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Zell was glad that he and Fenna were in agreement about which side was which, in this war.  Or, at the very least, on the same page about which was more plausibly 'The Good Fight.'  With the reassurance that Fenna brought to his mind, Zell was confident that all of the group would arrive at a similar conclusion, although he would still want to check in with each of them to be sure of this.  After all, Second Chance was a team and togetherness had been one of their strengths, so far in this strange world of unknown quantities and dangers.  So he would be a good Englishman and follow democratic process.  If, for some reason, he and Fenna found themselves outnumbered by a strong urge to go east, Zell would, without hesitation, do what he could to keep everyone together and head east.  He also trusted James' leadership and smarts, so even if they did decide to go hear The Witch Queen out, there would be a Plan A, B and C for whatever happened next.

But this was probably not even worth thinking about. Barracker had already chosen his side.  Obviously.  What were the chances that all four of the others would want to go the opposite direction?  Almost zero.  But the principle of togetherness was important all the same.

What Zell was even more glad about, concerning Fenna, was the woman opening up to him about her life and her family.  "Jeez, sounds worse than English weather, ha!"  It was a fun time, offered some good laughs and it was nice to hear genuine joy in Fenna's voice as she talked about the things that were imporant to her.  "Forest guard, eh?  No wonder you ended up as a Ranger.  Perfect for the job." He listened with his usual lop-sided grin as she talked for a bit, and the third beer slowly disappeared as they conversed.  "They sound like an awesome little pair of ankle-biters, mate.  Proper good kids."

Fenna had showed another side of herself.  Full time mother [i]and[/i] holding down a job? And not just any random retail gig... a forest guard... something that sounded like it actually improved society and required more than two braincells. No wonder the woman was so tough.  Her constitution and countenance during the hard times they'd gone through, it all made more sense now.  Her ability to quietly get on with things, yet be friendly, caring, perceptive and wise, all spoke volumes in previous observations by Zell of Fenna, but here was another piece of the puzzle that cystalized this woman further.  She was exceptional.  Perhaps that's why she had been kidnapped.  [i]Wait...[/i] Perhaps that's why ALL of them had been chosen for this destiny.  Zell, of course, thought [i]a hell of a lot[/i] about himself already - his narcissism was apparent - but when he thought more about the things he'd observed from his friends; Fenna, James, MacKensie... all of them.  They were [i]all[/i] people of pretty exceptional quality, even without the magic.

"How are you holding up?"

"Me?" Zell echoed.  "Ah, I'll live.  Could be worse.  Could be dead."

"You became a badass warrior who can teleport and owns a fancy sword. Is it difficult to be here for you?"

"Well, the whole teleportation and fancy sword certainly helps," he quipped, although he couldn't keep the somber sadness from his voice this time.  He sighed.  "I dunno, to be honest mate, I try not to think about... well, anything about England.  Family.  Friends.  I just... block it all out.  I try to focus on 'the now' - Getting us all through this, in one piece."  He rubbed his mouth and squinted.  "It's weird, I feel so..."

Oh shit, the beer was loosening his lips, bringing out his emotions!  [b]Alert!  Emergency!  Possible tear-jerker talk! Shut-down protocols engage.[/b]

"I dunno... I'm not good at emotional shit.  I'm a typical English bloke.  Repress, repress, repress."  Honest feelings suddenly spilled out.  "Some fucking driver ran a red light and took me right the fuck out.  I remember the whole thing.  The pain.  The paralysis.  The life draining from me all the way until the end."  He shook his head.  "You were kidnapped, Fenna - kidnapped from your [i]life[/i]... and for that reason; we will stop at nothing to get you back home," he assured her passionately.  Then shrugged.  "But me?  What do I have to go back to?  Being dead?  Or does that traffic accident never happen if we get the chance to go back to our world?  I need more information before I even know what I [i]can[/i] wish for, or what I [i]can[/i] grieve for, or what [i]to feel[/i] about anything.  I'm in the weirdest fucking headspace imaginable."  He looked at her.  "And that part... that [i]uncertainty[/i] about what I should even feel... is probably what pains me the most.  Not to mention, fucking terrifying."

[i]Don't you dare fucking cry, you piece of shit,[/i] he told himself, looking away from Fenna.  [b]Alert!  Shut-down protocols, last warning![/b]  Forcing a smile and lightly slapping the table.

"Quite the conundrum, my good friend!" he turned back to her with a jolly tone and his usual grin.  "But fuck it! We march on like champions.  And speaking of marching on, why don't we grab the guys and head back to the Mended Drum.  I think we all deserve a proper sleep.  And we're gonna need all the rest we can get."

He got off the stool and stretched in a loud yawn.  "Where is everyone?"

He shared a smile with Fenna and one last, "We can do this, mate.  Together," before they went and found Clive and James in the Guildhouse.  MacKensie and Adam were nowhere to be found, so Zell suggested that the group wait for a while, until enough time had passed that they could safely assume the Frenchwoman and American had probably made their own way home back to The Mended Drum.  Whether they showed up in time or not, everyone headed home with the help of at least [i]one of them[/i] being sensible enough to keep a map of the city in their inventory.  Zell had lost his map and was a bit tipsy so he was no help at all, (no surprise there,) and the swordsman simply followed the group and cracked a few jokes to pass the time.

Once back in his rented room, at the Mended Drum, Zell got out of his armour and climbed into bed, falling asleep fast.  The comfy bedrest was welcome.  What was [i]not[/i] welcome was The Prince of the Oblivion Plane who'd been waiting for him patiently, so they could have another talk.