Chapter Text
Xie Lian woke from dreams of flames about to devour him to the loud blare of the firehouse alarms going off. His brain lagged as his teammates scrambled around him, grabbing their gear and getting ready to rush out the door, and it took Mu Qing barking “What are you standing around for? Let’s go!” before he snapped to attention and followed suit.
It only took him a second to tie his hair back, slip into his suit, and slam his locker shut before he was caught up with the rest of his Burning Rescue squad. He hopped into the rescue mobiles, where Mu Qing was furiously typing commands onto his keyboard while Feng Xin bickered with him about the strategy to take. Quan Yizhen’s practice axe swing almost took off Xie Lian’s head as he jumped in.
“Oops,” he said unapologetically, and turned the other way to continue swinging.
Shi Qingxuan’s grinning face popped up on the screen and his voice rang out over the intercom: “Are you guys finally ready to go? Let’s kick some fire butt, hahahaha!” The sounds of the propellers on his rescue copter could be heard whirring in the background, and Xie Lian had to wonder how the hell he always managed to get in there so quickly.
Apparently fed up with arguing with Mu Qing, Feng Xin wandered over to Xie Lian’s side as they departed. “You ready? This is like, your third real mission, right?” He asked, nudging him.
“I’ve done every drill possible at least 80 times, I doubt there’s anything I could be unprepared for at this point,” Xie Lian retorted dryly.
Feng Xin looked a bit uncomfortable, but snorted. “You never know. Don’t get cocky, rookie.”
As if I haven’t been doing this longer than you, Xie Lian thought to himself, but let it go without responding.
A sleek car with flashing sirens to match their own was keeping pace alongside their giant rescue mobile. “Ah, there’s the captain,” Feng Xin said.
“Thanks for pointing that out. We never would have known otherwise,” Mu Qing said with an eye roll.
“Are you seriously—“
“Okay, okay, we’re almost there, let’s get ready to go,” Xie Lian interrupted before things could escalate. Neither of them looked like they wanted to drop it, but they did anyway. Turning back to Quan Yizhen who was still swinging his axe, Xie Lian sighed internally.
“Yizhen, your jacket is on backwards.”
Pausing mid-swing, he looked down and blinked. “Ah.” He squeezed his arms into the body of the jacket, then wriggled it until it was on the correct way, and picked up his axe again to continue swinging. Xie Lian wouldn’t consider himself a genius — after all, he had failed his firefighting exam eight times — but he couldn’t help but wonder how this team hadn’t fallen apart or gotten themselves killed yet.
The answer came in the form of a soft yet firm voice through the intercom.
“Destination is up ahead,” The captain said. “Burnish fires detected on floors twelve through thirty one. Civilians trapped on floors sixteen and twenty nine. Quan Yizhen, head to floor sixteen where the ceiling is in danger of collapse. Stabilize and get the civilians out from the main room. Feng Xin, head to twenty nine and rescue civilians from three different rooms.” The two of them instantly became serious.
“Yes, Captain!”
Captain Yushi Huang paused. “Xie Lian, please stand by in case of unforeseen circumstances.”
He tried not to be disappointed. “Yes, captain.”
Feng Xin and Quan Yizhen stepped into the loading deck of their respective mechs. “Prepare to launch in three, two, one, launching!” Mu Qing slammed the launch button, and the two of them were locked in and ejected to their assigned areas.
Not a moment later, Shi Qingxuan’s voice rang again through the intercom. “Captain, civilians spotted on the roof! I can’t get to them, I’ve still got another load of people from sixteen!”
Xie Lian jumped up. “Send me. I can get to them.”
There was a brief pause, and Shi Qingxuan said, “Are you sure you’re—“
“Okay. Launch him,” the captain interrupted.
“Wait wait wait, captain, really? He’s so new! I mean —“
But Xie Lian was already on his launch deck. “I’m ready!”
“Prepare to launch in three, two, one, launching—“
The metal around Xie Lian locked into place, and he gripped the handles tightly as his sirens blared and he was launched fifty stories high.
