Second to last chapter! Yay!
They were airborne, but not for long. The forceful pull of the water was stronger than either of them had anticipated as they stormed down in neck-breaking speed. Their hands became detached somewhere within the rapids, the cold water pounding on their heads, making them struggle as they gasped for air. Raven tried to determine how far they had fallen but was too distorted. The sky was already dark, so even if she were able to look down or up, there would be no way to find out how far along they went. Not being able to sense Jason next to her, the sorceress closed her eyes to calm her nerves, gritting her teeth as she tried to not scream. Wishing that it would soon be over, Raven was surprised when she was plunged roughly into a reservoir of icy cold water. She tried to swim out but the waterfall kept pushing her down. Alarmed, she reached out and was relieved to grab hold of something, but was startled when she saw it was Jason's arm. Jason gripped her hand tightly and tried kicking; desperately he tried to reach the surface, but his attempts were useless. Not knowing what else to do, Jason seemed to give up, and instead he pulled Raven towards him and held her tight. Neither realized they were being sucked down with the water until they fell through a rift in the earth, landing in a shallow pool.
Moving away from the water that was still falling from the ceiling of the underground cave, Raven took a moment to get her bearings together. She could see Jason on the other side and felt an immediate sense of relief. Swimming over to the end of the small river, Raven and Jason plopped on the ground as they tried to steady their breathing, a small laugh escaping them; they were scared to death as they fell, but they survived. Raven gazed around the underground cave and knew that they still had a way to go; this was not the place she had seen in her vision. But they had to get moving because the dark magic was stronger in here than it was outside.
"I guess that's the secret," said Jason before she could say anything. He pointed up at where the water was falling from. "You have to jump into the waterfall and allow it to pull you down."
"We have to get going," declared Raven. Glancing at her watch, she said, "We have an hour before the eclipse." Nodding, Jason stood up and got into step with her as they followed the river down the cave.
Realizing only then that they had left their backpacks on top of the mountain, Raven was pleased to see Jason had his belt that held his small pouches, taking out a small flashlight to light their way. Raven was scared to look at her watch though. She didn't want to think that it would take more than an hour to reach the fountain because if it did, she would drop dead as soon as the eclipse started, whether it was visible to her or not. And as much as Raven didn't want to admit to Jason, she was terrified. She didn't want to die. She wanted to go back home and see her friends that she considered family; she wanted to make sure Jason's family was taken care of; she wanted to be with Jason; mostly, she wanted to go visit Anthony's grave one more time.
What happened to her at the top of the mountain was agonizing, and it saddened her to think that Anthony's last moments were full of pain. To imagine that such a young, innocent child had burned from the inside out, that he spewed blood as he tried to breathe, it was heart wrenching. He didn't deserve it. Of course, she couldn't blame Jason, and she hoped that he didn't come to the conclusion that what had happened to her was what happened to his brother. There was no way she was going to tell him because she knew he would be consumed with guilt, hating himself for being so careless after her warning. But Raven did feel angry. Angry at Alcina and her damn lovers. She built the fountain to give life as a way to repent, but if someone makes a mistake, it is the innocent that pay for it. Anthony, little Anthony, deserved to live far longer than he did. How could she, Raven, accept the fountain's gift of life when he was stolen of that opportunity? '…I can't'.
"Look!" Jason's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Focusing her attention to where Jason pointed the flashlight, Raven noticed the river flow into two different tunnels. The wall between the two tunnels was peculiar as it had a large squared stone molded from it. The pair made their way to the layout, careful to not allow the rivers wash them away. Inspecting the contraption, Jason was taken aback. "Is that a sundial?"
"It is," confirmed Raven. "I'm guessing this did not pop up in your research."
"No, it didn't." Jason took a moment to examine the sundial. The circle was carved perfectly in the stone with twelve little holes that went around the circumference. With the flashlight pointed at it, the gnomon casted a shadow against the wall behind it. Brushing one of the punctures in the stone with his fingers, Jason narrowed his eyes in thought. Making sure to put on some gloves, Jason took out the diamonds. Raven took the flashlight from him as he arranged the diamonds in the order they had discovered from the lightning storm.
It had basically been the original coordinates, but each pair of numbers would be flipped. For example, the first half of the coordinates was 8'30 71'0. The first two numbers would be paired together, and then the numbers would be flipped. So instead of 83, 07, and 10, the numbers were flipped to 38, 70, and 01. But that was only for the first six; the last six were the numbers as they were (83, 07, and 10, and so on). In the end, the order of the diamonds was: Star of Africa, Dresden, Moussaieff Red, Black Orlov, Hortensia, Hope, Orlov, Star of India, Alnatt, Centenary, Regent, and Ocean Dream. And it was in that order that Jason had placed them on the sundial.
