After returning and finding out that, indeed, I was going to be wedded to Simona (which they just got out of the way with immediately... I guess weddings were very simple in this world), we then had a sleep at the castle with my allies sleeping on the ground of Simona's room... while I slept in the bed with her. And both myself and Crux were feeling very awkward at the fact we were sharing a bed with none other than a beautiful, young princess that we were now married to. And not helping was the fact that I had to keep my nerves under control since I wanted to remain respectful to Simona and not do anything to her.
It was a very eventful day, so I did get to sleep eventually, but it was tough. And even more so when I woke up to Simona's arms around me in a cuddling manner, which made me blush heavily... as well as confirm to me that I was really stuck in this world. And that Simona and I were now married.
"Good morning, Drake," she said with a smile, me trying to smile at her.
"H-Hey... how'd you sleep?" I asked, her smiling at me.
"Very well. And you?" she asked as I sighed.
"To be honest... I had a bit of trouble. Mainly because of one thing that I feel you should know... I'm not actually from this world," I said, her looking at me in confusion.
"Not from this world? You mean you're from the Observatory, right?"
"No, Crux is the Celestrian. And though the two of us look and sound identical, I am from a world that's far more advanced in technology than this one. We have machines that can go into the deepest of oceans, fly to the outer reaches of space, and food that is so good, you'd kill to try it out," I said, her smiling at that.
"What are the negatives? And how did you get here, then?" she asked.
"The negatives? People are pretty hateful towards each other based on appearance, particularly religious beliefs and skin color, we have wars that kill millions of people, we end up polluting everything we touch without a care in the world, and we have weapons that are powerful and deadly enough to demolish an entire nation in one fell explosion," I said, her gawking at that.
"Sounds scary..." she frowned.
"It is for those affected by it. But I tried to distance myself as much as I could... as for how I got here, I was going to play with one of these electronics, but when I poked a part of it, I was sucked through the device and woke up in this world, merging my body and mind with Crux," I said.
"That sounds even scarier," she admitted.
"Yeah..." I sighed. "And I keep on hoping that this is all a dream... don't get me wrong, I'm glad I could make you happy and that I could manage to get a wife as nice as you... but it still feels like I could wake up at any moment..."
"But you're not asleep. Trust me, I should know," Crux frowned as I flicked my forehead.
"I do believe that you should join your friends, now. They said that the town was aglow with Benevolescence after my father gave the speech that you'd saved Stornway, the Wight Knight, and that you managed to find out the truth behind Brigadoom," she said, me smirking at that.
"I'll be back to visit again at some point, Simona. But we need to get to the Observatory first and foremost," I smiled as I then simply gave her a hug and then a small kiss on the hand to be courteous. "Until we meet again," I smiled.
"I shall wait for you and pray to the Almighty that light shall follow wherever you go," she said kindly as I then walked out of the castle (my allies had gotten the items in the treasury in the form of a stronger weapon for each) and I saw that Stella was tallying the Benevolescence with the others in my group.
"I still find it kinda weird that mortals can see Benevolescence an' the like, but it don't confront me at all," Stella smiled as she then got all the Benevolescence and stored it in a bag. "I do wonder if the newlywed is gonna be around, though? Maybe he's havin' some alone time with the lovely princess?" Stella smirked as I then simply got next to her ear.
"BOO!" I shouted, her then shrieking in surprise before then turning around and slapping me across the face. "Okay, tss... yeah, that friggin' hurt. And I deserved it..." I hissed at the stinging sensation of the slap, especially since it was from a girl.
"What the flap was that for?! I thought a spook was about to snack on me!" she shouted as I simply sighed.
"Sorry, I just wanted to surprise you. Didn't expect you to have quite a powerful backhand, though. Maybe you should be helping out in our fights, huh?" I smirked, Stella then shaking her head no.
"Sorry, no, I can't dare ruin my dainty lil' fingers, especially considering what I want to do when the prophecy is finally fulfilled," she said.
"So... what is that thing you want to do?" Veronica asked with a smile.
"Shh, it's a secret," Stella smirked with a giggle as I noted that Dillon also had a particularly interesting item that he held in his own bag.
"Um... what's in the bag, Dillon?" I asked him.
"Erinn gave me an Alchemy Pot that she dug up at the Inn! Not only that, but we can hear it talk and it's named Krakpot. Also there's another Celestrian at the Inn just chillin' on the desk named Pavo," he smiled.
"PAVO?!" Crux shouted, that making others look at us in confusion... and then, Crux immediately took control of my feet and had me rush to the Inn and I gulped.
"Y-You guys go onto the Starflight Express without me for now, okay? And if it starts up, don't leave us behind!" I said to them as Crux rushed me and him into the Inn and I saw that, indeed, Pavo was sitting on the desk right next to where Selma usually sat. And she looked at us with a pout before then looking at the halo on our head.
"Crux?" she asked.
