“Panic. All-encompassing, unrelenting fear, and panic were all I remembered from that night 35 years ago. It happened so fast; I could barely understand it. I remember Luna falling out of the sky, Howard talking to her, and then he turned to me. He spoke some words, something like a farewell, though I barely remember, and then that was it. He was gone, and a wave of light washed over the world.”

Vic was sitting across from me right now, listening with fascination as I recounted the night it all started. I could sense her unique life force, strong as ever like a force of nature, though it was entangled with Luna’s strange ethereal essence. I could sense which lifeforce was speaking to me at any point in time, so it was easy for me to make sure that Vic was the one in control. Luna's speaking felt completely different.

I marveled at the physical changes she had gone through since we first met, though I was sure her mental changes were significant as well. Vic was a sweet girl, a bit naïve at times, but others she proved she was sharp and clever. According to Cindy, she had become quite the proficient fighter as well and considering her calm during my provocation, that was most likely true. She reminded me of myself when I was her age. Meeting her in that police station seemed like a touch of destiny, and she took in me and the boy without a second thought.

I continued with my story, biding my time, waiting for a moment to end Luna. She was right here! I might just be able to turn the world back to the way it was.

“At first, no one believed me. It took almost a full two months before the images of Luna taken by a photographer came out, and then the whole thing was covered up by the government. Howard's parents were inconsolable, and I was in a similar situation. I loved Howard, you see, and I think he loved me back in his special way. According to the public, that was where the story of Howard Greene ended. But that wasn’t the case.

“A few months later, he came back, though he only appeared for me and his parents. He met us separately. To his parents, he just affirmed that he was alive and well. They were good people, and it was enough to keep them out of depression. For me, though, he was a bit more forthcoming. He didn’t tell me the full breadth of what was coming then and there, but I got a general idea of what was going to happen to the world in a few years.

“I tried everything I could to get him to give it up and come back, but he said he was stuck. He had made a wish, and you, Luna, were required to fulfill it. He said he would do everything he could to make sure that people were safe, and that they were led on the right track through the chaos that would ensue, but that without you in his corner there was nothing he could do. He told me that when it finally happened the world would be extremely dangerous, and that I should invest in training to fight. That was why, when I graduated from college, I joined a paramilitary organization for training. I was on the blacklist for the army because of the whole Howard Greene coverup, but I found a group operating out of South Africa that was willing to take me in and show me the ropes.

“Vic, listen to me. Luna is a monster without careless disregard for human life. You cannot trust her!”

I took a deep breath and a sip of my drink. It was an outstanding 25-year scotch, and it was helping to keep me calm and level. Any time I talked about Howard, I tended to get heated up, and I wanted to get through this conversation. She was right here! The cause of all of this chaos!

“First, Stephanie, you should use your truth skill, just to make sure everything I’m saying is fact, not fiction.”

She knew about it. I should have known. My most useful ability, one far outside of the scope of what my power should be capable of, “Zone of Truth”. I could create a small field around me, and any lies could be detected. If the system was to be believed, this skill was a gift from Howard to make sure I stayed safe.

“How can I be sure it works on you?”

“Easily. I’ll tell a lie, and you can feel it activate. That skill is strong enough to work on gods, Ms. Williams. It works outside of the system, detecting the intent of the speaker directly through their life force and conferring it to you. If I was strong enough to trick that skill, I would be strong enough to remove your powers completely, and this conversation would have never taken place.”

That was… fair. I did not doubt that if Luna could have removed my abilities, then she would have. The description of the skill was strangely vague and placed no limitations. It stood to reason that any ability granted by Howard to protect me would be able to work regardless of who I used it on, particularly Luna, Howard’s enemy. I activated the skill and watched the circle of light sputter into existence. It functioned as a probe for falsities and would move erratically if a lie was told within the radius.

Vic looked around in wonder as it appeared, and I had to stifle a laugh at her expression, so curious and joyful even though it seemed I almost killed her. That would be a difficult bridge to patch up, but it was a problem for another time. While Vic was still looking around, Luna started speaking.

“I’ll start right away, then. Vic is wearing shoes.”

The circle of light bounced around, quaking. That was a Lie. The skill seemed to work, but I would ask a few harder to answer questions to make sure.

“Are you strong enough to kill me right now.”

“No.”

Truth.

“If you wanted to could you kill Vic?”

“Yes.”

Truth.

“Why haven’t you taken over her body yet?”

“Doing so would end her life. I would never intentionally end the life of a sentient creature. Vic is also my friend, and my only desire is to keep her safe and see her grow.”

All true… that was strange. How could that be true? She was the cause of this!

“Who was in charge, you or Howard?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Luna paused at this question, her tone changing to one far more somber.

“Howard… was explicitly in control. I could make very few movements without his direction, as he forbid almost all independent action aside from observation.”

It was Howard? It was all him? My heart hurt just thinking about it. I felt my skill working to prove the statement’s truth, but I desperately wanted it to be a lie.

“Who saved my life in Morocco?”

“The decision to help you was mine. Howard refused to intervene.”

Truth. The message left behind was from Howard, but he was not the one to take notice and who moved to save me. I always thought he was looking out for me… it gave me hope through the years. But it was all a lie? I topped off my glass and took another drink.

“Stephanie… if it’s not too hard, Vic wants to know what happened in Morocco.”

“That’s… a bit of a long story, Vic. Are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Vic says she has plenty of time.”

I nodded, took another sip, and cleared my throat. Maybe talking about it would help.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever told this to someone. It was my last year working for the South African mercenaries, though the word ‘mercenaries’ probably isn’t quite correct considering the jobs we usually took. At this point, I had long turned 30 and was extremely skilled. In particular, I was good at infiltration and covert assassinations.

