Secrets

Chapter 15: The Birth of Gamer Luna

Luna jumped as the heavy metal door behind her shut loudly. She looked behind herself to see the guard standing stoic by the entrance, eyes boring into her. She sighed inwardly as she was forced to follow Wildfire and the shopkeeper, who seemed to be catching up on past events.

"So you've made advances in necromancy and limit breaks?" From the shopkeeper to Wildfire.

"Aye, I've figured out how to use and create phylacteries, though I have stayed away from them lest I accidentally turn myself into a liche."

"And another one of your legends would become true eh? Ha!"

"Too true, and I've also designed a few new limit breaks, there's one that can be done with a Hyperion rifle with anything sharp, and one that is used with clawed gauntlets."

"Have you..."

"Yes."

"Ah. Anywho," The keeper said as he opened another door. "What do you need? I'll assume that you don't need medical supplies, 'cause you being a loner an all."

"That's not entirely true." Wildfire responded with a motion for Luna to join them. "Luna, Umbra. Umbra, Luna."

"You can just call me Shade, Miss Luna. Wildfire here has a tendency to translate names into Itian when introducing people."

"Eh, primary language and all."

"Primary language my ass!"

"Language. Miss Luna isn't the usual kind of lady out here."

"Oh, pardon my behaviour, Miss Luna." Shade quickly grabbed Wildfire and dragged him a ways off. "What the hell is the idea, Wildfire? Why did you start kidnapping royalty? And where in all seven hells is she from anyways?"

"Calm down. Okay, you got me. She's royalty, but she came with me willingly, something about adventure or something. Look just get me what I need. Chrissy wants to see me."

"Ohohoh. Wildfire you dirty bastard! You don't even try and you have to wear a chastity belt to keep away royalty, I can't even find a darn waitress that will have me." Wildfire gave Shade a pat on the back before motioning Luna to follow him. As the trio entered the next room, they were welcomed by an assortment of gear. Masks, swords, bows, you name it. There were even the expensive hazmat suits designed to clean acid vats with.

"Pick your poison."

"Alright. You might want to take a list."

"I need two glow in the dark watches, with the batteries in them."

"Don't want a repeat of the drone eh?"

"Yes, a gas mask that would fit Luna. Two Geiger counters. And have they passed by recently?"

"Yes, thought it pains me to say that it seems that the eldest has passed."

Wildfire's eyes widened considerably, before he looked to his feet. He looked back up with his neutral expression returned.

"I'll need a twelve-gauge KSG, long barrel, adjustable stock and foregrip. Two pythons, one Boberg XR9 with improved iron sights. Two mini-Uzis with silencers attached. One cobra dagger."

"Jeez, slow down. How much ammo?"

"I want about eighty rounds for the KSG. Sixty-four rounds for the pythons. Eighty-one for the XR9. And an even five hundred and forty for the Uzi."

"All in mags and the mags in pouches, correct?"

"Please, yes."

"Would you like some fries with that sir?" Shade quipped in an exceedingly accented voice. His grin dissapeared as he noticed Wildfire's deadpan. "You're no fun sometimes, you know that right?"

"So I've been told."

"Go meet me at the front. If Miss Luna could follow me I will fit her a mask."

Luna cast a worried glance towards Wildfire, who gave her a reassuring smile and waved her onwards. As he left the room, Shade emitted a long and heavy sigh. Noticing the inquiring look that the princess was giving him, he motioned for her to follow.

"Poor kid. See what he did back there? He's bottling up emotions, again. I love the kid to death, but he's a ticking time bomb when something like this happens. I shouldn't have told him..."

"You only did what you thought was best. I see no fault with that." The corners of Shade's mouth drew up slightly.

"So you do talk."

"I do, albeit I prefer to stand by and observe when I'm out of place. Mostly to prevent myself from looking like an idiot."

"Not used to the dirty streets eh?"

"Not at all. The fact that this technology is beyond anything our wizards could conjure up is mostly what's keeping me from conversing."

"Hmm. Ever killed anything?"

"That is like asking if the rain has ever fallen."

