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The world broke, and the world reshaped itself.
No matter how many times A-Qing had undergone this disorienting process, she could never get used to it. To have her world bend and warp only to snap back to something foreign and different, where the sky could be below her feet or the world a twisted reflection of itself, was just something too shocking to ever truly grow used to it.
Of course, this was all just a very eloquent way of saying A-Qing face planted into the dirt the moment they arrived in the borderland.
She groaned as she pulled herself up, only to be met with soft laughter and a delicate hand reaching down to assist her up. A-Qing glanced up, and her eyes locked with the dark hue of her lovely girlfriend’s.
Girlfriend.
A-Qing felt giggly thinking it, and she nearly kicked herself for it. She coughed and took Ban Yue’s hand, allowing her to hoist her up to her feet. She was already adorned in the elegant blacks and blues of her patron god, He Xuan, a stark contrast to the soft greens and whites of A-Qing’s costume.
She thought about reaching out to Shi Qingxuan now that they were in the borderlands, which by definition were much closer to the heavens than the human realm, being tiny pocket dimensions created by ghosts that were stuck between the realms of mortal and immortal.
She thought about it, but she had no doubt they’d be busy sorting through the mess that Shi Wudu and Ling Wen’s actions had caused in heaven. In fact, they hadn’t heard much from the gods at all.
Still, A-Qing didn’t doubt that Shi Qingxuan would be an annoying buzz in her ear as soon as they were free enough for it.
So she only thumbed at the pocket mirror pinned to her belt.
“You alright, A-Qing?” Ban Yue asked.
She blinked and nodded. Just to show off, she materialized her bow in her hand and twirled it. “Definitely! Ready to kick some ghost ass.”
“Man, I’m glad to have you guys with me again,” Ning Yingying commented, her fiery dress flaring out behind her as she sprinted up to them. They hadn’t shown up in the same spot, so it was good she found them so quickly. “Do you know how much of a pain it was to find and neutralize borderlands with you, A-Yue?”
Ban Yue smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, but I’m back now. And with A-Qing, even.”
“Yeah, three makes better than one,” A-Qing added, flexing again by spinning her bow one too many times. This time, it backfired and she ended up twirling it straight out of her hand and up into the air. It nailed itself into a tree a few meters away, and both Ban Yue and Ning Yingying turned to stare at her.
She shifted on her feet. “I didn’t realize that could happen.”
“Our battle skills, while often a blessing from our patron gods, are only as good as our concentration and drive,” Ban Yue noted, but there was a small smile dancing on her lips that told A-Qing she was more amused by her girlfriend’s antics than anything else.
“Got it.” A-Qing nodded decisively before breaking away from the two of them to sprint to the tree. She grasped her bow and wrenched it from the bark with a strength she knew she’d never possess normally.
But the moment the bow twang free, a quiet whimper rang out.
A-Qing froze, her feet and arms automatically sliding into a battle ready stance. This borderland shouldn’t be able to pull in humans, so that could only mean the cry was that of a ghost.
She glanced back to Ban Yue and Ning Yingying, but they were already prepping. Flames licked the end of Ning Yingying’s ponytail and the tips of her sleeves, and their light glinted off her newly materialized sword. Ban Yue wasn’t nearly so flashy, with only an ornate silver rod in one hand, but A-Qing knew that if she called, the water and ice in the trees, ground, rivers, and lakes would all answer to her.
She took a moment to call out herself, and the wind hummed its soft reassurances to her. No matter what, it would always be her ally.
With that, she burst out the free, an arrow made of wind forming under her fingertips.
And then she nearly slipped at the sight that greeted her.
The one who was whimpering was a small, unassuming child, and the moment A-Qing sprang around the tree and pointed a weapon at him, he screamed and scrambled away. He dashed around the tree and back towards Ban Yue and Ning Yingying, leaving behind a stunned A-Qing.
Did ghosts take the form of children? It was certainly possible, since some of the more powerful ghosts took on a human form, but this borderland was small. The ghost behind it shouldn’t be all that powerful. Had a human managed to be pulled in anyway?
Well, more important things to worry about now. A-Qing dashed around the tree and waved frantically at the two of them, only to stop when she realized the two of them already had it under control. Or rather, Ning Yingying did.
Her fire and her sword were both gone, and she was kneeling in front of the child and rubbing soothing circles into his back as he cried. Ban Yue hovered awkwardly to her back, and for once she met A-Qing’s gaze as though to ask her what she was supposed to do.
A-Qing shrugged. Ning Yingying was the only one with younger siblings, so best to leave it to her. At least, that’s what A-Qing thought until she drew close enough to hear what she was saying. “It’s alright, did the scary mean girl scare you? She’s just a meanie, don’t mind her. Look, big harmless dope!”
“What did you say,” A-Qing hissed, but the child yelped and clung to Ning Yingying the moment she stepped too close.
“It’s okay,” Ning Yingying continued to coo. “She’s just a big meanie, see? We’re her friends, and she’s even a big meanie to us.”
A-Qing huffed and crossed her arms. She glanced at Ban Yue, but the traitor was hiding her mouth behind her hand in that way she did when she was cordially trying to stifle her own laughter. She’d be no help.
Well, if it calmed the kid down so they could ask him why he was here and start formulating their plan, then whatever. Sacrifice for the sake of the mission… it was a given, but this wasn’t exactly what A-Qing had imagined.
“Alright, are you a bit calmer now? Could you tell me your name?” Ning Yingying asked.
The child sniffed. “...Gu Zi.”
“Can I call you A-Zi?”
The child nodded, shuffling his feet. He wasn’t quite clinging to Ning Yingying’s skirts anymore, so that was good.
