After another two days of following the river, Luna's arm was becoming more functional again. The wounds were finally beginning to close and she could raise her arm as long as it was gently done. After once again awaking along the river's edge, she tied her hair into a ponytail and pulled her jacket back over her body. In the few days that passed, she had found a grey long sleeved shirt in an old abandoned fishing shack. It was slightly loose on her but a little bagginess never bothered her much before and she couldn't complain anyways, she decided it beat walking around in her bra any longer.
The siblings, Citra and Chika, were still sleeping under their jackets as Luna moved to the water and cupped a handful of it. She drank her fill before washing her face and staring at the reflection that stared back. "See anything interesting?" asked her other self as she crouched next to Luna. Luna rubbed her cheek and then swept her hair to the left before it fell back in place. "I can't believe how much I've changed in the last few years. I look so much… older. It's hard to think that I was a child once." "You sound like an old woman." said the girl. "I know. I don't mean to make it sound like that, it's just surprising. My face has changed so frequently and it's hard to keep up with.
Sometimes I still expect to see the five year old, other times I think it will be the fifteen year old that was about to start highschool. Then I think it's the seventeen year old that came back from that world. Every time, it's a different face. This time it's a sad and weary nineteen year old that is tired of fighting. I want to go home to Yumi and sleep next to her in my bed. I want to see Shu again and have him curl up at my feet while I'm drawing at my desk. I really hope all of this will be over after this game. I'm done with all of these things." Luna splashed another handful of water in her face and then rose to her feet. "Fox will die and then we will be free. I can already feel our knife cutting into his throat and it gives me tingles."
"As much as I want to disagree, I find it a tantalizing thought too. He'll get what's coming to him in the end. I'll see to it and after I do, I'll be free of my past and I can finally move into the future." She glanced back at her companions and smiled. "It's nice to have some company along the way as well." "You always have me." said the girl. "Is that supposed to be comforting? You're my reminder that my mind is constantly unraveling, how am I supposed to see that as a positive thing?" The girl shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Great help you are." Luna muttered before picking up her belt from the rock she had placed it on.
She strapped it around her waist and then sat cross legged on another more flat rock. Her eyes closed and she waited silently as the twins slept in peace. "I don't think this is really any help." said the girl. Luna cracked an eye open and saw her sitting in front of her. "It won't if you keep being a nuisance. Be quiet and let me enjoy the morning." she said before closing her eye again. "Whatever makes you happy, zen master." Luna grinned and opened her hearing up to the world around her. She listened to the river's current as it flowed gently, the sound of wildlife rustling through the trees and bushes around her played in her ears, and she listened as the wind danced around her.
Finally, for the first time in what felt like months, she had found peace. It's been so long since I could just enjoy the world. "Wake up." said Chika, nudging Luna's shoulder. Luna hesitantly opened her eyes and frowned as Chika stood in front of her. "We're leaving, hurry it up." After she finished, Chika moved to her brother's side at the river bank. "You know, I might be inclined to agree with you again." Luna said, scowling. Her other self grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course you do, we're the same. I only want what you want, even if you decide to hide it." Luna moved easily off of the rock and put her hood up before meeting the siblings by the water.
"All set?" asked Citra. Luna nodded and with that, the trio were moving again. Luna opened her map and examined the trail they had been following. They were now in a new section so it was fogged on her map. The stream had gone north and just recently bent to the west slightly. It was still going north but it was now heading at an angle. "At this rate, we're heading directly to the center but I don't know how much more this thing will bend. It could at some point bend back south or go more sharply to the west." she explained, moving her finger across the hologram. "If it does, we will just keep moving towards the center." Citra noted.
"You really don't have to keep going there with me. It will probably turn out to be nothing anyways." "Like I said, I have nothing better to do and she won't leave my side. You're stuck with us for now." They spent some time walking before anyone spoke again. "We met your friend Yumi back in Somerant, she's pretty nice." Citra said to break the silence that had followed them all morning. "She is. I miss her." Luna said as she continued forward. She kept her eyes ahead and was trying to avoid any conversation. While the company was nice, she didn't want to get too close to these people. The closer she was, the harder it would be if something happened to them. Luna was tired of loss and didn't want another dead or injured friend haunting her and reminding her of her failures.
