Instead of feeling exhausted when she awoke, Luna felt absolutely energized. She sprung out of bed, got dressed, grabbed her keys, and sped off on her motorcycle without saying goodbye to Christian. He was glad she was finally okay, but still worried.
Luna drove to the library and parked in her usual spot. She fumbled with her bag before finally catching it and throwing it over her shoulder. She ran into the building, whispering Kylie's name loudly over and over again until she found her at her desk. Kylie looked surprised.
"Oh! Luna! I haven't seen you in a couple of days. Christian said you weren't feeling good," she said. Luna beamed.
"Oh, have I got a story to tell you!" She said this enthusiastically as she sat next to her.
"Another dream?" She asked. Luna shook her head.
"More like reality..." she said whimsically. "I've figured it all out, Kylie. The dreams? The people? It all exists. It's real!" Kylie looked around nervously then glanced back at Luna.
"Luna, please, keep your voice down." She warned. "You're making people stare." Luna nodded quickly.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm just excited!" She said in a loud whisper. "After all, I may have just proved I'm not crazy!" Kylie nodded nervously.
"Luna, are you okay? You're acting like you just drank a whole bunch of coffee!" Kylie asked. "Please calm down, you look like you're going to explode,"
Luna meanwhile was vibrating with excitement. Not only did she have Alejandra Y'Mauai as a guardian, but he was also her first kiss. She felt like a child again.
"I'm more than okay," Luna responded with a calmer tone. "I feel brilliant. I feel energized. One of my dreams seemed like it came to reality earlier. And now, I need all the space books I can get my hands on," Kylie pointed to a section of the library.
"The science books are over that way," She noted, still sounding somewhat nervous. "I'm sure you can find some books about outer space somewhere in there," Luna nodded.
"Thanks a bunch. I'll see you later!" Before Kylie could respond, Luna sprinted over to the science section and flicked through several books about space, trying to find the right one. After all, she wanted to know more about the most recent discoveries about the immediate universe that have been made in the past year. She wanted to see if Lunestica existed in the spot where she saw it in her dreams.
She returned home with her satchel full of space books and printouts from the internet. Christian had already gone to work, which allowed Luna to have the house to herself. And of course, Alejandra if he pleased. She sat on her bed and picked up the biggest book she checked out first. Inside was an atlas of the known and visible universe, and with Alejandra's help, she would draw a map of the star systems she dreamt about and get an idea of how far away Lunestica is from her.
Luna carried the atlas, pens, and paper in her satchel as she headed across the street. She walked through the door confidently and instantly headed up the attic stairs.
"Al! Alejandra, I need your help with something!" She called as she swung the door open. The spirit, who was lounging on his sofa, beamed when he saw her.
"Luna! What are you doing here?" She approached him and pulled out the atlas. He raised an airy pink brow.
"I'm charting a map, and I need your help with it," She explained, turning to the correct page. He hummed.
"How exactly can I help?" he asked. She grinned.
"I was hoping you'd tell me where the different star systems are on this map of the universe so I can draw them on some paper," She pulled out her paper and writing utensils as well. "That is, if you remember--"
"Of course, I remember, I traveled about the systems all the time during the rebellion," He ruffled her hair. "Come sit in the sunlight so you can see, and I will help you," Luna giggled in delight as she set her things on the floor and flopped down.
For the next three hours, Luna and Alejandra sat in the light, discussing the different star systems and what species inhabit them. She learned that her star system, which they simply called the Solar System on her planet, was called the Haelio System, and Earth was referred to as Gaia among the three other major star systems. The last time the Lunestic empire stepped foot on Gaia was during the Lunestic Second Era, back before their star died and became a white dwarf star. According to Alejandra, the Lunestic soldiers who came down to Gaia took aboard some Gaiatians to study and found out that they are not that different apart from each other gene-wise. They found out that Gaiatians and Lunestics were able to crossbreed and make a new and smaller subspecies. Alejandra was a part of that lineage.
"My mother was a Gaiatian, and my father was a purebred Lunestic. This would explain my differences from common Lunestic folk, simply because most of the other mixed bred either died off from disease, were murdered by discrimination, killed in the revolutionary war, or bred with more purebreds until they all looked the same," He explained. The more Luna listened, the more she could tell how he looked slightly different than a pure Lunestic. His ears were not as pointed as most of the Lunestics she had seen in her dreams, and he had freckles dotted across his face.
