10.00am Sunday

Wei Ying opened his eyes with a gasp, as if his consciousness had slammed back into his body.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan gathered him up into his arms, ignoring everyone else.

Wei Ying could feel him shaking still, and he immediately knew how Lan Zhan was feeling. After Lan Zhan's kidnapping, Wei Ying understood that better than anyone else, what it felt like to be powerless and at someone else's mercy, when the one you loved was in danger.

"What happened to you?" Baoshan Sanren asked him, stroking his hair from behind them.

Wei Ying gave Lan Zhan a deep squeeze, kissing his cheek and making sure he was partially alright enough so that Wei Ying could lean back. His golden eyes shone with relief, and Wei Ying knew that it was okay.

"First, let's get a message to Mo XuanYu. We haven't got a signal here, so we're going to have to send someone back up there." Wei Ying points up towards the ceiling, meaning the ground level.

He doesn't wait for permission or clarification because they don't have time.

Wei Ying closes his eyes and one by one, he wakes the members of their team until everyone except the feral vampires are able to move about.

The two vampires that he doesn't know the names of, volunteer for the mission to pass a message on.

"Tell Mo XuanYu to cut the feed to the security room. At the moment, Wen Rouhan can see us, and everything we do, which has to be stopped. Once that's done, we can make a move." Wei Ying is decisive and has the makings of a plan in his head.

If they proceed step by step, there's a chance that they can all make it out alive, after taking care of their enemies. But the one thing that Wen Rouhan has against them is Wen Ning as a hostage.

"We don't know what the situation is up there, so please be careful. Do not take any unnecessary risks," he tells them, as they leave. "And until they come back, I can fill you in on what happened to me." Wei Ying takes Baoshan Sanren by the hand and pulls her down to sit next to him, and he's smiling now.

Lan Zhan makes sure he's on Wei Ying's other side.

Until this mess is sorted out, he's not going to leave Wei Ying, no matter what happens. About that, he's certain.

Wei Ying is smiling, and it's a balm to the worry in his head.

As Lan Zhan sits down, Wei Ying reaches for him with his free hand, a way to stay connected. It is much appreciated, right now.

"So, you know you told me to ask the HeartStone for help?" At his grandmother's nod, Wei Ying continues. "It turns out that was the best advice! Grandfather had left a part of his consciousness there, just for this eventuality. He didn't know who I was and once he found out, well, it was really nice to meet him." Wei Ying's voice becomes thicker as his eyes mist over.

"You met A-San?" Baoshan Sanren tightens her hold on Wei Ying's hand, completely unaware of her actions. "What...how...h-how was he?"

She's blinking really fast, and Wei Ying knows how important this is. Maybe now is not the time to tell her everything, but certainly he should say as much as was safe, and preferably nothing that would end up with him being injured.

"Um...ow, grandmother?" Wei Ying shook their hands so she would know she was clenching too hard.

"Oh, sorry. I just...it's a lot to take in." She lessens her grip, smiling sheepishly.

"That's okay. He loves you very much." Wei Ying can tell she's having difficulty swallowing now. "And he asked if you still have the music box he made when my mother turned one? For her first birthday?" Wei Ying looks back at her hopefully.

If she had any doubts about the truth of Wei Ying's story, they're gone now.

"He told you about that?" She's stunned.

"Yes! Do you still have it?" Wei Ying asks her, excitedly.

"It's back home in Yiling. After your parents passed away, I saved everything I had of theirs and put it away in storage. It won't take long to find. Maybe we can both go back...I can show you where your mother grew up." Baoshan Sanren hugs him closer. "Haizi...it's good to have you with us."

She's too choked up to say anything else, and they are quiet, simply holding each other.

Everything she wants to say but cannot voice, is present here in this hug. How she thought she would never find him, and how, against all the odds, Wei Ying was found and introduced, welcomed into this new family.

How much he is combined, pieces of his parents put together in the best possible way, and how much she loves him. How scared she was in that second, when he passed out. How glad she is, that he's alright. And now he's telling her that he met his grandfather?

That alone is a miracle.

