Chapter 16: Wings of fate

The battle was tough in Esmus. Everyone did their best, and it showed itself off in the end. While Nyxon fought his hardest to protect and bring back the things he wanted most, he had to leave some things behind in the future. With the family he saw as his own gone in Esmus, he couldn’t help but feel upset. He lost his home and his family again, and he still had no idea what happened to Manda. Thinking about Manda was the last thing he needed to worry about, so he focused on the task at hand: finding the Alcaraz family.

Efrana shouldn’t be too far from the trio anymore. As the days passed, Luna kept Nyxon steered in the right direction. Each night shifted between the sky as he admired the stars. Lapis didn’t talk for nearly the entire ride; she only spoke whenever she was dreaming in her sleep or whenever she was hungry. Nyxon also had to take frequent breaks; the constant flying was very tiresome, hurting his head greatly. A desert surrounded the trio; its sand plains made flying over almost impossible. It was hot, but the heat never bothered Nyxon; being part dragon really had its benefits for him.

Nyxon hadn’t talked since they left for Efrana; after all, he was still thinking about his fight with Brinks after rescuing Cleo. His anger took control of him, and he couldn't do anything. He feared losing himself again to his anger; it scared him and often made his scar itch on his eye again.

Luna decided to call it a day again; she noticed a cave in the middle of the desert where she thought things would be safe to sleep in. Nyxon flew in swiftly, landing on the ground as he let his body rest in his human form again. Lapis and Luna stretched to lay down next to Nyxon; he was the warmest one there, after all.

He watched as Lapis and Luna fell asleep next to his shoulders. He liked how Lapis looked at peace next to him; seeing her sleep with both eyes closed was almost a treat for him. Luna was the last to fall asleep; she wanted to ensure Nyxon was okay before drifting off into a slumber. She kissed Nyxon swiftly, her soft lips brushing against his; it made both their hearts flutter. Luna’s eyes fluttered as she went to sleep; her breathing was steady as she lifted her head to rest on Nyxon’s chest. Despite the hours that passed, Nyxon couldn’t fall asleep. He felt a tug at his shoulder– it was Lapis; she looked just as tired as him. She spoke softly, “You’re having that dream again. Aren’t you?” asked Lapis.

Nyxon turned his head to Luna; he brushed her hair softly, “I keep thinking about that fight,” whispered Nyxon; he was trying not to wake Luna up. “I lost myself and did things I’d never do,” shuddered Nyxon. His breath became unsteady, “I got scared… I was scared of myself. Losing my temper scared me,”

“It shouldn’t scare you,” responded Lapis. She sounded confused, “Being an Elderian is a gift; it’s something you should be proud of,”

“I can’t, Lapis. If I get angry again–”

“It won’t happen again,” Lapis had cut off Nyxon; it was starting to bother him, “I’ll help you when we get the chance, but you shouldn’t be afraid of something so great, Nyxon,”

Nyxon couldn’t listen to her properly. He felt like she was trying to understand him. He was afraid of losing his temper and losing himself in the process. If being angry was the only way to trigger the transformation, all he had to do was not be angry. That’s simple for him, right? Nyxon knew the power he had now wasn’t enough to protect everyone. Was being angry the only way to protect his close ones? His head started to hurt thinking about it; he needed to find a way to sleep.

Lapis took a deep sigh; she scratched her silver hair as she looked at Nyxon, “I won’t let your anger change who you are; I like you how you are now,” whispered Lapis.

It almost sounded like someone was speaking from Lapis. She seemed more calm and sweet when she was with Nyxon. He liked how Lapis treated him; it reminded him of Manda. He missed Manda a lot, but he knew what he was doing would help her; that’s what Nyxon was betting on. Lapis managed to soothe Nyxon’s worries; he finally got some sleep. Lapis tugged at her cloak; her heart felt warm and fuzzy again. She looked flushed whenever that feeling approached her; she hoped it would stay with her wherever she went.

