"You want me to what?"
Razel cleared his throat before replying.
"I need you to cease and forbid any and all activity against Nicol Bolas, now and in the future."
Twelve blinked in confusion as it shifted forms.
"You. You. You want me to enact actions which will directly benefit the highlander of the elder dragons."
"Yes."
Twelve looked around the calm villa, vines growing peacefully atop their trellises in the gentle breeze that rolled over the hills.
"What the fuck?"
Razel grimaced.
"It isn't pleasant to ask, nor was it enjoyable to elicit a compromise in his presence."
Twelve was taken aback.
"He let you live?"
"I'm here, aren't I?"
Confusion soaked its features as they shifted to another of its forms.
"I've read your file."
"I'm getting tired of hearing that."
"I can think of several things he has killed others for that were far less than what you've done."
"I'm lovable?"
"What could he offer you, an admiral of...of...oh."
"I didn't ask what he had in store, but he always has something. I leveraged what I had in service to my patron."
Twelve narrowed its eyes.
"This is incredibly selfish."
"Is it? Doing it for someone aside from myself?"
"To ensure their patronage."
"So it is?"
"Yes."
"Fair enough."
Twelve shook its head as it sighed irritably. Razel tried to lighten the mood as he reached for a breadstick.
"Hey, think of all the manpower you'll save!"
Twelve snapped back in irritation.
"Manpower that is well earned. We both know this abomination is one of the biggest threats to our multiverse aside from the Phyrexians."
"A multiverse I do not value as highly as my Patron."
Twelve sat up straight and took a grave tone.
"That sort of attitude might make you liable for the dragon's actions should they prove disastrous."
"As if he would be anything but."
"Do you understand what I am saying?"
"Think of it this way - it's a two-way street. He'll ignore you as well!"
Twelve glared as still as granite as Razel smiled a hollow smile past an olive.
"Why would I agree to this?"
Razel swallowed.
"You said you were in my debt."
It glared back at him as he continued.
"Your words, not mine. Either way, I figure it this way - I took out several of your competitors, so at the very least, three individuals being expunged from your operations is no biggie."
"You presume a great deal about the nature of our relationship, Kyao Xaing."
Razel smiled a sinister smile and leaned forward, resting his head in his hands sweetly.
"Let me put it this way. He is expunged, or I am to assist him in expunging your institution."
"You're not capable."
"Alone, no. Working with the last of the elders? Much better odds."
Twelve shifted uncomfortably, but tried its best to stay furiously calm.
"You wouldn't be able to stomach it."
"Anything for my Patron."
The silence that followed persisted through a long draw from both of their cups, the stare they shared unbroken until Twelve set down its chalice and sighed in resignation.
"One of the most dangerous things in existence is an individual who is willing to sacrifice themselves for another."
"I never said-"
"Make no mistake, Razel - this will not end the way you are hoping. Still, your arguments are...compelling, if also disappointing. I had thought better of you."
"So...yes?"
Twelve replied as deadpan as it could.
"Your friend will be safe from our designs. You may tell him as much yourself."
The archon disappeared in a shift of the light, swept away between spaces.
