A/N: Time for some recovery. Also, there is an important author's note at the end, so please read that. Enjoy!
The minutes seemed to slowly creep by for Lance. He checked Matt's breathing and pulse every few minutes, and to his relief, there was never any negative change. The swordsman's breathing remained shallow, but steady and his pulse remained rapid, but constant. The minutes slowly wound into an hour and still there was little change in Matt's condition. The gunner threw a few more sticks on the fire, checked Matt again, and then moved to check on Anna.
Anna's face was slack, but she had regained most of her color. As Lance watched, the ranger mumbled in her sleep and rolled over. He was tempted to wake her, if only for the company and distraction, but he knew that she needed to rest. Besides, until the sun came up and Lance could radio in for some medicine, Anna was the only one who could do any healing. She had used way more healing magic than Lance had thought possible for her and the best way to replenish her lost mana was through sleep.
The gunner sighed and moved back to sit down next to Matt again. He ran a hand through his red hair and suppressed a yawn. A chill draft blew through the clearing making the flames of the campfire dance. Lance shivered and glanced at the discarded blanket Anna had left out. He stood, grabbed the cover, and moved to toss it around his shoulders before pausing. He looked at the blanket and shook his head.
"I'll fall asleep if I wrap myself up in this and I need to keep an eye on Matt," Lance thought to himself. With a small nod, he tossed the blanket over Matt and shifted a little closer to the fire to ward off the chill. He stayed there, blankly staring into the flames for another hour. As he sat, his mind ran over the things Matt had said while Anna had desperately tried to heal him and Lance had tried to keep him conscious.
"He willingly went off alone to check out a suspicious noise because he didn't want to disturb me and Anna. I thought he would have a little more sense than that," Lance thought. He shook his head in frustration, "And so soon after we told him not to head after Origin alone." Lance knew that Matt had been trying to be thoughtful, but all of this could have been avoided if the swordsman had just listened to their advice.
Matt's voice echoed in Lance's mind, "…didn' think I mattered much t'you, 'nymore…"
A pang of guilt pierced the gunner as he realized just how unstable Matt must really be from Natalie's kidnapping. It hadn't been all that apparent—Matt had seemed more-or-less okay for most of the previous day. And yet, now that Lance thought about it, he realized that Matt had grown increasingly irritable as the day went on. Nerves and exhaustion had likely played a role as well, but Lance was willing to bet that much of Matt's uncharacteristic snappishness had come from worry for Natalie. He mentally slapped himself, thinking that he should have known better; his snapping had merely pushed the swordsman further off-balance.
Another thought came to Lance; Matt had been completely silent and complacent after Lance had blown up at him over letting Anna rest. At the time, he had been relieved that the swordsman was done needling them, although he had puzzled once or twice over the attitude about-face. Now he wondered what Matt had been telling himself while they had walked. Whatever it had been, Lance doubted it had been a self-pep-talk—not a positive one, at the very least. Resolving to reassure Matt when he awoke, Lance moved to check on the swordsman again.
Matt's condition hadn't changed at all, which was a relief because it meant he wasn't slipping away. Lance still wished the swordsman would show some sign of improvement, though. He also wished Natalie were here; she had way more experience with healing than the other three combined. Anna and Lance knew a lot between them, but their skills and knowledge paled in comparison to the mage.
Lance let out a near-silent snort of derision at his train of thought, "If Natalie was here, Matt would be unlikely to be in this state in in the first place."
He heaved a sigh as he thought about how Matt's recovery time would affect their pursuit of Natalie and her kidnappers. Lance shook his head and pushed the problem aside for the moment, deciding to focus on one issue at a time.
DDDDDD
Hours later, the sun was well into the sky. Lance was still seated by the fire, though he had an almost empty can of energy drink sitting next to him and his eyes were dull with fatigue. Matt was still unconscious, but his breathing and pulse had remained stable through the whole night.
Anna shifted and sat up with a yawn. She stretched her arms over her head and froze when the memories of the night before came flooding back. Her arms dropped and she whipped around to see Lance hunched by the fire. The ranger guessed he had been up all night by the shadows under his eyes. The gunner glanced over at Anna as she stood up and his lips quirked into a tired half-smile.
"'Morning," Lance said in a quiet and tired voice.
