TotM: Chapter 12

Back in the throne room, we could see (almost) everyone coming back up near where they parted; with Ed and Ebony coming from the left and Double D and Shayla coming from the right. The four teens gathered around Adam and Olivia, who were standing near the now deceased emperor.

"It's finally done," Olivia stated.

"So, t-this is why we turned back to normal so suddenly," Shayla concluded, she was trying to avoid looking at the emperor's body.

"Yes," Adam replied weakly, he still was not feeling well after the blow he took, "He will not be bothering anyone anymore."

It was Ed who finally noticed the two missing faces from their group, "Guys… Where's Eddy and Katrina?"

The others looked around to see if they were around. They were nowhere to be seen.

"… Oh dear," Double D muttered with worry, "We should try to find them."

"I remember seeing them run off towards the entrance," Ebony stated, "We should look there first."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, "Right."

The group soon backtracked towards the entrance, not noticing the horror of the sights behind them. The sentient shadows that Belindra called 'Heartless' earlier started to form and morph around his body.

At the entrance, they could see the castle doors busted open due to the fight that happened, along with the massive trail of blood leading to the center of the entrance's courtyard. That's where they saw them, Eddy kneeling over Katrina, embracing her lifeless body, crying his eyes out.

"Eddy!" Ed and Double D yelled in shock as everyone rushed to his side.

They all noticed the blood on Katrina's blue jacket and how much of it there was. Ed fell to his knees in shock while Ebony looked away from the sight, crying. Double D was trying to comfort Shayla, who started to cry into his shoulder, though he could not hold back his own tears for his friends.

Adam and Olivia stood there for a moment in shock, 'How could this have happened?!' Adam thought in a panic, 'She has no injuries on her body! So why…?!' that's when he noticed how much dried up blood was around her mouth and chin, '… It must have been an internal injury. Poor Katrina…'

"… Adam," Olivia whispered to him, "You do remember you gave me the Phoenix Amulet a moment ago, right?" she then grabbed the necklace from her lab coat pocket, placing it in Adam's hands, "I'm pretty sure this is the time use it; before it's too late."

"Y-You're right, Olivia," Adam replied, glancing back towards Eddy, who was still holding Katrina. He walked up to Eddy, placing his hand on his right shoulder, "Eddy…"

Eddy gave no response to Adam; you could tell he had finally stopped crying, having no more tears to give.

"… Eddy, please," Adam started to say, handing Eddy the necklace that Olivia gave back to him, "Put this amulet around her neck."

Eddy finally looked at Adam but said nothing to him, his dark blue eyes seemed cold and distant. He grabbed the necklace and placed it over Katrina's head and around her neck. Eddy glanced back to Katrina's face; she looked to be in peace. Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned in and gave her a kiss. The kiss was only for a few seconds before he separated his lips from hers. Eddy then went back to embracing her into a hug, he did not want to let her go.

Little did they know, the amulet around Katrina's neck started to glow a bright white color, Eddy's body was covering up the necklace's glow, almost like it was reacting to his body heat. While he continued to embrace her, Eddy could suddenly feel warmth coming from Katrina. At first, he thought his body and mind were playing tricks on him; that is, until he realized she was slowly beginning to breathe again.

Eddy widened his eyes with shock and disbelief, tears now coming back to his eyes. For once, he had no words to what was happening. He separated from her, only to see how brightly the amulet was glowing on her chest.

Of course, everyone else noticed the light, "W-What's going on?!" Ebony questioned.

Olivia gasped aloud, "I cannot believe it, the amulet actually worked!"

The teens turned to the young adults in confusion, "… You better explain this to us later," Double D stated to them with a small glare, "Right now doesn't seem like a good time for exposition."

Adam nodded his head, "Of course," Adam replied. He then bent down to Katrina and picked her up bridal style in his arms, "We should get out of here. Katrina's still very weak from what happened."

"Right," everyone, minus Eddy, stated with a nod of their heads in agreement. The group then left the castle, not realizing the threat they were about to face in the future.

The group finally made it out of the cave and back to the dock where their boat was waiting, along with Adam and Olivia's assistants. They were shocked to see Katrina's condition, "What on earth happened to this girl?!" one of them asked.

"She was sick with a bad fever while she was captured, and coughed up a lot of blood because of it," Adam started to explain to them, gently handling her to them, "Make sure she's taken care of in the sick room, understand?"

His assistants nodded their heads, "Understood, Mr. Eragon!" they said while quickly taking Katrina away to the sick room on the boat. Eddy was about to follow them, but was stopped by Adam, "It's okay, Eddy, she'll be fine with the nurses and doctors. Trust me."

Eddy made a small glare in defiance before making a sigh, realizing Adam was right.

"Now then," Olivia stated as she turned to the other teens, "You should all go get some food or rest. It's been a long day for all of us."

"Yes ma'am," they replied to her, minus Eddy, as they walked away to do what they wanted.

"… Adam," Olivia started to say once the teens were out of earshot, "You noticed it as well, right?"

"Of course, I did notice," Adam replied back, "Eddy hasn't spoken at all since we found him."

"I hope the trauma didn't cause him to lose his voice," Olivia sighed with a hint of sadness, "I heard that's a thing that can happen. Sometimes it takes months or years to go away…"

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Adam stated, "Katrina's alive now, so all we gotta do is wait. Time can heal some wounds."

It was now nighttime; the boat was almost close to their destination, an island called Santorini. Everyone was off doing their own things at separate parts of the ship. Ed and Ebony were at the mess hall, eating a small meal made by the cooks on the ship. Double D and Shayla were both sleeping in their beds at the rest quarters, exhausted at all that has happened. Adam and Olivia were having a small meeting with their assistants, trying to figure out where to stay when they land on the island.

Eddy, in the meantime, was standing out on the deck, looking out at the sea with the sea breeze gently passing by him. With no other lights around them for miles, the stars in the sky were more visible, especially more so than any night at the Cul-De-Sac. He heard some quiet footsteps, "Eddy…"

Eddy widened his eyes as he turned to who it was, Katrina came walking up from behind him. He could see that she was not wearing her glasses anymore, her vision restored, "It is you, right? Y-You're Eddy…" she asked, looking up and down at him before tearing up a little, "I can finally see you."

Eddy stayed silent, but you could tell how relieved he was by his face, making a small smile to her. Katrina stood beside him, looking out at the sea alongside him, "I never knew the sea could be this beautiful at night," Katrina said, "I'm so happy I can see it."

They stood there for a minute without saying anything to each other. They were happy to be near each other again.

"The others said you haven't spoken a word since they found you," Katrina started to say to Eddy, glancing away from him in sadness, "I'm so sorry…?!"

Suddenly, she was interrupted; Katrina could feel herself being hugged tightly by Eddy. He still said nothing, but his actions were enough to get his message across.

"Eddy…" Katrina muttered, finally embracing him back, "Thank you for everything…" she shut her eyes, tears streamed down her face, "I love you."

"… I love you too, Katrina."

Katrina widened her eyes; her heart was pounding out of her chest. He finally talked again! "Should… Should we tell the others?" she asked.

"Nah… They can wait," Eddy said with a mischievous smile, "They'll find out eventually."

The two of them grasped each other's hand, leaning in closer for a kiss; finally, their first kiss that was not forced or depressing.

Meanwhile, back in the ruined throne room, Emperor Belindra's body was still there, being swarmed by the shadowy creatures he called Heartless. Suddenly, his body started to radiate a weird energy as he started to morph into something else… Something sinister.

Author's Note: Phew, there we go! I might take a small break soon, but the final chapters will slowly be worked on, so stay tuned!