Miria stepped up to the dais fearlessly, eyeing Maddy with a stare that could melt ice. Maddy watched her approach with a frisky smile across her thin lips, oozing a confidence that should not have been there. The servants, however, saw the writing on the wall and abruptly left with one of them dropping their bowl of fruit along the way. The metal bowl made a loud crash as it landed and rolled down the glass steps.

Miria stopped before the throne upon which Maddy sat.. ..."Where is the master?"

"Did anyone ever tell you how predictable you are?" Maddy said. "It is entirely obvious this would to happen. Did you not think this was a trap? How foolish."

"Where is he?" Miria asked again.

Maddy adjusted her position atop her throne to make herself more comfortable. She took her sweet time to ponder her answer. Miria noticed Maddy looking at Teresa for a brief moment.

"I could take you to him, but it'll have to be alone. The master is a private individual after all."

"Fine. Just take me." Miria said.

A moment of silence filled the room. Hysteria walked up the dais and whispered something in her ear but Miria did not seem very receptive. Miria agreed to Maddy's terms and followed the woman to a back exit while everyone else waited behind. They passed by a narrow hallway which led deeper into the heart of the mansion. Maddy strode with an uncanny amount of confidence, her high heels tapping obnoxiously against the hard tile floor. They turned a corner and moved down another corridor. Miria was beginning to feel on edge about her decision to follow Maddy without backup. Maddy looked over at her and Miria felt sickened by the proud, arrogant smile that came her way.

"On edge, are we?," Maddy said. "Are you sure you don't want some refreshments before meeting with the master? It may help soothe these nerves."

"I'm not nervous."

"Really? You seem it. It's either nerves or excitement."

Miria replied only with a death stare. She was not amused by these delay tactics. Maddy made a disapproving sound in her throat. They stopped before a large purple door with a sign on it that read 'do not disturb'. Maddy removed the sign and tossed it to the side carelessly.

"Killing the master won't change anything. This obsession with taking down powers that be will be your undoing. Even came close a few times. The only reason why this is even happening is because of your friends, and when they go what will happen?"

"Stop talking," Miria said.

"Not in the greatest mood I see. Let me say, this is not the way to make a good first impression. What makes you think the Master will even be interested in meeting with someone like this?"

Miria changed the subject. "Who freed you back at the academy?"

"I can't say."

"Then how useful can you be to me then?" Miria said. "To say I don't trust you is an understatement."

"...You don't scare me, Miria. If I say anything, then I'm as good as dead anyway."

Maddy opened the door and they passed by another corridor. They turned a corner and moved down yet another set of corridors. There were guests scurrying up and down as they walked, some of them wearing masks and some not. Some noticing them some not. They seemed utterly oblivious to what was going on. One of them seemed drunk and tried to offer Miria a drink to which she politely refused and moved on.

"Where are you even taking me?" Miria asked.

"You wish to see the master, and I'm doing that. Be patient."

"It seems to me like you're biding time. Probably planning something shady."

"Oh, is what you think I'm doing?" Maddy asked.

"It seems like it."

"This is a large building. It takes time to get around..."

Annoyance surged through Miria. She had enough of Maddy's overly calm, confident attitude. She shoved Maddy against the wall and chocked the woman, though feeling somewhat awkward about it because she had no real plan on what to do next. Maddy's face turned white from a lack of oxygen, but even so, the instructress was not afraid and because of that Miria felt like the one who was not the one in control.

"You're wasting my time..." Miria said.

Maddy tried to talk but the grip on her throat was too tight. Miria loosened it to allow her to speak.

"Such brutality...there is no method in it. So ugly. So impulsive." Maddy said.

"I can do it harder if you like," Miria said.

Maddy pointed to the door down the hallway. "We're here..."

They entered through the door and came upon a room with long translucent drapes hanging from the ceiling. Gentle stringed music played in the background. At the far end, a figure sat atop an overly comfortable chair. They approached the figure, moving aside the drapes that were in the way. When there were no more drapes obscuring the view, the figure was revealed to be a man donned in a dark robe with the mask of a dragon covering his face. Miria glanced around and saw no obvious security around, which she found more than surprising and a tad bit suspicious.

