Madison landed with a painful thud, crashing down with her body against the deck whilst Haylee was scrambling to keep Elez and Jade safe. They had made it back to the Shellshock, but no one was in any position to fight. Haylee was the only one who could still stand without shaking.
"Get the ship moving, immediately." Madison ordered, transforming back into her human form as she spoke. She stumbled and struggled to stand with the gunshots that had pierced the thick scales of her Dragon form, but she could walk, and that's all she needed to do.
"What about-" Haylee was cut off.
"I'll heal the others, but please. Just get us out of here." Madison replied, stepping over and taking Elez and Jade away from her.
"Ok." Haylee nodded, rushing up towards the wheel as she raised the sails and escaped into the fog. Madison smiled at her determination, before weakly dragging Elez and Jade below the deck, laying them both down in the nearest room that she could find. Even if they were laying together in a small single bed, Madison didn't have much energy left to carry them much further.
Slowly, she reached down and bit her lip, before wiggling the harpoon out of the folds in Elez's bloody wing. She was careful, of course she was, but the weapon had struck him deep, and she was afraid that he would never fly again.
As the harpoon slid out, Elez winced in pain, but the Angel boy had yet to awaken from his painful slumber. Instead, his body lay lifeless while his chest barely rose with each staggered breath. Madison stood helpless, unable to use her own magic to assist him. But then, she noticed that satchel that Elez had so greatly guarded with his life.
Slowly, she reached inside and pulled a bottle out, watching as the glimmering liquid radiated a calm but healing energy. Without hesitation, she popped off the cap and drank it whole, testing it on herself before she even thought about risking the lives of her crew. Nothing happened at first, but Madison's pain seemed instantly reduced. She knew it wasn't poison, so that was good enough.
Wiggling the satchel away from Elez's side, Madison removed an armful of potions from within, before gently pouring one into each of the boy's mouths. She waited and watched, but nothing seemed to happen. The only noticable difference was their lack of pain.
"I'll check on you in the morning," she said, leaning down to embrace Elez's body, before wrapping him up in what little bandages they had left, and tucking him in under the covers of the bed.
Stepping out of the room, Madison approached Zenith's door, only to notice the stray poisoned bodies that littered the hallway. Her eyes went wide with fear as she rushed to Zenith's room, slamming open the door while looking around in horror and panic.
"Pip?!" She called out, almost yelling the young boy's name in a frantic attempt to locate him. Her eyes soon fell to the bedsheets though, noticing their deep crimson colour while the small fox boy was left curled up and passed out from blood loss. Madison's eyes filled with tears of anger, as she rushed forwards to embrace her brave child, holding his body close while she gently administered a potion to him. Pip stayed silent, but she knew that it was helpful.
After wrapping his shoulder in a loose towel, Madison laid Pip down beside Zenith, tucking him up to his father's side while she slowly gave out one of her last remaining potions. Zenith's pain was visibly sapped away, as the young swordsman slept silently with no further movement. His breathing stabilised but his wounds were still present.
Shaking and seething with anger, Madison left the room and gathered the bodies, finding all three men passed out or dead on the ground. Despite her pain, she dragged them all to the top deck, before pushing each one over the side to be dealt with by the deep sea monsters. Just before she could release the final man though, she noticed that unlike the others, his heart was still beating. Quickly, she pulled him away from the edge, before gripping his ankle tightly and dragging him like a sac through the lower decks of the Shellshock. Then, after finally locating the holding cells, she tossed him inside with little care for his life, chaining him down to stop any form of escape.
Her work was done, but she still had one more patient to see. So, after locking every entrance to the holding cells, she stepped up to Kaylo's door and silently walked inside.
"You're going to be ok," she said, her voice filled with pain and tears. "You're all going to be ok." She muttered, stepping up to his side as she gently administered the potion. "I'm so sorry, it should have been me." She cried, leaning down to hold his broken body while the boy slipped deep into a soft and painless sleep.
Madison stayed there for many moments, waiting patiently for any form of results. But when Kaylo refused to respond, she stood and walked away, returning to Zenith's side as she laid down with him and Pip. Her tears flooded the sheets like an ocean, but after hours of greif and sadness, she too drifted off into a deep and well deserved slumber.