Archive of Our Own

Apparently, even riding into the literal mouth of the abyss couldn’t be boring with Aha around. She stood near the… bow? Bridge? Stern? Stelle didn’t know what the right term was supposed to be. Whatever it was, there Aha stood at the front of this dessert themed moon vessel with a wand in hand, waving through the air like a conductor as sparkles and fireworks popped off from it, illuminating the space around them as they travelled. There was even carnival music drifting through the air.

Everyone else was busy talking or preparing in their own way. Meditating, telling stories, polishing weapons, or just chatting.

“So what’s eating you?”

Stelle looks up from her seat against the banana railing and sees Silver Wolf there with her hands on her hips. She collapses beside Stelle and nudges her shoulder.

“I know that look. You always got it before when you noticed something that didn’t sit right with you, and something about Aha is on your mind,” Silver Wolf prompts with a nod towards Aha. “So, what is it? Is she the real Aha? A double agent of the Voracity? Is her eyeglass prescription fake?” she asks, and Stelle can’t help but laugh at the last question.

“Her glasses? Seriously?” Stelle pushes and Silver Wolf shrugs.

“You’re the one making faces over here. Bladie noticed it first and said something to me,” Silver Wolf points out. Looking around, Stelle spots him talking to Ashveil. Well, talking might be a stretch, but he’s certainly listening. “It’s good to see him feeling better. Probably for the first time since he can remember. He’s still himself, just… not weighed down from the pain and the curse anymore,” she softly adds. Stelle pretends not to notice when Silver Wolf sniffs and quickly wipes at her eyes.

“He was worried about you too, in his own way. Heard him wondering if you’d still like the lemon sweet rolls he used to bake,” Silver Wolf admits, and Stelle’s brow furrows as something tickles her memory.

“Lemon, sugar, cream cheese, and… an extra dash of citrus?” Stelle says hesitantly. A smell tickles her nose, nearly making her mouth water at the memory. Silver Wolf’s head whips back around towards her.

“Wait, you actually remember that?” Silver Wolf demands, eyes wide. Stelle rubs her neck and fidgets awkwardly at the question.

“Sort of? I’ve been getting little bits and pieces since Amphoreus and…” Stelle pauses and realizes maybe it’s better not to mention Constance and Cremators. Something about that woman still gives her the shivers, and not in a good way. “And it’s not a lot, just random moments or something that triggers a memory. I can vividly remember the smell of them baking and taste the sugar on my tongue, but that’s about it,” Stelle confesses.

“Hey, you got the most important part at least! Maybe Bladie can make you some once this is all over. At least before we have to move on to another script,” Silver Wolf insists, and Stelle nods. She’s going to miss her and Blade once they have to go, and she knows Silver Wolf feels the same way about her.

“I’d like that. We should have at least one game night in person too before we have to move on,” Stelle points out. They’ve started making a habit of gaming together once a week, but it would be nice to do a little couch co-op for once instead of just having a hologram next to her.

A comfortable silence falls between them, and slowly but surely, Stelle’s eyes drift back over to Aha. She has her eyes closed, humming along to the music now.

“You’re doing it again,” Silver Wolf’s voice interrupts and Stelle jumps in surprise. She looks back at Silver Wolf, who now has a familiar smirk on her face.

“I’m not…”

“You’re looking at her like you aren’t sure if she just shorted you some credits or cheated at a game,” Silver Wolf firmly counters.

“I’m just.. it wasn’t… it’s not that serious,” Stelle insists, and Silver Wolf barks out a laugh and crosses her arms emphatically.

“Ha! Maybe it isn’t, but it’s clearly bothering you, so just spit it out,” she presses.

“Ugh, fine. Aha revealed who she was to me back on Astropolis and even answered some of my questions. The problem is… I think she lied about one of them. Not a really important one, just… a dumb question I was curious about,” Stelle says, a bit more defensively than she intended, but Silver Wolf’s eyes still light up like she just walked past a store and saw a brand new game she hasn’t played yet being put up for sale.

“Oh, what is it? Now you have to tell me!” Silver Wolf urges, leaning in closer.

“It’s not that important,” Stelle insists, verbally dodging the question even as she leans away. Silver Wolf openly scoffs at that attempt.

“It’s important enough for you to still be thinking about it. Which means I want in on what it is, and if you don’t remember how insistent I can be, then I’d be happy to trigger those particular memories. We could be on this ice cream moon ship gondola thing for hours, you know,” Silver Wolf insists, eyes sparkling with interest. Grimacing, Stelle sighs and relents.

“All right! All right, I just wanted to know if she had ever been in love,” Stelle confesses, feeling a little dumb now that she’s having to repeat it.

“Oh, THEY absolutely have. One hundred percent,” Silver Wolf says immediately. Stelle gapes at her. “What?” Silver Wolf demands.

“You just… you didn’t even hesitate!” Stelle insists, and she shrugs.

“You haven’t seen the stories online in Planarcadia about Aha and Akivili?” Silver Wolf counters, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

“Well, yeah, but I mean, I figured those were just silly rumors! People will ship anything and anyone if you give them half a chance,” Stelle points out, but the IOU still in her pocket whispers that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

“Fair. Not all the rumors are true, obviously, but being around Elio all the time? You get better at identifying truth within even the most absurd stories. Plus, we’re not all buddy-buddy, but I have met Aha before, and the way THEY sounded whenever Akivili came up? Maybe THEY denied it, maybe THEY didn’t realize it until Akivili was gone, and maybe THEY’VE never actually been in a relationship, but there is absolutely something there,” Silver Wolf insists, her expression sure.

“I mean… she dodged the question at first, and even when she answered it seemed pretty clear she was still hiding something,” Stelle mumbles, reflecting on the way Nihilux had responded.

“See? Maybe Aha’s just got the hots for you and fumbled the question because it was THEIR crush asking it to THEIR face,” Silver Wolf teases, laughing as she says it. Stelle scoffs and goes to say something, but then stops as Nihilux’s answers flash through her memory once again.

“Akivili… my only friend.”

“I searched along the silver rail for ten Amber Eras and didn’t find a single fragment.”

Sorrow and loss etched across Nihilux’s face.

“Or perhaps he just grew bored of this cosmos? If that’s the case, then… I suppose I failed to do my job.”

Her expression saturated with guilt and pain.

“But when you actually stood before me, that’s when I realized. Maybe this isn’t a lie after all.”

“‘Akivili’… I believe it’s you.”

Eyes shining with renewed hope and a deep longing that has never truly died.

And then, Nihilux fidgeting with her hands, visibly awkward as she dodges the question of being in love. Finally spitting it out and quickly moving on, shutting down any further inquiries.

“Liar.”

That had been Stelle’s first reaction, but they really were short on time and she could tell Nihilux was genuinely uncomfortable, so she let it go. But you don’t spend 760 to 2400 years searching desperately for someone who is “just” a casual friend. That didn’t automatically mean those feelings were romantic, but Aha obviously felt deeply for Akivili. And if it had been romantic on her part and Nihilux truly believed or desperately hoped that Stelle was Akivili returned, then…

“Maybe Aha’s just got the hots for you and fumbled the question because it was THEIR crush asking it to THEIR face.”

