Sorry for the wait! I lost my thought train on this and then it hit me again! I'll try to keep updating as much as I can, but with everything going on right now in my life it's pretty chaotic. I hope you guys understand and thanks for your patience for this update!


Luna couldn't sleep much after her brief chat with Louis, looking out the window she could see the sun was starting to rise. Numerous questions circled in her head, looking down at the empty shell of the blood bead she placed it on the desk. Rubbing her bandaged arms, she noticed that she didn't feel pain. "I guess I should take these off." Luna said to herself.

A pile of bandages lay on the table as she carefully inspected herself in the mirror, the bruises that she felt on her arms days before were now gone along with any cuts and scrapes she had gotten from the countless fights she had encountered with the Lost. Lifting up the tank top, Luna could see it. A large dark purple mark, she knew where it was from. Her fingers gently touched the mark as it appeared to span from the top of her hip and along her side.

Walking out of her room, she quietly made her way back to the main area. The light from the rising sun poured into the room from the large hole in the wall. She could see that Io was still sleeping, as she looked around. Next to the balcony was a bar-like area, chairs were pushed up against the bar as countless bottles of liquor lined the shelves. Next to that was a space filled with books, Luna looked at the various different pieces of literature as she could see there were piles and piles of them surrounding the dark wood desk.

Looking behind her, she could see a white motorcycle propped up against the wall next to something that caught her attention. A large vault door looked to be open, carefully walking around Luna could see numerous weapons inside and out of the vault all on racks. Different types of bayonets and swords, large two handed blades and even sledgehammers. "This is amazing…." Luna spoke, she could see each weapon had its own shimmer to it; clearly they were all being maintained. "Someone must have put a lot of time into taking care of all these weapons."

Hearing a rustling sound Luna turned her attention toward the noise. Io slowly sat up in the bed as her weary eyes looked around for a bit until she spotted her. "You're awake." She could see that the black hooded scarf was still on her.

Running over to her, Luna kneeled down. "Io! Are you ok?" she started, as Io looked at her in surprise. "What happened while I was down in that tunnel? What did they do to you?" Luna questioned, she didn't get a chance to ask Io what had happened after everything that happened with Oliver.

"They didn't do anything to me." she answered her. "While you were down there, another Revenant appeared and killed the people that forced you down there. I can remember something hitting my head and knocking me out, then I saw you." Io explained.

Taking a deep breath, Luna could feel the anxiety of the unknown fade. Looking around she could see that no one else was awake yet. "Did they take care of you while I was asleep?"

Nodding her head. "Yes." It was a simple answer, but it helped ease any worry or concern Luna had of the others that stayed here. "Your wounds…. They're all healed." Io said, as she could see the bruises and cuts that Luna had endured were now gone.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry if I worried you….." Luna started. "Io…. That vestige…. How did you know I wasn't going to be consumed by it? And when we first met, how did you know my blood could revitalize blood springs?" Luna questioned. She needed to know how Io new about our powers. "What do you know about me?"

Io looked at her in curiosity. "I don't know." she answered.

Luna shook her head, "you don't know."

"No. All I know is that my name and that I'm to be at your side." Io said.

"My side?"

"I don't know what it means, it was simply decided."

Standing up, "Io that doesn't make sense. Someone would have to order you to do that. Do you remember who told you to do it?"

Shaking her head. "No."

Luna sighed. "So I guess both you and I are in the same department when it comes to memory loss. We don't remember anything except our names." Just trying to process everything was a struggle for her. Here they were, both awake in what one could only describe as a real life hell. Needing to fight in order to survive; while the everlingering thought of losing themselves was a very real possibility.

Walking out onto the balcony, Io followed closely behind her as they both looked out over the view. Buildings and skyscrapers that onced towered in the skies were reduced to rubble. Large black thorns glowed with splinters of yellow, pierced the Earth in various locations. Looking around they could both see parts of the once concrete ground had fallen in, giving way to numerous dark pits that one would be falling in forever if they fell in. The fading sounds of the Lost crying out in the city, screaming for salvation could be heard from where they stood. Behind it all was the red aura Luna saw the other night, it stood taller than any of the demolished buildings as it appeared to span out a large distance.

