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Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

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Kay smirked and rolled her eyes when he said the bet that she would not be taking him up on at all. What money she did have was from pick pocketing wallets from passers-by before flinging the wallet away after she removed any cash she could find. She never took the cards as she knew it would only take a one purchase the victim would never do and the card was utterly useless as it'd be cancelled. Stealing cash meant no paper trail as well which in her eyes was a lot more discreet and kept her low profile actually low. It wasn't a lifestyle she was particularly proud of but she had to survive somehow when just plain out nicking food and drinks wouldn't suffice. She knew when she got back onto Earth she'd have to somehow earn her own money, even if it was making use of the benefit system until she got onto her feet but she also knew she couldn't do much out in the open for fear of being caught by what's hunting her. "no point in betting it when I agree with you" she said back quietly with her smirk still very much on her face. To her the man up front could only be the crown Prince judging by his attire, demeanor and general aura he was completely emitting. As she continued to look on, she noticed Dan walk through the double doors, sign to Cal then swiftly exit yet again and wondered what was said but figured if she thought about it long enough she may be able to guess. Glancing across the corridor to the other room that was holding the rest of their group in, she saw how Elliott was just as entranced by the bodyguards as she and John was and decided that if he was just entranced then neither herself or John could be made to feel bad about their gawking.

In the other room Fia was peeking between Jay and Elliott as best she could and had to really refrain from letting her mouth drop open as she took in the people who were talking toward their two rooms. She listened to both Elliott and Jay talk about who the guards were and how Jay had worked with them rather than against them at one time, feeling like she should know that story but couldn't quite remember for certain if she was ever told it. She could totally understand why these guards were called Wraiths, having never seen armoured outfits quite flow in the way this armour was in this moment. She too also concluded that the crown Prince was the one up front as she couldn't imagine many people on Attill needing that many people behind him as a sort of security just for visiting someone in a hospital. As Jay rolled down her sleeves to hide her subdermals before stepping away from Elliott (to which Fia then used that as an opening to take her spot to get a better view) and kneel down in front of them. She found it highly interesting that Jay raised her head to look up at them, exposing her neck which she was always told not to do. But it also drove home that Jay must truly know them if she was doing such an action. "what she doing?" she whispered to Elliott, wondering what would make Jay do such a gesture. She thought by the rolling down of the sleeves, Jay didn't want to be recognised but this next action seemed to, at least to Fia, contradict that. Either way she was highly intrigued to see what was to happen next and watched eagerly.
 
From his position in the other doorway John watched the proceedings with interest, one eyebrow raised in surprise when Jay cut short her whispered conversation with Elliott left the other room. The other eyebrow quickly followed as he watched the assassin smoothly lower herself into a sort of kneeling bow. It was clearly some kind of gesture of respect, leaving herself so exposed to attack like that- all it would take would be one swipe with a blade and Jay would be slumped on the floor with her throat slit open- but interestingly, unlike many other gestures of respect John had come across, be it in texts or in real life, it wasn't one of submission. "Now just what the bloody Hells is she up to?" John murmured, more to himself than to Kay. Across the corridor Elliott was equally baffled by Jay's behavior, he liked to think he knew Jay better than all of them, but this action had completely shocked him, he didn't think Jay would ever willingly kneel to anybody. His shrug at Fia's words conveyed his confusion. "I really don't know" he whispered back "but knowing Jay there's a reason."

The prince was the only one who didn't look surprised by what was going on, the Wraiths were faceless and silent while the soldiers had expressions of professional indifference, something that made sense to Cal. It was one of the things required of a Royal guard, even if she had no clue as to the purpose of the ritual, she was instructed to look like she did. So Cal watched in silence as the prince took a stepped forwards until he was right in front of Jay, then held out his own hands, palms facing downwards, about thirty centimetres or so above Jay's. The assassin and the prince carefully concentrated, taking a breath in unison before drawing on their years of training to begin the ritual. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then after a few seconds, silvery lines began to appear under both of their skin, in Jay's case it followed the tracks of her subdermal implants, while the prince's followed the first the major blood vessels and then the tattoo on his arm. The silvery lines moved through their bodies, exiting their respective bodies at the tips of their fingers. The crackling threads of energy were a physical manifestation of the flow of time that Jay could read and that the prince could manipulate. the energy radiating off the two could be felt by those in both rooms, most of it was coming from the prince, flowing off him in waves.

They kept eye contact as the ball of threads formed, both of their eyes were now glowing. Jay's were silver, while the prince's were gold, highlighting further his almost ethereal features. A single nod was the only outward communication that passed between them, the rest was all done through the temporary bond that had formed between them in order to carry out the ritual. It wasn't exactly an oath of allegiance, the prince wasn't Isogrii in the way Jay was, and she had no intention of binding herself, nor did the prince have need for such a subject. Instead it was an acknowledgement of the strength of his powers and an agreement that while in the same region neither would use their powers to interfere with the timestream of the other, as such an action could obliterate them from existance. In unison they began to weave their fingers, manipulating the threads into the intricate pattern the ritual recommended. With the final thread pushed into place the threads glowed a bright white like a magnesium flare, before exploding outwards, obscuring the two from view for a few brief seconds. When the glow cleared Jay was back on her feet again, the remains of the time energy skittering across her skin. She and the prince exchanged a final nod before Jay stepped away, indicating that he should do what he needed to.
 
To say that Kay was surprised when she saw Jay step out of the other room and kneel in front of the Prince, exposing her throat in the way she was would be an utter understatement. She also got that John's question was more to himself, judging by his tone but she cocked her eyebrow as if she was shrugging her shoulders in response, "Beats me but I am intrigued" she replied none the less, even though the question wasn't directly aimed at her. Glancing at Fia and Elliott it seemed they both had a similar train of thought as it was Fia was asking Elliott the same question, even if it was worded differently. The fact that Elliott didn't even know made it all the more curious and intriguing as she was convinced if anyone would have a clue it would be him, but it seemed she was very very wrong on that aspect. Both her and Fia from where she was, watched on intently as they saw the Prince open his hands out and down to her as she raised her own hands. Seeing the light eminating up their arms, making their markings/tattoos glow was almost hypnotic to watch, especially when it got to the point where both their eyes started to glow vividly. Kay couldn't help but wonder when her own eyes glowed golden red due to Fee's takeover of her body if hers looked anywhere near as fascinating as the Prince's did as before now she never truly thought about it. But with how ethereal he was looking as he performed this ritual with Jay made her begin to think of her moments of change, just like seeing Attilian armour made her think of her ancestor's warriors.

Seeing the threads of time flow between both their hands just put both Kay and Fia in utter silence and awe, Fia having been unable to speak back to Elliott after he said he didn't know himself what was going on. It was like nothing else either had truly seen, and Fia had seen light eminating from hands before, but this was utterly something else, even compared to what she had seen in her timeline. For Kay it was even more new than it was for Fia as she was after all still relatively new to all this magic world in one way or another. As the light grew and shrouded Jay and the Prince, Kay on shielded her eyes only a little bit, as light had never been too much of an issue for her, probably down to the fact she was a literal embodiment of fire. Next thing Kay and Fia both saw with everyone else was Jay back up on her feet and the two exchanging a nod of respect and understanding whilst Jay stepped out of the way. "Well that was....something else" Kay muttered to John, unsure what else could possibly be said at that given moment in time. Fia was left pretty speechless which for her was a rare occurance as she usually had something to say even if it was a small remark.
 
At first, when nothing appeared to be happening John couldn't help but sight internally. The words 'well this is bollocks, they're just staring at each other' was on the tip of his tongue, but then he noticed the first silvery glow began to emanate from underneath Jay and the Prince's clothing. The Prince wasn't wearing flowing black armour like the Wraiths were, but he was wearing some form of almost robe-like attire. Neither Jay's simple shirt nor the Prince's robe fabric was enough to block the light of the time threads. Like Fia, John had had also seen light and energy emanating from people's hands and bodies before, but he'd never seen anything like this. In his only previous experience when people created energy in their body, their whole body glowed, the energy didn't follow a set path and it certainly didn't run and ripple underneath the skin like it was now. With their glowing eyes, Jay's shifting warrior marks and the Prince's own tattoos alight with silvery energy it highlighted once again that neither were in the slightest bit human and that their powers were worlds apart from anything the other's had experienced before. The ethereal look of the Prince caught everybody's attention, he looked like something out of an ancient piece of artwork, the very embodiment of powerful royalty, but for Elliott it was the way the energy rippled through jay's body, the way her eyes glowed a colour he'd never seen them take on before that had him desperately trying not to have his jaw drop to the floor, unable to tear his eyes away from the vision before him.

