Vendetta, Part 1: Corruption, Chapter 5: Wintry Revelation

Vendetta, Part 1: Corruption, Chapter 5: Wintry Revelation Vendetta, Part 1: Corruption, Chapter 5: Wintry Revelation

Amber turned around, glancing fearfully up the hill. <What is it?> King asked her.

"There's something... I can feel... Oh, something terrible happened!" Without another word, Amber began to run up the hill. King followed her immediately, with Dan and Chase close behind.

Soon, they were pushing through deep snowdrifts, up to where the meteor had landed seven years ago. It had since been removed to a science lab near Winters, but the crater remained, its presence marked by a slight depression in the snow.

King had dropped back to make sure that Dan and Chase knew where they were going. As they crested the top of the hill, they saw Amber kneeling next to a brown fuzzy shape. King snarled quietly. He could smell it; it was a coyote. He didn't like coyotes. When he saw Amber was speaking to it, however, he kept his feelings to himself.

<So,> the coyote was saying, <you heard the call too?>

Amber nodded, confirming that she had. "What happened?"

<You're a clever one, then. There's another coyote what's been killed, 'bout 50 miles up north.>

Amber glanced northward, to where the dead coyote was probably lying. "Who could do such a thing?"

Amber relayed this information to Dan and Chase. "No kidding," Dan said. "Then Tracy made it out alive."

"And it sounds like she's with someone who won't hesitate to kill," Amber added. "The coyote who died.. he wasn't trying anything, was he?"

The coyote seemed uneasy. <It's been a rough year fer coyotes.. he probably thought she had somethin' to eat. I don't suppose you have something to eat?> he added, sounding as pathetic as a wet rag. Amber dug in the trenchcoat's pockets and gave him half of a muffin.

<Mmph... Mmmhmm, tasty.> The coyote staggered to his paws. <Right, then I'll be headin' north to see what's to do with that unlucky feller.>

Amber said the traditional coyote farewell, as she had learned it long ago in the Peaceful Rest Valley. "May Sgis smile on your homeland, wherever it should be."

The coyote looked at her with admiration. <You are a clever one.> Then with a quick bound, he was off, leaping northward through the snow.

Chase turned and looked down the hill. "Hey, the others are at the house.. looks like they're running into the forest."

"We'd better catch up to them," Dan said. They began to work their way down the hill. The going was easier, since they could follow the trail they'd broken coming up.

"Holy cow," PikaChan said upon reaching the house. "That's really weird; the house just exploded? Now THAT's something for Mysterious Mysteries." She scratched behind one of her ears in confusion.

Paithan was picking through the wreckage, looking for any signs of Tracy, or the cause of the explosion.

"What do you think could have happened?" Lucky asked to no one in particular.

"We can think about that later; we have to find Tracy right now!" Paithan shouted from the remains of the house.

"This would make for an excellent story!" Skulryk commented. He pulled out his camera and began recording footage of the wreckage.

"Hey Skul, this really isn't the time for videos," Lucky said. "That girl could be hurt."

PikaChan was debating with herself. *I wonder... maybe I should try and lift some of the wreckage with my PSI? ...No... I don't wanna make a fool of myself or anything. But that girl... I wonder where she could be? Hmm...* She closed her eyes and began concentration.

Riley looked at her. "PikaChan? Are you alright?" he asked.

*Leave her alone,* the voice in his head said. *She's in deep concentration.*

*I can see that, but what-*

Riley's thought was interrupted by PikaChan's head suddenly snapping up. "THERE!" She began running past the wreckage, to a small cluster of trees several yards past it.

"What?" Paithan asked from the house.

"Maybe she found that girl!" Riley exclaimed, running after PikaChan.

The others looked at each other, then took off after them.

Skulryk held his camera over his shoulder and walked over to the place where PikaChan and the others had gathered. There was a cluster of trees, and a pile of debris was in the center.

Riley stepped up to the debris and carefully cleared them. Everyone was silent, and Skulryk turned his camera back on and began recording. Riley cleared away the final piece of debris, a long board which was covering the area.

Lucky saw the sight and was unable to hold his stomach, turning around and throwing up. It was a very large pool of blood; it was not very old, as it had not sunken into the ground yet. The group stood in shock. Even Paithan could not speak for several moments.

Lucky turned back, looking at the puddle in disgust. He was the first to speak, in a quiet and somewhat broken voice. "What... what happened here? Ugh..."

