Mimi

Small gangs were attacking businesses at random, Cynthia has been kidnapped, there is a mob assaulting the church, the bug mother is missing, and there is a monster I very much want to eat attacking the West side of Eclipse. I covered my face for a second, sending Rose to watch the Guard and report what is happening. The Berries were tasked with keeping tabs on the kidnapper, sliding the task along to the outskirts while Beru prepared. Gray finished the Burrow worms, and giants were dispatched to carry them to the lizard tribes for being taken apart. Which left Gray with dealing with the smaller gangs until night came. Which judging by the speed of the kidnapper might not come to pass given how quickly he is moving.

Scix couldn't make a choice on his body, so he was given the bug mother's memories on how to control multiple bodies. Something he adored given it fit with an assassin being anyone or anything. It might be a new kind of evolution for elites down the line, but I'll have to watch him and make certain he doesn't get hurt. Argus was doing her best, but the homunculus bodies she had were sub par compared to what the hags had. Brick and Clarice weren't fighters prepared for this so they were out of the loop.

Silver was helpful, but he wasn't prepared for anything beyond monitoring the situation quite yet. Which at least allowed me to point Raul in the right direction. Information was pouring in, my eyes glowing as I struggled to figure out how to make it all work with what I had. It wasn't quite possible yet. There was just too much happening at once, and my elites weren't where I needed them yet. A warm glove gripped my forearm, as Richard smiled at me, "Are you okay?"

I looked at him, fully aware he could feel some of my distress. There were more untapped resources, but they were unlikely to do everything exactly like I needed. Robert sipped some of his tea, watching me. "You know, you don't have to do everything by yourself. You are the boss, you should delegate more."

I smiled a little, "How did you know something was going on?"

Robert smiled, "Because you never cover your face with your hand, boss. Where do people need to go, and what needs to be done?" He set the glass down, getting out of his chair.

"A lot is going on, so I'm going to borrow Douglas to communicate faster. I'm just glad we left him near the gnomes." Richard and Douglas nodded, as I let knowledge trickle to Richard through our bond. "Robert, borrow worms are coming, and the lizardmen need to be ready. They are already dead, but as soon as they are done I need you to lock down all our businesses. Small gangs are attacking randomly, and I have yet to figure out why."

"On it, I take it Gray will pop up if I need to do anything more specific?"

"Yes, he's a messenger of sorts for now." I turned to Richard, "I need you to tell Kobe that a youngest Banshee is attacking the West side of Eclipse. If it can be captured alive, then I'll pay for it. Don't risk yourself." Richard got up and saluted, the two leaving quickly. Carter entered the room, looking haggard from all the work he was doing lately. I couldn't use him, but a message was sent to Douglas to get the Trio to take care of the mob. "Carter, take a nap, and defend this warehouse as best you can." Carter smiled before marching off to bed, his rituals should at least wake him up, if not stop an attack all by itself.

I closed my eyes before contemplating if there was anything more that needed to be done. I felt my healing stingers, checking the amount they held. I got up, moving to the larder before eating to try and fill them up. I was upset that whoever was kidnapping Cynthia, they didn't much care for her mind. Once it became clear I was going to win, the enemy started to destroy parts of it in a fashion that clearly implied a promise. They would rather destroy who they stole, than lose them.

Slowly I went through the events Silver witnessed, listening to the name, and trying to make a connection. Going through the few memories I managed to have, before the realization hit me. It was a dragon, disguised as a huntsman. I licked my lips in anticipation for the battle, and the feast afterwords. It's mind was lacking compared to the Count, so it should be comparably weaker. I still needed to be careful, but it should be possible to kill it. Especially with Argus, or others aiding me.

Just in case, I made certain I was as ready as I could be. Bral traveling quickly with Cynthia, making it likely he would be inside my trap before the afternoon. Information was sent to Beru, and some of it was given to Argus, who was too busy to focus on such right now. The minutes ticked by before he finally entered the forest to the East. I would have helped with some of the other issues, but right now there was a dragon to hunt.

The bald man carried Cynthia past the tree line, multiple eyes on him from different angles. Argus was finishing up her last hurdle, and would get inside her newest body soon. Bral leapt past a few trees, before landing softly with fiery wings slowing his descent. I teleported behind a tree, watching as he tensed. Dragons should have skin thick enough to block any stings, making Beru focus on directing the old Hive to let me see everything he was doing. His voice was low, growling as he looked around. "Who goes there?"

