Chapter Twenty-Two:

"Maybe one of us should go back to the Headquarters with the first aid kits and see if everyone else is okay?" Rosiee suggested, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her shoulder and hip.

"Good idea, but I'm going to stay here and help Star first," replied Melody pointing at the Raven-dragon all curled up on the floor. Mason stared in shock, also wondering why Star wasn't floating like the rest of them. Maybe Raven-dragons reacted differently to gravity than humans did?

At the mention of Star's name, Taylor whipped her head around as she said frantically, "What happened? What's wrong and where is she?"

Mason and Rosiee extended their arms in front of them as if they were swimming and when they got to Star they gently picked her up together and carried her to Taylor.

She took the Raven-dragon in her arms and said, "Star, wake up. It's all over now. Star," Rosiee hated to see Taylor looking so heartbroken at the sight of Star's broken wings and twisted body. The Raven-dragon's eyes were closed and there was no sign of life. The Space Pod had stopped spinning and was now tilting sideways. Taylor stood, still carrying Star in her arms as James took back his seat, and half walked, half floated to the sofa at the other side of the room.

"You can go to the others. It's a good idea to check if everyone is okay. Take at least two first aid kits; there might be some serious injuries," Taylor whispered, still looking at Star. Mason and Melody looked at each other uneasily, both not wanting to leave.

"Don't worry, I'll stay with her. You two can go back and check on the others," Rosiee said. As Taylor started to protest she continued, "I insist,"

Mason and Melody, both torn between staying to help Star or leaving to help the injured in the Headquarters, eventually took the two first aid kits and walked out of the Pilots room.

They let just in time to hear James saying to Adrien, "now that things look stale now we need to contact The IGF. I know that it's unpopular, but it is actually the law. We could lose the Space Pod...,"

They stared at each other in shock, not saying a word as they walked passed the stairs to the bedrooms and the cafeteria towards the Headquarters. Mason was secretly dreading it as they heard groans of pain. Taking a deep breath they both entered the room and it was chaotic, to say the least. They spotted the twins first and his stomach flipped at the sight of Elliot who was calling out to them to help Finley, Isla and Estelle before helping anyone else.

"What happened? Where's Rosiee and Taylor?" Charlotte asked, taking her her seatbelt and half walked, half floated to them. Melody gasped in shock at the scene before them; some people had thrown up while others were bleeding from when the Space Pod was spinning. Some had fallen or been ripped from their seats and were slumped at the end of the sofas, slightly elevated off the floor.

"They're okay. Rosiee fell, but not badly. Star's not doing so well though," Mason replied.

Hearing this, Cosmo wriggled his way out of Isla's arms and flew in Mason's direction as he said, "Why? What happened?" Mason explained while he, John and Melody started helping the injured. Cosmo whispered that he was sorry, but he needed to go and see her. Isla nodded and watched, smiling slightly, as Cosmo flew to Star.

Isla glanced over at Freya and whispered, "are you okay? Sorry to scare you like that."

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just dizzy from all the spinning," Freya responded. She looked at Isla in concern as she winced in pain and squeezed her hand. She looked as if she was in pain, but she knew that Isla would never admit it; especially if someone else was also hurting. After talking to Finley and Elliot, Charlotte floated over to Isla, leaving Mason to tend to Finley's bruises.

"Are you both alright?" she asked, concern written on her face as she hugged her broken arm with her good one. "What a stupid question. Sorry,"

Before Isla could answer, the Space Pod tilted until it was in the correct position again and she cried out in surprise. The passengers who had been floating moments before let out a scream as gravity slammed them back to the ground. Charlotte stumbled back as she landed twistin her shoulder slightly. Pain radiated down her arm and clutched it closer to her.

"Ouch! Seriously?" she muttered as she continued walking to Isla. As their shock subsided, people started taking off their seatbelts and the others on the floor slowly stood, some helping each other.

Someone called, "what was that?" and another, "could we also get some help, please?"

"Of course, we're coming in a second," John replied calmly as he tended to Isla's bruises. Like Finley, bruises had formed on her cheeks and torso.

