The blood drained from Thalia's face, and she nodded. Never closed their eyes for a second, and their limp body crumpled to the ground.
Àiran caught it, and held it tightly. Everyone had their weapons drawn, but it was impossible to tell what was going on. A low hum emanated through the room, and the lights flickered- then the room was plunged into darkness.
There was a whispered chorus of "brighten," in the ancient language and the blackness was perforated by a spectrum of colours from the weapons.
Thalia almost didn't see the blinding glow being emitted from Never's axe, strapped to their still body across their back.
She began to crawl towards it, but sat back when Never sat up abruptly. The lights flickered back on, and the weapons shot back into their places. The hum finally subsided.
Never looked around, seemingly disoriented, before their eyes rolled up into their head, and they went limp in Àiran's arms again.
Nyx pushed him aside and took Never into her lap. She held two fingers to their wrist, and let out a breath of relief. "They're not stuck in the in-between, just unconscious."
"Thank the gods," breathed Linh.
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Never opened their eyes groggily, reaching up to rub them. Once their vision cleared, they took in their pristine white surroundings, and the complicated-looking monitors arranged uniformly against the wall.
They craned their neck painfully, and noticed the plain, loose white tunic they had on, and the carefully tucked covers around their lower body. "Nyx," they yelled.
Nyx walked in wearing a loose cotton top and pants with a long white nylon coat, setting a tray on the table beside Never's beside and sitting beside them.
"Hey," said Nyx with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
Never looked up at her, and deadpanned, just to be irritating, "Not too great, doc. I keep hearing this insistant, tinny little voice in my head asking me how I'm feeling." They lowered their voice, beckoning Nyx in closer. "You know, I think if I ignore it, it'll just go away."
Nyx laughed. "Well, I'm glad your sarcasm is intact, at least, or we'd definitely have a problem."
Never scowled, but Nyx knew they enjoyed the care she gave them when they had an injury- which wasn't all that uncommon.
She held a button down beside Never's bed, and the back moved slowly inwards with a mechanical whir until Never was only reclining slightly- they would only have to move a bit for their torso to be at right angles to their legs.
"Is this alright, or are you uncomfortable?" Asked Nyx gently.
Never nodded. "This is fine."
Nyx nodded, and pulled a notepad out of her jacket. "Never, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions, alright? All I need you to say is 'yes' or 'no'."
Never acquiesced with a slight nod. Nyx raised an eyebrow, and they rolled their eyes. "Yes."
"Ok," said Nyx with a smile, "Since you've been awake, have you felt short of breath?"
"No."
"Have you experienced any chest pain?"
"No- but my neck has been feeling particularly sore."
"Ok. Thank you for telling me." She scrawled something into her notepad quickly. "Have you felt as if your heart has been either beating too fast, or irregularly?"
"No," said Never.
"And have you felt any tingling or a slight prickling sensation on one side of your torso, legs, or face?"
Never shook their head.
"Ok, that was all. On the point of your sore neck, Never, you've been here before for that exact reason. I suspect it's the same now, although it's not your fault."
Never scowled, but stopped at Nyx's reproving look. "Àiran probably just held your body awkwardly, so the pain should disappear with time. I'm not going to give you any medication for it, but please come back if the pain is recurring."
Nyx smiled. "Just a quick recap- what were the positions I taught you to try to not leave your body in? Only if you feel up to it, of course."
Never winced dramatically. "Yeah, I actually do feel a huge pain in my side, I think I might die. Any chance I could pass on the activity, doc?"
Nyx looked unamused. "I think I'll be the judge of whether or not you're going to die soon, Never. Now, you don't have to do them, just tell me."
She raised an eyebrow at Never's long face. "Besides, this is pretty self explanatory, you just refuse to have any regard for your joints. Surviving these battles is futile if you're just going to end up with rheumatoidal arthritis."
Never groaned. "Fine. No limbs at irregular angles to my body, no oddly-bent legs, no neck hanging off a surface, and no arms directly beneath my head, especially parallel to my body," They rattled off quickly.
Nyx grinned. "That was actually perfect! I need to take your blood pressure and heart-rate, ok?"
