A Dragon's Hoard

TCOC - ESCAPE.

Saran had been lying there in dragon form for what felt like hours. He'd been chewing on the chain on and off, unsure if it was a safe idea, but it at least gave him the hope to escape. He wasn't sure if trusting the man was a good idea either. He himself hadn't shown to be a threat, but the fact that he got a hold of both Saran and Thomas after a sniper took them out was more than a little disconcerting. It wasn't known if he was in league with the group that attacked the train or if he stole their capture with the sniper.
This was all still swimming in his head as he continued trying to figure out how to best this chain. He could wreck the whole building if it weren't for the corsenium.
He didn't have too much more time to be frustrated as he heard the door creak open. Saran froze. No one came in at first. All he could see was the sliver of a silhouette and an eye staring at him. Then the door opened a bit more to reveal Thomas, looking a little stressed and confused, but otherwise fine. Saran perked up but he motioned for him to be quiet.

Tom came in without a sound, closing the door behind him and making his way over to Saran.
"We've gotta be quick and quiet about this." He shoved his sleeves down, revealing just how far down his gloves went. He grabbed the chain before Saran could protest. "I think we're on the eighteenth level. Just using the elevator would make us stick out. The emergency exit will set off an alarm. The stairs will spit us out next to the elevator so that's no different..." He had started trying to melt the chains with the blowtorch feature in his gloves as he was rambling.
Saran stopped him. "Why don't you just go. I can handle myself. They probably want you more than me. You'll be able to easily get out on your own. The corsenium limits my transformation."
"Doesn't matter." Tom interrupted him. "If I leave you here there's no telling what crap he'll do to you. Last time I left someone behind with him he broke them just to rub it in my face. It's make a run for it despite the odds or face certain doom. Your choice." He dropped the red hot chain. The link shattered. He grabbed the collar, dragging Saran with him. "There's a window at the end of the hall. Think you can charge it?"
Saran poked his head out the door. The entire wall at the end of the hall was a window. "...Think so. I might not be able to fly for far after I get out though. Maybe we could drop the rest of the chain?" 
Tom slung himself onto Saran's back, still holding onto the collar. "I'll see what I can do. Just get us out the window."
Saran backed up from the door, took a deep breath, and folded his wings to his back before launching himself forward. He snaked around the door frame, charging down the hall and trying to gain momentum. A door partway down the hall opened and a pair of people in lab coats started coming out. They dove back in as Saran barreled past them. He bowed his head, meeting the window horns first. It shattered as they fell through. Saran's wings spread despite his lack of confidence in their strength. He felt a burst of strength as the corsenium chain fell away. He wanted to glance back at Tom but he had to focus on flying.
He heard Tom yelling into the rushing wind. "Just keep going! Don't stop until-"
Saran let out a cry as something pierced his wing. He heard Tom curse as he fumbled on his back. Saran saw something white out of the corner of his eye. Something else was flying and following them. "Drones!" Tom yelled over the wind. They were starting to lose altitude as the pain in his wing got worse. Another burst of pain enveloped Saran's other wing.
They were falling.
Saran's head turned, latching onto Tom's sleeve with his arm. He rolled over, pulling Tom onto his stomach and folding his wings over him.
Tom struggled as Saran's wings enveloped him. He had to figure out away out of this situation. Tom felt several impacts. Saran was taking more hits. Tom scrambled with his gloves to activate a bubble shield large enough to hold both of them. It wouldn't cushion their fall but it'd keep him from further damage by the drones. There was a blip as the shield went up. He curled up in the dark, unsure of the best position to take in preparation for the impact. The thought of death crossed his mind, as it often did in situations like these. He had given up awhile ago at guessing whether he'd live or die. He'd been in the stupidest of scenarios and lived so it was really anyone's game. At least he had more bragging rights to add to the pile if the tables turned again.
His curled form flopped open as, what he assumed was the impact, shook the world around him. It wasn't as bad as he was expecting. Saran rolled, the cocoon around Tom unfolding.  He heard Saran moaning and the beeping of his gloves telling him the bubble shield had shattered. He didn't meet the asphalt like he was expecting. He fell onto a thick canvas tarp instead. He fumbled around trying to figure out what it was, his vision blurring. He had probably gotten a concussion regardless of whatever had saved them. He heard voices around them.
"Hurry."
"Get it packed up."
"Make sure they're okay."
Tom rolled onto his back, barely able to see the drones circling their position in the air. He felt surprisingly gentle hands pull him to his feet and drag him, stumbling off the seemingly large deflated tarp mattress thing.
Someone addressed him directly. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
It took a moment for Tom to actually manage to get words out of his throat. "I... I hit my head pretty hard... but I think... I think I'm alright... He's not." Tom glanced back as he saw the large silvery white dragon had shrunken down to human form. There were bullet wounds and blood everywhere. Somehow he was still moving. Tom glanced around the scene, starting to gain more awareness. A dozen or more people in seemingly casual clothing were swarming around. Two were pulling Saran off of the deflated stunt airbag and a group had already started taking it down. Tom was guided towards a van further down the street. He lurched back, fighting the strangers. "Wh-Where are you taking us. What do you want." He demanded.
"You will know in time. We are taking you to a place where you can be taken care of." The man had a faint accent as if English was his second language but he'd been bilingual for years. His tone was comforting, though not entirely calm.
"I can't just go with you." Tom retorted incredulously.
"You're hurt. Apparently more than you realize. We can get you to where you'll be safe. Away from the snake in the building." Tom stopped at the mention of the snake. They knew him somehow. He let them carry him into the van. He sat on the floor of the van. Saran was lying next to him. A woman was tending to him, dabbing at the wounds with a cloth. Some of the wounds were already wrapped in temporary gauze. The van doors closed as two men got into the seats at the front and the engine started.
Tom sat in silence for a while as they van raced down the street. He side glanced the woman, fidgeting. The world was still slightly foggy. He shoved his sleeve down, messing with his glove. A faint blue hard light screen flickered to life. He pulled up a health assessment. He flinched at the results. He had several fractures in his leg while the other ankle was broken. He did, indeed, had a concussion and a bit worse than he first thought. He let the screen flicker out of existence, leaning back on the side of the van. He glanced over at the woman still tending to Saran. "... where're you guys taking us...?"
The woman gave him a quick glance before going back to her work. "The family's home. The house of the Lotus."
Tom blinked, eyes to the ceiling. "And that's uhm.... where?"
"I'm... relatively new but... as far as I'm aware, we're not allowed to openly talk about it... But you'll be taken care of there. Given beds to sleep in and food for however long you'll be staying."
"...Huh..." Tom stared off in thought, trying to wrap his head around this mess.
The woman decided to break the silence again. "Rumor has it, you two are the subject of quite the citywide event. Everyone's been talking about it breaking the stalemate."
Tom's brow furrowed. "Stalemate? Like, what, is there a war going on or something?"
The woman went quiet for a moment, tying off the gauze on Saran's arm. "...I guess you're new too, huh?" Tom had to keep himself from deadpanning. "...Phyantha is divided between several factions... Almost everyone knows about it..." She looked away. "... no one ever really talks about it outside work. I learned a few months ago. I moved to the city under a year ago... Everything seems to revolve around it."
"So there was a stalemate between multiple factions that somehow our appearance broke... great..." Tom leaned back again, closing his eyes. "I thought just the fact that he was here was bad enough...." The building they just escaped from must've been considered a stronghold for one of the so called factions. In which case, he'd already climbed the ranks and started pulling the strings in some way or another. "Well, he definitely acts fast..."