A pair of extraordinarily tall figures in hooded cloaks that covered their eyes slowly and silently walked up the cobblestone pathway towards the woods. Though they were both slender in build, even the most predatory woodland creatures of these parts wouldn’t come out from the bush or tree they retreated to. Such was the presence of these two entities that it seemed as though the leaves on the trees themselves shrank back into their branches, and the flowers withered and died around where they had passed. The only light that guided them through the trees was the giant, full moon hanging low in the sky. Unusual birds still flew overhead, something between a buzzard and a goose, with sharper teeth and a bad attitude. But they weren’t the only odd creatures around these parts. And that’s just the animals of this region; around the rest of this bizarre world, other wondrous and terrifying plants and animals were waiting to be discovered by the explorer who had made a temporary home on this world.


It is this traveler whom the two cloaked entities were in search of at this very moment. It wasn’t so much a search; they knew where she was hiding. These two figures were much more than they appeared, and their knowledge was infinite. The traveler had been eluding them for the last few months, but this was nothing to them. A mere blink to the immortal, and despite what the traveler thought of herself, she did not share this particular trait with them. The Brotherhood had been watching this one for a while, amused by her antics, but growing ever weary of the ego and god-complex she had picked up along the way. She was indeed a hero on many worlds, but the more time she spent away from where she belonged, the less human she became.


Some quirks could be overlooked; this behavior, however, was unacceptable.


Several years ago, a string of events had caused the traveler to flee her world once more. A humiliating public break-up, career crashing, as had her relationship. A demon had been controlling her until she was able to purge herself of its icy grip on her soul. Unquenchable anger and crippling depression hit her in a way she had never experienced, and instead of facing her problems, she ran. Back to the blue box she went, and off she went, leaving behind her worried parents and an intense rebound who had likely moved on by now. Once sensible and positive, the traveler had become a shell of her former self, growing increasingly alien and cold by the day. The Brotherhood grew increasingly vexed by this, as she was still key to the balance of the universe. A foil to those who would cause destruction and fear to gain a mere grain of power; to her credit, she hadn’t even accepted leadership in any of the worlds she helped save from tragic fate. Perhaps this is why they had allowed her to stray from Earth for as long as she had a trail of good deeds across the known universe in exchange for facing her meager human problems.


Humans were, in truth, hilariously petty and tragically small-minded. Even one as sharp as this one fell prey to it, many times, allowing it to cloud her judgment. Now it was her pride she stood on, and they were about to strip her of that, as well. They continued to glide silently through the woods, the cobblestone path giving way to dirt and grass. A faint yellow light was starting to peak through a clearing up ahead; the figures exchanged a glance and a nod. There she was.


As they crested the edge of the clearing, the light grew brighter, revealing the blue box that sat parked in the middle of a meadow. Now they could hear the loud rock music blaring from inside the deceptively small phone booth, the bass making the ground vibrate under their feet. Loud, clanking noises, like tools on metal, could also be heard in a steady, rhythmic pattern. Whatever she was doing, she had let her guard down enough to finally allow the emissaries of the Brotherhood to catch her at last. There was no glee in the task for them, no reward for sending her back home where she was still desperately needed the most; on the contrary, the Brotherhood was rather fond of the young woman. Delightfully, simply human, just like the rest, but her flair for adventure was contagious, and her thirst for knowledge was admirable. The vote to cut her adventures short hadn’t been an easy one, but it was necessary for the long run.


As they approached the doors, they both lifted a hand towards the blue box, revealing skeletal hands and arms as the cloaks slid down slightly. They began to murmur in a foreign tongue that even the translator on the ship before them couldn’t decode. As they did so, the blue box emitted a mournful sound, a mix between a scream and a gasp. It reverberated through the woods, causing everything nearby to flee the area. They could hear the traveler curse loudly from inside as the engine whined for a few more moments before going dark and still. Cries of “no no no, don’t do this to me girlie, come on!” came next, accompanied by more clanking, frantic and desperate now. The hooded figures stopped their chanting and, with a casual wave of their wrist, swung the doors wide open and entered the ship.


The traveler swung around, her green eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and defensiveness, the large wrench in her hand ready to be thrown. Her full lips parted in an O of shock as her eyes flickered between the two figures. A gasp escaped her as she registered just who it was that had managed to get on her ship. Blonde hair was already a mess from the activity she had been occupied with just before their unexpected arrival; now she pushed it out of her face with a shaky hand as she let the wrench fall from her grasp. Defeat flooded through her; they could see it written all over her face. She bit her lower lip as the three stared at one another for several quiet minutes.


