Chapter Text
"Found you!"
The Traveler scooped a young Wanderlust out of his hiding spot behind a curtain, hoisting him into the air as he laughed. He needed to get better at hide-and-seek. It had taken him a while to even consider the curtains.
"Hahaha!" Wanderlust grinned. "Your turn!""
"Alright, one more round." The Traveler told him. "Then, Dad has to get back to work."
Wanderlust began to count down from ten. The Traveler stepped out of sight, before making a portal to his bedroom. Si'ha Nova stood in front of a mirror, trying on a pair of new boots.
"Ugh, they'd be so cute if they actually fit…" She sighed, before turning to him. "Wander keeping you occupied?""
"He always does." The Traveler sighed. "I told him one more round, and then we're done. We should have plenty of time before we meet with The Scorpion."
"She seems reasonable enough to me. I mean, if a bunch of mortals tried to break into my house in order to worship me, I'd be mad at them too." Si'ha Nova sighed. "But, she didn't need to portal them into space as a punishment."
The Traveler nodded. "Have you heard from Saber recently?"
"No? I'm a little surprised. They usually don't go a week without barging in here, asking for snacks."
"That's what I was thinking. Should pay their virtual world a visit. Maybe tomorrow."
"Are you worried about them?"
"Did you hear what they were talking about last month? They're hung up on Earth again. I just want to know they didn't do anything stupid. The All-Mother wasn't happy about their experiments to begin with."
Si'ha Nova chuckled under her breath. The Traveler didn't see what was so funny. He was supposed to keep an eye on the demigods in the greater Danceverses, right? That included Saber. As much as they insisted that they didn't need babysitting, The Traveler begged to differ. Arona didn't count as a babysitter. She needed one just as much as Saber, anyway.
Come to think of it, he needed to pick a real hiding spot. Wanderlust would be disappointed if he didn't. Just as The Traveler got ready to leave, he heard Wanderlust down the hall.
"Dad!"
Aww, he must have gotten lost…
"Mom! Dad! Hurry! I found something!"
Or not.
Hurrying out of the bedroom, The Traveler and Si'ha Nova rushed to Wanderlust's side. He stood at the entrance to The Traveler's study, but didn't open the door. Bright light flashed from within. Wanderlust pointed at the door expectantly. From within, The Traveler heard indistinct melodies raging. He couldn't quite separate one from another. Thankfully, Wanderlust called for help before barging in to see what was going on. Smart boy.
Carefully, The Traveler pushed the door open. After peeking inside, he quickly shut it.
"Wanderlust, can you find Lidu?"
"I thought he went out today." Wanderlust said.
"Oh, right. Go find Anita, then."
Wanderlust ran off as fast as he could. Once he was out of sight, The Traveler re-opened the door and stepped inside, Si'ha Nova right behind him. In the middle of his study, an ethereal mass of glowing shards and clouds raged. Now that he was face-to-face with it, the garbled melody made a little more sense. But it still wasn't enough to be coherent. For a moment, he stared at the thing in awe. He'd never seen anything quite like it. Was it harmful?
Si'ha Nova carefully approached the glowing mass, gently reaching towards it with one hand. It sparked at her touch, turning and twisting with more fervor. She didn't seem bothered by it, and turned back to The Traveler.
"I don't think it's malicious, at the very least? What could it be?"
"I don't know." The Traveler shook his head. "I think if we could make sense of this melody it's playing, we'll get an answer."
"Maybe you're right."
There wouldn't be any harm in dancing, right? The Traveler didn't think so. If things went awry, Anita could always back them up. Plus, he was sure Lidu would be back home before long. Taking Si'ha Nova's hand, the two began to dance with the ethereal mass. As they did, the melody finally became understandable, lyrics taking form.
Katachi no nai kimochi wasurenai you ni
Kimarikitta reiauto wo keshita
Futo kuchizusanda fureezu wo tsukamaete
Mune ni himeta kotoba nose sora ni tokihanatsu noKimi ni tsutaetai koto ga
Kimi ni todoketai koto ga
Takusan no ten wa sen ni natte
Tooku kanata e to hibiku
Kimi ni tsutaetai kotoba
Kimi ni todoketai oto ga
Ikutsumo no sen wa en ni natte
Subete tsunageteku doko ni datte
The glowing mass began to congeal, ever so slowly. They were getting somewhere!
