A/N:
A few of you guessed right on who entered in the previous chapter! ;-) Some truths will be told in this one and a new element of weirdness will be introduced!
I'm gonna continue putting the disclaimer here just be sure that everyone is aware of where this story originated.
This story isn't 100 % mine. I have transformed it into a story from an interactive story app called Choices and the creators are Pixelberry Studios.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
{Chapter 5}
Everyone stared in surprise as the figure in the red spacesuit slowly descended a set of stairs toward us.
Rosalie appeared to be the most stunned of us all. "How did they get past my security system?" she mumbled. "No one comes in here without me knowing about it!"
I glanced around the cavern and noticed several small, glowing time rifts like the ones Edward, Leah, and I had seen during the eruption. I wondered if the Endless had escaped into one of them as well because I was positive they wouldn't have survived the lava otherwise.
"So you're alive," I said. "I thought I saw the lava swallow you."
"This suit makes lava a momentary inconvenience, at worst," the Endless replied, and the others turned to me with shock shining in their eyes.
"Bella, you know this person?" Kate asked gapingly.
I inhaled deeply. "Guys … this is the Endless," I told them, and I noticed how Edward's eyes immediately narrowed suspiciously.
Jacorel, on the other hand, immediately dropped to his knees in reverence.
"Harrvel said that the Endless prophesied the end of the world, and us stopping it..." Benjamin said, trailing off at the end.
I swallowed thickly as I started to feel very uncomfortable, but it was time for my friends to know the entire truth. "Right. About that. Endless, could you … remove your helmet?"
"Very well," the Endless complied and unhooked a clasp at the neck of the suit. She pulled the helmet off and revealed the eerily familiar, although much older, face.
Everyone took a step back in shock simultaneously.
"As you can see, the Endless is … me," I told them quietly.
"W-what?!" Jacorel stuttered.
Edward inched closer to me, and I could see that even though he had already known about it, he was still shaken by the sight. I appreciated it so much when he wrapped his arm around me in support.
Peter blinked in confusion. "How can this geezer be you? You're way younger! And standing in front of us!"
The Endless smiled fondly at the others. "I've been in El Jardín's time loop for many, many years, Peter."
"We've landed on the island several times," I explained solemnly. "The first time, everyone died … except me. That version of me learned how to reset the time loop in order to save everyone." I looked into her familiar brown eyes. "It didn't work. So she tried again. And again. And again."
"What?" Emmett asked and looked at the Endless sympathetically. "Old-Bella, how many times have you done this?"
"2,139 times," she said, and then turned to me with proud eyes. "But thanks to Bella, it's all been worth it."
"We've..." Victoria struggled with getting the words out. "Are you saying we have all died over two thousand times?"
I nodded and thought about the idols and shuddered. "It turns out, altering the course of time and history takes a lot more effort than you'd think."
"I don't understand," Jacorel said devastatingly. "The Endless One is a prophet to our people! Without the Endless—"
It tore at me to be the one to tell him the truth, but it had to be done. "Without the Endless, the Kaarii religion wouldn't have Catalysts, Raan'losti … any of it."
He shook his head and looked at my older self in desperation. "That can't be! Endless One, tell me this isn't true."
The Endless met his eyes apologetically. "I tried so many times, in so many ways, to convince your people to keep my friends alive. In the end … this was the only way."
"But my people fought wars because of you! They died because of you!" Jacorel exclaimed angrily.
"As a king, you must understand the hard decisions that are made to protect those you love," the Endless told him to make him understand, and he did.
Jacorel's angry expression fell, and he suddenly looked very tired.
James, who had been very quiet for a long time, shook his head. "I've seen some sights on this island, but this..."
"Bella, you knew this?" Leah asked me, her eyes shining with betrayal. "The whole time?! Why didn't you tell us anything? We're your friends!"
"It was too painful," I told them honestly. I knew I deserved their anger and their betrayed feelings, and I didn't try to justify my decisions to keep it from them, but it was the truth, and they were entitled to it. "When I touched the idols, I saw all of you die," I finally admitted. "And then when I found out these visions were actual things that happened over two thousand times … and all of that could be for nothing if we don't stay one step ahead of Cullen..." I sighed as I tried to organize my thoughts and make my words comprehensible. "Every time I had the chance to explain, I just … couldn't."
My sight got blurry as tears welled in my eyes both from guilt and the pain brought up by the memories of the visions. I was surprised when I felt a pair of thin but strong arms wrap themselves around me.
"Oh, Bella … I understand," Victoria said. "Sometimes it's easier to bury the pain than talk about it."
"I know this is a lot for you to process," the Endless said to regain everyone's attention. "But time is not on our side. We have a lot to discuss."
Garrett, Kate, and Leah were the most hesitant, and I looked at them pleadingly.
"Please … I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but it's because of the Endless that we've survived this long. We ought to hear what she has to say."
With a small sigh, Garrett nodded, and the Endless gave an appreciative smile, but then it fell as she told us what was happening.
"Cullen is mere days away from perfecting his method of extracting energy from the Island's Heart. Soon, the loop will collapse and this island … all of you … may cease to be depending on his whim." She attempted an encouraging smile. "I've come to tell you of a way you can reclaim the first half of the Heart."
