first time doing such a thing. I hope she turned out fine…"
"Of course I did. Have more faith in yourself, Gene!"
"!!!"
The once sleeping beauty has now awakened, drawing the attention of everyone. She stretches herself, freeing her body from its prolonged inactive state. then stands up by the small tree. Aisha, not waiting another moment, runs towards her little sister and embraces her.
"Thena! You're alive again, thank goodness!"
"Jeez sis, go a little easier on me–I just woke up!"
"Well lass, technically she was never dead in the first place, so–"
Aisha flashes a sharp gaze at Esperaunce's rebuttal, instantly cutting him off. He clears his throat, averting his eyes.
"...Understood. Ahem, what I should say is that what you managed to accomplish was a work of art! Way to go, lad."
"What does that mean?"
"You realized that healing Thena's physical body wouldn't be adequate enough, which is why you aimed to heal her from within her mind, which brought recovery to her physical body. What a genius move, I must admit that, lad."
"Oh that? I didn't think that deeply about it, so I honestly can't take all of that credit…"
Unable to internalize all of the praise, Gene lightly scratches his neck.
"Oh ho, that wasn't the only magnificent action I witnessed! I saw you two doing your thing--it brought a single tear to my eye."
"What?! You all were watching Thena and me?!"
"Nah, only I could observe."
"Geeze, a little privacy would be nice…"
Noticing small drops of sweat dripping from Gene's face, Aisha–quick on the uptake–gives the two of them a devious smirk. Thena stands close to Gene, impatient twirling her hair.
"Gene, Thena, what happened there? What is he referring to?"
"Ooo, Lily wants to know too."
"N-nothing! We just had a friendly conversation, I used my curse to heal her, yada-yada-yada, you know the rest."
"Sigh, good grief…"
SMACK
Spreading her left hand wide open for maximum efficiency, Thena facepalms herself.
"?! Ow, what the heck, Thena?!"
"Ah, so it wasn't a fib--you really can feel my pain. Though I'm not nearly as sensitive as you."
"Thena, is it true? You two only had a conversation?"
"Yes we did, Aisha! There's nothing more to say, right Thena–"
"I kissed him on the lips so I could suck his blood. Did he tell you that his blood has healing powers? Don't know why he's acting so flustered over it though."
"T-Th-Thena! Why?!"
Overwhelmed by the brutality of Thena's bluntness, Gene covers his face in a failed attempt to hide his blush. On the other hand, Thena nonchalant lays her hands on her hips, oblivious to the atmosphere. At such a dynamic, Aisha couldn't help but smirk ear to ear.
"Um, excuse me everyone. Lily doesn't mean to be rude, but the door…"
Lily points to the golden door that she was blocked from entering earlier. Its original golden sheen is gradually fading away, becoming more transparent.
"Ah, that's right. I left the door open for a while now. Now that my desired offering of a sleeping beauty is gone, I won't be able to remain outside of my realm for much longer. You're right Lily, it's best that you all go ahead already. Your long awaited treasure lies just beyond!"
Thena walks over to Lily, placing her hand on her shoulder. This unprompted contact briefly caused Lily's ears to shoot up perfectly straight before relaxing.
"Lily, why don't you lead the way?"
"Really? Is that okay? Lily's not the party leader."
"No, you aren't but your sense of smell was pivotal to getting us here in the first place. And after taking your partner…like that…you know…"
Thena closes her eyes, struggling to get her words out. After waiting a moment for Thena to convey her message, Lily pats Thena's shoulder and gives her a wink.
"It's okay, Thena, Lily understands. Come on, let's go, let's go!"
Lily excitedly turns towards the door. Right before she could enter into her promise land–
"Wait! Before I forget, please remember this: You only have a few minutes while inside the oasis before your mortal bodies are booted out. You'll end up transporting to the place you're thinking of, so keep that in mind if you all want to stay together. Now if you'd excuse me, I have more dreams to attend to."
Esperaunce's body rapidly becomes translucent before he finally fades away in a colorful gradient. Taking his final warning to heart, everyone nods and follows Lily into the door.
___________________________________________________________________________
Awaiting just beyond the golden door of promise: a mystical oasis. The space appears to be enclosed inside a cave-like structure, not too narrow or spacious. Palm trees with an orchid gradient leaves litter the oasis along with white sand that is peppered with colorful particles throughout. The centerpiece of the oasis is a shallow body of crystal-clear water that shimmers. Beholding this scenery, the party takes in the sights and smells.
