39.

Madeleine quickly stepped inside the pod, passingly noticing it looked a little bit different and bigger, compared to the one they had arrived on Laxian with. This one had four, bigger chairs instead of just two, its center console looking a little bit bigger and more complex as well.

The two non-human beings followed her, separating ways as she rushed to take a seat and place her safety shield on, her gaze following Emerick to the console standing right in front of the glass panel, watching him work his magic with all those weird buttons for a few seconds before she shifted it to Meoni, just in time to notice her taking a seat into a cushioned chair against the wall to her left.

She watched the princess secure her safety shield as well when the unexpected and painfully loud sound of a fired shot grazed her ears, forcing a shriek past her lips.

Her panicked gaze immediately snapped towards the still open hatch before darting to Emerick, watching him already point his gun at the empty entryway as he fastly shot a few rounds, effectively silencing the enemy fire.

A single, unsteady exhale made its way past his lips as he kept his attention aimed at the entryway, Madeleine's brows furrowing with perplexity as soon as she noticed the way his gloved hand shook around the gun for a short moment.

"Emerick?" She weakly called, unsure of what just happened exactly, starting to feel a little bit concerned as well as this was the very first time she had ever seen his body produce such...uncharacteristical reaction.

The BloodHound remained silent and unmoving for the span of a second, drawing in another breath as if trying to gather his bearings before his palm suddenly landed over the console with an audible thud, causing her to mildly startle.

The sealing hatch immediately started to close, but not before letting another unexpected and lost shot get past it and graze Emerick's bare shoulder, also ripping another scream from Madeleine's throat.

He didn't even flinch -much to Madeleine's utter shock and dismay- his mind seemingly elsewhere as he rather unsteadily turned back to the console and continued to work his way through it, completely ignoring the audible rain of shots that followed shortly after the first one from the other side of the now sealed hatch.

"Emerick!" She cried out after him again, having half a mind to just tear her safety shield away and run to him.

Her eyes widened, terrified as she watched him stagger and lose balance for a moment, heavily breathing whilst his hands tightly gripped against the sides of the console. The muscles on his back tensed, those bulging veins on his arms looking so close to bursting.

"Emerick! Please! What's wrong?"

She almost felt like crying, her hands pushing away that stupid shield and immediately shooting up to her feet.

"Madeleine...No..." He breathlessly pleaded, his vision blurring from one moment to another as he turned his head to look over his shoulder, watching the little earthling come close to him.

Worry painted her features as her gaze roamed all over his, her delicate and soft hands palming his burning skin, from his arm to his neck and then trailing over his forehead and cheeks, her cold touch though bringing the mildest relief.

"What's going on? What's happening to him?" She continued to desperately yet equally uselessly examine him and that small wound on the side of his shoulder whilst seeking an answer from the only other alien in the room, as she most definitely did not know anything about laxian anatomy and/or epidemiology anyway.

The princess stared at the BloodHound long and hard for a moment, her gaze narrowing as she carefully studied him.

"When was the last time you'd taken a rest, laxian?" She questioned, taking her shield off and raising herself up to her feet as well.

"Exactly two thousand earthian hours ago," The BloodHound answered with bated breath, his entire body swaying as he turned towards the little earthling.

"But that's...a little under three months ago!" Madeleine cried with alarm, breaking out a squeak as Emerick suddenly placed his palms either side of her body, resting them against the console's edge and thus trapping her in between whilst his visibly exhausted gaze struggled to focus on her face.

"Well at least we are fortunate it happened now, and not a few paces of time ago," She heard Meoni comment right before a ding chimed overhead, followed by a robotic voice saying something in laxian.

"Destination course set: Terra"



"Ready for take-off."



"Madeleine...this is not safe..." Emerick told her with a weak and quiet voice, his heavy and tired breaths fanning her face and chest right before his forehead fell over her shoulder.

"Ow, ow, ow ow ow!" She yelped as his entire body leaned into hers a little bit too much and squished her against the console, its hard edge painfully pressing against her backbone.