When nothing happened for a few minutes, Jason groaned in frustration. "Why isn't it working? Did we get the wrong pattern?"
He had been asking himself more than he was asking her, so Raven remained silent. There was something iffy about this whole sundial thing. This entire time, they had been going by moon phases, so it made no sense to have a something that tracked time during sun hours. Thinking back, Raven remembered that before Alcina's passing, there were originally two cycles in the day – the first twelve hours, starting at midnight, would track the position of the sun, while the next twelve hours would track the moon and the stars. So far they had been tracking the moon, but nothing happened when they put the diamonds in the order they had presumed. Does that mean they have to go by the sun? That would mean moving the diamonds over just once, but that didn't seem right.
Barely listening to Jason as he muttered to himself, Raven studied the space around the sundial, the two tunnels, and the river that split into each of them. With the flashlight creating the gnomon's shadow behind it, it created a thick black line right in the middle of the two tunnels. It gave the entire sight a mirror-like effect. 'They are at opposite ends as they face each other, but it is the same image, just…flipped.' When sun is high in the sky, the moon is at the opposite end of the earth, and vice versa. Only at certain times would the two orbs meet, and when they do, they cancel out the fountain's power. That is not what they are aiming for so that means they need to be at opposite ends – they need to be flipped.
After handing over the flashlight to Jason, Raven went to reverse the order in which they had placed the diamonds. Jason watched her silently, praying that whatever she was doing would work. When all the diamonds were placed, Raven waved her hands over each one, touching each gem with what little power she had. It was as though the power she injected into them gave them life as they brightened, nearly glistening in neon light. The shadow of the gnomon danced its away in a full circle around each diamond until stopping back into it's original position. At first Raven was confused, but when Jason nudged her, she realized that one of the tunnels had closed off, and the river streamed into the one on her left.
"I'll ask you about it later," said Jason as he stepped into the river that went up to his waist. "We have a little more than half an hour." Nodding, Raven strode in after him, the water reaching up to her chest.
They allowed the river to lead them down the dark tunnel. After a few minutes though, Raven felt her knees grow weak and couldn't walk. Jason lifted her onto his back without hesitation and trudged along with the water in a faster speed. Raven could sense the fear in him as he carried her. Fear that he would lose her; fear that they would not be able to find the fountain on time; fear that his family back home would suffer because of his failure. She gave him a kiss on his jawline in attempt to comfort him, but it only made him move faster within the water. Not long after did they see a faint light at what seemed to be the end of the tunnel. Kicking into high gear, Jason sprinted towards the light, his expression turning into one of awe as a remarkable sight greeted them.
"Alcina's Fountain of Life," breathed Raven. It was just as she envisioned it. The river they followed flowed into a large lake that rested silently, shinning like velvet sapphire as the moon glowed through a small opening in the roof of the cave. In the very middle was a small structure of stones that seemed to be placed at random, but if looked at carefully, each stone was there balancing the other perfectly. Along the side of the fountain, there was a trickle of water, shining like silver at the touch of the moon's light, disappearing as it connected with the lake beneath it. The pair stood there motionless as they admired a real life legend in front of them, time for that one moment seeming irrelevant. Unfortunately, time did catch up to them.
Raven felt an itch in her throat, and managing to glance quickly at her watch, she saw that there were but a few minutes left. She opened her mouth to warn Jason, but all that came out was a sharp gasp. The scorching fire inside her had intensified from the last time, tears blurring her vision as soon as it started. There was no way she would be able to survive this time. There was a small twinge of panic that soon turned into determination, and Raven distantly felt Jason moving beneath her, sprinting to the fountain as fast as the water would allow him.
"Raven," she could hear him say. "Raven, just fight for a little longer. Just a little – we're here. C'mon Raven, drink. Drink the water and you'll be fine." He held her up against him, right by the silver trickle of water.
Shaking her head, Raven coughed to her side, blood spluttering from her mouth and into the lake. As much as she wanted to stop the pain, as much as she wanted to see tomorrow, all she could think about was Anthony; how he should have been the one drinking the water from the fountain; how he should have been the one given the chance of living. "I-I can't."
