The Villain's Story

Alan had wasted no time at all in returning to Las Vegas, where the group was supposed to rest for a while before advancing to Sacramento and completing the true mission. He had opened massive portals to finally transport the entire convoy back, which ended up being a shock for both the city and the convoy itself.

It was a first for many people to both witness a spatial portal that wasn't connected to a dungeon, much less to travel through it. Much to Alan's dismay, many people were unable to contain their stomachs and vomited, something he complained was due to their weakness.

He claimed his portals were the most stable you could find, and since people didn't have any other portals for a confirmation, they viewed his declaration with suspicion until the Association verified it.

Apparently, Gary's portals were a lot worse... Ryan had almost shivered when he heard Howard talk about it to the convoy. Alexander could only shake his heads at the confirmation. He was a little suspicious about Alan's urgency, however.

By all accounts, he did admit it was hot, but it wasn't that hot. He knew, since he had experienced both the worst colds in Lanekia, and the sheer heat of the deserts in Gigantia, not to mention the lava pits.

Alan had suffered through the deserts of Gigantia, which he didn't mind much, and even the lava pits of the accursed world. While Alexander had yet to visit those famous pits, he had visited the base Twilight constructed in the desert and knew how hot it was.

Phoenix city was nothing in comparison, which made Alexander question Alan's urgency. Although the fact that Alan was simply growing more sensitive to temperature could also be the case, considering his race.

Festul's complaints of Ice Dragons being sheltered were funny to hear, though. However, Alexander was almost certain that Alan was rushing things, but didn't care enough to ask why.

He had done what he wanted to do, and since none belonging to the expedition doubted him anymore, he was allowed a little more leeway. Alexander was mainly occupied with convincing Olivia to go on another date with him, something he desperately wanted to do mend the previous one.

Unfortunately for him, Olivia was occupied with dealing with her family, which had received news of her summoning a massive worm to deal with the automatons. She spent most of the time in Vegas on a call with her grandfather, the sage, who was eagerly asking as many questions as he could about spirits.

It was odd to see, Alexander considered that Sir Oliver would be well versed in spirit magic because of the owl he kept by his side, but alas, his desire for knowledge was so great it didn't give Alexander time to spend with Olivia, much to his dismay.

He nearly cried when he learned that the expedition was going to move out to Sacramento soon, and drowned himself in alcohol until Festul had to shock him, forcing him to stop.

Meanwhile, Alan spent most of the time in his room. He was free to explore the city, since Daniel Park, the guild leader of Titan had left for some business. Alan had a weird feeling something was off, but didn't question it much. The reason he was so insistent on leaving the city was due to something else.

Finally, he had gotten a response from Sabrina, who had avoided him for god knows how long. A worried Alan Peccator had immediately went home, so that no one could disturb him and patiently waited for her to contact him again. She had said that she would in a while, and Alan trusted it enough. Apparently, the circumstances on her side were... difficult.

It confused him, last he heard, her family was doing great. Though their transformation into Vampires was still known only to Alan and Harrison, and a few others, he knew they were... behaving.

Valus had educated him about the lineages of vampires, and the strict hierarchal structure they followed... Sabrina was a Royal Vampire, and her family had no choice but to listen to her orders. He knew she could keep them in check, and she wasn't the type to hate forcing her family, or subordinates to do something necessary, especially if they were misbehaving.

Sabrina would have shot a bolt of lightning at any misbehaving vampire before forcing her authority on them, as a warning, but she would almost certainly keep them in check. This was further cemented by the fact that Alan had yet to hear about any bloodsucking monsters on the loose, if not from his connections at Twilight, the Supreme Dragons would have certainly told him about it.

He didn't know why, but he was growing anxious every passing second, walking around his room, tapping his feet a bit forcefully on the ground and constantly going to the bathroom to wash his face. His actions were strange to him, but absolutely hilarious to the Dragons watching him.

