Somebody Stop Them. Chapters 28, 29.

28: Feathers and Fury

Cinder sniffed the air, focusing on the door where Martin had disappeared moments ago. Her feathers shifted through alarmed colors as she realized his scent had completely vanished - not faded, not moved elsewhere, but simply ceased to exist. The implications hit her like a physical blow.

"He's gone," she hissed, her feathers flaring with defensive reds and worried silvers. "They... they gated him somewhere!"

Katherine's emerald eyes narrowed dangerously. "What?"

Vespera's eyes shot open.

Cinder leapt off her seat, her foot already in the air, wings spread wide. Her boot obliterated the door into the Vice Principal's office, sending it flying inward.

"Yes, Miss Nova?" Vice Principal Graves turned away from the window towards the trio as Cinder and others stormed into the office. "Why have you demolished my door?"

"Where is he?" she demanded, her feathers blazing through combative oranges and reds.

"Mr. Glock has been transferred to an appropriate facility," Graves replied calmly.

"WHAT facility?" Cinder's wings flared wide, filling the office with prismatic light.

"Please return to your dormitory." Graves said, shadowy static pulsing across the office.

Lightning crackled behind Cinder as Vespera entered, her black wings trailing electricity. "Wrong answer," the Thunderbird clicked, aiming a hand at the Vice Principal.

The Kitsune secretary was yelling something in the background, but waves of darkness bloomed from Katherine silencing her with a wave of pure dread.

"You know," Graves said. "I was going to take it easy on you, on the account of who your parents are, but clearly you need to learn to control your anger, Miss Nova. Detention for a week for all three of you - you'll start with Auditorium cleanup and then..."

"DO YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT?!" Cinder snarled, wings stretching wide and igniting with brilliant colors repelling the dark static. "WHERE IS MY FIANCEE YOU FUCK?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"

Vice Principal Graves' void-like face rippled with dark static. "Fiancee? I wasn't aware you were engaged, Miss Nova."

"Soul-bonded," Vespera clicked tiredly, electric arcs humming across her figure. "And you have five seconds to tell us where our fiancee is, or I will dismantle your office and this entire school if I have to. Nine. Eight..."

"Mr. Glock has been detained for fraudulent enrollment," Graves stated calmly. "The Stratos Clan Scrutimancer provided evidence that he is, in fact, a mundane human named Martin Kilborne who illegally infiltrated Skyfall Academy."

"And you just believed a Scrut and let him have our fiancee, is that it?" Vespera growled, humming even more dangerously.

"Regardless of his Omnithornian registration, he repeatedly assaulted Prima-Heiress Emerald Stratos, ducking her into Genesis fluid and then punching her in Delving class. Emerald told me that this was an unprovoked attack. Repeated inhalation of Genesis fluid while being alive can result in permanent insanity. That alone is enough to arrest and to expel Mr. Glock."

"That's it. I'm going to kill her," Cinder growled. "Vee, handle Graves. Emerald and I are going to have a little chat."

"Miss No..." Graves began but Cinder already flashed out of the office.

Vespera pulled out her phone while maintaining her electrical field aimed at Graves. Her talons danced across the screen as she dialed.

"SimmiTech Legal Division," she clicked into the phone. "Authorization code Victor-Echo-Echo. I need Attorney Thornheart. Now."

Katherine maintained her deep-field around the office, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. The Kitsune secretary remained frozen in terror, unable to move or speak.

"Ah, Miss Simmi," a smooth voice emerged from the phone. "What can I do for you today?"

"My soul-bonded partner has been illegally detained by Skyfall Academy and transferred to an unknown facility without due process," Vespera stated coldly.

"Soul-bonded partner?" The Bunyip lawyer blinked. "Did you finally link your soul with Zheng Xing Ker?"

"No," Vespera clicked. "I'm breaking off that engagement. My soul-bonded partner is Skyfall Academy student Alexander Glock, who was just illegally detained and transported somewhere by Vice Principal Graves per information provided by the Stratos Clan Scut."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"I see," Attorney Thornheart said carefully. "And you wish to pursue legal action against both Skyfall Academy and the Stratos Clan, my lady?"

