Stretched out in front of her was a gorgeous view of the ocean. Around her was sand as she sat on a small bench on the beach. The sound of seabirds cawing around her was mixed with the salt air blowing against her body. There was weightlessness to her that she had only known once before in her life. It was when she was stabbed by the red eyed man and was left dying on her living room floor. She felt light and at peace then, and like then, she felt it now. It was as if nothing in the world was ever wrong and there was nothing around that could harm her anymore. She was satisfied and any anger or hatred that was harbored in her body seemed to have vanished as she watched the waves come and go along the shore.
There was nothing in her mind except for the peaceful warmth that was flooding into her. It was filling within her and was starting to become the whole of her being. Fox, the game, even Yumi and Clair, all of it was fading away with the ebbing waves. It all seemed to dance from her and get carried away in the wind before fading on the horizon. Luna closed her eyes and took in a solid breath of the calming ocean breeze. She gave a faint smile as she exhaled and then opened her eyes to see a fish leap from the water. It made a splash as it hit the surface and faded back into the depths. "Can I sit?" she heard an old familiar voice ask. Without glancing over, she knew who it was. "Trail." she said quietly. "Surprise." he said, with a shy smile on his face. Luna sighed and nodded as she scooted down the bench.
She left enough space for him to sit and so he did. He stayed silent for some time before opening his mouth. A slight squeak escaped and he closed his lips once more. "Have nothing to say to me?" she asked faintly. "You look so different than when I last saw you." he suddenly said. "I don't know how to talk to you now. I was taken back with you even back then, now, I feel so nervous looking at you. You're stunning, it honestly takes my breath away." Luna didn't turn her head but knew he was staring at her. "I grew up a bit. Of course I look different." she said, coldly. It wasn't her intention to be cold but her words just seemed to escape with that tone. "You were never this honest with me before." Luna said, breaking the silence that had once again taken over. "Was I not? I did tell you how I felt, and I thought we were getting pretty close after traveling together for so long. I was still so nervous to talk to you sometimes though, it made it hard to be honest.
The more we traveled, the more I saw you as a friend and as a girl. I mean, I saw you as a girl when we first met but that was a different type of girl, I guess. Then it was like trying to talk to a strange girl that you never knew before so you wouldn't know how she felt about you. After being with you for so long, I knew we were friends but then I started having feelings for you so it made it even harder, you know?" Luna sighed. "I don't think you came to talk about our feelings for one another." "I did though. It's been a long time since we talked and I always think about you. I was still never sure how you felt about me in the end. Did you hate me?" Luna shook her head slightly. "I didn't hate you, Trail. I think I loved you to some extent. You were the first friend I had there, the first friend that liked me in the way that you did.
I didn't want to leave you, not really. I honestly thought it would be a good idea to keep you safe. I didn't think what happened in the end was a possibility. It never crossed my mind." Luna's voice grew more quiet and distant. "Well, you never were really that smart." Trail said with a shrug of his shoulders. Luna nodded. "I know. I don't think I made a single good decision in that world. Everything I did turned out wrong in the end. You, Clair, myself for that matter. Everything around me fell apart." "Yeah, you really messed it up pretty bad. I do have to thank you though." Luna looked up in surprise to see his dark eyes staring up at the clouds overhead. He appeared older than when she last saw him. His dark hair was long and tied back behind his head. His face had matured into that of a young man and he even had some stubble on his chin that he scratched at momentarily. "Man, I wish we had views like this back in Aincrad. It would have made the place much more habitable." he said as if not noticing Luna's shock.
"Why thank me?" He smiled fondly and lowered his eyes to the ocean. "For killing me. I would have killed you, Luna. Do you think I would have been able to live with myself after that? When I came to my senses and realized what I did, I would have flung myself off of the castle. I fell so far from who I was. After you left, I had to fight so much. I was being chased everyday and I got tired of always running. I didn't mean to keep killing them but it felt as if I needed to, they never stopped and I needed to live. I thought you left me because I wasn't strong enough, I thought I would have only been baggage to you so you went on your own. I wanted to get stronger and killing them made me feel like I was. I hoped that if I got strong enough then I would be able to go back to you and win you over again.
Before I knew it, I fell too far and I began to take pleasure in killing them. It felt so good to know that I could do it. It was amazing knowing that they couldn't hurt me if I killed them first. Then, after a while of doing that, my love for you turned into hatred. I found Fox and paid him to tell me where your hunters were. I killed my way into their hideout and met with Red Eyes. We made a deal that if I brought you to him, he would leave me alone. Plus I would get the satisfaction that the friend that abandoned me died by my own doings." Luna felt shaken but she had figured that was the case, some time later, that he was involved with that plan. "I found you and lured you into the forest, I staged getting paralyzed and then teleported out of there while you were fighting Red Eyes. When I saw you at the arena that day, you surprised me quite a bit."
"I had a feeling I did. You looked pretty stunned." Luna casually replied. "Anyways, thank you for killing me before I did something that I would have truly regretted." "I don't know if I should be accepting that thanks. I've been bearing that sin since I did it." She gave a short chuckle. "I did almost fling myself off of the castle after that. Clair had left me for a short time the day after our fight, she had to go get food or something. I made my way to a bridge and almost jumped. I couldn't do it though, I've always been a bit of a coward." she said, giggling as she looked out at the ocean. "A coward? You? You're one of the bravest people I know. I remember that day in the canyon, on the raft." "I was terrified that day." "Yeah, you were. However, you still got on the boat. I thought I was gonna have to either drag you on or wait until the floor after that one got cleared so we could just skip it altogether.
I'm happy you tried to do it for me." "But that was the thing that started everything. I was so mean to you that night, then there was the duel in the alley. Even after you fought for me, I still didn't really thank you properly. I was starting to fall apart, just because of a fish and some water." "You almost died on that boat, you even said it yourself. I don't blame you for being scared or acting the way you did. I told you before, I loved everything about you, no matter how you acted or spoke or looked, I loved you. It was me that went wrong, not you. I should have found you sooner and just tried to be persistent instead of running and fighting."
