This one's kinda long...and in some areas, rich in subtext. :D
The light brought them to the middle of medieval Truce Village. Plumes of black smoke rose from the edge of the village. The previously bustling village was almost abandoned.
"Halt!" Joel and Mike stopped in their tracks when they heard a voice behind them. They turned to see a soldier from Guardia Castle.
"Are you two civilians? If so, you have to take shelter in Truce Canyon."
"What's going on here?" Joel inquired.
"Just answer my question!" the soldier snapped.
"Not exactly," Mike replied. "Did Prince Nigel send you?"
The soldier shook his head. "He was wounded at Zenan Bridge."
"What's going on?" Joel asked again.
"Magus's troops have launched an attack. Our troops are fighting them at Zenan Bridge. However, we are severely outnumbered."
"Then let us help," Mike suggested.
"Are you crazy?!" The soldier paused, then reconsidered his statement. "Then again, we need all the help we can get. Follow me. I'll lead you to the bridge."
***
Zenan Bridge was littered with the bodies of many soldiers from both sides. The planks of the bridge were awash with blood. Mike swallowed nervously, wondering what he had gotten himself into.
"They've sent their top general," the soldier stated. "I'm not sure if we can beat him."
"We'll try." Mike turned to Joel. "We have magic now. He can't stop us."
"Uh...yeah, whatever," Joel stammered. He followed Mike to the edge of the bridge.
"Oh, look!" A tall, muscular goblin stood before them. "More rebels! I think I'll get rid of the stronger one first."
The goblin extended his right arm, and the wooden planks below Mike broke, sending him careening into the raging river below.
"Mike!" Joel crouched down next to the spot Mike had stood. There was no answer except for a large splash.
The goblin laughed mirthfully. "Now I'll take care of the weaker one."
Joel pushed himself up. He felt himself burning with rage as he drew his sword.
"No!" he cried. "I'm going to take care of YOU!"
"We'll see about that." The goblin raised both arms, and the bodies of the dead rose to their feet. They drew their weapons and headed for Joel.
"You can't use magic, so you have no chance of beating them!"
That's it! Joel thought. I have to cast a spell!
Joel pulled his sword close to his chest. He closed his eyes and concentrated. When he had gathered enough arcane energy, he thrust the sword at the advancing army.
"Aqua Buster!" A tsunami came from under the bridge. It washed all the soldiers away.
***
Mike had managed to swim to the river's bank. He felt weak, but that didn't matter to him. He had to save Joel.
***
"Hmm." The goblin frowned. "I suppose you're a little stronger than I thought."
A snarl crossed Joel's face. "I'll show you my true strength." He prepared the spell again. "Aqua Buster!"
***
Mike began to climb the support planks of the bridge. Pain coursed through every limb as he moved. He forced himself to move faster. The pain was unbearable, but he had to get back onto the bridge.
***
Joel stood in place, dumbfounded. Water gushed all over the bridge, but the goblin was impervious to Joel's magic.
The goblin grinned. "Single combat, rebel." It drew a broadsword.
Joel drew his sword. The two cautiously stepped towards each other. Each swung their sword, and the blades met in a crescendo of glistening steel. As their swords danced in between them, the two seemed to waltz around each other in an attempt to avoid the other's blade.
"Cyclonic Rage!" A large tornado swept the goblin into the river.
"You'll pay for this!" the goblin screamed as the current washed it away.
Joel turned to see Mike. His legs shook involuntarily as he staggered over to Joel.
"Don't move, Mike. I'll take you to the inn in the next village."
"You...saved my...life...so..." Mike stopped speaking when his legs gave out and he collapsed.
***
Mike was too heavy for Joel to carry, so he carried Mike piggyback style to Poore Village. Once he found an inn, he paid for the best room he could afford. The innkeeper helped Joel carry Mike up the stairs to their room. They placed him on one of the full-size beds.
The innkeeper headed for the door. "If you need anything else, let me know."
"Thank you," Joel said as the innkeeper closed the door.
Joel then walked over to the bed where the convalescent Mike lay. "Are you bleeding anywhere?"
"Probably. The rocks in the river scraped a lot of my skin off."
"Why don't you take a nice warm bath? After that, I'll take care of those wounds for you."
"That would be great if I could make it over to the bathroom," Mike stated.
"I'll draw the bath for you, and then help you into the bathroom. How's that sound?"
"Fine."
Joel ran off to do just that. As he listened to the water fill the bathtub, Mike began to think. Joel said that he had lost his family. Could Joel truly understand him? Also, why was Joel being so nice to him? All Mike had done was repay the favor of Joel saving his life.
Joel poked his head out of the bathroom doorway. "Leave your clothes outside, OK? I'm taking them downstairs to have them washed."
