I can't believe how close I was to the end when I stopped uploading. All I can do is apologize again.
In this chapter we'll finally find Yeesha! Only a few more chapters until we reach the end of Revelations. From there, who knows where we'll go...
Seriously, who knows? I'm not even sure.
Trace watched as the counsel woman came out of the memory chamber and shut the door.
"So?" he asked.
She smiled. "You must have more patience. She has entered Dream and will return once she finds what she needs."
"Are you saying all I can do is wait?"
"I am afraid there is nothing else for you to do."
Trace frowned and folded his arms, leaning back on the frame of the destroyed harvester. The counsel woman left him there to brood.
He didn't like it.
He didn't like it at all.
How did it happen that Melody always ended up doing things herself? He should have been able to accompany her to Dream. He glared at the door. At the very least he should be allowed inside the same room with her to watch over her.
He also didn't like the fact that they hadn't seen hide nor hair of Sirrus since he'd destroyed the harvester. Where was he hiding? The area wasn't that large and surely someone would have seen him. Where was Yeesha that she couldn't scream for help and be heard?
Trace stared at the door as if he could will it open. How long would the journey to Dream take? Would Melody listen to the Keeper and not touch anything?
He rubbed a hand over his face. They were all doomed.
Trace heard the footstep a second too late to react. Half-turning, he managed to see the rock as it came crashing down on his head.
Darkness. That was all she could see. A vast dark void that she seemed to be floating in. Melody moved her arms and legs slowly, testing. Everything was hazy, like she was sleepwalking. No wonder the Serenians called this place Dream. That was what it truly felt like.
"Not quite what you expected is it?" Melody started at the deep voice. "Do not be afraid," he told her. "You are here because you want to find the answer to something that troubles you. Why then wouldn't Dream seem dark and mysterious at first?"
"You are the Keeper," Melody said, her voice echoing.
"I am. I will help you. Dream is dark from your doubts and will remain so until you dispel them. You must believe I want to help you and the child. The one you call Yeesha."
The area around her suddenly changed. A blue haze surrounded her. It felt cold and painful.
"You fear for her safety," the Keeper noted. "Your fear and guilt runs deep within you. If you continue to dwell on this, the weight will crush your mind and you will never wake up. Put away your fear. Forget your guilt. Focus on finding the answers you seek."
The soothing voice had the desired effect. Her surroundings changed again. It was still dark, but now alternating swirls of red, purple, blue and white mingled with the darkness. It reminded her of pictures she had seen of nebulas and constellations from a high powered telescope.
"Where are you?" Melody asked.
"I am here, above you." Melody looked up to see a golden ball of light hovering a few feet above her. "I am staying close in order to protect you, seeing that you do not access memories that have nothing to do with you."
Melody felt like a toddler in a china store being watched like a hawk to keep her from breaking something. The purple swirls became more prominent.
The Keeper laughed. "I see this annoys you. You are not one who takes authority well. My apologies, but you must understand the danger and why it must be avoided at all costs."
She saw many different balls of light in different shades. She was careful to stay away from so she wouldn't damage the memories they held. After a while she looked up at the Keeper. "What exactly am I supposed to be doing here? I don't know how all of this works."
"There is something the counsel wants you to see. It is something I have never encountered before." As he was talking a ball of blue light approached, but it was smaller than a memory and swirling. "It is very strange. This seems to be a traveler, but I cannot see who it is or what it's doing here. The only explanation is that this traveler has no waking mind to return to."
"What does that mean?" Melody asked, confused.
"I do not fully understand it myself," he said and moved toward the light ball. It moved about in a quick jittery way that made Melody think it was trying to tell them something. "They were hoping you could make it out."
Melody reached forward, then stopped. "Can I touch it?"
"Yes," he answered. "See if you can communicate with it."
The light felt warm in her palm. It was light and fluttery, like she was holding a butterfly. All she could make out was feelings. Fear… sadness… excitement… pleading…
"This is very troubling," the Keeper said. "Release it and awaken. I shall watch over it and keep it safe until things are more clear."
