Nicole followed Willow to a room full of brass pipes and glass tubes, all full of a strange glowing blue liquid. The pipes stemmed from one central machine, gears and cogs of copper and brass covered what looked like a cross between an old cash register and a modern slot machine, complete with a central dial of numbers on rotating wheels.

“What is this?” Nicole asked.

“My magic. Witch to witch, I’ve automated the process of potion making. This machine can measure and weigh out ingredients and make large batches of anything. Healing potions, potions of cold resistance, potions of strength, potions of energy.” She listed as Gizzy entered the room, examining the device.

“Fascinating. You did this yourself?” Gizzy said.

“My mother’s journals helped, my grandfather’s notes before that. Magic runs in our veins. I have alchemy books, potion guides, herbal charts.” She said as Gizzy scanned the tubes and looked for anything useful.

“I need more of this. Get everyone to piss into a tube, I need the ammonium. I need this sulfur, potassium nitrate. I need coal coke, and a furnace. What powers this device?” Gizzy asked.

“I’ve been trying to harness lighting from storms, hence the highest tower, but I can’t seem to store it, otherwise it has to be cranked, and the water heated by the wood burner."

“Get the fire going, I’ll supply the lightning.” She said with a grin.

“What are we making?” Nicole asked.

“Magic arrows.”

“Okay yea but what are we REALLY making?”

“Trinitrotoluene, TNT, boosted with cesium and some thermite, with a mercury fulminate tip. Little secret sauce from the potato grenades.”

“So just arrows packed with explosives?”

“No…armor piercing arrows loaded with REALLY boosted explosives. We have the tungsten points already.”

“This storm isn’t as strong as I was hoping. There isn’t enough lightning.” Sighed Willow. “It could be weeks before another big storm.”

“I said don’t worry about the lightning. You want lightning, I can summon lightning.” Gizzy suggested.

“How?” she asked.

“Blood magic.” Gizzy said, gathering ingredients. “Dee, I need your help. We need high voltage electricity.”

“Oh Damnit…” Dee sighed. I’ll look for some needles.

The army of Dravenguard marched through the rain as the clouds pulsed with thunder in a strange manner. King Hafth stopped the men with a single raise of his hand.

“Ready the ballistae, all men not arming or loading, take to shields, defensive positions.” He roared as they armed and readied for a fight.

“He wouldn’t dare.” Scoffed his general “Even he’s not that stupid.”

“Uldor was exactly this stupid.” Hafth muttered.

“Uldor is a fool among fools who was stupid enough to attack a village, not a king. This is intimidation, nothing more.” He said, as a streak of purple descended and landed with a rumble. From the fog and the purple glow stepped a black scale and spine covered dragon, mouth chained shut and covered in armor. The beast approached the King as he strutted forward to meet it, and the rider that leapt from its saddle.

“Faeryn…here to kill me?” King Hafth smiled.

“I would never dream of such a thing. Killing my brother in the cold rain as he marched from home? Revolting suggestion.” Faeryn grinned.

“That beast may be hungry, but we have enough siege weapons pointed at it to keep it on the ground and under it by morning.”

“Brother, do you not see the chains of peace on his snout. Ahndra is a hungry beast, but I came not to let it dine on a king, merely to meet your army before you reach Spirecrest. How else would I reach you in time? Flap my arms?”

“Here to tell me not to start a war?” Hafth asked.

“No, I’m here to tell you that I approve of it. That half blood bastard Uldor calling himself an Elvin King, now him, dear brother, I might dream of feeding to Ahndra. I want you to look upon me and see that I am letting you live, giving you my blessing, and I want you to remember your friends when you take Spirecrest and burn it to the ground.”

“Friend.? Have we not fought before over the sand and the rocks between our kingdoms?” sighed Hafth.

“Disputes, little more than sibling rivalries. I let you have the East lands rather than shedding more Elvin blood over them. Remember that.”

“I have not forgotten, that you gave up the lands because we were well-fed, and you ran out of water. Little brother, stay out of this war. This is not a dispute of sand and rocks, a line drawn in it. This is about vengeance and thousands will die for treachery and power, even Ulferling may get involved."

“I will see that he does not. Don’t you understand, between the disagreements and the fighting, we are blood, and we are family? Even old Ulferling in his stale and tacky ways is our brother. I will persuade him to let you have your vengeance. You deserve it.”

