A/N:

In case you might think I've uploaded the wrong chapter, I announce in advance that this chapter's beginning (and a bit in the middle) really IS like the first, up to a certain point at least
(Hint: at about line 20 starts the new content [starting with quotation marks] if you don't want to read the beginning all over again)

However, I hope you will give it a chance after all :)
Thanks!

6. Lose you tonight

It slowly went quiet around the quite large sea. In the distance some kind of an owl was hooting, greeting the coming night in its way - rather unaware that its call was regarded as a death message on earth for a long time, above all in the Middle Ages.

Apart from that nothing moved, not even the wind.

Once in a while only loud sobs, emerging from the bottom of someone's very soul, were interrupting the silence. They were a sign of deep mourning.

Sheila was crouched beside the lifeless body of her brother and was only sobbing by this time. She had shed all her tears and her screams were faded away but the grief was going to remain, though.

Several minutes had passed since then.
Basically, none of the friends had moved one bit meanwhile. None of them was giving the impression that they wanted to rise again sometime and continue their way in search for a portal out of this realm; even without their youngest member.
You'd almost think that they wanted to sit and wait there forever, abandoning themselves to their sorrow.

If an enemy - especially Venger - had an appearance in these moments, he would have had an easy going with the Young Ones: one dead, the other five as good as. Their resistance as normally expected was broken long ago. There couldn't have been a better situation!

But they were lucky at this point: they didn't have to fear an attack from any foes, at least in this moment.

They were alone; everyone was occupied with his/her own grief.

"He will suffer for this!"

Hank lifted his head and looked towards Sheila.

"What-" it took a lot of effort for the Ranger to speak as his voice failed him. "What do you mean?" he tried once more.

"He'll suffer for this!" the girl repeated, hate distorted her kind features.

Before anyone of them could react to that, Sheila suddenly jumped up, glancing down lovingly at her dead kid brother for the last time - and ran off.

"Sheila? Sheila, what are you doing?" Hank called after her, confused, trying to chase her.

She pulled up her hood while running past him and vanished from his sight just before he could grab her arm to hold her back.

"Sheila! Stay here!"

The Thief wasn't responsive to his urgent pleas, though.

"Where's she going?" Presto asked cautiously.

The other two Young Ones were approaching them as well.

"I'm afraid she'll commit a terrible mistake..." Diana muttered.

The Magician raised his eyes to her with a puzzled face.

"I suppose she's gonna take vengeance for Bobby's death - on Venger..." she explained.

"She's nuts, ain't she? That's rather committing suicide! And for that she's leaving the kid here behind?" Eric declared in consternation.

"She probably doesn't know what else to do as sorrowful as she is..." Presto remarked, shrugging helplessly.

"We've gotta prevent her from suffering the same fate as Bobby!" Hank proclaimed, being torn.

Should they follow Sheila and support her more than hasty plans of revenge?

They certainly won't let their friend face their enemy on her own - but it was quite obvious that she didn't even want their help anyway by using her Cloak and running away.

On the other hand they can't leave Bobby here simply lying on the ground, he deserves an appropriate burial.

However, Sheila left them no choice, she had just now made this decision for herself as well as for the rest of the group: she wanted to confront their arch enemy alone - and surely would meet her own death with this.
Perhaps that's what she desires in fact, they couldn't exclude this possibility after all.
The deep mourning for her great loss had driven her to this desperate step.
Yeah, maybe she's really gone insane caused by her brother's death, as Eric assumed.

They were now bound to remain right there and take care of the further 'stay' of their youngest member, though.

The Thief knew exactly that they would never leave the boy behind all alone and a decent funeral would take up a lot of time; time they were lacking to catch up with Sheila early enough to talk her out of her plan - or to assist her if a confrontation can't be avoided anymore by all means.

It was very likely that the little boy's sister will be laid to rest at the Barbarian's side in the near future, the leader thought with a shudder.
Then the two siblings were reunited in death at least...

"Sheila!" he shouted after her once more, hoping to get through to her somehow after all but she probably was already too far gone.

Because of this commotion, none of the remaining four Young Ones noticed the faint movement.
Only when they heard a low groaning followed by retching noises, they whirled around towards its source, alarmed.

Their eyes widened when they realized where the sounds actually came from.

Bobby's chest was raised and lowered irregularly!

Immediately they glanced at his face. His eyes were still closed, though, but they were shifting restlessly behind the lids.
The retching noises were coming from him without any doubt.

"Bobby? Oh my god... Bobby..." Diana whispered hoarsely, rushing to the youngest.

She laid her arms around him and lifted his body.

And there the completely unimaginable thing happened: the boy presumed dead opened his eyes again!

Presto gasped in shock while everybody was staring down at the previously lifeless young Barbarian unbelievingly.

"What the...?" Eric blurted out.

Bobby retched again in Diana's arms.
She instinctively turned the boy over and he threw up into the grass right away.
They, looking both disgusted and fascinated at the same time, watched the kid spitting out a purple colored liquid.
After that he gasped for breath and sank back into the Acrobat's arms, completely exhausted.

"Hey, guys." Bobby greeted the others, still a bit weak.

"Gee Bobby, we really thought you were... well..." Presto trailed off.

"Welcome back, short stuff. Long time no see." Eric joked, still a bit shocked.

"Riiight, Eric." the other boy replied with a ghost of a grin.

The poisoning appeared to be completely gone; the cheerfulness has finally returned to him again.

"Yeah, nice to see you again." Hank commented, forcing himself to smile but mentally already expecting the young boy's inevitable question.

"Where- where... is Sheila?" the Barbarian asked between two light coughing fits, looking around for his sister.

Diana glanced over to Hank, disheartened. What are they supposed to tell the kid?

The Ranger briefly closed his eyes while sighing resignedly.
This wasn't going to be an easy confession for sure.

Heck, why couldn't Sheila - without blaming her now for that - have waited a little bit longer with her decision?
She could have witnessed her brother's resurrection yet if she had hesitated just a few moments to be up and away.

It's really tricky: Bobby mysteriously came back from the dead but now they had to fear for his sister's life instead.

They actually didn't have time for detailed explanations since they had to follow Sheila as soon as possible and stop her from her suicidal actions.
If they were going to set off soon without further considerable delays, they would be able to catch up with the Thief even before she will reach her final destination.
There was no need for a burial anymore; at least not for the Barbarian...

"Hank?"

The shaking voice of the young boy didn't pass him unnoticed.

"Bobby... we- we truly assumed... we had lost you... forever... and Sheila... the loss of you was too hard to take for her..."

"What does that mean? Where's my sister?" despite his still stricken condition his question was demanding.

Hank walked towards the kid and put a hand on top of the other boy's head.

The Barbarian looked up at the leader pleadingly.

"I'm- I'm so sorry, Bobby, but Sheila... she's going to revenge your apparent death. My god, she doesn't even know that you- she returned to Venger's castle..."

"Noo! She can't do that, she just can't. We gotta get her back! He- he's gonna kill her..." crying out in despair the young boy tried to get up.

"Easy, Bobby, you're still too weak." the Ranger reminded him gently.

"Lemme go, Hank!" he reacted untypically harsh towards the older boy. "Please..."