AN: Welcome to another chapter! I'm glad people are enjoying this fanfic!
To the guest reviewer, thank you so much for your kind words! It really made me happy! I hope this chapter and the fic, in general, continues to be a source of enjoyment for you and for other readers :-)
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I sit in the living room with Lucas as we play Snap for what seems like the fiftieth time. Lucas groans as I take the pile of cards and add it to my considerably larger pile.
"Won again!" I cheer happily.
"Oh man!" Lucas says disappointedly.
Just then the front door opens and shuts. We look up to see Nick and Jessica walk in, coming back from the Archaeology Club meeting. Nick looks thoroughly depressed and Jessica looks sympathetic.
As they sit, or rather slump in Nick's case, down, I ask, "What's up, little bro?" Nick's response is to sigh heavily.
"Is it something to do with the Archaeology Club?" Lucas guesses. At the words Archaeology Club, he slumps down even further.
"Ike challenged him to a club debate and the winner gets to be president of the club!" Jessica informs us.
I exchange a look with Lucas before I get up and walk over to Nick. "Come on, little bro!" I say encouragingly. "You can beat Ike Pinkney in a debate anytime!"
"Toby's right!" Lucas agrees. "We'll all help you out too!"
"You guys would really do that?" Nick asks as he sits up and stares at us.
"Of course!" We say along with Jessica.
Nick smiles at us gratefully. "Thanks!" he says.
We decide to make posters encouraging people to vote for Nick so we head outside into the garden.
Once outside, I look inside the shed and find some barely-used art supplies. I manage to carry two of the easels out while Lucas grabs a third. Jessica grabs the paper, pencils, paint, and brushes before following us back outside.
The three of us set up our easels and start to draw an image of Nick on a piece of paper. Once we finish that, we start painting them, none of us really speaking.
Eventually, Nick, who had been sitting with his head in his hands, breaks the silence by complaining, "I wish I could be president of my own archaeology club without having to win some stupid debate!"
By this point, our paintings are almost finished. I look up from running my paintbrush over some spots I missed to say, "I thought you were already the club president!"
Nick sighs heavily. "Technically, no," he answers with a face like thunder.
"Don't sweat it, bro!" Lucas says encouragingly. "No one's gonna vote for Ike!"
Jessica groans. "But if you win, we'll have to dig through dirt and stuff!"
Nick stands up. "It's an archaeology club!" he says indignantly.
"Hey, I'm here helping you, right?" Jessica responds, looking and sounding annoyed. She then turns back to her painting and splashes red paint onto it.
I move behind her to block Nick's view of her work and ask, "So when is this big debate?"
Now Nick's face really looks like thunder! "Tonight!" he replies gloomily.
"Well, you've got my vote!"
We look down and see Razzle standing between Lucas and Jessica. In an instant, we all scream, Nick, being so startled he actually falls over backward!
"Hey, Razzle." Jessica greets calmly, having been the only one of us not to scream, as the lizard jumps on her shoulder. "Trouble in Gorm?"
Razzle folds his arms. "Would I be here if there wasn't?"
We put our paintings on racks inside the shed so they can dry while putting everything else away before heading inside the house.
Unfortunately, we find that getting to the Primal Pad won't be easy. Mom and Dad are in the kitchen cooking...again. We hide on the stairs and watch carefully.
"Your parents are such a pain!" Jessica hisses at me as I sigh. "I wish they didn't spend so much time in the kitchen!"
"Tippy toes, people!" I whisper before I get up. I wander towards some beakers and knock them on the floor before rushing out of sight.
"Oh!" Mom exclaims. She and Dad go to investigate while I open the pantry doors, allowing the four of us to sneak inside undetected.
We turn around and, to our confusion, see Razzle perched on top of the washing machine. "What? I get around!" he says.
Nick swipes his hand over the grate which slides back to reveal the panel which he then slides his hand over once more, followed by Lucas, myself and Jessica. Ths panel glows green and the stairs to the Primal Pad appear. As usual, I lead the way down into the cavern.