Peter crossed his arms defiantly and frowned angrily. "So we're just supposed to put on the military gear again and march back to his hideout?" he asked sarcastically.
"That barely worked the first time," Rosalie agreed with him.
"He's probably expecting us anyway," I said, knowing they were right. "And we don't even know where Cullen is right now."
"He's moved his base to a sealed compound beneath the Observatory," the Endless told us. "From there, he can oversee all of his facilities at once, and this time you'll need a very particular set of skills to bypass his defenses."
"Such as?" Edward asked, still suspicious.
The Endless turned to him. "Do you recall the Kaarii warriors that you sent through a portal at The Ethereal?"
Emmett shuddered. "If by recall you mean having nightmares about it on the regs, then yeah."
"Some of them were killed by Cullen's assassin," the Endless explained. "But others were transported to an extremely distant future where their descendants learned to survive by foraging through fractures in time." She looked at the time rifts, and I understood what fractures she meant. "The recent eruption has shifted the chronoscape of El Jardín again, and it brought them back to our present. Go to them. They can help you reach the Heart undetected."
"If this is so urgent, why aren't you doing it yourself?" Leah blackly questioned.
"Due to the instability of the crux within Mount Suerte, I'm afraid my hands are tied," she replied contritely and looked down at her mechanical limb. "Well. Hand." She turned back toward the staircase.
"Wait!" I stopped her. "I have one more question." She nodded for me to go ahead. "How can we trust you?" I asked because I was still uncertain of the Endless's sincerity myself. It didn't matter if she really was me.
"Yeah, I can't say it's easy to trust stuff around here," Edward agreed. "Few too many mirrors and smokescreens."
"I..." the Endless started and then sighed. She looked straight at Victoria. "Vicky likes dolphins because her first family outing, once she got better, was to Marine World."
Victoria gasped. "How did you...?"
"Rosalie and Peter frequently prank the group to raise everyone's spirits. Sometimes, Emmett helps," the Endless continued.
Rosalie huffed and rolled her eyes. "I mean, I personally wasn't doing it to raise everyone's—"
"Garrett won't eat until everyone else has food, or until Kate nags him to stop letting his food get cold," she went on and described everyone in intimate detail. A stunned silence set in. When she turned to Edward, she smiled fondly. "I know quite a lot about you as well, but I won't tell because out of everyone here, you value your privacy the most, and I don't want to get Bella into trouble."
It caused Edward to chuckle incredulously, but I could see he believed her.
Garrett puffed his cheeks and exhaled. "I think that about settles it."
I nodded because I was convinced. "Yeah, this is definitely … me."
The Endless gazed around the group thoughtfully. "I must say, Bella, I am proud of how well you've looked after your friendships. These people care about you more than anyone in the world. Treasure every moment you have with them."
I smiled. "Always," I said and pressed tighter against Edward's side, and he responded by tightening his arm around me.
From above, we heard a sharp click, and then the stone ceiling reopened.
"Look out!" Leah warned before a shadowy figure landed behind the group. A flintlock pistol emerged from the dark.
"Red Demon! I grow tired of your games! Take me to the Fountain before I cut your suit to ribbons and tie your innards like a—Amis?"
"Angelique?"
"Yes," the Endless said. "She's been following me for some time."
"Where's Janvier?" I asked Angelique in confusion. "After the storm, we couldn't find either of you."
Angelique lowered her pistol and holstered it. "La Mer brought us to shore a ways to the south. Jan, the slithering codfish that he is, immediately left to find the Dorado." She turned to the Endless with furious eyes. "Which is when I saw this scarlet cretin and tracked them here!"
The Endless smiled at Angelique, unfazed. "Welcome to No'ox Naj, Angelique. What you've looked for all this time can be found here."
"C'est ici? Where?!" Angelique startled and looked around the cavern.
"I will show it to you. Everyone else should prepare for the journey to Quarr'tel," she said and turned around.
Jacorel stopped her. "Quarr'tel? The City of Heretics was lost in the Three Tribes' War," he insisted, and the Endless glanced at him over her shoulder with an amused smile.
"Not so lost these days, you'll find."
We ascended back up to where we had found the altar and Rosalie's decoy skeleton. Everyone made their way outside, but the Endless stopped me from following them.
"Stay with me, Bella. You as well, Angelique. We will join the rest shortly."
Edward, who was holding my hand, had also stopped walking. "You sure about this, Princess?"
I gave him a small kiss before nodding. "Yeah, I'll be okay."
He didn't let me go before he had placed a kiss on top of my head. "I'll meet you back at camp," he said, and then reluctantly left with the others.
The Endless walked over to the tree which Garrett and James had investigated earlier. "Here it is," she said.
Angelique curled her lip in anger. "I grow tired of your tricks, cretin! This is a tree, not a fountain!"
"Trust me, Angelique," the Endless said patiently. "Place your hands on the bark. Think back to the year you left France."
Angelique looked at me nervously before she complied with the Endless's directions. There was a white flash that blinded me, and I had to close my eyes.
"Zut alors! What is this?"
I cracked one eye open again and saw that the bark beneath Angelique's hands had become translucent. Within the spectral tree, a small boy sitting on a crate could be seen.
"Bastie?" Angelique gasped. "Bastie, mon doux petit frère! I'm here!"
