The area outside the ship was a big blue bloodbath. Not only did the rebel forces from A'cielinsulariä come to help, but so did the Reptilian army of D'Chaalö and even some Carlite soldiers. Of course, some of the main groups that organized this were fighting alongside their allies on the battlefield, but others such as Aevaan and Kylie were helping rural citizens in the area find shelter. After that, they discovered that the Lunestic troops that had overcome nearby cities were being overpowered by Gaiatian soldiers with big machine guns and tear gas. A couple of hours of this ensued before the remaining Lunestic troops fled and evacuated back to Lunestica, leaving Albrecht's mother ship behind to eventually become a symbol of victory for the Gaiatians.
As soon as Alejandra step foot in Luna and Christian's house, Luna wriggled to get out of his grasp, despite her light concussion.
"Let me go!" She cried, hitting his back. He set her down and huffed, still gently holding Christian. "Will he be okay?"
"I don't know. You can try to heal him, but I need to go check on the others," Alejandra kissed the top of her head after setting Christian down and left as quickly as he came. Luna hummed, annoyed, then went to Christian's side. Alejandra had set him on the floor so the blood would not go everywhere.
She examined his wounds, tracing the bullet hole with her fingertips. His bleeding had stopped, but it was still fresh and had not dried on his skin yet. She quickly got up to wet a cloth and went back to clean the blood. While wiping him down, she examined his body further, curious because she had never seen him like this before. She was confused by the scar under each pec, and they did not look more than a few years old. She noticed his lack of nipples looked a little strange as well. She did not put any more thought into it, more focused on reviving him than anything. She checked his pulse frequently, relieved every time that he still had a stable heartbeat.
As she was removing the bloody rags from his injury, Christian's eyes fluttered open. When he flinched and grabbed Luna's wrist to make her stop, she gasped, grinning.
"You're awake!" She exclaimed, holding his hand tightly. He groaned.
"Don't... touch it--" He croaked.
"You hush," She ordered. "I'm just cleaning it. You've stopped bleeding," He groaned again, relaxing a little. He then realized that she was looking down at him and his bare chest. He tensed up again, panicking.
"W-wait! Don't look at me!" He blurted like it would be effective. She looked puzzled, continuing to wipe and pat the remaining bits of blood off him. He quickly covered his chest with his hands, and shot up, gagging, and coughing at the pain in his gut. She yelped.
"Chris! Calm down! You'll hurt yourself!" The two made eye contact before she noticed he was covering himself up. "Why are you doing that?"
"I was hoping you'd never see..." He trailed off when she smiled sweetly at him. He blushed heavily and slowly put his arms down.
"See what? Your scars?" Christian realized she may have been oblivious, or just hasn’t realized the truth, which may have been a good thing. However, he decided to come clean and tell her the truth before she could figure it out herself.
"Luna, I wasn't...born...a guy. I-I used to be a girl. Just like you," He explained sheepishly. Luna's expression softened. "When we met in school, I hadn't gotten top surgery yet, and I wore a binder. I had learned how to lower my voice, but it still didn't sound legitimate. Luckily, I passed well enough for other guys to think my balls hadn't dropped yet," he said that last part with a chuckle. "Sometimes, I don't think I'm that great of a guy, either. I tried to jump the gun and save the day, but in the end, I almost got myself killed,"
"But Chris, you did technically 'save the day'," Luna explained, standing up to rinse her cloth out. "You may not remember, but when Alejandra went to heal you, you ran up to me and killed Albrecht instead because he hurt me. I didn't think I meant that much to you," Christian stood up, using the kitchen counter as support. Christian did remember everything, down to the moment he fell back unconscious.
"You really do mean that much to me," He confirmed. She looked back at him and tossed the cloth in the washing machine. "I loved you even before you knew Alejandra existed, you know," He confessed, though he did not mean to. The two blushed heavily and looked away from each other. He scoffed and hit himself in the forehead. "S-sorry... must still be a little dazed. L-lost a lot of blood back there," Luna did not say another word to him, puzzled inside her head.
Christian went to their bathroom to see what he looked like now. His hair, which had flowed long down his back, was now jagged and chopped just mid-way down his neck. His bullet wound was all clean and looked fleshy. It was hot to the touch and still hurt like hell. He went into the cabinet and bandaged it himself with gauze and a long ace bandage. A little blood still seeped through, but not enough for it to bother him. The pressure of the wrap made him feel better physically, however, the weight of his confession was still there with him, feeling like a bowling ball in his chest.
Soon, Alejandra came back into the house, noticing Luna sitting alone on the sofa, and Christian limping out of the bathroom. Alejandra was relieved, and Christian, for once, was happy to see him.
"Hey, soldier! How're you feeling?" Alejandra asked, walking over to him and looking him up and down.
