Fall Of The Empire
Rating: T (for now.)
Disclaimer: I don't own this. If I did, the second season would have been out already, and I would be all over that like white on rice.
Author's Notes: Hoo boy.
This chapter is going to be one of my shortest yet.
Why?
Because the Book of Omens has other plans for Echo.
Moreso, some of you may or may not be aware of the little tiff I had not too long ago, and understandably, it was for good reason. I am suffering from a moderate case of White Knight Plague. It's really weird, the way people take offense to critiques, honestly. A lot of people began to demand unwarranted apologies, and some blamed me for a wide variety of things.
Anyway, I guess it just came as kind of a shock, because I honestly wasn't expecting any blowback for what happened.
*Shrug.*
Ah, well. What is, is.
In the meantime, let's get to the story.
I like plot twists that aren't really plot twists. So there's one of those in this chapter. Additionally, I swear the focus will be slanted more on Echo's interactions with the TC-crew. This chapter is solely Echo, really, because there really wasn't another way for me to do it.
Next chapter? Things get back on track. Scout's honor!
In Reponse to Guest: Thank you for your reviews, though I might suggest working with that small, kind of infinitesimal problem concerning a plot. Additionally, Each Word Shouldn't Be Captialized. Kudos for doing it, though, and thank you for your reviews!
Warnings: Echo. . . Echo has some problems.
Looks like some people don't handle let-downs very well, uh? She curses, watch out. Echo's been on a cursing spree lately, hasn't she?
Special Note!
There seems to be some strange things going on in my dA journal. ((Side note: My dA penname is the same one I have here - Resonant Echoes ))
Check them out, because they'll be floating in quite often.
Just what could they be?
He had to be lying.
Echo knew that Lion-O had to be lying to them.
The Book couldn't be empty.
There was a fierce buzz inside of her head as she watched Lion-O thumb through the pages of the Book of Omens. Echo stared numbly at him as he continued flipping pages, movements growing more and more desperate. She felt like he had to pulling some elaborate prank. Surely, Lion-O had to be lying to her - to all of them. Something to lighten the mood after their most recent battle with Mumm-Ra.
Beside her, Cheetara and Tygra shifted, looking wholly concerned.
The Book is blank.
Lion-O, why are you lying and saying the Book is blank?
It just wasn't possible. The Book, in every single text she'd read, had been rumored to know everything. She'd spent hours - no, no she'd spent months fantasizing over what the tome would tell her when she finally got to hold it in her hands. Throughout the course of their journey, covered in dust, exhausted, and battered and bruised, she'd dreamed of what she would find. What the Book would finally reveal to her. She'd dreamed about it, had wished for it with every fiber of her being.
She'd been afraid that. . . That the Book would come with limitations. That she'd only be allowed to ask it a single question, that maybe she wouldn't be able to ask it a question at all - that Lion-O had to do it for her, and she'd find that her past contained something terrible.
But. . . But now, that reality, the possibility of even asking the Book. . . It was gone.
No, Echo thought, no, this has to be some sort of trick, or another test - or something else! The Book can't be blank! It just can't!
"That's. . . That's not possible," Cheetara said, finally breaking the silence, "The Book can't be blank."
"I swear it is - look! See for yourself!" Lion-O replied, twisting the Book around to face them.
Echo felt her world shatter a second time. Just a few feet in front of her, she could see the pages - crisp, pristine, beautiful. . . and blank. Echo could feel her throat tightening, and she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. It was true. The Book was absolutely blank. Lion-O wasn't lying - he wasn't playing some elaborate ruse.
"So - what?" Tygra asked, stepping forward to stare at the Book, "The clerics sacrificed themselves, and we worshiped ancient lore for nothing?"
Despite the pain in her body from her battle with Mumm-Ra, and the throbbing developing in her mind, anger coursed through Echo. Her jaw clenched, so hard she thought that it was going to crack, and in her chest, her heart clenched painfully.
No.
Absolutely not.
She refused to accept any of this. The Book couldn't be blank. It absolutely could not.
She most certainly did not come all this way, have her emotional and physical body dragged and flayed during the course of their journey, survive the deaths of close friends, face battling an ancient evil (multiple times, no less), and having her entire core of her being shaken to be rewarded with nothing. To be told that - sorry! This is the end of your quest.
You were expecting unlimited, all-knowing knowledge. . .
Yeah, our bad. It's just blank pages. It looks pretty though, doesn't it?
