It had been eating at her for days. She was no longer of the Negaverse. She was a knight. A Page. And that meant… That meant she had someplace to be out there in the universe, right? The place she was named for. Not the Earth version, because she was of Chronos, but the real Petra. But…how did she get there? The small Page sat on the roof of the Wiley house, sighing and closing her eyes.

“I pledge my life and loyalty to Chronos, and to Petra. I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.” It was mumbled under her breath, a phrase that had been stuck in her head since shortly after she’d sorted out her brain after being purified. It meant something, obviously. She had a feeling it might mean everything. She just had to figure out how. “Argh! This is frustrating. How am I supposed to figure this out when I’m not sure my Dad has any better clue what’s going on than I do, and my sister is a senshi, not a knight!” She huffed, and glared at the length of wooden chain in her lap.

No. No that wouldn’t help. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. “Gotta think this out. One step at a time. Getting mad isn’t going to help at all.” A deep breath, and her hands wrapped around the chain almost unconsciously. She needed to figure it out. Needed to make a connection somewhere that she was missing.

“I pledge my life and loyalty to Chronos, and to Petra. I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.”

And something answered that time, not with words, but with a feeling. And there was no longer roof beneath her. There was smooth stone against her bare ankles, startling the girl into opening her eyes. And her eyes simply widened from there.

Before her stood Petra-the-Wonder. She knew it in her bones, in her soul. She stood carefully, noting the similarities to the place on Earth, but noting all the differences, too. It was older. In worse repair. Smaller. But it was somehow grander, too. And there was a sense of rightness. Of being where she belonged. It didn’t take her long to start exploring. It was quiet, and while she knew that might have bothered her once, it wasn’t a bother any longer. It just...was. It did make her sad, however. What might the place have been like in the past? What voices had carried through it?

“So our blood finally sang, hm?” Petra-the-Page yelped and spun around, chain taut between her hands as she took a fighting stance. And found herself staring at the semi-corporeal being in front of her, wearing clothes very similar to her own. The being was taller, obviously a human[?] female, and paler-skinned than Petra. But her eyes were the same bright green, and her short hair was the same sandy color. “Good reflexes! Not perfect, but no one is at the start. Now who are you, child? Well, aside from the current Petra, of course.”

“U-uhm...I’m not sure I can tell you that. Not without trouble. How do you…why are you…” The ghost[?] laughed.

“No worries, you’ve likely never seen a spirit before! We’re not exactly common, last I knew. But I just…couldn’t leave this old girl to look after herself. Not after what happened…” Shaking her head, she gave Petra a small smile. “I was Ajda, of the line of Dilek, the first Petra. Or so the stories go. And I was the last Petra I know of, but you can simply call me Ajda. Tis good to know Dilek’s blood hasn’t died out. Now, who are you?” The girl hesitated, then spoke up.

“My name now is Kasih Wiley. It…wasn’t always that, but I don’t want to talk about that right now. You were Petra before me?” The spirit nodded. “What was this place like before?” Ajda smiled and motioned for Petra to follow her.

“Follow me. Storytime is best when the audience can sit comfortably.”

By the time Petra had returned to Earth, with a promise given to Ajda to come again as soon as she could, she had heard stories of a place of religious pilgrimage, of protection and wishes for change and luck in commerce, of a fierce wish to keep the dark things in the universe out and away from the Solar System.

But as she changed back to Kasih, and started getting ready for bed and making her thoughts quiet down, she knew there was still much to learn. To find out. And there had been points where Ajda had seemed sad, and lonely. Like she was missing someone. Maybe she’d ask next time...

[Word Count: 801, according to Google Docs]