Melissa: Where are those ungrateful Lunatacs?  I work and work to write these stories... [Melissa is pelted with Nerf balls.] Very funny, you lot!

Alluro: We tire of being maligned in your tales! [Phoot!]

Melissa: 'Maligned'?  I'm nice to you guys!

Chilla: Only compared to some.

Melissa: Calm down, guys.  See?  This one's about Luna.  It's the continuation of ''Till Death Do Us Part'.

Luna: Eee-yahh!  Get her, Amok! [Melissa ducks a basketball-sized Nerf ball, and runs off to find her own Nerf gun.]

 

Luna's Legacy

 

                Mumm-rana was mildly confused when her warding spells around the White Pyramid woke her.  The intruder was... well, not precisely evil, but didn't have a good aura about them either.  The intruder's apologetic voice cut through her musings: "Um, excuse me?  Mumm-rana?"

 

                It was a Lunatac woman, a psychic/ice dweller crossbreed.  She stood on the far side of the sorceress' cauldron, twisting her hands nervously.  "What do you need from Mumm-rana?"

 

                "It's a... strange story."

 

* * *

 

                It was a couple weeks since Luna had retrieved ( well, sent Red-Eye and Psychro to retrieve ) her grandmother's magic belt from Firerock Gorge.  The belt not only made Luna what she should have been had her grandmother not been cursed, it added Queen Luna's magic to her own.  While most of us had adjusted to the new and improved ( and taller ) Luna, Amok was still not happy.  It made some sense.  Judging from a vision Knave had ( sort of a psychic rush of memories from Amok ), the guardian was the next best thing to Luna's mother.  With his little Luna suddenly all grown up, he felt useless and irritable.

 

                Amok's melancholy seemed to be affecting Luna as well.  While a normally volatile person, her moods were getting harder and harder to predict.  And when she started carrying around one of her big whips, the rest of us decided it prudent to stay out of her way as much as possible.

 

* * *

 

                "Power corrupts," said Mumm-rana, "And absolute power corrupts absolutely.  I will put a stop to Princess Luna's evil."

 

                "Wait!"  Psikaris - as the Lunatac had introduced herself - held up a hand as if to stop her, then snatched it back apologetically.  "It's more complicated than that..."

* * *

 

                "Come on, Amok.  'Talk' to me."  Knave was crouched by the great beast.  He had discovered by accident that sometimes he could see Amok's memories and sometimes even understand the feeling behind them.  Being so close to Luna, Amok might have some sort of insight as to what was wrong with her, slow as he was.

 

                Alluro was along as well.  Being psychic himself, he was naturally interested in psychic phenomena.  His current project was to figure out just how powerful Amok's abilities were.  As such, he had out the Psionic-O-Meter, a machine which he swore to someday rename, and maybe even return to Vultureman.

 

                "Come on, I know you're in there..."  Knave's half-cheetah sixth sense twinged, signalling the rush of information to come.  Last time it knocked him out cold for an hour, causing him to dream the vision.  He braced himself...

 

                He looked down at the sleeping form of Mumm-rana.  Because her Pyramid was damaged, just the act of consciousness would drain her, perhaps to true death.  At a signal, Amok leaned down, allowing his mistress to retrieve Mumm-rana's belt.  Luna's voice came from above him as the heirloom was seized: "Oh, yes!  My time has come!"

 

                Amok smiled.  Luna was happy.  She spoke again.  "Set me down on the ground, Amok."  He moved to comply, and was not pleased to hear her next words, "Soon you will be surplus to my needs."

 

                That was wrong.  It felt wrong.  The belt was trouble.  But he had no idea how to tell her, and it was too late anyway.  Already Luna was fastening the magic belt around her waist.

 

                Energy flared around the tiny woman as soon as the clasps were fastened.  "Tremble and quake, Third Earth," she cried, her voice deepening slightly as she grew taller, "Princess Luna is back to terrorize your miserable, worthless lives!"

 

                The vision ended abruptly.  Since it was a short rush, Knave remained conscious.  He wasn't too pleased with that.  His head hurt.

