Blitz sat on the pontoon, tapping his fingers together impatiently. Ori hadn't been gone long, but Blitz didn't like the thought of him being alone. He could get hurt, or worse. And Blitz didn't want to lose his only friend. Blitz started to look around, considering finding his own way out of this place. But he almost slapped himself. He wasn't on his own this time; he had a partner to look out for. Something he admittedly wasn't used to. But, nonetheless, he had gotten himself into this mess. Hopefully Ori would get him out of it.

     Several minutes passed. Blitz grew more and more restless. He began looking around once more, once again considering leaving on his own. He stood up to get a better look, but was greeted by a sharp pain all up his body, forcing him back to a sitting position with a wince. Even if he wanted to, his injury would keep him from leaving. So, as much as he hated it, he would have to wait.

     Another several minutes passed. Nothing. Blitz's restlessness was growing almost unbearable. But then, a loud crash cut through the silence from above. Blitz immediately turned his gaze upward, and saw a quite disheartening sight: boulders, falling from an edge a hundred feet above him. Blitz couldn't move fast enough due to his injury, and could only watch as the boulders crashed into the lake to the left of the pontoon a little too close for comfort, spraying putrid droplets all over the pontoon and Blitz. Luckily, his suit protected him, but he still disliked the smell and the sight of the droplets simmering on his armor, and so he rapidly brushed them off. The pontoon bobbed dangerously from the ripples caused by the boulders, and Blitz could only sit and wonder. What was happening? Was it Ori? Was Ori okay? Blitz wanted to know, but he had no way of answering his questions. He hated it.

     Another bunch of boulders fell. Then another. Then another. After several minutes, the boulders finally stopped falling, and Blitz was once again plunged into silence. His restlessness grew with each passing second as he sat and waited for something to happen. Anything.

     At long last, after a few more agonizing minutes, something finally happened. Blitz heard a distant, muffled click, followed by a mechanism firing and the sound of stone grinding against stone. Blitz immediately shot up, gaze whirling in the direction of the noise. Finally!

     "Ori?! Is that you?!" Blitz called out, staring down the tunnel that led to the Ancestral Tree. His spirits soared as he heard Ori call back. "Yes, Blitz! I'm here!" After a few moments, Blitz saw Ori scampering up the tunnel, Sein floating above him. The little spirit was clearly as excited as Blitz was. Ori rushed over the pontoon and rammed directly into Blitz's chest, wrapping him into a hug and knocking Blitz onto his back. Blitz let out a yelp, and stared down at Ori, not returning the hug. After a moment, Ori looked up at Blitz's surprised face, and his happy expression changed to one of confusion. He quickly unwrapped himself and got off of Blitz. "Sorry," Ori said, looking away from Blitz as Blitz sat up.

     Blitz didn't know how to respond to what had happened, so he changed the subject. "Well? What did you find?" he asked, looking at Ori expectantly.

     "Well, I found a little passage that led back down to the Ancestral Tree cavern, so that's how I found you. I also ran into a little trap," Ori explained.

     "Is that what those boulders were all about?" Blitz asked with a little chuckle. He chuckled again when Ori nodded.

     Sein seemed impatient with the two. "Come, come, there is no time to chat! This detour has given the Gumon more time to get away!" she ordered.

     "I don't think he's getting far with that injury," Ori said to Sein.

     Blitz snorted. "I can walk just fine, thank you."

     "No, I mean the Gumon," Ori explained. "He got hurt from his own trap, but I helped him out of it."

     Blitz paused, processing what Ori just said. "You did what?!" Blitz shouted. "You helped him out?! He's our enemy! You don't help your enemies!"

     Ori jumped at Blitz's anger. "I-I was only trying to help... he was hurt..." he spoke in a shaky, quiet voice, but was quickly cut off by Blitz. "But he's an enemy! He wants to hurt us! And by helping him, you've given him another chance to do just that!" Ori flinched as Blitz scolded him, looking down in shame.

     "Blitz, stop," Sein interjected, floating between Blitz and Ori. "Ori has been kind and helpful to you. He could very well have left you here, but he didn't. He went out of his way to help you. You should be thanking him. But instead you scold him for doing a good deed?" 

     Blitz paused at Sein's words, but did not respond. Instead, he huffed angrily, standing up a little too fast. He winced and started to fall back, but barely managed to steady himself. Ori started over to him, holding out his little paws to try and help. But Blitz cast him a glare that made him flinch and his ears droop. "I don't need your help," he snarled, and painfully limped down the tunnel to the recently opened passage. Ori watched him with a dejected expression.

