"Luna! Luna! Stop! Please stop!"

Oichi and Annie were startled awake when they heard Elizabeth crying. Oichi checked and saw that her children were still asleep. Both of them then got up and headed to the other room, where they saw the child thrashing about with her eyes closed.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth, you’re having a nightmare, sweetheart." Oichi tried to calm her down. The child’s bloodshot eyes opened and she saw both their faces filled with worry. Elizabeth immediately cried in Oichi’s arms.

"I want to go home. I want to see Mama. I want to go home."

Oichi just held her tightly while Annie looked at Elizabeth with concern. Whenever she had nightmares, she always cried for Luna to stop. Oichi just helped her calm down by humming a lullaby while gently rubbing her back.

"What’s wrong?" Solomon slowly opened the door to see Oichi holding a crying Elizabeth in her arms.

"She just had a bad dream. It’s alright, sweetheart. No one will hurt you. You’re safe. You’re safe."

It was everyone’s second night in the fishing village right on Aspana’s borders. Vhlad’s ship needed immediate repairs as the fighting left heavy damage to its hulls and engines. Alexander’s capital ship and cruisers fortunately have enough supplies and materials to bring it back up, but the repairs would take a week at most to complete. The mood in the fishing village was sombre. Although their casualties were low, it was a pyrrhic victory.

The moment they landed, Baldric wanted to go back and lead a search party, but Oichi, Solomon, Tinkerton-G, and Vhlad tried to stop him. But in the end, it was Annie who managed to do it, and he cried in his little sister’s arms. All of them knew Luna couldn’t swim. Her metal bones caused her to sink, and they all saw her fall into the sea. Nobody wanted to say that she was dead, and when Max brought up the idea of a memorial service for the fallen crew, including Luna, no one acknowledged it and it was not brought up again.

=0o0=

By the third day, the winter winds were starting to pick up, and Baldric spent his day drinking away from the village. Alexander, Solomon, Max, Gerwulf, and Vhlad discussed what to do next, and he just chose to hide away in a cove by the shore. The sun was starting to set as he finished another bottle of scotch and placed it down beside him.

He then heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching, and he expected Annie, but was surprised when it was Elizabeth and Shiny.

"Sunshine…" Baldric tried to hide the bottle. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" He saw that Elizabeth was not wearing warm clothes, so he quickly took off his coat and put it on her.

"I was following you."

"Why?"

"I don’t know. I just wanted to follow you."

Baldric smiled weakly. "Want to sit by me?"

He gestured at a large flat rock near him. They both sat down, and the three of them watched the sunset together.

"I heard you can’t sleep at night."

"Yeah." Elizabeth said as Shiny played on her fingers.

"I can’t sleep at night too."

"Really? Why?" The child looked at him.

"Because of…" he looked at the scorched wedding band on his finger. On his wrist was a burnt bracelet with the name, Bella on it. "… bad dreams."

"Me too."

Both of them then continued to watch the sunset in silence.

"Baldric?"

"Hmmm?"

"When I use my magic to help people, I can feel their pain. When I used it on Luna, I did not just feel her pain… I saw her mind. I saw that she was hurt. Really hurt. She was scared, alone, and angry. It was only for a little bit, but…I saw people doing bad things to her.

In my nightmares, I always see Luna, and she is... scary. In my dreams, she is attacking people while smiling, as if she was enjoying it. When I saw her mind, I did not see her hurting Kinney or Jasper. I know that she did not attack me and my mama, But when I saw her under the mask… and then when she killed people… I… I…"

She stared down as her shoulders drooped.

Baldric did not know what to say. His chest felt incredibly heavy as he felt powerless. She was too young to have these thoughts, and what pained him was that there was nothing he could do. Luna told him what she did and how Elizabeth watched it all.

What will you say to a child after that?

He stared at the setting sun then looked at Elizabeth, who was doing the same.

"Elizabeth… How much of it did you see? In the warehouse?"

The child looked him in the eye. When he saw her eyes, Baldric saw she had the stare. The same one he saw in Luna that day all those years ago. The stare that says the child has something she can never forget, no matter how hard she tries. It took her a while to answer, but when she did, her voice was shaking.

"When Luna… tried to rip the doctor’s… head. I closed my eyes and looked away. But when she… screamed. I saw Luna… Covered in blood, and holding something in her hand.

I screamed. When she saw me… her eyes… I saw that she was enjoying it. Killing… killing made her happy. I could not move…I just stood there watching her. I thought…" she paused, her tired sleepless eyes locked into his and he noticed Elizabeth was trying to hold her tears back. "I thought I was next."

In his mind, Baldric knew this was something that would follow the child forever. Maybe she can get it under control with therapy or counseling, but he knew Elizabeth would have more serious nightmares in the future, more than she does now. He watched Luna go through it when they were younger, and she carried those nightmares all her life.

It pained him that all the good Luna did was overshadowed by a brief painful memory. One mistake was all it took, and now Elizabeth is scarred forever.

"Baldric? Is Luna really a bad person?"

