Utter Lunacy by InsaneScriptist
Beta: Umei no Mai
Summary: When the white demon with angel wings took over Magical Britain few were left still fighting. Luna is captured only to later win her own private war. What it means for the future is anyone's guess. MoD!Luna.
Warnings: AU!HP, EWE, HP!Character Deaths, AU!KHR, Alt!Byakuran, torture, physical violence, implied rape, Crazy!Byakuran, KHR!Character Deaths and more that I'm probably forgetting. Why am I writing this?
Luna is the one to ask Xanxus about his aims. The territory they take over will eventually become their home and shelter after all, so they need to have plans and a purpose so they don't get themselves into trouble. A home should be a safe place, as safe as they could make it.
Well, as much as the Underworld is anyone's home. It's dangerous, missteps are fatal and this world abides by strange rules and its inhabitants by even stranger codes of conduct, but that doesn't mean that people can't be happy there.
(They can be. It's hard, it's a struggle but it is far more real for it and oh so worth it. Like friendship.)
The Underworld of the Mafia is a much better Underworld than Apollo's. Here, the moon can shine without reflecting Apollo's mad brilliance.
"The Vongola." Xanxus decides.
The look Mukuro sends Xanxus expresses far more than the mature boy says. All he asks is "Why the Vongola?"
"Why not?" That is the retort that Xanxus uses. It is so incomplete it is practically a taunt.
Playing peacemaker is not something that Luna is used to, but she's learning how and not from Harry Potter's example; Xanxus and Mukuro are not Ron and Hermione. Xanxus articulates about half the things most people would and Mukuro always takes the words left unsaid in the worst possible way, misinterpreting the half he can hear and filling in the blanks with worst-case scenarios.
"I think what Xanxus means is that with the Boss and heirs of the Vongola dead, the family either tore itself apart or joined others they were allied to, from what I understand of mafia politics. So, the actual buildings should be vacant. Any hold and claim on the territory by surviving Family would be weak."
"And if they buildings are destroyed?" Mukuro asks.
"Some of them are." Xanxus informs them; unsaid was that he probably did some of that personally.
"Fixing them with magic is possible. They can even be upgraded, with wards. Passages added, rooms expanded or locked and such. My school had plenty of them hidden behind paintings and blank bricks."
"You know how?" He asks.
He's read her books and more besides -in the Cervello's massive library there is an excess of books and a lack of enforcers of the law- so he knows magic is more than mere words and a flick of a wand. His recent reading binge is runes in various languages; she's seen him make notes, create and figure out problems that would have stumped NEWT students with ease. His latest creations and notes would have flummoxed the professor as well; Luna knows that her own did and Xanxus has casually surpassed her in this area.
"It's possible for me right now to do some of the simpler ones like the painting passage doors but I don't know how to twist space so that going down as single flight of stairs from the seventh floor would reach the second floor on the opposite side of the building."
"That's possible?" He asks, looking thoughtful. "Would be handy for getting around this library."
"Except on Tuesdays. That door didn't exist on Tuesdays."
Both males are clearly baffled by that possibility even if they don't dismiss it out of hand. They've been camping out in a tent in the most massive library in the world hidden from any possible form of civilization around. If nothing else, the defiance of physical dimensions is something they're getting used to. Mukuro once referred to something about a 'tar-diss' but didn't even both to explain the reference once Luna professed her incomprehension.
They have all been lost in the Cervello's library more than once. Xanxus once measured from the door to the far wall in as straight a line as he could manage. It took him three full days on the carpet -seventy four hours and twenty one minutes specifically- flying at full speed to reach it. Mukuro and Luna had joined him on that trip, if a little unwillingly, simply because the tent was on the expanded carpet for the trip.
That same carpet saw them from India to Turkey within six hours. That the inside of the library could be larger than the entire Asian continent in terms of sheer area -Xanxus had done the math- had given both males headaches.
"Magic makes no sense." Mukuro replies, his tone slightly harassed.
Luna pats his head.
"So if we're taking over the Vongola's territory, we're going to need power, people, resources. Then what are we doing? More mafia madness?" Mukuro asks.
"Eh? Who knows." Xanxus declares, as he takes a deep drink of his wine.
"Well, none of us could live civilian lives I think. Xanxus is wanted in how many countries?"
"At least seventy-two." He informs them dryly. "Back when there were countries. They're probably countries again." He shrugs.
"And both Mukuro and I are known to the Millefiore as well, so while we could join other mafia families it's not something we want to do."
"I do not want to join any filthy mafia family or be part of one. I'd rather kill them all."
"My sentiments exactly. I don't care what my enemies do. I'll just kill them all." Xanxus cuts in.
"Well, we can aim for taking out the worst of those families first. We can loot their resources to build our power base. Find the people that we can turn into our people and so on." Luna suggests. "Once we know who the worst offenders are and so on. Impose our own law on the mafia."
"Some sort of vigilantism, like what the Vongola was founded upon?" Xanxus asks, perking up slightly.
"We're going to be the worst vigilantes ever." Mukuro declares trenchantly.
Xanxus raises his glass in a mockery of a cheer. "To vigilantism."
They really are going to be the worst vigilantes ever.
Xanxus is a draconic assassin. Dragons are predators, protectors in their own fashion but taking refuge under dragon wings is not an ideal safety.
Mukuro is a lab-rat turned mother-hen. He's a saboteur and spider by nature and the twisted mockery of nurture he has suffered through has only emphasized those traits.
Luna is a failed rebel, ex-prisoner and a very eccentric witch. She has always been a rebel against the norm but prison and torture haven't changed that, like it hasn't changed the fact she's a witch.
It's a recipe for the worst vigilantes to ever happen to the idea of vigilantism. They are utterly abusing the concept and twisting it into something entirely different.
Vigilantes are those that take down criminals when the law can't or won't; people who do it out of a sense of moral justice. People become vigilantes because they care about law and order.
They very much lack that sort of self-assured righteousness.
It could be said that their motivations are entirely selfish.
Well, at least they're honest about being the worst vigilantes ever.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. Enforce it and impose it.
It could be said that people have always detested evil and sought out a righteous way of living. Their feelings, the accumulation of those people's feelings are what make the law. That's a fact. What doesn't change is this:
People fail the law and the law fails the people.
Those feelings that make the law are neither the provisions in the various governments, nor the system those governments follow. They're the fragile and irreplaceable feelings that everyone carries in their hearts made manifest in the world. Those systems, that force that runs that system and more are all made and carried on through human feelings and ideas passed on from generation to generation.
People protect the law. The law doesn't protect people.
How can an idea and sentiments do anything? They motivate people yes, but that doesn't mean that all people are dedicated to those same ideas and sentiments. If they were, then crime wouldn't exist. If crime didn't exist, these feelings and desire for law and order wouldn't exist either.
People have to do something when ideas and systems and people who are supposed to uphold those laws fail.
That's the core of vigilantism.
None of them really care about the law at all.
A rebel, an killer and a saboteur.
If anything, they've always been against the system and all the ideas and sentiments that are held within the law. They embody chaos.
Worst vigilantes ever, indeed.
"Pack up any books and things you need, think you need, might need or just want." Xanxus declares.
"Why?" Luna asks.
"Because we're almost out of food." Mukuro answers. "We've got a week of food left and that's if the both of you don't mind short rations."
"That's a good reason to pack up, but if you're that concerned we could always find the Cervello's kitchen."
Despite having informed both males about what the Cervello were, how they came to be and what they were actually called, it has become habit to refer to them as 'Cervello.' It is what the other two were used to.
"They have a kitchen?"
"They ate?"
"Homunculi are practically human so they can derive energy from nourishment."
Both notice the evasiveness of the answer.
"Do we want to know what else they eat?" Mukuro asks.
"It's probably something like Flames right?" Xanxus questions.
Luna nods at Xanxus' question and informs them both to not ask how.
They trust her in that they do likely do not want to know. Homunculi are considered part of the Dark Arts for a reason.
