Outside of Canterlot City
April 9th, 2014. 9:18 PM
A lone figure sat on a stump as they looked out at the lights of Canterlot city in the late evening. In the dim light of the late evening, all that could be made out about them was a vaguely feminine shape as she stared at the lights.
“I don’t see why we all had to meet up here,” a male voice said as 5 figures appeared behind her. “Do you mind explaining exactly why you wanted us here?”
“I have to agree with Lord Hathar,” a female figure said as she crossed her arms a little. “This is hardly the place for a meeting like this. You honestly think that our target is in that city?”
“She is, that much I’m sure of,” the first figure said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back a little. “I know this is a lot to take in right now. The fact of the matter is that we have a goal to achieve if we don’t make this work everything we’ve worked for, everything we’ve sacrificed… it will be for nothing.”
“I don’t particularly like the first part of the plan,” a second male voice said. “When you first proposed it to us I was reluctant enough. You’re actually telling us that we need to do this if we’re going to make it work?”
“Scarn, we all agreed,” Hathar said with a frown. “Your objections were already made clear but given the state of our world, we have to do this. I don’t particularly enjoy working with her either, or what we have to do if we want to make it work… but right now it’s the best chance we have.”
“Right, make this work so we can get right back to fighting one another,” a third female voice said with a snort.
“The question is, what are we going to do first?” Scarn asked. “This is hardly the kind of world that I’d call friendly to our kind. I’ve seen reports from one of their nation-states, Japan I believe it’s called. And we don’t exactly blend in anywhere, at least not most of us.”
“Agreed,” the first woman said. “The rest of you need to lay low until the time is right, find a base of operations in the city itself. We need to launch phase one of the operation as soon as possible. Richon, are you ready for your part?”
“I’ll make this world regret the day we ever got them in our crosshairs!” One of the male figures, identified as Richon said. “I’ll make sure that…”
“Just remember the plan, draw her out and get her good and worried,” the second female said with a roll of her eyes. “We all know that your, weapon is bigger than everyone else’s, so don’t you go bragging now. Just get out there and do your role.”
“Yes Lady Reia,” Richon said with a slight bow. “I will do all I can in the service of my mistress. “I will make sure that I carry out my duties and see you all back in our world once our job here is done.”
“Very good,” the first woman said. “You all have your roles, now get to it. The fate of our home is in our hands, it’s time to make sure that we do this right.”
“Right, it shall be done,” the others said as they vanished.
The first woman reached into a bag by her side and took something out. It shone with the brilliance of stars in the night. She took a deep breath and vanished not long after, it was time to find the woman they were all here for.
00000
Canterlot Suburbs.
April 9th, 2014. 7:35 AM.
“Come on Luna, you need to get up,” a voice said from behind a door as a woman sighed from the bed and got up. She had dark skin and had long purple and dark blue hair that she brushed out of her eyes. “You don’t want to be late to work again do you?”
“Celestia, you should know better than to wake me up this early,” Luna said with a groan as she shook her head at her half-sister’s cheerfulness. “Why did I have to get a job like this…”
“Because I insisted on you splitting the rent and you can’t afford to live on your own, remember?” Celestia said with a sigh from the other side of the door. “I’ll see you downstairs, okay?”
Luna sighed a little as she got up and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her blue eyes stared back at her as she brushed her long hair back out of her eyes. Another boring day of work lay ahead of her, this was not going to be a fun day.
“Alright Luna, pull yourself together,” she said as she took a deep breath. “You’re going to be okay, just get through another day…”
She sighed a little as she pulled on her robe and opened her bedroom door as she started down the hallway. She yawned a little as she made her way down the stairs where a light-skinned woman with multi-colored hair was waiting as she made breakfast.
“Luna, are you feeling okay?” Celestia asked as Luna took a seat at the table and yawned a little. “You’re not looking too good this morning.”
“I’ve felt better,” Luna said with a sigh as she picked up a cup of coffee that Celestia had set out for her and took a drink. “I had to work late last night to get the project done and I honestly don’t feel like I got enough sleep.”
“Luna, I’m worried about you,” Celestia said with a sigh. “That’s the third time this month, it feels almost like they’re trying to work you to death. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I just need my good friend coffee,” Luna said as she took a long drink of the coffee. “Blacker than a moonless night, hotter and more bitter than Hell itself… that is coffee.”
“I’m cutting you off from Phoenix Wright games if you’re going to go quoting Godot,” Celestia said with a roll of her eyes.
“Hey, he stole that one from me,” Luna said with a chuckle as she gave her sister a soft smile. “Unfortunately I can’t just take a break from work today, I’ve got a lot of work to do still. I don’t really like it either, but I just can’t afford to take a day off right now.”
“Alright, but I’m worried about you, once you’re done with this project I think you should take a few days off,” Celestia said with a sigh. “I’m just worried about you Luna, this job hasn’t been easy on you.”
“Yeah… I know,” Luna said with a sigh as Celestia hugged her gently. “I’ll talk to my boss and see if I can get a day off after this. The deadline is in a few days, I’ll just figure it out from there.”
“Alright Luna, take care of yourself,” Celestia said with a soft smile as she gave her sister a soft kiss on the cheek. “Now go get ready for work, okay? I’ll see you this evening.”
Luna nodded as she got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for work. Celestia sighed a little, she and Luna had been close ever since she had moved in with her. Luna had been an artist and writer growing up but had put it aside when she had to go to work.
She just wished that there was some way to pick up her sister’s spirits again.
00000
Global Advertising Canterlot Office.
April 9th, 2014. 11:45 AM.
“Ms. Umbra, how is the project going?” A man balding grey hair asked as he leaned over the side of Luna’s cubicle.
“Good sir, I’m just putting the finishing touches on this part now,” Luna said with a soft smile that she didn’t really feel as she finished the designs on what she was working on. “I’m going to wrap this up sometime this afternoon or evening.”
“Alright, that’s good,” her boss said. “When you’re done with that, I’ve got another project I want you to…”
“Sir, I’m sorry but I’ve been working day and night on this project,” Luna said with a groan as she interrupted what he was trying to say. “Once this is done I plan to take a few days off to relax and spend time with my sister.”
Her boss paused a moment and finally shrugged a little after that. “You’re right, you’ve been working hard lately. Get a good lunch and if you get this project done with good enough quality, you can take a week off. When you get back though I want you on this project, okay? You’re doing a good job.”
Luna let out a sigh of relief and smiled a little as she checked the time. She watched her boss walk off for a long moment. She was lucky that he had agreed to that, she couldn’t take starting on a whole new project right now.
She picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder as she headed out of the office. It was time to get some lunch. She took the elevator down and headed out of the building to Global Advertising's offices. She sighed a little as she started down the street alone.
Alone, it felt like she was always alone even when she was with others because she felt so alone in the world. She had Celestia sure, but there wasn’t much she could do. She just wanted to relax and worry about something else, anything else right now.
And at this rate, she probably never would have more than just Celestia. She sighed a little as she kicked at the ground a little as she made her way down the street and adjusted her purse strap.
She barely noticed that there was someone calling out to her from somewhere up ahead and nearly ran into another woman on the sidewalk.
“Sorry, I didn’t…” She said as she looked up to see a woman with dark skin and with short blue hair standing there. She blinked in surprise as she recognized the woman, but she hadn’t seen her in so long. “Domia Nox? Is that really you?”
“Hey, Luna, it’s been a long time,” the woman said with a soft smile. “And call me Nox remember?”
“Yeah, Nox,” Luna said with a smile as she brushed her hair back a little. “I haven’t seen you since High School. What happened? Why did you have to leave? Why didn’t you keep in touch?”
“I’m sorry Luna, I didn’t want to fall out of touch with you,” Nox said with a sigh. “I tried to stay in touch, I really did. But I just couldn’t handle it given how close we were, it wasn’t easy to make friends for me and I couldn’t imagine ever seeing you again so…”
“I, don’t know what to say honestly…” Luna admitted as she sighed a little and they started walking again. Nox had been her best friend growing up until she had moved away when they were in High School. “It wasn’t easy to be separated from you for so long, I guess I’m just glad that you’re back now, what are you doing here anyway?”
“Well, after I finished school I thought I’d come back to the old neighborhood and see if I could find you and Celestia,” Nox said with a shrug. “How’ve you been? Are you still writing those stories of yours lately?”
“Well, uhh… no, not really,” Luna admitted as she played with her hair a little. “After you left, I kind of lost the will to work on that kind of thing. It hasn’t been easy honestly, though sometimes I do wish that I could get back on it.”
“You never know, just take time to work on it maybe,” Nox said as she hugged her old friend a little. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yeah, I guess I’ve just been working too hard lately,” Luna said with a sigh. “I feel like all this work is going to drive me crazy. I just don’t know what to do, but at least I’ve got some time off coming up.”
“Well that’s good, maybe take that time to relax and…” Nox started to say when they heard a scream coming from somewhere up ahead. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Luna said, she was just as confused as to what might be happening. “Should we check it out?”
“I don’t know, we probably should…” Nox started to say but they finally saw exactly what was causing the screaming as a figure pushed through the crowd.
Luna took a step back instinctively at the sight of what was standing there. It looked vaguely humanoid but it was dressed in odd black and brown armor. Its helmet was shaped like a knight’s helmet mixed with a dragon’s head. He held two swords in his hands and he let out an inhuman roar.
“Okay, that’s definitely not good,” Nox said as she gulped a little and looked back at Luna. “Should we run?”
“Let’s run,” Luna said with a gulp as the two of them ran off down the street together. They took a turn down one street and when Luna turned back she realized the monster was still following them.
“Crap, crap, crap…” Nox said as they ran faster until they were grabbed and pulled into a shop nearby. “Thanks for…”
She stopped when they got a good look at who saved them. A woman with long fiery red hair was standing there dressed in a leather outfit that had odd designs covering it. She also had a sword and a dagger in her belt and the two women looked at her surprised.
“Wait… aren’t you…” Luna said as she recognized the woman, it had been a long time since she saw her but she recognized that face anywhere. “What are you doing here?”
“Are you really going to question that kind of thing when you’re being chased by Richon?” The woman said as she crossed her arms. “Look, long story short, he’s out to get you and you’re going to need my help if you want to stop him.”
“Wait, that was Richon how…” Luna said as she blinked in confusion. That was definitely a name she remembered, she had almost forgotten that was what he had looked like, what had happened?
“Don’t worry about that right now, just use this,” the firey haired woman said as she took something out of her bag and gave it to Luna. It was dark blue and shaped like a square belt buckle with a sphere in the center. It shone in the light as points of light appeared on it like stars on the night sky. “You’re going to need this too.”
She took out a strange brush that was white with a black tip with the same white spots on it.
“How exactly is this supposed to work?” Luna said as she looked at the woman confused. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Look, it’s simple, you need to use the brush to draw this symbol in the air and it goes from there, you need to do this and say Henshin,” the woman said as she handed a small piece of paper to Luna who just looked confused as the woman performed a strange movement of her arms. “What?”
“I don’t know how you’re here or what’s going on, why should we just trust you?” Luna said as she narrowed her eyes at the strange woman. “You appear out of nowhere…”
“Luna, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me,” the firey haired woman said as she interrupted Luna. “But you know me, you created me, so you know me better than anyone. I would never betray you, I just need you to trust me, okay?”
Luna looked at Nox who looked just as unsure about this as she did. She looked down at the strange brush and belt as she tried to figure out what she was going to do.
“Luna, Richon wants your blood,” the woman said. “This is the only chance you have at stopping him and protecting yourself and anyone else who might get in his way. I have no power here unlike them, you need to do this, please?”
“Alright,” Luna finally said as she looked at Nox. “Do you think I should do this?”
“I think it’s a good idea at least,” Nox said and Luna sighed a little. “We need to stop him from going after you or Celestia. And we don’t even know who else might get caught up in it.”
“Alright, I’ll do it then,” Luna said as she raised the belt buckle and the lights on it shone brightly as she placed it on her waist and a belt formed around her. She looked at the piece of paper and nodded as she drew a symbol in the air. “Henshin!”
She was a bit surprised when some music suddenly began playing from the belt as the sphere in the center began glowing.
“And all you create,
And all you destroy,
And all that you do,
And all that you say.”
The shine on the sphere finally ended as a grey mass overtook half of it, leaving only part of it still black. Energy flowed out of the sphere and surrounded Luna as it formed over her body. A strange suit of armor formed over her, most of the body was dark blue with shining white dots covering it. The helmet was vaguely human-shaped with golden eyes that shined brightly with a crest on the helmet and a silver part covering the top of the head.
Luna looked at where the brush had been in her hand and blinked in surprise to see that it had transformed into a sword with the same design and color scheme. She swung it around curiously as she examined it before looking at her reflection.
“What the… what have you done to me?” She asked as she turned back to look at the woman. “What is this thing?”