Luna smiled. "Yeah, that seemed to work for Clair. She wouldn't let me get away and in the end, we wound up together." "I'm happy that you found someone then." Trail said faintly. Luna could hear the hurt in his voice. "I'm sorry." she said. "I did have feelings for you but Clair was so different. It was like a spark turning into a flame inside of me. She was my everything and before I knew it, we became inseparable." "Like I said, I'm glad for you. It makes me happy to know that you were." Trail let his words turn to silence as he continued his watch of the coming waves. "I feel it, you know? I feel myself dying." Luna spoke calmly as she let her gaze fall to the sand. "Do you want to die?" he asked. Luna sighed wearily. "I don't know. It would be much easier than fighting nonstop. I'm hurt and I'm tired. I'm very tired. I thought SAO would have been the end of it but even in the real world, even after escaping that place, I had to fight.
Even now, I'm fighting my ghosts that keep coming back to haunt me." Luna looked to see her exposed right arm and the scars that were carved into her skin. She gave a sad smile as she stared at them. "I'm so over it all, Trail. I'm ready to be done with the fighting and running. I want to go back to my cabin with Clair waiting there for me. I want to sit out on our porch and watch her draw and sing while I rest my head on her shoulder. I want to be back in a place where someone loves me for who I am. I want to go home." she said before falling into a deepening sadness. "Is dying really the answer?" he asked. "I don't know." she said again. "I don't even know who I am anymore, how am I supposed to know something like that?"
"I can relate to that I suppose." Trail said. "I guess you can." Luna agreed. "I can help you with that, if you want?" "How can you help me with my instability? It's like there's another me inside my head and it keeps wanting me to do these things that I don't think I want to do. It seems as every day passes, I start to agree with her more. It's starting to scare me." Luna admitted. "Then why see yourself as two people? There is and always has been only one of you. If you accept that part of you then…" "I can't." Luna interrupted. "I can't accept her as being me." "That isn't the same thing. Accepting her as being a part of you is not the same as accepting her as the whole of who you are. She's just like a, hmmm, a slice of cake out of a whole one. You are the whole cake and as a whole, you are made up of smaller slices. She is just one of those."
"It sounds so simple when you put it like that." Luna said, letting a quiet and short giggle escape. "It's because it is simple. I saw that part of you once and still, I only saw you as a whole. I didn't see another person in your eyes, it was only the girl I knew and loved." "Everyone of you, you, Clair, Yumi, everyone is always so confident and optimistic. I really envy that about all of you guys. I deeply wish that it was so simple a task." "Why isn't it?" Trails asked. "Like you wouldn't know. I'm not that different from you right now." "Maybe so, you have a good point. However, I always believed that anything I couldn't do, you could. The Luna I admired would find this a laughable task."
"The Luna you admired was a naive and stupid little girl. She always thought she was right and hurt everyone when she was proven wrong. She was an idiot that never knew how to quit while she was ahead." "And I don't see a difference in the girl sitting next to me. This thing isn't real and it should be easy for you to fight it. You've gotten older and you look different but you're still the same girl. Accept who you are and strive to move past it, to become better. It was something I wish I had gotten the chance to do." Luna looked at him with a growing sadness. "Ah, I mean, I didn't really deserve it, did I? I only wanted to kill you at the time. If it had to be one of us then I'm glad it was you that won that fight." he said quickly in the same way he used to ramble on when he was nervous.
It made Luna laugh and she looked back at the water. "I miss you, Trail. Just as much as I miss Clair, and just as much as I miss that stupid little girl I used to be. I wish I could wake up in an inn back in Aincrad and all of this was just a dream. I wish that you and Clair would be able to stand next to me and we could have all partied up together. You two would have gotten along pretty well, I think." She paused for a time before speaking again. "I'll think about what you told me, about accepting the other me. It was a rather interesting metaphor you used so I think it makes a bit more sense now." she laughed. "I'm happy that I could be of help to you one more time. So, does that mean that you'll fight to stay alive?" "I suppose so. I still have my promise to keep with Clair too. She wanted me to grow up and live a long happy life with someone that loved me.
I have Yumi waiting for me to come back and she does make me happy now. I think she still likes me after everything I've done. She didn't seem to be mad at me when we talked last." "Nobody stays mad at you forever, it's an odd effect that you have on people. Any time you did anything, I always forgave you once I saw your eyes and then when you apologised to me, it made my heart leap. The only time I stayed angry was when I lost who I was. When that happened, I lost what I held closest to my heart and that was you at the time. I hope you can forgive me for that, I know that must have caused you a lot of problems afterwards." "It did." Luna agreed. "I still hear your voice calling me names and yelling at me. You never did those things but I hear it nonetheless." She saw a sorry and pitiful expression on her old friend's face. Luna lunged quickly and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry for what I did to you." she said, tears forming in her eyes. "If I never met you, if I never left you, you would still be alive." "I agree that you shouldn't have left me but I am grateful to have met you anyways. You were something I longed for in my life, someone that was close to me and stayed with me despite my flaws and weird ways. You did leave but you thought it was best at the time so I can forgive it. Everyone makes mistakes, you included. It's perfectly allowed." Trail said as he wrapped his own arms around her and pulled her closely to his chest. He was strong and his body was so comforting and warm. It reminded her of her brother's embraces. She felt safer and happier when she was in his arms. "I don't ever regret talking to you that day in the town center. Please, for my sake, don't ever regret being my friend." he pleaded.
Luna wiped her eyes on his shoulder and rested her head on it. "I don't and I won't for as long as I live. I will keep that as a promise to you." They sat in silence for a moment with her resting on his shoulder. "Hey, Trail, is any of this real or is it all in my head too?" she asked after her tears had died down and her emotions were slightly more stable. "I don't know. I can't answer that." Luna sighed. "Then it's all probably just a strange dream." "Maybe, or perhaps with you being so close to death, we were allowed to speak again." "Don't get my hopes up." she said in reply. "I have to go now, Luna. Remember to fight and live, for as long as you can. Remember about the cake too." he said with a smile as he pulled away from her.
"I will." she said, giggling. He stood and began walking off into the distance before fading into the skyline that surrounded her beach. Still, she remained sitting there. The tides, coming and going filled her ears once again as the only sound other than the wind. "Fight, huh? How do I do that? How do I wake up from here?" All of a sudden, her vision disappeared except for some slivers of light peeking through something. It didn't take her long to see that the light was slipping through gaps in between fingers. "Guess who." said a girly, playful voice. It brought a pain to Luna's chest and also an extremely desired joy that lifted her heart. "Clair?" she questioned. "Ding ding ding, you got it right." she said cheerfully before kissing Luna's cheek. She took her hands away and when Luna turned her head, she wasn't there.