Melody nodded and released the ball who tried to follow her as she felt herself moving away. Everything went dark again for a moment. Then she opened her eyes and was still lying on the table. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Without gazing into it, she took the globe from the holder. It was empty now. It amazing to think that her mind had been inside it while she was in Dream.
Taking the globe with her, she thought about what she'd seen. A traveler with no waking mind to return to? How did that make any sense? If you journeyed to Dream, you had to be asleep. That meant you could wake up again, right?
She pushed the heavy door open. "Trace, I need your scientific brain here. What do you think it means when…?"
She stopped short. There was no one around.
"Trace!" she called and received no answer.
Where had he gone? He'd said he would wait for her. Had something else happened? She spotted Yannin working on the harvester. The Protector looked up at her greeting.
"Have you seen Trace?"
Yannin shook her head. "I only just arrived here. I had to journey to the village to retrieve some tools."
A faint edge of worry made Melody's brow crease.
"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Yannin said hopefully. "Maybe he went to speak to the counsel."
Or maybe he spotted Sirrus or Achenar and decided to chase them, Melody thought, her worry growing into mild panic.
She struggled to keep calm. Trace could handle himself. He would be back any moment. She thanked Yannin and sat down to wait while the Protector went inside the submarine to work on it.
As she waited, Melody tried to puzzle out what she'd seen in Dream. Could that traveler have been Yeesha? But again, how was that possible? A person needed to be in the memory chamber to journey to Dream. And there had certainly been no one in there with her. And if Yeesha had been there before, one of the Protectors would have seen her or Sirrus. Besides, there hadn't been any chair.
But then how had Yeesha's mind been in Dream?
No waking mind to return to…? Yeesha's mind had been sent to Dream by force?
Realization struck Melody like a bolt of lightning. She gasped and looked at the old decaying flower. Had Sirrus somehow gotten the old memory chamber functioning? Yeesha's prison had been right here the whole time!
She looked around furtively. Trace was nowhere in sight.
Looking back at the old chamber, she chewed on her bottom lip. He would be furious but there was no time to waste. She had to get to Yeesha.
Melody took off running toward the old memory chamber.
The door of the chamber was locked, not surprising. She looked at the harvester. It was so close to the chamber. Sirrus and Achenar would have had to have a way into the old memory chamber that no one would notice. An idea formed in her mind.
Thankfully, because she had been removing parts from the old harvester, Yannin had partially drained the water from the well where the globes grew. Climbing carefully downward, Melody noticed something off to the side.
A door. A locked one of course, but a door. Her patience had finally worn down to the breaking point. Hanging on to what was left of the old harvester, Melody kicked the door.
It didn't budge.
She kicked it again, more forcefully. It took four hard kicks, using momentum from swinging on the old harvester, to loosen the frame on the door and kick it down.
A long tunnel greeted her. Fortunately, it had been set up with fire marbles along the walls for light to see by. At the end was a ladder that led up to a hatch. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked and opened easily when she turned the wheel.
The inside of the old memory chamber was dark and musty. The only light came from large holes in the top of the flower. It was set up basically like the new memory chamber, but had no memory globes decorating the walls and ceiling. Something else that was different : the old memory chamber was filled with materials like the ones used to make machines.
Also unlike the new flower, the heart chamber was blocked off by a door. Breathing equipment sat nearby. Melody peered through the porthole in the door. She could see the heart flower. It was a greyish green color and was beating irregularly. A glass globe had been put around it, keeping the fumes contained. Melody remembered Atrus had written in his journal that when it was close to death, the heart flower became toxic.
Near the door was a strange looking large capsule. Melody leaned over to look inside and gasped. She was so shock she stumbled backwards and fell. She stared at the capsule like it was going to attack her. Slowly, she went back toward it and peered inside to see if her eyes had been playing tricks on her.
The face of Sirrus stared back at her.
Was he dead? No, there was fog on the glass from his breathing. She waved a hand in front of his face, but he didn't move. She tried to open the capsule, but the lid was too heavy. She knocked on the glass, but again he didn't respond. The lights were on, but nobody was home.
Melody stepped back and looked around, suddenly very aware of how quiet it was. Fear ran it's icy fingers up her spine and she shivered. This was just way too creepy for words. She had been going this whole time on the notion that Sirrus was the bad guy. But now… who had done this to him? Achenar? But then, where was Yeesha?
