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Chapter 2 Part III

In the few days they were in town, Luca tried to see as many of the sights as he could, even when Vale told him that they would need their rest. Who could sleep when there was so much to see?

Luca usually went out with Noobin, but on their last night in Moon city, he woke up in the middle of the night to wander by himself. Struggling into his long pants, he grabbed his staff and quietly exited the small room, thankful that Vale wasn't occupying her bed.

She probably would disapprove of me walking about by my lonesome...but I need to think.

Escaping into the night air, Luca gazed up at the millions of stars above him and inhaled the scent of the city. The sky was stilled filled with city pollution from the many years of motor vehicle use and mechanical equipment, so some of the stars where rather difficult to see. But from the looks of it, the people have shunned almost all technology, save for the buildings and bridges that were the cities pride and joy. No more flourescent lighting, neon signs or gas guzzling vehicles to attract any unwanted attention.

As he walked toward one of the enormous glass bridges, Luca saw a point of light far in the distance. Thinking little of it, he reached the bridge and blocked all other sounds out except the sound of the sea and the metallic click of his feet on the surface of the glass. Humming softly to himself, Luca watched the pyreflies floating inches off the dark waters underneath him, rising and falling in a quiet dance that mesmerized him. He still couldn't quite believe that he wasn't still trapped on that desert island, that the only thing to see when looking out across anything wasn't sand and more sand.

But again, that glint caught his eye and it seemed closer now that it had been before. He leaned forward over the railing and squinted, for once truly regretting not having his goggles. He stared out at the spot for nearly a full minute, squinting like an idiot before he finally realized what he was looking at. A glint, a reflection rolling on a surface of moving water. He blinked for another long moment before he realized that the moving water was fast and it was almost vertical. His throat closed up in an instant. A tidal wave. Now it was close enough that he could see a gleaming body beneath the surface of the water, smooth and enormous but otherwise undescribable. Coming so fast now. With a few fast bursts, large balls of water shot out from the main body and sped toward the harbor. Three in a row, boom boom boom, slammed into the tower of a skyscraper with a deafening force that shook the bridge he stood on, even though it was half a city away from him. Even when the sirens began to scream, Luca could only move slowly, backing away from the sight. It was almost as though he were not moving, just that his mechanical legs had decided to take his life into their responsibility and were getting him away on their own. Soon he turned and was running back to the tavern as the bridge around him erupted in chaos, people screaming and pointing.

No. This isn't happening. No no no no.

He got to the inn just in time to see Vale race out of the front door, her eyes wild. When she saw him, something akin to absolute rage passed over her face but she seemed to physically force it down and calm herself. How anyone could find calm when that siren was tearing holes in one's brain was inconceivable.

Noobin ran out a few moments later, almost running into Vale. Instead he turned as quickly as he could but this only managed to save Vale and not himself. He spilled headfirst into the street, not far from where Nikolas has fallen a few days earlier. Luca would have laughed but he didn't. He didn't find anything funny right now. Nikolas stepped out of the Inn with a slowness that belied the excitement in his face. He reached down and picked Noobin up by the back of his shirt. They all had their packs with them.

Luca turned to look back at the Demon as it rose, water spraying off it's side as it ascended into the sky where it hung like a small planet. Pulses of light flashed out and buildings exploded. The attack had not yet come to their district of the city, but it would be here soon. The bridge was already rumbling under their feet. Luca stared out at the sphere of destruction that was all too familiar.

"What do I do?" he asked in a small voice, then he screamed, "Vale! I'm the High Summoner! WHAT DO I DO?!"

"You RUN!" Vale hollered and grabbed the front of his shirt before she took off at a dead run, dragging him along behind her.

Chaos roared around them and Luca could only run along behind his guardian. He didn't even know if Noobin and Nikolas were behind him, he had only to hope. Vale's hat bobbed through the mobs of civilians who didn't know where to go or what to do, screaming ineffectually. Noobin screeched to a stop a few feet behind Luca when he saw a family of four standing stationary, trying to remove a piece of building off what might once have been their mother.

"No time," Nikolas growled and shoved Noobin forward so hard that he had to start running again or once more fall flat on his face.

Pieces of the city cascaded from the sky as the Demon moved into the most populated area of Moon City. Luca couldn't believe his eyes as he watched two of the glass bridges shatter beneath the pressure of a pushed tidal wave. The rod in his hand felt useless as he watched hundreds of people at a time fall into the Moonflow below, now churning and splashing as it swallowed the city piece by piece.

Then Luca stopped suddenly, crashing into Vale's back. He only threw her off a little and she righted herself immediately, not once pausing in her action. He watched her push the sides of her coat back, watched as she lifted both her pistols from their holsters and leveled them. He looked where they were aimed and had just enough time to see the flashing spines of the demon spawn, quivering in the night air, before Vale opened fire. The .45 caliber magnum bullets exploded out of her guns, loud enough even to puncture the wail of the siren and the screams around them. They thudded into the heads of the demon spawn but their job was not done, for these bullets were of the shrapnel variety. Upon impact, each bullet exploded, throwing smaller bullets every which way, exploding the demon spawn from the inside out.

