Thank you for being so patient! My teachers and classes are really bearing down on me, so it's getting harder to have inspiration to write.
Also, there are two terms you will come across when you read this.
Entomophobia: fear of insects. It can be one or more species, or all bugs in general.
Arachnophobia: fear of arachnids. A more specialized fear of insects pertaining to arachnids, like spiders and scorpions.
Chapter 29
Ransom
Glacia knew trouble when she saw it.
Behind Sasori, Niebel dangled helplessly above the ground, held like that by the scorpion Serket. Behind herself, Mizuno stood a little ways off from Rogue, who remained bound by spider thread. Off to the west, Jigumo leaned against the side of a tree while keeping an eye on Dobengal. Avian stood alone in the eastern direction.
In short, Sasori had her surrounded with the Imperial Guard, even though Niebel was on Glacia's side.
"Avian—" Glacia darted her head back and forth between Avian and the water mage. She refused to look at the poisonous twins; after all, they were the ones who tortured her into cooperating. "Mizuno—you guys, what's going on?"
"Deepest apologies, my beautiful rival," Mizuno expressed with a tone that—strangely—matched his words. This almost made Glacia smile, but the situation was too serious for casualty. "But when Sasori puts his mind on something, it must be done."
"Such is the law of the Imperial Guard," Avian agreed in a grave voice.
"Sasori, what are you doing?" Niebel yelled as he flailed his arms, as if he could release himself with that method.
"Now, now, Niebel, is that how you talk to your superiors?" Sasori reprimanded.
"You will never be my senior," Niebel snapped, fury evident in his eyes. "You tricked me—you told me you wouldn't hurt Sissy!"
"Niebel, I told you: I forgot I wasn't a member of the Imperial Guard anymore," the scorpion master said dismissively.
"Ooh, ouch," Jigumo sucked in with a humorous tone.
"Let this be a reminder: next time you make a deal with me, listen to the finer details."
Glacia couldn't hold it in any longer; reviving her against her will was one thing, but to trick Niebel was another. "Is this how far you've fallen, Sasori? Deceiving others with false deals while you roam free?"
"Ah, I almost forgot," Sasori said, snapping his fingers. He pulled out a tiny bottle filled with miniscule orbs and threw it against the ground. The orbs broke, and legions of scorpions burst from the shells.
Glacia immediately rushed to her feet as scorpions scattered themselves all over the field, clicking their pincers threateningly. She wanted to run and hide, but she had nowhere to escape: the arachnids had her surrounded as far as her eye could see.
Sasori stooped down and emerged with a scorpion on his finger. "Jigumo told me you developed entomophobia—or is it arachnophobia, since we both tormented you?"
"St-stay back!" Glacia pointed a knife at Sasori, who began to approach her. But she almost screamed when she found something even more terrifying.
There was a scorpion on her arm.
Glacia jolted back in terror, which made the scorpion crawl down her clothes back to its companions. "No sudden movements, not unless you want to be stung," Sasori warned, pointing his finger at her while he balanced a scorpion on that same digit. "Only one of these guys has the poison to kill you ever—" The scorpion on his finger snapped one of its pincers at Glacia, which made her take a step back. "—so—" Another click, another step. "—slowly. A one in a million chance of death: I'd say the odds are pretty much in your favor. But with your new-found phobia...you don't want to take your chances, do you?" he asked.
"You...the rest of you...what's going on?" Rogue finally demanded, struggling to break free of the sticky restraints.
Sasori looked at him briefly. "I see that you're not possessed anymore, Rogue Cheney."
"And to answer your question, lover boy," Jigumo emphasized, wiggling his eyebrows. "You gave us the great pleasure of watching you injure Glacia yourself."
Rogue snorted in disgusted humor. "You...expect me to believe you? After every moment of deception, where you used her against me; where you acted like her death was a joke, you expect me to believe that this one is real? There's no way that little sham is her!"
This one, Glacia repeated to herself. That little sham, huh?
Sasori applauded slowly, his eyes displayed self-satisfied relish. "One year of pent-up despair and rage really took its toll on you, didn't it, Rogue Cheney? Combine that with frustration and our torment—and even you couldn't discern a genuine from a copy. With enough lies, one then closes their ears to truth."
