AN: I haven't written anything related to Aces Wild for a while. And I've been a big fan of Dark and Story Night ever since it aired, with Luna's part of the story being my favorite by far. But I was never particularly happy with the way that segment ended. So I wrote this as a way of killing two birds with one stone. Hopefully, this is one of those things that other people will also find entertaining.
Triton removed his space cowboy hat, wiping away the frustratingly persistent beads of sweat that continued to build up just underneath the brim, and took stock of his surroundings, checking the crude map he'd made for himself as he did so.
Strictly speaking, he didn't need to be here, not anymore. He'd already had his fantastical adventure with his group of unlikely allies, fixing his crashed ship and solving the planet's energy crisis in one fell swoop, even earning himself a royal invitation to come back and visit the next time he happened to be in the system. It was long past time when he should have just said his goodbyes and blasted off to his next destination. And he almost had, on multiple occasions now. But no matter how long he sat in his cockpit, his ship's various subsystems humming vigorously around him, one finger poised just over the ignition ready to send him hurtling back into the stratosphere, he just couldn't bring himself to take that final step. There was an issue that, by his reckoning, was still left untended. And in spite of how minor it was, it just didn't sit right with him to leave things unresolved. After all, who knew when he'd be back out this way? Thus decided, Triton had powered down his ship, headed back to the castle to cash in some of the clout he'd built up, and in spite of Princess DeLola's pleas that he stay the night, seeing as how he was already there, he pressed on back into the wilderness.
Thankfully, the trip wasn't too long. Despite being a respectably sized planet, everything of interest here was strangely, and almost conveniently located within a relatively short distance. But not being a local, and thus not versed in the relevant landmarks, Triton was forced to rely on his memories of his previous journey. The map he'd drawn for himself wasn't even remotely to scale, and was really more of a reference for where the destinations he'd previously visited were located relative to one another, which had resulted in him veering off course more than once. Finally, however, he'd found himself at his current location. A stretch of forest that gave way to a wide-open clearing, crested by rocky hills and overlooked by a gorgeous view of the afternoon sky. It wasn't easy to forget a skyline like that. This was the spot he'd been looking for, he could feel it in his bones.
Mentally preparing himself for what was to come, Triton slid his map back into his pocket for safekeeping, and reached behind himself, feeling for the pack that was slung along its back, breathing a short, relieved sigh as he felt its reassuring bulge. He'd have looked quite the fool if he'd finally found his destination, only to lose his cargo in the process.
Triton dallied just a little, waiting to see if his presence would be noted by the powers that be, but there was only the silence of the clearing and the gradual darkening of the sky above him. It seemed like there was a formality to these proceedings after all. Triton steeled his nerves, only just now regretting that he had neglected to ask for some kind of ear protection during his visit to the castle, and strode further into the clearing, counting his steps as he did so.
One
And a
Two
And a
Three
The instant that Triton's boot hit the ground on that final step, the sky began to darken and the clearing was rocked by the deafening roar of thunder. A bright flash cut through the darkness, providing just enough illumination for Triton to witness the swarm of clouds that swooped in from on high, quickly gathering together in a swirling mass that grew larger and larger with each passing second. Finally, a figure emerged from within the structure, and with one last cacophonous blast of thunder, Triton found himself standing beneath the awe-inspiring form of the very being he'd been searching for. The Rock God.
Sitting atop her cloud, which itself already dwarfed his spaceship, the Rock God towered over Triton, her shapely, but undeniably brobdingnagian frame many times the size of an ordinary human, such as himself. As she drew herself to her full height, Triton gazed upon the divine being before him, and once again echoed the sentiment he'd expressed during their previous meeting.
"She really is...incredible," He breathed to himself, his words barely audible even to himself, as the last vestiges of the Rock God's bombastic entrance echoed throughout the clearing.
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!
...Though, if he was being honest, this second entrance was somewhat...diminished, in comparison to the previous one. Not only because a repeat performance is all but guaranteed to be less impactful original—
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!
—But also because, at the risk of sounding overly critical, the abominable clarinet/drum/whoopie cushion monstrosity that DeLola had traded the god for her crystal shard just didn't stack up to the wailing of her divine guitar. If anything, it detracted substantially from the otherwise palpable menace that her entrance had previously radiated. Which was, of course, the reason Triton was here to begin with.
Triton waited politely for the Rock God to finish...whatever it was she was doing, until mercifully, she bleated out one, final, thunderous blast of noise, and then took a moment to admire the monstrous musical mass in her hands.
