Life is a Journey

Aiden: He grunted, peering around at his environment as he slowly woke up, he noticed that he was under a black tarp lying on what looked like an old medical bed crafted from nearby resources. "What...Where am I?" He sat up, listening to the calm sounds of rain, the world's first natural rain. As he looked outside of the safety of the tarp, he noticed the plant life had grown drastically since he last remembered, the incident with the machine. 

He held his chest as he tried to stand, while healed the pain still very much haunted him, he hadn't taken this much damage since the incident with Lucium back on Earth. He walked toward the edge of the safe covering, wrapping a blanket around himself.

He stared at the crystal blue raindrops, holding his hand out to feel the rainwater hit his skin, it felt pure, it felt like more than just water. He heard the sound of something approaching him from behind, he quickly shot around his mechanical suit forming over his body, the storm grew heavier the more anxious he felt.

Star: He held his hand out, holding a bundle of firewood close to his chest with his other, "Woah woah hey, it's just me." While he was excited to see Aiden was awake, he did not wish to startle him by running towards him with open arms. "You are safe, it's okay..."

Aiden: His suit retracted back, and as he calmed back down so did the rain outside. He ran toward Star, hugging him tightly, causing him to drop the wood.

Star: "Hey buddy..." He gently rested his hand on Aiden's head, pulling him close as warm tears slid down his cheeks. "You don't know how relieved I am that you are okay, I was so worried..."

Aiden: He pulled back slightly, his voice trembling, "What happened?" His eyes met Star's, searching for any kind of answer.

Star: He sat down on the bed, placing his hand on Aiden's shoulder as he also sat down next to him. "After the incident with the Corvex Protector, we tried our best to heal your wounds. I tried to use as much magic as I possibly could, but nothing I did could wake you, and with your physical form being spiritual as well, we couldn't detect any signs of life."

He stared off into the lush abyss, his eyes trembling with a mix of hope and despair as he recalled everything. The weight of memories flooded his mind, "Radna suggested that I try and use the nature of this world to create some medicine that might help accelerate your recovery, as always he was right. Shortly after creating a concoction, your body regained its natural teal glow, and from then it was just a matter of waiting..."

Aiden: He looked off into the forest with Star, trying to find the right words of what he should ask or say, "How long was I out for?..."

Star: "Fourteen days, six hours, and thirty-four minutes..."

Aiden: He looked over at Star, realizing how worried he must've been to keep track of time that well down to the minute. "And what about Radna?..."

Star: He chuckled, "He's nearby, wandering around in the woods to try and find something for us to eat. He was insistent that he did it because he didn't think I would be able to get us anything."

Aiden: "What happened with the machine? Were you able to destroy it?"

Star: He looked down at the ground for a moment, "Not exactly."

Aiden: "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" 

Star: "It kept adapting every time I boosted my power, it got to the point where I was so overwhelmed that I could feel my power beginning to slip away. Radna awoke after a short bit and was able to lock it down using some kind of spell, we sealed its body off between reality so it has no way of waking back up again."

Aiden: He looked down at the ground, then back at Star. "Why?..."

Star: "Well we thought that if we closed off any kind of connection-"

Aiden: His voice trembled and raised, "No, why did you not destroy it?! I thought that seeing how it hurt me, how it hurt Radna would be enough for you."

Star: His eyes stared into Aiden's, noticing the energy of the storm picked up with the sound of his confusion and frustration, "I told you already, I tried to but it kept growing more powerful-"

Aiden: "I have seen the types of things you can do Star, the types of things you can accomplish, don't give me that story that you couldn't you purposely didn't and I deserve to know why!" A quick red spark of energy surged within his eyes.

Star: He sighed, "I can't explain to you why I do the things I do..."

Aiden: "You can at least try."

Star: He sat in silence for a moment, fidgeting his hands together. "I...I couldn't destroy it because I could feel what it once was. The good that it was intended to do felt greater than the evil it was. The more we fought I could feel that good fading away further and further into darkness..."

He placed his hands over his face, taking in a deep breath, "I was made to be a symbol of hope, how exactly I choose to be that hope is not my maker's choice...If I chose to destroy that machine in cold blood just as it was willing to do, then I would not be any better than it."

"I thought that if I could weaken it enough, I could try to revitalize the good that still existed within it, my hesitation is what got you both hurt so badly. I'm supposed to protect you all and I allowed my mindset to get you all hurt, I'm sorry..."

Aiden: His body calmed down again, and he looked off back into the woods, "You having that mindset is what makes you better than them...better than Lucium or Galacor or even that machine, but sometimes no matter how hard you try to convert someone to the better side, there will be times where a lot of things either cannot be saved or do not wish to be. You don't have to apologize for trying to be the good guy."

Star: A small smile formed over his face, "I suppose you are right..."

Aiden: "Life is a precious thing in this world, life is a journey, and what people or things decide to do on that journey is up to them. That is what we call the art of Free Will, the act of our decisions being our own, even if they are the wrong ones."

He placed his hand on Star's shoulder, "You are a strong person Star, with a powerful heart and soul. That goodness within you is a beacon of hope to all of those who believe in you, and that drive to do good makes us believe in you."

Star: He pulled Aiden into a side hug, patting him on the arm. "I greatly appreciate your kind words, you have no idea how much you mean to me."

Aiden: "Someone has to boost your morale." He laughed.

Radna: He walked under the tarp, his body sizzling from the rain evaporating off of his body. He held a large sack over his shoulder, "Well well, sleeping beauty is finally awake. Welcome back to the land of the living." While he was snarky, he meant good things behind those worded walls, Aiden knew that.

Aiden: "Thanks dickweed...Hey, what you got there?"

Radna: "Well this world doesn't exactly have a whole lot of animal life quite yet apart from a large assortment of bugs. So I found some different kinds of exotic vegetables that we could turn into a soup of some kind, I figured we could grind up some herbs for spices and have a nice little dinner."

Star: "I thought you prefer to eat meat?"

Radna: "Wow are you assuming all things that look like me prefer to eat meat? That's very demonist of you Star."

Aiden: "Not very mindful of you Star."

Star: He frantically looked between the two of them, waving his hands in disagreement, "No no I didn't mean it like that-"

Radna: "I'm just fucking with you." He let out a laugh, punching Star on the shoulder playfully.

Star: He hit him back, chuckling with him, "Alright Chef Radna, pull out what you found, and let's get some food going. I'll crush some ores I found together and make us a pot." 

Radna: "Alright Mr.Fancy Pants, I see you only dine with the finest of dishes. Should I go get some sand for you to make some wine cups as well?"

Star: "Jerk." He laughed as he pulled some clean ores out from a pouch.

Aiden: He gave a big smile, he finally felt like he had a true home, and had a true family again. He stood up to build a campfire for them, gathering up some nearby stones to build a circle. "I call dibs on the first bowl."

Radna: "That's messed up, we get second scraps?" He smiled, messing up Aiden's hair before he turned his attention to his bag, pulling a couple of vegetables out, and cutting them up with his claws.