On the sea, heading towards Redwake, is Lex, paddling, trying to get to where the dark wizards are.
“Come on come on! Paddle! I don’t want to miss this!” Lex kept telling himself. He paddled with all his might, constantly trying to keep himself determined. “Man, being able to fight those dark wizards… maybe I can leave the fight stronger than I entered it in! If I’m gonna get stronger I gotta make it to them!” Lex kept paddling, ignoring the pain in his arms through sheer determination. However, he couldn’t ignore it for long, and he was forced to come to an immediate halt as he fell back in pain, dropping the paddle in the ocean.
“NOO!! COME BACK!!” Lex shouted. He tried to reach out to get the paddle. He was able to reach it with his fingertips, however, the moment he tapped it, it went further away. Lex groaned and whined about it for a while.
“Alright Lex… just go into the water, swim to it, then leap spell out of it. What’s the worst that can happen… What if a shark is somewhere in the water… what if the shark tries to eat me?!” A fisherman rode his boat past Lex who was still talking out loud, giving him a weird look. “Wait no, sharks wouldn’t try to eat me. They only eat other stuff like otters… what if they’re starting to get a taste for human flesh though?!” Lex had no idea the fisherman passed him, but the fisherman saw the paddle floating away, and swam towards it, picking it up.
“Uh, hey kid. You dropped your paddle.” The fisherman handed him the paddle. Lex was still thinking about sharks trying to eat people, getting horrified with each scenario he created in his own head. “Kid. Kid! Your paddle!”
Lex finally stopped. “Oh cool! My paddle! Thanks!” Lex grabbed the paddle from the fisherman’s hands, and proceeded to bolt through the sea as he continued speeding towards Redwake, leaving the fisherman scratching his head, wondering what goes on in that mind of his.
Back at Redwake, the fight continued. Thomas jumped back from a light blast Luna had made, and Lucien began to charge at him with his sunken sword. He jumped into Thomas and went for the head. Thomas evaded, but landed a punch in Lucien’s stomach, and sent him back.
“I don’t get it.” Thomas said, standing up straight again. “Why don’t you want those dark wizards being handed over to the Grand Navy?! They’re dark wizards!”
“I don’t trust the Grand Navy. They are nothing but scumbags!” Luna prepared another magic circle, and aimed it at Thomas. She let out a huge light beam right in his direction.
Thomas formed two magic circles on his hands, and aimed them downwards. He activated them, and the wind blasted him into the air to avoid the attack. “But the Grand Navy’s responsible for capturing criminals and evil-doers! What about them is untrustworthy?!” Thomas made magic circles on his feet, and propelled himself towards Luna. Luna threw her hands up to block whatever attack Thomas was going to throw at her, but then Thomas made magic circles on his hands once more, firing them towards and flipping over Luna, and getting behind her. He began throwing a flurry of punches at Luna, who tried to block all of them. “What do you even plan to do with the dark wizards?! Just hand them…” Thomas jumped into the air. “OVER!” Thomas threw a kick at Luna, hitting her face, causing her to slide back. Luna felt blood sliding down her lip, and wiped it off of her.
“You are an ignorant fool if you believe they aren’t trustworthy… tell me, have you heard the name Kaitlyn Cutlass?”
Thomas stopped for a moment. “No, I haven’t.”
“Exactly.” Thomas noticed Luna’s left hand move ever so slightly. Just then, his instincts told him he needed to move immediately. He rolled forward towards Luna, and a light explosion detonated behind him, in the position he was just in. When he finished rolling, he looked forward, and saw Luna wasn’t there. He immediately looked up, and saw Luna coming down on him, claws on her hands.He immediately moved to the side as she came down, striking the ground, then rushed towards him.
“If you can’t tell me you know who she is… if you are oblivious to the pain that the Grand Navy caused, then of course you can’t understand!” Luna began scratching at Thomas, who tried to dodge each attack. He used his hand to deflect Luna’s scratch by hitting her wrist away, then tried throwing in his own attacks. It then became a showdown between Luna and Thomas, each of them blocking out the others punches and kicks, while trying to get in some of their own.
