Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the "Sailor Moon" series. This goes along the lines of the original series, but an alternate dimension. Trust me, eventually, my knight will meet the scouts. Patience is a virtue, so awaiting that moment won't be so bad. REVIEW!!
Chapter 2
Vanity Insanity
~ Haitsuchi's Arcade Heaven ~
"Now, do this problem, Stephen….Stephen? Hey, wake up!" Gary snapped, hitting Stephen's dazed looking head with his math book.
"Huh? What was that for? Stephen yelped, rubbing his head gingerly.
"You're daydreaming again. You're never going to pass your classes if you keep drifting off into dreamland. What's up with you?" Gary said, in his usual throaty voice.
Stephen gave him a quizzical look, one he was used to giving him for the past three weeks. Alan's half-brother always sounded like he had a cold, always keeping it soft and low. It was like Gary was destined to have the "cold" voice for the rest of his life and didn't even mind it. He was into video games and karate as far as he knew from talking with Alan, but Stephen came to appreciate Gary's brain in getting him out of trouble with his faltering grades.
However, Stephen didn't concentrate on Gary for very long, his mind suddenly drifting back to the gorgeous form of Lady Glamour, the woman of his dreams. Ever since she'd come into his life, he couldn't think of anything else but her. Her grace, her voice, the beautiful body with perfect curves and the power she'd shown in saving Stephen's butt.
'Everything I've ever wanted in a woman. Ah, I bet she has the most beautiful eyes too. I wonder who she really is?' he thought, drifting off again.
"Stephen!?" Gary growled out, slamming the book on Stephen's head again.
"Ow! Ok, enough hitting. I don't need this tutoring anyway." Stephen grumbled, rubbing his head as he grabbed up his pen. He looked the problem they were on for a second, writing the problem and answer down a few moments later.
Gary's mouth hung open after he checked it, shaking his head in disbelief. "For someone who says his math grades aren't up to par, you're doing pretty well. You haven't looked in the book once on how to do them. Even if this job will help me pay my rent with a more awake body, just what are you getting in these classes?" Gary asked.
"C's….but since you've been appreciating my parents money so much, and I'm happy my Dad of all people is doing a good deed, even if he doesn't know it….Do you think you can keep another secret? And promise you won't laugh?" Stephen said, nervously.
"Yeah….since I've become a local secret charity, and I am grateful to you, Stephen. Spill it." Gary sniffed, setting the book back down onto the card table.
"I'm faking it." Stephen said plainly, casually leaning over the book to look at another problem. The book lifted up just as quickly and slammed into his face.
"Faking it? Faking your bad grades!? Why the heck would you want to do that, you meathead?" Gary hissed out.
Youch! Maybe laughing at me wouldn't be so bad. Can't you at least let me explain, Gary?" Stephen whined, grabbing his nose as the book fell from his face.
"Better make it good. This I have to hear." Gary smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I forget on purpose to do some assignments and do problems and questions wrong in math and Spanish because of the teachers. They always say how wonderful I'm doing, but to the entire class. Do you know how embarrassing that is? Everyone knows that they should single out as the person who makes the rest of them look bad, that's why I'd always pay your brother visits after school so much. I'd get so caught up in trying to ignore people by daydreaming, I'd walk into fights, doors, other people….and sometimes people would get so annoyed that I was ignoring them and….well, they'd beat me up. I got sick of it, but this was the only thing I could come up with that wouldn't risk my life." Stephen explained, bracing for another impact with his textbook.
He waited a few seconds before uncoiling, seeing his book still on the card table with Gary sitting perfectly still across from him. Suddenly, the other man smiled. "You really are a meathead. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life….but if it keeps you alive, I suppose its good enough for me. Fine, I'll keep your secret….two secrets for the price of weekly lessons," Gary said softly, his voice almost a whisper," It makes me feel kind of shallow. You're using me to make yourself safe in and outside of your own home and me for using your lies to your school and parents to make my rent payments, but since neither of us seems to mind. I don't see any harm in it."
"Just so long as nobody but us knows about it, I see no harm. Might as well teach my Dad a lesson. He's never done a good deed in his life, even if he thinks putting food on the table and sending us to school are good deeds and Mom's too busy impressing her rich friends to know what a good deed is. Let's just leave it at that, huh Gary? And stop calling me a meathead." Stephen went on, but Gary shook his head with a lopsided grin.
