Veronica stares at the apartment complex. She looks around, then heads towards the edge of town. Maroon robes catch her eye. Agnus lies on the ground. Limbs broken. Head twisted backwards.

  Lukrimora falls onto Veronica's back. "Hey, sister! Enjoying the view?"

  Veronica blinks. "What have you done?"

  Kaideses pokes Agnus. "She didn't resist."

  Veronica swallows. "Where are the others?"

  Lukrimora laughs. "They're en route to the valley."

  Veronica jerks away from him. "Zachariah expects me to protect them."

  Kaideses hums. "You're not doing a great job!"

  She growls. "Why aren't you 2 with them?"

  Kaideses sighs. "We wanted to watch Zachariah kill Byrd."

  Lukrimora giggles. "Bet he'll put on a good show!"

  Veronica rolls her eyes. "Have fun." She jogs down the road.

  Lukrimora chases after her. "Wait up!" He blocks the path. "Why are you helping him?"

  Veronica shrugs. "This is what I'm supposed to do."

  Kaideses picks Lukrimora up onto his shoulders. "You're supposed to keep him distracted."

  Veronica tilts her head. "What better way to distract someone than to go along with their plan?"

  Kaideses mumbles, then rolls his eyes and tugs on Lukrimora's legs.

  Lukrimora touches his chin. "If you're helping him, then what are we supposed to do?"

  Veronica shrugs. "Does it matter? Sit around. Watch. Do nothing. Kill a bunch of people. I don't really give a shit! The only thing I want is that child."

  The twins stare at her.

  Veronica raises a brow and walks around them. "What? Thought I gave a rat's ass about those pathetic Nobles he surrounds himself with? Calling them his family? He doesn't have a family—not one he remembers!"

  Lukrimora hugs Veronica from behind and rests his chin on her shoulder. "You're hiding something from me."

  Kaideses wraps around her legs. "What aren't you telling us?"

  Veronica purses her lips. "You'll see...if you stick around until the end." She steps aside. Lukrimora falls on Kaideses. Veronica frowns. "See ya around." She's gone.

  His face twitches. "Nebula didn't want me to fight you." A clone sways beside him. "Said you'd kill me. Is that true? You gonna kill me, Zachariah? I wanna see for myself just how strong you are because if it's anything like Theodore—"

  My palm. His face. My foot. His clone.

  I look over at him. "I'm not going to kill you—it'd be a waste of energy!"

  He smacks my hand away, sweeps under my legs, and merges with his clone. He grows in size. I hit the ground. His purple eye expands.

  What does he think he's doing? Doesn't he realize I'm going to strip him of his powers? Petty fool!

  Smoke spreads between buildings. I squat on a roof and watch. Sparks in his hand. Fingers long and thick like sausages. Eye socket hollow. My stomach... His eye is moving around inside me. Gross!

  He struts through the street. I hope everyone's fled. He pauses. Wonder if I can heal... Crackling! I jump back. He grabs my leg. BOOM!

  Buildings collapse. I lay in the rubble. Byrd laughs. Footsteps. I sit up. More smoke. Crackling. I move. He grabs my neck. "Hey Zachariah! Why aren't you fighting?"

  I shrug. "Guess... I'm... Bored..."

  He growls and squeezes my neck. "I'll kill you! You pathetic—"

  I hold his arm in my hands. Blood spews from his shoulder. His skin is warm. Wonder if the rest of him tastes good. The eye was kinda disappointing. Maybe I should let him work up a sweat.

  He chokes. "Again?" Then reaches for me.

  I stand on his back. "Listen, bro. I'm not going to kill you." I leap back. He reaches. I whack him with his arm. "I vowed to myself that I'd take away people's power in place of killing or eating them."

  He blows smoke in my face. "Don't care!" Sparks.

  I grab his tongue. "You should!" And pull. "This concerns you!"

  He whines and punches me. Doesn't hurt. Again. Is he trying? I toss his arm. Maybe I should've had a bite.

  I raises a brow. "Do you know what it feels like to—"

  A tail pierces my hip. I'm yanked—into a wall. Bricks fall around me.

  He leans down and picks up his arm. "I get the feeling duplication won't work on you. Best to use my second form. Wanna see?"

  I pull my head free. Think a piece of my skull is still in their. I drop to the ground. "Second form?" I stare at him. "Don't think you can get any uglier!"

  He points his arm at me. Blood slings across the ground. "We'll see if you're still making jokes after I'm through with you."

  I sigh. "Hurry up, bro." He's kinda annoying. "I have better things to do."

  He cackles. "You asked for it!" He stomps. "Second form!" His eye glows. "Skin and bones!"

  This—I leap into the air. Tails! A dozen of them! Slapping into buildings. His body. He... What the hell is that?

  Wrinkled white skin. No face. Just a large purple mouth with sharp teeth. Purple veins bulging on his neck. Long arms. Huge clawed feet.

  A second form... Nebula did this... It's sick!

  He's gone! Where did—A tail through my shoulder. Another through my leg. His long fingers clutch my shoulder. Hot breath on my neck.