Because the Cervello and all those attached to the Cervello's organization are dead the decision is made to take everything of potential edible value out of the kitchen.
Due to the wonders of magic, everything is fresh even though it could be centuries old.
"This wine is from 1429. Holy fuck." Xanxus sounds almost worshipful.
"Luna, I believe I require another of those magic bags of yours. I don't want to have to store everything in one bag. It would make a terrible disorganized mess."
The Cervello's tower raided of anything they would possibly ever want and need, they spend one last night on the hidden island.
"For something that old, the wine doesn't taste that special." Mukuro comments.
Xanxus shrugs the comment off and tops Mukuro's glass yet again; he is clearly in an incredibly good mood to ignore such a terrible slur against alcohol.
Luna giggles.
"Lightweight." The man with gleaming red eyes announces cheerfully.
A short ride on the carpet is not long enough for Mukuro recover from his hangover; thankfully Mukuro can hold the illusion of not being there even while hungover. Luna unlike both males had only imbibed three glasses and had sobered up before going to bed.
Between them, both males had finished off that bottle of wine and three more. Xanxus is unaffected aside from being very mellow this morning; he even made breakfast for both of them, as much as several sandwiches can be called breakfast.
They quickly arrive at what was once the Vongola estate. It's more than a little overgrown and weather damaged, but it's still standing; holes in the roof or not. Well, where's there's a roof anyway.
"What happened to roof on that wing?" Luna asks aloud.
"It's in the East Garden." Xanxus explains.
"Why?"
"I tossed it there. CEDEF was taking control of the famiglia after I assassinated the Ninth; that was a tricky assignment too. I ended up fighting the head of CEDEF and we had pretty much demolished another wing by knocking each other through it. So I picked up the roof, tossed it at him and we fought some more out on the grounds. I ended up killing him after burning through half his torso. End of story."
That Xanxus had moved the fight to the grounds suggested he'd liked the house enough not to want to finish demolishing it, which was sort-of sweet really. As much as dragons could be sweet. She wondered if Xanxus had been loyal to Byakuran at the time or if he had just been biding his time when he had destroyed the Vongola. Turning a place like the Vongola Estate into a lair was very much a dragon thing to do.
"So we need wards to divert attention first and then I can start cleaning up on this mess. You can plan out how to be vigilantes with Mukuro."
Three weeks later, the Vongola Headquarters doesn't look like it has been destroyed and left to rot for years. Xanxus hadn't been kidding about that wing he and the CEDEF's head had destroyed by what looks like bodily knocking each other through multiple rooms and floors at a time; the holes in the few remaining walls had reminded Mukuro of those cartoons with the rabbit, the duck, the wolf-thing and the high-speed bird that he had tried to explain to Luna. He failed at it because while she knew what screens and a telly were for, she had never watched cartoons and didn't see the need to now. The roof of that wing had miraculously survived but that many holes in the building had let in the elements and animals.
The rest of the estate is not exactly pristine either. The less said about the landscaping the better and Luna is pretty sure that reattaching the roof like that was not entirely correct or a job she's done exactly right. 'Reparo' is a general fix-it spell; it is not a construction spell, not by a long shot. They could always find people to fix it properly later, but it works and she hasn't detected any leaks yet.
Luna has also charmed a lot of the interior of the base that they had claimed. The plumbing is magical now and all the windows are charmed unbreakable from the outside; that was a group decision because escape is better than being fenced in.
It was a lot of work but she's proud of it, especially if the roof still doesn't leak in the future.
Mukuro and Xanxus haven't been idle either. They'd disappear with the carpet for a few hours and bring back people and information to their new home.
A lot of the people brought over are clearly going to be support types and are terrified of both males. Luna doesn't quite understand why.
(She has Byakuran haunting her dreams sometimes. He's thankful. She wakes up in a cold sweat. The faux angel is far more terrifying than Xanxus and Mukuro.)
Mukuro's fellow lab-rats are also brought home one day, along with a few others that he's picked up; most of Mukuro's picks are interesting. One is a curiously fierce looking fellow with a massive ball-and-chain weapon. Luna is insulted to her face by the animalistic blond but a few flicks of her hand and a touch of magic sends the blond somewhere deep into the wilds of the gardens.
She assigns them to manage the landscaping, since they weren't doing anything else but take up space. The blond, Ken and the boy with glasses named Chikusa start joining Mukuro in his ventures out of the estate. Their tall minder tackles the landscaping like a man enlightened. He doesn't do too badly for an utter amateur.
She really should see if Neville was actually alive and maybe introduce them. Having magical plants on hand would be handy, but Neville and plants could wait for a little bit more.
The information about the world is more interesting.
Xanxus is still wanted dead by just about everyone. He remains among the top ten most wanted in over 80 countries. Then there are the countless groups and organizations that want to kill or capture him for prestige or just to torture him. It's rather impressive in the vast quantity and array of enemies he has managed to acquire. Daddy always said you could judge a man by his enemies. Luna wonders if hoarding enemies counts to dragons, because good enemies hoard themselves and Xanxus has easily reached the point where his enemies are self-perpetuating.
News about the Millefiore Empire isn't that interesting. Some of the higher-ups have managed to keep parts of the Empire stable. Byakuran never lacked for zealots. Some of them are even competent. Others are ambitious and have positions high enough to potentially cause a lot of trouble with the resources at their disposal; they're made note of and raids are planned.
As for the mafia side of things, the Millefiore famiglia has fallen apart. The Giglio Nero were among the first to separate from that sinking ship. The Cavallone, who absorbed the Vongola remnants, are reasserting themselves after some years of unwanted but necessary servitude to the fake angel, so they should expect some movement from that quarter. Especially since the Cavallone were once allies of the Vongola.
The triads are scrambling and fighting with other groups in Asia. The Russians are focusing inwards and preparing for war. More and more information filters in through Mukuro and Xanxus.
Of course some information filters out too.
Whispers speak of Vongola's rebirth.
Luna decides to not play housekeeper anymore.
They've recently been noticed by a lot of enemies after all.
They were always against the world, and they beat Apollo who had ruled the world with his brilliance.
Now the masses are testing their tempering.
"How are we?" Luna asks.
"Running thin. We've got limited supplies and resources. Soon we will be running on idealism." Mukuro hisses. "Thankfully they don't know we're here yet."
"We've got some time before starvation and deprivation sets in." Xanxus replies. "We've been looting those that we've been targeting. Those magic bags of yours are useful."
"So we still need more people, resources and weapons right?" Luna asked. "We're going to pick up a lot of enemies testing us soon."
"It's not like we have a ring maker or the spare cash to buy up whatever box weapons are floating around." Mukuro points out. "Plus unsuitable box weapons are just a waste."
"Finding the people with enough flames and a will to fight is going to be an ongoing issue, especially if we want loyalty. As for box weapons... If we had the equipment I could make lower grade rings and some box weapons. The box animals are more complicated." Xanxus offers, but doesn't explain further.
"To do that full time though is unwise though." Mukuro remarks.
"Especially since Xanxus is a magnet." Luna comments. "He draws people with his animal magnetism."
Xanxus snorts and takes another long deep drink of his wine. They do understand what she means; Xanxus either brings people together or drives them apart and into pieces. Despite how terrified by him some of their men are, they willingly follow him and lay their lives on the line they've drawn with their bravado. It's very impressive, almost as much as his array of enemies.
"So we need equipment for the rings and boxes. The Mare Ring is nice, but it's not really my type. I also need to get my own box animal." Luna remarks. "Magic is nice, but magicals have their own version of omerta, so using it obviously... at best there is memory alterations for those who have witnessed it and fines but at worst... The Vindice just sedate people and leave them to pickle in tanks. It's a much nicer deal in Vendicare than Azkaban. Azkaban has Dementors; their mere presence brings up bad memories. Dementors will feed and breed on misery and will eat your soul should they get the chance."
She doesn't really care for the Statue of Secrecy but she cares that others do care about it; she does not want to be around a Dementor. She would be, if convicted of breaking the Statute, because she was British and Britain's premier and only prison is Azkaban.
