AN: So, we continue on with the joys and pains of life after the apocalypse. :)

Chapter 46.2: Love and Darkness

Dreams were strange, ephemeral, things. Some of the time they could be remembered with crystalline clarity. At other times they faded from conscious thought at the very moment of waking. Scott awoke from his most recent dream, and retained only the vaguest notion of what had occurred.

He was in his room back on Earth when he awoke. The gifts that he intended to give to the girls were still with his other body, but he could get them to Earth easily enough by taking a nap and calling Sonja to his side. She could smuggle them back to Earth without the need to use the nodes, and thus dream Scott would not need to move from his spot until it was Shara's turn to train.

No, it was not the gift giving that was a cause for his concern. His worries had to do with the constant reminder that he needed to remember something. He knew that he dreamed now, a strange thing that no one else accomplished. At least, no one else who he knew about could dream. Even Shara did not dream. Supposedly, the magic of transference reset the mind. The little defragmentation cycles that the brain used to keep memories coherent were achieved through that method instead of typical dreams.

The process itself had been fascinating, even if he had not understood most of what Shara had been telling him at the time. Scott yawned loudly then stretched. As he did so, there came a knock at his door.

He pulled on a pair of shorts to cover his nakedness then went to see who wanted his attention. Scott opened his door to see Shara standing there. He blinked at her once, slowly.

"Scott, I—" she began to tell him something, but she was silenced by a sudden and inexplicable embrace.

She gasped a little at his sudden decision to hug her, but relaxed into it immediately. Her nostrils flared a little and she slipped her arms around him.

Neither spoke for a time. There was no sensuality to the moment, no adult impulses. It was a moment of sweetness, a tender little scene that had happened with complete spontaneity.

"So warm..." whispered Shara before she snuggled in close.

Absentmindedly, Scott slipped one hand up to stroke her hair as best he could. She had it pulled up in her custom ponytail.

The tender moment went on for quite some time, but eventually even the sweetest of moments must come to an end. They pulled apart, but neither could look the other in the eyes. They both looked down and to the side, confusion and another unknown emotion were write casually across their faces.

"Good morning, Scott." whispered Shara.

He nodded slightly, but said nothing. Internally, he was a mass of confusion. In truth, he had no idea why he had embraced her so suddenly.

She smiled softly then tilted her head to the side. "Did you sleep well?"

He nodded once more. "You know... for the first time in a long time, I think I did."

Shara perked upward in a cheerful way then laughed. "I see!"

"You came for a reason?" he asked, more as a way to change the subject than anything else. He was not certain what to make of his weird reaction.

"Ah! Yes." she nodded at him then took a step back. "I was hoping that you were awake."

"Well, I am." Scott took a deep breath then offered her a tired smile. Recently awakened from a long sleep, or not, he was always tired of late.

"I can see that, you silly." Shara lightly punched him in the arm then bit her lower lip. She twisted her body a little from right to left and looked away slightly. "What I came to say was that we have found a few more people who can use synergy."

"Really?" Scott placed his hands to Shara's shoulders and gripped her gently. "That's great!"

"I thought so, too! They are skilled enough that they can do the scutwork of copying designs that you came up with, or stuff that they figured out on their own." said Shara. She leaned back on her heals while simultaneously leaning forward a little at the waist.

"How many do we have now?" Scott's excitement grew by the second. The synergists willing to work for food and shelter, the more he could focus on research and development. Hunting would be easier to accomplish as well. There was already a sense of guilt about the fact that he was taking a few weeks off to hunt and train.

Shara held up five fingers. "We have five now, and one more who will be able to synergize soon."

"Six people. That's great!" Scott released a sigh of relief then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I discovered how to make a few interesting items. So I'll need to write down the formulas."

"Wonderful." Shara turned to the side and walked with him as he stared to move away. She continued to advise him on new things while they moved. "We've also secured another ten percent of the total city environment that directly connects to our base. I authorized the things as you requested, when it came to nodes."

"That's great. Did we have any losses?" asked Scott.

"Two of the lower level members of the militia were critically injured, but they are being treated. They should be fully healed by tomorrow." said Shara.

