Gunther gave Candleabracadabra one last hit and went down like a melted candle. Swaine called him back, and they headed back to where the princes were. Then they heard a scream and turned to see the candle was back up again!
"Crikey! Back for more, is it?" Drippy shouted.
"It doesn't know when to give up!" Swaine cried.
"Look out!" Oliver yelled as the candle came back at them. They all yelled, then a bright light hit the candle, knocking it down instantly! They looked at the altar, and there was Marcassin! He had done the spell! He had a bright light floating around him, and he levitated above the altar. He looked wicked powerful for a six year old.
"Marcassin!" Gascon gasped. Even he hadn't expected that. The candle sat up again and screamed at the little boy, but he just hit him a third time, and the candle was gone. Then he floated back to the ground, a panted, looking exhausted. They all ran over to him.
"Marcassin... That spell... Did you...?" Esther asked. The young prince nodded.
"Yes." Was all he said.
"You did it, Marcassin! You got him!" Gascon cheered, pumping his arms. "That was amazing!" Marcassin smiled at Gascon.
"Thanks, Gascon..." he said. Abyssa winked at him.
"I told you Gascon would be proud." She said. Marcassin blushed.
"Marcassin, you saved us! Thank you!" Oliver told him. Marcassin looked at him.
"Oh, it was nothing..." he mumbled. "Now hurry, let's get Mornstar!" Drippy jumped up.
"He's right, you know! Come on, Ollie-boy! Let's head for that altar, en't it!" Oliver nodded, then they walked into the altar, leaving the princes outside. Oliver went up to a huge stone coffin that sat right in the middle of the room.
"The legendary wand must be in here..." he said. All of a sudden, the coffin opened, and a bright light came out of it, followed by a wand with a black handle and a large gold ring that had wings on the sides of it, and three smaller rings on the inside.
"Look at that! What a beauty!" Drippy exclaimed, jumping up and hanging from Swaine's shoulder. "It may be older than my mam, but it's still got a bucketload of oomph!" Oliver went over and took it from the air.
"So this is the legendary wand-" he said in awe. "Mornstar..." all of a sudden, an even brighter light appeared. Oliver yelped and they all covered their eyes.
"You have done well." Said a voice. Then a tall man appeared! A man, wearing white robes with black armour and a gold helmet that looked like a bird, a cape with what appeared to be thorns at the end of it blowing at an unseen wind. In his hand, he held a wand that looked like a much bigger version of Mornstar. They all gasped when they saw him. He looked like a ghost!
"Who are you?" Oliver asked him.
"I am one who guides the fate of this world. And yes, it was I who summoned you here to this time." Swaine got mad.
"...Huh!? Do you realise what you've done! You trapped Abyssa here!" Abyssa slapped a hand over his mouth, but the man continued speaking.
"I had scant choice but to bring you here, for in your time, Mornstar has been... mislaid. For my boldness, you must accept my apologies. Know that countless trials lie ahead of you still. Steel yourselves and fix your sights upon your goal."
"But what about Abyssa?" Oliver demanded, determined to get her home. "She can't come home with us! She's already used Breach Time before!"
"I have a solution to that." He said. Then he waved his sceptre, and a gold glim came out of it and seeped into Abyssa's heart. She gasped and stared as the light disappeared into her chest. "That shall allow her to follow you home once you use Breach Time. However, as Breach Time, the gift can only be used once." Abyssa looked up at the man, her eyes wide.
"Th-thank you." She stuttered, a little astonished. He nodded.
"Until the day when you finally arrive... I shall be waiting." He told them. Then he disappeared. Everyone gasped again.
"He's gone..." Oliver whispered. Abyssa patted his shoulder, then the five of them went back out to the princes. "We got it." Oliver told them. "We got Breach Time."
"Breach Time, eh..." Gascon said. "I suppose the rumours about you lot coming from the future are true, then..."
"Is Abyssa going to be able to get back?" Marcassin asked, looking worried. The girl smiled and nodded to him.
"Don't worry. A masked wizard helped me. He sent us here, and he helped me be able to get back." Gascon scratched his chin.
