Chapter 63

Bubbles rushed past Sophia's face as Tharros cut through the dark water like a missile. The components they'd stolen from the Institute were wrapped tightly in her arms, precious cargo that could save two worlds.

"We need to surface," Sophia said through their mental link. "We can't take these parts to Aquaria yet."

Tharros's massive dragon form slowed. The military searches everywhere. Where can we go?

"I know a place," Sophia replied. "Head north along the coast. There's a hidden cove."

The dragon changed direction, swimming deeper to avoid detection. Above, they could see the shadows of boats crossing the water's surface, searchlights stabbing down into the depths.

When they reached the cove, Sophia was surprised to see a small submarine waiting. As they approached, a hatch opened, revealing Dr. Chen's smiling face.

"How?" Sophia gasped as they surfaced.

"I have my ways," Chen winked. "Hurry! Get inside before they spot you."

Tharros growled, his enormous form too large for the submarine.

"You'll need to transform," Sophia said gently, touching his scales.

The dragon king huffed, sending steam rising from the water's surface. With obvious reluctance, his body began to glow and shrink. Soon, a man stood in the water beside her, golden eyes flashing with annoyance.

"I hate being confined," he muttered as Chen helped them aboard.

The submarine's hatch sealed with a hiss. Chen worked quickly at the controls, and the vessel submerged.

"I thought you stayed behind," Sophia said, shivering in her wet clothes.

Chen handed them towels. "I did, for about five minutes. Just long enough to delete the security footage and leave a false trail. They think you're heading south."

"Where are we going?" Tharros demanded, looking uncomfortable in the tight space.

"Somewhere they'll never look," Chen replied, guiding the submarine into an underwater tunnel. "The Institute's secret lab."

The tunnel opened into a massive underwater cave. Lights flicked on automatically as they approached a submerged dock. The submarine surfaced, and Chen secured it to the platform.

"Welcome to Project Poseidon," he said, opening the hatch. "The Institute's most classified facility."

They climbed out to find themselves in an enormous cavern. Advanced laboratory equipment filled the space, with tanks of seawater and strange machines Sophia had never seen before.

"How long has this been here?" she asked in wonder.

"Twenty years," Chen replied. "Director Langley doesn't even know about it. Only a few of us do."

A door opened at the far end of the cavern, and three people in lab coats hurried toward them. Sophia felt her heart leap - she recognized them instantly.

"Maya! Jackson! Dr. Rivera!" she cried.

Her former colleagues stopped short, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Sophia?" Maya whispered. "Is that really you?"

Sophia suddenly remembered how she must look. In the weeks since she'd left with Tharros, her transformation had continued. Her skin now had a faint shimmery quality, and her eyes had changed to an iridescent blue-green.

"It's me," she confirmed, stepping forward.

Maya rushed to embrace her, while Jackson and Dr. Rivera approached more cautiously, their eyes fixed on Tharros.

"So it's true," Dr. Rivera said quietly. "Dragons exist."

Tharros lifted his chin, golden eyes narrowing. "We have existed long before humans crawled from the mud," he said coldly.

Sophia shot him a warning look. "These are friends," she said. "They can help us."

Chen quickly explained the situation - the corruption spreading beneath the ocean, the threat to both worlds, the components they needed to build a device to stop it.

"Show us what you've got," Jackson said, examining the stolen technology.

As her colleagues gathered around the components, Sophia pulled Tharros aside.

"Please try to be patient with them," she whispered. "They're scientists. They're curious."

"They look at me like I'm a specimen," he growled. "I am a king."

"And they know that," Sophia assured him. "But we need their help."

Reluctantly, Tharros nodded. His skin was still rippling with barely contained scales, the effort of maintaining human form clearly taxing him.

"We've been tracking the anomalies under the ocean for months," Maya told them, pulling up charts on a large screen. Dark patches spread across the map of the seafloor. "Whatever this corruption is, it's growing faster than we predicted."