Blinking rapidly, Stelle turns to SIlver Wolf, who has a predatory grin spreading across her face.

“Oh my Aeons…!” she begins, her voice rising in pitch. Stelle slaps a hand over her mouth.

“At least keep your voice down!” Stelle hisses at her, and Silver Wolf rips her palm away.

“Now you have to go find out!” Silver Wolf insists, tugging on her arm. Stelle shrugs her off and shakes her head firmly.

“No, absolutely not!”

“Come on! You know what good blackmail material this would be? Aha still owes me a rematch! If I time it carefully, I could deploy this information at just the right moment and knock THEM right out of first place and take the win even if I’m dead last! Like those stupid blue shells you always conveniently get in every match, no matter how many times I hack the game and edit them out,” Silver Wolf said blithely.

“That is not a good enough reason to…. wait, what do you mean hacking them out?” Stelle questions only for Silver Wolf to pull on her insistently.

“Come onnnnnn, you can’t bring something like this up and not expect me to use it! Weren’t you just sitting here wondering why Aha would lie to you? Have we got somewhere else to be that I’m missing?” Silver Wolf demands, and Stelle grimaces.

“Fine, I’m going, but only because I was worried about it first!” Stelle insists, while prying Silver Wolf off her arm.

“Get all the details. I’m going to go start a bet with Sparkle and Evanescia,” Silver Wolf cackles. Groaning, Stelle rubs her forehead wearily.

“Is this really necessary?” Stelle asks. It feels wrong to go betting on someone’s potential love life. Of course, Silver Wolf just smirks.

“THEY… she? Whatever. Aha was disguised as a human for who knows how many Amber Era’s, right? Think she has a poster of you in her room somewhere, looking all heroic?” Silver Wolf leers.

“I’m leaving now,” Stelle says, promptly turning away and heading towards Aha.

“I’ll make sure you get a cut of the winnings!” Silver Wolf promises. Ignoring her, Stelle stalks over to Aha, burying her uncertainly as she goes. For a moment she hesitates, unsure if she really wants to do this, but then Aha turns and smiles at her, eyes lighting up.

“Little raccoon! What can The Laughter do for you today? Entertainment? Better music selection? Better deck chairs? Any deck chairs, in fact? I don’t think they added any when they were getting this vessel together,” Aha says warmly. She may be dressed differently, but Stelle can still see elements of the Nihilux she knew. Maybe that mask wasn’t as much of an act as she first thought.

I guess it’s now or never.

“Why did you lie to me when I asked if you’ve ever been in love?” Stelle states, putting her hands on her hips. Better to just come out and say it directly than dance around it. Aha’s expression freezes, the fireworks sputter before puffing and wheezing back to life, even the music scratches and distorts for a second before resuming. Immediately, Aha’s eyes dart away, avoiding Stelle’s probing gaze.

“I-I don’t know what you mean by…” Aha begins.

“You’re doing it again,” Stelle interrupts and Aha twitches. “I wouldn’t care if you just refused to answer outright or said it was none of my business. But you dodged the question, and then when you did say it, you were so obviously hiding something that you may as well have not answered at all,” she says accusingly.

“Is my love life really that important to you?” Aha asks, still looking away from her.

“Is what happened such a big secret that you really have to avoid me like this?” Stelle counters, and Aha purses her lips.

“I’m not…” Aha starts, but Stelle cuts her off before she can come up with more transparent excuses.

“Do you really believe I’m Akivili? Not a successor, not someone rising to the place they were like Asat Pramad thought, but the actual, original Akivili finally returned to you?” Stelle asks, and she can see the way Aha flinches at those last few words. It’s what finally makes her pause and hesitantly turn back to meet Stelle’s probing look.

“Of course I do. With all my heart,” Aha murmurs, looking so genuinely hurt by the question that it drives a stab of guilt through Stelle’s heart. Letting her hands drop, Stelle steps closer to her and lowers her voice.

“Then why can’t you be honest with me about how you feel?” Stelle asks softly, and Aha’s gaze wavers, her eyes shimmering before she looks away, hiding her tears. She looks down at her hand and rolls the wand around before sighing and flicking it away in a shower of glitter and sparkles.

“What gave me away? Aside from the obvious way I answered, I mean. Was it the way I looked at you?” Aha asks, her voice barely a whisper. Stelle shakes her head.

“Not the way you look at me, but… the way you keep trying not to,” Stelle answers, and that makes Aha’s brow furrow. “Like the way you stuck with me when I was trying to convince the IPC. The way you rushed to my side to check on me after Kuchiba swallowed Yabuli. That look when you apologized to me in Astropolis. How gentle you were when you took my hand before we set off. Like you see who I am… or who I was, and you never want to risk looking away again or you’ll lose sight of me,” she says quietly, searching Aha’s expression, but it just turns even sadder.

Aha looks away and turns back to the cosmos surrounding them. Stars are drifting by and stardust parts in their wake like water in the ocean. Wherever they are now, they are far beyond the reach of any mortal. Stelle steps up beside her and waits quietly.

“Akivili always could see straight through me when it came to the truth,” Aha finally confesses, her voice soft and full of so much sorrow and longing that it makes Stelle’s chest ache to hear it. “No matter what mask I tried to put on or how I would try to wiggle and magic my way out, he always knew I was hiding something. It was never the secrets that bothered him. Every Aeon has them, including him, and if I truly wanted to keep something private, then he never pushed me on it. All I had to do was say that and he would back off, but he wouldn’t tolerate lying,” she says, fondness creeping back into her voice again.

“Am I really like THEM? Like him?” Stelle says, correcting herself. Aha’s lips pull up into a forlorn smile.

“I’ve been following your adventures since you woke up. I know the Express is hardly my responsibility, but… I’ve been watching Himeko ever since she reached the stars. Nudging here, making sure someone is conveniently able to help. Same with Silver Wolf, although she doesn’t need my help with Destiny’s Slave pulling his own strings. I laughed when Herta dressed you up as Akivili and shoved you into her Simulated Universe, but then… I kept watching you,” Aha admits, eyes softening at the memory. “The more I did, the more obvious it became that it wasn’t a lie. That’s who you really were, and the farther you went along the path of the Trailblaze, the more your words and actions echoed things Akivili did in a way that no one else could imitate,” she answers.

Stelle looks at her, and once again she sees it. That deep, yawning abyss of loneliness and pain sitting beneath Aha’s mask. Beneath the front of smiles and jokes.

“You miss him,” Stelle murmurs, and Aha gives a short laugh, a tear slipping away like a crystal.

“Everyone talks about how great and mighty the Aeon’s are. Their power and divine authority,” Aha states, and with a wave of her hand, stardust coalesces into a small version of the express, laying down silver rails as it starts to puff and circle the ship. It leaves a sparkling trail behind that Stelle can’t help but reach out and touch. Glittering dust is left behind, and Stelle swipes a finger through it and sticks it in her mouth.