“And in return, you want my favor. Is this not simply your way of protecting yourself by sucking at the teat of power that I will soon have?”

“Oh how vulgar a gesture and the wording of it. I could also go rile him up, lie, embellish, convince him to march on Spirecrest first, start a war between brothers. But I only ask that you remember who’s side I am always on, and I will stall him, convince him he does not need to move on Spirecrest, or he would face us both. Now… What is that but friends and favors being traded fairly? Brothers being brothers, keeping the peace where it is needed while you do what is right and finally rid the land of unclean blood on a throne that we both know should have gone to our sister. But I would rather it be ruled by you, an ally of ours, than an old king who cannot handle his own kingdom, or a halfblooded goat who never deserved a throne. Son of a Satyr, insult to our family. Kill him well dear brother, you will face a pathetic opposition at your front, and when no army arrives to attack your back, know it was because I talked down old Ulferling. Now. I must ride, and you must march. May I find a listening ear and a grateful Dravenguard, and may you find Spirecrest, begging for mercy. Give them hell, brother. This family is about to be pure again, and all it took was a little human blood and one stupid rumor to provoke a stupid false King.”

“I want to believe your heart, if you still have one left after she has blackened it. But I expect only tricks. Know that I can fight Ulferling at my back and Spirecrest at the same time. Please do not make a mistake.” King Hafth nodded solemnly as he took flight and left, his general beside him, to say his withheld words.

“He will betray us. He will swindle and provoke the old King. When he does, we will send the Rose to burn their army.” The general sighed.

“He may have less sinister plans. Merely boot licking in the form of intimidation. Let him growl and flex his might. We will see if he means war or merely wants a bone thrown from the throne when I take Spirecrest. He is my little brother. Foolish and young, passionate and stubborn but blood nonetheless. Ride on, men. Be on the ready if I command it.”

The valves hissed and steamed as Willow mixed and took notes, trying to quickly learn Gizzy’s magic as she swiped the notebook away.

“You don’t need to know this shit yet. We’re cheating. This isn’t supposed to exist on your world yet.”

“How can it, if nobody can learn it?” Willow asked.

“Just figure out gunpowder before you worry about blending high explosives and alien metals. Dee, you got the needles?”

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“Yea, unfortunately.” She said dragging the cables out and connecting the two wires to a pier of steel rods.

“Those are expensive.” Willow said. “Enhanced iron is not easy to get.”

“Well it’s necessary. You want lightning? Dee, you know the procedure.” She said, removing her shirt and lying on the table, and Dee felt the spines and counted her way down to the right location.

“Located the power cell. This isn’t gonna feel good.”

“Well not with that attitude.” Gizzy winked. Willow watched in morbid horror as Nicole stared beside her. She looked over at willow, who was perplexed by her grin.

“I like weird shit, don’t judge me. This is alien Frankenstein level steampunk horror. I’m not missing this.” Nicole chuckled.

“Your words fascinate me, but not as much as what is happening on the table.” Willow replied. Dee slid the first steel electrode into Gizzy’s spine just behind the ribcage, finding the narrow spot where the plastic linking separated the armor.

“Oh I hate this.” Dee said taking a large lead hammer and giving the rod a hefty tap, punching through the plastic divider.

“How is she surviving this?” whispered Willow to Nicole.

“Oh this is nothing. These bitches grow limbs back, Gizzy’s been beheaded, self-destructed, this is like a tooth cleaning for them.” She said munching some salted peanuts. Dee carefully guided the second rod into Gizzy’s neck, just below the skull, threading the armor plates and finding the other electrical connection, tapping it in with some force.

“I think I’m in.” Dee said. … That’s what she said, DAMNIT.” Dee said, realizing it was aloud.

“Good, I was getting bored. Willow, you wanna know what real magic looks like, throw the switch.” She nodded. Willow threw the lever and the whole machine sparked to life. Her eyes beamed with a smile of joy.

“It works. It’s stable!” she clapped.

“IT’S ALIiIiIIeeVE!!!! MUHUhahahah!” Nicole cackled witchishly. “Sorry. Do your thing. I am so entertained right now.”

Dee stepped out to get fresh air. She noticed the boys hanging around the castle entrance and made her way down for some chitchat. She noticed as she did, Vinn got up and awkwardly left, almost dragging Thaddeus along. Silverback stood alone, glancing up as she approached.