“As I said, I don’t have time to explain it right now with him out there,” the fiery-haired woman said. “I will tell you this, I’ve given you the power to stop him and protect yourself and those who could be in danger. You are now Kamen Rider Eclipse, and you have the power to stop Richon and the others.”
“Great,” Luna said as she examined herself for a moment and took a deep breath. “So, what do I do now?”
“Deal with Richon, or at least try to,” the firey-haired woman said with a nod. “At the very least get a feel for your new abilities. This might require some getting used to, but you’re the best chance we have at defeating them.”
“Alright, I guess I don’t have a choice,” Luna said as she held up the sword and looked at it for a long moment. “Wish me luck, I feel like I’m going to need it.”
“Good luck,” Nox said as she placed her hand gently on Luna’s shoulder. “We just found each other again, I would hate to lose you again so soon.”
Luna chuckled a little bit as she headed out of the store with the sword gripped tight in her hand. Richon was farther down the street, apparently not having noticed her, and he was looking around confused.
“Where are you!” He shouted out. “You dare hide from me creator? I am not going to stand for this, come out and face me!”
“You’re going to regret that,” Luna said as she pushed forward and pointed her sword at Richon with a glare from behind her visor. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you, I’m looking for you,” Richon said with a wicked grin on his barely visible mouth as he pointed one of his swords at her. “You will pay for what you did Creator! You abandoned us and left us to rot!”
“Okay, you’re going to start making sense right now,” Luna said as she ran forward and swung her sword at the armored man. “Yes, I drew and wrote you and the others, but that was years ago. How are you even here? This doesn’t make any sense!”
“Yeah, like you don’t know,” Richon said as he caught the sword with one of his own and swung the other at her and Luna barely managed to dodge it. “You left us all to rot when you never finished your story!”
“What? How does that even…” Luna said as she swung the sword at him again and he caught it with his two swords. “That doesn’t even make sense! How do I even know you are really my creation? This has to be some sort of elaborate joke!”
“Really? And who would do that to you?” Richon said as he kicked at Luna and sent her sprawling back. “You created an entire world when you were in High School, but you failed to finish it! I’m not about to let you get away with what you did!”
As he swung his sword down towards her again Luna closed her eyes as she instinctively raised her arm to protect herself. Instead of the feeling of the blades cutting through her flesh she expected she was surprised to hear a metal clang as the blade hit something.
“Son of a…” Richon said as Luna opened her eyes to see a metal shield sticking out of her left arm. “How in the Nine Hells did you do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not complaining,” Luna said as she got to her feet and the shield vanished again and she picked the sword up again and held it outright. “I might not know how this thing works, but I’m not about to let you put innocent people at risk!”
“You don’t get it, all I want…” Richon said as he ran forward at her and planted several quick kicks in her chest before swinging his swords down and catching her across the chest. “IS YOU!”
Luna groaned as she fell back onto the ground and tried to push herself up only to feel a blade up against her neck. Even with her armor, she could feel the cold blade pressed against her neck and it terrified her.
“You’re a coward I see,” a voice said from nearby and they both looked to see a woman with dark skin and short dark pink hair standing there. She was dressed in a black coat and she glanced at Luna lying on the ground. “I have to say, I wasn’t expecting to see another one of those here.”
“This doesn’t involve you,” Richon said as he glowered at her. “Let me finish my business and be on my way.”
“I don’t think so,” the strange woman said as she narrowed her eyes a little and reached into her pocket. She took out a metal belt device with golden symbols painted on it and a red circle in the center plus a slot for cards. She placed it on her waist and it formed a belt as she took out a card and slid it into the slot. “Hen... shin!”
“THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!”
Energy flowed around her from the belt and formed on her body. Black armor covered her body first and then was quickly followed by silver. Small antennae formed from her forehead as a silver helmet formed over it with two menacing looking red eyes and black spots running along the helmet and down her back armor. Her mask, however, that was what drew your attention, it looked like a human skull.
“Who the hell are you?” Richon asked as he pointed his free sword at the strange new woman. “You’re not about to…”
Before he could even react the armored woman ran forward and punched Richon in the face and sent him sprawling. She shook her head a little as she shook her hand a little before she offered a hand to Luna.
“We might want to get out of here,” she said as she helped Luna up. “Let me guess, you’re a rookie?”
“Pretty much… who are you?” Luna asked as she blinked a little in confusion. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll pay for that interloper!” Richon said as he got to his feet slowly. “You’re not about to get away with this!”
“Yeah, I’ll explain it later,” the skull-faced Rider said as they got up and ran off towards where Nox and the firey haired woman were still waiting as best they could.
“Luna, what happened?” Nox asked as Luna started to feel a pain in her chest. She finally powered down as slash wounds were visible on her chest and she collapsed.
“LUNA!” Nox’s shout was the last thing she heard before her vision turned dark and she slipped into unconsciousness.
00000
Canterlot General Hospital.
April 9th, 2014. 4:17 PM.
“I’m sorry, I came as soon as I could,” Celestia said as she rushed into Luna’s room in the hospital. “What happened? What’s going on here?”
“You wouldn’t believe us if we tried,” Nox said with a sigh, she was sitting with the fiery-haired woman. The dark skinned woman had left to talk with someone and they hadn’t seen her since they had arrived. “Hey Celestia, it’s been a long time.”
“Nox? I didn’t expect to see you back in town,” Celestia asked as she blinked a little in surprise at the sight of her adopted sister’s old friend. She shook her head, she needed to figure out what happened to her sister first “What happened? I demand an answer!”
“Your sister got into a fight with a man called Richon,” the fiery-haired woman said with a sigh. “I would rather wait for Luna to wake up in order to explain everything. What you need to know is that your sister is the target of some very dangerous people. Unfortunately, she got hurt in the process.”
“What did you do?” Celestia demanded as she grabbed the fiery-haired woman by the shirt and pulled her in close. “Who are you and what do you want with my sister?”
“My name is Blaze, and I’m your sister’s only chance right now,” Blaze said with a shake of her head. “It’s hard to explain but there are those who want to get back at your sister for something that they believe she did to them. I can give her the power to fight them, but she’s not completely ready, not yet at least.”
“So, what are you going to do about that?” Celestia asked as she crossed her arms a little. “You can’t just keep putting my sister in danger like this. If you get her seriously injured or killed…”
“I’ve been doing what I can, your sister is going to be fine, physically at least,” Blaze said with a sigh as she looked back at Luna. “Her wounds are healing quickly because of the connection made with the Moon Stone. It’s likely what’s keeping her alive right now after that fight with Richon.”
