Chapter 1: The Girl in Red: Geovanna Stelar

BZZZZ

BZZZZ

BZZZZ

BZ- *Click*

A hand reached out from underneath a pair of blankets. Sluggishly making its way to the alarm and shutting it off altogether. A loud yawn accompanying the action. "Ugh… Morning already?" A tired voice spoke out. "I swear it feels like time is getting shorter between night and day."

A figure shifted around from underneath the blankets before stirring awake fully, rising up from the bed was a feminine 16-year-old teenage girl with a mess of long milk-chocolate brown hair and same colored eyes, and fair skin. Bringing a hand to her face, the girl let out an audible yawn, stretching her stiff arms above her head, and letting them drop to the side.

"Well, time to get ready for my run."

Tossing the covers off and trudging out of bed, the nameless teen entered her closet. Tossing off her sleepwear and donning on a red running shirt, black shorts, and a pair of red and white sneakers. They made their way downstairs. Making sure to keep quiet, as not to disturb their sleeping mother. Reaching the front and stepping out into the world. She shut the door gently behind them and locked it, before stretching their arms and legs.

"Alright," Huffed the teen, clapping her hands together. The 16-year old looked out into the distance. "Let's get going."

-X-

And so begins another morning to what would be an uneventful day.

I swear, it's starting to feel like the days in my life are starting to blend together back to back. It's almost boring.

. . . Ah! I didn't see you there.

Sorry about that, I don't really tend to monologue to myself so open or casually like that.

My name's Geovanna Stelar, but my mother calls me 'Geo' for short.

You probably know by now, how this song and dance goes; me being a normal average teenager who lives at home with her mother. And spends most of her life studying and gushing about astronomy and many other space-related subjects.

Aside from me not attending school, since oh… the 3rd Grade, due to personal reasons. There's really nothing worthy of note about me.

Up till now, I always thought my life would be simple, day in and day out.

Who would've thought that today would be the day that would all change?

-X-

Geo panted heavily, coming down from her steady sprint into a light jog. It had been a full hour since the brunette had begun her daily morning run around the city. And felt that she had made some wonderful progress so far. Coming up to a park bench, she decided to take a small break before resuming her run. Plopping down, a loud sigh/groan of relief left her as she threw her upper body against the back of the seat. Her burning legs cheering at being allowed to rest after 60 straight minutes of running. She opened her Transer, wondering how far she managed to run.

"23 Kilometers, are you kidding me?!" She uttered in disbelief; that wasn't even half of her quota of 50km a daily. While most would consider running 14 miles in an hour to be rather impressive. Geo merely let out a groan of frustration.

"Come on, I could've sworn that felt like 30 kilos at least." Sighing, she closed her Transer softly, until her ears perked up to the sounds of faint chatter and footsteps. Looking up, she noticed three teens, who seemed to be around her age group walking ways across from her. The first two were boys, one of which was considerably larger than the rest of the group. Both in height and… um, 'huskiness' let's say. He was slightly tanned with spiky dark blue hair and was wearing an orange headgear. The second boy was notably much shorter, in fact, he was the shortest of the trio. Standing at about 5 feet, if not shorter than that, with wild brown hair and hexagonal framed glasses.

The last member of the trio was a fairly tall, petite looking blonde girl with brown eyes; whose hair was done up and tied into two ridiculously huge drill cone twists. Noticing that the teens were all dressed up in Black/White/Red(For the girl)/Blue(For the two boys) uniforms, Geo realized they were high school students Hoshigami Academy.

"Probably first or second years." She muttered, watching them walk off before shrugging. "Eh, doesn't really matter to me anyway."

Standing, she stretched her limbs, feeling she had enough from her break. She took off once again, Looking to complete the last 7 kilometers of her run, to give herself an even thirty.

She would deal with the last 20 later in the evening before dinner.

