Susan was up the second the crushing pressure of the summoning spell ended. Her dragonheart roared to life as she exploded to her feet, head on a swivel as it took in the room around her.

  “Peace! Peace, Ruin!” Something roared at her.

  Her eyes narrowed, finally focusing enough to take in the room. It was wide, low ceilinged, and held up by thick glass pillars that glowed with power. On the floor below was a carved a huge magic circle, and standing just on the other side of it was-

  “You again,” she snarled.

  “Indeed.”

  The strange mix of albatross, eagle, and gryphon that was the Air Dragon agreed with a nod. Susan’s eyes narrowed at that. Her legs quickly set themselves against the ground as she moved into a low crouch. A low growl echoed through her as she glared the Air Dragon down.

  “Here for another round?”

  Then her growl tapered off as the Air Dragon took a careful step back and shook its head.

  “I meant what I said. There will be no violence between us.” It rumbled in a calm voice, completely devoid of the hatred and derision that filled it during their meeting a month before. “Instead I have a request.”

  “Okay,” Susan nodded, her Dragonheart beginning to calm for the first time in minutes. “Just… give me a second?”

  When the Air Dragon nodded, she turned her eyes upward. Her hand followed, reaching up to poke at the limp form lying on the top of her head.

  “Elizabeth?” She asked, worry leaking into her voice.

  “Urghhh… yeh?”

  “You okay?”

  “No,” Elizabeth grumbled, then coughed. “What just happened. Did the Demon King punch me again?”

  “No,” Susan shook her head, “That was Inter-Realm travel. It can be pretty rough.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Yeah, but it was the only way I could think of to get us away from him.”

  “…so he really was a Tier Six then?” Elizabeth’s voice was quiet, but the Air Dragon must have heard because it froze rock solid.

  “If he wasn't then I have no idea what is,” Susan said.

  “Dang. That sucks.”

  “Yeah, sure does. But if we play our cards right, we should have time to re-arm and prepare before we return to Earth.”

  “Mmkay,” came the response.”

  Susan nodded at that before looking back to the Air Dragon. It still looked unnerved, shoulders hunched as it regarded them with wide eyes. But when Susan turned back it straightened and met her eye.

  “Well, let's hear it,” she said.

  “Of course,” the Air Dragon said, before sweeping into a low bow. “Ruin of the Atlans, I wish to request your assistance in liberating this world from the rule of the Dawn Empire.”

  “Uuuuuugh, not again…” Susan moaned.

  “What?” The Air Dragon’s eyes boggled.

  Elizabeth gave Susan a halfhearted kick on the top of her head.

  “Fine,” Susan grumbled, reaching up to swat at her, “I guess I’ll help.”

  The Air Dragon’s mouth opened then closed. Then its shoulders slumped and it let out a long sigh.

  “Something the matter?” Susan asked.

  “I was expecting something rather more grandiose from the Ruin of the Atlans.”

  Around them the building rumbled. Dust fell as the rood trembled and the glowing pillars flickered. Susan quickly crouched, glancing around with wide eyes.

  “Flippant though their reaction may be, it is still a better response than last time,” A voice came from beside her.

  “The hell?”

  Susan’s head whipped towards it, only to see empty floors and blank walls. Then she noticed the magic circle etched into the ground there, and her eyes drifted upwards.

  “Ah, I suppose I should apologize for the rude introduction,” the voice echoed from the circle. “It is just that I have found myself in desperate need of amusement for the past few years.”

  “Wait.”

  Susan's eyes flicked back to Air Dragon beside her, then up to the ceiling above. She had assumed it was made of large stones earlier, but on closer inspection she could see a strange pattern in the roof. One that looked suspiciously like a turtle shell.

  “You’re the other dragon one from last month,” she said, “the Earth Dragon… Gilleasbuig right?”

  “Correct. I am the one who attempted to invade your world along with Reidar. Though for us it has been a decade, not month since our clash.”

  “Yeah, I’d gathered it had been a while from, uh, Reidar’s weirdly chill attitude. But just… what the hell is all of this?”

  “This,” Reidar sighed, reaching out with a talon to tap one of the glass pillars. “Is our punishment for failing to take your planet. Mana generation duty.”