We walk over to stand in front of the control panel and look at the screen which is currently showing Gorm. Razzle stands on the control panel and the image eventually changes to show the shoreline. "The Sea Gormiti of the southern coast are causing tectonic instability along the coastline!" he begins. "We're talking about a serious - uh - interdimensional rift influx, people!"
The image once again changes to show water flooding the subways as people fled and man-hole covers being forced into the air by the waterspouts. "Remember those floods in the Venture Falls subways?" he asks.
"Subway surfing, anyone?" I ask, grinning.
"Don't laugh!" Razzle says seriously and I look at him, confused. "If the Sea Gormiti aren't stopped, your entire city could be washed right off the map!" I gasp in shock. Okay, that definitely would not be good!
We run to stand around the Gorm Gate but instead of us calling our elements individually, we all say them together:
"Elementals: Earth, Water, Forest, Air! Reveal to us the Keeper and give to them your chair!"
"And the Keeper is..." Razzle waits as the chair starts spinning around at high speed only to finally stop on a blue circle with the Water symbol on it. Wait. Oh no.
"Water!" he announces. This cannot be happening. Who wants to be stuck in the Primal Pad? Not me, that's for sure! "That's you, kid!" he adds, pointing at me. As if I didn't already know!
"Aw, man!" I say as I slump over. "I hate being stuck in the Primal Pad!"
Not even trying to hide my disappointment, I shuffle over to the chair and sit down as it rises, bringing me level with the control panel. I open the Travel Tome and tap a picture of the southern coast with my finger. "I wish I could be in the Gorm where all the action is!" I say as I manipulate the crystals to open the Gorm Gate.
The others jump through the portal and I am left alone to watch the screen and fiddle around with crystals. Sounds like fun. Not!
"And," I say as the crystals sink into their slots, "they're in!" I glance back at the Gorm Gate which has now deactivated. Why did I have to be the Keeper? They get to save the world and all I get to do is watch!
"Travel Tome here says you're at the Beach of the Lonely Escape!" I inform the others after consulting the said book.
"Why would anyone wanna escape?" Lucas asks. "This place looks like loads of fun!"
After they try and fail to communicate with the Sea Gormiti - who, for some reason, are smashing up rocks and looking through the debris -, I notice that the crystals on the control panel are flashing. Definitely not a good sign...
"Uh, guys, the grid's giving signs of a Fire Gormiti in your area!" I warn them. "You might wanna power up!"
I watch the screen as a shadow appears in their view and they stare at whatever or whoever is in front of them. "Uh, guys? Guys?" I say, trying to get their attention.
The Fire Gormiti, who has only one eye, starts saying, "Gaze into my eye! Gaze into my eye! You cannot resist the will of Firespitter! You will do as I command and I command you to... get me a sandwich!"
To my utter bemusement, Nick, Lucas, and Jessica actually listen to the creep and start walking in the direction Firespitter had pointed in. He then has a change of heart as he holds up a hand to stop them. "No, wait! There's no time for snacks!" he cries. "You will join the others in... the search!" Again they obey and march off in the direction he points them in.
This is getting weird! What is going on out there? "Uh, Toby, we've got a problem here!" Razzle tells me nervously from inside a shell.
I slide the crystals in place. "Orbs are charged and good to glow!" I say. I glance at the Gorm Gate and see that the Earth, Forest, and Air orbs are rising up, indicating that they are at full power. "The team can transform at will!"
"No, they can't!" Razzle says insistently. "This Lava-loon's given 'em the evil eye!"
"What do you mean?" I ask as I project my image beside him, still confused about what's going on.
"I mean they've all gone zombie for this bug-eyed hothead!" he elaborates.
I shrug. "Well, I'm stuck here in the Primal Pad! What do you want me to do?" I ask.
"Something! Anything!" Razzle cries desperately before his image flickers and I watch the screen go blank.
I sigh and lower my head. There is one thing I can do but is it the right thing? Still, there's no time to think. I have to do something!
"Razzle's right!" I mutter as I make up my mind. I use the crystals to reactivate the Gorm Gate and charge up my own orb before getting out of the chair and walking over to stand on the ledge. "Keeper or no Keeper, it's up to me!"
With no time to consider everything wrong with what I'm planning, I leap through the Gorm Gate and yell, "Go! Powers of the Sea!"