"No way, meathead, the name sticks. If I have to teach you things you already know, I get to call you meathead. It suits you….since only a meathead would think up that scheme." Gary chuckled, pushing the book forward.
"Ahhh, well, don't wear it out, Gary. Let's get on with my session so I can go home and let my cat out of my room." Stephen mumbled, scribbling down more numbers.
"You have a cat? Since when? Alan told me your parents hate anything with fur on it." Gary piped.
"Cyrus isn't very furry, more like velvet. Though I wouldn't want to give that beast any ideas that I think he's pretty neat. I'd rather not annoy my parents by making him yowl. Dad said I could keep him if I kept him in my room and paid for all his needs. I'm doing that very well, Cyrus is pretty easy to get along with….just so long as my bratty sister doesn't find him outside my room," Stephen grinned," Getting that deadbolt lock was the smartest thing I've ever done."
Gary let out a hoarse laugh. "I'll bet. Cyrus….that name sounds a little familiar. Greek, right?
"I don't know….the sun or something. I just chose it at random from my literature class. The cat has this funny bald spot on its head that looks like a crescent moon, but all the moon related names were lame for males and most of them were for females. So, it seemed to suit him close enough, he's pretty bright in that sense. But enough about cats, time for homework." Stephen shrugged, scribbling away.
~
"Mom! Dad! I'm home, declare a holiday….good night." Stephen drawled out loudly as he entered his house, walking lazily towards the stairway. As always, his parents weren't at home. Stephen was used to them being gone throughout most of his childhood and early teens, their time suddenly important once Casey was born.
Mother began doting on her to make her the perfect little angel and beauty, a carbon copy of their mother. Their father had been more than happy to spoil her rotten with toys and candy, just not attention, but material things were what Casey adored.
Stephen had been spoiled too, but he never got to be with either parent very often. He was lucky if his mother had time between her dinner meetings to tuck him into bed at night.
He wished so much that they would pay attention to him by getting great grades, but all he got was a raise in his allowance or a game. Doing badly in school only got him negative and violent attention from his father as he'd found out weeks earlier, something his mother had no knowledge of, as if she had any knowledge of anything beyond her career and daughter.
Stephen brushed it off with a heavy sigh, walking up the stairs and set off briskly for his door. He unlocked it and quickly went inside, locking it again from within in his darkened room.
As he flipped his lights on, he heard Cyrus' voice. "If you were this talented at fighting, we'd be set."
"Cork it, hairball. I see you haven't even bothered to push open the window all day so that must mean the Dark Universe is up to nothing as usual?" Stephen said casually, slipping out of his sneakers before plopping on his bed beside the frazzle black cat.
"Actually I'm more concerned with your mother. The air about her is changing….drastically. She's grown quite cold. I heard her come home early today screaming about your little sister using all of her special beauty products." Cyrus piped.
"So, my mother likes to look pretty. She has yelled at Casey before about trying on her make-up and mixing crappy potions with all of her shampoos and mud masks. Little brat had it coming." Stephen droned.
"Has she ever threatened to rip out her intestines, boil them and shove them down the child's throat? How about shaving her head and tearing out her fingernails with tweezers? Hmm?" Cyrus said knowingly. Stephen propped himself up on his elbows at that, staring at Cyrus curiously. "She really said that?"
Cyrus nodded and closed his small black eyes gently. "The woman was positively irate. She screamed bloody murder all the way out the door. When she came back she went into the bathroom and stayed in there for three hours. From the time I've spent in your house, it was the first time I ever heard her spend more than half an hour in this house at all."
"That is weird. You're right about one thing. My Mom never stays in the house unless she's coming home to sleep for the next morning of work, just like Dad does. And I know for a fact she's never ever threatened Casey with anything more than no sweets or TV for doing her silly potion crap in the bathroom. Not even with P.M.S., Mom pretty much acts like she's shooing flies when she ever gets the time to punish us," Stephen said quietly, then eyed his cat suspiciously," What are you thinking?"
