Lin Chao was at his apartment building, resting on his couch as he browsed through Tik Tok on his cell phone. He wanted to take his mind off of some things and used this ADHD-addictive video app for that purpose. Though, he was not expecting to see Esmeralda being attacked by a woman with orange-golden hair, and her body was covered with Nordic Runes. From what he saw within the video, the woman seemed to have a connection with Tyrik and it was not a good one either. The Fire Monkey already had grown a great distaste for the Nordic woman. 'That bitch really needs to be humbled...' Lin thought to himself as he caught a small glimpse of her eyes glowing with a unique shade of violet. Lin quickly sprang up from his couch in shock as he believed he had seen this similar coloring once before yet could not recall from where. However, before he could think on this any further. His phone began to ring due to Robert calling him. Even though Lin was not fond of the call, he answered anyways in case it was a new mission being assigned to him by The White Star Corporation. "Lin Chao speaking." He announced with a frustrated tone emanating from his voice.
"Watch it, Lin..." Warned Robert before continuing, "Remember that creature back in Cali?" He questioned as the monkey's interest was peaked by this.
"What about it?" Lin Chao replied as he sat up straight against his couch, raising an eyebrow in curiosity about where this was heading.
Robert gave a small pause before he went into further detail as if the context was quite disturbing to announce aloud. "We have found a victim of it recently near the city of Los Angeles... We know it was that thing due to how the body was left..." The Latino explained further as he did his best to hold in an oncoming vomit as he looked back at the corpse which was close by. "What was left of the corpse showed signs of being eaten by razor-sharp teeth and torn apart by claws, but that wasn't the worse of it. According to our forensic guys are telling us that the creature took its time tearing into the poor fellow..." He explained further as Lin Chao grew pale and felt a cold sweat dripping.
"How did it survive being at ground zero of the forest fire though? There should be no way that thing would have been able to withstand that level of heat." Lin questioned with pure disbelief.
"Guessing it has to do with those runes that covered its body... Hell, that girl straight up said its greatest weakness should have done the job yet you were shacked around like a toddler. Your main thing is even fire too, Lin." Robert stated aloud with the same level of disbelief, "There is another thing I should mention as well. The thing might be a bit bigger than last time too..." The Latino added on as Lin growled in rage that he didn't make sure whether the Atchen was destroyed or not. But Lin did wonder how it was believed to be bigger than before until he recalled something when he did his own research into the nature of Atchens. Every time that an Atchen feeds on human flesh, it would grow in size and power. Yet, made their hunger worse as they increase in their size.
The scene transitions over to Luna, playing Destiny 2 on her Xbox X/S as an Awoken Hunter class using the most recent subclass Strand which was released thanks to the latest expansion, Lightfall. She was a bit frustrated with the story's take on The Power of Strand, as it made it quite difficult to play effectively even with her killer accuracy with her chosen Exotic Handcannon, The Ace of Spades. Fellow gamers had often questioned how she was able to land outlandish shots with her setup and weaponry at times in Game Modes like Gambit and The Crucible. Though, Luna had always stated it to be a developed skill that she had worked for. But in truth, Luna didn't know why she had this inherited accuracy to the point where she could hardly even miss any target that she wanted to hit, both virtual and real life. Yet, Luna never really gave much thought to this oddity that she possessed as it did have its perks in the world of gaming, making her a very formidable opponent. Even for Progamers in The Esports League, in simple terms was the NFL for Professional Gamers. This passion for gaming is how she came to meet her best friend, Anthony, as she won a tournament in the original Destiny during its Taken King era. It was a close match between Luna's Solar Hunter against Anthony's Void Titan, though she won the Esports' Grand Prize of roughly one million dollars in the end. Even got the chance to meet Lance Riddick during the tournament, which was the highlight of the day for Luna.
Though, as Luna played through the Lightfall Campaign, she was torn when her character was once again overwhelmed by the power of Strand. Leading to the character known as Rohan sacrificing his life to stop the plans of Calius and his master The Witness. "No!" Luna shouted out in despair upon seeing this cutscene within the game. "Why did they have Rohan kill himself?! First Cadye-6 and now Rohan!?" She yelled in frustration at the storyline which took place as Anthony walked in on this little commotion.