Morning rose again; Luna was still fast asleep on Nyxon, but Lapis was already up bright and early. Lapis stood tall in front of the cave, her shadow cast over the duo resting as she overlooked their safety. She stared at the chains on her wrists; she knew their time was coming soon to be removed. Finally, Nyxon woke up. He hadn’t had a good nap like that in forever; waking Luna on his lap in the morning was challenging, but he managed to do it. The warm sun washed over the trio as they stepped outside; Luna almost looked like she would faint if she stayed outside any longer.

“It's so hot out!” whined Luna. She looked over at the siblings; they weren’t giving off the slightest sweat. She dramatically blinked her eyes, “How are you two even alive?” asked Luna.

The siblings glanced at each other; they acted confused as a joke to annoy Luna. Luna quickly got over the joke and asked Nyxon to transform again. Nyxon promptly obeyed the command and transformed, soaring through the skies as Lapis and Luna rode on top of his back. Luna pointed out the small town in the distance; that was it; it was Efrana. Luna jumped with glee as Lapis sat in silence while eagerly tapping her fingers together. Nyxon could almost feel a smile on his face, but Luna’s lousy steering quickly shut it down. The town seemed lively; kids populated the streets as smells of food and coal fumed.

Luna searched on her note for the Alcaraz family household. She couldn’t find anything, only seeing nothing but engineering shacks. She thought that maybe Cleo gave her the number for an engineer shack instead. Luna asked Nyxon to touch down at the ground and look on foot instead. Nyxon transformed back into a human as Lapis stepped off of him. They walked by each shack, hoping they would pass by the name Alcaraz. “Ugh! I can’t find it–” whined Luna, but luckily, she saw a little girl and her mom walking by. “Hello— do you know where this family is?”

The little girl pointed to Luna’s face, “Mommy, look! She’s so pretty!” Luna blushed at the compliment; it made her happy.

The mother looked up to Luna, “Yes, she is! You said you needed help?”

“Yes– we're looking for the Alcaraz family,” said Luna. The trio watched as the mother's face went from pleasant to unpleasant instantly; it was enough even to get a reaction out of Lapis.

The mother quickly searched her surroundings, making sure she wasn’t being listened to, “They’re in that shack right there– but between you and me, you don’t wanna go in there,” whispered the woman. She walked away in disgust as she muttered to herself.

Nyxon blinked, “Well, that was rude,”

“Maybe we got the wrong place?” asked Lapis. She pointed to the shack, “There’s no way your dad knows these people,”

The shack looked broken down; the sign that had once held on the top was now on the floor. It was enough to send a shudder down Luna’s spine. “My Dad can’t be wrong– I’m sure this is the right place,”

The trio walked to the shop; it reeked of oil and gasoline. Nyxon reached for the doorknob, but it was probably his biggest mistake. The doorknob was covered in a sticky yellow liquid, his face twisted in disgust as he tried to scream silently. Lapis and Luna looked away in disgust as Nyxon finally pushed the door to reveal something that smelled much stronger. The shop’s inside was filled with tables with nothing but gears and other machines. They all looked strange, and they all also smelled of even stronger oil than before. The ceiling fan was probably the only thing that looked like it worked there. That was the case, at least, until it fell on the floor, making the atmosphere even hotter.

The trio maneuvered over the broken items as they approached the front desk. Lapis glared at the bell lying on the desk. It said, “Ring when needed.” The group looked at each other, wondering who would push the button. Everyone did something apart from Lapis, so she had to push it herself. The bell didn’t ring at first, so she pressed it again– and again– and again– the bell wasn’t working. She slammed her fist into the bell, which seemed to make it work. A voice shouted from the door in the corner, “COMING! JUST ONE SECOND!” the voice shouted.

The trio glanced at each other in confusion. Finally, someone approached the group. “Hi! My name’s Kairo!” said the girl. Her voice was very youthful; she had brown skin similar to Nyxon and long dangling earlobes that stretched like ropes to her shoulders. “Is there anything I can do for you?” asked Kairo. She had a bright grin across her face; it was visible enough to notice the gap between her front teeth.

