This story is a WIP!
Plot Summary
When Vultro and Lilah detect an immense energy surge across the universe, they go to investigate the mysterious planet that has appeared there. Unbeknownst to them, they are followed by an evil warrior plotting to steal the power of the magical Runestones from the new planet, with the intention to take them back to her own universe.
Story
“Vultro! these readings are off the chart. This is the biggest cosmic event I’ve ever seen.” Lilah hands the tablet to him, pointing to a bar chart. Vultro looks at it, and notices none of the other bars on the chart are even visible at this scale. Whatever this was, it was something unfathomably large. “So what should we do about it?” he asks, already knowing Lilah’s answer. She smirks at him. “Go check it out... Duh?”
Vultro scratches his head. He does not recognize the coordinates of the event, nor does the planetary system seem to have a name. “Do you even know where this is?” he asked her. “Uhh well..." she said. "It’s pretty far away. Light years. But…” she paused with a smile. “Ya know, with those new prototype warp drives they’ve been working on in Techtown...” Vultro sighed. “That’s bleeding edge tech,” he said. “I’m not even sure if they work yet.” He quickly returned Lilah’s smile with his own. “And that’s why we should try it out!” he added.
“I’m going to call Raven and Jenny, see if they want to come with us.” Lilah puts her hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Can’t we just go ourselves? Just the two of us?” Vultro took her hand. He looked into her eyes and smiled. “You and I both know this could be the most dangerous thing we have ever done,” he said. “This isn't some fun date.” Lilah shook her head, placing her hand on his cheek. “Vultro, I’ve done things just as dangerous as this a dozen times. Just trust me, I’ll get us there and back safe.”
Vultro knew all too well the dangers involved in traveling with untested, new technology. But he also knew that Lilah’s mind was already made up. He nodded slowly. “I trust you,” he said. “Let’s get to Techtown then and find out about those warp drives.”
--
The ship began to rattle violently as the reverberations of the engines became more and more intense. As it did so all its colors around them slowly shifted—first to blue, then to violet. The edges of their field of view began to peel away, revealing nothing but blackness underneath. Soon enough the ship was surrounded by total darkness, and the light inside the cabin was barely visible. Nothing but complete darkness surrounded him for what seemed like hours.
--
As they approached the planet, Vultro’s eyes were wide. The bright planet was covered in a swirl of wispy pink clouds, surrounded by at least a dozen moons of various sizes and colors. “Pretty,” Lilah said as she too stared at the planet. Perhaps most interestingly to Vultro was not the neon pink and purples of the planet, but the masses of slender, green glowing ships surrounding it.
"Looks like we weren't the first to this party."
--
“Rejoice, Etheria, for Prime has come to you,” the towering holograms echoed. “Do not fear, for you have been given the opportunity to share in a world soon to be remade in my image.” Vultro and Lilah exchanged confused looks. “But first, you must prove yourselves worthy. Your leader, your... She-Ra, she would see you suffer in darkness for her sake. Cast aside this false hero and deliver her to me,” the voice echoed. “Prime sees all. Prime knows all. They will not escape my judgement.”
As the hologram faded away, Lilah continued to glance at Vultro with concern. “What did we just walk into...” she asked quietly. “I’m not sure,” Vultro said. “An invasion? Rebellion? Maybe we can head towards the hologram.” Lilah hesitated. “Vultro, we should really try not to get involved in whatever this is,” she said. “Do we really have a choice?" he said. "We’re in the middle of a desert on a random planet.” Lilah sighed as she tied a red bandana around her head.
As the two reached the top of a large sand dune, they saw three slender figures patrolling the desert about a half mile away. “Hey!” Vultro yelled out to the figures. “You down there!” The three figures spun around towards the sound of the voice, noticing Vultro and Lilah running down the dune towards them. Out of breath, they finally get close enough to the figures to get a better look. All three were eerily similar, slender white creatures with piercing green eyes. They lacked noses, had long pointy ears, and were dressed in regal white attire.
Lilah quickly noticed the resemblance of these creatures to the large hologram she had seen just before. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” she asked sternly. One of the figures smiled, placing its hands together. “Ah yes, always so wonderful to spread the light of Prime. The supreme being and ultimate peacekeeper,” he explained calmly. “For how can he judge those who have not yet been graced by it?” The figure next to him continued. “Lord Prime only wishes to bring peace to your planet, like he has done to countless other planets.” The third figure nodded in agreement. “We live to serve his will. All that he asks is that you do not interfere with his operations.”
