Chapter Six: Death's Face
The heroic group made it to the town of Termina, thanks to the help of Jade Fox. Termina was a busy, massive, highly populated town with stores and bars, etc. It was right by the ocean and it even had its own dock with trading ships. This town was mostly a trading town, at least that's what it has grown to be in the past years. Most of the people who lived here were healthy and courteous, but always seemed so busy. In fact, this town did not seem like a town anymore, more like a city. Termina seemed to be the most populated place on the land.
"We are here." Jade said. Sullivan paused for a second to catch his breath while Rad and Han helped each other with carrying Carle. Carle wasn't heavy; it's just that carrying a fallen friend is very hard to deal with, even if you didn't get along with them as much.
"Ok, where now?" Rad said very curiously.
Jade's eyes closed and she turned for a second. "I have to see if the doctor is in town. If not, we may have trouble." Jade quickly snapped out of her worrying statues and went on. "I'll be right back, sit tight in the mean time. Talk to your friend… even though she has fallen, it would make you feel better." Jade turned and dashed. She was really fast hence the fact that she was a fox. Her grey fur pushed back as the air hit it while she was dashing. Han stared for a moment with hope in his eyes. He knew he could depend on her, even if they just met.
"Ok," Sullivan said with a big sigh "all we can do is wait for this… 'Jade'… fox… thing to find us a doctor."
"What's wrong, you don't trust her?" Rad questioned.
"Well… yes and no… I mean we just met her. Out of no where a walking talking fox kicks this bad guy's ass and leads us here to save Carle."
"So what's wrong with that? It's not a sin to help someone you don't know." Rad remarked.
"True." Sullivan replied.
The two continued to talk as Han sat next to Carle while eyeing his gash. Funny he thought seeing Carle get hurt kills me more than this blood gushing gash. Hell, what is wrong with me. Is this a god damn dream? I mean what the hell? I just ran into a walking talking grey fox and she tells me she's not a demi-human. I mean, I trust her. But… why does she want to help me and the others? Only a few days have gone by and all this shit starts happening. Aw hell, I'll think about all this later. Carle needs my help.
Not even a minute went by and Jade came back to report that the doctor wasn't in town. It turns out that they had to take a boat to some little village called Guldove. It wasn't too far away, but you needed a boat. So the four, carrying Carle, rented out a boat and traveled over to Guldove. They were welcomed by man in a sailor suit. He guided them to the doctor's home, and they walked in and explained everything to the doctor.
"Dude," said Doc "you guys are in a tough fix here. Lay her on the bed and make way." He went on. Doc was a good doctor and never lost a patient cause of his own doing.
"So what's wrong with her? Is she going to live?" Rad said.
"I dunno man," Doc said "I'm a doctor, not God. Doctors don't save lives 100% of the time, you know. That's up to Mother Nature. But if you asked me, I'd say that she took a pretty damn big fall. She may live. Just give me time."
"Lets all wait in the waiting room so Doc can get to work. Lets get more acquainted as well." Jade said.
The four sat in the waiting room and Jade talked to make the other three a bit happier. Then Sullivan butted in the conversation.
"Why are you helping us?" Sullivan asked harshly. Jade paused a second and her purplish eyes stared at Sullivan's.
"What do you mean?" Jade said seeming very surprised.
"What the hell do you care if Carle dies is what he's trying to ask." Rad said, but not in a harsh way.
Jade explained "Why wouldn't I help you? Your friend seemed to be in trouble. Hell, anyone would have done this." There was a long pause in the room for a good minute. Jade was very honest. She was a bit surprised to see that she was being questioned about why she was helping.
"I'm not a Demi-Human if that's what you're thinking." She said.
"Then what are you?" Sullivan said.
"I am just like you. Only I look different." Jade said.
"That's obvious." Rad said.
"We have the same souls. It's a long story of why I'm like this…" Jade said. She paused and made a painful expression while thinking of her past.