After learning about Alejandra's lineage, Luna focused on drawing out the map. She drew different colored dots to represent the different planets and stars. She even learned the real name of a planet she had only seen once in her dreams. Alejandra had written it in the dust on the wall in scribes. Luna could read it perfectly fine, but she could not pronounce it.
"It's A'cielinsulariä," He said.
"Do what?" She inquired. "Say that slowly,"
"A'cielinsulariä," He repeated. "This is why we shortened it. It is old Afrödic for 'floating islands in the sky',"
"So... the sky islands,"
"Correct. I just thought you should learn the actual name as well. The islanders are picky about the planet's name. Some get irritable if you don't say it right," Luna nodded and clicked her pen closed.
"Alright, that should do it! I have my very own star map now," she said gleefully. "Thank you so much, Al!" He patted the top of her head and smiled.
"You're welcome, Lunita," She started packing her things. "So... uh...do you want to go with me again tonight?" She looked over at him and smiled.
"Of course, I do, Al." She spoke. "Where do you wanna go?" He floated over to the other side of her.
"I was thinking Lunestica since we're both from there," Luna sighed quietly, still smiling faintly.
"I told you... I'm not her," She mumbled.
"Just give it a chance, Luna," He replied. "You'll love it," She looked back over at him.
"You sure?"
"Yeah," She nodded.
"Okay, let's do it. Tonight, we can go to Lunestica,"
Sharp footsteps echoed through the halls of the palace. Those who were in the halls either bowed down or retreated to the nearest room, which pleased the emperor in a sickly manner. His wicked grin highlighted the sharpness of his features, giving him an eerie presence. His long silver hair flowed behind him as he walked on down to his chambers, where he would plan his next invasion. He usually did this sort of thing on his own, but this time he assigned his most trustworthy generals and warlocks to aid him in his mission.
He entered his chambers and standing inside were three generals and two warlocks ready to help.
"Perfect," He spoke. "You five are going to help me scout this planet. After all, we haven't been there since Era Two,"
"What exactly are we looking for, your Highness?" one of the generals asked. Albrecht sat in his chair and folded his hands together.
"To see how intelligent the population is. I want to know everything about the Gaiatians, down to what they eat for breakfast. I expect this information to be brought to me in about a week,"
"A week? But sir, that's too short of a deadline to gather all that information," another general said.
"Not necessarily," said a warlock, rolling his eyes. "Not if we split up. We can start with the wealthiest area first and go down the list,"
"But how are we going to be able to tell?" The general argued.
"Just like how you can tell here or any other planet around the systems," Albrecht noted, crossing one leg over the other. "They probably aren't too far off from us when it comes to technology or government. I hope they aren't too far anyway..." he cleared his throat. "Anyway, let's head to the ship and see what we can find," as he stood, the others saluted. "File out. I'll be there shortly," They nodded and headed out of the door.
Albrecht went down to the opposite wing and knocked on a door.
"Go away, Albrecht!" a woman called. He sighed.
"Marilynn, open the door," He grumbled.
"No, Albrecht. What do you want?"
"I'm just letting you know that I'm about to leave for Gaia. I tried calling Aevaan to help but he's still being stubborn," he told her. Marilynn opened the door and glared at him with her sharp silver eyes. Mascara streaked down her cheeks. "Gods, woman, what happened to you?"
"Aevaan won't help you, and neither will I," She growled. "Go ahead and do what you will. Someone will stop you," He rolled his eyes.
"The only ones who have dared to stop me are Lunabelle and Alejandra, and guess what? I did what I needed to do. I won't hesitate to do it again," Marilynn slammed her door in his face and locked it. He sighed. "Women..."
Albrecht went down to the airport where his generals were waiting for him outside of his ship. He motioned them onto the ship, and they took his orders. The six of them boarded the ship and immediately took off into the starry void of outer space. It would only take them half an hour to get there, so Albrecht had to think fast and plan. He desperately wanted to step foot on the planet himself, but at the same time, he did not understand why he would even need to. His generals and warlocks would do all the work for him.
When they got into orbit, they were amazed by the hue of the ocean below.
"It's blue!" a general said. "It's nothing like our purple waters,"
"Yes, a very beautiful color indeed. It will suit us well," Albrecht noted. He peered ahead at the continents and pointed to one. "That one. I have a good feeling about that landmass right there," The others leaned forward on the dash to get a closer look. "Each of you grab a teleporter and scatter about. See what you can find. And make sure to turn on your cameras," The five of them saluted and teleported away one by one until Albrecht was left alone on his ship orbiting the planet Gaia.
