Authors note: Thanks for reading my story, also if you want to please leave reviews! But I will only accept CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND ADVICE, not harassment!
September 2, 1998 - Themyscira Island
"Adelyn, are you...leaving for that...thing you said you'd leave for? Your writing wrongs, fixing the past thing?"
Adelyn gave a simple nod, a little smile on her lips. She waved an embellished wave of hers. "Yes. With how everything has turned out - my children being as much targets as me for what we accomplished - I thought that it would really be best to be getting on with it, and with said children in tow."
"World tour with the kids, then? That's great. Hopefully you'll...get to bond more from it."
Adelyn's smile widened into a full fledged grin. "That is one of the hopes I take with me into this adventure, yes..."
"Well, good luck with it all."
"Same to you, Annabelle - undoubtedly you'll have a busy life schedule as well these coming weeks."
"Yeah." Annabelle sighed. "Yeah, probably. But it'll be worth it - for everyone."
"Oh, that sort of thinking is why I loved meeting you," said Adelyn, spreading her arms wide.
"I loved meeting you, too," Annabelle said. She moved forward and hugged Adelyn.
"Oh, no, I wasn't asking for a hug there - just being my usual flamboyant self," Adelyn said - though she returned the hug all the same. She held it for a few long seconds, allowing a very hot-faced Annabelle to retain some of her dignity and composure.
"Sorry," Annabelle muttered as they drew apart.
"Don't be - I'd have made sure you knew to be, if you were meant to be," Adelyn replied, her scarlet eyes soft with compassion. "And besides, it was...well, let's just say I can't exactly remember the last time anyone hugged me the way you just did. It would have been my last wife, and that would have been over a decade ago. But then, she never exactly held me the way my husband before her did..."
Wanting to get away from the topic, Annabelle gestured toward Adelyn's waistband and said, "You know, I never asked you: why the pistol?"
"Ah, this...?" Adelyn drew the weapon out, ran her fingers across the barrel. Looked at it with longing, with joy of times past. "Just a reminder of my days as a privateer back in the 1700's."
"Any special story behind it?"
"Well, yes, but I'm not so sure it's a story I'm ready to tell yet," Adelyn said softly. She stowed the pistol away, pulled her coat over it.
Annabelle felt her face heating up. She looked at the nearest tree. Looked to a further tree than that one. "Okay. Sorry. Uh, yeah, good luck with the world tour, visiting old friends and stuff. Hope the kids have fun with it."
"Thank you." Adelyn turned away. She strode back over to her children; she took their hands, muttered something Annabelle couldn't catch, and then they were gone.
Oguk is gone, Confiance is gone, Miranwe left with Kyle and Jennifer...and now Adelyn's gone, too. Annabelle looked to Gertrude and Anju, Inna and Taru, who were all together still. She looked to Norberta, who was stretching her wings and yawning to the sky. It's probably time for us to get back to the mainland too.
[Norberta! I'm going to head back to the hotel - see if the others want to come too, get their first proper experience in a human city - would you mind flying back there to meet up with us, or do you want to hang out here? Or go back to Emerich and Sevra?]
Norberta cocked her head at Annabelle. Yawned at her from across the distance. She looked left, looked right. Drooped her head. [I will meet you back in the city. But I'm going to stay to the rooftops: I've been very tired lately.]
[All right.] Annabelle gave her a nod. A smile. Then she started off toward Anju and the others.
Upon entering the hotel lobby, Annabelle, Gertrude, Anju, Taru and Inna were greeted with screams, panic of a general sort, and a lot of people with guns positioned throughout. Humans. Nonmagic. US Military? Waiting for them?
Oh.
"I payed for it," Annabelle said clearly, gesturing generally up. "I'm still- paying for it."
"Staying fee on your room isn't the problem here, ma'am," a soldier called out, from where they were half-hidden behind a pillar. "We're going to need you to stay still here - stay cooperative - and to not start doing all that shit the news shows you're capable of. Because we are not here to hurt you, but if you start hurting us we'll have no choice here. If you do anything that could be construed as a threat or outright harm, we will open fire. You understand, ma'am?"
"Yeah," Annabelle responded. She looked down at Gertrude, tapped her on the top of her head for attention. "Hey, you hear that? I think they just want to talk, so can you not - no matter what happens - do anything that would be a threat or hurtful to these people?"
Gertrude stared back up at Annabelle, a huge grin plastered on her face. "Sure! I love talking to people - that's how I met you."
"Great." Annabelle turned her gaze down on Inna and Taru. *You two, listen to me here, please, as a tribesister and fellow tribedaughter of Nyllia: Treat these people like they're our own. That's all.*
*I can do that,* said Taru quickly.
*I will try to do that,* Inna's response came, a bit later - with a bit of hesitance to it. *I do not know what humans expect of their tribe members.*
*All right.* She looked toward the nearest soldier. "Okay, we'll all be good here. Promise."
The soldier who'd spoken before moved forward, out into the open. Their weapon was let go, hung on the shoulder strap. He held up his hands, sort of a no harm gesture. "I'm Lieutenant James Phelps. Sorry if we scared you, ma'am. We have orders to take you - all four of you here now, plus the- the dragon you had during the incident, wherever she is now - into protective custody."
"You pointed those metal flingers at us to protect us?" Gertrude retorted, cocking her head up at him. "Clearly I need more human interaction, then, because that makes no goddamn sense to me."
"That was for our protection, err-"
"Ma'am, Miss - Gertrude - all woman here," Gertrude supplied, pride in her voice. She grinned a little, added on: "I could show you."
"No need, Miss Gertrude," the soldier said quickly. Shook his head. Refocused on Annabelle - of course: the human. "Ms. Potter? Are you willing to accept our protection?"
"Protection from what?" Annabelle asked - though she already had an idea.
"Your...magic governments. They all want your head, and things between them and us are a confusing, hellish mess. But one thing we know, one big thing we learned, is how they - your specific government that claims territories in Britain - treat prisoners, and we'd like to keep you from that. It's sort of a responsibility; we couldn't in any good conscience send you to face torture and inhumane conditions."
"Especially not when you need to keep me around because I'm your knowledge-slash-bargaining token?" Annabelle ventured.
"Maybe, to the higher ups - but not to me down here, ma'am," the soldier replied. "To the people down here with you, you're something like a hero to us all. What you did for those people in that hospital, and how your own governments are trying to make you suffer for it...it's insane - seems to be a lot of that going around lately. So, because we're all appreciative of what you did, we're going to help you. But you have to let us."
"Okay," Annabelle shrugged. "Gertrude? Anju? Inna, Taru? Want to get helped here, or do you want to go home?"
"Help!" said Gertrude, staring around the lobby with wonder and excitement. "These humans can help the hell out of me, if I get to stay here."
*Nyllia would approve of our staying with you longer,* said Taru. *If you're still in danger, I'd like to be there to fight with you.*
*I am curious about human society,* Inna said, thoughtful. She shifted her front legs, turned her many eyes left and right. *Your den layout is intriguing - so much light and bright colors...*
"As long as I can go back to my village and retrieve our eggs," Anju spoke, with a pleading look at Annabelle. "I should have done that days ago, but I was worried about you, and I didn't think they would be in any immediate danger, at least not from the environment - I left them with a warming aura - so I stayed on Themyscira. But I am going to get them now, if there is a chance of government forces going to my village looking for you - for all of us."