I land on the southern coast and hide behind a huge rock. Peering out, I spot Nick, Lucas, and Jessica marching alongside each other, their feet falling at the exact same time. Each of them was holding a rock.
"Guys!" I say and they turn their heads in unison to look at - or rather through - me. There is no recognition in their eyes at all. It's like they don't even know who I am! They turn away as one and continue walking. It's definitely creepy and unsettling, to say the least. "Uh, guys?"
"Behold!" A familiar voice says and I look around for its source. Firespitter pops up out of nowhere and stands directly in my line of sight. "Gaze into my hypnotic eye!"
I gasp as I feel myself beginning to fall under his spell. I feel completely weird and all sounds seem muffled like I'm underwater. "Not you too!" I hear Razzle cry. The lizard wraps my tentacles around my face. "Snap out of it, kid!"
As soon as my vision is obscured, my hearing returns to normal and I no longer feel weird. Firespitter couldn't hypnotize me...and he wasn't happy.
I hear him fire a blast at Razzle who yelps and, presumably, dives for cover. "Never try to block my eye!" Firespitter threatens.
By now, I am unbelievably angry. Nobody - human or Gormiti - hurts my friends and gets away with it! I shake my head and glare at the Lava Gormiti. "Never mess with my friends!" I yell before I let out a roar and release several water globes from my stomach, keeping my eyes shielded the entire time.
"You have no friends here!" Firespitter says tauntingly before commanding, "Get him!"
I start to back away, still firing my water globes when, to my horror, I hear the Sea Gormiti begin to chant, "Get him!" over and over. Great. Could this get any worse?
I turn around and gasp when I see that the others have been surrounded by a yellow glow. Well, to answer my earlier question, yes, things have gotten worse!
I watch as they chant, "Elemental powers flow, Gormiti - Lords of Nature, go! Go!" They each transform with absolutely no emotion in their voices - it was like they were robots.
They glare at me and I raise an eyebrow. "Get Toby!" they say in unison, Jessica pointing at me.
"Eye like what eye see!" Firespitter says gleefully. Oh great - this guy's gonna be full of eye puns, isn't he?
"This just keeps getting better!" I mutter. I don't think I'd stand a chance against my friends and an entire tribe of Sea Gormiti!
"Good luck, kid!" Razzle says as he jumps down from my shoulder to find a place to hide. "I'm right behind you!"
Lucas is the first to make a move. He jumps forward and lands with his fist on the ground. The ground begins to crack around my feet before brown vines wrap around my ankles and toss me, sending me flying. I let out a cry of pain as my back collides heavily with the cliff. I sink onto one knee as Lucas repeats, "Get Toby!"
I lift my head to see Nick approaching. "Nick!" I yell to him. "Snap out of it, man!" It's no use, however, as I end up having to dodge his attempts to punch me and he, instead, punches the cliff, leaving several cracks from his rock fists.
Acting quickly, I wrap my tentacles around my little brother and toss him towards the others. He crashes straight into Lucas and the two of them hit the ground hard, shaking their heads in confusion. I can't be sure but I think that they've snapped out of their trances.
I don't have time to check, though. Jessica, who had avoided the pile-up by flying up into the air, is now blasting me with a huge gust of wind. "Get Toby!" she says. I shield my eyes as the wind churns up rocks that hit me relentlessly. I hear someone approaching but the continuous assault of wind forces me to keep my eyes closed.
"Open your eyes and accept your fate!" Firespitter says before he lets out a yell. "What?" He then commands, "Get this beast off of me!"
I open my eyes and see that Lucas has his vines wrapped around Firespitter's face, blocking his eye. I pant with exhaustion as Nick approaches me. "Toby, what are you doing here?" he asks, sounding surprised as he offers me his hand.
I take it and he pulls me to my feet. "Saving your butts!" I reply, grinning, too relieved that he's back to normal again.
We watch as Jessica, still in a trance, blows a powerful gust of wind at Lucas, knocking him to the ground and releasing Firespitter from the grip of his vines. I release some low-powered water globes, enough to stun but not actually harm her, and she lets out a cry as they hit her.