But then, her husband had always been a genius at inventing things, and somehow, Wei Ying having an affinity with knowing how to use those things was just amazing.

For Wei Ying, it was like being hugged again by his mother.

She must have hugged him when he was a child, must have held him to herself and showered him with love. From her letters alone, Wei Ying could tell that much. But this hug felt even more real.

It was only now that he could feel his own grief at having missed a lifetime of hugs from his parents. And his grandmother was giving him back that sense of completeness which had hitherto been missing.

"What did he look like?" She whispers.

"Warm, kind, super friendly. And that was even before he knew who I was. His body wasn't something I could touch," he tries to explain. "Neither was mine, but he said that being connected through the HeartStone put us on another plane where he could explain how the HeartStone worked. All I have to do is think of what I want, and it will happen! Isn't that crazy easy?" Wei Ying wipes away at his eyes.

"It is! Trust him to make it too easy for clever people that they wouldn't be able to work it out!" Baoshan Sanren squeezes him once more, before letting him go.

"Yeah, that's what he said, when I asked him about that. And he taught me new swear words," Wei Ying giggles at her expression. "Such a potty mouth!"

Baoshan Sanren laughs, too.

"Why was he swearing?"

"Oh, that was because he asked where the HeartStone was, all this time, if I only now was asking how to use it. When I told him that Wen Rouhan had it, that's when he lost it. But he said after that, that's why his method worked, because Wen Rouhan would never be able to work it out. I told him that he couldn't have anyway, because I had the heart key." Wei Ying points at his locket, which is still pulsating with a red glowing light.

"Wen Rouhan could have made a replica," she replies, thoughtfully.

"That's what I said!" Wei Ying exclaims. "And his response was, 'but did he? No? See? I'm right.' And you can't argue with that!"

Baoshan Sanren laughs again, taking his hand. "A-Ying, you have made my heart so much lighter. What else did he say? Why did he suddenly remember our daughter's music box?" She sighs, a faraway look in her eyes.

"He said you had to rotate the key in the wrong direction, because he left you a present in there. I don't know what it is!" He adds quickly, when she's about to ask him about it.

"Interesting..." She's lost in thought.

"Why did he make her a musical box? I mean, why not something else?" Wei Ying wonders.

"Your mother responded better to music, she loved it, actually. I remember one time, she kept crying all night, and I was exhausted. Both of us took turns holding her, trying to soothe her because she was teething. And of course, if one of us was awake, the other one couldn't sleep either. I was walking around the room, hoping she would settle because of the movement, and your grandfather was tinkering with something by his guqin, and his fingers must have brushed over the strings. She stopped crying immediately. We were so shocked!" Her light laughter rings out again.

"Wow..." Wei Ying thinks back to the time when he'd stayed up with A-Yuan, when he was younger. "I'm glad you weren't alone, then." It was too sad to talk about, so Wei Ying changed the topic quickly. "What does it look like? The music box?"

"He stuck a whole load of seashells on the top of the lid," she laughs again. "He might have been a genius, but he sucked at presentation. Decorating? Forget it!"

Wei Ying cackled at that.

To know that someone he admired, someone who was a genius with evidence, could possibly be bad at something made them all the more real.

"I kind of yelled at him when he gave it to me." Baoshan Sanren admits, sheepishly.

"Why?"

"Well, no offence, and I can only say this because he's not around, but that music box was butt ugly. It's like he slathered glue on the lid and dunked the whole thing in a pile of shells, hoping for the best. He didn't talk to me for a whole day, after that." She sobers, lost in her memories. "I only found out afterwards, when he let it slip that it had taken him a whole three days to glue each piece on, that he had scoured the beach looking for the prettiest shells. And our daughter loved it. I mean, she really loved it, and suddenly I was the bad guy."

"That just makes me all the more curious. I wonder what he left you?" Wei Ying says eagerly.

"I too, am wondering the same thing. I bet it's something silly. He was a great practical joker. And he loved puzzles, you know, solving things. I had no patience then, having no idea what would become of us. It took losing him to fully understand how much I loved him. And to realise how much I had lost."

