Chapter 32

Dearly Beloved

Meridian

While Hay Lin may have seemed shallow to someone who had only just met her, the rest of the Guardians knew she was anything but. Behind her cheerful attitude lay a steely resolve, and a grim determination not to let life get her down. Standing in the streets of Meridian City, she called upon every inch of this internal strength.

"Say it again." Hay Lin said, "Tell me everything."

"Balsilide, from what I can tell, had some kind of super weapon…" Elyon began.

"A cannon. We know." Hay Lin interrupted. "Tell me about Eric."

"He was in the city, helping with the preparations, and…"

Elyon began choking up, and her words escaped her. The Guardians had seen Elyon become so strong over the last few years, and to see her on the verge of break down now scared them to no end. Hay Lin, however, grabbed Elyon by the shoulders and looked her square in the eye.

"Elyon, if I'm not crying, then neither can you." She said.

"Right, sorry." Elyon said, quickly composing herself. "Eric was in the blast area when the projectile hit. The resulting explosion, he was caught in it, and… He's dying, Hay Lin! And there's nothing we can do about it!"

Hay Lin didn't cry. Hay Lin didn't panic. Even though the words would haunt her for the rest of her life, she did not feel their impact now. She was only focused on what actions she could still take.

"He's dying." Hay Lin repeated. "As in, he's not dead yet."

"No, he's not." Elyon said, "But…"

"Show me." Hay Lin said.

Elyon pointed towards the plume of smoke rising in the sky.

"There." Elyon said. "Doctor Patillo is with him, but…"

Hay Lin had already taken off in the direction Elyon was pointing, leaving a trail of scorched air in her wake. Cornelia lifted Elyon up in on a stone platform, and the rest of the group quickly followed Hay Lin.

Eric was laid out in the center of the street, and even from a distance Hay Lin could tell it was not good. His eyes were closed, but Hay Lin could still see Eric's chest moving up and down weakly. He was covered in hundred of bleeding cuts, and severe burn marks ran up and down his chest and arms. A woman, who Hay Lin recognized as Doctor Patillo, was kneeling beside him, applying a cooling salve to his chest. It was an image that Hay Lin would never forget.

"Hay Lin, correct?" Doctor Patillo said, hearing the Guardians approach. "I'm told you had a relationship with Eric."

"I have one, yes." Hay Lin said firmly. "How is he?"

"The wounds are severe." Patillo said bluntly. "He was hit by a lot of shrapnel, and he's losing blood quickly. The blunt force of the explosion also cracked his ribs, which I believe has punctured a…"

"That's enough." Hay Lin said, kneeling beside the doctor. "What can you do for him?"

"Even if I patched up his wounds quickly enough, the internal damage is too great." Patillo said. "I'm afraid the only thing I can do is ease his pain."

"Not good enough." Hay Lin said. "We can teleport him to your lab, and you can begin work. There must be something…"

"Hay Lin, even if I had the best minds using the best equipment on Meridian, there would still be nothing I could do." Patillo said firmly. "The internal injuries are too extensive, and there's no way for me to treat them. I'm sorry, I truly am, but he'll be dead in minutes."

A silence fell over the group. The rest of the Guardians could sense the truth in Patillo's words, and they could see the evidence for themselves. Irma quietly walked over to Hay Lin and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Hay Lin, I'm so sorry. If there was anything we could have done…" Irma said.

"We had no idea Balsilide had weapons like this." Elyon added. "And even if we did, I wouldn't have known where would be safe."

"We'll make sure whoever is responsible for this pays, Hay Lin. I promise you." Will said.

Hay Lin clenched her fists and turned to face her friends, anger in her eyes.

"Stop it." She said. "Stop acting like he's already dead. He's still alive right now, and if it were Caleb or Matt in his place, we would never stop fighting. We would never give up on them while they were still breathing. I don't care if Eric doesn't have powers, or if he's not a warrior, I love him! Now help me find a way to save him."

"We'll try Hay Lin, but I can't think of anything." Taranee said.

"Cornelia, aren't you able to heal small wounds?" Hay Lin asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Cornelia said. "I mean, I don't use it a lot, and only on small wounds. Nothing like this."

"But you can heal?" Hay Lin said.

"The cuts, yeah, but I don't have the power for the internal stuff." Cornelia said, but Hay Lin was no longer listening.

"Will, if you give Cornelia full control of the Heart, like we did when we fought Nerissa on Kandrakar, that would increase her powers, including her ability to heal."

"True," Will said, "but the sheer scale of what you're attempting, would even that be enough?"

Hay Lin thought about it for a moment. As dedicated as she was to the cause, even she had to admit that he plan was a bit of a long shot. In theory it would work, but she needed more power. But where could they find…

"Balsilide." Hay Lin said suddenly. "Will, we need to go to Balsilide."

Will looked at her friends, but they were as confused as she was. When she turned to look at Matt, however, everything became clear. She wasn't sure what Hay Lin was thinking, but it didn't matter. They had to try.