Paithan had come over just in time to see what was there. He spoke up. "All this blood... A person wouldn't live after losing this blood. Yet... There's no body nearby. There's not even a trail of blood leading somewhere, as if someone was carried off..." His voice took on an edge of fear. "Shouldn't there be something? Anything?"

PikaChan simply stared at the pool of blood. This doesn't make sense... What did I feel? I could have sworn it was the girl...

"All this just doesn't feel right." Eric said. "I don't like how this is going at all. It makes no sense, and it's really creeping me out..."

Skulryk turned his camera off. He took out his notepad and scribbled a few notes, deep in thought. Solemnly, he closed the notepad and put the camera away, shaking his head. "I like getting big news stories, but... not like this."

----

Seong-un climbed off Grey Hand Bus, now in Threed. Having gone oh-for-five at the Fourside adoption agencies, he theorized that perhaps his parents had erred, thinking Fourside when they had meant Threed.

He moved into the Threed Sunset Hotel and asked for the phone book.

"Oh, we're sorry," the male receptionist said. "We don't carry phone books in Eagleland; you're supposed to memorize the phone numbers you want to call."

Seong-un felt his legs weaken. Suddenly, comedically, he slumped to the ground, his face hitting the linoleum floor of the hotel square on his nose. As he struggled back to his feet, he quickly ran his right index along the lower edge of his nose.

Great, I feel a nosebleed coming on, he mutter-thought, and nasally inhaled rather loudly.

"Sir?" the receptionist asked, seemingly concerned. "What number did you want to call?"

"I didn't want numbers," replied Seong-un. "I wanted addresses."

"Why didn't you say so?" exclaimed a dumbstruck receptionist. He dove under his desk. Seong-un heard scrabbling through a series of drawers.

The receptionist pulled out a rather thick volume.

"What is that?" Seong-un asked. "And why didn't you show it to me to begin with?"

"I told you we don't have phone books; we have address books." The receptionist leaned over to Seong-un and added, "By some strange turn of events, we also include phone numbers in our address books."

Seong-un paled. Is all Eagleland like this?. "Oh. What are the addresses of any Threed adoption agencies?"

The receptionist rapidly rifled through a ream of the pages in the address book. He quickly scribbled down a name and address, handing it to Seong-un.

"Here. This is our only local adoption agency. If you want adoption agencies, try Fourside."

"Thanks. And I already did; I struck out, as you say." Seong-un pocketed the slip of paper and walked out of the hotel.

My memories are clouded ... my history is clouded ... I am surrounded by a nebula of mystery, he thought, rubbing the jewels on his ring. Again.

----

Even the sight of blood couldn't keep Paithan silent for long. Soon thoughts came into his head that, quite against his will, streamed out of his mouth as quickly as they streamed into his head.

"Wow, I've never been to a crime scene before! And a murder scene at that! Or is it a murder? I mean, there's no body and for it to be murder and you need a body, right? Maybe it has to do with who lived in that house? Who lived in that house? Wait a minute!" Paithan's hand shot into one of his pockets and shifted around in it. He pulled out a picture, after much digging, and did his best to see it. He went to Eric to show him. "See? I think this must be the family. The picture's a little burned, though."

The picture was a family photo of the Lee family. The mother standing in the middle, an older boy to the left, and a younger girl to the right. The picture was burnt some on the right side, though, and some of the girl's description was lost.

Eric tried to look closer and Paithan handed it to him. "Where did you get this?" he asked.

"Well, I think it was from the debris. I don't know where all the other stuff in my pockets comes from, but I distinctly remember picking that up. Um, maybe they know this family?" Paithan pointed to four figures coming after them through the trees. Paithan almost immediately recognized Chase and was about to hail him, but Riley tapped him on the shoulder.

"What else do you have in your pockets?" he said.

Paithan looked at Riley as if he'd just been told he won the lottery.

"Oh, lot's of stuff, I'm sure. I normally don't realize I've picked stuff up, but mostly it's stuff people have lying around. Honestly, you'd think people would take better care of their stuff."

Paithan prepared to empty his pockets right here in the snow, but Eric patted him on the back saying, "Maybe later, Paithan. We have stuff to do."

Riley looked almost as disappointed as Paithan.

----

"Hey, what's up, you guys look sick." Chase was nonchalant about things, not having seen the blood pool yet.

