Ok, here is part two of the Broken Seal series. Standard disclaimers
apply. If anyone can tell me how to properly format this thing for easy
reading in a message, please do so privately.

Standard warnings apply, there is death, violence, and some language in
this story. Those of you who dont care for any of the above, stop
reading now.

As usual, C&C is appreciated, flames are not. Please, private email, the
FFML is busy enough as it is now. No need to clog it up with C&C.

((speech)) is thoughts
"speech" normal speech, in japanese unless specified

                                  Bubblegum Crisis - Broken Seal: Broken
Chains

A man stood on a balcony a good distance from the Genom tower, wondering
what the future would bring. "So, Genom controls one of us, eh? It won�t
last, power such as ours cannot be contained forever." He turned and
walked back inside, closing the doors as he did so, no need to invite
unwanted guests. He sat in front of a mirror, made a couple of gestures
and it fogged over rather quickly. �Marak, I found the Seventh Seal.�
The response was quick and to the point, �Good. Destroy it.�

He frowned, �That won't be all that easy, it's embodied in one of our
kind.� The response wasn't what he expected, �I see, that does
complicate things a bit. The Regent would be most displeased if we
killed one of our own, even if it was for our release from this prison.
Watch and observe, but do not interfere, at least not yet.� He nodded,
�As you command my lord, as you command.� He made the same gestures and
the mirror reflected his own image, that of a middle aged man, one few
would recognize, Professor Shito Gretson.

He sat in class, the year had just started and they had a last minute
change of teachers. The new teacher was Professor Shito Gretson, odd
name, but then again, that was nothing compared to how odd he thought
most japanese names were. The only reason he sat here was that Quincy
decided that it would be good if he knew about the culture and all that.
So he was officially enrolled as a transfer student, he planned on
enjoying it as long as possible, it gave him excuses to not hunt down
the Sabers and not cause any problems for anyone.

His plans to enjoy himself quickly died when he saw one of the students
walk in, Nene Romanova. A member of the Knight Sabers, he wondered why
he had even bothered finding out who they were. His life got difficult
when he knew, he knew a bit about them and found it became difficult to
even think about fighting them. She turned and saw him, looked a bit
shocked but sat near him anyway, just what he needed, even more
complications. He played it cool though, no need for others to know that
they knew each other, especially considering how they knew each other.

He decided to make some idle conversation, �Been a last minute change of
teachers, did you hear that?� She shook her head, she was kind of cute
in a way, but memories of her yelling, �let me go, let me go.� reminded
him of where they stood. �Wasn't aware of it. Who�s the new teach?� He
tried to look like he was just chatting with a student, not feeling like
he was about to puke, �Professor Shito Gretson, odd name, eh?� She
nodded, �It is at that. Wonder what happened to the old one?�

He shrugged his shoulders, �Who knows? I�ve gotten used to changes like
this, life tends to through them at you regularly.� She nodded and took
out a tape recorder, he smiled a bit, a good idea, makes it easier to
take notes. He took out his notepad and put all his attention and effort
into being a good student, as long as Quincy was satisfied that he was
learning he would be much more likely to stay in school.

The professor walked in and he felt something, a connection somehow with
the teacher, he had no way of explaining it. It was almost like they
were related on some level, it was rather disturbing in a way. The
teacher looked his direction and he knew the connection, he had power
similar to his own, maybe the reason for the replacement wasn't a
coincidence. That made his life all the easier and all the more
difficult at the same time, another being with power like his. He
returned his focus to the class and listened while the professor
introduced himself, took roll and then gave his lecture.