If Xie Lian had had the mental capacity to take notice of the view of the city as his mech soared upwards, he probably could have recited a nice line of poetry to describe the scene. However, it was all he could do just to clench his jaw and try to focus on controlling the direction he would land in once he reached the right altitude. Finally, the top of the building flew past him and he thrust a handle forward, jolting the mech and slowing the ascent until he abruptly found himself crashing onto the roof.
It took a second for his ears to stop ringing and his head to stop pounding, but when he was finally coherent he heard voices coming outside the armor.
"Is he dead?"
"He's got to be dead..."
Hauling himself up and climbing out of the cockpit, Xie Lian smiled at the civilians. "Don't worry! I'm alive and I'll get you out of here!" The looks he got in return seemed skeptical, but he brushed it off and turned on his voice com.
"Civilians located. There are nine people here on the roof." As he spoke, a long rope of flames snaked its way across the roof towards one of the civilians, and Xie Lian pulled out his ice gun and stopped the fire immediately before in reached them. "Shi Qingxuan, what's your status?"
"Just dropped off my last load of people! I'll be up there in less than ten seconds!"
"Xie Lian, hold down the fort up there until wind master arrives," Mu Qing barked through the com. "No strong Burnish signals detected presently in your vicinity."
"Augh, I can't see a thing! Xie Lian, could ya help me clear this smoke? I can't find a safe spot to land like this," Shi Qingxuan whined.
"I was hoping Ruoye would get some use today," he replied, settling back into the cockpit of his mech. With a wide sweep of his arm, a long metal sheet shot out the robotic hand, and he spun it in wide loops in the air above him, sending the smoke away from the building in waves.
With the visibility now greatly increased, Xie Lian could see Shi Qingxuan's rescue copter hovering over the building and slowly dropping onto the roof, then opening the rear doors for passengers after stabilizing. "Okay everybody, hop in!" His cheerful, clear voice rang out, and the civilians wasted no time filling into the designated space.
After the last person got in and the doors slid shut, Xie Lian could finally breathe a sigh of relief as he watched the copter take off.
But of course, the relief only lasted a second before Mu Qing's voice blared over the com: "Xie Lian! Extremely strong Burnish signals are suddenly coming from the side of the building. Your current suit is not fit for combat! Do not engage! Are you even listening to me? Your job is done, get out of there!"
"Is there going to be a fight?" Quan Yizhen's voice broke in. "Can I join?"
"No, idiot," Feng Xin interrupted. "None of us are combat units! No one do anything stupid!"
"That might be a bit much to ask of this group," Shi Qingxuan laughed nervously as Xie Lian straightened up his mech and focused his vision on the two Burnish signals that were now appearing on his screen.
"Update," the captain said suddenly, and their bickering immediately stopped. "We've identified the two signals as Mad Burnish, the arson terrorists. We are facing the leader of Mad Burnish and his top general. The world has been hunting these arsonists for almost 30 years. Our condition is not fit to engage."
Xie Lian licked his lips. "If these are the ones who have been starting the fires, isn't it our job as firefighters to stop the cause of the fires?"
"You idiot-"
"Don't you dare-!"
"Mu Qing, is Fang Xin ready?" Xie Lian asked, ignoring the others.
There was a brief pause, and then: "It's technically still a prototype, but a test run would give much more accurate data than my simulations..."
"Do it," Xie Lian yelled as three tall, armored shapes materialized from the waning flames in front of him. One leisurely leaned back on a throne of flames as the other sped into sight on a shiny black motorcycle made from the Burnish flame.
Mu Qing, though slightly conflicted, slammed a button on his dashboard to eject a complex robotic extension to Xie Lian's current suit up in his direction.
Xie Lian felt the extension latch onto his suit before he saw it coming, as the joints hooked together and the systems automatically synchronized. The screen in front of him loaded for a second before giving him access to all the updated features of his suit. Adrenaline pounded through Xie Lian, the excitement of an incoming fight making him grin.
The now updated suit stood up at full height, both taller and more combat-ready than it had been before. He gave a practice swing of his arms, adjusting to the weight and controls as the Burnish on the motorcycle revved its engine. Without warning, it started to speed towards him, changing direction right before they were about to hit him. They drove circles around him like they were mocking him, and Xie Lian didn't bother trying to predict where they'd be, shooting Ruoye out randomly.
