THE DROPOUT, THE PIRATE QUEEN, AND THE SPIDER, pt.2

Milo stood there, completely paralyzed by fear. His eyes were glued to the hulking mechanical spider. He'd jumped in front of the woman purely out of instinct, but his heart was pounding in his ears.

The machine roared with energy and charged forward, firing off a series of lasers and missiles toward the pair. But nothing hit home—not a single shot found its target. The lasers bounced off a thin bubble that had appeared around them.

"Get outta the way!" The woman shoved him behind her. "This thing means business!"

She raised her left arm, and another ball of purple light materialized. It grew quickly, changing from a dark purple to a light pink. The air rippled, and a force pushed Milo pushed down to the floor as a wave of energy swept past them. The giant robot crashed into the bubble, shattering the barrier, not even slowing down.

"Son of a—!"

The spider lifted one of its spindly mechanical legs and raked it across the floor, sweeping both the woman and Milo up against the wall, but the woman projected a bubble over her and Milo that protected them from most of the blunt force.

She growled. "You should run, darling!"

"Run where, exactly?!"

"Just leave this to me!"

She turned back to the monster. She raised her left hand again, bringing up yet more power this time. But the spider locked onto her arm and shot off a quick laser, and her arm exploded into a flurry of smoke and sparks.

The woman gasped as she dropped to the ground. Milo groaned, the pain radiating through his body. His right arm convulsed, vibrating almost as if it would tear itself free from his shoulder.

(This is bad…)

The massive machine loomed over them, ready to crush the life out of them. Its arms rose, preparing to swing down.

"Heh," the woman said. "Guess I really messed up this time…"

As the machine roared and readied to bring its steely legs down on them, Milo's arm stopped vibrating, and as if controlled by a magnet, his hand shot out and grabbed the woman's right shoulder. They both screamed as the spider's legs crashed down onto them.

***

When he opened his eyes, Milo found himself in a sea of darkness. He turned, and no matter where he looked, only the never-ending darkness greeted him. (Am I finally dead?) His body ached, and his heart still throbbed in his chest. His breaths echoed into the empty darkness. (I don't feel dead…)

A soft light appeared from somewhere above him and slowly descended to his level. As it drew closer, Milo could make out a familiar silhouette.

"Huh, that's odd." The woman, Lucianna, the pirate queen, leaned forward with her hands resting against her hips, looking at the unending darkness. "We should be pancakes right about now." Her eyes shifted to Milo. A grin crept across her lips. "Though I guess you'd have enough cushion, you might be okay~"

"Are…are you calling me fat?"

Milo tried to stand, but his feet were like lead weights; every step felt like someone was poking holes through his flesh, draining away all of his energy bit by bit. With great effort, he rose onto his knees.

As if responding to some secret signal, the darkness melted away and an entire room rose around them. A large bed sat in the center, and several pieces of furniture surrounded the bed. Milo glanced around, licking his dry lips. "What the hell?"

She groaned as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Beats me!"

Lucianna lifted her left arm up, sparks still flying from the destroyed prosthetic. "That spider was definitely about to kill us." She looked around at the bedroom. "This actually reminds me of somewhere…not that it matters." She crossed her legs. "But you…You suddenly reached out and grabbed my shoulder. What were you trying to do? Protect me~?" She smirked.

Milo blushed. "Not even. It's just…" He looked down and noticed a lump under his work shirt. He lifted the right-hand sleeve, revealing an intricate tattoo running up and down his arm. The inky tendrils centered on his wrist, where a diamond-shaped object protruded.

She leaned forward. Her eyes narrowed. "My, my~ Never would've taken you for a man who accessorizes!"

"S-shut up…" He touched the diamond, and it glowed bright purple. His whole body filled with a comforting warmth.

"Interesting," she said. "I came looking for a bastard and found something so much better! Well, you're cuter than him, at least~"

Milo looked away, but couldn't stop his lips from curving upward.

Lucianna scoffed. "Well, you were cute until I socked you across the face! Should've told me earlier you were Waylon's son."

