"NO! YOU'RE DEAD!" Rai screamed, his yellow eyes peering with shock and terror into the 'face' of the beast that held him in the air, a red, angry glow staring back at him. "I KILLED YOU!! I FUCKING KILLED YOU!!"

Rai tried to struggle, wiggling his body as hard as he could to shake himself free. But it was of no use. 
Nine was far too strong for that.

"That is correct." Nine said with little hint of emotion. "However..."

Nine let go of the raichu's hand, letting him fall. Before Rai could hit the ground, however, Nine delivered a punch straight to Rai's gut. Rai's eyes went wide with pain, as he was sent flying backwards, straight into one of the maze walls. The raichu hit the wall so hard, that a crack formed behind him on impact. He bounced off of it, and hit the dirt face first.

"The one you call 'Shia." He continued. "He jump started my core systems with his own electrical abilities."

Loona could not believe what she'd just heard.

"Shia..." She coughed as she sat up shakily, and watched the events unfold from where she was.

 Nine slowly walked towards Rai, who desperately tried to crawl to his feet, but stumbled, falling upon one knee. Electricity charged in his cheek, as he tried, one more time, to use the same attack that had fell the monstrous Protogen the first time. 
With a pained scream, he fired the thunderbolt, right straight at Nine.

Only for Nine to quickly sidestep out of the way, allowing the bolt to pass by harmlessly and crash into an opposing wall.

"That will not happen again." 

Rai tried to rise to his feet, only to fall again. This time, onto his rear end. As the robotic wolf approached, Rai could only try to crawl away, backwards, from him. It was a futile effort, as even as slow as he was currently walking, Nine easily caught up with the injured raichu. 

Nine's paw shot forth, wrapping around part of the raichu's neck. Rai found himself once again lifted off the ground. But this time, choked in the process.

"It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak." Nine spoke solemnly. "This, right here, proves why this ideology exists. And... why I carry  it personally, wherever I go."

"Please..." Rai choked out pleadingly.  "Don't kill me. I'll do anything! Anything!!" He begged, his eyes large with fear. "Y-ou wa... ant Shia? ... And the girl?" He coughed.  "Y-You can have them!"

Nine's expression darked, as did its hue. Rai quickly realized this was not working, so he pleaded further. 

"I'll... " He wheezed. "I'll go away! I'll never return! I, I'll stop doing this. I-I-I'll even prune myself! Just please... Let me go!"

"Let you go?!" Nine growled darkly, his visor expression now a full blood red. "Even if I had reason to believe any of your promises, which. I. Don't. Why should I do that? So you can ruin even more lives?" Nine growled accusingly. "I doubt Shia, Loona, and this... Veera person are the first ones you've ruined. How many, Rai. How many lives have you destroyed? How many have committed suicide after you let them go? How many have you consigned to worse fates? How many like you convince to follow the same path as you, as you tried to do with Shia? How many lives have they ruined in turn?"

Nine drew Rai in close. 

" 'A Wheel the size of the universe. A wheel that was spinning before we were born. So you just indulge." Nine said darkly. "That is your ideology, if you could call it that. Is that not correct?"

The look in Rai's eyes was all Nine needed to know.

"... Surprised? Don't be. I have heard it before. And allow me to inform you... that it is an absurd lie. One told to cover up one's own guilt, and try to absolve them of the consequences of their actions. To hide the fact that it is by your own choices, and yours alone, that you are a monster. Just. Like.... Me."  

The shock on Rai's face was clear as day.

"I should kill you for what you have done. For what you might yet do. For every soul you sold this lie to."

Rai's face turned blue, and his eyes closed as Nine's grip tightened. His struggles intensified as he was choked of air.

"However..."

Nine's grip loosened. Rai used the opportunity to take as long of a gasp of air as he could.

"I made a promise. And I intended to keep it."

A small expression of relief crossed Rai's face upon hearing that. Nine's facial hue returned to its normal blue, as its expression turned more neutral. No longer enraged, but now, merely determined.

"For the moment however..."

