The blood king glared at the two men before him from his throne, “Speak.”

The men looked to him, “You're majesty, the counsel has grown worried with your focus on the rebellion. You will be straining the borders your father carved out with his own hands. This will strain the industries in Terra. The people see you as weak already. Your focus on the rebellion only proves this.”

The blood king sneered, “No, tell the council I refuse to do that.”

The men’s eyes widened, “You know the consequences! Do as-”

The blood king rose from his seat, “Did you know that when a rabbit gets too scared it will die from a heart attack. So if you have no fear then you will not die. So tell me what I am?”

The man scoffed, “You're a pansy that-” he couldn't finish his comment. His breath shook, his blood felt cold, his adrenaline pumped like a deer on display before the wolves. He looked at the man with him and saw he was in the same state. His breathing quickened, his heart went faster, “What is?”

The blood king grinned as he took another step, “what is this that you're feeling? Your heart is racing so fast. Is it starting to hurt? Little rabbit’s?”

The king took another step and the two men started to give out strained cries of pain, “Your fear is evident little prey.” They started to hyperventilate once he was on their level. Tears fell down their faces as they struggled to let out their pleas.

The blood King grabbed one of the men and he began to drag him toward one of the windows. “It’s ok to be scared. It means you feel. I only need one of you to send a message to the council and you will use the other's blood to write it.” The king then opened the window and chucked the man out.

The man gave out a shrill scream before a sickening splat was echoed around the castle grounds. The blood king looked back to the remaining man, “Run rabbit, run”

The man’s eyes widened and he rushed out of the room. While the blood king looked to the two Kelpies that appeared by his side, “Kill him.”

******

Lexy woke up to Varikin barking, “hey wake up we’ve got morning petrol or look out remember?”

Lexy nodded “ya, ya, I know.” She got into her clothes and grabbed her bag of equipment and mech, “k, let’s go.”

With that the two head downstairs. Lexy grabs an apple from the kitchen and some beef jerky for Varikin. The two head out to the lobby to see Varan who is usually reading a book and sitting on a chair “going to the forest as usual?”

Lexy nodded, “yup I like exploring”

Varan closed his book with the sound echoing around the room “we’ll have fun I won’t stop you but why do you almost always have injuries when you come back? Did.” He paused, not quite liking the question he was about to ask, “Did someone hurt you or.”

Lexy shook her head, “no I’m just really clumsy it’s ok! Bye!” with that Lexy and Varikin leave. Lexy looked at the horizon with only small cracks of sunlight gracing the darkness and the light of the stars.

The duo entered the forest and Lexy touched Varikin’s scruff while she closed her eyes thinking of reality. She opens her blue eyes and sees the desert area that’s now ever so familiar to her.

She looked to the rebellion’s base door and the duo entered. Upon entrance into the base to see everyone gearing up for a fight checking weapons and armor. Lexy spotted Meko and walked up to him, “hey what is going on?”

Meko typed, “there is an army of enemy soldiers with a high-rank general leading them. They’ll be here by tomorrow morning.”

Lexy nodded a heavy feeling of dread for the coming battle ahead, “alright Varikin let’s see if the dwarfs finished my request after petrol”

Varikin nods “yup” the two stop by Jackson “we are off to patrol sir!”

****

Wilma stood on top of the hillside sadly gazing at the land below her and the people on it. The families were already halfway dead either from disease or starvation. Then some were being sent into the air by the fiery sentence of surviving hell. Their sorrow forever shall linger as their remains block the sun's warm rays.

Alcore walked up next to her, his mech equipped and his pure large white wings flowing behind him. Wilma looked at him “are you ready?”

Alcore smirked as he looked at some of the soldiers he took with, “ready as I’ll ever be.”

She nodded and unsheathed a long blade, her light thin wings rose and began to move in the sink with her many comrades behind her. This made a sound so loud it sounded as if Alcore was standing next to a raging thunderstorm.

Wilma pointed her blade forward, “Wings up and take no prisoners!” With that she and all her comrades took to the sky the sound of their wings moving through the air sounded like an army was descending from the heavens when they swooped down and began fighting against the enemy soldiers.