Eric stepped aside. "That's what's up. I don't know how it got there, how old it is, and who's, or what's, blood it is. And, frankly, I don't wanna know."

Paithan gave the picture to Chase, and asked, "Any idea who that family is? I found it in the debris from the house."

Chase shrugged and passed the picture around. Amber showed King the picture. The dog barked a few times, and Amber looked up, "That's King's family, the Lees. The boy's Ness, the girl's his sister Tracy, and that's their mom."

"Oh...K." Eric didn't believe he just saw a girl talk to a dog, but then looked at PikaChan, and dismissed the disbelief. He turned away for a second, and thought, This night is just getting weirder and weirder. First, a girl with strange ears and a tail, and now one that talks to animals. I should've waited 'til morning.

Paithan dug around for something in his pockets. "Just a second, guys, I think I know what to do..." He continued feeling around, until... "got it!" He pulled out a small, old-looking canteen and handed it to Dan, "Put some of the blood in there, we need to find out whose this is."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Blood? In a canteen? I dunno if I wanna carry something like that around. Kinda... weird."

Eric made a joke. "It's a canteen or animal skins." Amber gave him a rough shove. "Hey, what was that about?"

"Okay, okay. I'll be a man and do it." Dan carefully got a bit into the canteen, and quickly closed the stopper.

"That's weird, though. All this blood, but nothing to account for it..." Chase trailed off. "Anyway, what should we do with this, now that we have it?"

Dan spoke up. "There's a lab at Happy Happy Village. I don't know if it'd be worth dodging the Scientologists, but I guess we could try."

Paithan shuddered a bit. "Scientologists aren't the kindest folks. Really territorial."

Pikachan snickered. "Pah! Look at this. We're afraid of a bunch of cultist psychos! We can take them."

"You obviously haven't dealt with Scientologists." Paithan spoke solemnly, and Dan nodded in agreement.

"Look, in any case, we aren't getting much done in the woods of Onett. Why don't we take the bus to Twoson and think things over from there?" Skulryk said.

"Eh, I guess you're right. But don't say I didn't warn you. Remember, never underestimate a Scientologist."

----

Rasheed and Dio had been walking for five minutes when they noticed that their latest accomplice was no longer in tow.

Dio whirled around angrily, her tail whipping around to follow.

"Where did that girl go? She was here a minute ago!" Dio snapped, gnashing her teeth. She stopped when she felt Rasheed's tentacled arm rest on her shoulder, pulling her back.

"Dio, allow me to handle this," He said soothingly, patting her on the back. Although tempted to swat his hand away, Dio was at a loss. In her current state, there was no magic she could invoke that would right the situation, so rather than make a fool of herself she decided to let Rasheed settle things.

"What do you have planned?" Dio asked, realizing suddenly that Rasheed had no more advantage than she did. This was pointless, however, as Rasheed was already gone.

-----

Rasheed floated through several groves of trees until he spotted Tracy by a cliffside, gazing quietly over the town of Onett. Rasheed scratched his head with his tail, strangely bemused.

"Homesick already?" He thought, raising his eyebrows. "It’s too late to go back. She’s just holding us up now!" With that, Rasheed made his presence known in the clearing.

"Tracy, we've been looking all over for you!" Rasheed called, his voice dripping with honey. Inside, the sound of his own sugary sweet voice was almost enough to make him puke, but it seemed to work as Tracy glanced up immediately.

"Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking." Tracy responded, grinning slightly. Her grin faded as Rasheed's cold, black eyes drifted across the town below. However, his eyes lightened merrily before Tracy could be concerned.

"Do you miss your home already? Were there people you wanted to say goodbye to? We could have done that, but--" Rasheed paused as the wheels began to turn in his head. When they had destroyed the house, he had seen people running out of the southern cafe and toward Twoson. Maybe he was crazy, but it was possible that those were the disturbances which Dio was talking about. If he could get Tracy to believe his lies, she might just commit herself wholeheartedly to his goal.

"-But it might be dangerous to go down there!" He finished, his voice high with mock fear. The young girl, falling for the ploy, raised her eyebrows.

"Why?"

"Because there's a group of people who are out to hurt you, and they're headed up here to kill you as we speak!" He cried, his false enthusiasm coming off poorly even to him. Hence, he was surprised when Tracy balled up her fists and narrowed her eyes.

"Who are they? And why do they want to kill me!?"

