Karl could hear the sound of the waves. He felt warm and comfortable, as if he was taking a nap in a hammock hung on tree trunks. But he was not. He was still wheezing and too weak to open his eyes.
He had not realized that he was being carried until he was laid down on the shore. For a second, he felt a tinge of regret mixed with longing; he wanted to stay in those arms just a little longer. It reminded him of his father's warmth, and how safe it always made him feel when he was little.
"You just wouldn't give up. Do you have any idea you could have drowned in your attempt to save me?" His rescuer scolded. It was a man's voice, and it belonged to the pilot of the ship he had been chasing earlier.
"But your intentions were noble, and for that you have my thanks," the other pilot lifted his hand and pressed something against the back of his fingers. He then held Karl's hand with both of his, as he said with a gentle tone. "I may not be a healer, but I can do this much."
As he uttered those words, Karl felt warmth envelope his whole hand. It traveled down his arm and spread across his chest. Feeling as if a vice grip on his lungs had been taken off, he inhaled sharply. His wheezing slowly subsided until his breathing was almost back to normal.
Perhaps in an attempt to help him breathe better, the other man took off Karl's helmet. However, the moment he did, he let out a gasp and the helmet fell on the sand.
"Impossible..."
His voice was barely above a whisper, but Karl clearly heard it quiver. Trembling fingers tentatively caressed his cheeks, and lingered. Curious, Karl tried to force his eyes open.
'Do I know you...?' He wanted to ask, but he did not have the strength to speak.
Weakly prying his eyes open, he could make out the blurred silhouette of a long-haired man bathed in moonlight, who swiftly withdrew his hand. By the time his vision cleared, the mysterious man was gone. He could hear a wolf howling in the distance, before it was drowned out by the sound of oncoming fighters.
-
"Okay, that's done. BP looks normal," Zephyr said as he took the patch connected to the blood pressure monitor off Karl's arm. "This too," he also took the nebulizer mask off Karl's face. "As soon as your IV drip is finished, you can go."
Karl stretched in his infirmary bed. "Thanks, Zeph," he smiled up at his brother.
After jotting down notes, Zeph lightly tapped his clipboard on Karl's head. "Do you have any idea how it makes me feel every time you end up here? Be more careful."
"Sorry…" Karl apologized, looking like a sad puppy.
"Aw, come on cheer up! Zeph's just worried. He spent the night in the infirmary, you know. He refused to leave your side until you were out of the woods," Luna rubbed Karl's back. "Look! Mom made lunch!" She pulled out a lacquer box wrapped in cloth, apple juice, and packaged cake slice from a cat-shaped tote bag. Karl's eyes sparkled. "This is the new limited-edition chocolate ganache one that I've been wanting to try!"
"Yep! When Ha-yoon heard what happened, he especially lined up for it this morning."
"Thanks, you guys. And please tell Ha-yoon I said thanks, Luna."
"Now be good and eat," Zephyr ruffled Karl's hair, smiling.
After Karl finished eating, the two left to attend to their own GDF duties. Karl sat on his bed, looking out the window where he could see the ocean. His thoughts wandered to the mysterious pilot.
'Who was that guy...? And where was he from?'
A couple of knocks resounded from the door before Chris came in with a stern face, prompting Karl to hop off his bed and bow. "I'm sorry, sir. I acted on my own, and on top of that I let the pilot get away before we could question him. I am willing to accept the consequences of my actions."
"Good. Glad you understand. You're suspended from joining any missions today." His voice started off as serious, then softened to a gentle tone. "Take this time to recuperate."
"Yes, sir."
There was another knock on the door, and all Karl saw were flashes of bright yellow before he was locked in a hug by not just one, but two pairs of arms.
"You're awake!" Bianca squealed.
"Glad you're okay now," Hogan gave him a tight squeeze.
Chris' watch beeped and his face grew stern as he checked his message. "We're being deployed to survey the island where we found Karl last night. They want us to find that pilot and bring him in, after all."
Hogan turned to Karl "You comin'?"
"I want to, but…"
"He won't. He needs to rest," Chris said firmly.
"Even though his doctor cleared him for discharge already," Hogan snorted at the captain's words, then muttered to Karl, snickering "Cap-Mom."