 

                The hypnotist wasn't too happy, either, but it had nothing to do with the ice cheetah's well-being.  "The... device," - Alluro had always refused to refer to it by its given name - "Shows nothing.  Amok's memory-projections are not that at all.  You just happen to be sensitive to him.  His telepathic ability only blocks incoming transmissions."

 

                "Whoo-ha," said Knave unenthusiastically.  "How about you pretend to be useful and call the others.  And get me something for this headache."

 

                "Serves you right for thinking too hard, an activity I'm sure you're unfamiliar with."  But Alluro went to find the rest of us anyway.

 

                Not all could make it, of course, having other duties throughout the Skytomb.  In the end, all but Red-Eye and Chilla showed up, so the meeting consisted of Alluro, Knave, Amok, Psychro, Tug-Mug, and myself.  We didn't include Mystan.  Given his current debt to Luna, we didn't want to risk him telling her.  Knave detailed what he saw, then sat back to let us discuss it.

 

                Alluro spoke first.  "You were there when she retrieved the belt from Firerock Gorge, Psychro.  What did she say when she got it then?"

 

                My brother shrugged.  "Red-Eye tossed it to her, she squealed a bit, gave us a short lecture about the belt's history, and put it on."

 

                "Thee Thundercat reports said thee belt was destroyed," said Tug-Mug.

 

                "Luna said she knew it wasn't," said Psychro.  "I guess her special goblin-powers told her."

 

                "Queen Luna's magic," grunted Amok.

 

                "Maybe that's it," said Alluro thoughtfully.  "Luna might have developed some kind of magical tie to the belt, some kind of latent hold-over..."

 

                Amok shook his head miserably and wandered out.

 

* * *

 

                Psikaris laughed shortly.  "Amok's the one who knows Luna best.  If only he could talk better, express his ideas.  We might have figured all this out long ago."

 

                "Continue," said Mumm-rana.

 

* * *

 

                After batting a few theories back and forth, Alluro declared the meeting over.  It didn't seem to be going anywhere.  Knave left to go tell Chilla what little they had come up with, Tug-Mug went to find Red-Eye, and Alluro wandered off on some task of his own, leaving myself and my brother in the meeting room.  Psychro looked as if he was about to speak, changed his mind, and started out.

 

                I stopped him.  "What?"

                He looked mildly uncomfortable.  "It's, ah, just another example of Luna going loony.  Nothing important."

 

                "Psychro, you should have mentioned this at the meeting."

 

                "Trust me, the others wouldn't have wanted to hear this."  He thought about that.  "Okay, so Tug-Mug would have been all ears."

 

                "I'm trying to decide whether I really want to know this or not..."

 

                He sighed.  "I'll give you the short version.  Luna propositioned me."

 

                "She what!?"

 

                "Hey, no one was more surprised than me," he said, raising his hands defensively.  "Said she wanted a baby so Amok would have someone else to take care of, make him feel useful again."

 

                "That sort of sounds like Luna.  It's certainly a bizarre enough plan.  Why you?"

 

                He shrugged.  "My stunning good looks, what else?"  Then serious, "No, the weird part was that she was flirting.  And flirting well, like she knew what she was doing.  I would have voted her easily the least experienced with matters like that in the entire galaxy.  It's not weird enough to tell the others.  Forget about it."

 

* * *

 

                "Did you?" asked Mumm-rana.

 

                "Mostly."

 

* * *

 

                After a couple months, Luna hadn't improved and Amok got worse.  Sometimes Luna would disappear for days at a time.  She barely spoke to the rest of us, it was almost as if we didn't exist for her.  Sometimes things seemed to be getting better, then Luna would have another mood swing.

 

                One day, Luna actually took the big whip to Tug-Mug.  He's always been the one most likely to stand up to her, and he finally yelled at her during one of her weird phases.  She got him once with the whip before he retreated.  She disappeared again that day, and after patching Tug-Mug's arm, we called another meeting.