“Understand what?!” Thomas grabbed Luna’s wrist, preventing her from using her claw. “You haven’t explained anything! Just at least tell me why you’re doing this, what your grudge is against-” He then saw Luna smile. “… why are you smiling all of a sudden…?” Just then, he remembered Lucien. “Wait, where the hell is-” He heard a noise, like a beam was heading towards him. He turned behind him and saw a beam of black magic charging towards him. He tried to jump away, but Luna grabbed him, and kicked him towards the beam. He and the beam collided, and the beam blew up. The darkness blinded Thomas. Luna looked beyond the explosion and saw Lucien. They nodded to each other.
“Lucien! Together!” Luna shouted as she created a magic circle in her hand.
“Right!” Lucien followed Luna’s lead. The both charged to where Thomas was. Just then, he flew right away from his spot.
“We won’t let you get away that easy!” Lucien shouted as he and Luna created magic circles and jumped into the air. Thomas couldn’t see, but he heard the blasts. He knew they were getting closer. He used his arms to send himself away from them with wind spells. Then, the duo launched their attacks.
“Shiny Wisp!”
“Shadow Wisp!”
Both of them aimed their magic circles low. They saw Thomas’s trajectory, and fired their blasts towards where he would land. Luna and Lucien started grinning without realizing it, believing that victory was theirs in that moment. However, they didn’t see Thomas’s feet: and they saw him blasting towards them at full speed. They were shocked to see him coming towards them, and the both of them were slugged in the face, and were taken down to the ground.Thomas’s vision was clearing up now. Thomas then grabbed Lucien, and threw him back down on the ground, sending him a little closer to the sea. Luna was about to get up, when she noticed a magic circle underneath Thomas. She thought it was another leap spell. Just then, she prepared another beam spell in her hand, using the last bit of her magic to try and make it work. Just as she was charging it up, she realized something.
“Wait… that’s only one magic circle… and it’s getting bigger?!” Luna thought as she realized her mistake.
“Wind BURST!” Thomas shouted, as a large wind storm blasted both Luna and Lucien away from one another with great force. Luna crashed into a boulder, and she also noticed Lucien going off into the water.
Thomas walked over to Luna. “Sorry about doing that to your friend, but I had to get you two to separate. My chances in victory were better that way. Anyway…” Thomas was standing over Luna. “Why won’t you let me take them? Why do you hate the Grand Navy so much?! What did they do to you?! And who’s Kaitlyn Cutlass?!”
“Fine… you want to know so badly…?” Luna said, without even looking up at Thomas?. “Kaitlyn Cutlass is my mother, and she used to be a captain for the Grand Navy. She was a kind woman who showed compassion to all… even dark wizards who you deem criminals. She even adopted a child… a child abandoned by the world… Lucien.” Luna slowly began to get up. “But one day, she died in the line of duty during a fight on Frostmill. The one who killed her was named Xander, and he was a powerful swordsman. The two of them ended up killing each other. Mother could’ve won, but she was busy trying to protect an injured bandit. But what did they do about that…? They lied. Said the bandit had won that day, and killed both her and the swordsman that took her life. Why?” Luna’s eyes met with Thomas’s. All Thomas saw was hatred and anger. “Because they would rather lie than admit that one of their own saw worth in a bandit…”
“I… what…? No!” Thomas shook his head. “No, that’s crazy! The Grand Navy wouldn’t do something like that… the hell?!”
“And to think, they would do nothing for her family… for her daughter and son. They left us high and dry, and we had to fend for ourselves in this cruel world… if we hadn’t met with our Guild Master, who knows what would’ve happened to us…”
“Shut up! I don’t know what you’re talking about, but there’s no way the Grand Navy would be so… so petty!”