"Good morning. How's Matt doing?" Anna replied as she moved to look down on Matt where he lay on the ground. The skin on the swordsman's face was still very pale and there were still small smears of dried blood at the corners of his mouth, but his cheeks had gained some slight color over the night.
The gunner scrubbed his face with his hands and released a tired sigh. "Slightly better, I think? He's still breathing at the very least," Lance said. He lowered his hands and looked up at Anna, "I'm going to call in for some medicine to help with the blood loss. Can you watch him while I head to a clearer area?"
Anna hesitated as she looked over the exhaustion on Lance's face with concern in her eyes. She glanced down at Matt's pale face before glancing back to Lance who was waiting on her reply. The ranger chewed on her lower lip as she struggled with wanting to help Matt and not wanting to let Lance out of sight. A second glance at Matt made the decision for her and her eyes hardened with resolve.
Finally, she sighed and said, "I don't like the idea of you going off anywhere alone and tired, but Matt needs the medicine. Be careful, don't go too far, yell if there's a problem, and hurry right back, okay?"
Lance nodded and stood up. He turned to walk off, only to pause when Anna gave him a hug and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He returned the gesture and gave her a tired, but reassuring smile as she backed away again. Lance moved away, gunblade in one hand, radio in the other, and disappeared into the trees.
The ranger turned and took the spot where Lance had been sitting. She pulled a small piece of cloth out of her Adventure Pouch and folded it over. Anna poured a little water on the fabric and proceeded to clean the smudges of blood off Matt's face. Tears welled in her eyes as she took in his too-pale and too-still features. Wiping the moisture out of her eyes, Anna took a deep calming breath, and reminded herself that Matt was still alive and if he had survived this long, then he was likely to recover—especially once he had some of the medicine Lance had gone to get.
Anna dropped the cloth, now stained a light pink, and moved to pull some dried food out for breakfast. As she chewed, she watched Matt's chest as it slowly rose and fell. She swallowed the last of her food and moved to pull the blankets down to check the wounds on Matt's chest and stomach. The armor was still torn and bloodstained, but the skin underneath was clean and warm. The ranger pulled the blanket back up and leaned back with a sigh of relief.
"No infection, at least; I wasn't sure if Refresh's Bless would protect against that. I guess you might just have gotten lucky, though" she told Matt. The swordsman didn't reply or even twitch, but Anna went on, "You scared the crap out of me and Lance last night; try not to do that again, okay?"
The ranger turned around when she heard footsteps announcing the return of Lance. The gunner held up a Medipack with a tired grin and moved over to sit beside Anna. He pulled the pack open and withdrew a small bottle filled with a clear liquid and a syringe. He carefully drew the fluid into the syringe and pulled the blanket off to inject the medicine into Matt's arm. He tossed the used syringe into the medicine pouch along with the empty bottle and tucked the blanket back around Matt. The gunner leaned back with a sigh that morphed into a yawn.
"Get some sleep, Lance. I can watch Matt," Anna gently ordered.
Lance shook his head, "I'm okay for now. I want to make sure this medicine actually starts working."
Anna sighed and nodded, "Fine, but after that you're sleeping, no more excuses."
The gunner gave a noncommittal grunt. Anna let it slide for the moment and turned her attention back to Matt. They sat in silence for several minutes, watching Matt until they saw the color in his face slowly improve. Lance leaned forward to place two fingers to Matt's neck and his face split in a relieved smile.
"It's working," the gunner breathed as he leaned back again.
Anna felt tears of relief form in her eyes as her own face broke out in a huge grin. She wrapped her arms around Lance. "I was so certain he was going to die last night," she whimpered into the gunner's shoulder.
Lance returned her hug with a tight one of his own. He leaned his cheek to rest on Anna's head and stared at Matt. "Me too," he murmured.
The couple stayed that way for another few moments until Anna pulled back. She fixed Lance with a stern look and pointed to her abandoned bedroll, "Sleep. Now."
She quirked an eyebrow as Lance cast an uncertain, look at the bedroll before returning his gaze to guiltily look at Matt. "I can keep an eye on him just fine, and I promise to wake you if his condition changes at all. Now, get some rest," Anna insisted.