“Good, then! Thank you, A-Zi!”
A-Qing knelt near him, placing her bow behind her and out of sight as she did. Gu Zi flinched away from her and towards Ning Yingying, but she took the fact he wasn’t running away entirely as a good sign.
A-Qing did her best to give him a reassuring smile. “Hi, Gu Zi. I’m Xiao Qing, but you can call me A-Qing. The girl you’ve been speaking with is Ning Yingying, and the girl behind her is Ban Yue. We’re heros, you know, so we’re here to help. Like a comic book, right?”
“...a comic?” Gu Zi blinked, tilting his head.
Ban Yue pinched A-Qing side to draw her attention. She mouthed, “Clothes.”
Clothes? What about clothes?
A-Qing glanced back to Gu Zi, only to feel stupid. A-Qing had grown so used to the three of them and both gods and ghosts wandering around in an ornate, traditionally inspired dress that she didn’t question what the child was wearing, which was worn and mud colored shirt and pants that looked like they came straight out of a historical movie. If he was a normal human, why would he be wearing that?
A-Qing leaned back to whisper to Ban Yue. “What’s going on?”
“That child is… removed from time, I think,” Ban Yue whispered back. “He doesn’t feel human anymore, but he’s not a ghost. Basically, he’s stuck in the borderland and can’t return. He must be from a few centuries ago.”
“Is there anything we can do?” That was just too sad. Sure, they wouldn’t be able to return him to his own time since that was long passed, but they could at least get him back with humans.
But Ban Yue only shook her head. “Look… He’s healthy. Someone has been taking care of him here. We just need to return him.”
“YOU THREE! YOU DARE TRESPASS ON MY LAND AND TOUCH WHAT’S MINE?! I’LL MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU WERE BORN!!”
The voice was grating enough that A-Qing immediately felt like punching its owner, but somehow, to Gu Zi, that voice dashed away his tears and made his jump to his feet.
“Daddy!”
He broke away from the comfort of Ning Yingying and ran straight to a man that A-Qing could only describe as “greasy.” His long hair was slicked back, and tacky green robes hung from a form that was far too pale for what was natural. Green fire danced around him in small orbs.
The child didn’t seem at all terrified, though. Although Gu Zi didn’t try to jump up into the man’s arms or anything so grandois, he did grab the pant leg to the man’s pants and cling to them. The man allowed this, or maybe he just didn’t care. He pointed to them and screeched.
“Get out! This is my borderland, the borderland of the great Qi Rong, and the dogs of the gods definitely aren’t allowed here! I’ll feed you to my cows if you don’t leave now!”
Ban Yue immediately groaned. “I know who this is…”
“Great, I’m kicking his ass,” A-Qing announced as she pulled herself to her feet, bow in hand. She felt heat lick her skin as Ning Yingying’s flames and sword both made their appearance again.
But Ban Yue shook her head and stepped between them and the duo. She bowed, deep as she had when she appeared before the gods. “Master Qi Rong, we apologize for trespassing. We’ll be taking our leave immediately, if you would be so gracious as to excuse us.”
What? They weren’t fighting this asshole?
But no, before any of them could properly react (Qi Rong included), Ban Yue had A-Qing and Ning Yingying by the wrist and was promptly dragging the both of them away. For some reason, neither the ghost nor the human child that was lost from time tried to follow them.
“...why are we leaving again?” Ning Yingying asked, once they were out of earshot.
Ban Yue glanced to A-Qing, who could only respond with a raised eyebrow that said she was wondering the same thing. She sighed and replied, “I know those two from General Hua’s stories. Qi Rong is… annoying, but not overly harmful. And for some reason, he’s protected that child from the harmful effects of being stuck within the borderlands. Although Gu Zi won’t be able to return to the mortal realm with us, he should be able to grow relatively well under Qi Rong’s protection. Somehow.”
“So, we’re… just leaving?” A-Qing summarized. She was honestly a bit stunned. It was rare that problems didn’t require them punching through something.
“Our luck was bad to end up in this borderland,” Ban Yue said, which was basically a confirmation of A-Qing’s words. “There’s nothing to do for it. If we destroy it, Gu Zi will die, so we must allow it to continue to exist.”
“Ahhhh, okay, got it.” Ning Yingying chewed on her lip for a moment. “Do you think you could find this borderland again, A-Yue? If you really tried?”
She tilted her head. “I suppose… If there is a need to return, it’s not outside the realm of what’s possible. Why?”
“Let me guess,” A-Qing cut in, “you want to make sure that asshole is actually doing a decent parenting job?”
“...A-Qing,” Ban Yue sighed.
She only rolled her eyes, elbowing Ban Yue playfully. “Come on, you know I’m right. He doesn’t exactly look like the fatherly type. Even if we don’t have much choice, who says we have to completely trust him?”
“I’d like to bring A-Zi toys and books, too,” Ning Yingying added. “Children need a lot for good development, and this place is… pretty barren.”
Ban Yue glanced between the two of them, and a slow smile spread over her features. “The two of you are very kind. It makes me grateful to have a friend and a partner like you two. If those are your reasons, then I’ll do my best to make sure to bring you both here again.”
“I love you,” A-Qing said, leaning in to peck Ban Yue’s cheek. She wasn’t particularly fond of public displays of affection, but a blush still krept over the tips of her ears.
A-Qing loved her, and she loved her life. Even if she had to deal with jerky ghosts adopting children, lost gods, and worlds where down was up and up was down, she would at least always have Ban Yue and Ning Yingying to back her up.
And that was more than enough, even as the world broke and reshaped itself around her.