“Really?” Luna began to chuckle. Then she began to laugh. She laughed louder, and she grew rather hysterical. Thomas was confused. But then, he was met with a swift punch in the jaw. He stumbled back. “YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT?! THEY DON’T BELIEVE DARK WIZARDS CAN BE HELPED. ALL THEY WANT TO DO TO THEM IS THROW THEM INTO A CAGE AND EXECUTE THEM. THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE A DISEASE, BLINDED BY THE GOOD THAT COULD COME FROM REHABILITATING THEM!” Luna began charging up her magic. The build up kept going at a higher rate, exponentially increasing how much she can recharge in a second. “AND LOOK AT YOU, BLINDLY BELIEVING THAT THEY ARE RIGHT, COMING DOWN HERE TO BRING IN THESE DARK WIZARDS TO THEM SO THEY MAY DO WHO KNOWS WHAT. DID YOU EVEN BEG TO ASK WHY THEY DEFECTED IN THE FIRST PLACE?” Thomas made no response, partly due to the shock of being slugged the way he was, partly because he was shocked by how much energy Luna was charging up, and partly because… she was right. He didn’t ask any questions. He assumed that since it was the Grand Navy, they were in the right. “IF YOU CAN’T SEE WHAT WRONG THE GRAND NAVY IS DOING, AND CONTINUE TO STAND IN MY WAY.” Luna formed a bright aura around her. “THEN YOU ARE MY ENEMY. AND I WON’T SHOW MERCY.”
“What-” Thomas tried to prepare himself for what came next, but he was met with a painful blast to the stomach, sending him back. Luna charged at him, claws still in hand, trying to slash Thomas. Her strikes grew a bit more accurate as she began to cut his clothes, ripping his wristbands off, and cutting his skin a bit. But then, Thomas grabbed Luna by the wrist, and threw her over his shoulder.
“What the hell! She’s holding way more magic in her body than she should!” Thomas thought as she was on the ground. “It’s like she’s forcing her body to absorb so much energy, and it’s increasing her physical strength as we-’’ His thought process was interrupted by a kick to the head. Luna got up and began firing multiple light blasts at him. Thomas began running away to avoid each of them. He blasted into the air with another leap spell, then used another to zoom back to Luna. Just then, he saw a projectile flying towards him, a magic circle.
“Shining Carnival!” Luna snapped her fingers, and the circle detonated right in Thomas’s face, causing him to fall to the ground. Thomas was able to land on his feet, but Luna relentlessly charged at him again, trying to slash him once more.
Thomas was forced to evade as well as he could, whilst also seeing the glare in Luna’s eyes. The hatred and rage she felt, but also glimpses of pain, possibly due to her past. For a moment, Thomas understood a bit of what Luna was saying. But then, Luna slashed him, cutting his chest. Thomas jumped back, grasping his wound. When he did, he saw that Luna faltered for a moment after dealing the blow.
“Wait, she’s getting tired…!” Thomas realized. “If I can keep my distance and let her wear herself out, I can win!”
“Stop smirking at me damn you!!” Luna rushed towards Thomas, who leapt into the air with a leap spell. Luna followed suit as she made a magic circle and tried to chase Thomas through the air. It soon turned into a cat and mouse chase through the sky, Luna tried to reach Thomas, but Thomas evaded her at every turn.
“Sorry, but in the air, I’m at the advantage.” Said Thomas.
“SHUT UP!” Luna used another spell and tried to get Thomas. However, Thomas spun away from her as she got close. Luna had begun flying in the direction she blasted off in, but felt herself come to a stop. Then, she felt like she was being pulled back, then received a painful blow to her back. Thomas had struck her midair, and the resulting blow had Luna flying towards the ground. She could feel her body aching from not only taking the hit, but from charging her body up so much with magical energy. She hit the ground, and rolled over to her back. She looked up, and saw Thomas diving down head first, stretching out his fist as to strike Luna down. She wanted to try and create an explosion spell, but the pain in her body had caused her casting speed to falter. She began making the circle around her, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t make it in time. Thomas’s speed became faster and faster.
“Sorry about this…” Thomas said to himself as he neared her. But then, just when he thought victory was his for the taking, he saw a magic circle appear. But this time, it was blue. He was surprised to see it, but then, it blew up, catching him in an electric explosion, disrupting his attack, and causing his fall speed to lower as well. He fell down on his back, next to Luna, who just finished making the magical spell she needed.
