Previously in NWC-
Reno's fight with George, the bandit leader, ensues. They exchange blows, Reno quickly becoming overpowered. Using the last remainder of his strength, the mayor shoots George, allowing Reno to deliver a devastating blow. Reno rushes to the town hall to get the mayor first aid. The mayor coaches Reno to keep him calm, but while they were distracted, George, barely conscious, stabs Reno in the back. Reno and George exchange their final attacks before both collapsing with Reno as the victor. Reno, immediately after winning, passes out...
Meanwhile…
Luna chases Medusa in a playful manner, running circles around the perimeter of their future home. They engage in multiple activities, passing the time until Reno returns. Suddenly, a loud bang echoes throughout the darkened sky. Both of them stop in their tracks, turning towards the origin of the sound. "Muh?" Medusa tilts her head in confusion, turning to Luna.
"That noise… what was that? It sounded like it came from the village…" Luna's heart begins pounding and her mind races with questions. A sense of inexplicable dread begins welling up deep inside her. Time passes, and with it the sound of more loud bangs. Medusa looks at Luna in confusion after two consecutive bangs go off. "Reno… what is going on out there?" Luna speaks her thoughts as she can't take her eyes away from the direction of the village. They hear yelling and banging, until finally there's cheering and then nothing. They both sit there, waiting for an unknown amount of time. Luna is frozen in place, waiting for some sign of Reno to explain, but he never comes. Medusa falls asleep next to Luna, waking up to find that Luna hadn't moved.
"Muh?" Sensing something was wrong, Medusa gently wraps a vine around Luna in a hugging manner.
"Medusa… Thank you." Medusa's sudden display of affection and compassion sends a warm and calming feeling through Luna's body. Finally, having stayed up all night, Luna chooses to be proactive. "Medusa, sweetie."
"Muh?"
"I need you to stay here, okay? I'm going to go find your daddy."
"Ree!"
"That's right! I'm going to go find Reno, okay?"
"Ree, no! Reno!"
Luna's heart is warmed hearing Medusa say Reno's name, but the feeling turns to nervousness as she thinks about the possibilities. "Stay here and play, okay?" Medusa nods her head, but instead of playing she decides to sit by the edge of the FTG. "Medusa? What are you doing?"
Medusa turns to Luna and smiles brightly, waving her vines in excitement. "Reno!" Medusa continues to sit, looking out towards the path leading to them.
Luna experiences a heightened sense of anxiety and existential dread as she begins making her way through the forest. She finally reaches the edge, making sure no farmers were able to see her. She flies as fast as she can towards the village, stopping right outside the entrance. She slowly creeped around the corner and towards the town hall. She hovers in front of the window on the front of the building. Not seeing anything, she flies over to another window. She sees an unfamiliar person sitting at the mayor's desk, talking to another villager who appeared to have bandaging around his arms. She focuses on her ears and tries her best to listen in on their conversation.
"Did you hear the update on the two?" A plain looking man with short brown hair speaks to another plain looking man with black hair.
"No, what's the word?"
"The mayor is doing alright; he's recovering pretty good. He can stand and walk around already. The cut wasn't deep, but it was still nasty."
"Nothing keeps that old man down! What about the kid? He alright?"
"Not really…" The man's expression turns grim. "From what I hear, he's been in and out of consciousness. He's had a nasty fever too, and it won't go down. They can barely keep the infection down as it is. Turns out that bandit leaders sword was coated with something. The mayor didn't get a direct dosage, but the sword was in and out of that kids stomach."
Luna's mind begins racing as she listens. "(The mayor was cut? Bandits? Someone got stabbed?!)"
The other man's face turns sad as he thinks. "What was the kid's name again? He wasn't much of a talker but he seems like such a nice kid."
"I think it was… Reno?"
Luna's heart begins speeding beyond control as she hears this revelation. "Reno was stabbed?!" In a panic, Luna begins flying around in every direction, not caring if anyone saw her. Luckily, all the village seemed to be outside one building in particular, making it easy for her to not be spotted. She quickly sneaks up to see what the commotion is.
A man with a white coat is standing outside, sighing as he pushes his silver hair out of his eyes. "Listen everyone, I know you're worried about the kid, but standing outside my clinic isn't going to help. If anything, it just stresses me out more! I'm doing what I can, but until Violet gets back with the proper medicine in a couple of days it's all I can do to keep the kid breathing. Now, everyone go home and pray for him there. I need a calm environment in which to work." The villagers disperse, murmuring between themselves with disappointment. Everyone goes back to their homes. Luna notices a large number of them had bandages on them in different locations on their bodies. Finally, just the man in a white coat remains, standing in front of an open door. The man was roughly 70 inches tall and a slightly slimmer build. His hair was silver but his appearance was youthful; he looked no older than 30. He sighs as he leans against the door frame, watching the villagers leave. "I take a little vacation and the place gets attacked by bandits. Then they drop off a bunch of dying people and expect me to perform a miracle." The man turns around, looking back in the building. Through the open front door, Luna sees a door to another room that's cracked just enough to see Reno sleeping on a bed. His expression was pained, and his face was bright red. He was breathing heavily and it looked like he could throw up at any second.
"Reno?!" Luna rushes towards the backside of the building. The window to his room was cracked just enough for her to squeeze through. She hovered above Reno, looking down at him. In a trash can in the corner of the room was multiple rolls of bloody bandages. "Reno… what… what happened?" Luna's voice is weak and shaky as she speaks to the struggling Reno. Reno squirmed in the bed, the sheets damp with sweat. The rag on his head dripped water down his face in a desperate attempt to lower his temperature. Before Luna could look anymore, she hears the front door closing. She quickly hides underneath the bed as the man enters.
He sighs as he stands next to Reno, looking down at him. "I don't know who you are kid, but you're one hell of a case. You apparently come out of nowhere and start a fight with the bandits. Then, you get stabbed, somehow not a single vital organ getting pierced, and you get poisoned with a toxin that should have killed you instantly. You and that old man are luckier than everyone else combined. But what gets me," the man wanders over to a desk and picks up a vial of dark red liquid. "Your blood… it's weird. It's like a minute portion is made of plan material and mana. It's like whatever is in there is what kept you alive. I've never seen it before, however, so I can't replicate it. You're one inexplicable creature, Reno."
Luna's mind fires off trying to find an explanation before she finally realizes. "(Medusa! Her medicine!)" Luna watches the man, waiting for the right time to leave. After the man takes his eyes off of Reno for a second, Luna dashes out of the building and back towards the FTG. She flies faster than she ever has before, dodging tree after tree as she arrives at her destination. Luna quickly flies up to Medusa, who is waving at her. "Medusa! I need you to spit in a bottle!"
"Muh!" Medusa asks no questions, saluting with a vine and quickly spitting in a small glass bottle that had previously held some of their food. Luna takes the liquid, flying as slow as possible so she doesn't drop the bottle. She continues this balancing act, barely managing to make it to the clinic without spilling any. After making sure the man wasn't present, Luna tries to force the window open. The opening wasn't large enough, so she sets the bottle down and begins trying to force the window open more. As she's doing this, however, the door opens and the man steps in. "Huh? What is that?!" The man's eyes widen as he gazes towards the window, uncertain of what is in front of him.
TO BE CONTINUED...