Hello, Dear Readers! Another Friday is upon us, and as usual, I have prepared a chapter for your viewing pleasure. But before I let you go, I need to address my comments for the week!

PBJFanFiction: When I'm writing Hope, I'm essentially thinking about what someone who just started learning basic English would sound like/a child. And I couldn't just let Rarity and Pinkie hang like that! But hey, if you've got anything you want me to read, just send me a message and I'll give you my email. I'm always open to being helpful, as long as you're prepared for constructive criticism. :D

Chaddmychal: Thanks for always leaving a comment, and I hope this chapter meets your expectations as well!

Fern of the Clouds: I thought about including Pinkamena at one point, but I thought about it for a while and came to this conclusion: after seeing Pinkie get to that point once before, her friends would probably go out of their way to make sure she never got that far again. That's not to say its out of the question to happen if they weren't around...

Flammablefiredragon: Calm before the storm, my dear friend. Calm before the storm. And I've been trying to find a good cover for the story, but I haven't had much luck. One of those days I wish drawing/graphic design was one of my skills. :P And Dash of Fury is coming along well, from my standpoint. I think my only thing is that I wanna see more of it. :D

I'm at that point where I'd like to have more comments, but then again responding to a lot of them is like... writing another chapter at the beginning of my chapter. But hey, I get more comments, I do more shout outs. I'm not going to complain if people like my story. Anyways, without further ado:

Chapter 41: Heavy Questions

"That has to be the weirdest process I've ever been through," Tyr muttered, coming back into the waiting room. Pinkie and Rarity were waiting there for him, expectant looks on their faces. It was only a couple days after the most awkward conversation he had ever had with the two of them, and now his half of this weird process was done.

"What did they have you do, darling?" Rarity asked.

Pinkie bounced over to him. "Was it fun?"

Tyr stared at his pink friend for the longest time before simply sighing. "To put it simply, it's something I haven't had to do much of since Luna started living with me."

"Uh… I don't get it."

Rarity laughed nervously. "I think that's alright, Pinkie-winkle. I get what Tyr means."

"But I don't!" Pinkie complained.

"I'll explain it to you later. For now, we need to get our half done."

"…Okay…"

Rarity glanced over at Tyr. "Darling, are you headed home?"

Tyr smiled. "No, actually it's my turn to pick up Sherry from school. Speaking of which, do you want me to take Sweetie Bell with us too?"

"Oh that would be wonderful. I'll pick her up later, if that's alright."

"No big deal, Rarity. See you later."

He left then, going out to his truck. As he climbed in, something felt off. [Chrys… is everything okay at home?]

After a moment, the thoughts of his Changeling responded. [Everything is alright at the moment. Why do you ask?]

[Just felt something was off. Don't worry about it]

"Hey," Jehu said, knocking on his truck window. "Got a minute?"

"Christ!" Tyr jumped in his seat. The sudden appearance of the mysterious dark skinned man had almost made him jump out of his skin. Once he was calmed down, he rolled down the window. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"I'm hanging out." The grinning man glanced back at the building behind them. "Making a donation? Wrong place, don't you think?"

Tyr stared at him with a dead expression. "Ha. Very funny. I was here with friends. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"A little friend of mine started at Sherry's school today," Jehu replied. "I was going to pick her up."

"A friend of yours?"

"Not related, but she's like a daughter to me." He made a face. "I apparently can't help it when it comes to little girls."

Tyr chuckled. "Careful, you might get called a pedophile if you talk like that."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Jehu said dryly. "So hey, mind if I catch a ride with you?"

"…How did you get here?"

"Magic."

"…Couldn't you just use that then?"

Jehu shrugged. "Maybe I just want to talk."

Tyr thought for a moment. "Alright then. Hop in."

The other man rushed over to the other side, and jumped in. Tyr pulled away from the curb and began to drive. Almost immediately, Jehu spoke up. "So, Tyr, how are the kids?"

Tyr glanced over at him, one eyebrow raised. There was a small smile on his strange friend's face. "The kids are doing well. Aurora is pretty active, always running—or now flying—around. Aleron is more subdued than his sister, but they both get along well with each other."

