Trahzi explodes

Zurra and Trahzi stood before Gerald's door, trying to hide their contempt for one another.

"You heard with the director said, right?" Zurra asked, twisting the Tupperware in her hands.

"Yes, we heard him."

"If you banish me to the shadow realm again you're going to be expelled."

"Yes, we know."

Zurra tapped her foot over and over again. "You know you can't just go banishing people to alternate dimensions, it's not right."

"Yes, we understand."

Zurra narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "You still haven't apologized."

"We have no plans to."

* * *

"What do you mean, I'm not going to be there for the whole ceremony?" Gerald yelled.

"You will be there for the ribbon cutting, of course," Enri explained. "But after that, I'm afraid you have far too many interviews to spend any time with the children."

"Spending time with the children is the whole point!"

"Forgive me, sir, but you signed a contract. Doing your job is the whole point."

There was a chime at the door. "I must answer the door. We can discuss this further after your etiquette lessons."

"Ugh!"

Enri slid the door open, Trahzi pushed her way past him without so much as a greeting.

"Oh, hi Trahzi, what' up?" Gerald asked.

She stepped up to him and thrust out her elbow. "We want you to touch us here."

Zurra rolled over and took on her human form. "Ewww, why do you want him to touch you there?"

Gerald furrowed his brow. "Trahzi, you can't start a conversation like that. We've talked about this, remember? You have to give me a context."

Trahzi's eyes flashed. "No, we are tired of explaining ourselves. The explanations you others require are a waste of time."

"Calm down, Trahzi, you asked me to help you."

Trahzi's eyes lit on fire. "Yes, and you betrayed us. Just like the ArchTyrant, you took advantage of our naïveté. You manipulated us to take control of us."

Zurra set down Gerald's lunch on his table. "She seems upset."

"Quiet Zurra. Don't antagonize the situation."

"You're one to talk. You've got an angry demon in your bedroom."

Gerald's staff all looked on. Gwof in particular seemed to be enjoying the drama unfold. The publicity of this made Gerald feel self-conscious, but he pushed past it. "Look, Trahzi, I don't know what is going on here, but you need to know that I have always been completely honest with you."

Trahzi's fingernails grew long into claws. "Yes, we see now, that is how you operate, isn't it? You hide behind a smile and an offer of friendship; you use sincerity and honesty to bring our guard down, to gain power over us."

"You asked me to help you."

Trahzi pointed a black claw at him. "Only because you made it seem like you could. The Vlukkia attack was probably your fault. You used it defraud our trust!"

Zurra laughed. "Would you listen to yourself? And people call me the crazy one."

"Not now Zurra," Gerald said through clenched teeth.

Trahzi began pacing back and forth, like a caged tiger as she talked, her black eyes fixed on him.

"We have no more need of your lessons. We don't want to see you anymore! We don't want to talk to you anymore."

Zurra clapped her hands. "Yay, more for me, then."

"Shut up, Zuri," Gerald grunted.

Trahzi's hands burst into flame. "We should have killed you when we had the chance."

"Look, Trahzi, we can talk about this, I want to talk about this, but before we can, we need to help you calm down. You are losing control."

The red fire spread up her forearms, burning off the sleeves of her uniform. "Yes, and it is your fault. We have been trying to meditate all night, but nothing is getting better. We can't calm down. All we can think about is you. All we can see is your face. Every time we think about being with you, our head starts to go blank, and our heart races."

Gerald looked around. His staff was getting scared. "Please, Trahzi," he said, grabbing her shoulder. "Look around, you are frightening everybody. Remember what you said to me? You can't complete your mission if they are all terrified of you."

She blushed from head to toe at his touch. Her breathing raced, her eyes widened, steam rose up off of her skin.

"Don't touch us!" She yelled, flame spreading across her shoulders and rising up around her like a cowl. She reached up and clutched her chest. "There, you see? How are you doing this? Psychic enslavement? Mental reprogramming? Hypnotic suggestion? How?"

