'This can't be real.' Julius thought, as the youngest Heartstriker stared down at the tooth in his hands. For a moment the shere insanity of the situation had frozen the entire room. Then a deep growl cut through everything. A growl he had hoped to never hear.

Forcing himself to look up he saw his mother, still in her human guise, staring at him with pure hatred, smoke literally pouring from between her clenched teeth. His siblings were collecting themselves as well. Some of them looked smug, like they were looking forward to his demise. Others were looking at him with a more calculating gaze, likely wondering if they could somehow use him for their own benefit. A few even looked like they wanted to help Bethesda kill him.

"Juliu-" Bethesda started, only to stop midword. Her whole body went stiff, as if she had been paused. Julius starred in fascination as over half of his siblings staggered to the ground, paralyzed in place. No one said a word as they all watched their mother struck down by some unknown force. Eventually, it was Justin that managed to speak first.

"Julius…" His brother said in a quiet voice, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" His tone was strange, dangerous and ready to strike him, but desperate for an answer that would prevent either of them from being killed.

It took several moments for Julius to realize what he was saying. He choked on his own saliva, before sputtering out, "I-I don't know. I'm not doing anything." Julius crouched down in submission to his brother, desperate to make him understand. "I didn't mean to fall or grab the skull. I have no idea what's happening, please Justin. You have to believe me. Have I ever lied to you?" Julius was lucky it was Justin in this position, most of the clan would have killed him for this by now.

Justin walked forward, his jaw set and the new fang clenched in his hand. Bethesda's eyes seemed to gleam in anticipation. Justin didn't believe him. Julius was going to die and Justin was going to kill him. Julius closed his eyes, not wanting to watch. Then, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Stop that, you idiot. I'm not going to kill you, so don't be such a wuss." Julius looked up to Justin staring at him with a strange expression on his face. "God's your dramatic. Now can you let everyone go already?"

Julius just looked at him like the world had gone mad.

"What?! I'm not doing this!"

Justin snorted at him and rolled his eyes with a look of exasperation written across his features.

"You really are a failure. Can't you feel the magic you're sending through the room?!" When Julius just looked at him, Justin continued. "Your fang is somehow letting you paralyze everyone so just turn it off."

"I don't know how!" Julius cried, his terror now turning it annoyance. "I just got the thing. I don't know how it works.

Suddenly one of their clutch who was stuck on the floor, Jeremy, started to move again. The others looked at him strangely. Justin was on him in a second.

"How did you get free?" He asked, causing Jeremy to look at him with a smug smile.

"I stopped trying to kill Julius."

Just like that, every dragon in the room looked at Julius with a new, calculating and horribly draconic gaze. Everyone but Bethesda managed to free themselves in a few seconds, though some tried to jump Julius again only to fall right back down. Julius didn't notice any of it as he turned back to his mother. The smoke had continued to pour from between her teeth and was now full black plumes. Her entire body was tense, like she was straining against the weight of a mountain. In short, she really wanted him dead.

Realizing the issue, Justin jumped back on the stage to help, when the doors to the throne room burst open. The noise was so shocking that even Bethesda found herself distracted, and fell forward in surprise. Not that Julius could blame her, because standing in the doorway, looking haggard and out of breath, was Bob. And the normally jovial seer looked pissed!

Julius just gulped.

'I am so dead…'

As Brohomier, famed seer of the Heartstrikers, walked forward, the dragons of J-clutch parted like a wave against the shore. Even his mother seemed afraid, the fear overriding her desire to kill Julius, and she backed up with a strange look of uncharacteristic terror. The normally relaxed Bob looked like a raging dragon as he surged forward with speed that seemed impossible to Julius.

In an instant Bob was in front of him and looking right at him with a fury that Julius had never before witnessed. When he spoke the words were as sharp as knives.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" Bob paused for a second as if waiting for an answer, but before Julius could reply he had already continued. "You have destroyed nearly a millennium of plots and schemes. Shifted the future of our clan into such a remote outcome that it should have been impossible. The future I spent centuries charting has been completely remade into a new possibility and all of my carefully laid plans must now be reworked from the ground up, in less than a DECADE!" This was Brohomier now, Julius realized. The dragon in front of him wasn't the slightly insane, but mostly benign older brother that he had known. This was the second oldest of Bethesda's children and one of the three great dragon seers.

'I am so dead…' Julius thought, he had almost fainted in terror when the world went insane all over again. Justin started laughing. Julius turned his head in horror as his brother, who had started giggling in glee, devolved into full on laughter. He fell over, and Brohomier turned his predatory gaze on him and spoke in a voice that was somehow even angrier.

"What on earth could you possibly find so amusing, Justin?" Justin forced himself to contain his laughter as he turned to his oldest brother.

"Julius, the most harmless dragon of the youngest clutch. Julius who has been declared a failure from the day he was born. MY BROTHER, Julius… That Julius, ruined the great seer's plot by accident and you can't even kill him. Hahahaha." Justin's words caused him to double over in laughter again. Julius just looked at his brother in horror. He was mocking Bob.

'Well at least I won't die alone…' Julius thought glumly, as Bob drew closer to Justin.

"And why would you think that I won't kill all of you, right now?" Bob asked dangerously.

Justin managed to right himself and smirk. "Because he's still alive and you're not on the ground." Justin looked at the formerly angry Bethesda, before continuing. "Leave it to Julius to pull out a sword that stops people from fighting. I mean what's the point of it even being a sword."

Bob looked at Justin for a bit longer, and just when Julius was sure he was going to have one less brother, Bob sighed and his expression turned into a pout.

"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you Justin." He said in a more relaxed, but still upset voice. Instantly, the pressure of Bob's magic vanished and the predator feeling finally let the room go.

What the hell was going on?!