"I've eaten the book and stolen its abilities! Hahaha! Look at me! I'm the thief now!"

"Y-You fiend! I was the one who stole it first! Honour among thieves!"

"Pfft, I'm a shadow. I don't care!"

"And I'm the Creator of All Things Dark! Both of you shall kneel before me!"

"Who the hell are you?! Where did you come from?!"

"Woah, that's a cool suit."

"Oh, thanks. My mom gave it to me at my birth."

"That doesn't make sense! Why would she buy a suit for a baby?!"

"Your mother has good tastes."

Hey there, it's me, Shadow Madeleine #333, also known as Threebie, currently in a threeway staredown. Mmm… triangles. Now, all we need is an eye in the centre of the three of us, and we could do freaky magic shit, just like how I got sentience. So who are the participants of this threeway schmeelay? 

Well, first you've got me, the Book Eater. I ate the book and got Anarchy in the process. It's how I got a voice, by the way. Shadow Clones can't actually talk, which brings the question of how the Shadow Clones with sentience communicate with their lovers. I know how I would. I'd talk to them. The problem is that I don't have a lover. Anyways, I can ignore rules now, which is neat. I've reached a problem; I am too stupid to properly use it.

The second is the Book Thief. You know, the one who originally stole the book. She's currently on her knees with red eyes, constantly shooting angry glares at me and confused looks at the third party. If I had to guess, she's the most sensible one out of us three. Oh, she's also a demon since she has your typical demonic horns, tail, and unnaturally sexy body curves.

The third person is the… uh… something related to Book, I dunno. Let's call her the Book… Book… Book Licker? Good enough. They look like an average human, but there's just something about her that compels me to be subservient to her, and it's not even the fact that I'm technically a subservient clone of a subservient person who has a subservient job that she learnt from a subservient school. She seems to be cloaked in darkness from the neck down, so much so that some of the darkness is literally leaking out of her, dripping into her shadow. Very ominous, especially since I'm a shadow. Fortunate Anarchy is letting me resist, but I'm not fully protected since I don't fully understand the rule behind this forced subservience. She's also in a really snazzy suit.

"My mom also had an eye for tuxedoes, especially girls in tuxedoes, and I had to oblige. Fortunately, I really like suits as well."

"Personally, I prefer maid dresses. How about you, Book Thief?"

"Uhh… I really like jackets. They're warm, and I have an affinity for lo- why are we discussing fashion?!"

"It's good to get along and do girl talk. At least that's what one of my sisters said."

"My source is a very go-with-the-flow person, and I guess I am too. I could ignore that trait, but it seems fun."

"This is troublesome." The demon got up from her knees. "I planned that heist for weeks, and it gets ruined by some random shadow in the shape of a maid. I need to drown myself in alcohol or hire a hooker or some shit."

"I'd go for the alcohol. Hookers are cool and all, but I'm committed."

"I'd go for the hooker. Maybe we'd fall in love. I really need a lover."

"What does a shadow even need a lover for?"

"All the other shadows have lovers. I want one too."

"Oh god, there's more." 

We stood there in silence, not having anything more to converse about until the lady dripping with darkness spoke up. "Well, I only came here to check on my book. Sucks that it was eaten."

"If all you wanted to do was check on the book, you could've done it from a distance."

"I approached the two of you because I thought some enemies-to-lovers action was going to happen." The well-dressed lady let out a sigh of disappointment. "Well, whatever. I'm going back to Earth. If you two ever get together, invite me to the wedding." And she sunk into the ground, becoming a puddle of dark liquid. The demon and I stared at the puddle until it fully disappeared, and then we turned to each other, making eye contact.

Huh. That explains how she could walk into the royal vault and walk out unharmed. This gives me an idea. "You wanna fuck on the king's bed? I reckon we can get away with that."

She contemplated for a minute before looking back at me. "Yeah, sure." And to the castle, we went.

"Hey sister, what's with the blindfold? Where are you taking me?"

"Don't worry, your big sis will do nothing suspicious. Myka and I are just making sure the date is a surprise for both you and Maddy."

"Yippee! I love surprises! I also love being blindfolded!"

"Kinky Maddy."

"Kinky indeed."

"I did not want to know what you were into, Madeleine. Someone change the subject."

"Who did you put in charge of preparing the meal, Myka?"

"Cookie."

"Wait… the weird shadow clone that ate that weird cookie?"

"Yes, the weird shadow clone that ate that weird cookie. Is it a concern?"

"The table will be covered in nothing but cookies, isn't it?"

"Most definitely."

"Woo! Cookies!"

"You let Cookie cook? Seriously?! I'm sick of cookies, and I'm also sick of soup while I'm at it."

"Haa… whatever, it was probably going to devolve into chaos since Madeleine is involved."

"That is true. I remember when my plan to destroy reality was thwarted by Madeleine being too chaotic."

"Haha… wait, what?"

"Well, that and the fact that there was this eldritch wannabe in a pinstripe suit and a pet hamster. His tentacles… hehe… tentacles."

"Let me repeat it… wait, what?"

Character profile: Rebel Debbie Ryan

Sacred power: Defiant

Favourite law to break: Jaywalking (Fun fact: You can get executed for jaywalking in the city called 'The Dome'.)

Description: The defiant book thief who does what she wants and gets away with it. Rebel was born a demon in the country of Virutoso, a land that executes demons as it is illegal to be a demon there. Rebel grew up on the streets, scavenging whatever she could. One day she attempted theft, but there just happened to be a guard right in front of Rebel, who saw what she did. The guard did nothing, which confused Rebel. She continued to steal, eventually escalating her crimes. She stole openly from shops catered to just nobles. She walked right through the noble's district, entering all their homes. She even openly seduced the duke's daughter, causing her to be ostracized, yet somehow Rebel was unpunished. Eventually, Rebel decided to walk into the king's throneroom and stabbed him while he was seated. Virutoso fell to ruins, leaving Rebel to wander the world.

Chapter namesake: The Defiant by Greydon Square