Hero
Draco walked out of the royal family's treasury to find that his soldiers were idly standing around the armored bus.
When the soldiers saw Draco walk up they stood at attention and tried to look busy, but they raised their guns in alarm when they saw the strange automaton behind him.
Some of them yelled at Draco to get back, but Draco just laughed and waved them down.
"Easy, easy! Boys, this thing is with me." Draco said.
They didn't know what he was saying at first, but when Draco said "ally" in Arabic they seemingly understood.
However, when Draco turned around he saw that Harry was holding an arm up at his soldiers, and a massive barrel glowing with a green light had replaced his arm.
"Woah! You stand down too! Those are my soldiers." Draco exclaimed, pushing Harry's arm down.
He didn't know what this automaton was capable of, but he did know his men wouldn't have survived it.
Draco's radio also began to sound off at this moment.
"Draco, come in. I repeat, come in." said Prince Rayad.
"I'm here, is everything alright?" Draco replied over the radio.
The prince laughed, "More than alright! We have breached the city's walls and my forces have taken over the major roadways. We are on the way to the palace now."
He continued, "We saw that massive monster above the palace, I take it that was your doing?" he asked.
"Indeed. That was an old friend of mine, I called in a favor." Draco said, stretching the truth a bit.
The prince was silent for a long few moments before continuing, "We have some things to talk about."
"Sounds good, I'll be here." replied Draco.
Draco suddenly realized something, and he turned towards Harry who was standing impassively behind him.
"Harry, do you have a way to hide yourself?" Draco asked.
Since Prince Rayad was coming, Draco didn't know if he would recognize Harry. After all, the prince was a member of the Libya royal family.
There was no way for Draco to know if the prince had previously seen the treasury, or if he was aware of Harry's existence.
If Prince Rayad was aware that Draco had stolen nearly the entire royal treasury, their relationship would become strained to say the least.
Luckily, Harry replied in the affirmative.
"Yes, my lord. I can transform into a number of different objects. Which would you prefer?"
Draco waved his hand, "It doesn't matter, just do something I can wear or keep with me."
Harry nodded, "Very well, my lord."
After saying this, Harry's body became surrounded by a bright green energy. This energy began to rapidly expand, and then it vanished.
After the energy disappeared all that remained was a small green bracelet, and it was floating in the air where Harry was previously standing.
This bracelet had a glowing white gem embedded in its center, and Draco looked at it in amazement.
'This automaton is incredible, I wonder who created such a thing.' he thought to himself, walking up to grab this bracelet.
He slid the bracelet onto his wrist, and was surprised to hear Harry's voice inside of his head.
'My lord, there is a large contingent of military vehicles approaching our position.' Harry said to Draco.
Draco widened his eyes in surprise when heard this, but he was already used to such a thing from Formica's mental messages.
He adapted to the feeling quickly, and it was far less overbearing than when the massive progenitor did it.
'Don't worry about those, they belong to Prince Rayad.' Draco replied.
He then looked towards the pile of gold and random assortment of weapons piled up next to the bus.
'Do you have any more room to pick up these items?' asked Draco.
'Affirmative.' replied the automaton.
A green light then began to expand from the bracelet on Draco's wrist, and it surrounded all of the treasures surrounding the bus.
The green light abruptly disappeared, and all of the treasures had vanished with it.
The men around the bus watched this happen in awe, and they looked at Draco like he was some type of god.
Draco ignored their stares and told everyone to get back into the bus and get ready to leave. He was planning on heading back to Benghazi as soon as possible.
He now had well over a hundred blood coins. The sooner he got them to Bashar, the sooner he could begin his operations.
Draco waited in the ruins of the palace for another minute or so before the prince's convoy came into view.
The city around them was in ruins, and the citizens all around the convoy had retreated out of their homes to gather around the street.
The wounded and dead were being carried out of their homes as mothers cried over the crushed bodies of their children.
Draco turned his head away, putting the gruesome sight out of his mind.
Prince Rayad's vehicle was now pulling up towards the demolished palace courtyard.
He got out of his armored vehicle flanked by several powered guards, and then walked up to Draco.
The prince had a grim look on his face, but he didn't seem angry.
"Draco, I didn't expect your plan to be so… cataclysmic." he said.
Draco shook his head, "I'm sure you know that the creature you saw was an ancient progenitor. We are friends of a sort, but it's not like I can tell him where to walk."
Prince Rayad sighed, "No, I understand. I have no right to complain, I am the one who asked for this."
He looked over towards the ruined city around them, "I shall bear responsibility for this tragedy."
Draco nodded, "That progenitor's name is Formica, he went into slumber a short distance from the city's walls."
"I have heard some reports. Do we need to be concerned about him going on another rampage?" asked the prince.
Draco shrugged, "Nah. Just don't spill any blood where he is sleeping. You can tell where he's at from those long bones sticking out of the sand." he said.
He didn't really know if Formica would wake up and start binge eating again, but he didn't want to worry the prince for no reason.
"Well I thank you for your services. I would not be standing here if it wasn't for you. My coffers are open to you, what would you like in exchange for your help?" the prince asked.
Draco shook his head and smiled, "I have already received my reward."
After all, Draco had raided the palace treasury and taken enough riches to fund a small nation. He had already helped himself to the prince's coffers.
Prince Rayad smiled back at Draco, "If you ever need anything, you will have the full backing of the Libyan royal family. Regardless of the lives lost today, you are a hero."
Draco shook the prince's hand, and the prince handed Draco a small golden coin. Embedded on the coin was a small C with a star next to it.
"This is my family's royal seal. I will soon be crowned king of Libya, so this seal will open any doors for you within these lands." explained Prince Rayad.
Draco took the coin and thanked the prince.
"I will be leaving now. I have matters to attend to back in Benghazi." he said.
Prince Rayad nodded, "I shall see you later then. I must stay here to oversee the rebuilding of Tripoli. Safe travels, Draco."
After Draco heard this he took his leave, climbing back into his armored bus.
He told Addo to take the bus out of the city, and the vehicle traveled past Prince Rayad's forces and down the city's main streets.
When the prince's soldiers saw their bus driving past they saluted towards them and bowed their heads out of respect.
They had all seen the massive monster that had appeared above the city earlier, and they knew Draco had something to do with it.
Soon the armored bus had left the city walls, and they drove towards the highway in the distance.
When Draco once again saw the massive crater that was still in the ground, he knew that Prince Rayad would be busy repairing the city's infrastructure for the next long while.
Addo drove the bus past the crater, bringing them towards the edge of the highway which was littered with destroyed vehicles and corpses.
Draco spotted teams of soldiers gathering the bodies of the fallen and placing them in rows next to the side of the road.
'War is hell.' Draco thought to himself, sitting back as he prepared for the long drive back to Benghazi.