Lux stood before Maeve, both of them visibly exhausted. Benny lay somewhere kilometers away, endeavoring to recover. If Aladdin hadn’t intervened when he did, Benny would have met his demise. Maeve had led their brawl away from the castle and her people, as far as she could, all the way to what remained of Taurean Village—a desolate landscape with not even the slightest weed regrowth.
"Answer this, Maeve," Lux declared, her six arms crossing in front of her. "How do you see out of helmet? It just...smooth?"
Maeve pointed to her helmet. "This? Magic." With a swift dash, she closed the small gap between them, head-butting Lux and knocking her backward.
Shaking her head, Lux rubbed her temples with her own hand and then gestured forward with her free hand. "Get her!"
Her four arms hovering behind her sprung forward, attempting to strike Maeve. However, Maeve agilely leaped around, evading the onslaught. Lux had them pursue Maeve for a bit longer before calling them back to her side.
"I have ‘nother question for you," Lux stated. "When you have moment."
Maeve lifted herself up from her last flip, smoothly dodging Lux's arms, and took in a deep breath. "What?"
"How come..." Lux extended her hand, attempting to pull Maeve toward her. "...how come cannot pull you?" She tried again, grasping at Maeve. "Why?"
Maeve let out a laugh through her nose. "Benefits of being Nix’s daughter. You can’t pull darkness. It comes when it's time..." Suddenly, Maeve disappeared, only to reappear in front of Lux with a raised fist. "...and there’s nothing you can do to stop it!" She threw her punch, which connected, but Lux's arm blocked the blow. Maeve went for another punch, but once again, a floating arm intercepted it. "Ah!" Maeve cried out, continuing to throw punches. "Faster," she told herself. "Have to go faster!" The speed of Maeve’s punches rapidly increased. "Faster!"
Lux shifted from blocking to throwing punches of her own, her fists—all six—pounding against Maeve’s onslaught. Some of Maeve’s punches began to sneak through as she accelerated, forcing Lux to match her pace. Before long, it became a frenzied blur of punches, with Maeve continuously shouting.
"Faster!" Maeve's voice echoed beneath her mask, an almost sinister smile evident. "Faster!"
As more punches began to not just sneak through, but announce themselves before impact, panic began to set in for Lux. She was getting hit more frequently, the punches coming faster and harder. She couldn’t comprehend how Maeve managed it; Lux's ability to keep up was solely due to the hovering arms behind her. They were a gift from Virgil before she was sent to confront Maeve. He had warned her she would need them, and upon her return, she intended to confront her brother about how he foresaw such an encounter.
"Faster!" Maeve's punch snapped Lux back to reality, forcefully interrupting her thoughts. Another blow followed, striking the same spot on Lux's nose. Stumbling back, Lux barely had time to recover before Maeve dashed forward, sliding beneath her with a kick and knocking Lux off her feet. Maeve swiftly rose, delivering a series of expertly aimed kicks that showcased the limberness of her armor—one to the knees, another to the waist, and the final to her head. Lux found herself propelled meters north, nearing the island's edge.
As Maeve landed, she tapped her chest once and shed her armor, revealing the chain mail and tight black suit beneath, she leaned forward and stretched.
"Takes a lot outta ya," Maeve stated, stretching a bit more before turning to Lux, who was pulling herself upright with the help of her floating arms. "I didn’t think that would be enough to keep you down. Virgil kicked the shit out of us."
Lux curled her nose in disgust as she stood. "Yeah, well, brother is eldest. It makes sense." She cracked her neck back and forth as the arms adjusted themselves behind her. "But you know I’m not here to kill you."
"You never actually did tell me why you're here, unless it was really just to tell me my husband is annoying," Maeve said, shaking her head. "But I already knew that. So why are you here?"
Lux rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "My brother has request."
"Why didn’t he come here himself then?" Maeve interrupted.
"He is busy with husband."
"My husband or his own?" Maeve asked, flashing a cheeky grin.
"You annoy me."
"That’s kind of the point," Maeve stated.
Lux grumbled, annoyed. "Virgil wants you to travel to Fadsper and ensure Nix is truly dead."
Maeve's heart sank at the thought. The thought that bringing back Fadsper was all just to ensure Nix could return. Her heart sank further as she realized that Protos, the Higher of Time, who could see into the future, was working with Nix.
"Fuck," Maeve muttered aloud.
"Putting pieces together now?" Lux asked. "And by the way, tell Aladdin I said ‘Hello’." With that, Lux disappeared into a puff of orange sand, leaving Maeve alone with her thoughts and the fear that her mother might still be alive, or at least in the process of resurrection.
She looked out at the Infinite Ocean, waves crashing against the bank below, rocking the Lycan ships back and forth. Her mind drifted to Zero. Regardless, the Moon had to go. But the thought of Nix still being alive made her feel like everything had been for nothing. The more she pondered it, the more she began to think that Zero truly might never return.
