David's landing was less graceful than usual, his talons skittering across the ground as he touched down near where Claire loomed out of the darkness. The severed head hit the dirt with a meaty thud, rolling slightly before coming to rest.

Claire's massive form was a study in barely contained panic. Her tail lashed furiously, gouging deep furrows in the earth every so often. Her breathing came in short, sharp bursts, nostrils flaring with each exhale. The ground beneath her feet was a mess of claw marks and churned up earth, evidence of her frantic pacing.

As David's voice reached her, Claire's head snapped around so fast it was a wonder she didn't give herself whiplash. Her eyes, wide with a mixture of fear and relief, locked onto him.

"David!" she bellowed, the volume making him wince. "Are you okay? What happened? I swear to whatever's left of God, if you're hurt, I'll-"

"I'm fine," David interrupted, his voice raspy with exhaustion. "Just... really, really tired. Turns out Wildsoul marathons are hell on the system."

He hadn't even finished speaking before Claire was on him. With a speed that belied her massive size, she closed the distance between them. David had just enough time to blurt, "Oh shi-" before her foot came down, smooshing him face-first into the dirt.

"You absolute asshole!" Claire roared, her voice a mixture of relief and fury. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I heard you Screech, smelled blood and Miasma, and then the roof fucking caved in! I thought you were dead!"

David tried to respond, but with his face firmly planted in the ground, all that came out was a muffled "Mmrphkffl."

Claire, however, was far from finished. "And then you just swoop down here, cool as a cucumber, with a severed head like it's no big deal? What the hell, David? What if you'd been hurt? What if that feathered freak had gotten the upper hand? Did you even think about that?"

As Claire's tirade continued, David became aware of other presences nearby. Craning his neck as much as he could while still pinned, he caught sight of Kozlov, Gideon, and the others. They stood a safe distance away, wisely choosing not to interrupt Claire's rant.

Kozlov's gaze, however, was fixed on the Owl's severed head. As David watched, the big man's posture visibly relaxed, tension draining from his shoulders. When Kozlov's eyes met David's, there was a look that spoke volumes. It was a mixture of irritation at the risk David had taken, and grudging respect for the outcome.

"...and another thing!" Claire was saying, still in full rant mode. "If you ever, EVER pull a stunt like that again without backup, I swear I'll sit on you for a week! Do you hear me, David?"

With a monumental effort, David managed to turn his head just enough to free his mouth from the dirt. "Loud and clear," he croaked. "Though if you could maybe let me up, that'd be great. I think I'm developing a close personal relationship with this rock."

Claire grumbled but lifted her foot. David rolled onto his back, gasping dramatically. "Sweet, sweet air," he wheezed. "How I've missed you."

As he lay there, staring up at the night sky, David felt the full weight of his exhaustion settling in. His wings trembled, partly from overexertion, partly from the comedown after such an intense fight. The realization hit him that he'd been channeling his Wildsoul almost continuously throughout the entire battle with Jonathan.

Jonathan. The name felt strange in his mind. It was harder to think of him as just a crazed Owl now that he had a name, an identity beyond "murderous bird-person."

Kozlov cleared his throat, breaking the moment. "Perhaps," he rumbled, "we should move this discussion inside. What's left of inside, anyway."

David groaned, forcing himself to sit up. "Yeah, about that," he said, glancing sheepishly at the damaged Observatory. "I don't suppose the Dark Star offers comprehensive insurance coverage, does it? 'Cause I've got a feeling our rates are about to go through the roof. Or... what's left of it."

The collective groan that met his pun was music to David's tired ears.

David chuckled at his friends reaction to the horrible joke, slowly unclenching his protesting muscles and relaxing. The laughter, tinged with exhaustion and a hint of hysteria, bubbled up from deep within him. It felt good to release some of the tension, even if it was at the expense of everyone's sensibilities.

As the chuckles subsided, David's expression sobered. He turned to Claire, his wings drooping slightly. "Claire, I... I'm sorry. Really. When I got up there, the Owl was perched right above you on the roof. He made it pretty clear if I didn't play along, you'd be the first to go."

Claire's eyes widened, a mixture of surprise and understanding dawning on her face.

David continued, his voice low and intense. "I want you to know, I would've rather been vaporized on the spot than let him hurt you. I'm not sure if it's just Stockholm syndrome from this whole Integration mess, and maybe we never would've been friends if we hadn't been turned into monsters by the Overseers and their bullshit System... but you're the best friend I've ever had."

The admission hung in the air, heavy with emotion. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she made a sound somewhere between a sob and a growl, nodding several times as she struggled to compose herself.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," David said softly. "And I'm sorry I couldn't find a way to alert everyone before the fight started. But I managed to trick him into letting his guard down just long enough to ground him."