Alcore killed three soldiers with a swing from his blade and turned to clash blade with a large bone for a weapon being wielded by Mogaline.

Alcore huffed, “you what are you doing here?”

Mogaline smirked, “oh you know having fun!” she says as she clashes yet again with Alcore “oh, and by the way love the eye patch!”

Mogaline smirked when she quickly bit her own thumb. Her blood began to drip down the wound. She quickly grabbed a griffin carving from her hilt and placed it on the carving.

The carving began to glow brightly, and she tossed it into the air. Alcore’s eyes widened and he quickly jumped to the side as a large wooden griffin swooped down to attack him. He roughly landed next to a barrel of water and smirked. He pulled out from his bag, Metra.

The black and white fox yawned and he opened the top of the beryl. “Metra it's time for a size up.” She nodded and hopped into the water. He quickly turned back to the wooden griffin that was coming for another attack and pointed at it with his blade. “Metra attack!”

A large glow consumed the beryl and Metra leaped from the beryl now the size of a horse and began to fight with the Griffin.

Alcore looked to his left to see Wilma fighting against Varolus. He shook his head and focused back on his own battle. With a hell of furry, he charged back at Mogaline. Sparks flew when his sword clashed against hers.

Alcore sent Mogaline staggering back. She looked past him to see Metra had made shavings of her griffin. She burst into laughter when she saw she, Valorous, and a few others were left. She heard the bells of retreat and nodded to Valorous who stopped fighting and with the few others began retreating.

Mogaline looked to Alcore, “You may have won this battle, but this is NOT the war!” she said as she fled with her comrades.

Wilma walked up to Alcore with a smile, “we’ve won you’re right together we will stand. I already have my people tending to the wounded.”

Alcore shook his head when he watched the enemy retreat “no, this... this was WAY too easy. The kingdom had a whole army here. I think they knew we were coming.”

Wilma frowned, “Then where is the army going?”

Alcore’s eyes widened when he saw the sun’s rays reach through the clouds. He now saw a worn path that leads from the camp and through a clearing in the mountains. “They're heading for charter! Hell, they're probably already there!”

Wilma frowned, “I will aid you.”

He nodded, “Have half of our forces stay while I go with the other half go and reinforce the Charter.”

***

Lexy and Varikin woke to a bright morning of a quick breakfast and heading to the base. The duo entered the base to see absolute chaos of people getting armed and equipped for battle. The tension from yesterday felt more like a fire.

Magi quickly rushed up to her from the crowd, “Lexy there isn’t much time until there here you need to get ready for battle.”

Lexy nodded, “Got it.”

With that, she got into her combat suit and she and Varikin rushed to Charter for her order from the dwarves.

Once there Lexy and Varikin entered the armory and were greeted by a dwarf, “hi the others told me you would be stopping by here to get your custom order. The ugh ar-15 assault rifle I think.”

Lexy nodded, “yup that’s me” the dwarf nodded and took off the shelf the rifle and a box of bullets and handed it all to Lexy. The blond loads up her utility belt with ammo.

The dwarf smiled “oh and we added a special bullet that can act as an anchor point for your magic so you can teleport further. Along with one that takes your magic and charges the bullet with it and then splits up some scientist guy came and helped us.”

He handed her two large boxes of ammo.

Lexy nodded, “will do” Lexy strapped the gun on and turned to Varikin while she was loading up the clips with ease, “you ready?”

Varikin nodded, “after all we’ve been through, I am ready for whatever they can throw at us.” Lexy nodded and the two-headed back to the base.

The two entered the base to see Jackson ready to go mech attached while many others also looked ready for battle including Miko and the hole k nine-unit “ok you ready?”

Lexy nodded, “yes sir we are ready” Jackson nodded, “good but what is with the weapon?”

Lexy smirked, “just wait and see” With that Varikin turned to his ferret form and hops into her bag as she and many others march to the launch deck.

She got to the roof to see many launching off and heading for battle. Talo smirked at her “Doubt that you’ll even scare anything off the field with that poor excuse for a weapon on your back.”

Lexy huffed and looked at Jackson when she saw his white wings spread into the air. Lexy quickly pulled her black cored. Her purple and black-tipped large wings spread as the group took off.

