Word count: 1014 words
Cadmus had been staring at the little button on his cell phone for well over half an hour. After leaving home, he holed himself up in the bell tower of the church he had begun to frequent with clear intentions of going to his homeworld for the first time, but it seemed to take the boy some time to, well, actually do that. He was afraid; after what happened in Negaspace and then being pulled to the moon by Sailor Cosmos, Cadmus wasn't keen on going anywhere for fear of whatever dangers there may be.
Swallowing thickly, the boy stood from the corner he had curled himself up, beat the dust off of his uniform's shorts, and then bounded from the bell tower and up onto the roof above. Grasping a hand on the cross at the top of the steeple, Cadmus glanced up, and stared into the clear, twinkling night sky. Pulling out his cell phone again, he furrowed his brow at the button, took a deep breath, and gave it a hard push. His eyes widened when he felt an odd tugging sensation. Suddenly, the boy felt his entire form shoot skyward and a white light fill his vision.
When Cadmus became aware of himself again, he was staring at a familiarly star-speckled sky; the same he had seen while on the moon. I'm... I actually did it, he thought.
"What... Wah... Wah, wah, wah!"
When he glanced down, he blinked and flapped his arms about like a bird preparing for flight as he fell the same distance from the bell tower to the surface of Cadmus. Tall, dried grass crunched under his weight as he landed upon the dead vegetation. Stumbling to standing, Cadmus moaned out in pain as he rubbed his rump.
"Yeesh, not the way I wanted to start this thing," he said.
Pushing through the tall grass, the chibi senshi nearly fell again when the thicket gave way to open space. His mouth drew to a small O as he stared on in wonder. The vision beyond his was green and lush; a sprawling forest stretched out far as the eye could see and a large lake—like a bowl of water—seemed to part the trees. The water, a muddy blue, lapped at the banks with restless abandon. It was here that Cadmus realized he was on the crest of a hill and, with a sudden burst of energy, jumped from the top and ran off into the forest toward the lake. It didn't take him long to reach the body of water thanks to his speediness as a chibi senshi.
Panting, Cadmus said, "It's... It's like a giant pool! To think there would be something here like this!"
Suddenly, the pink-haired boy took a dive into the water and burst through the surface after propelling himself to the middle. He never thought he would be able to take a swim in the middle of winter in D.C., but the weather on Cadmus was fair. Like a spring giving way to summer, so Cadmus couldn't help but give in to his desire. He swam about for a bit before clambering, waterlogged, to the banks. Splaying out on the grass, Cadmus let out a breath, and shut his eyes. With the warmth of the asteroid seeming to throb beneath him and his own happiness, he was almost tempted to fall asleep then and there. Something dream-like did overcome him then, but it was unlike his consciousness slipping away into slumber.
"Heh, beat you this time," he said. The voice not his own caused him to lurch up in fright.
"W-what?" he stammered, confused. "Who was...?"
He touched fingers to his lips and looked around, wondering if anyone was there. It was then that Cadmus realized that the asteroid was eerily quiet. Save the rustle of leaves from the forest and his own breath, there was not a speck of life on it. It unnerved the boy to the point that he had to get up and leave; he didn't want to stay at the lake anymore. Further venturing brought Cadmus to what looked to be a dilapidated settlement in the middle of a forest clearing. Wooden huts were suspended on legs as tall as him and the thatched roofs were matted and rotted away on several of the structures. Diamond-shaped windows were cut into the boards of the huts and, when Cadmus climbed up onto one of the building's porches and stared inside, he saw the interior was bare of any belongings. Searching a few more revealed the same results.
"It must be abandoned," Cadmus said. "There's absolutely nothing here..."
With that, the boy decided to keep venturing forward. He traveled through the forest as if there was something guiding him, but it didn't feel as such. In fact, Cadmus felt as if he knew where to go. Splashing through a low river, the boy winded up on the other side and kept up his trek. Eventually, his travels took him from the forest and on the edge of what appeared to be a desert. The transition surprised the boy, but his brow furrowed and, then and there, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop. There was something ahead he was supposed to see—he was sure of it. Yet, no matter how far and wide he traveled through the wasteland, he just couldn't find it. After what felt like hours, Cadmus gave up. Figuring it would be a good time to go home, the chibi took out his cell phone and smoothed his thumb to the same button he had pressed to get to his homeworld. Just before he jabbed it, an unusual message passed through his mind.
You are Cadmus... it said. And it is your duty to become more than what you are.
"H-huh—?" the boy croaked, looking around in earnest, but it was too late. He was pulled from the surface of Cadmus and returned to the roof of the church once more.