"I thought you would have been surprised by that." Citra stated. "I am kind of but it's not that odd due to our job. In fact, your names have seemed pretty familiar to me since hearing them. I figured that I might have sent Yumi to meet you in my place. Did she do well on the job?" Luna asked. "She did. She helped us quite a bit and on two occasions, not just the one. On the second job she mentioned you and that you were dealing with a lot of stuff. Do you want to talk about any of it? Since we also came from SAO we might be able to relate to a few things." Luna shook her head. "No, I don't. I'm taking care of it and no offense but I doubt you would be able to help me at the moment. This is my fight to win or lose and I don't want to drag any more people into it, I've done that enough.
My arm should be better in a couple of days so I'll be leaving then." Citra frowned and reached for her hand but Luna moved it out of his reach. "You don't have to leave us." he said kindly. "I told you that I do and even if I didn't, I want to. I'm better on my own, always have been." "You're such a liar." came her own voice. She looked and saw her other self walking beside her. "We've always had Trail or Clair or Yumi by our side." "Except for the times we didn't." Luna said aloud. "I'm sorry?" Citra questioned as he stared at her curiously. Luna's eyes widened and her face turned red. "It's nothing." she said before pushing past him to move faster. Chika caught up to her brother and Luna heard them whispering but couldn't make out the words.
"Hey, Luna, are you sure that you're okay?" asked Citra as he caught up to her. "I'm fine." she growled out of frustration. He kept a smile on his face but Luna knew that her angered tone had upset him. He's just trying to help me and I snapped at him. "Who cares, he's being annoying. Forget about him and keep moving." Luna sighed at her hesitant agreement and continued walking ahead of the others. The rest of the day was uneventful and the siblings left her alone for the most part. Luna and Chika managed to kill a couple of rabbits for their dinner that night while Citra was struggling with a fire for them. "Here." Luna said as she kneeled down next to the pile of kindling. She held her hand to it and a spark of lightning arced from her to the wood. One of the logs caught and with a little bit of blowing, the rest ignited with it.
"That's handy." he said, smiling at her as she sat next to the dancing flames. "I suppose." she said quietly. "So, Yumi mentioned that you had killed some people back in SAO. Umm… I was wanting to tell you that so did we and I get what you're going through." Luna scoffed. "I doubt it." "Look, we all had to do things to survive in that place and…" "And were those things caused by your own mistakes? Because of your own decisions, did you have to kill the closest thing you had to a friend in that place? I wanted to keep him safe but it turned him into a monster. I loved him at one point and I was the one that killed him, twice over in a way."
Luna's anger was beginning to rage within her as she thought about all of the things that had happened in that game. "Nobody will ever understand how I feel or what I've gone through. He might have given up, I had my sword pressed to his throat and he was unarmed and I… I killed him." "And we liked it. It felt great knowing that we could do that." Luna glared at her haunting image and snarled at her. "I never liked it, not then, not at that moment." "Liar." said the girl. "I'm sorry for…" "It doesn't matter." Luna interrupted. She held her hands out to the fire to warm herself and watched the crackling embers as the wood slowly burned.
"None of it matters anymore, not what you think, not what others think, none of it. I don't need your help and I don't want it even if I did." Luna turned her gaze to him and smiled wickedly. "I'll kill you someday too, most likely." A sickness rose in her as she said that but also a sense of pleasure at the thought of it. Her eyes turned back to the flames and Citra cautiously rose to his feet and moved to help his sister collect more water. "Why did I say that?" she murmured. "Because we're becoming closer. You'll get used to it soon enough." "I hope not." "I'm using the bathroom." Luna said as she stood. Chika was moving towards the fire and sat next to where Luna was sitting before. "Don't stay gone for too long or I'll send Citra to look for you." she said. Luna didn't pay much attention to the girl's words and left the camp.
She found a fallen tree and sat upon the stump that remained in the ground. "Why not just leave them?" Luna took a breath and closed her eyes, attempting to ignore the voice. "Hey!" she yelled. Luna opened her eyes and stared angrily at her own image in front of her. "Go away." "You cannot get rid of me by just ignoring me." "Then I will… I will…" "Yeah, what will you do?" "I'll kill you or myself or whoever I have to if it means getting you out of my head! I want you gone! I want to be gone! I am tired of dealing with this and you and my entire life! I don't want it anymore! I'm! Done!" Luna was screaming at the top of her lungs and when she stopped, her chest was heaving and she was short of breath as she glared at her other self.
"I am tired of everything in my life. Most of all, myself." Luna had leapt to her feet in her ranting and then fell to her knees as she felt tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm tired of being happy for a second and then sad or angry all of a sudden. I'm tired of talking to myself and seeing you, or me, or whatever this is, everywhere I go. I'm tired of fighting and pretending that I'm okay when I'm not. I don't want to be this way anymore, I would rather just die but I can't even do that because of Fox." Luna hit the ground as hard as she could and then lightning began to engulf her body. "I hate him! I hate myself! I hate that I hurt everyone I know no matter what I do!" Every time she yelled, she punched the ground harder and harder. Her ability was protecting her hands to some extent as a small crater continued to form under her hits.