"P-Pavo..." he said in my thoughts as Pavo sighed.
"I never expected to see your face again, especially without your wings," she sighed... though I could sense a hint of hostility in her tone.
"H-How come you haven't come back to the Observatory for so long?" Crux asked.
"Because I grew tired of getting the Benevolescence from the mortals. It's such a thankless task to be the guardian of Stornway, even moreso when YOU are the one that makes the Benevolescence finally spring like a waterfall despite my decades of trying and failing to get a single hunk," she groaned, me then clearing my throat.
"Um... if I may interrupt, I sense hostility between you and Crux and I don't like it when people argue," I frowned.
"Hmph. Why not have Crux tell you himself instead of sticking your mortal thoughts in our business?" Pavo said with annoyance as she folded her arms over her chest.
"Ugh... Pavo and I used to be partners... romantic partners... but we got into a squabble about me wanting to go into training to be a guardian, since she felt it pointless. She's been the guardian Celestrian of Stornway for 30 years and she suddenly vanished from the Observatory roughly 10 years ago... she didn't even say a word to anyone about why she did so, so we assumed she'd been captured or killed..." Crux sighed.
"And not only that, but you got the easy gig of Angel Falls, which is filled with the most believers of Celestrians by far. But Stornway is a big place and my statue is so decrepit that you can't read the inscription anymore! I even tried to make one in Zere to get extra Benevolescence, but they'd rather worship a worthless, dying tree than the Almighty on high!" Pavo groaned.
"Okay, red flags are flying all around. How about, for now, we can just let bygones be bygones? Because something terrible happened to the Observatory along with the Fyggs," I frowned. And when I said that, Pavo's face went from anger... to 'oh shit' expression.
"F-Fyggs?! Yggdrasil finally bore fruit?!" she asked in shock.
"And the exact moment she did, dark magic started to attack the Observatory from the Protectorate, which is also correlated to the earthquake a few days ago. During the scuffle, the Fyggs were swept away to the Protectorate along with myself and Drake, the mortal that's in my body. And our wings lost all their feathers on the way down, rendering us flightless... the only thing that is still left is our halo," Crux frowned.
"Well, why didn't you say that first?! We need to rescue those Fyggs above all else!" Pavo said with seriousness as she then jumped off the counter and rushed out the door, us following her and her then trying to fly off into the sky... but we were surprised at how her wings wouldn't extend or let her fly. "HUH?! Come on! Work, you stupid flappers!... Ugh... I've been on the ground for too long. My wings are gonna need some exercise before they take flight again," she frowned. And once we'd left the town, we then saw our group coming back to Stornway.
"So... what's the verdict on the train?" I asked.
"The ol' girl's tryin' her hardest, but it can't run unless at full power. Luckily, we're at 80 percent power with all that Benevolescence going into her engine! We need to get more and the only other place to find some is in that one town the king mentioned last night. You know, the one past the eastern checkpoint!" Stella smiled. And it was only then that she and the others noted that Pavo was with us.
"Wait... another Celestrian? She looks so... cool..." Keira gawked at her and Pavo looked at me and Crux with confusion.
"Mortals... that can see me? Care to explain, Crux?" she asked, that making Crux speak.
"They found some of my wing feathers and... put them in soup and ate them," he said, Pavo smacking her face afterwards.
"That sounds like the dumbest excuse ever... but if they can see me, that makes things easier, regardless. Okay, the only way to get the Starflight Express to the Observatory is to fuel it with Benevolescence? What happened to it?" Pavo asked as we then simply went down the path to the northeast and Stella explained.
"The ol' girl got hit like an arrow on a bullseye by the dark magic! I barely got out unscathed as the train fell down to the Protectorate! And Fatguts has gone missing, too!" she said in an annoyed fashion.
"Another question. Who is Fatguts?" Pavo asked.
"My boss. And that's all I'm sayin' about him," Stella said with a pout.
"Obvious annoyance in your voice is obvious," I smirked, Stella frowning at me.
"Careful now, I might slap you again," Stella smirked at me.
"Don't worry, I'll shut up. We've got a mission, a town to see, and people to help," I said as we then passed through the checkpoint and entered into the northeastern part of the current continent. And it was here that we encountered the tougher enemies in the form of the Leafy Larikens, Badger Mager, Clockwork Cuckoos, Sluggers, and Chariot Chappies. Though they were tougher, so were we after our trip to Brigadoom, so we were able to get them defeated as well as earn some extra experience to the others in the group. And then, we finally reached the town of Coffinwell. And just being there and seeing the near-vacant streets and hearing the coughing sounds around us made me feel very antsy.
"Something here is wrong... I can sense it very strongly in the air," Veronica said with a sigh as we then decided to ask where the one in charge was. And we found him in the mansion at the top of the town... bedridden.
"Oogh... that dreaded contagion..." he groaned in pain as I then looked at him in confusion.