“Moon Stone? What’s...” Celestia started to say before they heard a groan coming from the bed as Luna woke up. “Luna, are you okay? How are you feeling?”
“Like I got hit by a truck, what happened to me?” Luna asked with a groan before she looked over at Blaze and Nox. “And Blaze is still here, mind telling me exactly what’s going on here?”
“Blaze, I think you owe us all an explanation,” Nox said as she shot the fiery-haired woman a look. “You showed up, gave Luna some sort of belt and brush and told her to fight Richon. You and Richon are both creations from a story Luna made, so why don’t you actually explain to us what’s going on?”
“It’s complicated, and something that we’ve only been able to piece together over time,” Blaze said with a shrug. “Are you familiar with the idea of imagination made manifest?”
“Yeah, that’s the idea that by creating a story of some sort a universe comes into existence where that story is a reality,” Luna said. “I remember reading about it somewhere, are you saying that is what happened with my story?”
“It seems so yes,” Blaze said as she crossed her arms and sighed. “And when you stopped writing it, our world was placed in a limbo state. We managed to determine who was the creator, you, and Richon and others have decided to go after you out of revenge for what happened. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth. There’s no reason to trick you, and they will go after not only you but anyone close to you or anyone who gets in your way.”
“So basically, I’m in trouble,” Luna said as she gripped the bedding a little. “I can’t put Celestia or Nox in danger. What about that woman who came by before, is there any way she can defeat them?”
“No, I can’t,” the dark-skinned woman from before said as she walked in and shook her head a little. “Unfortunately there is something in that stone you were given that these creatures are susceptible to. I’m in no position to actually finish them off, I’m afraid that’s going to fall on you.”
“Great,” Luna said as she reached over and picked up the belt as she looked at it for a long moment. “The Moon Stone… I remember this. This was supposed to be some sort of ultra-powerful artifact along with the Sun Stone.”
“So, basically some sort of MacGuffin,” Celestia said.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Luna said as she looked confused for a moment. “But this isn’t right, I never had it be in a belt like this or transform the holder into a Kamen Rider. What exactly is this thing?”
“It’s the Moon Stone, that is true, the Sun Stone is in the possession of Lord Hathar,” Blaze said with a shake of her head. “I combined it with some special magic in order to create the armored form when using the brush. There are some other options, but you’re going to have to be trained in those and we only have so much time.”
“You’re kidding, exactly how much time do we have left?” Nox asked as Blaze frowned a little.
“5 days not counting today,” Blaze answered with a sigh. “If they are not defeated by then the Moon Stone is going to lose power and they’ll be free to do whatever they want to your world.”
“Five days, that’s the full moon,” the dark-skinned woman said with a frown.
“You’re going to be at full strength at night and get more powerful as the week progresses,” Blaze said. “The Moon Stone is only as powerful as it is as the moon’s phases continue. Once it begins to wane then it won’t be nearly as powerful, and unfortunately, once the Full Moon arrives it won’t do you any good.”
“Great,” Luna said with a sigh.
“That seems, oddly convenient,” the dark-skinned woman said as she raised an eyebrow at Blaze. “Exactly what kind of game are you playing here? Why are you even interested in stopping them at that? If you’re from the same world they’re from, aren’t you just as interested in getting revenge on?”
“I admit I have more of a reason to want revenge for putting our world into Limbo than they do, but I’m not about to let them put innocent people at risk,” Blaze said as she looked between the three other women. “I’m here to help because I believe that what they’re doing is wrong.”
“Alright,” Celestia said. “But I need you to promise me that you won’t let anything happen to my sister. It’s bad enough that you dragged her into this, but if you’re being honest about what’s been going on then I can agree to this. You had better make sure that she doesn’t get hurt, understood?”
“Understood, I have no reason to hurt her,” Blaze said. “Or allow anyone to hurt her, you have my word on that. Luna is the best chance I have to reach my own goals and possibly even save my world.”
“Okay,” Celestia said with a sigh. “This is just a lot to take in, you know? How do we even know you’re telling the truth? Couldn’t you just be a bunch of weirdos that found her journal somewhere and decided to play a prank?”
They all paused at that, Luna and Nox had to admit that they had considered the same possibility. So, what exactly was going to be the answer? Luna was a bit afraid of what the answer was going to be.
“Because no one who is just playing a trick on her wouldn’t be able to use the Penumbra Driver,” Blaze said with a roll of her eyes as she pointed at the belt. “These things aren’t just something you can buy at the store you know? Trust me, there’s no trick being played on her here, but she is in danger.”
“Great,” Luna said with a sigh as she looked down at herself and realized that the wounds from the fight had been healed. She picked up the belt and looked at it confused for a moment, actually, she felt better than she had in a long time. “I’m starting to think that this thing isn’t a joke…”
“I know this is a lot to take in,” Blaze said with a sigh. “But we’re going to get you trained with how to use the sword. Given you’re healed I think the doctors should be easy to convince to let you out.”
“If you’re sure that’s for the best,” Celestia said as she looked at her adopted Sister. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Luna said as she looked at herself again. “Whatever that stone did it seems to have done the trick. How does this even work? I never gave any of these powers to the Moon Stone.”
“The Moon Stone is more powerful than anything even you understood,” Blaze said with a soft smile. “It would take too long to explain everything, but the Gods that forged the Moon and Sun Stones gave them a lot of power that we could never truly tap into until now. That is all you need to know for now.”
“I see,” Luna said as she examined the belt again for a long moment before she sighed a little and looked back at Celestia. “Alright, let’s talk to the Doctors. If Richon really is out there waiting for me, or any of the others, we have to make sure that I’m ready for it. We only have so much time.”
“I’m glad you came to see it my way,” Blaze said with a nod as Celestia left the room and Luna groaned a little as she got up. She was still a little sore as Nox helped stabilize her as she gave Luna a soft smile. “Thank you, Nox.”
“You’re welcome Luna,” Nox said with a soft smile as she helped keep her steady and they went to get her clothes together.
Blaze frowned a little as she watched the two in silence. She gripped something around her neck for a moment as she shook her head. I’ve got to stay strong, the mission has to be finished, she thought to herself as she shook her head a little bit.
It wasn’t the time, not yet.
00000
Outside of Canterlot.
April 9th, 2014. 6:33 PM.
“Alright, we’re all set up here,” the dark-skinned woman with the pink hair who had introduced herself as Tempest Shadow said as she crossed her arms. They were now out in the desert a little way from town and she had set up rough targets for Luna to test on. “Do you have a vehicle yet?”
“What do you mean?” Luna asked confused as she looked at the paintbrush in her hand. “Blaze didn’t say anything about that.”