"Immediately," Vespera confirmed, electricity crackling around her. "I want every legal resource SimmiTech has available on this case. Now. Get your attorney ass over here ASAP, Thornheart. I NEED to sleep after my delve and I hav' no energy to deal with this shit."

"Miss Summi," Graves began.

Vespera extended her phone pointing it at the principal, her Bunyip lawyer staring sternly at Vice Principal Graves.

"I must inform you that any further actions against my client's interests will result in immediate legal consequences," Attorney Thornheart stated firmly. "The illegal detention and transportation of a soul-bonded partner of a Primaborn Summi Heiress of Thunder without due process is a severe violation of Omnithornian law."

Vice Principal Graves' void-like face rippled with static. "The evidence provided by Scrutimancer Satosh clearly indicates-"

"Evidence obtained by an independent Scrutimancer without proper judicial oversight is inadmissible," Thornheart interrupted. "Furthermore, the soul-bond between Miss Simmi and Mr. Glock establishes his legal status as a protected entity of my honored client Prima-Heiress Vespera Summi. Any attempt to separate soul-bonded partners without proper judicial review constitutes a direct violation of Firstborn Clan Rights Act, Section 72-C," Thornheart stated. "I'm dispatching a legal rep team to Skyfall Academy immediately. Vice Principal Graves, I strongly advise you to reveal Mr. Glock's location before this escalates further."

Graves' void-like face flickered with static interference. "The matter falls under federal jurisdiction due to immigration violations-"

"Immigration status is irrelevant once a Prima soul-bond is established," Thornheart countered. "The bond automatically grants protected status pending formal review."

"If you don't tell me where you sent my fiancee to," Vespera growled. "I have every right to activate my familial Corpse Seeker to head straight for him. And I don't care if it demolishes half of this school and Cradlefall in the process, as you and Skyfall be the one fitting the bill as YOU are the one responsible for his disappearance!"

"Miss Simmi, activating a Corpse Seeker within school grounds would be-" Graves began.

"Within her rights as Prima Heiress who's soul-bonded partner was just abducted without due process," the lawyer said.

"Very well," Graves seemed to deflate, his tentacles coming down. "Your fiancee is in..."

. . .

Emerald had just emerged out of the shower and was now wearing a white robe with the school's logo on it, trying and failing to make herself look presentable. Her scales still looked dull in the mirror, covered in gray patches. She once again grabbed at the magisteel collar on her neck, trying to pry it off. The Shandrian slave collar would not budge, a red pyramid flashing angrily in the center.

She had asked Solace and Quint to help her take the damn collar off, but the two simply ignored her, leaving her alone in the bathroom.

A rainbow blur smashed through the bathroom door, sending splinters flying everywhere. Emerald spun around, her dull scales flaring with alarm as Cinder Nova stormed in, wings blazing with violent reds and oranges.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Cinder snarled, her voice echoing off the black marble tiled walls of the delving class bathroom.

Emerald backed away, her hands raised defensively. "What? Who?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB!" Cinder's wings flared wider, filling the bathroom with brilliant rainbows. "What did your Scrut do with my fiancee, you stupid beerch?! I smelled Satosh in that office!"

"How would I know that?!" Emerald asked. "I just got back from Arx and those Shandian fucks took my my armor and my phone. What are you even on about... why would Satosh take Zheng..."

"Not Zheng," Cinder growled, eyes blazing with murderous intent, Phase-Shifted to the max, body stretched, dark claws out. "Alexander. Your clan's Scrutimancer just took him somewhere. What did you do?"

Emerald's red eyes widened with genuine confusion. "I didn't do anything! I've been trying to wash dried fruit out of my scales for the past..."

A magisteel-reinforced boot sent Emerald flying into a wall, obliterating the sinks and the mirror, black marble shattering. The dragoness yelped, tried and failed to produce dragonfire to defend herself. Dark claws closed around her throat.

"I have had just about enough of your shit, Emmy," Cinder snarled. "Either you tell me where my fiancee is or you die right here."

"Ci! You... I swear I don't know," Emerald choked.

