The next Saturday, instead of our usual movie night, we gather on a rooftop just outside the city's downtown area. None of us have transformed yet, and our Squires are with us. I'm holding Destiny in my arms. Technically, there's no need for what we're about to do. I could swear the oath just about anywhere, and the other Knights' Squires even confirmed there should be no difference in how the ritual's magic would bind me to the same purpose as the others, but the girls all agreed I deserved the same pomp and circumstance that they got. I'm not quite sure I agree.
Going to the moon sounds pretty scary, but Chibi Destiny assured me it won't be a problem for us either, since she based my transformation on the one used by the other Knights, and Eden was very insistent about it. How could I say no to her when she got so excited about it?
"Alright Knights. Just like every other time we've done this, transform and I'll lend you my speed," Eden explains before she turns to me. Where the other Knights have just their own powers, like Asha's summoned arsenal or Faye's healing and energy manipulation, apparently Eden has her own powers - Physical attributes like speed, strength and durability above even what the other Knights possess, and the transforming weapons of light and dark.
But beyond that, she also possesses the ability to unlock further potential in the other Knights - the Armory that was briefly mentioned the first time we all went out to dinner, and something she tried employing against Jeanette before she was interrupted. Which is also the reason she gets two Squires when everyone else only has the one. I still don't know the exact implications of that, but traveling to the fucking moon requires her partially tapping into that power.
"You ready for your part Destiny?" She and I already talked about this. Since my power doesn't come from one of their Squires, she can't bring me along with her by default, but our idea is that, much in the same way as I broke into Ida's psychic network, I might be able to hijack her power and hitch a ride.
I nod and look down at the doll in my arms. "I think so. We can do this together, right Destiny?" By now I've gotten enough practice messing with the fabric of reality that I'm pretty sure I can pull this off on my own, but it never hurts to have a little extra security, and Destiny can help anchor and guide my magic.
"Of course I am! Are you kidding me? This is going to be so much fun!" My guide is a lot more enthusiastic about this than I am, but honestly, I can't blame her. I should take her to fun things more so she doesn't just spend all her time in my room watching old TV shows and pushing around various boxes and small furniture to remodel everything.
Eden gives me another excited smile and then nods to the Knights again. I step back and transform first, eyes closed as I reach out my sixth sense to encompass the group, just in time to hear them all yell their shared transformation phrase. This is my first time observing a transformation from a perspective like this, so I'd almost have to ignore them to not see the way their connections to the tapestry starts only moderately different to most other people's and quickly becomes those colorful, bright nexuses of connections that can pull and alter the web in minor ways. It's downright beautiful, and I think if this was something I saw with my physical eyes, it'd actually blind me for a moment from sheer brightness.
"LUNAR LANDING!" Eden calls out her incantation after successful transformation, and I see a thick, pure, white rope of blinding light quickly encircle the Knights as it runs from the center of Onyxia's silhouette, and I hurry to loop a handful of my own strings around it and cinch them tight with Chibi Destiny's help and guidance.
For a moment, nothing happens. Then the Knights slowly lift off the ground until they're a good dozen feet above the rooftop. I follow them, unsure if staying at a distance would break my intrusion on Eden's spell. Then, suddenly and all at once, I see the Knights practically disappear before my inner eye. Only a moment later I feel something pull Chibi Destiny and I up with such insistence I don't dare refuse, and when I next open my eyes I see the Knights flying in fucking space in a V-shaped formation with Onyxia at its center. By her sides are Kaida and Aria, with Incarna and Vida making up the wings.
I'm flying behind them, but I can't exactly say the sensation is comfortable. I feel almost cosmically out of place, the only reason I'm not getting stuck out here being my hijacking of someone else's spell, an act that feels objectively wrong whether I have permission or not, and Destiny doesn't exactly seem to like it either. But I endure and even manage to latch my own spell onto Incarna and Vida, further anchoring myself and spreading the metaphysical pressure I was feeling across more of my being.