"Master, I bring to you Miria of the rebellion," Maddy said, her voice leveled, face slightly bowed in respect.

Miria gave him no such respect. She could see eyeballs looking at her through the eyeholes of the mask. Whoever this mysterious person was, he gave off no aura, at least not any which she could sense. If he was a dragon she could not tell.

The man in the mask took his time to respond. The quiet was more irritating than eerie.

"I've been waiting for you, Miria." The man said in a rather unremarkable voice, "I do believe we have much to discuss..."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end this right now?" Miria said.

The man in the robe rose to his feet and slowly walked towards Miria, halting right before her. He was slightly taller than her but other than that, there was nothing ominous about him. His demureness was not intimidating. The brown eyes behind the mask did not strike her like those of a killer.

"Because I have something you want."

"Oh yeah, and what would that be?" Miria asked.

"I can help Stephanie."

Miria smiled contemptuously. "Do you really think I'm going to fall for that obvious lie? Evelina already tried that one already."

"Maybe it is a lie, and maybe it isn't. Can you take that chance?"

"Alright then. Suppose you're saying the truth. What do you know about her problem?" Miria said.

"I know a little about everything. And yes, it is exactly as you think. A kind of resurrection sickness, an impurity in the process, one which can be reversed as it is still in the early stages. But wait any longer, and there may be no chance to save her. I can help her. And I think you know I can."

"...And what would you want in return?" Miria said.


Clare did not know what to think about Miria's brash decision to leave without any backup. On the face of it, It was obviously not a good idea, and yet their captain went with it anyway whether foolish or not. Hysteria had pleaded to go with her but clearly, her pleas had been rejected, and thus, the woman had an aura of being upset and on edge awaiting Miria's return. Of course, it was hard to tell physically as she and everyone else was covered head to toe in pink regulator armor. But Clare's senses were so sharp she could even read basic emotions of others from her mind.

Teresa appeared calmer than anyone should have been under such a situation. Clare wondered exactly what the former number one was thinking. She had not been as talkative as of late. Ever since returning from the mind world, she had a new aura of confidence about her, one which made Clare feel small in comparison, as if she were that innocent little girl with green eyes again. Teresa towered over all and everyone knew it. Even now, standing in this place, she seemed to be perfectly in control of what was going on.

Teresa looked at her and Clare wondered what she was thinking. Teresa approached her and stood intimately close. She could see her eyes and face vaguely through th helmet.

"Here, take this," Teresa said, slipping her a small glass vial into her hand.

"What is it?" Clare said, half looking down.

"Don't look, just drink it."

Clare looked at her skeptically, but the trust was there and so she popped open the cork lid, raised her helmet so she could access her mouth and discretely drank the substance. It tasted bitter and not particularly pleasant on the tongue. There was no immediate effect.

"Alright...now what?" Clare said, confused.

"Now we wait..."

"For?"

"Oh, and don't forget," Teresa said, staring at her seriously. "I'll need you to act like everyone else around you."

"What?"

"You'll know what I mean when you see it."


"Forget it," Miria said unequivocally. The offer was far too absurd.

"She can be saved from certain death. You two can live happily together for many years longer. I know that is what you want. Love is worth fighting for, is it not?"

Miria pressed her lips together, unamused. "...What I want is to end you and your organization. You are a poison in this world, and I'm the cure."

The man behind the mask chuckled. And so did Maddy behind her. Miria spared them both vexed looks. "I've had enough of this..." She said, drawing a short blade from within her clothing. "No sweet talk is going to convince me otherwise. This is the end. And good riddance."

Miria stalked towards the man in the mask with blade in hand. She was surprised to see him fall back and stumble backward pathetically. She paused to observe him and saw for certain that the reaction was in fact, fear. As he cowered on the ground she crouched down to him, reached forward and removed his mask. A face of an ordinary man looked back at her, a man who was old and cowardly and clearly an actor.