"Look at the water, it's so clear that it compels me to drink it."
"After eating that fruit, I think I've had my fill of supernatural substances. Help yourself, Gene."
"...yeah, I don't want to risk it either. I'll bottle some of it as a souvenir for our project instead."
"That's a better idea, but I didn't do all of this just for some mystical water. I want the real stuff!"
"Speaking of the water, look closely everyone. I think that there's something in it."
Following Aisha's advice, Lily reaches into the water after recognizing something sparkle–a familiar glistening blinds her eye.
"It's a crystal! The goddess's crystal, Lily finally has it! That makes two now!"
Lily proudly displays her treasure for all to see: a cyan crystal orb. She wags her tail in so rapidly, she creates ripples in the water.
"That's amazing, Lily! I've never seen anything like it."
"Well, that's not saying much coming from someone like you."
"Hey, not everyone is as knowledgeable about treasure as your family, Miss Know-it-all."
"My my, it looks like the pink crystal I ate back in Erosy. I'm tempted to eat it…"
Aisha licks her lips, her eyes drift into the crystal in Lily's possession. Sensing her intentions, Lily brings the crystal close to her chest, guarding it.
"Hold up sis, don't eat any crystals until I make sure there's enough for me to bring home. After all, we can't forget the whole purpose of this expedition!"
"Don't worry, I didn't forget. Go ahead and take as much as you want–I'm more than content.'
Aisha lightly rubs her belly in pleasure, emphasizing her contentment. For some reason, this gesture irks Lily as though it was a hidden message solely for her.
"Okay then. Gene, help me find some more crystals in this water, will you?"
"Of course I will, it's our project you know. If I find anything else that looks cool, I'll grab that as well."
The two friends shift through the shallow water, searching for more treasures. On the other side, Aisha and Lily remain by the shore. Lily pupils laser-focus at Aisha's exposed midriff. Completely aware of this fact–despite Lily's attempt to be discreet–Aisha rubs her belly delicately.
"Hmm? Is there something wrong, Lily? I can feel your gaze warming up my belly."
"You didn't forget, right? Our promise?"
"Our…promise? Oh right, you mean the one concerning Vex?"
"Yes! Lily helped this team reach their goal, so Lily should get Vex back!"
Lily holds out her hand, waiting–no, demanding–Aisha to give her what she is due. The sheer audacity coming from such a small girl would make any adult succumb to the cuteness. Aisha, being the contrarian, puts on an ingenuine worried expression.
"Ah, you want him back right now? Sorry, but you'll have to wait until I go to the bathroom–it'd be unbecoming of me to do that in such a place like this."
"No way…you digested him and he's inside your poop now?!"
Aisha snickers to herself, reacting to Lily's horrified face.
"Relax, Lily. I was just joking with you. He's still resting in my stomach, don't worry. I'll give him back to you, but be warned–it won't be pretty."
"Lily doesn't care, just give Vex back!"
"Yes ma'am, if you insist."
Aisha reaches her hand into the back of her throat, triggering a gag response. She skillfully maneuvers the slime ball up her esophagus and onto her tongue, spitting the slime ball into her hand. Naturally, it's dripping with gastric juices and saliva. The mere sight of it makes Lily struggle to resist the urge to puke herself.
"Given your reaction, it's safe to assume that you would like for me to clean him off first?"
Unable to speak due to holding her breath, Lily nods her head rapidly.
"I wholeheartedly agree. I'll make him look like a new man!"
Aisha reaches down into the water, washing the slime casing off of Vex. The water's properties gradually dissolve the slime and washes off the other body gunk. Eventually, the body of a miniature, unconscious man emerges.
"Yo sis, we found everything we needed for our project. What's…?"
"This is the guy I swallowed, Vex! I just managed to retrieve him from my stomach and cleanse him of your slime. Look, doesn't he look delightful?"
Aisha holds up Vex's body with both of her hands as everyone moves closer to look.
"Hmph, he looks better when he's sleeping, but he still looks like a…never mind."
"Um, Aisha? I admire how you see beauty in…unconventional ways, but to me he seems…"
Lily snatches Vex's inanimate body out of Aisha's hands and brings him up to her ear. After standing still for a moment, Lily opens her eyes looking devastated. Feeling that his hunch was accurate, Gene's face drops.
"Lily, what's wrong?!"
"Vex isn't breathing! He's…he's…"
The gravity of the situation unfolding finally being realized among everyone results in a collective gasp.
"...dead!"
Tears shower down upon Vex's corpse.