By: M Monroe Casey
Introduction
CJ and Monica sat on Mt. Couch as the continuation of the Bubbles storyline played out to whatever unknown conclusion they could soon see ahead. Not knowing just what could come now, maybe it had something to do with the portal she fell into or maybe it was about how she wasn’t even from the Cosmos Year 1980s to begin with. Either way, they would soon find out as the entirety of the “Crowopolis Falling” saga was ever nearing its epic conclusion.
With intrigue, a quick kiss and a bowl of softly salted tortilla chips and queso at the ready, she hit the button as Monica quickly brought her left-handed fingers back to an interlocking handhold with her beloved after.
Click.
Bubbles stumbled out of the portal into a thickly shaded glen in the northern part of her home state of New York, USA. Her amber hair was quite disheveled at this point but as she slid it back into what’s known in any day and time as a “Star Goddess Style Ponytail,” she couldn’t believe her eyes now. Through some weird twist of fate, she was back here once more. Older and changed but still back “home.”
Pulling out her Power Amplifier from the gray backpack on her back, she checked the date and time function to see just when she came back “home” too.
Reading November 2025 on her patented machine, she knew what this must mean for the Cosmos and everyone in it. The game of Six Point Stars only had even more time to grow and expand now and she would have even more fools to slap around if she wanted to retain all the perks of being the best. But as she concluded that new conundrum, she remembered another. Why she even came through this portal to begin with.
Walking ahead frantically and confusingly, she couldn’t see any of the decks she lost on their way down.
“No… they are alllllllll gooooone… no… no… NOOOOOO!!!!” Screaming to the night sky up above.
Not knowing much of anything right now, she began to piece together what she did know while she brushed her hands gracefully through the nighttime light-layered snow.
“Okay… I’m almost back to my original time but things are going to be so different than when I left. Like you know, that big old giant gray rock in the middle of the sky that all planets can now see, thanks Crowopolis… that’s for sure one thing different and not at all ominious…”
Stopping her searching for now, she summarized her new plan of attack as she adjusted her black jacket and pants, with a growing almost smirk coming again too. A new confidence rising in the newest mission.
“Buuuuuut… honestly, there is no way to even tell if they even all ended up on Earth. They truly could be anywhere in the Cosmos and I would have no way of knowing buuuuut actually… I just have no way of knowing without a little searching and question asking involved. Soooo… really… this could be oooooh sooooo much fun!” With a devious smirk, she wrapped it up then began to set off. Itching to let loose a few bombardments now. Still beating herself up after that silly slip mistake, she could really use a win now. And she intended to find it.
Without her own prized deck to play with, she needed to follow up on that first so with a few dollars still in her pockets from when she left the first time that seemed so long ago, it was time to do a little shopping.
With all of that in mind, the teenage card-game-wielding-viligante then proceeded on towards the city center of Albany ahead. A determined yet fear-inducing look in her amber eyes resided within her there as she did.
Following on with her new quest, they didn’t even notice as a new project then began filming on the same exact night and time, only about 84.491 km straight north along Interstate I-87.
Part One
Thirty-two, black-printed on a white background, Six Point Stars cards fell from the sky above onto the lightly-snow-covered, short-grassed-wooded glen in the northern end of Crandall Park.
Bound together, they crashed down with each soul of the dragons contained shuttering as they landed on the cold and nearly frozen ground. Their welcome to Glens Falls was less inviting than they wished for but that was soon about to change. They weren’t going to be homeless in Upstate New York for too long. Because, after all, it seemed like destiny itself had other plans for them. Them and every person who ever encountered them ever again.
Seeing the prized relics seemingly falling randomly from the sky above with a sense of pure wonder and intrigue, Lexy LaDestino picked them up with one thing in mind as she smiled and brushed them off with her brown and golden gloved hands, almost home from her walk to the corner store just off Fire Road.
“Oh! This would be totes perfect for my little perfect Miss Liliana!”
Putting them in her massive purse, Lexy then continued home. Her long and beautiful brunette hair bounced in the chilled breeze as her thick red jacket and blue pants kept her warm from slowly dropping temperatures. With summer leaving them behind, she and all her neighbors were preparing for the impending winter months ahead. Proceeding down her perfectly planned and proportioned suburban street to their unnecessarily large house ahead, she quickly entered and closed the door on another cold night, looking up the stairs to her immediate left to see a light on through the small space under the door. Taking her shoes now off, she sighed with a slight sadness yet almost anger too.