"I knew it..." Miria said. "You're a fake..."

"Of course he is," Maddy said. "Did you really think I'd take you to the real one? Oh please."

Irritated, Miria left the man and charged for Maddy, ramming her against the nearest wall and putting her blade to the woman's throat, ready to plunge it through flesh but for some reason hesitating. Maddy saw the weakness in her and it showed by her fearlessness.

"Admit it, if you do it, you'd miss me," Maddy said.

"Shut up..." Miria said.

"You must be wondering why it is you can't kill me. There's an unexplained force stopping you. Do you know what it is?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Miria said.

Maddy smirked. "Unconditional Love."

The words hit her like a tonne of bricks and she did not know why. She flushed and she could not fathom how or why, how her own emotions were betraying her. But as she stared into Maddy's curiously attractive eyes, for some reason, she found humor in the situation. Maddy was physically attractive. That she could not deny, but she was the most absurd person Miria had ever met.

"I can't believe you had the guts to say that..."

"And yet, i'm still alive."

"Emphasis on the yet..."

"I know you, Miria. I know how you like to be treated. You enjoyed being dominated by me."

To Miria, holding Maddy threateningly felt like playing with her food. Maddy was trying a bit too hard to look as innocent as possible, playful even. It only added to the absurdity.

Miria smiled back coldly. "...I may like it rough, but you're a complete psychopath. A crude person who mistakes violence and cruelty for being dominant. "

Maddy raised a brow high in an exaggerated fashion, clearly not liking being lectured to.

Miria continued: "You tortured and drugged me...I can still feel its effects...it's nauseating..."

"The drug only reveals the truth inside. Eventually, it would have been enjoyable."

"I doubt it. These feelings I have, They have been implanted. Forced..."

Miria felt a sudden wave of lightheadedness, but she shook it off only as a traumatic memory trying to re-manifest itself and nothing actually real. The room did feel warmer too, or maybe it was just her. As she held the knife to Maddy's throat, she felt sweat building up on her hands.

"Just tell me who released you and I'll let you go," Miria said.

"I know that won't happen," Maddy said confidently. "I am far too dangerous to let go."

"Tell me who released you. Was it Teresa?" Miria asked.

Maddy's face shifted noticeably at the mention of that name.

Miria felt another wave of lightheadedness, this time stronger than the last, definitely real and not just in her head. It made her withdraw the blade and back away clumsily as she held her head to help contain to vertigo. A familiar sense of fatigue coursed through her which brought forth a sense of panic and horror as the realization set in.

"...What's happening? How did...?"

Maddy walked forward confidently, eyes glistening. "It's about time the effects kicked in..."

Miria couldn't understand what was happening. She did not ingest anything, and yet, something powerful and familiar swam through her veins and made her weak and slow.

"How?"

"It's in the air. Odorless and impossible to detect. Crafty, don't you think? Turns out it takes longer for the effects to hit when inhaled. I was beginning to think it wouldn't work. Lucky for me, it has."

The drug grew stronger, and Miria could hardly find her balance. Maddy removed all her armor and then grabbed her hand forcefully and led her out of the room. There was nothing Miria could do to stop it.


It was in the air, Clare realized. Everyone around her except for Teresa and herself seemed to be affected. Clare decided to follow Teresa's directions and play along and pretend as well, trusting in whatever plan her friend had in mind.

When Miria returned with Maddy, Clare was disturbed by the image of seeing Miria stumble as she walked. Just like everyone else, she had been affected by a powerful drug that had a similar effect as making someone one appear drunk, at least that's the way it appeared so to Clare. It was likely much, much stronger than alcohol.

Teresa whispered over to her. "Remember, don't help me no matter what. Understand?"

"Don't help you? What?" Clare said.

"Trust me, I've got this..."

"Alright then...I trust you..."

Teresa then stood tall and walked towards Maddy. She removed her helmet and revealed a faint, yet arrogant smile. Maddy seemed shocked but not as much as she should have to see the woman approach with impunity, clearly not affected by the drug.