Given the distance to the moon, I guess my logic was that it would take a little while for us to get there, but with both magic and Destiny on our side, pretty much anything is possible apparently, and before I really even manage to finish that thought, we start slowing down and approach the surface of the moon, landing in one of the smaller craters near the south pole. If the moon has such a thing. Asha called this specific crater Tycho, mentioning it was named after a Danish astronomer. However the real reason this crater is the Squires' location of choice for the ceremony is the small mountain-like outcropping near its center.
When it comes to this stuff, apparently, symbolism is as important as the act itself, so the environment giving a sense of grandeur is vital. The other Knights touch down near the summit of the tallest peak, and I land only a moment later with Chibi Destiny still in my arms.
The stillness of the moon's landscape isn't just in terms of the complete lack of sound, but also in how void it is of any life up here. I don't even need to attune my senses to the tapestry in order to tell the Knights, myself and our Squires are the only living beings on the entire celestial body. It's simultaneously majestic and terrifying as the realization that I indeed don't need to breathe up here, though I assume that's only a fact so long as I remain transformed.
"It worked!" I hear Onyxia in my mind and look over to see her smiling brightly and clapping her hands silently. The lack of an atmosphere, of course, forces us to rely on Aria's psychic network for communication.
"Yeah! It was a little uncomfortable on my end, but everything seems to have gone pretty smoothly," I respond and nod, looking around at the others. "Did you all feel anything when I hitched a ride?"
Vida, more tuned into the magical energies we access and how they affect each other, chimes in. "Only a slight bit of interference, but it was spread among us all through Onyxia's spell, so we barely felt anything."
The otherwise fairly upbeat mood about our successful experiment dies down, and we look at each other somberly for a moment before the Squires manifest near each of their Knights. Chibi Destiny turns in my arms, looking up at me with as much of a mix of concern and excitement as a doll can muster. "Yeah, I guess it's time, huh?" I mouth at her. She nods, and I feel a similar pulse of agreement from the Knights coming at me over our connection.
"Yes, young Destiny." Unlike us mortals, Kareh and the other Squires evidently don't need an atmosphere to speak normally. "While our time on this moon is not limited, we did come here for a purpose, and the sooner it is over, the sooner we can return to Earth for revels. We already discussed the details of the ceremony about to take place, but I will guide you through it nonetheless."
I nod and bend my knees to set Chibi Destiny down on the moon's surface. She totters over to climb up on top of a small rock a few meters in front of me, at which point she is joined by the Squires taking position around her. The rock puts her almost at eye level with me. "Since your power hails not from us, we have had to make some slight changes to the ritual itself, but the binding magic of the oath should still take."
In mirror of Chibi Destiny and the Squires, the Knights take up positions behind and around me, with their weapons out and held in a ceremonial manner. "I think we're ready," Chibi Destiny says to the lizard. Despite what we call her, she's not a Squire - more of a guide and mentor to me. She and I can't communicate telepathically, so in this case we have to use the other Knights and Squires as translators of sorts. "Destiny?"
I nod. "I think so. Kareh?"
The big lizard's tongue flicks out of his mouth a few times as he bobs his head up and down in a small imitation of a nod. "Excellent. We have altered the oath a little bit to suit your unique situation. Rather than swearing it simply to your Squire like the other Knights, you will be swearing it to all of us and the Earth itself. Now, Chibi Destiny, would you recite what we practiced, if you please? And Destiny, you simply follow her."
My little Squire straightens up as she turns to face me and lifts the mundane needle she's taken to carrying around up in front of her face. I summon Twilight Point and mirror her pose. Her voice, still a squeaky, high-pitched copy of my own echoes through my mind as she starts reciting an oath for me to follow.
By the light of hope and friendship,
I swear to protect the planet I call home.
I vow to stand by my fellow Knights,
By my design, none shall break this pact."
As instructed, I repeat each sentence after her. At the end, she swipes her needle to the side, and I do too, and after a few moments, the other Squires light up in the colors of the magic they each possess, causing almost a small rainbow to spread out on the ground beneath us as it connects to their corresponding Knights.
