That evening, Dragon Lord felt uneasy.

"Something isn't right." he said.

Wick looked over at him. "What's the matter Master?"

"I don't know. But something isn't right." said Dragon Lord. "I haven't heard from that Schiam character for a while now. I'm eager to know if he's destroyed that feline freak yet."

"Shall I go get him from his dimension majesty?" asked Wick.

Dragon Lord sat thinking for a moment. "No. We shall wait and see."

Just then, Dragon Lord and Wick both felt a draft. They looked around for a moment, wondering where it came from.

"Looking for me?" asked Schiam as he leaned against a wall in the room.

"Schiam." said Dragon Lord, his eyes glowing red for a moment. "Why haven't I seen you in a while?"

"I've been busy." said Schiam. He stopped leaning on the wall. "You gave me a job to do, I've been taking care of my task."

"So you've destroyed the feline?"

"Actually, no." said Schiam.

"Explain." said Dragon Lord, as his eyes glowed red with anger.

The glowing of Dragon Lord's eyes never once phased Schiam, and he coolly leaned back against the wall again. "I'm testing her skills. You gave me a false picture of her. You said she was mainly a directionless adolescent; she's actually very focused."

"Its that ninja rat; he's probably taught her all she knows." said Dragon Lord.

"Ninja rat or not; she's good. Nothing I can't handle though." said Schiam. "In the meantime, I suggest you keep an eye out for your Turtle friends as well. They're out here too you know, and believe me, they're making plans."

"What plans might these be?"

"Let's just say, I saw them up by that laboratory. As far as I can tell, they did nothing but look."

"When did this happen?" asked Dragon Lord as he sat up.

"I don't know. A couple of days ago I suppose." said Schiam briefly looking at one of his nails.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" asked Dragon Lord upsetly. "You work for me, remember? You have to tell me these things right away."

Schiam briefly shot Dragon Lord a mean glare. "You're paying me to take care of the feline, not be your informant. You have those pathetic-excuses-for-warriors to do that type of thing. The information was a bonus. And as such, I expect to see a bonus in my pay."

Dragon Lord felt a burning anger rise up within him. "If I didn't require your services to destroy the feline adolescent, I would destroy you right now."

Schiam chuckled faintly behind this. "Try is more like it. It's not easy to destroy me; believe me, many have tried. As you can see, they've all failed."

Dragon Lord looked at Schiam with an expression of slight disgust.

Schiam looked indifferent to Dragon Lord's expression, then turned away. "I'm hungry. I'm going home now." he said, noticing a mouse scurry across the floor.

"I have not dismissed you." said Dragon Lord.

"I know." said Schiam. Then just as quickly as he had come in, he left.

Dragon Lord growled lowly.

"Insubordinate snake." said Wick.

Schiam went back to his dimension, fixed himself a meal, and sat in his treehouse eating his dinner. He sighed deeply. Talking to Dragon Lord was impossible sometimes. He couldn't stand being treated as hired help, as being 'under' someone. He thought about all that had gone on that day. He finished his dinner, then sighed as he laid down on his bed.

Only a day ago was his 3rd encounter with Ashton. Each time he fought her, he realized what kind of person she was. A fierce fighter, a fast thinker . . . a tortured soul. She was neither human nor mutant; the two biggest groups she lived around. Life wasn't exactly smooth for her, and he knew it. She was smart and cunning, slick and sly; qualities he himself mastered. She was young, and a little naïve, he thought. She'd be easy to beat. The question is, did he want to?

Yes, he was getting paid handsomely for the deed, but didn't approve of taking orders from anyone, especially not someone as ruthless and heartless as Dragon Lord. Schiam never felt obligated to anybody, and he wasn't going to start now.

Ashton, the panther hybrid girl. Schiam thought long and hard, should he destroy her, or should he not? He laid down and thought for a while before sitting up decisively; he knew what he had to do.