Ch 36: To Hell and Back

Awakening in Daemonholm, Grey fears for Alexander's safety as he remembers his actions, and Alexander is bedridden on the brink of death from Shadow's poison. Can two unexpected arrivals save the day?

            Floating through an endless darkness, Grey felt strange as he looked around and wondered where he was. A voice said, “Sleep. Sleep forever…” Looking around for the source of the voice, Grey said, “I don’t want to sleep forever…” With a quiet laugh, the voice said, “That persistence again. Aren’t you tired? If you wake up, you’ll just have to keep fighting… keep suffering…” As Grey silently contemplated this, the voice continued, “Hehehe… Let yourself fall into everlasting sleep, and I promise an eternity of happiness with your friends…” Suddenly a familiar voice said, “He’s lying you know. He’s developed a rather bad habit of it…” Looking in the direction of the voice, Grey laid eyes on Eazel drifting towards him. Weakly, Grey said, “Eazel? Why are you here?” Scratching his beard in thought a moment, Eazel said, “Hmm, why am I here you ask? Well, I might ask you the same my young friend. Don’t you think it’s time you come back? This world of ours needs you far too greatly for you to just lay about here forever you know…” Looking away from him, feeling torn between returning to his old life and remaining in the darkness, Grey said, “If I go back though, I’ll have to keep fighting won’t I?” Eazel cheerily said, “Of course!” Grey looked over at Eazel in surprise. Flashing a big grin, Eazel said, “Don’t you still have things in this world that are worth fighting for?” Grey’s eyes went wide in realization as thoughts of his friends flooded his mind. Smiling to himself, Grey said, “Yeah, I do.”

            Obsidian Citadel, Medical Wing. Tuesday July 10, 520NA. Waking up to find himself lying in bed in a room with white walls and large windows, as Grey sat up his movement startled Amy out of her sleep, as she had once again fallen asleep on the side of the bed while watching over him. Bolting up, she exclaimed, “Grey you’re- WAH!” She had pulled herself away from the side of the bed too fast, and tilted the chair so far back that it toppled over backwards with a crash. Quickly looking down at her in concern, Grey exclaimed, “Amy!” Sprawled out on the floor, feeling rather dizzy, with a dazed expression Amy muttered, “You’re… awake… Thank goodness…” As he started to get out of the bed to help her, Amy sat up and motioned him to stop as she said, “Ah no, don’t get up! Just wait here! I’ll go get the others!” She got up and started to rush out of the room, but Grey called out, “Amy, wait! Before you go…” As she looked back at him questioningly, he asked, “How is Alexander? Is he ok too?” He saw Amy’s eyes go wide as she looked away and slowly stuttered, “W-well he’s… Y-you see, he…” Shaking in fear of what she was struggling to say, Grey said, “Amy… Did I kill him?” Looking at him in shock, Amy said, “What?! No! Why would you even think that?!” Staring down at his hands, Grey said, “After being slashed by whatever weird attack Alastor did… I don’t remember much, but… I remember trying to choke Alexander to death…” With a gasp, Amy clutched her chest and said, “Grey…” Clenching the sheets of the bed, Grey said, “I don’t know why, it might be the Nameless One that made me do it, but… I felt so angry after Alastor told me! I’m still angry! I don’t know if it’s even true, but if I did that to him just because of that, I…” Grey started to break down, and Amy quickly rushed over to him and hugged him, saying, “It’s not your fault! Alexander is the hospital. He’s suffering from some kind of poison, but he’s still alive. I don’t know what happened, but you and Alexander are too close! Neither of you would ever want to hurt each other!” As Grey sobbed, Amy fearfully wondered, “What did Alastor tell Grey though? If he told him Alexander was really his father… Please Alexander, you can’t leave Grey like this, especially if he’s just learned the truth! It would destroy him!”

