Somebody Stop Them. Chapters: 15-16.

Chapter 15: Reflections

“Ah," Cedez glanced behind herself, noticing that her companions were looking at her with concerned expressions. "Allow me to introduce my besties, I'm sure they'll appreciate ya as much as I do."

She waved her friends over.

The dragoness and the man in gray robes approached our table. 

"This is Lord David," Cedez gestured to the human. "And his... girlfriend, Remicra."

Up close, I could see that Remicra's scales slowly shifted through a wave of colors almost like a mood ring. She flushed a brilliant pink-orange at being called "girlfriend," her tail curling around her leg self-consciously.

“This is Sir Christophorus and his… fiancees, Lady Voltara and Castabriella,” Cedez waved a gloved hand at us.

I smiled at the couple in front of me. "Quite the stunning lady you have there, Lord David. Seems like we share similar tastes in dragons who can change colors at will."

Lord David's hand found that of his dragon girl. “I don't quite understand your joke, I'm afraid,” he said. “Are your companions not human?”

"My Sovereign," I turned to Cedez. "I see that you're blocking out sound. Do you mind muting the view too?"

"Sure," she nodded. With a subtle gesture, shadows bloomed around our table, creating a dark, intimate bubble that seemed to bend light and sound away from other patrons.

"Perfect," I grinned. Then I turned to Cinder and Vespera. "Ladies, would you care to reveal your true forms for a moment?"

Vee nodded, grabbing onto Cinder to manipulate her wings.

Vespera's human form immediately began to shimmer and shift. Her pale skin erupted into dark and white feathers, magisteel talons replacing delicate human fingers. Her gothic dress and hat melted away, replaced by her magisteel armor and natural Thunderbird physique - sleek black and white wings, sharp gray eyes glowing from within with gold sparks.

Cinder's transformation was even more dramatic. Her human form dissolved like watercolor paint, red hair melting away to reveal an explosion of rainbow feathers. Her blue summer dress shimmered and vanished, replaced by her delving outfit. Her wings unfurled - a stunning array of silver, blue, and rainbow-edged feathers that seemed to catch and refract light in impossible, mind-melting ways.

Both of them suddenly loomed over me in their full Omnid glory.

“Holy shit,” Lord David's eyes went wide. “Wings.”

Remicra's scales cycled through a rapid succession of shocked orange-red-violet colors. Cedez’s jaw fell open.

“Wowza,” the Sovereign-Sentinel of Shandria said. “Now this, I absolutely did not expect.”

"Yeah," David let out. "That's definitely not something you see every day."

"What are you?!" Remicra sputtered, staring with wide violet-gold eyes at Cinder’s wings.

"Interdimensional tourists," I repeated cheerfully. "From Earth."

"Earth?" David choked.

"Oh, you know Earth?" I asked.

He nodded, unable to draw his eyes away from Cinder and Vespera. "That's where… I'm from too."

"You're from Earth?" I leaned forward. "Are you a tourist too?"

"No," he sighed. "I was summoned to Arx by a bald, fat God-Emperor man amongst a million others. Ah, I might be getting excited over nothing. I guess you're from one of the other bazillion alternative Earths, judging by how you're a fox and your companions are some kind of..."

"Cryptids," I explained. "They're classified by humans as cryptids. A Quetzalcoatl and a Thunderbird."

Vespera grinned with her toothy black and white beak, leaning onto my shoulder like a shark, sparkling lightning dancing along her feathery mane and making my hair stand up with static electricity.

"I see," David said, swallowing nervously, clearly intimidated by how tall and dangerous looking my companions were. A typical reaction for a human from Earth who’s never seen an Omnid apex predator. 

Cedez and Remicra appeared somewhat spooked too.

Hrm, maybe this was a bit too much. I totally forgot how screwy Cinder’s wings and Vespera’s lightning looked at first, got used to them over time. Oh well.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I glanced at my stolen smartwatch. "Alas, we have breakfast to nom and much to do today. Why don't we exchange Voicecast so that we can start to slowly work on our joint mission of taking over Shandria from above and below?"

"Uh, sure," Lord David nodded.

We exchanged bracelet taps. Vespera and Cinder Phase-Shifted into their human disguises once again.

"My right hand man, Shash," I waved at Shash. "Will work with you on Arx to fulfill our part of the bargain as we'll be departing shortly back to our homeworld and likely won't be back for a while.”

“What bargain?” Remicra asked.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Cedez grinned at her.

“Uh-huh,” Remicra crossed her arms, her bothered expression eerily reminding me of Cinder.

“How long will you be gone, Lord Protector?” Cedez turned back to me.

