–A month later–
The hospital room was quiet, save for the steady beeping of the heart monitor and the faint hum of fluorescent lights overhead. Oh lay motionless on the bed, a breathing tube in place, his face pale and bruised. Machines surrounded him, their rhythmic sounds a stark contrast to the vibrant energy he once carried. Seth stood near the window, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the distant city lights. His face was a mask of guilt and frustration, his body tense as if ready to fight an invisible opponent. Tah and Num hovered near the door, speaking in hushed tones. Ra sat in a corner chair, his usual commanding presence subdued.
Aset, Oh's girlfriend and attending doctor, adjusted an IV line with practiced precision. She was composed, her white coat pristine, but the dark circles under her eyes betrayed the emotional toll the past few months had taken. Next to her, Heka, a seasoned nurse with a warm demeanor, checked Oh's vitals. He occasionally glanced at Aset with quiet support.
Sun, Aset's 21-year-old adopted son, leaned against the wall, arms folded. His usual cocky attitude was absent, replaced by a somber expression. He wore a jacket with the Duat Team's racing logo, a quiet rebellion against the situation.
"You all don't have to stay," Aset said, her voice steady but soft. "I know you've got your lives to get back to." "No one's leaving," Ra said firmly, his voice cutting through the tension. "We're all here for Oh. For you." Aset nodded, her eyes flicking briefly to Seth, who hadn't moved from the window. "He's stable," she said, her voice clinical, but her hands trembled as she adjusted the blanket over Oh. "But… there's no telling when—or if—he'll wake up." The words hung in the air like a weight pressing down on everyone.
Seth finally spoke, his voice low and strained. "He's going to wake up." Aset turned to him, her expression softening. "Seth—". "He will," Sun interrupted, his fists clenching. "Lung Seth is right. P'Oh's a fighter. He's stronger than this. He'll come back."
Tah exchanged a glance with Num, her own voice hesitant. "They're right, Doc. Oh's been through worse—maybe not physically, but mentally. He doesn't give up." Heka chimed in gently. "Strength is important, but recovery takes time. You all being here helps more than you know."
Ra stood, his large hand resting briefly on Seth's shoulder. "Seth, no one's doubting him. But you've got to stop beating yourself up over this. It wasn't your fault." Seth turned sharply, his eyes flashing with anger. "Wasn't it, though? I'm supposed to be the leader—the mentor. If I'd been a second faster, a little sharper, I could've seen it coming. Maybe stopped it."
"Don't start that," Aset said firmly, her voice breaking through his anger. "You think I haven't gone through the same thoughts? I'm a doctor. I'm supposed to fix things. But this… this isn't anyone's fault. Sometimes things just happen."
Sun stepped forward. "What about his bike?" he asked. "Has anyone figured out why the brakes failed?" Tah shook her head. "We've been over it a hundred times, Sun. The brakes were fine when we prepped the bike. Something must've gone wrong during the race, but there's no way to pinpoint it now."
"That's not good enough," Sun said, his voice rising. "If no one figures it out, what's stopping it from happening again? To someone else?" Aset looked at her son. "Sun," Aset said sharply, her tone being that of a mother trying to calm her child. "Not now."
Ra stepped in, his voice calm but authoritative. "Sun is right. But right now, our focus is on Oh." The room fell silent again. Seth turned back to the window, his jaw tight, while Aset returned to Oh's bedside. She placed a hand on his, her composure cracking for just a moment as her shoulders trembled. "Come back to us, Oh," she whispered.
Heka quietly stepped beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He's strong. And he's got a lot of people waiting for him." Aset looked up at him and smiled in silent thanks.
Sun stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and sat on the chair beside his mother. "When he wakes up," he muttered, "I'm going to tell him he owes me a race." A small, bittersweet smile crossed Aset's face before she kissed him on the temple. "He'd like that."
The group settled into an uneasy silence, and the machines kept their steady rhythm, a quiet reminder that Oh was still fighting.
–☀︎–
That night, the hospital room was cloaked in a heavy stillness, broken only by the steady rhythm of the heart monitor. Oh lay unmoving, his face pale and almost unrecognizable under the harsh fluorescent light. The once-vibrant racer now seemed like a shell of himself, and the sight gnawed at Ra's already frayed nerves.