“What does it taste like?” Aha asks her as the flavor bursts across Stelle’s tongue.

“Like powdered sugar and moonlight across a field of wildflowers,” Stelle responds after some brief thought.

“And what does that taste like?” Aha presses. Stelle opens her mouth and then closes it.

“I don’t know,” Stelle finally admits. Not because she doesn’t know, but because there’s no possible way to put it into words. Aha merely nods knowingly.

“People talk about the miracles and wonders of the Aeons, but no one ever warns you about how lonely it is. From the moment you ascend, you are so irreversibly separated from who you were and from every other mortal in the cosmos that it’s impossible to describe what it feels like. I can sit in a crowded theater and taste the joy of every person there like cotton candy melting in my mouth, or feel an actor’s tears resonate like rain on my skin. All the elation, joy, pain, sorrow, emotion of the cosmos is on my fingertips, but I cannot be delighted like I could as a mortal, because I now embody the concept of elation,” Aha answers.

“And a concept is not a feeling,” Stelle offers. Aha gives her a sad smile.

“You find ways to make peace with it, like I said. Kind of like a person taking up a new hobby or volunteering just to keep themselves from going mad with boredom. For me, it’s the Games, a way to make up for my mistake and bring joy to others at the same time. I didn’t want to stand at a distance waving my magic wand over people,” Aha says, and she summons it back and sprinkles glitter over Stelle’s head, letting it sift down into her hair and onto her shoulders. “I wanted to be among mortals and see their joy up close, not just rule over it from afar. So that’s what I did. Went back to playing at being an ordinary mortal again and started telling stories, writing comics, bringing elation to people firsthand in a way that I never could otherwise,” she explains.

Stelle doesn’t interrupt. Granted, she isn’t sure what exactly this has to do with the question she asked, but Aha is opening up so she doesn’t want to spoil things.

“You’re wondering what this could possibly have to do with me being in love.”

Caught.

“I mean…” Stelle trails off, rubbing her head awkwardly, but Aha just shakes her head.

“I’m getting there, little raccoon. Promise. I thought I would never feel elation again the way I used to. The simple experience of laughing at a new joke or the wonder of a cool magic trick. But then I met Akivili of the Trailblaze, and for the first time since I ascended… I felt it. I felt elation,” Aha says, her voice filled with wonder. Reaching out, she gently brushes some of the glittery star dust off Stelle’s shoulder, but her hand lingers there for a moment before letting go.

“We understood each other in a way that so few others could, or would ever bother to. Akivili understood the loneliness, the awe of experiencing wonders you could never describe to any mortal. Sure, I spoke to other Aeons, the old fossil Qlipoth being one, but I never had a friend since becoming an Aeon. Not like Akivili. I even traveled together on the Express for a while. Seeing the sights of the cosmos through mortal eyes, or an approximate version anyway. Even when I had to be away, I was often thinking of him. New jokes to tell, fresh stories to share, new plans and schemes to get up to,” Aha says, closing her eyes for a moment, but when she opens them, the pain is back.

“But most of all, I appreciated how much Akivili cared for mortals. Riding the Express with them, helping where he could, looking out for his crew wherever they travelled, and if a planet they stopped at needed help? The Voracity itself wouldn’t have been able to tear him away from doing something,” Aha laughs. “It was something we shared that so few other Aeon’s cared about. A love for mortals. I’ll never forget being on the Express and hearing Akivili laugh at something. I just stopped for a moment to listen to it... and realized that for the first time in countless Eras… I didn’t feel alone anymore,” Aha confesses, her expression filled with a silent devastation. Like seeing light shine from a star that has long been dead.

“I’m sorry,” Stelle murmurs as Aha brushes a tear away.

“Together it felt like we could conquer any obstacle, stop any threat, and every planet connected by the silver rail was another I could help bring elation to. We were the best duo in the cosmos. One of the most chaotic too,” Aha laughs bitterly. “My Pathstriders don’t need the silver rail to get around. We have so many other ways and other doors, but not everyone who strides the Path is aware of it or knows others are out there,” she continues.

“Like Cipher in Amphoreus,” Stelle offers, and Aha nods in agreement.

“Exactly, so to them, the silver rail offered a connection they didn’t have otherwise. Friends and a community they never knew existed. It was also a chance, an excuse really, for me to check on the taverns. I may not like everything that comes with being an Aeon, but I wasn’t just going to abandon them either. Even I still have some of my moral compass left,” Aha says proudly.

Lifting her hands, Aha weaves glitter and light until it forms a small theater mask on a stick. Half grinning, half crying. She hands it to Stelle, who raises an eyebrow and then bites into it. It’s sweet and sugary with a faint smoky taste.

“Did you know you can make candy with just sugar and baking soda? Akivili connected the silver rail to a world ravaged by war, and then multiple disasters caused by that war. The people there were so… devoid of joy, of hope, of anything that wasn’t survival. They didn’t have time for anything but trying to rebuild after the ravages of a battle they hadn’t even been alive for. Even the old grudges and discrimination that started the war had been buried,” Aha explained as Stelle quietly munches on the candy.

“But there was one young man who had made it his mission to spread elation. He didn’t know of the Aeons or Paths. None of them did. Yet he made little puppets, set up small shadow theater shows, spun stories around the bonfires, wrote silly songs for the children, anything he could think of. Akivili was watching him, watching as he dug out scraps of wood and paper from under long-dead corpses and strung together patches from their clothes just so he could make a doll for a child who hadn’t smiled in months,” Aha trails off and Stelle can see her lost in the memory. So she waits until Aha shakes her head and returns.

“That was the first time Akivili ever begged for my help. Sure, I had been hanging around for a while at that point, and Akivili had asked me for assistance, but he had never pleaded with me before. Not like he did then. Not with tears in his eyes, desperate for me to do something, anything to help these people. I had already been coming up with ideas, but when he said that… it made me realize how special he really was, and that he deeply, truly cared about mortals in the same way I did. Not to gain something from it, but just because it was the right thing to do and because he genuinely loved mortals in all their forms,” Aha’s voice softens along with her expression, the affection in it so tender and obvious that she blinks suddenly, clears her throat, and rushes on even as a blush tints her cheeks.

I would have done anything for him if he asked for it.

Stelle tilts her head in confusion, but Aha is talking again.

“So I put on some old hats, called in favors, did some magic tricks on a few doors, and started making some sugar treats for the kids and adults over a small fire while basic aid supplies started rushing in. Most of them had never tasted sugar before. They were already barely scraping by as it was. So I made enough for everyone and then some. Oh, the wonder they felt and the weight that lifted off them as I wove my stories and enacted my plays. It helped remind me what being The Laughter is all about,” Aha recalls with a heartfelt smile.

“And Akivili?” Stelle asks, unable to help her curiosity.

“He was busy coordinating and negotiating some more long-term help with Ena,” Aha replies.