The child looked up as though he heard something, but despite Angelique's pleading, he frowned and looked back down at his feet. He started coughing violently, his entire body shaking with it.
With a start, I realized who the boy must have been. "Angelique, is that … your brother?"
She ignored me and glared at the Endless. "Red Devil, is he all right? Why is he coughing? Will he survive?"
"No," the Endless replied somberly. "He only has a few months left."
"Then why take me here?! What are you playing at? How could you—"
"Angelique, stop!" I yelled, and she immediately quieted down. I placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, and I could feel her shaking. "Endless, what is going on?"
"Bastien..." Angelique sobbed. "I left him, promising when I came back, we'd be rich as kings. But when I returned from my first tour on a pirate ship..." She hung her head, unable to meet my eyes. "I found that he'd been taken by the Plague."
"The Mayans called this tree 'Fountain of Youth,' but it doesn't restore one's vitality, per se. You may reflect on a time, on a place … but that is all." the Endless explained.
"Then use your magic!" Angelique exclaimed desperately. "Go back in time to save him, as you did your friends!"
The Endless shook her head sadly. "Angelique … it took hundreds of changes to history and circumstance just for them to survive a day on this island. If we had the luxury of many years, with nothing else on the line, perhaps we could save Bastien from his illness. But we have neither."
Angelique looked back at Bastien as he hummed a tune to himself. "C'est à bâbord qu'on chante, qu'on chante, C'est à bâbord qu'on chante le plus fort. C'est à tribord qu'on chante, qu'on chante, C'est à tribord qu'on chante le pl—" His song was abruptly cut off by another coughing attack.
"Please," Angelique tried again. "I have come all this way. What can I do for him?"
"If you reach out with your heart, and focus on being there with him, he will hear you. See you," the Endless told her.
"And then?"
"You will only have a few minutes to speak with him, but he will remember what you say."
Angelique turned to me with her chin quivering. "I don't know if I can do it. I want to, with all my heart, but..."
I took a hold of her hand and squeezed. "This is your chance to say goodbye. Your only chance. Take it while you can," I encouraged gently.
She nodded and sniffled. "Thank you, Bella." Her grip on the tree tightened, and she knocked her forehead against it. "Bastie! Mon petit frère! Tu m'entends-tu?"
Bastien stopped singing, and stared at Angelique's face with awe. "Angie? C'est vous?
She laughed despite her watery eyes. "Oui, petit Bastie..."
"Angie!" He rushed at her with open arms but was stopped by the tree. He tried to press through, but couldn't. "Grande soeur, ou es-tu? Je ne peux pas—" He pushed against the tree in puzzlement, still coughing.
Angelique bit her lip as she held back her tears.
I wanted to know what they were saying to each other, but I had never studied French, so I could only observe and maybe understand some of it through their body language.
They were clearly both upset they couldn't touch each other, and it ached inside me to see the little boy reach for his sister in vain. He always started coughing when he got too excited about something he was telling her, and Angelique flinched every time.
She dropped to her knees at the trunk so that her head was level with her brother's, and it was obvious by the tone of her voice, and his reaction, that she was explaining they wouldn't see each other again.
The tears finally fell from Angelique's eyes as he started another hacking coughing fit, and she tried to reassure him as best as she could.
"Je suis malade, Angie," Bastien rasped out, and it was Angelique's undoing. A sob escaped her, and her shoulders convulsed.
"Je suis désolée, petit Bastie. Je suis tellement désolée," Angelique said through her sobs.
Bastien pressed his palm against hers on the tree and stared up at her. He said something that sounded like he was reassuring her, and I understood that they most likely only had each other before she left, and they equally took care of one another, despite Bastien's young age.
It was obvious when Angelique protested against his comforting, and he immediately fired up and got angry. I could definitely see many traces of Angelique in him.
As they continued to speak, I heard Bastien mention Janvier, and something he said caused Angelique laugh incredulously, but then the light within the tree began to flicker.
Bastien panicked and started to cough even more violently than before.
"You're almost out of time," the Endless cautioned Angelique, urging her to truly say goodbye to her brother.
With a devastated but determined expression, Angelique told Bastien what she needed to say. They leaned their foreheads against one another as close as they could get.
"Je t'aime, Angie!"
"Je t'aime, mon petit frère."
Bastien faded even further and was barely visible in the bark.
"À bientôt, non?"
Angelique nodded in answer to what he said and the finished it. "Adieu." She kissed her fingers and touched the bark reverently, and then Bastien was gone. The bark had returned to its dark, mossy exterior.
Angelique sobbed heartbreakingly against it.
"I am sorry, Angelique," the Endless told her genuinely. "I wish there was more I could do."
Angelique didn't say anything. She clutched the tree like a scared child clings to a parent while wailing in grief.
Wordlessly, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and she immediately turned and sobbed into my chest.
"I am so sorry," I said and stroke her back with as much comfort as I could muster.
"That stupid, beautiful, wonderful boy..." she mumbled. "What right does a child have to say such things?" she exclaimed, suddenly angry. "If he's so wise now, what could he have become, if … if..."
I didn't know what Bastien had said that had upset her this much, but I did what I could for her. "I wish I knew what to say to make this better. If there even is something I can say."
"You've already done more than I could ever ask, Bella," she replied, and my eyes widened in confusion.
"I have?"
