Guide Us to the Other Side

CHAPTER THREE: Destiny

This was another struggle. I'm not the best at writing character interaction or action, but I started posting my works to polish up, so it's good that I did this.

I kind of dislike how my other chapters are spaced (the paragraphs specifically), and so I'll be attempting to leave them as they appear in my normal writing. I was breaking them just before publication for the last two. Let me know if you have any opinions on that bit.

Any support would mean so, so much to me. @##@

- USAKO WINGS

________________

Although Strive found himself inside of the ship so quickly, things weren't moving that fast once he was in. He looked over the intricate patterns stretched across the panel in front of him trying to figure out his next move. A few unfamiliar switches and buttons were scattered across it, but having zero experience piloting a ship, he was scared to mess with anything. Glancing down at his chest, he thought of how it appeared to have transformed in response to his jewel's glow. The darkness that draped everything had lifted when the strange power entered him. The pillars seemed to have come to him as well, almost as if reaching to meet his hands.

Maybe it was simply listening to him? With the energy that coursed through him, he focused on the glow radiating from his breastplate. Pressing his palms against the round jewels at the tops of the pillars, they created a similar illumination. The ship suddenly shifted from side to side, more of the power that had entered him flowing into his arms. Testing the waters, he lifted them just a smidgen, feeling when the ship moved. It seemed that while the pillars were on, the ship would follow his movements. Starting to understand, he moved his arms in the opposite direction, rewarded with the ship floating upwards in response. After testing it for a few minutes more he was confident in his ability to steer.

Taking a final look at the surface of Moebius, he decided this was it. A wall sprouted from the floor to close the flight deck off for him, and he seated himself in the chair that was produced, setting his course for ahead of him. He's on his way out.

The ship blasted off, and he could almost feel the wind hitting him as a captivating plethora of colors took up the view, becoming the brightest sight he had beheld in ages. The pure freedom that coursed through him was unlike anything else he experienced, the chains of gravity no longer keeping him confined to his drab world. It felt as though he was weightless, completely taken by the exhilaration and the satisfaction of his deepest fantasies. As he sped through the sky he could only imagine what the people he knew would think, the last thoughts of a life by candlelight passing through his mind. Despite having never flown in his entire life it came naturally to him, it all fell into place when he could soar through the air.

A while passed with him simply taking in the breathtaking sights, smiling wider than he had in eons until he eventually slowed, reaching a stable position and starting to really examine his surroundings. Once the colors had calmed and he was free from his planet, he came to face the dark expanses of space. Wherever he had brought himself, it felt rather lonely, almost empty. Surveying his surroundings, he could make out asteroids and what appeared to be destroyed ships. Maneuvering around a few rocks, he continued on, becoming increasingly aware of how lost he was now that the rush died down. Upon discovering the ship he didn't have a plan for what he'd do if he managed to get this far, or even an idea of where he was going now.

While there weren't as many ships as there were boulders, one caught his eye. It was aerodynamic but also round, jaded, and abandoned. Clearly not a rock because of the broken wings and cracked windshield. Whoever's it once was, it felt as if he had seen it before. He flew closer to give it a good inspection, only humming in acknowledgment while passing before the realization hit. He recognized the dented engraving on the side of it, and the open entrance just below it, leaning back into his chair. Strive wasn't just looking at any craft, but the very one his mother flew out in.