Atlar Castle (part two)
"Alvin…it can't be" Theodore said through tears as he fell to his knees.
Simon slammed his fists on the ground. "He was right beside. He was right beside me! How could I let him slip away…why did I go first!? What was I thinking!? This is all my fault!" he screamed through tears.
Jeanette went up to him to comfort him. Eleanor did the same thing to Brittany and Theodore. Theodore was trembling. His hands were cold and his eyes were lifeless. This really scared Eleanor.
"What do we do now?" Eleanor asked quietly. There was a very long moment of silence.
"We have to take the gold back to the trolls" a boy named Richie in the Gathering said.
"You guys…go. Please…just…let.. me stay here," Theodore stuttered out. There was still hope in the young chipmunk's mind that his older brother would jump out of the closed portal.
"Me too" Simon squeaked out.
"Jeanette, Eleanor…you guys go with the Gathering for now. We'll stay" Theodore said as he wrapped his arms around himself. He knew that Brittany would not have the strength to get up and leave so he didn't bother trying to ask her to go.
As the Gathering started to leave, they didn't see that Sapphire stayed with Simon, Theodore and Brittany.
Eleanor and Jeanette walked through the woods with the Gathering. They were extremely quiet; it was like the whole forest was silent. Deep in their hearts, they knew that Simon and Theodore were directly disobeying their father's command of staying with the Gathering, but when they saw their faces…it reminded them of how they felt when their mother died.
This made the walk through the forest more eerie. There were a few constant whispers throughout the Gathering, but not a lot. They reached a dirty swamp with a disgusting smell. "Hello…? Is anyone here?" Eleanor asked.
Suddenly, giant trolls had burst out of the swamp. Their eyes were dark yellow and their faces full of sludge and wrinkles. They walked closer to The Gathering.
Jeanette backed up again when she saw their faces. "They don't seem friendly."
"Give us gold or you die," the main troll growled viciously as he emerged from the tribe.
"We have come to bring you back your gold?" Jeanette said.
They slowly walked up to the Gathering slowly. "But, you not trolls. We do not trust others how can we trust you. We should kill you, then you won't betray us."
"Please, you know we aren't the people who stole your gold, but we are here ready to give it back. Will you kill us for trying to do the right thing?" Eleanor asked it. The troll was silent for a moment.
"You not thief?" the troll asked.
"We are not like the people who stole your gold…we are good" Jeanette replied.
"…good?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Good…come with Ethnar" the troll said as he motioned them towards the swamp.
"Uhh…should we go?" Eleanor asked.
Jeanette followed the troll without hesitation. While holding her breath, she put her feet in the dirty water. Then she saw the troll dive right underneath the muddy water.
She took a deep breath and was about to dive beneath the water, but just before she did, the troll rose from the water with an object in its hand.
"This for you" it said as it handed the object to Jeanette. The troll then went back to the swamp with the bags of gold. Eleanor waved back.
"Bye" she said as the trolls disappeared into the swamp.
"What is this?" Jeanette asked.
"It seems to be some kind of flute," Ashley said.
"Hmm…maybe Simon's book knows about it" Eleanor said.
Jeanette took out Simon's book and skimmed through the pages. She found the page where the flute was shown. "It's here. It's called the Flute of Atlantis. When you are near the ocean…I can't finish the sentence, the page is ripped, and I don't know what happens."
"Well the trolls must have given us this flute for a reason. For now, we should go back to Theodore and the others" Eleanor said as her voice turned sad.
"….You're right, let's go."
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Simon, Theodore and Brittany stayed silent for the longest time. Sapphire looked on with great fear. She had never seen them like this. They looked so…empty. She went up and sat beside them. She sighed and began to hug her legs.
"I'm…scared. I don't want to do this anymore. I just want to see my brother. I just want to see Alvin," Theodore kept saying repeatedly to himself.
"If only I could have protected him. I was supposed to protect him. It's all my fault. My brother is gone and it's all my fault," Simon said repeatedly to himself.