"So we outfit you in flame tech. We just need the equipment."
"So, we're going to raid what now?" Mukuro asks.
"I was thinking that Millefiore base near Germany. It's a research base." Luna suggests. "It should have the equipment and tools."
"Sounds good. We'll go raid and pillage the base." Xanxus decided.
"You're making it sound like we're pirates or something instead of vigilantes." Mukuro accused.
"Yo ho, me hearties." Xanxus said with a straight face.
Mukuro laughed, and Luna joined him in it. Xanxus just looked pleased at his joke. Silly dragon-man.
"Worst vigilantes ever." Luna agreed. Calling them pirates is actually much more accurate, but the carpet isn't a ship.
Stripping the base of all the equipment was actually a bit more of a hassle than it should have been.
Some of the equipment was delicate and Xanxus complained about their handling of it -or inability to- until both Luna and Mukuro decided to do something more productive like hack the computer systems for anything interesting. Xanxus had decided to capture the base's scared and surviving staff and put them to work that he was overseeing.
"How did you learn how to hack?" Mukuro asks.
"I read a lot." Luna explains.
"While captive."
"I like learning and Apollo was ever so generous at times." She shudders, now that she's free to do so.
"Kufufufufu, so manipulative our little moon."
"Of course, the moon is manipulative. It drives men to madness. It's called lunacy for a reason." She explains.
"And even Apollo isn't immune to the moon." Mukuro says with scorn.
"He got too close to the sun." She corrects as she delves into the base's system.
The moon reflects the sun's light and its brilliance.
This softer reflection reveals details rendered flat in harsh light.
The devil lies in the details; they're open to bias and interpretation.
Lunacy is a compelling force for that reason alone.
"The sun just burns and burns until nothing is left. The moon invites madness and makes it alluring."
"Yes, the allure of madness is more than mere desire." Murkuro corrects with a far more knowing tone than a child should ever have. "It's like gravity."
"And the moon's gravity influences the sea."
(Mukuro seems to have missed her pun; or maybe it makes less sense in English than it would in Italian.)
It isn't that the lies are too beautiful to resist. It's that the truth is too hideous to face.
And just because the moon reflects the sun's light doesn't mean that it can't focus that light either.
Focused brilliance burns.
Any child with a magnifying glass and a sunny day would tell you that.
It just takes a bit longer with the moonshine.
"Xanxus, Mukuro." Luna calls out. "This base has backdoor access to a number of interesting places."
Both males take a break and Mukuro wanders up, looks at the screen and begins laughing; then he starts explaining what he sees to Xanxus as he tries not to double over again.
Xanxus proves that despite being very cat like in some ways he's not that curious; he's not distracted from his work. A dragon has a bit more sense than curiosity but many things are similar between a cat and a dragon; it's a predator's nature.
A cat is an example of sophistication minus civilization and is the only animal which accepts the comforts but rejects the bondage of domesticity. Plus, some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel.
She finds that all of that is true, and that they have many other fine qualities as well. Luna has come to appreciate them in both males.
Now it seems that she's really started contributing to the vigilante cause beyond housework; she just robbed three of the bases that are maintaining parts of Apollo's empire with a few taps of the keys.
She's always been good at theory, and the practical wasn't that hard.
(She's had plenty of time to figure out details and play against herself being someone else; the devil's empire was built on details. Sand is remarkably abrasive against fine details; the moon was eroding the Empire before Apollo was even aware of it.
Compulsions are an easy magic. Emotions and actions can be influenced. A cheering charm is one thing but it is a different matter to use compulsions intelligently.
That takes a wide range of knowledge and the ability to apply it properly.
She has no regrets about it. Any of it.)
He still thanks her in his dreams.
Settling in the score of newly 'rescued' human resources was pretty easy.
Mukuro knocked them all out, erasing the memory of them removing the equipment and the fact they had loaded the magic carpet up with expensive equipment.
Xanxus spent the first ten minutes of the trip back worrying over his newly acquired hoard of equipment and the rest of the journey drafting plans of what he can now do with it on the table.
"So if you're the moon, and Byakuran is Apollo, who are we?" Mukuro asks at the other end of the table; he's drinking tea and lazily gesturing with the cup.
"You're Mercury. Hermes might be the god of thieves, crossroads and more but you're not just a mere messenger. Communication, perception, reasoning, logic and wit are all part of Mercury, as is curiosity and energy."
"And Xanxus?" The Mist asks. Xanxus peaks up from the notebook he was working in.
"He's Venus."
"Explain." Xanxus demands, cutting off Mukuro's laugh.
"Venus has a bad reputation because it is the Roman name of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love, but the planet and the goddess are very different entities." Luna begins. "To start, Aphrodite is an idea turned myth. She is the Goddess of Love but more forgotten is that she is the Goddess of Hatred and other passions too. Because to not love something is merely apathy, but to hate takes passion and obsession; both of which are types of love turned to different and often violent ends. Venus is very much a real planet, and has significance in astrology and that is what I'm referring to."
Xanxus snorts; both accepting the explanation and telling her to get on with the rest of it.
"It's the hottest planet in the solar system and associated with iron and fire, like Mercury is with water. Venus is a planet everyone associates with romantic feminine love due to the name and a few snippets of myths that everyone knows; people really should read more. There is more to passion than just simple eros, or our notion of romantic styled love. There's Ludus; that's conquest. Storge is love grown from friendship. Pragma doesn't involve the heart at all. Mania is obsessive and Agape is spiritual and selfless. It's all love, yes, but a person doesn't have to love another person romantically for it be love. They can love good food, wine, art and literature. It's why Venus is associated with a sense of aesthetics and taste too. It can lead to a type of hedonism at times, but hedonism is a love of pleasure."
She pauses for a moment, reading the mood before continuing.
"Xanxus is such a sensualist, luxuriating in what the world can offer in food, drink, comforts, creations and even the sensations to be found in battle. He enjoys it all, as a predator assured of his place at the top of the food chain does, fights to keep his position there and enjoys the process; the pleasure and pain and triumph of it all."
Xanxus blinks looking a little stupefied and a lot more enlightened, looks at the design he had been working on before snarling. "Thought I'd be Mars."
"You enjoy more than war, Xanxus." Luna states. "You revel in living and its sensations, even outside the midst of battle and conflict." She smiles. "Sometimes, Xanxus, you can't see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others."
"Whatever." Xanxus replies, returning to his plans and designs.
Luna and Mukuro tactfully ignore what might be a blush and how Xanxus is just tapping the pencil to the paper instead of making proper marks.
Settling in the scientists, the researchers and the equipment takes a little time but is done within the day.
"Exactly what are we going to do now?" Mukuro asks. "We've semi-solved our weapon issues for when our forces do fight without Xanxus and I, but there are other issues that we need to see to. We can't just continue to steal everything."
"It's unfeasible in the long run. Vigilantes can't be vigilantes if they're starving." Xanxus points out.
"Or if they're dead from bad intelligence." Mukuro corrects.
All of them know this, and they know what this leads to but they don't wish to state it.
'We're going to have to make alliances eventually.' Luna writes out in looping cursive and holds up for both men to read.
"And allying with mafia makes us no better than mafia." Mukuro states.
"And who said we had to ally with mafia?" Xanxus asks. Unsaid is that of those that weren't mafia, all of those probably want to kill him, but it's his choice; the mafia at least don't hold that many grudges over things like attempted or actual murder and there are plenty of deals made through bloodshed. "There's probably a number of allies out there. We just have to look."
"I would like to search for Neville."
"Who's Neville?" They both ask.
"A fellow rebel. Very good with plants of all kinds, including the magical kind. The landscaping needs work."
They both pick up that she means more than what's apparent in what she's saying, but they don't ask. They trust her and it's wonderful; friendship with these two is amazing, like standing on a cliff's edge and knowing that someone will catch her from her freefall before she breaks on the ground. This friendship is different from those she had with the D. A. and others; she had always felt the outsider and unwanted unless they had a particular need for her. This friendship actually includes her and listens to what she says and what she means as well; she and her opinions are cherished.
