A Journey Within the Realm
Chapter 9-2: Commander Hanako

“Ugh… I am not used to all this walking,” I said out loud.

“Come on, Randy,” Miki replied, “It can’t be that bad.”

“My feet hurt…,” I complained.

“Here, Randy,” Rin said, giving me a bottle, “Drink this. I call it a stamina potion. One bottle will give you unlimited energy for 24 hours.”

I pulled the cork off the bottle and sniffed it.

“No way am I drinking this,” I said, putting the cork back on, “I don’t know how, but it smells like my gym shorts from high school.”

I was about to hand the bottle back to Rin. I stopped when I saw Rin starting to cry. I sighed and pulled the cork back off.

“Okay, Rin,” I said, “I will try it just for you.”

“Are you sure about that?” Nori asked, “Remember the last potion you drank?”

“Come on, Nori,” I replied, “Rin’s crying.”

I held my nose and drank the whole thing. I waited a while. Well… I didn’t pass out.

“How do you feel?” Miki asked.

“Fine,” I replied.

Suddenly, I felt odd.

“Are you sure?” Miki asked, “You look pale.”

I was about to reply when I threw up. The bad part is that I threw up all over Miki’s clothes.

“Yuk,” Miki exclaimed, “You’re not well, Randy.”

Miki placed her hand on my forehead.

“Just great! That potion gave him a high fever,” Miki said, “Where are we on the map?”

Nori went into my backpack, pulled out the magical map, and opened it.

“We’re in luck,” Nori answered, “We are 12 hours ahead of plan. We should reach the base of the mountain by sundown tomorrow.”

“Good. Then, we will rest here and take care of Randy… again,” Miki replied, “Rin! Since it was your fault that Randy became sick, it will your job to set up camp. Kuri and Nori, watch over Randy as I wash up and keep Rin away from him.”

“I’m sorry,” Rin cried with a face full of tears.

“Miki,” I said, “Be nice to Rin.”

“But…,” Miki said.

I shook my head, “She may be still learning how to make potions, but she is still one of the team. She is just trying her best and that’s all I ask from all of you.”

“Understood,” Miki replied.

I started to feel dizzy. So, I sat down on the floor and closed my eyes.

“What’s wrong, Randy?” Kuri asked.

“Can someone ask the ground to stop spinning?” I asked.

“Lie down, Randy, and get some rest,” Miki answered.

“Okay,” I said, cheerfully.

“You guys have your jobs,” Miki said, “I will be back.”

The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was Miki walking away as she went around and around in my eyes.

I looked around for any place that had water. Not replaceing anything, I chanted and touched the ground, creating a pond big enough for ten people to bathe in. I took off my backpack and brought out my towel. Then, I took off my clothes, washed them, laid them out to dry, and got into the pond. After washing myself, I got out, dried myself off, wrapped the towel around me, and walked back to camp. When I got back, everything was set up. Rin was cooking our dinner while Kuri helped. Nori was sitting right outside one of the tents. I walked over to Nori. She looked up when I came near.

“Where’s Randy?” I asked.

“Inside,” Nori answered, pointing at the tent.

“How is he?” I asked.

“Not good,” Nori replied, “He has been talking nonsense in his sleep and his fever is even stronger. Kuri gave him some medicine a few minutes ago.”

“Not Rin’s I hope,” I said.

Nori shook her head. I entered the tent and saw Randy tossing and turning as he spoke. I carefully moved over to his head. There was a wet cloth on his forehead. After I picked up the cloth, Randy woke up.

“Hey,” Randy said, placing his hand on my arm.

His hand was burning hot. Nori was right, his fever had gotten worse.

“You smell nice,” Randy said.

“Thanks,” I replied, “It’s better than your puke.”

Randy laughed weakly, “I see you’re wearing your towel again.”

“Yeh,” I said, “My clothes are drying.”

Randy’s hand slowly reached for my towel was on my chest and grabbed it.

“What are you doing, Randy?” I asked, holding onto my towel.

“Never saw a woman as pretty as you,” Randy answered, “Want to see more.”

And with the only strength he had, Randy yanked my towel off. I quickly covered myself with my arms.

“Randy,” I exclaimed, “This is not like you!”

“You’re beautiful,” Randy said, “Kiss me…”

“What!?!” I yelled.

“Please… kiss me…,” Randy repeated.

He sounded weaker than ever before; and, perhaps, his weakness triggered a weakness in me. Randy was cute. I bent down a gave him a kiss on the lips. When I was done, Randy closed his eyes. I wrapped myself with my towel again and was about to leave, when I saw that he had something sticking up in his pants. Being a curious elf, I carefully pulled his pants down to replace out what it was. To my surprise, it was his private part and it was fully ercet. After seeing for the first time what a man calls a penis, I pulled his pants back on him and exited his tent.

