Rise of the Phoenix King (Shadowrun/Exalted)

[Erenthia]

Ey nice, you actually addressed the cycle that leads to stuff like ethnic gangs without making it cartoonishly evil!

An untraceable email in Old Realm? Maybe that's someone else, but my first guess is Lofwyr feeling Theo out. Only feeling out instead of something else because on the off chance it is a Solar you don't want to fuck about.

Click to shrink...

You were pretty close.

Edit: Also yeah, it's a touchy subject and I worried some people might not appreciate me treating the subject with the nuance it deserves. Glad I was wrong. Very glad

 

[R.A.G.]

Kek, I figured Lofwyr because I thought the information might be locked to that ancestral dragon archive gem he has, but if every Great Dragon knows about this things might be a bit wild. Well, every great and everyone watching with a spirit, RIP

Also, I'm guessing Masaru isn't going to have a great time if/when the memories of the latter parts of the First Age start kicking in

 

[Krule]

There are reasons why the first rule of the Shadowrunner is 'Never Deal with a Dragon' though its a rule broken now and again, generally, dealing with dragons in shadowrun means your screwed.
First, dragons are physically and mentally more capable than any metahuman. Second, dragons are magically fundamentally more powerful then even a rather powerful mage. Third, dragons are immortal, at least with regards aging, as a result their motivations, goals and desires span a much greater time frame then any metahuman. As a result, dealing with a dragon means that your dealing with a being that' fundamentally sees you as lesser than they are, even the nicest of them, because to them, you are. And with regards to the greater dragons, being even more powerful then regular dragons, it's worse.

Now, that's shadowrun dragons, the dragons of Exalted were elementals, spirits of the 5 elemental who evolved spiritually to a certain form of less divinity. Ironically, that's lesser dragons, a single dragon managed to evolve beyond that in Exalted and became a savage destructive being, to the point that the gods put them to sleep to keep as a weapon to unleash only in dire need. As a result, the rest of the elemental dragons decided not to evolve further, but in exalted they are powerful enough to give a young exalt trouble... mind you, a Solar who had developed far enough could deal with one fairly, mortals pretty much had to understand that they were dealing with elemental gods.

What that means here though, is anyone's guess, looking forward to where you take this.

 

[Potato and Chip]

I can't imagine any surviving dragons are from the days of Creation, so I have to guess the other Greater Dragons are hesitant to approach a solar because while their souls tell them that solars are the rulers of the earth and everything upon it their minds have accumulated enough experience that they question whether this is true or not. They question whether the solars are truly as powerful as their memories tell them or why some ancient hierarchy applies to them, the top beings of this world.

I can only assume this because...

Masaru winced, "I cannot say, my liege. They all certainly know that a Lawgiver once again walks the Earth, but they seemed oddly disinterested when I broached the topic with them. It could be that they were deceiving me. Hoping that I would act as I have that they might learn something without risking exposure.

Click to shrink...

...you sure as shit don't act disinterested when a solar appears, you start panicking and wondering whether the 299 other ones are and if fate ninjas have already gotten to you, and even if you're acting you sure as hell wouldn't let another Greater Dragon (no matter how young) appear before them to pledge their loyalty. Because holy shit why would you let a solar have access to a Greater Dragon's resources! This has all the air of a chess master trying to get a feel of what they think is a new player on the board. And just by that feeling alone I have to assume these guys have no real understanding of what they're dealing with. The solar isn't the player, give them enough time to ramp up and they're the GM. You either get in good at the start of their rise to power or you smash down this baby solar hard. You don't pussy foot around this.

Also this information, if true, lends credence to this.

Masaru nodded, "I am afraid so. Though while some, such as Lofwyr will likely never acknowledge your authority, others such as Hestaby seem willing to be persuaded. When I spoke to her of your return she said that your people had many failings and that it would be foolish to subordinate ourselves to you without testing your character and resolve..."

Click to shrink...

Yeah, Lofwyr not "acknowledging" the authority of a solar like that means anything while Hestaby says she needs to test a solar's character and resolve.

I... did none of these dragons put dots in lore?

I mean, I can kind of see the reasoning behind testing a solar's character if you don't know about the Great Curse (which I assume has been fixed, because even with all the stress it hasn't triggered yet. Which is great because this story has enough trauma for this kid and his friends already) but even then... testing resolve? Like... what the hell does she expect to happen when testing an exalts goddamn will? That has the same logic behind testing if water is wet or fire is hot. And the failings of the solars? Honestly I don't know if that's supposed to come off as arrogant because honestly it kind of does. I mean, sure the exalts failed some but I'm also pretty damn sure that this dragon has failed way more times then any solar has ever stumbled. Just the sheer arrogance of this statement. Anything a dragon can do an exalt can do a trillion times better and never fail once. When an exalt fails they fail because they were trying to do the impossible and came up short, and even then they can come back to try again. This has the same energy of a highschool swimmer questioning whether or not an Olympic gold medalist can really lead their school swim team because while they do have 12 gold metals there was that one time they got bronze.

I'm not complaining by the way, I just find this endlessly hilarious. Because it sounds like to me a whole bunch of very powerful beings, beings who have been on top of the food chain for a long time and who are used to knowing everything have just encountered a being that is waaaaay out of their league and they know jack shit about it. Yet they keep that attitude of the all knowing, all seeing, grandmaster when its pretty damn clear they have no idea what the hell they are talking about.

Testing an exalts resolve... I goddamn chuckled.

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if all these dragons memories of Creation are as broken up as Masaru's are and they're all just pretending to know more while blurting out empty phrases that mean nothing. And it was only Masaru relative youth that lead to him following his heart while all the other dragons are trying to sort through these memories while approaching this situation like they do all situations, as master manipulators.

Because these dragons are all fucking around and if they knew anything about Solars they wouldn't be doing this.

 

[Erenthia]

Also, I'm guessing Masaru isn't going to have a great time if/when the memories of the latter parts of the First Age start kicking in

Click to shrink...

Thank you for pointing this out. It just reminded me of something that needs to happen in the next chapter that I might have missed without you saying it.

What that means here though, is anyone's guess, looking forward to where you take this.

Click to shrink...

I appreciate it. And while on the one hand, what the Great Dragons are now is significantly more important than what they were, what they were is important and will be addressed. Though I also admit that I'm leaning towards having Masaru not remember enough to nail it down just yet. But there are going to be some seriously big hints.

Because these dragons are all fucking around and if they knew anything about Solars they wouldn't be doing this

Click to shrink...

You are on the right track. Very much so. I wish I could say more, I really do. Just don't forget that a good story needs things for the main characters to struggle with. Keep that in mind and you'll figure out a lot of things going forward.

 

[R.A.G.]

I mean, my immediate thought is that they're the descendants of the Dragonblooded somehow, but dunno how that would work to result in actual full on dragons.

 

[Potato and Chip]

You are on the right track. Very much so. I wish I could say more, I really do. Just don't forget that a good story needs things for the main characters to struggle with. Keep that in mind and you'll figure out a lot of things going forward.

Click to shrink...

The fact that this baby Solar didn't have even a single angry dragon drop from the sky along with every single one of their military assets to kill him tells me two things.

Either they approve of the Solar or (and I think this is more likely) they don't actually know how Solars work. Because if any of these thousands of years old dragons, for even a second, had doubts as to whether or not this Solar could be trusted (while knowing what a Solar is) they would have gone charging out guns blazing. You don't get be thousands of years old by making stupid mistakes, and leaving a Solar to grow on a maybe is a stupid mistake.

Maybe they've read the legends, or maybe they can only remember reading the legends within the deepest depths of their genetic memory. A context that is so ancient they know what they're capable of in tales but they're of the attitude surely those stories are embellished.

In which case the one Great Dragon to approach the solar is kind of like the one guy to approach King Arthur after he awakens and offers his loyalty because he believes the legends are true. With all the other dragons being the equivalent to people who have read tales of King Arthur but don't really believe the man is capable of what the legends say he is, surely they're embellished and the guy isn't that powerful or noble.

I don't blame them though, those same legends claim the earth was flat, the stars were just bright polka dots on the night sky, the land of the dead was literally beneath you and could be reached with a shovel, and Creation itself was carved into a Wyld plane of magic from which armies of fae charged out to destroy causality. Which must surely be some sort of allegory or just an ancient misunderstanding of how the world worked.

Because that would be crazy.

I mean, my immediate thought is that they're the descendants of the Dragonblooded somehow, but dunno how that would work to result in actual full on dragons.

Click to shrink...

Considering the genetic memory and long lifespan I'd hazard a guess and say these guys are some modified version of the Dragonkings. Probably some Lunar's project. The one weakness the celestials built into the exalted was their lifespan limitations and I don't think anyone is in any hurry to remove that safety net.

 

[Krule]

Besides dragons, the other important group who may have some memories of the age of sorrows are gods. Now you might say that there aren't any in Shadowrun, but if you consider them gods over concept and ideas as they are in Exalted, there there is an important group of beings that fit; Mentor Spirits, and during the 4th age (Earthdawn), the Passions

 

[Erenthia]

AN

So the next few chapters might come a little slower. I've stepped outside the garden path of my outline. It should be a temporary condition.

