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 Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:12 am
Takes place early January 2026 after: And follows after
They would tell the others, the sooner the better. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe it was something else.
He took a step in front of her again, sword held in his hand, light refracting off the glass.
“Stay behind me, right? You’ve already fought plenty. Let me show off.” The last bit was meant as something of a joke, but maybe this wasn’t the time to be joking. Not when they kept having to fight youma. Especially not youma that seemed to be so organized.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:15 am
Rose would have laughed if she could find it in herself to be amused.
Something was wrong. She’d faced youma, of course. Plenty of them. None had ever behaved like this. They seemed to know exactly where she was, honing in on her location before she had the chance to escape. If they'd been different–-bird-like, or cat-like, or some unidentifiable creature—she might have been able to explain it away as a fluke.
This couldn’t be a coincidence. They were the same youma from the basement—maybe not individually, but similar enough to have come from the same pack. Rose would not soon forget them. Their snarling had preceded the General’s arrival, and his face, half covered by a mask, now haunted her dreams.
“I’m not letting you fight alone,” she told Reims, stubborn even in her unease.
She shored up Riker’s side instead of hiding behind him, gripping the branch she’d used to dust the first wave. If more were on their way, she would be ready.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:15 am
Four youma were clearly identifiable on their radar, rapidly approaching from their front. Suddenly, they stopped. Froze.
Like sentries in the distance, they settled in place.
Waited.
And, from behind the two Knights, another energy signature–a General.
Like before, his arrival was instantaneous.
Unlike before, he wasn’t masked.
Here, he didn't have to be. Destiny City's air was cool and fresh, entirely unlike the toxic fumes they'd been subjected to while investigating the basement in Northpoint. It was hard to say if he was any less intimidating than when they first met, but now he seemed human.
On the surface.
He had what could have passed for a handsome face; older than them by double their years, he looked more seasoned than aged. He watched them with cold, narrowed eyes, but his lips rested in a quiet, indifferent line. The hatred in his gaze made the softness of his mouth seem all the more deliberate.
His hand fell upon Rose's shoulder, just at the curve of her neck. Heavy, firm, but not punishing. Just threatening. His thumb fit against her shoulder blade and his fingers pressed into her collarbone.
It would have been so easy to wrap one hand–both hands–around her neck and squeeze the life out of her. He could have snapped her spine before Reims even had a chance to turn around.
Could have. Might still.
Tonight, he did not choose silence. But it was yet to be determined if he had chosen violence.
Rose may have been standing side by side with Reims when he arrived, but it took no effort to maneuver her. He kept her back to himself and made her face Reims, a barrier between himself and the Knight. Or, maybe a challenge.
"It would be in your best interest not to fight at all," he suggested, like a professor correcting an unruly student. His voice was sharp and low, naturally deep but made more so by the faint growl strung into his words.
His middle finger tapped on the hollow of her neck. Each finger felt like a tiny blade, digging into her skin. He wore gloves, but his grip was still icy cold.
"You have something of mine." There was no question in his voice. No room for argument, either. He spoke to Rose in what might have passed for a cordial–if not dangerous–tone, but his eyes were nothing but hateful, fixed on Reims.
"I want it back."
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:16 am
Reims’s breath caught.
For a second, his mind refused to make sense of what he was seeing. One heartbeat ago, Rose had been at his side, and now the space was empty. The sound that left him wasn’t even a word, just a sharp inhale as he turned, sword lifting instinctively.
The General was there.
And behind him, the youma that had been closing in were now still. All of them. The snarl that had been rising from their throats cut off, leaving only silence and tension in the air. They didn’t move, like someone pressed pause on a nightmare. They weren’t dismissed, just… waiting.
“Let her go,” Reims said, his voice low and steady, even though every muscle in his body was shaking. His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. “You don’t want to start this.”
He couldn’t afford to take a single step closer. Not when that hand was so close to Rose’s neck. One wrong move, and -- no. He couldn’t even let his mind go there. He forced his breathing to remain even, his jaw locked so tightly it hurt.
Something of mine.
Reims didn’t flinch, but his mind started moving at a rapid speed. Lucien in the springs, talking about what the others had found. A USB drive, keys, starseeds… pieces of something they’d barely understood.
Could that be what he wanted?
He shoved the thought down before it could change his expression. He couldn’t let the General see the realization in his eyes.
“We don’t have anything that belongs to you,” he lied, without hesitation. “You think you can just show up, after what you did, and make demands? You tried murdering my friends. You think I’m just going to hand you something because you ask nicely?”
His eyes caught Rose’s, brief and fleeting. Desperate. She was still breathing. Still conscious. He needed to keep her that way.
He let out a breath, slow and steady. “If you want something, you’re going to have to say what it is. You’re going to let her go first. You hurt her, and I swear I don’t care how fast you can disappear -- I’ll make sure you regret it.”
