WHERE HE BELONGS

The guards swarmed her, doing their best to overwhelm the Scrapster Princess. They all knew of the gigantic bounty—100,000,000 credits could fund an economy—but they also knew that pulling their rifles on her would do no good, considering the only way to collect the bounty was to turn her in alive.

There were at least a dozen of them and only one of her, yet no matter how they tried to subdue her, the mighty Rivra seemed to be one step ahead of them. Two guards would charge in a pincer formation, only for her to pivot and sweep both of their legs, small clouds of red dust puffing up from their impact.

A crowd gathered to watch, murmuring with a mix of thrill and anxiety. Rivra's lips formed into a small smile.

"Come now! If this is your best, then you'll never catch me!"

One guard, growling in frustration, lifted her rifle from its holster and pointed it at Rivra. The squad leader smacked her on the arm.

"The hell you doing? Don't shoot her! She has to be returned alive!"

"Then I'll go for the legs!"

"Whose legs?" a voice said from behind.

The two wheeled around in time to eat a double-clothesline from Rivra, their bodies hitting the ground with a metallic crack. Rivra kicked away the rifle that sprung from the guard's hand and jumped back into the center of the crowd, who now equally cheered and booed her. She rolled her shoulders.

"Where's your leader? I have some words for the great Grandmaster Des!"

A voice crackled over her radio: "Aye, she's heading your way. Looks pissed, too."

"Hmph. About time. Maybe I'll have a challenge now."

The crowd cleared a path for Des and her two guards. Her tongue flicking in the air, she leveled her gaze at the behemoth of a woman standing tall over half of the guards in the square. She clicked her tongue.

"And who do you think you are, to cause such an uproar in my town?"

Rivra jabbed a finger directly at Des. "And who are you to take what doesn't belong to you?"

Des cocked a brow. "Oh, my…do you mean Little Milo~?" Her smile widened, revealing her needle-like fangs. "What a tasty morsel…I was having fun with him until you rudely interrupted me. I will thoroughly enjoy turning that boy into a man."

Rivra closed the gap between them in the time it took Des to blink. Her guards jumped back and reached for their rifles, but Rivra's arms lashed out, her hands wrapping around the throats of each guard, and she flung them into the air, smashing them into each other with a satisfying crunch. The guards crumbled to the ground, groaning in pain. Rivra towered over Des.

"You'll give Milo back, otherwise I'll rend your head from its body."

Des smirked, barking a laugh.

"Such bold words for someone with no eyes."

"I don't need my eyes to fight. Especially not low-life thugs like you."

"Heh? Me? A lowlife? You don't know what you're saying, girl. There's a reason I'm the Grandmaster of this town."

"Then let's see it!"

Rivra brought her hands together and swung them down hard. But they connected with the earth, a shockwave sending several guards and crowd-goers tumbling onto their behinds. Rivra scowled.

(She dodged? How quick…)

"My, what brute strength! But have you ever heard of an Earthbound tale called David and Goliath? Strength isn't the only determining factor in a fight."

Rivra didn't respond, allowing her ears to hear where her voice had originated, letting her feet and skin feel the vibrations her movements made as she prowled around her backside. She sniffed the air, and an eggy, decaying stench hit her nose like a punch to the face.

(Such a distinct scent…Should make it easy to find her!)

Between all these tells, Rivra quickly pivoted and aimed a punch at where Des should've stood.

Her fist connected, but something felt off. The body she hit went rolling into the dirt, crying in agony after having all the bones in its body shattered. But the voice…it didn't sound like Des's.

"Oooh, nice try! I'm over here!"

(From the left now? How does she move so fast that I can't keep up with her?)

Again, Rivra spun and aimed a deadly roundhouse kick at the exact spot she knew Des was occupying. Her boot crunched bone and metal as it connected successfully, sending her victim soaring through the air.

Yet that sickly sweet, sulfuric stench clung to her nose.

"I'm going to make you suffer for killing so many of my guards. They aren't easy to replace, you know?"

"Quit running like a coward and fight me!"

"Ah, but we are fighting! We're just using different weapons."

(There!)

Rivra swung her arm, her hand slicing through the air, creating a powerful gust that mowed down three guards and blew back a few bystanders. Des clicked her tongue.

"Ah, so close! But now it's my turn."

Des rushed her, her talons outstretched, and slashed across the back of Rivra's right leg.