---

I shouldn't have done it, but I eventually excused myself from the conversation. Theo and Masaru were gettting deep into a lot of issues and talking about how the Great Dragons would respond from here on out, and as someone who considered herself Theo's guardian and protector, I should have stuck around so I wouldn't miss anything tactically relevant. But it seemed pretty clear that we'd be okay for the time being at least. The Great Dragons weren't incapable of acting quickly but they never acted hastily. And the more we talked about it, the more convinced Theo and I became that they'd been holding back with what they'd been willing to share with Masaru. Just as I'd suspected with Anna on the day I'd met her, they were sacrificing their youngest and newest member for information. It was the smart thing, after all. Letting someone else try first.

And between Masaru and the big guy, we estimated that Theo wouldn't become more powerful than a Great Dragon for another year or so unless he pushed himself really hard. And it could potentially be significantly longer depending on how things went. We hadn't let Masaru in on the big guy's existence, of course, because just as Anna hadn't wanted Alex to know of her existence, the practicalities of trust were about more than intention. And it was still possible that we were being fooled. For all we knew, Masaru might have a way around the Sacred Oath.

Eventually, we got around to the part where Theo gave Masaru the same story about the origin of the cosmos and the building of Creation that he'd given me. Masaru sat in rapt attention, hanging on Theo's every word - right up until he'd gotten to the part about the Usurpation. Masaru couldn't fathom how Theo could paint the lesser Exalted's betrayal in a sympathetic light. The facts seemed plain as day to Theo and me though. The power had gone to their heads and they lost touch with reality. If left unchecked the Solars would have destroyed everything and caused immeasurable suffering on the way down. We had the word of The Unconquered Sun himself on that. Masaru couldn't see it though. As polite as he was being about it, he kept trying to encourage Theo to see himself as a God-King with authority that overrode silly little things like morality or ethics.

I didn't have any fear that Theo would let a stranger convince him to throw away everything Meela and I had taught him over the years in a single conversation, so that's when I excused myself. The whole thing was profoundly disturbing. It's not that Masaru was actively trying to corrupt Theo. But he was a True Believer. Theo was his god and could do no wrong. He and I would talk about what to do about that later but for now, I needed to get my head together.

So I found myself back on the roof where I often went to think, although I was a good couple hundred meters from Masaru's flying limo. I found myself leaning up against the water tower that supplied the section of the building I was over and staring up at the moon again, wishing I could talk to the Changing Lady.

Because I was Divine too, even if I was barely above mortals in the Celestial Hierarchy. And I was starting to get a sense of what that meant. And I didn't particularly care for it. It might come as a surprise since I'd spent so many years trying to teach Theo about honorable behavior and correcting him when he went off the rails, but...this was very different. When it came to Theo's behavior, I was just the messenger. I didn't invent Bushido or Honor or Morality or Ethics. And having grown up in the Barrens, I had a very clear view of what Might Makes Right looks like when left unchecked. Really most people did, especially those packed in tight, living in burbclaves and toiling away long hours, living their lives trapped in a single building almost entirely at the mercy of their immediate superiors. But in the Barrens, the violent oppression had all been raw and unfiltered. Unsanitized. Naked.

And now it was starting to feel like the Universe Itself was signing off on me and Theo being whatever kinds of tyrants we wanted to be. Theo especially. He was a Lawgiver. The One Who Makes The Rules. I didn't like either of us being in this position. But I didn't exactly know what to do about it. And it got worse. Because apparently both Theo and I could gain real, actual, tangible power from being worshipped. Masaru had even offered to help him start getting a cult established. One for me too. And while Theo had politely maneuvered around a lot of Masaru's...expectations, he'd shot down that idea with a quickness. I'd been relieved. Not that I would have expected anything else. I was just happy for that idea to not be around anymore.

Because the world being the way it was, we might end up needing all the power we could get at some point. Sooner or later the temptation would arise, but I just couldn't handle it right then and there. And who knows, maybe Theo would work out some kind of genius workaround that didn't involve us being literally worshipped.

No. I finally decided that would just never happen. I didn't even know that I'd come up here for that, but now that the decision was made, I realized it. No matter how powerful or wise I ever became, I never wanted worshippers. If I wanted anything from people it was for them to stop being stupid and doing all the obvious bulldrek that caused so much pain and strife in the world. I'd already been gearing up for being a teacher of morality and ethics within The Deliberative. I could do that on a larger scale if it ever came up. But no worshippers. Not ever.

But that wasn't the only issue. There was also the issue of Mother. Before all this nonsense, killing her just seemed like taking out the garbage. For all my intense need to behave honorably and morally, killing her seemed like it had all the moral ramifications of passing the salt. Now we had the eyes of every Great Dragon in the world on us, but it was more than even that. Our actions had consequences beyond our own lives. We were no stranger to the concept, of course. We'd taken on the responsibility of all the lives at Squatter's Mall after all. And we'd made mistakes along the way. Some of those mistakes had gotten people killed. But we soldiered on, taking comfort in the knowledge that we had helped more than we had harmed. And that we'd had the best of intentions. I don't think either one of those two thoughts alone would have been enough, but together they formed a powerful shield. We were doing things right in both a Utilitarian and Deolontological sense.

But as Divine Beings, the scale had increased dramatically. It wasn't just that we had literally no idea how the Great Dragons would interpret our actions if we killed her - even Masaru could only offer us limited help there. It was that we would then live in a world where Divine Beings did that kind of thing. It would be easier if we could frame it as a sacrifice. If Theo loved his mother but loved the world more and just couldn't tolerate allowing her evil to persist...maybe that could make it okay. But the truth was, we were doing it for ourselves even more than for others. I just hadn't had a problem with it before.

And yeah, I know what you're thinking. In all the legends of all the divine beings in history, they did awful things all the time. Surely removing one human-shaped monster from the world isn't that big of a deal just because they share some of your DNA. And maybe that was true. Maybe I was blowing this all out of proportion - although we still needed to factor in how the Great Dragons would perceive it, which we currently couldn't. But that was a tactical decision not a moral one. I'd been out of my depth from the day this all started, but I was only really feeling it now. Even if, in the end, killing Tabitha McWellan was justifiable, doing it without carefully measuring our actions wasn't. Even if we decided to do it, I wouldn't feel silly for having agonized over it.

Would Gregor and the others understand? That could honestly go either way. Tabitha was the kind of person that wouldn't normally be in reach for them anyway. If Theo told them he couldn't bring himself to do it, I didn't know how they'd respond.

And then there was Theo himself. Robin had not been the first person Mother had murdered over the years. She'd killed or ruined the lives of a lot of people he cared about. And as much as I was sure that this new sense of responsibility was settling over him just as it was me, I couldn't see him giving up on this. He might change tactics or gain a little more patience, but I didn't see him ever letting this go. And I wasn't sure I wanted him to.

But I wasn't sure I didn't either. Maybe we should talk about it.

We needed more time. That's what it came down to. It wasn't just about training anymore. It wasn't even just about morality and ethics. We started this without any understanding of this Power and it was only just starting to dawn on us what it really meant to have it. Maybe we could come to terms with the Great Dragons. Find a way to live in peace. Maybe we could get Tabitha put in prison. Hell, if Theo's powers made him better at everything he was already good at, maybe he could convince the Board of Horizon and the Corporate Court to actually do something about her.

But did we have enough time? Would the Greats allow for that? Just because Squatter's Mall hadn't been literally nuked five minutes after his Exaltation didn't mean something big wasn't coming.

And it occurred to me that we could just run. We could put Masaru in charge of the Redmond Program, not tell him where we were going and just disappear for a while. Then, when we were ready, when Theo was powerful enough to stand up to the forces currently threatening to align against him, we could choose the time and the place and the means of...well...whatever we decided was the right thing to do in that time.

If we could, and It was a pretty big 'If'. But at least I knew what I wanted to talk about with him next.

"Trouble sleeping, little sister?" a female voice said.

I snapped to attention, my body instantly read for a fight, but the woman who'd somehow snuck up on me was not in any kind of aggressive stance. Instead she was leaning in a relaxed stance with her shoulder up against the wall of the water tower barely more than a meter from me. Theo got daily reports on changes in fashion from all over the world (really he just paid people to read fashion blogs for him and summarize them) and I'd quickly taken up the practice of reading them when it became clear that Tabitha would be sending me along to every stupid party Theo had to go to. Letting a twelve-year-old dress me had just been too much for me back then and I'd maintained the practice. That's how I knew this woman wasn't just middle eastern, but specifically Egyptian. Or at least wanted to be perceived that way. Modern Egyptian fashion tried to blend the trappings of the past with the displays of wealth associated with The West. And it did so with mixed results, at least in my opinion.

That the woman standing before me was Divine was without question. It wasn't just that she'd managed to sneak up on me. I could feel it. Whether it was a matter of my own divine senses, her projecting something or just a matter of like recognizing like I couldn't say. So I relaxed my stance and tried to keep my shock from being too evident.

"Um...Hello. And you are?" because beneath my surprise, I was really quite annoyed.