The words came out rougher than he meant, but the promise was real.
And the stillness was unbearable. Even the youma didn’t move. They were waiting, patient. Trained -- or controlled -- to strike at a single command.
Reims adjusted his stance, sword steady but ready, his eyes moving from the General to the line of monsters. Every instinct screamed that if he swung, they’d both die. But standing still felt just as impossible.
He forced his focus back to the General, voice lower but no less defiant. “You want to talk? Fine. But she’s not your bargaining chip. You let her go, and then maybe I’ll listen.”
There was no bluff in his voice this time.
But his eyes never left the General’s hand. Or the way the youma seemed to be waiting for a command to finish what they’d started.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:17 am
Rose’s heart climbed into her throat. Her pulse quickened beneath the General’s hand. She stood frozen in his grasp, too terrified to move. The healthy glow she always seemed to possess deserted her as color drained from her face. Her chest rose and fell with each carefully drawn breath.
Her eyes, wide and violet, locked on Reims. The General was behind her, but Rose had no need to look at him. She might not recognize his voice but she knew who he was before he spoke. Around others of his rank, his aura might not have stood out. On his own, Rose thought he carried a particularly malevolent air, one she wouldn’t have mistaken for anyone else even if his demands didn’t make it immediately apparent who he was.
“Wait…” she said.
Her voice was too quiet, easily lost beneath Reims’ threats. Her mouth worked as words failed her. She still held the branch, but it felt brittle and useless against a man who could cleave them in two.
“Reims, don’t—” she tried again, but the rest got stuck in her throat. Rose swallowed. Her next breath stuttered. “We don’t—We don’t have anything,” she told the General. “Why would we? We barely had time to look.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:17 am
The General's middle finger remained pressed into the hollow of her neck, but his index finger lifted to rest a little higher. Not hard enough to hurt–just enough that he could feel the vibration of her larynx when she spoke.
“Hush,” he commanded, gentler to her than to Reims. He sounded as though he might have tried to soothe her, only there was nothing safe about his kindness. "Playing stupid will earn you nothing but ire, and my patience is already limited."
"You're in no condition to make demands," he told Reims, not the least bit intimidated. "I don't need you to listen. I need you to answer."
His other hand settled on her shoulder. He towered over her, and–taller than Reims, looked down on him, too.
"Take two steps back, Reims. I want you to stand nicely for me. You can hold your little sword if it makes you feel better, but you'll set it tip down and lace your fingers together on the hilt where I can see them. Stand up straight and proper."
He clearly expected Reims to comply, but didn't wait before continuing. "Let's not pretend you didn't 'start this' when you broke in. I'm entitled to protect my domain. You damaged quite a bit, and you stole from me. So let's start with an apology. I want one from both of you. And then," his fingers dug into Rose's shoulder, "you'll return my belongings. You didn't hit your head hard enough to forget what you took, did you? You're a smart girl. Where are they?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:17 am
Reims’s jaw locked hard enough that it hurt.
The word hush hit him like a slap. The sight of that hand on Rose’s neck made his vision sharpen, narrowed on that touch. Every muscle in his body tensed with the impulse to move. To lunge, to strike, to get her out of reach. But the youma behind him hadn’t moved, and somehow it felt like they were just waiting for him to make a mistake.
He wanted to drive his sword through that smug face.
Wanted to tell him exactly where to shove his orders.
Instead, he drew in a slow breath and forced his arms not to move, his knuckles white on the hilt. He shifted one step to the side instead of back, enough to keep Rose and the General both in view.
“You sure give a lot of instructions for someone hiding behind a girl,” he growled, his voice sharp with the effort it took to keep it steady.
His sword remained where it was in his hand. “You don’t get to tell me how to stand, or where to look. I’m not one of your soldiers.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the youma again. Still motionless. Waiting. Every one of them could be on him in seconds if the General gave the word.
He needed a plan.
He thought of his summon -- his lion -- and his stomach twisted. If he called him now, maybe he could get Rose out. But maybe wasn’t good enough. The General could snap her neck before the first feather shifted the air. And if he took her -- if he teleported -- then what? She’d be gone, and Reims would be standing in the dark with nothing but her blood on his hands.
He couldn’t risk it. Not yet.
So he forced a smile that looked more like the baring of teeth. “Sorry for touching your domain,” he said, voice thick with mockery. “Didn’t realize we were trespassing in your little greenhouse. Might want to rethink the whole ‘secret base’ thing if you’re gonna leave the front door covered in sliced up vines like a big, glowing welcome mat.”
He knew he was baiting him. He knew it could get him killed. But he also knew what silence would do to Rose -- how helplessness ate you alive.