Thomas finally noticed the circle he landed on. His eyes widened as he tried to get away from there, but he was too late. Luna had no idea what happened, but she was thankful nonetheless. She smiled to herself as she muttered her next words. “Luster Carnival.”
“NOOO-” Thomas yelled as he tried to jump away, but then, a large light explosion engulfed him. The magical energy from that explosion could be felt all the way to Dawn Island.
Magnus woke up from his nap as he felt it. He looked around, then outside of his window.
“… Luna…?” He asked himself. After thinking for a while, he fell back into the bed.
On Redwake, the light from the explosion cleared away after a while. Thomas and Luna both laid on the ground, neither of them moving.
“Ho… ly… CRAP!!!” Shouted a voice. Lex jumped out from behind a tree and ran to Luna. “THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! That giant explosion was so cool! I never thought I’d see anything like that in my life!! And the way you moved around when you absorbed all that magic was crazy! You’re a total boss Luna!” Lex jumped around, very hyped from watching the fight. “And then when I stopped that guy from punching you with my explosion magic was amazing! I was cool too! I bet he didn’t see me! And, and-” Lex kept jumping around, talking really fast, when Lucien appeared.
“Can you quiet down please?” He said, putting his hand on top of Lex.
“Oh- right. My bad!” Lex quickly got his act together, then walked over to the pair. “So uh… what exactly do we do now?”
“Well, fortunately the dark wizards didn’t wake up as yet. I’ll just take these four into my boat and I’ll sail back to the main hideout.”
“You sure you won’t want me coming with you? You still look pretty beat up. If I wasn’t there to drag you out of the water you’d probably be drowning right now.”
“I won’t be needing any assistance thank you very much.” Lucien grabbed two of the dark wizards, and placed them into the boat. Lex, disregarding Lucien, picked up Luna and placed her in the boat as well.
“What about him?” Lex pointed to Thomas’s body.
“Leave him. I don’t care about him, just let him stay here.”
“Ok… and you’re absolutely, positively sure I don’t need to come.”
“Yes! Now go back to Dawn Island where you came from.”
“Alright, alright. I’m going.” Lex began to get in his boat.
Lucien sighed. “Lex wait!”
“Hm?”
“… thanks.”
Lex’s face lit up. “Really?! Yes! This is so cool! Wait til Oskar hears about this!” Invigorated by Lucien’s gratitude, Lex began to paddle hard, back to Dawn Island. Lucien got into his boat, opened the sail, and proceeded to go back. He looked up into the sky, exhausted from his battle.
“Hm… when did the sun set…?” Lucien began to doze off in the boat, allowing the wind to push him back to the hideout. He began to dream. He dreamt of the time he spent with Luna and Kaitlyn. The dream he had shifted him through different parts of his past. First, when he had met Kaitlyn. He had run away from his original parents, but got attacked by a wild wolf. Kaitlyn had saved him with her rapier, and found him. He insisted that she not bring him back home, and decided to bring him with her. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was practicing how to use magic alongside Luna, while Kaitlyn watched, proud of them, and shocked that they had been able to use magic. Then, in a blink, the two were having sparring matches against one another, Kaitlyn cheering them on. When they finished, Kaitlyn would make delicious soup for them. Then, another blink. Luna and Lucien were struggling to fight against bandits. Many years had passed through that blink, after Kaitlyn had died. They couldn’t keep the house because they weren’t able to make enough money, and were forced into poverty. But then, as they lay wounded from battle, a man walked up to them. He told them his name… Lucien heard the word ‘Zachary’… and then, he had woken up. He wasn’t sure where he was when he had woken up, but then he remembered, he was sleeping in the boat and was supposed to bring the dark wizards back. He looked around, and saw a vast ocean. Then, he saw an island with lights. Valcrest Island. He realized that the boat was moving away from it. He facepalmed, and took out his paddle. But as he did, he found himself to be crying. He wasn’t sure why at first, but he found out.
“Ms. Kaitlyn… mom… we miss you…” Lucien said to himself. “I swear… the Grand Navy won’t do others like they did us… I promise…”