The woman smiled and it went all the way to her eyes, "In this day and age I am most commonly known as Isis. And I thought you could use someone to talk to."

I blinked. And then the anger and frustration started to build up in me, though as a Samurai I refused to let them compromise my discipline.

"There's a lot of people who could use someone to talk to in this world," I left the implication unstated.

She kept smiling, "And there are a lot of people we talk to. But while, by mortal standards, we are well into this new era of magic, from the divine perspective it has only just begun. You've never been groggy in the morning?"

I twitched as small portion of my frustration escaped my control. It was an annoyingly plausible answer, "Alright...but I doubt you just came to chat."

She shrugged, "On the contrary, we can do just that if you like. But I sensed that you were struggling with the implications of your divinity and I thought to offer you the guidance of your elders."

I leaned back up against the wall of the water tower with my shoulder so I could face her and thought for a moment, "As I understand the Celestial Heirarchy, aren't I still beneath you?"

She took a deep breath that I could only assume was for show and spoke, "The Celestial Heirarchy ruled Creation. Much of it still remains, of course, but mostly by virtue of inertia. And besides, your husband is a Solar Exalted. And he has commanded that you be treated in all ways as his equal. Not every divine being is ready to throw themselves at his feet just yet but you shouldn't be surprised to know that we are watching."

I paused for a moment, but then I realized what she'd said, "Theo isn't...I mean we aren't married."

She smiled again but said nothing.

I turned and leaned on the water tower with my back so I wouldn't have to look at her, "So literally every supernatural eye is on us. Great."

She shook her head, "Well...it depends on how you count I suppose, but the mortal Awakened still know nothing and there are plenty of unintelligent supernatural creatures, but to a large degree, yes. Though I would be quite surprised if any of the Immortals knew anything yet."

I turned to look at her, a single eyebrow raised, "Immortals?"

"Vampires, Immortal Elves, unascended dragons...those sorts of creatures. They surely felt something upon your husband's Exaltation, but I doubt any of them have tracked it to its source or have any understanding of its implications. But that's only a small part of what's troubling you. Do I speak falsely?"

I took a deep breath, "No. It's - hang on, Immortals Elves are real? No forget I said anything," I shook my head to clear it, "I guess the most pressing issue is what to do about all the eyes on us. Especially the Great Dragons. I don't suppose you have a clear, unamigious answer for me?"

She laughed, "Ha! In our defense, we do not speak cryptically because we wish to. There are rules and forbiddances even for our kind. Oh, you don't have to worry about them yet. But know that most of us don't play those sorts of games to enhance our mystique or out of a sense of mischievousness. Though some certainly do. But sometimes we have to talk around certain things. To answer your question though, I recommend ignoring those overgrown lizards for now. There are forces in play which will keep them in check for the time being,"

I smirked, "And you're not going to tell me what those are, I suppose?"

She smirked back, "Well one such force is their own nature, but if you really want to know...while some of us are more hesitant than others, some feel much as Masaru does. Some still remember,"

There were gods ready to bend the knee to Theodore McWellan.

I pushed myself off the wall with my back and started pacing. This was all too much. I remembered finding out that Gnostic Lucifer was really a little boy but the weight of that didn't compare.

Finally I turned to her, "Are you really worthy of being worshipped? Am I? Is he? Because if I'm being completely honest I don't see how that leads anywhere good,"

She moved towards me with such grace that I couldn't tell if she was actually walking or not, placed a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes like she was comforting a small child. Because I suppose from her perspective she was.

"Miho, there are many things yet that you do not understand. And those are certainly questions worth grappling with. But don't try to grow up too quickly. The days ahead of you, for you and your husband, should be happy ones, full of adventure and discovery. I urge you to leave the hard questions for later. There is time. I promise you that,"

I wanted to be indignant, but frankly? She was probably right. And yet there was one last question I needed to ask.

"What about Tabitha?" I asked.

Her face fell. She took her hand from my shoulder and looked away, "I suggest you ignore her for now,"

"Why?" I asked, "Are you saying it's wrong?"

She locked eyes with me and I could see the fear in them, "As I said, we have our own forbiddances. All I am permitted to say is that I hope you do not move forward with your plans,"

Let me emphasize that. Isis, the Egyptian Goddess looked afraid. And when a Goddess of Wisdom tells you something's a bad idea, you should probably listen.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to get Theo to go along with that," I told her.

She swallowed hard, "Try,"

 

[Erenthia]

AN

So, reading through some older chapters it's become apparent that I'm in desperate need of editing help. Any volunteers?

Also, I should be back on track for more regular releases. I didn't so much paint myself into a corner as realized I was getting close to doing so and needed time to figure out how to steer things back to where I'd originally planned.

And lastly, this Part should be complete in 2-3 more chapters. Plus maybe an epilogue.

---

Just as I'd predicted, Theo was as unnerved by Masaru's unwavering devotion to him as I was. And he'd given more attention to Isis's warning than I'd thought, although he wasn't quite ready to abandon the whole idea of killing Mother just yet. We slowed down our training regime a bit to give us more time to talk the issue through. We poured over every word of my conversation with the Goddess, and it really didn't seem it was a moral issue for her. She'd expressed only fear and that didn't bode well. Instead, she had suggested that we take some time off and just enjoy life for a while. And given everything we knew, it certainly made sense that we were going to be getting caught up in a lot before too long. Meddling in the affairs of dragons and gods and who knew what else.

We'd done a little digging on the Matrix too, just to get an idea of who Isis was, but that turned out to be supremely unhelpful. There were just too many stories, too many theories, and very little in the way of hard data. Some modern scholars were even coming around to the idea that the ancient gods had been Magicians rather than spirits, which I knew to be untrue, just by standing in her presence. That put the flaws in the mortal perspective into sharp focus and cast doubt on the rest. We'd also discussed the possibility that, since one of her Domains was Motherhood, we could be doing some damage to her by going through with our plan. Or that she was mystically biased against the idea in general. But that wouldn't explain the fear. Even the big guy couldn't give us a definite answer.

Then something profoundly suspicious happened. Tabitha gave us an opening. She invited us to one of her vacation homes out in the Mojave Desert - the super-rich really value their privacy at times - ostensibly to discuss Theo's future education. And while that particular property obviously still had security, it was small enough to not have much staff there. And being out in the middle of nowhere meant that if we could handle whatever onsite security she had, response times from Knight Errant would be easily manageable. Furthermore, with her only access to the Matrix being wireless, it wouldn't even be that hard to cut off.

"You can't tell me this doesn't smell like a trap," I told Theo, "No one in her position is that light on security. Even on vacation,"

Ever the efficiency expert, Theo had insisted we have this conversation during our regular sparring matches. The training area we'd set up left a lot to be desired. Basically just mats an little else. I'd been teaching him some of my more basic Adept powers, and he'd initiated me into one of the more "basic" mystical martial arts forms, known to the ancients as Five Dragon Style, and I'd definitely gotten the better end of that deal. We seemed more or less on par at this point, in terms of our raw ability, although he never brought his True Power to bear against me. And for all that Five Dragon Style was basic I appreciated it for being straightforward, even if I could only perform a couple of it's Charms. And it was equally useable unarmed or with my katana weapon focus.

And I hit hard now. Combined with my Killing Hands power, I could ignore anything less than hardened milspec armor. Not that we were wearing hardened milspec armor. With our slow regeneration, training accidents weren't something to worry about but we both wanted something to get us in the mood, so we'd opted for Jinbei.

"Sure, but she can't possibly know what we have access to now." Theo said, as he dodged under and around my attacks before launching a few of his own.

I bobbed and weaved and blocked as I replied, "I'm still not hearing a plan,"

Without warning, I felt the manasphere reverberate at Theo's command and I knew what he was doing before I even saw the Manablade manifest in his hand. He brought it down in a direct MEN strike against me, which I blocked with my own Manablade, held in my right while also manifesting a Powerblade in my left and counterstriking with a TSUKI thrust. Theo spun out of the way and manifested a second Manablade as he did, swiping at my back in the process. I brought my Powerblade spinning down into a blocking position for that strike while ducking under the higher strike I knew was coming.

"How about this for a plan? We kill her, destroy the evidence, alter everyone's memories and make it look like she was kidnapped. I don't need her drek. I can get my own!"

I backed off slightly on my attacks, just to see if he was patronizing me, but it seemed he saw through that because he turned up the heat pretty hard after that. We didn't have a "ring out" rule but getting cornered up against a wall usually meant death, so when I found myself approaching one, I leapt into the air, bounced off the wall, and took a few swipes at Theo while I was above him, though mostly only to keep him from doing the same.

"But she knows we're going to try something. She'll have a backup plan or an ace in the hole or something. Can't you use your bulldrek supermagic to help you figure out what that is?"

His caste-mark flared as he fought and he began to glow, but his fighting didn't improve so I assumed he was doing just as I'd suggested, "Yeah, she's definitely inviting an attack. And probably expecting me to bring several aces in the hole. She knows about Lucifer so she knows about Robin's team. She probably wants to crush my new-found dreams of independence and show me what real power is. She'll bring something to bear that's out of left field. They'll be magicians there to protect her, of course, and also probably someone superior to every member of Robin's team in their chosen field. And you, or so she'll think. But the cherry on top will probably something over the top and crazy, like a cyberzombie."

