DEAD STAR

[Page 1]

[VISUAL] A dark hallway aboard the ship. Emergency lights flicker after the recent fight. Somewhere deep in the lower deck, a faint, padded step echoes. Barefoot. Deliberate.

[VISUAL] A silhouette appears. Feminine, catlike grace. Gold eyes gleam in the dark.

[VISUAL] Reveal: LUNA in her human form—tall, athletic, with dark skin, violet hair streaked with silver, and a flowing cloak with a feline crest. Her eyes remain slit, glowing faintly. She carries no weapons—she is one.

LUNA (quietly to herself):Finally caught up.

[Page 2]

[VISUAL] The crew lounge. Dawn paces. VEE PRIME is repairing some circuits, humming something robotic and off-key. Rain is passed out on the med-bench, bruised and bandaged.

[VISUAL] Luna steps inside. No one recognizes her. The room stills. Her energy is heavy—not hostile, but undeniable.

VEE PRIME (suddenly alert):...Luna?

DAWN:Wait, what? Who the hell is this?

LUNA (smirking):Nice to see you too, VEE.

[Page 3]

[VISUAL] Dawn steps forward, confused, half ready to throw hands.

DAWN:Whoever you are—you've got five seconds to explain why you're on my ship and why you just said my cat's name.

LUNA:Because I am your cat.

[VISUAL] She raises one hand, closes her eyes, and transforms mid-step—body glowing briefly before shrinking into the sleek black feline everyone knows.

[VISUAL] She blinks up at Dawn. Tail flicks.

LUNA (cat form):Still think I'm trespassing?

[Page 4]

[VISUAL] Dawn stares, jaw slack. VEE lets out a low whistle. Rain stirs on the bench but doesn't wake.

DAWN:You've gotta be shitting me…

LUNA (cat form, flatly):Hardly. I've been gone since GTN.None of you noticed.

VEE PRIME:We were… slightly distracted by exploding AI, a dragon-boy, and missing sisters.

[Page 5]

[VISUAL] Luna shifts back into human form in a quick pulse.

LUNA (serious now):Listen. I've been training. As a Familiar.Without a bound Owner, I've reached the limit of what I can learn.I need you, Dawn.You have to claim me.

[VISUAL] Dawn recoils slightly, unsure.

DAWN:Claim you? As in—

LUNA (nods):A Familiar pact. Magical bond. It's not cute. It's not optional.We do this—or I fade back into a stray.And I have answers you need.

[Page 6]

[VISUAL] Dawn glances at Rain, still unconscious. Then at VEE.

DAWN (sighs):Alright.But we do this somewhere private.

LUNA (smiling faintly):Agreed.It takes… focus.And the truth I'm about to share isn't for open ears.

[Page 7]

[VISUAL] Cut to a dim, low-tech side chamber. Incense burns from an automated purifier. The walls glow with ambient energy as Luna draws a ritual circle with her finger—it burns into the floor in silver light.

[VISUAL] Dawn stands in the center of the circle, arms crossed, trying not to look nervous.

DAWN:Okay. So how does this work?

LUNA:You accept the pact.You pour intention into it.You claim me… and in return, I become something more.

[Page 8]

[VISUAL] Luna kneels, placing her palm against the floor. Glyphs erupt around them. Her voice goes flat—ritualistic.

LUNA (chanting):"I am shadow, I am flame, I am bound by choice—not chain.Speak your truth, and I become your blade, your shield… your secret."

[VISUAL] Dawn swallows. Then nods, placing her hand against Luna's.

DAWN:Then be mine.Blade, shield, secret.But never less than equal.

[Page 9]

[VISUAL] Luna and Dawn sit cross-legged in the glowing ritual circle. The pact is sealed. Violet light still flickers around them. Luna exhales, visibly relieved—finally whole again.

DAWN (softly):Alright…Tell me what happened.

LUNA (serious):I wasn't taken.You left me behind.

[Page 10]

[VISUAL] Dawn flinches. Her fists clench at her knees.

DAWN:That's not—No, we were—

LUNA (cutting her off):Busy. I know.The chaos. The GTN. The mission.

[VISUAL] Luna's tone softens—still hurt, but not cruel.

LUNA:I was chasing after you, but I ended up in the wrong dock tunnel.No one noticed.I wandered… until I found the Familiar Shop.

[Page 11]

[VISUAL] Flashback overlay. Luna in cat form, curled up in the window of a strange shop glowing with runes and cosmic dust. The sign reads: "Familiar Forged." Behind the counter: a humanoid creature with stitched-together features, one glowing eye, and a wide smile.

LUNA (V.O.):The owner was different.He was a Familiar… like me.But self-owned. No Master. No leash.He said, "That collar on your soul? Break it. Or wear it proud."

