Chapter Text
Dan Heng sat back in his seat, turning his gaze up and away from the screen of the archives’ computer as his tail slowly swayed against the cool floor behind him.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. They had just wrapped up a short stop at the Luofu to pick up Aelia after finishing a mission where they had to seal a Stellaron that had almost completely consumed one of the moons of a highly populated planet in a neighbor star system, if left unchecked they risked the corruption slowly bleeding into the planet and causing more issues so it was lucky that they had stumbled across it when they did. Still, it was a messy ordeal that took them a good four days of non stop work to get through but thankfully everything had turned out fine.
Now he was sitting at his desk updating the information they got from that incident while Stelle left to pick up Aelia from Bailu’s care.
He could barely believe that his little hatchling was about to turn ten in just a couple months. Time had gone by in the blink of an eye and whenever Aelia did something that made her look more grown or mature than her age would suggest it would always catch him off guard.
He yawned, standing to stretch his sore legs before starting to make his way to their room above the party car. He went straight for the bathroom, leaning over the sink and using his hands to cup the cool water before splashing it on his face to dissipate the exhaustion that came after barely sleeping during their last mission coupled with the demanding work that had been helping Welt slowly contain and seal the Stellaron over the course of multiple arduous hours after they had already spent the better part of a day clearing the surrounding area from all the fragmentum spires and corrupted vegetation over a wide radius.
All in all, while the mission had been one of the more calm ones they’d had, it had still been exhausting to complete.
He shook his head, water droplets flying off him as he blindly reached for the small towel that hung besides the sink and padded his face dry. When he looked at his reflection in the mirror he was happy to see that the cool water had rid him of the tiredness that had been clinging around his eyes. He reached up, taking off his hair tie with the intent of redoing his high pony tail that he’d taken to style his hair with two years prior when his hair started to grow long enough to brush the base of his tail.
He had wanted to trim it a good bit to buy himself more time but Stelle insisted that she liked it and suggested that instead of cutting it he could wear a high pony tail to elevate the ends of his hair back to where they were comfortable above his tail. To her credit, it had worked perfectly, and so he’d taken to simply styling his hair this way ever since.
After redoing his hair again he turned left and right, making sure everything was in place. His horns had grown slightly longer ever since gaining this form, they curled back slightly more now and a teal shade the same color as his scales had overtaken the gold at their base before the gradient went back to gold just a little over his hairline.
Sure that he was set now he went back down, this time finding a seat at the parlor car and pulling out his old notebook where he’d taken to scrawling his thoughts and some of their adventures. A sort of personal record, if you may.
He knew the data bank aboard the express kept a perfect record of everything but a few years ago March had dragged him along with Stelle and Aelia to help her with her scrapbook, Aelia was happy to be included and Stelle made sure to help her while he mostly sat back and watched them happily.
He had to admit, keeping a more personal record like this felt nice. Who knows, maybe in the far future he’d give it to Aelia as some form of Family memento or something.
After a while his gaze turned to the sight of the massive ship that was the Luofu floating beside the express. He wondered how Bailu was doing nowadays.
She had finished perfecting the fertility serum when Aelia was about four if he recalled correctly but even before then he had gotten word that a few Vidyadhara couples had also been successful while using it, fully kickstarting the first new generation of Vidyadhara in their recorded history. By now he guessed that the few that had hatched first after Aelia were likely about five or six years old by now.
He’d talked to Glaciator Marum and Caelorum Venti shortly after the first two new hatchlings broke their shells, inquiring about how things would be handled since the kids had hatched in the Fanghu and Yaoqing respectively. They told him that the younglings, few as they were, would still be given the same education afforded to newly reborn individuals as soon as they came of age.
They could not start immediately since, unlike reborn Vidyadhara, newly hatched younglings came into the world far younger than those that finished their rebirth cycle by the equivalent of five years. By that logic, as soon as the younglings turned five then they would be assigned a mentor in the same way reborn individuals would, they would be taught in the same way and their tutors would teach them the ways of their species and their history.
He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head back against the back of the couch. He and Stelle had made sure to give their daughter a good education and whenever she stayed with Bailu she had gladly taken care of teaching the girl more about their people and traditions…yet he had yet to be completely honest with her about himself.
He continuously pushed back taking her to Scalegorge waterscape mostly because with how smart she was he knew that she would immediately draw the connection between Yubie’s statue and himself. As far as she knew Bailu was the high elder of the Luofu and he was just another average Vidyadhara who’d somehow gotten draconic traits.
Thankfully she never went down that particular line of questioning but he knew that he was on borrowed time when it came to this particular issue. One day he would have to be honest with her, tell her about his past, he just hoped that that wouldn’t change her perspective on what had quickly become her second home aboard the Luofu.
The space anchor pinged.
Well…today would not be that day. Against his own better judgement he decided to leave the issue to his future self. Right now he had more important things to attend to.
Stelle, March and Aelia appeared beside the space anchor, the latter immediately looking around until her bright citrine eyes landed on Dan Heng as he stood from his seat. “Papa!”
She bolted for him, Dan Heng simply braced as the girl ran full speed into him and wrapped her arms around him. “Hey sunshine, how was your stay on the ship?”
She took a step back to be able to meet his gaze, Stelle and March walking in and stopping behind her. “Good! Big sis Bailu was teaching me all kinds of things this time, she says that I have talent for healing Cloudhymn and that I will make an amazing healer when I grow up!”
He smiled, his eyes softening further. “That’s great news, I’m glad to hear that. Is that something you would like to focus on?”
