A/N: Here we are! Two parts away from Episode Four being completed. I know the last episode they didn't really go anywhere, but at least there was a ton of drama and revelations packed into it. There was even an emotional moment too. But now, the journey is going to continue for real as Life is Abominable's fourth episode is updated with it's fourth part right now! Enjoy!
Previously on Life is Abominable...
After reading Zara's mental health records and criminal history that was hidden away due to Sean Prescott's bribing and meddling at his son's request, Mr. Burnish decides when they reach the bridge below Mt. Everest, he will betray Zara and help Max Caulfield and the others get Everest home as well as kill her to make sure Rachel Amber gets justice for her involvement in her torture and murder at the hands of Nathan Prescott and Mark Jefferson in the Dark Room. Yi has also given Max the SX-70 she purchased in the Dahe village to replace the destroyed Spectra camera that she lost during their escape from Burnish and Zara. When Max, Chloe, and the others read the physical copy of Zara's records that Dave hid in the weapons bag they gifted to Jin, Max confesses that Rachel has been sending her visions and are able to connect the dots that Zara played a role in her murder. Taking these revelations as a declaration of war, the group agrees the only way to avenge Rachel and to get Everest home without anymore interference is to kill Zara for good...
The Bamboo Jungle. 12:22 PM
Everyone went back to picking up what they could from the ground and putting it back into Chloe backpack and Max's camera bag. Jin also took a handgun from the bag of weapons, as well as Yi. Chloe already had the gun she stole from the Burnish guard back from their breakout mission, Max didn't take a weapon since she already had both her time and nature powers on her side, and everybody else agreed Peng was too young to be holding a lethal weapon, so they didn't give one to him. Max was now reassuring Everest that she wasn't going to allow Zara to get to him since he was still pretty scared after Jin told him what she had planned to use the Yeti for.
"I promise you, Zara won't lay a finger on you" Max said to her temporary son using her telepathy.
"What if she does, Mama?" Everest asked in his mind.
"She'll die before she even gets the chance" the brunette replied. She then turned to see Peng picking up several photos and postcards that she recognized from Yi's travel shrine back in Shanghai. The nine-year-old approached Yi and held them out to her before speaking.
"Hey, Yi. When did you buy these?" Peng asked.
"Oh, I didn't buy them. They were my dad's. He kept postcards of all the places he wanted to take us someday, the whole family" Yi answered.
"Yi, they're all the places we've been!" said Peng before handing them back to her. Max and Chloe then walked up behind Yi and looked over her shoulder to see that Peng was right. Every single postcard she held in her hand were places they've already been to on their journey to get Everest back home.
"No way. How is this possible?" she asked while shuffling through all the postcards.
"That can't be" Jin said as he approached the others to take a look for himself.
"She's right. Every last one of these places... we've been there" Max said in amazement as she continued to stare down at the pictures.
"All but one" said Yi. Everest then spotted another postcard by his foot and picked it up before approaching the Asian teen and handed it back to her. The postcard showed a beautifully taken photograph of the Leshan Buddha. The young Yeti then turned his head to the left to reveal the large statue that was shown in the postcard was closer to them then they had expected.
"The Leshan Buddha" Yi and Max said in unison and in awe at the same time as they stared out at all it's beauty.
"This is the one place that my dad wanted me to see the most" Yi told Max and Everest. Max then took out her SX-70, opened it up and looked through the camera's lens through the viewfinder. Once she got the perfect angle, she pressed the big red button and took the picture. Max shook the picture to speed the development time up after the photo printed out of the front of the camera and placed both her camera and newly taken picture back inside her bag.
"This is... this is incredible" Yi said while she chuckled in awe and excitement. Max then turned to Everest and gave a small smile to her young fluffy charge.
"You brought us here, didn't you?" Max said out loud. Everest grunted softly and gave his temporary mother a nod. Chloe, Jin, and Peng approached them and stared all the way out to take a glimpse at the large statue carved into the cliff.
"Impossible" Jin said.
"No, nothing is impossible. Not at this point" Max said, not taking her eyes off the Leshan Buddha. After staring out for a few more minutes, everybody started walking towards the direction of the statue. Chloe walked with a bitter look of anger on her face as she kept on moving forward.