Chris gave Hogan the side-eye and looked like he was about to say something before his watch beeped again and Tala's voice came through. "Captain, the Camarasaurus conference room is ready for our pre-departure briefing."
"Got it. We'll be there shortly," said Chris.
"One more thing. Admin would like to follow up on our report from the last mission."
At those words, the twins quickly backed away until they reached the door. Bianca smiled sweetly and gave Karl a little peace sign before she and Hogan bolted out of the room.
"Oh my, it must be the meds. I'm getting sleepy," Karl stretched, letting out a much exaggerated yawn. He turned around but before he could take one step towards his bed, Chris grabbed the scruff of his hospital gown from the back.
"Karl Takaya Lyle. What's the one task every single member of Team Alpha does everything humanly possible to avoid?"
Karl spun on his heel and faced the captain, standing in attendance.
"Writing reports, sir."
"And how does the Captain assign the extremely important task of who writes reports?"
"By rock paper scissors, sir."
"Very good. And you never back down from a challenge. Right, Lt. Lyle?"
Karl gulped. "Never, sir."
Chris smiled innocently, "That's my ace pilot."
Three rounds later, Karl was lying face down on his bed, utterly defeated.
"Well then, I shall entrust you with our very important report." Chris said, patting Karl's back. "Also, promise you'll behave and stay put?"
Karl nodded, responding with a muffled."Yes, sir."
-
'I'm so sorry, Captain…'
Karl mentally apologized, while hiding in Bianca's speedboat after he had snuck into its storage bin while the others were in their pre-dispatch briefing. He waited for a while after Bianca parked GDF's amphibious speedboat before he cautiously got out. However, as soon as he stepped on the sand, she was right there with Chris.
"Geez, I was wondering when you were planning to come out," she puffed her cheeks, hands on her waist. Beside her, the captain had a look of reproach, arms crossed.
"How did you-?!"
Before Karl could finish his sentence, Bianca tapped on her watch. "I had a feeling you weren't going to stay put so I checked your location. But even I was surprised that I had a stowaway!"
"And may I know why you're here when you're supposed to be off duty?"
Chris' words were further emphasized by him and Bianca wearing IDF uniforms, as opposed to Karl who was in an unbuttoned shirt with bubbles and wine bottle print over a pink floral tank top and shorts.
Karl stood in attention. "Sir! I… uh… was enjoying the lovely weather by the beach and was so lost in thought… and wound up on one of the speedboats?" Karl cringed at how he sounded more ridiculous the more he kept going.
"And it just so happened to be the speedboat I was going to take?" Bianca playfully raised an eyebrow.
Karl shot her a look of betrayal. "Would you rather I ended up on Captain's speedboat? Can you imagine what kind of punishment I'd be subjected to?! I thought we were friends!"
Bianca did not even take one second to think. "Touché. I'd jump into the ocean before Cap found out." She stuck her tongue out.
Chris cleared his throat. "I'm right here, you two."
The two pilots froze. Karl lowered his head. "Captain, I'm really sorry for disobeying orders. But I just wanted to meet the pilot who saved me, no matter what."
Chris heaved a long, deep sigh of defeat. "Knowing you, it would actually surprise me more if you hadn't tagged along."
Karl's head shot up. "You're not angry?"
Chris pinched his nose, making Karl scrunch his face. "Of course I am. And as punishment, you'll write our reports for the rest of the month."
Bianca said a look of pity, "Good luck with that…"
Karl fought the urge to bargain for a hundred laps around the base instead and reluctantly replied "Yes, sir."
"Okay, listen up you two." Chris' serious tone cued that he was now in captain mode. "It'll make things faster if we split up. I'll go north, Bianca you go south."
"Roger," Bianca nodded.
Chris turned to their youngest member. "Karl, since you don't have your weapons I don't want you to stray too far from the shore. You two, don't try to act alone. If anything happens, call me right away."
"Yes sir!" / "Yes, Captain!" The two affirmed simultaneously.
Karl surveyed the shoreline but found nothing. Just as he was about to head back, he heard the call of an eagle from above, prompting him to look up in the cloudless blue sky. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the bird of prey with a magnificent wing span.
"I've seen hawks around here but, wow… It's the first time I've ever seen an eagle. So beautiful…"
He stared in awe until the bird was no longer in sight. As he approached where the speedboats were, he caught sight of a familiar wolf swimming towards the shore. He swiftly hid behind the bushes.
