Hello and welcome to another of my crazy stories! First of all, a couple of warnings that you should be aware of: if you've never read my main story (A Hundred Words) you'll probably understand nothing of this one. I suggest you to go there and read at least chapters 38 and 39 to have an idea of what's going on around here. And this story is based on one of my OCs and his relationship with Kozmotis/Pitch, so it'll focus mostly on them through the chapters.

I'll try to update it weekly, but I can't promise anything for now. Reviews, suggestions and criticisms are always welcome!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just doing it for fun.

Summary: He knew it was a bad idea the moment such a god-like creature stepped into his ship, but Kozmotis didn't have other option than accept a new member on his crew. Maybe traveling the cosmos with a star forger wouldn't be that bad... at least he hoped so.

Warnings: OC/Kozmotis; M/M relationship; violence; pre-sequel to the story A Hundred Words
(will be rated M later)

Chapter I
"My home is in the cosmos, amongst my stars."

The powerful explosion echoed soundlessly on the cosmos, shaking the very foundations of the once empty vault, yet the painful scream of a newborn star resonated too loud on his ears. The cry of a hundred new stars, almost singing in agony and pure relief for being finally born, was always as beautiful as it was violent, and he was sure he'd never grow tired of witnessing it. Pride filled his entire cosmic being as the last of his creations glowed brighter than its little brothers and sisters, an unmatchable gleam no one could ever replicate. No one but him, and that was more than enough to make him strangely... happy. Yes, that was the word. He turned and stretched his long body, allowing his limbs to relax and get free from all the tension that had been consuming him through the last hours, inhaling the wonderful scent of a fresh constellation. It had taken him so much time to craft each one of those beautiful stars and place them on their right places on the firmament, yet the final result was always completely worth of his time.

And soon enough his hard, painstaking work would be found and adored by other creatures all over the cosmos, and no matter how insignificant they were to his eyes, his stars simply loved the attention and the worship. Silly little things...

A soft giggled reached his ears suddenly, and it took him only half a second to understand it was coming from his newest creation. Well well... he moved around the young star, taking a long moment to appreciate the gentle beauty and serenity that filled the youngling. He still had to find a way to make them complete, perfect beyond words yet no matter how hard he tried or where he looked, there was always something missing on them. Yet he knew his stars really cared nothing about it, and the little one in front of him was no different. It simply kept turning and watching itself in blissful amazement, as if it was the most beautiful little sun decorating the cosmos, and he felt a shadow of smile dancing on his lips at the sweet sight. He'd never understand how greatly, how easily they could still surprise him, even after centuries of thousand years of endless creation and destruction.

"Twinkle twinkle, little star." His voice rumbled sweetly, yet loud and powerful enough to make the entire constellation shake. Giant claws pushed the star as gently as he could to fix it on its proper place on the firmament until everything fell in perfect harmony once more, and the youngling seemed to shine brighter under his touch, completely mesmerized by its creator's sudden, complete attention. "Do you wonder what you are?"

But the star gave him no response. There was no reason to expect such a young being to really comprehend the greatness imposed to them, and those who had proved themselves to be much, much more than a simple sphere of pure wonder had long vanished from the cosmos - rare stars that had never belonged in such a chaotic universe and could never survive on it for too long, special creatures that would once more ignite the passion for his work into his cosmic body and soul whenever he felt his own will failing him. He had mourned their loss wholeheartedly, and for many years he'd still weep for them even if he knew he simply shouldn't. From time to time they'd emerge on the cosmos again, and once more he'd hope they would be the ones to finally thrive and live on his constellations.

He finally laid near the young star, basking in the overwhelming warmth emanating from it, decided not to dwell on the dark thoughts trying to invade his mind and consume his fragile moments of happiness. Now it was time to relax and enjoy his creations' company, and it had been so long since he allowed himself to take pleasure in a peaceful slumber... It was an appropriate hour to give himself a break. The little sun-to-be cooed happily, its chirping noises full of excitement for being so close to its 'father', and made itself warmer only to please him - and well, it couldn't be more right. Soon enough the ancient creature closed his eyes, his mind drifting away as the gentle heat lulled him into a dreamless sleep.