I raise an eyebrow as her eyes dart around, clearly trying to make sense of what just happened. Her gaze lands on me and I am happy to see the light of recognition in her eyes. "Toby?" she asks, sounding just as surprised as Nick.
Firespitter lets out a pained yell. "Sand in the eye! Destroy them! Destroy them!" He then shoots fire from the holes on the ends of his fingers. Nick and I step aside to avoid the blast and watch the Sea Gormiti start charging towards us, intent on obeying Firespitter's orders.
"This could get ugly real fast!" Nick says nervously. He's right - even I wouldn't be reckless enough to try to take on an entire group of Gormiti at once, especially since they're probably under Firespitter's trance!
"Let's ditch 'em in the cove!" Lucas suggests and the four of us turn tail and flee as fast as we can. Partway through, I feel Razzle jump onto my shoulder and I give the little lizard a determined look. I'm glad he's okay.
"Destroy them!" Firespitter yells as he fires another attack that doesn't hit us directly but in front of us instead. The blast sends me flying and I find myself upside-down in midair, continuing to rise, despite Nick and Lucas each grabbing hold of my tentacles to try and pull me back down to the ground. We were all getting higher and higher and being upside-down was making me dizzy and confused as to how it was happening.
I manage to lift my head up enough to see that Jessica had grabbed my legs and was flying us all...somewhere. Eventually, we reach the top of the cliff and she drops us in front of a cave before landing.
"That should buy us some time!" she says, relieved before somehow folding her wings back. That's a pretty neat trick.
The four of us pant as we try to get our bearings and our breath back. I took a deep breath, relieved that all my blood was no longer rushing to my head. For now, we appear to be safe.
It seems, however, that today is Prove Toby Wrong Day because, as soon as I think that, a Sea Gormiti sneaks up behind Jessica and coils his tentacle arm around her, causing her to gasp in alarm and probably for air.
Nick, Lucas and I immediately prepare to fire our attacks. "Don't even think it, boys!" the Sea Gormiti warns us. He holds up his claw arm and we all tense.
"Step down, Delos!" A female voice calls. We see a second Sea Gormiti, a darker blue than her companion, and watch as fins appear on her arms. I know her name but I can't remember it right now (AN: I've decided that, unless a Gormiti's name is directly stated in an episode, each Lord will only know the names of the Gormiti from their own tribe, with the possible exception of Nick - who knows pretty much everything). "These Gormiti resisted Firespitter's spell!" Oh, so these are good guys. I've gotta ask - why do we always seem to get attacked by the bad and the good guys?
Delos releases Jessica from his grip and she walks over to join us, rubbing her arms. I figure they're probably still hurting from her having to carry us all at once.
Nick sounds relieved as he says, "I see we're not the only ones!"
Mantra - see, I knew I'd remember eventually! - sighs heavily. "It pains me to see our people being twisted to Firespitter's whim!" She then turns and heads inside the cave.
Delos makes a beckoning motion with his tentacle arm. "Come!" he says. "It is not safe in the open!" We glance at each other before following the two Sea Gormiti into the cave. We hear a rumbling sound behind us and look back to see that a heavy boulder has rolled in front of the cave entrance, Razzle only just managing to squeeze through a tiny gap and avoiding being crushed.
We stop in a room that seems to have some sort of a pool or lake. "Firespitter is searching for the lost Heart of Desire!" Mantra informs us.
"Is that like a romance novel?" Jessica asks eagerly.
"An ancient amulet of powerful magic," Delos replies. "The runes say it was lost on this very shore!"
Mantra kicks a pebble into the water. "Rumours! Stories!" she scoffs, clearly not believing that such a thing exists.
I notice Delos raise his tentacle arm over my shoulder. "You're lucky your friend came when he did," he says to the others. "Firespitter's spell was still new and weak enough to break!"
"Ha!" I say as Delos places his tentacle on my shoulder and I turn to the others. "Am I your hero or what?"
"You're supposed to be our Keeper!" Jessica says, frowning.
