PROTECTING WHAT IS PRECIOUS

Lucianna stood, her face red and puffy and her left eye swollen shut from Des's poison mist. Des now stood frozen before her, ensnared by her telekinetic power. The Pirate Queen smirked.

"Touch my crew again, and I'll snap your neck!"

Des's remaining guards pointed their guns at Albany and Krol. But without giving it a second thought, Lucianna whirled around and, as if pitching a baseball, flung her arm forward. Des's helpless body hurled through the air, bowling down the guard standing over Albany. The other guard turned their attention away from Krol, reaching out to their fallen comrades. Krol seized this opportunity by swinging and clocking the guard in the face, sweeping them onto their back, their gun clattering to the ground at his feet. He kicked the gun away, smirking at the guard. "Not so tough now, huh?"

Lucianna shook her head. Whatever that poison mist contained, it made her skin sting and itch and her head spin. But she thought of Milo, of wanting to grow stronger with him, and steadied her breathing. She stood straight and walked toward Des, who had just clawed herself up onto her knees. (If I use a small amount of my power, I should be able to knock her out.) She pointed her index finger at Des, and a marble-sized ball of light blinked into existence on her fingertip. She winced, feeling the strain pulling at her. (Not much time left. Better finish her before this goes any further…)

She leveled her aim and prepared to fire.

A powerful blow struck Lucianna's left side and sent her sprawling into the dirt, her cloak coming undone and fluttering away.

Krol and Albany gasped, watching as Lucianna's cloak floated in the breeze until it landed on the ground several feet away. A heavily armored boot stomped down, grinding the black-and-gold cloak into the dirt. The boot belonged to a woman with long, wavy blue hair. Her eyes glowed purple as she scowled at Lucianna.

"Dear cousin. I wish I could say it's good to see you."

Krol and Albany moved to help Lucianna, but found themselves unable to move, cloaked by a familiar purple aura.

Kristiel's eyes flicked over to them. She tossed her hair and heaved a sigh through her nose. "I thought you said you could handle them?"

Des rose to her feet, brushing dirt off her armor. "You told me Lucianna would be helpless! She could use her powers!"

"Well, all pirates possess innate power, even without gems of power to harness them. But…compared to her power…the Power of the Pirates…the Hands of God…" Kristiel shook her head, barking a harsh laugh as she strode toward Lucianna. "Her power is so massive. It's unfair. Someone as irresponsible as her shouldn't have such power. So, we'll execute her and extract that power and pass it on to someone more deserving. Someone like me."

Lucianna groaned, rising to her feet. "Kristiel…why are you here? Did Mom and Dad send you?"

Kristiel rolled her eyes. "You honestly think I'd follow any orders from those two pushovers? They let a traitor like you just walk away. It's such a shame you had to drag Salopheia down with you. She was the only one in your family who had a good head."

"Keep Salopheia's name out of your mouth." Lucianna stood straight, her eyes glowing dangerously bright. "Or I'll rip your tongue out myself."

Kristiel backhanded her, and Lucianna stumbled back a few steps. Kristiel grunted. "Then what are you waiting for? Use the Power of the Pirates and eviscerate me. That is…if you can."

Lucianna's entire body glowed with a dark aura, the burst of energy so intense that it sent shockwave after shockwave shooting out in all directions. Kristiel threw her arms up, digging her heels into the ground.

Des screamed at Kristiel. "You fool! Are you trying to get us all killed?"

Without turning, Lucianna called out. "Albany. Krol. Get in the ship and get out of here."

"What about you, Captain?" Krol shouted. "We can't leave without you!"

"A captain will always put her crew before herself. Don't worry. I'll come find you after I wipe these stains off the face of the galaxy."

Krol and Albany looked at each other, nodded, and made a break for the Herald. Kristiel raised her hand to freeze them in place again, but Lucianna rushed forward, unleashing a flurry of blows. Her cousin's eyes bulged and her armor crumpled inward. With one final strike to her face, Kristiel flew backwards, her armored boots digging a pair of dirt trails into the ground.

As the Krol and Albany reached the ship, Des appeared behind them wielding her rifle, pointing it at Albany. Krol's eyes widened, and he jumped in front of Albany. Des clicked her tongue, and at the last minute fired into the dirt, allowing Krol the chance to push Albany up into the ship.