"Just saw Rohan die, huh?" Questioned the tech prodigy as Luna turned behind herself to see Anthony. Though, Luna nodded to confirm this as she put the controller down with a sigh. "I get why this little scene got to you, Luna..." Anthony added on as he took note regarding the story of Destiny's Lore.
"You know... There has been something bothering me lately about the game's Lore on Light and Darkness..." Luna began as she once again pondered the story behind the game, "If I remember, Destiny said that The Light could only give and The Darkness can only take. Yet, here we are in the game using both powers and The Witness apparently gave The Hive gods, Oryx, Savathûn, and Xivu Arath their damn powers with The Darkness. Plus, didn't The Traveler technically take away The Eliksni's means of survival because it ran from The Witness?" She questioned in anger while crossing her arms and leaning back on the couch.
Anthony chuckled a bit at the question as he sat beside his adopted sister before going into detail about what he had learned. "You know, there was a point in the game where Osiris announced that The Light and Darkness weren't exactly what they had believed it to be." He announced as Luna perked up at this statement with interest. "He tells Nimbus that The Power of Light is a form of Logic as well as Physical Power. The Darkness is later to be explained to be a form of Perspective and Emotions, which explains why The Exo gal said the line you like a lot 'Darkness doesn't corrupt, but obsession.' It does make sense when you apply this to real life to a degree." Anthony finished off as a few more details regarding Destiny's Lore have been made clear to Luna. Though, Anthony began to think more into this set of Video Game Lore as he thought over what he had learned about the Arcane Crystals and how they function. A bit about Destiny's take on The Powers of Light and Darkness almost seemed to pave the way to understanding how to utilize these gems. Anthony immediately got up from his seat to Luna's shock and confusion, as he rushed over to his lab to finish his Nightsteel Power Armors. Luna did make sure she followed quickly behind the tech prodigy the best she could.
"Figure something out, Anthony? What has you so hyped up?" She questioned while catching her breath after running her best friend as he typed several keys on the computers within his lab that were hooked up to the technological knight armor.
Soon, the Armor and the Arcane Core housed within the chest plate glowed with energy and were surprisingly stable this time. "Eurika! Can't believe that a damn game actually had answers for utilizing these magic gems!" Anthony announced with disbelief and utter amazement at this revelation. Even Luna was amazed by this absurd discovery as she gave out a loud laugh, "Even if Fiction may be a bit outlandish. It doesn't have things that we could apply to real life huh?" She announced with a hand on her hip. Anthony indeed shared Luna's sentiment, but their moment of victory was cut short thanks to the arrival of a figure they both did not enjoy.
The man who had entered the lab was heavy in his appearance despite the suit he wore. He had greying hair, showing his age that was leaving his forties and into his fifties. The man's eyes were dark brown yet glinted with self-interest for profit. Despite his attempts to hide this detail behind a kind smile. "Hello, young Gibbs. Just checking on..." The man began before laying his eyes upon the fully operational suit of high-tech armor. Letting out a hardy laugh in amazement, the man began to announce his admiration. "I knew that you would figure out how to use these crystals eventually. Now we can compete with White Star and their advancements with their collections of Arcane Crystals. Just a bit surprised their R&D Department was able to figure out so much in such a short time in comparison to you, lad." He declared as he gave a proud smile to Anthony as the African American let out a minor groan.
"Yeah, yeah... Happy to see that you are happy to see the Power Armor is now fully operational, Richard." Anthony bitterly announced with crossed arms as Mister Clarke returned these words with a frown.
