Nico rested against the tree next to Luna, worry and exhaustion clasping his limbs. Aiden had fallen unconscious in the middle of the summit.

There was some satisfaction to the fear and pain Aiden showed, but it was short. Only the first few punches felt good. The rest was dirty business. He’d answered the questions Nico asked and then some more without much encouragement. Most of it confirmed what Kara probably had figured out. The Iron House blocked off their retreat towards the 3rd City. The other ugly bit was the debauchery happening with the refugees of the 4th Fall.

“Seriously,” Nico said, rubbing his face. His voice sounded wrong. It was weak and flat. He hated it. “How the fuck did we get to this point?”

“People are desensitized to the Houses evicting people to their deaths as a business practice,” Luna said, opening her eyes. He didn’t know whether she’d fallen asleep through that or not. “Evicting them out of spiritual reasons isn’t too far of a stretch.”

“It was a rhetorical…” Nico stopped. He was too tired to finish that sentence. He looked up to the clear blue sky.

A future where humanity is devoured by the Deep seemed rather flowery in comparison to what the Iron House had in mind for them.

The Syndicate refused to give Luna the refuges because they were planning on giving them to the Children Of the Deep, who were going to use them as an offering to the Deep in hopes of ‘calming’ it. In return, the Children would encourage its followers to produce Energy even more fervently. Their plan in avoiding another 4th Fall was to just hope it won’t happen again.

“It’s insane,” Nico said. The fact that a House would do something as degenerate as that did not surprise Nico. The fact that the city would go with it did. “It’s…It’s… It’s so mindbogglingly stupid. How? How? Why is this a thing? Why does that cult even exist? Why do people think that sacrificing other people is going to save them?”

“Well, they can either fight the Syndicate, fight the Deep, or they can do nothing,” Luna said. “One involves risking their lives, the lives of their loved ones, and to live through change beyond their imaginations. The other returns them to a life they know.”

“Why aren’t you surprised?” he said, turning towards her. “And why are you so fucking calm?”

“I’m not surprised because in the same way there are patterns in puzzles, in paintings, in music, and in stories, there are patterns to human behavior, at an individual, societal, and especially at a historical level,” Luna said. “And I am calm because we’re going to stop them, of course.”

“Or die trying,” Nico said. He’ll burn the entire city down before he lets them sacrifice Dan.

“And in either case—”

“We won’t witness it happening,” Nico said, chuckling. Her smile and voice made him happy for some reason.

“Precisely,” Luna said, thumping her fist against her palm. “There are good people out there, Nico. We might not see them, we might not hear them, but they are there, and they are fighting.”

“Are the Suns one of them?”

“Good people? I vouch for it. But will they fight?” Luna said, shaking her head. “They’re true pacifists. They’ll die before they pick up an axe against another human. The 5th City had a responsibility to the world, and it had failed them by choosing seclusion.”

“Are you one of them?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I was.”

“Is Kara one of them?”

“She might be warming up to the idea,” Luna said.

“You know this because?”

“She hasn’t returned yet. That means she either died, or she’s decided to try to become more than just a killer.”

“Am I one?”

“On an individual level. Whether this remains to true for the group and societal levels might depend on why you left Aiden alive.”

“Might?”

“I’m just guessing,” she said. “It’s all I’m doing. I could be wrong on some or all accounts.”

“Thank you, Luna,” Nico said.

“May our journeys together be fulfilling, Nico,” she said.

Kara stepped onto the summit. She had blood on her suit, but it didn’t seem to hers. She walked towards them with a limp. When she got to Aiden she bent down to him. She grasped the jacket from the back of his neck and lifted it up until it slid off his arms. She left half of the suit hang off her hand and the other off the ground. She placed a foot over it and twisted it. She laid it across Aiden’s back and kicked him to the other side, wrapping it around him and then tying it.

Nico went to meet her.

“Properly train Luna how to fight,” she said, walking past him. “The monsters will arrive after the fog. I’ll fight in the trees and attempt to preserve my sword charge for any Bosses that come. You and Luna will survive for as long as it takes for all the monsters to reach us. I’ll unleash the sword on any Bosses, then use my Howl attack, disabling most of them. We have a few minutes after that to heal and to gather around me. The Deep will likely retaliate.”

“Uh,” Nico said, stopping. This was not the reaction he was hoping for. He turned and walked with her. “Retaliate how exactly?”

