Luna's Past ~ Part Two
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is reaaaaaallllllllyyyyyyyy long. You have been warned!
The boom came from the courtyard. Luna and the others came to see what was up and saw a rather large man come out of the debris.
"Give up the girl or else!" he bellowed.
"What the hell is he?" Seifer muttered. The man stood at least nine feet tall.
Rinoa had to look up all the way to see the man's face. She felt very, very small next to him. He's huge...
"Some sort of freak or somethin..." Zell answered Seifer's question.
The man looked oddly familiar to Luna. She could've sworn she met him somewhere before, but tried to toss the thought aside. In response to that, she drew out her sword. The katana blade glowed a strange color of jade. Squall eyed it suspiciously. That's like how Phoenix's weapon is like...
The large man looked down upon the group who looked rather tiny to him. "Oh-ho! These're the people we're trying to capture? This's going to be a cinch..."
Quistis snapped her Save the Queen furiously. "Not while we can still fight back."
Zell ran past her, "Lemme at him!!"
Lily tried to stop him, but it was no use. "Wait a sec, Zell!"
The bushes shook furiously and dozens of shadows jumped out from behind. Lily instinctively moved to the side as one charged towards her and punched it right in the gut. Dammit, it's an ambush!
More and more shadows came out, eventually surrounding the group with no advantage of helping the still-charging Zell. Back to back they stood in defensive positions, weapons ready and eyeing cautiously at the shadows circling them. Seifer and the posse knew very well how fast the shadows were by firsthand experience. They weren't sure about the others, but they could barely beat them the last time.
Squall eyed the shadows carefully. He glanced at Luna. "Can we take them?"
"Yeah, but they're a little hard to handle," Luna replied. "Let me handle this. You go help out Zell. That big guy's able to make fire without the use of magic."
The gem at the hilt of her katana glowed, and Luna raised it high up in the air, twirling it about. "Kamikaze!"
A tornado appeared from it, obliterating all of the shadows around them. But fallen pieces began to grow new ones.
"Shit, they can regenerate now?" Luna cursed to herself.
The shadows attacked again. Lily jumped high over them, knocking a few out on the way down. She noticed something different about them. Instead of glowing crimson eyes, the eyes of these shadows glowed a dark blue.
"Uh-oh..."
Zell was having an easy time. He dodged most of the shadows who were more focused on the large group rather than him. The big man smiled arrogantly and stepped back, fist raised. "So, you're by yourself? Try me, little man."
The man swung; Zell evaded the punch easily and quickly went into the offensive. He returned the evaded punch by giving the man a hard one in his stomach. The force of his punch made the large man skid back a couple of inches. Zell smirked.
"C'mon, you can't even catch me and you boast about strength?"
"Zell, don't just stand there talking, attack him!" Quistis shouted out.
He had diverted his attention just enough for the man to grab hold of Zell close and clicking the top and bottom parts of his teeth together. An igniting sound was heard and fire spewed out his ajar mouth. Zell barely managed to cover himself as the flames swirled around him.
"Zell!"
His friends looked on helplessly as they saw him get incinerated by the flames. Or, at least, they THOUGHT Zell was incinerated, but it was only his jacket that he managed to take off in time.
That guy just shot fire out of his mouth, Seifer thought. The hell?!?
"Just what the hell was tha ya idiot?" Zell asked.
The smell of burned flesh was clearly distinct in the air.
"Oh? You're pretty good than I thought," the large man said. "But the next time I strike, it's gonna be your last."
Zell cursed to himself.
Meanwhile, Luna somehow got out of the pack of blue-eyed shadows, slicing across their eyes. They instantly disappeared.
"You guys, aim for their eyes!" she shouted as she leaped over yet another pack of shadows and landed just a few feet behind the large man.
A bullet like structure flew towards Luna as she landed. She managed to dodge it by a hair's breath as it sliced through some strands of her hair. What the...
"Guys, watch it. There's something in the trees!" She caught another bullet bare-handed and flung it back in the direction it came from. An hunched like figure jumped out of the trees. Beshimi?!? She then turned towards the big man, her eyes flashing dangerously. "You and Beshimi better explain what's going on, Hyottoko."
"Renzokuken!"
The piercing cries of the shadows and the slicing sound of Squall's Lionheart filled the air.