The weaving of the time-strings was mesmerising and John, Chas, Elliott, Cal, Bec and Dexter all couldn't help but lean forwards and crowd slightly closer together in the doorway to take get a better look. It was a sight they would probably never see again, and for some they were never feel this kind of raw power emanating from one person again. When the time-strings burned white and the energy glow shot outwards. John had no choice but to hold up a hand to shield his eyes from the burning light. Even with his hand shielding his face, he didn't quite block all the light, and as a result for a few seconds afterwards there were bright spots almost burned into his vision (though they cleared away with a couple of hard blinks). Seeing that Jay was still in one piece was slightly surprising, for a brief moment John did think that all the power flowing had been too much and the woman had simply exploded. "Bloody Hells I wasn't expectin' that." John agreed, his voice low. Elliott, like Fia was stunned to the point of speechlessness, just staring as the remaining energy danced across Jay's skin before being absorbed into her body. She looked better now, almost revitalised, as if absorbing the energy that had flowed from the Prince had rebooted her and rid her of the tiredness of the past few days. Radiant wasn't quite the right word to describe her, but there was almost a glow that hadn't been there before.

With the ritual now complete the Prince turned to the Wraiths and the soldiers. The Wraiths were directed with a series of quick concise gestures, the slightly shorter of the two was sent to Zan's room while the other was to stay with him and look at the shifter. He then addressed the group of soldiers. Up until now neither John, Kay, Fia, Chas or Bec had heard what the upper class, posh Attilian accent sounded like (Cal and Elliott knew from hearing speeches as a child, while Dexter had heard it from the members of the high society circles he photographed for newspapers and magazines). It was rich and smooth, every syllable perfectly enunciated. The way it rolled of his tongue, it was clear that this was a man used to giving orders. All the soldiers bar one were told to wait outside- there was nowhere near enough space in the tiny hospital room for all of them. With the orders given, Cal spoke for the first time, a slight teasing smirk on her face, stretching out a hand for a fist-bump "took you long enough to get here, we could have used you twenty minutes ago for fighting it." The Prince gave an answering smirk, at which point a large chunk of his earlier gravitas and ethereal beauty vanished as his accent dropped and he spoke in the accent of the regular Attilian citizens and it was revealed that he had a prominent gap between his two front teeth, potentially big enough to slot a coin through. "I'm not psychic" he replied with a slight eye roll. "I was busy tracking down the original assassin's files, I think I've got something. But mainly I need to know exactly what and who i'm covering up, as well as what is happening next. Obviously your father can't stay here, the hospital's been compromised and it won't be long before somebody leaks his name on the internet, at which stage this shit-storm will morph into something else entirely."
 
Kay nodded at John's words knowing there wasn't anything else she could possibly say other than what she already had and what he now said in agreement. She also noticed how much more energised Jay seemed to look after that 'performance' with the Prince. She kept watching on as the Prince turned to the wraiths and the military personnel and spoke in such a regal manner that it totally took her by surprise for a split moment to hear such well spoken Attili for the first time since their trip here. She was so used to hearing the casual everyday lingo and way of talking it was a but of a culture shock to hear for a brief moment. The signing of orders wasn't as shocking to see as it seemed to her pretty standard of an action to do in such a situation, but the posh Attili to the military guards was the surprise no doubt. One she probably won't forget for a while. As she saw one of the wraiths come to the room she and John were in, she instantly stepped back aware that the two of them had blocked the doorway with their peering round the corner snooping, that honestly reminded her of the scooby gang, not that she would ever make that comparison out loud in such a situation.

Fia found the posh formal Attili language utterly fascinating to listen to even if she didn't fully understand every word, it was still something to witness in her eyes and to listen to. She remained very much next to Elliott as the wraiths split to each room, as she glanced over and saw her parents very much having been doing the same thing that they were doing in their room. She also noticed how Kay moved to not block the doorway incase the wraith needed to get into the room for whatever reason whilst she herself listened to how the Prince suddenly changed from formal language to the familiar casual language when he spoke to Cal, and Cal to him. It also seemed rather strange to her to see royalty do such casual actions like fist bumps and cursing as he spoke back with a matching smirk to Cal's. Seeing all this reminded her that Cal really wasn't exaggerating or lying when she said she could talk with the Prince in such a manner and was on good terms with him. His reply to why he wasn't here sooner was also very valid in her mind, but then again because of his role she probably would have thought that whatever reason he said would be valid. If there was ever a time to not let on she was Elliott's half sister from the future, it was most certainly now but that didn't mean she couldn't not be close to him. After all, just because her cover story was of Kay being her older sister and her and John were bringing her up as guardians due to no biological parents being around, and with John being Ell's adoptive father, it wouldn't be entirely that surprising to have her grow close to Ell in some manner. She just felt it was more important to keep up the charade when in front of royalty and not to mess up, especially if he was able to weave time strings with Jay.
 
John was visibly taken aback at the high-class accent with which the Prince spoke. He remembered Elliott saying before, that compared to Earth where every small region had it's own accent, Attil had only three recognised ones- those who spoke the language as a second language (lacking the almost musical flow of the natives), those who spoke it like a native and the high-class accent, used only by those in or related to the Royal family. There were other accents on Attil, but those were linked to other accents or cultures as opposed to being linked to Devra/the Attilian language. The refined way in which the syllables rolled off the tongue almost sent shivers down his spine. It was a voice of authority, rich in power, effortlessly commanding respect and John could now see why it was exclusively linked with the Royal Family. Even though he knew it was Attili being spoken, John struggled to understand what was being said, so used to hearing the more placid accent of the 'plebs'.

Wrenching his eyes away from Jay, Elliott met John's eyes across the corridor and he couldn't help but smile slightly at the shock visible in them, as well as the look of 'that is the most ridiculously posh accent I have ever heard to date' - exactly the expression Elliott had expected John would adopt if he ever heard an accent like the Prince's. When the Wraith turned and made it's way towards the second room with the clear intent of going in, Elliott gave a nod at John, indicating that he should step back and let the black shrouded figure do whatever it was it had been ordered to. The lack of reaction from Cal told him that she had no qualms with letting the Wraith near their birth father, and as she knew the Prince far better than he did, he would happily defer to her judgement on this. John hadn't been planning to stop the Wraith from entering, he may not know their reputation the way Cal, Cliff, Elliott, Dexter and Jay did, but he knew that if somebody wore long flowing robes and was bodyguard to the most powerful person in the room, you didn't try to start a fight with them. The Wraith swept past him and Kay- whether it looked at them or not John couldn't tell, his eyes still wouldn't focus on it's face- making right for the medical chart at the end of the bed, picking it up in gone gloved hand. It first read the document, occasionally lifting it's head to compare something on the notes to something on the monitors, then silently walked to the side of the bed, removed a glove and placed two fingers on the side of Zan's forehead that hadn't been shot (a similar gesture to the one Elliott made when MindWalking, or Jay did when she was reading a timeline).

Elliott was surprised at the way Cal spoke to the Prince- no titles no formalities, a teasing tone and a fist bump (Elliott never though he'd see the day where his sister fist bumped a Prince like he was just another guy she knew), but it was the way the prince spoke back to her that had his jaw drop. Gone was the rich, imposing accent, and with it a good chunk of the effortless aura of power he'd emanated earlier. Logically Elliott knew that behind every member of the Attilian royal family was a normal person, but this was the first time, he'd ever looked at one and thought that 'yup aside from the clothes, there's a regular bloke under all that pomp and ceremony'. he'd never seen anybody drop an accent so fast and he couldn't help but wonder which of the two was put on- the posh 'I rule the roost and I know it' one, or the regular citizen accent. The tooth gap also took him by surprise, and Elliott was aware that he was staring more than he should be, but he took solace in the fact that he wasn't the only one. Bec, Chas and Dexter, were all visibly surprised at just how much this imperfection shattered in earlier image of an almost ethereal figure.

