Alex was motionless as he lay unconscious in the crater resulting in his thousand-foot fall from the Kandarinian citadel. His energy rifle had shattered into thousands of pieces after impacting the ground. Midna drifted down to his side, worried for him.
?Oh, Alex?? Midna said softly. ?I never meant for you to get in this deep??
Despite his horrifying defeat, Alex himself seemed untouched. His armor had taken much of the impact force of his fall, breaking only his legs. However, he had received an innumerable amount of electricity across his chest. It was a wonder his heart didn?t stop.
Midna remembered what Caulus had just told her. Alex was alive, perhaps only in a state of deep unconsciousness, similar to a coma. Caulus had also told her Alex was not merely human. But what did that mean? She was at a loss as to how to resurrect the rebel, as his spirit had not appeared from his body. All she could hope for is that Alex would regain consciousness on his own.
Unfortunately, for him, that would be easier said than done.
Suddenly, Midna heard approaching rebels. She hid behind a wrecked wall so as to not scare them.
?He?s over here!? one rebel called. ?I saw him fall over here!? Standard attire for rebels was their street clothing underneath, wearing Asgarnian combat vests over them, gloves with the fingers cut out, and usually some type of headwear, such as a knit winter cap.
?My God?? a second rebel sighed. ?Will he be okay??
?Well, I see no exterior damage?? the first rebel said, running his gloved hand over Alex?s armor. ?Though his armor?s a little hot. I would say he was struck by some sort of energy attack, but that would at least result in charring on the armor??
?We should get him back to Dr. Kleiner,? the second rebel returned. ?Maybe the medics can help him.?
?All right then,? the first rebel replied. ?Get a stretcher out here, ASAP!?
Midna watched as they loaded the unconscious metal man onto a stretcher and took him into the tunnels, back to the rebel headquarters. Right before the doors closed, Midna floated through and stuck to the shadows.
Alex was still comatose two hours after he was found. Dr. Kleiner paced back and forth as he thought what he could possibly do for a condition like this. White mages stood at his command waiting to administer healing magic.
?Great Scott, I?ve never seen such a severe case of energy scarring? All we can really do is administer the white magic and hope he improves.? He motioned to the mages.
In their hands bright incandescent spheres of white energy began to glow. As they set them free, they lazily drifted down to Alex?s stone-cold body and were absorbed. He promptly glowed shortly as they did.
?That is all we can do for now. We had best leave him alone.? Kleiner and the mages exited the room. Midna drifted in through an air duct and sat at his side.
?I feel ashamed of myself,? Midna complained. ?I had no regard for his safety when I dragged him into this. I owe him.?
Suddenly, as if by a miracle, Alex began to stir. Inside the helmet, Alex opened his eyelids, heavy as stone. He emitted a moan and actually managed to sit up. Midna was speechless. He took off his helmet, revealing his sweaty face and matted-down hair.
?Urgh. Wha?Where am I? Midna? The last thing I remember is that guy?he choked me, fried me, hurled me from the citadel.?
?Alex!? Midna cried, overjoyed. She floated over and hugged his heavy metal frame. ?For a minute there, I thought you wouldn?t make it.?
?What the hell happened??
?Since you?re in this deep, I guess I owe it to you to give you a full explanation. That hooded man in the throne room, his name is Damien Roth. The Marshal of the Kandarinian Sovereignty, Kronos, sent him to take control of Asgarnia after the Seven-Hour War. That job was originally meant for High General Zjott zu Heltzer, but after he went out of contact of Kronos, the Marshal became suspicious. Kronos then sent Damien Roth to monitor the High General, and also to take his place. The High General is right now only led to believe he controls the city. Rather, it?s Damien calling the shots. As you have seen, he?s an extremely powerful sorcerer, who has managed to take control of any region he wanted. What you saw was only a fraction of his power, next time he sees you he won?t hesitate to kill you. It seems to me that we can?t take him as we are, we need a more powerful weapon.?
?But what?? Alex asked. ?I don?t do magic. I only know extremely rudimentary spells, like a basic fireball, and I can?t even get that right half the time.?
?That?s good enough,? Midna replied. ?Air elementalists like Damien are adverse to fire magics. A fireball is the most basic spell someone can learn. Anyone with a clear mind can cast it.?
?Well then, I guess we know what we?re going to be doing,? Alex mused, getting up from the table.
?Alex?? Midna asked, before he made his way to the door.
He turned around to the floating imp.
?Thanks for helping me out with this,? she said, sincerity filling her voice.
Alex walked out of the room, Midna taking his shadow. The group of scientists gasped at seeing the rebel so?alive.
?Alex?!? Kleiner cried, surprised. ?Great Scott! I never expected you to make such a quick recovery! The white magic was more effective than I thought. Pray tell, Alex. What in the world happened up there??
?It?s a long story,? he replied. ?I?m not sure you?d want to hear it.?
?Oh, but we do,? Kleiner replied. ?We need all the intelligence we can get on that tower so we can attack again.?
?All right,? Alex began. ?When I got in there myself, I saw the Kandies working with the shield generator. It seems they might be making some sort of massive weapon to use against the city. I don?t know what it?s going to do, but I have a feeling it?s bad news for all of us.?
?My goodness,? Kleiner said. ?That shield utilizes pure Borderworld energy. If that were turned into a weapon, the results could be disastrous! We have to bring it offline immediately! Alex??
?I?m sorry. I have more urgent business,? Alex replied, climbing up the ladder to the city?s surface.
?A-Alex? Is there something wrong?? Kleiner was suddenly worried.
?Something happened up there I?d rather not mention,? Alex said. ?I have a score to settle.?
He climbed up the ladder and closed the manhole. Midna promptly came from his shadow.
?Why didn?t you tell them about Damien?? Midna asked, obviously a little irritated.
?If they knew a mere mage defeated me, that would shoot down their morale, and that?s the last thing they need right now. They can go ahead and attack that weapon, but I want to finish Damien myself.?
?I hate to say it, Alex, but you seem to be far from using magic effectively. You said it yourself, you don?t get it right half the time. If you went up there now and tried to challenge him, he?d kill you in a second.?
?Ugh, I wish Caulus was still here!? Alex shouted. ? When I was a kid I had rejected learning magic, thinking it to be for wimps. I can see now I was wrong.?
?Don?t beat yourself up about it,? Midna said, trying to console him. ?You were a kid, you couldn?t have known you would be in this position. If you want, I can teach you the basics.?
Alex thought silently for a moment before coming up with a reply. ?Very well then.?
Midna flew out to a vacant lot where a building once stood. She motioned Alex over.
?If you want to learn this stuff, I suggest you take the armor off. It?ll inhibit your movement.?
Hesitantly, Alex cast off his metallic outer layer, revealing for the first time since Midna met him, his human form.
?What?? Alex asked, noticing Midna was staring at him.
She shook her head. ?Nothing, nothing. Let?s get started.?