"Ah, so you're like him."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know, like Wildfire. Into the whole 'vanquish entire armies in style and turn cities into gravel' gig?"

"No! Why would I do such a thing?"

"Oh dear lord, wait till you hear Wildfire's stories!" With another strong bout of laughter, the elf turned Luna into a room. "Alright, I'm going to try some masks for you, is that ok?"

"I see no problem with that. But why must we wear masks?"

Shade picked up a mask from off the wall, examined it before putting it back. "That is because the DZ is a slew of toxic chemicals and radiation. From the list it sounds like you're taking an airborne route, or else Wildfire would have ordered a few hundred pounds of food and water. Now stay still please."

Complying with the request, Princess Luna stood still as Shade slipped a cold rubber item onto her face. As his hands slipped behind her head, she felt the rubber stretch and a click came from the nape of her neck.

"Have you ever used a gas mask before?" As he saw the shake of the head that Luna gave Shade, he hid a sigh with some explanations. "The most important thing to remember about these is that when you are exposed to gas, you never take it off. Under any circumstances. You so much as lift up the mask slightly and the seal gets broken. And then you die before you hit the ground." Seeing the slightly flabbergasted look from the princess, Shade quickly added, "But these are more for 'just in case' situations. It also keeps the stench of dead bodies away." After tightening a few more straps, Luna felt increasingly worried as she thought about their upcoming journey. Was it really as dangerous as the two told her it was? She might be the bolder sister, but she was not stupid.

"Exactly how dangerous is Zarynthia?" Luna barely caught herself from laughter as she heard herself through the mask. She sounded like a stallion with rheumatism.

"Depends on your strength. For Wildfire it's a walk in the park most of the time. He seems to scare away most of the critters. For me? I wouldn't survive five minutes alone in the Dead Zone. The populated parts, that is."

"Populated?"

"Yes, most infected hang around the cities and such. Most of the Dead Zone is empty, actually. Though none of it is habitable. The sad part is that the Zone used to be known as the Fields of Plenty. The richest agricultural province in the known world. Then came the war and it came out looking like this."

"That's terrible!" Shade grinned sadly as he heard Luna's exclamation.

"True. But nowhere near as bad as the things that Wildfire has done. But that's up to him if he wants to talk about it or not."

**********

"So are we done?" Wildfire questioned as soon as the Princess had stepped through the door.

"I believe we are." Luna felt a bit unsettled as Wildfire's eyes locked to hers. The pupils were dilated, the iris sparkling. He looked... Innocent? What is he going for? Is he buttering me up so I will let my guard down? Her pondering would have to wait, for Shade had dropped a massive amount of bags and metal objects onto a counter.

"'Kay. All this is f-" The merchant was silent as a bag was tossed into his lap, nearly keeling him over.

"How did thou do this?" Luna asked, as her companion had produced the currency seemingly from nowhere.

"'Thou' should be 'you'. And with the same trick that I'll be using to do this." With an exaggerated sweep of his arm, Luna and Shade were befuddled as all the weapons simply dissapeared from the table.

"Pocket dimension?" Luna deadpanned.

"Pocket dimension." Wildfire answered with a smug grin. "Alright, let's go to the cache. But first, are you hungry?"

**********

"I actually think I'll be fine for now. Immortality and all that!" Luna exclaimed as she saw the 'restaurant'.

"Be quiet! Do you realize the price tag you have on your head for simply being what you are?"

"Don't talk to me like that." Luna gave her best death glare, which actually managed to make Wildfire look away.

"Sorry... Just stating the truth..."

"But really though, are th- you sure that this is the best establishment to dine?"

"Yes. Unless they added a restaurant since the few months that I've been gone."

"If you insist..."

**********

"Everything in this menu is for carnivores!"

"Just ask for a salad then."

"I will! Why wouldn't they give food items for herbivores? That is simply rude!"

"That is because most herbivores are prey. And the rest do not hang around these parts or stay around long enough."

"Ugh... I'll never understand what you find so appetizing in meat..."

"Hey, I might be omnivorous but I still need my protein."