He did not answer. He couldn’t answer. Baldric stared into the sky above and closed his eyes.

"You want to hear a story, sunshine?"

"What’s it about?"

"It’s about the girl with no name." Elizabeth looked at him curiously. "But we need to do something first. We need to make a fire."

Both of them walked along the shore and picked up dry grass and sticks. Both of them dug a pit, and Baldric showed her how to start a fire without any tools, which cheered Elizabeth a little bit. The sun had almost set when they finished, and both of them sat in front of a roaring fire.

Once he saw that Elizabeth was comfortable, Baldric began to speak.

"You know, when I first met Luna, she was seven and I was ten. And back then she did not have a name."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I met Luna in the streets of a big city, and back then she was as small as you. My parents were business owners and one day all three of us decided to go to the park. When we were having a picnic, I saw this scrawny, dirty kid just walk up to us and try to steal the sandwich from my hands." Baldric chuckled. "My parents reported it to the enforcers and they caught her. I remember that day and the look she gave me as she was escorted to the station was pure hatred.

Not long after, my parents’ house burned down…and they did not escape; they died in that fire. We were wealthy and so many of our family friends wanted to take me in. Of course I went with them, but then I realised they were only after my parents' money.

I was fooled. They tricked me into signing away all the money and businesses my parents had, and once they had that, I was kicked out on the streets. I tried to ask the enforcers for help, but they were paid off. I went to find my father’s lawyers and my mother’s business partners to ask for help, but everywhere I went, they all turned me away. I was left in the streets all alone.

I prayed to the Maker for help, and when things could not possibly get any worse, I met Luna again. She attacked me in an alley, and we both got into a huge fight. She blamed me for getting arrested. I remember she broke my glasses back then, and I could not see what five steps in front of me were. As she ran away, I tried to go after her, but I ran towards the street and almost got hit by an automobile, but Luna came back and saved me."

Baldric smiled.

"After that, we were inseparable. We became a duo who menaced the streets, doing what we could to survive. I was raised in a very religious home, so I teached Luna how to read, write, and also about the Maker. In exchange, she taught me how to survive on the streets, like what types of food in garbage cans were safe to eat or where to sleep when it rains. Even though sometimes we did not eat for days, we endured it together, and somehow it made those times bearable.

I did not want to be tricked ever again, and that's why I learned how to read people's faces. To know if they are lying, a threat, or a victim. Then I used those skills to win card games or alley games, so we had money for food.

Luna, meanwhile, was a natural fighter, pickpocket, and runner. If anyone was a threat, I would point them out and she would get the drop on them. Soon we met Solomon and Max. They were orphans too, but they were already involved in more dangerous crimes with their own gang. Luna tried to steal from Solomon, but instead of beating us up, Solomon saw something in her.

He hired both of us to work under him, and in exchange he would give us food and a warm place to sleep. For two street rats, that was a no-brainer. For three years, we all worked together. Solomon gave her the name Elizabeth at first, because when we got caught, Luna said, the Maker will strike you down!"

Baldric laughed.

"Really, Luna has the same name as me?" Elizabeth looked at him.

"Used to." he smiled. "Maybe that's why she liked you right away, sunshine. Did you know that the name Elizabeth means "the Maker is my shield?"

"No. But I like it." The child smiled at the meaning of her name.

Baldric continued

"Even though Solomon was only a year older than me, he became our leader while Luna, Max, and I slowly became his most trusted friends. He was the brain and we were the muscles, but soon it caught up with us. All of us were arrested after a theft gone wrong, and soon we were sent to prison. We expected to be free in a couple of days because we were all still underage, but someone came and bought us. Every prisoner was put in trucks and we were brought to a massive prison island named "The Pit."

"I know that place." Elizabeth said as Shiny rested on her shoulder.

"You… do?" Baldric’s eyes widened when he looked at her.

"We read about it once, and my aunty Cath told me they used to put bad people there."

Baldric shook his head gently. Then he continued. "Do you want to know why they don’t put anyone, not even bad people, in there anymore?"

"Why?"

"Because of Luna." He then showed the numbers on his right arm. "Remember these?"

"Your guild tattoos?"

"Yes and no. All the prisoners in the pit were given these tattoos. The day we arrived, they marked us like animals and made us work in the mines underneath the pit. It was a slave camp for a company where cruelty was very rampant. We saw people get killed because of their race, Or just for looking at the guards the wrong way. I personally got publicly tortured there myself when I tried to help someone. But it wasn’t all bad; in the pit we met our friends and soon to be future family.

We met a three-year-old Annie, and her older brother, Marko, there. We met Ferris, Regis, Gaatz, and more importantly, that’s where I met my future wife, Beatrice. All of us were roughly the same age, with Solomon and Marko being the oldest, so we all stuck together. We looked out for each other, cared for one another, and made sure no one got into trouble with the guards.