Rivra cried out as a searing pain exploded in her leg. Her knee buckled, and she fell to one knee, a sticky warmth trickling down her right calf. She gasped and touched the back of her leg, warm blood coating her fingers.

(She…sliced through my skin?)

"Ha! Impenetrable skin my tail!" Des clicked her talons together. "Even your kind stand no chance against the metal forged from our mine! Strong enough to even pierce Scrapster skin! It was so good I had to replace my real talons with a forged set. I'm happy to say it paid off!"

"You talk too much!" Rivra struck out in the direction Des's voice came from, but made no connection.

(What? Nothing again?)

"Awh, what's the matter? You were doing so well before!"

(What's going on? My senses…they shouldn't be failing me like this. Not to some ordinary foe.)

She stroked her chin, her dark green blood staining her face. The copper tang stung her nose, beating away at the sickly stench that she'd been smelling since the beginning of their fight.

(Wait. Could it be?)

Des crossed her arms and smirked. "Now, how about you be a good girl and surrender? You have such a large bounty on your head. And I'd love it if I could make your father indebted to me!"

Rivra rose, her back to Des. The lizard woman clicked her tongue.

"Well, if you refuse to stay down, then I'll just have to make you!"

Curling her fingers into claws, Des sprinted forward. She zipped toward Rivra's left leg, exposed and ready to be slashed. Des licked her lips and raised her claws, their steel glinting in the desert sun.

"There!"

Rivra's left leg shot back and fully connected with Des's body with all the force of a swinging tree trunk. The air rushed from Des's lungs as she soared through the air. Her body smacked the ground, her armor cracking like an eggshell, exposing her pale belly. A groan escaped her as she struggled to lift her head.

"H-how? My breath…should've stopped you…"

Rivra turned toward her. Des's eyes narrowed.

She'd smeared dark green blood all along her nose and mouth, as if she had been lapping at the stuff. She grinned and planted a hand on her hip.

"I'll admit, that steel of yours is impressive, being able to cut through even my skin. But once I found out your little trick…all I had to do was make sure I couldn't smell your breath."

Des collapsed, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

Rivra grunted.

"Rivra!"

Krol and Milo appeared from the sea of faces and entered the circle. Milo's eyes fell on Des's body, and a shiver ran up his spine. Rivra kneeled and put her hands on both sides of Milo's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" She fingered the tears in his suit. A deep scowl cut into her face. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"

"Because of you, she didn't have the chance."

"Oi, Milo!"

Tereine and Albany appeared from the crowd, each of them wrapping their arms around him.

"Thank the gods you're safe, Milo!" Albany said. "I thought I wouldn't be able to make any more food for you!"

"Aye, stop thinking with your gut! Losing Milo would've been worse than that! I wouldn't have anyone to help me clean!"

Milo sighed. Then his eyes fell on the back of Rivra's leg.

"Rivra! You're hurt!"

She shrugged. "Nothing a little rest won't fix. I'm just happy you're safe."

She turned toward Krol, whose green cheeks flushed dark as she approached him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Krol."

He puffed out his chest. "Nothing of it. You know I've always supported you. Just like how you always supported me."

Rivra giggled. "I'll admit, I don't understand a Scrapster not wanting to be a warrior, but I can understand your passion. Those Scrapette cards made you a lot of money, anyway."

Milo blinked and looked up at Krol. "W-wait, you made these cards?"

Krol rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course! Who else would dedicate their time to capturing the beauty of women?"

Tereine crossed her arms. "If you weren't good as a blacksmith, then people would just think you're a pervert…"

"Hey, it's art. Money or no, I have a duty to the finest women of Scrapstar to preserve their beauty for generations!"

Rivra chuckled, and Krol's smile grew. "I heard that from someone right before I convinced her to pose for the photos."

"It was a good way to get back at Father. Speaking of which, we'll need to be leaving. As soon as Father hears we've been here, he'll leave no stone unturned."

Krol nodded. "I understand. But can I ask you something? Have you…found what you were looking for? When you ran away from Scrapstar so many years ago?"

Rivra pursed her lips. "I did, and I lost it along with my eyes." She placed a giant hand on Milo's back. "But I have a chance of finding it again, thanks to him."

Krol laughed. "Truly special! I knew it from the moment I saw you admiring my special card!"

Rivra's hand tensed on Milo's back. "Special card? You don't mean…"

"Yup! The same!"