After class he decided to get out of there, he didn't want to have to
deal with Nene on less formal circumstances, not yet anyway. He stepped
outside and was about to walk off when she fell in step with him, he
tried to forestall the inevitable, �I still have a few classes today.�
She smiled a bit, �Then I�ll walk with you to your next class. After
what happened recently you�ve piqued my interest, as well as those of my
friends.� He nodded glumly, �Yeah, I can just imagine. I'm surprised you
are taking it so well.�

She shrugged her shoulders, �A bad situation you�re in. I can understand
it, I wasn't as rational for awhile though, but we should try and put
that behind us.� He looked away, still walking, still hoping something
would happen to drag her away, �It�s not that easy. Forgive and forget
is nice, but what I did  . . . � He knew that she probably wasn't here
completely by choice, and he wasn't making it any easier, but how could
he expect them to forgive him when he hadn't even forgiven himself yet?

He saw his next class and was glad he was getting into something less
heavy than emotions, the price of his power and such matters. He went
into class, glad that he was out of that mess for awhile, but he knew it
wasn't over, it was far from over.

The next two weeks passed quietly for him, well about as quiet as his
life would ever get. He�d talked a bit with Nene, but not much, mainly
because it was hard to do so, considering that he�d faced them in the
field several times since them. He�d delivered some good chops, keeping
his power down, but high enough to force them to go full out. The fact
that they�d upgraded their suits recently made the job even more
difficult, he�d come back from several battles severely injured. It
wasn't easy, and Linna would soon be back on the field, and that made it
even harder, he liked her, a lot.

He sighed as he finished his homework, his activities were becoming
almost routine. Go to school, try to avoid Nene, fail miserably, come
back to the tower, do homework, hit the town either to slam the Sabers
or hunt down Mason�s master. Real routine, he had to laugh as he thought
about it, like everyone went through similar problems.

He�d spent quite some time talking with Professor Gretson, the guy was
nice enough, and he�d began to teach him how to really use his powers.
For that alone he appreciated the guy, he had taught him much about who
and what he was. He was one of the Elder Folk, the first race to exist
in the otherworld, but not the last. They were equally strong on both
sides, but were rare on this side because most didn't like it on this
side, they were uncomfortable here. The main reason was that most hadn't
kept up with the technology, and cold iron was something they didn't
appreciate, it tended to warp their magics.

Professor Gretson was one of the few people who saw beyond the power,
saw beyond his use as a player in some war going on. Linna was the only
other one, but even she was influenced by Sylia, she wanted his power on
their side. Quincy wanted him for his power, Madigan wanted him as a way
to control Quincy. There were few people that were interested in him,
Bryan, the person.

He liked Linna, he got along with her the best of them all, he and Nene,
well, she was too close to his age for comfort. Priss, well, the first
time they met she tried killing him, the second time she gave him a
black eye. The reason she gave, general principle, their relationship
was not likely to ever go beyond her grudgingly letting him live. Sylia,
well, he�d met her once, and he didn't like her, he had to admit that
she knew what she was doing though.

Somehow his life got better after he met the professor, he had someone
who truly understood his pain and everything he felt. He and Linna
ended up in a kind of mother and son relationship, he still didn't know
how that had happened, but he was happy, she didn't ask too much of him.
He saw Sylia and Priss as little as often, and Nene, well, he was still
very uncomfortable around her. Life was definitely looking up for him.

He stood there looking at the tower, wondering when he had thought that
life was getting better. It seemed so far away now, like it was a
lifetime ago and not a mere month ago, how quickly times change.
�They�ll be here soon, right?� He didn't even turn, he knew what she was
doing, she found it uncomfortable to look at the dragon, the power
radiated from it even to an untrained eye. She was gifted with the
ability to see the otherworld, emanations of power, but unlike most
people, she couldn't shut it off.

She was kind of half awake at the time, �Yeah, they�ll be here soon.� He
turned away from the window, �I�d better leave then, you know how well
Priss likes me.� She mumbled something, but he didn't hear what it was,
probably a comment about Priss. �I�ll let you guys know what Genom is
doing about the dragon later.� He opened the door to leave and saw that
Priss was about to knock, �I was just leaving.�

He stepped out before she could say or do anything else, he didn't want
a fat lip or worse from her �affection�. He got on the elevator as Sylia
and Nene got off, he was glad that they had business to attend to. Sylia
looked at him as he got on, but said nothing as the doors closed, he was
thankful of that, he didn't want to be involved any more than he already
was. He found a shadow and let it carry him back to the tower, and found
himself bounced back where he was.

