|| Shadows || Chapter 24 ♧ Arc 2 ♧ ||

Instructions

Hoo boy Luna is NOT succeeding aaaaaahhhhh -Luna Ch. 24 The room Cole offered them was on ground level, at Luna's request. It was really less of a room than a spacious pillow fort constructed by Geo, but it was cute, so who was she to complain? "Thanks again." She smiled at Cole. He'd always been someone she respected, even before meeting him officially. "I'm sorry about Glitch. It's probably not my place to apologize for her actions, but..." "Don't worry about it." He sighed, looking over her shoulder at his old friend sadly. "She's been through a lot. I don't know exactly what happened to her in the Merge, but whatever you're doing..." He paused, and Luna turned to see Glitch watching them with narrowed eyes. "Never mind. Night." "G'night." So he knew, then. He knew Glitch was plotting something. Likely Nya had told him, after being told by Lloyd. It was actually a relief. He wasn't going to stress about it and ruin Luna's plan, nor further worsen Glitch's obsession. He cared to much about both her sanity and Lloyd's safety, and was too rational to freak out- physically, at least. "So," Luna whistled, "this isn't the first time you've mentioned Willow. Who was she?" Glitch growled, the sound low and mechanical. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You can't protect him forever." 'Crap, she knows?' Luna thought, but really wasn't too surprised. Any smart girl like Glitch would be able to see past Luna's facade, especially if she knew how out of character it was for her. "Maybe. But you can't chase him forever, either." "Maybe." Glitch's tail twitched rhythmically, almost impatiently. She yawned, the exhaustion deliberate and fake. "I'm going to bed." "You never answered my question," Luna countered, but she could see it was futile. A loud, steady flow of snores had begun to emanate from Glitch, further proving this. "Can't avoid your problems forever," she muttered, and began to get ready for bed, pulling off pieces of her outfit so she'd be more comfortable. Once that was done, she snuggled into a burrito blanket on top of a pile of pillows, instantly feeling the weight of sleep take hold. And she let it, knowing it was for the best. She needed the rest. Although she knew it probably wouldn't be very restful. 'Pick one big life-changing moment in your life. How could it have gone different?' 'Mmm... probably when I caused my younger self to go to Imperium. If I hadn't, things would have really been switched up.' 'How so?' 'Who knows? All I know is that it was the first domino in the chain reaction. The beginning of everything.' Luna remembered this conversation. The last one she had with Rue before all of this. But how was it relevant to anything? In answer, three figures bloomed before her. She recognized her own silhouette in the center, from unique frill-like ears to careful posture. It reflected her, cocking its head in the same way she did. "What is this?" she wondered aloud, then turned to the other silhouettes. In the first vision, they had been blurry, so much so she'd initially had difficulty identifying them as people. Now the figures were clearer, clear enough to see more distinguishing features. The grayish-green one was smaller, more hunched, appearing almost timid. It had features not unlike Luna's- horns, a tail, all that- but that all lacked the cruelty and elegance in her own, despite the shapes being almost identical. On the other hand, the bright gold one was much more like her in stature, tall and imposing in an arrogant, hubristic manner. However, its form was so plainly HUMAN. It was the strangest thing. Like someone had separated Luna's physical body and soul from one another, not unlike an egg. An empty shell and its freed yolk. She could see the other silhouettes, too. The center one looked exactly like Glitch, right down to the wisps of smoke coming off of the right side of her face. The figures beside it had the same shape, sharp horns like rays of light around their faces, but the way they held themselves was very different. One, to the same side of Glitch's silhouette as the green one was from Luna's, in its own glowing, angelic shade of rose gold, had a regal aura to it, cool and composed. On the other hand, the other figure, such a shade of red that it was impossible not to think of bl00d, was pure, obvious chaos. A veil of de and destruction enveloped it. "But what does any of this MEAN?" she shouted, confused and annoyed and just OVER this. "Well?!" In response, the vision gave her another silhouette, lilac this time. Its facial features bloomed into existence, and Luna felt a stab of recognition. "Lunar?" The Writer's luminescent eyes widened, and she opened her mouth. But no sound came out, only a dripping, almost viscous liquid that could only be described as ink. "What?" Luna asked, unhelpfully. Lunar tried again, clearly screaming, but there was nothing but silence. After a few attempts, the Writer, clearly weakened, pointed at Luna's right hand. (cont)