As Luck Would Have It

A/N: Like I said, I'm not disclaiming anymore. I did enough of that. As usual, all I know going into this chapter is that it's possible that the gang will get through Goma Cave by the end. But then again, maybe not. Who knows? See, you have to read to find out. ;)

Chapter Seven: For One To Fly

            "Alright! Goma Cave!" Garet cried happily the next afternoon. "Now we can go through it, go to Bilibin and sleep in real beds!"

            "Not so fast, fire-head," Zoe said playfully, reaching up to mess with Garet's hair. "You really want to be up all night walking through that cave, that has who-knows-what living inside it?"

            "No, not really."

            "I didn't think so."

            "Both of you stop it," Isaac said testily. "We've got a climb ahead of us. We're going to stay the night up on that cliff there. Nothing will be able to climb up after us."

            "How do you know that?" Garet asked teasingly.

            "Because I haven't met a monster yet who can climb ladders," Isaac retorted, pointing at a serried of ladders that rested against the uneven cliff face. "We climb those and find the cave entrance, then go to sleep and begin again in the morning."

            "If you want my opinion," said a familiar voice from above, "you plan too much and too often assume your plans are foolproof."

            "We didn't want said opinion, Ivan, but I suppose such things are often given unasked-for," Garet muttered as Ivan jumped down from a tree. "And Isaac's plans have yet to fail us."

            "A foolproof plan is impossible when the fool has devised the plan," Ivan said, crossing his arms and grinning.

            "But who is more the fool? The fool with the plan, or the fool that follows him?" Isaac shot back, an equally sly grin on his own face.

            "Now that we're all equally foolish here," Zoe cut in, "can we just find the cave entrance and get the climbing part over with?" The others stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

            Isaac and Garet shoved a big rock out of the way of the first ladder and began to climb. Ivan went next, and Zoe, gritting her teeth, came last. "Don't like heights?" Ivan asked as they walked along the cliff face, backs to the sheer wall of the next cliff level. Zoe shook her head and tried not to look down.

            "Well, there's a problem," Isaac said, looking at the gap in the cliff face before them, and the large rock on the other side. "I'd like to save my Psynergy, if you don't mind, Garet."

            Instead of replying, Garet approached the edge of the gap and extended a hand towards the rock on the other side. The sight of the radiance surrounding him and the phantom hand grasping and moving the rock never ceased to amaze Zoe. The rock fell with a crash into the hole, and formed an almost complete path for them to walk across.

            Not that Zoe enjoyed the idea.

            Past the gap was a second ladder. Zoe climbed this one first, at the insistence of all the boys. "Very funny," she muttered, hauling herself up the ladder. After that first day no memories had come back to her, and though she was learning to get along without them, not knowing just what she could do was pretty annoying. And knowing that she hadn't used to do much physical work, but doing it now anyway, and by choice even, was worse.

            Ivan was last, both across the gap and up the ladder. He was grateful they hadn't yet asked why he was here, but he knew it was on all their minds, even without the ability to read them. So finally he just came out and said it. "They wouldn't let me into Lunpa. The gates were shut, and they said no one else was allowed to go past them."

            "Oh…I guess you can't give the Shaman's Rod to Hammet then," Zoe said casually. She was already walking ahead, wanting to get to a wider part of the cliff where she didn't feel as though she might fall at any moment.

            "No, I can't. So…so I decided I'd travel with you guys."

            "That's great Ivan!" Zoe could barely contain her excitement. She hadn't known him for more than a day, and she was as close to him as if he'd been her brother. Do I even have a brother? she wondered. Then she laughed. "Those two can use all the help they can get."

            "Not funny," Garet muttered, stepping up and shoving Zoe forward. She let out a piercing shriek as she stumbled forward, and the boys covered their ears.

            "Don't you ever do that again, you idiot!" Zoe screamed in Garet's face. She turned angrily away and quickened her pace, wanting to get as far away from them as possible.

            "Good job," Isaac said sarcastically to Garet as he passed him. Ivan nodded and gave Garet a sympathetic pat on the back, then muttered to Isaac, "She got the idiot part pretty much on the nose, didn't she?" They laughed, leaving Garet standing stunned behind them. After a moment he shook it off and continued walking.