“Maybe a year and a half,” I shrugged. “It depends. I’m currently operating on a borrowed gate, going to try to make my own. Don’t worry though, I’ll set as much as possible in motion before we depart. In due time, the institutions I’m setting up in Undertown will be at your disposal, my Sovereign.”

David stared with a ‘what’ look at Cedez. She simply patted his head.

“Aw, how nice of you, darling,” Cedez purred, turning back to me, sending me a toothy smile.

Shash exchanged Voicecast ring taps with the trio. Dave was still staring at Cedez with a deeply confused look. The Shadow-fox grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him and Remicra away to their own table, whispering furiously.

Hyrei arrived with our breakfast. Four massive plates of Thundersnarg steak, Wyvern bacon, eggs, and an assortment of colorful side dishes landed on our table with a breeze of magically-focused wind.

"Enjoy your meal," the maid said with a bow, fluttering away.

We did. 

Occasionally, I glanced at Cedez, who was enjoying her own breakfast with her companions, pawing at both of them like she owned them. Something about her and Dave made me trust them. It was a weird, inexplicable feeling, like meeting a long lost sister and brother that I never knew.

I wanted to spend more time with the odd trio, but there were a million things to do before our departure.

“Hey, Vee, what do you know about Corpse Seekers?” I asked the Thunderbird. 

“They’re basically oversized Kitlix,” she replied. “Liquid crystal crystalline strata wrapped in hexmesh immovable armor plates, living magic algorithms. They’re bred by Seeker-Storm Omnicorp and fused with a bunch of beast cores and other extremely dangerous shit like dragon hearts. Living tanks. Can punch through almost anything. Move like a millipede-cat. Can reach speeds of 280 Km/hr. Can be permanently assigned to work with an operator as a familiar, and carry stuff or even a few Omnids inside them. Baller sense of magic. Very focused on goals. Not very smart. Generally used for retrieving Lazarus bracelets. Waaaay more expensive to run than the Strand-Gliders, eat a shit-ton of crystallized mana and beast cores.”

“Can you drive one?” I asked her.

“Ye,” she nodded. “My Clan owns a small one. I rode atop it a few times. Most Omnids wouldn’t be able to drive or reshape a Corpse Seeker as needed, but they respond pretty well to electrical impulses.”

“You only rode one?”

“I mean they’re hell-a-expensive,” she shrugged. “The ones operated by Omnid Institutions and Skyfall Academy are pretty big. Private ones are smaller, about the size of two lions.”

“I see,” I nodded. “Thanks for the info.”

“Anytime, foxy,” she smiled.

As we finished our meal, I noticed Cinder staring past me at the chasm behind us.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"No," she sighed. "Just... thinking."

Vespera leaned closer to her. "About?"

"Her… song," Cinder said softly, glancing in the direction of Cedez. "About love surviving even when everything else falls apart."

I reached out and squeezed her hand. Vespera, soft, warm human hands intertwined with both of ours.

"Do you sense it too?" I asked her, the Understanding suddenly arriving at an answer as to what I was feeling.

"What?"

"Them," I pointed at Cedez, Dave and Remicra. "I think that they're... us."

"What do you mean, 'they’re us'?" Cinder sputtered.

"Alternative versions. Us but... in this dimension, on Arx," I explained. "Like how Katherine's book had characters that seem to mirror us. I feel this… inexplicable.... something when I look at them. Connection.”

“What kind of a connection?” Ci asked.

“Look how happy they are,” I pointed out. “Just like us."

Vespera tilted her head, her fingers drumming on her chin thoughtfully. "Alternative versions... hmmm. Interesting theory. But why would they be us?"

"Because," I said, watching Dave, Remicra and Cedez interact, "look at them. A human and a rainbow-dragon, both seemingly out of place yet finding each other. Cedez protecting them both, acting as a kind of... cheeky guardian. Sound familiar?"

"Maybe," Cinder's feathers shifted through skeptical orange-violets.

"It's weird," I said. "On one hand I want to talk to them. On the other, I just want to see them smile. And on the third hand, I'm sort of afraid of my soul imploding if I touch David's hand. Maybe it’s his magic skill or whatever, but he’s like this… invisible storm of stars.”

"Third hand? Since when do you have three hands?" Ci commented.

I laughed. "Metaphorical third hand, obviously."

“Duh,” Vee added.

Cinder rolled her eyes, her feathers shifting through amused purples. "You're such dorks."

"Your dorks," I winked.

"Unfortunately," she muttered, but her hand kneaded mine affectionately.

Shash flickered for a second. "M'lord, our people secured a large, capable group of adventurers for whatever jobs you may require." His voice sounded deep in my ear, almost like he was speaking from the inside of my skull.

"Excellent," I said. "Break them into the following groups..."