Snap, crash, bang! More cries from the blue-eyed shadows. Slowly, one by one, they began to fade away. But just as slowly, more shadows began to pop out of corners. Gene leaped on top of the roof and began to aim with his gun. The red carvings on it began to glow red and circle as energy filled the hollow area.
"Everybody, get outta the way!" he shouted to the others. A massive ball of energy shot out of his gun as his comrades jumped off target just in time.
Irvine eyed Gene's gun. That gun looks familiar...
"Koneko, just give us the girl; we don't wanna harm you," Hyottoko explained.
"I ain't gonna hand you over Sakura," Luna replied in a dangerous tone. "Just where the hell is Alex and why are you helping Deling?!?"
"If ya aren't gonna cooperate, then I'm gonna flame ya!"
The cold look in her eyes and the arrogant smirk was her reply. "Try me."
Beshimi reappeared behind Gene and flung another one of his bullet-like wepons at him with accuracy. Gene had turned arond and slightly tilted his head to barely avoid the bullet. It made a small scratch on his ear.
"The hell are you?" he demanded.
Beshimi looked like a wasp or an insect with bulging eyes and small nose and mouth. His hair stuck up on all sides and tied up in a messy ponytail. He smiled wickedly.
"You're pretty fast for one who doesn't use much speed," Beshimi chuckled in a high pitched voice. "But I'm not sure how the woman in blue will be able to avoid."
The realization dawned to him and Gene quickly turned around to warn those below him still battling out with the few shadows left.
"Hey, you guys! Rinoa, behind you!"
Instinct took over her and Rinoa aimed at the bullet with her Shooting Star. She released her projectile and sliced the bullet cleanly in half. Beshimi was shocked, sensing something odd about Rinoa. How...how can she still use her sorceress power?!?
"Whew," Rinoa breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close."
Flames ignited from Hyottoko's mouth that flew straight towards Luna. She calmly began to circle her katana like a windmil that circled faster and faster as the fire came in contact with her weapon.
"You think you can just avoid the flames by the power of your weapon?!?" Hyottoko shouted angrily as he let the flames spew out even more from his mouth.
Meanwhile, Megan had managed to convince Sakur out of the dojo through the back door. It took a while to calm her down due to the large explosion and the fear of getting tortured and killed gripped her mind. They reached to the side yard when they were stopped by a figure. It was Hannya. Megan instinctively pushed Sakura behind her.
"Who are you?!?" she demanded.
Sakura gripped onto Megan's pantleg tightly and peaked her head out to see.
Hannya's devil mask had no expression, but a muffled chuckling came out from him. He folded his arms across his chest.
"That isn't necessary for you to know," he replied. "I just want the girl behind you."
Megan quickly drew out a dozen throwing knives from her large sleeves. They glowed mysteriously under the moonlight. "You're going to have to past me first." Then to Sakura, "Sakura, go ahead of me back home, got it?"
It took the little girl a moment to comprehend her orders, nodded slowly, and ran off, taking off the keychain around her necklace and pulling out a card at the same time. She threw the card out in front of her, shouting, "Release!!"
The keychain in her hand grew into a staff. She struck the card in front of her, and it started to glow. Quezoctal appeared out of the card and she jumped on it and flew away.
Hannya only chuckled even more. "Oh, do you think she'll get that far?"
"I'll do what I can to prevent you from chasing after her," Megan threatened.
The flames that came out finally halted to a stop. Luna remained unscathed and flicked the remainders of the fire away.
That's impossible! Hyottoko thought. All the oil...
"That's enough playtime," Luna said, lowering her weapon to her side. "Either you surrender or find another way to fight."
"Hold up, Luna," Zell interrupted. "I never gotta chance to finish the fight."
Hyottoko began to refill his mouth with gasoline to reignite the fire. Luna shrugged, unconcerned. "Be my guest."
Zell stood up from one knee and set into a defensive position. He smirked. "Heh, well, thanks fer helpin' me out for a couple. I'll take it from here."
Luna smiled and shrugged again. "Whatever."
Hyottoko dumped the wooden barrel of gasoline to the ground, wiping the remnants that slipped from his mouth. "Too late, punk. I've refilled on supply."
Zell broke out into an all-out grin. "We'll see about that, pyro."
Hyottoko's eyes flared. "That's it, punk! You'll incinerate into ashes with this blow!"