"We all would love to accept protection from you guys," Annabelle informed the Lieutenant. "But just give me and Anju ten seconds here to go get our kids and come back, please? There's no one there to even watch them."
"That's another few dozen major laws you'd be breaking on the spot," said Lt. Phelps, frowning at her. He hesitated, looked to Anju. He sighed. "But I suppose you aren't a stranger to that, are you? And if there are safety concerns here about children...just make it really ten seconds, all right, and I won't say a word of it to anyone - and I'll make sure the rest of my team doesn't either."
"Thank you." Annabelle took hold of Anju's wing, and they disapparated.
September 8, 1998
"Well, we opened Pandora's Box, now we see what falls out."
"Oooh, are we going to go and do that next?" Gertrude rasped with excitement.
"What? Are we going to reopen the literal...? No!"
"Are you sure?" Gertrude leaned into Annabelle, resting her head on a shoulder. She looked up at Annabelle with a smile on her lips. "Look at me, look at Norberta, look at all the magi-arachnids around the world. We're all just...people. We dream, we feel, we think and we love, goddammit! Maybe Pandora was a heroine when she let out all those demons from that box the first time around? It has to be cramped in there. And the ones who put them all in there...the ones who recaptured them and shoved them back into it again, well, I wouldn't think you'd agree with eternity in a tiny box, no matter what crimes they might've committed - if only criminals were put in there, which I doubt, since no system of judgement is perfect. Innocent demons might have gone in there with the rest, and that's just wrong. Either way - prison for the criminals or prison for innocents against a bunch of tyrant bigots - we should seriously go and check on that box sometime. Because you know nobody else is going to bother to care to even look," she finished quietly.
"Yeah," Annabelle sighed. "Yeah, okay. I promise we'll look into that soon."
Gertrude sprang up, shaking her head and baring her teeth. "No, now! Let your governments sort out their relations with each other, let your world mull it all over, and we'll go for the box while they're all distracted with one another."
Annabelle glanced at the american police officers - heavily armed and armored - standing in the corner of the room (standing there, watching Gertrude with a certain fascination mixed with discomfort). "We'll have to ask our protection detail about it first; I don't think they'll be too happy about the idea."
"Got it in one, ma'am," an officer spoke, giving her a disapproving look. "This is for you guys, while the politicians sort this mess out over our heads. Don't make my job harder by trying to ditch us."
"We could ditch you in the blink of an eye," Gertrude laughed. "In a heartbeat. In a snap of a finger - like this." She raised a hand, snapped her fingers, and apparated across the room, right in front of the officers.
"That's- noted," the officer said, staring down at her incredulously. "But you still shouldn't uh- shouldn't leave the house. Please?"
Gertrude gazed up at the man. Considered him. "Okay," she said seriously. She apparated back over onto the sofa with Annabelle.
"Just like that?" Annabelle asked. "You've changed your mind?"
"He said please," Gertrude explained, smiling. "I can count on one hand the number of humans who have said that to me in my life."
"He did," Annabelle agreed. "A lot of other people won't."
"It won't be anything I'm not used to already."
"Used to? Maybe. That doesn't mean you should just take it."
"I was recorded on your live television system, during one of the most significant events in your nonmagic people's history, tearing out throats and popping eyeballs in their sockets; any human who thinks I'll just take it is dumber than a kessy rock - not that I'm being speciesist here against them!"
"Humans are pretty stupid," said Annabelle. "We don't know when to quit, when to shut up, when to stay back, stay down. That's the problem. That'll be the problem for you. But, while it is a problem for you, I'll be there for you if you need me."
"Actually, I've changed my mind." Gertrude got off the couch again. "I want to go see what there is to see in your cities. Your high towers, your lights that...shine off them. The sun. What's so fantastic about it all that you're all so packed together, always around each other, always going place to place? What do you have in there? What's there to do?" She grinned, raised a claw. "What's there to eat?"
Annabelle stood, too; a casual hand stretched out, and her jacket flew across the room into her grasp. "To eat? We have...a lot of different pubs, different restaurants, diners. There's a lot of variety when it comes to eating in any city, any town - some even make themselves known to the world by specializing in some secret recipe or style."
"You can't leave, ma'ams," the officer spoke, stepping forward, while the other stepped in front of the door. "Sorry, but, orders are orders: you're all here to protect you from the...magical, international governments - can't believe I just said that in a serious capacity - and we even allowed you to personally put up those magic forcefields of yours you were so insistent on, but, if we were to let you go that would render all our efforts moot. So, please, ma'ams, I really do have to insist that you stay put. We have food for you all, and surely you can just magic up food for yourselves whenever you want to? You don't have to leave the safehouse."
"We don't have to, no - but I want to," Gertrude responded, hunching over and starting for the door. "Not really for the food, I guess, but for cultural exploration. I've only ever seen a human city from a distance, dammit, and I want to be in one now that I'm allowed to be in one!"
The officer in front of the door resolutely held to her stance, shifted her weight and stared down at Gertrude with a certain firmness. "Okay, hey, wait a few more days for us, and we'll see about that, all right? But for now, for a few more days, you just have to all stay here. I'm sorry."
"Why don't you come with us, then?" Annabelle said reasonably, looking between the officers. "You're our escorts, so why don't you escort us to a restaurant? We'll be as safe with you out and about with us as we will be trapped in here with you. Just keep a sharp eye, watch for danger - whatever - but this is important. Please. For Gertrude, for...this is important. She's never been in a city before. She's never eaten anything we have; she wants to."
Silence. Exchanged looks of contemplation and hesitation. Then- "All right, look, give us all an hour to discuss it, go over things and make a plan for how we would even do this, and then we're going to call up HQ, then the FBI, on and on up the chain until we get it cleared - if we get it cleared. And then if we do, then we'll take you out to eat. But if the answer is no, if we can't do it, then I want you to stay here and not just go teleporting off like you people do. Deal, please? We're just trying to keep you all safe, because we care, and because we are - some of us, maybe most of us are - grateful for what you did in that hospital, and for what you can keep doing." The officer squatted down, looked Gertrude in the eye on her level. "Deal, ma'am?"
"One hour - deal," Gertrude rasped, her eyes shimmering. She turned and made her way back to the sofa, climbed up and curled up there.
"Is anyone else going to want to come along?" the officer asked Annabelle, catching her eye. "Downstairs we've got...Ms. Inna and Mr. Taru, and Ms. Anju? And outside we've got Ms.- Ms. Norberta, of course. Impossible to forget her."
"I'll ask," Annabelle said. "Be back in a second." She apparated into the downstairs sitting room; the officers standing sentry around the ground floor reacted, drawing weapons before they registered who she was. They still weren't used to that, even after five days with her. "Anju, Inna, Taru - we might be getting clearance to go out to eat together in the city, are you in or out?"
*In,* said Taru instantly, clittering his mandibles excitedly.
*In,* said Inna, after a moment's thought.
"Out," said Anju, shaking her head. She flexed her wings and shifted her talons. Glanced down at the large eggs in the nest under herself. "They're going to hatch soon - real soon. Tonight or tomorrow, I think. And when they do, I'd like us all to be in my village. In Rynegaul. I want them to hatch in their home. Can we do that? Please?"