She nodded. "I was ready to turn back and not take this chance to talk to him. It was painful, but … it's good to know what he wants for me."
I smiled gently at her. "I'm glad I could help."
At once, Angelique stood up and turned away. "I need … time. By myself." She collected her things and inhaled deeply.
I understood her need. "Do you want to say goodbye to the others?"
She sighed. "I don't think I can right now. Give them my best, amie. I'll catch up with you when I feel ready, okay?" She dipped her head to us both before she walked into the wilderness.
I looked after her for a long time until the Endless told me we needed to keep moving, and she led me back to the others.
Edward was the first to notice me as we got closer, but he frowned when he noticed that Angelique was missing. "Where'd Buccaneer Barbie go?" he asked me seriously, despite the ridiculous nickname he had for her.
I sighed. "She needed some time by herself," I told him and the others. "She told us to go on without her."
"Oh," Victoria said and nodded with worried eyes. "I hope she'll be okay."
We walked together in silence until we arrived at the edge of a vast, utterly blackened expanse of trees. Leah knelt down and examined the ash-strewn forest floor.
"What did this?" she asked no one in particular. She was shell-shocked by the destruction of the trees.
Jacorel touched one of the charred trees and flinched. "The war between my people was vicious," he said. "Too vicious."
James narrowed his eyes angrily and kicked the dirt with the tip of his boot. "Can't even escape war here," he muttered.
The Endless caught my attention and pointed into the distance. "Stay east and you should reach the city. The Kaarii there can help you reach Cullen's compound."
Rosalie looked uncomfortable as she stared into the misty forest. "Am I the only one who feels like we're out of extra lives in Evil Mode?" she asked us and then swallowed as if she was nauseous.
"What are you afraid of, ghoulie girl?" James asked, unimpressed by her unease. "It's a field of dead trees."
She glared at him. "I've been on the island long enough to know that it's never just a field of dead trees, stupid! And don't call me that again; ever."
Edward grinned. "Uncle Sam and I are on the same page, though. This is the first normal part of the forest I've seen around here … you know, aside from the skeleton trunks."
Kate rolled her eyes at him. "Please. You two aren't even in the same book," she said insultingly.
He leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Should I remind her that she hit on me relentlessly when we landed here?" he asked with a smirk, and I laughed.
"No," I told him and then wrapped an arm around his waist. "Besides, she's right. James and you are not in the same book."
"No? Are you saying I've been replaced?" he asked with a frown. He thought I was fawning over James as well.
I shook my head. "Never," I reassured him. "I'm saying he'll never be in your league." I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek, and that pleased smirk he often sported instantly reappeared.
"Guys!" Garrett called for attention. "We have a lot to do before the sun goes down."
The Endless nodded approvingly. "The more things change..."
"The more they stay the same," I finished for her.
She looked at me. "There will no doubt be trials along the way, but I have faith you will succeed."
"You have faith?" I asked her, quite shocked. "After everything you've seen?"
"Faith is all I have left, Bella," she explained solemnly. "Faith that you will stop Cullen. Faith that you will protect our friends. Faith that the cycle can be broken, one day soon." She turned and began climbing up the hill we'd just descended.
Leah crouched down and pointed to a trail of footsteps leading south. "There are fresh. Maybe they will lead us to someone who knows the way."
"There's something else," James suddenly exclaimed and waved us over. He gestured at a slash mark along one of the trees. "A tracking mark. If we follow trees slashed like this, it might take us where we want to go."
I nodded. "Yeah, I think we should stick with the footsteps for now, though. They're not as easy to miss as the slashes."
"Then let's go," Leah said and straightened up.
We traced the footsteps along the ash-laden earth. After some time, I saw a Kaarii man in unusual attire leaning against a tree. The outfit appeared to be put together by random pieces of clothing.
Jacorel waved a hand and called out in Kaarii. "Los'na! Pashtara makla pren Elyys'tel!"
The stranger looked at us curiously. "Quis es? Quid tu hic agis?"
"Was that Latin?" Kate asked perplexedly.
"Pouvez-vous parler francais?" Edward asked the strange man, and I stared at him in shock. I had no idea he could speak French.
The stranger shook his head. "Ich kann nicht lhnen verstehen. Vielleicht sprechen Sie Deutsch? Or English?"
I nodded at him. "English, yes."
The Kaarii heaved a sigh of relief. "Why did you not say so?"
"Can you help us?" I asked him hopefully. "We're trying to find Quarr'tel."
He appraised us suspiciously. "Quarr'tel is a place for those who live not today, yesterday, or tomorrow … but all of them at once."
Edward, quickly getting fed up with all the riddles we continuously faced, glared. "Listen, Fortune Cookie, the world depends on us getting to your treehouse. Could ya try to make some sense?"
James placed a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Cool your heels, flyboy. I'm sure we can work something out."
"We're wasting time!" Jacorel interjected. "As Elyshaar of Elyys'tel, I command you t—"
"To what?" the Kaarii man challenged. "All citizens of Quarr'tel have revoked titles, property, gods; everything in service of the eternal continuum." He crossed his muscular arms and stared Jacorel down. "If you want to get in, you'll have to relinquish your title, 'elyshaar.'"
"Wh-what?" Jacorel asked shocked.
