Here it is. Sorry everything is taking so long.

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Sean's POV

I burst out of the water, gasping for breath. Trevor tapped me on the shoulder and gestured towards a bank. We both swam over to it and collapsed onto our backs, panting. After a few moments I realised that neither Hannah or Ellie were with us.

"Hannah?" Trevor cried. I noticed some bubbles coming to the surface and that was enough to make Trevor dive into the water. He emerged a few seconds later with Hannah, his arm wrapped securely around her waist. I wadded into the water to help pull her ashore.

"My backpack was…too heavy." she gasped. As I helped pull her out of the water I noticed she didn't have her backpack with her.

"Where's your pack?" I asked as she lay down on the bank.

"Ellie took it. She saved my life." she gasped. Ellie? Where was Ellie? "She still hasn't surfaced yet." Hannah cried. Trevor looked saddened but was busy fussing over Hannah. I glared at them before I rushed and dived into the water, swimming with all my energy into the water. I spotted a shape as it thrashed in the water, a large pack over its shoulder. I pushed on harder and soon came closer. It was Ellie! Her movements were slowing as she struggled in the water. I grabbed her arm and pulled her along. I was already running out of breath so I couldn't imagine what Ellie was feeling. As we came closer to the surface where Trevor and Hannah were waiting Ellie went limp in my arms. No! she couldn't die! I broke the surface and rushed over to Hannah and Trevor. I lay Ellie out on her back and looked over her. Her face was pale, her eyes shut and she wasn't breathing.

"Trevor what do we do?" I cried. He looked worried.

"She needs CPR!" he cried, coming towards her. Hell no was he going to touch her after leaving her to die like that. I moved to kneel beside Ellie and started to do chest compressions. When those failed to work I tilted her chin up and lowered my mouth to hers, giving her my breaths. I did this for a few minutes, determined not to let her die. A cough interrupted my actions and I pulled away as Ellie rolled over onto her side, coughing up water. I rubbed her back to sooth her as she panted.

"Sean?" she asked as she got her breath back. I nodded at her, a smile taking over my face despite what she had said to me. I couldn't care less at that moment, Ellie was safe and that was all that mattered to me. "Sean I'm so sorry about what I said I didn't mean any of it." she cried, tears running down her cheeks. That made me smile as I lay down next to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her into me. Trevor and Hannah lay down next to us and we all stared up at the roof of the cave we were in. it sparkled with a light blue light.

"Are those stars?" Hannah questioned. The light was oddly florescent.

"No that's just the cave ceiling." Trevor answered, sounding a little unsure.

"Is it me or is the cave ceiling moving?" Ellie asked, her eyes narrowed in concentration, moving to stand up. I was up in a second, gripping her arms to help her up. Trevor and Hannah also stood up to investigate. As we all looked up, the 'ceiling' shifted away from the roof and started to flutter all around us.

"They're…birds. Electric birds?" Ellie asked, lifting her hand. I watched in amazement as a group of birds swooped around her hand. She laughed as the feathers tickled her skin. I smiled at her, loving to see her happy. Trevor started going about how these birds were from a billion years ago but I wasn't listening. One of the birds stayed close to Ellie and me, flying between us. It landed on Ellie's outstretched finger, tweeting happily. I reached over and ran my finger down its back. It pushed itself against my hand. Ellie was still smiling.

"This is so cool." she breathed. I nodded and my eyes landed on something resting against Ellie's chest. It was the emerald that I had said matched her eyes. I grabbed it and held it up. Ellie blushed, looking back at the bird.

"You kept this?" I asked and she nodded. I smiled, pulling her into a hug. "That, is cool." I whispered to her and she laughed. I pulled back and stared at her. The moment was interrupted by the bird, who had flown from Ellie's hand and into a small cave.

"Hey guys, a way out." Trevor said, walking past us. We all followed them, and what we came across was like nothing I expected to find. Plants were everywhere, being fed by a giant ball of light that looked similarly like a sun. A huge waterfall was thundering down from the sky, birds swooping and gliding around it.

"Ladies and gentlemen I give you the centre of the earth." Trevor said slowly. I think he was being a little dramatic but I was still shocked into silence. "Max was right! He was right! MAX WAS RIGHT!" Trevor shouted happily for the whole…inner world to hear.

"Hannah your dad was right to." Ellie said, giving her a big smile. Hannah didn't look to happy but only we seemed to notice, Trevor to busy gloating over his belief in Max.