Ra sat in a worn chair beside the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped tightly together. His usual sharp, commanding demeanor had softened into something rawer—anguish and frustration swirling in equal measure. Across the room, his secretary Toh stood near the window, his figure framed against the dim glow of the city lights outside.
Toh was calm, methodical, and utterly composed, even in the most chaotic situations. Clad in a perfectly tailored black suit, his blue tie still impeccably knotted despite the late hour, he carried himself with the same precision that had made him indispensable to Ra's world. But tonight, his usually impenetrable demeanor showed cracks—an occasional glance toward Oh's bed, the faint tightening of his jaw.
Ra broke the silence, his voice rough. "I can't do it, Toh. I can't sit here and just wait. Every minute I do, it feels like I'm letting him down."
Toh turned from the window, his dark eyes steady as they met Ra's. "You've done everything you can for him, Sir. You brought him the best doctors, the best care. Now it's up to him to fight."
Ra shook his head, his voice rising slightly. "I'm not talking about doctors. I'm talking about finding out who put him in this bed. Sun is right. Someone sabotaged his bike, Toh. I know it. And I can't let it go."
Toh stepped closer, his polished shoes clicking softly against the tiled floor. "We've been over this. The official report says it was a mechanical failure. Accidents happen—"
"That wasn't an accident!" Ra barked, slamming a fist on the armrest of the chair. His voice echoed through the room, but Oh remained still, as though untouched by the world around him. Ra softened his tone, leaning forward, his face in his hands. "That bike was flawless. Num and Tah double-checked it before the race. Oh doesn't make mistakes like that. Someone wanted him out."
Toh studied him carefully, his analytical mind already piecing together the implications. "You think it was deliberate sabotage." Ra looked up, his eyes blazing with conviction. "I know it was. I've been in this game too long to believe otherwise. Someone had access to the paddock that day. They knew exactly how to take him out without making it obvious."
Toh crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "Do you have anyone in mind? Competitors, sponsors, rivals?" Ra's lips pressed into a thin line. "Start with the obvious: racers Oh's beaten, teams he's embarrassed. Look into the organizers too—anyone who had something to gain from seeing him off the track. Someone knows something, Toh, and I need you to find them."
Toh nodded, his voice calm but firm. "I'll dig into it. I'll cross-reference everyone who had access to his bike, trace their movements, and see if there's a pattern. It won't be easy, but if there's a trail, I'll find it." Ra let out a long breath, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I don't care how deep this goes or how powerful the people behind it are. Oh is family. If someone wanted to send a message by putting him in that bed, I'm sending one right back."
Toh's lips twitched into the faintest hint of a smile—an acknowledgment of Ra's unrelenting loyalty. "You realize this could make you some enemies. Potentially very powerful ones."
"I've faced enemies before," Ra said, his voice steady. "This one picked the wrong family to mess with." Toh unfolded his arms, pulling a sleek tablet from his bag. His fingers moved swiftly over the screen, pulling up files and databases. "I'll start tonight. I'll comb through every name and every lead. But Sir… be careful. When you shake a tree this hard, you'd better be ready for what falls out." Ra leaned back in his chair, his eyes drifting to Oh.
"I don't care what it costs. Oh's lying here because someone wanted him out of the picture. I owe it to him to find out why—and to make sure it never happens again." Toh looked at the broken man in the bed and then at Ra. His respect for his boss had always been rooted in his ruthlessness tempered with loyalty, but tonight, it ran deeper. "I'll find the truth," Toh said, his voice quieter now but no less confident. "Whatever it takes."
Ra nodded, his gaze fixed on Oh. "Thank you, Toh. I mean it."
Toh slipped the tablet back into his bag, pausing at the door. "You should get some rest, Sir. Oh needs you sharp, not running yourself into the ground."
Ra offered a faint smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "I'll rest when I have answers." Toh nodded once more, his silhouette disappearing into the hallway, leaving Ra alone with the steady beeping of the machines and the weight of his promise.
