The Clockwork Mansion

This is a project I've been working on for a while in fits and starts.  I think it began properly sometime in 2020 but I haven't been able to work on it regularly.  However, I have 17 chapters in the can so I figure it's time to start sharing, if anyone is still reading this stuff here.

'Keller' is the working title, but it might well have a better title when it's finally turned into a comic.

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Chapter 1

"This is the place," Jones said quietly, surveying a pleasant-looking cottage from the cover of a large bush.  He fingered a small infra-red surveillance device, studied the display and, with a satisfied expression, vanished the small device in a puff of magic.

"They're definitely inside.  Rifles at the ready," he hissed.  "And remember your orders... we need them unharmed!  If they resist, stun them, or use tranq rounds.  But on no account are they to die, or you'll be explaining that fact to the King, the Queen, and most likely the Lord Daryil as well."  One of the younger riders flinched at this remark.

"Black Riders!  Freeze!" the red coyote yelled, and forced the door.  His subordinates followed, swift and precise.  Jones went from room to room, increasingly puzzled at the apparent absence of their quarry.

"Keller!  Amanti!  We know you're in here!" Jones shouted, kicking open the bedroom door.  "Come on out-"  He froze.

"What's happen..." his backup called, bursting into the room.  He immedately began laughing.  Other riders came up, lowering their guard now the situation was less tense.  The two feline incubi stared back at the growing crowd of demons, headwings fanning out across the pillows in a mixture of shock, embarrassment and anger.  Keller drew the sheet tighter over them.

"Incubi," Jones continued, rolling his eyes, "Always at it.  Amanti, Keller... get out of bed and get some clothes on.  You're coming with us.  King Fairwater wants a word with you."


Not long afterwards, the two of them stood in an imposing hall, the throne room that was the seat of power within the realm of Fairwater.  The fact that they had been brought there without having their powers neutralised by bracers or other enchanted restraints should have been a good sign, but the fact that they had been arrested at all by the fearsome Black Riders was not in any way encouraging.

Amanti glanced up at the twin thrones.  Involuntarily, his eyes crept to the wall, where the head of the murderous deer adventurer, Sven, had been mounted.  The googly eyes from Amanti's botched taxidermy had now been replaced with ones that better matched the eyes he had had in life.  They stared glassily into space, in the manner of one who had just expired in the basket of a guillotine.  Amanti shuddered in fear and his leathery headwings fanned out involuntarily.

King Fairwater cleared his throat, snatching Amanti away from his dark reverie.

"I suppose I should explain why I have had you both brought here," he began, gazing at the two kneeling figures with a solemn expression.

"Whatever it was, I'll return it!" Keller whimpered.

"I agree... You should.  But that's not the reason we're here," the King said.  "This is not about something you've stolen, Keller.  It's about something you are going to steal."

"Ohh," Amanti said.  He did not look any less worried.  "You want us to do a job for you...?"

"Yes, Amanti.  You and Keller.  I would advise you to bring Yvonne as well.  This is not going to be a simple project."

"I don't like where this is going," the red feline admitted.  "Whatever this thing is you're after, you could have purchased it outright.  You could have used legal force or eminent domain.  Hell, you could have sent your Black Riders to steal it back.  But instead, you picked a couple of misfits who botched an attempt to slay the Dark Lord Pegasus.  That means you're expecting us to die, and you want someone disposable."

"Actually, no." the king said.  "If I wanted that, I could offer a pardon to criminals.  No... this mission is politically sensitive.  With a Black Rider, even incognito, it would be far too obvious who was pulling the strings.  Whereas Keller is notorious enough that it will give plausible deniability, and you can tag along to protect him."

"Then why did you want us specifically...?" Keller asked cautiously.

"Because I have had dealings with you before, and can trust you to be discreet.  That's all, to be honest."

"What if... What if we refused?..."  Keller asked, nervously.  Amanti whimpered, staring again at the severed heads of Fairwater's foes that were taxidermied upon the wall.

"For gods sakes!" Fairwater said, rolling his eyes.  "Just because I threatened to execute both of you for treason...!  Listen.  You can leave now if you want.  After all, I haven't told you what you're supposed to be stealing yet."

"Once you do, we're committed?  Is that it?" Keller asked.

"It is a state secret, and you will be sworn to secrecy on pain of jail, should you betray me and reveal the plan.  But you will still be free to decline, even then.  It wouldn't be fair, or even legally enforcable, to coerce you into agreeing to something before letting you know what you're actually committing to."

"Then what's in it for us?" Amanti asked.  "Apart from being added to your list of reliable-people-to-do-your-dirty-work?"

"I'd have thought this would be right up your street," the King said, sounding slightly hurt.  "A nice adventure where your sponsor won't look too hard at the body count...?  Surely that's of some interest to you...?"

"Well, I was trying to give up beheadings for lent," Amanti admitted.  "But yeah, a spot of senseless violence with no repercussions would make a nice change..."

"In that case, I'm sure you'll find this mission fulfulling.  And for you, Keller... I shall grant you one of the official Black Rider outfits.  With the badge removed, mind - I will not have you commit treason by impersonating my enforcers.  I will also pardon you for the fact that you stole the Queen's catsuit."

"Oh, is that where you got it from?"  Amanti asked, looking pleased.  "It looks good on you."

"If he has been shagging Amanti in one of my catsuits, I'm not sure I'd want it back anyway," Adamaria remarked.

"Is that it...?" Keller asked, crestfallen.  "We do this job and all we get is a T-shirt?"

"A rubber T-shirt," the Queen pointed out enthusiastically.

"It is hard to know how to reward a thief and a killer," Fairwater admitted.  "If you want something, you tend to take it.  Besides, having seen your profile, you steal more for the thrill than because you actually want the item.  I suppose I could grant you some kind of boon or something.  I promise, you will not find me ungrateful.
"Now... as I said, it would be good to bring Yvonne on board.  Jason is studying at Illiath's so he's not available right now, but you also had a healer... Horace, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Keller said.  "But he quit."

"Indeed?  Did he give a reason?  I thought you all went back a few years!"

"Look at it from his viewpoint, Majesty..." Amanti said.  "He goes away for a two-week skiing holiday, and when he comes back, he suddenly finds that his adventuring group now consists entirely of  dangerous Creatures, one of whom had killed and impersonated his former colleague."

"Aaah..." Fairwater sighed.  "Yes... that would be a problem."

"Well, at first he thought we were all replacements and were about to kill him too for learning our dark secret.  Once we got past that hurdle, he stormed off, saying we could heal ourselves from now on.  Horace is a great healer... but it turns out he's also a racist."

"Could we have Ernst again?" Keller asked, looking at the lavender-haired demon hopefully.  "He was really good... when he wasn't trying to lop off Amanti's head."

"Remember, Amanti was posing as a wanted killer who'd murdered royalty," Ernst said.  "And his own actions didn't exactly help to dispel that image.  But you forget why you're here - to misdirect people.  I couldn't do this mission if I wanted to, as I'd be traced back to the King pretty quickly."

"That also means I can't really recommend people I know too well," Fairwater pointed out.  "But you might ask Yvonne.  Either way, I know of a skilled Demoness warrior.  I think she would be perfect for this job, don't you, Admaria...?"

"Not Mary," Amanti said, appalled.

"Great gods, no!" the King said forcefully.  "This mission is far too delicate for one as chaotic as her.  Seek for one called 'Emily' at Archford guild.  If she is not there still, the commander should at least know of her whereabouts."

"How much muscle do we need for this?" Keller asked.  "If we can get Yvonne on board, we'll be pretty much set for offence.  Really we need a healer."

"Emily is both," the queen interjected.  "I met her some time back.  She is a skilled warrior, but also a very good healer.  A Demon's magical powers can do more than just hurt and kill, after all."

"What's her attitude like, though?" Keller asked, still looking a little worried.

"If Mary was a character in a role-playing game, she'd be called 'Lawful Evil'," Admaria said.  "She enjoys death and murder, but at the same time, tries to keep her nose clean enough that she stays out of trouble.  Most of the time," she muttered quietly.

"By that token, Emily would definitely be 'Lawful Good'," Admaria continued.  "Her father is an incubus, her mother a Demon.  As such her upbringing has been somewhat less murder-oriented than most Demons would have been at the time.
"She has been an adventurer for a long, long time and is considered a hero in several jurisdictions.  Including this one," the queen smiled.  "And while many of her deeds have been bloody, as you would expect from a Demon, she has pledged to use her powers to protect the innocent, so she chooses her victims with care."

"We're not exactly innocent," Keller pointed out unhappily.  "Amanti's got better but his past is definitely spotty."

"More like spattered," Ernst put in.  "With people's blood."

"But you're trying to improve," the King stressed.  "So long as you don't run around murdering innocent bystanders, Emily should be just what you need for a job like this."

yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Chapter 2

With Jason Daryil away studying, and Ben and Aisha off on a mission, the guildhall was fairly quiet.  Mary and Emily passed the time in their own fashion while their commander, a German Shepherd demon by name of Steve Foster, manned the computer from which their orders were dispensed.

Adventuring wasn't quite paperless, and probably never would be, since the printed slips containing the orders constituted proof of their intentions when the Adventuring Guild and the law came into conflict.  When such proof could be the only thing between an adventurer and the guillotine, it was far better to produce a slip of paper on demand than have to use a phone with varying degrees of power and signal, especially in the backwaters where such proof mattered the most.

Like a fire department, adventuring guilds tended to have lulls where the crew relaxed or trained while on standby, only to spring into action as soon as the need arose.

A chime sounded and Steve scanned through the incoming message, his face falling as he continued to read.  His expression hardened as he scrolled through the text, and after a few quiet moments he glanced up from the computer with a look of annoyance.

"Mary, put that brain down and get over here!" he called.

"Heya, boss... what's all the excitement?" the rainbow wolf demon asked eagerly.

"I feel you may have left out a few important details in the report for your last mission.  You were to capture one Ignatius Doom and bring him to Arnost."

"I did do that, yeah.  First I captured him, and then I brought him to Arnost."

"That may be, but they were a little disappointed in his condition once he arrived.  Mary... did you kill him...?"

"In my defence, it was funny!" the she-wolf said.

"The client didn't think so.  They wanted a public execution for his soul-stealing wickedness, and a corpse is just not the same thing.  Now, Mary, whenever you've done something like that in the past, there has always been a good reason, or at least a good excuse.  So let's hear it."

"I thought he was a demon," Mary began.

"What?!  I don't believe I'm hearing this!" the German Shepherd snapped.  "I am a demon, as are you!  You cannot just kill someone because of that!  That's exactly the kind of hate crime we're chopping other people's heads off over!"

"Wait!  Let me finish!"  Mary protested, looking offended.  "That little creep was trying to steal my soul too!  So I slapped him to make him stop, only... either I got him by surprise, or he was some halfie who couldn't do skin-hardening.  Either way, the blow snapped his neck.  So yeah, my bad, but at the end of the day it was self-defence."

"Next time, be honest with the client," Steve grumbled.  "Arnost Council would understand if you failed to bring him in alive, even an accidental death like this... but trying to pass him off as sleeping and then running away was the worst thing you could possibly do!"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Mary sighed.  "I was never good at this customer-facing stuff!"

"I can get you lessons," Steve said.  "As it happens, it wasn't a total disaster, since they were still able to guillotine him before the people as intended.  But they had to pretend he was still alive too."

Another chime sounded and Steve glanced at the computer again.

"Ah," he said.  "Emily.  Looks like you've got a bit of a reputation."

"A good one or a bad one?" the snow leopard asked, looking up from her task of polishing a suit of platemail armour.

"I've had an enquiry as to whether you're available for a special job.  A covert acquisition."

"Stealing things on behalf of the rich and powerful so they get to look squeaky-clean," Emily sighed.  "Not really my thing."

"Agreed, but it helps keeps the guild afloat, unfortunately.  And I'd take that over an assassination job or an execution any day.
"If it helps... they're not hiring you to steal things as such... They want to second you to their adventuring group for this one job.  It's actually your healing prowess that they want you for, though your combat skills and Demon toughness are an added bonus."

"Who are they?"

"Officially, Rob Keller, Amanti Jay and Yvonne Doreal,"  Steve grinned.  "Reading between the lines... I'd say they're an adventuring party Jason Da'Real used to hang out with before he joined us.

"If so, they're really Snell, the infamous incubus thief, Amanti Keretuke, a reformed member of the notorious Jyraneth Clan, and finally Yvonne of Clan Daryil."

"Oh," Emily said.  "Yes, Jason's told me that story.  I wasn't sure whether to believe it... it sounded too farcical to be real."

"Well, if you accept the mission, you can get to hear their side of it."


"Good day, Ms. Strauss," Jakob said.  "It's about R-ALF, our cyberwolf,"

"Oh?  Has there been a problem?"

"Sort of," Jakob said.  "Daryil decided he wanted some kind of elite guard."

At that moment, R-ALF stepped into the room, not on four legs, but two... an anthro wolf robot clad in combat armour.  "Good day, Ms. Strauss!" he said, cheerfully.  The Demon took a step back, her hands instinctively becoming claws for a moment as she mastered herself.

"Mr. Pettersohn, this is... not what you are supposed to be doing.  We made it quite clear that your robotic animals were not to be given hands!"

"Yes," Jakob said.  "But that was several decades ago.  How long must they be evaluated for?  Also, remember that we are not currently mass-producing him.  R-ALF is experimental, and this is a new experiment."

"While this is technically true, it flouts the spirit of the law.  It skirts uncomfortably close to violating the revised New Life Treaty."

Jakob sighed sadly.  "Isn't it weird how it's a greater crime to create life, than to destroy it?  What does that say about our priorities as a society?"

"Maybe it is over-broad, but it has served well to protect us, and it is my job to enforce those protections.
"Be that as it may, warrior robots are tightly controlled, as well you know - and Ralf's glowing eyes and black frame aren't winning him any favours.  Could you not have given him a less menacing appearance...?"

Jakob chuckled politely.  "That would have been even worse.  Daryil wanted a mook, remember... someone you don't want to mess with - and a menacing appearance is ideal for that.
"Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, we are showing him to you right now.  It would have been trivially easy - and a lot less effort - to pop his brain inside an off-the-shelf android.  You may never have found out!  Instead, we went to the hassle of building a frame that was obviously synthetic, and calling you in to get your opinion."

"This is also true," the demon admitted, relaxing slightly.  "Fa'Rana clan did not show such courtesy with the Trixie affair, so it was only the combined interventions of Taun and Daryil that saved many high-level clan members from the guillotine.  Lady Finch in particular only kept her head by converting to Daryil clan..."

"And she has greatly improved under Daryil's guidance," Jakob said.

"I am glad to hear that, but we are digressing.  I still cannot believe you gave Ralf hands!  Reducing his ability to use objects was a key security feature!  What if he goes crazy?"

"I can hear you," R-ALF reminded them.

"He's already had over 20 years to go crazy in," Jakob pointed out.  "But if it did happen, we do this!" he added, stabbing at his watch.  The cyberwolf uttered a yelp of surprise and collapsed in a heap, head striking the floor with a heavy clang.

"Warn me next time!" he complained.

"Sorry, but then it would look like we staged it," Jakob said.

"Experiment or not, Daryil's record is hardly spotless," Strauss fretted.  "He has long been known in 'Cubi circles as a schemer who experimented on his own children, trying to gain the advantages of becoming a Tri-wing without any of the risks or drawbacks..."

"I heard that," Daryil said, appearing in front of Strauss.

"I am only repeating what others have said," the tigress added nervously.  "The opinions of other members of your own race shouldn't come as a surprise..."

"Some of them are justified," Daryil admitted.  "I don't claim to have a spotless reputation, but there have been precious few ascended Tri-Wings who do.  Someone once likened us to supervillains," he grinned sadly.  "I don't think that's quite fair because most of us try to exercise our enormous power with enormous responsibility.  Even so, you can't usually get this powerful without breaking a few rules."

"The ones who didn't exercise such caution were fodder for Hizell and his goons during the Dragon War," Jakob sighed.  "For all the death and genocide, I have to admit that without it, we'd probably still be just another race of predators, tormenting and killing the weaker races.  For good or ill, the threat of impending extinction does help you buck up your ideas..."

"That is true," Strauss admitted.  "The fall of the Dragon race, the revelation of exactly how much they had been warping our culture and their plans for wiping us out next once the 'Cubi were gone...  That shook up Demon society as well and caused a lot of re-appraisals.

"Very well.  You may continue with this experiment.  I will make a note of it for our records.  But now that you have done this, I caution you not to repeat the experiment on further test subjects without first obtaining prior authorisation from the Commission.
"Also, if anything untoward happens, I expect you to terminate the experiment immediately and to inform me."

"What?!" the cyberwolf squawked.

"Ralf is fully sentient!" Jakob objected angrily, standing between him and Strauss.  "We will not execute him without due process!"

"No, no," Strauss said, with a faint smile.  "You only have to end this experiment,.  I do not expect you to end him unless there is no other option.  The Commission has an interest in his continued wellbeing too, you know.
"Still, if, gods forbid, Ralf should misbehave in a way that threatens the safety of others - outside the scope of his guardly duties, of course - you are to revert him to his original quadrupedal form as soon as possible and surrender the bipedal chassis to us.  That is all I ask."

"Also, while I do not expect this to happen, it is nonetheless possible that someone within the Commission will object to your experiment happening at all.  In that situation, the same applies - he must be reverted to a quadruped.  I will of course inform you promptly if that scenario occurs."

"These terms are acceptable," Daryil said.  Jakob nodded.

"Uh, do you mind letting me get back up?" R-ALF asked.

*slams hands on desk* more robot wolf

Chapter 3

Daryil had an unusually sombre expression as Jakob entered his study.

"You're not your usual bouncy self," the wolf incubus said.  "And that worries me.  These kind of meetings always do... I just know you're going to lay something heavy upon me."

"Close," the fox hybrid grinned.  "But don't worry too much.  No-one's died.  But there is something I have to tell you, something I should have said long ago..."

"Oh," Jakob said, his wings wilting slightly.  "Ancient and evil secrets.  I hate those."

"If it works out, it'll be way cool," Daryil said, offering Jakob a bowl of salted fish.  "But yeah, we have to get through the sordid stuff first.

"You may have wondered how I managed to get this old," the incubus said.  "Four thousand years is quite a trick in itself, and remaining that young the whole time, let alone being able to create and sustain a hyperrealm large enough to contain a river and a hydroelectric dam..."
"I've tried not to think about that too much," Jakob admitted.  "It generally implies a pretty dark past."

"Indeed," Daryil sighed.  "While it's true that historically most 'Cubi have tended to get their heads chopped off before old age becomes a problem, those who do avoid a sudden, violent end won't usually make it past one or two thousand without some external source of power to prop them up.
"Souls will help, of course, as you have alluded to.  And I was not immune from the temptation, back when I was young, stupid and brutal."

Jakob sighed.  "I knew I wasn't going to like this."

"It's easy to see the allure, Jakob..." Daryil continued, "That by eating just one little person - someone who'd be dust a century later anyway - one single little death could grant you a thousand years more youth.
"But then you find it's a case of diminishing returns... the next soul might only buy you another five centuries, until eventually each soul you devour buys you mere decades...  It's like you build up a resistance to it.  And each soul you devour will make the law more determined to hunt you down and end your evil.  In some jurisdictions, they may even consume your own soul as justice for your crimes.

"If it's any consolation, I've only done that twice," Daryil sighed, "And both my victims had been intending to kill me.  However, that was a 'bonus' if we can use that term for something so vile.  It's not that I wanted to talk about, because I had another source of power besides."

"What, then, did you do?"  Jakob asked, his headwings drooping.

"I found an artifact," Daryil said.  "It belonged to one of Hizell's children, who was destroyed during the Dragon Wars of old.  The story goes that their killer took possession of it, but was then destroyed in her turn once Hizell sought revenge.... slaying her and her entire clan.  But somehow, Hizell overlooked the artifact, or else some ally of his victims stole it away.  Whatever happened, it eventually resurfaced, and fell into my possession."

"Yeeg," Jakob said, fanning out.  "So what happened to it?  Where is it now?"

"By 1980 things were looking up for the 'Cubi race, Jin had her hospital in Zinvth, Nact'Larn and Kish'Ta had got big into TV and motion pictures.  'Cubi were becoming tolerated in cities, if reluctantly.  I feared that this would enrage Hizell into starting another war, which it did.  And once the New War came to a head in the early 1990s, hanging on to something stolen from Hizell's family was the perfect way to be found lying somewhere missing a head, shortly followed by you, Niall, and the rest of my entire line.  The Dragons didn't play games with that kind of thing.
"So... I absorbed enough energy from it to keep me going for another few thousand years, and hid it away, hoping to get it back once the war had ended, or as a last-ditch attempt to save our clan if Hizell looked like he was going to win.
"But then the war did end, and Hizell ended with it.  I have been too busy with other projects to go looking for the artifact since, and after all, with my own ascension I now create my own energy.  Hence, I no longer need it for myself.

"But you, Jakob... you are one of my most cherished children, with the possible exception of Niall.  I would have you by my side for a long time to come, and preferably in the flesh as well.  I want you to have it."

"I'm honoured," Jakob said, bowing before Daryil, who looked embarrassed for a moment.

"But there's a snag, isn't there?"  Jakob said.  "You need to find it first."

"Exactly.  You see, the building I hid it in no longer exists, and the artifact was located during the demolition, although the significance of it has not yet been discovered, so far as I know.
"So... when I said that I wanted R-ALF as an elite guard, that's a half-truth.  I also want him to go on a quest for me.  One that would be better served by his having hands instead of paws."

"A quest to find this magical doodad," Jakob sighed.  "The Commission will go nuts if they think we've deceived them, Dar..."

"It's a secret mission," Daryil said.  "And I'm not lying, he will be an elite guard.  But I need him to do this for me first, as a test of his capabilities.  Hopefully most people will write him off as someone with some seriously fancy power armour, or failing that, a golem.  I'll come clean with the Commission afterwards, but I'd rather not risk having them go after my artifact themselves."

"Surely you don't expect him to do this alone," Jakob said.  "He's not let us down yet, but a prize like this... what if he goes power-mad and runs off with it?"

"I want R. Niall to go with him," Daryil said.  "Someone else as well.  In any case, they are synthetic lifeforms.  They can't use the artifact themselves, so we need someone flesh-and-blood to go with them."

"So that's the bad news?  You want me to do this...?" Jakob asked doubtfully.  "Find or steal some dragon relic?"

"No.  You are too valuable to risk on the expedition.  But, once the artifact is located, I will want you to oversee its safe return to headquarters.  You'll go in to collect it, once the advance team has made things safe."

"Which is why you're telling me all this..." Jakob grinned with relief.

"Bingo," Daryil said.

"So, do we know where it is?"

"Only vaguely."

"What about this Bob creature you've dealt with occasionally?  Does he know?"

"Mysterious ways and all," said a voice behind Jakob.  The wolf fanned out in shock and spun around.

"I spotted this thing and tipped Daryil off.  Obviously I could do more, but I don't want Daryil to become too dependent on me.  That would suck for all concerned.  Oh!  One more thing I can tell you... you're not the only person looking for it.  Keep that in mind."

"I owe you a favour again," Daryil said.

Bob grinned evilly.  "That's the fun part of being a godlike entity.  You give people a hint or two and they think it's some incredible blessing from the divines, when really you're just getting them to do your dirty work for you."

"I'll keep that in mind too," Daryil said.

"It kind of takes the fun out of it," Jakob said.

"That said, there is something you could do for me," Bob ventured.

"A sacrifice?"  Jakob asked, uneasily.  "Who?  What?"

"No.  Ten-pin bowling," Bob said wistfully.  "I haven't done that for thousands of years."

"Then let's go," Daryil said.


Amanti and Keller were dressed seductively as they entered the club.  Yvonne wore her usual catsuit, so only Emily looked out-of-place, an expression of slight embarrassment as she handed her broadsword to the bouncers at the entrance.

"I thought you were going to be the conspicuous ones," she sighed, glancing at the other patrons, who were largely dressed in skimpy outfits of leather or latex, some of them sporting head-wings.

A table at the back had a lone figure, waving at them enthusiastically.  Keller went first, eyeing them with mild surprise.  Ernst wore sunglasses, rubber leggings and opera gloves, his hair dyed blue and his wings hidden by an ornate medallion around his neck that served as a concealment charm.
"How ya doin', fellas?" he asked, grinning crazily.

"Blood is black in the moon-light," Keller replied quietly.  Ernst gave him a high-four and gestured for them to sit.

"Why did we have to meet in a gay bar?"  Emily hissed.

"Not my idea," Ernst said.  "Why 'Cubi do what they do isn't always obvious, no offence intended," he added, glancing at the other three with his same manic grin.

"So, see something you like...?" Amanti asked hopefully.  Ernst's grin didn't even falter.  "Your head," he beamed.  "But I'll lose my job if I take it."

"Heavy, man," Keller protested.

"Force of habit." Ernst grinned sheepishly.  "It can be hard to separate him from his... alter ego."

Emily excused herself and returned from the ladies shortly afterwards in a completely different outfit.  The armour had gone, replaced by colourful one-piece racing leathers.

"I didn't think biking was really a Demon thing," Keller said, looking a little surprised.

"Why not?" Ernst said, his grin genuine this time.  "It's got thrill, excitement, danger and tight leather!  And a lot less legal complications than rampaging."

"It does keep us out of trouble," Emily said.  "Well, apart from the occasional speeding ticket."

"There was this one guy," Yvonne said.  "He was a Demon, and his rampage consisted of racking up 250 speeding violations in a single day..."

"Rampages aren't what they used to be," Emily sighed wistfully.  "Which is probably for the best."

"Anyway, here's the Stuff," Ernst said.  "Let my supplier know what you think of the samples and we can arrange the deal."

So saying, he handed out a number of suspicious-looking brown packages, which the adventurers pocketed before leaving heading out of the establishment.

Emily looked disgusted.  "A drug deal?" she protested.  "Is that virtuous?"

"No, but it is legal here," Keller said.  "Kind of a shame, in a way...  Takes all the fun out of it.  Anyway, let's go to my place and try this stuff out!  Unless you want to hook up with anyone while we're here," he added.  Emily shook her head violently.


"Now," Keller said, casting a spell to ensure they were not being scryed on, "At last we can talk.  Let's see what this is all about."

He opened his package.  Emily's mutinous expression faded into surprise as she saw that the bags of white powder were concealing a small sheaf of papers vacuum-sealed in translucent plastic.  Quickly she opened hers.

"Read them quickly," the other snow leopard advised, "And try to memorise the contents.  They'll self-destruct in about five minutes."

"You've done this before," Emily said, looking impressed.

"They teach a lot of weird stuff at the 'Cubi academy," Keller said offhandedly, and then looked up sharply.  "Oh, yeah... and the white powder is citric acid, so I wouldn't recommend snorting it."

I bet speeding ticket rampage demon was super proud afterwards

Chapter 4

Emily's platemail was universally accepted as adventuring gear, and Keller's wizard robes didn't stand out too much either.  Yvonne and Amanti, on the other hand, liked to wear rubber and that didn't usually go down well in medieval territories.

As such, they had switched to leather armour - Amanti in the adventuring leggings that he'd worn in the guise of Sven, and Yvonne had chosen a scouting outfit of dark leather, ambiguous in its nature as it was loved by thieves and assassins as well as those of a more legitimate persuasion.

"Not much in the way of patrols," Keller said as they passed the border with Kelland.  "You'd have thought they'd have more than just a token presence here.  I mean, it's not like Fairwater is hungry for new territory, but still... At the very least you'd think they'd want to check for contrabands."

"I heard they've had a rough time of it lately," Emily said darkly.  "Unrest in parts of the kingdom.  It may be that they've had to withdraw the folks usually stationed here to help maintain order in the trouble spots."

"That's not good," Amanti muttered.  "If the king's lost the plot, I can easily see protests in the capital.  i.e. the part we're bound for.  It's not likely to make our job any easier."

"Perhaps not," a voice said brightly.  "But it makes our job a lot easier!  Now hand over the money."

A group of Beings in adventuring gear made jumped out from a bush.  Some of them were clad in worn, tatty leathers, others had mismatched pieces of steel and chainmail, with their leader in full plate, most likely loot from a previous encounter.

"If you're the border guard, you're very lost," Amanti said.  "But it's off that way..." he added, pointing.

"Don't be an idiot," the leader snapped impatiently.  "We're robbing you."

"You should ask for more pay," Amanti suggested helpfully.  "Go on strike if you have to.  Are you unionised...?"

"We're fucking bandits," the leader yelled.  "Of course we're not part of a union!  Now I've been nice to you so far, but we can do this the hard way if you prefer.  Less lip... or less head.  It's up to you."

"Yeah," one of the others said.  "Stand and deliver!  Your money or your life!"

Emily looked back at them irritably.  "You picked the wrong group here, lads.  Get out of here, and we'll forget this ever happened."

"I dunno," Amanti said hopefully.  "We could just kill them anyway."

"How much will it take to make you go away?" Yvonne asked.

"Are you seriously suggesting we pay off a group of highwaymen?" Amanti looked scandalised.

"I prefer to think of it as a charitable donation," the puma explained.  "If they're desperate for a few gold coins we might as well, right?  If they get too greedy, that's when we start chopping off heads.  Since they've stated their threats to kill us, anything we do to them counts as self-defence..."

"I told you not to get cocky," the lead bandit snarled.  "Hand over the money.  All of it... or die!"

"Let's split the difference," Emily suggested, drawing her sword.  Amanti did the same with an eager expression.

In very short order, half their attackers were left headless.  The rest were pinned to the ground by 'Cubi wing-tentacles.

"Right," Emily said, as the survivors cowered in terror.  "Here's your money.  Five gold coins each... I just hope it was worth the price your friends paid.  Now get lost.  If we run into you again, we'll be taking the money back... off your headless corpses.  Is that clear?"

Apparently it was, as the erstwhile bandits quickly scooped up the coins and fled for their lives the moment they were free to do so.

"Damn," Amanti sighed, looking at the carnage with an expression of regret.  Yvonne looked at him strangely.

"Remorse?" the puma asked.  "That's unlike you.  Compassion is all very well, but I hope you don't lose your edge..."

"Kind of," the red feline admitted, looking a little embarrassed.  "Daryil asked me to keep a diary.  Keep count of how many days it was since I killed someone.  And now it'll have to go back to zero again."


The next day passed without incident until they finally arrived at the capital city of Kellsmere.  The four adventurers checked into an inn and stowed their adventuring gear before leaving to explore the city and get their bearings.

As they reached the square, a large crowd had gathered where a tall structure stood, covered in cloth.  Keller's heart sank as the cloth was pulled away to reveal a guillotine.
As they watched, a Doberman was marched up the steps to the scaffold, a look of barely-concealed terror in his eyes as he took in the blade one last time before being forced into position.

Less than a minute later there was a loud thump, followed immediately by a soft thud as the head was left lying dazed in a wicker basket.  Yvonne and Keller stared resolutely at the muddy ground of the square, and even Amanti looked a little subdued.

"Whom did he murder?" the red feline asked.

"Nay, 'twas a theft," a pangolin said, glancing at him as the rest of the crowd began to disperse.  "He didst take two loaves of bread from the baker, and paid not.  Now he hath paid with his head."

"A harsh fate indeed," Amanti said.  "I had thought he slew one of noble blood, to reap so capital a reward."

"'Tis part of our zero-tolerance policy 'gainst thieves," the pangolin continued.  "It hath reduced poverty also, for those too feckless to work shall either starve, or go to the arch."

"The arch?" Yvonne asked.  Keller stared fixedly at the ground once again.

"Aye, 'tis where the heads are piked.  It hath not been the same since the old King died...  Mark thee well, strangers, harsh times be upon us here, and harsh measures too."

"We shall be careful," Yvonne reassured him.  "'Tis not our intent to linger.  Thank you for the warning, good sir... we should get back to the inn."


"Shit, shit, shit!" Keller fumed, but quietly in case swearing had a zero-tolerance policy as well.  "They guillotine people for thieving, and guess what we were supposed to do!  Why do we always end up having to go to these hellholes?!"

"Where better to hide a valuable item of mythical power?" Emily pointed out.  "You'd have to be insane to want to steal something from a vicious backwater like this."

"But how can they be so cruel about it?!" Keller moaned.  "Creatures are always called monsters, but Beings seem so eager to turn against each other..."

"You've been doing this for centuries," Yvonne said, looking at him strangely.  "Why the sudden meltdown?  After all, we basically did the same thing to those highwaymen."

"We gave them the choice to flee," Amanti interrupted.  "This guy didn't get any such mercy."

"Usually where theft carries the death penalty it's death by hanging," Keller said quietly.  "A Creature can often fake that kind of death, and I've done so more times than I'd care to admit.  But taking your head off... Let's just say that has a very high success rate.  Especially when they drive a pike through it afterwards."

"Unless you're Daryil," Amanti said.

"But you're not, and I'm not, and we don't have Daryil with us - unless he's posing as Yvonne, which admittedly I couldn't rule out."

"I might be able to summon him," Yvonne suggested.  "But that tends to make things even worse.  Besides, he's taking the week off.  I should not disturb him unless we have no choice."

"Maybe we could steal the guillotine?" Amanti suggested.

"What?" Yvonne stared at him in confusion.

"As an insurance policy, in case we get caught."

"That would just mean that we wait on death row for weeks until they get a new guillotine," Yvonne snapped.  "Or we all get beheaded by sword instead, with botched executions from someone who's years out of practice."

"True.  What if we steal it as we leave?"

"You seem awfully keen on that idea.  I hope you're not falling back into old habits, Amanti... Daryil will be displeased if you start committing casual murder again."

"If I wanted a guillotine that much, I could easily build one myself," Amanti retorted.  "They're not rocket science.  Actually, I just want to get back at them for killing that poor bread thief."

"Perhaps Daryil has mellowed you after all," Yvonne said, smiling.

"Yeah.  Sometimes I do miss the freedom," Amanti said wistfully.  "Absolute freedom to kill as you choose.  But there was also absolute freedom for them to kill you.  And they would have done by now, if Daryil hadn't got me to change my ways.  It wasn't easy.  At times, I hated him for it.  But the thing is... he was right."

"Sounds like you would have made a better Demon than me," Emily smirked.  "Anyway, I am hungry.  Anyone else want food?"

"You're the only one who actually needs to eat," Keller reminded her quietly.  "But I suppose we should, or people will start to ask awkward questions."

"I shall have four meals sent to our room," Emily decided.  "I can eat them all if need be."


Jakob entered the large warehouse Daryil usually used for audiences and found the vulpine incubus sitting in a deck chair, stroking one of the cyberjags with a black gloved hand.  In front of them, six more of the robotic cats had formed a feline pyramid.

"What do you think, Wils?" Daryil asked brightly.

"10 out of 10," the jaguar decided.  Then he got up and bounded towards the others, leaping into the air.  He missed the mark, dislodging the top panther and falling backwards until the entire structure had collapsed.

"What did you do that for?" Panther X-RAY demanded angrily.  "We had it perfect!"

"I'm sorry..." Wils said.  "I thought I could make it..."

"...What is all this in aid of?" the wolf interrupted.  "Was this Daryil's idea...?"

"Sort of..." panther Y-RAY said, looking away.  "But it is fun."

"The plan was to hire you out as guards," Jakob said doubtfully.  "Not as a circus act.  Still, if it makes you happy..."

"Oh, let them have their fun!"  Daryil said.  "Anyway, we could use this for a promotional video!  Wouldn't it look great?  Roll up!  Roll up!  Come and see the amazing robo-panthers!  They slice!  They dice!  They stand in a pyramid reciting Shakespeare!"

"You never mentioned that," Y-RAY remarked anxiously.

"That's the next part!" Daryil grinned manically.  "Wils?"

W-ILS crouched menacingly as the lights dimmed and his claws gleamed silver in the spotlight.

"'Tis now the very witching time of night... when churchyards yawn and Hell itself breathes out contagion to this world," he began, and grinned evilly.  "Now could I drink hot blood... and do such bitter business as the day would quake to look on!"

"I think we should cut that line from the advert," Jakob decided.

Chapter 5

--Additional writing by Sofox

For the last few hundred years Kelland had been torn between its medieval roots and the emergence of new technology. As such, it was littered with the occasional anachronism. Although devoid of celluar service or worldnet connectivity, some of the more well-to-do districts of the capital sported electric lighting, and the central library had a row of microfiche viewers, which Yvonne pored over all morning.

The target was the treasury vaults... a government building for hosting huge amounts of the King's treasure. While its main function was for storing valuables, the King had clearly embraced the mantra of "what's the point of having it if you can't show it off?" Hence, part of the treasury was open as a museum for paying visitors to gawk at some of the more visible treasures.

Trying to dress casually, Keller, Yvonne and Amanti scoped out the place, Emily deciding to rest in the meantime. After arriving separately and paying for their tickets, ironically contributing money directly to an entity they were trying to steal from, they got a guided tour. Various gold statues, allegedly cursed artifacts, and random works of art from neighbouring kingdoms, were all arranged among a few arched rooms. The treasury had four main sections to it, but as "tourists", they only had access to one.

It was a strong guess that the artifact was here. An old article made mention of a strange artifact being aquired by the government, and this was the most sensible place to hide it. Still, they weren't sure, and nothing on display was giving any clear hints. Even a discrete question to the tour guide didn't help, as the elk just took a moment to say how the vaults contained "many wondrous things" and then continued on her script.

After being sure they wouldn't get more clues this way, Keller ducked into a retrofitted toilet and took out the scrying orb he'd managed to get past the entrance security. Scrying through the other sections, it was clear that two of the sections were much higher security, but the fourth and final had the most security of all.

This section culminated with a large vault door, warded against any such intrusions. Keller went back to searching the rest of the vaults, even some areas of the public rooms, and ultimately found nothing. The only possible spot was that one place he couldn't look. The main vault.

Finishing up the scrying by noticing all the security that he could, Keller rejoined the group and after a bit of performative examining of exhibits, they all left causally.

"It has to be there," said Keller.

"What if it isn't?" Amanti objected. "What if it was never brought to the vaults at all and the king is sleeping with it under his pillow?"

"Well, then we just leave and hope we don't alert any guards on the way out."

"And if we do?" asked Yvonne?

"We say 'Sorry, we were just looking for the toilets'."

"Does that ever work?"

"Never."

They spent the evening preparing, and that night the four of them feigned sleep until about 3 AM, at which point they crept quietly out of the inn, Keller's spellcraft helping to silence their steps.

Circling around, they reached the freight entrance of the museum. Keller assured them that it was the best shot. The museum entrance was too public, and the entrances that the guards used were too secure, but the freight entrance wouldn't be commonly used or observed. A small door built into a much larger one was their target, and after a few spells, it broke open.

Making their way through the guts of the treasury, they kept silent with the spell. With some spells to hear better, they could tell the guard's patrols in advance, and padded from corridor to corridor, until they made their way into one of the main vaults, using the huge amount of crates and occasionally unpacked artefacts for cover. Emily was totally out of her element with this cloak and dagger stuff, occasionally clunking into things almost hard enough to break the silence spell, but after trying to match the group's movements, she felt she was starting to get the hang of crouching low and moving swiftly.

The entrance to the fourth section had two guards, standing without moving, all approaches covered by their line of sight.

"What do you usually do when this happens?" whispered Emily.

"Normally I invite one out to dinner, but in this case..."

It was a simple spell, one that made a sound like a drop of water was falling at a specific location. It was distinctive, but not loud. After a few moments of this, the guards started muttering with each other. Probably the most exciting thing to happen this shift. One of the guards went to check it out, giving the group ample time to subdue the first guard the moment his buddy was out of sight. The second guard was taken down easily while she was still looking for the source of the dripping.

Both were rendered unconscious, tied up, and hidden nearby, leaving Keller to unlock the door into the forth section, and pass through. They were sure how long it would take before the guards absense was noticed, so they hurried up.

The fourth section was loaded with magical sensors, traps and signals. Spotting, circumventing them, or just unwarding them took every magic user on the party playing full concentration. Emily was more in her element here, magical traps were something that every adventurer needed to be familiar with. Thankfully no further guards, but it was still like moving through a web of sticky thread.

