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“Go on,” Mother said, “What happened next?”

The mirror had shattered. Why exactly, Sherlock didn’t know. He could still see a few memories. Should he try to get up?

Before he could entertain that idea, a flash of images entered his mind. The person he believed to be his mother, strangling the life out of him. It was all so sudden he almost thought it was actually happening.

Was this person his mother? Or was this just a trick?

No, stop. This was Mother. It had to be. How could it not be? These were her gestures, it had to be her. Right?

Just continue with the memories. Even if this was Mother, he was still in a trial.

“I intended to go on with my plan, when I met Arsene Lupin. I encountered him during a bank robbery completely by accident. I thought he was dead. Turns out, he was working for a man named Kage, basically robbing his competitors in the criminal underworld.”

The mirror fragments started to glow, changing the place. They were now in the middle of a heist. More specifically, below where the robbery took place. Under the vault of the Mistral Bank, which had a hole in the floor from Arsene’s explosion. The clever little fox planned it just right so that the bank was not only closed, but so that a passing subway would muffle the sound of the bomb. Sherlock had chased him and found the subway train he was using. It was like meeting a ghost.

“I imagine that didn’t go well.” Mother said.

“No,” Sherlock answered, “We ended up holding guns at each other before we recognized each other. Naturally, Arsene ran when I figured out who he was, but we ended up meeting later.”

Sherlock had been given one of Arsene’s cards to be specific, telling him where to go if he wanted to meet him. Following the instructions given, Sherlock tracked down Arsene to an apartment complex. The showoff was on the roof.

They had rejoiced in that moment. Brothers, finally reunited.

“After we caught up, I made a mistake. I told Arsene about my plans. Unfortunately, he was more elf than dragon.”

Arsene and Sherlock came to a disagreement. They did not see eye to eye in this case. Arsene wanted to control the city and its evils as a criminal, while Sherlock just wanted to destroy it all. It drove them further and further apart. Until, on the night Sherlock planned to released the Grand Dragons, Arsene intervened. He sabotaged it all, setting his attack back for at least a year.

“And then what?”

More images came.
<p style=”text-align: center;”>NOT REAL! NOT REAL! NOT REAL! NOT REAL!</p>
Something wasn’t right here. Mother had always been a rather cold person, but not like this. This seemed fake. Combined with the images. This was a clear warning. He’d need to figure out what was telling the truth. His eyes or these visions.

“Mother,” Sherlock changed the topic, “Can you shift your hand please?”

… She didn’t answer. Just blinked.

Caught. “Also, you never once commented about how I’ve called my brother by the name Arsene Lupin.”

He had seen and heard enough. “Meaning you’re just a fake, using my Mother’s face.”

Standing up, Sherlock grabbed the fraud by the throat. “How. Dare. You.”

Shifting his arm, Sherlock tossed the fake across the room. Then, everything changed. All he felt in that moment was pure rage. “I think you know what happened next, you freak.”

His whole body started to changed. His legs had fused together and he now had claws. Pure white scales, with black flakes like dark stars, replaced his skin. “And for the crime of impersonating someone very dear to me, I will kill you!”

The metamorphosis accelerated. “I’ll kill you. I swear it! I’ll kill you, Amnesia!”

Now, it was complete. He had changed into a full Eastern dragon.

 

“Have you tried asking the people who live here, where we are? Who their Lord is? Where we can find him?” Yes, yes, pure innocence… “Surely he could tell us how to get back to our own places. How far it is.”

He seriously didn’t know. He genuinely knew nothing.

“Based off the information we’ve gathered, we are not within any traveling distance of our own places in the near foreseeable future, and apt communication with the average populous is tenuous at best.”

Alessio looked at Arsene for help. Smiling, Arsene took up the wonderful task of explaining the situation. “He means we’re all stuck.”

Like a sudden screech, a loud noise sounded in Arsene’s ears. He reacted by clasping his ears. But when he looked around, everyone else looked fine. Only he heard it. Something felt wrong. His arms were numbing. He hardly knew they were there anymore.

He was feeling nauseous.

“Excuse me,” Get out. Get out. Now, “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Oh, he shouldn’t have taken all that chocolate from the kitchen. His voice sounded desperate, almost broken. Everyone appeared concerned. Ignoring Ohel and everyone else, Arsene went outside, turning to an alleyway. Hiding himself, Arsene took off his gloves.

They were black scales. Like a dragon’s.

“No, no,” Arsene muttered, “Not here. Not here of all places!”

He was turning. In a matter of seconds, he’d be a wyvern. And he’d have no control over his actions.