"You still need a box weapon too. Any in particular?" Xanxus demands her opinion. Having known Xanxus for a while now, she knows when he's in the mood to create something.
"A thestral is nice, but they're not anywhere around here. A nundu would kill us all by breathing."
"I'm assuming these species are endangered?" Mukuro asks.
"Like the unicorn or dragons."
"Go find your plant person." Xanxus commands, in the grips of an idea so brilliant it edges on madness; or it might be Xanxus' sense of ironic humor coming to light. "And bring back a thestral if you want one as your box animal too."
Box animals are weapons designed to mimic the animals of nature and their natural abilities.
Simple ones operate very much like a computer program. They have innate commands ingrained in them. Weapons are designed as such.
More complex ones have actual animalistic behavior. From chasing squirrels to meowing and rolling over to show submission. Weapons are not designed to have those.
That sort of behavior is well beyond simple construction and programming. Those box weapons learn and adapt.
Those require an actual animal as their base.
Finding Neville is actually pretty easy. Not because of any magical spell, or personal knowledge. It's all animal instinct.
First she goes to the butcher shop, orders a few steaks and pays for them. Then she apparates out of Italy, up the European continent and then across the channel. Then it's up towards Scotland and Hogwarts.
Seeing Hogsmeade hurts. Seeing Hogwarts hurts.
It's an old hurt and familiar; able to be ignored. So Luna ignores it and ventures into the Forbidden Forest in search of the thestral herd.
The herds of Hogwarts are domesticated and a few years without human interaction hasn't quite made them all wild yet. They're half-wild and skittish but excellent steak is a very good bribe.
They seemed to have picked up a few guard dogs in the form of Fluffy's half-wolf puppies who have changed from guard dogs to herding and hunting dogs; she's not entirely sure how they've grown without Hagrid overseeing them. They're still friendly enough and they remember Luna.
Hopefully, Mukuro and Xanxus won't complain about her new pets. Leaving them all here would be negligence of the highest order; dogs need people to keep them in line. If you tame something you are responsible for it.
She's going to have to come back for them. For now however, she just has to find the thestral that took Neville to the ministry.
Arriving on Neville's treestep is an unique experience from the start.
Neville and his plants have seemingly taken over a Scottish valley and created a fantastical village well beyond the picturesque splendor of Hogsmeade. The buildings are not just merely magical, but living greenery; flowers, vines and more. That some of the species are magical and moving is only a little more impressive.
She's a little in awe of it. It's the subtleties that get her; Neville has altered plants and the valley's climate alike to create his new home. It's a sanctuary and fortress and home all in one.
Her ride is seen by lots of little children -under Hogwarts age, but not toddling little sprogs- which is saddening in its own way. She recognizes some features in a few of them from those she once knew in Hogwarts.
"Are you here to meet the elders?" One of them asks.
"If one of them is Neville Longbottom."
"Master Neville!" They gasp and lead her towards his treestep.
Neville has grown again, but is so very happy to see her that he hugs her and bursts into tears. She has a similar reaction.
She catalogs how Neville has changed. His hair is darker, longer and his head is crowned with a wreath of fading flowers and a crown of holly. There is a vein like scar on one side of his face; he's been lightning-struck at least once. It explains why that eye looks a little off; not as much as Mister Moody's glass replacement but still off.
He's tall, broad and tan. His gait is a little awkward and sounds it too; most noticeable is the left arm as it has a plant curled around it and the plant articulates his arm and fingers for him. Despite this, he's still very much Neville in his shyness and quiet certainty of purpose.
Becoming a druid has suited Neville well, although she's not certain he knows he's become one.
It can never be fully explained, but there's something undeniably raw about loving someone who's been wounded before. You know that this person isn't just a survivor, but they must have licked themselves clean and gotten back up after life decided to give them a beating, hexing, cursing or two.
Luna and Neville have always loved each other once they found each other, but not romantically; never as such. They were both the outcasts of their house in Hogwarts and overshadowed by their friends; they shared an understanding of the cruelties of being different from the norm and standing fast by their beliefs.
There's also something undeniably brave about someone who doesn't hide their scars, but instead, displays them with triumph and audacity. Once this is recognized, the shamelessness alone could keep any bystander either fearful or madly in love.
Luna has never been afraid of being different or outlandish with her appearance. She misses her radish earrings, but the feather ones that find their way to her room are appreciated as much as the flowery hair-clips. She has always held herself with pride, and now she wears gratitude as well. She likes wearing gratitude far more than she likes hearing it.
There's something undeniably sacred about holding someone who's been wounded before. Because they'll do their best not to bleed on you, and a part of you knows they don't even need to be held.
Neville has taken after her in this aspect; he wears his scars with a subtle pride and confidence that's innate in knowing he has survived the horrors the world has thrown at him. He has also bloomed without her knowing when; the flower petal that fell off of his brow and into his tea proclaim the children's gratitude for their haven.
The undeniable thing is that loving a survivor is that in fact, it's almost as if you need it more than they do.
Despite the years and the horrors within them, Neville and Luna still understand each other in this way. Something within them both -a hidden tension and worry- eases with that hug.
(Mukuro and Xanxus are the same; now she just needs to get them to wear gratitude as well...)
"Ginny is dead." He begins.
"I know. She gave me a gift of courage. You're quite nice, but we've never really given each other gifts other than understanding and sympathy before."
They have a moment of silence for their departed friend.
Neville outlines the years from his perspective and how he and all the children their group protected survived. It's a tale that takes hours, and his future plans can be summed up in minutes or a single sentence of 'we will live.'
Luna's tale of the years is considerably shorter and Neville's eyes darken at how much isn't said but is nonetheless heard. Her future plans take longer because she has to explain about the mafia, Mukuro and Xanxus; the fact that they're the worst vigilantes ever is included. It means her future plans are 'we will protect and this is how.'
Neville weighs the scales in his mind.
He's always been a Gryffindor at heart but he has a Hufflepuff's loyalty.
"What do you need me for?" Neville asks.
"The landscaping. It's utterly terrible." Luna informs him.
Neville, unlike Mukuro and Xanxus understands exactly what she means.
"Well, what sort of herbologist and friend would I be if I let my friend's garden continue to flounder like that?"
They leave Morag in charge; Morag had been a Ravenclaw yes, but one that was disinterested in anything but learning and while they weren't friends they hadn't been enemies either. Morag would let her into the tower should Luna manage to catch her; her tormentors often prevented that by happenstance.
Luna often didn't manage to get into the tower when they did that; instead Luna slept in abandoned classrooms when she was locked out. She learned to sleep in broom closets when she was locked in them over the weekend without her wand; there was a reason she knew all the prefects' and teacher's patrol routes and times by heart and who had been on rotation and when. The right teacher or prefect would save her; the wrong one would send her to the infirmary or detention.
(She probably owed Percy Weasley her life a few times over. Retrospectively, she might have caused him to lose faith in Dumbledore who failed to do anything except maintain a shaky and degrading status quo; the Ministry at least tried or looked like it was doing something. Luna had never had faith in Dumbledore, instead she had it in what he represented and those that believed in that goodness too: friendship, equality, love, happiness...)
Morag is obviously more interested and wary of the world now.
Then they go and pick up the herd of thestrals and Fluffy's half wolf children. It's a few moments of planning and wand-work to arrange a way to transport the pack and get the rest of the herd to follow those that she and Neville will be riding.
She wonders what the hellhounds and her dragon will make of each other.
She worried unnecessarily; Xanxus and Fluffy's grown pups get along fine.
Xanxus has the pack obeying him within minutes. The herd of thestrals fell in line as well. A number of their minions are suitably creeped out by the thestrals' appearances and those that aren't are looking at the twin-headed wolves uncomprehending.
