Chapter Text
Everything was perfect. You were perfect. You were whole, having discarded what of you that got in the way. A flawed mortal heart replaced with moon-rock. Flesh and bone exchanged for walls and streets. Nacreous towers adorned the center of the sprawling city that was you, reflecting the light of the false-stars- and one particular false-star- onto your people.
Everything was perfect. You were content. You were perfect.
...Almost.
Something was missing. Someone was missing. A small but gaping hole, which you would not rest with unfilled.
Your eternal rival. Your beloved, eternal enemy. The Master of Insustry. Mr Fires.
You wanted it. No, you needed it. And it may not have known it, but it surely needed you too, now. You had planted yourself too firmly in its life for it to not.
It wouldn't come to you willingly, and you knew this. Its ambitions were too great, ambitions that were bound to one day get it killed. It had too many enemies, and the Bazaar would undoubtedly grow tired of its sabotage attempts eventually.
It needed to be saved, but it refused to let itself be.
...That was fine. You'd never let such minor obstacles stop you before.
~~~~
Everything was perfect. ...Well, perhaps that was exaggerating just a bit, but you were quite confident in yourself. And why shouldn't you be? You'd managed to create a near-flawless, efficient machine out of London, and with your gracious aid, she could only become greater and greater. And one day, she would be yours and yours alone, free from the influence of the Bazaar and the need for harvesting love stories.
Everything was perfect. You were content. You were perfect.
...Almost.
Your latest scheme hadn't gone as planned. It was fine. It wasn't your fault, really. If that (now former) watchman hadn't been so incompetent, you would have...
You felt something crack in your hand, followed by a trickle of liquid running down your arm, under your sleeve. Damning the consequences, you squeezed the object- a pen- harder, reducing it to shards. Ink splattered onto your desk.
One of Stones' servants had distracted the watchman, allowing key components in your plan to be stolen. And to rub salt into the injury, Stones itself had called you for "an impromptu meeting"- only to throw said components into the Stolen River right in front of you. The potential for prying eyes to cause the conflict to become public had been the only thing preventing you from retaliating at that very moment.
Of course, there were other avenues of retribution open to you. Ones you fully intended to take advantage of. But you wanted to hit it where it would hurt the most, and that took... Consideration. Its mines, perhaps? No. That would be too easy. Besides, damaging its mines would risk destabilizing the land nearby, which could be detrimental to your own work.
You would have its personal collection ransacked. Oh, it would be furious, of course. But as long as it couldn't trace it back to you... It could do nothing without seeming like the aggressor.
With the thoroughly broken pen now laying forgotten on the desk, you began to plan out your newest scheme, filled with newfound energy.
~~~~
You'd been having an... Interesting past few months, to say the least. It wasn't every day your boss turned into a city, and on top of that they'd been sending you on a slew of highly dangerous jobs.
They'd learned, via their agents stationed in London, that Mr Stones had slighted Mr Fires in a very significant way, and had decided that it would be a good idea to make their conflict worse. And so you, as one of their most competent officers, had been put in charge of the operation.
In the past few weeks, you'd had to, in no particular order:
-Talk several times to the notorious Frank and Jasper,
-Steal all mail going to both Stones and Fires,
-Organize robberies of random, important-looking objects from Fires' factories no fewer than ten times,
-Plant the random items stolen from Fires in Stones' properties, without being caught by either party,
-Sabotage several random couriers by swapping out their contents, all of which were correspondence-carved lead tablets (that you both almost wished you could read and were glad you couldn't),
- And sabotage several dirigibles leaving London.
Jasper and Frank were... Themselves, as always. But you'd managed to pay them enough to talk. Not much mail went directly to the Masters, which was a relief, but it still wasn't easy. The couriers fortunately didn't put up much of a fight once caught- the issue was picking out the right ones, and avoiding looking too closely at the symbols. Dock workers were bribed with alcohol to make the sabotages easier. No walk in the park, but bearable.
The real trouble was the break-ins. Fires' factories were under constant surveillance, and dragons could barely compete with how fiercely Stones guarded its hoard. And, of course, there was the challenge of putting the stolen goods in places Fires would be able to find them, but Stones wouldn't.
Honestly, you were surprised you mostly all made it out with your bodies and minds intact. You'd be taking a long- more than well deserved- vacation after this.
At least the pay was good.
~~~~
When the news arrived, you were ecstatic. The job was done. Your interference in the Masters' conflict, though perhaps not needed, would tip the scales further. Further, further towards you getting your way.
There was one final step you needed to take, one you dreaded even the thought of. Oh, but it would be worth the pain in the end.