Vultro relaxed slightly. “Does this have to do with the... She-Ra person or whatever?” The smile quickly disappeared from their faces. “This ‘She-Ra’ has done nothing but plunge your world further into the corrupt darkness,” the figure on the left said. It seems whatever strange facade was present a moment ago was now gone. “Do not attempt to aid her," the second figure said. "Help bring her to Prime or you shall face the judgement of Prime himself.” Lilah chuckled to herself. “Listen, we crash landed here. We have no idea what you are talking about. We won’t bother you as long as we can just get out of here.” The figures turned to each other for a moment, as if silently conversing the matter. They turned back. “Right now, it is Prime’s will to focus on Etheria’s operations." The smile returned to his face. "He will let you go in peace, but only on the condition that you inform him of your home planet’s location,” the rightmost figure said. “For all planets must eventually be brought into Prime’s light.”
Vultro looked over to Lilah, who was clenching her teeth. He looked back to the figures, considering what to say. There’s no way he can tell them about Mobius. What should he do? Attack them? Mumble out a non-answer? Whack! One of the figures is slammed in the back of the head with a long staff. He winced in pain and collapsed to the floor. Vultro turned to see a massive, hulking creature at the other end of the staff. She continued to sweep out the feet of a second figure, before jabbing the third in the stomach. All three were now on the ground.
As she turned to face Vultro, he noticed she had similarly pointy ears to the slender figures. She wore lightweight clothing covered in red wrappings armor plating, and sported a long white ponytail. She pointed her staff at him. “Whoa! Hey! We’re not on their side!” Vultro exclaimed. She remained guarded. “I’ve seen all kinds of folks out here, but none quite like you. You’re not from around here,” she stated. Vultro frantically shook his head. She relaxed her stance slightly, but not by much. “They’re not from around here either. So you’d better explain yourselves quick.”
“My names Vultro," Vultro blurts out. "This is Lilah. We just crash landed here and we’re trying to find some help so we can get out of here.” She sighed. “You picked the wrong day to come for a visit.” She pressed a button on her staff and it collapsed into its handle. “I know someone who can help you. But the best person for the job is a little occupied right now.” She sits on a nearby rock. “Well can’t you just tell us who and how to get there? Maybe we can go talk to them ourselves,” Lilah said.
She ponders this for a moment before silently nodding to herself. “His name is Bow. He's good with all that technology stuff. But you’ll never make it there alive,” Huntara said. Lilah and Vultro exchanged confused looks. She smirked. “I’ll cut you some slack because you’re new around here, but this here is the Crimson Waste. It’s not a place to be traveled lightly.” She turned to look at the huge metal spire in the distance. “Start there. I'd take you myself, but I’m a little preoccupied with these clone things. It’s my job to protect these parts.”
“So, they’re clones,” Vultro said quietly. Huntara nodded. “Look, if you head towards that spire it should at least get you out of the Waste,” Huntara said. “At least then you'll be safe enough to ask around and get yourselves to Bright Moon,” she explained. “Be careful of the quicksand, and the snakes. And the plants. Basically everything.” Vultro and Lilah nodded. “And if you see any more of these things, hit them in the head. Seems to work for me.” Lilah smiled. “Well, thank you for your help, uh..." Lilah looked over at her new friend. "Huntara," she says. "Huntara. Thank you! We appreciate it.” Huntara smiled. “The rebellion can use all the help it can get while you’re here.” The sound of distant horns put Huntara on immediate alert. She drew her staff again. “I gotta go. Good luck,” she said as she started to run away.
--
“Whatever you’re doing, I can assure you what you're looking for is gone,” a hulking, slow female voice echoed. Vultro darted around towards the voice. “Bright Moon has been abandoned as to not draw any... unwanted attention.” A spooky looking, shadowy figure emerged from the doorway. She wore a mask to cover her face, leaving only a pair of grey pointy ears visible among her long, matted, jet-black hair. Vultro and Lilah looked at each other nervously. Vultro gulped. The woman just scoffed. "Not here to kill me?" She made her way slowly to the hanging plants near the windows. "Well, good. I only came to get my flowers. I can’t just leave my garden unattended." "Who are you?" Lilah asked the woman. Without even turning, she continues. "The real question is... who are you? And what are you two doing snooping around Brightmoon?”
"We're looking for someone named Bow. We crash landed here... and our ship is busted," Vultro said. "Do you know him?" Lilah added.
