Archive of Our Own

When the Void Calls, Scream Right Back

Life has its ups and downs. Twists in the road. Obstacles to overcome.

The low points are needed to give the high points that euphoric sense, the pure joy that comes from turning an impossible situation around; proving the haters, the non-believers, the doubters.

Rumi had thought she had seen the lows, the moments where everything felt hopeless, insurmountable.
But as Takedown played, and Mira and Zoey ripped her jacket from her arms, as they whispered in her ears that they knew, she realised that what she previously thought had been rock bottom was only a false floor. This was worse, worse than any nightmare she had had about the girls finding out about her heritage.

She had thought about it many times, so many times.
How she would tell them, how they would react. It had ranged from daydreams of them accepting her; of Rumi breaking down and confessing, Mira and Zoey hugging her and reassuring her that they still loved her. To nightmares of them walking away, not understanding, leaving her behind. The nightmares far outnumbered the daydreams.

But none of her imaginings could ever have prepared her for this.

The shame of her heritage stretched across her skin for everyone to see; Mira and Zoey, the audience, the world. The ground tilted and Rumi’s world crumbled before her very eyes. The lyrics burned into her: a demon with no feelings doesn’t deserve to live, it’s so obvious. Mira and Zoey circled her on the stage, malice and hatred seeping out of them. Rumi could feel her fear, her guilt and shame, bubbling to the surface. She couldn’t control the scream that ripped out of her throat.

All the lights in the auditorium blew… bar one spotlight that remained on Rumi.
Panicked clawed at her. Adrenaline coursed through her. She needed to run. Run.

The screams and cries of the crowd slowly disappeared as she rushed backstage. The crew backed out of her way as she raced down the stairs, grabbing onto the banister to help keep her feet. Her hands were sweaty, slipping on the metal as she tried to get away, away from the horror of what had happened on stage.

Oh god they knew. They knew! Mira and Zoey knew, and they hated her. This isn’t how they were meant to find out, she was meant to tell them. Once the Honmoon had turned gold, once her patterns had left, once she was fixed. But now they knew, and Rumi didn’t know what to do. Just that she had to get away, had to run because she couldn’t face that, face them…

“Wha-”

Rumi looked up to see Mira and Zoey standing in front of her. But that wasn’t… they were just on the stage… how did they…?
If they were here and not there, then that wasn’t them! They didn’t say any of those awful, hurtful things to her. A small bubble of hope rose through her.

But as Rumi stepped towards them, her family, her sisters, they took a step back.
She looked down and saw that her patterns, her curse, had spread even more. They had spread over her hands, and without her jacket, it was so obvious, so obvious what she was.

No, no no no no.

But she could explain, she swears she can explain. They were never meant to see this, see her shame, her fear, her weakness. She had a plan! They could still do the plan. Words tumbled out of her mouth in desperation, trying anything, everything to just explain to her friends, her girls, her family. But they kept backing away.
The small bubble of hope burst, and undiluted fear spread through her. They were backing away again, leaving her, abandoning her. She couldn’t let them, she couldn’t lose them. If she could just explain!

But every sentence just seemed to make things worse. Saying they were never meant to see, mentioning she was working with Jinu, that they could still do this together; nothing was getting through. Rumi could see in real time the heartbreak on Zoey’s face, the betrayal on Mira’s. No, no! This couldn’t be happening, they could still do this, they could still win, she would be good, she would be ok, she could fix herself…

“I can still fix it!”

A ripple of dark pink cascaded through the Honmoon, radiating out from Rumi. She felt it, felt her demon rising to the surface. She looked down in shame and fear. God, god, what was happening, this couldn’t be happening.

Rumi looked up to see that Mira had called her gok-do and raised it towards her. Not in an offensive manner, but more defensively, to ward off and protect against an attack. To ward off Rumi.
The cracks that had started to appear in her heart dug deeper. The voices in her head, the ones that always accompanied the nightmares, that had flared up during Takedown, started to drown out rational thought.

Rumi turned beseeching eyes towards Zoey. Please, please. If they would just listen, give her a chance. Don’t leave her!

But Zoey, with tears streaming down her face, raised her shinkal. Not a full complement, but enough. Zoey raised enough of them for Rumi to get the message. Stay back, stay away.

The cracks deepened and Rumi felt her heart shatter.
Her family, this was her family. But they didn’t understand, they didn’t want her, they were afraid of her.
Her connection to them through the Honmoon frayed, strained, and then the light went out.

Rumi turned and ran.
The voices rose up: You don’t deserve them, you don’t deserve love, acceptance, understanding. You are wrong, you shouldn’t have been born. They’re right to be afraid of you, you are dangerous, scary, dirty, a demon. You can’t be fixed. It’s too late, they hate you.