When Krol stopped short of getting onto the ramp, Albany turned and waved at him. "Come on! We have to go!"

Krol shook his head. "I'll stay here and help Lucianna. You find Rivra and Milo and come meet up with us!"

"B-but!"

Krol grabbed the bottom of the landing ramp and pushed it up, veins bulging in his arms. "Just go!"

Albany shrieked, scrambling up the rest of the ramp as Krol forced it to close. Moments later, the Herald's thrusters kicked on, flames shooting out as the ship slowly rose into the air.

"Stop them!" Des shouted.

Krol wheeled around and aimed a hammer-fist at Des. But she was a split-hair faster than him, narrowly rolling out of the way. She growled at him. "You bastard. I should've killed you back on Coalwatch."

"Then why don't you now?" He beat his chest. "I may not be a warrior like my sister, but I'm still a Scrapster! You will rue the day you crossed me and my friends!"

***

Luckily for them, Albany had packed a few medical supplies, along with their water and snacks. Despite the severity of her wounds, Rivra insisted on nearly exhausting their cache of first aid just to care for Milo's few scrapes and cuts. Many times Milo protested, only for Rivra to grunt or speak to him in a low, serious tone: "I am your protector. Let me take care of you." Then she wasted a full roll of gauze and three bandages on his scraped cheek. After which she squeezed dry an entire tube of antibacterial ointment for a half-inch gash in his arm. He didn't even remember or feel that second wound. In contrast, Rivra, partly to appease Milo, had hastily torn pieces of her undershirt to make an improvised wrap for the two bullet wounds on her sides. Already the wrap had soaked through with her leaking blood.

The musty cave made Milo think of his basement as a kid, with a stone and dirt floor and plenty of room to move around. A raised block of stone served as a table for them while Rivra treated him. The sweat that had drenched Milo now turned chilly, and he shivered now and then, his teeth chattering. Rivra would offer to hold him close, sharing her body heat with him. But Milo would refuse, saying it was more important that she treat herself. Or let him treat her. "How would you treat me? You're…"

"What? Weak? Small?"

"Never mind. I'm fine. I can barely feel the wounds. Besides, Scrapsters have extraordinary regeneration. Eventually, my body will push the bullets out and I'll heal."

"Is that before or after you bleed out?"

"I'm not bleeding that much."

He grabbed one of her gigantic hands, and while he knew she couldn't see him, he leaned his body against her, hoping maybe she would feel his emotions that way somehow. "Rivra…Please. Let me help you. You've done enough for me."

Another shiver ran through his body, and she grunted. "You are cold. Come here."

She enclosed her hands around him and brought his body to hers, setting him in her lap in practically the same way as when they had meditated. He wanted to struggle, to break her smothering mother façade. But he didn't want to struggle too much and make her wounds worse. He wasn't sure if he believed what Rivra had said about Scrapster regeneration, but what choice did he have right now? She had both strength and size over him, and if she wouldn't allow herself to be helped, there was nothing he could do. Even then, he could feel how shallow Rivra's breathing had become. How fast her giant heart pounded, like a bass drum against his back. His jaw clenched as she wrapped her arms around him, her breath hot and heavy on the back of his neck.

"Do you feel warmer?"

"Y-yeah, a bit. But are you sure you're all right?"

She nodded, her mouth opening to speak, but nothing come out. She cleared her throat, but still no words formed. Milo turned and looked up at her and saw her neck craned down. Slowly, her body slumped forward until Milo was all but smothered by her heavy breasts and shoulders. The blood bandages pressed against him, staining his suit in green. He pushed back against Rivra, careful not to touch either of the bullet wounds. "R-Rivra? Are you awake?" But her body kept curling in on itself, and like a scared rabbit, Milo squirmed his way out of her grip. This caused Rivra to jump with a snort. "Mmmm, come back, Dorf…" She reached after him, but her hand was so sluggish, so shaky, he could easily keep his distance. She rolled onto her side, beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. Milo pressed a hand against her head, and his brow knitted together. "Does she…have a fever? Shit. I'm no good at this…Well, I insisted on taking care of her. Dammit."

