Skyfire Avenue

“Absolutely,” Mo Yu responded. “Do you need any further assistance, commander?”

“Make this a restricted area.”

“As you command.”

Mo Yu cast his eyes to the mysterious trio, silently watching them for a moment before running back to his mecha.

His brief glance at the party revealed that there were indeed three of them, but the green light made any further distinguishing characteristics difficult to reveal. Considering the rank of the man he encountered, he didn’t dare press for more information, much less try to spy what they were about. To your average Adept, the Paragons were like living gods. – and the three Masters of the Eastern Alliance were their godly protectors. How could he dream of disobeying?

Three hours later.

“The bone fractures are healed. The damage to his aorta and inferior vena cava has also been reversed. I need to rest for a minute, then I’ll get started on reestablishing capillary channels. From this point on we’ll start seeing some decent recovery. Thankfully the damage from the decoction was centered in his torso and core. The injuries don’t appear to spread to the limbs or head. If it had, it would take powers far beyond my own to bring him around.”

The Doctor’s face was drawn and pale. He was drenched in sweat, as though he’d been fished from the nearby ocean. Wisps of steam emanated from him. With his diagnosis delivered, he immediately settled down to meditate and recover.

Lan Jue remained where he was on the floor. His breath was coming more ragged than it had before, but looking at him no one would guess his life was in danger.

The Wine Master sighed. After all, even though it looked as though they’d be able to pull Zeus from the brink of disaster, total recovery of his health and Talent would be exceedingly difficult. The destructive power of the Fantascia Genetica decoction had mangled him severely, and total recovery wasn’t a sure thing. The worst of the damage was to his meridians, which had been fractured and thrown in to chaos. The Doctor had no means of fixing all of those, and putting them right. His energy was flowing now in to the purple phylactery affixed to his palm, and it was the only thing ensuring his explosive Thunderbolt discipline didn’t snap back to obliterate the Jewelry Master.

Right now, their greatest hope was that he’d at least recover to the point where he could live a normal, average life. That he wouldn’t awaken an invalid.

The Doctor continued his meditations for the space of a couple hours, then continued with his healing regimen.

“And what about you? Are you holding up?” The Wine Master’s deep voice wafted towards the Doctor.

The younger man laughed wryly. “Our Jewelry Master sure did a number on himself with that decoction. But if I wasn’t able to handle this, how could I ever hope to be a committee member? Look here!” As he spoke, revitalizing tendrils of green light stretched from all ten of his fingers. They buried themselves in his patient’s body.

ζ

“A-Li! Heh heh, a fine brother indeed, here to come and greet me. Where’s that kid A-Jue?” Chu Cheng’s fiery red hair was easily spotted as he made his way from the entrance of the public air hangar. He chuckled mirthfully as he spied Hua Li, all bundled up like a dumpling. He snapped the pretty boy up in a bear hug.

Hua Li shoved the brash young man away with a scowl. “Oh he’s just grand, off vacationing on Taihua. He’ll be back in a few days.”

“Planet Taihua?” Chu Cheng’s face blanched.

Hua Li saw the change in expression, shooting his companion a questioning glance. “What is it?”

Chu Cheng’s flippant smile melted away. “I heard it on a newscast on my way here. Something happened on Taihua. But come on, A-Jue’s strong enough, even injured, to hold his own or even escape if he has to.”

“What?” Hua Li’s wide eyes were revealed as he snatched the thick sunglasses off his nose. “But he hasn’t even halfway recovered!”

“Its fine, I’m sure,” Chu Cheng said, though his face still betrayed concern. “He always brings Thor along with him.”

Hua Li was already furiously jabbing numbers in to his communicator. His face grew sullen, and he shook his head wordlessly at Chu Cheng before tapping out another number.

“A-Li! Where are you. You know you’re supposed to be here rehearsing and readying your voice. Your concert’s in a week. This absolutely must be a success.” The rough sounds of an angry female voice burst from the instrument on Hua Li’s wrist.

“Mo Xiao, listen to me carefully.” The singer’s voice was tense and constrained, like a volcano about to erupt.

Mo Xiao fell silent, taken aback by his tone. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I need all the latest information about Taihua,” he said. “Also, get Poseidon 1 here as soon as you can. This needs to be done at all costs. A-Jue’s stuck out there.”

“Got it,” she said without hesitation.

Hua LI turned his face to look at Chu Cheng. His red haired compatriot’s eyes were narrowed, and a cold hard light lived in them. “I’m going with you.”

ζ

Seven hours. Seven tense hours where Death loomed close overhead. Finally the Doctor could bear no more and collapsed. The Wine Master was beside him, and grabbed him before he hit the floor. The younger man looked at him with a smile through half-lidded eyes.

“He won’t die. He may not live a happy comfortable life, but at least he’ll live.” He panted small, shallow breaths as he lay against the Wine Master’s chest. The Doctor was too weak at this point to even lift a pinky.

“Thank you.”

This brought a chuckle from the exhausted Doctor. “That’s all well and good, but I’m going to need to hear it from him when he comes around. But there will always be some issues. There were... so many breaks, fractures through his body. I joined them where I could – bones, joints, vessels, meridians – but he may never fully recover. I’ve connected together fractured meridians but their energies are routed. I don’t have the ability necessary to help him get things back on the right track. We can only wait, see how his healing progresses, then take it from there.”

This brought a light to the Wine Master’s eyes. “Are you saying there’s a chance he could recover his Discipline?”

The Doctor’s smile was a bitter one. “There’s a chance. A one percent chance, but there it is. In reality, we’re hoping for a miracle.”

The Wine Master was about to speak further when he was interrupted. He spied the yellow soulcaller gem on Lan Jue’s chest flicker. Something flashed through the old man’s eyes before he shot his head skyward.

“Come out!” He groped out with his right hand. Suddenly the air split with the sound of broken glass. A thirty-meter long blimp hung in the air where moments before there was nothing.

“Please stay your hand, Chronomagus. I’m here to help Lan Jue.” The voice that accosted them was pleasing to the ear, feminine. The Wine Master, angry and ready for a fight, stopped as requested.

Mo Yu and his team of crack pilots were almost instantly aware of the breach. They raced forward to intercept. However, their advance was halted when the Wine Master shot an arm out towards them.

The newly arrived ship slowly made landfall. The doors hissed as they opened, revealing a young woman. Her features were hidden behind a silver mask., but her lithe and elegant figure was clear to all. Her long dark hair hung free at her back, framing a pair of blue eyes. Anxiety glimmered within them. She paid no mind to the gathering crowd around her. She raced to the Wine Master, Doctor and Lan Jue as though the others didn’t exist.

The Wine Master placed the weakened Doctor on the floor. His bright eyes watched her come.

Having a Paragon’s full attention was not a comfortable situation to find oneself in. And yet this young woman didn’t seem the least bit put off. She squatted by the Jewelry Master’s side and felt for a pulse. Afterward, her sky-blue eyes showed relief. She looked directly at the Paragon.

“I can save him.”