FLOW

The rain poured down as the great flying whale known as Vex solemnly floated in the halls. As the lightning flashed outside of the building, Vex faced down one of the most dangerous mercenaries on the planet. "Heheheh. So, You finally hit my weak point, Flintwood? Very impressive. What will you do now?"

Bloodied and wounded, the mercenary had one knee to the floor and his sword laid on the ground. He had severely underestimated his opponent and could not fathom just how powerful this whale was. "I came so far, finding you kidnapping these innocent fillies... and for what purpose? Your own slavery? Your entertainment? Such power, and why do you use it for this?" The whale chuckled in response, then coughed up blood as well. Though he was not greatly harmed on the outside, this mercenary was excellent at attacking the inner organs, due to his study of anatomy. It seemed that merely a single blow could resolve the battle, but both were reluctant to give up all they worked for, should they make a mistake or give an opening.

"You were misled... " Vex said, "We both know you honestly have enough fame and fortune to go by. That's not what you want. You wanted honor and justice. Yet still, these girls have their own potential. With your constant following of orders from the higher ups, how are you taking any action?"

Flintwood was silent for quite some time. He had never thought of it that way. He had always assumed that the royals were correct, but even he had to admit there were possibly some corruption behind the scenes. He grimaced at the pain, then continued asking: "Then, what is so special about these fillies? Why did you choose them?"

Vex nodded at the question. "I've been researching and I found that surrounded by this origin of power, of skill... they have potential. 'Savants', I like to call them. I'm sure that we can explain the situation and train them well. I've gathered just enough evidence to be able to convince these girls-- though it won't be enough for the masses. They'll surely crush us had we openly declared our purposes..."

Flintwood stood up. He thought for a bit longer and finally made his decision. "Fine. But if I see anything off... " he then motioned his hoof across his throat. Vex breathed a sigh of relief, and had Flintwood follow him to the studies.

Unfortunately, though Vex had won this encounter, he missed out on a young girl filly the nearest town so that she could find someone to help her out, and hopefully reunite with her sister Amelia.