He cursed, the dragon was stronger than he thought it was, this was
something that didn't sit well with him. If it was stronger than him, it
was hard to imagine what it would take to kill it or convince it to go
home where it belonged. So he ended up taking the long way home, he
biked. He was glad that he didn't rely exclusively on his power, the
dragon on the tower proved that there were some things power couldn't
touch.

She looked at them all, so different, and yet so close to what they used
to be. The shattering of the Seal of the Ages had done much to them, but
they remained the same as they were in many ways. That was one thing she
was glad for, she knew that soon she may need both their new talents and
their relatively unchanged ways. The dragon that had made the Genom
tower its roost was not something one could ignore all that easily.

They discussed many things, battle plans, contingency plans, the works,
finally after Sylia felt she covered all the grounds she looked at them
all. Despite Bryan and what had happened they were still intact, despite
magic and everything it had brought to them they were intact. She meant
to keep them that way, and that is why she spent so much time with them
right now, this was an enemy unlike any they�d faced before.

Sylia looked around, dreading the answer, but knowing it anyway, �Any
of  you have any ideas on what the dragon wants?� She looked around,
finally Nene raised her snout, apparently having an idea, she reached
over and pulled a blanket over her. As she resumed her human form the
rest looked on, as often as they�d seen it, it was still something that
made them uncomfortable at times. �Perhaps its building a nest, going to
lay some eggs?� Sylia sighed, although she knew the answer, she was
hoping for a different answer than the one that was given.

Priss� jaw dropped, like she couldn't comprehend the thought of a dragon
building a nest on the Genom tower. Linna blanched visibly, and Sylia
knowing that as much as it hurt her looked at her. �How strong is it,
Linna? We need to know.�

Linna got up, and walked over to the window, she closed her eyes before
looking out, she looked right at the dragon. She began crying, �It's too
hard, its like looking at the sun.� Nene got up and went over to comfort
her, Sylia reached out and touched Nene, they had to know. Linna opened
her eyes, drying them on her sleeve, �It's powerful, it makes Bryan look
like a candle in comparison.�

Sylia couldn't help but looking shocked, Bryan was strong, with a kick
he�d almost killed Linna. If the dragon made him look like a candle,
then there was almost no way they could defeat it, the only option that
remained was to find out what it wanted and try to convince it to go
home. It was just too hard to fathom that much power, but she knew that
Linna spoke truly, she hated opening her eyes to the world, and only did
so when necessary. That was why she�d forged the amulet for her, the
amulet that blocked out most of it, not all of it, but most of it.

He entered the tower and could feel the tension in the air even without
any power. Anyone who couldn't feel it was probably brain dead, after
all, its not every day a dragon decides to use your tower as a roost.
Security was tight and he almost had to dismantle a boomer when it
refused to let him go past a certain level but thankfully one of the
human guards recognized him and cleared him. He entered the battle room
and could see that Quincy and Madigan didn't look at all happy, and that
made him extremely happy.

Madigan saw him as he came in, �Where have you been? We expected you
back an hour ago.� He smiled, if it  annoyed her it was worth it, �Had
to bike back, the dragon is preventing inbound teleportation. Got stuck
when the ADP had the area cordoned off, had to find another way in.� She
accepted the reason, even if it wasn't completely true, �Any ideas?� He
shook his head, �Not a one I�m afraid. I take it an orbital strike is
out of the question.� She nodded, �Too risky.�

Quincy turned and looked at them, �The Chaosium?� Madigan shook her
head, �Nothing yet. They�re working on it, but they don't have any clues
yet. The Collegium has already sent us their response.� Quincy raised
his eyebrow, �That is?� She took out a scroll, and it said in a very
polite manner to go screw himself. Quincy made a gesture spoke one word
and the scroll burned to ash within seconds.

