Throughout the entire afternoon, Annie and Elizabeth were asleep. The sun started to set when they chose a secluded area to set up camp and have dinner.

"Annie, Elizabeth, Dinner time." Ada tried to wake them up. Willow nudged the child, but she did not respond. Tinkerton-G approached them and gave both of them a light tap. G saw that Elizabeth’s breathing was rapid while Annie looked pale and was drenched in sweat.

"Luna, Baldric! Something is wrong with the kids!"

Both of them were in the front and rushed to the back of the truck. By the time they arrived, Elizabeth had woken up, but she looked incredibly tired while visible thick blue veins crept from her neck.

"Luna, Baldric." Elizabeth said when she opened her eyes. "I don’t feel so good."

She vomited and fell unconscious, and Luna caught her before she hit the floor. Annie coughed and struggled to breathe. Both of them had cold sweats and shivered violently. Luna panicked and cradled Elizabeth while Baldric held Annie closely.

"Elizabeth, Annie, look at me. Elizabeth, can you hear me?" Luna gently shook her awake, but the child did not respond. Annie gasped for air, which made her panic.

"Baldric she’s not waking up! They are not waking up! Baldric! What do we do?!"

"Check if they have any injuries. G, find the last of our medicine!" He ordered.

"I believe I know what happened. They were poisoned." Ada said as she watched.

"What?!" Luna roared.

"My estimate is that it was a poison grenade. When we were inside the building, a bounty hunter used a grenade that let out a violet plume of smoke. I thought it was merely a smoke grenade-"

"Why didn't you tell any of us sooner?!" Luna yelled out at Ada’s head, the only part left of the GEA.

"I’m sorry. I truly did not know it was a poison." Ada apologized as she watched Annie and Elizabeth continue to shiver. Willow let out soft cries as Shiny hovered above them. Tinkerton returned, dragging a medical bag while Sylvie and Caesar looked into the truck from the outside. Baldric got two syringes and prepared to inject both Annie and Elizabeth.

"Sylvie how is your knowledge of existing poisons?" Baldric asked the centaur.

"My medical knowledge iz well equipped to referenze all known poisons."

"Baldric, are you sure you know how to use that?" Luna asked.

"Beatrice was a nurse, remember? She thought me a few things. Steady them, Luna." He injected them in the arm and drew their blood, then gave the syringes to Sylvie who put them in her chest.

"Once we know what type of poison it is, we can use the right antidote. And we still have all our medicine from the landraider." Baldric assured Luna as he held on to Annie. Sylvie remained quiet as she analyzed the poison while all of them waited for her to respond.

"There are high traces of Scaentin and Isopast compounds in their blood. I can verify both specimens have been poisoned, but there seems to be a high trace of the Adralt compound specifically tailored to work with Aerium synthesized compounds." Sylvie said it in a different tone and voice to them.

"What does that mean?" Baldric asked.

"Sylvie, are you saying that the Adralt compound was deliberately created outside of the body?" Luna said.

"Wait, you can follow all that?"

"Yes. It was deliberately created to nullify any attempt at any fast-acting treatment."

"Both of you have to start speaking normally! Luna what the hell is going on?!"

"The poison in both of them has been modified to be more potent against mages while also being resistant to any other antidote aside from the specific one against it." Luna cradled Elizabeth tighter.

"Yes, unfortunately, even if we have the formula, ve do not have the materialz to create the proper treatment. Any antidote ve give them will make the Adralt compound react violently."

"What?!"

"If we give them any other antidote, it will make their sickness worse." Luna explained.

"Then what are we all still sitting around here for! Let’s get them to a hospital! Ada, Sylvie, how far are we from the nearest city?"

"Crozz referencing the map vith my recordz and it appearz ve are close to Gairton."

"Then that's where we are going! I’m driving!" Baldric said as he gently laid down Annie beside Luna, then he ran to the front of the truck.

"Woah woah, we are seriously going into a city?! Where there are no doubt enforcers?! And more bounty hunters?!" G said as they started to move again.