"They believed in something that everyone told them was impossible. They were RIGHT!" Trevor shrieked.

"ALRIGHT! We get it Trevor!" Ellie yelled at him. I snickered at his sheepish expression. "Now, what the heck is that light up there?" she asked in a calmer voice. Trevor seemed to collect himself as he answered.

"I can't tell…but it looks like some kind of luminescent gas combination…?"

"A terrarium." I answered. Ellie gave me a surprised look. Look who's the smart one now. I smirked at her. "Didn't expect that huh?" I said smugly. She just rolled her eyes.

"A terrarium right under the crust of the earth…a world within the world." Trevor said in a amazement. We started to walk again, exploring the magnificent world we had stumbled upon. Trevor was reading from his book and everything was almost exactly the same.

"It's exactly what Lyden Brock wrote." he laughed, closing the book.

"So you're saying Lyden Brock, the character, was real?" Hannah questioned.

"Someone came down here. Someone saw all this. Someone got out and someone told Verne." he summarised, taking in everything around us. A way out?

"Someone got out? That's the best news I've heard all day." I said happily.

"Doesn't this just blow your mind?" Trevor continued, ignoring me as he blew on a giant dandelion. The white spores floated away, surrounding Ellie, Hannah and I. Ellie laughed happily, reaching out and touching one of the spores. I smiled and pulled her closer to me, letting her lean against my chest. The spores swirled around us, like a mini white hurricane. We were enclosed together.

"My mind is blown, yes." Hannah chuckled. We began exploring again, passing by some huge mushrooms. Every now and then I would glance at Ellie. Even when she was covered in mud and was still drying off a little from our swim, she still looked beautiful. My mind started to wander back to what she had said in the mine cart, about how she was jealous of the attention I was giving Hannah. I hadn't realised I was giving Hannah any real attention. The only reason I placed dibs on Hannah in front of her was to rile her up but I didn't think she'd take it so seriously. And that kiss…it was amazing. I knew my dream had started to make me feel something for the hot tempered girl but now, after feeling her lips on mine, I knew I was completely in love with her. I know that's a bit of a jump from barely being able to tolerate her but…No one, not any girlfriend I had ever had before, can made me feel the way she dose. When she mocked me and brought my dad up, I never thought I could experience such heartache. I had promised myself to not forgive her…but when she nearly drowned that promise went out the window and all I could think about was saving her.

"Hey Sean, check this out." I heard Ellie say. I stopped, realising that I had moved away from her slightly. I caught back up with her to see her standing in front of a tall, twisted tree with a way in at the bottom. We looked at each other and I could tell what she was thinking.

"Sean? Ellie?" we heard Hannah and Trevor call as they approached us.

"I'm going up." I said when Trevor was beside me. Ellie nodded but waited behind.

"Hey wait up." Trevor said in a cautious voice as he followed. Ellie and Hannah didn't follow us, beginning to talk. I hope Ellie was apologising to Hannah. Even though Ellie had saved her life, I could tell Hannah was still a little uneasy around her. When I reached the top of the tree I was amazed at what I saw. It looked like someone had made a home out of it. There was a table with food and notebooks on it, a hammock in the corner big enough for two. I picked up one of the not books.

"Trevor look, this must be one of Lyden Brock's note books." I said excitedly. Trevor took a look at the book before glancing down at his own. His face fell as he held up the book.

"Yeah…Sean. Those aren't Lyden Brock's notes." he mumbled, showing me the page from my dads book. The hand writing was exactly the same. I stared up at Trevor, a million questions racing through my mind. Before I could ask even one of them, a voice sounded from outside.

"Trevor! Could you come out here?" Hannah shouted. I looked out the window to see Hannah and Ellie standing together. Ellie wasn't looking at us, choosing instead to gaze at the floor. Something didn't feel right as I looked up at Trevor.

"Could you wait here for a second?" Trevor asked and I nodded. I watched him as he talked with Hannah. She must have said something bad because he was suddenly taking off into the forest with her close behind. I stared down at Ellie, who was watching him go. She turned around to look at me and I could see tears running down her cheeks. I ran from the tree house, scarping myself a few times as I scrambled down the trunks tunnel. When I reached her I forced her to look at me.

"Ellie what's going on?" I demanded.

"Sean I'm so sorry." She sniffed. I gave her a confused look. She just gulped, taking me by the hand and leading me down the path that Trevor and Hannah took. Soon we where at a beach. Before us stood Trevor and Hannah, who were standing in front of a pile of rocks.