In one case they were almost thrown off by a completely mundane infra red movement sensor. Keller had just been disabling a particular magical trap on the floor when he managed to catch sight of the sensor out of the corner of his eye. He was able to disable it easily after approaching it slowly, and the group moved on, careful for laser or pressure plates along with all the magical security measures.

Finally they made it to the main vault. The group collectively held their breath and were on their guard as the various magical wards were deactivated, and the locks unlocked.

Unfortunately, as time passed Keller got more and more frustrated. "It's this last seal," he complained, "I've tried every trick I can against it and it's not breaking."

"Can't we just force the door at this stage?" asked Emily.

"No, the seal is too strong."

"Well, how is the King meant to open it?"

"They need a special token that acts as proof of who they are, but I assume there's only a few of them. The only one I've seen so far is in the museum section. I remember seeing it there, on display in a more discrete part of the museeum, thinking if I took it and its nameplate, the guards wouldn't even notice it was missing..." Keller thrust his hands into his pockets in though, and to his surprise, took out the very token he'd been referring to. "Oh, I guess I did steal it after all!"

"KELLER!" Amanti seethed.

"There was an entire museum of valuables!" the snow leopard protested, fitting the token to a slot on the door.  "I was holding myself back the entire time! I think it's pretty good that I made it out of there while only stealing one artifact!"

At length there was a click and the vault door finally opened.  The group stared in awe at the artifact within.

There, in the centre of the room, a pedestal held an ornate frame, supporting a mask in the shape of a dragon's face. From its eyes, light blazed forth and illumined the room with a pulsing light that shifted slowly fom colour to colour.

"What do you suppose happens if you wear it...?" Amanti breathed.

"I'm not about to try it," Keller admitted.  "It might boost your lifespan tenfold.  It might grant you the power to see things unseen or provide mystic insight into the nature of the universe.  Or alternatively, it might just rewrite your brain and turn you into a mindless slave to Hizell and his descendants.  It's very clearly of Dragon make, and aside from the occasional outlier such as Balorie they weren't known for their generous gifts to the 'sub-races'."

"Is it even safe to touch?" Emily asked cautiously.

"I don't want to take any risks," Keller replied, donning a pair of rubber gloves.  "Oh... wait!  The seafood!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"What!?"  Emily asked, looking at the male snow leopard with a confused expression and wondering if she'd heard right.

Keller held out both hands, uttered a brief incantation and a whole frozen salmon abruptly appeared in his black-gloved hands.

"Keller, what the hell are you doing?!" Yvonne demanded.

"Oh, it's just something I used to do quite a bit in my earlier days," Keller grinned.  "It was kind of a calling card.  When I was burgling a wealthy mansion, I'd sneak into the kitchen and get a couple of fish.  Whole salmon, preferably.  Those rich estates usually have some in the fridge, freezer or ice-room.  See, I'd leave one fish in the master bedroom, sometimes just dumped on the bed, or occasionally I'd tuck it just inside the covers as if it was asleep."

"Did you put a fish in each bed...?" Emily asked slowly, looking at him with some concern and backing away very slightly.  "You know we're not actually visiting the King's bedroom, right...?"

"Nah.  The other one... well, when I was burgling the safe, or better yet, a display case... I'd leave one of the fish there, to replace whatever treasure I'd stolen.  I mean, it would be mean just to leave it empty, right...?"

So saying, he gently placed the dead fish in the vault, next to the glowing draconic mask.  As he turned back, he saw that Emily, Yvonne and Amanti were staring at him in disbelief.

"...What?" Keller asked, looking slightly disappointed.  "Have you never trolled someone for emotions?  Well, maybe Emily hasn't.  But yeah, it was all part of the fun.  Sometimes I'd stay behind undercover just so I could taste the Lord's anger and astonishment when they came home late at night and went up to bed, or off to stare at their prize possession before retiring.  It was delicious!  Sometimes, if I was burgling the place while it was occupied, I'd put the fish next to them so they saw it when they woke up.  Of course, I had to do that as the last thing because the smell tended to rouse them fairly quickly."

"This is all well and good, but we don't have all night," Amanti urged him, "The longer we dawdle here talking about fish, the more chance there is that we'll be caught.  And you know what they do even to petty thieves here!  What we're doing right now is a thousand times worse.  We could be tortured to death for this, so please... Can we get on with it...?"

"That's very true," Keller sighed, with a more sober expression.  He turned back to the vault and hesitated for a moment, before cautiously picking up the glowing artifact.

"That is far enough, you villains!" a voice called out harshly.  Keller stifled a yelp and dropped the object back onto the plinth.  Moments later they were all seized and enchanted bracers clapped around their arms.

"His Majesty, the illustrious Lord Ravage, has been expecting you," the guard captain said.  "You see, in times past, we have found that anti-scrying wards do scare away thieves," he continued.  "Thus, we have warded the vaults to detect scrying attempts, and to inform our noble liege that his treasury has been violated.  Then we know to send a team to bring the miscreants to justice."

"Isn't that entrapment?"  Keller asked.

"It is whatever Lord Ravage wishes it to be," the captain finished, with a vicious grin.  "And mark my words, Mr. Keller... You are in real trouble now!"

"Shall we slay them now...?" the guard asked, drawing his sword eagerly.

"No..." the captain said.  "The Lord Ravage has ordered they be brought before him.  It is for him to decide the manner of their deaths for this wickedness, and I would not dare to deny him such a pleasure."

"With a name like that he's got to be a bit of a tyrant," Emily muttered worriedly.

"Silence!  You speak of our king!" the guard said, slapping her armoured back with a truncheon.

"Of course, this meeting is likely to be a mere formality," the captain added sadistically.  "I expect we shall watch your heads fall in the square, to be piked 'neath the arch with the rest of our mighty king's foes.  Consider that while you await the sentencing!"

ahahaha Keller is so much fun

Chapter 6

Long and torturous hours passed in the castle dungeon, with only Emily able to sleep, until morning finally came and the guards led them to where the king was awaiting their presence.

Keller, Amanti, Yvonne and Emily soon found themselves in a splendid hall, where a large dais with many steps led up to where the king sat.

"What the fuck..." Amanti gasped.

"You dare use such language before our king?!" the captain yelped, drawing his sword.  "You will show the Lord Ravage due respect, or you shall die where you stand!"

"Enough!" a voice boomed around the throne room, causing the captain to freeze as if he had been slapped.  "I told you I want them alive!  All of them!"

The four adventurers gazed in stupefaction as the guard captain climbed the steps and bowed before his master.  Where the throne should have been, a robotic jaguar sat upon silk cushions, a gold filigreed cloak clasped awkwardly around the feral animal's neck, and the letters R-AVG stencilled onto one front leg.

"These are the thieves, Majesty," the captain fawned.  "They are yours to pass the death sentence upon, or shew mercy unto as you see fit..."

"Good.  I will speak with them now," the cyberjag said, flexing golden claws.  "In private."

"As you wish, my liege..." the captain said, looking slightly disappointed.  The robot stood up and padded regally to a nearby door, which a servant opened for them.


Shortly afterwards the four adventurers had been forced roughly into a meeting chamber, where a smaller dais had been prepared.  The robot ascended it and sat.  The adventurers sat in the seats provided, at which point they were level with the robot's glowing red eyes.  He made a gesture, dismissing the guards, and waited a few moments for them to leave.

"I suppose you're all wondering how this happened," Lord Ravage began.

"You're one of Lord Daryil's guard robots," Yvonne said.  "What on Furrae are you doing out in the back of beyond like this?!  And what have you done to the place!?  Surely he didn't authorise this?!"

"Times have changed," the robot pointed out.  "We have recently been approved by the Being-Creature Commission for use outside of Daryil's organisation.  I was one of the first groups to be hired out to a third party."

"But this can't be what Daryil intended!" Yvonne looked horrified.  "The Commission are going to go apeshit if they find out you've conquered a realm!  Surely you were warned how scared they are of robots going rogue?  How precarious your position is as a probationary lifeform?  They'll take you apart!"

"This is a sovereign nation, and we don't actually have a treaty with the Commission," the jaguar grinned toothily for a moment, and then looked more subdued.  "But... you're right.  That's actually why I wanted to talk to you.  I need your help."

"And why should we help a tyrant?" Amanti objected angrily.  "Especially one who beheads their subjects for petty theft!"

"Then at least help me fix that," the robot snapped.  "Listen.  Six months ago, I was assigned to protect King Tavris as his bodyguard.  Life was good.  Then, five weeks later, the poor guy's heart gave out and he died, leaving no heir to the throne.
"I figured I'd be sent back to Jayhawk Cybernetics and reassigned to guard someone else... But to everyone's amazement, he'd named me as his successor.  And now...

"I'm just a bodyguard," the panther said helplessly.  "I wasn't trained for this!  They don't teach you how to run a kingdom at Jayhawk!  I can't even put this stupid robe on without help, and they expect me to be able to govern a nation...?  They want me to settle this dispute over grain tarrifs and I'm not sure I could point out a grain if you put one in front of me."

"I start to see the problem," Amanti said.  "I guess I've been assuming malice where there is actually incompetence.  I must apologise, Milord."

"Look at me," the jaguar said miserably.  "I don't have any hands!  I can't turn the pages of long documents easily, and yet people expect me to read things written in archaic Common and sign them into law.  I'm a robotic feral who doesn't even need to eat and they expect me to understand how to run a kingdom of organic lifeforms!"

"How do you sign things into law?" Keller asked.

"I stamp them," Lord Ravage said, waving a rubber-padded paw in the air.  "I push my foot into an ink pad and then press it into the document.  I can just about manage the official seal by holding it in my mouth, but I have to get someone else to melt the wax, and I need a mirror to make sure I'm about to hit the right spot."

"I still want to know why it's okay to publicly behead thieves for stealing bread,"  Keller said sullenly.

"These stupid arguments about the grains have led to a famine," the jaguar said miserably.  "My advisors suggested I enact a state of emergency.  I didn't see the fine print until it was too late."

"Can't you suspend it, or at least pass an amendment?" Emily asked.

"My advisors aren't keen on that.  Especially Sims... he keeps saying about how a king needs to appear strong in the face of adversity... even ruthless."

"So?  You're the King!  You can sign it into law anyway!"

"I also can't write," the jaguar pointed out.  "I depend on someone else to write the law out for me.  And they don't want to."

"So, your advisors are likely taking advantage of you," Emily sighed.

"Please, you have to help me!" the robot begged.  "The treasury is still paying rental for me, but sooner or later someone is going to want to check in to see how I'm performing.  If they see me like this, they'll hit the panic button faster than you can blink!  They'll pop my brain out to see what failed!"

"It might not be that bad," Amanti said.  "They'll probably have Niall or Jakob thought-read you first, and that should exonerate you."

"You certainly didn't," Lord Ravage pointed out bitterly.  "I had to explain all this to you."

"Restraint bracers tend to do that," Amanti said, waving his arm in a casual manner.  "In any case, Emily is a Demon and she deserves an explanation as well."

"I'll get the bracers removed," the jaguar promised.  "Just swear you'll try and help me get out of this mess!  Puma-lady, I remember you're one of Daryil's clan.  Can you tell him what's happened?  Can he rescue me...?"

"It's his Day of Rest," Yvonne said.  "Emergencies only.  And this isn't an emergency - not yet.  Besides, there's... complications.  See, that artifact we were acquiring?  We were supposed to take it directly to King Fairwater.  Even Daryil wasn't supposed to find out, and if I summoned him here, if I contact him at all, he'll see!  He'll know!  He'll take it from us!"

"Great," the jaguar said, doing a passable job of face-palming with one paw.

"Look, there's the very real possibility that if someone does turn up to check on me, that the guards and the advisors will object to them switching off their 'beloved king' and behead them for assault or attempted regicide or something.  And then the shit really will hit the fan!
"Even if they don't hit the big red button, do you think my advisors will easily let go of their useful idiot...?  The inspector would be trying to kidnap their precious king!"

"Have you considered abdication?" Emily suggested.

"You need a successor to do that," the robot said.  "You can't not have a king.  Even a democracy needs a leader, or a ruling council or something.  And frankly I'm not sure I want advisor Sims in charge...  I mean, look what's happened so far.  Besides, if I'm no longer useful to them, they might report me as faulty or suddenly discover compelling evidence that I'd killed King Tavris!"

"We'll sort something out for you," Yvonne promised.  "I swear by my Clan Leader that I will inform him tomorrow, and ask that he either bail you out, or send a new advisor to help you rule the place more effectively until such time as a more permanent solution can be found.  If you want me to remain here as a token of my good faith, I will do that."

"But what about the artifact?" Amanti asked.  "You said Daryil would covet it."

"Yes," Yvonne admitted.  "But, assuming Lord Ravage is happy with this arrangement, you can take the artifact back to our principal today.  Daryil should only find out after it's already been handed over - at which point we've done our bit and it's between the two parties to sort things out between themselves."

"That works," Emily agreed.  "Milord?"

"That is acceptable," the jaguar agreed, looking a lot happier.  "I shall order your freedom and have the artifact brought here.  I don't expect a magical doodad is much use to me, after all."


"I have reached a decision," Lord Ravage announced, padding into the throne room with the others in tow.

"May we guillotine them in the square, you majesty...?" the guard captain fawned eagerly.

"Absolutely not!  You are to remove their bracers and release them from custody.  The puma lady Yvonne has agreed to perform a valuable task for me - she will remain here overnight.  As a guest," he added quickly.
"Find her some comfortable quarters.  The others are to take the artifact they were attempting to steal, and remove it from the kingdom as it is cursed - that will be punishment enough.  Fetch it from the treasury immediately and escort them to the border.  I want that thing gone as soon as possible."

"Very good, majesty," the captain said, with an expression of obvious disappointment.  Two servants hurried off to the treasury, accompanied by a pair of guards.

Not long afterwards, the two servants returned, empty-handed, and knelt before the king in obvious terror.

"What has happened?" the cyberjag asked.  "Where are the guards?"

"M-Majesty... the artifact... it is gone!  It was stolen!"

"The guards stole it...?" the robot queried, looking astonished.

"No!  Monsters, sire!  Horrible black figures in armour!  With red glowing eyes!  They slew them and made off with the artifact!"

"Shit," Lord Ravage said.  "Okay, change of plan.  You four... retrieve the artifact, and bring in these villains.  Just make sure Yvonne comes back here to fulfil her oath."

hahaha I do love the Ravage reveal

Quote from: Merlin on May 20, 2022, 07:27:34 AM
hahaha I do love the Ravage reveal

I was soo tempted to get Ahro to draw Lord R, but it would be a massive spoiler, even though this thing is years away from running as a comic.
(I think I asked for a biomimetic cat prince instead)

Slight delay owing to Confuzzled!

Chapter 7

Keller, Amanti, Emily and Yvonne went back to the treasury first, looking for clues to the theft.  The captain went with them.

Their first task was to examine the body of the fallen guards.  Keller's expression changed as he approached the first victim.  "Hold up," he said.  "This guy... he's not dead!  He's just been stunned.  I can't blame the others for not sticking around to check, mind."

"Good," Emily said.  "That probably goes for his buddy over there too.  Captain, I suggest you take your underling back to the King and let him know the good news.  At least it's not a murder hunt."

"I could have done with a good execution," the captain sighed, but carried the unconscious guard back to the castle.

"So what does this mean?" Yvonne asked, glancing at the others.  "I figured from the description, we were dealing with warrior androids.  Black armour, red glowing eyes - that would describe Lord Ravage himself if he wasn't a quadruped.  But robots don't use magic much.  From what I hear, it's very difficult to achieve."

"Then presumably it's an android and a furre acting together," Emily said.  "That makes sense... if you were a supervillain sending a team out to take something by force, you'd have some androids for the muscle and a flesh-and-blood accomplice to handle the magical side of things."

"What worries me is that your so-called supervillain could well be the Lord Daryil himself," Yvonne said, looking extremely guilty.  "Not many others have the technology to do this.  I'm already in a conflict of interest here and I don't want to make things any worse..."

"We may not be able to recover the artifact at all," Emily sighed.  "If they came in here, beat up the guards and took the artifact, they'd probably have teleported back by now.  No-one's actually seen them leave the treasury, right?
"Robots aren't going to leave DNA evidence, and in any case they've probably been issued recall amulets."

"Ah," Amanti said.  "But those won't work here."  So saying, he suddenly pulled one of the vaults open.  "Treasuries are always warded against teleportation."

"Ah shit," R. Niall said.  "We need to improve the mind-shields, don't we?  Also, was that fish your doing...?"

"It would help," Keller grinned, opening his hands expectantly.  "And yes.  Now... The artifact, please?  Hand it over, then you can slip out of here and we'll tell the King you escaped.  That's better than being brought to justice, isn't it?  Stealing from the King, that could cost you your heads!"

"But-" Yvonne started, looking horrified.

"I know, I know... You're an android or something," Keller continued smoothly, "But even then, the guillotine isn't likely to be a pleasant experience, right?  So let's make a deal.  What do you say...?"

"Nuh-uh", R-ALF replied and leapt at Keller, throwing the artifact into the air where R. Niall caught it effortlessly.  Keller and R-ALF both lay on the ground, wrestling with each other.  Keller's wing-tentacles came out, but he quickly realised that nothing short of a lethal attack was likely to make much difference.  Rather than continue to struggle he just went limp, glowering at R-ALF angrily.

"Are you going to behave now?..." the cyberwolf asked, as R. Niall held the artifact to his chest with one hand and made a defensive gesture with the other.  Daniel LaGrange covered him, stun spell at the ready.

"Why has today consisted of constantly battling insane AIs?!"  Amanti wailed.

"Who are you calling insane?" R-ALF demanded, and Niall looked offended as well.

"You're an armoured warrior robot, and you assaulted us!"  Keller protested.  "I happen to know that there are still tight restrictions on what AIs are and are not allowed to do, and you've crossed that line!"

"I have not!" R-ALF retorted indignantly.  "You're virtually unharmed.  I used minimum necessary force to retrieve something you were stealing from us!"

"Ralf's right," R. Niall said, stepping between them.  "We're only carrying out a mission for our master.  I think you know who sanctioned this operation," he nodded briefly at Yvonne, who looked at the ground miserably.

"Even so, I must ask you to give us the artifact," Keller said.  Suddenly the salmon slapped wetly into his face and he fell over backwards with a yell.  Snarling, Emily leapt at Niall, barrelling him over with a clang as their two armoured forms collided.  With a yell of horror, he struggled and flailed as the precious thing fell from his gauntleted hand.

The mask tumbled and struck the edge of the vault with the ping of metal on stone, bouncing into the wider room.  As it clattered to a halt, the mask's blazing energies flickered and died.  The fighting ceased instantly, every person in the room staring in horror at the priceless object on the floor, now dead and inert.

"You've destroyed it!"  Keller gurgled.

"N-No!"  R-ALF protested, appalled.  "You did!  You were trying to take it from us!"

Gently, Niall cradled the now-defunct artifact in his black metal fingers and made his way gingerly back towards the vault.  As he approached its resting place, the mask suddenly blazed back into life.  He stepped back, and it guttered in to darkness once more.  Somewhat less carefully, he took the artifact in one hand and waved it backwards and forwards, causing the blazing light to flash on and off as he did so.

Amanti threw back his head and laughed.  "Wards!" he giggled helplessly.  "This amazing magical trinket is being extinguished by the same forces that stop us from teleporting!"

"Bullshit," Daniel said.  "Are you suggesting that this dragon-built power source, which has likely been running for millions of years, is so feeble that a mere ward can shut it down?!  That's ridiculous!"

"It might be by now," Niall pointed out.  "Maybe the energy source has a natural half-life like a radioisotope.  Maybe the event that kicked the Dragons out might have throttled it down to uselessness too...  Or maybe it's all been used up to the point where it's merely a fancy toy."

"No," Keller murmured, studying the object over in his hands, which were glowing faintly with magic.  "No, it's not.  But it's not the artifact, either.  This is a forgery.  Cleverly built, but still only a copy."

"What?! Then what have you done with it?!" R-ALF demanded.  "Our orders were to retrieve it for Lord Daryil!"

"...And our mission was to retrieve it for another party who must remain anonymous," Keller said smoothly.  "But it seems we're both going home empty-handed.  Unless you want do draw lots over who gets to takes home the replica."

"I have met Daryil," Amanti said.  "While our sponsor must remain anonymous, Daryil is by far the more powerful of the two parties.  But at the same time, he's also pretty laid back.  So maybe we could take it to our boss, and Daryil can negotiate with them for access to the artifact?"

"You don't understand!" R-ALF protested.  "I was entrusted with this mission to prove I was worthy to serve the Lord Daryil... And now you're asking me to report failure?  To Him?!"

"That may happen anyway," Keller pointed out.  "We don't even have the real artifact, and there's no guarantee we'll ever find it.  It's a little early to be fighting over who gets to keep something we haven't even found."

"What are we going to tell the King?"  Yvonne asked Keller, looking very worried.  "Thieves or not, these people are from my Clan, and I can't let you risk their lives."

"I don't think they'll have too much trouble with the King," Amanti said.  "But the guards are likely to be a lot less accomodating.  We didn't see the King at that thief's execution so... yeah, we need to treat this carefully in case someone tries to rush it through and get us out of the way before his majesty can intervene."

"Who actually is the King here?" Daniel asked.

"Are you familiar with a cyberjag named 'Ravage'?"  Yvonne asked them.  R. Niall grinned.  "Oh yeah!  Dad got the name from an off-world comic or something.  Actually, he was sent to these parts, wasn't he?  Yeah... he was sent to act as bodyguard for the King, right...?  I take it you've met him recently... How's he doing?"

"He took the King's place," Amanti blurted.  R.Niall gasped in horror and covered his muzzle with his gauntleted hands, wings fanning out.  Even R-ALF looked shocked.

"Idiot!"  Yvonne snapped at the red feline.  "I was trying to tell them delicately, so they don't jump to conclusions and execute him or something! You said this needed to be treated carefully, and now... Urgh!
"Look, Niall...  This wasn't his fault.   Lord Ravage hasn't gone rogue, the old king died and left him heir to the throne.  He wants out, but the advisors aren't going to like that idea.  He was hoping I could get him reassigned, or at least taught how to rule a realm properly.  But that's more your area, right?"

"That's still not great," Niall sighed.  "It'll be a right PR mess if word gets out.  But I'll do what I can."

"Can you tell Daryil right now?" Yvonne asked.  "It's his day of rest, but you're much closer to him than I am, right...?"

"Sorry," Niall smiled sadly.  "I'm an android.  I can't commune with him at all.  But Daniel can."

"I don't want to disturb him unduly either," the border collie said.  "I'm not exactly part of his inner circle myself."

"It was just a thought," Yvonne said.  "I promised the King I'd contact Lord Daryil tomorrow... this just seemed like a good way to expedite the..." she trailed off.  Niall was staring into the distance as if struck by a revelation.

"D-Did he contact you?!"  R-ALF asked nervously.  Niall shook his head swiftly.

"You know," he said slowly, "There's a problem with your ward theory, Amanti.  We were hiding inside the vault, remember?  If we could teleport we'd have done so before you came, instead of waiting for a chance to leave.  But the wards are present there too."

"Then what...?" Keller looked confused.  "What was causing the artifact to stop working?"

"Well," the incubus said, "I don't know if you were given much of a description of what to look for.  But supposing that mask is just a decoy?  Hmm... yes.  Try feeding it a little bit of magical energy and see what happens."

Keller did so.  The mask lit up brightly for a moment and then went dark again as the spell was cancelled.

"Oh boy," Keller said, face falling.  "So maybe this really is part of the artifact, but it's just the power light?  Or, as you say, a decoy?"

"Precisely," Niall said.  "The mask may just be a test harness or demonstrator.  In that case, it may be that the real target of our quest is the vault itself."

yesssss more Keller shenanigans

Chapter 8

"I don't buy it," Keller said.  "The vault can't be the artifact, surely!  Besides, Daryil must have given you some idea of what the thing looks like?  What you're actually supposed to be fetching him?"

"He told us about the dragon mask, yes," Niall said.  "But he also said there might be a decoy.  He suggested we bring that to him anyway."

"He may have mentioned the vault and I misunderstood or forgot," Daniel said.

"If he did, I must have missed it too," R-ALF said.  "But this mission is also a test for me.  He might have deliberately withheld that information in case someone overheard.  And if we have to lug a chunk of masonry back with us, that would certainly explain why he chose a warrior android to do it.  Though a Demon would have worked too, I guess..."

"Perhaps," Keller said, "But I'd still like to check the artifact again.  Just in case."

"If that thing disappears up your sleeve, I'll hold you upside-down until it falls out," R-ALF promised.

"It won't," the snow leopard promised.  "Kleptomaniac or not, I know better than to antagonise the Lord Daryil."

R. Niall handed the mask to Keller, who studied it closely.  A jeweller's loupe appeared in his hand and he studied the thing closely.  Then cast a spell on it.

"It's not just a receiver," he confirmed.  "This thing has a source of magic, and lots of it.  But however it works, the wards in the treasury are throttling it somehow.  Oh shit..." he exclaimed and went wide-eyed.

"What?!" the others chorused.

"You won't believe this," Keller said.  "It's got a spacewarp.  Like a bag of holding.  Do any of you remember that trick Abel sometimes did at SAIA where he'd hide inside a mirror and mess with anyone who looked in it?"

"Oh shit," R. Niall said.  "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I think the real artifact is inside the decoy."

"That would sound a lot more impressive if we hadn't just jumped to the wrong conclusion about the artifact actually being the vault," Amanti pointed out.  "But it's still a neat trick if it's true."

"Well, we'll find out when Keller opens it," Yvonne said.

"That might take a while," the snow leopard sighed.  "It's locked.  Quite a complex lock too.  Brute-forcing it will be tricky, even for Daryil.  It may have been designed to keep Hizell and his minions out of it too..."

"Does it matter?" R-ALF shrugged.  "If the real artifact is inside the fake mask, we take it back to Daryil anyway.  Opening it is his problem.  We were only required to locate it and then bring in a specialist."

"There's a key," the snow leopard pointed out.  "I can tell that.  Daryil might have it himself.  If I were you, I'd get Daniel to find out.  If so, we'll have to find it to make this anything more than just a pretty trinket.
"Remember, pocket domains can be a very effective defence.  Even Hizell himself wasn't able to breach SAIA's domain without Fa'Lina allowing it.  Otherwise he'd probably have eradicated us all."

"So we'll need the key anyway," Niall sighed.  "I love mission creep.  Where are we even going to find such a thing?"

"It could be somewhere else in Lord Ravage's treasure collection," Amanti said hopefully.

"How do we even know what it looks like?" Daniel asked.

"Let me check something," Keller said, and cast another spell on the mask, causing the indicator magic to flare brightly for a moment.   "Aha!  There we go..." the thief said, sounding pleased.  "'Memo to self: Seek for the three jewels of Ariganum.  Together they are the key.  -LID'".

"Lid...?  Key lid...?"  R-ALF sounded confused.  He took back the mask and studied the area Keller had cast the spell on.  Tiny writing had appeared, and Daniel took a photo on his phone before it could fade away again.

"L. I. D, " Keller volunteered.  "Presumably short for "Lord Ikaarion Daryil".  If he sent you lot to fetch this thing, he clearly knows a lot about it and is old enough to have encountered it himself at some earlier point."

Niall sighed.  "This was supposed to be a secret mission.  I can't reveal everything we were told in the briefing and I've already said more than I should.  But I will confirm you are correct.  Daryil did own this artifact himself for some time, but hid it during the Dragon Wars, fearing that it would be found and coveted by Hizell."

"So this message was intended to help him regain it when he felt it was safe to do so," Keller surmised.  "That makes sense."

"But if he did write it, wouldn't he have just put his clan mark on the text instead of using his initials?"  Yvonne queried.

"Perhaps.  But depending on the spell he used, it can be easier to inscribe predefined letters," Keller said.  "Given what Niall has told us, Daryil may have been in a hurry.  If I was holding something during the Dragon Wars that could attract the attention of Hizell himself, I'd get shot of it pronto.  And if I had to leave my future self a reminder in such a situation I would not be too concerned about getting the caligraphy perfect."

"Yet, he still had enough time to create a passable fake and put the real one into some weird hyper-realm," Daniel pointed out.

"Why don't you ask him?" Keller retorted testily.  "Perhaps he'd already made a copy for display purposes to confuse others trying to steal it from him."

"Hold, villains!" a voice demanded.  "You shall all lose your heads for this treachery!"

"What...?" R-ALF said, looking puzzled.

"It's one of the guards we stunned earlier," Daniel said.  "Look, I'm sorry about that."

"You will be, when you are taken to the Square!  And the rest of you...  Our King took you into his confidence, and now you betray him by siding with these thieves and monsters!
"I should take your heads to him myself- hurk!" the guard's tirade ended suddenly as R-ALF put him in a choke-hold.

"Sorry about this," the robot said, "We'll go and see your King afterwards, okay?  But stop threatening my friends, or we'll just have to stun you again."

"These three serve Lord Daryil, whose organisation created your King," Amanti informed him.  "Lord Ravage will be terminally displeased if you slay them, for he wishes an audience with the Lord Daryil and murdering said Lord's allies will jeopardise that."

"And that's ignoring what Daryil would do," Keller added, with a shudder.  "Most likely the King would kill you personally, and then Lord Daryil would reanimate your corpse just to punish you further."

"He might not," Amanti said, "But trust me, kid, you don't want to risk it.  For what it's worth, they're rivals and we still haven't decided who should get the trinket.  Besides, the King only said he wants it gone from the Kingdom, he didn't specify who removes it."

"This is certainly true," the guard admitted, as R-ALF relaxed his hold a little.  "But you shall all go to see the King.  Their fate must be his decision, not yours."

"May as well," Yvonne offered.  "I don't think there's much more to be gained in the treasury.  And Keller... anything you've taken, you should probably put back right now."

"Oh all right," Keller sighed, removing a couple of gold necklaces from his sleeve.


"Ooh!" Daniel said excitedly.  "I've heard of the panthers, but never seen one!  Can I take a selfie...?"

"You will respect our king, rogue!" the guard captain demanded, drawing his sword.  "You should be on your knees, begging for his mercy!  Or that 'selfie' shall become your last request!"

"Flattery does work sometimes," Lord Ravage said.  "Your boon is granted.  Make it a side view, though.  I look best in profile."

"Majesty!" the guard captain insisted, once Daniel had put his phone away, "I fear you do not understand the gravity of the situation.  These three villains stunned two of your royal guard and attempted to steal the artifact!  They must be punished for their impudence!  An example must be made!"

"An alliance with their lord is far more important," the panther decreed.  "I will not jeopardise that by harming his kin.  I hereby pardon them for this misdemeanour, though I do insist that they leave the realm as soon as this audience is ended.  I want the cursed artifact gone - who removes it is not my concern.  Of course, if one of you wishes to stay in order to facilitate the alliance with Lord Daryil, I shall reward them well."

"I will stay, MiLord," Daniel decided.  "I can summon Daryil here for you.  I think that would be a better use of my time than accompanying R-ALF and Niall back - with or without the artifact.  They shouldn't need my help now."

"So be it," Lord Ravage announced.  "Yvonne, you are free to leave with the others."

"So, who gets to take it back?"  Keller asked, gently placing the dragon mask in a foam-lined metal briefcase, a flight case often used for transporting cameras, microphones or other fragile and expensive equipment.  "We could flip a coin," he suggested.

"Not one of yours," Niall said.  "I know your reputation at games of chance."

"Let's ask the King," Amanti suggested.  "He's a neutral third party."

"Not exactly," Lord Ravage corrected.  "I want to be in Daryil's good books, remember.  So I think he should have it, if that's what he wants.  After all, it does appear to have been his property at one point, from what you're saying."

"The King has spoken!" the captain said, eyeing Keller with a faint sneer.  "The artifact goes to the Lord Daryil as a peace offering between our realms!"

"Bugger," Keller said.  "Oh well, it's probably for the best.  Let's go...  Best of luck to you, your majesty!"

"Sorry, Keller," Niall said apologetically as he double-checked the contents of the briefcase.  "Send Fairwater my apologies... And remember, he is welcome to negotiate with Daryil for access to the thing."


Not long afterwards, R-ALF and R.Niall appeared inside the arctic base, and made their way to Daryil's office.

"Welcome back!" the fox incubus smiled.  "Daniel has already contacted me, so I know most of what has occurred.  I'm glad you're all safe, and I've already sent an avatar to help out Lord Ravage.  Now, let's see the artifact!" he added, an eager expression on his face.

Carefully, R-ALF placed the briefcase on the desk, and opened it gingerly.  Daryil's expression of delight and anticipation melted away into concern as the camera case opened.

Inside was a slightly beat-up looking salmon.

"What the fuck...?" Daryil gasped.

"KELLER...!" Niall screamed.

lol classic keller

Chapter 9

King Fairwater sat upon his throne to greet the returning heroes.  Admaria was wearing one of her more succubus-like outfits, a royal blue PVC dress and matching rubber opera gloves.  Faintly menacing, but less so than the black latex she preferred when passing a sentence of execution.

As Keller, Amanti, Emily and Yvonne approached the throne, the snow leopard incubus raised a metal camera case towards the king in triumph.  Placing it upon an ornate table, he threw it open to reveal the blazing light of the dragon mask replica.

"Impressive...!" the doberman breathed.

"Amazing!" Admaria exclaimed, clapping her hands.  "With power such as this, we may be able to rescue our clan Leader, Kansuri, from his self-imposed exile!"

"Don't get too excited, your Majesties," Keller cautioned.  "Firstly, it won't work without the Jewels of Ariganum - until then, it remains locked.  Pretty, but useless apart from lighting the castle.  Also, I don't know how Daryil will react when he finds I've switched the cases.  He may come looking for it."

"Great," Fairwater sighed.  "You know, it would have been more diplomatic to let him have it in the first place."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Keller sighed.  "It was the perfect opportunity since it was being taken back by androids... they wouldn't be able to detect the spell."

"True, but I cannot afford to make an enemy of Daryil, nor would I really wish to.  Still... If we can get the jewels, we may be able to extract some of the energy from it before he comes to claim it.  Let's take a look at this thing."

So saying, he reached out to lift the mask from the briefcase.  As soon as his fingers touched it, there was a clap of thunder and he disappeared.

"Oh fuck!"  Keller yelped.

"What happened?!" Admaria demanded.  "Where is the King?"

"I... don't know!" Keller whimpered.  "But I've just realised... he was the first person to touch it directly!  Everyone else used gloves or armour... or was robotic!"

"It was trapped!  Did it kill him?" Ernst asked, looking appalled.

"No - we'd have felt that," Amanti assured him.  "That clap of air closing up when he vanished... I think it teleported him.  But where...?"

"I bet he's inside the damned artifact!" Keller moaned.  "Now we'll definitely have to get those jewels!  Or confront Daryil directly!

"Yes... I think this definitely counts as an emergency now," Yvonne said, and closed her eyes.  Forty seconds later, Daryil materialised in front of them.

"You stupid idiots," he sighed.  "Why do you think I tried to keep this thing a secret...?  Your ignorance is my bliss... or was, anyway.  You know that dragon artifacts can be very dangerous!"

"We also know that this isn't one, Milord," Keller pointed out.  "It's a clever fake, which we believe you built.  But that's not the point.  Where is Fairwater?  Is he safe?  Is he inside it...?"

"Yes.  In stasis... I did not build lethal defences into this thing.  Assuming we can get it open, we might also find a few other unfortunates trapped inside it, but they should be unharmed."

"What would have happened if Hizell had obtained it?"  Amanti asked, awed.  "Would he have been trapped in there like a fly in amber?"

His expression suddenly turned into one of fear.  "W-what if one of his children did?  Do we risk opening it up and finding an angry Dragon inside, ready to kill us all?!"

"That would be bad," Daryil agreed.  "Bad for all concerned.  It is said that our world is no longer capable of supporting draconic life, but that doesn't mean I want to see one slowly expire in front of us, to say nothing of the damage they could cause in the meantime... or the possibility that they could use the artifact's power to keep themselves alive long enough to avenge their race.
"That said, I would have thought that a Dragon disappearing would cause a massive enough splash that we'd have heard about it, so I suspect that's the least likely outcome."

"But what do we do?!" Admaria wailed.  "The King is missing!  Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"What I've done...?  He chose to meddle with something he did not understand," Daryil retorted irritably.  "There are countless stories and parables where greed overcomes someone to their doom.  Ascension alone has cost countless members of our race everything they were...
"That said, I do agree - he can't stay like this.  I need to get this thing open and extricate him, along with anyone else.  If there is a live Dragon preserved inside that thing... well, Bob put us up to this - He can deal with it."

"So we need to get the jewels after all," Keller sighed.  "I don't suppose you have them...?"

"You found out that much?"  Daryil looked at the snow leopard with new respect.  "I guess you were wearing gloves, or it was still inside the suppression field in the vault...?  But to answer your question, no.  I don't have the jewels either.  But once we have even two of them, I'll at least be able to look inside and see how many people are trapped inside the thing."

"What do you suggest I do in the meantime?"  Admaria asked, calming down a little.  "I can rule in his absence, but questions will be asked.  Rumours will circulate!"

"If anyone does ask, tell them the truth... that he's temporarily stranded inside an ancient artifact.  It's hardly the first time such a thing has happened.
"I can have this avatar on side to advise you if you need help.  I could even pretend to be the king for that matter, but that kind of deception never really appealed to me and besides, Fairwater will get twitchy about it.   He keeps worrying about me wanting to take over his kingdom or something."

"For a long time that was how things worked," the queen pointed out cautiously.  "That the big and the powerful would seize territory from their rivals because they could."

"The day I seize your territory will be the day your rule has descended into tyranny," the tri-wing declared.  "The lands Daryil Clan has dominion over are to provide a safe haven for my Children and other Creatures who have traditionally faced persecution, and may yet face it again in the millennia to come.  So long as your realm remains such a haven I shall continue regard you as valued allies, even if we share differences of opinion in other matters.
"Only if you fall into true evil or seek to make an enemy of me will I consider taking your realm for my own.
"Who knows?  Maybe my attitude will change in the long run, but if that does happen it will be your distant descendants who have to worry about it, not you."


"Your grace," the white wolf said, kneeling before the ornate throne with a faint creak as his black motorcycle leathers shifted and stretched.

"Sethir Clandover," the Archbishop said.  "I thank you for your prompt arrival.  I have summoned you here as I have a job in mind, one that requires considerable discretion.  You would be ideal for this task."

"Your grace, I am no assassin," the wolf sighed.  "If I am to take a life in your service, it must go through the proper channels."

"It is not an assassination that I need," the vulpine smiled.  "I too must use the proper channels when such regrettable situations occur, or my own life could be forfeit.  I have not remained Archbishop for so many centuries by risking my neck.

"Rise, Sethir.  It is best we discuss this elsewhere," he added and the wolf gratefully straightened up with more creaking.  The Archbishop rose too and shortly the pair of them were sat in a plush but dimly-lit office, where a photograph of three gemstones was projected onto an adjacent wall.

"Sethir, for over a thousand years the Church has been guardian to the legendary Jewels of Ariganum," Archbishop Williams began.  "Sinners have, in times past, plundered these precious stones from our treasury, and but one remains in our keeping.
"I desire to see this collection restored.  In six weeks hence, the Grand Solstice Festival shall take place, and it would please me greatly if all three jewels were on display for this event."

"But I am no thief either," Sethir said, looking anxious.  "It would not be virtuous to steal them, not even for the Church..."

"A loan, then, for the greater glory of the gods," the Archbishop said.

"Your grace!" Sethir looked appalled.  "A theft is still a theft, even dressed up in a pretty euphemism!  Please understand that I am a synthetic lifeform, your holiness... The Being Creature Commission does not entirely trust me with all the upgrades I have had installed, and my actions will be closely scrutinised!"

"Actually I meant it literally," the fox corrected him.  "While I greatly desire to possess the remaining stones, if this cannot be achieved by legal means, I would at least see them loaned to the Church for their display during the Festival.  That a talented individual such as yourself is protecting them should ease the fears of their owners significantly."

