Yuri was impressed by the skill shown by each fighter in the arena. He knew Earth had amazing defenders, but anytime he fought alongside one, it always reminded him that he was never alone, that others fought the same fight he did. Be it cultivating evil spirits, or fighting off invading otherworldly creatures bent on conquering Earth, he upheld the belief that everyone on Earth deserved freedom and equal right, and he would fight to his death their right to live and be free. The swarm of butterflies did what they were meant to do. Even with Sign Master figuring out the one true weakness of the perfect cube. Had they been in the air, the cube would have no weakness, but since it was positioned on the ground, the ground was its weakness.

Yuri watched as Sign Master dove into a tunnel to avoid the hornet missiles and beautiful swirling mass of destruction from the Mech and Luna. The butterflies managed to keep up with him, but he quickly popped up outside of the cube, a few of the butterflies managing to strike him, and two affixing to the creature's back as a sort of homing device, or rather an energy drain. The two butterflies would not only send a beacon to Yuri, but they would slowly start to sap the energy from Sign Master to the point that would cause them to self-destruct.

Yuri had made a mental note to ask Gou about the spirit wolf he's shifted into after Yuri had lowered the perfect cube. Although they'd lost one of their allies, the Mech, Yuri knew it would only be a matter of time before he'd run into the owner of the machine, if only over a cup of coffee. After watching Gou and Luna rush off to catch up with Sign Master, Yuri smirked. The butterflies that had latched onto Sign Master's back would impale their proboscis into Sign Master just as Gou, in his spirit wolf form, would latch onto Sign Master's arm. This would hide the fact that he'd been bitten three times.

Sign Master put up quite the fight against both Gou and Luna who were giving him more than what he bargained for, but Yuri hadn't yet appeared on the scene just yet. Drifting through the breeze as a swarm of white luna moths, Yuri sped towards the battle. He was able to catch up with Luna, Gou, and the Sign Master with relative ease, but decided to observe before interacting. Gou was doing a great job at disabling one of Sign Master's arms, and Luna was hammering away at the side of Sign Master's helmet. It was a comical scene, but Yuri knew they needed to act swiftly if they were going to put down the threat. Yuri sped in front of the trio and took his normal form a bit ahead. Even with two beings attached to him, Sign Master was still moving at a decent speed.

Yuri clapped his hands together and felt the air around him shift. The butterflies that were draining Sign Master started to grow bigger and bigger. They would be visible to Luna and Gou. Sign Master would begin to feel his power slipping away, like a battery dying on an electronic device. Yuri slowly pulled his hands apart and arcana sparked between his hands.

"Arcana: Thousand Arrows"

Arrow upon arrow appeared around him and Sign Master was on a collision course with him.

When I tell you to let go, let go Yuri spoke telepathically to Luna and Gou.

As Sign Master neared, two luna moth shuriken struck his arm with the sign, slicing off the only usable hand he had. When they were in range, Yuri spoke to Luna and Gou again to let go, and the arcana charged arrows surged forth like a wave, all targetting Sign Master. At the same time, the butterflies would detonate further crippling Sign Master and decreasing his chances of survival.

---

While the Sign Master had avoided all those attacks, it had gotten a little too cocky, seeing as it was already speeding toward the center of town. Sign Master had been busy looking at his wrist, checking the radar like device as he got closer to his target when the wolf guy had suddenly caught up to him, and bit him on hand. One hand down and a larger than normal wolf hanging on him had distracted him long enough for the others to catch up and take advantage on his weakness.

With only one arm free Sign Master did his best to wield a weapon to fend off the aquatic woman. Thankfully with a stoke of genius he manage to stop her with his own anti-vehicle sign but she still managed to latch onto him anyway, banging at his helmet like a cymbal chimp combined with the energizer bunny. Despite everything he really wasn't in all that much danger, until he noticed the intense draining feeling on his back as the butterflies did their work.

Before he could figure out another sign to turn the tides suddenly his hand had been cut off and a thousand arrows were all flying at him. With no way to make another sign he was a sitting duck to the onslaught. The two got away a moment before the arrows struck, leaving him no time to prepare a sign. Arrow after arrow slammed into him, taking him apart piece by piece until at last the arrows were actually piercing through his body. Sign Master lazily slowed to a stop, his body blown full of holes and yet it was still alive.



With a groan of metal, Sign Master toppled forward and smashed into the asphalt where he breathed his last. After a brief moment, his entire body turned red beam of light which shot up into the sky, all the relevant data being returned to the alien ship. Other than some cracks on the asphalt, the monster was completely gone.

The only signs left of the alien presence was the destruction left its short, but violent, wake.

---

---

Edgar tucked a napkin into his collar just as one of the diner's wait staff brought over a steaming plate of food. Normally it would have been the usual breakfast special, which consisted of three sausage links, two eggs served sunny side up, French toast, and a mug of freshly brewed coffee, but Wright figured he'd try something new today. Well, that and he'd missed breakfast by more than four hours on account of getting a little too much sleep, although he couldn't really be blamed for that. The demon he'd exorcized the night before had given him hell and more than a few bruises to boot, the majority of which he could still feel throbbing up and down his the length of his side. Ignoring the discomfort for the time being however, he picked up his knife and fork just as the plate was set down. Its ceramic expanse contained a sizzling T-bone steak plucked right of the grill, a side of buttered mashed potatoes, and sizable pile of green beans.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" the waiter asked, notepad in hand. "Coffee or sweet tea?"