Garrett stepped in between with surrender. "Look, we know you're just trying to do your job, but is there nothing else we can do to get him in?"
"There is no room for elyshaars, kings, or prophets in our ranks," the Kaarii pressed. "Only brothers and sisters, cogs in the great wheel."
Jacorel stepped away and shared a nervous look with the rest of us. "I cannot do this," he said apologetically.
Benjamin looked sadly at him. "Jacorel, I—"
"You must go on without me, Benji," he insisted. "All of you. I made an oath the day my mother died. I cannot go back on it."
I understood where he was coming from, and even though I would really have wanted him with us, it didn't feel right to force him to give up his throne because of it. Therefore, I gently placed a hand on Benjamin's arm.
We shared a look, and he sighed.
"Jacorel, I get it," I said reassuringly. "You have a responsibility to your people. We can't ask you to abandon them."
Emmett nodded in agreement. "What Bella said, dude."
Peter, on the other hand, huffed angrily. "This is dumb! What does it matter what you tell this punk? You could always just lie!"
The Kaarii man turned to Peter with unimpressed eyes. "You are not helping your friend's case."
"I have no choice, then." Jacorel sighed, and with an obsidian knife, he carved a distinct X into a nearby tree. "I will await your return, right here. If any of my scouts come to this place, I will tell them what we know."
Benjamin swallowed hard but finally nodded. "Okay. Just … be safe, alright?"
Jacorel wound his arms around Benjamin's waist, and they pressed their foreheads together. "You be safe, as well. I will never forgive myself if you get hurt."
They kissed deeply and passionately before Jacorel reluctantly pulled away.
"Good luck, my friends. I hope you do not need it."
Benjamin sniffled and Victoria stroke his back gently. "You okay, Benji?"
He clenched his eyes tightly and exhaled sharply. "Let's just … do this quickly, okay?"
Jacorel dipped his head my way, and all of us began walking deeper into the woods with the oddly-attired Kaarii.
"Alright," I sighed. "You win. How do we get to the city?"
"You will see. In time," the Kaarii replied cryptically. He turned and walked through the center of the group, nudging Emmett along the way. Then, he disappeared into the mist.
"Jerk," Kate huffed out and glared at the spot where he'd disappeared.
"Which direction do we go from here?" Leah asked and looked up at the sky. "The clouds are too thick to see where the sun is at. Anyone know which way is north?"
James dug into his pockets and produced an old-fashioned compass, and the arrow pointed straight forward.
I looked both right and left, and then back to right. "I think we should go right. The Endless said east was the way to go." I crossed that way with the others following and we continued to walk along the edge of the burned forest.
There was no distinguished trails or tracks anywhere.
"Are we there yet?" Peter asked dejectedly after we'd been quiet for a long time.
Suddenly, Edward cursed and groaned.
"What is it?" I asked, and he pointed at a burned stump.
"We've passed that exact stump before," he replied.
I looked closer at the stump and frowned. "Are you sure? All the stumps around here look pretty much the same."
"I'm sure."
"I knew it," Leah muttered. "We're walking in circles."
"This is taking forever," Victoria complained and irritatedly brushed her hair away from her face.
Benjamin approached me. "Bella, maybe we should try—"
He was interrupted by Emmett's scream as he tripped on an exposed tree root and fell face first.
"I'm okay!" he reassured from the ground, and Kate reached out to help him stand back up.
"Em, why is your pocket glowing?" she exclaimed in shock as she stared.
He looked down and frowned at the fuchsia glow that was shining through the fabric. "What the—?" He reached into the pocket and took out a glowing shard of crystal.
"The fella we saw earlier must have put it on you when he bumped you," James said and looked closer at the crystal, which was still in Emmett's hand.
"Maybe it's—"
"Part of the solution," Garrett interrupted Benjamin and grinned. "That must be it!"
Benjamin's expression fell, and he shrugged. "Y-yeah. That."
I rubbed his arm gently to comfort him because I knew why he looked so downhearted. My bestie wasn't a very outspoken person like Garrett or Edward, and the only time he felt confident in what he was saying was when he was spewing out movie references and quotes.
At all other times, he thought it was easier to just allow people talk over him.
I had seen a change in him since we found him in Elyys'tel, though, and I was positive it had everything to do with Jacorel. That he wasn't here now must have caused Benjamin to revert back to his old self.
I wound my arms around him and gave him a hug, which he instantly relaxed into because he knew I understood, and when I released him, there was a ghost of a smile on his face again.
"Can I see that?" I asked Emmett and held out my hand for the crystal, and he immediately gave it to me.
I turned it over in my hands, and I noticed with surprise that it glowed brighter when I held it farther to the right.
"Do you think that means something?" Rosalie mused, who had also noticed the crystal's behavior.
I shrugged. "Maybe we should follow it. Continue right."
Nobody had any objections to that, and we tried it out. The crystal instantly grew brighter with each step we took.
"I hope this is a good thing," I mumbled underneath my breath, and Edward chuckled next to me.
"Damn, I've made such a pessimist out of you," he said, and I rolled my eyes at him in reaction.
As the crystal shone brighter, I saw a patch of dirt that appeared to glow in response a short distance away. The crystal in my hand made a sharp pull toward the glowing mound of dirt, and I obediently followed it.