There was another door off to the side, but as she went toward it she heard the sounds of struggles coming from up the stairs. "Yeesha?" Melody called hesitantly as she hurried up the steps.
She entered the chamber and stopped dead in her tracks. The room was taken over by a large machine. Empty cages lined one wall and there were two chairs attached to the machine. One was empty, the other…
"Yeesha!" Melody exclaimed and ran to the little girl.
"It's you!" the girl cried. "You've come to rescue me! I knew you would, I just knew it!"
Melody hugged the child tightly. Her hair was matted and tangled from sweat. Her face was streaked with dirt. "Are you hurt?" Melody asked, brushing the hair out of the little girl's face, looking over her for any sign of wounds or bruises.
"I'm scared Melody," she said pitifully. "Help me! I want to go home! I want Mommy and Daddy!"
"I know Yeesha. I'll get you out of here I promise."
Yeesha nodded toward the machine. "There's a lever over there that will set me free. Hurry before Achenar comes back!"
"Achenar?" Melody asked.
"You've got to hurry or he'll kill us!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Hurry!"
Melody was thoroughly and completely confused. Sirrus had been the one to kidnap Yeesha. Achenar had been trying to save her. Why was Yeesha afraid of Achenar now?
In any case, she had to get Yeesha to safety, then look for Trace.
Going around the machine, she found a console that had two levers on it: one silver and the other gold.
"There are two levers here Yeesha."
"Achenar used the silver one. Pull it and you'll set me free."
"No! Stop!"
They both looked up to see a large figure came racing up the stairs. He had a large stone in one hand and a crossbow in the other.
"Achenar!" Melody exclaimed.
"This is not Yeesha!" he said, pointing the crossbow at the little girl.
"What do you mean?" Melody demanded.
"Sirrus used the machine. He forced the memory chamber to remove all of her memories!"
"Liar!" Yeesha cried.
"This is Sirrus I tell you!"
Melody looked from one to the other. It was almost too incredible to believe.
"He killed Sirrus when he tried to rescue me!" Yeesha insisted.
Achenar snorted. "Would I kill my own brother?"
"Yes!" Yeesha shouted.
"No," Achenar went on as if she hadn't spoken. "He removed Yeesha's memories, then he used the machine to plant his own memories inside her head."
"Look!" Yeesha said. "He's got the sun stone! Serenia's memory chamber can't survive without-!"
"Shut up!" Achenar bellowed, stepping close with the crossbow. Melody instinctively stepped forward, ready to defend her. Achenar turned the crossbow on her to stop her.
"Please," Yeesha pleaded. "I'm your little sister."
"He's just playing games with you," Achenar insisted, gesturing with the crossbow.
"You see, he's a killer!" Yeesha exclaimed.
Achenar seemed to realize he had the crossbow pointed at Melody. "No," he said, his voice calmer as he laid the crossbow on top of a cage by the door and held up the stone. "I told you already, I stole it to stop Sirrus from hurting Father. But I was wrong. He was after Yeesha all along."
"But why?" Melody asked.
"We have to set everyone's memories right again," Achenar said, annoying her by not answering her question. It was Myst island all over again. "Pull the gold lever to reverse the process."
Unsure, Melody reached for the lever.
"No you'll kill me if you do that!" Yeesha cried, making Melody freeze.
"Hurry!" Achenar shouted. "Before the chamber gets too weak to power the transfer!"
"Don't listen to him!" Yeesha pleaded, crying.
Melody looked down at the two levers. It was too much too fast. What should she do? She had been prepared to believe Achenar, but Yeesha's pleas were making her want to weep. She had seen Sirrus' body in the capsule. What if Achenar had done that to him? What if, by listening to him, she killed Yeesha? She wouldn't be able to live with herself.
There was something else too. Something was bothering her. Something that had been said just now…
"Pull the gold lever now!" Achenar yelled.
"No the silver!" Yeesha pleaded.
Melody didn't know what to do. "Trace?" she said aloud without meaning to. "Where are you?"
"Achenar killed him!" Yeesha cried.
Melody's eyes snapped up. "What?!"