"Yeah!" Lucas chimes in. "How do we get back without a Keeper running the Gorm Gate?" Okay, now that, I hadn't thought of. Although, if truth be told, I hadn't really thought at all. I had been so desperate to save everyone that I hadn't even considered what would happen once I left the Primal Pad. I had felt so good about being the hero who saved the day but now I just feel terrible!
I gasp as Nick walks over to me and begins shaking me. "How am I gonna defend my club presidency against Ike if I'm a rock man on the shores of Gorm?" he demands.
"That silly club really means a lot to you, doesn't it?" I ask as I place my hand on his shoulder. He nods in reply. "I'm not gonna let that happen - we'll think of something!" I reassure him.
"We'd better think fast!" Lucas says as we turn to look at him. "Without a Keeper to charge our orbs, we're going to run out of power soon!"
"And if we don't do something about Firespitter, then both our dimensions are in trouble!" Jessica reminds us.
The four of us exchange glances before Nick says, "The runes say the amulet is on this shore. What runes?" Mantra and Delos look at each other and Delos nods.
They lead us to another room. As Delos pushes aside a boulder to allow us entry, Mantra begins explaining. "The morning Firespitter infiltrated this chamber was the beginning of the end for my people."
Just then, a ray of green light hits the walls and weird symbols appear all around, causing Razzle to gasp with awe.
Nick approaches the wall and begins running his fingers over the symbols. "I studied a tome on Narlik runes back at the Primal Pad!" he informs us.
"Why am I not surprised?" Jessica asks no one in particular, vocalizing what we'd all been thinking.
"No wonder Firespitter wants the amulet!" Nick exclaims. "It's like a genie stone!"
We all gasp and I turn to Jessica and ask, "As in three wishes?" before we look over at Nick again.
"We could wish our way home!" he says.
"We could stop Firespitter!" Lucas adds.
"We could save your tribe!" Jessica suggests and Mantra nods.
Nick addresses the Sea Gormiti. "You said Firespitter was in this chamber during the morning. That means he wouldn't have seen these and, without this full set of instructions, the runes would lead him to dig in the wrong location!" he concludes.
Mantra approaches him and places her hands on his shoulders. "If this proves true, then your archaeology skills are most impressive!"
Nick sighs before flushing with embarrassment and mumbling, "Tell that to Ike Pinkney!"
We leave the cave after Nick tells us where the right location is. When we arrive, we find that the spot is in the shallow part of the water.
Nick, Lucas and I stand back while Jessica uses her wind powers to hold the water away from the ground so we can search for the amulet.
"We don't have all day!" we hear her call. "This is really taking the wind outta me!"
We walk through the water to join her. "Now let's see what we can find!" Nick says before transforming his hands into drills. The drills whir as he digs into the ground for a few moments. Suddenly he stops and says, "Whoa!" staring at his hands as they go from being drills to normal, human hands. He must have run out of power!
"Oh no! Out of glow!" Lucas says as I kneel down in front of a now-human Nick, holding his arms.
"Just dig!" he insists. "We've got to find the amulet so we can get the jump on Firespitter!"
"Eye wouldn't count on it!" aforementioned Gormiti says and the four of us gasp. "Now who should finish off these Gormiti pests? Eye know - Helico the Wary!"
A Sea Gormiti with drills for arms leaps down towards us, spinning them at high speed. The four of us separate, Nick and I jumping to the right while Jessica and Lucas leap to the left.
"Whoa!" Nick cries suddenly and we both watch Jessica transform back into human form while in mid-air!
"Talk about lousy timing! Little help?" she yells before letting out a scream as she plummets to the ground.
"Creeper catch!" Lucas shouts as he uses his vines to, well, catch her. Unfortunately, he ends up powering down too and they both grunt as she lands on top of him.
Nick turns to me suddenly, looking worried. "This isn't good!" he says.
"What do you mean?" I ask. "You guys have lost your powers, sure, but I still have mine!"
Nick shakes his head. "The water has nothing holding it up now that Jessica's lost her powers!" he reminds me. Oh. Oh, this is bad.
We hear a rumbling and look over to see Helico looming over Lucas and Jessica - who are both helpless to do anything except stand and hope for the best, cackling menacingly while spinning his drill arms.
