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. \u201cHey! The Captain\u2019s all right!\u201d he called. Marshii looked to see Arsha sitting herself down in a nearby empty spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, as I live and breathe!\u201d she sighed. \u201cSo we\u2019re okay enough for you to be off the bridge?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDenstra\u2019s a capable enough commander,\u201d replied Arsha. \u201cBesides, she\u2019s led you guys for half a year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrue. I\u2019m afraid I\u2019ve got too many wounded here. You\u2019re kind of\u2026how should I put it\u2026\u201d Arsha held her hand up in assurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI figured there would be other people with more injuries than me. You take care of them first. I frankly need some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter the day you\u2019ve just woken up to? Best thing you could do for yourself. Rest easy, Arsha. I\u2019ll be with you later.\u201d Marshii returned to her work as Arsha let herself nod off, glad to have some decent sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019t 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. \u201cYou know, you\u2019ve got people who are worried sick about you,\u201d mused Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI only saw Lardeth in the halls as I rushed to the bridge,\u201d replied Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, no worries, your lovers, parents, and future in-laws are all right. In fact, your parents are outside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen can they come in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight now.\u201d Marshii pressed an intercom button. \u201cYour Majesties, your daughter needs to see you.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, Daddy, Mama,\u201d she chuckled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArsha, it\u2019s so great to see you again!\u201d Elgrad sobbed happily as he embraced her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy darling daughter, we scoured every part of the Over-realm for you!\u201d Hanako joined in the happy tears and hugging. Arsha\u2019s eyes then released her own tears as she embraced her parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not leaving you again!\u201d she promised. \u201cI won\u2019t leave again!\u201d Marshii didn\u2019t 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\u2019t even needed. They just sat there, hugging one another. It was after a good three minutes that Marshii had to cut in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour Majesties, I know you\u2019re happy to see your daughter, but there are others that want to get a look at her before I clear her for duty.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere she is, the Conquering Hero!\u201d cheered Endram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArsha, it\u2019s great to see you again!\u201d sighed Pofomofo happily as she set a bouquet of Fire Roses down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose are Under-realm flowers! How did you-?!\u201d asked Arsha as she saw her favorite flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was a florist here in the Over-realm that sold them before the\u2026well\u2026\u201d Pofomofo trailed off as she looked outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, I heard about the Realmgates being destroyed on my way here,\u201d sighed Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to rebuild them in secret,\u201d explained Jeefef, \u201cbut the Realmfleet Council\u2019s planning on stopping us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWHAT?!\u201d protested Arsha. \u201cI thought they would want to have them rebuilt!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey thought,\u201d remarked Olmarfa, \u201cthat keeping the Realmgates out of the picture until the war is over would stymy the enemy\u2019s advance. They somehow don\u2019t believe that Dr. Borg is smart enough to make another means of crossing the Realms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnes in the Heights!\u201d groaned Arsha. \u201cThis is one big mess! So those that aren\u2019t from their native Realms are stuck?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is, unfortunately, the situation in a nutshell,\u201d sighed Ufnamfa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI certainly hope Aldarval\u2019s not onboard with this!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho do you think\u2019s behind going against the Council\u2019s back? They overrode her veto on the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood to know!\u201d Arsha became more calmer after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, it looks like Marshii is still tending to you,\u201d observed Emfam. \u201cI know the Emboramiis and your lovers would love to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I, them!\u201d agreed Arsha. The Felomphas left, then Elmpam wheeled Orbak near the bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere she is!\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to see you two again,\u201d chuckled Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pleasure\u2019s all ours, Arsha,\u201d replied Elmpam. \u201cYou can\u2019t imagine how worried your parents were.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow many sleepless nights did they suffer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think you meant to ask how many they DIDN\u2019T suffer,\u201d remarked Orbak. \u201cYour parents, my daughter, the rest of your lovers, and the entire ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt looks like they kept a level head long enough to find me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had some moments where we almost lost it,\u201d replied Elmpam. \u201cBashoon, Malak, and Dalengor had to stop people from deserting us while under fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt got that bad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDenstra and Thengo managed to get them to recenter their heads,\u201d assured Orbak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood for them. They\u2019ve kept the Endeavor<\/em> going for a long time in my absence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy,\u201d remarked Elmpam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, it clearly wasn\u2019t, but they still made me proud, nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be sure to tell the entire crew you said that while you\u2019re here,\u201d promised Orbak. \u201cI believe you\u2019ll want to see your lovers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBelieve me, I DO!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen we\u2019ll get out of your hair while you reconnect with them.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnes in the Heights, we\u2019ve missed you!\u201d sobbed Falnii happily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI missed you too, Fluffy, all of you, the REAL you!\u201d Arsha replied with a grin on her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe real us?\u201d asked Lardeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA comment like that,\u201d remarked Foresna, \u201ctells us that you had a\u2026vivid dream, to put it lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI went through a dream loop when I was in that coma,\u201d explained Arsha. \u201cIt was of us playing around at a fjord. Falnii, you would recognize it from when I leashed my Inner Demons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI DO recall that place, VIVIDLY,\u201d shuddered Falnii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, it started changing when Oyed attacked, First fireworks, then added dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMust have been the explosions around the place,\u201d mused Malnar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s my best guess. I was initially sad, but then your dream doubles urged me to seek the real versions of you out. I couldn\u2019t really argue with that logic now, could I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeems like your mind was trying to get you to wake up,\u201d observed Gorfanth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was the general idea. I guess my mind wants to keep me grounded in the real world. I will admit, I didn\u2019t want to go back\u2026but I couldn\u2019t let you suffer this war alone! Now, I\u2019m back! And I\u2019m gonna tear Oyed apart!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot alone, you\u2019re not,\u201d replied Foresna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t dream of leaving you guys out of Oyed\u2019s end. Once I\u2019m rested, we\u2019ll discuss the situation and plan our next attack.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. \u201cHey! The Captain\u2019s all right!\u201d he called. Marshii looked to see Arsha sitting herself down in a nearby empty spot. \u201cWell, as I live and breathe!\u201d she sighed. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,238],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-4859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-5-the-final-fight","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4859"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4860,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859\/revisions\/4860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}