"How can I believe you even now?" the Shadow Dragon Slayer asked. "It's just like your underlings said: An Imperial Guardian must be able to lie without fail. Give me a reason why I shouldn't believe this is one last elaborate plot you created?"
Sasori turned away from Glacia, his purple cape billowed with his every move towards the Sabertooth mage. "You missed Glacia so badly within the span of one year. So much, you were convinced that you were stuck in a nightmare and prayed for her return. But do you know what Glacia's greatest wish was?" He ceased his path so that he now stood before the restrained Rogue. Mizuno stepped aside for the ex-Imperial Guardian.
Sasori attained a grip on the Dragon Slayer's katana by his hip and pulled it out of its sheath; the scorpion master pointed the tip of the blade at Rogue's neck. The darker-haired man held his breath as the purple and blue-haired male drew his own weapon back; seconds later, Rogue collapsed on his knees, free of his bonds. "Imagine the pain of Glacia's 'final' resolve," Sasori informed, stabbing the katana into the ground between the two, "to never see the light of this world again. And the heartbreak you felt when she abandoned you as she left the land of the living. I'd say Glacia paid the price with her life."
His adversary merged into the shadows. Sasori whipped around wildly, searching for Rogue when he felt his left arm forced behind his head. He watched an arm with an angry red bruise around the wrist grasp the katana and hold the blade up against his neck. Sasori maneuvered his neck carefully so that he wouldn't cut himself with the blade edge. "Nice reflexes," was all that he said.
"As I said before, try me," Rogue dared, pressing the blade closer.
Sasori smiled slyly, but Niebel recognized that cold, calculating look in his eyes. He was up to something. The scorpion specialist looked up at the sky and scowled. Everyone followed his gaze and found several Lacrima Vision Cameras littering the sky.
"Jigumo, take care of our little intruders," Sasori relayed.
The spider master swore something along the lines of "bastard brother". "If you want something done," he muttered as he reached into his right pocket, putting Rogue on high alert. But Jigumo removed what appeared to be a clockwork watch with a spider on the back. "Do it yourself," he finished, pressing his thumb down on the button.
Thanks to their enhanced hearing, Niebel and Rogue heard a tiny pulse originate from the watch. Meanwhile, the cameras flew around wildly as the pulse hijacked their inner functions.
"A jammer?" his ex-comrade asked from his position.
"Hey, don't get me wrong, I knew those guys would mess up eventually," Jigumo said hotly, stuffing his hands and the watch into his pockets. "Sasori had zero confidence in them, that's the problem."
The scorpion master glowered. "If you weren't my brother, I would kill you."
The Lacrima Vision's screen lost the image before it refocused again. The audience watched Sasori land a kick on Rogue, where Avian stabbed him earlier. The Shadow Dragon coughed up blood as he held a hand to his abdomen, trying to staunch the bleeding.
"Rogue!" Frosch called tearfully.
Up above, the hackers looked at each other. "That wasn't us," Hacker One stated.
"I think they took the matter into their own hands," Hacker Two responded.
You goofs! The hackers flinched as Jigumo's voice rang through their minds. You think you can get off that easy? We still need you guys to keep the cameras from finding us.
"But Jigumo-san—"
I'm a higher rank than you guys, so quit your complaining!
"I can do more than try. I succeeded; Black Magic is illegal no matter where one looks. But the Book of Zeref is accessible to all. The magic itself is a crime, but not the book that teaches it. And its pages contain more than demons. It can take life from the ones you hold dear—" Sasori looked back and met Rogue's eyes with a strange calmness. "—and give it back to you as well."
"You're wrong, Glacia's better off dead than living here," the Shadow Dragon Slayer said with such conviction, Glacia lowered her head towards the ground.
Sasori smiled cruelly; he had everything where he wanted them now. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe that's why Glacia said that she wanted to remain dead than return."
"Oh boy," Jigumo whistled, looking away from the scene.
"Quit lying."
The latter shrugged casually. "Maybe I am—or maybe I'm putting Glacia's words in a nutshell. Wouldn't you agree, Glaci?" he added, using his nickname for her; bringing his attention back to her.
"I—"
"Can you really deny your own words? What you screamed at Niebel when he released you from that cocoon?" Sasori admonished in a disapproving tone. Glacia opened her mouth, astonished that the scorpion master knew what she had said. The former Imperial Guardian lifted his right fist and stuck his pinkie finger up; resting on his nail was a minuscule spider, the sight of which made Glacia recoil even more. "Do you really think that my only correspondents are my scorpions?"
