.1 Truth

"So...I just stand here?" I ask, obliviously. My voice reverberates and echoes in the cavern I've been sequestered to within the catacombs of the dragon's monstrously large cave system that acts as their home.

"Yes, Peter. And you wait for him to finish observing your Spectrum. It probably won't take too long, in fact, he probably already has the answer," Nightwing explains.

"I hope so," I sigh. Nightwing smiles and places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. We share a moment of silence.

"How's Demetra doing?" I ask, if only to breach the silence. "Y'know, now that she lost her voice modulator, while we were flying?"

"She's doing well. She seems relieved, actually."

"That's good..." I respond, half-heartedly. I'm more focused on what this dragon will find...

"It'll be okay. Just...don't think too much about...what we, uh...do. It'll let him see one of your memories of that, and...I doubt he'd be pleased."

I'm about to ask why when thunderous stomps signal the dragon's approach. Nightwing says goodbye before quickly leaving me alone in the room, which has been hewn directly into the rock of the cave.

I gulp anxiously as the dragon enters through the giant entryway. He looks down at me before communicating via telepathy.

/*I suggest you take a seat,*/ the dragon says into my mind. /*This will take quite a while.*/

I do as I'm told, taking a seat on the hard stone. The dragon comes closer, his eyes dwarfing me as he seems to focus on me.

The dragon's hot breath wafts over me, sweat beading on my forehead as I remain pleasantly surprised by how nice his breath smells.

I hazard asking him why his breath smells so nice, and he releases a low growl in response. Thankfully, I pooped in the woods earlier, so I don't need a change of pants.

/*What do you think we are, savages?*/ The dragon projects into my mind. /*We chew on mint leaves after we hunt.*/

"Nightwing doesn't," I mutter, regretfully. I've had many an experience with gross breath.

He chuckles lightly, which sounds like two mountains having a crazy fuck session. /*She never did care much about her breath.../*

That catches me off guard. "Wait, what? How long have you two known each other? Were you friends?"

The dragon hesitates before answering. /*That...is something you should discuss with her. She is, after all, your master. I would not want to intrude upon her limits.*/ He shifts his weight before releasing a puff of air through his nostrils. /*Now, let's get back to observing your Spectrum. I doubt the Void will wait patiently while we speak.*/

I nod, closing my eyes and clearing my mind as I return to silently meditating. Well, if you can call it meditating. I'm mostly stuck on an idea I had earlier about the RFID stuff Demetra mentioned. That is: if a..."micro processor" the size of my thumbnail that can identify something by some sort of frequency emission is considered antiquated, the fuck is their modern? I mean, it's clearly years ahead of anything we have, but...I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around what their technology is like.

How far ahead do you think their technology really is? What could they be hiding?

Wait, why am I asking you? You're my inner narrative, I'm not getting any answers from you! -----------3 Hours Later----------- Then again, maybe they utilize gravity itself, I mean...that's not a crazy idea, right? Or...is it? I dunno, I just hope I get to learn more about the elves some day...

/*I've seen all I can./*

"Huh? What?" I snap out of my reverie, and remember why I was..."meditating".

/*You are very skilled at clearing your mind of all but one thing. It made this much easier. But...it still took quite a while. And I'm still not entirely sure what it means. I'll have to consult some old documents.*/

"Documents? Like, dragon documents?"

/*Yes. We had human slaves act as scribes. Like I said, we are not savages.*/

Huh. The more you know.

/*While I do the necessary research, I will have one of the younger dragons escort you to your temporary chambers. The three of you will reside together while you are here, so you are kept separate from the slaves. You will be treated as guests. After you've been escorted, feel free to explore the city.*\

"City?" I ask, taken aback.

/*This is a very well-kept secret. Very few humans know of the true nature of our society. While we do not develop relationships like humans do, we still rely on one another. Some dragons here are healers. Some are hunters. Some are...I believe the human term for it is...*/ The dragon releases a sigh. /*You'll see. Now, go - I must do this research.*/

We exit the room, and I cringe slightly as spray from the waterfall harshly stings my cheek. I had forgotten that we had barely entered the caverns-the room I was examined in was only about a foot, maybe two, into the rock of the valley wall. So I still have no idea what awaits me within the bowels of the earth - besides the promise of a draconic city, which sounds interesting, to say the least.

