by Liandra Jake
Arend shook his head. "He belongs to a friend of mine, though I had a hand in bringing him into this world."
"As did I." Aenfel added.
"And he's Pog-Sereph." Iode added as he hurried over.
"Wait, what?" Gliese asked, glancing at Iode.
Reluctantly, Mysh let his father hold him. "Pog-Sereph revived with a bit of human and Pendragon." Iode replied as he gave Mysh a leftover tart.
"How's Rose and the rest of the clan?" Arend asked.
"Enjoying your shower, bed and T.V." Iode replied as he began to walk away.
"Make sure you clean up!" Arend called after him.
Gliese snorted. "Pockle didn't tell me about this…"
King stared accusingly at the back of Arend' head. "Yes." Arend replied without turning around. "I had her call Gliese." King tried to head-butt the Arend' head, but he and Kronth were moved in a flash of yellow.
Gliese slowly turned her head to match what her eyes caught."So you're powers have been accelerating."
Arend nodded, holding the now chilly Kronth close. "It began after I met Seing." Hiding in a blanket shell next to Arend, Kronth opened her phone.
Her muttering voice could still be heard. "It's time to do start that business, Gliese."
"Be sure to order breakfast would you?" Gliese replied.
[X]
King led Gliese to the vent he used to access the Nest. The large shaft could easily allow her access, but on account of a lack of flight, King had to help her with the decent with a large cushion of red Orenth as she stood next to him. "You've really filled out you know." Gliese said as she awkwardly leaned against King.
"And you still have interest in me." King grumbled.
"Hey now," Gliese licked King's face. "You know I can't just give up."
"You're nearly two and a half times my age." King replied.
She nudged him again. "But you were heavily involved in the Great Wars, and even survived it. Most of my time was spent guarding the Electricity Terma. I may be older, but you're more experienced."
King sighed. Gliese glanced away to look at the underground city below them. She caught King staring at her brace when she looked back. He tried to quickly look away before she could see.
"It wasn't your fault King." She said softly. "The simple fact we made it out of there was on account of your heroics."
"If Aenfel was there, you wouldn't have that." King replied bitterly.
She nipped his ear. "Stop blaming yourself!" She growled angrily. "Aenfel would have driven our kind to death. He's foolish and violent."
"And he's growing stronger in Arend." King replied, shutting her up for the rest of the trip.
[X]
"So you all have managed to involve the Legendary Weapons with the Termas." Gliese said with a touch of cynicism.
"And crazy fuckers who get mechanical limbs and Drive implants."Arend added. Gliese shuddered. "You're lucky you didn't have to be there during the autopsy." Arend replied.
Gliese looked over the four Legendary Weapon wielders. "You won't be able to find the other Termas. They're securely guarded by their original Pencores after what happened with those four."
"So we don't have to worry about them being used against us?" Vladd asked.
Gliese shook her head. "Tell that to the Pencores in the Hollows of Nojorn and that Sereph Fortress."
"And that's probably the original reason Axis were looking for Pendragons." Nem added.
"They just didn't account for how powerful the documents are." Gliese explained. "I watched Liefel Schell write the final parts on natural Orenth so much Orenth was put into that man that his touch could turn a person into something of a God at that time."
"Are you saying you'll look for the Termas and warn the Pencores for us?" Kronth asked.
Gliese nodded. "I can try, but proving the dangers Axis poses would be tough. We'll need an extraordinary case to throw in their face directly."
King's ears perked up and he chuckled. Gliese glanced at him. "How about a dragon and a man without Orenth?" Gliese frowned.
"A literal dragon." Arend said before Gliese tried to look at him. "And a victim of Death's Ring."
"How did he survive that!?" Gliese exclaimed. "Death yields to nothing; all users died as their bodies lost control."
Arend pulled out the Dragon Drive from King's saddle, starting it up. Arend raised the blade. "Try a Cavity Slash of all Orenth types." Gliese blinked.
"He stunned him with it." King explained.
"You fought Death with just Orenth?" Gliese asked.
"And a well aimed Orenth-neutral bullet." Arend replied.
King poked Gliese with his nose. "We should leave now. They have your number and only I know where the dragon is."
Arend gave them a mock salute. He fiddled with the Dragon Drive as the pair left. "So Arend, have you got the Cavity Slash down yet?" Kyrel asked.
"Almost. Though now that my swing speed has at least tripled, I might have it down." Arend replied as he walked out into the field.
He left the Drive slowly build up to the proper speed before cutting forward in a flash of yellow and sending an exceedingly large blast of Orenth down the field. He had to rush forward to stop it or risk collapsing the dome.
As the Orenth wrapped around the Dragon Drive in a neat spiral, Arend smiled weakly. "A bit too powerful now I guess."
[X]
King and Gliese traveled in silence for the most part until they were well outside Sareville. "So Arend has you under his thumb?" Gliese asked.