She felt her blood cold when she looked to the horizon and saw the thick lines of soldiers coming for the rebellion and when she got closer. She looked down below to see the battle had already begun.

Jackson looked at her “You stay in the air and rain hell on these bastards. How? I don’t care, just do it.” With that, he drew his sword “FOR TOMORROW!”

Lexy turned off the safety on her rifle, she loaded it with the splitter bullets, she took aim, took a breath. Then purple energy flowed from her fingertips and spread through the gun. She exhaled and pulled the trigger. The bullet flies faster than a commit leaving behind a soft trace of purple energy. With a sudden and short shriek, the soldiers began breaking formation and dropping like flies. one shouts “the- “and he’s dead.

The captains begin shouting “find who it is and get back information” and he is knocked out. One of the captain’s rushes to the back of the lines up to head captain “Sir! the soldiers are dropping like flies!! There must be thousands in the air. All the lines are breaking, and the enemy is advancing into our lines” the General turned to the frightened captain.

The general’s blue hair with black at the base, his eyes hidden behind a sun guard just like the other generals. He where’s a frost touched suit. He sighed, “It's fine, it's probably just one. I’ll take care of it. This is who I was sent after any way I know it: Keep the army in line.”

The head captain turned to the troops, “all of you duck” they do as told and the General with a mere flick of his hand sends out a flurry of his magic. creating thousands of shards of ice breaking through the trees and high into the air.

Lexy saw the ice heading for her. She turned to get away, but her wings got covered in a layer of ice. She began plummeting in altitude and as a last attempt, she quickly created a portal down low as far as she could reach and one in front of her.

With a thud, she met the ground. She turned to the soldiers and the general. The soldiers murmur. The general walked to the front of the group while Lexy quickly reloaded.

The general was in front of the group, “hello I must say you are a lot easier to draw out than I thought and for goodness sake put down the gun girl it’s not going to work on me.”

Lexy didn’t respond; she only fired a bullet right for his head. But to her surprise, he caught it with ease while it was encased with ice in his hand, “what did I just say man’s tools won’t get far against magic.”

Varikin snarled and turned into his wolf form as he leaped in front of Lexy from her backpack. The prince smirked, “I'm not after you so sit and wait!”

The prince froze Varikin’s pawed to the ground, “I don’t recommend you move you might break your paws off.” Lexy grits her teeth and a plan begins to form.

Lexy brought out one of her larger knives and quickly made a motion at the sky. This created a portal high above the prince while Lexy began to run toward him. The prince sent waves of ice at her relentlessly.

Lexy created a portal in front of her. The ice then began to fall from the sky at the prince. Shock filled his expression and then it went to a smirk. He created an ice shield on his arm and blocked the ice. Lexy takes this opportunity to go in with a knife and make a slash on his side.

Lexy was expecting anger but he laughed “Hahaha! You are everything the rumors say you are. So, let me show my gratitude for a worthy exponent!” The prince unsheathed his sword and stabbed it into the ground; he sent a glacier worth of ice straight towards her and Varikin.

Lexy quickly got in front of her friend and created a large portal in front of her. The ice hit and the portal in front of her. Creating a hole in the ice letting her and Varikin see another day.

Lexy walked out to see the prince smirking “oh look at that you're still alive.”

The prince sent another attack of ice shards at her. She used the same strategy as before. The prince, as before, made an ice shield as the shards fell from the sky Lexy went at the prince with a knife but dropped it and grabbed his loose hand. She remembered what Leo said she absorbed magic.

This felt like the raging amazon river crashing against her. Lexy absorbed some of it but it’s just too much. Lexy dropped his hand and backed away. The prince smirked, “Feeling cold?”

Lexy shivered like a leaf, that was a bad idea, but this might be a better one. She stood up and quickly went to stab him with one of her knives. He dodged and was about to comment when Lexy fired a bullet straight for him. Through a stroke of luck, she made her mark and he was out. Lexy looked up to see Alcore flying in with a large group including Jennie, and Fendres.

