Artur wasn't sure what he should do. He held the ship near the clouds, watching the fight unfold below him. At first, he thought he might be able to assist, but bringing the Nighthawk close to the buildings presented a problem. He didn't want to crash into Aherlow. That would eliminate their ability to escape. So long as Jean and Sayed could handle themselves, he could observe from afar.

"Alas, a hollow victory. We start where we end, I see."

Artur shook his head as Sayed and Jean brought down the dragon. The creature fell wrapped in purple light, crashing to the ground with its long neck slamming down last. The entire fight had been pointless and put them at needless risk. In his mind, they would have been better off leaving the port when they thought they were being watched, but that was in retrospect. He couldn't have predicted how things would have happened after Jean and Sayed had left the ship.

That was the problem with unknowns. You never knew how they would go.

Artur started to pull the Nighthawk closer. Surely, it would be safe now. However, Sayed and Jean's movements gave him pause. They immediately rushed off toward a building, jumping up the many floors in quick leaps and onto a waiting slipship.

Artur focused on them, and the Nighthawk enhanced his vision. The faraway figures shifted into a closeup image. Jean kicked a masked soldier from the helm with one leg. Sayed knocked away two others with one solid push. In seconds, they took control of the helm. Jean pulled on the wheel as he flipped levers across the control board, and the ship rose into the night sky.

"They are coming for a rendezvous," Artur whispered. "Come, Mari, we have no time to lose."

His vision returned to center on the ship, and he leaned forward to intercept the smaller slipship. He leaned forward on the orbs, forcing the Nighthawk to accelerate, but not at the breakneck speed he had been going before. So long as the dragon remained contained, that was unnecessary.

Hrrm.

The engines hummed as Artur stopped the Nighthawk next to the smaller slipship. Jean and Sayed waved as they climbed aboard, and he could hear them for the first time as they approached the hatch. Both seemed in good spirits.

"I cannot believe we were able to stop him." Jean shook his head as he rotated the lock for the door behind the bridge. "I never imagined we were fated to take on a dragon."

Whirr. Clink.

"He is not as mighty as the ones from our tales, brother." Sayed ducked into the door after Jean. "He was a mighty foe, but dragons are said to be able to cleave mountains in a single stroke. Their breath alone can burn swaths of desert and forge glass from the sand. That dragon was no dragon in that regard."

"That may be because he didn't want to damage the town." Jean raised one finger.

"Let me know when you are both on board," Artur said, his voice carried by the ship's speaker system. "Lest we be taken into that dragon's hoard."

"I do not think he will be getting up any time soon." Sayed laughed. "No one can rise after we have taken them down!"

Roar.

As he said it, the sky shook. Artur's hands almost released the controls as the vibrations echoed through his bones. He looked down immediately and regretted it.

Snap.

On the ground, the dragon rose. The purple lights of Jean's curse snapped away as it broke out of its binding. Sharp claws cut through each string, forcing them open and releasing the dragon with each painstaking twang.

Hrrm. Bang.

Artur delved fully back into the ship's controls, leaning forward on the control orbs and willing it to rise into the sky. He kept an eye behind him as they rose into the night and toward the clouds. Fear replaced any confidence he had that it was over.

"What was that?" Jean yelled over the comms. "You threw us into the bulkhead."

"The dragon wasn't done," Artur said, clenching his teeth as he was pushed back into his seat. "The day has yet to be won!"

As he said it, he saw the dragon open its wings wide. One of the wings was torn, but Artur didn't trust that to stop him. They needed to get out of sight, and then they needed to get to Tartarus. Alex expected him to pick up the slack and get them all out.

Flap. Flap.

The air shook as the dragon flapped its wings and took to the sky. It rose from Aherlow with each flap, and yellow eyes locked onto him. Artur pushed the Nighthawk towards the retreating clouds. They just needed to get out of sight. Then, they could escape.

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Roar!

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The world around Artur wailed as he pushed the ship into the clouds. He didn't understand the warnings, but something in the dragon's roar affected the engines. He glanced back again and saw the dragon's maw open. A vortex of black circled in front of its maw. It was like it was draining the ambient aether in the surrounding air. The darkness folded in on itself, shrinking as the dragon drew in a deeper breath until it was almost a pebble in relative size.

Artur's eyes widened when he realized it was charging a powerful attack, one that it wouldn't have risked before. Sayed's words returned to him—the power to cleave mountains and breath to turn the desert into glass.

"You should evade it," Mari's voice chimed over the beeping. "The Nighthawk won't survive that much aether buildup in an attack."

Ba-bump.

Artur watched the dragon's maw open. The retreating clouds rushed ahead of the ship, but it didn't matter. He knew not how large the attack would be, and once it was released, it would be a guess as to which direction it was aimed.

"Form shield," he whispered, calling on his curse through the ship. "Do not yield."

