I thought I'd genuinely die out there. For all I knew, Piper had already fallen victim to the attacking Hydras. When I threw the device however, it exploded and expelled a white smoke that surrounded all the Hydras, Piper, and I.

I let out a huge sigh of relief as the Hydras stopped and fled. My hopes soared as I heard a groan from where Piper had fallen.

"Piper, are you okay?" I asked, trying unsuccessfully to get to my feet.

"Yeah, I managed to keep most of them off. That's why I keep a knife with me, and claws. Those definitely help. Here, let me help." She, of course, had already gotten up and walked over toward me. Realizing that there was no way I could get up on my own with my leg rendered useless, I was grateful when she extended a hand out to me to pull me to my feet. When I grabbed her hand, it felt as though a magnetic force held them together as she pulled me to my feet without difficulty. Our hands were entwined longer than necessary, but we quickly separated them as awkwardness grew between our unfamiliarity.

When I left her side and tried to stand, I only fell to the ground again, falling under my weight of my broken leg. Piper once again came to my aid.

"You can't go on like this. There are bound to be more of those creatures, put your arm around me. It shouldn't be that much farther to the ship." I almost didn't want to put more awkwardness between us, but I complied and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, shifting my weight onto her. I noticed her wince a small bit, that almost went unnoticed.

"You don't have to do this, not if your leg hurts too." I replied.

"Nonsense. We wouldn't get anywhere if I didn't. My leg is not nearly as bad as yours. I can still walk." she answered curtly.

"Alright." I replied, annoyed by her stubbornness.

"What did you throw at them? I've never seen anything that could do something like that." she asked when we started to walk along.

"I don't know, I just kind of picked it up when we went to Saduj's office. It was just sitting there, he wasn't using it, so I thought, 'Why not?" Piper laughed a little.

"Canis was right, you are different." I nearly tripped over my feet as she said it, it took all my self-composure not to just give off a huge smile and, well, I don't know. It was like, I wanted to wrap my arms around her, but that seems so intimate, and I've only just met her.

As we walked further along, I noticed that for her size, Piper was quite strong. She held under my weight well, not even faltering on her weak leg. I couldn't help but feel the same connection and pull as I did when our hands met. I didn't complain one bit however, I quite liked it.

We traveled slower now than before, but as we made our way over the hill, we found the ship. I was so used to seeing the ship in a high-tech spacecraft hangar, so it was very different when I saw it half-buried under piles of grass and dirt. Where there were once engines, were now burnt up holes in the ground. It was a good thing too, there was enough anti-matter in those engines to blow the planet right out of the sky, but as a precaution, the Empire had installed anti-matter backup converters. In simple words, it reversed the anti-matter state if the ship had suffered irreparable damage and was going to crash.

Together, Piper and I made our way over to the entrance of the ship, a small crash near the storage units just large enough to fit both Piper and I in it.

"I can't imagine what it was like to fly in that thing." Piper said as we approached the ship.

"It was unlike anything you could imagine. Traveling through space, it was the best part of my job next to seeing brand new planets. Maybe one day you can see it too." I answered.

"No I won't. Not while the Empire is still out there monitoring ever star system. It's a miracle we're still hidden." Piper replied sadly. I had no reply, it was all too true. The Empire would shoot us down in a second.

Piper and I both remained silent to respect the men that had been killed here. Neither of us spoke, but I led us where the medicine would be kept.

"Ok, the doctor said he had some broken bones and severe lacerations. That's... the blue and the red vials on the top shelf." I said to Piper as she opened the medical storage unit.

"As great as your advice is, I'm taking all of it. We need supplies all the time. This will help for when the doctor runs low on anything else." Piper said, ignoring me completely and emptying the contents into a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Alright, let's head back." Piper replied.

"What if we run into those Hydras again?" I asked.

"Run, as best as we can. I don't think either of us will be able to fight them at this point." I agreed with her, there was no way I could fight them off again. I only had one of those canisters.

With the medicine now packed in her bag, I put my arm around Piper's shoulder and she leaned into me, getting weary from blood loss and fatigue. We both needed to get back as quickly as possible. Together, we limped out from the wrecked ship and out into the field, singing a silent mantra in their heads for the Hydra's to have gone.

Bit by bit, we managed to traverse through the thick red grass. My leg had begun to feel like it was breaking again, and I had no doubt that Piper's leg was bleeding profusely, but we had no real knowledge of medicine, either of us. So help at this point was impossible.

I noticed that her breathing became shallower and shallower as she leaned into my chest. My rational mind started to panic, but I pushed it aside, knowing that both Piper and I needed help, and help doesn't come in the form of bloodthirsty reptilians.

By some miracle, we finally reached the forest, and were out of the grass. The creatures had fled from the device I had used, and we were safe. Well, as safe as we could be. Piper was still bleeding badly and weakening every second. I could hardly move my leg at this point, and we were both losing consciousness. The only thing keeping us awake was our instinctive drive to keep going.

Our steps continued to shorten, and every step became a battle. It got to the point where I wasn't sure if we were moving at all. I felt my consciousness slipping away at each passing second, Piper had already passed out against me.

I could see the facility in the distance, just behind those doors were people expecting our return, depending on this medicine that we had. I tried to call out for attention, for help, but no sound came from my throat, only a hoarse gasping noise.

The ground became closer and closer as I kept trying to call out and get closer to the building. My eyes began to droop and my leg became too much to bear, I felt weaker than I ever had before. Then as my power finally gave through, I hit the ground next to Piper, my arm still around her, and everything turned to a blackness darker than any black hole I had ever seen.

Suddenly, the blackness was ripped away and pain filled my body. While I longed for the peaceful darkness, I knew deep in my mind that I was alive, I had survived. My eyes fluttered open to see a hospital room, different from the one I had been in earlier when I first arrived.

I tried to sit up, but just fell back against the bed again, I didn't have the strength to sit up just yet.

"Careful, you don't want to risk reopening those bites." said a familiar voice from beside my hospital cot. I tried replying, but words failed me as pain surged through my leg up through my whole body as the doctor injected some medicine into my body.

"Just giving you some medicine, sorry if it hurts." he replied again. "It's a good thing you got that medicine, it's enough for you, your friend, and Piper."

"Is she okay?" I asked weakly.

"Yes, she's in the room across from this one. There are only two trained doctors here, so I am taking care of you and your friend. He's doing much better today, you can see him later if you can manage it." he said with a kind smile. I tried to return his smile, they were both going to be okay.

"Good job fighting all those Hydras, that's quite a bold move. I know that most folks here can't fight off more than about five. Lord knows how many you and Piper wiped out, but judging from your bites it was quite a lot." he remarked proudly.

"Thanks, we were ambushed in the field." I answered, still feeling a bit weak all over.

"Well everyone here has been buzzing about it ever since security found you and Piper wiped out in front. At first we were stunned you were both alive with the amount of bites you both had, but I managed to make sure you were both saved. Get some rest now, you're going to be a little fatigued for a bit, but it should fade in an hour or two."

I nodded my head, and relaxed back into the cot. Piper and 525 were safe, everything might be okay for awhile.