Nine let go of the raichu, allowing him to fall. Only to be grabbed a split second later, this time by the face.

"Lights out."

Before Rai could respond, Nine slammed his head into the wall as hard as he could without killing him. His body fell limp as the back of his head impacted the wall behind him, and Nine let go of him.

Nine heard the soft patter of a pair of small, fearful footsteps approach him from behind. 

"Is... Is he..." The small, frightened voice of Shia questioned from behind. 

"He'll live." Nine responded. "As I promised."

"Th-Thank you." Shia cried shakily.

Nine leaned down, and carefully removed the scabbard off of the now unconscious raichu. He took the scabbard, and with a determined pull, broke the body strap from one side of it, and then repeated the action with the other. He rolled the raichu onto his stomach, and began his work.

Shia said nothing while he watched the Protogen fold the fallen rat's arms and legs behind him, binding both together in a hogtie. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had enough material from the scabbard to do this.

"I must still advise against letting this creature live, especially if he were to escape." Nine commented as he inspected his handiwork. "Still, I will honor your decision. For your sake, however, I hope you understand what you are doing."

"Shia..."

Shia turned around, and saw an angry Loona standing over him. Fearful, he ran behind Nine, and hid behind his giant legs.

"You... You..." She began angrily, only to sigh in defeat. "You did good."

"R... Really?" Shia stammered. "I-"

"But don't think I've forgiven you." She quickly added with a huff. "For getting us into this mess, and for what you nearly did to me-"

"Loona, stop. It's over now. It's time to let it go." Nine interrupted her firmly.

"Hpmh." Loona grunted as she folded her arms and looked away angrily.

"Nine!" Another voice approached, this time belonging to Eilumi. "I... thought you were a goner. For good this time." He coughed. He was joined by Khaun.

"All of us almost were." Khaun adds. "Have we really gotten this rusty since the Occassus War?"

"We might very well have been, if not for young Shia here." Nine replied, patting the young Shia on the head, who in turn only looked away.

"Well, I guess there is nothing else to do here then, we should beam back to the dropship." Eilumi said thoughtfully. "Ansel's probably running scared up there."

"You go." Nine responded.

"Nine?" Loona, Eiluni, and Khaun all asked worriedly.

"I have some... words, for young Shia here." Nine said slowly, his attention turning towards him as Shia shied away. "... Alone."

"Are you sure Nine? You know that all activities are pack activitie-"

"Not this one." Nine cut him off. "Besides, you need tending to. As does Loona."

"Well... you aren't wrong." Eilumi sighed, followed by a quick gasp of pain, to which Loona and Khaun both rushed over and held him up as clutched his arm. "We... aren't in the best of shape."

"Go. Now." Nine ordered. "I will beam back to the ship myself. Later."

"Well, alright." Eilumi looked at Loona. "Loona, hang onto me."

"I already a-" Loona did not get to finish before she was enveloped by a familiar purple light. A few moments later, the dropship turned, and sped off, out of the maze and into the skies above.

Nine and Shia both watched them leave. Now sure that he was completely alone with him, Nine finally spoke.

"Come with me, Shia. We will speak in the cabin." Shia looked scared. Nine saw this, and replied calmly. "Do not worry. I do not intend to harm you in any way or form. I do owe you my continued functioning, after all."

Nine trekked back to the cabin. Shia took a small, cautious glance towards Rai.

"Just leave him there." Nine ordered softly. Shia nodded, and followed the large Protogen back into the cabin.

-----

Sometime later, back in the safety of their ship, the two avali and two mons sat around a small table, talking and discussing things over a much-needed hot meal.

Loona had to admit, she had been somewhat off-put when she had learned that Ansel was part of the same guild as the pignite that had beaten and raped her. But, after hearing what he had gone through there, as well as his past as a dungeon dweller, she had warmed up to him.

Although, it had of course, only made her hate the guild all the more. Not to mention it confirmed what she had already learned in these past few harrowing days: the Guild's honor was dead and gone. Any semblance of what it had once stood for or the function it had served was replaced by a mere parody of everything it had fought for and against in the past.

