16
Moonlight
“Aurora! I-I have to get to her now!”
Luna lifted herself up amidst her dizzy state.
My body feels like it’s had the biggest shock of its life! Images of her keep popping into my head too! I have to make sure she’s alright!
Before she jumped down the open hole on the roof, she remembered Chloe was currently injured on the floor and needed help. She felt like an idiot for letting this slip her mind.
“Chloe! Can you stand?”
“Y-yeah. I can walk. Running, probably not.”
Chloe stood up, but she was clearly limping. Her right knee must’ve gotten sprained. Luna put Chloe’s arm over her shoulder so that she could help her off the roof. At least, before she looked for Aurora.
During this, Luna turned on her earpiece to communicate with Melody. She could see Ai in the distance continuing to survey the area.
“Dawn, are you with us? How are the reinforcements looking?
“You all need to get out there! The trucks are still on their way, but the drones are already here!”
When Luna and Chloe turned around, they could see multiple drones flying onto the rooftop with their spotlights shining brightly over them.
“I’m parked near the front! Will you guys be able to make it-” Chloe’s voice cut to static.
Luna frantically thought to herself, I won’t be able to escape from them while I’m helping Chloe! I still need to find Aurora too! What do I-
“Hey… you’re the one they want to kill… so maybe I’ll be okay.”
“Chloe?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make the gamble for you.”
***
Before Luna could respond, Chloe forcibly shoved her down the hole into the mansion. Chloe’s body stumbled a bit after such a quick action, but she was able to catch herself.
As Luna fell down, she could hear Chloe’s shouts.
“Find Aurora and get out of here with Melody! Don’t worry about me! I have a plan!”
A drone shot out a net that directly hit Chloe and caused her to topple to the floor. She laid there as three drones flew down into the hole to chase after Luna.
Well… they didn’t kill me. That’s as far as my plan went, Chloe thought.
She knew that even if she escaped, her plans were ruined. No ruby meant no money, and it’s not like Kate would go along with her plan anymore.
You all have more to fight for by escaping. Don’t let me down now, Luna.
***
Landing into the second floor, Luna sprinted down the hallway. She could hear the jets of the drones pursuing her. The rifles installed into them began to fire off. Luna narrowly jumped out of the way when she reached the end of the hallway, and she ended up in the foyer.
I’ve gotta shake these things off me!
With a leap into the air, and a grapple shot attaching itself to the ceiling, Luna swung around in the air. The drones took fire at her. With a quick toss of a smoke bomb straight at them, their fire became aimless. They all flew apart in different directions to anywhere they could have any sort of visual. Luna was nowhere to be seen.
The drones attempted to scan the area, but the one near the staircase suddenly had itself wrapped around in Luna’s grappling hook before being yanked to the ground. It began firing bullets without hesitation while Luna held it back from behind.
The other drones took notice, but before they could fire, two Lunas were under each of them, wrapping them both up with their respective grappling hooks.
While these two drones didn’t get yanked down, they remained stuck in place, making it easy for the real Luna to aim the drone currently firing at the other two. The onslaught of bullets caused the two airborne drones to get ripped apart like tissue paper. Their dismembered parts collapsed into junk on the floor.
The two clones vanished while the real Luna finished off the remaining drone through a precise stab to its back with her knife, shutting it off.
That wasted too much time! I need to find-
An explosion erupted from the first floor. The force of the blast rose up into the second floor which pushed Luna back into a wall. She had no time to react. The smoke and fire were quickly spreading towards her. The dusty but breathable air of the house was about to thin away.
What the hell is Dominic doing!?
Luna knew panicking in this situation would only make things worse. The front door was in view. It hadn’t been engulfed in flames yet, so escaping through there would be the safest and most convenient method. That is, until she heard a beeping sound that rapidly increased in volume.
After a small gasp escaped Luna’s mouth, she dashed through the nearest window and jumped through it. The moment she left the window, another blast went off. This time on the second floor. It sent Luna flying even further away from the mansion than she could’ve anticipated.
Becoming exhausted but still determined, she pulled out her grappling hook and shot it at the side of the mansion. Her body swung back, and without enough energy to react, her body smacked the wall and fell a few feet down to the ground.
The ground below collided with her body like a punch to the face. Everything hurt so much, but she could finally let her body rest for a moment.