"OK." Mike forced himself into a sitting position. He pushed himself to the edge of the bed. Joel walked out of the bathroom and over to Mike's side. He extended his arm to Mike, who took it; then staggered over to the bathroom.
Mike closed the door halfway as he peeled his soaking wet clothes off. He threw them in a pile on the floor.
"Take all the time you need in there," Joel said as he picked up the clothes.
"Thanks. I will." Mike stepped over to the bathtub and cautiously slipped in. He sat down and let the warm water caress his naked skin.
The warm water felt wonderful against Mike's aching muscles. He sat in the water for a few minutes before picking up the soap.
***
Once Joel finished washing Mike's clothes, he paid the innkeeper for some bandages before returning to the room.
"Uh, Joel?" Mike called as soon as he heard the door open. "Can you help me out of here?"
Joel threw Mike's wet clothes onto the dresser and walked into the bathroom. Mike was attempting to push himself into a standing position, but wasn't having much success.
Joel placed his hands on the sides of Mike's chest. "Try standing up." He pulled on Mike until he was able to drag him onto the top edge of the bathtub. "You worked yourself too hard, you know that?"
"It was hard enough trying to swim," Mike said as he pushed himself off the tub. "Climbing up the bridge was what nearly killed me."
"Then why did you do it? I would have come for you later."
"You needed my help. Also, you saved my life." Mike gazed intently at Joel. "I never thanked you for that."
Joel pulled a few towels off the sink and handed them to Mike. "I thought you were a goner back there."
"Me too," Mike said as he began drying himself off. "Once I hit the water, I was certain I was going to die."
When Mike moved his arm, Joel caught a glimpse of Mike's back. It was covered with scrapes and jagged wounds.
"Oh my God! Let me get you something for those." Joel rushed out of the bathroom to fetch the bandages.
"These?" Mike glanced at the wounds on his back. "They're fine. You don't have to do anything."
Joel walked back in with the bandages in tow. "It's the least I can do for the guy who won the Battle of Zenan Bridge."
Mike chuckled. "Is that what the history books call it?"
Joel shrugged. "I don't know. I probably wasn't paying attention in class that day." He began placing the bandages on Mike's back. "I'd better take care of you, though. You're my only friend."
"Are you serious?"
Joel nodded. "Not many people have ever approached me. Maybe my talk about machinery is too highbrow for them."
"If I had your mechanical talent, I wouldn't have been working as a temp."
"Really? You seem to be the only person who understands me."
"Well, we were both shot into space and left there," Mike stated. "I can understand how you felt then."
"And..." Joel paused. He pulled a Turkish bathrobe off one of the hooks on the wall and handed it to Mike.
"What?" Mike asked as he put the bathrobe on.
Joel offered his arm to Mike again. Mike took it, and he led Mike out of the bathroom and onto one of the beds.
"You've lost your family too," Joel said. He sat down on the opposite bed and faced Mike.
"What happened to them?"
"They're all still alive. They don't think I'm really related to them, though." Joel sighed deeply. "After I crash landed in the Australian Outback, I took some various jobs here and there until I could afford a plane ticket back to the States, and another to Green Bay."
"So, you went home to see your family?" Mike asked.
"I knocked on the door and told my mom who I was when she answered. She didn't believe me, and treated me like a stranger. Everyone in my family thinks I'm dead.
"She went and got my dad, who yelled at me, then kicked me out. I still remember what he said. He said, `You're not my son! Get out of here!' On top of that, I went to the bank, and it turned out they had handed all my assets over to my brother. I have nothing."
Mike nodded in understanding. He was right. Joel had suffered as much as he had.
"So after that, I headed downtown and climbed the fire escape of an apartment building to the roof. I was going to jump."
"What stopped you? You're still alive, right?"
"Nothing did. I jumped, but when I came to, I was in Truce Village. I have no idea what happened. After that, I started working as a janitor at Guardia Castle, and only left to update the SOL. The rest, as they say, is history."
Mike began turning the sheets down. "So, you think that changing time will help you to see your family again?"
"It's the only thing I can think of doing now. My life's had no meaning since I returned to Earth."
Mike reached over and squeezed one of Joel's hands. "That's not true. You're my best friend. That means a lot to me."
"I am?" Joel asked in slight shock.
Mike nodded. "I haven't had any friends since I came back to Earth."
"Best friend..." Joel repeated. "Nobody's ever called me that."
Mike smiled warmly. "There's a first time for everything, right?"
Joel returned the smile. He clasped Mike's hand. "You're right. You'd better get a lot of rest. I don't want anything to happen to you when we go after Magus."
"How do we find him?" Mike inquired.
"We'll worry about that in the morning. It's getting real late." Joel pulled his shoes off before turning down the covers of his bed. "Good night."
"Good night," Mike said as he slipped in between the covers of his bed.
***