|| Shadows || Chapter 20 ♧ Arc 2 ♧ ||

Instructions

Ch-chat- how are we at twenty already- we're just getting to the plot- Enjoy <3 -Luna !! TW !! Censored swearing Ch. 20 "Okay, so here's the plan." Glitch craned her neck to look over at Lloyd and Arin, who were working with the ocean gang and algae farmers to bring the pieces of the village back together. She and Luna were watching from a pile of crates, waiting for the perfect time to grab the jet and get the heck out of here. "As soon as Lloyd gives the order to pull, we sprint. I figure we have about a minute before the islands collide, so we have to be fast. Do you have the jet ready for departure?" Luna waved her little remote gadget in the air. "Have had it ready since we decided to leave." Glitch had proposed the idea originally, and while Luna was fully on board with it in the first place, she had a new reason to do so. Her new priority was keeping Lloyd safe, and the only way to do that, it seemed, was separating him and Glitch. Unbeknownst to Glitch, she had actually clarified this with him earlier, and he fully agreed. So really he and Luna were just humoring her. In the present, Lloyd took a rope and held up a hand. "Ready?" The girls crouched into position. "1, 2, 3... PULL!" Luna and Glitch raced across the boardwalk to the jet. Their tails kept them steady as the floating island made its way across the gap between it and where it belonged. By the time they reached the jet, the two structures were only moments away from connecting. "Quick, buckle in!" Luna faked an anxious glance at the closing distance. As soon as she heard the *click* of Glitch's seatbelt, she pressed down on the gas pedal and lifted off, just as the islands crashed together. The two of them exchanged a high five. "And that," Luna said, putting on a voice like she was presenting a Powerpoint, "is how you escape before it becomes impossible." "I just realized," Luna said as she entered the Mother Garden's coordinates into the GPS, "we've been stuck together for around two days now, and yet we don't know the basic information about one another." Glitch looked up from scrolling through the playlist. "Oh yeah? What do you want to know?" "Mmm... how about something basic. Like pronouns? You go, then me?" Luna held out her hand like the offer was a tangible object. "Sure," Glitch replied. "I use she/they pronouns." "She/her." Luna thought for a moment. "But every once in a while, I do decide to use alternates. It's not my fault when it happens, though- it's an Oni thing," she explained. Glitch grinned. "Spontaneous genderfluidity- nice. Next question?" "How about sexuality and relationship status?" An eye twitch. 'Whoops,' Luna thought, then cautiously asked, "Is that a touchy subject?" Glitch looked away. "It's... fine. I'm lesbian aroace. And single." 'There's more to it than that.' Quickly formulating her own answer, Luna said, "I'm not sure how that works, but okay. I'm omnisexual and demiromantic, with a girlfriend." "That's neat," Glitch replied, sugarcoating a whole lot of bitter jealousy in her voice. Luna moved to the next question, desperate to keep her brother's potential undoing distracted. "Gi color and preferred weapon?" "I'm not a ninja anymore." "How about favorite, then?" "...Midnight purple. Scythe." "I like that color too," Luna related, "And you've seen my affinity for double ended swords soooo... hobbies?" Glitch shrugged. "I haven't really been able to devote my time to the things I love since the Merge. But I enjoyed a lot of things- like reading, model building, astronomy, lock-picking..." Luna raised an eyebrow. "That last one was a little random." "No it isn't. It's a skill we ninja have-" Glitch faltered, "-HAD to learn." "Uh-huh." Luna leaned back, loosening her grip on the wheel. "I really like writing. Mostly political speeches and philosophy, but I've also written some poems. Even made one or two into a song." Glitch narrowed her eyes. "And you said I'm weird. You enjoy POLITICS?" "Only when I'm winning. Which is pretty much always. Oh, and would you look at that..." In the time they had spent talking, the red expanse of ocean had turned into a green swathe of forest. "We're here." The Mother Garden. A paradise made of layer upon layer of vegetation and flowers in full bloom, colored in every hue imaginable. It may come as a surprise, but Luna actually loved the place. She loved the clear mix of chaos and peace, as well as the inspiration it always seemed to give her. One of her favorite memories here was the time she brought Rue for a picnic date. She had described it countless times from her interworld travels, but the amazement that shone in her girlfriend's eyes... priceless. "Wow," Glitch breathed. "It's been so long since I saw real flowers..." She inhaled the sweet scents of the Garden and noticed the Core on its pedestal. (continued in description)