“The Order? But wouldn’t Ena’s path also be opposed to the Trailblaze just like Harmony is now?” Stelle asks in surprise, her partially eaten candy temporarily forgotten in her hand.

Akivili always was such a good diplomat. Far better at it than I was.

Stelle’s brow furrows, but Aha is answering her question so she can’t stop to think about it.

“Opposing paths doesn’t automatically mean there’s bad blood between the Aeons themselves. Akivili may have been intrinsically opposed to the ideas of order and control, but no one could deny that the worlds under Ena’s gaze all flourished and thrived. Besides, Ena believed that the best form of order over mortals was that which they sought for themselves, and Akivili wanted people to have the freedom to choose their own path,” Aha explains.

“Even a path opposed to his own,” Stelle murmurs, prompting a nod from Aha.

“Ena would help them rebuild a controlled society free of cataclysms, and Akivili would ensure the people had the freedom to accept, or reject, The Order,” Aha summarizes.

“Just like you and Hooh,” Stelle states, and Aha tilts her head. “I mean, when you answered my questions, you gave similar examples. Nous seeks the answers to everything, and Mythus rejects them. You create fantastical games, but Hooh will step in if they become too unbalanced or unfair,” she clarifies, and Aha’s face lights up and she clasps her hands together with a squeal of joy. Happiness surges forth in Stelle’s chest.

“You were actually paying attention! Oh, little raccoon, you have no idea how happy you just made me! I do love it when people actually bother to listen. Unlike a certain former Brain In A Vat,” Aha gushes. Now it’s Stelle’s turn to feel her cheeks warming up a bit at the compliment, and she waves her hand for Aha to continue. She’s finished her candy, and the stick is edible too. It tastes like a flower soaking up the dew while it basks in the light of the rising sun.

“Anyway, now that the silver rail was connecting them to the cosmos, Ena could arrange for regular aid and help from her followers. Likewise, a few left with followers of Elation or on the Express to seek safer planets to settle down on. Akivli and I had been on friendly terms already, and he allowed me to hang around the Express once I swore on my own laughter that I wouldn’t harm so much as a single hair on any of the Nameless, but after that? That’s when we became actual friends. I wasn’t just hanging around anymore because it was interesting or I was bored. I stayed there because I enjoyed being with him, with the Nameless,” Aha’s voice quiets again, the sorrow returning in force. Pain pushing against the cracks of a mask, fighting to get out.

I thought I would never be happy again, but seeing him Trailblaze and being at his side was all I ever needed.

“Nihilux…” Stelle begins, a slow realization dawning on her, but Aha interrupts.

“Did you know I blew up an Express car once?” Aha says suddenly, with a shake of her head. “Akivili was busy and kept turning down my requests to hang out, play some of my games, just cause a little chaos. He was focused on something he wouldn’t, or couldn’t explain, and I… I got jealous. He was so angry with me and rightfully demanded answers, and I… I couldn’t even explain why, because all I wanted was his attention, for him to see me. The moment I did it, I felt so ashamed that I literally avoided him after he got mad at me. Akivili had to hunt me down and promise we were still friends and that he didn’t hate me. He even apologized for not realizing how lonely I was and that I was feeling neglected because of how distant he had been lately. Not that I deserved it. By the Aeon’s I was so dense. So young and foolish, and stupid. Too far in denial of my own feelings to even realize they were there. Aeon’s above, what a selfish, obtuse, asinine imbecile I am,” Aha says, with tears swimming in her eyes.

Worthless. Even when Akivili was alive, it was never you who made the plans. It was him. You were never smart enough for that.

Stelle sucks in a breath as her hands clench into fists at the way Aha is berating herself. But the mask is cracking apart now, pieces falling away as pain drains out like a wound being lanced so the infection can be released before it heals.

“Anytime it came up, anytime I came close to being forced to see the truth, I would look away. Avoid it. Bury my head in the sand and ignore all the signs. Because Akivili’s destiny, his purpose, his reason for being was to Trailblaze, to keep moving forward and discovering new horizons,” Aha pauses as the stardust train comes back around, but this time it ends up in a loop, circling endlessly, “I would not be the one responsible for caging their spirit and destroying the very thing that I…” she stops herself.

That I loved so much about him.

Stelle twitches at the whisper just behind her ear, because now she realizes what it is. The stellaron inside her is resonating, listening to Aha’s deepest desires and feeding them back into Stelle’s mind. She can’t stop it from happening, but she also can’t stop herself from listening or hearing it.

Aha waves a hand, and the train track changes, the train surges forward, and Stelle can’t help but think that it looks happy to be free.

Even my own illusions don’t want to be around me.

Twitching again, Stelle’s fists tighten even more.

“I thought it was enough, you know? Not that I was always there, of course. I had a life and identity separate from Akivili, several dozen in fact. But whenever I had a moment, I always found myself back there, and he was always waiting with a smile, happy to see me. Ready to go on another adventure,” Aha whispers.

Aha the capricious. Aha the unpredictable. Aha the mad, the trickster, the insane, the Fool, the Actor. Never just Aha the person, the lonely, the one in need of a friend, of someone to help stave off the madness of being alone for more Eras than some planets have been inhabited. Akivili wasn’t the only one who saw beneath that, but he was the only one who cared enough to help.

Stelle’s chest constricts at the feeling of loneliness washing over her.

“Aha,” Stelle tries again, but the Aeon turns away. Loneliness turns sour, and pain turns into anger that burns inward.

“It was easier to look away from the mirror and tell myself this was enough than to risk being disappointed. I guess in that way maybe I’m not that different from mortals. Both of us are afraid of getting our hearts broken and fools for letting that fear hold us back,” Aha says, her face twisting with a hate that Stelle can see is only directed at herself.

It would have been enough. It would have been more than enough just to know that Akivili felt the same way. I didn’t want him to change; I just wanted to know that there would always be a place for me at his side. I never wanted to restrict his freedom; I just wanted to know that he would be there waiting, longing for my return just as much as I longed to see him again. That would have been all I ever needed.

Stelle’s heart aches, and tears sting her eyes from all the pain pouring out from Aha. The stellaron soaking it all up like a sponge.

“I wasn’t just the biggest fool in the cosmos, I was its biggest coward as well. Too afraid of losing what I already had to risk even admitting the truth to myself where no one else could hear it. And what did it get me in the end? It still wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough,” Aha chokes out.

“That’s not true, Aha,” Stelle counters, but bites her tongue when the woman’s head snaps up, eyes flashing in warning.

“Then why didn’t he tell me? I knew something was wrong. Akivili had been distracted for ages. Something had been bothering him deeply, but he wanted to keep it private, so I didn’t press the issue. Instead, I threw myself into doing everything I could to cheer him up, to make him laugh, and to bring Elation to the Nameless and help wherever I could. Until one day Akivili just vanished without a trace or a whisper. For Eras I never stopped running down the silver rail even as it broke apart under me. Desperate to find the smallest fragment of him,” Aha snarls out.

