Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Grace Bolt was your somewhat normal teenage girl (at least in her opinion), trying to survive the summer heat and dreading the upcoming school.

She spent her life in what she dubs the ‘biggest small town’ ever, with everyone seeming to know each other despite the city's size. And this city was in the middle of the desert. And from what she knew and what would soon become relevant; it was an environment like that attracted a lot of cults.

Grace had researched about the psychology behind cults as a side hobby and often went snooping around to investigate and hopefully save people from falling into their traps. But she had been really pushing the limits of one in particular, stopping any attempts at recruitment by lurking outside their ‘stores’ for any potential victims and giving them a heads up (because she had nothing better to do that summer); and the night following one of these days was when she would be taught why people don't mess with cults.

It was around 8pm, Grace was home alone due to her parents being out at a work event and she was slumped in her bed reading on her phone, she happened to be re-reading ‘I can’t phucking aim’, though paused as she heard some ruckus outside.

Usually, people outside making a ruckus either meant there was idiots or there was trouble. She misjudged which it was.

She slightly opened the curtains to get a view of the outside and was going to look around to see who was making the noise- but just as quick as she had opened the curtains, she heard the sound of a gunshot, as glass flew against her face along with a searing pain in her head- then darkness.

Grace woke up groggily and she thought maybe... maybe she had slept walk, and that it was all just a bad dream. It wasn't too far out of the question considering her dreams were somewhat violent. She found herself laying on sandy rocks staring up at the sky, the stars oh so very bright, and the wind giving her goosebumps, thinking to herself Damn, how far did I walk?

She carefully peeled herself from where she was laying and tried to brush off the sand she felt stick to her, had she always had this outfit? As she looked down at herself, she saw she was wearing a blue bandana, a rather dull poncho, and some basic blue jeans- she did note she had her favorite boots (thanks the heavens!). Her head felt heavier as well, though she didn’t particularly worry about that just yet, as she had bigger fish to fry-

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“Where the fuck are the city lights," the words left her just above a whisper. She tried to squint her eyes to see if maybe her eyesight had just been shot, but no, just darkness and barren lands. What worried her more though was what she noticed after the lack of lights, the lack of mountains. Her town had been surrounded by mountains, in every direction you looked you could see them, but here, there was nothing but sand and rocks.

In a panic she feels around for her phone, which didn't calm her as she didn't find it. Whispering to herself, "Shit shit shit- I don't have money to replace that-" then promptly cutting herself off.

In the distance she hears the sound of a train, something familiar, something she could work with.

She felt her feet carry her forward and down the rocks on which she had been, running as fast as she felt the wind could take her. In the distance she saw the light of the train, and part of her pushed her to go even faster.

She found the railroad and the train rushing by her, as she quickly scanned for any point in which she could latch on. She spotted a train car with a slightly ajar door, and without thinking jumped for it, landing on the floor of the car with a thud.

Grace groaned a bit due to the impact, as she had landed on her face (she assumed the impact would leave a nasty bruise). Soon though she lifted her head, her eyes scanning the train car, it had many boxes and crates scattered around it, a few with fragile stickers slapped onto them.

With a sigh she leaned up against one of the crates, as she finally let her mind catch up with her body.

And soon she found herself beginning to laugh a small bit, "I actually did that oh my god..." She instinctively went to brush her hair out of her face, though very quickly found there was nothing to brush back. With a quick feel around her head she didn’t feel any hair, instead finding what she assumed to be horns.

She quickly bolted back up from the crate she was leaning on, and scanned the train car, digging through the boxes, finding various weapons in some, odd looking fruits in others- she just needed something... anything- she found one that held metal scraps, some reflective enough for her to see herself.

As she finally realized where she was, what had happened, she felt the train come to a stop.. and the door slide fully open behind her

" Well.. what do we have here?"

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Grace had very quickly turned around at the sound of the voice, the rest of the world around her feeling like it went silent. And she found herself standing face to face with a figure clad in white and cyan, a crooked smile simply radiating from them.

Their ominously cheerful voice shouts out, with southern twang, “Well you ain’t on the cargo list!” 