The pain, the fear, threatened to drown her. Rumi couldn’t breathe, she needed to get out, she needed to run. There was a plan, she had a plan! They were going to sing together and turn the Honmoon gold. There were patches, the gold was starting to run through the Honmoon, they were so close! They were going to connect with the fans, the world, with each other! It was going to fix her, the gold Honmoon would be her salvation, what she had held onto all these years. She had tried so hard over the years to be good, to defy her demonic nature. To be the best for her girls, her family, to try and deserve them. They were going to turn the Honmoon gold, and she would be whole, pure, what she should have been and tried to be all her life.
There was a plan! They were going to win the Idol Awards, Jinu said he’d make sure the Saja Boys lost. Jinu believed in her, Jinu promised he would…

Rumi froze. A pulse of rage flowed through her. Jinu. Jinu was meant to help her. Those things that Mira and Zoey had said on stage were so specific. She had only ever confided them to one person. Devastation rushed through her, mixing with the rage and anger that was quickly taking her over. How could he!? She had trusted him! She had believed he would help her, she thought he understood her. How could he do this?

Rumi sprinted down corridors, shouting for Jinu, knowing he would be around somewhere. She had to confront him, she had to see if he had really done this to her. She turned a corner and there he stood, with a copy of Mira and Zoey standing either side of him. Rumi’s stomach twisted when she saw them, amber demon eyes shining back at her. It was wrong, so wrong, to see them like that. Jinu snapped his fingers and they both transformed into demons. A little relief flowed through the back of Rumi’s mind. Seeing her girls like that, the malice, the joy at her suffering was too much for Rumi to take. Another snap and they disappeared leaving Rumi and Jinu alone.

Jinu’s voice was flat, lifeless when he spoke to her. Like he had already given up. Like he didn’t care. It cooled the rage in her, left her feeling helpless and lost.
But she knew he cared; she had seen it, seen him! She knew he felt guilt and shame for what he had done, for taking Gwi-Ma’s deal.

“No, I know your story. You were a good person, and you still are. You just made a mistake.”
Rumi reached for him, for the boy she had got to know over the last few weeks. She knew he was still in there somewhere.

The change happened instantly, Jinu’s chocolate brown eyes flashing amber as his anger, his shame, his demon slipped free, “I left them!”
His story spilled forth. He had taken Gwi-ma’s deal, but only for himself. He had left his family, abandoned them for a better life that only he benefited from. The pain, the guilt, the self-hatred swept over Jinu’s face, tears spilling from his eyes.

Rumi tried to reach him, knowing there was more to him than that one mistake. He felt remorse, guilt, fear, but he could push passed it. He could defy Gwi-ma, defy his demonic nature, turn this around. They could still fix this, fix themselves!

“That’s not how it works!”
“Yes it is!”

Another ripple of dark pink shuddered through the Honmoon, stronger than the last time.
Rumi’s breath stuttered in her chest. She could feel the strain the Honmoon was under, the cracks that were slowly growing bigger, the protective barrier barely standing up to the demonic power that came from Rumi in bursts.

“You’re a demon, just like me. All we get to do is live with our pain, our misery. That’s all we deserve.”
Jinu disappeared in a cloud of dark pink smoke, leaving Rumi alone.

It was over. Nothing could help her, save her now. She had lost everything. An empty pit of despair opened in her chest. It felt bottomless, a void of darkness threatening to swallow her whole. She gladly walked into it.
What was the point, what had been the point, in trying? In believing that she could change, that she could out-run, out-maneuverer her own nature? That she deserved even an ounce of peace? She had learned from a young age, as soon as she was old enough to understand, that the demon in her was wrong, other, something to be ashamed of. That because half of her was demon she couldn’t confide in anyone. She couldn’t show anyone who she really was, couldn’t trust that they would understand, that anyone would believe that she was trying to be good.

God, she was just so tired. So tired of trying. Her entire life had been about trying; trying to be good, trying to be enough, trying to justify her very existence. And she had failed at every turn. She could feel how her right hand had changed, nails extending into claws, her skin darkening. She glanced at it with indifference. It didn’t matter anymore. Everyone knew, there was no point in hiding what she was, how hideous she was now.
Mira and Zoey would have been better off having never met her. If they had had a proper leader, someone good and pure like they deserved, then the Honmoon would probably already have turned gold and be sealed. If they had had someone they deserved, then none of this would be happening.
Instead, they got a half-breed abomination. Someone they couldn’t trust, couldn’t rely on. Rumi had put her trust in someone and it had backfired. She couldn’t do anything right, anything to help more. It was good, better even, that Mira and Zoey had rejected her, made her leave. She didn’t deserve to be in their light, to have their love. They were better off without her. Everyone was better off without Rumi, would be better off if Rumi had never existed.
But she did exist and she had let them down, had hurt the people that meant the most to her. She had tried and tried and tried. But it was never going to work.

She was so tired.

Celine had been right all those years; they didn’t understand, they didn’t love her, they didn’t, couldn’t, accept her.

The only thing left to do was to remove herself, make sure she wasn’t in the way, couldn’t do anymore harm. The void called to her. A demon with no feelings doesn’t deserve to live, it’s so obvious. The lyrics to Takedown had never felt more fitting.
She called her saingeom, her hand curling around the familiar hilt, the light from the blade shimmering, but not nearly as bright as it should be. The power of the Honmoon was fading. She stood and looked at the sword, felt the balance. It had always felt like an extension of herself. She could remember the first time she called the weapon from the Honmoon, the first time it had materialised in her hand. She had felt so proud. Now she only felt shame, felt like she was corrupting such a sacred weapon. She extended her arm, flipping the sword so it pointed towards herself. The tip pressed against her side, between her fourth and fifth ribs. It was an awkward angle, but if she could get the right amount of force behind it, she could pierce her heart.

