Opal Koboi slumped against her cell's wall. Ever since the past version of herself had been sent back and mind-wiped, she had been moved to a different cell because she was no longer deemed as dangerous. That meant cell mates. Cell mates who just loved to beat on the smallest girl.

Opal was cornered by two elves and a sprite, three other female prisoners. The elves held her still and the sprite was slugging her in the stomach. "Had enough yet?" demanded the sprite, a murderer by the name of Piney. Opal said nothing. She wouldn't surrender. She wouldn't show weakness….

Then again…..

"Please,'' Opal begged. "Please stop. I don't want to die. I'm too beautiful."

"Shut up," Said Piney, swinging her fist into Opal's stomach again. Opal cried out in pain, but it was futile. No one would help her. The police couldn't care less. It was miserable and painful. It was humiliating and terrifying.

But no one cared………yet…………

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Moving silently and stealthily through Howler's Peak prison, a lone figure scuttled through the darkness like a humanoid insect. Face hidden by a helmet and a pair of all-purpose goggles, the figure evaded the guards, cameras and sensors as if it was child's play.

His mission was simple: get Opal out of this hell hole. But it was easier said than done, and he did have a deadline to meet. Time was money, not that he was to big a fan of money.

The figure stopped. This was her cell. He could hear the sound of her getting slugged by the other prisoners. Cracking his knuckles, he raised his weapon.

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The door blew open.

Chards of molten metal flew through the air. The prisoners ran to the other side of the room, except Opal, who was on the ground, bleeding and sobbing. Footsteps approached her. Heavy feet on the stone floor. "Are you the one known as Opal Koboi?" a deep voice demanded.

Opal looked up to address the voice….and screamed.

He. Was. Massive. Easily seven feet tall. It looked reptilian in nature, with green scaly skin. It was clad mostly in armor, and standing on to hoofed feet, its yellow eyes staring down at her. Though reptilian, his mouth was insect-like, with four mandible like jaws, each filled with teeth. He stared down at her. And repeated: "Are you the one known as Opal Koboi?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. You are to come with me. We must leave quickly. Before the Lep manages to de-bug their security system."

"De-bug? You bugged one of Foaly's security systems?" Opal was feeling giddy with happiness. It appeared that her suffering was over. If he could bug one of that blasted centaur's systems just to break her out……

"Quickly!" the creature repeated.

Opal, though not normally a follower, nodded vigorously. "Sir, yes sir!"

Opal's cellmates, however, were not to eager to let a chance of escape and their favorite punching bag go so easily. Piney threw herself at the beast, only to get grabbed by the monster's enormous fist, and thrown into the wall. Something snapped, and it wasn't the wall.

An alarm rang out. The police were on to them.

"Get on my back!" the beast ordered. Opal obliged.

The beast bolted out of the cell, raising his strange, horse-shoe shaped weapon.

It glowed with a blue light. Three fairies, neutrino blasters raised, ran into the hall, opening fire on the creature and Opal. Shots pinged on the monster's armor…and bounced off.

The creature, rather than fight, ran in the opposite direction, towards the shuttle bays.

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Lep captain Brock Leaf was mad. Koboi had escaped. She had escaped! This was not going to look good on his report. He turned on his intercom: "Get me Short!"

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Opal hung on for dear life as the creature continued his unhealthy combo of running and ducking the Lep. "What're you, stupid?" she screamed. "Shoot back!"

"My orders,'' he grunted back, "are to rescue you and bring you back to base with as few casualties as possible!"

"Well if you don't shoot back, I'm going to be a casualty!"

"Silence, pixie!"

The monster burst into the shuttle bay, Opal trying to stay on his back as he ran towards the hanger door. "WHat're you doing?!" she screeched. "Neither of us can fly!"

The beast said nothing, he simply touched a button his wrist. Finally, he said, "We will wait for my Banshee."

Opal opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out was a scream. She fell off the monster's back, a black mark on her back. The beast turned to see a elf--a female elf--staring at him, gun raised. "If you hurt her," snarled the monster, "I will kill you so fast that you'll be dead before you know you were hit."

"My, my,'' said captain Short. "Aren't you the temperamental one. As long as we're talking, how about you tell me what you want that murderer for?"

"I am need of her intellect."

"For what?"

"That is non your concern!"

"It is now! You can't just kidnap people before their execution!"

"She is to be executed? Is she also a heretic?"

"What are you talking about?! Who the hell are you?"

"Me?" said the monster, giving a mandible grin. A small one. "Why, I'm the Arbiter."

And with that, the monster flipped out the hanger, holding Opal in his arms. Holly Short rushed to the edge to see a unwelcome creature was crawling into a small purple craft, Opal still asleep from the neutrino blast. the Arbiter buckled up, and flew off. Holly watched angrily. She had allowed Opal to escape. This Arbiter, whatever he was, had to be stopped. She pulled up her intercom: "Code red: Opal is out of jail. She is unconscious, but alive. A unidentified creature calling himself 'The Arbiter' has rescued her. He hacked Foaly's systems and broke her out. One prisoner was killed, a sprite by the name of Piney. Inform the commander at once."

She turned off her intercom, and stared at the Arbiter's trail. "Next time" she promised, "things will be different."