"Um…" Sullivan said walking over to Jade patting her on the back "I'm sorry for doubting you."
"Don't worry about it. What matters is that your friend makes it." She said.
"You ok, Han?" Rad said. Han just stood still, staring blankly at the doorway that led to where Carle was being cared for. He didn't reply to Rad, not because he was ignoring him, but because his mind was set on Carle. He was very worried; he kept having the same flashbacks of when Carle fell to the ground. He really felt like shit about it, and found it hard to not picture him jumping in front of the ray so Carle wouldn't get hurt. Was this love he was feeling? Maybe, but he didn't even know. All he knew was that he still had a mission, and weather or not Carle made it, he had to push on. The whole world…. no… all of existence depended on it. Why do I care so much? He thought I mean we just met. We hardly talked or even looked at each other. Why do I feel this? Is it a part of being "The One"? No one could blame him for thinking these thoughts.
"Yeah…" Han replied "I'm fine."
Rad came over and gave Han a hard friendly smack on the back.
"Good!" He said with enthusiasm.
"I'm going to go take a walk." Han said. He simply got up and walked out the door of the small building. He looked around at the small town. It was entirely made out of wood. The whole town was sitting on pillars that held it up over the ocean. The building where also made entirely out of wood. They where like small huts. One thing this town had a lot of was boats. Boats, boats, and more boats, they where all over the place. This also seemed like a trading town, but it was just so small and low populated. Still, it was peaceful, and the whole place mixed in well with the soothing sounds of a calm ocean.
Han walked around a bit. He didn't go far, just stood looking out at the sea. His mind was still fixed on the whole situation of Carle and the fate of the world.
Sullivan, Rad, and Jade, on the other hand, were still getting more equated. They discussed their hometowns and past experiences. But Jade didn't say a word about her past; it was like she was avoiding the whole thing. Even so, they all had a friendly conversation. Sullivan then took out his phone and called Chris, the weapons suppler.
"Hey Chris" Sullivan said into the phone.
"Hey Sullivan, what's up?" Chris said.
"Well, we need more weapons. Have you finished the new ones yet?
"Yeah Sullivan, just give me a location and I'll ship them. They should be there tomorrow."
"Ok then, send them to Termina Post. Say, what kind of enhancements were you able to make?"
"Well, I made a crossbow that shoots much more accurately. I have an axe really for Rad that's much bigger. As for Han… well… I have nothing for a lance. Tell him sorry, but the one he has should do him ok."
"Ok, thanks Chris."
"No problem Sullivan. Eh hell, this is my job, isn't it?"
"Yeah, well… see yeah."
Sullivan hung up with Chris. New weapons were on the way. In fact, that was a good idea, didn't seem that the last weapons were very useful. Rad got up after a little while to go check on Han.
"Hey man." Rad said walking up to Han. Han turned and glanced at Rad, then turned back to staring out at the ocean.
"Hey Rad."
"Are you ok man? You've been acting like someone else."
"No, I'm not ok. Hell, Carle might die and I'm the one who has to stop this Vern guy."
"Dude, we are ALL in this together. And trust me, Carle is going to be fine."
"I hope so." Han said with a long pause following.
"Say Han, have you made anymore contacts with Schala?"
"No…" Han said. "I've been trying, but nothing happens. I don't know what to do. All I can do is hope for Carle's safety."
After Han's last remark, Doc came running out to Han screaming "HAN! HAN!"
Han just turned to the Doc saying nothing.
"Han," Doc went on "Carle is awake. She wants to talk to you."
"Why me?"
"I don't know man. Just go do it; it would make her feel better." Doc said seriously. Han nodded and walked into Carle's room.
It was dark in the room. Han kept walking and saw Carle lying in bed. Her eyes were closed and her hair was let loose instead of the braid that was in before. Han walked up to the bed and knelt beside Carle.