"I think the Dark Universe might be involved. Your radio is chock full of advertisements for a new bath and beauty shop that opened downtown. I've heard the commercial so often that I know the name by heart. Its called Black Velvet Beauty Works, a block or so past Alan's arcade center, I believe." Cyrus explained.
"Well, if you're right, then we have to investigate. Boy, the Dark Universe is real lazy. All that energy draining power at their fingertips and they waste it on silly parlor tricks." He grumbled.
"Onyx wasn't much a parlor trick, was she?" Cyrus hissed out, looking annoyed at him.
"No, she was a major creep. I guess looking so freaky would kind'a make them stand out. Still, if they could make an abandoned warehouse look like fancy tutoring center, why can't they make themselves invisible? Heck, why won't you tell me more about them? If there's one thing I remember from my old karate classes is to know my opponent and I still don't fully know what I am dealing with other than an evil universe. How many planets do they own to be able to be call a universe anyway?" Stephen demanded.
Cyrus shook his tiny head and laid his body down. "They do use energy when they are making these illusions, but illusions on inanimate or living objects don't use up any of their energy. Healing themselves and hiding their true forms tax their powers since they worship a dark power. Only the light of the good, the Galaxy Knights, can destroy their dark powers, as you have done. You tax your own strength when you fight, your energy is as finite on yourself as theirs is on themselves, but….you recharge once you become as you are in daily life because you never surrendered your souls as the inhabitants of the Dark Universe did. They kill to survive like vampires, but the planets keep your energy alive, innocently, not wickedly. Do you understand that?"
"I'm good, so I don't have to kill for energy. They're all evil, so they steal energy from others to build up their powers and survive. Light and darkness, good and evil, I get it….what I want to know is who's behind it all. You do remember that, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't have reawakened the Moon Knight in me, right?" Stephen asked, getting a curt nod from Cyrus.
"The ruler of the Dark Universe, which is only called that because their leader is a pompous tyrant, is Lord Specter. He was a common preacher of Earth who lived 10,000 ago as best I can recall. A cultist leader would be a far better word. He worshiped a Dark Goddess, the true leader of the entire Dark Universe, and preached war and hatred to the weak minded. This helped him gain an army of followers," Cyrus explained, looking sorrowful about it," The goddess finally came down to help him take over Earth, but the king of the moon and queen of the earth fought her as teenagers and destroyed her body with the Soul Crystal. It was and still is the ultimate source of power in the entire galaxy. Sadly, The Dark Goddess' essence escaped and reached Specter and helped him turn many of his followers into monsters, Onyx for instance….and that is all I can remember. Specter reigns supreme over the monsters he calls the members of the Dark Universe, and he sends them to gain energy for his goals, to rule the universe of light. Your universe, Stephen."
"Heavy," Stephen uttered, his eyes growing wider upon every word," Sounds like a sick evangelist gone mad ten times over. Will I ever have to face him?"
"Probably, but hopefully when that glorious battle occurs, you won't be alone. For now, let us focus on this beauty shop. Tomorrow come home and hide your mother's beauty things and when she tries to go out for them, you volunteer to get them for her. She sounded very frantic about your sister ruining her products today, she won't be thinking properly enough to think that you're up to something." Cyrus explained.
"If there is anything to this beauty boutique craze, that is. If it turns out to be another silly old woman thing my Mom's into, your butt and my foot have an appointment." Stephen yawned out as he stretched his arms.
"Don't threaten me, boy. I'm a lot faster than I look. You miss by an inch and my claws are going to make you very sorry." Cyrus sniffed.
"I heal fast now, Cyrus. You have yourself to thank for that. Now if you don't mind, I'd like a little shut-eye. If I'm going to get any monster hunting done tomorrow, I need to survive the dreaded teachers of the Takozona Junior High. Nothing's worse than being on their bad side. Even if the world is at stake, my grades are more essential to staying alive." Stephen drawled out, yawning.
"Says you. Just be ready for a long day tomorrow….and if you value your grades as much as your friendship with the Haitsuchi boys, you'd best be quick to discover if we are dealing with the Dark Universe." Cyrus said, getting a slight nod from Stephen as he crawled up to his pillow. The youth pulled his shirt off and threw it at the light switch and the room went black. "I do, I do, stop being such a worry wart, Cyrus." Stephen yawned, drifting to sleep a few moments later.