"Mama? Why does Auntie Chloe look mad?" asked Everest in his mind.
"I don't know. But, it's worrying me" Max replied using her own thoughts. She then walked over to her girlfriend and gave her a tap on the shoulder to get her attention.
"What?" Chloe said bitterly.
"Are you... mad?" Max asked in a worried voice.
"What makes you say that?" Chloe answered with another question.
"The look on your face, the fact you've barely said anything after we read Zara's records, the stomping as you walk. Chloe, I know something's bothering you" the brunette calmly pointed out. Chloe then stopped and turned to face Max, everyone else stopped as well and got worried looks on their faces when they saw what was going on.
"You wanna know what's making me act like this? I'm pissed, Max. I'm pissed to the point steam could come out my damn ears! Zara has gotten away with so many crimes including her involvement with Rachel's murder, it's sickening how she hasn't been caught, hasn't been arrested, hasn't been tried in a court of law, hasn't been punished!" the blue haired girl said bitterly.
"I understand your frustrations, Chloe. I really do, but..." Max said, but was stopped by Chloe interrupting.
"Do you? Do you know what it's like to find out that someone you knew was dangerous got away with something so incredibly disgusting and had their involvement covered up like it never even happened?" she shouted. Max was taken aback by Chloe's temper, but kept her composure as she answered her question.
"No, I don't. But, why else do you think we got those files? Someone knew Zara was involved with what happened to Rachel in the Dark Room. And we've been gifted that knowledge because they knew we'd be furious and finally have the drive to do something about it" Max tried to point out. Chloe just groaned and shook her head before she began walking in the opposite direction.
"Chloe, where are you going!?" said Peng.
"I can't count on anybody else anymore. I have to kill Zara myself" she replied.
"Chloe, no! You don't!" said Jin with concern in his voice.
"Nobody else is going to do something about this. No one's gonna get justice for her" the blue-haired girl replied before she took out her gun and kept on walking.
"Chloe, stop! I said STOP!" Max shouted before holding up her right hand and twisting her wrist to the right. Chloe's legs paused and she couldn't move them. The entire upper-half of her body was free to move as it wanted, but she continued to struggle to move her legs.
"Un-pause my legs, Max! I said un-pause my legs!" Chloe demanded.
"No! Not until you listen!" Max exclaimed. She then walked in front of her girlfriend and spoke with a calm tone of voice towards her.
"I may not have known Rachel like you did, but I don't think she'd want you to do something like this alone. Zara has an entire army on her side, and you're only one person. What you're attempting to do, it's a suicide mission. You'd be gunned down the second you drew your weapon, and... I can't risk seeing that happen to you" Max said, tears now began to fall from her eyes.
"She's right, Chloe. We're going to take her out together" Yi said as she came up behind Chloe and placed a hand on her right shoulder.
"Killing that unstable psychopath isn't something that can be one with only one person. I've experienced how unhinged and dangerous she truly is, and you need to let us help you" Jin piped in as she walked up to Chloe's left and kept his eyes fixed on her own to let her know he was being serious.
"That's not a chance worth taking, Chloe" Peng said as he stood right next to his cousin.
"Worth? There is NOTHING left in this world worth having. Except, justice for Rachel!" Chloe exclaimed with rage in her voice. Max could see the tears start to glisten in Chloe's eyes, she knew that her girlfriend wasn't just angry, she was in pain.
"And we're going to get it for her. But we'll get it TOGETHER! I can't risk letting you die like this. Chloe... please. Don't... don't do this" Max said as the tears began to flow freely down her eyes. Chloe looked down at the gun in her hand and then back to Max who looked very scared for her.
"And it's not just Rachel we have to think about. What about Everest? He's suffered at Zara's hands too! He deserves justice for what happened to him as well! And what happens if you end up dying when you try to take your revenge? He already considers you his aunt, and how do you think he'd take seeing you come back covered in bullet holes and drenched in your own blood?" Yi said as she walked up next to Max.
"I-I-I..." Chloe stuttered. Her entire body began shaking in front of her girlfriend, nephew, and all her new friends. She knew they were right, all of them were. Chloe then dropped her gun and she began to sob and cry in front of Max, Everest, Yi, Jin, and Peng. Max then un-paused her legs and allowed her to fall to her knees.
