John's words stilled me, and made my blood feel like ice was running through my veins. Amy was dying? No, she couldn't. She was the pillar to their family, and John's biggest supporter. I had only met her a handful of times when John invited me over to meet her and his dad. He always told them I was like a brother to him, and they had always treated me well. Amy was a strong if stubborn woman, and I thought that nothing would ever be able to take her down.
"John... I..." I said, but nothing else would come out. What could you say to something like that? Why the was life so fucked lately?
My girls were lost too, but my sadness flowed into them, and they felt awful from how much I liked and respected John's mother. This was not the news anyone had expected to hear. John's voice cracked.
"Stage 4... and it's everywhere man... her lungs, her kidneys, her stomach. It's basically in all of her organs, and she could die at any moment. I don't know what to do man..." Johns tears flowed like rivers, and I got up quickly and rushed over to my friend and gripped him in a tight hug. My eyes were watering profusely as well, hearing about how sick she was, and seeing how much it hurt my friend.
I called out to Liz through our bond, and begged her to help. I told her I would do anything if she used her powers to save Amy. This world was one that John didn't fully understand. Hell, neither did I, but I remembered Liz mentioning that healing magic could save people from things like cancer. I got the mental equivalent of a hug, and I felt presence behind me, and Liz placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I made up my mind the second he told us." She said softly, and I closed my eyes as tears still fell from them.
"Thank you..." I said, and John's teary eyed face looked up at us in confusion.
"Made up your mind? What are you both talking about?" He asked in a choked voice, and Liz smiled at him, placing a hand over his arm.
"John, I don't know you very well, but I know enough." She said, her eyes wet with tears, and said, "I promise you, your mother will be just fine. I'll make sure of it."
John had many different expressions cross his face at once. For one, he looked like he thought we were all insane. Then, he looked like he had some hope fill him once again after days of accepting that his mom was going to die. However, it ended on frustration.
"What... are you talking about? This isn't something that just gets better. What, you think a get well soon card is going to help??' He asked, tears falling free as some anger made its way into his voice, "My mom is dying! The doctors said they can't do anything! That we just have to accept it! What, you think you're just going to wave your hands and she'll be better, just like that??"
His feelings were understandable, and neither my girls or I faulted him for that. I looked at both of them, and despite the bond telling me what we were about to do, they still nodded at me with determination burning in their gorgeous eyes. I turned to John, and put my hands on hia shoulders. He looked up at me.
"Actually, John... that's exactly what Liz is going to do." I said, and he blinked.
"H-huh?" He asked, trying to figure out if I was just that stupid or not.
"John, there's a lot about this world that we don't understand. I found a whole new world recently that I didn't even know about, and there are things that would make your head spin, but also fill you with excitement. I still don't know everything about it yet, but I know enough." I said, then took a breath, and decided to just rip off the band-aid, "What is about to happen can never be talked about with anyone else but us. You got it?"
He looked at me like I was insane, but John knew enough about me to know that I could never bullshit him.
"John, do you understand?" I asked him when he didn't respond.
"S-sure man... just tell me what the hell is up with you guys." He said, but rather than just telling him, I showed him.
I dropped my illusion, and my form rippled before settling on my true appearance. John's eyes widened considerably as he saw me for who I now was. My white hair, my more defined appearance, my improved facial features, and most of all, the crackling blue orbs of my eyes that he was now staring directly into.
"S-S-Sid??" He asked, his voice several octaves higher.
"J-John?" I asked back, matching the tone of his voice.
He looked at me in bewilderment, my joke not even registering. Well, it was worth a try.
"What the fuck... holy shit..." He muttered as he kept looking me over almost intensely as my girls did.
"There's a lot of things, as it turns out, that we used to think of as fantasy. Tales of the paranormal that can't be explained. Can't be proven. Well..." I said, turning my hand palm up and materialized an orb of crackling blue electricity. His eyes almost popped out his skull, "Yeah, as it turns out, there's a lot of it that is definitely more real than you thought."
"Dude... what the shitting fuck?" John said, and I just smiled at him.