Why? Why didn’t you tell me? What did I do wrong that you couldn’t trust me with the truth?

“But there was nothing left. The Nameless drifted apart slowly, came and went, continuing the Trailblaze, but without Akivili, parts of the rail degraded as the stellarons fell and cut off the worlds he had once walked on. Even Qlipoth told me to stop, that he was gone, but I didn’t… I couldn’t give up on him. Not if he was still out there. Not if he still needed help. Not if he needed me,” Aha confesses, tears slipping down her cheeks.

A voice calling out from the edge of the universe. Beyond all pathways. Beyond all sight. A figure groping in the darkness with increasing desperation. Never getting any closer, and the voice never ceasing its pleas for help. A gasp. Nihilux sitting up in a cramped room. Another nightmare. Just like always. Get up, get ready, put on the mask, smile. Pretend it’s all okay. The mask slips. A piece falls off. Glue it back on. Ignore the cracks suffusing it. Keep searching. Keep looking. What if he’s hurt? What if he thinks no one is coming for him?

“I searched, and I searched, but there was nothing left. No clues, no evidence, no trail to keep following. If he really was gone then at least I could protect the Nameless. Make sure one of the Masked Fools or Mourning Actors was around if they needed help. Then I failed at that too,” Aha’s lips tremble with bitterness.

Nameless standing side by side with Graphia as she paints frantically. Fighting off the hordes of Destruction as Masked Fools and Mourning Actors hurry to get people to safety. Aha’s power shielding one after another, working miracle after miracle no matter the cost, but it is still not enough. One Nameless falls, pierced through the chest. Another sliced in half. Another at the neck, gripping it in panic as the hordes swarm them. Another. Another. Another. Another. Anoth…

I promised Akivili I would keep them safe. I promised him I would protect them until he came back, no matter how long it took. Even if he wasn’t around anymore to hear it, I still promised. I can’t fail now. I can’t let them all die!

Stelle grits her teeth, a deep groan welling up inside her as emotion wails in her ears. Has Nihilux been carrying this crushing guilt all this time? Carrying it alone and blaming herself for Akivili leaving? For the Nameless having to continue on alone? For their willing sacrifice as Graphia worked to save the people of a world already lost?

“Aha, it wasn’t your fault. None of that was your fault,” Stelle says firmly, taking a step forward, but Aha turns on her.

“Then why did you leave me!” Aha screams at her, and Stelle recoils instinctively as the very fabric of reality warps and twists around her. The barest hint of an Aeon’s power, like an entire universe bending in on itself to stare down at a single ant. Genuine fear courses through Stelle for the first time, and with a gasp she steps back. Only for a moment, but that moment is more than enough for Aha to see it. More than enough for her eyes to widen and her whole being to crumple in regret and despair. If there was a hole to throw herself into, Stelle doesn’t doubt she would have turned and done it without a second thought.

See what you did? See how you frighten her? Not just a coward, but a monster too. A jester with the teeth of Voracity. It doesn’t matter what you do or what plans you make. Everything you touch will always end in disaster. Akivili didn’t want you before, so why would SHE want you now?

Stelle remembers Nihilux's earlier words. A warning spoken with sadness hidden behind her eyes. Asking if an Aeon’s intervention meant salvation or disaster. Warning that more often than not it was the latter, and for her in particular? Something always seemed to “go wrong.”

“I’m sorry, Stelle. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to... I shouldn’t have…” Aha takes a step back, horror written on her face and pouring out so thickly that Stelle nearly chokes on it as the stellaron laps it up hungrily.

She may be Akivili returned, but she is mortal right now. How else did you think this was going to end? With Stelle giving you the second chance you’ve been dreaming about? That you could wait for her all over again? You couldn’t be with Akivili then, and you can’t be with her now even if she wanted you back. It’s your fault Akivili is gone, and if you don’t stay away, then you’ll do the same to her. This was a mistake. YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN A MISTAKE.

Stelle gasps and stumbles as the emotion slams into her like a sledgehammer to the chest. Loathing, pain, loneliness, a longing deeper than the cosmos itself, desire and hope crashing against fear that burns through everything else.

“Stelle!” Aha reaches out, but just as quickly pulls back, eyes wide with fear. Too afraid of hurting her again to even touch her now.

A robed figure scrabbling in the dirt, grabbing shattered pieces of ceramic and paint. Frantic, desperate. Screaming inside with fear and anxiety. Find the mask. Put the pieces together. Put it back on. Pretend everything is okay. Make the lie a reality. Don’t let them see you break. Don’t break again. WHERE IS HER MASK?

Gritting her teeth, Stelle straightens up, clutching her chest.

“Aha,” Stelle hisses through gritted teeth. She steps forward, but Aha shakes her head and steps back.

“Don’t! Please, I don’t want to hurt you again,” Aha begs desperately, but Stelle doesn’t stop moving forward, and there wasn’t much room to begin with. Fear seeps into her bones, chilling Stelle to her core as Aha realizes she has nowhere else to go. She looks one second away from simply vanishing herself away entirely before Stelle’s hand snaps out, grabbing her wrist. Aha freezes in place. Stelle isn’t even sure she breathes.

At first, Aha resists when Stelle tugs on her arm, but the second time she relents, allowing her hand to be lifted and gently pressed against Stelle’s chest. When she doesn’t move, Stelle takes another step forward into her personal space.

“I’m okay, Nihilux, I’m okay. See? I’m safe,” Stelle promises, her voice a soft murmur. Aha’s eyes are still wide with fear, and she hesitantly looks down to where her hand presses against Stelle’s sternum. With aching slowness, Aha leans forward, so slowly you could measure the birth of stars by it. Trembling with fear, Aha let her hand relax and rest against her.

The silence in her heart now is louder than anything else the stellaron has picked up.

“You’re okay? I didn’t hurt you?” Aha whispers, every word trembling with a hope as frail as gossamer spun from light. Stelle gently runs a thumb across the back of her hand.

“I swear to you by the Trailblaze. You didn’t hurt me. I’m safe,” Stelle promises, heart aching at the sight of tears well up in Aha’s eyes. Carefully, Aha lifts her other hand and presses it against Stelle’s chest, fingers tightening until they are gripping her jacket.

“I thought there would be more time. You always think you can keep putting off the truth, running from it until suddenly the moment is long gone and you can never get it back,” Aha whispers, eyes fixed on where Stelle’s hand rests over hers. Tears streak down her cheeks like shooting stars breaking apart across the night sky.

“We were supposed to have an eternity together,” Aha chokes out, squeezing her eyes shut as her head drops, resting lightly against Stelle’s.

A lone figure collapsed in stardust. Broken tracks of the silver rail lay scattered around. She ran as far as she could, slowing down until she walked, then slowing from a walk to a stumble, and a stumble to a crawl forward, arm over arm. Yet no matter how far she roams, Akivili is nowhere to be found. So there she lies, weeping with only the sea of stars to witness her. Whatever was wrong, whatever problem Akivili had foreseen, she would have been there at his side to fight it. Just like before against the Propagation. Just like on numerous worlds in countless smaller conflicts. So why?

