Thion 3XQ: Journey [ON HOLD]

Tzuyu woke up with an arm draped around her waist, similarly to how she awoke the night before.

After their conversation, the duo walked back to Dahyun’s room, only making light conversation along the way. When they arrived, Dahyun was working on an old radio, which Tzuyu found oddly suspicious since she was supposed to be looking for Sana. She was starting to think that maybe Dahyun set up the whole thing for them to talk it out. Well, whatever I guess it worked out anyway.

“Oh you’re back.. and you’ve found her” Dahyun carefully said as the two walked in. She didn’t want to set off another argument in case they hadn’t made up. She noticed Sana’s eyes and nose were a little red but both girls were smiling and talking to each other so she assumed that all was well.

“Yeah..” Tzuyu eyed her suspiciously and Dahyun just smiled.

“Oh here, I managed to hustle some extra food for the two of you” Dahyun handed both of them two round balls wrapped in paper. Tzuyu thought the food resembled a hot potato.

“Thank you Dahyun” Sana was grateful. Dahyun managed to help them out so much. Even when the girl didn’t have much, she gave them more than they could’ve ever asked for.

“Yeah.. thanks” Tzuyu said awkwardly but the latter gave her a bright smile.

The three of them all sat down to eat. Tzuyu and Dahyun sat on some buckets while Sana took the bed. They ate in silence which was fine because Tzuyu needed time to collect her thoughts and process what they’d do tomorrow.

“So, we need a plan for tomorrow” She said with a mouthful of food.

“Can you maybe not eat with your mouth full?”

She looked at Sana and swallowed, the latter then smiled in satisfaction. “Okay since that one Thion saw us he’ll probably rat us out to the rest. So they’ll probably be even more of them looking for us tomorrow. Therefore, we need to find a way to sneak in” she took her last bite. “All we need is 5 minutes tops, I have a feeling I know where the room is. So, any suggestions?”

They all thought for a moment before Dahyun spoke up. “Well how about I sneak in for you and contact whoever it is you need to.. contact? Wait, I’ve never asked this but who are you going to contact?”

Both girls looked at Tzuyu. “My Captain, Captain Park of the Vesta Base on Zanerth”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m a SGT and I was sent, along with a team, to retrieve any survivors from the plane crash we were notified about. One of the planes went off course so we assumed something must’ve malfunctioned.”

Dahyun seemed to be putting the pieces in her head. “And Sana was a part of that team?”

Tzuyu’s gaze went to the floor and Sana could see that she was remembering some bad things. She didn’t want to pry but she was curious about it as well. However, she didn’t want to force her to talk about it or anything “Tzuyu you don’t-“

“No its okay.. its okay” She gave her a reassuring nod. “I was with a team, Team F9- SGT. Wang Yiren, SGT. Kim Wonpil, SGT. Lee Taeyong and our Commander Lee Saerom, she was fearless and of the best, I always looked up to her and Captain Park” she smiled as she recalled the memory of when she both met Saerom and Jihyo, how much of a nervous mess she was. “And last but not least, Wong Yukhei” she was holding back her tears. She really didn’t want to cry in front of the two, she hated crying in front of people, she hated the thought of people seeing her so vulnerable and weak. “Yukhei was one of my friends, we studied together, trained together and both of us were chosen to go on this mission along with them.. it was our first mission”

“What happened that day that we met? What happened to them?”

“We were looking for you guys and they must’ve known we were coming and set a trap. I-It all happened so quickly” images of the incident flashed through her mind and she gripped her pants tightly until her knuckles turned white. “I-I-I’m not sure what happened but a-a bomb went off..”

Sana could see she was struggling to keep it together, it hurt. Though she too had lost her friends, they weren’t dead, so it must’ve been hard on the younger one since she’s lost so many people in her life. Tzuyu was opening up twice in one day which was hard for her since she had problems opening up. Sana placed her hand on top of Tzuyu’s in support. She softly rubbed her thumb against her hand to help her to relax.

Tzuyu glanced at their hands before taking a deep breathe. “Commander Lee managed to push me out in time but… it was too late for the others”

“Tzuyu I’m so sorry” Sana said. “I’m sorry too I-I shouldn’t have asked” Dahyun was afraid she did something wrong again. She was afraid that she’d open a wound that hadn’t even been closed yet.