-X-

Meanwhile back at the Stelar Residence, we find ourselves greeted to the sight of the matriarch and the only other member of the Stelar Family, finally waking up from her slumber. A hand over her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle her yawn as she made her way downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, Hope looked at the clock on the microwave, seeing it read 8:13. Her daughter Geo would be arriving back from her run any moment, which meant she should get started on breakfast. Grabbing the remote, she flipped on the tv, the sounds of voices from a news channel filling the air to the once quiet residence. She grabbed all the necessary daily ingredients for a quick yet nutritional breakfast, a pleasant smile on her face as she popped two slices of bread into the toaster. Stifling a yawn and stretching her arms above her head, "Probably should get started on coffee, too."

The daily routine continued on for 20 minutes, soon Hope would hear the front door opening up, followed by footsteps. "Morning Sweetie," She called, her eyes still glued to the TV. "How was your run?"

"It sucked," Geo said, slumping to the kitchen in exhaustion. "I was only able to manage 30km overall, 20 short of what I wanted to do this morning," She sighed, pulling out a cup and a carton of orange juice, before noting the set plate of toast. She uttered a quick 'Thanks' to her mother, taking one and plopping the seat across from the older woman.

Hope giggled at her daughter, "30km is rather impressive, I don't see what the problem is." Geo pouted cutely at her, munching down on her toast. "Really though, it's not like you're training for the Olympics or anything. Why push yourself this hard?"

Licking the crumb off her thumb, the younger brunette had a soft frown on her face. "Running has been helping take my mind off things." She murmured quietly. "It's… getting to that time of year again."

It took Hope all of two seconds to figure out what her daughter was referring to. "Oh…" Her jovial tone fading a bit, her gaze turning a bit from her daughter. "I-I… nearly forgot it was getting around to that time again. Has it really been 8 years since that day?"

Geo didn't respond to her immediately, merely sending a glance down to her half-empty glass of orange juice. The day in question Hope was referring to, was one that left a bitter memory within the two ladies.

The incident, known as the 'PEACE' explosion.

What was once a space station; filled with a bunch of scientists and astronauts, having the ambitious dream of communicating with life in the great reaches of space. Turning into an unfortunate accident that resulted and claimed the lives of people aboard it. Amongst then, was Hope's late husband and Geo's father; Kelvin Stelar. No one knew the cause behind the mysterious and sudden incident; just that it was considered one of the darkest days in science history. Friends, families, and loved ones of those aboard that Space Stationed grieved and suffered greatly.

But none more so than young Geovanna.

Hope stared at her daughter; she could remember the day when she and Geo had learned the fate of her deceased husband, vividly. How much she cried, the horror and devastation Geo had on her face when she was told her father was gone. It had practically destroyed the girl down to her very core. So much so that the girl had stopped attending school. Rarely even leaving her room for a point in time. Honestly, Hope had hated it, she hated seeing how broken her baby had been because of that day. While the loss of her husband hurt and weighed down on her greatly.

Seeing her daughter as nothing more than a shell of her once lively self, and being utterly helpless to bring her back. Pained the mother a lot more than anything else.

But, like that age-old saying, time heals all wounds; and for better or worse, after 8 years. Geo had managed to come to terms with the loss of her father. Not enough to bring back her ball of sunshine, or at the very least, have her attend school once again. But seeing her actively out of the house and going places, if only for a little while, was; in her honest opinion, much better than what she had initially dealt with.

Though, speaking of school…

"Geo, can I ask you something?" Geo regarded her mother with a soft 'Hm?' Turning away from the TV and the current news program. "Have you… ever considered going back to school. I know it's been a long time since then but…"

A soft sigh left Geo's lips the moment she heard that question. It was a long time since her mother brought up this subject with her; a part of the girl almost believed she had dropped it altogether. "No." She responded simply, seeing no point in dancing around the bush.

Hope didn't seem surprised nor shocked by the swift answer; in fact, she wasn't. School had always been a bit of a touchy matter between them. And no matter how hard Hope tried; she could never convince Geo to start re-attending school. And it seemed this conversation was gearing up to lead to the same results.

Still, it never hurt to give it another shot.

"Are you sure, it's been eight years honey," Hope pressed lightly, "Don't you think it's about time to consider attending school again? Make some memories, interact with other kids your age. You're only young once, and I would hate for you to spend the rest of your time like this. It's not healthy."