"Impossible...How are you not affected?" Maddy said.

"Did you really think some drug would work on me?" Teresa said. "Guess I spoiled your evil plans..."

Clare felt as sober as ever but felt strange pretending otherwise. She figured Teresa kept her as insurance just in case things did not work out as planned. In her mind, at least Teresa involved her in one of her secrets, whatever it was. Maddy frantically looked to her sides as if she were desperately looking for something. She clicked her fingers. and out of nowhere, men in animal masks stormed the room, each one holding on to a short sword. Clare felt strange as she let one of them approached her, take off her helmet and put a blade to her throat. The other men in masks did the same for everyone else except for Teresa.

"Guess again," Maddy said. "Looks like my evil plans are not so thwarted after all...All that power, useless when you have an easily exploitable weakness..."

Now Clare was really confused. There was a man holding a sword to her throat and apparently Teresa wanted her to do nothing about it. None of this made any sense, but across Teresa's face, there was no panic. Only a very vague, fake worry that was an obvious act in itself. Maddy herself seemed to be acting strangely as well; overly dramatic and trying too hard to put on a convincing performance.

Teresa remained perfectly still and didn't say a word. She appeared to be stuck for a response and took a look around at all the blades against her friends' throats.

"I see...so then, what do you want?" Teresa said, voice leveled.

"I want you...Teresa..."

"Me?"

"Yes. Give yourself up, and everyone is free to go." Maddy said. "Refuse, and they all die."

Clare felt like knocking out the cutthroat that had her 'hostage'. He was only human as were the other thugs but their weapons were sharp and deadly and could hurt or actually kill her. Teresa looked at her as if everything was going to be alright, and then she let out a large sigh and approached Maddy with slow, deliberate steps. Everyone was watching, everyone was on edge and stressed by the situation. When Teresa was in front of Maddy, she got on her knees and bowed her head.

"...Do with me as you will." Teresa said.

Maddy clicked her fingers, and a moment later a servant arrived with a cup. Maddy gestured for the servant to hand it over to Teresa.

"That solution is ten times stronger than the one in the air," Maddy said slyly. "Not even you can resist the effects of something so concentrated. Go on, Drink it. I promise to free the others."

"Teresa, don't do it," Miria said.

But Teresa spared no moment to even think. She drank the contents, and almost Immediately, the effects were apparent. Teresa appeared woozy and lost to a case of vertigo. Clare honestly wasn't sure if Teresa was acting or if it was all real and whether she should do something about it.

Maddy seemed utterly satisfied with the situation. Being in control again. She bit the bottom of her lip as she watched Teresa before her. She then gazed over to her side and took notice of Evelina, who became alarmed at having the focus on her.

"You're coming with me too," Maddy said.

Evelina looked to Miria for help but there was none to give. Everyone around her was drugged and useless. The drug clearly only affected those that weren't fully human. Maddy directed one of the cutthroats to tie the former Goddess' hands with a rope.

Teresa and Evelina then left with Maddy, and Clare let her go, not knowing if it was the right thing to do at all.

What is going on?

Why did Teresa help me be immune to the drug?

And have me do nothing?

...Where did she even get the right antidote from?

These were the questions than plagued Clare's mind. Maddy's thugs left as well, leaving Miria and the rest of them alone in the room. Clare inspected all the faces around her. Everyone seemed just as confused as her if not more so. Miria especially appeared to be left in utter astonishment. They noticed each other and stumbled to each other. Miria could barely walk in a straight line and even though Clare was not impaired at all, she did her best to make her performance believable too. Her allegiance to Teresa was so strong she could not go against her even though the plan made absolutely no sense to her.

"Miria, are you alright?" Clare asked.

Miria glared at her as if she somehow knew something was up. Clare had never acted impaired before in her life and wasn't convinced she could fool someone like Miria with her acting.

"...This wasn't supposed to happen... I'm sorry Clare..." Miria said.

"It's alright, its not your fault..." Clare said. "No one could have seen this coming..."

"The antidote Rubel gave us...It didn't work..."