"Yes." Annabelle squatted down, reached out a hand and stroked Anju's cheek. Kissed her on the lips. "Even if our protective detail says no, we'll just go anyways. This is way too important for you - for us, I guess - to let anyone stop it. If you want our kids to be hatched there, we'll make it happen."
"Thank you." Anju smiled. She brought a wing up and brushed her feathers against the back of Annabelle's hand. "I'll stay here for now. But, Annabelle, I would love to sample human food - could you bring me back something?"
"I'll bring you back some of everything," promised Annabelle.
"Stay the hell away from my son, you disgusting witch!"
"Actually - not that my species matters - I'm a hag," Gertrude said throatily, stepping back. "But I'm also a witch, you're right about that."
The patron stepped in front of her child, glared down at Gertrude with a curled, trembling lip. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a wooden cross. Held it out in front of her. "Keep your- your magic to yourself, you hear? The power of Christ compels you!"
"That's uncalled for," Annabelle sighed, shaking her head. "Also useless," she added.
"You too!" the woman said, holding the wooden cross up at Annabelle now.
"I'm just here for a good meal," Gertrude said, pattering back over to and hunkering down in her booth. "Hope you have a good one, too - sir or ma'am. And your kid."
Annabelle turned to Lt. Phelps and drew her wand. "Permission to make sure we're not bothered?"
"How?"
"Physical, invisible barrier around the booth."
"We don't need to go that far, right off the bat," Lt. Phelps said, shaking his head at her. "Stow it: we'll handle this the old fashioned way." He turned a stern, authoritative gaze on the troublesome patron. "Ahem. Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to go back to your table, back to your child, and leave us be - we don't want to have to arrest anyone here, all right?"
Muttering and swearing, the woman retreated, clutching her wooden cross tightly to her chest.
"Sorry for the bad first impression of human civilization - wasn't very civilized at all," Lt. Phelps said to Gertrude, in tones of concern.
"That wasn't my first," Gertrude responded, smiling at Annabelle. "I know the bad comes with the good - in anything - so don't worry: I don't think any less of...the people I think well of. And this place that's so...beautiful. The smells, the sights...I'd never imagined a place like this - and you've done it all without magic." She turned her attention to the food at last. She took a sip of coke. Nibbled the end of a burrito. Nibbled some more - took a bigger bite, an actual bite - and then her eyes were wide. She very, very messily stuffed her face with it. "What is this?" she croaked, after a large, painful swallow that watered her eyes. She downed a long drag of coke. "What is this? This is- this is meat? I know meat when I taste it."
"It's meat, yeah; ground beef," Annabelle responded, smiling.
"What's in it?" Gertrude took up the tray and shoved it under Annabelle's nose. "What's in this? I've had meat before, a lot of meat, but this- this- I've never tasted anything like this before!"
"Uh, I don't know? Preservatives? Flavoring? Seasoning?" Annabelle shrugged.
"I have to know what's in this." Tray cradled to her chest, Gertrude slid out of the booth and hurried up to and then onto the countertop. She leaned in toward the startled, wary cashier and offered the tray to the young man. "You - foodmaker - what did you put in this?"
"W-why do you ask? Is it not...to your liking, m-ma'am?" the cashier questioned, stammering and rearing back.
"It's the best meat I've ever tasted!" Gertrude exclaimed, setting the tray on the counter with a hard slam. "What did you put in this? I have to know, I have to have it - I'll use it in every meaty meal for the rest of my life."
"Gertrude!" Annabelle said loudly, clearly across the restaurant. "Counter."
Gertrude froze. Looked back at Annabelle; then she looked down at her feet. She hopped backwards off the counter and waved a hand - the mud, dirt, and twigs all vanished. "Sorry. Ingredients, please," she went on, gazing up at the cashier, whom was now leaning over the countertop to stare down at her properly.
"Can't say, sorry, ma'am - company policy. But-" the cashier hurried on, seeing Gertrude's absolutely crestfallen expression. "-any time you want more, you can just come right back here, okay? As long as you've got...you know, money and manners, we'll always be glad to have you around as a regular customer."
"Money and manners," Gertrude repeated, as if reciting religious texts. "Money and manners, have money and manners...I can do that!" She spun around; an idle finger snapped, and her tray shot off the counter and settled back at her booth. "Annabelle - can I do that? You have more of that legitimate human money, don't you? How do I get more of that, too? I know I can't just conjure it without getting into trouble, so how do I get it properly? Like a human does? Please? Please, please, please? I need more of this, so, so, so much more!"
"First off, get back over here and settle down. Second, I can easily afford to order us a dozen more of those burritos if you really want me to, so you can bring them back to the house with us - but be sure to leave a few for Anju, would you? Third, just like in magical societies, you need to work to get objects of monetary value."
"I didn't work at Teafa's inn," Gertrude spoke, sliding back into the booth and stealing a handful of curly fries off Annabelle's plate. "She was letting me stay there for free - all the time, always. She was nice...before she was an ass and kicked me out. But I can work! I can work human jobs, human way, if I have to."
"Good to know," said Annabelle, sipping from her drink.
Gertrude stole away another half dozen of Annabelle's fries. "Can I work here? If I do work here, can I eat anything and everything for my services?"
"No," laughed Annabelle. "Sorry, but it doesn't work like that. If you get a job at this place, you'd still have to pay for things like anybody else."
"Oh." Gertrude slumped down in the booth. "That's fine too, I guess."
Footsteps clacked on the floor, and a new voice spoke suddenly. "Well look who it is: the conquering heroes."
Annabelle startled; Gertrude jerked upright, stared. The officers around the restaurant made motions for their weapons. The one sitting in the booth got up quickly, stepped between Annabelle and Gertrude, and the new arrival.
"Hey - ex-wife, ex-wife - no weapons needed," Annabelle said quickly, apparating out the booth and reappearing out in front of her security. "Ex-wife - almost wife, ex...almost ex-wife? Ex-almost...whatever! There's no need to do anything that involves shooting anyone."
"Ex...wife? That's not filling anyone with confidence that this will be a nice, quiet reunion," the officer retorted.
"We parted on bad terms, okay, yeah, but we made up after. Things are fine here," Annabelle assured.
Lisa's scarred face scrunched up as she regarded Gertrude. Her lips spread in a smile. "Enjoying a victory meal? A cozy day out?"
"Yeah - it was getting to me, a lot, being stuck in one place again." Annabelle hugged Lisa; the latter returned it with minimal reluctance. "Had to get out - but it was mainly for Gertrude's sake."
"Mind if I sit in on this?"
"I don't," Annabelle replied. "But I'm not sure about our security - or Gertrude."
Gertrude smiled, showing off her pointed teeth. "As long as she doesn't start eating my food, she can stay."
"As long as you don't plan on bringing her back to the safehouse," Lt. Phelps warned Annabelle firmly.
"No plans for that," Annabelle said honestly. Lisa was best handled...sporadically.
"Deal," said Lisa, a small smile coming over her face. She slid into the booth beside Annabelle, touching shoulders, hips, thighs with her for the first time in several long days now.
Annabelle reached out her metal hand and grabbed Gertrude's as she made for her fries - Gertrude's cheeks puckered, her lips pouted, but she sat back and drank some more of her coke in silence.
