It felt like an eternity ago when Allisa had a shower, and immediately accepted Rika’s offer. Ion, after waking up briefly, went first while Allisa finished stuffing her face. After she emerged she turned Berken off (to Allisa’s delight) before turning into the guest room.

Allisa went next into the bathroom. It looked similar to what was in terra, bar from everything more high spec. The shower in question was a large chamber with electronic doors, and automatic shaders to obscure her inside. She dared not look down at the amount of grime that was coming off her body. All her wounds had healed by now with only the residual blood remaining, washing away into the drain blow. After twenty minutes of washing, the shower cut out and dry air blasted Allisa. While surprised at first, when the doors opened she was mostly dry.

Outside, Rika had left Ion some of her clothes to wear, a tank top and shorts. Allisa was grateful, as her old clothes were beyond saving. Once changed, Allisa moved out into the kitchen/living room. Despite the long journey she had, she didn’t feel tired as she expected. Instead, she blanky looked out at the peaks out the window. Now that the artificial sun had set (for lack of an explanation given to Allisa on how it worked in this hollow world) the peaks were dark, nearly invisible due to the absence of any light, bar from the occasional blinking light off in the distance. Up above were the city lights of the other biomes of Sora. Now that she was safe, Allisa could finally feel a sense of wonder at where she was.

“You really should get some sleep.” Rika came up behind her, carrying two mugs. “You crossed from the conduit to the peaks, you should be exhausted from all that.”

“Oh, uh… I’m not that tired just.” Allisa said as Rika handed her a mug of green liquid.

“Made from herbs from the surrounding islands. It should help,” Rika said before drinking her mug walking towards the table in the kitchen.

Allisa followed her, sitting alongside Rika before drinking her tea. There was a hint of mint to it. “Thanks.”

Rika simply smiled, sitting sideways with her leg over the chair’s arms. “Hey, I know Markus said this but, thanks for what you’ve done for Ion.”

“I-It’s no big deal,” Allisa said bashfully.

“Uh uh, not to Ion,” Rika shook her head. “You really have no idea how much this means to her. Though I gotta ask; is that really why you’re doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“It takes a lot to help a complete stranger. Most people would simply ignore them, not wanting to go get involved.”

“O-Oh…” Allisa put down her cup. “I… I don’t really have a big reason. I just… I just wanna help her.”

Rika smiled again.

“Is that weird?” Allisa asked rubbing the rim of her cup.

“Course it is,” Rika chuckled. “But… not in a bad way.”

Allisa smiled back, feeling more at ease. “When I was little, I… I was really into stories about heroes. How they could so selflessly help those they never met before, not wanting anything in return. I remember thinking that was what I wanted to be; a princess who could save the prince.

“Thinking back… Even before I got this sword I would always try to help others.”

“Ha, as a little kid? That’s pretty cool.”

“Well… there was one time when I was nearly killed.” Allisa clutched her cup. “There was a girl at my school who was abused by her dad. One day in town, I saw him in a back alley with her, beating her half to death. Donno why but I went to help.

“Next thing I remember was my mom’s face while I was in the emergency room. My dad told me the father was arrested and will likely go to jail. He… really wasn’t happy with me. Mom thought… she wasn’t either but did say I did a good thing. The girl who I saved was next to visit. She asked me why I did what I did. All I said was, ‘I wanted to be a superhero, and superheroes save people.’ It was so dumb… but she just smiled at me and asked me to be her friend.

“And we’ve been friends ever since,” Allisa felt a pang of guilt again. Least… I hope we still are…

“Wow, even when you were little,” Rika said with a chuckle. “Donno if you’ve got guts or just an idiot.”

“Probably both.” Allisa drank her tea again.

“So… how’d you meet Ion anyway? I get she ran into her but you didn’t say how.”

“Oh… right,” Begrudgingly Allisa recounted how Ion broke into her house to sing in her room, then walked in on her family while they were having dinner. She could still feel her knee acing as she recounted her cousin casually insulting the clueless Ion while Berken constantly rammed into her knee under the table. Rika could only laugh.

“It’s not that funny.” Allisa glared.

“No it’s hilarious!” Rika laughed. “I can’t believe you pulled it off.”

“Neither do I…” Allisa sighed.

Rika finally calmed herself down. “... Good to hear she’s still Ion,” She said. She was smiling but sounded sad. “Hasn’t changed after all these years.”