One of the warlocks ended up in a forest by a creek. There was a small waterfall up ahead and ducks were swimming about the calm water. He had never seen an animal like it, with its white feathers and orange bill. He approached one and pulled some of his rations out of his pocket. The duck came forward, quacking, and he broke some rations off the bar and set it on the sand in front of the duck. The duck munched on it happily and started to follow him around as he explored the surrounding woods.
He peeked through some brush and saw two Gaiatians there, male and female. The male was sitting in the sand watching the female play in the water. Her eyes were just as blue as the ocean he saw while in orbit, and he took a mental note of this.
The female jumped out of the water and shook the wetness from her hair. She looked up at the man who smiled.
"Chris, why don't you get in the water? It's hot out here," She stated. "Come on!" she grabbed his wrist, but he shook his head.
"I'd rather not, Luna," He spoke. "It'll mess up my hair," She hummed.
"Party pooper!" She splashed him.
"Lunabelle, it got in my hair!" he brushed through it with his fingertips as she cackled and dove back into the water.
The warlock thought that the fact that the woman had a Lunestic name was strange-- especially the same name as an ancient war criminal. The woman even resembled her both in the face and in the voice. He was glad his camera was on and recording.
Luna got out of the water and dried off. Her waves puffed out from being dried with a towel, and her cheeks were brushed a light pink from the sun.
Meanwhile, Albrecht observed the camera feed from his ship, and one camera's footage caught his eye. It was a man and a woman, and he could not help but notice that the woman looked like the person he hated the most. Now, she was not a threat, and he doubted that she would ever even become one.
Then, he heard an animal call. He had no idea what it was, but when the warlock looked down, he saw a bird-like creature. He jumped out of his seat and picked up the mic.
"Enry, what is that animal next to you?" he asked in his earpiece.
"I'm not sure," He whispered back. "I fed it because it was hungry, and now it won't stop following me," The animal called again, this time getting the attention of the woman.
"Chris, look! A duck!" she cried, rummaging through her bag and pulling out a tin can. "Gimme the can opener, I wanna give it some of this corn,"
"Duck?" Albrecht mumbled. "Corn?" he hummed. "Strange. Enry, get more info. And act...normal," Enry nodded and reluctantly scooped up the duck,
"There you are you crazy duck!" He said loudly and awkwardly, coming through the brush. "Thanks for finding my pet, I've been looking everywhere for this sucker," Luna was halfway done with opening the corn when Enry came through the bushes.
"Oh, he's your pet?" She asked. "What's his name?" Enry thought fast but produced one quickly.
"Mister Duck," He stammered. "His name is Mister Duck," The woman smiled.
"That's a cute name! Mind if I feed him some of this corn since I've already opened the can?" Enry nodded quickly.
"Sure! Go right ahead! He's always hungry," He set the duck down and it waddled toward Luna. Christian was unsure about this man. He was the palest man he had ever seen before, and he looked almost sickly. His eyes were bigger than the average person's and were a deep mauve in color. He was also very tall and dressed strangely. And as he bent down to pet the duck, a long-pointed ear stuck out from his long black hair. Either Luna did not realize that this man was not human at all, or he was simply imagining it, and was witnessing some sort of costume.
"I like your elf costume," Luna said. "Are you on your way to some kind of convention?" Enry raised an eyebrow.
"An elf? No, no, this is how I've always looked," He replied. He and Luna locked eyes and that's when she fit the pieces together. The color drained from her already pale complexion. She glanced over at Christian who looked back. Luna then chuckled nervously then glanced at her watch.
"Oh, look at the time! It's almost time for dinner! Would you like to join us, considering how far you've come to see this place?" Enry nodded slowly.
"Sure," He spoke. Christian was skeptical, but he trusted Luna since she seemed like she knew what she was doing.
The three of them piled into Christian's truck and headed back to their house. It was about a twenty-minute drive, and the whole time no one talked. No one talked except for Albrecht on the other end of the feed.
"Enry, what a brilliant idea, going to their home. She seemed like she recognized you, though. That was weird. Find out as much as you can," Enry nodded.