"THIS THING RULES", She chuckled to herself, giving the horn attachment an affectionate squeeze before turning her attention back to Triton. The adventurer couldn't help but feel a little vindicated as the titanic woman immediately seemed magnitudes more menacing now that she was no longer playing that instrument, but that was instantly replaced with blind panic as the god's steely gaze fell upon him. Apparently, confronting a deity is considerably more frightening without friends by your side.
"NOW," She boomed, her eyes narrowing, suddenly all business. "WHO DARES TO STAND BEFORE ME?"
"I-I do!" Triton responded, trying to master his nerves. "Your Rock...God...ness?"
Triton frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, I don't think we ever got a proper introduction. Is 'Rock God' the proper form of address?"
"MY FULL TITLE IS ACTUALLY ROCK GODDESS" The towering brunette corrected him as she slouched down in her cloud, adopting a more relaxed pose, much to his relief. "SHE WHOSE SHREDDING RENDS THE SKY AND SHATTERS MOUNTAINS. BUT THAT'S KIND OF A MOUTHFUL FOR MOST MORTALS, SO I SETTLE FOR ROCK GOD."
"Very kind of you," Said Triton, nodding politely.
"IT'S JUST HOW I ROLL, BUT THANKS," The goddess leaned forward in her seat, stroking her chin as she peered more closely at Triton. "HEY, YOU'RE THAT SPACE COWBOY DUDE FROM BEFORE. MAURICE, RIGHT?"
"It's actually Triton," The adventurer gently corrected her. "But you'd be surprised how many people make that mist—err, assumption."
"COOL, COOL." She nodded, looking him over. "TRITON THEN. RIGHT, YOU WERE HERE EARLIER WITH THE PRINCESS AND THAT FROG. I'M SURPRISED YOU CAME BACK."
"Is that a problem?"
"NAH," She shrugged. "I'VE JUST NEVER HAD TO GIVE TWO PERFORMANCES IN THE SAME DAY. PEOPLE DON'T COME OUT HERE ALL THAT OFTEN."
Triton discretely glanced around, noting the scorched grass and gashes in the earth, presumably marking where the goddess' lighting had struck during her entrance.
"I can't imagine why." He said, diplomatically.
"RIGHT?" The titaness asked, sitting up with renewed interest. "I MEAN, DID I, OR DID I NOT TOTALLY ROCK THAT SOLO?"
There was a tangible beat of silence, of hesitance, on the goddess' part before she continued.
"YOU DID LIKE THE SONG, RIGHT?" She asked, her voice noticeably lilting upward ever so slightly at the end of the question.
"I did," Triton responded honestly, nodding vigorously. "It was awesome!"
"WELL YEAH," Scoffed the Rock God, settling back into her cloud. "I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY IT WOULD, THAT IS MY WHOLE DEAL. I GUESS I CAN'T BLAME YOU FOR WANTING AN ENCORE."
You wouldn't know it from how relaxed and nonchalant she looked, but the relief in her voice was palpable.
"SO, HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE?" Asked the goddess, taking her instrument in hand once more. "OBVIOUSLY I'VE GOT TONS OF STUFF TO DO, MY SCHEDULE IS JUST PACKED WITH...S-STUFF" It was almost imperceptible, but she faltered ever so slightly before rallying magnificently. "BUT SEEING AS YOU CAME ALL THIS WAY, I COULD PROBABLY SQUEEZE IN ANOTHER...FEW SONGS. AFTER ALL, WE DON"T WANT YOU LEAVING EMPTY-HANDED..."
"A-actually!" Triton interjected, desperate to keep her from starting with that...thing, again. "I brought you something."
Triton took a few steps forward to help telegraph his actions, then unshouldered his pack and laid it on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the Rock God had set aside her instrument and was watching him with interest. Relief at not being forced to listen to those particular musical stylings again, at least for the moment, warred with a twinge of anxiety at having made himself the sole subject of the goddess' attention. Nevertheless, it was too late to back out now, so Triton opened the pack and withdrew a large, cylindrical device, which was nearly as tall as he was, and several times wider around than his slight frame. Straining just a little under its weight, he held it up, offering it to the Rock God. She stared at it, seemingly confused, but eventually she reached down and deftly plucked it from his grasp. In her hands, it was roughly the size of a normal battery.
"NOT THAT I DON'T APPRECIATE THIS", She began, looking over the device. "BECAUSE I DO. IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE RECEIVED ANY OFFERINGS. BUT...WHAT EXACTLY AM I LOOKING AT HERE, TRITON DUDE?"