"I'm sorry, Max. I'm so sorry" Chloe said in between her sobs. Max got down on her knees to reach her girlfriend's eye-level and pulled her into a hug.
"You don't have to apologize. You were hurting, you still felt pain from when we found Rachel dead and buried. I understand that you're upset, but you don't have to suffer through it all by yourself" Max said as she kept on hugging the blue haired girl as she cried into the shoulder of her gray hoodie.
"She's right. And we're going to stick by your side when we finally face Zara on that bridge. We're all in this together now" Jin piped in before he began to hug both Max and Chloe at the same time.
"Yeah. We're always going to be there to help you. For better or for worse" Yi said before she joined in on the hug as well. Peng didn't need to say anything and just began hugging the others as well, despite his arms not being long enough to wrap around everyone else. Everest then towered over them all and pulled Max, Chloe, Yi, Peng, and Jin into a large hug.
"Thanks, guys" Chloe said hoarsely before everyone broke apart from her. Max then gave her a small kiss on the cheek and took her hand into her own before continuing to walk towards the Lashen Buddha. Everest then walked right up to Max and Chloe before he spoke to Chloe using the telepathic bond he had with her.
"Are you alright, Auntie Chloe?" asked Everest. Chloe took a deep breath and allowed a small smile to form on her face before nodding and replying to Everest's question using her thoughts.
"I'm alright, buddy. I promise" Chloe telepathically replied to the Yeti. The group continued to walk until they stopped to see that the Leshan Buddha stood before them across a large river, surrounded by dark gray fog and cloudy skies.
"So, how are we getting across this thing?" asked Jin. Chloe and Yi looked to Max.
"Alright, let's see what I can do" Max replied before she stepped onto the edge of the river and held up her left hand. Her eyes began to glow bright blue again, and the same blue aura that surrounded Everest whenever he used his own powers surrounded her body. She took a deep breath through her nose and opened up her palm to face the river. Once her palm began to glow, a large bridge of ice started to form at the very center of the river, she lowered the water's temperature to make it turn to strong solid ice.
"That is so cool. Literally" said Yi as she continued to stare at Max while she created the icy bridge. Once the bridge was completely formed, Max lowered her hand, and the glow in her eyes, palm, and body disappeared.
"That was Hella awesome, Max!" Chloe exclaimed at what she had just witnessed.
(Start playing "Fix You" by Coldplay as you continue to read this next part of the story until it says to stop)
"Thanks. I think I'm starting to like these new powers" Max said in reply to her punk girlfriend's compliment before she began to carefully walk across the river first. Everybody else followed closely behind her and slowly walked across the surface, afraid of slipping and falling which would have resulted in them either getting hurt or falling into the river and soaking them from head to toe. Once they finally made it across the river safely, the ice melted in a matter of seconds and formed back into river water.
"You just keep on bringing in those surprises, Super-Max" said Yi, using the nickname Chloe usually used for her. Max only gave a light chuckle before replying to her friend's compliment.
"I try" she said before they all began to climb up the Leshan Buddha's legs. Max, Chloe, Yi, and Everest climbed the right leg while Peng and Jin climbed the left leg. After they finished climbing, Jin and Peng stood on the statue's left hand while Max and everyone else stood on the right hand. Yi then stood still and looked up to the Buddha's face.
"Woah" she whispered in awe.
"I wish dad were here to see this" Yi continued. Max and Chloe then looked into each other's eyes and pulled each other closer lovingly.
"I'm so sorry about how I behaved earlier, Max" Chloe whispered into Max's ear.
"Don't be. Everybody feels the pain of missing someone" Max said in response to her apology. The two then heard the sound of a violin being played and they turned their heads to see Yi playing her violin with Everest standing closely beside her on the edge of the Buddha's hand. The tune was that of a gentle Folkish sounding song and it filled the air, bouncing off the cliff walls around them, which allowed Jin and Peng to hear the music as well. The sound was enough to make Chloe and Max smile as they watched the young girl play.
"Uh, Max. Look" Chloe whispered to the brunette before pointing at Yi's violin. She noticed the violin strings began to glow a bright beautiful blue, much like the aura that surrounded her and Everest.
"Wait, what did Everest use to replace the strings on the violin when he fixed it again?" Max asked.
