Things Lost and Found (a Waglington and Mianite fanfiction)

Chapter 84

*Waglington's POV*

Darkness. Constricting and cold. Dragging down. Pulling apart. Fading...

Distant Light. Comfort and warmth. Piecing together. Billowing up.

Someone was running their fingers through my hair. It felt heavenly. I didn't remember how I'd gotten here, but I never wanted to leave this place of peace. If I were Memento, I'd be purring. Someone chuckled. "Wag, wake up. I know you're still tired, but we need you."

Tired? Was I supposed to be tired? Why? Then I tried to move. I was incredibly stiff, especially my left side. I winced at the effort. Ow. What did I fall asleep on? I wondered. I settled for opening my eyes instead. I had to blink a few times to clear the blurriness from my vision.

The first thing I saw clearly was Martha kneeling beside me. She had tears in her puffy eyes and tear tracks drying on her cheeks. She had the biggest smile on her face when I looked in her beautiful eyes and grinned, but her lips quivered as if she might cry again. She made a sound that was half sob, half laugh and moved the hand that had been in my hair to my face, brushing my cheek with her thumb. "I almost lost you there," She whispered.

Lost me? What was she talking about? Then she raised her other hand from where it sat in her lap to move a wisp of hair behind her ear. It was covered in dried blood. The smell hit me and made me gag. Memories came rushing back. Tucker had almost cut me in half with his kikoku. He would have if my armor hadn't slowed his swing. Why did my shield fail? How was I alive? I struggled to move my left hand to my side, fearing the wound would still be there. My arm felt like it had fallen asleep, but I eventually guided it to the wide tear in my armor and clothes that marked the site. There was so much blood soaked into the fabric. I gulped and explored further, finding nothing but smooth skin beneath it. What?

Martha saw the confusion in my eyes and looked down to where my hand was. She placed her hand over mine and put a bit more healing magic into the area, worried that it still hurt. "There. Does that feel better? I've never had to heal something this severe before."

It did relieve some of my stiffness, actually. "Much better," I croaked. I tried to sit up, and Martha helped me. The skin there still felt a bit tight, but I imagined that would go away with time. Now that I was sitting up, I could see just how much of my blood stained the ground, and I shuddered. "How?" I thought a kikoku could kill a god. How was I alive?

"You were still alive when I got to you, but barely. Donella thinks I was able to save you, because I'm your goddess. You were still fading after she tried to heal you."

With a start, I remembered everyone else. "Is everyone okay? Did they stop Tucker?" I tried to stand, and found myself too weak to do so. Martha pulled me to my feet and put my arm over her shoulder to steady me.

"Easy there. Ilanna knocked Tucker out. Donella did something to keep Mianite from taking over his mind again." We walked a few steps before I became aware that it wasn't just my healed skin that felt a little off. The deeper damage had been healed, but there was the occasional cramp as if some organ doubted that the wound was really gone. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a warm hand alighted on my side as we walked. Martha must have noticed my discomfort. I shot her an appreciative look as her magic eased the cramping sensation. She gave me a tender look that let me know all I had to do was tell her if any other complications came up. She would do her best to fix them.

My mind was feeling better than my body and began to wander places it shouldn't when her hand lingered on my side—presumably to help support me. I decided to ask about the others to refocus my thoughts. Then I saw Sonja fly past with Jordan chasing her and Tom chasing him. I got a brief look at Jordan's face as he passed. His sunglasses had fallen off, and his eyes were an icy shade of pale blue. Martha sighed beside me. "Yes, my uncle somehow got his claws into Sparklez. He's having more difficulty controlling him though." As we watched, Jordan slowed down, shaking his head like he was disoriented.