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Rupert shook his head once and raised his firearm, snapping out of the shock of seeing Right blast Amelia, John and Gordon.
”Move!” he snapped at Henry, stepping in front of him and raising his gun again as Right Hand Man turned his attention towards them.
Rupert took several shots at Right, one hitting his robotic eye and causing the cyborg to reel back.
”Captain, h-he…he j-just…” Bort stammered.
Right pulled out a gun and aimed it at Rupert.
”Take cover!” Rupert shouted, shoving Bort down; he turned briefly to glimpse Ambert ducking back under the crumpled bay door.
Rupert heard several gunshots and doubled over, but straightened and staggered back, eyes widening as he saw Right flying straight at him.
”Henry—“ Rupert shouted, but didn’t have a chance to say anything else as Right slammed into him; he saw blue sky and gray pavement as he was sent tumbling.
Rupert saw white thunderheads against blue sky when he opened his eyes, his hearing slowly trickling back, alerting him to distant shouts and gunshots.
”Henry?” he groaned, mind clinging onto his last thought before Right had tackled him.
Rupert took a deep breath and attempted to sit up, but regretted it when he felt a horrible pain.
He pressed a hand to his middle, gritting his teeth when it came away bloody.
Rupert tried again to get up but everything was spinning suddenly; all he could do was lie on his back and stare in an unfocused daze at the sky.
What happened? he thought, mind fuzzy. Where’s Amelia and…and…
…John…Gordon…they’re…they must be around…somewhere…
Someone loomed over Rupert.
”Amelia?” Rupert asked, feeling a little burst of hope.
He blinked a few times, his vision taking a moment to clear before he realized Right Hand Man standing over him.
Rupert immediately fumbled a hand out, hoping his gun was nearby.
”Oh, no, you don’t!”
Right slammed a foot down hard on his arm; Rupert let out a yell of agony as he heard a snap and felt a horrible burst of pain.
Rupert’s vision began to fade as Right put pressure on his broken arm; he ground his teeth and struggled, trying to unbalance Right, but the man barely moved.
Right raised his cybernetic arm and Rupert instinctively shut his eyes, a flash of bright red light burned into his vision as if he’d looked at the sun.
Right suddenly let out a grunt and stepped back, leaving Rupert gasping in both pain and relief as the weight was lifted from his broken arm.
When Rupert’s vision cleared he didn’t see Right anywhere.
”C-Captain…”
Bort’s weak voice came from somewhere off to the side and Rupert gingerly turned his head; he felt a faint pulse of relief upon seeing the soldier lying a few feet away, then panic when he saw that his uniform and the ground were soaked with blood.
”Coming…” Rupert muttered, hissing in pain as he tried to claw his way over using his good arm. “Hold on, Bort…”
”Captain, stop! Don’t move!”
Rupert jolted when he saw Ambert leaning over him.
”Help…Bort…” Rupert mumbled, pointing shakily.
“Anthony’s with him!” Ambert said, pressing his hands to Rupert’s middle. “He’ll be alright!”
Rupert groaned.
”Sorry, Captain…hang in there,” Ambert muttered.
”…Turtle…Eel…n’ Frog…”
“…I know.”
Rupert tried to take steady breaths, but the increasing pain was making it difficult.
”Where’s…Henry?”
“I don’t know.”
Rupert squeezed his eyes shut.
”Captain?”
A hand touched his shoulder.
Rupert gave a weak mumble and the hand shook his shoulder roughly.
”Captain, stay with me! Help’s almost here, alright? We’ll have you out of here soon!”
Rupert attempted to focus on the voice and the sensation of the hand on his shoulder, but everything suddenly faded out.
“Rupert?”
Rupert jolted upright, touching his cheek as he felt something stuck to it; he’d fallen asleep on the mission notes.
”Dinner’s ready,” Dave said, putting a hand on Rupert’s shoulder.
Rupert blinked a few times and peeled the paper off his face, then glanced down at his desk to see he’d been drooling.
“Oh, that’s just great…” Rupert muttered, his face burning.
”Don’t worry, it was a copy, wasn’t it?” Dave asked, gathering the papers up.
”Yeah,” Rupert sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Luckily you’re the only one who saw me drooling everywhere.”
”Aw, it’s cute when you do that,” Dave chuckled, putting the papers back on the desk. “Means you’re getting some good rest. I think you needed it.”
Rupert made a face.
”You’re cute all the time,” Dave laughed. “Just teasing.”
Rupert felt his face grow even hotter, but he managed a smile at Dave.
”Was I asleep long?” he asked.
”Not too long,” Dave said.
Rupert stood up and yawned, then swayed and grabbed the desk for support.
”You okay?” Dave gasped, putting an arm around Rupert’s waist and steadying him.
”Yeah, I’m alright, just felt…dizzy…”
”Maybe you should have dinner in bed,” Dave mumbled worriedly.
”Nah, I’ll be fine…” Rupert laughed. “Thanks, though.”
A jolt of pain made him gasp and fall to his knees.
”Rupert!”
The room was suddenly empty, causing Rupert to look frantically around.
”Dave!” he exclaimed, running from the room.
”Rupert, stay still!” Dave shouted, gripping Rupert’s shoulders.
”Where’d you go?!” Rupert gasped. “You were just here!”
Rupert’s vision blurred and got dark, leaving his heart thudding in panic.
”Dave!” he gasped, waking with a jolt as he felt like he was falling.
“Cap, take it easy!”
Rupert stared up at Ambert in confusion.
”You’re alright now, just lay still,” Ambert said. “You’re gonna be okay.”
”Wha…where…?” Rupert managed to wheeze before a coughing fit seized him.
”Cap! Shit…please, just hold on…”
Rupert drifted for a moment, but managed to open his eyes halfway when he heard new voices.
“Ready…”
Hands slipped under Rupert.
”One…two…three…”
Rupert closed his eyes, one last thought drifting through his mind as he felt his body getting heavier.
Dave…