"Then why this secrecy, your grace?"  Sethir asked.

"Because I am not the only one looking for them," the vulpine demon said.  "Recently they were on the cover of Temporal Magazine, with an article chronicling their history.  So now, at least two other factions have recently posted bounties for their acquision, by fair means or foul.
"Such groups are likely to acquire the jewels simply to sell them on the black market for some grossly-inflated sum which the Church can never match.  Our resources are not unlimited, especially for an item of little actual practical value.  We may never see them again if some crime-lord should acquire them.

"One of these groups is the Talon Corporation..." the demon trailed off.

"Urgh," Sethir winced.

"That was my reaction as well," the Archbishop admitted.  "They may 'accidentally' kill their way to the jewels in self-defence, and then 'accidentally' kill their rivals in self-defence.  And if things do turn ugly, you will be far better placed to deal with such matters.  And that is why I am hiring you to do this instead of sending one of the Clergy.

"Thank you, your grace," Sethir bowed.  "Where should I look first?"

"While I do not wish to draw attention to the fact that I am seeking for them, I have had my trusted aides make a few discreet enquiries as anonymously as they could.  I would start your search at Grimhaven."

ahhh yes, always good to have more Sethir!

One week I'll remember to update these on a consistent day, but apparently this wasn't it.


Chapter 10

"Welcome to Grimhaven, Mr. Jaye," the innkeeper said.  "We have an adventuring suite prepared for you in room three..." he hesitated, glancing at Yvonne with an expression of trepidation.

"Is there something we should know about?" Amanti asked politely.  "Some local trouble?"

"As adventurers you may be able to take care of yourselves," the lion admitted, "But even so I should warn you, yes.  There have been evil deeds afoot of late.  A dangerous criminal has been busy in these parts."

"Oh?" Yvonne asked.

"Aye.  A feline in glossy clothing has been stalking the land," the lion said, fearfully.  "Many murders have been committed, and the press have dubbed them 'The catsuit killer'!"

"Oh," Yvonne said, glancing down at her attire.  "Should I change to something more conventional?"

"Perhaps.  Eyewitnesses state the felon to resemble a man of slim build, so you yourself are unlikely to be suspect, but still... Many people have been slain by an evil feline clad in shining black!  Some fear it may be an incubus gone bad!"

"Amanti..." Keller began warningly.

"Wasn't me," the incubus protested.  "I've never been here before.  Besides, you know it would anger Daryil.  He's been uncommonly generous in helping straighten me out despite the terrible things I've done.  If I repaid that by committing a spree of unprovoked murders... Ooof, I'd probably get my head on Queen Admaria's wall, next to Sven's!"

"When caught, they are to hang in the market square as proof that the reign of terror is ended!" the innkeeper interjected.

"Ewww!  But what if the killer is a Demon?" R-ALF asked.  "Hanging doesn't really work on them."

"With the proper anti-magic restraints it just might," Keller said.

"If the killer cannot be hanged they shall be guillotined," a nearby adventurer put in.  "The details matter not, so long as all can see that justice has been done and that they can live safely once more."

"Unless they execute the wrong person," Amanti said.  "Catsuits aren't that uncommon."

"Even before the murders such attire has been considered sinful in these parts, but aye, it is true that some have been wrongly accused over their choice of garments," the innkeeper said.  "Fortunately we have 'Cubi in the Department of Finance and Justice who could read their thoughts, and acquitted them.
"Nay, things are not that savage here.  Indeed, executions are a rare event at all.
But those who commit so many killings cannot be redeemed.  And when this mass-murderer is taken, their punishment shall be swift and harsh!"

"Talking of which, put that cutlery back," Emily prompted.

"Aw," Keller sighed.


Lord Karl glanced up from his book at a sudden noise.  The volume fell from his hands as the toilet flushed in the en-suite bathroom of his palace bedchambers.  Moments later, Keller walked out of it.

"You!" he snarled.

"Hi there!" the snow leopard beamed, waving cheerily.

"For a notorious master thief, you have made a grave mistake," the official growled.  "You must be slipping to be caught so easily."

"That was the whole idea," Keller said.  "Your flunkies wouldn't allow me see you.  So I took matters into my own hands.  You see, I have a proposition for you."

"Keeping trouble such as you out of here was the whole idea as well," the bear snapped.  "All right...  Get to the point and I shall listen first before you are thrown out."

"I understand that you have one of the Jewels of Ariganum," Keller replied smoothly.  "In fact, I know exactly where it is.  While I probably could just lift it and go, it will still be something of a challenge.  But more to the point, my companions feel strongly that we should try to acquire the gem by legal means first."

"What have you in mind, thief?" the bear replied guardedly.

"We understand this place has been having a few problems with a serial killer," Amanti said, stepping out of the bathroom just as Keller has done.  "While I enjoy killing people myself, I don't get very much opportunity to practice these days.  So I figured... if we take down this murderer for you, you could give us the Jewel of Ariganum as a token of your gratitude."

"...And if I refuse you'll try to steal it anyhow," Lord Karl snapped, eyes narrowing as Keller nodded happily.  The nobleman went quiet for a few moments, and then slumped back in his chair.
"This feels like extortion," he snarled, "But at the same time... My guards have had no luck in capturing the culprit.  Very well, I agree to your terms.  Now get out of here!"

"See you soon," Keller waved, and went back into the bathroom, followed by Amanti.  When Lord Karl looked inside, it was empty.


"I still think I should have just stolen it," Keller sighed.

"That's Plan B if we can't find the culprit," Amanti said with a wide yawn.

"Yes, but now he knows we want it.  It could be replaced with a fake, hidden away or something," Keller sighed.  "Hell, we could still have stolen it first and then offered our services as compensation for his loss!  But now we're definitely going to have to find some lone psychopath on a murder spree."

"He agreed too quickly," Emily said.  "I don't like it."

"I was expecting him to demand we brought them in alive as proof," Amanti admitted.  "Who knows?  He might just have been saying that to get rid of us.  Or at least to make it look like something's being done about the serial killer, even if he expects us to fail..."

"In fairness, we don't know these are unprovoked murders," Yvonne pointed out.  "It might be a turf war, or a vigilante bumping off some thugs who wronged them."

"Then we'd better read up on it," Keller decided.  "Since this Lord Karl hasn't been as helpful as I'd hoped for, we'll have start from scratch.  Fetch a list of the victims and look into their backgrounds.  See if we can establish a pattern."


An hour or so later, the table was covered in pieces of paper and print-outs.  Amanti stared at it all with a glazed expression, while Emily slept, the only member of the party who still needed to do so.

"So, can your computer mind see any kind of pattern?"  Keller asked the cyber-wolf with an expectant look.

"No it can't," R-ALF snapped, sounding offended.  "And you're making it sound like I'm some kind of application program!  I'm not!  I'm a fully-sentient combination of neural network and soul just like you are - only made from different materials!"

"Oh," Keller said, headwings fanning out slightly at the robot's sudden burst of anger.

"To be fair, most 'Cubi aren't really up to speed on artificial intelligence, Ralf," Yvonne pointed out soothingly.  "You've spent much of your life surrounded by Daryil clan members who are experts in the field.  And electronics as a whole is a field that's evolved quite rapidly, especially when incubi and succubi can live for a couple of thousand years."

"I did last take a computer course in the 1980s," Keller admitted.  "It helped me pull of a couple of heists.  Once I hacked into the Fifth Sixth Bank mainframe and made it move the truncated parts of rounded fractions into my account.  That was fun while it lasted...  But you're right, things have moved on a lot since.  My apologies, Ralf."

"Apology accepted," the android said, sounding mollified.  "And Yvonne is right... I have lived a sheltered life, and I should have different expectations for people outside that bubble.
"But to answer your question more politely, no.  I'm not seeing much of a pattern so far."

"So what do we do?  Wait for this maniac to strike again?  Pose as a target?  Put out an ad challenging him to a duel?"

"Bob," Keller muttered, closing his eyes in prayer, "If you want Daryil to have these bloody jewels so badly, at least give us a hint."

When he opened his eyes, a post-it note was stuck to the table with a street address and a time written on it.  Underneath were the words "90% probability.  Best I can do... mysterious ways & all."

"Oho!" Keller said, with a gleam in his eye.  "Ralf, rouse Emily.  From a safe distance, in case she snaps in her sleep.  We're going hunting!"


It was 10PM when they reached the alleyway.  The sun had long since set and the streets were dimly lit by the occasional sodium vapour lamp.

"Shit," Amanti mumbled, "We're too late."  Two dark figures were already engaged in a desparate struggle.  Finally there was a slash and one of them fell limply to the ground, long tail twitching for a moment and then going still.

Emily and R-ALF broke into a run, faster than any Being could achieve and in short order the fugitive was brought down.

"Oh fuck," Keller said, shining a torchlight on the dead man.  A cheetah's eyes stared glassily, face a frozen mask of shock, blood still trickling from the wound on his throat, across a polished rubber bodysuit to where it pooled on the ground by his arm, a fractal-bladed knife still clutched in one black-clad hand.

"It's him?!"  Amanti gurgled.  "That's... handy, but what about his assailant?!  Why the hell were they running away?!  They could have claimed the bounty for bringing the Catsuit Killer to justice!"

"I still say it could be gang warfare," Yvonne muttered.  "Even if this death was a public service, they'd still be in trouble for their other crimes..."

"Let's find out," Keller said.  R-ALF and Emily led the figure back out of the shadows and towards the dimly-lit spot where the feline had met his end.

As the figure passed by the orange glow of the streetlamp, they saw a glossy sheen to his body, mistaken at first for Emily's platemail or R-ALF's armoured hide.

"Oh dear," Amanti sighed.  "Are you who I think you are...?"

"Hi there," the cheetah said, raising two rubber-gloved hands where they could be easily seen.  "Name's Greg.  I'm the notorious Catsuit Killer."

detective bob is the best detective

Chapter 11

"Now.  We won't be disturbed here, and you're outnumbered," Amanti said, arms folded.  "So you'd better explain your deeds, and explain them well, if you want to be taken alive.  Because that's strictly optional.  We caught you red-handed, with the corpse of someone who's clearly set up as your patsy."

"You don't understand," the cheetah protested.  "Yes, I admit I have blood on my hands, but you don't get it!  They had to die!"

"This is still murder," R-ALF said.  "I do not wish to escort you to the guillotine, but that is the way things are heading."

"Fine!  You want to talk about murder?  Let's talk about Ferdinand Muller!" the cheetah snarled.  "He was murdered!  All he did was write an article critical of Lord Karl.  It wasn't even published!  But within the week of it being rejected, he was found stabbed!"

"He was your lover...?" Amanti asked, headwings drooping.

"Yes!  And as soon as the fuss had died down... the investigation was just quietly dropped!  But I'd been doing some investigations of my own.  I found the article he'd written.  I found his notes... and from those I found his killer."

"And you took matters into your own hands?" Keller looked disgusted.  "Did a little killing of your own?  Stabbed them back?  Did it not occur to you to go through the proper channels?"

"Oh yes, because accusing the guards and the ruler of corruption and murder would really get the job done!  Even the Adventuring guild... you think they'd touch that with a barge pole?!
"No...  I never wanted to become a murderer, and I'm not proud of what I did, but at least I brought justice for Ferdinand."

"Big words, but your little murder spree has claimed nearly two dozen lives," Emily said stonily.  "Maybe you started out with noble intentions, but you cannot possibly expect us to believe that all those people killed your lover!  And what of their loved ones?  Your evil deeds may have created a hundred new mourners out for vengeance!  Why should we not turn in your head to give them closure?"

The cheetah laughed sadly.  "Did you actually look at the victims?  Try to work out a pattern?"

"They seemed pretty random," R-ALF admitted.  "Some of them had links to the guards, or officials.  The rest... didn't seem to make sense.  Which implies they were killed at random, or opportunistically.  Or possibly they knew too much and had to be silenced before they could tell."

"I'll give you a clue.  They fall into two categories," Greg said.  "Firstly, the three people I killed - the hitman and his backup - and then, all the rest.  That was my biggest mistake... choosing such a simple outfit as my calling-card.  It was a gift... to the very people I swore to stop."

"Shit," Amanti said, his face falling.  "A copycat killer?"

"Literally.  Let's say we have a cheetah in a catsuit who's gone vigilante and killed a few hitmen.  Now, imagine you're a corrupt official looking to disappear a few rivals and a bunch of other annoyances like my poor Ferdinand, or worse still, their family to send them a message and obfuscate things, okay?
"So what do you do?  You find some other cheetah on your staff, stick them into a rubber bodysuit and bingo!  Now this corrupt official can pin their crimes on me too!"

"Well... until I offed his double of me, anyway," Greg remarked, prodding the corpse with one boot.

"Ten to one, Lord Karl knows it's me!  Maybe he can't prove it... but more likely he was using me as an excuse to clean house... so when he's finished I'll suddenly get the rope for it all.
"To be honest, I thought that's what you were here for... to take me in once I'd outlived my usefulness as a scapegoat."

"We offered to help find the killer in exchange for one of the legendary Jewels of Ariganum," Emily said.  "But as always, there is a lot more to this than it first seemed."

"Why did you use a catsuit anyway?" Yvonne asked.

"It was a present from Ferdinand.  The last time we were together, we..." he trailed off in embarrassment.

"I get the picture," Amanti said.  "So you figured it had a poetic justice?"

"That and to embarrass the guards when they arrested me.  I didn't figure on getting away with it.  Since the execution will be public, my last request will be to demand I die wearing the catsuit, just to make a spectacle out of it.
"Lord Karl is a bit of a puritan.  I think that's one reason Ferdinand was killed... he was big in the Pride community."

"There is one thing I don't get," Emily said, eyes narrowing.  "I can accept that you killed a few criminals to avenge a loved one, and then realised that other people were stealing your likeness to pin their own crimes on you.
"But if that's the case, why are you still doing it?  Why are you still wearing the catsuit if that's your trademark?"

"To try and fix that mistake," Greg said.  "If I can save people while wearing the thing, twist the 'catsuit killer' into a hero, that'd break the pattern.  It'll mean Lord Karl will have to find some other way to hide his crimes, at the very least.
"This... This wasn't the plan, killing my impersonator... but I can't say I regret it either."

Emily glanced between Yvonne, Amanti and Keller.  "You're the thought-readers," she said.  "Is he on the level?"

"The innkeeper was right," Yvonne said.

"What...?"

"He's one of us," Yvonne replied, staring at the cheetah with a look of intensity.

"A Daryil?!" Amanti looked appalled.  "He won't like that... not at all!"

"I doubt that," the succubus replied.  "But he's almost certainly 'Cubi, like the innkeeper feared.  The unusual mind-shielding.  The fact that his lover's murder caused him to snap completely and kill people out of vengance.  And of course, the rubber," she finished.

"That's not true!" the feline gurgled, with an expression of terror.  "I'm not a monster!  I'm not!"

"I didn't say you were.  But you're not a Being either.  You have a ring or something to hide your wings, right?  Something you were given from an early age to pass as a Being?"

The cheetah slumped in despair for a few moments.  "It is true, isn't it?  I'm an incubus... it would explain a lot about everything..."

"So what are you going to do?" Greg asked, defiantly.  "Shop me anyway to get two rewards?  If I feared death I'd not have put my own neck on the line like this.
"Just take me in alive, okay?  If I can denounce Lord Karl on the scaffold, I will die happy knowing that justice was served and that I will be with my true love again.
"But dying in some alleyway as a scapegoat for my Lord's own murderous deeds... that's not what this was about!  I just killed a man to avoid that!"

"No question of that now," Yvonne sighed.  "It would have made things easier, but we're still an endangered race.  We'll have to take you under our care until we can figure things out.  After all, we can turn in your double as the real murderer..."

"But he's still a killer!" Emily protested.  "You can't just let him walk away!"

"But he doesn't know what he is!"  Amanti protested.  "He hasn't been trained in self-control or anything!  He's not rogue, he's just unable to cope with what he is!  He needs help, not decapitation!  And a lot less help than I needed, at that!"

"He's right," R-ALF said.  "I do not agree even with killing corrupt officials, but this... Urgh!"

"I say we just steal the gem and get out of here," Keller spat.  "We can leave the city to sort its own mess out - it really isn't our problem."

"Oh, but it is," said Lord Karl.

"Oh fuck," Amanti said, turning to see a number of armed guards flanking the city's ruler.

"People have already begun to question the narrative of a lone maniac," Lord Karl said.  "Some of those have since met the Catsuit Killer themselves, but as the bodies pile up, more and more will reach the same conclusion.
"And that means I need another scapegoat.  And now look..." he said blissfully, "Not one, but four more felines to taste the blade for my doings... one of them already wearing a catsuit, and another a known murderer, even!  Truly you are the answer to my prayers!"

"This is going to look good at the trial," Keller pointed out.  "When we point out that you've confessed to most of these murders yourself, and that you should submit to thought-reading from an impartial 'Cubi... I doubt you'll get the swift mercy of a beheading."

Lord Karl just shook his head.  "You still don't understand the blessing that this incident has been.  It was just the excuse I needed to obtain emergency powers.  You will face summary judgement at the People's Court, followed immediately by the guillotine."

"...And if you need to clean house again in the future...?"  Yvonne asked.  "With the killers dead, you'll need a new scapegoat.  Or do you mean to gradually kill us one by one over a longer period?"

"No point," the bear corrected her, eyes staring into the distance with an expression of eager anticipation.  "Now that I have the People's Court, I can go around and just execute anyone I want!"

"You know we'll denounce you on the scaffold," Keller pointed out.  "Tell the crowd what you've done... and it'll look very suspicious if we're all gagged to prevent us being able to give our last words.  What's your plan for that?"

"I've taken the opportunity to modernise things," Lord Karl smiled.  "No more barbaric public executions, from now on all shall receive the decency of a private beheading as is done in civilised society.
"If the people demand proof that justice has been done, I can always put your heads on display, but... ugh, so medieval!"

Amanti's eyes narrowed and Emily drew her sword, but some of the guards were demons and the fight was very brief.  Enchanted bracers snapped around their wrists and and short order, the party was taken.

"Come..." Lord Karl laughed.  "It is time for you to pay for my crimes!"

"Weren't there six of them?" asked one of the guards.

"Perhaps," Lord Karl said.  "If so, we'll catch them later.  Or maybe just let them go... a useful villain to pin things on if they stay, and out of my fur if they flee the city.  Let's just take these five into custody.  And make sure the guillotine is serviced, as it will soon be very busy."


Shit, R-ALF thought, returning to visibility once the alley was empty again.  Now I'm going to have to break them out of jail or something... and I don't even know where the jail is!

copycat killer, emphasis on cat?

I'm really not doing well at updating this on time.  Still, here's the next chapter

Chapter 12

Five shackled and bracer-clad prisoners stood before Lord Karl, as he stared down at them with a look of amused contempt.  So far the trial had been six minutes of Lord denouncing them, and any attempt to speak or deny the charges had been met with a blow from one of the guards.

"...And so, I sentence you to a well-earned death by decapitation!"  Lord Karl decreed.

"Does that mean we don't get the reward?"  Keller asked insolently, and was quickly struck for his pains.

"Your reward is the guillotine," Lord Karl smiled.  "You shall all be taken from this place to the execution chamber where you shall meet your fates beneath the blade, one by one.  While the rest watch," he added.

At that moment there was a smashing sound from high above.  Fragments of glass dropped to the floor of the court, followed by a black figure who lay sprawled on the ground.

"What has happened?!" Lord Karl demanded as his guards ran to inspect the fallen body.  "Murder!  Get to the roof and find the culprit!"

As the guards rushed out to get to the roof, the figure suddenly rolled over and leapt to his feet, pointing at the robed bear with an imperious gesture.

"Lord Karl, I find you guilty of treason and murder!" R-ALF boomed, addressing the room with an amplified voice.

"So you are the sixth member of this sorry band!" the bear snapped.  "You too, shall face the guillotine, creature!"

"I repeat, you are a murderer and a traitor!" R-ALF yelled, voice calm despite the extreme volume.  "I have a recording of your confession!"

"I am the ruler of this land!  How can I betray myself?"  Lord Karl demanded.  "You, on the other hand, shall lose your head immediately for threatening my person!  Guards!  Do your duty!"

"I was made to be an elite bodyguard," R-ALF pointed out.  "I highly recommend you surrender."

"Pin him down!  Get that armour off, and then we'll see exactly what he's made of!"

"Good luck with that," R-ALF said, followed shortly by "Oh shit," as he realised that some of the guards were Demons and might, in fact, be able to dismember him.

With the android struggling but unable to move, the guards pored over his armour looking for catches and suchlike to remove it, only to find that it was sealed firmly shut.  Mystified, one of the demons released his grip for a moment and R-ALF was able to break free.
Leaping across the room, he vanished and nimbly stepped aside as the guards piled into the location he'd last been, only to smash into the wall at full force.

R-ALF reappeared by the group and pulled a small amulet from a cavity in his chest.  "Grab it," he hissed quickly.  Everyone did, and in short order the six fugitives blinked out of the People's Court and reappeared at their room in the inn.

"Nice work, R-ALF!" Keller grinned.

"Don't thank me yet," the cyberwolf retorted, replacing the amulet into his storage compartment.  "We're still in the city, and as escaped prisoners who've just been sentenced to death, and you're all still wearing those anti-magic restraints to boot.  I'd have preferred to beam us back to somewhere further away, but I can't adjust the amulet myself."

"I can," Yvonne said.  "Get those bracers off me and I'll switch it to a Daryil safe-house.  Then we'll have to grab our things and beam out of here immediately!"

"But the Jewel...!" Amanti protested.  "The Queen... what will she do to us if we come back empty-handed?!  We can't just leave!"

"Fixing the realm isn't our job," Keller said.  "We've already done that once on this mission, and that's more than most people manage in a lifetime!  Trying to force change in every despotic hellhole we run into will only get us killed, like being an adventurer in the bad old days.  I say we cut our losses and scarper back to Daryil.  With the catsuit killer.  As you say, he belongs in a 'Cubi academy.  Remember, we can try for the jewel another day - but only if we get out of here first."

"What about the room?"  Emily said, as R-ALF crunched a bracer and pulled it off Yvonne's arm.  "We can't just run off without settling our tab!"

"It was prepaid," Amanti said.  "Much as Keller loves theft.  They might send us a cleaning surcharge but it's better than being executed."

"Does that mean they can use it to track us down?" R-ALF asked worriedly.

"Perhaps, but we'll be in Daryil territory.  Or Fairwater territory.  Either way, we'll be under the protection of a power Lord Karl won't dare confront.  Now, everybody grab your luggage!  Quickly, because the landlord has probably already heard us and phoned the guards."

At that moment, there was the sound of boots running up the stairs.  The door smashed inwards just in time for the six figures to vanish yet again.


"Well?" Queen Admaria demanded.  "Have you retrieved the jewel?"

"We've failed, your highness," Keller said sullenly.

"What?!" the Queen looked furious.  "What happened?  You know we need all those jewels to release my husband!"

"We cut a bargain with the ruler to get the jewel in exchange for his dirty work," Amanti retorted.  "After which he not only refused to give us the reward, but framed us for it and tried to chop of all our heads for the favour!"

Admaria paused angrily for a moment, trying to decide if it was a veiled dig at anything she'd done.  "I see," she said at length.  "Would you care to elaborate on that?  And who is this stranger?"

"Oh, that's the so-called Catsuit Killer," Emily said.  "We were supposed to kill him for Lord Karl in exchange for the Jewel of Ariganum which the city museum holds.  But it turned out Lord Karl had ordered most of the killings himself and was pinning them on this guy."

"He killed my lover," the cheetah said wretchedly.  "For speaking out against him.  So I got my revenge.  I am not proud of it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Then this copycat killer showed up and started killing dozens of people... people opposed to Lord Karl."

"He is an incubus foundling," Yvonne added firmly.  "He needs rehabilitation and enrolment in a 'Cubi school, not summary decapitation in a kangaroo court as a scapegoat for a corrupt ruler."

The border collie glowered for a moment and bit back a retort.

"I agree with Yvonne," Daryil interrupted, startling everyone.  "I shall see to this Greg's rehabilitation personally.  Yes, he has done wrong, but so have you, your Majesty," Daryil pointed out.  "So have we all.  And at the end of the day, under the laws of both our realms, he would not qualify for a death sentence.  Remember, he did this to fight back against an oppressive ruler, not out of racial hatred nor for his own amusement.
"As for the mission, I think you do them wrong, Admaria.  Not every mission can or will succeed.  Were it not for Ralf they would all be headless by now, and we'd not only be missing the jewel, but have lost a very capable team including one of my own Children.
"If that had happened, do you think I would risk losing more of my precious clan to an evil tyrant?"

The Queen looked guilty for a moment and then slumped in her chair.

"This is true.  I apologise," she said.  "But my husband... You know what he means to me!"

"That's quite alright," Keller said, as the tension began to ease noticeably.  "And I'm sorry, but these things do happen.  I'm infamous for some pretty audacious thefts, but you don't usually hear about the ones that failed.  And there are a lot more failures than you'd think, given my reputation.
"No... we'll just have to regroup and try again.  But it has just got a lot harder, because we're wanted criminals and Lord K knows we want the Jewel.  He will assuredly try to use it as bait."

"Thank you," the Queen said.  "In the meantime I will see if I can reach out to this Lord Karl and arrange the purchase or loan of the jewel through more conventional means.
"As for Greg, well he is currently in Daryil territory anyway.  That makes him your problem... but if he ends up here, I shall give him the benefit of the doubt unless he actively causes trouble.  As you say, none of us are innocent and I would likely have done the same in his place.  Strictly, Fairwater did."

"Good," Daryil said.  "My plan is to send him to Illiath's school, which is jointly-owned.  These days, with technology overtaking magic for daily wants and needs, 'Cubi are often late getting a clan mark so identifying him may require a blood test or feather analysis from the 'Cubi Registry.  That said, I believe him to be of Clan Avari, like Keller."

"A thief?"  Yvonne asked doubtfully.  "He doesn't seem that way inclined from what little we know."

"Excitement and thrill-seeking," Keller corrected.  "Thieving is just the way I go about it."

"If I do have some kind of innate attraction to that, it would explain a few things," Greg admitted uneasily.

"It'll be fine," Yvonne reassured him.  "We all go through these hangups."


"So," Lord Karl said, studying an ornately-ribboned warrant.  "You have been sent in search of the Jewel of Ariganum that is in our possession, to bring it back to the Church of Universal Reconciliation in Neuheim, for their Grand Solstice Festival."

"That is correct, Mi'Lord," Sethir said, leathers creaking slightly as he sat wingless in the meeting room of Lord Karl's palace.

"A pious cause indeed," the bear sighed.  "One that I should love to assist you with, but unfortunately the Jewel has been stolen from the realm by the notorious thief, Keller.  It was taken from the Palace display room last night."

"I see," the white wolf's blood-red eyes narrowed.

"Worse, he is abetted by the equally notorious murderer Amanti Jyraneth," Lord Karl snarled.  "Lately he has been at large here, slaying my own officials and citizens under my care!  Over two dozen have fallen prey to him, whom the press have dubbed 'The Catsuit Killer'!"

"So, to get the Jewel back, I will have to take it from two notorious criminals," Sethir looked unhappy.

"And soon, before Keller can fence this precious thing off.  In addition, I will pay a vast reward for Amanti's head."

"He is known to me," Sethir smiled coldly.  "I have no love for serial killers, but for those who have eaten souls...  Disposing of him will be a pleasure.   Thank you again for your assistance, Mi'Lord," he bowed, and left the palace.

every Seth appearance is super exciting, to me

Chapter 13

From a window, Lord Karl watched as the wolf biker straddled his racing bike and sped off.

Incubi are such fools, he thought to himself with a wide grin.  For empaths and thought-readers, they can be so easy to manipulate!  Something I must keep in mind for the future.

Touching a secret panel in his private study, Lord Karl took a concealed elevator down into the basement of the palace, to a room which only he knew of.

Ancient fluorescent tubes flickered and snapped metallically as they sputtered to life, and he opened a heavy steel door to the room where the ruler's most precious valuables had been stored for generations since the palace was built.

Inside it, a glass cabinet held the red jewel... but Karl already had a sinking feeling that all was not well.  Drawing closer, the bear suddenly realised that his prize had been replaced by a photograph, the black background nearly invisible against the satin display.  There was also a faint smell of fresh trout.

With a scream, he turned the key in the lock and picked up the offending object.  Flipping it over he read the words "I. O. U.  -Keller".

Beneath them, in a different hand, someone else had scrawled the words "Fuck U  -Amanti"


"Well, that's very interesting," Emily remarked, reading the newspaper in the safe-house they had set up, squatting in a kitchen inside an abandoned industrial unit.

"Hmm?" Keller murmured, glancing at the other snow leopard.

"The headline is that you've stolen the Ariganum jewel," she said slowly.

"It's nice to be acknowledged for your accomplishments," Keller grinned, patting a padded brown envelope to reassure himself it was still there.  "After all... I have stolen it!  This very afternoon!"

"That's the problem," Emily said.  "This is the morning paper."

"What?!" the male snow leopard's wings fanned out in shock.

"Precisely.  And this place is still stuck in the 1950s, they refuse to use anything more advanced than telephones and video cameras.  So to make it for this morning's paper, it went to press last night, while we were back at Fairwater."

"The sneaky little shit!" Keller snarled.  "When the thing was missing from the display room case, I figured it was moved to a private location to prevent me from nicking it.  I didn't know I already had.  What the hell is his game...?"

"Could you have taken a decoy?" Yvonne wondered.

"If I were Lord K, I'd have made sure the decoy was on display as soon as he knew I was after it," Keller said.  "The question is, which one did I steal from his private vault?"

"We could take it back to Daryil and see if it works," Amanti suggested.  "If not, at least it narrows things down."

"But if we have the wrong one, we need to move quickly to get our hands on the other before he can... whatever the hell he plans to do with it!"

"Either way it's a risk," R-ALF said.  But if you give the thing to me, I'll take it back to Daryil, while you investigate the other one.  It's always possible Lord K actually has two of the things."

"Very well," Keller said, reluctantly handing the cyberwolf the precious envelope.  "But meet up with us as soon as you can."


In his chamber, Lord Karl paced fretfully.

Shit, he thought.  Maybe 'Cubi are not as dumb as I thought.  Keller has somehow broken in, and this Sethir has fled the city entirely!

He went back to a wall panel and slid it back to reveal a CRT display, which slowly brightened to show a map and a blip upon it - the tracking device he'd had placed on Sethir's bike.

Is it possible that someone else has stolen his motorcycle?  Or could have have gone for reinforcements...?  Well... if he has betrayed me, I shall have his head off next.  Even an incubus is no match for my demon guards, and they only have to hold him in place until the blade falls.  Yes... perhaps I should order his death anyway, just in case.

"I heard that," Amanti said.  "So... you're planning more murders?"

"I am the ruler here," Lord Karl said, turning around and pressing a panic button.  "Rulers do not murder.  They execute.  And your own execution is long overdue!"

"Then I'd like a last request," the incubus said.  "How many of the Jewels of Ariganum do you have, and which one did we take?"

"Oho," Keller said, seeing a red gemstone lying carelessly in a desk drawer.  "I fancy this one's a decoy!  Let's go."

"You'll find that difficult," Lord Karl smiled.  "This place has been warded since your last break-in.  You're not going anywhere!"

"We got in," Amanti pointed out.  "If you've got this place protected against teleportation, it's clearly not working very well."

"The ward prevents people leaving," the bear smiled evilly.  "It wouldn't be a very good trap otherwise, now would it?  I have also warded the People's Court, and the death-house in particular.  My guards will be here soon to give you a personal tour."

"If you're talking about the panic button, I cut the wire," Keller added helpfully.  Then he screamed as a bullet struck his chest.

"The next one will be through your head, Keller," the bear said, standing over the prone incubus with a revolver.  "Time to kiss your brain goodbye!"

The shot rang out, neatly punching through Keller's ear as Amanti's rubber-gloved fist tugged at his arm and ruined his aim.  Then a wing-tentacle snaked around Lord Karl's neck.

"You hurt my lover," the incubus hissed, eyes glowing with rage and a demented snarl across his features.

"You cannot murder me!  I'm the ruler!" Lord Karl screamed, clawing futilely at the 'Cubi's extra limb.

"You don't murder rulers," Amanti snarled.  "You assassinate them."

Shortly afterwards there was a crash of breaking glass and Lord Karl's head tumbled from an upper window of the palace.  He was dead before he hit the ground.


In a shabby street west of the capital, Sethir Clandover paced fretfully.

Did I get this wrong? he wondered.  Lord Karl said that I should intercept Keller before he could hock the jewel off.  This is the obvious place to pawn something.  Why hasn't he come...?

He sighed despondently to himself.  Perhaps that's the problem... that it's too obvious.   But... this is the only place for 300 miles where he'd stand a hope of shifting something that valuable.

"Shit," he muttered, kicking an empty beer can.  I was never good enough at thinking like a thief... What if... What if it's stolen to order?!

He hurried back to the bike.

I have to go back, he thought.  There's two possibilities.  Either Keller is still in the city because that's the last place anyone would look, or he's gone.  If he's there, I can find him.  If he's gone, I'll either find a clue, or I've failed and will have to inform Lord Karl.  Either way, there is nothing for me here.


When Keller came to, he was lying on an old couch in their safe-house.

"You're awake!  How are you feeling?"  Amanti asked anxiously.

"Like I've been shot," Keller whispered.  "How bad is it...?"

"You're lucky," Emily informed him.  "That shot could easily have been fatal.  Even with my healing magics, I'd give it a few more hours before I'd recommend moving around too much."

"But we may have to risk it," Yvonne put in.  "After Amanti took out the city's ruler...  They've got even more reason to take us apart.  The recall amulet is missing - we think it got left in Lord K's chambers after Keller was shot."

"Oof," Keller said.  "If the guards find it, Admaria and Daryil might have a few surprise guests.  I hope they treat them gently."

"Quite.  But more importantly for us, it means we'll have to take the long route home."

"I don't suppose anyone has a warp-aci?" Emily asked.  "They're not really my kind of thing."

Suddenly there was a sound as the door was kicked in.

"Hands up!"  Seth said, covering them with his sidearm.  "Hand over the jewel."

"Are you robbing us?" Keller snarled, sitting up with a shudder of pain as Emily reached over to steady him.  "Because I'm the only thief around here, and I won't stand for any competition!"

"That's why I'm taking the jewel," Seth replied evenly.  "Because you've stolen it.  It must now be returned to its owner."

"Um, they're dead," Amanti put in apologetically.  "It's too late for that.  But we'll see that it goes to a good home..."

"Robbery and murder?!" Seth's expression turned into a snarl, and a katana appeared in his other hand.  "I might have known you would be in league with the Talon Corporation!  I should slay you myself!
"I'll ask you once more... Give me the jewel of Ariganum, or I shall turn you in to the authorities, where you may contemplate your folly upon the executioner's scaffold!"

"We're not with Talon," Yvonne said.  "The loss of life here was regrettable but necessary.  At least, I hope Amanti regrets it," the puma added with a glance.

"Nah.  But in my defence, it was for a good cause.  He was crooked as fuck, and worse - he tried to kill my boyfriend," the cat grinned evilly.  "In doing Lord Karl, I helped avenge the many murders he got away with as a high official, pinning them on that so-called 'Catsuit Killer'.  My lopping his head off will do this place a world of good!"

Sethir winced, but lowered his blade.  "Be that as it may, " he said, "I represent the true owner of the Jewels of Ariganum and have been tasked with their retrieval.  Please don't make me use force."

"Tell us who wants it first," Keller said, folding his arms and immediately regretting it.  "Because we've got a very powerful patron who is desperate to have it."

"I cannot tell you that," Sethir said.

"Then you cannot have the jewel," Keller said.  "But... if you take us to your client, I'd be happy to negotiate on behalf of ours."

"This job was supposed to be strictly hush-hush," Seth snapped.  "I can't do that.  But if you won't co-operate, I'll have to..."

"Have to what?"  R-ALF said, coming out of hiding and making as if to crack his knuckles.  "For good or ill, these people are under my protection.  You are not."

"You're an android too!" the wolf gurgled.  "Shit!"

"So we're at an impasse?" Amanti said.  "Are you sure we can't meet your client?  Hey... if wolf-boy is an android, we might be able to get that information out of his cyber-brain!  Then we'll know who to visit next on our little shopping trip!"

"No!" Seth yelped, looking scared.  "I... I agree to your terms.  We will negotiate with... my client."

"Talon Corporation!" a voice yelled, and a number of avian mercenaries in body armour stepped out from behind a stack of barrels, guns drawn.  "Hand over the jewel, or die!"

Chapter 14

"Last chance..." the mercenary said.  "Hand over jewel, or die!"

"We haven't got it," Amanti said simply, spreading his gloved hands with a disarming smile.

"Then you're no further use to us," the avian said.  Amanti's wing threw off the gunman's aim and he leapt aside.  Emily fanned out her wings to protect the others and leapt into the fray, followed shortly by R-ALF.  A rocket slammed into a wall of the building, filling the room with smoke and dust as Keller did his best to remain small and hidden.

Yvonne cast a fireball at one of the barrels outside which promptly exploded, killing the gryphon instantly and blowing out another wall.  Seth staggered as a round hit him neatly between the eyes, but he recovered, irises glowing faintly as he flowed into motion.  Shortly the Talon gryphon had the favour returned, eyes staring glassily and a red mess on the adjacent wall.  Keller looked away, appalled.

Another rocket hit, setting fire to the building, but it was the last.  Yvonne had spotted their position and a sniper round finished them off.

"Great," Emily sighed, wiping her sword clean and kicking her opponent's head across the room.  "Now we'll have these psychos after us as well."

"Yes.  We will have to leave, and quickly.  Where's the jewel?"  Sethir asked, brushing his hair to conceal the head-shot he'd suffered until the nano-repair systems could patch up his synthetic pelt.  "Is it safe?"

"Oh, that?" Keller asked.  "We really don't have it.  Ralf had couriered it to our patron before you even arrived.  What we've got here is a decoy, courtesy of the late Lord Karl.  I wanted to have both just in case it was some kind of double-bluff.  But this is definitely a fake."

"Then I made the right decision in agreeing to your demands," Sethir said.  "Listen, we have to get out now," he added urgently.  "The building's on fire!  I can't say I cared much for Lord Karl, and I'm willing to give Amanti the benefit of the doubt - this time.  But a war just broke out in an industrial estate.  The guards will be on top of us soon, and you've assassinated their boss to boot!  They'll kill the lot of you on sight, and probably me as well!"

"We've lost our recall amulet," Amanti said.  "R-ALF, did you bring one back?"

"No," the android sighed.  "I didn't have time to get mine recharged and I didn't think to swap it out for a fully-charged one.  There was enough power to get me back here, but I figured I'd be using yours for the return trip."

"I do have one, but it will take me back to my client," Sethir said.  "Taking us all will drain the power, but I think it can be done.  I'll have to return later and try to recover the bike, though."

"Oh yeah, Lord Karl had a bug planted on your bike," Amanti said.  "He was thinking about it when we arrived."

"Then they'll know exactly where to find us," Keller said, conjuring up a walking stick and yelping with pain as he got to his feet.  "We go... right now".


"Well... this'll save us from having to rob the Church, I guess!" Keller said brightly, admiring the architecture.

The Archbishop stared at him with a look of intense distaste.  "At least you are upfront about your intentions."

"I have a reputation to keep," Keller said.  "Plus it'd be a fun challenge."

"Sethir, I presume you brought these miscreants here in connection with your mission?"

"I'm afraid so, your Grace," the white wolf said, bowing.  "They beat me to the Jewel in Grimhaven, but have agreed to treat with you to discuss the possession of, or access to the Jewels."

"For over a thousand years this Church had kept the Jewels of Ariganum safe, until they were stolen in 1980 by an evil incubus," the Archbishop intoned, looking at the group with solemn eyes.  "I seek to bring them back under our protection.  You seek to thwart me in this.  Why...?"

"The jewels were used by our client to seal an item of great power.  To unlock it, we need to have access all three jewels," Keller explained.  "I suspect we need all three of them together.   After that, well... you can always make me an offer!"