Ra leaned forward as the door clicked shut, taking Oh's limp hand in his own. His voice cracked as he spoke, the words meant for both of them. "Hang in there, kid. We're not done yet. Not by a long shot."
— 2 weeks later—
Aset and Sun's house was quiet except for the occasional sound of Sun's three cats—Nef, Seti, and Hapy—padding across the floor and the soft huff of his dog, Dua, curled up by his feet. Sun sat cross-legged on the floor of his room, surrounded by notebooks, old racing photos, and a laptop glowing faintly with open files.
"You guys are the only ones I can really talk to about this, you know?" he said, scratching behind Dua's ears. The dog wagged her tail lazily, her silver-brown fur catching the dim light. Nef, the sleek black cat, perched on the edge of the bed, watching Sun with her usual piercing stare. Seti, an orange tabby, batted at a pen Sun had dropped, while Hapy, a fluffy white ball of mischief, stretched out on the scattered papers.
"I've got to do it," Sun muttered, almost to himself. "If I get into the circuit, I can get close to the people who matter—the racers, the sponsors, the ones with access. Someone knows something about what happened to P'Oh."
Dua let out a low woof, tilting her head as if questioning him. "Don't give me that look," Sun said with a smirk. "You know I'm right. The cops are too tied up, and no one else seems to care enough to dig deep. It's up to me." Before he could continue, the sound of the handle to his room turning made him look up. The door opened to reveal Aset, her sharp heels clicking against the hardwood. Her fitted blazer and slacks gave her an air of authority, but her expression softened when she saw him.
"Sun," she said, setting her bag down in the hallway by the door. "Still obsessing over this, I see."
"It's not obsessing," Sun said, standing up. "It's planning. I'm going to find out who did this to P'Oh." Aset crossed her arms, her dark eyes narrowing. "We've been over this. The police are handling it. You don't need to throw yourself into something dangerous."
"Handling it?" Sun's voice rose, frustration bubbling to the surface. "What have they actually done? As far as I can tell, no one's making any progress. P'Oh's just lying there, and you're all sitting around waiting for answers that aren't coming."
Her composure remained steady, though her tone turned colder. "You think they aren't looking at every angle? That Ra isn't pulling every string he can? Investigations like this take time, Sun. Charging in recklessly will only make things worse."
"Worse?" Sun laughed bitterly. "What's worse than P'Oh being in a coma? At least I'm trying to do something about it! What are you doing? From where I'm standing, it looks like you don't even care!"
The words hung in the air like a slap. Aset's expression didn't waver, but something flickered behind her eyes—hurt, buried beneath a wall of stern composure.
She stepped closer, her voice low and cutting. "You have no idea how much I care. I see him every day. I'm the one managing his case, making sure he gets the best care possible. You think that doesn't matter?"
"Care isn't just keeping him alive!" Sun snapped. "It's fighting for justice. And you're not doing that!"
Aset stepped even closer to her son, her voice sharp as a blade. "I'm doing everything I can within reason. You? You want to throw yourself into something you don't understand. If you insist on making wings of wax, you shouldn't fly too close to the sun."
Aset took a steadying breath, her tone softening just slightly. "You're angry. I understand that. But don't let your anger blind you to reason." She turned and grabbed her bag, her movements deliberate. "Do what you want, Sun. But if you crash and burn, don't say I didn't warn you." With that, she left, the door clicking shut behind her.
Sun stood frozen for a moment, the weight of her words pressing down on him. Then he sighed, dropping back onto the floor. The guilt gnawed at Sun long after Aset had left. The words he'd thrown at her replayed in his mind, each one sharper than the last. He sat in silence for a long while, his pets gathered around him as if sensing his unease. Dua rested her head on Sun's knee while the cats lounged nearby, their quiet presence grounding him.
"You're right, Dua," Sun muttered, scratching the wolfdog behind the ears. "I messed up. I shouldn't have said those things to her." Dua let out a low, approving woof as Sun stood, glancing at his scattered notes before heading out the door.