"Ugly. Isn't it?" Luna turned towards Louis's voice as he walked up to the women. "The red mist appeared after the Queen was defeated. When it did, it trapped everything and everyone inside, giving rise to the society of Revenants ruled by Silva. Over the years it's been known as the Gaol of the Mists by those who lived inside. The Lost monsters we fight are trapped in a never ending cycle of death and rebirth always searching for a way to sustain themselves."

"You mean the blood beads?" Luna questioned.

"Yes. Like I explained to you last night without them Revenants would join the ranks of the Lost. It's because of that reason that both of you were captured and forced to hunt for blood beads, your captors were terrified of losing themselves, unfortunately it's a common fate these days."

"I see."

Louis could see the sorrow in Luna's face. "But now…." Louis stopped himself. He could see her processing the scene before her. The horror and devastation, she must have known how bad their world was but did she truly forget what their world looked like.

"But now what?" Io asked.

"Umm…." Louis paused. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing." He knew there was plenty of time for them to talk, but there were more pressing matters at hand. "Luna, do you mind if I ask you something?"

Shaking her head. "Not all."

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to get a sample of your blood." he said.

Luna was surprised by the request, she didn't know what to say as she remained silent for a moment. "I guess that would be ok, but why do you need it?" she questioned as she grabbed her right arm. The thought of a needle piercing her skin to draw blood made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"I would like to analyze it. You mentioned that you don't know why your blood can revitalize blood springs or restore mistles, I would like to see if I can find the answers for you." Louis said. He could see that she was hesitant, as she nodded her head. "Come with me and I'll get the sample from you."

"Alright," turning towards Io. "I'll be right back." she said as she followed Louis back down towards his room. "You could have asked me last night." she said, as she sat down on the edge of his bed, watching him go through the drawers of his desk as he pulled out a small syringe.

"To be honest I didn't really think about it until after you went back to your room," he told her. Kneeling down beside her, he carefully grabbed hold of her arm, searching for a vein. "Just relax, I'll make this quick." Taking a deep breath, Luna looked away as she could feel the needle piercing into her skin. The painful discomfort in her arm slowly built as Louis began extracting a sample of her blood. Pulling the needle from her, he quickly applied slight pressure to the puncture wound. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?" he joked.

"The thought of needles just doesn't sit right with me." Luna spoke, as she got up from his bed.

Louis chuckled, "you didn't say anything when we were in the tunnels."

"Well I was poisoned and weak, I didn't even feel it.." She knew that was a lie. The feeling of those serums being injected in her caused goosebumps to cover her arms.

"It'll take me awhile to finish analyzing your blood, for now go take it easy. I'm sure everyone will be up in a bit so you can chat with them if you like." Louis suggested as he grabbed the necessary supplies needed to start his research.

"Everyone?"

"Don't worry, they're nice." he told her, as he could see the worried look on her face. Louis had a feeling that given everything that's happened, she might not be keen on talking to individuals she didn't know yet. "Why don't I introduce you to them before I start?" he suggested.

Raising her hands up, "that's fine you don't have to-"

Louis took her hands. Luna could feel something strange, as she felt his calloused hands over her own. It was a comforting feeling, so familiar and yet so foreign. "It's fine." he said to her, releasing her hands.

Nodding her head, Luna made her way to the door before briefly stopping. "Louis…. There's something that I need to ask you." she told him, they both locked eyes. "I find it suspicious that after you found me, we didn't encounter any Lost of enemies before reaching the surface…" she started. "There were enemies around every corner before we met, I can't help but wonder if you dispatched them by yourself before our paths crossed."

Louis knew he had to tell her the truth, he couldn't risk losing her trust right now. Not when he needed to keep it the most. "I was in the area that day…. I heard a woman screaming, when I found out where it was coming from I saw the Revenants that kept Io hostage had kicked you down into the Underground Ruins. I wanted to help, so I snuck down into the tunnels when they weren't paying attention-"

"And killed all the Lost along the way."

"Exactly. That way you'd still have a chance to get away."

Luna shook her head. "You could have gotten yourself killed…." she said. Though it was because of his actions that they were able to make it out. "But, I still can't thank you enough. If you hadn't done that I fear I would have died down there."

