Starman chapter 3

[wsprs]

A thunderous shriek tore through the sky, leaving a bleeding trail of molten rock and metal in its wake. Smoke perforated the air from a punctured hole in the object, and streamed out from behind it like a tail of a comet. In seconds, the violently spinning craft plummeted to the earth, splintering the vegetation and crushing rock. For a quarter of a mile, it tore through the mud and stone of the forest floor, plowing a monolithic crevice like a scar in the ground. At last, it came to a halt half in the murky pond water of the bog, and half on the bank of the marsh itself. Behind it lay a clear path of fractured tree trunks and pulverized land, still smoking and burning in places from immense temperatures. Heat radiated from the falling star, stirring the air around it, causing ripples. The soil beneath the meteor ever so slowly gave way to fever, and the object was heaved from the bank and was submerged further into the water. And there, it came to a final rest.

From the hole in the hull of the craft came a steady, ethereal glow. Faint at first, it erupted from the mangled vessel and cast an eerie light against the backdrop of the forest. It hovered in the air, as if unsure, before slowly floating higher above the water. Across the lake, between the trees, a house stood; serene and unaware. The star pulsed, and its radiant glow brightened as it flew towards to waiting house.

Once inside, it slowed to explore. Again and again it pulsed, as if evaluating everything it came upon, and recording the data for later study. When it came to a screen, it brightened once more. Suddenly, images and sounds filled the room. The star floated expectantly, and watched.

???..Look at him. Isn?t he beautiful??
She looked up and smiled. Her eyes focused beyond the angle of the lens, sparkling with mirth, and she spoke again.
?Heero. There is more to life than death. Would you like to see it??
A few lingering moments passed before the sound of leaves crunching was heard, then joined with the image of Heero walking through the foliage towards Relena. He seemed wary, and stopped just short of her and the raccoon.
?It?s ok, Heero. Just show him that you mean him no harm and he will accept you. Be gentle. See? Like this.?
She took his hand in her own and directed it in slow, steady movements over the fur of the animal. Heero seemed stiff, as if unsure of what he was doing, but he kept petting the creature after Relena?s hand left his own. The raccoon eyed him with caution, but allowed himself to be petted. Gradually, Heero?s eyes filled with cautious, albeit rare wonder, and for a moment, the faintest of smiles graced the corners of his lips.
?See? He accepts you.?
Heero took his eyes from the mammal and looked at her. Her face was full of warmth and contentment as she gazed at the raccoon with bright, childlike eyes. He smiled wistfully before clearing his face of any emotion.
?But he loves you.?
Startled, Relena looked into his impenetrable eyes, and found that Heero had retreated into an unreadable slate once again.
?Accepting someone??
He reached to caress her face before replacing a lock of hair behind her ear.
?And loving someone? is different.?
With that, he rose to his feet and walked away.

A few minutes passed before a voice was heard again.
?Relena? Did he just say what I think he said??
The image zoomed to encompass the close-up features of a young woman, sadness radiating from her seemingly frail form.
?I.. I don?t know, Duo.?
?Ha! He did! He said he loved you!?
The girl looked up, and her eyes pierced through the screen.
?No, he didn?t. He said there was a difference between acceptance and love.?
A tear fell from her eye, and dropped to her lap. A grunt was heard, and the raccoon squirmed out of her grasp. She smiled down at it pensively, her eyes glassy and unreadable as she watched the creature scamper off.
?He knew what he was saying, Duo. And he said it in a way that could not be proven one way or another.?
Leaves crunched, and the camera was dropped. It fell propped on its side, but it continued to record. A young man with a long braid came into view, and sat next to the girl, huddled beside a tree. She leaned into his embrace, and they sat silently for a few minutes.
??.He loves you. He?s just trying to protect you, that?s all.?
The girl shifted, and looked into the eyes of the young man. She smiled, but the sadness in her eyes remained. She slowly stood, and reached down to help the other stand.
?Lets go.?
The boy bounded to his feet, took a few steps to brush the leaves from his clothing, and turned to face the girl. With a sloppy grin splitting his face in two, he crinkled his nose at her.
?I?ll race ya!?
He took off before she could respond. She stood for a few moments, her jaw hanging in awe.
?DUO! That?s not fair!?
She sprinted into the woods after him.

The screen blipped and went blank. The star hovered before it for a moment, as if contemplating something. Suddenly It spun in the air and resumed It?s exploration. It floated passed an empty glass bottle, and a fluted shaped glass tossed haphazardly on the floor. A small, rectangular electrical-device with tiny protrusions that had numbers and glyphs on it caused It pause for a moment before It continued. Next It found papers with depictions on their surfaces blanketing a table structure, and located a hollow box shape, from which the images seemed to come. Old photographs, newspaper clippings, and other various objects spilled to the floor, and the star evaluated each one as if each were precious. When It came to a long, narrow strip of blue silk cloth, a brilliant blue light emanated from within It, and covered the walls with its glow. The cloth had clear bloodstains on it. Old, but sufficient.
It penetrated the fibers of the material, and swallowed the helix structures of cellular DNA.

At once, the star began to shift and fold in on itself. Then, it began to grow. Slowly in the beginning, but then more and more quickly. Cells divided, grew, reshaped, and stretched. At first, the mass of living tissue was indistinguishable. But as it continued to grow, a fetus of some sort became apparent. A head formed, then arms, and then legs. Eyelids split and a mouth opened to show a functioning oral cavity. A neck bent backward from the weight of the growing head, and a torso elongated. Bones stretched to compensate for the rapidly growing body, and muscles began to grow at an exponential rate to keep up with bones. An arm flailed and hit the edge of the coffee table, and another empty bottle was tipped and crashed to the floor, splintering and spraying shards of glass everywhere.

[kawaiiemogirl]

Whoa..this is getting really good.