Perhaps it was fate or some other perfect coincidence, that I would run out of stamina at the entrance of the Tunnel, walking out into the sunlight.

I stumbled once, and slowed down to a walk, dragging my feet, and the woman chuckled. "Well done. Almost exactly three miles, and we ran it in half an hour. We have another three to go, though, so buck up!" She slapped my shoulder heartily, and I groaned, snapping at Johnny.

"You better understand that you owe me everything, eh? Like, life-giving levels of owe-age. I your ass, old man. You survive, and I you, got it?"

He laughed softly. "Sorry, man. Didn't exactly mean to get gutted."

"Shut up." I grumbled, settling my breathing and starting running again, working through the burn in my legs, shoulders, and core.

"I can carry him for a bit if you want-"

"No offense, honey? The answer is no. I'm not going to let you carry him just because I'm tired." I grumbled, regulating my breathing again into a steady rhythm.

She chuckled and ran ahead easily, climbing a tree and gazing at the horizon before I could blink. "We're almost there, another mile to go." She called down, and leapt out as I passed the tree.

I grumbled comments about her being too relaxed, and ground out more speed, finishing with my best effort, as always.

A large two-story inn-looking building came into view, and Sadie sprinted ahead, outpacing me in seconds, reaching the building in a minute or so.

I blinked in shock, then growled competitively, pouring more blood into my muscles to move them faster.

Johnny chuckled. "A nurse with cat ears... I'm in heaven, you know."

"I'll send you to heaven if you harass her, you pervy old man. She saved your life." I snapped.

He chuckled some more. "Ah well... no harm in a little harmless flirting."

"Her father is the doctor about to cut you open. I wouldn't give him any incentive to snip your balls off as well." I grinned.

He gulped slowly. "True words..."

I reached the cabin, eight minutes after the Mile started, and stopped at the door, huffing for breath.

It slung open, and a massive man with a doctor's coat looked out. "You must be Xavier and Jon? Good. Come." He gripped Johnny by the scruff, and lifted him like a cat, carrying him with no problem.

I blinked in shock again, and followed him closely, closing the door behind me. We entered a large bar-area, and then passed into a back room that was white, and reminded me of a doctor's office.

The giant dropped Johnny onto the table, and hummed, poking his stomach. "Killer Ant poison... okay." He grabbed a vial off the wall of vials I'd just noticed, and then looked at me. "I'll need you to either step out or hold him down. This will hurt."

I nodded and gripped Johnny's chest, pushing down. "Don't struggle, Johnny boy, I don't want to break your ribs." I grinned.

He huffed tiredly. "Right... no moving... got it..."

The doctor widened his eyes. "He's still conscious?"

"Johnny is a tough sumbitch." I grinned. "He's probably been through worse pain."

"Ohhh yeah... I remember this one time, Kandahar '09... nerve toxin. Just a whiff, but maaaaan... the pain lasted for weeks." He groaned.

The doctor nodded. "Good. Sturdy patients are best. Are you wounded?"

"No. where's Dotty?" I looked around.

Sadie appeared with Dotty on her shoulder, waving hastily. "She's fine. I'm mixing medicines in the next room." She reassured me, and left again.

The doctor chuckled. "Your cat likes you. Good. Hold him. You? Swallow." He poured the vial into Johnny's throat, and I held him as he immediately began kicking, trying to roll over for some reason.

"He's rolling, is he choking?" I asked.

"Drowning, actually... here." He shoved a long piece of green tubing down Jon's throat, and turned it once, immediately halting his struggles as he swallowed repeatedly.

"Well then." I muttered.

Then he started cutting open Johnny's stomach, to better see the wound, I guess, and I stopped watching, focusing on keeping him still.

---

"Alright, you can release him." That deep voice again.

I slowly released Johnny's chest, noting the bruises where my arms were. "He's... okay? Relatively?"

"Relatively. He's on the mend. Will be for a few weeks. Poison almost invaded his blood-stream, but I just kept draining him and replacing it to fix it. He's type AO, right? Too late now, I suppose, but it hasn't killed him yet, so-" he fingered the metal tags on Jack's neck.

"A/0 is his old Rank... not his blood type. But he's A Neg, yeah. Luckily." I chuckled.

"Rank? Military?"

"Used to be." I nodded. "He served 14 years."

The doctor nodded slowly. "The scars make sense, then. Well, let's talk the Bill, then."

I sighed. "What are we talking? He was poisoned, then you replaced his blood, did surgery-"

"Papa! Don't you dare!" Sadie growled, punching her father in the kidney.

I winced, but he just shrugged it off. "What? I'm a doctor, not a Charity!" He chuckled.

"You know damned well you don't charge people for life and death wounds! Only the Idiots, right?" She placed her hands on her hips.

He grumbled and washed his hands in a sink, avoiding her gaze. "Too much of your mother in you..." he muttered.

"I that!" She snapped.

He cleared his throat. "Well, seriously, though. I spent a lot of my resources to save him."

"I'll pay with labor, sir, but that's all I have. We're not... from around here. No local currency." I shrugged.

He hummed, scratching his chin. "Well... your cat likes you... so sure. Labor it is. And who's your God?"

I blinked slowly. "What?"

"What familia are you in?" He asked impatiently. "I have to file papers with them to make sure your absence isn't a problem."

I hummed. "I don't follow. I'm not from around here, as in not from this realm. My friend and I were chased through a portal by the Ant that got Jon."