"Who is that?" I demanded, my voice shaking. Ellie gave me a look. "No." I pleaded but she nodded sadly. Trevor came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder and Hannah gave me a kiss on the head. I didn't want there comfort though, I just wanted Ellie. She must have read my thoughts because as soon as Hannah had pulled away she beside me, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

"I never even got the chance to know him." I mumbled, my voice shaking. Ellie only hugged me tighter, stroking my hair gently.

"He wrote you something and I really want you to hear it." Trevor said gravely, pulling out a little journal that I think I saw him pick up in the tree house.. I nodded, staring at the ocean while fighting back tears. "August fourteenth 1997. Today was Sean's third birthday." I looked up at him. "Six weeks ago I promised myself I would be home to give him his first baseball glove. Now I'm worried I'll never get the chance. I set out to make an incredible discovery to share with Trevor and the world, but now I would trade it all just to watch you grow up, to see the brave and certain man I know you will become. Happy birthday Sean, love Daddy." that did it, soon the tears were flowing down my cheeks. I hated myself for crying over a man I barely knew, especially in front of Ellie. Amazingly enough, she just rested her head on my shoulder, her own tears falling. Trevor came over and pulled me away from her and into a hug. I cried into his shirt.

Soon we were all back in the tree house, Ellie and I sitting on the hammock bed. Ellie was resting against me, her head on my shoulder while my arm was around her waist. She looked like she was about to fall asleep. I never thought I would need someone as much as I needed her right now. I had just found out my dad was dead and had cried and she hadn't said a bad word to me. Instead she comforted me, made me feel truly wanted. Hannah and Trevor were talking amongst themselves, sometimes glancing at us.

"According to Max's journal we're here, surrounded by lava during periods of intense seismic activity." there was a large rumble and I instinctively gripped Ellie closer to me. "The magma around us will soon turn into a big oven." Trevor finished.

"Is that what happened to my dad?" I asked. Hannah and Trevor looked a little uneasily at each other then at me. I sighed irritably as I stood up, gently placing Ellie along the hammock. She snuggled into it.

"Look I know I'm just a kid but I can handle this." I whispered. They shared another look and nodded.

"Max was planning an escape." Trevor said quietly, catching on that I wanted Ellie to get some rest.

"His research here says that temperatures down here can reach up to two hundred degrees." Hannah added.

"The average human being can't withstand more then one hundred and thirty five." Trevor muttered lowly. I quickly check a thermometer I had pack.

"It's already ninety five degrees." I said quickly.

"It was already eighty two when we got here and rising-fast." Trevor warned.

"So what do we do?" Hannah asked.

"We follow Max's plan. Here's what he wrote: my analyses of the original Verne text leads me to believe that across the ocean due north from here there is a geyser-like river that could lead me back to the surface.." Trevor read aloud.

"So we find the geyser and hitch a ride topside?" I asked. Trevor still looked unsure.

"It's a little more complicated then that, see it could get so hot down here that the water could just evaporate." he explained.

"How much time do we have?" Hannah asked worriedly.

"Fort-eight hours, seventy-two tops." Trevor said before another rumble sounded. Ellie moaned as she rolled over and I quickly checked on her. She seemed to be cradling her hurt arm. "Probably less." Trevor mumbled.

"Ok so the question is, what is the quickest way across the ocean?" Hannah asked. I finished checking on Ellie and turned back to the adults. They appeared to be getting no where with their ideas. I glanced around and saw my dads book sitting open on the table. The picture on the page was of a crudely made boat with a weird kite sail. I grinned as I picked it up and handed it to Trevor.

"It's all in the book." I said triumphantly. Trevor grinned at me then seemed to notice something.

"Are you tired Sean?" he asked. It was then that my pure exhaustion hit me head on. I stumbled slight, gripping the table for balance. Trevor smiled warmly. "Maybe you should follow Ellie's example and get some sleep, we'll wake you when we need your help with the raft." he said, standing up and walking out with Hannah following, throwing me a smug smile as she left.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the smile that formed at the chance to share a bed with the girl I loved. Carefully, so not to wake her, I slipped back into place beside Ellie. She must have missed my warmth or something because as soon as I lay down she rolled over and snuggled into my side. I sighed, never feeling so at peace, considering my situation.

"I love you." I mumbled quietly into her hair before I fell asleep.

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