Grace's jaw dropped, being frozen in place, as before her was someone she was quite familiar with, so many hours spent staring at them on her screen "Scythe.." The outlaw happened to be one of her favorite characters to play whenever she did open the game, for both the western aesthetics and playstyle, they were almost perfect.. though certainly that joy of seeing them was dulled now that they were real alongside their long list of crimes.

Scythe seemed to take pride in seeing the recognition tracing Grace's face, making quick assumptions on where they knew her from, "Aw you a fan or somethin'? Well, I wouldn't bet the dust on your shoes for me to be going easy on you for trying to make off with the cargo now"

The girl raised her hands in a panic trying to explain the situation, "Wait what..? I'm not stealing the stuff in here-"

Grace was cut off as suddenly with a small glow emanated from the space in front of her, the namesake scythe appearing close to her throat, luckily the blade hadn't yet dug into her skin. "You lie like a rug, why else would someone be in here apart from to steal from the Father," said the outlaw with venom in her voice.

"Oookay.. so no talking this out I'm going to assume-" the feeling of the blade starting to dig into her neck was the confirmation she needed, as she felt herself sweating bullets. Her mind started to run in many directions for what to do, though eventually landed on the simplest option, as she channeled all her focus..

"Think fast!" the words fell out of her mouth so quick one could barely tell what she said, as she swiftly reached into the crate behind her and chunked one of the metal scraps into Scythe's face. And luckily, or maybe simply due to the fact one of Scythe's arms was occupied holding the weapon, the metal hit them square in the face. 

Scythe had pulled their weapon away out of instinct to grab her face, giving Grace enough space to bolt out of the train car. Her smile quickly turned to a scowl, as she ran out after them, "Why you little!"

Grace was panicked, looking for any escape with what little time they bought themselves, eventually landing on maybe not the brightest idea of hopping on top of the train. As she grabbed onto the ladder on the side of the train car and quickly made her way up, dashing to the other side with Scythe following close behind.

The two faced each other from the opposite sides of the train car's roof, Grace was sweating bullets because she didn't think that far ahead, and Scythe was.. annoyed to say the least- changing over to the rifle to try to end this battle before it started.

Though both startled as the train began to move again, Scythe missing the shot they did having it only graze Grace's shoulder, with her letting out a yelp in response. 

The outlaw seemed even more displeased than she was before, "I thought I told 'em to stop the damn thang!" Despite the temporary mishap, Scythe quickly focused back in, dashing at Grace while swapping back to their blade.

'Oh shit oh shit oh shit-' were the main words running through Grace's head, as she tried her best to avoid slash after slash, with little luck. The fact that they were on a moving platform combined with simply how fast Scythe was, it was hard not to get hit, with her arms and torso quickly gathering cuts of different depths. 

"I figured you'd put up more of a scrap, considering how bold you've been," said the outlaw with some twisted amusement, their grin returning along with a mocking tone, "You ain't even use your gear! Is it really that bad? I was hoping for some fun"

As Scythe said this, they dove forward for what they both assumed to be the last time, the scythe blade going for her throat with seemingly no stop in sight.

Grace knew she had to do something, Scythe's words echoing in her mind- anything to fight back, and she knew that she could and would. With this mentality came a spark inside her mind, a buzzing feeling through her body like energy itching to get out, as she reached out and-

CLANK!

A flash of light revealed a katana like blade was now in her hands, blocking the scythe's swing to her throat. The cross guard seemed to be two crescent moons, currently matching the gem floating in between her horns in both color and glow. As she pushed the blade forward to move the outlaw's weapon away, a wave of soft light flung from it, pushing Scythe away to the edge of the train car roof.

Scythe stumbled forward as to not fall off of the train car, though seemed.. happy, "Finally! I love when they put up a fight.' With these words she launched forward once more at Grace.

For Grace, as she swung at and blocked Scythe, she did make mistakes when it came to doing things at the right time. Despite this it felt like to Grace that she had trained with this katana hundreds of times out of battle, it was as natural as lifting her arm, though the lack of actual battle experience was starting to show. 'Damn, is this what they meant by a gear is part of them?' she thought as she lifted her blade to block another oncoming attack.

It felt like hours, the motion of block, attack, move, becoming repetitive and tiring. Grace felt exhausted, the sword was heavy. Her limbs ached and the wounds pain didn't seem to fade, and Scythe didn't seem to even be breaking a sweat! Grace was sure despite everything she went through that they'd end up killing her anyways- though she did see something that very quickly reignited hope. In the distance the train was approaching a bustling city.

