trans_9 | Deadlines [Open---see note]

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Deadlines [Open---see note]

Miraculously, happily, Billy had finally set foot on Transmigration Nine once more. It wasn't the cleanest or happiest of reunions on-board the ship, but what mattered most to him was that he had survived. His task now was to return to the routine as much as possible and assist with the Melting Clock situation.

Unaware of how much the situation had deteriorated during his capture, he first set out for sanctuary from the wider world. Home, the house of the Sun and Moon twins, where he could retreat to safety and recover before returning to work. Ronnae would be there, wouldn't she? Some of the lingering guilt and pain would heal after speaking with her, right?

He'd make a beeline for the bathroom, of course. There was no doubt in his mind that the clothes he'd worn on the mission would have to be burned, and there was something he was required to apply to his back to aid the healing there. After that, his odor would be safe enough to expose the rest of the crew to.

---

By the time he 'recovered' and returned to work in the Engineering department, Billy was in a notably sour mood. His best friends and his girlfriend, he'd been informed and seen, were children. Children who didn't have much longer to live if a solution couldn't be found quickly.

His priorities were simple: the Clock and any work that had been left behind. With the Engineering team noticeably smaller than it had been before, and several members of it having taken an involuntary leave of absence at the same time he did, there was undoubtedly much to catch up on.

The race against the clock continued. Billy took his seat at his desk, ready to plow through paperwork and status updates more quickly than ever before.

((ooc: This takes place between the Oryan and Time Dragon missions. It's split into two sections so I don't spam the comm even more than I already have---the subthread at his home is open to people who would reasonably be there, like Ronnae, Nokosi, and maybe Kaya. The section in Engineering is open for anyone who wants to catch up with him//update on the situation//beg him for treats and toys. A separate post for Romeo and Juliet will go up tomorrow or Tuesday.))

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Billy sighed in relief, holding her for a moment longer. She was very lucky that he had managed to take a bath with Squeaky and Leggy first. When he was ready to talk, he led her over to a couch in the living room.

"You almost didn't find me in one piece," Billy admitted. "Mother Reda, the spiritual leader on that planet, supposedly called us because she wanted us to help her sick islanders." Kaya would notice that he tended to spit out Reda's name.

"Well...we researched, and discovered that the symptoms of the illness were caused by nothing more than poison. Poison fed to the villagers by Reda herself, as punishment for turning their gaze away from their goddess Avani. Avani forbade the villagers from learning about technology or other ideas from outside the island, because worldliness would turn them from the true path."

It was obvious that Billy had very little respect for this idea. "I still don't know why she called us. She might have been expecting us to make another diagnosis and calm the villagers, but I suspect all she wanted was a ransom and to make examples of us. Anyone who lacked faith in Avani was to burn for their sins. So...we were drugged, tied up, left to contemplate our deaths in a small cave for three days, and then brought to the sacrifice chamber to be executed and incinerated. If Scarlet hadn't palmed a knife from a guard and showed us how to cut ourselves free behind our backs, we'd be a pile of ashes on that island."

He paused, remembering just how vividly he'd thought of his friends in those past few days. "We then had to fight our way out unarmed against 20 fully armed guards, all bigger and stronger than us. I can still hardly believe we escaped with everyone alive."

Kaya's eyes goggled. "WHAT?! Someone went and kidnapped you and almost had you killed? What sort person would do that, for ransom? That's sick! You all could have been killed! I heard they had gone and sent a rescue team out to retrieve you guys. I really hope that horrible Mother person got what she deserved in the end!"

Yes, your Bonded was practically foaming at the mouth. If there weren't enough things to worry about, not to mention how Ronnae was going to react once she got out of this dragon thing.

"I guess you've already seen that the time situation has Ronnae. We're still trying to figure out how we can reverse the effects: tow many people on the ship are regressing, including the Overlord."

"She mentioned in passing that she's murdered whole colonies in her goddess's name before. If the people don't live up to perfection, they die," Billy spat, thoroughly disgusted by what had happened there. "We couldn't avoid getting hurt in that battle, but it wasn't as bad as it could be. No one was injured as seriously as Luis---Reda shot him when he wouldn't be silent, and she left him to bleed for three days."

He wrapped his arms around himself at the mention of the clock, fully aware of how little time they had. "That's what I'm going to start on right away. I can't lose them."

If he thought Kaya had looked mad before, he knew the difference: she looked rife with fury now. "She could have killed you, that horrible witch!" She said, her hands shaking in anger. "And she shot Luis and let him bleed?! Oh, if I weren't such an idealist, I'd go deal with that woman myself! She sounds too much like how Azula used to be!"

Which was another whole mess to begin with, really.

"Well I'll help you however I can. I'm in medical so we can only do so much. If there's any way I can lend a hand, please, just let me know."

And, feeling the apprehension coming from him, she hugged him close. "I'm sorry you had to come back here and find another crisis happening. You've already been through so much."

"I think someone dealt with her," Billy tried to remember. "I wasn't entirely paying attention in the end. They were hauling me off to patch over the missing chunk of my back."

Kaya was helping him just by being here. He held onto her as tightly as the healing skin would allow, trying to stay positive. "I know you're going through a rough time too. It can't be easy to keep track of so many kids."

"Your back?!" Kaya was already lifting his shirt up, inspected it a moment later. Normally she would be very shy about this sort of thing, but to know this happened to him while she was bemoaning taking care of children...!

"What happened to your back? Did someone attempt to torture you too?"