"I had a similar reaction at first, but then I found out I was, well, this." I said, making electricity crackle from my arms.
"Holy..." He said, and then his eyes darted over to Liz and Nadia, "And them?" He asked, and I grinned.
"Ladies?" I said, and they smiled as their illusions dropped.
Liz shimmered, and her beautiful face became even more radiant as her ears elongated, and her eyes gained that shimmering green I loved so much. John's eyes continued to get so wide that I was afraid they might crack and start bleeding. It made me want to go and check his bathroom, to get eye drops for the poor guy.
The flash of red fur made his gaze flick over to Nadia, and now I could practically see his tongue hit the floor as her fox ears became visable, and then her four cute fluffy fox tails emerged from behind her, fanning out and circling the air. Those red orange globes seemed to hypnotize us both, although for different reasons entirely. He was just fucking shocked, while I just recounted how goddamn perfect they both were.
"No fucking..." He said, looking at Liz, "Elf," he said, and then he looked at Nadia, his mouth seemingly going dry, "Fox... Kitsune?" He both said and asked, and Nadia giggled.
"He got it right away." She laughed, while John just continued to stare.
He too, was like me. Mainly in the sense that, both of our favorite characters from the animes we liked were cute beast girls. No, I didn't like calling them that now. Animal girls? That didn't feel right either. Nadia was not an animal. She was a wonderful woman with animal features, not mention, she was very real.
"There's no way..." John said, blinking rapidly as he studied all of us.
"As you can see, there definitely is a way." I replied.
"I'm sorry, John. This is probably a lot." Liz said, gently, and this time, John looked at her, and then laughed. I raised a brow.
"This is crazy! This is more than just a lot! I mean, pointed ears, the embodiment of floof, and then..." John said, now turning to me, "What? Did you fuck a storm cloud?"
I burst out laughing, and my casual nature seemed to help him calm down just a bit. My girls giggled too, and John couldn't help but stare at them. I did notice his eyes lingered on them far longer than they did on me, and I get that this was new for him, but we may have to have some words if his eyes didn't stop roaming. However, his next words surprised me.
"You lucky motherfucker." He muttered as he looked at my girls like they were literally deities. Well, that was true, at least to me, so that's how I interpreted it.
I laughed, and grinned at him.
"Man, I've been saying the same damn thing for a while now. They truly are something." I said, and he just sat back, and rubbed at his eyes.
"Man, you are literally a harem anime protagonist now." He said, shaking his head "But like, I don't have to watch you be a clueless idiot for like 7 years before you hold hands or something."
This time the laugh I barked out rang the air, and John winced, and even my girls did a bit, but they were laughing too. John certainly had a way with words, probably more so than I did if I was being honest. I learned a lot of my vocabulary from my dad, but John helped helped it to... evolve, so to speak.
"You're not wrong. That's why we simp for Hajime." I added, and he nodded, our banter returning to its normal jovial tone.
"For sure. You got the hair down," He said, studying my white mane, before shrugging, "But, I think he pulls it off better. You knowz red eyes and all."
I just chuckled at that.
"I bet you just wanna be part of his harem." I joked, and he actually thought about that for a moment, and then nodded.
"Eh, sure, why not? I wouldn't have to worry about anyone trying to fuck with me." He said, and I just laughed again.
"You're really taking this well." Liz said from the side, and John just chuckled.
"Oh, believe me, I'm screaming on the inside. This is insane! But this guy, "He said, pointing at me, "This unreasonably hot motherfucker never changes. Even looking like a damn story book hero, Sid is just Sid."
Liz and Nadia smiled sweetly at that.
"Yeah. That's why we love him." Nadia said, hearts practically dancing in her eyes.
"Very much so." Liz agreed.
"Wow, man... you really went and did it? You've really grown past the, 'love isn't for me' phase, haven't you?" John asked me, and I grinned.
"Just takes the right people to come along." I told him, and he chuckled.
"And most of us don't find the right 'people,' plural." John gave me a flat stare, causing me to laugh again. He wasn't wrong, but I just happen to have two, and I was A okay with that.