"Who are they?" Rasheed repeated, wracking his brain. Think, Rasheed, think! He cursed mentally, desperately trying to come up with names. Just before the pause became too obvious, he chimed in with a quick list.

"Uh....there was a guy named...uh...Siris...and another one was named...uh...Rusty-"

"You mean Rustopher? Rustopher and Siris?" Tracy snapped, startling Rasheed. His jaw dropped, and all he could do was nod dumbly.

"Yeah, Rustopher and Siris...I guess..." He echoed lamely. If it were at all possible, Tracy narrowed her eyes even further. Turning around, she glared menacingly at the town below.

"They’re friends of Ness’s!"

Rasheed glanced appraisingly at the town below, his coal-like eyes burning into the humble houses dotting the countryside. Tracy stared at Rasheed, mystified.

"Someone is trying to kill me?" She asked, her eyes wide, the reality dawning on her at last. Doing his best to not roll his own eyes, Rasheed nodded gravely.

"Yes, people are out to kill you. They know about your power now, and-" Rasheed, paused, thinking fast, "They've told Ness! He's so jealous of your power that he's leading the party to kill you!"

Tracy, at a loss for words, stood numbly in the clearing. Using this to his advantage, Rasheed led her back into the forest, where Dio was waiting. Dio hissed at him out of Tracy's earshot.

"Did you take care of the problem?" She whispered, her tail flicking out behind her. Rasheed nodded mutely, letting go of Tracy's hand. As he did, Tracy's legs gave out from under her, and she fell down in the dirt.

"My own brother, out to kill me...I can't believe it!" She gasped, her breath coming quickly. Dio raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her partner, but he silenced her with a wave of his hand.

"There's only one thing you can do in a situation like this," Rasheed replied forlornly, sitting down as best he could besides Tracy. The girl looked up at him, her eyes slightly watery.

"What's that?" She asked, biting her lip.

"You have to kill him first."

Tracy's mouth opened wide, but she shut it moments later. A dark look came over her, and her blue eyes clouded grey.

"You're right. He's just jealous of me, and he wants to stop me. I'll show him; I'll show them all!" She snarled, standing up. Rasheed nodded with approval.

"Now that we've cleared up all this mess, it's time to get down to business." Rasheed and Dio stepped forward into a beam of light, allowing Tracy to get a good look at them for the first time. The duo were nothing more than ghosts, yet they held an eerie quality to them. The only difference between the two was the color of their skin; Dio a seaweed green, and Rasheed a midnight black. Although Dio was quite menacing in her own right, Rasheed's black ectoplasm blended in perfectly with his horns, creating the appearance of a living shadow.

"In order for us to bestow the great power on you," Rasheed began, "We must first be revived. You, with the power to harness the path of light, can help us. There are only two places in Eagleland with strong concentrations of the path of light; One, the Path of Light Island, and the other, The Solid Light Temple. The island is quite far from here, east of Fourside, but the Solid Light temple is directly south of here; less than a few days away. If we get going now, Dio and I should be revived in no time."

"And once you're revived?" Tracy asked, her gray eyes perking up. Rasheed grinned evilly, flashing his teeth.

"The power will be yours."

----

The bitter winter frost licked at the trees, casting the branches in disarray. Tufts of snow from the ground kicked up, sending sheets of powder into the air. Amid the desolate cold, a breath was visible. A purely white ghost, one possessing a set of blue spectacles that seemed to support themselves on sheer air, withdrew from the shadows of a gnarled tree trunk. He scratched his black horn curiously, his other 'arm' melding into the side of his ethereal form, as if his hand was in a pocket.

Rasheed, Dio, and Tracy had already gone off in search of a means of reviving themselves, and Talus was left with many things to ponder. Behind him, a similar ghost appeared, this one even paler, yet possessing several red stripes that encircled his form, giving him the appearance of a candy cane. Raltise grinned.

"The Path of Light island...yes, I remember it well. Mmm hmm...you are buried there, are you not?" Talus shot him a wicked look.

"Yes, I am. I think we know who to thank for that one. But we have bigger problems on our hands right now." He frowned, looking back into the eddies of snow, squinting as if this very action would make clear the forms that he sought. "Those two. I saw them in the Underworld. And they're definitely up to no good."

Raltise crossed his arms over his chest and floated forward. "And what makes you think that?"

"There's obviously some reason that they want to be revived. And they're corrupting Ness's younger sister to do it."

"Ah yes...the Young Protector...how fares he these days?"