Small tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, her palms pressing against his chest with all her might as she struggled to free herself right before Meoni came to her aid and grabbed his torso from behind, proceeding to pull as hard as she could.

"Emerick!" Madeleine whined with a hiccup as both her and the princess tried and tried so hard, her eyes widening with alarm as soon as she could hear the whirring sound of the pod's propulsors starting to work, already knowing what was bound to follow.

The pod would forcefully go up, fighting against gravity and she would inevitably get crushed underneath Emerick's large and incredibly heavy body.

Shit.

An audible and truly frightened whimper escaped her lips the second she could feel that impressive force pulling at her body, tightly closing her eyes whilst expecting to also feel Emerick's weight coming down on her like a boulder and snapping her bones...only it never happened. Instead she could only feel that warm wettness trailing over her cheeks, aside from that oppressive force still pulling at her as if trying to bring her back on Laxian's ground.

Her eyelids slowly and hesitantly opened, just noticing the way Emerick's galaxy eyes peered right back into her own, their light so visibly diminished and his jaw clenching as he fought with everything he had left in him not to lose his strength and collapse onto her as he also held her close with one arm tightly wrapped around her waist. His other arm trembled so hard, outlining his evident struggle and exhaustion as he was also supporting the princess' frame plastered against his back whilst the pod kept gaining altitude...Until it finally reached its optimal elevation, his knees immediately giving out from underneath him.

He forcefully collapsed with an audible thud, the princess and the little earthling however being quick to catch his upper body and hold him as he gave away his last moments of consciousness.

"Emerick!" Madeleine cried out with anguish, her heart pumping so fast as she watched him pass out and nosedive right in between her breasts.

"What's happening?" She questioned whilst struggling to sit upright and keep his mountain of a body in between her arms with the princess' help.

"Calm your scaredness, he is safe. He only needs his rest," Meoni answered.

"We have to place him into a more comfortable position so he can replenish his energy faster and more efficiently,"

"Hold him," She said all of a sudden, not even giving Madeleine time to prepare to hold him on her own as she simply let go of the sleeping BloodHound and stood up, causing Madeleine to falter in her position and almost lose him from her grasp.

"Wha-"

"Are you crazy? I could've dropped him!" The girl shouted out in disbelief as she stared after Meoni, watching her move towards the opposite wall and tap her finger twice over a some sort of tiny screen before a large and completely white bed sprang from the wall, appearing to be suspended in the air as the tray that sustained the mattress looked so thin you could barely notice it.

"Uh, are you sure that will hold him?" Madeleine asked as she looked at the size of its thickness with a little bit of skepticism.

"Positive," The princess answered immediately, turning to walk back towards them.

"Can you carry him?"

"What? Are you crazy?" Madeleine stopped for a second to stare at the illyrian princess in utter incredulity, "I can barely hold him like this! He weights like a freaking ton!"

"Well, we have to try. We can't leave him here,"

The girl looked up at the princess for a brief moment, giving out a small nod as she lowered her gaze to peer at Emerick's peaceful demeanor, just looking at the way his cheek pressed against her breast in an almost comical way. His lips formed a small pout as they remained slightly parted, blowing out calm and long breaths of air. A light sheen of sweat still covered his skin -even though he wasn't burning up as much as he did before- mixing with those ugly smudges of dark red covering him here and there.

She had to admit that she had never seen him like this before...So calm and...innocent. Hell, he seemed so human-like, no, actually more like an angel creature, just like the ones her ancestors used to believe in.

Maybe they were real after all. Maybe the generations before had actually-

She abruptly snapped out of her drifting thoughts as she watched Meoni squat and take ahold of one of Emerick's ankles.

"Come on. Let's turn him on his back first,"

So she grabbed his shoulder and rotated his body with a little bit of difficulty, pulling as hard as she could whilst the princess worked her part too.

As soon as they managed to do it, the princess then took ahold of both the BloodHound's ankles, her small hands though barely managing to keep a grip around his sturdy boots whilst Madeleine snuck her arms underneath his shoulders.