“Betsy Granger.” One of the two hooded Brothers said in a high, chilling voice. “You know why we are here.” It wasn’t a question.


A sulky, expressionless nod is their only reply, and despite the defeated slump in her shoulders, her green eyes were ablaze, a million escape routes trying to present themselves. Quietly seething, she stared up at the dead engine bleakly, a cold hand slowly squeezing itself over her heart. She knew her unwanted guests had done this before they entered unbidden into her ship. Whether she liked it or not, the Brotherhood was sending her home… She liked it not. Anger, desperation, shame, guilt, they all kept flooding through her at the idea of going back to Earth. It would be good to see her parents and sister, of course… But what about the rest of the world? Would any of her friends still call her such? And what would she do with her life now? The cheers of a raucous crowd and the energy of a packed building there to see her crept in, filling her with a euphoria she hadn’t felt in a long time.


Go back to the ring? As abrupt as she left, not just the industry, but the planet itself, there was no way anyone would have her back. The fans moved on, cheering for whoever they were told to cheer for next; she was long forgotten by now. And who within the business itself would take a gamble on her at this point? Surely, they’ve forgotten her by now, as well…


“We’ve allowed you the privilege to explore and adventure for longer than we should have.” The second Brother had a slightly deeper voice than the first, but it was no less chilling. “You have a purpose and an obligation to the planet you call home. It’s time you went back to fulfill them.”


“You’re wrong,” Betsy replied stubbornly, shaking her head. “My parents and sister will be happy to see me, maybe, but the rest of the world has forgotten me. Ja-” She stopped before she finished speaking the Forbidden Name out loud. “The people I’d go back for replaced me before I was ever gone.”


She refused to let her voice crack, to let her face betray the hurt she still felt deeply over the break-up between her and James Raven. Yes, she had since endeavored on some flings of her own, but nothing ever stuck. She’d yet to find anything in her journeys that could fill the void that James had left, and though she accepted this, it still left a bitter taste in her mouth. The Brother exchanged another glance; perhaps they had really made a mistake not sending her home sooner. They had seen the moment of heartache and homesickness betray itself in her expression. Still, she was able to snap her face back to the emotionless mask she had grown accustomed to. Yet, the brief glimpse of humanity was enough to give them hope, and with this girl, that’s all they could ask for at this point.


“For one who has seen so much of what this universe holds, has seen the possibilities of what can be, how could you have such a small, pessimistic perspective?” The first Brother asks.


“You, who has fought for the lives of worlds she didn’t belong to, freed many a people from their potential Armageddon - Why would you narrow your gaze when looking upon your own destiny?” Inquires the second Brother.


“Pride… Ego… You must let them go if you are to maximize your potential. “ Brother One continues. “You must confront what continues to hold you back, or you will never truly be free.”


“Despite your birth, you are very much a human in every way - emotions dictate your actions, drive your ambition, keep you from your home.” Brother Two went on. “Cling onto that as tightly as you do your family. What you are becoming will only lead to misery and loneliness.”


As they were speaking to her, Betsy slowly made her way around the console, pushing buttons desperately. But it didn’t seem to matter what she did; Excellence was down for the count, and the only way to fix it would be to have the Brotherhood reverse whatever it was they had done. Tipping her head down so her hair would hide her face, she grinned oh so slightly as she finally thought of a way out of her predicament. Setting her expression back to the expressionless mask, she looks up again and heaves a sigh of utter defeat.


“I hate it when someone else is right,” she says with a modicum of modesty in her tone. “I’m still too human for my own good. I have missed home… But how will I get there? You kind of put my girl down.”


“You will arrive home in one piece, to your parents' farm in fact.” An eyebrow quirked upward as Betsy bit back a sly grin. “However.” Betsy sucked in a panicked breath. Brother One looks sternly from under the hood. “We will be taking measures to ensure that you
there.”


“Huh?” Unable to hide her shock and dismay, Betsy eyes the Brotherhood sharply. “What do you mean by that?”


“Do you think us fools, child?” Brother Two asks, giving a dry laugh that sends a shiver down her spine. “You think we can’t see you trying to trick us into fixing your precious ship so that you could fly away once we leave you on Earth?”