Rumi shuddered, her breathing increasing as her heartrate climbed. It felt like her heart was trying to beat out of her chest, like it knew what was coming and was trying to get away. Rumi tried to steady the shaking in her hands, steady herself for what came next. Because only one thing came next. The only way to save Mira and Zoey, save the world, from herself was to end herself.
She almost wished that Mira had struck her, that her gok-do had done the job for Rumi. Or Zoey’s shinkal, one quick swipe across the throat and it would be done. But Rumi could never put that on their shoulders. They would feel guilty, feel awful. She would never burden them with that responsibility.

She adjusted her grip and tried again to steady herself. Just one quick thrust. Get enough power behind it and it would be done. This would all be over. She could rest. Her girls would be safe from her. It would be over.

Do it. Rumi clenched her jaw until it felt like her teeth would crack. Do it! The void was calling her, beckoning her. Her hand was sweating on the hilt, the sword shaking in her grip. Do it now!

A scream ripped out of her, and she dropped her sword, hearing it clatter and then disappear back into the Honmoon as Rumi collapsed to her knees. She couldn’t do it. God, she wanted to, she wanted to, so much. She wanted to not exist anymore, to drift into nothingness. But she couldn’t do it, she couldn’t do it herself.

You’re weak. Fucking coward.

The words reverberated around her head, feeding the darkness that was flowing through her. She couldn’t even do this right!
Faults and fears must never be seen. She was nothing but faults and fears and her one job, the only thing left she could do to make it right and she couldn’t.

But Celine… Celine could do it. Celine would understand that it was the right thing to do. She would have the mental strength to follow through. Rumi had never asked for much from her throughout her life, surely Celine could do this for her. To right this mistake. The mistake of her birth, her life.
Celine would understand, Celine would follow through.

The Honmoon unravelled behind her with every step she took.

~*~*~*~*~

Celine was at the estate. She stood in front of the tree, the tree before which she had trained Rumi. The tree where she had explained to Rumi about her heritage, about her patterns, about how no one, no one, could know about them. The tree where Rumi had first met Mira and Zoey, had first felt the connection to the two girls, the tree where Celine had conferred on them their sacred duty.
It was where the strongest node of the Honmoon rested, where all hunters trained and fought and learned.
It was only right that this be where it ended.

Celine twisted to face her. Rumi didn’t even flinch when she saw that Celine had drawn her sickle blade against her. She was numb, indifferent. She barely noticed when Celine dropped the blade. She walked forward slowly. She called her saingeom into existence for what would, hopefully, be the last time. It was stained pink like the Honmoon as it broke apart around her. Rumi dropping to her knees in front of her mentor, the closest thing she had to a mother. She raised her sword as she bowed her head, offering the blade to Celine.

“You knew I was a mistake from the very start. Do what you should have done a long time ago. Before I destroy what I swore to protect.”

This would finally, finally, make everything right. Mira and Zoey were strong. They could fix this without her. With Rumi out of the way, everything would be ok again. The Honmoon would heal, the demons would be defeated.

“Please, do it!”

The demonic harmonics in her voice tore out of her, shuddering the remaining Honmoon around them.

God even here, even here all she was doing was hurting. Hurting what she was meant to protect, what she was meant to keep strong.

But Celine knew, Celine would understand. Celine would do this for her, surely?

The blade was knocked out of her hand as Celine grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet. “I can’t!”
Rumi’s breath stuttered. Celine wouldn’t do this for her? No, she said she couldn’t! Because she cared? Because she loved her? Rumi felt what was left of her heart in her chest flutter, something not quite like hope trying to rise up.

But no, no of course not. Celine was trying to protect her, but only as an extension of her mother. Celine’s loyalties lay with her, a woman who had been dead for over twenty years. Trying to keep a promise made to someone who was a mere memory. Rumi felt the flutter in her chest die.
Celine took off her own cardigan and threw it around Rumi’s shoulders. A flicker of rage coursed through Rumi. Even now, even with everything falling apart, with the Honmoon literally falling apart in front of them, Celine was still in denial. Still telling Rumi to cover up, to hide, that they could fix this if they just pretended. She couldn’t even look at her. What was left of Rumi’s heart crumpled; why couldn’t Celine love all of her? That’s all she wanted, all she had hoped and begged and wished for all of her life. Just someone to accept her and love her.

“Our faults and fears must never be seen.”

That phrase, the mantra that Rumi had grown up following. That had been drilled into her, and later Mira and Zoey, by their guardian, their mentor. The one who was meant to be wise and lead them through this. Those words had always seemed like strength, like honour, like steel in their spines.
Now the words just felt like ash and hurt and betrayal.