     "He'll get over it," Sein said reassuringly. "There's no need to be ashamed of what you did. It was a good deed."

     Ori forced a smile onto his lips, not doing a very good job of hiding his sadness. "Thank you, Sein," Ori whispered, his voice wavering a little. He had never been scolded in his life. He didn't like the feeling it brought him.

     Though Sein was a faceless orb of light, she was obviously concerned for the little spirit. "Come, now, we don't want Blitz to leave us here, do we?" Sein joked, floating after Blitz.

     "He wouldn't!" Ori retorted, following Sein. But in spite of himself, Ori had his doubts. His relationship with Blitz was still quite young. Ori hoped that their little argument wouldn't have any lasting effects. He liked Blitz.

~~~~~~~~~~

     "Are you sure you don't need help?" Ori asked with concern as he watched Blitz struggle his way up the tunnel. It had been a few minutes, but they hadn't gotten very far.

     "I'm fine," Blitz said through gritted teeth. Though he had calmed down, he was still a little angry. What had Ori been thinking?! Now that Gumon had the opportunity to escape! They'd never see the Water Vein again!

     "Blitz, I think you should let Ori help. You seem quite injured, and pushing yourself like this may only make things worse," Sein spoke in an authoritative tone. But Blitz shook his head and pushed on. Though her attempt had failed, Ori still cast Sein a thankful glance.

     The passage went up at an incline, until finally joining with a larger tunnel. A small stream of water trickled down the middle of the tunnel, no deeper than the soles of Blitz's boots. Still, they avoided the stream, not wanting to make any contact with the putrid water whatsoever. The tunnel led upwards at a far less steep incline, allowing Blitz to move faster and with less difficulty.

     Finally, the tunnel opened up into the top of the cavern, right next to the way they had come in. Blitz froze, staring at something near the exit. Ori followed his gaze, and saw the Gumon nervously standing, the Water Vein in his arms.

     "You little bastard!" Blitz suddenly shouted, causing the Gumon to jump but not flee. "Give me that!"

     "Blitz, please calm down," Sein ordered. But Blitz didn't listen. The Gumon kept standing nervously, only increasing Blitz's anger. Without warning, Blitz suddenly drew his pistol and aimed it straight at the Gumon.

     Ori's eyes widened at the sudden hostility. He quickly rushed over and grabbed Blitz's wrist, aiming the gun away from the frightened Gumon. "Blitz, don't!" Ori pleaded, holding tight as Blitz tried to shake his wrist free. "Let go of me, dammit!" Blitz shouted with frustration.

     "No! I won't let you hurt him!" Ori protested, still holding tight to Blitz's wrist. "It's not right!"

     But Blitz managed to shake Ori loose, flinging Ori aside and aiming at the Gumon again. Ori quickly got to his hooves and ran in front of the Gumon, standing in between him and the barrel of Blitz's gun. Blitz seemed surprised, and lowered his gun so as to not risk shooting Ori. "Move out of the way!" Blitz ordered, but Ori stood firm.

     "Just give him a chance," Sein pleaded, floating near Blitz's head. "Please."

     Blitz looked at Sein, then to Ori's pleading eyes, then back to Sein. After a small mental battle, he finally sighed and put his pistol away. "Fine."

     Ori's eyes lit up in gratitude, and he turned to the Gumon, who looked like he was about to run away. He held his paws out, trying to show that he was not a threat. "It's okay. I won't hurt you," Ori said reassuringly. The Gumon seemed to understand Ori, as he seemed to relax a little. Yet, he still cast fearful glances at Blitz occasionally. The Gumon took a deep breath, and rolled the Water Vein in Ori's direction. The sphere came to a stop at Ori's hooves, and Ori could feel the light emanating off of it.

     Ori's eyes widened in surprise. He had not expected the Gumon to just give up the Water Vein after everything. But he was grateful nonetheless.

     "Well I'll be damned," Blitz said, seeming just as surprised as Ori. Ori bent down and picked up the sphere of milky water. It was surprisingly light despite its size, and the tendrils of water snaked around Ori's forearms. The water did not soak into his fur like he expected, as if the water was a solid object.

     "Thank you," Ori whispered thankfully. The Gumon nodded, and dashed off out of sight.

     Ori turned around and gave Blitz an "I told you so" glance. Blitz sighed.

     "Fine. You were right. I'm sorry."