74Chapter 17
Sonia's armor flickered as she entered the room housing the warp. She stopped to look down at herself, and Lyra said, "Keep moving, dear. Without Cepheus's Z Waves, this place is starting to return to a purely material state, and you don't want to be stuck here when—"
The station shook. The floor tilted suddenly, sending Sonia sliding off to the side and into a smaller compartment before she could steady herself.
"I guess the damage Andromeda caused is catching up!" Sonia said.
She heard an explosion out in the hall. When she moved to take a look, a door slammed shut in front of her, and the console started beeping. The station shook again, this time knocking Sonia from her feet; she stood back up quickly and looked out the window in the door, realizing that the module was carrying her away from Peace.
Oh no…!
The corner of the station she had just been in then went up in a fiery implosion. Sonia stepped back, finally falling out of Wave Change as she did.
"Well," she said, putting on her Visualizer so she could see Lyra, "I guess it could be worse."
Lyra looked over the control panel. "Looks like we ended up in the station's emergency escape module. It appears to be on autopilot…it may take a bit longer, but we're headed back to Earth just the same."
Sonia sighed. "Thank God, I was worried."
She scanned the panel herself. Before she could begin making sense of things, the screen flashed with the message "INCOMING SIGNAL", and the speakers blared static. She recoiled, but slowly the sound became clearer and she could make out a voice.
"…lo…Hello…oreal…"
Stepping forward, Sonia asked, "Mr. Boreal? Is that you?"
"Sonia? Hello, this is Boreal, do you read?"
"I hear you, Mr. Boreal! This is Sonia!"
"Are you okay? The connection to Peace has been broken—what happened?"
"It's alright! Lyra and I destroyed Andromeda and convinced the FM King to call off his attack. Peace was damaged in the fight, so we can't use the warp, but we ended up in an escape module that's flying us back to Earth right now!"
Sighing in relief, Boreal said, "I'm so glad! You really are incredible Sonia—you saved us all!"
She heard a sound over the speaker like someone was fighting for the microphone. "Hello? Sonia?"
"Luna!"
"You took care of everything, right?"
"Yep, the Earth is safe! I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Good! You'd better hurry, because I won't forgive you if you're late!"
Somebody else grabbed the mic. "Sonia, you did it! You're awesome!"
She laughed. "Thanks, Claud, but I couldn't have done it without all of you!"
They fought over the microphone for a while, but Boreal eventually took it back. "Anyway! Sonia, if you can, try to figure out where the module's going to land. We can get there ahead of time to make sure it—"
An alarm cut him off, accompanied by another tremor. Sonia found her footing and frowned at the screen: it flashed red, and a mechanical voice over the speakers said, "SYSTEM ERROR. SYSTEM ERROR."
"Sonia?" Boreal called. "Sonia, wha…ing o…u ok…"
He was lost in static. The module continued to shake, and Lyra said, "The autopilot's malfunctioning! We have to find some way to get it back, or—"
The shaking intensified, throwing Sonia against the console headfirst.
"Sonia!" Lyra said. "Dear, are you okay? Sonia?!"
Her voice grew faint. Sonia tried to stay conscious, but a wave of exhaustion washed over her, and everything quickly faded to black.
Boreal waved his arms, trying to get the attention of everyone assembled in the junkyard. "All of you, please stay calm!"
"Calm?" Luna said. "Sonia's in danger! How are we supposed to be calm?"
"We still have a way to help her! Just listen to me!"
Once they were all watching, he said, "As best I can tell, the escape module malfunctioned and the navigation systems are inoperable. Sonia and Lyra might still be able to pilot it, but they may not know which way to go—that's why we need to send Sonia a signal she can follow! Our best bet is to use the BrotherBand!"
"Not all of us are her Brothers," Wolfe said. "Is there something the rest of us can do?"
"Even if you're not technically Brothers, each of you still has a bond with Sonia. If we all concentrate on getting her home safely, our bonds can strengthen the BrotherBand signal, and we can boost it enough that it reaches her no matter where she is!"
"It's not like we have much else to go on," Mega said. "So how do we send this signal?"
"I need everyone to raise their Transers and focus on Sonia."
Luna was the first to lift her terminal. "I told her to hurry! She should know better than to keep her Brothers waiting like this!"
Claud was next, saying, "What's the point in saving the world if she doesn't make it back? We need you here if we're going to celebrate, Sonia!"
Geo turned to Pat, who nodded and took his hand. They raised their Transers, Geo saying, "She's done a lot for all of us."