"I've never seen any masked wizard's here in Hamelin before, though. Have you Marcassin?" The little boy shook his head.
"No, never..."
"Well, let's head back to Hamelin for now, Oliver." Esther said. "We need to take the princes back to their father." Gascon nodded slowly as Swaine turned to them, looking thoughtful.
"...Yeah." The elder prince mumbled. Oliver looked at him, concerned.
"...Are you okay, Gascon?" The boy nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine." He didn't look truthful, but nobody pressed the matter. So instead, they walked back to Hamelin. On the way, Gascon looked like he was planning something. When they were almost there, Gascon stopped and turned away from the city.
"I'm sorry everyone, but this is where I say good-bye." He said.
"Good-bye?" Abyssa asked.
"It's time we went our separate ways." Gascon told them.
No, this wasn't it. It couldn't be. She thought. She looked at the skies, seeing the fire. It truly was it. The moment that had pulled her into this journey in the first place.
"Huh...?" Oliver asked Gascon.
"What are you talking about?" Esther asked. "Aren't you coming back to Hamelin with us?" Gascon shook his head.
"...No. I'm not going back. I've got my own journey to go on!"
"You're own journey? You mean you're running away from home?" Gascon ignored her and looked at Marcassin.
"Hey... Look after yourself, all right? Here, you'd better take this." Then he pulled out a sword. It had a gold handle with a single red Jewel on it. Marcassin came over and took the sword. "Father gave me that sword... but you're the one who should have it. It's the kind of sword that a sage should wield. A sage like you'll be someday." Marcassin looked at the sword that he held in his one hand, his sceptre in the other. A tear ran down his pale cheek. "Hey, don't cry!" Gascon told him. "You don't need to be scared! If you ever get in trouble, I'll come and help you, I promise! Wherever you are, no matter how far away, I'll always be there for you if you need me!" Marcassin looked into his brother's eyes, as if he couldn't quite believe this was happening.
"Wherever... I am...?" He murmured. Gascon nodded.
"Yes, I promise you! But if I'm going to live up to this promise, I'm going to have to do some training of my own. As Father keeps saying, I need to find my own role within the Empire. I need to find out what I'm good at..." Gascon shook his head. "I won't let him down. I refuse to be a disappointment..." Marcassin nodded slowly.
"All right. But please come back soon... I'll be waiting for you..." Gascon nodded back to him.
"You do that, Marcassin!" He said encouragingly. "We'll meet again one day, you'll see!" He then looked up at the others, who couldn't seem to quite believe this themselves. Except for Abyssa, who stared right past Gascon and up at the sky, unable to tear her eyes away from Xanadu, falling, and an out of control dragon throwing off its rider.
"I wish you and your friends all the best as well, Oliver." Gascon said. "I hope you make it back to your time!" Oliver nodded.
"Thanks, Prince Gascon! I sure hope we meet again someday!" Gascon chuckled.
"Hey! I don't think you have to call me "Prince" anymore. Well, goodbye." He turned and began to walk away, when Esther ran after him.
"H-Hey! Wait!" She called. He turned and looked back at her.
"...What is it?" He asked.
"Are you really sure about this, Gascon?" She asked. He nodded.
"...It's what I've decided. I'll be better off watching Marcassin from afar. Watching him become a sage... I don't change my mind once I've made a decision. That's the Gascon way." Esther looked at the ground.
"...The Gascon way." She muttered. "Well, it sounds like your determined to be your own man... But I refuse to say good-bye. Let's just say... until next time!" Gascon chuckled again.
"Heh, all right! Until next time! In the future... In your time... See you then!"
"I'll be seeing you a lot sooner than you think, your piggyness." Abyssa muttered under her breath, having barely avoided watching herself fall out of the sky.
"Take care, Gascon!" Esther called to him as he walked away. She waved to him, and he waved back as if he was a boy going on a school trip. "Gosh, that boy really is stubborn..." she muttered.
"You have no idea." Abyssa muttered again, giving Swaine a nudge. Esther looked back at the group.
"Now, come on, Oliver! Let's head back to our time!"
"Sure thing!" Oliver said, nodding. Then they went into Hamelin, with only Marcassin.