Lisa plucked a few of Annabelle's fries for herself, while the latter was occupied with Gertrude; Annabelle shook her head, gave a half-hearted glare at both her friends. "I'm sure these people-" She waved an absent hand at their security entourage. "-are all just great at protecting you - capable, intelligent, all the rest, I'm sure - but did you make sure to cast anti-apparition charms, other protective enchantments and barriers around wherever they're keeping you?"
"Yeah, that was one of the first things I convinced them about letting me do for us," said Annabelle, nodding.
"Convinced them?" Lisa repeated, scornful. "You should've just done it."
"Annabelle is one of the most respectful, heartfelt, amazing humans I know - of course she asked first!" said Gertrude, dark eyes staring intently at Lisa.
Lisa looked taken aback. "Wow. You really must have been an extraordinary fuck to get that kind of-"
"She's my friend," Annabelle interrupted firmly, gripping the table with her metal hand; the force of her hold snapped a large piece off of it. A quick flick of her wand and she'd rectified the damages.
Lisa softened. "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm just-" She brushed her hair behind a mangled ear. "-I'm just worried about your safety. Why are you even bothering to let these nonmagics try and protect you when you know you can protect yourself a million times more effectively?"
"Because," Annabelle began, turning to more fully face Lisa. "the nonmagical government of America has decided to provide us with asylum, until certain terms are met, and they deem it safe enough to return me into the custody of magical Britain - namely, the total abolishment of Azkaban and its practices. They're not willing to send me over to be tortured, or kept in conditions they've deemed to be 'inhumane.'" She paused. Drew breath. "But, for right now, it's protective custody, and eventually false ID's and new lives here - depending on how long it takes for the Ministry of Magic to acquiesce. There are some rules, some stipulations to the deal - one being that if I'm seen abroad, no matter where or how briefly, then the entire thing is off. I'll be arrested, held in a prison instead of being able to roam free in the states. Understand, Lisa, that nonmagic laws were never designed to work with even the inkling of the idea of instant, personal teleportation. So I can't be doing that while I'm under their watch, their protection - it's...breaching treaties, and immigration laws, and so much else that they have. If they wanted to, technically, I could just be thrown in a prison right now for dozens of different charges under their laws - as could you, and a lot of mages out there who travel regularly. But I'm not, I won't be."
"Yeah: because you're valuable to them," Lisa laughed. "You're a hero to their world, a martyr, an informant, hallelujah...and you're a bargaining chip with magical communities. You're a negotiating tool."
Annabelle smiled. "I know. I've broken laws in both worlds - but it just so happens that all the laws I've broken so far have been of insane benefit to the nonmagical governments of the world, so they're willing to overlook their laws that I broke in the process of doing what I did. What we did. And for right now, for what most of them are trying to negotiate for, I'm perfectly content with being their chip. And I'll keep being content with it, so long as they allow me to continue to work on and make progress with the SRM. As long as I can live, Lisa, and live the way that I want to...then I'm fine with where I am now. And I'll be fine with how things will be in the future."
"I'm fine with how things are too," said Gertrude. She crawled over the table and grabbed Annabelle's arm in her clawed hand. Turned an almost defiant look on Lisa. "I broke laws on both sides too, but I'm fine with staying over here on this side of the line if I can keep on living. Even better if I get to experience everything they have to offer me."
"This isn't going to be a zero-sum game, Annabelle," Lisa said quietly, ignoring Gertrude entirely. Her gaze was only for Annabelle. "Sure, yeah, the nonmagical societies will take from the mages, concessions and victories, pertaining to themselves and their people, as well as maybe show the magical societies a lot of things that they can improve upon in their own communities, their own world - but it'll go the other way, too. It always has, between us. Concepts, morals, those things are ours that bleed over into them; views on sexuality, gender identity and roles - those things, they got from us, for the most part. We improved on them, over time and slowly. And now...now they're going to improve on us, in a huge way, in a very sudden way. Okay, yes, they'll do that. But after the oppressed minority has taken, and influenced, after decades or a century or two...the magical communities will want to start taking back. Maybe out of revenge, maybe out of perceived injustices - destroying tradition, stealing power and wealth from people who have it and can't stand to lose it - but it'll happen. This entire...our entire future together, from now on, that's going to be give and take, Annabelle."
"Yeah. Give and take. But as long as one side or the other doesn't try going the genocidal, burning everyone alive route, or the mass population mindrape and manipulation route again - as long as we're equal, in peace, in harmony, in an equilibrium with each other, and no one tries erasing or controlling the other again...as long as we can keep that, we'll be fine."
"And you're forgetting to mention the nonhuman societies out there," Lisa remarked, with a pointed look at Gertrude. "Things are going to get complicated, and tense, if they're all going to be elevated to equal status with any other nation, like you want to help them do, and like most of them want to be. Say some mermaid kingdom in the pacific starts trading with nonmagic Australia. How's that going to look to other mermaid kingdoms, or other nonmagic nations? How would you even establish trade with a society that exists solely underwater? Or what about the goblin nation? If they get access to wands, wandlore, spells, knowledge, and they get equal status? What if they just use all that to launch an attack on a magical government in vengeance, for all that history that's not history to them? Would a nonmagic nation step in, try to help the goblins? Try to help the human mages getting attacked? Or stay out of the whole conflict entirely? What about the dragons? They're getting their intellect back, their powers, their past back. And in the past, you know they were dangerous, and smart. Hoarding gold, attacking villages - it's not just fairy tales and myths. There's a reason...that the ancient Wizarding Council put that curse on their species forevermore. When their numbers grow, when their powers come back to them fully, what're they going to do? They can't hold together any sort of society, any kind of government - they never have! Every single time they've tried making some dragon kingdom, dragon clan, whatever, it falls apart! It never holds for long. Never. And when it breaks, it'll be like before: a bunch of huge, flaming, dangerous individuals doing whatever the hell they want in the world."
"How about fairies, for another example?" Lisa went on, her voice turning evermore snappish. "Nonmagic logging companies versus fairies. They destroy a forest, ruin a lot of fairy homes. A lot of livelihoods. And now? Now those fairies can start suing them for damages, take them to court. How about your magi-arachnids? Some nonmagic stumbles into a den of theirs, gets bitten, eaten up for trespassing or hurting them? Is the offending magi-arachnid going to be imprisoned, taken to court over the whole thing? Nonmagic court? Magi-arachnid societies generally don't do the whole monetary value system thing, they can't be sued or sue back, and the way they see things, being in a human prison would be like declaring war on their tribe. Or what about mermaids? Let's go back to mermaids. How do you imprison a mermaid on land who - let's just spitball here - sexually assaulted some surfer guy? How do you get a mermaid to show up in court when they die if they even get out of the water for more than a minute? How do you extradite them? What happens if the mermaid kingdom just refuses to even let the nonmagics have their criminal? Do they go down there in submarines, blow them to hell? Scuba divers? What? How is this - how is any of this going to work, for any of us, Annabelle?"
"Those are all extremely good points to bring up here." Annabelle took a drink. Glanced out the window. "But those are things that we're all just going to have to try to figure out together as we all go along, I guess."
"What about these guys?" Lisa gestured at their security officers. "How does the average patrol officer do their job when they can come across a criminal who could just wave their wand - or hand, if they're foreign or talented - and make that patrol forget all about it and walk away? The Statute's gone, which means there are going to be a lot of people who will start trying to take advantage of being able to do magic freely, out in the open, now. How will prisons even hold them, do you think?"
