157 Becoming A New Fan

Altair was lost in another world as the show took her full attention. Her worries about the Mana Fog had been pushed aside cleanly, leaving nothing behind, as she was fully absorbed into the story that was playing out before her eyes. Each explosion, each sentence spoken, and each scene was being thoroughly remembered by Altair.

The story to the show had a more mature tone that better fit Altair's preferences than Miracle Dancing Magical Girl Arneli Arnessa. The title was also vastly easier to say and remember. Furthermore, the "villains" of the story, a strange race of metal based beings called Stelox, weren't really villains to Altair. She felt more connected to them then she did the protagonists because the story of the show seemed to mirror the existence of Demi-Humans on her world.

It actually caused an odd feeling too well up in her heart when she realized that. That feeling caused her great pain in her heart as she watched the story unfold, all the while rooting for the Stelox to gain something instead of extinction. However, the show being what it was, revealed the end that was somewhat predictable and the last Stelox perished in a sea of fire and space. It caused Altair to feel slightly hollow.

That feeling was quickly snuffed out by that force that squashed all of her extreme feelings. Though, oddly, it didn't squash the pain she felt when she was actively watching the show. Perhaps, whatever it was, was capable of identifying that Altair was actively engaged in something that caused the pain so squashing it would have been pointless. After all, the feeling would have returned right after getting snuffed out and would need to be taken care of again.

Still, all things aside, Altair enjoyed the show thoroughly. She found its ending to be a tragedy and couldn't stop herself from crying for the few moments she could feel her emotions. Even though the show itself wasn't actually a tragedy and was an action harem show, Altair didn't mind it as she felt like she saw the truth in it that the creators had obviously been trying to show, regardless of it she was right or not.

Once the ending to the last episode finished, the screen returned to the title select and Altair selected the next one on the list. She found herself even more interested in all things Mecha after that show. The power that she had seen in it was unparalleled from anything she had ever seen in her entire life. It dwarfed what she had seen in the arena.

If she were asked to compare Thunderspark and Death_Sun_OMEGA with Primax Ultra Galactic Glasteel, she would have to say that an ant was trying to kill a supernova with a toothpick.

And that power fascinated her. Oh the things that she dreamed she could do in the moments during the ending and opening of the show. She thought of how she would feel flying through space in one. How it would feel to be completely wrapped up within its shell that promised and unyielding protection that would never falter. To have a strength so powerful that nobody would even dare to make jokes about taking those she cared about away from her. To have her friends and family look at her with eyes full if pride and joy at her achievements in their names…

Altair suddenly felt extremely hollow at that last ideal. Her friends had been scattered to the sands of time, forever out of her reach. Her family was no longer her family. She was alone.

Just like how she was alone in the room she sat in, Altair felt a crushing wave of loneliness assaulted her heart. It was like she was run over by a wall. She had no one to share what she had just seen with. There was no one she could talk to about the things she had seen or tasted in the Empire. The Humans here had alien powers and, while some of them could be trusted to a certain extent like Donel, she didn't think there would ever come a time when she would welcome them with a genuine smile.

The walls of the room suddenly felt further away. The couch seemed bigger than it truly was that she sat on. The eyes on all the posters in the room seemed to be looking down on her. She felt so small as a cheery tune played on the screen that was the complete opposite of what she felt. It was like she was being swallowed up by some darkness that didn't want her to go away, as if it was looking for company.

She wondered why that thing that suppressed her emotions wasn't doing anything about what she was feeling right now. She would have really welcomed it at that moment. It would have been like a gentle hand had lifted her to her feet. But, the hand never came and she continued to stew in her self-inflicted torment.

A burdened sighed came from her lips as she focused more on the show that was playing before her. Infinite Glasteel had managed to sweep her thoughts of the Mana Fog away from her; perhaps this show will be able to sweep her feelings away too.

Hours passed and day turned to night. Altair had been brought food periodically as she watched show after show in her pajamas on the couch, burying herself in the entertaining media. She felt far better than she did earlier as her mind was awash with new things she could try and make with her Magic. Dozens of ideas were splashing around in her within her skull, each one wanting to be tried and tested. They were all based on technologies she had witnessed within the show.

All of those technologies were a mixture of fact and fiction, of course. The explanations that were given were, for the most part, so far off the reality that trying to make them work would probably wind up with disastrous side effects. There were even warnings at the end of the credits that Altair didn't pay attention to because she was too busy dreaming about being in the show or trying a new Magic inspired by it.

But the biggest thing that Altair got out of it was that she desperately wanted to ride in a Mecha at least once!

That was her current goal. Nothing else mattered to her at that moment! Nothing else even entered her mind as the last episode of the third show was playing its ending.

The first thing she needed to do though, as she eyed the screen that flipped back to the list of titles, was to figure out how to turn off this Holodisplay. She had no idea but she also didn't want to ring the bell yet. If she couldn't figure this out, then how could she expect to pilot a Mecha in the future?

She stood to her feet as she looked over the screen for some hint to turn it off. There was none to be found though. Thus, she crossed her arms and tilted her head as she thought for several moments on what she had learned about it so far.

In a random idea, she clapped her hands twice and the screen abruptly turned off like two doors had shut over it. The room entered a complete silence that had not been heard for at least fourteen hours.

This brought a confident smile to Altair's face as her eyes beamed with pride at figuring out such a simple piece of technology. She was clearly going to make her own Mecha that she could pilot in the future!

She imagined herself in an abstract Mecha that came from the depths of her mind as she tossed Thunderspark around like a rag doll.

The thought of her death that she believed would come soon couldn't be further from her mind in that moment. All she was thinking about was a future filled with Mecha, space travel, and huge expansive galactic battles.

She walked towards the door to the bedroom while stifling a yawn as she walked. While her mind was racing with possibilities, she couldn't fight off her minds need to sleep. Her eyes drooped as soon as she was finished watching that last show and she knew she wouldn't be able to last much longer unless she did some exercise to wake her up or had some kind of drug that she had never heard of that could energize her mind.

She opened the door and left it in silence as she went to the bed. She fell into it without a care and proceeded to bury herself in the blankets and pillows. They welcomed her with their soft and warm comfort that they offered and Altair quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In the other room, on the other side of the window that was still covered with a pink curtain, a hammer formed out of the Mana Fog. It slammed into the window to no visual effect and sound inside. However, if someone was outside they would have heard the sound of a blunt object smashing into hollow pane of metal. The sound reverberated briefly before it died. The Mana Fog did not yet have the ability to break through, but it was making progress.

Its goal was singular. Its will laser focused on Altair. It had been around for a long time but it had never seen something like her. She was able to see it and that was a first. She was even able to take some of it within her, which was intriguing to itself.

It felt frustrated that it couldn't reach out and touch her again. It was irritated that she was locked away in some square that it couldn't enter. It enjoyed how she played with it when it tried to touch her earlier, but now it wouldn't reach there. It couldn't stand it and it had to get in there.

It had to complete its will.

It needed to become complete and its will told it that she was the key.