"Let's return the favor," Pat agreed.
"I may not be super close to her," Bud said as he raised his hand, "but I've always admired Sonia, and Harp Note too! I still haven't gotten a chance to thank her for everything!"
Wolfe followed their lead. "This is no way for a hero to go out. Let's bring her home."
Boreal finally lifted his Transer as well. "Sonia, I know you'll be able to pick this up. If you're half as stubborn as your mother was, there's no way you'll give up this easily."
A faint, bluish-white light began to emanate from their terminals.
Sonia awoke to a terrible headache. She adjusted her Visualizer and slowly picked herself up, surveying the module and finding it empty.
"Lyra?"
The FM-ian appeared out of the control panel. "You're awake! You gave me a scare when you hit your head. How do you feel, dear?"
"Not great," Sonia grumbled. "What happened? Were you able to get the autopilot working again?"
Lyra frowned. "I did my best, but…I'm afraid it's too corrupted. I've salvaged the propulsion systems, but without any navigational data, I just don't know which way to steer us."
"I see…"
"I'll give it another try. You get some rest."
She vanished back into the console. Sonia reached for her guitar, but as she grabbed it, she noticed that its screen was blinking. She touched it, and the light shone for a moment before fading away to show an image. There was a green-eyed woman sitting in a bed, wearing white clothes and a purple shawl over her shoulders; her hair was a darker shade of purple, pulled into a loop that hung over her right shoulder and with a horseshoe-shaped gold clip holding back her bangs.
Sonia's eyes widened. "Mama?"
"Sonia," Rosa started. "If you're seeing this recording, then that means the EM Compatibility Tuner has lost access to the power it was reacting to. So, you probably got the Star Force from the Admins, and now you don't need it anymore."
She paused to cough.
"Sorry, it's a little strange to talk about this when I haven't told you anything about the FM-ians and AM-ians yet. I hope that I'll get to, but…I don't think I have that much time left. If I'm right, then I apologize for never telling you. Either way, you obviously did what needed to be done. You saved Earth."
Chuckling softly, she grinned.
"My Sonia…growing up to save the whole Earth…I'm so, so proud of you. You must have persevered through so much."
She lost her grin as she continued, "It couldn't have been easy for you, and I'm sorry for all the pain I'm sure you've had to face. But I knew you were the only one who could do this, Sonia. Only someone brave and kind like you would be able to befriend an FM-ian who could use the Tuner and Star Force to stop Andromeda. I hope you'll forgive me."
Sonia put a hand over her face. You don't need to ask me for that.
Rosa coughed a few more times, and then needed to pause to catch her breath. "You're an extraordinary girl, Sonia, and there's not a single doubt in my mind that you can accomplish things nobody ever thought possible. Please, don't forget that. You're someone who can show others how to believe in themselves no matter what through how much you believe in yourself. Whatever you choose to do with your life, I know that you'll be fantastic at it, and that you'll be able to make plenty of great friends to lend you even more strength than you already have."
A few tears slipped out of her eyes. She sniffed as she wiped them away, and then sighed, averting her gaze for a moment.
"…I still wish…I could get to see you grow up, though…"
She looked back and made herself smile.
"But we made the most of the time we were given. There's no point in wondering how things might have been different."
Another coughing fit took over, this one even longer.
"I don't want you to remember me like this. Sonia, I hope you know how much I love you. And I hope you have a wonderful, long, happy life."
Rosa reached forward, preparing to end the recording.
"…Goodbye."
The message was over. Sonia sat down on the floor, continuing to stare at the blank screen for a minute. And then she finally started to sob.
I know, Mama. Thank you for everything…and I hope you know how much I love you too.
After a while, Lyra came back out. "It's no good, I…Sonia? Dear, what is it?"
Sonia wiped her face. "I…I found a recording from my mom…"
Lyra floated closer.
"She must have made it not long before she went to Heaven. She wanted to apologize for putting all of this on my shoulders…and she said she was proud of me."
Sonia smiled. "I'm glad I saw it. I guess…it really feels like this is over now. If I was able to make Mama proud one last time, then I think I'm ready to move on."
She stood with a sigh. "We should get moving. Even if we don't know which way we need to go, we won't accomplish anything just sitting here."
"If that's what you want to do, dear," Lyra said. "I promise I'll do my best to get you back home!"
"Thank you, Lyra."
Sonia took a step towards the control panel. Her guitar started to glow, so she held it up and regarded it curiously. The bluish-white shine grew steadily brighter, becoming nearly blinding, and then disappeared to give way to a continuous beam that shot from the guitar's head off into the distance.