"Hey…." Carle said in a weak voice. Her eyes began to open up.
"I'm right here." Han said. Carle smiled.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
"Maybe I should be asking you that question." Han said.
"Oh my god!" Carle screamed eyeing Han's arm.
"What?"
"That gash! Aren't you going to get that stitched up!?" Carle said sounding very curious.
"Don't worry about it, the doc will take care of it later." Han said with a smirk.
"So are you ok, Carle?"
"Yeah," Carle said nodding her head "Yeah. Doc says that the ray was to powerful for me to handle. Looks like Slash played unfair, huh?" Carle said with a giggle.
"Well, as long as you are ok." Han concluded.
"Han…" Carle said.
"Yeah, Carle?"
Carle reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object. She examined it for a second and handed it to Han.
"Han, I want you to have this." She said with a serious voice. Han took the object and looked at it. It was small ring with snake eyes on it. It seemed to be almost new and it was so hard that not even a metal slab could crush it.
"Why are you giving me this?" Han said with a puzzled look.
"Because…" Carle went on "Because… I have my reasons. I think you deserve it more than I do. I mean, you're about to save us all!"
"Yeah well, I can't save the world without you guys. SO I'm sorry, I can't accept this." Han said while handing the ring back.
"NO," Carle went on pushing Han's hand away "Keep it, please. Do it for me, I want you to have it."
Han paused for a second and nodded his head. He seemed to accept it now, and wore it on the pendent he had around his neck.
"I'll keep it with me forever. Thank you." Han said.
Carle hugged Han and they talked for a little while more.
* * *
The next morning, everyone got up went back to Termina. Carle was alive and kicking, thank god. The whole team was one again.
When they all arrived to Termina, Sullivan had picked up the weapons Chris had sent. They were nicely made and much higher quality than the last. The then continued on to the Mansion where the Guru was supposed to be. Carle led the way, which was her job after all. They finally made it to the front gate when they all found two dead soldiers lying in a puddle of blood with the gate blasted wide open.
The heroic group made it to the town of Termina, thanks to the help of Jade Fox. Termina was a busy, massive, highly populated town with stores and bars, etc. It was right by the ocean and it even had its own dock with trading ships. This town was mostly a trading town, at least that's what it has grown to be in the past years. Most of the people who lived here were healthy and courteous, but always seemed so busy. In fact, this town did not seem like a town anymore, more like a city. Termina seemed to be the most populated place on the land.
"We are here." Jade said. Sullivan paused for a second to catch his breath while Rad and Han helped each other with carrying Carle. Carle wasn't heavy; it's just that carrying a fallen friend is very hard to deal with, even if you didn't get along with them as much.
"Ok, where now?" Rad said very curiously.
Jade's eyes closed and she turned for a second. "I have to see if the doctor is in town. If not, we may have trouble." Jade quickly snapped out of her worrying statues and went on. "I'll be right back, sit tight in the mean time. Talk to your friend… even though she has fallen, it would make you feel better." Jade turned and dashed. She was really fast hence the fact that she was a fox. Her grey fur pushed back as the air hit it while she was dashing. Han stared for a moment with hope in his eyes. He knew he could depend on her, even if they just met.
"Ok," Sullivan said with a big sigh "all we can do is wait for this… 'Jade'… fox… thing to find us a doctor."
"What's wrong, you don't trust her?" Rad questioned.
"Well… yes and no… I mean we just met her. Out of no where a walking talking fox kicks this bad guy's ass and leads us here to save Carle."
"So what's wrong with that? It's not a sin to help someone you don't know." Rad remarked.
"True." Sullivan replied.
The two continued to talk as Han sat next to Carle while eyeing his gash. Funny he thought seeing Carle get hurt kills me more than this blood gushing gash. Hell, what is wrong with me. Is this a god damn dream? I mean what the hell? I just ran into a walking talking grey fox and she tells me she's not a demi-human. I mean, I trust her. But… why does she want to help me and the others? Only a few days have gone by and all this shit starts happening. Aw hell, I'll think about all this later. Carle needs my help.
