I leapt out of the way, my body accelerated beyond human speed with all of Lance's hexasuits powered up to the max by stolen cores. The Megalodon-girl's large claws harmlessly slashed against my shoulder, unable to penetrate the overpriced dragonscale jacket from Arx.
As Magdaline flew by me, I punched the side of her face, making her careen and slam into the wall.
The impact cracked the hexamesh wall slightly. Magdaline's red eyes flickered with shock and pain.
"What," she growled, rubbing her face where my dragonscale-glove impacted it. "What the shit? How did you…"
I landed in a fighting stance, hexasuits humming with energy underneath my clothes. "I'm not your typical human snack, Mags. Go on. Try again. I know you want to!”
She lunged again. Razor-sharp claws extended, slicing through the air where my head had been milliseconds earlier. I rolled, using the momentum to kick off the wall and spin behind her, kicking her into the wall on the other side.
Another crack.
"Arghh! What the shit?! Stop moving!" she snarled, her white hair whipping around her like living tendrils.
"The fun of the chase is moving," I said. "Come on, murder attempt number three!”
Magdaline's red eyes narrowed, her predatory instincts recalibrating. This time, she moved with calculated precision, trying to circle me like a shark.
Her claws sliced through the air, each movement designed to corner me, to cut off potential escape routes. I dodged, using the hexasuits' enhanced speed, feeling the layers of magical protection vibrating with each near-miss.
Her second slash went against the jacket too and slipped right off the impervious fabric.
As she wasn’t moving as fast, I aimed my punch into the center of her large, wide snout this time, sending her flying backwards with a cry.
"Aughhhhwhhh, what the fuck?!" She rubbed her snout, her eyes filling with tears. "How are you punching so hard?! A human fist should have broken by this point!"
"First rule of fighting," I said, stepping back and adjusting my stance. "Never underestimate your opponent."
Magdaline stared at me, her red eyes flickering.
"I don't understand," she said, blinking rapidly. "What the shit is happening? You're supposed to die!"
"Sorry," I said, bouncing in one spot and swaying boxer-style. "Not allowed to die. My two Omnid fiancees would be very upset over such a development."
"Two... fiancees?" Magdaline blinked, her predatory instincts momentarily short-circuited.
"Yep," I said, continuing to bounce on the balls of my feet. "A Thunderbird Prima-Sword and a Quetzalcoatl Hearth-Shield. Both very possessive. They'd be quite cross if I died here."
“You’re full of shit!” Her red eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air and choked.
"They bought me this jacket on Arx," I said. "It's claw-proof if you haven't noticed by now."
"You probably stole that!" She snarled and lunged for me once again.
I spun and punched her snout again from the other side, making her slam into the wall with an angry roar.
"Ow, ow, ow, damn it! Fuck!" She swore.
"Why would you think that I stole my jacket?" I asked.
"Cus dad only brings me criminals," she snarled. "People that won't be missed! Human scum, gangsters, Topaz dealers and murderers!"
"Topaz? Pretty sure that stuff is super magical and leaves a trace you can smell, Miss Shark. Do I smell like a Topaz dealer to you?" I asked her.
"No," she shook her head. "Maybe you're a murderer. How the shit are you moving and punching like that?"
"Magic," I said. "I'm a wizard."
"Magic?!" She spat. "Humans don't have magic!"
“Oh yea?” I spread my fingers and focused on my mana. An electric current began leaping between my gloved fingers, fractal patterns forming into a perfect, tiny, bright, growing spark of fractal lightning, just like Vee taught me.
"Behold!" I grinned, proud of my tiny four-mana-worth lightning spell. "Magic."
Magdaline's red eyes went wide as a small lightning ball fully formed in my hand.
"What the..." she breathed.
I sent the lightning ball directly into her forehead.
The tiny lightning ball exploded impacting against her scales, doing zero damage to her. Her white hair stood on end, every strand crackling with released static electricity.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" She jumped backwards, slamming into her bed. "No. no. no. You're a mixie! Damn it, dad, damn it all!”