Finally, Lance sighed and nodded. He stood up and moved to crawl into the bedroll. Anna watched as he passed out as soon as his head was down. She turned back to Matt and watched with a small smile as she saw his cheeks had regained even more color. The swordsman remained unconscious, but he was out of the serious danger. Now, it was merely a waiting game until he woke up.
The ranger's smile melted as she glanced back at Lance. "That look he had in his eyes… he's blaming himself for this. And right after he seemed to finally be getting over what happened at Greenwood, too. But why would he?" Anna wondered.
Anna's gaze wandered back to Matt's sleeping face. She had a sneaking suspicion it was something Matt had said the night before. She hadn't been able to hear anything over the sound of her healing magic, and she wondered what Matt could have said that would make Lance blame himself. Whatever it was, she was willing to bet that it was ridiculous.
Her thoughts wandered back to the problem of Natalie's kidnapping. The mage could be anywhere by now and Matt would probably need time to recover enough for travel. Anna frowned; once Matt woke he would never agree to rest before they had rescued Natalie. The ranger sighed and hoped that maybe Matt would get well quickly to travel. She didn't relish the thought of trying to keep him still or of Natalie being held hostage for any longer than necessary.
A few hours passed in silence. Anna spent that time watching over Matt and listening for any sounds in the silent forest around her. She had just started quietly humming to herself when Matt let out a low groan. Anna's heart leapt and she fell silent, leaning forward to intently stare at the swordsman's face.
Matt's eyelids twitched and slowly cracked open only to tightly shut again at the bright sunlight. He let out another groan and rolled his head to the side before trying to open his eyes again. A blurry shape appeared in his vision and he blinked a few times until the shape slid into focus. His face split into a tired grin in response to Anna's ridiculously wide smile.
The swordsman swallowed and made a face. Anna grabbed her canteen and uncapped it. She helped Matt sit up and braced him while he drank a few mouthfuls of water. She gently lowered him to lie back down when he was finished.
Matt watched her in silence for a few seconds as she shook her now-empty canteen with a small frown before she shrugged and set it aside. He returned her smile when she faced him again; though he noted that there were tears in her eyes.
"Thanks, my mouth tasted like blood," he said with a grin. He started and gave a huff when Anna let out a small sob and flung herself forward to drape across his chest. "Er, you okay?" he hesitantly asked after a few seconds when Anna didn't move.
Anna pulled back with a blush and nodded. "I was so scared that you were going to die and I'd never get to talk to you again," she admitted. She wiped her tears away and gave him a watery smile, "I'm so glad you made it." Her smile faded when Matt frowned. "What's wrong? Does something hurt?" she asked in concern.
Matt shook his head, "No, I'm just a little surprised that you're getting so worked up over me."
Anna gave him a confused frown, "You almost died last night. Of course I'm getting worked up."
"That's what I mean; I'm surprised you care," Matt said quietly. He glanced away from her stunned expression and went on, "I… haven't exactly been a good friend lately. I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."
Anna's jaw dropped as she stared at Matt in shock. She cast a glance back at where Lance was still sleeping, realization flooding her mind. She shook herself and turned back to face Matt. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard you say," Anna said in a flat tone.
The ranger caught the side of Matt's face with one hand when he turned his head away. She made him look at her before continuing, "We were all stressed and tired. You understandably snapped at us and Lance understandably snapped back. He never meant to make you believe we suddenly couldn't care less about your health or whether you died or not. That is most definitely not the case so never think so again."
The ranger let go of Matt and moved to stand up only to pause when Matt's hand shot out from under the blanket and caught her wrist. The swordsman looked her in the eyes as gave her a small smile, "Thanks Anna. I'm still sorry for yesterday, though."
Anna grabbed his hand as soon as he released her and gave it a gentle squeeze. "No thanks needed, and I forgive you." She let go and stood up, "You might have a hard time with Lance though. He's going to yell your ears off for last night; you scared him very badly."
She grinned as Matt audibly swallowed and moved to shake Lance awake. As soon as the gunner's eyes opened she said, "Hey, sleepy-head, guess who else is awake now?"
Lance shot up to his feet and stared over at where Matt was watching him with clear blue eyes. "Matt! You're okay?" His eyes shut and he slumped with relief when the swordsman nodded. Opening them again, he moved to kneel next to Matt and asked in a quiet voice, "You know you're still my friend, right? And that regardless of whether I'm mad or not, I do still care about what happens to you?"