Another sigh left Geo, mom was being surprisingly aggressive today.

"I get what you're trying to do mom, and while I know you mean well. I just can't bring myself to attend school like you wanted." Finishing the last of her toast, Geo stood up to take her cup to the sink. "Besides, even IF I started going back to school; it'd be pointless. I'm so far ahead of everyone academically, sitting through class would be a waste of time."

And it was the truth; ever since Geo had stopped attending school. Fearing that she would start to fall behind, Hope had requested that all of Geo's class and homework be transferred so that she would still, at the very least, be able to keep up and not fall behind. Thanks to the latest in advance technology; most of the school courses going as low as the 3rd Grade could easily be taught and reviewed online. And though Hope had to jump through some hoops, an agreement was made. In that Geo could take as much time as she wished to grieve, so long as it didn't affect her academics. And thanks to School's Curriculum going up all the way to the 12th Grade. Geo wouldn't have to worry about this affecting her in the long run, something the girl made sure to take advantage of fully. Going above and beyond what her school and mother expected.

"I'm already studying at a College and University level," She looked back at her mother. "Why regress back?"

"Sweetie, you're… missing the point." Hope brought a hand to her head, pushing down the sense of frustration that wanted to take over. For as smart as her daughter was, she really was blind to the simplest of things at times. "*Sigh* Never mind sweetheart, go up and wash up, I'll call you when breakfast is ready."

Geo was silent for a moment before finally nodded and making her way upstairs. Hope watched her child leave the room, "School's not just about academics, Geo." Her gaze then turned to a pic of a little girl with a grown man. Both of them smiling happily at the camera that snapped the heartwarming photo.

"If only you could see that."

-X-

Later, after Geo had showered and changed, along with having a silent but pleasant breakfast with her mother. The teenager was making her way out of the house; dressed up in her casual wear, which consisted of red long sleeve midriff shirt. With wide cuffs, fingerless gloves attached; underneath was a black skin-hugging sleeveless undershirt. She also had on bluish-green shorts, with a light blue and yellow belt with a pouch attached behind at the back right. Red knee-high boots with platformed sloped heels; and lastly, black thigh high stockings. Putting on a unique looking star pendant; she pulled her hair into a ponytail before finally setting out to her destination; AMAKEN. A research facility that was run by the head of her late father's old friend, Aaron Boreal.

After a pleasant train ride and a short 5-minute walk, Geo found herself staring at the entrance to the science research facility. Standing at the front of the tower was its iconic antenna tower. Which had been built around the time of AMAKEN's creation. Geo never did ask what the purpose of the tower had been for, but couldn't bring herself to care much. Always finding herself marveling at the beautiful display each and every time she walked passed it. Walking into the building, a soft rare smile made its way onto Geo's face waving to some of the workers passing by and the receptionist that was at the front desk. Though Geo wasn't the type to make friends, she couldn't deny that she had become close to the workers of AMAKEN. Having known them when she had started coming here at the age of 11, they were people she could consider to be like family to her, and vice versa.

"Excuse me, can I help you?"

Geo's hand paused as she was about to open the door to Aaron Boreal's lab; blinking at the sudden voice calling out to her. Turning around, she was greeted to a tall lanky man, who was rather pale. He had beige-colored hair, forming a large bang covering the left side of his face. Geo also took notice of the bags underneath the man's sole visible eye; as if he had slept in days if not weeks. Wearing the standard AMAKEN jacket, the teen could see that he was a worker her. And must've been a new one, as she hadn't seen him around before.

"Oh um, no, there's no need." Geo uttered politely, "I'm merely here to see Mr. Boreal, that's all."

The man narrowed his eyes at that but didn't reply immediately, only after a moment passed, did he speak again. "I certainly don't recall ever seeing you here, before. Who are you supposed to be?"

Geo frowned a little, okay yeah; he was definitely new here. "My name is Geo, I'm actually a family friend with Mr. B, I told him that I would be coming here today."

"How odd, Aaron didn't inform me that someone would be coming today." The man replied, his tone clear that he wasn't believing a single word. "I don't think you're telling the truth here."

