Lance led me up a grand staircase and down a hallway lined with even more family portraits. The guest room was larger than my entire van, with a four-poster bed and antique furniture that probably cost more than everything I owned combined.

"So..." Lance said as soon as we were alone, closing the door behind us. "You're really something else, aren't you?"

I arched an eyebrow at him.

"The way you handled my father..." Lance shook his head in amazement. "I've never seen anyone navigate his interrogations so smoothly. And the Spring's End Festival? The footage? Where did that even come from?"

"I'm way under forty two hours," I smiled, avoiding his questions. "I promised you that I would fix everything, didn't I? D&D is no more."

"Damn it man," Lance exhailed. "I didn't know that you and Cass were friends for over a month. Way to bamboozle me and Christi! Abyss, I thought that you... damn."

"Did you notice something different about Cass?" I asked, derailing the conversation even further away from the Festival.

"Uh... yeah," Lance said. "She didn't smell like smokes tonight. She always comes home smelling like that shit and then mom has to burn incense to cover it up... otherwise dad starts yelling at her," Lance blinked. "And she actually talked at dinner. Usually she just grunts at questions and then storms off to her room."

"Small steps," I nodded with a smug look.

Lance suddenly wrapped me in a bone-crushing hug, lifting me off my feet. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed in a fierce whisper. "You have no idea how worried we've all been about her! The smoking, those damned shows, Em, the way she's been pushing everyone away..."

The single security hexamesh suit under my Nazarite novitiate outfit creaked, hardening before the Omnid-hug could shatter my ribs.

"I've no idea how you did it," he gushed. "But whatever you're doing, please don't stop. I haven't seen my sister this... present... in months! I haven't seen dad approve of anyone like he approves of you! I haven't seen Cassie's feathers light up so much over dinner!"

"I'm just getting started," I half-choked out. "But I need your help."

"Anything," Lance said immediately, releasing me and blushing with grays. "Sorry, forgot you're a halfsie."

"No matter what I do, or say, or show, just back me up, yeah?" I said. "Stand by my side as my Nazarite Knight. You and I... we're going to save your sister. No matter what it takes. No matter what lies are spread about me."

Lance's orange eyes blazed with determination. "I swear by the Slayer, I'll support you! Umm... what lies?"

I pulled my phone up and showed Lance a looped, stitched video of Emerald threatening me and calling me "nullie" over 30 times in different locations.

"She threatened me after I saved her life, as a Goodly Nazazrite would," I exhaled. "But she's clearly not going to stop until she destroys my reputation at school."

Lance's orange eyes narrowed as he watched the compilation of Emerald's threats. "That ungrateful little b...!" He growled, eyes igniting with orange flames from within. "Was this.... after you saved her life? After everything you did today?"

"Yes. Her behavior is understandable. She's hurt and lashing out," I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "Cassie and I reincarnated Em after the show. Her pride was wounded when I saved her life. She'll probably try to spread rumors about me, maybe even claim I attacked her first."

"I won't let her!" Lance declared firmly. "I'll make sure everyone knows what really happened. You're a hero, Alex. You saved my sister, saved Em, faced down that... that thing from that corpse world! No one gets to twist that around!"

"Emerald will find a way. Her family... the Stratos clan are ridiculously wealthy and hold grudges for a long time. From what she threatened me with after her incarnation, I suspect that she will probably claim that I'm a human or other such nonsense." I sighed.

Lance frowned.

"She might hire a Scrutimancer, even go as far as to change public records, pay off fake witnesses," I extrapolated. "D&D was Emerald's child and I smothered it personally to help your sister. Like Slayer Nazareth, I've sacrificed myself... made a terrible enemy in Emerald Stratos. She's not going to stop till I am deported from Omnithornia for false crimes."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"WHAT?!" Lance's Dover Demon face became skewered, elongated unnaturally for a moment, hundreds of extra muscles dancing under his skin, the hallway lights flickering. "Let her bloody try! My father may not be as wealthy as the Stratos clan, but he's the Justice of Leviathan's Cradle! If Em tries anything underhanded, I'll make sure he knows exactly what happened today! I've got your back, brother!"

"Thank you older brother," I smiled. "We will both keep an eye on your sister, yeah? She's going through a lot right now. The troupe meant everything to her, even if it was toxic. She's going to need support to find a new path."

"Of course," Lance nodded firmly and putting his large gray hand on my shoulder. "And... thank you again. For everything. No matter what bullshit Em spreads, I'll stand by your side. Promise."