Rumi had come here with hope, ironically enough. Hope that Celine of all people would see her and abide by her wishes for once. But all that had happened was Celine revealing that she had never understood Rumi, could never see past her demon heritage, never love or accept all of her. Rumi felt her spine straighten. If Celine thought that the only way to protect the Honmoon was by hiding, by pretending, by lying and deceiving those closest to her, then this protective barrier was also a lie. The Honmoon was made of hopes and dreams and love and trust. But if it was built on lies, built on deceit and misdirection, then how was it meant to protect anyone?

“If this is the Honmoon I’m suppose to protect, I’m glad to see it destroyed.”

Rumi didn’t wait for a response from Celine, she closed her eyes and willed herself away.

~*~*~*~*~

Rumi appeared back in the city. The numbness that had been throughout her body had drained away during her confrontation with Celine. But now she felt it creeping back in. Her chest felt hollow, her heart barely even there. The void called again, louder than before. Rumi sat on the edge of the rooftop she was on and dropped her head into her hands and screamed.

She was so tired.

The Honmoon shuddered around her. Rumi glanced at it, feeling it trying to draw her attention to something. Usually that happened when a tear opened, making it easier for the hunters to find it, and the demons trying to break through.
But the whole Honmoon was breaking apart. What use was showing Rumi one tear when all of it was tearing?

Useless, pointless, why bother?

It pulsed again, trying to get her attention.

God, could it not leave her the fuck alone! She was a demon, she was horrible, she didn’t deserve the title of hunter, had never deserved it! And the Honmoon was built on lies and deceit. It deserved to fall.

Mira and Zoey could find a third and rebuild. Rumi would stay away, give them to space to do that. They were honest and true and good. They would create the most beautiful and pure Honmoon. It would turn gold and then all the demons would be dead or stuck in their realm with Gwi-Ma. With any luck she’d be dead too.

The Honmoon pulsed again, twice, with urgency.

“Seriously, go bother someone else! Go find Mira and Zoey, tell them about the tear!”

The Honmoon shuddered and then pulsed twice, again.
Rumi sat up straighter. The Honmoon rarely, if ever, woke up enough to signal the hunters. It wasn’t exactly sentient; but it also wasn’t exactly not. If everything was at peace, then there was no need for it to do anything. It would just hum quietly, contentedly, in the background, a pleasant buzz that would build to a beautiful crescendo when the girls sang together, shouting its joy to the world. It would wake up and pulse if something was wrong, if there was a tear that needed to be closed, a demon that had slipped through.

It woke up when a hunter was in trouble, and her sisters weren’t with her.

“Mira? Zoey?” The names came out as a plea, a whispered prayer.
The Honmoon shuddered violently, pulsing and calling Rumi, practically begging her to move, to save its hunters.

“Oh god, no. Where are they? What’s wrong?”

But the Honmoon had no voice, couldn’t explain what was wrong, it could just pulse, practically shouting that something was very wrong.

Rumi’s legs shook as she stood. She had decided the best thing that she could do for Mira and Zoey was to stay away; to leave them be and not risk corrupting them. To wait for the new and improved Honmoon to turn gold and then she would be able to rest. Or die. Or suffer for all eternity in the underworld. Whatever her fate, she would deserve it.

But if they were in trouble, if they were hurt or scared…

She couldn’t just leave them. No matter how much they hated her, no matter how much they didn’t want her there, didn’t understand her, she loved them. She loved them so much. She couldn’t abandon them.
She felt lightheaded, weak, dizzy. Fighting her demonic nature at every turn (and losing) had ground her down. She didn’t know if she could fight, if she’d be any help. But she had to check, had to see if she could help, if she could save them.

She would gladly give her own life if it meant they could live.

That last part was what set her feet, straightened her back. Two birds, one stone.

Rumi closed her eyes and looked deep within; she searched for her frayed connection to the Honmoon. She knew it was still there, she could still call her sword into being. But it had been buried deep, deep down. Her demon shoving it further and further away from her, trying to break it.
But her love for her girls, her sisters, was stronger than even her own demon, her own wish to die. Rumi settled her breathing and searched, grabbing the thread gently within her and bringing it to the surface. Just show me a direction, anything, help me to save them.

The Honmoon rejoiced inside her, pulsing away towards the other side of town.
Save them, save them, save them.

Rumi faced in the direction of the pulses. Namsan Tower stood above the skyline, lights swirling around it. That’s where the Honmoon was directing her. It was so far away, she would be of no help if she couldn’t get there!
Rumi felt her demon rise up, the want, the need, the desperation to be in another place. Her demon was all her selfish desires, her neediness, her corruption. She should let them go; if she was good, if she was pure, she could let her sisters go. But she wasn’t, she needed to be needed. She needed to feel useful, just one last time. Her demon hummed within her, focusing on her need to be there, to be where her girls were. She focused inwards and let go.

The wind blew away the pink smoke that remained behind.

~*~*~*~*~

Streams of people were still moving into the stadium at the tower. Hundreds, thousands of people. Old and young. Everyone in the city slowly making their way to their own doom.

