Yay! Rawly's here! Yes, yet ANOTHER OC of mine. *insert evil laughter* Aaaanyways...slight, er, trigger warning I guess? This chapter has some content relating to self harm and suicidal tendencies.

July 28th

We now have all ten Amaranths gathered up. Ghost showed us the positions they'll have to be placed in to summon that crazy strong power they have. He said that while they're placed in those positions, a powerful force of magic has to "shock" them all at once, but only certain types of magic can activate all ten flowers at the same time. He seems pretty confident that Amy will be able to do it, but she seems far less confident. It's not like she can practice either, because we have to wait until Ragnarok actually shows up in person again; otherwise, we risk using up the Amaranths' magic for nothing. Crusade said that once an Amaranth's magic is used up in a potion or spell, the flower is destroyed…

So, yesterday, Amy sent Shade, Teeth, Bill, Mabel, and me to Telmak to go look for a Blooming Sun Amaranth underground on the dark side of Telmak. On the way there, we passed by a big spruce tree standing alone in the Great Plains. It was super out of place until we realized that it was the grave of a dragon called Ulric. Wasn't that the name of the wolf dragon we saw in the Enchiridion once? The one that Bill helped to kill the Thunder Bird shadow?

Bill told us that a dragon's soul is collected and brought to Sava (the afterlife) if they die. Meanwhile, their magic and a part of their aura separates from their physical body and turns into some kind of everlasting formation or a plant. Beneath that are the skeletal remains of the dragon. It happens immediately when a dragon is officially considered dead, and there's really nothing anyone can do about it unless they manage to catch them quickly enough. With magic, I mean; like what happened with Amy. Bill was oddly solemn when he explained this to us, but like he said, dragons aren't meant to die…

There wasn't any wind or breeze, but as we passed it, the tree swayed a little and I caught a strong whiff of evergreen that made me think of snowy evergreen woods in the mountains. When I explained that later to Dionysus he smiled sadly and said, "Ah, Ulric was showing you his home. In a way. His aura must have recognized Bill and reacted to his presence." So, I wonder if that means Ulric himself, the one in the afterlife, wherever he is, saw or knew that Bill was there? I'm not sure how it works. I wonder what might happen if Mabel and I go to Flora's grave?

The dark side of Telmak is very different from the side where the sun shines. It's…dark. Everything looks gray and black and spooky. Though, in the distance, we saw a red glow that Bill told us is a place called Meltdown Peak. It's a cluster of active volcanos where the largest community of fire dragons live. Also, he said that if we tried to go there without a strong magical protection, we would spontaneously combust. Ghost later confirmed this when I asked… Dragons are wild!

The underground dragon city of Vault was really cool, and a single Blooming Sun Amaranth lit up the entire place like daylight on the surface. Too bad it was overrun with shadows when we got there. Specifically, Light Snatchers. Those are the same kind of shadows that got Flora killed. Luckily, they're nearly blind and we were a good enough distance away that they couldn't tell if we were real or not. Stupid. We didn't see any random trees or misplaced patches of flowers, meaning no dragons had perished. We figured they must have hidden down in the Bank vaults. Shade led the way there. Turns out his fluffy antennas sense auras, so he was able to lead us right to the very vault the dragons were taking refuge in.

Bill just knocked on the door, which I guess the dragons inside figured a shadow wouldn't be smart enough to do that, and one of them opened the door. He recognized Bill and let us in.

The Warden –

He's the alpha of Vault and the banker, too.

A beast dragon/earth dragon cross originally from Necronire.

Looks like a mix of a rhinoceros beetle, an armadillo, and an ankylosaurus dinosaur. Scary-looking, but cool at the same time.

Red eyes with armored eyelids.

The different sections of his shell are covered with large bumps and the sections turn and spin independently from each other. He can even control the speed. It helps him make smooth, round tunnels.

The horn on his head is like a big shovel.

Big, broad claws.