Her washboard ab husband, Mathias, still wasn’t home yet with her well-behaved and athletic while still smart son, Roland but Liliana was still alone in her room.
“Ewwww, like not perfect. Literally still. How can she be in there still… I like can not even… Just writing away in her journal and stuck inside all of those little fantasy worlds that she creates. It’s so not perfect. She literally has all this increds talent, all these baller things that we give her and all of these amazeballs connections we try to make for her and that ungrateful child doesn’t want any of it… I like really don’t get it. I like totes sometimes wonder how she is even like a LaDestino… it’s like I don’t even know my perfect little girl anymore…”
Remembering all of this with a change in demeanor, the relatively young mom put the deck of cards in a box to hide it away from Liliana’s younger brother. She had to hide it long enough before she could decide if she should even give it to her. Maybe she would just get more lost if she was given an incentive to believe more in magic.
But that could wait.
Because right now, she couldn’t even focus on how disappointed she is in all of this.
Muttering about how she needs to clean up the kitchen next, she quickly shifted the focus back to herself and her life. Someone left a few plates out of order so that meant it must all be cleaned once more and like the compulsory event it was, she followed suit. Because after all, she was merely a product of what Liliana’s grandmother tried to teach every young woman in the family. She always says something to the effect of, “a happy kitchen is how every presentable and fashionable young woman has a happy life and a happy family. Followed closely by having a happy garden, happy laundry room, happy one through three bedrooms, happy one through three bathrooms and more. You can never have too many happy rooms. Because a happy and perfect home is a happy life. And the bigger the home, the more the happy increases. Simple as that.”
Moving on towards there without questioning any of it, the gaze of the Windowsill broke off from that and brought itself up the stairs to a recently-turned-eighteen-year-old, white hair with matching snow-white eyes, teenager as she sat between words in her journal. Sitting in her pink and purple footie pajamas, she was almost done debating on where she wanted to take it from here. With a smile, she came to the conclusion quickly then continued on in her writing in blue ink on the purple and pink pages.
But then, the impossible came true and it happened.
Unknowingly and accidentally, the image began bending itself to her nonpurposeful will.
Changing into a first person narrative, the new style of sight and audio then took over the recording functions for her portions as Monica and CJ watched Bubbles continue on, completely unaware for now of just what was happening on this momentous night.
For it seemed like on November 12th 2025, Lillie LaDestino somehow, albeit accidentally, hacked the Windowsill’s gaze, changing the perspective of her own story forever.
Part Two
“Man, November in New York…
Where can I even begin… it’s like both cold and warm and since Halloween is over, I’m like what do I even do now?
I can either just go home after school and practice, walk around town super bored or attempt to get the courage to talk to the Six Point Stars Club Team at school. The Flaming Stars. Wowwwww, they are soooooooo cool. They are like so much cooler than they even know. Like OMG. ANDDDDD… Kent, their president. Like totes hot. And incredible. And nice. AND so much more. OMGGGGGGG.
I don’t even know how they do it. The crazy combinations they think of. The plans they make.
If only I could do that too… but I can’t… No way. Why? It’s actually really simple and easy…
I’m just me. I’m just Lillie LaDestino… wait, no. I’m not even that. Not when I have to be my mom’s “perfect little girl…”
Then, I’m “Liliana LaDestino.”
A cute name for a proper cute girl. A proper cute girl who knows exactly what is expected of her. Learn what she can, get a good job/ career but then leave it all behind when she finds that washboard abs exec with the corner office so we can raise a family together. Exactly what a good, proper cute young woman would do… But they don’t get it… It’s not like I’m saying there is anything wrong with that kind of life if someone wants that but I don’t. I don’t get it. They know I don’t judge them for wanting it but somehow, that’s not good enough. It’s almost like I am literally just not allowed to not want that… like saying “no thanks, not for me please” isn’t okay…
I just want to be a real person, not this mask-wearing child, and to finally be heard and seen for who I really am but I’m just so scared of what they will think. What if I show my inner self and they don’t love me anymore? What if I don’t make any friends once I show who I am? Maybe no one loves what’s really in me? Maybe Lillie is even more of a bigger nerd than Liliana?
