As Tom had persisted, and that everyone made changes to their schedule anyway, Nick led the squad on patrol. Repeatedly, only tragedies happened, so Tom and Sally didn’t get the practice they needed. Soon, it was time for Nick and the others to decide, whether they had the mettle to become special forces, but also since their schedule had been disrupted, Zero Squad never took on anymore recruits. While their potential was still unknown, so many more knights slipped the ranks.

For example, they said Stein was doing very well even with prosthetics and could even rise in the ranks one day. Though, Nick thought the other knights were rowdy and never listened to much gossip. Maybe it was time to see him again.

Instead, if they wanted to leave on schedule, they had to shorten their patrols and luckily Nick already got outside manpower. The feelings from the last two time hadn’t changed and this time he didn’t split the squad, not that they could really, without Ella.

“Lupines,” Sally would scout, and tonight there were only small fry. It was good news to Nick, but he remembered that Susanese knights held the superstition that it meant that the real darkness was being held in the air.

The wild canine did resemble the werewolf-like darklings from when they fought with Lawrence, and memory refreshed, each of them fought equally like monsters too. These ones walked on all fours, but each carried a bright red mercurial form in place of the eyes, so they looked closer to reality and more dangerous.

They were too electrified to speak and let their swords and lance clash instead with their claws, especially Tom and less so Sally, who seemed terrified of the darklings. They moved erratically, Tom in Blank, but also in a rage, and Sally who was feverish to destroy that shape of darkling.

After fighting the third group of such darklings Tom broke to the ground and Sally stood over him. Whatever comfort she would say instead was Luna, “I saw someone running through the streets. We need to catch him.”

Nick signaled for help and dropped everything. Occasionally someone would be out after dark and it was the police’s job to stop them, but knights had the responsibility to at least hear out the transgressors’ side and even escort them if it was something that couldn’t be helped. Tom and Sally now could only remember their training and knew just as well as Nick and Luna to follow.

Luna was also acting strange. It’s not like she loved to fight either, but she usually took charge when Ella couldn’t, but instead she hadn’t drawn out her mercurial form yet. There was no mystery to how reckless fighting was for umbrae, but this time she was being extreme, and Nick did not imagine it could have been a selfish decision, because before Luna would have no problem with self-inflicted cuts and bruises. She had finally become cautious, just until Sally thought see saw someone.

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For Luna, movement was easy, and it seemed she improved despite being rather inactive. Her tendril came not from her hands or arms, but spewed forth from her body onto the floor, taking a more solid form and helping her propel herself like a tail. And then, more and more materialized, like a spider gliding across the floor. Luna herself didn’t even look down as she surfed the pavement, but no one looked.

She was the one who caught up with the curfew breaker, a covered person with the stark features that defined an umbra’s looks. She was out of breath and all around her blood oozed onto the floor along with small shreds of her armor.

The person’s face was barely visible, but his face blushed too. He stood motionless, but not intimidated, caught his breath and panted, “Hello. I’m a tourist and I got separated from my group. I’m trying to get back to where I was staying.”

Tom said, “That’s tough to swallow after seeing you run like that. Why don’t you tell us who you are and we can get you back to your hotel.”

He stood still and quiet, and took off his coat onto his hands. In a single movement, he tossed it to the floor and then flickered and vanished into plain sight.

“Everyone, get back,” Nick yelled, “That kind of trick won’t work on me.”

He tackled at the air where the umbra had just been standing and they both tumbled to the ground.

Sally and Tom felt the mercurial form, and since it was distinct from Luna’s, they felt the full mental force, but nothing could be seen. Unlike Luna’s, no blood or torn clothing fell. Nick too, couldn’t hold on and he pushed him away. The young man stood up, and circling around, Sally say that it was true. On the back of his shirt, or rather, armor, was a window like Luna’s, but there was nothing even there.

Nick knew that there was no rule that it had to dark-colored like most darklings, but never had he seen a mercurial form that was perfectly invisible. The details could wait later, “Tom, Sally, don’t get closer unless you can handle the mercurial form. I think they’re tendril shaped.”

The hypothesis came about from how he flickered before vanishing, but that also meant there were many more that what Luna could use, yet, he hadn’t attacked them outright with it. Instead, Luna stood petrified where Sally and Tom just surrounded him.

Neither of the siblings knew much about umbrae but they were brave, yet Luna remembered the person to have that unusual form.

“Brother? It’s me, Luna!”

Nick knew that she could probably perceive the tendrils better than him, “What? I’m going to need your help.”

In this moment of confusion, her brother attempted to inch his tendrils closer to Nick’s neck, but very lightly, he could see where the ambient fear was coming from and waived his spear. It caught on something and the tendrils retreated.

They weren’t exactly invisible. Whenever his focus waivered, you could see blackish particles where the tendrils were.

Of course, it was dangerous for Nick to make a move without proper sight and he couldn’t do but stalemate against him.

Luna said, “Arthur? Is that you?”

He took a break, “Yes. I’d never imagine seeing you here. You should come with me.”

“I don’t know wat you’re doing here, and I wish it wasn’t so, but I have an idea of what you’re doing, and I’m all against it.”

Arthur sighed, “You didn’t understand then.”

Luna’s form seemed to all disappear, and then softly glowing white tendrils emerged from her back as usual. They looked fuller than they ever did in black, though it would be difficult since there was no magic that let her see the tendrils. However, no more words would be said, because as siblings she understood perfectly.