He hacked up enough strength and shot out a massive fireball.
Beshimi kept his focuse on Rinoa as he kept shooting the bullets at her. Rinoa each time sliced them cleanly in half and they would fall to the ground, oozing out a violet vial that stained the ground. Although in an anti-magic field, Rinoa could still use her sorceress abilities such as having a heightened view of the five senses. That was one thing that Beshimi forgot.
Shit! I can't get through. he thought, then noticed a shadow above him. Huh?!?
Squall was up in the air, the Lionheart high above his head. Beshimi stood very, very still with fear gripping onto him...
What the?!? Hyottoko thought as Zell plowed straight through the wall of fire, no fear present in his eyes.
Luna observed, "That's a good idea. Safer to go straight through rather than trying to dodge the flames."
All that Hyottoko could do was stand still because Zell was too fast for him to move. Zell let his fist plow right into Hyottoko's large mouth. After a few moments of struggle, Hyottoko punched Zell hard until he was off of him, pulling a large bag of oil along with him.
Zell landed flat on his butt but was holding the bag by the tube and lifting it up slightly with a mocking grin on his face.
"This is watcha call your trick?" he taunted.
Hyottoko growled in anger. "I ain't done yet!"
He tried for another punch and was knocked down by a swift kick in the face from Zell and fell to the ground that shook the earth. Zell put up a thumbs-up sign.
"A cinch!" he grinned.
Hannya's demon mask appeared behind Beshimi and disappeared, making Squall slice only thin air. Luna felt a familiar aura in the air and turned around, her eyes widening at the sight of a familiar face.
"H-Hannya?!?"
Hannya stood on the roof behind Gene, carrying Hyottoko over his shoulder and Beshimi under his arm. Gene jumped off the roof in surprise as the others gathered by it.
"Koneko, what a surprise that we get to meet," Hannya said through the mask. "It seems that fate is playing its part once again."
"Where's Alex?" she shouted.
"He's located in the Silkehs Mountains in Balamb," he answered bluntly. "If you want to get him, he'll be in there."
With that, he disappeared.
"Wait, Hannya!" Luna shouted, but was too late.
Megan burst in through the door, out of breath. Apparent bruises and cuts were seen through torn areas of her shirt, her knives still in hand. "Where is that guy?"
"Gone," her brother answered and then arched an eyebrow. "Lemme guess, you fought that guy?"
Before Megan could answer, a voice shouted above them, "Heads up!"
A flash of white light and a small figure dropped down. Seifer caught Sakura in his arms. She smiled cutely at him.
"Nice catch!"
"Um..." Seifer struggled to say something nice. Hell, since when was the last time he was around a nine year old who looked so sweet that you couldn't resist to be nice to her? Never. "No problem."
He set her down as she held an unconscious K-chan in her arms. The staff in her hand morphed back into a key again. Quisits looked questionably at the dizzy-eyed Kereberos. "What's wrong with her?"
"She got knocked out by the explosion," Sakura explained. "But that's okay. K-chan'll wake up in an hour or so."
"Luna, what's going on?" Rinoa asked. "Who were those guys?"
"You knew those guys, didn't you," Squall just stated.
Luna was silent for a moment gripping on the hilt of her katana tightly. Lily put a comforting hand on her shoulder to calm her down while the others waited for a response.
"Yeah, I knew them," Luna replied despondently.
"Helloooo!!! I'm baaaccck!!!!" Selphie's honey voice chimed in.
She entered in the hole that Hyottoko made in the wall earlier. As always, Selphie was her happy-go-lucky self, but her expression changed as she saw the grim faces of the others. "Huh? Hey, what's wrong you guys? What did I miss?"
"A frikin' whole mess of crap," Zell muttered.
"Luna's goin to explain, aren't ya?" Raijin tried to answer.
Luna silently nodded.
"Those guys we fought a while ago were people I used to work with five years ago," Luna began to explain to the orphanage gang and company. They were inside the living room around the table again. "Actually, I was hired by them to work as a mercenary."
"So you mean your organization..." Quistis put together.
"It's exactly like SeeD in some ways, but unlike it in others," Lily answered her.