Edgar cleared his throat.

"No, thank you. This will do just fine."

"Alright, well just let me know if there's anything else you need."

"Will do," Wright replied, cutting a piece of steak free and shoving it into his mouth. Following that up with a bite of mashed potatoes shortly thereafter, Edgar directed his gaze to the window on his right as the waiter stepped away. Staring out into the world beyond, he allowed himself to become momentarily lost in thought, and was so wrapped up that he didn't even notice the woman who sat down opposite him. When he finally did take note of her presence, however, he nearly choked on an egg.

"G-goddamn it Sophia!"

He brought a hand up to his mouth in an attempt to suppress a phlegm filled hack.

"How many times to I have to tell you? Following me everywhere I go is not okay! You keep doing that shit and you're liable to get shot!"

Sophia merely flashed him a mischievous grin as she reclined in the upholstered seat. Flicking a wayward strand of hair from her eyes, she took out her phone and began typing away furiously.

Edgar sighed.

"Why are you here anyway? I thought I gave you the day off."

"You did," she said, eyes still glued firmly to the screen. "And I had planned on making the most of it, but then I stumbled across another case while prowling some internet forums."

Tearing her gaze from the phone at long last, she shot Edgar a knowing look.

"Before you ask, yes, it's legit. I checked."

Edgar gave her a small nod as he scarfed down another forkful of steak and beans.

"Alright, I'm still a little sore from the last one we worked on, but I'll give it a look. What's the client need?"

Smiling, she flipped the phone round for him to read, only to giggle manically as she watched Edgar's face and silverware fall.

"Son of a fucking bitch."

Looking up from the screen, he shot her an annoyed glare.

"They want me to kill a lich?"

Sophia nodded enthusiastically before pulling the phone away, shutting off the screen, and sliding it back into her pocket.

"Yup! They want you to kill a lich."

Looks like she was getting that road rash after all. It was either that or get feathered.

As the alien approached she unhooked her feet and let go just like the voice in her head told her too. Luna tried to just start running really fast once her feet touched the ground, and she managed it for a step or two before forward momentum sent her tumbling ass over teakettle across the road. She landed splayed out on her back, sitting up just in time to see the arrows plow into the alien. She was lucky he was right in front of her, but when the arrows finally tore through she had to lie back down as they flew overhead.

As the alien slowly came to a stop Luna picked herself gingerly up off the ground, her upper body covered in bright red scrapes. She got to hear the aliens final words, and signed at the thing tipped over onto the ground. Then she quickly covered her ears in anticipation, but removed them when the alien became a bean of light and shot off into the sky. Disappointed, she clapped her hands together in front of her and shut her eyes. "Thanks' for the fight, alien. I really wish I had gotten your name." She said respectfully. That vanished when she continued. "I also really wish you had exploded like on tv. That would have been wicked."

Despite everything that had happened there was no malice in the woman's body language at all. Not now, not when she had been fighting. She neither relished nor regretted having a hand in striking the alien down. Like the ocean she pronounced no judgement on those that had been lost to her. It had simply been a fight, an excursion. Nothing more than that.

She was brought out of her prayer for the fallen when she heard something slowly roll past her. She opened one eye and smiled with delight as her scooter rolled to a stop a few feet in front of her. No more sign meant no more prohibition against motor vehicles, so it had reappeared and kept chugging along with no one to apply the break until it reached them. "Yes!" She said, hopping up onto the seat and cringing all over from how the movement disturbed the scrapes and the ache. "Ow-owowowow." She muttered. She was going to be feeling this in the morning. She was also going to have to swing back and pick up her shoes, her bag, and Walrus Whisker.

Now, though? Now she looked between the butterfly guy and the wolf guy, leaned back in her seat, and gave them both a thumbs up like the big guy. "Suuuuuuup?" She said. "Nice moves. I'm Luna, but you probably already heard that back in the cube. What's your names? Unless you guys want to take off like mysterious coolmen usually do. I ain't that cool, but you guys could pull it off easy."

Just as Grizzly-1 returned to base, a report notified Titus that the hostile alien had been defeated. "Hmm. At least that's one less problem." The elderly man says while handing away the document to one of his staff after signing the document to confirm that it was able to reach him."God knows how many more problems we'll need to face." Finishing with a puff from his favorite pipe. Not only did they now need to deal with the anomalies that already exist on Earth, now they had to deal with anomalies from beyond this planet...then again, who was he to complain? He formed the Federal Department of Normalcy for the sole purpose of keeping the world at large 'normal'; and the new normal, it seemed, was that the abnormal needed to be normalized.

With Operation Burning Cover in play, soon all the world would know of what only the world leaders and FDN knew. Well knowledge they believed to be relevant to reveal to the public that is.

The majority of world was ill prepared for the bombshell that was to know that the paranormal had been hiding right underneath their noses this entire time. Meaning that the world leaders were holding near synchronous emergency press conferences to tell the world that yes; things like the boogeyman, magic, and aliens were, in fact, true. Most of the world lost their minds, some handled it pretty well. Yep...this is going to be a messy next few days.

