Butterflies of the Dark Star

45 (REVISED)

Bones shattered.

Noise coalesced into a supernova.

It never stopped.

Always played.

One breath.

It all moves away.

Nova lunged out of the squishy mattress and into the dim dark. Her shift clock showed a different time within the same confines of the loop, but with her in a different space. Nova pressed her hand against it, caressing time's promise. Her confusion morphed with the soft tick within the bedroom of their dorm. I'm... in our room? Did Neo really— Nova twisted to the bed across from her.

Curled under the blankets, Neo slept, soundly and softly.

Stars. He did.

Nova got out of bed to peek out the reinforced window. Nebulous clouds stretched from star to distant star. It painted and sprayed the void canvas with light. Her multitude of questions fell silent on her lips as she pressed her brow against the glass to feel the cold. Space danced with a sense of freedom and newfound purpose. Nova stumbled to the wash station to clean herself off and wake herself up from the lie. Disbelief stabbed her heart when it remained, and she rushed over to the kitchenette to grab a water capsule and drown in water.

Nova dragged her hands through her hair. Oh, stars. Neo vaporized himself and the monster. I'm not at the briefing.

The loop changed.

It had changed with a single drop of the butterfly's broken wing.

Too much to hope for. Too much to try again. Clocks ticked on, but she never remembered this part.

Remember my questions, for me?

One loop left nothing but atoms, and she shuffled back into their bedroom, where he breathed and lived. Her words from before pierced her heart, when she had only wanted to let out the pent up rage before continuing forward.

I never meant for you to hear that.

A couple hours before the first event, the first constant.

The briefing.

He didn't break the loop. He... gave me time.

Too much for her hope, but it swelled against her scorched lungs. "Stars," she whispered and left him to shuffle through his desk to search for the sample. Confusion settled on her brow when it was nowhere to be found. Nova logged onto her terminal to make sense of the shift and checked the status of her droid.

Active. Locked onto an anomaly.

Neo, what did you do? What did you see? You don't remember, but another part of you, separated from you, does. Nova sat there with her mixture of doubt and hope. Many questions bubbled to join the one leaving the joyful taste on her lips, sweet as summer. I understand. I thought I'd been 'waking up' in the briefing, but that wasn't it. I wasn't remembering anything before that.

One simple truth.

The loop can be broken.

It almost escaped her with a sobbing laugh.

It's possible.

You believed me when you told me it wasn't impossible, and you meant every single word. How many loops have I been through now? Nova pushed herself to her feet, lighter than air when she entered the bedroom once more, going to his side. You told me more than once that you believed me, that I could do this. I wish you could remember. I wish I could repeat conversations over and over. I'll find a way. If this can be broken, I can save you.