Unheeded Warnings
"Well… At least it went a little more smoother than I was expecting it to… Especially all that."
"Guess we can thank Luna for that?"
"Ehehe~ Just remember that you owe me one, okay Hurk?~" Luna replied in an exaggerated, flirty voice.
The burly slayer seemed to shrivel up at the sound of Luna's exaggeration. It was pretty uncharacteristic of his appearance, but one could hardly blame him.
Luna laughed as she got the response she was looking for. If anything was apparent at all, it was that she was once again poking fun at Hurk.
The three were currently on their way back to Luna's workshop, their group in surprisingly good spirits despite precious days having passed with no forward progress.
"On a serious note though, Luna… Thank you." Athena spoke up. "Things could have gotten… complicated…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Luna answered with an airy wave of her hand before she adjusted the canon on her back a little bit more. "Don't mention it, I mean we are a team, right? Riiiiight?"
Athena rolled her eyes and shook her head a bit. How Luna managed to keep such a jovial appearance amidst the rather gloomy atmosphere was beyond her. Then again, the elf did manage to weasel their way out of another sticky situation…
Hours before…
"… Alright, you three… I am sure you are well aware that we have been keeping eyes on you ever since we came here." A much calmer Commander Stark spoke as she paced about the middle of the room they were in. In the time that had passed, it seemed as though the anger and impatience had slowly left the commander, instead just leaving a somewhat tired and weary woman in its place. "I'll ask once, nicely. What are you hiding from us?"
Hurk fidgeted visibly, unintentionally displaying his discomfort with the situation. He definitely couldn't be blamed for it, considering how he was the physical bearer of the burden they were hiding…
Athena, on the other hand, kept a pretty calm poker face, while Luna grinned far too cheerily.
After a few moments of silence, Stark's expression seemed to sour.
"I am being quite patient. I would much prefer-"
"Eheh~"
Stark stopped and glared at the source of the noise. Sure enough, it was coming from the one person that seemed completely unbothered by her current situation.
"Have something to say, Luna? I've had more than one run in with you, and I know you're never up to something good. Perhaps not always something bad, but usually something that disturbs the entire city…"
"Guilty as charged! Commander Shark!" Luna willfully admitted with a toothy grin.
Stark opted not to voice a reply all too quickly, but she certainly did react in an unsuspecting manner. Rather than respond with angry words or harsh commands, the commander pressed her forehead into the palm of her left hand and sighed.
"So then what is it this time…?" Stark pressed, "And do tell what these two borderline traitors have to do with it?"
"Traitors?" Hurk blurted out before Athena elbowed him in the ribs.
"Oh please, they aren't traitors at all, they're just helpin' me out." Luna dismissed the notion with a completely unconcerned wave of her hand.
Athena could only mutely admire the elf as the slender woman lied and lied again in such a smooth manner. If anything was evident at all, it was that Luna would have made a fearsome poker player…
"And what are they helping you out with?" Stark demanded, her demeanor hardening as she pushed for answers.
"Mmm…." Luna brought a finger to her chin as she tilted her head in thought.
"Be honest with me, Luna…" Stark warned.
Ironic, considering how Luna was effectively lying about the entire situation.
"Argon tech." Luna quipped quickly in response, a cheeky smile on her face despite knowing full well that such black market technology was clearly illegal.
Stark's eyebrow's raised as Luna openly admitted to what she was doing. Both Hurk and Athena mirrored the look, except they had horror written across their faces.
"Luna, I could have you executed for this." Stark warned, "And these two along with you."
"Yeah, but you won't~" Luna hummer happily.
"And why is that?"
"Because…. I'm already done!" Luna declared with a smug smile. It was a look that made everyone in the room want to punch her.
"Do I even want to ask what this next invention of yours is…" Stark muttered with a uncharacteristically weary sigh.
"TOO LATE NOW!" Luna crowed, "KA-BOOM!"
The elf leapt to her feet with both hands raised to the sky.
…
…
…
Three pairs of eyes turned to the elf as if she had gone mental.
"Oh, I forgot to turn this on." Luna snorted and tapped a bracelet on her wrist.
"KA-BOOM!" She yelled again and repeated the same motion.
This time, there was a distant crash heard in the distance, followed by a few shouts and yelling before the sound was overtaken by the ominous whistle of an object rapidly approaching the office they were in.
"Please tell me you did not-" Stark started, but never got to finish.
-CRASH-
"GRMPHH!" Hurk half grunted, half yelled in pain as an object smashed through the window and collided with his chair, sending him sprawling to the floor.
In an instant, the door to the office was thrown open, guards storming into the room with weapons drawn.
"Commander! Are you alright!?" A voice could be heard above the commotion.
"FINE! Fine…" Stark answered in an annoyed tone.
"Eh-hehe…"
All eyes turned to the source of the laughter as the dust slowly settled, revealing Luna standing on top of a nearby desk, while holding a junky looking tube in her hands. Various lights flashed on an off along the cylinder's length, while wires and other electronics hung out of its side. Regardless of the object's junk like appearance, however, there was one telling trait that gave its origins away… An eerie blue glow emanating from the barrel of the cannon.