[Page 12]

[VISUAL] Flashback continues. Luna trains under the shopkeeper: meditating, casting shadows, sparring with enchanted tools. Learning how to shift, how to read people, how to listen through the fabric of space.

LUNA (V.O.):He taught me.Taught me how to feel magic, not just react to it.How to speak. Shift.Think beyond fur and food bowls.

[Page 13]

[VISUAL] Flashback ends. Back to present: Luna in human form again. Eyes shimmering. Her voice resolute.

LUNA:He offered to mark me. To own me.But I waited.Because I still believed you'd come back.

[Page 14]

[VISUAL] Dawn's eyes glisten slightly. She looks down at her hands, ashamed.

DAWN:I didn't mean to—

LUNA (softly):I know.

[VISUAL] A pause.

LUNA:But now that we're bonded, I can tell you something else.Something I felt while I was away.

[Page 15]

[VISUAL] Luna stands and paces the ritual circle. The lights dim around her slightly as she speaks.

LUNA:Something is wrong with the star-blooded.There are forces out there… looking for them. Breeding for them.That's what happened to the other familiars that were kept in cages.They weren't pets.They were monitors. For suitable bloodlines.

[Page 16]

[VISUAL] A faint pulse resonates from the ship's core—Rain stirs on the medical table in the background. He frowns in his sleep, as if hearing something distant.

LUNA (off-panel):Rika wasn't taken randomly.She's connected to the anomaly inside Rain.Like I am.Like you are.

[Page 17]

[VISUAL] Interior of the ritual room. Faint magical symbols still flicker beneath Dawn's feet. Luna's face is serious, her voice low.

LUNA:You want the truth?It wasn't an accident. Any of it.

DAWN (tense):You mean… Rika getting taken?

LUNA:I mean all of you. The people Rain met. The choices you made.It triggered something ancient.Something that had been waiting.

[Page 18]

[VISUAL] Luna waves her hand. A swirling projection appears—cosmic history sketched in firelight: dragons spiraling across stars, ancient beings kneeling before them.

LUNA:Dragons weren't born as monsters.They were cosmic shepherds. Older than time.Born from suns, woven with stardust.

LUNA:But they couldn't exist alone.They needed anchors—souls that could ground their power in mortal form.

[Page 19]

[VISUAL] The image shifts—shows a woman with silver hair and gold eyes, surrounded by dragons. She wears the same necklace Rika does.

LUNA:Rika's bloodline was one of the first.Their ancestors forged a pact with the dragons—not to control them, but to protect them.

LUNA:They shared a bond.A sacred agreement:"When stars weep, we rise again."

[Page 20]

[VISUAL] Dawn stares at the vision, stunned. Luna's voice gets heavier.

LUNA:But over time… the dragons were betrayed.Used. Hunted. Sold.And the bloodlines?They were slaughtered—or worse—forgotten.

[Page 21]

[VISUAL] Luna looks down at her hands—nervous now.

LUNA:But something about you all… your choices, your pain, your bond...It reactivated the pact.The dragon inside Rain?It didn't possess him.

[VISUAL] She looks directly at Dawn.

LUNA:It chose him.Because of her.Because of you.Because this gang gave him something dragons haven't felt in a millennia—a reason to trust.

[Page 22]

[VISUAL] Back on the medical table, Rain twitches. His eyes flicker under their lids. A faint gold shimmer crosses his skin—then vanishes.

DAWN (softly):So what is he now?

LUNA:He's the beginning of something lost.The spark of a species thought extinct.And the proof that dragons…can still feel.

[Page 23]

[VISUAL] Rain floats in a dreamscape—silent, starless, vast. The air glows dim violet, like the inside of a dying nebula. He's barefoot, shirtless, surrounded by swirling ashes.

[VISUAL] In front of him, the DRAGON stands—larger than before. No wings. No horns. Just ancient coils of burning muscle and sorrow. Its eyes glow identical to Rain's.

[VISUAL] It doesn't speak. Doesn't roar.

[VISUAL] It just stares.

[Page 24]

[VISUAL] Rain stands firm, breathing slowly. He doesn't speak either. For the first time… he just looks back.

[VISUAL] As their eyes lock, the space around him shifts—ripping open with visions.

[VISUAL] Dragon corpses falling across galaxies. Skinned. Harvested. Burned alive in containment tanks. Blood being siphoned into black-market reactors. Their pacts shattered. Their hearts screaming.

[Page 25]

[VISUAL] Rain's knees buckle. He grits his teeth, breathing ragged. His fists clench. He doesn't cry out—but a single tear falls.

[VISUAL] The dragon lowers its head, not in pity—but recognition. It sees him. As kin.

