Chapter 20: ACT 2 – Confrontation (Part 9)

Luna stared determinedly across the bridge to the other tower. There was no doubt in her mind – Kuro was somewhere within its walls. Triumphantly, the tengu put her right foot through the now-open doorway, followed by her left and stepped outside. She briefly stared down to the castle grounds below as the wind blew on her face and through her hair, her short dress and only marginally longer skirt flowing in the night breeze.

“The view of the lake from here is pretty nice,” Luna quipped, moving her irises towards the forest, “I could get used to this!”

The kinkind swung her head around as she heard the sound of the other tower’s wooden door lifting up. Luna squinted as a familiar figure stepped out of the other spire and began to cross the bridge to greet her in combat. Excalibur Aristophanes. The knight dragged his broadsword along the stone bridge, dislodging tiny pebbles as he did so.

“Luna Wolfe,” he called out, “I hope you’ll forgive me blocking your path?”

“Eat crap, asshole!” Luna called back, “Fall of this bridge and die!”

“Hmph,” Excalibur sighed, “So be it. Have at you!”

Excalibur raised his sword above his head and charged across the bridge towards Luna. Luna outstretched her arms, partly in imitation of Rusalka Dvořák and partly as if to tell Excalibur “come at me, bro”. Gray clouds quickly covered the waning gibbous Moon as rain poured from the heavens like a cow urinating. Luna stared down at her palms as she materialized bubbles around them and shot herself over Excalibur’s head with two high-pressure jets of water, as the knight narrowly missed her with his blade, making a deep gash in the bridge in front of him. Luna landed coolly on her feet and right hand, like a superhero nailing a dramatic entrance.

“You’re too slow!” Luna jeered.

Excalibur gritted his sharp teeth and pulled his sword from the stone, not unlike King Arthur with the sword that writer L. Moonlight (Hey, that's me!) had named the demonic knight after.

“So, the old saying is wrong, then?” he sighed, “Old dogs can learn new tricks after all…”

“Who are you calling ‘old’?” Luna grunted, pushing herself off the bridge floor and increasing the size of the hydrogen dioxide orbs around her wrists.

 

Jackie opened her eyes. Darkness. The occasional flash of color. She knew where she was. It was a place that Jackie wished never to see again. The Unconscious Zone. Jackie looked around for any signs of Excalibur’s summoner. There was an above-average chance that Excalibur was not acting on his summoner’s own will. Kuro was manipulating the armored kinkind. Jackie was sure of it.

“Hello,” Jackie called out, “Is anybody th-”

“Jacks?” a soft yet masculine voice trembled, “I-Is that you, bruv?”

Jackie froze. There was no way it could be him! He couldn’t possibly be Excalibur’s summoner! Slowly, the girl turned around in the void like a spinning top coming to a halt. There he was. Arthur King. Jackie’s best-friend. Excalibur’s vessel.

“Arthur!” Jackie called back.

“Jacks?” the man smiled. “Blimey, it is you! Chuffed to see you, bruv!”

“Excalibur…” Jackie muttered, “is he your kinkind?”

Arthur took a handkerchief out of his tailored suit’s shirt pocket and wiped his forehead. “So that means… Luna… That’s you?” he asked.

Jackie nodded.

“But why?” Arthur asked his friend, “Why would you join Sumire Shakespeare? She’s the bad-guy, isn’t she?”

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Jackie slowly raised her head and stared Arthur blankly in the eye. “What did you just say?” the Englishwoman asked.

“Sumire Shakespeare,” Arthur repeated, “Lady Kuro told me that she’s a bit of a scoundrel, a hoodlum up to no good, that sort of thing.”

“Then Kuro lied to you!” Jackie said. “Call off Excalibur and we’ll take her on together!”

“I can’t…” Arthur frowned, “Haven’t been able to turn back to my old self for quite a while, I reckon.”

“Excalibur’s a mary sue?” Jackie asked, although she was sure she was correct.

“Precisely the case!” the well-dressed man affirmed, “He’s quite a powerful chap, bruv!”

Jackie sighed. “Kuro…” she began, “Did Kuro tell you about mary sues?”

“Of course,” Arthur beamed, “she refused to teach me how to channel Excalibur before I signed a waiver agreeing that I understood the possibility of losing my body!” he laughed.

Jackie once again looked Arthur in the eyes. How could Kuro be so kind to her familiars? She remembered how Miss Shakespeare had treated her. Refusing to tell Jackie about mary sues until the last minute. Threatening to kill her if she didn’t agree to fight Kuro. But Kuro… Maybe she wasn’t as bad as Sumire said? Maybe Shakespeare really was the bad guy?

“Hey, Jacks, you alright?” Arthur asked, noticing the tears welling up in the corners of his friend’s eyes.

“I don’t know!” Jackie sobbed back. “Miss Shakespeare… She told me Kuro was a bad person! She told me that Kuro attacked innocent civilians and…”

“Jacks,” Arthur smiled, placing his hand on Jackie’s shoulder, “we all have to do bad things for the greater good sometimes.”

Jackie froze. Was Arthur implying that he justified Kuro’s killings? No. That was impossible. The Arthur she knew would never do that. But then… She would’ve never held a gun before coming to Phantasia. She would’ve never made love to a cat girl maid on a whim. Perhaps Phantasia changed people? She had to ask Arthur. “Arthur?” Jackie piped up, “Do you agree with Excalibur’s actions? Threatening people in Old King Hamlet and attacking innocents like Noh?”

“The wolf guy?” Arthur asked, “He attacked me first!” He paused. “Or… Um… ‘He attacked Excalibur first’? Honestly, Jacks, I don’t even know if Excalibur and I are the same person or not,” he sheepishly smiled.

“I know, right?!” Jackie chuckled. “It’s so confusing!”

“Anyway…” Arthur continued, “While of-course I don’t agree with Kuro’s actions, per say, I certainly don’t agree with Sumire Shakespeare’s either.”

“What did Miss Shakespeare ever do?” Jackie asked.

“She didn’t tell you,” Arthur asked, concern in his voice, “about how she abducted all those humans to fight Kuro…? About how she betrayed her own sister?”

Jackie shook her head.

“Well…” Arthur began.

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