Arsha made it to Sick Bay to see her medical staff treating the wounded. One of the patients, a male Ice Elf, then caught sight of her. “Hey! The Captain’s all right!” he called. Marshii looked to see Arsha sitting herself down in a nearby empty spot.
“Well, as I live and breathe!” she sighed. “So we’re okay enough for you to be off the bridge?”
“Denstra’s a capable enough commander,” replied Arsha. “Besides, she’s led you guys for half a year.”
“True. I’m afraid I’ve got too many wounded here. You’re kind of…how should I put it…” Arsha held her hand up in assurance.
“I figured there would be other people with more injuries than me. You take care of them first. I frankly need some rest.”
“After the day you’ve just woken up to? Best thing you could do for yourself. Rest easy, Arsha. I’ll be with you later.” Marshii returned to her work as Arsha let herself nod off, glad to have some decent sleep.
Later, Arsha felt herself being gently pushed. She woke up and saw Marshii. She then remembered where she was and picked herself up. Sick Bay had a lot of beds filled with the wounded, but they were all stable. Those that had minor injuries were cleared for duty at a quicker rate than those that weren’t so lucky. Arsha noticed a mermaid without an arm, one she knew had two arms before. Judging by the wound, she had lost the arm recently. The princess was led to an empty bed and was instructed to lie down on it. As she did, Marshii activated a scanner and started getting readings. “You know, you’ve got people who are worried sick about you,” mused Marshii.
“I only saw Lardeth in the halls as I rushed to the bridge,” replied Arsha.
“Well, no worries, your lovers, parents, and future in-laws are all right. In fact, your parents are outside.”
“When can they come in?”
“Right now.” Marshii pressed an intercom button. “Your Majesties, your daughter needs to see you.” Elgrad and Hanako then came into Sick Bay and were led to Arsha by one of the nurses. It was then that Arsha noticed how haggard her parents looked.
“Hey, Daddy, Mama,” she chuckled.
“Arsha, it’s so great to see you again!” Elgrad sobbed happily as he embraced her.
“My darling daughter, we scoured every part of the Over-realm for you!” Hanako joined in the happy tears and hugging. Arsha’s eyes then released her own tears as she embraced her parents.
“I’m not leaving you again!” she promised. “I won’t leave again!” Marshii didn’t say a word, she just got misty-eyed at the scene as she thought to her family. The embrace lasted a good long while. No words were spoken; they weren’t even needed. They just sat there, hugging one another. It was after a good three minutes that Marshii had to cut in.
“Your Majesties, I know you’re happy to see your daughter, but there are others that want to get a look at her before I clear her for duty.” The Royanas reluctantly broke off the embrace as they got up. They left Sick bay and allowed the Felomphas to take their place, sans Lardeth.
“There she is, the Conquering Hero!” cheered Endram.
“Arsha, it’s great to see you again!” sighed Pofomofo happily as she set a bouquet of Fire Roses down.
“Those are Under-realm flowers! How did you-?!” asked Arsha as she saw her favorite flowers.
“There was a florist here in the Over-realm that sold them before the…well…” Pofomofo trailed off as she looked outside.
“Yeah, I heard about the Realmgates being destroyed on my way here,” sighed Arsha.
“We’re trying to rebuild them in secret,” explained Jeefef, “but the Realmfleet Council’s planning on stopping us!”
“WHAT?!” protested Arsha. “I thought they would want to have them rebuilt!”
“They thought,” remarked Olmarfa, “that keeping the Realmgates out of the picture until the war is over would stymy the enemy’s advance. They somehow don’t believe that Dr. Borg is smart enough to make another means of crossing the Realms.”
“Ones in the Heights!” groaned Arsha. “This is one big mess! So those that aren’t from their native Realms are stuck?!”
“That is, unfortunately, the situation in a nutshell,” sighed Ufnamfa.
“I certainly hope Aldarval’s not onboard with this!”
“Who do you think’s behind going against the Council’s back? They overrode her veto on the subject.”
“Good to know!” Arsha became more calmer after that.
“Well, it looks like Marshii is still tending to you,” observed Emfam. “I know the Emboramiis and your lovers would love to see you.”
“And I, them!” agreed Arsha. The Felomphas left, then Elmpam wheeled Orbak near the bed.
“There she is!” cheered Orbak. Elmpam then gave her one of her signature ten-armed hugs. Her tail was wagging in happiness. She then brought Orbak into the hug and they stayed there for a good while. She then broke off the hug.
“It’s great to see you two again,” chuckled Arsha.
“The pleasure’s all ours, Arsha,” replied Elmpam. “You can’t imagine how worried your parents were.”
“How many sleepless nights did they suffer?”
“I think you meant to ask how many they DIDN’T suffer,” remarked Orbak. “Your parents, my daughter, the rest of your lovers, and the entire ship.”
“It looks like they kept a level head long enough to find me.”
“We had some moments where we almost lost it,” replied Elmpam. “Bashoon, Malak, and Dalengor had to stop people from deserting us while under fire.”
“It got that bad?”
“Denstra and Thengo managed to get them to recenter their heads,” assured Orbak.
“Good for them. They’ve kept the Endeavor going for a long time in my absence.”
“It wasn’t easy,” remarked Elmpam.
“No, it clearly wasn’t, but they still made me proud, nonetheless.”
“We’ll be sure to tell the entire crew you said that while you’re here,” promised Orbak. “I believe you’ll want to see your lovers.”
“Believe me, I DO!”
“Then we’ll get out of your hair while you reconnect with them.” Elmpam then stood up and wheeled Orbak out of Sick Bay. Once they left, her lovers then came in, Foresna, Gorfanth, Falnii, Lardeth, and Malnar. They all managed to get a hug and a kiss from her.
“Ones in the Heights, we’ve missed you!” sobbed Falnii happily.
“I missed you too, Fluffy, all of you, the REAL you!” Arsha replied with a grin on her face.
“The real us?” asked Lardeth.
“A comment like that,” remarked Foresna, “tells us that you had a…vivid dream, to put it lightly.”
“I went through a dream loop when I was in that coma,” explained Arsha. “It was of us playing around at a fjord. Falnii, you would recognize it from when I leashed my Inner Demons.”
“I DO recall that place, VIVIDLY,” shuddered Falnii.
“Well, it started changing when Oyed attacked, First fireworks, then added dialogue.”
“Must have been the explosions around the place,” mused Malnar.
“That’s my best guess. I was initially sad, but then your dream doubles urged me to seek the real versions of you out. I couldn’t really argue with that logic now, could I?”
“Seems like your mind was trying to get you to wake up,” observed Gorfanth.
“That was the general idea. I guess my mind wants to keep me grounded in the real world. I will admit, I didn’t want to go back…but I couldn’t let you suffer this war alone! Now, I’m back! And I’m gonna tear Oyed apart!”
“Not alone, you’re not,” replied Foresna.
“I wouldn’t dream of leaving you guys out of Oyed’s end. Once I’m rested, we’ll discuss the situation and plan our next attack.”