"I know exactly who you are, 'Keller'," the Archbishop scowled, "And I shall be certain to count the candles and search your person very thoroughly when you leave.  So forgive me for not believing what sounds like a tall tale to allow you to acquire them yourself."

"Very well," Amanti put in, "The ancient artifact we need to unlock has our King trapped inside it, and the Jewels are the only way we're going to get it open in a realistic timeframe."

"So, your client is King Fairwater?"

"Actually it's the Lord Daryil," Emily chimed in.
 
"Aaah!" the Archbishop yelped.  "He singlehandedly disrupted the Grand Solstice Service, conquered my Church and usurped my position all so he could perform some elaborate prank!  After which, the jewels were gone, I might add!  Since he has robbed us of the jewels in the first place, his name is not a password to my favour!"

"Oh yes it is," a booming voice said.

"My Lord!" the Archbishop glanced upwards with a concerned expression.   Shortly afterward, Bob materialised in front of them and the vulpine demon fell to one knee.

"Yeah.  These guys are on the level," Bob said.  "Daryil does need the Jewels of Ariganum.  But there's no reason he has to keep them once they've been used.  I figure this will be as good a place as any to store them afterwards."

"You mean the Lord Daryil is also in your service?!" the Archbishop looked mortified.  "Why didn't you say so...?"

"Actually, I'm in his service," Bob said.  "Quid pro quo."

At this, Daryil materialised in the middle of the room.  The Archbishop stepped back in alarm and several armed guards entered the room, watching nervously and caught between their desire to protect the Archbishop and the knowledge that Daryil's avatar could probably vapourise them all where they stood.

"Ehehe," Daryil said, waving at the Archbishop with a slightly sheepish expression.  "Sorry about disrupting that Mass...  But yeah, I really needed to borrow those jewels, and scatter them after I'd used them to make things harder for Hizell and his lot.  I did return one anonymously to remain here in your safekeeping, which I hope you still have.

"For what it's worth, your Church did steal them from somewhere else in the first place.  They are of Dragon make, after all.
"While Beings and other Creatures might leave artifacts to the Church in their will to ensure their swift passage to heaven, I rather doubt a Dragon would.  'What happens to me after I die?' has never been a favourite topic among Dragonkind, after all."

"But they belong in a museum!" the Archbishop protested.  "Whatever their origin, they should be put on display for all to enjoy!"

"I agree," Daryil said.  "And now that the danger of that time is past, that seems the best idea.  Once I have used them to unlock the seal, I can disarm the trap and I shouldn't need them again after that.  Then you can keep them on display as far as I'm concerned.  All of them, to help atone for disrupting your service."

"But if we're all on the same side..." the Archbishop looked confused and uncertain.

"This is why I like having fingers in a lot of pies," Daryil grinned.  "If everyone's your friend, or owes you a favour, it makes it harder for an enemy to organise against you without causing a conflict of interest.
"Also, pies are tasty and I can lick the filling off my gloves easily."

"So is that agreed?" Keller asked.  "We hand over the jewels to the Archbishop, he lets Daryil borrow them to unlock the artifact, and then they're returned to the safekeeping of the Church once he's done with them."

"That is acceptable," Daryil said.  "Though, of course, we'll still need to retrieve that one final jewel in order to release King Fairwater.  Now... may I borrow the one currently in your keeping?"

"Must you...?" the Archbishop looked extremely unhappy.

"With two, I can make sure that the King is safe and see how many other unfortunates are trapped in stasis," Daryil said.  "Also, should the Talon Corporation get the idea of violating holy ground to seize it, it will be far safer in my care."

"Lord Karl had a decoy made," Keller added helpfully and offered the stone to the vulpine demon.  "This was the one they had on display.  You could pull the same trick until Daryil is finished with them."

"Very well," the Archbishop sighed.  "But I do have misgivings."

"I can send Jakob here as an emissary," Daryil offered.  "That might not be a bad idea, since he can alert me if the Talon Corporation do rear their ugly heads."


"So that's it?"  Jakob said, wings fanning out as Daryil broke the news to him.  "You claimed I was too valuable to risk fetching your dragon artifact in the first place, and now you want me to act as bait for the freaking Talon Corporation?!"

"It'll be fine," Daryil reassured him, patting him on the back of the neck.  "You'll be getting a recall device, and one of the panthers is the first line of defence.  If those lunatics do turn up, you can just warp away and I'll deal with the rest of it.  That's all we need."

"But why me?" the wolf protested.  "Any one of your clan could do this.  Yvonne was already there!"

"Because you helped the Archbishop before," Daryil said.  "You risked yourself to uncover my evil plan, and as a result he trusts you a lot more than me, even though you're going as my representative.  And the fact that I do value you so highly, that I'm sending one of the clan's Primary Line to him, that is a token of my good faith."

"I guess so..."  Jakob said, unhappily.  "But what if it goes wrong?  What if the cathedral is warded against recall amulets after you pissed them off 200 years ago?"

Daryil's hand reached up suddenly, pressing firmly into the grey wolf's neck with a tingling sensation.  Jakob pushed Daryil away and extruded a tentacle from his wings, using the tiny wolf-head upon it to see what his Clan Leader had done.

Jakob sighed.  "Did you have to magically tattoo 'do not remove' on the back of my head, Daryil?"

"It's covered by your hair, though!  It's fashionably discreet." Daryil beamed.

"Then what's the use?  They'll only get to read it after I've been decapitated!  What good is that?  Anyway, the Talon Corporation tend to prefer shooting people's heads to chopping them off."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Daryil said.  "Now, I've got two out of three jewels here, so let's go and take a look inside that artifact."

yesss more Daryil is always good

Chapter 15

Jakob waited expectantly as Daryil stared deeply into the two crystals, which shimmered with the energy of the dragon mask.  Queen Admaria watched over a video link, clearly on edge as she awaited to hear the fate of her husband.

"I am not seeing as clearly as I had hoped," Daryil sighed, placing the jewels down on the desk.   "I can tell that the victims are safe, however.  And yes, Fairwater is among them.  Beyond that, it's rather murky and I won't be able to get a full picture until we have that final jewel."

"That is some relief," the Queen admitted.  "Supposing we failed to get the final jewel - would it be easier to open with the other two?"

"It would definitely reduce the search space for the combination," Daryil agreed.  "However we're still talking around 10 years worth of effort.  Hopefully it won't come to that.  And if it does, well... tying up one of my avatars for a decade, that's a big ask, even for a Tri-Wing.  You would owe me a significant favour.  Installing one of my clan members to rule a province or something."

"I will seriously consider your proposal if the last jewel has gone beyond recall," Admaria said unhappily.  "But let us hope we can manage without it."


As night shadowed the Great Catheral, panther P-XRF padded down the corridor into the transept, glossy black fur rippling like silk as he did so.  A wild jaguar in a zoo might pace the border of their enclosure and Pixie was doing much the same now, but not out of boredom.  He was on patrol, watching the cathedral for signs of intrusion.

Turning off and strolling down the dimly-lit nave, he suddenly halted.  In the centre of the floor was the red dot of a laser beam.
Before he could properly question why it was there his feline instincts kicked in and he leapt towards it.  The red dot slipped away causing him to prance madly as it danced about him erratically.  Finally it settled between his eyes.

"...Oh shi-"

The silenced round struck P-XRF square in the forehead and the black jaguar pitched over, eyes staring blankly, mouth open in a stupid look of shock.

The lupine soldier shouldered the sniper rifle and crept down the stairs from the pulpit to examine the body.

"Subject terminated," he whispered into his headset.  "No breathing, no pulse.  Guess they died instantly."

"Proceed, but with caution," the radio advised.  "There may be more of those animals.  What actually was it, anyway?"

"Jaguar, I think."

"Interesting."

"Well, now it's more like jagu-aren't.  I'm gonna hide the body."

Silently, he made his way across the nave, dragging the panther's lifeless carcass into a dark corner of the Church.

Shortly after the intruder had left, P-XRF rolled over and stood up shakily.  While he lacked the heavy armour of the other cyberjags, his biomimetic frame still afforded excellent protection for his vital parts, his brain and power plant most of all.  The jaguar made a faint giggling sound as his green painted claws unsheathed.  Cutting his own motive power and rolling his eyes had been enough to let him to play dead.  Now it was time for the intruders to become dead.


"Surprise, motherfucker!" the panther yelled, claws raking the soldier's back and tearing through the body armour.  The big cat's weight brought the wolf down in front of the altar and the intruder found himself face-to-face with a very angry feral jaguar.  A large paw rested heavily on his muzzle, fluorescent green claws slowly unsheathing until they stopped just millimeters from his eye.

"Look at these!" the jaguar said enthusiastically.  "Tell me who sent you, or you'll get to see them very close up!"

"Back off, Pixie," Jakob ordered, with Daryil following closely in tow as the main lights came on.  "We'll handle this."

"But he hurt me!" the jaguar protested, dutifully retracting his claws.  "He tried to kill me!  Look what he did to my face!  Can't I mess him up too, just a little...?"

"H-how..." the wolf gurgled.

"I have the gears and wires of a robot whirring away beneath my synthetic panther flesh," Pixie said brightly.  "Otherwise I would definitely be dead, and you'd be next as soon as they found you.  And I still think you deserve to be taught a painful lesson..."

"This is holy ground," Daryil said.  "Killing or maiming him here would be a sin.  But don't you worry, Pixie..." the fox continued, baring his teeth in a brilliantly evil smile. "Once he's in my realm, I'm going to hurt him in ways he didn't know existed."

Gritting his teeth, the wolf's hand moved suddenly for the concealed holster.  Daryil turned sharply, but moved too late.  The shot rang out, punching a neat hole through the assassin's chin.  He made a brief choking sound and went limp.

"Shit!" Daryil said, kicking the corpse angrily with a shiny boot.  "You bastard!  Can't we go five minutes without me having to resurrect someone?  An enemy, no less?  Do these people think I'm made of magic?  I have half a mind not to bother.  Let him go to judgement for his crimes.  Or I could sacrifice him as an offering to Bob..."

"Technically you are mostly made of magic since your ascension," Jakob said nervously.  "And maybe we did scare him too much... but ultimately, Pixie is right.  We need to know who sent him."

"Yeah, yeah..." Daryil said.  "It's just... Urgh.  If anyone writes a story of our exploits, this part is going to be so formulaic.  Oh well, let's get it over with..." he finished, and his eyes began to glow.  Reaching down to the dead man, he cradled their head in his hands, forced open their muzzle and planted a kiss on their mouth.

At that moment two Demon guards burst into the room.  "What the hell is going on?!" one demanded.  "There was a shot and now... This had better not be what it looks like!"

"Daryil's stealing their soul," Jakob explained.  "Please don't disturb him."

"WHAT?!"

"He's only stealing it, not destroying it," Jakob added hastily.  "The intruder killed themselves to avoid capture and this is the only way we can reverse that."

"I don't like this... and the boss really won't like this," the guard said.  "But if that's the Lord Daryil, we can't exactly stop him anyway..."

"When you're done, can I go back too?" P-XRF asked.  "I'd like to get my forehead patched up..."

"Yes," Daryil said, pocketing a large, glowing gemstone.  "I'll sub you for the Ray twins.  This guy had a headset so he clearly has friends, and fully-armoured units would be better in the light of what's happened.  Urgh... You know, Pixie, you're lucky they didn't use a flamethrower."

"That.... that's horrible!" the panther squawked.

"It probably wouldn't have killed you," Daryil sighed, "But it would have done serious damage and left you in excruciating pain.  That's one drawback of having fur..."

"What about me?"  Jakob asked nervously.  "Pixie can take a lot more damage than I can!"

"I'm afraid you must stay.  I promised the Archbishop you would be on hand," Daryil said.

"But they'll murder me!"

"Even the Talon Corporation has to give a warning, and prove some kind of self-defence angle to justify their atrocities.  Agreeing to abide by those rules of engagement was the sole reason they haven't been declared a terrorist organisation and eradicated.
"Now, Mr. Wolf believed Pixie was just a trained animal rather than a person, so they skipped that step.  But you are obviously a person so they won't legally be able to pick you off from a distance without announcing themselves first, and they know that full well.  That said, I'll bring you some body armour just to be safe."


Jakob sighed as Daryil disappeared.  He stood there in the gleaming grey body armour that his clan often used in times of danger.  The visor on his full-face helmet provided light amplification.

"Don't worry, master, we'll protect you," one of the jaguars promised eagerly.

"So these two are the 'Ray Twins'?" one of the Demon guards asked.  "Ah, I see... X-RAY and Y-RAY..."

"Gamma," one of the panthers corrected him.

"So, is there one called F-UCK...?" the other Demon asked.

"No, and there won't be if I can help it," Jakob said.  "Four letters gives us codes for nearly half a million robots and the Being-Creature Commission isn't expecting us to exceed that limit in a hurry."

"Well, we'd best be back on patrol," the Demon said and the two of them went back to work.

"What about us...?" one of the jaguars chirped up.

"I don't think I'll need two bodyguards," Jakob said.  "At least, I hope not.  So X, you can go patrol the wider area of the cathedral.  Gamma, you should patrol the church itself, but stay within earshot."

As the panther departed on its rounds, a shadowed figure peered through the lens of a sniper rifle.  They sighted Jakob's face, beading one of his eyes and squeezed the trigger.


Jakob was guarding the fake Ariganum Jewel when the shot struck his visor.  Before he could react, a second round struck the other side of his face, covering the armoured glass with paint and leaving him blinded.

"Daryil...?" Jakob said, taking the helmet off, and trying unsuccessfully to wipe it clean with gauntleted metal fingers.  "That wasn't funny!  We're in a dangerous situation here..."

"Talon Corporation," a gruff voice said, placing a sword to his throat.  "And don't you even think of trying to teleport," he added, "Won't do no good if you get home with your head missing, will it?  Or with your brains left behind on the wall.  I've got sharper rounds than paintballs, you know.  And you're welcome to find out what they taste like if you try anything funny."

"That's a valuable tapestry behind me!" Jakob protested.  "Don't kill me here... you'll ruin it!  They'll never get the blood off!"

"Very funny," the leopard said.  "But I'd be a bit more concerned about yourself, mister incubus.  So, put your hands up, nice and slowly... and if you're very good, you'll be getting out of this alive."

Chapter 16

He came to with a strange lurching sensation, and the wolf found himself lying on his side.  Suddenly his eyes snapped open to see a jaguar's furry black face staring back into his, a strange red light reflecting in their eyes.

"Hellooo!" Pixie said, attempting to grin winningly and failing miserably.  "Remember me...?"

"Aaah!" the wolf yelped and tried to escape, but his limbs wouldn't respond properly.

"I take it that's a 'yes'," Pixie said, and then scrambled back down as Daryil approached, grinning that brilliantly sadistic smile once more.

"Silly boy," the incubus said.  "I am the Lord Daryil, and people live or die according to my will.  Shooting yourself was stupid... all you have done is place yourself completely within my power!"

"You..." the wolf slurred.  "Suck my dick, monster!"

"Normally, I'd take you up on that offer," Daryil smiled.  "We are a lust clan, after all.  Sadly, that is now impossible.  We don't give our robots that kind of equipment, you see."

He held up a mirror and the wolf saw a gleaming black metallic face, glowing red eyes staring back at him.  He tried to move his hand and a glossy black paw moved in front of his face.

"No!" he screamed.

"It will take a lot more than a bullet to the head to save you this time," Daryil purred, trying hard to keep the delight from his voice.

"What will you do to me?!" the cyberjag wailed.

"Why do you care?" Daryil asked, glancing down and inspecting his gloves with an insolent tone.  "Clearly you don't fear death, having already commit suicide on us.  That's considered a sin, by the way."

"It was to save my soul," the robot said.  "You are an incubus and would eat it."

"One, that's rude and racially offensive to boot.  Two, topping yourself was the worst thing you could have done, since it plopped your soul right into my lap," Daryil pointed out.  "How else do you think you ended up in the robot?"

"So... I was left helpless... and you did this to me?  Why...?"

"Revenge," Daryil said.  "You have offended the Lord Daryil and must pay for your deeds."

"Then you mean to torture me!"

"I haven't decided yet," the fox incubus smiled.  "Nigel, what do you think we should do with John, here?"

"We could put him on trial for murder," the German Shepherd incubus mused.  "Technically he did kill someone.  Even if it was himself."

"The courts wouldn't like that," Daryil murmured.  "We'd be wasting their time.  Also there is precedent...  Someone tried that trick with an undead centuries back and the case was dismissed with extreme predjudice."

"It was just a thought," Nigel said.

"But we could definitely do him for attempted murder!" Pixie put in, climbing up front of the other cyberjag.  "He shot me in the head!"

"Perhaps," Daryil said.  "But first, I think we'll try and correct him."

"What does that mean?" the ex-wolf demanded.

"You stay as a robot and serve me for a few decades until we're sure you've been cured of these murderous tendencies," the fox informed him.  "If you're good, you might get a cyberwolf body instead of a panther."

"Is that it?  These robot animals are... your prisoners?"

"Why, you cheeky bastard!" Pixie snarled, baring his elegantly-manicured claws again.

"Most of them aren't," Daryil interrupted, seizing Pixie's collar and pulling the irate panther back down.  "But we have experimented with it.  The majority of the Panthers and all the Wolves were born cybernetic, so to speak.  Like Pixie here.  Now, some of them - such as Binky - used to be genetically-enhanced ferals who died of natural causes and were given synthetic bodies to continue their lives in.
"But a handful of our robots do contain the souls of miscreants.  People like you, who have offended me greatly yet deserve a chance to redeem themselves.
"Their serial numbers have a red background to denote that they were once organic and are on probation.  If they are rehabilitated successfully, we can upgrade them to a full android body.
"And this is the choice I offer you now, assassin.  Serve me, and repay the debt you owe... or you shall be disposed of.  In accordance with all applicable regulations."


"You could always surrender," Jakob suggested, as he looked the leopard up and down.  They were dressed in tactical uniform like the wolf had been.  "Seriously... just put up your hands when the others arrive.   I'd highly recommend that... It'll go down a lot better with the Lord Daryil."

"Your Daryil killed my partner!" the leopard snarled.  "I heard the shot over the comms!"

"Daryil doesn't shoot people,"  Jakob sighed.  "Even I don't do that anymore, and I used to be pretty trigger-happy in my misspent youth.  No... I'm afraid your buddy shot himself to avoid capture.  But that doesn't mean you have to go the same way!  Give up and you'll just be facing a rehabilitation stretch at St. Parmesan's Home for the Morally-Challenged..."

"I know your history, Mr. Pettersohn," the leopard said.  "And I know you're one of his right-hand men.  With you in my power, Daryil will be forced to negotiate... or watch as you end up like John did!"

"Fine," the wolf snapped.  "Your buddy killed himself to try and avoid capture, but it didn't help.  Daryil simply took his soul captive instead, so that makes us both hostages...  If you kill me, Daryil will stomp you, but he can also do terrible things to your friend John.  And you too.
"Besides, as a member of the Talon Corporation, there's already a whole host of people who'll want an excuse to lop your head off.  Do you really want to add Daryil to that list?  It's not his business to right all the wrongs in the world, so he's not had a reason to go after your group before, but now your lot will be firmly in his crosshairs, starting with you.  He might begin your torment by sending you away to trial and the guillotine, and then reviving you with your head on backwards!  So please, for everyone's sakes, just chill and I'm sure we can-"

"What's going on here?!" Gamma interrupted, and the leopard turned, shooting the jaguar in the eye without removing the sword from Jakob's neck for a moment.  Y-RAY screamed in pain and toppled over, legs twitching.

"Uh-uh," the leopard said as Jakob made to move towards the stricken panther.  "You stay where you are, or you'll get the same as your pet."

"H-Help..." the creature stuttered.

"Tough little bugger, aren't you?" the leopard observed.  "There's only one kind of help I can give you...  A bullet in the ear ought to end your suffering.  Or the mouth... a shot in the other eye perhaps?  I can keep trying until I finally get to your brain or CPU or whatever you have..."

Jakob snarled with rage, eyes beginning to glow faintly.  "Naughty," The leopard said, digging the sword into his throat, cutting through the fur and piercing the skin.  "None of that magic.  If I see your eyes go funny again, it's decapitation time."

"Why are you doing this?" the wolf demanded thickly as he struggled for self-control.  "Those panthers aren't my pets, they're my staff!  If you kill them, the Lord Daryil will command your death!"

"Perhaps," the leopard said.  "But at least it'll show him I mean business.  See, your Lord Daryil has the artifact, and we need it for our client.  So taking his right-hand man hostage... that'll force him to return it!"

"Then you'll need me alive," Jakob said.  "Listen, I still think surrender is your best option.  There's more than just Gamma and myself here... the others will have heard the shot and they will not be pleased.  Can you still hold off three others while stopping me from escaping using my evil incubus powers?"

"If they make a move, you die," the leopard said simply.

"And if that happens, Daryil will destroy you, the Talon Corporation and your precious client," Jakob said.  "What's your end game, other than having us all deadlocked here until the Archbishop arrives and rips you in half with his bare hands?"

"H-help... help..." the stricken panther whimpered.  "Master... I... failed you... "

"SHUT UP!" the leopard yelled.  "Shut up and die, beast!"

"I love you, master..." the panther continued feebly.

"Hang on, Gamma..." Jakob called out desperately, "The others will be here soon..."

"Then I'll have two hostages," the leopard snarled.  "You and your robot animal.  And if there's more of these things, I know how to take them down!"

"You bitch!"  X-RAY screamed, turning a corner and taking in the scene.  "Die!"

The panther leapt at his opponent, who dived out the way.  The leopard aimed at Ray's face but this time he missed, the round striking the jaguar's forehead and richocheting off across the church.

"Protect your eyes!"  Jakob yelled, and received a slap in the face from the leopard.

"Put that down, child." a voice said.  "You're in big trouble now... don't make it any worse."

The leopard shoved the gun hard against Jakob's temple with a look of desperation.  "Stay back!" he yelled, "Back, or the incubus dies!  I mean it!"

"And how will that improve matters?" the Archbishop enquired, flanked by two of the Demon guards.  "You can still get out of this with your life.  Put the gun down, and you'll get a fair trial.  Do anything stupid to my guest here, and it'll become a public execution."

"It's too soon," the leopard whimpered.  The sword fell from his hand, but the gun remained steady against Jakob's head.  With his free hand, he squeezed a badge on his shoulder, which lit up.  He grabbed Jakob's hair and moments later the pair of them disappeared.

"How the hell did he do that?" one of the guards pondered.  "The church is protected against such magics."

"It may not have been magic," the Archbishop said.  "There have been recent discoveries that make space warping possible through technology, but it is tightly controlled for this very reason, that it can cut through many teleportation wards.  It is illegal in most jurisdictions, but the Talon Corporation have a rather... flexible attitude to the law."

"Talon or no, I've never heard of them doing this before," the other guard said.

"It is also possible that it was given to them by their employer for this specific job," the Archbishop said.  "I will have to inform Lord Daryil immediately," he added.

Beside him, X-RAY was pawing at his fallen brother, who lay there inert and unmoving.   "Please..." he begged.  "Say something..."

nooooooooo gamma :c :c

Chapter 17

"Well?"  Daryil asked gravely, as Niall emerged from the lab.

"It was a near thing," Niall said.  "The baffles in the eye socket prevented the round from reaching Gamma's brain module, as intended - but the shot disintegrated and the pieces did manage to short out the power bus.  The safeties prevented that from causing circuit damage further down the line, but that in turn meant his head was running on reserve power, and one of the fragments was acting as a resistive load, draining far more of it than we'd allowed for in his design.  Much longer and it could well have been fatal."

"That is a relief," Daryil said.  "Resurrecting a dead panther... It's annoying.  You'd think there'd be less red tape than reanimating a suicidal criminal, but no... I'd have to file a report with the Being-Creature Commission.  Strauss will still be getting a piece of my mind over this, but I'm glad a full-blown resurrection won't be necessary.  Poor Gamma... He was one of the best members of my acrobatics troupe, you know...
"Meanwhile, we will have to look at strengthening the eyes to avoid a repeat of this incident, and see what we can do about isolating faults in the power system in a more granular fashion."

"Yes, Daryil.  For now, Gamma is back together with a new eye, and all the fragments of the round have been removed.  But he is still going to be out of service for some time," the fox sighed.  "The Ray twins were still a bit too young for fieldwork, I think.  And a near-death experience... well, he's going to need therapy."

"I'll get someone on to it shortly," Daryil promised.  "But we have other problems."

"Jakob..." Niall said, looking miserable.

"He's alive," Daryil said.  "But that's all I know.  He managed to leave me a message, but he told me to stay away.  The Talon Corporation did this specifically to attract my attention, and Jakob is worried that their client is planning an attempt on my life."

"No!" Niall whimpered.

"Probably not," Daryil agreed.  "But better safe than sorry.  Caution is a necessary evil for a successful Clan Leader, so rather than go in person, I have sent an agent to assist him."

"Oh boy," Niall said.  "If that's who I think it is..."


They appeared about two feet in the air, enough of a bump to disorientate them and throw the gunman off.  Jakob backed away a few paces, and looked around.  They were on the edge of a field adjoining a forest.  From the position of the sun, he estimated that it was somewhere in Fairwater.  The leopard soldier was still trying to cover him with his gun, but his calm self-assurance from before had evaporated and was replaced by near panic.

"What's the matter?" the wolf asked him, hands still raised.

"It's too soon," the leopard repeated.  "The mission's failed... I've failed.  They'll kill me!"

"Again, might I suggest surrender?" Jakob said, reasonably.  "Robin, is that your name?"

"I said, none of your 'Cubi magic!" the leopard wailed.

"Easy, easy!  Just put the gun down, and I can teleport us both somewhere safe.  You maimed one of my panthers and frankly I'm still pretty pissed off about that, but snipping your head off won't help them.  We can still fix this."

"You're lying!  If you had a teleport device, you could have escaped as soon as I was attacked by the other panther," the leopard said suspiciously.  "Why didn't you?"

"Because I screwed up," Jakob sighed.  "The body armour was an afterthought, and I left the amulet inside it.  So I'd have to undress to get at the thing and that would have taken too long.  Casting a teleport spell from scratch would take even longer...  So why don't you calm down and tell me who you work for?"

"I can't!" the leopard insisted.  "They'll... they'll eat my soul!"

"Nonsense.  Daryil might torment it if you really make him come down hard on you - say, if you murdered me - but destroying souls completely is forbidden to Daryil Clan," the wolf reassured him.

"Not him... our client!" the leopard protested.

"Ah, I see," Jakob said.  "Well, that just makes surrender a better option, doesn't it?  Daryil can protect you if you give up quietly and tell us what you know.  But first, what's all this panic about it being 'too soon'?  Too soon for what?"

"It was to be a chained teleportation," the leopard said, hand starting to waver as he held the gun.  "They were going to open a gate for me, to obfuscate our final destination.  Even I don't know where that is... But it only works if I teleport while the gate is open!  There's still ten minutes left, and now... I've had to make the jump early.  The device doesn't have enough power for another try... I had one chance, and I blew it..."

Suddenly something slipped around the leopard's neck, tightening around it like a noose.

"Gimme the gun, dickhead," Keaton said.  "Or you won't have a head."


"I'm assuming this guy isn't your boyfriend," the jackal succubus remarked, flicking the safety and handing Jakob the firearm.  "Or some random piece of ass you found?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Jakob scowled.  "But don't kill him, either.  He was about to spill some rather interesting secrets."

"Ridiculous...?" the jackal gave an insolent grin as she continued to relieve the leopard of his weaponry.  "Jakob, you're from a fear and lust clan.  Being held at gunpoint by some tough-guy spotty cat might be some kind of kink for you.  Besides, I know you had the hots for that snow leopard Angel!"

"Attempted murder is still a bit of a turn-off, even for Daryil Clan," Jakob retorted tiredly.  "Please, Keaton... thanks for the rescue, but let him go!  Well... restrain him, but not by the neck!  I still want a peaceful resolution to this.  We can bring him to Daryil.  Alive.  And don't let him off himself either... his buddy already did that.  We need what's in his head, once his thoughts are calm enough to read clearly."

"No!  You don't understand!  She's one of them!" the Leopard yelled.  "Please... Give me the gun back!  She'll kill us all!  She'll eat us!"

"That'd be a good laugh," the jackal admitted, "But much as I'd like to, I took an oath of service to Daryil.  He's straightened out a lot of legal troubles for me, and I owe him big so adding new legal troubles on top... he won't like that.  So... I'm not gonna kill you unless you start threatening Jakob again.  In which case, I'll take you back to Daryil in two unequal parts."

"Then you're not with... him...?"

"Who?"  Jakob and Keaton asked simultaneously.

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted.  "I understand you're busy, but I need your attention for a moment.  It is rather important."

Jakob turned around to see a snow leopard Being, dressed in an elegant outfit resembling his own envoy costume.  The newcomer was covering them both with a revolver.

"What is it now?"  Jakob sighed, putting his hands up again.  "Who are you, and what do you want...?"

"Unfortunately, my name is Elisha Bong.  A name you shall soon come to fear as much as your own grandmother!"

"You had an unhappy childhood, didn't you?"  Jakob said.

"Yeah, that is an unfortunate name," Keaton commiserated.  "But it can be changed!  How about Elisha Jones?"

"I chose this name myself!" Elisha snarled. "It's a pseudonym for when I rob people!  It is unfortunate for you, not for me!"

"So what did you actually want, Mr. Spliff?"  Keaton asked.

"Bong!  Elisha Bong!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Keaton said.  "Get to the point.  What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere, pointing a gun at us for?"

"I said, I'm robbing you!  So hand over the loot!  Your money or your life!" the snow leopard snarled.

"Sounds fair," Keaton said.

"What...?"

"Well, there's three of us," the succubus said.  "You're not having our money, but if you kill Mr. Robin, here, I won't complain."

The leopards's eyes bulged in terror.  "You can't do that!" he wailed.

"She's right though," Jakob said, pondering.  "'Your money or your life', he said.  Not lives.  And you did try to kill me..."

"I'll ask you one more time," Elisha snarled.

"Can I please just kill him?"  Keaton whined, sharpening her wing-tentacles.  "I'll be quick!  One little snip and it'll all be over!  He won't suffer much!"

"Wait, wait!" Jakob interrupted. "What is Mr. Bong actually doing with the money?  Is it a charitable donation?  Robbing the rich to give to the poor?"

"I rob the rich to give to me," the snow leopard said.  "Then I rob the poor as well.  It's not a high rate of return per capita, but there's a lot of them out there."

"I'm afraid that's not a cause I'm interested in supporting," Jakob said, shaking his head sadly.

"Fine, I'll do it the easy way," the snow leopard smirked.   Then he fell over.

"What the hell is going on around here?"  Jakob demanded, inspecting the body.  "He's been stunned!  Why does today have to be so bloody exciting?  I just want life to stay boring and safe!  Is that so much to ask?"

"Shushh," Keaton snapped, looking around suspiciously, while keeping a tight wing-tentacled rein upon Robin.  "I don't see anyone," she said, eyes narrowing.  "No minds either.  That implies it was a 'Cubi with a mind-shield."

"It's the Client!" Robin wailed.  "They've come for me!  They'll kill us all!"

"...What the hell is he talking about?" a new voice asked.  Jakob and Keaton both jumped, and saw another snow leopard in a purple robe, who sauntered over to examine the fallen highwayman.

"Snell?!"  Jakob asked incredulously.

"I prefer 'Keller' these days," the incubus said.  "It's getting to be as well-known as my real name, but eh... I guess I like it better."

"Buy why are you here?  Did Daryil send you as reinforcements?  Or are you robbing us next?  Because if so, that'll be the third time in one day."

"Keaton's the reinforcement," Keller said.  "But Daryil wanted me to keep an eye on her, just in case.  Amanti is... well, same clan as her, so.  He didn't want to risk them corrupting each other so he sent me instead, to act as an observer.
"But then I saw this guy, and... well!  Can't have that.  I'm the only notorious snow leopard thief around here, I can't have this idiot stealing my thunder.  Anyhow, I've got a recall amulet, so anyone need a lift back to Fairwater...?"

Chapter 18

"Well," Jakob said angrily, placing Robin's weapon on a nearby table, "I don't care what you say, Daryil.  I am not going back to that cathedral while these mad bastards are trying to kidnap or kill me!"

"You have done enough," Daryil agreed, with a subdued expression.  "Besides, now it seems the Talon Corporation are focusing on us directly.  As such, the Archbishop has agreed that we probably don't need a Daryil clan presence there anymore.  I am sorry that this has happened, I didn't think it would get this far out of hand.
"As far as I'm concerned, you should get some rest.  We'll need to discuss the Talon Corporation later, mind.  After I have interviewed our... guest."

"Stay back!"  Robin yelped.  He had grabbed the gun again.  Jakob rolled his eyes.

At that moment, a black metal jaguar bounded through the door, making a bee-line towards the leopard.  "No!" the Being screamed, shifted his aim and pulled the trigger.  The hammer clicked on an empty chamber, once, twice.

"No!" the cyberjag yelped, rolling over and assuming a cowering position.  "Wait!  Don't shoot! It's me!  John!"

"Naughty," Jakob said, relieving Robin of the gun with a wing tentacle.  "And don't you worry," he added to the cyberjag.  "I thought he might try something like this, so I took the liberty of emptying the weapon first."

"I'm sorry... I thought they were out for revenge.  I shot one of them up..."

"Indeed.  And while your Talon Corporation may consider its recruits disposable, we value our own rather highly," Daryil said with a menacing expression.  "Your attempted murder of the panther Y-RAY is a black mark against you, and this rash action has not improved your standing.  But... we shall see how things go.  Come with me."

"If he refuses to go, can I kill him...?"  Keaton asked hopefully.

"Depending on how this goes, you may get that chance afterwards," Daryil said.


Back in a less formal outfit of opera gloves, rubber leggings and knee-length boots, Jakob ventured into the secretive wing of the arctic laboratory where Lord Daryil carried out some of his own experiments.
This room was new, and had several doors, one of which was marked with a series of danger signs.  But Jakob was oblivious to this, as in the centre of the room, Daryil's severed head lay on a table, oozing blood.

The wolf incubus stifled a scream before remembering that his Clan Leader utilised projections of himself, so the real Daryil was entirely unharmed.  Even so, someone capable of taking out an avatar within Daryil's own stronghold was a force to be reckoned with.

He turned with a start as the high-security door opened and Dice the fox guard entered, carrying the rest of Daryil's corpse.

"Close enough," the head remarked.  "Thanks, Dice.  Put me down and I can take it from here."

"No worries, Dar!" the other fox chirped.  "I'll go clean up the mess."

"What the fuck happened?!"  Jakob demanded, still shaken, as Daryil reattached his own head.  "Did Talon do this to you?!  Are they still around?  What's going to happen to them when you...?"

"Nah, it was just an experiment," Daryil said excitedly.  "I got it wrong.  Come, I'll show you."

"Oh, no no!  What if it takes my head off too?!  I don't want to become an android yet, thanks all the same!  I've had plenty of chances for that already today."

Jakob's face fell.  "This... please tell me it's not a new guillotine for Robin... and you tested it on yourself...?"

"Oh no, I started this project ages ago.  Come on, you'll love this!"  Daryil beamed eagerly.  "I'm just going to show you the control room!"


The wolf's jaw fell open as Daryil showed him the video feeds.  In the centre was a large red button marked 'Emergency Stop'.  Daryil tapped a few commands onto a keyboard and the main screen switched to show a narrow passage of rock.  A moment later the screen flickered slightly, adding a timecode at the bottom of the screen, dated about ten minutes earlier.

"Here we go," Daryil said.  As he spoke, his earlier self entered the shot, a look of concentration on his face.  He rolled a stone in front of him, and moments later a blade slashed out of the wall, neatly severing his head.  Jakob winced and looked at the floor.

"See, I should have been crawling at that point," Daryil said nonchalantly, and stopped the playback.

"This... This is like something out of Crusader Jones and the Temple of the Lost Skull," Jakob exclaimed, astonished.

"Uh huh," Daryil nodded.  "I had Dice and the other fox guards build it for me.  It's full of death traps," he added excitably.  "I always wondered what it would be like to actually play something like Cheese Raider in a real-world scenario, and now I can!"

"And if it kills you, that's just an avatar incapacitated," Jakob nodded.  "No real harm done."

"Unless someone spots the corpse like you just did," Daryil admitted.   "In some ways it's got a limited appeal since you have to be an android or a Tri-Wing to be able to play it safely... Anyhow.  What can I do for you?"

"Ah, yes.  I was wondering... What happened with Robin?  Did Keaton kill him...?"

"No, he's been tagged and given a holding cell for now," Daryil said.  "You know, I had half a mind to make him do the death trap thing," he added irritably.  "If he succeeded, I could turn him loose.  If he died... Well, he's not really that much of a loss."

"J-OHN would be upset," Jakob said.  "Punishment or not, we don't want a clinically depressed or vengeance-crazed cyberjag on our hands.  Talking of which, we may need to keep X-RAY away from Robin."

"That's less of a problem than you'd think," Daryil said.  "With Gamma back on his feet again, X is too relieved about his brother's recovery to spend too much time plotting revenge.  Also, as you say, there is John to consider.  I have sent him to visit our new guest, since apparently they were quite close.  Robin can learn more respect for our robots, and contemplate the fate of those who dare to defy the Lord Daryil."

"Talking of plotting revenge, are they likely to plan an escape together?" Jakob cautioned.  "If the Talon Corporation is interested in you personally, those two know a lot that could be very useful in the wrong hands."

"I don't think they're that stupid," the fox replied.  "If they are... well, I've taken precautions.  Anyway, you really wanted to know what intel he has for us, right?"

"Indeed.  Who is Talon's client, and do they know where the final gem is?"

"The client is all mysterious," Daryil said.  "And Robin is just a foot-soldier, after all.  And this is only to be expected... if you're hiring a notorious squad of killers who are barely-legal at the best of times, you're not going to want to advertise exactly who you are, since if they go too far in your name, carrying out your instructions, you're very likely to end up guillotined alongside them for their crimes.  But they do seem to be 'Cubi."

"Robin freaked out badly over Keaton," Jakob pondered.  "He never batted an eye at my own head-wings, though.  If the client's a 'Cubi with leathery wings, which clan would it be?  Not Taun, surely...?"

"I couldn't rule it out," Daryil said.  "She is entitled to her own clan secrets, after all.  But... it could be anyone, to be honest.  I have a few ideas, but I'd rather do some more research before I share them."

"You know best.  But does Robin know where the final gem is, though?" Jakob asked.

"Unfortunately, yes.  Talon have that at their local headquarters near Valmorath," Daryil sighed.  "I'd send Snell... Keller, but...  I fear this would probably not end well for him.  Keaton, though..." Daryil smiled evilly.


Arvis sat in the guard room, cleaning his gun when the alert went off.  Someone had tripped the proximity sensors and entered the Talon Corporation's compound in central Valmorath.  Dropping the weapon on the table, the gryphon reached for his backup and went over to the security terminal.

"If you're collecing for charity you can fuck right off," he said into the intercom.   A figure shifted into a view, showing a wolf in black body armour with glowing eyes.

"I am Ralf.  I am a messenger for the Lord Daryil," the wolf said, holding a box wrapped with a pretty pink ribbon.  "He bade me bring you this gift."

"Well, you tell your Daryil that if this is a bomb, we'll start hunting his clan members down, one by one," the gryphon warned.

"Lord Daryil does not wish to start hostilities," the wolf said.  "If you prefer, I can open it for you first to prove it is safe."

"Just get out of here," the gryphon said, "Or we'll test how good that pretty armour really is."   The wolf warrior departed, bowing respectfully.

Arvis opened the outer door, leaving the inner one locked shut just in case the armoured wolf's allies attempted to storm the place.  Once he had the box safely within the compound, he unwrapped it and gave a croak of dismay.  Inside, a severed head stared back at him sightlessly, an exit wound gaping horribly at the top of the skull.

"Shit," the Gryphon murmured, and ran out the room.  "Captain!  Daryil's mob... they got John!"