This left Mukuro meeting Neville, and after a brief visual examination of each other Mukuro goes to pet one of the thestrals. Neville explains what they are and asks Mukuro to be patient with him because he knows practically nothing except for the fact that he's needed here, because Luna is his friend and the landscaping is a disaster.
Then she introduces Neville to Lancia and left them to do their job.
The landscaping of the Vongola Estate is a mess in more ways than one.
"Exactly what are you doing, you lunatic?" Xanxus asks later, while handing her a purple box, marked with a crescent moon and ring. He's eyeing the thestrals and Fluffy's offspring. They're clearly wolves, but they have two heads. He's plotting something, but those gears are turning in the back of his mind and he has plenty of space left at the front for doing other things with.
"Changing the landscaping."
"Not following."
"Magic has many different branches. One of which is potions, which is a very exacting branch and demands precision and understanding. Potions can have many different effects. Some are poisons, some are antidotes and some heal."
"What about love potions? I remember a mention of those."
"Oh, those exist too. It's not actually love mind you, unless you like obsessive, love struck and jealous fools spewing bad poetry. Mild ones are just very potent aphrodisiacs. Moderate ones require a way to focus the target to someone; it requires a part of them like hair or a nail clipping. Those wear off relatively quickly, within the week. The illegal ones however, those can damage the mind and body because they're that potent or they have illegal ingredients."
Xanxus grunts.
"Those however, I don't like. Other potions however are practically invaluable. There are truth serums, healing potions and a wide range of others for just about every problem magical and mundane. Dittany and murtlap for wounds. Blood replenishers, dreamless sleep potions, calming droughts and more."
"And we need plants for these?"
"Yes, and science too." She adds.
"Identifying the ingredients on a chemical level and replicating through chemistry." He elaborates, once he gets what she means.
"Why, yes."
"Changing the landscape indeed, you lunatic." Xanxus remarks fondly.
Scape is a funny word. It's a derivative of 'scope.' Scope meaning 'within your sight.'
So a cityscape is a a view of the city. A landscape is a view of the land.
By pure definition anyway; context is trickier.
Land is also a funny concept.
There is the physical property; a measurable mass and area of the earth's surface.
There is also the territory aspect; who does this belong to?
Included in the territory is 'how' and 'why.'
Territory doesn't have to be physical. It can be mental. It can be illusionary. It can be political.
Changing a landscape can be as easy as planting a few flowers and waiting for them to bloom.
Flowers can bloom even in hell, she believes.
She wonders how the flowers in the Underworld will do now that Apollo's brilliance is gone.
Mukuro, Xanxus and Luna might be the worst vigilantes ever, but they're definitely not mafia even if it looks like it at times.
They've somehow volunteered themselves to be the ethics committee, the clean-up coordinators and provider of unusual services in that order.
Worst vigilantes ever indeed.
(Where is the justice?)
They know that their peace wouldn't have lasted. The mafia doesn't know that they're not mafia; not really.
Mukuro hates the mafia. His family experimented on themselves when they were scorned and killed themselves for prestige. Then as the Millefiore took over, the other famiglias started paying the Estraneo and providing even more subjects for them.
Mukuro has never forgiven or forgotten about that fact. Lancia and his famiglia took them in after Mukuro slaughtered and destroyed the Estraneo and then Lancia learned what his famiglia did to and intended for the half-mad children he had taken in and loved; money and supplies sent to the Estraneo to create more child-weapons. Lancia killed them, but he's still haunted because those were his brothers and comrades even if they became monsters to fight devils.
(Lancia remains human and suffers for it.)
Luna is ambivalent about the mafia. She found Neville's haven a wonder but she knows that she'd never be able to call it home. She can't live a normal civilian life either, as that had never been possible for her after her mother's murder because she doesn't fit such a lifestyle. So it is the underworld for her; the issue is that she enjoys being herself. The moon has its own rhythm and pace and trying to command it is madness worse than any lunacy.
Luna knows that she can only shine in the underworld, but she hasn't forgotten the horrors Apollo's has visited upon her or what it could in the future. Every step forward in the underworld is a struggle but every breath is a sweet victory, especially now that she's free to breath the night's air.
Xanxus is, in many ways, the ideal of the mafia. He's charismatic, powerful, intelligent and so very, very dangerous. He's utterly lethal and completely unashamed of it or himself. He's too striking to live outside of the shadows and too domineering to not carve out his own place within them. He's the terrifying Boss people are happy to bow to, and cater to as well; Xanxus doesn't abuse this as much as he could because he's terrifyingly pragmatic in an utterly inhuman way at times.
Xanxus might be the ideal of the mafia, but he's a dragon at heart; dragons hoard what they wish. Power, deceptions, secrets, knowledge and maybe even the moon and other planets as well.
Luna's wards around the Vongola property were weak; they were meant as camping wards which meant they were meant to cover less than ten yards of space. That was plenty of area for a witch or wizard; magical tents were still tent sized on the outside. Setting up a small series of them around the Vongola Estate's boundary line took about an hour. It was like building a wall with random rocks when it was meant to be poured cement and bricks. They would fall eventually.
Later, Xanxus and Mukuro had set up some sort of barrier that imitated what she knew the Hogwarts wards did to those without magic. It would divert people away and show them unattractive ruins of a building. Those that were past that barrier would see it as it was; it was just hard to approach unless you were keyed in and that was as easy as gathering hair. Simple compulsions are as easy as cheering charms.
Still, while the Vongola Estate looked ruined to those that haven't entered it people were learning that the Vongola was reviving and renewing itself. They were searching and not everyone was good at hiding all their tracks.
Which explained why some of the Vongola's old members and allies came past for a visit and noticed signs that said there was more life at the estate than there appeared to be.
They at least had the decency to call ahead.
Well, to send a messenger.
The message was from the Cavallone and asking for a meeting in a week's time. They all made a note of it, decide to hold a meeting later and move on with what they're doing.
"So the Cavallone are a mafia famiglia." Neville begins. "I know nothing about them, but that's not anything new."
"Ugh, filthy mafia." Their illusionist groans.
"Shut up. I'm trying to remember about them." Xanxus snaps back.
"So they weren't that important?" Neville asks.
"Pre-Byakuran, the Cavallone were a large famiglia with nearly 5,000 members. They worked mostly politically and traded favors, but that wasn't always profitable so they had issues money wise and the heir really didn't want to take over as Boss; he only did so because circumstances forced him to. The problem is that almost everyone owed the Cavallone, which is one of the reasons they held out so successfully against Byakuran's takeover when the heir did take up the reins. I don't remember his name." Lancia informed them. Lancia was the only one of them that was raised traditionally mafia, even if he was from Northern Italy.
"They joined the Millefiore eventually right? His name is Dino, I think. I remember seeing pony-boy there." Xanxus states. "I don't think I killed any of them, so we shouldn't have issues on that front."
"They joined the Millefiore when they realized there was no way for the famiglia to survive otherwise and none of them liked it, I suppose." Lancia continued. "Rumor has it that they've managed to recover a lot of lost ground and gain even more."
"Does anyone want me to hack their records?" Luna offers.
"Yes. We can discuss this properly once we have actual data to discuss." Xanxus declares.
The meeting breaks up because they have something else to do.
"How do we not have an actual phone line?" Mukuro asks after those with other time-sensitive tasks left.
"I think that was my fault." Luna admits. "Internet doesn't require phone lines all over nowadays, so there's access all over the estate except for the catacombs. Of course a lot of the networks with sensitive information aren't even capable of hooking up to the internet. No need to invite in hackers."
"What's the internet?" Neville asks.
"You're explaining this." Mukuro tells her. "After explaining how vehicles work and showing him how to drive a motorcycle, I am not willing to explain it."
"But not a car?" Luna asks.
"Mukuro said to ask Lancia to teach me how to drive a car should I want to learn." Neville informs her.
"Is this because Mukuro is too short to reach the pedals?" She queries.
"Don't change the subject." Mukuro snaps, before stalking off in a huff.