A blue light flickered between the ship and the dragon as he pushed it into the clouds. A blue bubble formed behind the Nighthawk, and Artur prayed it would be enough. He took in a deep breath, holding tight to the controls as light ignited around the dragon's maw.

Crack. Boom.

It took Artur a moment to understand what he saw as the dragon released the built-up aether from its maw. A massive humanoid figure appeared behind the dragon. Blue muscular arms wrapped around the dragon's neck, pulling back on it as the dragon fired its attack. Light erupted upward into the sky, cutting through the air with a crackling explosion of energy. As Artur hit the clouds, he could just see a young man's face forming out of the massive torso, and it was smiling as it pulled back on the dragon. Then, it was all gone; they disappeared into the clouds, and only grey haze remained.

"What was that?" Artur whispered before remembering his end. "A trick out of the hat."

It was the best he could do as he pulled himself out of the ship's controls and back to the bridge. Sweat covered his body, pulling his clothes tight. The thin chain shirt he wore over his clothes and binding glistened in the wan light of the bridge's light.

"For you to fly might be best." Artur's lips cracked as he leaned back. "I think, Mari, I must take a rest."

"Understood," Mari said. "Plotting a path to Tartarus."

Had his heart been beating that fast while in the fight? He didn't know. He leaned away from the orbs as Mari took over the ship. The pillow cushioned his fall back into the seat, and he almost closed his eyes before Jean and Sayed were back on the bridge.

"You alright?" Jean asked, helping Artur up and to one of the side chairs. "I know how draining piloting this ship can be."

"I don't know how Alex does it," Artur whispered as he leaned back in one of the side chairs. "It squelches a bright fire once lit."

"That is because he is Alex, brother." Sayed patted Artur on the shoulder before taking his own seat. "He has a will to push beyond his limits in all things. If you develop that will, you too will blaze the skies with your grand story."

"I think he can do that today, anyways." Jean smiled as he sat in the pilot's seat. "Not many can say they danced with a dragon while piloting a slipship."

"True." Sayed laughed. "That was a glorious sight, though we got our own tales from confronting him."

Artur laughed, shaking his head before remembering he needed to tell them both something urgently.

"Before I fall away." Artur furrowed his brow as he strung the words together. "Alex called for us, and we cannot stay."

"Understood," Jean said, taking hold of the controls. "Let's go pick up our friends and get off this island."

Boom. Clatter.

A giant blue warrior and the dragon fell to the ground in the center of Aherlow, sending dust and debris crashing into nearby buildings. Windows broke and shattered as the storm of dirt blasted them. Even on the second floor, the window in front of Keita cracked.

He shook his head as he held his hands clasped before him, his long string of beads wrapped around his closed hand with part of the line dangling down. He had to keep his focus on the battle, or his warrior would disappear. That was his magick, after all.

"Such an odd power," 'Green Tea' Kageken said behind him, leaning on her cane. "Is that your curse, young'un?"

She had one of her bodyguards in the room while the other waited at the door. They weren't friends, and trust could only go so far, after all. However, both recognized it was beneficial to stick together until they were out of Aherlow. With a captain on the field, there was no telling who might be crawling around.

"It is no curse." Keita smiled. "It is merely an application of power and knowledge. I learned it at the Academy, in fact. Before I was expelled, anyways."

"I'm surprised you're willing to put your neck out for them." Kageken spat. "Would have been better for both of us if we just let them distract the Military Police."

"I doubt they are ignorant of our presence, if not our location," Keita said.

Roar. Thump.

His avatar wrapped its legs around the dragon and held it tight. The dragon struggled, but it couldn't struggle too much within the bounds of the square. Keita had noticed during the fight that the captain had held back from going all out in the battle. There was a definite desire to reduce collateral damage there. The question was if the lizardman was conscious of it.

Thud.

"All the more reason to go while the getting is good." Kageken tapped her cane on the ground.

"They are up and away." Keita smiled, releasing his beads and letting them fall on his wrist. "I think I can call that a favor repaid."

From the window, the blue light faded as his avatar disappeared. Keita turned, smiling at the old woman who watched him with careful eyes. Keita couldn't help himself. It wasn't every day that he had the opportunity to see an old friend. If they traveled to Grim Aegis as he was, there was a good chance he would see Jean again on the island.

Then they could catch up.

"Now, I would be remiss as a gentleman to let you walk to your ship unescorted." Keita approached her, holding out one arm to the old woman to grab hold. "Shall we make for the docks, Miss Kageken?"

Her guard gave him a baleful look from underneath his dark glasses, but Kageken smiled up at him. She looped a bony hand through his arm and nodded for the door.

"If the new generation of outlaws is anything like you, I could get used to this kind of courtesy," she said. "Let's go boys. It's time to get off this island and to the Core!"

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