  Looking around at the pillars thrumming with power, Susan felt her heart begging to thrum again. What little relief she had managed to get from not being attacked on arrival was quickly fading. She had expected Reidar’s request. Grand quests and overthrown empires were par for the course for an archdragon.

  But there was something about these glass pillars that rubbed her the wrong way. She recognized them, having used a similar contraption to create Liss centuries before. But back then she had been working with a device the size of her head, sending out tiny streamers of light.

  Her eyes flickered back and forth, widening as they took in pillar after pillar. All with enormous lines of mana running through them.

  “But this is too much mana,” she said.

  “S’what?” Elizabeth asked.

  “This should be just on the edge of how much mana an Earth Dragon is capable of producing. Any more and your body would give out.”

  “Indeed,” the voice came again from the magic circle. “But exploring the infinite realms in search of new worlds to conquer is a costly endeavor. And Empress demands expansion.”

  Susan’s eyes narrowed.

  “Empress?”

  “The Empress of the Dawn Empire,” Reidar said, “otherwise known as the Bronze Archdragon.”

  Susan stared at him for a few moments, feeling the weight of the past few days settle back on her shoulders. Reidar for his part seemed stuck shuffling in place, wings fluttering as he tried to look away.

  “Not another one!” Elizabeth finally broke the silence, her voice echoing in the low room.

  “Wait, another-”

  “Reidar!” Gillasbuig broke in, the magic circle somehow sounding urgent despite its tinny quality. “You need to leave.”

  “What?”

  “Oh what now?”

  Both dragons spoke over each other.

  “The portal has opened. There are dragons coming through, accompanied by the Daimyo.”

  “Damn!” Reidar snapped, before turning to Susan. “We need to reconvene with the rest of the rebellion. Quickly, before they notice anything is awry.”

  She nodded, and he turned away before rushing towards the nearest wall. There was a door there, heavy stone hung on steel hinges. He pushed it open a crack, then began looking carefully examining the outside. She slowly followed after him, glancing between Gillasbuig’s slowly shifting shell overhead and Reidar’s rapid movements.

  This didn't seem like an elaborate plot. Trapping someone via summoning was difficult at the best of times, requiring intricate summoning circles and carefully timed traps.

  From all angles, this looked to be exactly was it was. A back alley summoning by two desperate dragons. Still, there was no point in being stupid about things.

  “Elizabeth?” She whispered.

  “Yeah?” Elizabeth said, her head popping over Susan’s eyebrow to look down at her.

  “Can you hide?” Susan asked, earning a raised eyebrow.

  “…Sure.”

  Elizabeth vanished from view, and Susan felt her walk back over the top of her head. Then she was going down her spine before stopping at her shoulders, followed by a light tap on the top of her wing. Lifting it a moment, she felt Elizabeth shuffle between it and her side. Another movement closed it, and with that she had her own concealed carry Magical Girl.

  Quick steps caught her back up with Reidar, who was just finishing with his examination of the outside. Tuning back to her, he let out a claw.

  “Listen closely. I had planned for a better explanation of things, but we have no time. Just understand that dragons are common in the Dawn Empire. No one will suspect us as long as we act casually, but Dragons rarely travel through the punishment district so we must be quick.”

  His comment on the ‘punishment district’ earned a frown, but Susan still nodded in acknowledgement in the end. Seeing her agreement, he turned and vanished through the door. Susan followed on his heels, blinking in the red light of the sun that hung close to the horizon.

  Then she looked around and felt a wave of confusion wash over her. There was Gillasbuig behind her, his enormous bulk resting atop the thick stone building below. But instead of the wattle and daub or stone construction of Themus, this world looked downright industrial.

  She felt like she was standing in the middle of an old Victorian photograph. There was a cobbled street in front of her, with tall brick walls rising on the other side. To her right and left ran a line of streetlights that cast a yellowish glow in the coming twilight.

  But the similarity wasn't absolute. The Victorians did not have streets a hundred feet wide, after all. And instead of the flickering of gaslight from the lights, it was the perfectly steady glow of mana.

  “Come,” Reidar whispered, beginning to walk down the avenue.