Neville and Luna smile at each other.
"Tickling dragons isn't something you should do." Neville had scolded her back in Scotland.
Luna beamed at him, anyway and giggled.
The thing about actual landscaping with gardens and the like is that soil is important.
There's the type of soil: clay, rock, sandy and more.
Then there's the soil's characteristics. The amount of nutrients, water, how compact it is, and how acidic or basic it is.
These factors determine what sort of plants grow best.
And if the soil isn't suited, there are ways to change it.
Generally it involves a lot of shit and hard work.
Neville is a brilliant herbologist and always has been.
He recognizes that the 'landscape' Luna referred to was more than just changing the business they were doing and cleaning up the grounds. People had to play part in respecting, maintaining and using the landscape properly.
In the normal circumstances that would mean lots of work in the sun by lots of hands dealing with dirt and dung.
In abnormal definitions of landscape, people were also part of the landscape; Mukuro is surprisingly hardy yet so delicate considering what she knows of his life.
Anyone with the slightest knowledge of plants would know that plants only grow carnivorous if the soil is so exceptionally poor that they cannot draw nutrients from the ground.
Mukuro is no exception.
It's a good thing in the underworld they live in, to be the predator. The problem was repairing the damage done and ensuring he didn't grow up completely twisted.
However moonlight is not sunlight, and Luna is no prodigious herbologist. Thankfully she knows one.
He's just a bit clueless about everything else.
"So how does the internet work?"
One conversation later that has her determined to set the Vongola's mirrors up like those that Harry and Sirius once had, Luna is dragged out to the yard by Xanxus. Neville follows because he's a brave friend and he isn't worried about the white lion stalking Xanxus' heels so much as the dragon-man himself.
Neville's a Gryffindor; he is a lion when he's not a badger. Dragons are a different story.
"Try out your box weapon." The man with crimson eyes commands.
Luna pulls the box out, lights her new ring with her Cloud Flames and opens the box.
"Romania proved interesting, didn't it?" She asked the assassin.
"Shaddup and name your dragon."
"Is it a girl dragon or a boy dragon?" Luna asked.
"Luna, it's a dragon. Does it really matter?" Neville asked, a faint edge of hysteria to his voice.
"Why, yes it does. If it's a girl dragon, then it shall be Hermione. If it's a boy dragon, I'm not sure what to name it. Any suggestions?"
"Holy Mother of God!" Is heard in the distance, as are claims of 'that's a damn dragon!' and 'who the hell has that?!'
"Can Mary be a boy's name?" Luna asks. Xanxus' dark chuckles do not count as disagreement.
After bonding with Hermione the dragon and putting her back in the box, Xanxus hands over another purple box marked with a crescent moon.
The thestral is less of a surprise and is obviously a mare.
"I name thee, Hope." The thestral named Hope nuzzles her master.
"This is something I can deal with better." Neville announces.
"She's named the rest of the thestral herd after vices and virtues." Xanxus informs the wizard, without an ounce of subtlety to him. "There's Ira, Superbia, Acedia, Luxuria, Avaritia, Invidia and Gula to start younger thestrals are named Castitas, Temperantia, Liberalitas, Industria, Patientia, Humanitas, and Humilitas. Now there's Hope."
"Ah." Neville replies in understanding.
"Does Neville want a box animal too?" Luna asks while hugging Hope.
"I'll have to learn how to use flames first." Neville points out.
"A bear." Luna decides.
"Any idea about his flame type? Or what weapons the two of you can actually use in combat, Lunatic?"
"I think Nev's a Sun and a good English longbow or quarterstaff would work. He's used a sword before, but there's a difference and using and knowing how to use it properly in combat especially against other people. I still don't know about a weapon for me personally, but I know I need one."
"Just think about it, otherwise you're going to be stuck with just hand to hand and yours needs work." Xanxus commands, before tipping the other man onto his shoulder and kidnapping him. Luna ignored Neville's protests about being carted around on Xanxus' shoulder.
"Shall we go for a flight Hope?"
After a flight with Hope, Luna began her projects. First was hacking the Cavallone which was actually easier said than done; they kept a lot of things on secure networks but a few things she did find allowed her to build a better picture of them and their capabilities. Mukuro would have his own report too, but hers would have less obvious bias.
The second was starting on the mirror project. Communication mirrors would be so handy; fragile until charmed otherwise but they'd be untraceable too unlike phones. She tinkered with ways to prevent stolen mirrors from being used against the mirror networks and other possible uses they could be put to.
She just needed to figure out how to connect them all in... and maybe make them able to use the internet too... keyboard possibilities so that communications could not be overheard... lots of ideas.
It was decided that Lancia would be the escort to the estate properly, much like it was decided that Neville's presence wasn't exactly required so he could stay behind to work to restore some of the flower beds. Ken probably would tag along, and Chikusa too; kids or not, they were raised and trained as human weapons and they liked Lancia.
Mukuro had intervened on her normal wardrobe and insisted on something else -what was wrong with her choice of clothing?- and even brushed her hair. The latter she liked even if Mukuro complained about her being a grown woman and should know how to take care of her hair so he wouldn't have to take scissors to take out the worst of the tangles. Eventually he decides to just style her hair the way he wants when Luna decides not to protest.
She has bangs now. That's something she's never had before, so it's different. He's left a few locks of hair longer to frame her face and used one of the flowery hair clips to keep some of it in place. The rest of her hair is left long but pulled into an up-do and decorated with wispy feathers.
It's a different look for her. Mukuro has her in professional black clothing. She has been informed that silver has been reserved for special occasions, dark blue for more serious but still casual occasions and light blue is for semi-casual among allies. Her other clothing is fine but not to be worn outside the estate unless on very friendly ground.
She lets Mukuro fuss; he shows his worry in the oddest ways.
"Do you think we could do something with Xanxus' hair?" She asks.
Mukuro's reflection looks contemplative.
They don't have to. Xanxus knows how to dress himself for a prospective meeting, feathers in the hair and all; he passes Mukuro's examination even as scowls.
"Mukuro's lacking feathers." Luna observes.
"Why should I wear them?" The illusionist asks.
"They're defiance." Xanxus explains, leaving out the story behind the explanation; he's clearly not in the mood to really share it either.
Mukuro quirks an eyebrow and smirks. He's now wearing an ear cuff with small soft and curling black feathers with small chains ending in small little charms.
Dino and his fellows are escorted to the Boss' Office by Lancia. Xanxus ends up with the position of 'Boss' by default; Mukuro is too young to be respected and listened to and Luna lacks a reputation outside of the Vongola.
(Her reputation among their fledgling Vongola is mixed; brilliant but insane in a quietly dreaming fashion. A veritable lunatic, but one that knows the secrets of a world long gone. Where else would she have gotten a hellhoud's puppies or found an actual druid with all his strange plants? No one has actually bothered her, partly due to Xanxus and Mukuro and partly due to her own box weapon; dragons are so misunderstood.)
Dino is chronologically younger than Xanxus, she learns later, but Dino appears older than his years. He's handsome in a fashion that would have girls giggling over him had he not had an air of the weary and worn; grief, deep and nearly tangible walked in his shadow. Even the tattoos that peak out around the neck and the wrist appear faded. Still he moves with energy and a war-won confidence that's only momentarily surprised to see Xanxus behind the desk.
To Dino's left is a young girl, wearing a suit. Luna knows she's the Giglio Nero Boss. Luna also knows that despite how she appears, she's actually older than Xanxus; probably. Byakuran had bragged to her on occasion; his 'coups' that were possible in this world compared to others, so Luna knows more about this girl's history than she'd care to admit to. Byakuran had timed things just right (or wrong) to kill off the Acrobaleno with the form of energy radiation that would destroy them.
Aria had been young and her famiglia had been grieving so that made it easy to steal her and hold her hostage against her own famiglia. Then, as she started growing into her mother's gifts, that is when he started drugging her; one or another or a combination of them had the effect of retarding her physical growth. Aria appears, at best, to be half her age.
