Chapter 14

"Del! I can't see anything...fuck", I shouted trying to rub my eyes and realized I was having difficulty moving as a powerful feeling of pins and needles ran through my entire body.
"That may be for the best, you might have found this scene confusing as well as arousing."
"Take me to Risa...I think...I fucked this up something fierce."
"Are you certain? That will be...difficult."
"Yes, why?"

I heard a series of shrieks that sounded as if they were muffled by water followed by sounds of a scuffle nearby.

"You can't have him!", the strangely familiar voice shouted out before continuing, "Ixi! The market-I can handle this!"

I then heard a rush of wind and something like an explosion followed by large pieces of stone hitting the ground around us-something must have broken through the side or roof of this building.

"I see. You have convinced me that I am on fire", Del began suddenly.
"I won't let you take him! He's mine!", my almost-bride shouted.
"I cannot disbelieve this glamour, and this pain is nearly unbearable", Del replied, sounding extremely pained, and then followed with, "But your connection to Risa is the only reason you still draw breath-stand aside before I move you"
"This isn't over, Delilah!"
"Understood."

I must have been dragged outside as I no longer heard the slight echo following each speaking voice.

Del began speaking again, no longer sounding as though she was in pain, "In answer to your question, the city guard are putting down an absolutely ravenous queen slime. A swarm of other unrelated monsters have made a run on the brothels in the confusion."
"And?"
"It's a rape-fest in the streets until the guard is able to get everything back under control. I also do not believe that it may be as necessary as you think."
"Not needed? But-"
"While I did not divulge the details of your plan, per your request, I felt that it might be acceptable to tell Risa to expect 'something big' if you came to your senses." she said as she started leading me towards the sounds of chaos.
"So far my hearing is the only thing working right. Am I slurring?"
"Somewhat. You are also heavier than I expected."
"Just get me there if you can, I'm probably mostly immune to being raped right now since I can't see or feel anything."
"Your body still responds to sexual stimuli as expected, Joe."
"Well, I don't think my body and I are getting along very well right now."
"I would appreciate your explanation of that later-hold on and I'll take you to Risa."
"I...can't move...well...anything."
"Interesting. Your hands seem to be affixed tightly to my breasts."
"You're just fucking with me, aren't you? I can't-wait...are you wearing a dress?", I remarked as the sensation of touch returned enough to tell me that I wasn't feeling her skin.
"Would you like me to remove it?"
"Not until I see what you look like wearing it", I remarked with what I hoped was a smile.
"Fine", she replied with a hint of anger.
"Just get me there and we'll talk about your new fashion sense later."
"Understood."

As I was whisked through the streets of an unfamiliar city I heard pockets of chaos in various places. It wasn't as if the city was burning down...at least I hoped not, but the scattered screams of man and monster alike still shot through me like spears. I really hoped this ridiculous plan ended up being worth it.

"Stay here a moment", Del said forcefully.

I then heard the sounds of a horrific scream and what sounded like several trees snapping in a tempestuous gale. Were there trees that large in the city?

"Oh sweet mother of monsters, what is that?!" an unfamiliar voice shouted out.
"It's not stopping! Run. RUN!", another strange voice screamed.
"Oooh, what have we here? Are you all alo-" I heard a question whispered into my ear followed by a yelp and what sounded like a hissing gurgle.
I finally shouted, "Del! What was that?"
"A solicitor"
"Can we move soon?"
With slight annoyance in her voice she responded, "Hold on to me"

I then vaguely felt the ground shake slightly and then heard a series of loud cracks mingled with a renewed series of screams. I had an inkling that Del might have just unleashed some sort of attack but I thought it better to just pretend that nothing had happened as she continued to drag me through the streets.

Del seemed to keep changing direction, suddenly stopping, or pulling me into a run as I was blindly dragged through the city. We finally came to a stop after nearly 3 hours of running. In that time it seemed the chaos had been almost completely brought under control.

Realizing that my body was trying to catch its breath, I breathlessly asked, "Del?"
"Yes, Joe?"
"How long was I under?"
"Just under 3 months."
"I...fuck. Really? Why did you stay near me?"
"You...didn't ask me to leave"
"What if I had never...what if…", I began before being overcome by my tears-those I felt as they burned rivers of feeling through the slowly-fading numbness.
"That is irrelevant. You requested that Risa and I remain by your side."
"But how do I know I'm even 'me'?"
"That you can ask the question proves that you are."

I probably looked about as pitiful as I felt-a blind man panting in exhaustion, clinging to Del's over-endowed child-sized body.

"Del, I'm so sorry. I forgot almost all of my mnemonic triggers."
"Your...what?", she said, completely stumped for the first time by something I mentioned.
"For me it was...like...songs or other things that would bring me back to a sort of 'save point' in my memory."
"That's ridiculous. Are you saying you broke out of nearly 3 months of conditioned darkness with a set of song lyrics?"
"It's a good song, damn thing was stuck in my head for at least a month after I first heard it."

