Thanks to dwood15, Technetium43, frustratedFreeboota and Assembler for betareading.

Lustre 3.4

"Aegis, this is Annatar!" I practically screamed into my radio. "Lung is attacking; repeat, Lung is attac—"

I had to cut myself off to deflect a blast of fire with one of Nenya's barriers. Behind me, Sophia took advantage of the cover to take a potshot at the slowly growing cape. The tranquilizer round became solid halfway hilted into his skin, which was already shifting into metal scales, but he just roared and snapped it off with an almost lazy bat of his hand.

I scrambled backwards, away from Lung, my eyes trained on his red ones. He hadn't even bothered with his mask, and his face, already beginning to elongate, was twisted into a rictus of fury. "You will pay for what you did to me," he growled, his voice still mostly understandable this early in his transformation. "You should not have struck at your betters, little girl."

I couldn't help it—I scowled at him. "My better?" I asked sharply. "You're just a child destroying other children's sandcastles because you can't build your—"

I dove behind a corner as more fire came my way and began to run again. It wasn't long before I had to turn to block another fireball.

"Go!" I shouted to Sophia. "I'll hold him off!"

She didn't hesitate, shifting into shadow form and zipping away behind me. I held Nenya at the ready on one hand and Aeglos in the other as Lung fully rounded the corner.

"You don't want to kill me," I said breathlessly. "Killing a Ward? That's kill-order material. You don't want that kind of heat."

He roared. If there were words in the sound, they were too distorted by both his shape and his rage to be understood. Fire burst forth from him—not breathed from his maw, like a true dragon, but blasting from his whole body in an explosion.

I raised Aeglos and stabbed into the fire with a cry. Flame met ice, and steam rushed forth, filling the hallway.

I turned and sprinted away, taking advantage of the impromptu smoke grenade to run. As I turned the next corner, however, I was faced with the grinning, blood-red mask of Oni Lee.

The pin of the grenade in his right hand dropped out of his left.

I dropped, curled inward—dropping Aeglos to tighten myself further—and surrounded myself with the strongest barrier I could manage.

It wouldn't be the last time I was at the epicenter of an explosion, but it was the first. The light, the heat, the sound, they pounded at my senses like war drums, setting me reeling internally. My collected state was shattered wide, as a gate before a battering ram.

I stood up, blinking to try to clear the spots in my eyes, picked up Aeglos, and continued to run. I noticed I was bouncing off the walls a bit in my unsteady gait. That wasn't good. It meant I was being inefficient.

Fire struck me in the back in a rush of heat. My mithril armor held—I had a feeling I'd know if my back had suddenly become barbecue—but I smelled something burning.

I was sent rolling down the hallway and came to a rest on my back, staring back down the hall at Lung.

"I's o'er li'l 'irl," he growled through twisted features. "Now 'oo 'ay."

I called on Nenya, and felt the rush of renewed energy. I wore the Ring of Adamant—I was unbowed. Unyielding.

I picked myself up. I took Aeglos in both hands and pointed the shimmering blue blade at the center of his brow. Frost crept down the handle from the blade in spite of the growing heat of Lung's presence. My knees bent and I shifted my stance into a ready posture.

"Don't you know the story of Saint George?" I asked him. "It isn't over until the dragon's dead."

He bared his teeth. Fire burst forth.

I caught it in a combination of Nenya's barrier and Aeglos' point. The blade flared blue, and again steam burst forth.

Where is Oni Lee? I asked Nenya then, under the cover of the cloud. I had no desire to be overtaken with another grenade.

My senses expanded to include the sound of his breathing—in two places, no less. One, in the hallway behind Lung, and the other—

I whirled, Aeglos spinning about in a narrow arc of blue light, and stabbed the enemy cape through the center of the chest.

He staggered back, the unprimed grenade falling from his limp fingers, and fell apart into a mess of white ash.

I ran again, maintaining an awareness of his and Lung's positions at all times. Oni Lee tried once more to get ahead of me. I struck him hard across the head with Aeglos' haft immediately and then stabbed him through the throat as I kept running past. In the moment between the two blows, another of him appeared behind me, and as the spear sank into his flesh, he again collapsed into dust.

He didn't try to catch up to me again, instead staying behind Lung as the large cape rumbled through the halls behind me, taking potshots at me with his fire, which I deflected with Nenya and Aeglos.

I knew that, were adrenaline not coursing through my veins like water, I would be dead already. I knew that the amount of mental and physical strain I was putting myself through, exerting Nenya's power like this, would leave me practically crippled for at least the next day. The Three were not meant to be used in this kind of close-quarters combat, let alone be relied upon in this way.

Tough. I had no choice. And I couldn't deny that some part of me—some primal spark of combative flame—was enjoying this. Admittedly, I'd probably like it better if I could face him directly, but I wasn't prepared for that. Besides, I'd prefer Narya or Vilya for the purpose.

We reached the lobby of the cell block and I turned, finally reveling in the more open space rather than a claustrophobic corridor. I was looking through the glass divider between the lobby and the security area when Lung pushed the door open and entered the other side.

We faced each other for a moment, his teeth bared, my face set. He'd grown—he barely fit into the hallways now, and was hunched over until he was barely standing on two legs.

"Oo'v go'n s'rong'r," he acknowledged roughly.

"You haven't," I said.

He growled and leapt, charging through the glass at me. Nenya gave me the speed to sidestep out of the way and bring Aeglos about. The blue point slashed into his side, sinking through the metallic scales into the soft flesh. He roared in pain and recoiled, and I struck again, stabbing into his leg.

He took a knee, but swiped at me as he did so. Extended as I was in a thrust, I couldn't dodge. I was thrown backward, and hit the wall hard with a sharp crack, leaving an imprint in the concrete.

