Finding the Courage

At Humphrey's Peak, Clive went home to see his family. Everyone in town was scared of the tower that had appeared over the mountains, and he was no exception. For the second he saw his daughter, who was sitting in the living room and shaking in fear of the disaster, Clive decided he could no longer continue on with the other. But that was only one factor, the other one was that he felt their task was too daunting.

"Well, if Clive isn't coming, then he isn't coming," Virginia told Jet and Gallows, "We'll have to go on our own. I think I can try to lift the both of you, Lombardia should stay here just in case Clive comes to his senses and decides to follow us. Just no more perverted comments about Jet and myself, Gallows, or you will find yourself being knocked around by not only the two of us, but I'm sure Halle would love to hear that."

"Ok, I get it. I'll behave. Just don't tell Granny what I've been doing, you know she'll just yell at me again," begged Gallows. And he did keep quiet throughout the whole journey. They flew over the mountains to a place Lombardia would be unable to land on her own. But Virginia had no such restrictions. Jet was still carrying the key, so Virginia wouldn't faint on them if they flew over the second Demondor Pillar. Soon, they'd found it. Gallows took the key from Jet, probably so he could make up for his earlier joke on the two.

. . .

Some time later, the team found themselves locked in a strange sphere. They'd only walked onto a platform, when a glass like substance formed around them. But when Virginia tried to break it with her and Jet's combination attacks, nothing happened. Suddenly, Beatrice appeared. She stated, "It looks like you all have finally arrived. But I see that one of your number is missing. No matter, I will then call on one of my servants to come and fight you, and as you lie wounded and dying, I will extract your memories, and use them to build my own Filgaia." With that, she teleported off and a monster teleported in to fight with them.

It wasn't too bright, asking them how they wanted to die. Basically, whatever element they said, he would cast a spell from it on the next turn. Since Virginia had been smart enough to gather Element Guards whenever they found them in abundance, everyone on the team was protected from his attacks. They only had to keep shooting, he eventually went down. But even with the creature's death, they were still trapped.

. . .

Kaitlyn was beginning to get worried, her father was just sitting there in the chair. She'd never seen him so sad in her entire life. So she asked him why he wasn't with his friends, especially when they had a job to do. He replied, "I have a new job now, to protect you and your mother. I'm never leaving again, for the rest of my life I'll be here with you both." He took his young daughter in his arms, and gave her a big hug.

Kaitlyn looked at him for a moment, and then took off her ribbons, putting them in his hand. "If you have a job, then you need to get paid, right? I know this isn't much, but it's my favorite thing. So I would like to give you this, as payment." She smiled one of those smiles that only a child can manage, one filled with joy, happiness, and most of all innocence, all while the evils of the world ranged in the background.

"Oh Kaitlyn!" Clive exclaimed, "You don't have to do this for me. Keep these, if they're special to you. To think, I've been forgetting what truly mattered. And it took a six year old to help me understand the value of my life. Kaitlyn, you truly are a blessing from Heaven. The others must really need me, I've got to go again. Be good for your mother while I'm gone, eat your celery, and please, don't worry, I'll be just fine."

"Clive, it's good to see you feeling better again. I know you'll be able to do this, and come home to me again. And don't worry about a thing, I'm sure I can take care of whatever comes our way if some sort of monster attacks. Even if I've never held an ARM before I'll do anything to protect Kaitlyn," vowed Catherine.

Clive gave his wife a goodbye hug and kiss, and whispered, "I love you, always have, always will. I don't want you to overdo it, but I'm sure the monsters won't attack directly. The disturbance is over a huge mountain range, it will take time for any new evils of Beatrice's to come here. By then, I'll have defeated them and stopped her from attacking the town. So don't you worry about me. Goodbye, and take care."

. . .

Clive returned to the Rear Demondor Pillar on Lombardia, and began trying to find the others. He soon saw what appeared to be a switch to some power source, and unknowingly turned off the power to the cage the three Drifters were trapped in. Then, he had a real dilemma. The door in the room opened when he stepped on a switch, but closed when he stepped off of it. He began trying to find a combination that can keep the door open indefinitely, but that did no use until sometime later. What Clive didn't know was that as he stepped on switches, the others were on the move, and had found a room with three switches like this.

Clive continued on, seeing doors just open for no reason in front of them. For Virginia had the same idea, try and find a combination. After some time of walking, Clive saw an open red door. Upon entering, he found his allies all standing around and trying to find out where to go next. Virginia turned around when she heard footsteps, thinking they were that of a monster. "Oh, Clive! It's just you. I nearly had a heart attack, which is what Gallows seems to be doing now. He's decided to make up for his insults by carrying Filgaia's charm, but he doesn't have the defenses to protect himself like we do, so he feels worse of than when Jet or I carry it. And he won't give it back either. Since he has Pickpocket, we can't steal the item from him."

"Well, it appears as if he is in serious pain," commented Clive as he looked at Gallows, "You really should listen to them, Gallows, you look much worse than Virginia or Jet when they hold that thing. But it appears as if we're at a dead end. That wall though, doesn't it seem suspicious to you? Like something is behind it that may bring us to the generator? Clive used his Mighty Gloves to place blocks on the three floor switches, opening a passage in the wall. There, they found a Prism Crown, which they gave to Virginia to give her defense against all Elements. Once that was Invoked, the team of four continued through the pillar.

At the generator, they saw Beatrice again. She laughed a little, and began to tell them about how they lost memories of the green Filgaia. Beatrice claimed that Yggdrasil fed on memories to make the green it would deposit back into Filgaia. But when it exploded, that also made everyone lose all memories pertaining to the greenery. She wanted to do something similar, to gain her own planet, thus, her want for the Yggdrasil's power in the first place. She'd tricked Duran into overloading the generators, thinking it would yield her the necessary energy, but it didn't work because the Yggdrasil was an incomplete system.

"If Yggdrasil stole all our memories away, including mine, then how can Daddy remember? He was at the center of the whole explosion, just like Jet and myself," wondered Virginia. She put her palm to her cheek, and began to think about what the answer might be. Jet shrugged, he had no idea about anything.

Beatrice asked, "Is this the father you are referring to?" She then showed them a visual screen of what appeared to be Werner, unconscious and in a large building of some sort. But next to him, was a Tiny Flower, just like the ones Virginia's mother loved, the ones she saw mysteriously at her grave when she had visited Boot Hill those two times. Instantly, she knew it was a hint left behind, to tell them where to go next.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

I'm back after a nice vacation. Kaitlyn is just to kawaii. I love cute little kid characters. And that scene with her and Clive was one of my favorites. So of course I put it in.