Apollo:
I expected the car ride to be awkward given the fact I'm the only guy in here who is wearing underwear and is soaked, however I was surprised. Swire and the blue haired woman named Ch'en started to argue again while Hoshiguma wasn't interfering as much, likely keeping her focus on the road since due to the weather. As for Marth she is still awake but I can tell she is borderline sleeping; just barely awake. She must have traveled a lot before meeting me.
"Here we are."
Hoshiguma announced that as she pulled into the driveway shielding us from the artillery fire known as the rain. Once inside I instantly saw Swire and Ch'en making themselves at home, Ch'en laid down on the couch while Swire dug through the fridge.
"I'll show you two the bathroom and guest rooms, follow me." Hoshiguma said.
Marth and I followed her as she showed where each room was located. She provided us with towels and some spare clothes she had before she left.
"You should take a shower first, just tell me when you're done." I said.
Marth only nodded. I walked downstairs now wearing the sweatpants that Hoshiguma gave me, I was then greeted with the girls drinking. They don't appear to be drunk gladly.
"Ah Apollo, are you old enough to drink? I have plenty to share." She asked.
"No thank you, I'm old enough but I'm not that much of a fan of drinking." I said.
I decided to take a seat next to Swire since Ch'en and Hoshiguma took over the other couch.
"Work has been a pain this month." Swire said.
As if she was a hunter waiting for her prey, Ch'en responded.
"That's surprising, I thought Swire the tiger could do anything. Especially with your parents' money you keep burning." Ch'en said sarcastically.
"I swear, I will gut you Dragon bitch." Swire replied.
"Now, now. Can you two not fight in front of the guest, it isn't good for the LGD if two of our higher ups fight like kids." Hoshiguma said.
Realizing that they both stopped going back and forth.
"Either way, the price to import and mine Originium has gone up again and Ursus is hard to deal with." She said,
"Originium, what's that?" I asked.
As if I just said a cardinal sin everyone looked at in surprise.
"I just said something stupid didn't I?" I questioned.
"W-where did you live before you ended up in my car?" Swire asked.
Ah, I really screwed up on that one. Come on Apollo, think of something.
"The place I lived was completely isolated from the rest of the world. That's how it's been for a while." I said.
You need to get better at lying Apollo.
"B-but, then what did your people use to power everything; the sun?" Swire asked.
There was an empty silence, however it was interrupted with Marth walking into the room looking a lot better.
"I'm done." She said,
"Perfect, I'll be taking a shower then." I said as I got up and headed up stairs.
Marth:
I decided to take a seat where Apollo just was. The room felt tense, what did Apollo do?
"Hey Marth, right?" the woman named Ch'en asked.
I simply nodded.
"Where and when did you meet Apollo? You must have some trust in him since you only willingly talk to him." Ch'en asked.
I didn't know how to react. Her red eyes glaring at me made sweat form on my forehead.
"I-i don't know, I met him today outside the station today." I said.
"Wait, you're telling me that he let random people he never met wear his clothes in that terrible weather?" Swire asked, clearly surprised.
I could only nod.
"I swear in the handful of hours I've known this guy he's already brought up so many questions. What's weirder was that he said he wasn't even cold outside" Swire continued.
"I mean he could be a draco, I heard they tend to have warmer body temperature than most people." Ch'en said.
"If that's the case, why is he here and not in Victoria? '' Swire replied.
"I mean there are weird cases everyday, but likely isn't possible since the last thing he remembered was being in the mountains, not a busy city like the rest of Victoria; it doesn't help the fact that it's mostly flat land in the country." Hoshiguma said.
"I didn't think you knew that much about Victoria, have you been there before Hoshiguma?" Swire asked.
"Nope, Ch'en just told me about your guys' time studying there and what Victoria was like." Hoshiguma replied.
"Either way Apollo's situation doesn't make any sense, not many of the facts are lining up. It's possible that he is here to attack us for a 3rd party, why else would he be near my car." Swire said.
"It's neither actually."
We turned to see a wet Apollo, steam was flowing off of him.
"That was a quick shower, you missed us that much?" Hoshiguma asked sarcastically.
I only nodded in agreement.
"I'm hurt that you think I would skip a shower because of that. It's because I didn't smell that bad surprisingly, plus I normally take a quick showered." He replied.
"That's not important, what do you mean it's neither?" Swire pressed.
"Hm, how should I answer this?" He said.
Apollo stayed standing still, rubbing his chin as if he was in deep thought.
"As I said, my people decided that messing with the outside world isn't worth the trouble, the world was in turmoil at the time so our borders were closed; it's been that way for a few thousand years." He said.
Marth:
The room was silent, however that didn't last long.
"That's the whole story, as to how I was taken out of my homeland and placed in your truck is beyond me." He said.
"Seems like we won't be able to get any information out of you." Ch'en said as she took a sip out of her drink.