David's attention was drawn back to the Owl's severed head. As the adrenaline faded and calm settled over the group, he became aware of a strange sensation emanating from it. It was like standing next to a cast-iron stove in a dark room , not hot or cold, or even electric, but definitely... something. A new sensation he had no frame of reference for, yet undeniably present.

That's got to be the Shard, right? He said something about his creepy-ass eye being able to see ‘more’, maybe he could see it instead of feeling it? Nah, probably both. He didn't notice the bug had it until he'd been around it for a minute.

Without hesitation, David scooped up the head in his wing and tossed it at Claire's feet. "Here," he said, a hint of his usual humor returning. "Consider this my apology gift for being an asshole. Plus, I want you to get strong enough to just bite crazy darkness attacks out of existence so I don't have to duel lunatics on a roof for you again."

Claire stared at the gruesome offering, her expression a mixture of macabre confusion and disbelief. "David, I... usually people apologize with chocolates or something. Not the severed heads."

David shrugged, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "Well, someone once told me I looked like something that ate cultists for daring to disturb my slumber. Figured I'd lean into the aesthetic." His expression turned slightly guilty as he added, "Also, I don't actually know how to extract the Shard. So... there's that."

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

Claire leaned down, her massive head lowering to inspect the severed head more closely. Her tiny arms were comically inadequate for manipulation, leaving her no choice but to rely on her keen senses.

“Wait, Shard? I thought it was just a head…”

As she examined it, her nostrils flared. "I can smell something weird," she muttered, then suddenly snorted loudly in shock. "Whoa! I just got a rainbow notification! What the-"

David's eyes widened in alarm as he remembered his own experience with the first Shard of Supremacy. "Oh crap," he blurted out. "Claire, hold onto your butt! This might get intense!"

Claire's eyes glazed over, and her massive form suddenly went rigid. A tiny drop of light began to coalesce within the Owl's third eye, pulsing with kaleidescopic energy. The organ itself withered away, collapsing into an empty socket as the sheer power contained within the droplet formed.

The luminous bead drifted slowly towards Claire, everyone watching with bated breath. David, having experienced this firsthand, found himself oddly fascinated to witness the process from the outside. The droplet made contact with Claire's snout, and immediately, her body was suffused with power.

Brilliant light rippled beneath Claire's heavy scales, shimmering and dancing as it found every crack and crevice in her armored hide. The glow intensified, dim beams of multicolored radiance shooting out from between her plates like a disco ball.

David, remembering the mind-bending trip he'd endured after absorbing his own Shard, flopped down into the dirt with a heavy sigh. His chest heaved as he began to pant, the exhaustion of the night's events finally catching up to him.

The Cuddlebugs, apparently taking David's prone position as an ‘all clear’ signal, came zooming in from the sky. They chittered excitedly, their tiny forms blurring as they landed all around him. Within seconds, David found himself buried under a pile of furry, squirming bodies.

"Oof," he grunted, as one particularly enthusiastic Cuddlebug burrowed into his mane. "Easy there, team. We’ve had a long night."

The little creatures paid him no mind, continuing their post-battle celebration. They hopped along his back, nestled into the crooks of his wings, and generally made themselves at home wherever they could find space. David frowned sadly as the memory of two of their number being obliterated surfaced like a bad taste in his mouth.

I know they're supposed to take the hits for me, but they're so damn cute I just hate watching it happen sometimes. The 'normal' ones might not have a lot of brainpower, but they're loyal little shits.

A few feet away, the empowered Cuddlebug landed with a soft thud. It kept its distance from Claire, its beady eyes darting back and forth between her glowing form and David's furry dogpile. Concern radiated from its tiny body in waves.

"It's okay, little guy," David called out, his voice strained by the Cuddlebug using his ear as a hammock. "She's just getting stronger. Nothing to worry about."

The empowered Cuddlebug chittered uncertainly, clearly not entirely convinced by David's reassurance. It took a hesitant step towards Claire, then thought better of it and scurried back.

David couldn't help but chuckle at its antics. "Relax, fuzzbrain. If I survived it, she definitely will. Probably come out of it able to breathe fire or something equally ridiculous."

As he watched Claire's transformation continue, David felt a strange mix of emotions wash over him. Pride in his friend's impending power-up, worry about what changes it might bring, and a twinge of something that might have been jealousy.

Stop it. This isn't a competition. Besides, you've got enough weird shit going on without adding Shard envy to the mix. If they weren't so useful they wouldn't be worth the trouble. Talk about a double edged sword, too good not to use while putting a potential target on your back. I hope she gets something good, fatty really needs something to handle…Dark Star bullshit…like Doom Blade. Ugh.