Jehu nodded. "Solidarity between siblings is always a good thing. That was one of my family's sayings: Family comes first."

"One of your sayings?"

"To be honest, our family creed is 'Every Rose has its Thorns'. But we always put family first. I don't know where I would be without my siblings."

"You have siblings?"

"Yeah, two. My older brother Arcturo and my little sister Franci." Jehu smiled. "I'm to believe you have siblings as well?"

"Only sisters, go figure," Tyr said with a chuckle. "My older sister Nanna and my little sisters Freya and Sif."

"Oh, so the naming theme runs in the family, huh?"

"Yeah, it does."

Jehu was quiet for a moment. "Hey Tyr. Mind if I ask a serious question?"

"A serious question…? I guess, what is it?"

"Have you ever considered what immortality would be like?"

Tyr blinked, and spared his companion a sideways glance. "Immortality? Where did that come from?"

"Just curious." Jehu smiled. "I ask people I know just to test what kind of person they are."

"I suppose that is a good question to use as a test of character." Tyr frowned, considering the question for a bit. "…I guess immortality would be lonely with no one to share it with."

Tyr was so focused on the road that he didn't catch Jehu's sudden frown. "I suppose that is true."

"What about you?"

Jehu blinked and looked over at Tyr. The other man was looking at him with a friendly smile on his face. "I…I guess it wouldn't be worth getting immortality if I couldn't spend it with my family."

"Family first, huh?"

"Exactly."

They pulled up in front of the school and got out of the truck. Kids were already beginning to stream out of the school, and Tyr spotted his daughter and her friends pretty quickly. Sherry being about an inch taller than her friends now certainly helped, not to mention the bright hair colors they sported. They spotted them and made a beeline over to them. Sherry leapt into her father's arms almost instantly. "Hey daddy," She said happily.

"Hello love," Tyr replied, stroking her hair. "Good day at school?"

"It coulda been better," Applebloom admitted.

Sherry pulled her face away from her dad's chest long enough to see Jehu. "Mr. Jehu! What are you doing here?"

"Just getting to know your dad a little bit," Jehu said, grinning.

"Oh! We made a new friend today!" Sweetie Bell said.

Tyr blinked. "You did? Who are they?"

Scootaloo spotted someone in the crowd. "Hey, Ruby! Come over here!"

A young girl with short reddish-brown hair came over to them, a soft purple wool hat on her head. Tyr noticed the hat itself had a six pointed star woven into the side with black thread. "Yes?" She asked softly, her big brown eyes wide. She looked up at Jehu, and her eyes grew even wider. "Uncle!"

"Uncle?" Spike repeated, confused. "This guy's your uncle?"

Ruby nodded. "Uncle Jehu has been taking care of me for a long time now…"

"I have a big family," Jehu admitted with a grin.

"We learn more about you each time you show up," Tyr said with a chuckle.

"Then maybe I should stop showing up," The other man countered.

"Speaking of showing up, Sweetie Bell, I'm taking you home today. Your sister's a bit busy this morning with Pinkie Pie."

Sweetie Bell glanced over at Spike. "…Okay…"

"Who's picking the rest of you up?" Jehu asked, curious.

"My mom is getting me," Spike said.

Applebloom nodded. "And my big brother's coming to get me!"

"My ride's already here," Scootaloo said proudly. Everyone looked at her in confusion, several of them opening their mouths to question her. But before anyone could speak, there was a thud behind them. "I'm not too late, right?" Ace said, dusting off his jeans.

"Just in time, it seems," Jehu said with an amused smile.

"Hey bro," Ace said, gently punching Tyr in the arm. He looked over at Scootaloo. "Ready to go, squirt?"

"You know it!" Scootaloo hovered the few feet over to her adoptive father, to the shock of her friends.

"Scoots!" Applebloom exclaimed. "Y'all just flew!"

"Are your wings finally stronger?" Sherry asked.

"Only strong enough to hover a little," Scootaloo admitted sheepishly. She jumped up onto Ace's back, just between his wings.

"No big deal," Ace said with a grin. "She's got two professional fliers to coach her. She'll be soaring in no time."