"I hate this place and I hate my memories and I hate everything else! I'm done with all of it!" She felt wounds on her knuckles opening as she hit the dense forest floor repeatedly. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" she screamed as lightning spewed from her mouth and struck a tree ahead of her. She then hit the ground with both of her fists clenched together and then again after that. "Damn it!" she bellowed as all of her negative emotions erupted out of her "Wow, you really are unstable." said her image as she leaned against a nearby tree. Luna looked at her with a murderous glare. Her face was soaked from tears and covered in dirt from the explosive impacts of her fists into the ground. "I hate you!" she screamed as she charged forward. Luna propelled in a stream of blue sparking light before striking against the tree. Splinters of bark and chunks of the tree flew everywhere as Luna rolled on the other side.
She stopped after two rolls and slid before her back struck the trunk of a tree. She laid there, curled up in a ball, and sobbed uncontrollably as every emotion began mixing and flooding into her. She began to laugh as tears continually left cleaner streaks in the mud on her face. She felt blood on her shoulder and that it was trailing down her arm. Her knuckles felt broken or extremely bruised as a warm liquid covered them. She hugged herself tightly as she let out a strange mixture of laughs and whimpers. She stayed like that for as long as she remembered and, come morning, that was how she was found. "Damn, it looks like a bomb went off." she heard Chika say. "Shhh, she's still asleep. Don't ask her anything until we know how she is doing. I don't want to alarm her."
"They talk about us like we're some kind of animal." "That's because we are." Luna slowly opened her eyes and saw the destruction that she sowed the previous night. There were scorch marks everywhere across the ground and trails of a lightning-esque pattern filled an entire crater in the earth where she had been punching the night before. Multiple trees appeared as if they had been bombarded with explosives and her own body could not have looked too pleasant. Her entire body stung and hurt and she felt dried blood all over her hands. She tried to curl her fingers and a sharp stinging sensation coursed throughout her hands and up her arms as the closing wounds reopened. She felt more blood begin leaking out through the layers of crusted blood and mud that remained on her hands.
Her hair felt sticky and matted near the back of her head signaling a wound she must have taken there. To add onto it, her shoulder had begun to bleed slightly again but that she figured wasn't too bad as her sleeve wasn't drenched and only clung to her skin in a few lines of red stains. "Luna?" Citra questioned as he slowly and nervously approached her. "Are you okay? Were you attacked, what happened here?" "She did it herself, you idiot. DId you not hear her last night?" said Chika. "What? There's no way, right?" Luna smiled up at him and then let it fade away into the silence she was allowing to fester. "She's not right, Citra. We should just leave her there." Luna heard the hesitation to say those words but she couldn't wish for anything else to come from the girl's mouth.
"You should listen to her." Luna said weakly. Her throat burned and her voice was gone from the screaming she had done. "I will kill you, and her as well, even if it's not my own blade that does it." Luna said as if she was a different person. "I don't believe you, let me help you up." Citra kneeled down and grabbed her arm. She was lying on her right side so it was her injured left arm and shoulder that he had to grab. Luna winced and a sudden zap of lightning ran through him as he stumbled back. "Ahh." he gasped as he held his hand. "Citra!" Chika yelled as she ran to her brother's side. "I'm fine. It was just a little sting." he said, rubbing the pain from his hand. He looked at Luna whose eyes were closing again. She laid there still and hoped that they would just go away. "I don't know when I'll break again, it would be better if you left me alone."
"Thanks for the heads up you crazy…" "Chika." Citra said softly to interrupt her. "Fine, we'll leave. I'm sorry for being a bother to you. I hope your arm gets better soon." Citra said before taking to his feet. Luna watched as the pair moved further away from her and saw Citra give a glance back before vanishing through the trees. "Finally, now I can die in peace." Luna closed her eyes once more and began to let her mind wander. A sudden ringing came from her watch and her rising frustration caused her to scowl at it. She tapped the black diamond and Fox's face appeared on the hologram box that projected from the jewel. "Well, you seem to be doing just fine, Lightning Dancer." "Fuck you." she said softly as her throat was growing more hoarse with every word she spoke. Fox grimaced at her words and it brought a slight satisfaction to her.
