Chapter Text
Stelle slowly slipped out of the thankfully dreamless bout of sleep she’d been submerged in. She found herself wholly surrounded by Dan Heng’s larger frame from all angles, the man had practically curled around her in his sleep and she briefly wondered if his subconscious was trying to keep her from being taken away from him like Aelia had.
The thought of their daughter brought a fresh wave of stabbing pain straight into her chest but for better or worse it looked like somehow she had finally and truly ran out of tears to cry.
She tilted her head up just enough to peer up at Dan Heng’s face. His brows were slightly pinched and there was a tension in his expression that was very unlike his usual relaxed sleeping face. She couldn’t blame him, it was clear to her how badly this was affecting him.
A part of Stelle felt like maybe this was hitting him more than it was her in some ways. He had lost so much in his younger years that later in life it got him to the point of intentionally steering away from the mere idea of making any meaningful connections with others for fear of the pain that losing them would bring. He eventually opened up, learned to trust again and found a family, made a family with her and their daughter, with everyone on the express. And now there was a very real risk of losing a very important part of said family.
Stelle knew losing Aelia would devastate her in ways she couldn’t even fathom, but she felt like losing their daughter would kill Dan Heng, if not drive him to do something she knew he would regret.
They had to do something, change their tactic, she refused to go another day with no information about her daughter.
Troubled thoughts filled her mind as she absentmindedly ran her hand through Dan Heng’s long hair, the sensation familiar and comforting. After a while she felt him shift, one glance up confirmed that he was now awake but his eyes were still dulled with exhaustion. She pushed herself up, placing a kiss to his cheek softly and pulling him against her. “You should rest some more.”
Dan Heng closed his eyes, leaning down to press his forehead against Stelle’s “I’m not sure I can.”
“I can tell that you’re still tired.”
“I am…but I’m also restless. Now that I’m awake I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to sleep.”
She could understand that she was facing the same conundrum herself.” Well…maybe we should go see if the others are up, or if they have any news.
The dragon nodded, placing a small kiss to the crown of her head before sitting up and then moving to stand up and out of bed.
The couple went about their usual morning routine, even with the shadow that had settled over their shoulders since Aelia had been taken, and within the hour they were both feeling a small bit better, refreshed enough after a bit of sleep and a shower that had done more to wake Dan Heng up than the sleep itself had.
The two Vidyadharas paused their descent of the stairs when they saw the whole crew gathered in the party car, everyone stopping their conversation when they spotted them coming down. Himeko waved them over. “Good to see you guys are up, come here, we have some news.”
The couple exchanged a hopeful glance before practically jumping down the rest of the stairs, finding themselves incorporated into the half circle the crew was settled in just seconds later.
Stelle looked between them, her gaze stopping on Himeko at the end. “What is it? What did you guys find?”
“Actually—” March took a step forward, looking at both Stelle and Dan Heng with a slightly guilty look. “—It was Bailu. She called me yesterday after growing concerned that she had been unable to contact either of you and she told me some concerning stuff that we all think is definitely related to what happened to Aelia.”
Stelle felt the tiniest spark of hope grow in her chest. “What did she say?”
And so March proceeded to tell the two everything Bailu had told her yesterday about the serial kidnappings of Vidyadhara children, how despite having close to no information about who these people were, they at least had some clues regarding how they operated and how that could present an opportunity for them to hopefully find Aelia.
Dan Heng felt his entire world tilt, the information coming like a punch to his gut, knowing that if these people were targeting the Vidyadhara young then that meant they could very likely have singled Aelia out specifically because she was special.
Not only was she the first hatchling in their recorded history, but she had also inherited draconic traits usually associated with high elders, plus a host of other little things that had come directly from himself and Stell’s unique constitutions that she had inherited.
There was definitely a lot more to this whole operation than what they knew…
Welt stepped in then, likely seeing Dan Heng’s unease as he started to let his mind wander. “After hearing from March how Bailu explained their way of working and how they keep their ships concealed from most radars we turned to a different, slightly unconventional way of searching. The four of us sat down and started contacting other ships within our scanner range and asking if they had seen a ship matching our target.”
Stelle, quickly catching onto Welt’s line of thinking, took a step forwards, her eyes filled with a hope so fragile, yet so strong. “Did anyone see the ship?”
The elder nameless nodded. “We got confirmation from two trading vessels who say they saw a small ship matching the description we gave them. We used that to narrow our search field just a couple hours ago. A little bit before you both came down Sunday was in contact with a ship that pointed us in what is likely our best bet when it comes to what direction to follow our missing ship.”
“So…we have a trail to follow?”
“Not quite a trail but it’s at least the right direction, we’re no longer drifting aimlessly. Himeko had just returned from adjusting our travel course when you two came down.”
Dan Heng stepped up beside Stelle, his hand gently resting on the small of her back just above her tail to ground both her and himself. “Do we know anything else?”
“Not yet, but I was about to contact a nearby trading port set on one of the larger moons of a local gas giant to see if they’ve seen our ship. That small vessel likely can’t maintain space travel for too long which means they will be heading for a place where they can meet up with the rest of their crew or move to a larger ship that can manage interstellar travel. They need a place to land, and that port is just slow enough and inconspicuous enough for people dealing with illegal trade and transport to go about their day without being noticed.”
Stelle felt the small spark of hope in her chest grow dangerously into something more real, more tangible. He was right…Welt was completely, absolutely right.
Dan Heng clenched his free hand, tail giving an agitated flick behind him.
It’s so obvious…how did I not think about that before? Plus not only is their ship too small to sustain prolonged space travel, but I also damaged it upon takeoff. It should’ve been plain to see that their priority would be to switch ships at the very least.
If only I had realized this sooner then we may even have been able to jump ahead of them and intercept them with reinforcements the second they landed…
“Dan Heng.”
He snapped back to the outside world upon hearing Himeko’s voice. Her gaze was trained on him, concern clearly shining in her warm eyes. “I know what you’re thinking…we don’t know what could’ve happened if we had intercepted them first, they might not even have gone to that station at all. This isn’t your or anyone else’s fault alright?”
It shouldn’t surprise him that the navigator was able to read him like an open book at times. He found it somewhat worrying how Stelle, March and Himeko all had that ability. Stelle he could understand more since they were mated but how March and Himeko did it would always remain a mystery to him.
Welt gently tapped his cane on the floor. “Alright, I will go make the call to that trading port and see if they’ve seen anything. I’ll be back as soon as I am done to plan our next course of action accordingly.”
Everyone nodded, the air growing tense with anticipation and hope the second he left the car. The rest of the crew sat around the bar, Dan Heng standing just beside where Stelle had chosen to sit and keeping a hand always on her to try and keep her grounded. As things were she had built this fragile hope from just this last conversation with the crew but he knew that if this lead turned out to be another dead end that the shattering of that hope could very well cause her to shut down again.
They were threading on thin ice fighting for every new step with the knowledge that one wrong move could set them back indefinitely. This lead had to work, it just had to, there was no alternative in his mind.