The wall behind her cracked as her head collided with the marble tiles, sending stone shards flying.

"Wrong answer," Cinder growled, her wings blood red. A magisteel-covered fist collided with the face of the dragoness.

Blood sprayed from Emerald's nose as another blow connected. Her scales, already dull from the slave collar's suppression, offered little protection against Cinder's rage-fueled assault.

"Wait!" Emerald gasped, spitting blood. "Please! I really don't know anything! I've been on Arx this whole time!"

"LIAR!" Cinder slammed her against the wall again. "Your clan's Scrutimancer just took him! Tell me where!"

"I don't know!" Emerald wept. "Please! Stop hitting me! I saved you from..."

Her skull cracked with another punch of a magisteel fist, her vision doubling, gray scales atop of her head shattering into gray and red crystalline shards.

"I'd rather you didn't fucking save me you sick fuck," Cinder howled. "For two years I've been doing whatever shit you wanted. Two years, I've been your kobold, your patsy!"

"I... I made you stronger... I helped you..." Emerald wept as ironclad fists pummeled her into the wall.

"You never gave a shit about me! You used me!" Cinder's voice cracked with rage and pain. "You used everyone! Vee, Sol, Io even Quint! All just tools for your sick games!"

Blood dripped from Emerald's shattered snout as she tried to speak. "I... I was protecting..."

"PROTECTING?!" Cinder slammed her against the wall again. "You call what you did to Sarah protection?! What you did to ME protection?!"

"The Skinwalkers..." Emerald choked out. "I saved you from..."

"AND THEN USED IT TO CONTROL ME!" Cinder roared, her wings blazing with violent reds and blacks. "Made me your little servant! Your perfect little song-bird! You made me kill the Skinnie Clan instead of going to the authorities and now there's a fucking OUTSIDER in my soul devouring it from within, turning me into a ghoul! I would have murdered you sooner or later you dumb fuck! Guess it's time now. This is how you die."

"I'll help," a cold voice said from the doorway.

Emerald looked up through blood-streaked vision.

Katherine stood there, her emerald eyes glowing in the blossoming shadows. The temperature in the bathroom dropped dramatically as she stepped inside.

"Need some assistance disposing of the body?" Katherine asked casually, her claws extending. "I know some good spots in the Deep where no one will ever find her bracelet."

Emerald's eyes widened with terror as darkness began creeping up the walls, extinguishing the lights one by one.

"Wait!" Emerald choked out through bloodied lips. "Please! I really don't know where they took him! I... I just asked Satosh to deal with Alexander Glock a week ago! I... I was just trying to protect you, I swear Ci!"

"Your help made everything worse!" Cinder barked. "Alex could be dead now because of your stupid, selfish..."

"I... I can help get him back!" Ember wept. "Please Ci, you're hurting me. If... If you kill me I can't call Satosh, can't do anything to..."

Cinder's claws tightened around Emerald's throat, her feathers shifting through violent reds and blacks. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because," Emerald gasped, "I'm the only one who can call off Satosh. He... he works for my family. Please."

Katherine stepped closer, the shadows around her deepening. "She's telling the truth. Her heart rate indicates genuine fear and desperation."

Cinder's grip loosened slightly, but her eyes remained hard. "Call him. Now."

"I can't," Ember mewled. "The Shandrian Watch took my phone, took everything... I don't remember his number! That was my second phone, I lost the first one during our last show! I don't have any more phones! The only way to contact Satosh is through a specific protocol. A.... an encrypted communication device. I... I don't... maybe you can take me home and... My Hearth mom's there and she can call dad and he can call Satosh and..."

"Taking someone you just beat to near death to their parents' estate sounds like a terrible idea," Katherine pointed out.

"If... if you take this collar off... m-my dragonheart will h-heal me," Emerald stammered. "Then I can wash the b-blood off and..."

Katherine's emerald eyes narrowed. "No chance. That collar stays on. You're too dangerous to us with dragonfire on."

Cinder's grip remained tight on Emerald's throat, her feathers flickering between violent reds and calculating blues. Katherine watched from the shadows, her emerald eyes cold and assessing.