Lexy shivered when she took out some cord and tied the princess' hands behind his back. Varikin came up to her in his ferret form “is he dead?” Lexy shook her head “no”

Varikin looked at Lexy’s shaking form, “you ok?”

Lexy nodded “just a bit cold I’ll be... Fine.” Varikin doesn’t buy it but takes it for now.

She quickly turns back to look at Alcore who just landed by her. When she heard the sound of a clock. Lexy looked at Alcore but was confused. He isn't moving, not even breathing in mid-step. She looked at the rest of the group only to see that they were in the same state. She looked back to Varikin who is also frozen in time. Lexy looked at the general and saw he was two.

Until she sees above him is a stone-faced lady that was dressed just like the general but there were a few exceptions; she had a clock and gears on her outfit. Her hair started black and faded to white. The clock dangling around her neck and she wasn't alone.

With her was a man whose back was slouched back and the puppet crosses on his back. His hair is black to silver.

Lexy noted the red portal behind which they came from. The man smirked when he looked at Lexy, “aww no one told me she was so cute. Why didn’t you tell me? Oh, and looks like she won two oh this will be fun! Dearest general, will you take care of him while I have some fun!”

The female nodded, “remember what he said.”

The man chuckled, “ya, ya I know.” With that, the woman picked up the general and put him in the portal that they came from. The lady turns to the man “I will keep time frozen until it is over brother”

Her brother nodded and with that, she left. The brother turned to Lexy “gosh kid you have horrible luck. But that face I love.”

Lexy snarled, “why do you do psychopaths always pick with me when there are plenty others who would love to kick you're but.”

The man chuckled, “tsk, tsk I can’t tell you that you haven’t seen the final show yet. But let me introduce myself. I am the puppeteer and I already know you. You’re the sweet little dole Polly of our show. So, let’s get started!” With that, he took one of his puppet crosses and stabbed it into the glacier. Lexy loaded her gun and jumped back.

The puppeteer snapped his hands and silver strings came from his fingertips and attached themselves to the puppet cross in the ice. He pulled one of his silver strings and the glacier morphed into a giant golem-like creature.

Lexy felt the cold spreading more and she shivered. She didn’t know if she could hold out, but she didn’t use too much magic. The blond dodged a punch from the ice puppet.

She scanned the puppet over and spotted the others, first she needed to get the puppeteer away from the others she can’t risk them getting hurt. Lexy began to get away from the others and led the puppeteer away.

The puppet clicked his tongue “tsk, your friends are lucky to have you. I’ll tell you what if you’re so worried why don’t we bring one with us. One of the feathers flocks together.” Lexy heard this and began rushing to stop this only to see him pick Alcore.

Lexy stopped because she didn’t want to hurt Alcore. She turned to the puppeteer and went to attack him when Alcore stopped her and went to punch her. Lexy dodged and looked at Alcore who had a puppet cross in his back.

Lexy moved cautiously “A-Alcore?” another wave of cold spread over her. Shivering and her teeth chatting she was almost ready to curl into herself if it meant she could be a bit warmer than she was now. Her breath was white as snow.

The puppeteer smirked, “you seem cold, do you need a hug from your best friend?”

Lexy shook her head “No! Damn you. That’s it” Lexy turned to the puppeteer and brought out one of her larger knives. Alcore blocked her path and unsheathed his blade. Within a flash, Alcore sent his blade at Lexy. She resaved a slash on the solder when trying to doge. She turns on a hard dime and goes to remove the puppet cross only to get punched in the face by Alcore and knocked to the ground. Her gun slid away from the motion.

The puppeteer smirked and picked up the gun, “Here not that it'll help you much but here you can keep it if it makes you feel better.”

He put it back in her hands “you know though you would fit right in, I’m sure my brother could find a better place for you than with those friends of yours. I mean you already have well-proven you could be in our ranks.”

Lexy frowned, “I will never be anything like you!” she said with venom and fire in her voice.

He smirked, “oh such a fighter. Now I’ve noticed you really are cold, you sure you don’t want a hug?”