"Luna…" Stark spoke up warningly.
"Oh relax, it's not a real one, I just cloned their reactor core." Luna brushed aside Stark's accusative glare.
"Reactor core?" Stark repeated, managing to sound not entirely clueless despite having no idea what that was.
"Red and Hurk over there brought me a dead one." Luna quipped.
All eyes turned to Athena and Hurk.
"Is this true?" Stark demanded suspiciously as she glared at the duo.
Athena's mouth opened and closed a few times as she attempted to think on her toes, but ultimately failed. Instead, her gaze shifted to Hurk.
Hurk, being even more lost, only looked right back at her with a completely clueless look on his face.
Though neither openly spoke up, given the situation, it seemed as if they were both openly admitting guilt.
Stark let out a grumble and pressed her forehead into the palm of her hand.
"And you found it unnecessary to disclose this information to me?" Stark grumbled ominously, "You took dangerous technology, dead or not, and transported it to her? I could have you court marshaled for this!"
"Bah, cut'em some slack, Shark!" Luna hummed away happily, "They were only doing what I asked 'em to do."
"What you asked them to do was transport illegal items." Stark retorted with a frown. "This is the AAC, not the black market."
Luna shrugged indifferently.
"Black market has some good stuff."
Plenty of hostile glares turned in the elf's direction.
"Sometimes! Sometimes…" Luna quickly added, raising a hand in surrender. "most of the time" She thought to herself.
"Besides, Snark, wouldn't be the first time I've done this. I built a number of things for-"
"Enough." Stark cut off the elf before Luna talked too much.
"What is that thing and what does it do."
Luna made a disappointed look when she wasn't allowed to reveal all the other things she had made, but opted to accept the commander's convenient change of topic.
"It's an arc cannon." Luna answered simply, as if the name explained everything.
"A what?" Stark questioned cluelessly, managing to speak up for everyone in the room.
"An arc cannon." Luna repeated, still offering no further explanation.
"Ahem. Luna, laymen's terms?" Hurk spoke up for the first time.
Luna blinked at him for a moment before making an "oh!" look.
"It's a portable canon with the firepower of a mounted gun emplacement." Luna explained at a thousand miles per hour. "Since it's got a self-sustaining reactor, there's no need to be connected to the Core for power or any other external supply."
"So then-" Stark started, but Luna quickly interrupted her.
"Yes, it has the exact same fire capabilities." Luna laughed before she leveled the gun beside her hip and aimed it out the gaping hole in the wall.
"Luna! Don't you dare-!" Stark warned, but it was much too late.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Luna crowed with a maniacal laugh before she depressed the trigger.
The cannon in her hands roared to life, belching energy bolts into the sky in a dazzling display of destructive power. A few seconds later, Luna pressed a series of keys, causing the cannon the morph in shape. When she depressed the trigger again, a large glowing ball of energy pulsed out before it detonated in the sky with a brilliant flash of light.
"LUNA! ENOUGH!" Stark yelled, finally drawing Luna's overly flashy demonstration to a close.
When the smoke finally cleared, silence permeated the room. Perhaps it was a mixture of awe and fear, but either way, all who had witnessed Luna's creation had no doubt in their mind that this weapon was unimaginably destructive.
"Hahaha!" Luna crowed, clearly quite pleased with her performance. "Can't wait to field test this thing, it's gonna be great!"
In the distance, shouts, cries, and pointing could be seen as a large crowd started gathering. Luna's performance had drawn more than enough unwanted eyes.
Luna, on the other hand, stuck her head out of the gaping hole in the wall and started waving at the angry citizens below. Boos and angry shouts could be heard more and more as they citizens realized who it was that was stirring up trouble in their city yet again.
At the other side of the room, Stark let out what seemed like a hundredth weary sigh as she settled back down into an intact chair.
"You two." She snapped, a hint of her typical sharp edge returning to her voice.
"Uhh…?" Athena sounded and pointed a finger at herself.
"Yes, you, Athena… And Hurk…" Stark continued, "Do you guys realize what you have done?"
Athena swallowed unintentionally.
"Putting it simply, you've aided in a terrorist plot, destroyed property, and caused mayhem to one of our most valued allies in this war."
"Hey, but-" Athena started, but Stark immediately cut her off.
"The punishment for these crimes would be nothing short of expulsion from our coalition. In the more severe cases, you could be thrown in prison."
"B-"
"Annnnnnd, in doing so, they have greatly added to the strength of our war effort. Aren't they helpful?" Luna neatly slid herself back into the conversation.
A heavy silence seemed to hang in the air the moment after Luna spoke up. It seemed to be a mixture of apprehension, hope, and doubt at the same time.
"Luna, while the capabilities of your weap-" Stark started, only to be cut off again by the elf.
"Relax, it'll work this time. The things I learned from what those two gave me got me where I needed to go." She explained, being deliberately vague about the topic.
"If we go by past accounts…" Stark sighed, not finishing her sentence and while also wearing a uncharacteristically dubious look on her face.
"Wait you tried that thing before?" Athena finally blurted out.
"Once." Luna quipped.
"Three times." Stark corrected in an annoyed tone.