"Thank you, but I'm fine, really. Why don't you help the others? Estelle looks as if she's in pain and some of the others don't look so good either," Isla said. Freya heard the concern she had for the other passengers in her voice and smiled sadly; Isla was always thinking about others before herself and Freya wished that she would think about herself more.

John thought about it for a moment and glanced over in Estelle as he said, "hmm alright, but tell me if they get any worse."

She nodded and watched as he walked towards Estelle. Freya wrapped her arms around Elliot and Finley as they walked towards them. Isla and Charlotte joined them and the five hugged each other, the emotions of the last few weeks taking a toll on them all.

After a few moments Finley pulled away as he said, "Should we have something to eat first? I don't know about you all, but I'm starving." He cracked a small smile, which didn't quite meet his blue eyes. His suggestion was met with enthusiasm and the twins, Freya, Isla and Finley walked towards the cafeteria.

Isla and Elliot hesitated at the entrance looking at one another, each one understanding the other about why they didn't want to go in right away. Tears pricked their eyes as images of Finley's dead body, which had haunted them both.

"Are you coming?" called Charlotte who was already sitting down, waving to them. She'd got a seat nearest to the door tucked in the corner on the left side of the entrance.

Elliot stared between his sister and his friends in amazement whispering to Freya who was standing next to him, "did you see her go in?"

Finley, Freya and Isla laughed at his surprised expression shaking their heads. Sensing their unease and unwillingness to enter the cafeteria Finley squeezed their hands and said gently, "let's get something to eat, then we'll leave the room, okay?"

It seemed to be the only encouragement Elliot needed as the two young men went to join Charlotte.

When they were alone, Freya turned to Isla and whispered, "What's wrong, Isla?" She glared at someone she hadn't met yet as they burged them out of the way and she continued speaking, "a simple 'excuse me, please' would be sufficient. Thanks."

The person mumbled a quick sorry not looking them in the eye as they went to join their friends at the back of the room. Isla laughed under her breath; she'd missed Freya a lot.

"I'm fine. It sounds a bit odd, but I just don't löike this room. It makes me feel uneasy. I'm also worried about Taylor, Rosiee and the dragons," Isla replied to her.

"I know. I don't like it either, what with the ravity button malfunctioning and Finley's death. But you have no idea how happy I am that you and him are back. I'm just so sorry that Luca...," she trailed off.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Isla whirled around in surprise to see Finley standing in front of her and he spoke, "We're going to get food and drink from the machines. Want to join us?"

"We're ready," Isla replied with a newfound determination. She smiled up at Finley, wincing slightly as the bruise on her cheek smarted and then turned to Freya. She knew Freya was right about one thon and it was that she was relieved and delighted to see her friends again. Thoughts of Luca began to spring up in her mind and she quickly pushed them aside, her eyes watering.

Laughter surrounded them as they chose their food and Finley couldn't help feeling content, even if he was hurtin all over. He was back with his cousin and his friends; Elliot had even said yes when he'd asked him if he'd be his boyfriend.

Once they had sat down with their food they ate in silence for a while. Charlotte smiled at herself; Elliot looked truly happy for the first time in awhile and Isla and Finley had started talking to each other quietly. She could tell that they were telling each other more about what happened to them while they were being held captive. She wondered now where Mrs. Thomas was and if she was actually hurt somewhere or if she was in her bedroom plotting something with The Intergalactic Federation. The second option seemed unlikely though, given the meteor storm, or whatever that was, that had just occurred. She also wondered how Rosiee, Taylor and Star were getting on; they seemed to be taking ages. Isla, who was sitting opposite, wondered how Mason, Melody and John were doing when Elliot interrupted her thoughts.

"Charlie? Charlotte? Hello?" he called, concern written on his face when his sister didn't answer for quite some time.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about Star and the others," she whispered.

"Yes, I was wondering about that as well. Also, does anyone know where the hell we are?" Finley replied after a moment of silence as he drank from his glass.