The girl’s expression took a more serious look as she properly gave his question thought. Meanwhile he looked over to Stelle who was looking at Aelia with fondness in her own eyes. Even in her regular outfit she looked to be almost glowing. Last year she had decided to tweak her outfit slightly, going for a slightly more mature approach. Her skirt was longer now, reaching well below her knees, but the open slit on the left still allowed him to view her beautifully long legs. Her jacket changed little but some aspects of it were very reminiscent of Himeko’s coat. Her express ticket now hung on the hem of her jacket, rather than by her chest and she had decided to let her hair grow out a bit more which made it look fuller and the bangs that hung towards her front curled gracefully.
Her gold-silver horns atop her head glinted like crystal under the parlor car’s lights and her beautiful golden tail remained calmly trailing behind her with such ease that you would think she had always been a Vidyadhara, not that she had become one just a decade ago.
Sometimes he still wondered how he ended up being lucky enough to catch Stelle’s eye, Aeons knew that if she wanted to she could bring half the universe to their knees before her. Yet she chose to remain by his side…the universe truly worked in fascinating ways.
“I do!”
Aelia’s voice snapped him out of his internal musings and not so subtle admiration for his mate. What had he asked her again? Oh, yeah.
“Have you told Bailu?”
The girl nodded her head. “She said she would take me as her apprentice when I grew old enough to handle Cloudhymn properly!”
Apprentice of the current high elder and head healer of the Luofu…now that was an offer most would die for. “Alright then, if that’s what you want and it makes you happy then you have my full support sweetheart.”
Stelle stepped up, March deciding then to take her leave after giving Dan Heng a nod and a smile as she walked past. “And mine. I know you’ll make an amazing healer Aelia.”
The girl’s smile widened as she threw her arms around her mom again, her tail swishing quickly behind her. Stelle patted her head, stepping back and up with a sigh as she slung Aelia’s bag over her shoulder. “Alright, let's take this to your room and we can then tell Himeko that we are good to go.
The trio began walking towards the door that led to the passenger cabin. Aelia walked in front of her parents, looking back at them as she walked backwards. “Where are we going?”
Stelle answered. “Penacony, the Charmony festival is about to take place and since the crew is one of the shareholders we’ve been invited.”
Aelia’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Charmony festival…will Robin be singing?”
Dan Heng nodded. “It’s likely that she will. I know you’ve been wanting to meet her for a bit so we’ll see if we can arrange something for you, yeah?”
“Yes please!”
Stelle laughed. Aelia had ended up being big on music, always listening to some while training or studying, she had quickly become a fan of Robin’s songs and when Sunday dropped the bombshell that she was his sister she was close to exploding.
Sunday seemed happy that she was a fan of his sister’s work, naturally, and had told her that he would see if they could arrange to meet up. But alas the life of a celebrity like Robin’s is all tight schedules and tours so it had been impossible to get anything settled. Though, if she was going to be present for the Charmony festival then this would be the best opportunity they would have to have Aelia finally meet her.
Sunday had already spoken to Robin about her newest little fan and the woman was immediately overjoyed, expressing her own wish to meet Aelia.
Yeah, things would work out just fine, all they needed to do now would be to set aside enough time for a quick meeting while they were all in penacony.
The family walked through the passenger cabin and then the party car, going through the door that led into the second passenger cabin that they had inhabited several years prior. Sunday’s room was the first, then was Aelia’s just two years ago. She had moved out of her parents’ room so she could have her own space and be comfortable, she had her bed, a desk stacked with books, notebooks and a tablet and then another desk in the corner with a large digital display and high end computer similar to the one her mom had up in their bedroom. The whole room was done in shades of blues, dark grays, and white with a soft lighting that tied together the whole place. Besides her bed was a bookshelf that she had started to fill with both books from her studies as well as random interests she picked up and even a few that were regular fiction literature.
Who knew that the daughter of a man who was constantly absorbed in books and the express’ data bank would develop a love for books herself?
Stelle placed her bag on the bed, giving Aelia one more hug before stepping back towards the door. “Unpack and clean up, meet us out in the party car when you’re ready so we can make the jump to Penacony okay?”
Aelia nodded, already unzipping her bag and starting to empty it of its contents, clearly excited to get going and head for the planet of festivities. “Yes mama.”
Aelia had never been to Penacony. Well, the express had stopped by a couple times but she had never actually gotten down from the train and visited the place. The moment the glare from the space anchor faded her jaw hit the floor as she found herself in the massive lobby of the Reverie, endless hallways spread out above her as far as the eye could see and beyond the front desk was the giant contraption that reminded her of a pocket watch, a clock at its center ticking away.
She followed her parents and the rest of the crew closely while letting her gaze roam. After a while they all walked away and through a set of doors that led to another lobby with an elegant bar in the middle. Beyond it a band played calm music which added to the already luxurious atmosphere of the entire place.
When the crew finally split into their respective rooms she followed her parents to what would be their room they would all share, inside what called her attention the most was the tub-pool looking thing on the far end of the room from which these purple-blue bubbles would periodically rise and disappear.
She walked over to it, dipping her hand into it and finding that when she took it out it remained dry. Stelle walked over then, kneeling beside her. “Mama, this water isn’t wet…”
Stelle couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her at her comment. “That’s because it’s not water. It’s a special liquid that helps you get transported into the world of dreams that is Penacony.”
“World of dreams?”
“That’s right.” She stood, stepping into the pool and sitting down. She extended a hand out to Aelia. “Come here, we can go in together.”