~ Meanwhile ~
-The Realm of the Dark Universe -
Dark caverns lit with torches surrounded the man dressed in black armor. He sat on a throne of black stone carved out to look like a screaming and demonic skull. The man had long black hair and wicked looking purple eyes, his face as pale as a ghost with an emotionless look covering his features. His head was topped with a silver crown decked in ebony pearls. He lifted his head a moment as footsteps sounded within the cavern, frowning a little as the figure came into view.
"Viper….you're late with your report. How goes your search for the Earth Princess?" the man asked.
The other man was younger than the crowned one, and bowed slightly towards him. His hair was green and shimmering like an emerald with eyes of pure blood, his face thin and young. He was dressed in all green, but the clothing was more like the scales of a snake, fitting extra tight around his sleek body.
"No, Lord Specter, I have not found her yet. Her aura has not yet awakened, according to the Dark Goddess, so I doubt I will locate her until this woman awakens. Sadly, that is not why I have come here. We might have a slight problem with the energy siphoning missions." Viper said, Specter looking down at him with distaste.
"Now what, after the tutoring center was destroyed with precious Onyx, you haven't really been around. Have you found out what caused Onyx's destruction?" Specter asked.
"Not yet, sir, but we did get a lot of energy from that project. We could have gotten more, this much is true, but whoever killed Onyx must have been very strong. She was very reliable and strong…." Viper was saying, but Specter slammed his fist upon his throne suddenly.
"No excuses. We'll put the princess search on hold for now, concentrate on the energy missions. We must resurrect the dark goddess as soon as possible. Then, and only then will the princess and those that oppose us will be in our clutches. That is all, Viper, get back to your current assignment, as nauseating as this mission is, so many stupid human females are terribly vain." Specter ordered, and viper nodded with another slight bow.
"Yes, my lord. They are so easily enticed to buy the latest thing to make them beautiful and young looking. To be perfect is their greatest flaw, humans will never be as perfect as the Dark Universe. Very well then, sir, I will return with the latest batch of young energy for our dark goddess. May the darkness live on." Viper said, then vanished.
"You'd better hope so, young Viper. I don't want you wasting any of my precious time. I can let your sisters and teacher do it instead if you don't deliver a lot more very soon," Specter grated out," Whoever destroyed Onyx will pay nonetheless. No one challenges the Dark Universe and lives!"
~ Next Day ~
~ The Tsukikage Household ~
"OH MY GOD!!!! My beauty products!! Someone's stolen my beauty products!!!! Help!!" Stephen's mother was screaming hysterically as Stephen walked into the house.
Mom? What's wrong? Have we been robbed? Your jewelry? Money? What so valuable that they took?" Stephen shouted, pretending to be shocked. Stephen had to admit she was overreacting about products he'd never seen in the bathroom before now, all in black bottles and smelling as sweet and fragrant as any other supermarket brand. His mother was acting like the car had been stolen or her wallet had been pilfered.
"My beauty products, you moron! Some miserable thief stole them all, I need them or I won't be beautiful anymore. Oh God, my beautiful face will crack now! Ahh! Why can't you be more sympathetic?" she screamed as he raced up the stairs to her.
She was beating her hands furiously on the bathroom tiles when he reach her, tears staining her face mixed with mascara.
"Why that's terrible, Mom. Hey, don't cry, I'll go get you some more if you want." Stephen offered, sounding as consoling as he could without laughing about the whole situation.
His mother perked up at his words, smiling a little. "Wonderful. Oh, you always were a good boy, Stephen. Just let me get my purse so you'll have plenty of money to buy me my things…Oh, and you'll need a list too. Stay right there." She chirped, the angry and tear vanishing all together as she ran out of the bathroom.
Stephen quickly ran out towards his room to let Cyrus out, grabbing the cat up off his bed by its neck before rushing back out. He locked his door and went back to the bathroom, situating Cyrus in his arms as he caught his breath. "Did it work?" Cyrus asked.
"Yeah, man, last time she this energetic about something, cheesecake came out in miniature snack packs. Jeez, she's never been so energetic about anything since then. Either she's getting senile real fast or something really is up." Stephen gasped, biting the side of his mouth as he mother raced back into the bathroom, jamming a wad of cash and sheet of paper into his face.