When they got back to the house, Luna came up with a quick plan. She knew this man they were hitchhiking was not a human being like her and Christian. It may not have been that obvious to Christian, but she knew for certain that she was dealing with a Lunestic. Although she had never seen one with a pet duck before. Her plan was simple-- make sure he does not get out, and have Alejandra look at him; kind of like trapping a bug inside of a cup.
Luna quickly cleared her star maps and books off the table and set them on the side table by the sofa.
"Sorry about all my junk, just side projects," she said with a chuckle. "Sit anywhere, I'll have Chris order a pizza," Enry sat on the sofa, intrigued by Luna's star map.
"What is your name?" He asked, picking up the paper. He already knew it, but he wanted Albrecht to hear.
"Lunabelle Wendale." She spoke. "You can just call me Luna though. Lunabelle sounds like an old lady's name," the two chuckled at this, and she noticed that he was looking at her star map. "Oh, that's nothing important. It just helps out from time to time,"
"Helps out with what, exactly?" Enry asked. Luna shrugged and sat next to him. Albrecht was able to get a good look at her face, and as he looked, he grew pale.
"Stars..." he mumbled to Enry through the mic. "She looks just like her,"
"Well," Luna continued, "This may sound crazy, but I had these dreams that seemed like they went on forever, and it involved these places on the map," Christian left the room to order the pizza on his computer, and Luna leaned closer to Enry. "Okay, I know what you are. Now tell me, what is a Lunestic like you doing on my planet? Probably up to no good, eh?" Enry swallowed thickly and Albrecht leaned forward in his seat.
"W-what in the gods' name are you talking about?" he asked, trying to deny it. He knew he would not win the argument regardless, but he felt it bought him time.
"You heard me; I can see right through you," she said, setting her map aside and rubbing her hands together. "According to your attire, and even how you look... you're a second-tier warlock. I bet you're here because of your emperor, aren't you?"
"Enry, get out of there!" Albrecht said through the mic as Luna continued to rub her hands together. Enry, however, could not move. He was too appalled.
Luna's eyes shone a bright pink, as did her hands, and she hit Enry in the chest, knocking him unconscious with a sleeping spell. Though he was asleep, Albrecht could still see through the camera-- and he was horrified. Luna smiled.
"Oh! I forgot about that one. Nice!" She turned. "Christian, are you finished yet?" She called.
"No," He replied.
"Well, bring your computer in here and watch this guy. I knocked him out," she said, getting up. Christian ran in with his laptop and his mouth dropped open.
"Luna, what the hell did you do?" He asked, hesitant to sit. She brushed her hands off on her pants, pink and gold dust clouding off.
"Sleeping spell," she said. "He's a Lunestic warlock,"
"Do-fucking-what?" he blurted. "You mean, they're--"
"Real? Yeah. I told you so. Now, watch him. I'll get something to tie him up with," Before he could protest, she jogged into her bedroom, and started rummaging through her closet. Christian gulped and looked back at Enry, whose eyes were rolled back in his head, and his body was slumped back. He shuddered.
"Luna, do you want pineapple on your pizza?" he called, his eyes drifting to the collar of Enry's coat. He spotted a tiny camera hidden in the fabric.
"Of course, I do!" She replied, coming back into the room with some bungee cords and a Christmas tree garland. "What're you looking at?"
"I think I found a camera," he noted, tugging at the fabric to get a closer look. Luna tossed the ropes on the floor and came over to investigate as well.
"A camera? Oh, stars..." She grabbed Christian's pocket knife from his belt, flipped it open, and carefully cut the camera out of the fabric. She found a small wire connecting to something in his ear. She followed that wire and pulled a small hearing device out of Enry's ear. She gulped.
"Was he wired?" Christian asked.
"Yeah," Luna responded. She went to put the device in her ear, but Christian stopped her.
"Stop! You don't know who's on the other end of that!" He warned. Luna raised an eyebrow.
"How else are we supposed to find out?" She asked. "Trust me. If things get bad, I've got a plan," Christian sighed and looked down.
"Go ahead. But please be careful," Luna nodded and stuck the earpiece in her ear.
"Hello?" She said, "Who's watching us?"
"You know exactly who's watching you, Lunabelle," The voice said sharply. Luna's eyes widened. "I see the look in your eyes through that camera. You're afraid, as you should be. I didn't think you would come back, but you have," Luna knew this voice too well, and the sound of it immediately made her tremble.
"B-but I'm not her!" She argued. "I swear I'm not,"
"What's going on?" Christian asked, standing up.