Pushing aside her hesitation she stepped in, sitting down beside her mom and still finding it hard to adjust to the weird sensation of the not-wet water around her. Stelle looked up to where Dan Heng was rummaging through one of their bags. “You coming?”
“Go on ahead, I’ll join you guys in a few minutes. Just need to find something first.”
Stelle nodded, turning to Aelia. “Okay so, just lean back, close your eyes and try to fall asleep.”
Aelia nodded, skeptical but willing to follow her mom’s instructions.
The girl closed her eyes, almost immediately feeling the edges of her consciousness blur as she was dragged into slumber.
Before she could process exactly what was happening she got a sense of weightlessness, then the quiet of their room started to vanish and be replaced by the sound of distant music, voices and the sound of cars driving by somewhere close. As soon as it had started she felt the weightlessness end and once again her own weight crashed back into her, almost bringing her to her knees when she realized she was standing on solid ground again.
She opened her eyes, citrine pools filling with a spark of open curiosity and fascination as the girl found herself now looking at the expanse of the golden hour’s neon lights and the bright spot far in the distance that was the main theater of Penacony, spotlights moving back and forth to signal the start of the Charmony festival.
Unlike the last time the crew was present for the event, this time everything went according to plan and without any secret plots or incidents. It was a rather peaceful and enjoyable two days that the crew was around for all the festivities. The closing night Robin had met up with Sunday and Stelle who had brought Aelia along, the girl had been overjoyed to meet the singer and Robin had been equally as excited and happy to meet the little Vidyadhara and hang out with her for a while.
On the third day, after things had wrapped up they took time for themselves to simply relax before they had to move on and get back to work. Stelle and Dan Heng had been taking Aelia around so she could explore and see the sights around the golden hour for most of that day, eventually Dan Heng split from them for a while to investigate the rumors about an old library that held ancient tomes on Penacony before it became the planet of festivities. Usually information of this nature was carefully guarded so when he heard about this he wasted no time trying to get his hands on the old books.
It was like this that Stelle ended up alone with Aelia, she didn’t mind at all, she was taking her around Aideen park and the girl was more than happy simply walking around, taking in the music performed by the band in the center as people milled about.
The young Vidyadhara eventually spotted a small area with water fountains and spouts through which some other kids were already running through, getting splashed in their attempts at running through without being hit by the water. Upon seeing this she couldn’t help the way her tail started swishing back and forth at a quick pace. “Mama, can I go play in the water sprouts? Pleeease?”
Stelle glanced over, immediately seeing the other parents and kids around and deeming it safe. “Of course sunshine, you go ahead, I’ll get us some drinks and be right there with you.”
Aelia’s smile widened impossibly more. “Yay! Thanks mama!”
And without another word she was off, the ends of her gray and gold coat that resemble Dan Heng’s old one waving behind her. Stelle smiled, feeling her own tail swish to reflect her mood.
Turning her back she walked to a nearby stand, taking a look at the selection of drinks and opting to go for a simple non-alcoholic cocktail for herself and a lemonade for Aelia.
The barista smiled at her and moved to prepare her drinks while she fished for her wallet, fumbling with the slightly disorganized thing until she managed to pull out the credits required to pay just as the woman tending the stand returned with a medium size cup filled with lemonade and a smaller, lidless cup that allowed the colorful cocktail to show. She smiled, thanked the woman and paid before grabbing her drinks and starting to walk over to the water spouts.
She spotted an empty table with a couple chairs nearby and set down their drinks, confident that she was close enough that Aelia would be able to spot her with ease once she got tired enough of running around the flickering water spouts.
“Mama!” Stelle’s whole body went taut, a spring coiled and ready to burst free.
The scream tarnished the previously joyous atmosphere of the park, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end as she whipped around to face the source. Off on the far side of the water spout area she spotted a masked man that had one arm wrapped firmly over Aelia, pressing her against him, he was shaking his other hand as if in pain and her daughter had locked her eyes on her with fear drawing her normally bright eyes.
Without waiting another second she dashed towards Aelia, in the blink of an eye she went from standing by her chosen table to standing face to face with the man that was presently still tightly holding her daughter with the clear intention of taking her away.
Yeah, right. As if she would allow such a thing to come even close to happening.
The trailblazer pulled her bat, gripping the handle with a white-knuckled grip as she geared for the swing of her life, aimed straight at the man that had been stupid enough to get close to her precious daughter.
The fact that she went from standing across the water section of the park to standing right in front of the man with her bat cranked back and ready to swing in the span of a second made it impossible for the man to react in any sort of meaningful way. Stelle swung her bat, connecting solidly with the man’s head and sending him tumbling across the park as his mask shattered into pieces that now littered the ground around them.
The man stumbled to his feet, clearly stunned by the strength of the impact as he put a hand out for support against a nearby building. Stelle ignored him, her focus completely on Aelia as she checked her over for any injuries where the girl had slipped to the ground upon being released by the masked man.
From the quickly gathering crowd two bloodhounds pushed through, talking on their radios as they rushed the perpetrator. The man saw this and started to take off into a nearby alley, his unsteady steps recovering with every stride as he vanished from sight ahead of his pursuers.
Aelia was shaking in Stelle’s arms, she looked unharmed but the whole thing seemed to have shaken her quite a bit so with her instincts running high Stelle lifted the girl into her arms and walked away from the scene, settling down a little ways away in another table by the stand where she originally bought her drinks. She sat her daughter down, checking her over once more from the top of her bright horns to the tip of her fluffy tail. Everything seemed to be fine, she was unharmed, yet the girl was still shaken, unshed tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
Stelle pulled her into an embrace, speaking soft reassurance into her ear as her hand carded through her long dark hair that looked so much like Dan Heng’s.