The paths crossing a newborn constellation were always uncomfortably quiet, no matter how many times he forced himself and his crew to take them. Freshly ignited stars were incredibly beautiful indeed, yet he had more important things to worry about and he wasn't willing to lose his time staring at hot spheres burning the dark cosmos. He had Fearlings to chase and take down, and he had to contain the chaos they spread on their way. The Archelus moved slowly on its route, trained eyes placed everywhere on the spacial ship looking around for any kind of threat. The Great General was the most wary of them all, silver eyes completely focused on the darkness ahead. Those hideous, disgusting monsters could hide anywhere and he wouldn't be taking any risks. Not when he was so close of getting the current leader.

"General?" The captain called suddenly, his voice filled with an unreadable feeling. The Pooka had always been a mysterious creature, yet his whole posture screamed at Kozmotis' face that something was just terribly wrong. "I believe we should change our course, and quickly."

"And why is that, Captain?"

The only answer he got was a soft movement of a furred head towards the starry path. His eyes followed the motion, and realization dawned over him as a slap on the face. How hadn't they noticed it before? Whispers full of terror and dread started to fill the entire ship, and even the General couldn't see a reason not to panic. They were... doomed, for sure. Yet he couldn't help the wave of curiosity that crashed against his chest with the force of a comet, his body crossing the entire ship in quick steps before his mind could follow what he was doing. The Captain's shouts fell on deaf ears as Kozmotis as he reached the bowsprit, eyes completely focused on the creature blocking their way.

It was a magnificent dragon-like being, three times bigger than the Eternal Tower, its enormous head was larger than the Archelus itself and there was no doubt it could easily swallow them in one single bite. That fact alone made the General shudder in pure fear, yet it didn't diminish the glorious beauty involving each part of the creature. Its azure and purple body was covered in shining, bright spots here and there, limbs almost translucent disappearing under its body, eyes closed as if it was just asleep. Kozmotis never knew how long he kept staring at the wonderful creature, gaping stupidly at such a powerful presence. And then the creature finally move its head, an eye of the purest blue the General had ever seen focused completely on him.

Courage failed him in that very moment. Horror and amazement made their way around his heart as he forced himself to step back, completely breathless. The dragon being kept shifting on its place, its long neck stretched. It was pure white under the countless layers of stars and celestial scales, powerful muscles around its throat and down its torso moving dangerously as it stood taller than any other being wandering the entire cosmos. The other eye was of a beautiful emerald sheen, and even from his low spot Kozmostis could see every little star that roamed through that green sea. It was an astounding sight, enchanting even - and they should leave, he knew they should but he couldn't simply move nor look away...

And just a heartbeat later the desperated voices of his crew filled his ears.

"Stay away from it, General!"

"Be careful!"

"General, orders!"

But he was paralyzed by fear and wonder, limbs completely useless in that moment. Even when the giant dragon moved its head close enough to make Kozmotis feel its overheated breath engulfing his entire body, his legs refused to obey his confused mind. For an entire minute (or it could've been hours, at least) time seemed to freeze on its wheels, mismatched eyes that held more intelligence than a Pooka chief could possess looking right at his very soul, seeing something the warrior would never glimpse, and in that very minute his brain allowed him to comprehend something really important. That creature in front of him was no beast, no monster... Kozmotis was staring right into the eyes of a god, and the simplicity of that realization made his legs give up under his weight, but instead of hitting the metallic floor of his ship his body fell against something warm and almost soft.

He didn't even try to understand why he wasn't too shocked to see giant claws keeping him steady over a white palm.

"Ah, mankind." The sound that seemed to reverberate through the entire cosmos made the General tremble and cower against a golden claw. The creature couldn't simply talk... its voice echoed right inside his head, yet it was the right opposite of what Kozmotis was almost expecting to hear. It was filled with power but also a strange kind of gentleness that made the anxiety and terror melt away slowly from his body. "Always adorably futile."