"I wasn't going to do this today, but I've got no other choice. Prepare to become my prisoner; you and your accomplice. I bet he's Alejandra reincarnated, too!"
"No, he's not Alejandra and he's certainly not my accomplice, you leave him out of this!" Luna cried, holding back tears.
"You're a threat to my entire mission to take over this planet. You almost stopped me once, and I am not going to let that happen again, mark my words, you witch!"
Luna yanked the device out of her ear, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it. It broke into pieces on the floor. Christian yelped.
"What is it? What happened?" Christian asked sharply.
"Pack a bag, now! And take your gun," She replied, running into her room to get dressed out of her swimwear. Christian stammered through his words.
"What do you mean, pack a bag?! What's going on?" She changed quickly into some flexible clothing and a hoodie and slipped her sneakers back on.
"Christian, all I ask is that you trust me!" She spoke. "I'm packing a bag, too. I need to go across the street real quick,"
"Luna, I am not budging until you tell me what is going on!" After throwing some extra clothes and other things in her satchel, she went up to Christian and held his shoulders.
"Listen," she said quietly. "That...That was the emperor of Lunestica watching us. He thinks I'm Lunabelle Y'Mauai, and he says we're a threat. He's about to come to kidnap us, Chris, okay? We need to get away as fast as possible before he finds us," Christian gulped and nodded quickly.
"Yes ma'am." He said, running to get ready. Luna sighed and looked back at Enry, who was still unconscious on her sofa. She looked back to the front door and decided to run across the street to warn Alejandra.
She ran as fast as her legs could take her into the open door and scrambled upstairs calling his name in a panic. He met her at the top of the stairs.
"What's wrong, Luna?" He asked, panicked. "Why do you have a bag? Why are you crying?"
"There's no time to explain, but I came to warn you that Albrecht is coming, and he's coming to take me and Chris. I know you don't like Albrecht because of what he did to you, but I need you to help me," Alejandra's mouth fell open.
"Luna, I--" There was a loud boom outside, and Luna and Alejandra rushed to the window only to see that Albrecht's ship entered the atmosphere.
"Chris!" She opened the window and climbed down some vines and landed safely in the overgrown yard. Alejandra followed her as she ran back into her house. "Christian, hurry! He's in the atmosphere!"
"What're we gonna do?!" Christian cried, looking out of the door and into the sky.
"I'm not sure, but we need to think of something," Luna replied, tying her hair back with a hair tie. Christian pulled out his pistol, but Luna pushed it back into his bag. "That won't work, Chris, their technology is too advanced for your pistol to shoot through. I've got an idea, but you won't like it," She started out of the door and Christian followed.
"What is it, Luna?" He asked. She looked over at Alejandra, the sun hitting her face at just the right angle to where her eyes shone like bright crystals. The two stared at each other for a moment before she nodded once.
"Something that might knock me out for a few days, but it will be worth it if I can ward them off," she said. Alejandra gasped— he knew exactly what she was going to do, and he did not want her to do it.
"Luna, no!" He cried. "It's not worth it!"
"Luna, I trust you," Christian said to her. "As long as we don't get taken off of this planet,"
"Luna, I forbid you!" Alejandra yelled. Luna ignored him and rubbed her hands together as the ship got closer to them. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as her hands began to glow. "Luna, please at least let me help you! Your body isn’t made for this!" Alejandra was in tears because he was afraid that doing this spell would kill her since it was such an intense and powerful spell. He was surprised that she even knew it, but he also knew she had the blood of a mage inside of her.
Luna looked up at the sky with bright glowing eyes, reached one arm out, and shouted the spell. Suddenly, a bright burst of pink and golden energy shot out of her palm, the veins in her arm reaching to her neck glowing white under her skin. The beam hit the ship but barely did anything to damage it. All it did was slow its progress for a minute before it sped up even faster. As she recovered, she staggered back and held her arm close to her, which suffered some first and second-degree burns. Christian caught her as she fell back, and he was too shocked to react. Instead, he pulled out his pistol and began firing at the ship, which also did nothing.
Two ship members beamed down from the ship, knocked Christian out with the butt of their gun, and beamed the two back on board with them. Alejandra cursed under his breath and looked over at his own home to see Abiatii and Alias there staring in awe as the ship bolted out of the atmosphere and into space.
"We need to go help them, you two, come on!" Alejandra ordered. The two nodded, and they followed him as he flew after the ship in hopes that he would catch them before it was too late.
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