Just then, a louder rumbling sound is heard and Helico seems confused. Suddenly, as Nick had previously predicted, the water comes crashing down and the Sea Gormiti lets out a startled yell as he is promptly swept away.
I have just enough time to grab Nick, who was holding Razzle before we are all engulfed by the huge wave. I swim after Lucas and Jessica who are being dragged away by the current. Realizing that I need to get them to the surface before they all drown, I stretch out my tentacles, grab them both by the ankles and swim up to the surface, tossing them upwards.
Knowing that they're safe, at least, for now, I dive back under the water. I see Helico rush toward the surface and I immediately give chase.
As he bursts out of the water, rotating at blinding speed, I leap up and grab onto his legs, pulling us both back underwater. I struggle to hold on as he swims further down, cackling the whole time.
I attempt repeatedly to attack or restrain him but he is spinning so fast that it's impossible to get close without risking injury.
He manages to kick me in the stomach, causing me to sink further down and when I recover, I see that Mantra and Delos have joined me. I swim up to join them but we all let out cries of shock and are forced to dodge when Helico, still cackling, attempts to divebomb us but misses, crashing into the ground instead.
I notice something glittering that floats up from the area Helico crashed into. It must be the amulet! I swim down to grab it but luck really isn't on my side today!
Before I even get close to reaching the amulet, I transform back into human form, promptly struggling to breathe now that I don't have my powers. Fighting to keep my mouth closed, I head for the surface, hoping that Mantra and Delos get to the amulet before Helico does.
As I burst out of the water, I gasp for air then grin at the others who were floating near me.
Lucas informs of his plan to take Firespitter down. We watch as the water begins to bubble. "What's going on down there?" he demands to know. "I can't see anything!"
We get out of the water and I follow Lucas onto one rock while Nick and Jessica stand on another - Nick and Lucas are both holding seaweed ropes - and we wait for the perfect moment to strike.
"Kind of ironic!" Firespitter continues. "I've got this giant eye and yet eye can't see! Know what eye mean?" His companion - a Sea Gormiti named Crabs - simply shrugs and shakes his head in reply.
"You don't know the half of it!" Lucas says as he wraps our seaweed rope around Firespitter's face.
Nick uses his seaweed rope like a lasso and wraps it around Crabs' ankle, the Sea Gormiti saying "Uh-oh!" when he realizes what's happening.
"The bigger they are..." Jessica starts.
"...the harder they fall!" Nick finishes before we all start tugging on the ropes.
We tug harder and harder and Firespitter yells, "Never mess with-" before he and Crabs finally lose their balance and let out cries of shock as they topple into the water.
Mantra resurfaces and tosses me the object I had tried to retrieve earlier. "Someone lose their amulet?" I ask, holding it up in the air while Lucas whoo-hoos next to me.
"Alright, Toby!" Jessica cheers, hi-fiving Nick.
"Way to go, bro!" Nick says happily.
"The lost Heart of Desire!" Firespitter shouts as he clambers onto a rock. "Give it to me or I will-" he suddenly holds his hand out in my direction ready to attack, causing us all to gasp - except that all that comes out of his finger-holes is steam. "I'll-" he shakes his hand furiously before letting out a scream as the Sea Gormiti splash him with water, causing him to lose his balance and fall back in the water.
We head down to the shore and stand with Firespitter, Helico, and Crabs all tied up with seaweed. Mantra walks out of the water towards us. "Looking good, people!" Razzle says before handing over the amulet he had been holding to the Sea Gormiti.
"So the legends were true!" she says, looking down at the amulet.
"One way to find out!" I suggest.
Mantra looks back at the amulet. "I have only one wish and that is for my people to be free of Firespitter's spell!"
We watch as Helico and Crabs glow for a moment before stopping Firespitter - who had been attempting to make a sneaky getaway - in his tracks, much to his dismay.
I approach Mantra who holds the amulet out to me. "You and your friends found the lost Heart of Desire!" she tells me. "You have earned the last two wishes!"
"Sweet!" I say eagerly as I take the amulet. "I am so gonna wish for an endless supply of ice cream for the rest of my life!"
