Joy meets Magnos

Astra getting killed was a stark reminder that I wasn’t staying at this hotel on a vacation. I’d been kidnapped by Astra in the first place because of a conspiracy to get to my mother, and I still had no idea who was behind it. The fact that Holly was just as clueless wasn’t a good sign either, since my robot eye/friend came from the future and all.

Magnos wasn’t much help, something she admitted to easily.

“Point me at your enemies and I shall rend them limb from limb. But Magnos does not scurry after rats hiding under the floorboards like a housecat.”

I asked Holly as well, but she wasn’t any help either.

<Just because I can hack into wireless networks doesn’t mean I have access to anything remote. And even if I did, I wouldn’t be much faster at analyzing all of it than you would.>

All three of us knew that the only thing to do was wait on Astra to revive. And before letting her off the leash, getting some answers from her. It was the least she could do after kidnapping me, right? Not to mention killing Joy.

Speaking of which, the day after Astra’s death was finally the day that the ticking cooldown on Joy finished. I watched it count down to the last second, and immediately brought her back into the world. She came back wearing the same sundress as last week, completely healthy but very confused.

“Jones, weren’t we just on the way home?” Joy asked as she checked out the swanky hotel room. She walked over the window and appreciated the view of the city below, “Not bad though! Aside from all the candy wrappers you’ve left lying around. You oughta know better by now, hun.”

I realized how much I’d missed that smile.

It took a while to explain everything, Joy interrupting and asking plenty of questions as I went over the kidnapping, the dungeon, the zombies, Astra, and the rest.

“Wait wait wait!” Joy stopped me when I mentioned the lava cavern. “You met a dragon? You’re not pulling my leg?”

“I’m not. And believe it or not, she’s the one that’s been leaving the wrappers on the floor.”

“She?”

I nodded. “She was trapped in the dungeon, and had been trapped there for a long time. So I tried using my power to get her out, and… yeah, it worked.”

“What the hell kind of Class have you gotten yourself? Making me hot as sin again was one thing. But bringing me back from the dead, brainwashing your kidnapper, yanking a monster from the dungeon to the surface.” She let out a long whistle. “So what happened next?”

I finished getting Joy caught up, concluding with, “And yesterday, something out there killed Astra. I don’t think that’ll be the end of it either. They could come after me again, or my sister, or just go straight for my mom.”

“Well, that is a right pickle.” Joy thumbed at her lipped for a bit as she digested all I’d told her. She was silent for a long pause, then nodded to herself and looked at me. “How about me and that Maggie girl suck your cock. That’ll cheer you up. And I’m dying to see what a real dragon looks like.”

I snorted, gave a shake of my head. “Well, it’s not like we’ve got anything else to do.”

I summoned Magnos once more in her familiar form, landing on the mattress with a bounce. “So this is the first of your harem? She looks more suited to scrubbing floors than serving her lord.” Magnos cupped her breasts and gave them a bounce. “Perhaps after you’ve bred her a few times she will properly fill out.”

“Jones! She is… adorable!” Joy squealed, getting on the bed so she could reach over and rub the top of Magnos’s head. “Look at these little horns, and the bright red scales. Ah! The stubby little tail! Does it wag when she’s happy?”

“Hiroshi, restrain your woman or you’ll be waiting another week to see her again,” Magnos growled at me.

Joy's eyes sparkled with mischief as she backed away from Magnos, hands raised in playful surrender. "Alright, alright! No more head pats for the grumpy dragon. But you can't blame a girl for getting excited; I've never met a real dragon before!"

"Hmph." Magnos crossed her arms, her tail twitching in annoyance. "And I've never met a human who dared to treat me like some common house pet. Consider yourself fortunate that Hiroshi has claimed you."

Joy looked over at me and gave a theatrical wink, then focused once more on Magnos. Her voice shifted slightly, almost like she’d added a reverb to it. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of treating you like a pet. You're far too magnificent for that..."

"I’ve changed my mind. You’re more clever than you look," Magnos preened.

"Such beautiful scales... they catch the light so perfectly..." Joy continued, her words flowing like honey. She gently took Magnos’s hand and guided it up in front of her face, making the dragon girl look at the red scales of her own forearm. "I’ve never seen anything like this. Even prettier than rubies. And the way they catch the light… I could look at these all day."