For what felt like an eternity everyone remained engaged in conversation, even Stelle seemed to be in better spirits— though this only added onto Dan Heng’s worries Should this lead be a dead end —Sunday had been mostly listening and Dan Heng could tell by the faint darkness under his eyes and the way his wings rested lower than they usually did that the man was completely exhausted.
There were signs from the others as well, some subtle, some not so much. Hair slightly out of place, clothes showing creases and wrinkles. Then there was the way everyone was moving around with a barely perceptible sway that he was only able to discern because he’d been living with this family he’d found for as many years as he had.
He knew everyone loved and cared about Aelia…but to see just how much this was affecting them as well, to see so blatantly that he’d been wrong to shut everyone out thinking that he was the only one really working towards getting her back…
He had been oh so wrong. The realization left him dazed enough that he didn’t notice right away when Welt returned after what must’ve been well over twenty minutes that had been nothing but a blur to him.
“Alright, I spoke with the trading port and they confirmed the arrival of a ship matching the description I gave them of the one that fled Belobog. They told me the ship arrived a few hours ago but only docked roughly an hour ago and have yet to announce any preparations to depart which means whatever our plan is going to be we need to define it before we arrive.”
Himeko tampered down her own excitement in favor of starting to figure out their course of action. “At our current speed and course we should be arriving within the hour…but small trading ports like these fill up fast and there is no guarantee that we’ll be able to dock as soon as we arrive.”
To this Welt simply smiled, a confident gleam in his eyes. “I’ve already taken steps to ensure our timely access to the port. The captain of the trading station has assured me that there will be a spot reserved for us the moment we enter their airspace, looks like he sympathizes with our plight and was more than happy to allow us to skip the usual procedures to instead head down to their ground docks without having to stop for revision or clearance.”
Dan Heng started to feel the same fragile hope that had taken over Stelle take root in his own chest, his heart beating at a racing pace as he let the information sink in. He felt Stelle grab his arm and when he looked down at her she was meeting his eyes with the full force of her beautiful citrine eyes so full of hope and determination that he found it hard to fight back these emotions to protect himself in case things went horribly wrong.
The archivist turned to look at Welt. “We can’t dock the express without attracting attention, we’ll spook our targets and they’ll flee before we even have a chance to do anything.”
March stepped in then, hope also brightening her blue and pink eyes. “We can take the detachable car like you guys did in Amphoreus, it’ll be far less conspicuous and easier to mask as a regular passing ship.”
Himeko nodded. “I’ll talk to Pom Pom and we’ll start preparing the car, but we can’t all go. We need to have a smaller party that can blend into the travelers and traders that will be walking around”
Dan Heng stepped up immediately. “I’ll go, and I’m sorry to impose but that decision is not up for debate.”
“So am I.”
Everyone turned to look at Stelle, the woman looked at everyone as they gave her a look that made her feel like they knew something she didn’t. In the end it was Himeko who approached her and took her hands in her own. “I know you want to go but…you’ll be recognized immediately. Dan Heng is able to change back to his human disguise and slip by but…you can’t.”
Stelle’s entire world collapsed for just a second before her determination lit a fire in her eyes so strong that it made even Himeko blink in surprise. “I’m going, I’m not staying cooped up here while my daughter is this close.”
Dan Heng understood only too well how she felt, not only because he understood the depth of her pain and her desire to get her hands on whoever had dared touch their daughter, but because he could physically feel her through their bond. He shook his head. “It’s alright Himeko.” He turned to Stelle, all business. “You will have to follow us at a distance and leave the initial reconnaissance to us, move in the shadows and make sure no one sees you.”
“Of course, I wasn’t planning on going in guns blazing, not when I know how hard these people have been to track and how skittish they likely are.”
Dan Heng nodded, happy that she had agreed to this arrangement. Welt stepped up then. “I will go down with you as well.”
Dan Heng had no objections to that, he was actually really glad the man had decided to come with him in this mission out of his own volition.
“I will go as well.”
He turned to find Sunday, who despite his exhaustion was stepping forwards. Dan Heng simply gave him a nod to express his gratitude, Sunday mirrored his action in silent understanding.
Himeko gave an approving hum. “Okay, our landing party has been settled. You all know how important this is, this might be our best chance at getting Aelia back and stopping these people from continuing their kidnapping of other Vidyadhara kids. We’re all worn and tired so please try to rest until we arrive at the station. I'll page everyone through the express’ speakers once we’re approaching so everyone can get ready to set off.”
The crew dispersed after that, Himeko to find Pom Pom to prepare the detachable car for landing and everyone else to get some much needed rest to recuperate as much as possible before they were to jump straight into the den of wolves waiting for them on that trading post.
Stelle and Dan Heng, unsurprisingly enough, decided against resting since they had both just woken up and they had too much anxious energy coursing through them. Dan Heng paced restlessly, more than once coming close to knocking things around their room over with an unconscious flick of his tail as he passed by.
Stelle dressed herself in a set of tight fitted dark clothes and a cloak to hide her horns and head, she even went as far taking a roll of sparring tape to wrap around large sections of her tail in an attempt to make even her golden scales blend with the shadows she would have to be walking through.
Dan Heng followed a similar logic, picking out a set of dark casual clothes and an old set of well worn shoes to complete the look of your average traveller. He changed into his human guise before changing into the clothes, grabbing a dark jacket and throwing it on as well as a last minute addition. As he changed he kept throwing glances at Stelle as she sat at the floor with her tail on her lap, going through her second roll of sparring tape as she worked on wrapping another section of her tail with a look that was both annoyed and furious.
She was annoyed at the fact that she couldn’t conceal herself like he could— they had tried some years ago but for whatever reason, despite being able to wield cloudhymn pretty well now, she was unable to even make her horns dissolve like he could, much less her tail —he had a feeling that the annoyance was a reflection of that. The anger, on the other hand, he knew for a fact was directed at the people that had taken Aelia.
And on that front, he felt the same cold anger flowing through his veins.
As it was promised the crew was granted access to the port the second the train entered the trading post’s airspace. The car detached from the back of the express and made its way down onto the docking bay on the surface of the small moon as the bright green and orange gas giant it orbited made for a beautiful backdrop on the amber sky.
They landed without incident, handing their access key to the dock attendant who promptly left them alone without asking any questions.
Dan Heng, Welt and Sunday started to walk down the line of docked ships, keeping their ears and eyes sharp as they scanned the area for anything suspicious.
Stelle waited a few minutes before pulling on the hood of her cloak and sneaking out of the ship, immediately melting into the heavy shadows cast by the perpetual twilight that seemed to rule over the moon. She slipped between the gaps in cargo crates and piles of supplies, really turning herself into just another shadow in this cramped dock as she followed her companions at a distance while fighting the will of the furious dragon pacing inside her in anticipation.
Fighting the urge to just say screw the plan and tear this entire port out by its foundations until she found her daughter.
After roughly an hour of walking around Dan Heng realized something. He stopped dead in his tracks, almost making Sunday slam into him from behind.