“Why didn’t you take me with you?” Aha whispers softly, all the emotion bled out of her and leaving nothing behind but a husk of sorrow and past regrets.

Swallowing hard, Stelle remains still, giving Aha the chance to grieve. Stelle knows that her conscience will not allow her to leave Aha like this. Mourning a lost friend alone and weeping for the confession she was too afraid to make. No one deserved to feel this kind of pain. Much less someone who had once called Akivili their friend.

“If you truly believe that I’m Akivili, then listen and hear me now,” Stelle asks, her voice strong. Reaching out, she lifts Aha’s chin and meets her gaze. “Maybe I don’t remember who I was or what happened between us, but I know one thing with all my heart and soul. I know I would never, ever leave a friend behind if there was any other choice. Especially not one who would be as hurt by it as you have been. Maybe I couldn’t return your feelings, maybe I didn’t know, but I do know that abandoning someone who cares about me is not the type of person I am,” she swears, and a sob breaks forth from Aha’s lips. Gently, Stelle brushes a tear away with her thumb.

“What I am is a huge, thick-headed idiot who would sacrifice themselves without a moment’s hesitation if I thought I could protect my friends. Especially one who loved me, even if I couldn’t love her back,” Stelle murmurs, her words finally bringing a weak smile to Aha’s lips.

“That does sound like my Akivili,” Aha admits, her voice suffused with affection.

“See? So stop blaming yourself for what happened. Stop telling yourself that what happened is your fault. I’m sorry for being mad at you earlier, for demanding to know why you didn’t help, because I can see now just how much you have been helping. Not in big ways that everyone would see and notice, but small ones that were so easily overlooked. Ways that you could assist without putting us at further risk,” Stelle admits.

“That’s only because Asat Pramad’s Die couldn’t keep his nonexistent mouth shut,” Aha mutters and now it’s Stelle’s turn to laugh.

“Yeah, well, he still exposed you, so… thank you. For everything,” Stelle says warmly. Aha ducks her head.

“Just so you know, this is really not helping my pathetically feeble attempts to keep some semblance of an emotional distance from you,” Aha warns with a sniffle.

“Your words, not mine,” Stelle quips, and a smile bursts across Aha’s lips before turning sad again.

“I’m sorry I put all this on you. I don’t know if two Aeons can love each other, but I know an Aeon and a mortal certainly can’t, even if you... the distance between what we are is too unfathomable. It’s just… difficult to see you and realize what I’ve lost. What I never even got to ask because I was too much of a coward to admit that it was possible,” Aha confesses, her voice and demeanor weary as she closes her eyes, emotional exhaustion dragging at Stelle as the stellaron resonates with her.

It’s okay now, Aha. You’ve finally been able to say it. Now you can let it go. Now you can finally rest.

Stelle’s hands tighten reflexively.

It’s okay. You can finally let him go and watch her go on without you. It’s what she deserves. To be free to live her own life and blaze her own path. Your time has come and gone. Let her discover who she is without your influence messing things up again.

Stelle grits her teeth so tightly it makes her jaw ache.

You’ve held out long enough. It’s time to let go.

Like hell it is, Stelle thinks stubbornly.

Is this really how you want things to end? a voice whispers. The stellaron reaching out, trying to influence her.

You stay out of this, Stelle counters, shoving their voice away and burying it.

“Is that really what you want?” Stelle counters, and silence falls. Not even Aha’s thoughts resonate in the silence at first. Until finally, there’s a small whisper.

Don’t.

“What I want is for you to be happy. To live the life you want and to become Akivili again. Differently this time, maybe, but the Aeon of Trailblaze all the same. You deserve a chance to discover who and what that means for yourself,” Aha states, her eyes shuttering, the walls rebuilding, and the mask slowly being put back on.

Don’t do this.

“Don’t lie to me again, Aha. You’ve been fighting for so long to hold yourself together. Don’t you deserve to admit the truth now? To be brave just one more time?” Stelle presses and Aha shudders under her touch.

Don’t do this to me, Stelle, please. I can’t go through this again.

“I had my chance with Akivili and I blew it. I took the coward’s way out and had to deal with the consequences. What more truth is there to admit? Things have changed. You’ve changed,” Aha responds, walls climbing higher. Mask tightening over her face.

“Have I? Or am I so close to who Akivili was that it’s impossible not to see him when you look at me?” Stelle demands, refusing to back down. Aha shudders, her eyes closing and her face twisting with pain.

Don’t do it. Don’t give in. Don’t listen. Don’t let your heart fall for her again.

“Aha. Nihilux,” Stelle murmurs, and Aha looks up at her hesitantly. “Can you really look me in the eye and say that there isn’t a part of you that’s hoping for another chance? A chance to say everything you couldn’t before and to finally hear an answer back?” she asks, and a crack snaps through her heart, breaking something inside of it.

No, I can’t.

“An Aeon and a mortal can never stand on equal ground,” Aha says, her voice soft.

“And what if that changes?” Stelle asks, pressing harder. “Asat Pramad’s opinion may have been different from yours, but he agreed the path is responding to me. Even the Voracity called me Akivli. You said before that names carry our past, future, and final destination. Well, so do our memories and experiences. I may never be exactly the person you remember, but if I do become Akivili again? Will you really look away and just go back to pretending like before? You searched for ten Amber Era’s. Do you really expect me to believe that your love can’t last longer still?” she questions. Now Aha’s hands tighten on her jacket again.

Please, Stelle. Don’t give me that kind of hope unless you truly mean it, Aha’s heart pleads with her.

“Even an Aeon deserves hope,” Stelle counters. Now Aha lifts her head, hesitant and unsure, eyes searching hers questioningly. “I can’t promise you’ll get the answer you want. No one can. But if what you truly believe does come to pass? Then the least I could do is give it a fair chance and see what happens,” she states.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Aha quickly insists.

“I know I don’t, and this isn’t about repayment for anything. Please don’t think that it is,” Stelle assures her. “But at the same time… a beautiful lady searches for 760 to 2,400 years trying to find you after everyone else believes your dead and you can’t even give her a single coffee date and let her down easy if you realize there’s no spark there? You’d be better off alone in that case,” she offers with a wry grin, and Aha gives a surprised, but genuine laugh.

A gentle warmth stirs in Stelle’s chest. The first flicker of hope igniting in Aha’s breast once again.

“And since we’re all bearing our hearts and everything. The stellaron has, uh… kind of been resonating with your feelings for a while now,” Stelle confesses, and Aha’s gaze flicks down before rising to meet her eyes again.

“Cheater. I can’t believe you had the audacity to call me a liar,” Aha says, giving her a critical look.

“I tried to tell you! But you were emotional and having a moment, or several, and I couldn’t just interrupt!”

“So you felt…?”

“A lot. A lot, a lot.”

“And you heard?”

“Pretty much everything since the story about Akivili begging for your help.”

“Stelleeeeeee,” Aha whines.

