Marcus arrived back at the academy and found himself face-to-face with Kinsley.
"How was work?" Kinsley asked with a smile, reaching out an arm and gesturing for Marcus to hug her.
Marcus didn't think about it on his way back to the academy. But as he now stood face to face with Kinsley, the guilt of him cheating on her with Kira that morning, hit him like a bus.
Marcus chuckled nervously as he stepped away from Kinsley.
"Is everything okay?" Kinsley asked worriedly, her smile faltering as her gaze softened.
Marcus placed a hand over his mouth and nodded, his gaze shifting to Luna, who looked at him curiously. When the two locked eyes.
Luna's eyes widened.
Marcus chuckled nervously, there was so much to be discussed yet he couldn't say a word of it in front of Kinsley. He swallowed hard, "uhm… yeah, you're heading to practice right?" Marcus asked.
Kinsley nodded, "Sort of, today we're going to be reviewing a film of Delta Academy's soccer team, for the scrimmage next week." She then smiled. "And guess what, the match will be played on their pitch, meaning we're going to Japan!"
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "J-Japan?" He asked with confusion. "When was this?"
Kinsley chuckled at Marcus's confusion. "Well, I was going to tell you about it earlier." She then placed a hand on Marcus' shoulder, "but, you had to work today… " she then pulled Marcus in for a soft kiss.
Marcus felt as if his lips were on fire as they met with Kinsley's.
Not for anything wrong on her part, but his guilt, his guilt made her touch burn like hot iron. As Kinsley pulled away from the kiss she tilted her head in satisfaction, smiling from ear to ear. "It's your fault, by the way, we were supposed to play against Beta Academy."
"Beta academy?" Marcus said softly, touching his still-burning lips.
"Mhmm, but given that the building was heavily damaged during that 'gas leak' schedules had to be changed last minute," Kinsley explained.
Marcus nodded. "Ohh, that makes sense…"
"Anyway," Kinsley said as she reached into her pocket, fishing out her keycard. "Here, you and Luna can chill in my dorm until I get back."
Marcus hesitantly accepted the card. "T-thanks." He stammered.
Kinsley gave Marcus a wink as she tapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "Better rest up, 'cause Mama is coming home for a snack." She said while eyeing Marcus' crotch.
She then chuckled as she jogged off, leaving Marcus alone with Luna.
Marcus took a deep breath as he waited for Kinsley to get out of earshot. Once he was sure she was gone, he broke. "I… I fucked up." He said with a sigh.
Luna nervously scratched her cheek as she stared at Marcus. "Okay, let's just, let's get to Kinsley's dorm first."
The walk to Kinsley's room was filled with a tense silence. Marcus' mind raced with thoughts and feelings. Luna quietly held his hand, rubbing her small thumb against the back of his hand.
Reaching Kinsley's dorm, Marcus hesitately unlocked the door and stepped inside. Marcus closed the door behind himself as Luna made her way towards the bed.
As she sat down, Marcus approached her.
"So, just start from the beginning." Luna prompted.
Marcus sighed, "Where do I even begin?" He said while crossing his arms. "So, I went to Kira's room to play some games, right."
Luna nodded.
"Okay, so she tells me let's play a multiplayer game, and I'm like cool let's do that." Marcus then shook his head. "I didn't realize it before, but she only has one officer chair, and we were playing on her computer monitor…"
Marcus then went into detail about what happened, explaining how Kira eased her way into his lap, and then how they eased towards the bed.
And then…
"…I couldn't stop her or myself." Marcus said with a sigh, "She was so soft and warm, and I… she… fuck me, man…" Marcus shook his he as he grabbed his temples.
Luna's expression softened. "So, how do you feel?"
Marcus shrugged, "I don't know, I enjoyed it while it happened." He answered.
"you enjoyed being with Kira?" Luna asked, tilting her head to the side. "Would you do it again?"
Marcus paused before answering. "If she offered, it wouldn't take much convincing before I fold again."
"So is it lust, or is there something more?"
"I don't know, I like her, I wouldn't mind being with her." Marcus then turned his attention towards the ceiling. "But Kinsley, I'm already in too deep with her, I can't pull out now, not when there's so much on the line."
Luna frowned, "But that's not fair to Kinsley, you can't have them both, that's not how it works."
"You think I don't know that?!" Marcus said angrily, "If Kinsley wasn't so… I don't know, sensitive I probably would have told her, but she gets so mad it just infuriates me."
Luna pulled her lips back as she gave Marcus a knowing look. "Huh, that sounds pretty familiar."
Marcus rolled his eyes. "That's different, you and Dr. Fletcher hid information about my life, this is a relationship, two entirely different things." He then grabbed his face in frustration. "Besides, I can't tell Kinsley even if she wouldn't get mad, I promised her I'd be there for her, to stay in a relationship."
Marcus then revealed one of his eyes to Luna, it was narrowed and shimmered with a faint sliver glow. "And that's a promise I intend to keep." His voice was low and filled with determination.
