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Chapter 6: Remember
"No! Don't let him get away!" I cried, nearly in tears. If he got away he would destroy our town and all the others. "Katerina!!" Mac crowed, and jumped in front of me as a Golem tried to use it's W-Chop on me. "Mac, no!" I roared, but it was to late. Mac was slammed up against the ancient wall and the candles began to fall as the ruin trembled by the Golems power. "Earthquake? Titan? What are you doing?" Smasher asked, coming to Mac side even as it seemed the ruin would collapse that very moment. But I was already there. "Mac, don't leave me!" I insisted, holding my now halfway grown monster. "Katerina, we have to go! This ruin's going to collapse!" Joey called, pulling on my good arm as I held Mac. "You're going to be okay Mac!" I called, as we ran for our lives.
As we ran I felt like a coward. Giving up and not even sure whether we won or not... Because I knew we didn't. It was obvious that Nichiro would become all powerful and that we would lose like Ganki did... And cause the pain that he caused, all over again. And there it went, like a ton of ruble it was before it was built... So long ago. "We made it!" Abe sighed, but I knew all ready who didn't. I laid Mac down in the grass as he blankly looked at the original crew and the addition to it. "You'll make it- I believe in you... I'll be waiting." Mac coughed. "No, no you're going to be okay! I-if you just relax, we have the First Aid K-kit..." I stumbled, but though I wanted to deny it all costs I knew that he was not a survivor. "Your light will preserve Katerina... Just like it did, for me. I give you my faith." He pledged, and he became a lost disk. "Mac!!" I cried, and tears filled my eyes until I could no longer see. "K-Katerina... I'm so sorry this happened." Joey apologized. "No, you're not the one who has to feel sorry for me... No one does. I will get him back, all of them... And our team combined with Tory's here will make it!" I called, and stood up. For in my hands was a glowing faith that I knew so well. ""But where is that faith going to be put?" Ishabi asked, but I think I already knew.
It disappeared in my hands and the group gasp. "You lost it didn't you." Tory said, but I shook my head. "No, it's not gone... It can't be, I feel it. It's in my heart Tory. I think that's where all the faith has gone for I feel all of them." I sighed, and looked up at the ever gloomy sky. "We're not going to give up... You have to take the ups and downs." Abe said, and I knew my friends would always be by my side... Forever. I drifted off for a second and came back with a handful of flowers. I put them next to Mac's disk and with that we continued in the direction we were going to go. "What about the saber-er, staff?" Orion asked, and I saw Smasher near the rubble of the left over ruins. "That's not important now... We're on a mission... Right Smasher?" I insisted, and he turned to me. His teary big face nodded and I knew we were going to go the distance.
So we continued the way we had intended for we remembered our true purpose... "The only thing was now we have a problem. We have no back up for an excuse to not be the four missing individuals from Ruby town." I noted, but I saw Tory wink at that. "Well, now your group no longer looks like a band of kids..." Tory smiled. "Yeah, now it looks like a band of hippies and bandits." Pixie chuckled, and I half smiled. "When the going gets tough..." Joey started and the whole group finished it. "The tough gets going!" We cheered and I had a happy feeling jolt up in me. Though sometimes we can be the lousiest airheads I have ever seen we're a pretty good team altogether. "But what about the map?" Clarice asked, and the Moochi came forth. "I have about nine in my pack of this whole land!" He cheered, and we smiled.
Just then rain began to pour down like we were meant to leave right now. "I think that's a sign... Oh, chee, I almost forgot... I'm Zip, chee!!" Obviously the Moochi laughed, and on the road again (if there was one) we went. "The next place from Orion's Ruins is... The ocean? That means dead end." Zip sighed. "Yeah, same here we can't afford a boat... No way!" I cried, and we continued more gloomily then ever... But then I thought of Hank, all his dreams and hopes were set on us, even his faith. And Mac, he wouldn't give up for the world... For his life depends on solely me now. I looked up from the map. "Are we willing to give up that easily? Are we really that stubborn that we give up our faith?! Maybe it's time for my leadership skills to sharpen but we're are not going to stop!" I crowed, and took the map in my hands and walked on. "Shouldn't we find shelter?" Clarice asked, and I turned to her. "And leave Mac and Smasher's brothers sit there with no faith? NO!" I roared, but I kind of felt Katerina was over doing it again.