"Consider us even."

"Even?"

"You don't remember?" Louis asked. "When we were fighting that Lost, I was about to be killed by it, but somehow you managed to kill him. Your skills as a fighter are impressive, and it was because of those skills that I stand before you now."

Luna tried to remember what Louis was saying, she remembered fighting Oliver and that he had transformed into the Lost, but after Louis pulled her away from the fight it was a blur to her. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I can't say I remember that either."

Louis did find that interesting, "that's peculiar. Next time we go into combat I'll keep an eye on you."

"Alright." Luna said as she left his room, as Louis followed closely behind her. Walking back into the main area she could hear a few unfamiliar voices chatting, turning the corner she could see them. One was a young girl with short red hair that was pulled into a ponytail, she had on a purifier mask that covered about half of her face. From what she could see, she was wearing a camo half jacket that covered her black top with matching shorts. As she was talking to a few others, her glance shifted over to Luna.

"You're awake!" she could hear the girl cheer, as she rushed over to her. "You were out for days! I'm glad to see you're ok!" Luna took a step back. She didn't know who this girl was, but she gave off an incredible amount of positive energy. An energy she wasn't ready for. Feeling a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she could see Louis standing behind her nodding his head.

"Luna, this is Rin Murasame. Murasame helps provide and maintain our weapons for our explorations, she also helped tend to your wounds after I brought you here." Louis introduced her, "Murasame, Luna."

Taking a breath, "I appreciate what you did for me. Thank you." Luna thanked the girl, as she could see the cheerful look in her eyes. Looking around she could see the other two that Murasame and Io appeared to be conversing with. Feeling the man's gaze on her, his lime green eyes bore into her as he stood where he was.

"Luna, I'd like you to meet Coco and Yakumo." Louis introduced them, Luna waved her hand as the blonde haired woman approached her.

Standing a bit taller than Luna, the purple cape on her head appeared to have a silver emblem on it. Most of her upper body was exposed as the black and purple like sports shirt covered her chest. Dark grey leather jeans were tucked into her ankle high boots, "Louis have you stuck your head in another pot of trouble?" she questioned him, Luna could see that she appeared to be a bit older than most of the individuals here. "Either way it's nice to see a new face around here, Louis I need to talk with you for a minute." she told him, pulling him aside as Murasame and Io walked towards the large vault door.

Standing across from him, Luna could tell that he wasn't too sure of her. "What's your problem?" she questioned him.

Crossing his arms in front of his dark shirt covered chest, he shook his head, the portion of his bangs and red hair that was held back swayed with each turn. "That's my line." he answered her. Given the way he carried himself, Luna could tell he was a capable fighter. The faint stitch lines along his camo pants, scuffs covering his combat boots. The scar on the right side of his face caught her attention.

"I know you don't trust me." she said to him, as she took a few steps towards the area that Io and Murasame were.

"Call it what you want," he spoke. "All Revenants carry secrets with them, and you're no exception." he bluntly said to Luna. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, until we three have a nice little chat."

Stopping, "we three?"

"Just don't do anything funny in the meantime." he told her, walking away to a separate part of the hideout.

"I guess not everyone here is so kind," Luna thought to herself, but she couldn't blame him. Afterall she was just some stranger that Louis took in, despite her attacking him when they first encountered each other. Turning towards the balcony, she walked outside leaning against the concrete ledge. Looking out at the view, "secrets, huh?" she thought back to what Yakumo said to her. "Even if that is true, I don't even remember any secrets that I had."

Hours passed by, as Luna sat out on the ledge. She tried to think of anything that would help her to regain any piece of her memories, but nothing seemed to be working. Even trying to think back to the white haired woman she had seen, but even that didn't spark anything in her mind. The idle chatter in the background died down long ago, as she didn't believe anyone was around.

"Will I ever remember who I once was?" Luna questioned. She didn't care about her past, all she wanted was to know who she was. Was she a kind person? Or was she an ill tempered individual? What was her career? Where was she from? Despite thinking it was basic information for even some Revenants to have, it was something she desperately craved to know.

"Luna?" hearing Louis's voice, she turned as he and Yakumo stood a few feet from her. "Do you have a moment?"