"Ready?" Meoni looked at the earthling with determination, watching her give out a single nod.

"On three,"

"One, two, threeeeh-shit!" Madeleine cursed out as soon as she got up and tried to lift him once, feeling her muscles strain like hell and her neck veins swell from the exertion.

They tried a few times more, to no avail though as he seemed practically impossible to move.

"My god he's as heavy as a fucking bull," Madeleine panted.

"Okay, let's just drag him all the way there and then we can work somehow on climbing him over the bed,"

"Agreed," The princess gave out a small nod before shifting to grab one arm instead, both females using all of their strength and grunting from the struggle before they finally managed to drag the BloodHound's unconscious form all the way to the bed.

They then switched to their initial positions, the princess shifting to grab onto his ankles again whilst Madeleine put her hands under his shoulders.

"Oh my god oh my god I'm dropping him!! I'm dropping him!!" She suddenly cried out as soon as they managed to lift him up just a little bit, the BloodHound slipping from her grasp and slumping back over the floor with a dull thud.

A stifled and involuntary laugh broke through her lips, earning herself a weird look from the princess.

"Oh my god I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Another stifled laugh escaped her as she threw her butt on the floor as well, rather amused at the stupidity of the situation in itself as she carefully cradled Emerick's head in her lap.

"Oooh my god I'm sorry..." She took a few calming breaths, absently tracing her fingers through his hair whilst peering down at the alien being that rested in her lap for a few moments.

Inevitably, she slowly started to feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside as she couldn't help but think about everything he'd been through for her, ever since he'd escaped her from that damned facility. Every single shitty thing he had to endure, and every single life he had to take, just to keep her safe...

And now he had also given his last ounce of strength, just to make sure that I wouldn't get hurt before he passed out...

Her lips expressed the tiniest smile, tenderly gazing upon his resting features as she dared caress his cheek with a featherlight touch.

"Your...essence longs for his," Meoni observed with a quiet and calm voice, noticing the way Madeleine's large blue eyes raised to meet her own, seeming rather surprised.

"This is what...loove looks like?" She questioned unsure, watching the little earthling's face quickly tint with a little bit of a reddish hue, her gaze lowering again.

"It's not lo-ove, it's just love," Madeleine mumbled under her breath, feeling so embarrassed for being called out by a being that didn't even really understand human feelings in the first place.

Was it that obvious?

Am I really falling in love with him?

Madeleine asked herself, feeling like falling into a pit of hot embarrassment sprinkled with a little bit of fear as well as the implication and gravity of that simple yet so complicated sentiment tugged at her very self, making her feel so confused.

"Alright, let's just try one more time, okay?" The girl suggested after a mild shake of her head, ridding herself of all those crazy thoughts swarming inside her mind for the moment.

"Agreed," The princess simply answered, seemingly oblivious at the girl's inner turmoil.

Madeleine drew in an encouraging breath, locking eyes with the princess in a communicating way before grabbing the passed out BloodHound's heavy limbs. And with a powerful growl she pulled and lifted him up with everything she had in her at the same time Meoni did, surprisingly enough actually managing to place him over the bed in one swift and careful move.

"Huh. We did it. We actually did it," She mused out loud with a hint of wonder as she gazed at Emerick's beautiful and calm features again.

"That is because you are strong illyrian inside,"

Her gaze quickly shifted to Meoni as she heard her utter such words and with such faith, quietly staring at her as she did not even know how to react to that.

"There is illyrian warrior blood running through your veins,"

"Illyrian blood that had passed the test of time and generations," Meoni continued with conviction, her large brown eyes shining with something akin to admiration.

"You fought like a true illyrian back there,"

"I- barely did anything," The girl skeptically answered with a raised brow.

"You have awakened my the-yaah," Meoni smiled, confusing Madeleine even further.

"Your what?"

"I think in your language it might be warrior...spirit?" The princess answered unsure.

"I think we will have to ask Emerick after he awakens. After all, I believe he does have a better grasp of your language,”