“... How long have you known Ion?” Allisa asked.

“Didn’t Ion tell you?” Rika asked perplex.

“Uh, I didn’t get around to asking.” Allisa smiled weakly. It was only after she collapsed that the thought crossed her mind. “I mean, if it’s personal then-”

“No no. nothing like that.” Rika chuckled, leaning back on her chair. “Suppose you could say we were… childhood friends. Knew her way back before she was even officially anointed as the star singer. Me, Ion, and my twin sister Ciryn all grew up together.

“Believe it or not, she’s actually older than us. So seeing how she hasn’t aged took some adjusting to, but even then I still think of her as a little sister.”

“Even though you were older?”

“You’ve seen how much of a clutz she can be,” Rika said with a narrow-eyed grin. “Though if we’re talking ‘older sister’ it was definitely my twin sis Ciryn. She would be the first to scold us when we did something stupid,”

“I’m guessing that was often…”

“Hey! I mean you’re right but, ouch.” Rika pouted playfully. Allisa couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

“So uh… how did you get to know Ion? I mean, it was before she was anointed so, did you grow up in the same town?” She asked.

“No, but our parents spent a lot of time together due to their positions. My dad, as I said was a councilman from Sky High; uh, a city just south of the peaks. Ion’s mom was, and still is, a councilwoman from Destinys Judgment,”

“Ion’s mom?”

“Yeah. You didn’t think Ion just manifested from the eather, did ya?”

“N-No. Of course not,” Allisa awkwardly drank her tea. Rika simply stared at her with an amused smile. “S-so you knew Ion for a long time,” Allisa said, hoping to force Rika to continue her story. “Th-That means you knew she was the star singer all along?”

“Nope.” Rika shook her head. “I mean, I knew she was born shortly after the last Star Singer returned to Sora and all but we didn’t really know. Though… I guess my dad may’ve known something since he wasn’t happy that the two of us interacted with Ion much.

“That wasn’t until…. Ohh, 16 years ago when we noticed Ion was starting to act funny. After a little digging we learned that members of the trinity had visited Ion and… well, they told her she was the next Star Singer. Can’t imagine the shock it must’ve been to her.” Her tone turned somber. “When we asked her, I remember her bursting into tears and telling us how scared she was, having to become the next Star Singer. But me and my sis promised her we’d be there for her. Star Singer or not, she was our big sister. No way we’d let just let her do this alone.

“.... Yeah, thinking back, those were simpler times.”

“.... Before this Golmoria became the governor, right?”

Rika’s mood darkened, her face becoming solom. Allisa could feel the sadness radiating from her. Folding her arms under her chest she let out a deep sigh before speaking. “Yeah. Everything changed after the election. Honestly, I don’t blame Ion for wanting to switch her allegiance. Since that bitch took over, things’ve just got from bad to worse and more and more people are venting their frustration on Ion as the mouthpiece of Altosk.” She said with such bile in her voice. “Sadly, the leash around her neck only getting tighter. Very soon Ion’ll be under Golmoria’s thumb and there’s nothing she’ll be able to do.”

Allisa swallowed before finally speaking. “Ion… she told me about how much she hated Golmoria. I-I had no idea it was that bad.”

Rika nodded. “How much did she tell you about Golmoria?”

“That she… killed the other candidates.”

“There’s no proof but, yeah. We all know what caused the accident. Heck, there were even two witnesses to it that’s still alive.”

“There were?”

“Bec and Markus.” Rika sighed. “You saw their bodies. Golmoria did that to them.”

Allisa’s eyes widened. “Wh-What happened? What’s this accident?”

Rika sighed. “You know how our elections work?”

“Yeah, Ion told me. Five candidates from the cities. Your vote and the bottom one gets pulled from the race, carry on until one’s left.”

Rika nodded. “At that time we were down to three candidates. Golmoria was one, and she was likely to be eliminated in the next election. Another candidate was who my dad worked for, a bunika from Sky high named Porgro. The other was a hune from Resivour, named Rogedes.

“They were both ahead in the polls and wanted to get an endorsement to win the election. All of them was on a cruise in the peaks, trying to woow over someone who could tip the balance; a borgo scientist and one of the brightest minds in Sora. Markus.”

“Markus? As in…?”