“You took your sweet time,” Nori said.

“I had to check on him,” I replied, “He is not one bit well. Can you get my clothes and my backpack for me? I left them by my spell-made pond.”

“Sure,” Nori replied, floating away.

“How’s dinner coming?” I asked, walking over.

“I will tell you one thing, Miki,” Kuri began, “Rin may not be good at making potions, but she makes up for that in her cooking.”

“I guess I should take that as a compliment,” Rin said, scooping up some of the food, “Want a taste?”

I took the spoon and ate the small bit of food.

“Wow! This is fantastic,” I exclaimed, handing the spoon back to her, “What is it?”

“Chicken soup,” Rin answered.

“Where did you get the chicken?” I asked.

“Don’t ask,” Rin replied.

“Why?” I asked.

“Trust me. You don’t want to know,” Rin answered.

I gave Rin an uncertain look. Just then, Nori arrived with my stuff. After thanking her, I went into one of the empty tents and got dressed. Hmmm… a little damp, but still wearable. When I went out of the tent, Rin started handing out bowls of her soup to everyone. I walked over to Rin and she gave me my bowl.

“Hand me Randy’s bowl,” I said, “I will feed it to him.”

Rin nodded and made a bowl for Randy. After she gave it to me, I went back into Randy’s tent. There, I saw Randy actually sitting up. I walked over to him and sat down.

“How are you feeling, Randy?” I asked.

“Huh? Oh… hey, Miki,” Randy replied, “I’m a little out of it, but I’m getting back to my senses.”

I felt his forehead. His fever was back to to the way it was before. Still, a fever is a fever.

“Do you recall anything that happened the last time I was in here?” I asked.

“Not really, sorry,” Randy answered.

I was somewhat relieved, but also a bit disappointed. Oh well… Randy hadn’t been in the right state of mind when everything happen. He probably didn’t know what he was saying and doing.

“What’s that in your hands?” Randy asked.

“Rin’s homemade chicken soup,” I answered.

“No way! I’m not eating anything Rin made,” Randy exclaimed.

“Surprising enough, Rin makes a better cook than a potion maker,” I said, “Her food is quite fantastic. Here.”

I took a spoonful of the soup and fed it to Randy.

“Wow… you’re right,” Randy said, “Her food is good.”

I kept feeding Randy his bowl of soup until it was finished. After I was done feeding Randy, I started on my soup.

“Miki?” Randy asked.

“Yes?” I asked back, eating another spoonful.

“I’m sorry about messing up your clothes,” Randy replied.

“No biggie,” I said, “You weren’t feeling well. I just happen to be next to you when you became ill.”

“I can see that you washed your clothes a little while ago,” Randy said, “Part of your outfit is still wet.”

“It’s better than just a towel,” I joked.

Randy chuckled. I finished my soup and was about to leave, when Randy grabbed my arm.

“Can you spend the night with me tonight?” Randy asked, “It will make me feel better if I have company.”

“Why me?” I replied.

“You are the only one who’s shared the same bed with me,” Randy answered, “I’m only comfortable with you spending the night with me.”

I smiled, “Sure, Randy, I will be with you tonight.”

“Thanks,” Randy said.

I left the tent and gave Rin the bowls. Then, I sat down by the fire. After Rin finished cleaning the bowls, she entered the tent she was sharing with Nori. As I dried the rest of my outfit, Kuri flew over to me.

“What’s up, Miki?” Kuri asked.

“Not much,” I answered.

“You are a terrible liar, Miki,” Kuri replied, “Something is on your mind. What went on while you were in Randy’s tent?”

I looked around to see where Rin and Nori were.

“Rin and Nori are in their tent,” Kuri said, “They are fast asleep by now. What went on in there?”

“Randy asked me to spend the night with him,” I replied.

“Our Randy? The man who is nervous around us women?” asked Kuri.

“Yep. I don’t know what happened inside his mind when he went into the Nebulous, but he seems less nervous.”

“How less?”

“Like not at all…”

“Something else happen in there, didn’t it?”

“When I was wearing a towel and Randy’s fever was extremely high, Randy grabbed my towel and pulled it off.”

“Did he know what he was doing?”

“In his high fever state of mind… maybe. However, he doesn’t remember anything while he was in that state.”

“So, he saw you naked, but doesn’t remember any of it? Interesting…”

“That wasn’t the half of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“When he fell back asleep and I was about to leave, I saw… well…”

“What!?!”

“His penis erect.”

“In what way?”

“At first, I noticed it at attention while Randy was wearing his pants. Well… because of that, I became curious and one thing lead to another…”

“You pulled his pants down, didn’t you?”

“Yeh…”

“And after you saw it?”

“I pulled his pants back up and left the tent.”

“Good girl. I’m proud of you.”

“Why?”