Yuri watched as the arrows struck their intended target and proceeded to ravage Sign Master. For a moment, his vision blurred as he'd expanded a great deal of energy fighting Sign Master. Each spell, each summoning, all took its toll on the caster's body, and before he knew it he'd collapsed to one knee, blood flying from his mouth and splatting onto the scorched earth. He closed his eyes and allowed his arcana to flow naturally through his body. His inner power calmed the raging state of the arcana and allowed his vision to return to normal. Quickly, he stood back up and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief he produced from his pocket. Thankfully, he hadn't a scuff on his body. Judging from the others, he was the only one to come out unscathed, and it tickled him inwardly as they probably thought of him as some sort of deity, but he was as normal as they were. It was the immense and ridiculously strict training he'd gone through the majority of his life that had created who he was now.

He was a part of many organizations that worked together to protect the world, and the heads of those organizations knew of him and how to contact him. They knew some of his skills, but they didn't know his backstory and most specifically they didn't know that he wasn't a native to Earth. He was from a different realm altogether, but he would keep that secret. Humans feared what they didn't understand, and that fear turned to hate, and when you hate something, you wish it to be destroyed. In the back of his mind, there was always the possibility that they would learn of his origins and turn against him. His past deeds of protecting them wouldn't matter. In their eyes, he would be a part of the problem.

Gou would know more about the training he'd undergone than anyone else. The rules, the daily training, the learning, it was all a part of the process to become something greater than yourself. Yuri stepped closer to Luna and Gou who had gathered at Luna's vehicle. She was straddled on top of it and Gou was looking at him every so often as if wondering what he was going to say. Luna was asking a question when Yuri walked up, and he smiled warmly. His blade was strapped to his back, but he attempted to give the most genuine smile he could muster.

"It's a pleasure and honor Luna. I am Yuri, Crown...." Yuri paused and cleared his throat. No, he couldn't say that anymore. He'd left that world behind. No more was he the Crown Prince of the Silver Moon Sect. Now he was just Yuri, the Butterfly Ninja as some called him, or the Lunar Mage. Those were the names he answered to now.

"I'm Yuri. Thank you for your help and you as well." Yuri turned to face Gou giving a soft bow as the other male had.

"Gou of the Yuheng Sect. It is a pleasure and honor. Gou, I have a change of clothes that might fit you if you want. I believe Grizzly-1 needed repair and returned to its creator," Yuri said to Gou before turning to Luna, "and that drink you had earlier, I would love one. Are you free later tonight?"

"Nice to meet ya, Gou. Yuri." Luna said as the boys introduced themselves, nodding to both in turn. That was the most of a bow either were going to get out of someone as informal as she was. "I'm just a local who knows some magic kung-fu, so seeing the real stuff in the wild was a trip." The way Gou talked about being a disciple of some kind of sect stirred a little memory in the back of her head. Those terms had come up a lot during some rant her Guru had gone on once on a day he'd been feeling considerably less groovy than usual, a rant that also involved a whole lot of obscure expletives, an entire section where he had unconsciously dipped into what sounded like Mandarin, and repeated reference to "the squares." She had mostly been able to tune it out so as not to let the old man harsh her vibe, which had apparently been the entire point of the exercise. She wasn't so sure about that. It had sounded way too close to legitimate venting.

Whatever it was though, Yuri seemed to understand what Gou was talking about so it was probably a big deal she was just ignorant of. From the way he stopped himself from speaking he might have been more of a Monarch Butterfly, but she didn't see any reason to press that. He also gave her than name of the robot to go along with Gous reminder that they had left him all by his lonesome. That, her stuff, the bag Gou had left behind when he turned into a wolf, and the fact that Yuri wanted a Slurpee of his own, were all little tributaries that combined to draw her back to the gas station. "I'm free right now." She said, throwing one leg over the seat to straddled the scooter properly. "There's pretty much never a time I'm not free."

Gou, though, noticed that she was injured and jut his hand out toward her and Yuri. A soft tingle ran up her entire body as the green light swirled around her seemed to blow away all the cuts and bruises forming on her body. She shivered a little as it dissipated before pointing both her fingers at him. "See what I mean, that's the real deal!" She said, pressing the pedal and turning the wheel to spin the scooter around so that the side car came to a rest in front of Gou. "Hop in. We'll get your stuff, my stuff, we'll check for Grizzly, and we'll all get something to snack on. My treat."

---

---

"This is the place right?" Edgar asked, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his coat while the other rested on the Bluetooth earpiece he currently wore, the two of them having adopted the method of communication a few months after they'd started working together as it had proven to be fairly reliable. Most of the time anyway.

"Yup," Sophia, who was currently stuffing her face with pretzels in the back of the unmarked white van they'd used to get here, replied. "I almost thought the guy was bullshitting until he DM'd me screenshots of the property deed and bill of sale."

Edgar nodded slowly as he began to make his way up to the house, "Okay, so who are we dealing with?"

"Our client's name is Alexander Bradshaw," she said, a series of loud crunches and lip smacks following mere seconds after the words had left her mouth. "Apparently he's one of the latest in a long, but totally respectable, line of wealthy dipshits. Ones who ah, just couldn't help but dabble in the dark arts several generations back it seems."