"Pretty sure I tried…multiple times—"

She waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, listen, darling~" She leaned forward, her cleavage pressing into a hard line again. Milo gulped. "From here on out, you're mine. Got it?" She nodded at the gem in his wrist. "You have my property, so by extension, you belong to me now!"

"I, uh, don't think that's how it works."

She laughed. "Of course it is! Besides," and she smiled widely, so all her teeth were visible. "Your daddy was a real bastard. You gotta make up for all the shit he did." She snorted. "I'm sure he was a right asshole to you, too!"

Milo clenched his jaw. "Not really. Can't you just take the crystal back?"

She shook her head. "Does it look like it?" She waved the sparking, half-torn prosthetic around. "But maybe if you gave me a hand~" She winked at him.

"What, like, cut my hand off?"

She burst into laughter.

"You're adorable!"

He studied the gem again and the intricate, fluid tattoos twisting and wrapping up and down his arm. He tried picking at the gem, but it didn't even wiggle.

"Hey."

He looked up and locked eyes with Lucianna, who stood mere inches from him. That cinnamon-apple scent of hers made his head swim. She bit her lower lip and leaned forward. She was quite beautiful, he had to admit. He knew it from the moment she walked in. If it had been any other situation, he might've enjoyed talking with her.

She leaned to the side, so her lips were kissing his right ear. "Do you want to do it?"

Her hot breath in his ear raised goosebumps on his neck, and he jumped back. She bent over, laughing. "Oh wow, you were so zoned out! Probably thinking dirty thoughts~ You definitely want to do it with me!"

Milo dropped his head, unable to meet her gaze. "Not really." He heaved a sigh, and let his hand hang down. "What do we do now?"

"Mmmm, I dunno." She surveyed the room. "Actually, this room kind of reminds me of my childhood room. It's been centuries since I've seen it, but I'm pretty sure this is the place."

Milo looked around. The room was cozy, decorated with wooden chairs and a chest of drawers that sat next to a crystal vanity. He slid his feet across the wooden floors, which shone as if freshly polished. The carvings on the walls formed a uniform, checkered pattern that wrapped around the interior. He thought it odd there were no windows or doors, but despite this, everything added up to an air of safety and comfort.

He sat on one couch. "Then maybe…we're ghosts."

Lucianna burst into laughter.

"No way!"

"How do you know? That spider squished us." He clenched his fists. (What's wrong with me? Wasn't I fine with dying a few moments ago?)

Lucianna waved the prosthetic dismissively, still chuckling, then walked up and wrapped an arm—or what remained of it—around his shoulder, pulling him against herself. The warmth spread through his body, soothing all the aches away. A soft light emanated from her eyes, and she stared deep into his own. He thought they would melt into each other. "I could see it in your eyes," she whispered.

His face lit up bright red. Lucianna laughed. "Oh, my~ Are you having dirty thoughts again? With my chest pressed up against you?"

Part of him wanted to pull away, but another, fainter part told him this was right where he needed to be, at this woman's side. He gulped hard and looked into the woman's glowing eyes. "You said this gem belongs to you…and I think that's true. But why is it in my arm now?"

She leaned back and grinned. "Did you ever know your daddy?" Milo shook his head, and Lucianna snorted. "Figured as much." She leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling. "That crystal…is one of two gems that allow me to harness my power. To anyone else, it's useless, but to me…well, as you could see, I can't do much without it." Her eyes wandered down to Milo's wrist. "Waylon stole it from me years ago…though I don't know why it's in your wrist, now."

He shrugged and leaned forward, bowing his head. "Like you guessed, I don't really know my father. He was gone when I was young. Mom says I look like him, that's about it…" His brows furrowed, and he looked back at Lucianna. "Did you…mistake me for my dad?"

"Any-who~" Lucianna sprung up from the couch and twirled around to face him. "I have a gut instinct." She turned her right shoulder toward him. "Why don't you try placing your hand on my shoulder again? The right one, just like you did before."

"Huh? Why?"

"That's what got us here, right?"