It feels like I’m frozen sometimes. Trapped between all what’s expected of me and all that I want.
Like a helpless leaf, being blown around in the wind…
I guess, maybe, that’s just who Lillie is… A leaf of a person.
So, maybe the life they want for me is just my fate… yeah? And maybe I can learn to love it, yeah?
Ughhhhh… I just wish I could be fun and strong like those amazing heroes in the books I love.
They fight for love, honor and justice while riding the grandest dragons and casting the coolest spells. They don’t worry about what I do. They don’t think about what I do. They just do.
Like the best kind of people.
They are totally the kind of people who wouldn’t have hesitated in Albany the other weekend, they would have bought that deck of cards. They would have learned the biggest and most important game of the whole world and tried to carve their place amongst the history books through the Characters, Concepts and Locations that it has. They would have walked into the club at school and joined them. They would do all of that, let their family know they love them but they don’t want their exact life and so much more… they would make it work…
But like I said earlier, that’s not me.
Oh well, maybe someday… maybe someday that could be me. A real, actual, master of my own destiny… what a dream…”
As I finished my journal entry for the night, I knew it was getting late and I had to go to bed soon. Because as much as Mr. Anderson tried to play dumb, I knew there was going to be a test in Statistics. He always fidgeted with his right hand on the whiteboard when he was lying. That tell is so obvious. We clearly have a pop quiz. Like the dude wasn’t even trying to hide it. Wow. Teachers sometimes… I hear he’s good with a Six Point deck but I don’t know… it’s just really weird to think of any teacher playing any games or sports outside of class. Like are teachers even like real people? I really just thought they lived at school for the longest time. Like a recharging car or something. Is that not right? I feel like it should be. Like the age old weird vibe people get from seeing a teacher at the mall or in shorts. Ewwww…
Anyways, I’m sooooooo tired…. Maybe that pop quiz will be okay, yeah?
Well, let me just put away my notebook before I slideeeee into bed. Man… it’s soooo cold in here. The entry was right, New York in November… so crazy. It was like so warm earlier today but ahhhhh, that’s better. Best. blanket. ever.
“So… not everything is great but man… this pillow is the best… One of my best friends… no doubt…”
Now.
Just.
Going.
To.
Close.
My.
Eyes.
And… I… am… almost… asleep… yayyyyyyyyyy…
“Hello Lillie.”
WHAAAAAAT?! IS THERE SOMEONE IN HERE WITH ME?! MOM! DAD! AHHHHHH!!!!! Let me just hit the light… ummm weird… so no… one… is… here…. Mom! Dad! Nevermind, sorry, false alarm!! Go back to bed, love you! Sooooo… this is awkward… but… ummm… hi random older lady voice in my head?
“What kind of person do you want to be?”
What makes you think you can just invade my personal brain space, in my night space of all places, then just ask me that? Wait… you creepy weirdo!! Have you been following and watching me all day long?!?! EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!
“No. No. No. Don’t worry! I can NOT see what you don’t let me see. Only speak. Think of me like a radio or a two-way communicator with an optional screen. You turn it off and on.”
A what? What’s a two-way communicator?
“A walkie-talkie”
Ahhhhh okay. Well, that doesn’t make this any less alarming… honestly, it just gives me more bad vibes. Sorry but not sorry… So, I’m just going to close my eyes. I’m clearly losing my mind and hope this goes away… Sweet goodness… I need help and obvio some more rest…
“I can completely understand your caution but I’m in a pretty precarious situation and I need to know the answer sooner than later so again, I’ll ask you… what kind of person do you want to be?”
I said I don’t know and ummm… that’s not good. What kind of situation are you in? Are you in danger? Should I whisper now? Yeah, that’s probably for the best. I’ll start to whisper now… My goodness, what if Roland heard me now… he already thinks his older sister is soo weird… But yeah, wait, sorry I forgot and turned it all about me, so… you’re in danger, yeah? Is it really bad?
“I’m not in any more danger than you are by staying exactly how you are right now.”
Okay. Pause… ewww, I thought you said you couldn’t see me?! You creeper!!
“I can NOT see you! Honest! I meant staying how you are emotionally, I can hear it in your voice, Lillie.”
In my voice?
“Exactly. So, can we please talk more? I need your help… please…”
Hmmm… Ummm… you seem fine so far so okay but I need to sleep soon, seriously.