As her turned back to look at the monitors he spoke, �Do the same to one
of their holding houses.� She bowed and left to follow his instructions,
he was about to leave himself but Quincy shook his head. �I need you
here right now, I need advice on anything that can be done.� He sighed,
�So why ask me? I'm not an expert on fae creatures.� Quincy nodded, �I
know, I need your thoughts. Why is it here, what does it want, how can
we make it leave?�

He walked over to look at the monitors, even this far away it was
majestic, no wonder so many stories were told about them. He knew that
it paled in comparison to what it must be like in the otherworld, but
even so it was a sight one would never forget. After looking at it for
he didn't know how long he spotted something interesting, �It�s building
a nest.� Quincy nodded, �That it is. What do you think will happen if it
actually lays any eggs?� He shuddered, the thought of baby dragons in
this world was a frightening thought.

Quincy smiled a bit, �Even so, it�s worth the risk. We will wait for it
to lay its eggs, then we will capture an egg. The dragon will then be
disposable, find a way to get me an egg.� He nodded, knowing that there
was no way in hell he�d do it, but with the geas in operation he had to
obey. He went up to the roof, got as close as he could and tried to see
if any eggs had been laid yet. Sadly enough, there were, sadly enough
for the world, two whole eggs, the thought of even one egg in Genom�s
hands scared him.

He spent the next several hours trying to figure out how he would
extract the egg, he wasn't the only one planning however. Gretson looked
at the group he had assembled, some of the best mages in the city, all
of them bound by Elder Folk loyal to him alone. They knew the price of
failure, but if they succeeded, that would make it more than worth any
pain they would suffer. Finally they took off to their positions, ready
to snatch the egg shortly after Bryan took it. Gretson smiled, Bryan was
turning out to be very useful to him alive, it helped having a pawn with
that kind of power.

Bryan saw his chance when the dragon shifted her weight, leaving the
eggs a bit more vulnerable to capture. He took it, leaping in, grabbing
the egg and shadow walking as far as he could with it. Which sadly
enough, was only about twenty feet away, but it sufficed for the moment,
now the hard part began, trying to keep Genom from getting it.

He gulped as he looked up and realized that momma had just woken up, she
didn't look like a morning person either. If he�d thought she was
majestic earlier, now he just thought she was absolutely terrifying, he
almost shit gold bricks right then and there. �There is a logical reason
why I have your egg in hand. Unfortunately, I can't recall exactly what
it was, so I�ll just be going now!� With that he split, dodging
everything the dragon threw at him, which was just about everything.

He dodged the dragon�s claws trying to kill him and retrieve the egg at
the same time, he raised his shields as he saw the tail come smashing
his direction, it was just too big to avoid. He felt the tail smash into
his body and he went down into the floor, crashing through it like a ton
of bricks, one floor, two floors, three, and then he stopped. He
groaned, thinking that he'd just went through that much pain for
nothing, but saw that his shields, and the way he landed preserved the
egg intact. Then he felt something besides pain, he felt like manacles
were falling away from him, like the geas had somehow, someway been
shattered. He was now determined more than ever to keep Genom from
getting the egg, and now he was free to do something about it.

He saw Quincy in the hall ahead, he was dusty, cut, battered, but looked
intact considering that several layers of the Genom tower had just been
crushed. He smiled when he saw the egg, �Good. You retrieved it, now we
can deal with the dragon. Hand it over, we�ll take care of it now.� He
smiled right back, but there was no friendliness in it, with one hand he
held the egg, with the other he shaped the magic that was his and the
two boomers with Quincy turned to stone. �Consider that my official
resignation.�

He tried letting the shadows carry him up but the dragon was still
blocking magic to a certain degree. He then turned and let them carry
him down, the dragon wasn't stopping that direction of travel. He knew
that it wasn't making the situation any easier, but it was the only
option he had available. He did have to hoof it down several flights of
stairs, but wasn't stopped, apparently word of his �resignation� hadn't
filtered down to the grunts yet. He entered the garage and was about
ready to leave when he encountered the first resistance in coming down,
but it wasn't Genom guards who were resisting his departure from the
tower.