I needed to buy time, even if it meant fighting him alone. I couldn't let him get away, he wasn't allowed to escape with someone under my protection. The silence stopped as I gave the order to march. Countless wings thrummed as one, the ground shaking just a little. The likelihood of him just giving Cynthia up was low, but hopefully he'd take me as enough of a threat to talk. "Just someone you are stealing from."

Bral laughed, showing his teeth as his eyes focused on the tree I was hiding behind. "Oh? You stole her from me first. I take it you're the one they call Mal? The Entomancer of Eclipse, I've heard a little bit about you before coming here."

"Perhaps, but I'd rather know what you're planning on doing with my friend. She's rather useful to me, and I'm not too opposed to talking this out."

He chuckled, as if I told a very funny joke. He tossed Cynthia to the side, her body landing hard against the ground. The damage likely enough to keep her unconscious for hours. Beru moved to her, to address the wounds as best he could. "I'm a dragon, I take what I want. Such is our nature." I finally realized his method of talking was a sort of mental mind trick. He was projecting his thoughts outwards to anything that could understand, and directing them. It was a natural thing, that would even make his lips move.

I focused more on him, the magic that surrounded his entire body, how many layers of it seemed to mingle and join together. It was a beautiful thing to behold, but made ugly by the nature of the individual. "Why did you toss her away? Do you want her or not?"

He sniffed the air, licking his lips. "I smell something more interesting than her right now. Tell you what, if you beg me to take you here and now, I'll leave this bed warmer here and take you back to my place. You won't have to worry about food, or drink. You'll be like a princess, every girl's fantasy."

"You're a very bold one. Judging by your tone and words, I suppose you'd want to lay with me whenever you feel like it?" I did my best to sound as if I was giving it some thought, but the way he so easily dismissed me, it bothered me. I was starting to appreciate Richard a little more at the very least.

"I'm a dragon, these creatures they can't accept our existence. You smell like an elf and a monster mixed together. Our offspring could be more powerful than anything before. I came here for my son, but found out he died. I can't go back empty handed. I'm certain even the old bastards would be curious about one such as yourself. A life filled with sex, food, and gold. What more could you want?"

Yes, just keep talking. Argus arrived a bit away, her body down to one more teleport today. "Is that what will happen to Cynthia? She told me so much about you."

Bral laughed again, "Not unless she proves herself useful by siring another hybrid. Otherwise she'll be kept in a cell with some bedding. We're not as bad as humans are to each other, or even other races. She'll have enough food and water to survive. We'll just give her less than enough to be comfortable if she refuses to warm our beds."

|"Can we kill him yet? He's getting on my nerves, and he made me run around so much today."| Argus wasn't impressed by the offer, and neither was I.

|"I doubt it will be easy, but given the current state of things I fear we won't be gaining any backup. Are you certain you don't want to listen to him go on for hours on end? I'm fairly confident he's used to convincing elves this way. At least he thinks Drake is dead, even if it was unintentional."|

I checked on the status of everything, finding that it was being handled decently enough, but I couldn't pull any more resources here for now. The problem was that most of the issues were slow, and would be resolved in hours at the pace people moved. |"Argus, do you think you can take this spot, while I try and move Cynthia away? I'm going to let him try and monologue about how great it will be to serve dragons as a princess."|

Argus rolled her eyes mentally, while I spoke up. "That doesn't sound very enjoyable for her, but what does happen if she has another child like the one she lost? Would the same fate befall myself if I joined? What benefits could be gained? I adore eating exotic meats, and I'll let you know my decision after you answer these questions."

Bral put his hands on his hips, smiling at where I stood. "Finally a creature that understands the simple things! Even our girls are prudes, wanting the strongest males, and so on!" He continued on, while I adjusted the color of the spores on my wings, entering my combat form and doing the same. I doubted it would work, but it was worth a try. I could teleport away if things became dangerous, and Argus had another body ready to use if she lost this one. It was an acceptable risk.

Bral continued talking while I teleported beside Cynthia, gently moving my wings over her using the shadows to silence any sound I made. I grabbed her arm, ready to pull her into the shadow of the tree, when Bral turned towards me. "What are you doing?" I didn't move, making certain neither Cynthia nor myself could be seen with eyes alone. Yet he was focusing on me, even while I took Cynthia into my arms. I stung her, using the brief moment of surprise to try and free her from his control.

Bral was surprised at first, but quickly started reclaiming the ground he lost. I made a small pocket of information that would loop and grow bigger the more time passed. It should periodically free her from his control every few days. He didn't notice, as I moved back silently. He grinned, his fist aiming at me. "It's fine, really. I prefer fighting, just say the word. Remember, I gave you a chance here."