Cadbury ran off in terror into the hallway as Trahzi's feet were bathed in fire, incinerating her shoes. "You lied to us, Gerald Dyson. You told us that you would teach us about love, but all you are doing is giving yourself power over us. Power over our thoughts, our feelings. You said that love is a source of strength, but that was a lie. It is a source of control!"

"We did terrible things when he controlled us. Unforgivable things. We are not going to be controlled by another again! Do you hear us? Not again!"

Gerald's staff began working their way towards the exit, hugging the walls. The floor beneath Trahzi glowed red hot. The rest of her uniform caught fire and began peeling off of her.

Gerald stood before her, unafraid. "Look, Trahzi, I understand that you fear control. Believe me, I know it better than most. I've dedicated my life to living free of control..."

Trahzi's eyes grew a little less wild. His words were getting through to her, but then Zurra threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh, this is just too funny," she mocked. "The all-powerful demon is crushing on a human."

Trahzi's fire burned hotter. Her body was now hidden behind a coat of blue flame. Trahzi snarled at Zurra. "We did not ask for your opinion."

Zurra strolled nonchalantly over to Gerald and hugged him from behind. "Fine then, you've said your peace. Gerald will never talk to you or come near you again. Now go."

Trahzi's teeth grew into long fangs. "Stop that."

Zurra wrapped her arms around Gerald's waist. "Stop what?"

Black talons grew out along Trahzi's forearms, their razor-sharp edges flickering in the firelight. "Stop touching him."

Gerald tried to protest, but Zurra stretched an arm around his mouth.

"Why not? He's my bride, after all."

The molten floor beneath Trahzi's feet buckled. "Don't say that!"

Even as Gerald struggled, Zurra coiled her legs around his like a python. "Why not, it's true... or do you want him for yourself?"

More blade-like talons sprouted out from her back, arcing down behind her like a cloak of knives. Gerald's staff simpered at her terrifying form. "No! We do not want him!"

"Oh, I see. So, when I touch him like this, that doesn't bother you?" Despite his resistance, Zurra placed a delicate kiss on Gerald's neck. "This isn't the first time I've kissed him, you know?"

Trahzi's flame burned white hot. "Get off of him!"

"Why? I thought you said you didn't like him."

Trahzi stamped her foot. "We don't!"

"Then why are you following him around all the time? Why do you make him lunch every day? Why do you try and trick him into signing a marriage contract?"

Gerald managed to reach up and free his mouth. "Those are things you do!"

Trahzi's eyes darted around wildly. Everyone was looking at her. Everyone could see. The humiliation only fueled her anger further. Gerald's bed and table caught fire from the heat.

"Stop it, Zuri, you're making it worse," Gerald shouted.

"It's her fault! This is payback for banishing me."

Zurra turned angrily to Trahzi. She knew exactly what to say. "Look at you, it's pathetic. All the power in the galaxy, and you're afraid of you own feelings."

Trahzi stepped back, her face pained and ashamed.

Zurra smiled impishly and pressed harder. "You're weak!"

Trahzi's face twisted into absolute outrage. She threw her head back and screamed. Her flame exploded out in a fireball, engulfing everyone and everything around her. Gerald's staff ducked behind anything they could, their personal force fields kicking in at the last second, shunting the force of the blast. Zurra wrapped herself around Gerald, and then everything went white.

* * *

Inside his office, Director Nathers sipped nervously at the mist in his cup. He looked away from the clock for the first time in hours and noticed how empty his stores of spirits had become. Since Dyson had returned he had been drinking almost constantly.

"Just a few more hours," he said to himself anxiously. "Just a few more hours and then Dyson will be gone. Blast it Greer, can't you speed things up?"

His secretary walked in, her face full of panic. "Sir, there has just been an explosion in the men's dorms."

Nathers dropped his cup. "W... what?"

"The entire east wing was taken out."

Nather's thumped his head on his desk. "Why me?"