No. I refuse to accept this ending.
Barely aware of her own actions, Echo found herself walking forward, feet briskly striding over to Lion-O. Her body moved with purpose, her injuries and pains forgotten. Lion-O looked at her, wondering what she was up to - and then reeled in surprise when Echo snatched the book from his hands.
"E-Echo! Hey!"
Echo paid him absolutely no mind as she began to stride away from him, hands flipping over the pages. She held the Book in her hands and stared at it intensely, trying to discern its secrets. There had to be some kind of trick to it, she knew. Her movements became more frantic and desperate as she continued flipping the pages, searching for an inkblot, a stain - anything.
"Echo, come on. It's okay." Tygra said comfortingly.
Echo glanced at him briefly, ensuring he wasn't approaching. In that moment, she felt like she was an over-zealous animal guarding its' prey. Her fingers dug into the cover of the Book more tightly, gripping it closer to her. The three Cats gathered were looking at her with open expressions of worry and concern.
"We'll figure this out," Tygra continued, "It's okay. It's probably another test-"
"No," She answered simply, stopping in her tracks, "No, no more tests. I did not come this far to be rewarded with nothing. God damn, you infernal thing, there's got to be something inside of you-"
"Echo, that's enough." Tygra continued, and when Echo glanced at him again, she saw the tiger approaching.
"No," Echo bit out, "No, it's not enough. Back off. It can't be blank. It can't."
"Echo-"
"I said back off!"
With a flick of her hand, a sharp burst of her power had the tiger sliding back. He lifted his arms to defend himself against the invisible threat, and his feet dug into the hard rock of the dais as his body moved. Echo knew it was unwise for her to use her telekinesis again, but she grit her teeth against the pain and turned her attention back to the Book.
I have to be missing something. Tell me about my past. Tell me something. Anything! Don't just greet me with blank pages!
"Echo, cool it! Listen, it's going to be okay, just put the Book do-" Lion-O was marching towards her, but his words incited rage inside of the white-haired human.
"Back. Off!" She yelled, swiping an arm in front of her. Another burst of power, and a shock wave smacked up against the lion and sent him sprawling. He landed roughly on the dais, dust kicking up in his wake.
Echo could hardly believe what she was doing. Not only had she raised her hand to Tygra, but she'd done the same to Lion-O. Lion-O. She shook her head numbly, and her hands started to shake as she tried to process her actions.
You don't understand. None of you do.
I'm a blank slate. And this Book had all the answers.
And now I don't even have that.
Echo stared at the cleric, keeping a wary eye on the cheetah, but Cheetara was preoccupied with picking Lion-O up off of the floor. Tygra stared at her, expression guarded, body tense, and his ears turned down. Classic battle stance. Echo turned her attention back to the book, breathing growing choppy. She didn't care. In that moment, she finally realized the root of her problem.
She didn't care.
She was the only human on Third Earth. Not a single one of the clerics had ever recalled of hearing about the human species before - and she had no memories. There was no cipher to crack the mystery of her past. . . Except for the Book. What unsatisfying glimpses she could manage were soaked in blood and violence, and it was her goddamn birthright to know why.
Echo turned another page, and idly saw her hand shaking as she was greeted with white paper.
Absently, she heard heavy footsteps, and when she looked up, she saw the calm and collected visage of Panthro standing before her.
"Kid," The ex-general said calmly, "It's going to be-"
"Don't," She snarled, "Don't tell me it's alright. It's not. Don't look at me like that - like I'm Grune. I'm not - I said back off!"
Echo didn't care that she was quickly reaching the end of her tether, and that she didn't have much left in her. She was apathetic to the fact that her nose was beginning to burn and her vision was tearing up. She collected what scraps of power she had left inside of her and gathered them, launching a blast of energy at Panthro.
The Cat rocked back on his heels, managing to withstand the blow.
He was far, far heavier than Lion-O or Tygra. In her chest, her heart skipped a beat painfully, as if deciding whether or not it should continue functioning. Echo clutched at the Book so tightly she swore her fingernails were going to make dents in the heavy cover. Panthro continued to advance, taking one measured footstep at a time, drawing closer and closer.
So Echo tried again. And again.
"Don't pretend like you understand!" She shouted, "Because you don't. None of you do! The Book has the answers! It does!"