Luna shook her head. "Why, that's so stubborn of you, you'd keep Kinsley in the dark to keep a promise you made out of retaliation?"
Marcus nodded. "A promise is a promise, and I will never break one, not for anything."
Luna signed. "So what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to ride it out, if Kinsley was right, Kira would get bored of me eventually." Marcus answered, he then huffed, "Besides, I can learn a few things from Kira, she obviously has more experience than Kinsley and I combined, I can take what I learn and apply it to Kinsley."
Luna slowly shook her head. They were right, she thought. Marcus needs help, and he needs it soon.
"Besides, that's not the only thing I wanted to talk with you about."
Luna sat up and leaned forward.
"After that incident with Kira, I called up Dr. Fletcher about a job, to clear my mind…"
Marcus recounted the events that led up to the moment he encountered the golden anomaly that was known as the Grand Disciple.
Luna's eyes widened at the mere mention of the title. This caught Marcus' attention, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Do you… know her?" Marcus asked.
Luna hesitantly nodded. "She… we…" Luna looked as if she struggled with the choice between talking with Marcus or staying silent.
Marcus frowned. "Luna, don't you do it, you know how I feel about you and Dr. Fletcher keeping secrets from me."
Luna sighed as she crossed her arms. "Can… can I at least ask for permission?" She asked.
"From who?" Marcus asked.
"From… the Grand Disciple." She said softly.
"Y-you can call her?" Marcus asked, his curiosity piqued. "This whole time?"
Luna nodded. "But it's not as simple as you'd expect, and this is something you cannot tell anyone about, especially Kira." She said with a stern gaze.
Marcus hurriedly nodded. "Y-yeah, of course, this will be just between us."
Luna then nodded solemnly as she clasped her hands together, closing her eyes as she frowned.
She then slowly began pulling her hands apart, and between them grew what looked to be a small rift. The air around her hands began to crackle and pop. Ripples of silver ether rippled through the surrounding area as Luna pulled her hand further and further apart.
Marcus watched in awe of what Luna was doing.
He barely believed what he was seeing, and if it weren't for everything he'd been through before, he probably wouldn't have believed it at all.
Once the rift got to about the size of a basketball, Luna removed her hand from the top of the formed rift. It was then it went from a sliver color to a crystal clear image of what looked to be the inside of a futuristic ship.
There were screens hovering everywhere, lined with both images of Earth and… space. Manning the ship were dozens and dozens of copper lunas, floating around and interacting with various consoles.
In the center of everything was the Grand Disciple. She sat on a chair that was surrounded by hovering screens.
She looked upon Luna and Marcus with a frown. "Arc-Disciple 22-76, you may speak." She said with a commanding tone.
Luna nodded. "Grand Disciple, I have a request on behalf of Marcus Fall, he wishes to know the truth of my origin and my relationship to our order." Luna's voice had reverted to its original tone, from when she first emerged from the rift.
The Grand Disciple shifted her gaze to Marcus, a smile crossing her lips. "You have the permission to explain class six intel, but I have a question for you Arc-Disciple, why hasn't Marcus been properly trained in combat?"
Luna sighed. "The Goddess tear, known as Anna Fletcher, has requested I allow Marcus to learn on his own and I obliged, Grand Disciple."
The Grand Disciple frowned. "That woman, she's become a nuisance. Are you able to dispatch her?" She asked with a soft chuckle.
Luna's eyes widened. "Is this an order?"
The Grand Disciple chuckled as she shook her head. "No, that was just a joke on my part, obviously we need her, but… I need you to take control of the situation and train him, the holy one plans to move forward with her plans soon."
Luna nodded. "Understood."
The Grand Disciple then turned her attention towards Marcus. "And you… " her tone was cold but held slight amusement. "Our paths will cross again human, and this time I expect a worthy battle, no surprises, understood?"
Marcus nodded hesitantly. He hadn't expected he'd be meeting her so soon after their first encounter. He wasn't even expecting whatever this was! This changes so much, yet it couldn't have come at a worse time.
With that the transmission ended, and the rift reverted back to its silver color. Luna sighed deeply as she closed the rift in her hand. "Marcus…" she said softly as her hands clasped together. "If I told you everything you knew was a lie, how would you react?"
Marcus felt a shiver run down his spine. That sense of dread he had been feeling this entire week, came back like a tsunami. "W-what do you mean?" Marcus stammered, taking a step back from Luna.
Luna sighed as she separated her hands. "I mean, if I told you that humanity was… an experiment, to create something greater."
Marcus' eyes widened as he took a step back. The weight of Luna's words crashed against his shoulder and forced him to breathe heavily.
"Luna, what are you talking about?" Marcus asked as he reached for the nearest object to grab.
Luna carefully lowered herself down from the bed and approached Marcus slowly. "You, and your species as a whole, are on the verge of true greatness." Luna then hesitantly smiled. "You and the organization as a whole, have been silently working with her holiness, like trade in essence."
"A… a trade?" Marcus asked.
Luna nodded. "Yes, but before that, allow me to explain everything from the beginning, the actual beginning."