Her response was an uncharacteristic series of adorable giggles.
"But Del...I need to apologize to Risa. I almost just got married to her mother didn't I?"
"You were about to sign the document legally binding you to the lady Karisa, yes."
"I wasn't completely gone, I pieced together the song from things I heard over the course of...well I guess a few months.", I said trying to pull any other memories from that otherwise dark spot in my mind but was coming up completely dry.
"Risa's the one that buried you so deeply, I don't believe you need to apologize to her."
"Didn't I have you both convinced I wouldn't break?", I asked.
"I...suppose that is not entirely incorrect."
"I'm not as strong as I thought."
"An interesting admission given that you still pulled yourself free-", she began.
"It's not enough", I interrupted, "I...needed to tell both of you something. It was also far too close to what happened to her before. She must be so hurt and I...can you just get me to her?"
"I...cannot take you any closer"
"Why can't-"

My statement was cut short by a familiar scent reminiscent of fire and nature. That aroma brought with it an end to my painful numbness as I felt the slender, yet powerful arms wrap around me from behind, tightly pressing me between her and Del.

"Risa."
"You miserable bastard!", she almost screamed into my ear, "Could you have cut that any closer?"
"I don't think so...I'm pretty sure she was about to have me sign something. What the hell did she want with a mindless husk anyway?"
"You were still amusingly easy to arouse", Del offered.
"Great, thanks Del."
"I couldn't have forgiven you if you'd...if…", Risa shouted in uneven tones as she began to cry openly.
"And I still end up making you cry…"
"No...it's that your idea worked almost flawlessly. If you hadn't been around to see it..."
"You figure it out based on what I told Emerald?"
"Well, that and I just put the final piece together when the slime went crazy and crawled out from under my cart, it must have seen my small chest and thought I was a boy…", she stated with disappointment as she seemed to be shaking something off of her.
"Bullshit. Just because your mother probably has those giant droopy old-lady bags doesn't mean-", I realized that both of them were completely silent. "That her?", I asked.
"It is." Del replied.
"To business, then! Oh, but Risa...no. I wouldn't change a thing on you. Now watch this, I'm about to show you my five minutes of awesome. Just...point me at her."

"Risa...how could you?", the now identified voice asked. It sounded almost exactly like Risa.
Hearing tiny staccato breaths, coupled with an almost violent shaking, I felt Risa gripping me tightly in either fear or rage.
I piped up, "It wasn't Risa-it was me. My name is Joseph, my friends call me Joe-you can call me Joseph."
"Who in the blazes do you think-?" she began.
"I believe it's polite to introduce yourself once someone has given you their name, yes?", I knew I was asking for it but the city guard was eventually going to tie that slime to her so I figured she'd be gone before long.
"Fine, you miserable human. I am the lady Karisa."
"No shit? That name is suspiciously close to my suicide-inducing ex-girlfriend."
"You understand that you won't get away with this, my partners and I will destroy you. And Risa...", the lady growled angrily.
"Really? That's pretty heartless-I didn't make any profit off of this. That look on your face is turning me on a bit though. How about you Risa?"
"Not even a pinch of gold dust", she replied, reminding herself that she needed to make some transactions on behalf of the Nukita Consortium.
"How did-?" Karisa started again, sounding confused.
"Special human black magic. If I explained it, you'd juice yourself right here in the street. Oh, and Del?"
"Ah yes", she said, placing a single gold piece in my hand. (I didn't want to think about where she'd been carrying it)
"Delilah bet me we couldn't make a mint and get you thrown out on the street at the same time.", I said with as much smug as I could muster, blessing my knowledge of 80's cinema.
"Most unfortunate. I've lost the bet. One gold piece it is", Del said in her perfect monotone.
"Oooh, what can I even get for a gold piece? Risa, is your mother for sale? Assuming she has the change to break a gold piece, that is"
"You listen to me. When I get done with you-", Karisa spat at me, the venom pouring from her voice.

I had to admit that she sounded just like Risa when she got angry. I wanted to laugh, but this was the woman that had tried to destroy Risa twice and would have sold me into slavery at the first opportunity. I let my vengeful side make an appearance.

"Actually, you listen to me." I began as I took a bold, blind step towards her voice, "I'm tolerating your doddering dementia only because Risa still cares for you on some level. I can forgive you for crossing me but no one-no one will ever get away with wronging one of the people I truly care about."
"How can you be so ignorant?! You really have no idea what you're doing OR the sort of enemy you've made here today, human."
I let a cold laugh slip at that, adding, "If you seriously think you can do something to me that these two haven't already tried then bring it on. Next time I won't be so merciful to leave you with such a generous stock of hero testicles."

I think she must have chosen that moment to take on a terrifying visage as Risa and Del both suddenly gasped. I simply yawned and turned to Risa saying, "We should probably go, we don't want to be anywhere near her when the guards stumble upon her."
"Uh...right. Goodbye Karisa, thank you for the valuable lesson. I'm also pleased you enjoyed your anniversary present", Risa said in an almost overly formal tone.

As they escorted me away, I held on admirably (by my reckoning) for several minutes before my legs finally gave out in fear at the enormity of what I'd just said. Even without being able to see anything, I could still feel Karisa's frightening aura, even now. Risa and Del made small sounds of concern as I simply started laughing for all I was worth.