Talus smirked. "He's a world-renowned hero. So are the other three, after they killed you. Hell, everyone who was involved in the battle on the SS Thed and elsewhere have become legends in their own right. I even have my own little following." Talus grinned at this, but then paused. The smile slowly faded, and he turned back to the encompassing darkness. "But that shouldn't be our concern right now. What I want to know is why Tracy is going along with all of this."

"Why, Young Master! Isn't it obvious? The very reason escaped your own lips!"

Talus frowned.

Raltise sighed. "She is jealous of her brother. And she's young. She's rebelling."

"Yeah? Well this type of rebelling could have some really major consequences."

"So, what do you suggest? That we follow them? Step in and stop them?"

"No, too risky. We don't know what those two are capable of. And if Tracy is anything like Ness...well, you know what happens to Stinky Ghosts. We'll end up right back where we started. Besides, I've heard everything I need. We need to find some way of getting the word out, though."

"That is all well and good, but we are dead! There are few who can see us, and fewer who will recognize us..."

Talus paused. Something tugged at the back of his memory. He struggled with the fleeting thought, attempting to pull it to the surface, but it left no more than a glimmer. Still, it was enough.

"I have a hunch that there's someone we can go to. But you're right, we can't go like this. If those two are going to try to revive themselves, we're going to have to do the same."

"Yes, but we'll never beat them in time to this...Light Temple..."

The specter with the warm brown eyes grinned and held up a finger. "You're right, but there's some place else we can go, and it's a lot easier to get to for us."

"The island? But that's miles away! We'd never make it. You've gone quite mad, Young Master!"

"Wrong!" Talus yelled triumphantly. "You forget that my body is buried there. There's a funny thing about that...it acts as a sort of beacon. We can traverse the overworld faster than light if I can just lock onto it."

"Well then! What are you waiting for? Get to it!" Raltise cried. Talus glared at him.

"Who was the servant again here? Now be quiet so I can think." Raltise muttered. Talus closed his eyes.

His mind roared across the expanse of the overworld, zooming like a guided missile toward his intended target. The strain placed on him to perform this task was incredible -- let alone the concentration, Talus had to contend with his own mixed emotions. He had died five years ago, laid to rest on this solemn beach, and here he was, traveling to meet...himself. The whole situation was almost too much to bear.

Talus winced. He had found it. His form began to phase in and out of reality. Raltise noticed this, and frowned somewhat, his eyes growing wide. Talus' eyes darted open and he grabbed Raltise by the wrist. The two of them winked out of existence. A single thought escaped from Talus as he did so.

"I'm returning..."

----

Luna woke up in a cold sweat. A single thought had shattered the calm of her dreams in an instant, and it had broken her from her dreamstate. She sat up, breathing heavily at first, then finally swallowing hard. She looked about, reacquainting herself with her surroundings before throwing off the covers and heading for the kitchen.

She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. Looking out the window at the newly falling snow, she suddenly became aware of the immense quiet to be found in the darkness. It unsettled her.

That voice...it sounded all too familiar. It was...returning? She didn't know what it meant, but she knew she would find out soon. Perhaps sooner than she expected...

Luna took a sip of water.

----

"Ah, I had forgotten how...quaint...this island was. Quite so! Yes, and what have we here?" Raltise curled his tail around a wrist that was sticking straight up in the air. He gave it a tug, and the sand loosened around the small mound that had formed. Talus frowned.

"Hey, have some respect for -- err, me. Anyway, it's pure luck that it's still in perfect condition. I guess the Light keeps things from decaying..."

"Forgive me, Young Master, but--"

"What?"

"Well, this may sound peculiar, but your body seems to have...aged." Raltise was right. Through some strange coincidence, Talus' lifeless body had aged exactly five years while on the Path of Light island, yet miraculously it had not decayed in the slightest. Talus wrapped his own tail around a protruding foot and gave it a tug. More sand loosened.

"I guess with the whole recall method, it forced the body to the surface. How convenient. Come on, give me a hand with this thing!" The two specters slowly unearthed the shell, though in the end this turned out to be no difficulty, for their ethereal state warranted them nearly limitless strength. They had no need for muscle strain in this form. Regardless, the two hoisted the body in the air and headed up the long stretch of Horizon Drive, toward the central mountain where the Light would be harnessed.

"I am surprised that the Apple of Enlightenment is not here...yes, mm hmm..quite! And perhaps, a bit disappointed."

