Limping over cautiously, I found that Tamex had finally risen from the floor and was gingerly clutching his head; no doubt from the wound I inflicted on him earlier to shut him up. I could tell by the look in her eyes that Minx was relieved at this news and wanted to say something to him but was either too nervous or conflicted to do so. Smirking to myself, I began to reminisce on the days that my Somebody exuded those similar expressions when confronted with her first love. But now was not the time for such idle thoughts and emotions. With the huge explosion that I had ushered during the battle, the chances of the enemy investigating the dungeon became too high to take such a senseless risk.
Wiping the grin off my face, I inquired to the two lovebirds, “Are you forgetting where we are?”
This seemed to do the trick, and in moments Tamex was back on his feet and seemed geared for action. In a serious tone he stated, “We have to get out of here.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled before replying, “That is evident, but the question is…if we break down the entrance to the dungeon, who is going to be waiting for us on the other side?” Tamex seemed puzzled by this deduction and instead turned his attention to the wounds present on Minx and myself. Truthfully, I wanted to welcome his offer but I felt that there was no time for such measures and that our main objective should be in leaving as soon as possible.
Before I had a chance to completely articulate this thought, Tamex interjected, “Forgive me, but as a gentleman it is my duty to make sure that all ladies are well taken care of, and if a lady is harmed, it is not only as a gentleman but as a doctor to see to her.” Both Minx and I stared at him after this long-winded declaration, and Minx wanted to say something to him once more but was once again denied the chance when he continued, “Please, it will only take a second.” After he placed his hands on my wounds I began to feel a most peculiar sensation, almost as if someone decided to unleash a freezing stream into my veins, and in matter of moments my injuries vanished. “There we go,” Tamex finished as he stood smiling at his work.
Inspecting herself, Minx returned his smile and thanked him. Beaming, Tamex’s chest swelled with pride and informed her that the task was his pleasure to perform. I was rather suspicious at what he had done to me myself and did my own investigation as to the quality of his care. Finding no flaws, I calmly looked up and gave him a simple thanks as a token of appreciation, which he accepted with a nod. Soon after though, the effects of his own wounds started to take their toll and caused him to use the wall as support.
Concerned, Minx asked, “Aren’t you going to heal yourself?”
Glancing down at the damage on his body, Tamex smiled and stated, “Oh…well… There are probably others in the other cells that need my medical treatment, and I can always heal myself later.”
Shaking my head, I thought to myself, Fool. You won’t be any good to those people if you were to collapse now. Cutting off Tamex before he could ask me about my reaction to his statement I calmly suggested, “Let’s get out of here first.”
“My turn to help,” Minx chimed in. At first I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, considering that I had already busted the doors to the other cells in the hallway with the blast, until I noticed that rubble was blocking the way to different sections. Taking a few steps in front of us, Minx extended her arms and began to weave her mirror-summoning spell. After a few moments of tension in the spell, Minx relaxed and her mirror finally came and melded into the obstacle before us. Excited, Minx shouted, “This way!” and ran into the mirror and added after her travel, “Just don’t flinch on the way through!”
Completely confident—or foolish, give or take—Tamex followed her as though that was what he lived for. Leery at the prospect of actually traveling through one of Minx’s mirrors, the same which not too long ago were set up as blockades, I took one step forward when I sensed another spell casted on the area. Looking around, I found that the air became eerily still and all movement had come to an abrupt halt. Analyzing if further, I found this to be the work of a time-stopping spell, and I knew of only one woman arrogant enough to use it at a time like this.
Morgan le Fay…do you have a death wish? If that be the case I’m more than willing to follow through.
Not at all pleased with my sarcasm, Morgan le Fay screamed and then shouted, Now is not the time for games, you little brat! We have a huge problem, and I’m holding YOU accountable for it!
I would have been furious at her for saying such a thing, but I knew better than that; Morgan le Fay has never been one to lose her head easy. Assuming the worst, I straightened up, stripped myself of individual character, and asked her professionally to inform me of what was transpiring.
Finally! Now we’re getting somewhere. Without pause she continued, The people who stole the Orb of Supremacy from me have finally figured out how to use it and are holding their world hostage. At this point in time they’re now working on a way to conquer other worlds, namely our own since it’s the closest in proximity. You do understand the implications of this, don’t you?
Stressed, I answered, Yes, I understand. But right now isn’t the best time. Morgan le Fay was about to protest when I cut her off and gave her my reason. Right now the balance of the world I’m currently in is at stake. As much as I would like to go back to Avalon right now to lend a hand, this world takes top priority. You understand why I say this, correct?
No. Please enlighten me as to why, she responded thick with spite.
