Chapter 15: Heirs Of Fate 6: Lost In The Waves 1

Zack: I shall tell you a story of the last of all realms. A place where I am forgotten. My father's son to the end, I marched into battle alone to sacrifice my own life. The other children could no longer reach me. They could not intervene on my behalf. The faces of my friends and allies... the last echoes of my name on their lips... the water would claim it all.

All the children found themselves on the same plot of land they had found themselves after fighting in the "super-fortress".

"This is awful! Can't we do anything? Even if we weren't his real friends, I still wanted him to make it to the end." Abigail asked.

"We've got to go after him." Tommy replied.

"What?" George asked.

"You heard me! We're going to find that castle! Don't just stand there! Get moving!" Tommy replied.

"In which direction? It was Zack who knew the lay of the land in this country." Kimi asked.

"Well, what if we split up? Each group could take a different direction. One of us would be bound to find it then." Dil replied.

"Splitting our forces in the enemy's territory isn't a sound tactical idea. Even if one squad did find the castle, it's guards would make short work of us." Chuckie said.

"What's your idea, then? Sit here and wait for Zack to die? Everyone who doesn't have a plan, shut it! I only wanna hear ideas!" Tommy said angrily.

"Um... how about memories?" George asked.

"Huh?" Abigail asked.

"One's memories can be as precious a thing as one's life. You might almost consider them interchangeable." George replied.

"I don't get it." Abigail said.

"Oh, but I do! Your quoting that man!" Wally said.

"What are you talking about?" Abigail asked.

"Back when it was just us, we met this man who said something like that. Funny, he never introduced himself, come to think of it. But what he said was, "If you ever need to weigh memories against something else asked of you. When the time comes, make sure you choose what you can't afford to lose". I think I'm remembering that right." Nicole replied.

"It sounded cuckoo then. But now I get it!" Lil said.

"So we have to pick what's more important to us? Our memories or Zack?" Phil asked.

"I think so. We can use the song and swap our memories for his life!" George replied.

"That's all very well, but how are we meant to do it from here? We still have no way back to the castle." Francine asked.

"Oops... it's too bad I didn't think of it sooner. If I had, maybe we could have stopped him!" George replied.

"It's nobody's fault, George, least of all yours. Water under the bridge now." Harold said.

Wally took out a small green crystal that was similar to the one Zack had used.

"May the light of my precious Starshine Quartz shine on poor doomed Zack." Wally suggested.

"What's with the rock?" Rachel asked, bluntly.

"Do not shame the mystic protective gem my father gave me by calling it a "rock"!" Wally replied angrily.

"Oh, you've got one of those too? There's one just like it embedded in the sword dad gave me. He told me it would come in handy one day, but I don't see how it helps us here." Savannah said.

"Oh? Then look closer. Unless I miss my guess, that's a translocation crystal." Nicole said.

"Seriously? All this time?" Savannah asked.

"Getting our hopes up again is a poor attempt at a joke, Nicole." Wally said.

"I'm not, honest! It's the same kind of crystal Zack had. A lot smaller, sure, but the same shape and color. Here, Kimi, take a look." Nicole said.

Kimi inspected the crystal.

"Why, she's right! It's a perfect match." Kimi said.

Nicole smirked.

"Heh. Trust me, when I spot something valuable, I recognize it when I see it again." Nicole said.

"Whooo! We can go back to the castle with these!" Dean said.

"Very nicely done, Wally and Savannah." Susie said.

"Hey, thank our dads. Their the ones who made sure we had these. Though that just raises the question of where THEY got the crystals." Savannah said.

"I hate to be the wet blanket on everyone's high spirits, but I doubt that these two crystals alone will suffice to transport us all." Kimi said.

"Why wouldn't they?" Savannah asked.

"For one, their much smaller then the one Zack used on us. It would follow that they contain a correspondingly low amount of power. And there are quite a lot of us to transport. I don't think they have the strength." Kimi replied.

"That's not fair." George said.

"W-Well, we're back to plan A. Let's get moving, everyone! Double time!" Tommy said.

"Stop that. It won't get us anywhere." Jesse said.

"We can't even test their strength, can we? Zack said a gem can only be used once." Chuckie asked.

"Then... let's do it. All of us." Abigail replied.

"But, Abigail, we have no way of knowing..." Chuckie started to say.

"It doesn't matter! I think we can do it if we all try." Abigail said.

"Me too. I want to think we can get there even with just these two crystals. It's a big risk, but I have big hopes!" George said.

"Are you sure about this? We'd be using up the only chance we've got." Tommy asked.

"I think we can do it. There's still time to catch up with Zack. I'm a little ashamed, but... I was a little worried he might've been a bad guy. I think that's why Erebus didn't finish transforming all the way. But now that we know the truth, I believe in him! We can do it!" Abigail replied.

"Yeah. Mama told me that if you believe in miracles, they can happen. We have to believe harder, that's all! Let's save Zack and fight Reptar together!" George added.

"There's wisdom in that. Whichever path we choose will lead nowhere if we are not committed." Kimi said.

"True. Any move we make is a gamble. We may as well wager it all on what we believe." Chuckie said.

"Better than cooling our heels here or hedging our bets with a half-baked plan!" Tommy said.

"Yeah! This is an idea I can believe in!" Dil said.

"Is this your final decision?" a voice asked.

"Who said that?" George asked.

A purple Clouded Leopard appeared.

"If you truly wish to join your friend, I can help you do it. If I amplify the power of both crystals, they can transport you all to his side. It may take the last of my power, but I'm sure I can do it. After all... it was my father who made those gems." the Clouded Leopard replied.

"Your father? Then... you must be..." George started to say.

The Clouded Leopard just stayed silent.