There was a pause followed by more crunching.

"His wife's hot though. It's a shame she has to live with a guy who's got an ego the size of Coral City, but eh, what can ya do?"

The crunching abruptly stopped, although it was quickly followed up by the obnoxiously loud sound of Coki-Cola being slurped up through a straw.

"Money's money I suppose," Edgar muttered, massaging his forehead.

"Exactly! Anyway, the illustrious Mr. Bradshaw told me that he was having quite a few problems with one of his ancestors. Something along the lines of, 'The rat bastard is supposed to be dead, and I'll be ruined if certain people find out he isn't! So, would you and your boss kindly go down into our family crypt and rattle his bones until he isn't bound to this mortal coil anymore?' That kind of thing."

Edgar grunted, eyes drifting across the scenery lazily from under the brim of his hat as he made his way further up the path. Briefly he wondered just how much shady shit had been done just to secure this kind of status and power throughout the years, as the further back a well-off family went, the higher its tendency to dip its toes into ethically dubious ventures. Or inbreed, since preserving the "purity" of one's bloodline used to be all the rage. A moment or two later however, and he'd quickly dismissed that thought. The man he was going to meet was just another client, unknowable sins of his forebears aside, and Wright was determined to treat him as such even if that meant stomaching that bastard's massive ego. Edgar's own family was bound by word and blood to protect this world after all, and he'd sooner die than fail to see that responsibility fulfilled.

At length however, he'd finally arrived at the manor proper, stepping out from the shaded path and onto a well-manicured lawn, the center of which was split by a small yet quaint looking cobblestone road.

"Alright Sophia," he said quietly. "I'm at the house."

Sophia nodded as she set her bag of pretzels aside and snatched up her cola instead. As good as they were, their salt content had turned her mouth into a desert with less moisture in it than an old folks home.

"Okay," she said, pausing to take a much needed sip of the fizzy beverage. "He said to knock on the door two times and ring the buzzer once."

Nodding, Edgar approached the door and did just that. Two knocks were rattled off, and the buzzer buzzed. An almost ritualistic combination of events that resulted in Bradshaw himself appearing a minute or two later. The man, much to Edgar's surprise, was not dressed opulently as he had expected, being dressed in a faded old T-shirt and jeans. Alexander wasn't that old either, appearing to be in his early-to-mid thirties. Despite this clash of reality with expectation however, there was one thing Alexander's body language made very clear, that being he was anything but humble. Even now as they met one another face to face Edgar could see it. The disdain and calculating coldness that seeped from the man's emerald eyes mingled with the smile that didn't quite reach them to create the most nauseating atmosphere. Still, pleasantries were observed, and Alexander extended his hand for a shake.

Taking it into his own, Edgar gave it a firm pump or two.

"Good afternoon Mr. Wright," Alexander said, the easygoing yet utterly deceptive smile never leaving his face. "I take it your assistant notified you of what I need done?"

Edgar replied with a curt nod.

"Yeah. She said you needed an ancestor of yours needed to be put to rest?"

Alexander scoffed.

"I hope not everyone under you employ is so incompetent when it comes to conveying detail. Putting it simply, I need an ancestor put down. One who turned himself into a lich to be exact, and one who is presently spending his undeath on my estate."

He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You can see how bad such a thing might look should word of it ever get out, yes?"

Edgar ground his teeth, Bradshaw's remark about Sophia's attention to detail or lack thereof not going unnoticed. Still, its snide inaccuracy notwithstanding, he managed to keep his cool.

"Yeah, I can see how that might be bad for your reputation."

'This guy really is an asshole,' he mused.

"So... where's he at? Your ancestor that is."

Moving out of the doorway and down the steps, Alexander indicated a path leading deeper into the property's heavily forested eastern side.

"That path will take you to the family mausoleum. Also, you'll need this."

Bradshaw passed Edgar a yellow slip of paper with words scrawled on one side.

"It's the incantation to temporarily deactivate the wards surrounding the entrance to the crypt. You'll need to speak it twice, once when you enter and once when you're about to leave, understand?"

"Perfectly."

"Good, now-"

Alexander was cut off midsentence as a feminine voice called for him from the depths of the sprawling house. Letting out a dramatic sigh, he turned to leave with an apologetic nod.

"My apologies, but I must be going now. Marital duties and all. I trust you will be able to carry out this investigation and... removal without my continued oversight?"

Edgar tipped his hat.

"Of course."

"Excellent. I'll leave you to your work."

With that Alexander jogged back up the path and disappeared inside the house, the door clicking shut behind him. Once he was well out of earshot, Sophia's voice exploded over the earpiece.

"Marital duties my ass! That pompous dick probably has to pay his own wife just to sleep in the same room!"

Edgar, having wisely taken the device out of his ear before this miniature tirade, winced slightly before cautiously sticking it back in.

"You good?"

Sophia sat in the back of the van, her breathing heavy. After a moment or two though, she managed to regain her composure. Slumping back in her seat, she stuffed another handful of pretzels into her mouth with a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm good."

Wright nodded, sliding the paper into his pocket before pulling out his gun and striding off down the eastern path.

"Good. Now let’s go kill that son of a lich."

