Luna - Hey Viper. Did you wanna go on that date we talked about earlier? My shoulder's feeling a lot better.
Vyse - I'd love too, did you pick out a place to go?
Luna - Yeah there's this new coffee joint in town called Chipper Roasters that we wanted to check out. It's over by the square.
Vyse - Hmm sounds neat, i'll see you two cuties there
Luna - [A random keysmash. Classic behavior from Lunes. I taught her well ehehe - Krystal]
They close their phone and fly off to the city together. Upon reaching Chipper Roasters, the smooth scent of coffee and pastries are in the air outside. Chill lo-fi music, dimmed lights, candlelit lanterns, and dark wooden textures fill the interior as other people are relaxing inside, some even playing some of the free board games offered to patrons. Luna and HInata enter after snapping their broomsticks away. A couple poeple stare at their odd looks, specifically at their now wagging and swaying tails and the lack of ears on the sides of their heads, but the two are used to it and disregard. They find a table after ordering drinks and wait for Viper to join them. "For being called Chipper, this place is super chill." Luna notes.
A couple minutes after Luna and Hinata sit down, Viper's pink truck pulls up and parks in the parking lot as she heads inside wearing this and greets them with them a smile and waves at the two then walks over to the table and sits down
"Hey! Nice to see ya again. This place is comfy." Luna waves to Viper with her iconic bright smile. Her right shoulder has some clean white bandages covering it. On a table next to Luna, her laptop is seen. On Luna's left, Hinata is chilling and enjoying the sights, both structural and sapphic.
"Hi there!" Hinata waves
Viper nods as she keeps her smile, "This place is really cozy, there's games and shit" she hangs her bag on her chair, it seems kinda heavy
Luna's attention is split between the caffeine monstrosity the server just brought her, a wide but short cup towering with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles , and the bag that's drooped on the floor. "Whoa, your purse looks heavy." Luna comments while starting to work her way towards the coffee underneath the mountain by any means necessary, tilting her head while trying to solve just exactly how to do that.
Hinata tilts her head as the server places some kind of strawberry boba drink on the table. "So how are things Viper? Get some new stuff?"
Viper giggles lightly at the comment of her purse, "I'm good, still experimenting with those solvents i got a while ago" she shrugs as she asks, "Anything new with you two?"
Luna is too busy deepthroating the mountain of whipped cream to respond. Hinata shakes her head and softly chuckles at her girlfriend’s skills, “Are you serious Luna? We’re in public ya know. And to answer your question, we’re okay.”
Viper stifles a chuckle, trying to not expose her middle school humor "That's good, i'm assuming we're gonna wait for Luna to be done....with that" Viper gestures at Luna's coffee
Shockingly, Luna doesn't choke on it. Hinata shakes her head in disappointment, but while obviously stifling a giggle. Her humor can sometimes be very immature. Luna then wipes her lips as a bit of the cream still persists on her nose. "You know what they say, it’s like riding a bike, you never forget how," she giggles.
Viper leans forward and wipes the whipped cream off of her nose with her finger, "Missed some of it" then licks it off of her finger with a grin
Luna.exe has stopped working. Her face turns cherry red and her language has devolved into stammering and verbal keyboard smashing. Hinata headpats Luna and makes her arguably worse, "that was amazing. Nice catch Viper!"
Viper smiles as she wipes her finger off on her skirt, "It's no problem, just making sure she doesn't look silly walking around with whipped cream on her nose." Watching Luna meltdown causes Viper to giggle.
It takes a few minutes for Luna to calm down and regain her composure. Noticeably, her eyes had swapped between Amethyst and Jade as if her AIs were helping her recover. Hinata is casually sipping her strawberry boba tea.
After clearing her throat, Luna asks Viper, "Right uh.. so you wanted to know more about our world?”
Viper nods excitedly as she crosses her legs, "Mhm! I heard about some magical ability stuff and it all seemed interesting!"
"Want me to pull up your notes for ya Lu?" Hinata asks as she reaches for the laptop.
"Please. Just need a couple moments to jog my memories bit Viper." Luna nods before taking another sip of her caffe mocha, now that the mountain has been reduced to a small hill.