“I didn’t do it on purpose! I didn’t know how to just… shut it off without being really obvious that something was up, and you were so emotional that I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to help,” Stelle admits.

“You really are my Akivili,” Aha scoffs only to freeze momentarily, her thoughts and feelings churning.

“Your Akivili?” Stelle teases softly, and Aha’s cheeks turn pink with a blush.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You absolutely did.”

“The stellaron must be lying to you. Someone should get that thing checked out.”

“…so no special Aeon girlfriend privileges?”

Aha pinches her.

“Ow!”

“No flirting or playing with a woman’s heart before you’re in a position to commit,” Aha orders as Stelle rubs her arm.

“Sorry, sorry. You’re right. Tasteless joke,” Stelle apologizes as Aha’s stares her down with a chastising look. Aha hand presses against Stelle’s chest, opening her mouth to say something when the stellaron flares to life once again.

Akivili hangs back, watching as Aha crouches down to let a little girl admire her dress. She’s worn a lot of forms, but he has to admit he has a special preference for this one. Red dress, white hair, the full Queen of Hearts vibe. Playing the ringmaster and theater lead for everyone. Spreading joy and elation. Lifting the weight from people’s hearts and giving them a chance to forget their worries, if only for a short time.

He’s always admired her, but she’s at her most beautiful like this. All of her attention focused on helping someone.

Aha hands over her wand and the little gir’s eyes go wide as bubbles start flowing from it.

Once again, regret wells up in his heart along with a tense ache that flows through his Aeonic being. Everything he is, is slowly being corrupted and Aha has yet to find out. She had climbed the Imaginary Tree and glimpsed Finality before laughing at the sight, but him? He caught a glimpse of the end. An end where the very connections that the Trailblaze had formed ended up being the curse that destroyed everything. Corruption racing down the silver rails in a way it could never do otherwise. Twisting everything until the universe itself stopped. The last road explored, the last rail built. Nothing more to see, nowhere else to go.

Aha saw it too, but she was able to look at the end and find laughter in the ordinary that was still in the here and now. She had sneered at the potential paths leading to Finality and thumbed her nose at it. Because mortals would never go quietly into the night without a fight. Factions that hated each other would set aside their differences simply because they enjoyed living. The universe could only end once, and if Elation could be part of that ending, then it could just as easily be its saviour.

Akivili wasn’t like that. The very knowledge of it was corrupting him. Eating away at the foundations of his path. Aha had survived madness before and kept it at bay even now with every game and every moonrise. She could help him through this. He knew she could.

Couldn’t she?

It was that question that stilled his tongue and kept him silent whenever she asked what was wrong. Aha had fallen to madness once and barely made it out. What if the tainted knowledge he had corrupted her as well? What if he was wrong? The thought of hurting her, of dragging her back into the madness she had pulled Elation from, tormented him.

But the torment was getting worse, and Akivili knew he couldn’t keep pretending forever. Something was going to break, and he could either fight to make sure it broke evenly, or wait until it shattered beyond all repair with no option but to sever it completely.

The worst part was having to keep it a secret. His Nameless would ride with him to the very end. Throwing themselves into the same corruption and madness that threatened him now if it meant standing by their Aeon’s side and finding a way to drag him back out. Aha would do the same. She would hold her head high and walk straight into the same madness and terror she had dragged herself out of, and do it without a single tremble if she so much as suspected he was in danger.

Because she loved him and she didn’t have to say it, because it was there every time she looked at him. Radiating through every smile and excited hug when she saw him again.

Akivili looks away and closes his eyes. Some Aeon of Trailblaze he was. Wasn’t he supposed to forge ahead? Make his own path? Continue onward even if he couldn’t see the way forward? They were supposed to have more time. He was supposed to have more time, enough to think about how to respond to Aha’s love for him while also reconciling his need to continue following the Trailblaze as its Aeon. Enough time to find the path forward so that neither of them had to give up who and what they were. So Aha could stand at his side the way she wanted and so he could continue on, eyes forward with her support, blazing the path ahead for others to follow.

I’m sorry, Aha. I thought we’d have more time together to figure this out, Akivili silently considers. If he was going to do this, then he had to leave. Vanish before he could be traced and before any fragments could be found. If he wanted to ensure that the Trailblaze would not be one of the pathways of Finality, then he had to fall and rise again. He had to throw himself off the heights of the Imaginary Tree and ensure he broke at the bottom in just the right way, so he could be rebuilt in just the right way. Because the path would exist without him, but an Aeon could not exist without their path, and the path was set from the moment of his ascension.

So how did you change a path? How did you change the Primum Mobile that shackled an Aeon to their core concept? The very Primum Mobile that was now corrupting him? How did you pull it in a different direction just enough to affect or broaden what that path meant so it could help fight Finality instead of bringing it about? Any action Akivili took would be like a single drop of water against a rock, simple and pointless, but even the tiniest stream of water could carve a mountain in half if given enough time.

So how much time would Akivili need?

Pushing off the wall, Akivili quietly slips through the crowd, keeping his silver hair covered. He already told Aha he had someone to meet and that it needed to be private. So she won’t follow him out of respect for his privacy. Again the shame of betrayal stabs at his very being. She deserved better. She deserved the truth.

Instead, Akivili slips into a small door and down a hallway with a light flickering overhead. It leads to a small bar, glistening with neon. Nearly impossible to find if you haven’t already been there. Looking around, he spots a black hoodie with glowing blue lines. Walking over, Akivili slides into the booth and waits as the young man with eyes older than the stars themselves flicks through different screens. Akivili goes through three drinks before the man finally waves them away and looks at him. Blue eyes glow with the symbol of Finality in them.

“I believe you already know my name, but won’t you give me the honor of knowing yours?” Akivili asks, and the young man stares at him for a moment.

“That’s a first.”

Akivili tilts his head curiously.

“Normally you get angry at me for taking so long. Other times you leave outright. One time you punched me. You’ve learned patience this time around.”

"This time around?” Akivili asks, the very question feeding into his latent suspicions. A screen pops up, and the man’s eyes flick over to it.

“603,610,948, but who’s counting?” the man grabs the drink in front of him and takes a sip.

“You apparently. What’s the margin for error on that?” Akivili asks as the screen blips out of view.

“20 seconds.”

Akivili whistles.

“So does that mean you already know what I’m going to say, and what I’m here to propose, mister…?” Akivili tries again, and the young man gives him a thin smile.

“Elio, but you can call me Destiny’s Slave.”

Reality snaps back, and Aha grabs Stelle as she stumbles. For a long moment they just stare at each other, and Stelle knows Aha saw all of it as well.

“Do the Mourning Actors do funerals?” Stelle asks suddenly.

“We can. Wouldn’t be the first time. Why?” Aha responds.

“Because I can guarantee I wasn’t supposed to know any of that yet, which means Elio is probably going to kill me if I end up breaking the script somehow,” Stelle says with the resignation of the soon to be deceased. Aha laughs and helps her regain her balance.