Sophia physically cringed at what was coming out of her earpiece.

"Boss..."

"Hm?"

"Please don't make jokes like that ever again."

There wasn't much he could say, but his mind kept replaying the red beam that had shot into the sky after Sign Master's demise. What information had Sign Master gathered, and more importantly what in Coral City was he after? Yuri would have to delve deeper into this if he wanted to uncover any information that would help them in the upcoming battles. He knew far too well that when well fell another would eventually come. Especially after seeing the beam. He had a feeling whatever extraterrestrial life was out there, it wanted Earth and it would send and send and send until they were all eradicated. The danger was ahead, but a visit to the Sects of old would help clear his mind and gain much-needed insight on what they protected in defeating Sign Master.

Yuri was lost in thought as the healing aura cast by Gou overtook him and restored his energy. When his eyes darted to Luna and Gou who were both sitting on the contraption she called a vehicle. Granted it wasn't something he would drive, it had its uses and it looked cool. Smiling, he took a step forward while speaking.

"I can assure you I take up no space at all," he said as in mid-stride he transformed into a beautiful Luna Moth the size of a small cat.

In this form, he could only communicate telepathically, but it helped him reserve energy and fit into tight spaces. He softly landed on Gou's shoulder and fluttered his wings before turning his insect head in Luna's direction.

One can only hope that you don't have a lead foot.

His grip was tight on Gou's shoulder, but it wouldn't hurt. In fact, Gou would barely feel Yuri there.

"Oh dang, you can both do that?" Luna asked as Yuri flittered down ono Gou's shoulder. Next time she saw Guru she was gonna have to get him to spill the beans on how to turn into an animal. "Lucky." She said, pressing the accelerator and riding back the way they had come. Luckily for Yuri her driving was as relaxed as everything else abut her. Fast enough to take in the scenery and get a good breeze blowing through her hair.

"Good thing that evacuation order came." She said as she leaned down and snatched her oar up off the street without stopping. "Usually this is a pretty popular road. A lot of people come here for the beaches, especially around this time of year. I was actually on my way back when the alarm sounded." She came upon her duffle bag and extended her oar, hooking in through the straps. She lifted it up and let the whole thing slide down her oar onto her arm and over her should. Satisfied, she took the oar and reached her arm behind her to slot it into one of the three white tubes attached to the back of the scooter.

"You should check it out so long as you're here. There's tons of stuff to do in the city." She sped up slightly as she spotted her sandals, reaching out with her foot to grab them through the straps and pull them back onto the scooter. "Even if ya' aren't on vacation it never hurt to take in the local flavor. Where are you guys from, anyway? Is it pretty far? What's it like?"

As they came up to the gas station she expected to see the big robot, Grizzly, but to her surprise it was already long gone. Not only that, a trickle of cars was now making its way into the city as people navigated around the wreck way up the road out of site. A few past them as she pulled into the station parking lot and killed the engine. Hopping off, she started looking around for a black shape on the street. "We get your stuff before it gets run over."

---

As the head scientist poured over the data retrieved from the defeated Sign Master, the commander burst their way into the Monsternancy Lab in not the greatest of moods. Her hair was twisting about in agitation, probably because of how little Sign Master had accomplished.


The insectoid scientist cleared his throat as he looked up from his data pad, probably thinking about what best to say to avoid anything unfortunate.



"Well...we managed to get a closer lock on our target."



The commander glared at the scientist, obviously not pleased with the rather small amount of progress.



With that warning, the commander stomped away while the researcher returned to his datapad.

The Head of the Monsternancy department trekked over to a special freezer for specimens and looked inside. There, stood the object to serve as a base for his next monster. As it would still be some time for the ship to charge enough power for the next assault he would be able to spend some extra time crafting the next vanguard to the planet below.

---

The disciple had had no idea what Luna was talking about until he turned his head to look - face met by giant butterfly wings. Adding onto Luna's wonder, he hadn't known Yuri was able to do that as well. Yuheng pride swelled up in the disciple's chest as he looked in the butterfly's direction, then back at Luna, grinning widely at the compliment.

Soon, the vehicle began to move and Gou froze in an attempt to gauge what was happening. The thing sped up as Luna controlled it, he soon understood. The most unfamiliar territory turned into quite a pleasant experience for this student who always made it a point to run everywhere he went. It was definitely a change of pace - one he learned to enjoy in no time. With eyes closed, he leaned back and smiled, letting his hair flow freely in the wind. The breeze on his face and chest was no joke; he hoped the feeling would never end.

Luna's belongings were recovered as they approached rode. One down, one more to go.

Then, he took a moment to think of Luna's question before he answered.

"The Yuheng sect is built along the peaks of mountains very far from here. Compared to this place, there is much less metal and road. We don't use technology. All our food is grown, harvested, and hunted by ourselves. As disciples, we grow up without relying on our parents - only ourselves, and our mentors. It was a long and gruelling journey. But my favorite thing about it..."

Gou trailed off, feeling his body relax, "...would definitely be the wind. After sunset, you hear the wind create music in the summits. Without fail. Every night I sit on my roof to listen and meditate. Sometimes I fall asleep to it. I've never known anything that could bring more peace. When you ask me about my home, I think of that spot where I can hear the wind the best."

