Thion 3XQ: Journey [ON HOLD]

“Momo”

“Yeah?”

“Is it just me or is Tzuyu avoiding me?” Sana was sitting next to Momo watching Tzuyu who had been aimlessly talking to Taeil. It was almost feeding time and she wanted to talk to Tzuyu about what happened in the cave. But every time she’d try to walk up to her, the latter would walk away.  Sana also noticed that she’s been avoiding eye contact with her. You know the feeling you get when you can feel someone staring at you? Well yeah that’s what Sana had been doing. Staring at her until she turned to look in her direction but so far she was unsuccessful.

“I don’t know I think it’s just you” Momo was watching how Nayeon and Jeongyeon we’re sitting closely together. Then her eyes shifted to Somi and Sunmi who’d been under a tree. Somi would be the one doing all the talking while Sunmi would be staring off into space. They were all worried about it but had to remind themselves that she just needs proper care and when they get off this planet and back home then they could get her the proper medical attention she needed. Momo knows that they were all counting on Tzuyu to get them out of here since she was a SGT from the Vesta Base. She knows that Tzuyu’s the most qualified person here to think of a way to get out. Most of Elkie’s group had already given up while their group of friends’ seemed hopeless and afraid. Truthfully, Tzuyu was scared herself, but she could never say it because she knows they were all counting on her.

Ring… Beep…

Sana was startled by the shrill noise. “W-What is that?”

“Oh that means it’s feeding time” Momo said and she stood up and started lining up to the area where they would give them food. A door appeared seemingly out of nowhere and a few Thions entered and started throwing boxes towards the group of Zanertheans. Tzuyu saw what was happening and clenched her fist and began walking towards the door, Elkie swooped in and pulled her back.

“Don’t”

“Why? This is a perfect time for us to escape. There’s an opening”

“It’s not as easy as you think. You can’t just fight your way out of this, plus we have these collars around our necks.. do you even have a plan?”

“I do..” Tzuyu shifted her eyes after Elkie gave her a look. “Well, I’m working on it”

“Listen, we’ve tried it before but it didn’t work. You need to calm down and think things through.. most of us have already given up but I trust you. I trust you can get us out of this” she while rubbing the latter’s arm trying to calm her down.

Tzuyu sighed. “Okay. I’ll observe things for now and then I’ll see where we go from there”

“Sounds good” Elkie smiled and gave her a pat on the back. “Now come on let’s get some food”

Sana had been watching Elkie as she caressed Tzuyu’s arm, she was feeling a little annoyed. Oh she can talk to her but not me. She slightly gripped the food box she had picked up. Mom noticed what she’d been doing and followed her gaze towards a certain tall girl.

“Are you jealous?” she smirked as she picked up her food box.

“What? No-why would I be?” Sana turned to look at Momo.

“You’re staring at them”

“I’m not. I just want to talk to Tzuyu that’s all”

“Well, you should invite her to sit and eat with us”

Wait, that’s a great idea. I should do it before Elkie drags her away. As she was about to walk up to Tzuyu, Elkie unknowingly pulled her towards her group of friends to eat beside her. Sana walked back to where Momo was eating, she sat down and huffed. “I was too late”

Momo giggled. “Come on just eat”

She opened the box and it looked like a purple blob. “What is that?”

“We don’t know but it’s not that bad. I know it looks a little disgusting and the texture is a little weird but it’s like food and water all in one” Jeongyeon said.

“Oh”

 While Sana was poking her food, across from her Tzuyu had been doing the same. What the fuck is this and why does it look like that

“It’s not that bad you know, just try it” Elkie said beside her. “Do you want me to feed it to you?”

“I’m not a baby”

“I know but come on you have to eat. Plus I’ve been noticing you little friend over there staring at us for a while now. I wanna make her a little jealous you know? For fun” Elkie said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Huh? What friend?” Tzuyu turned her head into the direction Elkie had been hinting at noticed Sana was staring at them. When their eyes met, Sana gave her a little smile and Tzuyu pursed her lips into a half smile and nodded, then she turned to look at Elkie.

“Why would Sana be jealous? She’s not like that. Why would she even need to be?”

“I don’t know but I’m sensing this weird tension between you too”

“Tension?” Tzuyu said as she took a bite out of the blob. The texture is so weird..

“This sexual tension?”

As Elkie said that, Tzuyu began choking on the bite of blob she’d been chewing. The latter quickly began patting her back as Tzuyu was violently coughing. All heads were now turned towards the two.