Scott nearly stopped for a moment. How badly did someone have to be injured for the system not to completely regenerate them within a few hours? For that matter, there were healing potions and health regenerating bottles of apple juice they could drink. "How injured were they?"

"Ah, the wounds were not so bad. It was the status effects." said Shara.

"Status effects? What the hell did they stumble across out there?" Scott stopped walking and turned to look at her.

Shara smiled slightly then took a breath. "I don't know what is happening, but monsters have started to appear that have higher-tier abilities. The creature that injured those men was a Gorgon."

"Gorgon? What, you mean like the snake haired Medusa?" Scott's eyebrows pressed inward and his eyes narrowed. This was definitely unwelcome news. Few monsters in the area had been difficult for a squad of militia soldiers to handle without backup. Looters were a much more common and legitimate annoyance.

"Exactly that. This gorgon was low-level for her species. She could only paralyze when looking into someone's eyes, and only inflicted the fossilization status effect when her snake hair bit someone." said Shara.

"Damn... They took her out?" asked Scott.

"Actually, they captured her. She's being held in the temporary dungeon." Shara flashed him a cheeky smile.

Scott nodded then noticed her cheeky expression. "This was really the news you wanted to tell me, wasn't it?"

"Absolutely." Shara waggled her finger in the air even as her smile broadened. "You said try to hang onto anything useful."

"You're not trying to get me to add to your harem shenanigans are you?" asked Scott, obvious suspicion lacing his words.

Her laughter echoed through the hallway. "Would I do that?"

His expression caused her to laugh again, but also to explain herself. "No, silly. I think she's pretty neat, but mostly she could be a good asset to our growing kingdom."

"What makes you think she would even want to work for us?" he asked her while they began to walk again.

Shara shrugged. "Worth asking. Besides, did you forget your status Mr. Dark Lord?"

Scott stared at her curiously for a moment, but she would not clarify anything. A few minutes later they had made their way to the transport room. Not long after that, they were at the place specially designed to hold prisoners temporarily. It was a four room dungeon designed to eliminate the special abilities of creatures equal to or less than the level of the builder. So, basically creatures weaker than Scott.

Common people might be taken to the cells below Black Dragon Keep, and watched. Strong specialists were a different story.

The Gorgon turned out to be a surprisingly attractive girl with Mediterranean features and a golden brown complexion. She stared hatefully at Scott as he approached, the snakes that comprised her hair moved away from him and began to hiss in a decidedly unhappy manner.

"So, who are you then?" she asked him haughtily, like he was beneath her notice.

"The only path for you to get out of this place." said Scott simply.

She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her left foot in annoyance. Her snakes hissed a little more loudly then shifted outward in a display that seemed to be designed to make her look bigger. "Oh, I'll get out. When I do, I'll..."

Scott's eyes began to blaze brightly. "Please do go on. Tell me everything that you intend for my people when you get out."

"You think a pair of glowing red eyes will frighten me?" she snorted at him then made a big production out of stepping forward. "Do you have any idea what I'm capable of, little man?"

A sinister smile spread across Scott's lips. "I've heard a few things, but since you can't use any of those tricks while in my dungeon, it is sort of useless for you."

"Your dungeon? This pathetic little hole?" she laughed obnoxiously to herself. "Do you fancy yourself a dark lord?"

Scott gestured for Shara to step back. She did so quickly, a wide grin on her face. He never took his eyes from the gorgon. It was like he dared her to paralyze him with a glance. "Actually, yes. I do fancy myself a dark lord."

The smirk on the gorgon's face slowly faded as the laughable creature before her began to exude a dark cloud of energy. The smirk fell away entirely and was replaced by wide expression of absolute terror as that cloud of darkness reformed into what most people would consider to be an adult dragon, a fairly large adult dragon.

The gorgon took a step back then started to lick her lips in a bid to moisten them. The obvious terror in her eyes made it clear to Blackthorne that she was in a better place for having a discussion now.

"You've harmed my people." said Blackthorne in his booming, yet calm, voice.

"You speak ill of me, despite my kindness." he continued before lazily lashing his tail to the side.

He leaned his massive head forward and tilted one blazing red eye toward her. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

She managed to squeak out a slurred, "T-they attacked me... Your lordship."