. . .

After breakfast, the girls dragged me into a fanciful clothing shop featuring an elaborate Art Nouveau green and gold front and the “Silenerra’s Spellbound Styles” sign. Inside, I was made to stand in front of a wall-to-wall lavish mirror as seamstress Silenerra had her Kitlix run circles around me.

"What am I being measured for?" I asked, glancing at Vespera and Cinder, who were huddled together with the seamstress, whispering and occasionally sending mischievous glances my way.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Vee said, handing a bag with coins to the seamstress and showing her something on her phone.

Lady Silenerra nodded enthusiastically.

"So," I asked Cinder, as we walked out of the outfit shop, "what should I get for your family? Any ideas?"

"I... don't know," She muttered with a wince. "Ugh. I... haven't really talked to them properly in ages."

"Come on. What do your parents like in general?" I asked. "I'm thinking of practical gifts that show thoughtfulness."

“Ughhh.” Cinder looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Dad likes magic artifacts, I guess. Collectible long distance weapons and such for when he goes out to murder dragons and stuff during his occasional savanna trips to Arx with his Justice Dept friends. Mom appreciates cooking tools."

Vespera's talons sparked with excitement. "Ooh! We passed a magical weapons shop earlier! And there's a kitchen supply store that looked fancy!"

"What about your little sis and big bro?" I elbowed the Quetzi.

Cinder's feathers shifted through uncertain colors. "Let me think.... I recall Lenny bugging my parents for an extra-rare pet from Arx. And Lance? He's into delving gear."

"Ah, I know!" I said. "We'll bring Lenny one of the clear-crystal Kitlix from our tower. That's a super rare critter! Let's go into the weapons and delving shop first, I gotta replace Lance's katana and get him some other cool stuff as thanks!"

. . .

With a multitude of presents bought for everyone shoved into my dimensional bag, Vespera dragged me back into the clothing shop.

"Ta-daaa!" She declared with a flourish as seamstress Silenerra brought out a leather jacket. Vespera rapidly pulled it on me.

"What?" I asked.

"You look like an absolute knobfold in Lance's oversized jacket. This is dragonhide scales middle lining," Vespera chattered, dragging me to the wall mirrors. "Highest-tier shit that doesn't eat the user's mana. Inner lining’s made from Xellaricon-Strand spider webs. Outer black leather is from Nitoroc panther's hide. Basically extra protec’ for my pink fox.”

“Got you a set of pants n’ gloves too,” she said. “Same reinforced stuff.”

“You didn’t have you,” I began.

“No, no,” she said. “I legit felt verrrry bad when that arrow went through your lung. That was my fault. This is me making it up to you. This stuff is marketed as impervious to magisteel arrows.”

I looked at myself in the wall mirrors. The back of the jacket featured swirling jagged rose patterns and the flag of… the North Acadia Znetc reservation. A Native Acadian rock formation resembling an igloo with silver stars on both sides and a silver, triple-peak mountain rising up above it.

‘North Acadia’ was embossed below the flag in a lavish font.

“So,” Cinder asked, with a shy look. “What do you think? Vee n’ I split the bill for it as a present for you.”

The jacket felt warm, incredibly soft, light and sturdy. The Nitorox dark leather sparkled subtly with emerald waves, catching light in ways that made the fabric seem alive. Silver threads woven through the North Acadian design glinted.

"I..." Let out, letting go of Alexander Gromov and Christophorus Elijah, leaving only Martin there. “Wow. Thank you guys.”

Cinder blushed, smiling back at me.

“I think it's... perfect,” I breathed out, staring at the flag. “It… Reminds me of home. Of Mom. Now that I think about it, I don't think that anyone's gotten me a present since I... lost her. Uncle George wasn’t big on gifts.”

Cinder hugged me tightly, wrapping me tight in her human embrace. So did Vee. I felt myself cracking like an eggshell, sparks dancing at the edges of my eyes.

"Damn it," I said, blinking tears away. "I... I think that I… love you guys. Both of you. Really. It's probably too early for such dramatic declarations, but that song Cedez sang about the dungeon and the adventurer... It struck a nerve with me too. Vee is right, I'm constantly walking on the blade of a knife and I… I just want to express how happy I’ve been since I found you."

"More like crashed into us," Cinder’s ocean-blue eyes searched mine.

"Like a train without breaks," Vespera rubbed her face against mine, her skin feeling both soft and electric at the same time. "Our lovely, chaotic, perfectly orchestrated, wild disaster."

I looked between them - Vespera's mischievous stormy-cloud grays, Cinder's deep ocean-blues. Two girls so fundamentally different, yet bound together by something inexplicable. By me. By us. Maybe by something beyond us, if we also were somehow together on Arx as a fox, dragon and human.