The light show surrounding Claire intensified, forcing David to squint. He could make out her silhouette, still frozen in place, glowing with prismatic energy.

"Hang in there, big girl," he murmured. "Just ride it out. Trust me, the trippy part's almost over."

As if in response to his words, the light began to pulse rhythmically. David tensed, guessing that likely meant it wouldn't last much longer.

"Alright, everyone," he called out, struggling to sit up despite the protesting squeaks of his Cuddlebug blanket. "Sorry for ignoring you. That was wild, and I needed a minute."

Kozlov shrugged heavily in response, still staring thoughtfully at the Owls head, his mind clearly running close to redline as he considered something. Gideon and Wally exchanged a glance then simply shook their heads and made dismissive gestures. Wally flopped heavily into the dirt under him and perked his ears forward toward Claire. His muffled whine of concern got him thumped lazily by Adams small trunk before the man spoke.

“Eh, don't worry about it boy. That guy made my agent orange act up. You did good, take a minute if you need it." Adam grunted with a wave of his trunk in David's direction. “Surprised you didn't throw up, most people…Eh, nevermind.”

The empowered Cuddlebug, picking up on Adam’s concerned tone, let out a series of sharp chirps. The other Cuddlebugs responded immediately, detaching themselves from David and forming a protective circle around him.

David couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for his tiny, furry army. "Thanks, guys," he said, patting the nearest Cuddlebug on its head. "Gonna have to summon some more of you soon…guess we didn't make it out of this without any losses, did we? Sucks."

As the light surrounding Claire reached its crescendo, David braced himself for some earth-shattering revelation. Instead, the luminous cocoon simply... vanished. One moment it was there, the next gone, as if someone had flipped a light switch.

Claire jerked back as though she'd been shocked, her massive head snapping upward. Her eyes locked onto David's, wide and unfocused. Her gaze was slightly cockeyed, giving her the appearance of someone who'd just stumbled out of a bar crawl. David could almost see the gears grinding in her mind as she struggled to transition from whatever mind-bending reality the Shard had shown her back to their own bizarre version of normal.

"...Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw," Claire slurred, her voice distant and dreamy. Her arms worked up and down dramatically, as if tightly gripping the reins of some unseen steed.

David blinked, a flood of memories from his own Shard experience washing over him. He remembered coming to while singing ‘Happy Birthday’ like a simpleton, convinced he'd just attended the universe's biggest party. A celebration so incomprehensible that it transcended reality itself, filled with countless unknowable entities who seemed genuinely thrilled that he'd crashed their shindig.

"Yeah," David nodded, a wry smile tugging at his snout. "Sounds about right. Welcome back to our dimension, big girl. How many fingers am I holding up?"

Claire squinted at him, then at his wings. "Purpley." She ventured confidently, still clearly disoriented.

"Close enough," David chuckled. Then, curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, "So, how many new slots did you get? Same as me?”

The question seemed to snap Claire out of her fugue state. She shook her head, blinking rapidly as full awareness returned. "Uh…where? Damn, that was…Wait, slots? No, I got a Unique Bloodline."

David's jaw dropped, a mix of shock and indignation spreading across his face. "A Bloodline? But... but why? How come you get a fancy Bloodline and I just got more slots? That's not fair!" He sniffed dramatically, puffing out his chest. "Slots are better anyway. More versatile, better long term potential. Yep, definitely not jealous at all."

Claire's jaws gaped open in her version of a wide, toothy grin. She fixed David with a look that was equal parts amusement and triumph. "Oh yeah? Well, Mr. Slot Machine, feast your ears on this. Bulwark Bloodline. Means I can build resistances to damage types and effects…once I slot or fuse it, anyway. You know what that means?"

David's eyes widened as the implications sank in. "Oh no."

Claire's grin grew even wider, if that was possible. "Oh yes. Next time you fart out a bunch of Miasma? I might not have to just run away. You're never getting rid of me now you overgrown sky-rat."

As the group erupted into a mixture of laughter, excited chatter, and a mutter of congratulations from Kozlov, David couldn't help but feel a swell of pride beneath his mock indignation. Sure, he might have been a tiny bit jealous, but mostly he was thrilled for his friend.

Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new threats, and probably more than a few headaches as they tried to figure out what Claire's new abilities meant for their ragtag duo. But for now, surrounded by the friends he'd just fought to protect, David was content to bask in the afterglow of their hard-won victory.

After all, it isn't every day you get to decapitate a cultist, give your best friend a power-up, and survive to tell the tale.

In the grand scheme of things, David figured that counted as a pretty good day.