Magnos's expression began to soften despite herself as Joy lightly tilted her arm back and forth; they really did catch the light beautifully. “Of course. A dragon’s scales are… a priceless treasure.”

"They really are. Unlike plain old jewels, they’re part of a living, breathing creature. And when you breathe... in... and out..." Joy demonstrated with exaggerated motions, "...the scales on your chest rise and fall... so peaceful... so relaxing..."

I watched in amazement as Magnos's eyelids grew heavier with each breath. Her tail, which had been lashing in irritation, now moved in lazy sweeps.

"That's right... just watching... just breathing..." Joy's voice grew even softer. "And with each breath... your mind becomes more peaceful... more empty..."

"More... empty..." Magnos echoed distantly, her eyes now completely unfocused.

"Deeper and deeper... until there's nothing left but my voice..."

Magnos swayed slightly, her mouth hanging slightly open. The fierce dragon who had threatened to dismember Joy minutes ago now sat docile as a kitten, completely entranced.

Joy turned to me with a triumphant grin. "And that's how you tame a dragon! Though I have to say, she went under way easier than I expected. Must not have much experience with hypnosis."

“I think part of it is that she’s in familiar form right now. She’s about as powerful as she looks.” And right now she looked like a four foot tall shortstack with noodle arms and a soft belly. "You really didn’t waste any time, did you?"

"Oh please, I'm not going to do anything mean to her." Joy winked. "Just... make her a bit more fun to play with."

“I’m sure.”

Joy laid Magnos gently onto her back, the shortstack dragon girl staring blankly up at the ceiling, and started whispering into her ears. Part of me thought I should stop her. Another part really enjoyed how hot it was, Joy lightly rubbing the fabric of Magnos’s loincloth while she whispered.

And another part wanted to test a theory. “Joy, before you do anything else, could you give her a trigger to sink back into this trance?”

“Way ahead of you, hun. Maggie? What happens when me or Jones says ‘stubby little tail’?”

Magnos let out a light moan of pleasure. “Sink… deep…”

“Good girl, good girl.” Joy stroked Magnos’s hair, ready to continue.

“Hold that thought.” I reached over and shook Magnos by the shoulder, her head rattling around until the light came back to her eyes. “Wha… what? Hiroshi, if you’re going to assault me, don’t rattle me around like a puppy and its doll, you should pin me to the mattress!”

Joy covered her mouth to hide her smirk.

“I’ll keep that in mind. But what if I held you up by your stubby little tail?”

“That’s hardly a… a…” Magnos trailed off, mouth hanging open, eyes glazing over again.

“She’s almost too cute to brainwash, you know?” Joy said mischievously. “How about we convince her she’s your personal dragon maid?”

“Maybe later. First, I need to check this.”

I summoned Magnos back to the bed and she landed with a bounce, looking confused for a few seconds before pointing an accusatory finger towards Joy. “Ah! Witch! You tried to enchant me, didn’t you?”

“Moi?” Joy brought her hand to her chest, feigning innocence. She cast a glance towards me, then smiled at Magnos. “I just wanted to play a little with your stubby little tail.”

“Stubby? This tail has reduced castles to rubble, you welp! Don’t think that just because I look harmless, I won’t pluck out your eyeballs and swallow them whole!”

“Ah…” Joy trailed off. “Sorry, dearie. I just thought it really is a cute… ahem, stubby. Little. Tail.” Joy enunciated each word slowly.

“Insolence!” Magnos lunged towards Joy, which might have been worrying, but the taller woman caught her wrists and quickly pinned Magnos to the bed. “Hiroshi! Unleash my wrath! After I’ve incinerated her bones to ash you may once again revive her, can you not?”

“Shush now. Just relax, baby. No need to get worked up. Just take a deep breath for me. In… and out…” Joy looked at me confused about why her trigger hadn’t worked even as she started in on another induction, but from the way Magnos was continuing the squirm and thrash under her, it wasn’t going to work until she’d calmed down.

I dismissed both women, summoned them again, putting Magnos near the window and Joy by the door. “Okay, that’s enough, you two.”

