“You stubborn idiot!”

Joey fumed at Drenar for being reckless beyond reproach after they had all received medical care, and it was several hours later. Drenar’s arm was in a sling, and it was going to remain that way for at least a few days. “All you had to do was fall back! Instead, you tried to take on the most murderous son of a bitch on on the planet, for what?!"

"Someone has to stop him--"

"You could have gotten killed doing something that stupid! What were you thinking?!” She knew exactly what he was thinking, more worryingly, and that Davos got to him. He’d taunted him, waved the death of his father, and near-death of his mother, right in front of his face.

And Drenar had taken the bait–hook, line, and sinker. Nick and Levine had also taken light wounds, Jonaleth was lucky he wasn’t dead, and the few prisoners who had managed to scrape and cower with them, along with a few brave guards, were all in need of more urgent medical treatment. And the dragon in front of her, his feather mane all frazzled, let out a sigh.

“Not telling me anything I haven't already kicked myself for, Joey. But I was the only person in the room who had a shot of holding him off, and I did.” he ran his good hand through the feather mane, grimacing. “You can take it to the bank, I will never let that man get under my scales–er, skin, whatever–again.”

“Drenar, our whole plan was reckless. We should have brought the full team!” Joey pointed out, annoyed that Angela, Jackie, Kelly, and the rest of their heavy hitters, were looking mighty pissed. “You need to step up your game because if you don't, we are all toast.”

“Okay! Message received, Joey. It's not like we've been beaten on continuously for the past two days!” he stated with an air of annoyance. He turned to Jonaleth, who was also on a medical cot next to him, in Nick's underground bunker. “Thanks, by the way. I'm legit surprised you were willing to–”

“I was saving my own ass, Drenar,” Jonaleth snapped and pointed a clawed finger at him. “You being dead, would have drastically decreased my survival odds. I acted in my own best interests. Not yours.”

“Prison didn't make you any less of an asshole, it seems,” Jackie fumed beside Joey. She scoffed at that–there could only be one sassy redhead on this team, and it was going to be her. Jackie folded her arms and regarded Jonaleth like an unwanted guest. “So, you're our winning move? Did you know about the ambush–”

“No, Jackie,” Jonaleth sighed. “I knew that the Ravagers might have contacts inside, but they hid their hand well. I should have known better when a few Talons agents got a shiv in the shower.” Joey took a quick peek into his thoughts, and was greeted by an internal sigh as well. {Psychic fox chick, I got nothing to hide in my head on this one. I feel you probing.}

{Bullshit. You didn't feel anything, you just guessed.} Jonaleth returned that crap-eating smirk.

{You're glaring hard enough at me to burn a hole through my scales,} Jonaleth retorted while staying silent. That didn’t prevent the rest of the room from leering at him on occasion. It was a hostile crowd that did not share any love for him, at all.

{I'm glaring at you because you almost killed my boyfriend the day I met him. Any attempt to become a repeat offender, means that I will harvest your corpse for alchemical reagents, as compensation. You're quite valuable dead, you know,} she shot back with a savage grin. Jonaleth peered at her for a second, and then, looked at Drenar, who was still leering at his former nemesis.

Jonaleth let out a low chuckle that eventually built into an uproarious laugh, and he pointed at Drenar while still cuffed to his gurney. “Ahahaha, I knew it! You're a closet furry, Drenar, and ya always have been! Fitting, because, you know, you're kind of a freak of your own!”

“If I wasn't being treated for being poisoned by manticore venom, Jonaleth, I’d be making a necklace with your teeth,” Drenar shot back. “Also, use that word one more time, and I’ll let Julia loose on you.”

“I need your permission to beat him into paste again? I thought it was an on-demand kind of thing, seeing as you all almost got killed during this shitshow,” Julia snarled. Joey swore she could hear her creaking her knuckles in anticipation.

“Girl, if you don’t, I'm gonna shut him up now,” Kelly threatened while cracking her knuckles, looking blonde and furious. “My father is dead because of you Talon scum. My mom is a ghost of her former self.”

“Lavernius dug his own grave, from what I heard, Kelly,” Jonaleth countered. “And you know that’s true.”

“You motherfu–”

“Enough.” Joey peers at each of them with intensity she uses her authoritative voice, and everyone falls silent. “Stop this childish bickering, before I dose you all.”

“Well, the fox has teeth,” Jonaleth mused with a toothy smirk. “Guess we know who’s wearing the pants in the relationship–”

“Oh, I wasn’t done with you. You’re alive because you have value, Jonaleth. Meanwhile, the mage world is tearing itself apart. We are on the threshold of a civil war, and when it happens again, guess what? There isn’t going to be anywhere to hide. Not even your scaly ass will survive it,” Joey bristled. “Okay, priorities. We need to find King.”

“No, we have bigger problems than King.” All eyes were on Drenar, and even Kiera turned to face him. “Kiera, I’m going to ask one question. What the hell is Davos?”

“Who he is, is an abomination that keeps slipping through the cracks,” she growled. “By the time we got there, most of the remaining Ravagers were gone.”