"What do you want?" she asked. "I want to remind you that there are lives intertwined with yours so no dying on me yet." Luna wanted so badly to throw the watch away and end it all but images of her family and friends came to her mind. She sighed and her satisfaction and anger turned to sadness and regret. "I know." she growled. Then something switched in her head and she smiled at him. "I was just resting my head, nothing more." she said gleefully. "Oh?" "Yeah, after fighting all of your pathetic excuses of assassins and then the dumb animal, I'm rather tired of the games. I thought I would take it easy until a real challenge appeared." "Then I'm glad to say that your period of rest won't last long. I assure you that there are more people coming your way and I'm dying for you to meet them."
"And I'm itching with anticipation to send them back to you in pieces." Fox laughed and nodded. "I've been rather worried about you but it seems like things are going just fine after all. Good day, Lunasara, and best of luck." His image vanished and she gritted her teeth. "I can't wait to rip his throat out." she said before the sudden realisation of her swap hit her. She closed her eyes and shook her head before looking around her again. "You really went wild last night." the girl stated. Luna took a long breath, sat up, and rested her back against the tree she had woken up in front of. She tapped the diamond again and found the call item in the shop menu. A list appeared with "Jin" "Akira" "Yumi" "Zin" in that order on the screen. Her finger hovered over her mother's name but then clicked on Yumi's.
Her face appeared in the hologram and a dial tone rang out. "Luna?" gasped Yumi as she answered the call. After answering, the picture turned to a live camera so that they could see each other. "Luna, is that really you? I can't be… What's wrong?" Tears were forming in her eyes and she knew she had to appear as a wreck of a person from the previous night. "It's nothing." said Luna as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "How have you been?" she then asked. "I've been living the best I can. I should be asking you that, you look terrible." Luna giggled and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Thanks, I needed to hear that." Luna said smiling. "Enough stalling, what's going on with you? I've been watching and you've seemed… off recently." Yumi stated.
Luna sighed but kept her grin. "I don't really know how to explain it but I'm happy that you can tell when something is wrong. I guess to put it into words, I've been ummm, fighting with myself?" "Yourself? Like actually or are you speaking metaphorically?" "Both? It's almost like there's two of me and the other one is not that nice of a person. I don't really know what to do about it and it's honestly starting to concern me. I feel myself slipping more and more as the days go on. Yumi, I don't know what to do anymore." Luna's voice had gone quiet and while she smiled, it was full of helplessness. "Hey, look at me." she heard Yumi say. Luna raised her view to look into the sky blue eyes of her lover. They were gentle and Luna felt more secure as they looked at each other.
"You always find a way to get through whatever it is that you're up against. I haven't known you for too long but from what I've heard and the little that I've experienced, you will get through it. Despite my best efforts, you freed me from my mother and gave me a life of my own. I heard about some of your adventures in SAO and even the things you've told me about Red Eyes, you always fight, no matter what gets in your way. I can't claim to be an expert in what you're going through but I can guarantee that you'll fight it and you will win." Luna laughed and wiped her wet eyes once more. "I don't know how you manage to have so much faith in me." "Luna, I gave you my life, my faith is very little in comparison to that. Everything of mine is yours and I believe it is the same with you to me.
I know you'll get through this because I know you won't leave me to live without you." Now Luna couldn't stop the flowing tears as she watched Yumi's own eyes begin to glisten. "Now, tell me more about this, what's this other you like exactly?" "You aren't going to call me crazy?" "If you want me to then I will but still, this other you is a part of the real you so I want to get to know her. Is she funny? What makes her happy? Things like that would do." "Well, she looks like me and acts like me but she's always a little angry." "So she's exactly like you." Yumi stated. "Hey!" Luna exclaimed and Yumi laughed. "Luna, I won't call you crazy even if you are. I'll always be by your side even if I'm not actually there and trust me, I want to be. Giza won't let me, he has me watched and has forced me away from his office on multiple occasions."
"Most likely, he doesn't want me to have a friend here. Killing me allows my killer to escape the game, right then and there. He wants me to be alone so I have to fight everyone to survive." "Why would he do something like that?" Luna thought for a moment and an answer came to her so clear that she wondered how she didn't think of it before. "He wants me to kill them." she murmured. "He wants to break me down even more." she said louder than before. "Then you can't let him." Yumi stated with full confidence in Luna. "I will try, Yumi. It's getting harder, you saw it for yourself when I k… When I killed that other player. The way I injured those others too, it makes me sick but it also makes me happy. I'm so confused right now and I don't really know who I am. It's funny, there's two of me and sometimes I can't tell which one is real. Am I the real me or am I the one pretending to be someone I'm not.