“Tzuyu are you okay?” Nayeon walked up to her with concern.

“Yeah” cough “I just need” cough “some air” Tzuyu stood up trying to catch her breathe. She looked around and saw them all staring at her. “I’m gonna go get some air” she awkwardly chuckled at walked off. Sana saw her go into the direction of the cave and thought this was her time to talk to her. The crowd had continued eating and chatting with each other like normal after Tzuyu had walked off. Sana stood up and began walking towards the cave.

“Sana wait!”

Sana turned saw Elkie jogging up to her with a food box in hand. “Here, make sure she eats” she said as she handed her the box.

“Uhm.. will do?”

Elkie smiled and patted the latter’s head, but before she could leave a fog went off. “Wh-What is this?”

“Sana relax. It’s okay. This is just like a disinfectant they use since we don’t have showers in here or anything like that”

“Oh” she had wondered how the ones that have been here so long haven’t smelled.

“Well good luck” Elkie patted Sana’s head again and walked away.

Sana decided to shrug off Elkie’s actions and walked into the cave. Tzuyu had been throwing stones into the water. She wondered why the latter liked doing that.

“Tzuyu?”

Tzuyu turned to look at Sana. “Oh Sana. What are you doing here?”

“Brought your food for you. Elkie wanted me to make sure you ate” Sana awkwardly chuckled as she handed Tzuyu the food box.

“Oh thanks..” Tzuyu quickly ate the food, not really wanting to spend any more time alone with the older girl.

“’the food was

“Tzuyu, can we talk?”

“We’re talking right now.. so if you’ll excuse me-” Tzuyu began walking towards the exit but Sana stood in front of her.

“Are you avoiding me?”

“No what makes you say that?” Tzuyu took a step to the left but Sana blocked her again.

“Well every time I try to talk to you, you run away”

“I do not run away”

“Oh yeah? Then what are you doing right now?”

“I’m just trying to think about things. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.

“I know we haven’t been the best of friends but I’m here for you if you need to talk or anything” Sana said as she placed her hand on Tzuyu’s shoulder to show support.

Thump. Huh? What was that? Tzuyu felt a warmth in her chest. She figured it was just a heartburn caused by eating the blob too quickly.

“It’s just I know everyone’s counting on me to get us out of here. I’ve been trying really hard to come up with a plan but my minds all jumbled up” Tzuyu groaned as she held rubbed her temple.

“Hey it’s okay. You don’t have to do this alone you know? I can help. We can both come up with some ideas”

“I don’t know..” Tzuyu sighed.

“It’s okay to get some help once in a while you don’t have to carry everything yourself” Sana had realized that Tzuyu had this habit of wanting to always be in control of situations like this, she wanted to take all the burden upon herself.

“I just-I already fucked up with my team and I just can’t fail with this I need to bring you all back home to safety” there it was again, Sana knew the deaths of her team impacted her immensely. Not a day goes by without Tzuyu thinking of them. She thinks about it quite often, it’s like the memory of that day is engraved in her mind and will haunt her forever. Sana surprised her with a sudden hug. Tzuyu stiffened but then she hugged Sana back. A hug should be fine. Friends hug. Wait are we even friends? 

“It’s okay.. we’ll get through this together. I promise” Sana said as she rubbed circles on her back. Tzuyu felt a bit better being in Sana’s arms, there was something so comforting about them. Tzuyu sighed as she held on to Sana a bit tighter before pulling away.

“Sana I-“  she was interrupted when she heard a shriek and felt the ground move.

“What was that?” Sana said in a shaky voice as she clutched on to Tzuyu’s arm. “I don’t know but let’s go find out?” Tzuyu said as she led Sana out the cave. She spotted Momo who was talking to Nayeon and Jeongyeon and ran up to them.

“What the fuck was that sound?”

“Oh those are the Cirgaxes” Nayeon replied nonchalantly.

 “Crigaxes? What do you mean there are cirgaxes next to us? You only told us about the Aomians” Sana was baffled. How could they keep such pivotal information from them?

“Well it’s not really important, we’re safe and they do that all the time when it’s feeding time”

“Woah do you know how dangerous those things are? They’re carnivores who hunt for game and we-“ Tzuyu motioned to all of them “we’re meat”

“Tzuyu relax, it’s okay. The wall’s impenetrable there’s no way those Cirgaxes are going to break free” Jeongyeon said while Nayeon and Momo agreed.