“No, I didn’t ask who. I asked what is he.”

The silence was discomforting in the room, and Drenar pointed at her. “You told me my mom gave a account of the trauma that man endured. Davos should have been dead and buried because of what Luminari did to him. Yet he’s still alive. I put a plasma-charged bolt through his chest, and he ripped it out and grinned. I made him a fates-damned human pez dispenser, with his neck partially severed, and the wound stitched back together like some gruesome eldritch nightmare. What is he?!”

That discomforting silence still lingered in the room, and he turned to Joey. “Are there any monsters that–”

“No. None that should still exist.” Witnessing Drenar, even as powerful as he was, being fought to a standstill, and even losing against Davos, triggered her primal fear. She knew what Davos had done, before. He knew what she was, now. That thought left her trembling, and she sat down at a lab chair next to Drenar, gripping his good claw tightly.

“Lass, do you know something?” Levine asked, ever the calm presence in the room. “I’ve seen awful things before, what mages will do to their bodies oft-times, to make themselves more powerful. Runes stitched in human flesh. Dangerously overcharged on mana. Taking splices of other monster carapace, and trying to infuse it into their bodies. But this? I don’t know of anything that I’ve seen in twenty-five years, that can even come close to the unnatural, and impossible thing we just saw.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Me, too. I’ve seen monsters of all kinds, but none that can replicate a human being and can do…that.” The weariness in Nick’s voice set in stone that this foe was beyond a danger level even Valosterla couldn’t attain.

She took a slow breath. “Guys, how many of you remember the lessons on mage history, back during the Schism Wars? Back when the dragon empire was splitting at the seams and the whole world got caught up in the mix?”

“I remember all the astral gates were severed, on account of the Outsiders,” Levine responded calmly, his arcane data pad in hand, and he sketched in notes fluently with gentle taps. “I remember the Valkyries made immense sacrifices at the time, to ensure the threat was gone forever. But, reliable records of the time were scant. Why?”

Joey let out a measured breath, and folded her hands together. “The records of the Outsiders indicated alien physiologies, grotesque body structures, and seeming resilience to what would normally be fatal blows. Their entire body structure was all screwed up. Some of them died from their malformed deficiencies before they could even present a risk. A rapid mutation is one of the leading theories. Rapid adaptation to their surroundings. Unfortunately, specimens would waste away to aether energy once killed–not like when dragon corpses auto-incinerate under the right circumstances,” she added with an eye roll.

Drenar stared at her blankly. “Look, on the off chance I die in this mad quest, don’t wait around for my body to catch fire, just to make funeral costs cheaper. Just saying.”

“Drenar, I very much like my friends alive. And I would like to keep that persisting.” She let out a shaky breath, as she came to the bad part. “One of the greatest fears that the Valkyries and the precursor to SAF had was that, Outsiders could…bond to people. They can slip into the aether…and corrupt a person’s mana. The process is slow. And there has to be some…willingness, it was called…to enact the change. But, once a person starts down that road, it would grant them inhuman strength. Bizarre, resilient anatomy. And shadowy, amorphous features. Just like what we saw in Davos.”

I’ll make you into a pelt. That intrusive, horrible statement surged through her mind, and she huddled up against Drenar, now leaning to put a scaly arm protectively around her. “Davos is a human, possessed by an outsider. Somehow, they’re back. The records were that they all should have died when the last astral gate was severed, something about being cut off from their enervating source. Corrupted mana tendrils, maybe. But this one, is wrapped around Davos’ body, like a magical cancer, keeping him alive. I don’t know if there is any conventional weapon that can kill him, short of blowing him to pieces with massive, vehicle mounted munitions.”

“Joey, I don’t like to say that you’re wrong–and you almost never are–but there’s no way this should be possible–” Kyle started to say. But, she cut him off.

“You didn’t see it, Kyle! You didn’t see how he stared right through me, promised to end my existence personally, and something slithered underneath that human face!” she snapped, and could feel her hand trembling. She was brave, beyond what anyone could expect against foes of this scale. But this was a threat they had no counter against, not even close. “Kyle, for the first time in a long time, I’m afraid of who we’re up against. We have no weapon or magic that can keep that man down. He had strength equal to or greater than Drenar’s enhanced telekinetic strength. That is terrifying, how much that man shrugged off.”

“We just need bigger guns. And we’ll kill this bastard,” Kyle countered.

“No dude, I don’t think there’s a firearm or magical munition big enough to deal with that guy,” James grunted. “Fire bolts, nada. That armor protected against a lot of firepower. Your bolt, Drenar? Didn’t go through the plating. You got a lucky shot on a seam in the armor, maybe a small weaker segment. We need to peel that man’s defenses apart, and then, find a way to kill the outsider, uh, inside him, if I had to guess. Otherwise, that man will keep tanking hits from all of us. A battle against that man, as he is, right now? Is utter suicide. I can see exactly how Drenar’s mom had difficulty against him.”