"They'll adjust," said Annabelle, shrugging. "Start working with mages who live in and identify with the nonmagic societies in order to enchant items and clothing to prevent magical influence or assaults on officers, or to make prison facilities capable of containing them - anti-apparition charms, the works. The standard things that magical prisons already have around them. I wouldn't be surprised if we started seeing such enchanted items mass produced, and protective enchantments put up around nonmagic homes for a nice fee. No different than everyone having smoke detectors and burglar alarms."
"All right." Lisa nodded. Idly tapped her palms on the table. "How about...same-sex and even interspecies relationships? Sex, marriages? Partnerships? Those have been happening for a long time for us mages, rare as they are in most parts of the world, but for nonmagics it's entirely new - probably even taboo. Gross. Whatever. Hangups. Nonmagics are way far behind us on that front, however far ahead of us they are on others."
"They'll get better, progress. Just like we did. Just like they are now, slowly. They're gaining awareness, traction - their own movements, advocacy, it's happening. Pushed ahead by them. And now that they're going to be all interacting with a world where that's all already been a thing for centuries, a normal old thing, I think they'll all get a huge helping hand in that regard. The people will see us, see how we live, and they'll cry out for that more than ever, harder than ever. And their governments...will give it to them, hopefully. With some pushing from ours. Give and take, like you said."
"Fine, let's go back all the way to magi-arachnids. They have territories, tribes, dens everywhere, all spread throughout the continents - inside established national human superpowers. Are they going to be considered sovereign nations, their own states, or what? How will that work? Will they be relocated forcibly? Confined to only certain areas, regulated over and monitored?"
"I don't know, but I think they might-" Annabelle started.
"Can the heavy talk stop?" said Gertrude. "We're meant to be enjoying this day out, not worrying over the fate of the world."
"Sorry," said Lisa - and she really tried to sound sincere about it. "I didn't come here to ruin your day - much as I'd love to honestly say I did - I'm sorry," she reiterated, with a look of heartfelt at Annabelle.
"It's fine," Annabelle replied. She smiled. Offered Lisa a couple of fries. "Just- one last serious question for you I...really have to ask. Do you have some kind of tracking charm on me? Because, sorry to get crude here, how the hell do you keep finding me?! First it was Themyscira, now it's here? Some random diner I randomly decided to go to in Manhattan. Explain that to me."
Lisa ripped the drink from Annabelle's hand and took a long, long drag from it. She set it down. Smacked her lips. She smiled. "No clue what the hell you're talking about. I was just in the neighborhood."
"Bullshit," Annabelle snapped. "Try again. Try telling the truth this time."
Lisa's lips parted. She paused. Settled back in her seat. "I don't feel like it. Not in present company, anyway..."
"Fine." Annabelle sighed. Put her head in her hands. "Whatever. I don't even care. As long as you don't use it to hurt me after you keep finding me."
"I've had it on you since we were kids."
Annabelle lifted her head. Stared at Lisa. "What?"
"You were a fucked up little shit, all right? All those therapy sessions, the counselling meetings? The courts? The cutting? You were fucked up, and I was your friend, and I crushed on you and then I loved you, and I didn't want you to go somewhere in the school alone some day and hang yourself! So yes, I put a tracking charm on you! And you never even bothered all these years to even check for things like that, like my stupidest targets I go after in my bounty hunting work, so I just never told you. You didn't bring it up, so I wasn't going to. Besides, it's still been useful to me, hasn't it? Keeping your sexy ass out of trouble, or...or being able to find you anywhere in the world when I need help in my life. When I need you."
"Dammit Lisa...on one level, that's so damn sweet and it makes me want to cry, and hug and kiss the shit out of you - but on another level...that's some fucked up stalker bullshit that crosses a hell of a lot of lines!"
"Okay, I'll take it off then."
"No, I'll take it off."
"You wouldn't trust me to?"
"No! You're the one who fucking put it there to begin with and didn't tell me about it!"
Silence.
"I'm sorry," Lisa said, her voice tight and high.
"I know."
After they had finished their meals, Annabelle bought a great deal of extras to take back to the safehouse - and to give Inna and Taru.
She walked out the restaurant and crossed the parking lot, stepping onto the grass strip that marked border between parking lot and the parallel street. She gave Taru a firm pat, gave Inna a stroke of a leg, and then sat down in the grass with a relaxed sigh. She spent a moment or two just like this - just looking up at the clouds, taking in the sun on her face. She pushed herself up on an elbow and dug through the bags; she retrieved two burritos (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, whipped cream and of course, beef). She held one out to Inna, one to Taru.
"This is human food for you," Annabelle explained. "Though, I've noticed you two have been a lot more interested in the scenery than the prospect of trying out our meals."
*This is beautiful territory,* Taru spoke. He lifted a limb, waved awkwardly at their surroundings. *And it's all open! All your dens are together too, right out here. Few magi-arachnid tribes would be so bold as to make their living above ground - on the ground. At least weave your webs up in the trees! But you don't do that, you humans, and you're without fear? Without any worry for predators, or invaders, or even competition?*
*Well, not exactly. The whole continent is considered their territory. And this territory has been a place of invaders and competitors in human history - several times over, in fact. But these days, yeah, I guess the Americans consider themselves secure enough in their power and status that they don't have to really worry about that happening anymore.*
*There are many magi-arachnid tribes and dens across this territory,* said Inna.
Annabelle traced a toothpick over her inner lip. Ran it over her gums. Teeth. So stimulating, so relieving - she hadn't done anything like it since she was a kid, but it was needed right now. With all that had happened, and would happen. *Yeah. some of them might not be too happy about a major increase in human contact.*
*That wouldn't please too many here,* Taru agreed.
Annabelle sighed. Pulled the toothpick out of her mouth. *No, no it wouldn't.* She looked at Inna. *So, have you...have you seen anything you want to ask questions about-*
Inna shivered - a heartbeat - a crackle of white lightning raced across her body, and then she disintegrated.
Annabelle rolled sideways and drew her wand, avoiding a streak of crackling, black magical energy. She came up on her feet and immediately spotted her target - but she didn't want to believe it at first glance. Taru bent his legs and sprang up into the air - easily a dozen feet - and avoided another magical jet of energy, aimed at him this time.
Annabelle faced their attacker fully, clearly, and she realized that, no, no, thank god, it wasn't who she thought it was. Sure, the features were all there - pale skin, claws for fingers, ghoulishly tall and totally out of proportion, pure black eyes, strange scarlet symbols and black veins over her exposed body - but this woman very clearly was not Daphne Greengrass. She even had some additional aspects to her that Daphne hadn't: pointed ears, a sharper intellect written on her face, and she was clad in a simple white vest and pants.
This wasn't Daphne. And for that, Annabelle's heart could keep beating.
Still, there were some other problems present in this encounter. Annabelle hadn't ever actually managed to beat Daphne into submission: she had ended up convincing her to come with her. Annabelle doubted she'd be able to get through to this stranger, however much she wanted to at least try to do so. So, regardless, if Annabelle couldn't convince this person to stop attacking, she'd have to fight them. But she didn't want to hurt them, much less kill them. They were likely to be as innocent as Daphne - kidnapped out of the blue, taken for experimentation and torture and who knew what the hell else. They weren't a monster, they were a victim.