“For as clever a girl as you are, that was a foolish miscalculation.” Brother One says with wry humor in his voice. “And for as observant as you claim to be, you still haven’t realized that you are already well on your way back.”


Brushing past them rudely, Betsy hurries down the ramp to the double doors and throws them open. Excellence was indeed nestled in the storage compartment of a much bigger commercial transport ship. A viewing window for guests was just across the hall, and several people were already peeping through the glass. To the majority on board, the constellations of the Milky Way (such a funny name for a system!) were brand new. Many strange faces, which would cause quite a stir on Earth, showed awe and excitement, ready to explore what was unknown to them. Betsy slowly made her way over to this crowd, and they parted to allow her a view of the window. Reluctantly, she peered out the window and instantly recognized Cassiopeia shining brightly in the distance. The sight made her stomach lurch as she looked down and saw the shimmering blue globe, with white clouds sweeping gently across it. She didn’t even realize she was crying until a kindly older gentleman offered her the handkerchief from his breast pocket.


“There, there, child, no reason to be sad. The humies haven’t completely wrecked the place yet.” His voice was deep and gruff, but there was kindness to it. “Not that they aren’t trying, believe me. Say, you look a bit humie yourself…” oblong eyes that were creased with smile lines scanned her more critically.


Betsy nods, dabbing at the tears still forming in the corners of her eyes. “I am… I’m coming home…” And as she says this, her voice cracks and she begins to cry in earnest. “I’m sorry, I need to…” She doesn’t finish, turning and walking away as the lump in her throat gets bigger. 


The Brotherhood is at the console, manipulating the controls when she hurried back through the doors. The sight caused her to stop dead in her tracks, her body becoming chill to the bone as she realized just how far they were willing to go to keep her stranded. Her tears subsided as hot rage boiled in her blood; moving like lightning, she crashed her body into the first Brother she could get to, tackling both the brother and her to the ground. She takes advantage of the moment of confusion in her favor and manages to mount him, grabbing at his cloak and sitting on his chest. She slams what she hopes is the skull into the floor just as the second Brother realizes what has happened and rushes at her. Betsy manages to roll away as he lunges at her, causing him to stumble over his brother. Springing back up to her feet, Betsy puts as much distance between the Brothers and herself as she can. The second Brother hadn’t lost his balance entirely and chose to help the first Brother up when he had regained his own balance.


As they glided towards her, Betsy could feel their anger radiating off of them, hitting her like fire and ice. They each grab an arm and pin her against the wall she had backed herself into.


“That was foolish, child,” the first Brother hissed angrily. “What did you hope to achieve with such a moronic approach?”


“To cause you at least a fraction of the pain-” Betsy starts, but the second Brother slaps her soundly across the face, ending her sentence.


“Of the paaaaaaain that you’ve felt?” the second Brother mocked her mercilessly. “Are you truly arrogant enough to think you bear any true weight of pain in your short, pathetic years?”


“Leave it to a species as simple-minded as humans to remain so self-involved,” the first Brother says, his voice dripping with contempt. “Answer this, Betsy Granger: For one who flaunts her superior intelligence over the rest of her species, why do you insist on acting as unevolved as the worst of them?”


Betsy fought against them with all her might, but they muttered another set of words that she couldn’t understand. When they let her go, she tried once more to get up, but it was as though her body was superglued to the spot. An animalistic scream tore through her, reverberating through the entire console room.


The Brothers didn’t even look up from what they were doing. When they did, their demeanor had returned to the cold, nonchalant tone that was their norm. At the exact moment they turned to Betsy, the outer ship jerked to an unsteady stop. Confused murmurs rippled through the crowd outside Excellence as the intercoms blared to life, announcing an unexpected delay. Betsy knew the Brothers were responsible for this. Her green eyes were full of fire as they stopped before her, reversing whatever it was they had done to cause her to remain in place. She could almost feel pity rolling off of them, and she was correct in that assumption; they gazed at her for several drawn-out moments before turning towards the doors.


“You will know soon enough why you are needed here.” Brother One says as they glide down the ramp.


“Great things come to those who are willing to accept and learn from what was, and what is to be; let go and expand your mind.” Brother Two says as they reach the doorway.


They stop and turn to look at her one last time. In unison, they speak once more. “It’s time to face what has been holding you back from your ambitions, Betsy Granger. Good luck.”