Lexy went to punch him while she jumped up. “I’ll take that as a no,” Lexy noted how Alcore and the puppeteer both back away. She looks up to see the Ice puppet going to punch her. She quickly made a huge portal, her blue chains appeared from her wrists as pushes against them, and with a yell and a short charging noise, a huge burst of magic destroyed the ice golem.

She panted and kneeled when the cold spread again. It was almost to her heart now. She felt her hand begin to go numb and shivers profusely.

The puppeteer whistled when he looked at the damage on the ice, “damn you know the only other person I have ever seen pull something like that off was my brother, the king.”

Lexy quickly took this chance to fire a bullet at him and it hit its mark. Knocked him out and stopped his control over Alcore. Lexy laid down on the ground curled into herself she looked at her arm which now has a gentle coat of frost over it.

Lexy watched when the other general reappeared and left with the puppeteer through a red portal almost exactly like hers. Time resumed and Lexy felt herself being picked up by Alcore, “crud you’re cold. What happened? I saw a glacier coming out of nowhere on the fly here”

Lexy smiled, “cold, so cold too much but no chance for my awesomeness. I faced two of them.”

Alcore spread out his wings and Varikin hopped on his shoulder, “Is that so, is that what gave you the nasty bruise?”

Lexy shook her head “no you did”

Alcore took off with her and Varikin “Varikin what happened?”

Varikin looked worriedly at Lexy and then Alcore, “I remember her knocking out the ice guy that much is true but. From there one second she’s fine the next I see you picking her up. During the fight, she tried to absorb his magic and that could be why she’s so cold.”

With that Alcore lands on the flight deck and rushes to the sick bay to see Leo talking to one of the doctors “she needs help!”

Leo walked up to Alcore and Varikin “what happened?” Alcore handed Lexy to one of the doctors who set her on one of the beds. Alcore sighed, “she took on apparently two head captains and tried to absorb the ice magic but that clearly didn’t end well.”

Leo's eyes widened “then the problem is a magical overload, or her body wasn’t ready for that magic. I think I have something that can help.”

With that Leo ran to his lab and grabbed a machine a little bigger than his hand. Leo rushed back to Lexy and Alcore with this in hand. Leo turned to the doctor “we need to do an implant.”

The doctor stopped what he was doing. “What do you mean?” Leo took out a vial of fire magic and loaded it into the machine, “this dispenses magic in small bursts. The problem here is her body isn’t used to the ice magic she absorbed so we need to keep her warm while she gets used to it.”

The doctor nodded and turned to Alcore “We're going to have to ask that you leave, we need to go into surgery.” Alcore and Varikin nod and leave.

******

Lexy woke up with a groan, “ugh what happened”

Leo smiled, “cold?” She shook her head “no but how?”

Leo sat down by her, “Alcore brought you to sickbay. Oh, and be more careful with what magic you absorb. The uh implant bye your lower back. You need to put in one of these” he took out a vial of fire magic “any time you start feeling cold or try using ice magic even then I don’t recommend using it after a week.”

Leo scratches his arm “Oh and one more thing I thought you would like to know me and Meko are working on a better version of the mechs were calling them shirkers we never would have been able to if it wasn’t for you finding the book so as a thank you. You can keep the mech you have. Use it for whatever you like.”

Lexy smiled, “Thank you.”

Leo nods “oh ya Alcore is putting a plan into action tomorrow and I hope it works. Anyhow, I recommend going home for some rest.”

Lexy nods “ya I think I will take you up on that. Thanks, Leo.” Leo nodded and Lexy left the medic bay to the cafeteria. She saw Alcore talking to Varikin and walked up to the two “hi guys.”

Alcore looked over to her, “oh hey you’re up. Really quick none of us know what happened but you so, could you please tell us?”

Lexy nodded, “ya the reason why you don’t know if there were technically three head captains. I fought the first one knocked him out and then the other two showed up and put on a red portal. One she could freeze up time the other. The one I had to fight has control magic that lets him control people and objects. Which is why I have bruce and a few cuts on the shoulder because he used you as a puppet Alcore.”

Alcore sighs a bit “oh ok. So, what are you doing next?”

Lexy yawns “sleep I’m heading back home for the rest of the day and I will be back tomorrow.” Alcore nodded and watched when she and Varikin left.