The scene brought out the man's crescent-eyed smile. Softly sighing, he glanced at Luna and Yuri, wanting to share that sense of peace and happiness with them. Perhaps this elder martial sister would enjoy the peace the mountains would bring - it seemed to be her style. Much like streaming water, he found her relaxed and in no rush, while still going wherever she felt like. An interesting martial disciple for sure. The train of thought had him wondering who had trained her, and what her own spirit animal would be like if she learned to transform.

As for Yuri, Gou wondered if he'd ever considered going back to meet his Master. Though he had never seen Yuri due to constant training and self-lecturing, thinking back, he knew exactly when it was he had decided to leave. There was once a day his Master came to teach him with an empty smile - the way he looked, Gou felt like even he had lost something dear to him. How would they react after meeting again?

None of this could happen yet, however. Gou felt that their mission was far from over. Plus, it was a shame it was too far, but was sure to invite them should they all be relieved of their duties at Coral City.

In time, the vehicle was turned off and the driver had already gotten out. The man was about to jump off himself, but remembered the green-winged butterfly on his shoulder. Carefully, he slid down the side-car and soon found his bag where he had left it. The man communicated with Yuri and asked to give him a moment to change. In no time, he was completely dressed. With hair securely tied in a ponytail and sword fastened with rope around his waist, he felt his confidence return.

While waiting for the next step, Gou leaned against one of the walls and let his mind wander.

Earth (Somewhat) - Tiě Quán Sect

"Have you found him yet?"

"Master, he's not coming back. Why do you obsess over someone who left you so many years ago?"

"It wasn't his choice. He had to leave. If the Yuheng Sect would have stayed out of it, he would still be here. It is because of them that he's gone and I want them to pay. Can you do that? Can you make them pay?"

A man dressed in a long black trench coat with raven black hair down to the middle of his back smiled and cracked his knuckles.

"This will be fun. I will bring an end to the Yuheng Sect, one by one," the man said.

"Good, now go, I have to plan for his arrival. Soon, soon my love you will return and we will be together."

A man with black hair dressed in an expensive robe with the crest of their sect present on the right chest caressed a drawn image of Yuri. His eyes were as soft and blue as the ocean, but behind those eyes held a history no one dared to visit.

"Master Huong, there is word of his presence. Someone saw him fighting alongside a female water specialist, a machine of some sort, and a young man from the Yuheng Sect. Your orders?"

"Finally," Huong said standing to his feet, "at long last, I have found you, my love. The Yuheng Sect will pay for pushing you away from me, and when they are gone we can live together, forever."

=====

Earth - Coral City: Gas Station

Yuri fluttered around Gou and Luna when they stopped at the gas station to wait for Gou to retrieve his garments. Yuri gave the young man some privacy as he clothed himself, but fluttering in the breeze was refreshing and allowed him to regain any strength he'd lost. It took far less energy as a moth to move than in his true form and he enjoyed the look of bewilderment whenever he landed on someone's shoulder or a photographer who just so happened to snap a photo of him resting on a flower. His patterns were beautiful and crisp and somewhat ethereal. Luna Moths were already a beautiful species of moth, but Yuri enhanced the beauty in his Luna Moth form.

Yuri transformed back into normal form, only this time he was wearing beautiful garments that flowed in the wind, and he carries a lovely fan, but the Monarch Blade stay affixed to his back. His hair was longer, and pure white touching the top of his buttocks. His eyes were beautiful pools of seafoam green and could ensnare even the more secure of souls. It was like watching the ocean crash against the shore. Beautiful butterfly earrings adorned his ears and seemed to move as if alive. He looked completely out of this world. His garbs were a soft green, with accents of eggplant purple on the trim and around the waist and the tips of his sleeves.

"This is my normal look, my more casual garment. Come, let us enjoy a, what is it called? Slurpee?"

As Gou spoke about the way that he had grown up, only being able to rely on himself and his mentor without a hint of parental involvement, an odd look passed across her face. "Hey, we ain't lived so different after all then. I got a Guru of my own who's way more reliable than my folks." She couldn't really relate to growing up without modern technology (the first thing she was going to do when she got a chance was open up het bag and make sure her phone wasn't broken) but that feeling of an important master/student relationship resonated with her, even if the only order Guru had ever given her was that she was never to refer to him as her Master. She smiled as he talked about he rooftop where he used to hang, get that warm feeling of nostalgia for a place you have never been.

"I hope I find someplace that chill for myself sometime. Funny coincidence, I was just coming back from the mountains when I stumbled on this whole alien thing. There was a Salmon Run on. You know, that thing where they swim up river to breed? Guru told me it would do me good to contemplate the salmon, maybe come up with a new move based on a live wild fish instead of something I saw on youtube."

---

Gou spotted his things almost as soon after they'd arrived, going off to change while Yuri the moth played around with a few of the people who had arrived while they had been gone. Most of them had probably vacationers who had come from a long way off and, after being stuck on the road with the emergency delay, were taking the fist available opportunity to stretch their legs. One guy with a camera was loudly showing off the pictures he had gotten of a "giant robot" teleporting away to an interested looking girl, only to get distracted by Yuri's moth form.

The three of them were attracting a little attention due to how distinct they were, and a little collective gasp went through the small crowd as Yuri transformed back into a man. The camera guy snapped a few more pictures as he did.