When we reached it, Rosalie used her pocket knife to dig into the cracked soil. "Jackpot!" she grinned and held up a similar crystal to the one in my hand.
She tossed it to me, and the moment the two were held next to each other, they suddenly appeared both shinier and glossier.
"Okay then," I said, still with no idea what to make of the crystals. "We have another one. What now?"
"Do they still light up and dim depending on which direction you point them?" Edward asked me, and I tried it out by spinning in a circle.
They glowed brighter when I faced the back of the group. I was mesmerized by the glow and how it danced between the two crystals.
"It wants us to go back," I said and all of us turned around on our heels.
When we had walked for a bit, I saw a familiar tree with a distinct X on it. Benjamin instantly lit up.
"We're gonna pass by Jacorel," he exclaimed excitedly. "We gotta show him these cool crystals."
We got closer and closer, but when we reached the tree, there was no sign of Jacorel anywhere.
"Jacorel?" Benjamin called out. "Hello?"
The forest was utterly silent. There were no footsteps in the ash and no signs of movement in the surrounding trees.
"Jacorel?" Benjamin tried again, and this time, his voice was laced with worry.
Victoria looked around in all directions. "He said he'd wait here, right?"
"No footprints, no markings, no sign of a struggle," Leah said suspiciously. "It's like he—"
"Like he disappeared," Benjamin finished in despair. He ran a hand through his hair and began pacing nervously. "I'm so stupid." His worry was suddenly replaced with anger. "I should have stayed behind with him! I should have been here!"
"Benji, we don't know what happened," I said in an attempt to calm him down. "Maybe he went to hunt down some food, or one of his scouts found him, or—"
Benjamin shook his head and met my eyes with his devastated ones. "Bella, the entire time I've known Jacorel, when he makes a promise, he never goes back on it." He kicked the dirt and started to walk back the way we came.
"Where are you going?" I called after him.
"To find whoever took him," he replied angrily.
Before he got very far, though, Garrett put a hand on his shoulder. "Benji … we don't have the time right now," he said apologetically. "The Endless was pretty clear that we need to move fast if we want to stop Cullen."
Garrett's words were the last straw for Benjamin and he exploded. "So you mean we should leave him behind?! Are you fucking kidding me?! He would come back for any of us without even hesitating!"
I had only seen Benjamin that angry once before when his parents didn't want to come to a theater performance his drama group put up our first year at Hartfeldt, and even though I startled when he raised his voice, I wasn't exactly surprised either.
The others were beyond shocked, though.
"Benjamin, please, you've got to stay calm..." Kate tried with wide eyes.
Benjamin turned to her with fuming eyes. "How can I stay calm?! What if-if..." His voice broke, and he started crying. "What if he's gone for good?" He looked at us all pleadingly. "No one in my life has ever made me feel the way he does. Can't you guys understand that?"
"Benji..." I reached out to him, but he shrunk away and shook his head.
"I'm going back for him, Bella. Don't try to stop me!" He turned and ran away from us.
"We're not letting him do this, are we?" Edward asked and then looked at me questioningly.
"I'm gonna try to talk to him," I told him and was about to run after my upset best friend when Garrett cautioned me.
"Alright, Bella. Just remember … we're tight on time."
I glared at him, not at all appreciating his lack of sympathy. "Thank you, Garrett. I know that," I gritted out and hastened after Benjamin as he bobbed and weaved between the trees.
Suddenly, he stopped, and I almost crashed into him.
"Ohmygod," he breathed out with a terrified expression.
The ghostly figure descended through the air directly in front of Benjamin, who staggered back against me. A glowing hand reached out and urged him to take two small objects from its grasp.
"I think it's your turn to see your future, Benji," I encouraged him.
Benjamin hesitantly accepted the two star wars action figures and held them in his palm questioningly.
Our surroundings were lost in a flood of light.
I was in a lecture hall I didn't recognize. Benjamin was leaning against a table and talking to a group of students. He was older, his hair short again, and he was wearing glasses.
"And when you watch a film or take in any work of art, try to let go of your expectations," he told them with a smile. "Look at what the work is attempting to do and consider whether or not it's succeeding at that."
"But, Mr. Santiago, Reflections is virtually unwatchable!" A student complained.
Benjamin chuckled. "Sometimes a movie will fail at even being a movie. There's still a lot that can be learned from that." A phone began buzzing on the table behind him, and he cleared his throat. "Good first class, everyone. See you next week!"
The students began filing out. Some of them stopped to snap a photo of their professor.
"Man, I can't believe they got Benjamin Santiago to teach here..." one whispered to another.
"I know, right? He literally rewrote the book on film theory!"
Benjamin's eyes widened when he looked at his phone and he hesitated for a moment. When all the students had left, he tapped the screen to place the call on speaker.
"Papa?"
"Benjamin? Can you hear me?"
"Yeah," Benjamin replied and looked uncomfortable. "Uh … long time. What can I do for you?"
"Son, I wanted to … your mother and I just saw your book."
"Oh. Okay." He closed his eyes and nodded as if his suspicions had been confirmed. "So you're calling to tell me you disapprove of what I wrote."
"What?"
"Papa, I'm at work right now," he said removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose between his eyes. "I really don't have time to—"
"No! Benjamin, please … just listen to me a moment!" Mr. Santiago hurriedly said. "We didn't know you were writing a book. Nina handed me the paper and it has your name on this little list."