Blackthorne looked at her carefully for a moment then nodded. "Tell me about your life. Answer any questions that I ask you with absolute truth. If you do, I will not devour you."

The gorgon ran her hands down her taut naked body in an attempt to calm her nerves. Whether she wanted to look alluring or not was hard to say, but she was quite decidedly nervous. "I... where do I begin?"

The dragon smiled. While those who knew him would know that smile for something warm and comforting, the gorgon only saw the possibilities of a terrifying and painful demise. "Start anywhere you like. Just remember that I will know it if you lie to me."

She produced an audible gulp then began to tell her life story. "M-my name is Thessaly. I was born on a small island in the Ordene Sea..."

Several hours passed as Thessaly detailed her ordinary life living with her sisters on a rocky island in the Ordene Sea. Occasionally, she would see a passing sailing ship and think about the people on it. No one came to her island, however. It was a well-known thing in the area that her home island was a nesting spot for a pride of gorgons.

Blackthorne listened attentively as the gorgon began to grow calmer as she spoke. From what he heard of her, she seemed relatively peaceful and curious. The closest thing to a lie that she told was in regards to her claim that she did not steal one of her sister's best fish after a good catch.

Eventually, it was revealed that Thessaly found herself transported to a strange new land. She went to sleep one night recently and awoke in a barren land. It was a rock quarry a short distance outside of town, one of the places Blackthorne's squads had gone to liberate or subjugate based upon the needs of the moment.

"I was just defending myself..." she whispered at the end. Even her snakes had become subdued.

Blackthorne gazed down at the naked monster girl for a moment. She had a surprisingly pristine soul for a monster. "I cannot promise that I will ever be able to send you home. However..."

She looked up at him, surprise growing slowly on her face as he continued to speak. Blackthorne said, "If you will make certain promises to me, and will forgive the rudeness of my people, I will gladly accept you as part of my faction."

"Your faction? Promises? What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I am harsh, but I am also fair. If I turn you loose in the world, you could end up being killed. If you choose to join my faction, accept me as your ruler, you will be given a home and may even make friends. At the very least you may be able to make a new life for yourself in this world." said Blackthorne.

"You..." She ran her tongue along her lower lip slowly. "You mean to say that I can stay with you if I swear fealty?"

"Yes. I will take care of you, if you do." said Blackthorne. "Otherwise, you will be on your own and must leave the immediate area."

She looked down at the ground, a sudden hint of shyness in her features. "My lord, what is your name?"

"You may call me Blackthorne, for now." he said gently.

Thessaly knelt down on one knee. "I swear to serve my lord Blackthorne for as long as he will have me."

Blackthorne expected a menu screen to pop up, but all he received was a subtle whisper in his ear. "Thessaly the level four gorgon has sworn an oath of unending loyalty. Do you accept?"

The dragon gazed down at the kneeling gorgon for a brief moment then said, "Welcome, Thessaly. I am glad to have you with us."

She lifted her head, a tremulous smile on her lips. "Thank you, for your kindness."

While Blackthorne considered the fact that classic monsters were ultimately just people who looked different, Shara rushed forward into the cell. Thessaly gasped in surprise when the red haired girl gave her a warm hug. Her snakes practically stood on end!

"Hey!" cried Thessaly, softly.

"Welcome to the family." said Shara with a giggle. "I really like your snakes."

"I... Thank you." said Thessaly, confused, and a little concerned for how Shara's hands seemed to have a mind of their own.

Blackthorne looked at them for a moment. Slowly, his smile rose upon his draconic maw once more. It was strangely heartwarming to see Shara make a new friend, even if that friend would have pressed sexual harassment charges if she had been born an American.

"What are you touching? That's embarrassing! What if our lord is displeased?" cried Thessaly. Shara's giggle was the ninja girl's only response.

The dragon coughed once and turned away. The last thing he needed was to have that stupid voice start prattling on in his head again. The whisper from earlier was one thing, but he could do without some snotty psychological trauma whispering about how he was such a disgusting loser just because he saw a busty red headed girl playing with the breasts of a slightly less buxom monster girl.