“No its okay. When we get back home to Zanerth, I’ll make sure to give them a proper burial. It’s what they deserve.” She mentally counted from 1 to 10 to calm herself down, then she exhaled deeply and cleared her throat. “So that’s why I need to get into that room and contact Captain Park to send a ship and another rescue team”

“Rescue?”

“Yeah. Sana’s ship is the one that crashed and her friends are being held captive somewhere”

Sana nodded in agreement. “Where do you think they are keeping them? What do they do with prisoners?”

“I’m not sure.. there are different rumors about what goes on but one thing’s for sure is, you never see them again”

Sana felt like crying. “No- I promised Momo I’ll be back for them”

Tzuyu lifted her head up when she heard the name ‘Momo’. “Wait, Momo’s with you?”

“Of course. We go to the same school and we’re in the same class and live in the same dorm” Sana beamed. She really missed Momo right now, talking about her made her feel a bit better.

“Of course you would..”  Tzuyu chuckled. I always liked Momo. She was cool and was the best Z-Ball captain anyone could wish for” Tzuyu started reminiscing about how she used to manage practicing playing in Chaeyoung’s band while also having to train for Z-Ball tournaments. Luckily, Momo was a great and considerate Captain who was sometimes strict but mostly playful.

Sana pouted and crossed her arms. “So you liked her and you hated me..”

Tzuyu looked at her nervously and whispered “I told you I didn’t hate you” while Sana just laughed.

Dahyun looked at the two who appeared to be much different than they were before, which was a good thing. She hated seeing people fight and was especially glad the two were getting along. But, she still felt this loneliness..

Dahyun sighed. “Must be nice”

“What is?”

“Having friends, going to school. Doing all those activities. It must be nice”

“oh Dahyun, we’re sor-“

“No no its okay. I guess Thion is just really different here. I mean we’re told what to do and what to say and how to act.. and well if you oppose you get locked up or uhm killed.”

“So basically a dictatorship” Tzuyu said as a matter-of-factly.

“Hm.. I guess so. I mean, Klanta rules over the planet with Captain Chido as his right hand. Life is really tough here it sucks. We can’t necessarily leave either since they would never let that happen, or once another planet realizes we’re a Thions we’ll be a goner. Everyone thinks we’re monsters but we’re not. Most of us just want a peaceful life to be free to do whatever we want, and the rest just don’t know any better” Dahyun said with tears through her eyes. She never meant to go on a rant but she thinks that she was feeling a little emotional with the two girls soon leaving. Both Sana and Tzuyu were staring at her and both felt bad about the state of the planet. It wasn’t right. But what could they do?

“I have an idea!” Sana sat up in excitement. “You can come back to Zanerth with us!”

“W-What?”

“When the rescue team comes, we can all go back together. Tzuyu and I can vouch for you to stay! It’ll be great. Right Tzuyu?” Sana was so excited and Tzuyu thought she was like a little puppy. The idea was nice but surely it wouldn’t be east, however, she’d vouch for the purple haired Thions nonetheless. “Yeah, we would” Tzuyu said with a half-smile. Both girls seemed surprised at her answer but they were happy.

Dahyun was the most happy though. She knew it might not be easy but she had a chance to get out of this hell-hole and to see Zanerth, to visit and maybe even live in her mother’s hometown. It sounds like a dream.. “O-Okay, I’ll do it” Dahyun nervously said. While Sana squealed at her response and tried to get them all to hold hands and jump around in excitement. Which failed when Tzuyu didn’t stand up, but she was still glad about it all.

-

Tzuyu wasn’t quite sure about the time but it was really dark out and much quieter. The sewers were naturally dark but it seemed to be even darker. She guesses it was probably late in the night.

Sana yawned, she was tired. All that running around today and crying she did had worn her out. She wanted nothing more than to lay her body on the bed and to lay her sweet head on the pillow. But it’s Dahyun‘s bed.

Dahyun noticed her exhaustion. “Oh you can go right ahead and sleep if you want to?”

