes Caelus will be able to find the answers he was looking for.
Though sadly for him, Caelus would not find anything in the data bank relating to his interaction with Kafka. He leaves the archives dejected and quietly closes the door behind him to not disrupt Dan Heng.
In the main parlor car, Caelus settles on an empty booth and lies down, wrapping himself under the weight of a warm weighted blanket he received from Himeko earlier. His limbs ache from all the running and fighting he had done all day, and he’s sure he’ll have some ugly scars form, but his mind is abuzz with too many puzzling thoughts.
The universe… The Astral Express… Aeons…
Were Stelle and I dragged into a science fiction movie or something?
This “Stellaron” thing… in our bodies… In my body…
His eyelids begin to feel heavy, all the exhaustion from today’s events finally taking its toll on him. Caelus reluctantly gives into rest, but he is already dreading the dream he’s about to have as a woman’s hypnotic voice rings in his ears:
“When you have a chance to make a choice, make one that you know you won’t regret.”