Odyssey III:III
A shiver went down Luna's spine as she stepped onto the hard tiled floor, her steps echoing ominously. "I never thought I'd have to come to this place again," she sighed, mostly to herself. Each step she took was accompanied by the soft clicking sound of her armor. She heaved a long sigh; things were slipping.
Ever since Golbez had talked to Luneth, he had become more confident, more powerful. She would usually wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of something crashing, only to find Luneth training. No, it wasn't a bad thing. Actually, she was relieved that he had gotten more determined and confident, but something still wasn't right. As he grew in power, she started to lose it. Of course, she wouldn't show her increasing weakness, but it was getting harder and harder to keep it under wraps.
"We're here," Luneth called out into the darkness, snapping Luna out of her thoughts. Everything was quiet for a moment until the space in front of them seemed to tear open. The two automatically took a defensive stance as the two beings emerged. "Where are they?"
Fam grinned. With a wave of her hand, dark mist came together and Terra and Tony's bodies materialized. "The girl tried to fight us, but she was no match," she said with a huff. Frit stood quietly by her side, contented in watching.
The Onion Knight couldn't help but feel dread when he saw his friends' states. They were lying, unconscious on the floor; the pain they had endured still evident in their troubled, sleeping faces. "Don't harm them anymore," he whispered, almost begging. Luna widened her eyes at what he said. "Take me instead." Luna froze.
"What an interesting offer… The legendary Onion Knight, be my puppet? What an opportunity that I cannot pass," she said. Her eyes glinted as she saw her soon-to-come victory.
"You can't be serious!" Luna cried out, speaking for the first time since the Cloud of Darkness appeared. "Luneth, tell me you're joking!"
Fam rised an eyebrow. "Of course, how could I forget. The brat also comes with you." This time, Frit flinched, but the small movement went through unnoticed.
Luna turned to her and shot her a deadly glare. "I am not going to join you!" she declared, raising her sword to fight. She saw a slim hand push her sword gently away and was left speechless. Luneth shook his head and stepped forward, his head bowed low. Fam eagerly floated forward, licking her lips, already tasting her triumph. Luna was boiling with anger that she wanted to just go on a slashing fest, but she couldn't move. She thought of all the possible painful ways of killing the two beings but couldn't even tighten a single muscle. Everything then flashed right before her.
Images of past events came zipping by right in front of her. Her vision shifted back and forth from her memories to the present time. She tried stepping forward, but dizziness came over her. She threatened to topple over, but she moved her leg to the side a bit to balance herself. She looked at the figures before her. It was that of Refia and the other. She blinked and the image changed into that of Fam looking smugly at her. Her head ached as she saw more of her memories shifting back and forth. Luneth seemed oblivious to her condition while the two Chaos warriors merely observed, as if predicting the confusion now clouding her mind.
She heard her sword clatter onto the sword as she held her head in her hands. She gripped onto what hair that was flowing out of her helmet. She wanted to scream wildly, but she fought against it. Her counterpart still ignored her.
"Now let us begin," Fam announced as she started to reach into the boy's mind. In a split second, she was already jumping away, eyes wide with a small cut on her cheek while Luneth was standing his ground, his sword ready. Fam gritted her teeth as rage filled her. "How dare you deceive us!" she screeched as she came lunging at him.
Luna's mind barely registered the start of their battle. She was too pre-occupied with what was going on with herself. Through her tear-clouded vision she saw Frit cautiously walking towards her. Her first thought was that he was going to take advantage of her distress and kill her; instead, he picked up the sword lying on the ground and offered it back to her.
"W-What's happening t-to me?" she tried to say without screaming out the words.
"We need not fight a battle," Frit told her, avoiding the question. "We consciences make no difference in this conflict." He took one of the girl's trembling hands and handed her sword over. "We have lost the will to fight. All you need to do is play your part and disappear."
Luna couldn't understand a thing. She had her sword in hand, but the man would not release his hold. She tried to pull away but to no avail. The man pulled the sword towards him in one swift motion. The next thing Luna knew was that a warm liquid started sliding down her arms and under her armor. Images still flashed before her, but she could definitely tell that the man hovering over her with blank eyes was real. She slowly stepped back, pulling the sword out of the lifeless body. She lost her hold on her weapon and let it fall once again.
The pain was excruciating. It felt like someone had cracked her skull and was slowly breaking it open. She panted heavily and sweat started to trickle down her pale face. Her heart was racing as the images turned into something completely foreign to her.