Her emotional outburst fed another strong blast, and Panthro pitched backward, almost swept off of his feet by the force. Pain staggered through Echo, and she sucked in a deep breath of air through clenched teeth. She staggered backwards herself, blood freely running from her nose and onto her hands, and the Book.
Immediately, the Book came to life, the jewel on its cover illuminating the antechamber with a strong glow. Echo stiffened in shock as the tome vibrated and clattered in her hand, and the light began to grow brighter.
Hope flared through her.
Could this have been it? Had her blood been the key required to unlocking the Book?
In the next second, harsh, electric shocks traveled through her hands, and Echo gave a sharp cry of pain. She instinctively dropped the Book of Omens, and almost immediately, the light died away. The Book fell onto the ground with a pathetic, quiet rustle of pages.
"The Book just. . . Burned me?" Her voice was quiet, but it echoed in the antechamber as everyone present reeled in shock. Echo recoiled and stared at her hand, at the burns developing quickly on her skin.
The Book had burned her.
The Book of Omens had burned her.
Arms circled over her in the next moment, hefting off of her feet and pinning her securely against a heavily muscled side. The world snapped back to reality, and Echo writhed, kicking and squirming.
"Let me go!" She cried.
"No, kid. You're only hurting yourself now." Panthro murmured gently.
"Let. Go! The Book has to have the answers. . . It h-has t-to."
Her choppy breaths quickly turned into hiccups, which rapidly dissolved into sobs. Echo started crying as Panthro held her, and she didn't care that the Cats gathered were probably looking at her like she'd snapped. Like she'd gone insane.
It wasn't fair.
She just. . .
She wanted to know.
She wanted to know why her past was steeped in nothing but horrible, bloody war.
The water felt really, really nice.
Echo took a long moment to scrub at her arms, freeing her skin of dirt. She was standing just to the side of a roughly hip-deep pool of water. And, due to some amazing feature of the jungle surrounding them, the water was hot. Not scorching enough to turn her pink, but wafts of steam rose up to fog the air around her. Echo splashed more water on her arms, scrubbing herself with the heels of her palms.
She was alone, and, unfortunately, that gave her time to think.
She regretted her actions from earlier. She really did. Even thinking about how she'd acted then had her stomach roiling and shame curling in her stomach. She carried her guilt with her like a heavy stone, and she didn't think she would be able to discard it easily. Not only had she lifted a hand to Tygra, but she'd attacked Panthro - and Lion-O.
A heavy sigh escaped from her as Echo stared down at her reflection. Damp white hair fell limply around her face, the ends dripping with water. Her reflection rippled.
They had forgiven her. Easily.
Panthro had shrugged it off with ease, saying he understood her. He knew how she felt.
"I've been there, kid. Ain't pretty, when something you want that bad gets taken from you."
At least he understood.
Lion-O had looked at her, shook his head, and told her that an apology wasn't needed. He got it. And Echo knew that he did, really - he'd spent all that time with her in Thundera, listening to her recount on frustrated breaths how she wished she knew her past. Still, she planned on forcing him to accept her apology.
Tygra, on the other hand. . .
He said it wasn't a big deal, that he knew where she was coming from, but his body language told a different story. He was tense, and always kept her in his sights - like she was some dangerous criminal. Echo was okay with that - she knew she'd have to give the tiger time. She wasn't looking to be forgiven so quickly, especially after she had acted like some crazed lunatic.
Reaching down, Echo splayed her fingers over the water, making the ripples more intense.
"I felt like I was going nuts back there. I was just so desperate. . ." She sighed again, and closed her eyes, remembering the way her hands at clutched at the Book. She felt like she had been a step away from snapping, and inwardly, she was glad Panthro had intervened when he had.
She had one killer headache, and she knew she had severely overstressed herself.
By that same token, however, her unexplainable power burst had left her with many more questions than answers.
Echo, glad to take her mind off of her actions earlier, began to think. She had long theorized that her power was connected to her emotions. If she were too tired, too hungry, or too emotional, her powers flickered and faltered like a flame in the wind. Her rage, like everything else, was an emotion that blinded her, and often diluted her power.
But this time. . . It hadn't.
She had experienced raw, potent power unlike anything she'd ever felt before. . . And she knew it wasn't because of her training. She had been diligently practicing for. . . What, half a year, plus the time of their journey? She should not have been ale to lift up something that heavy, project a shield for that long, and repel Mumm-Ra's attack as she'd been able.
But she had.
It was almost as though. . . Her power had amplified.