Luna's quickly gained smile vanished just as fast. "I'm right here." Luna turned her head to the front of her and quickly felt two hands grab her cheeks. A pair of soft lips touched her own and she closed her eyes as she grabbed Clair's cheek with her own hand. They kissed for what felt like minutes before Clair pulled away slowly. Luna moved her hand to put it over the one that Clair was touching to her right cheek. She couldn't form any words, she just stared at the blonde haired girl. She let herself sink into the sapphires that were her eyes and all of their times together flooded to the forefront of her mind. "You can't do things like that anymore, Luna. You have a girlfriend now and I think that might count as cheating." Clair said in a joking manner.
"I'm sure she would understand and besides, you started that." "Ah, the little details don't matter. You kissed me back so I think that makes you a cheater, I won't tell her though so you better be sure to thank me." "Then I do. Thank you for everything." "There we go." Clair said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Finally the gratitude I deserve for once." "Alright, Piper." Luna said. "Hey, I told you that you have to pay me to say my name." Clair said, fighting back her giggles. "I thought I already did, many times over." Clair turned her head and turned her gaze upwards to take on a snobby posture. "Well, you thought wrong, bug zapper. My name comes with a cost that will take you many years to make up. That kiss was only the first of many things you will have to do to…" Luna interrupted Clair's feigned prissy attitude by grabbing her arm. She pulled Clair down onto her lap and embraced her tightly.
"It makes me so happy to hear your voice again." Clair leaned back slightly and used her thumb to wipe away a tear from Luna's eye. "Always a crybaby, I swear that's all you do is cry." "Shut up." "What? It's true. No matter when I saw you, you were always crying." "I can't help it that I'm emotional, you try losing someone and then seeing them again, I bet you would cry too." "I did lose someone, and I am finally seeing them again." Clair stated with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "See, you're rubbing off on me, I never used to cry this much." Clair said, wiping her eyes on her shoulder. "You still barely ever cried." "I know, which means that even this is more than what I usually do. You're such a bad influence, I'm getting all of your bad habits."
"I don't mean this rudely, but what are you doing here?" Luna asked. "Well, I came to give you emotional support in your time of need but I see you relied on someone else for that." she said, climbing from Luna's lap to sip next to her on the bench. "Do I sense jealousy in your voice?" Luna teased. "Jealousy? Ha, I'm about as jealous as you were with me hanging out with the boys." "I was never jealous of that." "Exactly, then that's your answer. I would never be jealous over some random boy, it's not like you slept with him or anything. I have the honor of being your first and truest love." "Maybe so but I have slept with other people now, so…" "So what? That just makes you some kind of floozy. It doesn't change the place I hold in your heart.
Especially that one boy, you only knew him for a few days and you slept with him?" Luna scratched her head and looked away. "You know about that?" "How would I not know about that? I swear, Luna, I thought I was special and then you just go and sleep with some random guy." "I was drunk with some kind of strange potion, I couldn't control myself." "That makes it much worse, getting yourself drunk as well, you really are stupid. And you had the nerve to question my intelligence." Luna laughed. "Well, that was well deserved. I still can't believe you never thought about just getting a different breakfast." Luna said. Clair pouted and puffed out her cheeks. "I told you that it was because you just kept getting bread and… Oh whatever, it doesn't matter. We're both idiots, how about that?" Luna nodded. "I can go with that. We're both a couple of stupid little kids."
"Well, I don't know if I can still call you a kid, Luna. Look at you, all grown up." "I'm nineteen, I'm not that old yet. Surprisingly, you look older as well." "Do I? That's kind of weird." Clair said as she examined herself. Her hair was longer than Luna remembered and her face had changed slightly to look more mature. "You look more like your mother." Luna noted. "I suppose I do. I have to say that you look like yours as well. Almost like twins if she was your age." "Yeah, it's strange how that happens, I never saw it too much growing up but now, I see it so easily." "Either way, I guess that means we're growing up together huh? I suppose that's a good thing, you wouldn't want a child waiting for you when you finally come back to me." "No, I suppose I want to see what you look like when you're older. I only wish I could see it in person and not in my dreams."
"You think this is a dream?" Clair asked, looking around the beach and the sky before glancing back at Luna. "What else would it be? I'm not dead, I don't think I am at least." "I don't really know." Clair admitted. "Still, I won't argue if it means spending some time with my favorite person in the world. This isn't the first time we talked like this either, is it?" she asked as she swept some of the loose blonde hair clear of her face. The wind was blowing it around but it made her look even more stunning to Luna than she had ever looked before. She did appear much older, Luna saw it so clearly now. Her body had filled out more and her face seemed sharper and more defined. It made her smile to see her friend doing well, no matter what this was or how they were talking.
"Yeah, we talked when I was nearly dead in the hospital. You commented on how I would probably have some cool scars." Luna said. "Yeah, I did. I was right by the way, they are pretty cool. You're like some kind of movie star in an action movie. You probably have this really dark past where you were raised on the streets and like, had to fight people in underground kid fighting pits or something." Luna couldn't hold in her laughter and joy. "Your imagination is something out of this world, Clair. How do you come up with this stuff?" "I don't know, it just comes to me." she said. "I really miss your wild stories." "I can always come up with others if you want." "I think I'll pass for now but maybe later you can tell me all of the tall tales that you want."
"I still can't believe you didn't believe my crocodile story. I thought that one would get you." Clair said. "The one where you fought a crocodile to get the scar on your leg, what part about that is believable?" "The scar for one." Clair answered before lifting up her leg. On her calf rested a small white scar. "How did you really get it?" Luna asked. Clair put her leg back down and sighed. "My father. He pushed me down some stairs when I was younger and I had to get surgery. My mom made me lie and say that I fell of my own accord so that they wouldn't get in trouble. I think the doctor had some idea after seeing how little my father cared about me but he didn't say anything if he knew." "I'm sorry to hear that. I can't believe that you twisted that into some weird story." "It's how I cope with those things. If I make them into some funny story or something unbelievable, then I start to forget about them, just a little bit.
It doesn't always help but I did what I could to move past those things. You really helped a lot though. Hearing about your family and how you grew up, it made me really happy, and maybe a bit envious. I never had a sibling and I didn't have caring parents, I was jealous of you for that." "I really wish I could have shared them with you." Luna said. "My mom kind of hates me right now but she would have loved you more than she even loves Yumi, I think." "She hates you? What did you do?" "I killed people." Luna answered bluntly. "I am who I am, that's all it took. All she had to do was see the real me, the one I tried to fight down for so long." "I see." Clair said quietly. "Well, it doesn't matter. I love you and that's what is important." "Aren't you simple?" Luna said.