            Walking through the hallway towards Grey’s room, Richter and Loki were in discussion, Loki saying, “Again I apologize for putting Grey up here, but with the influx of injured citizens due to the Spellweaver’s battle, and his condition being stable enough… It’s just less of a strain on the hospital.” Nodding, Richter said, “We understand completely. I’m sure your medical wing is more than sufficient, especially considering Grey’s regenerative abilities. If anything, we should apologize for the massive damage to your city…” Seeing the door of Grey’s room open, as Amy stepped out, Richter called out to her, “Amy, we were just coming to check on you. You should get some rest, looking after him all this time must be exhausting.” Seeing her troubled face, he added, “Is something wrong?” Shutting the door, Amy said, “Richter… Grey may have been possessed by the Nameless One again. He thinks he tried to kill Alexander.” As Richter stared in shock, Loki said, “Possessed by The Nameless One? I don’t understand, how could he be…?” Suddenly a guard came tearing down the hall. Approaching them, he said, “My Lord, there’s something of a disturbance going on! Two men have arrived claiming they are friends of Angelorum Lux, and that they need to see Gabriel the Immortal right away!” Looking at the guard in surprise, Richter exclaimed, “What?!”

            Rushing to the entry hall, as Amy, Richter, and Loki arrived, Richter saw Rufus and Schmitt standing there waiting for them, Schmitt with a big grin on his face as he waved and shouted, “Haha! Surprised to see us Colonel?” Hurrying over to the two of them, Amy smiled joyfully and said, “Rufus, Schmitt!” As Richter stood there staring, Loki noticed the look of disbelief on his face and said, “I take it you do know them after all?” Coming to stand before them as well, Richter said, “How did you two possibly get here?!” With a wink and a thumbs up, Rufus said, “Never underestimate the genius and ingenuity of Rufus Lenscap, Ace Reporter!” Atop his hat, Ian let out a less than enthusiastic, “Meow…” Laughing heartily, Schmitt said, “It’s a real long story, but soon as we get Alexander fixed up we’ll tell ya’ll everythin!” Thinking they must have heard about Alexander’s condition from someone on the way in, Richter said, “This is no time for jokes you two, ‘fixing him up’ is not so simple…” Smirking smugly, Rufus crossed his arms sagely and said, “Yeah, yeah, the poison from that Shadow character right? We know all about it, and me and Schmitt are here to save the day!” Taking off the large traveler’s backpack he’d been carrying on his back, Schmitt rummaged through it and withdrew a metal container. Opening it to show the contents to everyone, he revealed a syringe and several vials of fluid as he said, “This stuff here is supposed to be the only cure there is for that poison of Alexander’s. Let’s get it to him quick!” As Schmitt handed Richter the metal container, a flabbergasted Richter exclaimed, “I do not understand what is going on here! Where would you get the cure?! How did you even know we were here?!” Grinning ear to ear, Schmitt said, “It’s all thanks to the Seeker!”

            Lying in bed in his white walled hospital room, Alexander was on the brink of death, surviving only thanks to the life support systems he was attached to. Sitting at Alexander’s bedside, as Mythra looked at Alexander lying there, the lines having stretched across his entire body, she grit her teeth and held back tears as she thought, “You idiot! You absolute idiot! How could you let this happen?! You’re Gabriel the Immortal, the Master of Rune Swordsmanship, the man who cannot die! You can’t let it end this way, I won’t allow it! DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Suddenly the door opened and a doctor and a nurse walked in, the doctor carrying the case containing the Seeker’s cure. The nurse said to Mythra, “Please wait outside with the others. We’re going to administer a possible cure.” Bolting up out of her chair, Mythra looked stunned as she said, “A cure?! You’ve found one?!” Opening the case, the doctor said, “We have no idea what it is, or if it will work, but our Lord has confirmed it is from the legendary Seeker. The Seeker is known to have been knowledgeable and worldly, and considering he will likely not survive much longer, I’ve decided it is his only chance.” Dumbfounded, Mythra said, “Wait, what? The Seeker?” Pointing to the door, the doctor said, “Ask your friends, they’re the ones who brought it.”