"Well, would you look at that," Lyra said. "It looks like someone out there is pointing us in the right direction."
Sonia grinned. "They must be worried sick...Lyra?"
"Leave everything to me, dear," Lyra said, going into Sonia's guitar. "With this signal I can pinpoint the Earth's location and reprogram the navigational system. I'll have you home in no time!"
Sonia looked up at the window, watching the beam stretch on endlessly into the wall of stars. No matter how far apart we are, our bonds can't be broken. I promise that I'll keep making you proud, Mama, and that I'll make sure the Earth and all my friends stay safe for a very long time.
"You sure you're feeling up to this?" Geo asked. "We wouldn't mind putting it off a little longer."
"I told you, I'm fine!" Sonia said. "My injuries are totally healed, honest!"
She looked over Vista Point with a smile. It had been a few weeks, but they had finally been able to get nearly everyone together to celebrate the end of Andromeda.
"It's too bad Mr. Wolfe had to work," Luna said. "But at least you have your Brothers here to honor your achievements!"
"Yeah, we won't let you down, Sonia!" Claud declared. "I'll always be ready whenever you need me!"
Luna glanced at him sideways. "Well, I'll be there sooner!"
Claud scowled. "Well, I can fight alongside her!"
Holding up her hands, Sonia said, "Hey, it's not a competition!"
"I was her Brother first, you know," Luna said.
"I thought Geo was her first Brother?" Claud said.
As they turned to look at him, Geo shrank back towards Pat. "Ah, I don't want any trouble…"
Luna crossed her arms. "He's no threat. He's been spending most of his time lately with his new Brother, anyway."
Geo smiled at Pat, who said, "Come on, we're all friends—why should we argue over who's a better friend?"
"He's right," Sonia said. "Let's just have fun!"
"Hmph…I'll withdraw for now, for Sonia's sake," Luna said. "But you'd better watch yourself!"
Claud stuck his tongue out at her. Luna turned to Bud and said, "Bud, you've been unusually quiet."
"Sorry Prez, but this is taking a while to sink in!" Bud said. "I never imagined I'd actually be able to call Sonia Strumm my friend!"
"I don't seem to recall you being so star struck when we first became friends."
"Uh, well…"
Sonia tugged on Luna's arm. "Come on, Luna, you're gonna spoil the atmosphere if you keep this up."
Claud went over to Bud and quietly asked, "Has she always been like this?"
Luna glared at Bud, who was too afraid to say anything. Sonia spun her around and pushed her in the opposite direction, saying, "Seriously, all of you, there's no need for this!"
"I bet she thought she was done defending the peace," Pat whispered.
Geo chuckled. Luna looked at him, so he immediately stopped and looked at Pat like he had been facing him the whole time. Fortunately, Luna just sighed, and she turned back to Sonia.
"I…really am glad you made it back, you know," she mumbled.
Sonia chuckled. "Thanks."
"B-But, I mainly mean that towards Harp Note! Harp Note's the one I like!"
"I know, I know, you've been over this a few times now."
"I want to make sure there's no misunderstanding!"
"We all get the picture already, you don't have to keep repeating yourself," Claud said, accompanied by nods and some muffled affirmations from everyone else.
Before Luna could say anything, Sonia said, "Harp Note thanks you for your continued support, Luna. She wanted me to tell you that she promised to keep the Earth and everyone living on it safe for a long time to come. Especially her friends, like you."
Luna tried to hide the fact that she was blushing. "G…Good. My beloved Harp Note would never break a promise!"
Sonia turned away and tried not to laugh. "No. She wouldn't."
Boreal stood on the observation deck and watched the celebration from a distance. Behind him, Copper said, "It's still hard to believe a child was able to destroy Andromeda."
"Really? Knowing her, I don't think it's that strange at all."
Copper paused. "Mr. Boreal. Now that Mr. Walters is…out of the picture, I've been thinking that now might be a good opportunity for NAZA to reform itself."
Boreal looked over his shoulder. "That sounds like a good idea. I hope it works—I still think NAZA could do a lot of good if it can get its act together."
"As do I. We'll need to make sure we have the right people in charge, though…so, what do you say?"
"Hm?"
"A lot of people there still remember you, and they all hold you in very high esteem. I don't think it'd be very difficult for you to fill the opening."
After a moment, Boreal turned around. "Wait, you want me to be in charge of NAZA?! I'm not sure I'm qualified!"
