Kitiara Club

ROM: SpaceKnight · The Neutralizer · Earth Infiltration

Moonlit Oath

Archive Guest · 6 pages

Comic

Midwestern county fair, under the moon. The oath demands a price.

Night at a small-town county fair, Ferris wheel glowing purple under the moon, Rom stands alone amid crowds of families, his silver armor catching moonlight beside the bright spinning wheel and popcorn stands.
Galador commands. But I—am not a machine.Rom
Establish the fair, Rom's dilemma, and the story's moral tension1 / 6
Rom, imposing, watches a boy in an orange windbreaker holding his mother's hand; Brandy approaches from the side, concern on her face, fair lights flickering in background.
Rom, you look troubled. Is it—another Wraith?Brandy Clark
They say the child is a host. I cannot believe it.Rom
Rom turns to Brandy, his visor reflecting the fair's lights; Brandy stands close, her hand hesitating near his armored arm.
I will not fire on a child. There must be another way.Rom
Human choice: Rom observes the supposed Wraith-child, Brandy approaches2 / 6
Starshine hovers above the fair, pale gold armor glowing, scanning the crowd; Ferris wheel and booths below, people unaware.
Rom, Firefall and I await your signal. The orbiting ship is armed.Starshine
Firefall in gunmetal-red armor stands at the fair’s edge, fists glowing faintly, watching the crowd warily.
Make the call, Rom. I won't see a child harmed.Firefall
Rom's POV: crowds blur as he scans, a faint psychic aura leads to Mrs. Hargrove, the cotton-candy vendor, her eyes glinting yellow.
There—the host. Masked in a mother's face.Rom
Escalation: Starshine and Firefall await, Rom hunts through the crowd, senses the true Wraith3 / 6
Rom raises the Neutralizer, energy gathering, Mrs. Hargrove recoiling, background families confused but unaware of danger.
No more masks, Wraith. Your cruelty ends tonight.Rom
The turn: Rom draws the Neutralizer, choosing to unmask the real Wraith, not the child4 / 6

The Neutralizer unmasks evil, but never without cost.

The Neutralizer fires a searing white-cyan beam, enveloping Mrs. Hargrove; her human guise strips away revealing a crimson, horn-crowned Wraith silhouette, energy flaring; townsfolk scatter in fear, streaks of white and yellow lighting up the purple night.
Foolish knight! The Wraiths will outlive you all!Mrs. Hargrove
Climax: The Neutralizer's flare unmasks the Wraith; chaos as her true form is revealed for an instant5 / 6
Brandy, amid chaos, places a steadying hand on Rom's wrist; Starshine lands in the background, Firefall approaches, fairgoers running past.
You did the right thing, Rom. You saved a child and a town.Brandy Clark
Mercy must be stronger than fear. Even now.Rom

In the shadows of Earth, some promises must be kept alone.

Rom looks up at the sky, Galador's orbital ship glinting faintly above, his armor aglow in moonlight as Brandy stands beside him; the fairground now empty and quiet.
Another night, another vow. The war goes on, but so does hope.Rom
Aftermath: Brandy steadies Rom, Starshine and Firefall approach; Rom affirms his choice6 / 6
Chapter prose
Rom had known the order before it came. His Neutralizer thrummed at his side, cold as law. The voice from Galador, distant but absolute, crackled in his mind: 'The Wraith has taken the form of a child. You must act, Rom.' He stood silent beside the Ferris wheel, silver armor pale against the purple night, moonlight raining from the county fair’s neon towers. Families drifted around him—laughter and popcorn, small-town sweetness. A little boy in an orange windbreaker clung to his mother’s hand, perfect, innocent. Somewhere, a Dire Wraith hid behind a child’s eyes. Rom’s hand hovered over the Neutralizer. He saw Brandy’s silhouette in the crowd—her concern, her trust. He remembered being human, the impossible weight of choices. 'No,' he said aloud, voice like distant thunder. 'I will not condemn the innocent.' Galador’s order sharpened, cold as the void: 'Delay, and we will enact orbital judgment.' He moved, pushing past booths dusted with colored lights, sensing the wrongness. The Wraith’s psychic hum brushed the edges of his mind. He spotted Starshine high above, her armor glowing in the moon’s path, Firefall a shadow at the fair’s edge, both awaiting his decision. Rom’s vision flickered—the child paused near the ring-toss, but the darkness beneath was not him. The Wraith’s scent twisted away, deeper into the maze of games and lights. A flash: the real host, a woman in a vendor’s apron, eyes yellow in the glare of the cotton-candy stand. Rom moved, unholstering the Neutralizer. The fair lights flared as he fired, the beam slicing through illusion. The woman’s image melted—no gore, only the mask of humanity burning away, replaced for a heartbeat by the Wraith’s true, crown-horned silhouette. The townsfolk screamed, running from something they could not comprehend. Brandy reached him in the chaos. Her hand found his armored wrist, grounding him. Starshine descended in a blaze of gold. Firefall’s fist steamed as he stood guard. 'You chose mercy,' Starshine said softly. 'You risked much.' Rom looked to the sky, where Galador’s orbiting ship glinted cold and distant. 'I remember what I was. That must guide what I am.' Moonlight caught the edge of his armor. The night would never forgive, but Brandy’s eyes held something like hope. The fair was safe, for now. The war, endless. But Rom’s choice echoed, silver and strong, through the deep American dark.
Original idea

The Neutralizer path: Galadorian command orders ROM to fire on a Wraith who has taken the body of a child. He refuses, then has to hunt the real host through a county fair while Spaceknights in orbit prepare to do it for him.

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