            Stepping out into the hospital corridor, as Mythra laid eyes on the others, Amy and Rufus sitting on a bench, Richter, Schmitt, and Loki standing there talking, she exclaimed, “What is going on? They said the Seeker sent a cure?” Fixing her eyes momentarily on Schmitt, and then on Rufus, she added, “And for that matter, where the hell did these two come from?! Did somebody find a genie in a lamp or what?!” Laughing nervously, Richter said, “I’m not quite sure myself…” Turning to Schmitt, he added, “Now that Mythra is here Schmitt, I think it’d be best if you fill us in before she beats it out of us…” A vein on Mythra’s forehead throbbed as she shouted, “Excuse me?! Are you insinuating I’m violent?!” After a moment of silence, Loki said, “Well, I’ll let you all discuss this further. I haven’t checked up on Xanth today.” As he left, Amy hung her head, embarrassed by Mythra’s outburst, and thought to herself, “Well you kinda are Mythra. Even so Richter, you really need to pick your words better…” Clearing his throat, Schmitt said, “Well, like I already said, we got here usin something called a void drive, which allowed the Audentia to fly in between the worlds. Problem was, we crashed into the side of a mountain just as we got here, and we didn’t land anywhere close to anyplace that we could get the parts to repair her. We got to wanderin in the forest, and we met with some folks called sprites. They told us to go and see somebody called the Seeker, who lived in a tower in the forest. We followed one of the helpful fellows, and they led us to the tower and introduced us to a nice lady named Claire.” Pulling out the old diary, Richter said, “Claire… So it’s true, this is the diary of the Seeker!”

            Remembering one of her encounters in Halsa, Amy said, “Huh, that’s weird. I bumped into a woman named Claire back in Halsa. She was really nice too, but I’m sure there’s no way that could be her right?” Rummaging through their pack, Rufus said, “Well, there’s an easy way to find out! Claire was interested in my camera! Said she’d never had her picture taken, so I took a couple photos and she said we should hold onto one to remember her by!” Withdrawing the picture, Rufus showed it to Amy and said, “Here, this is the one.” Taking the picture, Amy’s eyes went wide as she saw the same woman with brown hair and golden eyes, wearing a frilly brown shirt, a long brown skirt, and a brown beret. With a shocked expression on her face, she exclaimed, “No way, it really was her?!” Crossing her arms, Mythra said, “So does this mean she’s been keeping tabs on us or something? How did she know what happened with Alexander, and how could she make an antidote? I know a thing or two about medicine, and unless she somehow examined the poison first, it just doesn’t make any sense…” Placing Ian in his lap and petting him, Rufus said, “Well, she said she could see the future and stuff, y’know like a soothsayer. She knew why we had come before we told her anything. She gave us a map and some supplies along with the antidote, and told us we had to hurry and find you guys here in Daemonholm so you could use it to save Alexander.” In realization, Richter asked, “How long ago was it that you left to find us?” Mulling it over, Schmitt said, “Bout ten days I think. We had to hoof it most of the way.” Staring down at the diary, Richter thought, “Such precision… The Seeker predicted exactly where we would be, exactly how the situation would turn out, and that they would arrive just in time, all at least ten days in advance?! We’re dealing with a master of the soothsaying art, and if the words written in this diary are indeed hers, she has also predicted we will not succeed in saving the world!” Suddenly the door to Alexander’s room burst open and Alexander stepped out, still in his hospital gown. Donning his signature shades, which he’d taken from the bedside counter, he said, “Where’s Grey?”