"Sasori," Niebel growled, fisting his hands furiously as blood rushed into his head.
"Say something!" Sasori jeered, completely aware of the growing magic around his victim. "What's the matter? Don't you want him to know—that you preferred death than to stay here, in this god-forsaken world? To live in purgatory forever than the hell that you were forced to call life? To remain a ghost than some girl with a puppy-love crush on a famous Dragon Slayer?"
Rogue grit his teeth in frustration. He opened his mouth—
"...I'd be lying if I said I had nothing to come back to. But it would be a greater lie to say that I wanted to live my original lifespan."
"Huh?" All eyes landed on Glacia, whose voice they heard.
"Sissy?" Niebel stopped squirming against Serket's hold on his ankle, realizing that the action only hurt him. "What are you—"
"Saying?" she finished for her successor. "Sorry, I know I promised Sherry I'd keep living but—being here again made me lose my faith in humanity."
"Wait, Prin—"
"Don't call me princess, Avian. That's not who I am; it's only a title I had back then. It was only a replacement so you didn't need to call me the guild master's daughter. After all, everything in life is replaceable. Even now—" Glacia placed her hands over her chest, where she knew the heart would be. "Even though I'm living and breathing in my own body...Everything but the heart—is mine."
"What are you saying?" Rogue lowered the blade slightly from Sasori's neck.
"Don't you get it, Rogue?" Glacia lifted her head so she could look at him. "I'm tired of competing with everyone—and being competed over. You might want me to stay—but then you say that I shouldn't be here."
"I—" Rogue couldn't find the right words to defend himself. After all, he couldn't deny that he said she was better off dead.
"Face it. You may have wanted me to live—but I didn't." Glacia lowered her head again. "Not anymore," she murmured in a defeated voice.
And while he's busy... Sasori took advantage of Rogue's lowered guard and grabbed his right arm. The Sabertooth wizard reacted too late as the scorpion master managed to flip him over and fling him away. The katana was back at his side. "Glacia, I don't have to explain it," Sasori informed as he dusted himself off, "but I didn't think it would be so easy to manipulate you and Rogue at the same time."
"Wait—you planned this all out?" Rogue yelled as he returned to his feet.
Sasori threw his head back and laughed. "You thought you had me cornered? I was in command! I had to choose my words carefully—but in the end, the both of you played right into my hands! I can finally check that off my to-do list—to land a blow on Sabertooth."
"This whole time...everything that happened...was some silly vendetta?" Dobengal asked.
"Yu-pez, little nin," Jigumo confirmed. "See, every other guild had no problem with the new guild subdivision—"
"A subdivision?"
"Did you really think we'd leave our beautiful home for this?" Sasori spread his arms wide, gesturing to the wasteland. "Headquarters is located on the continent. But as we were saying, everyone else had no problem with us. But our presence seemed to have upset one guild's master, for some reason. Apparently, the old tomcat that is your master," he added to Rogue, "didn't want a subdivision to one-up his guild, not after all the training he put them through. Sure, he's sent us fair warnings—like beating one of our members to the point where we could no longer recognize him. So I decided to knock Sabertooth down a couple pegs." Sasori pointed his finger down for emphasis. "That required the presence of my finest generals, the Imperial Guard, at the games; along with the weakest link in Sabertooth: you."
"You wouldn't believe how much info Niebel gave us about you and Glaciana," Jigumo chuckled at Rogue. "Emotions are a foreign concept in Sabertooth, aren't they? That's all we needed you to do: show your emotions. In the end, Glacia delivered the coup de grâce to your heart."
"Just for that—you felt the need to humiliate Sabertooth?" Rogue asked.
Sasori raised Rogue's sword above his head. "Don't think of it as humilation. It's more...retribution." The sword sang out, sunlight glinting off the blade as it began to complete its arc—
"Sasori, STOP!"
The scorpion master halted the swing to look at the voice's owner behind Rogue, who looked back as well. Glacia, though she shook from her fear of insects, stood as tall as the majority of Imperial Snow.
Sasori shook his head. "I can't."
"Why not?" Glacia inquired.
"If you want me to spare him...you need to pay the price."