"Until then, I'm just taking messages with my scooter."

Tyr raised an eyebrow. "Messages?"

"Yup! While dad's working, I take letters for Princess Celestia throughout town!"

"That's really cool," Applebloom said. She glanced over to the side. "Oh! There's my brother now! I'll see y'all tomorrow!"

She ran off. Ace snapped a salute to Tyr. "See ya later, bro!"

He flew off, the laughter of Scootaloo trailing behind them. Tyr ushered the two remaining girls into his truck. "So Jehu, how are you going to get home?"

"I have my ways," Jehu said with a grin. "Go on. We'll be seeing you."

"Okay then…"

"Oh, and by the way—Nice to see you, Fenrir!"

The wolf girl shot up in the back seat. "Arbiter! I had not realized…!"

"It's fine, I like being unassuming. Take good care of this man, alright?"

Fenrir nodded. "Of course."

"See you later, Ruby!" Sherry and Sweetie Bell said. The shy girl waved back. Tyr got into the driver's seat, Fenrir moving up to the front so Sherry and Sweetie Bell could sit together. As he drove away, he glanced into his rearview mirror. Jehu and Ruby were gone, and he could have sworn he saw something large flying away. Hopefully it was just his imagination.

"Alpha," Fenrir spoke up a few minutes later. Sherry and Sweetie Bell were discussing something that happened at school, so they weren't paying attention to them.

"Yes, Fenrir?" Tyr glanced down at the wolf girl. Fenrir's hair—and by extension, her fur—had lately become a dark shade of silver. The wolf spirit claimed it was because hers and Tyr's magic were becoming more and more connected.

"Have you had any strange feelings today? As if today would be out of the ordinary?"

"I have," Tyr replied, a little surprised Fenrir was feeling the same. But she was a spirit in tune with change, and any small change was enough to upset her nose. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Fenrir started to groom her tail. "But whatever happens, be on your guard, Alpha."

"Hey, Tyr," Sweetie Bell suddenly spoke up. "Is Sherry allowed to date?"

Tyr coughed. That came way outta left field, and even he couldn't say he was expecting it. "Um… what?"

"Well, I was just curious. Rarity got mad at me the other day for not telling her Spike and I was dating."

"I don't think you told anyone," Tyr pointed out. Sweetie Bell giggled nervously.

"Right… but you didn't answer my question."

"Well…" Tyr trailed off, glancing at his rearview mirror. Sherry was looking at him expectantly. "…As long as she finds someone I can approve of."

"Hopefully your standards aren't too high, dad," Sherry teased.

"Hey, be more worried about your mother. I'm sure she'll be more strict about who you date."

"Oh… I never thought about that."

They turned onto the street that led to Tyr's home, and found a pair of unmarked vans parked in front of the castle-home. That bad feeling from earlier came back. "Who's at your house Tyr?" Sweetie Bell asked.

"I don't know," Tyr said. He pulled into the driveway and they all piled out, Fenrir taking her usual spot hanging off Tyr's shoulder in her smaller form. They went inside to a peculiar scene. All of Tyr's housemates plus Trixie were in the living room, seated across from a pair of armored men in mechanical suits. Between the men was none other than his older sister, Nanna. She seemed extremely happy to see him.

"Little brother!" Nanna stood, a wide smile on her face. "About time you got home! I was just enjoying some time with my new extended family."

"Not fun," Hope said quietly.

Tyr sized up the pair of men flanking his sister. They were well built, and were armed in those exoskeletons that Nanna had developed. Neither of them looked particularly happy to be there. "Who are your friends?" Tyr asked, motioning for Sherry and Sweetie Bell to go upstairs. Sherry, easily reading into the situation, took Hope's hand and led her upstairs as well. Nanna watched them go.

"Don't remember Sherry having wings," She pointed out.

"A lot has happened over the year," Luna pointed out in response.

Nanna frowned ever so slightly. "I don't remember a white haired girl living here either. Or you living in a castle."

