The young scavenger tugged at the unconscious figure's arm, trying to drag him, but Gilas was much heavier than expected. Rykuryu grunted, his feet slipping on the sandy ground before he stumbled backward, landing hard on his butt.
"Ah, come on!" Rykuryu groaned, rubbing his lower back. He shot a glance at his tiny robot companion, who stood beside him, its single lens rotating as if shaking in disapproval.
"What? We can't just leave him here, you know," Rykuryu protested, shooting the robot an indignant look. "He'll die, for sure."
The little robot hissed, emitting a series of clicking sounds that seemed to suggest trouble. Its metallic legs tapped the ground nervously.
"Yeah, yeah, I know... Could be trouble. But when has that ever stopped us, huh?" Rykuryu flashed a grin, quickly brushing the dust off his pants. "We help him now, and maybe he can help us fix the engine. Think about it!"
The robot tilted its lens upward, unconvinced.
Rykuryu sighed. "You're always so pessimistic." He darted back to his clunky ship, a hodgepodge of scavenged parts barely held together by bolts and faith, and yanked a thick cable from the side. Its end sparked slightly as he dragged it over to Gilas.
He worked quickly, wrapping the wire around Gilas' body, muttering to himself. "Why do all the people falling out of the sky have to be heavy? Can't we get a smaller alien next time?"
The robot clicked in a pattern that almost sounded like laughter.
"Ha ha, you liked that?" Rykuryu snapped the cable's hook into place and scrambled back to the cockpit. He flicked several switches, then slammed his palm on the dashboard when the engine sputtered weakly. "Come on, don't quit on me now..."
With a groan and a blast of smoke, the engine came to life. The ship lurched forward, pulling Gilas out from the wreckage. He jammed a button on the dashboard, and the engine coughed loudly, spitting out a few parts before the cable began to tighten, slowly dragging Gilas toward the ship.
"Hold together, hold together..." he mumbled to the ship as it whined and sputtered. Eventually, Gilas's body was close enough, and Rykuryu clambered out of the cockpit, grunting as he tried to lift the unconscious man over his shoulder.
"Ugh, dude, what do you eat, pure protein?" Rykuryu groaned, his scrawny arms barely managing to get Gilas onto the ship. After a few clumsy moments, he finally plopped Gilas down in the cockpit, his legs sticking awkwardly over the side.
"Looks like we're good to go! Hold tight, big guy," he called out, half to himself, half to Gilas. He turned to the robot, who was bouncing on its four legs in excitement. "See? I told you we could do it!"
The robot let out a high-pitched series of beeps and jumped onto Rykuryu's shoulder, holding on tightly as the ship began its slow crawl forward.
"There we go!" Rykuryu grinned, pushing the throttle forward with one hand. "Now, let's head back before this thing gives out again. We've got a hero to patch up."
As they sped across the endless sand dunes, Rykuryu's thoughts wandered. Who was this guy? Why was he falling from the sky with a glowing green ring? He stole a quick glance at Gilas, who remained unconscious, his ring flickering faintly.
Something about the ring caught Rykuryu's attention, but he shook it off, focusing on the horizon. He had bigger things to worry about right now-like getting them both home in one piece.
"Hmm, he's taking longer than usual to come back. I wonder if he found something useful," Maxus said, his purple skin glowing faintly in the sun as he scanned the desert horizon with his binoculars. His slick white hair reflected the harsh light, and his humanoid features creased in mild concern.