I was back to holding my own against him, the spinning lights of our spellblades almost reminding me of a rave. And the flawless perfection of his movements reminded me that while we had declared our love for each other, we'd yet to move beyond words. I knew he was waiting on me, but seeing him like this...I was starting to wish he wouldn't.

"But she knows you know all that. Plus, what if she has hostages? What if we get there and she has a live feed from a sniper aiming at Meela?"

He stopped and I didn't press him. The benefit to having two nuclear options in this case was that she could actually use one of them without losing control over Theo.

"She might not go for the obvious play like that though. There's plenty of other people she could use as a hostage. Ones that I wouldn't think to set up defense for in advance. Including people here in Squatter's Mall. But letting myself be blackmailed is how I got into this mess. If she does something like that...well it's the last time she'll be able to hurt anyone. "

My eyes widened, "Are you really ready to let that happen to Meela? I mean...I get the logic of it, but...Theo that's pretty cold. Do you think maybe you could use your Power to try to talk her into not being such a monster?"

His mouth dropped open as our sparring match abruptly came to a halt, "Huh...I guess it says something that that thought never occurred to me. I guess I could do the same thing to Robin's team to get them to give up on the idea of revenge, but...at what point does hypercompetent persuasion become mind control?"

We were clearly done sparring, so I dismissed my spellblades and walked over to grab a towel from the stack and started wiping the sweat off. I even stripped down to my sports bra in the process, mostly just testing the waters but part of me might have been hoping he'd make a move.

"Are you really worried about that? Or are you just coming up with excuses to do what you want?" I asked.

I felt his eyes pass over me and I could feel a hunger in them but no moves were made.

"I suppose I could tell them about the opportunity and see what they say..." he responded after only a slight delay.

"Atta boy," I replied while snagging my water bottle from the floor and then taking a swig from it.

A hour later we were in the war room with Robin's team. Masaru had returned to wherever he was staying in Seattle but we had his commcode if we decided we needed him for this. If we decided to trust him. Theo and I had showered - separately - and we were back in our business attire. Robin team had upgraded their fashion choices as well. Gregor had even stopped wearing a helmet 24/7 although he still wore gloves most of the time. They, collectively, were now Lucifer and their more professional clothing choices showed that they were integrating that into their self-perception. Even Thug now sported a button down shirt, though none of them had descended into anything ridiculous like wearing a tie.

"Alright, so...an update," Theo began, "My training has been coming along pretty well, but we've got some bigger things to discuss. I hope you're not too upset that I waited this long to tell you, but...well...about a week ago Miho and I were both contacted by beings of significant power. I won't beat around the bush here. Miho had a powerful spirit approach her and tell her that our plans against Mother...might be ill advised."

Gregor spoke first, "What manner of spirit? And what reasons did it give?"

Theo looked to me and I responded, "A Spirit of Man, I think. Or maybe a Guidance Spirit. She took the form of a human woman and from our conversation I gathered that she was some kind of Great Mother type. She said that she was forbidden from giving details but I could tell that our plans frightened her,"

"She didn't say why?" Fabio asked.

But it was Gregor who answered, "They rarely do," he turned back to me, "but did she say that we should abandon it completely? Or just wait?"

My mouth fell open slightly. I hadn't thought to ask.

"I...well she didn't say explicitly. Instead she said that Theo and I should focus more on living our lives and not try to 'grow up too quickly'"

Gregor nodded, "Sounds more like a temporary injunction then, if she didn't make the permanent nature of her request or demand excruciatingly clear. For the record, it doesn't mean that moving against your mother would be immediate, inescapable doom. But there may be unforeseen consequences for us. And they probably involve whatever that particular spirit views as 'growing up too quickly'"

I thought of Meela with a targeting reticle over her head.

"What was the other one?" Thug asked, looking at Theo.

Theo raised his eyebrows, but then quickly understood, "Oh...uh...well. The being that contacted me was....a dragon,"

Gregor leaned back in his seat and tilted his head back as he groaned.

"I knew there was something bizarre about your Awakening. You're a drake aren't you?"

Drake's hadn't quite entered the public consciousness at that time, but they were essentially metahumans with a dragon-ish alternate form. No one quite knew where they came from, but dragons had a tendency to snap them up whenever possible and massively preferred them as retainers to more typical metahumans.

Theo flinched, an affectation I knew. He clearly wanted Gregor and the others to believe it, but without explicitly lying to them.

"Look, kid," Gregor continued, "I can probably already tell you how that conversation went. It offered you help with your Mother, right? But Robin wouldn't want you to sell your soul over this. Tell it to go frag itself."

Theo writhed a bit, and I couldn't help but mimicking the gesture a tad, "That's...not exactly how the conversation went. I think we could get his help without a long term commitment on our part. Like they always say, the first one's always free,"

Fabio sneered, "Yeah, there's a reason the first one's always free. You're telling yourself it'll just be this one time, but life never slows down, kid. Even if you tell yourself it's just this once...there's a reason you never make a deal with a dragon,"

Theo and I looked at each other. We knew we had no way of convincing them that we could get Masaru's help without him putting the screws to us later without essentially telling them everything and we still weren't quite sure we wanted to do that. Also we weren't 100% sure we could trust Masaru yet. Even if he did turn out to be 100% sincere - which to be honest seemed likely - we weren't sure he wouldn't go from loyal retainer to creepy Yandere obsessive and do so without warning.

"Listen, guys," Theo began, "I know what you're saying and I'm taking it seriously. But it's my life. If I have to spend some time as a valet to some big lizard to get this done...well...Robin isn't the only person I ever cared about that Mother's hurt. I'll live with the consequences,"

"Buddy..." Thug replied, "You know you didn't just help Robin, right? There's not a single one of us here you didn't dig up out of the ground,"

Thug's story was more subtle than most. You don't usually find depressed trolls. Not to sound racist, but mostly they aren't contemplative enough for that. They live in the moment. But Thug had given up on life when Lucifer found him. In one way or another all of them had. But Thug had been betrayed by people he thought were his friends one too many times and it had become clear to him that he just wasn't smart enough to see it coming. And he knew that would never change. He'd convinced himself he was doomed. And he'd been on the verge of suicide when Theo discovered him. He'd stopped eating. He was sleeping almost 18 hours a day. Wasting away in Rat's Nest, most people just left him alone because they hardly knew what to do when people they knew and cared about were depressed. And the truth is, back then, most people didn't give a drek about anyone they didn't know personally or wasn't useful to them.

Thug had come centimeters from having become yet another victim of the Tamanous. But Theo found Thug's situation curious rather than confounding and had an Agent or two tailing him at the time, trying to gain information. So a few bullets later, with the Tamanous dealt with, Theo decided it was time to make contact.

They say money can't solve your problems or bring you happiness. But it can sure as drek help. Theo had offered Thug cognitive enhancements and some rather significant ones. In exchange, Thug became one of Lucifer's Agents and he took to it with a reckless abandon. Even starting from a lower baseline, Thug was now smarter and more perceptive than about 80% of humans which did wonders for his self-esteem. And the more honorably Theo treated him the more devoted he became.

They all had stories like that.

"So, " Fabio interjected, "when you inevitably regret this stupid drek, we'll be here to drag your ass out of the fire,"

Theo smiled, but it didn't hide the sadness in his eyes, "Thank you,"

"But there's one last thing, " I added.

And all eyes were on me.

"Tabitha has...invited Theo out to one of her vacation homes to have a discussion about the future of his education. And it's absurdly insecure. It's almost certainly a trap," I told them.

Several pairs of eyes were on Opticon now.

"Oh! Right, yeah. Sorry, I've been meaning to ask, but you two seemed so busy lately. So uh...do you have a sister?" he asked, addressing Theo.

The look of bewildered shock on Theo's face must have been a mirror image of my own.

"I...I mean I don't think so. Mother always said she and I were the last McWellans,"

Opticon winced, "Yeah, I don't know about that. I found your mother's will. Wasn't able to make any changes, but it looks like she left absolutely everything to someone named Serena McWellan. I checked though and the SIN is almost completely blank. It's got no biometric data or images or anything. It's a full Corporate SIN but other than that? Almost nothing,"

"Who does it say her parents are?" Theo asked.

"Uh...well, according to the records, the same as yours. Johnathan and Tabitha McWellan," Opticon shrugged.

Theo and I stared at each others. If Tabitha could make one Theo, what's to say she could make more? Maybe she was about to pit her creations against each other to see who was more worthy. Or maybe show this Serena off to Theo as the obviously better version of him before killing him. None of that really seemed like a real threat at the moment, but the possibility of Theo having family was big.

And believe it or not, Johnathan McWellan had indeed existed at one point, but Theo had none of his DNA. He was likely just a cover story since his relationship to Tabitha had only latest a year or two. They'd had a whirlwind romance, or so it was to be believed, ending in his tragic death not long after Theo had been "conceived".

