Luna stepped into Elowen's house, her heart hammering like a drum. The place looked normal enough - comfy chairs, shelves full of books, and a faint smell of lavender in the air.
But something felt... off. Like the walls were watching them.
Elowen led them to a big room with a round table in the middle. "Please, sit," she said, her voice smooth as silk. Luna couldn't help but stare at the woman's tattoos.
They moved like little rivers across her skin, forming shapes Luna had never seen before.
As everyone settled around the table, Declan cleared his throat. "Mom, we need to talk about-"
"About how you've been hiding from me for years?" Elowen cut in, her green eyes flashing. "Or about how you've brought a group of misfits to my doorstep, including an untrained ink mage who's practically glowing with power?"
Luna felt her cheeks get hot. She didn't like being talked about like she wasn't there.
"Hey now," Bear rumbled, his big frame making the chair creak. "Little Inky here's got more guts than most folks I know. She don't need no fancy training to kick butt."
Elowen's eyebrow went up. "Is that so? Well then, Luna, why don't you show me what you can do?"
Luna hesitated, looking at Declan. He gave her a small nod, his curls bouncing slightly. Taking a deep breath, Luna held out her arm. She focused on the tattoo of a butterfly, willing it to come to life.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the ink began to move. The butterfly's wings twitched, then fluttered.
With a little gasp of effort from Luna, it peeled itself off her skin and took flight, circling the room in a dance of black and white.
"Impressive," Elowen murmured, her eyes following the butterfly. "But can you control it?"
Luna bit her lip, concentrating. She imagined the butterfly landing on Elowen's outstretched hand. To her surprise, it obeyed, settling gently on the woman's palm.
Elowen studied the inky creature, her face unreadable. Then, without warning, she closed her fist. The butterfly exploded into a puff of black mist.
"Hey!" Luna cried out, jumping to her feet. She felt a surge of anger, mixed with a strange sense of loss.
"Control, Luna," Elowen said calmly. "It's not enough to create. You must be able to protect your creations... and destroy them when necessary."
Declan stood up too, putting a hand on Luna's shoulder. The warmth of his touch sent a little tingle down her spine. "That's enough, Mom," he said firmly. "We didn't come here for lessons. We need information."
Elowen's lips curved into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh? And what makes you think I have the information you seek?"
"Because you taught Vivian," Zoe piped up, her purple hair seeming to bristle. "And now she's after Luna. We need to know why."
A flicker of... something passed over Elowen's face. Surprise? Worry? Luna couldn't tell.
"Vivian," Elowen said softly. "Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Talented girl. Ambitious. Perhaps too ambitious."
"She tried to kill us," Fiona said bluntly, her spiky red hair matching her fiery tone. "Doesn't seem like just ambition to me."
Elowen sighed, suddenly looking tired. "Vivian always wanted more power. She believed that by... harvesting the magic of other ink mages, she could become unstoppable."
Luna felt a chill run down her spine. "Harvesting? What does that mean?"
"It means," Declan said grimly, "that she wants to steal your power, Luna. Maybe even your life."
The room fell silent. Luna felt like she might be sick. Zoe reached over and squeezed her hand, offering silent support.
"But why me?" Luna asked, her voice small. "I'm nobody special."
Elowen fixed her with those intense green eyes. "Oh, but you are, my dear. Your power... it's unlike anything I've seen before. You don't just control the ink. You create with it. Heal with it. It's as if the very essence of ink magic flows through your veins."
Luna's head was spinning. This was all too much. She thought back to that day in the tattoo parlor, when her whole world had changed. Had her life been leading to this moment all along?
Suddenly, Charlie's gadgets started beeping like crazy. "Uh, guys?" he said, his fingers flying over a tablet. "We've got company. Big company."
Malik closed his eyes, his tribal tattoos swirling on his arms. "I sense them too. Dark energies. Many of them."
Elowen stood up, her tattoos seeming to writhe with agitation. "The Collectors," she hissed. "They must have tracked you here."