Short legs.

Long tail with a scary spike ball on the end. This guy is a living weapon!

His real name is Jules (which is very ironic). He seems scary and looks mean, but he's pretty nice. I like his accent. He talks like an old western movie cowboy.

Bill offered to help them by turning their vegetables and plants into shadow-eating monsters. The Light Snatchers can only steal light magic and not dark magic. Turns out that Bill mostly uses light magic, which I was thoroughly surprised about, but turning things into monsters is not light magic.

I learned that dragons have some serious laws against dark magic. The Warden said that "only monsters use dark magic. Well, them, and really stupid humans." The only forms of dark magic that dragons use are sealing and summoning. For two things that make a lot of flashing lights and colors, they're actually dark magic. Still, only certain dragons use those kinds of magic anyway. Not all of them can do the same tricks. (Shade's puppeteer/possession ability is also considered dark magic, but he's from Necronire and the rules are very different there). Despite their laws against dark magic, they were totally okay with Bill turning their vegetables into monsters at the promise that the monsters would not harm the dragons.

The Warden said that he couldn't give us the Blooming Sun Amaranth, but that he would take us down to see Telmak to ask them for one. Telmak, the spirit. The giant, godlike spirit that created the land also called Telmak. It was an incredible and horrifying experience. Though, I'm not really sure why it was so horrifying…

We went a really long way down, though I guess we went all the way to the center of Telmak. It felt like hours, but it also felt like it should have lasted longer. We couldn't see a thing for a long time. Suddenly, we heard voices singing and saw a green light up ahead. I couldn't understand the words at first (I think they were in dragon), but then I could hear them in English. Telmak was singing to themself.

Telmak's chamber was massive, but so was the spirit. They looked like a huge dragon that glowed greenish-blue and white. The whole chamber was lit up with those soft colors. Telmak was curled up, suspended in midair, like a baby in the womb. The roots of the tether tree came down all around them. And then they looked at us.

I don't even know how to describe what I felt. It was a mix of agony and extreme joy. I also wanted to cry for some reason but managed not to. I could hardly stand all of the emotions, but at the same time, I couldn't move or even speak. Then they spoke.

They sound like a man, a woman, and a child talking together in mysterious, calm voices. But they didn't even open their mouth to speak; it was like they were talking to us telepathically. In our heads but all around us at the same time. They called us the "children of chaos". I managed to choke out the word as a question and they went on this spew about chaos being basically everything. "Chaos is all that is and was and ever will be." Then, they told me that Mabel and I come from the Chaos of Avas. That we're "distant offspring of Eden". Like, the Garden of Eden? Or did they mean a person? They even knew our zodiacs and my real name…

They even knew all about Bill. "Born from the Chaos of Tal. Close son of Chronos. The Wolf. Bill Cipher." Dionysus said that Tal is the dragon word for Lost, and that Bill's kind descended from a being called Chronos. I guess "The Wolf" is Bill's zodiac. Great Uncle Ford was very interested in all of this. He was also a little upset that he wasn't there for it.

We, uh, well I asked Telmak for a Blooming Sun Amaranth and a Crystal Amaranth, and they complied. Shade asked for something, too, and Telmak gave him what he wanted… His voice. No one else asked for anything, but Telmak looked right at Bill and told him that they could not give him what he wanted, but that he would get it anyway. Bill hadn't even said anything that whole time and looked pretty surprised when they said that. I wonder what it is that Bill was thinking of that Telmak couldn't give him?

On the way home, Bill didn't say a word until we got in the house and he saw Amy. Then he smiled and shouted "Amy!", startling her a little, then he hugged her and nearly picked her up off the ground. It definitely caught her off guard. The rest of the day, he was very, um, cuddly with her. He's starting not to care whether or not we're around when he wants her attention. Funny.