"Things happen," Chrys said, a little more forcefully than Luna. Tyr could feel the irritation coming off of his Changeling, and wished he was near her to calm her down. But his sister showing up with armed guards was still a big red warning light anyway. His own irritation was being felt by his Changeling. Chrys continued. "We could go on and on about the things that have changed since you were last here, but that would be quite tiresome, wouldn't it?"

"She has a point, Nanna," Tyr said. "In fact, I'd rather prefer it if you just told me what you're doing here."

Nanna frowned, sitting back down. "Can't a sister just come to see her little brother?"

"Not with armed guards."

"This sort of approach does not sit well with me," Luna said irritably. "Storming into our home with armed guards and claiming it is just a 'visit'?"

"Moon," Tyr said shortly, catching Luna before she went any further. The Princess of Dreams took a deep breath.

"…I apologize. But tell us why you are here."

Nanna's eyes narrowed and her mouth turned into a hard line. "…I started working with a government agency," She began. Tyr's demeanor fell almost immediately, and he turned away.

"Christ, Nanna, what have I told you…"

"I needed the funds for my project! The Gordian Knot was too much to handle in my smaller lab!"

"Gordian Knot?" Grace murmured.

"It's a relic of some other world that showed up after the Merge," Nanna explained. "It hold untold secrets, of powerful technology we have yet to realize. The Exo-suits are just the tip of what I can do with it!"

"And in exchange for funding you now make weapons," Tyr said shortly.

"Think about other uses, little brother!" Nanna pressed on, almost desperately. "We can use these on people who are physically unfit or missing limbs! People can walk again!"

Tyr frowned. "So then why are they not being used for that yet?"

Silence. Nanna shook her head. "I didn't come here to discuss this with you, Tyr."

"Then what?"

"We've… had surveillance on you."

"…You were watching me?"

"Not you in particular! It was mainly to keep eyes on the Princesses, to learn about them."

"You mean to discover if we have any weaknesses," Luna snapped.

"No we…"

"People fear what they do not understand," Tyr said quietly. "Didn't I always say that?"

Nanna fell silent. Her two bodyguards looked at one another. Silence reigned in the room again, but this time it was Chrys who spoke. "Are you ever going to tell us why the hell you're here?"

"I'm here for my brother," Nanna said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tyr asked. His patience was beginning to run thin.

"I need you to come with me. Back to my lab."

"Why?"

"Because you're a human being with magic, little brother!" Nanna said excitedly. "The first ever seen!"

"So you want me for study, is that it?"

"Just a… a few tests…"

"I'm surprised you'd even consider asking me," Tyr said, disgusted. "I have a family now Nanna, that I have to be there for. Two kids who are looking to their dad for guidance. I'm not going to just up and go with you just because you want to run tests. I'm not some guinea pig."

"That's not what I meant!" Nanna complained. "We just want to know where it comes from! Think of all the untold things we could do if we could duplicate it!"

Tyr folded his arms. "…I'm not helping you make more weapons, Nanna."

"That's not why I'm asking!"

"But it's the end result!"

"Look Tyr!" Nanna was beginning to grow angry as well. "The people I work for are really serious about this! If I don't bring you, they'll be coming after the Princesses—" She caught herself, but it was too late. The damage had been done.

"So it's not even me you're after. You want Luna and Celestia."

"Wait, Tyr we—"

"No more excuses, Nanna." Tyr's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to go with you, and I'm sure as hell not going to let you take Luna from me."

"Our bosses don't like being told no," One of the bodyguards said gruffly.

Tyr glanced over at the man. He stood up straight, matching the man in the mechanical suit inch for inch. For a long minute, he simply kept his gaze on him. When he spoke, his voice sent chills down the spine of everyone in the room. "I want you to realize something. People like you don't scare me. I've put bullets in more imposing men than you. No power on this planet is going to make me hand over my wife or anyone to you or whoever you work for, and I sure as hell aren't going to be intimidated by you. You try to hurt or take anyone from me, and you won't live to see the next day."

"Tyr…!" Nanna got up, but Tyr's cold, silver eyes fell on her next. At the force of his gaze, she sat back down.

"Nanna, you're my sister. We've always had rough patches between us, but that's the way siblings usually are. But I thought you knew me well enough to never ask something like this of me."