Suddenly there was a louder shriek and the ground shook almost knocking Sana off her feet, Tzuyu grabbed her to prevent her from falling. She looked around and saw everyone’s surprised faces.

“Is that normal?”

“N-No I-I dont know” Jeongyeon said in a shaky voice.

Tzuyu scanned the area to look for Elkie and she found her sitting under a tree next to Somi and Sunmi, looking just as surprised as the others. She quickly walked up to her with Sana trailing behind.

“Elkie what the hell was that?”

“I-I dont know they’ve never done that”

There was another shriek and the ground shook harder. They all turned when they heard a crack on the side of the wall. What the fuck is happening

As they saw a huge crack on the wall it fixed itself in a matter of seconds. They heard alarms going off and Thions’ shouting. Tzuyu ran towards the glass windows and saw many Thions running towards the Cirgaxes’ container. I don’t know what’s going on but I don’t like it

She ran back to where the others were. They were huddled together under the same tree. “Okay I’m not sure what exactly’s happening but we need to all stick together okay? We don’t know-“  suddenly an alarm in their container started blaring and the glad began to open. This was it. An escape but Tzuyu hadn’t fully planned out everything yet. There were at least 20 Zanertheans in total here and she had to make sure to bring them all back home.

“Oh god it’s opening it’s opening what do we do what do we do” Renjun was panicking. An ensue of panic amongst the crowd broke out.

“Everyone calm down!” Tzuyu shouted. She glanced at the glass that was now halfway open then turned back to the crowd. “The door’s almost open and we can use this as an opportunity to escape. I’m not sure what’s happening out there but I need all of you to stay here while I go and see what’s happening. I’ll come back once it’s safe.” She then turned to Elkie “Stay with them and make sure no one leaves”

“Tzuyu wait you’re not going by yourself. I’m coming with you” Elkie protested.

“No I need you to make sure no one leaves this container. I’ll be fine don’t worry” Tzuyu have her a half smile to reassure her. Elkie sighed and nodded.

“Wait Tzuyu I’m coming with you” Sana said as she grabbed her arm. Tzuyu was about to protest but Momo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Taeil, Dowoon insisted they’d come with. Tzuyu didn’t want all of them to come along because she wasn’t sure what would be waiting for them on the outside, but she had no time to protest. She groaned and told them “Fine. Follow me”

Tzuyu walked towards the door and stuck her head out slightly to see if there were any Thions around. What she saw was much worse. Not only were there a bunch of Thions running around but the Cirgaxes’ container was open. Which means there were a bunch of Cirgaxes also running around. Fuck. She looked back at the others who had worried look on their faces after they saw Tzuyu’s expression. 

“Wait here” she whispered to them before she sneaked out. No one even had time to react when Tzuyu disappeared because as soon as she left she came back carrying two guns. She had managed to beat down a Thion guard before he could press the button for the collar. She took both his guns and shot the collar around her neck off. 

“How?” Momo whispered. She wondered how Tzuyu was able to do that so fast and easily without getting caught. She was a bit impressed and amazed. 

“Here kid” Tzuyu shoved the gun to Dowoon and said “Give this to Elkie and tell her to shoot the collar off with it” he nodded and quickly ran off towards the group. Dowoon felt a bit offended about Tzuyu calling him ‘kid’ when she looked younger than him but now isn’t the time for that.

Tzuyu turned to Taeil who was closest to her and held onto his shoulder. “I need you to stay still while I shoot this thing off” she said as she pointed to the collar. 

“O-Okay” he nodded nervously. She aimed the gun and shot, the collar came off with ease. She then moved on to take the collar off of Jeongyeon, then Nayeon and then Momo who whispered a “you’re so cool” at the taller girl. Finally she stood in front of Sana. 

“Hey” Sana whispered. “Hi” Tzuyu whispered back. Sana gave her a small smile as Tzuyu positioned herself to shoot the collar off. As it was off Sana rubbed her neck. Tzuyu placed her hand on the latter’s neck and soothingly began rubbing them “Did it hurt?” she asked with brows furrowed.  

“N-No it’s okay” Sana said. Tzuyu was standing so close, her hand was cold. She could feel her cheeks getting warmer. Momo cleared her throat which prompted the duo to look at her. “How come you didn’t ask if it hurt for us?”

“Never mind that. We need to get going now. I want all of you to stay close together. Okay?” They all nodded and followed Tzuyu’s lead. She was the only one with a gun so she’d do her best to protect everyone. They carefully sneaked so as to not be seen. Tzuyu found a button next to the container they were in.