"I'm going to check on Rosiee and Taylor. Anyone coming?" Charlotte said standing up as she carried her plate to the dishwasher. She didn't answer his question about where they were and in truth they were all terrified. Would The intergalactic Federation find them all again? Were they really inside the moon like Charlotte secretly thought they were?

Freya got up to follow her and looked at the others expectantly. The others mirrored her actions and met her at the entrance to the cafeteria. Both Finley and Isla were struggling to keep up and Freya glanced back worriedly. She knew that they were both going to try and pretend that they didn't suffer at all, but she could see both of them had; they all could. Elliot was debating whether or not to say anything when he saw what looked like a giant luminous jellyfish gliding past a circular window. Shivering he thought back to the stings he got in one of the trials. That all seemed like a lifetime ago now.

"Don't worry about me. I think I'll just stay in the Headquarters and see if Mason, Melody and John need some help," Finley said, stopping suddenly on their way to the Pilots room , trying not to show how much pain he was in. His friends and cousin looked back at him unsure of what to say. Freya and the others were torn between

Isla spoke first, only looking at Finley, "actually if you don't mind I'll join you. I do want to see if they're okay, but I also want to know how Estelle is doing. Should we meet at The Headquarters a bit later?" The truth was she was also hurting and needed to sit. As she waited for Finley's reply she noticed that the 3-D printed jellyfish, Liea, that Mason had given Elliot pulsated towards them. He smiled as he put out his hand or the jellyfish to come to him, which she did, to his delight.

"That's fine," he replied smiling at her fondly. Looking at the others, Finley continued, "don't worry about us. Meet at The Headquarters in 15 minutes?"

"Sounds good," Charlotte replied before anyone else had a chance to answer.

Once the twins and Elliot had gone to the Pilots room, Finley and Isla both walked into The Headquarters. The room had largely emptied since they were here last as most of the passengers had gone to the cafeteria. There were more injuries than Isla had first realised. Mason was in the far corner bandaging someone's head; John was nearer to the front and smiled up at them as she was bent down putting gel onto Estelle's bruises and Melody was talking to someone who was bleeding. Mason nodded as the person thanked him. He looked up and smiled as he saw Finley and Isla approaching.

"How's it going?" Isla whispered, smiling slightly at the injured teenager who returned it with difficulty.

"It's going alright thanks," Mason said watching as the person he's just helped walked past them and he whispered, "she was bleeding quite badly. I'll need to keep an eye on her. She hit her head while the Space Pod was spinning, I suspect,"

Just as Isla was about to answer him and ask Estelle if she was okay, Finley made a pained sound and started to lean against Isla, nearly knocking her over in the process. The mysterious bruises that had blossomed on her skin and the things that seemed to want to protrude from back hurt all over. 

"Finley? Finley!" She called, putting her arm around him to support him and herself. The passengers who had remained in The Headquarters, including Estelle, Melody, Mason and John stared at him in concern.

"Sorry. Don't know what happened there. I'm fine. Did I hurt you?" He said gently looking at her. His pale blue eyes held such worry for her that she turned away slightly.

"I'm okay," she whispered back, trying to sound reassuring and pushed the pain away.

Estelle gave her a look that said, 'no we're not.' instead of saying that however she replied, "are you sure?"

Not knowing what to do or say next Melody whispered, "is anyone else hungry?"

Understanding what she was trying to do, both Mason and John said they were, leaving Finley, Isla and Estelle alone.

"Should we sit?" Finley suggested, walking over to one of the velvet green sofas, not waiting for an answer. Both of them followed him and sat. Each of the three were wrapped up in their own thoughts and pains and none of them spoke for a while.

It was Isla who finally broke the silence, "is it just me or do you both feel something inside? This is going to sound utterly insane, but it feels as if something is trying to rip through my back," she stopped talking and regretted what she'd said immediately. Finley and Estelle stayed quiet for so long that she wasn't even sure she would get an answer at all.

Just as Isla was about to say something else Estelle replied, "yes. I've had the same feeling. At first I also thought I was going crazy. I can still feel it now; it's as if it's in my veins or something," when she'd finished talking they looked at Finley who was much paler than usual.

