(Disclaimer: This story contains mentions of kidnapping, depictions of bullying/negligence/cheating, and unfunny cringe attempts at humor throughout.)
While adventuring on the Xianzhou Luofu for their Trailblazing expeditions one day, the Nameless had their exploration routine interrupted by a sudden yet urgent request from the Realm-Keeping Commission. Concerned, Stelle, March 7th, and Welt all ventured to the commission's main office to see what the issue was. Once they arrived, they met with Dahao, who informed them of the situation.
"Thanks for coming! All of you are the only ones we can rely upon to solve this problem.", he stated, "Putting your past aid aside, this is quite a serious request I have for you all…" Welt nodded and replied with: "What is it…? We Nameless are happy to help you with anything." "Yeah! You can count on us!", March 7th said. Dahao thought for a second before saying, "Good. Well, um… It's like this: A young Vidyadhara boy went missing a few hours ago. His friends reported him being escorted away by a stranger he briefly talked to, so now it's a suspected kidnapping case…", with a serious expression.
Feeling saddened by the tragic request, March 7th commented: "Oh no, that's terrible! Is there anything we can do?" Welt, on the other hand, just solemnly nodded. "We would take care of it ourselves, but…", Dahao trailed off, "Ever since the Ambrosial Arbor crisis resolved itself, we've been swamped with so much work. And seeing that the Astral Express crew is so reliable with helping us out in the past, I thought that you could help find this missing child. …Will you assist us?"
A brief moment passed before Stelle decided to answer his question and speak for the first time since stepping into the office. "Don't worry, the Galactic Baseballer is on the case! Any kidnappers will have to answer to my bat hitting their face!", she passionately said while pointing at herself. Not being put off by her usual antics, March 7th pumped her fist and said: "Ha, yeah! That's right!" Welt shook his head and stated, "Please… try to take this more seriously. This is an abduction we're dealing with…", as a response. He then looked back at Dahao and asked: "So… Where should we start our search?"
He scratched his chin for a moment, contemplating what information to give to them. "I knew I could count on you! If I were you, I'd recommend searching…", he answered, "...in Central Starskiff Haven. That's where the kid was last seen, and his friends should still be there. I'd say you should interview them to gather evidence." "I see… Thank you for your time. Let's go, everyone…", Welt said. March 7th, continuing her enthusiasm, loudly proclaimed: "Okay! We're off to catch a kidnapper!" All three of the Nameless proceeded to start walking out of the door in the office, to begin their investigation. Dahao waved them off and said, "Good luck out there.", with a sincere tone. And so, they headed for their destination, eagerly wanting to help this missing child…
…
Upon arriving at Central Starskiff Haven, the Trailblazers quickly searched for the missing kid's friends. Soon enough, they found them. After some brief questioning, they were pointed in a possible direction. One of the friends, a young Vidyadhara girl explained further with: "I didn't get a good look at the stranger, since they were too far away from where we were playing. All I saw was them leading our friend away while we were distracted. I dunno what's gonna happen to him, so please find him!"
"Don't worry, little one. We'll find him, for sure!", March 7th said in a comforting manner. "Did any of you see what direction they were heading in?", Welt further inquired, "If you can tell us that, then we'll be more likely to find him…" This led to another one of the children to speak up, a Foxian boy this time. He pointed to an exit across the Starskiff lane bridge and said, "That way! It looked like they were heading towards Aurum Alley. …I hope this helps.", with a nervous expression. March 7th nodded encouragingly, saying: "You bet it does! Let's start movin' and find this kid, guys!" Motivated by her optimism, the three of them then started to go to the next place in their search.
…
Entering Aurum Alley, March 7th and Welt spent a few moments looking around, it was the first time they had been there (Stelle had already been there numerous times before, by revitalizing the entire location). No longer being able to contain her excitement, March 7th raised her voice, saying, "My, oh my! Hey Mr. Yang, can we stop and get some food from the stalls over there? I hear the food here is s'posed to be delicious! I need a break from all this walking…", while pointing at the food stalls and jumping up and down. Unsure of what to say to that at first, Welt adjusted his glasses and said: "Let's… wait until we finish our mission. The child we're looking for could be in grave danger, and I know that feeling of worrying over children… Once we're done, then I'll treat you all to whatever you want from here, I promise." She gave him a thumbs up in response. "Yay, thanks! This'll be awesome!", she exclaimed, "Now, what do we do from here?" "Let's ask some of the people around here to see if they have any information on the child's whereabouts…", he replied.