Even the ever-silent Kulak and Suleras had joked about it, surprising Alan. But he ignored the four, maybe five watching him. Finally, all the wait finally paid off, as he received the Astral bond finally activate.

[Hi... Sorry, I was a bit busy and couldn't really talk with you. How are you? Sorry for not responding to your calls.]

Alan didn't answer for a while, instead, his senses focused on the tone of her voice. The communication through the Astral bond was more direct than anything else. He could feel... a lot of things.

She was tired, exhausted even. The reserves of her magic were dangerously low, and most of all, she was hurt. She was wounded, and that caused Alan to worry, but more importantly, rage.

His nature as an Ice Dragon made him regain his composure, and he gently asked.

"What happened? Where are you?"

A chuckle came from the opposite end, confusing Alan, Sabrina appeared to smirk as she asked a question in response.

[Hmm... Take a guess, where do you think I am? I'm sure it's out of your wildest expectations!]

Why was she in a playful nature? Alan couldn't understand. She was hurt beyond belief and was still so... excited?

Nevertheless, Alan played into it. It had been a long while since he talked to her, and he was insistent on making this conversation last as long as possible.

"Let me guess, Your not Earth?"

[Duh.]

Alan pondered for a while, scratching his chin as he realized the only two possible locations were Gigantia and Lanekia, after a while, he even thought she could be at the World of Darkness, though the chance of that happening was almost abysmal. He also thought of another possibility, but the chances of that were near nonexistent.

But what could she be doing in Gigantia or Lanekia, though? Training her vampiric powers? If so, why not ask him? Alan was the best punching bag you could ever ask for, but perhaps not the best to test your control for blood over.

"Not on Earth, so Lanekia or Gigantia? Of the two, I'm willing to bet it's Gigantia. Your family has invested heavily there, and I'm sure your not willing to encounter Azmakul after the training he gave you so soon."

There was a momentary pause, until a burst of laughter appeared, confusing Alan even more.

[Haha! Your right about that, I don't want to meet that old dragon for as long as possible. And my family is handling the issues at Gigantia quite well! I'm not on either planet!]

Now, there was an element of 'craziness' in the laughter, he couldn't quite accurately describe it.

"So where are you?"

But then, where was she? Was it the world of Darkness? No, Valus would have informed him about it. So it couldn't be... Wait.

'It can't be.'

He almost didn't want to believe it, but was Sabrina actually on a different planet? Had she actually found the coordinates of a different planet? If so, his girlfriend was beyond amazing! She was perfectly capable of doing so, and with the support of her family, could construct a portal

[Hmm...? Giving up?]

Alan rolled his eyes, and answered.

"Yes, I give up, now can you please tell me where you are? I'm getting worried-"

[Awww. That's cute.]

"... Your injured as well, I can feel it through the astral bond, and if I'm being perfectly honest, also annoyed that you ignored me for so long. It hurts."

A hint of surprise came from the other end, and Alan smirked.

[You can actually feel that I'm wounded? Wow, that was unexpected... to say the least. And is my little boyfriend mad that I was ignoring him a while? What? Did you think our relationship would end so quickly? Wow, what kind of girl do you think I am? I'm disappoinnteedddd.]

She purposefully dragged that part out, much to Alan's dismay. He liked it a lot, but it wasn't like her.

"... Why are you acting so weird?"

[Can I not act playful? Or would you prefer a more serious, no nonsense type of girl?]

Alan immediately apologized. He found it endearing, albeit a bit out of character for her, and pressed further. Sabrina giggled through the spatial bond and finally answered.

[Well, promise me you won't be surprised?]

"I promise."

[Pinky promise?]

"... Yes? Where the hell are you?"

[Oh nowhere, just running from a mad horde of demons I pissed off in the Abyss.]

"..."

One could visually see the color drain from his body, as Alan's soul promptly exited the vessel and returned to the Supreme Dragons, who forcefully sent it back, bursting with laughter.