Matt stared at the intense, desperate look Lance gave him. He swallowed and faintly nodded, "Yes, I do; Anna made sure of that." He blinked in surprise at the blatant relief in Lance's voice when the gunner leaned back and breathed a small 'Thank Godcat.' The swordsman flinched when Lance's eyes reopened to glare at him.
"I cannot believe you thought you'd go check a suspicious noise in the middle of the night, alone, without telling us. I'd ask if you had been pithed, but I think I already know the answer to that. I know Anna and I were tired last night, but that was no reason to be so damn stupid," Lance ranted as he glared at his friend.
He swept on when Matt opened his mouth, not giving the swordsman a chance to speak. "I am going to say this again, and I hope it will be for the last time: Do. Not. Go. Out. Alone. I don't care what your reasoning is or why you think it might be a good plan; don't do it. You came so damn close to dying last night and I do not want to see it again, understand?" Lance said; his firm voice held a pleading note to it. He paused and took a few deep breaths. The gunner eyed Matt's hasty nodding. Giving a nod of his own, he stood up, "Now, how are you feeling?"
Matt shrugged, "Hungry. Tired. There's no pain; I could probably stand up with minimal effort."
Lance nodded, "Good, but don't try standing just yet. Anna grab him some food. We're going to stay around here until Matt's ready to move. Then we're going to save Natalie." He raised a hand to forestall Matt's protest, "I headed back to that clearing to grab your sword when I went to radio for medicine. None of those guys were equipped for a long journey, so I think we must be near a base of operation for them."
Anna piped up from where she had been digging through her Adventure Pouch, "Wait, seriously? We're right next to a base of theirs?"
Lance glanced over at her and nodded, "I think so. If Matt is fit enough tomorrow, then we can head back to the clearing and you can track where ever those guys came from. I bet that's where they took Natalie. The downside to this is that we are in the middle of enemy territory, so Matt, you need to get well enough to move and you need to do it quickly. That means rest, got it?"
Matt nodded; his eyes were bright from both the news and from the small pile of food Anna dumped in his lap. He sat up with no problems and began shoving the food in his mouth. He ignored the exasperated sigh Anna gave as well as Lance's mutter of: "It's like he didn't just almost die less than twenty-four hours ago."
He drained the small carton of juice and released a content sigh, "Much better." Matt glanced down at his ruined armor, "Okay, maybe much better after I change out of this. I'm going to need new armor for the cold."
Before the other two could stop him, he tried to stand up. Lance and Anna were at Matt's side in an instant as his already pale face went white. Anna caught Matt as he fell back with a groan and passed out. She held him there while Lance felt for a pulse. Nodding with satisfaction at the steady heartbeat, he peeled one of the swordsman's eyes open. The gunner watched the pupil shrink and let the eye close again. The gunner gestured for Anna to lower Matt to lie down again.
"He's fine; the idiot just tried to get up too quickly. I just told him to not try standing yet, too," Lance muttered, though relief tinged his voice. He shook his head in exasperation, "I hope this proves to him that we can't move just yet."
Anna sighed in agreement. She gestured to the stained armor Matt wore, "Should we pull that off him? On top of being gross, I doubt that it feels very comfortable."
Lance nodded and moved to untie the various leather laces and straps that held the armor in place. He then shifted Matt's arms over his head and then held him up slightly. Anna grabbed the sleeves of the ruined fur shirt and tugged it off. She made a face as she dropped it on the ground. Lance dug through Matt's Adventure Pouch and pulled out the blue undershirt of Matt's Captain's outfit. Together, he and Anna pulled the shirt over Matt's bare chest and tucked the swordsman back under the blanket.
The pair sat back and Lance gave a yawn, "I'm going to go back to sleep. He'll probably wake up again in a little while. Keep him from trying to get up again and make sure he has some water or juice."
Anna stopped the gunner, "My canteen is empty; I gave the last of it to Matt before I woke you."
Lance hesitated as he passed his own water over. Anna shook it with a frown and listened to the sloshing sound. The container was only about half full.
"We need water. Did you see any streams or anything while you were radioing for medicine?" Anna asked. She frowned when Lance shook his head. With a sigh Anna said, "Matt probably still has some in his, I guess. Normally, I would go scout around, but that obviously isn't an option right now."