To Aria's left is another of the Giglio Nero; Luna knows the face but not the name of the blond man that seems to have just left his teenage years behind him. He's protective about his charge though.
To Dino's right is a man with short silver hair and equally pale predatory eyes. His build is slim and he carries a sword with him. He's a swordsman and looks as if he's just found some particularly tasty prey.
"Voooi! You're Vongola?"
Xanxus just snots in response, because he's sitting at the desk and that's apparent for everyone there.
"This is... unexpected. To see you here, Xanxus." Dino begins. He opens his mouth again, only to close it with a pointed clack of his teeth.
"Life's strange pony-boy." Xanxus replies, dismissing the small talk with a shrug.
"Well," Aria sighs. "Let's introduce ourselves and discuss what we really need to discuss -the Tri-ni-sette. Then we can discuss what we're going to do with ourselves and the world before it all goes to hell when I die."
"Princess!" The blond calls.
Aria is living like a woman that is assured that she's going to die and die soon.
Not in the fashion of 'enjoy life today, for yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come' but in the 'I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the days that are given to me to live.' The difference is subtle but profound.
After years of Byakuran, Luna knows exactly what Aria is feeling; although how aware Aria was of what she's done while under Byakuran's control is debatable.
Now that they don't have to endure that rule, they find that life is far more enjoyable.
"Let me start off. My name is Aria. I'm twenty-five. I've found that I like spicy food and teasing my family. I'm short and look like a kid but that's not any of your business. I'm the Sky Acrobaleno and Boss of the Giglio Nero. Now, your turn Gamma."
"My name is Gamma. I'm loyal to the Giglio Nero." The blond replies.
"Finish that introduction properly." Aria commands.
"I'm twenty and like shooting pool." Gamma adds with a sigh.
"Dino of the Cavallone. 10th Boss. I'm nineteen and I like my famiglia."
"Squalo Superbi. World's Best Swordsman. Annoyed at Xanxus for killing Tyr. Same age as this fool." The swordsman replied, gesturing at Dino.
"Squalo!" Dino squeaks in embarrassment.
"Who's Tyr?" Xanxus asked, genuinely perplexed.
"He was head of the Varia and the Sword Emperor. I was going to kill him and claim his title myself." The swordsman growled.
"Don't remember him." Xanxus replied, shrugging off the glare with ease.
"Back on track, people. You, introduce yourself." Aria commanded.
"Xanxus. Twenty-one. Worst vigilante ever."
"Rukudo Mukuro. I'm twelve. I hate the mafia."
"Luna, daughter of Xenophilus and Pandora. I don't care about my age and I killed Byakuran with a little help from Mukuro and Xanxus."
"Good. Now that we're all introduced, we can talk about the Tri-ni-Sette and how we're all fucked should I die before we get some of this mess fixed."
It probably isn't fair to Dino and Squalo that they haven't heard about the Tri-ni-Sette before, but Luna can't help but giggle about their faces; not disbelieving but a bit dubious about the shoddiness of it all. She wonders if she should mention Kawahira but figures it is best not to. She does have to wonder how the Giglio Nero lost the Mare Rings in the first place or did they give them up when Aria's mother became the Sky Acrobaleno?
In short, if Aria dies now, the world is going with her; she's the Sky Acrobaleno and the only one out of the Tri-ni-Sette doing her damn job now that she's able to do it properly.
The other Acrobaleno at least have the excuse of being dead, as do the Vongola.
Luna has the Mare ring, but she's not a Sky. While it's not a terrible idea for her to keep it -she really did earn its loyalty when she killed Byakuran despite their incompatible flames- it won't hold the world together should Aria die; Luna just can't power and use it properly.
The rest of the Mare Rings at least have owners; ones matched to the proper flame types but reclaiming them is going to be a lot of work. The Mare rings are supposed to be part of a set so having completely incompatible people -to the Sky- is a bad idea no matter how strong their flames are; Luna and the rest are opposed to the Millefiore and those that still have the rings are most likely devotees of Byakuran.
One of the first acts Aria achieved after she found herself being herself again was to gain the Tri-ni-Sette that could be claimed instantly; that amounted to the Acrobaleno pacifiers and the Vongola Rings. The others were reclaim her famiglia, marshal them to action and make it clear she was in charge so some of the bullshit they got away with under Byakuran's rule wasn't allowed and if they weren't happy about it she would be happy to shoot them. Right now.
The obvious solution is to give the Mare Ring Luna has to a Sky that isn't busy being a pillar of the world like Aria. The world needs at least one pillar supporting it; two would be better but three is best. Xanxus has already refused the Mare Ring once.
Dino finds himself perplexed to be entrusted with the ring and less than happy about the mission to hunt down the rest of the set. Squalo at least looks happy at that.
This means that the Vongola -her, Xanxus and Mukuro- clearly need to have the Vongola Rings; the other Vongola Rings will need Guardians too. It all hinges on whether or not the ring accepts Xanxus and his resolve.
Xanxus lights a flame on the ring and twitches a few times.
He opens his eyes and they're clear. "I don't have the bloodline, but Primo's willing to loan the ring for a few years provided I make a search for any of those of the bloodline. It might be extinct with all the upheaval, and if it is and I find proof then it's on permanent loan to my bloodline."
"So Vongola's Primo is willing to drag some innocent into the Underworld?" Mukuro purrs. "He clearly isn't the sainted hero of the Underworld he's portrayed as."
"That's my impression of it too." Xanxus replies. "History warps over time."
"Any idea of where and how to look?" Aria asks. Xanxus shrugs.
"Too thorough?" Luna asks Xanxus.
"The latter. At best we might get a bastard out of the Ninth's sons, or maybe that fool that was head of CEDEF; the Ninth says he was of Primo's bloodline and the Ninth rightly hates me but he's willing to cooperate because Primo said to. At worst we're going to have to find some earlier Vongola bastard's get and uproot them."
That they're doing 'to save the world' is so ironic it's hilarious. They're the worst vigilantes ever and have been volunteered to save the world.
"Well, alright. Vongola's Primo is a jerk but the world's not going to stop spinning should my heart stop beating now so my mission as the Sky Acrobaleno is done today. Now as the Giglio Nero Boss, we need to talk alliance and terms because that needs doing too."
Xanxus laughs and both she and Mukuro join in.
"Weren't you paying attention? We're not a mafia famiglia; we're a vigilante group." Xanxus points out.
"Worst vigilantes ever." Mukuro adds helpfully.
"We help and heal and build yes, but not for power or out of a sense of justice or any sort of obligation or restitution. The previous Vongola failed for a reason and not just because Xanxus is good at killing those he deems as his enemies; the Vongola failed itself first. The design was good, but it lost its spirit. We're hoping that this spirit endures." Luna replies.
"That was a beautiful speech." Aria says as she sniffles and dabs her eyes with her sleeves.
"I think she's a lunatic." Squalo offers.
"Being a lunatic is better than merely being loony." Luna tells him with a fey smile.
"Okay. How does a mafia famiglia ally with a vigilante group?" Dino asks.
"Stop being mafia." Mukuro offers.
"Yeah it's a nice thought... I don't that'll work. I never wanted to be a mafia boss, but when my father died and the famiglia had to rely on me... that was a sort of responsibility that I had to step up to; not just for my famiglia but for the citizens that rely on us for protection. We had to bow our heads to Byakuran once, but I cannot and will not ask my men to abandon each other after all we've suffered and endured with each other as family. We survived and did our best and I carry with me the spirits of those who died so I will not demean their sacrifice, their lives and dreams just to re-establish an alliance that the Cavallone and Vongola traditionally had."
"The Cavallone might have to wear a bridle and bit for Byakuran but he cannot and will not break our spirits." Squalo muttered, rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of the line.
"Exactly. So, that condition is refused." Dino replies.