She opens her mouth to say something unbecoming of a lady, but before she could utter a word, they vanish. It was only after they were gone that she realized how much she’d been shaking; she reached behind her for the rail and slowly leaned against it. Her eyes swept up to the now dead engine of Excellence, the beating heart of her beloved ship no longer pulsing. A buzzing started in her ears, quiet at first but growing louder as the unsettling silence of the ship consumed her. Her body and brain grew numb as she took unsteady steps towards the console, flicking switches and hitting buttons. Nothing, not even the slightest groan to give her hope. The silence was becoming deafening; the room which she had once spent the most time in, now felt cold and uninviting. The safety and warmth that Excellence had given her were incomparable to anything she’d ever experienced.


And now she was forever still, a mere monument to the memories, and a reminder of all the things that were no longer at her fingertips. What had once been a talisman for adventure and hope was now just a dead thing in the middle of her parents' farm in Iowa. Grief, loss left her senseless, and she crumbled where she stood, sobbing loudly into her hands, her body wracked with the force of her cries.  Curling into a fetal position, Betsy buries her head into her arms and continues to weep, deep, painful sobs from deep within her soul. In her spiralling misery, she doesn’t hear the soft knocks coming from outside Excellence's doors, nor does she hear when one of the doors is opened gently.


Joel Granger pokes his head around the door and looks around the dark console room. On soft feet, he steps inside and follows the sound of Betsy’s cries. His heart already twisted at the wails he and his wife, Elena, could hear from inside the house, but the sight of Betsy on the ground ripped apart his soul entirely. Dropping down to a knee next to her, he reaches out a hand and gently brushes her hair away from her face. At his touch, her instincts kick in, and she immediately springs to her feet into a defensive position, green eyes bugging out of her head. Joel pops up with her, his own military training kicking in before relaxing his posture and holding his hands up in surrender. He takes a careful step towards her, trying to keep his voice from trembling as he speaks out.


“Sweetie, it’s just-” Joel doesn’t get a chance to finish as recognition flickers across Betsy’s face; the next moment, she throws herself into his arms and collapses. Joel scoops his daughter up easily into his arms and holds her tightly, kissing the top of her head repeatedly.


“Forgive me, forgive me.” Betsy choked out, sobbing against Joel’s chest.


“Sweetie, forgive you for what? I’m just glad you’re finally home,” his voice cracks with emotion as his own tears start to flow. He pulls back slightly and lifts her chin with a shaky finger to look at her. “You finally look like you again,” he says softly. “But your eyes have lost something. What happened to you out there?”


Surprise took over for one blissful moment, causing Betsy to forget her grief for a moment. “What do you mean out there? Don’t you mean more–?” She pauses to gesture outside the doors. “Here, as in local, as in earthly… human stuff?”


Joel looks nonplused now. “You mean to tell me you still aren’t over the James thing yet? After all this time?”


Something in his tone causes Betsy’s heart to beat faster. “All this time? It’s been a few months at most since I left Papa. He may have moved on fast, but I haven’t.”


Joel swallowed hard and gently pinched Betsy’s cheek. “Aah… Sweetpea… It’s been over three years since you left.”


Silence filled the air as his words hung heavily in Betsy’s head; three entire years? More, according to her father. Shaking her head, she starts to deny this, but Joel grabs her chin and holds her head still. His gaze is stern as he studies her face, his green eyes matching her own and holding them for a long time. Her heart hammers in her chest; all the life and death situations she’d found herself in over her time away, and nothing made her quake with fear like her father reading her as no one else could. She started to squirm after a while, and Joel let her go, but his gaze lingered on her.


“I don’t like what lurks behind your eyes, Betsy,” he says, heading to the doors and beckoning her to follow. “Something has changed within you; something is not the same. And I don’t think it’s for the better. I don’t know what brought you home, sweetie,” he walks out the door and steps outside, breathing in the fresh, crisp night air. “But I’m glad you came back to us before you lost yourself entirely.”


Betsy starts to follow but stops just inside the doorway. She can smell the apples getting ready to bloom on the trees in the orchard, as well as the pigsty and cow farm off to the east. Scents that were once so ingrained in her very blood now seemed foreign to her. Just due northwest, she could hear the geese splashing around in the little pond where she and Addy had played as children. From the direction of the house, she could smell fresh bread that her mother had undoubtedly made that day. Something inside her ached as it hit her for the first time how much she had truly missed home. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of Excellence and shut the door behind her.