Clare felt awkward about it. The antidote did work, its just Teresa likely had tampered with it and given both her and Clare the right one. Teresa was clearly in collusion with either Maddy or Rubel for some reason. Or both. And Clare could not understand why.


Hours passed until the effects of the drug lessened enough for them to return to the academy. Clare had managed to fake her impairment and not be discovered the whole time, though she felt bad about it. She thought endlessly about Teresa and how her friend was doing. In the back of her mind, she wondered whether Teresa was still in control of the situation. It became harder to convince herself that was the case as time went on.

Miria remained quieter than her usual self as she and all the others processed what had just happened. A sense of defeat permeated through the group. Clare felt extra awkward about the situation when her friends sent her their sympathies about Teresa. She simply thanked and acknowledged their concerns.

Later that day, Clare was with Miria at the topmost balcony, looking out at the wall. The drug had weakened by then for the others, though not yet entirely. Miria, in particular, seemed the most affected by it.

"Do you know anything about what Teresa is planning?" Miria asked.

Clare shook her head. "No, I have no idea."

Miria didn't look so convinced, even though that was the real truth. She knew Teresa had a plan, supposedly, but even now she had no idea exactly what that plan was.

"I know Maddy. She will torture her." Miria said sadly, "We must find a way to rescue Teresa."

"Teresa gave herself up for a reason, maybe we should trust her judgment," Clare said.

"The drug didn't work on her. She was too strong. But she gave herself up for us, Clare. We screwed up. I screwed up."

"No, you didn't," Clare said.

"I shouldn't have trusted Rubel," Miria said, "That snake is going to pay for this..."

Clare didn't know what to say.

"Something isn't right about all this..." Miria said, "We need to go see Audrey and find out what's going on with her. See if she progressed on the legal side of things. If we can get the regulators to swarm the Capitol, we can find Teresa quickly that way."

Together they took the secret tunnel into the Capitol and left for Audrey's apartment. Even though Clare had wings, she did not use them and simply scaled the roofs alongside Miria, pretending she couldn't use them due to her fake impairment. They climbed the building and entered the apartment through the side window. The place was empty, and so they waited an hour or so until Audrey, Raki and the president of the Capitol returned. Clare immediately went for Raki and the two hugged. The moment of closeness brought her some sense of relief.

"Miria...you don't look so good," Audrey said. "Did something happen?"

Still somewhat sluggish from the effects of the drug, Miria answered in a defeated voice. "...We lost Teresa."

Aghast, Audrey was lost for words. She shook her head as if to shake it off. "What do you mean you lost Teresa? Did she die?"

"No. Just taken. Things didn't go exactly to plan," Clare added. "Teresa gave herself up to save all of us."

"...How could this happen?" Raki said, concerned. "We need to rescue Teresa."

Miria sighed. "I agree, but we don't know where she is. It is likely she has been taken away to somewhere within the Capitol. The only way we'll find her is if we flood the Capitol with regulators and have them scour through everything."

"Let's hope she's still in the Capitol." Audrey said.

Miria turned to the President, who listened closely to their conversation. The graveness on the faces around him rubbed off on him. "Mr. President, how much longer until the bill becomes law?"

"Ms. Miria, I am sorry to hear about your friend. The vote will be held tomorrow," The president said. "There is no earlier time. I'm sorry."

"Alright...well...let us hope Teresa can hold out until then," Miria said.


They returned back to the academy where the sense of defeat was even more pervasive than before. Even though Clare knew something everyone else didn't she still felt like she was out of the loop. She wondered why Teresa had given her the antidote and nobody else. It seemed to be a spur of the moment decision as if her friend had never planned to give her it until the last moment. Clare could not understand why. She only hoped that Teresa knew what she was doing. She had to believe that.

Later that afternoon, Karter came to visit the academy. Miria had briefed the general on what had happened, and Clare could sense the general's immediate concern and disappointment.

"Not to be a downer," Karter said, lowering her head. "But I bring more bad news."

"What is it?" Miria said.

"My scouts have detected something coming towards the Captiol. An awakened being in the shape of a horse, apparently."