He looked down at his hand, and the gem embedded in his wrist, and then back up to her. Slowly, he raised himself from the couch and stood next to her. He rested his hand on the broken socket of her shoulder. A shimmering white glow emanated from beneath his palm. His skin tingled with a pleasant, warm feeling. Then a pressure, like being wrapped in a bear hug, pushed down on him. The ache in his body melted away.

He opened his eyes, and was staring straight into the ocular sensors of the spider robot.

"W-whoa!"

The robot still had its legs in the air, but…they seemed frozen in place, twitching, as if it were trying to pushing through an invisible barrier.

"Huh," Lucianna said, somewhere behind him. "This is…" She laughed, and Milo's entire world shook. "You're just full of surprises, darling!"

He tried to turn and look at her, but found it hard to move. She clucked her tongue at him. "Don't pull away now. You do that, and the barrier keeping us alive comes down."

"What does that mean?"

The spider roared and slammed its body against the barrier. One of its armored panels dangled in front of Milo. The reflective surface showed a mirror version of Lucianna, her right hand outstretched toward the spider robot.

(Wait. When did she get another arm? And hold on…)

The closer he looked, he noticed something odd about Lucianna's arm: a strange white armor cascaded down from her shoulder to the wrist, only breaking off at the elbow joint. It reminded him a lot of the armor plating from some of the mecha anime he'd watched as a kid. But the most peculiar feature of her hand was the palm, where Milo swore he saw what looked to be a face staring right back at him.

"A-am I…AM I YOUR HAND?!"

"Oh, not just the hand! You're the whole goddam arm!" She laughed. "And let me tell you…" A violet aura radiated around Lucianna and Milo, the latter resonating with the powerful energy. "I haven't used this much of my power in a long time~!"

Milo swelled with pride for whatever reason—something inside him told him he could trust this woman. He'd trusted no one else. He steeled himself as Lucianna poured more energy through him.

She grinned. "Yup! This is it, darling~!" She raised her arm and aimed her palm at the robot. The spider tried to push forward again, but made no headway. "Now," she said, "let's take care of this pest!" She cocked her hand, and a glowing light engulfed the robot. It froze completely, only the whining of its gears showing it still functioned. Slowly, Lucianna curled her fingers inward, and as she did, the robot crumpled in on itself.

(This energy, this…power!) Everything passed through him, as Lucianna cocked her head back and stared down her nose at the robot.

"Bye-bye~!"

She clenched her hand into a fist, and the robot whined at an impossibly high pitch before bursting into a plume of flame. The concussive blast that followed tore through the roof and shattered what remained of the storefront windows. Dust and flames showered down on them.

"Oh god! Frank!"

"Take it easy, darling." She moved her palm down, and Milo could clearly see Frank—still unconscious, somehow—at Lucianna's feet. "Got him over here right before the explosion."

A rumble shook the floor beneath them, and the grinding of metal and wood told Milo that this part of the store probably wouldn't hold very long.

"Well, hope you clocked out for lunch!"

She snapped her fingers, and the burning, crumbling storefront lurched and stretched away from them, until they stood at the edge of the parking lot. Tendrils of smoke spiraled into the night sky as the flames raced to swallow the entire mini-mart.

Sirens filled the air. Police and firefighters would be there soon.

Lucianna propped Frank up against a bench, making sure he wouldn't fall and hurt himself even worse. (I wouldn't have taken her for the kind and caring type.)

She grinned. "Kind and caring? Moi?"

"Huh?" (Did I talk out loud?)

(Not quite, darling~)

Her lips hadn't moved, and yet he'd heard her loud and clear. In his head. (This is crazy. We can hear each other's thoughts?)

(We're joined at the hip…or shoulder, I guess!)

She stretched, letting out a yawn. "Well, we should probably get moving. I don't think your girlfriend is gonna take kindly to me ditching you here."

"D-did you read my thoughts again?!"

She snickered. "No, I just think it's cute when you're flustered!"

She held up her hand, but Milo looked over the burning carcass of his High-Mart, where he'd worked for the past ten years. Whatever quiet life he had been leading up to this point was up in smoke.

Lucianna grinned.

"Welcome to the shitshow, darling~"

She snapped her fingers, and they vanished.