When she turned back to Joel, she was surprised by the warm, bright smile that had spread across his handsome face. She noticed now the grey in his hair that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. He had aged some, but not enough to detract from the disarmingly good looks he’d been blessed with. Her heart twisted with that smile, bittersweet in being home with her family, but the price she would now pay to be here. Joel waited patiently as Betsy walked around outside, not ready to be stifled by the confinement of the house that she had once fondly referred to as home. Now… Each time she glanced at it, the fist clenched her heart again, as the two-story farmhouse looked more like a prison.


“Talk to me, Betsy,” Joel says, still watching his daughter like a hawk. “Since when have you been afraid to talk to me?”


“You wouldn’t understand…” She says almost dreamily, looking up at the sky. “It was easier up there. I was far away from… Everything.”


“Running away is the easier solution, of course… It's also the cowardly choice.” The cold bluntness in his tone was unfamiliar to her. Betsy turned on her heel to face him at once. His eyes were still gentle even as his words hit like ice. “I didn’t raise you to be a coward, Betsy Granger, and you damn sure didn’t grow up to be one. You’ve been dumped before-”

“No.” Betsy marched right up to her father and poked a finger in his chest. “I’m going to stop you right there.” Joel kept his face neutral as he closed his mouth. “No, I’m not over James, and I don’t know when I will be. And that fucking sucks, and it hurts like a bitch, but I also accept the fact that it's over and done. And quite frankly, I don’t know that I’d want to try again even if there were a chance for it.” 


This catches her father by surprise, and his face gives him away. “That’s more like it, young lady.” He says jokingly. Betsy rolls her eyes and steps back. “So if it’s not the break-up that kept you away… What?”


Betsy sighs and bites her lower lip, considering her words carefully. “There was a freedom out there that I longed for; I thrived on it. Even being caught up in love with James, if things got too heated, too difficult… I could always pop out for a bit, vent my anger, and come back and be peachy keen. I guess I never…” Betsy trails off as a flood of realizations hits her at once. “I guess I never realized how neglected that must have made him feel. I can see now how he felt like second place compared to the entire universe when I swore up and down he was my world.”  Guilt plays over her features as she rambles on. “I promised him the best of me, but I gave that to the universe itself. In the end, he got what was left… And there was Atty, ready and desperate to give him everything I would have kept holding out on.” She looks up at her father again, and now her face is softer, more like her than he’d seen so far. “Papa…”


Joel closes the distance between them again and wraps her up in another tight hug. Betsy leans against him heavily, closing her eyes and taking in the familiar smell of him. Another bolt coils through her as she realizes just how much she’d missed this man. Joel had always remained her rock, but knowing just how deep that went shook her to the core. James wasn’t the only man she had neglected for her adventures; looking up at Joel, she could see now just how much pain she had caused him by being gone for so long. It broke her in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. 


“It’s okay, sweetie, it’s all going to be okay.” He rocks her gently, swaying them both from side to side. “You made mistakes, you hurt people you love; now it’s time to own them and move on.”


Betsy shakes her head, guilt making her stomach churn. “I hurt you, I’m sorry, Papa… I ran from you, too, and all you ever did was care. I’m so sorry.”


“I’m going to stop you right there,” Joel says, pulling an Uno reverse. “Yes, I was hurt when you left without a word, and yes, it hurt worse as time kept going on and on and we never had so much as a letter.” Betsy felt sick to her stomach again. “But I knew you were out there doing whatever it was you had to do to mend your heart. Or I thought you were…” His eyes narrow slightly. “The look in your eyes reminds me of the look I had when I came home from Berlin after watching that horrible wall finally crumbled.” He strokes Betsy’s cheek with his thumb as his gaze softens again. “It’s the look of someone who had to do things that weigh on their heart. The kinds of things that most people who have never experienced battle would flinch at the idea of…” Now he cups her face in his hands to hold her gaze. “I’m glad you came home, honey.”


Something about his gaze and the somber tone of his words struck her deeply. Once again, her father understood her better than anyone else ever could. Would she ever stop underestimating him? Nodding, Betsy gives him another tight hug before motioning towards the house. “I’m glad to be home, but I think you’ve hogged me all to yourself long enough. Mom must be worse than a lion in a cage by now.”


“Your sister, too; funny enough, you made it home at the same time as Addy,” Joel says, leading them both towards the house. From inside, she could hear her mother and sister conversing anxiously, both pacing back and forth around the couch.


As she walked through the doors, she forced a smile on her face. Though her heart longed to be navigating Excellence through the stars… It was good to be home.



To Be Continued?