Luca gapped and watched her turn on three more spawn who had made the mistake of getting in her way. When the way was clear she moved forward again, though a bit slower this time. Luca had time to look back for his friend and the samurai. He saw Nikolas move forward quickly, sword moving so fast it was merely a flash through the night air. The spawn seemed unharmed until he had replaced his sword in it's sheath and stood back. Then the thing split in two and fell away from itself. Nikolas saw Luca staring and simply pointed after Vale. Go. Follow.

Now the bridge was shaking so hard it was really a difficulty to run straight. Vale took care of a spawn that landed in front of them, Nikolas taking care of any that decided to take chase. Noobin stumbled around with Luca until their feet hit dirt on the far end of the bridge, on the eastern shore of the Moonflow. Here were the refugees of Moon City, watching with tear filled eyes and dirt streaked faces as their city was destroyed. Luca stood among them with Noobin at his side, shoulders and chests heaving, as they watched Moon City sink into the Moonflow. Some bridges sank almost complete, full buildings still intact. As the city sank, the sirens were engulfed and were soon lost. The only sounds that followed was the buzzing in their ears and the muffled cries of the lost.

Luca was numb. The second city he had seen destroyed. He saw a little girl standing a few feet from him, knees scratched up, holding a dirty doll. She looked about eight years old. She would remember this horror for the rest of her life. He knew she would.

When her father came and led her away, Luca looked back at the water. It's boiling and frothing was calming. In the distance, the Demon turned it's back on a job well done and sped off across the water so fast it left a wide wake in the black liquid beneath it.

A few people were struggling ashore and everyone already safe jumped into the rescue effort. The cries were mostly background drone and, not long after the last live citizen was pulled out of the water, the dead ones began to drift to shore. They pulled a few out, but the limp dead weight was heavy and could offer no thanks for the effort, so eventually they gave it up.

Luca found the body of a young woman in green, half on the bank. She was not the girl he had fallen in love with on first sight a few days ago, but she may as well have been. He bent down, mechanical knees sighing softly, and pushed some dark, wet hair out of her face. Her brown eyes were open, fixed and staring. He moved his hand to close them, but suddenly they closed by themselves. Then opened again. Luca took his hand back quickly. Alive?

He heard a moan and a cry and stumbled back as the woman's fingers sunk into the wet sand of the bank, as her elbows shifted and pointed up to the sky, as she slowly lifted her limp head.

"Are . . .are you okay?"

He could hear her crying, but her face was still, her lips unmoving. She cried in his mind in fear and confusion, all the while slowly pulling herself up from the water. Once she was standing, her body began to shake. Lights like pyreflies spilled from and surrounded her as she bent over herself. Before Luca's eyes, the dead woman turned into a gigantic cat, long whiskers floating in the night air, the tips of which seemed alive with fire.

Luca stared at the beautiful creature without understanding. Then, somewhere behind him, someone raised a cry.

"FIEND!"

A hand grabbed his collar and yanked him back. Vale and Nikolas were immediately between him and the cat which was now glowing with gathering energy.

"Do not let it finish it's charge!" Vale warned and opened fire.

Luca watched in horror as red marks like rose blooms showed up on the cat's white fur. Then a long red dash as Nikolas moved passed it with his katana. Still, Luca could hear the woman who became the cat crying in confusion and fear.

"No, stop! Stop! Wait!" Luca struggled to his feet where Nikolas had dumped him. "STOP!"

Vale spared a glance back as the cat was on it's side, now more crimson than white, it's whiskers flickering weakly. It opened it's maw and let out a furious shriek, but it was too injured to attack.

Luca stepped forward, clenching his staff nervously. Nikolas snorted and raised his sword for the coup de tat, but Luca spoke again, with more authority, "I said stop. Put your weapon away." Nikolas slowly lowered his katana and stepped back.

Luca did not lean down and touch the creature. Truly he would have lost his hand had he done so. Instead, he listened to the lost soul within the dying fiend, crying for help. Luca closed his eyes and began to sing softly to her, a lullaby he thought, to ease her suffering. Before he knew it, the staff in his hand was swinging, whirling around him, before him, above him, behind his back. He didn't have to do it, it just seemed like the right action to go with the lullaby.

The fiend quieted, watching the whirl of his staff like a tired but entertained child. Then, as the others watched, the creature began to fade. Soon it was gone and in it's place were hundreds of pyreflies, dancing up toward the heavens.

Eventually, Luca opened his eyes and many people were staring at him, not just his traveling companions.

It was Noobin who found the voice to speak, "What did you do?"

"She was lost. I sent her home."

". . . Sent . . ."

"To the Farplane," Vale said quietly, weapons once more hidden. "He sent her to the Farplane where she now belongs." A small smile graced her lips.

"There are others," said a citizen of the city that had once been named for the moon. He spoke softly and with reverence, bowing his head as he approached. "There are others that are lost. They need to be sent too."

Luca nodded solemnly and took off at a slow walk down the shore.

"Feel honored," Vale said softly to those around her before heading off to guard her summoner. "You have just bared witness to the first Sending."