"Show me that power. Defend yourself."
Echo frowned as Mumm-Ra's voice echoed in her mind. She recalled that curious gleam to his eyes, that spark of familiarity that had given him pause for a moment. Why had he taken such an interest then?
Why, why, why?
Echo shook her head and rubbed at the base of her neck, determined to stop questioning everything. Nothing was going to make much sense to her now, given that the Book was a sham. . . And it had physically repelled her. Heaving another sigh, Echo stared down at the water again, trying her best not get completely swamped by sorrow.
All that work. . .
The ripples calmed, and the water's surface grew quite still. She peered down, her body coming into focus. . . And. . . The hell?
In the water, the entirety of her body was scarred to hell and back. Much like Panthro, most of her skin was mapped by scars. Some of them looked like knife wounds, while others were circular holes - caused by lasers, maybe? - and more disturbingly, a vast majority of them looked to be. . . Jagged.
Like they'd been made by claws.
Like they'd been made by animals.
Echo reeled at the thought, and hastily jerked her head down to look at her skin.
Nothing.
Save for a few scars she had gotten in her time in Thundera and on their journey, she was far from the heavily-scarred vision of herself in the water's surface. Echo looked back at the water, and found the scars still sitting there, some of them puckering in heavy lines on her skin. Rubbing at her temples, the white-haired human turned away from the middle of the pool and made her way to the side of it.
Her clothes were nicely dried and sitting there, waiting for her. She had washed them, to rid them of dirt and blood, and set them out to dry. Echo sat herself on a flat rock and set to twisting out her long, white hair, and did her best to ignore the ashen feeling in her mind. She guessed she would need a few more down days after this, but for now, she was up and running, so that was something.
Finished twisting out her hair, she raked her fingers through it, and set to getting dressed. After she had secured her bracers, Echo threw her scabbards over her back, and hesitated before grabbing the very last thing.
Sunda's hairband.
Echo held it reverently in her hand, lost in a torrent of memories. What would that spotted leopard think of her now, that she had thrown a crazy fit to end all crazy fits?
Echo toyed with the scrap of fabric for a moment longer before she deftly swept it over her head. Her hair whisked out of her face as she tied it tightly, and satisfied with her handiwork, Echo wandered away from the heated pool and back to the camp.
The Cats had erected a very basic camp down at the bottom of the spiraling rock leading up to the dais. It was a bit of a walk to get up and down, that was for certain, but nobody knew what would happen if they removed the Book from its currently location. For all they knew, the Tower of Omens might very well collapse and try to kill them.
So, while Lion-O tried to understand why the Book was blank, it had been genially accepted that everyone remain inside of the Tower. With the weary threat of Mumm-Ra still looming over the horizon, Echo knew it was a wise decision.
As the human drew closer to the camp, she heard the unmistakable voice of the twins - and Cheetara.
". . . means," The cleric was saying, "there won't be any asking."
"We're not dumb, Cheetara! We know Echo's not feeling very good right now-" Kat said.
"-and it's because the Book didn't show her her past-" Kit picked up.
"-and we know she's been wanting to know about it for a long time!" Kat finished.
"I have," Echo said, entering the camp. A fire had been built in the middle of the camp, and Echo made her way to it, basking in the heat as dusk began to fall, "But what I did. . . There's no excuse for it."
"What exactly did you-"
Cheetara placed a firm hand over Kat's mouth, cutting the kitten off mid-sentence.
"I said," The cleric emphasized, "This topic is not up for discussion."
Echo smiled gratefully at the cheetah. The cleric was as kind and understand as she could be quick and vicious in battle, and the human was grateful for it. She felt so ashamed for the way she'd reacted upon first laying eyes on the Book. . . If going back in time were an ability she possessed, she would have used it.
Kat, finally managing to squirm out of the cheetah's hold, glared angrily at the older Cat.
"Stop doing that!" The kitten bristled, "I don't like it!"
"Then don't ask questions." Cheetara replied easily.
Kat stood before the cleric, red dotting his cheeks as his anger rose - but Kit came to the rescue. She leaped up to her feet, grabbed her brother's hand, and quickly marched them both away before things could get ugly. They're probably going to come up with some elaborate prank to get back at us for that one. . . Not looking forward to it.
Quiet fell on the camp, then, and Echo stared idly at the flames, glad for the warmth.
"That being said. . ." Cheetara started, softly, "I would like to know what caused your. . . Outburst."