“Oh no this is your bed. I can sleep on the floor”

Dahyun shook her head. “It’s fine. I can sleep in the next room. I’ve got an extra sleeping bag in there. So you and Tzuyu can take the bed”

“I don’t want to impose.. I-“

Dahyun raised her hand. “I insist. It’s fine really” she smiled to try and reassure Sana. She had her dad’s old sleeping bag so she’d just use that. Even though her regular bed wasn’t large she’s sure that both girls would fit. Well maybe, Tzuyu’s feet might stick out a little since she’s so tall..

“Well it’s late so I’ll be sleeping soon. Goodnight guys” Dahyun said with a wave as she went in the other room.

Tzuyu noticed Sana fixing up one of the pillow to sleep on it. She took the other pillow from the bed and hugged it “Uh I’ll just sleeping the floor”

“Don’t be silly, both of us can fit here” Sana patted the space next to her.

Tzuyu hesitated for a bit, the bed honestly looked so comfortable but she didn’t want to sleep so close next to the orange haired girl. The bed they shared at the motel was a real bed, it was bigger therefore there was more space between them. But she was so tired..

“Okay” Tzuyu mumbled as she took out her weapons and took off her jacket, then followed by her boots.

She laid next to the girl and sighed. The bed was so small their shoulders were touching and Tzuyu’s feet was dangling off a bit.

“Goodnight Tzuyu” Sana whispered as she turned her back towards the latter.

“Goodnight” Tzuyu whispered back. She stared at the ceiling trying her best to ignore the girl beside her. She was trying to distract herself by going over the plan that they had come up with. A few minutes later she could hear Sana lightly snoring. Cute

Tzuyu drifted off to sleep with thoughts of tomorrow and of a certain girl.

So when she woke up with Sana’s arm around her again, she pretended that she hadn’t woken up yet. Even though they had to get moving with the plan. They figured during the day would be easier since in the night they’d be easier to find and Tzuyu and Sana didn’t have night vision.

She wanted to wait for Sana to wake and realize what she was doing, so she could remove her arm around her. She didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness they went through before the last time they slept together. She closed her eyes back again and pretended to be asleep.

Dahyun had been awake for a while now. She was always an early bird and she assumed Tzuyu and Sana were awake so she walked into the room “Hey guys we-“ She stopped as she noticed both girls hadn’t gotten up yet, she noticed Sana’s arm wrapped around Tzuyu. She smirked thinking that they looked cute.. the way Sana head perfectly fit in the space of Tzuyu’s neck. She backed away not wanting to disturb them but ended up knocking a box over. Tzuyu shot her eyes open while Sana began to stir awake. She was trying to avoid the awkwardness between them but now she’s going to have to face the awkwardness between her, Sana and now Dahyun. Great.

She looked at Dahyun who mouthed the words ‘Sorry’ before exiting the room. Sana moved her arm and yawned. She sat up and rubbed her eyes “Oh Tzuyu, I’m sorry.. I did it again. I guess you’re just so comfy” she giggled.

Why is half sleepy Sana cute?

“Oh n-no it’s okay. We should get up now. We need to leave soon” Tzuyu got up off the bed while Sana just nodded and yawned again.

Dahyun walked in again after she heard both of their voices. She walked in with the clothes they were going to wear. It was part of the plan, they had to wear different clothes now since they might know now what they’re wearing.

“I’ve got your clothes. Here” he handed both girls their respective clothes. She gave Tzuyu one of her dad’s old jackets to wear so that she’d be able to hide her guns, she also gave her a tank top to wear, one that would be able to show her symbol underneath. She gave Sana a tank top similar to Tzuyu’s. She also had to hide her orange hair, since it would stand out so Tzuyu gave her the beanie to tuck her hair in. Tzuyu put her hair in a ponytail and put the cap on.

“How do I look” Sana asked as she turned around.

Tzuyu chuckled “You look like a little boy”. While Sana just pouted at her response. She noticed Sana was still wearing the necklace and felt a slight sting in her chest. She decided to just ignore it.

“Here. You two should have these.. just in case” Tzuyu handed Dahyun one of the ray gun that was in her jacket and she handed Sana the mini ray gun that she kept in her boot. Dahyun put the gun in her jacket and Sana put the mini gun in her back pocket and tied one of Dahyun’s old shirt around her waist.