Yet I was mostly unhurt. The impact was not onto my separated helmet, and so I had no concussion. My body would bruise where it had impacted my platemail, but my skin was untorn.

I pulled myself out of the wall and swung Aeglos about as Oni Lee appeared beside me. He recoiled just in time, the blade missing his throat by an inch. I stabbed again and he dissolved into ash, appearing again behind me. I jabbed at him with the haft of Aeglos, striking him in the gut, and then dove out of the way of a blast of fire from the rising Lung.

I was in a corner now. Lung was in the center of the room—on all fours, now, his form barely recognizable as human, and towering to the ceiling. Oni Lee was recovering to my left, against the wall. He was doubled over, but his mask was facing me, and his gaze was perfectly steady.

I was strong, but I needed to win every clash. They only needed to win one.

I took a stance and lowered Aeglos to point at Lung. "Ready when you are," I said.

Oni Lee appeared beside me, already palming a grenade. I slashed him across the throat and pushed him between me and Lung, where he served as a human shield against the rush of flame, at least until he dissolved into ash. By that point, I was already rolling out of the corner, making for the doorway.

I smashed through the push door and took a step down the long hallway leading to the stairs… and was suddenly stumbling on the first step.

"Annatar," said Vista, her voice tight with concentration. "How're you doing?"

"Better, now you're here."

"Love you too. Let's go." I saw that the corridor had lengthened until I could barely see the small forms of Lung and Oni Lee on the other side.

But I heard Oni Lee, as he appeared directly behind the two of us. Then, suddenly, he stopped. I turned.

The man in the blood-red mask stood stock-still, frozen, and Clockblocker's hand rested on his shoulder, reaching down from higher up on the stairwell. "We haven't got long," he said sharply. "Vista, let's go."

Vista nodded. "Annatar, you go up first. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I said, as I began to run up the spiraling stairs, taking them two at a time. "Bit bruised, is all."

"Good," called Aegis from above. "Vista, how close is Lung?"

"If I held him here, he'd be a few minutes, but he'll bust through the ceiling and come up somewhere else in the building. Let's go before he does."

We ran up the stairs; Vista took the rear, I was next, then before me were Clockblocker and Aegis, with whom Vista and I quickly caught up. As we ran, I heard a rumbling, crashing sound somewhere in the building behind us.

"That's Lung breaking out," panted Vista. "We need to hurry. Is the Protectorate coming?"

"Piggot says yes," said Aegis shortly.

"Good," I panted. "We might be able to contain him again."

No one answered me. Moments later, we reached the top of the stairway. Sophia was there, fists clenched, staring at the doorway as we opened it.

"Annatar," she said, and there was something unidentifiable in her voice. "You're okay."

"I'm fine," I said. "Thanks for getting the others."

"We need to fall back," Aegis barked. "Get behind the PRT's barricade. Annatar, you take the lead. Clockblocker and I will take the rear."

We jogged through the next few corridors unmolested save for the occasional crash of Lung breaking through a wall behind us. Soon, we reached the hangar. The garage doors were open, and the PRT troop that had been here when we arrived was gone.

"Vista, give us a path," Aegis ordered.

As we reached the edge of the roadway which lead into the force field bridge, The bay shrank before us until the Rig and the shore were practically touching, and one by one, we stepped across, and off of the manufactured island.

As we reached the shore, Vista released the tightened space and I gave a sigh of relief. "What now?" I asked Aegis.

"Now you wait here." I turned. It was Armsmaster, striding forward. "Vista," he said. "A path, please." Behind him, the rest of the Protectorate was assembled.

"We can help," I said. "I—"

"No, Annatar," he said shortly. "Lung is dangerous, and you're not soldiers. Leave this to us. Vista?"

Vista nodded and the distance shortened again. One by one, the seven heroes crossed. Armsmaster turned to face us from the other side.

"Aegis," he ordered. "Keep in radio contact. We'll keep you appraised of the situation."

"Yes, sir. Clockblocker froze Oni Lee on the way out; he may still be out of action when you arrive."

"We'll keep it in mind. Under no circumstances are you to engage Bakuda or Lung, should either appear."

"Yes, sir."

Armsmaster hesitated for a moment. "And… Annatar," he said. "You should speak to the director."

I frowned at him. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked.

"No," he said. "I—we don't have time. I'm sorry."

There was something in how he said those last two words that put me on edge, but then he turned away with a nod to Vista, and the space between us was widening again.

I glanced at Aegis. "Do you know what that was about?" I asked.

"No idea," he said. "Call Piggot. I'll keep watch."

I nodded. "Thanks."

I walked away from the shore. Sophia followed me wordlessly. I made my way to an open piece of street some twenty feet apart from anyone else and then palmed my radio from where it sat clipped to my sword belt.

I altered the frequency to be direct to the console, and then hit broadcast. "This is Annatar to Director Piggot," I said. "Armsmaster said to contact you."

A moment passed. Then Piggot's voice: "I'm sorry I can't make this a priority," she said. "Go to frequency Oscar-November-Echo. I'll talk to you there between coordinating."

I quickly altered the frequency. "Director," I said, and I knew my voice was growing less steady. "What's going on?"

"You're aware that Bakuda was making a bombing spree on the north side of town?"

"Yes. It was a distraction to release Lung, right?"

"We think so. Annatar—hold on a moment."

I waited. While I did, I glanced at Sophia. "Why are you here?" I asked her blankly.

She twitched. "I—" she stopped. "Wanted to thank you," she said. "Don't know if I—"

"Annatar." Piggot's voice. "I'm sorry I don't have more time. During the bombing spree, Bakuda struck the Dockworker's Association building. Your father was at work."