“You didn’t do anything with his naughty bits while he was in that state. Sure, you peeked, but the only way any of us can get a chance to have fun with that ‘thing’ of his is if it is out of love. Just because we’re curious, doesn’t mean we can use Randy’s tool for our fun.”

“That is a funny way to put it, but you are still right.”

“Well… I’m going to go to bed in our tent. You should go to Randy soon.”

“I guess so. Good-night, Kuri.”

I waited until Kuri went into her tent before I got up and walked over to Randy’s. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. When I entered the tent, Randy was lying down. He lifted his head as I walked over.

“Thank you for doing this,” Randy said.

“No problem,” I replied, “How should we do this?”

“I will turned and face the tent’s wall,” Randy answered, “You can sleep where my back is facing.”

“Would you like me to hold you from behind?” I asked.

“Only if you feel comfortable enough,” Randy replied, “It’s your choice.”

I smiled. Randy turned onto his right side. After he was settled, I crawled underneath the blanket, turned on my right side, and wrapped my arm around Randy.

“Good-night, Randy,” I said, smiling.

“Good-night, Miki,” Randy replied.

I woke up feeling back to my old self. Noticing Miki was still asleep with her arm around me, I carefully moved it off me and walked out of the tent. When I was out, I saw Rin cooking breakfast while Nori was drawing on the ground next to Rin. Kuri was nearby, talking to some blue birds. Rin was the first to noticed me standing here.

“Morning, Randy,” Rin said, “How are you feeling?”

“Never better,” I answered, “What’s for breakfast?”

“Oatmeal,” Rin replied.

“Yuk…,” I said, disappointed.

“Yeh… oatmeal isn’t one of my favorites either,” Nori said, looking up from her drawing.

“Sorry, guys,” Rin said, “Can’t be helped. We need to save our supplies. We still have a few more days and most of them is climbing.”

“Morning, Randy,” Kuri said, flying over, “How was your night with Miki?”

“What!?!” Rin and Nori exclaimed.

“It was just fine, Kuri,” I answered, “Miki is still asleep.”

“What went on in there?” asked Rin, upset.

“Nothing happened,” I replied, “I had my back to her the whole time. All she did was hold me tight from behind.”

“You didn’t do anything to her?” asked Rin, glaring.

“Nothing,” I answered.

“Nothing, except passing your sickness to me,” Miki added, staggering out of the tent.

Miki looked awful. She was very pale and her eyes had a blank expression on them. She looked like she couldn’t focus very well. On top of that, her elf ears were drooping.

“Are you okay, Miki?” Kuri asked.

“Just peachy,” Miki replied, “This is your fault, Randy. You ma-a-a-aaaaachoooo!”

“Bless you,” Nori said.

Miki glared at Nori. Nori floated over to Rin in fright. Miki then started to walk over to me. But, before she could get to me, she fell to the ground. I waited a bit before I checked on her. She had heat coming out of her body without me touching her. When I did touch her, I quickly pulled away because it burned me.

“This is not good,” I said, “Her fever is so bad that I can feel heat without touching her. Does anyone have an easy cure for this?”

“I’m afraid not,” Kuri answered.

“I guess I have to try creating another spell,” I said.

“Healing spells only work if you give the person a small amount of the caster’s DNA,” Rin explained.

“How does that even work?” I asked.

“Beats me,” Rin replied, “I could never figure that out. Failed that part of the final exams back when I was in school.”

I sighed.

“What kind of DNA does it have to be?” I asked.

“That, I do know,” Rin answered, “It doesn’t matter. Any DNA transfer works.”

“Then I have an idea,” I replied, turning Miki on her back.

“What is it?” Rin asked.

“Watch,” I answered.

I closed my eyes and locked lips with Miki’s. As I kissed, I channeled the healing spell into her body. I opened one eye to see if it was working. It was. After the spell was done, I stopped kissing Miki and waited. Slowly, I could feel the heat diminishing from Miki’s body. Before long, Miki opened her eyes.

“What happen?” Miki asked, sitting up, “I feel back to normal.”

“Randy used a healing spell on you,” Kuri answered.

“’Healing spell?’” Miki repeated, “Doesn’t that take a sample of DNA from whoever casts the spell?”

“Un-huh,” Rin replied, wide-eyed.

“What with Rin?” Miki asked, looking at everyone, “Nori seems to be the same way. What did Randy do to me?”

Kuri giggled, “Randy cast the spell while kissing you. You know… spit from the mouth carries DNA.”

Miki blushed.

“It was my fault to begin with,” I said, “I had to heal you. It was the best way I could think of to pass on DNA.”

“It wasn’t fully you fault,” Miki corrected, “It was Rin’s potion that started it all.”

“I said I was sorry,” Rin yelled, snapping out of her shocked state.

“Let’s just eat our breakfast and get back to our journey,” I said, “I don’t want anymore blaming, okay?”

