In one of the spires of the utterly massive Church of the Full Moon, a large and comfortable bedroom belonging to Elara Amaterasu Nightshade exists. It's a rather punky room with lots of band posters and strings of multicolored lighting all over the place. On her king size bed, a cavalcade of plushies sit there while watching over the massive battlestation she uses on a daily basis. A piece of software called the Full Moon Syndicate Memory Mental Archival Program is active on her screen. In the corner of the program, an image of Luna's face is seen. The room is rather dark, only being lit up by the strings of lights and the glow of the computer. A couple windows exist in this room, but Elara prefers it mostly dark, thus darkening shades cover them. A single large wooden door separates this room from the rest of the Church. Luna, Hinata, Riri, and Elara all appear here. Though, an update in The Hangout Zone distracts Luna from looking around the room. The moment they appear, Luna spins around and looks at Riri suspiciously. "Did I fuck up?"
== LOADING FLASHBACK -> CHAT LOG -> THE HANGOUT SPOT ==
|
Reverie - I'm not dead but I'm still at home, should I be scared? Luna - Wait what? No, you're here with us. With your pretty dark blue hair and everything Riri Reverie - My hair is blue!? L - y-yeah?? Uh oh Um. ...is the you i'm talking to also like 5'5"? R - I'm like 5'8" so no! L - Hm.. Okay, so either I'm a God and I performed an entity clone glitch accidentally or the Riri with me is an impostor. And considering Violet keeps saying she's experiencing weird glitches uh uhhhhhh one moment. R - ... are you saying you accidentally found 'Riri duplication glitch (working 2023) (not patched)' when trying to bring me there? L - ... K - See when Alais mentioned the 0.001% chance of death, there are two parts to that. A 0.0001% chance of actual death and a 0.0009% chance of your self being glitched in some way. So uh... Yeah. V - Hm? What is going on? R - I think the team made a copy of me, somehow. I thought one of me was more than enough. 😅 K - In our defense, we didn't know what kind of glitches were possible. L - And I'm still getting over the fact that my home world can even do that |
== RETURN TO PRESENT ==
"Huh, what?" Riri looks back at her, seeming startled.
Luna looks nervous as she puts her phone away, "uhm.. how do I put this? So... you arrived here like an hour ago. Apparently, you're also waiting at home. So either my world has some properties that i'm confused about, or i performed some kind of glitch. Also you're usually t-taller than this and don't have blue hair..."
"I-I might need a mirror." Riri starts to shake slightly. "I-I have no idea what to say."
"I have a mirror over here," Elara says while opening up her closet. It's a standing mirror. Behind it are many hangers of clothes and various outfits.
"Uh, thank you." Riri turns to look at the mirror, surprised as she sees how much shorter she really is. Riri has long, dark blue hair and her round glasses rest comfortably on her face. "I still feel strange but I think I look cute, honestly."
Luna looks down and is currently sitting on Elara's bed. Hinata is next to her worried.
"I'm glad Riri. Your outfit is super cute!" Elara smiles.
On the computer screen, a search request for "Missing Piece" flashes.
"Oop one moment." Elara sits at her computer chair and reads the screen, then she types in "A Missing Piece" into the search bar. Loads of information whizzes by Elara as she reads and looks for anything and everything that fits. In a way, the Memory MAP program isn't exactly a search engine but instead Control+F. Shoutouts to ancient technology
"T-Thank you, you too." Riri blushes slightly at the compliment before being distracted by the flashing screen.
"Right. Anyway, wanna meet my plushies?" Elara gets up from her chair and walks over to the large bed where an audience of various stuffed animals from sharks to whales, various fish, some bears, and even some less popular options like the giraffe all sit. "These are all of my friends."
"You're gonna forget about me now huh?" A voice from her backpack complains. It sounds rather pouty. Riri is able to hear this voice
"I want to meet all of them, but who was that talking there?" Riri is scared by the sudden voice as she looks around the room in confusion.
"Oh right, sorry Mr. Bunnykins!" Elara walks over to her backpack and pulls out a rainbow bunny plushie out it. It's so soft and cuddly. Floppy too.