"Me being simple helps to keep life simple, or I guess helped. This whole thing is still weird to me." "The being dead thing?" Luna inquired. "Yeah, it's really odd. I can't really explain it but just know, it's weird. I feel happy and at home but sometimes I feel like something is missing. Every now and then I feel relaxed and peaceful but other times I feel, I don't know, weird. It's hard to explain." "I guess so, I have no idea what you're trying to tell me." Luna admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "Then I'll stop so it doesn't confuse your tiny brain." Clair said, ruffling Luna's hair playfully.
Luna laughed and swatted Clair's hand away. "What? Your hair's always a mess anyways, that's why I always told you to tie it back." "I do, I keep that ribbon on my wrist too." "You still do that?" Clair asked. "It became a habit and you know how bad I am at breaking those." Clair giggled and nodded in agreement. "That one's a good one so it doesn't matter too much. I see you still have another habit of yours as well." Clair said. Luna looked confused and Clair reached for Luna's chest. Her face blushed as Clair stuffed her hand in the front of Luna's shirt. "Hey." she protested. Clair pulled the necklace from under Luna's shirt.
"You still have it." Luna looked at it resting in Clair's palm. "Of course I do. I can never go anywhere without it." She looked up into Clair's eyes. The cheerful gleam in Luna's eyes swiftly diminished to a dull pain. "What is it?" Clair asked. Luna snorted a faint laugh. "It almost feels like we're back in Aincrad right now. It stings a bit to know that we aren't. You don't want me to stay with you either, do you?" "I mean, I do, but I know that you shouldn't. I won't lie and say that the wait is bearable but you need to live on, Luna. You have another that needs you in the same way I did back then. Whether you see it or not, you are her life now and you made her a promise just like you did with me. You've come close to breaking it a few times but so far, you haven't. Don't break your promise to her either."
"I know I shouldn't." Luna said as she turned away to watch the tide rolling into the sand. "I know that, but still I want to stay. I don't mean to be so selfish but I can't really help it." "Do you remember how you felt when you lost me?" Clair asked suddenly. Luna nodded. "Would you really put that on someone else?" "No, I wouldn't wish that on anyone." "Good, with that settled, we can get to the real problem. What else is wrong with you?" Clair asked, putting an arm around Luna and pulling her close. Luna kept her gaze away from Clair's and sighed. "I'm scared." Luna answered honestly. "I'm terrified of what I'm going to be when I leave this game. I'm worried that everyone around me, like my mother, will hate me when this is over.
If that's gonna be the case then I would rather die here than be a bigger disappointment to them." "Now you see, that's always been your problem." Clair interjected. "You have changed in so many ways but that seems as if it will never go away." "What are you talking about?" Luna asked. "The fact that you will never love yourself as much as the people around you do. You always think that you're failing someone or disappointing someone. Let me fill you in on something real quick." Clair moved until her lips were next to Luna's ear. "You have never failed me in any way. I have never felt disappointed in you or have ever thought of you as a failure. I'm sure nobody else thinks of you like that either." "My mom would argue that." "I think she's just scared and tired, much like yourself. I think that she thinks just like you do, that she's failed someone that means a lot to her.
She probably feels as if she let you down and that's why you turned out like this." "Like a monster." Luna murmured. "Like someone that's been through a lot of grief and trouble. You keep to yourself too much, always have. In my personal opinion, you keep too much of your feelings bottled up and then they eat away at you. You try to handle everything on your own and the weight becomes too heavy and yet, you still won't ask for help. You're not broken, you're struggling and falling under the weight of everything that you put solely on your shoulders. That other self you keep seeing, you see her as some wild animal that represents everything that you hate about yourself. If that is the case, tame it. As another secret, it doesn't matter what you become or who you are when you're out of here, she'll love you no matter what."
Luna gazed at Clair with a plain disbelief on her face. "How do you know?" Clair kissed Luna's cheek and then pressed her face to Luna's. "Because it's how I would feel. It's how I still feel. Wake up and fight until the end, Luna. Try to not come back here so soon next time, I would rather watch you be happy from afar until your time comes naturally. As I said, don't rush to get here, I'll always be waiting patiently for us to be together again. Until then, live and love and fight." Luna nodded. "How do I wake up?" "You have to want to. I won't make you and if you want to stay then I can't stop you. You have to really want it if you are to wake up." Clair smiled and leapt happily from her seat. She spun on a heel and held a hand out to Luna.
Luna took her hand and Clair assisted her up from the bench. "Go and beat this game." Clair scanned Luna up and down as tears swelled in her eyes. It was pride that filled her eyes and it flowed from her and into Luna's warming chest. "Look at you." Luna took Clair's hand in hers and felt a trembling in it. "It's so hard to say goodbye again." Clair said as she smiled. "This isn't goodbye." Luna stated softly. "You're always with me." she added while reaching for the necklace that rested against her chest. "I'll see you again, Clair. I promise you that." She felt Clair's shaking hand tighten in hers. "Just don't make it so soon next time, I don't know if I can handle letting you leave again. I might just tie you up and keep you here with me."
"I'll try my hardest." Luna promised before pressing her lips against Clair's. "I love you." Clair said after they pulled apart. "My sunshine." Luna whispered. She smiled and gave another quick peck to Clair's cheek. "I love you too." Clair lightly shoved Luna back. "Now go, go and be there for the other girl, you cheater." Luna laughed and nodded. "Bye, Clair." Luna's words danced away in the wind as she watched the girl and beach fade with them. With a sudden breath of air came a sharp pain. It was the pain of her injuries and of the reality that she was thrusted back into. Luna felt her hand clench into the muddy earth that rested on the banks of the river. Her whole body was drenched and her lower half was still resting in the chilling currents of water.
Her eyes slowly opened and the world spun for a moment as her vision adjusted to the light around her. She was in a more dense part of the forest now, she knew. Trees and other flora were more closely packed together around the winding body of water. She tried to crawl but the pain in her chest stung her to stillness before she could move more than two inches. There were burning pains in her stomach, shoulder, and leg, from the several injuries she had obtained recently. Adding that with the now busted ribs that she knew she had from hitting the river's surface, her energy and strength were at an all time low. Her head rested in the dirt again and she let out a fading breath. "We're still alive, I'm quite surprised." Luna opened her heavy eyes once more to see the one thing she wished to be gone more than anything else.