About three hours later I realized that this was getting retarded. I was forcing the whole team to hate me by dragging them through this storm... Even poor Joey. I stopped right there and looked at the map. "Hey, there's an empty cave to the left a little... Maybe we'll stop there for the night." I offered, and they turned to me miserably. "Oh, how generous." Pixie chilled, and I ran them right through it as thunder began to crackle in the distance. "Um, look you guys I'm sorry I'm being so harsh... It's just-just that... I want Mac back!" I cried, and tears streamed down my already soaked face in the cave. Joey came to my side and I cried into his shoulder sadly. "We understand Katerina." He comforted, as Tory brought out a box of matches and his own firewood. "Wow, you guys are prepared for anything." Abe insisted. "Well, with a nutty bunch like ya'll it's kinda obvious we're ready for anything." The once silent Gel chuckled, and I leaned on Joey and sighed at last.
"I told you, you two are going to get married!" Orion howled, and for the first time I punched him. "Ouch." Orion said, and fell down. "Silence." Pixie sighed, and I laughed. "What's the Gel's name?" I asked, seeing the puddle next to the attempted fire. "Um, yeah... The names None of your business." The Gel howled, and made itself back to normal. "His names Vince, he's just a little bit rude at the moment." Tory said, not sure why Vince was being difficult. I shrugged, it seemed nothing mattered while I was in Joey's arms... I felt safe from anything. Either that or it was intimidation for he was older then I. Probably not though. "Stupid matches are to soaked by that monsoon to work!" Tory roared, and I got up to put down my pack. I looked in the pack to see whether I still had the matches I kept on a normal basis in the pack to start with. "Here are mine... I think they're dry." I assumed, and handed them to Tory.
"Wow, these actually work!" He cheered, and we had a small bonfire going in no time. "What's for dinner?" Orion asked, after my thwack had worn off. "See Orion, I can use monster attacks too." I smiled. "And what was that?" He asked, and I laughed at the reaction. "Thwack... Also known as a dino Punch or-" I started, but I remembered poor Mac. He use to love that attack. "Need a hug?" Joey asked, but I shook my head and laughed. "Nah, I can't be sad... Mac wouldn't want me to be." I said, more confident in my words then what I felt.
The night came faster then I expected and soon I brought out "the coat". "You still sleep with that?" Clarice laughed, and threw me a sleeping bag she had bought. "Thanks!" I smiled, and got in it immediately after we ate dinner and got everything packed up for tomorrow morning. "We're going to get Mac back Katerina... I promise." Joey insisted, and I smiled. "Though this team is going through some tough changes you can't let it hang on you." Zip sighed, and came over to sit by me. "You're a kind hearted girl Katerina... That I can tell just by being by you and talking with you today." He smiled, and something that Zip said stuck with me. Changes... That's what Ganki went through on his journey. Maybe that's why they never revived Grey Wolf. Tiger had an eternal grudge against Moo that kept him from the true heart he really had... Deep inside.
"Well, goodnight and tomorrow we will not stop until we reach it, the ocean." Tory yawned, and I turned to my side to go to bed at last... It had been a big day. The hardships we go through doesn't make our bonds weaker, it only strengthens them even more. As I slowly fell asleep though I felt it. The presence of the saber, it lingered on in my memory as a weapon of truth to me but a weapon of destruction to Nichiro... Though we were still confident could we truly defeat him with Orion's Staff in his claws?