"Aww yiss, much better, thank you Ella," it says. Its voice seems rather cartoony, like a slightly higher pitched bugs bunny. "Whoa, who's the blue haired chick?" it asks.
Riri is able to hear Mr. Bunnykins, its voice seems to be coming from the plushie itself.
"Woah, you talk?" She looks at it curiously and smiles. "Hi."
"Yeah I talk, but only those who Elara trusts can hear me. Seems like you're one of them!" It would smile but it is quite literally made of fabric and stuffing.
Elara blushes slightly and points her index fingers together, "eheh.. uhh sorry, just when I heard you and Luna were friends, I just thought we could be friends too.."
"Um, of course!" Riri points her index fingers together and blushes too. "I always wanted to meet someone with more plushies than me!"
"Woo! That's so cool! Anyway, lemme show you the harem! This one here is Jerry the Beary, and this one is Blahj the shark! And all of them are my favorites! And you've met Mr. Bunnykins, he's special. Did you want to know more about any of them?"
If it's a plushie, Elara probably has it. The giraffe seems the most out of place, a bit more stiff even. Luna looks over with a smile. Hinata is watching too, curious about some of the friends as well. She holds the hedgehog plushie close to her.
"The giraffe! My first time meeting someone else with one of those!" Riri points to the tired looking giraffe. It reminds her of her beloved. It looks super uncomfortable, though.
"Oh that! I made that one myself. Luna had told me about some streamer playing this like fuckin weird ass driving game? And I just remembered all of the giraffe collectables so I made my own. Its name is Ronald." Elara holds it out to Riri. It looks nearly identical to Renald though somehow it looks even more uncomfortable than the Renald sprite in The Long Drive.
"It looks adorable, if a little rough." Riri holds it in her hands and is surprised by the texture, but she smiles regardless. "If you're talking about who I think you are, he's why I wanted another giraffe after I lost mine."
"His name was like uhhhhhhhhhh Cole Genesone or something like that?" Elara tilts her head.
Luna speaks up, "Yeah I live with him. He's one of my best friends." She's laying on Elara's bed holding one of the Shark plushies close to her chest. Hinata and Luna both look comfortable, as if all of the stress is melting away
"I loved those livestreams. I hope he's doing alright." Riri reaches into her pocket, expecting to pull out her phone before realising she left it behind. "Oh, right."
"He's busy working and stuff. Man's a bit of a workaholic.. uhm, something up Riri?" Luna asks, noticing the tinge of disappointment and empty pocket.
Riri sighs but she stays calm. "I left my stuff at home but it'll be fine. I realise that there is still a 'me' there that needs those things, haha."
"I mean if it helps any, after we're done here, we could take you shopping. My creator gave me a credit card for anything I want. And I want to buy you stuff." Hinata grins, "Besides, January owes me for 30 years of bullshit."
Luna nods intently.
"I appreciate that a lot, but I feel bad for taking things." She is grateful but a bit guilty. "I don't want to be a bother is all."
"It wouldn't be a bother to me. A friend of Lu's is a friend of mine. Plus I've been wanting to go shopping for a while now." Hinata smiles warmly.
Luna nods in agreement, though her attention is less on Hinata and Riri and more on the computer housing the memory map.
"I'll be sure to come along with you all then." Riri is warmed by the reassurance. "I'll probably ask a bunch of questions if they sell anything magical, though."
"Considering the world we live in, I would be more shocked if Magical Items didn't exist in the stores out here." Hinata chuckles lightly.
Luna is dead focused and typing up a storm on her phone.
"Yeah, like shit out here is magical by de-- Luna?" Elara goes to check on Luna.
"Um, what happened?" Riri watches them both on the phone.
"I'm not the first LUNA prototype? That's a contradiction. What's this about a purple cat plush???" Luna is muttering up a storm.
Riri sits quietly among the plushies, trying not to interrupt them.
Mr Bunnykins watches the scene unmoving, but it asks Elara, "hey uh can I sit with Luna please?"
Elara nods and places it on Luna's lap.
Luna looks down and hugs Mr. Bunnykins. "Thanks friend." It doesn't respond verbally. "Right, uh. Uh Elara what else did you want us for?" Luna asks.
