Chapter thirteen: Ready for departure

Cody stood outside, looking into the distance. With how everyone and everything seemed to be improving, the events that transpired three days ago already started to be reduced to a bad memory. The potions Lambert used to heal his patients had proven to be remarkably effective, removing the girls' pain and injuries in no time. They still weren't fully healed – Cody knew that his father was extremely strong so this didn't come as a surprise – but they were close. They frequently held conversations with each other and with Cody if he was around. They had tried to talk to the villagers as well, but given the history between the two parties it was rather difficult. Nobody held real grudges, but it their conversations were still rusty. Despite this, Cody had hope that it would get better in the future.

Harry did a good job on integrating. He was able to talk to both the mobs and the villagers with no problem at all. Unless you count his shyness, that is. It was always hard for him to talk to anyone, especially if they were of the opposite gender. Skelly was usually polite and formal, but her revealing clothes didn't help.

Scott… well… let's just say that Cody started to understand what Harry meant when he called the old man a drunk. He wasn't drinking now, but he most certainly would've if there was any whiskey around. He loved that stuff, but usually only drank it when there was something to celebrate – and even then, he was careful not to make a mess of his mind.

The only other time the general had been drunk was right after his wife's death. After that, Cody thought he had learned his lesson, but apparently he did it again when his son 'passed away'.

The relationship between father and son had always been a bit unstable. They shared several traits, like their somewhat insensitive asshole personalities, but they regularly disagreed on things. Whereas Cody was more than willing to risk or even give up his life to save others, Scott made more calculated decisions. Like a robot, he would leave people behind if they would hinder his mission. Unless one of those people was his son.

Cody suddenly jolted when someone grabbed him from behind and held him in an inescapable grasp. The sergeant calmed down, knowing who it was. He looked up as much as possible (which wasn't much), and saw a girl with red eyes and purple hair smirking down at him.

"I didn't know you were allowed to leave the infirmary," he calmly said. Spidey chuckled.

"I'm not," she said. "But I don't care!"

"That was to be expected," Cody said as she released him from her grip. He got up and cracked his neck. "But don't you think that you should listen to the doctor's orders? We always had to do that back at the Resistance."

"No," The spider girl simply said. Then, she got more serious. "But seriously… I just wanted to thank you for helping us three days ago. You took a risk, hunting down our attackers like that."

Cody shrugged. "Harry and Dad didn't want me dead. I didn't take any risk," he said.

Spidey smirked again. "Well, thanks anyway," she replied. "Oh, yeah, by the way…"

The sergeant looked at her questioningly.

"When can we go back home?" she asked. "The others must be worried. We've been gone for a while."

Cody nodded. He didn't want to leave, because he wanted to make sure Spidey and Skelly were going to be alright. He didn't even really trust the physician until their conditions improved.

"If you and Skelly were to be actually allowed to go outside…" he began, earning a groan from the girl. "I'd say we'd be able to go home as soon as possible."

"Oi!" someone suddenly yelled. Lambert stumbled towards them. Once he was near the two, he spoke, panting.

"Ms. Spidey… I… *pant*… did not… give you… permission… to lea-"

Spidey interrupted him, smirking once more. "Make me go back, then!" she said, before running off and climbing onto the wall of the infirmary with little effort. Her spider-like abilities allowed her to stick onto any surface, including walls and ceilings. Her speed, agility and stamina further enhanced the challenge to catch her.

"Grrr…" Lambert growled. "Ah well… her condition had improved well enough either way." He glared at her grinning face as she sat on the roof. "Very well, then! I hereby grant you permission to leave the infirmary. Not that it matters…" he muttered.

He turned to Cody, who ceased his chuckling. "I am here to inform you that Ms. Skelly will receive permission to leave the infirmary as well once the sun sets." the physician said.


It was already dark when Skelly left the infirmary. Outside, she was greeted by Spidey, Harry and Rachel.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Skelly," Rachel said as she gave the mob her bow and arrows back.

"Likewise," Skelly said. She took her equipment with a grateful nod.

"Cody would be here too, but he had to talk to his Dad for a while," Spidey said. Her voice initially seemed normal, but the other mob detected some sadness in it.

"Really?" she asked. "To make amends, I assume?"

"That, and it would seem that the librarian has a way to send us back to our world," Harry explained. "Jasmine knows some magic."

Upon hearing that, Skelly realized just why Spidey seemed so sad. Cody was going back to his own world? They could understand the reason, and she tried her best to feel happy for him, but she couldn't help but feel a bit depressed. She, Spidey and the other mobs had grown quite attached to him during the time he had been living with them. They considered him a part of the gang, the first human of their group ever.

"…Really?" she asked again. "So they're returning to their world?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, and I think I'm going with them," he responded.

Rachel said nothing and discretely looked at the ground.


Cody and Scott were staring at their reflections in the well. They didn't look at one another and were surrounded by silence for an unspecified amount of time. Then, Scott suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't expect his son to reply, or at least not immediately or positively. However, soon after his apology he heard a snort from his right. He looked at Cody, who was the source of the sound.

"If you want to apologize to anyone…" he growled, "…apologize to the girls. And Harry, 'cause I think it's safe to say that you rejected him when he tried to separate you from your booze."

Scott said nothing. He didn't feel anything other than guilt. What the sergeant said was true. He hadn't realized what he was becoming, that he already had become at least as bad as the Enlightened. He drank, tortured and discriminated without a second thought. He hadn't been skeptic at all when he was told that the mobs were evil. That wasn't like him.

"You're right," he said. "I will. But I owe you an apology as well."

Cody looked at him.

"Why?" he asked.

The general simply answered: "I was unable to stop you from killing yourself. I became a drunk. I tortured your friends. And…" he paused briefly, averting his eyes from his son's gaze. "…I've always been a shitty father."

Cody blinked. A shitty father? Why? Sure, they had had their disagreements, but his father was the one who taught him the majority of a soldier's life. He made it clear that he cared about his son, in his own way.

The 23-year-old sighed. "I think that 'shitty father' part is a bit exaggerated," he said. "We definitely didn't agree on everything, but it's because of you that I've survived this long. You were my mentor, and I know you care."

Scott gave him a surprised look. Did he really mean that? If he did, then maybe making amends with this boy wasn't as difficult as he initially thought. Cody would likely remain disrespectful even after Scott had apologized to everyone, but they would certainly get as close as they once were eventually.

Going back to their world was the top priority for now. However, Scott had a feeling that Cody would have second thoughts about leaving his new friends in this one.

He counted on it.