"Teacher! She is still not fully recovered…" Sly shouted in worry.

"Soldiers are not always in their peak form, trainee. We need to gather data from lower ends as well to adjust gear."

"Bring it in, doc." The wolf hag smiled, securing the rail gun behind her back.

"Call me Till, please. We will gather information on how comfortable you are fighting with such danger behind your back, how well magnetic locks keep the weapon, and a few other things. Please only use melee if you can, but feel free to use the rail gun at your discretion. I am not expecting much, but try not to disappoint me too much."

Doorways in the basement floor opened with a soft hiss, releasing mechanical forms. These bots resemble humans in shape, the optical cameras were installed in their square-shaped heads. Their hands had five metal fingers that resembled human fingers, and long blades protruded from their wrists. Wires ran across their crudely constructed bodies, and they took unsteady, almost stumbling steps forward.

The wolf hag smiled at her opponents while dodging the swing of the first machine. Was this it? Did Till really count on these to provide her with a challenge? Her claws unleashed, she sliced away the machine's hand with her left paw, burying her right paw in the foe's head. The machine's frame twitched, and then the bot grabbed her right hand with his remaining hand. While Aranea was busy tearing the bot’s body apart, five others moved toward her, moving with unexpected speed. She barely had time to dodge the swing at her face, backing down.

She grabbed the bot with the missing arm, slamming his body into a nearby machine and sending both of them flying into the wall. Two next sliced at her, always keeping to her left and right. When she attacked the one, the other moved, almost reaching her with blades, forcing her to back off after every attack. These machines moved in perfect unison, their speed allowed them to keep up with her. While their movements were predictable, their teamwork saved them from the harm that Aranea could inflict upon them. The third bot tried to get behind her, and the wolf hag moved toward one of the metal walls in the middle of the room, pressing her back against it, wanting to meet her foes head-on.

She felt too excited and forced herself to calm down. These bots were not a threat to her, not if she kept her head calm. Two bots placed themselves to her left and right. She'll wait for the first to strike, and then...

The third bot appeared above her, one of its metal hands gripping the edge of the wall, the other pointing at the halfbreed. Aranea looked around in a slight worry. She could keep an eye on two foes, but the third was always just out of her reach. She felt her body tremble in anticipation. Which one will be first?

The bot on the right moved, and its left hand shot forward, aiming for her chin. Instead of dodging, Aranea ducked low, allowing the hand of the machine to slam into the wall behind her. Let the one from above try to attack now! She thought, piercing the sides of the bot with her claws. Her clever idea was broken when the left bot kicked her, forcing her to roll away from the right bot. The bot from above jumped at her, both hands aiming at her chest. When Aranea heard Sly's worried yell, she smiled and came to a halt in her roll. The wolf hag waited until the blades almost reached her chest and shifted her body, catching the right blade between her left arm and torso. With her right paw, she slammed into the side of the machine, piercing metal and pulling wires from inside.

The bot’s body jerked, and she moved her left arm upward, throwing the bot’s body at the last foe, straight into enemy blades. Blades pierced the barely working machine, putting it out of its misery for good, and Aranea jumped on both of her feet, standing up. She allowed the last machine to try and slice her from left and right before catching it by the hands and breaking them. The bot tried to headbutt her, and she kicked it in the chest, breaking the steel torso.

Aranea smugly smiled for a moment, before the loader bot crashed into the steel wall near her, causing her to jump in panic, unsure of exactly how the large machine managed to sneak up on her.

"You again?" She asked, dodging to the side and evading the right punch. This machine was too slow and predictable to…

The right hand opened, moving with a burst of speed. The massive hand grabbed Aranea by her leg, raising her body into the air and slamming her into the floor. Despite the new armor, she felt that. Impact left a crater in the steel floor, she reached with her arms to slice away steel fingers, only to be slammed in the face with the left hand of the bot. The bot lifted her again, spinning its torso, and sent her flying into the remains of the steel wall. The wolf hag crashed into it like a cannon ball, breaking through thin metal and crushing into the side of the room. Aranea felt blood in her mouth, while the machine charged at her.

"Teacher, we must…" Sly shouted in panic, but Till turned off his communicator.

"You assumed that you saw all the capabilities of the foe and paid the price. It makes no difference how predictable an opponent appears to be, you must never let your guard down. Armor can only carry you so much." Till chastised the wolf hag.

Aranea felt her head spinning, she needed just a moment to get her footing and senses back. This was not something that the bot intended to give her. The massive right arm of her foe moved, and Aranea threw her own arms up, barely blocking the hit that sent her across the room, causing her head to spin again.

"Looks like she is done. You intend on waiting?" While the bot charged at Aranea, the man asked someone.