In the morning we got up with full hope. "Alright crew, let's get back that staff-er, saber or whatever it turned into after Katerina put her necklace in it." Vince sighed, and we all sleepily packed up our things. "Yeah, but here's another question I have, where did Mac's faith go if Nichiro took the crystal?" Ishabi asked, even though he seemed to be the one with all the answers, not questions. "That's a good question... No answer." Tory said, a little confused himself about the Faith that Mac had given us. I yawned and put my backpack back on and got ready to go. "Granola Bar?" Orion asked, already munching on one. "Me!" I cried, and Joey handed everyone one for our little but "okay" breakfast.
"Wow, we must be pretty fat if the team is feeding us candy bars." Pixie sighed, while chewing on one. "Hey, it's healthy and nutritious and, oh, forget it." Joey laughed, and I smiled over at him. "It's really wet still." Smasher complained, and practically had to trudge through the mud to even move. "I told you it was a monsoon." Tory chuckled, and grabbed one of Zip's maps to check out our location. "Um, Tory we just got on the trail again... Surely we couldn't be that far away." Vince said, smarting off. "I know but maybe there's a bridge to the center of this ocean..." He pondered. "Or closer then the middle." Ishabi hoped. "If I am correct-" Tory began. "In which he usually is." Zip noted. "There's a sea boat rental right next to the Bay of Pirate Suezo's Cove." He finished, and I saw Orion practically do a flip. "What are you related to the Pirate Suezo's or something... Wouldn't surprise me." I said, sarcastically. "No, but there a good friend of mine." Orion insisted. "Can anyone say, free boat ride?" Vince laughed, and we knew that hopefully those pirates would still remember him. Either that or Orion was lying.
"Oh, stupid sun..." Pixie whined, feeling sick from the heat. "Hey, deal with it okay?" I snapped, getting annoyed by her constant complaints. "Okay, sorry Katerina... Yeesh." Pixie sighed, and folded her arms. "I think Katerina is getting grumpy." Zip noted, and I shrugged. "The heat can do that to you... But none of you wants to see me when I'm really ticked off. Trust me." I said, and kept leading the group. "Oh, no I'm so scared." Vince laughed, and I just rolled my eyes. "Well, anyway if our friend Orion comes through we might make it to the Isle of the Phoenix..." Tory said, exciting the group. "That's where the Cavern of Fate is!" I insisted, and Tory checked the map. "That pile of rubble on the map is the once magnificent cave?" Zip asked, and I darted over to check.
"Looks like someone destroyed it years ago..." He said. "M-maybe that's an old map before the cave got into formation." I said, hopeful. "No way girly, there is no possible way this map could be THAT old and still not crumble up in my hands! It takes a very, very, very long time to form a cave. Plus, this is a current map." Tory insisted. "Then maybe it's somewhere else!" I crowed, refusing to believe my mom's tale was a lie. "Look there is no Cave of Fate anywhere okay? It just isn't on there." Ishabi informed me. "Then your telling me my mothers story is a lie? A fairy tale and that this whole prediction of the Phoenix's power may be just a child's prediction?" I insisted, and they sadly nodded. "I don't believe that map. I refuse to, if I am wrong then so be it but we are still going to go there." I said, stubbornly and lead the group in the same direction to the ocean.
"Alright, let our stubborn leader lead us to Nichiro so at last we can lose it all." Vince snapped, and I stopped the group. I flung around to stare at him. "Listen Vince, listen very well for this may be something important. If you've lost so many times like I and you feel like giving up would you keep this faith? Huh? Probably not and that's the only reason Ganki lost everything and let this whole world down... Well, I'm not going to let that happen to us, monsters and people alike. We are a team and by being such we will NOT go back to the slave days when either of the sides felt we were equal... Do you want Nichiro to have the whole world chained to a bar and forced back to labor?" I crowed. "No." He whimpered. "Then shut up and let me believe in the prediction no one has ever used!" I roared, and again there was silence from him.
I turned back around and didn't look back. We were going to prove the whole world wrong for by the time the sun set that day we saw it... The beautiful ocean and yet it's unbroken mysteries. I'd prove them the cave was real... I wasn't going to be the one who bails, not now. We were so close to victory.