"I never knew my dad," I admitted. "Mom raised me alone. A random dead Thunderbird Bureaucrat served as my prop father figure to help me get into Skyfall Academy."

Cinder's wings shifted through annoyed oranges, sympathetic blues and troubled purples. "So you're... Really... Completely alone?"

"I have Yulia," I shrugged. "She talks to me in my mom's voice, reminding me what I have to do."

Cinder's feathers ignited with reds and blacks of shock and concern. "You... programmed an AI to speak in your dead mother's voice?"

"Yes," I revealed. "Based off a single voice mail message. It's all I had left of her."

Cinder's wings shifted through a kaleidoscope of emotions - shock, concern, sympathy, and something else I couldn't quite identify.

"That's... that's pretty messed up," she whispered finally.

"We all cope in our own ways." I countered.

"Is that why you're here? In Omnithornia? Because of what happened to your mom?"

"Yes," I admitted, mind melting from the colorful wings wrapping me, the bite on my neck stinging ever so slightly. I felt the edges of my sense of self fraying away, the confining characteristics of 'Alexander Glock' becoming boundary-less. "Frontenachii Omnicorp's toxic waste dumping killed hundreds. The cancer rates were... astronomical. But the Omnithean courts ruled it was 'acceptable collateral damage' for progress. I'm going to do absolutely everything to get to the top... to make those Corp executives pay for what they did. To make sure they never experiment on people again."

"So this is all... what, some elaborate revenge scheme?"

"Mere revenge against individuals won't be enough to sate me," I confessed. "I want... I NEED to change everything when I reach the top. The system is broken, Ci. Punishing a few executives won’t do shit. I have to rewrite the rules themselves.”

Cinder stared at me for a long moment "You can't just... rewrite reality! My dad is close to the top and he can't even accomplish the bullshit he wants to do!"

"I've just started," I said. "I already turned a complete disaster of a show into a triumph. Your parents love me and your brother is ready to defend me to the death."

"But it's all built on lies!" Cinder protested.

"Is it?" I challenged. "I really did save Em today. I really did face down Zee Captain. I really do want to help you develop your talent. The core, back-end truth is there - I just... adjusted some of the front-end bits.”

"So everything you do is just... manipulation? Even... being my friend?" She demanded.

“Friend?!” I laughed, feeling like I was now stretched mentally across the entire room. “Is that what you think we are? Oh, no… we’ve moved far… far past that long ago. You’re my… everything.” My mouth confessed for me.

"W-what?" she stammered.

“Can't lie… favorite, best, perfect Quetzi… too close… so many pretty feathers,” I was drooling now, completely lost, drowning in the dancing hypnotic patterns of pulsating rainbow wings. “Can’t resist… hypno-wings… Only… Human.”

Dark claws snapped her fingers in front of my face. I barely registered the action, lost in her dastardly Charisma Allure.

There was no point in lying, non reason to trick her.

She was my anchor, my Quetzi Goddess. If she wanted me to start building a giant murder pyramid then so be it. So be it! Maybe once I was done she would help me stand against the world, against impossible odds, against all of Omnithornia.

Cinder choked at my words. Oh yeah, my mouth was now moving on its own.

Was I still thinking or saying stuff out loud? Somewhere along the line of staring at her wings the distinction between thought and speech blurred and vanished.

Internal monologue? What's that? That's not a thing now.

Unfiltered, untarnished thoughts. Is this what you wanted, Goddess? Here I am, bared to the core. Pure thought, nothing but the absolute unfiltered truth.

Are you satisfied or do you wish to learn more? Is this what you wanted? Because I am going to destroy you if you let me in.

Because even pure unfiltered thought is a weapon, a tool, a very dangerous thing to want. I love you. I have always loved you. Always and forever, since I saw your wings and eyes.

I will cut out ten million hearts for you and then a billion. I will lay waste to nations if you just say the word. I will become Emperor of mankind and write your name in the stars. Cassiopeia Cinder Terror Nova. Ruler of all Omnidkind, the Empress of humanity? Doesn't that sound great?

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

You are the Leader and I am the Champion. You are the mind-control spiral and I am the hammer. Just point me in a direction and I will not stop. I will never stop because I am broken in just the right, the perfect way for you and only you.

Cinder recoiled as if struck, her wings snapping back, losing all colors, turning pure, liquid silver. But it was too late now. I was still talking, rambling, vomiting words, unable to halt.

"Alex!" Cinder's claws grabbed my face. "Snap out of it!"

I don't wanna snap out of it!

I'm content, happy, achieved the perfect state of being. I am that which defines the narrative of all. The meta-narrative if you will. The inner Narrator. The Monologue.

"STOP!" She hissed, her feathers shifting through alarmed oranges and concerned violets.

What? Is the interrogation done? Can I go home now, pretty angel? Oh wait. I don't have a home. I live in a van. Also I can't leave. We're probably locked in here if that red hexagram gem above the door means what I think it does.