            Zoe was far ahead of them now, and she had reached what appeared to be the end of the cliff. Across a break in the ground was a large tree stump overgrown with ivy vines. Steeling herself and jumping across, Zoe landed between the stump and the cliff face behind it. Here she could see that part of the cliff face was covered with vines as well, but as she moved closer she could feel a cool breeze coming from behind the ivy. "The cave entrance," she whispered, and began to pull the ivy down with her bare hands, the tough vines cutting into her palms.

            Soon enough of the vines lay on the ground for Zoe to go into the cave, but she wasn't about to go in alone. However, she was still mad at Garet, and she didn't want to go in as part of his group either. Still, her anger was fading, and she was just about to jump back across and go apologize when she heard their voices approaching. She ducked behind the stump, then realized how close her feet were to the edge and hung onto the ivy that blanketed it for dear life.

            "Would you look at that!" said Garet's voice. "Looks like Zoe's gone ahead without us. Let's go."

            "One problem, brainiac," Ivan sneered. "We all can't jump across at once with that log in the way."

            "He's got a point," Isaac said, stepping up to the edge of the cliff and studying the log. "C'mon Garet, let's see if we can move this stump out of the way." Garet nodded, and the two of them, using their Move Psynergy, tried to push the stump over the edge on the other side. Zoe, feeling the stump shift, tightened her grip and squeezed her eyes shut.

            "It's not working," Garet said finally, sitting gratefully on a rock. "Our Psynergies aren't strong enough."

            "I can help," Ivan said, and went to stand in the spot Garet had vacated. Holding out both hands and concentrating, he began to glow. The wind picked up until it threatened to yank Isaac right off the ground, and he grabbed Flint as the Djinni flew from his shoulder.

            "Wind Seer's Whirlwind!" Ivan yelled, and the winds concentrated into one giant tornado-like spiral. The cyclone shot at the stump and began to rip the ivy away, throwing it everywhere and causing Isaac and Garet to shield their faces from the flying vines.

            "Aaaaaiiiyaaaaaa!" Zoe screamed as the winds tossed her into the air. Torrent, who had been in the hood of her cloak, yelled also as she was thrown in a different direction.

            "Zoe!" Isaac cried, seeing her go flying. "Ivan, STOP!!" Isaac ran up to Ivan and shoved him back, breaking his concentration and causing the winds to stop. Ivan, about to get angry, saw Zoe begin to fall and gasped.

            "What's happening?" he cried, and Isaac shook his head.

            "She must have been on the other side of that stump," Garet said softly, watching her fall through the air and knowing there was nothing he could do.

            Zoe was falling. A quick glance down told her she would land in the river, but at the speed she was falling it would hurt as much to hit water as it would the ground. She didn't think she'd survive the fall. As she drew closer and closer to the cold rushing water below, the roar of the waterfall grew in her ears. And at last she closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

            "Explorer's Flight!"

            Had that been Zoe's voice? Isaac, Ivan and Garet looked up and saw her floating a few feet above the water, surrounded by the glow of her Psynergy. Slowly she floated over to where the others were standing and set herself down on the ground.

            "How did you do that?" Ivan asked, amazed. "I thought you couldn't use Psynergy! That was amazing!!"

            "Thanks, Ivan," Zoe said weakly, sitting on the rock Garet had vacated. "I'd like it better if I knew how to use it without having to face certain death first."

            "Um, Zoe…" Garet said, and she looked up at him, a flash of anger crossing her eyes. "I'm sorry, for shoving you. It was stupid."

            "I'm not really angry, not anymore," Zoe said, grinning. "Besides, my being angry at you was the indirect cause of what just happened."

            "Then you're not going to hurt me?"

            "Maybe." Zoe grinned mischievously.

            "Why don't I like the sound of that?" asked Flint from his position in Isaac's hands. "Isaac, let go of me! You're holding on much too tight!"

            "Sorry Flint," Isaac said sheepishly.

            "Hey, that's right!" Ivan said, scanning the swiftly darkening sky. "What happened to Torrent?"

