CHAPTER 5
The Rebirth of Alchemy
I successfully led Piers, Isaac, Mia, Ivan, and Felix to the top of the Cape May Jupiter Lighthouse. It wasn't much work, really. The only puzzle to solve was how to break the lock on the door. And so here we were, standing at the very top. Grey clouds had rolled in and covered the sky, and the waves crashed mightily. A fierce wind blew around us, carrying our voices off as we spoke, so much so that we had to shout to be heard.
"Well, I guess this is it!" Isaac shouted over the wind.
"Yes, it is, honey!" Mia agreed, and they began French kissing.
"Knock it off, will you?" Piers complained. They broke the kiss, and Mia said, "Mmm, windy kiss! Yummy!" Issac laughed and snorted. "Ha, you snorted!"
"Can we just move it along?" Felix asked, hugging himself for warmth. "It's freezing cold up here!"
"Right," I said, "Drop the Star into the lighthouse!" Isaac took out the Jupiter star and plunked it down into the base of the lighthouse. All at once, there was a blinding flash of blue light, and the huge ball of light rose from the base and illuminated the area all around us with a brilliant sapphire light.
We all glanced around at each other. Finally, I broke the conversation. "Well, that does it for us. If Kraden and the others are at the Mercury lighthouse now, they will have seen the beacon and know to proceed. Now let's get down from here!" Everyone agreed to that.
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The weather was not much different at the distant shores of Point Pleasant. The wind was, in fact, fiercer, if that's possible.
"It's too cold!" Sheba whined. "And I'm getting soaking wet!"
"Look at my t-shirt!" Jenna wailed. "It's soaking wet and it's clinging to my body! Look at it!"
"No problem," said Garet, and he looked. Jenna whacked him. Garet pouted. He was longing to tell Jenna how attractive he found her, but now, at the end of their quest, it seemed too late.
"Let's get this over with!" Kraden shouted. He didn't hesitate as he removed the Mercury star from the bag and chucked it into the lighthouse.
All at once, the beacon was flung up from the bottom, striking the roof of the lighthouse, sending sparks and flames showering down upon them. Sheba screamed. The sphere settled into place, but the impact had caused it to go into shock, and it shuddered violently, sending flames and lighting shooting from it. The sky itself became black as pitch, and lightning pierced it every three seconds, with loud thunder. The winds picked up, and that combined with the force the beacon was generating flung all of them, Jenna, Sheba, Kraden, and Garet, high up into the air, their trajectory aiming them far out to sea, where they would surely drown!
"AAAAH!" cried Jenna, hanging onto Garet. "AAAH! WE'RE GONNA DIE! GARET WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
It was a nightmare for Garet, as it surely was for all of them. They were flying through the air towards the churning ocean, in a sky full of lightning and thunder.
They plunged into the icy cold ocean, and Garet knew he was going to die. He managed to gaze up at the lighthouse, and he was horrified to see that the beacon had turned a fiery orange, and flames were raining down from the heavens, and the weeds and grass on the beach had caught fire.
Garet's body was beginning to go numb. Suddenly, he felt a pair of shivering arms around him. It was Jenna.
"G-g-garet…" She sputtered, "We're going to die. Garet? We're going to die."
"I know, Jenna." He said, tears streaming down his eyes. He held onto her for dear life. "Jenna, before we die… I need to tell you that I love you."
She remained silent and continued to shiver.
"I always have," he continued, "But I was never brave enough to tell you. But I'm going to be brave for both of us today."
"I'm brave too," Jenna said. "I'm not afraid to die. Ohh, Garet!" she kissed him, her lips freezing cold. "Garet, I love you! I'm sorry I never knew…" Jenna's body was beginning to fail, and her head started to slip under the water.
"Jenna, no!" Garet cried, but just then, the waves began to churn more violently, and Jenna was tossed away from him. "JENNA NO!!!" He tried to swim, but the water was too cold. He was drowning. He began to slip under the water. "Goodbye, Jenna," he whispered, "Goodbye." He went under. His senses began to fail. His eyes went dark. He waited, for he knew soon he would see a warm white light, welcoming him. There he would dwell with Jenna, and…
Suddenly, he felt himself rising out of the water, and moving through it at remarkable speed. He spit up water, and realized that he was floating on a Styrofoam boogie board. He looked upward to see none other than Alex, standing on it, guiding it.
"Surf's up," he said simply with a small smile. "Hang on tight."
Garet spoke the first word that came to his mind. "Jenna! Jenna!"
"She'll be along," Alex said smoothly, and Garet noticed that Alex was directing three other boards, on which were the limp forms of Jenna, Kraden, and Sheba. In a matter of moments, they were all safely on the beach. Alex cast Pure Ply on all of them, and one by one they woke.
"Uhhh, Alex…?" Sheba moaned. "Did you save us?"
"It would appear so," he replied, dusting himself off.
"But why?" Kraden asked, still unable to stand.
"Why not?" Alex shrugged. "After all, you did fulfill my dream of re-releasing Alchemy. It was the least I could do in return."
"Where did you get the boogie boards?"
Alex smiled and shook his head. "My, my, how we forget. I went shopping this afternoon, remember?"
"Oh…" Garet spit up water again. Suddenly, a voice echoed across the beach. "GARET!!!"
