The Quiet of a Melancholic Moon

Trench

Dream and Tempest. Nightly visions and wild storms. They were quickly rising the ranks of hero society. Since his introduction, the people had adored Dream. They wanted him to be on the top. With the aide of Tempest, his efficiency was equal to his popularity. He was a beloved hero that was good at his job. Tempest was the person lucky enough to stand beside Dream. It wasn't like Dream was any more known than Tempest was. They were elusive but instead of making people paranoid, they saw the mystery as part of the charm. Religious people speculated that Dream was the reincarnation of Prime sent to the world to relieve them of evil. Tempest was seen as Prime's attendant that was sent down to help his mortal avatar. Those who didn't believe in the gods were just appreciative of the hero.

This was the case that would make or break them. XD had personally given Dream the mission. They were supposed to investigate Fae Industries. If they succeeded, Dream would be declared as the number one hero in L'Manberg. This would give them a pay raise, an apartment in the Tower of Power, and give them enough political power to start reforming hero society. All they needed to do was go in, and deal with whatever Fae Industries was about. It was speculated that they were illegally experimenting on children, and it would be Tempest's job to find those children and evacuate them outside the building. Dream would deal with the head honcho.

Tempest was loaded up with his new gear. With the Spawner weapons, Tempest could go all out in a fight without anyone getting permanently killed. Dream had been hesitant to allow Tempest the weapons, but Tempest have proven his proficiency with them. When he didn't need to worry about what actions caused a fatality, Tempest could take down double the amount of enemies in the same timeframe. Tempest was going to make sure the kids survived while all the workers were sent to Spawn. The jury could figure out if they were guilty. Tempest was merely the means of getting the workers to court on time.

From the information gathered, the children were kept in the small building behind Fae Industries that was connected by a expansive hallway. Tempest planned on sneaking in through the air shafts. Tempest didn't know if Dream would try getting at a higher level or if he would walk right through the door, but it wasn't his problem. Dream had given him the order to find the children that were involved in the horrendous experimentation. That was all Tempest had to do. It wasn't his job to worry about Dream. Tempest had to trust that his hero would finish his own mission while Tempest saved the kids.

Tempest stopped in the air ducts when the smell of blood was sharper than anything else. Tempest peered down through the air duct to see the outline of boxed cells with metal bars. Guards carrying heavy machinery guns walked down the hallway at a slow pace that followed the same path every time. Tempest pulled the vent up into the air duct as quietly as he could manage. The guards didn't hear him, and if they did, they weren't concerned enough to look up. That was a bad move on their part because when Tempest had his chance, he dropped down from the vent, his knee angled into the shoulder of one of the guards. Tempest rolled forwards as the guard hit the ground, throwing a knife into the air to land in the forehead of the nearest guard. The man who had been struck disappeared into a puff of smoke to Spawn. With that guard gone, another one aimed their gun at Tempest. Before he could pull the trigger, Tempest ran forwards. Tommy grabbed the barrel of the gun with hand, and the other hand grabbed the area between the front sight and the receiver. Tempest pushed off the ground, bringing the gun with him as he flipped over the guard. Tempest pushed the gun back so the stock slammed into the back of the guards head. The guard tumbled to the ground. The three guards Tempest had estimated would be in the immediate hallway were out of commission.

Tempest looked around. A few of the cells were empty save for some chains and blood. The last cell Tempest came to had a girl in it, huddled in the corner with her chained wrists pulled into her chest. Tempest stared for a second. Tempest felt something in his throat start constricting like a hanging man's noose. Tempest never knew what he looked like when he was at Pandora's Vault, but he imagined that he looked something like this. Tempest knew that he had once been the experimental child that was pushed to the corner of a dark room that would never be home. The girl was the Tempest's reflection in a grime covered mirror. She had blown wide green eyes that were filled with emotions that Tempest used to experience every day of his life.