Maybe the person I keep seeing is who I really am." Luna explained as she looked away from the screen. "Then I can easily help." Luna looked from the ground to gaze back at her. Yumi had a smile that stretched from ear to ear and had a look of unyielding love in her eyes. "You're kind and strong and can fight through anything and smile afterwards. That's the Luna that I know. I also know that you can be childish and sometimes you doubt yourself too much so you lose confidence. You like to sing and draw and I've even caught you dancing in the kitchen while you cook when you think that I'm not looking. You're my pillar and I'm your anchor, forever and always."
"Yumi." Luna gasped quietly. "Fight and come back to me. I'll love you no matter who you are when you get back, I promise my life on it." "I love you so much and I really don't deserve you. Thanks, I feel a little better now." "I love you, Luna, be safe and keep fighting." Luna nodded. "I promise I will." Luna ended the call and rested her head against the tree. "You two are really something. You're losing your grip on reality and your mood swings every time the wind blows and she just accepts it. Maybe she's just as crazy." Luna glared at her other self and scowled. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I still have one more person I need to talk to." Luna opened the call list again and tapped on her mother's name. "She's going to hate you, you know that." said the girl. "Maybe so but I have to apologise, and I have a favor to ask."
"Hello?" The voice on the other side was one of sadness, that and regret and a bundle of other emotions that all depressed Luna. She could hear the defeat and disappointment in her mother's cadence. Her mother's face didn't appear on the hologram so Luna assumed it was either dark there or the tablet's camera was covered. "Mother." Luna said faintly. Her mother stayed quiet so Luna continued instead. "I'm…" "I don't want to hear it." Akira's words were barely audible but they cut through Luna as if it was a knife digging into her heart. There was fury and betrayal in that one sentence.
"Moth…" "Don't call me that. Why did you call me?" "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." "Sorry for what, being a murderer or a psychopath?" More words that dug into her chest. "Both." Luna murmured. "Where is my real daughter?" she heard Akira ask after a period of silence. Luna looked up but only saw blackness on her screen. "I am Lunasara. Can you look at me for just a second?" Akira sighed and picked up the tablet. Her face appeared in view and seemed much older than when Luna last saw her. Akira's face had gone gaunt and her eyes seemed dull and lifeless. It was flushed of color and her hair had become a tangled mess that draped loosely around her head.
Luna took a deep breath as she stared at her, the woman that she so much resemble in more ways than one. "I'm deeply and sincerely sorry for doing this to you all of the time. I apologize for seeming as if I don't care and I am sorry for being who I am. Can you do me one last favor before you disown me or whatever you plan to do? Don't hate Yumi, she finally has a home and finally has people in her life that cares for her." She waited a moment for Akira to speak but the words never came. Luna nodded and quelled her rising fury the best she could. "That's all I had to say. I do love you and if you can, tell dad that I love him and that I'm sorry his daughter turned out like this." Luna prepared to end the call when Akira's voice finally rose.
"That is all? That is all you can say to me after all of this?! I've been watching you fight and laugh while you hurt people. I saw you kill a man and you were happy when you did it! I've been watching you work yourself to the point where you couldn't stand anymore and after all of that, you can only say that you're sorry?" "What do you expect me to say?" Luna screamed back, unable to contain her anger. She sighed and looked away from her mother's eyes. "I can't do this anymore, not with you." "I'll watch over Yumi but, Luna, don't come back, not after everything you've done. I can't stand to look at you anymore, it ruins everything good that I remember about you and my heart can't take it. Just… don't come back." After her mother's words had stabbed into her heart and ears, the call ended and Luna was left there in a miserable quiet.
"Who needs her anyways. She lied to us more than we've ever lied to her." Luna nodded at the girl's words and attempted to stand. The process of getting up seemed almost impossible for her as all of her strength was gone and her whole body ached terribly. She fell back to her rear and continued resting against the tree. A sudden rustle in the grass caused Luna's head to glance up but it was too late. "Gahhhh!" she screamed as an arrow pierced through her just above the stomach, and struck the tree behind her. "Hmmm, ahhhh!" she bellowed in agony as she squirmed and grabbed hold of the shaft. She looked up again and another projectile came towards her. This time she held out her hand and a bolt of blue light shot out and intercepted the arrow. It splintered away and then a red blast of fire shot forth.
