Past: Run

Coolyala had to wait for three days before she was at full strength again. Then she waited for another four for Jinnacobeedy to return from her home with what she requested. She was restless and frustrated when he walked in the door, about ready to explode on everyone, especially Lofgun for being so protective. She explained to him that Milbaral wouldn't send another assassin after her now that they have what they wanted. But he didn't listen.

She was pacing the floor of the sitting room as Jin walked in. Coolyala saw a mixture of disbelief, confusion, wariness, and determination in his eyes. She didn't ask why he looked so conflicted, just sighed in relief and dropped onto the couch.

Lofgun and Rinnowra walked in soon after and greeted their fellow crew mate, but Jin kept his eyes on Coolyala. "Your home is as beautiful as always, Butterfly."

"Thank you."

Jin sighed and reached into his pocket as he walked over, then handed the small piece of paper he had retrieved. Coolyala took it and stared at the folded up parchment, remembering all about the day her father had given it and the stones to her and told her to run. This was her last resort, the thing that would supposedly end it all if she failed.

And she had failed. The Zilzi, Babroda, had taken then stones back to the Ohuos, it didn't matter if they could open the box or not.

"What's wrong?" Jin asked softly.

She shook her head, resigning herself to the fact that she was what her parents would have feared. She looked up at the male standing before her, looked over to Lofgun and Rinnowra, and knew this had gone farther than it should have. She had put them – all of them – at risk. "I need to leave," she told them.

There was three growls of disagreement. Jin knelt and made her look at him, made his eyes bore into hers with a ferocity she hadn't truly seen before. "I didn't travel between worlds to get that just so you could go kill yourself, Butterfly."

She scowled. "I'm not going to kill myself."

"Hctib fo a Nos!" Lofgun cursed. "I told you that we all have baggage and we all know danger, Butterfly. Don't turn away from us now."

"If I do what is on this piece of paper," she whispered, looking down at it, "there's no telling what may happen. It will definitely do it's job, but..." she trailed off, unable to say the possibility.

It may just kill her in the process.

Rinnowra walked over and sat on the arm of the couch, gazing down at Coolyala with sad eyes. "We Wolves don't give up when all seems lost, Butterfly. We don't turn tail and run. We fight until our dying breath."

Coolyala closed her eyes and took in a deep, shuddering breath. "Then what do you all suggest I do to stop this?"

"We get the stones back," Lofgun said simply, in a tone that said she should have known the answer herself.

"How?"

"By letting us help you," Jin replied.

Not wanting to die, not wanting to give up – no matter how much her mind warned her otherwise – Coolyala slipped the piece of paper into one of her own pockets. "I don't have a plan."

"Sometimes," Lofgun said, walking around the couch so their eyes could meet, "plans just form as we go along. Sometimes, a plan is the last thing we need."

Some time later, as Coolyala was with Wong in the field, Lofgun turned to Coomarah and Dalgoring and said, "I'm going to the ship. I want to check in with the other crews and make sure they're on standby in case this gets out of hand."

"Hasn't it already gotten out of hand?" Coomarah asked with a raised brow.

"This isn't out of hand," Lofgun stated. "This is just a small hit to her confidence, one I know she'll recover from soon."

"Sir, as strong as our Butterfly is, she is much younger than the rest of us, much easier to find a reason to give up," Dalgoring said slowly.

"That's why we keep her from doing that," Lofgun hissed and walked away.

On his ship, in his quarters, he sighed and sat on the cot, resting the back of his head on the wall behind him. Eyes closed, he began to chant. In his mind's eye, he pictured Targuea, the leader of the Eternal Hellhounds while he was away. He began to chant, words of a language only his Pirates knew softly leaving his lips, softly making a summons to the Shocu to come to him quickly, then doing the same process for summoning Ejee, the Vaater.

As he waited for their arrival, he thought about Coolyala and the predicament she was in, the predicament they all were in. He understood why she thought giving up was the best option, considering the Ohuos had the stones now, but he also knew that she had the intelligence to retrieve the stones. He knew she could find a way, knew she had the strength, but that she needed just a bit of time to figure It out for herself. It didn't matter what he or the others said, Coolyala would have to learn to spread her wings, face the seemingly empty sky, and fly.

"You called?"

Lofgun turned and saw a dainty-looking woman with big green eyes and strawberry-blonde hair. Her true form was much bigger than her slim, four foot Human appearance. "Targuea, thank you for coming on short notice."

"Tupcuon, nothing is more important to me and the rest of the Eternal Hellhounds than our loyalty to you."

Lofgun smiled, knowing it was the truth. "I'm just waiting for Ejee, then I will explain."

"How are the Wolves and Bulldogs?" Targuea questioned as they began to walk along the ship's decks.

"That's what we're discussing," he answered, and then Ejee walked up from below. He was a portly looking Human with beady black eyes and a bald head. His scraggly beard looked to have grey mixed in with the black.

"Aptainc, long time no see!" Ejee greeted jovially.

Lofgun bowed his head to the man and waited for he and Targuea to greet before making them listen. "I need both crews on standby until further notice."

"What's going on?" Ejee asked.

Lofgun explained about how the Bulldogs were imprisoned and why, then of recent events of losing the stones and what was to be done. He told them of Coolyala, the Ohuos, and the story of her entering his and the Wolves' lives. When he finished, he turned to Targuea. "If I die, you become Captain. It is something I have always wanted since meeting you and forming the crews. The bond will change automatically and let every crew members I've recruited know that you are the new Captain."

Targuea furrowed her brows. "The honor is too much, Lofgun. I do not believe I can handle so many Pirates like you."

"Which is why you'll have a co-captain." Lofgun smiled at her, knowing this female would do well if he were to be nothing but space dust. "I'll leave that choice up to you. But as soon as you name them, they will also receive the bond, sharing the burden of leading with you."

Targuea nodded and thanked him. Ejee said, "No offense to Targuea and her partner, but I don't think the crews will be as in sync as they are with you, Aptainc. There is sure to be some unnecessary behavior from a few."

"I have already thought of it and more," Lofgun assured. "With what I will do, what I will say, bad behavior will surely not come up and Targuea will have a smooth introduction to leadership."

Coolyala finished her training with Wong and dropped to the grass, panting. She worked herself to the point of exhaustion, but it felt good. She didn't feel ready to burst, ready to lose control. She was better able to think.

"Goomal, how many worlds have you all been to?" she asked, a hint of a plan in her mind forming.

Goomal chuckled. "Butterfly, I don't think there's one world Lofgun hasn't made us enter! He likes to move, explore the space between worlds, discover hidden secrets!"

"How did you end up on Thear?"

"Lofgun said it was the most peaceful world he knew of. He wanted some peace, some time to just relax." Goomal shrugged and chuckled again. "I don't think he had imagined it to be this long though."

Coolyala blushed. "I'm sorry about all this."

Goomal waved her apology away. "Don't apologize, Butterfly. While it was longer than expected, we all have had a lot of fun!"

Coolyala decided not to point out the attacks on not only on her, but them too. She went back to her idea. "So, if we got the stones back, could we potentially hide one in a different world, scattering them?"

Goomal grinned. "That is very possible, Butterfly. I'm sure Lofgun would know which worlds would do."

Coolyala smiled, now having an idea of what to do next.