“Silver Wolf would never allow that, and neither would I,” Aha says confidently, but there’s a new air about her. Questions swim in her mind, but there’s also a new blazing hope ignited as well.

Akivili knew. He knew, and he never wanted to leave me. He wanted to find a way for us to stay together. Along with, He really thought I was beautiful?

Stelle politely offers Aha the incredibly transparent illusion that she didn’t hear any of that and isn’t actively strangling her stellaron into submission and snarling at it to shut up already. All while it gleefully mirrors the flutter in Aha’s chest when she glances over at Stelle before swiftly looking away.

“You… really meant what you said? About me? Us?” Aha asks softly, just as the stellaron finally falls silent. But Stelle doesn’t need its power to tell what Aha is thinking now.

“I did. Every word,” Stelle promises and Aha’s face softens.

“Then I’m going to hold you to that, little raccoon. However long I have to wait,” she murmurs softly.

“I mean, what’s another few Era’s between friends?” Stelle snarks, making her laugh. Aha drops her hand, sliding it down Stelle’s arm and hesitantly taking her hand.

“Once, I told Akivili that a fire could not feel its own warmth, but he just smiled and told me that while that may be true, it can still feel someone else’s,” Aha recalls. “I wish I had taken that more to heart back then,” she admits.

“Wow, didn’t know I was such a romantic,” Stelle quips, prompting Aha’s soft smile to widen further. “Can I?” she asks, and Aha nods.

“Of course, I trust you,” she agrees without hesitation. Stelle’s mind stutters over that, but she files it away for later as she calls upon the power of the stellaron.

Oh, NOW you want my help?

Stelle gives it a strong mental kick and it stutters to life again. Squeezing Aha’s hand, she lets her own feelings pour out, focusing on a few in particular.

She was still too young and foolish herself to promise anyone love or eternity the way Aha wanted, but she could promise one thing. That no matter what happened between them, Aha would never be alone again. No matter where they went or how far they travelled, the Express would always have a spot open for her, and Stelle would always be there when she started feeling lonely again. Because that’s what being friends was all about.

Tears well up in Aha’s eyes and her breath hitches as Stelle resonates with her.

Granted that also implied no more blowing up train cars to get Stelle’s attention and just asking for it like a somewhat semi well-adjusted adult. And no going all toxic girlfriend because even Stelle had some limits to what she could survive, and she was pretty sure a jealous, over protective Aeon wasn’t one of them.

Aha snorts with amusement.

And maybe…

“I get it! I get it!” Aha says, bursting into laughter. “I don’t know about well-adjusted, but I’m not as young and foolish as I used to be. Cross my mask and hope to die, stick a slumbernana in my eye,” she vows, making Stelle cringe.

“Please no, if I never hear about that memetic virus again it will be too soon,” Stelle groans. She opens her arms and Aha happily hugs her, sighing into the embrace.

“Thank you, Akivili,” Aha murmurs.

“I may not be him yet, but… I hope I will be one day. I hope I’ll be the hero you believe I am,” Stelle softly admits, the words feeling more like a confession.

“You already are, little raccoon, you already are,” Aha murmurs, squeezing her tightly. Stelle lets her stay there, holding on until she finally sighs again and lets go.

“We’ll be there soon-ish. So if you have further questions or comments, speak now or hold your peace until this is all over,” Aha warns.

“Do you have a poster of me in your bedroom? Like one of my fancy hero ones?” Stelle spits out, and Aha stares at her. “Silver Wolf wanted to know,” she clarifies.

Silence.

A long, very pointed silence at that.

“Nihilux.”

“Yes?”

“You aren’t answering the question.”

“Was there a question? I didn’t hear a question. All this music and fireworks must be affecting my hearing. I’m not as young as I used to be you know, that tends to happen in old age.”

“You seriously have a poster of me?” Stelle exclaims her voice rising in pitch. Aha grimaces and crosses her arms.

“I was having nightmares! Wrote too many dumb Aeon Tales that were selling like hotcakes. Had too many ideas, and started getting bad dreams, remembering the horrors and Aeonic conflicts I had been through. So I couldn’t sleep, and couldn’t write, and I just… thought maybe it would…” Aha clears her throat and looks anywhere but back at her.

“Maybe it would…?”

“Oh, come on! Haven’t I embarrassed myself enough for one eternity?” Aha whines at her. Stelle puts her hands on her hips. “Ugh, fine. I… thought maybe it would make me feel safer. Knowing… believing that my Akivili was out there again. Protecting people and being all heroic and…” she trails off with a lovestruck look before she dismisses it with a wave of her hand, cheeks burning with a blush. When Stelle remains silent, she finally risks a peek at her.

“Do you want me to sign it? Or flex for you? I can strike a pose, the memory will last longer,” Stelle grins wickedly, and Aha scowls.

“I will throw you off. We can make do with seven people instead of eight,” Aha growls in warning.

“HA! PAY UP FOOL!” Silver Wolf’s voice drifts towards them.

“No!!! I can’t believe my Aeon is really that much of a simp!” Sparxie wails in dismay even as Silver Wolf hacks her credits.

“This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,” Evanescia squeals, tears shimmering in her eyes.

Now it’s Stelle’s turn to look away as she feels the heat of Aha’s stare pressing down on her.

———————

“Do you think Stelle knows this is all being livestreamed?” Welt asks as he watches Stelle with her hands up, trying to ward off a scowling Aha who is… pointing to her bellybutton for some reason? All while Stelle waves her hands frantically and Silver Wolf stands by obviously cackling.

“Absolutely not,” Himeko responds before taking a sip of coffee. Ah, wonderfully bitter with some lemon to help add some sourness to it. Perfect way to relax after all they’ve been through.

“Shame there’s no sound aside from the musical track though,” Welt adds thoughtfully.

“I won’t deny I’m curious as well, but let them have some secrets. Whatever happened seemed genuinely emotional for both of them,” Himeko states. Dan Heng stands next to her, weapon resting against the counter as he watches the screen along with them. There’s been a lull in the fighting, but he’s still in his Permansor Terrae form, ready at a moment’s notice.

“What exactly happened on Astropolis?” Dan Heng asks, turning to look at March, and she recoils from his stare.

“Don’t look at me! I knew Stelle was getting pissed off at the IPC for dragging their feet and giving her the run around. Plus, Miss Nihilux was acting funny. Then they both disappeared for a bit, and the poor furbos started disappearing along with the other Imaginae before Lighthouse stepped in to save them all. I don’t know what they did, but I can’t believe they didn’t invite me!” March loudly complains.

“You think they’ll be all right?” Himeko asks quietly, and Welt nods.

“I think Aha likely has reasons and priorities beyond simply doing this out of the goodness of THEIR heart, but we’ve also seen how many things have conveniently fallen into place since we first got to Planarcadia. Too conveniently to just be a coincidence. Whatever happens, I believe Aha will see them all back safely. It wouldn’t make for a good show otherwise,” Welt reasons.

“Fair enough, Welt. Fair enough.”