"On my own accord." King replied. "Truth be told, I was hoping he'd kill me." Gliese stopped; hobbling on her leg as she the effects of Swift fade. King stopped as well, walking slowly back to her.
"Are you that upset King?" She asked.
"It wasn't just you." King replied. "I'm partly to blame for the death of Arend' family."
Gliese walked up alongside King and leaned against him, resting her bad leg on top of his paw. "Why can't you let yourself be happy? If you truly didn't like my affections, you wouldn't let me get so close. There wouldn't be so much guilt if your eyes every time you looked at me."
"You know my parents were hoping you'd get close to my brother." King replied softly.
Gliese brushed his tail with hers. "I can be with whomever I damn well please. Even if he's an emotional toddler."
King nudged her with his head. "I'm no toddler."
She tackled him in turn. "But you are emotional." She replied, her head a few inches from King's.
She rolled off of him after they held each other's gaze. "We should get going." King said as he stood up.
'You know King,' Gliese thought to herself. 'If we made up a hundred or so years earlier, we might have had a few children running around by now; though I'd be happy if we started a century from now. As long as it happens.'
King led Gliese to a small valley hidden in the Youkaki Mountains. It was well away from the village he had destroyed long ago. Pith was watching Kathy and Ros play across the way. He acknowledged the two Pendragons with a quick glance.
Gliese's face lit up. "There really is a dragon." She said quietly. She hesitated in approaching him, glancing back at King.
King nodded. "You'll be fine; he knows me and is wary of Arend. Leave those two alone and he won't hurt you."
Even with King's reassurance, Gliese still didn't continue down. As King watched her, he sighed internally. He walked up to her, gave her a lick like she had so many times for him, and whispered softly something only for her in her ear.
King nodded when she looked back with tears welling in her eyes. He gave her a final nudge as she hopped down the rough terrain towards the dragon. King repeated part of what he said in his head.
'When this is all over…'
When and what might be over he didn't know, but he knew she'd be there for when it truly ended.
Dran|||
Dran's trip to the eastern ocean was a very long one. He used the time to read an
d reflect on how he had messed up his life. His Request was an excuse to live how he wanted and still be the Master of a Guild. He knew no next time existed, and after reading Arend' issue of Guild Ruled, he knew he had no chance in that area of the world. So he decided to go to the far side.
Finding the ship wasn't that difficult, but the sailors had no answer to questions on the region, and as Dran stepped off in a city with a small group of people, he knew he would soon find out why. The city was loud and by his guess, completely packed with people. He was happy to learn there that Ere was still the only currency he would need, if a slightly bit more for a few imports he would never use.
He walked out of the harbor are with no regrets, working his way through the crowds of people. A fight broke out nearby. Dran watched with silent contempt as the two young men beat each other to a bloody pulp, splattering the artificial walls with their blood.
He decided to leave the city, buying a cheap motorcycle and riding out on a simple asphalt road. It was only until night began to fall did he realize something was wrong.
'Where are all the Monsters?' He soon found his answer as he came upon a high-security farm town.
Dran popped the stand to his bike and set the tire lock. He grabbed his bags off the back and pushed open the door to a bar. He took a seat at the counter within sight of the T.V. The bartender slid him a glass of the day's 'special' and he dropped his stuff in front of his stool. The T.V chirped as the channel was changed. The bartender dropped the remote as he moved on. A commercial caught Dran's attention.
"Have you been losing too many tournaments and fights with your friends? Of course you have! You're still walking around as a normal human! Scientists at Axis have discovered how to take a dozen or so useless Monsters and use them to superpower you into the next evolution of mankind!"
Dran's glass had paused inches from his mouth. When they were talking about Axis, one of the scientists looked remarkably familiar. He chugged his drink and glanced back at the T.V. It was showing a live feed of a fight. "You look like hell." The bartender told him as he refilled the glass.
Dran chuckled. "Just you wait." He chugged the second glass and passed the money over. "I know a guy who will make this continent look like a real hell."
"And who would that be?" The bartender asked with a laugh.
"The son of a certain Axis scientist." Dran replied as he stepped out. "Arend Myshcell."
Gentle Hybrid
Gentle Hybrid
- - - - New Year's - - - -
Once the business with the Termas died down significantly, Nem found the time to compile the information his network gathered for him and report it to Kronth. "Celestial Rim started as scattered individuals from various continents and cities. Collected by Finch of all people, who was still 'unmodified' at the time. I believe he was heavily influenced by someone before beforehand, as he had the Legendary Weapons with him, and was harsh with who got to use them. I've investigated them before as you know, but that was a shallow operation of drawing them in with Moon's Sonata and snatching up the Korvan they were ordered to give Arend."
Kronth started, but Nem stopped her with a hand. "I've only recently discovered that last part from Helios, our one remaining member of the group. Alexander has disappeared completely from everywhere. Helios explained what he could as the Master of the Guild, but he said he made very little orders himself. It's funny how he wasn't the strongest in the Guild, as Syndicates of this nature tend to be formed by powerful people." "Except when dealing with Syndicates created for a single purpose." Kronth replied darkly.