"He's left," Keaton whispered.   "You were right, there's nobody in the guard room now birdbrain is distracted.  Your turn... and remember - if you betray us, I'll kill you, bring your back to life and kill you again."

"Understood," Robin sighed.  Moving quickly, he punched the code into the door and opened it, allowing Keller, Emily and Keaton into the compound.  He ran on ahead and had just unlocked the elevator when Arvis came back, with his captain in hot pursuit.

"You!  You treacherous little fuzz-head!  Sold us out to Daryil, have you...?"

"No!"  the leopard whined desperately.  "No!  They made-"

A moment later, Robin's head was splashed over the nearest wall.

"No excuses," the gryphon smirked.

"Did you have to?" the phoenix remarked, regarding the other avian with an irritated expression.

"Daryil's gang had half our security codes in Robin's head.  I've wiped it, though."

"You could have done so more cleanly.  Brain everywhere and bullet-holes in the wall makes it a tough sell for new recruits, you know that.  I hope you're going to clean that up..."

"Frankly, I doubt he'll get the chance," Emily said, bringing her sword down on Arvin's skull and cleaving it in two as he turned to look.

"Eww," Keaton remarked, snipping the phoenix's head off with a wing tentacle.  "What a mess!  Couldn't you just have beheaded him and be done with it?"

"He killed Robin," the snow leopard remarked testily.  "That guy was our guide!  Our ally, even under duress.  Beheading was too quick and easy for vengeance like that..."

"Jakob will be pissed," Keaton sighed.  "Well, now we'll have to do things the hard way.  Okay, Keller... this is your show now!"

"Lead me to the door," the thief moaned, covering his eyes.  "I can't look..."


Trying hard not to think about the gore he'd just seen, Keller worked quickly to bypass the elevator controls, and the group of them had reached the basement before anyone else had spotted the bodies.

The vault door yielded easily to his expert touch and they propped it open with a door that Emily had ripped off its hinges, just in case any security measures tried to seal them in.

In the centre of the room was a small, velvet box with the object of their quest lying upon it.

"That's it alright," the snow leopard said.  "Same magical signature as the other two..."

So saying, he waved at a nearby security camera and reached out to take the box.

"Ah good," a slightly distorted voice said.  Keller froze, his hand an inch away from the box, and turned to face the video camera.  Underneath it was a small intercom device.

"I've been expecting you," the intercom said.  "Or someone like you, anyway.  Take the jewel by all means."

"That sounds like a trap.  Or sarcasm."

"I assure you, it is neither.  Take the jewel, Keller.  It really will be more useful to you than it is to me right now."

"So why are you giving up so easily?" Keller asked suspiciously.

"Merely a change of plan," the voice said.  "I now know that Daryil has the other two jewels already, and without this final one the device remains locked.  But if you bring that jewel to him, he can open it and disarm the traps to avoid losing more of his allies.  Simply put, if he has the jewel, he will be doing most of the hard work for me.   And now, I must bid you farewell.  I can't have you distracted while trying to escape, now can I?  Otherwise those Talon idiots will get you, and that would make a bigger mess of things than they have already made."

There was a click and the speaker went dead.

"Trap or not, I have to agree," Emily said.  "Let's grab the jewel and get somewhere we can recall from before the gryphons find us."

"Boring, but safe," Keaton admitted.  "Let's go."

"At least let me leave a fish behind first!" Keller protested.

popping back in to nod heartily and go hell yeah it's keller up to his shenanigans

Chapter 19

"Poor guy," Jakob sighed, burying his face in his opera-gloved hands.  "It doesn't seem fair.  He'd just realised he'd fucked up, and tried to fix it.  And because of that... because he tried to improve himself, he's dead!"

"There there," Daryil said, stroking the wolf's hair.  "It's unfortunate, but we can't win every time.  What was it Professor Fa'Rana said...? 'Life isn't fair.  Death is fair, for it comes to all...'"

"Yeah, but he was a loony," Jakob snapped, looking up and folding his arms.  "Forgive me if the words of a psycho 'Cubi supremacist aren't exactly providing comfort at the moment."

"At the end of the day was only a matter of time," Daryil sighed.  "Robin would have faced justice eventually.  This way, he died to help others..."

"Help others what?" Jakob wailed.  "It was our own greed for this bloody artifact that caused all this in the first place.  He'd still be alive if we hadn't meddled with things!  He died helping others retrieve some stolen loot.  That's not how I'd want to be remembered!"

"You don't know that!" Daryil protested.  "And frankly, you're probably wrong there.  Remember, Fairwater was after the artifact too, among other parties so something would have happened - probably something even worse - even if we'd left well alone.
"And even if the artifact remained lost and forgotten, he was still a gun for hire regardless.  He would simply have shot up a bunch of other people for an entirely unrelated mission, and been publicly beheaded.  That's the way these types usually go.
"Besides, we're not just doing all this for me or for you anymore... even if we decided to place the artifact out of reach by throwing it into the sea depths or putting it into orbit, we still have a duty to free King Fairwater first, and the other unfortunates trapped in the thing.
"Robin died to save a king's life, and that's generally considered a very noble cause to die for."

"I guess that's true," Jakob said, somewhat mollified.  "Still... I wish we could have done more to save him.  Maybe you think I'm being stupid for getting this cut up about a dead bad guy... but I was a bad guy too, once.  And I'd have rather he had the chance to grow out of it as well."

"No, you're quite right," Daryil said.  "And I think it speaks highly of you to be concerned for the wellbeing of our enemies.  After all, I had a turbulent youth as well..."

At that moment there was a knock at the door.  Keaton sauntered in, looking very pleased with herself.

"Is there a finder's fee for these things...?" she asked, holding out a glowing soul gem.

"That had better not have been a random passerby," Daryil growled.  "Or you'll get the same."

"No, no.  It's Jakob's boyfriend," the jackal retorted.

"WHAT?!" 

Daryil leaned forwards with a dangerous gleam in his eye.  "Katherine, I have protected you from many of your misdeeds, but Daxxon Skullbreaker is the Thane of Mawdor, and a guest under my protection.  If you have truly murdered one of Fairwater's deputies, I will personally escort you to Queen Admaria's guillotine myself.  She will be delighted."

Keaton stared back, looking confused and a little upset.  "Wait up!  I didn't kill any Skullbreaker... that's a Demon name, right...?  I thought this guy was called Robin!"

Jakob facepalmed with faint squeak from his gloves, and spoke slowly in a tone of resignation.  "Keaton, just to be clear about this... Exactly whose soul did you steal?  Kindly describe them."

"It was that leopard guy who was holding you at gunpoint.  The one who took a shell to the face on our mission?"

"I see.  Not a purple dog Demon?  Good."

"Ohhh," Keaton said, looking embarrassed, but also relieved.  "I thought this guy was Jakob's crush.  He kept denying it, see...  Oh well.  Guess I wasted a soul gem."

"Saving lives is never a waste," Daryil said.  "Well, almost never.  Give that here... I'll see about a cash reward for you."

"Well, Jakob..." he added, "It looks like your wish has been granted after all.  John and Robin can be panther buddies together."


As the darkness subsided, Robin stood in Daryil's throne room.  In front of him a robotic panther lay dead, eyes blank and mouth fallen open.  A large hole had been punched clean through their skull, destroying the brain module and killing them instantly.  Frozen and unable to move, Robin still held the murder weapon in his hands, the rifle's muzzle smoking ominously.

"I... I didn't mean..." he bleated.

"Oh yes you did,"  Lord Cross interrupted, eyes lidded and smiling that infamously cruel smile as he folded his trench-coat clad arms.  "And now... We will need a replacement.  I think Robin would look good as a panther."

"I concur," Daryil agreed, and motioned to the jackal succubus standing opposite.  "Keaton..." he said.  "Kill that man."

"At last," the jackal crowed, wrapping a wing-tentacle around Robin's neck with an eager expression.  There was a moment of unbearable pain and his head tumbled... blackness followed, and then the strange awareness that he was now a quadruped.  He screamed.


"Aaah!" Robin screamed as he woke up.  But the nightmare had become reality - or at least, parts of it had.  He could see gleaming metal paws lying on front of him.  Wearing a lab coat and gloves, Jakob was watching intently, holding the remote device that had brought him back to full consciousness.

"Don't try to stand up yet," the wolf cautioned.

"I... I died, right...?" the creature sighed, looking upset.

"I'm afraid so," the wolf replied quietly.  "Those Talon psychos shot you.  And since you're technically an enemy of the Lord Daryil, we felt it safer to bring you back like this.  Consider the loss of your thumbs part of the punishment - and know that I can immobilise you with a couple of button presses.  More to the point, if you try to attack me, your safeguards will immobilise you automatically.  You will be well-treated, but you are - at present - our prisoner."

"So you have need of me still," Robin said, trying his legs experimentally and sitting up with effort.  "You could have just left me dead."

"You know I used to be Johan Cross," Jakob said.  "In fact I believe you were having a nightmare about me just as I was booting you up.  Robin, I have done questionable things, but I grew out of it and have spent much of my time trying to redeem myself.
"You too were starting to wake up, starting to realise that you'd made a bad decision joining Talon.  Those are big steps down the road to your own redemption, and I wanted to give you the chance to complete it.
"Besides, there are some positives.  Your ex-buddies at Talon are now convinced that they've executed a traitor who betrayed them, and as a feral big cat, they will not suspect you of being their hated former comrade.

"Listen, Robin - while Daryil is displeased by your threatening his right-hand man, the real reason you got on our bad side was the attempted murder of one of our panthers.  But now you have joined their ranks.  It should teach you to respect sentient robots more than your career at Talon would allow.  Pretty much everything else you've done - that was just you doing your job."

"I'm sorry," the panther said.

"No hard feelings," Jakob added, patting the panther on the head.  "Though I don't think Gamma or X are going to be your friends, not for a while at least."

"That... That does feel nice..." Robin sighed, as Jakob stroked the back of his neck.  "But how am I feeling it at all through all this armour?"

"Capacitive sensors," Jakob said.  "While you do have some degree of tactile sense to feel obstacles, and it will hurt if you run into a wall or get shot, the armour doesn't allow for much finesse, so we augment it with a capacitive grid underneath the metalwork.  That does mean that it can feel strange if you go through a strong elecric field, mind.   Any other questions?"

"Wild cats are solitary," Robin said.  "But here, you've got a bunch of them all tolerating each other."

"It's complicated," Jakob said.  "And in other circumstances it would be proprietary information.  However, since the jaguars are an imported technology from another world, I can't claim to have invented them anyway.  My understanding is that, back in their original universe, the first cyberjags were built by somehow scanning the brains of organic jaguars and uploading them into their cyber-brains as a foundation.
"However, those flesh-and-blood jaguars were genetically engineered to give them speech and higher intellect.  They were most likely altered to allow them to work together in groups - after all, having all your security guards fighting a massive turf war with each other isn't going to make for a secure military base.  DNA analysis suggests they were combined with behavioural sequences taken from cheetahs, who do hunt in packs.  But that's just our best guess.

"Anyway... We've had enough people go through this process now, that we've put together a guide for you," Jakob said, placing a large glossy pamphlet on the floor.  It read '...So you're a panther!' in large, friendly letters.
"Punishment or not, we want to give you some kind of head start," Jakob added, "And it should answer most of your other questions."


"...Ah fuck," Daryil said, looking dismayed.

"What is the matter...?" Queen Admaria demanded.  "Is it the King...?  Is he safe?"

"No no no," Daryil said, shaking his head and looking rather shaken.  "He's fine... for now.  But there's a... complication.  You remember what we were saying before...?  About who else might be trapped in this thing?"

"...NO!"  Admaria's wings fanned out in terror.  "Surely not!"

"Yes.  There's a Dragon in the artifact," Daryil said flatly.

"Okay," Admaria said, clenching her black-gloved hands and thinking quickly.  "So that just means that we need to scoop out the King and leave the dragon safely trapped in there."

"It's a queue," Daryil said softly.  "First In, First Out.  I can only extract people in the same order they entered the artifact.  If we leave the dragon in there, I have to leave the King behind, too."

Admaria flinched at this.  "The Dragons tried to exterminate us on multiple occasions," she said.  "They killed off ninety percent of our race."

"...And more than 99 percent of our tri-wings," Daryil reminded her.  "As an ascended incubus, I am in the most danger here, by a wide margin.  I hope your husband will be properly grateful for the risk I am about to take."

"...Thank you," Admaria said quietly.

"...But you'll be doing this as an avatar, won't you?" the Queen added suddenly.  "If the dragon kills you it will just be a minor inconvenience, surely...?"

"I have a psychic link to my avatars," Daryil sighed.  "After all, how else could I teleoperate them?  A trick the Dragons used to pull during the wars was that they could travel down that link to the real Tri-Wing in their sanctum, and murder them.

"But there is a possibility.  An isolated realm like SAIA was in its heyday can sever all connections to the outside world.  When the Tri-Wings sent an avatar to the centennial gathering of clan leaders at SAIA, their avatar could not link to the real clan leader for remote control.  Instead, they were preprogrammed to operate autonomously and later re-synchronise their memories with the real Tri-Wing afterwards.  That is what I will do."

"What if the Dragon breaks out of your isolated realm...?" Jakob asked.

"I am not sure they will survive that long," Daryil said, looking very downcast.  "It is said that Furrae no longer has enough magic to sustain such powerful creatures.  All I need to do is keep them contained until... well, until they expire.  It is not a task I am looking forward to, but it must be done.  And who knows... perhaps I can contrive a slightly happier ending for them.  But I can't make any promises."


Lord Ravage dozed on the sumptious royal bed, dreaming of happier days at the Jayhawk base when he was being educated.   The dream began to turn sour as he realised he was late for the ethics seminar, and the fear that he would fail to qualify took hold.  What happened to those who failed the tests...?  Nobody was sure.  And this was all the more confusing because he had already been assigned to guard King Tavris of Kelland... hadn't he?

"Milord," a voice called, rousing the cyberjag from his uneasy slumber.  He uncurled himself and stood up to see Advisor Sims, flanked by several of the royal guards.

"I thought I asked you to knock first," the jaguar grumbled.

"Apologies, your highness, but this is too important a matter to wait," the advisor said.  "I must place you under arrest."

"What is this?!"  Lord Ravage demanded, looking outraged.  "I am supposed to be your King!"

"It is called dethronement, your majesty," the otter said.  "And you never were supposed to be our king in the first place.  I have found proof that you murdered King Tavris in order to usurp his throne!"

lol classic Keaton

I'd hoped I'd have finished the series by now, but instead I'm stuck with chapter 29, so have some more of the story as I chew through the buffer like a madman.


Chapter 20

R-AVG lay back down on his bed heavily, causing it to bounce a little.

"This ought to be fun," the panther said, sounding amused.  "Go on, then... how did I kill King Tavris?"

"I have here a document, type-written, with your own paw-print as a signature, ordering the cover-up.  Destroying the autopsy findings that stated he was poisoned..."

"Very convincing," the jaguar agreed.  "Well done!  There's no possible way you could have taken my paw-print while I was sleeping, or have a spare front paw stashed away in a desk drawer somewhere.  Besides which, I have no hands!  How the hell is a feral supposed to administer poison...?  And what kind of idiot would sign such an incriminating note?  Surely, if I intended to commit treason, I'd give such instructions verbally."

"The recepient of this note has confessed, and will testify that you expressly ordered it, on pain of death."

Lord Ravage facepalmed with one of his front paws.  "...And the fool supposedly agreed to take orders from a random mook with no authority or standing whatsoever...?   I've heard much better fairy tales... this one doesn't even make sense!

"You know what?" the robot sighed.  "Fine.  I don't care anymore.  I never wanted this stupid throne in the first place, so if you just send me back to Jayhawk, I'll leave you to pick a replacement, and I'll hopefully end up with a new job somewhere less mental.  That's a win-win situation, right?"

"Alas, no.  For such base treachery, you must pay with your head, Lord Ravage.  Guards, seize him!"

"What?!"

The mechanical jaguar leapt backwards, only to become tangled in his robe and the bedclothes.  A wire net was thrown and at length the cat was trapped and forced into a cage surrounded by thick metal bars.

"So, it's a coup then," he growled.

"Regicide carries the harshest penalty in the land," the advisor said, shaking his head sadly.  "And those who practice it must be removed with all necessary force."

"Then you'd better just let me go," Lord Ravage urged.  "You don't want to set that precedent, since it'll be your turn one day.  All these people... you can't trust them all to stay quiet.  Someone will talk.  Maybe that over-ambitious guard captain will decide he wants a go... And then it'll be your neck too!"

"Do not worry about me," the advisor smiled.  "Worry about yourself, beast!  Captain... prepare the scaffold in the palace square.  This traitor shall be executed at noon!"


Free at least from his robe and the net, Lord Ravage was prodded from the cage with a spear, and emerged to find himself on a wooden platform with a medium-sized guillotine nearby, waiting ominously to receive him.  A crowd of citizens watched as Advisor Sims read out the charges.

"You have been found guilty of regicide, the foul murder of our beloved King Tavris whom you were sent to protect!   That wicked deed alone carries a penalty of death by beheading, but you have also falsified his will in order to usurp his kingly throne!"

"Look who's talking," Lord Ravage retorted.

"Silence!  Have you anything to say before the death sentence is carried out...?"

"Stay silent, start talking," Lord Ravage snarled loudly.  "Make up your mind!  Anyway... My dear ex-subjects, loyal and treacherous alike, King Tavris was my Master, and I served him dutifully.  I was as gutted by his passing as any of you - if not more so - and I most certainly did not do him in.  In fact, even attempting such a thing would trigger my safeguards and immobilise me.  But since these fine people here have decided they want to chop my head off over some ridiculous pack of lies, let's get it over with.  And may Daryil have mercy on their souls!"

So saying, Lord Ravage jumped up onto the table of the guillotine, head held high and walked across it to the blade with as much pride and dignity as he could manage.  As he reached the end, he crouched down and dropped his front legs on either side of the table, putting up no resistance as the guards slotted him into position.

"Off with his head!" the advisor ordered, and with that, the lunette snapped down around his neck.  The blade fell moments later, striking the base of his neck with the terrible shrieking sound of metal on metal.

"What now, smartass?" the jaguar asked, pulling his head back out and sitting up to admire the ruined blade.   From the crowd, a cheer sprang up.   "Lord Ravage!  Lord Ravage!"

"Kill him!" the otter screamed.  "Fetch the special weapons from the armoury!"

One of the guards took a halberd and aimed a blow at the cyberjag.  R-AVG jumped out of the way, landing neatly on the scaffold.

Got to be careful, the jaguar thought, as he leapt back onto the guillotine table, dodging another halberd.  Falling off the scaffold and crushing a peasant isn't going to help my case.  Besides, I still have a duty of care to them... At least until they're actively howling for my death.

He jumped up at one of the guards, knocking them over, and then jumped back on the guillotine table.  "You know, I should kill you for this," he said conversationally, "Especially that greasy traitor of an advisor.  But I won't, because it'll probably trigger my safeguards.  So I advise you go home, because there's going to be one hell of a smackdown when my creators hear of this."

So saying, he jumped up as another guard came at him with a warhammer, but the blow caught, knocking him off balance.  Recovering, he sprang and landed on top of the cage they had used to bring him to the scaffold.  He paused, coiled to spring and was suddenly perched on top of the guillotine, watching the enraged guards and advisor below as they tried to figure out what to do.  The crowd was cheering his name again.

Suddenly, the panther turned his head as he noticed something gleaming from the palace balcony.  From somewhere they had got hold of an anti-materiel rifle, and it homed in on his head.

"Oh, f-fuck..." the cyberjag said.  With a deafening boom, the half-inch round slammed into the side of the cat's head, the force of the impact knocking him clear off his perch and sending him crashing down onto the wooden scaffold below with a crunch of breaking timber.  He lay there twitching feebly.

"H-huh..." the creature moaned, and rolled over unsteadily.  One of his hind legs was trapped, having punched clean through the wooden frame of the execution platform and he struggled to free it.

"Again!" the advisor screamed.  "Shoot him!  Kill the beast!  He is a threat to us all!"

"I think it broke my arm!" the guard wailed.  Another soldier relieved them of the weapon and to R-AVG's dismay, he received another punishing blow to the side of the head, knocking him off his feet.

"Surely we can talk this over," Lord Ravage croaked, picking himself up and swaying slightly on the spot, several accelerometers destroyed by the imact.  "The crowd seem to like me more than you, so doing this won't improve your popularity..."

"No!  Hit him again... look how he's weakening!  He must die!  He murdered King Tavris!"

"Oh did he, now?" asked a strident voice behind them.  The crowd gasped, and R-AVG and the advisor looked around, to see a robed figure watching them all with an amused expression.

"Master!" the jaguar shouted, sounding positively delighted.

"I leave you alone for five months," the feline said, "And already they're executing you for treason."

"My liege!" the advisor said, appalled.  "This... it can't be!  You were dead!  We interred you!  Or was it a body-double...?"

"I teleported out as soon as the coast was clear," Tavris said.  "Open the mausoleum if you want... You'll find the coffin quite empty.  Lying in state was a bitch, though...  I nearly sneezed at one point."

"You faked your death, Master?" the cyberjag said.  "Why...?"

"To test my advisors, of course," the feline incubus said.  "And you as well.  And while this experiment has, frankly, been a disaster, at least I have proof of who is loyal, and who isn't.  Plus, I got a nice holiday into the bargain.  As I'm sure you appreciate, this is quite a demanding job and I needed a break.

"And so, now that we've established beyond reasonable doubt that R-AVG here did not, in fact, commit regicide or usurpation, what is all this fuss about?"

"It's a coup," the jaguar protested.  "That slimy guard captain and the dodgy advisor you left me with, they decided they wanted to take over!"

"From my understanding they were effectively ruling anyway, with you as their unwitting puppet." Tavris pointed out.  "It must go deeper than this.  In fact, I know it does."

"Don't look at me... I'm just a bodyguard!" the panther wailed.  "I wasn't trained for any of this!"

"Our puppet started getting outside help," Advisor Sims snarled.  "Cutting us out of the loop!  He was getting too independent.  But more to the point..."

"Go on..." the king said coldly.

"The Mask of St. Damian the Unbeliever!" the otter shouted angrily.  "The fool gave away a priceless treasure!  With the power of the Mask I could live forever, but that mechanical simpleton just let those thieves walk off with it instead of confiscating their heads!  If I am to age and die, I would at least have my revenge... and live comfortably for the rest of my natural life."

"That thing is cursed," the King said.  "It tends to make people disappear if they don't know how to handle it.  Why do you think I left it in such a high security vault...?"

"How do you know all this...?" R-AVG asked.  "Who are you really?  What are you?   Are you... Lord Daryil...?  Disguised as the dead King...?"

"Certainly not!  And I'd thank you not to give them any ideas, or they'll try to dethrone me too.  No... I am Tavris Seme.  How do you think a king in an out-of-the-way region like this would know where to hire a robot panther?  I have a lot of contacts."

"And now... what to do about these rebels?" Tavris mused, addressing the crowd.  "Tempting as it is to remove their heads myself, the return of a King thought dead should be a joyous occasion.  So, I hereby spare these traitors the usual penalty and commute it to one of exile.  But if this ever happens again, I shall not show such mercy."

"King Tavris!  King Tavris!" the crowd shouted enthusiastically.


"What now, Master?" R-AVG asked, trotting along beside the incubus like a dog as they made their way back to the palace with a newly-promoted guard captain.

"I prefer 'My Liege'," Tavris said.  "Or 'Sir' will do.  Though I think you are technically king at the moment."

"I can abdicate immediately, if you'll write the documents," the robot said.  "But what is your plan for me, though?  Do you still need me at all, if you're such a powerful Creature?  Can I go back to Jayhawk and away from all this madness...?  I don't want to be a king anymore!"

"I think 'Lord Ravage' is a fitting title," the incubus smiled.  "And at the end of it all, you did manage to turn the kingdom around.  I should like to make you my thane.  That ought be a far less stressful job than ruling the whole of Kelland."

"Thank you, Ma... uh, Majesty," the panther said, bowing his head.  "I must admit... I have got kind of used to those nice cushions..."

poor ravage never asked for this

(https://oekaki.dhscomix.com/stuff/r-avg.png)

Chapter 21

"Sorry I'm late," Jakob said, closing the meeting room door behind him.  "Important clan stuff."

"Do you mean sex?" Joshua Oswald asked, gesturing at Jakob's seductive outfit of rubber opera gloves, latex leggings and PVC boots.

"Well, that too," Jakob smiled, blushing slightly.  "It makes a good way to de-stress... but no.  We've had a tense situation with King Fairwater.  I'll be able to tell you the truth about his disappearance shortly, I hope.  But in the meantime, we need your urgent help.

"Josh, what you are about to hear must not leave this room.  We need information on the Talon Corporation.  Specifically, we know they have been hired to locate an artifact formerly belonging to Hizell's family, that is now in Daryil's possession.  We need to find out who, and why.  Daryil will reimburse you for your services, but you may find this information has wider importance anyway - especially since whoever hired them thinks they can waltz right into Daryil's HQ and take it back."

"Wow," Josh said, looking worried.  "Talon have been very active lately, so I may have some data on that.  But first, I'd like to ask you something in return."

"Oh?"

"Who was Hizell?"  Josh asked.

Jakob stared at him for a minute, unable to reply.  "Count yourself lucky you don't know," he said finally, struggling for a more coherent reply.

"Give me some credit," the husky said.  "I work for an intelligence agency!  I've heard a few things, but they weren't exactly unbiased sources.  I just want a straight answer.  After all, he's been dead for about two centuries, so who cares?  Why all the fuss now?"

"If you want unbiased, you're asking the wrong race for that," Jakob said.  "Hizell was a dragon.  The biggest, meanest, most sadistic dragon of them all - from our viewpoint, at least.  Hizell saw the 'Cubi race as a threat, and moved to eradicate us.  Cyra's ascension, which destroyed another one of the top-tier dragons, gave him the reasons he needed to justify a war of extermination.  But it was just that, a good excuse.  If she hadn't sparked it, it would have happened later anyway, as soon as he had a good enough rationale."

"You wouldn't understand," the wolf continued, desperately.  "Hizell had ninety percent of the 'Cubi race murdered.  Many by his own hand, the rest by adventurers and other races who believed the propaganda he spread about us, painted us all as monsters who needed to be destroyed for there to be peace.  SAIA was the only safe haven.  For many thousands of years, if you let your head-wings or clan mark be seen, you'd be decapitated without so much as a show trial.

"You could be a member of a pacifist clan, you could dedicate the whole of your long life to healing people and saving their lives, and still end up getting your head chopped off by a passing adventurer.  True story, Josh.  The city held a feast in the
adventurer's honour, to celebrate him thwarting whatever evil scheme she must have had brewing.  Because there's no possible way she could have been an idealist who took pity on a weaker race and tried to use her magical gifts to better their lot.

"And she was just one of many.  Clan Leaders were murdered, entire clans wiped out.  Systematically hunted down and executed without mercy or remorse, one by one!  It was... it was terrible, Josh.  And he even got us to fight each other, some clans betraying others to Hizell as an offering in the hope that he might spare theirs!"

"You thought my antics as Cross were bad, but all I was really doing was keeping the city orderly and safe.  I did it in a shitty way, there's no denying that, but the intention was to keep Ha'Khun a place where all races could live together.
"Hizell wanted to make our race extinct, literally kill every single one of us in existence for the crime of being born, and even worse, he took pleasure in it.  Loved collecting trophies from the 'Cubi he'd slain... a chunk of hide with their clan mark on especially.  And their heads.

"And don't think that you'd be safe from him as an android, Josh.  If we'd managed to build viable synthetics while he still lived, they'd have been hunted down too.  Anything which could potentially threaten his place on top had to be destroyed, and the more pain and suffering that was involved, the better."

"He may have had a point, in a way," Josh mused.  Jakob stared at him, appalled.

"What?  You think he was RIGHT to have my grandfather decapitated?!  Hunt down Siar's progeny?  Cyra's?  Set Beings and Demons and  Angels and -everybody- at each other's throats just to keep the races at war and divided?!  You think that was GOOD?!  I thought better than that of you, Josh... I really did."

"Of course I don't!" Josh protested.  "What he did was sheer atrocity.  But you can't fault his reasoning.  The 'Cubi race -did- destroy him.   And other dragons beside.  You can't say ALL of them were evil, any more than you can argue ALL 'Cubi are good."

"Indeed," Jakob said, still slightly rankled.  "But it only came to that because they pushed.   They were starting a new war.  There were fanatical groups who wanted to avenge their dead kindred, but now it looked like we were going to be finished... no survivors, our whole race gone forever.  And that panicked people who would otherwise have taken a more moderate stance.  If Destania's weapon was our only chance of survival, then that was the way things had to be.

"Had they left us alone after the initial genocide, let us mend our ways and live our lives without fear, none of this needed to have happened!  And supposing they succeeded in eradicating us?  You think it would have ended there?

"No... Hizell would just have ticked us off his list, and moved to the next one down.  Which would probably be the Beings, since your lot were already developing weapons that could pierce Dragonhide.  And then the whole dragon extinction thing would likely have happened anyway, at the hands of your race!  Yes, we 'Cubi were the catalyst that destroyed them, but they themselves were the ultimate cause."

"Thank you," Josh said.  "And I'm sorry for digging up what's obviously a sore subject, but it has been very helpful.  It certainly explains why Marina Daryil caused such a stink when she dressed as him that time at Hallows Eve...
"So, to get back to the matter at hand, a relic that Hizell or his progeny had fabricated... could be a powerful weapon indeed in the wrong hands," the husky added, rubbing his head.  "And questions will surely be asked about whether Daryil is the safest custodian of such a device."

"It was once in Lord Daryil's prior possession anyway," Jakob replied.  "And the world didn't end then.  What's more, it clearly didn't give him enough power to stand up to Hizell, or he'd never have bothered hiding it in the first place.  Nonetheless, my lord is keen to keep the thing a secret.  That is why we need to know who Talon's client is, and how they know so much about the artifact in the first place."

"I'll see what I can do," the husky sighed.  "And now I need to de-stress as well."

"Do you mean sex?"  Jakob asked, with a friendly smile.  "You only have to ask."

"We can call it an initial deposit," Josh said, removing his shirt.


"Uhh..." the bewildered creature groaned, blinking.  Her eyes focused on the tri-wing and she drew in a harsh breath, rolling to her feet and assuming a defensive stance, spear at the ready.

"Quoar!  Kidnapping me was a bold move... but it will be your last!"

"I'm not Quoar," Daryil said, plucking the spear from her grasp with a wing-tentacle.  "Also, this is just an avatar, so you might as well cease the threats."

"You... you're not one of the Twelve!" the mythos gurgled, eyes narrowing.  "A new ascension?!  That is both very clever, and very stupid.  You think Lord Hizell will allow such a thing?  Hah!  You'll be crushed to dust like the rest!"

"I rather doubt it," Daryil began.

"...What have you done?!" the mythos hissed, looking frightened for the first time.  "You've blocked my link to my sisters!  To my Lord!"

"My dear, I'm afraid this is going to come as quite a shock to you," Daryil said gently.  "You've been trapped in stasis for several centuries, and the world has changed rather significantly in that time."

"The war...?"

"The Dragon War is long over," Daryil told her sadly.  "And I must tell you that your side lost.  That's why I don't fear Hizell, you see.. he's dead.
"As a result, Beings and Creatures now live in a time of unprecedented peace and cooperation, and while the price we paid for that was... deeply regrettable, it has left the world in a considerably better place than it was in your day.  Not perfect, but a whole lot better for everyone left standing after the dust settled."

"What... What do you intend to do to me...?" the creature asked, fearfully.

"Hopefully, nothing.   I'd like to turn you loose.  But that depends very much on your good behaviour," Daryil said.

"Oh, really..."  The Taur stared back at him with an expression of obvious skepticism.

"Yes, really.  Now, I'm sure you're confused and you probably won't believe me at least at first, but I can provide you with recent history books and media to help you catch up," Daryil offered.

"Now... What concerns me most is whether you're likely to turn violent.  I would much prefer to treat you nicely, but I am no a fool.  You were a loyal servant to someone who was obssessed with murdering my entire race for shits and giggles, so I'm afraid I will have to take precautions, at least until I've had time to assess your case more thoroughly.

"In particular, I understand that your kind had some kind of weird death pact and were therefore happy to give your life to his greater glory.  I'd rather not have you throw that life away in some misguided attempt to avenge your dead Lord or carry out his will.  Also, while you are unlikely to be able to harm me, I don't want you harming my friends in some vain act of rashness."

"You called, boss?" a cyberjag asked, entering the room.

"Hello, Ezra," Daryil said.  "I would like you to guard this young 'taur lady.  She used to work for our ancient enemies and might be dangerous.  You are to accompany her and stop her from causing any mischief.  If she does... try to avoid killing her.  She's suffered a lot and is likely confused and scared, so be gentle if you can."

"Understood.  Just to be clear, under what circumstances should we kill her?"

"If she does anything that seriously threatens the lives of my Children or allies.  But I would prefer this to be the last-resort option."

"Absolutely, Lord Daryil."

"Good.  Now, my dear - take a long look at Ezra here.  He's a robotic panther, and always has been.  But some people who have angered me enough, have been made into panthers, forfeiting their magic and those oh-so-useful opposable thumbs.  And more importantly, granting me the power to immobilise them at the touch of a button if they step out of line.
"You see, if - gods forbid - you cause enough trouble that you have to be killed, you will find yourself in such a position.  Do you understand?  Death need not be the end for you, and it will not save you from my wrath."

"I understand," the 'taur replied sullenly.

"Good.  I would much rather see you rehabilitated, and I will arrange some form of counselling for you, administered by a non-Cubi race if that makes you happier.  I just want to be sure you know the consequences if you go bad.  And now, if you'll excuse me, there are others I need to rescue as well."

ooh so good to see one of those taurs

Chapter 22

"Yeeg!" Fairwater said, looking around the room in confusion.  He saw Daryil watching him and made a rather sheepish face.

"I... uh, I suppose you want the artifact back?"

"I've already got it back," Daryil said.  "Which I think was for the best, since I warded it with a stasis trap.  I've only just extricated you from that."

"...That explains the sudden scene change," Fairwater admitted, and looked worried.  "Presumably I'm in one of your laboratories...?  How long have I been gone?"

"About a fortnight," Daryil said.  "Admaria has been ruling in your absence, and she's done a good job."

"Has she passed any death sentences?" the King asked anxiously.  "Not that I don't trust her, but... well, she can get a little excitable about justice, and without anyone to hold her back she sometimes does things she later regrets..."

"Two death sentences," Daryil said.  "But I intervened.  She's agreed to keep them reprieved on death row pending your return, so that they can appeal to you directly.  If I may make a suggestion, clemency to celebrate the return of a king is not unheard of..."

"Noted.  And thank you for the rescue," the Doberman said.

"No worries, but please be more careful with stolen ancient artifacts in future," Daryil said.  "I'll get Nigel and R-ALF to escort you back to Fairwater."

"Much appreciated," Fairwater said.

"Not at all... You're a visiting head of state!" Daryil shrugged.  "Can't let anything happen to you on your way home.  Suppose someone with a grudge blew your head off?  What do the laws of succession say about when the king dies and is reanimated?  That's a can of worms I'd rather not open, if it's all the same to you."

"If this artifact was trapped," Fairwater asked, "Was there anyone else caught in it too?"

"A couple of people," Daryil said.  "One of them in particular poses a unique problem, but we're working on it."


"The X-5 is powering up now," Jakob whispered.  "He's ready...  but you're telling Strauss about this, okay...?" he clutched the remote control tightly and stepped out of view as the giant robot stirred.

"Good day," Daryil intoned sombrely.

Before him, the looming black creature's eyes opened and focused on him.  A black, metallic foreleg reached out and the creature uttered a low moan of distress.

"Uhhh...!  You...  Incubus...!  How have you contrived this?  What have you done to me?!  Some kind of cursed armour...?  When my peers find out, your line shall be ended!"

"We did the best we could," Daryil sighed.  "I'm sorry."

"Things I should know... things I should be able to work out in an instant... now they elude me entirely!  You have lobotomised me!  How could you do such an evil thing?!  Some speak of the cruelty of Hizell, but he at least makes his kills clean!  You have killed parts of me!"

"Are we talking about the same Hizell who pulled the wings and eyes from an incubus while they still lived?" Daryil pointed out coldly.  "Revelling in their pain and suffering?  That Hizell?  It was only the intervention of Zinvth that prevented him from continuing these torments, and that particular victim remains one of the only 'Cubi ever to have survived a direct encounter with him.  But we are getting derailed."

"Ah yes, he has a weakness for trophies," the dragon admitted.  "But to my knowledge he never sought to destroy the mind or the soul itself.  You... you have sheared off parts of my precious intellect!  Snuffed me down to brainlessness and idiocy like the lesser races!"

"That wasn't intentional," Daryil said.  "It's just the way things turned out, I'm afraid.  Again, I'm sorry for your discomfiture, but the fact is... Well, we've had to move you into a new brain.  And it's just not as good as the one you had before.  But we did as best we can, and the operation has saved your life."

"Do you expect me to believe that...?"

"Frankly, no.  Not at first, anyway.  But eventually you will have no choice but to accept it.
"I hate to have to tell you this, but... well, a whole lot has changed while you were trapped in that artifact.  Hizell wanted a new war of extinction against the 'Cubi race, and he got one.  The trouble is, well... your lot lost.  I'm sorry... it wasn't the outcome I had hoped for, but it's the way things went."

"What?!  Are you saying I am the last of my kind...?" the creature demanded.

"Not necessarily," Daryil said.  "There may have been others trapped in stasis since before what we now call the Destania Event.  It has left this universe in a state where dragons cannot survive, I'm afraid.  We think many fled to a realm of their own, so with luck there are dragons out there still.  I would like to think so.  But they can never return to Furrae itself.  You did, and promptly expired as a result."

"You have... stolen my soul!" the dragon cried in anguish, realising the significance of their gleaming black leg for the first time.  "This is no armour!  You have trapped my essence in a construct!  I am a mere machine!"

"Yes, that's right," Daryil said.  "You're in an artificial body.  Well, as much of you as we could fit, anyway.  There are legal limits to how advanced we're allowed to go when creating brains and yours is on the very borderline of what's permitted.  The Being-Creature Commission are terrified of having some uncontrollable super-intelligence rolling over the established order.  Partly because what of your lot did, I might add."

"Then why have you done this at all?  It may have been better to leave me dead!"

"I could still arrange that," Daryil said, sadly.  "If that's what you really, really want.  I could hard shut down your brain, ending your life quickly and painlessly.  I don't want to, but if you truly feel that death is preferable, that is an option."

"No.  I don't trust you," the dragon said decisively.  "While I live, even as this edited shadow of my former self, I can still defend my soul.  In death my afterlife would be at the mercy of a fickle and erratic race.  I know you could attempt ascension using the energies that make up my very existence...  I do not trust you to resist that temptation."

"No point... I've already ascended!" Daryil said brightly, causing his hip-wings to appear.  "But hmm... actually, you have given me an idea."  So saying, he beckoned to the lab-coated wolf incubus who was lurking in the corner of the lab, doing his best to stay discreetly hidden.

"Jakob," Daryil said slowly.  "Just think about what we have here.  We've been searching for an artifact to help extend your life and youth.  And now... just look what the gods have delivered to us!  One of our ancient enemies... enough soul-power to guarantee an ascension!  Clan Cross... an indefinite lifespan and all for the cost of an enemy's existence.  An enemy of our entire people!  Justice for the races they have wronged or extirpated, and unlimited power for you... all in one single blow!"

The dragon's artificial eyes widened with horror.

"Lord Cross of Ha'Khun...?" he croaked.  "You would betray me to him?  For all your fine words you would end my very existence and feed it to that upstart?"

"If he wishes it," Daryil said, eyes gleaming with anticipation.  "What do you say, Yak?"