Well, now that we have all the Amaranths, I guess we just have to wait for Ragnarok to show up. Of course, we're still trying to come up with some sort of plan and all. Plus, Ghost, Crusade, and Cupid and Icarus have been busy gathering allies and support. As the time grows nearer, the more intuitive and powerful dragons are starting to be able to predict more accurate dates. Ouroboros even predicts that Avas, Necronire, and Telmak will all collide during Ragnarok's breakthrough, as those three worlds are tethered so closely together.

Oh. There's still the issue of Bill's older sister, Atë. We asked Shade about her, but he doesn't remember anything. He said that he laid down to sleep, next thing he knew, he heard Bill's dragon roar, then a while later, he was standing in the rock quarry surrounded by all of us. How did Atë manage to get into Necronire, possess a dragon that worked closely under Ragnarok, and then get out of Necronire with said dragon?

Also, I learned that if you mention her name around Bill (and you're not Amy), he gets mad and yells and throws things at you. I got hit with a hard covered dictionary today…

…

"Amyyy," Stan called from the front door; he was halfway in and halfway outside. "There's uh, a ruckus going on out here!"

"What?!" Amy hurried down the stairs. "What kind of 'ruckus'? What happened?!"

"Somethin' was lurking around in the woods, so that Teeth fella went and chased it out. Looks like another dragon. Come see."

Attracted by the bit of commotion, everyone else had gathered up to listen and ended up following Amy and Stan outside.

Over near the tree line they saw Teeth pinning something down in the grass with his broad paws. It was a scarlet-colored drake with a bright orange underbelly and matching horns and eyes. Along the back of its head and neck was a sail of six yellow spikes, and the end of its tail was tipped with a chipped, diamond-shaped blade that it could not use on account of Teeth's foot holding it down.

"Get off of me, you brute!" the dragon growled as he tried to struggle under the other's weight. He was much smaller than Teeth, who was the smallest adult dragon they had met so far, but the stranger was still bigger than any of the humans present.

"What's going on?!" Amy asked as they all approached.

Teeth lifted his head at her voice. "This guy was just stalkin' around in the trees," he said in an almost complaining or whining voice. "I don't know who he is, so I thought he was maybe bad!"

"Teeth," Bill said, "you're bad in most people's eyes. You're a monster. Remember?"

"…Oh yeah."

"Get off!" the scarlet dragon shouted again.

Shade had come over to see as well and gasped. "Rawly?! Is that you?!"

"Yes! And Teeth, you do know me, now GET OFF!"

"Huh? Rawly?" Teeth stepped off of him and let him get up. "…It is you!" He smiled brightly.

Rawly stood up on his hindlegs and brushed himself off in a manner that was incredibly humanlike. Shade had a tendency to stand on his hindlegs more often than most dragons, but this one seemed to be purely bipedal. "Yes, you idiot! How dare you… SIT on me!"

"Er, sorry…"

"Rawly?" Bill walked around the others to look at the newcomer. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you get here?"

Rawly jumped with alarm and stiffened. "Bill! Uh, er, w-well I, um…" He was tapping his claws together, causing them to make a faint clacking sound; a nervous habit of his. "Well, you see, um…"

"Still a nervous wreck, I see," Bill mumbled, half to himself but loud enough for the others to hear. "Spit it out, kid!"

Rawly flinched again. "W-Well, you see, I just, um, well, I'm… Well, I'm not entirely sure," he said the last part rather quickly.

"What?! What the hell do you mean?!"

"I-I-I-I, well, um –" He glanced over his shoulder at seemingly nothing.

"Are you okay?" Mabel asked.

Rawly glanced at her and did a sort of doubletake. He must not have noticed her or the others until that moment, because now he was glancing between them all. "Humans!" He took a step backwards and clicked his claws together more feverishly. "Oh dear, oh my…"

"It's okay," Dipper said. "We won't hurt you or anything."

"You hurt me?! Ha!" He was suddenly far more nervous than he already had been. He was shaking his head. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You misunderstand. This is bad. So very bad." He started muttering to himself and walking in a small circle as he continued to click his claws.

