What if Krel was more injured in the escape from Area 49-b and reverted to his core?
Everything exploded. Aja landed roughly and grunted. She pushed herself up, holding her head with a hand.
"Ugh," she groaned.
"No!" Vex roared. "No!"
Aja looked up. Her core suddenly felt cold. Krel was lying unconscious on his back a few feet away from her, still clutching the osmic circuit like his life depended on it.
"No! No, no!" she shrieked, crawling over to him. She picked him up by his shoulders. He made no sign of waking. "Krel!"
"No," whispered Vex.
Aja glanced at him, then followed his gaze to her brother's shoulder, where flakes of his form were already flickering away. She felt tears well up.
"No, no, little brother," she whimpered. "No, don't leave me, too! Krel!"
There was nothing she could do. Her brother faded in her arms until there was nothing left but his core – still bright, thankfully, but it wouldn't for long if she couldn't get him to reintegration stasis.
"We must leave at once," said Vex.
"Not yet," growled Aja. She shoved Krel's core into Vex's hands, then gave a fierce battle-cry and ran at the human woman who had done this to her brother. The woman began shooting at her. Aja dodged and did her best to land a hit. She wasn't succeeding.
She was knocked to the group. The woman shot her serrator out of her reach.
"You'll be a perfect lab rat," the woman said.
No. Aja couldn't be captured here. How could she help Krel if she was captured here?
"Beep, beep!" Aja looked towards the sound. Stuart was driving towards them in a large truck. "Here comes a monster-trucker!"
Aja scrambled out of the way as he drove past her. The woman did the same.
Vex stiffened in alarm. "Stuart, that wall is rigged to–"
"Explode! Yes, I'm well-aware."
Aja pushed herself up on her arms. She glanced towards Vex, still holding Krel's life core, then back towards the truck, before ducking and covering her head. The wall blew. Aja winced, but when it had stopped throwing debris, she stood. Buster finally managed to get free again. Aja reached out to him. "Buster!"
He roared. She hopped on his head as he reached her, clinging to him.
"Come on!" said Vex. They ran out of the broken-open wall. Aja jumped off of Buster and Vex offered her Krel's core again. She took it and hugged it to her chest, fighting back more tears and wishing her brother could hug her back.
"You're going to be okay, little brother," she murmured.
"Where's our getaway!?" demanded Vex.
Buster ran off into the woods. Stuart called after him, but Aja paid him little mind as the burrito van finally skidded to a stop in front of them. She ran towards it.
"Where's the prince?" asked Ricky. Aja glanced down, then back up again. The robot gasped. "Oh, no. He needs help."
"Yes, which is why you must drive!" she said.
Inside the safety of the car, she could finally relax, but the moment she did, the tears finally spill over. They had the osmic circuit, but at what cost? She wasn't sure how to fix the daxial array, and without it, they were stuck; she'd have to figure something out. What's more – they didn't have enough power. Without power, Mama and Papa and now Krel would all die.
"Aja," said Vex solemnly. "The ship only has two stasis pods."
Aja froze.
"What?"
Vex bowed his head. "There are only two, and the King and Queen are already inside."
Her lower lip trembled. "Are you saying there is nothing to be done for my brother?"
"Varvatos is saying… to save Prince Krel, you will have to take out one of the royal cores," Vex said.
"To save Krel… I have to sacrifice Mama or Papa," she whispered in horror. "No. No – no!"
Vex put a hand on her shoulder. "Varvatos is – I am so sorry, Princess Aja."
Aja hugged Krel's life core close to her chest and tried to combat the shuddering sobs. If she could only save two of them, and one had to be Krel – then she had to choose. She had to lose Mama or Papa.
She hoped they would all forgive her.