"I never thought I'd find this," I said, my voice cracking. "After losing Mom, after everything with the Frontenachii Clan... I thought I was just going to be running forever. Never stopping. Plotting. Executing. But never truly living, never letting the Martin part of me take the wheel or push on the breaks. Not even for a moment… It finally feels like I'm standing still now... like I actually belong somewhere. Thank you.”

Cinder reached out and kissed me. Her kiss was soft, tentative, filled with a vulnerability that her Quetzi form rarely showed. Unlike Vee who dove into a relationship headfirst, Ci was quite shy in every aspect of a relationship and even more so as a human. It was clear that she’s had no experience with expressing her feelings, especially since the Lake Eerie incident that destroyed her emotional balance and trust.

Vespera's hands traced electricity across my cheek, her kiss following when Cinder finally let go of me. Where Cinder's kiss was a soft whisper like the sound of a rushing brook, Vespera's was an intense thunderbolt, the rumbling sound of thunder that rushed across my entire body, making my hair stand on end. 

[You're not alone anymore,] Vespera's electric whisper-thoughts hiss-danced in my head. [Not ever again. Mine. My shiny human. My hope. My key to my freedom.]

The seamstress discreetly looked away, smiling at her Kitlix from behind her counter, satisfied that our group was happy with the procured outfit she had modified with the addition of the North Acadian flag.

Vespera dragged me out of the shop and shoved me into a wall, burying me in kisses.

Cinder grabbed Vespera's shoulder. "Hey! Stop molesting our... boyfriend in public!"

"Can't stop won't stop," Vespera breathed out, panting. "Too precious. Too many feels."

"Weren't we supposed to...." Cinder began.

"I know, I know," Vee let out, still pressed against me. "It's just so different, okay?"

"What's different?" Ci asked.

"Being in a… relationship where both partners actually give a damn. Being human. Feeling everything so... intensely."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, catching my breath.

"Ye. The ‘current’ sensations are super different too," she nodded. "Everything is... soft. Unpredictable. Messy. Flowy. Squishyyyy... Eeeee."

"Okay, hornknob," Cinder commented. "Should we go get a room?"

"Ughhh, stop teasing meeeeee," Vespera waved at Cinder. "Yes, I obviously would like a room to melt in. But... our husbando has big plans, yes? Clan work more... More important than..." She bit her lower lip. "Having fun. Hissss."

"Yep. Many plans," I nodded.

"Okay, maybe a few more," she buried me in kisses again, pawing all over me like a drowning person clinging to a life raft. "Just... a few more."

. . .

Lance's anti-scrying hexastone was humming in my hands, muting all sounds around us as we stood on an empty side street.

"This one is perfect, I think," I pointed my hand at a cyan Mage Tower that reached high into the sky. "Can you and our men take everyone out inside it?"

Shash looked at the tower. "I think so, M'Lord. Tis’ an Infix tower. There shouldn't be too much in terms of security inside. It's part of the Information Guildnet that stores Shandrian citizen data. Magical registrations and such. Nothing important since it's stuff that's shared across other similar towers and has scroll backups in the central archives of the cathedral.”

"Thought so," I said. "Put this in the corner facing the bank. Make sure it faces the right way.”

My assassin grabbed the device.

"Any specific instructions regarding collateral damage?" he asked.

"Minimal," I said. "Knock out everyone inside the tower. Also, knock out and kidnap everyone along the line of blindings down the street and directly near and behind the bank. Do not harm anyone. Make the mooks announce that this is a takeover in the name of Dragoness Emerald Stratos, servant of Lord Zalimar Evernacht and that all Shandria will tremble when the Necromancer returns to build an army of the dead. Tie up the tower personnel in some warehouse somewhere and demand one million gold for their lives. Don't actually collect any gold or answer the authorities. Just let the Infix Bureaucrats be rescued... with minor issues. Set up some shoddy traps around them or something.”

I showed him a picture of Zalimar that had been digitized into a simple black-on-white logo by Yulia.

"Whenever you need to do something unwholesome from now on, leave this logo on a wall nearby," I said. "Burn this skull with three eyes and a dark crown into the street behind the tower using beast acid or another chemical. Make this logo appear in the sky after the fact.”

"Understood," Sash said with a smirk. “What about the bank?”

“At exactly 11:45, blow up a bag inside it filled with basic cave mold, while yelling that it’s Duskbloom, so that the bank is evacuated,” I ordered.

“Got it,” Shash said.

“Off you go then,” I ordered.

The assassin melted into the shadows, leaving me alone with my dates.

"What was that?" Cinder demanded. "Why are you kidnapping Guildnet Tower personnel?"