“In Morocco, I was hired to kill the first son of a major opium dealer who had been hiding out in the country for some time. He had recently stepped up his game to human trafficking and arms dealing, and we were paid by certain members of the Moroccan government to put a stop to it, for good. He had paid off the police so that any sting operation they tried would fail, so they were forced to call in outside help. It was a standard mission, or at least, it was supposed to be. My partner and I were the only ones sent to accomplish the task as a large team was deemed unnecessary. I was to infiltrate the hotel staff in which he was staying, get to his room by impersonating a hired prostitute, and kill him, framing it as a suicide.”

I took a deep breath and poured some more Scotch. This was not a happy story and was not one I wanted to remember right now with all of these thoughts going through my mind. After a few second’s rest, I reluctantly continued.

“What I didn’t know was that my targets father had connections to several militant groups in the middle east, as well as to traitors within the government. They had supplied the gang with manpower and weapons far outside the scope of what we expected. It seemed the plan was going to work without a hitch, but it was all a trap. They had known about the hired assassins, and they were waiting for us.

“I went through with the assassination as planned, but when I arrived at the son’s room with my partner, the opium dealer was gone. In his place was a small team of armed terrorists, ready to kill us. It was a bloodbath. We tried to retreat, but they had machine guns while we had small arms and knives. My partner was killed when he took a bullet to the neck on the way back to the elevator, and I was forced to leave him there.

“I made it outside the hotel, but there were more of them waiting. I took three bullets as I fled on foot, one to my arm, one to my left leg, and the other to my lower back. I barely made it to the getaway car and drove to a safe house, but I was bleeding out and there was no way I was going to make it back alive. I remember writing an email to my parents, telling them I loved them and that I was sorry I wouldn’t make it back, but before I could send it, I fell unconscious.”

I could still remember the visceral fear I felt as I typed out that message, one hand holding my organs in, the other working the keyboard. The hopelessness and dread of that inevitable darkness creeping in. I felt my body shiver, and I forced myself to repress the movement. I would not let old fear control me.

“Miraculously, I woke the next day, all of my wounds healed as if they were never there. I didn’t even have scars anymore. Written in the footer of the email I had been writing was, ‘Try and stay safe next time- H.G.’ It was obvious Howard left it there for me. Why did you say he wasn’t the one to heal me?”

“Howard was the one to leave that message, but he only did so after I had saved your life. I don’t know why he decided to break the silence again after so long.”

All true. Why was it true? So, Luna, unprovoked, decided to save me for no other reason than she could?

“Why? Why save me if he didn’t order it?”

Vic was making a curious expression, but the words coming out of her mouth did not fit the action, making it feel unnatural. Inhuman.

“I was restricted explicitly from aiding any human by Howard. But I didn’t want to see you die. I had been watching you for so long, the idea of you dying right in front of me while I sat by helpless… I found a loophole in the command he gave, preventing me from healing you, and I went around it. He quickly patched it up afterword, but the deed was already done.”

“What loophole?”

Luna paused again.

“I was forbidden from aiding any human. I changed you just enough that you weren’t considered human, healed you, and then turned you back.”

“Is that why the government tracked me down afterward?”

“Most likely. When I used my ability on you, it caused a shift in the Greene field they had been monitoring, and it left enough of a residual pull on you that they would take notice.”

Finally, an explanation. After Morocco, I went back to South Africa and cut ties with my organization. I moved back to the states and started looking for a job, but I got picked up by the US government’s research division. Once they realized who I was, they offered me a position, and I took it. I had always thought it strange why they approached me before even realizing who I was.

I was getting lost in thought. There were too many questions swimming around in my head for me to answer. Howard led me to believe that Luna was the cause of this chaos, but that wasn’t the case at all. I should have realized it was him. He was always detached, always lost in his books. I had formed a narrative around him based on assumptions. Based on what he led me to believe. It was all wrong.

“Did he… ever care about me?”

There was silence in the room.

“I think he did, at the start. Where we were, time did not flow like it did on the outside. For you, it was 35 years, for Howard, several lifetimes. He watched you grow and mature, but after the first few years… he got lost in his work, and I could do nothing to pull him away. He stopped caring about the people on the outside. He decided you would be a beta tester, but did little else other than choosing your abilities.”

I thought back to my childhood again. Little Howard, stuck in his books, running from bullies. How had he gone so wrong? What the hell happened to him? I needed air. I needed time to think. I took another drink and let out a long breath. Hunching over, I looked at the cup in my hands.

The hands were unfamiliar. Were they really mine? They were young. How old did I look now? 16? 17? I didn’t feel young. I felt like my whole life was vanishing, replaced by something new. All those lines, worn in them from the years of pain and strife. The fear. The death. All wiped away.

I set my cup down and traced the flesh of my palm.

“Can you undo… all of this?”

“No. I don’t have the power to, anymore. It all got sent to the system, and it works autonomously. It would take a lot of work and another few dozen years before I could fix this, and by that time… I’m sure you understand.”

No one would want her to. The new world would become the status quo, and no one would want the old one back once people forgot those who died. Who could turn down this much free power, or the chance to live hundreds of years?

I looked back up at Vic. Her eyes were compassionate and sad. What a sweet kid. What was I thinking when I threatened her? How cruel. How careless.

“Where is Howard now?”

“I tossed him out of the system control space into the world and deprived him of his admin privileges. He should be somewhere on the east coast right now.”

He was far away, then. A bit too far to bother traveling right now. But Howard had made me strong, and I would live for a very long time. One day, I would find him. What happened when I succeeded though…? I had no idea. I finished off my glass.

I was young again, and that meant I could get properly drunk without worrying about a severe hangover. It was a small blessing.