"Oh, that is just so weird!" Joy shivered and hugged herself. "When you do it super fast like that, it’s like the whole room is lurching."

Magnos looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. "And you do it with no runes, no circles, not even an incantation. A curious power." Her tail swished back and forth as she considered the implications. "Though even without it, my mind would shake off whatever feeble enchantments your woman might be capable of."

Joy pouted. "Aw, but wouldn’t it be fun letting yourself melt to those feeble enchantments? I promise I could make you feel sooo good.."

"Submit? To a mere human?" Magnos bared her teeth. "I would sooner-"

"Stubby little tail?" Magnos growled, and Joy held up her hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. I give up. But seriously Jones, this is pretty incredible. You can just... reset us whenever you want?"

"Within reason," I said. "There's still that cooldown if you actually die. But yeah, it looks like dismissing and resummoning clears any ongoing conditions."

"But what even qualifies?" Joy asked. “Like I thought that getting this hot bod was a one-time deal, but what if ‘old as hell’ is one of the conditions? Hell, what if it works on cancer?”

“Maybe… but it’s not like I can just go around a hospital capturing any villains in chemo. And there are downsides, since I can only fully summon one of you at a time.”

“Hun, if it was a question of youth or power, you’d be surprised at how many people’d pay through the nose for the first. And I’m sure that your power would work on any billionaire that’d be willing to pay through the nose for it, on account of them being a billionaire.”

I could practically see the dollar signs in Joy’s eyes.

<Not a bad idea. I’ll begin searching for suitable candidates for the future>

And now Holly was on board.

“Unsurprisingly, you think small when you should think big,” Magnos declared before bringing her scaled forearm up to her face and biting on the pale underside. Familiar form or not, she still had sharp teeth, and she proudly showed the bloody bite marks up to me. “If it can heal wounds in combat, then I’ll be invincible!”

“Gah! You’re going to get blood everywhere!” I dismissed Magnos, and when I checked, there was still the bloodstain on the thin red carpet. While Joy got a wet towel to clean it up, I checked Magnos’s status. Just like when Joy and Astra had died, there was a timer ticking down from a little under ten minutes. Unlike those situations though, instead of her portrait being greyed out there was a horizontal red bar with an empty sliver at the right end, and I could still summon Magnos.

After I summoned Magnos back, the bitemarks had stopped bleeding but were still there.

“Interesting! We should check how your ability fares against a fatal wound next,” she looked around the hotel room. “Hiroshi, return my power. I’ll roast half of your woman, and we’ll see how long it takes for you to heal her.”

“Excuse me? Jones, do NOT do that!” Joy exclaimed.

“I wasn’t going to!”

Magnos huffed. “It’s painless. Most of the time, they’ll say insipid things like ‘oh no, I can’t feel my legs’ or go into shock instead of screaming in pain.”

“Most of the time?” Joy shared a look with me, clearly concerned about the new member of our little family.

“Hiroshi’s life is in danger, and he is still ignorant of the weapons he has at hand.” Magnos pointed an accusing finger at Joy. “To flinch from discovering their true potential just because of a little pain is the stupidest thing you could do. Don’t forget that our lives are tied to his now. Should he die, we won’t be around to regret letting it happen.”

“Well even if you’re right, that’s all the more reason it’s a bad idea. I leave Jones alone for just a few minutes and he’s whisked off to a Dungeon!” Joy had raised her voice. “So letting you put me out of commission ain’t happening.”

“Coward. And HIroshi told me, the reason he was in peril in the first place was because you proved yourself useless.” Magnos puffed her chest up. “While I have tasted defeat only once through the centuries.”

Joy's expression hardened as she crossed her arms. "Look here, missy. I’ve had just about enough of your attitude. So either pipe down or I’ll empty out what little brains you have in your head till you’re crawling around like a puppy.”

“Bold words, but once your trick is exposed, it’s useless. And I’ve no need for enchantments to bring you to your knees,” Magnos growled back, flashing her sharp teeth.

“Hey, hey. Let’s calm down. No need to get into an argument when we can just talk it out, right?” I put myself between them, physically separating them, but their tempers were still flaring.