“Don’t worry I already thought of that, you have to draw these symbols while transformed,” Blaze said as she gave another piece of paper to Luna. “I didn’t think it was important at the time or I’d have given it to you already.”
“I see,” Luna said as she looked at the four symbol word. “Uh, wouldn’t drawing this, you know, make me vulnerable to attack?”
“Well, yes,” Blaze said thoughtfully. “Which would be dangerous. I would work on drawing it as fast as you can. Ideally, you don’t want to do it in the middle of battle though, just be careful with it.”
“Alright, let’s try this,” Luna said with a sigh as she raised the brush and quickly drew the same symbol from before as it glowed and flew into the stone in her belt. “Henshin!”
“And all you create,
And all you destroy,
And all that you do,
And all that you say.”
She took a deep breath as the dark armor formed over her body and the sword appeared in her hand. She looked at it for a long moment, this time noticing that there was a brush built into the sword itself.
“Okay, this is trippy,” she said as she looked at it weirdly for a moment. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to it.”
“Don’t worry, just focus yourself on your target and make sure you’re careful,” Tempest said with a shake of her head. “Your opponents won’t always be standing still, but we don’t exactly have someone you can fight right now. You’re going to do fine, just get a good feel for your sword and leave the last one for the last part of your training.”
“Okay, let’s try this,” Luna said as she tightly gripped the hilt of her sword in her hand and faced the first of the targets with it.
She ran forward and slashed the sword at the target… only to have it miss and nearly fell flat on her face. She groaned a little as she pulled herself up. The sword felt heavy in her hands as she held the sword upright and groaned a little.
“Okay, that’s not exactly the best start,” Celestia said as she flinched a little at her sister’s failed attempt at attacking the target. She looked over at Blaze and Tempest who were watching Luna carefully “Are you sure she’s going to be okay to do this?”
“She’ll be fine,” Tempest said with a sigh. “It’ll take some getting used to, but we don’t have a lot of time if what Blaze said is anything to go by. This has to work or we’re all in big trouble.”
“Right, no pressure,” Nox said with a roll of her eyes. “Come on Luna, you can do this, don’t worry about it. Just do your best, this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this, remember? Come on, you can do it.”
“Okay,” Luna said as she took a deep breath and gripped the sword in her hand again. She had played around with toy swords as a child with Nox sure, but this was nothing like that. “Wish me luck…”
“Good luck,” Nox said as Luna tried again, swinging the sword at the same target and this time she slashed across its chest and cut through the cloth covering it.
“Okay, not bad,” Tempest said as some of the stuffing poured out of the cut that had been formed across the dummy’s chest. “You’re still a little sloppy, but it’s getting better.”
“Better might not be enough, Richon basically was raised to fight with swords,” Blaze said with a shake of her head. “You’re going to have to do more than just better. You’re going to have to make sure that you know exactly what you’re doing.”
“Great…” Luna said with a sigh as she turned back to look at the dummies that were lined up in front of her and held her sword upright. “You’re absolutely sure that there’s no one else who can do this?”
“Positive,” Blaze said as she crossed her arms. “You’re the only one who can tap into the power of the Moon Stone. And because they’re going after you, you would be the best choice to do it anyway given that you’d be able to react quickly. Trust me, as hard as it is going to be you are the only choice we can make for this job Luna.”
“Right,” Luna said as she gripped the sword again and swung the sword around a few times as she tried to get a feel of it. It took her a few tries but she was finally confident in herself as she turned back to face the dummy.
She gripped the sword tightly in her hand and ran forward at it. Just as she reached it she spun around a little and slashed through its neck, coming to a stop as it fell off and the stuffing fell out. She took a breath as she lowered the sword a little and looked back as she lowered the sword a little.
“How was that?” She finally asked as she looked back at her companions.
“Not bad, you’re at least getting the hang of it, hopefully, it’s going to be enough,” Blaze said with a sigh as she gave Luna a nod. “Keep practicing, once you’re done I will finish your training myself.”
“Understood,” Luna said as she turned back and looked at the next dummy target as she gripped the sword and ran forward again and continued practicing.
She practiced for a while, the sword missed more strokes than it hit but she slowly became more and more accustomed to using it. She narrowed her eyes at the second to last one and ran forward, stabbing the blade into its chest and pulling it upwards as she did, cutting it cleanly as she lowered the sword and breathed heavily.
“Okay, not bad you’re certainly getting better,” Blaze said. “You just have one last thing you need to try out before we’re ready other than your mount. See that last target?”
“Yeah?” Luna asked as she faced the final target and gripped her sword in her hand for a moment as she prepared for her next move. “I’m ready for anything, I think.”
“Good, you’re going to want to do a finisher, it’s generally the best way to deal with monsters and finish them off,” Blaze said as she handed the third piece of paper to Luna. “In your case, you’re going to need to remove the brush from your sword and paint this symbol in the air. It’s simple and easy to do quickly, it should only be used when your opponent is incapacitated though.”
Luna nodded as she looked at it and removed the brush as it glowed with energy and she quickly drew it in the air. She leaped up and jumped at it, surprised when her body went through it and was surrounded with energy as she came down on the target with a powerful kick as a name came to her
“RIDER KICK!” She said loudly as she impacted the target and ran through it with her foot, causing it to fall apart. “Wow… did I really do that?”
“The finisher is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal, you have other options but it’s your only way of definitively defeating your opponent,” Tempest said with a nod. “The Rider Kick is pretty simple, but it gets the job done as long as you know what you’re doing. I know this is all new to you, but you’re doing just fine.”
Luna looked at herself and at the brush that she held in her hand. This was all so weird to her, what made this thing so powerful? Was it the connection to the Moon Stone or was it something else entirely? This wasn’t anything she had created, it was like the story had taken on a mind of its own.
“How does this work?” Celestia asked, finally mirroring Luna’s own thoughts on it. “I mean, I’ve heard about Riders before but this isn’t something I’m familiar with. Is it safe for Luna to even use?”
“Yes, it's perfectly safe,” Blaze said. “As to how it works, it basically works on the principle of words or imagination made manifest. When held by someone that is synced with the Moon Stone and the world that we came from uses it, they can tap into that power and use it to transform and other things.”
“I see,” Celestia said though she still looked as worried as ever. “You had better not be putting my sister in danger. I don’t trust strange magical artifacts like this.”
“I understand, and I don’t blame you,” Blaze said. “But given that it’s the only option you have I don’t think you have much of a choice now do you?”