"Or, maybe he simply forgot, it's not impossible if he did." Geo could tell this guy wasn't going to let her through. And figuring it best not to start any trouble; she figured it was time to leave. "Look, I'll just go; no big deal."

"Hold it," The man blocked off her path; before she could even begin leaving, "Confess, what were you really doing here?"

Geo looked at the man in disbelief, "I just got done saying that I was here to visit Mr. Boreal."

"I don't believe it, I think you're actually a spy." Geo looked ready to fall out of her clothes in disbelief. Was this man serious?! "Who came here to steal ideas from my research."

Greeeeat, so this man wasn't just crazy and stupid, he was paranoid too, lovely. Geo honestly didn't know how to respond to this man or the situation before her. It felt like anything she would say to him, would only fall on deaf ears. And the last thing she wanted was to cause a scene in AMAKEN with a supposed worker.

Fortunately for her, a saving grace in the form of a third party appeared. "What's going here?"

Geo and the man looked up to see a new party approaching the bickering duo. The person was a fairly built man with fair skin, dark hair, and blue eyes; he wore a brow short-sleeve t-shirt with a pair of brown slacks and blue shoes. And the standard AMAKEN jacket and Hat, signifying that he was also a worker at the facility. Blinking, he raised a brow wondering what the commotion had been.

"Tom? What are you doing?"

The man, now known as Tom, straightened up a bit as he looked at the new arrival. "Oh Aaron, I just-"

"Mr. B!"

Aaron Boreal, also known as the Head Scientist and founder of AMAKEN, smiled as he opened his arms and caught a tackling Geo in a warm embrace. A soft chuckle rumbling soundly across his chest as he rubbed the girl on the head, surprising the owl-eyed Tom.

"Nice to see you, Geo, how's Hope? She doing okay?" The man asked, prompting a nod from Geo.

"Yeah, she's doing well, she sends her regards." She said, breaking away from the hug. Offering a big rare smile to the family friend.

Tom looked on between the two, visibly stunned and confused in the end. "Aaron, do… do you know this girl?"

"Hm? Oh! That's right." The man chuckled bashfully, rubbing the back of his head. "Tom, I'd like you to meet Geo. She's the daughter of a close family friend of mine. I told her she could come and visit today, though I had forgotten to let you know. I hope she hadn't caused any problems."

The man's eyes widened at the revelation and it took everything Geo had not to send a look at him, screaming 'I told you so.' Realizing the huge foolish blunder he had made with someone close to his boss. He backpedaled a bit, before bowing to the two in question. "I-I'm so sorry, I'll just…" He quickly left the scene before either one could say anything. Both of them having a sweatdrop running down the back of their heads, giving the other a side glance.

-X-

"I'm so sorry about Tom, he had just started working here at AMAKEN; a few months ago to be exact," Aaron said, sitting behind his desk. The two of the deciding to have their chat in the man's office that he shared with his partner, Tom Dubius.

"I see, so that's why I didn't know him." Geo hummed with an understanding nod, now realizing that the man was indeed a recent new employee.

"He's had a bit of a troubling past, so it'll be a while before he can open up. But when he does, he's a rather upstanding guy." He said, leaning back in his chair. "So I hope you give him a chance."

Geo smiled with a nod, "Sure thing." She said, despite the little issue they just had. She was willing to put it past her and make nice with the man if he was willing to give it a chance. Boreal leaned back further into his seat, trailing his eyes off into the distance; his smile fading ever so slightly.

"It's getting around to that time again, isn't it?" The tone in his voice made it instantly clear to Geo what the man was referring to. "It had been such a busy year, I had nearly forgotten all about it."

"Yeah…" Was all Geo could say on the matter, keeping her eyes trains on the hands in her lap.

The faded smile began to morph into a frown, "How have you and your mother been handling? I know it's a tough time of the year for you two."

"Mom's fine, at least, she's doing a lot better than the first few years since the incident."

"And you?" Aaron pushed.

"Me? ...I'm fine as well," She said after a moment of silence. "It still hurts, I won't lie. But I've managed to move on and accept my dad's death."