"I feel like we've gotten super off topic." Liz said, and John and I looked at her and nodded.
John sighed, as he was really doing well at suppressing his negative emotions. We've always fucked around and joked when things got sad. Laughter was always the best cure for that kinda stuff, but I had to remind myself that we had nothing to worry about. Amy would live to see many more years, thanks to Liz.
"Right, right. So, Elizabeth, you can actually help my mom?" John asked, hope in his tone now, and she smiled.
"It shouldn't be a problem." She said, and green mana flowed down her arms, and she formed two green balls of mana in her palms, "Healing the body is my specialty."
"Holy goddamn shit. This is so crazy." John muttered, and then looked at Nadia.
"What can you do, Nadia?" He asked her, and she grinned at him.
Suddenly, there were 2 Nadias standing before us, looking goddamn amazing as always. John blinked, and then he startled when the real Nadia's produced an orb of glowing red/orange flames in her hand. To top it all off, she put out the fire, recalled her illusory double, and then cross to the otherside of the living room so fast I could barely keep track.
"Please tell me I'm not going insane, because this is all really damn cool." John said, making everyone laugh.
"Unfortunately my friend, no, you're perfectly sane." I said, and he rolled his eys at me.
"John, Sid." Liz said, drawing our attention to her, "I think I can actually bring someone back to life now as long as they haven't been dead long, but I'd rather not test that. We should get to your mother as quick as possible."
Our faces paled, and we shot up immediately.
"Fuck! I wasn't... no, come on let's go, I can be pissed at my dumbass later." John said, grabbing his keys, and ushering us outside. We reactivated our illusions, and headed out.
"I'm sorry man, this my fault too." I said, but he waved me off, "Doesn't matter. Mom's more important." He said as he ran down the stairs, almost falling before I yanked him back up by the back of his shirt.
"I can drive if that's okay, John. Just tell me which hospital it is." Nadia said, and John thanked her profusely, saying it was the one downtown, and Nadia nodded, knowing where that was.
We all piled into the car, Liz sitting next to me in the back, as I let John be in the front. I wanted to sit next to Liz this time anyways. We sped away, and I pulled Liz close, and our minds linked together.
"You're sure you can heal something this bad?" I asked, and she nodded against my shoulder.
"Yeah. I've treated stage 4 cancer a few times before, and while it took a lot of mana and effort, I was able to do it. Now, I feel like it'll be a piece of cake." Her thoughts radiated surety and confidence, and I trusted in my elven lover completely. She pecked me on the cheek.
It took roughly 20 minutes because of traffic, but the highway had made the journey less time consuming. We pulled into the entrance to the emergency room, and I got out with John, while Liz and Nadia went and parked the car. We got inside, and after only a couple of minutes, we got the pass to go inside. It was still pretty early, and John's dad had left to get some sleep. Apparently, his dad was worse than John was.
We all could visit, but Liz would have to wait and be subtle about using her magic when people were around. All of us were led around a long hallway, through a door locked by a hospital card scanner, and then all the way to an elevator. We went up 5 floors before arriving at the floor amy was on.
"This way." The female nurse said, her hips swaying a little more than was appropriate for someone of her station. She had bedn eyeing me and biting her bottom lip the whole time in the elevator, but Liz and Nadia's glares had put a little fear in her.
We were led all the way down to room 506, or something like that, and we all piled inside of the room. The sounds of machines working and beeping filled my ears, and once I got sight of Amy, I felt an ache in my chest at seeing such a strong woman so weak.
"Can we have a moment?" John asked the nurse, and the rest of us nodded at that. The woman gave us a faint smile.
"Sure. I'll be monitoring her, and just call if you need me." She said, before leaving the room and closing the door
Amy was currently asleep, or unconscious. One of those two, but she was thin, her skin was sickly pale, and her hair had thinned out quite a bit since I last saw her. John walked up to her and put a hand on her sunken cheek, tears leaking from his eyes. I turned away to give him a moment, and to wipe at my own eyes. This kinda shit always got to me.