Not even a minute went by and Jade came back to report that the doctor wasn't in town. It turns out that they had to take a boat to some little village called Guldove. It wasn't too far away, but you needed a boat. So the four, carrying Carle, rented out a boat and traveled over to Guldove. They were welcomed by man in a sailor suit. He guided them to the doctor's home, and they walked in and explained everything to the doctor.
"Dude," said Doc "you guys are in a tough fix here. Lay her on the bed and make way." He went on. Doc was a good doctor and never lost a patient cause of his own doing.
"So what's wrong with her? Is she going to live?" Rad said.
"I dunno man," Doc said "I'm a doctor, not God. Doctors don't save lives 100% of the time, you know. That's up to Mother Nature. But if you asked me, I'd say that she took a pretty damn big fall. She may live. Just give me time."
"Lets all wait in the waiting room so Doc can get to work. Lets get more acquainted as well." Jade said.
The four sat in the waiting room and Jade talked to make the other three a bit happier. Then Sullivan butted in the conversation.
"Why are you helping us?" Sullivan asked harshly. Jade paused a second and her purplish eyes stared at Sullivan's.
"What do you mean?" Jade said seeming very surprised.
"What the hell do you care if Carle dies is what he's trying to ask." Rad said, but not in a harsh way.
Jade explained "Why wouldn't I help you? Your friend seemed to be in trouble. Hell, anyone would have done this." There was a long pause in the room for a good minute. Jade was very honest. She was a bit surprised to see that she was being questioned about why she was helping.
"I'm not a Demi-Human if that's what you're thinking." She said.
"Then what are you?" Sullivan said.
"I am just like you. Only I look different." Jade said.
"That's obvious." Rad said.
"We have the same souls. It's a long story of why I'm like this…" Jade said. She paused and made a painful expression while thinking of her past.
"Um…" Sullivan said walking over to Jade patting her on the back "I'm sorry for doubting you."
"Don't worry about it. What matters is that your friend makes it." She said.
"You ok, Han?" Rad said. Han just stood still, staring blankly at the doorway that led to where Carle was being cared for. He didn't reply to Rad, not because he was ignoring him, but because his mind was set on Carle. He was very worried; he kept having the same flashbacks of when Carle fell to the ground. He really felt like shit about it, and found it hard to not picture him jumping in front of the ray so Carle wouldn't get hurt. Was this love he was feeling? Maybe, but he didn't even know. All he knew was that he still had a mission, and weather or not Carle made it, he had to push on. The whole world…. no… all of existence depended on it. Why do I care so much? He thought I mean we just met. We hardly talked or even looked at each other. Why do I feel this? Is it a part of being "The One"? No one could blame him for thinking these thoughts.
"Yeah…" Han replied "I'm fine."
Rad came over and gave Han a hard friendly smack on the back.
"Good!" He said with enthusiasm.
"I'm going to go take a walk." Han said. He simply got up and walked out the door of the small building. He looked around at the small town. It was entirely made out of wood. The whole town was sitting on pillars that held it up over the ocean. The building where also made entirely out of wood. They where like small huts. One thing this town had a lot of was boats. Boats, boats, and more boats, they where all over the place. This also seemed like a trading town, but it was just so small and low populated. Still, it was peaceful, and the whole place mixed in well with the soothing sounds of a calm ocean.
Han walked around a bit. He didn't go far, just stood looking out at the sea. His mind was still fixed on the whole situation of Carle and the fate of the world.
Sullivan, Rad, and Jade, on the other hand, were still getting more equated. They discussed their hometowns and past experiences. But Jade didn't say a word about her past; it was like she was avoiding the whole thing. Even so, they all had a friendly conversation. Sullivan then took out his phone and called Chris, the weapons suppler.