"I..." The warrior mumbled intelligently, forcing himself to take a deep breath and stand properly. He was the greatest hero of the Golden Age, and he couldn't allow himself to be such a coward in that moment. "I humbly beg your pardon. We had no desire to disturb your rest." The dragon said nothing, its beautiful expressions almost blank if it wasn't for the twisted type of curiosity resting in there. Sensing no danger had been enough to make Kozmotis stay firm on his flickering courage. "My name is Kozmotis Pitchiner, Great General of the Eternal City. My crew and I have been hunting down some Fearlings, and it seems they've chosen to come this way."

"Fearlings?" The cosmic being repeated in its ethereal voice, blinking slowly, as if the word meant nothing at all to it. Maybe it really didn't... "Oh, you mean this irritating cluster of particles." And then it moved its massive body aside, its long tail pushing something towards the Archelus. The second he recognized it, Kozmotis' stomach made a sickening twist in response. The dark ship they had been chasing for weeks was reduced to an amount of dust that still burned, the Fearlings and Dream Pirates nothing but raw meat and boiled darkness. "There are darker things hidding deep on space, little one."

The General had little time to reply as the dragon-like creature placed him back on his ship with a gentleness that surely didn't suit its and floated away from the Archelus, every movement of its giant body gracious and soft. It didn't have wings to keep itself on air, for it seemed the very cosmos held the celestial being instead. Then the dragon-star was gone in a blink of eye as if it didn't even exist, leaving Kozmotis gasping at an empty constellation but his shock didn't last for too long. The loud commotion echoing behind his back made it very clear they hadn't escaped the creature's interest just yet, and when the warrior turned one of his fears had been confirmed. His crew had weapons drawned, pointing swords and guns at some kind of... man, and it took him only a second to understand that one was the god he had been facing just a few moments ago. The shades of dark blue that covered good part of its - his - body made things stupidly obvious, long purple hair resting on bluish shoulders filled with little, sharp scales. His clothes... weren't really clothing but an extension of his once hardened skin, twisting and resembling a long cloak filled with countless shining stars.

It was clear the dragon-star put little effort in trying to look more human, yet his beauty was twice greater than before, a kind of graciousness no one would ever find again, no matter how many times they crossed the cosmos in search of it. Kozmotis didn't even try to stop the sudden flush of red that adorned his cheeks as he finally realized his thoughts, shaking them away as quickly as he could. His crew was still threatening to attack the cosmic entity and he had the feeling that it'd be a terrible, hideous idea.

"Put your weapons down." His voice echoed loud enough on the panicked deck, and he couldn't be more grateful for the harshness on his tone. Every pair of eyes turned to him, suspicion and fear and panic shining in each one of them. He couldn't really blame them, yet he'd rather have a riot to the creature's wrath - even if he was simply staring at the weapons with complete indifference. And the moment Captain Gritt hesitated, torn between duty and dread, didn't escape his eyes. "That's an order, Captain!" The Pooka finally nodded, motioning to the rest of the crew that needed only a second to move away from the strange creature as far as they could, and Kozmotis let out the breath he didn't notice he had been holding until now, daring to approach the man but mismatched eyes barely flickered towards him, focused on the crew's members that were still around the deck, staring back at him.

"My... how they stare."

"We've never seen someone like you before." The General said slowly, forcing himself not to look away as the man's eyes fell on him. It was difficult, too difficult to stay around someone so powerful and ignore the desire to bow in respect, to be the good, brave little soldier he had always been. With a deep sigh he quickly recomposed his strain posture, hands safely hidden behind his back not to let anyone else see how badly his fingers trembled. "May I ask... your name?"

"I have many names, but no one has words for my true form. Call me Phaethon, for now."

"It's an honor to meet you, Phaethon."

"Yes." For a mere second something that almost resembled a smile crossed the creature's closed lips, eyes shining brighter than before as if he had just seen something wonderfully exciting, and Kozmotis didn't know if he should be scared or relieved. Or both. "An honor indeed, my dear General. Your metallic toy seems... rather interesting. I believe I'll stay around for some time."

That was it. They were officially, completely doomed. There was no going back from that now, because the god-like creature wasn't even asking for permission to stay, yet the great hero could do no more than offer a simple smile and a nod. He still wanted to live for another century or so, even if he knew he'd regret it later. No, he was absolutely sure he'd regret it so much later.

"Welcome aboard the Archelus."

To be continued...