"The New York Times Bestseller list," Benjamin replied angrily.
"Yes! And then I watched my morning show and they talked about you on there, too!"
He cleared his throat again. "Well, yeah … it came as a pretty big surprise to me too. So you haven't read it then?"
A telltale rustling of pages could be heard over the phone. "Ah, here! I like this part. I want to read this out loud, son … 'People ask me why there aren't new stories. How can film and television just go on doing variations on the same tired scenarios? I tell them to look around. Really look, with an open mind. If you look at life, you'll see the stories we've been shutting out—'"
"'And all you have to do is let them in,'" Benjamin finished the quote himself. He glanced at a pair of action figures on his desk, and he swiveled the heroes' arms so that their hands came together.
The voice on the phone wavered, clearly on the verge of tears. "Benji, my son, I'm sorry I never told you before … I am so very, very proud of you."
Benjamin wiped a tear from his cheek. "I know, Papa. I know."
Another flash brought us back to the forest. Benjamin opened his mouth to speak but ended up choking back a sob.
I hugged him tightly and allowed his sorrow to slowly ebb away. "Shh. It's okay."
"I … I'm gonna write a book?"
I smiled. "A bestselling book."
He wiped away his tears and looked down at the action figures in his hands. "Wherever Jacorel is, I've got to trust that he can handle himself."
"He'll come back to us," I said certainly, and then winked. "The Force is strong with that one."
It caused Benjamin to laugh through his tears. "Yeah … it really is. Thanks, Bella."
We walked back to the others arm in arm, and as we rejoined the group, everyone's eyes fell to Benjamin.
Edward clapped him gently on the back. "Hey, Ben … Holding up okay?" His eyes were filled with genuine sympathy, and when he cast a glance my way, I knew he was imagining if it had been us in Benjamin's situation.
We would have reacted in the exact same way as he did. That's what love did. It made you desperate when you got separated from the one holding your heart.
Benjamin gave him a resolute nod. "I'm still worried about Jacorel … but I know he'd tell me to keep going. So I'm gonna."
Victoria placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him square in the eye. "We'll find him as soon as we can, okay?" she promised, and Benjamin smiled appreciatively at her.
I exhaled sharply and held the crystals back up to resume our course.
In the distance, I saw a pulsing blue light sticking out of a broken tree trunk. I pointed it out to the others, and Leah ran ahead. She climbed up high in the tree and reached deep inside its cracked cavity.
"Got it!"
She handed the crystal to me and when all three were placed together, they shone brighter than ever and then went dull.
"Did we break them?" Peter asked worriedly.
Garrett sighed disappointedly. "I guess a game of hot-and-cold is too simple."
I shook my head to clear it. We were missing something and we needed to focus. "Let's just think this through. What was the last thing that Kaarii told us?"
"You will see in time," Victoria answered, and then narrowed her eyes in thought. "Maybe that means something else."
I was sure it meant something else. All cryptic riddles did, but I couldn't figure it out. I stared at the crystals in my hand, and then experimentally held one of them up to look through it.
I gasped. "Whoa! Look at this, guys!"
The light refracted through the crystal, and I could see time rifts and trails that weren't there before.
"Daaaamn! That's some trippy stuff, dude," Emmett commented with wide eyes.
"We're still stuck, though," I said dejectedly. "It will take days to explore all these trails."
"What about the other crystals?" Kate asked. "Maybe we need to use all three for something."
Rosalie's face smoothed out as she thought of something, and she took the crystals from my hands, stacked them together, and then squinted into the overlapping area. "There it is!" she exclaimed. "I see it!"
I peeked through the crystals like she had and among all the trails, a path illuminated by light stood out.
We started walking forward again, using the crystals as our guide, and we finally began making headway through the forest. After an hour of hiking, dusk fell and the stars began to come out.
Just up ahead, a gargantuan tree-city loomed out of the surrounding forest. Emmett froze on the spot at the sight.
"Are we in Oz?" he asked, and I could see why.
Quarr'tel looked nothing like Elyys'tel. Where Elyys'tel was green and luscious, Quarr'tel looked barren. The platforms, bridges, and huts had been made out of scraps of all sorts of material.
It definitely looked the part of a futuristic, war-wracked village straight out of a sci-fi novel.
Edward squared his shoulders and grabbed my hand in his as he stared at the looming tree. "Let's just hope the Munchkins have whatever we need to get to Cullen," he said, and while his words were humorous, as always, his face clearly showed his uncertainty.
As we approached the city, the steady thump of drums and music reached our ears. Peter and Emmett bobbed their heads appreciatively.
"Are we sure this is the right place?" Victoria asked skeptically.
Just then, a pair of Kaarii rushed past us toward the tree. They wore equally strange attire as the man we had encountered earlier, and they yelled and cheered as they ran.
One of them glanced back at our group with a merry grin in his eyes. "Come to crash our feast, outsiders?"
"And if we did?" I asked warily.
He shrugged. "Then I'd say you're more than welcome here."
The red-haired female produced a small metal disc and proceeded to twist it in her hands. A time rift tore open around us, and we started to fall through space.
Seconds later, all of us landed on a wooden platform high above the forest floor. The music was even louder from there.