"It's a power cell." He explained. "See, I felt kind of bad after we took your crystal shard, so I talked to my friend, Robot—"
"DON'T YOU MEAN YOUR ROBOT FRIEND?" The Rock God asked absentmindedly as she twirled the power cell between her fingers.
"They're actually both of those," Triton amended. "Anyway, I asked Robot if there was a way to make the Power Crystal a little more portable without shattering it again, and he came up with this."
"WHICH DOES...WHAT, EXACTLY?"
"It stores energy from the Power Crystal, and then disperses it as needed, basically functioning like the crystal shards did." Said Triton. "I...thought you might be able to use it for your guitar."
"WAIT, WHAT?" The Rock God started in surprise, very nearly dropping her gift in the process, but after a little fumbling, she managed to catch it between her palms.
"YOU...MADE THIS? FOR ME?" She asked, looking over the power cell with renewed interest, her voice quavering with what Triton presumed was excitement.
"Well, yeah," He replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Everyone else got what they wanted out of that adventure. But even though we gave you a replacement instrument, we still basically took your guitar from you. It just didn't sit right with me, so I thought maybe this could properly settle things between us. It's not a perfect replacement, it has a finite amount of energy, but Robot says it should last a long time. And when it does run out, you should be able to fill it back up by just popping over to the castle and hooking it up to the Power Crystal."
"...Assuming it actually works," He quickly amended, not wanting to get ahead of himself.
Without saying anything, the Rock God held out her free hand, and a bolt of lightning lept down from the sky, landing in her palm. It twisted and turned, slowly growing outward, and eventually, it reformed into the familiar shape of her divine instrument. The Rock God took her guitar in one hand, and the power cell in the other, and with only the slightest hint of trepidation, slid the power cell into the center of her instrument, just as she had with the power cell previously.
There was a bright flash of purple, as violet energy began streaming from the power cell into the instrument. For a few panicked heartbeats, this was all that happened, and Triton began to worry that his plan had failed. Another flash, followed by a high pitch whine, and then...silence. The guitar began to shine with a radiant glow, humming with barely contained power. Summoning her guitar pick with a snap of her fingers, the Rock God set her hands upon the instrument, and gave one of the strings a single, trepidatious, pluck.
A warm, resonant chord rang out, and for a single moment, it seemed like the entire clearing was bathed in the instrument's divine radiance. Triton, only now noticing the burning in his lungs, let out a sigh of relief, and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"WOAH!" The Rock God crowed in delight, giving her guitar a twirl and jamming out a few more chords. "DUDE, THIS IS AWESOME! I THINK IT SOUNDS EVEN BETTER THAN IT DID BEFORE!"
Triton couldn't say one way or the other himself, but seeing the look of abject joy on the goddess' face made the entire endeavor worth the trouble. Finally, he could feel the tension that had been wearing on him draining away. He'd fixed the last remaining problem. The adventure was finally over.
His literal and metaphorical load now lifted from his back, Triton's whole body sagged, equal parts from satisfaction and exhaustion. Except, as Triton only realized several perilous instants later, his body never stopped sagging, and the next thing he knew, he was falling, the ground rushing up towards his face at an alarmingly fast rate. Until, perplexingly enough, it didn't.
"Huh?" The space cowboy articulated, as he seemingly hung there, suspended in the air, neither standing nor falling. It was only at that point, that he noticed the giant hand beneath his waist, gently cradling his body. With no small amount of effort, he craned his neck upward and found himself looking up at the looming face of the Rock God.
"DUDE, ARE YOU OKAY?" She asked, concern evident in her voice. "YOU ALMOST TOOK A PRETTY NASTY SPILL THERE."
"Sorry!" He called to her, feebly trying to raise himself up from the goddess' hand, but the strength simply wasn't there, and he eventually just sagged back into her palm. He was barely aware of the fact that a second hand had joined the first, and gently began to lift him into the air. The next thing he knew, he was staring directly into the face of the Rock God. She looked worried.
"I think the day just...kind of caught up with me," He offered, managing to sit up with only a small amount of difficulty. "I'm only on this planet in the first place because I crashed my spaceship. And then I went hiking all over the place trying to find those crystal shards so I could get my ship fixed, which involved playing basketball against a super-powered alien, among other things. And then..."
"AND THEN YOU CAME ALL THE WAY BACK OUT HERE," The goddess concluded, her lips quirking upward into a small smile. "FOR ME."