"Who was the leader of your team then, if not you?" Minerva kicked Kagura's body away from Erza in anger. But she never ceased her assault as she kicked and stomped.
"Stop!" Erza yelled.
"She's already down, what more do you want, bitch?" Arania screamed.
"If you weren't the leader, who was? The pussy cat?" With a wave of her arm, Minerva released Millianna from her prison. The cat-themed mage landed beside Kagura.
"Millianna!" Erza dragged herself over to her childhood friend, supporting her on her shoulder.
"She's already useless," Minerva sneered with relish. "More points for me."
"Er-chan..." Millianna mumbled weakly, opening her eyes slowly.
Sabertooth 69P
"One...point...again?" Minerva fumed, her hands enveloped in wave-like matter.
"But if Kagura wasn't the leader, along with Millianna and Risley, then their leader had to have switched out!" A spectator pointed out.
"Then that means Mermaid Heel disobeyed the rules!" Chapati exclaimed.
"...no, you're wrong," Millianna said, a ghost of a smile on her face. "The leader can never switch out...but there's no rule that says the leader couldn't tag in. She's here now."
An uproar of surprised shouts went up as the judges and Mato went over the rules they set for Civil War. Mato sweated profusely as he skimmed over the rules again until he admitted defeat. "She's right, pumpkin. The leader can't tag out...but they can enter at the last minute."
"Risley?" Arania and Beth turned to the slim gravity-based mage, who smiled proudly.
"You guys unanimously wanted Kagura as the leader," Risley said sheepishly. "The problem was that you left before we confirmed."
"Even...Kagura-chan agreed," Millianna panted weakly. "The leader of our team...after Kagura-chan, she's the strongest mage in Mermaid Heel."
"The...price?" Glacia said uncertainly.
"Life doesn't give free samples, you know that," Sasori lectured, like he expected her to know. "In order for a child to be born, the mother must endure excruciating pain or die in the process. To resurrect you, we had to spill innocent blood just to perfect the spell. When we became a subdivision of Fiore, we had to leave our beautiful home in the north."
The scorpion master placed his hands on the pommel of the katana, which he stabbed into the ground, and rested his chin on his hands. "You know," he said casually, "Dobengal had his eye on you for a while now. How long has it been—fourteen, fifteen years? Even now, he has residual feelings. I'm sure you knew that, yes?"
Annoyance fluttered through Rogue at Sasori's words. What peeved him off the most was the thought of another man having feelings for the same girl.
Glacia lowered her head, not daring to look at Sasori's smug expression. The scorpion master raised an eyebrow in surprise as he looked back and forth between her and Dobengal. "No? But with your former ability to read people, I was so sure that you knew."
Glacia's bangs covered over her eye, but they weren't long enough to hide her biting her bottom lip. "Unless..." Sasori realized while he was on the verge of laughter. "Unless it was even crueller than that? You knew he had feelings for you—but you chose to ignore them?"
Avian and Mizuno shook their heads disapprovingly while Jigumo sucked in a breath. "Harsh, isn't it?" he said to his prisoner. "Man, do I feel sorry for you."
"And that is the price of love: to put your heart on the front lines. Rogue here looks like the lucky one, but you?" Sasori raised his head so that he corrected his posture. "Why do you do it, Glacia? Do you actually enjoy playing with other people's heartstrings, listening to their delicate notes sing to you?"
"Stop it!" Niebel shouted for Sasori to stop taunting his surrogate sister; even though she didn't show it, he could smell that she was very close to crying tears of guilt.
"You know what they say: an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth. How about—" Sasori pulled the sword out of the ground and let it twirl like a baton in the air before he caught it in his hand. "Heartstrings for heartstrings?"
Nearly everyone's blood ran cold with Sasori's words. "Saso," Jigumo said slowly, putting his hands up in surrender, "whatever it is you want to do—"
"You forget your place!" Sasori yelled as he whipped his head towards his younger twin. "I am your older brother, your predecessor! How dare you challenge me?"
Jigumo backed off, and Sasori regained his calm composure. "Now," he articulated smoothly, "why don't I repay the favor? Let's finish off the heart-throb, the reject, and the little brother right in front of this lovesick pig. It's the least I can do for her after that entertaining duel. Starting with...you," he finished, sneering at Rogue.
"WAIT!"
For the second time, Sasori glanced at Glacia. "Yes?" he asked with slight exasperation.
