Chapter 18: Welcome to Meso! That's the Line yes? Oh please say that was the line!

Luna, Zephyr, and Orion trudged through the sand as they walked to the next city on their list. The map was gone since the hovercar had been destroyed, and Luna refused to request a new one.

"I'm not letting my first mission be called off because of a simple car, just keep walking," She said, seeing Orion's expression as he walked next to her.

"Not gonna lie, you were better in those chains," He said with a sigh as they continued. The only good thing was he could access his tech now, O's Emp field was large and powerful, but with him gone Orion was now in his element.

He could materialize a new hovercar of course, but Luna's exhausted expression was amusing to him.

"So where are we headed next?" He asked, yawning as he brought up Qece. 

"The city of Meso, it's a fairly large city, and you'll see quite a few of those casinos you like to blow up," Luna said, checking her phone before continuing.

"Again, it was your sister that did it, not me. Also, when were you going to tell us you had a bunch of psychopathic sisters running after us? Could have used a heads up."

Luna scowled. "The same time you were going to tell me you planned to leave me out to die in a desert with rapists," She shot back, making Orion smile a bit. 

"Alright fair, let's just call a truce then yes? I see no reason not to accept your help, but no more of that leader shit you've been doing, it was getting annoying."

Luna was silent for several steps before she stopped and held out her sweaty hands. "Deal."

Zephyr looked at Orion, seeing his usual unreadable expression, but Orion smiled and shook her hand. "You're cute when you're all serious."

Luna widened her eyes, coughing as she took her hand away. "Such a dumbass," She muttered before continuing to walk. 

"Hey Zephyr," Orion said, his hand glowing as a glove formed and floated in front of him. "I just got access to anything below level 6 in The TO."

Zephyr sighed and continued walking. "It'd be a shame if you never had a plan to double-cross someone wouldn't it?" 

"Hey don't be like that, I even have a plan for you just in case," Orion said slyly as he placed the glove in his storage box. "Can't trust anyone too much Zeph, Jack should have taught you that."

...

Three days later, the three walked into a glamorous city, if he didn't know any better, Orion would have never guessed it was the same territory as the city they were in a week prior. 

"Greetings travelers!" A man said, appearing in front of them with flyers, "Welcome to Meso, the greatest city in all the land!"

"Wow, the greatest!?" Orion said in excitement as he took a flyer, looking like a little kid on vacation.

"That's right kid, the city of gods! Wanna join my tour?" The man said even more excited at the potential customer. 

"Nope," Orion said, chuckling to himself as he threw the flyer to the ground and pushed the man out of his way. "If I had the serpent's Coil I'd definitely be in a large city, if only to blend in with all these people," He said, looking at the information Qece was sending him. 

'None of these people have records in any database, seems that emp O had up really set New New Mexico behind, they're basically a bunch of neanderthals.'

"Did you have to be rude to him? He was just doing his job, these people have families to feed," Luna said, clearly annoyed as Orion sighed. 

"Geez, if I explain everything I do to you and Zephyr than we'll waste hours, maybe even days. I do it all for a reason, don't forget who the leader is."

"Me," Zephyr said. 

"Me," Luna said.

"Wrong, there is no leader and I was messing around since those people are trying to listen in on our conversation, probably from the same branch as your sisters, clearly trying to determine who our leader is and incapacitate them," Orion looked behind him, catching two people rushing off in the opposite direction. 

"They're gone now, so I can say this freely, but I'm clearly the leader," He said with a smirk before continuing down the busy street, dodging vendors and thieves.

"Such a beautiful sight," A man said atop a rooftop, looking at the three as they walked down the streets.

"Sir? Are those travelers interesting?" A woman said behind him, basking in the sun as she wore a bikini, soaking the light into her vibrant brown skin.

The man had pale eyes, ones that danced peculiarly as he observed the group. "Interesting? No Melena, I said beautiful, the only interesting one was that man all those years ago. What's he doing nowadays anyway?"

"You mean Roberto? Isn't he hiding out with one of the underground since a few months ago?" 

"Ah yes, The Python Roberto, such a small snake causing all that damage, you're lucky you weren't there kid," The man said as he continued watching. 

"Have some guys follow them, I want to make sure no outsiders mess with my city," He finished, looking away and sitting back on a deck chair.

"Yes Riqo- I mean sir," Melena said teasingly as she closed her eyes. "Done."

"Good, hopefully they're just here to gamble like the rest of the trash."

***

After only ten minutes in Meso, Orion discovered he disliked the place very much. 

"But it's so beautiful? And it's not like anyone is really doing anything to us, so why are you so disgusted?" Luna asked, bewildered by Orion's behavior as he spat on a street vendor's free sample of a local dish. 

"Gotta agree Orion, Luna's right on this one," Zephyr spoke up, his eyes shining as a woman dancing in the street giggled at him. 

"This place is disgusting, and it's got more of those casinos, nearly a dozen scattered around. Plus the air is dirty."

"Hey! You're a guest in the city and you have a mission, can't you live in discomfort for a while?" Luna said annoyed, walking away in anger as both Zephyr and Orion watched her in confusion. 

"That was strange, I know I'm being unreasonable, but why is she taking it so personally?" Orion asked, mostly to himself, as Zephyr followed Luna. 

"Finally alone, with Luna breathing down my neck and Zephyr staring in awe anytime I do anything, I was beginning to reach the limit of my patience... Anyway, what did you find out Qece."