He blinked slowly. "Oh. I see, then you'll have to register yourselves with Babel... alright, well, we're traveling that way for supplies in a week, so you and your friend can come with us when that comes around. Until then, I'll find odd jobs around the place for you."

I nodded. "Sounds good, sir. Babel... that's the local authorities?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Alright, well, first things first... you need a bath and new clothes."

I blinked and looked at my leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots. "What's wrong with these? Muddy and bloody, yeah, but... you're not wearing anything too different." I raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "No, your shirt. It's ruined. And those pants... they look like they've seen better days."

I chuckled and nodded. "True, yeah. I'll put them in my bag, then."

I slung my duffel (which I'd completely forgotten for a while, as it wasn't heavy,) off my back, and then stuffed my jacket into it. (After scrubbing off the dried blood.)

He tossed me a pair of cotton pants and a matching shirt, both dark blue. "The bath is in the backyard."

I nodded and stepped out the door he pointed to, easily finding the large copper tub next to a small pond. I hummed when I noticed the tub had boiling water and a bucket, while the pond had a stone bottom.

"Interesting..." I stripped easily, and sat down in the water, feeing the ice-cold water massage my overworked muscles. I scrubbed myself clean, then washed my face and hair just as meticulously, before standing, and stepping out.

Someone handed me a large cotton towel, and I accepted, before freezing, and slowly turning. Sadie was sitting on a stump, and grinning at me saucily.

"Sorry. Came to see if you needed help, and then decided to stay." She shrugged unapologetically.

I chuckled and shook my head. "Johnny will be so disappointed, he wanted you all to himself."

She shrugged again. "You forget, I'm a cat. All I see is mine."

"Not me, dear. I'm claimed already, unless you wanna fight Dotty for me." I laughed, and dried myself off, then dressed in the new clothes.

I folded my jeans up, and stored them in the bag along with my wallet and phone (now useless), before putting my boots back on, and shining them quickly.

She hummed. "No, I think I'll pass. You're cute, but your friend is more my type. And he's older... more experienced."

"So he thinks. The man is terrible at talking to women, and at flirting." I laughed again.

She shrugged. "All in good time. I'm told my presence is quite-"

"Annoying." He father bopped her head gently, like a cat boxing, and then looked at me. "Hmm... good muscle definition... are you a fighter?"

"Yes sir." I nodded.

He nodded. "And good with your hands? Mechanics?"

"Not necessarily. I'm more of a voyeur, when it comes to fixing things." I shrugged.

He hummed. "Okay... then Physical Labor it is. Starting tomorrow, I think. There's a pile of timber over there, we need firewood. Axe is against the pile."

I nodded. "I'll get it done, sir."

He nodded slowly. "Good. You'll sleep in the Medical Room. If your friend wakes up in pain that seems too much for him to take, you give him a few leaves of Wonderwort and then knock him out however you choose. He starts dying, you wake me up. Anything else is your problem. Understood?"

I grinned. "Got it."

He chuckled. "You're remarkably calm about this."

"I've learned to go with the flow of whatever happens around me." I shrugged and walked back into the Med Room, sitting against the only wall without potions or herbs.

Dotty leapt into my lap, curling up slowly, and I chuckled, petting her soft fur. I closed my eyes, and breathed deeply, letting myself fall into blissful sleep.

---

A shrill noise woke me suddenly, and I found myself holding a long furry tail.

I hummed and released it, following it to the woman it was connected to, just as she turned, hissing.

"Oh... good morning, Sadie." I hummed again, and sat up slowly.

She growled menacingly, and retreated around the table. "You grab things while you sleep." She muttered.

"Your tail must've tickled me." I shrugged.

Dotty looked up from her paws at Sadie imperiously, and I chuckled at her expression, which clearly, even for a cat, said 'Your fault'.

Sadie grumbled. "Whatever. Mr. Gyllenhaal is healing well..." her hands squeezed different muscles critically, remaining mostly professional. "The muscle is healing nicely... yes. He'll be up and running at full capacity in a few weeks, at the current rate."

I nodded and stood, stretching. "Good. I'll need him ready when we go back down the Tunnel. If those ants are still down there, we'll have to fight our way through them."

She blinked slowly. "About that... I checked the Tunnels while you were sleeping... the Portal is gone. You'll have to figure out how to open another."

I grunted in annoyance. "I figured I didn't have that good of luck. Ah well. I'll just find the woman who was singing. She can cast that spell again, and I'll be home-free."

She blinked slowly. "Woman?"

"The spell, I got a copy of it when I was tracking the Portal, though I didn't know it at the time. It was a woman's voice, reading poetry. I'd never forget that voice." I nodded.

"Ah, you heard the Incantation. That's good, maybe someone can cast it for you." She grinned.

"Just like that? Wouldn't the person who invented it have to use it?"

"Sometimes... sometimes not. Each spell is special." She shrugged. "I'm not a mage, so you'll have to ask an Elf. Shouldn't be too hard, seeing as you're both elves, even if you're from a different tribe."

I blinked slowly, and rubbed my ears. "Yeah... I still can't figure out why that happened."

She shrugged. "Who knows. Anyway, don't you have wood to chop?" She grinned mischievously.

I chuckled and jogged outside, finding the giant pile of wood and the axe just where he'd pointed. It was easily three times my height, and made of entire trees, stacked in a pyramid.

I sighed, scratching my head. "Well shit."