“Yep. That Markus. He may be a cyborg now, but when he had his body he was a renowned scientist, devoting his entire life to the study of the inner workings of Sora. He made such a name for himself that having this man would be enough to secure victory. So both were pretty eager to have him in his pocket.”

Rika paused. “Then all of a sudden, the engine blew up and the ship crashed and exploded in the middle of the peaks. The three of us were in the peaks and… kinda following the cruise ship. My mind went blank when I saw it go down. We rushed to the crash but there we’re only three survivors. My dad, lost his arm. An Altosk security agent, Bec- lost his entire face, arms and legs. And Markus… who was nothing more than a shriveled husk of singed flesh and jutting bones.”

Allisa felt her stomach go cold. “So that’s what happened…” She bit her lip.

“Frankly speaking, all three of them would’ve died. Markus certainly would’ve in the next few seconds when we found him. But Ion…” Rika’s fists clenched. “She didn’t give up. She… she started to sing. I still see it so clearly, the light from the Ekon exploding from her as she sang. She saved all their lives. But in singing that song, her powers fully manifested, which meant her aging completely stopped, frozen at eighteen for the rest of her life. Not needing to eat or sleep. She had become the star singer fully.

“Golmoria took power shortly after her anointment, and she wasted no time taking control of Ion and heavily restricted her movements. Both my sis and I rarely saw her after that. That was when Golmoria really began to take charge and moved her influence into every major institution in Ter’figmar and began sidelining the settlements, using Ion to issue edicts to make it effortless and legal.”

“And no one did anything to stop her?”

“My dad organized a protest in response to these changes, accusing Golmoria of abusing the Star Singer. But that vixen provoked a ravenger clan to attack it. I wasn’t part of it, but over a hundred people were massacred. And conveniently, she then had the clan responsible whipped off the face of Ter’figmar in retaliation and began her policy to suppress the clans- with Ion’s edict. And to do that she had her army force evict settlements across Ter’figmar leaving thousands of people with nowhere to do but into the wilderness.”

“That’s… That’s awful.” Allisa gasped.

“After that, a resistance movement- Frontier- began with the goal of removing Golmoria from power. I was…” Rika paused again. “One of the founding members. The others were my sister Ciryn, my dad and Bec. And so we started small insurgence attacks against Altosk, chipping away at her power base and influence. Though the results were very mixed we had a lot of people willing to support us.”

“.... And you left them?”

“Yeah there was… a difference of opinion,” Rika said solemnly. “Ion had to condemn us as terrorists, so while we had some supporters it wasn’t a lot. The bigwigs in the cities easily dissuaded people from joining us by citing that we were defining the will of Sora itself. So Ciryn proposed that instead of launching attacks against Golmoria, we’d liberate the star singer and use her to advocate for our cause.”

Rika’s fist clenched. “But I couldn’t do that. Using Ion to say we’re in the right is no better than what Golmoria was doing to her. I promised to support her, not put her on another leash.

“Only Bec agreed with me. My dad and Ciryn though were furious, with the former calling me a traitor. His own daughter.” With a wiery smile, Rika ran her fingers through her hair, “So I left on very bad terms. With nowhere to go, I came to this house and… this is where I’ve been ever since. Bec left shortly after me and went to Figmars Edge- from what I hear on equally bad turms- leaving Frontier in the hands of Ciryn and my dad.”

“And they… continued the fight.”

“Yep…. though my dad undermined Ciryn and started acting more… ruthless.” Rika’s expression darkened, “Instead of just attacking Altosk, he sought to bring down all of the cities. We’re talking about large, indiscriminate bombings and attacks that killed a lot of innocent people. It was after an ambush in Hollow Rock two years ago where most of his supporters in Frontier were killed that Ciryn took charge of Frontier and kicked my dad and what was left of his followers out. She’s been trying to get Frontier back up but… thing’s’ve not gone well. Especially with that stupid attack at the conduit.” She hissed the last sentence.

“And you’re dad… Is he still around?” Allisa asked, almost afraid to let her continue. Rika’s furrowed brows made her regret bringing it up.

“.... After losing Frontier he got… very desperate. At the time Ion had some time away from Grand Vault and came to see me. Learning this, my dad and his followers came.”

“To… free Ion?”

“To kill her.”

Allisa felt a chill go down her spine. “He… tired to kill Ion?”