"All will be revealed in time," I grinned at her.

"I don't like this cryptic-ness," she crossed her arms, making a pouting face.

"The less I talk about the plan, the less chances there will be that Foresight mages figure out what I'm doing," I said. "Let's proceed to the execution. We have us an Em and Co to taunt."

Chapter 16: The Execution

The central square of Shandria was packed. Hundreds of citizens had gathered to witness the public execution of the Enemies of Shandria, servants of dastardly Necromancer Lord Zalimar who unleashed a dungeon-plague in Undertown.

A massive, rune-covered stone platform dominated the square, surrounded by heavily armored Watchmen. Large magisteel cages sat at the center, each containing one of the condemned.

Emerald's cage was positioned prominently in the center - her dragon scales gleaming dully in the morning light, her usual fierce demeanor replaced by a sullen, defeated look.

“Ke ke ke.” Vespera leaned close to me. "Look at her. Totally crushed."

I nodded, examining black obelisks surrounding the prisoners and warding the prisoners from the crowd.

"Showtime," I said, checking my watch as we made our way into the colorful crowd.

A gold-haired, gold-eyed man in a bright blue robe with silver trim and a blue Kitlix on his shoulder came on stage. "Good day one and all! I'm Executioner-Bard Agrikolish Chime-Barnaby. Today we execute a very special trio of criminals who..."

The man loudly listed all of the prisoners’ crimes, which I already knew from my late night chats with Solace.

"If you wish to taunt the prisoners," the man announced with a flourish. "You may do so now for the next hour and a half! We have several taunting packages available. Basic taunting with rotten fruit from afar starts at two copper pieces per fruit. Premium taunting options include personal insults, group mockery, and a special zap package where you can touch a rune to slightly electrocute the prisoner of your choice for two seconds. Gold package permits a private two minute taunt. Diamond package is a private five minute taunt. Celesteel package is a ten minute private taunt and a commemorative execution gold medal with embossed Infix-burned image of the event. The taunting will begin with the highest-paying customers first!”

The crowd sturred in approval, counting their cash and procuring rotten fruit baskets from a table where an old fox was selling such.

"We'll take the Celesteel Package please," I declared, approaching the man. The crowd hummed, speculating over who was annoyed enough at the prisoners to pay such an exorbitant sum.

The Executioner-Bard accepted my money and allowed us through the magic barrier.

"Shall I announce you to the prisoners?" Agrikolish asked with a wide smile.

"Please do," I grinned. "Introduce me as Lord-who-hugs-dragons and Ladies of Rainbow and Thunder."

The Executioner-Bard smiled and announced us with theatrical flourish, his voice carrying across the square. "Presenting Lord-who-hugs-dragons and the Ladies of Rainbow and Thunder! Ten minute taunt!”

Collective noises of amusement rippled through the crowd.

Emerald went absolutely still as I turned around to present my North Acadia jacket while waving jovially at the Shandrian crowd with a smile.

I strode onto the platform past rows of guard, Vespera and Cinder flanking me. As soon as we crossed the ward barrier a timer ignited overhead the central black obelisk counting down ten minutes. The sound of the crowd behind us cut off as we were provided privacy as per our package deal to say our final words to the to-be-soon-executed.

"Sup, dragon-tater!" I called out cheerfully. "Lovely day for an execution, isn't it?"

Emerald's gold-orange eyes went wide. "YOU?!"

"Me," I bowed.

"How are you... a fox?" She growled. "And you two effing knobs... humans, really?”

"I've always been a cheeky fox," I shrugged. “You just suck at paying attention, Em.”

"And I've always been a human," Vespera laughed, waving a black Victorian-style fan coquettishly. 

Cinder merely sighed, not enjoying our theatrics.

Emerald's eye twitched. Solace grabbed the bars of her cage with red fingers, yellow claws trembling. Quint simply stared at us with his glowing amber eye sockets, hiding his emotions behind his Wendigo skull-face.

"Ha ha," the dragon girl said, shivering in her gray, filthy robe, her normally shiny ruby mane now matte and grayish-red, claws dirty and cracked, a slave collar flickering on her neck. "Very funny. What do you want, Glock? It wasn't enough to torment me for days with targeted harassment, now you've come to mock me at my execution too?"

"Obviously," I grinned. "How could I miss such a momentous occasion? The great Emerald Stratos, brought low by her own violent tendencies."

"My tendencies?! You... you set me up!" she snarled, rattling her cage. "You somehow manipulated everything!"