            "Oh no," Zoe whispered. "She…she flew…the wind took her away…I didn't see…I…" Zoe turned her head away, hiding her tears. I'm sorry, she thought, I'm so sorry.

            Flint made a thoughtful sound and jumped from Isaac's hands to his head, and then made a flying leap for Garet's head. "Come off there! What are you doing?"

            "I need the highest vantage point possible, and you're tall," Flint said indignantly. He sprung into the air, flying about three feet above Garet's head, then came back down and did it again. After doing this about five times, he jumped back onto Isaac's head and turned to Zoe. "Hello."

            "What does that mean?" Ivan asked, and the Djinni grinned.

            "It means I've found Torrent, or what I hope is Torrent. But…well, the 'signal' I'm getting, if you can call it that…it's very weak."

            "See that, Zoe?" Ivan said encouragingly, and she turned to look at them. "Torrent's alive. Now all we have to do is find her."

            "Somehow I doubt that's an easy task," Isaac rationalized. "I mean, that whirlwind threw things everywhere. We don't even know where to start looking."

            "Great job cheering Zoe up, blockhead," Garet muttered, and Isaac blushed. "But he does have a point. So let's start here."

            "Ok," Zoe said, standing. "But what if—"

            "No 'what ifs.' We cross that bridge if we come to it," Ivan said determinedly. With that they split into two groups, Ivan and Zoe in one group, and Isaac, Garet and Flint in the other group. Descending the ladders, each group searched a different side of the river, looking for 'any sign of anything,' as Ivan had said.

            "See anything?" Ivan asked Zoe, who shook her head. She couldn't even really think straight. What if Torrent really was…gone?

            "Here's something!" Ivan called suddenly, and Zoe fought her way through the undergrowth and over to him. He was bent over something partially hidden in the leaves. He shoved the leaves and branches aside and his face fell. He was looking down at a rock. Just a rock. "Sorry, Zoe." Zoe shook her head.

            "It's ok, Ivan. Let's just keep looking."

            And they did. They walked their side of the river three times and came up with nothing but an assortment of scratches and scrapes courtesy of low-hanging branches and thorny weeds. "We tried," Zoe said sadly. "Tried…and failed."

            "Maybe Isaac and Garet found her," Ivan said hopefully. Dejectedly they trekked back out of the trees and into the open, carefully crossing the fast-moving river at the narrowest and shallowest point. "There's no point in looking if you've already given up hope."

            "I-I-I know…b-b-but I can't think…if s-s-something happened, I-I-I'd never f-f-forgive myself!" Zoe bit her lip to hold back her tears.

            "Don't be upset," Ivan said, sitting on the ground next to her. "We will find her. I don't think Garet or Isaac, or me for that matter, will let us stop looking. It's all of our faults."

            "Mine too."

            "Yes, yours too." Ivan instantly regretted his words, thinking them too blunt. But to his surprise Zoe smiled.

            "Thanks, Ivan. Anyone else would have insisted it wasn't my fault, and I would have hated that."

            "Uh, sure Zoe."

            A rustling in the bushes nearby caught their attention and Zoe held her breath as she saw Isaac emerge with Flint on his head, and Garet follow close behind, carrying something. Zoe looked at them hopefully, a single thought playing over and over in her mind. Please let them have found her.

            Isaac approached them and Zoe and Ivan stood, almost pleading looks on their faces. He fought to keep the sadness from his face as he let Garet pass him. Garet looked at the ground as he handed Zoe what he'd been carrying. She let out a cry of mixed joy and anguish when she saw it was Torrent, looking the worse for wear and not moving.

            "No," Ivan whispered, looking sadly up at the twilight sky. "No. It's not possible."

            Flint jumped off Isaac's head and came over to Zoe, and she looked at him with tear-filled eyes, knowing he would tell her that what she feared was true.

            "She's not dead," Flint told her, and at that moment Zoe could have picked him up and kissed him. "Thought you should know before you went jumping to conclusions."

            "Thanks, Flint…Isaac…Garet…Ivan." Zoe looked down at Torrent again and tears sprang up once more. She fought them, and when she had control of herself she looked at them all again.