"If that's the case..." She said as she sipped her drink. It was an odd, but good tasting concoction, though she had no idea what it consisted of, nor did she particularly care at the moment. It had a fruity flavor, that much she could tell. "... It's probably better that I was not able to join the guild."

"I really want to say that you are wrong, Loona. But I really cannot." Ansel replied sadly, as he sipped his own drink.

"I can't imagine what might have happened to me had I not met you guys." She smiled at her two Avali friends.

---
Back in Sandstone, a certain charmander had the strangest and most sudden sense of guilt, but for the life of him he could not understand why.
---

The four's meal was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. 

"Nine!" Eilumi chirped happily. The others turned to see him, their faces brightening with happiness. They got up from where they were sitting, and tightly hugged him. Nine returned the hug, though less tight as to not hurt his old, and new friends.

"You stayed down there for several standard hours." Khaun chirped. "We were beginning to get worried about you!"

"Yes. We talked for quite a long time." Nine responded.

It was at that moment, that Loona realized that Nine was alone.

"Wait... Where's Shia?" She asked worriedly.

"He..." Nine sighed. "He will not be joining us."

"What?!" Loona gasped.

"He chose to remain on the planet." Nine replied, his visor showing a saddened face.

"All alone? But... But why?" 

"No. Not alone. I have left him in good company."

Loona's eyes went wide.

"Please tell me that you did not leave him with that bastard!" Loona nearly shouted.

"No. Not with Rai." Nine responded assuredly, yet sadly. "With Veera."

"With Ve-" Loona stopped mid sentence as she realized what he'd just said. Her face wore an expression of shock. "You... You found her?!"

"She found us." Nine corrected. "I will tell you."

----

Shia cried on Nine's shoulder. At first, he had been scared of nine. But, eventually, Nine was able to get the poor boy to open up to him. And when he had, the dam broke. The little Shinx had told Nine of what had happened to him. What he had been through. Of what Rai had nearly tricked him into doing. In detail. Of how he nearly raped his best friend at Rai's behest, of this 'wheel' he had driven into his head.

And through it all, Nine had calmly listened, never once throwing accusations or words of guilt his way. And when Shia was finished, he had asked Nine if he thought he was a monster. If he was irredeemable. 

Nine had said one word:

"No."

Nine told him that he did not blame Shia for what he did, nor should he blame himself for what Rai had almost made him do. He then told Shia about his own past. It was something that had scared Shia at first, but in the end, it seemed to have given the poor, shaking boy some level of hope. 

But now, the words were done. And all that was left was the crying. The days, possibly weeks of pain being let out.

And Nine was the shoulder Shia cried upon. He petted the poor boy, the large protogen doing his best to comfort him in his sorrow.

Just as she would have done.

Suddenly, his cybernetically enhanced ears perked as they picked up some voices coming from the outside.

"I... I know this raichu! That's him, Brene!" An unfamiliar female. Shouted excitedly. It was followed by another one.

"Wait, if that's him there, then... Who's in there?" This one sounded familiar, but he could not remember where he had heard it.

Nine, who had been sitting on the floor with Shia, slowly took him and carefully placed him off to the side.

"N-Nine?" He sniffed.

"Stay here." Nine ordered firmly. "We have unidentified company, and I do not know of its intent.."

Shia nodded sadly. 

"Do not worry, Shia." He assured him, "If they are hostile, I will protect you from them."

Shia watched as Nine left the building, and stepped outside to greet and inspect the newcomer.
Said newcomers in question consisted of a yellow, dog-like person with spiky fur, and a strange, mushroom-dinosaur person.

People that were looking familiar to Nine, yet he could not remember when he had seen them.

"I-It-It's the weird mons again!" The yellow ones yelled.

"Have we met?" Nine questioned. 

Suddenly, he remembered.