"It'll work," reasoned Jason. "It'll work, I promise. Just take a drink."
"It's not…fair," croaked Raven, clawing at her throat. Each breath was a knife into her skin. "Not-not fair…"
"Raven, please," begged Jason, stopping himself from shoving her face into the fountain as he tried to give her a handful of the silver water. "Just please drink."
"Anthony," she sobbed.
Jason froze. Hearing his brother's name brought back the guilt and heartbreak he had felt the day he was told of his brother's death, and everyday after. It was his fault; Raven could argue with him and make sense all she wanted, but he knew the truth. His carelessness was what had killed him. Raven had warned – she had warned him – that there was a price to pay, but he didn't listen. He did research and allowed himself to believe in the legend of a fountain that gave life, but he refused to believe a woman, whose whole life was literally magic, when she said the one thing he didn't like. Of course it had been his fault. Tony would still be alive if it weren't for him. He never should have touched the diamond, and Tony should never have died. Tony should have gotten the chance to drink the damn water and live to be an old man, but he didn't. Jason knew that he would live with that knowledge for the rest of his life, but he'd be damned if he allowed himself to lose someone else he loved. He knew Raven thought it unfair that she would get a chance to live when Tony didn't, but he couldn't lose her too. He was not going to lose her.
"Anthony should be alive," said Jason, his voice breaking. "The fountain should have been for him. I know that, and I will live the rest of my life berating myself for what I did to him. But you need to live Raven. If there is anything I know about my brother, it's that he loved you, and he would hate me if I let you die too. You can't do that to me, and you can't do that to him. It's not fair that he isn't here because of my mistake, but it also wouldn't be fair if you honored his memory by giving up. Don't give up on him Raven. Don't give up on me. You need to save yourself Raven, please – please."
A distant memory came to mind at his words. Anthony wore white, paying no mind to the blood that stained all over his front or the darkness that surrounded them. Raven remembered how he held out his bloody hand to her, and how she pulled him against her in a tight, desperate embrace. You won't save me, he had said. Maybe for once you will save yourself. At the time when she had that dream, she had thought it was foreseeing Anthony's death, not realizing exactly what it was. That premonition was Anthony giving her his permission to keep living, something she would have never thought she would need but was so glad to have. Jason was right – she couldn't honor the memory of Anthony by allowing herself to die. Turning to the boy she leaned against, Raven gazed at him in gratitude and awe. Anthony stood there next to her, smiling up at her, his blue eyes shinning brighter than the neon moon above them. With tears streaming down her face, Raven leaned forward and drank the fountain's water from his hand.
Jason watched her in relief as she sipped the water he was holding up to her. He thanked whatever God or angel that made her see reason as he watched her. But he knew that she wasn't out of danger yet. Like she had said, the fountain was still dark magic, meaning it might not work on her. He had hope that it will, but from here on out, it was up to her.
She could feel the dark magic suffocating her again. She knew that for her it would not be as simple as drinking the water and being okay. Raven was a half-demon, giving her a 50/50 chance of the water's magic not having an effect on her. Pulling out the small amount of light energy she had grasped before, she put her faith in Jason's words. Her human half needed to be just as strong as her demon half – that was the only way she could survive this. She needed to put every part of herself into that light energy, the power of each emotion joining together to strengthen it. And the effect was nearly blinding. Pouring every bit of herself into the light energy, its magic swirled around her, encasing her in a comforting embrace. The darkness seemed to shy away from the intensity as the light grew, the force of it increasing with each second. The burning in her throat was gone, and all traces of pain had disappeared. The blinding light faded away, and Raven was pleased to see things normally, including Jason that stared at her in concern.
"Are you okay?" she heard Jason ask.
Smiling, Raven nodded. "I'll live." Jason felt immediate relief as he pulled her in for a kiss, and if he had it his way, he would have taken her then and there. But Raven pushed him away. "The lunar eclipse is about to begin. Get as much water as you can."
Nodding, Jason pulled out a vial from one of his pouches and put it in place to receive the water. The silver glimmer swirled around in the small glass, almost dancing. He managed to fill in two vials before Raven touched his arm softly. He averted his eyes from the fountain and looked up at the moon. There, on the very edge of the top, a black shadow could be seen, marking the beginning of the Lunar Eclipse. Turning back to the fountain, the couple noticed that there was no longer a silver stream, but instead a trickle of clear water. Sighing, Raven and Jason exchanged a look before smiling. Their mission was a success, Raven was still alive, and the water they collected would be enough for Jason's family. If anything, the only problem was –
"How the hell do we get out of here?"