"What, got reservations about murdering half-humans?" I asked, tilting my head. "but not full ones? Why the discrimination?"
Magdaline's expression danced from anger to irritation sprinkled with hints of shame. "Dad says humans are... disposable. Easy prey. No magic. No protection."
"And Omnids?" I asked, keeping my distance but maintaining eye contact.
"Omnids fight back," she said quietly. "Omnids have magic. Have a Clan. Have... consequences."
I nodded. "So you prey on the weak. The unprotected."
Her silence was answer enough.
"I..." she let out. "You smell like a human. I want to eat you so bad. I can't... control it. I'm sorry!"
I unzipped my pocket and dug into an extradimensional pouch filled with beast cores to the brim.
I grabbed one and offered it to her. "How about an alternative snack?"
"What," she stared at my glowing pocket with wide eyes. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Behold!" I said. "I'm a professional Arx delver!”
Magdaline stared at the beast core. The glowing, shimmering ball pulsed with raw energy, far more enticing than the human standing before her.
"Here ya go," I said, tossing the core towards her.
Her claws snatched it mid-air, her red eyes dilating as she felt the pure magical essence. She bit into the core and chewed on it with rows of white, sharp teeth magical energy crackling around her mouth.
"Tasty?" I asked.
"Better than eating a person," she mumbled, chewing. "Way better. So much better. Ughhhh…”
Her eyes dimmed, she slipped back onto the bed, chewing on the core, eyes rolling back.
After about thirty seconds of rolling the core in her mouth back and forth, she reopened her eyes and looked back at me. "Umm... those cores... look expensive."
"They are," I nodded. "Probably twenty million O-bux in my left pocket alone."
"Twenty million O-bux?" Magdaline's red eyes widened. "You're... serious? What the fuck... did you rob a bank or something?!"
I smiled.
"You did!" She laughed. "Oh, you cheeky bastard. You are a criminal! I knew it!"
"In my defense, the Arx Bank in question was distributing Topaz," I said. "I put a stop to that. Also, can you smell the intent behind the words or something? You a Scrut like your dad?”
She nodded.
"You're beautiful," I said.
She flashed red.
I laughed.
"What was that?! Didn't you say you have two fiances?" She snared, trying to hide her blushing face in her silver-blue hands.
"Yes," I nodded. "They're a handful. I'm not planning on adding you to my family, I'm just derailing your expectations, testing your reactions. See, Omnid girls are generally bigger, stronger than Omnid guys. Therefore, I figure that as a tall, scary, sharp-toothed Meg you probably don't get honest compliments often, if at all."
"Family?" She exhaled, burying her face in her hands. "Abyss. I'm so sorry. How did my dad eff up so bad?"
"He was working with outdated information," I said. "On Wednesday I was indeed just a lonely human without family. Now I'm a wizard with a mage tower, a city, two soul-bonded Omnid fiancees, a cadre of mages, a mountain of gold and a Clan."
A red eye stared at me between her hands. "What... How? No, that... that's not possible!"
"What does your nose tell you?" I asked
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"That you believe your words," she replied. "That you think that's the truth. Maybe you're just insane... An insane bank robber!”
I grinned, brushing hexcrete dust off my swank jacket. "An insane bank robber with style."
Magdaline's razor-sharp teeth glinted as she laughed. "You're definitely not like the other snacks dad brings me."
"Glad to be high quality entertainment material," I offered her my gloved hand.
Magdaline tentatively reached out and shook it.
"Aight then, I'm taking the top bunk," I said and then took a run and a leap, muscles amplified by the hexasuits. I ran up the wall sideways and slammed into the top bunk, making it wobble.
She looked up at me. "That's definitely not normal human behavior. People don't run up walls."
"Just some parkour amplified with magic," I winked. "My uncle managed a gang of teenage thieves in North Acadia, they trained me on rooftop running for over two years."
