Chop Chop looked on in concern as the she-elf drifted by him. She looked decidedly worse than the rock bottom that was usual, and he wasn't sure how much more the sorceress could take. She seemed more out of it by the day, and the skeleton was sure that if she was pushed any further, she would snap.
Hex's posture was the defeated sort that made an appearance when she got to wishful thinking; shoulders slumped, head tilted down, and eyes glazed over with an uncharacteristic emptiness. She didn't seem to notice the world around her, from the fellow Skylander positioned only a few feet behind her, to the sheer drop that was the edge of this island just ahead. The Arkeyan soldier didn't think she was going to stop, that she was going to float right over the edge in one of her elaborate attempts at suicide. It would be for naught, but he was about to follow Hex anyway when a tap at his shoulder stopped him.
It was Ninjini. Normally, the Giant would be towering, multiple stories tall at the very least, but the genie had learned to use a smaller form when trying to be unobtrusive. This, apparently, was one of those cases. The woman's face was nervous, her dual swords at the ready. That was never a good sign. Putting the problem of Hex away from the moment, he turned fully around to listen to what the Magic Skylander had to say.
It wasn't good. Goblins had overun the main stronghold in the Falling Forest, she told Chop Chop in that unplaceable accent of hers. Long story short, he was being drafted to drive them back. With one last look over his shoulder, the Undead allowed himself to be lead away toward the fight.
The battle was short. As always, the local Mabu overexaggerated the forces against them, and the most goblins Chop Chop saw at once was six. Altogether there were about thirty of them, no problem for him and some of the more skilled Skylanders. Within the team were Jet Vac and Zap, as well as several others the skeleton couldn't remember offhand. In a matter of fifteen minutes, the camp was cleared and the inhabitants could get back to the bustle of their everyday lives. The male soldier went after Hex.
He tried the cliff where he had last saw her first, to little avail. The lack of a gory splat at the foot of the rock face was proof enough that the sorceress hadn't commited herself to fall. He folowed the edge of the island around, looking for any sign of her passing. Knowing his luck, she had gone in exactly the opposite direction, and he'd walk the circumference of the floatimg rock before he found her. Chop Chop passed three paths leading away from the island before pausing at the fourth. His only signal that Hex had gone this way was a snagged bit of black fabric and a very confused Fright Rider.
The Arkeyan would have passed the elf and his skeletal mount if they hadn't stopped him first. The boy in question had indignation and unhindered curiousity written all over his face. "What was wrong with her?! A man tries to start a conversation with a pretty lady and he gets a rude gesture and a flying skull to the gut!" Man? That was a laugh. The rider looked barely eighteen, compared to Hex's thirty or so. Of course, Chop Chop didn't know how long his fellow Undead had been such, but it couldn't have been long. He vaguely wondered if the teenager was aware of the age difference.
"Yes, yes, it's all very horrible, et cetera, et cetera, but did you see where she went?" Fright Rider just looked even more outraged at his words.
"Well, excuse me! I'm only the victim here! The least you can do is show some concern!" The former guard just rolled his glass eyes.
"If you're so badly hurt, have Persephone or another healer look at you. I'm in the middle of something important, and I need to know where she is." Chop Chop didn't raise his voice often, but he was about to now. He had forgotten how infuriating the other could be. It was no wonder that Hex had shot a skull at him and flipped him off for his trouble.
"What are you so concerned about, anyway?" The complaint that was rising to the elf's lips died when he saw the stony look the skeleton was giving him. Instead, he just grumbled, "Orchard." The soldier offered a pointed thank-you and continued on.
The Undead part of Skylands' version of an orchard was actually just the usual leafless variety of dead tree found everywhere else, with the added bonus of a plague of vines that caught on clothes and skin as one passed. Chop Chop had neither of those, so trapiesing the place was simpler than expected. The hard part was discering exactly which tree concealed the undead she-elf. He walked up and down the aisles of foilage as quickly as he could, searching high and low. Eventually, he found her.
Hex had strung herself up under an ancient oak. The noose bit into her pallid neck and twisted her head at an awkward angle. Her eyes were shut, the corners of her gaping mouth stained with just a hint of scarlet blood. Below the neck she hung limp, occasionally swinging in the breeze that buffeted her. The soldier wasn't even surpised. He just swung his sword in one clean arch and sliced the rope in two.
Immediately, the body crumpled to the ground. Chop Chop knelt beside her. He gathered her into his lap and gently worked the noose free of her neck. As he went to discard it, a cold grey hand gripped his wrist. "What have I told you about when I play pretend?" Hex's voice was cold, emotionless.
"I can't watch you do this to yourself." The sorceress sat up, though didn't move away. She simply rested her head against the cool metal of his shoulder.
"It's bliss. For the seconds that my body doesn't recognise that my soul has nowhere to go, it's complete bliss." She heaved a sign into his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her.
"Why do you torment yourself? You know..." He really didn't want to say it. Somehow, he knew voicing what was blatantly obvious to both of them would free the tears that she had so carefully hidden away. Oh, it was too late. Chop Chop was aware of Hex's shuddering as she sobbed into his shoulder. She made not a sound, but it broke his heart all the same. "Some day, I promise you, I will ensure that you can leave this life."
"Don't lie to me." The words stung, but the unspoken ones behind them were like acid. If you were going to help me pass on, you would have done it a long time ago.
The Arkeyan had really done his best to help speed the process of Hex's peace along, but it just wasn't enough. Every chance he got he pleaded with Master Eon to let her go, but it was to no avail. As long as threats like Kaos continued to plague Skylands, the Portal Master was unwilling to let go of one of his most powerful and knowledgeable allies.
And so, the cycle continued, and all Chop Chop could do was let her cry.