Celestia glowered a little as Blaze walked over to where Luna was standing and gave her a smile. “Alright Luna, do you think you’ve got the hang of this now?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Luna said with a slight nod. “What do we do next?”
“Well like I said we’re a bit pressed for time, so we’re going to have to skip most of the training you’d normally get for this kind of thing,” Blaze said as she adjusted her coat to reveal a sword. “Let me see your technique for myself, I’ll give you some pointers and make sure you really are ready for this.”
“Understood,” Luna said as she held her sword upright and Blaze drew her own sword. “I don’t want to hurt you though, is this really going to be okay?”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ve taken worse,” Blaze said with a smirk. “If there’s one thing I can do it’s hold my own in a fight. You should be more worried about yourself, but this is just a sparring match after all. I can continue to train you as the week progresses.”
Luna nodded a little and raised her sword which she crossed with Blaze’s. “En garde then.”
Blaze smiled and swung her sword unexpectedly, Luna just barely managed to catch it with her own as she was pushed back. “Not bad, you’re capable of defending yourself at least, but it’s not going to be that simple next time,” Blaze said as she pushed forward again with a slash of her sword.
The sparring match continued for a while, mostly with Luna on the defensive while Blaze effortlessly pushed her back. Finally, Luna managed to push back and nearly caught Blaze across the chest, forcing the more experienced sword fighter on the defensive.
Another swing from Luna was quickly caught by Blaze’s own sword as she kicked Luna’s legs out from under her and shook her head a little. “Not bad, but you still need a lot of work on your form.”
“What do you expect, I just started today,” Luna said with a sigh.
“Fair enough, but you need to be careful if I was your enemy I’d have struck you down already,” Blaze said with a shake of her head. “But this may be your biggest advantage as well.”
“How’s that?” Nox asked confused.
“Richon will likely believe that you are inexperienced with the blade and will underestimate you,” Blaze said. “It’s one of his greatest weaknesses, you’re going to have to take advantage of that and make sure that you outsmart him instead of outfighting him.”
“Great…” Luna said with a sigh. “I hope you’re right that I actually can do that though, I’m not cut out for this, pun not intended.”
“You’ve got the soul of a warrior in you Luna, I could tell when we first met,” Blaze said. “You’re going to do just fine, and I promise that I will do everything I can to make sure you’re trained for the next encounter.”
“Next encounter? You’re talking like this is going to happen a lot!” Luna said with a groan as she fell down on the desert sand.
“You have four more to defeat you know,” Blaze said with a sigh. “Look, I know that we’re dumping a lot on you at once but right now this is what we have to do. Luckily you do have one advantage over them when facing them and you should take full advantage of that whenever possible.”
“And that is?” Luna asked.
“You use the Moon Stone,” Blaze said as she pointed up at the moon above. “When you fight with it while at night you will be more powerful depending on what phase of the moon it is. While it’s hardly the strongest right now, you are at a great advantage over Richon during this time period still.”
“I see,” Luna said as she looked down at the stone attached to the Penumbra Driver. It did resemble the moon and it had the same look as the moon in the sky above, so maybe she had the right idea.
She just had to hope that it really was going to be enough. If not, then she was going to be in more trouble than ever.
“Alright, so what about the mount thing?” Luna asked as she took out the second piece of paper that Blaze had given her. “I just write this in the air right?”
Blaze nodded as Luna took out the brush again and concentrated. This was longer than the others as she wrote it in the air and the symbols started to form together as she finished. Finally, they glowed brightly as a shape began to form.
It was a motorcycle that looked like an old Harley Davidson only it was pitch black with the same white spots crossing it. Its headlight also resembled the sphere that was at the center of the driver only with a full light coming off of it.
“Wow, sweet ride,” Nox said as she let out a light whistle. “Though are you sure that Luna knows how to use this thing? I mean, I don’t think she’s ever been on a motorcycle in her life.”
“No, honestly I haven’t really,” Luna admitted as she ran her hand over it gently and sighed a little. “Though I will admit I’ve always kind of wanted one, not exactly how I expected to get one though.”
“Don’t worry, you’ve got this,” Celestia said with a smile. “Just be careful and get in some practice before you take it out onto the city streets. And try not to attract too much attention, I don’t want to have to bail you out for not having a license.”
“That’s easy enough to do,” Blaze said as Luna climbed on. “Luna hit the button on the right side handlebar there. It’ll trigger New Moon Mode and should give you an advantage, though I don’t know if it’s going to hold up in battle.”
Luna looked at it curiously for a moment as she found the button and hit it. A dark fog came out of the bike as the headlight turned black and she seemed to vanish before letting out a startled cry and releasing the button which made her re-appear.
“What the heck? Did that turn me invisible?” Luna asked.
“Indeed, this craft is built for stealth, the only problem is avoiding traffic,” Blaze said with a chuckle. “I would be careful if I were you, the last thing you need is to accidentally run into a car or have them run into you.”
“Good to know,” Luna said as she examined it again. “That’s pretty handy though, it should help but how am I supposed to be able to see without the headlight?”
“That’s easy, there’s a button on the side of your helmet, hit it and you’ll activate Eclipse Vision,” Blaze said.
“You sure know a lot about this for someone who hasn’t used it herself,” Nox commented as she narrowed her eyes a little. “How do you know so much about it?”
“My best friend, Lady Noctis, she held the Moon Stone before she was taken away by the enemy,” Blaze said sadly. “She knew all of its tricks and she taught me everything she knew about it. I had to make a few adjustments to it to make it work in this world, including the armor, but I kept many of its abilities the same.”
“I see,” Nox said as she glanced at Blaze suspiciously for a moment. There was something about this story that didn’t entirely add up to her but it was better than no explanation at all.
Luna managed to start up the bike and took it out for a few laps around the deserted area. She was surprised at how well it handled on the sand as she picked up a little bit of speed. The bike felt almost like an extension of herself like it was meant to be her’s.
It took a little getting used to but once she got the hang of it she hit the button for Eclipse Vision and turned on New Moon Mode again. She looked in awe as she could see as plain as day, maybe even better as she looked at the others.
She blinked a little from behind her visor. It wasn’t just that she could see them, she could see them in different colors. At least, most of them. Nox and Celestia had a warm aura to them while Blaze seemed almost fiery, it was odd but she didn’t question it much.
But Tempest? Tempest was black, the only reason she even realized it was her because she could make out her outline against the otherwise vibrant background. It was weird, but she figured there had to be a reason.
She turned her attention back to riding around and found it surprisingly easy to move while using Eclipse Vision. The bike’s feeling didn’t change, in fact, it was almost as if it was easier to do so in this mode.