Stelle looked all over her surroundings, trying to find someone she recognized. Then, her eyes landed on a familiar face: Bailu, who was standing next to a lone food stall with pleading eyes, as if she wanted food really badly. Stelle thought she would know something about their predicament, so she approached her with determination in her steps. The other two followed after seeing this. March 7th smiled and waved once she was within speaking distance of her. "Oh, it's the Dragon Lady. Hey, there!", she said to her. "Huh…? Oh, it's you three! The ones who helped me before.", Bailu greeted them, "What brings you here? I'm just trying to get my hands on some food from here. It would be really worthwhile, since I escaped from the Alchemy Commission once again to come all the way here…"
Taken aback by her answer, Welt stuttered a bit before speaking to her: "Um… W-We have been… sent by the Realm-Keeping Commission to find a missing Vidyadhara boy, who may have been abducted by someone older. Have you seen a pair of people matching that description…?" She pondered for a moment, her dragon tail swaying back and forth, before replying with, "I dunno… It's hard to say. What's in it for me?", in a cheeky tone. March 7th, who remained undeterred by Bailu's negotiation tactics, skillfully compromised with an idea of her own. "If ya tell us, we'll buy ya a burger from the food stall over there! Won't that be enough?", she offered. "YOU WILL!? Yaay~!", she gasped while squealing in delight, "I guess I'll tell you everything I know, then!" Welt nodded and smiled, a rare sight for him, and he said: "Exceptional work, March. That was some good negotiation skills."
Bailu scratched the side of her head before proceeding to share some information by stating, "Here's what I know: I saw that kid being dragged around to some of the food stalls by this grownup. They both bought and ate some food together, before they left Aurum Alley to go somewhere else. I'm so jealous of them, that food looked so good!", with a reflective face. "Grownup…?", Stelle asked with a serious expression, "Did you recognize who it was?" Bailu tapped her horns in a childish way to remember any forgotten details. She then gasped and elaborated with: "...Oh yeah, I remember now! It was someone I've seen before. I can't remember her name, though… If my memories are right, then she's from the Divination Commission. I'm pretty sure of that!"
The three Trailblazers were lost in their own speculative thoughts after hearing that. "The Divination Commission? Why there? Hm, we're so close to figuring who this kidnapper is! It's gotta be easy from here on out…", March 7th said once she got sick of the silence. "Ahem, where's my burger? You promised me!", Bailu said in annoyance, "I held up my end of the bargain, now you must do yours. Please hurry it up, I'm starving here~!" But, before anyone else could say or do anything in response, Stelle's phone received a text message notification. She pulled it out of her coat pocket and saw that it was from Dahao. Realizing its importance, she bluntly stated: "Hold on. I have to respond to this. It's kinda urgent." She didn't bother waiting for the others' reactions, so she started to read the message and tap out responses to it.
Dahao: Important update in the investigation!
The missing child has been spotted wandering
with his abductor into the Divination Commission.
One of our workers reported it. They are still
there right now. You should rush over there to
stop them!
Stelle: …
Stelle: Damn bro, that's crazy
Dahao: If you hurry, you can still rescue the
child. Take my advice and go!
Stelle: OK, on my way
Welt, who had been intensely staring at the chat messaging along with March 7th, looked back up at the group and said, "Well… I suppose we know where we need to go next. We should make haste, while we can…", while tapping his cane on the ground. Stretching and sighing in preparation, March 7th responded with: "Might as well… Sorry, Miss Bailu, you'll have to take a rain check on your burger. But I swear I'll make it up to you, just you wait! Anywho, let's get over to the Divination Commission, pronto! We gotta save the day once again!" Stelle nodded and put her phone away, putting on her more deadpan expression that she uses when she attempts (and fails) to be more serious.
