Light vanished from the room except for the glow of the oxygen panel. Leon rose both hands up, summoning a grid of blue pinpoints. He pushed forward, and they drifted slowly toward the back of the room.
Roxie joined them. She reached out, pretending to hold one in her hand. A faint line suddenly appeared between the dot in her hand and one nearby, followed by more lines connecting more points.
Leon floated to the top of the room. “Come up here! You can see it better.”
After maneuvering through the grid up to the ceiling, Roxie could see the lines connecting between seven points to form a familiar shape. “It’s the Big Dipper!”
“Actually, it’s the Little Dipper. The Big Dipper’s handle has a bump in it.”
“Oh no! I’ve been outed as a fake star-liker!” Roxie called herself out before Leon had the chance. In the dens of comic book stores and convention halls, she knew she’d be burnt at the stake for making such a rookie mistake. Her shame surpassed that of a known anime fan’s.
“It’s okay. You can like stars without being super knowledgeable. That’s the beauty of them.” Leon’s eyes never parted from the ‘Constellation Station.’ “As long as you’re willing to hear me ramble about them, that’s alright with me.” He laughed to himself. “You don’t even have to be willing. I’m pretty sure Aiden ignores me half the time, and I still keep going. I just like talking about things that make me happy.”
Roxie laughed with him. His gentle nature made the heat of battle cozy. Both watched as most of the Little Dipper submerged into the back wall. The lasers linking it together disappeared. New ones appeared, linking in the shape of a W.
“Ooh, this one’s Casseopeia.” Leon pointed to it. “I mostly put this one in ‘cause it was easy to make. It’s supposed to be a lady, but…”
“Not just any lady,” Roxie corrected, “but the lady who bragged that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the sea nymphs. Poseidon chained her daughter to a rock to get eaten by a giant sea monster.”
“Geez, that’s kinda messed up.”
“That’s life under the Greek pantheon.” She shook her head solemnly. “But worry not, the daughter, Andromeda, was saved.”
“Like the villain from Galaxy Gal? Or I guess like the Andromeda Galaxy, since that’s what she rules over.” Leon didn’t seem to mind talking anime with her. “Cool! I didn’t know that. We both learned something new today.”
“The exchange of knowledge gifts the finest of riches!” Roxie held her fist high.
As she hovered her way over to watch Casseopeia beside her friend, it disappeared. A new constellation formed around Roxie, a distorted trapezoid with a hook coming off one of its points.
“This is Leo!” Leon pointed out. “Or at least it’s supposed to be. I couldn’t really get all the stars to fit, but I figured I had to put it in since it’s the constellation I was born under, or something like that, I don’t know astrology.”
“It’s also your namesake, is it not?”
“Oh no, that’s just a funny coincidence.” His face showed sudden concern. “Uh, Roxie? Are you sure you’ll be able to clear this one?”
“Don’t worry your head. This lion is no match for The Great Roxaelia!” To be honest, she didn’t know what he was so worried about. She’d been able to breeze through this pattern with no thought at all. As long as she stayed between the points on the grid, she barely had to move. Being trapped in a trapezoid shouldn’t change much.
“Is The Great Roxaelia a name you call yourself or someone you made up?”
Roxie chuckled. “The Great Roxaelia can not be confined within the boundaries of real and fake. Her trials and triumphs transcend reality! And you, lucky viewer, get the chance to witness one in real time.”
“How exciting!” Leon clapped.
“Trapped in the belly of the celestial lion,” Roxie narrated, “our fearless warrior is surrounded not by organs nor fluids, but deadly energy fields.”
“Oh no!”
The bottom of Leo began to disappear into the wall. “It phases through its cage, bringing her closer, inch by inch, to her demise. Thinking fast,” Roxie moved toward the point with the hook, “she makes her way up to the creature’s throat, but the passage is too narrow to pass through.”
“How will she--”
“How will The Great Roxaelia escape this situation?” She wondered that for herself as her back pressed against the wall. “Is this the end of her adventures?” She should’ve pressed against the ceiling instead, but with the lasers less than a foot away, her chance had passed. “Find out next episode!” The lasers drew closer. Her heart thumped against her chest as if it wanted to leap out at them. “Uhhh, this is where we cut to commercial break!”
“Ow...”
The lasers and the entire grid disappeared. Roxie breathed a sigh of relief.
Leon turned on the lights. “I think I’m starting to get used to these shocks.”
“And what a shocking conclusion it was! For Roxaelia’s ally, uhhh,” Roxie needed more time to think of a name for Leon’s character, “Name Pending, used his… stun ray to disrupt the lion’s form. Good work!”
“Name Pending?” questioned Leon. “What? Am I related to Ranger Pending?”
“I’ll think of a name for you yet, Rookie.” Roxie pushed herself down from the top of the room. “Just you wait!”
“Okay. In the meantime, prepare yourself for my-- Oops, this isn’t the pattern I thought it was. I guess get ready for ‘Super Star Crossers X Deluxe!!’”
