Chapter 206 - 2.83 Lost in Paradise
Diana kept patiently waiting, marking an X on a calendar she made herself and put on the refrigerator to their home in Paradise. Rather than making it a regular 12 month calendar, she simply kept a tally of each day he was gone, and when she reached a full 30 days, she circled it, put a line through it and moved to the next one. She just finished putting a second mark, next to three sets of 5, while frowning at the two full circles with lines through them above her newest line.
'Day 77… hopefully today is the day,' she thought, which is the same thought she had every morning when she woke up and looked at her makeshift timetable.
Xander saw Nova in the southwest and continued fighting his way in that direction. The enemies increased in difficulty again, causing him to use some of his Unleashed skills, including his newest one, "Orb of Destruction."
It was similar to "Lockheart's Reign," in the way that Xander held a small magical orb. Manipulating it caused a larger orb to attack enemies with an elementally infused charged ball. There wasn't a giant bubble that floated to the sky or burst, just that it was controlled by hand.
He could change the elements as well, so if something was water based, he'd drop the fire from the attack and make it an electric current. The sphere was nearly the size of a basketball, whizzing from enemy to enemy as his fingers twirled and eyes quickly shot around the makeshift battlefield.
When he finished the last enemy, its distinctive evaporation into nothingness made him smile.
'I have to be close, Nexus looks so big! Ok, now I have to try and sense Hope. That's my only way in.'
Xander focused all his concentration and could sense her, faintly.
"Hope, are you there?"
"Xander?! Finally… It's been over two months now. Where are you?"
"I'm close, I just can't find the realm. I think I need to make a portal but I'm not really sure where. Do you think it's possible our realm is hidden in plain sight?"
"Here, let me try to move a bit let me know if it gets closer or worse. If I can't hear you, I'll know I went too far. Count to 10 then talk."
"Ok! Sounds good."
Diana noticed Hope "perked up" and looked excited. 'Please, please tell me he's finally back!' she thought, watching Hope fly quickly in the opposite direction.
"Hope?"
'Hm, I can't hear him. Maybe if I try over here?' Hope thought as she quickly flew to the west. Diana admired how quickly Hope moved and adjusted her flight path. She knew she was a younger phoenix, but was impressed by her nonetheless. She liked when Sora was linked with Celeste. She loved talking to the companions and couldn't wait for Scarlet to get older and turn into a human.
"Xander?" Hope asked.
"Woah! Way better. I'm guessing you couldn't hear me when I originally asked?"
"Nope, but you're pretty clear now it doesn't sound so faint. Shoot a fireball into the sky or something."
Hope inhaled deeply, then released a large ball of fire directly upward, using her beak to make it a pressurized stream.
Xander looked around and couldn't see fire, but he could sense magic. He opened a portal, but didn't see their realm.
'Damnit. I'm so certain it has to be close.'
He opened another portal and recognized some of the area, but knew he was nowhere close to the actual realm.
'Thank Xander, think. If Nana Fena originally created our personal family realm, where would it be? Wait, maybe it's in the sky or something?
"Hey Hope, can you try to hint to Diana to use some of her magic? I can't see it, but I can sense it. I'm guessing the realm isn't on the ground, I've opened a few portals but haven't had any luck."
"Ok I can't exactly talk to her though…"
"I know, silly! But you're one of the smartest beings I know, you'll figure something out."
"Thanks for believing in my Xander!"
Hope flew over to Diana, who was still sitting in her favorite rocking chair on their porch, quietly reading as the phoenix landed on her shoulder.
"Caw!" She said while slightly pulling up on her shoulder.
"Do you want me to get up, Hope?"
"Caw Caw!" She chirped while nodding her head yes.
"Such a smart phoenix. Ok, where would you like to go?"
Diana followed Hope's claws, which pulled her to guide her. Hope was in her smaller form, which was about the size of an adult Blue Macaw. She noticed that the phoenix started shooting off magic in a particular direction and tugging at Diana's sleeve on her t-shirt.
'Hm. Why does she keep casting magic like that?' She thought, confused but still trying to figure out what Hope was trying to get her to do.
"Caw! Caw!" She said while shooting out a spray of fire, then stopped, looked at Diana and gently nudged her head.
"I can sense you really strongly right now, I just can't properly locate it." Xander said while opening another portal into nothingness.
"She's followed me and I'm trying, I keep cawing at her and nudging her head, then shooting fireballs."
"Maybe try giving her a buff or something? That'll encourage her to use magic, won't it?"
"Oh, that's a great idea, one second."
Hope cast one of her buffs, which increased Diana's magical power, which didn't work because they were in Paradise.
'Oh, right, she already has unlimited power in Paradise… maybe a speed buff?'
She shot a small green ball of fire into Diana's chest and the goddess immediately felt faster.
'Hm, why would she be buffing me? Does she want me to run?'
Diana started sprinting, but Hope hopped off her shoulders and flew to where they were just standing.
"Caw! Caw!" She said while shooting a few ice shards into the ground.
'Ok, not running, trying to buff me, now using ice. Maybe I should just cast a spell over where she's standing?' Diana thought while running back to Hope.
She focused her energy and tried a newer spell she learned since becoming a goddess, which essentially acted as a barrier of protection. She cast it in a 10 foot radius around her and Hope, and Xander instantly noticed the immense growth in power. His phoenix was powerful, but his buffed goddess girlfriend was now more powerful than his companion was herself.
Xander focused, took a deep breath and opened a portal, finally revealing Diana and Hope, who were underneath the giant white barrier.
"Xander!" Diana said as he sprinted through, closing the portal and giving her a big hug, lifting her off the ground.
"Hey sweetheart, I missed you so much… I hope you weren't too lonely. Thank you for not coming to look for me," he said while kissing her forehead.
"I'm just glad you're finally home… or back, AHHHH I'm so happy!" She exclaimed.
Xander smiled and reciprocated her enthusiasm while lifting her up and twirling her around.
"I'm so very happy to be back home with you as well. We can call this home for now. One day maybe, we'll have a house of our own!"
"That would be great, but can you tell me all about it?!"
"Absolutely, only after you tell me what you were up to! I noticed how much stronger your magic is, that's how I was able to find you. Hope kept trying to drop clues. I'm glad you finally picked up on it.
"Yes, she did, she was such a wonderful helper. It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if I couldn't understand her little chirps, caws and such. I know she can understand me… I even thought of how your dad has that special linking magic and how we can talk as a party and hear the companions as well! What is like having a phoenix with you all the time?"
Hope was still on Diana's shoulder, and decided to fly back inside of Xander.
"Thank you so much for spending time with her, it wasn't easy not having you with me. I missed you tons!"
"I missed you too but you did the right thing! You'll have to tell us all about it!"
"I will! Did she ever get too sad?"
"Some days she was sad and lonely, but nothing overly bad. She cares for you a lot and her resolve is amazing. She trained hard every day and has been reading a lot. She's read books about Exteria, books about Earth, books about different races, ancient texts of the gods, she's a very quick learner and she's grown drastically over the past few months."
"That's great to hear! We have so much to catch up on."
Diana waited patiently, knowing Xander was probably talking to Hope.
"Having a companion is really awesome. I didn't always have one so I can say it's a little different at first, but super worth it!" Xander smiled.
"Also, Hope says she's very proud of you, that you were great to be around and that you've grown really strong! You're going to tell me what else you've been reading about as well!"
"Oh! Athena visited me, you have to check this out!" Diana said while she grabbed his hand and sprinted inside of their house.
'She's so excited and feels so loved. I've never seen this much pink in her head before… what does that mean?'