Rin and Miki nodded. We sat down and ate our… ummm… lovely oatmeal. Ugh. Anyway, once we finished eating and packing, we were, once again, on our way towards Mount Dracin. It took us most of the day and it was almost time for the sun to start setting, but we finally made it to the base of the mountain. I looked up. The mountain was almost tall enough to hide the town in the clouds. My guess, it would take us about three days to reach the top, if we were lucky.

“Well… we made it to the base of the mountain,” I said, “I think it would be wise if we start climbing right away.”

“Agreed,” everyone replied.

“Before you do, you will have to face me,” said a voice.

“Who’s there!?!” Miki called out.

“My, my, my,” replied the voice, “I see that the light mage teamed up with a elf, a fairy, a ghost, and a witch. Not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Show yourself,” Nori yelled.

Once Nori said that, a shadow being appeared right in front of the mountain. This shadow being was different from those I had seen in the Nebulous. This shadow being was an elf, just like Miki.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“How rude of me,” the shadow elf replied, “Let me introduce myself. I’m Hanako, Commander of the shadow elves.”

“Commander? Shadow elves?” Miki repeated.

“You have trouble hearing?” asked Commander Hanako, “While your elf friend cleans out the earwax from her ears, tell me your name, Light Mage.”

“My name is Randy Nelson,” I replied.

“Randy, huh?” repeated Commander Hanako, “What an odd name for a woman. Come to think about it… you look very odd for a woman too.”

Commander Hanako walked a little closer, just enough to be able to see me clearer. As soon as she saw who I was, a huge smile played on her face.

“Well I’ll be… you are a man,” Commander Hanako said, “This will make this battle much more fun. Army assemble!”

Suddenly, about 100 shadow elves appeared behind her. I readied my staff and prepared for battle. Miki and the others did the same.

“How cute,” Commander Hanako said, “Five people are going to try and beat an army of 100 shadows. Alright, if you want to die that way, so be it. Attack!”

The army of shadows started rushing over to us. I glanced at each of my teammates before running towards the charging shadows. I pointed my staff at the shadows and cast a fire spell, creating a flamethrower on the tip of my staff. I ran around, burning the shadows as I passed. Miki used her blade to slice them. Nori used her controling powers to turn the shadows against each other. Rin and Kuri joined together as they combined their spells to make fusion spells. Before long, the only one left was Commander Hanako. I told my teammates to stand back. They nodded as I walked towards the Commander.

“Hanako,” I called out, “I want a word with you.”

“What is it, boy?” Commander Hanako asked.

I walked closer to her.

“Stay back,” the commander said, “You come any closer, I’m gone!”

I pointed my finger at her and whispering the word ‘freeze’ under my breath, causing Hanako’s legs to freeze into solid ice.

“What the…!?!” Commander Hanako yelled, “How did…!?! I mean… that fast!?!”

I walked over to her until I was right next to her face, if I would call it a face. Her visage was dark as the rest of her shadow body. I could see her mouth, but it was a little difficult. Her eyes glowed like black marbles.

“Now, if I’m correct,” I began, “If I let you go, you will go and report what happen to your master. Yes or no?”

Hanako didn’t reply. I pointed my staff at her heart.

“If you don’t answer, you won’t be alive to do anything,” I threatened, “You see… I know the shadows’ weakness. You can’t handle fire. Speak if you don’t want to be cremated. Yes or no?”

“Yes…,” Hanako growled.

“And, your master is a dark mage by the name of Kei. Yes or no?” I asked.

“Yesssss,” Hanako hissed.

“Good. I have a message I would like you to relay to her,” I said, “Say go ahead when you are ready to listen carefully. I will only say it once.”

“Go ahead…,” Hanako said.

“Tell Kei, ‘Be ready to hand over your life, Kei. I am going to make you pay for what you did to my parents, especially my mother, Jora. I am your worst nightmare and it’s a nightmare that will never end as long as you live,’” I said, “Caught all that? Yes or no?”

“Y-y-yes,” Hanako replied.

“Now… I’m going to let you go,” I told her, “However, I need to give your master proof of how serious I am. So, I’m afraid I have to cut your arms off.”

“W-w-w-what!?!” Commander Hanako screamed.

“Sorry,” I replied, “Well… not really. You did try to kill us. This will only take a second.”

I grabbed her left arm by the shoulder and used my hand to burn it off, dropping it to the ground and watching it melt away. Then, I did the same to her other arm. Once I was done, I melted the ice and backed away.

“Now, go,” I commanded, “Relay everything to your master.”

I watched as Commander Hanako disappeared without delay. When she was gone, I walked over to my teammates.

“Ready?” I asked, “We need to reach Transbola before they attack again.”

“I like your style, Randy,” Miki replied, “Let’s go guys!”

“Right,” they all cheered.

I smiled as I began climbing. What a team!