Nodding her head, "is this the talk Yakumo spoke of earlier?" she followed them to the makeshift living room space. Yakumo leaned against the sofa, holding an apple in his hand. Keeping her attention on Louis they stood in silence for a brief moment.

"I did what I could to take a look at your blood and I confirmed some surprising things." Louis started, "All Revenants have unique blood types that differ from normal humans, it aids in our abilities, however, it appears that you don't have a specific type. More specifically, yours appears to be broken."

"Broken?"

"Yes, with your abilities and the fact that you have no specific blood code could be the cause of you being what we know as a Void type." he explained, "this type in particular has the unique ability to draw strength from Vestiges. Though it still doesn't explain how you're able to revitalize mistles and blood springs, but I have a theory."

Luna tried to wrap her head around the information she just learned, "mind explaining your theory?"

"It's not exactly concrete, but there was once a medicine made from the Queen's blood that was used to revive mistles. It's possible that your blood and the Queen's are of a similar compound in your blood that grants you the ability to do that." Louis told her. "Though it is still just a theory."

"I see."

The creaking of a door opening echoed in the space, as they all turned their attention towards the front door. Large, heavy white painted armor covered his large frame, scars along his dark skin face, his red eyes looking directly at them. The unknown man walked towards them, Luna took a step back. "Ah Davis, good to see you."

A smile pulling at his lips, "Likewise Louis, sorry if I'm interrupting anything."

"It's quite alright."

Turning his attention to Luna. "You must be the Revenant Louis has been talking about," extending his hand. "I'm Davis, I work with the Provisional Government."

Taking his hand, they shook. "Nice to meet you, I'm Luna."

"Louis told me about you while you were still resting, he sees much potential in you." Davis told her, "I'm sorry you had to wake up to the chaos of this world. It must have been a terrible shock."

"I wouldn't say it was terrible, but hopefully I can help make a difference now that I have a chance." Luna replied.

"Good answer," Davis could see the glimmer of joy in Louis's eyes as he gazed upon Luna. He knew the situation between them, as he didn't mention anything. "Anyway I'm sorry for dropping by on short notice, but I'm here to pick up the levy." he said, looking back at Louis.

"I'll go get it," Yakumo said, as he walked towards the area where Murasame kept all the weapons.

"You may not know this, but the levy was put in place by Silva. The blood beads we take are distributed to other Revenants who need them, I know it's not ideal but…. It's my job." Davis briefly said.

"I see."

Luna remembered her captor mentioning a levy, from what she could recall a levy was a sort of tax that needed to be paid but from the sounds of it not many were able to sustain themselves due to it. "Luna, just as a fair warning, try to stay out of trouble." Davis advised her. "If you don't I won't be able to do my job, and well…. You get the picture."

"I understand."

Yakumo returned, handing Davis a large satchel. "Here."

Taking the satchel, "thanks, I'll be on my way now." Walking back towards the door, "I'll drop by soon to check on you guys." he waved goodbye, as he left.

Luna could tell that the satchel contained a substantial amount of blood beads, after seeing Oliver's memories of his struggle to sustain himself; the agony of seeing the one thing to keep your sanity be taken from you, to have fought for something to get minimal to no results just to have it disappear right before your eyes. Running towards her room, "hey, get back here!" Yakumo shouted.

Pushing the door wide open, Luna grabbed the bag that was left with her. Looking at it, it wasn't nearly as much as what Yakumo had given to Davis, but it was better than nothing. Rushing back over to them, "here take these!" She handed the bag to them.

Yakumo and Louis were both stunned, "Luna."

Holding his hand up, "we don't need them," Yakumo said to her. "We have enough for everyone, even after the levy."

"Regardless, please take them." Luna pushed, "think of it as my way of repaying you guys for taking care of Io and I," she tried to reason with them. Even though they claimed they had enough, she wanted to do what was right. "Please take them, I don't want to risk any of you becoming one of the Lost."

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Yakumo hesitantly took the bag from Luna's hands. "Luna…. As you may be aware at this point, stuff like that happens everyday." Louis spoke, "Silva has taken the remaining humans that are also trapped within the Gaol of the Mists under his protection, so Revenants like us rely on blood beads to slake our thirst. Unfortunately that won't last forever."