As the three of them speed-walked to the exit of Aurum Alley, Bailu became slightly bewildered and upset. "Hey, where are you going!? I haven't got my food yet!", she complained loudly, "Now I'll have to go back to the Alchemy Commission empty-handed. Hmph… You better not forget about your makeup promise now, you hear me!?" The others silently acknowledged her, but they were too focused on the potential confrontation ahead. They were just relieved that the crisis they got themselves into was finally going to end soon, at the Divination Commission…
…
At the Matrix of Prescience in the center of the Divination Commission, Master Diviner Fu Xuan and Qingque stood across from each other while conversing… with the missing Vidyadhara boy standing in between the two of them! "What is the meaning of this?", Fu Xuan asked with a skeptical tone, "And why did you bring this child here with you?"
Approaching from the stairs leading up to the platform where this was all happening, the Nameless spotted the conversation and halted in place, wanting to eavesdrop on the situation's reasoning. "Huh? Miss Qingque? Wait a sec, don't tell me she…", March 7th said with disappointment in her voice. Welt stood in place and replied with: "Let's hear them out before we make any rash judgments." Stelle then took his advice and stared at the perpetrators. Despite their open-mindedness, they all knew who kidnapped the missing child, so they waited for the explanation.
Tapping her feet anxiously, Qingque then proceeded to place her left hand on the child's shoulder while saying, "This is my… kid! Yeah. I just had him not too long ago, so… I would like to request some time off work for maternity leave! I'd say about two years is good, since raisin' a child's not easy. I've been hard at work lately, and givin' birth to my beautiful son here has put quite a bit of strain on me, y'know? Pretty please? Some rest from this job is needed for me to raise him properly in order for him to become a successful adult. Think of it as a favor for all the decades I've reliably worked here…", with a mix of both mischievous and pseudo-serious expressions. The awkward and cringey silence that followed was swiftly filled by her leaning down and whispering in the child's ear: "Psst… Hey kid, do ya mind backing up my story here? I need it to sound more convincing." The boy nodded nervously before speaking up. "That's right, she's my mommy! And she has to take care of me.", he said while hugging her in an unconvincing attempt to fake affection, "Also, make sure she's paid for her time off, since she needs to use the money to play Celest-... I mean, to give me a proper education so I can grow up to be whatever I want!"
Fu Xuan was not impressed. She just sighed and shook her head in aggravation after hearing the bogus explanations. "Really? You have got to be joking. Even I, the master diviner, could not foresee this… Never have I ever expected for you to make up a lie as ridiculous as this.", she said. Before Qingque could rebut her, Fu Xuan countered her with: "Do not try to protest it, as your little narrative has many problems that show its flaws. For example… You claimed you "gave birth" to this child, but you have never shown any signs of being pregnant. What is your excuse this time?" Qingque scratched her head before saying, "Umm… Well, you've never noticed 'cuz I'm… at the loafing gate so much, yeah! I've just been slackin' off lately due to me preparing for my son's arrival.", in a deceptive tone. Ignoring her leaps in logic, the master diviner continued to deconstruct her argument. "Not only that, this child of yours is quite grown and developed for being born "only recently" before.", she stated, "Add that with the fact that you are too young to have a child this old, and it weakens your fib even further…"
Feeling frustrated at being berated, Qingque then quietly said to herself: "I'm too young? Well you're barely an adult yourself…" Fu Xuan overheard this and she stomped her feet in anger, losing control of her emotions for a moment. "Wh-What was that…!?", she yelled. Qingque shrugged and replied, "Nothin' at all, boss!", as an answer. The master diviner proceeded to take a deep breath and regained her composure. "Regardless… There is one undeniable fact that you have not considered that cannot be refuted, since it is common knowledge.", she argued conclusively, "This child that stands before me is one of the Vidyadhara, who do not have biological parents; their entire species is centered around reincarnation. With this, your argument is voided!"
Despite being proven wrong, Qingque was not dissuaded from her goal. Through a mix of denial and stubbornness, she compromised with: "Hm… Ya got me there! And you're right, I adopted this boy instead. I only lied about it so you would be more sympathetic, as there's a stigma against adoptive parents…" Not seeing why Fu Xuan was upset at her, her deflective comment was followed up with Qingque saying, "But my request still stands. I wanna get some time off work so I can raise him properly. C'mon, please? If ya make it paid leave, I promise I'll come back to this job and work extra hard once my two years of absence are finished~! And I'm DEFINITELY not lying this time!", with a devilish grin. Fu Xuan put her hand on her forehead after hearing her comeback, feeling nauseated from her employee's antics. "Ugh… You do not understand at all… Your words are NEVER trustworthy! Besides not ever taking responsibility in your career, your track record is pretty poor. For that, no, I will not grant your request…", she complained, "Which makes me wonder all this time after listening to your pathetic excuses: Where did this child come from? Why did you choose him for your scheme, assuming you did adopt him…?"