Her vision was blurry, her breathing was even heavier than before, her arms and legs were bruised and tired, this long night was wearing her down.
Get up, Luna! You’re not done yet!
Through the words that she yelled in her head, she shakily got back up. Her steady walk eventually turned into a heavy sprint as she had to find Aurora and Melody.
Heading to the front, she could make out Dominic standing outside the gate. Her pace quickened. The wet ground nearly caused her to slip on a muddy patch.
She didn’t care if he could reverse anything she did to him. She’d get answers out of him one way or another.
After running out of the gate of the mansion, Luna practically froze in place when he showed who he was grabbing the arm: a weak and slow-breathing Aurora.
Luna’s eyes widened at this sight. She let out a cry of anger.
“LET HER GO RIGHT NOW!”
Luna was damn near ready to grab her knife and launch it right at Dominic’s throat. She almost would’ve if she didn’t hear the sound of several Void soldiers readying their firearms directly at her. They circled all around Luna, Aurora, and Dominic. The slightest suspicious movement would’ve caused them to open fire at Luna.
The truck Melody was in also had soldiers nearby. A few of them were trying to force the doors open. They stopped after hearing Dominic’s words.
“Don’t bother with that girl. She can drive away and save herself for all I care. Our objective revolves around the Starlight Girl. Now then, let’s continue where we left off.”
“What did you do to her!?” Luna’s yells were so strong they were scratching her throat.
Dominic tightened his grip on Aurora’s arms. “Me? I’m afraid this is all you. Look closely at her.”
Upon closer inspection, Luna realized the red aura surrounding Aurora’s body was disappearing and reappearing at an alarmingly fast rate. It was an unnatural phenomenon Luna had never witnessed before. This was coupled with the fact that Aurora could barely keep her eyes open. She looked like she was on the verge of passing out.
“You must truly have a special connection to this girl. It’s odd, isn't it? She holds you dear to her heart, and yet, you're the cause of so much of her pain. This contradiction of emotions and feelings she has is quite literally tearing her apart.”
“T-that’s not-!”
“You’ve been quite the slippery girl. Hell, I bet you can find a way to survive this scenario with enough luck on your side. Instead, I’ve got a very simple proposal. Force this girl to abandon her powers, and she gets to live. Only your life will be taken in exchange.”
“W-what…?”
“Let's do a little experiment. Make her mentally sever her bond with you. That should be the final nail in the coffin to get rid of her ‘Curse’ as you call it. After that, she will remain a regular person even with you gone. I’ll ensure she, that girl in the truck, and whoever else you have here, leave here with no further harm.”
This was surreal. Getting Aurora to abandon her powers had been one of Luna’s goals this entire time, but doing it like this is just…
“Believe it or not, I’d rather spare this girl. Hell, how about this: I may not have a magical ruby, but I do have this one that should fetch a high price. I’ll just put it in her pocket. Consider it a consolation prize for everything she’s gone through.”
As casual as can be, he gave Aurora a large ruby he must’ve been carrying around. The absolute gall to do something like this…
“I’ve seen bits of her past with my own eyes. You abandoned her and left her alone. You’re not deserving of how much she treasures you.”
Guilt flowed throughout Luna’s body. Her mind was becoming vulnerable. She began to horrifically ponder if sacrificing herself would be the best choice at this moment.
“If you really believe that you are a curse on all those around you, wouldn’t death be the best option for what you are?”
The effect these words had on Luna’s mind were like poison. It infected her way of thinking, and it gave a twisted answer to a problem she’s wanted to resolve for so long.
Isolating myself with Serene isn’t enough anymore. This man will not rest until I’m dead. I’d just be dragging her into this. And Aurora… the one that dragged her down this path was me. All this time… I’ve been running away from the clearest answer.
“Aurora, let go of your Curse.”
Aurora’s head was lowered as her slow breathing continued. She said nothing.
“Aurora, please. Whatever remaining connection you have to me, let it go. I’m not worth it.”
“...I refuse.”
“Aurora?”
She raised her head. Her watery eyes met Luna’s.
“No matter what you say to me, I’ll never let go.”
Nervous as to what would happen, Luna glanced at Dominic. He hardly reacted to this.
“Go on. Keep trying.” He said.
God, this guy sucks.
“Aurora, I don’t think you’re fully grasping the situation.”
Despite her current state, Aurora still mustered up the strength to yell.