Speaking off…
Without releasing Aelia from her grip she reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone and immediately calling her mate. He answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Dan Heng, where are you?”
“I was about to head your way, why? Is everything okay?”
Stelle swallowed, her tail coming to wrap around Aelia as she started to slowly stop shaking. “Something happened, Aelia got attacked. She’s fine but pretty shaken, we’re still at Aideen park by the drinks stand.”
There was some shuffling across the line, then the sound of rushing wind. When Dan Heng spoke again it was easy to tell that he was running. “Stay where you are, I’m on my way. Have you told the bloodhounds about this?”
“A couple of them saw most of what happened and took off chasing the guy that did it, I’m sure they’ll tell their superiors about this.”
“Good. Stay alert and don’t move, I’m almost there.”
After that the call ended. True to his word Dan Heng arrived at Aideen park just a few minutes later, alert and scanning the area for anything that could be even remotely suspicious. When his eyes finally landed on his mate and daughter he wasted no time running to them. By now Aelia was a bit more calm, yet she still remained wrapped in her mother’s embrace.
When the girl’s eyes landed on her dad she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, Dan Heng responded immediately by lifting her up, one arm supporting her bottom while the other wrapped tightly around her back as the girl’s tail curled close to herself.
Dan Heng felt a fierce fire burn inside him, lashing out in search of whoever had made his cheerful and joyous daughter be reduced into this trembling, terrified mess.
Stelle stood up, hugging Dan Heng before she relayed the events in detail.
“And he escaped?”
Stelle nodded, darting her eyes away from him. “Yeah…I’m sorry. I was too focused on Aelia, she just looked so scared and I— “
Dan Heng leaned in, placing a kiss on her temple. “It’s alright, you don’t need to explain yourself. I know everything probably happened so fast and your main concern was Aelia. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”
Stelle nodded. After this she took out her phone, sending a message to the group chat with the rest of the crew and telling them in broad strokes what had happened, they all immediately agreed to meet back by the bar lobby of the Reverie where they could discuss things. Sunday even mentioned getting in contact with the Bloodhounds and having one of the supervisors meet up with them as well,
Sunday may no longer be at the head of the Oak family or have any real power when it comes to what goes on in Penacony but it would look like he was still able to pull some strings when it came to stuff like this.
Within the hour the crew had met up. Aelia had calmed down considerably more, especially now that the rest of her family were here with her. She was sitting on the edge of one of the large round couches in the room, her mom was sitting beside her and the rest of the crew were standing close together in a half circle discussing what had happened earlier.
A lot of the conversation went over Aelia’s head, she was simply happy to be safe again. Everything had happened so fast…
One second she was jumping between the water spouts, the next a man had an arm wrapped painfully tight around her middle and a hand covering her mouth as he started to lift her off the ground. She had done the first thing that came to mind, which was to bite down on the hand covering her mouth, it worked well enough as the man had immediately removed his hand and slightly loosened her hold on her, giving her enough time to scream for her mom.
After that things became a blur. She had felt the hold the man had on her disappear and the next second she was wrapped in her mom’s embrace. At some point later her dad had also arrived and now she found herself back in the hotel.
After everything that happened today she was starting to get really sleepy, right now she wanted nothing more but to go to bed and sleep until all of this mess was cleared from her still somewhat racing mind.
Stelle looked over at Aelia when the girl leaned against her, a yawn clearly signaling how tired she was, she reached over to her and started running her hand through her hair absentmindedly while her mind remained wholly focused on the conversation in front of her.
Welt crossed his arms, a pensive look coloring his face. “This is indeed a troubling situation…” he turned towards the security coordinator that had stepped in. “And your people are sure that the guy disappeared?”
The man nodded. “I apologize, we’re doing everything we can to try and pick up his trace again but after he was chased by some of my people they reported that he allegedly disappeared after they lost him at the edge of the golden hour. We’ve cordoned off the area of the incident in Aideen park to prevent anyone from messing with the evidence that was left there but for now we really don’t have much to go off of.”
Dan Heng’s tail flicked behind him, his arms were crossed, hiding how tightly he was clenching his fists at the lack of information pertaining to whoever had targeted his daughter.
He remained quiet for most of the meeting, listening and filing away any bit of information that he considered to be even slightly useful.
When they finished up the Bloodhound’s officer left with one last promise to share with them any new information they found and that they would continue to look into the matter. Stelle caught the look in Dan Heng’s eyes and reached out to grab his hand before he could pull away. “Where are you going?”
“To do a little investigation of my own. I won’t sit here idle and let them take their time with this.”
The fire in his jade and gold eyes was borne from anger, she knew nothing she could say would keep him from going on his own so she simply let him go, turning to stand while gently moving Aelia, who had fallen asleep, into a position where she could carry her. “Okay…I’ll return to the express and set Aelia down, I don’t feel like staying in the hotel is safe for her right now.”
“I agree. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“Okay…please be careful.”
The man nodded. He walked past Welt who quickly surmised his intent and simply gave him a passing nod, leaving a clear path for Dan Heng as he started to set his plan in motion.
The dragon walked into Aideen park, at this late hour it was mostly empty barring the few scattered people here and there, there was a large area that had been cordoned off like the security coordinator had mentioned earlier but that would not keep him from walking up and having a good look at the scene.