  His voice sounds painful. "Can you handle it?"

  A tail stabs through my back. Poking out my chest. I can't move. We hit the ground. Tail after tail. Inside then out.

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  Blood pools. Coating the ground. Splattering on the buildings and street signs.

  My hand pulses. The binding is spreading. Fire in my veins. What if I draw power from the infant? Is there time? This man might kill me.

  A tail in my eye. Hold. He tenses.

  Laughter. "Like you said." She dances around him. "Your mistake wasn't letting them live." Her hair strangles his neck. "It was letting them live with the power they'd use to destroy you and anyone you love." Toothy grin. "So take it!"

  The air feels heavy in my lungs. With all the blood I've lost—figured I'd be lighter somehow. Like a weight lifting off my shoulders. But the weight only increases. And my hunger grows...

  He jumps away. "What is that?" Tails quivering. "That—that thing?" Veins thudding. "Curling inside you?"

  Blood crawls back into my wounds. I can feel his eyes in the remains of my stomach. I reach down and pluck it from my intestines. Insert it into my empty socket.

  He growls. "SICK FREAK!"

  A tail... He pauses. What's he waiting for? Does he realize the fight is over? It's been over since my creation. There is no fight. Only me and my creator.

  Black threads extend from my chest. Byrd slashes a building. It falls on top of me. The threads dissolve everything they touch. No different than breathing, right?

  Are my feet moving? Must be. I'm closing in on him.

  Surprised my wounds healed. Maybe I can pull a little more power from the infant. This man will never walk again. Not in the way he used to. The sway of his hips will turn into a limp. The grin on his face will be a permanent scowl.

  Theresa clutches Nathaniel in her arms. His seal glows. The amulet howls. Greene hugs Michael and strokes his hair. Michael shakes. His teeth grind.

  The trucks skid. Brakes shriek. Veronica stands in front of the entourage. She tilts her head.

  Soldiers climb from the trucks. They mutter into their headsets. Veronica giggles. "Don't bother!"

  Cries bounce off the truck's armature. Theresa shakes her head. Greene reaches for her. Michael peeks through the window.

  Veronica rips off the door. They stare at her. Blood drips from her curls. Hand holding a heart. She licks her lips. "Fight back a little."

  Greene flings the door at her. The metal wraps around her body. Veronica strains. Greene pulls Theresa and Michael from the vehicle.

  They run—into an invisible wall. The metal burns red-hot, then melts off Veronica's body. The ground around her feet bubbles.

  Her eyes glow. "Do you want to know what role I played in Theodore's life?" The wall drags them closer to her. "I wasn't leading his armies!" Closer still. "I was leading him!"

  Theresa clings to Greene. "We can't fight her."

  Michael puffs his chest. "I won't let you hurt us!"

  Veronica snickers. "Let me?" She steps. Voices fill her head. She stumbles to her knees. "This power!" Her smile widens. "Rich and robust!"

  Greene lifts the trucks over her head. "Keep her there, son."

  Veronica laughs. "You don't get it, do you?" Her fingers dig into the ground. "Theodore was my charge—my master!" She crawls. "I was his disciple! His most loyal and trusted advisor!" She reaches for Michael. "If anyone should die, it should be you!"

  The trucks drop and hit an invisible bubble surrounding Veronica. She cackles. "In Sector A, Nebula wanted to strike fear into the heart of the Wyre. My power made it so nothing could touch her!"

  Theresa cries. "Please! Is everything you told us a lie? Aren't you still that girl who saw her parents killed in an explosion?"

  Veronica wobbles.

  Theresa sniffles. "You can still be the girl who looked up to Zachariah and Theodore. It's not too late to make the right choice, Veronica."

  Tears fill Veronica's eyes.

  Greene steps beside Michael. "Zachariah is part of our family. You can be too!"

  Veronica shuts her eyes and pounds on the ground. "You don't get it! You don't understand!" She rises. "I didn't look up to either of them!" The trucks melt and rain down on her. "I created them!"

  Michael coughs blood. "She's too..." He collapses.

  Greene cradles him. "Is this what you want?" He snarls at her. "To hurt the people he loves?"

  Veronica lifts her hands. "You cannot fathom how much this hurts me!"

  Molten metal splatters onto them. They holler and sizzle. Veronica trudges over and glares at Nathaniel. He cries. She scoffs. "Save your breathe, kid!" She grabs him. "There'll be plenty to cry about in your future."

  The man chops through a thread at the expense of his tail. It detaches before the deterioration reaches his back. My threads dissolve everything they touch. Buildings. Bodies. Roads.

  Purple sparks form into a crackling ball of electricity in his hands. Smoke drips between his teeth. His tails glow.

  I focus the threads on his tails. Purple beams cut through them. I grip my chest and cough. He charges. The electricity screeches. Tails shoot up through the soles of my feet. I can't run!

  He hits me with the electricity. Something... Something... Melody laughing... Chuboki looking displeased... Eating... Yummy... Tatiana... Stuffing my mouth...

  There's something in my chest cavity. I feel it thudding. I reach up. His arm. All the way through.