Masshiro ni sunda hikari wa kimi no you
Kazashita te no sukima wo tsutau koe ga
Futo ugoita yubisaki kizamu rizumu ni
Arittake no kotoba nose sora ni tokihanatsu noKimi ni tsutaetai koto ga
Kimi ni todoketai koto ga
Takusan no ten wa sen ni natte
Tooku kanata made utatsu
Kimi ni tsutaetai koto ga
Kimi ni todoketai oto ga
Ikutsumo no sen wa en ni natte
Subete tsunageteku doko ni datte
The shards fit together to form a sphere, containing the raging clouds within. With a flash of light, a pixelated face took form. The crystal ball flew in circles around The Traveler and Si'ha Nova as they danced.
Kanadete ita kawaranai hibi wo utagawazu ni
Asa wa dareka ga kureru mono da to omotte ita
Isshun demo shinjita oto keshiki wo yurasu no
Oshiete yo kimi dake no sekaiKimi ni tsutaetai koto ga
Kimi ni todoketai koto ga
Takusan no ten wa sen ni natte
Tooku kanata made utatsu
Kimi ni tsutaetai koto ga
Kimi ni todoketai oto ga
Ikutsumo no sen wa en ni natte
Subete tsunageteku doko ni datte
Once the melody finally faded, all they were left with was the crystal ball. It hovered in front of The Traveler and Si'ha Nova, silent and smiling. After a moment, Si'ha Nova cleared her throat and spoke.
"Hello? Are you alright?"
"Beep!"
"Oh dear." She looked to The Traveler. "You don't understand it, right?"
He shook his head. "Can you understand us?"
The crystal ball dipped a little, as if it were trying to nod. "Beep beep!"
Just then, Wanderlust burst in with Anita as his heels. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the crystal ball.
"Aww, that's adorable!"
"Isn't it?" Si'ha Nova asked. "What are you, anyway? Do you have a name?"
"Be-be-beep? Beep!"
"Hmm… Taking that as a no?"
The ball shook its head. "Beep beep."
"Alright, we'll figure out how to communicate later. For now, I'm guessing you need a place to stay."
The Traveler faltered a little. "Another pet?"
"I'm sure we can take one more, right?"
The Traveler thought of the several cats, birds, and the elderly dog they had under their roof right now. Yeah… What was one more pet?
"We'll find a place for it."
Wanderlust's eyes lit up. "Can it stay in my room?"
"I don't know about—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the crystal ball began to fly circles around Wanderlust, beeping excitedly. Wanderlust laughed, reaching out to grab the crystal ball.
"It looks like a disco ball! Can I call you Discoball?"
"Beep beep!" Discoball laughed. "Be-be-beep!"
Si'ha Nova leaned towards The Traveler, whispering. "Aren't they sweet? The disco ball seems pretty tame to me. I don't think it would hurt if it stayed with Wanderlust."
"I'd like to keep an eye on it for a few more days, first."
"Ah, that's fair."
As Wanderlust and Discoball continued to play, Si'ha Nova and Anita kept an eye on them. The Traveler stepped away from them for a moment, approaching one of the windows in his study. As he stared into the vast expanse of space, he decided to make a call. Specifically, to Saber. They'd probably love to see this new Discoball! Arona, too. He just wanted to hear from them, honestly.
The phone dialed. And dialed. And dialed, some more. The Traveler gripped his phone a little tighter as a message finally played.
"Sa-a-a-aber is not in. Leave a message after the beep… It takes a minute."
After a moment, the beep came. The Traveler cleared his throat and left a message.
"It's The Traveler. You haven't been answering my calls. I hope you're not ignoring me. And I sincerely hope you didn't get into too much trouble back home. Anyway, there's something I found that you'd like to see. Some kind of spirit, I think. Not quite sure what it is. It seems friendly. Wanderlust's already trying to make friends with it. Call me when you have the chance."
He hung up. After a moment of thought, he tried calling Arona too. Same result. He didn't bother leaving another message, slipping his phone away. Looking back at Wanderlust and Discoball, they had taken to chasing each other around the study. He sighed.
"Settle down, you two. Maybe go run around in the courtyard."
"Okay!" Wanderlust said. "I'll race you!"
"Beeeeeep!"
As they ran off, Si'ha Nova and Anita followed them. After a moment, The Traveler followed as well. He wanted to spend more time with his son. Yet, his mind still dwelled on Saber. It wasn't like them to go radio silent like this. But, maybe he was overreacting. They'd probably call back later today, or tomorrow even, ranting and raving about some virtual-world magic…