“We’ll find out when it does.” Kara stopped in front of the tree. “Did you hang him by his intestines?”

“What? Aiden?” What did his intestines have to do with anything? “How would I have even gotten—"

“Then, Nil, you are nowhere as terrible of a person as you think you are,” she said, going straight up with a flick of her toes, catching a branch, and though there was little momentum behind her originally, her body spun up like a wheel on an axis. It was a gentle, steady pace. She let go and her body spun around the branches in her away. She fell slowly, catching a branch below her, and swung around it smoothly.

She climbed up until the mid-point, stopping at a branch wide enough to lay on. She sat down, resting her back against the tree, and went still.

Nico covered his mouth. He glanced at Luna for support, but she smiled and shook her head.

“They were very good punches,” Luna said, getting to her feet. She walked towards the center of the summit. “But I don’t believe you did anything unfair to Aiden. If it makes you feel better, I do think it is cute that you thought you did.”

“It doesn’t,” Nico said, frowning. But to hang them with their own intestines? I mean, come on, who even thinks of that stuff?

Luna was standing a short distance away from Nico, a fireball the size of a head in her right hand. The flames were an intense orange and tightly rolled into a ball. Little tendrils of flames coursed on the surface. She held it in front of her with stretched arms.

“And what are you doing?” he said, suddenly aware of her.

“Weren’t you going to teach me how to fight?” she said. “I have balls of my own.”

“Ah-uh,” he said slowly. “Go ahead then.” He charged a Bone Skewer.

Luna blinked. She lowered her arms slightly. “I feel—”

“Go ahead,” he said, flatly.

Luna pointed her hand at Nico. The fireball flew towards him. It wasn’t slow, but it was slow enough for Nico to facepalm with one hand, and fire the Bone Skewer with the other. It pierced through the fireball, exploding. He saw Luna’s surprised face momentarily through the flames before the Skewer went through her throat. He activated the hooks and retracted. He flew towards her, his right arm raised, as she stumbled forward.

Credit where credit is due, even with metal in her throat, she still swung her fist at him. Nico transmuted away the Bone Skewer, and instead of swinging with his right he pumped it back, helping the Locust throw a stronger swing. She missed, and the Locust struck her up the jaw. Her legs went forward as her upper body went back. She fell, unmoving, and without making a sound.

Let’s see what we’re dealing with. He walked towards the edge to look across the plain. There is the Deep, a few hours away coming towards us. As for the monsters that got agroed, the Doomie’s didn’t have ears to be damaged by Kara’s Howl. There were the fairies, but their feet would melt if they stepped onto the Bronze Fields. That leaves the Riders and the Tengus. If they spot each other on the field, which they will, then only one of that those monster tribes were going to reach them.

Nico walked back to the summit. According to Aiden, the other side to the City was cleared by the Iron House. Nico didn’t expect the Iron House nor any monsters to come that way. The Deep made sure of that. By now they were probably scrambling back to the city.

Nico stood over Luna, a health shell in hand. He bent down and cracked it against her forehead. The gel fell into her skin. A few seconds later she gasped awake, holding her throat as she coughed and panted. I guess we have around two hours. One to train, the other to rest. “Luna, do you like music?”

Luna sat back, breathing hard. She nodded. “Piano.”

“Imagine a novice pianist that’s been practicing for 8 years, about 6 hours a day, is competing against someone’s who’s only experience with playing the piano is kicking a mean boy when they were 13. Who wins?”

“The judges,” she answered confidently.

Nico smiled. He sat in front of her. “Do you understand what you’re getting yourself into?”

“I do,” she said. “Though I could have done fine with an if it makes you feel better, Saryina, I do think it’s cute you thought you could even learn by sparing me, which truly would have made me feel better.”

“Blah, it’s too obvious, and a little bit mean spirited considering I hurt you, but—” Nico stopped. Did she let her real name slip? It happened sometimes with people that weren’t used to using their Handle.

From how her smile stretched, she probably noticed. I guess I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. He did like how it sounded. “I’ll teach you how to attack first, and have you learn how to defend by copying the same techniques I use. Let’s start with the basic theory, discuss your skills, my skills, and your fighting style. Then hopefully we’ll come up with a battle plan that does not include, or at least does not entirely consist of, tossing a slow-moving fireball towards the enemy.”