"K-kind of," He agreed, hesitantly. "I mean, it's not your fault or anything, I just had a job to do. It's the space-cowboy code."
"FAIR ENOUGH", the titanic brunette chuckled. "SO WHAT'S YOUR PLAN FROM HERE?"
"Well..." Triton glanced upward, noting the darkened sky that now had nothing to do with the goddess' antics, and everything to do with how late it was. Apparently, he'd been at this for longer than he'd planned.
"I did have an offer to bunk at the palace, but I kind of turned it down." He admitted with a small shrug. "But if I can make it back to my ship, I guess I can just bunk there for the night. It's not the first time I've had to do that. And then tomorrow I'll just be on my way."
"YOU COULD DO THAT, YEAH", the Rock God agreed, nodding slowly. "BUT SEEING AS YOU'RE OUT HERE ON MY ACCOUNT, I THINK I CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER THAN THAT FOR YOU."
Before Triton could ask what she meant, The Rock God lowered her hands, and gently placed Triton upon her cloud. It was...soft. So soft, that all previous things that he had believed to be soft, now needed to be redefined in his mind. Pillows were rocks, by comparison. So sedated was he by the pure, conceptual softness effusing his body, that he couldn't even react to the tantalizing view of the goddess' shapely legs that his current vantage afforded him.
"You really don't have to do this," He mumbled, barely able to articulate the words as he sagged even deeper into the heavenly cloud.
"I KNOW" She replied, "BUT I WANT TO. BESIDES, I STILL OWE YOU A CONCERT."
"To be honest, I don't think I could stay awake for even one song," He admitted. He was barely able to perceive the goddess reaching down, and gently removing his hat from his head, allowing himself to sink even deeper into the cloud's embrace.
"THAT'S FINE," The Rock God chuckled, taking up her guitar once more. "WE CAN DO A RAIN CHECK. FOR NOW, I'LL JUST PLAY A LITTLE SOMETHING TO HELP YOU SLEEP."
She began to play, strumming out a soft, soothing melody, one which seemed to reach out and touch Triton with its gentle caress. While her previous songs had evoked the ferocity of a thunderstorm, this one was more akin to the pitter-patter of rain, tapping against your window. Triton closed his eyes, surrendering to the sensation. And then, finally, he slept.
"The end," Sam concluded, looking expectantly at her audience. "So? What'd you guys think?"
Sitting across from her, on the other end of Lincoln's bed, the pale-haired young man exchanged silent glances with the Loudest Loud, as if somehow conferring without words.
"It was...wholesome," He said, at last, sounding surprised.
"Really wholesome," Luna agreed. "Which, to be honest, wasn't at all what I was expecting when you said you had an idea to continue our story."
"What were you expecting, exactly?" Sam asked.
This time, the Louds exchanged glances that were significantly less silent.
"Oh, you goofs," Sam giggled, taking their meaning. "Look, I'm not a writer, okay? That kind of stuff takes a specific skill set, and I just don't have the chops to pull it off. So I decided to try something more in line with your guys' original story."
"That...makes sense, I guess." Luna nodded, looking to Lincoln for affirmation.
"Which is whyyyyyyy—" Sam interjected, "I needed to outsource some help. Turns out, getting an illustrator on board makes this stuff way easier to write."
She reached down underneath Lincoln's bed, and produced a small display box, inside of which could be seen eight thin, hardbacked volumes."
"That's...some really high-quality looking bookbinding," Luna uttered, blinking dumbly.
"You got another artist?" Lincoln asked, looking and sounding slightly hurt.
"Only because I needed someone who could draw in a very specific style, Linc, honest," Sam replied, clambering over to the Louds' side of the bed, and tousling his hair affectionately. "Now that I can show you what I'm going for, you're my number one pick for part two, if you want it."
"There's more?" Luna asked, looking at her girlfriend incredulously.
"Technically it's not a certainty yet," Said Sam, "But the crowdfunding pitch I set up has already met its goal, and then some, so it's just a formality at this point. Besides, this is a saga in the making. Triton hasn't even met the Rock God's girlfriend yet."
"G-girlfriend?" Lincoln squeaked, his cheeks redding slightly.
"All in good time," Sam reassured him, sliding in between the two Louds, and grabbing one of the books from her display case. "Now, here's where the story starts getting really good."
She cracked open the book, and both Louds blushed profusely at the two-page illustration that greeted them.
"Chapter Two," Sam began, "Thunder Down Under. 'T-Triton!' Gasped the Rock God, as she clutched the sides of her cloud for dear life, her body quivering profusely..."