“Ah," she said with a sigh. "How could I not. The boy that everyone goes to for help. If there was ever one to be too positive and radiant, he’d certainly take the cake." She reached down, picking up a pair of gardening shears before continuing. "You picked quite a day to visit us, travelers."
"We're not with the... Prime guy, or whatever--" Vultro started to explain. "Oh, I could tell that much," the woman said. "It's not hard to figure out which side you're on, considering you haven't already tried to capture or kill me." "So, can you help us?" Lilah asked. The woman could only chuckle deeply. "We are not enemies, but we are certainly not friends, either. I can assure you though, Bow is quite preoccupied right now."
"Preoccupied with what?" a new voice came from behind them. Vultro and Lilah turned to see a tall, athletic built woman standing in the doorway. She has blonde hair tied up into a poofy ponytail, and is wearing a bright red combat jacket. "Adora," the spooky woman said in a strangely drawn out manner. "Finally someone who can deal with these two distractions behind me." The woman looked puzzled, but then glanced over at Vultro and Lilah. It took a moment, but then a look of terror crossed her face.
She screamed and took a step back. “Glimmer! GLIMMER!!” A girl with swooping, sparkly purple hair stepped out from behind her. Her equally purple eyes widened as they met Vultro’s. “Um... hi! Are you friends of Adora...?” she asked weakly. Vultro began to remember that they are not from this planet and might not exactly fit in. Oops. “Uh... Not exactly. My name is Vultro,” he said. “And this is Lilah. Sorry if we freaked you out.” The swoopy-haired girl took a step closer. “I’m Glimmer. Uh... Queen Glimmer," she corrected herself. "And this is Adora,” she said as she motioned to the blonde girl. “Welcome to Bright Moon!” she exclaimed as her hands waved to the huge city. Glimmer’s gaze suddenly shifted to the ship parked nearby. “Did you... come from space?”
“Yes,” Lilah said. “We recorded a massive energy surge coming from this location, and we wanted to see what caused it.” Glimmer’s face scrunched, confused by this statement. “The portal...” Adora whispered. “Huh?” Vultro asked. Adora stepped forward. “Our planet was trapped in another dimension,” she explained. “An empty universe with absolutely nothing. A huge portal was opened up and it was brought back into--” she paused. “Well. The universe, I guess?” Glimmer seemed to know what Adora was talking about now. “Yes! A universe filled with stars, and galaxies, and other planets!” she exclaimed.
“An alternate pocket dimension,” Lilah said. “Very fascinating. We know all about that kind of stuff. Vultro’s sister was actually born in a different dimension.” A high-pitched nasally voice pierced Vultro's large ears. “WHAAAAAAT?” the voice yelled with excitement. They all turned to see a short girl with extremely long, purple ponytails. There is a welder's mask covering most of her face, but somehow Vultro could tell the girl was smiling wide.
She quickly runs over to Lilah, using her hair to lift her mask. “Did you say that fox's sibling was from an alternate dimension? And is that a spaceship? Are you two extraterrestrial?” She pulls out small device and presses a button on it. "Tell me everything!"
“Post-Galactic Conflict Log Day 1,” she began saying into her small device. “I have encountered two inhabitants of a distant planet. One subject has extensive knowledge of alternate dimensions.” She points the device at Vultro. “Tell me all about your sibling. Their name, age, species, dimension of birth, exact current coordinates...” Vultro chuckled to himself nervously. “They just got here, Entrapta,” Glimmer said. “Can you give them a few minutes first?” Entrapta stares blankly for a moment. “Oh yes, of course. My bad,” she said as she turned back. “I’m trying to work on my people skills,” she whispered as she lowered the recorder.
Lilah smiled at Entrapta. “Actually, I think we have a lot to catch each other up on.” Vultro nodded in agreement, and Entrapta excitedly lifted the recording device again. After much discussion and back and forth questioning, Entrapta paused for a moment. “Faaaascinating,” she said as she scratched her chin with her hair. “So, you have a sister named Raven who is an anthropomorphic wolf born in the Sol dimension,” she summarized. “Which itself is an alternate dimension both created and controlled by a set of magical gems called the Sol Emeralds.”
“And your planet was trapped for centuries in an empty pocket dimension called Despondos,” Lilah replied. "And it's full of princesses who can harness magic in unique and incredibly powerful ways." Entrapta responded with a almost maniacal cackle. “Isn’t it amazing?” she asked.