If this world falls apart, Kingdom Hearts will become extremely vulnerable to attack. The Heartless, as you are well aware, won’t care at all about the repercussions after Kingdom Hearts falls apart. On top of that this would give Mordred, our sworn enemy, a chance to manipulate the realm to locate what he is looking for. Do I need to tell you what will happen the moment he gets his hands on that?
A tense, long silence fell between us before she sighed heavily and said, Very well…I see your point. Though I must say, you certainly are rather heartless yourself.
Curious I asked slowly, And why do you say that?
Because…you seem to be a little too willing to sacrifice your own world for the sake of the big picture. Tell me, is this a result of your training, or is this rather your intention?
Laughing, I stated darkly, Morgan, if I wanted my home world to experience an apocalypse I would’ve let it happen a long time ago…
Oh? She started rather curious herself, And how would that have been possible?
I’ll answer that another day. Now…if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my current assignment.
And what of our world, Xakiah? It won’t take long for the thieves to close in on us.
Perplexed and annoyed that she didn’t have the sense about her to think of her own strategy, I thought about it for a few moments before giving her an answer. Alright…our objective is to keep potential invaders out. In other words, direct conflict is out of the question. However, we do have security and maneuverability on our side right now.
How so? She asked in earnest.
The enemy, as far as we know, doesn’t know about our existence just yet, but we know of their existence and of their intentions. Unlike them, we can mobilize our forces quickly and silently. We have to use this to our advantage.
And how will we do this?
Simple: instead of confronting the problem we must delay—or better, hinder—the problem as much as possible. What I want you to do is contact Merlin and Madam Mim; see if you three can construct a three-pronged barrier around our Avalon to make it harder to penetrate. Also, contact King Oberon of the adjacent Avalon and tell him to boost up the defenses of his home ground, and be sure to tell him to stay out of the conflict in the mortal realm as much as possible. If he gets stubborn, tell him your reasons and who told you to say this, he’ll listen (eventually).Finally, I want you to contact Queen Clarion, tell her of the situation, and that I’ll come back later to repay her. She’ll know what to do.
Very well—wait, she began skeptically, how can she help?
You’ll figure it out yourself later. Now…if you would be so kind…I have to get back to my present mission. I promise to travel to Castle Wyvern as soon as the dust settles here.
Without another word, Morgan le Fay broke off the connection and deactivated her spell. Sighing at the turn of events and the prospect of waging a war on two fronts, I sighed and moved on past Minx’s mirror.
“What took you so long?” asked Tamex. I would have answered him, but at that moment I was not in the mood.
“Hurry!” Lady Minx beckoned to us after uncovering the cell closest to her. With that, Tamex proceeded forward to tend to the wounded with the swiftness of a twenty-first century army doctor. (Which, thankfully, was exponentially more skilled than the Medieval doctors I had to contend with back home.) Cell after cell, Minx and Tamex worked harmoniously with each other to revive our unconscious comrades. Seeing that my assistance was not needed, I instead focused my magic to my eyes so that I could detect any incoming enemies. I will admit that almost at once I began to draw my blade after sensing another creature much like the black glob from before, but I decided against it after picking up the aura of one of our comrades doing battle against it. Grinning, I knew that as soon as we could escape from our prison and reunite with the main units, we could finally start fighting back for the real.
After everyone was healed, Minx and I had them gather near the exit. Taking his place on the third step of the stairs, Tamex looke at everyone and ordered “Everyone…er…rather…No one go that way!” Laughing moronically at his own joke, he took off towards the door while the others followed him. I managed to catch a glimpse of Setxune and Xena just before they took off and mentioned for them to stay back for a few moments.
“What is it, Xakiah?” asked Xena curiously.
“Do you two recall the mission that I would like for you two to assist me with?” Both nodded their heads, Setxune just a bit more slowly and less enthusiastically than Xena. “I just got some intelligence on the situation at hand; it seems things have gotten more dangerous, so if you two want to change your minds feel free to.”
“Xakiah,” started Setxune flatly, “right now seems to be poor timing to bring this up. On top of that, this seems to be an awkward time to be gathering intelligence on a matter outside of the one at hand. Do you care to tell us exactly how you came across this information and what exactly do you mean by it? You haven’t even told us what you want us to do on this mission of yours.”
Smiling, I said, “All good questions, but all will have to be answered later. For now, I pray the best of luck to you two.” Looking at the exit, I continued, “It seems as though things here are about to get both interesting and complicated at the same time.” Ignoring the sounds of inquiry that I heard coming from their throats, I dashed up the stairs to join the rest of the group. And a few seconds later I heard Setxune’s and Xena’s footsteps follow suit.
~Xakiah
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Yay! My first post in…quite some time, actually. ^_^; Whatever y’all want to do from here with Xakiah is open game with me…as long as you let me know if it’s anything drastic, anyway. (*laughs*)
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! ^_^