            As Loki approached the door of Xanth’s room, the door opened and Xanth stepped out wearing a hospital gown, carrying a bag of belongings. In an irritated tone, Loki said, “Going somewhere?” Closing the door behind him, Xanth said, “Home. My injuries were minor. I’ve been here far longer than necessary…” With a sigh, Loki said, “You were being kept under observation to ensure you did not get poisoned as well, we still have no idea how it was injected into Gabriel. That aside, by ‘home’ I take it you mean you intend to leave Daemonholm and return to your mother’s estate?” Looking away from Loki, Xanth stared silently at the ground a moment, then raised his head and said, “Consider this my formal resignation.” With a sad look in his eye, Loki said, “I see. I knew the day would come that you would understand. That you would see non-demonfolk in a new light. I only wish it did not have to be like this…” Clenching his bag, Xanth said, “Fool. Is that all you care about? I betrayed you, along with my people. I let my hatred blind me to our history together, sold out Caine, and treated you as just another expendable half breed. Compared to that, the fact that I learned a lesson out of it is insignificant.” Sternly, Loki said, “It’s not insignificant! In sparing Gabriel, you did the right thing Xanth! Whatever mistakes you made, you made every effort to correct them, saving us all in the process!” Walking off, Xanth said, “I no longer have my honor Loki, but I still have my pride…”

            Walking down the halls of the medical wing, Grey thought to himself, “I wonder what happened to everyone. Amy said she was going to get the others, but that was awhile ago.” Stopping and staring at the ground, Grey thought, “I wonder if something’s happened to Alexander…” Suddenly Alastor’s words rang through his mind, “It still seems strange to me that you consider him your friend. After all, he’s lied to you about almost everything…” Clutching his head, Grey said, “Stop it! Why wouldn’t he tell me? He told me about my sister, about Saria! He would have lied about that too if it were true!” Sinking to his knees, Grey muttered, “Alexander’s suffering right now, he could die! It’s all because of me. If I’d been stronger, if only I’d been stronger I could have defeated Alastor! I could have gone to help him! And my parents… If I’d only had power…” Alastor’s voice echoed in his mind, “You could have tried…” Grey’s vision started to blur as his body began to ache where Alastor’s shadows had struck him, and he stammered, “I-I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… Mom, Dad… I was… I was… afraid…!” Suddenly, someone shouted, “ENOUGH!”

            Grey’s train of thought derailed, and slowly he lifted his head up to see Alexander and the others standing before him, Alexander back in his usual attire. Removing his shades, Alexander stared down at him with a pained look in his eyes and said, “There is no parent in this world who wants their child to put themselves in harms way for their sake. Parents protect their children, not the other way around…” With a look of disbelief, Grey said, “Alexander…” Alexander grinned and put his shades back on as he said, “And as you can see, I have no need for you to protect me either. I’m quite fine on my own, thank you.” Bonking Alexander on the head, Amy said, “That was such a touching moment, you should have just told hi-” Reaching out from behind Amy, Mythra covered Amy’s mouth with her hands and exclaimed, “You crazy?! I know you think he knows, but what if he doesn’t know?!” Directing her attention to Grey, with a cute smile Mythra said, “Haha, just ignore us! I think she’s just so tired after looking after you for TWO DAYS, lucky little… I mean, yeah so… I’ll just take her back to her room and then I’ll come look after you myself for awhile…” Shaking his head in disgust, Richter said, “How subtle. You really do have a one track mind…” Her eye twitching angrily, Mythra looked at him and said, “You have a problem?!” Laughing heartily, Schmitt said, “Some things never change!” With a cry of rage, Mythra said, “I’ve had just about enough of the peanut gallery here! You got something to say, say it to my face!” Quietly, Rufus said to Schmitt, “I think you’d better stop laughing before she goes nuclear!” Mythra’s ears twitched, picking up his comment, and with a furious look in her eyes she shouted, “That’s it! I’ll show you nuclear, you cat-hatted freak!” Rufus fled down the hall, Ian clinging to his hat in distress, as Mythra chased after him shouting, “I’ll shove that camera up your a*s you smart mouthed little techno nerd!” Rufus could only exclaim, “HEEEEEEEEEELP!” Watching with a concerned look, Amy said, “I think he really might need help…” Clutching his head, Richter said, “You people have too much energy.” Laughing even more, Schmitt said, “Yep, we sure know how to keep things lively round here!” With his mischievous grin, Alexander said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, it’s what makes this bunch so interesting.” Watching his friend’s antics, a smile crept onto Grey’s face and he started laughing as he said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t have it any other way either…”