“So if this is about your stuff,” he went on, his tone dropping low again, “then say what you want. What’s so important that you’d send an army of monsters after us?” His eyes locked on the General’s. “Because if this is just another scare tactic, it’s a pathetic one.”
Inside, every thought was a knot of fury and restraint. His heartbeat felt like static in his ears. He couldn’t win this fight, but he wasn’t about to bow for him either.
“I’m not apologizing,” he said flatly. “You came into our world, instead of playing in your Dark Kingdom sandbox, tried to murder my friends, and now you want to lecture me about manners? You can forget it.”
His knuckles twitched, his weight shifting just enough that the General might notice how close he was to moving -- close, but not reckless enough to give him an excuse.
“Let her go,” he said again, quieter this time, more dangerous for it. “Then we’ll talk about who owes who.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:18 am
The General was entirely unfazed–and worse, he was silent. Unruffled. Relaxed, even.
He listened, all the while tapping his fingers against Rose's neck. He alternated between index and middle, always at the same pace, in half-second intervals.
"He talks a lot, doesn't he?" the General asked, tilting his head slightly and looking down at Rose as if she were his conversation partner and not his hostage. "For a boy with nothing to say."
Straightening again, the General wrapped both hands around Rose's neck. "I'm sorry about this. I don't think he's very good at listening. Certainly no good at minding his manners."
His thumbs hooked behind her neck and his fingers laced together in front of it, encircling her entirely. And then, he lifted her a few inches–slowly, not enough to snap her neck. Not enough to suffocate her. Not quickly, at least.
Though his face remained mostly relaxed, he looked over the top of Rose's head and stared down at Reims with narrowed eyes.
"I'm going to give you one more chance, boy. Curb your pride. Now, if you want her to live, you will lay your sword down and kneel. You'll answer me from the ground or I'll snap her neck and make fertilizer of her. So you can either do as you're told, or we'll take our leave."
Rose was only a few inches off the ground. If she tried, she might be able to touch the tips of her toes to the ground. It wouldn’t have been hard to lift her higher.
His fingers dug into her neck, not crushing, but bruising.
Not a threat–a promise.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:18 am
“I’m sorry!” Rose’s voice rasped out of her throat.
She wasn’t as brave as Reims. She didn’t have the tendency for defiance. She was gracious and humble, with a penchant for patience and gentleness that made her ill-equipt for the situation they found themselves in now. When she fought against monsters there was still a sense of unreality to the war; being a knight seemed magical and wondrous when the end result was dust.
But the General was flesh and blood. His hands were human hands. Every word he spoke was a warning Rose knew he could bring to a grisly conclusion.
Rose held herself as still as she could, drawing slow, careful breaths through the pressure around her neck, but fear turned her efforts into erratic gasps. Her feet dangled, toes reaching for the ground on instinct, seeking support within the grass.
“Please,” she wheezed, wide eyes still locked on Reims. Speaking came with even more difficulty than breathing, but she choked out what she could. “I’ll tell you. What are you—I don’t know what you’re looking for. There were—in the desk drawer—I found gloves. I put them on in case the powder packets were dangerous. I didn’t take any of them.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:20 am
Reims moved like he was walking on a narrow ledge. He slowed, drew in a breath even though it felt like it was burning, and dropped to one knee. The motion was deliberate, controlled. Obedient, just like the General wanted. He set this sword into the grass, his knuckles curled so tightly around the hilt that he didn’t know how he was able to pry them free, but he managed it. He did not bow his head.
“Fine,” he hissed through clenched teeth. The single word had a hard, biting edge. “I’ll kneel. I’ll put my sword down. Happy?”
His eyes stayed fixed on the General the entire time, cold and furious. He could imagine the feel of the General’s thumbs at Rose’s neck like it was a brand. The thought made his stomach drop.
“Tell us what you want. Say it plainly, and then we’ll talk.”
He bent his head only enough to glance at Rose. It was a soft, quick look that said a dozen things he couldn’t voice. Don’t. Don’t move. Don’t let him see you panic.
“And if you don’t put her down right now, I swear I’ll drag myself across this grass and I will get you. I don’t care how fast you vanish.” He wasn’t bluffing. He had no delusions about how that would end. He knew the General could teleport and that the youma were waiting… But he would rather burn the world down from his knees than let the General hurt Rose any more.
He stayed where he was, hands visible, watching the General. Every instinct screamed at him to do something. Every promise he’d made mattered less than seeing Rose live through the night. But he would not bend for a monster’s theatrics. He would comply only enough to keep her breathing.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:20 am
Rose’s cooperation earned her a reprieve. He kept his hands wrapped around her neck but lowered her to the ground enough that she could touch her heels to the ground, too.
“Smart girl, very good,” he praised, and even loosened his grip slightly to make sure she could breathe.