  Susan followed slowly, her head on a swivel as she tried to take it all in.

  “Reidar, what… what the hell is all this,” she finally spoke. “This is a developed city, but where are all the people, why are the streets so wide?”

  “Not so loud,” Reidar murmured. “But as I said before, dragons are common here. Of course the streets are made for them. And this is the punishment district. Dragons are not the only beings with reason to avoid it.”

  Susan’s mouth flopped open and closed. Then it shut and her teeth grit. No wonder Reidar had been shocked by her flippancy, this place was a nightmare.

  They reached the end of the street. Reidar took a quick right, sending them down a side street that barely gave them the room to walk side by side. Here Susan saw her first human in this new world.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  A man dressed in an old fashioned overcoat walking along a thin strip of raised cobbles along the side of the street. His eyes rose a moment, catching sight of the pair of dragons. Then he froze midstep, his eyes widening into perfect circles as they met Susan’s.

  She met his gaze a moment, then he broke free from his shock and swept into a low bow. He held the pose as they walked away, and Susan could see him heave a sigh of relief as they reached the end of the current street and took another turn.

  “What was that?” she murmured, feeling her gut twist at the sight.

  “Not now,” Reidar whispered back, snapping her out of her funk.

  Eyes coming around, her breath hitched a moment as she took in the new street they were on. It was massive, wide enough for a quartet of dragons to walk through. The buildings here were larger and grander as well, brightly colored awnings and intricate signs denoting businesses and offices.

  It wasn't just large, the street seemed to be one of the main thoroughfares through the city. It stretched far ahead of Susan, ending in a towering construction that dominated the skyline up ahead.

  In the darkening twilight it was hard to make out, but Susan could see huge tiers that rose one on top of the other. The top was crowned by a glowing spot that cast light over a group of distant figures that scurried like ants around it.

  Susan took a moment to look closer, her eyes telescoping in to make out the heavy forms of dragons moving around a glowing portal. Unlike anything she had seen, they looked like a cross between geckos and hornets. Squat lizard-like forms covered in red chitinous plates.

  There were a half dozen of them arrayed in front of the portal, paired with an equal number of Air Dragons. Another dragon walked in front of the group, speaking as it walked.

  It was small, tiny compared to the hulking forms around it. Susan’s eyes narrowed as she saw black scales and a wisp of fire from the mouth. But her eyes still moved on from it, drawn towards the glowing portal behind.

  If this was the Dawn Empire, then the portal behind them should be leading to another world. It was a strange thought, to think she was looking at something she had considered entirely theoretical before now. Though somehow it looked strangely familiar…

  “Ruin.”

  The world made her head snap around, and she had to blink repeatedly as her eyes adjusted to see Reidar standing beside her.

  “Quickly now.”

  Without another word he turned and kept walking, and Susan had to catch up with hurried movements. Her eyes fell to the sides of the streets as they walked, and her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the people there.

  Like the man from before, everyone who saw them ducked into low bows. Young or old, finely dressed or covered in rags, every single human that saw them cut a quick bow.

  Susan’s heart sank at the sight of an older woman who seemed to notice them too late. She had only noticed their presence from the movements of the people around her, and turned around to see the two dragons looming above her.

  She whipped her head down with a squawk, then just stood there trembling even as Susan and Reidar fully passed. The people around her didn’t even glance at her as they stood and rushed away, leaving her standing trembling on the sidewalk.

  “Reidar.” She whispered, and something in her tone must have tipped him off because his head turned to face her.

  “Yes?”

  “What the hell is wrong with this place?”

  “Much. I am afraid you will need to be more specific.”

  “Fine, just tell why they’re so scared,” Susan snapped, feeling her gut churn as another group of humans turned and bowed at her.

  Everything about what she was seeing was wrong. The fear, the subservience. Dragons were supposed to be icons, living proof of the heights humanity could reach. Not even the Atlans and their army of monsters could destroy the inherent respect the Themans held for dragons.

  Susan herself had seen dozens of reactions to her true form. Love and hope from the Wizards Congress, fear from the Atlans, challenge from heroes and idiots. But never this servile terror.

