Erin ran out from the hut and saw chaos. Trees to the east of the village had been knocked over, and a massive machine in human form ran off into the distance. Artur came out behind her, his shield still glowing as he stepped out into the fray, but the fight was already over as near as she could tell.

"Erin!" Wen yelled, waving her over to where Sayed and Jean stood over a prone ALex. "He got hit."

Erin ran over without thinking about it, her years of training as a healer immediately going into action. She didn't think Alex would need her help; he was literally built differently thanks to experiments conducted by Doctor Ozymandius in August, but that didn't matter. Even if she was a revolutionary now, she couldn't turn off her built-in instincts.

"What happened?" Erin knelt next to Alex, noting the blood flowing from his shoulder.

"They had their own sharpshooter," Wen said, kneeling beside her. "Though I'm surprised the hit was able to take him down. I've seen him take worse and come out with a grin."

"Very true," Sayed said. "He is a hardy fellow!"

"Yeah," Erin examined Alex, going over the steps in her mind as she did them.

First, she checked his pulse. She put two fingers on his neck to feel his pulse. It was slow but still there. His chest also slowly moved up and down every few seconds as he took in and exhaled short breaths. His eyes were closed, and his face was scrunched up in pain, though. Erin's eyes went to the wound.

"Alright," Erin said, opening her gate as she looked over the wound.

Vibrant power twined through her body like veins, snaking out from her heart and over her arms and legs like snakes coiling around her bones. She didn't bring her power to bear yet, but it was ready for her touch the moment she needed it. Instead, she leaned over and examined the wound.

A green foam bubbled around the wound, and she suspected that he had been poisoned. The precise kind of poison wouldn't matter much in terms of her curse, but the fact that it had been enough to take him out was noteworthy. She pulled a pair of gloves out of her pocket and opened the wound to examine it inside.

There, she saw something that gave her a little more pause.

"What's this," she pulled at the object and ripped it out with one tug.

Slurp.

A jagged piece of metal, part of a broken arrowhead, came out of Alex's wound with a sucking noise. Erin held it up high to get a better look at it. The dark black metal reminded her of something she had seen before but wasn't sure what it was. Jean picked it from her hand with one of his bony fingers, then immediately dropped it.

"Aether-eating metal," he said, shaking his head as he knelt over it. "Like the manacles the Military Police use and right to the bone. It cuts out the flow of aether through a person. Quite a wicked material to use in an arrow."

"But it makes sense," Wen said. "If you want to take down a cursed person, what better material to use."

"The Military Police are the only ones that should have it," Jean shook his head. "Unless there are others who know where they obtain it from."

"What is this metal?" Sayed bent down to look at the metal in the grass. "Does it have a name or a known source?"

"Not that I know of," Jean shrugged. "I always assumed it was a top secret within the Empyrean. I don't think their soldiers even know where it comes from."

"There's a poison coating the arrow, too," Erin said, closing her eyes as she focused on the power in her hand. "Combine the two. One weakens your resistance. The other shuts down your body. It's a potent combination."

The blood underneath her hand bubbled more as the poison was forced out of the bloodstream from the wound. She focused her power so that she kept the wound open for a little while longer to force out as much as she could. While Alex's body could probably handle the poison, the more she could force out, the faster he would heal.

"What hit me?" Alex's eyes fluttered open after a moment, and he looked up at all of them. "Oh, great. I thought I'd wake up back on Earth."

"You are on Erth, brother," Sayed beamed down. "Thought I am surprised to see you in such a state."

Erin pulled her hands back as Alex pushed himself up. He shook his head, closing his eyes to the world around him before taking several deep breaths. Once he seemed settled, he finally looked up at all of them. Erin gave him his space. While her curse allowed people to recover quickly, that didn't apply to the mental effects of suddenly getting taken down.

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"I didn't see the arrow coming," Alex said as he started to push himself up to his feet. "Was too focused on the heavy hitters. What happened while I was out?"

"That I don't know," Erin said, reaching out and stopping him with a little pressure on his shoulders. "But you can sit down while you hear it. Give it at least a few minutes for your body to deal with the effects of the poison."

"Poison?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"I'll explain," Wen said, coughing in her hand before she pointed out toward the fallen trees to the east. "They had backup in the trees, and I responded when their backup took a shot. Then a giant robot appeared, and they ran away."

"A giant robot?" Alex asked, shaking his head and putting it in his hands. "If I hadn't seen it attack from the golden ship, I wouldn't believe it, but I guess it was there."

"Yeah," Wen said, sighing. "What's worse is I recognize them. They all have bounties of their own."

"That can be useful info," Alex said. "What are they known as?"

"The Benbeck Brigade," Wen said. "Benbeck's the leader of them and has made a name for himself as a smuggler."

"Then how'd he get into bounty hunting?"

"I don't know," Wen shrugged.