"Let them come G." Luna said as she held on to Annie and Elizabeth tightly. "I am in no mood for mercy."

=0o0=

Throughout the whole trip, all of them were silent. Willow put her head on Elizabeth’s hand while Shiny stayed close with Annie. Ada watched them while Tinkerton-G joined Baldric in the driver’s seat. Caesar and Sylvie followed right behind the truck, while Luna covered Annie and Elizabeth with all the clothes she could find and even covered them with her coat.

Luna was on the verge of breaking down. Her chest felt tight, her throat was scratchy and her hands trembled relentlessly. She wanted to cry out, but she composed herself as Elizabeth and her sister needed her with a level head.

Maker don’t take them from me! They are all I have left! You have taken everything from me! Please not them! Luna embraced them tightly. Not them please!

They arrived at Gairton at around midnight and sped past the city border. There would normally be a checkpoint, but there was a massive fire on the edge of the city, which was the perfect distraction as they slipped past the checkpoint and the enforcers.

"We cannot rush her to a hospital." Tinkerton-G said to Baldric as they made their way through the city. "The kid is a mage. She will be captured."

"We are not going to a hospital." Baldric said as he honked the truck’s horn as he sped through the busy streets. He stopped the truck in front of a gambling den and went inside alone while they all waited in the truck. It wasn’t long before Baldric came out and drove the truck through the city until they reached a house.

Luna and Baldric carried both kids and banged heavily on the door. They both introduced themselves, and the old man who opened the door let them in only when Luna threw out a pouch filled to the brim with credits and gold coins.

"What happened?" The old man guided them through his house and into his home clinic. Baldric and Luna placed Annie and Elizabeth on the beds.

"They have been poisoned." Luna answered.

"Do you know the name of the poison?"

"We don’t know, but they have been poisoned mostly with Adralt." Annie and Elizabeth’s skin was now so incredibly pale that it almost matched Luna’s skin. The doctor began to treat them by giving them an antidote when Baldric heard yelling outside of the house.

After a few seconds after the doctor treated them, Elizabeth cried in pain. Annie started to wince and shake. The doctor then injected them both with another medicine that calmed them down.

"By the Maker, I have never seen a poison like this."

"What?! You are a silencer, aren't you?" Luna roared.

"Yes, I am, but I have never encountered a drug or compound that would make a mage or a person have this kind of reaction."

She grabbed the old man’s collar, "Do something! Anything!"

Outside, Baldric heard someone breaking into the doctor’s home.

"I can give her a suppressant, but unless we know what type of drug or poison they used, I fear they might make it worse."

Luna forcefully shook him.

"Are you saying you cannot do anything then?!"

There was a bang on the door, and Baldric instinctively placed his hand on his pistol when both of them recognised a voice behind the door.

"Luna! Baldric! It's me! "

She quickly opened the door.

It was Max, who looked like he had run all the way there as he caught his breath.

"Thank the Maker! Where is the kid?! No!" He cursed loudly when he saw Annie and Elizabeth on the beds.

“Come on! Pick them up and let’s go!”

“Max, go where?!” Luna said as Max entered the room and carried Elizabeth while Baldric carried Annie in his arms and made their way outside.

“We need to get the antidote!”

Outside was the vehicle Tinkerton-G had given Max. They rode in a convoy behind him to a warehouse on the other side of town. They dashed inside the massive building, carrying Annie and Elizabeth, where members of Max's guild awaited them. They also had some beds and what appeared to be advanced medical equipment.

"I need two beds!" Max ordered all of them, and they immediately made room. They carefully placed Annie and Elizabeth on the beds, and his guild members placed masks with tubes on both of them.

"This will slow the effects of the poison from getting worse. Damn, I can’t believe they even targeted Annie. I’ll chop their heads off for this!"

"Max! What is going on?!" Luna yelled out. "How on Pandora, did you know they were poisoned?!"

"I’ll answer all your questions along the way! Now arm up!" Max’s guild brought forward crates filled with weapons. "We are going to fight a huntsman!"