Rumi could hear the music coming from within, the way it tried to worm its way into her. The seductive pull of it, the promise it whispered; let go, follow me, whatever you desire, whatever you are missing, I will provide, only I can give you what you need.

The Honmoon was practically gone. It had used the last of its energy to signal Rumi here. It caressed her cheek as it fluttered away, dissolving around her. She could feel Mira and Zoey inside, feel how her connection with them was barely intact. The magic of the Honmoon was fading, waning, but it was fighting for them, fighting for her to save them.
She could feel Gwi-Ma inside, his corruption crawling over her skin, trying to wiggle into her brain. Her demon side shuddered under his power, her human side quaked at the evil that lay before her. But Mira and Zoey were inside. Hundreds of thousands of other people too, but Rumi had been reduced to a selfish thing. Her motivation, her will, her desire was locked on the only two souls she had loved with all her heart. They were inside and she would save them or die trying.
The current Honmoon might be almost gone, but she would create a new one. She would pour her life essence, her own soul into creating something, anything, that would protect Mira and Zoey. Then they could finish the job.

With that resolve coursing through her, Rumi walked into hell.

It was so much worse than she thought it was going to be, so much harder to resist that call, that siren song to just give up. Hours ago (Months? Years?) that’s all she had wanted. To give up. But now her reason for being, the sun and moon around which she orbited, was in trouble, in danger.
Gwi-Ma’s song, the Saja Boys melody, had wrapped its talons, sunk its teeth into everyone, including Mira and Zoey. Rumi would just have to break his hold for a little bit. Get their minds free and clear long enough for them to capitalise on what Rumi had started. Because as she entered the stadium proper, as she glanced right and left and somehow, somehow managed to spot the two girls, she found that Gwi-Ma’s song had no hold over her.

“We are hunters, voices strong.
Slaying demons with our song.
Fix the world and make it right.
When darkness finally meets the light.”

It felt right to lead with this, the vow that she had made with her sisters, her reason for living, the vow she had made for them and to them.
Gwi-Ma laughed, arrogance and malice rolling off him in waves. He thought he had already won, he thought that there was nothing a lone hunter could do. His ignorance, his hubris, would give Rumi the chance she needed.

Focusing her sight inwards, she sought out her shrivelled heart, her pathetic neediness, her selfish love that she still carried for the two brightest lights in her miserable life. Her own melody started off slow, bearing her corrupted soul for all to see. She just needed Mira and Zoey to listen, to hear her for one moment.

As Rumi opened up, reaching out with her voice, her love, for two other souls in the room, she was astonished to see that the white-blue of their souls started shining through. She sang to them, poured all her sorrow and regret and most of all her love, into the lyrics and called out to them.

“My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like.”

First Zoey answered, quickly followed by Mira, the lyrics pouring forth from them, echoing their heartbreak, their truth. It was beautiful and honest and filled Rumi up bit by bit. It stitched back together her heart and a lightness spread throughout her when her eyes connected with Mira and Zoey.

“The song we couldn’t write, this is what it sounds like.”

Rumi felt a smile stretch across her face for the first time in what felt like lifetimes.
She reached into herself, found a thread and pulled. Her saingeom appeared in her hand, feeling slightly different, but no less powerful because of it. The white-blue pulse of Mira and Zoey’s souls were like beacons in the darkness, as Gwi-Ma sent his hordes of minions towards them. But now that Rumi had seen her sisters, her family, and they had responded to her, there was nothing on this earth that could stop her from getting to them. She saw the swish and flare as Mira called her gok-do, spinning it above her head before slashing in front of her, while Zoey summoned her shinkal, three in each hand, cradled like a deadly fan in her grip.

“But dive in the fire, and I’ll be right here by your side!”

Finally, finally, they were together again. Her arms wrapped around Mira’s waist and across Zoey’s shoulders. She could feel the shuddering breath she released echo in the other two, relief and joy and love flowing between them. A surge of power welled up between them, crested and spread outwards. The beginning of a new Honmoon. One based on truth, openness and most of all, love.

They turned to face Gwi-Ma, face his demons, as a united front. No more secrets between them, no more lies. Only truth. They continued their song, the crowd responding as the lyrics and melody swept over them. More and more were released from Gwi-Ma’s hold, waking as if from a nightmare, their joy and happiness folding into the new Honmoon, powering it. Gwi-Ma roared and sent the Saja Boys, now in their true form as Jeoseung Saja, towards them along with the minions. The three girls fell into their rhythm easily, quickly. Felling demons faster than Gwi-Ma could send them.
Rumi walked straight up the middle, dispatching any demons in her path, the light and power of her connection to Mira and Zoey flaring brighter and brighter. She met Jinu’s eyes, still standing on the stage in front of Gwi-Ma seeming frozen. She knew there was still hope for him. If there was hope for her, if she could gain the acceptance of her family again, then he could be saved as well. She just needed to reach him like she had reached Mira and Zoey. But for that to happen, he needed to reach back.