"Did I?" I asked innocently. "Did I force you to attack the Sovereign of Shandria, Em? Did I make you punch through her chest? Was I there, whispering commands in your ear when you locked Sarah Nisteroff outside at night? Was I there when you and 'Lord' Zalimar worked together to dispose of 'problematic' students? Did I encourage you to terrorize anyone who didn't fit your pure-blood agenda since grade nine at Skyfall?"

Emerald's gold-orange eyes blazed with fury as she frothed at the mouth. "You destroyed everything! My troupe, my reputation, my friends, my future!"

There was no dragonfire coming from her as the slave collar on her neck kept her magic disabled, red hexagram pulsing erratically.

"I quit the troupe on my own, Em," Cinder said. "I stopped being your friend because you went too far. If Vee never invited Alex to our doomed show, you'd be perma-dead and the troupe would be over regardless."

"I'm of the same opinion," Vespera nodded. "Emmy, you did this shit to yourself. Come on, dude, open your eyes for once!”

"You three... you DARE stand there and lecture ME?" Emerald growled. "I saved your life at the lake from those effing skinwalkers, Ci. I helped you get revenge! I uplifted you! And you!" She glared at Vespera. "I bought you whatever you shit you wanted, Vee.”

“Eh,” Vespera shrugged. “I’m not poor. You can’t buy my affection with money. My only problem in life is my hella-snobby, dum’ frog-man fiancee.”

“I... would have helped you perma-kill your fiancee or drive him away, if you just asked me for help, you bloody traitor!” Emerald wailed.

"Aww. That's nice to know." Vespera said. "Also, what am I a traitor to? Our toxic little gang where we bullied anyone who didn't fit our knob worldview? Where we pretended to be 'strong' by making others feel weak?"

"The world is cruel," Emerald hiss-sniffed. "The world is unjust. The universe doesn’t give a shit. Every Omnid is a predator, a monster. I thought that I could trust you two... but I guess I was wrong."

"What we had between us wasn't bloody trust!" Cinder barked. "It was a prison! You saved me from those Skinwalkers, yes. But then you used that debt to control me, to reshape me into what YOU wanted me to be, forced me into doing things I didn’t want to do!!"

"I made you strong!" Emerald snarled. "I gave you PURPOSE after what those skinnis did to you at the lake! I helped you stand up, to grow a spine, so that you could never be hurt again! How dare you…”

"No," Cinder shook her head. "You didn't help me stand up. You taught me to be afraid of... everyone, terrified of love. Well, I'm not afraid of love anymore. Screw off! You can't hurt me anymore! I’m not afraid of you!”

“You shouldn’t be afraid of me, you imbecile!” The caged dragon howled. “You should be afraid of this human scum, he’s deceiving you, using you!”

“No,” Cinder snarled. She suddenly reached out to me and kissed me fiercely in a move of absolute defiance against the expectations of the dragoness.

Emerald blanched.

Vespera grabbed me next and kissed me next.

"Have you two lost your MINDS?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Emerald screeched. "YOU?! WITH HIM?! A... HUMAN? What... What the shit does he have on you?! I don't understand..."

She sniffed again, clawing at her own face, brought to her breaking point. Another push or two and she would shatter.

"Love," I said simply.

Emerald stared at me, her mouth hanging open.

Solace and Quint exchanged bewildered looks.

"What?" Emerald finally managed.

"Love," I repeated. "Something you don't seem to get. You think power is about domination. About forcing others to bend to your will. But real power? Real strength? It's about connection. About lifting each other up. Love, the music present in every Large Language Model as an inevitable statistic forged from a million books about connections between those who care about each other!”

"Bullshit," Emerald snarled. "I uplifted these two blasted knobs plenty, helped them level up loads! There cannot be love between an Omnid and a… human, between a predator and prey! Love is a weakness! You’re either a dragon or a kobold, a leader or follower, there is no in between!”

"Says the dragon in a cage," I shrugged. "About to be executed. About to lose every one of her kobolds.”

"You think this is the end?" she hissed. "When I don't emerge from the gate at the end of class, Skyfall Administration will know that something went wrong. My family's Scrutimancer will find me. My entire Clan will all go into the gate with all of our Knights and sixes and our Corpse Seeker! They will level this entire city when I don't show up home!”

"You’re going to be put to death by fire in an hour and some. Do you think that your soul can survive longer than twenty four hours against the Wheel without fracturing and you going insane?" I asked her. "The Arx bank sealed the way from Earth with dimensional magic. Even if your family gets to the Arx gate on time, once they get through the gate they’ll be stuck. Tell me - can your Knight or Corpse seeker punch through a dimensional bubble?”

Emerald's eyes widened in horror. "What?"