She let lightning engulf her and she quickly grabbed the arrow. "Ahhhh!" she yelled as she snapped the arrow into two. She forced herself off of it and dove ahead to avoid the incoming ball of flame. All of it had happened in a second or two and a blue string of arcing light followed behind her. It ended several feet away where Luna was lying in the dirt with smoke rising from her body. A puddle of blood was forming under her as she dug her nails into the ground and began pulling herself along it. Another arrow arched in the air and landed just next to her body as she forced herself to continue. Luna kept dragging herself through the mud and dirt in what seemed to be a futile attempt to get away from whatever group was attacking her. "We have to fight." her other self snarled.
Luna stopped for a second and felt around her wound. Her hand came away soaked in blood and an unwavering bolt of pain ran through her. "Damn." she grunted as she pressed onward. When she made it to a broken stump, she struggled up to her feet. A single man strolled out from the tree cover and twirled a dagger in his hand. "You made a lot of ruckus last night, Lightning Dancer." said the man. He was older than she would have expected the other players to be. He had to be in his thirties or late twenties at the earliest. His hair was loose and greasy and a light stubble graced his chin. He was thin and dressed in similar clothing to herself. She looked back into his grey eyes and smirked. She didn't know why she was making that expression but it seemed right in the moment.
She felt another switch in her brain as her smirk turned to a full on smile that stretched from ear to ear. "I thought it would be nice to give you a chance to catch up." she said cheerfully. "You knew I was following you?" he asked, doubting her. Luna shook her head and shrugged her good shoulder. "Not at all but I knew it would only be a matter of time before another one of you showed up. You are all like savage and hungry mutts that are fighting over some leftover scrap from a table. Am I really worth all of the effort you people keep going through?" "You have no idea, girl. Killing you is a one way ticket away from here." "And? Are you all really that stupid?" He looked at her as if he was confused by her question. "Let me break it down for you, dumbass. Leave me alone and live until the end of the game, or at least until your own stupidity gets you killed. Or you can try to fight me and die earlier than expected.
I don't know about you but I would have taken my luck with the first option. I haven't lost a fight yet and right now, I'm not in such a charitable spirit as to let you walk away from this." "You're injured and out of your right mind, I've seen it all for myself. I've seen you talking to somebody that's not there, I heard you last night, screaming and breaking everything around here. I know you were mauled by that cat in the forest and haven't been able to fight for a few days." "Then you really are stupid. Why wait until I can fight back? Was it because of the twins? Ha, like they could have protected me. One of them didn't even like me and the other would have left me in a heartbeat if it meant saving the other. Well, both of them would have left me in that situation."
Luna put a bloody finger to her mouth as if pondering the thought of it. "Either way, you missed your chance, as you can see, I'm all better now." Luna said before glancing down at her body to show off her condition. A slight giggle escaped her lips as she saw the arrow wound in her gut. "Ah yes, I suppose you did get me there. It's nothing I can't handle and it certainly won't stop me from killing you." Luna's gentle smile turned into something much more malicious as she eyed the man up and down. She went to reach the dagger on her belt but her hand began shaking as it neared the hilt.
"Damn, well I guess that's out of the question." She showed the man her quivering hand and waved it at him. "I get a little shaky sometimes so I hope you'll forgive me if this gets a bit messy." Luna began walking towards him and felt a growing surge of excitement as he readied his weapon. She approached as he swung his dagger and caught the blade with her left hand. "Hahaha!" she laughed as she grabbed hold of the back of his neck. She pulled him down towards her knee while driving it up into his gut. She had infused lightning in her attack and he rose into the air from the hit. She stepped back and licked the blood from her hand. "Come on now, is that all you got?" she teased and began to approach again.
On the second step she stumbled and grabbed hold of her side. It was as if the pain brought her back to her senses as she dropped to one knee and felt the blood dripping from the wound. Her left hand was pressed into the dirt to support her body and she felt the blood mixing with the dirt in between her fingers and under her palm. "Another arrow flew by her and cut into her left shoulder, grazing the previous wound from the panther. Luna stumbled and swiftly turned to run away. She nearly fell as she broke into a sprint and when she glanced back, she saw the man giving chase. The running was hard on her and the wound throbbed with every hastening pulse of her heart.
Another arrow just barely missed her and punched into a tree ahead. It had flames engulfed around it and had moved much quicker than his previous shots. She glanced back and saw him clench his fist shut as he aimed it at his missed shot. Before Luna could react, she was blown off of her feet and launched into a nearby tree. Her ears were ringing and the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. She laid there, gasping for air and covering her ears as the high pitched noise continued on. Ahead of her was a dancing flame that was quickly growing out of control. The shadow casted from the trees waved back and forth with the flickering of the flame's glow.
