Chapter Text
It was a long day.
Right from the start, Dazzle and Jack decided it would be a good idea to wake everyone up at six in the morning with an impromptu concert using kitchen utensils. This resulted in some very grumpy and tired housemates, most of whom had gone to bed ridiculously late.
Then, while making breakfast, the stove decided that now was the best time to play with the heat. This ended with an unpleasant burning sensation on the left hand. Fortunately, the fire didn’t have time to melt or damage the material of his body, but that didn’t relieve the unpleasant pain and throbbing. At least the brothers, who were unhappy about getting up early, didn’t complain about the food.
The workday could only be described as chaos. The number of children and parents who decided to make everyone’s life difficult today reached record levels. Sunrise sighed, seeing the last child off from the daycare with a forced smile. This girl’s parents were quite certain in their conclusions about where this place was headed and why they wouldn’t be coming back. Not that he felt sorry for them! The girl was exceptionally cruel and rude, just like her parents. Sunrise added them to the blacklist without a second thought, straightening up. The end of the workday meant closing up and heading home, which made him incredibly happy.
After turning off all the lights and locking the doors, he headed toward the complex’s exit with a weary sigh. He knew he could have simply walked through the portal back home, but today he had a particular desire to take a stroll down the street. The fresh air might help clear his thoughts, and the sounds of nature would calm his mind.
Thinking that he shouldn’t forget to meditate before bed, Sunrise stepped out of the building onto the street, pausing for a moment to look up at the sky. It was already dark; clouds drifted slowly around the full moon, revealing a view of countless tiny stars scattered across the sky. The color of the night sky shifted from dark blue to almost charcoal black, highlighting the soft glow and twinkling of the tiny stars. This view and atmosphere always made him relax his shoulders and watch the movement of the clouds with a faint smile.
Forcing himself to tear his gaze away from the beautiful view, Sunrise slowly stepped onto the path leading to the forest, deciding to take a walk to the distant portal.
Passing by the broad trees, his white eyes dimly lit his way. He had been here countless times, memorizing the route by heart. Every large rock and old tree marked out a mental route for him. The sounds of the distant stream, the chirping of a pair of birds, the chirping of crickets in the nearby grass—everything filled him with peace.
Closing his eyes, Sunrise slowed his pace, savoring the moment of calm before he returned to the bustling house, where his family was already getting ready for movie night. They had been planning to get together for a long time.
Coordinating everyone’s schedules had been difficult, but they’d finally found a time that worked. At the mere thought of the loud, joyful chaos awaiting him at home, Sunrise smiled warmly. Everything was slowly getting back to normal. Of course, Titan’s threats and Moon’s memory issues still existed and weighed on the back of his mind like an unpleasant burden. But just for today, with the whole family together and happy, he could forget about it for at least a second.
Sunrise realized he had stopped only when he opened his eyes in surprise, sensing that something was very wrong. Suddenly, the whole world seemed wrong to him, as if everything had been shifted an inch to the left. The wind stopped for a second, as if frozen, and the sounds around him changed abruptly, as if an editor had poorly spliced parts of the audio track. Sunrise looked around nervously, trying to figure out what had suddenly changed.
Everything looked normal; nothing had suddenly disappeared or appeared. Yet the sense of something being off deeply unsettled his senses and thoughts. Sunrise forced himself to take a deep breath, rocking back and forth on his heels.
Carefully, he exhaled, calming his trembling hands. It had been a long time since he’d been overcome by such intense paranoia and panic. It was strange and alarming, but he forced himself to calm his thoughts.
“Today is just a tough day, which is why my thoughts got out of control. Everything’s fine; you’ll go home soon and be greeted by the hustle and bustle. Cosmo has probably already stolen the jar of Nutella. Jack is trying to eat the sponges, and the rest are too busy to notice.”
Sunrise spoke aloud, trying to calm himself. Thinking about his last words, he even chuckled, picturing the scene.
Taking one last breath, he strode quickly toward the portal, eager to quell his raging emotions as soon as possible. It seemed as though the standing trees were now gloomily lowering their branches toward the ground, blocking the view of the sky. The sounds of life around him had fallen silent, reaching him as if through a thick layer of water. Trying not to pay attention to it, attributing it all to his mind playing tricks on him, Sunrise saw the glow of the portal hovering behind a large rock just beyond the path. Quickening his pace, he hurried through it without looking back.
Opening his eyes after a brief dizziness, he saw their house before him. Having emerged near the water, he could hear the waves lapping against the island’s shores. Here, the sky shone even brighter, far from the city and civilization. Their house stood out against the backdrop of the island’s nature and life; lights were on in the windows, and the light-colored walls only emphasized the building’s brightness among the trees.
Sunrise stepped onto the grass by the back door, already seeing dim silhouettes through the glass. Smiling and preparing to walk up to the door to greet everyone, he stepped onto the decorative stones just as the sound of an alarm pierced his ears. Frozen in surprise, he hadn’t had time to move when he felt something fast and sharp pierce his right shoulder. Groaning quietly in pain, he clutched the wounded area, feeling oil begin to seep through his fingers. In bewilderment, he stared at the bullet wound that had pierced him.