Cinder spun. She ran towards the door and twisted the handle. Oh yeah. Her dad totally locked down the ward. Probably didn't want someone sneaking around like rainbow ghost.

Cinder rattled the door handle again, her wings shifting through panicked oranges.

She flashed to the window like an angry rainbow and tried to pull the frame up. It was about as effective as trying to use the door.

"Shit shit shit," she hissed. "Damn it Daaaad! I forgot about the stupid lockdown ward!"

Pretty colors. All the colors. Like a rainbow had babies with the northern lights...

She spun towards me.

"Slayer Nazareth, Alex! Would you stop fucking narrating everything I do?! Shush! Shut it! Zip it! I... I order you to be quiet! Stop saying what you're thinking!" The last sentence was infused with a magical order.

My mouth snapped shut. I watched her with a dopey, content grin as she angrily paced around my bed like a bird trapped in a cage.

Honestly, who needs drugs when you have magic wings? That was kind of... dope? No, that sounds like something Iogann would say. I need a fancier word. A me word... Transcendent! Yes, that's better. This moment is absolutely transcendent. I should get her to bite me more often. This is so nice.

Inner peace? I has it. Buddhist monks have nothing on me!

"Oh my god," Cinder groaned, pressing her claws to her face. "You're completely hypnotized by my Chaincharm, aren't you?"

I nodded enthusiastically, still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"This is bad," she muttered, her wings shifting through worried purples and panicked oranges. "Really, really bad. I didn't mean to... I wasn't trying to... I just wanted to... Shit!"

This is nice. This is perfect. What are you even fretting about, Ci? I'm happy.

I found the only Quetzi in the universe that didn't want to purposefully mind-melt me into absolute obedience. Then again, I haven't me that many modern Quetzalcoatls. Her mom seemed nice too.

"How long does this usually last?" Cinder demanded, her wings shifting through concerned violets.

I shrugged, eyes tracking her pacing. Her claws raked through her feathery mop head as she muttered to herself.

"Okay, think Ci, think! Dad's wards won't drop until morning. Can't call for help because everyone will freak out if they find me in here. Can't leave you like... this."

I watched her with rapt attention, following her colorful movements like a cat tracking a laser pointer.

"Nazareth's sword!" she swore. "I can't believe I... accidentally mind-whammied you! This is exactly why I hate these stupid wings!"

I simply smiled at her jovially.

Was that really an accident? That was totally intentional. You wanted to bite me, you cheeky vampire-dragon-birb. You wanted the truth. You got it. Are you not satisfied?

"And now you're just sitting there with that dumb smile!" She threw her claws up in exasperation. "This is so messed up. I didn't mean to... I wasn't trying to... You can talk again, okay? Just... don't do the fucking ridiculous meta-narrator thing."

"Pretty colors make brain go brrrr. All good. No definition of self, no boundary... just rainbow feathers," I let out. "Swimming on ocean of colors towards pure... unfiltered joy."

"Argh! What in the Abyss do I do about this?!" She pawed her face tiredly. "You're still rambling on like you're high!"

"Consider a... blanket."

Cinder stared at me for a long moment. Then her mind finally clicked. She grabbed a blanket from the bed and threw it over her herself, only the snout and ocean-blue eyes visible.

"Cinderrito," I commented.

"What?"

"Burrito quetzi angel," I grinned. "You know? Burrito cat meme?" I pulled out my phone, Oodled the meme and showed it to her with a grin.

9e5bb535b3cc012f4245df01a2edd590.jpg [https://github.com/alexiussssss/romac/blob/main/9e5bb535b3cc012f4245df01a2edd590.jpg?raw=true]

"Abyss, you're such a dork!" Cinder groaned from under the blanket. "Are you... normal now?"

"Define normal," I said.

"You know what I mean!" Cinder hissed from under her blanket. "Are you still... you know..." She waved a blanket-covered claw vaguely. "All weird and confessing your undying love and offering to build murder pyramids?"

"Murder pyramid seems like a lot of effort," I yawned. "Tired now. Never been Charisma-whammied that hard before. First time! You're my first and only mind-control dragon-birb. We should do it again... tomorrow."

"Arghh!" Cinder-burrito hissed. "This is why humans aren't allowed in Omnithornia! We're too dangerous for them! Our passive abilities alone can..."

"Biting someone doesn't count as a passive act," I pointed out, "Unless, of course, you're rolling a pacifist vampire in your Delvers n Dragons campaign. Then it's just a really aggressive form of hugging."

Cinder's slightly exposed face blushed furiously.

"It's fine. I'm building up immunity, I think," I stretched out on the bed, grabbed one side of the oversized blanket and buried myself in it, closing my eyes. "No more Quetzi noises. S'way past my bedtime and I wanna sleep."

"Alex!" Cinder hissed from her side of the blanket. "You can't just go to sleep! We need to talk about..."

"Mmmuch tired," I mumbled, already drifting away. "Bug me tomorrwww. Shhh. No chatter. Only dreams now."