"What's wrong with him?" Dipper asked Bill.

"Er, yeah, about that… Rawly's only half dragon. The other half is a bloodthirsty Necronire monster of creation and destruction that relishes the taste of flesh and blood. Specifically human. He can't help it."

"What?!"

"Hmm, though to be fair, that's only one of his problems…" Bill mused.

"Maybe you should sit down," Mabel suggested. "Do you need some water?"

Noticing how close she had gotten, Rawly yelped and jumped away from her. "No! D-Don't, um, don't come any closer, please!"

She held her hands up. "O-Okay?"

Bill stared hard at Rawly for a long time, mulling something over in his mind before Amy broke his thoughts.

"Bill," she said quietly.

"Hm?" He turned to look at her.

"Can we trust this guy?"

"Depends what you trust him with."

"What – no! I mean. He's from Necronire, right? And we don't know how he got here. He claims he doesn't either, but can we trust him on that? Or is he the type to lie?"

"Only about his feelings."

She gave Bill an incredulous look.

He shrugged. "It's true. Anyways, Rawly actually used to work very closely with me. In a way… I practically raised him."

"That's not comforting."

"Okay, well, what I mean by 'raised' is that I looked after him and made sure that he didn't kill himself or destroy the whole dimension. He's too powerful for his own good and Ragnarok messed him up pretty bad up here," he tapped his head, "so, Rawly is prone to…self-inflicted injuries and suicidal tendencies. There was also this one time where he lost control of his powers and nearly destroyed all of Necronire in one night… But other than those things, I've never had any problems with him." He shrugged again. "I like Rawly. But, like I said, there is the whole 'thoroughly enjoys devouring humans' thing. Nice guy, though. He's normally a lot more sarcastic…"

"Hmm."

"What about Amy and Bill?" Mabel was questioning Rawly from a safe distance. "Or Dionysus? They're in human forms right now. Do you want to eat them?"

"Eat them? Goodness, no! They may look human, but they are not humans. I have no desire to eat other dragons or even monsters! Though, I'm not entirely against cannibalism now that I think about it…" he trailed off.

"Okay, so, what if you turned into a human form? Some dragons can do that. Can you? Maybe it'll help you feel…less like…that?"

Rawly thought about it for a moment as he clacked his claws together. "…I suppose it couldn't make it worse…"

In the blink of an eye, he had suddenly transformed into a human. He appeared young and was just an inch or so taller than Mable and Dipper, though he was a bit more muscular. He was about a shade darker than them with brownish-scarlet hair fringed up in a sort of messy faux hawk, and he retained his orange eyes. He wore a simple white shirt under an open black jacket and a pair of dark blue jeans. He was rather handsome, and the others were staring at him in stunned silence (though Bill was looking a bit more critical than anything).

"You changed your outfit," Bill stated as he examined him.

"Oh my goodness," Mabel breathed. She fanned herself a little. "Wow. Uh, um, do you feel better?"

Rawly stared at her. "…Not really. Wait! …I feel…slightly less likely to attempt to attack and eat any of you."

"Oh, uh, well that's progress!"

"If you say so…"

Amy and Bill exchanged some kind of hushed conversation with each other off to the side in which Dipper noticed Amy gesture a hand at Rawly. Bill calmly told her something and she sighed before straightening up and speaking up.

"There's already so many people staying here… Er, I mean – Rawly? Do you really not know how you got here?"

He did not seem to want to look directly at her. "N-No…"

"When did you get here? I mean, when did you find yourself no longer in Necronire?"

"Rather recently, actually. I've…not bothered to keep track though…"

She sighed again. "Well, you can stay here until you figure out what to do if you want. Are you going to be able to keep yourself from trying to eat the human guests?"