'Not only have I lost Miss Miller, I have lost Alvin too. I told him I would not be able to handle losing anymore people close to me, and he still left me alone. Alvin, where are you? Why did you do this to me? Please, don't leave me alone. Please don't leave me' Brittany thought. She was crying out in her mind but outside her head, she was motionless.
Sapphire figured out that it was about time to help Simon. She couldn't stand to see them like this. She went to tap Simon's shoulder.
(Simon…it was my entire fault that Alvin was trapped in Atlar Castle.)
(It wasn't your fault Sapphire. Alvin saved you…he wanted you safe. I know you think that Alvin didn't like you, but Alvin had a nice heart. He may have acted mean and selfish, but he is always there when you…really need him.) Simon gestured with a sigh. Sapphire looked at her blue box and then back to Simon.
(Simon…remember when we met, you first asked me what was in this box and I told you that I couldn't say. Well…I'm going to tell you now,) she said as she bit her bottom lip.
Simon looked at her confused. 'Why would she tell me now?' he thought. Sapphire opened the box and then she and Simon looked into the box. There was some sort of dark hole.
(What is that, Sapphire?)
(It's a warp hole.) she answered. Simon's eyes widened.
(My grandmother didn't want me to ever use this…but Alvin saved my life. It's a long shot, but I've got to try) Sapphire said.
(What does this do?) Simon asked.
(It can do a lot of things. The warp hole can suck a person into a place where there is no time or space. A world of void and darkness. That's the worst that can happen. But when it is pointed up in an area of great magic, it can send an opening to the closest dimensional area. But there is bad news. If the portal is used and Alvin is somewhere in Atlar Castle, he will have only a few seconds to pass through the portal or else that dimension will turn to the dimension I just spoke of earlier. And after the portal is used…it disappears forever. So if Alvin is…alive, we will have to release the portal at the exact time he crosses.)
(You are willing to use up your portal in a plan that has a very slim chance of succeeding?) Simon asked.
(He saved my life…it's the least thing I can do.) Sapphire replied back.
Simon smiled at her. (Thanks Sapphire.)
Sapphire smiled back at him.
"Hey Theodore, Brittany I think you'd want to hear this."
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A few minutes later, Simon and Theodore were about to release the box. "This is our only hope" Brittany said quietly.
"Wait Simon, how will Alvin know when we are going to open the portal?" Theodore asked.
"I don't know…. I guess we just have to try by luck. I wish we could give him a signal, but how can we signal him through dimensions" Simon thought. "There's nothing we can do, but hope."
'Alvin…don't give up on us now' Theodore thought.
Everyone crossed their fingers. Suddenly, Simon and Theodore's star necklaces started to shine brightly. Simon and Theodore looked at each other and smiled believing that somewhere, Alvin's was shining too. "NOW!" they all said as Simon and Theodore released the box.
There was a huge blinding light, which made everyone cover their eyes. As soon as the Gathering came out of the woods, they saw Alvin jumping through the portal. The Gathering stared there in shock as Alvin fell on the ground.
"Whoa, rough landing" Alvin said.
Brittany was the first one to break out of the state of shock. "Alvin!" she screamed with joy as she ran up to him and gave him a big hug.
"Now this is what you can call a good greeting. I should get trapped more often," Alvin said with a smile.
"Alvin!" Simon, Theodore and soon after the rest of The Gathering cheered as they went up to greet him.
"I never gave up on you Alvin" Theodore said as he embraced his brother.
"Thanks Theodore, and thank you Simon…but how was I able to cross the portal" Alvin said.
Simon smiled. "You'll have to thank Sapphire. It was her blue box."
Alvin turned to Sapphire who gave him a bright smile. He went down on one knee and gave her a soft hug.
"I know you can't hear me…but thank you" he said.
Simon smiled. "She knows Alvin…she knows."
They all smiled as they looked up in the sky and saw the Destiny Star coming closer and closer to the ground. It was only a matter of time.
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A/N: Well that's it for now. Thank you for the great reviews, I appreciate them a lot.
Till next time.
Atomos Infinity