"Now I recall. My packmates and I inquired about the location of Loona,  and the one named 'Veera'. Correct?" Nine asked. Seeing that he was not getting an answer, he continued. "I recall that you told us that you did not know of any of their locations. And yet, you are here. For your information, we have already located Loona. And her friend, Shia."

"Who are you, WHAT are you?" The yellow dog barked angrily.  "Where's Shia? What have you done with him? Wait... Loona? What have you done with her?!"

"You better start talking... whatever you are!" Her friend added, cracking her 'knuckles' threateningly. A display that did not concern him at all.

"Nine?" Shia asked meekly from the doorway.. "What's going on?"

"Shia, stay back. I do not know if they are-"

"V-Veera?" He suddenly shouted. "I... Is that you?"

"Shia?!" The yellow dog yelled back. "Shia it's me! We're here to rescue you!"

"VEEEEERRRRAAAAAA!!!" Before any of them could respond, Shia made a beeline straight for Veera, arms outstretched as he ran. Tears flowed from his eyes as he ran straight for her.

The mushroom woman got into a fighting position, apparently ready to lay the beatdown upon the Protogen standing between them and Shia the moment he made a move to stop the boy, seemingly caring little for the fact that he was much bigger than she was.

However, Nine made no such move. He allowed Shia to run right past him. This seemed to cause the mushroom to relax a little, more out of confusion than relief or trust.

Shia leapt upon his friend, the two of them crying as they embraced each other. 

"So... this is Veera?" Nine questioned. "Odd. She does not match the description provided by Loona's memories-"

"Y... You've become a Jolteon!" Shia cried as he hugged his friend.

"A... Jolteon?" Nine questioned. He soon shook his head. "I do not understand this. But if Shia says you are Veera, then I have no reason to doubt his word."

"What did this guy do to you, Shia?" Veera growled as she hugged him, glaring angrily a Nine.

"He..." Shia sniffled. "He saved me."

"You Monst-" Veera's angry shout was stopped mid sentence. "Wait, WHAT?!"

"It is true." Nine confirmed. "My packmates. Loona. And me... we saved him."

"But... But..." Veera protested. She looked at the tied up, and still unconscious Rai. And then back to Nine.

"Huh..." The as of yet unidentified mushroom person said, her hand going to her chin in thought as she looked at Rai. "Then, you did this?"

"That is correct."

She looked confused. As did Veera. 

"Brene?" Veera asked. "I'm so confused."

"You and me both, Veera." Brene replied as she rubbed her forehead. "I still don't know who these guys are or why they're doing this. In fact, where are the other guys?"

"And where's Loona?" Veera demanded.

"Yes. I do believe I owe you an explanation." Nine replied. He turned back towards the cabin. "If you will follow me inside, I will explain everything."

"Alright, but no funny business." Brene warned as she, Veera, and Shia began to follow him inside. "I still don't completely trust you."

Veera gave a worried look towards the still tied up, and still unconscious raichu.

"... Just leave him there, Veera."

---
Some time later, Nine had explained everything that had happened. How they had first found Loona, how they had scanned her memories. Something that had made Veera mad, but he had assured them that they had no idea of the suffering she had endured up to that point. They had scanned her memories for research purposes, and for the purpose of upgrading their translation software in order to speak and read in this planet's language. But they had regretted it after they'd found out what kind of pain she'd gone through. He told them about how they had endeavored to keep her aboard their ship, as a way to make amends and to give her a level of comfort. 
He told them that his two packmates thought she'd just wanted to return home to save her friends, while not knowing that what she had really wanted was to stay. And that when they had found out, they had endeavored to get her back, to apologise for their errors, and to take her under their wings, both figurative and literal, once more. For good, this time.

"That explains why you asked us about them." Brene said, to which Nine responded. "You know, you could have made this a lot easier if you had just told us why you were looking for them."

"It's... not like we asked." Veera said shamefully.

"No need to dwell on it, Veera." Nine responded calmly. "It has turned out alright in the end."

He then explained how they'd searched the maze, found Loona captured and Shia with him, and of the battle that had ensued.