"Toby!" Jessica says behind me, frowning. She doesn't sound too amused.
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" I assure her. "I wish this Keeper was back where he belongs - in the Primal Pad!" I am surrounded by a glow and the next thing I know, I feel myself begin to disappear.
"Hey! What about us?" I hear Nick yell just before I disappear completely. I reappear in the Primal Pad, sitting in the Keeper's chair, the amulet still in my hand. Hmm, that gives me an idea...
"I wish that the best man for the job wins the Archaeology Club presidency debate!" I say and the amulet glows. Guess I used up the last wish!
I wave my hands over the crystals to bring the others back to the Primal Pad and watch as they come up through the Gorm Gate, saying, "By the orbs of Gorm!"
"Nice to have you back!" I greet them and raise my hand as we grin at each other.
As they run to join me, Jessica says, "We've only got one wish left!"
"We'd better make it a good one!" Lucas adds.
"Oh, I did!" I tell them.
"You already used the last wish?" Nick asks before he comes closer to me. "What did you wish for?" I simply smile and drum my fingers against my arm.
We head back up into the kitchen and immediately we all notice something on the counter. "Guys, that pot wasn't there this morning, right?" Lucas asks us.
Jessica, meanwhile, says, "That's not what I think it is, is it?"
Nick approaches and lifts up the pot, inspecting it from all angles. Suddenly his face lights up like a child opening a present. "I-It's a three-handled Hoachi pot! B-But how?" He frowns and turns to look at me along with Lucas and Jessica.
I give them an I'm not saying anything look in return before saying, "We'd better get a move on if Nick wants to stay President!" and heading for the front door, the others following behind me. We notice as soon as we set foot outside that the sun is already starting to set.
As we get on the school campus, Nick falls into step beside me, carefully holding the pot in his arms. "Thanks, bro!" he says gratefully.
"I told you I wasn't gonna let Ike win the debate, right?" I tell him as we go inside the school. "Now get in there and show 'em what a real archaeologist is made of!" He grins at me and I grin back.
Approaching the classroom where the meeting is being held, we can all hear Ike's voice droning away. "And lastly, I should be president of this club because Nicholas Tripp is never - in a million years - gonna find proof of an ancient civilization like a three-handled Hoachi pot!"
"Behold!" Nick says as we walk into the classroom. "A three-handled Hoachi pot!" He lifts the pot into the air and Ike's jaw drops as the other club members start cheering. The shock ends up being too much for him because he ends up passing out but no one seems to care - everyone's eyes are on Nick, the official Archaeology Club president!
Some of the members lift Nick up and the entire club runs out of the school, chanting "President Nick!" I catch a glimpse of my brother's face and know I made the right call. I've never seen him so happy.
I follow them out of the school along with Lucas and Jessica. The three of us stand just outside the school building watching as the Archaeology Club members continue to celebrate.
"Yo, man!" Lucas addresses me. "You could have wished for anything! Anything!" He gives me a what were you thinking? look.
I shrug and hold my hands up. "Yeah, but what could be better than that?" I ask.
"Er, hello!" Jessica exclaims and I turn to face her. She holds up a purple boot from out of nowhere. "Shoes all on sale for the rest of forever!" I chuckle and grin sheepishly at her.
"World peace!" Lucas suggests and then the two start suggesting things I could have wished for instead, my eyes darting between each of them as they speak.
"No parents in the kitchen when we're trying to get to the Primal Pad!" Jessica adds.
"No homework!" Lucas remarks.
As they continue bombarding me with suggestions, I start thinking about everything that's happened. Even though things turned out alright in the end, today was an experience I'd rather not repeat!
I decide then and there that, when I inevitably get chosen to be the Keeper again, I'm just gonna suck it up and get on with it.
Sure, I may not like it but it's not like I'll never have plenty of opportunities to kick the Lava Gormiti's butts!
AN: That's the end of the chapter! Sorry it took so long - I did mean to have it up last night but I ended up falling asleep :-( The good news is, I've already started the next chapter due to my writing two chapters at once plan (I write the first 1K words of the next chapter before focusing my attention on the main one). Hope you guys enjoyed it and see you next time! :-)