I was conflicted. I was glad that it had been RaXi sent to find me, but unsure how to proceed with it. I didn't want to fight RaXi; if I fought with her, no doubt Pashnirix would get involved, and things could get very bad in a hurry. But I doubted that Pashnirix would be willing to simply let me go so easily.
I could feel the weight of both of their stares on me. Either I would submit to Pashnirix and defy the Organization, or submit to the Leader and...I couldn't even begin to imagine what Pashnirix would do.
"Tigress," I heard Pashnirix say.
Finally, I spoke. "Listen, RaXi. I wasn't lying earlier. I came here of my own free will. No, Pashnirix, be quiet." The Dragon has started to speak in protest, but I silenced him. "There's a lot more to this than you understand. I owe him this, as do you."
"Me?" RaXi was incredulous. "What could I possibly owe that...that dragon?" she spat angrily.
"The lives of your silly friends, perhaps?" said Pashnirix coolly.
"Pashnirix, be quiet," I hissed. Surprisingly, he did. I wondered how I was getting away with this, but continued anyway. "RaXi, if you truly want to make the right decision, and you are honest in saying you don't want to kill me, then you will hear the full story."
RaXi looked from me to Pashnirix. "Fine," she said, finally relaxing her stance and motioning for Setxune and Xyta to follow suit. "Fine. I'll hear the story. But don't expect me to change my mind. I'm here on a mission."
Pashnirix smirked. "Very well," he said, "then I suppose we'll cross that bridge when it comes."
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Back at the castle, we all convened in a study room, and Pashnirix brought out a plate of pastries and some tea.
"Danish?" He offered the plate to RaXi, but sent me a glance. "I'm rather partial to the lemon ones myself," he said with a half smile.
I growled loudly, and everyone in the room looked at me with a question in their eyes. I tried to refrain from braining the dragon with the expensive looking lamp on the table.
"Um, thank you," said RaXi, taking a pastry off the plate. "So...where does this all begin?"
I sighed. "That night when Organization Zero came to attack," I answered. "Pashnirix and I fought, and...he's the only other Nobody with my type of element I've ever met. I was curious."
"I suggested that we meet again some other time, a week, to be precise. Danish?" The dragon offered the plate to Setxune, who declined, and Xyta, who eagerly chose a couple of the pastries. He set the plate down on a table. "A week passed, and--"
"He kidnapped me to Destiny Islands," I cut in.
"It wasn't kidnapping," I heard him mutter, "you could have escaped at any time."
"ANYWAY," I continued loudly, "after he kidnapped me, we talked, and we agreed to arrange weekly meetings with each other, to better train with our elements."
RaXi's jaw dropped. "You...you arranged to have secret meetings with a member of the enemy organization? How could you?!" She rose quickly from her chair and moved her arm in preparation for an attack. I dropped my chains to the ground and brought them up around her before she could attack, wrapping her tightly. Setxune and Xyta moved to attack me, but Pashnirix held them both at sword point with copies of his blade.
"RaXi," I said quietly, moving closer to her. I could see the anger in her eyes. "You promised you would listen. In no way were either of us plotting against our respective organizations. We had an agreement. If I had gotten an order to kill him, I would have."
"And I the same," said Pashnirix, watching RaXi carefully. "We knew what we were doing, RaXi."
RaXi snarled and fought against her restraints. "I'm not letting you go until you calm down and listen, RaXi," I said.
She looked to the ceiling. "Very well," she said quietly. I waited a few more moments, and then released her, drawing my chains back to myself. Pashnirix let the other two go and resumed his position against the wall.
"So, after that, our first meeting would have been here, but the moment Pashnirix kidnapped me here, I was called back for a meeting. At that point, the Leader let me know that he knew about my secret, and wasn't exactly...pleased," I said sourly.
"I think that's around the time you were kidnapped, and the Leader wouldn't let me go to help rescue you," I said. "I didn't think that sending Xemmsur was the brightest idea, so I did what I had to. I went to Pashnirix for help."
"And that's how we've come to this lovely situation," interjected Pashnirix. "You see, she asked me to observe the battle between your friends and Marlex, and should they have lost, she asked me to overpower Marlex and keep you myself."
RaXi looked angry once more. "You asked him to take me?" she said.
I rolled my eyes. "Not permanently," I answered. "I figured I had a better chance of getting you away from him than the Leader of Organization Zero. If I fought Pashnirix and won, then you'd be safe. But if I lost, chance were that he'd have been so happy to fight me he would have given you to me anyway."
"Your friend speaks true," Pashnirix agreed. "A rather risky assumption, but accurate nonetheless. I would have given you back no matter what."
RaXi shook her head. "I still don't understand why I owe him anything, Rex," she said. "Nyx and Xemmsur won. They got me back safely."
I shook my head. "Xemmsur threw Marlex into a portal. He would have come right back and finished them off, had Pashnirix not prevented him."
"It was to my benefit," said Pashnirix, "as well as yours. That girl was sloppy, and I very well prevented their deaths."
RaXi fell silent, so I continued. "And in return for his help, I promised to come here for an amount of time. Unfortunately, he tricked me into wearing these armlets which keep me here for as long as he wishes," I explained. "So really, if you want to take me back, you'll have to go through him."
"And I," said the Dragon, "do not let go of my treasures so easily."
"And herein lies the dilemma," I muttered. "I can't leave--"
"But you're not a traitor," cut in RaXi, looking at me. "I understand now, I think."
After a pause, Xyta spoke up and asked, "So, what do we do?"
Yes, that was the question on all of our minds.
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Continue, RaXi! ^_^