"Oh right! Uh here," Elara hands the group another plushie, this one seems to be another giraffe, much like Ronald except in its ears is a speaker. Elara turns it on and the music and speech from The Chapel of the Full Moon downstairs can be heard.
"So basically, for the past few days, there's been activity happening down there about a Christmas moon and the eclipse, and I just wanted to have witnesses for this. It's a one way speaker, so as long as they don't find the microphone this is attached to, we should be okay."
"It sounds weird." Riri says, not fully understanding what she is hearing.
== LOADING AUDIO LOG ==
"Family, friends, guests, the Christmas moon is upon us very soon. And soon, the eclipse will be following. The end of the sun is nigh. The night shall last forever." The person continues as the music quiets down. "Time is running out. We must continue to prepare for our upcoming battle. The crimes of the Blood Moon Raid must not go unpunished!"
== RETURN TO SCENE ==
"Are you aware this is a church? So regularly, there are sermons done down there, seemingly to worship this entity called The Many Gods Above. But as you can tell, it's not exactly MGA related."
"I am now, sorry. I promise I'm paying attention." Riri is a bit embarrassed trying to learn all of this.
"No no, it's okay. All I needed was for y'all to make sure i'm not going insane. More witnesses ya know? Plus Luna with her Adventure Logs."
Luna looks over, "Eh? What do you mean?"
"Well think about it. Your AIs archive everything we learn here right? In a way because of this, your logs are the truth. It's evidence we can use!"
"Oh, cool!" Riri is listening carefully.
"So you're using her?" Hinata asks inquizitively.
"N-no, no no, I want to help you guys, I just need help too. Fun fact, I'm both a Solaire and a Nightshade. And hearing that there's a chance that the Solaires are going to be wiped out has me fucking spooked." Elara looks down in worry.
"...fair enough. Frankly, I'd rather not get wiped out either. I fucking hate my family." Hinata groans.
"And I want nothing to do with any of this shit, whatever fucking war that's brewing. I don't give a fuck about it. But uh to protect you two? You can use my Adventure Logs as evidence." Luna nods.
"So uh any questions? Riri anything you want to know about the situation?" Elara sits on the bed in the middle of the plushie harem, playing with them. Brushing their fur, playing with the hair on the ones that have hair. Ronald and Rin, that's the microphone one, are sitting next to each other (they're gay lovers)
"Uh, I'm not sure." Riri sits on the soft bed and tries to help Elara clean the plushie harem. "I'm not trying to get into any trouble either. I'd like to know whatever will let me help you all."
"okay uhm. We're currently sitting in the Church of the Full Moon, which is the cult my mother owns. My mother is Luna's creator, so in the most technical sense, Luna's my biological sister. There has been a lot of things happening between Solaire, that's Hinata's lab and FMS, that's Luna's, and there seems to be a physical conflict brewing. I want to stop them before another Blood Moon Raid or similar happens." Elara explains, taking some time to clean her friends in the process.
"Uhm, yeah. I would rather FMS didn't kill Solaire, mostly because my girlfriend and my sister are both Solaire family." Luna adds to the conversation. "And I'm willing to do whatever it takes." Hinata leans her head on Luna's chest.
"And so I think it's better we leave aga--" Just then a loud knock on the door is heard.
Riri sits still in silence, waiting for someone else to say something first.
Elara looks fucking NERVOUS, her voice lowered to a whisper, "shit! Fucking hell, guys, you might wanna get out of here. I was told I might have to go to the next sermon and I don't want you three to get captured."
Luna and Hinata look at each other in shock.
Another few loud knocks, almost pounding on the wooden door are heard. A booming feminine voice calls out to the room, "AMATERASU, COME OUT THIS INSTANT!"
Luna and Hinata look to Riri. "I think it's best we do as she says. Elara is strong, she won't let anything bad happen to her," explains Luna. "She's my sister, she's strong as hell."
Riri nods back at them both.
Luna, Hinata, and Riri all disappear.
"Who was that you were talking to?" the feminine voice asks.
"My plushies. Obviously. I don't have any friends." Elara responds flatly. They leave the room together.