Pearlescence

As the putrid smell of burning flesh further invaded the noses of everyone present, Oki started to pick up some interesting artefacts. A golden rock with the words 'Backup Fund' engraved into them. Another thing he found was a pearlescent staff that appeared to reflect all of the light around it. "Hey! Amana! Your people collected some really cool items!" Soul yelled, grabbing everyone's attention. Amana walked over, trying to remember who owned those items.

"That golden stone belongs, or belonged, to an old friend of mine. They were extremely paranoid about eventually losing access to their hobbies, so that rock was their backup. It was just in case the worst happened, bar death." Amana explained as she stared intently at the pearlescent staff. "That staff is, or was, owned by one of our lead scientists in this city. He wanted to figure out how we could make stronger weapons for us to use to take control over the entire forest. However, that plan failed, and the items were lost in various work-related accidents. Except for this one. It was too beautiful to lose, he said." Amana continued, looking at the staff's tip, where a catalyst should be held.

"This was the reason why the weapons failed. They needed a suitable catalyst with a load of power. We couldn't find a gemstone that worked with it, and the staff's energy was lost to the effects of time." Amana explained, taking the staff from Oki's possession. She spun it around on her hands, looking at how it blurred with motion. "I was the one who was meant to wield this mighty weapon. It would have had the power to control nations to my will. The single most powerful weapon on this planet." Amana sighed, wondering how easy their life would have been had that plan succeeded.

"Maybe it's a good thing that you guys failed. Sounds a lot like you guys were trying to recreate slavery. The enslavement of other races. Really isn't a good idea." Orochi popped in, lifting up a small metal ball. "I found this. It doesn't have any distinguishable features, so I'm kind of curious as to what it could have been used for."

"Well, that's the thing. It was a placeholder catalyst for this staff. We had lost it inside the building a few days ago, so we wondered where it had gone." Amana explained, extending the staff towards Orochi. "Just pop it on the top," Amana told him, watching as Orochi placed the metal sphere into the appropriately shaped crevice on the tip of the staff. "There." Amana smiled, watching as the silver metal orb floated up by a small amount, faintly glowing a dangerous red colour.

"See, this orb is a placeholder catalyst for a reason. Any metal orb can conduct the power of this staff, although some work better than others. This staff can control red lightning to disintegrate people. However, it only shocks people as of now. It isn't even that powerful since we don't have a strong catalyst yet." Amana sighed, shooting a bolt of electricity at Orochi. The red lightning crawled up his body, swarming him. He froze for a second as the electricity was absorbed into his body before resuming normal behaviour. "Yeah, I can see how that lightning would be powerful if a decent catalyst was found," Orochi commented, shaking his arms. "Although, I would suggest trying to use a gemstone instead. Gemstones are great for conducting magical energy, which I presume is what you're trying to utilise to make this red lightning work." Orochi suggested, tapping his fingers against the scales that lined his hand underneath his hoodie.

"Why are your arms making that noise, Orochi? I know you used to be a dragon, but it's not like your arms are made of metal." Oki asked, curious. The noise hurt his ears, even if only slightly, but that was because he didn't expect it. Orochi slid his hoodie's arm up, revealing that part of his arm was covered with scales. "This is the body that Soul created for me. He made it so I could move around as a human and a dragon. I'm guessing that he added these scales for cosmetic purposes, although they can be useful in certain situations, I presume." Orochi explained, ripping off one of the scales from his arm, wincing as the pain set in.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Oki asked in shock, looking at the blood running down from his arm. "Try using this as a catalyst. Dragon scales are durable and conduct magic well while also protecting against attacking magic. It should make a decent catalyst until you find the right gemstone." Orochi explained, tossing the bloodied scale to Amana. Amana cleaned the blood off of the scale using the sleeve of her clothes before replacing the metal ball with the scale.

The scale lit up a visible dark crimson, although it wasn't blinding. "Wow. That's a nice colour. You think it works?" Oki asked, curious about the effects of the red lightning now that it was empowered by the dragon's scale. Lightning from the sky struck the dragon's scale, electricity crackling around the now-rotating catalyst. "It's much stronger now. I have to say, I'm impressed by how strong your scales are, Orochi." Amana noted, complimenting Orochi. "It's natural. That's the strength of a dragon's scales. After all, if I was a dragon, I should keep my scales at a reasonable strength level correlating with my original form." Orochi pointed out before looking towards the unconscious Soul.

"You know. Soul is much more humble than I had expected. I didn't think he'd be a decent person, or at least could be." Orochi commented. "Apparently, he wasn't always like that. Crystet, a friend of Aaron's, and Soul have bad blood with each other. They came from another planet. Soul, using the abilities that Aaron Stone had, and recklessly destroyed that planet. Crystet hates Soul for that, which is pretty reasonable." Oki explained, only basing what he said on what Soul had told them.

"Well. I'm not going to get between the pair when shit hits the fan, so to speak." Orochi responded.

"Nobody will. That's a fact."