Nanna looked down at her lap. "I… I had no choice."

"You had a choice," Chrys said harshly. "But you made the wrong one."

Luna's magic glowed softly, and the front door swung open. Her voice was emotionless. "…Please leave."

Nanna looked around the room, finding cold stares from everyone present. Her welcome had been overstayed, and she could tell. She sighed. "This doesn't end with me, little brother," She warned.

Luna's reaction was quick. "I will not ask you kindly again," She said, the glow of magic enveloping her. "Leave. Now. And take your men with you."

Nanna said no more, instead simply standing up and walking to the door. Her bodyguards followed, and like that, they were gone. The sound of the van's starting up signaled the tension in the room to finally dissipate. "I can't believe her," Tyr said softly.

"Was it alright to be that harsh to her?" Grace asked.

Chrys snorted. "She deserved that amount of harshness."

Tyr sighed. "Nanna… has always seen the world a bit differently than most people. I blame the fact that she spent so much time experimenting and hypothesizing that she just doesn't have social skills. But to think she'd ask that of me…"

Grace sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing," She said.

"I think we've all had that today," Fenrir offered, hopping from Tyr's shoulder to the couch.

Luna stood up. "Beloved, will you come upstairs for a moment? Grace, the kids are taking a nap in the other room, so could you…?"

"I don't mind at all," The red haired woman replied with a smile. Luna took Tyr's hand and led him upstairs. She didn't say a word until they were locked into their room, a soundproofing spell on the door.

"Um…" Tyr raised an eyebrow. "Moon?"

She kissed him then, roughly. There was passion in this kiss, and she used the surprise and momentum to knock him flat onto the bed. She finally came up for a breath a moment later. "Did you like that?" She asked huskily, running her hands along his side.

"Well, of course," Her lover replied with a grin. "But where did this come from all of a sudden? You're usually a little more… reserved.

"It may be just because I now have Nightmare Moon's half of my emotions, but when you threatened that man…" She shivered slightly. "Maybe Nightmare Moon preferred stronger men?"

Tyr smirked, and hooked one leg under Luna's, pulling it over and reversing the position. The Princess of Dreams looked up at him with a mixture of surprise and lust. "Well. I can't disappoint now, can I?"

Below, Chrys suddenly shivered. Grace looked up from her spot beside the sleeping twins at her. "Something wrong Chrys? Are you cold?"

"No, nothing of the sort."

"Then what?"

Chrys smirked, a slight blush growing on her cheeks. "Midday snack," She replied.

-x-

It was a little past midnight when Tyr awoke. The room was dark and a little chilly, but the warm body stuck to his side was warmth enough for him. Despite how comfortable he was, something just didn't feel right. The slight shifting beneath him signaled his wife was awake. "Moon," He ventured quietly, "You awake?"

"I am," Luna replied softly. Her cerulean eyes opened and angled up to look at him. "What is it?"

"One second." He used his sonar pulse again, letting the argent glow rush through the house. Luna shifted ever so slightly as she felt the wave of magic, but stayed silent. Tyr felt his magic outline Chrys and Hope, Sherry, then the twins, and then Grace. And then about a dozen other figures were outlined on the bottom floor. Figures that should not be here. "…There are people in the house."

"Other people?"

"People who shouldn't be here."

Tyr got out of bed quickly, retrieving Fenrir from her sheath on the wall while Luna went to the wall beside the door. Tyr could feel the wolf spirit awaken in the blade, a question in the feeling. He made a mental promise to explain later. Last but not least, he retrieved his pistol from its lockbox on the dresser. He took a place on the other side of the door away from Luna. [Chrissy]

[Yes, Master?] The gentle thought came back.

[We have uninvited guests]

[I have noticed. What do you need me to do?]

[Make sure they don't get to the kids or Hope—]

"Tyr!" Luna hissed sharply. He glanced over at her, noting just momentarily how sexy she looked in a simple nightgown. He couldn't help it. He was a guy after all. Tyr redirected his distracting thoughts just as Luna spoke again. "I cannot sense Hope's dreams!"

