Brothers In Arms (UNDER EDIT)

Chapter 8: Sunny

    Sunny had not been so terrified before in his life. Then again, a lot of things had been scaring him recently, coming to this planet. Giant monstrous creatures all wanting to eat his face off, all covered in sharp spikes, claws and teeth, though he had quickly gotten over their appearances; after chasing Racer for so long, he'd seen plenty of hideous creatures over the years. It was driving him insane that he couldn't fight them, couldn't fight back because everyone was running, because he of all creatures was running, and this anger was boiling up over time.
    But seeing a giant horrifying snake with an unnatural, monstrous head that matched the rest of the creatures on this planet, its body plastered in thick, brown scales, rise up from the ground, snatching Racer the same way  was the final straw for Sunny. He drew out his plasma guns and shot at the giant serpent without even thinking. All he knew was that he needed to fight. Because he wasn't running no more. He was a Captain, for crying out loud! A Captain was supposed to fight, to stand his ground. To protect those who were unable to fight back. And while he was supposed to be sticking a plasma gun in Racer's head, seeing Racer being thrown like that, unable to do anything, pulled at his Captain instincts. The instincts to protect.
    The giant snake let out an ear-piercing roar that should've turned Sunny's bravery into a pile of jelly, but his anger was driving him as he continued to shoot, watching it writhe in agony from the plasma bullets. To his horror, the snake threw back its head and let go of Racer, who went straight up and would end up in the snakes mouth if they didn't do anything.
    So of course, it was down to Sunny to do the saving, because Brandon, Biggulon, Ross and Star had frozen with fear, and Racer's friends had disappeared. Sheathing his guns, he sprinted forward, feeling the air brush against his skin and igniting his hover plates. Flying was one of his favorite pastimes, when he wasn't running around trying to catch Racer. He'd never regretted taking those lessons and, with practice, being one of the very few creatures to receive the latest set of hover plates. They were the same color as his helmet, and provided some defense for his backside, acting like armor.
    Everything was a blur around him as Sunny launched into the air, his eyes trained on Racer as the creature fell, and the gaping jaws of the snake monster were coming up to meet them...
    ...and closed on empty air as Sunny managed to catch Racer and bring him away from the horrible teeth. However, Racer was about the same size as Sunny, and was heavier than the Nepolian had expected. This sudden weight made them drop like a stone, colliding with the snakes tail as it slammed into them, forcing Sunny to let go of what grip he had on Racer, and sent them flying.
    Panic seared through his veins as he watched him fall as Sunny tried to catch up to him, but to no avail. Racer was going too fast for him to catch up, which made his heart jolt in terror. Strange, since Sunny was supposed to be eternally hating his adopted brother. Ross was going to be mad at him for trying to save Racer. But Sunny wasn't that cold-hearted, no matter how hard the bigger Nepolian tried.
    The ground around them was lit up in a spotlight of fiery colors, like someone had decided to put them on a theatre to do a performance for the galaxy to see. Sunny could see every individual rock, as if they had been hidden from his sight and were coming into view as he plummeted after Racer and, to his relief, grabbed one of the creatures claws. His hover plates let out a burst of light and he could feel they were slowing down, but too slow - they would both break something at a speed like this.
    And it was getting unbearably hot. Was the sun coming up? Wait- the sun was far away, and the planet couldn't reach temperatures like this. The only thing that would be this hot and this bright would be a-
    "Sunny!" He heard Ross shout, and then everything exploded into colors of red and yellow and orange, a fierce, burning pain that he'd never felt before, and black came swooping in after to deal with the rest of his vision, no matter how hard he tried to push it away.
    He just wanted to know if Racer was okay...

~~~~~~

    The ground was soft and sandy beneath his hands as Sunny swam back into consciousness.
    The first thing he thought was; where am I? Where's everyone else? But it all came back to him slowly, like pouring water into a cup. Losing his ship; Seeking travel with Brandon and Biggulon. Crashing on this wasteland. Finding Racer and his friends, and losing them in under ten minutes as well. Escaping an army of terrifying creatures. Battling a giant snake- the meteor-
    Sunny tried to sit up, but the pain came running in fast, and it felt like his whole body was on fire. It took a lot of effort to not scream, or cry, or say anything a Captain wouldn't usually say. There was so much pain - he didn't know how he wasn't passing out again already.
    Panic was seeping in as well as Sunny tried to look around for the others without it hurting too much. He didn't need to investigate his injuries, there were probably too many to count. He'd have to have a break for a month at least. Maybe even more. Ross would be mad at him for running into a battle like that, and would definitely reprimand him for not killing Racer.
    Let him be mad. Sunny thought with a growl. As far as he was concerned, Ross was not currently Captain of the team - Sunny was. And try as he might, Sunny could not bring himself to hate Racer forever. He was his adopted brother, after all.
    "Sunny! You're okay!" Came a voice, and Star was there in front of him, as cheery as ever. Except that he had seen better days - especially his armor. Clearly those on the ground didn't escape unscathed. Though Sunny thought he probably looked worse, for Star began to look horribly pale as the Nepolian gaped at the injuries.
    "Are you alright?" Star asked, his voice going soft and quiet with fear and concern. "Have you even seen the state of yourself?"
"It's not as bad... as it looks?" Sunny said, glancing at his hands and choking back bile at the sight of them. They were grazed, bleeding, cracked and burnt. It was like he was in a restaurant, and some waiter had delivered him a plate of the injuries he hated the most. Sunny suddenly didn't really want to know how the rest of him looked, if he could barely glance at his hands without trying to throw up.
    "If you pass me some of those... pills that you bought, I should be fine in a... few moments." Sunny said, grimacing. "Where are... the others?"
    "Out cold. And looking... Well, not as bad as you, but not as good as me." Star said, glancing down at his feet. "Ross sheltered me from the worst..." He added quietly, and Sunny widened his eyes slightly. He knew Star and Ross were close friends, perhaps even closer.
    "And that's not the worst part." Star continued, as if he'd just remembered. "I saw... This really tall, spiky creature with long legs and ears. Probably from another city, because he was wearing this small necklace around his neck that looked foreign, as did his clothes, and I don't recognize him from Ginazi City. He just picked up Racer and left! I couldn't do anything, because he was so big, I'd just be some fly to him if I tried to fight him, but he didn't notice me. And you were all unconscious anyway, what could I do?"
    A stone of dread began settling itself in Sunny's stomach. They were not the only civilians in this wasteland after all. Could this be the creature that had stolen his ship? If so, why were they here? What was on this planet they wanted?
    But Racer...
    They'd taken Racer.