 

                As usual, Mystan was not invited, but we could get away with it because he was on watch-shift.  We had a couple hours to plot.  Tug-Mug banged his hand down on the table ( his right hand.  The other arm probably still stung like anything ) and insisted that something be done.

 

                "Fah, like what?" demanded Red-Eye.  "With her magic, Luna could easily handle all of us."

 

                "Oh, come on," said Knave, leaning back in his chair, feet on the table, idly tossing and catching his icepick.  "One Luna, eight of us.  We'll get her."

 

                Amok snorted.  "Not Luna."

 

                "We don't have to kill her," said Alluro.  "Couldn't we just take the belt away?"  Amok scowled, but said nothing.

 

                Chilla laughed at him.  "Would you care to volunteer for that particular mission, Alluro?"

 

                "Taking the belt would kill her."  We all gave Psychro a curious look after that statement.  He repeated himself, "Taking the belt would kill her.  She's pregnant."

 

                I was the first to speak.  "Psychro, you said she propostioned you.  You never said you..."

 

                "And you can steell hear?" asked Tug-Mug.  Incriminating gossip usually cheered him up, and with this little bit of information, the rotund Lunatac seemed more like his usual self.

 

                "Yeah, well, you would have too if she came on to you like that," said Psychro sulkily, folding his arms and scowling at the table.

 

                Tug-Mug had produced a notepad and a pencil from somewhere.  "Was she any good?"

 

                "Oddly enough..."

 

                "Psychro, Tug-Mug, please!"  Alluro stood, trying to regain order.  "We are trying to figure out what to do about Luna..."

 

                "Not how to do her," chuckled Tug-Mug, though he stopped and put his notepad away when Alluro tapped his psyche club.

 

                "While I can probably guess the answer," Knave drawled, "I fear the question must be asked: WHAT THE HELLS WERE YOU THINKING!?"

 

                "Hey, Luna said she wanted a kid to give Amok someone else to worry about," Psychro explained, still annoyed.  If Amok was paying attention, he made no sign.

 

                By this point, I had pretty much forgotten the original problem of Luna.  "I can't believe you did that.  That's just... it's... weird."

 

                "Eet's hilarious," Tug-Mug corrected.

 

                "You must have been desperate," said Red-Eye, shaking his head.

 

                "Extremely," chuckled Knave.

 

                "Bet you're jealous," Psychro shot back.

 

                Alluro tapped his nails on the table in annoyance.  "Look, there will be plenty of time for gossip and blackmail later..."

 

                "Of you?" Knave asked, ignoring Alluro.  "At least I have taste."

 

                "But, I mean, you and Loona..." Tug-Mug started.

 

                "And you got her pregnant?"  This information was not sinking in.  I mean, I know my brother has had a... colourful past, but it's still not the type of thing you think of.

 

                "Now that Luna's got her powers back, I wonder if the kid will be a midgit," said Red-Eye idly.

 

                "And weell the belt expand to feet her?" mused Tug-Mug.

 

                "Psychro, I can't believe..." I started.

 

                Knave chuckled.  "Man, I just can't imagine you as a father."

 

                "You think I'd have agreed to this nonsense if she was going to slap me with a paternity suit?.."

 

                Alluro muttered something under his breath and started to draw his psyche club, but the movement was stopped by Chilla's hand on his arm.  The hand then moved to ignite a fireball in the air above the table.  The chattering ceased.  Chilla said, "There must be a clue in the vision Knave got from Amok.  Did anyone think to tape record it?"

 

                "I did," said Alluro.  Of course.  It was a work of a few minutes to find the tape and replay it.

 

                "What good was that?" demanded Knave.  "'My time has come', 'Soon you will be surplus to my needs', 'Princess Luna is back to terrorize your lives'."

 

                "Wait a minute," Chilla hissed.  "'Princess Luna is back'?"

 

                I shrugged.  "Sounds better than 'Princess Luna is going to terrorize your miserable, worthless lives'."

 

                Red-Eye seemed lost in thought, then said slowly, "Has it seemed to any of you that Luna is acting as a split personality?"