"Prove you can help," Cinder growled. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't crack your stupid head in half right now you dumb beerch!!!"

"I... I already swore to be Alexander Glock's Sixie," Emerald cried. "I... I can tell the school that it was all my fault.... that I lied about him being a human, had S-Satosh fake the report! If he was taken from Skyfall, Graves knows where he is... I... I can talk to him, tell him that..."

Emerald's words hung in the air, trembling like a fragile promise. Cinder's grip slowly loosened.

"You're going to help me get him back," Cinder growled, her voice low and dangerous. "And if you're lying, if he is dead, or hurt because of you, I will personally make sure you never see another sunrise, Emmy."

"We should make her look presentable if we're going back to Graves," Katherine threw a healing potion at Cinder who shoved it into Em's mouth.

Then as the potion took effect, Cinder pushed Emerald's face into the water spraying from the obliterated sink, quickly washing the blood off the dragon girl.

29: Shark vs Man

I leapt out of the way, my body accelerated beyond human speed with all of Lance's hexasuits powered up to the max by stolen cores. The Megalodon-girl's large claws harmlessly slashed against my shoulder, unable to penetrate the overpriced dragonscale jacket from Arx.

As Magdaline flew by me, I punched the side of her face, making her careen and slam into the wall.

The impact cracked the hexamesh wall slightly. Magdaline's red eyes flickered with shock and pain.

"What," she growled, rubbing her face where my dragonscale-glove impacted it. "What the shit? How did you…"

I landed in a fighting stance, hexasuits humming with energy underneath my clothes. "I'm not your typical human snack, Mags. Go on. Try again. I know you want to!”

She lunged again. Razor-sharp claws extended, slicing through the air where my head had been milliseconds earlier. I rolled, using the momentum to kick off the wall and spin behind her, kicking her into the wall on the other side.

Another crack.

"Arghh! What the shit?! Stop moving!" she snarled, her white hair whipping around her like living tendrils.

"The fun of the chase is moving," I said. "Come on, attempt number three!”

Magdaline's red eyes narrowed, her predatory instincts recalibrating. This time, she moved with calculated precision, trying to circle me like a shark.

Her claws sliced through the air, each movement designed to corner me, to cut off potential escape routes. I dodged, using the hexasuits' enhanced speed, feeling the layers of magical protection vibrating with each near-miss.

Her second slash went against the jacket too and slipped right off the impervious fabric.

As she wasn’t moving as fast, I aimed my punch into the center of her large, wide snout this time, sending her flying backwards with a cry.

"Aughhhhwhhh, what the fuck?!" She rubbed her snout, her eyes filling with tears. "How are you punching so hard?! A human fist should have broken by this point!"

"First rule of fighting," I said, stepping back and adjusting my stance. "Never underestimate your opponent."

Magdaline stared at me, her red eyes flickering.

"I don't understand," she said, blinking rapidly. "What the shit is happening? You're supposed to die!"

"Sorry," I said, bouncing in one spot and swaying boxer-style. "Not allowed to die. My two Omnid fiancees would be very upset over such a development."

"Two... fiancees?" Magdaline blinked, her predatory instincts momentarily short-circuited.

"Yep," I said, continuing to bounce on the balls of my feet. "A Thunderbird Prima-Sword and a Quetzalcoatl Hearth-Shield. Both very possessive. They'd be quite cross if I died here."

“You’re full of shit!” Her red eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air and choked.

"They bought me this jacket on Arx," I said. "It's claw-proof if you haven't noticed by now."

"You probably stole that!" She snarled and lunged for me once again.

I spun and punched her snout again from the other side, making her slam into the wall with an angry roar.

"Ow, ow, ow, damn it! Fuck!" She swore.

"Why would you think that I stole my jacket?" I asked.

"Cus dad only brings me criminals," she snarled. "People that won't be missed! Human scum, gangsters, Topaz dealers and murderers!"

"Topaz? Pretty sure that stuff is super magical and leaves a trace you can smell, Miss Shark. Do I smell like a Topaz dealer to you?" I asked her.