At Never's nod, she withdrew a slender metal cuff and slid it onto Never's arm. Nyx clicked something on the surface, and the band extended, projecting a holograph forward with a large number on the screen- Never couldn't read it backwards.
Nyx looked at the number, clicked a few things, swiped the screen, and then fitted an earpiece into her ear. It looked as if it were made from the same material as the band.
She listened for a few moments, and took the cuff off, seeming satisfied. She then clicked out a piece of the cuff, which turned out to be a flat looking disk. Nyx turned to Never. "Would you mind if I opened your tunic a bit?"
Never nodded, and Nyx did, and fitted the disk onto their chest, where it stuck. When Nyx had listened and seemed satisfied, she removed the disk with a single gentle press.
Once she was finished, she nodded at Never to show everything was fine, and placed a tray onto their lap.
Never pushed the tray away. "Look, I don't need to eat, ok?" I need to tell everyone else what I saw." they said angrily.
Nyx laid a hand on their shoulder. "You should rest, Never. You're drained, that's all- you'd be of no use to anyone if you collapsed before you could get anything out, would you?" She waited until Never had shaken their head sullenly before placing the tray back onto their lap.
It held a bowl of oatmeal and an apple, with a glass of water. Never looked up at her in confusion. "Eat, the fibre's important. You'll thank me later," said Nyx with a smile.
"Ok, but where's everyone else?" Never asked.
Nyx raised an eyebrow, glaring at the un-eaten apple in their hand. "You can have answers after you eat."
Never scowled, and ripped huge bites off the apple until it was finished, not bothering about the juice running down their chin, (which Nyx wiped off with a huff) and wolfed the oatmeal down, draining the water in a gulp.
They looked at Never in irritation. "And now can I leave?"
Nyx bit her lip. "Do you hate the med-bay that much?"
Never exhaled, running a hand through their cropped hair. "Don't be thick. It's nice having someone care. It's just that I've figured out something really important. So can I please leave?" They dragged out the please, and looked up at Nyx with wide eyes, looking up from under their eyelashes for effect.
"Ok, fine." Nyx bit their lip, and laid her hand softly on Never's shoulder before they could leave. Never looked up at first in exasperation, but their expression morphed into one of concern as Nyx's eyes glossed over. "Please be careful, Never."
Never's eyes widened. "Why are you crying?"
"Because you don't take care of yourself, Never! What happens if I can't stitch you up again because you were too reckless to be careful?" Nyx said, her voice breaking.
"What do you need me to say? That you shouldn't worry, Nyx? Nobody cares, they'll be fine. Besides, Thalia'll carry the team much better if I'm gone, if that's what you're worried about. Better, even! That I'll be better off dead, anyways? That I'm pretty much fucking useless?" They raised their voice as they spoke.
Nyx just looked more and more as if she were going to cry.
"What do I need to say for you to stop crying? I'm not even your responsibility. You'll all be better off without me!" Never shouted.
Nyx stopped crying, and Never realised they much preferred the alternative to this seemingly broken version of their friend.
"Nyx? Say something." Never threw the covers off, sitting down before Never.
"Oh, Never." Nyx said, her voice cracking. "What am I supposed to do?"
Thalia walked into the med-bay. "Is everything ok? I heard shouting, and-" She paused when she saw Nyx's tear stained face and Never's desperate one.
"What... happened?" She said, carefully.
Never shrugged helplessly, and Nyx glared at them. "If you let yourself die on purpose, I'll suck your soul out before you can leave and give you a new body just to kill you again."
Never held up their hands playfully, but couldn't help but notice the strong emotions Nyx was still trying to hide, and the prominent tear-streaks below her tapered eyes.
The one person who'd cared- and this was how they had treated her?
Never started to apologise, but Nyx shook her head. "I, um... shouldn't have overreacted so much. I just, feel too much." She said in a small voice.
"My weapon, it takes the emotion I'm most prone to feeling and amplifies it tenfold, like it does with Thalia's anger. Usually, we hide it well, but.. we can't always hide what we feel simply because it's the easier option," she said with a sad smile.