"What?" Tyr failed to see why that was such a bad thing until he realized the connection. If Hope was not dreaming, she was awake. And Hope had a habit of getting little snacks at night whenever she could not sleep. He used his magic as a sonar pulse again, and sure enough Esperanza was out of bed and moving to her door. She was moving quietly, but the moment that door opened… "…Get ready."

Luna didn't speak, instead her magic spoke for her as she was illuminated by a dark blue glow. Through the Bond, he felt Chrys's magic awaken as well. After a year of training, Tyr had pushed his physical and magical senses to another level, and he could hear the soft boot steps of the armed men outside in the hall clearly. To anyone else, they would have been ghosts in the night. But to a sniper who was already trained to hear a pin drop at preposterous distances already, they were like a marching band in the street.

And probably most of them were going to die.

Hope's room had been around the corner from the stairwell, and the drowsy girl had just come around it as the first man reached the top of the stairs. They both froze as her eyes met his goggled ones. She blinked twice, rubbing her eyes just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. When the man didn't disappear, she started to panic. Seeing the girl suddenly open her mouth to scream, the lead soldier raised his weapon and fired one shot. Hope's magic sprung unbidden to her defense, a golden barrier of magic deflecting the shot and making it thud into the wall. Hope then proceeded to scream in pure, abject terror.

"Shut her up!" The lead soldier said, rushing up as the rest of his team moved up. The man fired several more shots at Hope, the girl shutting down and cowering in a ball. The loud sounds of the gunshots had terrified her. Luckily, her magic was not as unresponsive as she was, and held up against the bullets. He managed to take two steps before a furious Tyr burst from his and Luna's room and flung Fenrir at him, the sword spinning twice before burying itself blade first in his chest. He only managed to grunt as he fell back. The second soldier, seeing his comrade die, raised his weapon to fire. But before he could pull the trigger, Chrys came hurtling from a side room, slamming into him and carrying him over the railing. The third up was shot in the throat. At this point, the men were quickly realizing the trap they had walked into. They tried to push back downstairs, only to find Luna waiting for them. The temperature in the stairwell dropped several degrees, frost growing on the walls and the gear of the men there. They tried to fight free, a couple managing to get out of the stairs even as the rest began to freeze to death. Luna trapped the survivors in a cage made of magic.

"You all seem to be in the wrong house," She said darkly. Tyr came downstairs, Hope clinging to him. Chrys came down after him, licking blood off her claws as usual.

"It's okay now, Hope," He said comfortingly, stroking her hair. She calmed down a little bit, but seeing the two men Luna had captured, immediately hid behind Tyr. She shook her head vigorously.

"No!" She said. "No loud noise! Hope no like!"

"Hope…"

Luna looked over at her two captives. With a motion of her hand, they were stripped of their weapons. "Now that we have that out of the way, who are you?"

"We won't talk," One of the men said, still defiant. Luna's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, they became the serpentine ones of Nightmare Moon.

"That's terrible. You won't be able to tell me how you'd like to die."

"You wouldn't!"

"You barged into our house and tried to kill Hope," Tyr pointed out. "Plus, we've killed all your men except for you two."

The two men shared a look. "You brought this on yourselves," The other man said.

A spike of ice shot up from the ground and impaled the man's leg, eliciting a sharp intake of breath and a muffled scream. Tyr managed to cover Hope's eyes before it happened. The first man looked at his friend in horror, gaze snapping back to Luna. "You bi—"

"You might want to watch what you say," Luna said darkly. "I am not as benevolent as my sister. I will kill you if I must. Tell me who sent you, and I might have some mercy."

The man weighed his options for a moment, his friend too busy coping with pain to respond. He finally realized he only had one option. "…We were sent by the Agency to bring you in."

"The Agency?" Luna frowned. "What kind of name is that?"

"Ask his sister," The man said, gesturing to Tyr.

"Nanna works for them?" Tyr murmured, somewhat surprised. "And they sent armed soldiers after us?"

"This is just the beginning," The soldier said. "The fate of humanity relies on learning about Equestrian Magic. And once we do, we will be ready to face whatever comes from any other dimension."