“Hey Nathan! How are things?”

“Fine.” He said, chewing on his thoughts.

“You wanna go for a walk or something, we never seem to get any time to hang out. You know this creek runs around the side of-”

“I may be in love with you.” He blurted.

“What?” She scoffed. “You just met me.”

“I loved the other Dee, and that never left me, I just couldn’t be treated like garbage anymore. You’re her without the toxic personality. You’re her with a heart, You’re the same ravaging beauty, the same quirky mannerisms that I fell in lust with, that made me seek her out, and fall in love with an idea. You’re the idea, without the bullshit that ruins it.” he sighed, throwing his arms up.

“Nathan you’re drunk. I can’t leave Gizzy, I WON’T leave her.”

“I don’t want you to. I don’t want you to leave her for me. If she makes you happy, then stay with her and I wish you the best. I’m just an old man getting weight off my chest, expressing feelings because I refuse to bottle them up. I want you to know you’re perfect, and radiant, and you deserve the best. I want you to know why we can’t be pals like me and Vinn and why I can’t be alone with you. You’re too tempting to me. I’m going to get my heart broken. I know you’re not teasing me or trying to do it, but my old heart can’t take the what-ifs and the bad ideas. You belong to her, not me.”

“I don’t belong to anyone, I’m not property… anymore. I’m not someone’s sex bot, I’m a person, not your Dee only refreshed and fixed, I’m not Gizzy’s trophy bot. Why does everything have to be so complicated? Can’t people just care about each other and not fight over who cares more?”

“Because we’re men…and Gizzy is... basically men. Men have needs, low self-control, we hide our emotions till they eat us up inside and that’s how we are. All or nothing.”

“The whorehouse is right up the hill. You can’t get what you need and then just be friends with me? You can’t go get your dick sucked by some goblin. You know they be goblin that up. And then after, we can just hang out and junk? No?” she asked.

“If you were anyone else, sure. But I look at you and my mind goes to places I can’t go, and I get my hopes up.” he sighed.

“This is ridiculous.” She said storming off.

“I’m sorry.” He yelled as she stomped up the ridiculous number of steps and into the castle’s upper floor. She barged in and stood cross armed in front of Gizzy.

“Go talk to him.” She ordered.

“Glad to see you’re in a good mood too.” Gizzy huffed, returning to her science.

“Silverback is in love with me. He just confessed everything. Talk to him.”

“Fuck a duck. Nothing to talk about. He can keep his hands off, and we're fine, If he does anything stupid, I’ll kill him.”

“Yes, there is something to talk about. He’s hurting and alone.”

“Whorehouse is right up that hill.”

“I tried that.” Dee sighed, looking defeated. “I even did goblin joke, it was cute as shit. Tell me something. Why does everyone pair up?” she asked.

“Because being alone sucks, and everyone has needs they can’t do themselves.” Gizzy said. "I mean I have clones, but it’s not the same."

“No…Why does everyone PAIR up? We all have numerous friends, but people have more needs than just a comforting word. Everyone keeps slipping and getting into new relationships and losing people. Why? Why can’t people just love each other?”

“Because we’re too competitive and territorial. We’re selfish creatures, people don’t share well.”

“So if Vinn needed a sword you’d give him your sword, and if Nicole needed blood, you’d give blood. You’d die to protect all of us, give your life. We can love people, but only up to a physical line, and it can’t be crossed? A man can go to a whorehouse and love every woman there, and they can love different men every day, and everyone is fine because it’s just business. But when someone is hurting that we care about, they have to stay alone?” She asked. Gizzy got up, removing her sword and laying it on the table to show her nonviolent intent, and heading out to find Nathan.

She caught up to him as he trudged through the mud and mist to the city.

“Hey asshole, don’t you walk away from me.” Gizzy yelled as he tried to speed up.

“Wasn’t walking away, just walking. Wanted something this direction, and you decided to follow me.” He said as she turned him around by the shoulder and yanked him to a stop.

“How dare you. She’s an empathetic person who cares about people, and you just dumped that shit on her. That’s the kinda shit you tell Vinn and then keep to yourself.”

“He said the same thing. So what crime did I commit exactly, having feelings, or being honest about them?” Silverback argued.