Sun found Aset in her office on the first floor of the house. The soft hum of the desk lamp filled the room office, its warm light pooling over neatly stacked medical journals and patient files. The room was a quiet sanctuary, lined with bookshelves and a large window overlooking the garden. Aset sat at her desk, her blazer draped neatly over the back of her chair, as she reviewed Oh's latest charts. Her sharp focus masked the exhaustion that weighed heavily on her shoulders.
A knock at the door broke her concentration.
"Come in," she said without looking up, her voice steady. Sun stepped inside, hesitating momentarily before closing the door behind him. He had his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets, making him look like a little kid again. Aset glanced up, her expression neutral. "Sun. What is it?" He cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly. "I wanted to talk. About earlier." Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she gestured for him to continue.
"I was out of line," he said, stepping closer to the desk. "What I said about you not caring… that wasn't fair. I know how much you've done for P'Oh, and I know how much you care about him." Aset set her pen down and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. "Go on."
Sun sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just frustrated. It feels like no one's making any progress. P'Oh's just lying there, and I—" His voice caught, and he looked away. "I feel useless. Like I'm failing him." Aset's expression softened, though her voice remained firm. "You're not failing him, Sun. None of us are. But these things take time. Ra is working behind the scenes, and I'm doing everything I can to keep Oh stable. Rushing into something without a plan won't help him. It'll only make things worse."
"I know," Sun said quietly. "I just… I want to help. I don't want to sit back and wait for someone else to fix this." Aset stood and moved around the desk, stopping in front of him. "I understand how you feel. But there's a difference between helping and acting recklessly. If you get yourself hurt—or worse—you're only going to cause more pain for the people who care about you."
Sun met her gaze, guilt flickering in his eyes. "I'm sorry, mae. I didn't mean what I said. I know you care about Oh. I know you're doing everything you can." Aset's expression softened further, and she reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Apology accepted. But you need to promise me something, baby bird."
"What?"
"If you're going to do something, anything, you come to me first. Ra and I have been in this world for a long time. We know how it works. You don't have to do this alone."
"I promise," he said, his voice steady.
Aset's lips twitched into a faint smile, and she pulled him into a brief hug and kissed his forehead. "Good. Now, go take care of your 'daughters'. They're probably missing you already." Sun chuckled as he stepped back. "Yeah, they're not great at hiding their disappointment when I'm late."
Aset watched him leave, her smile fading as she returned to her desk. She glanced at the photo of Oh and Sun that sat in a simple frame nearby, her fingers brushing the edge of the picture.
"Don't fly too close to the sun." she murmured.
Sun pushed open the door to his room to find Dua waiting, tail wagging furiously. Nef perched on the back of the couch next to the door, her sharp eyes watching him while Seti and Hapy lounged in their favorite spots.
"Alright, gang, apology delivered. Mae's still worried, but she gets it. Sort of." Dua barked softly, and Sun crouched to scratch under the dog's chin. "She's right, though. I can't be reckless. If I'm going to figure this out, I need to be smart. Careful. Sneaky."
He glanced at the scattered notes and diagrams on the table, his determination sharpening. "Well, sweetie," he muttered, ruffling the dog's ears, "guess it's just us again." Nef meowed from her perch, her tail flicking as if to say, 'And us.'
"Yeah, and you guys, too," Sun said with a faint smile. "This isn't just about me wanting answers. It's about P'Oh. He wouldn't sit around and wait for someone else to fix things." He sat back down on the floor.
Dua nosed his hand, her golden eyes steady and trusting. "I'll just have to be smarter about it," Sun said, his voice growing firmer. "Mae's right about one thing—charging in recklessly won't work. But if I'm careful and stay under the radar, I can get what I need without anyone realizing what I'm doing."
He glanced at his scattered notes, his determination reigniting. "We're going to figure this out, guys. And when we do, whoever hurt Oh will wish they hadn't." Nef stretched, letting out a long, satisfied purr, while Seti curled up on one of the notebooks as if to guard it. Hapy rolled onto her back, batting at a loose paper. Dua thumped her tail against the floor, her silent vote of confidence clear.
Sun smiled, leaning back against the side of the bed. "Looks like the team's on board. Let's get to work, but we may need some allies." Sun's eye was drawn to a little golden lion figure gleaming on his shelf, and he grinned.
"I know exactly who to ask."