They were going so fast that even if he missed, it was a fraction of a second before the Burnish collided with the metal ribbon, Ruoye wasting no time in binding them. Xie Lian used all of his strength to reverse the bike's trajectory, forcing the arsonist to tumble backwards and fall off the bike. Unphased, the Burnish expanded their armor and immediately flew back into action, attacking him on foot.
Xie Lian retracted Ruoye just in time to knock them aside, armor beginning to crack, but it only took a split second for them to get back up and lunge again. They attempted to knock the legs of Xie Lian's armor out from underneath him, but only succeeded in throwing him slightly off balance. Shooting Ruoye back out, Xie Lian trapped them as they stumbled, armor shattering to reveal a plain young man wearing a strange mask.
This time, Xie Lian wasted no time in firing his ice gun to properly cuff and restrain him. Xie Lian turned to the only remaining Burnish, who hadn’t made a move yet; they simply sat atop the elevated chair made of Burnish flame and watched.
While he couldn't help feeling like it was a bit too easy to take down this "top general," Xie Lian suspected that it would not be the same for their leader. Arrogance radiated off of the self-made throne that they sat upon, gazing down at Xie Lian like he was a particularly interesting bug.
Xie Lian retracted Ruoye and stood up straight to face them. "Mad Burnish, right? Why don't you come down so we can talk a bit?" he called out, tone polite but mecha poised to fight.
After considering him for a moment, the leader slowly stood up and descended from the throne, motorcycle materializing under them as they reached the bottom. As they revved the engine, butterflies made of Burnish flame flared out from the bike like smoke. Xie Lian couldn't help but be at least a little bit appreciative for this person's dramatic flair.
But there was work to be done. Without waiting for the leader to make the first move, Xie Lian fired out Ruoye in their direction. It was easily dodged as the bike sped away instantly, but Xie Lian immediately moved to block their path, already throwing a punch aimed at the Burnish helmet. Again, it was dodged, but Xie Lian was at least starting to get used to this person's speed.
"Why do you start fires? Why do you burn innocent peoples' homes?" Xie Lian couldn't help but inquire as he continued to throw punches that were repeatedly dodged.
"It's not our choice. Burnish must burn in order to live." A deep voice responded. Honestly, Xie Lian hadn't expected a reply at all, so he was thrown off for a second.
"What does that mean? Why do others have to suffer for your whims?"
Instead of dodging, the leader caught Xie Lian's punch with one armored hand. "Someone once told me that I should find a reason to live and hold onto it."
The statement felt rather pointed, and even though the words were a vague and non-committing answer to his question, Xie Lian still couldn't help but feel like he was missing something.
But the time for wondering was neither then nor there, and Xie Lian rammed his mecha knee into the leader's side, throwing him off of the side of his bike. The Burnish rolled and landed on his feet, grabbing a broken pipe from beside him as he stood up. Xie Lian watched as Burnish armor extended from the leader's palm up the end of the pipe, transforming it into an effective weapon.
Xie Lian almost grinned. Maybe this guy was a terrorist, but he really had to admit that he had great style.
There was a kind of magic in the way they traded blows back and forth, evenly matched to the point that Xie Lian was starting to think that the strange dance they had going would never come to an end. But battle had strangely always suited him; instead of getting tired, Xie Lian was getting more energized by the second, invigorated by this unnamable chemistry. In a burst of adrenaline, he was able to land a hard blow across his opponent's head, shattering part of his helmet.
It seemed they were both equally surprised by the action. "Aren’t you… a little too young to be the leader of Mad Burnish?" Xie Lian blurted, even though he looked about the same age as himself.
It was the only coherent comment he could make, because the face that grinned back at him devilishly was probably one of the most beautiful ones he had ever seen. Shiny black hair pulled back in a ponytail with one loose braid, a leather eyepatch covering one eye, and another eye that felt disconcertingly like it somehow knew Xie Lian.
