First Demonic Dragon

It was almost like Abaddon had forgotten Shin was human.

He was pulling his punches a bit, sure, but he was only doing it so that he could hit Shin over and over again without killing him.

And since Abaddon had left the abyss part of his body behind in Tehom, the Order's natural magic wasn't activating to protect him and even the score.

But regardless, Shin was determined not to need it.

Abaddon raised his shield over his head and prepared to smash what little brains Shin had.

However, he noticed the strangest thing before he could strike.

To be specific, it was a faint silver patch underneath a layer of split skin.

'Oh..?'

In a disgusting twist, Abaddon watched the back of Shin's head writhe and squirm like a mass of worms.

That day, a cannon formed on the back of Shin's head.

Abaddon spent around half a second gawking before he would learn that the damn thing actually worked. Well at that.

A blast rocked Abaddon's shield arm and sent him careening back in an open field.

He was so shocked that his arm was rattled. He didn't even remember the last time something like that had happened.

He was already kicking himself internally. It would have done him well to be more prepared.

His ears were suddenly assailed with the ripping of fabric.

Shin tore away his coat and shirt and stood tall over the freezing red snow.

As well as a layer of false skin.

His body was comprised of blue lights and shifting silver metal from his lower jaw all the way down to the rest of his body.

Abaddon could only shake his head pitifully. His fighting spirit all but completely diminished.

"Your father would be so disappointed if he could see you now."

Shin's jaw set in place and a set of rocket thrusters opened up on his back.

"Well, whose fault is it that he can't?!"

Shin shot forward like a missile; his arm transforming into a sword sharp enough to cut through metal and stone alike.

But whether it could cut through dragon scales was yet to be determined.

But Abaddon, for all intents and purposes, had grown irreversibly tired of all of this.

Time stopped for everything but Abaddon and his family.

He stared into the face of this roaring, hateful man and he saw just how ugly his hatred had made him.

It was almost eye opening in a way.

Abaddon observed Shin's entire body carefully while time was frozen.

He circled him like a hunter looking for weakness on a bleeding prey.

Lifting his finger, he poked him once in the base of his spine with no apparent motivation other than a momentary gag.

He stashed his shield, fixed the terrain and reverted back to his normal appearance.

Time was unfrozen and he stood in front of Shin with his arms folded.

Still soaring through the air, Shin brought his blade even closer to Abaddon's skin.

He could practically visualize his retribution.

But out of nowhere, his body clammed up. And a concussive blast directly assailed his nervous system.

His pupils trembled. His eyes could no longer stay open, and keeping his body upright was now a pipe dream.

Instead of cutting Abaddon, he landed in the pile of snow just in front of his feet. Unmoving and unresponsive.

-

Shin heard yelling before he had even opened his eyes.

His eyes flashed open in a panic. Only for him to look around and realize that he was right at home in his temporary quarters.

And the voices he could hear yelling outside were all too familiar.

"- id you even think about what you were doing?! If it was in any way morally defensible??"

Another softer, more muffled voice could also be heard out in the hallway. This one belonging to a man.

"T-The director was adamant in his decision, and as he is my superior, I couldn't-"

"You feed me a lie then you're going to be the one who needs a new jaw. You knew you could've stopped him. Recommend him for a psyche eval, forced a leave of duty, something!"

"H-He would have had my job!"

"And I would have made sure that you and your family wanted for nothing!"

Shin couldn't stomach listening to any more of this.

Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

He threw off his blanket and stood up on wobbly legs.

…Only to go right back down again after failing to take one single stride.

A blue screen that only he could see appeared in his field of view.

{Host's nervous system has received direct damage. Time until full recovery is twenty-three minutes.}

Shin groaned. "You could've warned me of that earlier, useless piece of garbage..."

{My mistake. I wanted to enjoy watching you fall on your face for the third time today. Bitch.}

Shin was really regretting asking for an A.I who was intuitive and had some personality.

{Regret it all you want. I am already here to stay.}

"Don't remind me.."

The door was suddenly thrown open and Fiona stormed inside with a red face. Behind her was the doctor whose head she'd just chewed off.

Shin wished that his new body came with camouflage so that he could blend in with the flooring and hide until the end of days.

{We have no such function. Adding it to our compiled list of potential upgrades.}

'Shut up, you damned thing…'

Fiona stood over her father with white knuckles and a glare that could melt stone.

Shin wasn't naive enough to think that his eldest daughter wouldn't hit him. Her temper wasn't a whole lot better than his.

"…Give me a hand?" He asked.

"I'm close to giving you a foot."

Yea. That was about the reaction Shin expected.

He must've looked more pathetic than he thought, because his daughter didn't actually kick him while he was down.

Fiona helped him get to his feet, and tossed him over the bed like an old throw pillow.

It was far from a touching scene, but it was leagues better than the alternative.

"Explain." Was Fiona's sole demand.

Shin was a stubborn old bastard by his own design.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"… I made a choice. I don't have to explain anything to you, or-"

"Don't give me that shit, old man! You didn't just go and get a new hip, you mutilated your body and turned yourself into a goddamn Transformer! And for what?!"

"For the mission!" Shin yelled like it was obvious. "So that you, your brother, and your sister will always be safe!"

"FROM WHAT?!"

"FROM HIM!!" Shin pointed beyond the four walls of their base. His booming voice rattled Fiona's heart and bones in equal measure.

Shin felt the way she looked at him change. And his flash of anger became one of his deepest regrets. "I.. had limitations before. The serums did their work, but I will be one hundred and seventy this year. I didn't have much more time.

Knowing that I was going to get weaker while he was getting stronger every year… I couldn't stand for it. I had to catch up to him somehow. To protect everything that we have at home."

Fiona clicked her teeth and started walking away from him.

Her father became desperate. "I had no choice! I couldn't rest peacefully with the thought that he might take everything away from me again!"

"Abaddon did not kill grandfather!" Fiona snapped.

"He might as well have!" Shin yelled back. "He left his post! He let those things slip out and couldn't do a proper cleanup! If he had've stayed down in the dark where he belonged then none of this would have happened!!"

Fiona had never once seen her father say anything so needlessly cruel. Not until today that is.

It very possibly shifted the way she would look at him forever. And she didn't even know when or how he had gotten this bad.

"I don't even recognize you anymore."

Short, bitter, and clear cut, Fiona's soft spoken words left no room for interpretation.

And neither a punch, nor a bomb could have shaken him more.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the mirror on the wall.

He was almost everything he thought he wanted to be.

And yet, that accomplishment of his had never felt so unbearably hollow.

He finally had to admit to himself… he didn't recognize the man in the mirror either.

-

Fiona stormed outside.

The cold air wracked her body as her eyes stung with tears she refused to let fall.

She came up with a million curses for her adoptive father during the duration of her walk. Some in English and some in spanish.

Neither language spoken made her feel better.

"Hey."

Fiona snapped out of her melancholy and quickly rubbed her face.

Looking up, she found Thrudd sitting on a snowy hill with both pets at her side.

Judging by her light clothing, she wasn't bothered by the weather at all.

"…Hi." Fiona responded curtly, unsure why she had stopped.

For a while, the two women sat and stared at each other awkwardly.

Just as Fiona turned to go, Thrudd reached inside of her bag and pulled something out.

"Protein bar?" She offered.

Fiona had no way to determine whether this girl was joking with her or not…