Author's Notes: So, we are moving right along now.

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Chapter 25.2 Truth in Faction

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The hardest thing to do at times is to act with patience. Scott knew that difficulty intimately at this point. He had spent several hours roaming the compound in one form or another. He had learned many things in the process of that exploration, not the least of which was the fact that there did not seem to be a single person in the area who could sense his presence. Even the thing that had used the priest like a juice box seemed oblivious to Scott’s existence. Could none of these people sense life or mana? Surely the creature could?

Every now and then he had gotten the chance to peer through a crack in a wall or the rafters and gaze upon the people who had helped to ruin his current life. Sometimes he would even be able to look long enough for their basic information to begin to fade into sight. The person with the highest level, surprisingly, was Rodrigo. He was only level two. Scott had begun to suspect that everyone in the compound was simply too weak to do the things that he did. His spirit stat was obscenely high compared to a normal human being.

He had come to believe that the only threats in this place to Scott were the guns, the light elemental power Rodrigo used, and whatever that thing was. He had not been able to get a good look at its level yet, but he doubted it would be too high.

Scott was now at an impasse. These people had attacked him and those he cared about, but they were also under the sway of something else. He wanted to kill them, but at the same time he felt a strange reluctance to do so. The worst part was that he was uncertain how to proceed either way.

The dragon crawled through the attic of the main building and spent time sensing the life below him. The flame of life that the people help here was quite weak, barely more than a dog or a cat. Was that the truth or did he need to refine his own skill further? He was uncertain.

However, it was not the humans who he hunted now. He searched for sign of the creature who had attacked the priest. Scott shifted into his shadow form then slipped into the wall beside of him. The creature was not in the building.

It took some time before he was able to sense the creature’s location. It was like trying to catch hold of the wind at times. Still, he did find it.

Scott slipped a bit of his dark essence through the wall and into the darkness of a hedge just outside. He could see the distortion in the air just a little further from his position. For once the creature did not move.

The cloud of darkness slipped further along the shrubbery, a silent and deadly hunter in search of its prey. After a few minutes passed that seemed like hours Scott finally had a thought about the situation. The creature, could it be sleeping?

Soon much sought after information rose above the creature’s head. Scott was thoroughly surprised to see that it was only level three. Such a low level, and it had caused so much trouble? Did the thing train its skills heavily or had it recently been human? There was no way to know.

Scott had to make a decision now. If he killed it, would it come back? He still lacked many answers to important questions. Should he cut his losses and just kill everyone? He could loot the compound if nothing else, and they certainly owed him that much. There was no way he could live a normal life. The police had to have gone to his house after all that noise and carnage had occurred.

Why had they come, though? He knew that his piece of shit step father had something to do with it, but how did this thing factor in to the situation? He knew some things, but now enough, not yet.

Scott continued to spin his mental wheels for a moment, and that uncertainty proved to be quite illuminating. Had he moved forward with his plan to kill the nigh-invisible creature he would have missed something vital.

A circle made of red lightning appeared on the ground near the creature then rose up slightly in the air. Flames shot out of that circular light followed by a series of radiant beams of light. A harsh crackling sound filled the air and then slowly someone rose up from within.

First came the tips of vividly blue leathery wings. Next appeared spiraling golden horns followed immediately by electric blue hair and a human-like face that was purely flawless. The new arrival had eyes as golden as her horns and soft red lips to match her hair. Her skin glittered softly in the light and tiny little currents of electricity flowed along the curvature of her body. She was no tiny and cute girl, however. Her body was formed with the idea of strength and power in mind.

Scott felt an overwhelming pressure from the new arrival that had nothing to do with her powerful sensuality. Her presence alone made his shadow form vibrate.

The tall and curvaceous dragon woman strode forward and casually slapped the distortion in the air. A loud outcry reverberated through the air. There was a brief interplay of light and shadow before the distortion reoriented itself into a vaguely human shape. Scott was certain that he would have had difficulty seeing it were it not for his ability to sense life and mana.

“Melisandre? What the hell!” snapped the translucent humanoid.

“Do not speak to me in such a tone Fred.” replied the woman cooly.

“Whatever. And don’t call me Fred! I’m Dark Lord Chaos now, dammit.” snapped the vaguely humanoid creature.

Melisandre eyed the distortion in the air then snorted. “You should be careful of taking such a name. Those who have actually earned such a title may take offense.”

“Whatever... Why are you here?” asked Chaos.

“Such an insolent creature...” said Melisandre before lifted her hand. She did not even bother to vocalize a spell, yet lightning danced along her arm then formed into a brilliant ball above her palm.

“Sorry...” said Chaos quickly.

The lightning ball continued to spark while Melisandre gazed upon the distortion in the air. “Yes, you certainly are. However, my master still finds you useful.”

“Obviously!” retorted Chaos in a bratty manner.

The sphere of lightning grew several sizes and gave off far more luminescence. “I disagree.”

The distortion floated away carefully, even Chaos had realized how idiotic he was at the moment. “What, what is it that you want Melisandre?”

“Master King desires a report on recent events. You have not made one in several days.” stated the blue dragon.

“Fine, I should report in. It’s boring here anyway.” said Chaos.

Melisandre allowed her lightning to dissipate. “I’m certain that there must be something interesting here.”