"If that's the case, it means you mean nothing to your name here; correct?" Ch'en continued.
"That's right," He replied .
However his face brightened up the next moment.
"Is there a place where I could build stuff? I was an engineer back home and I can only imagine how cool some of the stuff here is." He asked.
"I can let them stay with me, I have a lot of open rooms in this house since it's just me. Apollo can even use the basement for whatever he plans to build, and don't worry I'll check it out when I come back." Hoshiguma said.
Ch'en turned towards Hoshiguma.
"You are placing a lot of faith in someone you just met, are you sure he didn't do anything to you during the interrogation?" Ch'en asked.
"I would have to agree with the stuffy dragon on this one Hoshiguma, it's kinda suspicious." Swire added on.
"Ch'en we've been working together for years officially and a few more before then. Trust me on this one." Hoshiguma explained.
Ch'en could only sigh.
"I trust you, so I'll hold my judgment on Apollo. As for you Marth, I would rather not send you back to the slums, even if you are infected. I would like for you to come back to the station tomorrow with Hoshiguma to get you legal documentation. It may not make things perfect given your condition but it should make things easier." Ch'en said, this time softer.
I only nodded. Everyone talked amongst themselves for a while before we all decided to turn in for the night. Ch'en, and Swire were planning to leave but the rain only got worse making it rather unsafe to drive so they are staying for the night. They took the couches in the living room while Apollo and I took the guest rooms. The rain provided constant white noise which slightly annoyed me, but the moment I laid down my sheer exhaustion caused my world to go dark.
"Devils deserve to die, they deserve to be purged, they need to be cleansed from the world."
The rustling of the truck took me out of my sleep. I can't remember how I got here, did everyone betray me. Was I being taken somewhere?. Some many questions rushed into my head. I learned that people hated the Sarkaz when I was younger. I remember my mom saying how outside of Kazdal there were mainly groups whose purpose was to hunt, kill or trade Sarkaz across the continent.
"Ey do you know would be funny" one said drunkenly
"What?" another responded equally as drunk.
"If we find a Sarkaz hiding in cargo. I bet they can fetch for a good price, if not then just kill them." one said.
My heart stopped beating and my breath was caught in my throat. They were close. My life could at any moment, any hope of a future that my parents died for gone, just because of how I was born. Cold liquid was forming on my cheeks, I didn't realize that I was crying. However that didn't last long as the lid to the box I was hiding was thrown open, I looked up to be greeted with the hungry eyes of the trades. In that instant I say countless hands swan towards me.
"NO! Please stop! Please! I didn't do anything, I haven't hurt anyone." I yelled, feeling my throat getting tighter, by someone's hand.
"We found one yall! I knew one was hiding here." One of them yelled.
I was quickly thrown out the box and onto the floor. I looked up to see a lot of people around me, all of their eyes having disgust in them. Before I could think anymore I felt a sharp pain in my back, then my stomach, then my face. I didn't end up as all of them ganged up on me.
"Move out the... I heard ... had a Sarkaz."
The loud voice was drowned out by the pain I was in. The kicking and punching to my eyes and ear didn't help either. I could barely make out the face, but the voice gave away that the person was a woman.
"Yes boss, we found her in the ... Should we sell her to one of our clients, she has a pretty face and you know how those ... ups be; man or woman they are ... to pay for one." One said.
I couldn't hear the whole thing. I was too busy trying to keep my body together. Suddenly I felt someone put me on my back and pinned me in that position, once my vision cleared up for a moment I saw a person with a saw in hand. It was soon placed next to my horn.
"Please stop." I pleaded
The saw got closer and closer but before it could hit my horn I found myself back in the comfy bed. I was patting myself, the bed and then me again making sure everything is still there.
"It was that dream again, not again.." I whispered.
I could feel the sheer relief flooding my mind and body. I looked over to find that Apollo wasn't there anymore. I stayed in bed for a minute or two before I decided to head downstairs for a drink. I made sure I held onto my bed to make sure that my wobbly legs don't give out on me, especially in the middle of the night. I made my way to the kitchen making sure not to make much sound.
"Can't sleep either?"
Once I made it to the kitchen I was greeted with Ch'en, she was also drinking something, but it didn't appear to be water; likely orange juice. I nodded in response to her question.
"Apollo is in the basement, I saw not long ago. I plan to check on him in case he does something less than savory." She stated as she looked down at her hip.
I followed her stare and saw a black glint. I realized that it was a sword.
"Do you plan on hurting Apollo?" I asked.
Ch'en looked at me and just like before I could imagine she saw the worry in me.
"It depends on what he does, at the end of the day I'm an Lungmen officer. The people and the city come first, which now includes you." Ch'en replied.
She placed her now empty cup on the table and walked towards the basement door, hand on sword. I followed her downstairs, I didn't know what to expect. There were many wild ideas flowing in and out of my head, we reached the bottom of the stairs; however it wasn't wait I expected. The place looked like a dojo, but Apollo was near the wall writing on a chalkboard.
