357 Girls' Quarrel

Chubs woke up when Nai'khan started bouncing on his back. At first he was bewildered, until Nai'khan said, "Doggie, bond-bond!"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she wanted from him.

[Uh… how did this happen?] Chubs had to ask.

But there was nobody there to answer him. Everyone and everytail had already fled the scene.

It was at that time that Alani finally arrived. "There you are!"

Chubs finally saw hope of salvation. [Alani… help!]

"No!" Nai'khan grabbed on to him with both hands. "Doggie ride! Bond-bond!"

Alani shook her head. "That's not how it works, dear. You have to be nice to them and be friends. They're not slaves."

"No! Doggie MINE!" Nai'khan shouted, and then fire burst out from her mouth.

Alani raised a hand and swatted the head-sized fireball aside. There was a sizzling sound as it sputtered out, leaving a cloud of smoke in its wake. "He doesn't belong to you. Comrades are not property. They are partners!"

"NO! MINE!" Nai'khan roared this time, and a stream of flame erupted.

Alani raised both hands. A shimmering curtain of liquid formed a wall before her. Nai'khan's fire met her water-wall and instantly there arose a cloud of steam and smoke, followed by boiling water...

Seeing her advantage, Nai'khan redoubled her efforts, increasing the power of her fire-stream. "ALL MINE!"

"Stop being so selfish!" Alani crouched and slammed both hands into the ground. Her wall of water abruptly turned into a ten foot tall wave that swept out, completely engulfing Nai'khan's fire en route.

***

Meanwhile, Remian was inspecting the construction at Craggy Falls, completely unaware that his call for babysitting help had begun the decisive battle for the fates and destinies of Comrades Rights in the world to come.

***

Nai'khan went from spitting fire to pouncing on Alani physically, screaming and tearing at her hair.

Alani's hair, however, suddenly turned to liquid and re-formed after the clawing passed. Her hands, on the other hand, proved quite solid as they grabbed the Little Princess' wrists and started a wrestle-brawl-tug-of-war.

"Behave yourself!" Alani scolded.

"I WANT!" Nai'khan screamed and tore at her.

They rolled around as they fought, then bounced around the Den, sometimes crashing into walls and leaving meter-sized cracks in them. Chubs scurried to get out of their way, Nai'khan pursued, Alani intercepted, and then all three went rolling to one side, and the two girls spun away into another wall, this time bursting right through it and leaving a gaping hole in their wake.

By then, the entirety of Kara-Goth was in high alert. Police forces, local militia, and even George's elite Heavy Frames Squadron had mobilized and were looking for the source of all the havoc.

[Shadowflash! What's going on?!] George had to ask.

[Not that! I'm talking about the tremors and the cracks in the walls and the sounds of war!]

[That's exactly it.]

At that point, a particularly large crash sounded, and then half the floor gave way. George stumbled, almost falling face-first into one of his less good-looking Heavy Frame Troopers.

Having narrowly escaped a tragedy, George steadied himself and yelled, "I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, find it and STOP IT!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the Troopers stomped away in every direction trying to find the cause of the ruckus.

The walls shook again, and several windows shattered. There was a lot of screaming around the hill, and people were running out of every conceivable exit, some of them without their full set of apparel equipped.

Then another loud roar sounded. "NAI'KHAN-DRAS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Grandpa!!" this wail shook George with its sheer volume. "She bullied me!!"

George finally got the gist of what was going on and heaved a sigh of relief. Now that Zor'khan-dras had spoken up, perhaps this could all be resolved peacefully…

But what Zor'khan-dras said was, "Since when were you so weak?! If you have a fight… win it! Overwhelm the bullies with your own strength!"

"Yes, Grandpa!"

"Whoa!" George spluttered. [Hey, now, wait a second!!]

Too bad. There was another powerful crash, and then the floor cracked under George's feet.

"But I already fell down one floor!" George protested.

Even so, the recent cracks sent him plummeting down another floor. And another. And another.

"Oww…" George groaned, picking himself up and half-expecting to drop another floor down.

He wasn't disappointed. There was a powerful explosion, and the sound of hissing steam, and then the floor broke again.

"OOF!" This time George was sure he wasn't going to drop any more. He had landed on the ground floor. He was already at the bottom. "Somebody call medical…"

[Memo to self: Do not endorse Dragon parenting habits.]

All around him, glass shattered and wood splintered. Walls broke and floors crumbled, and a lot of yelling and scrambling about as people fled.

George protested. "All I did was invite a child to make friends! Why is she destroying my city?!"

This is why you don't play house with dragons!

[Darian! Mindy! Tim! Somebody! Where are you guys?!]

Remian answered. [Darian and Mindy are hunting for mana at the Dragon Empire. Tim is… um… on a date, maybe?]

[Remian! You have to stop them!]

[Stop who?]

[Nai'khan-dras and somebody I haven't even seen! They're destroying everything!]

[Isn't Zor'khan-dras there? Ask him to settle his granddaughter.]

[He's encouraging the fight!]

[Don't worry! I've already called for Alani. She should be there soon!]

George had a moment of hope before he raised his head and saw Alani and Nai'khan-dras kicking at each other at the same time. The impact caused a shockwave as both girls went flying in opposite directions to crash into two separate walls. More stuff broke around Kara-Goth.

[Alani is the one she's fighting! Everything is falling apart!]

Remian paused. [Oh.]

[Oh?! What do you mean, 'oh'?! What is that supposed to mean?!]

[It means I now understand why there's so much destruction.]

[That's not helping!]

A pile of rubble fell around George, half-burying him. [Remian! DO SOMETHING!]

[I'm nowhere near there! You'll have to do it yourself!]

[ME? What can I do?! I can't match the likes of these two! Not even with a Frame!]

[Well, if you can't beat them, join them. If you can't join them…]

[Then…?]

[Run.]