Chapter Text
“Kafka…?”
“Great, so you remember me.”
“Listen: You are in a daze right now. You don’t know who you are, why you’re here, or what you’re going to do next. You think I look familiar, but you’re not sure if you should trust me---”
I do trust you. The words never came out.
“None of that matters. All you need to know is that I’m leaving, and you will be left all alone on this space station. From now on, you needn’t think about your past or doubt yourself.”
Don’t leave me here…
“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 treat you like a family, and embark on surreal adventures with them…”
But you were my family… right?
“At the end of your journey, all that perplexes you and troubles you will resolve. This is your future that Elio has foreseen. Do you like it?”
“No… I don’t want it…” I want to stay with you.
“This is also a lovely answer. Listen: Elio can foresee the future, but he can't make decisions for you. Use that will of yours to reach the end of your story. That's the you I like.”
“How long do you think you need?” A new voice, familiar as well. “According to the script, the Astral Express crew is arriving soon. We should avoid being seen by them.”
“I know, Silver Wolf. Just give me another minute. I must leave now. Listen: Someone will come and find you very soon, just go with them. You won't remember a thing except me.”
“No…”
“When you have a chance to make a choice, make one that you know you won't regret…”
Don’t leave me!
~~
Dan Heng watched March’s back as they entered the room where Herta said the Stellaron should be.
“It’s gone!” she yelled, then gasped. “There’s a person here! Maybe the guard for it?” Dan Heng looked at the girl, silver hair that stopped at her shoulders, laid against the wall. A pencil skirt and a white shirt with a jacket on. Oddly enough, she had a ticket pin from the Astral Express on her jacket. A family heirloom that was passed down?
“Weren't their coordinates sent out from the space station...?” He stared at them in confusion.
“Who cares? They're here and alive. Do they look like a mannequin to you?” March scolded him.
He knelt by her right side, grabbing her wrist and checking her pulse. It was weak. “Weak heartbeat and pulse... March, you better do CPR.” He looked up at her. She knelt down on the woman’s other side
“Huh!?” She let out a nervous chuckle. “I—I've never done it before! Dan Heng, you do it!” He sighed and moved closer, trying to remember how. You just blow air into their mouths right?
“Wait - stop it!” March’s hand shoved against his face. “They're awake!” All three of them stood up.
“Are you all right? Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?” March rapidly fired her questions. He was about to tell her to slow down when the woman shook her head.
“I…” She holds a hand to her head. “I don't remember a thing.” She looks confused.
“Aw, this isn't good…” Amnesia brought on by head trauma had two routes, completely forgetting and never getting those memories back, or them later coming back . Dan Heng internally sighed at the unwelcomed memory, not willing to show that it was helpful. “Can you try harder? I'm sure you can at least remember your name…”
The woman thought for a moment. “My name is Stelle.” Ironic given where they found her, was that why she worked here?
“Stelle?” He finally spoke. She looked at him with molten gold eyes. “Nice to meet you. 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.”
“The Antimatter Legion?” As March explained it to Stelle, Dan Heng thought about the situation, before shaking his head. They have bigger problems.
~~
Stelle slowly stirred, her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. She saw the back of someone and some boxes.
Is this… the space station? She thought. Did we win? What happened?
“Hi.” A familiar voice from the right made her look over. Dan Heng was standing near her. He helped her up, once they were standing he began to talk. “It's good that you've made it through in one piece. You can rest easy now that the threat from the Legion has been neutralized.”
“Did we win?” Was the first question to come to mind.
“Well, this invasion seems to be nothing more than a random provocation. As soon as the Doomsday Beast fell, the Legion retreated.” He answered, Stelle relaxed a bit. “I guess I'll leave you to rest up a bit for the time being. By the way, what's your beacon address? That way if anything happens, I can contact you.” Stelle patted down her sides, did she? , her hand hit something in her jacket and she snatched it. Opening a pocket on the inside of the jacket was a phone, she unlocked it and showed him the numbers, he added them to his with a silent nod. After he got it, she took her phone back. “Go see Himeko when you have the time. She said she had something to discuss with you.”
Stelle watched him walk away from her, then looked at the phone when it pinged. Two texts from him. She looked at other things in her phone, only to find it mostly blank, no other messages from people, a few pictures of places she can’t remember, blurry photos of hands. She frowned at one. It was of someone holding a toddler to their chest, both the adult and child sleeping. No head in the photo, other than was presumingly herself. It had a birthdate on a card by the adult’s thigh.
At least I know when I was born. She pockets her phone and looks up, spotting Himeko. She walked to her.