"And you, Finley?" Isla asked gently, leaning back on the sofa, finally allowing herself to relax after all that had happened. He didn't know what to say. When he was in the small padlocked room in The Intergalactic Federation Space Pod he'd first noticed the throbbing pain in his shoulder blades and back when they performed the first experiment on him.He had just tried to ignore it. This was before he knew that Luca was even there.

"Yes," he whispered, looking down not wanting to tell Isla how he thought that Luca might've also had the same feeling. Finley didn't elaborate and he didn't particularly want to either. After a while he spoke up, "I missed you all, you know. I tried to get out of there and Luca, I-i...,"

Isla stood up from the sofa just in time to see Estelle walking into the cafeteria. When did she leave? Shaking her head she walked towards him slowly and sat beside him. Finley turned to face her and because of the movement something pierced into his shoulder blades. He bit his lips so hard that Isla thought they might bleed.

"I missed you too. Elliot, Charlie and Freya missed you. Everyone did. And none of this was your fault. None of it, okay?" Isla answered, wincing from the cuts and bruises on her body; both old and new. He squeezed her hand as a silent 'thank you' and she nodded, her eyes watering at the thought of Luca.

Out of the corner of his eye Finley saw Rosiee and Taylor carrying an injured Star towards them. Following them were the twins, Cosmo, who flew close behind Star, Freya and Mason,

Both Isla and Finley moved slightly to make room for the others and watched in shock as Taylor placed Star on the circular table in front of them. Star's eyes were still closed and her wings were battered. Taylor turned away, unable to look any longer.

"What happened to her?" Isla finally asked, welcoming Cosmo with open arms as he came and sat on her lap.

"Star fell as the Space Pod was spinning. We haven't been able to wake her up yet," Taylor whispered.

"True, but Cosmo said that he might be able to help her or at least find out what's actually wrong with her. I don't believe it's just the fall to be honest," Rosiee added, looking at Cosmo, wanting him to continue. The young Raven-dragon, now seared between Elliot and Isla, thought about what he was going to say. It seemed to him that Star was exposed to the ancient magic that he could currently smell all round him.

Instead of saying that, though, Cosmo replied, "I think she might be in a dragon-coma,"

Freya and Charlotte stared at him in utter bewilderment and no one said anything for a while.

It was Elliot who finally broke the silence as he asked, "what is that?"

Finley saw Cosmo's hesitation before anyone else did and he vaguely remembered Mr. Snow talking about it in one particularly gruelling session. A dragon-coma, he'd said, could be incredibly dangerous. This was because they could last up to 50-75 years.

"It's a deep sleep that helps dragons to rejuvenate their bodies. Think of it as a sort of 'magic-sleep'. Sometimes it's like a nightmare you can't wake up from," Cosmo finally whispered. His comment was met with silence as they stared at the Raven-dragon curled up on the table.

"Well, what should we do?" Rosiee said after a while.

Cosmo flew off the sofa and flapped his black wings and whispered, "get her comfortable, mend her wings and just wait,"

Isla and Freya watched as he flew out of The Headquarters towards their bedroom leaving his friends behind him.

"Should we go to our rooms now?" Charlotte said finally. Recent events had made her completely exhausted, confused and in pain. She cradled her arm; whether or not it was because of comfort of actual pain, she wasn't entirely sure. Rosiee and Isla nodded and Elliot and Finley stood preparing to go.

"Yes. I'm going to take Star up to mine," Taylor said.

"Freya, are you coming too?" Isla asked, watching as she stared out of the circular windows into the unknown.

"Yes. Sorry. Just thinking about all the poor creatures who are in the mess," she replied, gesturing to the outside. The two young women followed the others. They passed the cafeteria and peered in; the passengers they'd saved from the Space Pod with the help of Cosmo and the Whale-Dragons, were still eating, drinking and chatting. Some were showing off their wounds and scars. Freya held out her hand or Isla and she took it gladly.

At that moment Mason and John walked out of the cafeteria and called after them to wait. Elliot, Finley and Charlotte waited while the others only slowed down before they caught up on the way to their bedrooms. 

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