“Yep. By that point he’d completely lost it.” Rika’s gaze turned glassy. “So I killed him and his followers. Every last one of them.” She leaned back on her chair with a deep sigh. “That was the last I saw of Ion… until today that is.”

A very long silence fell, with neither Allisa nor Rika speaking.

“Whoa… that got dark,” Rika finally broke the silence with a dry chuckle. “I’m sure that was a lot to take in.”

“Y-Yeah…” Allisa nodded, her mind still spinning from the story. “Just seems… everyone in this place just don’t really care for Ion….” Her eyes narrowed. “All they want her power and…” She paused mid-sentence.

“Whoa, are you okay?” Rika suddenly asked. “I didn’t mean to make you upset or anything.”

“.... No sorry,” Allisa said with a smile. “I-It’s just been a long few days is all.” Under the table, Allisa’s hands were clenched in a fist, her nails digging into her palms. It was all she could do to suppress her anger.

“In that case, you should get some sleep. For real.”

“Y-Yeah, I’ll do that,” Allisa said, looking down at her fists. She then felt a hand on her shoulder. Rika was standing above her with a smile.

“You know, since her anointment as the star singer, lots of people have tried to get close to her to get a favor or two, not caring about the real Ion. You really have no idea what it means to her to have someone like you, who calls her a friend.” She said with a smile before walking away to the bedroom down the hall.

Allisa sat in place, glaring at her right hand.

“That power you have is never yours to use freely. Even you have to see that!”

“Once that bubble bursts, you'll see things aren't so black and white as you believe them to be.”

“Did you really have a choice?”

Her hand clenched into a fist.

There was a thud behind her. Looking behind she saw a silhouette ducking from view, going down the stairs. She didn’t have to think much on who it was.

****

Allisa followed down the stairs to the garage. The door was wide open. Going through it, she saw Ion walking down to the sky view platform where they landed overlooking the peaks. Allisa made her way over to her, saying nothing as she reached her side, placing her hands on the bars to look out into the floating islands around them.

“This place… always soothed me.” Ion finally said closing her eyes. “To feel the breeze in my hair, the wind on my face. Your worries just melt away when you realize how beautiful the world was.”

Allisa didn’t even have to ask. Her tone said it all. Ion was listening to the conversation.

“..... How can you just accept this?” Allisa finally asked. “This… this messed up world. What they’re doing to you.”

Ion didn’t look back, keeping her gaze out in the distance. “I told you; the star singer must remain neutral no matter what-”

“TO HELL WITH THAT!” Allisa exploded. “All these people using you for your power! Not giving a damn about what you want! IT’S JUST WRONG! And all you can do is sit back and do NOTHING-?!”

“THEN WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST I DO?!”

Allisa jumped back, shocked to hear Ion raise her voice.

“Tell me?! What would you do if you were me?!” Tears rolled down her eyes. “Pleople are dying, and KILLING in my name! Everyone in Ter’figmar CURSES me for not doing anything about Golmoria while she continues to take everything from me! I’m not blind or deff! I KNOW what she’s doing to me!” She began to sob. “I… never wanted any of this. To be the star singer… to appease that… monster… I wanted to be like Vespa and Iola… able to stand up to Golmoria and help everyone with my songs. But I’m… I’m so powerless…” her hands tightened on the bars. “I’m trapped Allisa. I’m trapped in a role I wanted nothing to do with…. And I’m… I’m not strong enough to break free.”

She continued to sob, her feet close to giving out. With great effort, she looked up at the islands floating around her. “I wish… I could just stay here… and fly around without a care for the world.”

Allisa followed her gaze out into the vista. “.... Sorry.” She finally said holding the railing of the sky view. “I really don’t know anything about what you’re going through. I shouldn’t have said all that.”

Ion shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. “No. I’m glad you did.” She said with a wiery smile. “I’ve held all that in for so long that… I do feel better letting all that out.”

Allisa smiled back.

“But… if you were me,” Ion continued. “If you were the star singer instead of me, in my situation… what would you do?”

“M-Me…” Allisa let out a deep sigh. “I… I’d,” She calmed herself, emptied her mind and felt her hands tighten on the bars. “I’d fight back. To hell with being neutral and to hell with the consequences.”

Ion looked at her shocked. Allisa didn’t look at her, gazing off into the distance.

