Luna and the Lurker immediately go after each other, the latter disappearing and reappearing when Luna takes a swing.

The rest of the crew focuses on us, offering different attack styles. Two of them have dark materia like myself and lunge for Dwight, who dodges backwards and avoids one of them. Sapphire takes a swing in response, her own materia clashing against our assailants’ and destroying both hers and theirs.

Holly and I nod and rush forward. I reveal a mace while she sports a shield, and with her in the lead, we charge for the closest enemy. They turn into a puddle of sludge, which I try to attack with my mace. Nothing happens until the person reintegrates to our left, unphased by my attack. In response, Holly shield-bashes them, and they fall on their back. This gives me just enough time to put them out of commission with a heavy smack to the stomach.

With a brief moment of solitude, we watch as Sapphire wraps a materia chain around her own unconscious adversary. Luna, still going toe-to-toe with the Lurker, hasn’t managed a single hit, despite multiple bolts of lightning apparently striking her. The Lurker is fast and coordinated. She may need help.

Before I consider the option, one of the last two goons drops a coin between the two of us, which explodes and launches us apart. My back scrapes the fountain of Lady Maxima, but my focus is on Holly, who lands miraculously on her feet, albeit dazed.

The attacker, focused solely on Holly, approaches her from behind, foolishly ignoring me. In response, I trap them in a hollow dark materia cylinder, before launching that off the ground with a fast plateau from below. They soar ten feet, land on their arms, and scream out in agony. Both are likely broken, meaning they’re out of the equation now, too.

Dwight and Sapphire have barely just finished their target, who seems to be a lot more bruised than Sapphire’s first.

“Great work with the whatever that was,” Dwight says, clutching his side with one arm and gesturing towards the air with his other. “Real creative.”

All attention turns towards the battle between the Lurker and Luna, who are now at odds with each other. We silently watch in awe and fear, debating on joining in, until the Lurker gets one good jab in on the superpowered woman, launching her against a brick wall, seemingly out of the running.

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“Poor, poor Luna,” the Lurker says, taking a fully coherent form as he stepped closer to his victim. “Even with the power of the moon, you couldn’t beat the darkness.”

Holly charges at him while his back is still turned, her footsteps echoing. She holds a materia sword, which glimmers against the sun’s rays. The Lurker turns just in time, and a blue glow emanates from his hand as it wraps around her neck.

“No!” I call out, already hot on my feet. He holds her up, his lightning illuminating her silhouette. Without another thought, a spear materializes in my hand, flaking black droplets off like snow dripping from gutters, and the weapon soars through the air, barely missing Holly’s shoulder and connecting with the Lurker’s upper chest. He drops Holly and slams back-first against the wall, next to Luna, who was getting up.

Still running, I lunged for the spear still in his chest. With a violent pull, it rips away, spraying blood. He grunts in pain and prepares a double shock from both hands, but I plunge the spear deep into his sternum, not once, not twice, but three times, coating my lower arms in his blood. The lights at the ends of his fingers dissipate by the second lunge, and after the third, Luna pulls me off of him effortlessly. A few heavy sighs later, I turn to Holly, who’s flat on her back.

Holly.

I scramble over to her. Her breathing is irregular and forced.

“I was trying to protect you,” the Lurker says behind me, his voice weak.

“Shut up!” I yell, turning. “Shut up and die!”

I place my hands on her face, completely ignoring the blood on them. “Come on, Holly. Get up. Wake up.”

Sapphire approaches with Dwight leaning against her, clutching his side. Luna stands off to my side, also watching. But I don’t care. I need Holly to get up.

“It’s over, Holly. Come on. Let’s go. Let’s go home.”

A tear drops from my eye and smacks the stained pavement. I feel more coming.

At last, one of her eyes opens, and a cough shakes her whole body. A little bit of blood comes up, but that doesn’t stop me from kissing her.

It catches us both off guard, but neither of us pulls back, despite the blood. For a moment, all the agony washes away, and it’s just the two of us locked in the moment.

Then I pull away, and we stare at each other for a moment too long before we both scramble to our feet. The others watch with expectant but surprised eyes.

“What happened?” Holly asks, getting to her feet.

“We did it,” I say, looking back at the quickly dying Lurker. The others in his party are unconscious or demoralized and willingly giving themselves up to Sapphire, who chains them all.

“No, you did it,” Luna says, also a little wobbly. “Two of four drones and the big man himself. The Lurker won’t be haunting any more innocent women’s nightmares. Because of you.”

I just killed him. I just killed a person, and somehow, I was perfectly content doing it. Even now, I don’t really have a second thought. Only the realization that it happened.

I look back at Holly, who is now holding her own chest. She gives me a distant smile.

Yeah. And I’d do it again.