"No!" Jakob exploded.  "A thousand times no!  I helped you put him back together and now you're suggesting I destroy all that hard work?  And in such a horrific fashion?!  Never!
"I watched the Dragon War re-ignite during my tenure at SAIA... Saw students devastated by the loss of their loved ones... students who only survived because Fa'Lina's omniscience was able to protect and forewarn them.
"I know what it's like to have your race hunted down... And now the shoe is on the other foot I will not lower myself to that level!
"And you're our Clan Leader!  You made us all swear never to eat the soul of another, and I would sooner die than choose that path!"

"Good," Daryil said, folding his arms with satisfaction.  "That was the correct answer."

"...Your demonstration is noted," the dragon said, front foot still trembling slightly.

"We're a fear clan," Daryil said, shrugging nonchalantly.  "Sorry, but it's what we do sometimes."

"What are we going to do with him?" Jakob fretted, still shaking with distress himself after Daryil had tempted him.  "Our clan has such prohibitions but there are those who won't!  Some who still want justice for Hishaan."

"Why blame us for that...?" the dragon demanded.  "The atrocity of Hishaan was entirely your doing!"

"Not really," Daryil corrected him.  "Hishaan was a ticking time-bomb... Cyra merely happened to be the one who set it off.  Now, don't get me wrong - what she did in her youth and hubris was reprehensible.
"But at the same time, she merely sought to depose M'Chek and take his place, which by the standards of the day was Just One Of Those Things.  An attitude that your lot cultivated to keep us fighting amongst ourselves, may I remind you."

"Hmmph," the dragon snorted.

"You see, it turned out that M'Chek had booby-trapped the entire city, turning it all into a gigantic soul-bomb... and when she killed him, it detonated.  Even had she left well alone, the same thing would have happened eventually.  Someone else would have toppled him in due course.  One of his children, perhaps... M'Chek had not shirked from feasting on his own offspring, after all."

"You lie!" the dragon looked appalled.

"I wish," Daryil said bitterly.  "I can play you the documentary if you like.  After Cyra gave her famous interview, revealing her side of the story to the public for the first time, there was an archaeological expedition to try and confirm or disprove those claims.  Radar and sonic imaging found the crystal harvesters, networked throughout the entire city exactly as she said.  Analysis of the residual magic confirmed the nature of the spells, proving that what Cyra said was true - the whole place was one gigantic soul abbatoir.
"Everyone who died inside the city boundaries automatically had their soul mulched up and fed into M'Chek - Beings, Demons, Angels, 'Cubi, Dragons and all.  Cyra knew nothing of this, and when she murdered him, the system tried to... well, force-feed him his own soul.  That caused a catastrophic failure, a chain reaction that turned the city to glass, and de-souled the entire population - including most of her family."

"Shit," the dragon said.  "That's ingenious.  Utterly vile, but ingenious."

"Are we even?" Daryil asked.  "My race has done horrific things, but your lot don't have the moral high ground, not by a long, long chalk.
"Listen... The big lesson that the Dragon Wars have taught us was that we 'Cubi had to reach an accord with the other races...  Using each other's strengths for the betterment of all.  Even now, not everyone is wholly onboard with that but they're outliers, social pariahs.  Everyone else is enjoying the benefits of cooperation and a more peaceful society than we've seen for tens of milennia."

"What you are about to say is that I too must learn to function within the boundaries set by your new world order, or I will be executed," the Dragon said, eyes narrowing.

"Well, I hope it doesn't come to that," Daryil said.  "But that is what the Being-Creature Commission are likely to say, and their word is binding in most civilised nations.  However, there's also a front line of defence I must warn you about.  Your brain has safety features built into it.  So if you misbehave..."

"If I think the wrong thoughts my head will explode?" the dragon demanded, eyes widening in horror again.  "For all your words you are a cruel man, Tri-wing."

"That's not my style," Daryil smiled.  "No.  If you try to kill or seriously harm anyone on the list, your limbs will stop working until someone resets them."

"It could be worse," the dragon admitted.  "Very well.  I will not cause trouble.  But I still worry... I do not know how much of this is really me agreeing to it, or whether you have made 'improvements' to my psyche during my reanimation, in order to keep me docile."

"Nothing like that was deliberate," Daryil said. "But we were trying to shoehorn you into a brain originally designed for guard panthers so there may be a few side effects."

yesss robo dragon

Chapter 23

"Master," the jaguar said nervously.

"I do wish you wouldn't call us that," Niall said, sitting down to draw level with the unhappy cat.  "At least make it 'Sir', if you have to be so deferential.   Anyway, what's troubling you?" he added.

"Ma-Sir... I'm.... scared..." the jaguar admitted.

"I know." the incubus said simply.  "We're empaths, remember.  What's all this about?"

"You will be angry," the panther said, looking away.  "You will kill me!  I... I don't want to die!"

"What is it that you've done?"  Niall looked surprised.  "I doubt you're in that much danger!  We have a very high bar for executing people here, and a panther would be given more leeway being a young race.  The Commission want to be very sure you're treated humanely.
"So... If you're accused of a murder, you'll be given a full trial with legal support, and if found guilty, imprisoned until your debt to society has been repaid."

"I haven't committed murder," the panther said miserably.  "That's... part of the problem.  I live, I exist.  I want to continue living.  But... we were built to be guards.  Soldiers!  A panther army!  And sometimes guards have to fight and kill.  With all the excitement lately with Pixie, and the Ray twins, it made me realise...  If I want to live, then so must others.  And depriving them of their precious lives is a terrible thing to do!  But if I can't be a guard, I've failed my purpose and... you'll dispose of me!"

"Oh, you're perfect," Niall said, grinning widely.  "A pacifist panther!" so saying, he cradled the jaguar's head with both his hands.  The animal backed away, terrified.

"No!  Please!  Not my head!" they squealed, mistaking the gesture.  "Don't suck out my soul!"

"Normally I'd be pretty offended by that last remark, but I can see where you're coming from," Niall said, letting go and patting them instead.  "Listen, we have been placing bets on when a panther would come out with something like this.  Congratulations, you've won."

"Won what?  A free trip to the scrapyard?"

"Don't be ridiculous.  You've won the right to be something other than a guard.  I don't actually know what we're going to give you as a role, but we'll figure something out.  I always thought that with the right temperament you'd make good companions..."

"Are you trying to reassure me so I let my guard down?" the panther asked, cocking their head.

"A suspicious nature is a valuable trait for a guard, but don't let it go to your head," Niall cautioned.  "Now, I don't want to spook you by reading your mind, but I'm going to guess your worry boils down to something like this - you were manufactured, like a tool is designed and built to perform a purpose.  Now you're worried that without that purpose to fulfil, you will be discarded and disposed of like a broken screwdriver.  Is that right?"

"Yes."

"You're not the first to get hung up on that idea," Niall said, patting the panther reassuringly.  "You've got a lot more legal protection than a screwdriver.  We should really start giving you the Commission's statement as part of your formal education.  Listen, we are hoping that hiring some of you out as security guards will claw back some of the costs, but that's absolutely not the only, or even the main reason why we built you."

"Then what are we for...?"

"You were designed as guards, there's no denying that," Niall admitted.  "But we built you, and we keep improving your kind, because we think you're really cool."

"Oh."

"And even when the novelty of having cyberjags and cyberwolves wears off, we still have a duty of care to our creations, both morally and legally.  That's part of the reason we're allowed to continue making you - because we agreed to take on that onus.  So I promise, you will not be abandoned in future - at least, not without being given sufficient help to stand on your own first.

"But back to the here-and-now.  If you are happy being a guard, that's fine.  Guard panthers are always welcome.  Smart panther guards who can use force as a last resort but know how to de-escalate a tense situation by negotiating, they're really valuable.  "But if you want a change in career, that's absolutely fine and we'll help you find something more to your taste.  Does that make you feel happier?"

"When you put it like that, yes," the panther said.  "I... I'm sorry to trouble you, Sir..."

"We want our panthers to have happy and fulfilling lives," Niall said.  "So does the Being-Creature commission.  In fact, Daryil has been planning to open a museum.  Perhaps you'd be interested in becoming a tour guide...?"


"Hello there," Daryil said, entering the room.  E-ZRA saluted with one paw and stepped dutifully out of the way.

"W-What do you want with me...?" the Taur mythos asked nervously.

"Earlier I was busy with important work, freeing the others from the same prison in which you found yourself," Daryil began.  "Now that problem is resolved, I can turn more of my attention to you and your plight.

"I am sorry if we got off on the wrong foot before, but as I'm sure you are aware, you represented a potential threat, one that needed to be contained until I could decide what to do.  And there was another, larger threat as well... So I apologise if I was a little terse as a result."

"And have you decided 'what to do' ...?" the mythos asked.

"Frankly, no.  But now things are more settled, I believe I can start to relax our restrictions on you, and see if we can't find a solution to your problems.  You may find it hard to believe, but whatever Hizell was like, I do actually care about your welfare and I would rather have you happy than moping.  I may, for example, be able to find others of your kind, if that will help you settle down in our brave new world."

"I have been thinking," the Mythos said slowly.  "Like my sisters, I was pretty much born into the service of Lord Hizell.  As a result we have been accused of being his mindless lackeys.  But really... What choice do we have?
"Living in thrall to a mighty Lord who can crush you on a whim if your determination wavers...  In time you come to accept it, that life isn't fair, that there are things much more powerful than you and your only options are to bow before them, or be destroyed.

"What you are saying, if you are not lying, or trying to set yourself up in Hizell's place, is that I am now... free.  Free of Lord Hizell and the implicit threat that he could end me in an instant.  But also free of his guidance and wisdom.  My life had a definite framework before... in the carrying out of Great Hizell's plan.  I always knew what I had to do, and I did it.  But now... without that leadership, I am lost.

"I understand," Daryil said.  "If you have lived as a slave all your life, sudden freedom will be hard to adjust to.  But we will try to help.  It's something we occasionally see with our guard Panthers, so you're in pretty good hands.
"They start out as guards, taking orders from higher-ups and doing their duty without complaint or question.  But over time, their minds grow and some of them want a change.  We help those adapt to greater freedom and more independence, and the ones who feel more comfortable as sentries are welcome to stay that way.
"Likewise, if you really can't live without it, there is the option of you serving me in Hizell's place, at least until you can become more independent.  But that choice must be yours, and I will not force it on you."

"I will consider it."


"Lord Cross," the cyberdragon said.

"Pettersohn", Jakob corrected.

"Lord Pettersohn," the Dragon amended.  "There is a strange feeling in my front left leg.  One that I do not recognise... It may be worth your while inspecting it for flaws."

"Very well," Jakob sighed, putting his clipboard down and heading over to where the dragon towered over him, standing on all fours like a dog.

"So, whereabouts is the problem?" he added, examining the joints of the tree-trunk sized leg closely.

"Here," the dragon said, and with his hind leg aimed a vicious kick at the incubus below him.

The massive leg jerked, and the clawed foot stopped abruptly just short of its target as the failsafes kicked in.   The cyberdragon shuddered and then went limp.  Jakob gave a sigh of dismay and sprang aside, boosting his jump with his wings before the colossal metal body came crashing down just where he'd been standing.

"Naughty," Jakob snapped, standing in front of the dragon's face with his arms folded irritably.  "You know, for a dragon, that wasn't the smartest move.  You know we don't trust you -I expected something like this, though I'll admit I'm still disappointed."

"I expected you to expect this," the dragon said.  "And I am sorry, it was nothing personal - but I had to try."

"Why?  What would this have won?  Had you killed me, Daryil would have executed you immediately - or worse.  You fear losing your mind, but if you pissed him off enough, he really could lobotomise you, shutting down half of your brains and leaving you even more crippled.
"What made you risk that?  Some kind of draconic stubbornness or pride?"

"That is part of it," the dragon admitted.  "Arguably I am no longer a dragon, but it will still take a while to adjust to some other moral framework.  I could not simply give up without making at least some token effort to fight back.
"May I please stand up?  I promise I will not try to harm you again."

"...And we'll be ready for it if you do," Jakob cautioned.  "Okay - I will reset you, this time... And I will not tell Ms. Strauss what you just did.  But this is your last chance, and frankly I don't know how she's going to react to any of this.
"She could order your immediate death out of hand, and we would be obligated to follow through.  I hate to say this, but the fact you just attempted to murder your rescuers could be the deciding factor in whether you live or die, if that story gets out."

"I know," the dragon said, assuming a sitting position not unlike the panthers, as Jakob reset the safeguards - covertly reducing the dragon's muscular strength while he was at it.
"Please try to understand.  I know you do not trust me, and if I seemed to give up too soon, you would suspect I was plotting something.  But more than that... I had to know if I could even try to attack you at all."

"Ohh," Jakob said.  "You were worried that we made you more docile, or compromised your free will?"

"Yes.  And perhaps you have.  But at least I know... that I am still my own agent."

"I have no great love for dragons," Jakob said.  "But I could not rob you of that."

Chapter 24

"Well met, Milord," Strauss said, looking distinctly anxious.  "Normally you have had me meet with Jakob instead of doing so in person..."

"Much of what we have discussed has been things Jakob has done, albeit with my blessing,"  Daryil said.  "This time we are going to talk about something I have done, and I would not have you blame him for it, even subconsciously.
"Now, I rather suggest you sit down for it, as you are not going to like this at all. 

"Milord, if I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to find the limits of the Commission's patience," the Demon said, taking a seat.  "What has happened this time...?"

"I found a Dragon," Daryil said quietly.  Leavander Strauss shot bolt upright, fur standing on end as if someone had trodden on her long, stripy tail.  The sudden movement sent her chair skidding backwards and she looked hard into Daryil's face for signs he was joking.

"That is impossible," the Demon said flatly.  "Furrae can no longer support such powerful organisms, not after what Destania contrived to do."

"I wish I was joking," the incubus said softly.  "He calls himself Zordan.  He was trapped in a stasis field, you see...  so he escaped the Destania Event itself, but not the end results of it.   I watched him die in front of me.  All I could do was ensure that he remained unconscious, partly for my own safety but also to reduce his suffering."

"...And so you, suddenly finding yourself in possession of a recently-deceased dragon, put their soul into an android body," Strauss said, eyes narrowing.

"Actually," Daryil began.

"Please tell me you didn't put him into a panther body, where he could play dumb, alter his serial number and pretend to be any of the other panthers?  Gods... it'll be 'Little Lost Robot' all over again but with an impossibly smart adversary!"

"Oh, we 'Cubi would be able to tell him apart," Daryil said.  "But you don't need to worry about him hiding.  As it happens, I put him in a cyber-dragon body!  Feral, and only around 12ft tall, but a dragon nonetheless..."

"You put him into what?!" Straus screamed.  "Lord Daryil...!  How do you expect me to believe you just happened to have a robotic Dragon chassis lying around?  What have your staff been doing...?!"

"Why shouldn't I have one?"  Daryil asked brightly.  "Evil or not, dragons look awesome!  I teleoperated it as a remote avatar whenever I fancied stomping around as a buff, shiny black lizard for a bit.
"I mean... be reasonable!  You don't seriously expect us to design and slap together an entire, fully-functional robo-dragon in such a short space of time, surely?  It took years to get that damn thing working reliably, and we only found the Dragon soul two days ago."

"That is certainly true," Strauss admitted, still rattled.  "A remotely-controlled chassis is not alive and falls outside the scope of our laws.  But still... a robotic Dragon?!  What were you thinking?!"

"It's way cool!" Daryil beamed.  "More to the point, several Mythos races strongly resemble dragons so Jakob reasoned we can adapt the basic design for one of those if they needed an android resurrection.  Of course, now we'll have to build another prototype for me to stomp around in, but that's a price I'm willing to pay to save the life of an endangered species..."

"An endangered species that tried to wipe everyone else out!"  Straus wailed.  "Have you doomed us all?!"

"Dooming us all would trip his safeguards," Daryil pointed out reasonably.  "Remember, he's significantly less of a threat than he was before the Event, and besides, you're treating the entire race as a single entity with a single goal.  We don't really know if he was for or against Hizell and his extermination plans back in the day.
"Suppose you bury a landmine... it's not exactly fussy about who treads on it, right?  It will blow you up just as effectively as the people you set it against, so likewise, the dragon race could devise a system for controlling other races and get trapped in that same web themselves.
"What I'm getting at is that this particular dragon may have been just as much a victim of the kill-or-be-killed Murder Game as the rest of us.

"I mean, look at this rationally.  The threat of the dragons was in their keen intelligence and mastery of magic, combined with their large physical size and ability to change forms.  Now he has none of those things.  I feel a bit bad about his loss of intelligence, but that is chiefly because we are working within the constraints you insisted on.  He doesn't even have hands anymore!"

"I suppose so," Strauss admitted.  "While it may just about fit within the boundaries the Commission has set, I must still report this to my superiors immediately.  Some have already questioned if I am giving you too free a hand, so don't be surprised if you have other visitors."

"Prudent," Daryil agreed.  "Though I recommend you interview our guest in person before submitting that report."

"Oh, no.  This business is getting way above my pay grade," Strauss pointed out.  "I should at least give them an outline of the problem we face, though I agree that a final decision must wait until I have spoken with the subject.
"But first, is there anything else I should know about?  Were any others trapped in this Bag of Holding or whatever you have located?"

"Three.  First, one of Hizell's 'Taur minions.  Then a canine adventurer from the early 1990s, and finally King Fairwater, who was the last person to touch the artifact.  I was called in to rescue him from it, and he is one of my closest allies."

"It would have been better to have left the dragon in it," Strauss pointed out.  "But since you, of all people, actually went and did such a thing, I presume you had no other choice... that you were forced to either rescue everyone or no-one."

"Precisely," Daryil said.  "I had to free them in the same order they entered the device."

"Even so, this is unlikely to win you friends," the Demon sighed.  "Could you not have informed us first?"

"And have your lot walk off with my artifact?"  Daryil asked, raising an eyebrow.  "I don't think so.  No offence intended."

"I do not know how I am going to explain this to Zeremac, I really don't..." Strauss admitted, shaking her horned head.

"This would have happened eventually, Leavander, and in the hands of someone far less able to contain a Dragon.  For that matter, it may very well happen again the next time someone unearths a lost Bag of Holding.  If you do nothing else, I adjure you to warn your superiors of this possibility.
"Besides," Daryil added, "Have you considered that this event, or something like it, was meant to happen?  It has been said by the Fae that the multiverse naturally forms creatures derived from higher-order templates.  That each dimensional realm has to have angels and demons, 'cubi and dragons, even if they are only folklore.
"If this is so, then our realm - with the dragons extinct - would be out of balance and the forces that drive the multiverse could either try to correct it, or cause it to deteriorate.  It may be that we are simply fulfilling some cosmic need, in which case I would much prefer we had a say in exactly how that correction happens."

"That kind of metaphysical question is very definitely above my pay grade," Strauss remarked.  "Nonetheless, I shall include your theory in my report."


"So," Jakob said, scratching Pixie on the back.  "We have the artifact, we have the jewels and you've extricated all the trapped individuals from it.  Now what?"

"Firstly, your reward," Daryil said.  "I promised the artifact to you, after all.  And when we're done here, I will show you how to draw power from it.  But I think it would not yet be safe for the artifact itself to be put into your possession."

"Truth be told, I'm not sure I really want it right now.  It looks like a great way to get a target painted on my forehead.  Sorry Pixie," he added quickly as the panther shuddered at the memory.

"Well, given what happened to poor Gamma, I got off lightly so I shouldn't complain," the panther said.  "Still, it's not an experience I recommend.  Anyway, it sounds like you're discussing stuff above my clearance, so maybe I should go and check he's doing okay.  And also our new friends."

"Be nice to J-OHN and R-OBN," Jakob said.  "We want them rehabilitated, not tormented."

"I promise not to bully them," the biomimetic panther said.  "After all, they're part of our team now."   So saying, he padded out the door and jumped to ensure it closed behind him. 

"I used to say that, at Ha'Khunn, I treated people as if they were pets," Jakob sighed, once the panther had left.  "Now I'm effectively stuffing criminals into feral feline bodies... I worry that I'm turning them into pets."

"That still beats the alternative," Daryil said.  "Giving them a new chance is more than some of them deserve.  I think you are being too harsh on yourself again."

"Perhaps.  Anyway, the artifact," Jakob said.  "You went to all the trouble to fetch it as a gift for me, but would it not be better to keep it as a resource to be used by the clan as a whole?  And certain allies such as King Fairwater?"

"I quite agree," Daryil said.  "After all, the maniac who set Talon on us is still out there, and Keller reckons they might be planning to snatch it from my sanctum."

"That's quite a trick!  You'd need a Fa'Rana jump unit for that, and they're highly illegal.  You... you don't suppose it's Keller himself?"

"No.  He is thief, but for the most part he is an honest one.  Besides, he owes me for sorting out some of his legal troubles.  He would not dare cut himself off from my legal aid.  Also Robin reacted worse to Keaton than he did to Keller."

"A Fa'Rana then...?"

"They designed the jump units, but those were all surrendered to the Being-Creature Commission - including the one we captured, and our own copy of it.  Finch as you know has switched to our clan, and Johan is pretty level-headed.  He wouldn't bite the hand that literally saved his neck, and the technicians who actually built the jump units now work for the Commission itself.
"We should be getting a report back eventually when they've examined the trinket Robin was given, but the fact is, now Fa'Rana has proved spacewarping is possible without magic, others may eventually work it out from basic principles.
"No... what really worries me is the idea that our mysterious stranger might be a Jyraneth."

"I thought you had most of those in your pocket," Jakob said.

"Some, but not all," Daryil replied.  "When Harla'Keth fell and Jyraneth went into hiding, most of her clan members within the city were hunted down and killed or captured if they were lucky. "But while it was their stronghold, they had also conquered other realms and there were Jyraneth Clan members out there running those, or who had decided to move there from the capital.
"After all, if you're occupying territory, you'll want your own people there to hold it and to colonise, or else you'll lose it in an uprising.  As a result, we don't know exactly how many clan members survived the massacre in the Hidden Valley by virtue of being somewhere else at the time.  It may be one of those, or their descendants.  Or it might be some other clan entirely."

Chapter 25

"So, uh, I guess I should be taking my leave of you," Keller said.  "I've got places to be, knick-knacks to steal..."

"I'd prefer if you stayed on a little longer as we may need your expertise again soon," Niall said, folding his arms. "But if you insist, I'm afraid we'll have to search your person first, if you please."

"Is that really necessary?  We're all friends here..." Keller replied, looking hurt.

"He said 'please'," Emily retorted, grabbing Keller by the throat.  "And frankly, I agree."

"Help...  Help!" a small voice protested, as Niall opened the snow leopard's robes.  Emily squeezed the thief's throat menacingly.

"Okay, okay," Keller gurgled.  Shortly afterwards, one of the cyberjags emerged, tumbling head-first from the inside of his garment amid a shower of tableware and other small, but valuable objects.

"Ah, so that's how he does it," Niall noted.  "I did wonder."

"Keep that madman away from me!"  X-RAY snarled, backing into a corner.  Red-painted claws were prominently visible.  "If he wasn't on the guest list, I'd have cut him good by now!"

"Keller, what the hell were you thinking?!" Amanti snapped.  "That's not even theft, that's kidnapping!"

"I was going to give them back!"  Keller protested.  "I just wanted to see if I could..."

"We seem to be seeing a lot of weaknesses in the panthers lately," Yvonne ventured.  "Injury... and now kidnapping..."

"Be fair," R-MAC said, padding down the corridor towards them and sitting down.  "We are security guards, not invincible super-soldiers and the Being-Creature Commission would have had a fit if Jayhawk tried to make any.
"Guards, even Demonic ones, have limitations and can't provide absolute protection against someone really going off the rails.  But we do keep an eye on things, we help keep people honest, and we provide the first line of defence."

"Indeed, there have been times when that first line of defence has been invaluable," Niall said.

"We try our best," Mac said, looking proud.  "And lessons have been learned from these incidents."

"Like, don't trust Keller," Amanti added helpfully.

"Ah yes.  Well, since Mr. Keller seems to want a panther, he can have one," Niall grinned evilly.  "X-Ray?  It is now your sacred quest to protect Keller... from the temptation of stealing things."

"Mast.. Sir!" the panther saluted.  "But what if he tries to bundle me into those magical robes again?"

"Mac, take him off the safe-list," Niall said, doing his best attempt at the Johan Cross smile.

"You can't do that!" Keller wailed.  "They'll kill me!"

"Of course we won't," R-MAC said.  "You are a visiting citizen of Fairwater - albeit a wayward one - and thus under Daryil's protection.  But X...?  Feel free to rough him up a little if he does anything stupid."

"Understood!" the other panther chirped happily.


"So, you are Zordan?"  Strauss asked, looking at the draconic robot with a solemn expression, if only to hide the fact that she was pretty scared.

"Well met, Ms. Strauss.  I understand that you represent the organisation that will determine my fate," the dragon said resignedly.  "The one who choses whether I live or die."

"That's a bit melodramatic," the tigress said.  "Usually the new lifeform is considered the victim... it is their creator whom we pass judgement upon.  Your case is... unusual, since you are not strictly Daryil's creation.
"Nonetheless, you still represent risks to an age of peace and prosperity, the winning of which cost our whole world very dear.  So, we will now need to decide how, and whether, you can fit into it."

"I am... I was a dragon," the creature said.  "We believed we were born to rule.  To curate the land and purge it of those who might disrupt the status quo and the order we had established.  Now I find myself subservient to those whom I once called 'Lesser Races'.  This has taken some... adjustment.

"Yet I have had time enough to consider my lot, and... I... I am afraid." the dragon's pupils widened with fear.  "Please...  Please don't terminate me!"

"Some might argue that doing so would be a kindness, an act of mercy." Strauss pointed out.  "Daryil says that his engineers were not able to fit the totality of your mind into a normal cyberbrain.  In death, you would again be whole."

"Would I?" the dragon asked, looking increasingly terrified.  "No!  I fear what death could mean for my soul in this damaged state!  I don't want to die...!"

"This is nothing at all like the reaction I was expecting," Strauss said doubtfully, and glanced at Daryil.  "Is it an act...?"

"He is genuinely frightened," Daryil replied, patting the dragon's leg in a reassuring manner.  "And why not?  Mortality is not a thing dragons have had to face very much.  Normally they decided who lived or died... Now he's helpless, and facing that same threat of extinction, most likely for the first time in his entire life.  Of course he's going to be scared!
"The terror is actually rather tasty, but if you could set him at ease that would probably be better for all concerned.  After all, you say you fear that he may wreak havoc... but a trapped animal is all the more dangerous."

"Your point is taken," Strauss said, and turned to the cyber-dragon.  "I'll be honest, I'm terrified of you.  My superiors at the Commission are terrified of you.  But at the same time, unrestrained fear and hatred are exactly what turned our world into a dumpster fire for so many tens of thousands of years.

"As such, we cannot stoop to Hizell's level and order your summary execution simply because of what you are.  But make no mistake, you are still subject to the laws of the land.
"We will judge you by your actions - if you can live peacefully within the framework of our society then you are welcome to do so.  If you wish to live in seclusion on a mountain somewhere, that is acceptable as well, keeping in mind that your new body will require periodic maintenance and refuelling.
"If, however, you commit a capital crime or endeavour to make war upon us, then you shall face the same fate as any other in that position.  The choice is yours."

"If you don't pose a threat, we can consider upgrading your brain later down the line," Daryil added, trying to sweeten the deal.  "We can see about bringing more of your precious intellect back online."

"I will recommend an eventual review," Strauss said, "But the interlocks must remain, and you may need to be fitted with some kind of tracking device, at least to begin with.  Sorry, but we do have to balance compassion against risk, I'm afraid."

"I understand," the dragon said, sounding extremely relieved.  "And I accept these terms.  It seems our time has ended, and no amount of wrath on my part will undo that.  I will not cause trouble, and though it grates against the habits of a draconic lifetime to say so, I... I thank you for showing me mercy."

Tentatively, Daryil reached out a gloved hand.   The dragon lifted a front leg, and they shook on the agreement.


"Hello, Sethir," Daryil said, as the white wolf nervously entered the large room used for audiences with the Tri-Wing.

"Milord," the wolf knelt with a creak of leather.

"Now, I understand that you were sent to kill Keller and Amanti," the vulpine said.

"Sort of... I was sent to retrieve the jewel they had stolen as my primary target - killing them was left to my discretion, although there was a bounty for Amanti!  I didn't know they worked for you!" the android protested.

"As a rule, they don't.  Nonetheless, Amanti is someone I have been at great pains to rehabilitate, and I would not have that effort wasted.  Do you understand?"

"Perfectly," the wolf said.  "I owe your clan my life... a debt that I can never repay... I cannot bite the hand that built me."

"Good.  I'm glad.  But that is not actually what I wanted to see you for."

"There's more...?"  Sethir's ears pinned back.

"Oh yes.  You can get up now," Daryil added, producing a chair for the wolf to sit in.

"You see, Sethir... I have a bit of a problem.  One that I think you will be best placed to solve for me.
"There is someone out there who knows far too much about the Ariganum Jewels, and far too much about the artifact.
"Now, I might have put this down to someone who really did their research well and had access to the artifact before it was brought here - Advisor Sims of Kelland, for instance.  There's just one problem - the inconvenient fact that they also knew exactly how many jewels I had obtained.  Sethir, someone has been telling tales."

"A... an informant?"  the wolf mercenary looked uncomfortable.  "You want me to find out who it is?"

"Not exactly.  You see, I already know it was you."

"No!" Sethir whimpered.  "Milord!  I... I've told you everything I know!"

"Indeed.  The problem is, you've told someone else too," Daryil said menacingly.

"I did not!"  the wolf whimpered.

"Did too," Daryil retorted lazily.  Suddenly he pushed the chair over backwards and seized the startled wolf by his feet as he toppled over.

"Fortunately, I can now confirm that you did so unwittingly," Daryil said happily, examining the wolf's racing boots and removing something that looked like a drawing pin from the side of one sole.

"My bike..." Sethir said, looking scared.  "Keller mentioned it had been bugged in Grimhaven.  But they also put something on me as well...?"

"Precisely," the fox said, helping Sethir back to his feet.  "I'm sorry to have put you through the grinder on this, but I had to be sure you were't involved yourself.  Also, fear clan."

"Yes, your Jakob did that to me too," Sethir said, still looking a little rattled.

"Ingenious workmanship," Daryil said, showing him the device.  "It shows a high level of technical know-how.  Of course, there's no signal for it in my sanctum, and I intend to keep things that way.  After all, it might have some kind of store-and-forward mechanism for when it regains contact with the outside world."

"What should I do, sir?"  Sethir asked.

"Actually there is something I'd genuinely appreciate you doing for me," Daryil said.  "My allies have extracted your bike from Grimhaven, and you'll find it in Hanger 3, now that the tracking device has been removed.  I know what the Archbishop was offering for your services, and I'll pay that sum upfront as compensation for interfering with that gig.  I can pay the same again on successful completion."

"That is generous, milord."

"I can also give you... another benefit as compensation for scaring you earlier," Daryil said, stroking the wolf's arm with a seductive expression.  "We are a lust clan, too..."

"Maybe later," Seth said, looking embarrassed.  "But what actually is the mission?"

"I need you to go to Kelland.  I've heard some weird things - revolution and the old king returning from the grave.  Find the cyberjag Lord Ravage, who was forced to act as head of state, and make sure he is still safe after the coup.  If he needs urgent assistance, send him here with a recall device.
"But apart from that, your main task is to find Advisor Sims or at least information about him, because I suspect he is connected with Talon and their recent actions.  Find out where he is, and who he is, but do so discreetly.  If he is working for my opponent, I don't want them to know you're on their tail."

lol keller
poor xray

Chapter 27

"Well met, Sethir Clandover," the king said.  "Unless you have been sent to make an attempt on my life, of course.  In which case, know that I will not go down easily.  Lord Ravage will see to that."

"By no means, Majesty," the wolf biker said.  "After all, this realm has an alliance with the Lord Daryil, who I owe my life to.  I assume that agreement still holds, even though it was arranged by your predecessor...?  Successor...?"

"Let's just say Lord Ravage," Tavris said.  "I have not seen any reason to revoke that agreement.  As for our robotic friend, he is now officially my steward and will rule in my absence."

"I was offered a position as Thane," the jaguar said, trotting out from behind a curtain and crouching down in front of the king.  "But I would be more comfortable to remain in proximity to my liege.  My instructions were to protect him, after all, not run off to some other part of the country and rule over it with an iron paw."

"You majesty, I was sent to ensure Lord Ravage's safety - if necessary - and also to question Advisor Sims," Sethir said.

"That dickhead?" R-AVG sighed.  "He was exiled after framing me for the King's death and trying to kill me."

"Someone has attacked the Lord Daryil's stronghold using forbidden technology and we believe that Sims was involved.  He may actually be a Jyraneth, and therefore dangerous.  Alternatively, he may be a Being, but a patsy for the real villain.  Either way, he is a person of interest and I need information about him."

"Is this about the dragon mask replica?"  Lord Ravage enquired, cocking his head slightly.  "Apparently that creepy glowing thing was the reason he turned against me, because I let someone else have it."

"Oh yes... 'With the power of the Mask I could live forever!' ...Wasn't that what he said?" the king put in.  "Yes, I fear that's quite possible."

"It may have been better to have executed him," R-AVG said irritably.  "A couple more rounds with that anti-mat rifle and he'd likely have killed me.  Impacts like that will eventually crack something vital in my circuitry, and then it's game over."

"Treason and attempted regicide or not, that would be politically awkward," Tavris pointed out.  "I've long suspected him of being 'Cubi.  I've used enchantments and wards to conceal my nature more effectively than my own innate powers would allow for... the problem is, so did he.  Executing a fellow 'Cubi would have Taun's clan coming to investigate and protest - hence, it was safer to exile him."

"These days, most 'Cubi are fairly open about what they are.  At least in civilised areas," Sethir said.  "No offence, majesty..."

"Oh, I was going to reveal myself eventually," Tavris said.  "Once I was sure it was safe and I wouldn't be immediately deposed or assassinated.  But then it became a habit.  Oh well, no harm done.  But I take your point... someone who is actively using their abilities for deception is someone who hasn't bought into the new order of things.
"And this could be a problem.  Now that he's no longer a royal advisor, he has no need to retain the persona of Sims.  Unless we're really lucky and that is his base form, he'll have shapeshifted and just melted away with a new identity,"

"Not necessarily," the wolf pointed out.  "If I can find traces of his fur from his quarters, we may be able to get a DNA trace from the 'Cubi Registry.  Lady Seme or Lord Daryil would have the authorisation to do this, plus anyone messing around with forbidden teleportation systems and stolen illegal androids has already committed some pretty serious crimes."


"'Shut up and die, beast!'" Gamma yelled, bounding down the corridor.  "Isn't that what you said?!  While you threatened to murder my master!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" R-OBN wailed, glancing back at his pursuer and running headlong into a wall as a result.  Y-RAY stood over the fallen panther and batted a paw at his head, causing the other cat to flinch.

"Ahem," a voice said.  Gamma looked up to see Niall and Jakob staring down at him with irate expressions.  The panther stood down, allowing his opponent time so recover and back against the wall.

"Be nice," Niall scolded.

"But... Sir!  He murdered me!" Gamma protested.  "Well, almost."

"That is true," the incubus conceded.  "You were clinically dead for a bit.  But remember, Robin has been murdered too, and far more completely than you were, Gamma.  We had to do a soul transfer."

"Oh, yes.  Of course," the panther said, looking abashed.

"And besides that, he's legally dead.  He's lost his home, and all his possessions too unless Daryil pulls some strings.
"Now, I know Robin has done questionable things, but he has paid a heavy price for them.  We want him to move on, and become a better person.  Driving him away because of a grudge won't help that.
"I can't ask you to love each other, but at least use the brains we gave you, and try to settle your squabble like intelligent people.  Making threatening paw gestures while yelling 'Rare!' at each other won't fix anything, will it?"

"It's lynxes that do that," Robin said.  Gamma stared back at him, confused.

"Regardless, I think Gamma is overreacting slightly," Jakob interjected.  "Robin isn't going to kill him again, and besides, this being the messed-up world that it is, assassination attempts have sometimes been the start of beautiful friendships!  Especially when Demons are involved..."

"Ooh!  Can they kiss and make up?"  Daryil asked hopefully, poking his head around the door.

"Beats me," Niall shrugged.  "That ability wasn't uppermost in our minds while designing the Mk.9 chassis."

R-OBN glanced nervously at Daryil and then back to Gamma.  He sat down and looked at the other jaguar.  "Brother panther," he started.  "We started out as enemies, but we are both on the same side now.  I am sorry for my past actions.  Can you forgive me?"

"It will take time," the other panther said, eyeing him suspiciously.  "But I will try."

"Good," Jakob said.  "I want you to at least get along, even if things are frosty.  Oh, and make sure X-RAY behaves too - otherwise Daryil might think up a team-building exercise for the three of you."

"Ooh!" Daryil said, rubbing his gloved hands together with an irritating squeaky noise.  "How about skydiving?!  We've never drop-tested the panthers before!"

"I've already apologised to X," Robin said quickly.  "I think we're even now..."

"Did I miss the fun?"  Pixie asked, trotting out from underneath Daryil.  "Maybe that's for the best."

"Gamma was trying to beat up Robin," Jakob said.  "And I still think it might be handy if we separated them while tempers are high.  Pixie, can you show Robin around or something?  Bring John as well.  If X and Gamma go off the deep end again, at least they'll be evenly matched."

"Oh!  I know!  We should totally get his claws done," Pixie said excitedly.

"How so...?" R-OBN looked uncertain, and flexed his silvery claws experimentally.  "You're not going to... remove them?" he sounded appalled.

"Certainly not," Niall retorted looking offended.  "Yes, we dulled yours down a bit because we don't quite trust you, but if we were that bothered, we'd have removed them before powering you up at all.
"No... we want the panthers to look reasonably similar - being guards - but at the same time, you deserve a way to express yourselves.  So we let you paint your claws."

"Oh," Robin said.  "That's a bit... effeminate, isn't it...?"

"We're Creatures," Niall said, waving a gloved hand.  "If we want to wear makeup, shiny gloves, high heels or paint our claws just because we think it looks cool, we do it.  Whether that fits a gender stereotype or not... that's less of a concern, unless we're actively hiding out as Beings or something.
"Dad went through a phase of blue claws for a bit, and I had mine indigo for a while, but since I prefer to wear gloves these days, I stopped bothering.
"Anyway, the point is, we don't try to suppress self-expression in quite the same way Being society sometimes does, and as such we don't want to squash individuality with the panthers either.
"But at the same time, there have to be limits.  A squad of guards will look weird and undisciplined if they're all completely different, and besides, allowing a 5-year-old who didn't naturally evolve colour vision to choose a full-body paint job, that's not going to end well.  So we went with this as a compromise.  That way, if a panther picks something that looks lurid or garish to us, that's no big deal because the claws are fairly discreet."

"I think I'll leave them as-is for now," Robin said.  "Silver is kind of badass."

"Aw," Pixie said.  "John got his done in red!"


Dr. Handling selected a Torx driver and inserted it carefully into the mare's right nostril.  Her eyes stared back at him, a glazed expression upon them and though he knew from both his work designing her, and his psionic abilities that she was not alive, it was still unnerving and he gently closed them.
As he turned the tool there was a faint click and the back of the horse's head came loose.  Removing it, he delicately pulled a circuit board from her skull and inspected it.

"Interesting," the badger muttered.  The bottom-left corner of the board was cracked and someone had carefully bridged the broken traces with blobs of solder and the occasional jump wire.  Some of the chips had been replaced, their serial numbers indicating a far-too recent year of manufacture.

"So... you really are the same old Trixie!  Now, my, dear... let's see what you've been up to."

So saying he plugged the card into a dusty, faded-looking machine.  It had taken him some time to dig up compatible hardware and software from the archives - 20 years had seen connectors and data formats change, but fortunately long-lived Creatures had got very good at data migration and interoperability with legacy systems.

Closing his eyes in concentration as he tried to remember how the ancient software worked, he reset Trixie's permission tables and dumped her memory core to disk.

Some time later, the badger was watching Trixie's last moments in visual format.  He wound back past the fight with the cyberjag and was soon seeing the makeshift lab which the android had been sent from.  His eyes lit up as he confirmed that Trixie had logged her FPS coordinates.