The two Kaarii alighted with catlike grace, and over our heads, the rift wavered and faded.
"It's not an Anachronist party without a crash," the female told us with a laugh as she looked at the pile the rest of us had landed in.
Her choice of words connected the dots in my head, and I stood up but winced when I felt an ache in the shoulder I had landed on. "So you're the ones making all of the portals?"
The man frowned in confusion. "Hm?" Then his eyes cleared with understanding. "Oh, right. Rifts are only just starting to appear in this time."
"When we come from, outsider, fractures in the facade you call reality are everywhere," the woman explained. "We've simply learned how to make use of them."
Edward cleared his throat and stepped in between. "Gonna stop you right there. We're here to find a way into Cullen's compound, not trade riddles."
"Hey, enjoy the feast!" the man exclaimed and ignored Edward. "It's bound to be more interesting than anything you've seen in your mono-chronological lives."
Both of the Kaarii laughed uproariously.
Edward clenched his fists and I put a calming hand on his shoulder.
The two Kaarii turned and sauntered off together down a catwalk.
Emmett peered over the edge of the platform. "Oh, that's a far way down."
"We must be at least a mile up," Benjamin observed.
Edward inhaled deeply to calm back down. "Actually, Crazy Time Posse over there did us a favor," he said. "Now we only have to worry about getting down."
I scanned the area for an easy way down for when we would need it, and I caught sight of a familiar, hunched figure on a nearby platform.
"Harrvel!" I exclaimed in shock.
The shaman scowled and ducked into a door in a jumbled structure perched among the leafless branches.
"He didn't look too happy to see us," Victoria said sadly.
"No," Leah agreed. "But he must have some clout with these Kaarii to be here."
I swallowed hard as I thought of the last time I'd seen the old man, and how upset he had been to find out the religion he'd based his life upon was nothing but a hoax. "Yeah, we should talk to him," I suggested, but I wasn't sure he would want to.
We hurried after Harrvel into the structure he'd disappeared in.
I turned out to be a vast hall filled with lights and gas lanterns that illuminated a dance floor crowded with Kaarii.
One carrying a tray approached us, and it turned out to be the man from earlier. "Outsiders? You shouldn't be here. The Feast Before the End has rules, and unless you're here to partake and participate, we'll have to—"
"We're here to have fun!" I hurried to say, hoping that was what he wanted to hear. Maybe, if we did everything like them, they'd be more willing to help us. That was, at least, what I hoped.
The Kaarii eyed us distrustfully, and then finally extended his tray, which was loaded with strange concoctions. "Pick your poison."
I grabbed the first thing I saw, and it was in a pewter cup. When I looked into it, I saw how similar the liquid was to the sap we'd drank from the roots under Elyys'tel. I dipped my finger in it to make sure, and the texture was the exact same.
I thought it was strange, though, because Quarr'tel's tree looked dead from the outside, but it couldn't be if the sap still dripped from its roots.
I took the smallest sip I possibly could, and the taste was the exact same.
After offering drinks to the others, the Kaarii nodded and turned away to replenish his tray.
Rosalie downed her drink in one go and grinned. "So far this ain't half bad!"
Edward was more cautious with his drink, which was a first with him, and he looked around the crowd. "Jumanji should stick out like a sore thumb here, but I don't see him."
I made my way over to a raised platform, hoping it would help me see the room better. A Kaarii man was drumming hypnotically on an instrument I'd never seen before, and I leaned over to him.
"Excuse me, have you seen—"
"Not now."
I instantly backed away. "Oh. Sorry, I'll wait until you're finished."
His eyes remained closed. "Not later. Not earlier … All time, all the time!" The last part was yelled out over the music and the crowd cheered in response. Several Kaarii raised their arms and danced even harder as they gave in to the hypnotic beat.
The drummer suddenly opened his eyes and stared into the crowd in astonishment. He froze in place and the music faded, causing murmurs of confusion.
I followed his gaze and saw a masked Harrvel climbing onto a platform.
"Anachronists, heed my words!" he bellowed out over the crowd. "Our kind, all of us … we have been betrayed!"
I tried to concentrate on Harrvel, but the room was growing increasingly hazy around me.
"The Endless lied to us for hundreds of years while secretly absorbing the power of Kaanu!"
"How do you know this?" a female yelled from the middle of the crowd.
"Because I have heard the Endless confess it to an alternate version of herself!" Harrvel leveled a gnarled finger at me. "If you don't believe me, ask her!"
The gathered Kaarii turned toward me with bewilderment and contempt on their faces.
"Wait a minute!" I said to defend myself. "I—"
Before I could begin an explanation, colors and shapes began to swim nauseatingly in my vision.
I groaned and tumbled toward the floor.
"Princess!"
I blacked out just before the impact.
A/N:
Who here can relate to Benjamin whose comments are often disregarded? holds up hand or at least, I used to, when I saw myself as an introvert. Then I forced myself to become an extrovert xD
So everyone knows (except for Tanya and Alistair) about Bella being the Endless now. And they feel like they can at least trust her that she told them the truth about who she is.
Angelique finally found the Fountain, but it wasn't what she expected or wanted and she had to say goodbye to her little brother. Sniff at least she got the chance to!
If any one of you feel confused on who these Anachronists are, hit me up, and I'll explain further!
Until next week,
Stay Awesome!