"No!" Achenar denied. "Sirrus is trying to confuse you! Play with your mind as he played with Mother's, Father's and Yeesha's. You have to believe me!"
"He's trying to get you to kill me!" Yeesha insisted. "Then he'll kill you like he killed Sirrus."
That was it! That was what was wrong! Yeesha claiming Sirrus was dead. Melody had seen his body inside the capsule, but he had been breathing. Sirrus wasn't dead! Yeesha was lying!
Or rather, Sirrus was lying!
Melody looked at 'Yeesha' who seemed to realize 'she' had made a mistake because the young face went pale. "You always talked too much Sirrus," she said and pulled the gold lever.
"No!" the young voice exclaimed. "My performance was perfect!"
"Thank you," Achenar said with a smile and turned toward the chair.
"You may have won this round brother," the girl said with a creepy smile that was all Sirrus. "But it's not over." The head leaned back, the eyes stared at the blue memory globe above their heads.
"No Sirrus!" Achenar rushed toward his sister. "Don't!"
But it was too late. The eyes rolled back as the little girl slumped down into the seat.
"Something's wrong," Achenar said worriedly, checking her eyes. "Yeesha's mind is not returning. Sirrus must be holding her back in Dream. There's got be some way I can reach her!"
"What do we do?!" Melody asked, near panic. She ran to the chair. "Yeesha!" she cried, shaking her. "Yeesha!"
As if everything wasn't horrible enough, the memory chamber started to shake. An earthquake. No, it was worse than that. "Not now!" she cried. "Not now! It can't die now!"
Achenar gripped her arm. "Listen to me. We can't let this chamber die. If it does, it will stop the transfer and I don't know what that will do to Yeesha's mind. I can keep the chamber alive using this stone, but I don't know for how long. You will have to go to Dream and bring her back. It's the only chance we have," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. He looked back at Yeesha, placed a hand on her forehead, then ran down the stairs.
"Achenar wait!" Melody called and ran after him.
He ran into the heart chamber, shutting the door behind him. It refused to open for her. She watched through the porthole as Achenar walked deliberately toward the heart flower.
It suddenly hit her what he planned to do. She pounded on the window. "NO! Achenar don't! Don't do it!"
"GO!" he shouted. "Save Yeesha!"
"NO!" she screamed as he broke the glass encasing the flower. Fumes spread through the room as Achenar held the stone so that sunlight reflected on the barely beating flower. The fumes became so thick they clouded the window and she couldn't see. "Achenar!" she cried, sobbing as she tried to force open the door. The fumes were toxic. He would die!
She laid her forehead against the glass, crying. What could she do? How could she save him? Where was Trace? She needed him! She looked up toward the upper chamber. Achenar's sacrifice wouldn't be for nothing. He was killing himself to buy her time to save Yeesha. And that was what she was going to do.
Trace groaned as he tried to wake up. His head was killing him. He tried to move, but couldn't. His wrists and legs were tied to a metal chair.
Trace was suddenly fully and completely awake.
He struggled but it was useless. The bonds were too tight. He winced as they cut into his flesh every time he moved.
The last thing he remembered was someone hitting him with a rock. Sirrus, he thought darkly. He felt the burning sensation of anger in his throat. How could he have let the weasel get the better of him? It was just as much his fault for not paying attention to his surroundings. What did Sirrus want with him?
The answer came immediately. Trace was the only one who stood a chance against the madman.
No, the real question was: why was Sirrus keeping him alive?
Trace struggled, feeling the blood running down his wrists and fingers as the bonds tightened.
Melody was out there… alone… with no protection from Sirrus.
Anger. That was what he focused on. It kept the fear at bay.
What an emotional ride huh? Sirrus' real plan is revealed. Poor Achenar! I swear when that toxic fume scene happened in-game I wanted to scream at my screen. I know I cried.
And we know Trace is still alive, for now. How will Melody save Yeesha in Dream?
I want to address the fact that I skipped over/removed the puzzle in Dream. That orbs puzzle made me want to tear my hair out and almost made me stop playing the game completely. I just couldn't bring myself to put it in this story. I hope everyone understands and isn't too disappointed over it.
Thank you for reading.