The way the Prince and Cal spoke was more like... dare he say it... like siblings to Elliott than like somebody who'd once beaten the other up to teach him a lesson about being smug. At this realisation, Elliott couldn't help feel a pang of insecurity. Had it been that while he was gone, this Prince had become Cal's pseudo brother? Had he really been cast out of the frame so easily? He then shook his head and tried to dismiss the thought, he'd been considered dead for over a decade, Cal ha had ever right to find somebody to fill the gaping void that losing a sibling left- Elliott had done the same thing with Trish and Gemma after all, he really couldn't judge. Cal and the Prince talked back and forth for a few brief minutes (questions about the wedding and how Cliff's family were doing as well as the trial and the legal team) before Cal decided that introductions were in order. "You've probably guessed that's my brother, back from the dead- he goes by Elliott now-, Bec is Zan's younger sister, Dexter you probably know- he's a photographer, Jay you've met already, then there's Fia, Chas, and John and Kay are across the corridor in the other room." She gestured at each person in turn as she spoke, before gesturing over her shoulder at the other room. "Everybody this is Owyn" she pronounced the name like the Earth name 'owen'"or as he's better known- one of Attil's crown princes."
 
Kay had no qualms in letting the wraith inside as she just knew it was the cavalry so to speak and not another enemy. She kept out of the way as she watched it look at Zan's file and stats before walking to the side of the bed and doing a similar action to what Elliott had been seen to do before. Whether Kay had seen Elliott seen it before she couldn't remember for certain but it did feel like a familiar action anyway. The fact though they couldn't just focus on the Wraith's face was understandable as she could guess it must to be do with their job of being with the crown prince, but it was equally frustrating and unnerving as well as she, like with most people was used to be able to read someone's face and see who she was near, not only that after being taken at least once on Earth, the idea of not seeing the face of the being unnerved her as she didn't like not being able to see said face. It was also frustrating on the merrit that they couldn't tell if they were being looked at by said being in the room at any brief moment as well. She wondered what the wraith was doing when they placed two fingers on Zan's head, but felt she knew better than to try and try and talk as they clearly didn't use words to speak and she didn't have the rank to do so either, so her thoughts would remain just that.. Thoughts.

Fia just couldn't get over how casually Cal was able to talk to the crown prince when she was there wondering how the Hell's she should even address him or talk to him. Its not like she met royalty before or would even come close to meeting such a person back in her time so she was completely out of her normal comfort zone with this. She glanced at Elliott and felt glad that she wasn't the only one who was dumbstruck at how Cal and this prince were conversing with each other. She just stood there as Cal spoke about every day things like her wedding and such before deciding that introductions would be a good idea. When Cal got to her, she just smiled and gave a half wave that consisted of simply raising her hand up then down again before Cal explained who John and Kay were on the other room. "nice to meet you Owyn" she said, not knowing what else to possibly say to such a man. It wasn't often she was left baffled on what to say, but this was most definitely one of those times. She would have been lying though if she had said she wasn't debating in her head if she was addressing him correctly or not and did she say the right thing? Should she have even said anything at all? She didn't know and she did not like being in this situation at all but she wasn't going to let it show on her face to everyone else in the room.
 
John was also watching the Wraith warily, trying as best he could to keep one eye on it and one eye on the others across the corridor. Like Kay he was on his guard, the lack of eyes of facial expression to take clues from was putting him on edge. He'd spent so much of his life on the edge and being able to read his opponent's face was a vital skill- it told him if his barbs had hit home, if the person was getting angry to the point where they'd start making mistakes or whether he was succeeding in changing their minds (the last one was far rarer than the others, particularly with demons who got a sadistic kick out of the misery and pain of others). Every creature John had encountered had some form of face, but this Wraith had nothing... nothing John could possibly get a read on, he couldn't even make a stab at it's gender, let alone it's race. For all they knew it wasn't even Devra, but something engineered in a lab purely for the purpose of being a royal bodyguard. It could be a bloody robot for all they knew! Or maybe the Wraiths were hooked up to some kind of hive mind? It wouldn't be the first such creature had encountered. Normally John would have asked something in his typical blunt and crude way, or made some kind of sharp remark, but he didn't know if the thing could reply. (It also gave out the aura of something to be afraid of, he wasn't ashamed to admit that to himself). So he just watched as it reached out a hand and laid two fingers on Zan's forehead.

The Wraith stood motionless, the room falling into silence, aside from the bleeping of equipment, the room was quiet enough that John could hear his own breathing, as well as Kay's, Zan's machine assisted breathing and another quieter sound that he believed was coming from the Wraith. After what seemed like an eternity, though in reality it was more like forty seconds the Wraith retracted it's hand a few centimeters and tipped it's head to one side. Surprise maybe? Or confusion? Maybe some kind of deep thought on some kind of plane mere mortals like me can't access? John wondered. The Wraith then leaned forwards and tipped Zan's head, so it could get a better look at the shaved half. It carefully ran a finger across the old surgical scars and then over the bandage patches at the front and back of his hand.

Elliott couldn't help but listen in on the rest of the conversation between his sister and the Prince, the fact he asked about the wedding and after Cliff's family was a point in his favour. He hadn't been at the wedding of that Elliott was certain. Between Cal, Cliff and Cliff's parents he was pretty sure he'd been introduced to every guest there at some point. Elliott liked to think he had a good memory for faces (and a good memory in general) and was of the firm opinion that he certainly would have remembered such a prominent tooth gap. Chas gave an awkward 'hello', the language barrier may be gone thanks to Elliott's translation spell, but that didn't solve the problem of what to actually say to royalty. Jay just gave a nod, she'd performed the ritual, she didn't feel that any more of an introduction was necessary. Bec just looked awkward at the introduction. When Cal had said friends in high places, she didn't for a second think the woman meant a member of Attil's royal family. She'd been originally intending to hold out a hand for a hand shake, but was overcome by a wave of tiredness and ended up using it to cover her mouth as she yawned loudly (the adrenaline was wearing off and she'd barely managed an hour of sleep before she'd been so rudely interrupted by somebody trying to murder her brother. She couldn't stop the blush of embarrassment that appeared, yawning in front of a prince was surely on the banned list. At Fia's words Owyn gave a nod, and a look that was almost calculating. His connection to the timeline meant he could sense easily that Fia was an imposter, but now was not the time. "You too, given the circumstances."

Dexter on the other hand had no such problems, meeting people of much higher social status than him was part of the job and so he stuck out a hand. "We've been at some of the same events, but I've never photographed you..... they wouldn't let me near." "I know your work" Owyn replied with what looked to the photographer like a genuine smile, firmly shaking Dexter's hand. "As for the rest, the PR people don't tend to trot me out for the public showings. They tend to go for my more photogenic siblings, I'm not close enough in line to throne to be of great interest to the paparazzi vultures. It's much far interesting to have the scandals about the blood members vomiting on some diplomat." "So you don't have any formal titles then?" Elliott couldn't help but ask as he followed Dexter's lead and shook the man's hand. His knowledge of the Royal family was patchy after all these years, but he knew there was a significant difference between those who were born into the family by blood and those who were adopted into it as the possessed incredibly strong levels of power. Had he not been so knocked off balance by Owyn just showing up, he would have wondered if his powers as a MindWalker were strong enough to merit a place in the Royal family. A slight amused smile twitched at the edge of Owyn's lips as he shook his head. "I have far too many, it would take at least half an hour to explain them- time we could put to much better use. Pretty much any question you have about my life as a member of the royal family can be answered by looking it up on the internet...... Owyn's not technically my proper name- , I've got one of those long and pompous ones that all of Attil's royal family are burdened with. When this is over, I'll do the answering of the million and one questions, but right now there's a man whose been shot, two assassins, a hospital that's clearly not safe, a cyber-security breach and an active hit to deal with."
 
