Ending

The rest of their journey should be easy. Just ride to Rose.

There’s some deadly cliffs, but that’s fine as long as you don’t fall off them. Asa also feels awful.

He tired and has a headache. It’s almost summer, but he feels cold. He rides his hoverbike across a narrow path. A giant waterfall runs beside it and flows into a river beneath.

The water had eroded a hole in the earth, making a land bridge. The world in front of him blurs. No matter how many times he rubs his eyes it doesn’t clear.

He gets dizzy and the bike swerves right and left. He’s forced to pull over.

☼

Asa leans against a tree. He’s breathing fast and his cheeks are red. Mint puts a water bottle on his head.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stop? You’re really sick!” Says Mint.

Asa smiles, trying to reassure him. “I can’t stop. We don’t have time. Don’t worry. I’ll pull myself together.”

Asa forces himself to his feet, then sways. Luna catches him. “You pushed yourself too hard for too long. You have to rest.”

“Maybe I will.”

Wires wrap around Luna’s neck. Behind her is the woman who claimed to be Iris. Luna puts all of her strength into getting loose. In the process, the assassin sees her face.

“Luna?” She says. She undoes the wires and jumps back.

“What are you doing here? Your father’s been looking all over for you!”

Luna nervously glances at Asa and Mint.

“Why don’t you come back?” Asks the assassin.

Luna ignores her and attacks, punching at her. She dodges very gracefully. Asa’s transformed into his Animaguard, but he’s very slow.

He strikes at the assassin, but misses. She strikes back. He narrowly dodges, getting dangerously close to the cliff. The world starts to spin.

His eyes shut and he falls backwards, plummeting into the raging river below.

“Asa!” Yells Luna. Without thinking, she dives in after him.

“Dammit!” Curses the assassin. She runs off.

Mint has no idea what to do.

☼

Luna swims to Asa and scoops him up. He’s dead weight. When she pulls them to land, he’s not breathing.

She gives him chest compressions. He coughs up the water and starts breathing, but doesn’t respond to her. He’s redder than before and panting.

“Asa!” She cries.

☼

Luna pulled him to a small cave. She took both of their clothes off to dry. She hugs him for warmth.

“I know drying in the sun would be better, but I don’t know what I’d do if we were spotted right now…” She says. Asa doesn’t hear her. He’s in the depths of an exhausted sleep.

“At least you’re warm enough for the both of us.” She jokes. She then feels sad.

“I’m sorry. You wouldn’t even be like this if it wasn’t for me. I… shouldn’t be here.” She puts her palm on his chest and feels his heart. It’s very rapid, but its beat gives her a sweet, safe feeling.

She savors this closeness like it’s the last time she’ll have it.

☼

“Luna! Asa!” Calls Mint as he runs to lower ground.

ꕤ

Eventually, the assassin finds them. She catches Asa in wire. He’s smarter this time and puts both arms next to his neck, so he doesn’t choke.

He tries to get through to her. It’s almost working, but she aggressively resists. We learn that she’s actually named Kalinka.

She and her sister, Iris, were abused by her father. Her sister got more attention, although negative, and she was jealous. She resents her mother for not protecting her.

She thinks her mother’s kindness is the weakness causing their family issues, and grows to hate kind people. She becomes distant from her family.

An old man with an uncanny vibe gives her an Animaguard, in exchange for her “helping him to build a better future”.

She uses her wire ability to kill not her dad, but her mom. She’s haunted by her kind, brown eyes and the way she tried to get through to her even as she killed her.

Asa’s eyes look like her mom’s and she hates it, but also wants it. She wants kindness more than anything, but keeps pushing it away.

Luna chases her into an abandoned building. She gets closer and closer to Kalinka, who’s backed into a corner. She reasons with Luna and says they’re on the same side.

When Asa gets there. Kalinka is gone. Luna said she escaped, but there’s no exit she could’ve left though.

☼

That night, Asa and Luna watch the stars and talk. They get talking about parents and Luna asks if she should go back to her dad, even if they had some problems.

Asa says that parents are flawed, but they’ll always care about you and you should do your best to work things out with them. Luna thanks him.