They stared at him in mild shock. "You… you plan on going to other dimensions?" Tyr asked quietly.

"The Equestrians caused the Merge. They have to hold the secret for going back!"

Luna and Tyr shared a look. "For someone who professes to be doing their best for humanity, you sure are ignorant of the truth," Luna pointed out. With a snap of her fingers, the two men vanished.

"Where did you send them?" Chrys asked. Luna let out a heavy sigh as her eyes reverted back to normal.

"I sent them far away," Luna explained. "Far enough away that they won't be bothering us for a while."

"When those men don't report back, we'll have trouble," Tyr warned. "We should prepare for the worst."

"…I fear you are correct, beloved."

"For now, we should get some rest. We can talk to your sister in the morning." He turned his head to look at Hope. "You ready to go back to bed, Hope?"

"Scared," Hope said simply, not letting him go.

"Oh boy." For such a mature looking girl, Hope had the mindset of a young child. "Would you feel better if you slept with Luna and I tonight?"

She perked up at that. "Really? I can?"

"Yes, you can. Come on."

As the man led the snow haired girl upstairs, Chrys lingered behind with Luna. The Princess of Dreams was silent, staring at the place where the men had just been. Her eyes traveled over to where the other men were still frozen on the stairwell, her magic coming to life long enough to warp them away. When that was finished, she glanced over at the silent Changeling. "…What?"

"You enjoyed killing them," Chrys said softly, the ghost of a smile on her face. "Didn't you?"

"And what if I did?"

Chrys moved across the few feet between them in a second. A smile was on her face as she took the other woman into a hug. "There is nothing wrong at all, Luna. Simply do not lose that feeling."

"Chrys…?"

"Emotions remind us that we are alive," Chrys explained, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "So do not fault yourself for what you feel."

"Even if I feel… wrong?"

"You have a man that loves you," Chrys reminded her, letting her go. She moved away and back to the foot of the stairs. "Talk to him about what you feel. He'll listen. Don't bottle it up."

"…You really have become my friend, Chrys," Luna said. Chrys smirked.

"I thought I already was."

The Changeling slipped back upstairs, leaving Luna alone. The Princess of Dreams stayed there for a moment longer, running through her conflicted thoughts. She never wanted to simply kill a person, but being able to destroy her enemies with ease was never a terrible thing. So now she was left with a dilemma. Was she happy to kill? Did she enjoy it?

"Moon."

She turned, finding an amused Tyr looking at her from the stairs. "Yes?"

"Are you coming to bed or are you going to be debating whether or not you enjoy killing people?"

He had impeccable timing. She guessed Chrys must have told him. "You… you know?"

"I went through the same thing, love."

Luna's eyes widened as she remembered. Her husband's previous occupation had been a sniper—someone whose job it was to kill in cold blood from a distance away. He was no stranger to killing. "So… feeling like this isn't wrong?"

"Conflicted? Of course not. That's normal. Just don't dwell on it for too long or you'll drive yourself crazy."

"I see. …Thank you for being here for me, beloved."

"Always," Tyr said with a soft smile. "Now come up to bed. Hope won't sleep without both of us there."

Luna sighed, but a smile crossed her face. "I swear, she is more of a child than our own children."

"Let's just be glad all this excitement didn't wake up the kids," Tyr said as she came up to him. "Otherwise our bed would be pretty full."

"Oh, and tonight would have been quite nice night for just the two of us," Luna complained, sidling up to him.

"Oh, you little tease!"

"Tomorrow then, beloved." Luna smiled. She would come up with some reason for her and Tyr to be alone in the house. She needed time alone with her husband anyway. Any time she could spend with him was precious.

Nanna, the portent of doom. And if anyone is wondering what my idea of exo-suit is like, I was kinda imagining them to look like the suits from Modern Warfare or even XCOM 2. I just could not think of how to describe them accurately, so its open to interpretation.

But there we have it, readers of all denominations. I hope you'll Read, Review, and Return for the next chapter, which I will be diligently working on. Don't forget: The Library Accepts All.

Totsiens! (Afrikaans, according to my translator)