Luna smiled, trying not to smell the air too hard. “Hi– were here for–”

Kairo let out a loud gasp, cutting off Luna. “No! My bell! It’s broken?”

“It was like that when we got here,” said Lapis coldly.

Kairo took it upon herself to start fixing the clock. She quickly adjusted the suspenders on her shoulders and took a wrench from her pocket, fixing the clock. She twisted and turned until the bell rang again, making herself wipe a sweat of relief off of her forehead. She smiled back at the group, “So– what’d you need?”

Luna cleared her throat, “I’m here for the Alcaraz family?” said Luna confusingly.

“Ohhhh— MOM!” shouted Kairo. She started to speak a different language that not even Luna understood.

Two adults came from the corner door; they looked similar to Kairo.

“Kairo–” said the mother. She also started to speak in a different tongue. She had black puffy hair and dark skin, almost like Kairo.

“Sorry, Mama, I just got excited because I got to fix the clock here,”

The father smiled, “So, what can I do for you lovely people?” he rubbed his hands together as soot rubbed off. He had a very kind voice and a bald head.

“My Dad sent me here, King Cleo,” said Luna.

The family’s mouths dropped; they almost gasped for the whole town to hear. “Y-Y-You’re, Luna!? Princess Luna!?”

Luna bowed her head, “Y-Yes…”

Kairo’s mouth nearly hit the floor, and her parents followed right behind her. The trio were finally able to sit down; they explained how they winded up there from King Cleo. Kairo’s mom even took the chance to make everyone apple pie; it was very sweet. Luna showed Lapis’s chains to the family; the father and mother even noticed the markings around the chains. Kairo was confused; she had no idea who anybody was or what the chains were for.

The father ate another slice of pie, “Sorry about that– my name’s Hugo–” he pointed to the mother; she was handing Kairo a slice of pie. “And this is my wife, Elena,” Elena waved and spoke in a different tongue, “Sorry, she doesn't like speaking English often,”

“It's ok,” replied Nyxon. “But, is there anything you can do for my sister?” Lapis held up her chains again.

Hugo scratched his chin,” I knew you would be coming here soon, but I didn’t think it would be this soon,” he sat up and threw his plate in the garbage can, “I don’t have the tool ready for that right now, but if you’d like– you can wait around a couple hours,”

“A couple hours?” hissed Lapis. “We came here to wait even longer?”

Nyxon patted her on the back,” It's fine– sorry about my sister,”

Hugo and Elena laughed; they didn’t mind. “Oh, and you are?”

“I’m Nyxon, the former prince of Esmus,” spoke Nyxon. He pointed to Luna, “You already knew her, but she’s my wife,”

Kairo blinked, “They do those kinds of marriages now–” Elena quickly slapped Kairo over the head, quieting her down.

Nyxon raised an eyebrow as he pointed to Lapis,” And this is my sister, Lapis,” Lapis tried smiling, but her teeth ended up scaring Kairo; she almost went as pale as a ghost seeing her jagged, sharp teeth.

“Kairo–”

“Yes, Dad?” responded Kairo.

“Why don’t you go on and show our guests the town around us?”

“AW– REALLY?” shouted Kairo. She sounded thrilled.

Luna waved her hand, “I’ll pass; it’s scorching out,”

“Same here,” chimed Lapis.

“I wouldn’t mind leaving,” responded Nyxon. Kairo’s face only seemed to get even brighter.

“YAY!” shouted Kairo. She tugged at Nyxon’s arms as she led him outside the shack. “Come on, come on! I got someplace really cool to show you!”

Nyxon quickly knew his day was going to get better. Kairo was very lively; every time she spoke or even blinked, she had a smile across her face. Her laugh was very contagious. She joked about a nickname she got as a kid and how she was named “Junkrat.” Nyxon found the joke funny; he hadn’t laughed in a while, and it felt good to smile again. Kairo quickly took Nyxon to a vendor in the streets of Efrana. It was filled with the smell of pepperoni and hot grease; it made Nyxon’s mouth almost water.