"Really, only Lily knows about this 'cuz she's been with us since we were kids and when we left," Luna continued, "but we went to look for work and left Angel's Orphanage five years ago. That's how Atamos found us. Because our family were the sole heirs of General Caraway, we moved to his home and other estates that he owned in Deling City."
"So...G-General Caraway's your...your father?" Rinoa stammered.
Luna nodded. Squall eyed Rinoa suspiciously to know what she was getting at.
"Atamos assigned us jobs and told us what to do," Luna continued. "Hell and chaos ran throughout all the major cities. Either by a loss of a government or revolution. Phoenix took Deling City and helped the democratic party to take over. Those who oppossed them were the original President Deling's descendants and sent out mercenaries of their own. Lily got Esthar, which was going under turmoil due to plots of assassinating President Loire, and had to lead the Estharian cyborg army. I just...wandered around and took out oncoming air ships that threatened another country, particularly Dollet."
"What about Alex?" Selphie asked. "I mean, if you guys left to work...assassinations, then where did he go?"
"He went with us," Luna confirmed. "We came home and all, but most of the time he was oblivious to all the things going on."
"Oh..."
"So...how do these guys come into play?" Seifer asked to get back on the subject.
"They partnered up with me during my missions," Luna answered. "I guess you can say that I was a part of their group once. That is, until the Ultimecia problem surfaced."
"But if they're your friends, then why'd they attack, ya know?" Raijin tried to understand.
"ORDERS," Fujin replied.
"That could be a possibility," Luna considered, "but I don't think it's likely. The leader of those three is a warrior of high caliber named Shiguyou Tojo. He's only a couple of years older than me, but never follows orders. He likes to have everything his way even though he's mostly quiet and antisocial. Rather have as few comrades as possible to keep his identity hidden."
"So then the kid's where that guy told us?" Seifer asked. "The Silkeh Mountains?"
"But we don't know if that's true or not," Quistis pointed out.
"Hannya hates lying," Luna contered. "He'd rather kill himself than spit out something that's not true."
"Then why would they kidnap Alex and attack us?" Rinoa asked, concerned. "I mean, by the way you talk about them, they're like close friends of yours."
The brows creased on her face as Luna tried to figure out why. "I don't know. That's what I don't understand..." Then an idea sprang upon her. "Sakura, do you know those guys who took Alex looked like?"
Sakura frowned, trying to remember. "Mmm....they wore dark suits 'n their sunglasses were black."
"Did they have any insignia on them or something like that?" That question came from Squall who could understand what Luna was getting to.
Sakura pondered the question. Then she snapped her fingers, an image dawning to her mind. "Aha! I 'member that the back of some of those big guys' jackets had some sort of eagle on their back."
Luna arched an eyebrow suspiciously. "Eagle? Was it dark red?"
The little girl nodded jubiantly. "Yah! It was dark red! Looked kinda creepy, too."
Lily slammed her fists on the table out of frustration and anger. "Dammit! So Deling DID know what was going on during our mission. That sonuvabitch is trying to wipe us out using Luna's former comrades!"
"How do you know that?" Selphie asked incredulously.
"Running for president of Galbadia ain't easy," Gene explained. "There could be corruption within a party, assassination attempts, the works. So Deling hired a group of mercenaries called the Crimson Talons to act as his secret police and bodyguards."
"But then why would those guys who attacked us be a part of Deling's gang?" Rinoa pointed out. "I just don't get it..."
"...I think I know why," Luna answered quiety. Everyone turned to her attention. "Deling probably wants to get rid of our gang not only under Ultimecia's orders, but for his benefit as well. He's suspected of being a murderer due to the assassinations of two of his five top political rivals, so he wants us off his back. But half of the entire secret organization of Ultimecia's know our whereabouts. I heard that Shiguyou and the others were looking for jobs after the third Sorceress War between the major countries. So when Deling offered money and jobs, they couldn't refuse. And in return, Deling knows where we're at."
Irvine let out a low whistle. "Wow."
Squall stared at Luna intently. That's something that I would say.
Zell slammed his fists together and stood up. "All right, so why don't we zoom over to Balamb on the Ragnarok, kick some ass, capture Deling, and get Alex back now?"
"Idiot," Seifer remarked.
"What was that, Seifer?!?" Zell yelled out.
Seifer just smirked rather arrogantly. "It's already dark out, we're practically exhausted, and you want us to do all that suff in one night? Not only do ya swat files, but you got a brain of a chicken, too, Chickenwuss."