But they were dangerous. They'd killed. Killed Inna...
Annabelle thrust her wand at the twisted woman, sending off a nonverbal Stunning Spell. A loud, drawn out hissing noise behind her caught her attention; turning, she saw Taru squaring off against another twisted person. A man, with the same ears and that higher intellect on his face as the woman who had killed Inna. He was clad in the same, simple vest and pants as the woman.
Two of them now?
Wasn't good for them - or anyone around them. Doing this in the middle of the city...
Annabelle ran at the woman, raised her wand and cast a spell. Not an attack, a conjuration; a blindfold appeared around the woman's eyes. Those two seconds of blind panic, followed by another second wasted reaching up to tear it off were enough for Annabelle. She rammed her shoulder into the woman and took her to the ground. Annabelle grabbed her arm and apparated. They reappeared on the high roof of a skyscraper. Annabelle slashed her wand left and right, tugged and pushed, twirled and circled, creating binding magical ropes, physical walls and chains all around and attached to the woman. She slammed an elbow down into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Then she cast a point-blank Stunning Spell.
The woman beneath her went still, slack, and quiet.
Annabelle grabbed her hand and disapparated with her. They reappeared in the underground chambers of a Themyscira building. Several guards all startled at her appearance.
"Sorry to dump someone else on you, but hold her for me would you? Thank you." Annabelle apparated back to the diner.
Gertrude was throwing herself through the air at the man from behind, while Taru leapt from the side. James and the security detail were scattered in front of the diner entrance, as much to protect the people inside as to try and get a clear shot at the man.
Annabelle threw up a barrier in the middle of the parking lot, blocking off the soldiers from ever shooting at the man.
Gertrude slashed and hacked away at the man's arm, getting several inches deep into it - clearly she was intent on hacking the limb off wholesale. On the other hand, Taru seemed to be going for a bear hug (errr, spider hug), wrapping all his limbs around the man and squeezing tight as he could.
Annabelle stood by, watching the three struggle; like the soldiers, she didn't have a clear shot. And then suddenly she did, when the man slammed a magic-infused fist into Gertrude, sending her rolling across the parking lot to slam into a parked vehicle hard enough to shatter the windows. Taru let out a loud, brief hiss, and then the man was thrashing and turning, struggling to dislodge him with an insane determination!
Ten seconds passed by, and then the man was tiring. Slowing. He was sweating. He fell to his hand and knees. He drew a long, gasping breath, and then he fell flat on his face.
He didn't get up again.
Annabelle glanced behind her, dispelled the barrier with a thought, and stalked over to Taru. *What did you do to him?*
*I bit him - injected him with my venom,* Taru explained.
*Is he dead?*
*Yes.*
Annabelle closed her eyes, and she breathed.
"They have traces of elven physiology."
Annabelle's eyes opened. She looked at Lisa, who was seeming very interested in the body at their feet. "Elven?"
Lisa nodded. Pursed her lips. She knelt down beside the corpse. Reached out and ran a hand over the man's face. "Living weapons with elven features. Know what that says to me? That says to me that someone or some group out there is trying really hard to turn the first and the best of magic on Earth into the worst monsters we could ever know."
"How's that work?" Annabelle asked, shaking her head. "I don't know anything about elves - except house-elves and forest elves, I think."
"They're how we started. Or rather, why we were even able to start at all," Lisa began, in patient tones. "Millions of years ago, before...the dinosaurs, before mammals, before modern plants, even, there were the elves. They were there, among the first life to rise on Earth. But...they stood above all else at the time. Because of magic, they just WERE how they were. Evolution didn't factor, or was accelerated, or bypassed. The elves had societies, kingdoms, nations. They fought, warred, made peace, lived, lost. All long before even the first four-legged lizard appeared on land. And when those lizards did appear...evolve, grow, the elves took them as pets. Mounts. And they continued on, until the scientific event known as the Permean Extinction. That was the result of a war, a final weapon to end everything. A massive wave, a blast of power beyond anything the world has ever known. Unleashed by one elven nation, in an ancient ritual they'd created. After that...extinction came for Earth, and all life on it. The continent began to shift and change. But another elven nation, or maybe just malcontents in the ones that had done the ritual, committed themselves to ensuring life wouldn't die out. They protected the plants, the animals - as much of it as they could. And they...infused it all with...their essence, with magic itself. And then the elves died. They died, but...life lived on. And it evolved, it grew, it became what we are now. And magic survived right alongside it. Became humans, orcs, giants, mermaids, unicorns and magi-arachnids, dragons and fairies, and house elves. That's why house elves can do things we can't even imagine, why they can bypass any magical barriers we can throw up. Because they're so much closer to being direct descendants of the original elves than we are."
"And now...someone's trying to take what the elves were and put that into who we are now? Make living weapons out of their remnants?"
Lisa nodded. "Looks like it. If they succeed, more than partially like they are so far, those weapons will be damn near unstoppable. Unbeatable. And terrifyingly powerful - maybe even powerful enough to destroy the surface of this planet again, wipe out all life on it all over again."
"That sounds horrible," Gertrude rasped. She sucked the blood off her fingers. Stuffed a stringy tendon into her mouth. "Can we get back to eating?"
"Gertrude, is that-" Annabelle stopped. Looked between Gertrude, and the corpse. She closely scrutinized the shredded right arm. "Did you seriously take...?"
"I only took a little bit of his arm," Gertrude retorted, crossing her arms and staring up at Annabelle. "I was still hungry, I'm sorry I have basic needs!"
Annabelle dropped to her knees and seized Gertrude's shoulders. Looked her in the eyes - even past her own discomfort, that screaming in her head that said look away! "Okay, very important lesson here: if you're going to be dealing with humans, do not do that anywhere near any one of us. I don't really care what you do with the corpse - he's already dead and his soul's moved into the afterlife, he's fine - but a lot of other humans will. And they have laws about that sort of thing, understand? Laws you need to obey if you're going to be spending any amount of time here among us."
"I understand." Gertrude made a pouty face. "Doesn't mean I like it."
Annabelle shook her head. "I can relate."
"Where did the other one go?" Gertrude asked.
"There was another one?" Lisa said sharply.
"Yeah, her - I Stunned her and dropped her off with the amazons."
Lisa disapparated nearly the moment those words had left Annabelle's mouth.
Annabelle had an idea of where she was going. She didn't bother following her, however. She had somewhere else to be.
Norberta's cave home
[Would you two be willing to bring Sevra along to Rynegaul for the hatching? I mean I am sort of like your mother, and so that sort of makes Sevra, and these kids of Anju and I's, siblings.]
[I would,] Norberta answered. She threw a sharp look at Emerich. [Would you? I know they aren't my family by bloodline, but I consider them to be family in the core of my soul. Can you find it in your soul to think of them this way too?]
[I...can try,] Emerich said finally, slowly, though sounding as if he found the very idea absolutely absurd. [If I'm not going to be able to avoid having relations with humans from now on, then I suppose I can at least make sure those relations aren't hostile - given their numbers, variable magicks and physical weaponry, they would win almost any conflict. No, I don't think there's any reason to be hostile right now - not with this human, especially. Your human...mother. She's doing much to help our people when no one else is.]