The loader bot was almost on the wolf hag as she was standing up, when the metal tail wrapped around its body. Two long hands grabbed the bot by his right shoulder and left waist, and claws tore into the machine while the attacker was trying to lift the bot in the air. Hands tore large chunks of metal from the back of the bot, and the torso of the machine spun around, slamming the fists into someone behind it with a metal sound. Aranea blinked and dizziness finally stepped back. She jumped on the back of the bot, pushing her hands deep into the torn metal, grabbing every piece of vulnerable insides that she could get a hold of, and jumping back. The loader bot staggered, trying to turn again. Then suddenly, a three-fingered hand pierced it, lifting the machine up before slamming it into the ground.

Behind the machine stood Leila, her form locked into a steel suit of black and crimson. Her enormous, yet still elegant, armor ran along her entire body, covering even her wings, giving them sharp edges. Only the claws on her legs and hands were left free of armor. Twin lightning-shaped lenses were on either side of her helm. Instead of the usual oculars, Till Ingo made something unusual for her.

"You asshole!" Leila stood up, looking at the room with Till. Her voice was filled with anger, "She only just woke up today! Can you even imagine how weak she must feel right now? What if your stupid bots would hurt her?"

"We requested a wolf hag for training sessions for many months. Not my fault that all of them refused. I will not let this opportunity go to waste. Besides, her participation convinced you to try on my armor," The armor on Leila’s right shoulder cracked with a loud sound, revealing scales underneath. "This provides me with ample opportunity to see flaws in the design and make adjustments."

"You really are not making it easy for me to become friends with you." The half-wyrm responded in an accusatory tone.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I am not looking for friends," Till told them arrogantly, "I only need data from you. Do your best for me, ladies, I need to ensure that I can properly adjust your armors so they can save your lives in the field. " There was the sound of a button being pressed, and two more loader bots started to rise from the floor.

Leila cursed when bots started to surround her. Aranea came to her, pressing her back-to-back against the back of the half-wyrm. If Leila was surprised, she had not shown it. Instead, she moved her wings and tails, giving more freedom to Aranea.

"Sorry for getting you into this." The wolf hag tried to make an excuse, but her voice sounded fake even to her. She was just too excited about the prospect of fighting. Finally, she was somewhere where she knew what to do. All her fears, all her pain—everything stepped back for a moment.

"Eh, I had nothing better to do anyway. Besides, I owe you one for nearly messing with you." Leila cheerfully responded.

"Let’s win this, and we are even. Deal?"

"Deal," the half-wyrm chuckled, "Whoever wrecks the fewest bots today will pay for the bear today."

"Agreed, but I already took five." Aranea joked.

"Hey, that’s cheating!"

"Less talking, more fighting. "Till said in an icy voice, releasing more human-shaped bots. "Trainee, stop worrying and take notes. I might miss something."

As the bots moved towards them, the pair charged right back at them.

****

"Stupid idiots. Both of you." Marco said, treating the wounds of Aranea. Her body was covered in bruises and scratches. While the blades of lesser bots were of no threat, being slammed into the wall several times by loader bots really did a number on her. "We just healed you, and here you are being beaten again."

Leila’s body was in worse shape, some of her scales were torn off in places where her armor had busted under the pressure of her muscles. Worse still, because of the half-wyrm's muscles, her armor failed to activate properly, forcing the woman to fight with mostly her own physical strength—not even her lenses worked properly. One of her wings was broken and was now being bandaged by doctors.

Despite this, both women laughed when Tiny came in.

"Close the door!" Leila shouted, looking outside in fear. Marco assured her that all parasites were wiped out of the hospital, yet the half-wyrm was still scared of them.

"Apologies," Tiny mumbled, putting a large bag with pictures on the floor, "But I'm sad to say that I'm done with the pictures, Seeing the confused looks of Aranea and Leila, Tiny explained in a shy voice. "The Wyrm Lord came back…" She pressed her index fingers together, "I got scared at first, but he just asked if I liked the paintings. We talked for a while, and he allowed me to keep the sketches, but told me that he would have to talk with you, lady Leila. About not trying to outsmart him again."

"Bummer." Leila hissed angrily while the doctors fixed her broken wing in place.

"He also said that you are now officially in charge of Aranea’s pack. You are to take to the field with them," The small wolfkin added, before asking, "Does this mean that you are a wolf hag now, lady?"

"Of course not," Leila grinned, standing up and baring her neck to Aranea. She easily replicated the gestures of the Wolf Tribe, "See? I am submitting myself to your rule, hopefully I am doing it right by the way. Aranea, it is really uncomfortable to stand twisting your neck like this, bite me or something already."

"Sit down," Aranea said back, smiling, "if you've spent any time with my pack, you know I'm not doing this. But is this really fine with you? You are stronger than me, probably stronger than even a shaman…"

"Eh, I know two things about command. Jack and shit. I do believe that my chances of staying alive are better with you around…" Her words were cut short by the loud scream. A scream was made by a voice that sounded familiar.

Aranea jumped on her feet, charging away from the room. She knew this voice. The wolf hag ran across the corridors, evading doctors and patients, sometimes jumping over them as screams continued. She ran to the familiar door and opened it.