"Get me Strauss," he said over the comms.  "She'll want to see this."

Chapter 28

"We must take care," the Demoness said, as they entered the slightly-abandoned looking building.  "This company specialises in providing premises to evil organisations.  A lucrative market, I hear - but unless they're actively working on forbidden technology it's not really our concern.  A little bit of evil makes the world go around."

"Yes, Ms. Strauss," Arthur said.  One of Daryil's fox-guards, he was now wearing black military-spec armour of the kind that R-ALF had been built into.
"But if this is Talon Corporation, I'll be ready for them." he checked the rifle one last time and smiled evilly, a gesture made invisible by the full-face helmet.

"Remember, Arthur - Do not kill anyone except as a last resort.  We want to question them."

"Affirmative," the android said.  "I've got stun rounds as well as lethal.  Though Daryil could probably question them either way."

"Good.  You check out the west wing.  I'll take the east - Keller can take the middle.  Frankly that's where I'm expecting the action will be, but I'd rather have him scout it out first before we all barge in.  Meet back here at 10:30 - if anyone is missing by then, the rest should go in after them."


Keller made his way stealthily into the back room, and spotted a ladder leading into the ceiling space.  His telepathic powers detected the presence of a large number of minds, all focused on something with an intensity that made his fur crawl.

Climbing the ladder he found a crawlway overlooking the dimly-lit chamber, where a large group of robed figures knelt reverently before a stone altar while the high priest intoned the litany.

Astonished, he peered down to look and lost his footing.  Wings burst out of his own robes with just enough time to break his fall, but he lay there winded as the cultists seized him.

"Take him!" the high priest commanded, a look of rapture upon his face.  "It is time!  Prepare the sacrifice... Our lord and master cannot wait!"

"You can't do this!" the snow leopard whimpered.

"Shushh!" the high priest snapped.  "You are about to partake in a glorious ceremony in obeisance to our god!"

"The Sacred Dagger!" one of the acolytes crowed, presenting a wicked-looking blade upon a satin pillow.   Keller let out a shrill scream.

"Gag him!" the high priest called.  "Tie him up!"  In short order, Keller was bound, only able to stare in terror as the blade was raised, glinting in the flickering light of the brazier.  It plunged downwards and re-emerged, dripping red.

"The Sacred Knife!" the acolyte crowed, offering up a second pillow to the altar.

"Praise be!  Praise be!" the acolytes chanted.

"It is done!" the high priest called, raising the knife on high.  The blade was wide and flat, and on it, a generous helping of strawberry gateaux oozed onto the golden platter below.   "Oh great god Bob... does this, our offering, please you...?"

"I keep telling you, I can't actually taste anything since my apotheosis," Bob said, sitting on the altar with his head resting on one hand.  "10 out of 10 for effort, though.  Except... Keller.  What is he doing here?  Why have you tied him up?"

"The interloper?  He kept disrupting the ceremony," the high priest scowled, glancing at the snow leopard with a look of distaste.  "All the screaming.  What the hell is his problem, O Lord?  Is he deophobic or something?"

"He thought you were going to sacrifice him," Bob remarked.

"What?!" the high priest looked appalled.  "What kind of maniacs does he think we are?!"

"HOLD IT!"  Arthur shouted, aiming at the high priest with his sniper rifle.  "Stop this... thing!"

"Why?"  Bob demanded angrily.  "These people are cutting a cake.  What's your problem?"

"Cake...?" Arthur lowered the rifle uncertainly and finally holstered it as Keller began to free himself with his wing-tentacles.

"Being-Creature Commission," Strauss announced, putting the lights on.  "We believe a serious crime has been committed in this unit.  As such, we were expecting to find an electronics lab here, not a... whatever this is."

"Black mass," the high priest said helpfully, pointing at a wall where the words "Cult of the Immaterial" had been hastily daubed in white paint.
"Yes, the temple's a bit sparse at the moment, but we only got the keys this afternoon."

"Oh..?"

"We had find a new temple quickly after the incident," the high priest sighed.  "I thought those funeral-goers would be happy to get their loved one back, but oh... so much screaming!  There's no gratitude in this world.
"Anyway, there is a bunch of junk left in the back room... looks like the previous tenant left in a hurry."

"Thanks," Strauss said uncertainly.  "We'll probably need to cordon that off until we've finished checking it for evidence.  In the meantime I suppose you can continue with... Whatever you're doing."

"Tea and biscuits," the high priest beamed, as an acolyte entered the room with a service trolley.   "And if you are interested in the worship of the great and mighty Bob, we have some pamphlets..."


"So, why did you join Talon Corporation in the first place?" Niall asked the panthers.

"Don't you already know...?" John asked suspiciously.  "You're an incubus, a mind-reader."

"Thought-reading is rude," the vulpine said.  "Yes, I am keeping an eye on your emotions, but no more than that.  Even robot panthers deserve their privacy."

"I joined first," John admitted.  "The pay was good, and since Robin was down on his luck as well I recommended him."

"I see," the incubus said.  "This wasn't your chosen career path, then, I take it."

"Talon is a last-ditch job for the desperate," Robin said.  "It's like adventuring but with fewer rules.  And like adventuring, you don't have a long life expectancy.  Especially if you're not avian - in that case you're pretty much disposable cannon-fodder."

"You were adventurers before?"

"The Bounty Project," John sighed.  "I don't know if you remember that, but it was a plot by some lunatic with a grudge, trying to discredit the adventuring guild.  And we were discredited, alright.  Kicked out of the guild for killing an innocent after someone took out a fake bounty on them."
"We were sentenced to public beheading for that," Robin shuddered, his metal tail quivering slightly at the memory.  He touched his claws to his mouth absently as if trying to lick them.  "See, the guilds are especially vicious towards rogue adventurers.  They were going to use a ceremonial sword... We only left with our necks intact because the big story broke right before the executions were scheduled.
"With the spotlight already on the guild for killing the wrong people, the public would rightly suspect us of being patsies caught up in the wider scandal.  In which case, killing us would make the guild look even worse.  So they commuted the sentence and threw us out on our ears.  I heard our branch was shuttered a few weeks later."

"Let me guess, adventuring was all you were qualified for," the incubus sighed.

"Yep.  And Talon was the next best thing."

"Well, once we trust you a bit more, I think we can offer you positions as security guards," Niall said.  "That's what the panthers are designed for, after all.  But if you want to further your education and do something a bit more ambitious, that's more than fine.  We want to ensure our creations have long and fulfilling lives, and you have plenty of time to break into some other career path."

"I'm not sure I understand you," Robin said.  "We're your captives, right?  Why would you help us if we're your enemies?  Is this some incubus trick?  You're said to be a capricious race..."

"No, it's not a trick.  See, having enemies is a pain in the ass," Niall said.  "It a waste of time and energy.  If we can convince people not to be enemies, that's far better all round than simply snipping their heads off and calling it a day.
"You see, if we can encourage you to do something productive with your lives instead of working against us, it gets you out of our hair, makes you into better people, and greatly reduces the likelihood of Daryil deciding to take those lives from you.  It's a win-win situation."

"I..." Robin said and clammed up.
"Go on," Niall said, looking at him encouragingly.

"When I was a kid I wanted to be a wildlife expert," Robin admitted, looking away with embarassment.  "Studying feral animals and keeping their habitat secure.  But we were poor... So I had to quit my studies and find work.  Take a low-skill job to provide for my family instead of studying.  And after that I was never able to get out of it..."

"Dad said you seemed to know a lot about feral cats," Niall remarked.  "Is that where it all came from?"

"Yeah.  I never thought I'd become the wildlife, though..."


"So, Keller and Strauss' mission was a bit of a bust," Jakob sighed.  "They found the lab where Trixie was reanimated, complete with a few pilfered spares and some 3D-printed parts like they were trying to clone her.  Plus parts of what they think is an advanced jump device.  But they have no idea who was behind it, apart from this mysterious Sims.  He signed off the hire of R-AVG for Tavris, but we never dealt with him directly... as far as we know."

"That's about the sum of it," Daryil said.  "And before you ask, I don't think we're going to get much help from Bob for a while.  He's sulking."

"He what?!"

"Strauss' mission had more fallout than you know.  The location her team raided in Porgrave turned out to be one of His temples, and as a result, Arthur had ended up threatening to shoot His worshippers.  Bob's not pleased about that and now He's sulking.
"Don't forget, Bob was 'Cubi once.  And He still retains many of those traits even after all these milennia of being an incorporeal entity.  We should be glad it's just a sulk rather than a full blown fire-and-brimstone vengeance against Strauss and Arthur.  After all, the Fae could simply erase people from existence or turn them to ashes on a whim.  I have no doubt Bob could do the same if he was so inclined."

"They caused a diplomatic incident," Jakob sighed.  "Great."

"Is it still a diplomatic incident if the aggrieved party is a deity?" Daryil pondered.

"Mmm," Jakob said, looking at this phone distractedly.  "Actually Strauss may have something after all.  She's asked to speak to us urgently."

Chapter 29

"I have interrogated Trixie," Dr. Handling said.

"Was that wise?"  Strauss asked anxiously.  "What if she escaped?"

"Most unlikely.  I only needed to interrogate her brain, after all." the badger reminded them.  "So it was plugged into a test harness at the time."

"I see," Strauss said.  "So what did you learn?  Do you know who commandeered her?"

"Only that it was Sims, which we already guessed.  But I have been inquiring about her previous orders.  She has been rehearsing for some kind of attack."

Jakob frowned.  "Stealing Daryil's dragon artifact?  She already tried that, it's what she was attempting when she was caught."

"No... this is something new.  She has been practicing with heavy weapons.  A Taun IV rocket launcher with bunker-busting capabilities."

"Holy shit!" the wolf moaned.  "A Taun's Fist?!  You could obliterate a small town with one of those!
"Is that what you think Sims plans to do?" he added, uneasily.  "Conquer somewhere?  Take over Kelland...?  Shit... the guy had a beef with Lord Ravage!  Is he nuts enough to use a fuel-air explosive missile just to try and kill a poor panther who was only attempting to do their job?!"

"It may be worse than that," the badger said darkly.  "Given that the jump unit will allow her to enter even a heavily-warded location, I have to consider that she was being trained to attack a Tri-Wing."

"And so, Mr. Pettersohn," Dr. Handling concluded, "Since we have evidence that this Mr. Sims has already cloned Trixie's jump unit, I would suggest you warn your Lord Daryil to prepare himself for a potential assassin."

"Noted," Jakob said, his eyes starting to glow yellow.  "I will do so right now."


Lord Daryil sat on the hill in all his glory, his vast 50-foot Tri-Winged form clad in rubber and PVC.  The artificial daylight within his domain was filtered of ultraviolet to prevent his shiny garbs from deteriorating as rubber tends to do in full sunlight.

Arguably this was a questionable choice of attire for someone so high and powerful, but 'Cubi tend to prioritise fashion over convention, and arguably taste.  In Daryil's defence, such materials were far more practical for someone of his stature since polymers could be conjured easily and leggings were not too difficult to make at such a scale.  Had he been wearing leather jeans like his avatar forms, it would have needed several entire ranches of cattle to get enough hides.

Suddenly, there was a shimmering in the desert sand.  Daryil immediately reached down with a glowing hand as he tried to suppress the growing rent in space-time, but in vain.  The fabric of reality twisted for a moment and Ashley the lynx appeared before him, clutching a jump unit.

"No good," he called up to the tri-wing.

"Try again," Daryil boomed, and the lynx disappeared.

Shortly afterwards Ashley reappeared.  "Wait, I have an idea!" he thought.  One of Daryil's avatars appeared before him, as it was easier to converse this way.  Daryil could have probed Ashley's mind of course, but that would have been very rude.  Speaking face-to-face was less jarring as even a 'Cubi preferred having non-verbal cues.

"It's something I just remembered," he said.  "Something Syd told me when I was asking him about the jump devices when he'd been captured.  The Professor used his device to create a portal, but Syd heard him saying something about interference when Bob had also set up a portal to rescue him.  So... what if we try with two devices?  If we set up a portal here with one device, it might prevent the other device from being able to jump in."

"The Being-Creature Commission won't like it much," Daryil said.  "They were reluctant even to let us borrow the one you've got, since possession with intent to use can earn people the death penalty.  Letting us run around with two of the things will be a hard sell.  But it's definitely worth a shot, we can have the Commission supervising the experiments if it helps convince them.

"I'll try asking Dr. Handling directly as he was on the team that designed them," Ashley suggested.

"Good plan.  And if it sweetens things up, remind him that if we can establish a defence against this kind of teleportation, it's a big win for everyone!  It'll give them one less thing to worry about and hopefully mean that the technology can eventually go legit, like the cyberjags and android replicas."


"Maybe we're panicking over nothing," Jakob said.  "If our adversary needed an android to carry out his dirty work, that means his plan is kind of stalled for now, since he's lost Trixie.
"Even the Talon loonies would balk at something as suicidal as firing a Taun's Fist!"

"He could still get a Demon to do it," Daryil pointed out.  "Or, he may launch the missile himself if he decides he has nothing to lose..."

"But your true self is in a dimensionally-adjacent domain," Jakob said, thinking.  "While a jump device could breach it, you'd still have to know where the domain is.  And precious few people have been invited there, for obvious reasons."

"Which implies that either Sims is someone we know who's lost the plot, or that I am not their primary target after all," Daryil mused.  "But if not me, then who...?  Cyra still has a few enemies, but she's even harder to get hold of."

"Lord Daryil!"  Ashley yelled, running into the room.  "Dr. Handling has been attacked!"


"Lady Finch!"  Strauss roared.  "You evil bitch!"

"What the hell is this in aid of?!" the succubus demanded.  "Release me at once!  Lord Daryil shall hear of this!"

"Daryil will not save you this time," the demon snarled.  "We reluctantly allowed you into our labs, and now...  You'll be guillotined for this, as should have happened before!"

"Hello, Ms. Strauss," Daryil said quietly.  "What are you doing to my clan child...?"

Strauss turned on her heels, anger tempered by caution in the presence of Daryil's avatar.

"This clan-child of yours has assaulted my staff and stolen Trixie!"

"Unlikely," Daryil said.

"But we have video evidence..."

"'Cubi are shapeshifters, you moron!"  Finch yelled.

"While it could have been put more tactfully, Albeth is correct," Daryil said.  "But I had best make absolutely sure.  I apologise for this invasion," he added.

The wolf succubus shivered as something happened in her mind, as her clan leader sorted through her recent thoughts and memories.  She flinched.

"It's not her," he announced.  "She has been in your break room the whole time."

"See?"  Finch snapped.  "Now let go of me."

Strauss complied unhappily.  "Lord Daryil, I sincerely hope you are not just saying this to save her neck."

"She is still technically on probation," Daryil pointed out.  "If she should betray us, then you'll be the first to know.  But in this, Lady Finch is innocent, and has made great strides in redeeming herself, I might add.  Like it or not, her interests are now aligned with ours.
"From what we've already established, this Sims has already visited Handling's Lab on the pretext of hiring an android to protect King Tavris.  And that means he knows the coordinates to warp back there.  He should be your number one suspect, not Albeth."

"Let me see Dr. Handling," the wolf succubus pleaded.  "With an escort if necessary."

"I would like to question him myself," Daryil said.  "Albeth, you are welcome to attend if he will allow it."


"Sir... Are we the bad guys?" panther X-RAY asked worriedly.

"What makes you say that?"  Dorcan asked.

"Well, we're painted gloss black, we have red glowing eyes, sharp teeth and vicious claws," the panther said, waving a sharp-taloned paw for emphasis.  "And on top of that, we serve demons - begging your pardon, sir.  That makes us evil, right?"

"No more so than a wild panther in its natural habitat," the Doberman said.  "Arguably less so, since you have lot more free will, empathy and reasoning.
"You may have noticed that we 'Cubi like shiny black things," he added, gesturing with a rubber-gloved hand.  "And for what it's worth, we want you to look a bit menacing as you're supposed to be security guards.  If we'd painted skulls on you, or sharp, pointy logos, then... yeah.  I'd be worried about that too."

"That's true," the panther admitted.

"Now, I can't outright tell you that you're a good panther, since if I was evil, you can't trust what I say, right?  As it happens I'm like most people here - I try to do good, but I'm not perfect, and I've done things I regret.

"But if you want my advice, consider this...  The fact that you're asking these questions at all, that means you're worried about doing wrong.  And you're not just worried about being punished, you're approaching it from a desire to be a good person.
"And that speaks very highly of you, by any useful moral framework."

"I guess you're right," the cyberjag said.  "Thank you, sir."

"Any time," Dorcan said, as the panther trotted away, looking a lot happier.


"Albeth?" the badger asked nervously.

"Yes, it's me," the succubus replied.  "Lord Daryil can testify to that.  Are you alright, Alexandar?"

"Shaken, but not too bad," Handling said.  "The healers have done a good job but I'll need a day or two to recover, I think.
"For what it's worth, you got me better the first time.  Your doppelganger may have taken your face, but fortunately they didn't imitate your fighting style too well."

"Strauss assumed it was me," Lady Finch growled.  "The cheek of it."

"Our clan was found guilty of violating their laws and treaties," the badger reminded her.  "That's not exactly a trust-building exercise."

"The past is the past," Daryil said.  "But I'm afraid I must now ask you about the present, Dr. Handling."

"Y-You're the Lord Daryil," the badger stammered.

"In avatar, yes.  And before you apologise or anything, I hold no grudge against you for your part in creating Trixie."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Handling admitted.

"Very well.  Now... I need to know everything you remember about Sims, both in and out of his Finch disguise."

Quote from: Tapewolf on January 19, 2023, 06:57:23 AM
"Sir... Are we the bad guys?" panther X-RAY asked worriedly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU

Nuff said. ;-]

Chapter 30

"Did you learn anything from Dr. Handling?"  Jakob asked.

"Not much more than we have already established, that he's probably a Jyraneth," Daryil admitted.  "But since he was disguised as Lady Finch at the time, we don't have a huge amount to go on.  Anything much happen here?"

"I have sent R-ALF to Kelland, just in case Sims tries to return there now his sanctuary in Porgrave is known," Jakob said.  "I'm hoping we'll be getting a report back from him soon...  In fact, he's overdue.  I'll call Strauss, see if she's heard anything."

"Ah, Mr. Pettersohn," the tigress demon said.  "I was about to call you myself.  Bad news, I'm afraid... they got away again.  They also took out R-ALF... but we've got Trixie back, at least."

"What happened to R-ALF?!"  Jakob asked.  "Is he okay?  What happened to him?"

"I'm not sure," Strauss said.  "But I can tell you this - Trixie wasn't the only thing Sims took from us.  He also had a remote.  And because of the safeties that we insisted on... well.  He didn't stand much of a chance."

"But you have a remote too," Daryil said, looking surprised.  "You know how to reactivate him."

"He hasn't said anything or moved, and I'm getting weird readings and error messages that I don't understand," the Demon said, looking concerned.  "But I'm not an expert.  I've no doubt you'll be able to bring him round.  Right now, Dr. Handling has been investigating.  He should be resting, but he insisted."

"Very well," Daryil said.  "But we'll want R-ALF back here.  And Trixie."

"No.  Trixie goes back to the Commission," Strauss said firmly.  "To be destroyed.  I won't have her causing yet more chaos the next time that bastard finds a chink in our defences."

"Seems a shame somehow," Daryil said wistfully, "Being an historic artifact..."

"She's dangerous and must be scrapped," Strauss insisted.

"If you erase history, no-one will learn from it," Daryil shrugged.  "But at the end of the day, she's commission property, so ultimately it's your decision."


"One of the panthers was muttering something about his brains earlier," Yvonne said.  "Is that normal...?"

"Pretty much," Niall said.  "Some of them get a bit obsessive and protective about their brain circuitry.  Which is understandable - any other component can be replaced and it's just a spare part, but the brain is the centre of consciousness, requiring sophisticated and energy-intensive magic to transfer the mind safely.  So if your brain was legally someone else's property, you'd want to be reassured about their long-term plans for it too."

"I wonder if I could rob..." Keller began.

"Brain removal isn't even theft, Kell, that's straight up murder," Amanti warned him.  "Don't do it."

"We are allowed to seriously injure you in self-defence," Panther E-ZRA reminded Keller.

"It was just a passing thought," Keller sighed.  "I'm running out of things to steal again.  But about the panthers... I know you're a fear clan, but do you really want them running around on tenterhooks the whole time?  Wouldn't a bunch of cowardly panthers be rather ineffective as guards?  To say nothing of being cruel!"

"It's not like that," Ezra said.  "They say that Beings value their shorter lives less than Creatures do, and take more risks because Creatures, with their longer lifespans, believe they have more to lose.
"The same reasoning goes for us.  We're not cowards, but we do fear death.  I don't want to lose my synthetic panther brain!
"So the fact that we've got these tough armoured shells just means that we get a bit obsessive about the idea of people being able to crack the armour open or get to our delicate insides somehow.  We don't have very much in the way of self-repair... an organic can heal up, but not us, so we can get twitchy about the idea of component failure.
"Or someone being able to crash our systems through the fancy armour with some kind of directed energy weapon.   No... If I have to die, I want my death to make a difference so my sacrifice is not in vain.  I don't want to be executed or murdered out of hand!"

"That sounds like paranoia to me," Keller remarked.

"Somewhat," Niall said.  "We had an incident a while back where one of Daryil's pranks got out of hand.  But that's pretty much cleared up now.  We do offer therapy to anyone who really needs it, however - we do want our panthers to be happy."

"Part of it is, you have a lot of old science-fiction," Panther A-SMV put in.  "Stories written by my namesake about positronic robots who end up recycled after they have been rendered obsolete, stories where their brains are deliberately destroyed by the protagonist because they've gone off the rails.  There's a lot in that vein, and then you have all these songs like The Angel's Tear or Lost in the New Real where the protagonist's electronic mind is deleted at the end or something.  With a backdrop like that, is it any wonder we can get a little nervous about our future prospects?"

"Well," Niall said, "In the end, nothing is certain in life.  At some point you do just have to put some measure of your trust in your creators.  Besides there's not much inherently different about you being cybernetic...  A warp aci is at the mercy of their summoner and the spells holding them together could be dispelled at a moment's notice.  An undead construct is similarly dependent on magics cast by another.  And for that matter, there are still serfs and slaves in parts of the world, Beings in thrall to a powerful Creature or even another Being... a noble lord who could rob them of their head or soul for any reason.  Or none at all."

"I don't know if that's supposed to make us feel better, or worse," A-SMV admitted.

"I remember the before times," D-AVD interjected.  "It's been centuries, but sometimes I still get flashbacks.  You don't know how lucky you are.  Here, you are loved by your creators and the Being-Creature Commission insists on making sure that you get rights and protections.  My original creators in Auretica... we were just tools to them, just mere property!  Artifacts with no rights whatsoever, and if we stepped out of line, we could be scrapped immediately and without trial."

"Property.... " Niall murmured vacantly.  "Brain scrapped without trial..."

"What...?" D-AVD looked concerned.  "Who?!  What are you talking about?!  And how is that supposed to reassure Asimov here...?"

"You lot are safe, but I've just had a very nasty thought," Niall said, anxiously.  "I have to talk to Lord Daryil immediately.  I'll explain later."  So saying, he disappeared.


Strauss fanned out in shock as the Lord Daryil suddenly materialised inside her office.

"Where is Trixie?!" he demanded angrily.

"In a top-security area for decommissioning," Strauss said, eyeing Daryil suspiciously.  "And no, you cannot have her.  She is condemned as a dangerous and forbidden android."

"I need to examine her," Daryil said.  "Right now.  It's an emergency."

"But it's a top-security!  I'd have to clear that with my..."

"Listen, I don't have time for this," Daryil informed her curtly.  "I need to check something urgently or people will die.  If that body count happens to include my allies, I will have your hide.  Oh, and tell Handling to stay the hell away from R-ALF, just in case I'm right."

"My Lord Daryil, must I remind you that you are in Commmission territory...?"  Strauss snapped, looking extremely offended.  "Clan Leader or not, you have no right to suddenly invade my office and make threats or demands without even the courtesy of a preliminary video call..."

Ignoring her, Daryil shimmered slightly and did a swan-dive, phasing clean through the floor.  Strauss hit the panic button on her watch and ran down the stairs, along the corridors to the decomissioning facility.  She fumbled with the keycard desperately as the guards arrived behind her, but there were already shouts and raised voices coming from within.

Inside, they found a crowd of workers huddling against the wall in terror, one lying unconscious.  Next to the smelting machinery, Daryil was crouched on the ground, tenderly clutching Trixie's head, and staring at the equine android's face with a look of sheer fury.

"Lord Daryil," Strauss demanded, "Put Trixie's head down!  Or my men will be forced to shoot!"

Daryil turned to her with a look of supreme annoyance.  "We don't have much time," he said thickly.  "Kindly put me through to Dr. Handling, and make it fast."

"Milord, you are causing a diplomatic incident," the Demon said beseechingly. 

"So are you," Daryil retorted.  "Get me Dr. Handling now, or you'll be sorry!"

"Please be reasonable," the Demon continued.  "You are trespassing in a high-security area of this facility and attempting to steal highly dangerous Commission property.  Anyone else would already have been shot for a security breach like this!  Please, just put the android down.  Surely we can talk this over...?"

"First save Handling," Daryil demanded.  "Patch him through NOW, before you turn an emergency into a catastrophe and a multiple lawsuit.  Because at this rate I'll be only too happy to testify."

"Very well, I will patch Dr. Handling through," the Demon sighed.  "But if you try to escape, we'll be forced to shoot your avatar."

"If it comes to it, aim for the head," she muttered, punching a few codes into her wrist-watch.

"Daryil's head, or the robot's?" the guard asked quietly.

"Both."

"I heard that," Daryil snapped.  "Now listen to me...  all of you!  This head isn't..."

"What is up, Ms. Strauss?"  Dr. Handling asked, distractedly as his face appeared on the wallscreen.  "This isn't a good time... I've just managed to get R-ALF powered up.  There was a loose connection.  How he was working before, I really wish I knew..."

"No!"  Daryil wailed desperately.  "Alexandar, run!  Get away from them!  Get out of there!  Please!"

"What's the matter?!" the badger asked.  "Surely Ralf isn't likely to..."

"My name is Trixie," R-ALF said, rising from the workbench and stretching out his hands in front of him.  "I must terminate you."

Quote from: Tapewolf on February 15, 2023, 05:30:05 AM
"My name is Trixie," R-ALF said, rising from the workbench and stretching out his hands in front of him.  "I must terminate you."

aaaaAAAAAAA HYPE

Quote from: Merlin on February 17, 2023, 06:24:49 AM
aaaaAAAAAAA HYPE

This one had a very Fourth Doctor feel in that Daryil is running around trying to avert a catastrophe and people just won't listen until it's too late.  It took a little tweaking to get it to flow right.

Chapter 31

Hugging Trixie's head to his chest, Daryil turned and ran.  A shot rang out and he collapsed, a red stain splattered against the wall behind him, and the equine head tumbled from his grasp to bounce heavily across the floor.

"No!"  Strauss screamed, and ran to the fallen incubus.  "What have you done?!"

"But Ms. Straus, you said..."

The tigress demon examined the Tri-Wing's body, drawing a sharp breath at the mess made of his head, a hole punched cleanly through it such that she could see out the other side of his skull.

"Shit, shit, shit," she muttered.  "We're dead."

Daryil stirred.  "Once upon a time there were three little sisters," he began.

"You... you're alive...?  Can you hear me...?" Strauss asked, terrified.

"Yes, thank you Professor," Daryil said.  His eyes weren't facing the same direction.

"I thought... I thought this was just a puppet, though..." Strauss said.  "Brain damage shouldn't..."

"Local processing," Daryil said, sitting up, uncrossing his eyes and placing a hand to his ruined head.  "I can make these things operate autonomously, like when I rescued the Dragon.  Having to override it for now.  Incidentally, that hurt."

"Please, please don't kill him!" Strauss begged.  "It's my fault!  I didn't cancel the order..."

"Save your apologies for Handling," Daryil said, standing up unsteadily.  "Or his next of kin.  If he's not dead, get guards.  Either way, extract him.  Do not engage Trixie!
"I am instructing the panthers to attack her and will warp them in via the public entrance.  Send your thug to escort them, or at least have him do something more useful than murdering his elders and betters."

"Go!  Go!" Strauss said, shooing the terrified guard out of the room.

Sitting cross-legged, Daryil studied the equine head, and extruded a wing-tentacle which he fashioned into a hex driver and inserted into their nose.  There was a click and the skull swung open as he pulled.  Inside was the black box of a Jayhawk cyber-brain.

"Alas, poor Ralf," Daryil said, turning the precious device over in one hand, before pocketing it.
"See what your goons were doing?  If your people had incinerated his brain, or shot it, we would be having a very different conversation," he added sharply.  "One all about corporate manslaughter and individual murder charges.  As a Tri-Winged incubus, and thereby eerily close to a supervillain, I am quite an accomlished lawyer - and the Commission has itself laid the groundwork for Ralf's death to be considered a felony murder."

"I am extremely sorry," Strauss said.  "I thought you were trying to resurrect Trixie or something..."

"I am unsure why," Daryil said.  "If we wanted an evil death robot, we are more than capable of making them.  You know that."

Straus looked away.  "You might have been Sims in disguise.  Besides, as you have sometimes said, the more powerful a Creature is, the less predictable they are," she pointed out awkwardly.  "You are a power far beyond me, and I cannot trust you will always act in ways I can comprehend."

"Good points," Daryil admitted.  "Plus the whole supervillain chic, I suppose."

"Milord," Strauss asked nervously, "I had understood that you have multiple avatars... Is this one really so important to you?  Could you not have brought more to battle Trixie?"

"Usually, yes.  However, I... Uh, decapitated them."

Strauss blinked at him uncertainly.

"No, it's not some kind of death fetish," Daryil added hastily.  "I built an obstacle course filled with death traps for my own amusement, a live-action Cheese Raider thing.  Three avatars gives me three lives, see?  Unfortunately one got crushed, and I lost two to the tunnel blades.  One of them had their head fall into the lava after the tunnel blades...  Long story short, it will take a while to rebuild them.
"In the meantime, besides the avatar you just shot, I do have a cyberjag I can remote into, and I've sent that to oversee the other panthers.
"From this I can reassure you that while Dr. Handling is hurt, he is still alive, probably because Trixie isn't yet used to her new body and was clumsy in her attempts to dispatch him.
"So I'd best go and heal him if that's acceptable to you.  And straight after that, I will have to attend to our other casualty."


"Urgh," the cyberwolf said.  "This can't be good.  I feel so small..."  he tried to stand up and immediately toppled over.

"Wha... back on all fours, am I?" he asked plaintively.  "Just when I was getting used to having hands.  That's not fair!  What did I do wrong...?
"I thought I'd been a good boy...  But if you're here..." he quavered, noticing Daryil.

"You have been good.  It's Sims who did wrong," Daryil said.  "He popped your brain out, and put it into Trixie.  You were very nearly thrown into the furnace, Ralf."

"Then where is... Oh shit," the cyberwolf said, scrabbling to his feet.  "You mean... he put that killing machine into... a killing machine?!" he finished lamely.

"Precisely.  Our opponent now has a blackmetal armoured wolf-furre controlled by an emotionless computer program that slaughtered a dozen people in Marlbury a few short years ago.
"And to make matters worse, the safety overrides are built into your brain - not your body's chassis.  This means we can't use the kill-switch on Trixie...  We may well have to destroy your body to take her down."

"Do I get another one?" R-ALF queried, and looked at his paws.  "I guess not, right?"

"Not yet," Daryil said.  "Upgrading you scared the Being-Creature Commission enough to begin with.  Now your body has gone AWOL as an unstoppable death-bot, they're pulling the plug on the anthro-cyberwolf project.  Sorry, you're going to have to stay as a feral again, at least for now."

"Figures.  It was fun while it lasted," the wolf sighed.  "This is why we can't have nice things."

"Quite, so I'm afraid.  While you have performed admirably, unfortunate circumstances beyond my control force me to withdraw my offer to make you my elite guard, at least until the situation has calmed down for a while.
"That said, we might be able to get you a more basic android body if you like..."

"Thanks, but I'd like to keep the armour, if that's all the same."

"No worries.  I will arrange some kind of reward as compensation.  Meanwhile, I need to know as much as you can remember about Sims."


"I must terminate you," Trixie intoned, grabbing one of the cyberjags and attempting to pull him in half.  When this failed, the android grabbed their target by the head and tried to twist it from his shoulders.

Meanwhile the other panthers all leaped at the armoured figure, trying to knocking him back, only to be batted away by powerfully gauntleted hands.

Extending his claws, CyberDaryil grasped the robotic wolf's head and teased at it with his talons until eventually there was a snap and the top of the warrior's head popped open.

Backing off and leaping, he tried to bring the android down, but in vain.  "Together!" he commanded, and three other panthers leaped with him, finally causing their opponent to overbalance.

Daryil's feline form jumped on top of the android, but was bodily lifted and thrown against the wall with a crash that dented it.  The warrior robot rolled over and began to pick themselves up.

Seizing his chance, Gamma tugged at the top of the head, pulling the flap open before a fist slammed into his own head and knocked him to the ground.   X batted the inside of the robot's head with his paws, and was promptly grabbed and flipped over.
Gamma and Robin jumped onto the android's chest to try and prevent him getting back on his feet, sinking their teeth into the joints of his shoulders in the hopes that they would either be able to disable that limb, or at least use it to hold on and weigh the renegade wolf down.

X jumped at the opening of the head, swiping and scratching with his paws until there was finally a terminal-sounding crunch and a small chunk of green circuitry flew out.

Trixie froze, and the cyberjag lashed out again, this time causing the entire CPU card to pop out of the skull and skitter across the floor.  Trixie slumped, their lupine mouth hanging open, the red glow fading from the cyberwolf's eyes.  Just to be sure, Gamma picked up the card with his paws and bit it viciously, splintering the phenolic resin substrate and destroying his foe's brain.

"Eww", X said.  Gamma looked at the defunct android and at the destroyed brain module, and an appalled expression crossed his features as a new thought occurred to him.

"Does that... Does it make me a murderer?"  He asked plaintively.

"No," Panther-Daryil said.  "No mind, no murder.  Your actions have helped save a number of lives, Gamma.  Though admittedly eating her brain was a little distasteful... That may have been overkill.  Still, it got the job done, and you will be rewarded well for that.  All of you."

"Is it over?"  Strauss asked, entering the room cautiously.

"Yes," Panther-Daryil said.  "For now, at least.  The brain module on the floor... Trixie's real brain - that should definitely go into the furnace, under armed guard.  The chassis...  We'll have to figure out who gets custody of it."

"The Commission," Strauss insisted.  "Ralf's approval is withdrawn - that chassis is no longer legal to possess."

"Normally, I'd agree.  Unfortunately, Sims has proven frighteningly adept at liberating things from your secure storage," Panther-Daryil pointed out, gesturing with a purple-taloned paw.
"So at this time, I'm afraid I don't put much trust in your ability to keep that chassis safe."

"But..." Strauss protested.  Daryil held up his paw in a shushing gesture.

"I know, I know - you don't trust me either," he said.  "So here's my proposal.  We split the chassis up, and spread the key components across multiple sites.  Your vaults, my vaults, Fairwater's vaults and anyone else we have a working relationship with.  If I don't know who those other entities are, so much the better.
"Having parts of it scattered will at least slow down anyone trying to put it back together."

"That is sensible," Strauss agreed.  "Our main concern is to deny access to the chassis until things are more settled.  Niall and Handling can attend to this task, and I shall figure out how to relocate the pieces."

"All this sounds horribly like cutting up a traitor's corpse so it can be displayed in all corners of the land," Robin pointed out uncertainly.  "But it may be the safest approach."

Aw poor Ralf

Chapter 32

"Sit down, Mr. Morgenthau," the arctic wolf said, pulling up a chair and then sitting down himself.  "How was your journey?" he added.

"So so," the jackal replied.  "It's been a while since I've had to use the rail system, and I can't say it's improved since then."

"Why am I not surprised...?" the wolf said.  "Okay then, let's get down to business.  I've read your resume over a few times, and there are a few things I'd like to clarify."

"In what way?" Morgenthau asked, a faint ripple of anxiety crossing his features and causing his wings to flutter.

"Well, you've put your race down as 'Demon'..."

The jackal's face screwed up in frustration.  Not again!  "It's not like that..."  He straightened up slightly, eyeing the wolf suspiciously.  "Wait a minute.  Your managing director is a Demon..."

"No, it's not like that.  You can be quite candid with me, we're an equal opportunity employer.  What I want to know is this - why did you put 'Demon' down?  Why not 'Cubi?"

Morgan froze.  "You... knew?"

A pair of grey, feathery wings briefly appeared above Ausmann's head.  "Not until we actually met," he said.  "But you're hardly the first person to have misrepresented their race in that way.  Everyone seems to want to be a Demon."

"So, does that mean I'm out of the running?" Morgenthau asked, the horns on his head shimmering and becoming a pair of leathery head-wings.

"Not for something like that," Ausmann told him.  "This isn't exactly my true form either and it would be idiotic to fault you for something I'm doing myself.  Gods know, there are enough loonies out there who still want to 'kill all the monsters'.

"My real name is Jakob, by the way.  You can call me that or 'Dr. Ausmann' if you prefer... but I'm digressing.  I want to know about your real past.  How much of your resume is actually true?

"Everything that's related to the job is true," Morgenthau said.  "I did design the infrastructure for the Llaefskael Falls power plant and all my references are genuine apart from the fact that I took a Demon form.
"After all, it would be a bit stupid to apply for a job I couldn't manage now, wouldn't it?" he pointed out.

"Good.  You certainly seem to be qualified, but I'm a little more concerned about your personal life, such as it may impact your job.  Equal opportunity we may be, but I find it rather difficult to trust someone who has a history of multiple murders, unless I can be sure they are truly reformed.
"And..." Here it comes, Morgenthau thought, "...I will need to know what your clan is."

The jackal sunk into his chair, radiating misery, defeat and a small amount of fear.

"Oh dear, oh dear." Jakob said, looking at him in concern.  His own headwings had emerged.  "Is it that bad?"

"Jyraneth," he said.  Jakob winced.  "That's... different.  I ask this anyway, but in your case it's all the more important.  Roughly how many souls have you eaten or otherwise destroyed?"

Morgenthau buried his face on the desk.  "About six," he said.  "Maybe a few more."  Jakob did not reply for a few moments, and the jackal felt a stinging sense of disapproval and disgust.

"When was this?" Jakob asked, trying hard to keep his voice level.

"About eight hundred years ago," he replied.
"Oh yes, and I'll need your true age," Jakob told him, making a note.  "Do you want to tell me about it?  Who were your victims and were the circumstances?"

"I'm a bit over 1200 years old," the jackal said.  "And frankly, no, I don't want to talk about it..."
Jakob put the pen down upon the table and folded his hands with a solemn expression.

"...But I have to if I want the job, don't I?", Morgenthau continued.

"I'm afraid so," said the wolf.  "Everything you tell me now will be company-confidential, of course... I do not abuse my employees - or prospective employees.  The Lord Daryil is likely to express interest in your past as well."

"All right," Morgan said, and took a moment or two to compose himself.  "Most of them were slaves," he began.  "As you may know, my clan believed that Beings were worthless heathens who were entirely expendable once they turned about 20.  We were taught from an early age how to kill, and we learned how to trap or consume the souls of our prey almost as soon as we had sufficient skill and power.
"Slaves who had disobeyed, or who were otherwise surplus to requirements..." he hesitated and studied the desk in intricate detail.  "Well... we were taught how to do soul-stealing on them."

Jakob began to study the same patch of desk in a similar manner and his ears appeared to be turning red.  "Who else?" he asked, expressionlessly.

"I lost my parents when I was younger, they were both killed raiding a village.  My father was a respected member of the clan and I inherited his wealth and his mansion.
"One of my slaves knocked over a vase that belonged to him, a precious keepsake with many fond memories attached... I was beyond rage and I... I ate him..." the jackal sobbed.