It was the lone wolf who had been living in and around the main island where GDF's headquarters was built, often wandering to the little islets around it. Everyone knew of his existence, yet no one had ever seen him other than Karl and his family. Zephyr had come close enough to take photos a few times, making sure the wolf was still far enough not to sense a human's presence, but he had never shown them to anyone at his brother's request. Karl hoped that people, especially trophy hunters, would leave the wolf alone.
"Hey, buddy," Karl whispered, as he watched the wolf while carefully staying out of sight. "Unbelievable… Even our speedboats took a few minutes to get here. But you just swam all the way! You really are amazing…" He could feel warmth spread across his chest as his gaze was filled with deep admiration.
A tall, hooded figure came out of the woods and approached the wolf, whose unusual outfit caught Karl's attention. More than that, he was on the alert now. Should there be any suspicious movement from the man, Karl was not going to hesitate to do anything to protect the wolf.
The wolf seemed to be eyeing this new arrival as well. But instead of running away, he sat down. The hooded person took off his hood, revealing a man with long crimson hair. He knelt down in front of the wolf and bowed. He extended his hand— palm upturned— but stopped just a few inches short of touching the wolf and waited. The wolf looked at his hand, sniffed, and Karl's jaw dropped when the wolf gently laid his chin on the man's palm.
"Wha- Hey!" Karl stepped out of the bushes and yelled.
The wolf immediately left the other man and ran towards him. Karl raised both arms and made himself look as big as he could and yelled at the top of his lungs. Seeing the wolf back away a bit, Karl picked up rocks to throw at where the wolf was, without hitting him directly.
"Go! Go away!!! I told you before, don't ever come near people!"
The wolf finally turned and ran away, slumped. Seeing the excitement in those eyes and body language dissipate hurt Karl as well, but he forced himself to stay composed. It was for the best, he decided, as a childhood memory resurfaced in his mind.
*******
Karl was out in the beaches, playing alone, until a small group of teenagers came towards him.
"Oh look, it's the little boy with creepy eyes."
"Yeah, why are your eyes so weird? From far away they look normal, but up close it's all bright and blue!"
"Monster! Weirdo! Freak!"
Karl did his best to ignore them, as his mother had taught him. But this seemed to annoy the boys even more until one of them pushed him. Just then, he heard a wolf howl. And it sounded very close.
It frightened the boys and made them run away. As soon as the kids were gone, Karl saw the wolf coming out from the bushes. Instead of being scared, his eyes widened in surprise. He didn't remember ever seeing a creature so majestic and beautiful.
His heart beat faster as the wolf came closer. He was so entranced, all his lessons in school about how wild animals should be left alone flew out the window. The wolf sniffed him then curled up beside him.
Karl cautiously reached out then, seeing no hint of resistance, caressed the wolf's head, giggling. "You're so gentle…"
That night, he ran home, face flushed with excitement. He couldn't wait to tell his parents. But before he had a chance to, he saw a frightening video on television. It was a documentary about the plight of wild animals, and among them, wolves and bears being gunned down from helicopters and their packs being hunted and killed right in their dens. Thousands of them, including defenseless pups and cubs, were massacred.
He suffered one of his worst attacks after that, and was rushed to the hospital where he stayed for weeks. Every night, he cried to his mother, both in anger and frustration at how powerless he felt. He hated how he couldn't do anything to help them.
Not long after, he crossed paths with the wolf again. With tears streaming down his eyes, he threw stones towards the wolf, never once hitting him.
"Stop. Don't come near me ever again. Go! Go away!!!" He had not intended to yell, but the wolf seemed to have gotten the message and left.
*******
Karl scowled at the man. "I don't know how you did that, but don't ever come near wildlife again. They need to stay wary of humans. Trusting us will cost them their lives."
The man stood up and walked towards him. Karl only got up to about his nose (his eyes, if he took into account his lively hair sprouts that always stood upright no matter how many times he brushed them down), but that did not intimidate him. Having encountered aliens of all shapes and sizes, Team Alpha's shortest member had taken down opponents at least twice his size in their missions.
From far away, the man's eyes seemed the usual dark color, but up close, Karl noticed they were actually gold, like the sun.