"And?" Rivra's grip tightened around Milo's shoulders. "What did you think of my naked body, Milo?"

Milo's eyes darted between Krol and Rivra. He looked to Tereine, her brow waggling as she gave him a lecherous stare.

"Aye, how was the sight, Milo?"

He turned to Albany, and she looked anywhere but at him, her face a pale shade of red.

"Pervert," she said.

"H-hey now! I didn't even realize—"

The pain in his wrist flared.

(MILO RUN NOW!!!)

There was a click, the sound of a gun being cocked.

Milo turned as Des aimed a rifle straight at him. His mouth fell open.

"If I can't have you, no one will!"

The barrel burst with light and fire, the bullet spinning out of the gun and whizzing straight for Milo's head.

Time seemed to slow, much like how it had when he fought Rivra. Except this time, the bullet sliced through the air much faster than Rivra's fist.

(I don't have time to dodge!)

The bullet inched closer and closer toward Milo's head, the gunshot ringing loud in his ears. He wrenched his eyes shut.

"It's okay, darling. I'm here."

The bullet stopped, encased in a purple glow, and fell to the ground.

Milo opened his eyes and looked up.

The black and gold of her mechanical arms glinted in the desert sun, her cloak flowing with the breeze. The dull ache in Milo's wrist faded and in its place a familiar warmth bloomed.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him.

"Let's go, darling!"

Des scowled at them, her eyelids twitching.

"What is this? Who are you?"

Lucianna turned back to the Grandmaster, that mischievous smile on her face.

"Oh, I'm little Milo's true owner."

Milo's face turned a deep red.

"You…if you're with the princess…then you must be…!"

"Now, Milo!"

Her right arm collapsed and folded in on itself, and Milo slapped his hand on her shoulder. A bright flash blinded everyone in the square.

Des squinted, shading her eyes with one of her arms.

As the light cleared, her jaw dropped.

The Pirate Queen lifted her white-armored arm, a thick purple aura rolling off her in waves. She opened her eyes, and the glow from her gaze outshined the sun. Des's eyes narrowed.

"N-no! I thought you'd lost your powers?!"

Lucianna flicked her wrist, and the gun in Des's hands flew straight into the air. With each flex of her fingers, the rifle folded in on itself like metal origami. After the gun had folded down to a quarter of its size, Lucianna released her grip, and the small ball of metal fell to the dirt with an unimpressive thud. Des's eyes flicked between the ruined gun and Lucianna's glowing form.

"Now, we're going to leave. But, trust me, if I find just one hair out of place on Milo's head…you're going to look just like that gun once I'm through with you."

Des scrambled to her feet and took off, pushing and shoving through the crowd to disappear into the city streets.

Another flash, and Milo fell back into Lucianna. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tight. Milo's chest fluttered as he felt her breath on his ear.

"I'm glad you're okay, Milo."

The surrounding crowd erupted into cheers. Everyone in the group looked around, absolutely confused by the crowd's reaction.

Through the crowd waddled a familiar face, the blacksmith that had pointed them toward Krol's shop. He punched the air as he cheered.

"Ha! You all sure showed her!"

Krol stepped forward. "Why is everyone cheering? Isn't Des the leader of this town?"

"Sure, but everyone hated her! She abused her power and undercut businesses she didn't like. Completely went against everything Coalwatch used to stand for! We're thankful for you humbling her a bit!"

Lucianna waved her hands. "Please, it's nothing! She messed with my crew, and I won't stand for that."

The blacksmith's mouth formed a big o, his eyes glowing with excitement.

"I recognize you! You're Salopheia! The lass who runs around with her crew helping people out!"

Lucianna froze, her smile becoming more plastic. Milo raised a brow.

"I'm actually her sister. But, yeah, we…still do that, I guess."

The blacksmith turned back toward the crowd.

"Let's hear it for the Herald Crew! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray!"

The square roared with the chant, making Milo's eardrums ache. He turned to Lucianna to smile at her, but stopped himself.

Lucianna wrapped her arms around herself, her violet eyes turning to the sky. Her gaze plunged into the distance, into some galaxy Milo had surely never even imagined. He reached out a hand and touched her arm.

She started and leveled her gaze at him, tears streaming down her face.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

As everyone around them celebrated, Milo and Lucianna stood there, somehow so close, yet separated by entire solar systems.