Kay kept watch out of curiosity and being weary of what could possibly be the next move by the wraith. She remained close by John's side the entire time as neither seemed to be in a hurry to break their hand holding from each other which Kay was in a way glad about. She didn't think for any moment that the wraith would be of any danger to them both as she didn't think Cal would have let the Prince order a wraith into the room with them without someone else with them, but her guard was still very much up nonetheless. A habit that would never truly die away within her, and a habit reminding her that she really didn't trust so easily of someone she didn't know or in this case, see their face. It also didn't help that the wraith, the other guards and the Prince were here because of the assassin attack and attempted hit on Zan in the first place. Not only was her hand interlocked with John's still, she had now at some point unknown to her have her free hand on his arm as well. As the wraith removed his fingertips from Zan's head, and cocked their head to the side in a questioning manner, or so she guessed she wondered what else was going to happen, until she witnessed them move Zan's head to show the shaven side where the injury was, but didn't dare speak even to John any of her curiosities or questions to what it was they were witnessing.

Fia noted how everyone except for Jay and Dexter all seemed rather awkward in their unknown knowledge of how to address such a person which made her feel glad that she wasn't the only one who felt awkward about it. She even noted how Bec was trying and failing to hold bsck the yawn that escaped her which considering everything wasn't much of a shock to Fia that the woman was still very much fatigued. She couldn't help but notice how Owyn was looking at her, seeing the calculating look in his eyes at her which partly put her on edge and worried that he was somehow figuring her out, but was thankful he didn't bring anything up and instead just agreed it was nice to meet everyone, considering why he was being brought here in the first place. After that she didn't say anything else to him, but remained quiet as Dexter confirmed he had met Owyn before in a round about manner, whilst Owyn said what he did, making Elliott ask his own question. Listening to Owyn talk was interesting but she totally understood why Owyn wouldn't want to go into all the intricacies of his family and how it all worked when they had so many other things to deal with. Then ontop of that they had to deal with whatever was wrong with Kay when Cliff got back from the labs as a complete side thing to make sure she didn't faint again whilst here on Attil. "more than understandable and valid" she couldn't help but remark.
 
John was aware of how, not only was Kay still gripping his hand tightly, but was also sticking close by him, her other hand around his arm. He could feel her unease as she watched the Wraith silently carry out it's orders. Clearly having no idea what the Wraith was doing was just as unnerving for her as it was for him. When it began to feel the injury site as well as the surgical scars, John couldn't help but take a small step forwards and to the side to get a better look. The Wraith wasn't Mindwalking, he knew that much for certain- it would have slumped to the ground as it jumped into Zan's mind if it was- and it didn't look like it was healing the wounds either. To John it seemed almost as if it was reading the wounds, trying to get a better understanding of them that way. The Wraith straightened up again, picked up a pencil, made a set of annotations on the margins of the medical charts before setting it back on the end of the bed and leaving as silently as it had arrived, once again giving no acknowledgment of Kay and John's presences.

Jay had to hold back laughter, when instead of giving some form of greeting to the Prince, Bec let out a monster yawn, nearly swallowing her hand as she tried to stifle it. The woman's look of mortification following the yawn was even funnier and the assassin let the slightest of smirks play on her lips, knowing that as she was standing behind Bec, the woman couldn't see it. Seeing just how easily and naturally Dexter greeted the Prince- he was the only one aside from Cal to have touched Owyn- Bec couldn't help but feel like the photographer was showing off and once the blond and silver haired man stepped back she leaned over and murmured 'show off' softly into the photographer's ear. Dexter merely made a rude gesture with a teasing smirk before the two turned their attention back to the main conversation. In retrospect Elliott knew his question was quite a stupid one, of course the man would have more titles than he knew what to do with, he was a Prince but the way Owyn treated the question seriously and answered without making Elliott feel like an idiot for asking was another point in the man's favour.

It was what the Prince said last that really caught the other's attention. "Active hit?" Elliott and Cal exclaimed at the same time, identical looks of 'oh shit' on their faces. Jay's face snapped back to business mode, Bec and Dexter both straightened and Chas leaned in closer, not wanting to miss a word of this. "And a cyber-attack." The Prince confirmed, his expression grave. "Who is the hit on?" Elliott asked, and only those who knew him well would be able to pick up on the note of fear in his voice. Jay rested a hand on Elliott's shoulder, as Elliott asked the crucial question. "Is it Zan or is it me?" "Zan" Owyn replied. "This only came to light a few hours ago, a tip-off came through from some contacts as we were looking into the shooter from the construction site. It was originally a single operative contract- just the one shooter-, but now word is somehow out that they've failed and the contract has been expanded to a wider set of operatives. Clearly the witness protection and spook cover has been well and truly blown and the gang is out for vengeance. Shortly after that the government servers were hit by a series of massive cyber-attacks, this wasn't the usual hackers banging up against the defenses, these were pros. The intended target was believed to be Zan's files and the court's files, but we'd prepared for this and Deke killed the server before anybody could get near it."
 
As John moved out of curiosity of wanting to know what the wraith was doing, Kay moved with him due to still holding his hand and arm. Unlike him though, she couldn't possibly imagine what the wraith was doing when it was inspecting the wounds and scar tissue on Zan's head. She knew enough to know it was a Mindwalk as like John, she had seen Elliott do it to other people and seen how he seems to just slump into one's conscious mind and look very much not with anyone in the living world as he did so. Yet when it came to trying to figure out any other ideas she was completely and utterly stumped. Though it was hardly surprising that she wouldn't know as she was after all still relatively knew to all of this kind of stuff compared to everyone else she seemed to be knowing in recent times. When the wraith exited after doing whatever it was they were and writing down some notes with the nearby pencil, she looked at John and waited until they were out of the room before speaking, "What do yo think they were doing?" she asked not too loudly. She also couldn't help but have opinions on the whole lack of acknowledgement of them being in the room as the wraith exited but she just simply put it down to the fact they were to do a job and nothing more and left it at that in her mind.

Fia noticed the rude gesture toward Bec from Dexter and she couldn't help but smirk at it like a typical teenager. She also took note of how Owyn didn't make Elliott feel awkful or like an idiot for his question and just answered it the way he did, which she listened to intently. Even though she said it was more than understandable and valid, she was surprised that Owyn had said the words 'active hit'. It didn't initally sink in but a few seconds after and it did sink in, even more so when Elliott asked if he heard it right in the way he did. She too wondered if the active hit was out on her half brother and if it was then she would do all she could to help kepp him safe but Owyn's words put that thought swiftly off the table, even if the answer of it being out on Zan wasn't entirely that reassuring. It was however easier to hear than one being out on Elliott. She listened to the full answer that Owyn was giving them all, nodding in understanding whilst feeling glad that Deke managed to close down as much as he could before it all got out file wise.
 
After the Wraith exited, John let out a low slow breath, tipping his head back against the wall so he was looking right at the ceiling. At Kay's question he gave a shrug "no bloody clue ta be honest. Best guess? he.. she.... it has some kind of healin' powers or serious medical training, it was almost like it was mappin' those injuries with it's fingers. But this.." he broke away from Kay, letting go of hr hand as he picked up the medical chart from it's slot on the end of the bed and began to flick through it"could prove useful." He saw no point in attempting to read the details entered by the nurses and doctors, even if John could understand the Attili, the medical terms would go over his head. The handwriting was extremely neat, the kind of block printed capital letters people did when trying to disguise their writing. "Well they wrote here..." John paused, translating as best he could into English "if he regains consciousness- expect possible short term memory loss.... permanent loss and damage without some form of mind intervention..... future problems with migraines.... inevitable scarring....expect the hair over the gunshot sites to turn prematurely grey.. no actually this says silver... once it regrows." John pulled a face "nothing good basically. Though if we really want answers and I damn well do, then I say headin' across to the others natterin' across the corridor is a pretty damn good course of action."