"The price you want...I can give it to you," Glacia affirmed, her voice quivering.
"Sissy, don't!" Niebel pleaded.
Rogue looked back at the former Dragon Slayer while Sasori leaned back on his heels. "And what is that I want?"
Swallowing hard, Glacia lifted Niebel's scarf over her head and began to untie it. A faint azure light glowed underneath the layers of cloth that she used to bury it. When she removed the final cover provided by the scarf, Rogue opened his mouth in astonishment.
Resting on soft cloth in the palm of Glacia's left hand was a blue, egg-shaped crystal that shone with blinding radiance. Inside the crystal, one could see a small design of a dragon. Glacia quickly moved her hand away from the crystal, as if it scalded her hand.
The scorpion master smirked. "You can't touch it, can you? The magic you once you wielded now rejects you with its entire being. But you can hear its voice calling out to you, can't you?"
The former Dragon Slayer closed her eye as she held the Lacrima closer, using the scarf to avoid direct contact. She could feel its magic stored inside pulse like a heart. "It's cold. Anger...yes. It doesn't like being contained."
"You of all people realize the value of a Dragon Lacrima," Sasori stated. "One is worth almost an entire nation. You're bribing me for the lives of three people; why?"
Glacia opened her eye and watched the dragon design inside move around before she brought her eye towards Sasori. "Because this is the only thing you'll take."
"Don't do it, Glacia," Dobengal said.
"Not even one scratch on them, Sasori. Or else."
"...Is that all?" Sasori asked.
Avian moved towards the edge of the scorpion sea. "Glacia, are you sure you want to do this?" he inquired with an undertone that begged her to reconsider.
"You should ask him—" Glacia gestured to Sasori with the hand that held the Dragon Lacrima. "—not me."
"But—"
"Step aside, Avian." The Imperial Guardian of the East bowed his head and retreated. "I've dreamed of this moment," Sasori conversed. He reversed his grip on the blade so that the hilt faced forward. Rogue readied himself into an attack stance as the scorpion master—and passed him without a second look.
The Shadow Dragon Slayer watched on in confusion as the scorpions parted for Sasori and gathered behind him with every step towards Glacia. By the time his feet ceased their path, Sasori's scorpions surrounded him and Glacia together.
"Did you really mean your end of the deal?" Glacia asked in suspicion.
"Every word of it. But first—" Sasori planted the sword off to the side. "No weapons on my side," he admitted, spreading his arms widely for emphasis. "Why don't you disarm yourself, too? Otherwise, I feel like you'll go back on your end."
Glacia removed Dobengal's pouch from her waist and held it away from her, holding Sasori's gaze with her eye. Unable to detect any signs of betrayal, she let the pouch fall to the ground. The scorpions moved away from the object before gathering around it. Sasori held his hand out for the Lacrima, which Glacia offered to him with reluctance. "Finally," Sasori breathed, holding the egg-shaped crystal in his hands. "A Dragon Lacrima's price is not only measured by its rarity, but by its power. The greater the power stored within, the more brightly it shines. But even ten Dragon Lacrima—" The scorpion specialist put the small crystal in his pocket. "—would never satisfy me."
Sasori jerked his head towards the Imperial Guardians, excluding Niebel. "Jigumo, Avian, Mizuno: hold them down!" he commanded.
"What?" Everyone except Sasori and the older Imperial Guardians exclaimed.
"That wasn't part of the deal, Sasori!" Mizuno pointed out.
A dark purple aura surrounded the gladiator, radiating authority and power. "I am the master of the Imperial Guard!" he barked. "I, who hold dominion over thee, command you to hold them down now!"
The Imperial Guardians of the East, South, and West gave off a lighter purple aura. Mizuno and Avian's bodies moved against their will as they charged at Rogue. The Sabertooth mage easily dodged Avian's attempted kick for his abdomen. The problem was, with his attention on Avian, he couldn't see Mizuno tackle him from behind, pinning him to the ground.
"Bring them closer," Sasori ordered. "Serket!"
The golden scorpion scuttled forward; this caused Niebel to sway with Serket's movements. It took both Avian and Mizuno to drag Rogue by his arms towards the edge of the scorpion army.
Jigumo, on the other hand, put a hand on one of Dobengal's bad shoulders. "Better get it over with now then later," he muttered, placing his other hand against the back socket.
