For the first time since defecting from the company, the clone brothers had a moment to breathe.

eX-0281 and eX-0704 now had one room to share between them. It was a massive improvement compared to their cells at Grandesia Power Company. In terms of facilities, they did not have food transported directly to the room nor did they have access to a virtual reality battle simulator. Most severely, they lacked a heat lamp—but even that they did not long for. All their old things had been replaced by something better.

"I really like Josie's cooking," eX-0704 said.

"Me too," eX-0281 agreed. "It's way better than the stuff the company used to give us… tastes like home. Does that make sense?"

"I whole-heartedly agree!" eX-0704 hurried to say. It might have been presumptuous to consider the Bouchard residence their home after a single day, but the family made them feel genuinely welcome.

Tonight, eX-0281 and eX-0704 shared a room with a bed for each of them. Mr. Bouchard had arranged an additional bedroom complete with a bunk bed while they were out, basking in the sunlight yesterday.

"I get the top bunk!" eX-0281 exclaimed and used his wings to help jump up in one swoop. He released the vul from his claws and let it explore the blankets.

More calmly, eX-0704 accepted the bottom bunk. "We're lucky they're giving us a place to stay. Any idea how long they'll keep us?"

"Josie said we could stay as long as we need." Without a worry in the world, eX-0281 dragged the vul closer to him and nuzzled his scaly face against its soft fur.

With a big sigh, eX-0704 said, "You were right about saving Charlotte. I had my doubts, but this really turned out for the best."

Without help, the dragon duo would have been lost, wandering the polluted landscape until the savage mutants picked them off. When he closed his eyes, the last fight between the stalker behemoth and the disco menace flashed to mind.

A shudder ran up eX-0281's spine. "I don't think we should worry about the future," he said hastily. "Everything’s good right now, and that's all that matters. We deserve a long rest."

"Agreed!"

On their mission to escape the company, eX-0281 had picked up some trinkets along the way. There was a random mana nodule which he had grabbed from the slime trap. More profound was the item which had dropped from his own species—a fellow clone, eX-0057.

Between his claws, the gem glittered with what little light was available in the room. The longer that he gazed into it, an icy blue hue seemed to glow from within.

Component: Dragon Soul Shard

A fragment of a dragon's soul. In the right hands, perhaps it could become something more....

The system's description hinted at something. But what? eX-0281 wondered. Are my hands—er, claws—the right ones? Why do part of a sub-dragon's soul stay behind when we die? He did not understand and lacked the requisite information to learn more.

The dragon duo had a mystery to solve. They knew so little, even regarding this fundamental aspect of their own species. It reminded eX-0281 of how he had never heard of sub-dragon rage mode before. Perhaps the two are linked somehow?

It would not hurt to ask the other sub-dragon in his company, so eX-0281 said, "704, do you know anything about the dragon soul shards?"

"The company likes to collect them to confirm our deaths. Probably grinds them up and reuses them for some purpose." A sharp rustle sounded from the bunk bed below as eX-0704 sat up. "Do you think the company will be after us till they harvest our soul fragments?"

"They can't find us here," eX-0281 declared confidently. The group had taken every precaution to shirk their trackers. They were just two sub-dragons out of thousands. The company should not care less about their disappearance. Given all the resources of the megacorporation though, eX-0281 would put nothing beyond them.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

For the sake of sleep, he put his paranoia to rest. Ah, well. I'm sure Charlotte would be more than happy if we bombard her with questions tomorrow. eX-0281 let his jaws peel open in a massive yawn. "Goodnight, 704."

"Night, 281."

The little vul copied his yawn with a tiny yowl.

"Aw!" eX-0281 and eX-0704 cooed in unison. Then, they curled up their tails and draped their wings over their bodies to sleep.

While each sub-dragon savored their second night of freedom, sleep did not come as seamlessly as before. eX-0281 and eX-0704 had the energy to chatter like two giddy kids at their first sleepover.

"Hey, 281?" eX-0704 called. "You awake?"