"This child was abducted from Central Starskiff Haven while he was distracted from spending time with his friends. We were sent by the Realm-Keeping Commission to find him…", Welt said in reply. The three Nameless walked over from the stairs to where the other three were standing as he said this. Fu Xuan turned around, asking: "We all meet again… What you said just now, is it true?" "'Course it is! We worked our butts off all day to find the kidnapper on this wild goose chase!", March 7th interrogated, "So, how 'bout it, Miss Qingque? Why'd ya kidnap this child? You gotta tell us, if ya don't wanna get thrown into the Shackling Prison!"
Qingque laughed awkwardly at the accusations. Realizing how much serious trouble she could be in, she answered, "Hey c'mon, don't gimme that glaring look! I didn't kidnap him, honest! I just bribed him with some delicious Aurum Alley food in exchange for his consented cooperation in my plan. I also was gonna show him how to play Celestial Jade after I got the paid leave. I was gonna bring him right back to his friends after I was done, I swear! I didn't realize I kept him for this long, or that this counted as kidnapping… So, please spare me, I didn't know any better!", as a self-justification comment that didn't sound very convincing for alleviating her of her crimes. She then turned to the child and said: "Hey, back me up here." The now-found missing child nodded and spoke up in an unsure tone. "That's right… Though, I was never told about the Celestial Jade part of it…", he said.
Seeing that Qingque was only digging her grave even deeper, Stelle finally decided to say something about how the issue was turning out. She took both of her hands, turned them straight up so the fingers pointed forward, reeled them back before using them to point in front of her, and only said one word in the process towards her: "Boi…" While no one reacted to her memey response, Fu Xuan spoke up to give Qingque her judgment. "Your intention does not matter, the result of it does…", she said in a judgmental tone, "Your actions are still considered to be abduction, and that is quite serious… And you committed this atrocity all for not wanting to do your job."
She proceeded to cross her arms in resentment while she continued her monologue. "First, you faked having a heart attack last week… And now, this!", she stated while reminiscing about said incident. She shook her head and said, "Your methods for slacking off are becoming increasingly more desperate! This is a sad sight to see, and now you must be punished for it. I cannot allow you any more pardons from them…", while her face became more serious. Now feeling uneased by her intense demeanor, Qingque audibly gulped and asked: "...So, what now? Ya gonna fire me…? Or send me to prison…?"
In a surprising turn of events, Fu Xuan decided to give out a different punishment than what was expected from the average criminal (since Qingque is not "average" at all). "Nope. As your higher-up, I need to have some mercy on you. Sending you to the Shackling Prison will not do you any good, since confinement won't get you to learn from your mistakes. There was a slight misunderstanding surrounding the abduction anyway…", she explained, "And I will not fire you, either. If I were to do that, you would just laze around and not find any more work, putting your life and your family's in jeopardy. In short, it will not fix your slacking problem…"
The solution seemed to arrive as a few Cloud Knights stepped into the Matrix of Prescience, their sights set on apprehending Qingque. "For your punishment, you shall spend the next two years working monitored, unpaid overtime. You will need to diligently work extra hours while security watches you until the sentence is over. Also, you will be forbidden from playing Celestial Jade during this period. This is all done so you cannot escape and continue slacking off in the future. And by doing so, I hope I can help you become more responsible and not resort to your rash way of handling things… Now, take her away to work right now, guards!", she commanded with integrity.