Kairo smiled at Nyxon, “Do you want something to eat? I’m sure I have some money left over for some pizza,”

Nyxon’s face shifted, “Pizza?”

Kairo nearly fainted; luckily, she fell against a garage door, “Y-You’ve never heard of Pizza?” stuttered Kairo. She fumbled around her wallet as she walked with Nyxon to a stand, “Now I have to get you this–”

A man stood in front of the stand. He had a dark green apron and blond hair, “Junkrat–”

Kairo jumped with glee, “Hi, Mr.Fergus!”

Fergus quickly adjusted his apron; he glared at the duo with his green eyes, “Same thing as usual?”

“Yes! But can you make it two slices this time?” asked Kairo, her big brown eyes staring into the vendor.

“That’ll be four pence then,” replied Fergus.

Nyxon glanced at Kairo, looking into her wallet, “What’s a pence?”

“Their little brown square coins,” replied Kairo, “I use them to get pizza here sometimes,” Kairo quickly noticed she was off by a lot of money. “Heh, you think you can let me off easy?” asked Kairo.

“Eh, I can’t– I did that last time and the time before that,”

“Aw man, he’s right,” groaned Kairo. She even heard her stomach growl as she complained even more.

Nyxon reached into his pockets, pulling out shiny gold coins. “How much pizza can I buy with twenty of these?” asked Nyxon. He watched as Kairo and Mr. Fergus’s mouths dropped.

“W-With that, you may as well buy the whole shop–”

“N-Nyxon! How’d you have that much money?” asked Kairo. Her eyes only seemed to start beaming with curiosity as she stared into Nyxon’s hand.

“I get a salary from the kingdom, but I haven't really done anything with it in a while…” responded Nyxon. He dropped the coins on the counter, “Um, if I could get… two boxes, that’d be nice,”

Mr. Fergus looked at the coins, only taking two of them as he pushed them back to Nyxon. Nyxon looked at Kairo, staring at the gold coins in his hand the entire time. He dropped them into Kairo’s hand as a nice gesture. Kairo jumped and screamed joyfully, “I haven’t had this much money in– well, forever! This is crazy!” Kairo’s eyes beamed into Nyxon’s; she was thankful for the money she had given.

Finally, the pizza was done. Nyxon watched as Mr. Fergus opened the cardboard box; the smell of cheese and pepperoni quickly filled his nose, making him even hungrier. Kairo was practically drooling with happiness; she couldn’t stop smiling at the food before her. Kairo promptly looked at the pizza before staring back at Mr.Fergus. “Hey– Mr.Fergus?”

“Yes?” replied Mr.Fergus.

“Sorry if this is offensive. But I thought you were vegan?”

In confusion, Mr.Fergus shook his head. “How’s that offensive?”

Kairo giggled nervously, “Why are you selling pizza as a vegan?”

Mr.Fergus sighed softly, “I’m only a vegetarian when I’m not making any money,”

What?

Nyxon laughed nervously. They quickly thanked Mr. Fergus as they walked to a bench, opened the pizza boxes, and took a slice out. Nyxon chewed into the soft and mushy texture of the cheese. He pulled his mouth away, but the cheese seemed to stretch to him. Nyxon was thinking about how much Luna and Lapis would love to eat this right now; he wanted to save some for them. Kairo was devouring her plate of food. Nyxon knew she was hungry, but this was something else.

Kairo was full; she could barely have a clear thought in her head that wasn’t a pepperoni or a block of cheese. She took the other box of pizza with her. She said she wanted to give it to her parents cause they hadn’t had pizza in a long time. Nyxon was okay with that; he already had rights over two other slices for Lapis and Luna. Nyxon and Kairo patrolled more around the town. Kairo noticed a shop selling a pair of goggles for wielders; she really wanted them.

Nyxon fell for Kairo’s bright eyes and glamorous smile; he was happy to buy them for her. They walked inside the shop, noticing the array of items and other small tools. Kairo quickly ran to the counter, ringing the bell obnoxiously as a chubby woman walked from the corner door.