Raven glanced back up at the opening of the roof of the cave. "That opening is too high. The magic here is…asleep if you will, but my powers are still negated while we're in here."
"That doesn't answer my question," pointed out Jason with a smirk. Now that the pressure was off, he felt light. He wanted to get out of there and run, scream, make love to the beautiful woman in front of him. Well, the last one he could still do then and there, but he had a feeling she wasn't too keen on defiling a legendary, magical landmark. "We can go back up the river… But then we'd just be under the waterfall without a way out. Never mind on that then, but I do need to go get the diamonds back."
"They're not there," said Raven.
"What do you mean?
"The diamonds should have returned to Jump City," she explained. "When whatever little magic I was able to use on them touched their surface, it made them attach to my spirit in a way. I was able to feel them still there up until the eclipse. Because this place negates my powers, I'm guessing they relocated to the next place that has my energy, and that would be my room in Titan's Tower."
"Damn," cursed Jason. When Raven raised a brow at him, he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was hoping I'd be able to get a good penny for returning them."
With a scoff, Raven wrapped her hand around his neck. "Still the conniving thief I see." Smirking handsomely, Jason held her by the waist, pulling her closer.
"You know you love it."
Before she could reply, Raven felt a slight pull in the water. Pulling away from Jason, she went along with the pull and began to walk around, going deeper into the lake. Jason watched her curiously but remained quiet and followed closely behind her. A few feet away from the edge of the lake, Raven came to a stop. Her hands glided along the water, the ripples practically whispering to her in a silent melody. Closing her eyes, Raven reached into the small connection she could manage with her soul self and sent it into the water. In her mind's eye, she could see the water leading her down, deep into the lake. Down at the very bottom of the lake, there was a waterspout that twisted the water in to circles. Opening her eyes, Raven turned to Jason.
"There is a waterspout at the bottom of the lake," she announced. "I think that's our way out."
"A waterspout?" asked Jason. "As in, an underwater tornado?" Looking around the lake, Jason was skeptical. "Huh. You wouldn't guess it by how the water up here is still."
"Magic," reminded Raven.
"Right, right." Going over to her, Jason gestured her expectantly. "How do you know it's our way out?"
Biting her lip, Raven shrugged. "I'm not certain. But I felt a pull that drew me to it, so it has to be there for a reason. Besides, it's not like we have many choices here."
"And how do we get down there? I don't exactly have a snorkel on me."
"Unfortunately, anything that might have helped was left up on top of the mountain," sighed Raven. "If I'm mistaken and we can't find an exit, all of this would be for nothing."
Jason stared down, deep in thought. If they get stuck in that whirlpool under the water, they would surely drown. Then again, Raven was right: there weren't many options. They would have to risk it – wait a minute. "It wouldn't be for nothing." He ignored Raven's confused expression and removed his belt only to buckle it around her waist. "You drank the water Raven. You'll live all the years you were originally supposed to because of it. If we go down there and find a way out, that's great. But if there is no exit, you'll still get a chance to find another way out."
"Do you really think I would leave this place without you?" hissed Raven, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"In case you have to," Jason said, not backing down, "you'll need to take the vials to Theo and the others." Raven shoved him roughly.
"You're talking nonsense Jason," she snapped. "I'm not leaving you here."
"If I get stuck down there, I'll drown."
Confused, Raven shook her head. "Drown? Who said anything about drowning?"
"I can't exactly breathe underwater Rae."
"Oh Azar!" exclaimed Raven exasperatedly, her hands going up in frustration. "How many times do I have to say it? It's magic, Jason. This lake is enchanted. If that waterspout is a way out, it would be because it was built that way for the water to make it's way back out into the world… And somehow make it back to the top of the mountain – I'm still not a hundred percent on how everything works. But either way, the fact that there is a waterspout at the bottom of this lake, saying it is magical, meaning that breathing might not be an issue, might be our best bet."
"How the hell was I supposed to know that?" cried Jason. "I don't exactly have a 'Magic for Dummies' guide book. And where the hell did this – this sassy Raven come from?"
"I am tired," said Raven, "I am hungry, and I have had two battles with death in the past three hours. If you don't mind, I would just love to get some food, fresh air, and some much needed sleep."
"Hungry and cranky are a bad combination for you aren't they," said Jason with a laugh, earning a scowl from the sorceress.
"Are we going or not?" Jason raised his hands in submission.