“You’d be wrong. There’s nothing here but a bunch of bitch-ass humans who do nothing but beg for their god to do things.” The distortion made a gagging sound then walked toward the crackled red circle that floated in the air behind Melisandre.

“I see, so you can’t see anything interesting about this place at all then?” asked the blue haired dragon.

“Stop trying to get a rise out of me. You may be a lot stronger than me, but that won’t be for long.” said Chaos.

“That is possible, unless you’re slain in your sleep.” said Melisandre.

“Slain? Speak like you’re from this century, would you. Besides that there’s nothing here that could kill me even if it wanted to.” said Chaos before stepping into the red circle and disappearing into its depths.

Melisandre looked to the red circle for a moment then slowly turned her head toward Scott’s position. A slight, but predatory, smile crossed her lips. “I did not know your kind still walked the land... Too bad you’re so young.”

Scott took in the sight of her piercing golden gaze and decided to make his presence more coherent. It was obvious that she had known that he was there all along. He returned to his black dragon form then hopped over the hedge. “Walking is good exercise.” said Scott. There was no reason to be timid; if she chose to attack he was going to die. There was no doubt about that. He could not see her level, but he could tell that she was at least a young adult dragon of her race.

Melisandre looked at him for a moment then cracked a more genuine smile. “I see that the Abaivonin wit is not just a legend. What is it that you seek in this area, lord?”

Lord? She could tell what he was supposed to be, and not just his draconic nature? “Answers, mostly.”

She inclined her head. “Understandable. I would grant them, but sadly it would be counter to my master’s desires.”

“Your master? How could you possibly have one?” asked Scott.

Melisandre’s expression shifted to one of sadness. “I was sealed by a great sage long ago when I was about your age. Anyone who commands the seal, commands me.”

“You can’t break free?” asked Scott curiously.

“No, my life is bound to the seal. If it breaks, I die. If I resist an order, a compulsion is placed on me and I perform the action anyway.” she replied.

Scott growled softly, much to his own surprise. He had been doing weird little things like that lately. When he felt or saw an injustice it caused all manner of strange sensations within him.

Melisandre blinked lightly then laughed beautifully. “We are enemies, yet you feel for my plight?”

“If you’re the servant of the one who commands that garbage you were speaking with earlier, then I suppose you are my enemy. That doesn’t mean I can‘t think that you deserve to be free.”

“How do you know that I am not a wicked and deceitful monster?” asked Melisandre curiously.

Scott looked at her for a moment. His innate ability to sense truth from lie and to read the spiritual nature of those before him spoke volumes about Melisandre. There was a tinge of darkness here and there, but she had a spirit that was as close to pure and radiant as one could hope for given her circumstances.

He shook his head. “There’s nothing wicked about you, save for the things you’ve been compelled to do by others. You have a strangely innocent spirit.”

Melisandre blinked twice then looked away. “So... that is what you see when you look at me?”

“You remind me of someone dear to me.” said Scott.

Melisandre turned to look at him once more and she tilted her head to the side. “Do I really? No one has ever said such a thing to me before.”

There was a brief silence before Melisandre spoke again. “This person dear to you? Who might they be?”

“I’ll keep her name to myself, but she is someone who was captured by slavers and sold off. Eventually, she came into my service. Soon I will set her free so she can make her own choices again.” said Scott.

“She is lucky then... to have such a thoughtful master.” said Melisandre.

Scott looked at the dragon before him, someone who had spent most of her life as the slave of one person or another. “Are you sure that there is nothing that you might tell me that can help me? I know that you know what happened to me and mine.”

Melisandre shook her head slowly then began to walk toward the red circle. “Only that you must be careful. My master is not stronger than you personally. In fact he is quite weak in comparison. But he has many servants. Some of us can easily destroy you at your current level of power.”

Scott wanted to demand more answers, but he was no fool. She was so powerful that her mere presence made his body vibrate. It would be like a mewling infant attempting to fight a trained boxer.

“Thank you for the warning, Melisandre.” said Scott boldly. It was not like he had asked her name properly after all.

She shivered softly but continued to walk toward the circle. “Please be more careful, lord. Speaking my name when you are still so young and I am bound to another... it can do nothing but hurt me.”

“I see.” said Scott before he blinked slowly then slipped back toward the hedge.

Melisandre stepped up onto the glowing circle then briefly spared a glance back at him before she said. “I enjoyed this time, but you should know that I will have to report this to my master. Only the fact that he did not order me to kill you or detain you personally saved you. He will not make that mistake again.”

Scott could feel a palpable sadness radiate from the dragon before the energy of her spirit shifted to one of resolve. Her eyes narrowed and she inclined her head once.

She disappeared into the red circle of light and Scott immediately began to shift into his dark form. “Message received.” said Scott before he slipping into the hedges and then into the wall of the compound.

His decision had been made for him. Staying at the compound could only lead to his death currently. There was no way to know how much time he had before Melisandre or another of her master’s servants came for him. She had spotted him the moment she arrived in the area, which was understandable. She was a dragon and who knew what other creatures the so-called Master King had to work with.

One thing did confuse him, however, and that confusion led to the uncovering of many other questions. Why had she been so friendly and deferential to him? Her last statement regarding her name had been strange as well. What was his race to other dragons? Was her deference due to his dark lord title? How the hell had that King guy acquired so many high-end servants? There were more questions in need of answers now than before!