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Recon on Rannoi: Part 2 for Studley by Draconicon

"I'm listening."

Studley could hardly believe he was, after seeing all the things that he'd seen. The Park was as overgrown with transformed individuals as the worst of the cesspits owned by rogue Wonders. Everyone wandering around seemed to be obsessed with more sex than the horniest animal he'd ever encountered, and they were dead set on converting everyone to be just like them. The idea of listening to anything Rannoi had to say was ridiculous, with all that established as fact.

The only reason the wolf was willing to give his old 'friend' a chance was because he seemed to be honest about not wanting to convert a whole city. If that was true, then it meant that Rannoi hadn't lost his mind. Not completely, at any rate. And besides, he wanted to get Mirari to safety as well, if things were going down.

He took the cup of tea that Rannoi handed him, observing the dark scaled dragon over the rim of the cup as he took a sip. The other Wonder leaned back, the silence between them stretching out for a few seconds before the mad park owner finally spoke up.

"Imagine, if you will, a place where all of us that disagree with the Council can work for ourselves."

"That's not happening anytime soon. Not with Hai Mei and her cronies running the thing now. After they kicked Yama off -"

"I don't care about what the Council says."

Rannoi shook his head, pouring himself a cup of tea as well.

"Whatever they say has become poison in the ears of too many of us. The island, as much as it can, will disappear under their fear. What I want, what we both need, is a way for those that disagree to get away. You, me, Idesin -"

"Ha! You're lucky that otter hasn't come back to kick you around the park at this point. With all the stuff you've been pulling, he thinks you're almost as big a threat as the Council does."

"Regardless, you and I both know that he's not a friend of theirs. Not since they destroyed the brothel and -"

Studley held up a hand, not wanting to be reminded of that particular event. It had taken a lot of work on his part to get the ladies out of there, and not all of them had made it out. The sheer fear of outsiders that Hai Mei had raised - even after centuries of living on the island - had been too much for the Wonders to deal with.

Seeming to sense that he had gone too far, the dragon waited. Studley eventually sat his cup down and sighed.

"You have a plan."

"I do. We take our own island -"

"Pity you didn't mention this three hundred years ago; Australia might have been a thing, then."

"It was too big for my plans, and would have been a waste of energy."

He smirked. So, the continent would have been too much for the pair of them? An interesting fact to know; tracking their power would become much easier with that in mind. Rannoi went on.

"There are a number of islands in the Pacific, barely mapped, and inhabited only by a few people that would barely notice someone else moving in. Provided that we can bring it somewhere else - perhaps underwater, or something along those lines - we can make a place for ourselves. I've been gathering power, followers, and everyone I can for the energy that such a spell would require, but there's one thing I still need."

"Me."

"You and your powers over chaos. Wonder magic isn't enough, not for something of this magnitude. So -"

"You need my help to sink an island and make someplace where rule by the strong is a thing?"

"Not rule by the strong."

The dragon stood up, and gestured for Studley to follow him. Reluctantly, the wolf did, walking over to a window that looked over the Park, and further than that, towards the lights of a far off city.

"Out there, there's little in the way of freedom. Little in the way of openings for creativity, or anything else. Laws that bring everyone down to the same common denominator, rather than lift people to the highest they can be.

"I want to create a place where it's possible. Here, while there are those that fall, they are still cared for. Their minds retreated to where they were comfortable, but they aren't thrown away. They are tended to, cared for, and those that could handle it soared. You met my security chief, David?"

Studley nodded, and Rannoi chuckled.

"Of course you did. He was a swimmer, a shy man, closeted, unable to do anything for himself due to being paralyzed by shyness. Now, he's a powerful man, given magic, staff, and the confidence to live a good life. I offer that to everyone, here, and in the new land."

The wolf had to admit, there was little he could argue there. Everything he saw backed up what the dragon said, from a certain point of view. He'd need to check it out, to be sure, but if Rannoi was telling him the truth...

It was certainly tempting, but he wouldn't just let it happen. Rannoi had been running around doing whatever he wanted for too long. And despite his gains, despite his power and his base here, he had done too much to be called a 'good' Wonder. He needed to learn that, and Studley could see no better time to teach it, while he had the leverage to get it.

"Tell me. If I help you...what do you have to offer me?"

"A bond with Mirari."

He whipped his head around.

"What?"

"You heard me. I know you've wanted it, tried to get it for years. You woke up her 'living' parts. You have visited time and again, wanting more from her. And now, I'll open her to you. You will be a part of her just as much as I am."

It was a generous offer, but not enough. Despite the power that it might give him, with Mirari's ability to handle many things at once instead of the normal limitation of Wonders at focusing on one thing at a time, he knew that he needed more. The price of 'betraying' the Council - even if he wasn't on their side anymore - could not be a light one.

Studley finished his tea before standing up, crossing his arms as he looked down at the other dragon. His hands glowed with a golden light, and between his fingers danced the rainbows of chaos.

"I need more than that, Rannoi."

"Like what?"

"Your submission."

As the dragon arched an eyebrow, Studley let the magic loose. It ran down his arms, not changing, but awakening something that lay deeper than his wolf self, deeper than the werewolf that he had been for millenia. Skin turned to scales, and fur fell to the ground as he rose in height. Inches crept along him as his tail extended, pushing out past where his wolfish one had reached, and wings ripped through his flesh before being supported by yet more scales.

He looked at the white-eyed dragon, gesturing with one hand at himself.

"You are not the only one to have studied magic over the years. Unlike you, I studied myself, and found the truth in the past. I learned of the dragon species, truths lost to time, lost to the world. Truths that would make you weep to know how you have shamed dragonkind in the past.

"It is time for you to submit yourself to another. You've run loose for too long."

"This is against the whole point of my island, Studley."

"Precisely. Your island must be a place for others, not yourself. You will work with me, under me, and learn while we grow our new home."

"If I submit..."

Rannoi arched an eyebrow, and Studley saw the flicker of an idea pass through the other dragon's eyes. He narrowed his in response.

"What is it?"

"Interesting...most interesting..."

"You saw something in the transformation. What?"

"I'm...not sure yet. But it is interesting."

The black dragon bowed before Studley could push the matter, bending precisely in half before standing again.

"I will submit myself to you, Studley, in exchange for your help with creating our new home."

Despite getting what he wanted, Studley couldn't help but think that Rannoi was planning something. No matter how much he learned, there was always something in the other dragon's mind, something that Studley couldn't quite pin down. His old friend had ways of understanding and seeing things that nobody else did, and when it happened around him, it got a little nerve-wracking. What had Rannoi seen during the transformation? What information had the black dragon gleaned that he hadn't?

He'd push later. For now, he'd gotten Rannoi under control, and he'd have the power he needed to accomplish some of his own errands and ideas. He started to reach out with his hand and stopped himself, smiling as he pulled it back. Instead, he stood on one foot, and pressed the other to Rannoi's shoulder, almost standing on the other dragon.

"I accept your submission."

"Thank you, Studley."

"Come. There's much work to be done, if we plan to change the world again."

He stepped on the ground again, and helped Rannoi stand up. To Studley, there was a rainbow pattern of toe-prints on the other dragon's shoulders, marks that would let him track Rannoi wherever he went. He doubted his friend knew they were there, and he hoped it would stay that way.

After all, Rannoi was useful, but that didn't mean that Studley completely trusted him.

The End