"Me and Shade spoke about you, he mentioned something about you scaring off 'critters' with just your mere presence." Luna desperately tried to steer the conversation towards something more appetite-friendly.

"That? I'm not sure about it either. I really wonder why I scare off the undead..." Luna would have believed him was it not for the withering tone and the over-emphasized eye-roll.

"What are you saying?" She said, her tone instantly bordering suspicion.

"Hello? Didn't you see me with the manticore? What wouldn't be scared of-" The Zarynthian paused as the waiter came up.

"Are you done?"

"Quite. I'll have a salad and some tea, please."

The waiter gave an odd look to Luna before eyeing Wildfire, who was once again sharpening his claws with his dagger. Making sure that he could see the deadly gleam of the weapons. Understanding the message perfectly, the waiter dissapeared with their orders. This was not lost on Luna, as she eyed Wildfire.

"Aren't you going to order something?" Wildfire's eyes snapped up, before he started playing with the silverware. "Wildfire." Instantly Wildfire stopped all movement. "Speak."

"I don't eat very much."

"And why is that so?"

Wildfire resumed the relentless replacement of forks and spoons.

"Wildfire."

"I can't hold down food very well. The seekers. They did something to me. Now I just eat breakfast and that will last me the day. It has really been messing with my growth, heck I should be flying circles around everybody and be almost as long and tall as the average mare!"

"Oh my, I'm sorry I asked, I had no idea..." Luna stammered as she realized she might have hit a nerve.

"No! Of course it's okay! You were going to find out anyways." Wildfire himself tried to change the subject. "Look, don't worry. Amidst all the brain damage I've been getting I could use some more growing."

"Err.. Actually nevermind." Luna smiled as her food reached the table, as terrible as it looked. It was a simple salad, vegetations that could be considered edible has been thrown together.

"Will that be all?" The waiter hissed.

"Yes. You are dismissed." Luna replied as she levitated a knife and fork. Her enthusiasm barely dimmed by the fact that her meal looked unworthy of the worst cooks.

**********

"I can't believe the nerve of that peasant! How dare he!?"

"Calm down, you wouldn't even have noticed had I not told you."

"And there's another thing! Why did you not inform me before I started drinking?!"

"He spiked your tea."

"Yes!"

"You didn't even feel it."

"Well excuse me! I still don't enjoy having that filth put into me."

"Turning him into a duck was a bit too harsh though, don't you agree?"

"I would have hanged the fiend! I would have sent him to the gallows! The NERVE!"

"Shh, the mob is heading this way."

"..."

"..."

"Are they gone?"

"Yep."

"The NERVE!"

"Ugh..."

**********

"Well. Here we are."

"Where?"

"Can't you see it?"

"No..."

"Look."

"Where?" Wildfire sighed before pointing at her hooves. Luna looked down to find what looked like a steel saucer. "Oh." Wildfire grinned ever so slightly before reaching down and unlatching the hatch. Opening the hatch, it presented a ladder and a rather deep looking hole. Wildfire motioned for Luna to get in, the latter levitating herself downwards. After giving the princess a few metres of lead, Wildfire crawled himself onto the ladder and closed the hatch behind him. The pair were bathed in complete darkness as their primary source of light was extinguished. Now all that remained was the dark blue glow of Luna's magic as she floated down the narrow hole. Eventually, the princess met the ground, and she quietly stepped out of Wildfire's way.

"Let me get the lights."

As he pawed around the wall, Luna took the chance to look around. She did not need light to see, therefore everything was in fine detail around her. The room she was in was large and rectangular, with tables spread around on the edges of the room. The walls and tables were  filled with firearms of all shapes and sizes, and one would be lucky to find an empty spot. The lights turned on suddenly, and the room illuminated itself.

"Ow... My eyes..." Wildfire complained as his sensitive eyes burnt from the sudden light. "These things are supposed to light up in stages, who changed them?"

"I can't answer that." Luna walked into the room, eyeing every corner of it. She noticed many doors, and wondered where they might lead to. She turned to the wall on her left and stumbled backwards at what she saw.