Having his name on her birth certificate was practically advertising to us that Serena was another Prototype Transhuman which meant it could be some kind of attempt at manipulation, but I couldn't figure out what she was trying to manipulate us into. And I didn't think Theo did either.

We broke our gaze and looked back at them, but it was Theo who spoke first, "I...I think we'll have to figure out what to do about that later. For now, it's time for Strategy Meeting part 2,"

Gregor folded his arms, but he smiled, "Oh yeah? Ready to wow us with everything you've learned, magic boy?"

He smiled, "Prepare to be amazed,"

 

[mordenn]

um threadmarks in the wrong catagory or something

 

[ShadowFireZelda]

um threadmarks in the wrong catagory or something

Click to shrink...

Yeah this chapter is actually in threadmarks rather than the index.

 

[Erenthia]

um threadmarks in the wrong catagory or something

Click to shrink...

Yeah this chapter is actually in threadmarks rather than the index.

Click to shrink...

Thanks, fixed it

 

[lyira]

Thanks, fixed it

Click to shrink...

can you just brief how you fixed it, i don't want to see whole thread

 

[Warlord D Thorin]

Thanks, fixed it

Click to shrink...

umm the threadmark is in the wrong order

 

[Krule]

So, even for the Exalted in the age of sorrows dealing with a dragon could get you into things you never would have chosen to get involved in. Mind you, Shadowrun is the universe that dragons go to when they think D&D dragons are weaklings, the dragons of Shadowrun are in essence all but the demigods of the setting.

So just because he's a solar eclipse is no reason to be complacent about dealing with a dragon. Actually in his place I would be more comfortable with one of the older greats, like Lowfry or Hestaby as a connection

 

[King]

Wait a minute. The Unconquered Sun is dead. Who's his replacement?

For those of you who aren't aware, if the Sun dies then the Maidens can authorise a Solar to become the new Sun.

1e's canon was that the Sun was Lucifer.

So is Theo actually going to become Lucifer?

 

[Erenthia]

While Robin's team had been quite impressed with Theo's demonstration, Isis apparently wasn't happy with my efforts to dissuade Theo from his plans. She'd appeared in Theo's office when we were alone together to try to take the matter up with him directly. He'd tried to be diplomatic at first, as always, but the more she insisted, the firmer he got.

"Very well then, " she said, "You are a businessman are you not? What if I offered you an exchange?"

Theo and I looked at each other for a moment before he responded, "What are you offering?"

Isis took several steps towards his desk. She was shorter than him but had no lack of gravitas.

"I know things, Theodore McWellan. The depth of my knowledge far outstrips that of young Masaru. Would you be interested to know that you are not the first Solar to walk this strange round world? You are, in fact, the second."

That got our attention.

"What?" he asked.

She placed her hands on his desk as she leaned in towards him, "Foreswear Tabitha McWellan, and I will tell you all that I know," she replied.

Theo folded his arms and looked away, "I...acknowledge that that's valuable information but...I'm sorry it's out of the question,"

She stood back up, "If your price is yet higher, perhaps I can find another way to accommodate you."

She proceeded a few paces to our right and began writing with her finger on the wall. The text glowed in golden light. She'd written out some GPS coordinates to six decimal places, a time - 9:25 am - and a name.

Jeremy

"Be there, at that exact time tomorrow, and you will see what I have to offer you,"

And that's how we found ourselves standing invisibly in a 15-year-old human boy's bedroom. He wasn't that much younger than Theo really. We had, of course, checked out the place ahead of time and made plenty of preparations. In particular, we'd gotten nanopaste disguises and some fairly nondescript clothing. The Everette home had been rented out to a Joseph Delle, a human, who had been raising his son alone after a divorce from his wife Wanda a year and a half ago. To say that Jeremy was a troubled young man would have been an understatement. He'd been forced to repeat a grade in middle school, dabbled in drugs and BTLs, and had three suicide attempts on record. His social media was also full of dark ramblings and ominous threats directed at no one in particular. Also, he'd just broken up with his girlfriend.

July hadn't quite ended, which meant school wasn't in session yet. So when his father finally left for work and he pulled an Ares Predator out of his drawer, neither of us were particularly surprised.

"Jeremy," Theo spoke in a soft tone but without dismissing his invisibility.

"What the frag? I've got a gun!" the boy shouted, turning the weapon away from himself and pointing it in several different directions in sequence.

"I know," Theo replied, "but you don't need it. There are other ways to solve your problems. Let me help you,"

Jeremy relaxed his stance a little too much, the gun dangling from his hand carelessly. He laughed.

"Oh god, this again? Please, I've heard all this drek before!" Jeremy replied.

Theo dropped his invisibility spell and Jeremy had the gun pointed at him instantly. Theo ignored him and dragged the room's one chair over to him and sat in it.

"Look, kid, I know what you're thinking. Everyone always says the same drek but nobody ever does anything. You're angry, and you don't really know why. And you're pretty sure nobody would really care if you did it anyway. Life would go on the same just fine without you, right? Stop me if I'm getting any of this wrong,"

Jeremy continued pointing the gun at Theo. He must have understood that this wasn't any kind of home invasion, but he only looked angrier for it.

"And you're gonna tell me that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem and life gets better and blah blah blah. Go frag yourself,"

Theo leaned forward, "I have a better idea. You're life's such a drekhole? Let's change your life."

Jeremy sneered, "Oh yeah? How?"

Theo shrugged, "How do you want it to change?"

The boy's expression only got darker and angrier, "No! I mean how can you make anything different? Nobody else can. Just 'cause your some pedo magician who sneaks into kids' rooms doesn't make you special,"

Theo leaned back and sighed, and I felt him reach out to me via a Mindnet spell, <Help me out here a bit?>

Using my control over mana I created a light whirlwind in the room which spilled over into a visible cloud of phantasms complete with miniature lightning. It wasn't something a traditional magician couldn't do with the right spell, of course, except for my divine aura which I was slowly beginning to get control over.

"Kid, I can accomplish quite a bit. So how about this, you tell me what you need for life to be a little more tolerable and I'll see what I can do?"

Jeremy had already lowered his gun and hadn't taken his eyes off the display even as Theo spoke. Finally, he tore his eyes away and sneered at Theo yet again.

"Why do you care?" he replied, and I took that as my cue to end the display.

Theo sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Kid...'why' isn't always as important as you think. When you see a tidal wave approaching, you might not know what caused it, but that doesn't change the brute fact of its existence. But you're a smart kid. You know that. So I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're real reason for asking that is because you don't want to answer my question. Because you don't know the answer,"

Jeremy turned his gaze from Theo and the expression of pain and humiliation almost outweighed his anger.

Theo continued, "But I've been reading your blog posts. You're terrible at poetry by the way, but I got the gist. You don't think you're important to anyone. You feel small. Everything hurts and everything makes you angry. But are you sure you want to be important? I mean, how would you know if people really cared about you or if they just cared about what you could do for them?"

"Heard it," Jeremy said with the truly excessive disdain that only teenagers are capable of.

"Sure, " Theo replied, unperturbed, "but not from someone who could make you pretty important. I've gotta ask these things, kid. Because buyer's remorse is a thing. So say I do something to make you more important to people. How do you know that'll fix anything? How do you know it won't be worse?"

Jeremy raised his gun and waggled it back and forth, "I've got a backup plan,"

Theo sighed, "Yeah, no see that's not acceptable. But here's a better question. If I gave you power how much of a piece of drek would you become?"

That, finally, seemed to catch him off guard, "What? What do you mean?"

Theo shrugged, "Same old story. Older than dirt and still going strong. Power corrupts. If you became a Physical Adept, say, then why not take a huge steaming drek on everyone who ever messed with you?"

Jeremy finally seemed to understand where this conversation was going. He'd talked repeatedly on his blog about wishing he could Awaken, "N-no! No, I wouldn't do that!"

But his words smelled like raw sewage, <Yeah, no. He's lying and he knows he's lying>

Theo sighed, "You really think you can lie to me, kid? Buddy, you're not the only person in the world who's suffering. Now I get that that's hard to see over your own pain, but fragging look around, kid! It's everywhere. And I'm not gonna help you make it worse. But I will help you make it better. But I'm gonna need a commitment from you. And don't think you can cheat me on this. If I do this for you, then that means you have a job to do. And that job is making the world around you a better place. Not right away. You have to learn first. But in the end, you need to understand that you're not the only person who deserves help. And I'm gonna need a magically binding oath to that effect,"

"You can't...you can't just make someone magic. Everyone knows that," Jeremy replied, but there wasn't a lot of conviction in his voice.

Theo smiled, "Yeah, you probably shouldn't tell anyone about me. I don't exactly fall into the 'mortal man' category. And I really don't want people to start attempting suicide to see if I'll show up and give them magic. You'll have to swear to that too,"

Jeremy started to writhe, "You...you could be lying,"

Theo shrugged, "Then make the wording conditional. Try starting with something like, 'I swear that if I become a Magician in the next five minutes...' or something like that. Which reminds me, what flavor of magic are you looking for?"

"Mystic Adept! It's the best!" Jeremy said without hesitation. I tried not to be annoyed. People were always saying that.