Hinata searches for the part of her evergrowing mess of notes for everything about Magical Abilities, then she hands Luna the laptop as she reads aloud, "So Magical Abilities is the big thing our world is known for. In the simplest sense considering we friends with similar abilities, they're superpowers. Nearly everyone at home has these powers, though usually a maximum of two unless they've specifically trained themself to handle more. These powers require a power source to fuel them, what we typically call 'mana'. , Mana is an energy sorce everyone in Magical Earth has which pay to use these powers. It comes from inside, meaning mana pools (MP), or the total amount of mana they have, can be limited depending on the person. These powers, Magical Abilities, can range from the ability to generate fire in your hands to being able to fly around, to doing internal surgery without needing to do an incision and much much more. There is an infinite number of Magical Abilities which depend on the Soul of the person using them. I used to know someone who could power electronics nearly infinitely with their Magical Abilities, in fact my laptop still has their magic flowing inside of it!" She doesn't seem to be reading directly from the laptop, and is instead summarizing her own writing.
Viper listens intently and nods, "Hmm, that seems...very interesting" Viper leans forward in her chair as she asks, "Is there a way to increase the amount of mana someone has or is that not changeable?"
"If you train your mind and your body, you can increase the amount of mana you have. Normally people don't know the exact amounts they have, so they look at it like a percentage. Even then, if you’re not careful, you could run out." explains Luna, though before continuing her mood darkens quite a bit. "Running out of mana is bad. Due to mana being nearly tied to both your physical and mental health, getting close to 0% means you’re near death. Most people cannot regenerate their mana unless they were born or created with that trait.”
Viper nods as she continues listen, "Right, so it's more like sacrificing your health to use a power?"
Luna's voice continues to be quiet and her eyes flicker amethyst as if trying to take over, but it’s denied, "In the past, like right at the very beginning of the Magical Renaissance of 1976, there were lots of deaths that came from people overusing their magic. No one knew at this point that it was directly tied. For the most part, the Magical Renaissance was marred by death and chaos. It was a suicidal massacre. No one knew the risk! It’s like everyone was given a gun and was told to shoot everyone else, like a fucked up version of Battle Royale. Eventually, doctors and scientists were able to put out a PSA to stop people from overuse. Even today, with all of the warnings given, many are still unaware or choose to keep their head in the sand. It’s like an open secret. Some are aware of how deadly overuse is and are able to exercise their bodies and minds to mitigate usage and increase their MP, but many others use their mana up until they literally cannot anymore. Power is an addiction. It’s like a really fucked up drug.”
Hinata finally speaks up for Krystal, "Luna's ex-fiance was like that, but she was able to continue to live on within her. That's Krystal."
Viper nods as she pauses for a moment then asks, "Is there no limit to what someone's ability could be? How is your world not in a constant state of terror and disarray?"
Luna closes her eyes for a couple moments, takes another sip of her coffee to calm herself, and then responds with, "it kind of is. The sun and moon era was exactly that. Solaire Enterprises and the Full Moon Syndicate, aka the scientific corporations that made the two of us, once had the biggest chokeholds on our World. This caused chaos and terror through their respective grudges against one another, and not even the government could stop them for the most part. Didn’t help that the Agency of Arcane Affairs was led by the LEADER of Solaire Enterprises and its police by its other LEADER. People just got used to the chaos and disarray, which even affected the very economy. It’s like, have you ever seen Godzilla movies? The citizens just deal with kaijus running rampant and cities constantly being flattened. Not that I can specifically blame them. Neither corporation was good.”
Hinata continues while Luna slouches down from exhaustion, "It didn't help that they were the biggest corporations in all of Capital City; thus most jobs were either Solaire or FMS aligned. I guess.. they just had to choose alliegiance. It sucks that both of them were led by people with the Regeneration trait and could use magic as they wanted."
Viper nods and sighs, "Sounds about right for two massive companies, and from what I heard recently, they collapsed and now there's just one company. As much as I hate corporate drama, I'm curious what exactly their plan is."
Luna goes silent while scrolling through her notes for a few minutes. After some time, Luna looks up frowning slightly, "that's just it. We don't know what Nova Heart's planning. We know they were the root cause of the Flesh Pile Killings, the murder spree that caused people’s souls to be separated from their very flesh. We know that the FPK was designed to break through both Solaire and FMS’s defenses. We know employees from both companies are now with Nova Heart. And apparently, because everything is a fucking joke, there’s a cult factor too. But past that I--” Luna grimly chuckles, “I imagine it’s world domination type shit. You know, the typical fantasy supervillain, ‘I’m gonna take over everything and fuck you to anyone who wishes to stop me,’ bullshit!”
Hinata leans into Luna and pulls her into a hug. "We'll figure it out Luna. Don't worry."
Luna looks completely down from everything, tears forming in her eyes, "I hope so."
Viper shakes her head, "You guys are strong, we'll figure it out" she idly stretches her neck from side to side as she sighs, "I don't really have anymore questions, you two can ask me stuff if you want or keep talking about your world either way I don't mind."