There…
On the easternmost edge of the port he could sense a concentration of people that he hadn’t paid much mind to until now. There were two distinct clusters moving like ants back and forth, not uncommon for a place where traders are constantly moving cargo to and from their ships— this had been his original reason why nothing had stood out —but unlike the moves of the other groups around them these people were moving in a deliberate order that was absent from the ordinary people milling about, not to mention the fact that this concentration of people was significantly larger that those all around him.
A small trading port like this one shouldn’t have such a single large volume of people moving things about from one single ship. If he were to hazard a guess he would say that there were more people in that cluster than in the rest of this entire side of the port.
That had to be it.
Sunday took a step around Dan Heng, his own cloak obscuring most of his face. “What’s wrong? Do you sense anything?”
The Vidhyadara scanned his surroundings. finally spotting a path between two storehouses to his right. “I know where they are.” And then he was off, walking at a faster pace that left Sunday and Welt scrambling to catch up to him before matching his pace.
The two men didn’t bother to question the dragon further, trusting whatever it was it was that had caught his attention completely. Their trust was rewarded when after a few minutes of speed-walking through the port they reached a less transited area of it, stopping next to a pile of empty storage units to peek around the corner at a decently sized warehouse port that had the missing ship docked at the front.
Dan Heng was about to launch forward when two sets of hands held him back.
He turned a questioning look at Welt who promptly pointed back at the scene before them. Turning back and following Welt’s line of sight he felt his stomach drop when he noticed the significantly larger ship parked behind the building.
It was a massive ship that dwarfed the warehouse sitting beside it. He wouldn’t be surprised if the smaller ship they had been chasing was supposed to dock inside this larger one. In fact, he wouldn’t even be surprised if several of the smaller ships were already docked inside it.
A tap on his shoulder from Sunday had him turning his gaze down to ground level again to the groups of people guarding the sides and entrances of the building as well as the groups that seemed to be moving cargo around.
This was going to be a lot harder than they had initially thought…
Welt pulled back, the other two following so they were fully out of view of the people guarding the dock. “There are too many of them to go in with a frontal attack like we had planned, we’re going to need a new strategy.”
Sunday nodded, taking one more look at their target before turning to look back at his companions. “We could split up. I can go around the front and scout ahead to see if there is any signs of Aelia or any of the other children.”
“I’ll go around the back, see what they’re loading into that massive ship.” Dan Heng left no room for argument so neither man fought him on it.
“In that case I’ll go in from the side, there has to be a side entrance on a building this big.” Sunday and Dan Heng nodded at Welt's statement. The elder nameless sighed. “Let’s get moving, both of you please be careful and fall back if things get out of hand.” He turned to the Vidhyadara. “Stelle?”
“She’s close by, likely waiting to see our moves. I’ll meet up with her quickly before heading to the back area.”
“Alright…be careful.”
With nothing else to say the group dispersed. Dan Heng took a small detour that landed him in an alley between two supply sheds, seconds later Stelle dropped down with him, blending perfectly into the shadows.
“What happened? Why did you guys split up?”
“That giant ship towards the back of that building also belongs to the people we’ve been chasing, they have a lot more manpower than we expected so we’re splitting up to cover more ground. I’ll scout the back, stick close to me but please be careful, there are a lot more eyes that can see you and a lot less cover.”
Stelle nodded. “I’ll stay close. Be careful.”
He leaned closer to her, placing a kiss to her forehead. “You too, please.”
I don't know what I’ll do if I lose you too…
Stelle stepped back into the shadows, disappearing. With a steadying breath Dan Heng made his way out of the alley and back towards the back of the building where the massive ship was docked.
He reached a stack of metal crates and spotted two guards at the edge of the building. They were the only two people standing between him and a perfect position to watch over whatever was going on just a short distance away now.
He leapt on top of the stacked crates and then up towards the two guards, summoning his spear midair and slamming the flat of the blade against one of the guards’ head, knocking him to the ground instantly. The other guard turned around at the commotion but Dan Heng was already wrapping his arm around his neck, cutting off all the airflow to keep him from screaming or making any noise at all. The man gripped his arm, trying to pry him off but Dan Heng’s grip was ironclad as he slowly sank to the ground with the man tightly in his grasp.
After a while the man finally stopped struggling, slumping like a dead weight.
With a relieved sigh he let go, moving to stand before putting away his spear and leaning out the corner of the building to get a better view of the docking bay.
Several people were walking about, mostly in groups, he was too far to be able to catch onto any conversations and the idling engine of the massive spaceship was making things harder for him in that regard. Large crews moving massive crates up into the cargo ramp of the ship and dollies being wheeled around with stacks of smaller boxes all labeled with a fragile tag.
The more he kept watch over everything the more questions continued to pop in his head.
He really hoped Sunday and Welt were having better luck finding anything related to Aelia or the other missing kids because so far he had seen nothing outside of possibly suspicious substance contraband judging by the sort of cargo he continued to see being wheeled aboard the large ship.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance after he continued his watch with no change so he carefully maneuvered around the wall of the building and into another cover closer to the ongoing activity, in here there was a lot more cover and better view of everything that was happening than if he had kept watch by just peeking around a corner so he moved around a bit more from cover to cover until he managed to find a spot that would keep him hidden from view amongst a pile of old wooden crates that had likely been here longer than half the ships in the port. He had cover from all angles and several cracks through which he could see everything happening around him. At this distance he was also close enough to hear passing conversations.
For several minutes he heard nothing of consequence— complaints about work hours, some love dispute with a partner, the one guy who got food poisoning from a restaurant in the neighboring system —nothing important.
Then he finally heard something that immediately made him zero-in on the two people that had stopped just on the other side of his hiding spot, conversing as casually as if they were talking about the weather.
“Yeah I heard about Green and Red’s fuckup in Penacony, those idiots.”
“At least it wasn’t a total loss, Rose managed to track the girl down again before the nameless left Penacony and contacted Coral who happened to be close to where the train was heading.”
“She worked fast. Anyway, how the hell did she manage to pry the girl away from her parents? I heard that after the Penacony fiasco the whole crew wouldn’t even let her out of their sight.”
The sound of rustling clothes, likely a shrug. “Don’t ask me. All I heard was something to do with taking advantage of the fact that there was a large gathering of people for some event or something and they used it to their advantage. You’re gonna have to ask Cyan if you want all the details, he knows.”
“Cyan? Yeah no thanks.” There was a metallic flick and a scratch, Dan Heng immediately picked up the acrid scent of tobacco. “I’d like to stay away from that man as much as possible. He's the one leading this whole operation and I heard getting on his bad side is easy and can be a one way ticket to the afterlife. I value what little I have in this miserable life so thanks but I think I’ll live just fine without knowing the details.”
“Suit yourself.” a sigh. “But at least they got the girl, that ought to make the big man happy at least for a while.”
“Yeah…I heard they’ll be moving her with another kid they got, that’s if they haven’t already moved her aboard the ship.”
“Have you seen her?”
“The nameless kid?”
Dan Heng felt his hand itch, clenching his fist over nothing as he fought the urge to summon Cloudpiercer.
They were talking about Aelia.
“I caught a glimpse of her when they got her on the ship as we were leaving Belobog, boss definitely wants her in particular for something.”
“Why do you say that?”