Before Zell could retaliate, Luna agreed. "He's right for once, Zell. It's too late ot get Alex now. We'll go tomorrow at dawn."
"But Alex might be dead by then!"
She smiled softly at him. "It he did, then I would know."
She said that everybody would go together at dawn, but Luna wanted to find out what Shiguyou was doing. So, during the middle of the night, making sure that everyone was sound asleep, she snuck out and headed toward the Airstation.
I'm sorry guys, she thought. But I need o make sure. I'll go alone if I have to save Alex, even at the risk of my own life.
After showing her pass for entry, she headed towards the Ragnarok's (the one that she recognized, anyway) docking area. She wasn't alone.
"That's a reckless idea to go alone," Squall stated as his body leaned against the side of the ship, arms folded across his chest and eyes staring back to a similiar shad of his own.
"Hmph," Luna set a hand on her hip and stared back at him. "You're one to talk."
Squall arched an eyebrow as she smiled slyly at him. "Auntie Ellone told us all about the heroes who saved the world out of one of many Ultimecias."
"But Squall's right," Rinoa chimed in as she appeared from the darkness. "You shouldn't go alone."
"Hell, I wouldn't mind kicking some ass about now," Zell came in behind her.
"And even with all the burns that you have?" Luna asked in disbelief.
"We healed him!" Sakura and Kereberos popped in. The three shared a look and grinned at one another.
Luna sighed. "I guess you guys won't leave me alone, huh?"
A booming sound disrupted the silence of the night as the Ragnarok left the city of Esthar.
A dim light came to his eyes again. Or rather eye. There was a stinging pain in Alex's left eyes, so he could only see with his right. His body ached and his mind screamed for sleep as he dangled on the chains that clung onto his ankles and wrists. His skin was chafed by rubbing against the metal too much. He could tell that his shirt was stained with his blood because its rustic smell spread throughout his prison. The metal door creaked open again and the dim light grow brighter, blinding Alex's unaccustomed eye. He pretended to still be unconscious as a figure came to him.
The smell of smoke and leather from the figure Alex recognized as Princeton Deling as his gloved hand lifted Alex's chin roughly. Alex was pretty good at acting even though he wanted to rip the chains off of him and strangle Deling with his bare hands.
"Hmph, still unconscious," he heard Deling mutter and was shoved back to the wall again. He could hear his footsteps fading away and the light as well. "No matter. They're going to fall into our trap soon."
The alarm sounded as Deling closed the door, and Alex was back in total darkness again. It echoed throughout the dungeon, soldiers rushed for defense shouting, "The enemy is here! Red Blade is here!! Prepare for attack! Prepare for attack!"
Alex chuckled to himself, mustering the last of his strength to say, "I knew they'd come. Now that bastard'll face Luna's wrath."
When they landed just aways from the mansion, the security was already alerted. But that was already to be expected. Although the alarms had sounded, the iron gates weren't open yet. They just stared up at it.
"Damn," Zell whistled. "That's one big gate."
"You can say that again," Rinoa agreed. "It's gotta be inches thick."
"So what're we gonna do?" Sakura asked inquisitively. "We can't just stay here and wait, can we?"
"You gotta be kidding me..." Squall muttered. Maybe if I cut the doors open...but I don't know if it'll go through.
"Allow me to do the honors," Luna grinned. She stepped towards the gate, cracking her knuckles.
Squall eyed her curiously along with the others. Don't tell me she's gonna...
The intricate bracelets around her wrists glowed a dark red and spun furiously around them. They changed into colorfully designed gauntlets as she prepared to strike. Boom. One punch made a very large dent in the gate. Jaws dropped as Luna continued. Boom. The gate looked like it was about to collapse. Boom. The gate completely fell over and the others charged forward. The guards there were easy targets. They were knocked out quite easily.
"What the hell are you guys doing?!?" one of the commanders shouted. "Attack them!!"
The soldiers did as they were told and rushed forward at their enemy. Luna quickly disposed most of them. She was only a violet blur in the soldiers' eyes. Some of them watched her in fear.
"She's--she's too fast," one of them said, his nose bleeding.
"That speed, she can't be human," murmured another.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Zell bellowed, running towards them. "If you're gonna keep on starin', " he punched both of their lights out, "then you're gonna get clobbered!"