She wasn’t a threat. Reims was.
And he was insufferable, too.
“Your friend is going to get you killed, though. Since he only listens when you beg, tell him to hold his tongue, please. Or I’ll cut it out myself.”
At no point did the General seem even remotely intimidated by Reims. Annoyed, yes, but otherwise unbothered–and willing to hurt Rose if that’s what it took to keep him muzzled.
“Go on,” he urged, in such a sweet tone. His fingers were tight around her neck but he wasn’t squeezing. “You found gloves. What did you and the others take from my desk?”
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:21 am
“Reims, please,” Rose said, without truly knowing what she was begging for.
She wanted him to listen, to do what the General said so she could live. She wanted him to fight, too, to take up his sword and finish what he’d only just begun in the basement. The General was strong. He had abilities neither of them could adequately counter. But Reims was strong, too. He was valiant. He was young and resourceful. Rose looked into his eyes and knew Reims would do whatever he had to in order to save her. He would kill this man, or lay down his own life.
Rose didn’t want to risk the latter, so she did what she was told.
“I don’t know what the others took,” she said, pausing to inhale deeply while she still could. “The lighting wasn’t good. It was hard to see. Then you—” He appeared out of thin air. He cut her friends down before any of them knew what was happening.
Rose swallowed. Her throat rolled against the General’s hands.
“There were pruners, and rope, and knives. I put them on the desk,” she continued. “I found a set of keys.”
If she lied, would he believe her? If she claimed to have put them on the desk, too, if she suggested they might have gotten lost in the commotion, would he accept it? In the basement, he’d known exactly where each of them had been. Rose suspected he’d known what each of them could do, that he’d planned his attack after watching them against the youma. Maybe he’d been watching since they arrived. Maybe he’d known the moment they set foot in Northpoint.
He might have seen her with the keys. He wouldn’t have seen her set them aside.
“I gave them to Ganymede,” she said.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:21 am
Reims’s breath came through his teeth in a low hiss. He didn’t move. Not when the General’s hands shifted. Not when Rose said Ganymede.
If Rose was lying -- and he was almost certain she was -- he wasn’t going to ruin it by opening his mouth. He swallowed hard, forcing his expression to stay even. His fingers twitched, but he didn’t reach for his sword. Not yet.
“She doesn’t have what you’re looking for,” he said finally, voice sharp and cold. “And if she did, you wouldn’t want Ganymede finding out you laid a hand on one of us. You think I’m mouthy? Ha…”
He didn’t have to say it. The threat was there. If he and Rose went missing, or ended up being killed, this General would be hunted down by those who would avenge them.
He studied the General’s face, looking for any shift in his expression. “By the way… what’s your name exactly?” he asked, voice quieter. It was asked as a challenge. “I’d like to know who I’m making promises to.”
Reims stayed tense and ready, eyes never leaving the General’s hands.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:21 am
The General’s impassive expression settled into a frown.
“Did you,” he said flatly, too unimpressed for it to have been a question. Obviously, having Ganymede involved was a problem. If he knew her, or simply of her, he did not clarify.
“I’m surprised to hear you and your friends didn’t talk afterwards. Considering how much they like to run their mouths.”
The general glowered at Reims–volatile, intolerable, loud, unnecessary–and simply ignored him.
“You’ll get them back from her,” the General commanded, massaging his fingers into Rose’s neck like it wouldn’t have been just as easy to crush it. “And when I find you again, you’ll return them.”
But he wasn’t done.
“More than keys were taken. So be a good girl and tell your friends that I expect everything to be returned. When I find your friends–and I will–know that my goodwill is already spent. Give me a reason to be kind, and I will. Give me a reason to kill you…” His eyes locked on Reims.
“And I will.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:22 am
Rose didn’t need to be told twice. Her head bobbed in a jerky nod.
“I will,” she nearly choked on her agreement, too tense, too hasty, too afraid.
She swallowed any dispute. If she overexplained he would have less reason to trust her. He already had no reason to believe anything she said, except that she didn’t immediately present the keys as soon as he made it clear he wanted them back. She had little reason to defy him. They were going to warn the others about the youma anyway. Adding that they’d met the General and that he wanted his things back would be no trouble. They would’ve done it even if he hadn’t told them to.
Whether or not the others gave in as easily remained to be seen.
Rose grimaced, breathing hard, and flinched against the fingers massaging her neck. The General didn’t seem terribly concerned, but she hoped the knowledge that a Princess had become aware of him would be enough to give him pause.
“I promise,” Rose continued. Her voice had become strained—from the fluctuating pressure of his hands; from emotion. A layer of tears gleamed in her eyes, but Rose stubbornly held them back. They wouldn’t help her. “I’ll get them back. I’ll tell the others. Just please let us go.”
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