Two doctors and several nurses attempted to hold the scout's body while she howled in terror. Kate's body was beating in fear, even without her arms and legs, even at the point of near exhaustion, she was still too strong for doctors. The doctor tried to inject something from a syringe and cursed as Kate's body twitched, bending the needle. The wolf hag moved to help them, and one of the doctors waved her away.

"No more water! Please, I don’t have anything left to give!" Kate howled. Kaleb tried to get to her by holding the table, but nearly fell on the floor. Aranea managed to catch him before he slammed into the floor.

"What is going on?" Aranea asked him.

"Nightmares," Kaleb told her grimly, "She's gotten better in the last few days, but almost every time she tries to sleep, she just..." He tried to stand, and Aranea seated him back on his bed, "… ends like this. Doctors give her something to keep dreams away, but it’s not always helping."

"I can’t breathe!" Kate shouted, her amber eyes spinning crazily in their sockets. Drool was falling from her mouth. "I must get out of here, I must!" She coughed, trying to spit something out.

Leila's loud steps announced her arrival. The half-wyrm stepped inside, looked at the situation, and nodded. She moved forward, ignoring the doctors, and grabbed the scout by her head with two hands, forcing her to look at herself.

"What are you doing?" Aranea demanded to know, standing up, but Leila ignored her. Light shot from her eyes, falling into the eyes of the scout.

"You are safe. Among friends. There are no nightmares. You do not think about them. You do not remember them. There is nothing scary here, nothing at all. You will have normal dreams from now on." Leila intoned in a low tone, and Aranea saw how Kate's body was slowly calming down, her pupils slowly becoming smaller.

"I obey." Kate answered Leila, sounding like a robot. This voice sounded so unlike her, it was the submissive, passive tone of a slave.

"Let her go." Aranea demanded, grabbing the woman's wrist. Leila looked at her. Light fell into the eyes of Aranea, and, for a moment, the wolf hag wanted nothing more than to fall on her knees, obeying every single word of the half-wyrm. But then the light went out, and the half-wyrm took a step back, releasing the scout. Aranea felt that strange feeling disappear, the confusion seeping away from her thoughts.

"Leila," One of the doctors said, checking up on Kate, "I will write an official report, protesting against such methods. This really does not help the patients…" The half wyrm looked at him and simply nodded, refusing to argue.

"What? What have you done to me?" Kate asked in a scared tone, falling helplessly back on the pillows. Sweat could be seen on her brow. "What did you take? I can feel something is missing, what did you take away from me?!" The scout demanded to know.

"Nothing of value. In fact, nothing at all. I just forced some of your memories to be locked away so you could sleep. Don’t worry, the effect will last for a week, no more," Leila smiled, gently stroking the head of Kate with a claw, "Bad things won’t bother you for some time now."

"You had no right. I refused your offer before," Kate whispered in fear, "This is my head, dammit it! What if you took away something important? What if I am even more broken now? Give them back! Undo what you did!"

"Everything will be fine. You are you. Everything is still in your head. I swear this to you." Leila turned around, leaving Kate in the care of doctors.

Aranea charged after her. Once they were in the corridor, she closed the door and grabbed the half-wyrm by her shoulder. The woman was stronger than her, yet Leila allowed herself to be pressed into the wall, ignoring the pain in her wing.

"What about 'not invading other people's minds for no reason' part, huh? Was this a lie?" Aranea growled in her face.

"No." The half wyrm responded in a tired voice, "I had a good reason, so I fixed her."

"Fixed! You imposed your will on her! Can you even fathom..."

"Yes, I can!" The half-wyrm put her hands on Aranea’s shoulders, "Yes, trust me, I can very well imagine what one feels when someone superior bends your will. The old demon used to do it with me all the time. "Go whip yourself, tell me who broke the vase, go back to your room, and feel yourself miserable"…" Leila’s left eye twitched as she recounted these events, trying to sound cheerful. "My... The old demon uses his power very liberally, wielding it at any opportunity. No, even despite this, I still don't regret helping Kate. If you see a boy about to leap from a roof because he believes that he can fly, won't you save him even if he gets angry later? My power can be used for good. I am using it to help others, not harm them. I know all about the side effects of my power, it’s fine, I promise." The half-wyrm spoke passionately, attempting to persuade the halfbreed.

"Give Kate her will back. Return her back to normal. Right now!" Aranea let out her claws, but Leila stood calm. The half-wyrm took Aranea’s wrists into her hands, forcing the wolf hag to move away.

"Kate still has her mind. All I did was lock some of her unpleasant feelings away. You know the state she is in, right? She needs a proper rest. And I gave her one," Leila pushed the paws of the wolf hag down, "I am sorry, wolf hag, but I am technically standing above you. I will not abandon people in need. Whether you like it or not, the cure stays." Leila turned around and walked away, her head low.