This was like nothing she had ever experienced before, it was exciting and she loved the feeling of riding through the desert. She didn’t really know how this worked, but at the same time, it actually did feel comfortable, like she had an idea of what she was doing.
She finally pulled to a stop back in front of her companions as she shut off the Eclipse Vision and took a deep breath. “That was, wow.”
“I thought you’d like that,” Blaze said with a soft smile as Luna got off her bike and looked at it for a long moment. “So, what do you think Luna?”
“It was certainly exciting,” Luna said as she reached down and turned something on the Driver as it powered down and the armor vanished. “This is kind of trippy, to be honest, I didn’t think the Eclipse Vision would be that…”
“Intense?” Celestia asked and Luna nodded a little.
“Understandable, this normally would take a while to get used to but you don’t have the time,” Tempest said. “I’ll help you as best I can against them, but you’re going to have to finish them on your own. I can only do so much against these creatures.”
“I understand,” Luna said with a sigh as they headed back to the car, it was time to go hunting.
00000
Canterlot City Center.
April 9th, 2014. 8:14 PM
“So, how do we know where to look?” Luna asked as they made their way into the center of Canterlot. “I doubt Richon is just going to leave signs pointing towards where he’s waiting for us.”
“No, but we can at least get an idea of where to go,” Blaze said as she looked out the window and sighed a little. “I’m sorry that you all got dragged into this. I will admit I’m not happy with what happened, this is too much. They’re putting innocent people’s lives in danger, I just want to help you stop them.”
“Yeah…” Luna said with a sigh as she looked down at the Driver for a moment and then back at Blaze. “I’m sorry Blaze, I had no idea that was going to happen if I stopped working on it.”
Blaze remained quiet for a moment before she looked away from Luna and back out the window. Luna sighed a little, she didn’t blame her for not wanting to forgive her, especially if this all really was her fault.
“Luna, this isn’t your fault,” Nox said as she placed her hand on Luna’s which made the dark-skinned woman blush a little. “You didn’t know and you had no intention of doing this. Yeah, it happened, but what you need to do right now is work to make up for it and make sure that they don’t threaten the city.”
"Then we're going to make sure that he doesn't," Blaze said with a soft smile as she looked back ahead. "So, we need to figure out where he went and what he's up to now. Not exactly an easy prospect."
"You'd think an armored man carrying two swords would be easier to find, it's not like there's a convention in town or something," Celestia said with a sigh. "Are you sure that everything is going to be okay Luna? I mean, this is only your second time encountering Richon."
"I hope so," Luna said with a sigh as she looked back at Nox for a moment and smiled a little bit. "But this isn't going to be easy. Still, it beats being stuck at work all day."
"Heh, yeah," Celestia said with a light chuckle. "Well if you think you're going to be okay then... WATCH OUT!"
She slammed her foot down on the brake and the other women held on as the car skidded to a stop just short of Richon who was standing in the middle of the road. The armored man growled and slammed his fists down on the hood of the car with a loud crunch.
"Hey!" Celestia said as she tried to start the car up again but Richon just grinned as he gripped the car tightly. "Let us go you freak!"
"Give me the Creator and I will," Richon said with a grin which showed his sharp teeth. "I'm not here for you, I just want the creator."
"Are you okay?" Nox asked as she checked Luna.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Luna said as she reached for her Driver and paused a moment. Was she really able to do this? Even after her training, she had to admit she was nervous. This was going to be hard but she figured that she had to take a chance and just hope that it was going to work out. "What about you Nox?"
"Yeah, go get him," Nox said with a smile as Luna nodded and opened the door to the car and pulled out the Driver. "Be careful Luna..."
Luna nodded a little as she got out of the car and held up the Driver as she stared Richon down. "You have a lot of guts to be here again."
"Hah, I could say the same about you," Richon said with a grin as he released the car and drew his swords as Celestia pulled the car back away. "So, what are you going to do? I doubt you're actually strong enough to kill me this time!"
"We'll see about that," Luna said as she set the Driver on her waist and the belt formed around her. She took out the paintbrush and stared at it for a moment before she quickly drew the symbol in the air. "Henshin!"
“And all you create,
And all you destroy,
And all that you do,
And all that you say.”
The symbol flew into her belt as the sphere in the belt glowed brightly and matched the phase of the moon. The armor formed over her body as the brush grew out and formed into a blade as Luna raised it and pointed it at the monster with a small nod.
"I'm not about to let you get away with attacking this city and terrifying people!" Luna said as she gripped the hilt of the sword tightly. "You're going down, now!"
"Try it," Richon said with a wicked grin as he ran forward and slashed his swords at Luna who just barely managed to dodge out of the way and swung her own sword around catching him across the back a little. "You're not so tough Creator, you don't know the first thing about fighting!"
"We'll see about that," Luna said as she gripped the sword tightly in her hand and swung it at the armored man again as his two swords caught them. "Tell me, is there anyone else here? Or are you the only one?"
"It doesn't matter does it?" Richon asked with a wicked grin. "You're not going to be able to beat even me! Don't worry about my comrades when you can barely even hold your own against one of us!"
Luna narrowed her eyes from behind her helmet and kicked at his chest as hard as she could. Richon glowered a little as he held his chest and glared up at her before laughing and pointing his sword at her.
"Maybe I underestimated you, but that's fine!" He said as he started to glow with bright energy. "I'm not about to let you win! You're nothing more than a weak human, hardly even a warrior! I will make sure that your death is quick."
He stormed forward and slashed at Luna twice, she managed to catch one of them with her sword but the other one caught her across the chest and she let out a scream. She finally growled and punched him as hard as she could, swinging her leg around to catch him by the legs and pull him down to the ground.
"This city is under my protection," Luna said as she looked back towards the car for a moment as she took a deep breath. Tempest wasn't going to be here this time to bail her out, so she was going to have to do this on her own, she was going to have to do it eventually right? "And you're not going to do anything to hurt it! None of you will!"
"Then have at thee!" Richon said as Luna ran forward and swung her sword around as she slashed at the man with one hand as he caught the blade and the other hand swung around as a fist catching him in the face, her own strength surprising her as it caught his armored face.
The two warriors locked gazes behind their visors for a moment as Luna pressed harder against Richon's twin blades. She took a deep breath as she pushed back harder, her blade glowing brightly as she did. This was her first time really fighting against one of these monsters but she wasn't about to let him get away with what he was trying to do.
Finally, Luna broke the connection and jumped back just as Richon tried to swing his swords at her again. She swung her sword around and caught him hard against the head, he let out a scream as his helmet cracked.