Stephen took them happily and put them into his pants pocket, moving past his mother swiftly. "Hurry home with my things, honey, or you're grounded!" His mother shouted at his back as she gave him a hard shove towards the stairs.
"All right, I'm going. I swear I'll be back." Stephen grumbled, quickening his pace even as he got out of the house and onto the driveway. He started running as he reached the sidewalk.
~ Black Velvet Beauty Works ~
"This place is a mad house. "Stephen yelped as he stepped into the seemingly quaint little shop. It was wall to wall women, young and old, grabbing products off the wall in a venomous looking shopping frenzy. Several women were beating each other up to get possession of some of the products while others screamed at each other. The men with them look almost as feverish as the women did, other just milling about with lists or staring in shock at their dates and wives.
The walls looked perfectly stocked, but the women didn't seem to notice it or that Stephen was even there holding a pet. He walked past the screaming masses with wide and puzzled eyes all the way to the counter, bumping into it hard. He cursed himself silently for misjudging the distance between the door and the counter instead of staring at a bunch of crazy women.
"May I help you, sir?" said a voice, as cool as ice. Stephen felt a knot of ice form in his stomach as he heard it, a slow and deliberate chill running up his spine.
He turned around to see a blonde young man in a green shirt and black jeans standing behind the counter. He had a nametag pinned just above his shirt pocket that said "Victor" and had the reddest eyes Stephen had ever seen. The young man was looking at him strangely as well then to his cat and back.
"Don't I know you?" he asked, the chill in his voice enough to make Stephen's blood freeze solid in his veins. Stephen shook his head, patting Cyrus' head absentmindedly. "No, now that I think of it….no, sorry. Does it ever calm down here?" Stephen asked, trying to keep his voice casual.
The other young man shrugged, giving off a slight smile. "Nope, and if this keeps me in business, I don't really care. Now, may I help you?" he said.
"No, I have a list. Thanks anyway….Victor." Stephen uttered, turning his back to the counter and venturing into the sea of screaming females.
Stephen dropped Cyrus to the floor as a woman grabbed the back of his head and pulled at his hair. "Ow! Cyrus, go look around. Make it quick, this frenzy is getting worse." Stephen grumbled, shoving the woman onto her rump for her action. Cyrus quickly nodded and ran off through the legs of the women still fighting.
The cat wove through as best it could, but its tail kept suffering from sharp high heals and heavy sneakers landing on it hard at nearly ever small step.
Cyrus finally reached the counter where Victor had been standing, but he wasn't there anymore. The cat sniffed the air, his hair standing on end as the air went cold about him. He looked around the back of the counter, finding nothing but dusts and insects crawling about it.
He turned about a little to come face to face with a door, opened just crack. Cyrus pushed his head in and sniffed again, turning his nose up at a horrible stench that came from inside. Then he heard voices, soft and whispered, and it compelled him to enter all the way to hear better.
As Cyrus went further in, he heard the voice of the store's owner Victor loud and clear, laughing. "The latest herd of cattle has arrived, Greese, my darling. Time for you to go and get Specter's latest haul of human life force. Suck every last drop from their miserable bodies. Kill anything that gets in the way of Specter's rule."
"Yes, Prince Viper, as you wish." Said a terribly bubbly voice, female, but hideous.
'Dark Universe! I knew it! I have to warn Stephen!' Cyrus' mind screamed, his tiny body shooting back towards the door, Greese and Viper's wicked laughter nipping at his rear.
He slipped back into the store to see Stephen was pressed into corner, trying to keep his wallet away from their greedy fingers.
Cyrus heard the laughter from behind the door getting louder, his face going desperate as he looked back at Stephen. "Moon Knight! Get down! They're coming!" Cyrus shouted at last, not getting a single reaction from any of the women, but Stephen quickly vanished as he forced his body down beneath them.
As the women tried to all dive for him at once, the door behind the counter burst open to reveal an creature made of amber oil, it body female and dripping thick drops from its viscous body.
Cyrus leapt to the floor as it floated over the counter and above the screaming women. "Delicious souls, give yourselves to the Dark Universe, you vain witches. Succumb to the power of Greese." The oil woman bubbled out, then slimy amber tentacles shot out of her front and entangled all of the women.