"Did they have anything to say or just run away?" Alex took his face out of his hands after a moment.

"A blonde man had a hostage and called for you to come to the temple alone," Sayed said, holding up a finger. "Of that, he was very clear, though his voice was shrill and panicked."

"Hostage?" Alex asked.

Erin wanted to know, too. Because she had taken cover in the hut with Artur to protect Mari, she hadn't seen much of the fight. While she had heard some of what was said, it was harder to piece together without seeing what was going on.

"They took Ikal!" James yelled, staggering over toward them before falling to his knees. "And my back was too weak to stop him."

Tears fell from his eyes as he slammed his fists on the ground. Erin's heart sank in her chest as she watched. Ikal was the boy who had come over to talk to her and Mari, and now he was caught up in all this. Shit bit her lip, looking down at her hands but knowing there was little she could do to help James. Accelerated growth wouldn't stop physical ailments caused by old age.

"Alright," Alex said, pushing himself up from the ground and only staggering a little. "I think I know what's going on now. The question is, what we're going to do about it?"

Erin's first thought was that they should get to the ship and get off the island. They could probably escape before the attackers figure it out, and they could be on their way to a different island for repairs. While their attackers might get angry, there was little to be done if they ran.

"I think that is obvious, do you not?" Sayed shook his head.

"Yeah," Alex sighed, cracking his knuckles.

At that moment, Erin knew that her first thought wasn't an option. Of course, Alex wouldn't just let it go. That wasn't his style. He would throw reason and self-interest out the window the moment he found someone in trouble, despite his insistence that he was just involved for his own reasons.

"Of course," Erin said, shaking her head as she rose and approached the hut. "What are we going to do?"

She had learned that she couldn't fight that kind of decision. Jean was already laughing, and Wen hadn't raised any objections. They were going to get involved, no matter what.

"Wait, you're going to save Ikal?" James looked up, tears still streaming down his eyes. "I thought you were outlaws."

"Oh, we are," Alex said.

"Though they do not follow the law," Artur stepped forward, his shield still glimmering. "You will find that they will answer the call."

"He did say to come alone," Wen said. "And he'll kill Ikal if we come. How do you plan to get around that?"

"I've got an idea," Alex smiled.

***

Ikal woke up as a cold breeze blew across his fur. He lay on a hard surface in the moonlight, and as he blinked away the darkness that had wrapped around his mind, he heard voices nearby. Ikal struggled to move, but his arms and legs didn't respond. He blinked his eyes a few times to clear his sight and looked down at himself.

"It isn't even real pure gold," a man's voice echoed in his head. "We'd rip this place clean easily if it was. It's like someone superglued it to the stone, too."

He lay on a golden platform in the shadow of a raised roof. His arms and legs were bound together with a tight rope, and a gag covered his mouth. He bit against it and felt his stomach churn as he realized he was caught. He needed to breathe. He needed air.

"None of that," a heavy hand hit him across his head, and Ikal flinched.

The pain rocked through his head, and he closed his eyes to shut it out. He had to calm down. He was a warrior. He needed to be brave. As the pain receded and he was able to open his eyes again, he was able to focus and recognize where he was. He was in the ruins at the top of the temple, though he had only seen it from this perspective a few times.

Five figures stood on the far edge of the temple's platform, looking out from the massive stepped pyramid and out into the night. The people who had attacked his village stood in their sacred ruins and had him tied on the altar, where they sent the dead away to Paradise.

Ikal struggled against his bonds, pulling tight against the ropes. This was all wrong, but he could say nothing. He was trapped tight by the ropes and couldn't force them open.

"So, what'll we do, boss?" a large, muscular man asked, looking at the blonde man who had kidnapped Ikal.

"We lost the element of surprise, but that's alright," the blonde man said, combing his hair up.

"You're certain he'll come," a swordsman in shining armor asked. "If I were in Ortega's place, I'd get to the ship and run."

"That's assuming their ship is operational," A woman with her arm in a sling said. "We damaged it before they landed here. Maybe that's enough to keep them in place."

"Tsk, tsk," the blonde man shook his head. "This is where it's important to know your opponent. I've done some research on Ortega and looked into how he operates. I'm telling you, he won't leave this kid here to die. The 'Sword Saint' is the same way. Both of them can't help but get their noses in other people's business."

Ikal realized he was talking about that crew of outsiders. The man thought that they would come and save him from their clutches. Ikal would have snorted if he could still breathe. It was more likely that James would come and save him. Though Ikal and James didn't always get along, James was always willing to help Ikal's people.

While Ikal wouldn't forgive James for trying to replace his father, that was simply the truth.

"And if he doesn't come, or he brings his entire crew with him instead of doing what you asked," a man with round glasses and tied-back greasy hair asked, eying Ikal.

"Then we kill the kid and take him down anyway," the blonde man shrugged. "That's just the cost of doing business."