He should be able to smell me, since I just moved there, and he reacted to quickly. There were no sounds as I moved, and my spores made Cynthia and myself invisible, which meant he was using another method to track my movements. I kept a firm grasp on Cynthia, jumping back into the shadow of the tree. Bral didn't hesitate, lunging forward his fist covered in fire. His magic happened almost instantly, an explosion of flame behind him launching him faster than expected. I was able to speed up my thoughts, while doing the same to Argus. She used her magic over flames to barely divert the blow as I sank into the shadows with Cynthia.

I quickly moved through the thin branches, hardly able to keep ahead of him. None of the trunks were thick enough for Gray's carriage, which meant we couldn't get Cynthia out of here yet. Though that didn't stop one of his bodies from teleporting right in front of Bral to take a swing. The body caught fire instantly, as Gray's claws didn't even leave a scratch. His blood covering Bral, as I managed to circle behind the mildly surprised dragon. I needed to get Cynthia to Argus, to at least run away with her.

Another body of Gray's teleported to the shade close by, Argus using her focus to guide Bral's fires. The blood covering Bral quickly surged towards his mouth, nose, and eyes. The same blood was vaporized by a nova of fire erupting from the man, knocking Gray's body back into the sunlight where it turned to ash instant. My shadows were wiped away, forcing me to shield Cynthia with my wings while I suppressed the fire that caught on them. Argus was far enough away for it to hardly hit her, but her magic kept her safe.

Bral whistled, "You're just full of tricks aren't you?" He kept smiling, so certain of his victory. He tilted his head in Argus' direction, "Who is that over there by the way? An apprentice, or something? I certainly didn't expect all this." He spread his arms out wide, the charred bugs falling to the ground, while Argus snuffed the flames. My invisibility was gone, my wings still steaming from the fire earlier. Bral looking over me with a wolfish grin. "With a body like that, you could probably take me while in my true form."

I grinded my teeth, he truly didn't care about Cynthia, nor did he see anyone else as anything beyond a distraction to amuse him. Beru moved the bugs around to keep my vision up. "Honestly, I'd rather not try anything of the sort. Might I at least give Cynthia to my apprentice? Then it would be yourself against myself." I did my best to smile at him.

|"You aren't going to let him actually fight you alone right?"| Argus stayed hidden behind her tree.

|"I can teleport away, and we are outclassed here. We need more than just the two of us, and Gray can only offer so much of a distraction while the sun is up. Not to mention someone surely noticed that nova, time is against us both."| Carpenters worked on the damaged trees, in an attempt to toppel them towards Bral, or form a barricade between us both at the very least.

|"Cynthia is part of the Hive, I understand, but I don't like it."| The conversation happened in the time it took Bral to raise his hand, wagging a finger.

"I thought I said you had to beg." He grinned, "You did attack me though, but it was only mildly annoying. How about it? You can grovel, can't you?"

I started to lower my head, but something kept me from actually doing it. If it had been a month ago, I probably would have, yet now I felt a sickness surging through me. The thought making me feel ill, before it turned to anger. This dragon was scum, and somehow I felt I'd rather die than beg him for anything. I looked back at the dragon, my eyes glowing as I bore into his own. A single hiss mixed with the word no echoed out. The plan was sent to Argus, as I coiled my muscles.

Bral shrugged, "Well isn't that disappointing?" His movements and words slowed as I waited for him to blink. In that moment, I teleported behind him releasing both of my right arms towards his neck, two teleports left. Bral was faster than my body, but he had proven he could be surprised and taken off guard. Argus grabbed Cynthia, having used her last teleport to appear right where I had held her. My claw and fist connected as Bral's flames started to spark up.

Chitin impacted scale, as my muscles tore as he was hit as hard as I could. His body going head over feet as another Nova exploded from him, the already weakened trees falling as the force of the blast rocked through me. I coughed up blood, barely able to jump back before any trees landed on me. Argus was already running as I landed behind her still steaming from the heat. My right arms twitching as I worked on fixing them with blood magic. I saw the wave of heat coming before the white flames erupted in a cone towards the make shift pile of trees.

The trees charred before the fire even hit it, they then turned to ash as the strength of the fire burned through it. It was death, but there was no time to hesitate. I teleported by his side, using my left arms to redirect his cone of flames upwards, only one left. Argus managed to deal with the severely lessened flames that licked her back, the flames turning into her own as she used them to shield herself against the heat. Cynthia wasn't so much as touched by the flames, thanks to her quick thinking.