"Hey Chris" Sullivan said into the phone.
"Hey Sullivan, what's up?" Chris said.
"Well, we need more weapons. Have you finished the new ones yet?
"Yeah Sullivan, just give me a location and I'll ship them. They should be there tomorrow."
"Ok then, send them to Termina Post. Say, what kind of enhancements were you able to make?"
"Well, I made a crossbow that shoots much more accurately. I have an axe really for Rad that's much bigger. As for Han… well… I have nothing for a lance. Tell him sorry, but the one he has should do him ok."
"Ok, thanks Chris."
"No problem Sullivan. Eh hell, this is my job, isn't it?"
"Yeah, well… see yeah."
Sullivan hung up with Chris. New weapons were on the way. In fact, that was a good idea, didn't seem that the last weapons were very useful. Rad got up after a little while to go check on Han.
"Hey man." Rad said walking up to Han. Han turned and glanced at Rad, then turned back to staring out at the ocean.
"Hey Rad."
"Are you ok man? You've been acting like someone else."
"No, I'm not ok. Hell, Carle might die and I'm the one who has to stop this Vern guy."
"Dude, we are ALL in this together. And trust me, Carle is going to be fine."
"I hope so." Han said with a long pause following.
"Say Han, have you made anymore contacts with Schala?"
"No…" Han said. "I've been trying, but nothing happens. I don't know what to do. All I can do is hope for Carle's safety."
After Han's last remark, Doc came running out to Han screaming "HAN! HAN!"
Han just turned to the Doc saying nothing.
"Han," Doc went on "Carle is awake. She wants to talk to you."
"Why me?"
"I don't know man. Just go do it; it would make her feel better." Doc said seriously. Han nodded and walked into Carle's room.
It was dark in the room. Han kept walking and saw Carle lying in bed. Her eyes were closed and her hair was let loose instead of the braid that was in before. Han walked up to the bed and knelt beside Carle.
"Hey…." Carle said in a weak voice. Her eyes began to open up.
"I'm right here." Han said. Carle smiled.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
"Maybe I should be asking you that question." Han said.
"Oh my god!" Carle screamed eyeing Han's arm.
"What?"
"That gash! Aren't you going to get that stitched up!?" Carle said sounding very curious.
"Don't worry about it, the doc will take care of it later." Han said with a smirk.
"So are you ok, Carle?"
"Yeah," Carle said nodding her head "Yeah. Doc says that the ray was to powerful for me to handle. Looks like Slash played unfair, huh?" Carle said with a giggle.
"Well, as long as you are ok." Han concluded.
"Han…" Carle said.
"Yeah, Carle?"
Carle reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object. She examined it for a second and handed it to Han.
"Han, I want you to have this." She said with a serious voice. Han took the object and looked at it. It was small ring with snake eyes on it. It seemed to be almost new and it was so hard that not even a metal slab could crush it.
"Why are you giving me this?" Han said with a puzzled look.
"Because…" Carle went on "Because… I have my reasons. I think you deserve it more than I do. I mean, you're about to save us all!"
"Yeah well, I can't save the world without you guys. SO I'm sorry, I can't accept this." Han said while handing the ring back.
"NO," Carle went on pushing Han's hand away "Keep it, please. Do it for me, I want you to have it."
Han paused for a second and nodded his head. He seemed to accept it now, and wore it on the pendent he had around his neck.
"I'll keep it with me forever. Thank you." Han said.
Carle hugged Han and they talked for a little while more.
* * *
The next morning, everyone got up went back to Termina. Carle was alive and kicking, thank god. The whole team was one again.
When they all arrived to Termina, Sullivan had picked up the weapons Chris had sent. They were nicely made and much higher quality than the last. The then continued on to the Mansion where the Guru was supposed to be. Carle led the way, which was her job after all. They finally made it to the front gate when they all found two dead soldiers lying in a puddle of blood with the gate blasted wide open.