He knew what it was. A security system designed to warn of and stop enemies. Moon and Solar had compiled a list of those who might pose a threat to them and those who presented an immediate danger. It was precisely for the latter that weapons had been built in to distract and inflict non-lethal harm. However, he didn’t understand why the system had reacted to him.
Distracted, he didn’t notice the loud voices approaching, and he flinched when he was called out to loudly. Surprised and confused, Sunrise looked at those who had emerged from the door. His body froze when he saw the angry and wary faces before him. His fingers trembled and his breath caught as he tried to understand what was happening.
Standing before him were Moon, Solar, and Nexus. He had seen him in his dreams enough times not to forget. Not that broken form of the Viser Storm, which contained the remnants of Nexus’s negative emotions and soul. No. This was the Nexus who had made a deal with Dark Sun, receiving a new body. He was taller than Moon, his clothes were different, but his eyes were unlike what Sunrise remembered. He couldn’t say how, but he clearly understood that something had changed in his gaze.
“What are you doing here?!” – Sunrise abruptly turned his stunned gaze toward the one who had shouted, who turned out to be Moon. He, and the other two, looked tense and ready to attack, which only added to the confusion. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement by the door behind the three of them. Now, completely baffled, he looked at Jack and Molten, who were peeking out and staring at him strangely.
Realizing he hadn’t answered for a long time, Sunrise summoned all his confidence.
“What do you mean? I live here, Moon. Unless I’ve somehow gotten the wrong dimension,” – he finished, sounding slightly uncertain, as he squeezed the wound on his shoulder tighter.
He couldn’t have ended up in another dimension through this portal. He couldn’t, could he? That had never happened before. But neither Nexus nor Molten, who should be dead, should be possible in their dimension.
“Don’t play dumb, Sun. The equipment reads our signatures and determines whether we’re from this dimension or not. If it attacked you, that means you’re not some other Sun.” – Solar replied harshly and coldly, eyeing him suspiciously.
Before he could answer, Sunrise felt a gust of wind from behind and jerked sharply to the side. He didn’t manage to dodge completely, feeling something sharp slice through his back. Crying out, he suppressed a shudder as he saw Jack standing in his place.
“Threat detected. May I attack, Father?” – Jack asked cheerfully, swaying from side to side.
“Get away from him, Jack! And you should ask first, then act!” – Solar shouted, looking at them nervously.
At that moment, Sunrise tried to calm down and think clearly, ignoring the pain. It was difficult, given that he was currently under immediate threat, but he was known for his ability to multitask. He realized that either something had gone wrong with the portal, or this was all just one big hallucination. Smiling at the possibilities, Sunrise looked closely at everyone.
With the exception of Nexus and Molten, everyone looked normal. The house was the same; nothing in the room looked different, which raised even more questions. He heard a high-pitched voice at the door, but didn’t catch the details. Thoughts and warnings about damage were very distracting.
“Lunar, take Jack and go back inside”—Sunrise flinched at the sound of Nexus’s voice. It always sounded softer and quieter than Moon’s. Sunrise pushed aside his melancholy feelings as he thought about what he’d heard. He called Cosmo “Lunar,” his old name. And judging by the muffled grumbling and voices, Cosmo didn’t mind it. Another oddity, since Cosmo didn’t like being called by his old name. He didn’t even know if this was his Cosmo and the others. If Solar was to be believed, the system had recognized him as their Sun, but he knew for certain that this was too different from his family.
Deciding to think about it once he was no longer in their sights, Sunrise raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture, smiling awkwardly.
“All right! Let’s calm down! I’m not going to hurt anyone.” – He tried to speak soothingly and peacefully, though judging by their expressions, no one believed him. Sure, his voice sounded nervous and higher than usual, but that was because he’d been shot! And wounded in the back, no less—by Jack! He was just as flustered as everyone else.
“If you don’t get out of here right now, I’ll order the system to shoot to kill.” – Moon’s voice sounded serious and contemptuous, causing Sunrise to suppress a shudder as he slowly backed away. He could think about that later, he told himself.
“Fine! No problem, I’ll leave right now.” – Sunrise frantically tried to figure out what to do. He could leave through the portal he’d come through. Or create his own, but then he didn’t know where to go.
While he was thinking, Moon seemed to have grown tired of waiting, because the sound of a weapon being cocked quickly startled Sunrise. Turning around, he ran as best he could toward the portal, limping: “All right, see ya!”
He quickly ran into the portal, feeling regret as a few more bullets managed to graze him. The journey was short, and as he fell out of the portal, he crashed face-first into the ground, exhaling wearily and in pain. The dizziness from the portal mixed with system alerts and weakness.
He lay motionless for several minutes, feeling the bullet wounds throb and burn. The desire to never move and just lie there was sweetly tempting. To his chagrin, Sunrise slowly and carefully pushed himself up on his hands, wincing at a sharp flash of pain in his shoulder and back.
Exhaling softly, he moved carefully, crawling over to and leaning against a large rock hidden by trees. After making sure he was sitting securely and wouldn’t fall, Sun allowed himself to relax, shivering and hissing in pain. He could feel his rays burning, damaged from the fall.
Lifting his head, he gazed wearily at the sky, looking at the millions of stars and wondering what he should do now.