ATEE: Partners in Crime *Me (That Guy) and Alex64*

[Alex64]

"But of course," Ellie said, folding her arms. "It'd be quite difficult to be a princess and a thief at the same time, after all."

 

[That Guy]

"Marvellous, marvellous!" Badr's mirth was more than evident. "I never doubted you!~ Well, then, I leave it to you to convince our woodcutting friend of the same, and for that, I wish you the best of luck!"
Just as the hologram cut out, it looked quite a bit as though Shahra rolled her eyes at that last remark.

 

[Alex64]

Ellie sighed.
"Well, I don't think that was of much help to us..."

 

[That Guy]

"Sucks to be us," Midnight shrugged.

He had been all set to add some other remark to that when a mild tremor rocked the sands around them, followed by the sound of something large forcing its way up from below, and Ali Baba giving a cry of alarm.

 

[Alex64]

"!!"
Raku quickly ran off towards the direction Ali Baba was last going in, with Ellie hastily following suit.

 

[That Guy]

Midnight was with them at no more of a delay.

It would seem that, in the few moments their backs had been turned, a large scorpion-like monster had erupted from the sand, and had Ali Baba caught in some kind of deadly grip between the pincers it bore on its tail, in lieu of a single stinger. Any more pressure, and the woodcutter would probably have been sliced clean in two.

 

[Alex64]

Ellie stopped when she saw the position Ali Baba was in, murmuring to herself, "Oh, dear..."
Raku promptly summoned forth a pair of key-shaped swords into his hands from thin air, pointing them towards the monster. "Vile creature! Release him!"

 

[That Guy]

Adopting a combat-ready stance, Midnight summoned a psychokinetic mass of energy, in the form of a war-hammer, with a spear for a hilt, also aiming it, in what he hoped was a threatening-enough pose, at their target. As if in defiant response, the beast waved its front pincers wildly, letting out a bizarre bellow from between its mandibles.

 

[Alex64]

Ellie summoned forth two fireballs into her hands, thrusting them forwards to shoot one large ball of fire at the beast.
Seeing his chance, Raku jumped forwards while holding his swords in front of him, aiming to mount the beast's back.

 

[That Guy]

It swatted at the fireball, and it was unclear whether that had harmed it at all. In this moment, Midnight swung at one of the errant pincers, which much more visibly caused it some degree of harm. As if the fireball hadn't been distraction enough, this outright ensured Raku would have absolute opportunity to reach his destination.

 

[Alex64]

Once he had mounted the monster, Raku swung at its tail; freeing Ali Baba was his main priority.

 

[That Guy]

At first, it seemed to resist him, but then, with a strange, almost viscous texture, the tail began to give way, detaching itself completely as the creature writhed in what was probably agony. This left it open, at the other end, to a particularly energetic swing of Midnight's war-hammer to its head, which, with that same defeatist squishiness, caved in on impact. What remained of its body twitched for what felt like an indecent amount of time, then vanished in a quickly-dissipating cloud of purple smoke, leaving nothing behind but a stunned, yet deftly-rescued, Ali Baba.

 

[Alex64]

Approaching him, Ellie asked, "Are you quite alright, or do you need a moment?"

 

[That Guy]

He took that moment unannounced, just to gather his wits, then shook his head.
"...You saved me." He pouted. "Why?"
"You're welcome." Midnight rolled his eyes. "We weren't about to let some random desert-monster kill you."
"But..." The woodcutter faltered. "...But what if it had killed you, too? What was supposed to be in it for you?!"

 

[Alex64]

"If it would convince you that we have no ill intentions," Raku told him, folding his arms, "then that would be a risk we would be willing to take."
"And besides," Ellie said, "we aren't dead, are we?"

 

[That Guy]

He hesitated again.
"...So...you're really not thieves, huh?"
"For the 1,001th Arabian time, no." Midnight began to fold his arms, then shifted upon realising that it would look like such a gesture was just copying Raku.

"...One-thousand-and-one'th?"
"The pun wouldn't have worked otherwise."

"Then...can I trust you with the World Ring, after all?"
"It'd really speed things up if you could, yes."
"...Alright. If you'd be willing to come with me to a certain somewhere, I'll let you have it. Deal?"

 

[Alex64]

Raku and Ellie looked at each other for a moment, then back towards Ali Baba.
"And... where might this 'certain somewhere' be?" Ellie asked ever so warily.

 

[That Guy]

"Oh, you know, just...a cave."
Midnight raised an eyebrow.
"Coming from anyone else, that would sound hypocritically suspicious, but..." He cut himself off before he could say anything that might have raised Ali Baba's mistrust of them further, and shrugged. "Alright, I'm down."

 

[Alex64]

Ellie exhaled, her concerns not entirely allayed.
"...Very well. Lead the way, if you please."

 

[That Guy]

He nodded, spreading his arms in a gesture most likely intended to be hospitable.

--

After some time spent crossing the desert, they would come to a large rock wall, with no visible entrance to speak of. Ali Baba cleared his throat, then addressed the rock in a surprisingly commanding tone.
"Aftah ya samsam!" As if obeying a command, a section of the wall shifted, revealing an entrance, and some vague shimmer of something golden inside. He waved a hand towards the entrance. "Go on ahead."