“What about you?! Do you understand that you’re going to let yourself be killed!?”
“I-I understand that-”
“You couldn’t even say that without stuttering! You’re accepting this as if your life means nothing!”
“Protecting you is more important than my-!”
“Don’t finish that sentence!”
Luna’s words became a jumbled mess of frustration until she let out one, simple word.
“Why?!”
Aurora quietly gasped.
“Why do you care so much about me?! I was just a stupid kid that wanted to play hero by comforting the new girl! I didn’t know what I was talking about or what I was doing! If you never met me… that day never would’ve happened! Your life would be so much happier if I was never there!”
“You’re wrong!”
“What…?”
A soft smile appeared on Aurora’s face. It reminded Luna of how she smiled when they were kids. It was gentle, vulnerable, lovely.
“The years we spent together were so much fun. Your confidence and kindness wrapped themselves around me. All those things you said about love… it made all these burning emotions within me feel so validated. I don’t think my high school life would’ve been the same without the courage you gave me.”
“Aurora…”
“We were both stupid kids. I can’t say I wasn’t mad at you for leaving me behind, but I don’t want to keep holding that against you. What hurt even more, and still hurts, is how much you hate yourself.”
“Aurora, please…”
“I think your powers are beautiful. It’s an incredible discovery you’ve made for yourself. You can get burned, but that doesn’t change how beautiful the fire is, right? I think that’s the part you and I never properly learned back then.”
Luna could hear her heart beating out of her chest. It took all her might to prevent herself from shedding tears.
“Even if you reject me, and even if you can’t find the strength to love yourself, let me say one thing.”
As Aurora spoke, the glow around her body stopped flickering. In fact, the glow only grew stronger. Even Dominic took notice.
“What the…?” He murmured to himself.
“No matter how dark the night becomes…” Aurora began.
The ground below Aurora and everything surrounding her glowed brightly.
Dominic’s calm composure broke into panic. “Don’t tell me she regained her-!”
“Aurora, wait-!” Luna cried out.
“Keep being the moonlight I love.”
The ground exploded violently. The strength of the earth shaking went far beyond an earthquake. Every nearby tree was chopped in half. Luna, Dominic, and every single soldier present collapsed onto the ground amidst the sheer force of Aurora’s ability.
Nobody was sliced apart, but every single truck the Void brought was chopped into numerous pieces. The only truck remaining was Aurora’s, with its tailgate now open.
Before Luna could fully come to her senses, her body had been lifted up by the piece of the ground under her. Looking forward, she saw Aurora holding her hands out at her. Her face was even paler than before.
With a single swing of Aurora’s arms, Luna flew straight toward the truck. The piece of ground fell down once it slid Luna in.
Aurora opened her hands again, closing the tailgate. Luna’s body was to object to any of this.
With her last ounce of strength, Aurora let out one more yell.
“DRIVE, MELODY!”
Wait… Melody… don’t…!
Luna tried to say these words, but she felt the rumbling of the car as it sped forward before she could even make an attempt. The sound of bullets hitting the sides of the truck ringed in Luna’s head as she blacked out.
***
Panic was the only emotion shown on Melody’s face. With all the Void’s trucks destroyed thanks to Aurora, a getaway became much easier, but that didn’t change how shaky Melody’s hands were on the wheel. The only person she was bringing back from this mission was a tired, unconscious Luna.
***
Dominic finally got up after the brat’s attack. He looked at her soon enough to see her fall to the ground, passing out completely. His mansion only seemed to burn louder now that his target had escaped, leaving behind a girl he believed he tried to use as a bargaining chip. He approached the unconscious brat with a look of disdain.
“It seems like I had no reason to sympathize with you after all.”
Behind him flew a couple of drones. Two of them had ropes attached to them. One carried a resistant Chloe, the other, a dazed Katherine. His face showed little surprise at seeing Chloe at a place like this. “Oh…well isn’t this something?”
A soldier approached him from behind. “Sir! We can send the drones to pursue them if-”
“No need. The Starlight Girl is very committed to this particular brat. She’ll pursue us again and seek the death she and I both want soon enough. Call for more vehicles to arrive. We’ll be taking all these girls to the lab.”
By this point, she must understand her entire existence was a mistake. She’ll come crawling back soon enough and practically give her life away. A death that even she can agree upon would only be fair after seeing how she operates. Wouldn’t you agree, Evelyn?