Squall took out those who were coming towards him in his usual demeanor. Rinoa was backed in a corner, but she seemed to be doing all right even though she couldn't use magic at the moment. One snap of her weapon and heads went flying. Squall eyed Zell who seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. Is it just me or is he happy to fight?
Princeton Deling looked out the window of his three story mansion. He smirked arrogantly to himself as the four figures below him fought against his soldiers.
"So, they're finally here. I didn't expect them to fall into my trap so easily," he said to no one in particular.
"Don't underestimate Red Blade's ability," Hannya appeared next to him, leaning against the wall. "She has a mind of a fox. But the power hungry like you wouldn't understand."
Deling's eyes narrowed slightly. "What?"
"Artillery squadron, aim!" one commander ordered as his troops lined up to fire their Exeters at the oncoming Luna. With one wave os his hand, he shouted, "Fire!"
Luna still kept charging at them, knocking down a couple by surprise. The commander eyed her fearfully. "Even with weapons aimed at her, she's still going even faster..."
As Luna slid to regain her balance, the firing commander used this small interval to his advantage as his squadron turned around. "Artillery squadron, fire!"
"K-chan!!!" Sakura shouted.
Rinoa aimed with her Shooting Star and released the projectile while Sakura grabbed Kereberos by the small angelic wings and threw her forward, sending her flying.
"Whoaa!!!!!" Kereberos shouted.
She landed just on top of the small projectile as it headed towards the commander's head. They collided into his head, rendering him unconscious, and the others took out the rest of the troops.
"Hey, are you okay, Luna?" Rinoa asked worriedly.
Luna stood up. "Yep! I'm just fine!"
Deling's eyes widened in fear as four below him finished off the last of his soldiers. "I-I don't believe it..."
"I told you to not underestimate her," Hannya pointed himself out rather calmly.
"Shut up!" Deling ordered sharply. He set his gloved hands on the open windowsill. "Who would've thought that she would be this powerful even with only half of a sorceress's ---"
He stopped in mid sentence due to the chilling stare that a pair of sapphire eyes gave him. Luna set a hand on her hip, not even laying her eyes off of Deling. "Now, Princeton Deling, where the hell is my brother? Get your ass down here with him!!"
"Creepy thin man..." Sakura muttered.
Rinoa tried to supress a smile at the comment.
Deling paused for a moment, his mind whirling for an excuse. Hannya was silent next to him, giving him no aid.
"Al-alright, I surrender," he finally replied. "I'll hand over your brother." A pause. "But, I have some arrangements to make before I set him free, Red Blade."
Her eyes twitched slightly. The others looked at Luna for an answer, but they knew that was going to be next to impossible.
"Now, if you'll give me one hour to prepare, I'll give him back to you," Deling continued.
Luna slowly walked back while Zell was muttering, "What the hell are you talking about you asshole?"
Sakura and Kereberos watched Luna walk past them. "...Luna?"
She continued walking until she reached a large stone pillar. Examining it for a moment, she made a swift movement with her blade, cleanly cutting through the stone and sending the top half of the pillar flying into the air. Squall made a small "o" while the other three's jaws dropped. Deling looked on in horror as the right side of his mansion was plowed through by the pillar.
"If you're going to be that way, Deling," Luna said dangerously, "I'm going to get him myself!"
"You made her even angrier by using one of your tricks," Hannya explained calmly. "Now it's going to be rather impossible of stopping her from her goal."
"So you're going to have to face Red Blade...," Deling murmured. His only concern was Luna. He had no clue who the others were except for the girl known as Sakura, the girl that Ultimecia wanted captured. With resolution, he turned to Hannya. "Did you get that, Hannya?" Hannya turned his head; Deling getting his attention. "You're going to have to face Red Blade. I don't want any mistakes, not like those fools Beshimi and Hyottoko did."
Hannya quickly grabbed the front of Deling's shirt, surprising the enterprenuer.
"I think you've got it wrong, Deling," Hannya warned. "I don't follow orders from you."
"W-what?" Deling croaked out.
"The only orders I and the others follow are Commander Shiguyou's. You only hired us as mercenaries, not as your soldiers," Hannya continued, the holes in the Devil mask around his eyes glowed a dark blue.