"Definitely not," Lance agreed. His eyes widened, "Wait, what about the furball? He could go look for a water source; could probably bring some back, too."
Anna blinked in confusion for a few seconds as she wondered what Lance meant by 'the furball.' Her face suddenly brightened and she exclaimed, "Right; NoLegs! They probably won't go for him; I doubt they would even see him. Okay, get some sleep, I'll summon NoLegs and send him for water."
Lance nodded with another yawn and slumped over to the bedroll. Anna smiled as Lance dropped onto the bedroll and fell asleep. She shook herself and summoned their cat friend. NoLegs appeared in a soft flash of light with a bright meow. He leapt forward and rubbed his head against Anna's legs, purring loudly.
"Good to see you again, NoLegs," Anna said with a wide smile.
She knelt down and rubbed the cat's head. NoLegs purred even louder before pulling back. He bounced over to Lance and, before Anna could stop him, jumped on the gunner only to leap back from a smack when Lance awoke. Anna snorted when Lance hissed at the cat and NoLegs hissed back. The gunner rolled over with a grumble and fell asleep again. The cat's ears drooped before perking as he turned and crouched down to pounce on Matt. Anna hastily snatched NoLegs out of the air, mid-leap. The cat looked up and mewed in confusion.
"Sorry, NoLegs, Matt is recovering from some serious wounds and needs rest," Anna explained. She frowned when the cat glanced around and said, "Natz is kidnapped and we're on our way to rescue her. Can I ask you to take my and Lance's canteens and find some water for them? It's dangerous for any of us to wander alone right now, and I need to stay here to watch over Matt, anyway."
NoLegs nodded and squirmed free from Anna's arms. He left the clearing with the two canteens hovering on either side of him. The ranger watched him go with a small smile before turning and settling to sit beside Matt again.
For an hour, Anna sat there softly humming. She grinned when NoLegs came back with both canteens filled. The ranger accepted the water with a smile and took a sip from hers before setting both aside. The cat settled down next to Anna and leaned against her, purring contently as she stroked his back.
DDDDDD
By the time Lance had woken up, the sun was setting and NoLegs had vanished. The gunner sat up with a yawn and glanced around. He frowned in concern when he realized that while he could see Matt was sitting up with a discarded orange juice carton beside him and looking up at the sky, Anna wasn't anywhere in sight. He was about to call out when a branch hit the ground across the clearing and he jerked to look up. One of his eyebrows arched when he spotted Anna and realized she had been what Matt was looking at.
The ranger was hanging upside down from a tree branch by one leg. As Lance watched, Anna let her arms hang below her and dropped from the branch. She grabbed a different branch on her way down and used her momentum to spin around the limb once before letting go to launch and land in a crouch on a branch further down and in a different tree. The ranger only stayed there for a split second before leaping to the ground. Anna rolled into standing and gave a flourishing bow while Matt clapped with a cheer. The two turned with matching grins when Lance finally spoke up.
"Points for the creative way to keep Matt entertained, but I would be really upset if you had fallen and cracked your head open," the gunner said with a smirk.
Anna rolled her eyes, "Well, we started with games, but after the fifth 'I spy with my little eye, something brown and green,' we decided to find something a little more exciting. Also, I thought we were finally past the don't-climb-trees-you'll-fall-and-get-hurt thing?"
Matt grinned, "You should have seen the stuff she did earlier, Lance; it would have given you a heart-attack." He laughed and ducked away from the mock-angry swipe Anna took at him.
Lance frowned, "Don't tell me; I don't want to know what the crazy flying squirrel spirit my girlfriend was channeling this time wanted her to do. My heart is still recovering from the insane leap she made across the lava that one time in Ashwood." The gunner smirked at Anna as she gave a huff before turning to Matt.
He eyed the swordsman's alert expression and the restored color in his face. He was still a just little too pale, and there were shadows under his eyes, but other than that, Matt looked healthy. Lance nodded to himself and stepped forward.
Matt blinked in surprise at the hand Lance extended to him before grasping it to be hauled to his feet. The gunner steadied Matt as he swayed from the sudden head-rush before standing back and running a critical eye over his friend's form. He grinned and held one fist out for Matt to bump.