Echo sat there for a long moment, drawing her knees up to her chest, and she continued to stare at the fire. Seconds passed in which she was silent, and eventually it transformed into a few minutes. It was so long, the cleric actually prompted her, repeating her name again. Out of the corner of her eye, Panthro and Tygra just stared at her, watching and listening intently.
"I was. . . So desperate. I wanted to know. Everything I wanted to know, right there, but it was just taken away from me. . . I can't put it into words, not exactly, but whenever I have flashbacks, I. . ." She trailed off, the words dying in her throat.
"You what?" Panthro said, voice equally as gently.
It was touching, really. They could have just demanded the truth from her. But here they were instead, asking her nicely.
"What memories I have - everything is soaked in blood and gunfire. People are dying around me, b-but it's like I don't care. Why? Why don't I? Why was I fighting? Why do I have these weird powers? I've been asking myself this since the day I woke up in Thundera. Almost a year, and I haven't gotten any farther to finding the truth."
Echo fell quiet as she continued to look at the fire. Silence fell upon them again, and finally, Panthro let out a thoughtful hum.
"Kid, I know you don't want to hear this, but sometimes. . . Some things are better left in the past. Maybe that's what the Book was trying to tell you. That you've got something really ugly, something that might be enough to break you. . ."
"I agree," Cheetara said, "The Book was rumored to have its own defense to guard it from people who might want to misuse it, but it didn't shock you right away. Which leads me to believe that the Book knew what you wanted, and that was its' way of trying to warn you."
A dry, bitter smile twisted up Echo's lips, and she shook her head, rubbing her temples again. The ashy feeling in her skull was still very much present, and a crushing headache was developing. Panthro was right - she really hadn't wanted to hear that. A chuckle as equally as bitter as the smile on her face threatened to crawl out of her throat.
"I know," Echo said, voice strained, "I know. But that's what makes it so hard. Because I want to know - so bad. I want to know why I'm so apathetic, why everyone is killing everyone. But from what I've seen already, I know I'm not going to like it. But it feels important to me. I have to know the truth. It's. . . I can't. . . I just have to find out. That's why I freaked out. The Book was going to be my golden ticket. But the pages are blank. . . I really am sorry I freaked out. I swear it won't happen again."
"I should hope not." Tygra interjected, "I'd rather not deal with you as a lunatic again."
"Tygra!" Cheetara reprimanded.
Echo shook her head.
"It's okay. Really. I kinda deserved that."
There was another beat of silence as she looked around the camp - and realized a certain redheaded lion wasn't present. Hoping to change the vein of conversation, Echo decided to switch topics.
"Where's Lion-O?"
Panthro pointed up to the dais.
"Up top, with the Book. No doubt trying to figure it out."
Echo stared up at the tower of rock, and silently rose to her feet.
"I'm going to head up, check up on him."
"You sure you be going anywhere near that thing?" Tygra asked, his voice cold as steel. Echo knew it was absolutely ridiculous to feel hurt by what he was saying, but it stung, all the same. She looked over to him and cut him a confident stare.
"I'm solid. I don't think it'd let me touch it if I tried, anyway. I'm just going to check up on him."
And apologize for my actions earlier. . .
Tygra opened his mouth, looking as though he wanted to protest, but Cheetara turned to her and smiled.
"I think it's a great idea. Go ahead and go on up. We'll be here."
Echo shot Cheetara a small smile, and then headed off to the rock pillar. She could feel the heavy weight of Tygra's gaze on her back, constantly watching her every move.
I'm not going to snap, she thought to herself, as her feet began to step on the wooden pegs leading upward, I'm going to be calm about this.
Still. . . Echo found a tremor going through her hands at the thought of being in such close proximity with the Book. Because secretly. . . She wondered if she was going to lose control.
No.
I won't.
As she ascended the pegs, though, Echo hoped her newly-found resolve would last.
She chewed the inside of her cheek as she walked up the improvised staircase. Her footsteps rang out, echoing in the space around her with a hollow clack clack noise. Her throat had dried out again, and her stomach was knotting - but for an entirely different reason. She was nervous. It was irrational, really, that she would be scared. Lion-O had already forgiven her - but she worried that he hadn't really accepted her apology.
And she had screwed up pretty badly.
She worried the inside of her cheek a little more forcefully and slowed her pace so she wouldn't reach the top so quickly.
