When I first stepped foot into Altera I thought it was a village plucked right out of a child's head, never would I have thought such a village could exist underground---the villagers are as unique as their home.
The surreal village I was once introduced to is now left in rubble, buildings have been broken into, villagers are desperately trying to help the injured, and bodies can be seen laying throughout the streets.
It was hard to walk by the Ponggos, I kept my head buried in Chung's back for the most part. Many of the villagers ignored us, not wanting to associate with us any further. Others spat at us, cursing at us for bringing this tragedy upon them.
"I feel bad for the village," Aisha muttered, keeping her head low. "I wish we could've done something to help them."
"We did everything we could," Chung replied; readjusting me on his back. "The Nasods overpowered us, there was nothing more we could do."
"But don't you feel bad for the villagers?" I whispered.
"Feeling pity won't fix a thing." Chung said---turning his head to further examine the damaged buildings. "We need to focus on taking these Nasods down if we want to protect the Ponggos."
Going against the Nasods could result in a war, I reminded myself. There's no doubt the Nasods will come at us as an army. We're just a simple Red Knight Party, if we even want a chance against the Nasods we'll need to build an army of our own.
"I'm worried," Aisha added in a whisper. "W-what will the chief say? To us; to Eve and Raven?"
"If he's going to insult our friends then we stand up for them," Chung answered. "It'd be wrong if we just stood there and let him talk bad about them."
My stomach turned at the distant shouting ahead, I could feel Chung's shoulders tensing at the voices," it's going to be okay." I whispered into his ear, praying Aisha won't hear me. "We'll get through this as a team."
Chung took a sharp breath in," I apologize in advance if I lose my temper."
We continued forward without saying another word, each of us straining our ears to pick up on the toxic conversation brewing up ahead.
"You can't just kick them out." Elsword's voice boomed, I can imagine him shouting at the chief with tightened fists. "They did nothing wrong."
"Those Nasods attacked because of those two." The Chief shot back. "We need to get rid of them before they cause any more harm."
"You have no proof of their wrongdoings."
"They are Nasods, that fact alone is enough to prove them guilty."
"That is not proof."
As we approached closer to the group I could make out a small crowd of villagers standing behind their Chief, most talked to one another in a hushed tone while others voiced out their support to the Chief. Eve and Raven stood silently behind Elsword, like children watching their parent defend them against their teacher.
"I cannot let Nasods reside in my village." The Chief took a step forward. "I must kick those two Nasods out."
Elsword tensed his jaw," if you kick them out---"
Raven placed a hand on Elsword's shoulder," don't argue any further." He told Elsword coolly. "We don't want you guys to be seen badly because of us."
Elsword pushed Raven's hand away," I won't let them wrongly accuse you." He said; gesturing to the Ponggos. "As your leader, and friend, I won't just stand back."
"Elsword makes a good point," Chung jumped in---all heads turned our way in response, several Ponggos in the crowd gasped at me and Aisha.
The colour of Elsword's face drained the moment his eyes landed on Aisha," A-Aisha?" Elsword's voice came out weak, he hurried to Aisha's side without a another word, forgetting the heated argument we has just in.
"How did this happen to you?" He hesitantly placed a hand near her injury. "Are you still in pain? Who did this to you? Did they---"
"I'm okay," Aisha cut him off with a smile. "It's not that deep of a cut, some rest will help me feel better."
"A-are you sure?" Elsword's eyes trailed along Aisha's pale face. "You can take the day off if you want."
"I'll be fine, stupid." She playfully punched him on the chest, wincing as her fist made its impact on him. "Thanks for worrying though."
Aisha's eyes locked with Elsword's. Elsword slowly cupped her cheek in his hand as he kept his eyes locked with her's. Aisha's cheeks gradually grew into a shade of pink as each second ticked by.
At the corner of my eye I could see the Chief shaking his head at the friends' moment, the villagers behind him gestured to Elsword and Aisha as they gossiped to one another in hushed voices.
"Excuse me, Elsword, but we are not done here." The chief said, crossing his arms. "I ask that you return your attention to this conversation."
Elsword's shoulders tensed at the Chief's words. Aisha simply shook her head and whispered for him to answer to the Chief's request. She shot her hand up as Elsword prepared himself to reply, silencing him in an instant.
"I apologize." Elsword said, turning to face the Ponggos again. "I was just worried about my team mates, I didn't expect them to return with such an injury."
I blinked my eyes as my world began to grow fuzzy.
"And I didn't expect some of my villagers to die tonight." The Chief shot back. I clenched my teeth at his response.
We risked our lives out there to protect his village, and he still refuses to respect our team. If I was in his position I would be on my knees thanking us for the effort.