He pushed Rivra onto her back, and despite her bulk, she rolled over with no resistance. She mumbled something about a cute cuddle buddy, and her hands grasped with the coordination of a drunk on their tenth round of drinks. He glared at her perfectly chiseled emerald abs and sighed. (Okay. Think. What do they always do in those crime shows Mother used to watch? They take out the bullets first, right? Then I just have to seal the wounds, somehow. But…) He shook his head. (I shouldn't mess with that. I don't want to make this worse.)

He perked up, and suddenly remembered that, of course, he had his two-way radio. He scrambled to his feet and pressed the button on his collar. "Hello? Faith? Are you there?"

But there was nothing. Rivra grumbled, her hands twitching. Her face seemed more pale than a before, and Milo resisted the urge to punch the nearest rock.

As he paced in a circle, trying to come with something, anything, a headache started in a band around his forehead. He rubbed his temples, trying to ease the dull ache, but it seemed to come in waves, never quite going away. He groaned, stomping his foot. "A headache's the last thing I need!"

Rivra moaned, one hand trembling as it clutched at her midsection. Her lips parted slightly. Even her normally lush, jade lips had paled, turning into a sicklier shade of celadon. "P-please, Salopheia…Don't leave me alone…"

He stepped closer to her, and as he did, the pain in his head cranked until it felt like someone was jabbing their finger inside. He squeezed his eye shut as pain radiated out from the socket. (Damn, this headache is really killing me. What the hell is going on?) He shook his head. (Never mind that. I think I can…apply more gauze to Rivra's wound, and maybe that'll help. At least it'll slow the bleeding. I think that's what I saw in a video once…)

Picking up what remained of the gauze in their first aid kit, he went about trying to crawl up onto Rivra's stomach without hurting her. He swooning a leg up over her thigh, and crawled along until he was flat against her abs. He struggled to keep a grip on the sweat and blood-slicked skin, and her shallow breathing ran his own nerves even shorter than they already were. At least she wasn't trying to hug him like a teddy bear. Although as time passed and more blood flowed from beneath her improvised bandages, part of Milo wished she would hug him. At least he would know she was all right.

As he straddled her stomach, he sat up, the pain in his right eye burning white hot. He gritted his teeth, steadying his hands as she grasped the gauze in his hands. He removed the old wrap, which came off in shreds due to how soaked it was. The small cloth from the first aid kit made little headway in cleaning the wounds, Rivra's stomach tensing with each pass of the cloth. The whole thing made Milo think of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. A big, green, and bleeding bronco.

After doing his best to clean the wounds, he exhausted what remained of the gauze before applying all available medical tape at his disposal. Her blood stained his hands and sleeves a dark green, but the wounds had stopped bleeding freely. He breathed a sigh of relief, but pressed a bloodied hand to his right eye. The pain had continued to swell, finally peaking as he drew close to her face. A constant, stabbing pain that radiated down his neck into his arm. (It feels like…my right arm is…feeling the same pain.)

Rivra grumbled, and her arm swept up behind Milo, pushing him up along her stomach, past her chest, until he was sitting awkward against her collarbone and lips. Her breath was faint, but seemed steadier than before. While this should have relieved him, he couldn't think much past the pain in his eye and arm, which had ratcheted up after she pushed him up to her face.

He turned to her. As he gazed into her slumbering face, the pain suddenly vanished all at once, and a strong magnetic pull caused him to push closer and closer to her. (This feeling…it seems so familiar. But from where?)

Like a bolt of lightning, memories lit up his pain-fogged mind. He recalled when he first met Lucianna, and the intense pain that had torn through his right arm. A pain that hadn't ceased until he touched his hand to her shoulder and combined with her.

He peered down at Rivra's sleeping face.

"C-could it be…?"

As he was about to close the distance between them, there was a loud rumble from above. He sat straight up, his eyes darting around to find the source of the noise.

A blade of light pierced the dim cave from above, and Milo hooded his eyes with a hand as he squinted up into the hole up above. A lone, winged figure descended from the hole in the sky and landed softly beside Milo.

Riosae tossed her long hair, meeting Milo's gaze with a flat expression. "Found you."