“Jones, this girl is too wild. Let me pacify her for you.”

“None shall tame the Mother of—”

Knock, knock, knock. Three sharp taps on the door that made all three of us swivel our heads towards it, deathly silent.

Without a word, I dismissed both of them—which I should have done sooner, come to think of it—and went to see who it was.

Opening the door, there was a police officer standing in the hallway, his body language tense but professional. He was tall and fit, with close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and a caterpillar mustache.

"Mr. Hiroshi Jones?" His voice was deep, gravelly, and all business. He held up his badge. "Officer Jeremy Hill. Are you alone? I heard voices."

“Ah… just the TV. It’s just me here.”

He nodded. “I see. Well, I need you to come with me. Your location has been compromised and we have reason to suspect that another abduction is imminent”

He was wearing a standard police uniform, but something about the way he carried himself suggested military training. His stance was balanced, ready to move at a moment's notice, and his right hand rested casually near his holstered sidearm.

"What about my stuff?" I asked, my heart already starting to race. "I've got a laptop, clothes-"

"No time." Hill's voice was firm but not unkind. "Priority one is getting you out of the building. Now."

That tone of voice made me jump, so I nodded. He would know the situation better than me, and I could ask questions later. “Okay, okay.” He stepped out of the doorway, and I stepped into the hall with him.

As we walked briskly down the hallway to the elevator, he kept his hand near the holster. His movements were precise and economical, checking corners as we moved.

<Something feels off about this> Holly's text scrolled across my vision. <Be careful>

The elevator ride was tense and silent. Hill kept his hand near his weapon, watching the floor numbers tick down. When we reached the lobby, he gestured for me to stay close as we made our way through the sparse morning crowd.

The summer heat hit me like a wall as we exited into the parking lot. Hill led me toward a black unmarked police cruiser, its windows tinted dark enough that I couldn't see inside.

"Get in the back," Hill instructed, opening the rear door. "We'll sort out your belongings once you're secure at a safe location."

“Okay. Ah, yes, sir.” I took one last look around the parking lot but didn’t see any ninjas like Astra zooming towards us. Not like I’d see them coming just from looking though. I got int the back seat and Hill started the car.

Hill drove cautiously through the city streets, obeying traffic signals and staying within the speed limit. It felt surreal.

“If there’s an imminent threat, shouldn’t you turn the siren on or something? Get away from here as fast as possible?”

“When I said imminent threat, I didn’t mean a meteor was coming down on our heads, son. The first assault on you was professional and fast, no witnesses or outside casualties.” I’d kept the part about Joy ‘dying’ a secret. And Joy too for that matter. “Second one should follow the same pattern. And any luck, they’ll be busting into your room and right into a police ambush.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

The tinted windows made everything outside look darker than it should have been at mid-morning. We passed coffee shops with outdoor seating, business people walking briskly down sidewalks, kids on summer break hanging out in front of convenience stores. I kept scanning, as if I’d be able to spot this new assailant out of the crowd.

<Hiroshi, keep looking out the window> Holly's text appeared. <Don’t let him see your face>

The temperature in the car dropped ten degrees.

<I don’t know everything, but I recorded the badge he flashed, checked my records, and it was fake. And there’s no Jeremy Hill in this city either. And I can’t get a signal out of the car, it’s like some kind of faraday cage>

Second one should follow the same pattern.

Oh god damnit. I wanted to slap my forehead for being dumb enough to leave with my new kidnapper and lock myself into the car.

"So where exactly are we headed?" I tried to keep my voice casual.

"Secure location." Hill's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, studying my reflection. "That's all you need to know for now."

"Right. And how long until we get there?"

Another glance in the mirror. "Hour, give or take. Depends on traffic."

I nodded and went back to watching the city roll by. We were still in the heart of downtown - skyscrapers looming overhead, pedestrians everywhere, cars packed bumper to bumper at every light. I checked my options. I doubted I could break out of the car on my own. I didn’t think Joy would work either. She might catch him by surprise, but he was alert and watching my every move. Magnos could break me out of the car, but I doubted this guy would give up because of it. And if things got serious, I had no idea how many people might get caught up in it. Not to mention how impossible it’d be to hide my Class after something like that.