"Not bad..." Richon said as he removed his helmet revealing a barely human male face with scars and strange markings on it said with a laugh as he tossed the helmet to the side. "You're going to have to try harder than that if you actually want to defeat me though."
Luna gritted her teeth, this was not easy but she knew Richon wasn't perfect. It was simply a matter of getting him to make a mistake, not an easy thing to do but it was possible as she held the sword up and nodded a little as she looked at him with a nod.
"You're not going to win this," Luna said finally. "You're weak, pathetic, hardly worthy of the titles that were granted to you by your lady!"
"What did you say?" Richon said with a snarl as he gripped his two swords and glared at Luna. He pushed forward and slashed at him only to have it be caught with her own sword.
"See what I mean?" Luna asked with a shake of her head. "You're all washed up, there are warriors way better than you and you know you'll never come close to them!"
"What's she doing?" Celestia asked as she looked back at Nox and Blaze. "She's just going to make him mad if she talks to him like that."
"That's the idea," Blaze said with a chuckle. "Richon's greatest weakness is his ego, she's going after his ego to make him angry. By making him angry, he'll start to make mistakes."
"I see," Celestia said as she watched her sister fight the monster.
"I just hope she's going to be okay, this guy doesn't look like he's easy even if he's angry."
"No, he certainly isn't," Blaze said with a sigh as she looked back at Nox. "Do you know anything about Richon, Nox? You must remember Luna's stories."
"I do," Nox said with a sigh. "He was supposed to be the best warrior in the land under the service of Lady Reia. He was the most regularly appearing enemy in the story, in, well... your story."
"Indeed, unfortunately, my power is not nearly strong enough to fight him myself or I wouldn't need Luna's help," Blaze said with a shake of her head. "But Luna has this under control. She remembers Richon's weaknesses and she is more than capable of taking advantage of them.
"Right," Celestia said, she just hoped that Blaze really was right.
"Stop moving and let me hit you!" Richon said angrily as he swung his swords again, only to have Luna laugh and dodge them once more. "You're not a warrior! You're hardly even a fighter! I'm not about to... gurk..."
Before he could finish that sentence Luna sent an armored knee into his stomach and he fell back. He struggled to get to his feet as Luna detached the brush from her sword and drew a new symbol in the air.
"This is over," Luna finally said as she leaped up, energy collecting in her foot as she brought it down hard on Richon who screamed. "RIDER KICK!"
Richon's scream was cut off as he exploded into shards. Luna finally relaxed a moment as she tried to walk back to the car before stumbling a little, she hit the button on her Driver, her armor vanishing just as she reached the car.
"Luna, are you okay?" Celestia asked as they got out of the car, Luna looked tired and she had a few wounds crossing her body, but she was still alive.
"I'm... fine," Luna said weakly as she smiled a little. "That just took a little more out of me than I was expecting. Why is that?"
"It's one thing if you're practicing, but when you're doing it for real then it drains some of your energy," Blaze said with a shake of her head. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You just need some food and a good night's sleep."
"Let's get you back home," Celestia said as she and Blaze helped Luna back into the car seat next to Nox. "Are you sure you're going to be okay Luna?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Luna said as she smiled over at Nox who placed her hand gently on the other woman's and gave her a gentle smile. "That was, quite the experience."
"I'll bet," Nox said gently as Celestia started up the car again. Nox looked back at Celestia and Blaze for a moment and sighed. "They saw me, didn't they? I'm going to be a target too aren't I?"
"Probably," Celestia said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. "What do you think we should do with you two?"
"Let them stay at our place," Luna said with a sigh. "Nox can have my bed and Blaze can sleep on the couch. I'll just sleep on the floor if I'll even be able to sleep after tonight."
"Okay," Celestia said as she looked back at Nox and Blaze. "Are you two okay with that? I know it's asking a lot of you and if there's anywhere else you could go..."
"Eh, I'm still living out of a hotel until I can get an apartment anyway," Nox said.
"And I don't exactly have anywhere to stay either," Blaze added. "I would appreciate having a place to stay."
"Luna, are you sure about giving up your bed though? I mean, that's not very convenient for you," Nox said.
"I'll be fine, I've slept on worse," Luna said with a weak smile. "Besides, you're our guests. It's my fault that you two are stuck in this situation, it would at least do something to help you."
"Right," Blaze said as the car sped off towards the apartment.
Back on the street, the same shadowy woman and man were watching as the car watched them go. Lady Reia shook her head a little bit as she watched them go. "Richon did well, but now Luna knows we're here. It won't be easy to get the jump on her again."
"Agreed," Scarn said with a nod. "So we're going to have to draw her out again somehow. Perhaps tomorrow will bring better fortune to us."
"Perhaps," Reia said with a sigh as she looked back to where Richon had once stood. "He was a fine warrior and was loyal to our cause. I don't know what we are going to do at this point, we'll need to send someone else tomorrow if we want to claim the Moon Stone."
"Agreed," Scarn said with a nod. "We will have to gather a quorum to make sure that we know what the plan is. Richon's brute force wasn't enough, so we're going to need someone who is strong in another way."
"Indeed," Reia said with a nod. "Indeed, we'll figure this out in no time."
And with that, the two figures vanished.
00000
“Luna?” Nox asked as her old friend set out some blankets and a pillow on the floor for her to sleep on that evening in her bedroom.
“Yes, Nox?”
“Why did you stop working on those stories anyway?” Nox asked. “I mean, you were really good, you were even thinking about seeing if you could get a job making comics when you were older. What happened to you?”
“I…” Luna said as she trailed off for a moment, she knew exactly why but she couldn’t tell Nox. Not yet, not when she had just re-entered her life after so long, she had to figure a lot of things out first. “I have my reasons, though sometimes I regret not finishing them.”
“Especially now?”
“Yeah, especially now,” Luna said with a chuckle. “I was trying to write them, and I guess sometime around when you moved away I lost the will to work on them again. I never imagined something like this would happen.”
“I don’t think any of us did,” Nox said with a sigh. “But then again, there’s a lot going on in the world that is hard to understand and would be hard to imagine being real. Maybe something like this was inevitable, or maybe there’s something more to it. Right now you just need to relax and be ready for whatever tomorrow brings.”
“Right,” Luna said with a sigh as she laid down on the blankets and smiled a little. “Nox, I’m glad you came back.”
“Me too,” Nox said with a gentle smile as she laid down on the bed. “I just wish that it was during happier times.”
“Yeah..” Luna said with a soft sigh as she closed her eyes, and soon the two women had drifted off to sleep.