"Hey!" Billy yelped, quickly finding himself turned around with his back exposed. There were shallower red lines criss-crossing it with varying degrees of severity, but the big attraction was just a little to the right of his spine, impossible to miss. A deep red gash trailed off toward his side, as if someone had attempted to stab him clean through and fallen over in the process. It had crusted over by now, but it still hurt to touch and move.

"I was surprised there wasn't any torture. Like I said, we were unarmed against twenty guards. Half carried rifles, the other half had spears, and only a few of us were trained to fight. I managed to surprise one and grab a rifle before they were clear-headed enough to start attacking us, but Fletcher had been left tied up and there were guards bearing down on him. I took them out and freed him, but I wasn't quite fast enough to avoid getting hit."

Kaya ignored that: she was med bay personnel first, anything else came later. She examined the gash and winced before, bringing out her pouch and placing some healing water over him. It wouldn't be able to prevent a scar, but at least the wound would look less inflamed, and at least not be so tender.

"They bore down on Fletcher?" Kaya concentrated on healing Billy, but he could hear the fury in her voice. He was just a little kid, what kind of people went and did that to a boy? It made her furious to even think about it.

"Is he ok now?"

"Avani doesn't make exceptions for children," Billy sighed, remembering how terrified the boy had been. "We're all infidels, all damned to the ashes. I made sure he didn't get hurt, but he was really shaken up. That was his first mission."

He wondered how Fletcher was doing after their quick talk. Better, he hoped.

Kaya's lips thinned, and if Billy could feel what she was feeling, he would know exactly how Kaya felt about the idea that children were not exempt from murder. She was still from the Northern Water Tribe, and had seen many children come and go, loving them all.

"Well, they can go and have their insane Avani world then, as long as they leave us out of it. I can't imagine what kind of barbarians would go and kidnap innocent children and scientists trying to help their world."

Billy shook his head, instantly regretting it when he felt a twinge of pain. Kaya was working wonders on him, but even she couldn't erase it all right away.

"No, it's not all their fault. Reda used her strong-arming tactics to convert them, poisoning anyone who questioned her and claiming it was a curse from the gods. The guards were as terrified as we were---if they failed to kill us, they'd be next in the sacrificial pit. The ones who lived are free to rebuild their lives now."

She knew she wouldn't be able to work wonders on him, not right away. He would need time to actually sit and heal, just like the last time when he was fighting in his zord. In a way, it was probably a good thing that Ronnae wasn't her usual self right now.

"Did there have to be many killed, to free you guys?" She asked. She was curious, more than anything. She knew that considering the circumstances, there wouldn't have been much of a choice anyway.

"Several," Billy whispered guiltily, slumping forward under the weight of that knowledge. "Fletcher had to as well. We never wanted to, but...I wasn't thinking at full efficiency. And I knew what my death would do to you. To all of you."

Did that make it right? No, not at all, as he'd told Fletcher. But it still hurt.

Kaya stopped a moment, looking hard at Billy. "He...he killed you mean? I see." That was what all she said for the moment, and then gave him a warm hug, tears in her eyes.

Yes. You are right. I don't know what I would do if you were taken. I know it sounds selfish, but I don't think I could take it if something were to happen to you. I'm so glad you're ok.

"He didn't mean to. It was his first weapon, and it was in the heat of the moment...if he hadn't acted, that gash you healed would've been a hole straight through my liver."

Billy leaned against her, clinging as tightly as he could for the moment. He so hated to make Kaya cry. I couldn't leave you behind to deal with this. There's a note under my bed that I update sometimes should anything happen to me, but...I wasn't sure you'd find it.

"There's a first time for everyone," Kaya said sadly. "Part of em sometimes wish some of these kids are like that girl, with the purple hair, or Leon's girl. The ones that still have a little bit of innocence, its so hard on them, it hurts to see them that way."

Kaya just held onto him harder, sniffing. I would look for parts of you and find it, I know. But don;t talk about it just yet, ok? You're going to make me blubber all over your shirt. And these tears are partly happy too, you know: you're still here.

Billy silently agreed. "I just hope he's going to be okay. I tried to help him, but we need to heal his older brother. He'll know what to do."

He gave himself over to healing, rubbing her back as softly as he could. Yeah. I'm here, and we might still be able to do something about this crisis. I owe it to everyone.

It was impossible to entirely keep his feelings shut down. When he'd returned, he'd been hoping that his lover would be there with her smile and comfort. This was...not what he expected, to say the least.

Kaya nodded. "In that case, I'll personally make sure that we attend to his brother and make sure that he is able to function well enough to take care of his brother."

She made a soft, quiet sound at his touch. It was an acknowledgment that she and he were able to share mutual healing by each other's presence alone. Fix what you can afford Billy. I won't have you pressing yourself harder than you need to. I'll shoulder whatever I can for you, if it will make things easier.

She hugged him hard, hoping he saw how sad she was that he had to com back to all of this.

"I'll be right there with you," Billy swore, gathering up the strength he'd need to face this. Nothing was all right. But for the moment, he felt good enough.

I can't let them die. That's non-negotiable. But I also need to make sure I'm working efficiently by not compromising my health, I know. And I still have to set up a schedule for watching Ronnie.

Billy felt her condolences and appreciated them, squeezing tight to express his relief that she was still safe.

"I know you would," Kaya said, smiling, "and I'm really sorry this is what you have to come to, honestly. But things have gotten a little better though: at least now I'm going to be on the W.I.T.C.H. bus for awhile."

I'll do that with you, the thing with Ronnae. And I know you're not the kind of person who would wait around and let anyone die. Just be careful with what you're able to take, ok? You don't have to needlessly put yourself in danger.

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Deadlines [Open---see note]

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