A group of humans blocked his departure from the building, his senses
told him they were mages at the least.  The apparent leader had a rather
nasty looking sword, a katana, but it was the power that shrouded it
which made it look nasty, he knew he better not get touched by it. There
were six of them, and they looked like they meant business, the leader
spoke calmly and clearly, �Hand over the egg and you won�t get hurt,
Elder.� They knew what he was, and they were still ready to face him,
either they were loaded for bear or they were cocky beyond belief.
Somehow he was inclined to believe the former, but he wasn't going to
hand it over to them without a fight.

He held the egg with one hand and with the other erected a barrier that
would keep out all but the strongest of magics. He was shocked when two
of them combined their magics and ripped it apart like paper, like his
power was nothing to them. A third blast sent him flying, instinctively
he let go of the egg, but saw that a fourth caught it with telekinesis.
He stood up, not injured, but shocked that he had misjudged them so,
they had to be elder folk, just like him. He was about to try a tactic
to get the egg back when they shadow walked and were gone, but he could
still feel the power, he could track them down.

He stood, gathered his power, and his wits and was ready to follow when
he heard the door opening. Only instinct saved him from the blasts of a
small group of technomagical boomers trying to use him as target
practice. He turned, ashed one before he left the garage, things had
just gotten a wee bit hairy. He spotted the Elder Folk hopping into a
van and took off in pursuit, the winds carrying him along his path. The
boomers were hot on his trail, apparently thinking that he had the egg,
and he knew that momma was nearby.

She looked at Sylia, �Tell me we aren't going to fight the dragon,
please.� Sylia, in a very deadpan voice said, �No, Priss, we wont fight
the dragon.� She looked at Sylia, a look of annoyance in her eyes. Sylia
replied calmly, �You told me to tell you that. Lets just hope we don't
have to, if Linna is correct  . . . � Nobody needed anything further on
that said, and they suited up and headed out to find out just what was
going on.

"I think she's losing it" she told Linna as they suited up. "That was
almost a joke." Linna nodded, "Even she can't handle everything  . . .
this is a crazy time for us." "Yeah, Magic sucks." she muttered as she
pulled her hardsuit on.

He heard a car explode a short distance behind him and knew that those
boomers were given full authority to do whatever it took to catch him.
He tried to keep from being worried, after all, he�d tangled with the
Knight Sabers on too many occasions to be worried about a bunch of
boomers, right? His gut wasn't listening to his logic, the thought of
boomers trying to kill him made him a wee bit crazy, and he didn't like
that. He turned and let loose several blasts of power, a couple that
hit, but did little damage, the shots that missed, well, the area would
need restoration later. He kept the van in view, and was quite glad that
they hadn't started taking pot shots at him, he didn't need shots coming
from both directions, one was bad enough.

He was wondering when momma was gonna get more actively involved, he got
that answer a second later as he dodged a chunk of falling house. Momma
was trying to swat at him because he was the last one with her egg, she
was hampered because of her size, a fact that he appreciated, at least
for the current time. Although he hoped she got her egg back, he hoped
she didn't total half the city in the process. He heard an explosion and
turned for a second and saw the Knight Sabers were in this fiasco now, a
couple of boomers peeled off to deal with them, but still there were
enough to plaster him five ways from sunday. He sighed, �Why do I feel
like the Roadrunner all of a sudden?�

He heard the sounds of whirlybirds overhead and groaned, he didn't even
want to know what the death toll was going to be for this. He knew that
it would be at least five thousand, if not much, much higher, all
because of Genom�s greed. He sighed, no need to dwell on it, his
conscience would remind him later, and remind him, and remind him. He
just hoped that this chase ended soon, he dreaded the price that was
going to be paid, he knew that it would be steeper than he�d care to
pay.