"Alright then," Theo began, "Do you swear that, if you become a Mystic Adept before I leave, you will do your best to put real good into the world, that you'll never choose to use your powers for corrupt purposes and that you won't tell anyone what happened here today?"

Jeremy nodded and Theo's caste mark flared immediately, the text of the Sacred Oath spelled out just as it was with Masaru.

"Careful now, kid. You just make a sacred oath, and the universe itself has heard you and will enforce it. Not even my death can stop that now. My love, if you would,"

We were, essentially, under cover so Theo was using the opportunity to test the waters and see how things felt. I didn't know quite how he felt about it at the time, but honestly...I did kinda like it. You might think we were being silly. We had both openly admitted our love for each other a while back, but in real life things get complicated. Also we'd been too busy for anything conventional like a date. It occurred to me that maybe I should take the lead on that one. A creeping fear settled over me in that moment and I remembered how it felt to lay dying with your last regret being how much time you wasted. But I didn't have time to dwell on it.

I dropped my invisibility spell. I'd been practically on top of Jeremy this whole time. Theo had kept his distance but I'd been on overwatch, ready to jump in if Theo's words weren't reaching him. Jeremy flinched, but I only held out my hand, palm up.

"Give me the gun, and I'll give you what you've asked for," I told him.

"Wait...but I thought..." Jeremy stammered.

"Oh, I never said I had the power to do it myself. But she does," Theo explained.

Technically he could learn any of my Charms, but Theo had a much broader focus that he had to worry about so it had seemed like something for backburner.

Jeremy took a second, probably to think over the Oath he'd just sworn to see if it was a screw job, but it wasn't and eventually he seemed to figure that out. He handed over the gun, and I put the safety back on and tucked it in behind my back. Then I leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, releasing my own Divine Essence into his body in the process.

Mind Knife Sacrement.

When Theo had suggested I make my Domain the manasphere I'd never considered the possibility that I could just...dole out magic. But Theo had. In fact, with the Charm I was now using, I could do other things as well. His whole mind was open to me and I could see the rage and the despair and the hopelessness and I did what I could to ease it, but I didn't want to fundamentally change who he was. I did mark him as my Priest though, which made him integrally part of my Domain. It would make it significantly easier for me to keep an eye on him. I'd even be able to hear his prayers.

I had to catch him, as the process, which only took a fraction of a second, had the side-effect of knocking him out. We hadn't actually predicted that part, but it wasn't a huge problem. We laid him in his bed, reestablished our invisibility and then Theo did something neither of us had planned. At least he hadn't discussed it with me. He started singing.



But it wasn't just a song. I could feel Theo's true power pouring out from him and in no small amounts. And since Jeremy was now part of my Domain I could feel the powerful effect it was having on him almost - not quite but almost - like it was happening to myself. And even at this metaphysical distance it brought me to tears. I could rewrite Jeremy's mind, but providing him with significant spiritual healing without fragging him up was beyond what I could do at this point. Theo apparently didn't have that problem. There wasn't much to say after that. I'd wanted to ask him what precisely he'd done but speaking at all in that moment felt like a sacrilege so we ended up leaving in silence.

Isis was there, just outside, and our Improved Invisibility spells apparently meant nothing to her. And I strongly suspected that, even though we could see her, no one else could.

"Do you understand now, what it is I am offering you? Do as I have asked and I can fill your days and nights with such opportunities. There are many ways to hold back the darkness," she told us.

"And why aren't your kind doing this? Isn't that what you're for?" Theo growled at her.

Isis folder her arms, "Most of us are still asleep and thus can do little more than act as Mentors. You're Exaltation woke but few of us and we have been busy working for your benefit and for the world's,"

This was one of those rare occasions when I had to be the diplomat, "I don't believe our current plans will result in Theo becoming a monster,"

"I do not believe so either, " Isis replied.

Theo and I looked at each other. We knew...or rather we believed her when she said she was forbidden from speaking her true fears, but we had assumed that at least part of it was the horrifying reality represented by a Solar falling the same way they did in the First Age of Creation, but with no Dragon-blooded or Sidereals to take him down when things got out of hand. But the obvious next question was one we knew she couldn't answer, which left us largely dumbstruck. So she continued.

"But it is of little utility to discuss such matters at this point. Would you, Solar, perhaps be tempted by the prospect of having my tutelage for your beloved? We share a Domain and I could teach her much,"

I didn't need to see him to know it was tempting for him. Because it was tempting for me and he'd know that.

"I can't help but notice that this is an awfully hard sell," Theo replied after a moment.

"To borrow from modern vernacular, Do The Math,"

"I'll think about it," Theo said, eventually.

Isis sighed, "Then I shall leave you to it. I hope that you will find the wisdom to heed my words,"

We'd actually borrowed Masaru's flying limo for this occasion, so we weren't entirely certain how much talking we should do while we were in it. A much easier prospect on the way back, considering just how much Isis had offered us, and how unnerving her warnings had been. I'd known Theo long enough to know that he was giving the offer real consideration, but when we finally reached his office, I wasn't surprised by his answer.

"I can't. I'm sorry, I can't give this up,"

I nodded, "Yeah...I know,"

Whatever price there was to be paid. We'd pay it together.

Or so I thought.

---

AN: in case of links becoming broken in the future, Theo's song is "Heal the World" by Michael Jackson

 

[Erenthia]

Wait a minute. The Unconquered Sun is dead. Who's his replacement?

For those of you who aren't aware, if the Sun dies then the Maidens can authorise a Solar to become the new Sun.

1e's canon was that the Sun was Lucifer.

So is Theo actually going to become Lucifer?

Click to shrink...

Well I'm afraid answering either Yes or No to that would be a spoiler. But I really really like theorizing in general. So keep up the good work!

 

[lyira]

Wait a minute. The Unconquered Sun is dead. Who do price match?

For those of you who aren't aware, if the Sun dies then the Maidens can authorise a Solar to become the new Sun.

1e's canon was that the Sun was Lucifer.

So is Theo actually going to become Lucifer?

Click to shrink...

Erenthia, post: 5604345, member: 85557"]Well I'm afraid answering either Yes or No to that would be a spoiler. But I really really like theorizing in general. So keep up the good work![/QUOTE]
yup keep going

 

[Erenthia]

If you really understood war, if you really understood death, if you really understood hate and horror and pain and fear then how far would you go stop it? And what would that knowledge do to you? Who would you become if the suffering of untold billions weighed on you in a tangible, visceral way and wasn't some theoretical abstraction? And if that crushing weight refused to give you a single moment of peace for thousands of years and if you somehow managed to stand your ground throughout all that, what would you do if you were betrayed? How far would you fall? What would be left of you? And what kind of monster would look out through your eyes and wear your face after it was all said and done?

I'd had similar fears in the past. I knew when we went to Redmond together that Theo would face opposition from those who didn't trust his motives. I knew that the very people he had come to help might show their ingratitude through violence and murder and even attempts on his life. It had been a pleasant surprise when he'd gracefully danced around a sizeable portion of those problems with charisma, intellect, and forethought. I never thought he'd become a monster but I worried that he'd become embittered, lose his heart for helping those less fortunate, and turn inward.

It wasn't Theo I should have been worried about.

We'd taken a t-bird from Squatter's Mall to the Bellevue estate, for the sake of speed. The staff was mostly still there - Theo wasn't about to put any of his family out of a job - so almost half of them met us at the landing pad. We stopped for a short breakfast while we waited for Theo's private jet to pick us up. Theo and I spent some time marveling over the strange sensation of being in a place so familiar and yet so different. Our life in Bellevue seemed like a dream sometimes, and as much as we'd done to improve conditions at Squatter's Mall, it still didn't compare to this.

"Hot damn, kid," Thug began, as usual saying what others wouldn't, "What the frag made you want to come to Redmond after growing up like this?"

We were in one of the smaller dining rooms, not the huge ones that rarely saw use, but the more intimate variety that we'd actually felt comfortable in. No chandeliers or sculptures or century-old paintings, just a few relatively inexpensive furnishings making up a middle-class island in a sea of opulence. Not that Thug had been talking about this room in particular. We'd had to cross the sea to get here, but Robin's team had been fairly quiet during the voyage. They weren't yet in their security armor, but they'd made enough money to dress themselves appropriately for the world outside Redmond. Even then I'm sure they felt like imposters. I still remembered my first few months here and how long it took me to even begin getting comfortable. And that was with young Theo going very far out of his way every day to assist me in that.

Theo smiled but I could see the melancholy in his eyes, "You guys did...and Robin...and well, Miho of course. Really the more I learned about Redmond the more I developed the unshakeable conviction that it deserved to be saved. And I don't mean to sound like some places are unworthy of help it's just...the more I read about it, the more people I talked to, and the more I learned in general the more I began to see just how amazing the place was when you looked at it the right way. And yeah, I know what you guys will say, but there's a lot of ingenuity and raw will and just plain brilliance that I just kept seeing. So many people still trying to help, still trying to make things better. I would never have been able to recruit so many Agents if there weren't so many people who wanted to do real good,"

But his words smelled like cheap cologne, not that I needed my Adept powers to recognize that particular half-truth, but now probably wasn't the time to get into Theo's history of mental illness.