"I see. So... what now?" the Megalodon girl asked, watching as I made myself comfortable above her.
"Now?" I stretched out on the top bunk. "I don't know. This is an unexpected development. I should probably call my girls before they demolish Cradlefall looking for me. Tell them that I'm okay."
Magdaline blinked up at me with red eyes.
I tapped my Quartermaster tag. "Voicecast Captain Cinder."
The Voicecast connection crackled to life. Cinder's hologram flashed above it woven from blue and white sparks.
"Sup bae," I said.
"M... Alex! Where are you?!"
Magdaline's eyes went wide.
"I'm currently in detention," I replied cheerfully. "Scrutimancer Satosh decided I needed a timeout."
"DETENTION?!" Cinder's holographic image flashed as her wings spread out angrily. "WHERE?!"
"Lemme pan the view," I said, tapping the tag view control to display the cell and Magdaline.
"What? Who is that girl?!" Cinder barked.
"That's Magdaline Satoshi. Scrutimancer Satosh’s daughter. She's my new roommate," I said cheerfully.
"YOUR WHAT?!" Cinder barked.
"Cell roommate," I repeated. "I'm being illegally detained in the Cradlefoot Youth Rehabilitation Facility. Funny. I don't think I've ever broken into a prison before. First time for everything, I guess."
"What do you mean ILLEGALLY DETAINED?!" Cinder snarled.
"Exactly what it sounds like," I said cheerfully. "Satosh, the Scrutimancer shark-man, brought me to his daughter's rehabilitation facility so she could eat me."
Magdaline's red eyes darted between me and the holographic Cinder, her razor-sharp teeth glinting in a nervous smile.
"WHAT? EAT YOU?!" Cinder's fiery glare turned to Magdaline.
"She eats people," I nodded. "Think it's a condition."
"Listen here, you beerch, if a single hair falls off my... soul-bonded fiancee, I will personally take you apart, inch by inch," Cinder hissed dangerously.
Magdaline's eyes went wide. She looked up at me, then back at the holographic Cinder, teeth clacking nervously.
"I...am not going to eat your fiancee," she stammered. "Not anymore."
"NOT ANYMORE?!" Cinder barked. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOT ANYMORE'?!"
I grinned and leaned back on the top bunk. "Ci, relax. Magdaline and I have reached an understanding. I gave her a beast core to chew on. She's cool now. If she keeps it up, she can join our clan as a Sixie."
"JOIN OUR CLAN?!" Cinder snared. "You want a people-eating... Omnid to join our Clan?! Are you out of your mind?!"
Magdalene stared at me with a confused expression sprinkled with what might have been a ray of hope. "Your... Clan?"
"We collect quirky peeps," I shrugged. "I collected Ci, then Kat, then Io, then Vee. Why not the resident Miss Shark?"
"Because she tried to EAT YOU!" Cinder's hologram vibrated with pure outrage.
"Past tense," I said cheerfully. "She's reformed. Or reforming. Potential recruit now."
"Ughhh," Kat’s face appeared on the projection. "So much yelling. Do you need rescue? I can pull Possy from the deep and Vee can send her after you."
"Nah," I said. "This is fine. Going to spend the day here, I think. See if I can start a prison riot. Maybe take over this place. I dunno. I'm feeling inspired. Never been imprisoned before!”
Katherine squinted at me. “Riiiiight. You do you.”
"A prison riot?!" Cinder yelled, shoving Katherine aside. "Do not start any riots!"
"Come on, starting a prison riot is totally on my bucket list!" I protested.
"NO RIOTS!" Cinder growled.
Magdaline watched our interaction with utter bewilderment. "Is... this normal?" she whispered to me.
"Completely," I whispered back. "Welcome to ‘I Love You’ Clan dynamics."
"I can HEAR you!" Cinder's hologram crackled.
"Good!" I called back. "Means communication lines are working! Don't attempt to rescue me."