Being given permission to talk about what she pleases, Luna’s eyes finally regain some glow from being so dim, and she searches for something less depressing. “Oh! Did you know it's possible for people not born on Magical Earth to gain Magical Abilities? You just gotta get an item from a Creature of Legend called a Shard. It's a manifestation of their abilities and also a piece of their very soul. We had a friend named Riri who got one a few months ago and she's able to see weakpoints on enemies and use ice magic! It's really interesting."
Hinata's not really paying attention and is instead trying to figure out what Viper's brought along. Viper nods as Luna talks, listening as she jokes, "Imagine if i got one of those, that'd be crazy," Viper's bag doesn't have any clear imprints or anything of what she has inside
"That'd be awesome!" Luna smiles warmly, "So what did ya bring? It looks heavy as hell."
Hinata sips on her drink some more. "Did you make more progress on that secret project of yours?" she asks
Viper glances at her bag and tilts her head back and forth, "Oh ya'know, only the essentials" Viper nods at Hinata with a small grin
HInata blinks, not realizing she means Luna's gift. "Uhh.. that's some heavy essentials." It’s not her birthday gift.
"Oh okay. We all got secrets to hide I guess." Luna smirks.
Viper chuckles, "Who doesn't have a good secret? Honestly I think if you don't have at least one you're a little weird in my eyes"
"So true. I have so many secrets stashed in my hard drive that even I dont know what they are!" Luna says with pride before whimpering a little bit.
Hinata sighs heavily. "Damn mental locks."
Viper sighs and shakes her head, "They'll get unlocked soon, i'm sure of it" she uncrosses her legs as she smiles at Luna
Luna smiles back as she puts her laptop away in her bag.
As the night goes on, Chipper Roasters continues to get more busy. It seems this place is rather popular with the citizens. More people crowd into the place, turning its otherwise comfy atmosphere into a crowded mess. Looking around at some of the patrons, however, they start to notice a pattern. Dark green jackets are on many of them as they stand around conversing casually. Luna notices all of them and cannot help but feel nervous, her ears flattened and silent growls coming from her. Hinata doesn't seem to be faring much better.
"uhhh what's going on?" Luna asks silently.
Viper looks between the two with a concerned look as she responds with a quiet voice, "You know i should be asking the same question" she swings her purse into her lap as she unzips it and reaches a hand inside
Hinata puts a hand to her head. "Can we leave? I'm not liking the vibes here." Hinata and Luna both seem to have a headache forming and their breathing is strained. The noise in the building grows.
Viper nods as she looks more concerned as she maintains the same tone and puts her purse back on her shoulder as she stands up to leave.
Luna and Hinata get up and nearly almost fall over from the sounds. "What's... happening?" they ask each other simultaneously. An odd sweet scent has been mixed with the coffee. It's almost like an artificial cotton candy smell, sickly sweet and overwhelming to those who can smell it. Viper is unable to sense it.
The crowd continues to get larger and the music can no longer be heard. For Viper, the sound seems about the same, but for Luna and Hinata, something is affecting them. They find it difficult to speak and when they get up, they stumble. They hear laughing mixed in with everything else.
Viper quickly rushes to their sides and looks even more concerned, "We really should get out of here" she supports Hinata by wrapping her arm around her shoulder and can't seem to decide between picking Luna up or doing something else
Luna takes a deep breath and starts to walk out but she trips and falls, passing out on the spot. Hinata goes to pick Luna up but she's also knocked out. Looking at the two, their mouths are gone. Instead of lips, their mouths have been sealed with flesh, as if they never had a mouth to begin with.
The crowd’s chatter has been swapped to laughter. They begin to walk out of the coffee shop clapping and cheering for their plan has finally worked.
As they've passed out, the scent dissipates. The crowd begins to disperse through the front doors, completely confusing much of the barista staff. A single person walks through after the rest of them leave. A male with blond hair and a rather prominent scar on the left side of his face. His jacket is pure white.
Viper looks panicked as she lowers Hinata to the ground and draws the glock from her purse then lets the purse fall to the ground, her arms are shaking slightly as she glares down the figure, "Who are you? Don't get any fucking closer I swear to GOD!"
The figure does as instructed with a bright smile and wide eyes, "Hah. I didn't know the Targets would be so easy to find! Now please hand them over. We have lots of work ahead of us."
Viper stands her ground and shakes her head, "Yeah fucking right, you aren't touching my fucking girlfriends" she aims her pistol at the figure.