"Is he all there?", Risa asked Del.
"I believe so."
"Just...hee, just tell me something.", I said between giggles. "Did she do something to look all scary at the end there?"
"My lords, yes! Even knowing it was an illusion, I was terrified", Risa quickly answered, "It didn't even faze you?"
"Oh, ha ha. That. Yeah, I'm blind...couldn't see a thing. I bet she wet herself when I didn't even react though!"
"Wait...you're blind?!", Risa nearly screamed, turning my face towards hers. "They look fine, except…"
"Please don't tell me you're just now noticing that brown spot", I said, almost hurt.
"I...they're hard to see when I'm moving up and down."
"That'll have to do for now. At the moment I think I need to...probably vomit or something."
"Hold on, I'll carry you.", Risa said, not able to hide the note of concern in her voice as she picked me up. (Like a princess-I doubted my masculine pride would ever recover)
"See? Five minutes of awesome is about all I can handle. And you can just hold those remarks that I know you're both thinking."

For my part, I tried to be silly about the entire situation, playing my total lack of sight off as though it were certainly a temporary thing, but I was truly terrified that I'd never see anything again. I didn't want to imagine myself being stuck like this forever. I held on to hope-and Risa-as tightly as I could.

If nothing else, this truly felt like the Risa I had hoped and expected to see. I hoped this meant that whatever had been influencing her had finally ceased.

"It's okay, Joe.", Risa whispered to me.
"I believe you...but, is it okay if I don't want to let go right now?"
"Squeeze me as hard as you want."

She carried me...somewhere for another 20 minutes before we came into a building. I heard some hushed unfamiliar voices as I was carried through a narrow hallway and up some stairs. My best guess was that this was some kind of inn, given the many voices downstairs and the relatively quiet upstairs. Another moment and I heard a door opening. A few more steps and I heard a creaking of springs as I felt myself being laid down on a bed.

"Oh, I get it", I began, still trying to play this off as a joke-as much for my own benefit as for theirs, "Time to rape the blind man, hmm?"
"Joe…", Risa said softly.
I asked in a shaky tone, "Are you guys both really okay? I mean...maybe I'm giving myself more importance in my own head and...I'm not entirely sure that I'm okay."

They didn't really answer, and in all honesty I wasn't even really certain Del was still here with how quiet she'd been. Their response was summed up in the gentle press of their bodies against me as they pulled in close.
"Are you both sure...doesn't becoming a vegetable for a few months mean I lost to you two?"
"Does it?" Del seemed to be asking Risa.

In response, Risa began to sing the song that had been my doorway back to reality. Her sweet voice and the genuine emotion behind it made certain that hers would ever be the only version of that song in my head.

"How do you…?", I said, stunned to tears as much by her beautiful singing voice as by the song itself.
Finished singing, Risa responded, "That is a very sad song".
"I have two more rattling around my head that are both worse. But that song...was I...?"
"You stopped talking in your sleep months ago, after we threw you into the darkness.", Del replied.
"Karisa snatched you very quickly from our grasp the moment we got to the city. She didn't seem too concerned with Del, but I wasn't allowed to see you", Risa added.
"Risa snuck into her home three times just to lay with us like this."
"During those first two visits you were humming the melody to that song, on the third you...were singing it.", Risa's voice cracked at the tightness in her throat.
"We-I was upset. I thought this was your way of telling us that you had given up.", Del continued.

Now gently weeping, Risa continued, "I wanted to give up on you...I didn't want to have hope if it was going to be this painful. And if you were just going to end up lost anyway..."
Trying to interject, I said "Risa, I-"
"Let me finish this...You need to know that we didn't hold back. Even if it was just some trick you used to pull yourself back, I've...I never expected you to come through it at all. Part of me-the larger weak and fearful part wanted you gone forever, beyond my grasp."
"I had my doubts as well", Del added, "But you remain an almost impossibly interesting anomaly."
"That's what I asked you to do, isn't it?"
"You don't-! Why...How can you be so completely idiotic to your core? What if you had been gone for good?!", Risa angrily asked.
"But I'm not."
"But what if you-"
"Risa. However stupid, misguided, or hilariously arrogant my request was...I believed I could get through it. What, am I supposed to tell you, 'How dare you trust me, you heartless bitch'?"
"Well...n-no."
"Then don't worry about it. And for what it's worth, I have no intention of letting either of you get away", I answered.
"You'd stay with any girl that flipped her tail at you", Risa said as she rubbed her fuzzy ears against my cheek.
"You're the only girl that's flipped her tail at me"
"So", Del began finally unable to contain her curiosity, "What was that thing you felt needed to be said to us on more equal footing, rather than as simply an absolutely delicious morsel?"
Taking a deep breath, I responded, "Would it be alright to be a bit selfish again here? I want to tell you but...I want to get my sight back first, if it's even possible."
"That is acceptable to me. Risa?"
"Okay."
"Totally righteous. You guys can tell me what else I missed in the morning. I never thought I'd feel so tired after sleeping for three months."

Sleep took me quickly. I bashfully hoped I didn't start talking or singing in my sleep again.