There was an intake of breath that caused Rumi to pause; she watched in confusion, and then mounting horror, as Gwi-Ma absorbed his minions and used them to bring more of his demonic self into this plane. His fires and malice grew higher, brighter, burned more fiercely. He turned his attention solely onto Rumi.
“Your voices cannot defeat ME!”

A spear of dark energy surged towards Rumi. She just got her sword up in time to block it, but her boots slid backwards on the stage. She grit her teeth and bore down on her own power, fighting with everything to withstand the onslaught. She could hear Mira and Zoey calling for her, but her teeth were clenched so tightly together trying to hold against the dark energy trying to consume her that she couldn’t respond.
No, she had just got them back. She was so close to getting everything she ever wanted. She would not, could not give up now.

But Gwi-Ma seemed to have an unlimited amount of power he could draw from. The longer this went on, the stronger the attack seemed to become. Rumi felt her feet slip again, her knees buckling. She roared as she dug deeper, deeper. For Mira. For Zoey. She would save them.

Rumi was nearly down to one knee when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. She risked a glance sideways and nearly lost her footing when she found Mira next to her. The tall hunter had her gok-do braced in front of her, taking the onslaught with Rumi, her hand on Rumi’s shoulder anchoring her. Within half a second, another hand was on her other shoulder; Zoey, with her shinkal fanned out in front of her, deflecting the energy as best she could.
Part of Rumi shook; no, no they could get hurt, they could be killed! It was only meant to be her in danger, only her at risk. They needed to live, to go on. But a larger part realised that this was also their fight. They were fighting for her, for their family as well. And who was she to deny them that?

She got her feet underneath her again and pushed up. The three of them, united, together as they always should have been. With a scream in their throats, hope in their hands and love in their hearts, they all pushed back, deflecting the dark energy back at Gwi-Ma. The shot went straight through the middle of the fire, splitting it in half.
Rumi felt her shoulders sag in relief and felt more than heard the same from the girls either side of her. More and more of the crowd was released, more and more of them joining in on the melody, the song that would save them all.

Power surged from them, as Gwi-Ma retaliated with whips of purple and pink fire. Mira twirled and flipped her gok-do, nothing getting near her; Zoey threw her shinkal: one, two, three, four, snick, snick, snick, snick, the dark energy dissipating before it got within six feet of her. A large whip barrelled towards Rumi, but she brought her sword up and jumped into the air to meet it. She split it in half down the middle, before severing the ends, the energy drifting away before she landed back on her feet.
Step by step they moved forward, as a team, always backing each other up.

So focused were they on moving forward, on driving Gwi-Ma back, that none of them noticed the gathering ball of darkness behind them. Not until they felt the air move just before the darkness hit them. Rumi’s heart stuttered, spinning rapidly, sword raising to deflect the blow, take the blow, protect her family!

Her heart stopped with what she saw.

Instead of a blaze of heat and hatred and darkness swallowing them, Rumi’s eyes met Jinu’s.
He had somehow managed to throw himself between them and the dark energy, holding it back with his own body. Rumi dropped her sword; it clattered once, twice before disappearing into nothingness. No, no! She was meant to save him, he could be saved, she owed him that, owed him for everything he had given her, the kindness and understanding her had showed her.

“I wanted to set you free.” Rumi could feel the tears beginning to gather in her eyes, her hands fluttering uselessly in front of her. She didn’t know what to do!

Jinu smiled through the pain, a joy lighting up his eyes despite the obvious agony he was in from the blast, “You did. You gave me my soul back.” Rumi watching in fascination and bittersweet sadness as a white-blue light shone from Jinu’s chest, getting brighter and brighter, even as his form was burned away. “And now, I give it to you.”
With a smile on his face, Jinu closed his eyes and let go of his corporeal form. His soul, the bright white-blue light that had been pulsing in his chest floated up and surrounded Rumi, before gliding over and around Mira and Zoey, protecting them from the whips that Gwi-Ma had continued to throw at them.

Rumi allowed herself one breath, one tear, one moment to feel the loss, before her eyes snapped open. Most of the crowd had been freed from Gwi-Ma’s influence at this point and were singing along, their voices and hearts, hopes and dreams, powering up the new Honmoon. Her hand snapped backwards and her sword appeared in her hand. It was still her saingeom, same balance, same fit in her hand, but also more. More light, more power. More love and truth and honesty. She raced forward, raced towards Gwi-Ma with Mira and Zoey at her back. They threw all of their energy into the attack. Gwi-Ma bellowed in pain, the weapons cutting throw him as if he was made of paper, stunning the demon king.

The song kept building and building, with the power of the Honmoon lifting them into the air. Rumi stretched out her hands, and Mira and Zoey instantly held on. Their voices grew, entwined, gained more power as they all held onto each other. They poured all of their love for each other into it, into the words.

“Truth after all this time, our voices all combined.
When darkness meets the light, this is what it sounds like.”

With a final note, Gwi-Ma exploded, his dark energy dissipating, the remains of his demonic flames dying.
Rumi felt them slowly floating towards the ground, the magic of the new Honmoon making the descent gentle.

Landing on the stage, dawn had broken, the sky light and bright above them. The crowd all cheered and swayed together, their joy and happiness palpable in the air. The girls once more fell into a group hug, all of them just breathing together, relishing the comfort of being back together.