“We all have impulses and feelings and we choose when to speak and when to hold back. She can’t help looking like your old flame, your Dee owes you an apology and amends, not her. You can’t just emotionally dump your feelings on her and expect her to do nothing and feel nothing. Now she feels bad and she can’t fix you.”

“What am I supposed to do, silently suffer while she tries to be nice, stirring up emotions, or let her know how I feel and stop the problem from escalating?”

“Damnit Nathan.” Gizzy sighed, turning in circles, frustrated. “Why did you agree to this mission if you knew you would be seeing her all the time?”

“Because I thought I was stronger than that!” he yelled. “I thought I was over Dee, and I was. I stopped pretending she was anything but toxic, I learned that I deserved better, but I didn’t realize all she was missing was everything yours has. Now I know what I could have had if she was different. Caring, loyal, protective. She could have been those, but she didn’t even try, and now I know what was missing. A damn heart. Don’t you stand there and tell me she isn’t something special. You HATED Dee to the core, and fell in love with this one. She broke through that shield of yours, so what chance did I have? I’m not trying to steal her, I just refuse to be silent to make everyone else happy.”

“You could have told ME, put that burden on me, not her. She doesn’t need it.”

“You’d have kicked my ass for even looking at her with feelings. So what now? You wanna fight it out, is that why you chased me down, left your sword back there so you wouldn’t be tempted to kill me? You don’t need that to do the job, you just wanted less temptation. Welcome to the club.”

“She’s too caring to watch us fight over her.” Gizzy barked.

“Then don’t fight over me.” Dee said, stomping up with a bottle in her hand. “Don’t fight over me. Just don’t fight. You both care about me, you don’t wanna hurt me, neither of you owns me or is stealing me, or tricking me. You’re both just honest and territorial, well just stop. I don’t know if it’s something Dee programmed in me, but I feel like I already know you, Nathan. Getting to know you just proved that. Even she saw something in your worth having, she just screwed it up.”

“She saw a payday. She saw an old asshole willing to do anything for her, and she took advantage. I was willing to share her with her work and her viewers and go to clubs as she screwed around on me, and left me to do the same. I was an easy mark, and willing to do whatever she wanted. That’s all, she saw a fool.”

“And you shared her with everyone and stayed silent for over a year. You stayed for what part of her you could have because it was better than nothing. And Gizzy. Miss ancient Greece fuckin orgy parties with the old gods? You’ve been married more than everyone I know combined, by a factor of what, 5? You two can’t stop competing and play on the same team? You both want to take care of me, but both of you are just stopping each other from doing that, or enjoying anything.”

“What’s the bottle?” Gizzy asked.

“One of Willows potions. Supposedly, if you share it with someone, you fall in love.”

“How does that help, we both already love you?” Gizzy sighed. “Plus, those are bullshit. They’re just herbs, primitive medicine and folklore.”

“Or alien drugs and unknown science that’s basically magic to us. You both already love me, but you can’t stop competing. So both of you, right now. Either drink this shit and go to that castle, get it out of your system. Talk, bond. Screw, whatever. Maybe if you two loved each other, you wouldn’t have to fight, and you could learn to share.”

“Neither of us wants to settle for half.” Silverback sighed.

“Bullshit. Gizzy, you’re not losing me. If it doesn’t work, nothing changes between us, we’re a team either way, we promised that, but a team can add people. If it works you get me and him, he gets both of us, and I get both of you, not part, not dueling over ownership or one person walking away a loser. He’s in love with a dream, let him dream it, too finally see if it’s real or bullshit. There’s no lies, no cheating, no deception, no warring clans or enemies, you two are friends Damnit, act like it. Enemies fight over things; friends share and help each other. So go, both of you. Drink the stupid potion, get your feelings out and I’ll be back in 30 minutes. You can TRY for that long. Fight, fuck, talk, stare coldly, whatever. 30 minutes from now, you both better be waiting for me, and we’ll see what a little magic can do for this shitstorm. You got that?” she asked.

“Yes Ma’am.” Silverback sighed.

“Fine. We’ll talk, we’ll stop fighting; we’ll drink the stupid tea or whatever it is. And then we’ll see if anything is different. At least you can’t say I didn’t try.” Gizzy said "And when it's bullshit it's bullshit and we drop it."