"I'm not going to say no to you when you're in a hell-raising mood."
"Jason!"
Laughing, Jason gave her quick kiss. "C'mon, my little Princess of Hell. Let's get out of here."
"…Technically, since my dad is dead, I'm Queen of Hell. Get your facts straight."
Both positioned themselves next to the fountain. Like they did when they jumped off the waterfall, Jason counted to three before they dived into the water. Raven was right in the water being enchanted because Jason soon realized that he did not have to hold his breath, but he did have to limit the amount he inhaled. The air, or water in this case, was dense, and though he could breathe, it was not as easy as it was above the water. If anything, holding his breath would have been a better idea because the more he inhaled, the more suffocated he started to feel. Taking a glimpse at Raven, she seemed more at ease, but she must have felt his distress because she began to swim faster.
Once they reached a certain point in the lake, everything went black. Jason couldn't see Raven, the waterspout, or his hand when he waved it in front of him. With whatever it was he was inhaling becoming too condensed, and the surrounding atmosphere turning to darkness, he couldn't help but panic. The only thing he could do at that moment was to keep swimming in the direction he had been moving in originally. He must have strayed a bit because he soon felt Raven's hand grab hold of his wrist and tug him towards her. He felt reassured at her touch, but was still unnerved by the darkness. Narrowing his eyes in attempt to see anything, Jason wasn't sure if they were playing tricks on him at first, but was instantly relieved when he realized they weren't.
There in the darkness, only a few feet away from them, swirls of neon sapphire light danced in circles, narrowing as it continued down and farther into the black distance. Raven felt a magnetic pull to the waterspout as she floated in the water, watching it whirl around endlessly. After a short pause, she pulled Jason's hand closer and closed a few fingers into his palm, leaving only his index finger out as though pointing. When she felt his other hand touch hers, she knew he understood, and they both made their way to the whirlpool, both hoping for the best.
It sucked them in quickly and violently. Before either could get their bearings, they were pulled in different directions as the water wrenched them apart. Raven could see Jason struggling to swim back to her, and even though she wanted to try to get back to him as well, she knew that any attempt to do so would be in vain. Instead, she gave in to the water's pull and allowed it to propel her around, losing all sense of direction. She was coming near what she assumed was the bottom before glancing up. Jason had given in to the water, but he was still farther out than her. Giving him what she hoped was a reassuring look, Raven felt herself forced down. It was as if something had grabbed on to her ankles and yanked her down into the floor of the lake. The force of the pull was gone in an instant, and Raven was bombarded by an overflow of water in her nose. Taking in what little air she could, Raven whirled around frantically until she saw a light beneath her. Pushing the water with her arms and feet, she went up to the brightness, inhaling heavily as she broke through the surface.
Surprisingly, the sun was high in the sky, the position of it giving the impression that it was around noon. Raven looked around as she streamed down the river, confused as to where she was, when she realized that Jason had not emerged.
"Jason?" she called out. She dived under and came back with nothing. "Jason!" A few feet behind her, she heard a large splash. Turning around, she sighed in relief when she saw Jason emerge from the rushing water with a confused expression that matched hers. Swimming over to her, Jason pulled her close to him.
"Are you okay?" they asked in unison.
An exhausted laugh escaped Jason as he nodded. "I'm good. You?"
"I'm okay," replied Raven. Glancing around them, she asked, "Do you know where we are?"
"I'm guessing the Churun River," replied Jason. He pointed south and said, "There's Angel Falls. The Churun River is the closest tributary." Pulling her along, Jason managed to get them to the riverbank, both just lying on the mud as they caught their breaths. After a while, Jason had to ask. "How is it day time already? It wasn't even midnight when got out from the cave."
"Some kind of time lapse," was the vague reply. "I'm not sure, nor do I really care to be honest. This is one of those things that I would rather not question." Chuckling, Jason nodded in agreement. The pair remained quiet for a while longer when Raven said, "We are going to need to go back to the mountain, aren't we – to get our stuff?"
"Gah, yeah," grunted Jason. "The keys to the boat were in my backpack."
"I guess it's a good thing," muttered Raven. "Robin would kill me if I didn't bring back his grappling gun."
"Do you want to start heading over?" suggested Jason. He reached over to Raven's waist where he had fastened his belt and took out one of the vials from the pouch. The water inside swirled in a silver flow, shimmering against the sun's light. "I'd like to tell my friends the good news."
Keep your eye out for the last chapter :)