"I disagree. You may be just the person we need: you've seen the lowest point the organization can fall too, and you still have hopes for how high it can rise. The decision is yours, of course, but we'd be honored to have your help."
Boreal looked down and rubbed his chin. He thought for a while, and then muttered, "I can't just abandon AMAKEN…but, maybe if Tom was willing to take my place…"
Up on the Wave Road, Lyra watched Sonia laughing with her friends. Smiling, she turned to the other FM-ians who had gathered, and said, "Well then, I assume you'll all be staying here as well?"
Taurus nodded. "You bet! I'm starting to like Bud. He's still not great at Wave Change, but once he gets the hang of it I think we'll have a lot of fun!"
"Great," Mega said. "Why do I get the feeling keeping you in line is gonna be a handful?"
"Mrrgh! Worried we're gonna beat you and Geo?"
"As if! We can wipe the floor with you any day, you overcooked cow!"
Lyra rolled her eyes. "And here I was hoping life on Earth would be quieter."
"I'll stick around too," Cancer said. "Even now, I don't think there's really anything for me back on Planet FM."
"I'm sure Claud will be happy to still have you to depend on."
"I might need to talk him out of continuing training, though. I think we've already gotten about as far as we can go…"
"That's no way to talk!" Taurus said. "Just set your mind to it and one day, you might even prove a worthy rival for me! If Mega can come so far, then I'm sure you can too."
Mega swung his claw. "Excuse me?"
Taurus backed away and raised his fists. "Mrrgh! You want to go right now?"
"Knock it off," Wolf said. "You're gonna ruin the party."
Lyra asked, "And what about you, Wolf? Going to hide out here a little longer?"
Wolf shrugged. "Eh…maybe for now."
"Hah!" Mega laughed. "Still trying to pretend you haven't grown fond of Wolfe?"
"You're one to talk about hiding things, Mega, and don't forget that you still owe me!"
"I don't think so! After all I've done for you, we're definitely even!"
"…Yeah, I guess so. Still, that's no way to talk to the guy who smuggled you onto Planet FM in the first place!"
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Now why would he have to do that, Mega?"
Mega grunted.
"Mrrgh…come to think of it, you did kind of show up out of nowhere," Taurus said. "But if you're not from Planet FM, then where did you come from?"
Mega hesitated. Wolf said, "Come on, no point in hiding it now, Mega."
With a final sigh, Mega mumbled, "I'm…actually from Planet AM."
"W-What?!" Cancer shouted. "You're an AM-ian? No way!"
"Ah, so that's why you were so adamant that Andromeda be stopped," Lyra said. "But, I have to wonder: why didn't you say anything when we met the Sages? You probably could have taken the Star Force without even needing the Tuner program."
"Yeah, well…I wasn't sure Geo was ready," Mega said. "At that point, it seemed like you and Sonia stood a better chance. Whatever the case, Andromeda won't be hurting anyone else, so I have no complaints."
"Hmhm…how very humble of you, Mega," Lyra said. "So then, are you going to remain on Earth? Or are you going to go help Cepheus and the Sages rebuild Planet AM?"
Mega's gaze shifted to the scene below. Geo was sitting next to Pat on a bench, talking excitedly with Sonia about something.
"…Nah," he said. "The kid's given me a new, optimistic look on life, and that's something I guess I really needed. Planet AM will be fine. I'll stop by some day, but for now, I think it'll be more interesting to hang around Geo."
Lyra chuckled. "I'm glad to hear it. After all, a few of our old comrades might still be rooting around this planet somewhere. It's nice to know I have some backup in case Ophiuca or Cygnus or Libra act up."
Cancer shivered. "O-Oh yeah, I g-guess they probably don't know what happened, do they?"
"Since Andromeda hasn't destroyed Earth, I'm sure they've figured out that Sonia won. They might just head back to Planet FM and find out for themselves…but, I think those three might still be confused and curious in varying degrees. I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into them in the near future."
"You're probably right, but I wouldn't worry," Mega said. "If even Taurus was able to change his ways, then they'll be fine too."
"Mrrgh! What was that?" Taurus yelled. "Let's settle this now, Omega-Xis!"
"I told you two to knock it off!" Wolf growled.
Lyra sighed. "Seems my headaches will never cease…"
She looked up at the sky. Staying on Earth was something she would have never even considered when she initially set out for it. If she had landed near anyone but Sonia, she wondered if her plan might have succeeded: if she would have found a way to take Andromeda for herself, and if she could be ruling Planet FM by now. She laughed at the thought.
I'm so glad it ended up this way instead.
THE END