All that was left to do was complete the Honmoon, set it into the foundations of the world, and let it encircle and protect as it is meant to. The girls held hands, Rumi nodding to both of them before closing her eyes. She settled her breathing, searching inside for the root of her connection with the Honmoon, knowing the other two would do the same. They had never had to settle a new Honmoon before, but they new the ritual, had studied it in their training, and knew what to do.
Linking their fingers, palms pressed together, the three hunters bowed their head and exhaled, pushing their will, their hope, their truth and love into the net weaving its way around the globe.

As the net started to settle, Rumi felt her breathing hitch.

Her heartrate began to slowly climb, her palms beginning to sweat. An ache began in her right shoulder and slowly moved to encompass her whole body. Confusion rattled through her; had she done something wrong for the settling? The teachings had never said anything about it being painful.
She opened her eyes to see if Mira or Zoey were feeling the same. She then noticed that her patterns, which had faded to a dull purple while she had been fighting Gwi-Ma and his demons, were suddenly flaring with a dark light. The pain racing through her body was following her patterns, heat and pain and an endless ache moving through her, as her patterns lit with a dark pink, bordering on dark purple, almost black. She had managed to suppress her demon when she found Mira and Zoey again, found her head and her heart, and her reason for living.

The Honmoon was created for a soul purpose, to protect the world from demons.
And Rumi was half demon.

In creating a new Honmoon, rebuilding the barrier between the underworld and this plane, trying to settle it into place, the Honmoon was in turn trying to fulfil its purpose.

Rumi let out an involuntary gasp, her body beginning to shake as the pain increased.

“Rumi? Rumi! What’s happening?” Zoey’s voice became more panicked, alerting Mira who opened her eyes to see Rumi bathed in darkness. “We have to stop, it’s hurting her!”

“Don’t you dare, don’t you dare stop!” Rumi practically growled at the other two girls. “We’re close, so close to creating a new Honmoon, to defeating Gwi-Ma and preventing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. If we don’t settle this, everyone on earth is at risk.” Her knees threatened to buckle underneath her, and she only kept her feet through sheer force of will.

“Rumi, it’s going to kill you if we keep going!” Mira’s voice was edging on panic, something which Rumi had rarely heard in the past.
Rumi turned towards her and gave her a small but genuine smile, “If that’s what it takes, I will gladly pay the price.”
“Well I won’t! I won’t you stubborn, self-sacrificing asshole! We just got you back, and I’ll be damned if I let you go now!”

Zoey chimed in, “We’re not letting you go Rumi, not again.”
Rumi let out a frustrated breath through her nose, “We don’t have a choice! The Honmoon needs to settle, needs to close, needs to get rid of all the demons. I am a demon!”

“No, you’re Rumi, my sister, my family. There has to be another way!” Zoey once more had tears in her eyes, watching helpless as pain and heat and fire tried to take Rumi.
Rumi was finding it hard to breathe, the burning was starting to feel like it was consuming her, like the Honmoon was trying to burn the demon half out of her. But in the process, it would kill her. She could be at peace with that, it was a nice way to go, saving the world and getting some time back with Mira and Zoey. She would have liked more, Rumi always always wanted more. But she was grateful for this, she could go with a smile on her face and happiness in her heart. She just needed to convince Mira and Zoey to let her go.

“Listen, no listen to me! The Honmoon is just doing its job, what it was created for. What we created it for. It’s trying to burn the demon out. I am a mistake, I shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t exist. You have to let me go.”

Mira was shaking her head before Rumi had even finished talking, and tears were free flowing down Zoey’s face.
“You can’t ask me to do that, Rumi, it’s too hard, it’s too painful. You’re a part of us, part of me and Mira!”

Mira nodded, “Zoey is right, you are a part of us. And if the Honmoon wants to take you, if it needs to take you to settle, then it can take me too.”
“Me too!”

Rumi’s eyes widened in shock. Were they crazy? Did they even hear the words coming out of their mouths? They couldn’t sacrifice themselves, not for her. They deserved to live, the world still needed them to live, Rumi needed them to live. It was the only way she could go through with this.
Before she could stop them, before Rumi could say another word, Mira and Zoey looked at each other nodded and then closed their eyes. Rumi wasn’t sure what they were doing, but she was suddenly blinded by a brilliant white-blue light that was pouring out of the other two girls.

Their souls, she thought, they’re pouring their souls into the bond. A surge of energy went through their connection. They’re pouring their souls into me!

The Honmoon surged around them, taking everything the girls gave. Rumi tried to pull away, tried to rip her hands from Mira and Zoey, her moon and sun, but it was like they were fused together. The more the Honmoon tried to burn the demon out of Rumi, the more of themselves the girls poured into Rumi. The pain reached heights that Rumi had never felt before. The breath was stolen from her lungs, her heart was beating a million miles an hour, darkness was beginning to bleed into the edges of her vision.

No, please no, god anything but this, I will give anything, anything but them. Don’t take them!
Not them, you can have me, but not them. They’re mine!!