“If this Golmoria is making life rough for everyone, then I’d stand up to her. Even if it’s an uphill battle, if I can at least go down fighting then that would be enough.” Hearing a small giggle from Ion, Allisa went red. “Haha… I guess it’s easier for me to say all that, huh?” She said with an embarrassed smile.

“I suppose,” Ion said with a smile. “But… I believe you would. That’s the sort of person you are.”

“You’ve only known me for like a week.”

“Am I mistaken?”

“Uh… no, not really,” Allisa scratched her cheek. “I… guess I just wanna feel like a hero for once.” She looked up at the night sky, devoid of even a moon and lit by the city lights directly above them. “Someone who’d fight for what they believe in, and protect the people important to them. And even if I stumble and fall, I’ll keep moving forward. One step at a time.”

Ion smiled, following Allisa’s gaze up at the night sky. “.... Then that’s what I’ll do. I’m tired of playing the helpless puppet.” She looked at Allisa, eyes now bright with her resolve. “As Rika said; I’m what Golmoria needs to control Ter’figmar, but no longer. Even if people revile me, I will change my allegiance and rob her of the power she stole through murder. Then, I’ll become the Star Singer I want to be. Someone who can bring smiles to everyone in Sora.”

Allisa smiled back at her. “Welp, first we need my friends to get here. And who knows what kinda trouble they might get into,” She sighed rubbing the back of her head. Ion couldn’t help but giggle.

“... But, I can count on you to protect me until I reach Marina, right?” She asked.

“Course,” Allisa gave her a toothy grin. “And you got Rika and Berken too. We’ll make sure Altosk doesn’t get their hands on you again.”

Ion nodded. Her eyes blinked as her legs wobbled. Ion caught the railing to balance herself.

“I-Ion?”

“It’s fine,” Ion reassured her, moving some hair from her eyes. “I suppose I needed more rest.”

“D-Do you need help getting back?”

“I’m not that frail,” Ion chuckled at Allisa’s concern. “.... But you really do need to get some rest. After everything you’ve been through,”

Allisa found it hard to argue. Her body still felt heavy from her long trip. “Just don’t stay up too late yourself.”

“I don’t require sleep, remember.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna disagree with you on that,” Allisa sighed as she walked away from Ion. She still remembered her deep slumber in the Translucent woods.

“Allisa,” Ion said, keeping her eyes on the night sky. “Thank you. For everything.”

****

Ion waited for Allisa to have gone back in the house before moving off. But not into the house. Branching off to a side trail, she made her way through the overgrown rocks to a secluded cave, lit by the machine lights hidden in the rocks.

No alone, she started to sing. Lights floated around her as eather surged into her body. Lost in her melody, Ion was oblivious to everything around her, focusing on the mystical melody that came from her lips. It was hard to tell how long she sang for when the lights began to go out around her. Taking a deep breath, Ion smiled, at last feeling refreshed.

“She doesn’t know, does she?”

Though startled, Ion simply smiled weakly, keeping her back to Rika who loomed behind her. Even then, it was obvious what face she was wearing.

“Damnit, how many times did you sing out there?” She asked concerned.

“....”

“Ion!”

“..... It’s my fault she’s even a part of this,” Ion gripped her chest. “Yet she still wishes to fight for my sake.” She turned to face Rika, fixing her with a determined look. “I know the consequences all too well. But If I just sat back and did nothing then it would be no different then what I’ve done for the past ten years.”

Rika was surprised, not expecting to hear that from her. There was a brief silence before she smiled back, huffing as she folded her arms under her chest. “I forgot how stubborn you can be….” her smile disappeared again as she looked at Ion. “But… are you sure? After everything she’s been through, don’t you think she deserves to know?”

Ion didn’t respond immediately, resting her hand on her chest. “…. I don’t think the time’s right. She’ll only worry if she knows.” She smiled at her. “I don’t want to do that to my friend.”

Rika let out a small sigh. “.... Alright. My lips are sealed. Just promise me this; only as a last resort.”

Ion nodded. Defeated, Rika simply petted Ion’s head before she walked off. Her smile disappeared when Ion was out of sight, looking up at her house.

I’ve never seen her so determined before. She thought folding her arms. Allisa… I don’t know if you’re the best thing that’s happened to her, or the worst.