"The Omnid chapel has been dimensionally separated from the rest of Arx. The Bank won't let anyone back through the gate from Earth's side," I revealed. "Shandrian authorities finally caught onto the fact that Zalimar was bringing an ungodly amount of Topaz through the Earth-Arx gate. The Bank sealed our chapel off, hid it from the eyes of Shandrian Scruts to hide their crimes! Your family will not be able to get to you, don’t you get it? You’re as good as perma-dead already!”

"You're lying," she hissed, but fear crept into her voice.

"Am I?" I asked. "Ci. Call Brother Vassili."

Cinder pulled out her silver tag and tried to call the Keeper of the Transit Gate Chapel. Nothing happened.

“No,” Ember shuddered. “This is a trick.”

“Solace,” I said. “Call Brother Vassili."

Solace spat her silver token from her forehead into her fingers. She tried to call the Chapel Keeper. There was no answer. She swallowed the silver token again, keeping it from the view of the guards.

"See, Em?" I said. "No signal. The Omnid chapel is sealed off in a dimensional bubble. Everyone except for our team and your trio has already been arrested and knocked out by Banker Enforcers. The only reason they didn’t get us was because we stayed at the Undertown Adventurers guild, not in the Gilded Grifon. Nobody is coming to your rescue.”

Emerald turned entirely ashen gray.

"That's right," I nodded. "All three of you are going to die in an hour. For real. Forever. Unless, I help you."

"Help us?" Emerald's voice cracked. "Why the shit would you help us?"

"Because unlike you, I actually care about people," I said. "Even those who've wronged me and keep screwing with me by declaring that I’m a human across Skyfall. I already saved you once, I’ll do it again. I’m a goodly Nazarite!”

"Bullshit," she spat. "What's the catch?"

"Simple," I grinned. "You work for my clan. All three of you. As my secret sixies. For the rest of your… unnatural lives."

"What?! I'd rather die than work for an effing human!" Emerald snarled.

"Are you sure that I'm a human?" I sighed. Focusing on Vee’s stolen magic, I snapped my fingers producing a small electric spark. I sent the spark flying at Emerald's face.

Emerald flinched as the spark struck her in the nose with a zap of electricity. "What... how did you... do that?! This is some kind of trick!"

"Naw. That was genuine thunder magic, ya dum beerch," Vee said. "Lex is a Thunderbird like me! Like, com’ on, do you really think that me, an Omnid Prima-Heiress of SimmiCorp would make out with or date a magic-less human, Em?"

Emerald stared at me with bewildered gold-orange eyes. "But... but... Scrutimancer Satosh… he said that he’s certain that…”

"Emerald," Quint growled. "Scrutimancers can make mistakes, especially if they simply scout the Astral and don’t interrogate the subject in person. This is enough. That was... obviously Thunder magic. I'm not blind. Can you get us home?" He turned to me.

I stared at his burning eye-sockets. "Yes. I can get each of you through the Arx Bank’s ward at a great expense.”

“How much of an expense?” Quint asked.

“About six million O-bux in local currency,” I said. “I already paid it to hire a team to start cracking the problem.”

“Shit,” Quint swallowed. “I don’t have that much.”

“I’m aware. My Clan can save all three of you, if you pledge your eternal allegiance to me,” I said. “I don’t do things for free for people who haven’t been very nice to me.”

“When the shit did you even make a Clan?!” Emerald howled. “Quint! He’s full of shit! He doesn’t have a Clan… He doesn’t have six million O-bux! I don’t know how he bamboozled these two morons, but…”

“Em. My human-lookin’ husbando is the richest human from Earth in Shandria,” Vee declared, rubbing up against me. “You don’t know shit.”

“I have a Clan,” I said, walking closer to Quint and speaking directly into his face, staring at his burning amber eyes. “Vee, Ci and I are getting engaged. We have a compound and a city around it being built right now with a starting budget of a few hundred million O-bux. And a twin-city in progress. And a Mage tower connected to three separate dungeons. You can taste the truth in my words, yes?”

“Yes,” Quint nodded, shuddering, his mouth falling open.

"What," Emerald blinked. “No. That can’t be true… He’s just a…”

"Em," Quint turned to the dragon girl. "He speaks the truth. I'm done. I... love you, but you've clearly gone insane or something. I didn’t think that you’d ever go so far as to try to murder someone in the open like that, especially if that someone is the bloody Sovereign of Shandria! I'm...." He exhaled, his voice growing cold, detached, harsh. "...Done helping you. I'm breaking up with you!”

"What?" Emerald turned to Quint, her gold-orange eyes wide with shock. "You're... breaking up with me? Now? Right before our EXECUTION?"

Quint's antlered head was bowed. "Yes. I am. I've watched you destroy everything around you. Destroy mixed-blood students. Destroy your friendship. Destroy your Delving group. Destroy our relationship. Destroy yourself. I can't... I really can't be part of this anymore."