"Why not?!" Both Katherine and Cinder demanded.
"I want to experience prison life," I said.
"Ughhhh," Cinder groaned. "Why?"
"The longer I stay here the more perks I can shake out of Skyfall for my illegal imprisonment," I said. "Duh. Maybe I can get us a big loft on campus for our Clan! Stay positive and think about the loft, guys!”
"A loft?" Cinder pursed her lips. "What kind of loft?"
"A big one," I grinned. "A room with a kitchen where you can practice Hearth-wife-ness by making us sandwiches. Maybe near the coliseum by the river, in one of the clock towers. Good views, Victorian clockwork gears for cracking walnuts, Art Nouveau bathrooms, Gothic revival bedrooms, a balcony for flying from. Top tier stuff reserved for kids of big donors.”
Magdaline watched our interaction like someone observing an alien species.
"Fine," Cinder growled. "But NO STARTING RIOTS! And NO GETTING EATEN."
"Promise," I said, crossing my heart dramatically.
"I'll… call you periodically to make sure you're alive," she warned.
"Love you too, bae," I blew a kiss to the hologram. "Send Vee my kisses and hugs."
Cinder's hologram vanished with an exasperated huff.
I turned to Magdaline, who was still staring at me with wide shark-eyes. "So," I said casually, "Do you have an extra prison jumpsuit?"
Magdaline blinked. "Why?"
"To dress the part of a prisoner," I said. "Can't start a proper prison riot in my North Acadia Arx-designer jacket, can I?"
She stared at me for a long moment, then burst out laughing once again. A sharp bark that was somehow also genuine. In a minute her laughter collapsed into soft giggles, the beast core crunching against her teeth.
"Didn't you promise your girl not to start any riots?" She asked, digging out an extra orange uniform from a small metal locker. She threw her uniform up at me.
I caught the jumpsuit mid-air. "You can start the riot, my Sixie sharky. I can… rate it out of ten as a goody Clan leader," I winked. "Besides, Cindy didn't say anything about... creative reorganization of institutional infrastructure."
"And what exactly does 'creative reorganization' entail?"
"Oh, you know," I said, pulling on the large orange jumpsuit over my jacket and pants. "Just a few minor adjustments to the facility's operational protocols. Mostly, I want to investigate things and document them. Potentially expose some systemic issues."
"Systemic issues?" she raised an eyebrow.
"For example, why a rehabilitation facility allows predatory behavior," I explained, adjusting the jumpsuit. "Like eating people. Shouldn't you be at lunch? Why are you in your cell?"
Magdaline lowered her eyes.
"Because I can't control my impulses," she let out. "Especially when they serve blood pudding, raw meat… or anything with blood in it. It drives me up the wall, makes me attack the others. I eat alone in my cell.”
I nodded, watching her carefully. "So they isolate you instead of actually helping you manage your condition with some beast cores?"
“Beast cores are… expensive as shit and dad doesn’t make that much.” She sighed, surprise flickering in her red eyes. "You... actually want to understand?"
"Absolutely," I said. "Understanding is the first step to solving a problem. Tell me about these impulses. When did they start?"
Magdaline’s hand brushed through her white mop of a mane. "Since I was seven. I'd smell something - a small animal, sometimes another kid - and suddenly I'd just... want to consume it. Not out of hunger. Out of some weird compulsion. Smelling blood makes it worse... so much worse. I hate it. So very much. Dad says it will pass when I get older."
"Why'd you eat three Omnids at Skyisle?"
"They bullied me," Magdaline growled. "Constantly. Called me defective. Said I'd never be a proper Omnid. That I was a broken loser."
I nodded.
"They cornered me last semester," she continued, her red eyes growing distant, "kept calling me names. And then, something inside me just... snapped. I couldn't control it anymore. The more they mocked me, the more I wanted to prove them wrong. To show them I was strong, capable."
"By consuming them," I said neutrally.