"Shut up already! Just help me with this thing."

At last, they reached the end of the straight path. They crossed over into the Light. The body they were carrying dissolved immediately.

"Hey, what the--!?" Talus gasped. "Where'd it go!? I need that!" He yelled, his voice echoing across the expanse of whiteness. Raltise let loose a horrid strain of laughter.

"It appears that you do not get your wish, Young Master! Oh, not at all -- oh wait never mind."

Talus had barely noticed the feeling of coming under the sway of the laws of physics once again. He did a double-take, waving his arms about and looking down at himself in disbelief. He had become reborn, in essence -- he was back in his body. Although the body was five years older. He now stood at over six feet tall, a young man of twenty-three, his white hair quite long and wavy, and extremely disheveled. It stuck in all directions. His clothing could use some work, but for the moment he was dressed in a pair of black dress pants and a long sleeved black turtleneck. He smiled. "Not too bad." His hand traveled up to his eyes to habitually adjust his glasses -- only he then realized that he had none. He scrunched up his nose, as if trying to remember where he had left them. "Well, it could use some work."

Raltise tapped his foot impatiently. "Yes, but what about me? I had no body, if you recall! What am I supposed to do -- oh wait never mind." Talus snickered slightly. Raltise was once again in all his malevolent glory -- almost. His skin couldn't have been paler, and his crimson eyes shone with an intense ferocity. His features had reverted more or less to his pre-Nightmare Rock state; he did not possess the long, flowing hair that he achieved on the moment of his ascension. Yet most striking of all was his attire -- no longer did he possess the slimming black jumpsuit that was so characteristic of him, but rather a green and yellow Hawaiian shirt, complete with a pair of blue shorts which ended just at the knees, his ghastly white shins completely visible. He muttered under his breath.

"I suppose that the powers that be have a wry sense of humor. But this matters not! For I --"

"Alright Raltise, we need to get going. I have a vague idea of where to go, and we need to head out as fast as possible."

"Not...so...fast...Young Master."

Talus turned around slowly where he met the most wicked sneer imaginable. Raltise's eyes danced with an eerie light.

"I am once again free, no longer must I bear my punishment! Yes, yes! And now, the destruction of your world shall commence! Adieu!" He twirled his finger in the air.

He frowned, and did it again.

And again.

Talus crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "Are you done? Now sit." Raltise grumbled, almost immediately feeling compelled to sit on the ground like a loyal dog. He did so. Talus grinned. "I thought so. And maybe it'd be worthwhile to recall that you're in a finite form now. Even if you were free, you couldn't do anything. Now get up and follow me."

Talus turned away and pulled the milky whiteness about him apart. The solidity of The Light seemed to tear apart in that instant, and a dark hallway began to take form. "Incredible..." He murmured. "The Light truly is amazing...merely a thought, and you can go anywhere, do anything..."

Raltise gritted his teeth and followed him through the mist. It dissolved about him, and The Light faded to an eerily calm darkness. He felt more at ease in this. Before them, a door rested in the wall. The Light escaping to parts unknown behind them, the two now found themselves in what seemed to be the hall of an apartment complex. Talus shrugged, and approached the door.

----

A knocking stirred the apartment to life. Luna, poised by the windowsill with a glass of water, immediately cocked her head to the source of the sound. She rose, placing the glass on the sill, and she inched over to the fireplace, where she pulled the massive sword down from over the mantle. She unsheathed it, tiptoeing toward the door. Venus arose from her slumber on the loveseat.

"Luna? What's going on?" Luna turned to her and placed a finger over her own mouth, as if urging her to be silent. Teddy and Jimmy crawled groggily off of their spot by the couch as well. They looked curiously at Luna who, with sword slung over her shoulder, had approached the door, her hand on the knob. She cautiously turned it, pulling it back, ready to strike out into the awaiting blackness.

The door opened with a groan.

"Hey there." Talus chimed. He closed his eyes, scratching his head innocently. "I know this might sound odd coming from a complete stranger, but I really need to talk to you. Can I come in?" He flashed his winningest smile.

Luna's face, which was a picture of utter shock upon first opening the door and glancing at the two individuals before her, now went almost numb. The sword clattered to the floor, and she fell backward, right into Venus's arms, unconscious. Talus frowned. Raltise, meanwhile, was finding this whole scenario highly entertaining. Talus turned to him, a look of utter perplexity on his face.

"...Did I say something wrong?"