"..om..."
Alix heard distantly but couldn't make out who it was. Mo?
"...ack off...ic..you'll scare her!"
No, it couldn't be him. He was taken due to her failure to protect him. A deep guilt took root within Alix's heart. She finally managed to open her eyes to see Kent, Alisa and Eric all standing over her with concerned looks on their faces.
"How about you both back away from our unconscious, mother dearest? Oh, she's awake now!" Alisa's head quickly turned back to Alix laying on the floor allowing Alix to see her tears.
"Mom! You're awake!" Alisa went to embrace Alix but was prevented by the recipient herself as Alix jumped up from the ground.
"I've no time for any of your silly games, Alice. I need to go save Mo." Alix rushed to leave but was prevented by Kent.
"Woah, calm down mother. Why not start by explaining what happened here?" Kent recommended but Alix was in far too much of a rush to explain.
"Doesn't matter! All that matters is that I've lost the last part of my family and I can't let that happen."
"Last? But what about me?" A young voice called out solemnly. Alix froze when she heard it. She slowly looked down at Kent's feet and finally took notice of an extra little peccary.
"Trouler?"
"What happened to Mo? Is he ok?" Alix saw the fear and worry in Troulers eyes which probably mimicked her own quite well. She cleared her throat and crouched in front of the young red.
"He's going to be fine, Trouler. I'm going to go get him from the big, mean, alchemist lady. Him and Nuka." Alix gently pet Trouler's back and tried to put on her best comforting smile which, to the other people in the room, was terrible.
But it was as genuine as any other smile to the little peccary.
"Okay. Can I come with you?" He asked.
"I'm sorry but you can't. You have to stay here with these three while I'm gone. But I promise to bring them back."
"Wait, we have to stay here too?" Eric asked in shock.
"Of course you do. I need someone to make sure Trouler doesn't get kidnapped again and I can't fully trust any incomplete number of the three of you to get that done." Alix said in a commanding tone.
"What about you? You're just gonna go someplace that none of us even know to face gods know what alone?" Kent was now the one confused. "Why would you think that we'd just go along with that?"
"Because..." Alix stood and looked to Kent. "You're injured, Holiday can't fight, and Alice is too close to the captor for me to trust her to remain useful the entire time."
"How do you know that I'm close to the captor?" Alisa asked frazzled by Alix bold statement.
"Because, you told me that Francis Aeouli is your idol." Alix spoke coldly and without a hint of hesitation. As soon as Alisa heard Alix's words she froze. She started to try to process the information but couldn't seem to put anything in the right place within her mind. Alix looked at the girl up and down before turning back to Kent while pointing at her.
"See, what if that happens when we make contact with her? How am I suppose to rely on someone that can't even fathom the idea that their idol isn't as nice as she thought they were?"
"How do you know it's Francis Aeouli?" Alisa asked with wild eyes. "I-it could have been anyone! I mean d-did you see her face or something? Even if you did there's no proof that they're the same person! I mean, she's been in seclusion for years so she must have changed a lot so there's no way you would recognize her because you didn't even remember her name when I first told you about her!"
"Alice, the woman told me that her name was Francis while she suffocated me with her alchemy, drugged Mo, and cackled out of the restaurant. Nobody that's faking an identity would go that far." Alix spoke slowly and kind of condescendingly as she recalled the events of Mo's capture.
"W-Well, I-I can see how that can be convincing but that can't be her! I-I-It just can't be! Okay? I-I-If it's really her then why would she be doing something like this? HUH? TELL ME MOM!"
"Alisa, it's gonna be okay." Eric approached Alisa from the side and tried to place a hand on her shoulder but he was shoved off by the girl.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME ERIC!" Eric wanted to try to comfort the girl again but refrained from do such. Even though the two of them argue quite frequently Eric could honestly say that he had grown rather close to Alisa over the past few weeks. Clearly not close enough to be able to comfort her but he wished that he could help her in some way. Her and Kent who would wince every once in a while showing that he was still in pain. That's when Eric came up with a solution.
"Alright Mama Wolf!" Eric exclaimed. "You go save them! We'll hold down the fort in case the Djinns show up for Trouler!
"Well, actually if the Djinns show up I would rather you let Trouler run away while you all use your bodies as shields to protect him." Alix stated with a blatant amount of disregard for the safety of the ones that she was currently asking to defend her precious Trouler.
"Okay...Anyway, we'll probably not do that but we will definitely make sure nothing bad happens to him while you're gone!" Alix shrugged before turning back to Kent who was still standing in front of her unmoving.
"I've overheard you talkin' to that fish of yours every evening. He's your first mate?"
"That's what he calls himself and I just let him do it. He used to be on a pirate crew after all so it only felt right that in my little group he be my first mate." Kent nodded to the girl.
"Your first mate is the person you care most about on your crew and the one that you trust to lead it when your gone. We captains hold our first mates in high esteem." Kent took a deep breath and took a step to the side allowing Alix to see the entrance. "So go save your first mate. Your crew would do terribly without him." Alix furrowed her brows a bit confused as to why Kent seemed to be getting so emotional about the whole "first mate" thing but she had wasted enough time chatting.