"And in that style, they knew how to cover their tracks. All I could find was that it came from far outside this area. The trail just kinda went *poof* anywhere past that." Nem said, dropping a stack of neat papers on Kronth's desk. "Faulken is still out in the field; he's adamant that Axis is fully involved. If the concerns about Arend' father prove true, we know Axis is involved and that the Korvan delivery was important." Kronth nodded, tapping her temple as she thought.
"Good work."She sat up, filing the papers in a locked drawer. "I appreciate you chasing these rumors, Nem." Nem stopped at the door, surprised at Kronth's compliment. "No problem Kronth. I was the best fit for the job." Kronth sighed as Nem left her office. 'I have a bad feeling about this.' Her secretary poked his head in. "They're waiting for you." Kronth stood up. "Yeah, I know. I'll be out in a minute."
Kronth stretched as she stood up from her chair. Stepping around the boxes of paperwork and the other contents of the office, she joined her secretary in the hallway. "As soon as you cut that ribbon, your stuff will be moved to your office, and the unmarked file boxes will go to storage." He said as he walked at her side.
Kronth yawned. "I won't be missing this place. Having an office right next to Dragon's Den will be much more convenient." Her secretary nodded. "I'll be happy to get out of the Nest; I'd like to work where I can see the sun." Kronth silently agreed. 'And it's rather impressive Iode got the place up in a month. I was a little skeptical when he suggested getting the Guild itself to help build it, but Panzer proved me wrong with how she organized them. She's one hell of a drill master.'
The Greater Den Building was essentially a university built in the expansive clear area on the far side of Dragon's Den's empty lot. Not only did it have a large office for the Guildmaster, it had a few large and small classrooms in the East Wing, as well as a full library built with three floors of bookshelf space and a large central skylight. The West Wing consisted of nearly two hundred dorm rooms with space left for more to be added later. Connecting them to the central part of the building was a large dining hall that doubled as a potential ball room.
The center of the building housed Kronth's office as well as a relatively small Request board for Requests that ask for Dragon's Den exclusively, as well as notices and the like. On either side of the two doors was the Guild's crest. On the outside, the doors were tied shut by a neat ribbon, awaiting Kronth to cut. Kronth herself was standing on the short steps, adlibbing a speech about how far the Guild had come, and welcoming the new members who brought the total for Dragon's Den past 300, bringing more opportunities to the Guild, but also limiting far more.
As the cheers died down, Kronth turned to Arend. Instead of the silver succors she had expected, Arend placed the Dragon Drive into her hands, smiling as she hefted its weight. It was lighter and more balance than she had thought. Carefully holding it out, Kronth used the tip to cut the red ribbon. Hiding a smile, Arend retrieved his weapon. She pulled him after as she walked into the building.
The walls of the atrium around them were covered in photo portraits of each Guild member with a small plaque that listed their name, rank, and join date. The "eras" of the Guild members were clearly defined by their placement. Hunter and the other members who joined before Arend had a section to themselves. Kronth was beside Dran as a Guildmaster, with Arend, Nojeski, and Cris listed as honored members below them.
Arend paused in the center of the room, looking down at the mosaic of the Guild crest made from sparkling tile. With a chest full of pride, he saluted the portrait of Cris with two fingers and his thumb curved loosely. "Getting a bit sentimental huh?" Kronth asked as she and Arend searched for her office. "It just felt right." Arend replied. "I'm fairly certain the stuff he gave me to help with my fear was what overloaded Jacob's Condenser way back when and created this." Arend tapped the large Korvan in the center of the Dragon Drive.
"Oh?" Kronth said. "I didn't know that." "I still have a few vials left." Arend said, tapping his bag. Kronth pulled open the ornate door that had her name on it. A small waiting room was past it, with a curved desk for her secretary and a pair of double doors beyond. Kronth and Arend pushed through the doors to a large office with plenty of space left for display shelves. The chair was large and plush, brining Kronth to the perfect position to look authoritative when sitting at the desk, but still allowed comfort.
Kronth looked around with a wide grin. "This is much, m
uch better than the old place. Arend glanced back at the door. "Hmm…" Kronth glanced over. Arend held the Dragon Drive at arm's length, closing one eye. "Heh." She leaned against him, copying his motion. "Are you sure you should put it there?" "I can't put it in Shifted Tilt. I already plan on having copies of Mark I and Mark II up there, with a little chart on the working on the inside."
Kronth took the Dragon Drive and walked to the center of the room. She held it out like he had before, the blade trembling slightly as she tried to do so. Arend laughed, taking it back. "So in its own case?" He held it flat in two hands just below his ribs. …Yeah. Though it'll be a long time before we put it in here." Kronth replied. Arend nodded. "I haven't been here for a year yet. My retirement is a looong way off."