Finally the van stopped, he barely avoiding plowing into the back of the
van, several boomers weren't so lucky. He saw that one Elder Folk wasn't
out of the van fast enough, the explosion sent him flying, his landing
wasn't pleasant either. That left him with five Elders to deal with, and
that was four too many, he just hoped he could handle them. He decided
to take advantage of at least one thing, the boomers wanted the egg, and
he made sure they saw it, even if it was an illusion. He landed, and
prepared for the battle royale that was about to begin.

He saw the Knight Sabers coming in, and knew that this was going to be
bloody. He somehow knew what was going through Sylia�s head. �What did
he do to upset the dragon so much?� He was sure that thoughts of
violence being committed upon his body were going through her head also,
like, �If he lives through this I will personally skin him with a butter
knife�.

The boomers began firing on all targets, almost killing a couple of the
Elders, but they survived. He, like the Knight Sabers were busy dodging
and firing when they could, the fracas had begun, and it looked ugly. So
far everyone but the boomers were on the defensive, for all of ten
seconds anyway. Momma put her foot down on the matter, and the boomers
also, resolving that situation swiftly, if not cleanly. He knew she�d be
picking boomer parts out of that foot for weeks. That left the numbers
about as even as they�d ever be. Four KS and him versus five Elder Folk,
still it wasn't fair odds.

He watched as Sylia nailed the leader with a blast of pure mage fire.
She�d updated the suits recently, that would have done a world of
hurting to his shields if not fried them completely. The leader shrugged
it off like it was nothing, and that left him scared, and if he could
have seen Sylia�s face she probably would have blanched for a second. He
saw that another was about to nail Linna and Nene, he didn't have time
to rescue them, so he just slapped a shield in the way, not that it did
much good, it only slowed the blast. He watched as Nene and Linna were
thrown back by the blast, but thankfully intact, injured, but still
intact.

He saw Priss dodge to the side as the dragon�s claws came down where
she�d just been, he was wondering when she�d try something else. He
looked up and if the dragon wasn't so terrifying it would be funny, she
looked almost like Godzilla up there.

He became the target of the Elder Folk�s magics and his shields weren't
holding too well against the blasts. They were holding, and he returned
the blast with equal fervor, if not equal power. Everyone almost
crumpled to the ground, holding their ears, ((My egg! The one who has my
egg will pay dearly!))

He knew if they didn't finish this soon she�d take matters into her own
hands, err claws, and well, he doubted any of them would live the day if
that happened. He saw an Elder drop, surprised to see Linna standing
behind him, her arm very bloody. However a second later and she dropped
to the ground, he could see the suit was penetrated in quite a few
places. The odds were improving, but they still didn't stand a chance,
they were just too damned powerful.

He narrowly pushed Nene out of the way of a blast that would have left
little but pink metal and blood in the area if it had hit. His anger
began to rise, and with it his power seemed to find a new level, not
that he was really aware of it. Within seconds another of the Elder Folk
went to meet their maker, they found it difficult to deal with the
remains of a truck crushing their body. He was brought back to himself
before he went too far when he saw Nene, Priss and Sylia fall to their
might.

Now it was just him versus them, three Elder Folk remained, one with a
blade that had ripped through Sylia�s armor like paper. He could tell
that they were weak, the battle had worn on them heavily, but they still
had more power than he did. The leader erected a shield while the other
two began chanting something, he recognized it a second later, the most
destructive spell known to man, Rellinshai. He erected a field and put
all his might into it, if he could survive this blast he could deal with
them easily, but that was a big if.

The dragon had stopped attacking, having sensed the gathering magic
herself, and was awaiting the outcome of this battle. This battle that
had raged across two city blocks and had done massive damage to a five
mile stretch of town before it even started. Anyone who doubted that
magic existed wouldn't be able to doubt any longer, today�s events would
ensure that.