Two Cloud Knights then proceeded to walk over to Qingque and they began to restrain her. Freaking out, she started to protest and feel more guilty about her actions than before, saying: "Wait up, hold on a second! You can't take my precious Celestial Jade away from me. I single handedly revived that game from obscurity, it's my pride and joy! I need it to live! C'mon Xuany, let's talk about this! I promise I won't ever slack off again, just don't force me to do this, please…" Fu Xuan just scoffed at her disrespectful nickname and gestured for the Cloud Knights to escort her to the nearby teleporter instead. Qingque tried in futility to resist, kicking and screaming like a toddler, then finally shouting, "Nooo! I don't wanna work and be productive! You should've just fired me instead! Please, save meee…!", just as she and her guards reached the teleporter. Once they entered it, they all vanished from sight, deeper into the Divination Commission where she will be put to work.
Without a second of hesitation after making her worker suffer, the master diviner turned to the child and said: "This Cloud Knight will escort you back to your friends. Do not worry, you are safe now. Be careful around strangers from now on…" One last remaining Cloud Knight stood next to the boy, who could only say, "...Thanks…", awkwardly in response. The Vidyadhara boy had seen too much that day and never expected any of it. Due to feeling confused and wary from seeing Qingque and Fu Xuan's long winded argument, he couldn't say any more. And so, he then proceeded to follow the Cloud Knight away and up the stairs, so he could see his friends one more. He didn't even look back at the Nameless, the original ones who were supposed to rescue him, but because of unusual circumstances, couldn't at that time…
Stunned by how quickly and strangely the issue resolved itself, Welt was the only one who could break his silence to finish up the investigation. "So… At least it ended well, mostly…", he stuttered out, "Do you… need any more help, perhaps, Miss Fu Xuan?" He didn't get much of a reply back, since she was already starting to focus back on her duties and clean up the incident's aftermath. "No. You have done more than enough by informing me of what happened. I shall take care of reporting about the investigation's conclusion to the Realm-Keeping Commission myself, personally. I will get in touch with Dahao later… Thank you all for your assistance in this matter, and I hope your futures have good fortune… Now, I must get back to work.", she said. She then faced the Matrix of Prescience fully, not paying attention to anything else; she was a hard-worker like always.
Now currently having the weight of the case lifted from their shoulders, the Nameless relaxed and became talkative again. March 7th sighed and wiped her brow, commenting: "Whew… Glad that's over! Who would've thought that a loafer like Miss Qingque was behind this whole scheme? It seems kinda comical in retrospect. But at least the kid's safe, that's what matters!" Welt nodded and adjusted his glasses while replying with, "Indeed. No one got hurt, either. That's something we should celebrate…", in a relieved tone.
This revived a dormant seed within her head, so she perked up and smiled brightly once more. "Ah, I just remembered! You promised us food after we finished this.", she recalled, "Well, now's the time to use that for our celebration for saving a child! Even if we didn't actually do it… Still, I'm hungry as heck and I can't wait any longer! And we should get Miss Bailu's burger, too! Just like I said we would…" He then smiled for the first time in a long while, glad to have a chance to relax for once. "Heh… Alright, alright. I promised you, so I must fulfill it. Let's head back to Aurum Alley, pick out whatever you like. Just… don't get sick.", he said. She raised her hand in the air and shouted, "Yay!", in response happily. Stelle, who was too focused on her trash can-related fantasies to be fully paying attention, just nodded and stoically said: "Let's go. Make sure to give any trash to the Galactic Baseballer for enlightenment purposes! I need it after being trolled so hard today…"
Then, they all left the Divination Commission without another word. No one was ever in the mood for Stelle's unhinged comments. And with that, nearly everything was back to how it was before, and the Xianzhou Luofu got closer to full recovery. All the people (including the child) had a great rest of the day, except for Qingque, who was now forced to scrub the floors as punishment. Even still, she continued to fantasize about slacking off and playing Celestial Jade. So, as another "last ditch" effort, she decided she was going to fake her own death next to get out of the overtime labor… Of course, it won't end well for her, and that's a fact.
[Writer's Commentary: For this story, I tried to replicate it as if it were an actual side quest that players would receive while playing the game. That's why I went for the whole investigative angle and text message recreation attempt. Whether this actually worked out or not, I can't say, but that's what writing is for: Experimenting and challenging yourself! I chose Qingque as the culprit because she's one of my favorite characters, and I feel like she would go this far to not do her job at some point (and because I'm biased). Also, I didn't give the missing child a name or much dialogue because I am lazy… Anyway, that's all for now. Good day!]