His eyes slowly drifted towards them. "Trying to eat them? No. I will most certainly try. B-But! I think I can keep myself from actually eating them! Besides, I – I don't even remember the last time I had human!" He turned and stared Mabel up and down as he began to tap his fingers together again. "Delicious…fresh…" He gulped. "Er, I-I'm fine."

"Riiight," Amy said. "Watch yourself."

"Um," he stopped her before she turned away. "Why, exactly, are you allowing me to stay?"

She tilted her head slightly. "Bill said that he likes you."

Rawly seemed surprised by this. "He… He did? Oh…" He looked away, almost sadly. "Well…um, thank you…"

"Sure." She turned to walk back to the house. "Dionysus, I know you said you can't make another room in the house like you did to that closet, but is your room big enough for a roommate?"

"Oh, sure!" Dionysus said brightly as he and Bill followed her. "I can fit another bed on the –" he gasped. "We can get a bunkbed!"

"Dionysus," Bill said. "What's in your hand?"

"Tequila. Why? Do you want some?"

"No."

"I'm Mabel," she said as she led Rawly into the house. He was glancing around nervously. "That's my brother, Dipper. And our great uncles. Did I mention my name is Mabel?"

He glanced at her. "Er, y-yes."

She laughed. "Oh, pfft, yeah. So, what's the deal with you dragons looking so, heh, uh, handsome when you turn into humans?"

"Pardon?" He looked thoroughly confused.

"Mabel…" Dipper pulled her to the side. "He literally wants to. Eat. You."

"Yeah, okay, but look at him, Dipper!"

He sighed. "I mean, yeah, but… Uh, I mean!"

She snickered.

"But that's not the point! Besides, I overheard Bill telling Amy that the guy has some serious issues. He's like, schizophrenic or something and he's prone to hurting himself and trying to kill himself!"

"Aw, poor guy!"

"And he's a human-eating monster!" he added very quickly.

"But I don't think he wants to eat us. I mean, yeah, he wants to, but he doesn't want to. You know?"

"No, because that doesn't make any sense."

"Okay, okay. Fine! I'll control myself."

They rejoined the others in the living room and found Ford already pestering the new dragon with questions. Ford was sitting on one end of the couch while Rawly sat as far away as possible on the other end. Rawly was sitting on the edge of the seat and looking as if he might make a run for it at any moment.

"A wingless dragon is known as a 'drake', yes?"

"Er," Rawly looked at him, concerned, "not – not necessarily…"

"Then what category do you fall under?"

"Well, um, I mean, I am a drake, but… that isn't what you had asked…"

"You're much smaller than any adult dragon we've met, and, currently, you look to be not much older than my niece and nephew. Are you still growing like them?"

"Ah," Rawly chuckled awkwardly. "Not really, I'm just…short for my species. Thank you for pointing it out."

"Sorry. Um, how old are you? If you don't mind my asking."

"Fifteeeeeeen…?"

"You…sound unsure."

"Oh, no, I am very sure. It's just, ah, I… I don't understand why you're asking…"

"Ol' Sixer is a nosy one," Bill told Rawly. "You can eat him."

"No, he cannot!" Amy stated firmly and Bill sighed.

Rawly glanced quickly between the two. "Um, you – are you Am- er, I mean… H-How do you know each other?" he said it rather strangely.

Bill looked at him but did not respond right away. He seemed to be studying Rawly, though his expression was unreadable. "She's the one I made a deal with to get out of that petrification," he said at last. "Her name is Amy."

"He was using her to store up power," Mabel said, "but then he fell in love in with her, so now they're a thing."

"Watch yourself, girl!" Bill snapped, a tinge of pink in his face.

"Well, it's true."

"Bill Cipher…in love?" Rawly said quietly.

"Yeah," Dipper said. "Hard to believe, right?" He exchanged a side glance/leer with Bill.

"Oh, no, I can certainly –" Rawly stopped himself. "Um, I just, was not aware… That's all." He was staring at the floor now.

