The following days I went patrolling by myself, hoping to encounter a Lunarian's Sunspot. I wasn't entirely sure what I would gain by doing that, but I had been realizing I didn't know much about them on the first place. Up to the moment where I started to doubt Sensei, I had just moved by the motions, maybe there was something more about them that I had been ignoring. After all, Shiro the dog, who had started to follow me everywhere, wasn't a bad guy. At least when he was on a manageable size. I had even started carrying him around and petting him.
But my waiting was in vain, the Lunarians never showed up, or where already defeated by the time I got there. Every night I returned feeling defeated, and in one instance, my misery did got company. Zircon was having trouble as the new partner of Bort, and sought my advice. As usual, Bort sucked at expressing his thoughts and didn't said anything beside the most necessary to Zircon, which he interpreted as Bort thinking he was worthless. In his desperation, Zircon even considered losing an arm or a leg in an attempt to "grow" like I did, but I quickly stopped his dangerous train of thought.
—Bort is extremely rational and dislikes unnecessary things, or at least what he considers rational and unnecessary. He hates to talk in vain, and he is not going to hold any punches if he doesn't like something. You are fine, you just need to keep going —I said, trying to give a warm smile.
Zircon made a face of disgust and retreated a bit, so I dropped the smile.
—Did you ever think you will end up like that? —Zircon said after a moment, giving a glance to my whole body.
I looked at it myself. My arms showed the green of my original phosphophyllite, with the gold and platinum alloy showing through the never closing cracks on it. The same with my Agate's legs. I had also been pointed by others that whenever I used too much of my alloy the white powder between the cracks on my face would start to fade, revealing them. I had pretty much become accustomed to this, however remembering how I used to be also made me remember when I was innocent and ignorant of all that was hidden from me.
—Of course not, if anything... I'm jealous of my past self.
That conversation didn't went further, but from what I heard, Zircon was able to get along with Bort a bit better. That night, and the following nights I went to the library instead of to my room, and spent until morning trying to find anything that could give me a clue. I was holding to the hope that Shirou will help me once he returned home, but I couldn't just stay doing nothing. However, I wasn't able to find anything relevant, since with Ghost gone, there was no one who could help me find what I was looking for, and I lost a lot of time reading books that had very misleading names.
—Maybe you should talk with the Lunarians directly —I said, laying on the floor while holding Shiro, making a voice to represent what I imagined was in his mind.
That plan was too crazy and dangerous, so I left it was my last resource. But seeing as I wasn't able to get anything about the Lunarians from our common library, I decided to ask Alexi to teach me everything he knew about them. He agreed, and even got Yellow to help us, but everything soon devolved into a quiz test. We stayed up until the next morning, but we didn't make any progress in what I was really interested.
—Alexi, what do you think of the possibility to communicate with the Lunarians? —I said, remembering the idea I had before after seeing Shiro sleep on my lap.
—We don't know anything about their language —Alexi only half awake answered—, the time we engage them is extremely short and our data on them is only superficial.
I expected that much. I looked around, to all the drawings and info Alexi had nailed to his walls. He had even showed me a Sundry, the way a singular Lunarian was called according to him, that he had designed.
—Alexi, do you like the Lunarians? —I asked.
—No. I research them to overcome my physical condition, and also... they took away Chrysoberyl from me. I keep them on my mind every day to keep fresh my hatred.
After that I left her, Yellow, and Shiro sleeping, and went for a walk, trying to clear my thoughts. It was very early in the morning and I was really close to the school, yet a Sunspot manifested itself in front of me. It was an opportunity I couldn't miss. I pushed myself up with the alloy from my heel, but halfway there I realized I hadn't brought my sword. As the arrows started raining upon me, I made a shield with one hand, and with the other I captured one of the Lunarians and brought it to me, surrounding us both with my alloy. I grabbed him by the neck and strangled him.
—Good morning, my name is Phosphophyllite, you might call me Phos —I said in an aggressive tone—, do you understand what I am saying?
—F-Fu —the Lunarian said, but not from his mouth.
I noticed there were tiny holes on his neck that made sounds when air passed through it. It reminds me as the instrument they sometimes played, a flute. I was starting to consider that I could communicate with them by using one of those. To really understand how they could work, I needed to see the interior of their throat, and I turned my finger into a scalpel, preparing myself to vivisect the Lunarian. I was too immersed in that, that I didn't even considered that right then might have not been the best moment to do it.