When her breath had barely returned to her and the ringing had quieted, she remained still to listen for the man. He uses his fire like how I use my lightning. I haven't come across that yet. "There was that sniper that shot the fire round at us." noted the girl standing above her. "That might have been the same but I'm not certain. That doesn't matter right now, we need to move." Luna went to stand but fell back on her stomach as more blood escaped to the ground. She happened to look up just in time to see another arrow coming at her. Luna rolled to her side and the shaft whizzed into the tree she had hit. It too was ignited and Luna forced herself to use her ability. She darted forward and in her lack of stability, struck another tree just as the explosion sent bark and wood everywhere.
As the blue sparks flickered away from her body and vanished into the air, she used the tree as support to help her stand. "What's wrong, girl? What happened to all of that confidence earlier? I've heard of people having split personalities before but honestly, seeing it up close is rather interesting. Are you two really different people? It really seems that way. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of liked the forceful and cocky side better, it was more entertaining. Easier to kill you as well if you would just run at me so that was another plus in my book." He talked as he moved and Luna stayed still to not give away her position. "Damn it." she whimpered as she grasped at her stomach.
She glanced around for a way to escape but saw only plumes of smoke and clouds of fire raging around her. The flames began closing in around her and forced her back against the tree in the center of the encroaching circle. "I got you." the man said, pushing the fire out of his way. It had opened like a door when he pushed at it with his hand and then closed behind him. He drew his bow but Luna quickly drew her gun and pulled the trigger. She fired three rounds and each one hit the man's chest. He fell backwards and was gasping for air but Luna didn't wait to check on him. She forced a cloak of lightning around her and ran towards the fire. As she neared it, she kicked from the ground and in a second was on the other side. Her feet slid in the dirt and she had to use her hands to stop herself before taking off again.
Luna was slowed down due to her wounds and she had already used her ability more than she was wanting to. She was forced to push on with what little strength remained to her. As Luna ran she stumbled into a few trees and pushed herself off of them to propel herself onward. "Chika!" She heard Citra scream from a distance. Her eyes widened and she paused for a second to determine where the sound came from. "Ahhh! Get off of me!" she heard Chika yelling. "Keep running, what are you doing?" asked her reflection. "I can't leave them, they sound like they need help." Luna replied as she narrowed down the location of the screams. "You are gonna get us killed." said the girl but Luna ignored her. She changed her course and ran as fast as she could towards the yelling.
"Damn it, get off of her!" Citra yelled. The forest gave way to a cliffside clearing and three people were there. Citra was lying on the ground, blood puddling around his leg as he was dragging himself towards the other two. Chika was on her back and lying under a much larger man. Luna began to move when a sharp pain stuck her leg and she fell to her knees. "Grrrrr." she growled through clenched jaws. She looked at her right leg and saw an arrow protruding from it. "Damn you, girl, shooting me like that." Luna scowled at him and whipped her arm in his direction. A black cord shot from her sleeve and wrapped itself around his neck. Luna began reeling it in while sending lightning through it. The man dropped his bow and stumbled as he moved with the wire. She rolled onto her back and swung her left arm to launch her remaining wire. That one latched around his leg and she yanked hard while reeling in that one.
The man fell and struck his head hard on the ground and Luna turned her attention back to the three people. The man was yanking on Chika's clothes and she was squirming to escape out from under him. He far outweighed her and certainly outpowered her so her attempts seemed futile. Citra was trying to move but his injuries were preventing him from going quickly enough and his weapon was nowhere to be seen anyways. "Don't do it." said her image. Luna shook her head and took a breath before using all of her strength to kick herself into a run. Running was at least what she had wanted to do but it turned into a limping jog of some kind.
Either way, he had not been expecting her as he was too focused on Chika. Luna jumped off of her good leg and drove the knee of her bad one into the man's face. Luna rolled onto the ground and clutched her wounded stomach as she gasped and fought the pain back. The man had fallen off of Chika but she doubted that hit would keep him down for long. As if reading her mind, he laughed and she heard him crack his nose back in place. "Feisty little runt aren't ya?" He grabbed hold of her injured leg and Luna yelped from the unexpected shot of agony. He rose to his knees and began to pull her. She dug her fingers into the earth but what power she had was far outmatched by the imposing man. Just as she tried to push lightning into him, he swung her towards the cliff's edge.