She didn't blame him. Luna raised her eyebrow as Yuri told her that this outfit was what he considered casual. "Seriously?" She said. "You're casual beats most fancy dress I've seen." No matter how good he dressed, he could only inspire shock when he next opened his mouth. As he asked his question Luna looked the most distressed she since they had met. "You don't know what...you've never had a...?" She was legitimately at a loss for words. Was this the true price of abstaining from technology? If so she definitely could never have handled it.

"You stay here. I will be right back." She said, pointing at him as she jogged off toward the gas station. She quickly emerged again, cradling three blue Slurpee's in the crook of her arm. As she walked out she found Gou resting against the wall. Was he meditating? She tapped his shoulder to get his attention and then extended one of the semi-frozen treats to him. "Here, try this. You earned it." She said, before walking back over to Yuri and giving him his. "I don't know what you guys like, but you can't go wrong with blue. Everybody likes blue."

_{mentions: @WindsOfFate@Gentlemanvaultboy}

---

With a tap, Gou was shaken from his mini trance and opened his eyes to see Luna holding out a thing of blue... ice.

“Here, try this. You earned it.”

He dropped his eyes down to the object, then back up to Luna as he accepted it. What was this? What did he earn just now? A strange chill radiated from the cup through his palm and even began to make it feel itchy as he stood there dumbfounded. If this truly was an item that he earned himself, surely it must have been good. The disciple watched Luna hand over a second blue ice to Yuri, who somehow managed to look even more extravagant than just a few minutes ago since he last looked. Never in his life did Gou ever feel like he was aesthetically lacking, but in that moment, he understood what it meant to feel underdressed. Fashion was not a priority at the Yuheng Sect, but the sight of the butterfly mage’s wear certainly made him question that sentiment. This senior martial brother truly knew style like the back of his hand.

There were many thoughts floating about in this student’s head, but the most urgent one revolved around what he was meant to do with the thing in his now reddened and clammy hand.

First, he shook it up and down, thoroughly amused at the generous clump of blue ice sloshing around in the container. Then, he swirled it around. Ice smacked against the tiny dome of the container, spun, and gained enough momentum to form a tiny tornado. Cool as it was, it didn’t seem to be the point. This was not an energy-imbued item for sure. Gou squinted at the cup and decided to just follow his instincts. Eat it.

The man twisted the dome cap off and made strong eye contact with the ice that sparkled right back at him. He carefully tipped the blue stuff into his mouth. It didn’t take long to register that this was, indeed, a reward he had earned. It was unlike anything else he’d ever tasted - nothing back at Yuheng came close to whatever this taste was.

Several loud gulps came in quick succession and echoed around the gas station. The disciple took a quick step back to compose himself as he consumed more and more of the sweet ice, smacking his lips to savor the aftertaste. His heart rate shot through the roof, and for a moment thought his chest would burst from the feeling. It was as if he just indulged in pure liquid energy. He desperately struggled forward to keep his composure in an effort to reach the two elder martial disciples. His hand raised in a shaky, almost frantic wave.

”Senior martial Yuri, L-luna...” the disciple pointed at the cup with wide eyes, ”It’s almost suspicious how good this is! What do the cooks prepare in these containers? Really, I’m starting to feel like the Yuheng Sect. has been depriving us...” his legs shook slightly as he took a big gulp, and then another.

Yuri watched Luna depart, her form vanishing behind the doors of the gas station convenience store. Looking out into the distance his mind slowly drifted to the days of his training. He remembered how tough it was at first. How wobbly he was when holding a sword. His master showed no lack of strictness in teaching him how to hone his body into a living weapon, but Yuri didn't remember complaining, he remembered feeling like he would never understand why he'd been delivered here and why he was being treated like he didn't belong. As time went on, his skills surpassed even those who trained him. He had an odd skill of remembering techniques just by seeing them once. It was also during his training days that he'd met the now leaders of two different Sects and it was during these days that he recalled how two people fell in love. He'd heard about it, how this man gave his golden core to his brother only for his brother to treat him as if he were the dirt beneath his feet.

Yuri may not have been there during the time the events transpired, but he remembered the words of the story. He remembered being told the two lovers did all they could to thwart the insane plan of a Sect Leader, only after one of them had died and was resurrected. The man was someone he'd met in his travels. He was an eclectic individual, lending his wisdom to Yuri. Demonic Cultivation. Yuri learned from him, and his lover a great and powerful man. How the two came to be was a beautiful story in and of itself, and Yuri enjoyed the time he got to spend with them before his journey took him elsewhere. There were many Sects he visited and learned. It wasn't something that was known to happen. Leaders normally didn't share their great wisdom with outsiders, but Yuri was persuasive.

It was also around this time that he became the Crown Prince of the Silver Moon Sect, a beautiful place surrounded by mountains. It snowed constantly, yet water ran freely through the rivers. Geothermal pools heated the water enough to allow them to flow without freezing over. The volcanic ground allowed for gardening to produce beautiful harvests and gems were abundant. He, unfortunately, was not happy. He had to leave after he was found by one of the disciples of the Tiě Quán Sect. He left the next day leaving the Silver Moon Sect in the hands of his martial brother who he knew would do what was right. That next day he left for the earthly plane where technology seemed to rule and humans found fun in spending wages they earned through work.