Consequences be damned, this was his daughter they were dealing with.
He quickly found the shattered fragments of the mask the perpetrator had been wearing, his initial assumption when he had heard about it was that somehow it was related to the masked fools but this mask, even broken, looked nothing like theirs. It also didn’t look anything like the masks some of the Sanctus Medicus people used to wear so that quickly ruled them out as well.
He could feel anger bubbling barely beneath his skin, the dragon inside him pacing restlessly with pent up energy that itched to be released against whatever poor soul dared touch his daughter.
He started to walk to one of the nearby alleys, trying to see if there was any hidden door or hatch that their runaway could’ve used to evade his pursuers.
Out of nowhere he felt his instincts flare violently, the sense of danger rising so suddenly that his immediate response was to summon Cloudpiercer as he turned around, finding the bulk of another man that had been standing close behind him. His hand took hold of the man’s throat, pushing him against the wall with enough force to make the impact echo through the alley as he pushed the tip of his spear into the wall just beside the man’s head.
“Whoah hey hold on a minute! This is no way to greet an old friend!”
Dan Heng blinked, the blind rage clearing enough for him to discern the mop of purple-blue hair and cocky grin that was only tampered by the visceral fear in the man’s bright sea green eyes. “Sampo…”
The fool raised his hands in an attempt to show that he was no threat. “Dear old friend please, there is no need for such violence. Would you care to let go of little ole Sampo Koski here…please?”
Dan Heng sighed, pulling back his spear and releasing the man’s throat as he took a step back. Sampo breathed a sigh of relief as he did an exaggerated bow of thanks that caused the Vidyadhara to roll his eyes. “What are you doing here, Sampo?”
“Oh nothing much, you know me, always going around places where interesting things might happen eh?”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you know anything about what transpired here earlier?”
“I’ve heard a thing or two through my people, quite the stir huh? I’m curious to know myself, things have been awfully dull lately and this feels like a good change of pace don’t you think?” He finished by playfully elbowing Dan Heng, something that only helped set the Vidyadhara further on edge at seeing how he was making light of the situation.
Dan Heng slammed the butt of his spear on the ground with a sharp click, taking a step towards the masked fool. He had no time for little games and vague hints. The corner of his mouth peeled back, baring his fangs as he growled a question with the intent to let Sampo know he was done playing around. “What do you know about this, really?”
The blue haired man raised his hands again, finally sensing that this was a serious matter. “Okay, okay calm down my fine fellow. I really don’t know anything about what happened here.” He crossed his heart with a finger, then placed his hand upon his chest. “I swear it on my very own fool mask.”
Dan Heng vanished his spear, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose and turned away, staring to walk away from the man.
He had thought that would be the end of his interaction with Sampo but after a few seconds of blissful silence he spoke again.
“But I do know where you might get some information.”
He stopped walking. For a few seconds he considered if he was willing to listen to Sampo of all people…though at this point it was either that or nothing at all…
He turned around, facing the fool once more. “Speak.”
“There is a tavern in Dreamflux reef where all sorts of dark dealings take place. It’s the kind of spot not even the Bloodhounds dare enter for fear of setting off more loose ends than they can count. If someone is after your family then I can almost guarantee that you’ll find at least some of them there.”
The dragon took a few steps closer to Sampo who immediately recoiled, walking back until his back was pressed against the wall and a nervous laugh was all he could let out. “Where exactly is this tavern?”
Sampo spilled the address, giving Dan Heng a few reference points for directions just to be safe. Dan Heng stared into those sea green eyes, trying to find if there was any form of deceit in them but in the end found none.
Without another word he started to walk away, jaw set and shoulders tense as he started to make a plan in his mind.
Sampo watched, rubbing the back of his neck before he called out again. “You might want to disguise yourself though, you’re pretty recognizable as it is right now my friend.”
Dan Heng paused, stopped for a few seconds and then continued on. He had a tavern to find and a man to hunt down.
That same night Dan Heng found himself walking through the dark streets of Dreamflux Reef. He had gone back to his human guise for the task, wearing a simple pair of black pants and hoodie that he could use to further conceal himself by pulling the hood up like he was doing just now. He had also scruffed up his hair, rubbed dirt on top of his hands and parts of his face just enough to dull his appearance to that of the average tavern-hopper with nothing to lose and little hope left.
He followed Sampo’s directions and eventually came upon a set of stairs going down into a single door with no identifiable signs. To the average person it looked like any other door but the closer he looked the more little details he noticed that gave away that this door led to no ordinary place. The well concealed camera under the wall lamp, the sliding thin panels near the top and bottom of the door as well as the fact that it was considerably cleaner than any of the other dark corners that filled this part of Penacony.
He walked down the steps, knocked on the door and waited.
The top sliding panel opened, dark eyes peeking through. “What do you want?”
Dan Heng’s eyes narrowed. “I was told I could find a place to drink here.”
The man laughed. “You got the wrong place kid. Fuck off outta here before I kick you back up those stairs personally.” The panel slid closed.
Dan Heng knocked again.
The panel remained closed even after a whole minute so he proceeded to knock one more time, putting more force behind it. The panel opened again, the same man now glaring through the gap. “Fuck off before I regret letting you go the first time brat.”
Dan Heng’s eyes narrowed, jade and gold blazing in his barely contained anger as he simply raised his hand, a stack of credits neatly wrapped with a rubber band between his fingers. The man’s dark eyes shifted to the money before turning back to Dan Heng with suspicion. The panel slid closed before the larger lower panel slid open, a flat tray sliding out.