"It feeds on magic," Tharros explained. "The more it consumes, the stronger it becomes."

Dr. Rivera's eyes widened. "Magic? You're speaking of energy we can't detect?"

"Can't detect YET," Jackson corrected, already tinkering with one of the stolen components. "That's why we need this quantum stabilizer. It can translate magical energy into something measurable."

For hours, they worked together. Sophia moved between them, translating Tharros's ancient knowledge of magic into scientific terms her colleagues could understand. For his part, Tharros watched with growing impatience, occasionally offering grudging explanations when asked.

"Your dragon friend doesn't like us much," Maya whispered to Sophia while they calibrated sensors.

"He's worried," Sophia explained. "His kingdom is dying. And he's not used to asking humans for help."

"And what about you?" Maya asked, looking closely at Sophia's changed features. "Are you still... human?"

Sophia paused, the question catching her off guard. "I'm... me," she finally answered. "Just with a few upgrades."

By midnight, exhaustion was setting in. The device was taking shape - a spherical contraption with the quantum stabilizer at its core, surrounded by the energy converter and various other components.

Tharros paced the laboratory, his tension making the air around him shimmer with heat. "We must hurry," he insisted. "The corruption will reach the barrier between our worlds soon."

"Science takes time," Dr. Rivera snapped, his patience wearing thin.

"Time is what we don't have!" Tharros roared, his voice suddenly inhuman. Golden scales erupted across his skin, and his eyes blazed like fire.

Everyone froze. Jackson dropped a tool with a clatter.

"Tharros," Sophia said softly, stepping toward him. "They're doing their best."

The dragon king took a deep breath, the scales slowly receding. "Forgive me," he said stiffly. "My concern is for Aquaria."

"And our concern is for Earth," Chen said firmly. "We're all on the same side here."

An uneasy peace settled as they returned to work. Sophia felt the weight of both worlds on her shoulders - torn between her scientific colleagues and the underwater kingdom that had become her second home.

Near dawn, a breakthrough came. Jackson connected the final circuit, and the device hummed to life. Blue energy pulsed within the sphere, growing brighter with each second.

"It works!" Maya exclaimed. "The quantum stabilizer is converting energy!"

Dr. Rivera checked the readings. "But it's still not powerful enough to seal the corruption. We need a stronger energy source."

"Magic," Tharros said, stepping forward. "It needs dragon fire."

Before anyone could stop him, Tharros placed his hands on the sphere. His skin glowed golden, and energy poured from his palms into the device. The blue light turned purple, then a brilliant white that forced everyone to shield their eyes.

When the light faded, the sphere pulsed with steady rainbow energy. But Tharros staggered backward, his face pale.

"Tharros!" Sophia caught him before he fell. "What did you do?"

"Gave it part of my essence," he said weakly. "A dragon's heartfire."

"Is it enough?" Chen asked Dr. Rivera.

The older scientist checked the readings, his face grave. "Almost. It needs one more thing - a conductor that can bridge both worlds." He looked at Sophia. "Someone who belongs to both."

All eyes turned to her. Sophia felt a chill run down her spine.

"Me?" she whispered.

Tharros struggled to stand. "No. It's too dangerous. There must be another way."

"There isn't," Dr. Rivera said. "The device needs a living connector - someone with both human DNA and magical essence. Someone like Sophia."

"What would I have to do?" Sophia asked, her voice steadier than she felt.

"Place your hands where Tharros did," Dr. Rivera explained. "The device will draw a small amount of your energy to complete the circuit. But..." he hesitated.

"But what?" Tharros demanded.

"But whoever connects the device must also deliver it to the source of the corruption," Maya finished. "They become linked to it."

Silence fell over the laboratory. Sophia looked at the pulsing sphere, then at Tharros, whose golden eyes were wide with fear - not for himself, but for her.

"I'll do it," she said firmly.