Bral reached out towards my neck, as I jumped back. I felt him grab a wing, but they weren't going to help me with how singed they were. I let him tear keep it, as it tore off from the force of me jumping back. Fire blasted behind him, as he lunged at me, my explosive stinger pulsing as I saw the red lines on his neck and arm. Not even a drop of blood was drawn, but at least my armor wasn't breaking. I released the coils in one leg, jumping up using my single wing to adjust myself. He swiped at the air, before jumping to follow me, his every move in slow motion, but still faster than my body could move.

He didn't see my pulsing stinger, as it rushed down to meet his outstretched hand. I noticed a red scar on his forearm, but couldn't risk attacking the weak point here. My stinger collided with his palm as he tried to grip it to no doubt hold me at the mercy of his strength. It exploded, blasting him downwards, while it rocketed me towards the charred branches and trunk of a tree. I maneuvered my good foot to land on the trunk while I broke through the branches. A healing stinger helping me heal, while Bral glared at me, smiling to himself. His palm was a little red, but no meaningful damage was actually done.

Seeing his magic in action, Argus attempted to copy it. Small jets of flames erupted from her heels as she jumped forward. Bral turning his attention to her. I saw his magic gather at his palm again, and jumped at the shadow leading to him. Gray teleporting yet another body in front of him from the shade Bral was standing in. Gray's claws going for his eyes, while Bral vaporized the body with the flames. I landed in the shade as a nova erupted, my muscles coiling once more. I erupted in front of him, my arms slashing down on his shoulders. The momentum allowing me to flip, so my legs could release on his chest.

Bral was launched back, while I reached the branches above. Another healing sting used, leaving me with several more. Fire exploded from behind Bral, as he rose into the air. I clung to the branches, his eyes focused on me. "Enough!" His form flickered twice, before expanding rapidly. The clothes he wore turning into scales that clung to his form, as muscles bulged. My missing wing grown back from the two stings, as I took the chance to jump at the dragon with everything I had while he was vulnerable.

I underestimated how quickly he would change. A single second passing before his change was complete, a draconic claw crashing into me from above, smashing me into the ground. I felt my bones groan from the pressure, as his weight came baring down, my form becoming buried in the dirt while I used another explosive stinger to give me some room. Two of Gray's bodies appeared, to help me hold the claw from crushing us. In the moment he pulled back, I leapt out of the hole while both of Gray's bodies were squished. The second talon risking up to launch me through a couple trees.

A wicked grin spread on his face, as he reared his head back and bellowed a powerful roar. My old Hive dying by the thousands as their souls were blown out of their bodies. Beru having to switch to a couple backups, but staying nearby to direct the others towards Argus and Cynthia. I freed myself from the trunk of a tree, my wings shredded. A dragon's strength far outclassing my own, with all the weight to back up his power. His mouth glowed with fire, as he looked at Argus and Cynthia. My final explosive stinger pulsing as my muscles coiled once more.

I jumped down, my leg muscles tearing themselves apart, my descent accelerated by gravity. Bral clearly saw me going towards a shadow, and correctly figured I wouldn't be able to reach him fast enough. What he didn't expect was for me to use my last teleport carry my momentum upwards under his chin. Everything I had thrown at him to knock his head upwards mere centimeters. Argus hit the ground as the wall of flame and heat erupted over her and Cynthia. The kickback form my effort launching me into the ground, as only a couple small scales followed me down.

I entered his shadow, quickly using a healing stinger for the precious seconds I had to recover while in the darkness beneath Bral. I erupted upwards, as the ground below Bral was turned into a sea of white fire. My body smoldering, as a talon came from the side to swat me. I threw a stinger at it, hoping he'd fall for a bluff. He adjusted his coarse avoiding my stingers, but the talon sliced through me neck severing my head from it.

I saw the body fall to the side, as the flames extinguished themselves almost instantly. My head rolling through the air, as I tried to adjust it with the stingers I had left. The headless body hit the ground, as Bral stared at it for a second, before cursing to himself. He probably thought me dead, as he leapt forward after Argus and Cynthia. They weren't going to make it out in time.

My stingers finally caught on a few charred branches, as I spun before aiming to land my head close to my body. My vision losing some focus, but I knew I could at least regrow a new body with just my head now. Sadly, I couldn't regrow a new pair of daughters with it. I had to hurry, I had to save them somehow. The last thing I noticed, was a streak of blue and silver flying at the dragon at suicidal speed.