Ex:02 Lost Arc (ii) There Are Elves In The Milky Way Galaxy!

Forget about dying by getting stranded in the Passage Of Time, Aarav was sure he would instead die of the panoramic screen.

Gazing at the panoramic screen, Aarav couldn’t help but feel like throwing up. The continuous spiraling up and down through the never-ending tunnel made him feel sick, and thanks to the ‘Gravitic’ engine installed within his Nexus he could feel no movement at all. Unable to look at the scenery, he pulled the safety lever up, switching off the screen, once again blanketing his cockpit in darkness.

Pulling his legs close to his chest Aarav silently gazed at the blue planet once again. His dead eyes sparkled with joy whenever he looked at the ‘moon’-or at least that’s what his mom called it.

“Eric?” He called.

“Are we there yet?” A computer-generated voice replied, as a spherical-looking object with a single eye levitated in front of him.

The sphere was the size of a tennis ball, tinged in blue it had a pair of small arms protruding from its side.

“No not yet,” Aarav murmured. His fingers playing with the safety lock of his black pilot suit. “But you know um…”

“You don’t want to be left alone?” Eric replied, his eyes curving upwards as if he was smiling.

Aarav smiled.

“What am I going to do with you?” Eric sighed, “So? What’s on your mind young master.”

“Definitely not elves” Aarav smirked.

“HEY!” Eric screeched. “Elves are the best thing to happen in this Universe.”

“But they don’t exist!”

“They do!,” He countered. “Just not in Andromeda.”

“What the hell,” Aarav laughed. “Are you trying to say they exist in the Milky Way?”

“YES!” Eric replied. “Why else do you think I decided to undertake this expedition to the Milky Way with you?”

“Wait a minute, So you mean you only decided to join me on this voyage because you thought you would find elves in the Milky Way?”

“Yes.”

Aarav couldn’t hold his laughter any longer, clutching his abdomen he burst into laughter. Eric on other hand gazed at the demihuman annoyed-if Bots can be annoyed.

“Laugh as much as you want now!” Eric said. “But when I really meet them I will be the one laughing hmph”

“You tsundere bot,” Aarav replied, “Who told you this tale of elves existing in the Milky Way”

“Why? Of Course, Tal-” Eric stopped cursing himself for bringing her name up.

Aarav on other hand smiled at the bot, his joy from seconds dissipating. Bringing up her name has always been a taboo between the two. Aarav brought his knees close to his chest hugging them as he gazed at the moon once again.

“Isn’t the moon beautiful?” He asked, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Eric simply nodded, his small arms holding the boy’s finger as if to say don’t worry I am right here.

“We are entering the Horizon now,” Connor announced. “Prepare yourself for the voices.”

“Seems like your voyage through the passage of time is finally at its end?”

“Yes,” Aarav nodded. They were almost there, just a bit more and they would enter the Horizon, and after that lied the Milky Way. He was going to meet her soon…

His heartbeat a little faster. Would it be all right? Would he be able to accomplish what he set out to do? Yes-yes-there is nothing to worry about. He had thought it all out completely...He was prepared for everything...He was going to find Lost Paradise...Oh yes, he will... and then finally he will be able to meet her.

Aarav’s lips curved upwards into a smile-an an evil smile. His eyes shone with resolve like no other as the voices began to crept in.

They had entered the Horizon.

“That’s one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind”

“I have a Dream!”

“You can never connect the dots moving forward; You can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future”

“Now we are the masters of our fates”

The voice of the universe...Aarav gazed around the cockpit with frank curiosity as the voices began to creep in. Stretching his body, he tried to let the voices seep in slowly, throughout the ocean of voice he was swimming, alone as he tried to cross the final doorways.

“It’s a legend and like all others, it’s not real. Earth doesn’t exist”

Aarav’s eyes widened as the scenery in front of him suddenly changed. As a burst of golden light enveloped him, everything around him changed. The black cockpit seat was replaced by the soft grassy field. He was no longer wearing his black pilot suit but a sleeveless white shirt, as silver bracelets adorned his arms.

The blue skies above him were spread over the horizon as he stood there riveted on the spot despite himself. He could hear it all; the cacophony of the cricket, the song of the lost birds, and the sound of water flowing at a distance as the warm breeze blew through the place filling him with warmth.

“Where am-?” Aarav was cut off.

“What is this place?”

Surprised by the new voice Aarav turned around alarmed, his arms over his face as he took the fighting stance only for his eyes to meet with those of a mauve-haired girl. She stood there, clad in her white sleeveless robe as she gazed at him in utter confusion.

Her mauve hair was neatly knit into twin-tails, with her clips at each tail pointing upwards given her the look of a cat.

“Who are you?” She asked, but before he could have replied the entire scenery started breaking into pieces, cracks emerged in the sky above veining it before slowly breaking into tiny pieces dropping down as the shroud of darkness engulfed everything.

Inside the vicinity of his cockpit, Aarav woke up with a start, his mind still in utter confusion on what had transpired when they entered the Horizon. Who was she? What was that place?

The questions plagued him-but there were no answers.

“We have arrived,” Eric announced, pulling down the lever switching on the panoramic screen as the outside scenery came to life. The reddish hue from the cosmic gas crept inside the cockpit making its way towards Aarav whose eyes shone with curiosity as he gazed at the new world outside.

I am finally here. The place where she lives...I have finally arrived...Mom

“Aarav we have a problem!” Connor said alerted.

“What? We just arrived?”

“There is an unidentified Nexus speeding towards us.”

“Eh, what are you scared of Nexus now?” Aarav laughed. “Is the Wolf Of Andromeda scared?”

“No that’s not what I meant” Connor replied, his fingers quickly entering commands on his datapad as he unhooked Aarav’s Nexus preparing to engage in combat. “It’s not any Nexus, it’s a single-digit like us!”

Aarav’s eyes widened, as a white Nexus with Golden highlights came into his sight.

“That is Type-07 Bastet?” Eric gasped. “But how?”

“Mom…” 

A/N Happy Reading I guess :3 But yeah this has been fun to write. Things are picking up now we have Inter-Galactic Jumpers coming into the picture.