Sana had never used a gun before but she figured it shouldn’t be too hard. Dahyun on the other hand, had used a gun before but she wasn’t skilled or anything. Her dad made her shoot cans down once. Tzuyu hoped that they wouldn’t really need to use it, she’d protect both of them as best as she could but it something went wrong then they could use it.

“Alright ready?” Tzuyu asked. Both girls nodded, then Dahyun led the way out.

-

They arrived around the corner to where the communication center was. Dahyun peeped her head out to scan the area. There were a lot more Thions guards around. About five vans were parked around it and at least 10 guards were outside walking around. She figured that more might be in the building.

“How’s it looking?”

“Not good. There’s at least 10 out there.. but could be more in there”

Tzuyu peeped to see what she was talking about. She did expect to see more guard but was this all necessary for two girls? Sure she was highly trained and very skilled but she was still just one person.

“Fuck” she whispered to herself.

“W-what is it?” Sana asked, she was getting nervous again. Both Dahyun and Tzuyu seemed agitated.

“We just have to stick to the plan, okay?”

Both Sana and Dahyun nodded. They all got into place, Dahyun waited for Tzuyu to give her the signal. When Tzuyu did, Dahyun shape shifted to look like one of the guards. She was to create a diversion for Tzuyu and Sana to sneak in through the back window.

Dahyun came out of the corner and went pretended that their Captain had given them new orders. They all gathered around her. Tzuyu took that chance to sneak at the back of the building. She grabbed Sana’s wrist and pulled her along. They walked as inconspicuously as possible. No one seemed to notice them go around the back.

They were supposed to climb up to the second floor. “Okay Sana, new plan. I need you to stay here”

“What? No I’m coming with you”

“Sana I know you hate listening to me but please. I need you to stay here and keep guard”

“But.. I don’t want to be alone” She whispered while gripping Tzuyu’s arm. Tzuyu didn’t want to leave her alone either but the window was kind of high and she’s not sure Sana would be able to climb up as quickly.

“I’ll only be gone for 5 minutes.. we need to do this now. Please. You have your gun right? Use it if anything happens. I’ll be right back”

Sana hesitated for a moment but she let go of Tzuyu’s arm. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to climb up that. The initial plan was that Tzuyu would help her up but they had no time now.

Tzuyu used the first window to climb up. She then jumped towards the ledge of the second floor window and hoisted herself off. Sana watched as she did this with ease in mere seconds. She was right, I can’t do that

Tzuyu opened the window and slipped in carefully. However, there was someone waiting for her up there already. She pulled out of her gun and aimed at him.

“Hello human” he said in Villari.

“Who are you?” Tzuyu asked still pointing her gun at him. The control room was a mere two doors away but this Thions was blocking her way. She didn’t have time for questions so she fired a shot which he dodged with ease. Then more Thions began running upstairs to his side. They all had their guns pointed at her.

Fuck

“Foolish human. You’re coming with me” Gork said. As he signaled for the other guards to grab her. Suddenly a zap was heard from out the window and Tzuyu remembered that Sana was still out there. She peeped out the window and saw a few Thions carrying an unconscious Sana on their back.

Fuck. Sana!

She managed to shoot the light which created a spark, blinding them for a bit before she jumped back out the window. She had to save Sana. From a short distance she saw the Thions load her up in one of the vans and Tzuyu followed it. But as she was walking more Thions came at her direction. She had to fend them off before she could rescue Sana. Suddenly one of the guards came too close to her and Tzuyu threatened to kill them but then they whispered that it was Dahyun, she felt a bit relieved. However, more and more guards came after them to they had to retreat.

They ran with Tzuyu shooting back at them, she was running out of ammo. They took cover behind a wall. Things were looking bad, they had already caught Sana and put her in the van. Tzuyu knew they were outnumbered and it’d be hard to get Sana back. But, she wasn’t going to let them take her away alone. Not only was she worried about Sana but also Dahyun, if she was also caught they’d probably killer her for being a traitor. She clothes her eyes and took a deep breath before turning to face Dahyun.