“All the other kids look like any other Vidyadhara, just…y’know, small. This girl has horns and a tail, she’s more dragon than the others.”
“Don’t the two Vidyadhara nameless also have that?”
“Yeah, but allegedly that’s enough of a rare trait already, very few members of their species have that sort of thing.”
“Why?”
A smack. “Why are you asking me all of this for? I don’t know anything about them outside of what I hear around here.” more rustling of clothes, then a set of taps on the ground followed by a mild burning scent. “Come on, let's get back, I’d rather not get my ass handed to me again tonight.”
“Again? Is this a common occurrence for you then?”
The voices started to retreat towards the end of the conversation until Dan Heng became unable to follow it over the ambient noise. Still, he had heard enough, now he knew for a fact that Aelia was here. She was here, but he didn’t know if she was already on the large ship or if she had yet to be moved over, if the answer was the latter then that would make things easier…but if it wasn’t then everything would become infinitely more complicated.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to tame his anger while clenching and unclenching his hands. After a minute he managed to turn his rage into a cold passive fury deep within him, lying in wait for the moment he was finally able to unleash the dragon coiled and ready to leap into action the second he allowed it.
The lull in activity around him ended abruptly when a commotion made him peek through the gap between two crates in time to see a group of guards walking into his frame of view, in the middle of the group another guard walked holding the hand of a young child with distinctively pointed ears.
The kid was looking around nervously, stumbling every now and then as he continued to be pulled at the guard’s pace. He focused on the kid more, noting the redness around his eyes and nose that told him he had likely been crying not long ago, he couldn’t be sure but by looks alone he guessed that the kid was likely five or six years old which put him in the right timeframe for Bailu’s first official round of fertility treatment after the serum was perfected and introduced fully. The dragon felt his blood boil anew, too easily picturing a younger Aelia in this position.
He’d seen enough. He had now officially confirmed that these people were their targets and Aelia had to be in one of the ships.
The warm fire of the Coreflame in his chest hummed just beneath his skin, the warmth quickly rising and evolving into a scorching wildfire. His fingertips tingled with Cloudhymn, set and ready to answer to his command.
Ditching his cloak he leaped on top of the pile of wooden crates he’d been hiding amongst and then from there he pushed himself up and forwards, landing in front of the group of guards and slamming the butt of his spear against the ground to erect a shield around himself and around the young Vidyadhara.
The guards drew their weapons, mostly pistols that they aimed at him, his shield would protect him and the child from bullets with no issue and so now that he knew what he was facing up against he started to move. His eyes were a blazing inferno of gold as he rushed the guards with a low snarl, bullets flew in his direction but all of them were deflected by his shield, some landing harmlessly in the ground and others bouncing back towards their shooters and injuring two unfortunate souls that fell to the ground clutching their legs.
He pushed through the three people in front, crouching as he brought his spear close to the ground to knock them down in an arching swing. The three men at the forefront fell and Dan Heng used his free arm to bring an arching wave of water that carried the three men away from his immediate path and into the near wall with enough force to keep them from standing back up for at least a little while.
With fury still boiling in his veins Dan Heng stood back up, holding his spear behind him as he started walking towards the man that had been pulling the kid along, fangs bared and a deep growl climbing out his throat. The guard pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Dan Heng who stopped immediately out of sheer instinct in response to having a gun pointed at him.
The standstill lasted just a couple seconds before Dan Heng took another step forwards, prompting the guard in front of him to take a step back. This continued for a few more steps until the man seemingly had enough and instead pointed the gun at the child.
Dan Heng still had his shield around himself and around the kid so he knew that the bullets wouldn’t hurt him but the fact that this man would stoop so low as to hurt a child for his own safety made a new wave of fiery anger wash over him.
The nameless’ eyes narrowed into slits, his human guise falling to allow his horns and tail to return as he lurched forwards.
The man realized in that split second who he was, the gun shaking in his hands as his eyes grew wide at the same time as his finger pressed on the trigger. A gunshot rang in the increasing chaos of the docking bay as more and more people took note of the commotion but all Dan Heng was focused on was on the man in front of him and the kid. With a wide swing of Cloudpiercer he hit the man on the ribs, a resounding crack running through the weapon and all the way to his hand as the man screamed in pain before doubling over and falling to his knees.
Two steps more and a set of stone spires jutted out from the ground and pinned the man in place, giving Dan Heng the chance to reach the kid and place him protectively behind him as he started to walk backwards into a position where he wouldn’t be jumped from behind or get the child hurt.
A group of five men started running his way with their weapons drawn and Dan Heng was quick to reapply their shield before crouching low to the ground, pulling back his spear and then swinging it in an upwards arc with the blade pointed skyward as he rose back into a standing position following the momentum of his swing. The ground shook as an echoing roar made the thin walls of the open building around them rattle as a golden dragon rose from the ground at Dan Heng’s feet and and coiled around him and the kid protectively, immediately making the oncoming group of men stop dead in their tracks to reevaluate their approach.
Another set of screams from across the bay made everyone turn towards the far wall as another group of men ran calling out orders and commands while making their way towards the massive ship. Dan Heng spotted the familiar aftershocks of Welt’s black holes and somewhere amidst the chaos he even spotted Sunday’s golden vines tying small groups of men together and pulling others to the ground by their feet.
Taking advantage of the distraction Dan Heng commanded Souldragon forwards towards the men that once more had their attention on him.
And then all hell broke loose.
Stelle watched from the corner of the building where Dan Heng had knocked out the two guards initially, witnessing the chaos unfolding before her and using it to her advantage to try and see through the disorganized mass of people panicking. The vast majority of them were now rushing towards the large ship, she had yet to catch even a glimpse of Aelia but if Welt and Sunday were back here now as well then that meant she was no longer aboard the small ship they had been chasing after Belobog.
That left only one choice.
Her gaze travelled up, scanning the massive ship and measuring her options.
Fuck this.
Using the chaos in her favor she began a mad sprint towards the open cargo ramp of the ship, bat in hand as she knocked down whoever dared stand in her way as she continued ahead with single-minded focus. When she made it to the ramp three guards blocked her way but she quickly dispatched them all with flaming strikes of her bat to their heads that sent them tumbling to the ground in unmoving piles.
It was only once she was inside that she truly realized the enormity of the task ahead of her. The ship was massive, likely filled with people…and that sound.
The ship’s engines are spooling already…I have only a few minutes if I’m lucky before this cursed thing is back out in orbit.
Two men blocked the narrow corridor in front of her but she jumped over them, using her tail to wrap around one’s legs to knock him down and delivering a crippling punch to the other’s solar plexus before she continued on her way. She ran every hallway, opened every door and compartment she came across, yet she found not a single trace of her daughter. Turning around another corner she came face to face with two more men, they stopped the moment they saw her and reached for their guns but by then Stelle was already moving. She heard two shots fire but ignored them completely as she started imbuing her bat with the golden flames of her Cloudhymn while knocking the guns from their hands in one short swing before using the momentum to bring her bat around, smacking one of them on the ribs with a burst of flaming sparks and then pushing the blunt end against the other man’s abdomen, knocking all the air out of him. In a matter of seconds she had both men on the ground gasping for breath and moaning in pain after her assault.