"Girlfriends? You say this as if they're people. Those are our Products. They exist solely for our work to be a success. They’re OUR experiments, nothing more! Oh where are my Manners? Name's Spark Estelle. I came here solely to retrieve our Targets." Spark smugly smirks while speaking.
Viper's eyes narrow at Spark as she maintains her aim, "You don't deserve my name if you're gonna treat the people I love like garbage, try anything at all and I'll put a hole in you!"
Spark shakes his head and shrugs though still not advancing from his spot. "I doubt it. You know nothing of our products' power. You don't know their truth. Our truth is the one truth in the Worlds." Something glimmering is in front of him, but Viper is barely able to tell what it is.
Luna is barely breathing while on the floor, but there's very slight movement coming from her body.
Viper glances down at Luna for a moment and is somewhat relieved that she's still breathing, "I know that they are people, not products you stuck up corporate fuck" Viper's arms steady as they stop shaking, "I know plenty about their power, and you won't be changing my mind at all"
After chuckling, he holds his hand up at the group as a sparkling blue ball of energy is formed. It's pointed at Viper. "You know nothing. Our truth remains supreme. Now will you please hand them over? Or shall I end your pitiful life right here and now? I’ll give you to the count of 3. 3. 2. 1!”
As soon as Spark reaches 1, Luna manages to snap her fingers as the three of them disappear. The truck disappears too.
Spark looks up with a tilt, then he grins, "Viper Stryker. You’re interesting. And Luna… mark my words, this isn’t over!" With an overdramatic turn, Spark laughs wildly as he walks out.
Luna, Hinata, and Viper appear in the living room. Luna and Hinata are still passed out but are now on the couch. Their mouths have reformed.
Viper quickly puts her pistol down and checks on Luna and Hinata's breathing and pulse, with nothing but concern in her expression
As they're both home now, their pulses and breathing return to normal rather quickly.
A few minutes pass and Luna takes a deep sharp inhale in and her eyes open. "FUCK. I'M NOT... dead.. what... what happened?"
Viper sighs heavily in relief as she instantly goes in for a tight hug on Luna, "Thank god"
It's so tight that Luna squeaks like a plush toy, "no like I don't even remember what happened? I lost my voice and uh. Tight.." Hinata's eyes finally open as well. She seems to have recovered as well.
Viper lets go of Luna and seems embarrassed, "Sorry, i didn't mean to hug you that tight" she looks over at Hinata and looks just as relieved, "Good, both of you are okay, and I'll start explaining in a second"
"it's okay.. take your time." Hinata still seems tired after that.
Viper takes a couple breaths to calm down then explains, "So we were sitting there, and then a bunch of green jacket wearing people started to flood in. You two said you wanted to leave so we started to leave, then all of the sudden you two almost fell over and i tried to support both of you as best as i could, but Luna collapsed and then you reached to help her and also collapsed." Viper takes a breath for a moment then continues, "Then this Spark motherfucker showed up and called you two products and I aimed my glock at them and told them fuck off and things started to get heated and uh...here we are."
"I don't remember most of that. I remember my voice being lost and after that... uh. waking up here. Wait Spark? Products. But I was made at Solaire???"
Viper nods and shrugs, "Said something about not knowing the truth and not knowing your power level? Oh and there was this blue orb that they pointed at me before we appeared here"
Luna blinks. "I... blue orb? I don't get it. But I'm glad someone had our backs. When our voices are shut, we lose all access to our mana. It's our greatest weakness."
"Thank you for protecting us Viper. Seriously." Hinata smiles as she slumps on the couch. Luna falls back asleep.
Viper nods as she smiles, "It's no problem, i'll protect you two any day of the week" Viper peers outside and notices her truck and asks, "Need anything before i head home? Anything at all?"
Luna is snoring ever so gently with a smile on her face.
"I think we'll be okay Viper. Do you need a teleport to the coffee shop for your truck?" Hinata looks ready to snap her fingers.
Viper quickly shakes her head, "No, my truck is outside I'm good" Viper picks her glock back up from the floor and tucks it loosely into the waistband of her skirt, "Just rest, you two deserve it more than anything."
Hinata's lower lip quivers for a split second before returning to normal. "Thank you. You do as well." She then waves and blows her a kiss.
Viper doesn't notice Hinata's lip quivering as her face turns a light pink, "See you later" she blows a kiss back as she leaves through the front door with a grin
Hinata's face becomes red before realizing a contradiction, "wait how did she bring her truck back??? Luna can’t teleport heavy objects!"
Viper is none the wise about what Hinata just said.