It was almost hard to imagine that, just a few hours prior, she'd been sprinting up the wooden pegs like her life had depended on it. In a way, it almost kind of had. . . She breathed in deeply, and then exhaled, fiddling with her fingers in an attempt to quell the shaking. She really needed to get her mind off of life and death matters. She needed to keep things straight in her head - she was traversing up the tower to go talk to Lion-O and really apologize for what had happened.
And apology taken at face value really didn't mean much to a girl like Echo.
Her time going upwards continued to wind down, becoming shorter and shorter, and eventually, she stopped just a few feet below coming flush with the dais. Her heart was skipping beats in her chest, and it took everything she had inside of her not to turn around and bolt back down the way she'd come. Guilt swelled and crested inside of her, and she chewed her cheek harder, fiercely fiddling with her fingers as she replayed the events of earlier that day.
"Just, go up there," She whispered to herself, "And apologize. You've been working on an apology ever since you started walking up here. Just. . . Go."
Before she could talk herself out of it, Echo forced herself to walk up a few more pegs. Her head popped over the surface of the dais, and she knew it was past the point of no return. Lion-O had impeccable eyesight, and her white hair was a stark giveaway to her position at times.
"Lion-O, I came up here to. . ." Echo paused and trailed off, finding Snarf bouncing up to her.
The small creature sat on his haunches and began to gesticulate wildly with his hands, making desperate 'mraow' noises. When Echo just stood there and stared at the tiny pet, Snarf got onto his hands and knees and started to run desperately in circles.
"Snarf, what's - Lion-O!"
Fear bolted through Echo as she saw the prone figure of the king on the dais. He wasn't sleeping. Snarf wouldn't have been acting like he was if Lion-O was just taking a catnap. No, the way that Lion-O had fallen on the ground, it indicated that he'd been attacked. Echo's first thought was that Mumm-Ra had returned, unbeknownst to them, and used some form of trickery to subdue the lion.
The human raced over to her friend's side and dropped to her knees beside him, hands frantically searching his chest and torso for injuries. Scratches, sword wounds - anything to indicate a battle.
"Lion-O, wake up. C'mon, what's wrong? You need to wake up and talk. . ." Echo's voice died again as Snarf bit on her sleeve and tugged. Having gained her attention, he dashed over to the Book and nudged it with his nose.
It took a moment, but Echo looked from the Book, and then back to the lion, and then back to the Book again. The Book did this. But what did it do, exactly? Echo turned back to her friend, and gently, placed a hand over his forehead. No fever. Two fingers went to his throat, and she felt a slow, calm, and steady pulse. Idly, she brushed a strand of his mane from his eyes and then turned her attention to the Book.
She needed. . .
She needed to touch it.
Hold it.
Maybe she could - maybe there was a way that she could stretch her telekinesis to discover what was happening. She had no idea how she was going to manage such a feat, but surely there had to be a way. Getting to unsteady feet, Echo reluctantly left the unconscious lion's side to stride over to the Book. Her heart started to pound in her chest, so she stopped right before it, feet nearly grazing the cover.
There were many subtle details she'd never noticed before. The jewel set into its' cover was a deep, bright red - just like the jewel in Omens. The Book had a heavy, metallic feel to it. The cover didn't appear to actually be a hard card stock, but instead resembled a metal alloy of some kind. Heavy clamps laid all over the book, and bits and strange grey pieces protruded from it.
It looks like technology for some reason.
Echo shook her head and knelt down, reaching a bare hand forward to touch the jewel. She cleared her mind entirely, enough though there was a voice in the back of her mind that begged and pleaded for her to barter with the Book. Something in exchange for the keys to her past. . . I need to do this. For Lion-O. Echo breathed out deeply and reached forward, hoping and praying to whatever deities listening that the Book would not repel her again.
Her fingers inched down, the tremor starting anew, and then her fingertips were brushing over the jewel over its' center - and a bright, illuminating light issued forth. Echo reeled back, snatching back her hands in anticipation of another shock. To her great relief, however, none came. Hands still burn from the last one. . .
The light formed a rough cone, brightly coloring the air before her, and from the jewel, shadows gathered, and began to rise - and Echo's heart completely stopped.
Tears burned in her eyes, and a broken, bitter smile came to life on her face.
"Jaga. . . Jaga!"
The cleric stood before her, a ghostly vision, but he was there.