"He used some strands of his own fur" said Chloe before she went wide eyed and her jaw went slightly agape at the realization. Yi's violin had been transformed into a magical violin thanks to Everest's own modification to it while he was fixing it. Everyone then saw a tear fall down her face and fall down to the Leshan Buddha's hand. When the tear hit the hand, a flower bloomed in the exact same spot the tear had landed.
"Woah. That's amazing" Max whispered to herself when she saw the flower bloom. Thunder roared throughout the sky and everyone except Yi looked up to see it was now starting to rain. A large drop of rain fell down the Leshan Buddha's face like the tear that just fell off of Yi's face and dropped right next to where her own tear fell. Multiple more flowers began to bloom all around the Buddha's stone body.
"This is new" Chloe said as she watched the flowers surround the area around her. Max then saw as a blue aura began to surround Jin's body and the young man looked confused at what was happening to him. The bruises on his face and body that Zara gave him due to her torturous treatment of him began glowing the same color as the aura on Yi's violin and soon they began to shrink. The bruises continued to shrink until they just disappeared, Jin's body was now completely healed from all his injuries. By the time Yi finished her song, the entire Buddha was surrounded in beautiful flowers and the sun had just come out from the dark and stormy overcast and shined down over them. Yi then looked around to see what had just happened.
"Woah! Beautiful!" Yi said as she gazed at all the flowers that had just bloomed thanks to the powers her violin had carried.
"Thank you, Everest" the teen thanked the Yeti, believing he was the one who made all the flowers bloom. Everest only grunted softly and tilted his head to the side with a look of confusion on his face.
"Everest didn't to this. You did, Yi" Max said with a smile on her face. Yi then looked down at her violin to see that the strings still glowed a beautiful bright blue before she turned to face Max, Chloe, and Everest again.
"I did that?" Yi asked in confusion. Everest, Chloe, and Max nodded together at the same time.
"Guys, look! Jin's bruises are all gone!" said Peng as he pointed at his healed cousin.
"I can't believe it. It's some kind of miracle" Jin said as he lifted his shirt up to reveal the bruised that were underneath his clothes were all gone as well.
"It's like when Everest fixed your violin, he gave you some of his power too" Chloe said.
"That... is awesome" Yi said in fascination at what she had just did without even knowing she did it.
"One photo, for posterity" Max said before she took her SX-70 out of her camera bag and took a photo of the Leshan Buddha covered in flowers. Once Max shook the photo and placed it back in her bag along with her camera, and the others stopped marveling over the beautifully flower covered Leshan Buddha, they jumped over to the nearby stairway carved into the cliff. Everest and Peng began to laugh and raced each other to the very stop of the stairs while Max, Chloe, Jin, and Yi followed right behind them at a normal pace.
"Come on, Everest!" they could hear Peng call out as they walked. Once they made it to the top, Jin placed his hand on Yi's shoulder to talk to her.
"Yi..." he said before picking a flower off the side of the cliff and handed it to her.
"We are so going to the Himalayas" said Jin. Max and Chloe couldn't believe what they were hearing, Jin had finally opened his heart to the world around him, and was a completely different person. Jin then turned to Max and Chloe with a look of determination on his face.
"And when the time comes, when we get to that bridge... we'll spring Zara's trap and kill her before she gets the chance to hurt anyone else" Jin added.
"Well said, Jin" Max said, happy to know that he was finally taking everything she had said before to heart. She couldn't deny she enjoyed this new Jin, his upbeat and adventurous attitude really showed how much he had changed during the course of their journey to get Everest back home.
"Couldn't have said it better myself" Chloe added before they began walking again to catch up to Peng and Everest. Yi felt like the luckiest person on the planet right now, she had always wanted her life to be an adventure and now she finally got her wish. Even if the situation and circumstances were dire, she knew she'd give anything to live in the moment she was in right now.
(You can stop playing the song now)
A/N: There you have it, folks! Part four is complete! Only one part left and that's it for Episode Four: Hostiles! Episode Five will be underway in March hopefully, because even though they're getting closer and closer to the Himalayas, the journey is far from over. And Yi's got herself some powers of her own thanks to her violin that now has Yeti hair for strings. The journey continues in the next update. Please review, thanks!