/*All three of you, wait here. Your escort will arrive shortly.*/

I nod in understanding, and the looming beast begins his thunderous descent into the earth, walking down the giant, gently sloped entryway into the belly of the cave. I hear the echo of a roar coming from the earth beneath us. A light shiver runs down my back as I imagine how many dragons I'll be surrounded by...

"Well?" Nightwing snaps me out of my reverie. "What'd he say?"

"Yeah," Demetra pipes up. "You were in there for a pretty long time."

"He said he has to consult some old documents," I relay to them. "He said he'll send an escort to bring us into the...city."

"City!?" Demetra exclaims. Clearly, she's just as surprised as I was - if not more so. "I thought dragons were just smart lizards - you're telling me they have a whole society here!?"

"Well, I can see that being in your own skin has loosened your tongue," Nightwing points out, rather harshly. "After all, I AM right here." "Oh...right. Sorry..." Demetra sheepishly grins at Nightwing, who just rolls her eyes and looks away. I have to agree with the huffy Dragon - Demetra seems to be a lot happier. I guess losing her vocal thingy was a blessing in disguise.

"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, you know," Nightwing announces.

"Wait, what?" I ask, dumbfounded. Nightwing takes a deep breath as she turns to face us.

"I figure...I may as well get this out of the way. Before you see it for yourself." She takes another deep breath. Whatever she's about to do, or say...I have a bad feeling about it. "I lied," she announces. "About the dragons. About how they would act. I was hoping to deter you from being too curious, so that you wouldn't end up entering the city."

"And...why's that?" I hazard.

"Because...I'm not welcome here. Now, let's leave it at that - I no longer want to discuss this matter."

I'm about to press her on the topic when a young woman emerges from the darkness of the cave and announces herself. "Hi, I'm Trishka," she introduces herself, giving us a big grin with surprisingly straight and white teeth. Also, she's wearing what appears to be a formal blouse. "I work with the PR department here, and I'm going to be showing you around today! Before we begin - any questions?"

"PR department?" All three of us ask at once. I glance over at Nightwing and Demetra. We sounded like, uh...shit, what was that trio from that popular Elven fiction book? Right! Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Always in sync. Well, kind of. I haven't read those books in a long time.

"Why do dragons have a PR department?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"It's actually a new development here!" Trishka explains, a gleam in her eye. "In fact, I was part of the group that made it. A few of the slaves here got together and decided that the dragons needed to work on their public image. So, we pitched the idea to the dragons in charge, and now we have our own office! And now, since you're our first visitors, we've decided to do a dry run of a touring process so we can help spread word of how intelligent dragons really are."

I remain in stunned silence, and Trishka just smiles. "And that's exactly why dragons need PR. Because people don't expect them to be civilized enough to even conceive of PR!"

I shake my head in disbelief. Nightwing seems shocked, as well, so that means that it hasn't always been like this. (Yeah, I gathered that she used to live here, it wasn't hard. But I'm not gonna pressure her about it. Yet.) And by like this, I don't mean the city part, as she has clearly stated she's already familiar with that. I mean the whole PR thing, and dragons having departments, and humans having jobs.

So, the fact that this wasn't always like this means that it developed. Right underneath our noses - right near a human city! I mean, you'd think that somebody would notice such advances in draconic technology and culture...well, assuming that they bothered with technology. And even then, even if it hasn't changed much, the fact remains that it was a city, and nobody knew.

Trishka begins to speak, but...something is nagging at me. Something that never quite made sense, but that I never really gave much thought.

So, nobody noticed a draconic civilization developing. I kind of get it - after all, people are afraid of dragons, and they are underground. But there's something even more surprising.

How did the Elves develop without anyone noticing? I mean, Demetra said that RFID chips were ancient tech - but how could they be? They sound like they're hundreds of years ahead of us - if not a millennium! And the documentation on wars, music, research...how did humans not notice? I mean, according to all documents, Elves and humans have always existed together. How did humans not notice Elves, especially since they were spreading across the planet with their technology? I mean, I understand that we were isolated from them, but if we've been around for the same amount of time, then how...?

Maybe we weren't. Maybe we came after them. But then why did they stay on such secluded parts of the planet? And how did we manage to stay so far behind? I swear, it's almost as if they're from another...