"Glad to have you back on your feet," Lance said sincerely. He waved the swordsman over to a large tree, "You probably already noticed that we changed your shirt for you, so go finish changing. After you're done, we'll go pick up Origin's trail."
Matt nodded with a grin and moved behind the indicated tree. He came back wearing his customary clothing and saw that Anna was missing when he returned. "Where'd Anna go?" he asked in confusion.
"Right here," Anna called as she came back into view. She had switched into her Ninja Dress. At Matt's confused look she explained, "I'm thinking we can get the drop on them, and I already know they almost always don't see me in this." She moved to fold the various blankets strewn about as well as her bedroll before handing them around to stuff away.
Lance spoke up from where he had been standing, "Since Matt seems to be doing well, let's head out and track down where those guys came from." He reached into his Adventure Pouch, withdrew Heaven's Gate, and passed it over to Matt.
Matt accepted the blade and gestured at Lance's armor, "Don't you think you should change too? You've got blood all down you're front." He paused and blinked at the stain, "Wait, is that my blood?"
Anna and Lance both stared at the bloodstained fur before looking at each other and then back at Matt.
"Probably most of it, yes," Lance admitted with a weak smile.
Matt gaped at Lance as the gunner headed off. He shifted his stare to Anna and maintained it until Lance came back, wearing his Officer outfit.
"Okay, now, let's go," Lance said.
Matt shook off his shock and followed as Anna led the way back to the clearing. The bodies were still strewn about, but Anna hardly glanced at them. She moved around the edge of the clearing, hunched over with her eyes scanning the ground. Finally she stopped and straightened with a grin and waved for the others to follow; she had picked up the trail.
The ranger led them swiftly through the trees, glancing back at Matt every so often to make sure he was still doing okay. Each time, the swordsman gave her a grin and a thumbs-up there was no sign of extreme exertion on his face. The sun was beginning to set when Anna froze and raised a finger to her lips. Lance and Matt watched in confusion as she tilted her head and twisted around with her eyes closed.
Anna's eyes popped open. "I can hear voices just beyond these trees," she said in a quiet tone.
The other two stiffened and gripped their weapons. They listened, but couldn't hear anything unusual.
"How far away; will they hear us?" Lance whispered.
Anna shook her head, with an uncertain frown, "Pretty far. I can't make out what they're saying, and it almost sounds like an echo," She glanced between the two men, "Should we go check it out?"
Matt nodded, "Definitely."
Lance glanced at Matt with a small frown, "I don't want you fighting just yet, Matt; not unless you absolutely have too. We'll check it out and if Anna and I can't handle it on our own, then we fall back and attack tomorrow."
Matt opened his mouth to protest, but fell silent when Anna nodded her agreement. He heaved a sigh, "Fine, but I'm only waiting until dawn if you guys can't handle it."
"Fair enough," Lance agreed with a nod. He waved for Anna to keep walking.
The ranger led the way through the trees, following the sound of voices. Soon, the other two heard what Anna had caught before and their eyes narrowed in determination. Anna stopped and crouched low, waving for the other two to follow her lead. Together, the three creeped the last few paces and peered between the leaves of a bush to see a large cliff face.
There was only the slightest sliver of a moon rising in the sky as the sun set .The stone was painted a bloody red and soared high in the air overhead. Their attention wasn't focused on the mountain's peak, however. Instead, their eyes were set on the grey stone fortress was nestled at the base of the mountain. The voices they'd heard earlier had faded and as they watched, a large wrought iron gate slammed shut. Cloaked assassins stood at attention in various locations along the walls and on either side of the gate.
Lance, Matt, and Anna exchanged glances. They had found the base, alright. Now they needed a plan.
A/N: Matt is up again and they've found where Natalie is being held! Hooray! Next up, we go back to Natalie for one chapter, then they'll be reunited.
WARNING FOR NEXT CHAPTER!
IF RAPE UPSETS YOU PLEASE SKIP CHAPTER 11! I have written a non-consensual sexual scene involving Natalie, a prison cell, and the grandmaster of Origin. It honestly has no full-blown forced sex in it (it has unwanted sexual touching), but I know that kind of content can be very upsetting for some readers. To compensate for that, I will be posting the next two chapters on the same day. I have given enough info in chapter 12 to know the important things that happen in Chapter 11. I will warn you again next chapter(s).