Lux stood before Maeve, both of them visibly exhausted. Benny lay somewhere kilometers away, endeavoring to recover. If Aladdin hadn’t intervened when he did, Benny would have met his demise. Maeve had led their brawl away from the castle and her people, as far as she could, all the way to what remained of Taurean Village—a desolate landscape with not even the slightest weed regrowth.
"Answer this, Maeve," Lux declared, her six arms crossing in front of her. "How do you see out of helmet? It just...smooth?"
Maeve pointed to her helmet. "This? Magic." With a swift dash, she closed the small gap between them, head-butting Lux and knocking her backward.
Shaking her head, Lux rubbed her temples with her own hand and then gestured forward with her free hand. "Get her!"
Her four arms hovering behind her sprung forward, attempting to strike Maeve. However, Maeve agilely leaped around, evading the onslaught. Lux had them pursue Maeve for a bit longer before calling them back to her side.
"I have ‘nother question for you," Lux stated. "When you have moment."
Maeve lifted herself up from her last flip, smoothly dodging Lux's arms, and took in a deep breath. "What?"
"How come..." Lux extended her hand, attempting to pull Maeve toward her. "...how come cannot pull you?" She tried again, grasping at Maeve. "Why?"
Maeve let out a laugh through her nose. "Benefits of being Nix’s daughter. You can’t pull darkness. It comes when it's time..." Suddenly, Maeve disappeared, only to reappear in front of Lux with a raised fist. "...and there’s nothing you can do to stop it!" She threw her punch, which connected, but Lux's arm blocked the blow. Maeve went for another punch, but once again, a floating arm intercepted it. "Ah!" Maeve cried out, continuing to throw punches. "Faster," she told herself. "Have to go faster!" The speed of Maeve’s punches rapidly increased. "Faster!"
Lux shifted from blocking to throwing punches of her own, her fists—all six—pounding against Maeve’s onslaught. Some of Maeve’s punches began to sneak through as she accelerated, forcing Lux to match her pace. Before long, it became a frenzied blur of punches, with Maeve continuously shouting.
"Faster!" Maeve's voice echoed beneath her mask, an almost sinister smile evident. "Faster!"
As more punches began to not just sneak through, but announce themselves before impact, panic began to set in for Lux. She was getting hit more frequently, the punches coming faster and harder. She couldn’t comprehend how Maeve managed it; Lux's ability to keep up was solely due to the hovering arms behind her. They were a gift from Virgil before she was sent to confront Maeve. He had warned her she would need them, and upon her return, she intended to confront her brother about how he foresaw such an encounter.
"Faster!" Maeve's punch snapped Lux back to reality, forcefully interrupting her thoughts. Another blow followed, striking the same spot on Lux's nose. Stumbling back, Lux barely had time to recover before Maeve dashed forward, sliding beneath her with a kick and knocking Lux off her feet. Maeve swiftly rose, delivering a series of expertly aimed kicks that showcased the limberness of her armor—one to the knees, another to the waist, and the final to her head. Lux found herself propelled meters north, nearing the island's edge.
As Maeve landed, she tapped her chest once and shed her armor, revealing the chain mail and tight black suit beneath, she leaned forward and stretched.
"Takes a lot outta ya," Maeve stated, stretching a bit more before turning to Lux, who was pulling herself upright with the help of her floating arms. "I didn’t think that would be enough to keep you down. Virgil kicked the shit out of us."
Lux curled her nose in disgust as she stood. "Yeah, well, brother is eldest. It makes sense." She cracked her neck back and forth as the arms adjusted themselves behind her. "But you know I’m not here to kill you."
"You never actually did tell me why you're here, unless it was really just to tell me my husband is annoying," Maeve said, shaking her head. "But I already knew that. So why are you here?"
Lux rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "My brother has request."
"Why didn’t he come here himself then?" Maeve interrupted.
"He is busy with husband."
"My husband or his own?" Maeve asked, flashing a cheeky grin.
"You annoy me."
"That’s kind of the point," Maeve stated.
Lux grumbled, annoyed. "Virgil wants you to travel to Fadsper and ensure Nix is truly dead."
Maeve's heart sank at the thought. The thought that bringing back Fadsper was all just to ensure Nix could return. Her heart sank further as she realized that Protos, the Higher of Time, who could see into the future, was working with Nix.
"Fuck," Maeve muttered aloud.
"Putting pieces together now?" Lux asked. "And by the way, tell Aladdin I said ‘Hello’." With that, Lux disappeared into a puff of orange sand, leaving Maeve alone with her thoughts and the fear that her mother might still be alive, or at least in the process of resurrection.
She looked out at the Infinite Ocean, waves crashing against the bank below, rocking the Lycan ships back and forth. Her mind drifted to Zero. Regardless, the Moon had to go. But the thought of Nix still being alive made her feel like everything had been for nothing. The more she pondered it, the more she began to think that Zero truly might never return.