She saw herself kneeling down next to her with a smile stretched from ear to ear in satisfaction. Luna groaned and closed her eyes again. "Get up and move. You need to close those wounds or there can be problems. The arrows snapped when you hit the water but that leaves holes behind and probably some pieces of wood left in them." "I know what I need to do, give me a minute. I feel like I was dead for a while." "We were pretty close to it. Hence my surprise to see us still awake." Luna clenched her fists tight in the dirt and began pulling herself from the water's edge. Her legs felt even colder once they left the river. After much pain and patience, she made it to a nearby tree. Luna forced herself up and rested her back against the trunk.
After another pause for a break, she shrugged her jacket free of her body and then slowly struggled her shirt over her head. She threw it atop her jacket and saw the bleeding hole in her stomach. It wasn't very large but a hole was a hole and it needed to be closed. She then drew her dagger free of it's leather bound sheath with shaking hands. "Are you sure about this?" "I've seen it before but I don't know if it will work on holes like this. I don't have any other choice, do I?" Luna asked her questioning ghost. She gave a shrug and Luna sighed. "Ever the help you are." She attempted to stop her shaking hands but her knowledge of what was coming made those efforts meaningless.
After two deep breaths, her eyes began to glow brightly and lightning coursed through the dagger's metal, heating it. As waves of the heat wafted from the glowing metal, she sucked in more air and straightened her body to have a clear view of the wound. It didn't go through and it seemed too high to have hit anything vital so all that was needed was to seal the injury and stop the bleeding. "You should probably have something to bite or you might chew off your tongue." said the ghost. Luna nodded and scavenged for a stick sturdy enough to handle clamping jaws. She found one and stuck it in her mouth before holding the heating blade closer to her skin. One more breath through her nostrils and a tight closing of her eyes was all that came before the hot blade's kiss.
Pain that she had never known before erupted in her body and the smell of burning flesh carried into her nose. "Hmmmmm!" she screamed through her clenched jaws as she kicked and squirmed from the agonizing sensation radiating from her stomach. She peeled the blade free of her body and rested her head against the tree as the stick fell free of her mouth. She felt the added pain of her ribs on top of the fire on her skin and her head began to grow hazy. Her vision was starting to darken and her breaths came hard and just short of being enough to fill her lungs. It was a struggle but Luna managed to tilt her head to see the burned flesh just above the scar from her stab wound. It was still smoking and it left a horrible red shape of the blade branded into her skin. "At least the hole is gone." noted the ghost. "Somehow." Luna wearily stated before letting her head hit the tree again.
Luna swallowed another gulp of air and blew it out slowly. "The leg next." she muttered. It took another gathering of strength to bend forward and roll up her pant leg. Diluted blood seeped from the wound and covered her leg in nearly transparent streams of red fluid. She had to bend her leg towards her chest a bit to reach the wound on the back of her leg. Once the blade was heated sufficiently enough, she bit hard onto her stick. She closed her eyes as she pressed the metal to her skin. Her teeth bit down furiously and her body writhed as the smell of her flesh cooking under the blade drifted with the breeze. She peeled the blade away and stabbed it into the dirt, releasing a sizzling and streams of smoke as the blade cooled in the damp earth. Her head hit the tree again and her consciousness was even harder to maintain as the pain radiated throughout her.
"Closed again." said the ghost. Luna caught her fleeting breath. "It's probably because we're in a game, technically. I don't know if that would have worked so much in the real world. There were no traces of the arrows either so I'm assuming they either fell out, which I doubt, or they despawned. There must be some kind of healing system in this world. He wanted it to be real but I guess even Fox didn't want to be too close to reality. It would probably be boring if people started dropping from an improperly cleaned gash and if everyone was to break a bone, they wouldn't be able to fight." Luna smiled. "That puts things in my favor then."
She gripped the dagger tightly and ripped it from the soil. Her other hand found a low hanging branch and she snapped it off from the tree's body. The tip of it sunk into the dirt but soon it was sturdy enough to support her weight as she rose to her feet. She clutched her chest with her dagger filled hand and grimaced as she felt the familiar pain of fractured ribs. She grabbed her jacket and shirt and slowly eased them back over her body. A curse escaped Luna's mouth as she staggered towards the river once more. "Where are we going?" the ghost questioned, striding to Luna's side. "I need to find that big bastard, he has my other spool of line and I need it back. If I washed up here, he can't be too far from me." "Are you sure he didn't wash up before us? We don't even know where we are right now."
"I don't very much care where we are. If I don't find him then I will keep walking until I do. If that never comes then I will continue on still." Luna glowered at her mirrored companion. "I will keep moving until I win this game. I have no other choice anymore." "I like this new fire in your eyes." Luna's eyes glowed brightly in the dwindling sunlight and it appeared as if blue streaks of lightning danced in them. "I will end this once and for all, no more games. And you, you're coming with me, I need you." "So you're finally accepting me." stated the ghost. "No, I'm accepting myself for who I am. If you represent all that I hate about myself, my hatred, my anger, then I will use it until the end." Luna began limping by the river again, leaning on the branch with every step.
"I won't kill anyone if it can be avoided but I won't hold back anymore. Whatever I become when this is all over can't be helped, I can only hope that those I love will still love me." "Clair's and Trail's talks did you some good then." the ghost said. Luna nodded and a small hint of a grin appeared on her face. "More than I can ever repay them for. All that I did to them and they still helped to push me forward. I can't, no, I won't let them down. This is it and I'm done running from the finish line instead of towards it." With a new fire in her stomach and a rising determination granting strength to her heart and body, she kept on the path ahead of her. It wasn't a long distance from where she had awoken that she found the man's body.
"Stupid man." Luna hissed at him as she neared his corpse. It was pushed near the shore and had gotten snagged on a rock as it was floating past. He was draped limply over a protruding stone with his left arm dangling in the river. His right one was pinched between the rock he was resting on and another one just beside it. When Luna got close enough she saw the black wire still coiled tightly around his throat. "Chika's knife." Luna murmured as she saw it sticking out of his flesh. "She must have let go of it in a panic." said the ghost. "With a man like that, I can't blame her. Even stabbing him there, he might have turned and grabbed her with his last breath. She would have gone over with us so she just let go and stepped back."