Rumi felt her demon rise up, and for once both halves of her being were in sync.
Her humanity would not let her sisters, her family, her everything, sacrifice themselves for her.
Her demonic side would not let the Honmoon take what was hers by right, by blood and sacrifice and pain.

United, finally.

Rumi roared her defiance to the sky, roared her pain and her love and her truth. Her patterns flared brighter, the white-blue light of her own soul pouring through with the darkness of her demonic side.

The Honmoon shuddered, shook, rippled outwards and then… then it breathed.

Rumi felt the shift immediately, her eyes snapping open, searching for her girls. Mira and Zoey were still there, still standing, still breathing.
The Honmoon drifted slowly up to them, gentle as a breeze around their ankles. The pain, the fire that had been coursing through Rumi, burning her from the inside out, was gone. As the Honmoon reached up, as it enveloped the three of them, it was like it sent cooling waves throughout her body; washing away the pain, the fire, the all-consuming heat.

The Honmoon wasn’t exactly sentient; but it also wasn’t exactly not. Feelings and emotions flowed through Rumi as the Honmoon gradually moved up their shoulders, embracing its three hunters.

Love.
Honesty.
Unity.
Acceptance.

That last one, acceptance, that was it. That was the difference. Two halves of Rumi accepting each other and coming together. The three girls embracing and accepting each other. The white-blue light of their souls had retreated back into their bodies. The darkness of Rumi’s patterns were fading, changing, as the Honmoon rose over her body. An iridescent glow seemed to flow over them, taking away the last of her pain.

The three girls held their breath for one, two, three seconds. Hope bubbling up, and then busting into joy and happiness as the Honmoon gave a final breath and settled into a net over the world.

Hands are dropped, only for arms to grab and pull each other into a group hug. They slowly end up on the floor, legs entangled, tears free flowing, hands touching cheeks, hair, eyes checking for injuries.
The quiet lasts about five minutes, before someone approaches them. Rumi is exhausted, tired, feels like she could sleep for a year! And more importantly has absolutely no idea who to explain any of this to anyone.

“Girls! My girls! I’m so sorry I ever doubted you! Are you all ok, what do you need? Do you need anything?”

It was Bobby. Rumi felt the air rush out of her lungs in relief that firstly, he was ok, and secondly, it wasn’t security or police coming to ask questions.

“Hi Bobby,” the three girls responded together, probably sounding more subdued than they ever had before.
Bobby stops in front of them, eyes scanning the three of them quickly, “I’m not sure what happened, or why we’re here, but I know you were all just fantastic! I felt, I felt like I’d lost myself, lost hope. But that song, seeing you three together, you gave it back to me!”
Rumi felt a small smile pulling at her lips, Zoey was beaming at their manager, and even Mira had a genuine smile on her face, not an ounce of sarcasm to be seen.

“Thanks Bobby, that means a lot to us. Do you think you could find us a way out of here? A car or something to bring us home?”
That was all the motivation Bobby needed to get moving, “Absolutely, consider it done! Go find somewhere backstage to hang out and I’ll come find you when your ride is here.” He pulled out his phone and immediately started making calls, all the while directing security to actually maybe do their jobs and secure the area!

“Gosh, I love Bobby, he’s so great!” Zoey gushed, watching as their manager tried to wrangle people into position.
Mira snorted, “Gotta admire his tenacity, he’s holding it together like a champ. We should give him a raise.”
Rumi nodded, that small smile still gracing her lips, “If he can get us home within the hour, I’m all for a raise. Five percent?”
The other two girls nodded in agreement.

Rumi saw their eyes track across her face and down her arms and legs. She took a second to take in her patterns herself. They weren’t gone, but they had faded a lot. As she shifted her arm, an iridescent glow seemed to shift along them. Well, that’s new.

She knew they had so much they needed to talk about, so much they needed to air out and face. But she really didn’t have the energy right now. “I know we need to talk, and I know you both deserve answers. But do you think it would be ok if we waited until we got home?”
Mira raised their joint hands to tilt Rumi’s head up to look at them, “Of course, we talk when you’re ready, not a minute before.” Rumi felt Zoey squeeze her hand in support.

“Thank you, you don’t know how much I appreciate that.”

“That’s what family does Rumi, we help and support each other.” Zoey chimed in, “So do you guys think we should move? There’s a lot of people and security still seems pretty out of it.”
Nodding, the group shuffle to their feet, still holding hands, not ready yet to lose the physical connection to each other.

As soon as Rumi gets her feet under her, her knees almost buckle. She closes her eyes for a second as a wave of dizziness washes over her. Mira and Zoey drop her hands to quickly wrap arms around shoulders and waists.

“Woah, sorry guys, headrush.” Rumi muttered, leaning her weight into the other two.
Mira adjusts her grip across Rumi’s waist, while Zoey hikes Rumi’s arm further over her own shoulder. “No problem, we got you.”

As the three girls head backstage, walking slowly, supporting each other, Rumi thanks whatever gods or deities exist for her little family. Yeah, she thinks, you’ve got me, and I’ve got you.