"But how?" Iris asked, her mismatched eyes wide with worry. "We were careful!"
Luna's stomach dropped as realization hit her. "The Ink Hound," she whispered. "It followed us. I... I led them right to us."
Declan grabbed her hand, his touch sending a jolt through her. "It's not your fault, Luna. You couldn't have known."
Elowen moved to the window, peeking out through the curtains. "There's no time for blame. We need to leave. Now."
"Leave?" Luna echoed. "But we just got here! We still don't know how to stop Vivian!"
Elowen turned to her, a strange light in her eyes. "There is a way. An ancient ritual that could bind Vivian's powers. But it requires a sacrifice."
"What kind of sacrifice?" Declan asked, his voice tight.
Before Elowen could answer, the front door exploded inward with a deafening crash. Dark figures poured into the house, their eyes glowing an eerie red.
"Protect Luna!" Declan shouted, electricity crackling around his fists.
The room erupted into chaos. Fiona whipped out a pen that transformed into a glowing sword. Malik's tattoos peeled off his skin, forming shadowy warriors. Iris threw up a shimmering barrier of symbols.
Luna stood frozen, overwhelmed by the sudden violence. Then she felt a tug on her arm. It was Elowen, pulling her towards a hidden door in the back of the room.
"Wait!" Luna cried out. "We can't leave them!"
"There's no time," Elowen insisted. "You're the one they want. We need to complete the ritual before Vivian finds you."
Luna looked back at her friends fighting desperately against the Collectors. Her eyes met Declan's across the room. He nodded, a silent understanding passing between them.
"Go!" he yelled, blasting a Collector with a bolt of lightning. "We'll hold them off!"
Tears stinging her eyes, Luna allowed Elowen to pull her through the secret door. As it closed behind them, she heard Bear's booming voice: "Hey, you ink-sucking creeps! Come get a piece of the Bear!"
Elowen led Luna down a narrow staircase into what looked like an underground library. Books and scrolls lined the walls, and strange symbols were carved into the floor.
"What is this place?" Luna asked, breathless.
"The heart of ink magic," Elowen replied, moving to a pedestal in the center of the room. On it sat an ancient-looking book, its cover made of what looked like... skin?
Luna's stomach churned. "Is that...?"
"The first spellbook ever created by an ink mage," Elowen said reverently. "And the key to stopping Vivian."
She opened the book, its pages crackling with age. "The ritual requires the blood of two ink mages," she explained. "One to channel the power, and one to... direct it."
Luna's eyes widened as understanding dawned. "You mean..."
Elowen nodded grimly. "Yes, Luna. To save your friends - to save the world from Vivian's mad quest for power - one of us must die."
The sounds of battle echoed from above, growing louder. They were running out of time.
Luna looked at the book, then at Elowen, her mind racing. There had to be another way. She thought of Declan, of her friends fighting for her. She thought of all the people Vivian might hurt if she wasn't stopped.
Taking a deep breath, Luna held out her arm. "Okay," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "Let's do it."
Elowen's eyes widened in surprise. Then she smiled, a genuine warmth in her expression for the first time. "You're braver than I gave you credit for, Luna Hawkins. Your friends are lucky to have you."
As Elowen began to chant in a language Luna didn't understand, the symbols on the floor started to glow. Luna felt her tattoos burning, the ink seeming to boil under her skin.
Just as Elowen raised a wickedly sharp knife, the ceiling above them exploded. Debris rained down, and through the dust and smoke, a figure descended.
Vivian.
Her eyes blazed with dark fire, and ink swirled around her like a living shadow. "Well, well," she purred. "Isn't this cozy? A family reunion, and I wasn't invited?"
Luna's heart raced in her chest. She looked from Vivian to Elowen, then to the glowing book between them.
The fate of everything she cared about hung in the balance. And the choice of who would make the ultimate sacrifice... was hers.