  “Empress has no desire for love from her subjects,” Reidar said, before nodding towards the road up ahead. “To her, fear is much more useful.”

  There was a wide plaza there, the result of an intersection between two of the enormously oversized roads. A statue took up the middle of it, so tall that it dwarfed the surrounding buildings. It was a bronze dragon, made up of skeletal limbs with a mouth full of wicked teeth that loomed over the street below with spread wings.

  It drew Susan’s eye for a moment, and she couldn’t help but notice the enormous cogs and gears that filled out the frame of the statue. It looked like someone had combined a dozen steam trains into a single hundred foot tall caricature of a dragon.

  Looking up at the abomination of metal above her, Susan couldn’t help but feel the first stirring of true hatred for the empire. Conquerors were one thing, empresses another. But warping the image of dragons into one of simple fear was a step just a little bit too far for her.

  A series of whooshes echoed from the distance. She turned back to see a half dozen figures rocket into the air from around the portal.

  “What are they here for?”

  “I don’t kn- damn,” Reidar cut himself off as the flying forms turned midair to head towards them.

  “Guess they know we're here,” Susan said, her heart sinking.

  “That shouldn’t be possible,” Reidar snapped, his eyes not leaving the distant forms.

  “But it's happening,” Susan replied with a calm she wasn't feeling. “Now what do we do about it?”

  “We need to… But no, there is no escaping a Thunder Dragon’s tracking. Our best plan is to fight.”

  “Typical,” Susan nodded along, watching as the specks slowly began to grow.

  A hand reached back to tap on her wing.

  “Stay hidden, you’re our escape plan,” she murmured, not taking her eyes off the distant figures.

  A tremor shook her wing as the figure within it vanished. Susan let out a small breath as her wing settled properly against her side for the first time in minutes.

  “This will be difficult,” Reidar said, “we need to fight in an open area so as not to threaten the buildings around us, but we also need to get away from the-”

  Even as he spoke a half dozen lines of warped space appeared in front of the distant fliers. Then in a series of booming cracks they were directly above the square.

  “Deadworld!” Reidar spat the word like a curse as the flyers descended. .

  It was the half dozen Air Dragons, each carrying one of the new red dragons in their claws. In perfect synchronicity, they swept down to drop their cargo in a perfect half circle around the duo. The dragons landed with barely a thump, then began advancing toward the duo to back them up against the looming statue.

  “Reidar,” one of them boomed, an arc of blue lightning flashing across its chitin as it glared at him. “What is this, a fresh embarrassment for your old company?”

  “Merely a meeting with an old friend,” Reidar called back.

  “And what a friend they are!” The dragon snapped, “I’ve half a mind to-”

  “Hurry up,” another dragon broke in, “lets have this dealt with before the shogun arrives to muddy things.”

  “Too late,” a third grumbled.

  A crack of air overhead heralded the arrival of another Air Dragon. Susan’s eyes widened as she spotted the dragon in its claws, the diminutive one from earlier.

  Reidar nudged her, but she barely felt it as she watched the Air Dragon deposit the new dragon on the ground with careful movements. She recognized it. Not just the high head and overbearing mannerisms, but its body as well. The scales, the bones. Every minute detail of the skeletal structure she had spent three excruciating weeks crafting.

  “What is taking so long?” The new dragon snapped, looking around at the others with a sneer.

  “Great Daimyo, for your own safety I must recommend you stay back,” the first dragon spoke up.

  “Nonsense, I’ve been on campaign before,” the black dragon retorted.

  ‘But never fought,’ Susan finished in her head. She would know. She had followed his career with intense interest. A low growl started in her throat, but went unnoticed by the still arguing dragons.

  “Great Daimyo-”

  “Get on with it, I have no interest in wasting time investigating random summonings and-”

  “It's been a while, Takeo,” Susan’s voice was deathly quiet, a humming building in her head as her Dragonheart heated up.

  The group froze at her words. Takeo locked up like a deer in headlights, his eyes flickering to the side to finally take in the sight of her. The Thunder Dragons turned to look at her with wide eyes, slowly moving to place themselves between her and Takeo. Reidar continued his nudges, the movements almost frantic now. They went ignored, Susan’s vision slowly narrowing in on the diminutive form of Takeo.