“What does this say?” She asked, it was written if Ogsic. 

“Whoa whoa are those Cirgaxes” Taeil whispered in a shaky voice as he looked at the Cirgaxes that were running around. Luckily they weren’t seen yet. 

“Quick what does this say?” She pointed again towards the button.

“Erm it says ‘Close’' Jeongyeon replied. Tzuyu  figured it’d be best  to close the container and close the rest of Zanertheans since the Cirgaxes are loose. They’d come back for them once they found a ship. She was curious how the human container and the Cirgaxes containers were the only ones that were open while the others were closed. She was a bit suspicious about it but she couldn't think much about that right, she had more important things to focus on. She pressed the button and glass began to close again. 

The glass closing attracted the attention of a few Thions who began running towards them. “Stick together” Tzuyu said as she began shooting at them. From behind them she could see more Thions running towards them. She ran up to them and beat them down fairly quickly and took their guns. She threw Sana, Momo, Jeonyeon, Nayeon and Taeil one gun each. Momo knew Tzuyu in high school but this person seemed so different, it was all so surprising. As a former captain of the Frane Z-Ball team, she was proud of her fellow former teammate. Tzuyu was a beast at Z-Ball and now she was an extremely skilled SGT. 

“Incoming!” Tzuyu shouted as four Cirgaxes ran up to them, screeching. Tzuyu managed to dodge four of their arms that were swinging in an attempt to grab her. Their eyesight wasn’t that good up close and their hearing was weak so they had that advantage. They would have to get close as possible to the Cirgaxes and outsmart them. The group all began shooting and fighting their way out of it. Though they were scared and weren’t pros like Tzuyu they still managed to defend themselves well. 

Tzuyu was fighting off the Cirgaxes and Thions that were coming towards them. The Tzuyu in high school was strong and fast but this was something else. This Tzuyu was amazing.. Sana felt a warmth in her chest as she watched Tzuyu fight those Thions so easily. 

“Sana careful” She was snapped out of her thought when Tzuyu shot down a Cirgaxe that was coming at her. “Stay close to me please” Tzuyu told her and she nodded. 

Meanwhile Momo was trying to shoot this Thions who had shape-shifted into an animal with four legs. The Thions came running right at her. “C’mon Momo you got this” she took a deep breathe and took a shot which was successful. Nayeon and Jeongyeon were doing well on their own, they had a pretty good aim having both been in the Archery club in high school. While Taeil was outrunning the Thions and Cirgaxes because he was in the football team. They were all holding down their ground fairly well which Tzuyu was glad for. 

Tzuyu and Sana managed to slip out without being seen, they were looking for a ship. Luckily the halls were empty, she thought they must’ve all been busy with the other and with the Cirgaxes. “Look Tzuyu, there” Sana pointed towards a ship outside.As they were running towards the ship, Sana swears she saw a man who looked just like Mr. Bae, but when she blinked again the man was gone. 

They reached the ship and got on board. “Sana, you drove the van the last time. Can you drive this one too?” 

Sana smirked. “Can’t believe Chou Tzuyu is asking for my help?”

Tzuyu rolled her eyes. “Now’s not the time. I need you to blast through the wall so I can open the container. Can you do that?” 

Sana nodded as she sat in the seat. It was far more complex than the van but she still managed to lift it off the ground. She used one of the ship’s blasters to blast a hole through the wall and zoomed to where the containers were. Momo and the rest were still fighting as best as they could. All heads turned towards the ship. 

Oh Thank God they’re here. They were all getting tired of fighting. 

Sana opened the ship’s door while Tzuyu jumped out and ran towards the containers. She pushed the button and the glass began to open. She signaled for Elkie to bring everyone on board. More Thions and Cirgaxes were coming towards them and Sana used the ship’s guns to blast some of them away. 

“Come on hurry. Everyone get on the ship!” Elkie shouted. 

Tzuyu began shooting and fighting her way through the horde of Thions and Cirgaxes that were coming. She had to do everything she could so that the Zanertheans could get on the ship. When she had managed to create a distance between them she ran back towards the ship.

As she was running, Tzuyu saw some Aomians looking at her with beady eyes as if they were pleading to be rescued as well. There’s no way they would all fit on the ship and her top priority right now was saving the Zanertheans. But she vowed to herself she’d come back. I promise I’ll come back for you. For all of you and take you home. She tapped her chest in hopes that the Aomonians wouldn’t give up hope just yet.