“That’s all okay, my friend. So, let’s try this one more time then, what kind of person do you want to be?”
Well… hmmm… if I was to pick anything, the adventuring kind.
“Oh! Oh! Oh! I love that. I asked this question before but I don’t think I ever heard anyone ever say that. What does that mean? Please tell me more!”
Okaaaaay. Deal.
Part Three
So, I mean, like that I want to be the kind of person who isn’t afraid to follow their dreams. I know like not every dream is worth following and we all have plenty of bad ideas on occasion but I’m talking about pretty normal things.
“What do you mean?”
Like things like traveling the world in fairly normal avenues, telling someone I like them, standing up for myself and reminding people that I’m not a doormat…
“Do you feel like a doormat? I’m so sorry…”
Yeah, a little, I definitely do sometimes and thanks but I totally get why people think I am because I don’t ever stand up for myself. My family. My friends. My teachers. They all see me as Liliana. The perfect-grade-getting, beautiful, varsity volleyball player. I’m not saying they hate me or want to see me fail. It honestly feels like the opposite. I need to be the best version of her and not who I really want to be… it’s like it’s not for me. I’m not succeeding for me. I’m succeeding for the masked version of myself that they all would prefer to see. It’s like I’m the weird one for wanting a life of intention… I don’t get it….
“But can being an adventurer really help you with that?”
Yeah. I think so. I think it can… it feels like it can help me find my place in the universe. Like finding where I belong and with who I belong. I saw something on a TV show about that one time, it’s called Hiraeth. In Wales. In Welsh, that’s the word or phrase for finding your community and where you belong but it’s usually referring to a community you don’t know yet or never even heard of. That’s why I want to adventure. It’s hard to know what exists for me if I never look, you know? But it’s not like I want to cut these people out but I don’t to hold them back or put them on a different path from what they want just because it’s not what I want. Like what if they spend all this time, money and energy trying to transform me but it won’t work because there is no reason I need to change. Which would be like super unfair for both them and me. You get it?
“I get it. It’s not that crazy at all.”
Thanks, it’s weird. I feel like I can tell you anything… I was sooooo scared when you said hi but now, I’m glad you did.
“Thanks Lillie, I feel the same way. So, I bet you have some questions about me but can I ask why you haven’t mentioned anything about Six Point Stars yet? The others I talked to, given briefly, lovvvvved that game. It’s like all they can talk about and they can not shut up about it. Honestly, it’s a little annoying but you know, to each their own. So, where are you on that spectrum? Love, hate or worship?”
Oh… it’s cool, I guess…
“You guess?”
Yeah… but can we talk about this tomorrow? I need to sleep.
“Okay. Good night.”
Night.
Closing my eyes finally, I knew I couldn’t tell the voice exactly everything I felt in my journal. I already told them way more than usual and opened up to them far more than most people I’ve known for a lot longer. But it’s almost like speaking with a new, but kind, stranger is somehow easier because they hold almost no judgement in me. They don’t know me. They have no history to weigh it all against. Just an open ear drum and that’s it. But I’ll deal with this all tomorrow… the need to sleep wasn’t a complete lie… I only got like 6 hours until I got to wake up all over again… yayyyyy… Annnnndd… good night, world…
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Ughhhhhhh… I hate… my alarm… nooooooo… I overslept and I have school soon…. this is so unfaaaaaair… groooooooossssssss…
“Hello Lillie.”
Oh hey… what’s up?
“Nothing much. I was just bored waiting for you to wake up.”
Don’t you have other people you can bother and talk too?
“Wait… am I bothering you?”
No, not really… I am just tired and now running late is all. Sorry. But do you actually have other people you can talk too? Anyone else you can somehow telepathically talk to across possible dimensions or whatever?
“I did. But our connection is broken now. Everything changed recently and I lost them all…”
Ooooof. Not good. Sorry. Well, I’ll continue getting ready for school but we can talk quick while I do that… So, you wanted to know why I don’t play Six Point?
“If you don’t mind opening up on that, you seemed to shut down quickly last night when I asked.”
No, it’s fine, I just need to finish curling my hair to go with today’s newest blue jacket and pants combo that my mom got me so let me do that too but yeah… I’m almost doneeee… and… yeah. There. Good. But yeah, I just feel like so many people are so much better at the game than me… and since it’s the game of the world… What makes me so special that I think I could compete with them?