There was a still pause for a moment before Boreal continued, "You really believe he's gone?"

"It's… It's been eight years Uncle Aaron; even if he somehow survived the explosion that destroyed the space station. There's no way he would still be alive in the vacuum of space, especially for this long…" She shook her head. "I… a part of me wants to believe; to cling to some thin strand of hope that he could still be out there, but. Another part has to accept the reality that my father is gone."

Neither side said anything after that, the air uncomfortably tense between the researcher and the teenage girl. Aaron leaned back against his seat, a heavy sigh leaving his nostrils as he glanced at a photo frame. Showing a picture of a younger version of himself, grinning widely along with a young adult male with spiky brown hair smiling broadly as well. The two of them slinging their arms over the other's shoulders. The sight of the photo bringing a faint smile to his face, memories of his old friend flowing in.

Geo noticed the photo as well and looked down, rubbing her neck before standing. "A-Anyways, It's starting to get a bit late," She turned to make her leave, offering a small wave to the scientist. "I'll see you around Uncle Aaron."

"I still believe he's out there, y'know?"

Geo paused, looking over her shoulders back to the man. Aaron fixed his hat, whilst staring off into the distance.

"Your father, despite what others may think or feel. I believe, no, I KNOW he's out there somewhere. And one way or another, I vow to find him and bring him home."

Geo blinked, "Uncle Aaron."

"It's alright if you don't believe me. Eight long years is enough to help you cope with grief." Aaron rested his cheek against his palm. "But just remember your old man's words: If there's even a sliver of a chance…"

"It's better than doing nothing at all." No sooner when those words were uttered, a small smile appeared Geo's face. "Right, I understand; thanks, Mr. B."

"Anytime, give your mother my regards."

With that, Geo gave Boreal a parting wave. Exiting the office, closing the door with a soft 'click'; leaving the lone scientist to give one last look at the photo. His smile fading into a despondent frown.

"I really wish you'd be honest with your feelings, Geo."

-X-

"Believe… huh?"

Nighttime had fallen over the city, whereas Geo had arrived at her usual spot at the Vista Point. A little getaway haven that had been her personal spot since as far back as she could remember. Staring up into the starry skies, her hand brushed against a certain object that rested on top of her forehead; her visualizers. A memento and keepsake of her father; and the last thing she had to remember him by. It had been years since she had first gotten the item. And since then, it was the only thing that made her feel close to him.

"It really has been eight years since you've been gone, huh dad?" She murmured, barely above a whisper, pulling the odd pair of shades down over her eyes. "It's almost unbelievable how time flies."

Soon, her field of vision was graced to the sight she had grown to love ever since obtaining these visualizers; EM waves. Various colors of shapes and streaks passing through the skies carefree. Something simple, yet breathtaking none the less every single time.

"As usual, the waves are beautiful at this time of night." Smiling softly, it faded before squinting her eyes, "Huh?"

Blinking, Geo sat up, her brow furrowing in confusion. Up in the sky, she noticed two particular EM waves acting funny. Clashing violently against one another, almost as if they were. . . fighting?

Geo stood up, wondering what the heck was going on with the two. "What the…?"

What happened next shocked Geo; one of the waves shot down towards the teenager. And in a beam of bright green light, engulfed the screaming girl. The pillar of light could be seen for blocks. Flashing for a few long moments before dying down. Once it passed and clear up, the young Stelar remained still. Her eye glowing a bright green color before fading away.

The last thing she was was the second wave disappearing before passing out.

-To be Continued-

It's finally here, the start to what I hope will be a revival to one of my personal favorite stories. This really was a huge decision to make, coming back to my roots per se and starting back where it all started. I'm nervous but excited to show y'all, how far I've come in terms of writing. Hopefully, though, this'll help me in slowing down in writing some NSFW content for a while. Get me back into SFW content. But I digress, time for the usual spiel.

If you liked this first chapter and would love to see more, then please be kind enough to leave a Fave, Follow, and/or Review. And be sure to check out my page for my other content and give it your support in any way you can. Until then…

See you next time. ^_^