Author's Note- No quirky statements today, try again next chapter. Enjoy

Disclaimer- Outlaw Star and Characters belong to Takehiko Ito.


Chapter 8

The crew searched the empty penthouse from top to bottom, not a single inch was spared from their scrutiny. Much to their dismay, nothing was left behind. Not a shred of evidence to indicate where they had vanished to. Rooms were searched thoroughly with a fine tooth comb, but nothing was revealed to their gaze. Many times when a search ended, the crew member left standing idle would take a position in Melfina's quarters, just wanting to feel the presence of their missing comrade. Moments would pass, then a newfound determination would enter their gaze and send them off for a second search. Even that proved fruitless.

Feeling somewhat comforted in Melfina's room, the crew gathered there once their search came to a halt. Frustration was evident on Gene's handsome face as well as anger. What would cause Ron MacDougall to randomly spirit away Melfina? That was the question of the hour.

"Maybe she had something he wanted?" Aisha thought aloud, scrunching her face in thought.

Suzuka dismissed the idea completely. "If you recall, Melfina has very few possessions and those aren't exactly valuable; she preferred not to overindulge." Her words became softer as thoughts of the girl entered her mind. "Revenge, perhaps?"

"But Melfina didn't do anything!" Aisha retorted, a bit annoyed Suzuka shot down her argument.

"It's more of a possibility than her having something MacDougall wants," the assassin shot back.

The Ctarl-Ctarl stood straight and approached Suzuka with a fist raised. "Why you-" she began but paused. A scent tickled her nose and had her sniffing at the air like a blood hound. Suzuka and Gene stared after the alien like she had grown a second head. "What the hell are you doin'?" Gene finally asked.

"There's another scent here. It's not Melfina's and it's not MacDougall's. It's familiar, but I can't place it," she muttered, still concentrating on the new scent. She neared the canopy bed where Suzuka sat and knelt to the comforter taking a deep breath. His scent was most concentrated here, she noted, but even the higher concentration didn't hint as to who he was.

Gene crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow. There was another culprit? Questions spread like wild fire in his mind. Who was this unknown individual? What role did he play in Melfina's capture? The captain ran a frustrated hand in his hair. Rather than discover answers to their current question, this place only served to raise more questions.

"Hey guys, I got something!" Jim call from the other room. All three quickly found Jim sitting at the kitchen countertop, hunched over the phone. "Whatcha got Jim?" Gene said, leaning over the boy's shoulder.

"MacDougall placed a call for a cab only two hours ago. If we pay the cab driver a visit, he should be able to tell us where he dropped Ron and Melfina off," Jim said, looking rather pleased with himself.

"And be able to identify who our unknown assailant is," Suzuka added.

"Huh?" Jim blinked. "What do ya mean "unknown assailant"?"

"Aisha found the scent of another man in Melfina's room," Gene replied, his voice grim and definitely unhappy. He didn't like the fact there was a man in Mel's room and it set him on edge. Don't worry, Mel, we'll find you.


Harry found he enjoyed being wrapped in layers upon layers of unconsciousness. There was no pain, no angst, nor sorrow to attack his heart. Here, he could be free. Free to frolic mindlessly, to shower his mind's depiction of Melfina with affection, or to pummel Gene Starwind's visage into the ground without the consequences of reality. He was warm and happy, but his body had other plans than reveling in his dreams.

As he emerged, the first thing he noticed was a sharp pain in his side followed by the stiffness of bandages encasing his torso. He hurt everywhere from the tips of his fingers to every other inch of his body. Scenes from the fight played across his mind's eye, reminding him of the events before his loss of consciousness. He had saved and protected Melfina, but had taken a nasty blow himself. Harry wasn't fully awake, yet his mood was already sour. He shifted and turned his head, preparing to return to sleep when the aroma of lavender and rain drifted to his hazy senses. Melfina.

Harry opened his purple eyes and felt his heart flutter. The bio-android had taken a position by his bed, cradling her head on the side of his mattress. Her closed eyes held dark circles beneath them and her clothes looked somewhat disheveled. Harry ran his fingers through Melfina's hair, enjoying its silkiness against his palm. Harry couldn't help himself. In her sleep, Melfina moved closer to Harry's exploring fingers which sent a surge of delight through his body. Melfina liked his touch and sought it out. Even if it was an unconscious act, it was a start. On some level, she trusted him and that satisfied him for now.

The teal-haired man continued to massage Melfina's scalp and the sore spot at the base of her nape, enjoying her small sighs of pleasure while he began to inspect his new surroundings. The dirt and filth coated alley of his mind's eye had faded to one of familiarity. He was in one of the rooms on board the Shangri-La. It was one of the bigger rooms, but it wasn't extensive. It consisted of a closet off to the side, a metal desk bolted to the wall, and a bed that also connected to the wall. The room wasn't nearly as luxurious as the rooms he and his brother were accustomed to staying in, but it always suited them just fine.

Melfina groaned and drew Harry's attention back to the bio-android at his side. Her eyes fluttered awake, revealing chocolate orbs, and he wished he could see that every morning. Her eyes were unfocused for a moment before she remembered where she was. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and breaking the contact between herself and Harry. "Oh, you're awake. I'm sorry, I must have dozed off," she said, covering a yawn.

Harry shook his head and smiled. "Don't be. You looked like you could use the rest. How are you?" he asked, feeling the need to inspect every inch of her. He hadn't had the time to check and make sure her attacker hadn't caused her any harm before he had passed out. On top of which, her appearance made him suspect she was neglecting the care of herself, in favor of caring for him instead. The thought was appreciated immensely, but he couldn't and wouldn't let her forget herself.