"No," she shook her head. "Maybe you're a murderer. How the shit are you moving and punching like that?"

"Magic," I said. "I'm a wizard."

"Magic?!" She spat. "Humans don't have magic!"

“Oh yea?” I spread my fingers and focused on my mana. An electric current began leaping between my gloved fingers, fractal patterns forming into a perfect, tiny, bright, growing spark of lightning, just like Vee taught me.

"Behold!" I grinned, proud of my tiny four-mana-worth lightning spell. "Magic."

Magdaline's red eyes went wide as a small lightning ball fully formed in my hand.

"What the..." she breathed.

I sent the lightning ball directly into her forehead.

The tiny lightning ball exploded impacting against her scales, doing zero damage to her. Her white hair stood on end, every strand crackling with released static electricity.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" She jumped backwards, slamming into the bed. "No. no. no. You're a mixie! Damn it, dad, damn it all!”

"What, got reservations about murdering half-humans?" I asked, tilting my head. "but not full ones? Why the discrimination?"

Magdaline's expression danced from anger to irritation sprinkled with hints of shame. "Dad says humans are... disposable. Easy prey. No magic. No protection."

"And Omnids?" I asked, keeping my distance but maintaining eye contact.

"Omnids fight back," she said quietly. "Omnids have magic. Have a Clan. Have... consequences."

I nodded. "So you prey on the weak. The unprotected."

Her silence was answer enough.

"I..." she let out. "You smell like a human. I want to eat you so bad. I can't... control it. I'm sorry!"

I unzipped my pocket and dug into an extradimensional pouch filled with beast cores to the brim.

I grabbed one and offered it to her. "How about an alternative snack?"

"What," she stared at my glowing pocket with wide eyes. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Behold!" I said. "I'm a professional Arx delver!”

Magdaline stared at the beast core. The glowing, shimmering ball pulsed with raw energy, far more enticing than the human standing before her.

"Here ya go," I said, tossing the core towards her.

Her claws snatched it mid-air, her red eyes dilating as she felt the pure magical essence. She bit into the core and chewed on it with rows of white, sharp teeth magical energy crackling around her mouth.

"Tasty?" I asked.

"Better than eating a person," she mumbled, chewing. "Way better. So much better. Ughhhh…”

Her eyes dimmed, she slipped back onto the bed, chewing on the core, eyes rolling back.

After about thirty seconds of rolling the core in her mouth back and forth, she reopened her eyes and looked back at me. "Umm... those cores... look expensive."

"They are," I nodded. "Probably twenty million O-bux in my left pocket alone."

"Twenty million O-bux?" Magdaline's red eyes widened. "You're... serious? What the fuck... did you rob a bank or something?!"

I smiled.

"You did!" She laughed. "Oh you cheeky bastard. You are a criminal!”

"In my defense, the Arx Bank in question was distributing Topaz," I said. "I put a stop to that. Also, can you smell the intent behind the words or something? You a Scrut like your dad?”

She nodded.

"You're beautiful," I said.

She flashed red.

I laughed.

"What was that?! Didn't you say you have two fiances?" She snared, trying to hide her blushing face in her silver-blue hands.

"Yes," I nodded. "They're a handful. I'm not planning on adding you to my family, I'm just derailing your expectations, testing your reactions. See, Omnid girls are generally bigger, stronger than Omnid guys. Therefore, I figure as a tall, scary, sharp-toothed Meg you probably don't get compliments that often if at all."

"Family?" She exhaled, burying her face in her hands. "Abyss. I'm so sorry. How did my dad eff up so bad?"

"He was working with outdated information," I said. "On Tuesday I was indeed just a lonely human without famiy. Now I'm a wizard with a mage tower, a city, two soul-bonded Omnid fiances, a cadre of mages, a mountain of gold and a Clan."

A red eye stared at me between her hands. "What... How? No, that... that's not possible!"

"What does your nose tell you?" I asked

"That you believe your words," she replied. "That you think that's the truth. Maybe you're just insane... An insane bank robber!”

I grinned, brushing hexcrete dust off my swank jacket. "An insane bank robber with style."