 

                "Queen Luna's magic," said Amok.

 

                "Right, Amok," said Tug-Mug irritably, "Queen Loona's magic ees affecteeng our Loona."

 

                "Queen Luna's magic," Amok insisted.

 

                Tug-Mug went about ignoring Amok.  Alluro considered the sentence, then asked, "'Queen Luna's magic'...  Queen Luna is magic?"

 

                "Really, Alluro, that's stupid," scoffed Knave.

 

                But Amok was already nodding.  Alluro continued his theory, "We already know that the belt was fashioned out of Queen Luna's power.  We know the belt adds Queen Luna's powers to Luna's own.  But what if somehow Queen Luna's soul was tied to the belt at her death.  It would explain how Luna 'felt' that the belt was undestroyed, and also her mood swings.  The soul of Queen Luna reaching out to her granddaughter, then possessing her."

 

                "But are the personalities separate?" I asked.  "Wouldn't Luna warn us if she felt her mind were being taken over?"

 

                "Perhaps it's more insidious than a mere take-over," hissed Chilla.  "Maybe Queen Luna's... making suggestions.  She seems to be the one in control."

 

                "Right.  But why would Queen Luna want a baby?" asked Psychro.

 

                "To make up for the fact that she never knew her daughter?  Queen Luna died in childbirth," I said.

 

                "She might have had children before that," said Red-Eye.

 

                "Or not," said Knave.  "She was a warrior.  No time for kids."

 

                "Or," said Alluro, his tone expressing that he didn't like this next option, "Or she might have done it to hold Luna hostage.  In case we figured all this out.  We might be able to take the belt away, yes, but would we sacrifice Luna?"  The question was moot; no one would say 'yes' with Amok in the room.

 

                "So we have to wait for thee baby to be born eef we want to keep Loona," grumbled Tug-Mug.  "How long weell that be?"

 

                "Lunatac gestation is ten months," said Alluro, looking over at my brother.

 

                "Great.  It'll be eight more months of Loony Luna," finished Psychro.

 

                "Too long," said Amok.

 

                "For once I agree weeth heem," Tug-Mug said, jerking his thumb towards the guardian.  Amok glared.

 

                "Her mood swings have grown longer and closer together," said Chilla.  "In eight months, either Queen Luna will be the dominant personality or will have merged with Luna."

 

                "How was Luna stopped the first time she got the belt?" asked Alluro.

 

                Amok grunted.  "Mumm-rana."

 

* * *

 

                "... So that's why I'm here," finished Psikaris.

 

                "Your tale is indeed strange," said Mumm-rana, "But what do you want from me?"

 

                "We need you to get the belt away from Luna."

 

                The sorceress looked horrified.  "You would destroy Luna to stop her grandmother?  I already have Queen Luna's blood on my hands, though indirectly.  You would consign Luna to the same fate?"

 

                "No," said Psikaris.  "I have the power to shapeshift, and can also shapeshift others.  Well, most of the others don't know that.  Anyway, with me there at the childbirth, I could prevent Luna's death."

 

                Mumm-rana considered this a moment.  "I will do this.  Where is Luna?"

 

                "In Skytomb."

* * *

 

                The sorceress teleported herself and the Lunatac to Skytomb.  Which meant that Psikaris would have to go back and retrieve the Ice Runner later.  Oh, well.  Didn't Chilla have a way of summoning it?

 

                Without her usual preamble, Mumm-rana simply grabbed Luna and teleported out into the plain surrounding Skytomb.  She made to grab for the belt, but Luna had by them recovered.  She twisted away and blasted the undead sorceress.

 

                The rest of the Lunatacs followed them outside.  While they were pretty sure Mumm-rana would win, they wanted to see for themselves.

 

                Oddly, the undead sorceress seemed to be on the losing side.  Her movements seemed clumsy, hampering her spellcasting abilities.  Perhaps, with two months practice, Queen Luna had become the more powerful mage.

 

                Without warning, Knave snatched the psyche club from Alluro's belt, and brought it across the back of Mystan's head.  The telekinetic fell to the dusty ground.  "What was the purpose of that?" asked Alluro, snatching his weapon back.