Dan Heng set the credits down, as soon as he did the tray was retrieved and the panel closed up. He waited for a minute, two, then the sound of several locks turning echoed in the quiet night.
The door opened and he came face to face with the man— a tall burly guy with unkept hair and a scruffy beard looked down at him. “Cause any trouble and this time there won’t be any warnings. I’ll kick your sorry ass so far out of here you’ll wake up back in whatever shithole you crawled out of.”
He didn’t deign him with an answer, simply proceeded to walk down the dark hallway until the room finally opened up into a dingy tavern. Low music played, giving the already dank atmosphere of low light and fluorescent lights just a little more depth to add onto the ambient sound of raucous drunk patrons. Workers flitted between the various tables offering more than just the drinks on tap and pleasant company, and if the way some of them seemed to be getting more than just a little friendly with the customers was anything to go by he had no doubt of where some of the hallways on the far end of the room led to.
The place was larger than what he had originally expected from such a small, secluded entrance, on the far end of the room he spotted a decently sized stage where more workers were performing. Credits peeking out from the edges of some of the women’s poor excuses of tops that left close to nothing to the imagination and from the waistbands of some of the mens’ skin-tight shorts.
He walked up to the bar, ordering a simple drink to blend in. With his drink in hand he picked a side table near the bar, a spot that would allow his more sensitive hearing to pick up on conversations happening both at the bar and at most of the occupied tables.
He took a sip of his drink, the sharp taste of alcohol and bitterness of the drink itself a staple of the cheap spirits.
After a while a woman walked up to him, her skimpy attire similar to the ones worn by the performers on the other side of the tavern. She had long blonde hair and honey colored eyes accentuated by a glittery deep blue eyeshadow and bright red lipstick on her plump lips. “And why is such a handsome man like yourself all alone—” she gestured at the stage, then at herself. “—with so much good company present? You’ve been scouting the room for a bit there, found anyone to your liking?”
Her voice was syrupy sweet, her moves fluid. Dan Heng wasn’t interested but he knew better than to be rude to someone who was clearly dealt a rough hand in life to have landed in a place like this, going up to strangers and possibly dangerous people to make ends meet. “Sorry, but I’m not looking for company right now.”
The girl leaned into the table, the action clearly meant to show more of her cleavage. “Oh don’t be such a spoilsport. Everyone says that at first.” She leaned close enough that Dan Heng could pick up on the sharp scent of cheap perfume and alcohol, he fought the urge to wrinkle his nose at the strong smell as she continued to lean further into his space. “Eventually they all cave in. You’re better looking than most of the people I see around these parts.” She leaned in closer, talking close to his ear. “Come on handsome, let me show you a good time.”
He felt the visceral rejection to the woman’s approach, his patience was already short after the events of the day and it was taking everything in him to continue to play it cool and not cause a scene as he clenched his fist under the table. “Thanks, but I’m not interested, really.”
The woman leaned back, a hint of disappointment in her eyes, yet the sweet lull of her voice remained unphased. She stood straight, a mischievous glint in her warm eyes. “Perhaps you’re looking for something else.” She walked around Dan Heng, stopping behind him as she placed her hands on his shoulders while guiding him to look at the stage on the far end of the room. “I know some of the boys up there would be glad to spend some time with you then, if that’s more your speed.”
There was a purr to her voice that made it clear she was good at her craft, she could likely convince anyone to go along with her, drunk or otherwise. But he had a mission, there were things at stake here and continuing to entertain this conversation was only distracting him from listening in on nearby conversations for clues about what had happened earlier.
“I’m fine, thank you. I already have a partner.”
Instead of serving as a deterrent the look on the girl’s eyes seemed to say the complete opposite as she came around the table again. “Who says they need to know? Whatever happens in this place stays here.” She winked at him. “That’s why it’s such a hotspot for all sorts of unsavory but profitable dealings.”
“I’m not—”
She leaned on the table again, reaching out with her hand and placing it on top of his own. “Come on handsome, let me help you loosen up a bit. After all, it’s not cheating if they don’t find out”
Oh for the love of—
“Leana! You have a customer on table twelve asking for you.”
She sighed as the bartender’s voice carried over the sound of the music and the rest of the patrons. “Alright, be there in a sec.” She stood back up, fixing her hair and giving Dan Heng another wink before turning and walking away with the smallest hint of disappointment in her eyes.
Dan Heng breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank the Aeons…
Well, lesson learned. Instead of looking aimlessly around the room he decided to pull out a small notebook he’d picked up after the meeting at the bar lobby in the Reverie earlier, using a small pen he always carried with him to scribble random observations and pieces of scattered conversations just to appear busy and hopefully avoid any more encounters like the one with the woman just now.
Time ticked by, thankfully no one else approached him but regrettably even after two hours he’d gotten no closer to finding even the ghost of a hint than he was this evening.
Three hours later the sound of the music and mixed conversations became a drone in his ears where sounds were blending together more and more with each passing minute. Maybe he had been too hopeful when he thought that following a hint given by Sampo was to be trusted…
“What an idiot. And now half the Bloodhound are sniffing around where they shouldn’t. Boss isn’t gonna be too happy about that.”
Dan Heng stopped, even the moves of his pen on the notebook had halted completely. That voice came from one of the two men that had just walked past his table. The pair settled at the bar, close enough to him that he could clearly eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Gray fucked up. If we thought it would be near impossible to get to the kid before…its going to be even harder now that the nameless are on high alert.”