She continued forwards in a blind rage, singleminded focus clouding everything else as she held onto her one goal of finding her daughter. Just a few minutes of her rampaging through the ship she suddenly felt the ground shift beneath her, slightly making her sway.
The ship’s starting to take off, I’m out of time but I haven’t found Aelia.
The slow upwards momentum suddenly came to a rattling stop. Something was keeping the ship from ascending further but right now she was not about to stop and question it, instead she would use this opportunity she’d been granted to continue her search.
Every door on every corridor was thrown open as she looked inside the rooms in hopes of getting a hint of Aelia’s sweet fresh scent of Lotus and dew but so far every room greeted her with nothing of use. Until finally, throwing open a door at the end of a vacant hallway, she was quite literally almost brought to her knees when that familiar scent filled the small empty room.
Aelia had been here, and judging by how strong her scent was here then that meant she must have been moved very recently, maybe as little as just mere minutes ago.
She stepped out of the room, paying more attention to her senses as she attempted to track the scent but to her dismay she was only able to follow it for a few turns before it dissipated completely, too intermixed with the scents of other people that had ran through these halls after she passed them to be able to distinguish where she had been taken.
The ship shuddered, the engine kicking up. She was out of time, she had to leave and hope that the others had another plan or at the very least that March and Himeko could do something from the express once this ship left the port.
She started retracing her steps, getting lost in the maze of hallways even when following back her own trail of chaos. Just when she finally felt like she was getting her bearings a sharp pain in her leg that made her stumble to the ground, turning her gaze downwards she is met with a gash on the side of her thigh where a bullet likely grazed her earlier and a little lower than that there is another wound slowly bleeding where a bullet actually hit her.
She thought back on the two grunts that pulled the guns on her and suddenly she regrets not hitting them harder as she clutched her thigh and pulled herself up, ignoring the pain in favor of finding her way out of the ship and back with the others.
When she made her way back to the cargo bay she is relieved to see that it is mostly empty and that the ramp is still open despite the fact that the ship was now almost as high up as the warehouse it was docked next to was tall. Walking to the edge of the ramp she saw Welt and Sunday working overtime to keep the ship from taking off. Sunday was digging his feet into the ground as several golden vines stretched out from around his arms, wrapped somewhere on the ship and pulling it back while Welt had his cane out, violet-black strings of energy wrapping around it and stretching out towards the ship in a similar way Sunday’s vines had.
They’re keeping the ship from taking off…maybe if I’m fast enough I can go back in and—
Her thoughts were abruptly cut off by a hard shove from behind her, her weakened leg bending under the force immediately and knocking her to the floor, then down and off the ramp into the air as she started falling.
She turned her head, looking up at the edge of the ramp above her and seeing more guards gathered there, they had snuck up on her at one point and took advantage of her distraction to push her off.
In retrospect she should’ve been more alert but she had so many thoughts going through her mind and the deafening sound of the ship’s engines fighting for freedom had her feeling disoriented and overwhelmed.
This wasn’t her first time falling from a considerable height but every time she was surprised by how much time seemed to slow when it happened. Actually, now that she thought about it, she was starting to get really sick of being in these situations where she’s falling to her doom…
Dan Heng felt his heart drop to his stomach when he looked up at the ship and saw Stelle falling from the open cargo ramp, plummeting down towards piles of discarded old metal shipping containers. Without thinking he grabbed the kid beside him and leapt towards Welt, placing the confused and alarmed Vidyadhara beside him. “Wach him!” His voice barely carried over the roar of the ship’s engines but he caught Welt looking down and realizing he’d placed the kid there and that was more than enough for him to know the man would keep him safe.
Vanishing his spear he took one mighty leap up several stacks of supplies along the side of the building, then onto the roof and then put all his strength into one final leap high in the air, leaving a sizeable dent on the metal roof where he’d just been standing as he sailed through the air towards Stelle.
He reached her, immediately wrapping his arms around her as they fell, summoning a shield around them both in hopes that it would take the worst of the fall for them. He positioned himself below Stelle, making sure that he would break her fall as she twisted in his grip with fear etched deep in her eyes, fear he knew was not for herself, but for him.
Because that’s who Stelle had always been, placing others over herself no matter the consequences.
Closing his eyes tightly he braced for impact.
As he had hoped the shield was able to break their fall, but the impact still knocked the air out of him, metal bent and tore beneath him, groaning with a sickening crunch as he slid from one crate to another until a second crash against solid ground broke his shield and made searing pain course through his back.
Through blurry vision Dan Heng saw the cargo door closing, a pulsing sound echoing around him in a way that made dread curl its claws around him. Ignoring the pain and Stelle’s confused exclamations he turned them over, tightly curling over Stelle like a protective shell just as the ship expelled an energy pulse that set Dan Heng’s body on fire over the pain of the impact of the fall. Taking a glance up he saw how the pulse snapped Welt and Sunday’s tethers on it, making the ship jerk forwards violently before it regained its stability and started to turn to the skies.
“Dan Heng!”
He looked at Stelle, realizing just now that she had been calling for him. She brought her hand up, running it near his temple. “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine.” He wasn't, but that didn’t matter right now. With a quick look over Stelle he saw that she looked to be fine so once more he turned his attention to the fleeing ship with a draconic growl forming deep in his throat.
This ship was larger, and therefore slower and more cumbersome to maneuver while within an atmosphere. This was his chance.
“Stay here, wait for Welt and Sunday.” He pushed himself up, ignoring the pain of his aching joints, ribs, and back as he jumped onto solid ground, liquid light engulfing him before just seconds later he launched into the sky in the form of a very pissed off gold and teal dragon.
He caught up with the ship quickly enough, the thing was massive which allowed him to dig his claws through the fuselage, roaring as he starts scraping and pulling the metal off, quite literally digging into the ship in an attempt at either finding Aelia or damaging it enough that they would be forced down before the gained too much altitude and he was forced to abandon his pursuit once more.
In the middle of his rampage he decided to change his plan and instead go for the engines, if he could down the ship they could all fight their way in and find Aelia. Just as he twisted his long neck to bite into the fuselage covering the engine he heard that dreaded pulsing sound again, giving him just a second to brace for the impact as another energy pulse threw him off the ship.
He fell for a few seconds before he gathered himself, spending a few extra seconds shaking off the dizziness and disorientation from the pulse before he gave chase again.
This close to his daughter those people were dead wrong if they thought that would be enough to deter him from persisting.
Inside the ship everything was a roaring chaos, the ship lurched and shuddered every time Dan Heng landed back on top of it and started tearing at the exterior. Aelia had been dragged through corridors by a burly man, stumbling as she attempted to break his ironclad grip on her wrist. She had been moved from the small ship she had woken up in to a larger one, then thrown into a small empty room for some amount of time she couldn’t really calculate until the relative silence outside her locked door turned into alarmed screams and shouted commands.
She had no idea what was happening and it made a ball of anxiety settle heavy on her chest until at one point her door was thrown open, the man that was now leading her through the ship walking in and taking her by the wrist without a word. She could feel the ship flying but as they passed through windows overlooking out she could tell they weren’t actually moving, the ship would jerk and shudder every now and then which only aided her confusion.