"A horse?" Clare said.

Karter nodded. "Yes. Well, horse-like. It's moving quickly and will arrive shortly. I've already assembled an army outside the walls to ward it off in case it tries anything."

Miria looked at Clare. Both of them were thinking the same thing. They both followed Karter outside the Capitol where the regulator army that was mentioned was already waiting. After a short while, something large came within view, galloping towards them. It was Isley. And as he came closer, they could see Galatea riding atop his back.

"Friend or foe?" Karter asked Miria.

"Friend." Miria said.

Miria and Clare moved past the line of soldiers to approach Isley who had lowered his giant body so to allow Galatea an easy disembark. Isley then transformed back into his humanoid form, naked but given clothing by Galatea who had them stashed away by a small satchel. Both of them approached Clare and Miria. Galatea had a welcoming if not slightly worried smile to her.

"Miria, it's been a while," Galatea said.

"Yes, it has..." Miria said, then looking over at Isley who bowed at her respectfully.

"He won't be a problem," Galatea said. "In fact, he is kind of my husband."

"Kind of?" Isley said.

"I heard you became Queen of the awakened," Miria said.

"You heard correctly," Galatea said. "It has been quite a set of circumstances..."

"Why have you come?" Clare asked.

Galatea brushed at her hair briefly. She seemed to notice the tense look upon their faces, or maybe it was just her uncanny ability to sense their emotions that filled her in on everything.

Isley stepped forward, peering at the army of regulators behind them. "As you likely already know, the dragonkin are coming for the Capitol," Isley said. "And as King and Queen of the awakened, we've come to lend our aid."

"But there is more than that..." Galatea said. "Let us go somewhere where we can discuss this further. There is much to catch up on."


Maddy's place of residence was impressive but not quite as large as Teresa had imagined. It was located in a rich neighborhood close to the center of the Capitol where all the houses were square-like and featured modern designs with large windows and extended balconies. A green walkway led to the front entrance which was opened by a scantily dressed male slave who had his head down low in utter submission. Teresa followed Maddy inside where she was greeted by a pleasantly sleek but minimalistic interior with enough furniture and decorations to make it look simplistic but not quite empty. A grand fireplace warmed the house and there was music being played by a giant piano upon a slightly raised center platform.

Maddy took both her and Evelina to a private room. Teresa removed her regulator combat armor and both her and Evelina were made to wear light clothing instead. Afterward, they were collared and leashed like animals. They were then brought back to the living room. Teresa followed orders obediently, still pretending to be impaired by the drug and dragging her steps intentionally.

Maddy sat down across one of her white leather couches, leading both Teresa and Evelina to sit down on the floor. Evelina shook with terror. She looked at Teresa in a moment of question, confused, as if still unsure who exactly to grovel to. She then looked back at Maddy fearfully.

"Maddy, this is ridiculous. " Evelina said. "Let me out of here and I'll forget everything. I promise."

Maddy simply stared at her as though she were pondering on just that. Teresa wondered what the woman would say or do in response. Maddy got off the couch and crouched down before Evelina. Then, all of a sudden she punched Evelina in the head so hard the Goddess instantly fell unconscious and fell over.

"That felt good. I've always wanted to do that." Maddy said.

"I don't blame you," Teresa said. "I think everyone has thought about it at least once,"

Maddy sat back down and folded a leg atop another, leaning back in her seat as though preparing for a long conversation.

"So, this plan of yours. I must say, it has little chance of working. That much is understood, right?" Maddy said.

"But there's still a chance,"

"There is. The master has sought after you for a long time. You are certainly a treasure. But he won't reveal himself unless he is absolutely convinced you have been tamed. Which is what I assume, you need me for."

"That is exactly what I need," Teresa said.

Maddy had a shiver of the spine. "...You really are quite terrifying...did anyone ever tell you that?"

"Not quite as often as they should..."


please leave a review and leave me your thoughts. Next chapter will be out shortly. I'm really just kind of trying to finish this story as it has been on this website forever, for good and bad.