"I hurt, but at least I'm not dead. Y'all don't need to do any healing magic on me, I'll heal on my own," Alejandra raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?" He nodded. "Okay, then," He looked over at Luna, who was expressionless and was dissociating on the sofa. He went to her next and sat next to her, rubbing her back. "Lunita? Are you alright?" She did not answer, which made him worry. "Well, Marilynn has asked us to come to her. She has a favor to ask of you. I-if you're up for it," Luna looked at him and sighed sadly.
"Yeah, okay... Let's go," she said quietly. she stood up and walked out of the door, not even bothering to clean herself up. Alejandra shot an annoyed glance at Christian.
"What did you do?" He hissed at him through his teeth; not angry but trying to stay quiet. Christian sighed deeply.
"I accidentally told her I love her," Alejandra's expression softened and he sighed too.
"Oh... well, change into some clean clothes. We're off to the campsite the rebels made," Christian nodded and went into his room to put on a fresh pair of pants and a t-shirt. Alejandra waited on him, going into the bathroom, and splashing his face with water.
Alejandra left the bathroom and went into Luna's room next, examining her things. There were lots of notebooks and sketchbooks neatly placed on a bookshelf across the room from her bed, and different outfits hanging in her open closet. He found an altar in that same closet as well, set up neatly on a dresser with different crystals, bones, and candles. This altar did not look any different from any Lunestic altar, but he also had no idea she was religious in any way.
Next, he peeked into Christian's room, who was all dressed and now cleaning up his hair with a comb and a pair of scissors. He glanced over at a curious Alejandra and told him he could come in.
"You can look around, I'm gonna be a bit. I guess Luna went with the others back to Marilynn," Christian told him. "Just please put things back if you move them," Alejandra nodded and stepped in fully. Christian's room looked a lot different from Luna's. He had a toolbox next to a desk, and on the desk were some loose tools next to what he assumed were various parts for a motorcycle like Luna's. He did not have any books like Luna's, aside from the owner's manuals for different vehicles. He also had various kinds of tech on the other side of his desk, some taken apart and others still intact. He figured Christian liked to tinker with different things.
He went over to the side of the room Christian was in and looked at another desk beside the mirror Christian was using. He noticed different pill and liquid medicine bottles. He even saw a few needles scattered around those bottles.
"What's all this?" Alejandra asked Christian, gesturing to the stuff. Christian hummed and looked over. He scoffed and shook his head.
"Don't worry about all that. Just some pain meds, some Adderall, and my testosterone,"
"Which one is the full bottle?" Alejandra asked, picking up the bottle since he could not read English.
"Oh, that’s the Adderall," Christian replied, setting the scissors and comb next to the stuff. "My old doctor prescribed it so I can focus and 'behave'. Had it for years. Never even opened it. Besides... it messes with the testosterone, and I kinda need that more," Christian picked up his hairbrush and brushed through his hair, making sure to pull out any cut or loose strands he missed with the comb. He threw the hair away in the trash when he was finished and turned toward Alejandra who was still examining everything.
"Everything here is so... different," Alejandra mentioned. Christian hummed as they left the room and went to leave the house. The two walked in silence for a few moments before Christian spoke.
"You saw that state Albrecht was in, too…right?" Christian asked, looking up at Alejandra. He nodded. “I thought Albrecht wasn’t magical,”
“He’s not,” Alejandra confirmed. “I’ve…never seen someone like that in person, but I’ve heard stories. Bad ones,” Christian was intrigued and hummed as he pulled out his carton of cigarettes, he offered Alejandra one, and he gladly accepted, lighting both of their sticks up with a pink flame from his pinky.
“What kind of stories?” Christian asked, before taking a long drag off his cigarette. Alejandra shuddered.
“I wish I could tell you, but it’s forbidden to even talk about it,” He looked down at a confused Christian. “They say even thinking about it will get you–,” Christian furrowed his brow.
“Alejandra, I can’t believe you of all people believe in superstition like that,” he grumbled, cutting him off, “I just wanna know what the hell happened to Albrecht!” Despite Christian’s efforts, Alejandra remained silent the rest of the walk to the campsite, thinking deeply about what he saw himself. He knew he had to tell Marilynn, or at least try to.
They arrived at the clearing where Aevaan was parked. All the Lunestic troops that Albrecht sent out had fled, not leaving behind a single trace that they were there other than some injured American soldiers some Lunestic healers were tending to. Alejandra and Christian were surprised to see Marilynn in a casual outfit. The long robes she usually wears always covered the fact that she was tall and well-built, and she looked as if she could have taken on Albrecht herself and won.
The two approached her and bowed. She chuckled.
"No need to be so formal, boys," she said with a sweet smile. "Christian?" He looked up at her and nodded.