"The traditional agreement is mostly fine and it was written back when Primo was in charge so the Vongola wasn't mafia-mafia yet; it was one of his last acts before retiring and Secondo negotiated a lot of it on Primo's behalf." Xanxus offers; he's clearly done his research. "We're going to want to tweak the wording in a few areas; modernize it and clarify in a few places to account for changing times and other shit. We are also going to have to make considerations and clauses because we don't have a CEDEF yet and we may not ever have one or the Varia. We're not large enough for it yet and who knows how we're going to grow."
"I don't like it." Mukuro states petulantly.
"I don't like it either." Dino almost growls. "I'm going to be allying with Xanxus of all people and I'm now a pillar of support for the world that's going to have to regain the rest of his set of rings from whoever has them now from whatever part of the world they're in now unless I want the world to slowly self-destruct. Stop being selfish."
"Selfish? You know nothing, Dino Cavallone. I have plenty of reasons to hate the mafia. The first is the Estraneo. The second are those that funded the Estraneo-"
"And the Estraneo were fucking trash." Squalo cuts in. "Worse is that they were fucking stupid about it. The mafia isn't a kind place so those that knew turned a blind eye to what that trash was doing, but now that you fucking know that brat what are you going to do? Boo-fucking-hoo and take your anger out on the wrong people or do something about the right people and the goddamn system that allowed the situation to happen in the first damn place? Because right here, right now, you've got the best damn chance at managing the second and if you don't take it all that's going to happen is you're going to be a whiny little bitch for the rest of your goddamn life."
"Squalo wha-" Dino starts to say but is interrupted by a bullet flying past him. It's followed by three more.
"Language, Squalo." Aria scolds. "That sort of language is inappropriate."
"What the fuck? You loli-hypocrite!" Squalo yells, sword held in a threatening gesture.
"I allowed myself to say such things because the situation called for it. The possibility of the world ending at any moment allows for such language. You shouldn't use such language in front of a child in other circumstance though."
"Crazy loli!" Squalo roars; the sonic attack proves ineffective though.
"Whatever. We have terms to discuss Xanxus." Aria purrs.
"Great." Xanxus sighs. "Is there an already existing contract in place that can be renewed or modified?"
"Nope. We get to make one from scratch." The lolita boss seems far too delighted in an ironic way at the prospect.
Mukuro left halfway through that meeting. Luna added a bit here and there; mostly her presence was unneeded beyond being a witness.
Quickly Xanxus and Aria hammered out a basic alliance contract; mutual support, passing on information and an agreement to favor trade agreements from each other.
Aria, her bodyguard and Dino left.
"Squalo?" Dino prompted near the door.
"Got something to say first." Squalo assured Dino, who nodded and waited in the hall.
"What is it?"
"When you reform the Varia, I want to be part of it."
"What makes you think I'll do that?" Xanxus asks, raising an eyebrow for good measure.
"Because when you find the Vongola brat with the right bloodline and flame, you're going to be out of a job and it's not your nature to sit around and do nothing. You're going to want to fight and kill and the Varia will be the Vongola's sword and shield. I want in on that."
"Aren't you part of the Cavallone?" Luna mentions.
"I'm a freelancer, and I know a few more that would be happy to find a family. Dino's nice, he's an old school friend of mine see, but he's a bit too traditional for some of us looking for a place to belong."
Xanxus' looks at the swordsman and weighs the future.
"Gotta find that brat first, if he or she is even alive. If we don't, you've got yourself a Varia; your interview requires finding and retrieving the missing Mare Rings for the Cavallone."
"Right, Boss."
"He's a strange one." Luna observers.
"That's very strange coming from you, Lunatic."
"I'm just as sane as you are."
"Go find Mukuro. See if that brat's alright. He's useful."
"You can say you care normally. It won't kill you."
"Whatever."
Finding Mukuro was not an easy task.
Finding Neville on the other hand was far easier.
She should probably feel guilty for eavesdropping but she doesn't; she feels blessed to have witnessed it instead.
They're in the center of the hedge maze. Neville is trimming the hedges, while Mukuro lounges on a stone bench.
"That swordsman doesn't understand. The mafia is a filthy stain on humanity and the world. It does nothing but cause misery and despair."
"How so?"
"It's a mess. The System in Southern Italy has only gotten worse and spread out, and a lot of the Famiglia's in North Italy are just gone so it's war up there over territory and stupid things that don't even matter."
"That doesn't sound good at all."
"It's not. Stuff like that is happening all over the world because of the mafia."
"Are you sure it's because of the mafia and not just human nature? The woman who tortured my parents to insanity was following her ideals to extremely violent ends but the man who showed up to protect his godson despite the fact he was wanted and would lose his soul if he was caught were from the same family and taught the same values."
"I've lived six lives before this one and I remember them because of the damned Estraneo and their experiments. I know human nature and it's the mafia."
"I've only lived this one life so I wouldn't know what it's like. Dying and being reborn like that... remembering all those past lives. That sounds very hard; a lot of people find just the one life too hard. It makes me wonder how a phoenix does it. At mine and Luna's school our headmaster had a phoenix."
"The immortal bird?"
"Yes. His name was Fawkes. I'm not Dumbledore and I don't want to be, so I doubt he'd come if I called, but you're a Mist which means you can make a call like that be heard. Well, if you want to, I think."
"I'll try." Mukuro took a moment to focus and seconds and then a minute passed with no result. Then Fawkes appeared in a blaze of song to land on Mukuro's thin arm.
"Hullo, Fawkes." Neville called to the bird. Fawkes raised a wing towards him, as if waving.
"So beautiful." Mukuro speaks, as a hand reaches up to pet the phoenix on his arm. Fawkes trilled and sang as Mukuro petted the swan sized bird; Neville made no mention of Mukuro's tears.
Luna decided to leave them to their privacy.
"Mukuro's coming to terms with some things at the moment." Luna informs Xanxus. "So he's not going to be available for the rest of the day."
Xanxus snorts.
"So any idea on where to start our search? Get it done and over with if it's possible?" She asks.
"Do you know how to scry?" He asks.
"No, I don't."
"Damn. Any chance of learning anytime soon?"
"Scrying is a form of divination and my talent there is lacking; there are tests for that. I took Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures for a reason and studied Runes on the side."
"So no neat magical solution."
"When has the world ever worked like that?"
"In storybooks." Xanxus replies sullenly.
"Stories are supposed to end all nice and neat with happily ever afters."
"Well, if life was a storybook, then we've turned the fairy tale on its head."
"The princess, a young magician and the dragon work together to kill the King of the World's Empire. Then they go on to protect the dragon's territory and its people from threats."
"By being the worst vigilantes ever."
"Yeah, we are. The thing is, people think we're doing a good job."
"Seriously?" Xanxus asks, pleasantly surprised and a little shocked.
"I think wackspurts are getting to their brains."
"Whatever. We've got work to do and an impossible quest from Primo."
"Impossible quests are another fairy tale staple, aren't they?"
"Yeah, but what sort of quest involves research?"
Here's Chapter two. More quotes from more places find their place in here; including Luna quoting herself. Others are from tumblr (specifically some of the daily love quotes) and others from famous people. I really should credit them all, but some quotes have been extensively altered to the point that their meaning is altered so I don't think that counts... (plagiarism is a tricky concept made more complicated since this is fanfiction after all.)
I wonder if anyone has picked up on an underlying theme that I've had in place; not the obvious ones of gods, planets and the like because those are obvious. Very curious about this. Not sure when part three of three will be out but I've got other things to work on. (XAiPP I mean you!)
Also, there's probably a lot of tense errors. This is what I get for writing this in the present tense. (Luna why?)
As for the timeline, Byakuran started coming to obvious power when they were Squalo and Dino were 13/14-ish. Dino's dad was dying, Dino needed training/protected, Reborn was dead and Squalo was at loose ends because Byakuran started a forceful takeover of the mafia which involved killing off obstacles like Tyr, the Varia and the Vongola. So this Squalo never fought Tyr, lost his hand or grew his hair out because he was too busy keeping Dino alive under contract. Dino found growing up in a war to be very difficult. (Poor Dino.)