Bec, Dexter, Chas, Elliott and Jay all listened sombrely as Owyn explained what had been going on behind the scenes, all struggling to various degrees as they tried to grasp the enormity of what they were hearing. When the Prince said that the hit was on Zan, not on Elliott, the Earth group (and Jay) gave each other looks of relief- none of them wanted to lose Elliott, knowing that it would shatter their lives irreparably. Bec and Dexter meanwhile exchanged looks of 'well shit, looks like our lives got a hell of a lot worse'. If Owyn was right (and they didn't have any reason not to believe him) and both Zan's covers were blown, this was a real cause for concern. It explained the presence of the shifter in the hospital, but it also raised a whole other bunch of worrying thoughts in Bec and Dexter's minds. The hit had only been put out within the past couple of hours, yet somebody had already managed to find Zan and attempt to murder him. It didn't bode well and it meant there would be more in the near future. Both were sleep deprived, hungry and there was only so much adrenaline and sheer willpower they could run on before they crashed out.

Hearing that Deke had involved himself and stopped the files being leaked Elliott let out a slow breath of relief and scrubbed his hand through his hair. If Zan's personal file, or any of the trials from the court scene got out, it would be utter chaos- upsetting campaigners on both sides of the magical divide to learn where Zan's allegiances truly lay- that he wasn't exactly the villian of the piece and that he'd been wrongly scapegoated for years. The mention of Deke also evoked a second reaction in Cal. "You and Deke are finally talking again?" Owyn's reply was curt, and more of a deflection than anything else. "What's going on here is more important- I can be professional about it and so can he." Cal opened her mouth as if to say something, presumably about to rebuff Oywn's claim of professionalism, but the Prince spoke again, changing the topic and firmly cutting Cal off. "The best course of action I can see is, with your permission" his words were directed more at Bec than at Cal and Elliott "to have Zan transferred to a classified facility. Staying here puts not just him, but all other staff and patients in this facility at risk." "Agreed." Bec replied. "You certainly have my permission, we were thinking that a transfer was the best course of action, but neither of us had the power to arrange it and keep it quiet. And we weren't sure if he can be transferred, he's hooked up to a lot of machines and travelling for hours in such a vulnerable condition could be enough to kill him." "Travel time isn't a problem, once we've got a location decided I can get him here in a matter of seconds." The Wraith from Zan's room had by this point made it's way over and was waiting (and presumably watching) a few paces behind Owyn.
 
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Kay did feel like she could almost breathe calmly now the wraith had the exited the room, but did notice it went to nearer the opposite room where Owyn was which made sense to her. She listened to John's reply, nodding at how his guess seemed to make some kind of sense and would explain the wraith's actions. Whether he was right or not was a whole another thing, but for now the guess seemed to make sense to her. She let go of John as he stepped forward and went to read the file of Zan's stats, hearing what he was translating to the best of his ability, taking it in and thinking it truly didn't sound good in the slightest. It truly sounded like Zan was going to have one hell of a battle on his hands if he pulls through this to become properly fighting fit again. The only remotely positive thing in the list he read off was about the hair. To her she was certain that compared to everything else gaining silver hair was the least of Zan's worries. Hell's, silver hair rather than grey actually pretty badass to her but that was another thing all together that could be put to one side. Heading to the other room seemed like the best choice of action and was one she originally planned to do before she had the fainting spell. "sounds like a plan. Considering that was my plan before I fainted in the first place" she replied.

Fia like the others listened to what very thing that Owyn was telling them. Though she was glad that Elliott wasn't being targeted in this current time, it didn't take away the concern that Zan was still very much far from in a safe environment in this hospital and if someone else other than this shifter came for him then it was just heightening the risk of innocent people getting hurt or worse killed in the process. She didn't even pay attention to how Cal tried to make a friendly dig about Owyn and Deke being on talking terms as she was too focused on the serious side of the conversation. It wasn't of great surprise that Bec would give permission to have Zan moved to a more secure unit somewhere, but the mention of being able to move him in seconds was interesting to her. "seconds?" she couldn't help but ask, the curiosity and intrigue very much evident in her tone of voice. It got her wondering if he was meaning that they could use some sort of portal device like Deke or Cal had used before to get Elliott out of the prison cell and such, but didn't want to just assume anything, so figured it was best to ask rather than assume.
 
Reading the penciled notes once again emphasised just how serious the wound was. John couldn't help but briefly wonder if Zan would have survived had he been shot on Earth. He doubted it, in his experience London was not full of military surgeons with extensive gunshot wound training. Sure there were back alley clinics where you get a gunshot wound patched up if you knew where to look (or if you were feeling brave you could dig it out yourself at home with the help of a mirror and some tweezers dipped in rubbing alcohol), but that was for leg, arm or torso wounds, not bullet's that had gone through somebody's skull. Looking at Zan lying, clinging to life by the most fragile thread, John couldn't help but murmur a thanks under his breath that it wasn't Elliott they were looking at. Whether he was thanking Zan for shoving Elliott out of the way and taking the bullet himself or whether he was thanking some deity for doing something good in his life for once was unclear, even to John. Setting the chart back on the bed, John straightened up and gave a nod of agreement. "Now that the posh-knob has arrived, I reckon things are going to start getting interesting." John said 'posh knob' with his obligatory edge of disdain he reserved for all rich and powerful people. This was balanced out by the edge of curiosity at the end of the sentence. The Prince had been keeping Zan's shooting out of the public, who knew what else he might be able to do for them? With that decided John walked across the corridor, joining Chas on the boundary outside the room. The cabbie gave him and Kay the briefest run-down of what they'd missed the things he felt were the most important- Owyn's name and the revelation about the hit.

Elliott raised an intrigued eyebrow when Cal made her comment about Owyn and Deke being back on speaking terms again. He'd never heard about there being any kind of beef between the two men before now and the way Owyn dodged the question told him that there was a story. Seeing the look her brother was giving her Cal mouthed 'I'll explain later' before tuning bac into the real conversation. Cal would have been lying if she said she hadn't been slightly offended when Owyn made it clear that he thought it was Bec's permission and not her's or Elliott's that he needed in order to arrange Zan's transfer. She'd known Owyn well over five years now and she did think of him as one of her closer friends, he'd crashed on her couch once. So for him to favour somebody he'd only met a few minutes ago did feel like an insult. But she could also see Owyn's logic and agreed with it- Bec was listed as the first contact on all Zan's medical paperwork and clearly knew the man better than any of them did.

Jay and Cal were the only ones who didn't look remotely surprised by Owyn's claim that he could transport Zan in seconds. The Prince didn't elaborate, just repeated his earlier words and nodded "yes, seconds". "How?" John asked bluntly, trying to keep the accusatory edge out of his tone. If the Prince's words weren't just talk, and John suspected they weren't, that the man was referring to some kind of powers he had, then why had Cal been left faffing around with a teleport device when the Prince could just have easily broken Elliott out? Surprisingly it was Jay who replied, answering before Owyn could even open his mouth. "By making a hole in the fabric of space-time" she told them, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's" the term she used was in her native tongue, and Elliott's translation spell couldn't translate it. Owyn gave a single nod in reply. "Jay is correct, that is my plan. It's not something I do lightly, I'm ripping a hole in the universe, but given his condition, we have no other choice, Doctor Bec is right in thinking that the journey there by any other way would kill him- teleportation is too risky, we'd risk scrambling his brain and whatever of his consciousness remains entirely. No doubt my Wraith will confirm that."

The Wraith took that as it's cue and began signing. The conversation went on for a couple of minutes and was conducted entirely in silence. Owyn's expression only became graver as it progressed. With his serious face on the gap between his front teeth was covered and he once again looked like the regal figure he was. It was a transformation that both baffled and impressed John- how could this man look so different just by moving one lip? In the persona of prince he exuded power and authority, and the presence of the Wraith only emphasised that. The conversation finished with the Wraith inclining it's head and stepping back a pace. "It's not good news, though no doubt you already know that." Owyn told them. "Zan is in there, it's not a vegetative coma, but from what the Wraith can sense, his mind is shattered and there's potential for both memory and physical problems later if he returns back to a higher level of consciousness. Serious work will be required to rebuild. Not quite on the level of unbrainwashing, but it won't be an easy journey."
 