Fabio sighed as the food was finally delivered, "You know, I still remember the days when I would try to worm my way into a place like this, pretend to be your best friend, and live high on the hog until the day you wised up and kicked me out,"

Theo smirked, "Yes, because that never got you into any trouble,"

We all shared a chuckle for a moment, then Theo continued, "So...what do you guys want to do after this is all over?"

A round of shrugs. Then Thug answered first, "I dunno. I was thinking maybe Aztlanner food?"

Thug rarely made jokes like that unless he was either playing the part of a stupid troll or among friends who knew him well. Because what he was really getting at is that Tabitha's McWellan's death didn't or at least shouldn't register as any kind of important event. She didn't deserve that honor. But coming from a troll, most people wouldn't look for too much depth in those words.

Theo smirked, "Sounds good to me. But I was just wondering if you'd all like to become fantastically wealthy?"

Opticon got to it first, "Uh...you know I still haven't been able to alter your mother's will, right? Or even figure out who this 'Serena McWellan' is?"

"Let's pretend for a second that's not an issue. And for the record, Squatter's Mall and Redmond and Lucifer's operations...that's all still going to continue. But if you want a permanent luxurious vacation for the rest of your lives...well you've earned it. Or you will have," Theo explained.

"Yeah, no," Fabio replied

"Frag that, " Thug came next.

"A temporary vacation might be called for, but the work everyone at this table is engaging in is too important to abandon," said Gregor.

"Yeah...being able to buy all the toys doesn't mean anything if you don't have anything to do with them," Opticon explained.

Theo drummed his fingers on the table in a tell I'd learned to decode over the years. He was nervous. Which meant he was building up to something.

"What if I asked you guys to take over as Lucifer on a permanent basis?" Theo said, finally.

Thug stopped eating, a spoonful of food hovering in the air. He turned to face Theo, "You going somewhere, kid?"

Theo shrugged, "Maybe a lot of places. There are even places in the world worse off than Redmond. Chicago for starters. Lagos. Bogata."

Everyone got quiet. Eventually, it was Gregor who asked the obvious question, "Is there something you're not telling us? Or are these the demands of your new dragon overlord?"

Theo nodded, "If things go well, by the end of the day I might very well be able to explain some things to you that, currently, I don't feel I can. For now, let's just say that options have opened up for me that I didn't have before. And if I'm busy with other things, I want to make sure I leave Redmond in good hands,"

And now they were looking at me.

"Where Theo goes, I go," I told them, earning an especially irritating smirk from Fabio.

Gregor nodded, "It would be an honor to serve the people of Redmond in such a fashion. And I assume Anna's new position will be permanent as well? But who will take over as Program Manager?"

"It depends on how today goes, really. But I have someone in mind," Theo replied.

James poked his head in the door, "Excuse me, Mr. McWellan? The courier is here,"

Theo jumped up from his chair in obvious excitement, "Ah! Gimme a few minutes, guys. Be right back,"

The moment he was out of the room, they were on me like sharks. Gregor went first, "So what do we need to do to get him out from under whatever he owes this dragon?"

I sighed and shook my head, "I can't talk about any of that,"

"Oh come on!" Fabio replied, "You know we've got his back. Let us know how we can help him!"

I sighed again, and made sure to do it louder this time, "I am a Samurai. He's my Lord. And for now, he doesn't want you to know. But..."

The tension in the room skyrocketed in anticipation of even the slightest drop of a secret from me.

"...the dragon owes him something," I finished.

They all started searching each other's faces for signs of understanding, but with none to be found.

I smirked, "He's Lucifer, remember? Favors are his thing,"

And technically none of that was a lie.

Theo reentered the room with a small box in his hand, "So uh...I got you this. It's for the mission," and he placed it on the table just to the left of my plate.

I opened the box and found a moonsilver amulet with a seven-point star pentacle on it. A Heptagram. And I could feel its active presence in the manasphere without even needing to actively assense it. And there were half-a-dozen other similar pieces of jewelry in the box with it. All moonsilver.

"They're Qi foci," Theo explained, although I felt a slight whiff of sulfur which told me that while most of them probably were, one certainly wasn't.

<There's a Power Focus in there too. It's the simple moonsilver band> Theo informed me telepathically.

I'd long gotten over my residual self-image as a Barren's Rat, but this was still quite a lot. Still, I managed to accept it all gracefully.

"Thank you, Theo. I know that this is probably mostly for our mission, but still, I really appreciate all this,"

"Hey, where're my shinies?" Fabio joked earning an immediate elbow from Opticon sitting next to him.

"I should probably go figure out which of these I should bond to before the mission gets underway," and I exited the room as gracefully as I could.

Normally it could take hours to bond to a single focus depending on how powerful it was, for a mortal anyway. These, I bonded to as I put them on and slowly came to the understanding that they really had nothing to do with our mission at all. Which made sense in a way as I already had pretty much every combat-related Adept power I knew existed and would do me any good. The Analytics power was one I'd always been curious about but never felt I could justify. It mostly just made you smarter but in the classic book-smart sense, and as I bonded to it I could feel my mind becoming sharper in a way that made me understand why the word 'sharp' was used for intelligence in the first place. My thoughts actually felt, in a way, more blade-like. Like I could cut through problems with ease that before would have stumped me.

But things got really curious when I discovered a Qi focus for Improved Business Skill and Improved Academics. Oh sure, the ones for Visual Magnification and Eidetic Sense Memory made a kind of sense, but improved book learning and business skills? If I hadn't bonded to the focus with the Analytics power first I might have shrugged those off but now they worried me. Because I could guess what they were for.

<Please don't go off on your own,> I sent him over the Mindnet spell he'd clearly cast.

<I don't intend to. But with Isis's warnings, I figured we could use a backup plan,> he sent back.

<Which is?> I asked.

<I don't actually remember. I think that must have been on purpose. It's probably better that way>

I'd slipped the Power Focus on while he was talking and it made my head swim. Instinctively I began to worry about Focus Addiction, that nasty and pernicious dependence the Awaken could develop when using a focus that, frankly, was probably too powerful for them to begin with. Suddenly though, it occurred to me that, like with Drain from spellcasting, we might not be entirely immune but it seemed likely we'd be just as resistant. Oh, wow. Analytics was nice. Hopefully, Theo had already done the math because this focus felt significant.

<You get anything for yourself?> I asked him

<Similar Power Focus, some Qi foci here and there. Nothing particularly special. Analytics is nice though>

Oh god. As sharp as I now was, I didn't even want to think about what he was now capable of.

<Masaru's here> he told me.

Well...it was time to see how this part would go. I rendezvoused with our coterie atop the modern castle and stood before the opulence that was Theodore's personal flying chariot. Okay, I'll stop. I promise. In any case, Masaru was already on board and had clearly used magic to give himself the appearance of a mid-40s caucasian male with a decidedly bulkier frame than he'd had when last I saw him. It didn't take Gregor long to guess who this newcomer was.

"I don't know what you hope to gain from this, dragon, but understand this. Theodore McWellan is our friend and ally. He's earned our loyalty and you should think twice and thrice again before doing him any great harm. Not even your kind are invincible," Gregor said, although if he'd known he was addressing a Great Dragon, rather than the more common variety, he might not have.

Masaru smiled, and his now gravelly voice reminded me vaguely of Delucca's, "Your loyalty to Mr. McWellan does you credit. I will think more highly of you for it in the future. And I certainly take no insult. For he has my loyalty as well,"

None of them quite knew what to make of that, so they said nothing. We'd included some accommodations for Thug, mostly seating sized appropriately for him so in his typical phlegmatic manner, he slumped lazily into his seat and, as usual, cut through the conversational gordian knot and said what no one else dared say.

"Welp, this is gonna be a long flight,"

He wasn't wrong. Theo certainly tried to keep things from getting too awkward, and I did what I could to help him, but Robin's team just wasn't comfortable making casual conversation with a dragon. Even if they thought Theo was a Drake, which was more or less half-dragon in a social context, he was Lucifer first, Robin's boyfriend second, probably a bunch of other things, and a dracoform dead last.

We couldn't even move the conversation towards strategy, because we'd beaten that horse to death, raised its corpse, and beaten it to death again before ever setting foot on Theo's private jet. At least Opticon got an excuse to not be involved since he was flying the damned thing. Finally though, after what felt like several days even if, in reality, it was less than 2 hours, the Mojave Desert came into view. I wouldn't have felt this nervous if it hadn't been for Isis. Hell, we might not even have bothered bringing Masaru. The only reason Robin's team was here was that they had a stake in seeing justice done for Robin's killer.

"Uh...Theo," Opticon's voice came over the intercom, "There's uh...there's no traffic control messages coming in. I've got the coordinates, but no one's giving me instructions on how to land or any warnings about shooting us down if we deviate from our flight plan. Is that...is that normal?"

"I've uh," Theo began, "I've never actually been to this particular estate of hers. Just proceed to the landing coordinates but keep your eyes open,"

As if things weren't tense enough. And they got worse after we landed.

"What the frag?" Opticon said.