Much to his surprise, Melfina responded to his smile with one of her own. Rather than the usual swelling of his heart, the organ threatened to stop entirely at the sight before him. This wasn't one of her small grins of obligation, but a true smile. It brightened her face and made her look ethereal. "I should be asking you that. You were hurt pretty bad," she said, guilt sneaking into her voice.

He could see the slight change in her demeanor and was quick to remedy it. "I'm fine, Melfina. You didn't put me in this bed, that bastard did." His face flashed to an expression of rage. The thug had tried to take Melfina from him and tried to kill him, key word being tried. He couldn't stop the malicious grin that spread across his face as he remembered the look of horror on the man's face and the resounding pop as he broke the thug's neck like it was nothing. He would render the same fate on anyone who dared follow that man's footsteps.

Harry felt Melfina pull away from him slightly, and fought down the wildness within himself; he didn't want to scare Melfina. He reached between them again and clasped one of Melfina's hands in his and gave it a small squeeze of assurance. When she didn't pull away, he strengthened his grip. "What happened after I passed out?" he asked, hoping to get her mind off of the guilt that reared its head.

"You were bleeding pretty bad for a while. I couldn't get the wound to stop and I wasn't strong enough to move you. Luckily, Ron followed you and helped me get you here. Apparently, you only needed a few stitches," she said, pausing to recall her anxiety over the blood loss. "He said a majority of the damage was internal, that the electricity used your metallic bone structure as a conduit. He said you might be bed ridden for the next few days while your organs and mechanical parts heal."

Melfina stood from where she sat and situated herself on the mattress. Harry held his breath as she leaned over his prone form, but was disappointed when her lips didn't meet with his own. She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, instead. "Your fever broke. That's good." Harry felt the need to scowl, and voice his displeasure, but quickly changed his tune as Melfina's cool finger tips danced across his heated forehead. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of Melfina carefully, tenderly brushing his long bangs from his forehead.

"You should rest," she said, breaking through the haze clouding Harry's mind. He felt the shift on the mattress as she stood and quickly grabbed her wrist to halt her. He opened his lids to see a questioning expression directed his way. "Stay," he said, giving the woman's arm a small tug.

She seemed to mentally debate with herself before she nodded her assent. Melfina returned to the chair that was stationed beside the bed and watched as Harry's lids closed and his face relaxed. Considering the damage he sustained, she was surprised he had been able to awaken in the first place. Recalling the things Ron had told her after taking care of the younger MacDougall, she was astonished.

With as much care as he could manage, Ron hefted Harry through the door of the bedroom and laid him out on the awaiting bed. He stripped the teal-haired man of his shirt and vest and inspected the still weeping wound. Melfina was close behind, trying to offer as much help she could. She knelt beside the bed, out of Ron's way, but nearby.

"He'll just need a few stitches," the older MacDougall muttered, causing Melfina to look at the gaping wound in question.

"Are you sure? It looks so deep…" she said, inching closer.

Ron spared her just a momentary glance as he went about the room, pulling out a medical kit from one of the closets. "I'm sure. Considering I had a hand in the design of his new body, I'm fairly familiar with its capabilities."

Melfina furrowed her brow in curiosity. She wanted to know more. She remembered Harry mentioning that Ron had a new body constructed for him, but she didn't understand how it worked or what it made him. Was he technically a robot? Or were things more complicated than they let on? The bio-android wanted to ask, but she didn't want to be a bother. She remained quiet and decided to leave her questions for another day.

The questions that flooded her mind were easily read across her youthful face. Even though his attentions were elsewhere, Ron could see the interest and felt like it wouldn't hurt to enlighten her. She was his brother's woman, after all.

"My brother died at the Leyline, yet he had managed to upload his mind into the Shangri-La's mainframe. He could still think and feel for himself. After my own body recovered, I sought out methods for creating a body for my brother," Ron began, sterilizing a needle. With exquisite precision, he went about sewing the wound in Harry's side.

"It was a difficult task as no one had ever made such an attempt before. The only one who, at the time, seemed capable of accomplishing what I wanted was Gwen Khan, who was already dead. However, I was able to find someone with as much drive as Khan, and just as brilliant. In fact, he was also in on the project that led to the creation of the XGP and yourself. He took a back seat role, of course, but he knew enough to create Harry a body.

Anyway, before the good doctor began the process, I specified that I wanted his body to be better fortified, in a sense. I didn't want to run the risk of a second death. Therefore, Harry was given a metallic skeletal frame and muscle. They function the same as flesh and bone, but they offer the added benefit of durability and extra strength. Also, he was equipped with the advantage of heightening his senses at will. Wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley," he finished, chuckling about his encounter.

Melfina watched Ron bandage Harry's torso gently, but her mind was busy reviewing the newfound information. In a sense, Harry was the perfect combination of robot and human, a bio-android like herself. Unlike her, though, he was better prepared for the harsh realities of life. They truly were the same now.

Ron situated the unconscious man into a more comfortable position on the bed and drew the sheets to Harry's chest. "He may be out for a day or so. While the damage caused directly from the knife isn't severe, the electricity that wracked his metallic frame did a number on his insides. It may take a bit before he's one hundred percent." After replacing the items he pulled from the closet, the older MacDougall left.

Melfina stared after the older man for a moment more before she dragged the desk chair from its original position to Harry's bedside and looked after the sleeping man.

A day had passed since that moment. Ron quickly departed from Heifong III shortly after the encounter. Unease still plagued her, but the sight of Harry's prone form calmed her anxiety somewhat. He needed her right now; she couldn't bring herself to leave him even if she felt as if she was betraying the crew. It was her fault that he was in this state, and she was determined to see things right. Melfina laid her unhindered hand over top of Harry's and brushed his knuckles gently with her thumb. He had saved her life and had gone out of his way to see her involuntary stay as comfortable as possible. Melfina was going to repay in kind, her freedom would have to wait for another day.


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