It was grand, although the first few buildings Grace could see were somewhat small, they very quickly got larger the further into the city you got, colorful fabrics spilling out from the rooftops to cover the sunlight in the daytime. And even with the fact it was night, it seemed business never stopped with the amount of Inphernals wandering around the many stalls.

Seeing this opportunity Grace bolted up the different train cars to buy time (narrowly avoiding a shot when Scythe swapped to their rifle), and just like how she got on the train she quickly jumped off when she saw the chance, landing into a pile of carpets a nearby Inphernal was trying to sell. Promptly getting up from said carpets and bolting, with Scythe following soon after, neither being able to hear the shouts of the salesperson behind them.

Grace darted through city like a madman, weaving through crowds and alleys (de-summoning her gear as to not accidentally stab anyone), she heard the taunts of Scythe behind her eventually fade into the distance- despite this she kept running until she felt her legs almost give out on her. Eventually she wound up in what seemed to be the end of a night market, finding a shadowed alley with a sigh she let herself collapse in it.

From where she laid, she watched the crowds pass by as she ripped cloth from her poncho to wrap her wounds the best she could. She noted most people seemed to wear rather lavish clothes, at least in this part of the city. Though her focus on the crowd faded, each person becoming a blur, as she went over what happened in her mind.

"I actually fucking survived that.. holy shit," she let out a muffled laugh as the idea of surviving an encounter with someone like Scythe was just absurd to her, "She's going to come back to get me ain't she.. welp.. might as well plan while I can."

She made a small checklist in her mind, 'Get out of Lost Temple until you are better equipped to deal with everything, deal with the Church of the True Eye (when possible), don't die- and give yourself a new name'

Grace whispered out, "Oh yeah I can do that last one now- uh.."  She re-summoned her katana, looking down at the handle, and staring at herself in the reflection of the metal, and although she didn't remember the name of the gear, she could guess part of it- "Moon.. simple enough.."

Grace Moon let her head lean back, looking to the skies as dawn finally came.

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Moon- she still had to get used to calling herself that, had eventually gotten out of the alleyway after resting for a while, and began to try and traverse the city.

As the morning crept forward it seemed the bustling city became even more lively, with crowds a plenty. And although it did relax Moon knowing she had a better chance of staying hidden due to these crowds, the teal scattered around many inphernals outfits and horns put her on edge. 

She knew at least for now she needed to visually blend in more and get some food alongside this as she felt the pang of hunger finally catch up with her.

After hoping from crowd to crowd she managed to snag a few different food items from stalls, without the owners noticing, with her final prize being an odd looking slightly purple fruit. She recognized it from the train cargo- it tasted very floral and slightly bitter, but food was food.

With more effort she also managed to steal a wide-brimmed hat and a new dark blue poncho- layering the poncho on top of what she already was wearing. And the hat had an awkward fit, clearly not designed for her specific horns, though it did get the job done. And with this new disguise in hand, she decided to at least partially get something done on her check list, mess with the Church.

Sure, it wasn't the smartest idea after being hunted down by Scythe, but with her plans she wouldn't stay here long, so might as well leave with an impact.

It took a bit more walking to find what she was looking for, near the side of the busy street was a demon in teal attempting to talk to passerby's- at least to those who weren't missing an eye. And despite some nervousness she held, she approached them with a smile.

"Why hello there my good fellow! You must be a part of the church, yes?" She said with the warmest tone she could muster

The inphernal seemed to smile at this, "It happens I am, are you interested in joining the family by chance?"

"I may be interested, but I had some questions first! If you wouldn't mind," Moon said this with a wide grin, as the recruiter nodded.

"So to start with-.."

This went on for quite a few minutes, it went from asking surface questions to ones more about internal structure, such as 'How many people were at the top of the churches ranks? How did they get there?'

Sure, the cyan horned inphernal was hesitant about answering some of it, but they relented to most of it. And the more questions she asked.. the more they themselves thought.

She left them 30 minutes after she initially started talking, alone on the side of the street, feeling fulfilled that she put at least some doubt in someone about the church, and she held the small hope that maybe that doubts roots would spread.

Somewhere else in the city...