Another...

Oh. Oh, wow. This...wow. If I'm right...I need to ask Demetra about this later.

For now, let's get back to Trishka.

"-and that is how we developed without humans noticing!"

Oh, son of a bitch!

"Interesting," Demetra remarks. I give her a sidelong glance, and edge away a bit. Okay, seriously, I need to know if I'm right.

"Makes you wonder how elves developed," I remark, pointedly. "It almost seems as if we developed on different worlds." I glare at Demetra, and for a moment, I see shock, and then what I am two percent sure is fear but might just be amusement, and then a poker face. Yeah, poker face - a term coined by the Elves. In their culture.

Their other-worldly culture.

"...Right. Now, shall we begin the tour?"

"Yes, please," I respond, smiling warmly. Trishka returns the smile before turning and leading us into the darkness of the caves.

"These tunnels are rather long and maze like," Trishka explains. She grabs a torch, and I cringe as I hear shuddering, as if the whole earth were shaking. "That's just one of the bigger dragons walking through one of the other tunnels. You'll get used to it. These tunnels are very stable, and have never collapsed in hundreds of years!"

I nod, but I still don't trust the caves. I follow Trishka closely, barely able to see anything in the dark.

Which is why I jump and clench my teeth when I feel a long, scaled limb brush against my legs, but relax as I notice that it's Nightwing.

"You know," she whispers into my ear, "it's so dark in here, I bet nobody would notice if we...had a bit of fun."

Her tail slides up my leg and into my crotch. She flicks at my ear with her tongue, and moves one hand down my chest and towards my waste line.

"Nightwing, don't," I caution her. "This is not a good idea."

"Oh, relax," she sighs, her voice still hushed. She removes her hands and tail from my body. I must admit, I miss the contact. "I was just teasing you."

"Okay," I reply, still a bit zoned out. So...if Demetra is....

"And coming up is the first main chamber of the cave system!" Trishka exclaims, interrupting my thoughts. "It's not very well-lit, but we're hoping to change that soon when we change it into a reception area." We quickly make our way through the surprisingly large cavern, and enter another tunnel. I have no idea how Trishka knows where to go - I'm lost already.

"Miss Nightwing, you're a dragon. Have you ever been here before?"

"Yes, a...a long time ago. About...a few hundred years, now." Demetra seems surprised. I don't know why.

"Well, a lot has changed since then. Quite a few dragons have actually taken human form - but I'm sure that Deathwing already told you all about it." Deathwing? Is that the fuckers name? Wow, that's...that's fucking metal.

"No. He didn't," Nightwing replies, dryly. I can feel the fear tension in her voice. "He said I would need to be cautious in my new form."

"...oh. I, uh..." Trishka clears her throat, causing the flame of her torch to sputter a little. "Well, a lot has changed. There are lanes for full-sized dragons, and lanes for humanoids - meaning humans and dragons turned human - and younger dragons. Maybe...he meant don't get stepped on?" Trishka suggests, nervously. I frown as we continue our descent into the bowels of the earth, and Nightwing falls unsettlingly quiet. Everything I know is getting flipped on its fucking head today, isn't it... --------Later...-------- I drop my backpack next to the bed - yes, I said bed - before laying down with a sigh.

That tour was exhausting. This place is fucking huge, I seriously can't believe it. And now, the three of us are basically in a hotel room!

"They have running water!" I look up in shock, and see Demetra walk out of what appears to be the bathroom, a mystified look on her face.

"I don't understand," Nightwing announces.

"It's like that pump we used back at my farm, when we..." I blush, remember how we both hated the taste of each other's cum.

"I understand running water you fucking idiot," Nightwing growls.

"And they have hot water!! Wait, shit, I can't get my arm wet..."

"Then what don't you understand?" I ask Nightwing.

"Why would Deathwing not tell me about all the advancements that had been made? About how much society had progressed? Why did he just leave it as a surprise?"

"Maybe just that - he wanted to surprise you. I mean, you grew up here, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Soap! Real soap!"

"It was kind of obvious," I reply, dryly. "You seemed pretty nostalgic at the entrance to the caves."

"This is the best day ever!"

I look back at the bathroom with a smirk. "Enjoying yourself?" I call out.

"Yes!"

"What is she doing?" Nightwing asks, confused.