A loud pulsing sound echoed around her before a muted pop replaced it, the ship jerked forwards hard enough to knock her and all the other people around her to the ground. She barely had a second to register that they were moving again before the man leading her pulled her up by her arm and continued to half drag her stumbling self through more corridors and hallways.
Then she heard it. A roar, loud and distinctively angry. A roar she had never heard before but still made something deep inside her calm down, hope rising unbidden despite her situation.
The ship shuddered again, almost making her stumble, then another roar, louder, closer, echoed almost directly above her. Her mind then supplied the one word that almost brought tears to her eyes.
Papa?
She recalled her mom mentioning at one point that her dad was able to turn into a dragon. She’d never seen it and honestly held her own doubts since every time she asked him about it he would change the subject or come up with one excuse or another, but now, hearing that roar that some part of her immediately identified as her dad had all her doubts disappearing.
That was him, her family had found her and her dad was just outside the ship tearing it apart if the sounds of groaning and scraping metal were anything to go by.
All the fight returned to her in that moment, knowing that she was this close to her family again. With an angry hiss she turned to bite the hand of the man holding her wrist, he cried out and let go immediately, giving her the opening she’d been looking for to sprint in the opposite direction of him. If she could make it to a window then maybe, just maybe she could get her dad’s attention and have him save her.
She needed to get higher, surely there was a window there overlooking the topmost part of the ship.
A hand roughly gripped her shoulder, hard enough that a small whine left her, the mad she’d bitten to get free was back and he looked distinctively angrier than before. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her head with a snarl aiming to bite his hand again but she was immediately stopped by the man's large arm wrapping around her neck, he was far stronger than her and no matter how much she squirmed and fought his grip never faltered.
Through a window across the hallway directly in front of her she spots a very recognizable teal and gold tail swinging by, far larger than she was used to but the shape and color were the same. Her dad was right there, so so close already.
She felt tears of both relief and fear sting her eyes. “Papa!”
She felt the arm around her tense up, freeze for a few seconds as if he’d realized something before the grunt was pulling her up with him.
Aelia called out again even as the window started to grow farther and farther away, even as the arm around her neck started making it difficult to breathe she continued to call out to her dad as tears finally started to slide down her face.
She squirmed and thrashed, almost slipping free once before the burly man brought her to a bunch of people in robes that looked just as alarmed as everyone else running around the ship were. She called for her dad again, thrashing as more hands started to take a hold of her until it became nearly impossible to move. A sharp pain on the side of her neck made her cry out just as the edges of her vision started to blur, all the strength in her limbs disappearing until she was barely able to even hold her own head up.
The hands holding her back retreated, the calls for her dad now barely a whisper as a different man picked her up and started to carry her out.
Even through the fog clouding her systems she could tell the ship was quieter, no longer shaking and shuddering around, the sky outside a window was no longer the bright orange it had been before and the thought alone made her heart sink.
Tears continued to slide down her face even as the man carrying her placed her down atop a thin mattress in the corner of a small room, even as he left and locked the door behind him to leave her on her own in another small room she continued to call out for her dad in faint whispers until the fog became too heavy to bare and she slipped into unconsciousness.
Dan Heng roared at the sky as the massive ship took off. Twice, twice he’d been left in the sky after chasing a ship with his daughter in it after being unable to down it. The energy pulse had thrown him off two more times and each time it took him longer to recover while still fighting the pains of his initial fall after catching Stelle. He had torn apart one of the engines and ripped open a good chunk of the top fuselage but still the ship kept gaining speed and ascending until the altitude became too high to attempt to down it and he started to struggle to breathe.
He watched the ship disappear into the dusk-like sky for a while before turning and starting his descent. He really hoped Himeko and March were able to do something once the ship hit orbit.
WIth the adrenaline from his chase quickly fading he was starting to become more and more aware of the pain coming from his ribs with every move he made.
When he finally reached the ground he saw more people milling about that looked like security, likely called by Welt or Sunday, and just at the edge of the mess of old containers where he and Stelle had landed were Sunday and Welt waiting for him.
He slowed down, landing and immediately shifting back out of his dragon form, the second he was back the pain in his ribs made him almost collapse but Sunday was there in an instant, catching him and bearing his weight. “You’re injured…yet you still chased after the ship.”
And in the end it still didn’t matter…
Ignoring Sunday’s concerned look he turned to Welt. “Tell the express to be on high alert, they’re likely close to exiting the atmosphere by now and will be in space in just minutes. They have to be ready.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already told Himeko to be on guard. We need to get back to the train car now so we can get both you and Stelle treated, can you walk?”
Taking a deep breath Dan Heng straightened himself, wincing at the way his back protested against the action. “I’m fine.” Then it finally hit him. “Wait, you said Stelle was injured as well?”
The man tilted his head. “You didn’t notice? Looks like while she was running around inside the ship she got shot but thankfully it’s not serious, though I would advise against waiting any longer to treat her.”
He’d looked over Stelle after their fall but he hadn’t noticed anything wrong…how had he missed anything as big as gunshots?
A hand on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts before he even had time to steep in them. Welt was looking at him with warm, understanding eyes. “It’s not your fault okay? you were both focused on attempting to recover Aelia and there was a lot of debris around where you crash landed with her so I’m not surprised you didn’t notice it. It’s alright.”
Sunday’s wings twitched slightly before he pulled his phone out, brows pinching as he read the newly received message. Welt noticed and became immediately concerned as a bad feeling grew in his chest. “Sunday?”
“It’s the express, March says the ship we’re after entered a warp jump before even getting close to the general safety margin and the shockwave hit the control station and the express, it’s not good.”
“Alright, time to go then.” Welt turned his gaze on the Vidyadhara. “You’re sure you can walk?”
“I’m certain.”
“Okay, let us go then.”
With Sunday’s help he was walked over near the edge of the building, Stelle was sitting there on the ground with a couple of security guards from the port keeping watch, she had a bandage around her thigh which he guessed was where she’d been injured and the young Vidyadhara child was curled up in her lap, still shaking and clearly terrified.
He pulled away from Sunday’s and kneeled beside Stelle, her gaze met his and she understood without the need for words that they’d failed to save Aelia once more. With a sigh the woman closed her eyes, fighting back newly arising tears as her mate leaned into her, bringing their foreheads together as he spoke in barely a whisper. “I’m sorry…I couldn’t save her again.”
Stelle pulled back, shaking her head. “It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself, please.”
Reluctantly he nodded. Sunday kneeled down beside Stelle after letting a few seconds pass by to give the couple space. “Stelle…I know it’s a lot to ask but we need to move now. Do you think you can walk?”
She nodded, turning her attention down at the kid in her lap as she softly ran her hand over his soft hair. “Hey buddy, are you alright?”
The kid looked up with red-rimmed eyes but nodded. “We need to go now, will you come with us? I promise you’ll be safe.”