Magdaline's razor-sharp teeth glinted as she laughed. "You're definitely not like the other snacks dad brings me."

"Glad to be high quality entertainment material," I offered her my gloved hand.

Magdaline tentatively reached out and shook it.

"Aight then, I'm taking the top bunk," I said and then took a run and a leap, muscles amplified by the hexasuits. I ran up the wall sideways and slammed into the top bunk, making it wobble.

She looked up at me. "That's definitely not normal human behavior. People don't run up walls."

"Just some parkour amplified with magic," I winked.

"So... what now?" the Megalodon girl asked, watching as I made myself comfortable above her.

"Now?" I stretched out on the top bunk. "I don't know. This is an unexpected development. I should probably call my girls before they demolish Cradlefall looking for me. Tell them that I'm okay."

Magdaline blinked up at me with red eyes.

I tapped my Quartermaster tag. "Voicecast Captain Cinder."

The Voicecast connection crackled to life. Cinder's hologram flashed above it woven from blue and white sparks.

"Sup bae," I said.

"M... Alex! Where are you?!"

Magdaline's eyes went wide.

"I'm currently in detention," I replied cheerfully. "Scrutimancer Satosh decided I needed a timeout."

"DETENTION?!" Cinder's holographic image flashed as her wings spread out angrily. "WHERE?!"

"Lemme pan the view," I said, tapping the tag view control to display the cell and Magdaline.

"What? Who is that girl?!" Cinder barked.

"That's Magdaline Satoshi. Scrutimancer Satosh’s daughter. She's my new roommate," I said cheerfully.

"YOUR WHAT?!" Cinder barked.

"Roommate," I repeated. "I'm being illegally detained in the Cradlefoot Youth Rehabilitation Facility. Funny. I don't think I've ever broken into a prison before. First time for everything, I guess."

"What do you mean ILLEGALLY DETAINED?!" Cinder snarled. 

"Exactly what it sounds like," I said cheerfully. "Satosh, the Scrutimancer shark-man, brought me to his daughter's rehabilitation facility so she could eat me."

Magdaline's red eyes darted between me and the holographic Cinder, her razor-sharp teeth glinting in a nervous smile.

"WHAT? EAT YOU?!" Cinder's fiery glare turned to Magdaline.

"She eats people," I nodded. "Think it's a condition."

"Listen here, you beerch, if a single hair falls off my... soul-bonded fiancee, I will personally take you apart, inch by inch," Cinder hissed dangerously.

Magdaline's red eyes went wide. She looked up at me, then back at the holographic Cinder, her razor-sharp teeth clicking nervously.

"I...am not going to eat your fiancee," she stammered. "Not anymore."

"NOT ANYMORE?!" Cinder's holographic wings erupted in colors I couldn't see through the blue and white sparks. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOT ANYMORE'?!"

I grinned and leaned back on the top bunk. "Ci, relax. Magdaline and I have reached an understanding. I gave her a beast core to chew on. She's cool now. If she keeps it up, she can join our clan as a Sixie."

"JOIN OUR CLAN?!" Cinder snared. "You want a people-eating... Omnid to join our Clan?! Are you out of your mind?!"

Magdalene stared at me with a confused expression sprinkled with what might have been hope. "Your... clan?"

"We collect quirky people," I shrugged. "I collected Ci, then Kat, then Io, then Vee. Why not you, Miss Shark?"

"Because she tried to EAT YOU!" Cinder's hologram vibrated with pure outrage.

"Past tense," I said cheerfully. "She's reformed. Or reforming. Potential recruit."

"Ughhh," Kat’s face appeared on the projection. "So much yelling. Do you need rescue? I can pull Possy from the deep and Vee can send her after you."

"Nah," I said. "This is fine. Going to spend the day here, I think. See if I can start a prison riot. Maybe take over this place. I dunno. I'm feeling inspired. Never been imprisoned before!”

Katherine squinted at me. “Riiiiight. You do you.”

"A prison riot?!" Cinder yelled, shoving Katherine aside. "Do not start any riots!"

"Come on, starting a prison riot is totally on my bucket list!" I protested.