☼

After Asa goes to sleep, Luna gives him a kiss on the lips and leaves.

☼

Mint and Asa are devastated Luna left without a word. They’re both burnt out and things get much worse. The mysterious old man we saw in the study is planning to go on the offensive.

☼

A few days later, SO many assassins are attacking them that they hardly survive. They’re from both Litora and some other entity. They lose the key.

Asa calls Command Deshpande and tells him he lost the Key. Asa doesn’t say anything, but the commander knows him well enough to know he’s going to book it to go to Litora and get the Key back.

He tries to convince him not to, but Asa hangs up.

☼

They book it to Litora!

☼

After his defeat, Dogukan publicly humiliated Douglas, so now he’s out for revenge.

☼

Asa and Mint got disguises. the capital city is the most monitored. It’s very tense!

They get separated. Mint finds an Asa doppelganger. She’s a girl. She convinces him to trade places.

It turns out she’s Dogukan’s daughter, the “princess” of Litora (there’s concerns about whether or not it’s still a republic). There's a party tonight. The maids dress Asa up.

His awesome tuck skills keep him from being caught, but it really hurts.

He’s beautiful! More beautiful than the actual princess. People can’t believe it’s her, because she’s always so boyish.

Luna is at the party somewhere because her evil dad is in Litora’s court and was setting things up from the inside.

Hijinks happen at the party. Mint and the girl also sneak in using manipulation.

Asa sneaks off and finds the room the key is in. He hacks the door with a gadget. He disables the alarm and takes the key, but the princess’s number one servent knew something was off and followed him. He’s caught.

He runs into the ballroom. Litora’s top military guys are there, so it’s a hard fight. Douglas has a mech suit he’s been waiting to use and he uses the nanomachine dysregulation frequency.

He says “analog is better” referring to the mech suit, then smashes Asa’s shoulder. He has broken bones.

Perona had investigated the fishy stuff about her dad and now hates him. She’s planning something.

Douglas gets defeated. Asa thinks Mint is going to die. Mint confesses his love to Asa. It’s not reciprocated of course but Asa kisses him on the lips because he can’t deny a dying child his final wish.

Mint did not die! He’s matured and has cool wings now. (Animaguard can evolve if you soul does)

Luna’s dad kills Dogukan. And Perona kills her dad. Chaos! Luna’s dad snatches the key.

He and Luna run. They run to an ancient facility. Asa and Mint chase after. Somewhere inside, there’s a “hall of Lunas”. They’re all the Luna clones that failed.

Luna has a crisis about choosing between her dad and her friends. She choses her friends, but her dad puts the helmet on her, which shuts her feelings off and takes her ability to choose away.

He tries to get her to delete Mint and Asa, but even mind controlled she won’t. He gets in a teleporter.

Asa tries to follow. His hand can’t activate it. He tries the necklace Luna gave him and it works!

It teleports to a moon base!

Asa and Mint are lost. They find an exposition computer that explains Luna’s history and how she was created. She’s a clone of a clone of a clone of a woman who’s ability was to dismantle creatures at a particle level and “delete them”.

The Luna’s are what erased the people of the ancient world. They’re like the Nue equivalent of an atomic bomb.

Luna’s dad, Khorghast, is an an ancient Alma royalty and feels entitled to the world. He’s messed up. He’s going to wiped out both capital cities with Luna.

They’re doing it on a tall platform Mint flies them up there. Asa hacks Luna’s helmet while Mint holds off the old guy.

Asa succeeds so good the helmet explodes, but Khorghast stabs him in the back. Luna gets so angry she deletes Khorghast.

Luna cries over Asa. Asa holds her face. He’s awake! He says “It’s good you’re back to normal.” and smiles.

They make a grave for her dad on the land. Luna says some stuff about him. She hates him now, but still loves him. She no longer believes his ideologies.

Asa comforts her about her power.

Mint goes home and Baaya cries. He’s grown.

Asa gets in big trouble and can’t be a defender, but he doesn’t want to. He becomes a priest in his mother’s community, fixing the broken bond.

Luna lives with him.

They’re happy and Asa feels his mom’s love in himself more than ever.

The End