Bill watched him closely from where he was sitting with Amy.

Dionysus suddenly entered the room from the door at the beginning of the hall. "Okay! I got another bed set up!"

"Already?!" Dipper looked at him.

"Sure! I had a spare in my other pants pocket."

"…Huh?"

"Get it? Pocket dimensions!"

"Ugh." He facepalmed. "Please, don't."

"I hope you choke to death in your sleep tonight," Bill muttered darkly at Dionysus.

Dionysus smiled brightly. "Not likely! Ah, you never like my jokes. Fine then. What's the funniest joke you know?"

Bill answered immediately and with a completely straight face. "Humanity."

Dionysus actually laughed and even Amy let out a little snort.

After Dionysus took Rawly to go see the room, Rawly did not leave the room the rest of the day. When asked about it, Dionysus only shrugged and said that he had needed some time away from all the humans. Bill concluded that this was a good idea, so no one went to go bother him until later when Amy offered him dinner. It was then they learned that Rawly refused to eat anything that was not meat or meat-based. Though, Bill did mention later that Rawly had a powerful sweet tooth.

Later, at night, Dipper sat on his bed with the Enchiridion open on his lap. Curious, Mabel questioned him. "What are you looking up?"

"About that Rawly guy," he told her. "When I overheard Bill and Amy talking today, I also heard Bill mention that Rawly worked closely with him. I want to know just what kind of person, or, uh, dragon that guy is."

"Amy doesn't seem too worried."

"Yeah, well, she trusts Bill."

"You still don't?"

"Sometimes. I mean, I trust that he's not going to turn on us, because he doesn't want Amy to hate him. But I don't trust him when gives me a 'present'."

"That raccoon was so angry…" Mabel thought aloud.

"I KNOW. Anyways… Enchiridion. Tell us, er, show us about Rawly."

The book responded right away and flipped through many of its pages before settling and showing them something from the past.

A very young Rawly, in dragon form, was running back and forth along flat, bluish-gray ground; he seemed frantic. Floating in the air nearby was the familiar triangular form of Bill looking the other way and with his arms crossed. He was much larger than the young dragon. Judging by the starry space surrounding them, it was clear they were in Necronire.

Rawly stopped running back and forth and ran over to Bill and yelled up at him with teary eyes. "Kill me! Why won't you kill me!?"

Bill did not respond or even turn to look at him.

"KILL ME!" Rawly screamed at him.

He took off a little ways and suddenly started trying to bash his own head into a large boulder. After one strike, his second was prevented by a snapping sound that turned the boulder into dust. Frustrated, he yelled loudly.

"WHY!? KILL ME!"

"You don't want to die, Rawly," Bill said at last.

"Yes I do!" He screamed at him. "Don't tell me what I do or don't want! I know myself better than you! I want to die! Kill me!" He threw himself into the dust and started writhing and trying to tear at his arms with his claws. "I want to die! Let me die! You don't even care!" He stopped and suddenly stood up again. "You – You won't let me die because you enjoy this! You like when others suffer! You're just like him! Just like Ragnarok!"

"Don't you ever compare me to him!" Bill suddenly turned and yelled at him.

"Kill me!" was Rawly's only response.

Bill sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead.

Rawly let out another long shout before slowly lowering himself to the ground to curl up on his side, whimpering all the while. Bill stared down at him for a while before taking to his own dragon form and laying down nearby. Without a word and without looking at him, he curled his tail around the tiny whimpering dragon.

"I don't understand," Dipper said as the scene faded away. "Why was Rawly so angry? What happened?"

"Nothing."

The twins yelped at the voice and looked up at Bill standing in their doorway. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

"I figured your nosy ass would use that damn book for that." He narrowed his eye slightly, but he didn't seem angry. "He was mad at me because I wouldn't let him kill himself."

"Why did he want to do that?" Mabel asked.

