Chapter Text
Sylus barely got any sleep, his mind racing with all the ways he planned to torture the people who dared to capture and try to sell his husband and child. He was also writing in his head a scathing email to Thomas about not saying a word that Rafayel had gotten kidnapped, but that was for another time. Rafayel was asleep, his head on Emcee’s chest. Sylus managed to worm his way out of bed without waking him or Emcee up. Zayne was dead asleep from getting off a twenty-eight hour shift.
“Where are you goin’?” Sylus turned to look at Caleb. The Colonel was a light sleeper, and he was watching Sylus. “You do know Raf will most likely throw a fit when he wakes up and you aren’t here.” He glanced at the sleep sea god. “You’re planning on goin’ after them, right?”
“Of course I am!” Sylus hissed angrily. “I’m not going to let this happen again.” He put on his silk robe, grabbing a tablet with files on it. “I’ve sent Mephisto and the twins out.” Luke and Kieran had been very adamant about not wanting to leave Scooter alone, but Sylus managed to get them to find leads with the promise that Scooter wouldn’t be alone. Speaking of Scooter, the little Lemurian was glued to Rafayel’s side. Sylus wasn’t surprised. What happened to her was traumatizing.
It never should have happened! Sylus felt his aethercore flare up, his eye glowing brightly. “I’ll make them suffer,” he growled, leaving the bedroom. He didn’t need to wake the others up just because he was furious. Especially Zayne. Their surgeon needed his rest. He settled in his study, going through every bit of information he had on every enemy he had and how anyone could find out about Rafayel and Scooter being Lemurian.
“Need any help?” a soft voice asked. Xavier rubbed his eyes and reached for one of the files. “What do you want me to look for?”
“Anything related to Lemuria and trafficking,” Sylus replied, his eyes softening. “Anything you think can help us track down who did this. I assume you’ll come with me to dispose of them?” Xavier’s blue eyes hardened and he nodded. Sylus grinned a feral grin. “Good. The offer extends to you, puppy.”
“When are you going to stop calling me that?” Caleb frowned, leaning against the door frame. He stepped into the room and put down his own tablet. “I have all the information the Fleet had on the auction. You didn’t hear this from me, but EVER knew and planned to buy them.” He knew better than anyone the horrors EVER is capable of. “The Fleet was supposed to make the buy to keep eyes off EVER.”
Sylus grit his teeth, snatching the files Caleb provided. “If I didn’t need more information on EVER, I’d destroy the Fleet myself,” he snarled, red energy flaring. Caleb and Xavier shared a concerned look. “Keep looking for anything suspicious.”
There were too many variables. Too many organizations wanted Lemurians whether it be for exotic pets, experiments, or worse. Sylus shuddered, remembering the way Rafayel had broken after he sunk an entire island after he discovered they’d been using Lemurians as food. He’d helped Rafayel through the depression and guilt he felt for failing those poor Lemurians. EVER’s experiments were cruel and always ended in death and mutilation.
Sylus had many enemies that dabbled in trafficking. Trafficking was illegal in the N109 zone, and he’d never allow it. There were some things he’d never do, no matter how many people called him a monster or a fiend. He’d rather deal in weapons, protocores, and even drugs. However, Rafayel had killed most of them that had any interest in Lemuria. He smiled softly remembering how he heard of Raymond’s death. How was cruel enough to display a full Lemurian skeleton?
“Have you heard of the Hyenas?” Xavier spoke up and Sylus’ head jerked up.
“Those bastards have been a pain in my side for months,” Sylus growled. “They’ve been testing me, but haven’t encroached into the zone yet so I haven’t dealt with them yet. Why?” he narrowed his eyes. Had this happened because of his own oversight?
“According to this, Luke had mentioned hearing from a spy in the Hyenas that they were working on some deal with a third party about getting high profile targets,” Xavier read, glancing at Sylus and Caleb. “It was a lot of money, and the jobs were supposed to be discreet.”
Sylus scowled and Mephisto flew into the window, cawing loudly to be let in. Red mist opened the window and shut it after the crow entered the room. “What did you find?” he raised an eyebrow. Mephisto dropped another file from Luke and Kieran, who had probably returned to Scooter. “Hm.” He read the file and smiled darkly. “I think it’s time I visit the Hyenas. Get ready. We leave in ten minutes.” He dropped the file on the table.
Xavier and Caleb looked at it, seeing the Hyenas logo.
CLIENT: EVER, TARGET: RAFAYEL QI
“They why was Scooter caught?” Caleb murmured to himself. Xavier shrugged, flashing away. The trio met up outside of the base. Sylus looked ready to murder someone. Caleb donned his Colonel’s uniform, and Xavier was reluctantly wearing his Lumiere outfit. Sylus used his evol to transport them to one of the No Hunt Zones where the Hyenas held up their base.
“Be careful,” Sylus drawled, chuckling. “They have nasty robotic dogs on patrol.” As if on cue, a metal canine lunged at Sylus only to be crushed by his evol. “Tch, pathetic.” He walked into the woods, toward the hidden base in the abandoned lumber yard. Xavier rushed through the woods, taking out every canine he came across.
“So, what’s the plan?” Caleb asked, walking in pace with Sylus. “Just brute force it?”