“You have to go”

“What? No-I’m not going to leave you or Sana”

“Dahyun go! Now! I-I promise..” Tzuyu said in a rush. “I promise we’ll come back for you. But I need you to leave right now for that to happen. Please, if you get captured who knows what’ll happen” She turned to glance at the Thions who were coming faster. “Sana and I we’ll be fine we have each other, now go” Tzuyu pushed her roughly in order for her to escape. Dahyun didn’t want to leave them but she knew Tzuyu was right, she’d probably end up like her parents if they caught her helping two humans. She shape shifted back and ran.

Tzuyu watched her run off, she then took a deep breath and tried to shoot off the incoming Thions. But, she was outnumbered. She tried to use her knives but they shot them out of her hand.

Dahyun ran, only turning back once to see Tzuyu trying to fight her way out, until she was zapped at the back of the neck and fell to the ground. Dahyun felt her heart break a little and her vision blurred with tears as she turned her gaze away from the human and ran now faster. She’d hope that they’d be okay and that Tzuyu would keep her promise.

-

“Sana”

Who is that? Tzuyu? No that’s not her voice…

“Sana..”

Wait that sounds like Momo..

“Sana!!”

Sana woke up to find Momo staring at her. “M-Momo?” she sat up with the help of Nayeon and Momo.

“Sana, thank god you’re awake” she hugged her tightly. “I missed you so much” she whispered.

“I missed you too. I told you I’d come back”

Momo smiled, she knew her best friend would come back, she was happy to see her safe.  ‘Yeah, but you said you’d bring back help. But instead you brought back Tzuyu?” she teased.

Sana rolled her eyes then she panicked for a second. “Wait, where’s Tzuyu?”

“She’s over there, unconscious”

Sana quickly got up with the help of Jeongyeon and ran towards where Tzuyu had be laying down. She noticed that Taeil was trying to wake up her up.

“Tzuyu” she said as she knelt down beside her.

“Tzuyu.. come on” she lightly slapped her cheek.  

“Tzuyu wake up” she then jolted her shoulders.

“Huh I’m up. I’m up” “W-where are we? What are you wearing? And why does my neck and head hurt?” Tzuyu sat up abruptly and winced. She touched her neck and felt something around this. What the fuck is this

Sana felt her own neck and she had a metal collar just like Tzuyu’s, she also was wearing the same clothes as her. No, they were all wearing the same clothes and had the same collars around them.

“Momo what is this? Where are we?”

“It’s basically like a zoo.. the Thions have been collecting different species from different planets..” Nayeon said.

“W-wait what?”

Momo sighed. “You should get some rest, it’s a long story”

“I think we’ve rested enough” Tzuyu was now standing next to Sana.

“Tzuyu! I haven’t seen you in years! What are you doing here?” Momo pulled Tzuyu in for a hug.

“It’s-“ Tzuyu turned to look at Sana then back at Momo “Its- a long story”

She suddenly heard a voice call out “Tzuyu?” That voice sounds very familiar. Tzuyu turned around to see who had called her.

“Elkie? Oh my god what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same” Elkie chuckled. “We were kidnapped when we were out on an exhibition in Aomia. So how about you?”

“Wait you two know each other?” Nayeon asked.

“Yeah, we used to date”

“W-Wait what?” Sana asked. “Tzuyu? Had a girlfriend?” Momo turned to look at Tzuyu “Since when did you date?”

 “What do you mean?”

“You’re Chou Tzuyu. You never dated anyone back in high school” Momo said.

What the fuck is happening.

Elkie laughed. “Oh boy, Tzuyu was a real player in College. She had half the girls on campus wrapped around her finger”

Oh my god. “Uh can we not talk about that please?” Tzuyu whined.

“Wait hold on Tzuyu, I need to hear this” Momo pushed Tzuyu aside to get closer to Elkie who started gossiping about Tzuyu’s college life.

What the fuck just happened

“Here I was expecting a warm welcome” Sana awkwardly chuckled.

Tzuyu looked at her and grabbed her wrist. She whispered “I’m so glad you’re okay”

Sana felt a slight ping in her chest, she smiled and said “I’m glad you’re okay too”