"Don't let anything happen to Trouler or you all will be on my hitlist." Alix threatened before rushing out of the Pirate's Worst Nightmare.
She left an injured Kent who felt a newfound bond with Alix seeing as she had basically just admitted to also wanting to be a pirate to him.
She left a shaken Alisa, who still had yet to recover from the revelation that Francis Aeouli had attacked Alix and stolen Mo while laughing like some sort of fairy tale villain.
She left a strangely determined looking Eric who seems to have some sort of plan in the works as he dashed out not long after Alix.
And she left Trouler. The peccary that she had saved a mere month ago but to whom she cared more about than all three of the previous people combined.
She left all of that behind to go save her first mate and her childhood best friend.
A pink fish and an orange bird.
...
Narie and Karic rush back to the Augur Inn with Joana and Leroy alongside them. They had found the two arguing about how tall they were or something. They don't know and frankly they don't care about any of the things that the unhappy couple argues about.
"Why are we running?" Leroy asked not fully understanding the situation
"So that we don't lose this big contract! That's why!" Karic answered leaving no room for any arguments. The four Djinns eventually make it to the front of the inn but don't even attempt to go inside as they see Edmund laid out on the ground before them.
"Edmund!" They all cry out and rush to his side. Ed slowly opens his eyes to see his group all kneeling beside him.
"Oh, hey guys. Did I fall asleep outside again? Because I've got this raging pain in my neck. And my back. And my everywhere." Edmund joked but the others were too worried to laugh. Karic leaned in to analyze the elf's wounds.
"What happened, Ed?" Edmund then started to explain the entire altercation he had with the three Defenders of the Pig as he titled them.
"Then the guy tackled us out of a window and here we are."
"Damn man. I'm sorry that you had to deal with that all by yourself." Leroy apologized.
"Nah, it's all good man. We haven't had a good fight in ages so this was a nice experience. But we should definitely go get that pig back if that's what the client wants." Ed tried to sit up but the pain from his wounds was too great.
"You can't go anywhere in that condition, sweetie." Narie said caringly.
"Yeah, I guess yo'rer right. Hey, do you think anybody passing by thought to go get a doctor or something to help me?" The Djinns analyzed the people that were walking by them and noticed that none of them were even batting an eye at Edmund's current state.
"I doubt it. It doesn't seem like these people would care if you got shanked out in the open and were crying for help. They'd all just keep on walking."
"That's about what I expected. I'd do the same if I saw someone that looked like me laying on the ground and bleeding out. They probably think I'm some homeless guy or something. Which isn't incorrect, I guess." Each of Edmund's words were spoken with a strained voice as his pain was more than he was letting show.
"Don't worry, the client gave us something that'll perk you right up. Here take a quick sip." Narie reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny flask that immediately expanded back to it's original size.
"I think it's some sort of healing potion? So it should help." Edmund's face twisted at the mentioning of the potion.
"Ugh, you know that I hate those things." Narie bowed her head apologetically.
"I know but it's all we've got. So just drink some and I'll pour the rest on your wounds for you." Edmund tried to let out a conceding sigh but coughed up blood instead. His blood came out a deep purple but that was normal for him. He was no ordinary elf after all. Though he doesn't really like to talk about his race so none of the Djinns ever push him on it.
Narie and Leroy helped Edmund drink the potion and dress his wounds while Karic and Joana started looking for clues as to where those pig defenders could have gone.
"I don't see a trail or anything that we could use to track them. What about you, Jo?" Karic asked.
"I think I've got something over here?" Joana was currently kneeling on the ground straining her eyes as she focused on something on the ground. Karic joined her and saw that she was staring at some blood.
"Is that Edmund's?" Karic questioned getting a head shake from Joana
"No, Edmund's is purple too but this is too light to be his. This has to be from one of those guys." Karic nodded.
"He did say that he had injured at least two of them so, if we can find a second trail and follow it-" Karic started planning but was cut off by Joana.
"Already, ahead of you. Look." She gestured to a spot a few meters away where Karic saw a few drops of red blood. They both smirked at the sight.
"Looks like we know how to track our pig defenders. Good job, Jo!" Joana shrugged.
"Hey, I'm an Ashen Goblin and a street orphan. Tracking the bastards that did me wrong is one of my many skills." Karic patted the goblin on her back and turned back to the rest of the group. They had finished fixing up Edmund with Leroy currently helping him stand.
"We've got our lead guys. Edmund, are you ready for us to fulfill your wish for payback?" Edmund gently pushed himself off of Leroy and stood as straight as he could.
"We didn't really ask for revenge but, we're always ready for a rematch!" Edmund said with conviction. Karic grinned at the man's spirit and motioned for the group to gather around him and Joana.
"Then let's go grant a death wish!"
...
"Is that our catchphrase or something?" Narie questioned getting the last word.