In the Arms of Oppression - Episode 1: Crisis

"Sorry, Artyom.. I'm not giving it back.. Not just yet.."

Infuriated, Artyom balls his hands into a fist, almost lunging forward to punch me. Surprisingly, he turns right around and gets in the van.

Emitting a sigh of relief, I crouch near Twilight, drop the gun, extract a liner lock knife from my boot and begin cutting Twilight's bondage. Starting with the hoof binds, she remains perfectly still almost at once, allowing me to finish cutting her loose before moving. After the hoof binds come the wing binds, then the blindfold, and finally the magic suppressor. She gets up on all fours and removes the gag herself.

I fold the knife. "I'm sorry about him." She glances at me. "He, uh... He's unpredictable sometimes..."

She nods lightly. "Th-Thank you... I can't stress enough how grateful I am that you stopped him..."

"One 'thank you' is enough, really. I'm just glad I was here to stop him. You deserve better."

She blushes.

Artyom opens the door. "C'mon, Daniel."

"I'll be right there." He closes the door.

I stand up, maintaining eye contact with Twilight. "Daniel?" she mutters.

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing, just..."

"It's a pretty generic name, I know.."

"It's fine, really."

"...Well, do you need a ride to anywhere?"

"No, I'll... I'll make it on my own."

"Yeah, okay..."

"Farewell... Daniel. I do hope we cross paths in the future."

I cross my arms. "I'll probably be dead before that happens..."

"Uh... Why?"

"We're criminals, basically. Survived for years on that lifestyle."

"..."

"Surprised? Can't say I wasn't expecting it."

"Yeah... I am..."

A banging comes from the front of the vehicle whilst Artyom screams something along the lines of "C'MON!"

"I really gotta get going now." I walk over to the right side of the van.

Twilight tails me. "Just... Stay safe... Okay? Save your history, this world needs people like you." She sighs. "At least try to change your lifestyle. Go to the café down by Middleton Avenue and ask for a 'Lunar Shade.' He can help you."

My hand on the door handle, I glance at Twilight, curious of the direction she's pointing me to. "Lunar Shade, eh? Well, I suppose it's worth a shot."

"Good luck." She teleports away, leaving behind several stray particles of her magic that soon fade into nonexistence, and a thunderous zap-esque sound that echoes throughout the alleyway.

"Hmm... 'Lunar Shade'... Why does that sound familiar?"

Ending 2: Turncoat