The blast of Rellinshai hit his field, and he was hard pressed to hold
it, it held but it was collapsing, and fast. Then he heard a voice,
((absorb the power, Elder, it is your birthright)), it was the dragon
speaking, and it was just to him. Then it made sense, she was right, it
was just power, and he could absorb it, make it his own. He let the
field collapse, but of his own volition, the power struck his body,
searing into him, the pain that hammered his body was unbearable.

Priss looked on, �My god, what is he doing?� Sylia, barely aware of what
was going on answered, �Absorbing the power, it�ll kill him, no way he
can handle that much power, but he�ll take them with him.� They could
hear Nene sobbing, and Linna yelling, �Bryan! Don�t do it!�

The remaining Elder Folk looked on in shock as Rellinshai, one of the
most destructive power in existence was absorbed.  He looked at them,
the Knight Sabers, and though the distance was too great to hear, they
could still hear what he said. ((Remember this day.))

((No! he can't!)) Priss started to move to stop him, out of reflex, but
it was too late, she couldn't do anything but watch as he sacrificed
himself. The remaining Elder Folk stumbled back when the power faded,
only a glow of light held in his hand and the blasted wasteland around
him testified to the power that had been used.

Priss just lay there with her jaw open, she wasn't the only one, somehow
he�d done it, somehow he�d contained that power. She saw him smile,
although he was suffering from burns across most of his body, and his
stance wasn't all that steady. It wasn't a cocky smile, it was just a
smile that said he wasn't going to accept defeat so easily.

He looked at them, held the globe in his hand, he savored the raw power
of Rellinshai for a short while. He looked at them, they looked resigned
to their death, like he was as cruel as they were going to be. He looked
at Sylia, �What should we do with them? They stole the egg and were
going to use if for god knows what.�

His thoughts were different, ((Yes, I stole it. I had no choice, they
had a geas on me. When the geas shattered I wanted to return it. But
they took it. I am at your mercy)). The dragon said nothing, waiting for
judgement to be passed on them, leaving their fate in his hands. Sylia
looked at him, �The dragon�s child will need food, true?� He nodded,
�Yes, they will.� With that he let the power of Rellinshai slip loose,
it moved forward and created a field around the remaining elder folk.

((All yours. Though you might consider finding another spot to roost.))
Her reply was swift, while reaching down and retrieving the egg and her
child�s first meal. ((We are dying, only four of us remain. The mana
stream is being polluted by your kind, Elder. Thus I came here to bear
my children. This was the strongest source of mana that I found. That
tower also made such a perfect nest, with a few minor changes of
course.))

He nodded, ((I can understand that. But the people here  . . . )) The
dragon�s snout got within five feet of him and while he wasn't as
terrified anymore it still had him a bit shook up being this close. Her
voice wasn't exactly pleasant, but he could tell she was at least
agreeing with him, ((Very well, Elder. I will find another place, but
you will do your best to bring me some mana, this place is flooded with
it. After all, I did save your life.))

With that the dragon took to the sky, roaring a yell that could be heard
thousands of miles away. He watched as the dragon flew away, majestic as
always, the groans from the Knight Sabers brought him back to the real
world. He staggered over to Sylia, �We�re all a mess, aren't we?� Sylia
nodded, at a loss for words, finally Nene found some, �The Knight Wing
should be here soon, we can go home and begin to recover.�

He turned and looked at the mess, knowing that while they would recover
quickly enough it would be a long time before the city recovered. While
he still wanted to pay his respects to Genom, he didn't have enough
energy to light a match, magically or otherwise. �Yes, lets go home.�

Leon looked at the scene, at the damage done, sighed, looked around at
the officers. �Would someone please tell me who let their pet dragon
loose?!� A few of the officers began laughing, and one sheepishly raised
his hand, �I got him at a fair when he was just a baby, never thought
he�d grow this much.� Leon had to laugh, they needed to laugh, this was
a bit much to take, a bit much indeed. �The world will never be the
same, no more monsters skulking in the night. They�ll come out into the
open now. I just hope we�re ready when they come.