"What are you doing?" he asked, wincing as Jigumo applied pressure to his dislocated right shoulder and socket.
"Saving you from pain. Believe me, the longer you put this off, the worse it'll feel when you finally put it back."
"Have you even tried this before?"
Jigumo shook his head. "Look at it this way," he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, "if I get this wrong...you get to bill me for damages."
"How is that—!" But Jigumo put his strength into the snap, forcing Dobengal's arm to rejoin the shoulder socket. The spider master winced as he heard bones move back into place. The ninja felt blood trickle down his chin from using his bottom lip as something to bite down on. Jigumo smiled sadly. "You thought that was bad? You've got another shoulder that needs to be put back."
"...Just do it..."
"Gladly." Several snaps later, Jigumo put his old friend's left shoulder back together. The spider master threw the ninja over his shoulder like a potato sack. "And your seat has waited far too long."
Sasori tsked. "And who told you to go easy?"
The light purple aura surrounded Jigumo once more, who sighed tiredly and let Dobengal land on his stomach. He then took a fistful of tan hair and pulled him up to his knees, forcing him to look at Sasori and Glacia.
"Sasori, what is the meaning of this? You swore—!"
"And I told Niebel to listen to the finer details," Sasori sighed. "I promised I wouldn't put a scratch on them—but what about you? Did you expect me to apply the same for you?"
"But you wanted the Dragon Lacrima—"
"You told me you would pay me the price I wanted. That Dragon Lacrima was only half of the ransom," he insisted. "And besides, you said scratch. So I assumed you meant physical wounds. Dobengal killed you; Rogue practically said he didn't want you—"
"That was all you," Rogue snarled, struggling against his captors.
"—and you him," Sasori continued as if Rogue never said a word, "Niebel would only understand half of this. So this won't hurt anyone—" He grabbed the base of Glacia's ponytail and jerked her head up to meet his face. "—but you," he finished in a sinister tone.
A scorpion crawled onto Glacia's leg and plunged its stinger into her ankle deeply. Glacia opened her mouth, ready to yelp in pain when Sasori tilted her head back and planted his mouth firmly over hers. The former Dragon Slayer froze, shaking in horror as she felt a cold tongue invade her mouth, her eye widening while Sasori's eyes glittered with smug satisfaction.
Niebel gaped at the scene, unsure if he should feel fury or disgust. Avian looked away uncomfortably, removing his hold on Rogue to cover his mouth with one hand. "Oh dear."
Mizuno turned his head in the opposite direction of Avian. "Should we really be seeing this?" he questioned in a skeptical tone.
Neither of the Imperial Guardians remembered that they were supposed to be restraining Rogue. But the Shadow Dragon Slayer fell on his knees in utter shock, numb from the sight he was seeing.
Meanwhile, Dobengal couldn't believe that Sasori was so cruel as to do this, but the emotions he could see in Glacia's eye convinced him that he was.
Jigumo let go of Dobengal's hair and looked away in disgust. "That man has no shame, does he?" he grumbled.
Sasori pulled away slowly; unfortunately for Niebel and Rogue, they were able to see Sasori flick his tongue over Glacia's lips. Snapping out of it, Glacia put her strength into her hands to shove Sasori away. "Let me go!" She succeeded, but as she turned her back to Sasori, his grip on the base of her ponytail was enough to remove her hairband. The shove only returned Sasori to a proper standing posture. The scorpion master smiled wickedly as long white hair swirled wildly before falling against Glacia's back.
Niebel watched helplessly as Glacia wiped her mouth on her sleeve furiously, anything to remove the memory of what had happened. "What...what was...?"
"That," Sasori sneered, "was the other half of the ransom."
Glacia stopped trying to wipe her lips, her long hair covered her face. "That...that was..." She trembled violently, unable to finish her sentence.
Sasori placed a finger across his lips while his tongue licked over them, as if savoring the lingering taste. "Let me guess," he said slowly, a smirk forming on his face just as slow. "First. Kiss?"
Sasori bowed his head. "Don't tell me...Even after all the chances you had...when you were so close to her...Don't tell me that you didn't even have the guts to kiss her?" His shoulders shook; the gladiator doubled over before he threw his head back and laughed. "You guys...you two...are so unbelievably slow!"
Next chapter: Flight of Mercury!