"Aren’t you a little young to be fighting the leader of Mad Burnish?" the man replied, a hint of playfulness in his tone, and Xie Lian snapped back to reality. Unfortunately, it was too late to recover from the distraction. He barely had time to raise his arm to try and block the blow, and he was knocked off his feet and pushed backwards, inches from the edge of the building. "You might not believe me, but I'm really not going to hurt you."
The words piqued Xie Lian's interest, but... "I believe you."
The man raised an eyebrow. "You do?"
"Yeah. You're not going to hurt me, because you can't." A sudden roar surged upwards from behind Xie Lian, and a strong wind pushed against his back as Shi Qingxuan's rescue copter leveled out, and Feng Xin and Quan Yizhen jumped onto the building from inside the ship, guns drawn. "Because we're a rescue team, and my team is here to rescue me."
As the Burnish were being cuffed, restrained, and prepared to be transported, Xie Lian found himself again drawn to the leader. "You have a really interesting fighting style. My name is Xie Lian... I really would offer to shake your hand, but." He glanced at the cuffs.
Surprisingly, the man didn't seem offended or even bothered. "I know who you are, and it was honestly a pleasure to spar with you as well. They call me Hua Cheng, but I prefer San Lang."
"San Lang..." Xie Lian pondered. "Wait, did you say you know me?"
Before Hua Cheng could reply, a tall mecha suit stopped in front of them pointedly, looking down at Xie Lian. "I am Captain Ling Wen of Freeze Force. In light of your cooperation with our investigation, I'm choosing to overlook Burning Rescue vastly overstepping their authority on the apprehension of these terrorists. Please see to it that this does not happen again."
Slightly annoyed, Xie Lian wanted to ask what that meant, but another even larger mech appeared next to Ling Wen. "Alrighty, General Pei Ming's got it from here. Let's go, asshole."
Hua Cheng was dragged up by his cuffs. "It seems that's my cue. I'll see you around, gege," he said, smiling.
Xie Lian didn't know what part of this conversation to overanalyze first. "See you around"??? And "gege"??? Also, had San Land really referred to their fight as just a “spar”??? Not to mention, where to even start on the infuriating Freeze Force comments. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, deciding that he needed a long nap before he was ready to worry about anything else.
---
Xie Lian was a bit embarrassed by all the fanfare, but Governor Jun Wu had insisted that he'd earned it, and an event like this was a great way to raise morale among the people of Xian Le, and Xie Lian could never say no to a morale booster.
Still, wasn't this a little much? He wondered as he was elevated from below onto a stage facing thousands of people and confetti rained down on him and Jun Wu, who stood next to him proudly.
"Citizens, as you know, the Burning Rescue division of Xian Le's firefighting department was recently responsible for apprehending three of the most dangerous Burnish terrorists known. Please join me in recognizing our very own Xie Lian, who personally took down the leader of Mad Burnish, Hua Cheng!"
The crowd roared with applause as Jun Wu turned to him smiling, and carefully attached a gold metal to his breast pocket. "Now more than ever, it's imperative for citizens to be united and fair as we join together to eliminate the Burnish threat. I'd like to remind you that if you note any suspicious activity, please alert the nearest authorities. The Xian Le government is priding itself on its swift and just actions during this time, giving all suspects a fair trial, and it's because of heroes like Xie Lian and citizens like yourselves that we are able to do so."
Xie Lian zoned out halfway through Jun Wu's speech, distracted by all the noise and thinking about the interactions he'd had with the Mad Burnish leader. But suddenly he was being ushered back off the stage, Jun Wu patting him on the back and congratulating him again before heading off in another direction in a swarm of bodyguards.
---
As soon as the tray of pizza hit the table, Feng Xin and Mu Qing were all but sword fighting with their utensils to claim as much of it as possible away from the other. Quan Yizhen, only seeing that there was a fight and not caring what it was about, joined in the battle.
Shi Qingxuan let out a sigh and scolded them, "Can you guys chill for like, two seconds? I already told you it's my treat, we can order more, you don't need to fight over it like cavemen!"
"That's not the point!" They barked in unison, which only furthered their rage.