Nine had been careful to leave out certain... Unnecessary details. There was no reason to tell them about Nightles or Ansel, especially considering that Brene was herself a guild member. Or so her badge seemed to indicate anyway.

He also did not tell them about what Rai had tried to, and nearly succeeded in tricking Shia into doing to Loona. That was not his confession to make, and he had no wish to drive these two friends, who were comfortingly embracing one another, apart.

He did tell them though about how Rai had nearly killed him, and how it was only thanks to Shia that he remained to function, thanks to him jumpstarting his systems with his own electric attacks.

"Just when I thought I'd seen and heard everything." Brene sighed. "Strange mons from beyond the skies... Are you even mons at all?"

"I do not believe so, no." Nine replied. "We do not 'evolve' the same as your kind does, nor are we capable of special powers."

Veera then told him their side of the story. About meeting Brene, about Gaben, about meeting them, and how they'd gone into the maze to find and save Shia... only to run into him instead.

"It seems you too have suffered in this broken world." Nine said softly. "This brings me to the question that I must now ask."

He got to his feet, and knelt before Veera. 

"As I have mentioned, Loona has decided to join us. And a friend of hers is a friend of ours. So now, I must extend the same offer to you, and Shia both." He extended an open paw towards her. "Do you wish to also join us, to leave this planet behind, to make a new home amongst the stars?"

"I... I..." Veera looked at him thoughtfully. She paused. 

"Take as long as you need. This is not an easy decision to make."

She looked at Nine. Then at Brene, then at Shia, and then back again.

"I... I must..." Veera stuttered. She took a large breath, and then sighed. "I know this world can be terrible at times. People like Gaben. Like Rai... But... I have found friends here. People that care about me. Brene, Ara, Igon. I can't just leave them behind." She shook her head. "I am sorry, Nine. But as tempting as the offer is, I must say no."

Nine's 'face' changed to an expression of sadness. "Loona will be disappointed. But I'm sure she will understand. And yourself, Shia?"

"I..." He took one look at Veera. "No. I want to stay here with Veera."

"... I See." Nine replied sadly. He rose from his knee, and stood tall. "Then, our business is concluded. I will take my leave of you now, content that I have left young Shia here in good hands."

"Th-Thank you Nine. I'll take good care of him. I promise!" Veera said back.

"Goodbye, friends of Loona. It is not likely that we will meet again."

Nine stared towards the door. He stopped before he could exit.

"Oh, there is one more thing to ask. About our not-so-friendly 'friend'" Nine pointed at the raichu. "Is there any sort of jail or prison you may take him to-"

"No. I'm afraid not. Even if there is such a place, he is a guild member. Official or not, he still has the rights of one, so no one would punish him." Brene explained sadly. "The only people that have the places and power to lock him up are the nobles. And as you've heard from Veera... well, I'm surprised he and Gaben weren't already best buds."

"In that case, it falls to me." Nine says.

"But... But you promised!" Shia protested.

"I did. And I will keep this promise of not killing him, nor allowing my packmates to do so." Nine responded reassuringly. "This world may not have options, but we do. I will imprison him in the brig of our ship. From there, we will take him to the Peacekeepers. Although he is from an unclaimed world, hopefully his crimes will be enough that they will ignore this and imprison him themselves. If they do not.... We will drop him off on a world that lacks any sentient life. Either way, he will be in a place where no possible harm can come to him, and more importantly, he can do no possible harm to anyone else." 

Shia opened his mouth to protest, but Veera looked at him and shook his head.

"It's for the best, Shia."

Shia looked at her, and simply nodded.

Nine went outside, followed closely by the three friends. He picked up Rai, and flung him over his shoulder. Nine then turned back towards the group one last time.

"Farewell, my friends." Nine was about to send the signal via his neural interface to the mothership to beam him back up, when he remembered something.

"Oh, and Veera, before I go..."

"Yes?" She asked. 

"... Don't be hard on him. It wasn't his fault."

"W... What do you mean?" Veera questioned. Shia looked away guilty.

