Interlunary Solus (FNaF DCA Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight: Disaster Management

This chapter physically bullied me I swaear

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Tapping paired with the music box-like sound of Moondrop's movement echoed across the relatively small room. The deity wasn't looking at anything in particular, lost in thought. Their brows were furrowed and their tail lashed from side to side. There was one thought that stood out predominantly in their mind.

This was not how things were supposed to go.

Of course, Moon knew that there were risks associated with going into the human realm for an extended period of time. Even so, they had anticipated getting at least some progress before things went awry. They hadn't even had time to fully prepare for the aftermath in case anything had gone wrong. They were lucky that Annul and Spyril were so close, otherwise, they wouldn't have managed to contact an afterlife therapist. They couldn't trust asking Solar herself, seeing as he was behaving sketchily. They weren't even sure they could trust Spyril, seeing as she worked under Solar, but she was the safest bet.

They needed to speak to Sun, but they couldn't leave while Y/N wasn't in a stable state. Once they woke up, Moon would have more peace of mind and be able to assure Sun everything would be okay... they couldn't tell Sun it wouldn't be okay. That would really break Sun's heart more than it already was. On the other hand, they wouldn't lie to their brother, because that would make it all the worse if things did go awry.

Really, how complicated did life need to be?

A rat-tat-tat on their door pulled them out of their thoughts. They sighed and scooted their chair back, standing up and walking over to open it. With every movement of each joint came a soft lullaby chime, as though a music box were playing some long-forgotten tune that still laid dormant in human memories, a shadow of a time long since past, but ingrained so deeply that it would bring a sensation of calm to wash away the worries of any mere mortal. The Song of the Moon that was once played for the world to hear each and every night...

"Lord Moon," Spyril said with a bow of her head to indicate respect, her tail swishing slowly behind her in an almost hypnotic manner. "They're awake. They've requested to speak to you - granted, they're still in a volatile emotional state, so take that as you will. Arcturus tells me that they're physically stable, but still need to be under medical supervision for the next few days in case of infection."

"Thank you. I appreciate you taking time out of your day for this matter. Are you certain there is nothing you would like in return for your assistance?" Moon had already begun walking to the guest room that Y/N was set up in. Spyril walked by their side, keeping up the pace.

"There is no need. Annul asked for my help, and I am happy to do so. Of course, I'd help if you asked me directly as well. I know how important your work is, and I'd most certainly never stand in the way."

Moon nodded, that made sense. Spyril was very mature, and Moon would venture to say she was around the same maturity level as most of the deities, despite being younger by far. She was a creature of the afterlife - 'demon' was the most commonly used term for those Solar created as assistants, and the vast majority used the title themselves, Spyril included - and despite the horrors she'd seen, she held no resentment against gods or mortals.

Even so, Moon could never be too sure that Solar hadn't been using her as a spy for some reason or another. Her name was Spyril, after all. Through the cracked door of the room, Moon could hear Y/N talking.

"Well, aren't you pretty..? I hope you aren't secretly some man-eating monster that's come to kill me and eat my insides..."

Moon knocked to announce their presence, opening the door fully. Y/N had managed to beckon a black tuxedo cat into their lap and was petting it with their hand. Their only hand. Moon sighed, witnessing suffering never really did get easier.

"That would be Overlord Skittles, Destroyer of Worlds. Don't worry, she doesn't eat people, but she'd kill me in my sleep if I forgot to fill her food dish sufficiently. She's just a normal cat," Moon said, taking the safe bet and starting the conversation by talking about the feline. They'd helped Sun design cats, so of course they were quite fond of the animals.

Y/N went stiff when Moon entered the room. The deity had no doubts that Y/N was looking over them, staring. Now that they weren't in panic mode, they had an opportunity to take in just how inhuman Moon was. Moon had no desire to disturb or frighten them but was also not going to change their form anymore. Y/N knew what they were now; they deserved the complete truth and nothing less... even if that meant seeing something they might not like.

The mortal's eyes lingered on their shadowy, eye-covered second pair of arms, gaze trailing down to the large claws that tipped each finger, before redirecting to their face. They cleared their throat before they spoke.

"Hello, Moon... or, Moondrop, right? God of Death? Not really sure what to call you," Y/N's voice was laced with anxiety as they spoke, no matter how much they tried to keep it calm. It was painfully obvious, but to be expected. Mortals usually had this sort of reaction when they found out they were talking to Death themself. Even the reapers acted that way at first.

"Moon is fine. I assume you'd like to talk about, well... everything that's going on?" The deity leaned against the wall directly across from Y/N, attempting to give them a gentle smile. "Ask away, and I'll answer to the best of my ability."

"What exactly happened to my arm?"

"Sun is the God of Life and the Sun. Being the embodiment of the Sun, they naturally have a very high temperature. Usually, they're fairly good at keeping it under control, but high-stress situations can cause their temperature to skyrocket. Your arm was scorched down to the bone, and the safest decision was to remove the badly afflicted portion. You're currently still under the effects of the numbing agent we used, but it's going to wear off soon. You can discuss the specifics of damage extent and care of the injury with Arcturus - she was a doctor when he was alive."

"When Arcturus was alive..? And who the hell was the person in my room?" Y/N's tone became more irritated in the end, and frankly, Moon didn't blame them.

"My reapers were all once humans. They are serving their time in the afterlife by helping others cross over. It was all by their choice, of course. Speaking of reapers, the person in your room was one of them. Sirius B was assigned to keep an eye on you and Sun while I was away," Moon said. They debated for a moment whether it was 'you and sun', 'sun and you', or either was appropriate and decided, in the end, to leave it be. "It was mostly sticking with Sun, for obvious reasons. From what it told me, it was going to check on you, but forgot to revert to an 'invisible' state, for lack of a better word."

"Spyril told me you aren't supposed to interfere with human lives. How do I word this... Why did you not do that?"

At that, Moon gave a sigh. They were technically correct. Gods usually didn't interfere directly, not anymore. There was once a time that they had, a time when they'd appeared at their festivals, a time when they'd given blessings and gifts. That time had long since past, and as grand as it sounded, the risks of trying to bring it back far outweighed the rewards.

"Humanity is causing a lot of problems, basically. Extinctions are normal, but this rate is far unprecedented. Not only that, but the risk of nuclear war is concerning to Sun and I. It is very difficult to manage mass death like this - not just human, but animal as well. We were going in to collect field data, essentially, and try to find solutions that don't involve eradicating humanity."

"YOU CONSIDER ERADICATING HUMANITY A SOLUTION-?!"