Now normally armor wouldn't faze her in the slightest. However, the suits of protection on the wall could only be described as exo-skeletons. So detailed! I've never seen anything like it! Luna regained her composure quickly, and turned to see Wildfire still gingerly adjusting to the light. Satisfied that she hadn't made a fool out of herself, Luna decided that she would explore the other rooms.

"I will go see what is in the other rooms."

"Okay. Ow..." Wildfire heard a door open and close, and once again tried his eyes. Satisfied that the light wasn't going to bite him, he proceeded to walk across the room slowly, taking everything in. With his eyes glued to the left wall, Wildfire gave a nostalgic look to the suits. The first one was more clothing than armor, but he had felt it deserved to be put up on the same wall. It was a brown suit, crafted elegantly and looked worn. The pants were of a slightly darker brown, akin to mud. The large black boots that still bore the slightest hint of blood on them were a welcome sight. But Wildfire eyes were inevitably drawn towards the hat. It was another wide-brimmed Stetson. Except that this one was crimson red. It also featured a half mask on top of the rim. The said mask was used to cover the upper portion of his face, and had eye holes in them. On the left eye hole resided what looked like a gear mixed with an upside down drop. He recognized it as the royal seal. Wildfire levitated the hat towards him, running the rim through his fingers.

"One day. I'll wear you again. One day. Everything will go back to normal." He put the hat back in its place. Wildfire sighed deeply before moving on to the next suit. As soon as he laid eyes on it, he wished he didn't. For there lay his combat suit.

**********

The Orc tried desperately to crawl away, bleeding profusely from it's abdomen. However Wildfire would have none of that. He walked up to the Orc, flipped him over with a steel foot before stepping on his head. Brain matter and blood splattered all over his foot as Wildfire smiled from the near-orgasmic sound of shattering bone. His ears swivelled to the anguished cries of a mother and child. Turning around, he aimed his gun at the mother, and right in front of the child, he-

**********

"No. I can't afford myself to think these thoughts." Yet Wildfire couldn't deny that these ideas didn't excite him a little bit. He wiped a hand over the shoulder plate of the suit, dusting it off. It was a pure grey, as shiny as fresh steel. The suit was a perfect mould of his adult body, minus the wings. It stood nearly eight feet tall and six feet wide. The arms themselves were two feet wide. The legs four. Along it's back ran cast iron spines, allowing for swift execution of anything he rolled over. The suit was aided by a hydraulic system, hence the size. It was virtually immune to small and medium calibre weaponry. And sported it's own onboard computer.

"What I'd give to be able to use this again. All I'd need to do would be to raise the platform and alter the computer..." Wildfire fell silent as the ideas ran through his head. Without taking his eyes off the suit he levitated a welding mask and blowtorch to him.

**********

Luna opened yet another door as she continued to explore the gargantuan expanses of the cache. As far as weapons caches go, this was definetly one of the more user-friendly one. So far she had found a kitchen, a living room and multiple bedrooms. As she opened one door, she was confronted by a mild darkness. Stepping into the room, it did not take long for her eyes to notice the massive TV. And the surround sound audio system. As her gaze drifted downwards, she saw a small grey box. Cautiously, she stepped in front of the object. Almost as if she gave an order, the television whirred to life. Looking back down to the box, she saw a red button. And as the law of storytelling goes, it had to be pressed.  Princess Luna slowly inched a hoof towards the unknown device.  As she pressed the button, no explosions occurred and no ancient evil awakened. It instead turned green. A burst of color came from the television, and this is what Luna read on it:

"Super Smash Brothers Melee?" The tone was questioning. Luna briefly considered asking Wildfire, but decided against it. Only now did she notice the option that was blinking rhythmically. Play.

"It hasn't exploded yet, I guess there's nothing wrong with it." She looked and saw the remote. Naturally assuming that this was the controller, Luna picked it up with her magic before pressing 'A'. This led her to more options, and after picking a delightful looking pink ball commenced. The battle quickly ended with her being knocked off a ledge and off-screen. Luna's eyes went wide as she was confronted with the 'Game Over' screen. And with that, she said four words that changed history.

"Let's try that again."