  “Susan?” Takeo sounded utterly disbelieving as he stared at her.

  His mouth snapped shut as a growl escaped her. Both eyes flickered to look at the Thunder Dragons on either side of him. Then back at Susan. Takeo took a careful step back.

  Susan lowered herself to the ground with deliberate movements, the Thunder Dragons mirroring her as they readied themselves. There was a final frantic nudge from Reidar, one more aborted stutter from Takeo. Then they were moving.

  Susan leapt at Takeo. He ducked beneath her leap, running to the side. Then a Thunder Dragon was in her way, charging to intercept. She bowled it over like it wasn’t there.

  Three of the Thunder Dragons had opened their mouths wide, lightning cracking up their teeth like a Lovecraftian Jacob’s ladder. Light flashed around her, and she was sent skidding to her knees as electricity wracked through her.

  Then it was gone, her Dragonheart absorbing the electricity in an instant as she forced herself to her feet and sprinted after Takeo. She could already see his tail waving as he ran. Just like it had before. But she wasn't letting him get away this time.

  A leap sent her flying after him, but she had to stop as a trio of Air Dragons swept in from above in triangle formation. The lead one let out a roar, his claws raised to strike while the other two hung back and readied their breath attacks.

  Susan caught the charging Air Dragon midair, muscles straining as she took the full force of his tackle and stopped it dead. Then she heaved him up and threw him straight back at his comrades, sending them tumbling like bowling pins.

  A bolt of lightning struck her. She didn’t even look as her tail whipped to the side and smashed the attacking Thunder Dragon’s head into the ground.

  Something smashed into her from above, sending her crashing into the cobblestones. She looked up to find the remaining Air Dragons circling her, each of them readying their breath attacks.

  Her head rose, her neck straightening. The Air Dragons reared back, their mouths snapping shut as they rocketed away from her with great gouts of air. Susan’s own breath attack scorched the air behind them as they fled, the white hot beam of energy lighting up the city in pale tones.

  The thumping of footfalls made her bring her head back down to find the remaining Thunder Dragons advancing on her as a group. Susan took in their clenched jaws and wide eyes, and her mouth split open in a garish smile.

  “You can always just run,” she suggested.

  They didn't listen.

  A minute later Susan was the last one standing. Reidar had vanished at some point, leaving her alone with the dozen unconscious dragons scattered around like debris.

  Susan’s head still thrummed as the energy of her Dragonheart flowed through her unchecked. Red rimmed eyes scanned back and forth across the courtyard, finally settling a shivering form huddled on the other side of the statue.

  “Finally,” she growled, stalking around the side to look down at him. “No more running away.”

  Wide eyes rose to meet hers, then narrowed. A sneer came over his lips and he chuckled.

  “From what, a fool who can’t get over a couple of no name idiots?”

  Susan leapt at him with a scream. Takeo laughed as her claws struck his chest and he… vanished. Her claws struck the cobbles below, then stuck there as a runic circle flared to life.

  A cackle echoed behind her as she failed to wrench her claws free from the cobbles. Her head came up to find the source, but there was nothing but fallen bodies and empty streets.

  “Never change, Susan. Never change,” Takeo’s voice came from nowhere, followed by a tapping of footsteps trailing away.

  The roaring in Susan’s mind reached a fever pitch. Energy rushed into her claws, and the ground beneath her melted into a glowing morass. Her claws came free as the carved lines of the runic circle vanished into the expanding circle of molten stone.

  Then gunshot-like pings of snapping metal echoed from above and her head came up to see the dark form of the statue loom over her. Great rents had been opened up in the legs facing her, and the heat of her claws had unsettled the metal enough that it was now falling towards her in a roar of breaking stone and bronze.

  A beam of Dragonfire pierced through its middle, then sliced upward. The now two halves of the statue hit the ground on either side of Susan with a boom.

  Her breath heaved in and out as she came down from the high of battle. Then she was clawing her way up to the top of the fallen statue to look around for whatever hole Takeo had hidden himself in.

  But instead of a fleeing dragon, her eyes spotted the top of the monumental building in the center of the city. It was once more awash with light, and her teeth ground as she watched dragons pouring out of it like wasps.