The man, the one that had just spoken, reached out for the drink that had been placed before him, taking a sip before setting it down and running his hand through his dirty blond hair with a sigh. “Boss is not gonna let him go scot free for that fuckup.”
The other man, a guy with dark brown hair, nodded his agreement. “Weren’t you in charge of his group, Green?”
“Yeah, and now because of him I might get my ass handed to me as well.” The brown haired man laughed, earning himself a hit on the back of his head. “Shut your trap Red. Another laugh from you and I’ll make sure to drag you down with me.”
Dan Heng started writing again.
Red and Green…they’re using codenames? This could complicate things.
The blond man, Green, spoke again after taking another swig of his drink. “Whatever, we’ll get our chance. Failure is not an option anyway so we’ll have to figure out a way to make it work.”
“Why does he want the nameless child anyway? We already have the others and by the looks of it that’s more than enough.”
“For now it is. Once things go live properly demand will skyrocket. Cyan is trying to stay ahead of the game to keep the big man happy I guess.”
After that their conversation turned to trivial things, yet the Vidyadhara kept a close eye on the pair. After about an hour they stood and walked toward the exit, Dan Heng closed his notebook, putting it away and stood up to follow them.
The burly man from the entrance was still there and gave Dan Heng an annoyed look as he walked by, closing the door behind him with barely any space to spare. He ignored it and continued walking up the stairs and back into the darkened streets of Dreamflux Reef.
He followed the two men at a distance, never losing track of their moves.
He knew they would notice him quite quickly, lead him into a dead end alley and try to take him out thanks to his disguise and their belief that the two of them could overpower a seemingly average street dweller from this dilapidated part of town.
Sure enough just a few minutes later he noticed they started to slow their pace and head towards the edge of town, eventually turning down a closed off alley. Dan Heng saw their hiding spots behind some stacked crates and a dumpster near the mouth of the alley but continued on deeper into it, feigning ignorance until he was just a few steps from the wall. It was then that he finally heard the footsteps approaching behind him.
“And what do we have here? Some unfortunate soul trying to steal a quick buck no doubt.” Green, he was able to recognize the voice without even turning as their footsteps continued to get closer.
“I think we ought to teach him a lesson, don’t you think?”
“Heh, most definitely. I’ve been itching to blow off some steam since earlier.”
Dan Heng turned his head, his hood still concealing him from both the men as they continued their approach. Red dashed in first, arm reared back with a punch aimed at his face, he dodged with ease, leaning away from the trajectory of the punch and using his own momentum to grab his arm and flip him over, dropping Red in the ground with a crunch as all the air left his lungs.
Green swore and ran in, pulling out a collapsible baton that he stretched out fully with one swift yank before raising it and bringing it down in an arch that was aimed at his head.
Dan Heng blocked his arm with his palm, pushing him back with another open palm strike to his chest, Green stumbled back a few steps before rushing him again in another attempt at hitting him with the baton on his stomach. The Vidyadhara finally looked up, eyes blazing in molten gold as he elbowed Green in the stomach before delivering a palm strike against his arm that resulted in a crunch and a scream as his elbow bent at the wrong angle, causing him to drop the baton.
In one swift motion Dan Heng dropped to a crouch as he spun with an outstretched leg, knocking Green’s feet from under him and delivering him swiftly to the ground next to his companion who was finally starting to recover from having the wind knocked out of him from being dropped on the concrete like a dead weight.
Dan Heng took a calming breath, steadying himself and reigning back the impulse his draconic instincts were pushing forth that called for blood.
Red and Greed finally came to a stand again, the former pressing a hand to his ribs while the latter cradled his busted arm. Dan Heng turned towards them, walking towards the pair as they walked back until their backs met the end of the alley, it was here that Dan Heng finally threw back his hood. In the low light provided by a single flickering streetlamp, his eyes— which were now almost completely consumed by gold —shone with a blazing fire that immediately made the two men in front of him start questioning every choice that landed them in front of him tonight.
Green narrowed his eyes at him. “Who are you? What the hell do you want?!”
There was a bite to his words but Dan Heng knew it was all a show, the man was terrified for his life. He summoned Cloudpiercer, the butt end of the spear cracking against the stone with each step he took towards them. Red’s eyes went to the weapon, he scanned it for a few seconds before his eyes widened and he retreated further against the wall in what Dan Heng would guess was an attempt to have the wall swallow him whole. “Y-You…how did you find us?”
Green looked at Red, confused. “You know this guy?”
“That spear. He’s the Dan Heng. From the nameless.”
Green’s skin seemed to drop several shades as he realized who was standing in front of him. “You’re the brat’s father…” The words were barely a whisper, likely he had said them more to himself than anything but this close nothing escaped Dan Heng’s sharp hearing.
He slammed the butt end of his spear against the ground with more force, golden cracks growing outwards towards the two men as several stone spikes shot up from the ground, piercing the wall behind his cowering prey and effectively pinning them under the immovable earth. Another hit of his spear on the ground, two quick consecutive hits, and his appearance changed in a flash, his long golden horns and muscular tail returning. Now, in this form, he towered a whole head above the two squirming men pinned before him. Even if he was still dressed in his same plain, dirty clothes, the reactions of the pair told him it did nothing to tamper the fear they felt when they realized just who was standing before them.
He gripped his spear, thrusting it forwards and piercing Green’s shoulder cleanly through, embedding the spear against the wall hard enough that he was able to let it go and Cloudpiercer would not move even with his prey’s attempts at breaking free as he grunted in pain through gritted teeth.