“Junkrat– good to see ya,” said the woman. Her voice was very kind, and her nose ring was almost distracting to look at.

“Hi, Mrs. Gibson! Do you have the new pair of goggles from the window?”

“I sure do! One sec-” said Mrs.Gibson. She reached down below the counter and pulled out a pair of goggles.

Kairo tried them over her eyes, adjusting the lenses so she could see clearer. It was a perfect fit, “I’ll take 'em!” shouted Kairo. She was smiling and giggling with glee.

Mrs. Gibson quickly took the money she was owed from Nyxon. Her eyes flashed as she was handed a singular gold coin, “Woah, trying to show off for your girlfriend, huh?”

“Girlfriend?” said Nyxon curiously.

Kairo quickly bumped into Nyxon, pushing him away from the counter, “She’s not my–”

“He,” corrected Nyxon.

“He’s not my girlfriend–”

“Yeah, he’d be your boyfriend, right?” asked Mrs.Gibson jokingly. She couldn’t stop laughing at Nyxon’s annoyed face.

Kairo quickly pushed Nyxon away from the shop. She almost wanted to laugh, but Nyxon looked extremely annoyed. She grabbed Nyxon’s arm and tugged him towards her shack again. She walked behind it to where a giant junkyard was present. It was filled with garbage and then machines and other gadgets. Kairo sat on a cushion that looked like it belonged to a vehicle; Nyxon sat beside her. “Thanks for the money today… My parents don’t make a lot of money, so this means a lot,”

Nyxon smiled, “It’s nothing; you can have the rest if you want–”

“No, no, no–” responded Kairo. She flailed her arms around like a bird, “It’s fine–”

Kairo got up from her seat, putting the pizza box down where she sat. She pulled a scooter from the corner of the broken-down vehicle. “Check it out! This was something I’ve been working on for a while–” she pointed to the back of the scooter; it was a large black box, “This is the power core; I’ve been trying to install a piece of an engine to it, but it’s too heavy for me to lift out from the car,”

Nyxon pointed to the vehicle, “This thing?” he said toward the metal car.

“Yeah, that’s the engine. I’m not really strong or anything, so I can’t lift it to pick apart the pieces I need,” said Kairo.

Nyxon had Kairo hold the plate of pizza from his hand. He reached inside the car and forcefully pulled the engine from the hood. “You needed this, right?” said Nyxon as oil dripped from the sides.

Kairo’s mouth almost fell to the floor, “U-Uh, yeah! How’re you lifting that?”

Nyxon shrugged his shoulders, “It wasn’t that heavy,” said Nyxon as he dropped the engine. Kairo inspected it with her wrench as she put her goggles on.

Kairo smiled brightly, “Think I look good with these?”

“Yeah, they're cool,” replied Nyxon.

Kairo went to unscrew the engine apart. She was a fast worker; within seconds, pieces were already scattered across the ground. Nyxon let a question run through his head, “So– why are you taking this apart?”

“I needed the oil filter,” replied Kairo. She quickly removed the filter as she started working on the scooter. She lifted the black box up as she installed the oil filter.

“So… if it was so heavy for me to lift, couldn’t you have just used your Aura to help lift it slightly?” asked Nyxon.

Kairo stopped working on the engine on the scooter. She looked at Nyxon with a disappointed face, “I wasn’t born with any powers,” said Kairo.

She quickly went back to work to distract herself. Nyxon’s never heard of someone being born without an Aura. It confused him when he heard it come from Kairo. Kario quickly shut the black box and twisted the scooter handle; suddenly, sparks of blue light came from the box. Kairo squeezed her earlobes, “Huh, that’s not supposed to–” Then suddenly, an explosion triggered at the box, sending Nyxon and Kairo far away from the center. Nyxon tumbled away as he steadied himself from the smoke; Kairo was nowhere to be heard from. It scared Nyxon. He searched for Kairo, digging around the debris to pull her from a pile of metal and scraps. Nyxon watched as Kairo’s eyes fluttered and slowly panned on her right arm, which was missing her hand.