The wonders of if Zan would have the same level of chances to survive, had this happened on Earth never crossed Kay's mind once. She just kept think when it came to Zan, how bloody lucky he was that even though he was in a coma, he was still alive. She didn't know how someone could have survived such a wound as he did and if she truly believed in miracles than she would have said his clinging on for dear life was sure to be one. There was the odd time when she couldn't help but compare it to the time her demonised father got her in the abdomin with an iron blade, near enough killing her and how John had to save her life himself by pulling the shard that was still inside her, a shard that he very much still had on him in his coat. She knew if he didn't manage to find that shard he would have been looking at her dead body on that bed and she'd be another person on his tally of lives lost, despite it not being because of anything he had done. At his next words, it knocked her out of her thoughts and she couldn't help but smirk at his description of the Prince whilst also noting his notion of curiosity as well. "No doubt about that" she agreed, before she walked across the hall with him and to the other room, where she remained beside John and Chas. She listened to the updates Chas gave them both on all the important bits and pieces. The word on the active hit being out on Zan was a bit of a surprise to her, as well as not being a surprise at the same time. The fact he had now two assassins attempt to finish him off said to her that they wouldn't be the last for some reason, but to hear it as fact was still a bit of a shock to hear.

Fia was for some reason expecting Owyn to give a bit more information than just repeating her own word with the word 'yes' in front of it, so when he didn't she just gave a 'huh' kind of noise and nod thinking she wasn't going to get anymore answers which was both not entirely surprising but also infuriating at the same time. Sure, she was the youngest one there and not in any way biologically linked to Zan to have said answers, but she felt like she was asking in a way on behalf of Elliott as well as herself. Yet she felt like the short answers were being said partly because of her age and it made her wonder even more if Owyn was sensing something about her that anyone else out of their group just couldn't. So when John asked for him to clarify, she was actually rather glad of it thinking that just maybe someone would give the full proper answer as he was an adult. Even more surprising than everything she had already heard was the fact that Jay managed to answer the question John asked as a follow-up to her own. She like the others, may not have understood the one bit of Jay's native tongue language, but she sure did understand everything else, making her wonder how the hells she didn't think of that herself, considering she was considered a time traveller herself. Sure it was no doubt slightly different, but the fact she could travelled seventeen years into the past and back again in a matter of seconds, it did make her wonder how she didn't even think of it.

She and Kay both listened to Owyn as he confirmed what Jay was saying to them all, nodding in understanding now. It made sense that any other kind of transportation would make things even more critical for Zan if not kill him and that was something that none of them needed right now. With the information given to them all about Zan's condition, Kay nodded having been read what was on the file by John only moments ago, agreeing that it would be utterly stupid to try and transfer Zan any other way if there truly was only one way it could be safely. She watched on as she saw the wraith from earlier walk up and sign with Owyn about what he himself found, finding that John's guess for what the wraith had been doing did seem to be damn clsoe and pretty accurate. So much so that she couldn't help but give John a glance to say 'good guess on your part'. "He's got a long hard road ahead of him no matter what it seems" she couldn't help but comment.
 
When Kay answered instead of Owyn there were varying looks of surprise, followed by expressions of understanding. It explained why Jay had performed the ritual earlier- Owyn had powers respected and highly valued by the Isogrii and even though he wasn't their prince, he was royalty none the less and deserved to be treated that way. When Owyn explained further as to his rationale for using his powers to transport Zan, Elliott, Cal, Jay, Bec and Dexter couldn't help but pull faces of horror at the idea of somebody's mind being scrambled during the teleportation process. As a kids they'd heard all horror stories about teleportation going wrong- people getting stuck in walls, people merging with each other and the, favourite among kids for it's sheer disgust factor, the cases of people who'd been -scrambled'- ie the entire atomic structure of somebody's body ended up as a sort of flesh soup. Those kinds of accidents were incredibly rare these days, the technology had come a long way since it's inception hundreds of years ago, but all five had always been warned as kids (and reminded as adults) to never teleport with somebody unconscious or drunk as the risk of being scrambled increased dramatically when a person wasn't properly conscious or aware.

Jay watched the Wraith through narrowed eyes as it signed, She'd worked with them only once before, and to be truly honest they still creeped her out somewhat. Having no face meant no visual tells to work off of and the flowing armour robes gave their bodies an androgynous form. But there was something about this particular Wraith that was niggling at her, some kind of latent familiarity in the back of her mind that she just couldn't grasp. As Owyn explained Bec nodded gravely, she and Dexter- as the only two in the room who knew exactly how they felt about Zan- gravitated towards each other. At Kay's comment Bec made a dark, huffing noise. "Understatement" she replied, crossing her arms across her chest in a manner that would have come off as defensive had she not wrapped her hands around her sides in an effort to comfort herself. "But also.... pretty much what I was expecting to hear." She ran her hand up her face and through her hair, stifling another yawn in the process. "I don't suppose your Wraith can give the chances on his consciousness coming back?" Owyn shook his head, his expression both a apologetic and conveying the sympathy he had for the woman, it was a nightmare situation to be in. "That's not the one's speciality, you'd need a MindWalker for that, but as you no doubt know already there's an explicit ban on that for the next.. two weeks or so?" the last part was directed at the Wraith which gave a single nod.

Bec nodded again. "It was a long shot question, even the doctors and specialists aren't making predictions either way just yet. I'd put it at 70-30 that he doesn't but at least 20 percent of that is the blind faith of the younger sibling and an unwillingness to let go and think rationally in the face of a crisis." There was a silence as the others let that sink in, particularly Dexter whose sleep addled brain took far longer than usual to do the maths and realise what numbers Bec was really saying. When it did sink in he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in comforting sibling-lie gesture. "That low?" Elliott asked softly, once the shock of Bec's words had worn off. "I know my brother" Bec replied "and these past few weeks he was veering back and forth in an almost bipolar between emotional states." She then gave a sad sigh "but at the same time he's my brother and I don't want to lose him again."
 
At Bec's huff as a reply, Kay saw that she possibly really upset the woman without even meaning to. She didn't mean anything by her comment, in fact it was the complete opposite, she meant in a sympathetic manner as she did feel for Zan having to go through so much if he pulled through all of this. She wouldn't wish that kind of recovery process on anyone, let alone the actual attack that put someone in said situation. She did however note that the crossing of arms Bec did was more of a self comfort action than a defensive one, even though it didn't stop Kay giving the woman a 'sorry.. Didn't mean to offend' look just as she confirmed that it was something she was expecting to hear from Owyn about her brother's recovery. From then on she decided to just not speak and keep quiet, listening to everything being said between Bex and Owyn.

At the sound of Bec's personal percentages of everything Kay and Fia didn't really know how to deceifer any of it and instead just let the others try to and discuss it. Judging by Elliott's question the figured clearly weren't great and having Bec just go into more detail why she thought what she did it didn't bring much positive hope to either of them. It really did seem that Bec was expecting her brother to just give up on life and not even put in the effort to want to fight for his recovery. Hearing her express how she csnt lose her brother again, Fia particularly felt like she could totally understand where Bec was coming from. She felt the same way about her mother and had that thought only moments ago. She knew what being terrified over losing family felt like and she knew if Bec was actually part of their group and could know who she was, she would be able to somehow on some level, show Bec that she understood. Both Fia and Kay found it a shock to hear also that Zan was swaying back and forth with his bipolar disorder over everything, even if it was understandable why he would be. Neither though wanted to open their mouths and say anything just incase they said the wrong thing.
 
The way Bec said 'he's my brother' in the most matter of fact way possible resonated with many people in the group, not just Fia. It encapsulated exactly what Cal felt about Elliott- they may have been separated for half of Elliott's life but he was still her brother and there was very little she wouldn't do to keep him safe. If it had been Elliott in that bed and not Zan, she was one hundred percent certain that she wouldn't leave his side and would do anything in her power to make sure those who were responsible paid. She couldn't imagine what Bec was going through at this exact moment and the way she was wrapping her arms around herself made it clear as day to Cal that the woman's outward act of confidence was just that- an act. For Jay, the feeling evoked in her by Bec's simply stated words were more bittersweet. She'd used that exact phrase before when sticking up for her own brother, taking his side without question because he wasn't just her brother, he was her twin and that was what they did for each other. For John and Chas Bec's words encapsulating something very different. For the cabbie it was how he felt about his daughter and wife whereas for John it highlighted how out of everybody in the room, Elliott was the one that meant the most to him and was the one whose death would have the greatest effect on him (he hadn't known Kay or Fia anywhere near long enough to form that kind of attachment to them, though as Fia could testify, it would come with time).