They had only been three or so feet from it and so when he let go of Luna, she rolled and stopped just at the last bit of land there was. Rushing water could be heard below and the sound of it terrified her to no end. She tried to scamper away from the fall but the man was now over her. "Luna!" yelled Chika as she lunged and began hitting his shoulder. He easily shoved her away and grabbed Luna's neck before pulling her off of the ground. It seemed a rather easy task for him to hold her in the air. Luna was gasping for air as she hit the man's arm repeatedly with a weakening strength in every attempt. He held her over the edge and smiled. "You useless little bitch. After I kill you, I'll take my time with the other and then kill the boy. I hope you take some pleasure in knowing that your heroics only prolonged the inevitable."
"Let her go!" Chika yelled. He turned and saw her swinging a massive branch at his head. It made contact and broke in two as it did. He dropped Luna before grabbing onto his face and she just barely managed to grab hold of some hanging roots at the edge. She looked down and saw the river flowing harshly below her hanging feet. Blood dripped from under her pants and she saw drops falling the distance to the water. "No no no no." she repeatedly cried as she tried and failed to pull herself up. "Take my hand." Chika said, reaching down at her. Luna looked into her eyes and shook her head. "No, I can't let go." she said, fear overcoming any other feelings. The fall itself had to be thirty or so feet but that wasn't what scared her. The water was the most terrifying thing to her as she couldn't swim. She was usually fine if she could stand in it but this was not so shallow, she knew that, and if she was wrong then the fall would no doubt finish her off. There was nothing left in her to pull herself up and the roots began ripping from the dirt.
She felt her only connection to the cliffside giving way and then closed her eyes and tried to no avail to cling closer to the cliff. Her feet began scraping at the wall and were kicking dirt away instead of finding any footing. "No no no." she continued to whimper as the roots sagged again. Suddenly the bit of root her left hand was grasped on pulled from the earth, leaving her hanging by one hand and screaming. Her weight was becoming too much for her support to bear and it loosened again, putting her out of arm's reach from the edge. "Luna!" Chika yelled but Luna stopped listening. She was in full panic mode as she clung tightly to the wall as best she could. "Ahhh!" she heard Chika scream and when Luna looked up she saw the man grabbing her by the throat. "Damn." Luna growled just before a gust of wind blew and fear took over again.
She cracked one eye open and peeked up to see the man standing directly on the edge. She took a deep breath and in the second that the root finally gave, she swung her left hand and after a bright blue spark illuminated her sleeve, a black wire shot forth and circled the man's thick neck. "Gah!" he bellowed from the unexpected weight and began tugging on the wire. Luna was left hanging by one hand and the man's own absurd strength. "One more." she whimpered as she swung her right hand. Another wire shot out and joined the other one around the man's throat. "Damn girl." he gasped as he stumbled towards the edge. Luna wasn't the heaviest of people but the added weight appearing so suddenly could not have been easy to withstand.
His feet slid in the dirt as he grabbed hold of the cords to alleviate the stress on his throat. Luna began reeling in the line slowly as she planted her feet against the wall to help walk up it. She took three steps up before her injured leg gave out and she fell away from the wall. Luna shut her eyes tight as she dangled freely in the air by her wrists. Her left shoulder started hurting again but she was trying to fight it away from her thoughts. "I will kill every one of you for this." the man hissed as he began pulling Luna up. "Sorry." she heard Chika say. Soft and gentle though it was, it stuck out in Luna's mind more than any other sound at the time. She looked up and saw Chika with a dagger in her hand. "Wait! Don't!" Luna cried out but it was too late. Chika stabbed the man in the neck and he dropped to his knees and let go of the black cords.
"Chika!" Citra yelled in disdain and disbelief. "No." Luna's cry was barely audible as she watched the oversized man tumble over and fall and so she fell with him. She tried to scream but her voice was gone and no air passed through her lips. Luna tried to reel in the lines but only one managed to come undone before they struck the water. It was cold and dark and the impact left Luna breathless. She felt as if a rib or two had broken in the fall and any bit of logic escaped her mind in that moment. Everything was consumed by fear and she went into a state of mind based purely off of instincts. She began tugging at the small bracer that held the spool of black wire in an attempt to remove it.
After finally undoing the bracer's strings she slid her wrist from it and was free of the man's lifeless body. That was only one of her problems as now she had the river to contend with. The current was stronger than she could have imagined and she thrashed and kicked as her ability to hold any bit of air that remained in her lungs began to falter. The seconds that had passed felt like hours as she splashed and flailed in an attempt to rise to the surface but despite all of her efforts, her head never reached. In just moments, all went black and her mind seemed to fade into darkness.