Never looked at them in absolute amazement. "You..." they hesitated. "You're a good person. Maybe other people just need to be better- you shouldn't have to break away a piece of you just because that makes it more convenient for other people." They laced their arms beneath Nyx's hesitantly, sliding into a hug.
Nyx smelled of clean clothes, of fresh cotton and cinnamon. Never stayed as they were for a while before Nyx pulled away. "Sorry, again. And thank you. For what you said, I mean."
Never just shook their head. "Leave it to you to make the one flaw you have being too good of a person."
Nyx laughed, and it filled Never with hope and warmth at the fact that she sounded more like herself.
"Now will you tell me where everyone is?"
They burst into laughter, and Nyx bit their lip. "Apparently, just outside of this door, listening to everything and doing a horrible job at staying quiet." She laughed.
Everyone filed in guiltily. "Sorry," offered Akaeria. "You guys are like a soppy kids T.V show."
Everyone laughed, but Never stood on shaky legs, clutching their brother's arm. They looked apologetic, but determined nonetheless.
"We need to discuss what I heard." Never started. "Ok, he hadn't been watching us for too long, but I managed-"
"Wait, slow down. Who was watching us?" Caspienne interjected.
"A scout for the Empires, keep up," said Thalia impatiently, her arm still around Nyx.
Akaeria frowned. "Why would they need to spy on us? Don't they still think the twins work for them?"
Never nodded. "That's what I've been trying to say- they know. They know we're Wielders, and they know we only need one more. But they don't know which one."
Linh's nose scrunched up. "How does that help us?"
"Because we have the chance to get to them first, without the hindrance of having to determine which weapon they're destined to wield," Explained Àiran.
He looked at Never's still-confused, scrunched-up face, and said, "Which would mean that they don't know which qualities to search for through their info-centres, dear sibling." Never scowled.
Thalia bit her lip. "And this is where Faye comes in."
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"So you want me to... stare at this thing and concentrate?" Faye looked up at Thalia dubiously, and then back at the holograph projection of the fans on the screen. Thalia wasn't taking any chances this time- Faye wasn't going to see the weapons until she absolutely had to.
Thalia smiled. "Well, in theory, yes. But you're going to need to concentrate very hard, little one."
Faye turned up her lip thoughtfully. "Can I have two more honey-buns?"
Thalia looked at her reprovingly. "It's going to be your bedtime soon, Faye, and I'd still like you to do some reading." She looked at Faye's wide, hopeful eyes, and sighed. "You can have them tomorrow, and you don't have to read tonight- but I really need you to focus, honey."
Faye closed her eyes, the pads of her little fingers going white as she held her thumbs tightly. She opened them after a few minutes, looking up at Thalia reproachfully over her shoulder. "I can't focus with you here."
When Thalia was seated on the couch opposite her, she closed her eyes again. Thalia dug her nails into her palms, trying to look anywhere but at the little girl on the couch.
When Faye opened her eyes again, they were pink. Runes now shone from her cheeks, each one the symbol for Wielder.
Thalia's heart dropped. "Faye? Faye, sweetheart." She grabbed the girl's shoulders. "Can you hear me?"
Faye just looked over her shoulder with blank eyes. Thalia looked over her shoulder, but there was nothing there. "Are you alright?"
Faye said nothing. Thalia sat back in confusion, but looked up as she realised. She moved Faye gently to the side- her gaze remained firmly fixed over Thalia's shoulder.
Thalia bit her lip and went to find the rest of the Wielders.
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"So she hasn't moved at all?" Asked Linh. Thalia nodded, her gaze still fixed on Faye, sharp for any changes. "And you're sure that means we're supposed to follow her."
"Yes, in theory."
Caspienne stepped beside Linh. "Theory isn't really good enough at the moment, Thalia. We're about to use this... child as a compass- doesn't that strike you as just the tiniest bit inhumane?"
"This should be safe, and we don't have a choice." Thalia leapt to her defence before raising an eyebrow. "And should we really be hearing a lecture on humanity from the same woman who threatened to paint her nails with another human's blood?"
Caspienne shrugged. "You've killed about ten times as many people as me, Thalia, so take a knee."