Balsilide

Things were rather hectic when Will and Hay Lin exited the fold and appeared in Weldrick Palace. The palace staff wasn't used to fights occurring in their building, and the clean up was much less organized then the girls had seen on Meridian. Wilder, for her part, was standing in the middle of what was left of the Throne room, barking orders with authority. She frowned when she saw the two girls walking towards her.

"Unless you're here to help clean up your mess, I'm not really in the mood to talk, Guardians." Wilder said.

"That's good, because we don't want to talk to you. We want to speak with Selna." Hay Lin said.

"Well I'm sorry, but she's in her quarters right now, recovering from your last visit." Wilder said.

"No, I'm not." Selna said, entering the throne room from the far door. "I've come to see if I can help. But instead, I find the Guardians here uninvited yet again."

"We need your help, Selna. That's the only reason we're here." Will said.

"Because of what you did for me, I've stopped attacking you on sight." Selna said. "But you're still a long way off from being able to ask me for favors."

Will's heart sank, and her head drooped, but when she looked over at Hay Lin she noticed her friend had not flinched.

"We're running out of time, so I'm going make this short and clear." Hay Lin said with a sternness that surprised both Selna and Will. "I don't care if you like us, and I don't care if you hate us. But there is a boy, an innocent boy who had nothing to do with any of this, and he is dying. I think we can save him, but only with your help. Now if you still want to hate us, fine, but punish us. Don't punish him."

Meridian

Hay Lin and Will returned to Eric with Selna in tow. Selna was hardly happy to be there, but when she saw Eric's body, she understood Hay Lin's intensity.

"Status, doctor?" Hay Lin asked. "How much time do we have?"

"None." Doctor Patillo said. "Hay Lin, he's stopped breathing. His pulse is fading fast."

"Then hurry!" Hay Lin said, grapping Cornelia and throwing her into position.

"What are we doing?" Selna asked, looking around nervously.

"Focus all of the energy from your Heart into Cornelia." Hay Lin said. "She can do the rest."

"How do I do that?" Selna asked.

"Just let the energy flow freely." Will said. "It'll know where to go."

"And do it now!" Hay Lin said.

"I'm sorry Hay Lin," Doctor Patillo interrupted. "He's gone, and I'm calling it. Time of death…"

"Now Cornelia!" Hay Lin shouted once more.

The Earth Guardian looked at the lifeless body in front of her, and hesitated.

"Hay Lin, he's already dead." Cornelia said softly.

Hay Lin fixed Cornelia with a stare that chilled the girl to the bone.

"Then I've got nothing to lose." Hay Lin said.

Cornelia took a deep breath, kneeled beside Eric and placed her hands on his chest. With a nod from Will, Selna began pumping the energy of the Heart of Balsilide into Cornelia as Will did the same with the Heart of Kandrakar. The dual Hearts shone brightly as the energy transfer was made, causing onlookers to cover their eyes. When Cornelia absorbed all the energy she thought she could handle, she focused it into Eric, pushing her healing powers to their max.

Irma and Taranee stood nearby, their eyes shielded from the glow. Irma looked over at Taranee nervously, and saw her own fears reflected in the eyes of her friend.

"This isn't right." Taranee whispered. "We're dealing with power beyond our control."

As she said this, something very strange happened. Both Irma and Taranee felt a small spark of energy travel up the length of their body, as if a shockwave had radiated off of Eric. The energy was only barely noticeable by the two girls, but it was enough to leave their fingers tingling for the next few minutes, and their minds racing.

Unknown to the Guardians, the shockwave did not merely stop there. It traveled throughout space, leaving no world untouched. For most, the shockwave was unnoticeable. It was simply an itch on the back of their hand, or the nagging reminder of something long forgotten. Most people simply shrugged, and forgot all about it, but there were two for whom it had a much greater effect. There were two who felt it, understood it, and were left screaming because of it.

After a few seconds, the light cleared, and the crowd slowly turned its attention back to Eric. Doctor Patillo uncovered her eyes and gently kneeled beside Eric. With tentative fingers, she touched his wrist, feeling carefully. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet and recoiled in shock.

"My… my word." She said breathlessly. "He has a pulse. He's alive!"

"Alive?" Hay Lin said, repeating the word to make sure it was real.

"But, that's impossible." Patillo whispered. "He was dead. It had been too long, how can he…"

"Doctor, are you sure?" Taranee asked.

Patillo shook her head clear and once more kneeled beside Eric. She performed a few quick tests, checking for pulse and breath before standing up once more.

"Medical team! Stat!" She shouted, causing a team of men in the distance to come running.

"Is it true doctor?" Will asked. "Is he really okay?"

"His breathing is weak, but steady. It'll still touch and go for a while." Patillo replied.

"Let's teleport him to the castle." Will said. "We can take him straight to your lab.

"No." Patillo said. "His condition is too weak. We don't know what type of effect teleporting will have on him. My medical team can transport him quickly and safely."

"But, he'll be alright?" Hay Lin asked. "He's going to live?"

I… I've never seen anything like this." Patillo said, still shaking her head. "No one has. I can't make any guarantees girls, but I think…"

Patillo looked at the once lifeless, but now breathing body in front of her.

"I think you just brought him back from the dead. I think he's going to live."

And for the first time all day, Hay Lin dropped to the ground and cried.