“Do you always talk about yourself like that?”
What do you mean?
“The words you use to describe yourself, Lillie. It’s so toxic. You basically talk like you are the worst person to ever step foot on any planet.”
Yeah… but maybe I am the worst at this game though… that whole adventurer thing last night was just a dream. That’s it, okay? A dream. I’m just me. Just Lillie. It’s okay. I accepted it.
“It doesn’t have to be only just a dream.”
Maybe but I need to go to school since someone kept me up late last night and I completely overslept… So, we can talk later, deal?
“Deal.”
Awesome…. Thank you. Have a good day.
Part Four
Hey, Voice?
“Yeah? Is something wrong?”
No. Nothing’s wrong. I just got home from school and volleyball practice so we can talk again, if you want. I did have a question though.
“What is that?”
What’s your name? I feel bad just calling you “Voice.”
“Well, I have a few names in a few different languages but usually they just translate to ‘voice in the deep’ or ‘voice from the beyond’ in English.”
Woah… that’s kind of ominous but I like it. It sounds cool and powerful.
“Thanks, so how was school today?”
It was fine. I had Biology, Statistics, English and Sociology but my favorite was English. Oh! I almost did it today, I almost talked to the Flaming Stars… So, thanks for the pep talk earlier, I guess…
“You’re welcome but who are the Flaming Stars?”
That’s the Six Point group at our school… They are sooooooooo cool. Everyone at school lovvvvvves them… But I couldn’t talk to them… I got so shy and nervous so I had to leave the meeting before it started…
“Seems like something you really want to do.
Yeah but they are them and I’m just me… That’s why I left…
“Lillie, we talked about this earlier. You really need to see and watch how you talk about yourself… those words you used are so bad.”
Yeah, maybe you’re right…
“I can’t see the harm in trying to believe in and love yourself a little more… If you don’t love you, who else can?”
That’s a good point… So, you think I could actually join the Flaming Stars?
“I do. Absolutely.”
Maybe… okay… I don’t know… but I’ll think about it… but I need to do some homework for now so how about we can talk later tonight?
“Deal.”
Great. I’m looking forward to it.
Closing my connection to the Voice for now, I began working on my Biology homework for the moment but it was so hard to focus on it. All I could think about was finally getting the courage to talk to the Flaming Stars and then joining them.
Me.
Lillie.
A Six Point player… all I ever dreamed about and wanted… to adventure and see the world while I get to play my favorite game doing it. Well, what would probably be my favorite game. It’s not like I played it much but I know basically every card and strategy there is. From the luck based cards to the long-form autowins, they would be putty in my hands. Assuming I could ever get the guts to put those same cards in those same hands… But one step at a time, I think… right? Or maybe I should do a different first step? Yeah? No? I don’t know… it’s not important though because whenever I think about it more than that, the same thoughts return to me… the ones that come from the people who basically inject “realism” into their bloodstream. Well, what they think is realism but it’s really just pessimism wearing a realism mask…
But whatever, I need to focus on this reading… so, plants use photosynthesis to gain energy from the sun… and… you know… honestly… it’s pretty messed up what they think they can just say to me and act like it’s coming from a place of “love.”
I do think they care but I don’t think they care completely and about the right things. I think they care about something else entirely… Let’s see and think about the most recent things I heard and see if I am in the wrong for thinking or questioning that…
‘Liliana, have you thought about this more?’ ‘Liliana, are you sure you can do that?’ ‘Liliana, why can’t you think things through more before you tell us your ideas?’ ‘Liliana, did you think that maybe you aren’t meant to do that?’ ‘Liliana, are you sure you didn’t accidentally upset them before they insulted you first?’ ‘Lilana, maybe you can apologize first then they’ll be nicer to you…’ ‘Liliana…’ ‘Liliana…’ ‘Liliana…’
Uggghhhh… that’s all I can think about right now. Sorry Biology… I just hear their comments and questions. Over and over again. Their words. Their questions. All. the. Time.
Why is it alwaaaaaays my fault?