Garet looked up. "Isaac!" Isaac's group was running across the sand towards them. "Isaac, thank God!"
"Are you all right?" Piers called. "I thought I saw you fall in the ocean!"
"We did," Sheba said, standing up. "But Alex saved us."
Alex shrugged. "As I said, it was the least I could do."
"Who is he?" Jenna asked, pointing to me.
"This is Max Hulk," Isaac said.
"Charmed, I'm sure," I said, shaking each of their hands. Then I looked at the sky, which had ceased to be stormy and was now becoming clear and star studded. "Well then! Looks like we've pulled it off!"
"Yes, it is most wonderful!" Exclaimed Kraden, jumping for joy. "We've finally released Alchemy!"
"But how do we use it? Don't we have to use it to save Weyard and keep Psynergy alive?" As if to answer her question, a glittering stone appeared before each one of us, and landed in our palms.
"Those are the Sage Stones." Alex said. "Right now at this moment, each good-hearted adept has received one. You may wish upon that stone, and it will be granted. Use it only for good, however, or there will be terrible retribution."
"Where is yours, Alex?" I asked.
Alex smiled and shook his head. "My heart was not so pure some time ago. As a result, I must earn my sage stone by doing good deeds."
"Boy that sounds classic." Sheba muttered. While this was happening, Garet and Jenna were sheltering each other in their arms. "Ooh, somebody's in love!" Sheba jeered.
"That's right, Sheba," said Jenna, and she looked at Garet's handsome face and kissed him. "Someday, it will happen to you." Sheba suddenly caught Ivan's gaze, and they smiled at each other shyly.
"Ah, love." Alex sighed, allowing his gaze to drift over to Mia, who was holding hands with Isaac. It was clear to him that the past was over. He changed the subject. "Why don't you all make your first wish? I do believe you deserve it."
"I don't know if they should," Kraden said. "I think they would need a lot of time to think before making a wish."
"I have a wish!" Felix declared. He gazed into the stone. "I wish that Saturos and Menardi, my guardians and friends, were here to see the rebirth of Alchemy."
"Oh, but we are!" said an echoing voice.
Felix turned around. "It cannot be!" Saturos and Menardi stood on the beach before him, bathed in eerie white light. They wore not their usual attire, but flowing white robes. They wore kind smiles on their faces.
"Felix," Saturos said, gliding over to him, "You have made us proud, Felix. You have fulfilled our dream."
"We are sorry we could not help you further, dear Felix," said Menardi, "But things did not exactly work out. Just remember that we loved you like a son. We still do. May good things only happen to you from now on."
The figure of Saturos now turned to Isaac. Isaac feared that some horrible phrase of hatred or condemnation would be flung from Saturos's mouth, but to his surprise, the Proxian smiled, glided over, and said, "Isaac… All is forgiven. You were right in believing that you had to stop us."
"If we had obtained the Sage Stones, it would have only brought misfortune." said Menardi. "We had bad intentions for the use of the power, and all of Weyard would have suffered. You and your brave friends prevented that disaster."
"We are proud of you and your friends as well, Isaac," Saturos continued. "It is because of you that the good Adepts now have the power to restore balance and order to the world. We will never forget what you have done!"
Isaac bowed. "Thank you, Saturos. I am glad we could end on good terms."
Saturos smiled, and then he took Menardi's hand, and they walked out towards the ocean and disappeared.
The group stood under the stars for several minutes, thinking things over, wondering what to do next. Isaac and Mia had their arms around each other, Jenna and Garet held hands. Sheba stood next to Ivan, catching his gaze every now and then, and smiling.
"I believe celebrations are in order," Alex said after a bit. "Let's go to Atlantic City."
"What's that?" Garet asked.
"It's a large, well-lit city in south Jersey that features multiple varieties of games of chance. Card games, slot machines, and the like. Come, we shall have a good time."
They unanimously agreed. Then Isaac asked, "How will we get there?"
"I have a car." Alex said as they began walking up the beach.
"What is a car?" Kraden asked.
"It is a motorized transportation device. It runs on gasoline."
"Incredible! You must let me study it later!"
"Yes, yes, you may tinker around under the hood all you like in due time."
"It wears a hood?" Kraden asked, fascinated. Alex shook his head and kept silent.
Garet caught up with Isaac. "Hey, buddy," he said.
"Yo, Garet," Isaac said quietly.
"Hey this is… quite a thing we did tonight, isn't it?"
Isaac looked up at his friend and smiled. "Yeah."
Garet held out his fist. "Buds for life?"
Isaac gave him the pound. "Buds for life!"
Garet cast his gaze left and right, then pulled out his sage stone. "We're going gambling tonight, right? Well…" he held up the stone. "May the odds be in our favor tonight." The stone glowed and faded. Then they continued to walk up the beach to Alex's car. "Hey maybe I'll buy Jenna a Cadillac after tonight," Garet thought. Isaac laughed and punched him in the shoulder. They all got into the car, Alex switched on the headlights, and drove south down the long and winding Garden State Parkway.
THE END!!!
© 2004 PDG Network in association with the St. Eva Church.
BENEDICTION: So what did you think, everyone? Pretty good? Pretty funny? Not so good? Let me know! I think it went quite well, in my own opinion. But it's not my opinion that counts, is it? Hehehe. So, until we meet again, FAREWELL! *Uses RETREAT Psynergy.*