"So when they said that the bloodsprings were drying up they weren't kidding." Luna whispered, recalling the two withered bloodsprings that she had come across. Despite having the power now to revitalize them, she couldn't begin to imagine how long this issue had been hurting the other Revenants.

"As the springs began to dry up, blood beads became rarer and rarer to come across. No to mention the order that Silva placed in action, along with the levy won't hold out much longer either. The world needs more blood beads, it's then that we can stop this madness from continuing." Looking towards the map, "it's because of this, we've been exploring the Gaol of the Mists and researching the blood beads. But the miasma has been a terrible problem, it makes our thirst even worse, thus halting our research."

"That is a problem," Luna said. "So the miasma has been stopping you guys from making any further progress.

"That's correct, but now we may finally have the ability to continue our research. Your power was able to clear the miasma, if you help us…." Louis paused. He knew that having Luna's abilities would be beneficial to their research, but he knew there was still a high risk of losing her. Despite his feelings, he knew that this was his only chance. "You would be dragged into a bitter conflict, but to be honest we don't have a lot of hope without you." Holding out his hand, "Luna, will you join us?"

She didn't need to think about this, after seeing what happened to Oliver her mind was set. Taking his hand, "of course, I'll do anything I can to help."

He should have felt ecstatic, but the only emotion running through him was concern. Part of him wanted her to say no, that she would give them her blood and that was it, but that wasn't what she said. "Thank you." Even though she didn't remember who she was, he knew that the caring nature that she possessed was still there. If she knew someone was in danger, she would always do anything to help.

"So it's a done deal?" Yakumo questioned, "from now on, you're one of us," he took a step towards Luna throwing the apple high up in the air. Catching it in her left hand, she could see his hand before her. "Allow me to properly introduce myself, Yakumo Shinonome, I look forward to fighting alongside you."

Shaking his hand, "Likewise."

"Sorry for being a bit rude to you earlier, I don't like to make ties with people if they aren't willing to help us."

"No worries, I understand."

Louis directed their attention back to the board, "let's get right into it, as I mentioned we're studying blood beads and bloodsprings…. We want to know their cycle, when they produce, and their composition." Louis began, "during our previous expeditions, we've learned that first we found that there are veins running through the Earth, similar to capillaries. From what we can determine, each bloodspring is a top one of these blood veins. Also after further research, it appears that the blood beads and blood springs are mostly made up from the same substances."

"Basically, we feel we can safely assume that bloodsprings will always form on these blood veins." Yakumo shortened. "We believe there must be a source, a short of headwaters for the blood beads. And with you joining us, we can investigate the springs more thoroughly and hopefully follow the blood veins to the source."

It made sense to her, "I see, it makes sense. I mean we can't just assume that these things just form due to randomness, there has to be a source where it all starts."

"We'll begin by checking out the Old City Ruins first, once you're fully recovered we'll leave." Louis told her.

Shaking her head, "I'm fine, I just have some bruises remaining from that fight. We can leave as soon as tomorrow."

"That works fine with me, just don't push yourself." Yakumo told her. "You ok with that Louis?"

"Fine, we leave first thing tomorrow." he agreed, "we should start preparing for the trip, make sure to pack everything you'll need." Louis advised them.

"Good, I'm going to find Murasame." she told them, since she awoke Luna didn't see her weapon anywhere. Since she was in charge of their battle needs, Luna hoped that Murasame could help her get set up with something potentially better for this trip.

They both watched her leave, leaving them behind. "You didn't seem thrilled when she said she was going to help us." Yakumo pointed out, he had picked up on Louis's emotions during that interaction. "I would think having her at your side would make you happy."

Shaking his head, "don't get me wrong, I appreciate her help but I don't want to risk losing her again." he replied.

"If you ask me, even if you didn't ask her, Luna would still push to come with us." Looking down at the bag of blood beads she had given them, "afterall, she looks like she's the type of person that cares a lot for others."

"You don't have any idea how right you are." Louis thought to himself, "still, I won't allow anything to happen to her. I'll protect her no matter what."

Patting his back, "I know you will, and I'll help you. But if she's as good as a fighter as you make her out to be, she might just be the one protecting us."