Two days went by, and Leo finally awoke. He looked around with his blurry vision. "Am I dead?" Leo asked himself. Looking down, he saw many cables and tubes connected to him. He ripped them out of each arm and stood up.
All of his injuries and dizziness hit him, and he collapsed. The monitors started beeping, and the doctors ran it. "The patient woke up. Notify the Fleet Admiral." As Leo began to black out again, several feet ran up to him, and the doctors lifted him back on the bed.
A few hours went by, and he opened his eyes to see a blue-eyed and blonde headed beauty sitting next to him. He looked at Lucy and asked, "is this the afterlife?"
She giggled and nodded. "Yes, I'm your beautiful soul reaper. You must do everything I say."
"Lucy cut that out." The voice came from a man sitting on the other side of him. He had sharp thin eyes, and his pitch black hair pulled back. "Take it easy. You are safe, and you are not dead."
"I'm safe...." Leo thought to himself. Where was I just at? Flashes of the fight he was in came to him.
"First, what is your name?" asked Hiro.
"I'm...Leo," Leo responded half out of it. Then the last thing he remembered came back to him. A space blast was fired at him, and he blocked it with Sprite. "Sprite! Say something!" Freaking out Leo looked down at the broken watch.
Leo couldn't move too much because Hiro had him restrained after he got up that morning. "Sprite. Sprite...." Leo started crying.
Lucy looked puzzled. Was that watch an artificial intelligence artifact? While she was thinking about it, Hiro interrupted her thought process. "Lucy lets give him some time." Hiro got up and walked over to Lucy to nudge her out of the room.
"Why do I have to leave. He is just upset."
"Lucy stop." Hiro walked out of the room pushing Lucy out the door.
Leo cried that entire night and didn't eat anything. He lost his best friend and companion. Every time a doctor came in, he yelled at them to get out.
That night Leo laid in that bed and for once felt what it meant to be alone truly. Ever since he was little, Sprite was always there. This caused Leo to have a subconscious dependency on him. Nothing would ever be too hard as long as he had Sprite. Could even survive in this world without him?
Leo circulated his mana through Preaza's core and recovered quite a bit of strength. The next morning he allowed the doctors to bring him food. Seeing the boy more docile they let him out of the cuffs. Hiro stopped by, but Leo didn't say a word he just sat there staring at his watch.
That night Leo drifted off to sleep.
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The Collector fired another space blast at Leo this time. Leo couldn't even move. He watched the distorted blast hurdle towards him. "Sir, block the attack with me."
Leo didn't even think about it and raised his arm. At this point, if Sprite told him to do something, he didn't question it. The blast smashed into Leo's wrist. It just came to Leo that he used Sprite to block the blast. "Sprite, noo..."
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Leo sat up screaming. Cold sweat was pouring down his body. Tears were rolling down his face. Leo didn't fall asleep and just sat there and circulated his mana. Lucy watched him through the window with intrigue. The first time in a long time she felt sorry for someone.
On the fourth day of Leo being there, Lucy and Hiro came to talk to him. "Good morning Leo. Are you up for talking a bit?"
Leo just nodded his head looking lifeless and exhausted.
"Well like I said yesterday my name is Hiro. I was one who rescued you in the arena."
"Thank you..."
"I brought you to a surviving group of humans in the Pacific Ocean. We call ourself the Renegades. I was on a mission to collect intel on the beastmen, and once I saw you, I had to bring you back." Hiro looked to see if Leo was following. Even though the boy showed no interest, he continued.
"To get straight to the point, Leo we want you to join us as a knight. Lucy and I are both knights here. We are the few warriors who can use mana."
Lucy looked into the boy's eyes, and an ancient memory came to her. It was her mourning after her lover died. She then looked at Leo, and his eyes told her everything she knew.
"Leo, if you join us we might be able to find a way to repair your watch," Lucy interjected Hiro's words.
Leo almost instantaneously awoke from where ever his mind was. "Is that...is that true? Might we be able to repair Sprite? I'll do anything you guys want." The blank void expression he had changed into a sliver hope.
Hiro smiled at Lucy's quick thinking. "Yes, Leo we will do whatever we can. Knights have high precedence here, and we will do everything in our power to repair your watch named Sprite." Hiro thought it was weird to name a watch, but he saw how humans go crazy if they're alone, so he brushed it off.
"Right now, recover. Lucy will bring you food later. Right, Lucy?" Hiro asked Lucy.
Lucy gave a big smile and answered, "of course. I'd love too." On the ship was boring, she thought that this new man was full of mysterious. Just like any young girl, she was curious.
Hiro and Lucy left after, and Leo stood up. He grabbed the metal orb off an end table and started training. His life had a new purpose.
"Sprite you protected me all my life. I promise you I will survive long enough to bring you back." These words gave Leo a strength that would carry with him for a long time.
Leo sat down cross-legged. He floated the orb in front of him while absorbing mana from the lion's core into his skin. He had to complete this process as fast as he could and get stronger.
Lucy watched him through the window as she did the past few days. She was surprised why this boy interested her so much.