"I was simply paying my respects. You seem to have quite an odd way of greeting them here in your world, however." The man had a pleasing voice, and it sounded familiar.
"He looks like a prince straight out of a manga. Is this some kind of cosplay?" Karl's eyes drooped, realizing too late that his thoughts went past his lips.
"I beg your pardon? What kind of play?" The man tilted his head to one side.
"It's when people dress up as their favorite characters. Usually, in events tough. Not on a deserted island like this."
Their conversation was halted by a bright flash above, making both men look up. A hole opened in the sky, where fighters the size of an F-15 came out, swiftly heading their way.
Karl spoke to his watch. "Ava, establish connection."
"Connected," the virtual assistant replied.
"I am from Earth's Galaxy Defense Force. Identify yourself," Karl said. When he got no answer, he tried once more. "I repeat, identify yourself."
Without responding, the fighters sped towards the island and landed on the beach. Humanoid creatures with green fur, bulging eyes, and goat-like horns above their ears hopped out of their fighters. They had hostile expressions, and they were armed with weapons. As soon as they set foot on the shore, they started firing. "Crap, another wormhole invasion," Karl frowned.
The mysterious man stood in front, shielding him. He reached for the scabbard under his cloak and pulled out a long sword, similar to that of historical swords called tachis that Karl had seen in museums.
"And now it's a sword. It's beautiful… But it really does look like cosplay," he muttered unwittingly.
The red haired man, looking amused at Karl's reaction to his weapon, rolled his eyes at those words. "Just stay back, little one. I won't let them come anywhere near you."
He flipped his long crimson hair then dashed towards the oncoming alien bandits, taking them down in swift, graceful moves. For a moment, Karl was mesmerized by the fluid motion until he noticed a couple of aliens bolting towards the wolf.
He raced towards the fallen invaders and kicked a gun to his right hand and then another to his left. Eyes focused, he shot at the ones going after the wolf first, letting the wolf run and hide. He then fired at the other bandits, aiming straight at their weapons with flawless accuracy, disarm the whole group and rendering them defenseless.
"Well then. We can either keep going, or you can scram," Karl smirked, blowing on one of his pistols.
The dumbfounded enemies surrounding them hurriedly scrambled back to their fighters, even the ones who were already down on the ground. They flew off and disappeared back into the wormhole as if they were never there. Soon after, the wormhole vanished as well.
"Irregular wormholes like these have been popping out a lot lately," he said as he stood side by side with the mysterious man, who looked genuinely surprised.
"Impressive. Looks like there was never a need to protect you. Forgive me; I had underestimated you."
Karl looked up at him. "Never judge a book by its cover."
Their gazes at each other lingered before the man said "Won't you tell me your na-"
"Your fighting skills were no less impressive, either." Chris' voice came from the bushes, catching their attention before the mysterious man could finish his question.
"Captain! You're back," Karl grinned brightly as he trotted towards Chris with Bianca in tow. "Hey Bianca, you okay?"
"Yep!" Bianca beamed back. "You were amazing, as always."
"You guys saw what happened?" Karl gawked.
"Yes, from behind the bushes. Captain said it was a good opportunity to observe him," Bianca nodded her head towards the sword fighter. "And in case he did turn out to be hostile, we were ready to come to your rescue, both from the ground, and from the air. You can disengage stealth mode now, you guys."
Karl looked up to see a pair of fighters becoming visible above them. In one of them, Hogan was standing by with a long rifle aimed at the stranger on the beach.
Chris held his hand up at the sniper, palm opened, then lowered it. The blonde-haired pilot put down his rifle by his side and relaxed, adjusting his glasses. Hogan and Tala landed their fighters on the beach, where the members of Team Alpha assembled.
Chris walked towards the mysterious man, who was just slightly taller than him. Looking directly into his golden eyes, he asked. "Just for confirmation, are you the pilot of the ship that entered our atmosphere last night and rescued my team member?" He gestured towards Karl.
"Yes, it was I," the man nodded.
"You have my thanks. We are from the Galaxy Defense Force. Would it be all right if we asked you to come with us to our headquarters? We'd like to ask you a few questions."
"That's fine with me." The man complied with Chris' request without hesitation, then shifting his gaze to Karl, smiling as he added "I, too, have questions I'd like to ask you."