Leon folded his hands together, sending rows of stars at Roxie from each side of the room. There was no option to simply move out of the way of their paths. Instead, Roxie followed behind one row before pivoting to the next row when they crossed. Whether side to side, front to back, or diagonally, this remained a sound strategy.
“Ow! Nevermind, I’m not used to it!” Leon’s pain signaled the changing of patterns. “Well, now it’s time for you to see,” his voice deepened, “my final attack.”
Roxie commended his dramatic flair even though he was too soft and loveable for it to come off as menacing.
“You might wanna stand back for this one.”
Leon stepped toward the middle of the room, while Roxie drifted back as advised.
“I’m so excited for you to see this one!” His eyes crinkled with glee. “Okay, okay.” He cleared his throat. “Activate! ‘Double Neutron Supernova!’”
Twisting his whole body around, Leon held his arms out. Giant, glowing orbs decorated with stars burst from the walls, trailing unbreakable light. They spun a vortex, drawing closer to him.
“What??” Roxie marveled as she tried to remain in the vortex’s lanes. “That’s so cool!”
“Thanks! I modeled it off of real neutron stars!”
“Wow, based on a true story?” She couldn’t help but be jealous at how cool this pattern made him look. “I’m impressed.”
“And you haven’t seen the best part yet. Watch this!”
As the stars engulfed Leon and touched one another, an explosion of projectiles erupted from either side of the center, striking Roxie in the process.
The sudden impact shook her to the core, not that the stun setting helped. ‘What was that??”
“This is what happens when stars die.”
His words hit Roxie almost as hard as the explosion. She wanted to take in the moment with awe, but she was down to her last hit. Like clockwork, the spiral slowly wound tighter and tighter. It was to the point where she stood shoulder to shoulder with each ray of light. Any closer, and she’d be toast.
With hope dwindling, she glanced at her life counter where there were… two bars? Was she seeing double? She could’ve sworn she took two hits during the battle.
Another explosion happened right in front of her face. Upon instinct, she took a step back, dodging it before it could expand.
“That was close!”
Leon’s voice sounded much closer. It was then Roxie realized that the vortex didn’t tighten, she had just gotten pulled toward the center. A newfound hope overtook her. While she had less confidence in her math and her memory, she wouldn’t waste this chance!
Roxie wandered backward until she reached the walls. Another explosion occurred, but it didn’t throw any projectiles in her direction.
“How could something so terrible be so beautiful?”
“My pattern?” The stars enveloped Leon, causing another explosion.
“No!” Roxie scrambled forward to avoid it. “The death of a star.”
“Ohhhh. That’s just how stars are. Amazing, even in death.”
“Can a star’s life be cut short?” She wondered aloud.
Another explosion came from Leon’s direction. “Hmmm. If it’s too close to a bigger star, maybe, but that doesn’t happen often. Plus, old stars often become new stars, so they never really die.”
Not ideal, but she’d take it over being human. “I wish we could be stars.”
“Yeah…” Leon agreed, but probably not for the same reasons.
The stars embraced one more time, sending out an explosion before Roxie could react. Projectiles flew past, grazing her sides, but never coming into contact with her collision detector. For a moment, it felt exhilarating, terrifying, and unpredictable all at once. But that was life. And just like that, everything stopped.
“Ow! You won!”
It took Roxie a second to return to the moment. When she did, she struck a cute pose, poking herself in the cheek. “Hehe, byuuun~”
Leon stared, mildly bewildered. “Sometimes, I don’t understand how you exist.”
“Many have said that.” Though keeping lighthearted, Roxie waited tensely for Leon to point out which aspect of her made her existence unrealistic.
“You’re like someone tried to bring an anime character to life.”
What a novel response! She let down her guard, relieved. “I could say the same of you.”
“Really? Well, I guess that’s why we’re friends.” He held out a hand. “Anyway, congratulations! You really hung in there.”
Roxie scooped him up in a hug.
“I-- Oh, okay!” He returned it.
She let go, taking his hands instead. “Be proud, for you were a valiant opponent!”
“Aww, thanks Roxie, I’m really glad you enjoyed my patterns.” He smiled a warm, bucktoothed smile.
Roxie faced toward the door. “Well, I guess our struggle for glory draws to a close.” She stepped toward it, grabbing the knob. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Wait, you forgot--”
“I forgot what?”
Leon’s eyes shifted. “Youuu forgooot to tell me how long the head start lasts.”
Roxie thought about how long it would take for her to reach the captains’ quarters. “15 seconds should be fair enough. But only after I leave.”
“You got it!”
That couldn’t have been what she forgot, but whatever it was, it could wait. While life felt scary at times, it was beautiful, and she wanted to experience those parts as much as she could while she had the time. The desire to hug all of her friends overcame her. As she stepped into the observation deck, she wondered if maybe Emil would be the next to embrace.
Along with those feelings came a twinge of jealousy. Leon obviously had so much fun showing her his patterns. She yearned for the chance to show hers off. But it had to wait for another time.
Comments (2)
See all