Another nod. The kid had witnessed the fight, had witnessed Dan Heng jumping in to protect him and how the rest of the nameless had protected him so he had no reason to doubt them. He moved to stand on wobbly legs, nearly stumbling back down until Sunday reached over to steady him. “Here, take my hand little one, we’ll get you out of here.”
Dan Heng stood, leaning down to help Stelle to her feet as she winced when placing weight on her leg.
The crew made their way across the port and to the express car, Welt taking over and piloting them out of their dock and back into the twilight skies. Their ascent is spent in silence, everyone having a lot to think about with all the new information this mission had left them with.
The silence eventually broke after they were back in orbit by Welt cursing under his breath. The man was usually composed and proper, so to the crew hearing him curse, even under his breath in barely a whisper, meant something was horribly wrong.
Sunday was by his side at the front of the car and Dan Heng leaned in from his seat next to Stelle to catch a glimpse at what lay in front of them.
There, in the cold void of space ahead of them lay a considerable debris field that seemed to have stemmed from a considerable chunk of the monitoring station that had been ripped off. Not far behind it was the express, slightly tilted at an angle with some of the cars towards the end lay twisted at odd angles just barely hanging onto the latches that connected them to each other.
Sunday was the first one to snap out of their shock. “What happened here?”
Welt answered immediately, his voice taking a darker undertone. “My guess is the ship we were after entered a warp jump while still inside the safety zone, this close to the moon’s atmosphere the shockwave from a warp jump is more than just a little dangerous, it likely ripped that side of the station and the debris and aftershocks caught the express as well.” He took a deep breath, likely to get himself under control. “Sunday, call the express to make sure they’re okay, let them know we’ll attempt to dock in a few minutes.”
Eventually, and with some maneuvering, Welt managed to dock the detached car at the tail end of the express. The group made their way through the train, the lights would flicker every now and then and most things were thrown out of place as they walked down the slightly tilted corridors that made everything feel awkward to get through. When they finally made it to the parlor car March and Himeko greeted them, they were both fine if only a little shaken by the whole thing and it was there that Himeko confirmed Welt’s guess about their escaped ship entering a warp jump before exiting the safety zone. The impact had damaged the express’s drive, making it impossible for them to give chase or stop them like their plan had originally been.
Stelle sat down in one of the long, curved seats, taking a steadying breath at finally being able to stop putting weight on her injured leg. Her gaze gravitated towards the young Vidyadhara that remained by Sunday’s side, tightly clutching onto his robe like a lifeline. The kid was looking around the messy parlor car until his gaze landed on her, she smiled out of habit and in response the boy gave her back the smallest of smiles.
She waved him over, he seemed to hesitate but after a few seconds he let go of Sunday and slowly walked over to her. Stelle patted the seat next to her, prompting the boy to push himself up and onto the seat.
“What’s your name little guy?”
He looked away, seemingly weighing his options and debating whether he should say anything or not. In the end he seemed to decide that there would be no harm in telling his name to the people that had saved him from the ones that had taken him from his parents. When he did finally speak his voice was low and unsure, clearly still not fully recovered from everything that had happened down at the port. “I’m Xue.”
“That’s a pretty name, how old are you?”
“Five.”
Five…that puts him around the time Bailu did her first round of official testing for the elixir. “Well, Xue, we’re the nameless, my name is Stelle.”
The boy looked her over, his gaze lingering on her distinct Vidyadhara features.”
“You…are like me, right miss?”
She smiled, lifting her hand and giving the boy a gentle pat on the head. “I am.”
Just then March walked over, her eyes immediately finding the kid and noting his pointed ears and the distinctive Xianzhou style of clothing. She turned to Stelle. “Stelle, is he…?”
She nodded. “We rescued him from the traffickers.” might as well call them for what they were, by now she was more than sure that they were not just kidnappers, they were actively taking these kids and moving them somewhere for whatever twisted purpose that they had yet to discover. “We got lucky, Dan Heng spotted him as they were moving him over to their main ship, otherwise we might have never known about him.”
March had a pensive look for a bit, brows pinched until she returned to her usual chipper demeanor as she kneeled down in front of the kid. “Hey there, I’m March, we’re going to help you get home. Do you know where your home is?”
The boy nodded, taking immediate interest in March’s brightly colored hair. “I’m from the Yuque.”
March smiled. “Alright perfect, we’ll get in contact with them and make sure you get back to your parents. Does that sound good?”
Xue’s smile grew, becoming more genuine as a bright gleam took root in his green eyes. “Yes please!”
March stood back up, extending her hand out towards the boy. “Great! Come with me.” Just then Sunday walked over, a small smile curving the edges of his mouth ever so slightly upwards. March noticed him and was quick to loop her arm around his own. “Come on, my friend here and I will help you get in touch with your parents.”
Sunday looked down at March, bemused, one eyebrow arching upwards at her comment. “Friend?”
Xue stood, taking March’s hand. The pinkette winked at the man beside her before starting to walk away. “Come on Sunny, we have work to do.”
He sighed, shaking his head slightly before looking down at Stelle. “Miss Himeko wants to tend to your injuries, she said to make your way to the med bay if you can and she’ll meet you there shortly.”
Stelle sighed, knowing that it was necessary but being no less annoyed by the fact. “Okay, I’ll head over. You go catch up with March, I’m sure she’s going to call Bailu and then work from there to get in contact with the kid’s parents. “
“Indeed. Please take care of yourself.” He started to walk away but stopped just a few steps later. “Mr. Yang has already gone ahead with Dan Heng, insisting that he needs to get his injuries checked as well so you might see him there.”
Stelle looked around the parlor car, realizing that she had completely missed the two men leaving earlier. In fact, it was just Sunday and her left in the parlor car. “Oh, okay, thanks for letting me know.”
The Halovian gave her a short nod before walking away, and then she was alone. After a minute she slowly moved to stand, wincing at the sharp pain coming from her leg and noting the faint red marks starting to be visible through the gauze wrapped around her thigh.
She started to make her way to the med bay, now that she was alone there was nothing to distract her mind from going over every single little thing that had happened today, overanalyzing it and thinking over and over again what she could’ve done differently in a way that maybe could have given her a better outcome, one in which she actually found Aelia and didn’t have to come back home without her daughter who remained at the mercy of these traffickers and whatever twisted plots they had.
She had been so deep in her own thoughts that she didn’t realize she had made it to the med bay until a pained hiss dragged her back to the present. She looked up, finding Dan Heng sitting on one of the examination beds, his back to her, Welt standing by his side holding a container with some sort of poultice.
Her heart stopped.
Dan Heng was bare from the waist up, his back on full display. His normally smooth skin was now a mottled canvas of black and blue with the worst spots around his right side. Unable to stop herself she half limped towards the two men. “Aeons Dan Heng…”
The two turned to look at her, the Vidyadhara slightly wincing when twisting his body. Welt rose his free hand to stop her just as she reached the bed. “It’s alright, it looks a lot worse than it is.”
“What happened?” she switched from scanning his back to meeting his eyes. “You said you were fine…this isn’t fine, Dan Heng.”
He broke her gaze, then looked down at her leg and at the now larger red spot in the gauze. “Speak for yourself. You shouldn't be walking around as much as you are.”