"I wouldn't be so quick to write him off." Dexter replied. "Though it is far more of a possibility than I'd like it to be, that I won't deny." His golden eyes flickered to across the room where the angle just about allowed him to see the face of his best friend. They remained staring at Zan for a few seconds before he spoke again. "He can be incredibly stubborn when he needs to be and when he wants to be and despite all the talk about not being around to see it I'd bet my studio on the fact that he'd take serious pleasure at watching those assholes' live collapse. I suspect he'd make a couple more enemies for the express purpose of bringing them down." Bec gave a slight smirk, Dexter's faith that not all was lost yet allowing her to think slightly more positively about the situation. "That sounds like the teenage rebel of a brother I once had- maybe those bastards didn't kill all his fire after all." "I think it's there alright, it's just a matter of him needing to harness it again."
 
The fact that Dexter could still hold onto some form of hope that Zan would come back to Bec and the others who cared about him, even remotely made Kay briefly think how he was being the very person Kay would be if they lost Elliott. It was no secret to those who knew her well enough that between her and John, she was the one that tried her damnest to hold onto hope and hold onto it tight enough for the two of them about anything that needed it. She would quite literally fight tooth and nail to keep the hope alive if it was Elliott in that bed and not Zan. Yet it also brought to the front of her mind that even she was hesitant if Zan could make a full recovery with this as it was a miracle to her that he was even alive in the first place. Not only that she felt for that brief moment almost how selfish she had been only having that hope and determined feelings towards her own health and not Zan's. She may not still gully trust the man but she defintiely wouldn't wish this situation on anyone, even him. Dexter's words also did the oposite for her in the sense that it made her see and truly bring home how much better he and Bec knew Zan compared to any of them, that if he had that much positivity for his best friend's recovery then they really should start doing the same damn thing.

If Zan could reignite that fire inside him to fight for his life then they damn well keep fighting for the cause that was putting Zan into such a dangerous place. Both Kay and Fia just nodded, deciding that it was no doubt better for them to just keep quiet and trust that Dexter and Bec knew exactly what they were talking about. "When will Zan be moved?" Kay eventually asked cautiously, figuring that would be the next question they would all need answered, especially Bec. Not to mention that they still had the shifter on this bed to deal with as well, and the information of whatever Cal could find from it's blood samples (and her own). "I'm guessing you'll also be taking this shifter?" Fia added. Other than their two questions they really didn't know what else they could possibly contribute to any of this situation, other than be of support to Elliott and Cal mostly as they just didn't know Bec enough.
 
"For Zan... within the next hour." Owyn replied. "I'm only waiting on the head surgeon to sign off on the transfer, one of the guards" he indicated with a tilt of his head the soldiers in military uniform "has been sent to find him and there's another one gone to find Cliff. Technically I am the highest ranking person in the hospital and don't need to ask Cliff's boss' permission to transfer, but to just take him without asking or consulting will make me come across as the same calibre of arsehole that the other members of the Attilain Royal Family are perceived as. Not to mention that those on the other side will need his complete medical records as well as the records related to the earlier surgery." "So you've decided where to transfer Zan to I take it?" Cal asked, to which the prince nodded.

"Originally we- by which I mean myself, Deke and the others in your gang of friends who were helping to bust your brother out and not the palace lackeys I spend most of my time with- were considering the benefits of putting him in the Fac-S3 where the shooter is currently being held and and - to answer your question" he fixed his golden eyes on Fia"- where we'll also be taking the shifter. But we decided that the black site codenamed" the codeword the Prince used was one the native speakers would recognise as the name of a figure from Attilian mythology, but would be translated simply as 'god' to those relying on Elliott's translation rune. "Would be be far more suitable. It may be on the other side of the planet, but distance from this city and the trial epicentre is a benefit and it's significantly more secure. With it's existence is a complete secret from the general public chances of him being found as much slimmer, especially as there won't be a paper or digital trail as this will be classified under black status. Not to mention that the military medical specialists in that area are much better suited to this kind of gunshot wound and brain damage than those in other facilities we considered." Cal gave a slow nod of approval, to her it sounded like an excellent plan and to hear that her friends had been involved in the planning of it was a relief- she trusted them to be completely professional and do what was right for Zan.

"Well you already have my permission to move him" Bec replied. "But I do have two sort of conditions. They're pretty obvious, but I'm going to make it clear now while I'm still awake enough to say it." Owyn gave a 'go on, I'm listening' face, gesturing for her to continue. "Myself and Dexter are going with him- that's non negotiable, and secondly, keep us in the loop about everything both related to his treatment, this hit, the two assassins and whatever other shit pops up in the future. I don't care if it's classified beyond anything we could imagine, the two of us already know more than we should." Owyn gave a nod, when Bec said she had conditions, he'd been expecting something like what she'd just said. "That's fair, though for obvious reasons you won't be allowed to leave the facility and photography is also forbidden." "I can live with that." Dexter replied, before something down the corridor caught his attention "the head surgeon has just arrived, along with the other doctor."
 
Kay and Fia both listened and looked at Owyn as he explained what the plan was for eta of moving Zan. To the both of them it said a lot that he wasn't the kind to just pull rank over the doctors in this hospital just because of he was and actually still seek the OK from said doctors first. It also said a lot about his person that he would such terms like 'asshole' when talking about the calibre his family had a reputation of. It also made sense to the two of them that he'd need the medical files of Zan's to take to the new facility so the new doctors and specialists will know straight off the bat exactly what they were dealing with. They continued to hear what Owyn had to say after Cal asked her question, or more to the point, her assumption, not surprised that Owyn already had a place in mind. What threw Fia off guard ever so slightly and discreetly was when Owyn looked right at her in the eye to add that his answer did include her query about the shifter. She simply nodded, shoving her hands in her jeans front pockets, shrugging her shoulders up naturally from the action, almost conflicted if she look away from the Prince or remain looking at him as he spoke. Although she was used seeing golden eyes in the Devra during this trip, there was just something different having a Prince staring at her like so.

Neither Fia or Kay thought risking having Zan in the same facility as the original assassin and the shifter was a good idea and could see exactly why Owyn and anyone else in the original discussions thought the same thing. The translated site coming out as 'god' to them, made them think what a pompous name to call ssuch a facility, it almost had a air of arrogance to it even though it wasn't even a person. However it did make sense why it would have been picked if it was on the other side of the planet and far enough out Zan won't be easily found. Hearing that Bec had conditions if she was to give her permission to transfer her brother wasn't a surprise in the slightest. Fia was damn sure she would have conditions as well if she was in this position, as she would presume anyone would. Judging by Owyn's nod, it seemed he was expecting it also. As Kay was one of the ones nearest/technically in the corridor by the door, she couldn't help but look down the corridor as Owyn said the people he needed were on their way down. She wondered if Cliff was with them which was why she looked down, but saw that when Owyn said 'the other doctor' it clearly couldn't have been Cliff as she presumed he would have said her name if he was on god terms with Cal.
 
John was going to make some kind of pithy remark at the arrogance of the Devra people to have a secret facility codenamed 'god', he couldn't just let this pass by but then he caught Elliott's gaze, his adoptive son firmly shaking his head and mouthing the words 'translation error'. John gave a nod in understanding, and kept his gob shut and tuned back into the rest of the conversation. The fact that the translation spell had failed twice in the past couple of minutes was somewhat worrying for John, it could mean that Elliott was running out of energy and risking burn out (usually Elliott wouldn't burn out so quickly, but John knew that neither he nor Elliott had held back using their magic earlier, using more than they would in a similar situation on Earth). It could also mean that Owyn and Jay's chosen words were untranslatable. Bec's conditions came across as completely reasonable to all, and completely logical. Bec and Dexter had dropped everything to be with zan and clearly ahd no intentions of leaving the man's side until he woke up or died. If John had been in Bec's shoes he would have demanded more (namely the chance to have a crack at getting information out of one or both of the assassins using violence and threats).