A sound nearer the doorway has them all standing up in alarm.

Luckily, it's the two people of their team, returning from sending messages to Mo XuanYu.

Seeing them turns Baoshan Sanren back into General mode, and her voice is commanding, level, when she addresses them.

"What's the situation up there? Did you do it?"

"Yes, we were successful." The first one holds out his phone for Baoshan Sanren to see.

It's open on the current chat, but the signal bars are nonexistent again.

Vampire: Baoshan Sanren and Wei WuXian have asked you to cut the feed from the security cameras to the security room. Especially in the basement.

Mo XuanYu: Done. How is everyone now? That was so cool! I didn't even know such a thing was possible.

Vampire: All of our people are fine, what is the situation in the other building?

Pictures follow, one after another.

The Network of Vampires has totally obliterated any resistance to their presence. One room shows all the employees sitting calmly on the floor, waiting. Another picture is of tied up security guards, and it says something that there are more of them than of actual staff working in the Wen Laboratories compound.

More photos follow of the big gates at the front of the compound being shut, which is something that never happened before.

And everywhere else is deserted.

It's like in a matter of hours, Wen Laboratories has become a desolate place, with nothing happening, not even a breeze in the parking lot.

"Wow...my mother's planning really came in useful, huh?" Wei Ying says, his voice full of awe.

"She used to dream a lot." Baoshan Sanren says, reminding him of that. "She used to try to remember when she woke up, but after that didn't work, she used to keep a notebook next to her all the time. Sometimes, she didn't even have to be sleeping to have a vision. By the time she married, she'd stopped sleeping altogether."

"Lan Zhan doesn't sleep, either." Wei Ying informs her, glancing back at his boyfriend. But then a thought occurs to him. "If I'm part Vampire, how come I still have to sleep?"

"I've seen lots of dhamphirs, and it varies, trust me. We can talk about that later," she hands the phone back to the Vampire who gave it to her. "So where's Wen Rouhan now?"

"In the security office. Mo XuanYu has locked the room, so he can't get out."

Baoshan Sanren turns to the camera currently pointing at them and shows it two thumbs up.

"What about A-Ning?" Wen Qing comes forward, worried. "Where's my brother?"

The Vampire shrugs after looking at Baoshan Sanren on how he should answer.

Wen Qing deflates at that, biting her lip and trying not to cry.

"Wen Zhong?" Lan Zhan asks, stepping closer. "Where is he?"

"We don't know. Both of them are unaccounted for." The vampire says.

"Well, if it's safe up there anyway, then let's wrap this up right now. Lucky it's a Sunday and the lab wouldn't have its usual staff capacity." Baoshan Sanren tells them, turning to Wei Ying. "Do your thing."

He gives her a short nod, and lifts Chenqing to his lips.

Immediately, the HeartStone grows brighter, a shining ruby in the centre of his chest.

Wei Ying thinks about all the feral vampires and makes them follow him back to their cells.

This basement seems to be just that, a containment area.

They go past each cell, locking the doors manually after depositing the appropriate number of vampires in there.

The layout is of a circular structure, with the lift in the centre of this area, and they work their way back to the beginning, where Lan Zhan was kept with Wen Qing. Just before they reach there, Wei Ying stops at another closed door. It's down a short corridor just to the left, and he doesn't know why he ventured down here.

"I can hear a heartbeat," Lan Zhan says, looking around.

Baoshan Sanren kicks the door open, impatient to get going now.

Inside, they find two dead vampires, Mr Lan, JingYi's stepfather on one side in his own cell, having clawed his face off. On the other side, opposite him, it's Mrs Lan.

JingYi's mother.

Wei Ying thinks she's dead too, until her eyes suddenly snap open.

************

A/N

Dear Beautiful Readers,

I'm back!

Thanks for all your supportive messages, they really went a long way to making me feel better, so it's a real, heartfelt thanks.

Let's put the bad stuff behind us and look forward now, and eeeek!!! Only a few more chapters to go until we reach a hundred!!

So excited to write this story, and I hope you are too, to read it.

Showering all of you with chocolate 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫 Best fans ever!!

Charlie