The Lunarians started shooting arrows and spears covered in fire, and I started feeling the heat after a couple of hits. I tried to ignore it and focus on what I was doing, but it got to the point where I couldn't hold it any longer and retreated the alloy from those sections, leaving my shield full of holes. The Lunarians were ready to attack me again, but fortunately, the Ametysts twins jumped in and swiftly decapitated the central statue. The whole sun spot started to waver and disappear, so I fell backwards still holding the captured Lunarian, which to my surprise didn't disappeared immediately like the rest of them. I managed to use my alloy to cushion the fall and avoid breaking in thousands of pieces.
—Ah —The Lunarian said when I hit the ground, but I thought it might have been a sound caused by his spine breaking or something.
I saw the twins jumping from the dissolving Sunspot, and eighty four had his sword aimed towards the Lunarian I was holding.
—Amethyst, wait! —I tried to say, but his blade was too quick and the Lunarian was promptly eliminated.
—Phos, are you okay? —They asked at the same time.
—Y-yes, you saved me. Thank you very much. —I managed to say, still collecting my thoughts.
—Twin crystal power! —they said and high fived each other, making that annoying reverb sound.
Just then Shiro jumped over me and started licking my face. The Amethysts told me that the puppy went and "chew" their ankles and ran around them until they followed him to where I was. I thanked him as well, rubbing his tummy.
—We heard it from Jade —Thirty tree said—, you haven't sleep since winter started.
—That's no good, the Lunarians might catch you if you are too tired to protect yourself —Eighty four added—, we'll go and report to Sensei, so get some rest.
I thanked them again and followed them to the school. I told them I was going to go to my room and sleep, but I went back to the library. I looked around, but couldn't find anything on how to make a flute.
—We really need to rearrange this library once Ghost returns —I said to Shiro.
Weirdly enough, I could see the image of a flute clearly on my mind, even how it worked from the inside, despite me being almost sure that the only ones I had seen where the ones that the Lunarians used. Maybe it was an incomplete memory from before I had lost my legs. The idea of asking Sphene crossed my mind, but I didn't want to involve him in these shady businesses of mine. Knowing I would not reach anywhere further on my own, I went back to the cliff where Shirou and I had parted ways, and Shiro the dog tagged along. I didn't return to the school when the night fell, and did the same the following days.
I tried to stand still and stoic, but the puppy didn't stop pestering me, biting my ankle and trying to escalate my body to reach my face. I eventually got tired of it and threw a stick away for him to retrieve, again and again, until he got tired and went to sleep. I took the stick and for some reason it remind me of the flute I had been thinking. I made a knife out of my finger and started cutting bits and pieces until getting the shape of it. The result was pretty decent in my opinion, but I had no idea how to play it. I stayed on the cliff three more days, practicing with the flute, with only Shiro the dog as my company.
Well, to be precise, other gems did passed by, but they were more interested in playing with the dog than in what I was doing, especially Dia who had only seen the "big mean one" as he called it, and hadn't crossed paths with it since then. Rutile and Jade were the only ones that tried to persuade me to come back home, but didn't insist too much after I told them I was busy. I stood there, and the Lunarian puppy never left my side, to the disappointment of the others. After much demand, Red Beryl made stuffed dolls that were identical to it and gave one to everyone. Most of my visitors stopped coming after that, but on the third day, Bort and Zircon came to see me.
—Sensei is calling for you —Bort bluntly said.
—Oh? Sounds important. I'll go then, but could you stay here in case Shirou returns? —I said, lousily getting up and moving aside the branches Shiro had been covering me with.
—About that —Zircon started to say—, that's why Sensei is calling you. Shirou is already at the school.
Without saying another word or waiting for them to say anything more, I started running towards the school, only stopping when I heard the whimpering of Shiro, as he was trying to follow me and was being left behind due to his short stubby and adorable legs. I carried him in my arms and resumed running at full speed. Before knowing I was already at Sensei's door and opened it without even knocking.
He was there, with his clothes made a mess but he was in one piece, moreover, he had his two arms back! He looked at me and smiled, and I did too, starting to "cry" again. I felt so relieved that I was about to jump into his arms, much like Antarc had done to Sensei before, when I noticed there were more people around. For one, Sensei, but that was to be expected, that was his office. Then I noticed a creature perched in Shirou's shoulder, an Admirabilis not entirely different from Ruler's snail form, but with the claws of a crab. When I was able to perceive Ghost's weak presence standing on a corner, I felt a great relief, seeing him cracked but still in one piece. But then my emotions were turned around when I saw the last person in that room.
—W-who are--
—Oh my, you must be Phosphophyllite —she said with a kind smile as she got closer to me. I tried to step back, but I was frozen—, Shero told me much about you, so I hope we can get along. I'm his fiancé, Caster.