"At least give the first slice to the guest of honor," Shi Qingxuan complained, shooing their hands away from the pizza so he could portion off some for Xie Lian, who laughed.
"It's okay, I'm not super hungry. I'll just take home whatever leftovers there are."
"Bold of you to assume there will be leftovers when you have barbarians like these at the table," Mu Qing spat, glaring at Feng Xin and Quan Yizhen.
"You little—" Feng Xin grabbed him by the collar and Mu Qing smirked.
"Proving my point, but okay."
"I want to fight too."
"Shut up, Yizhen!"
"Stay out of this, Yizhen!"
Burying his face in his arms, Shi Qingxuan groaned. "I literally cannot take you people anywhere. Xie Lian, why are you the only halfway normal person that I know. God, if I'm considering YOU halfway normal, that's really too sad... No offense though, you know I say that with love, right?"
Xie Lian paused as he had been layering garlic, parmesan, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and every other topping or sauce that was available onto his pizza. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
"There is no way you guys aren't doing this to me on purpose."
Xie Lian was about to laugh and respond, but suddenly a large black copter all but crash landed directly in front of the patio they were seated on, and mech suits exploded out from the ship.
"FREEZE FORCE! No one move! We've been alerted of a Burnish presence and anyone who tries to leave will be considered an accomplice!" A familiar voice rang out.
"What the hell? These guys again?" Shi Qingxuan grumbled.
"General Pei, if you would." Ling Wen looked at him pointedly. The general looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes, but walked into the shop, scanning over everyone inside.
Apparently seeing what he came here for, Pei Ming grinned as he locked eyes with the trembling employee standing in front of the oven. "Alright buddy, there's no point in resisting. Let's not make this any harder than it has to be--"
"Please, wait, this young man hasn't done anything wrong! He's just trying to make pizzas!" The manager suddenly interjected, stepping between the hulking general and the employee.
"Oh? Interesting, so you knew that this employee of yours was a Burnish? I'm afraid that makes you guilty as well," he sighed. The manager froze and the employee gasped sharply.
"Boss, no, you shouldn't--" he cried out, stepping forward slightly. Immediately, there were a dozen ice guns trained on him. Enraged, he backed up against the stove and pressed his hands into the fire, letting out a loud cry as the flames jumped and curled around his arm. Before he could do anything though, there was a shot and he was pushed backwards, his hands and forearms suddenly restrained in bulky cuffs.
"Excuse me, has this young man done something wrong? He's just a part timer, he's obviously not a terrorist. There's no reason to cause a scene like this." Xie Lian found himself standing on the table next to Pei Ming, his tone polite but his glare screaming irritation.
"Kid, you may be hero of the moment, but I'm gonna need you to mind your own business," Pei Ming replied.
"Actually, I'd be happy to explain," Ling Wen chimed in from the doorway. "You should already know this, but under the special Anti-Arson Citizen Protection Act, Freeze Force has the authority to take into custody any individuals suspected of illegal Burnish activity."
"That's a special anti-terrorism protection measure for emergency situations, and these people clearly! aren't! terrorists!" Xie Lian jumped as Shi Qingxuan growled these words from right next to him, now standing on the table as well.
Ling Wen's measured gaze met theirs. "That's for the courts to decide."
When Shi Qingxuan started to get even more worked up, Ling Wen held up a hand to silence him. Although her gaze flashed with sympathy for the shortest moment, her head was still held high. “Shi Qingxuan, for your brother’s sake, I suggest you think before causing a scene over Burnish. Same goes for you, Xie Lian,” she added. “Congratulations, again, on your accolades, but if you bring shame to those who allowed you to be here, it will be all for naught.”
Even Shi Qingxuan, for all of his feistiness, fell silent at that.
Xie Lian couldn't watch as the manager and employee were hauled off into the back of the copter like criminals. His stomach twisted as he heard the words of the other customers who had, moments ago, been praising the quality of the food, but were now making no effort to hide their disgust at the type of people who had cooked it.
Unable to take it anymore, he hopped on his sputtering motorbike and sped off without a word.