The credits were rolling, and Teide peeked over the edge of her comforter to look around the room. Nick had nodded off at some point - she wasn’t sure when it had happened, but he was asleep now. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked back towards the television. The song playing sounded sort of… old, not that she had any kind of grasp of modern musical trends, but the movie was old, so the song had to be old, too, right? It just kind of followed.

Sleeping seemed like an attractive prospect, she thought, eyelids feeling heavy. She’d been through so much tonight and surely it would be nice to feel less tired… but then the song said wonders are waiting, and her mind sharpened. Teide felt suddenly awake again.

Nick, it had been explained to her, was a senshi. He probably knew how to get to space, and she considered waking him, but he looked so peaceful asleep in the armchair. She could figure this out on her own. She would have to - lots of other people had, surely. And Teide was her Wonder. It would be waiting for her. It would open for her.

She slipped into her powered form, the glowing orb falling neatly into her outstretched hands, her gold-embroidered skirt settling around her hips.

There was nothing intuitive about this. Not yet. How did you go to space? Maybe - maybe she should go upstairs and ask Hver, but Hver was busy, and Teide didn’t want to be a bother. She stared down at the orb in her hands, at the stars swirling gently under the glass. What would her wonder be like? She’d never been to any Wonders - she’d been too scared to travel, to go to space. And besides, it wasn’t as though she’d had the opportunity...

Surely it would be beautiful, she thought, because it was hers, and she was beautiful now. Of course, she could see the places where her old Captain’s trappings had been transformed. The shoes were much the same, though they were glittering gold now. Her bolero had the same neckline as her coat had, though the cut was much shorter, and her dress had a fuller skirt than her coat had ever had. And the colors…

She was soft now. She glittered like starlight. Like Hvergelmir and Hyperborea did. Teide had always expected to be a knight of Mars, to join arms with Colchis and with Kairatos.

Colchis, she thought, with a sudden pang. She’d forgotten someone in her rush to send letters. She’d have to contact her friend now - Camlann was gone, but surely Hver would lend her a ring?

Again, she thought, Hvergelmir was on the roof, and Teide didn’t want to be a bother. She looked over at Nick again - still asleep. He’d nodded off somewhere around an hour into the movie, and he looked like he was very much out. Better not to wake him.

She stared into the orb so intently that she though she could hear the starlight held within it.

In fact, she could.

Teide turned the orb slowly in her hands, speaking quietly as the words came to mind. “I pledge my life and loyalty to Cosmos, and to Teide.”

What odd words, she thought. Had she known those before? No. She hadn’t.

There was more. Urged on by the orb in her hands, she continued, “I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.”

And in an instant, she was gone.