Oh well, maybe they are right. Maybe I’m a leaf person and that’s just all I am… well, I’ll get back to this reading then talk it over with the Voice later, they still might be able to help. It’s worth a try even though it’s probably not realistic. But I guess, what if it is? They did seem pretty sure of me being able to finally change it all. If only that’s true… What I would give for that… even just for one day. We’ll see though… maybe they were right. But for now, I read, I guess. So, okay… the cell walls…
While Lillie kept plugging away in her Biology book, unaware of the Windowsill’s gaze, a new notification rang out in front of CJ and Monica. Peeking their interest, they clicked the button to take them away from Bubbles practicing with her new deck, and followed the new developing and thickening plotline back to the ancient yet still vibrant city of Crowopolis.
Click.
Part Five
The “16 Crew” stood around in a semi-circle as the still flashing update on the monitor refused to go away on its own. The light from the couple meter screen was the only thing illuminating the space while sixteen individually-banded decks sat on the round stone table in the center of the room. The cards got the only dedicated light in the chamber but even with that, each of their facial features were still being blocked out to the Windowsill’s prying eyes. Hoods covering them up in their ceremonial brown robes as they discussed and pondered what was to soon pass.
“It seems the time has come for our Order to reveal itself to the Cosmos,” muttered a deep and low toned voice from the darkness of the tall-ceiled, dark gray stoned throne room.
“Indeed. Our mysterious whistleblower has notified us all and there is no plausibility that they did so by chance. We, fellow Crowopolians of different paths, ages and lifestyles, were meant to meet and we were all meant to save the Cosmos from Gollaknor…” chimed in a lighter, more young feminine voice.
“So, we will fight against the Destroyer of Worlds?” asked the grizzled and tough voice of a middle-aged man who was nearing his readiness to declare an all-out-card-game-war soon.
“We must,” responded the younger male counterpart to the lighter, feminine voice.
“But… the child?” questioned an older female voice amongst them.
“We will do what we must.” Retorted their leader, a higher, more whiny voice. Masculine in nature but thin and wiry in its delivery.
“Yes and we will win. For the Cosmos.” Commented the oldest woman in the group, kind and nurturing but still powerful in her demeanor.
“For the Cosmos,” the other fifteen said in unison.
Reaching for her deck first, the last voice that instigated the call-and-response lay her hot pink fingernails on top of it in the ending of their ceremonial process. With her hand on it, she made one more declaration to the group.
“By the power of my Law deck, we will fight the Heir.”
“And my Mud deck,” responded the next.
“With my Gods,” added the younger feminine voice from before.
One by one following suit, they added their Birds, Voting, Knights, Fish, Copies, Fists, Doom Tree, Alloys, Turtles, Boots, Ever Flame, Shell and Earth Beasts to the list.
With each hand resting on a deck of their own, CJ and Monica continued watching them, with intrigue and a tad of concern, as they began to prepare for their mission ahead. Because by following their storyline, maybe they could see just who these “Heir” or “Gollaknor the Destroyer of Worlds” really are. To possibly gain some insight into just what lies ahead for the Cosmos as a whole. Just in case everyone was somehow going to be in some massive level of danger, yet again.
Watching on to learn more, they did so. Even though they already had an inkling who the mysterious force of alleged darkness might possibly be. If they were right, it was an amber-eyed teenager in New York currently laying down the pain with a robot deck on some unsuspecting regional pro turned loser.
So, with this on the main screen, neither of them had any idea that one important newcomer to the video projects was finally starting to come into her own in terms of realizing her fullest and realest potential. Lillie’s storyline was now moving along a week later than when the Windowsill last saw her and she was still mulling around her room late at night once more in her pink and purple footie pajamas. Talking to the Voice and debating on if she should just take the leap she always dreamed of.
Shifting back to her first-person view again, her saga continued in the currently unseen recording of what would later be known as one of the biggest nights in collective Cosmos history.
Part Six
I don’t know… I mean… you do make a lot of sense…
“Thanks but ultimately, it’s your decision. It always has been.”
What do you mean?
“I mean that you have always been the one who could control your own fate, no one else. The others were merely just trying to adjust the temperature of your mind with the warmth that they know and cherish for themselves. Nothing else. Ultimately, they were never trying to hurt you but I’m sure you knew that already.”
Yeah… I guess you’re right.
“But I do think the way they went wrong was trying to convince you that your way wasn’t equally important or viable as theirs. Just as you should respect their lifestyle choices, assuming they aren’t purposefully hurting another soul, they should respect yours. So, if they truly care, they won’t stop you from taking the leap. You don’t have to live like a ghost missing its life just to appease theirs.”