[NARRATION (RAIN, V.O.)]I get it now.It's not with me.It is me.And I'm what's left of a war that never really ended.

[Page 26]

[VISUAL] The dragon opens its jaws slowly… and breathes golden fire directly at Rain.

[VISUAL] He doesn't flinch. The flames envelop him—burning away the dream.

[Page 27]

[VISUAL] Rain jerks awake on the med-table. Chest heaving. Eyes wide. One tear trailing down his cheek.

[VISUAL] He's still breathing smoke. For a split second, his irises glow like coals. Then it fades.

[VISUAL] He blinks. Looks around, dazed. Sees Dawn and Luna—Luna still in her human form, arms crossed.

RAIN (hoarse):…who the fuck is that?

[FINAL PANEL: Chapter End]

[VISUAL] Luna raises an eyebrow. Dawn facepalms. VEE (off-panel) sighs audibly.

[Page 1]

[VISUAL] A dim, rusty cargo bay. Crates stacked to the ceiling. The hum of engines echoes through the metallic walls.

[VISUAL] Inside a narrow containment cell: RIKA, barely lit, sits with her knees tucked to her chest. Her stuffed animal rests on her lap. Her eyes are swollen. Her voice is silent.

NARRATION (RIKA):I don't know how long it's been.The lights never change. The walls never talk back.

[VISUAL] She holds the stuffed animal tighter. It's missing one eye now.

NARRATION (RIKA):I don't care what they do to me.Just don't let them take this from me.

[Page 2]

[VISUAL] Just outside the cell, two alien figures speak in hushed tones. One tall and cybernetic, the other hunched and cloaked. They examine a datapad displaying Rika's vitals and genetic scan.

CLOAKED FIGURE:A viable carrier… rare. Ancient ties in the blood.She could fetch sixty million. Maybe more if we confirm origin.

CYBERNETIC DEALER:They'll pay triple for a clean bond with residual dragon signature.

[VISUAL] Rika hears every word. Her fingers tremble. She closes her eyes, breath shallow.

[Page 3]

[VISUAL] CUT TO: Rain sitting cross-legged on the floor of the ship's meditation chamber. Sweat beads down his temple. His hands are glowing faintly. A pulse in his chest flickers.

[VISUAL] Suddenly—his eyes widen. His breath catches.

RAIN (gasping):She's scared.I can feel her.

[Page 4]

[VISUAL] Dawn and Luna rush in. VEE's projection flickers nearby. Rain's aura is unstable, pulsing like a heartbeat.

DAWN:What happened?

RAIN (shaken):Rika. She's in a cage. I saw it—I didn't see it, I… felt it.She's afraid, and I can't do anything.

[Page 5]

[VISUAL] Luna steps forward, serious, arms folded. Her voice calm but firm.

LUNA:You can.But not like this.

LUNA:You've accepted that the dragon is part of you—good.But now you need to let it work.Stop trying to force the power. Let it guide you.

[Page 6]

[VISUAL] Rain looks uncertain. He grits his teeth.

RAIN:You want me to just sit here while she suffers?

LUNA:No. I want you to burn down the stars with purpose.But first, find her.And the dragon can help you do that.

[VISUAL] She kneels beside him. Her voice softens.

LUNA:You're not the rider.You are the beast.

[Page 7]

[VISUAL] Rain closes his eyes. The lights in the chamber flicker. The air thickens with heat. His chest rises, then stills. Slowly, his breathing slows.

[VISUAL] His body begins to glow—cosmic light humming from his skin like veins of molten gold.

[VISUAL] The image of the dragon flashes behind his mind's eye. It watches him. Then nods.

[Page 8]

[VISUAL] Time passes.

One panel shows Rain in deep meditation, glowing gently.

Another shows Dawn watching from the doorway, arms folded. Luna beside her, calm. VEE analyzing from a terminal, quiet for once.

VEE (quietly):His vitals are spiking… but stable.Whatever's happening—it's not just tracking.It's synchronization.

[Page 9]

[VISUAL] Back inside Rain's mind: galaxies swirl around him. Constellations flicker. He floats beside the dragon—now flying beside him through pure thought.

NARRATION (RAIN):She's not just out there.She's calling out.And we… we were built to hear her.

[VISUAL] A star pulses in the distance—dark red. The dragon dives. Rain follows.

[Page 10]

[VISUAL] Rain's eyes snap open. They glow faintly with ember-light.

RAIN (steady, quiet):I found her.

[VISUAL] Dawn steps forward.

DAWN:Where?

RAIN:Edge of the Veiled Sector. Beyond the Forgotten Rim.Coordinates… already burned into my head.

[VISUAL] The room goes still. No one questions it. They just believe him.