It had been a few hours since the chase, and since then all the goods had been safely transported off the train. With Scythe having found herself at one of the many bars in the city. 

She sat in one of the corner booths, and had a glass placed in front of her filled with whiskey. Though as Scythe picked up the cup, they wouldn't get the chance to enjoy it at that moment, as a slightly cheeky voice came from the other side of the booth.

"Heya boss!" Seemingly out of nowhere, an inphernal clad in teal was sat across from Scythe, their smile unwavering, "That transport job go smoothly?" 

“Why hello Broker, it went mighty fine I’d say myself, ‘part from one bugger,” Scythe leaned in a small bit to talk to Broker a bit more hushed. “There was a varmint aboard the train, trying to lift them goods right outta our grasp! Didn’t let them touch nothin’.. though I lost em in the city. It won’t take long for them to turn up, just a matter of time I reckon”

“Well at least it wasn’t a bore like ya thought it’d be! I know how you hate things being peaceful,” Broker said with a chuckle, as their conversation moved along.

There was idle chatter between the two for a while, between responses Scythe actually enjoying her drink. Though once her cup had run dry alongside the conversation, she decided to bring up a thought she had earlier, one while fighting on top of the train.

“Y’know that fella’ I was chasing down reminded me of-.. the traitor. Not just the weapon, but that violence! They both got a bite to em’- that fight”

“Almost was bittersweet fightin’ em”

‘Almost’

Moon after talking to the recruiter begun to trace back her steps the best she could remember, she knew she should get out of Lost Temple for the time being mainly due to Scythe still being in the city somewhere- and incase what she said to that recruiter caught wind to anyone. She got lost a few times with a few dead ends but eventually made it back to the train tracks with some difficulty.

She approached and lurked in the shadows of a nearby building seeing items be loaded on. She observed for any good compartment's for hiding in. The thing was, nothing seemed like it would work out well, and she was starting to get frustrated at this until she heard a somewhat monotone and formal sounding voice.

"They don't check the top of tank cars," as this lingered in the air for just a moment as Moon turned to see who had said it, and although initially having some fear relaxed a small bit. It was to her a familiar looking weary demon, with their antler like horns and that glowing crystal between them.

"Medkit..?" The girl said in curiosity, now normally she'd run if it was any other member of the church- but this was Medkit. Although he could be dangerous, he was one of the few church members she'd trust wouldn't do much to her, simply because he didn't care to do so. This didn't mean she still didn't have questions-

“How’d you know what I was trying to do?” Moon said with curiosity and slight suspicion

“Runners always have a certain look to them; I've seen my fair share of them” The man said leaned on the building next to Moon, staring at the train alongside her while they talked. His visible eye seemed to show an underlying tiredness, as Moon stole a few glances to them.

She seemed satiated by this one answer, though found herself asking yet another question, “And why did you tell me that?”

“Because a few stowaways never hurt anyone, despite what some may think."

Although this answer left some questions to be asked, Moon decided not to push her luck more. As she slightly nodded towards the man with a whispered 'thank you', she began to head over to one of the tank cars as casually as she could. With some effort she managed to make it up, and that was when the train began to move

The train picked up speed quickly, with the city in the distance becoming a thing of memory.

As Moon Grace laid on top of the tank car, she observed the clouds and the vast blue sky, with it being somewhat mesmerizing to look at as the train rushed forward. And although this was peaceful, only herself and the sky, it gave her time to think.

And think she did.

'Was this some freak coincidence that I ended up in this world? That this is the same story from everything I've read- the same world from the game I played?'

'Is there something more to it?'

'..Am I entertainment?"

It took 2 days of train hopping between cities and outposts to get to the road to Crossroads, with close calls of being caught. And in the end Moon finally found herself standing in front of it.

The overhead tunnel of the road cut through large sand dunes, and the road ahead was so long you couldn't see the light at the end. The thick metal sign near the top of the tunnel read: CROSSROADS 9.106 KM. There was no traffic coming in or out, with seemingly only silence and wind. 

The only thing left for her to do was to go forward, so she did.

Hours seemed to go by, as Grace's legs ached from both the walking and the journey to get there, the darkness felt consuming. But eventually she did make it, the light finally being seen at the end of the tunnel, the sun feeling like a warm hug, as she finally stepped foot into Crossroads.

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