You think?
“I do. Stop being a leaf blown around in the wind.”
Maybe…
“Lillie, take control.”
Hmmm… I’ll think about it… maybe… ummm… I need a snack… bye… talk to you soon…
As I temporarily closed the connection for a few minutes to not draw too much attention and to gather my own thoughts more before I made any big decisions, I slithered through the hallway as quietly as I could down the stairs towards our perfectly pristine white marble kitchen. Knowing some of my end-of-the-semester gifts would be arriving soon, it wasn’t a super huge surprise that Mom went all out and got me a brand new deck of Six Point cards. Since we all know it was the weirdest thing to her that her “fantasy-loving-should-never-want-for-anything daughter” didn’t own a million cards already by now.
But as I approached the equally matching white marble countertop in the center of the kitchen island, I felt a weird sensation on my skin. It was like a soft and golden glow was growing from it and with that, it began to shift into a more deep red color as it grew. Red like dragon’s fire.
But that’s when I saw the top card on the deck just sitting there, labeled as a gift to me. Looking at it with a smile, it was almost like I was meeting a lifelong friend for the first time.
Thunder the Constellations Dragon.
Character. Unstoppable. Power: 10,000.
Stricken by its sheer strength and sucked into looking at each and every other super cool dragon within the decks confines, I began to shift through them.
VI, the Infinite Dragon.
The Cosmos Dragon.
The Fire Filled Skies.
All of these and more caught my attention as I peered. Maintaining the cheeky and dopey smile while I did and knowing that nothing would ever be the same from that moment.
Looking at the deck with a sense of glee, I hardly noticed through my snow-white eyes that from my very own aura something was happening.
Something BIG.
Sensing this strange shockwave of energy then erupt from my presence, I briefly looked up to see nothing there but what seemed like nothing to me that night meant everything to a High Goddess, a certain beloved girlfriend of hers, a silent prince and a sister of that beloved girlfriend to the High Goddess.
Four souls in worlds far off and of their own time and space, each receiving a dangerous spike in readings on their two different Windowsills.
But as they looked upon it then back at each other, the two couples noticed something peculiar.
It wasn’t necessarily dark or an evil energy.
It wasn’t even a light or happy one either.
Truly, neither good nor evil.
It was just REALLY big.
So big, in fact, that it broke the power scale that once contained the fusion of the world-creating superswords, Pyroclastia and the planet-core-eating and portal-opening Tadala itself.
A force beyond even Brinay or Crowopolis as a whole.
Even beyond the shockwave which sent Bubbles and Marche back in time.
Simply put, the greatest surge of power that the Cosmos has ever seen or felt.
Placing my freshly painted snow-white fingernails back on the unique and smooth texture of Thunder the Constellations Dragon again as I brought my gaze back to the top, I felt a sense of calmness that I never felt before then too. Almost like it was a perfect balance between a raging storm and the beautiful calm that comes before and after.
Like he understood everything about me and was there to offer me a kind of support that I never knew.
And then it hit me… I finally had it.
Everything I always wanted.
I had someone who cared about me and wanted to protect me. Be there for me. Listen to me. Someone who I could care for and protect. Be there for and listen to.
It didn’t matter that he was a card in a game. It was like that card had a soul of its own.
A soul that knew mine and I knew him. From worlds and dimensions beyond, we were connected and now, nothing would ever keep us apart again.
Part Seven
“Ummm… Mon?”
“Yeah, C?”
“Ummm… Marchie?”
(Yeah, V?”)
“… did you just see that?” Asked each one in unison.
“… yeah.” Replied each of them in unison as well.
With each of the couples sitting on their own same size Mt. Couch, they watched on in a stunned disbelief at what they just saw.
Because it seemed like whatever just happened in New York put everything they witnessed before that in perspective. All the roads that led here were significant, they didn’t want to downplay that, but it seemed like the greatest struggle for the Cosmos was still ahead. They only hoped whatever made that burst of energy was not a foe but a friend instead. But there was only one way to be sure.
“Okay, I just heard back from Veronica. She and Marche will watch Bubbles and that ‘16 Crew’ to see where they go on their journey. So, I guess we get to cover finding that source and then seeing just what we are dealing with then.”