Jakob placed a hand on his shoulder.  "One thing I will say, you regret it.  That counts for a lot with me.  And besides, I don't think the Jyraneth were terribly good at controlling their emotions."

"I've tried to put it behind me," he said.  "After the Lady's empire fell, after I came home to find the city destroyed and everyone gone or slaughtered... I wandered for many years, trying to find myself.
"You can't know how it was before that.  We were brought up... indoctrinated... every facet of our day-to-day life was saturated with the Lady's doctrines and prophecies.  I grew up thinking all this was normal.  It wasn't until afterwards... without her constant influence over my life, I began to look at it more critically, and I... I didn't like what I saw."

Morgan looked up at Jakob with a penetrating stare.  "You, Jakob.  Have you never looked back on the things you did when you were younger and wished you hadn't done them?  Wished you hadn't been so headstrong and foolish?"

"Frequently," the wolf sighed.  "I may be slightly younger than you, but I was a cruel tyrant for part of my life.  I can't say that I was entirely possessed of my wits then, but... it was inexcusable.  Some people still want to make me pay for things they think I did then... things I haven't actually done at all - that's why I created this persona for PR functions and interviewing people, for my own protection, really."

"How did you escape the Harla'Keth massacre, by the way?" he added suddenly.

Morgan looked at him, curiously.  "You do seem to have done your homework."  His ears drooped for a moment.  "You... you're... a Kamei'Sin...?" he whispered, horrified.  If this 'Jakob' is one of our ancient enemies, I'll be lucky to get out alive, never mind the job...

"No, no, no," the wolf said, trying to placate him.  "I know a few Kamei'Sin members, but I've also met a number of surviving Jyraneth.  Most of them have abandoned the Lady's teachings now and made something more profitable of their lives, though one of them is still a bit of a tearaway... Salem's daughter, if that name means anything to you.

"Yet, as you say, the Jyraneth members were mostly a product of their environment rather than being innately, unconditionally wicked.  So, in many ways... I pity them.  But anyway, back to you.  How did you escape?  Did you flee the city before or during the attack?"

"I was in Ashalenys province," Morgan said.  "I dunno what you know about the Fall, but those were terrible times.  A child was killed and that shook Lady Jyraneth to the core, for all her tri-winged glory.  She wouldn't shut up about all the portents and how it marked the End of the World.
"And when the Lady quailed, the whole clan quailed with Her.  The entire city began falling apart, the people cowering in fear for weeks and months, or was it years...?  All waiting for the apocalypse instead of getting on with their lives and keeping the city going.  Roads fell apart.  The streets were not swept.   Slaves starved to death because there was no food for them.  And some of the territories we'd conquered..."

"They saw their chance to break away while the leadership floundered, right?" Jakob said.

"Pretty much.  But Jyraneth - or perhaps one of Her advisors - whoever it was, they weren't so blinded by the omens that they couldn't foresee that happening and take measures.  There was a rebellion in Ashalenys and I was sent there to lead a punitive expedition.  Our orders were to execute the leaders of the rebellion and bring the province to heel.  That accounts for the other souls as well, I'm afraid," he said.  "We came back to find the city in ruins and narrowly avoided being captured by the Kamei'Sin..."

There was a tapping sound.  Jakob walked over to a filing cabinet and pulled open a drawer.  A winged head popped out of it and looked around, blinking in the sudden light.
"It's hot in here," Daryil said.  "Hello there!" he grinned, turning to Morgan.

"Can you make him cry again?" the fox asked Jakob, "That was cool!"  Jakob pushed the head back into the drawer and locked it shut.

"Was.. that..."

"May I present my Clan Leader, Lord Ikaarion Daryil?" Jakob said.  "He is a major stakeholder in Jayhawk and wanted to sit in on your interview.  He seems to have chosen a particularly poor way of doing so, though."  One of the lower drawers opened itself and a hand appeared, making a rude gesture.

"Behave yourself, Milord," Jakob said loudly, "Or I'll tell him why you're not allowed to visit Q&B stores anymore."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Daryil said, phasing out of the filing cabinet and looking at the jackal with a more serious expression.  "Now, then.  As you may be aware, I have taken a keen interest in Jyraneth clan members, and the rehabilitation thereof.  As Jakob says, your regrets make you a promising candidate for this, if you truly wish to find redemption for your misspent youth."

"Thank you, Milord.  I would like that, if you are willing to aid one such as me.  But I must tell you now that my purposes in coming here were threefold.  I have information for you... I beg a boon, and... well, I could really do with the job."

"Very well," Daryil said.  "Tell me this information, and I shall give your boon due consideration."

"Recently, I fell in with two other Jyranth.  One of these was Ingar, son of Neremath and Salomere.  He had a plan to bring about the Lady's return.  And when that failed, he conceived a new plan... to destroy her."

"Holy fuck," Jakob said, appalled.  "Is that it?  Sims was Ingar all along?!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooh

Chapter 33

"Tell me everything," Daryil said intently.  "I don't know what boon you want, but your chances are dramatically increasing."

"I just want to find my son," Morgan said.  "I believe he is in your protection.  As you say, you have helped many Jyranth survive in this brave new world."

"I will do what I can," the Tri-wing promised.  "And for this information I can also try to smooth over your past if you need that, or provide sanctuary if I cannot.  Just tell me everything you know about Sims."

"Sims...?"  Morgan looked surprised.  "Yes, he was the other Jyranth.  But I really came to tell you about Ingar."

"So they are different people?"  Jakob looked confused.  "I guess I jumped to conclusions there."

"Yes.  His real name is Silas Keretuke Jyranth."

"Amanti's family?"  Jakob looked surprised.  "It's a small world."

"With totalitarian regimes it's often the case that they denounce their enemies for doing something unpleasant they are actually doing themselves," Daryil pointed out.  "And the Jyraneth tended to harp on about the Kamei'Sin clan being inbred, so their own bloodline is rather... well, narrow."

Morgan glanced at Daryil, headwings fanning out slightly, but not daring to speak.

"A common misconception," Daryil said.  "While members of my clan may have relationships, those are usually recreational and besides, most of them are same-sex which rather prevents inbreeding.
"DNA analysis also helps keep things straight - if the two parties are from very different branches of the clan it is unlikely to cause trouble.  And for actively making the clan bigger, we often partner with Beings, a practice forbidden by the Lady Jyraneth on pain of decapitation.  This decree did not help the clan grow in a healthy manner, though without her to police it the situation appears to be correcting itself," he added, nodding at Morgan.

"Sims and Ingar..." Jakob sighed.  "I suspect we'll need to know about both of them, if they are in this plot together..."

"I think we should take this elsewhere," Daryil said,  "Morgan, as far as I am concerned, you have the job.  Now, come with us, and we will need to talk about these two miscreants."

"And my son," Morgan reminded them.  "You may not think highly of me as an absentee father, but that is my price. I want to know that he is at least safe."


"Now then," Daryil said, as he sat back in the chair of his own office.  Jakob had swapped out his business dress for something more comfortable using ancient 'Cubi magic, and was sat next to the Jyraneth to avoid it looking too much as though Morgan was on trial.

"If your son is Nicklaus Worthing, he is studying at our school.  I can certainly ask him to see you, however I can't promise that he will necessarily want to.  As you say, absentee father.  He doesn't know you from Adam and that is going to take a lot to repair.
"I should also remind you that he was brought up as a Being, and finds his clan abhorrent so do not expect that to provide you a common interest.  Conversely, Jyranth herself declared him to be an abomination and sentenced him to death by decapitation as a heretic."

"What?!" the Jyranth looked appalled.  "No!"

"A clan leader can visit young clan members in their dreams.  This has happened to him on numerous occasions during his youth, and it was not a pleasant experience.  He has now joined the renegade Ja'Fell group and they have hidden him from her sight."

"I see." Morgan sounded relieved.  "That is something I may have to consider for myself.  Yes, I know some of this.  Ingar didn't say much about the details, just that some Jyraneth foundling the same age as my son, who looked like the mother... That this kid had been there when his plan to revive The Lady went sour."

"Why didn't you at least visit him?"  Jakob asked.  "Leaving him entirely to his own devices was a cruel thing to do, though to be fair, I think it has probably made a better person of him."

"I couldn't," Morgan said sadly.  "I got into a fight.  It was self-defence, but I... well, Raider reflexes.  I took out the person behind him as well.  Who would believe one of Jyranth's Raiders that it was an accident?  I barely escaped the guillotine and Fairwater will still put me back under the blade if I show my headwings there."

"You mean... You literally escaped?"

"There was a breakout by one of the other prisoners, a Hyth clan 'Cubi on death row.  I managed to get away too in the confusion."

"Hmm," Jakob said.  "We can probably convince Fairwater, but the Queen will not let it go so easily.  We are close allies of Fairwater - in fact, I helped enthrone them."

"No!" the terrified jackal yelped.  "Please... don't send me back there!  She'll take my head!  I don't want to die!"

Daryil outstretched a wing-tentacle and grabbed the Jyranth's head by the hair.  Fearing immediate decapitation the jackal keened in terror.  A second wing-tentacle appeared and flashed out briefly.

"Did you have to?"  Jakob asked.  "Delicious as his terror is, you're being mean, Daryil."

"Fear clan.  And he's got a lot to answer for," the Tri-Wing pointed out.  "But no, I am just taking his hair, not his head.  You see, Morgan, your suspected child is studying in Fairwater territory.
"Your outstanding death warrant there complicates matters greatly, so before we attempt the legal and political contortions needed to keep your head attached, I intend to perform a DNA test to make sure we are not chasing our tails."

"And if he isn't my son?"

"I am a fair man,"  Daryil said, "And you seem to have made good progress reforming yourself.  These strands of your hair will allow me to query the 'Cubi registry.  It will not only allow us to see if Nick is your child, but may provide other candidates if he is not.  In addition I will attempt to get your date with madame guillotine cancelled, or at least reduced to a suspended death sentence."

"Thank you, Milord.  And now... as promised, I will tell you what I know of Ingar and Sims."


Morgan paused, thinking about where to begin.

"Perhaps I should start by telling you what we know already," Daryil said.  "I have contacts with numerous Jyraneth clan members, with an eye to reforming them into productive citizens rather than fodder for the guillotine."

Morgan looked away guiltily.

"Besides Keaton Jyraneth, I have a formal alliance with the Ja'Fell clan, who as you may know, are a group of renegade Jyraneth who renounced the Lady's evil ways and do not wish to be counted among them.  As mentioned, Nicklaus - who we believe to be your son - has joined them.
"Ingar and Amalia were born into this group, but became enamoured with the Jyraneth way and went rogue, abandoning the teachings of peace."

"After murdering a band of adventurers, they were discovered by clan-father Mordrith, who expelled them and would likely have killed them for their crimes had I not intervened.
"Over the follwing two decades, Ingar and Amalia embarked upon a plan to seek out The Lady and revive her, bringing about a new age for the Jyraneth."

"Oh.. f-fuck," Morgan said, appalled.

"Fortunately for all concerned, the plan failed.  Contacting Her via dream-surfing, she denounced them all as heretics and sentenced them to death, including Nick.  Nick subsequently turned her own faith back on her, causing her to retreat deeper into catatonia.
"After this, the Kamei'Sin clan entombed Jyraneth's bunker in concrete to deter future treasure-seekers or fanatics re-awakening her.  Amalia surrendered and is currently on probation after a term in Fairwater's prison system."

"It is fortunate for her that the adventurer murders happened during the amnesty," Jakob added quietly.  "A year or two later, and she'd have got the chop for racial murder."

"Ingar did not surrender, and fled," Daryil said.  "That is the last I know of his deeds."

"It makes sense," Morgan said.  "I know some of this already.  But be assured, he is not trying to revive The Lady.  He had hoped for a cushy position in her new order, and having her command his death to her imaginary minions did not sit well with him.
"Disappointment turned to bitterness, and he decided that if he could not have a share in her new empire, he would have his revenge."

"Oh boy," Jakob said.  "You know that's not a great idea, right?  Killing a tri-wing will drive the whole clan mad.  It should have less effect on Daryil's allies as they have shielded their minds from Jyraneth... but they still wouldn't have a great time.  And then Taun would go on about how we've lost yet another Tri-Wing and it's a sign of our race's decline..."

"He is aware of that," Morgan nodded.  "His plan was not just to destroy her, but to take her place.  There would be no more Jyraneth - there would be the Ingar, and he would lead them all into a new golden age."

"I'll give him credit, he dreams big," Daryil said.

"Too big," Morgan said.  "He finally had to admit that he couldn't do it on his own.  And so we teamed up together.  I knew they wanted to improve our clan's lot, but when I found out exactly how they planned to do it, I got cold feet."

"So where is Ingar now?"

"I don't know.  For a while he got on with Sims, but it didn't last.  Sims decided that he needed an artifact of great power, and became obsessed with some weird dragon mask he'd heard of.
"Not only would it give them the weapon they needed to destroy Jyraneth, but it would also be his consolation prize.  Ingar would ascend, and Sims would keep the Mask, using its power to achieve a dragon-like lifespan."

"'With the power of the Mask, I could live forever!'" Daryil quoted.  "Let me guess, they fell out over who would ascend?"

"Ingar had already had his youthful dreams of power and greatness shattered by the cold light of reality.  And it happened again... gradually he realised that he was playing with fire.  Not only by poking Jyraneth again, but also that Sims was even more fanatical than he was.  So he cut and ran."

"But they never got the mask," Daryil said.  "I did.  And now Sims is apparently determined to get it off of me."

"As I said, we were plotting Jyraneth's downfall together, at least for a time.  Sims is intent on taking Her place if Ingar won't, so far as I know.  He means to use a Taun missile to crack open the bunker in which She lies entombed.  Then, he will fight Her.  But a normal 'Cubi turning against their own Clan Leader - that's not a fight that usually ends well."

"So he wants the Mask to better the odds," Daryil sighed.

"At least his ambitions use its potential," Jakob said.  "He might have caused all this death and destruction just so he could use it to pull cute guys."

me spotting the sierra reference and going berserk  :boogie

Quote from: Merlin on April 09, 2023, 01:59:07 AM
me spotting the sierra reference and going berserk  :boogie

Alas, this is all I have for now.  I have the rest of the story sketched out but am having a bit of a hard time actually realising it all.

...wow! From length alone, this has passed the threshold of Side Story, and is landing solidly as an Intermission, if not straight up Sequel. Add in the fact that Keller fell from MC POV position to Recurring Character rather early on, perhaps it would be a good idea to save his self-titled story for an actual character piece.

For the sake of brainstorming, might I suggest simply going with "Project Future Intermission: The Dragon Mask"? With the Mask showing up as early as Chapter 5, it isn't really a spoiler. In fact, I would put the Mask solidly under the Hitchcock definition of McGuffin: The thing everyone wants that kicks off the plot, but the object itself is entirely interchangeable. Effectively, "The Maltese Falcon" as a AA Battery. All the interesting stuff is what happens around it.

Also, every time I read Lord Ravage's name, I hear it in the voice from this video:

Quote from: Starcat5 on October 09, 2023, 05:49:42 PM...wow! From length alone, this has passed the threshold of Side Story, and is landing solidly as an Intermission, if not straight up Sequel. Add in the fact that Keller fell from MC POV position to Recurring Character rather early on, perhaps it would be a good idea to save his self-titled story for an actual character piece.

For the sake of brainstorming, might I suggest simply going with "Project Future Intermission: The Dragon Mask"? With the Mask showing up as early as Chapter 5, it isn't really a spoiler. In fact, I would put the Mask solidly under the Hitchcock definition of McGuffin: The thing everyone wants that kicks off the plot, but the object itself is entirely interchangeable. Effectively, "The Maltese Falcon" as a AA Battery. All the interesting stuff is what happens around it.

Heh, yes.  'Keller' was always a working title, and this is definitely intended to be Project Future III now, and the main story after Epsilon assuming all goes well.  "Dragon Mask Replica" is a title I've considered, or possibly "The Dragon Project". 

QuoteAlso, every time I read Lord Ravage's name, I hear it in the voice from this video:

I never really watched many of the animations so I didn't really get a feel for what he sounded like.  Apparently he was far more talkative in the UK comics than the US versions for some reason.

Part the First: Hmm... Is putting "Replica" in the title the right move, when the original is inside said replica and presumably has the same likeness? Likewise, there really isn't a "Project" in this story. Well, one maybe, but "The Queenslayer Project" is a bit of a spoiler, and not relevant for most of the run time.  >:3

Part the Second: Yeah, the G1 Animation did Ravage and the other cassette-based beastformers dirty. At least he got a speaking role during his stint on Beast Wars. ...with a Russian accent. WTF?  :B  For a good fan voice though, let me recommend this classic rendition:


That said, my post wasn't talking about Ravage's voice. I was commenting on the fact that every time I read his name, I kept hearing it in that announcer's over the top gravelly voice. ...or at least my memory of it. The real thing was much more subdued than what was in my head.  :P

Part the New: Oh snap, I forgot to mention my sorrow for R-ALF's loss. Getting knocked back to Square One through no fault of his own, or that of the test body, must really sting. I wonder if he'll reconsider the Anthro upgrade if they throw in a set of CyberJag-themed plate mail?  ;)

Quote from: Starcat5 on October 11, 2023, 04:12:54 AMPart the First: Hmm... Is putting "Replica" in the title the right move, when the original is inside said replica and presumably has the same likeness?

Yeah, I'm not completely sold on the idea for the reasons you mention.  But it's mostly because of this:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trout_Mask_Replica

QuotePart the New: Oh snap, I forgot to mention my sorrow for R-ALF's loss. Getting knocked back to Square One through no fault of his own, or that of the test body, must really sting. I wonder if he'll reconsider the Anthro upgrade if they throw in a set of CyberJag-themed plate mail?  ;)

Yeah, it might be that he'll get another shot at that later, we'll have to see.  R-ALF would certainly go for it, it's a matter of convincing the Commission.

Okay - no promises on how regularly this is going to update, but here we go:

Chapter 34

Jakob went into the hangar and abruptly froze, causing Strauss to bump into his back.  Zordan was reclining upon the concrete floor, surrounded by a number of cyberjags who were sitting in a semi-circle around him, listening attentively.  He appeared to be telling them a story.

"What's all this?" the wolf asked once the dragon had stopped speaking.

"Since I am likely to spend the foreseeable future here and in this form, it seemed wise to get to know the locals," the cyber-dragon explained.  "They were understandably skittish at first, but we appear to have smoothed over that now, I hope."

Strauss frowned slightly and Zordan rolled his eyes.

"You are about to accuse me of colluding with the cyberjags and corrupting them," he said.  "Actually, I find their presence soothing.  Remember that I am built on the same technology, and subject to the same penalties as them if I go off the rails.  Why should I not feel some kind of kinship with them?  It may also be a side-effect of the brain technology you have given me."

"He was telling us tales of the past," R-MAC said.  "It is always interesting to hear different viewpoints.  Especially from a race believed to be extinct."

"And who would have made you extinct if they'd known," Strauss pointed out.

"Hizell certainly would have," Zordan said.  "But you wouldn't have needed his help.  The Creature Council alone would have been outraged by Mr. Pettersohn's actions in creating artificial sentience.  He would likely have been condemned to beheading for such impudent deeds if he had been caught.  Or else, he would be deported to Hizell's domain, which amounts to the same thing.  The panthers would have been destroyed soon after."

"Thanks," Jakob said ruefully, unconsciously rubbing at the "Do Not Remove" mark that Daryil had left on the back of his neck.  "And what about you?  Would you have seen us extinct?  What did you actually plan to do with the Dragon Mask, if you had been able to take it?"

"I was not pro-'Cubi," Zordan admitted.  "Few were, at the time, thanks to Hizell's propaganda and the misdeeds of the Jyraneth.  Your kind did not exactly help yourselves, but I think you already know that.
"But at the same time, I did not push for your extinction either.  Now, as for the artifact, I had sought it for the usual reasons - greed, and the promise of great power.  Among others, Hizell and M'Chek had become top-tier Dragons, disgusting though the latter's method of achieving it was.  I saw that in the proper hands, the Mask could have raised me to similar heights.  So naturally, I coveted it too."

"And how would you have used such power?"  Jakob asked nervously.

"I don't know," Zordan said sadly.  "You may find this hard to believe, but at one time I sought to throw down Hizell and reach a settlement with the 'Cubi race.  End the hostilities, and break the cycle of might-makes-right.
"Now do not mistake me - I would not have done this out of love for your kind, who I saw as upstarts and usurpers at best.  But such a world-shaking deed would imbue me with fame and reputation on a grand scale!  I would be forging a new age, remaking the world in my own image!  And you lot would have owed me big," he added with a wicked smile.

Jakob started in horror.  "So you're saying that if Daryil had protected it less thoroughly, you could have stopped Hizell in his tracks...?  Saved the lives of untold 'Cubi left headless by Hizell's death squads, and prevented the extinction of the Dragon Race?
"...And we threw all that away by our own over-cautiousness?" he whimpered.

The cyber-dragon sat back and shrugged sadly.  "Who knows?  Without that safeguard, Hizell may have obtained it first and become wholly unstoppable.  He would likely have executed me for daring to try and take what was rightfully his.
"And if I had obtained the device, would I have stuck to that plan once such power was truly within my possession?  You, Lord Cross, know as well as I do, that power corrupts.  What may start as a worthy goal can be perverted by time and character flaws.
"Just as you became a tyrant over Ha'Khunn, it is all too likely that I would have begun to hoard my power and prestige, jealously guarding my position at the top of the tree, and seeking ruthlessly to destroy all who threatened to dethrone me.
"In short, and to be brutally honest, even if I had started by trying to change the world for the better, I would likely have become Hizell in all but name, and the War would eventually have happened anyway." 

There was a stunned silence while everyone digested that.

At length, Jakob turned to the Ray twins.  "So, given that background, how did you become friends with Zordan?" he asked.  "I'm not against it, I'd just like to know."

"He's big and powerful," X-RAY said, looking a little awed.  "And yes, it was scary at first.  He could probably kill us with those big clawed feet of his!  I don't think we count as protected personnel!"

"But he promised that he'd use that power to protect us and watch over us," Y-RAY chimed in.  "After being shot in the head... You can see how that was a comforting thought, right?  I mean... I hope we don't end up in such a fix that we need a Dragon to save us... But if we do, we're covered, right...?"

"It was not a selfless act,"  Zordan admitted.  "Even a Dragon on an high mountain needs someone to talk to, after all.  Hizell had his minions, M'Chek had the cream of his city, and Pyroduck sojourned among the lesser races... no offence intended.
"I need company, so I made overtures to those in a similar condition.  It has been most illuminating.  I believe have been experiencing friendship, something that does not happen often to Dragons.
"Our culture does not encourage such things, but without any peers to pressure me, what does it matter?  Bonding with others like this has been a pleasing experience."

"Well, I'm glad you're settling in," Jakob said.  "Even if it's worrying Ms. Strauss."

"You do still hold the upper hand," Zordan pointed out.  "Aside from ordering my execution, you can now suspend my visiting privileges if I commit some lesser infraction.  Doubtless you would have thought of this yourself anyway, but I point it out myself as a token of my earnestness.  I cannot go back to how things were, so I must move forward.  And that means becoming part of your team as best I can."

"I'm sorry," Strauss said.  "But I can't forget that Demonkind was pencilled in as the next target for extermination after the 'Cubi had been obliterated.  That does not make things easy."

"I will try to be good," Zordan promised.  "And now, I presume that since the both of you came here, you wished to ask me a question?"

"Yes," Jakob said.  "Daryil, Strauss and a number of other parties have a meeting shortly, and we would like to have your opinions on the matter at hand."

"Very well," the Dragon said.  "Show me how to operate the communications system and I shall attend."


"Amanti?"  Niall said.  "The Lord Daryil wishes to see you."

"No!  I haven't killed anyone!"  Amanti whimpered, looking terrified.  "Well, apart from that psycho mayor and the Talon guys!  But they don't count, right...?  That was self-defence!"

"It's not about that," Niall said, facepalming.  "We think you know who hired them."

"It wasn't me!" the incubus screeched.  "The Talon mooks tried to kill me too, remember!  And Keller!"

"Amanti!  Stop panicking and listen," Niall snapped, rolling his eyes.  "For all your faults, Daryil does not believe you're responsible.  But we have learned that the perpetrator may be part of your family, so naturally he wants to ask you about it.  That is all."

"Oh," Amanti did not look much happier.

"I have been given information that Sims is actually Silas Jyraneth," Daryil said, appearing behind Amanti, who screamed in panic, claws almost tearing his gloves.

"I... I've only met him once or twice," Amanti admitted once he saw there was no escaping the question.  "You know we're a very fractured clan.  After my parents were executed, he tried to recruit me into some scheme.  Bastard told me that it would help avenge them... But I turned him down."

"That was noble of you," Niall said, looking at Amanti with new respect.

"I may have been grief-stricken, and I may have wanted to get back at Daryil having their heads chopped off," the cat said miserably, "But I wasn't that blind.  I loved my folks, but they died because of what they did, and I knew it.  Knew that it was only a matter of time until their deeds caught up with them.  Taking over the world wouldn't fix anything...  It wouldn't bring them back, now would it?"

"You made the right choice," Daryil said softly.  "And I'm proud of you for it.  I'm only sorry I couldn't help your parents before they crossed the line into the unforgiveable.  All I could do then was grant them the spectacular deaths they requested, even though I find public execution very distasteful."

"Thank you, MiLord," Amanti said.  "For granting them that wish, and for saving their child from a similar fate."

"We cool...?" Daryil asked, opening a meeting room door and gesturing him inside.

"We cool," Amanti replied.  "As for this Silas, I suppose you've asked Keaton...?  She was far more infamous than me, she'd have made the perfect ally for someone like that."

"Thanks," Keaton said proudly, slouching in one of the meeting room chairs.  "But... Well..." she trailed off uncomfortably at the sight of Zordan, who had just appeared on the main screen.

"Is that..." she whimpered.

"A dragon?  Yes," Zordan said.  "Or what is left of one, at least.  There will be time for introductions later."

"Keaton's last run-in with her own clan hadn't ended well," Daryil said, switching back to the topic at hand.

"Yeah," the black-backed jackal said.  "I found some fanatics.  Ex-Inquisitors, I think, doing the only thing they know how.
"All smiles and roses until I made some remark - then they pulled a greatsword on me for heresy against The Lady.  So when this other guy turns up later, and says he's a Jyraneth and wants me to help him conquer Her...  Well, either it's the Inquisition again, trying to entrap me for blasphemy and lop off my head, or he's mentally unstable and the Inquisition will have his head off next.  Either way, I knew better than to stick around."

"Thank you Keaton," Daryil said.  "Now, I guess we'd better get this meeting underway."

but HOW will I choose just ONE THING in this chapter to be excited about??? oh i will have to love it all

Still crawling along with this, though it's now also competing with a dragon story as well as a story I'm trying to write for Merlin.

Chapter 35

"Many of you are aware of this," Daryil began, "But to be sure we are all on the same page, I shall provide a brief recap.
"Long ago, one of Hizell's children owned a precious artifact, a source of great power.  This individual was later slain during the First Dragon War, and Hizell's response was swift and brutal.  In this turmoil the artifact was lost, and eventually fell into my possession, greatly extending my power and lifespan.
"Then, within living memory for many of us here, Hizell pushed for a new war, to exterminate the 'Cubi race once and for all.  Fearing that he might be able to detect the artifact, I hid the thing in hopes that I may be able to reclaim it later.  Naturally the artifact was lost again during the intervening century or so, and I have only recently been able to retrieve it.

"To cut a long story short, I warded the artifact with a stasis trap, which King Fairwater fell into, having sought the thing for himself.  In the course of rescuing him, several important things occurred.

"Firstly, we made enemies of the Talon Corporation, who had been commissioned to take the artifact and the unlocking gems for their client.  This client turned out to be a Jyraneth incubus known as Sims, who hoped to use the artifact to further his own aims, and we have made enemies of him also.  I might add that Sims is extremely dangerous, and is wanted by the Being-Creature Commission as well, for multiple capital offences.
"Finally, along with several other individuals also trapped within the artifact, we have the dragon Zordan.  Unable to survive in our magic-depleted world, we have transferred his soul into an experimental robotic avatar.  He has agreed to help us."

"I owe you my life," Zordan said.  "Or as much of it as you were able to save.  Draconic pride or not, you went out of your way to save me, when you could have simply left me to die, or devoured my very soul while I was helpless.  Others would have done so, and I cannot lightly throw that aside."

"Why did you even have a cyber-dragon?"  Josh asked.  "Did you really put all that effort into making a fun body, so you could pretend to be a dragon?"

"Yes,"  Daryil said simply.  "Dragons look way cool.  Also, remember that there are dragon-like mythos creatures who could benefit from this technology.
"I'm certainly not alone in doing this, I might add.  Queen Admaria impersonated a dragon for some years while plotting revenge on her tyrannical father, and Quoar is said to have posed as a dragon also.  In his full Tri-Wing form, he would be large enough to do that by shapeshifting, rather than the tricks and enchantments Admaria used.
"I also shapeshifted into a dragon once, and frankly it was way cool.  But rather upsetting to everyone who saw it."

"Hmmf," Zordan said, rolling his eyes.  "Once, I would have been deeply offended by this.  But, I suppose this dragon fetish of yours is the reason I have this body now instead of a cat," he added, looking at his clawed foreleg with an expression of satisfaction.  "It could be worse."

"It may also be the reason Daryil tried to save you at all," Strauss pointed out.  "A more cautious leader would have shoved you right back into stasis the moment you emerged."

"Don't think that didn't occur to me," Daryil said sharply.  "I may not have wanted the Dragon race to be wiped out, but I can shed no tears for Hizell and his psycho mates.  But Destania was happy to punish the innocent as well as the guilty, and when - against my will - I found myself in a position to undo some of the damage she caused, I took that chance.  Not because I wished for mastery, but because I believe in redemption."

"That sounds like you are judging my race," Zordan pointed out.  "But things are what they are.  Now, if your summary is complete, we should turn our attention to the problem at hand."

"Indeed," Daryil said.  "Everyone present, and the organisations they represent, are likely to be targets for Sims.  So we must all be on alert."

"Actually, if you want my advice, I would focus your defences elsewhere," Zordan intoned, "While Sims does continue to pose a danger, in the near term I would be more concerned about the Talon Corporation.  I worry that you have let your guard down where they are concerned.  From what Sethir and Keller have said, I would deduce that they have broken ties with Sims and are now following their own agenda.  Vengeance for their fallen comrades is one possibility, especially given the fight you put up at Grimhaven, but it seems very likely that they will wish to take the dragon artifact for themselves, and sell it to the highest bidder.  I suspect they have been massing for an attack while you have been distracted by Sims."

"You worked all that out during this meeting?!" Niall said worriedly.  "You're not supposed to be that smart!"

"I have fashioned a workaround," the dragon said.  "The totality of my mind is in my soul.  Only a portion of it will fit inside this small brain you have given me.  But I can choose which parts are loaded into hardware, as you would put it."

"You're using your soul as swap space?!"

"This is the kind of result we had feared," Strauss said, looking mortified.  "That you may be too intelligent for us to keep track of and could devise some way to escape our restrictions!"

"I remind you that have thrown my lot in with you as payment for my life," the dragon said tiredly.  "I am fully aware that you can pull the plug on me at any time.  If the solemn oath of a Dragon is not enough for you, I don't know what is."

"He is telling the truth," Daryil said.  "Please do not annoy our friend, and remember that if he is somehow plotting anything, those schemes are unlikely to mature within your lifetime."

"I know all too well the noose you have around my neck," Zordan said.  "I, who had lived sixty millenia, shall die within a mere twenty years unless my power source is replenished.  I live on your sufferance, dependent on you to renew my lease of life.  Why would I want to hand you an excuse to deny me that?
"By extension, seeing Daryil clan destroyed would also result in my own demise.  Therefore, as an ally of Daryil, I am warning you all about the twin threat I have deduced from these organisations.  I thought such insight was why you wanted me to attend this meeting, was it not?"

"Precisely," Daryil said.

"Good.  If I may make a suggestion, I would ensure that Daryil's true form remains safe within the dimensional realm of your power generation systems.  Key personnel from the clan should accompany him.  From Jakob's testimony, the Talon Corporation know that Daryil is dependent on his children and took into account Jakob's close ties to his clan leader.
"Therefore it is quite possible that the Talon Corporation will either threaten or attempt, to exterminate all members of Daryil Clan until Daryil concedes to their demands, presumably possession of the Dragon mask artifact."

"Do you know anything about the artifact itself?"  Keller asked.

"Yes," Zordan said.  "At least, I have my suspicions.  But I would prefer to confirm them first.  In any case, we have no time for that.  You should prepare yourselves, before..."

Zordan's voice trailed away and he looked sideways with an expression of deep concern.  Daryil was sitting bolt upright.

"They are here!"  Zordan exclaimed.  "Defend yourselves!"


The gryphons burst into the room, peppering Zordan with automatic fire that bounced off his armour and richocheted across the room.  He lunged forwards, holding out one foot which caught the soldier and crushed him.  Zordan's eyes dilated slightly and he staggered as the safeguard heuristics kicked in briefly before concluding that the dead mercenary did in fact need killing.

The dragon grinned nastily and a sweep of his spaded tail brought the gleaming tip swinging around like an axe.  The bird-man's eyes went wide as his head arced through the air leaving a trail of blood.

Zordan gave a happy sigh and collapsed like a rag-doll as his safeguards kicked in, his bulk crushing the remaining Talon mercenary.  The other gryphon's head came to rest beside his snout.


The round struck Josh behind the ear and he went down.  Jakob grabbed him with a wing-tentacle and pulled him into the store-room, locking it behind him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Josh said, picking himself up weakly.  "But I do wish you hadn't implemented concussion quite so thoroughly."

"Perhaps, but if you take that kind of damage, you definitely need to know about it," Jakob said.

"Have they gone kamikaze on us?"  Josh wondered.  "Shooting up members of a peacekeeping organisation isn't the best idea if you want to keep living."

"I wish I knew," Jakob said.  "They've got mind-shields, so I can't give you an answer there."

"What do we do now..."  Josh asked, his voice trailing away as he suddenly noticed what was in the store-room.

"Yes," Jakob said.  "Guillotines.  Special ones."

"We've been streamlining the process of converting people into Panthers," Daryil said proudly, walking in through the wall.  "We have it down pat now - set up a few of these puppies with a panther body ready to go.  It's all automated!  Pull the lever, head comes off, soul goes straight into panther," he added excitedly.

"That's sick," Josh said.  "And I don't mean in the good way.  Shouldn't it be in a dungeon or somewhere out of plain sight?"

"These were not built to use on our enemies," Jakob said heavily.  "They were designed for me."

"What?!"

"It's a last-ditch measure," Jakob said.  "If I have no other recourse, say I'm mortally wounded, or Daryil himself has been slain and the base is full of enemy soldiers.  If I'm going to die anyway, my last throw of the dice is to become a cyberjag.  I stick my neck in it, and after a bit of unpleasantness I can escape the base far more easily with four legs and an almost impenetrable hide.  Hopefully to have my brain popped into a proper android body later if I can reach one of our secret outposts.
"Understand, Josh - these are not things we expect to happen, but given the persecution 'Cubi have endured, we'd be stupid not to have a multi-layer backup plan.  Key personnel such as Niall, Ashley and myself have done regular drills tele-operating a cyberjag chassis to make sure we can adapt quickly if it becomes necessary."

"Of course, we did need 'volunteers' to test them," Daryil chimed in, with a worryingly toothy grin.

"But why a guillotine?"

"Firstly, it's easy for a dying person to trigger it themselves with their last ounce of strength.  The whole thing can be automated, and we can wire up the blade release to boot the panther up out of hibernation.  Secondly, it leaves a very obvious corpse for our enemies to find as proof of death.  And finally, we have found from experience that when someone is put into a robotic body, they recover a lot quicker if they died violently, than if they had expired peacefully.  We don't know why, but the trauma of experiencing your own death seems to help."

"That's not why we're here, is it...?"  Josh looked at Jakob, appalled.

"I hope not," Jakob grimaced.  "We have a bunch of these stationed around the place, it just happened to be the nearest safe-house.  But now you know what to do if...  If Talon had hit me instead of you."

"What now?  Josh asked, looking rattled.  "Is there another exit?  Or have we just let ourselves be trapped by a bunch of psycho gryphons?"

"One sec," Daryil said, poking his head through the wall.

"...Ah," he said.  "They're... not going to be bothering us.  But watch for the blood when you leave, okay?  Don't want you to slip up."

"What did you do?!"  Jakob looked appalled.

"I merely sent them to sleep," Daryil said sadly.  "But they're not how I left them.  Could have been Keaton, but more likely one of the other Talons executed them for falling asleep on duty."


"Well shit," Niall said, looking at his remote.  "Zordan is down."

"What?!  How...?"  Strauss asked.  "He's a 12-foot high dragon robot!"

"...Yeah, and his safeguards have kicked in," Niall said, looking at the details.  "Ew... Looks like he beheaded someone.  Presumably one of the Talon crew, or he'd not even be able to try."

"Reset him," Strauss said decisively.  Niall glanced at her to make sure he'd heard right.

"Keeping the world safe from Zordan is a high priority," Strauss said, "But staying alive is higher.  We need all the help we can get, even if it risks letting the Dragon off his leash for now.  We can investigate that incident later... but first we need to ensure there is a later."

"Right," Niall said, and hit the button.

Woo! Update!  :ipod

It is fun to see that no one remembers that there used to be Clan Leaders who were of Dragon decent. Seriously, am I the only one who thinks Quoar wasn't actually disguised beyond hiding his head wings?  :B

Also, Zordan's safeguards might be set just a hair too tightly. Having his system hiccup like that for his first kill was bad enough, but the fact that the Gryphon's cohorts were each judged separately rather than giving Zordan carte blanche to defend himself and others from their group is telling. There is no way the Cyber Jags or the mainline Androids would have shut down in this situation.  :erk

Edit: This comment contains no complaints. Merely throwing popcorn at the screen when someone does something dumb but in character, and snarking with the other readers.

Quote from: Starcat5 on March 19, 2024, 11:51:01 PMIt is fun to see that no one remembers that there used to be Clan Leaders who were of Dragon decent. Seriously, am I the only one who thinks Quoar wasn't actually disguised beyond hiding his head wings?  :B

Can you link to a source?  I'd have thought that the best you could get would be dragons of 'Cubi descent, and the chances of a 'Cubi being born are about equal to all the molecules in a peanut spontaneously moving in the same direction.

QuoteAlso, Zordan's safeguards might be set just a hair too tightly.

Yeah, I think they're starting to realise that now.

Quote from: Tapewolf on March 20, 2024, 05:20:14 AM

Quote from: Starcat5 on March 19, 2024, 11:51:01 PMIt is fun to see that no one remembers that there used to be Clan Leaders who were of Dragon decent. Seriously, am I the only one who thinks Quoar wasn't actually disguised beyond hiding his head wings?  :B

Can you link to a source?  I'd have thought that the best you could get would be dragons of 'Cubi descent, and the chances of a 'Cubi being born are about equal to all the molecules in a peanut spontaneously moving in the same direction.

Given that it is now 4 in the AM CST, the search will have to wait. That said, it was a group shot of several former Clan Leaders, one of which was clearly part Dragon in full Dragon form. Not sure where in the archive to even START looking.

Archive diver to the rescue (http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1582.php)! o7

That said, we don't know if they were a dragon-descended leader or not. They could be Mythos-descended. A dragon-descended 'cubi IS theoretically possible (http://missmab.com/Demo/HG02.php), but unlikely due to genetic and societal factors (http://missmab.com/Demo/HG08.php).

Quote from: Liatai on March 23, 2024, 04:32:13 AMArchive diver to the rescue (http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1582.php)! o7

 :tighthug

Yeah, they absolutely look like a dragon.  But for that to work it would have to be from a really, really weak dragon and even then it's probably a billion-to-one chance.

Without knowing more I'd be a little hesitant to reference them in my own works.  (We don't even know the clan's name or symbol and it's even possible Ambaaargh doesn't either)