Echo scrambled back to her feet, just barely suppressing the urge to launch herself forward and wrap Jaga up in a tight embrace. The only thing stopping her was Jaga's visage. He kept flickering around the edges, and carried a slightly misty tint, almost as though he were a ghost. Still. Echo felt her heart soar laying eyes on the cleric again. She'd thought that he'd died, just like the others, whittling away more of her happiness.
"Echo," Jaga said, "I am pleased to see you alive and well."
"I am!" She answered quickly, fearing he'd disappear again, "We all are! And we made it to the Book, Jaga. Everything we ever wished for is just a few pages away. We just need to learn how to use it!"
A happy smile creased Jaga's face, and he looked at her with such a pleased expression at their achievements. Echo beamed, remembering a time he'd stroke her hair in affirmation or clasp a hand on her shoulder and squeeze. A moment later, and Jaga's expression evened out again, and he looked at Echo with a calm look.
"I'm proud of all of you. I knew that you could do it. . . But, Echo, I have come to tell you something. . . you may not want to hear."
"What is it, Jaga?" Echo asked. After everything that had happened over the past two days, she was fairly certain she could handle it.
Jaga was silent for a moment, and finally, the cleric closed his eyes.
"Echo, I will not allow you to use the Book."
Confusion rose inside of the young human, and she stared at the cleric. Her happy bubble was popped as understanding dawned on her, and horror and despair rose inside of her. She had promised herself that she wouldn't snap, but she could feel the threads fraying as seconds passed. She stared at Jaga, hardly realizing that tears were building in her eyes.
"W-What?" She stammered, disbelief heavy in her voice.
"I am sorry. I truly am sorry, Echo. . . But I will never allow you to use the Book."
And then Jaga. . . Faded.
Echo stared as the light disappeared, and along with it, Jaga's ghostly form.
Echo stood there, and then down at the Book, and then to her unconscious friend.
The glowing gold of the setting sun fell on her, and she turned to the open columns surrounding the antechamber. Numbly, her feet trekked forward. Reality began to settle on her, and frustration bubbled inside of her.
"But. . . But why, Jaga? It isn't fair. . . The memories are mine."
Her legs started to feel like rubber, and after Echo took another step, she collapsed. Her knees gave out, and she fell, right at the edge of the dais. Tears began to fall, burning as they streaked down and dripped off of her cheeks. A hiccup escaped from her throat, and then another. . . Before a few moments had passed, there came a fierce sob, followed by several more.
Echo pitched forward, clutching at the rock and sobbing for all she was worth.
She'd failed. She'd failed.
She heard distant footsteps racing up the pegs, but Echo remained where she was, fingers digging painfully into the rock. She felt. . . God, she didn't even know how she felt. She wanted to lash out. She wanted to do something other than cry, but she just didn't have the strength in her.
"Echo! Lion-O!" Tygra shouted as he reached the top of the antechamber. The heavy footfalls of Panthro were just a second behind him.
"Kid, what happened? What did you do?"
A bitter smile twisted up her lips.
What I've done.
I suppose, in a roundabout way, it
is my fault.
For wanting to know the truth.
"J-Jaga. . ." She choked, her voice barely above a whisper, "Barred me from the Book. Forever. He won't let me use it."
More footsteps, and an even greater audience joined them all.
"What do you mean? Why?"
"Echo, what happened?" Cheetara said, she could feel the cleric approaching her, a hand outstretched.
Echo went utterly rigid, and a small, choked, 'don't' came from her. The cheetah withdrew.
"Look! Lion-O's waking up!" Kit said.
She could hear Lion-O stirring behind her, but Echo didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to hear anything. Still, she didn't possess the strength to move. She just sat there, wallowing in her emotions.
She heard Lion-O come up to a stand behind her, a weary groan leaving him.
"It's okay. I'm fine. . . And even better, I know what we have to do."
I'm glad one of us does.
Echo didn't move, even when Lion-O and the others tried to ply her. Eventually, the ThunderCats, realizing she needed her space, left her alone on the dais as the sun disappeared and night began to descend. As darkness wrapped around her, and a cold specific only to the jungle settled on her skin, the tears finally stopped.
Echo sat there, holding her knees to her chest, and closed her eyes.
"I just. . . Want to know why." She said, her voice echoing quietly in the space around her.
What have I done to spurn you and the Book, Jaga?
The darkness and the silence were her only answers.
. . . And as it stretched on, Echo instinctively knew she'd never discover the answer.