Then one day, I remember Luna telling us she had found a way to escape from the pit. We were mining magicores. Everyone knows it's explosive, but you need a very strong fire to make it work. Luna found out that there was an oil pipe within the walls that was leaking, and she suggested we collect the oil and use it as a trigger to start a fire.

The adult prisoners caught on to the plan, and they wanted to join in as well. Marko and Solomon created a secret language which spread in the pit and with it, all the prisoners communicated and knew of the plan." Baldric paused. "You remember Ferris, right, Sunshine?"

"Is he the talking skeleton in your house?"

"Well, that’s not him, but a mobile body. Anyway, he started making explosives made out of magicores, and we all planted them in important places. Once everything was set up, we needed a distraction, and so Luna, Solomon, and Marko started a prison riot. It worked, and among the chaos we set off the explosions that led to a massive break out. The walls, the guard barracks, the fortress in the middle... I don't know how Ferris and Luna did it, but they managed to destroy it all.

Most of their facilities were so destroyed that after our escape, the pit was never used again. Solomon and Marko led everyone up and out of the pit, but I slipped and broke my leg. I was trapped and with the whole prison exploding, I thought I was going to die, but Luna once again came and saved me. But that act cost us time. An airship filled with more guards arrived, and soon all our ways to escape were vanishing fast."

Baldric stopped talking and stared at the fire. Elizabeth waited for him to continue, but a whole minute passed and he still did not speak.

"Baldric, what happened next?"

When he looked up, his face was different. He slumped his shoulders and he could not speak as he felt a massive lump in his throat.

"Right... well. Where did I stop?"

"The guards came."

"Ah sorry sunshine, but anyway, we were cornered and with me having a broken leg, it was impossible for us to run. The last escape route we have left is a small hole in the massive walls where Marko was waiting on the other side. Luna pushed me through first, and she stalled for time while they got me out. But when it was her turn, it was too late. The guards caught her, and they started firing live rounds at us. We escaped, but Luna and the rest of the prisoners were left in the pit.

What happened in the pit after that was told to us months later by one of the prisoners who had been left behind. They told us that the warden demanded to know who was behind the escape. The adult prisoners, wanting to save their own skins, all pointed the blame at Luna. The warden was about to kill her when a doctor came and told the warden that instead of killing the prisoners, he should just take them into a new facility. She was from the same company that owned the pit and bought us in the first place."

"What company is that?"

"The same one that took you sunshine, Chimera Trading Company. I’m sure your mama or your aunts told you about them?"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"You see, on the outside, Chimera is an innovation company. But on the inside, they have a vision of making humans the pinnacle of life on Pandora. With the protection of wealthy pro-human backers from many nations, Chimera became an underground tycoon giant that was protected from any form of investigation or prosecution no matter how many atrocities they committed, and they exploited this to the fullest.

Chimera would covertly abduct creatures and people from other races, but even that was not enough, and they soon targeted their fellow humans as well. Prisoners, slaves, the poor or in debt, and anything that seems unfit or unsightly to the human race, like vagrants, homeless, crippled or simply those who are enemies of Chimera and its pro-human ideas, were abducted and put into these torture prisons, and Luna was one of them."

"What is pro-human?" Elizabeth innocently asked.

"It means they hate anything that is not human. Bestians, Orks, Trojeks, Alar, and all the other races, that include mages as well."

"You mean like me? And my aunt Cath?"

"Exactly sunshine. Exactly."

"If they are so bad, why doesn't anyone try to stop them?"

"As I said, they are just too powerful. They have connections in all the high places. They have friends in courts, parliaments, and senates; they have their own private army; and it doesn’t help that they are the biggest and richest company in two continents. Chimera is the biggest supplier of machines, weapons, food, and medicine, which makes them pretty much untouchable. But to make all their products, they need to test them on someone, and their test subjects are anything non-human they can get their hands on.

When they took Luna, they took her to their largest medical prison, which is found in Silvus, a prison named Skyguard hold."

"There you two are!"

Both of them looked up and saw Oichi and Annie walking towards them. Both of them wore thick coats, and Annie carried a coat and a blanket for Elizabeth as well.

"I was wondering where you two were. It's pretty cold out, why are you two out here by the shore?"

"Baldric is telling me a story." Annie sat beside Elizabeth. She draped the large coat over the child even though she was already wearing Baldric's thick coat.

"Oh? What about?" Oichi said as she got the blanket and draped it over Baldric.

"It's about Luna." When the child said the last word, Annie and Oichi stared at Baldric. Oichi then sat beside him.

"So where did you stop?" She asked Baldric, but Elizabeth was the one who answered.

"We stopped at around when Luna was brought to a place called Skyguard hold."

Annie's eyes widened, and Oichi just stared at Baldric. But he just stared into the fire.

"Sweetheart… are you sure? You really want to hear what comes next?" Oichi said to the child. "It's not... it's not an appropriate story."

"She needs to know." Baldric said as he looked at Oichi. "She deserves to know."

None of them talked for a long while.

Oichi looked at Baldric, then at Annie and Elizabeth.

"I'll allow it." She said. "But, only if you remove the more graphic details."