  He growls. "How are you still standing?"

  Isn't it obvious? My arms and legs lock around him. He pushes at my head. My wound heals. He's stuck like this!

  He rips out my hair. "GET OFF! GET OFF ME!" He punches my head. "GET THE HELL OFF!"

  Threads crawl beneath his skin. Sounds painful. His screams are annoying. I kinda want to kill him. I could. But leaving him alive will serve as a warning to every Sentient who thinks about fucking with me.

  He bites a finger off and spits it out. Why would he do a stupid thing like that? He growls in my ear. "I'll get you next time!"

  The finger grows into a new body. Are these clones still him? It's similar to immortality. Wonder if stripping the abilities from one affects the rest. I breathe him in. His lifeforce is small. His body goes limp. The clone chokes, then melts. I set him down.

  It's over... The threads are plump with his essence. Purple like his veins. His skin breaks apart to reveal his true form beneath. He's not a Noble anymore... Nebula and I... We really are the same. I didn't need a machine to do it. Maybe she's not after a machine that'll strip away Noblility. Maybe she's trying to find a way to take my power away.

  The twins perch on a sign. Why aren't they attacking? I blow smoke through my nostrils. They whisper to themselves. Guess they're only interested in watching this time. Smart move.

  I turn away from the man. He grabs my ankle. "Wait!" His eyes no longer shimmer. They swirl grey. "Don't leave me like this!"

  Is he begging? Would he show me mercy? Doubt it!

  I kick him off and leave.

  The apartment complex is busted. The others must still be waiting. I walk to the outskirts. Veronica is on her knees... Who's she... Agnus?

  Veronica sobs into Nathaniel. "It's too late!"

  Agnus is dead. I can smell it. Her light blue eyes look dull. Blank.

  Veronica sniffles. "I... I'm... Sorry..."

  I scan the road, then the forest. I can't sense them. I stare at Veronica. "Are they...?"

  She flinches. Snot hangs from her nose. Shoulders shaking.

  I touch her shoulder. "It's time to go."

  Veronica looks up at me. "But..."

  I glance at the town. "If I stay here, they'll all be in danger."

  She bows her head. "Yes... You're right." I help her stand. "Where'll we go?"

  Smoke extends into the sky. My nails dig into my palms. "West."

  Veronica swallows. "The KTP?"

  I nod. "It's the safest place for him."

  She sighs. "You should know... Nebula can't cross the border."

  I raise a brow. "And the others?"

  She checks over her shoulder. "They'll be waiting for us when we return."

  I gulp. "What makes you think—"

  "Because I know you." She smiles and wipes her eyes. "You will come back."

  I huff and gesture for her to follow.

  Nebula jots down a set of numbers. 8901... 4449... Over and over again. Her pens slips. Ink spills onto the page.

  A knock. She growls and swipes the files off her desk. "WHAT?"

  Neptune opens the door, but he stands there and watches as someone else enters.

  Nebula jerks. "Chuboki?" She moves around her desk. "What do I owe this displeasure?"

  Chuboki stops in front of her fireplace. "I'm here to make a deal."

  Nebula bursts into laughter. "A deal?" She holds her gut. "Zachariah must have really lost touch!" She squeezes her sides. "After losing someone so precious to him—"

  "Cease your experiments!" Chuboki holds his chin up. "And I'll give you something that'll kill him."

  Nebula straightens and stares. "Kill?" She grabs his collar. "What brilliance do you offer me that can undo immortality?"

  Chuboki shoves her off. "First, a deal!"

  Nebula waves her hand. "My experiments will die with me before I ever—"

  Chuboki points the Coil at her.

  Her eyes flicker. "Well? Go on... Pull the trigger!"

  Chuboki glances back at Neptune.

  Nebula nods and he leaves. "No one will stop you." She leans against her desk. "Is this a power mover? Are you trying to intimidate me?"

  Chuboki lowers the Coil. "This weapon—" He drops it. "You're perfect for one another!"

  Nebula rolls her eyes and taps her nails. "Why give it to me?"

  Chuboki clenches his fists. "Because you can clean up the mess you made!"

  She snickers. "The mess I made?"

  He lifts his foot.

  Nebula jolts. "Stop!"

  Chuboki snorts.

  Nebula gulps. "I'll accept your terms, but you should know..." She moves towards him. "Killing Zachariah has never been my goal."

  Chuboki grunts. "That's apparent! You've let him run rampant!"

  Nebula grins and opens her hand. A pink light hovers above her palm. "I swear to—"

  Chuboki growls. "Stop all of your experiments!"

  Nebula sneers. "I swear to stop all of my experiments!"

  Chuboki lifts his hand over the light. "And I swear to give you this weapon on the condition that you won't ever experiment again!"

  Nebula pouts. "Deal."

  The light crackles. Flames pour from her fireplace. Their palm's are seared with a symbol. Chuboki grits his teeth and pulls away. Nebula drops her hand, then picks up the device. The door opens.

  Nebula smirks. "You're just in time!"

  Chuboki turns and jumps. "You..."

  Melody tilts her head. "How's it hanging, Chu?"