[Great,] Annabelle said cheerfully. She reached out and patted Emerich's foreleg. [Let's get going, then.] She pointed her wand at the nearest boulder, and turned it into a Portkey. [Claws on, you two. See you there.] She disapparated to Rynegaul; not a moment later did the two dragons and a giant boulder appear in a flash of blue.
"I'm so relieved that you didn't do that in the middle of the village itself," Anju's light tones drifted on the air - as she herself came drifting through the air toward them, wings flapping without much effort.
[Why?] The inquiry came from Emerich. Total bafflement was running through his voice.
Norberta's tail twisted up around her body and slapped him on the back of a hind leg. [In older times, we dragons were responsible for a lot of trouble - burning down villages, pillaging rich kings and queens, demanding sacrifices to appease us - people don't like it when you destroy their civilizations. And we don't want to make people not like us again, do we? That's a one-way ticket to being cursed stupid again for another thousand years.]
[Understood - but, when I was without my intelligence and my...sapience, you said? When I was that way, I killed and destroyed many people and things in the world.]
[Yes,] Norberta agreed. [So did I - I still remember those days. But I think that, morally, we're not culpable for our actions during those times. Right, Annabelle?] she added, bending her neck and blinking at her with uncertainty.
Annabelle nodded. [That's right. You're not responsible for whatever you did under that curse - just for what you do now, without it strangling your brain anymore.]
[Hmmm,] said Emerich. His tail flicked about wantonly - a spike embedded itself in the grass. He wrenched it free, twisted his long neck around to look at the damages. He looked back to Annabelle. Looked to Norberta - then settled his slitted, orange gaze on Anju. [This area of land belongs to you. I'm sorry I punctured it?]
"He says sorry for ruining your grass," Annabelle translated for Anju.
Anju flapped her wings and hovered a few feet off the ground. On eye level with Emerich now. "That's very considerate of you - thank you - but I'm not worried about the grass and the dirt. Just the buildings; so try not to damage those."
[Your children are going to hatch here soon?] Emerich questioned, tilting his head to one side. He swung his tail and pointed at the large egg Annabelle was cradling in her arms. [That's ours. Sevra, we decided to name her - it's an old dragon name that my wife chose from ancient tales of our people. Sevra, the original Sevra, was famous for eating the human children of a long line of kings and queens who weren't the firstborn. She did this for generations, and the reason is that the king or queen of the time had a longstanding agreement with her that she would refrain from attacking their main city as long as she received the sacrifices. Sevra was a clever woman.]
Annabelle's face twisted. Her eyes went right to Norberta. [That's...that's the history of the name? That's...uh, that's colorful. Really interesting.]
[Isn't it?!] Norberta responded, delighted. [I couldn't believe it when I first read about it. It's perfect.]
[Right...] Annabelle relayed the name, and the history of the name to the others.
[That building is broken.] Emerich lifted a foreclaw and made a vague gesture toward an outskirt cabin; there was a large, felled tree laying over a partially destroyed roof.
Norberta eyed the broken house. She looked from Emerich to Annabelle. [Ask Anju for us if we could fix that for her, please.]
[On it.] Annabelle caught Anju's eye. "Norberta and Emerich want me to ask you if they can fix that whole tree-in-building situation you have going on here still." She gestured vaguely.
"Keeping a village strong is a communal duty," Anju spoke quietly. She stared at Norberta and Emerich a long moment. "I don't have a community anymore. Or do I? Could I be right to think we're all a different, much smaller sort of community at this point? If they want to help, I'll allow them to."
[YES!] Norberta's shout of glee reached the skies. Everyone stared at her - though, everyone save Annabelle and Emerich were doing so because, from their perspective, all they heard was the mother of all dragon roars.
[What are you excited about?] Emerich questioned, his slitted eyes showing confusion.
[This is what we need!] Norberta explained, spreading her wings and giving them some hard, excitable flaps. She reared up on her hind legs, came back down with a crash that rocked the ground. [If we're going to have any chance at making ourselves into any sort of good, functioning society, then we need a taste of community! That's what it's all about - understand? We're lazy, and we're selfish, but we're going to change all that. We need to be with each other, we need to talk with each other, and we need to always be helping each other. A community is all about trust, and working together to keep things going as they are. We're going to do that, you and me, here. And then, when enough of our people are awake again, we'll teach them. We'll gather them all, and we'll make a society for all dragons. It won't be like it was a thousand years ago, when all we were was this random collection of individuals spread out across the world, causing death and chaos and stealing whenever we felt like it! We almost went extinct a few times over, and in the end the Wizarding Council came together and put that primal curse on us. But they won't have to do that this time! No one will. We're going to be different, and we're going to be better. We have to, if we're going to live and thrive at all in these times.]
[How do we fix this, then?] asked Emerich, starting over toward the ruined home with utmost caution - an awareness of his own great limbs, his wings, and where they were in relation to the world around him. Annabelle smiled to herself; Norberta could have picked a far worse partner.
[I don't know,] Norberta admitted. She hurried up beside Emerich, reached out a tentative foreclaw toward the building. Twisted her neck this way and that, examining it from all angles. [How about we just try to do the opposite of damaging it all even further, if we can't actually repair it?]
[All right.] Emerich growled, low and thrumming - contemplation. He extended a foreclaw, scooped it under the tree, and wrapped his tail around the portion of it that was sticking out of the side of the building. He pulled and lifted, took several steps back, and then he gave an almighty swing of his powerful tail and sent the tree rolling dozens of feet into an open field. [That was acceptable for you?]
[For me? Yes. For Anju? Well, she didn't yell at you...so, also yes, I think.]
[What can we do now?] said Emerich, peering down into the house through the roof. [It's small and delicate, if a tree can do this to it - our claws are too big to do anything with these small...these small things.]
[I think that's where they come in.] Norberta twisted her neck and gestured at Annabelle and the rest. [They're small and delicate, too. They can fix the small things, since we fixed the big things. You just have to ask them for help.]
[Will you help us fix the rest of this house?] Emerich spoke to Annabelle.
[Yes,] Annabelle answered, drawing her wand and moving swiftly toward the dragon pair.
In the middle of the largest village cabin, Anju and Annabelle stood close together, bathed in crackling firelight and warmth.
"This is...this is ours. This is- us." Annabelle held her first child to her chest, gazed down at him. Her son. "He's got...my eyes. Your...nose?" She laughed, shaky - she sniffled. She choked. "But the um- colors on the...little feathers aren't...same as yours?"
"That's right," Anju responded, brushing a gentle wing edge overtop their child's head. "That's yours, that's all you - the red was...taken from your human hair and...transferred over into the feathers."
"When- when will the others be...be here too?" Annabelle croaked.
"Over the course of the next twelve hours, one at a time," said Anju, soft and joyous. Her lips held the warmest of smiles.
"I want to see...all of them. I want to hold all of them. Anju, oh my god...I...this is happening. This is a thing in my life. I'm...I have a kid. I'm going to have a hell of a lot more here soon. God, I wish my parents could be here for this. At the least, I...I hope they can see it, from wherever they are, however the afterlife works. I hope they're looking at me, right here, right now, right at this moment."
"The same hope, I have for mine," Anju replied, in the softest of whispers.
Back at the safehouse very much later that night, Annabelle got the shock of her life.
She was sitting out back, staring across the field and into the forest, when something incredible happened. And unfortunate.
There was a high rustling, a wind in the forest, and then a sand tornado was swirling about in place.