Without hesitation, Luna gripped it hard and put her good foot on the man's body. She tugged the dagger free and examined it in the moonlight that reflected from it's silver blade. It had a straight silver blade and was shorter than Luna's black blade by an inch. That wasn't to be unexpected as Luna's blade was longer than most daggers she had seen in any game she had played. A fuller ran down the middle of the double edged blade and the gold crossguard barely protected the fingers she had wrapped around the black leather hilt. "It will do." she observed as she stabbed it into the man's back. Next, her hands found the black cord and pulled on it until her leather wrist wrap with the spool on the underside came back to her. She slid her hand into it and tied the ropes that held it tight to her arm.
A blue spark illuminated the space around the spool as the wire untangled and wound back into the wheel. "He has a sheath for a dagger on his belt." the ghost observed. Luna turned her head and undid it from the body. She strapped it to the upper thigh of her left leg so it was in easy reach with her left hand. The dagger came from the man's back easier than it had the throat and she cleaned the blood from it by wiping it on his clothing. Once every drip of red was free of the silver, she slid it into the sheath on her thigh and smiled. "Good. We're all set." Luna placed a hand on the body and her eyes glowed again. A loud chirping sound rang out as her hand exploded with blue sparks. The body under her touch pulsed and leapt from the rock and splashed into the water. Strands of the lightning that was coursing through the corpse made illuminating strings throughout the water around it.
"Was that necessary?" "To me, it was. I wish it was me that killed him." Luna growled and then turned to continue her path down the river's shore. "Where are we going now?" "We'll see when we get there." Luna answered. "Can't you just check the map? Speaking of which, where is the watch?" Luna lifted her shirt and showed it tied to a belt loop on her pants. "It's too cumbersome on my wrist. It gets in the way." Luna said in a bland voice that seemed to freeze the air as it escaped her mouth. "Why are you so cold all of a sudden?" "I'm tired." Luna replied just as emotionless. It was as if saying those words triggered the exhaustion in her body to strike. She suddenly felt her legs give out and she fell forward into the dirt.
"Is she already dead?" asked a girl's voice. She felt a stick poking her body but she refrained from moving. Not Chika or anyone else I recognize. Must be an enemy then. Not necessarily but I will wait and see before I do anything. Even after talking to her own shadow for this long now, hearing her own voice talk as if two separate people in her mind weirded her out. She felt a warm finger press against her throat. "She's alive, I feel a pulse." This was another girl's voice, a younger one. Luna thought that she sounded like a child, six or seven at the oldest. Another twinge of anger rose in her gut at the thought of Fox kidnapping actual children for his death game. Not so different from SAO then. Very different from SAO. They had the option to stay in town where it was safe. They weren't forced into the forests and dungeons. Luna clenched her hands into fist, taking in handfuls of dirt in both of them.
At another touch from the warm fingers, she let a light zap travel from her to the girl. "Ouch." she heard the kid gasp as she fell back from Luna. "What is it?" asked the other. "She zapped me. Look, it's getting a little red." She heard the other girl move closer and sigh. "Don't be so dramatic, Ru, it's not bad enough to complain about." She felt the stick poke her again and this time she sent more lightning through it. "Ah." she heard the older one squeak as she stepped back. "It caught fire." she gasped in surprise. "Don't come closer to me." Luna demanded in as cold a voice she could muster. "You're okay?" asked the older of the two. Luna pushed herself up on all fours and felt the ripples of pain travel from all of her injuries. It almost made her drop again but she forced herself to rise despite the sensation.
She remained in a stance like a wolf and turned her head to stare into the child's eyes. They were the color of a sunset, orange and bright and full of warmth. Her hair was black and had two tails, one on either side of her head. Her face had the roundness that most kids her age still had and she scampered back from Luna before returning to her feet to flee to the older girl. Luna's gaze followed her until the girl was out of her line of sight. "Walk away." Luna warned as she pushed herself up to her feet. She stumbled when she stood straight but somehow managed to catch her balance. She heard the girl step closer and her left hand found the hilt of the newly acquired dagger in a flash. It left the sheath and was turned in the girl's direction before she had the chance to react.
Luna's eyes saw hers. They were the same orange as the other girl but her hair was blonde with black streaks and tips standing out plainly among the gold. "Ru, get behind me." said the older girl, holding out her hand to keep the kid behind her. Her other hand reached for the dagger at her own waist. "Lily." the child murmured as she clung to the back of the girl's white jacket. "Are you really going to attack us? We could have killed you." the girl called Lily said, gripping onto her knife. Luna scanned her up and down to observe her every movement. Luna's eyes darted to her ghost standing beside her and then back to the pair of girls ahead. Her eyes met the younger girl's again and then back to the older one's. "No, I won't." Luna stepped back and lowered her blade back into the sheath.
"Don't follow me." Luna found the stick with her good foot and hooked her toes under it. With a swift kick, she kicked it up into the air and caught it. She leaned on it again and turned to walk away. "Hold on." Luna sighed as she stopped. "You could scare them, that will get them away." suggested the ghost. "Or I can ignore them." she said aloud, ignoring the looks that the two must be giving her. "You're hurt, aren't you?" "Lily, we…" "It'll be okay." Lily said confidently to the young girl behind her. "What does it matter if I'm hurt?" Luna asked. "We can help you." Luna glanced back and once again met the younger one's eyes. They almost looked like glass, they were so full of life and shone brilliantly in the sunlight around them.
"I can't risk you two getting hurt. Do you know who I am?" The older one shook her head. "It doesn't matter who you are, you need help." A strange grin appeared on Luna's face. "If I stay with you then you two will be attacked. It's better to just let me leave and for you two to get away from here." Luna turned and began walking again. This time they didn't call out to her. The girl's face remained in her mind like an image burned into her. "I can't believe he would stoop that low." "Really? You can't?" asked the ghost beside her. "I can believe he would kidnap me and some of the other VRMMO players around my age but I didn't suspect him to go as low as taking children. Another thing he will have to answer for when we, I mean I, find him."
Luna kept moving until nightfall, until her legs felt as if they would fall off from overuse. She let her back rest against a tree and she rode it all the way down until she was sitting against it. The stick she had been using for support dropped next to her and she stretched her right arm as her left shoulder and forearm still gave her twinges of pain with large movements. A heavy yawn came out with a soothing breath and she closed her heavy eyes to attempt sleep. Rustling came fast towards her and Luna swiftly grabbed the dagger at her left thigh. She pointed it towards some brush that was to her left and then saw the young girl from earlier running towards her.