"Yep," eX-0281 replied at once.

"I thought of something we need to do."

"Oh yeah?" eX-0281's attention perked up just like his wings.

"We've gotta name our vuls!" eX-0704 said. "I was thinking we could give them a sibset schematic, kind of like how you're eX-0281 and I'm eX-0704…. Their names should go together."

That idea sounded as good as any, but eX-0281 had something else in mind. "We should name them after their types! The baby vuls will turn into el'vul of different elements."

"Yes!" eX-0704 cheered except after a long pause, he asked, "How long till they get their elements, you think?"

"Right. Scratch that." At the same time, eX-0281 scratched his head. He looked down at the precious vul, trying to think what the perfect name would be for his pet. "Maybe we could feature numbers in their names like ours…!"

"I don't know if I like that. I feel like the company didn't exactly name us with love," eX-0704 scoffed sourly.

eX-0281 let that sink in. They ought to adopt new names—new identities—in their newfound freedom. For now, he focused on the vuls. "We could be more creative instead of numbers. Something like… uh, uh… Uni, Duo, and Trix!" eX-0281 suggested, trying to think of number variants that sounded more like names.

"We could be even more creative—something like…." eX-0704 seemed stuck, so he muttered to himself, "They're vuls… vuls…. I got it! Vue, Vel, and Vie!"

While looking down at his vul, eX-0281 could not help but smile broadly. "Wow, those are really good. You're a lot better at names, 704."

"Thanks." By his voice, eX-0704 was clearly beaming with pride. "I thought yours were pretty good too."

Their brainstorming session had concluded, so eX-0281 said, "Maybe we should sleep on this. I don't wanna name them something we'll regret."

"That's fair."

After a long pause between them, eX-0704 started up the conversation again. "Also, I was thinking…. It's not really fair to the vuls if we keep fighting over who gets two of them. Although sharing works for us, I'm sure they'd be happier with one owner." eX-0704 spoke with great consideration. He seemed to put all his mental energy into their new pets.

Meanwhile, eX-0281 stayed awake and stared at the dragon soul shard. "You can keep those two," he admitted. "I'm happy with this one. You were the one who really wanted the vuls, anyway." eX-0281's voice glazed over; he was totally engrossed in the crystal.

"Thanks, 281," eX-0704 said, a little choked up. "Actually, I was thinking we should give a vul to one of the new f-friends that we've made."

Whatever spell had come over eX-0281, his brother had helped him snap out of it. His tail flicked and lifted up, the equivalent of smiling as he thought of Lottie. "Charlotte sure went through a lot…."

"Victoria was amazing when she saved them…." eX-0704 said instead.

They had spoken at the same time, each thinking of the criminal who they had gone after individually. His voice broke from surprise as eX-0281 asked, "I thought you hated the Disco Menace!"

"Well, I did, until she saved the vuls—and you."

eX-0281 fumbled around with his claws as he petted the vul. Undeniably, Victoria had changed for the better over the course of the mission. That did not mean he would flippantly forgive all her wrongdoings.

"We've only known her for one night," eX-0704 continued. "I feel like we didn't see her in the best light. Just 'cause she made a bad first impression, doesn't mean she's a bad person."

"I'm not so sure about that," eX-0281 intoned with a note of skepticism. Even if they saw Victoria at her worst, then they knew exactly what type of person she was. She showed her true colors last night.

"Actually, she does have her good qualities," eX-0704 insisted, "like how she really cares about Marcel. Now that I know what it's like to have a brother…." He trailed off, slightly embarrassed. "I'm just saying I don't entirely blame her, you know?"

"I get what you're saying," eX-0281 murmured. Charlotte's pain still burned bright in his mind. "I'm not sure though. Let's sleep on this too." He flipped around the other way and draped his wings over his head. eX-0281 just wanted to sleep without the glow of the dragon soul shard taunting him.

They would have many secrets about their own identities to uncover, and Charlotte would provide the greatest assistance in their quest.