The Fae flittered around a mushroom ring, keeping up the appearance that they were farming. So far, it deflected Oyed’s attention as he had no interest in the Fae Republic. Good thing, too, the ring was keeping a resistance base hidden. Within that base, Fae Empress Rellmeer and her harem girl, Felfar, made their way to the center of the base, within a secret bunker where she met Oak and a Naga woman, Larana, Queen of the Blasarda Desert. The four then keyed their i.d. codes into a computer and it verified their identities. Once it was deemed safe, they sat down. “Resistance Council now in session with Commander Felfar in attendance,” called Rellmeer. “Oak, give us the bad news first.”
“We’ve been discovered,” explained Oak. “Oyed and his followers know that Arsha’s here. They’re about five days out.”
“We can’t evacuate in this condition,” remarked Larana. “Arsha wouldn’t be able to come out of her coma!”
“There IS a bit of sun on the horizon,” replied Rellmeer. “Felfar, dear, tell everyone what you told me.”
“My friends, we’ve just been granted a stroke of luck!” explained Felfar. “The Endeavor has finally managed to respond to our signals! They’re on their way here! They were two days out at last known contact!”
“That was yesterday,” supplied Rellmeer. “If Oyed gets here while the Endeavor is still on the ground, we’ll be able to get Arsha into more familiar surroundings and nearer to her loved ones.”
“That should get her out of her coma faster,” agreed Larana.
“Then we must increase evacuation drills,” declared Oak. “We cannot hope to protect Arsha with the number of fighters we have. The Endeavor has more capable fighters aboard that can help us hold the enemy off.”
“I’ll have everyone go through evacuation drills,” called Rellmeer.
Daren and Mika continued monitoring the comatose Arsha. Her brain activity was still the same, but her body still remained unresponsive. A Genie named Namdaresh then appeared. “I’m getting a somewhat clearer picture of Arsha’s mind,” she reported. “It looks like she’s dueling with a demonic version of herself.”
“Did it have a long neck?” asked Daren.
“…Yes, actually, and had…”
“Tentacles for locomotion?” finished Mika.
“Okay, how do YOU know what that monster looks like?!” demanded the disgruntled Namdaresh.
“The description came from her psych eval,” explained Mika. “She had a dream-weaving session with one of her lovers, Falnii.”
“It’s supposed to be her darker side,” continued Daren.
“Wait, you said there was a dream-weaver involved,” interjected Namdaresh. “Isn’t there one among us?”
“There’s Dorma, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” remarked Mika. “If Arsha is helped out via a dream-weaver, she’ll become dependent on them. Not enough of her will come back. The only thing that can work naturally is to call to her.”
“Because we TOTALLY have time for the natural way!” grunted Namdaresh.
“Well, if things go well,” mused Daren, “she’ll be in familiar settings.”
“Sweetie?” asked Mika.
“I heard from Felfar that the Endeavor’s on her way here. She should be arriving soon.” Mika grinned at that bit of news.
“The surroundings of her ship should be able to help her recovery.” At that moment, Norvorok, the former monk of the now defunct Vorkath Monastic Hospital, entered the room.
“The Endeavor’s landing,” he reported.
“Perfect!” cheered Mika.
The Endeavor was shrunk down to a size that would be more manageable to the Fae that lived in the mushroom ring. The landing ramp lowered and Denstra, Endea, and Elgrad came down. Elgrad grabbed the nearest Fairy man and pulled the poor guy close to his face. The Fairy could notice the haggard look in the Mid-realm King’s eyes. “No tricks! Where’s my baby girl?!” snarled Elgrad.
“Your Majesty, please!” urged Endea. Elgrad glared at her, then sighed and let the Fairy man down.
“Sorry,” he muttered. Rellmeer then flew up to them and landed just as the Fairy man scampered off.
“If you’re quite done terrifying my subjects!” she growled.
“You said Arsha’s here! Where?!”
“This way.” Rellmeer then led everyone to the bunker. “I must warn you,” she said on the way, “and there’s no gentle way to say it, Arsha’s in a coma.”
“A coma?!” yelped Endea.
“It looks like her darker side is trying to keep her mind safe,” continued Rellmeer as she recalled the mental section of the medical report. “Every attempt outside of dream-weaving has been met with a monstrous version of her lashing out at us. All we’ve been able to do is call to her. We’re thinking family, friends, and familiar surroundings will get her out of it.” They arrived at the room. Elgrad’s was glad he could see Arsha, but his happiness was unfortunately tempered by the fact she was hooked up to an apparatus that helped her breathe, eat, and use the restroom.
“…Arsha?” asked Elgrad. Arsha didn’t respond, she just laid there comatose, her eyes shut. Elgrad slowly came towards her and sat beside her. “…Arsha, it’s me. It’s your father.” Still no response. Elgrad was tearing up. “…Arsha, I don’t know if you CAN hear me, but it’s great to see you again after this miserable half-year.” He stroked Arsha’s hair. “When you wake up, I promise, we WILL defeat Oyed. …You’ve got other people wanting to see you. Let me go get them.” He then left the room. As he was making his way to the bunker’s exit, the whole place rocked. “WHAT IN?!” he yelped.
“ENEMY INVASION!” wailed a Sprite woman.
“Oh no, not today!” snarled Elgrad. He unsheathed his sword and ran outside to see Oyed, Dr. Borg, and the rest of the Imperial Council firing magic blasts into the crowd. Oyed then spotted Elgrad.
“Ah, Your Majesty!” he greeted. “Come to make a royal appearance in this foreign land? I’m honored to meet you!” He gave an exaggerated bow.
“Stay out of my way!” growled Elgrad. “I’m busy!”
“Yes, busy tending to your daughter. A little monkey told me she was here. Tell me, why aren’t you at her side at the moment? …Unless you intend to throw your life away for some reckless attempt to keep me from her?”
“That’s not your problem!”
“Ah, actually, it is. You see, I want to make sure I do the job right. What better way than to kill her while she’s bedridden?”
“YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!” Elgrad brought his sword down and slashed Oyed’s face. There wasn’t even a single scratch on the Titan.
“See, that’s just provocation. Now, all kidding aside, bring Arsha to me so I can kill her properly!”
“I’d rather die!”
“That can be arranged quite easily!” The two then clashed.