"Okay fine, three times." Luna huffed and puffed. "But it's pretty much foolproof now! I just needed that last little push…"
Silence settled between them.
…
…
"Oh come on, I bailed you guys out so many times!" Luna started whining when she sensed that the others still doubted her.
"Look Luna, you've helped us in the past, but you know more than anyone else how reckless you are." Stark spoke up slowly. There was a very careful hint to her tone, as if the commander was making an unusual effort in trying not to offend the elf.
"Relax, I've got a lid on it-"
"Luna, you aren't listening to me." Stark spoke up, her tone slightly harder.
"Oh? I'm listening perfectly well!" Luna replied instantly, "Don't forget who made your ham hands-"
"Luna, the last time we let you 'help' us, you nearly compromised the entire coalition!" Stark finally snapped. "That curiosity of yours and your insatiable thirst to test the limits of everything-"
"RELAX!" Luna let out an exasperated sigh, "Besides, I'm not interested in those power cells anymore. I found way better fish to fry."
"Really." Stark answered, her voice lacking any sense of the care it held before. "Someone like you doesn't just suddenly loose interest in a technology that powerful."
"Really really." Luna quipped, "Argons are far more interesting."
Everyone in the room froze again.
"Luna, you aren't going to get any Argons or any of their technology. The last thing we need is for you to accidently corrupt something with their technology or infect someone with-"
"RELAX!" Luna interrupted again, "Not interested in your normal Argons anyways. I figured those out a while ago. I want the big fish, and I'm going to figure out how she ticks."
"You want the hybrid." Stark spoke up in a low tone.
"No, I want to take apart the hybrid." Luna corrected, "Doesn't really matter if it's dead, the structure will still be the same. Could be an arm… Leg… Ribs… Head… Hey, you know I bet an Argon brain would be one hell of a thing to see!"
Luna immediately felt two pairs of eyes lance into her, the fury was almost palpable in their gazes. None the less, Luna glance back at Athena and Hurk and fixed them with an insane grin.
The two former gladiators only furrowed their eyebrows in response. Luna was simply too much of a wild card for them to understand what the grin was supposed to mean. In the end, Athena couldn't decide whether or not she should be furious with what Luna had just said, or if everything she was saying was a complete and utter lie.
Stark, on the other hand, and pressed her fingertips back to her temples and shut her eyes. The commander knew full well what benefits having Luna in the coalition again would bring to their forces, but was the risk worth the potential payout?
"Luna." Stark finally spoke up a few moments later, her voice rather weary. "I'll let you back in under three conditions."
"Sounds great, I'm in!" Luna didn't even sound like she was interested in hearing the conditions.
The speed of her response even had Athena pressing a hand to her face.
"Athena" Stark continued as if she hadn't been interrupted, "You are the one in charge of her. Anything she does wrong, you are responsible for. Luna, if you so much as even think about experimenting on our equipment again, you're done. And lastly, if you so much as see the hybrid, you are to use everything in your power to destroy it."
"Yessiree ma'am!" Luna hummed, immediately agreeing without even the slightest afterthought.
"Good, now get out of my sight." Stark finally snapped.
Present Time…
"So… You weren't actually… You know…" Athena inquired rather hesitantly.
"Oh, brains? Nah. I mean I'm curious, but it's not like I don't have morals." Luna laughed off the red head's question, "You seem pretty convinced she's sentient, so I figure it would be better to at least know this… thing… creature…"
Athena frowned at the terms Luna continued to use to describe Ysane, but opted not to press the issue.
"But if things take a dive, don't expect me to just sit around and let her start eating people. I'll kill her." Luna warned.
Athena could only let out a sigh in response. She knew far better than everyone else how easy it was to offend Ysane. In the end, she could only hope that the castanic wasn't going to deliberately attempt to provoke the elf. A rather tall order, considering how Ysane tended to view other people…
"Hey Luna, wasn't the door…" Hurk let his voice trail off.
"She called that cannon out, remember?" Athena started, but Luna was quick to correct her.
"Shit." Luna uttered a single word
"What? Didn't- Hey Luna, wait up!" Athena helplessly called out, but the elf had already sprinted her way back into her work shop.
When Hurk and Athena caught up a few moments later, they found Luna plowing through piles of what looked like junk. Only, after a few minutes, Luna stood back up at full height.
"Nothing missing?" She seemed incredibly confused.
Finally, it dawned on Athena.
"She didn't take anything from you. She just…" The red head paused before slowly walking over to where the sword Hurk was carrying before was hidden. Pulling back the cloth that was supposed to be covering the blade revealed a broom handle instead.
"She was here." Athena stated the obvious.
"What's that?" Hurk spoke up, plucking a small napkin from under the broom.
Unfolding the note, three pairs of eyes read a note that only contained three words.
"They Are Here"
Author's Notes
Hello again, readers. Per usual, it has been a long time since i have posted another chapter. Work has me occupied, which often leaves me with little to no energy left to work on the next installments of this story. I cannot say when the next chapter will be posted as I do not know what my future schedule looks like. For now, things will remain sporadic, I am very sorry. I hope all of you are doing well, and if you have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to share.
Until next time,
-M