"Please don't be this resentful of me, Young Gibbs. Your father and I have worked together for years. No need for such hostility between us." Richard announced with sincerity as he placed a hand on Anthony's shoulder. "I will admit that I should have come to you first about your project before announcing it to our government shareholders. Though, we have to acknowledge that the company is due for some kind of achievement outside of your other technological devices." Richard tried to reason as Luna rolled her eyes and immediately pulled one of these inventions. This was a mobile smartphone that Anthony called The Mobile Matrix, which was far greater than both Samsung's and Apple's current smartphones with a function that produced a holographic projection. It served as the device's interface and allowed 3D calls with anyone as well as navigation. Richard groaned upon seeing this, knowing this device was indeed quite impressive as well as useful.
"Glad you understand my deliberate showcase of Anthony's impressive technology jackass." Luna smudgily declared before being greeted with a glare that cut like daggers, resulting in Luna jolting upright in fright for her moronic means of antagonizing the company's high-ranking Board Member. "Sorry for calling you that..." She immediately announced with a cold sweat.
"Okay... Let's not get into any fights and whatnot..." Anthony advised as he stepped in between the two, "Richard, I trust that you have what you need to show off in the upcoming showcase for the company, right?" Anthony questioned with narrowed eyes and a small hand gesture to his power armor. With a calming sigh, Richard nodded to confirm this as he began to use a flash drive to download the needed information to present to the ones visiting the building. Once he had what was needed, Mister Clarke headed out of the room. Anthony turned to Luna with his own violent glare as his eye twitched in anger. "Are you that fucking stupid to threaten Richard!? Seriously, Luna, you don't need to spite everyone just because you can!" Gibbs yelled with frustration as Luna began to sheepishly twirl her fingers and avoided any eye contact with Anthony.
Returning to Esmeralda, she made her way to the room which she had rented within The Dungeon Keeper's Inn. The Dark Elf didn't want anyone to see her currently due to the recent encounter she had with Valerie, especially Tyrik as Esmeralda had come to see that he was quite protective of his friends. It was not the only reason too. Esmeralda did not wish to burden anyone with her problems, it was unfortunately due to a developed mistrust for others. She would not admit this to anyone, but her past troubles with family as well as relationship. With a heavy sigh, Esmeralda unlocked the door to her room yet could not enter as she heard Tyrik rushing over. "Are you okay, Esmeralda!?" He shouted aloud to The Dark Elf's dismay, "Just saw the Tik Tok of Valerie attacking you..." Tyrik explained as Esmeralda refused to say anything, worrying Tyrik even more so. He was not sure on what he should say or do, thanks to his autism making it hard for him to socialize. Though as he attempted to approach Esmeralda, Tyrik found himself unable to walk on his new hind legs thanks to the Draconic form he was in. Resulting in Esmeralda having to catch him before Tyrik could impact the ground. "God damn it... I have been having a hard time walking lately... My new legs aren't what I'm used to..." Tyrik ashamedly admitted as he turned red due to his landing upon Esmeralda's breasts.
Esmeralda couldn't help but laugh as she helped Tyrik into her room, assisting him with using the animalistic legs which he possessed. "I can also guess you haven't figured out how to change back to normal, huh?" She asked as Tyrik was placed on the bed within the room. "It is natural to struggle with a new form and how to function with it. It is like riding a bike in a way, Ty." Esmeralda announced, doing her best to use her hair to hide any bruises that were on her face. "Keep trying and you'll eventually learn how to ride the bike." She encourages while smiling at the dragon before her.
"How are you holding up?" Tyrik asked, showing his concern was placed with the princess before him rather than himself. "I saw that Valerie really laid it on you... But I am grateful that you broke a tooth of hers. Doubtful that isn't going to leave her 'perfect body' anytime soon." Tyrik remarked in an attempt to cheer Esmeralda up, "She is a model from what I recall. A broken tooth is gonna ruin that up for a while." He finished off as Esmeralda smiled a bit with a small laugh.
"You are such a dork at times, Tyrik." She announced before sitting next to him, "Though, I am fine. Truly. Please don't worry about me." Esmeralda told Tyrik, not telling him that she did not want him to not bother even trying. Though, Tyrik could sense that despite Esmeralda's words. She was nowhere being okay, but hurting inside with no will nor desire to ask for help.