“Everyone on the ship now!” Tzuyu shouted as she ushered everyone to get into the ship. They all heard a yelp and heard a body hit the floor. It was Dowoon who had tripped. He groaned in pain as he clutched his ankle. Tzuyu could see from the corner of her eye a Cirgaxe was coming straight towards him. Fuck. “Elkie get everyone else on the ship!” She shouted as she made a beeline towards him. 

“Go! Just leave me here! I’m not going to make it” Dowoon shouted as he laid on the floor. Tzuyu ran towards him before the Cirgaxe could get him.

“Tzuyu look out-“ Momo shouted as the Crigax swung its lower arm. It’s claw penetrated Tzuyu’s left shoulder lifting her off the ground. She hollered in pain but still managed to pull the gun out whilst in the air. The Cirgaxes tried to use it’s upper to restrain Tzuyu but she was too fast and shot the Cirgaxe right in the head. It fell limp along with Tzuyu, to the ground. She yelled in pain as she pulled it’s claws out of her shoulder. She limped towards Dowoon who laid doumfounded. With her right arm she helped him up. “Get up, come on hurry” she said weakly. Taeil and Renjun hurriedly ran to help both of them on the ship. 

“Elkie shut the door!” Sana shouted as both were safely on the ship. “How do you fly this?!” She said as she scanned the controls on the ship. “Wait, I think I can” Bora said. Bora was their pilot on the exhibition and although she’s never driven a Thions ship, she figures it shouldn't be too hard. 

“Oh thank god you’re here. I forgot about you” Elkie said. Bora managed to figure out how to get off the ground. She then blasted through the wall and took off towards space. 

Meanwhile Tzuyu was sitting on the ground, along with Sana who was clutching her shoulder to stop the bleeding. “Can I get a cloth or something?!” she was panicking. Tzuyu was visibly in pain and she didn't know what to do. Momo ran around the ship trying to find a medical kit or something. She couldn't find any so she did the next best thing that came to mind. She tore a part of her pants off and told Nayeon and Jeongyeon to do the same. It looked like they wore shorts, this prompted Dejun, Rejun and Taeil to do the same.They all gave Sana the ripped clothes. With Momo’s help, they both wrapped it around Tzuyu’s shoulder. Tzuyu was panting and groaning because it hurt like hell, she could see Sana’s terrified expression and how her eyes were watery.

 “Sana.. it’s okay I’m” she groaned as she tried to stand up “fine”. Both girls helped her up. 

“Don’t move too much, okay? Just stay close to me” Sana said as she helf Tzuyu’s waist and draped her right arm around her shoulder. They both carefully walked towards the front where Elkie and Bora wore. The rest of the humans had been huddled together in little corners of the ship. 

“How’s it going?” Tzuyu asked. 

Elkie turned to look at her then at her shoulder then frowned. “I’m okay” Tzuyu said before Elkie could say anything. Elkie had many things she wanted to say to Tzuyu but all she did was nod. 

“What do we do next?” Bora asked as her eyes remained on the screen. 

 “Light us out of here” Tzuyu said. With a quick flash, the Thions’ ship was in Zanerth’s orbit, they would be arriving very soon.  “Send a message to the Captain of the Vesta Base, tell her that..” she thought for a moment before she said “tell her that Team F9 is coming home”. Bora nodded and did as instructed, while Sana held on to Tzuyu a little tighter. We’re finally leaving planet Thion 3XQ. They both thought. 

Captain Jihyo had sent a response giving them the Okay. She had wondered why they were driving a Thions’ ship instead but she guesses that she’d know all the details soon. When they were finally about to land, Tzuyu became visibly nervous and distraught. So many different things were running through her mind. Sana noticed this and intertwined their fingers together.  Tzuyu gave her hand a little squeeze. Then the ship landed right at the Vesta Vase airstrip. The doors opened and all the humans began walking out. 

Hand in hand, Sana and Tzuyu walked out of the ship. They were greeted by members and the Captain of the Vesta Base. Chaeyoung was there too happily waiting for her best friend’s arrival. Her eyes landed on the taller girl and then her eyes moved to the girl beside her... it can’t be. She hasn’t seen that girl in years.

Tzuyu’s eyes searched for Chaeyoung’s eyes and noticed what she’d been looking at, she quickly let go of Sana’s hands which left Sana a little confused.

Chaeyoung watched as the two walked in together and she swears she saw them holding hands.