"Good to see you two at whatever time it is." Apollo said.
"May I ask what you're doing?" Ch'en demanded.
"Just writing some formulas for an idea." He replied.
I looked at the chalkboard and was deeply confused by what was written on the board. I could understand the numbers but everything else didn't make sense. It appeared Ch'en was in the same boat since she also had a complex expression on her face.
"I am wondering Ch'en. Is there a research and development team within the LGD?" He asked.
"There isn't." She replied.
"Then would it be ok if I joined the LGD as an engineer if I impressed you?" Apollo asked.
Ch'en didn't respond, all she did was look at Apollo who in turn just looked back at us nonchalantly.
"That will have to be seen at a later time, I do not trust you or anything you say. In my eyes you are still a possible threat to Lungmen, I trust in Hoshiguma's judgment but mark my word."
Ch'en pulled at her sword and pointed it towards Apollo, her stare turning into a fiery glare that sent chills up and down my spine.
"I will make sure you pay for your crimes in whatever way possible." She declared.
"I have faith in you Ch'en, I can see why Hoshiguma, Swire and you protect this city. I trust that you will kill me if anything goes off the rails."
Apollo stated this but his expression was deeply confusing, or was it unsettling? He was just threatened with death, by someone with power yet instead of a frightened look or something along those lines, he said it with a soft gentle smile.
"It's 7AM now, the information office should be open by now. The rain has let up a lot so we can get your identification now, it's gonna take a while but it will be worth it in the end. Meet me at the door when you are ready to leave, that goes for you too Apollo since you also don't have an ID." Ch'en said.
"I know, I know. No need to be on my ass about it." Apollo said.
It didn't take long for us to get ready since we were already dressed. The car ride to the building was uneventful. 'en drove, I looked out the window while Apollo was in the back seats writing down whatever was in his book. However, that changed when we entered the building.
We made our way to the front desk. Ch'en explained the situation to the person. The procedure to get our identification was quite fast, quicker than I expected. Ch'en explained it was because she was there and how no one else was here. The process for me took off on a rough start since the person in charge was clearly disgusted by my presence, likely due to me being an infected Sarkaz. It took Apollo a lot longer since he apparently couldn't read a thing on the papers so Ch'en was forced to help.
"This place doesn't look too different from my country back home." Apollo stated.
"Actually I never a-asked but what was your home like Apollo? It must be a lot better since it doesn't have to deal with Origium, oripathy or us Sarkaz like we do." I said.
"I'm interested too. I would say that we people have a good understanding of the world so for a place to be completely isolated from the world like you claim it is interesting to say the least. I can already hear making a deal for whatever secrets you have." Ch'en said.
"My hometown, what was my world like?"
Apollo's mouth didn't open for a while, instead all there was the machines working in the back of the building and the rain outside attacking the glass doors.
"I would not say it's better, nor will I say it's worse. If I were to describe it, I would say it's a very human place." He said.
"Did you enjoy living there?" I asked.
"Of course, I dedicated everything to that place. I loved it and the people dearly." He replied.
"Madam Ch'en everything is finished." The front desk said.
We grabbed what we needed but as we were about to leave the building we had two women standing in front of her.
"Ch'en is that you, and is that a guy too. Could it be that you finally found someone?" The redhead with angel wings asked.
"She's far too busy to find someone Exusiai, you know this." The black haired girl said.
"I agree Ch'en needs to relax before she goes looking for a partner." Apollo said.
"I KNOW! Since you are a friend of Ch'en you should help her find a boyfriend, maybe then she will be more lax when she talks to me." The angel said.
I turned to my left to see Ch'en with a tired expression listening to the two talk about her. Along with it I could sense a slight anger form around her.
"Do I need to take you guys to the office again? Exusiai, Texas?" Ch'en said.
"You pissed her off Exusiai." the woman named Texas said.
"But is she wrong? Ch'en need to chill out." Apollo said.
"You need to shut the hell up." Ch'en replied while glaring.
Almost as if they share one brain cell both Apollo and Exusiai hide behind Texas which is awkward for Apollo since he is a lot taller than her. I could already see the expression Hoshiguma would make if she was here. However, that soon ended with the sudden shaking of the ground.
"Texas was that what I thought it was?" Exusiai asked.
Before Texas could reply I heard the flown open by Apollo and Ch'en. I looked past them to see a lot of smoke flowing in the distance. 'en pulled out her phone and was talking to someone almost instantly.
"It's an explosion and it's a big one at that." Apollo said casually.
The next moment Apollo ran outside into the rain towards the explosion. I don't why but my feet kicked forward causing me to chase behind him.
"Marth, Apollo! Get..."
I heard Ch'en yell but the rain and me moving further away made her voice fall on deaf ears.