Dan Heng leaned over Green, the man’s earlier bravado vanishing in the face of the absolute disparity in their strength and the simple fact that he was now at the mercy of an angered dragon while his back remained pinned to the wall. The Vidyadhara’s eyes were narrowed into slits, pools of molten gold that pinned his prey to the wall with more force than his spear that remained firmly lodged into the wall. “Why are you after my daughter? Who are you working for?” There was an underlying growl to his voice as he continued to push back the screams of his inner dragon itching to rend the two people in front of him to bloody ribbons.
He had to keep control if he wanted information.
Green pulled against the stone pinning him, against the spear through his shoulder, only managing to further open the gash there as he muffled another scream of pain. He looked up to meet Dan Heng’s eyes, to his credit the man didn’t shy away even as he stared at the twin pools of molten gold that blazed with the fury of a thousand stars. “That’s…none of your business, nameless.” he was gasping between words, clearly trying to breathe through the pain.
Dan Heng placed his hand on the wall, leaning over the man and closing in on his space completely. “As it involves my daughter I would say it is very much my business. I will ask one more time…Why. are. you. after. her?”
The man sneered, then proceeded to spit right in his face, blood splattering alongside it. Dan Heng reared back, his hand leaving the wall to instead find purchase around Green’s throat with a firm grip that had the guy trying in vain to pull his hand off of him. With his free hand he wiped the spit and blood from his face, not breaking eye contact with the squirming man under his grip. “Last chance.”
He loosened his grip just enough to allow the man to speak. Green gasped, greedily sucking in air before smiling as he spoke between ragged breaths. “Go…to hell.”
Fury flared like a wildfire inside him as he bared his fangs with a deep growl, the ground trembling beneath his feet as he tightened his grip on his prey’s neck once more.
A flash of white hot pain suddenly flared from his cheek as he took a step back, his gaze immediately fell to Red where he noticed he had freed one of his arms and pulled out a dagger from somewhere on his person, taking advantage of his single minded focus on Green to attempt to land a hit. Dan Heng brought his hand up to his cheekbone, his fingers coming away stained with gold. He had no doubt that if his body hadn’t reacted on instinct the instant he felt the blade on his skin that the cut would’ve been much deeper. As it was right now it was shallow enough that he simply ignored it as he turned wholly to Red.
Without looking he yanked Cloudpiercer from the wall, earning a pained scream from Green that he silenced with a well placed hit to the head with the butt of his spear, knocking him out instantly.
Red looked between Green’s slumped form still pinned up against the wall by the stone, and Dan Heng’s approaching presence. The Vidyadhara closed in on him, caging the man in with his wider frame. “That…was a mistake on your part.”
Switching the grip on his spear he leaned back just enough to where he would have good leverage as he rested the edge of the blade against the side of Red’s neck. “Now, let's try this again.” He increased the pressure just enough to barely break skin, a thin trickle of red gathering where his spear met soft flesh. “Why are you after my daughter?”
Red swallowed, completely paralyzed. “I don’t know, I’m just an underling. They never tell me anything.”
Dan Heng growled, leaning further into Red’s space. “Lies.”
“No, I swear!” he pointed with his one free hand at the passed out man beside him. “He’s higher ranked than me, he would know more! I swear it’s true that nobody tells me anything, all I got was the order to take her.”
“Why are you taking Vidyadhara children?”
“I-I don’t know the specifics, I promise. All I know is that they need them for something the big boss is making, they say that it’s going to be huge and that a lot of money will come from it.”
The dragon growled again, baring his fangs as he applied just slightly more pressure on his spear. Red’s eyes grew impossibly wide, his one free hand held up in a placating gesture. “No please! I swear that’s all I know, please!”
With a resigned tsk Dan Heng pulled away, dropping his spear away and leaving just a shallow cut on Red’s neck. The man breathed a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall. “Thank the Aeons. Thank you, oh thank—”
Dan Heng hit the man with the butt of his spear, knocking him out instantly. He sighed, taking a few more deep breaths in an attempt to tame the insistent pacing of his inner dragon who was not satisfied enough with simply knocking the two perpetrators out and was still howling for more.
His tail flicked once, twice, then he finally opened his eyes again and vanished his spear. From the pocket of his pants he pulled out his phone, opening his chat with Sunday and sending him a simple message.
“Found two more men involved in today’s incident. Couldn’t get much information out of them but perhaps you or the Bloodhounds can. I’ll send you the location so you can forward it to the Bloodhounds and they can come take care of them.”
He didn’t have to wait long, despite the insanely late hour Sunday replied just two minutes later.
“Dreamflux Reef…okay, I’ll let the Bloodhounds know. Are you okay? You didn’t tell anyone that you would be going off on your own to investigate.”
“I’m fine. I’ll be leaving now but the two guys I interrogated will be pinned on the wall at the end of the alley in the location I sent. Tell the Bloodhounds they might need some power tools to pry them off”
The typing bubble appeared, then disappeared a couple times before a message finally came through. “...Okay, I’ll let them know.”
Pocketing his phone Dan Heng encased Green and Red’s feet in a stone dome, just one extra precaution to guarantee that they would not be getting out of here before the Bloodhounds arrived.
With a shuddering exhale he shifted back into his human guise, pulling up the hood of his hoodie again and starting to walk back through the dark streets of Dreamflux Reef, hoping that maybe Sunday’s tuning of whatever techniques the Bloodhounds used would yield better results than his own…