After several seconds, it died away, the rustling stopped. There, towering over the trees, was Nyllia. Over fifty feet tall, her many large eyes glistening in the dark. She shifted her many, massive legs, crushing and knocking trees over like bowling pins.
*Nyllia!* Annabelle apparated across the field, to forest's edge, closer to where Nyllia was standing. *Nyllia, I'm sorry to be crude, but what the fuck are you doing here - and why at this time of night?!*
Nyllia's many-eyed gaze lowered, lowered, scanned the field...and finally fixed upon Annabelle. *Hello, Annabelle Potter. It is a pleasure to see you again.*
*Same!* Annabelle yelled. She paused, pointed her wand at her throat and amplified her voice. *I agree, all right, but what are you doing here?*
*I live here now.*
*You- what?*
*You inspired me, Annabelle, with what you did for your people here. You fought your strongest, your most numerous, all for the sake of making a better change for the lesser. The children. You did that, and against everything and everyone, you succeeded. I came here to do the same. I killed Trucik, I wiped out most of her tribe, and I took over her den. Most of the other tribes on this continent are now answering to me. The ones who aren't, I'm devouring.*
*Okay.* Annabelle took a breath. Took two more. *All right. Nyllia, I respect you, I adore you, but this...I didn't ever mean to...inspire anyone that way! I just wanted to get in, do what I wanted to do, and that was going to be the end of it! I didn't- mean to- to make whole other societies go on a sweeping adventure into genocide and hostile takeovers, and-*
*Perhaps. All the same, that is what you did. I was not the only one to be inspired by you. There are other nations, tribes, kingdoms and places, and many, many people who all feel as if they can finally speak and move for themselves, and for the betterment of the masses. I think that some of them will follow through, like I did.*
*Oh my god. Shit, okay. Nyllia...when you...what are you goals here?* Annabelle fought to keep her voice under control. *Why do this, why get rid of Trucik, take over her place as Queen of...American magi-arachnid tribes? Why do that?*
*I told you: for the betterment of all. I'm going to command these tribes to change. There will be new rules for them to follow - and any who refuse will be punished.*
*What...rules?*
*Rule number one: No magi-arachnid tribe on this continent will harm a human, except in cases of the human harming them first. Rule two: Every single magi-arachnid Princess will establish peaceful and meaningful dialogue and relations with human government officials in the coming weeks. rule three: Every magi-arachnid will treat a human as if they belong to their very own tribe. Rule four: If any magi-arachnid is known to have attacked a human without the human having made an assault on them first, they will be confined for twenty-five days underground. Rule five: If rule four is broken a second time, they will spend fifty days underground. Rule six: If rule four is broken a third time, they will have their limbs removed. Rule seven: If rule four is broken a fourth time, this will be final and will result in their being devoured for being a threat to human/magi-arachnid relations, as well as humans as individuals. Rule eight: With each breach of rules four through seven, magi-arachnid Princesses will be sent to converse with human governments and offer reparations, and this will be followed through on no matter what the humans request. We will cooperate.*
*Nyllia...that is...that is amazing. It's great, it's- beautiful, even. Okay? That you want to- change your people here, make sure things go great between yours and mine as a whole. That's admirable, that's wonderful, it really is! But you're...are you dictatorshipping a democracy here? Do you think that's going to work? That people will just roll over and go, okay, these are the new rules, this is our new Queen, whatever, I'll listen to her? Don't you think you're going to get a hell of a lot of backlash and rebellion going on instead?*
*Perhaps,* Nyllia reiterated. *But rebellion will be dealt with. Rules nine through twelve pertain to those matters. I took them directly from your various human societies. If an individual is a constant and clear danger to others, then they must be removed from society. Is that not how the majority of your governments feel about incarceration and punishment?*
*Yeah, we do, but...* Annabelle sighed. *Okay. Fine. Good job, Nyllia. You're great. This is great. Go for it. See what happens. I'll support you in it, I'll talk to your Princess ambassadors, whatever you need to keep peace and all going - especially between our peoples. But that's as far as it goes for me.*
*I value your word,* Nyllia's voice rumbled, soft and low. *I would appreciate your personal approval.*
*Well I...approve.* Annabelle smiled, ran a hand through her hair. *You've got it, Nyllia.*
*Thank you. I only wanted to promote future prosperity and peace between our peoples, now that we're all coming out into the open together.*
*I understand. I'm sorry. Just...took me by surprise.*
*That was the plan - Trucik never saw it coming.*
*Uh-huh. Well you-* Annabelle stopped. Put a hand to her chest. And she broke into high peals of laughter. She reached up a hand, gestured to stars shining above. *-Nyllia, you've got yourself a few helicopters coming around, and you have a whole- little mini army down here outside the house.*
*Is this your home?*
*Temporarily. Yeah, Nyllia, sorry to say, you broke a few...rules we've got going on here with this. And a few trees. Pretty sure that's a fine, or...*
*I'm sorry. I will summon a Princess to negotiate.*
*No, no, it'll be fine if just...you negotiate, personally. That's how humans do things, leader to leader. Face to face. We like...being on the same level as the other person. Understand? So if you can stick around, you can do that too. It's important for...relations. For establishing and building them up.*
*I understand. I will remain here, then. Which human will I speak with?*
*I'll figure that out for you. Just...stay there. Okay? Don't break down any more trees.* Annabelle, still chortling to herself, turned and fast-walked her way across the field toward the house again. Toward the line of military personnel and SWAT officers.
"Ma'am, what exactly is the situation here?" Lt. Phelps asked sharply. "We'd all really love to avoid a diplomatic incident here."
*Situation? Not sure what-* Annabelle coughed. Shook her head. Flexed her tongue. "Okay, sorry. Yeah, so, that's Nyllia, and she's recently become the one to lead all the magi-arachnid tribes here in North America. She's a friend of mine. She's really intent on opening up a dialogue and establishing a peaceful relationship with nonmagical human governments on this continent now that we're all out in the open together about our existences - she came to ask me for advice, and to tell me what her plan was."
"All- right. So she wants spider peace, huh? This...Nyllia? That's...good."
"Queen Nyllia - and, yeah. Real good. So don't fuck it up, please. She's nothing but earnest here. She's just...trying a bit too hard, in my opinion. But her heart's in the right place."
"Queen Nyllia, yes, got it. We'll keep that in mind. Unfortunately, you seem to be the only one around who can communicate with their...these people, so we'd kind of like it if you could stick around - and also agree to be our translator."
"I can do that."
"Good, ma'am. Thank you. Now, first things first, please tell the Queen over there that we're going to call up and get the POTUS down here for an impromptu meeting with her. The flight should take an hour or so, if he agrees at all."
"Can do." Annabelle apparated back closer to Nyllia. Then she apparated right up onto her backside. She carefully crawled her way down to her head, and then she sat back and relaxed, casually as anything. *Nyllia, the people down there want me to be their translator. And they want me to tell you this first thing: You need to wait an hour or so, because they're bringing the President here to open a dialogue with you. Peaceful relations and all. The President is the leader of every human on this continent, and the head of the entire government system of the United States. You can't get any higher than him.*
*All right. Tell the humans by the home that I say thank you, and that I hope it will be a pleasure to meet their leader.*
*Okay.* Annabelle shook her head, rubbed at her eyes. I feel like an owl.