"NO RIOTS!" Cinder growled.

Magdaline watched our interaction with utter bewilderment. "Is... this normal?" she whispered to me.

"Completely," I whispered back. "Welcome to ‘I love you’ Clan dynamics."

"I can HEAR you!" Cinder's hologram crackled.

"Good!" I called back. "Means communication lines are working! Don't attempt to rescue me."

"Why not?!" Both Katherine and Cinder demanded.

"I want to experience prison life," I said.

"Ughhhh," Cinder groaned. "Why?"

"The longer I stay here the more perks I can shake out of Skyfall for my illegal imprisonment," I said. "Duh. Maybe I can get us a big loft on campus for our Clan! Stay positive and think about the loft, guys!”

"A loft?" Cinder pursed her lips. "What kind of loft?"

"A big one," I grinned. "With a kitchen where you can practice Heart-wife-ness by making me sandwiches. Maybe near the coliseum, in one of the clock towers. Good views, Victorian clockwork gears for cracking walnuts, Art Nouveau bathrooms, Gothic revival bedrooms. Top tier stuff reserved for kids of big donors.”

Magdaline watched our interaction like someone observing an alien species, her red eyes darting between me and the holographic Cinder.

"Fine," Cinder growled. "But NO STARTING RIOTS! And NO GETTING EATEN."

"Promise," I said, crossing my heart dramatically.

"I'll… call you periodically to make sure you're alive," she warned.

"Love you too, bae," I blew a kiss to the hologram. "Send Vee my kisses and hugs."

Cinder's hologram vanished with an exasperated huff.

I turned to Magdaline, who was still staring at me with wide shark-eyes. "So," I said casually, "Do you have an extra orange jumpsuit?"

Magdaline blinked. "Why?"

"An orange jumpsuit," I repeated. "Can't start a proper prison riot in my North Acadia designer jacket, can I?"

She stared at me for a long moment, then burst out laughing once again. A sharp bark that was somehow also genuine. In a minute her laughter collapsed into soft giggles, the beast core crunching against her teeth.

"Didn't you promise your girl not to start any riots?" She asked, digging out an extra orange uniform from a small metal locker. She threw her uniform up at me.

I caught the jumpsuit mid-air. "You can start the riot. I can… rate it out of ten as goody Clan leader," I winked. "Besides, Cindy didn't say anything about... creative reorganization of institutional infrastructure."

"And what exactly does 'creative reorganization' entail?"

"Oh, you know," I said, pulling on the large orange jumpsuit over my designer jacket and pants. "Just a few minor adjustments to the facility's operational protocols. Mostly, I want to investigate things and document them. Potentially expose some systemic issues."

"Systemic issues?" she raised an eyebrow.

"For example, why a rehabilitation facility allows predatory behavior," I explained, adjusting the jumpsuit. "Like eating people. Shouldn't you be at lunch? Why are you in your cell?"

Magdaline lowered her eyes.

"Because I can't control my impulses," she let out. "Especially when they serve blood pudding, raw meat… or anything with blood in it. It drives me up the wall, makes me attack the others. I eat alone in my cell.”

I nodded, watching her carefully. "So they isolate you instead of actually helping you manage your condition with some beast cores?"

“Beast cores are… expensive as shit and dad doesn’t make that much.” She sighed, surprise flickering in her red eyes. "You... actually want to understand?"

"Absolutely," I said. "Understanding is the first step to solving a problem. Tell me about these impulses. When did they start?"

Magdaline’s hand brushed through her white mop of a mane. "Since I was seven. I'd smell something - a small animal, sometimes another kid - and suddenly I'd just... want to consume it. Not out of hunger. Out of some weird compulsion. Smelling blood makes it worse... so much worse. I hate it. So very much. Dad says it will pass when I get older."

"Why'd you eat three Omnids at Skyisle?"

"They bullied me," Magdaline growled. "Constantly. Called me defective. Said I'd never be a proper Omnid. That I was a broken loser."

I nodded.

"They cornered me last semester," she continued, her red eyes growing distant, "something inside me just... snapped. I couldn't control it anymore. The more they mocked me, the more I wanted to prove them wrong. To show them I was strong, capable."

