"It's mine, just as much as Felix's place is Felix's, and I think I might have killed people there, and I am pissed off at them for making me do this but this is mostly the way my dragon psychology is dealing with the fact that I am horrified in myself. Gods, I am going to be so traumatized when I turn human again," she sighs.

Pat pat. "How long can you put that off? Or that isn't how it works?"

"That isn't how it works, I'm fine as long as I'm a dragon and not near anything flammable that we don't want to set fire to. But I really don't wanna stay a dragon for long so I'd like to rescue my other boyfriend and fly the fuck away."

Vera nods. She turns back to Sisu.

"Okay, you mentioned a Master?"

"Masster Jamesson," Sisu confirms.

"Who's master Jameson, what are all these places, why is he kidnapping us, where is my boyfriend and the person he's a clone of?"

"Boyfriend?" Sisu inquires.

"Sisu, just answer the questions to the best of your ability."

"Okay... Masster Jamessson iss in charge of usss. He tellss uss to explore placess for him."

"What are those places? Why did he kidnap them?"

"They are pocket dimensionss... Masster kidnapss people to make dreamshapersss and ssend usss to the pocket dimenssionss."

"What are dreamshapers, how are they made, what's their relationship with pocket dimensions?"

"Masster makess dreamsshaperss."

"Okay, but how? Also the other questions."

"I don't know. Dreamsshaperss make dimenssionss, they dream them and make them grow," Sisu pauses, clearly remembering something, "once masster joked about them being made out of ssomesone's sssoul."

".........okay that explains so much. Pocket dimensions are artificial? They belong to people?"

Frenetic nods.

Vera pauses for a moment. "Do they often make people?"

"Ssometimess..."

"Where are they?"

Sisu flinches and doesn't answer.

"Am I gonna have to threaten to bite your head off every time to get you to answer her questions, 'cause this is getting real old."

"Mosst are kept... sssome are kept," Sisu looks down. "They kill mosst. Cooperative oness are ussed."

"For what?" Vera says with a fair bit trepidation.

"To do sstuff. Usse magic if they have good magic."

"Jesus."

Dayo growls, a low, rumbling, menacing sound that emerges from the depths of her chest. "Magic person slavery. Yay. Are you guys magic slaves too?"

Sisu gives her a confused look, like he never actually considered the question.

"Do... do they pay you? Would they be able to get away with killing you?"

"Yess. But that iss... how reptoids are. We sserve the ssstrong."

"Is that so. Then you serve me now."

Sisu is very still for a moment then practically throws himself before Dayo.

"Great. Now you'll help us figure all of this out. And then I won't eat you."

"Yesss, masster."

"Today it's mistress."

"Yess, misstresss!" Sisu hastily corrects.

"How about your friend? Are they going to be this cooperative once they wake up?"

Sisu nods.

"Fantastic," she drawls. "What now?"

"It's probably not a good idea to search for more people. At least not until we have a better place to keep Sisu and friend. Which, name of your friend?"

"He isss Ssalo."

"Okay, find somewhere we can hold Sisu and Salo. And grill him for more details. Do you know where they are keeping all these people? The magical slaves and dreamshapers?"

"I know where. But I don't know many."

"Estimation? More than fifty? More than a hundred?"

Sisu starts counting on his fingers and gives up. "Lotss."

"More than you can count in your fingers."

Nods. "Dreamsshaperss are thirty before you came. But the otherss are lotss."

"Hey how about we go save all of them and burn whoever stands in our path?" she growls, her scales bristling.

Sisu throws himself to the ground. "Yess, misstress."

"Okay. I guess we can put you and Salo on Dayo's back and if anyone tries anything everyone will fall out of the sky."

"Yess."

Sisu hastily gets up to do that.

And once people are on her back she can take flight again.

They go back to Jessica. Felix is already there with a dozen more people. Some injured and being tended to.

And the dragon lands.