Her face had the look of terror and panic plastered onto it. Her eyes were glistening from tears and were puffy, a showing sign that she had been crying heavily before getting to Luna. She had a scrape in the black tights that she wore where her right knee was. Luna could make out a darker splotch near it where her knee had scraped and bled. The rest of her clothes were covered in dirt and tears, showing that she had been running away from something. "What's wrong?" Luna quickly questioned. "My sister, Lily! She needs help!" Luna's eyes widened and despite her pain and weariness, she leapt to her feet. It was hard but with enough force and stubbornness, she managed to run behind the girl. "What happened?" Luna asked as the girl led her through the heavy bundles of overgrowing vines and weeds.
"We were attacked, Lily, she… She told me to run! She stayed and fought. I'm scared." "Are we really going to stick our necks out again for another group of strangers? Remember what happened last time we trusted somebody?" "Th…" Luna started but then remembered the kid next to her. It won't be good if she thinks I'm crazy. "This won't end well no matter what she thinks of us." I can't leave a kid like this alone and if the other girl is in trouble, I need to save her. "We are not a hero, you idiot. What happens every time we try to help someone?" I helped Yumi. Even if it was only once, even if it didn't work out the way I had hoped in the end, even if it was like every other time, it worked for a moment. I saved her from her mother and gave her a new family that loves her. I saved Clair from a life of never feeling love or meaning.
I gave Trail a friend that accepted him until I fell apart and abandoned him. "And Clair died and we pushed Yumi away. It all turns rotten in the end, every time." "Not this time, not right now." Luna growled to herself as she pressed forward behind the kid. Ahead she could hear the sounds of laughter and the clangs of metal against metal accompanying them. Luna stopped the kid with a hand grasped on her shoulder. "Wait here, I'll save her." Luna said calmly. "Really?" Luna nodded. "I promise. You'll have your sister back, even if I have to die to accomplish it. Stay hidden." The girl nodded and Luna smiled weakly. "You're gonna die if you go out there." the ghost said. "Then I accept it with open arms." "I thought you were past dying now."
"I'm past trying to die. If I die in the process of saving someone like Clair did, maybe it can be forgiven and my promise would have stayed unbroken." Luna gave another weak smile to her other self and then limped ahead to the grove that the people occupied. "Come on, girl, give us some more entertainment than that." one man said. It was followed by a clang of metal as the man swung his sword at the girl. It struck her dagger and sent her stumbling back two steps from the man. She gripped it as tight as she could in her hands but even from where Luna was, she could see the trembling in the girl's body. She was thin besides her chest and she had a few inches on Luna but she was still small in comparison to the man assaulting her.
"Hear, let me try. Maybe I can liven her up a bit." a woman's voice said. The man was wearing a pair of jeans and a black button up shirt. The top two buttons were undone so some of his upper chest was visible near the collar. His hair was short and black and swept back with some kind of gel as it had a slight sheen to it in the moonlight. The girl was wearing a pair of blue leggings with combat boots covering her feet. Her top was a short sleeved v-neck with black stripes going horizontally over the white coloring. Her own hair was cut to her shoulders and her bangs were held to the right with a black pin. Both of them wielded swords and seemed to be taking turns attacking Lily.
She stood in denim shorts with white tights under them. Her shirt was like Luna's original, a tank top, colored white. She had a long white jacket over it that also looked like Luna's besides the brighter color choice. She had cuts along her body and a scratch was on her cheek as well. The girl was panting heavily as she struggled to stay on her feet. Luna heard more footsteps beside her and crouched to keep hidden. "Come here, little girl." she heard a man say as he pushed through the bushes giving Luna her cover. "Kill him or he will get in the way. I don't see any other options." Luna glared at her other self and then back at the man. He was nearing the spot where she had left the young child.
"Damn." Luna murmured to herself before sneaking up behind the larger figure. "It's to protect the girl if you're so adamant on doing that. If you don't kill him quickly then he will call out to the others and you can kiss the older one goodbye." explained the ghost. Luna's other self then shook her head as she knew Luna was thinking of another solution. "The lightning would be too bright right now to use. That would also give us away and I don't think we're strong enough to knock him out without that." Luna knew that she made sense but couldn't think of any other solution. "Girl, come on out now, we just want to play a bit, maybe ask a few questions, nothing that will hurt you." The man was getting closer and Luna could hear the young girl whimpering close by. If she heard it, she knew the man did as well.
"We're out of time, decide now." Luna stood and drew both of her daggers, the right hand reached for the one on the back of her belt, the left hand drew the one on her thigh. She jumped on the man's back and drove both blades into the man's throat. She held onto him by her legs wrapping around his waist and the two blades punctured into his flesh. The only sounds he could muster were gurgles as he choked on his hastening flow of blood. He dropped to his knees, grasping for the wounds with the impossible hopes of closing them. When Luna removed the two blades, he fell onto his stomach and blood poured from the two freshly made holes. She went to stand and the adrenaline pumping through her was thankfully dulling her body's aches. She looked to see the girl curled up and shaking in both fear and horror of what she had seen.
I scared her. "We didn't have a choice. Hurry to the other one." Luna spun and darted back to the edge of the clearing. "If we can take them out without actually fighting, that would be more beneficial." "Thanks for the obvious input. And you call me an idiot." Luna grumbled as she thought for a moment. She took a breath and then sparks illuminated in her jacket's sleeves. The cords slowly appeared from within them and wrapped tightly around the hilts of her knives. She let the blades fall free of her grasp and they were dangling from the ropes at her wrists, hovering just above the ground. "I don't know if this will work, the wires are light enough but the daggers might be too much." "Maybe if we were closer it would work." "If I get closer then they will see me. I wish Yumi was here, she loves bows and she's an excellent shot. I'm too close range for this and they're standing in an open space so I can't sneak up like I did the other guy."
Luna paused again but the sound of more metal striking each other brought her back into reality. "Gahhhh!" she heard Lily screech as she charged with her dagger outstretched in front of her. The woman laughed and the man grabbed her arm, easily stepping from the weapon's path. He bent her arm up and she released the dagger, a gasp of pain escaping her lips. He lifted until she was on the tips of her toes. She reached for her captured limb with her free hand but he threw her to the ground. "Be gentle, it's almost my turn again." said the woman, laughing at the sight. The wires reeled back in and the daggers were in Luna's hand once more. Her imaginary companion had vanished and a wicked smile appeared on Luna's face.