"By consuming them," I said neutrally.

She nodded, shame flickering across her features. "Dad says predatory behavior is natural. That the weak should be eliminated, devoured. One of the teens had a sword that he was waving at my face, so I kicked it and the sword went across one of their arms. Then the blood... It made me go berserk, lose control. By the time I came to, I had killed them and was devouring their innards. A bunch of grade eight students who came to apply to the Academy and were being shown the gardens… were watching me and taking photos. So they sent me here."

She slipped onto her bunk.

"Killing a student on campus isn't that big a deal," I shrugged. "Omnids kill each other all the time on campus. Like pretty sure Ci kicked someone through a wall 'cus they were being annoying. I guess you gave the academy bad social rep or something. How long did they put you in juvie for?"

"Six months," she sighed. "Those three pricks must have pulled some strings. Dad's been trying to cut it down to a few weeks since he works here as a night shift guard on top of his Scrutimancer job to pay for my overpriced education at Skyfall. I think he made a deal with the Stratos Clan or some other family to dispose of... human trash.”

"Charming family business," I commented dryly.

"He said that Skyfall delving is supposed to help me grow my heart core, control my impulses," she said with a sniff-growl. "Learn to hunt 'properly'. Said he had the same problem when he was young."

"By eating people who can't fight back," I said. "Sounds like excellent rehabilitation."

"He beat the impulse by murdering lots of beasts on Arx and levelling up," she breathed out. "But I can't do that. Nobody will take me on a team. Nobody even wants to take me on as a Sixie after I kept snapping at people in grade nine at the cafeteria. They all know that I go mental when I sniff blood. I don't understand why you'd want me on your team... in your Clan... Especially after I almost ate you like a big idiot."

I leaned forward, my eyes locking with her red ones. "Because everyone deserves a chance. Especially a person who wants to change, to overcome their Fractal Engine heart's alignment.”

Magdaline blinked, clearly caught off guard. 

"Your predatory instincts aren't a curse," I explained. "They're a skill. Untapped potential. Right now, they're uncontrolled. But with the right training, the right environment? You could be incredible. I could use a Scrut on my team with a good nose.”

"You... actually want to help me?" she asked.

"Absolutely," I nodded. "My clan is full of misfits. What's another one?"

Magdaline stared at me, her red eyes wide with disbelief. "You're completely, truly serious? You want me in your clan?"

"Yep," I nodded.

"Why? Come on, I smell another reason there."

"It'll really piss off your dad," I said.

“Ha!” Magdaline burst out laughing once again. "So, you want to recruit me just to annoy my father?"

"Yep. He annoyed me by derailing my schedule. That and your skills," I said. "They interest me."

"Interest you... how?" She asked with a look of suspicion.

"You can teach me how to smell lies, how to determine intent behind words," I said. "How to shark up or whatever. Whatever skills you have, I want them."

"But you're..."

"I'm a wizard," I said. "If you donate some of your hair or placoid scales, I can put it into a shake, drink it and…

“Omnids can’t just gain powers from other Omnids by eating them!” Magdalene shook her head. “I bit plenty of Omnids, I would know.”

“Not an Omnid,” I pointed out. “A human wizard.”

“Like… on Arx?” She asked.

“No, not like anywhere else,” I said. “I don’t have a heart core, so eating Omnid strata doesn’t cause rejection. I can't even level up properly."

“Hrm,” she chewed on the beast core thoughtfully. “Fine. Prove it!”

Before I could say anything else, she sliced her wrist with a sharp claw, blood pouring into her somewhat bent, black coffee up. The cut sealed itself in about twenty five seconds.

“Here,” she handed me the cup of blood-coffee. “Drink up.”

“Your own blood doesn’t make you go crazy?” I asked.

“Nah,” she said. “Plus, still chewing the core you gave me. It’s pretty potent, definitely waaaaaay above what dad can afford, so I reckon it's gonna last me a while. Go on, Mr. Wizard. Impress me. Show me that you can steal my innate Megalodon skills.”

I shrugged and brought the cup to my lips.