"It's not for me to say. He will tell you when he is ready, but don't force it out of him. And as I've said, it's not his fault."

Before Veera could demand an answer, Nine was already gone.

---

"So... So she chose to stay behind..." Loona said sadly.

"Do you wish to speak with her one last time?" Nine asked.

Loona raised her hand, and opened her mouth to speak. But no words came out. She dropped her hand, and closed her mouth, letting out only a sigh.

"... No." She finally replied sadly.

"Are you quite sure?" Nine questioned. "Do you not want to say goodbye? Perhaps, urge her to reconsider?"

"... I am sure." Loona responded firmly. "I do not understand what she sees in that place, but if she's found some kind of happiness there, and wishes to stay behind for it, then that's her decision. And besides..."

She looked down at the floor in sorrow.

"... I'm not ready to forgive Shia."

"It wasn't his fault-"

"I know, Nine". She growled. "But even knowing that, I just... can't. Maybe someday when I'm all over this. But... today ... is not that day."

"Wait... You said that Rai... is in the brig?"

"That is correct."

Everyone except Nine collectively facepalmed.

"Nine... you IDIOT!" Eilumi protested.

"Great, now we're stuck dragging around a dangerous, psychotic, electrified rapist on board." Khaun groaned. "If he gets out somehow and uses those powers of his in the right area, he could wreck the whole damn ship!"

"Dammit, Nine! You should have cleared this up with the rest of us!" Eilumi argued.

"Your concerns are valid, but misplaced." Nine responded reassuringly. "I have taken measures to ensure that he is properly restrained, drained, and grounded. I must also point out that we only need to keep him contained until we arrive at the Peacekeeper station. Which I must add, we were going there anyway, were we not?"

I... I suppose." Eilumi relented with a groan. "It's just... I don't think it's worth this. We could just cycle him out the airlock and be done with it-"

"Absolutely not!" Nine's visor changed to an 'anger' expression, though the hue remained blue. "I made a promise to Shia, and I intend to stick to it."

"... You know Nine, sometimes I wish you were just a teeny less honorable." Eilumi groaned.

A/N:
And so our story ends. It's been a ride, I'm not sure if anyone's actually reading these, or this story for that matter. But if you are, I personally think you for taking the time out to do so.

Some of you who may know me from either the discord, or the inkbunny comment wars may be surprised to see that I decided to spare Rai's life in the end. After all, I was firmly in the 'Rai deserves to die' camp as those people might remember.

That opinion... has not changed at all. I am sorry to say to said people. I am of the mindset that given the material conditions of the original comic, Rai truly did deserve to die... because there were no other satisfactory options available to them.

This is the important distinction that a lot of the people trying to say 'Rai is a bad person but he doesn't deserve to die' don't seem to understand. IRON doesn't take place in a modern day world with a rule of law, prison systems, or the means to rehabilitate or contain criminals like Rai. 
IRON's society is a barely functioning mess where the strong use and abuse the weak with very little consequences. Where having a guild badge means you're outranked only by the nobles, which gives you license to do basically whatever you want to the citizens, and ESPECIALLY the 'savages'. Taking him to jail is not an option there, because there aren't any jails for him to go to. The guild would not do anything either (after all, we saw how pignite treated Loona just for trying to join. Imagine what would happen if she had dragged Rai there and tried to get them to punish them. More than likely they'd have turned on her and gang raped her.) And Brene being a guild member herself doesn't help much here.

And, well, let's face it: Letting him go scott free is just a recipe for disaster. 

However, here we are talking about a group full of aliens from space. Who do in fact have other options. They have an organisation they can go to in order to turn Rai in, or if that fails, they can just leave him somewhere, alive, but alone.

That does raise the question though if marooning really is better a punishment than death. Death is, well, death. Once it's over, that's it. Whereas marooning him on an alien world with no other sentient life, is essentially a life sentence of solitary confinement. And those who study up on these sorts of things know that there's a reason that solitary confinement is considered a form of torture.

I guess though you'll have to read the Epilogue to find out whether or not that's actually what happens to him, though.