"Excuse me... are you the mayor of the town?" I asked, him coughing afterwards.
"I am... but not for much longer... there's some kind of contagion going on in Coffinwell... but the weirdest thing is, it only attacks permanent residents... please, speak to my daughter... give her this key... find her husband... he's the only one that can find out the... cure," he groaned as I then sighed... and it accidentally went inside of his mouth. And when that happened? Something shocking happened for everyone in our vicinity. The king gasped as he then stopped sweating and coughing and he got up and looked around.
"W-WHOA! I-I feel rejuvenated! What kind of healing magic was that, mister traveler?!" he asked as I simply looked at the others and I looked at them.
"I... dunno... maybe because I have numerous anti-bodies of various dangerous diseases from back where I'm from?... I also got antibodies for a kind of plague that happened before coming here, but there's probably zero relation... all I know is that, when you breathed in my sigh, you seem to have kicked the illness to the curb," I said, him smirking at that.
"This may be the thing we need to rid the town of that nasty contagion once and for all! You, mister, will go around the town and heal as many of the sick as you can while your friends find my Catarrhina and she can lead them to my son-in-law. And take this with you when you meet with him," the mayor said as he handed us the Quarantomb Key. "The contagion, according to his studies, seems to emanate from the nearby sealed-off ruins to the west of town. Once everyone in the town is healed of their ailments, you are to travel there and provide protection to Phlegming so you can stop the contagion at its source! No doubt, my boy, that you will be the one to save all of us. And if you pull it off, there's a handsome reward in it for ya!" the mayor said, making all of his maids and cooks look gobsmacked at how he was up and at 'em and not showing any symptoms.
"Um... sure... can anyone of you fine folks lead me to those who are confirmed to be sick?" I asked the maids and butlers, the result being one of them stepping forward and nodding. She looked an awful lot like a Victorian era maid with black and white attire and she nodded.
"I can show you around if you wish," she smiled and I simply nodded. "As for everyone else in the group, you go find this Phlegming and Catarrhina. I'll meet up at some point," I said.
...
...
...
It took a bit to get the sick villagers to take my breath as a 'medicine', but the maid helped out by saying that my breath cured Mayor Laria (which was still one of my personal top 10 worst pun names in history). And just as before, the ones that were ailed (that were known) were the little girl, the old man, and the bunny girl staying at the hotel. And after curing the little girl, I then discovered that I could sniff out the sickness inside of people. And it was then that I smelled a lot of it in the small room at the bottom alley, where Phlegming's lab was at. I then knocked on the door and got a response from the woman of the hour, her looking at me with a smile while trying to not show any signs of sickness.
"Oh, hello there... wait... are you the Celestrian that the others mentioned?" she asked, me nodding at that.
"Yes, I am... are my friends still in there?" I asked as Pavo simply sighed, her and Stella being the only ones to stick with me, since no one else could see them.
"Indeed, they are... cack... hack... oh, sorry. It's just the dust," she said as I simply placed my hand on her forehead and, immediately, her story fell flat. Her head felt like it was a boiling pot of water, way higher than it should be! I simply looked inside to see that Phlegming and the others were looking at me.
"Why not tell the truth, miss? If you don't, then that high temperature will be enough to kill you," I said, that making Phlegming jump from his seat and rush to my side.
"A-Are you serious?! You mean... Catarrhina... you've been ill this whole time?!" Phlegming asked in shock.
"I... I'm sorry for hiding it... I wanted to stay strong... so I wouldn't distract you..." she said as she finally started to show the effects of the disease in her, even to the point of laying on the ground. I then picked her head off the ground and sighed into her mouth, her then breathing it in... and her then breathing in and out easier... but she still had a fever, though it was drastically reduced.
"Hmm... unlike the others I've cured, I've only delayed the ailment within her. The only true way to save her and any others in this town is to not only find the source of this contagion, but destroying every bit of it. And luckily, it seems that my breath is the disease's weakness," I said, Catarrhina smiling at me as she then closed her eyes and she started to sleep.
"H-How long do we have?" Phlegming asked in concern.
"It depends. How long does it usually take for this disease to kill someone?" I asked.
"The ancient scripts as well as the recent events here list that the disease kills people within 24 hours... how many do you think you removed with that magical breath of yours?" Phlegming asked.
"I'd say roughly 7 or so, since her fever has gone down a bit and she's breathing normally. Beforehand, I'd say she only had an hour at most. If we're going to get that contagion handled, we'd better get going soon. And you're joining us, Doctor Phlegming," I said, him nodding.
"I'll do anything to save my beloved Catarrhina! I don't care about impressing father-in-law anymore, I just care about saving my wife!" Phlegming said with seriousness as the maid then took Cattarhina and started to carry her.
"I'll take Catarrhina to her house and keep watch over her in her sleep," she said, me nodding as we then set out for the Metal Slime hotspot in the game, the Quarantomb.