"Mom... if you can hear me, I have some friends here who said they can help you feel better. Doesn't that sound great? You can kesp lecturing me about getting a job that puts my talents to use, and you can keep giving me advice on me getting a girlfriend some day that. I don't want you to miss any of that, and I'll do all of it... so please, just stay with me." John said, and I coughed as a small sob escaped my lips.
I've never heard him so venerable or sad in my whole damned life. He sounded like a small child again, and words were more heartfelt than I'd ever thought he could muster. My girls were wiping at theirs too, touched by the seen. She walked up beside John, and put a hand on his shoulder. She sniffled.
"Ahm. Um, John, may I? It'll only take a moment." Liz said, and John nodded, and stepped back.
Liz held her hand out, and placed it on Amy's chest. Her hand began to glow green.
"You poor thing... just give me a moment." Liz said gently, and then a warm green glow enveloped Amy.
Right before our very eyes, in mere seconds, a miracle was preformed by a beautiful elven woman. Amy's skin regained it's slight tanned color, her cheeks became leas gaunt, and the bags under eyes had fled. She gained a bit more mass as her body repaired itself, with Liz regenerating much of what the body consumed to try and preserve itself. Even her hair had returned to that thick mess of brown, and her shallow breaths became slow, steady, and strong.
Liz removed her hand, and smiled at her handiwork, before turning to John.
"She's okay now, John. You can relax now... oh." She said, smiling softly as John collapsed next to her bed, crying tears of joy and relief as I gently stroked his mother's hair.
"Oh god... thank you so much, Elizabeth. Thank you... I don't know what I can ever do to repay you... but thank you so much." He sobbed as he brushed hair out of her eyes.
We just sat there, all of us taking in the scene as John's heart mended before our very eyes. Liz felt very happy and proud of herself for using her magic like this, and I was damn proud of her too. She was a good person, and didn't even hesitate when it came to helping Amy. Everything was then cut off by a groan.
"Oh, goodness... I'm so thirsty." Amy said, blinking her eyes against the bright hospital lights.
"Mom??" John said, his gaze snapping to her.
Amy looked around a for second, taking in her surroundings, before her eyes landed on John.
"Hey, sweetie. I take it something bad happened? All I remember is not feeling good... I think I passed out." She said, and John just erupted into tears as her threw his arms around her.
She looked surprised at his sudden outburst of affection, but they soon gained a softness that only a mother could give. She began to stroke his hair as he clutched at her, looking like he would never let go.
"I'm sorry if I worried you, honey." She said, becoming misty eyed herself.
Then, she spotted me, and then my two girls.
"Hello, Sid. It's so nice to see you again. I'm touched that you'd come to see me." She said, and I had to clear my throat as I had been unsuccessfully holding back my own emotions at the scene before me.
"Hey, Mrs. Mason. Of course I'd come to see you. You've always been good to me, and John needed me here, so here I am." I said, and she smiled at softly at that as she began to to John that everything was all right now, and that she felt better than ever.
"Are these friends of yours too?" Amy asked, looking at Liz and Nadia, before her eyes widened, and she pulled away to stare into John's eyes, "Honey, is this what I think it is? Did you both finally get actual girlfriends? I have to know, and which one is yours?? Oh, they are so pretty items unreal."
She definitely did not sound like a woman who had cancer destroying her entire body only few minutes ago. My girls were red eyed from crying, and now they red faced from Amy's words. I coughed, not sure what to say, but John was able to compose himself after a moment.
"No, I wish." He said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, "They are both Sid's girlfriends."
She looked between us all, her eyes opening a little wider each time she did this. Then, my girls even added their words to the mix.
"Hello, ma'am. I'm Elizabeth, and I am in a relationship with Sid." Liz said, and Nadia added her part a moment later.
"And I'm Nadia, and yes, I am also in a relationship with Sid."
Amy looked at us, flabbergasted and dumbfounded. It was made even worse for her when they both came up to me, and each grabbed one of my hands. She just blinked at the scene. Then, she turned to John.
"Did I actually die?" She asked.