<The outskirts will be much safer for whatever you're planning> Holly's text scrolled. <But don't wait too long. Once we're truly isolated...>

I watched as we passed the last of the major shopping districts, the buildings growing shorter and more spread out. The sidewalks were emptier now, the foot traffic replaced by more cars as we neared the highway. If he let his guard down, I’d try for Joy. If there was no one else nearby, then Magnos. Until then, all I could do was wait. But as we kept driving, a third option came to mind.

"You’re not a cop, are you?" I asked, watching his reaction in the rearview mirror.

“Oh, I’m more of a cop than any of those boys in blue,” Hill replied with a cold smile. “Got a real uniform. A real badge. And unlike most of them, my Class is the real deal.”

“You’ve got a Cop class?” I wanted to smack my forehead.

“Better. Sheriff. The top dog of the police Classes.”

<No wonder you did what he said without hesitating. He’s got an Authority skill. Not doing what he tells you is going to be difficult>

“So that imminent threat. That’s you?”

“Relax, son.” That mustache made him look older, but I wondered if he was even ten years older than me. “I’m not a threat to you. I just needed to pick you up and drop you off for a delivery. So long as you don’t make trouble, there won’t be none.”

There was silence in the car for a minute before I spoke up.

“What happened to Astra?”

The corner of his mouth twitched up into what might have been a smirk. "Classified."

"Classified by who?"

"Also classified." His eyes met mine in the mirror, and this time the smile was unmistakable. Cold. Predatory. "Don’t worry, you won’t have too long to wait."

Astra had killed Joy without any hesitation. If the same people had sent someone after me for the same job, they’d be a killer too.

“Did you talk to Astra?”

“Classified.”

“Astra didn’t want to be a killer. She was forced into it. Some kind of mind control.” I leaned forward in my seat towards him. “And my Class was able to nullify it. Give her back her freedom.” Or trading one cage for another, depending on your perspective. But it had to be better than whatever situation had her living out of a Dungeon. “I could do the same for you if you let me.”

“Is that so? Well damn,” Hill chuckled. “If I was the one calling the shots, I’d have ordered your brains blown out. But no risk, no reward, they say. But that does explain why I got this job in the first place.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m a free agent, son. Only thing motivating me to carry out this job is a big fat stack of cash deposited into my account.” He wagged a finger at me. “Ah, and if you’re thinking of making a counter offer, don’t bother. In this business, trust is paramount. And no way I can afford to piss her off.”

“Her?”

“Whoops. Pretend you didn’t hear that,” Hill—or whatever his name was—chuckled as the car turned off into an old side road. Another dungeon? And if he was ‘dropping me off’, it was probably going to be more people waiting at the other end. If this mystery woman had increased her budget to hire this fake cop, it was reasonable to assume that she’d done the same for whoever would be keeping me under lock and key so they could get at my Mom. If it was someone with a Class like Joy’s Hypnotist, they could wipe whatever ideas of escaping right from my head.

So it was now or never.

"Magnos!" I called out her name, and the tiny dragon girl materialized in my lap, her thighs straddling mine as her head twisted to try and make sense of the new environment.

“Hiroshi?”

“Get us out of here!”

"FINALLY!" Magnos roared with savage glee. The car swerved as Hill jerked the wheel in surprise. "I've been WAITING to unleash my WRATH!"

Magnos's tiny fist punched straight through the roof like it was tissue paper, ripping a hole wide enough to see the sky. “This puny cage cannot contain Magnostrudoom!”

“The fuck!?” The car jerked as Hill tried to maintain control, but Magnos wasn't done. Her other fist shot forward, smashing through the barrier between the front and back seats.

“I’ll rend your limbs from your body! Eat your flesh! Tear your—” There was a loud POP and then my ears were ringing. It took a second to realize that Hill had his gun out, and he’d pointed it through the hole that Magnos had just made.

“Magnos, are you—”

"Fool!" Magnos's voice was pure malicious glee. "Your pathetic weapons cannot harm—"

The car went off the road, shook like the middle of an earthquake, and I realized too late that I really should have buckled up this time.