Stephen was hidden beneath them as he watched in horror as the slimy floating woman drained their energy and dropped body after body upon him, each one was as cold and clammy as the one before it.
'This is insanity!' his mind screamed as he pulled his sword pendant out from under his shirt and shouted out," Moon Sword, Transform! Arghhh!!"
Stephen leapt up in his Moon Knight from as soon as the transformation took hold and thrust his sword up at the sticky creature. Moon Knight and his blade went right through her, but it was done with enough force to cause the creature to let go of the struggling women.
"Run now! She'll kill you! RUN!" he shouted, taking another hard swipe at her. The women and their men obeyed him quickly, scrambling like drowning rats to get out of the shop. They knocked down bottles of beauty products and perfume in their frantic retreat.
"Moon Knight, huh? Fancy weapons and costumes are no match for the Dark Universe. No mortal weapon can harm me, boy, I'm living oil! I am Greese!" she cackled.
"Yeah, yeah, and oil burns out with heat. Just you wait, I'll send you packing just like I did with Onyx." Moon Knight yelled, slashing his sword at her more and throwing bottles of the beauty products at her.
"Onyx? You….killed Onyx?" said a chilly voice, almost laughing at him. Stephen leapt out the path of Greese's attacks as she began to fling her slimy oil tentacles at him. They smashed into display cases and shelves instead of Moon Knight as he kept dodging them swiftly.
He looked back towards the voice to see Victor standing on the counter, all dressed in green, snakeskin looking clothing, a vest, boots, and pants. His eyes were like pools of boiling blood and his smile was utterly evil. His hair was green now.
"What the hell? Jeez!" Moon Knight yelped, leaping away from another barrage of tentacles.
"I am Prince Viper of the Dark Universe, you pitiful human! How dare you fight us when it is totally useless. Greese, destroy him now!" Viper commanded, his body glowing bright red as he finished.
Moon Knight took another swipe at Greese, but it never hit its mark. As he made he way to strike at her, he slipped on a puddle of shampoo in front of him, sending him crashing to the floor. He was lifted up a second later by several of Greese's tentacles, all squeezing him at once with frightening strength.
"Arghhhh!!" Moon Knight shouted, his sword falling away from his hand as Greese tightened her grip even more.
"Excellent, my dear, now finish the job! Steal his energy!" Viper shouted, grinning wickedly.
"As you wish, Prince Viper." She bubbled out.
Greese's tentacles began to shimmer and Moon Knight could feel his energy being taken, feeling his strength failing him.
He kept struggling against Greese, looking desperately at his sword. 'I can't escape without the Celestial Beam…. it's the only way to beat her. I have to get free….' He thought, kicking his legs about wildly and flexing his arms.
Then he heard Grease cry out in pain, her grip falling away from him suddenly until at last he couldn't feel her horrid grip any longer.
Moon Knight's feet were back on the ground, as slippery as it was now, but all he cared about was that he was free. He quickly grabbed his sword up and got himself up for the killing blow, but he stopped as he saw who had caused Greese to let go.
"Lady Glamour! Its you!" he said happily.
The beautiful black-clad warrior gave him a quick smile as she ripped her own sword through Greese, causing the creature more pain than his own sword had.
Greese was fighting back and getting dangerously close to hitting Glamour. "Lady Glamour, let me help you!" Stephen shouted, rushing to the woman's side to slam his sword through a few tentacles closing in on her.
"Yes, we must combine our strengths to defeat this foul creature. I will weaken her for you, just get yourself focused now." Glamour stated, beating back another barrage of slick tentacles. She swiftly forced Greese back with her smooth and fluid sword trusts, the creature leaping back to the counter. Moon Knight could see that Viper was gone now, Greese taking his place on the counter as her slime dribbled down the sides.
Lady Glamour raised her sword up high suddenly, the glimmer of the diamond like texture glistening in the light. "We will send you back to the hell that spawned you! Crystal Cutter!!" she shouted, aiming her sword directly at Greese. A swarm of diamond-like shards flew from his, ramming into Greese's body and exploding into balls of white-hot light upon impact.
"Now Moon Knight! Do it!" she shouted, ducking down as Greese's wailing got louder.
"You've got it, pretty lady. Celestial Beam! Annihilate her!!" Moon Knight shouted, slashing the deadly light from within his sword at Greese's chest.