Her retort back was stopped by Welt just as she opened her mouth. “He’s right Stelle, please take a seat, I’m sure Himeko will be here shortly.”
Reluctantly she obeyed, her tail flicking in annoyance. Once she was seated in the bed next to them she draped her tail over her lap, starting to work on removing the sparring tape from around it as she talked. “What happened to him?”
Welt sighed, resuming his application of the poultice over the dragon’s bruised back. “The fall he suffered when catching you bruised a couple of his ribs on his right side, then the shockwave from the multitude of energy pulses he took exacerbated the injury which is partly why his back is so bruised.”
Welt touched a particularly tender spot then, making Dan Heng flinch and pull away with a hiss. The sight made Stelle immediately forget the slight anger she felt at the fact that her mate had the audacity to get on her case when he had been equally, if not more reckless. “What’s the treatment?”
He sighed. “Regrettably for everyone the most effective way is simple rest, something I know only too well he won’t be sticking to for more than a day. I’m using this poultice to reduce the swelling and bruising so he at least won’t be in too much pain but even with his enhanced healing we’re looking at two, maybe three weeks before his ribs are fully healed…though it may very well be more if we take into account the fact that I know he won’t take even a day’s rest.”
To his credit Dan Heng had the decency to look dejected. He knew Welt was right, but even still there was no way he would sit with bedrest while his daughter was missing.
Silence enveloped the group as Welt continued his work, then Himeko finally arrived and immediately got to work while Welt explained to her what she had just told Stelle about Dan Heng’s injuries.
Himeko worked with careful hands after removing the gauze and exposing Stelle’s injuries. Dan Heng tilted his head in her direction, watching the navigator work out of the corner of his eye as she cleaned the wound and added some topical anesthetics in hopes that it would mitigate the pain that was about to follow.
Taking a set of thin tweezers in hand she looked up to meet Stelle’s eyes. “Thankfully the shot was only a shallow impact, meaning that it didn’t damage too much of the muscle which is why you’ve been able to still move and walk around mostly on your own. The bullet is still there though and while shallow it’s not exactly within easy reach so I’ll try my best to pull it out without hurting you too much.”
Stelle nodded. “I know…I’m sorry I was reckless, I didn’t even notice I’d been shot until much later.”
“I’m not surprised, I’m sure you were running on quite the adrenaline high at the time.” Himeko took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay, ready?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m…sorry in advance, even with the basic anesthetics I’m afraid this won’t be pleasant.”
“It’s fine…lets just get it over with.”
Stelle had been shot at before, though thankfully so far no shots had ever landed…until now, that is. And now after this particular incident she knew for certain that from now on she would do everything in her power to avoid being shot again.
The tweezers went into the small wound easily enough, it was when Himeko opened them to grab the bullet lodged in her thigh that she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out in pain. It was a searing touch concentrated in such a small area but the pain irradiated outwards from it in waves that had her having to consciously draw in gulping gasps of air to fight the very real possibility of passing out.
At one point as Himeko was pulling back the tweezers she felt the edges of her vision grow dark, she heard alarmed voices before a second later she regained herself completely, her eyes immediately landing on Welt holding a tiny container just under her nose which was now being assaulted by the harsh astringent scent of pure alcohol.
Well, at least it had kept her from passing out…
The whole ordeal took roughly twenty minutes but by the time it was all done she had a fresh new gauze covering the graze wound as well as the couple stitches required to close her bullet wound.
Thank all the Aeons that Himeko was so skilled at medical stuff. Welt had finished up with Dan Heng before Himeko even moved to stitch her wound but he had remained there in case he was needed, he had placed a large patch of gauze covering the area of Dan Heng’s back where his bruised ribs were, saying that he had used it to cover and keep in place a thin patch of cooling gel to ice his ribs. The pack would last until the following day and he’d instructed Dan Heng to look for him whenever it was time to change it and he would help, the Vidyadhara agreed with little issue, knowing that the no resting thing would be giving Welt enough grief as it was.
Only once Himeko had finished and both her and Welt had made sure the couple was well tended to did they both return to their next task of doing a proper diagnostics check of the express.
Alone, the two Vidyadhara were left to their own thoughts, Stelle closed her eyes, tired of repeating the same scenes over and over in her head, flashbacks of Aelia being the happy kid that she had always been rose to the forefront of her mind, making tears gather in the corners of her eyes as she bit her lip to suppress the sobs that were fighting to make it out of her.
She didn’t even flinch when an arm wrapped around her shoulders, her mind immediately recognizing the presence slowly settling beside her as Dan Heng.
“It’s alright…I’m sorry Stelle, I’m sorry that I couldn’t do more.”
“It’s not your fault. This whole situation is just…so messed up, she’s just a kid and yet…”
“I know.” He tightened her arm around her, his tail already moving to twine with her own. “I know…”
A sob finally escaped her as she turned towards her mate, leaning into him and curling against his chest as he fully wrapped both arms around her with a small wince as he pulled at his injury.
She was just so tired.
Exhausted.
She took a deep breath, shattering the cage around her chest that was keeping her from breaking down as she sank further into Dan Heng in a way that made it look like she was trying to disappear completely into his embrace.
“I just want our daughter back…”
Dan Heng felt fiery anger spark anew inside him, a mix of the Coreflame’s fire mixed together with his own fury creating a veritable inferno fighting to be let loose.
“I know, and we’ll get her back. I swear to you, we’ll get her back, even if it’s the last thing I do…even if I have to fight to my dying breath, I’ll make sure she’s back safe and sound.”
He’d quieted down towards the end, knowing full well that Stelle would protest to that. He wasn’t intending to die, he knew that would cause his family so much more pain…yet at the same time if push came to shove he knew that if things went horribly wrong he would not hesitate to throw his life away if it meant saving his daughter.
He just really hoped that things wouldn’t have to get to that…
Aelia slowly blinked her eyes open, she was in a small room void of everything except a thin mattress in the corner. For a few seconds she was confused, not knowing how she managed to end up here, but then slowly her memories of the fight and escape from what she was sure was her parents attempting to rescue her resurfaced.
She felt helpless, knowing that her dad had been so close to her and yet she had not been able to do anything. She shook her head, taking a deep steadying breath as she closed her eyes.
She had to be strong, remain alert and vigilant, that’s what her dad had taught her when he trained with her. She knew her family would not stop searching for her, all she had to do was hold out for them and they would come.
A spark of fiery determination grew deep in her chest. She paced the room, ignoring the growing pain of hunger in her belly in favor of thinking of possible solutions to her present conundrum.
She still had no idea what these people wanted from her but one thing was for sure— she would fight and make every task as difficult as possible until her parents came for her. Her mom and dad had taught her to be resilient and strong, to always fight and stand her ground.
Now she would do just that. She would hold out for them no matter what.
She could do it. For her family she would hold out as long as necessary.
With that determination burning deep inside her she sat down on the corner of the room, her gaze fixed on the door as she started to compile what she knew to work on an idea to either escape or contact her parents somehow.
She would not be sitting idly by. If there was a way she could help her family find her then she would take it.