Sylus scoffed, tearing apart a robotic hound. “We’ll take care of the thugs, then take care of the boss personally. I want to make him suffer, so I’ll need your Colonel persona instead of…you.” Purple eyes hardened and Sylus smirked. “I’m sure you can handle it.”
Breaking through the front door, Xavier took out the thugs, his sword and usually pristine white and gray uniform stained red with blood. Sylus stormed the base, letting Xavier and Caleb take down everyone but the boss. Sylus calmly walked through the carnage, stepping into the office. He leaned his head to the side, dodging a bullet. “You missed,” he smiled.
The Hyenas boss, Vasily, aimed his gun at Sylus, glaring at him. “You have the audacity to storm my base and my people? We’ve done nothing to piss off Onychinus!” His hand shook slightly as Sylus walked into the office, calm and collected with a glint of murderous rage.
Sylus chuckled, stepping closer. “You made a deal with EVER, and you hurt my child. Tell me why.” He smiled, taking a seat at Vasily’s desk. “I’m dying to know.” He picked up a paperweight. “Please sit. I just want to talk.”
Vasily swallowed thickly, taking a seat. Despite being a mob boss himself, Sylus was in a league of his own. He had this way of making everyone in the room feel small compared to him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he stammered.
“Try again,” Sylus growled, glaring at him with a glowing eye.
“I don’t—” Vasily screamed as a curved dagger was stabbed through his hand, pinning it to the desk.
“Recognize it?” Sylus hummed. “It belongs to my husband, my precious pearl. You took him and tried to have him sold off.” He twisted the dagger making Vasily scream louder. “I suggest you start telling me what I want to know.”
“Fuck! Fuck! Okay!” Vasily shouted, crying out as the dagger was ripped from his hand. “EVER approached us and offered a lot of money for the artist Rafayel Qi. They promised to help us take over the N109 zone, too.” Sylus raised an eyebrow, amusement in his eyes. “We took the artist from his exhibition, but there was a problem.”
“Scooter,” Sylus chuckled. “She’s many things, and a problem isn’t one of them.”
Vasily swallowed thickly. “That brat saw us and tried to fighting us. Rafayel seemed protective of her and we didn’t want to garner too much attention so we took them both.” He trembled. “When we found out she was a Lemurian too we took her to the auction house. That’s all, I swear!”
Sylus tilted his head. “Hm,” he tapped his temple. “What should I do to you?” He stood up, stepping toward him. “You plotted to take over my territory, kidnapped my husband and child, and that’s all? You’re more foolish than I thought.”
Vasily scrambled back and pressed against the wall. His heart raced and he grabbed his gun, shooting off every round left. Sylus kept walking towards him, his shirt tattered but his skin unblemished. A red crystal was embedded in his chest, his pupils nothing but slits. Black leathery wings burst from his back, sharp horns grew from his head.
“You’re a monster!” Vasily screamed in terror.
“No,” Sylus growled, a tail lashing out and stabbing into Vasily’s thigh. “I’m a fiend,” he smirked, lunging forward. His claws ripped through Vasily’s torso, dragging up. Blood splattered everywhere. Sylus laughed, eye glowing. “This is what happens to those who harm what belongs to me.” His tail ripped free from Vasily’s leg. The dragon roared and bite down on Vasily’s throat. The Dragon was free, and he wasn't finished.
Caleb and Xavier burst into the office, eyes wide. Blood was everywhere. Vasily was in pieces, and Sylus calmly sat in Vasily’s chair, covered in blood and gore. His draconic features hadn’t disappeared. He played with Rafayel’s dagger as if he wasn’t surrounded by the evidence of what he’d done to Vasily. He looked up at Xavier and Caleb.
“Had your fun? I’m ready to go,” he hummed, standing up. Sylus didn’t bother to give his work a second glance. He calmly left the room behind him. “Want to do the honors?” he handed Caleb a detonator. “Once we’re out, blow it.” He walked through the bodies without a care in the world. His inner dragon purred, happy to have defended his clan.
Caleb blew up the base, yelping in surprise as he was grabbed and pulled into the air. Sylus had grabbed both him and Xavier and flew back to the house instead of using his evol. Caleb could swear he heard Sylus purring over the wind. Back at the base, all three of them took a shower. Despite how big Sylus' bathroom was, three men in one shower was a tight fit. However, Sylus refused to let go of either of them.
Xavier hadn’t seen Sylus act like this in years. He very rarely let the dragon out. He simply let Sylus do what he pleased, relaxing and letting the pampering feel good. Once they were all clean, Sylus wrapped him in a fluffy towel and warm pajamas. He did the same with Caleb, growling softly as he touched Caleb’s metal arm. He hated EVER for what they did to him.
Sylus dragged both of them back to bed, slipping into the large bed and trying to wrap his wings around everyone. He huffed when he couldn’t but he still tried. Caleb tiredly laughed and Xavier pressed close to Sylus’ warmth.
The Dragon purred, happy to be back with his family. His hoard was safe. That’s all that mattered. EVER would soon get the camera footage of the Hyena’s base and see what would happen should they try to take his family from him again.
No one had the right to take what was his.