The only thing he could do was suffer.

He lay on the ground of the meadow in the outskirts of the city of Balet, Monica was fighting, and she was getting injured. Nothing serious, nothing intense, but she was in a hard fight against a stronger opponent. The notion was making her nervous and anxious.

And all Rick could do was sit and take in the distractions away from her.

Like the forest and the injuries, he drew them in, took her pain, took her anxiousness, took her nerves. Or at least as much as he could. His body felt like it was well past his limitations. It was an exhaustion that went past the point of tiredness. As if he’d run a marathon and been forced to run two others, everything ached in a way that left him just barely able to move.

And he kept focusing on Monica. The scrapes and bruises, pulling everything he could, to help her fight.

Because there was nothing else he could do.

“Richard Cross.”

It was an instant. One moment there was nothing, the other there was a soft breeze and a presence. He glanced over to… his vision was fuzzier than he’d realized, but the green hair and armor cinched it. “Captain Deneva… right?” He coughed, drawing in breath and doing his best to sit up. “I’d stand up, but I think I’m in no condition.”

“You’re dying.”

The words aren’t so much a question as a statement. Rick could only groan. “Certainly feels like it. Blood-loss?”

“No, your body’s taken too much elemental energy, it’s breaking down.” Her gaze seemed to furrow in focus. “And you’re still drawing in the energy.” Despite her words, she makes no move to approach, staring at him intently.

There’s a lingering question in that silence, ‘how?’, and Rick had a hunch about the answer. “Monica needs help.”

“I can sense that.” She stated. “If her opponent gets serious, however, I would not be able to ensure your safety.”

“So help de-escalate it.”

He couldn’t quite see her expression, and he doubted he would’ve been able to read it anyway. But he did sense a slight shift in the way she stood. “That is not how it works.”

“Forgive my manners, but the fuck it isn’t.” He drew in a sharp breath. “Just because there’s a bunch of people with big sticks doesn’t mean they should be swinging them around.”

“She attacked the city.”

“And I don’t want to die.” Another groan, his eyelids fluttered, threatening to close up. Rick bit into his cheek, the pain didn’t help, not much, just barely. Why wasn’t the captain doing anything, though. He’d half expected her to have kidnapped him by now. “Something’s going on.”

“There is another maiden hiding here. A vampire.”

She was holding a sword. Rick hadn’t seen her unsheathe it. But his vision was blurring and the forest around him was turning more into an abstract painting in his eyes.

Something soft and soothing touched his neck.

“I killed the vampire. You’re welcome.” Streaks of blue hair, and Rick sucked breath again, trying to focus. The touch against his skin was warm, it drew away the aches and fatigue. “Though I am sucking at his energy. Wouldn’t want him to die unduly.”

“Step away from him.”

“Attack me and I use him as a shield.” Kiara’s voice spoke coldly, her grip tightening ever so slightly. Rick choked a little, but she loosened her grip just enough. “Or I can just kill him. I’m not as fast as you, but I don’t need to be.”

Lying on the ground, staring between Kiara and the captain, Rick wanted to sigh.

“What do you want, Captain? What are your orders?”

“To retrieve you, Richard Cross, and ensure your safety.” She did not waver, she did not move, she raised her blade and kept it pointed at Kiara.

“And yet here I am, the only one able to keep him alive until the nurse reaches here.” Kiara spoke smugly. “For all your skill, you can’t really safely extract elemental energy from a frail human, can you? How fortunate that I am here.”

Deneva does not move, but her voice carries a sharp inflexion to it. “I can get him to the nearest medicen within minutes.”

Rick didn’t doubt that.

He didn’t exactly feel clear of thought, but he was certainly sharper than a minute ago. His gaze moved from Kiara to Deneva, and then considered the fight that was going on right outside the meadow. A fight could break out, so easily it hurt to think, just one wrong move and someone’s head would come flying off.

His, most certainly.

There was a roar, and Monica’s feelings shifted abruptly. The tenuous grip he had on things slipped as she panicked. Rick could only lay there and stare as the orange-furred variant of Monica emerged into the meadow, followed shortly behind by Monica herself.

Deneva raised a second sword she’d apparently drawn out of nowhere.

The tension could suddenly be cut with a knife.

The maidens shared glances, measuring each other. Each of them took a turn to look at Rick, and he could only feel like the situation was quickly slipping. The question was lingering in the air, it was in their eyes, it was in their tense bodies. Who’d fight who?

It wasn’t a question of whether there would be a fight or not.

The laughter came abruptly. It wasn’t funny, not really, but Rick couldn’t help himself. He laughed. He was going to die because a bunch of super-powered women were fighting over him. And in doing so, they’d get him killed. He laughed, until his chest hurt.

All eyes were on him.

He looked at Kiara. “Take me to Dia.”

“I cannot let you leave.”

“And you can’t stop me either. Monica? Come.”

That startled the orange maiden, she moved to approach but slowed to a stop when Deneva’s blade remained pointed directly at her. “The Sabertooth is staying.”

“Then you better team-up with the captain.” He groaned, closing his eyes and trying to stand. Kiara aided him to his feet. “Failing that, you two can talk or fight it out. Preferably somewhere I’m not accidentally turned to paste.”

The two stared at him as he began to limp his way forward. Monica was at his side opposite to Kiara within moments. Her claws reaching out to pick him up into a bridal carry. She glared at the Succubus as Kiara in turn kept her hand firmly on Rick’s throat.

“I’m not going to let you go back to the city, you know.” She declared. “They’re going to want to kill me.”

“Too bad for you, I guess.” He growled, having recovered just the slightest amount of energy. “I appreciate lending a hand, don’t get me wrong. But you’re fucked if you stick around me.”

Kiara’s brows creased, scoffing. She glanced over to the meadow. Deneva and the orange maiden had yet to leave, both were glancing in their direction, even when there was one of them pointing a sword directly at the other’s throat.

“You think I need to run away… and that I would not be able to if I were carrying you.” The Succubus proclaimed with a frown and a slow nod. Her golden eyes glanced down at him, ignoring how Monica’s fangs were bared and the growl fresh in her chest. “I killed the vampire. I’m not sure what makes you think I’m weak.”

“I’d rather just not have a fight to begin with.” He sighed, uncaring. “You can always find me when I leave the city.”

The Succubus becomes quiet, her eyes lingering on him and then turning ahead. She was clearly deep in thought. “I will bond you when we meet again.” Her words came out as a statement of fact, she wasn’t even looking at him as she said this. “That is the price for me saving your life.”

“I-.”

She was gone before he could even start his answer. No pop or blast of air or flash of light. Just gone, vanished as if she’d never been there. Instantly his body felt as if it were plummeting into the deadliest sugar-high-crash in existence. His mind spun and blurred, thoughts turning into a whirlwind of molasses.

Faintly, he heard Dia’s shouts.

Behind him, the meadow exploded.