  The first flights of Air Dragons were already taking off around it. Dozens of them now, swooping down over the swarming dragons to pull them into the air and rocket towards Susan like a cloud of hornets.

  “Fine,” she grated out, “what’s another army?”

  The first squadrons were approaching her now. She didn't even need to telescope her eyes in to count the dozens of dragons arrayed out before her.

  “Susan!” A voice echoed behind her.

  “What?” Her whipped around to find Elizabeth standing on her back, glaring at her.

  “Come on, we have to go!”

  “No,” Susan’s jaw snapped mere feet from Elizabeth’s face. “I finally have him and-”

  Elizabeth raised her foot, then stomped down. Susan’s feet slipped from under her as she was smashed downward into the statue, the breath fleeing her body in a rush.

  “AND LOST YOUR MIND WHILE YOU WERE AT IT!” Elizabeth screamed at her.

  Susan’s mouth opened, then stopped as her brain began to work again for the first time in minutes.

  “I-” her eyes turned to the side, where the squadrons of approaching dragons had turned into a massive tide. Hundreds of scaled bodies arrayed before her in a tide of fire and scale.

  “Okay.”

  Elizabeth nodded before kneeling down and placing a hand against Susan’s scales. Then the roaring dragons and dark buildings vanished, replaced by a small room with grey walls.

  Low ceilinged with crates covering all four walls, Susan barely fit in the middle. She didn't mind, instead focusing on letting the heady fury that had driven her the past few minutes drain away.

  A heavy sigh escaped her and her shoulders sagged as she finally felt some semblance of calm thought return. She didn’t even know what to be angry about anymore; the fact that she had almost definitely endangered Elizabeth, or the fact that she failed to end the monster that killed her friends. Again.

  “Sorry for hitting you,” Elizabeth finally spoke up, her voice small and her head low.

  “It’s fine,” Susan muttered, “sorry for being an idiot.”

  “Mkay…” Elizabeth stalled, “so what was that back there?”

  “Unfinished business,” Susan murmured, turning her head away.

  “Susan.”

  Elizabeth’s tone didn't leave room for argument. Instead Susan sighed and settled down on the floor of the room, curling in on herself with Elizabeth in the middle.

  “That was dangerous,” she continued. “Super dangerous.”

  “I know. It’s just… I can’t help it. Luthera and Edith and Timothy, they… they didn’t deserve that. So I saw Takeo and just…” Susan shrugged helplessly.

  “So that is the same guy from Themus?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh…” Elizabeth went quiet. “Next time I’ll hold him down for you.”

  Susan couldn't hold back a snort at that.

  “Thanks.”

  ‘What are sisters for?” Elizabeth asked with a wry grin.

  Susan shot one back, before letting out a chuckling sigh as she settled down again. She sat there a few more minutes, basking in the silence as she tried to really relax for the first time in what must have been hours.

  “It’s okay,” Elizabeth’s voice caught her attention again.

  “It’s not,” Susan sighed, “but thank you.”

  It was a few minutes more before something disturbed the moment. A knock echoed on the large stone doors of the room, both sister’s heads turning towards it.

  “Miss Elizabeth, is she there?” Reidar’s voice echoed.

  “Yep!” Elizabeth shouted back.

  “Good. I have brought someone to meet you, but they are saying you should prepare yourself for a mild shock.”

  Susan’s lips pursed in response, but she couldn’t think of a reason to deny them so just shrugged at Elizabeth.

  “Okay!”

  The doors cracked open, Reidar’s hands carefully sliding them open enough for a single figure to walk through. Susan’s eyes met theirs, then widened in shock. Her eyes whipped upwards to take in golden hair and long ears like knives.

  An Atlan Elf.

  It took a concerted effort not to leap forward in attack, but she managed to hold herself long enough for her rushing heart to begin to calm.

  “A day for reunions, huh?” She growled out.

  “Indeed,” the Elf nodded, “I apologize for the surprise, but as the leader of this little rebellion I thought it best to explain things myself.”

  “Explain what.”

  “Everything. How the Atlans fell, and so rose the Dawn.”