"Taking a hot shower. Probably the first she's taken in a long time."

"Oh, I remember eating someone that kept going on about needing a shower. Weird."

"Yeah...weird," I mutter, inching away from her. She notices, and simply rolls her eyes.

"The towels are so soft!"

I shake my head as Demetra continues to orgasm at the prospect of a shower. I must admit, I'm surprised by it as well, but in light of how advanced everything else here is, it's actually not too surprising.

I stand, despite my calves aching in protest from the long walk, and approach the window, with its glass set into the rock that the room we're in has been hewn into. I look out at the city in awe.

For at least a dozen miles, there are dragons, both big, small, and humanoid ambling about. I see one dragon sitting by a large lake, seemingly lounging as another dragon swims in the water, light reflecting off of the gentle ripples created by its red scales.

I see a building that small dragons and humanoid dragons enter and exit, leaving with what appears to be sacks of groceries, which is completely bizarre. In another part of the city, I can see a few dragons working on what appears to be a construction project.

There's a big park, a building that looks highly official, and more. What's strange is that none of the dragons are really giant - that most, they're the size of caravans. The truly big ones must be in another part of the city...

"When I lived here...all of this was empty," Nightwing informs me. "It was about half the size, and the dragons would just toss their kills in here. I wonder what changed for them to start organizing so efficiently..." She frowns, and I can tell that she's deep in thought.

"Peter, can you come in her for a second?" Demetra calls out. "I need help with my arm..."

"Sure, I'll be right there." I pay Nightwing on the shoulder, and leave her at the window. I enter the bathroom, and I almost retch.

Demetra is holding her arm aloft in her hand. She detached it from her body to shower. "Oh, get over it," she mutters. "I just need you to force it in for me - I've never been particularly great at re-installing it.

I nod, and approach carefully. The towel she's wearing around her body remains taught as she maneuvers to show me the open socket, which seems to have a bunch of pins in it. I barely understand what I'm looking at.

"Just push it in so that the arrows line up," she instructs me. I do it, and she cringes in pain as it hooks up to...her.

"Right...now then." I don't even have time to shout in surprise as she spins around and grabs me by the throat with her mechanical arm. It tightens slightly, and I fight to keep my bladder under control.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing?" She hisses at me. "Talking about 'not of this world' like that - are you trying to out all of elvish society!?"

"Wh-what!?" I manage to croak as I scrabble at her arm. I stop when I realize that I could get my finger stuck in there and hurt the both of us. "I...I was going off of a hunch!"

She releases a deep sigh that sounds more like a growl as she sets me down. I gasp for air, and rub at my throat, tears in my eyes. "Well, your bunch was right. The Elves are originally from-"

I cut her short with a sharp slap across the face. She stares at me in shock, and I struggle to remain looking angry while I begin to cry. "What the fuck, Demetra? You couldn't have a fucking conversation? You had to attack me!?"

"Hey, you have no right to -"

"Shut up!" I bark, my throat still hurting like hell. "What the hell were you thinking!? You could've just asked a question!"

"What's going on?" Nightwing asks as she enters the bathroom.

"Nothing," Demetra quickly responds.

"This motherfucker choked me!"

Nightwing stares at as for a moment before turning and walking away without so much as a word. I shake my head in confusion, and look at Demetra for an answer. She just shrugs.

We tentatively follow Nightwing out into the main room, and see her lying on one of the two beds, staring at the ceiling. "Uhhh...are you okay?" I ask, nervously.

"Everything is different," she sighs. "I just...I wish I understood." She looks at us, and I'm surprised to see some liquid in her eyes. "I just feel so...overwhelmed. So many emotions, and memories of this place...everything is so different, but I can remember it all, and it all has new meaning, and..." She takes a shaky breath. "It feels ducking awful..."

Demetra and I exchange a glance before wordlessly agreeing on what to do. We lay down on the bed with Nightwing, one on either side of her, and grasp her hands.

"We'll be here with you," I announce. "I promise." This is our sanctuary. Our sanctuary...now.

(Yo dat Kingdom Hearts/Utada Hikaru reference dog!!!!! Smash that m-f'in like button if you mad hyped for KH3 bitch!)

As we lie there, connected by a single strand of what feels like fate, I ponder on how my life has been turned upside down recently.