“There is one weapon that can stop him.” Angela tapped Luminari, her eyes alight with energy. “That man has felt the bite of this blade. It remembers him. It will finish the job, if we can get an opening. And me, or Drenar, will be the ones to land the killing blow.”

“Sis, you are not going anywhere near that monster,” James countered, his fists clenched. “This is a man who fought against Drenar, who is one of the toughest people I know, and kept coming like he was a goddamn terminator.”

“I vote for air strike,” Kiera proposed.

“And if that doesn’t work? Kiera, this man regenerated from gruesome wounds even dragons wouldn’t survive,” James stated testily. Joey, however, had a few ideas.

“Drenar–your claws. I took a sample of the blood. We can analyze it, see if we can find a weakness of this metal-clad creep.” But, given the crisis brewing, she knew it was a priority that wasn't happening just yet.

“Could we just drop him in a lava lake?” Nick proposed. “Just saying, drop him into a volcano. Problem solved.”

“If you’re going to bother with that effort, might as well drop him in the Pacific Ocean,” James countered. "Someplace nice and deep, preferably."

“We could try total chemical disincorporation. Since Joey likes to dissolve things,” Kyle stated acidly.

“We could just drop a building on him,” Kyle theorized. “Also, not to be gruesome but, if you cut off his head…would the piece get pulled back?”

“That is immensely disturbing, and I don't think anyone wants the answer to that one. Gross, Kyle,” Julia expressed with a nauseated expression.

“Hey, guys, we’re forgetting a few other big-ticket items.” Drenar got the attention of the room again, and she saw the weariness in his eyes. He’d been going full tilt for almost two days, and it showed. “We have a new threat. Davos mentioned someone called the Gilded Empress. Does that name ring any bells to you?”

There was a murmur of voices in the room–Volkir and Amaranth were now in the room, talking in low tones with each other, but didn’t input anything. “Davos said that he takes orders from her. And whoever she is, she’s our Omega-level threat. Someone worse than Val or Davos. Someone who has been secretly directing him…and possibly Val.”

“How do you figure?” James inquired. “Davos is batshit insane, Drenar. He could have been lying.”

“He was being boastful. He wanted us to know there was no hope. Which only feeds into this aura of dread that he carries around him,” Drenar answered flatly. “I think we have a new threat to deal with.”

“Fates, Drenar, we’re full up on enemies. SAF is corrupted, the Valkyries are useless, the Conclave is probably waiting for marital law to put in their crackdown on the rest of the world, and the Talons are chaos machines. We couldn’t be in a worse position if we tried!”

James was tense. And Joey could tell he’d been pissed off for a while, and broke his patience threshold just now, hands shaking in fury. “You are in no position to lead us galivanting across the globe, looking for more villains to fight, like you’re the charge of the light brigade, trying to seek glory!”

“Way to oversimplify it–”

“No, shut up, and listen for once, you goddamn starstruck teen.” Everyone fell silent as James truly hit his break point. “You led us into an ambush. I saw it coming, and you likely saw it coming too, and you still did it anyway. I told you, Jonaleth was an easy bait, and you fell for it. We all almost died. Davos goaded you, and you fell for it, and almost died. You are doing a terrible job of leading us lately, and I for one, am not convinced you’re thinking straight!”

“And what are we supposed to do, James? Nothing? Sit here, wait for the Talons to roll on us? Hunt down and murder our families? Tear apart Asqualia again?” Drenar lands each blow in a counter to James’ unquenchable, white-hot fury. “We’re the Luminaires. We don’t get easy jobs. We all knew the risks, going in. You want out, I wouldn’t blame you.”

“No, I just want you to get your head out of your ass, and start thinking tactically. You have a whole team, Drenar! And Valkyries are allied with us. Use them. Or you will get every one of us killed if you don’t trust us. I’m getting some air, too many stubborn dragons in the room,” James growled before he spun and walked out.

Joey sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “That kid needs a dose of murkvine, if anyone ever did. But he’s also right. We make mistakes like that again, people could get killed, Drenar. You, me, James, Angela, Julia, anyone.” he peered at her, looking sullen.

“We learned things. We won’t make the same mistakes twice, now that we know that they are that capable…or that dangerous. Find me a way to kill Davos. There is no other solution for dealing with that man, other than putting him in the grave for good.”

“What about the other problem?” Levine interjected, and pointed at Jonaleth, who everyone had temporarily forgotten about. “We still need a game plan. How do the Outsiders fit into this whole thing, with all the other items going on?”

“Drenar pondered that for a second, before shaking his snout. “Not sure. But if I had to hazard a guess…someone weaponized an Outsider. And there may be more. Val could be–

He gasped, and Joey felt the realization in an instant. As did Angela, in a moment of realization.

“She broke her.” Angela spoke barely over a whisper. “Val is possessed by an Outsider, too. That explains her survival!”

Once more, the room crept back into dread. And there was no chemical concoction Joey could whip up that could fix that. Jonaleth summed it up with a groan.

“Death by hulking metal menace is sounding better and better, right about now.”