I could hear the crowd whispering to each other at the possible comebacks Elsword would throw at him. Most of them betting he'd reply in a disrespectful manner.
They really do look down at our team.
Elsword took a breath in," I apologize for being unable to help your village." He began slowly. "They outnumbered us, and we couldn't save all the villagers."
"You promised us that you'd keep us safe; that you'd help us." The Chief began raising his voice, his villagers silenced at the sudden change in mood. "You have lied to us; your team and those Nasods lied to us. I ought to kick the rest of your team out!"
Chung cursed under his breath, his body tensing at the Chief's remark. Knowing that another outburst will worsen the situation, I tighten my grip around him," don't lash out." I told him. "Please don't lash out."
He readjusted his grip on me.
"Please," Elsword continued calmly. "Let Raven and Eve stay. They have nothing to do with the attack, I promise you they didn't."
"Please believe us." Aisha piped in, her fingers tightening around my spear.
The Chief scratched his chin, his eyes trailing toward Eve and Raven. Eve held her eyes with the Chief while Raven kept his head down, his dark hair blocking out his eyes.
I rested my head on Chung's back as my vision began to fade, my head spun as the ground below me began to tip sideways. I wanted to call out to someone for help but I could barely manage out a sound. I looked around the fuzzy figures, hoping someone would catch my gaze and help me.
"I'll only let them stay if they compensate for the damage they caused." The Chief waved his finger at them. "If they don't pay up, I must kick them out."
"You want money?" Elsword forced out a laugh. "We come here, risking our lives for this village, and you want us to pay you?"
"Your lack of power has caused my village to be greatly damaged." I could barely hear Aisha cursing at his response. "It's only fair for you to pay us back."
My eye lids began growing heavy, I could barely comprehend who is talking and who is not. I part my lips and try one last time to call for help, but my words came out as jumbled.
"Ara?" Chung's voice sounded in my ears, I mentally leaped for joy at his response. "Hey are you okay?" I could feel him lowering me to the ground.
"Chung, what's wrong?" Aisha's voice piped in.
"I-it's her injury." He answered, resting me in his arms. "She's losing too much blood."
Ara, I apologize. The fight has left me too weak to help you regain energy. Eun's voice joined in, its weakened aura attempting to revive my strength. However, that doesn't give you an excuse to give up. You mustn't sleep, child!
'I'll try, Eun.'
"We'll discuss this later." Elsword told the Chief, his blurred figure quickly rushed to my side. "Ara, can you hear me?" He tapped me on the shoulder.
"W-we need to get her back to Amos' place." Aisha said, her fuzzy figure falling to her knees.
"They both need to be patched up soon." Raven said. "Chung, hurry and get the girls medical treatment. Eve and I will help any way we can."
"Understood," he answered; springing up to his feet. This action alone made my world spin at a faster rate.
"You better not die on me, Ara." He ordered, and began to sprint. "I-I'll never forgive you if you leave in such a cowardly way."
I wanted to tell him not to worry, that Eun won't let me die so easily, but the world around me turned black before I got the chance to say another word.
__________________________________________________________________________________
"I managed to stop the bleeding." A muffled voice sounded between breaths. "She's been stable for quite some time now. How's Aisha doing?"
"She just woke up." Another voice joined in. "I gave her the potion you made. Are you sure she'll be good by tomorrow?"
"She'll be in a good condition to fight, but I'd keep a close eye on her."
My head spun at the on going conversation, I could feel the remaining content in my stomach trickling up my throat.
I parted my lips in attempts to make a sound, but my voice came out weak and rasped. The two voices continued with their conversation.
"Chung, be honest." Someone took a deep breath in. "How are you feeling?"
A door slammed shut somewhere.
"I'm feeling fine," Chung replied; I could feel his weight at the edge of my bed.
"Stop giving us that answer."
"I told you I'm fine." Chung raised his voice, my heart dropped at the sudden change in mood. "Can you guys stop asking me the same question? Aren't you tired of saying the same thing over and over again."
"Aren't you tired of saying the same lie over and over again?" There was a pause. "We're your friends, you can trust us."
What are they talking about? I thought to myself. Do they know I can hear every word? Should I even be listening to this?
"I-I know," Chung whispered. "It's just hard to . . . talk about."
"I understand---we all understand--"
"Can we talk about this some other time?" Chung interrupted. "Right now I just want to make sure Ara's okay."
My cheeks warmed at his comment. I prayed they wouldn't realize I've been listening this whole time.
Chung placed his hand on my leg," hey, Ara"---he gave my leg a squeeze---"you awake yet?"
I groan, pretending to be reawaken. Squinting my eyes open, I could see the blurred figure of Elsword leaning against the wall, and Chung seated at the end of the bed.