"One, you're a total asshole, and two, this city has zero records in all history. As far as the internet is concerned, it doesn't exist. I understand the Emp has been tampering with all technology for 5 years, but is that really enough time for people to forget such a huge city? Even the shithole you destroyed was known online, but not one of these casinos is coming up in my search."

Orion nodded, sighing a bit to himself as he watched Luna and Zephyr disappear further. "I doubt that's a good sign. Where's that ghost brother when you need him?" Orion thought aloud as he continued walking forward, his uneasiness making him even more uneasy since he usually never felt uneasy...

...

Zephyr found Luna in a quaint, hidden park just off the bustling streets of Meso. The city lights softly illuminated the area, creating a serene ambiance as Luna sat on a bench, her thoughts consumed by a mix of frustration and sorrow.

"Luna," Zephyr approached cautiously, "I hope he didn't upset you earlier. I know Orion's antics can be challenging. I was barely with him for a week and wanted to wring his neck."

Looking up, Luna's eyes revealed a sea of emotions, a stark contrast to the joking girl that had pranked them on their first meeting. "It's not just Orion," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. "Meso holds more significance to me than I've let on. I wanted to be professional with it all, but..."

Taking a seat beside her, Zephyr listened intently, seeing how hard it was for Luna to speak.

"This is where I was born," Luna disclosed softly, her voice laced with vulnerability. "But my memories of it are clouded by the lab, the experiments... Ven, Satrina, others... We were plucked from our childhoods because of our differences, our potential."

Zephyr looked at her, a bit surprised. "Huh, I never thought we'd get into personal shit, I assumed it would just be me and Orion the entire time... Then, is this about..."

Luna nodded, "I doubt the serpent's coil is actually here, I managed to make a convincing argument that it could be here, but really... I just wanted to see if I could find my parents."

Zephyr sat quietly, not wanting to say anything insensitive, it was clear Luna was vulnerable.

Luna managed a sad smile, reminiscing on distant dreams. "Finding them was always a distant hope, overshadowed by the reality of my existence. But being back here... it's stirring up old desires I had when I first found out I'd been born, not created... Orion is so lucky."

"What do you mean?" Zephyr asked, looking at Luna as she widened her eyes. 

"Never mind that, it's not something I can talk about even if I wanted to tell you..."

Reaching out, Zephyr offered a reassuring touch. "We can always look for them if you want, Luna. We have time before we move on. The mission can wait. I'd love to find my friend as soon as possible, but there's no rush."

'The fuck am I saying? There's definitely a rush. How does Orion fake so easily? Maybe I should take acting lessons?'

"Really?" Luna asked, her eyes staring into Zephyr's as he choked on his words. 

"Y-Yeah, of course. I'm sure Orion would understand, and even if he doesn't it's not like we have to listen to him. I'll personally help you find your parents."

Luna smiled and hugged Zephyr tightly, surprising the older man as he blinked, but reciprocated the hug. 

"Thank you Zephyr."

'Lavender,' He thought as he smelled her hair. 

"We should probably get to Orion before he causes trouble," He said awkwardly after a few seconds. 

"Yeah, but if it's him he probably already has."

"The TO you said?" A voice said behind them, causing Zephyr to jump up with his swords out. 

'I didn't even sense anyone?'

"That's weird, why would The TO bother with an unknown city? Have we been leaked? Or do we have a spy, perhaps Mister Riqo would like to hear of this," A short, skinny man said as he squatted behind them, looking at both of them with dark green eyes that made a chilling sensation spread through Zephyr's body. 

"Who're you?" The man asked, both of his swords glowing as he prepared to fight. 

"Me? No Tempest, I should be asking that question. Oh wait, I already know haha, silly me, oh silly me..."

"Why are you eavesdropping on our conversation?" Luna asked, angry and embarrassed that the man had heard so much. 

"How curious, a shapeshifter yes? No that's not it, shapeshifters don't do that, then... A possessor? How funny, and you are from Meso no less."

The man jumped up over the two, landing gracefully on his feet. "Mister Riqo will definitely want to have a word with you two, come quietly, or not. I don't care haha."

"Aurora's Em-"

Zephyr stopped talking, feeling cold metal press into his neck. "Now now Tempest, it'd be a shame to make a scene. The underground are watching... Come quietly, last chance before I use a bit of force..."

Zephyr looked at the two daggers pressed on either side of his throat, looking at the man's eyes once more as Luna reached for her gun. 

"Nope, I already got rid of it miss Luna, it was Luna right? How I hate getting names wrong, please tell me I'm right?"

The man seemed obsessed, and more than a little unstable. Also, Zephyr hadn't been able to track his movements. 

'Could I beat him?' He thought before a sharp sound snapped all of them out of the tense mood. 

"What the hell Angel? Sir Riqo said just to observe and gather information, threatening their lives without permission is three days with no dust you know?" A woman said, holding the man, Angel, by the ear as she smiled at Zephyr and Luna. 

"Sorry about him, can't control these types huh?" 

Luna and Zephyr both thought of Orion and quickly nodded. 

"Well... Since he's revealed himself, would you two mind just coming with us? I'd hate to have to let him enjoy his sick little hobby."

Zephyr put away the swords, deciding it was best to try and resolve this peacefully. "Come with you where?"

"C'mon Tempest, you're not very smart huh? Perhaps so many artifacts is frying your brain? Such an impressive number by the way. Anyway, come with us to Mister Riqo of course, I said that yes? Oh please tell me I said that," Angel said, pulling away from the woman as Luna and Zephyr glanced at each other. 

"Fine, we'll go with you..."