There was a lot he wished he could somehow change, but he often realized that if he changed any part of his past it would alter who he was in this current state. Though there was pain from his past, he didn't want to handicap him and so he learned from it and moved on. He could still see their faces, how they threatened one another nearly declaring war amongst the clans all because of him. He's arrived at Coral City, amassing his wealth through various means, and meeting people much like him with abilities.
They were called something else in this world, some called them heroes, others called them pains in the ass. What mattered to him was keeping innocent people alive and out of harm's way the best he could. It was during his amassing of wealth that he met Titus, a very wealthy man in both wisdom and finances. Titus helped him uncover that he was not from Earth, but a different place entirely. While Yuri thought he meant the world of cultivation, Titus was able to help him understand that he was not human, he was more than that. His race was from an entirely different dimension. It led him to find out why he'd been brought to this plane of existence.

Yuri's story was a complex one, one that he never truly told anyone. He felt Luna's presence and snapped back to reality. She was holding a Slurpee in her hand and he smiled as he reached out and grabbed the cold beverage. He sipped it slowly, allowing the flavor to overtake him, bringing him to places in his memory that he'd forgotten.

"Such a refreshing drink," he said turning to Gou who was ecstatic about the drink. "Careful not to drink it too fast. You might get what the earthlings call 'brain freeze' although I never really understood how that's even a thing. Thank you, Luna."

It was nice spending time with everyone, but as the time ticked away, Yuri realized he was overdue for a visit with Titus.

"I must bid you both farewell for now. Should either of you wish to get in contact with me, take these, and I will always find you."

Yuri produced two Luna Moth pendants that were about the size of a half dollars and handed one to Gou and Luna.

"Until we meet again warriors of light. I shall see you again soon."

With those words Yuri seemed to disperse into fragments of beautiful light, dissipating in the distance.

---

The Head Monsternancer looked proudly at his newest creation, recently 'hatched' from its tube. This time they were giving the monster about a day to acclimate on the ship before sending it down to start operations. At the moment they were waiting for just the right moment for transport as they had a very specific target in mind for the monster to start their mission.

The monster was quite a bit smaller than the previous one, about the size of an average human female actually. In fact, the monster looked almost identical to a human female. The monster was only about 5'8" with pale, white-creme colored skin, red-hot eyes, rainbow-swirled hair that looked like it had come out of a frosting tube, and a dazzling gingerbread dress lined with white and red frosting, with various hard candies such as peppermints and butterscotch stuck on like scale armor. If she were ugly one might think about the candy house witch from Hansel and Gretel.

The monster was bizarre to look at, at least to the commander who had a troubled expression on her face as the human looking monster smiled back.





Suddenly the monster was right before them before they even realized it as if it had suddenly slinked over in complete silence. She stared at the two, looking them all over with a hungry expression, its eyes alight with a fire to consume whatever it could get a hand on.


It asked suddenly, to the point that the commander almost opened fire on the creature, but thankfully realized it had no hostile intentions in mind.


The commander said as she glared at the human-like creature.



The commander nearly recoiled as the monster started to salivate some kind of syrup at the thought of all the delicious desserts on Earth. It was high time to get this monster on the ground and off the ship before it could gunk up the ship!


As the creature moved away, a trail of chocolate syrup could be seen on the floor when it had been.

The old man was in the midst of reading and signing the almost literal mountain of paperwork on his desk in his office. He could already feel a small migraine coming after reading the report that despite the hundreds of branches and countless observation posts they cumulatively had, they still couldn't pinpoint where the aliens could be hiding. Given that space was an near endless void, they did a pretty decent job. But decent did not reveal their base of operations. Just as he let the papers down, a hidden panel on the wall flipped over to reveal a flashing emergency strobe light. An effeminate but synthesized voice rang through the earpiece. "Sir, please be notified that an unregistered lifeform has been detected within the facility outskirts and approaching the main entry way. Security Teams Alpha to Delta has been dispatched to the situation. I advise that you authorize the use of Knight Units to-" With an almost dismissive tone in his voice, Titus cuts the AI's voice short. "An intruder? Oh is that so, Minerva?" "Yes sir." "Minerva. Would you kindly, give me a live video and audio stream of the location?" "Surely sir."

---

Four dozen armed security personnel were positioned in all vantage points to the main entrance. Expecting that at any moment from now, an assault would occur and easily bust through the hermetically sealed gates attack them...but the attack never came. Seconds turned into minutes as beads of sweat formed at their brows in anxiety and anticipation.

One could only imagine their reactions when the alarm was suddenly raised and the main entrance unsealing itself to reveal a lone figure garbed in white and carrying...some coffee? The intercom then activated. "Yuri. Next time, for the love of God, please tell us if you're visiting. You scared everyone in the facility half to death." The newer security personnel didn't take it very well; standing in place in complete confusion and lack of understanding of the situation. The more senior staff, on the other hand, simply took it in stride and let out a relieved sigh before going back to business as usual. One guard even forked over some cash to the other after loosing the bet they had regarding the nature of the 'intruder'.

The intercom activated again. "I assume you still remember the way to the office?"