I feel a warm sensation in my chest, but only a handful of seconds later, the whole spectacle dies down and everyone relaxes their stances. I take a look around at each of the others for a moment. "Is it over already? For some reason I was expecting something more elaborate."
Onyxia comes over to take my hand, smiling. "Well, no. Next is the party. Let's go already!" With little more fanfare than that, we repeat the whole routine of traveling through space, still with me hitching a ride just like I did before, though this time I preemptively hook onto more than one point of their formation to ease the discomfort I felt before. Less than an hour later, we're back at Faye's place, all dressed in casual, everyday clothes as we have a very private little party just for us Knights. A group that I'm now truly, officially, a part of.
Asha and Faye are hanging out by the window, which is open just enough to let in some fresh air. Ayame, Eden, Ida and I have taken up the space around the table, playing a simple card game while we chit chat. The Squires are in the corner, playing a dice game of their own, with Ember, Willow and Nox having partnered up with one of each of the three others to play, on account of having no hands or paws with which to roll dice.
"So was the big oath ceremony for you all that much different from mine?" I pose the question to the room in general and take a sip from the cheap beer I've been nursing for the past fifteen minutes. The others similarly haven't opted for anything fancier than a beer or a hard cider, since none of us want to bother mixing proper drinks.
"Aside from us all taking the oath at the same time, and the oath itself being different?" Ida muses, playing a card. "No, pretty much the same. Going to the moon is kind of a bigger spectacle, but that sort of makes sense. It is pretty far away."
Ayame quirks her head a little bit. "Well, we did spend like an hour on the moon after the ceremony testing out the limits of our powers."
"Hey!" I gasp. "I wanna do that too!"
"Destiny, dear, you don't even know how far up the limits of your powers go. How are you gonna test that?" Eden asks, and I pout a little at her.
"Alright, yeah, fair point." We may be sitting at the table, all four of us, but Eden and I are practically on top of each other. I'm sitting on the couch's armrest, while she's sitting on the couch with her feet on the floor and her legs right beneath mine. I don't think either of us cares all that much about keeping our relationship secret anymore after last weekend. "It's your turn, by the way."
"Oh. Right! Uh-" Eden looks at her cards for a moment, then at the table. "Fold?" Ida wrinkles her nose and makes an annoyed face.
"That's not even the right game, Eden. What did you think we were playing?"
"Poker?"
"500. I'm impressed you managed to last two rounds, though. Props." Annoyed as she seems to be, Ida lets it go quickly and just puts the cards Eden hands her to the side so the rest of us can continue playing.
"Well, maybe I can just sort of be on Destiny's team. She seems to have understood the game-" Eden begins but is interrupted by Faye's uncharacteristically exasperated sighing so loud we can hear it over the music. We all look over at her and Asha, waiting for someone to say something.
"Just fucking kiss already!" Faye groans, "For superheroes with secret identities, the two of you are terrible at keeping a secret," the oldest Knight rolls her eyes at us, though the expression on her face tells me she's not actually that annoyed, though. "It's not like we didn't all see you at Eden's birthday!"
In response, Eden and I both look over at Asha, who defensively holds up her hands. "Don't look at me, I didn't say nothin'."
"Look, it's just kinda new, and we wanted to find ourselves in it before we told anyone," Eden explains while I'm just sitting there, feeling my face go fucking pink from embarrassment.
"Well I'm sure we're all just happy you both found someone," Faye says with a smile, and the others nod in agreement.
"So long as you don't let it get in the way of the mission," Ayame interjects with a glance particularly in my direction.
And then Ida, curious as ever, decides to just ask the big question without any preamble. "Did you do it yet?"
"None of your business!" Eden chides with indignance while I, in my confusion and embarrassment, stupidly just blurt out exactly when we had our first time together. Now Eden's face is bright red too, and the room kind of just goes silent for what feels like an eternity. Even the Squires stop their games, and only the music plays.