She nodded, shame flickering across her features. "Dad says predatory behavior is natural. One of the teens had a sword that he was waving at my face, so I kicked it and the sword went across one of their arms. Then the blood... It made me go berserk, lose control. By the time I came to, I had killed them and was devouring their innards. A bunch of grade eight students who came to apply to the Academy and were being shown the gardens… were watching me and taking photos. So they sent me here."
She slipped onto her bunk.
"Killing a student on campus isn't that big a deal," I shrugged. "Omnids kill each other all the time. Pretty sure Ci kicked someone through a wall 'cus they were being annoying. I guess you gave the Academy bad social rep or something. How long did they put you in juvie for?"
"Six months," she sighed. "Those three pricks must have pulled some strings. Dad's been trying to cut it down to less, since he works here as a night shift guard on top of his Scrutimancer job to pay for my overpriced education at Skyfall. I think he made a deal with the Stratos Clan or some other family to dispose of... human trash.”
"Charming family business," I commented dryly.
"He said that Skyfall delving is supposed to help me grow my heart core, control my impulses," she said with a sniff-growl. "Learn to hunt 'properly'. Said he had the same problem when he was young."
"Now you're eating people who can't fight back," I said. "Sounds like excellent rehabilitation."
"He beat the impulse by murdering lots of beasts on Arx and levelling up," she breathed out. "But I can't do that. Nobody will take me on a team. Nobody even wants to take me on as a Sixie after I kept snapping at people in grade nine at the cafeteria. They all know that I go mental when I sniff blood. I don't understand why you'd want me on your team... in your Clan... Especially after I almost ate you like a big knob."
I leaned forward, my eyes locking with her red ones. "Because everyone deserves a chance. Especially a person who wants to change, to overcome their Fractal Engine heart's alignment.”
Magdaline blinked, clearly caught off guard.
"Your predatory instincts aren't a curse," I explained. "They're a skill. Untapped potential. Right now, they're uncontrolled, wild. But with the right snacks, right training, the right environment? You could be incredible. I could use a Scrut on my team with a good nose.”
"You... actually want to help me?" she asked.
"Absolutely," I nodded. "As I said before, my clan is full of misfits. What's another one?"
Magdaline stared at me, her red eyes wide with disbelief. "You're completely, truly serious? You want me in your clan?"
"Yep," I nodded.
"Why? Come on, I smell another reason there."
"It'll really piss off your dad," I said.
“Ha!” Magdaline burst out laughing once again. "So, you want to recruit me just to annoy my father?"
"He annoyed me by derailing my schedule. That and your skills," I said. "They interest me."
"Interest you... how?" She asked with a look of suspicion.
"You can teach me how to smell lies, how to determine intent behind words," I said. "I want your Scrutimancy."
"But you're..."
"I'm a wizard," I said. "If you donate some of your hair or placoid scales, I can put it into a shake, drink it and…
“Omnids can’t just gain powers from other Omnids by eating them!” Magdalene shook her head. “I bit plenty of Omnids, I would know.”
“Not an Omnid,” I pointed out. “A human wizard.”
“Like… on Arx?” She asked.
“No, not like anywhere else,” I said. “I don’t have a heart core, so eating Omnid strata doesn’t cause rejection. I can't even level up properly, don't have an XP stat."
“Hrm,” she chewed on the beast core thoughtfully. “Fine. Prove it!”
Before I could say anything else, she sliced her wrist with a sharp claw, blood pouring into her somewhat bent, black coffee up. The cut sealed itself in about twenty five seconds.
“Here,” she handed me the cup of blood-coffee. “Drink up.”
“Your own blood doesn’t make you go crazy?” I asked.
“Nah,” she said. “Plus, still chewing the core you gave me. It’s pretty damn potent, definitely waaaaaay above what dad can afford, so I reckon it's gonna last me a while. Go on, Mr. Wizard. Impress me. Show me that you can steal my innate Megalodon skill.”
I shrugged and brought the cup to my lips.