"Welcome back, sleeping beauty." Elsword winked.
"What happened?" I whispered; rubbing my eyes.
"You and Aisha grew weak from losing blood." Chung answered, he helped himself up to his feet. "Aisha woke up while you were snoring away like a baby."
"We rushed you two back to Amos' place for medical treatment," Elsword added. "You should be thanking Chung. He patched you two up in record time."
"I expect a ton of food in return." Chung crossed his arms. "Elsword, go get the potion for her."
Elsword frowned," why me?"
"Because it's your job as the leader to look after us," Elsword rolled his eyes at Chung's response.
"Fine I'll get your stupid potion." He stomped his way out the room, sighing dramatically on the way out.
"I also don't want him stinking up this room any more." Chung added, I chuckled at his remark. "So how are you feeling?" His eyes trailed down to my leg. "Does your leg still hurt?"
I shake my head," I don't really feel any pain." I readjust my injured leg. "It just feels a bit numb."
"The medicine I used will do that to you." He explained, readjusting his eyes to the wall. "You should be fine by tomorrow."
I pulled my covers over my mouth," t-thanks for looking after me." I said, with warmed cheeks. "I'm sorry for always getting hurt."
"You don't have to apologize." He scratched his face. "Getting hurt is all part of the job." He turned his head away. "As a team mate I'll always be helping you out."
I smiled at his comment," so does that mean"---I lowered my cover to reveal my cheesy grin---"we're officially best friends?"
"Whatever," he replied in an instant, keeping his head turned away from me.
"I'll take that as a yes," I said, clapping my hands together. "This is so great, we'll be able to go shopping together, beat each other up, braid each other's hair--"
"I am not going to braid hair with you." Chung snapped, turning his head back to me. "And don't think I'm going to go shopping with you." He added, narrowing his eyes.
"Come on, Rapunzel, we both know you're dying for someone to braid that hair." I giggled. "You'll be thanking me in the future."
"Why are you so weird?" Chung thought out loud, shaking his head. "And what's taking Elsword so long with that potion?"
"He probably got distracted on the way." I could hear him and Aisha shouting somewhere---of course he'd start an argument the instant he bumps into her.
Silence quickly fell between us. My mind began to replay the attack, forcing me to hear those cried for help; to see those limp bodies. The hairs on the back of my neck rose at the recent memories.
"On a more serious note; what's our next move?" I fold my hands together. "It's obvious the Nasods have enough power to take down the Ponggos' defences, and now they know we're here to fight with them."
Chung sighed, running his fingers through his hair," there's so much we need to do now." He began. "There is so much more at risk now, and we need to make sure our actions won't cause any more harm. Those villagers are depending on us. "
My stomach turned at the thought of protecting the remaining Ponggos. We're now responsible for the lives of every villager. One wrong move and they're dead.
"Are we going to focus of defending the village? Or are we going to attack the Nasods before they attack us again?" I ask, playing with my thumbs.
"I think we'll need to do both." Chung replied, with a sigh. "We can't defend the village alone and allow the Nasods to build up their army, and we can't go attacking the Nasods while leaving the village defenceless."
"Why don't we get other Red Knights to help us?" I ask. "Like we did in Bethma."
"Elsword is thinking of that," Chung answered. "But we're not just dealing with some monster this time, we're facing the possibility of going to war. War is expensive, and we won't be able to have an army to fight along side with us unless the Red Knight officials agree to help."
"We can get the Bethma warriors to help us." I persisted. "I bet Stella would be more than happy to fight the Nasods."
"Bethma is still healing, and I doubt the villagers would want to enter war at this state."
"We can't just fight alone." I snap, burning with frustration. "Going against the Nasods alone is suicide, they'll kill us off before the day is even over."
"Elsword and Raven are going to think of a plan." Chung explained, keeping his voice calm and steady. "We're going to play defensive until they come up with something."
"I hate playing the waiting game." I said, pouting. "The more time we use to plan, the bigger that Nasod army will get."
"I know," Chung sighed, rubbing his eyes. "But there's not much we can do at this point."
The argument between Elsword and Aisha began to grow louder.
"I'm going to see what's happening out there." Chung said, turning his back to me.
"Alright," I whispered. A little voice in my head told me to say something, anything, to make him stay a bit longer. I bit my tongue, keeping myself from blurting out anything stupid.
"Take it easy for now," he added, glancing back with a smile---my heart skipped a beat at his action. "I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a bit crazy."
Without another word he made his way out, leaving me alone with warmed cheeks and a racing heart.
I pull the cover over my head, wondering why I suddenly feel so fluttered around him.