It was that of Terra and Tony, signaling that it was just recent. They were awfully sad. Luna was sure she hadn't seen them so sad yet. The next one, she found herself talking to them. She heard herself talk, but she had no idea what had slipped through her lips. They looked very distracted and felt herself well up with annoyance. She felt herself turn around and walk away.
"No… I-I don't know this…" Up until that moment, the images were silent. But now, she could hear the faint voices of the people in the scenery, as well as some unknown voices.
"You're kidding!"
"Let us begin!"
"The crystals will never reveal themselves to those without valor…"
"Hey kid…"
"Obtain the light..."
"Luneth…"
She had had enough. So many things rushed around inside her mind and she couldn't keep it in anymore. She screamed. She screamed till she was out of breath, shaking her head all the while. If anyone had seen her, they would have thought that the girl had gone crazy.
"Luna?" The girl looked up and saw a blurry red figure. "What happened to you?" The figure neared her and Luna finally recognized him. A green glowing object in Luneth's arms caught the girl's attention. The knight noticed her sudden silence and presented it to her. "It's our crystal."
A cold wind swept through the whole area, making Luna's hair stand on ends. She reached out for it and felt its smooth, warm surface. The sense of comfort then slowly washed over her. She felt herself slowly moving closer to the crystal.
"Luna!" the knight shouted, distress evident in his voice and face. "You're-!" Luna looked down and saw green particles slowly circling her feet, gradually inching their way up. The few parts the mist had passed disappeared. She was disappearing.
To panic is the natural way to react to what was happening to her, but Luna wasn't capable of doing that anymore. Luna noticed another figure far behind Luneth. The woman wore thick make up, covering her natural features. "Kelpie… is this what's supposed to happen?"
As if hearing the question, the jester nodded her head. "It'll be better if the likes of us faded…"
"Then so be it… I'm tired anyway…" The jester smiled at the female knight. It was another one of her rare, genuine smiles. It was neither of happiness nor of sadness. It was that of contentment, finally being able to lead the child to the right path. Kelpie walked away, disappearing into the darkness.
Luna turned her focus back to Luneth who was trying to get her attention for the past few moments. She sadly smiled at the boy and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm tired Luneth… I'm going home soon enough…" she said weakly as the green mist reached her knees.
"What are you talking about? You're disappearing!" he argued.
She shook her head. "No, I'm going home… Too bad I won't be able to see you anymore… It's been a blast."
Luneth tightly shut his eyes close, holding the girl steadily in his arms. He had grown fond of her presence. When he was down, she would always be there to make him feel better. When he had lost hope, she reminded him that there were other people depending on them, making him push further. When he was scared, she would be brave for him and he did the same to her.
He protected her when she was vulnerable. He aided her when her health deteriorated. Yes, he noticed her weakening state and tried to ask about it, but the girl's quiet moments had halted him. She was confused as he was on what was happening to her.
These past few days, she had grown paler, the color of her cheeks turning into an ashy white. Her green eyes had lost their brilliance. Each swing she gave was weaker than the last. Her speed, strength, agility and reflexes had all grown worse as they neared where the Clouds of Darkness resided.
"Luna, what's happening?" he murmured.
"I… don't know," the girl whispered. The green particles inched higher now. "Kelpie told me it had something to do with who I was."
"Who are you?"
A soft, weak giggle escaped from the girl's lips. "I'm you…" The green mist finally reached her torso and she slowly pulled away, a kind smile on her lips. She started moving away from him. "Take care of tony for me," she requested as she finally vanished in a burst of green, sparkling particles. The mist slowly made its way to Luneth. The knight feared it at first, but it was only absorbed by the crystal.
He raised the crystal up to his face and examined it. He heard a faint voice coming from it.
"Don't worry, I'll be alright… I'll be always with you."
Luneth wrapped his arms tightly around the glowing rock and made his way towards the two half-espers. They were still lying on the ground, completely oblivious to what had transpired. He yawned, signaling he was tired. "Yeah, sleep must be nice… Maybe I'll…" Luneth stopped in mid-sentence as he lied down onto the floor, right beside Terra. When he was properly lying down, sleep immediately took over. Before the comfort of being unconscious swept over him, a soft voice whispered into his ear.
"Everything will be alright…"
That's it for Luna's story. Is it crappy? Well, I admit it might be disappointing… Please let me know what you think!
BTW, I might not be able to update as much (as you may have already noticed). Projects are piling up and I need to do them ASAP. Oh well…
R&R please! Tenchu~!
