Myth stood frozen, her back against the damp wall.

"Move a muscle and I'll aim for your skull next time," a low voice growled.

"I don't see no cargo, S. Where... Is it?" A slimy, cold voice spoke.

"I didn't have enough time—"

"I DON'T CARE!" The cruel voice shouted so fiercely it made chills run up her spine. "I won't say it again. I want my cargo."

"I don't have any."

Glass shattered, and a moment later there was a thud against the other wall of the hut. "THEN I'LL TAKE YOUR SHREDDED CORPSE INSTEAD!"

A gun clicked. "He's worthless dead! Jade'll only pay for live ones," the low voice voice joined in.

A pause. Then a thwack of metal against flesh. "Then take him. NOW!"

Rustling and grunts were all that followed, and the retreat of steps down the road, thankfully not towards her.

Her knees lost all feeling beneath her, and Myth crumbled to the ground.

Chase them, a voice whispered in her head. Find Soren. She didn't recognize the voice for a moment.

Hers. Before Jade.

It was gone in a heartbeat.

There's no saving him. There's no defeating those men. No rescuing Soren. No breaking into Jade and getting him out. No returning to that place.

Because the very thought of returning to the institute—

I can't.

At least not alone.

Shakily, she rose.

Walk. Just walk.

In her time, Myth has forced herself to walk many times. When she was little, in the nether, there were often long distances to be covered with her family. In the heat, and the water, and the flies, it was miserable.

But she just had to keep walking.

So she did.

She poured all of her focus into just walking. She didn't pay attention to where she went. Only that eventually, dusty paths gave way to damp earth. Later on, even the earth fell away, and she waded through the shallow ocean of the nether swamp. Only moonlight kept her from tripping over herself. She never bothered to lift her head to see how far away dawn was. She didn't care.

At this point, if monsters devoured her, she wouldn't mind.

The ground began to slope downward, and she halted. "Gaia!" she shouted. "GAIA!"
Her voice disappeared into the swamp.

Multiple moons hung reflected in the water. Not a single ripple disturbed them.

The swamp remained quiet.

"GAIA!"

Silence answered her.

She kicked the water with all her force. "BLOODY USELESS DRAGON!"

The water quaked.

It rumbled, as if a great beast walked beneath the surface with grand, lumbering steps.

A great, reptilian head burst from the waters.

Gaia's large eyes settled on Myth. "Have you brought me a snack?" questioned the dragon.

Myth could only bring herself to shake her head.

The dragon snorted. "This is why I prefer your brother. He always brings me treats before asking for favors."

Myth looked down to the water. Then fell. Let her knees fold beneath her and splash into the water. Her pants became soaked and she hardly felt it. "He's gone," she said softly.

Large gray eyes narrowed. "Say again?"

She heaved a breath, and struggled to speak louder. "Soren. He's gone."

The beast drifted closer. "Gone? Dead?"

Myth shook her head. "I don't know. He was taken."

"Stop making me ask questions, Myth. Tell me what happened."

So she did. Myth explained everything from her brother disappearing, to the gunshot, the voices, and finally to her racing here. "I... I don't know what to do, Gaia." She let out a grim chuckle. "Somehow, you're all I have left."

The dragon let out a low rumbling. Less of a growl, more of a... purr. It made the water ripple around her large neck. "Myth, you know I am fond of you and your brother. But there is nothing I can do to help you."

An emptiness filled her core. "But... There must be something. You're a bloody dragon!"

The water trembled at Gaia's sides, and slowly she raised her wings, droplets cascading down the strong, lean membrane. Good for swimming, but not for flying. "I am waterbound, Myth. There is no way for me to help you."

Myth stared at the water. She and Soren used to play in the nether water, when they were little and that sort of thing was still fun. Splashing each other, pretending to be nether beasts pouncing up from the water. Always under the watchful eye of Gaia, to make sure no real monsters preyed upon them.

The dragon had always been a sort of guardian to them. Especially when their parents were gone.

Yet somehow, in all of that, Myth managed to forget that Gaia was still what she was. A dragon. A nether beast.

"I am very sorry, Myth," Gaia murmured. She lowered her head. "Let me take you to safer waters. I cannot help you with your brother. But I can keep you safe tonight."

Myth's limbs were numb. She didn't feel the water, or the mud, or Gaia's fur when she climbed onto the creature's thick neck.

She tightened her fingers around the fur, hanging on, and let her face rest against the back of Gaia's neck. Swallowed up in wet, soft fur.

Soren was gone.

The thought hit her like a wave.

She clutched the green fur tighter. Her conceited, thoughtful, ridiculous brother. The last of her family. Gone.

I'm so sorry, Soren. You were brave enough to save me.

But I don't know how to save you.

And for the first time in a long while, she cried, her tears falling down her face and disappearing into Gaia's fur.

She became entranced with the gentle rhythm of Gaia's breath, the back-and-forth swishing of her swimming, the cold wind brushing against her bare, wet cheek.

And she let herself cry.

- 

It was still night when Myth woke.

She wasn't surprised. Night in the nether was twice as long as the day.

The water lapped at her boots. She sat with her back against a scraggly, leafless mangrove.

Where do I even go from here?

Survival. It was her only direction. With Soren, most of their life involved just getting by. And she liked it that way. Simple. They kept going for each other.

Now she just needed reason to keep going for herself.

Is there really any reason?

She took a deep breath of cool night air.

To save Soren.

It's impossible. But what other reason is there to keep going?

The thought sustained her. At least long enough to push herself to her feet and walk. Slowly, back in the direction of the camp.

She wasn't sure how long it took her. The moons were beginning to fall by the time soggy earth turned to dusty path, hovels crammed in close on either side.

She wasn't sure where she was walking now. Stay alive. Make a plan. Save Soren.

Three goals. Three things to cling onto.

Goal one. Stay alive. How? Get money. How? Steal from Grounded. How?

Go back to earth.

She gave herself the simple instructions. Walked herself through them. One job at a time. That's how she would manage this.

Myth turned her face towards the sky. The stars. Electricity brewed in her veins. Dark clouds gathered above her.

And then in a flash, the energy died, as cold metal pressed against her throat.

"Hold still, and maybe, I don't kill you."