“Oki doki babe. Let’s do this.”
“Okay, so, we know it came from Earth, do we have anything more?”
“Yeah my love, it came from New York specifically in Glens Falls on December 13th, 2025.”
“Perfect. Have I ever told you that I love when you call me that? Oh, and you are the best sleuth ever/ we are the best team evvvvvveeeeeeer. I love you.”
“Awwwww and I love you too babe…”
Kissing her beloved before CJ’s hand moved the screen to that time and space they just discussed, the Windowsill was brought on to show Lillie standing in her kitchen holding the deck in her hands. But that’s when they saw it. A probable explanation for everything they just witnessed and experienced.
This project and story was unlike any that they have seen before because they weren’t watching her like they would watch a movie or a series. It was through her eyes and it was like they were her.
“Woah…” they muttered in unison.
“Ummm… C?”
“Yeah Mon?”
“We should probably get caught on this… so crazy…”
“Yepperdoodle sweetie…”
Moving her fingers to replay Lillie’s story back the week or so since the deck arrived in her house, they saw it all and they heard her talking to the Voice alone in her room. They heard her frustrations, her anger and her resentment for her situation. Getting an eerie flashback to Delanie and a few of the other villains of the past, it didn’t sit quite well with them as they quickly caught themself up to the live moments. With their eyes back in her point of view, Lillie LaDestino then finished up her “kitchen based revelations and declarations.”
I promise you this… I’ll never give you up, ever again.
They can give up this time. Because I’m. Done. Being. Blown. Around. Like. A. Leaf. In. The. Wind. After all, what are leaves to dragons…
Gripping my deck tightly, I reopened up the vocal channel with the Voice once more.
Hey Voice?
“Yeah Lillie?”
You’re right about everything. Where do we start?
Part Eight
The next few hours were a blur as I organized myself to join the Flaming Stars tomorrow after school. With the help of the Voice, I knew it was time to finally follow through on this “decade long dream of mine.”
I had it all planned out and knew just who I would challenge first and as I found myself there the next afternoon in my standard issued school uniform, it all made sense as Kent and I began to face off. With my Power Amplifier condensing the energy and pressure of each card into a weight I could toss at my opponent’s hit total like a small, invisible medicine ball, I knew it. It felt right. Extremely nerve-wracking but right.
Quickly taking a 2 hits to 1 lead with a combo of some of my weaker cards, making less pressure to heave while I did it obviously, I knew this was going exactly how I always wished for. Even though I felt like I couldn’t even remember the cards I was playing, I was doing it. Somehow, I kept on fighting through my nerves which were almost blacking out my vision at one point. But, most importantly, I was still staying strong, still conscious and still doing it.
I WAS playing Six Point and I WAS winning. I. WAS. WINNNNNNNNNNNNNING!!!!!!
But as I drew my next three cards, I saw my opening then. His Characters based on “Giant Flaming Horses” all went away in a successful attack as he brought me to 1 hit as well.
But it was after this attack that I saw it as clear as day. It was just the opening I needed for some dragon fire to rain down from the heavens. And I knew just who should do it.
Playing Thunder the Constellations Dragon, the whole afterschool club stopped completely in their chatter and watched on. All their conversations hushed and silenced in an instant. Because he was played. Sensing a literal change of pressure in the room, it was clear that he wasn’t your average card, and in fact, there was something special about my friend.
The legendary lost one was somehow in my deck and just like how I felt from the night before coming to light, I told him to rise up. Rise up like me in my new life. Me in my new mindset. Me in his friendship. But, specifically, I said and I quote myself on this:
Rise Up, Thunder the Constellations Dragon.
Bringing 10,000 power to a game that usually boasts 1,000 as a good card, Kent could do nothing but watch on as the last bombardment brought him to 0. Securing my victory.
I did it. I beat the club president in my first ever match.
I WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But it wasn’t just that triumph that I felt, there was something else pulsating through my hands as my Power Amplifier powered down. Similar to the moment I felt close to Thunder for the first time, each and every last of my fingers began to tingle a comfortable feeling. Like someone very kind and very nice was softly holding them. Telling me it was all going to be okay.
With a smile at both of these sensations in place, I knew this was only the beginning.
Because much like Thunder the Constellations Dragon, I too, was going to keep on rising up.
The End.
Castle Johnson Publishings 