Lance's firm declaration of support made me want to grin like a supervillain, but I kept my expression appropriately humble and grateful. Keeping Emerald alive was turning out to be my most cheeky move yet - any of her attempts to discredit me would only serve as part of choreographed reality that I was manifacturing around myself.

Even dangerous enemies like Emerald Stratos had their purpose in my game.

After Lance left, closing the door behind himself, I carefully examined the guest room for surveillance devices. Finding none, I pulled out my phone and texted Cinder.

Alex G: Your family seems nice.

SongOfDarkness🎻: wtf was that?!

Alex G: What was what?

SongOfDarkness🎻: all of it! the effing video of me saving children, the story about your parents, the AI stuff with my dad... how much of that was even real?!

Alex G: Does it matter? Your parents love me now. Your brother is now my Nazarite Knight. Even your little sister likes me, I think.

SongOfDarkness🎻: it matters to ME

Alex G: Why?

SongOfDarkness🎻: because i thought i was starting to know you

SongOfDarkness🎻: and now i have no idea WTF is real and what's just another one of your... I don't even know. Edited reality jigs? AI-generated bullshit?

Alex G: Making you smile matters. The rest is just... fluff.

SongOfDarkness🎻: what does that even mean?!

Alex G: It means that while I may bend the narrative of reality to achieve my goals, my core motivation - helping you - is genuine.

SongOfDarkness🎻: why? why me? what do you actually want? WHO ARE YOU???!!!

Alex G: Who do you think I am?

SongOfDarkness🎻: ...

The 'user is typing a message' notification hung there for a few minutes. I wondered if she was writing stuff and then deleting it over and over.

I slumped onto the bed.

"I wish I knew," I mused. "I wish that I could answer that, Cindy."

The wall beside me ignited with a million colors. I nearly jumped out of my skin as Cinder materialized out of thin air directly beside my bed like an angry apparition.

"HOLY SHIT!" I yelped, nearly falling off the bed. "What are you, the ghost of Christmas Future?! Don't just appear without warning! What if I was naked in here after a shower or something?!"

Cinder's feathers shifted through irritated reds, embarrassed pinks and frustrated blacks as she loomed over me. "I want answers," she hissed, dark claws digging into my Nazarite novitiate collar. "NOW."

"Could you be a bit more gentle there?" I asked, choking. "Kind of getting ss-strangled ovvvffer here. N-need air."

Cinder let go of me slightly, staring at my face.

"No more lies," she growled.

I opened my mouth. Before I could say anything she suddenly reached out and bit my neck hard, pointy canines digging in.

Colors exploded in my head, making me feel wrong, sideways, all mental resistance melting away like spring snow exposed to sunshine.

"Owwww," I rubbed my neck when she let go. "What was that? Did we move onto hickeys? What are you, a vampire?"

"The truth," she hiss-growled, face elongated and sharp. "I want the TRUTH."

"Ask specific questions," I said, feeling slightly drunk for some reason. "And keep your voice down, unless you want your dad to catch us. Sneaking into a boy's room? You're a brave fluffy dragon bae."

Cinder's wings bristled with frustration, but she lowered her voice to a fierce whisper. "Fine. Was ANY of that story about your parents true?"

"You sure we can't be overheard?" I asked her. "'Cus if I'm to tell you things..."

Cinder growled, let go of me, grabbed the remote, turned the TV on, cranking up the volume for some TV show. Then she wrapped me tightly in her wings and brought her face dangerously close to mine.

"Tell me the damned truth, human!" she whisper-hissed, claws digging in.

"My mom did die," I said quietly. "Cancer. The hospital part was real. She was a First Nations Kaska Dena, one of the last of our kind, pushed to the brink of extinction. Frontenachii Omnicorp and smoking killed her. I love AIs and can rant about them for days... I love your singing. Frontenachii Wendigos experimented on humans, everything in the folder I gave you was real. The rest..." I shrugged. "Just dust in the wind. AI generated dust, the kind that can make even the toughest, meanest Justice shed a tear."

Cinder's claws loosened slightly, her ocean-blue eyes searching my face. "Your mom... really died of cancer?"

"Yeah," I said softly. "I arrived too late to do anything, since she never told me that she was dying. She was already in a coma. Held her hand till her heart stopped. She taught me Kaska, taught me to sing our old songs. But that's... not something I like talking about."

"And your dad?" She pressed.