            "I hope you don't mind, all of you…but I don't think I can do it alone. I mean…I was thinking that once we reached Bilibin or wherever we're going, we'd part ways, and you guys could go off on your quest, and I could try to figure out exactly where I came from, and what I can do, and where I should be going. But now I'm thinking maybe I was wrong. I won't make it on my own, not without a miracle. So, if you'll let me, I'd like to go along with you, and try to stop your enemies from lighting all the lighthouses."

            "Well geez, Zoe…" Isaac said, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a friendly smile. "You didn't think we'd actually let you go off by yourself, did you? We need you, Zoe! And, well…you're a nice person to have around. You're a good friend."

            "And besides," Garet added, grinning at her, "you're the first girl since Jenna who's been able to put me in m place and leave me speechless."

            "And that is a feat indeed!" Flint said good-naturedly, beginning to laugh. Soon they all were laughing, and Garet used his Psynergy to make a fire while the others readied themselves for the night.

            "Are we really going to go through Goma Cave first thing tomorrow?" Ivan asked, and Isaac nodded.

            "The sooner we reach Bilibin, the better. For all of us," Isaac added, glancing over at Zoe, who was drawing by the light of the fire.

            "I wonder what lives under the mountains."

            "Things we probably won't like meeting. But Goma Cave is used by anyone who travels, unless they're thickheaded and arrogant enough to think they can cross the mountains themselves. It should be light inside, and a path should be clearly visible."

            "I'm not sure I won't be more of a hurt than a help."

            "Oh, come off it, Ivan. Size isn't everything. Jenna was small, and she was the fastest thing…smarter than Garet too, though that doesn't take much," Isaac added, winking. Ivan laughed, then, as his eyes caught sight of Zoe, who had stopped drawing and was staring listlessly off into the night, his smile faded.

            "Flint was telling the truth, right?"

            "Of course he was. He wouldn't lie about that. In fact I doubt he'd lie about anything."

            "What's Zoe going to do? I mean…she can't carry Torrent all the way through Goma Cave. 'Least I don't think she can."

            "It would be hard. We'll have to fight our way through, most likely."

            "That meant you have no other solution, right?"

            Isaac grinned and ruffled Ivan's hair. "You catch on quick. Now go to sleep. I think Garet and Zoe have beat us to it."

            Ivan ran a hand through his hair, then lay down and in moments was asleep. Isaac did much the same, though he did give Garet a good punch for snoring. But Zoe, silent as she was, was not sleeping.

            Instead her gaze was riveted on the small, still form of Torrent. Torrent, who had put Zoe first that day…it felt like so long ago, but it was only a week before…that day in the forest. "Back then I didn't know," Zoe whispered into the night. "If I had known, maybe I'd have stayed in Vault."

            "But then you wouldn't have Psynergy," came the whispered reply.

            "Torrent?"

            "Well, at least it's not my ghost talking to you."

            "What happened?"

            "The same thing that happened to you, only I didn't have Psynergy to stop my fall."

            "You saw?"

            "I went much higher than you did, and you weigh more, and fell faster. Now go to sleep."

            "I can't sleep! You might…"

            "Come off it. Nothing's going to happen to me," Torrent said more gently. "But something's gonna happen to you if you don't sleep!"

            "Alright, alright, I get the picture!" Zoe said, laughing, and rolled over and closed her eyes.

            It was only when he was positive that Zoe was asleep that Flint crept out from his hiding spot and sighed. He'd have to tell Zoe what he'd done, but that could wait until morning. For now, he could pretend that it really had been Torrent's voice. Looking sadly down at the Mercury Djinni, he sighed and scurried back over to where Isaac lay, curling up beside him and falling asleep.

***************

By my unknown methods of calculation, this is a long chapter, and I guess they don't get to go through Goma Cave until Chapter Eight. Oh well. More incentive to read and review, right?

Phoenix: that's what she hopes.

Vil: *shoves alter ego away from puter* I didn't bring you here! But, to my esteemed audience, REEEEEEVIIIIEEEEWWWW!!!

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