The light infected her rapidly, her oily skin going aflame instantly, her screams shattering the windows outward as she became a living fireball.
Moon Knight watched happily as she smoldered into a pile of ashes upon the counter, silent at last. He was even happier when he saw that Lady Glamour was still present.
"Lady Glamour, are you all right?" he asked stupidly, touching her shoulder gently. She stood up as soon as his hand set down upon her shoulder, turning to look at him. "I am fine, just catching my breath. You did well, Moon Knight, but it will take more than just your and my attacks to stop the Dark Universe. I suggest you find the other knights soon. We will need all the help we can get." She said, her as smooth and beautiful as she was.
Moon Knight just nodded dumbly, smiling at her widely. "Anything to ensure your safety, Lady Glamour. I'll take on the whole Dark Universe for you." He said sheepishly, getting a slight smile from her.
"Yes, Moon Knight. We must all have faith in each other. Farewell." She uttered, leaping over his head in flash. He turned about to say good-bye, but his smile was shattered when he saw she had already vanished.
"What a woman." He uttered, suddenly grinning again. He stopped when heard a noise behind him, swiftly spinning about with his sword raised. He lowered it when the form of a battered man leaning on the counter, his hands balls up in bruised fists.
"Who are you?" Moon Knight asked.
"I own this store, my name is Victor Beretti….is she gone?" the man coughed.
"If you mean that gelatinous monster, she's all over your counter….dead." he told the man. The man gave off a weak smile.
"Yes, that's the one. She killed my wife when she tried to stop that monster from taking it over….Emma, my dearest Emma never stood a chance." Victor wept.
"I'm sorry for your loss, sir. The people that sent that thing will pay dearly for all the murders they have committed. The Moon Knight promises you that," Moon Knight told him, hearing a familiar yowl ring in his ears," I have to go now. I have other evil beasts to hunt down. I will make deathly sure that those fiends don't hurt anyone else."
"I pray you do, young man. Thank you for saving my customers and myself at least. Oh, and here." The man said, holding out one of his frail hands to the knight. Moon knight saw it was a pair of earrings shaped like red roses in the man's hand, sparkling lightly in what remained of the store's lights.
"For me? What are you implying?" Moon Knight said crossly.
"No, no, you misunderstand. They're for your lady friend….the woman in black I saw you talking with. I bought them for my wife for our anniversary, but now….well, I'd like you to be able to give them to your lady friend, for saving my life." The man said, chuckling at the young man.
The young knight blushed a bit as he took them from the man's hand, then his eyes wandered to the clock behind the man's head. "Oh my God, its nearly six! I'm going to be late!" the knight shouted, and bolted quickly out of the store.
~
Stephen quickly found an alley on the way to Alan's arcade center and became himself again. He ran the rest of the way to the arcade, his lungs ready to burst as he stumbled into the place, right smack into Gary. They both landed hard on the floor, yelping in pain as they hit.
"Watch it! Oh God! Gary! I'm so sorry I'm late, my Mom sent me out to get some things for her and I lost track of time." Stephen blubbered out as he quickly got off of his flustered tutor. Gary shook it off with a shrug.
"To tell you the truth, I just got here myself, meathead. Classes ran a little late, you know. Senior High school is rough on your schedule." Gary admitted, getting to his feet slowly. He helped Stephen up quickly and both of them began walking walked to the back room, but Gary stopped when they were halfway there.
"I was thinking, since you're faking this whole bad grade thing….that you could help me and Alan with the arcade tonight, just for a change of pace. I don't what it is, but I really just can't think straight tonight." Gary added.
"Yeah, me too. Sounds fine to me, Gary….I'd rather look at food and tokens than schoolwork right now. I'll finish my homework where it was meant to done, at home. You wouldn't believe the day I've had." Stephen breathed, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Neither would you, so let's just leave it at that and help my brother." Gary coughed, walking back to the arcade.
'I would, who could possibly top fighting an oil monster from an evil universe? Not like I can tell him, I'd blow my secret identity. I have better things to think about than that though, like finding these other knights. I hope I find them soon cause if Glamour's right, this battle is about to get a whole lot more complicated.' He thought, following Gary to a smiling Alan.