"Alright, topic change!" Asha saves us by stepping into the middle of the room and commanding attention. "We've all noticed the complete absence of monsters on our patrols right? Like, they're not even hiding. They're just... Not there?"
Ayame puts her cards on the table, face up, evidently ready to move on from the game as she stands up and walks over to get herself a new cider. "Destiny and I talked about that a couple of times too. I can't help but wonder at the coincidental timing with the last fight we had." She avoids mentioning Jeanette, and I know it's on purpose to spare my feelings. I kind of wish she'd just say it out loud.
"Eo and I have been thinking too," Ida says, shaking off the disappointed expression that had been trying to settle on her face as she joins the conversation. "We think it has to be connected. Either to Jeanette directly, or to the hole at the government site. Possibly both. Whatever the case, we think the safest course of action is to start investigating. Whatever's going on, Renata is still out there and scheming, and we need to be ready for her. And maybe it can help us find a way to wake up Jeanette."
Eager to add my voice to that debate before we move on, I quickly break in. "I agree! I'm sure we can find a connection if there is one."
"But how?" Eden asks. "I agree that this is the best course of action, but Jeanette is still cut off from your powers, right?"
"Not quite. She's just not responding to anything I or Destiny do," Chibi clarifies.
"Still, we can't exactly just waltz into a government facility and ask to see their files," Eden finishes.
"Or maybe we can." We all turn our heads to look at Ida, whose Squire has slinked over to lay with their head in her lap, just as all the other Squires have joined their Knights now that the conversation is on Knight business. "I've been reading comic books to pass the time, and telepaths using their powers to essentially make themselves and their allies invisible isn't an uncommon trope. Maybe I can do that, too? And Destiny, you could pull the strings of anyone inside to direct them away from our paths, right?"
I consider for a moment, looking at Chibi Destiny when she gets lifted up into my lap by Willow and Nox. "Shouldn't be much trouble on my end. I think I've practiced enough to do at least that."
"Whoever goes in, it should probably be a fairly small team, right? Like, two or three of us at most?" Faye adds with consideration in her voice. "From what I've been able to see on the news, the corridors are fairly tight to begin with, and I can only imagine it'll be easier to divert government agents away from fewer people."
"Good point. Regular stealth mode transformations should probably help a little as well. And the rest of us can be ready to swoop in if necessary," Eden concurs. "I think, then, since only the two of you are necessary, we'll stick to just you going in, Destiny and Ida. No Squires."
Everyone nods, and I can't help but do a small, cute salute. "Understood!"
"But let's not rush this. We need to first be certain this is something you can do, Ida, so we'll do some special training for a while first."
The party resumes, and we have a good time for the next few hours, all of us. I make sure to spend some extra time with Ida and actually play a one-on-one card game with her. By the end of the night, with a little extra alcohol in our veins, Eden and I have less trouble letting the others see us getting affectionate, and I practically have to disentangle myself from her before I kiss her goodbye and go catch the latest bus home.
Once I get home and Chibi Destiny and I are lying on my bed, quietly reminiscing about the events of the day, there's a slight lull in the conversation as it hits the topic of the oath I swore. We look at each other. "You felt it too, right?" She asks with a grave expression.
"What?"
"Nothing," she says, as if that single word should mean more than it does.
"You mean the ritual?"
"Indeed."
"Yeah, I don't think it had any effect. I don't feel my threads tied any closer to theirs than they already were," I admit.
"Then your words are your only bond. My guess is your magic and theirs are inherently incompatible, unless you use yours to break the rules."
I chew on that for a little bit. I always meant to break it if it was necessary to save one of my friends, but the oath not having had the intended effect fills me with a strange sense of having betrayed their trust already. "Makes sense to me. We don't share the same source, after all."
We talk for another ten or so minutes, musing a little over the nature of how magic works, and wondering if any of the older Knight squads were ever faced with a similar situation before I finally fall asleep.