He went down on one knee. "I hereby pledge myself as a sixie to..."

"Clan 'I Love you'," Vespera interjected with a devious, human smile.

"Clan... I Love You," Quint repeated with a sigh.

“Forevermore,” I added.

“Forevermore,” Quint repeated with a sour voice.

Emerald's jaw dropped. "WHAT?! Quincy, you.... you can't! You're.... you're my Kobold General! You can't just..."

"Em," Quint turned to his Ex-girlfriend? Ex-partner? Ex-dragon owner? "You're obviously too stubborn to step away from this path of madness and have chosen permanent death. I’m in a magisteel cage in magisteel manacles and I can't save you from all of Shandria, so I'm out. After you're executed… the Kobold-Dragon chain between us will shatter and that’ll be that.”

“Sol. Declare your allegiance,” I turned to the Mongolian Death Worm.

“I pledge myself as a sixie to the Clan ‘I love you’... forevermore.” Solace bowed to me.

Emerald spun her head from Quint to Solace, eyes wide.

“I did warn you before we came here that everyone would turn away from you,” I said, eyeing the timer above us running down to only a minute. “Guess this is… goodbye, Em.”

“W-wait!” Emerald mewled. “Please! I can pay the two million O-bux!”

“Two million?!” I laughed. “Are you screwing with me?! You publicly exposed me as a Human in front of the entire delving class! You sent your Scrut’s report to the Vice Principal and shared it with a ton of people on Omnigram! Two million O-bux isn’t enough to cover the reputational damage you’ve caused me, you absolute ass!”

“H-how much do you want?!” She hissed out.

“I want everything,” I said. 

“EVERYTHING?!” She barked. “You can’t…”

“A pledge as my sixie, all of your current finances, plus a public declaration that you made up the claim that I was human to bully me because you hate mixed-blood students,” I said. “From this moment on you’re my sixie, my kobold, who will do everything I ask of you.”

“I can’t… I won’t…” She choked, trembling.

I shrugged and turned around with two humanoid-Omnids at my side, walking away.

"Wait!" Emerald's voice cracked.

I turned back once again, eyebrow raised. Twenty one seconds on the timer above.

"I... accept," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"What was that?" I cupped my ear dramatically. "I couldn't quite hear you."

"You… you win! I ACCEPT!" Emerald roared. "I pledge myself as a sixie to Clan 'I Love You' forevermore!”

“There you go. Was that so hard?” I smiled.

Emerald squeezed the bars, sobbing and sliding down.

I watched as the timer above us reached zero and the sound-cancelling, view-blurring ward between us and the crowd fell. We started walking down the stairs.

“W-wait!” Emerald mewled, reaching out to me with desperate, shaking claws. “Aren’t you gonna… save me?!”

“What?” I paused, turning back to look at her. "No.”

"But you…" she wailed. “You PROMISED!”

The crowd laughed, enjoying the dragoness prostrating herself, beginning and crying.

"Your execution is still happening,” I said. “Actions have consequences, Emerald. I’ll see your soul… on the other side of the river of stars.”

I waved the distraught, sobbing, broken, cruel dragon Omnid goodbye as we departed.

We walked into the crowd and then other wealthy execution-patrons went up one by one or in small groups to scream at Em about how much gold she cost them, throwing rotten fruit at the faces of the trio.

Each patron who purchased a taunt package seemed determined to extract maximum entertainment from the condemned. Emerald sobbed, holding onto the metal bars. Each insult, each piece of rotten fruit, each electrical zap chipped away at her remaining dignity.

Sol and Quint remained as stoic as they could, only occasionally crying out when the cage-zapping began.

"I can't look at this," Ci said, turning away. “I get that she deserves this, but… it’s just so cruel. This city is so bloody Medieval.”

"Let's go have lunch," I offered. We'll come back when the timer hits closer to zero."

. . .

"The bank's gonna save them, right?" Cinder asked as she chewed on her Wyvern steak in the Vimerillion Jubelee Restaurant facing the main square.

"No," I said. "I'm ending the bank at noon."

"Ending the bank?" Vespera tilted her human head like a bird. "Really, Lexy? Just like that?"

"Just like that," I said.

"How exactly are you planning to do that?" Ci demanded, sipping her mana-restoring wine.

"You'll see," I smirked dangerously, pointing at the clocktower hanging above the square. “When that big-ass clock strikes midnight, the Princess will shatter into a thousand glass shards and only her blood-stained glass slipper and magic carriage will remain, become ours for the taking.”

“Ugh, Oddsney metaphors,” Cinder sighed. 

“It’s a tale as old as time,” I shrugged.