Fia was right in thinking there was something different in the way Owyn was looking at her. It wasn't entirely to do with his suspicions as to why the flow of time warped around her like she didn't belong (though that was certainly part of it), it was mostly to do with the colour of his eyes. They may have been golden and thus marking him out as Devra, but they were very different to Cal and Elliott's- the siblings' eyes (and the eyes of most other Devra on the planet) were one block of a dark gold colour while Owyn's were made up of multiple lighter tones, in a pattern closer to that of a human iris- with strands radiating out from the pupil at the centre. The lightened eyes were another thing that marked him out as being from an entirely different class. He also possessed, instead of a resting bitch face, a resting 'I'm a Prince of the Attilain Royal family and have access to a ridiculous amount of power' face.

As Kay suspected, it wasn't Cliff with the head doctor, but another nurse, one they hadn't met before, but whose face would be familiar from a couple of the pictures in Cal and Cliff's apartment. Both she and the surgeon were carrying paper files which they handed over to one of the soldiers. "Cliff's fighting with the printer again." The female doctor called out by means of explanation, to which both Cal and Owyn gave knowing nods. "Of course she is." Cal sighed, shaking her fondly. "Are those all the files?" Owyn asked. "All bar one- the most recent tests and scans- that's what Cliff's copying. She'll be along in a few minutes." The surgeon replied before quizzing Owyn on how exactly he planned to transfer Zan. It was an interesting power dynamic to watch play out, both calling the other by the correct title and trying not to come across as if they were telling the other how to do their job. With Cliff's boss suitably convinced, he, the second doctor, the slightly shorter of the two Wraiths and two of the soldiers headed into Zan's room to begin unhooking him from various machines and preparing him for transport. It was the that Cliff arrived, two file folders tucked under her right arm. She passed one file to the second Wraith before flashing a smile at Owyn. "Took you long enough to show your face" she told him, echoing Cal's earlier words, before giving him a half hug with her free arm. "That's what your wife said, as if we needed any more proof that you two are perfect for each other."
 
The fact that Elliott had to give John such a lookg when it came to the name translation said to Kay and Fia that they weren't the only ones wondering about the name but was glad that Elliott managed to stop John from making some smartass remark, resulting in a possible offending the prince scenario. Both though did only think that it was purely just that, a translation error and nothing more worrying. Though the sheer level of magic that was used by everyone was well and truly in Fia's mind as no one really went easy on the shifter because none of them could go easy on it. She was just glad that they were able to have some kind of break in at least the fighting after they managed to the shifter knocked out adequately enough.

The prince's eyes for Fia were truly something something else in her eyes, and as much as she stood there slightly on edge at how he was looking at her, she did find herself constantly going back to the thought of 'he knows i don't belong here..don't he? oh shit...shit shit shit, could this be a bad thing?' in between all the other thoughts of focusing on the conversation at hand and how two doctors were coming down the corridor just as Owyn said. With the doctor and nurse arriving, Fia and Kay both recognised the nurse as one from one of the photos in Cal and Cliff's apartment, but that was it. Hearing that Cliff was fighting with the printer made both of them smirk whilst refraining from letting the sniggers that wanted to escape from actually appearing. Both could easily see Cliff doing such a thing, whilst Cal, Owyn and the doctors continued talking about the files that were brought to him. Kay once again moved out of the way so Owyn and anyone else who wanted or needed to could exit the room and go into Zan's room, before seeing Cliff a little while later appear with said extra files under her arm. The same words used by Cliff that were used by Cal made Fia smirk and silently snigger, showing that they really were just a match perfectly made.
 
John also stepped out of the way of the door and let the soldiers, Wraiths and two doctors do their thing. While they'd been chatting the second Wraith and two of the soldiers had been preparing the assassin for transport, a process which involved some more drugs, two different sets of handcuffs, injecting some kind of tracker under it's skin and a proper gag/muzzle to keep it from biting anybody in the extremely unlikely event that it was to regain consciousness. The preparation for moving Zan was less exciting, but arguably far more necessary and conducted with the same level of professional efficiency. Elliott couldn't help but smirk at Cliff's chosen words, recognising them as being almost identical to his sister's. The half-hug Cliff briefly gave Owyn did surprise him though, Cal hadn't been that touchy-feely with the Prince and he had presumed that maybe hugging members of royalty was just not the done thing.

"I see you're still fighting with the printer" Cal teased, looping an arm around Cliff's waist. The doctor let out a groan in response "That stupid, stupid printer! I swear it has some kind of personal vendetta against me. It works fine when everybody else uses it, but when I come along it just gives up and ceases to function as a printer." Cal shook her head with an amused chuckle while Owyn gave a slight smirk. "How many times do we need to suggest it- either get a new one or get somebody to give it a personality transplant so it likes you." "And as I always say, I'd rather the money be spent on patients, the budget is tight as it is and the latter is sadly impossible- it's a printer, not a droid." After a snort exchange of friendly bickering Cliff then passed the slim file over to her wife to mind before going to help the other two doctors. Owyn meanwhile made a call, presumably to the facilities in question, once again slipping back on the posh, refined voice to give orders (just as he had when speaking to Cliff's boss earlier).

By the time Owyn had finished issuing orders to on the phone, both Zan and the assassin were ready to be transported. Bec and Dexter had also gathered up their various bags (the photographer having made arrangements for his work equipment to be transported back to his studio). "For those of you who've seen this before, it's the usual drill and as quickly and safely as possible. For those who haven't travelled this way, stay in the centre, don't touch the void and don't get sucked in. For those who aren't passing through, it's safest if you stand well out of the way- at least three rooms down the corridor would be my recommendation and for anybody with timeline sensitivity..." he gave a look at Jay "it's probably going to hurt."

Jay had decided not to go with the assassin this time, wanting to be with Elliott instead. Cliff would be the only one of their core group going through with Zan to the other side, though she wouldn't be staying with him, once he was on the other side, she would be heading back. This left Bec and Dexter as the only two who weren't military personnel, Wraiths or royalty who were going to the facility and staying there. The goodbyes were awkward, Bec, Dexter, Cal and Elliott having no idea what they were supposed to do or say. Did you wish them luck? Promise to visit in the future? Give a hug? Receive a hug? The only promise exchanged was that they'd phone at some later date and swap information on the assassins, the hit and Zan's condition.
 
Seeing the wraiths and doctors do all they needed to appropriately prepare the shifter for transfer was rather interesting to watch for Kay and Fia, whilst both thinking the same thing of how glad they were taking the security and all precautions so highly. The idea of the shifter coming back round to consciousness during the transfer wasn't something worth thinking about and found even though they weren't going, it was a relief to know no possible escape plan could be taken by the shifter. They also noticed at how careful they were all being when it came to Zan which wasn't surprising in the slightest but it was reassuring to see none the less. If for no other reason, but for Elliott, Cal, Bec and Dexter to be rest assured that they were doing all they could to make sure things wouldn't go wrong when Zan got transferred. They both couldn't help but partly eavesdrop when Cal teased her wife about the printer, with Owyn eventually joining in in the teasing by giving Cliff options, options that she just countered with such a strong valid point that they were convicned no one could disagree with it.

As Owyn then made a phone call, putting back on his professional tone of voice and everyone else finished up getting everything ready, both Kay and Fia just stood back, tried to stay as much out of the way as possible and let them all get on with what they needed to. When it was time for the transfer, they both listened to who was going, who was staying at the facility, who was coming back and who was staying put where they were. Hearing that Cliff was coming back was of a particular great relief to Kay as there was still the small worry that she could pass out again, even though she felt fine at the moment and she didn't want to be without the one woman who could truly help her. It was slightly selfish but she couldn't stop the thought from being in her head. When it came to the instructions, Kay and Fia nodded and didn't waste time in lingering, instead getting to the safe position so they won't get affected by the void. For Fia, she particularly made sure Kay was well and truly away from it, not just because she was pregnant but the last time she had heard the word 'void' it was when she was in her time and they found out Kay was in 'the void', so it set off alarm bells in her head and a slight moment of over protectiveness of her mother.

They also could see how Elliott, Cal and Bec felt awkward in trying to figure out how to say goodbye which she couldn't blame them for. Kay was convinced that she possibly would have been the same if she was in their roles. With the goodbyes done, both women were now just curious to see this transfer happen and to see Owyn's powers truly being used.
 
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