"Hahahaha!" she laughed as she walked into the clearing. She began swinging one of the daggers around as it was still attached to the reeled in wire. Her eyes glowed brilliantly and the swinging black blade left a blue trail behind so it looked like a perfect blue circle was twirling next to her. "What's so funny?" "Who are you?" the two asked simultaneously. Luna bowed her head while swinging the blade faster. "I am the infamous Lightning Dancer, at your service." she said to the man in answer to his question. She then turned to the woman. "I am laughing because I thought you might have said something amusing. I wanted to feel included, I've been kind of lonely lately and my only company is rather dull sometimes. She worries too much about the small things like morality and lives and all of that nonsense."
Luna continued walking fearlessly towards the group of people. The girl, Lily, was closer to her and the two others were slightly further past the girl. The blue sparking circle was now making a high pitched chirping sound as the color illuminated brighter than any other strands of lightning she had created before this. Her whole body grew covered in arcing currents that sparked around her and scattered to the forest floor below. A scorched ring etched itself into the earth after she halted just past Lily's position. "So, what was so funny?" Luna asked, grinning from ear to ear. The two gave each other a confused glance before leering back at Luna. "You're the Lightning Dancer, truly?" asked the woman.
"I wouldn't lie." Luna replied in a theatrical voice that feigned being hurt by the assumption of fibbing. "I'm an honest girl and I would never do something like that to taint my soul." she continued in an over dramatic tone. "Where's the other guy?" Lily asked. "Is Ru okay?" Luna turned back to look at Lily. She gave a smile. "Ru is fine, the other guy is dead." Luna took her free hand and did a slicing motion at her own throat. "Killed him myself." she said cheerfully. "You killed him?" asked the man. Luna turned back and laughed. "Quite easily I might add. I don't know where you find your help but you should really raise your standards, man." She shrugged her left shoulder playfully and then winked at the man.
"I would offer you my own services but I'm afraid everyone wants me dead here. The only person to protect people like you from would be myself and I don't think I would do that for just anybody." "Protect us from you, don't make me laugh, girl." the woman snorted out with laughter of her own. Luna's own smile turned into a scowl of stern meaning. She swung her right hand and in a second, the blade was dangling back at her side, in the dirt. A blue streak left the remnants of the sparking circle and trailed towards the man's neck before creating another blue line of lightning back to Luna's side. All of it happened in a flash, the blink of an eye. Before anyone could blink again, the man fell to his knees and the head tumbled into the dirt next to him. A large mess of sparking light filled the gash in his throat where the head had been severed from.
The body finally fell to the ground, spasming and writhing from the currents of the built up static. "Hahahaha! Now that's what I call amusing. Have you ever seen a man flop around so much? Hahaha!" Luna nearly fell over with laughter. "You little bitch." growled the woman as she tightened her shaking hand around the grip of her own weapon. "I am a bitch, most people do call me a wolf and as a female and a canine, I think that title is technically correct." Luna stated with a finger pressed to her chin as if she was deep in thought. The woman hissed in pure fury as she moved towards Luna. Lily went to move but Luna held out her hand. "Do you want to die?" she asked more seriously. "Go back to your sister, she needs you." Luna turned her gaze from Lily and returned it to the woman approaching her. Lily had taken several steps back before turning to break into a sprint.
"Good, now that the baggage is gone…" Luna paused and cracked her neck. "We can get started." Luna reeled in her cord and caught the dagger in her hand again. The lightning that had filled the gap between her and the man had finished wisping away into the night, leaving the area solely lit by the moon again. That and Luna's own casting light as she was sparking herself. She lowered her stance slightly and spread her legs a bit. Her right dagger was held out a bit further than her shorter one and she stared intently at the woman's body to watch for any hints of her next move. "No wonder he wants you dead, you're a deadly little bitch aren't you?" the woman asked. Luna gave something between a smile and a snarl in return.
"I would like to think so. It also is no wonder why he has enlisted who knows how many people to kill me. I am finding out that I don't die that easily." The woman smirked and began walking towards Luna cautiously. "I'll give this fight one minute." Luna then stated. "Are you underestimating me?" "No, in fact I think I'm giving you too much credit. I'll even kill you without using my lightning to make it more fair." Luna's eyes dimmed back to normal and the lightning coursing around her flickered before wisping away completely. She flipped both daggers into a reverse grip and held them at the ready. "You little bitch." "Is that all you can say? Find a new pet name for me already." Luna said.
The girl was close enough to strike and so she did. Her sword came down fast but Luna's smaller body was much quicker. She weaved around or stepped out of the way of the several hits that were thrown at her. "Hahahaha!" Luna bellowed out a laugh as she continued to avoid the flurry of attacks. They came from every direction but it was as if Luna could see every move from a mile away. Sometimes she had to deflect it with her knives but her agile dodging did the trick a majority of the time. "Come on, lady." The woman had stopped to catch her breath while Luna jumped to keep her blood flowing. "I can keep going all night if you want." she said cheerfully and did two jabs at the air as she hopped in place.
She ceased her hopping as the woman snarled and lifted her blade again. "Good." Luna hissed before licking her lips in anticipation. "It's been past a minute so I guess I'll finish this with the next move you make." Luna said, shrugging her shoulders in expected disappointment. The woman screeched ruthlessly as she swung her blade down at Luna. Luna stepped in and caught the woman's blade with her left dagger. It slid and hooked against the crossguard and Luna pulled the dagger down and to the left, taking the sword with it. As her left hand moved, her right swung towards the woman's neck. In the same second the sword was lowered, her right blade cleanly sliced into the woman's smooth flesh.
As if keeping in a perfect rhythm, the blade proceeded from the cut, into a stab to the woman's chest. Luna then swung her left hand, leaving another gash in the woman's neck before stabbing that one also, in her chest. Luna's hands were crossed and both blades punched through her body until it was up to the hilts of both weapons. The sword dropped from the woman's hand and blood gushed from the two wounds in her neck. Luna removed her two weapons and then spun to deliver a kick to the woman's head. The impact against the woman's cheek knocked her to the ground in a hurry and only gurgles left her blood filling mouth. "I was definitely putting too much hope in you. Oh well, you're not the first to disappoint me and I have no doubt you won't be the last." Luna smiled as she watched the woman's eyes dim and become vacant as life escaped her.
At that moment, she felt as if something had left her own body. Her head spun and her balance seemed to vanish in an instant. The blood drenched blades clattered to the ground by her feet as she dropped to her knees. The last thing Luna recalled was her face hitting the dirt and then utter darkness.