"Ragnarok breaks people, kid. Some get it worse than others. At the age he was at, he didn't have a strong enough will to keep his desire to live after – Well, kids are easier to mess up, I guess. Rawly is the offspring of a fire dragoness and an ancient god of creation and destruction. Not that he ever met either of them, thanks to Ragnarok. He can't control his own powers because he's such a nervous wreck due to Ragnarok. One time, he lost control, and after that, he started yelling stuff like that."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't you let him do it? I mean, back then, surely you didn't care if he died or not?"

Bill stared at him for a minute. "…You're wrong. That kid, Rawly… He's the only one I ever let myself trust before Amy after… Well, after destroying my home dimension."

"Really? Why?"

He shrugged. "Why don't you ask your precious book?" He pushed himself off the doorframe and left to go upstairs.

…

July 29th

There's a new dragon living with us now. His name is Rawly, and he's a drake like Flora and Teeth, but he always stands and walks on his back legs and never on all fours. He has a human form, too, and he's…disturbingly handsome. Mabel has a real thing for him. Unfortunately for her, he's part man-eating monster and can barely hold back from trying to eat us. He is only fifteen years old, though.

He's super awkward and nervous, but Bill says that Rawly is normally a bit more relaxed and sarcastic. …Unless he's having an "episode". About that…

So, Bill, Teeth, and Shade all recognized Rawly from Necronire. Turns out that Rawly worked closely with Bill in the past. I asked the Enchiridion about him, and Mabel and I got to witness one of Rawly's episodes. Ragnarok messed him up so bad as a little kid; Rawly is prone to schizophrenia, self-harm, and even attempts at suicide. Like, REALLY bad. So bad, he can't even control his own powers properly. According to Bill, Rawly has power within himself that's strong enough to "burn everything in his path".

I managed to get the book to show more. Turns out that, one time, after Ragnarok had, um, "punished" Bill, Rawly disobeyed Ragnarok's order to leave Bill torn apart and suffering for who knows how long. Rawly was really young, but he definitely knew better. Still, he waited until no one was around and went heal him. He was little, so it took him a while, but he managed to do a pretty good job. Bill was surprised that Rawly had chosen to go against Ragnarok's word and help him. When Bill asked him why he did it, Rawly shrugged and said, "You looked like you needed help," and "You're nicer than he is."

Then, the book showed us another incident. Bill had apparently just returned after messing up something that he was sent to do. Ragnarok was just about to take out his anger on him and "punish" him, but Rawly stepped in and insisted that the way Bill went about it was all Rawly's own idea. Rawly told Ragnarok that that meant it was Rawly who failed, and he begged Ragnarok to punish him instead of Bill. Bill looked stunned. It was clearly not true. Whether Ragnarok believed him or not, I don't know, but he dismissed Bill and decided to punish Rawly instead. Bill hesitated to leave until Ragnarok yelled and snarled at him, then he popped out of existence to wherever.

While Ragnarok was attacking Rawly, Shade stepped in and told him to stop because Rawly was only a child. Ragnarok lashed out at Shade and hurt him pretty bad before using his dark magic to steal Shade's voice, saying, "Now you will not be able to speak against me again!" I don't know what happened after that.

I guess Bill ended up feeling bad or something about Rawly taking his punishment, because for whatever reason, Bill started looking after Rawly. Rawly's, um, "bad habits" got worse, and Bill would always stop him from hurting himself or losing control or worse. Seems that Bill's always had a soft spot for dragons.

Bill had actually caught us using the Enchiridion to see the first part. The part where Rawly was yelling that he wanted to die… Bill admitted to us that Rawly was the only one he trusted before Amy. Um, after that first person that betrayed him back in his home world, that is.

Still, something was odd about Rawly's behavior today… I don't think it was just because he wanted to eat us, either. I could've sworn he was going to say Amy's name earlier before he had even learned it…

To be continued…

Poor, poor Rawly.

Only nine more chapters and the epilogue left!