"Yeah I feel it too, " Theo responded.

"Feel what?" I asked him.

"There's no wireless. At all," he explained, "And I have no idea why,"

Masaru looked around, and by his expression, he didn't seem to know why this bothered any of us so eventually, he decided to take point deploying the airstair and descending it.

"Wait what do you mean feel?" Opticon asked as Theo followed Masaru's lead, but he never got an answer.

There was no one there to meet us. No servants. No drones. The limestone spackled ranch house, done up in imitation of an old Mexican mission, was similarly empty. It also had no electric lights or any other modern convenience we could find. Opticon had deployed several surveillance drones the moment we'd exited the jet, mostly to keep an eye out for missile strikes. It could very well have been the case that Tabitha never intended to show up and instead planned to blow us all up. But while they didn't find any sign of inbound attack, they did eventually find Tabitha.

Several hundred meters from the house, there sat a truly enormous Zen rock garden, easily 50 meters on a side, and some kind of deck or topless gazebo in the center. She was just sitting out there, in the heat of the day lounging around while wearing a man's business suit and stiletto heels - all white of course - as if the temperature didn't bother her in the slightest, which probably meant some kind of outdoor air conditioning because she was just that rich. Her blonde hair was uncharacteristically free which made her look oddly relaxed. So we made our way out there.

The heat was oppressive, and as much as I would have expected the tension to override that, it didn't. I could feel beads of sweat falling down my skin in various places until I felt Theo cast a spell that cooled the air around us.

"What was that?" Gregor asked.

"Oh yeah, I uh...found an air conditioning spell. Seemed like something worth having," Theo explained and to my surprise, it was entirely true.

And then we were standing before Her. She was just as the drones had told us, her arms spread wide along the back of the wooden bench, but with her legs crossed.

"Hello, Theodore. Since I haven't had the opportunity to say it before, congratulations. The Squatter's Mall Project was a resounding success. You should be proud,"

Theo's flat affect spoke volumes, "Thank you, Mother."

"But I believe it's time for you to step back. A conventional education is important and not merely for the prestige. So I have enrolled you at MIT&T for the upcoming fall semester. And you will have to take a step back from the Redmond Program, though I will allow you to remain on as Program Sponsor,"

A moment of silence.

"You brought me all the way out here, just to tell me something you could have said over a commlink?" his anger was beginning to show through and I knew we were getting close.

Tabitha smiled but her eyes were hard enough to crush diamonds, "I thought privacy was in order in case you decided to do something regrettable. After all, you certainly demonstrated your newfound resolve against those filly dwarf gang members you crucified. I have to say I was impressed. I knew you had the ability to contact the Order of Aurelius, but I didn't think you'd do such a thing so soon,"

A wave of nausea hit me, and it wasn't any magic.

"The Order of Aurelius?" I said without thinking or even paying any attention to the circumstance we found ourselves in, "My god Theo, what were you thinking?"

The Order was a group of shockingly powerful vampire mercenaries. And while most mercenaries were flexible in their morality to say the least, the Order was who you called when cruelty and horror were the point. Frankly, crucifixion was uninspired by their standards, but then I was just now realizing that Lucifer had to stay on brand. Thanks a lot, Analytics.

"Dude," Thug spoke up next, "What the frag, man?"

Theo turned to regard us both with an annoyed distaste, "Now? Really? We're doing this now?"

"Did it truly not surprise any of you how quickly that transpired?" Tabitha asked sounding even more superior than normal, "Clearly young Theodore had them stationed nearby in preparation. I wonder how he fed them?"

All eyes were on Theo now, except Masaru who didn't seem to understand why any of us were bothered by this. Theo for his part wasn't defending his actions.

"Later, alright? Please!" he begged.

Masaru's jaw clenched visibly as he addressed Tabitha, "You're words are of no consequence,"

And then he turned to Theo, "I ask that you make me your executioner,"

Theo and I had long since agreed, even before Robin's death, that even if we were ever to do something like this, he would not be the one to strike the final blow. I'd been prepared to do it myself but I was just as happy to pass that off to Masaru at least there in that moment.

Theo shook his head and I could feel him pour his True Power into the manasphere, conjuring a Powerblade that my favorite new Adept power was telling me could probably cut through a tank. He stepped forward.

"Are you sure this is how you want this to go, Theodore?" Tabitha asked as she stood, "Did you really think I made no preparations for this? What plans do you suppose my death will put into motion? What consequences for those you love? This isn't something you can take back, boy,"

Theo stared her down for a long moment and said, "I'm sure it'll hurt. But in the end? I'll live with it," .

Theo rushed forward bringing the blade down in an overhead strike...

...only for it to be blocked by the largest sword I'd ever seen. The blade compared favorably in size to the average surfboard and both hilt and blade were covered in Old Realm runes. And the entire thing had just materialized into position to block Theo's strike. It just floated there.

Tabitha smiled.

At once she was engulted in a bonfire of divine flame.

And a symbol of light appeared on her forehead, which I recognized immediately as the symbol of the Zenith caste.

But they were green.

 

[Krule]

Ah, a Green Sun prince, the Demon version of the Solars, made from stolen Solar exaltations.... considering the connection to Earthdawn.. I strongly suspect we have our Exalted connection to the Horrors.

 

[Idoneior]

I was not expecting that twist. It does make some sense in retrospect, though—Tabatha's abuse of her son was almost too flawlessly competent.

 

[Krule]

It also explains some of her actions asdealing with her Urge, since Infernals reduce their limit break by acting in the manner of an over the top villain

 

[King]

Wut?

The only Exalted I can think of that has green as their colour is either a Sidereal of Secrets or Infernal Exalted. Neither of them has a caste mark of a Zenith, apart from Fiends and their colour is black.

So... either the author made a mistake... or Tabatha's a Devil Tiger... Yikes.

No matter what, Theo's situation has gone solidly FUBAR.

 

[Krule]

Or it's 3rd edition Infernals, who have completely different castes

 

[Erenthia]

So I thought this might come up. I'll put a partial explanation in spoiler tags. It's a not a spoiler, but some people might not want to know anyway. Also, it will be explained in the following chapter.

Spoiler: Not Spoiler

I did a fair amount of research into what Tabitha's anima and caste mark should look like, but I was unable to find anything. Honestly, it's probably in a 1e book I don't have. So in the absence of knowing what it should be from a canon perspective, I made something up.

Edit: Also...

It also explains some of her actions asdealing with her Urge, since Infernals reduce their limit break by acting in the manner of an over the top villain

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Also not a spoiler but closer

No, Mister Dinklage. I expect you to die!

Click to shrink...

 

[Krule]

The 2nd Edition Infernal castes and caste marks were Slayer (Crossed Swords), Malfactor (Hourglass), Defiler (Third-Eye filled with Green flame), Scourge (Blood Red Circle), and Fiends (Solid Black Circle, a sort of black inversion of Zenith and Midnight, though they were Inversion of the Eclipse not the priest castes.)

However, the developers decided 3rd edition Infernal's should different, you need access to Exalted Essence Project to have the details (though I think they can be found eventually by going though Onyx path's forums), which as a Backer I do. The 3rd Edition Infernal Castes are: Azimuth (Unholy Sunburst, in essence the eight spoke dawn symbol, but without the circle in the center, and Green with + part of the 8 lines emphasized), Ascendant (empty green circle with a smaller partial circle cresting over the upper right side), Horizon (empty green ring on the bottom part, with a closed horizontal line erupting into a starburst), Nadir (n empty green circle, with a gap on the bottom closed by two smaller green discs), and Penumbra (pitch-dark disc, limned with fiery green sparks radiating around the mark)

 

[Erenthia]

The 2nd Edition Infernal castes and caste marks were Slayer (Crossed Swords), Malfactor (Hourglass), Defiler (Third-Eye filled with Green flame), Scourge (Blood Red Circle), and Fiends (Solid Black Circle, a sort of black inversion of Zenith and Midnight, though they were Inversion of the Eclipse not the priest castes.)

However, the developers decided 3rd edition Infernal's should different, you need access to Exalted Essence Project to have the details (though I think they can be found eventually by going though Onyx path's forums), which as a Backer I do. The 3rd Edition Infernal Castes are: Azimuth (Unholy Sunburst, in essence the eight spoke dawn symbol, but without the circle in the center, and Green with + part of the 8 lines emphasized), Ascendant (empty green circle with a smaller partial circle cresting over the upper right side), Horizon (empty green ring on the bottom part, with a closed horizontal line erupting into a starburst), Nadir (n empty green circle, with a gap on the bottom closed by two smaller green discs), and Penumbra (pitch-dark disc, limned with fiery green sparks radiating around the mark)

Click to shrink...

Edit to put in spoiler tags.

Spoiler: not a DIRECT spoiler

Yeah, I have the 2e Infernal book, so I know what their caste marks are. And I doubt I'll be using that particular part of 3e.

 

[Korttihai]

I'm actually relieved to find out that Tabitha is an exalted also. The way she was always ten steps ahead of Theo was starting to bug me really bad. As in there is no way any mortal could be that competent actually. But it all makes sense since exalted are ridiculous.