 

                "And you're supposed to be the smart one.  Just testing a theory," said Knave.

 

                The battle turned in Mumm-rana's favour, the sorceress scoring several hits on Luna.  "Mystan was slowing her down," hissed Chilla.  "Nice work, Knave."  Knave looked smug.  Alluro grumbled a bit and returned to watching the fight.

 

                After Mystan was taken out, the battle ended quickly, Mumm-rana tearing the belt from Luna.  With a screech of rage, Luna shrunk down to her accustomed size.  The other Lunatacs walked over ( except for Mystan, who was barely starting to get to his feet, and Amok, who ran. )

 

                Mumm-rana held the belt at arm's length.  "I will take this artifact back to the White Pyramid, where it will do no harm."

 

                "No."  With that, Amok snatched the belt from the sorceress, threw it to the ground, and brought his massive fists down on it.  The large gem cracked, then exploded in a burst of prismatic light.  Amok was thrown back several feet, and Mumm-rana would have been as well, had she not set up a shield.

 

                Some of the light hit Luna, and she let out a yelp of surprise.  As soon as he got back on his feet, Amok bounded over to her.  Mumm-rana gave the guardian an annoyed look and said, "With the destruction of the magic belt, Queen Luna and her magic have been destroyed."

 

                "Then what was that light that hit Luna?" asked Chilla.

 

                "The power that rightfully belongs to her."  With that, Mumm-rana vanished.

 

                "Would someone mind explaining what the Hells is going on!?"  Mystan didn't usually shout, so he found himself the centre of attention.  "Which one of you dolts hit me?"

 

                "I hit you because for once we wanted good to triumph and you were screwing it up," Knave rasped.

 

                "It wasn't his fault."  Luna was back on her accustomed seat on Amok's back and steered the great beast over to the group.  "Not entirely.  Queen Luna had some type of control spell on him.  To make sure he stayed loyal."

 

                "Why didn't you tell us she was controlling you when you were yourself?" asked Red-Eye.

 

                Luna shook her head.  "It wasn't... control.  Not really.  More of a merging.  I didn't notice it the first time because I didn't have the belt long enough.  Don't you all have work to do?"

 

                With varying degrees of complaint, the Lunatacs filed back into Skytomb, leaving Luna and Amok standing on the plain.  Psychro also hung back.  Raising an eyebrow he drawled, "Speaking of merging, whose idea was that?  Yours or Grandma's?"

 

                The Lunatac princess shot him a dirty look.  "Having a baby so Amok could get a new charge was merely an idea that had crossed my mind.  Queen Luna acted on it.  Believe me, I would never, never, never have chosen to sleep with you."

 

                "Gee, thanks, Luna."

 

                "You would rather I harbour secret desires for you, hmm?"  Luna leaned forward slightly, curious.  She was well aware of what she looked like, and was curious just how desperate the ice hybrid was.  Not because she had any real interest in him, but because she might be able to use it for blackmail material.

 

                "Well, put it that way, no way."  With a chuckle and a jaunty wave, Psychro turned and headed back to Skytomb.

 

                Amok made a noise that could be classified under contemptuous amusement.  Luna snickered.  "Right.  If he knows what's good for him, he'll keep his bragging down to a minimum...  You seem to be taking this all very calmly, Amok, me having an eight-month death-sentence and all..."

 

                "Psikaris help."

 

                Luna sighed.  "Psikaris is an engineer, not a doctor."

 

                "Psychic."

 

                "Hmm.  I've heard of psychic healers before.  She's a hybrid, though, so can't be very powerful...  Better than nothing, I guess."

 

                "Luna live."

 

                She patted her steed's head.  "Luna has every intention of living.  I wouldn't trust my kid with this pack of incompetents.  Come on, Amok, let's get back to Skytomb."

 

 

The End.

 

                [Due to a Nerf War, there are no snappy ending comments.  Next issue is 'Just Sit Right Back...']

 

 

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