"Yes, your majesty?" He replied. She held both of his hands and looked grateful.
"Thank you for sacrificing yourself for my daughter-- I mean, Luna," she said. "It means a lot to me. Though I loved Albrecht before, that love disappeared after he killed her the first time. It could have ended very badly if you had not distracted him and killed him before he could get to her," Christian nodded. "I have an offer for you. After you have recovered fully, how would you like to work in my palace? I heard you have a knack for tinkering and fixing vehicles. We could use a new mechanic around there," Christian's eyes widened and he glanced at Alejandra. "And Alejandra, how would you like your old position back as well? You could be a general again. Or even better, you could be your son's new political advisor," Alejandra raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you mean your advisor? Aevaan isn't emperor yet," Alejandra asked.
"Well, that's the thing. I did ask Lunabelle if she wanted to be a princess again so she could have the throne since it is rightfully hers, but she declined. Aevaan is next in line, and I plan to retire in the next couple of days. This old girl needs a break," she said the last part in a breathy chuckle.
"I... would love nothing more," Alejandra accepted the offer, bowing again. Christian looked around for Luna, hoping she would show up.
"What about you, Christian?" He looked back up at her and nodded.
"Uh... yeah. I'll give it a shot," He accepted her offer to him as well. "But what about Luna? Does she still get something?"
"Of course!" Marilynn said. "Since she has come so far in her magic in just a few days, we have decided to, well, modify her,"
"What do you mean, modify her?" Christian asked, slightly offended. "She's perfectly fine the way she is!"
"Not for magic, she isn't. She said she still wanted to be a mage and told me to call upon her in case any more danger starts. She is adamant about protecting her planet, as she always has been. But as a Gaiatian alone, the magic will start to make her ill because her body is not suited for it. So, I had my scientists pull out some of her old Lunestic DNA that has been preserved from long ago to genetically modify her so she can be half-Lunestic-half-Gaiatian, just like Alejandra-- so she won't get sick," This made Christian sick to his stomach, but Alejandra was elated. She looked over at Christian and hummed. "We can do the same for you, but you can have Carlite DNA if you want," Christian gulped and shook his head.
"N-no, not right now," he said nervously. Marilynn chuckled.
"Okay, no pressure," Christian and Alejandra looked at each other and Alejandra gave him a lopsided smile. "Luna should be finished soon. She's just over there in that tent we've set up to help local soldiers recover," Christian immediately went that way, winding his way through the crowd of soldiers and the like from different planets who were helping fight the Lunestic troops off. He parted the tent door and immediately locked eyes with Luna who was getting injected with the Lunestic DNA. She looked up at him, and he thought she seemed a little sad.
"Luna!" he called out to her and went as fast as he was able to her. She broke eye contact with him and sighed quietly. "What are you doing all this for? Why do you want to be Lunestic?"
"Because that's what I was supposed to be," She grumbled, looking down at her feet. "You got to be a boy, didn't you? So why can't I do this?" Christian blushed heavily but furrowed his brow.
"That's not--"
"That's exactly what it is, Chris. This planet needs a guardian. Lunestica already has one, and it's Aevaan. They need me here, but to live up to my full potential, I need to do this," Christian sighed and sat on the ground in front of her.
"It's not a terrible thing, it's just... I'm afraid it's gonna change who you are. I don't wanna lose you," She looked down at him and blushed lightly, her blood already changing. He swallowed thickly. "Does it... does it hurt?"
"A little," She confessed. "But it'll be worth it,"
Christian stayed with her until her procedure was complete, even though it took hours. She also had to be put to sleep with anesthetics to complete the conversion. Alejandra eventually came in and stood near Christian, watching over Luna as well. She woke up hours later at sunset, and tested out her new body, or at least what all of it was new. Instead of red blood, she now had blue blood just like Alejandra. Because of this, she seemed paler than she was before. Now she was more sensitive to sunlight, or any kind of light for that matter, and she could hear more sounds than she could before. Her ears even became slightly pointed. Alejandra looked lovestruck, as Christian expected him to be and while Christian agreed that she was beautiful in her new form, he also thought her old beauty was lost. No more rosy cheeks when she laughed, no more tanned skin in the summertime, no more warm hugs when he's sad... He thought for sure she hated him now, and he regretted even telling her anything. That feeling grew when she jumped into Alejandra's arms and kissed him passionately.
Chris followed the others out of the tent, his hands in his pants pockets. The more upset he got, the more his injury throbbed. He eventually went back to the house in secret and locked himself in his room. He lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He would never forgive himself, and a part of him wishes he had died instead of accidentally confessing his love for Luna. He eventually fell asleep, dreaming of nothing.
52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuceEzaBN3n