Thalia's eyes flashed, but Àiran was between them in a second. "Thalia, Cas, look," he pointed to Faye. "I'm sure your petty squabbles can wait until after we've prevented the death of the last member of our company?"
The two scowled- but it was quickly forgotten. Faye was looking slowly to the right, her eerily rosy eyes shifting gradually.
"Does- does that mean they're moving? The Wielder, I mean." Linh asked softly.
"No, but we're changing direction at the moment," explained Caspienne.
Thalia stood suddenly. "We need to follow her gaze. We don't know how long this will last, and the Gods don't seem particularly forgiving this eon around."
Akaeria grabbed her arm as she turned. "Thalia, are you sure you want to do this?"
"You mean.. find the last Wielder?" She asked disbelievingly. "Or, do you mean achieve everything we've worked for since we found each other."
Akaeria's eyes flashed. "Stop being so hotheaded for a second, and think, Thalia. If you wanted something someone else did, wouldn't you wait until they had done all the work, and then swoop in and grab it yourself? Maybe it would be best if this Wielder stayed lost."
Thalia stilled for a second, her shoulders tensing before she spoke. "You're right. We need to be careful." She paused. "Our cloaking device is still operational, but it won't last for long. Caspienne, would you be able to make some modifications so we can use it for longer?"
Caspienne nodded. "I can, but it will take a while. We do still need a plan, so use the time wisely rather than jumping into action."
Thalia nodded. "Alright. Àiran, you can sense impurities in the water, yes?"
Àiran nodded.
"And would you be able to tune that ability specifically for technology of the Garde?"
He bit his lip, and thought a second before answering. "Hypothetically, yes- but only if I had a piece of their technology. And a way to ensure that my water is where I want it to be."
Thalia looked towards Linh. "Linh, can you work with Àiran, then, and find a way to search for one of the Garde's trackers?"
Linh nodded resolutely.
"Caspienne, you and Nyx will come with me to retrieve the new Wielder, in case they, or anyone else, needs to be subdued, so go and train when you're finished with the cloaking modifications and trying to locate the tracker via technology- and if you can, help Akaeria reinforce the ship's defences," said Thalia, acknowledging Caspienne's agreement with a nod.
"Akaeria, I want a strong fighter staying behind to defend the ship, and Faye, so you'll stay behind. I want you to memorise the layout of the ship, all exit-points and possible weaknesses."
"I will. I'll protect this ship, and Faye with my life." Akaeria said solemnly, and Thalia touched her arm in thanks.
"Nyx, you're coming with us as well, in case they're in need of medical attention, so I need you to pack a kit."
Nyx nodded grimly.
Finally, Thalia turned to Never, along with everyone else's gazes. "Never?"
Never flickered in and out of sight as they fiddled with the hem of their tunic, nervousness overtaking their will to stay in solid form. "Yes?" They said.
"I need you to follow us in the in-between. You can take three people through the in-between with you, am I correct?" Thalia asked.
Never dug their nails into the palm of their hands. "I can, but they would need to concentrate really hard on not getting lost- I'd be using most of my energy finding the ship again, and not losing any of their body parts. I'd also need a tether."
Thalia nodded. "Good. Because if things go sideways, you're taking Nyx, Caspienne, and the new Wielder back with you, along with my weapon." She ignored the murmurs and gasps.
"We can't afford to let personal relations interfere with our judgement now, alright?
Caspienne's Stars are extremely temperamental- you'll never get anyone else to bond with them in a short enough period of time that they'll be ready when it counts, let alone have the new Wielder trained as well.
Nyx is a High Wielder- and as such, she will choose someone to assume control of the Wielders if something happens to me. Not only is her weapon exceedingly dangerous and difficult to bond with, Nyx is also our only medic." She broke off as Linh grabbed her arm.
"Are you sure?" Her eyes were gut-wrenchingly sad, their liquid-amber tones boring into Thalia's heart, but she couldn't show weakness now, not when it counted the most.
"I'm sure." She said firmly.
"But what do we do when we're done?" Asked Nyx.
"We wait," said Thalia grimly.