Chapter 16: Heirs Of Fate 6: Lost In The Waves 2
After the other children were teleported away, Zack sighed.
"I'm sorry, everyone. What I did was unforgivable. If you hate me, I'll understand." Zack said.
He started to advance further towards Reptar's chamber, but stopped as a figure concealed in a green cloak teleported before him.
"Welcome, child, to my throne." the figure greeted.
"Hello, Reptar." Zack greeted coldly.
"I've been waiting a long time. Every other version of you died before piercing the barrier. But your spirit remained true... Meiko, First Queen of The Confederacy." Reptar said.
"You are mistaken. I am not Meiko. I am Zack, descendant of Meiko. She passed away long, long ago. You yourself are scarcely the Reptar you once were. Your mad now." Zack said.
"I? Gone mad? It is humans who have taken leave of their senses. I granted them my power, my trust, and what do they grant me in return? A lifetime of scorn and derision based on a single mistake of mine. Rather then forgiveness, they offer persecution, exile... even eradication." Reptar said.
"Is that true? There wasn't a single human who trusted in you to the end?" Zack asked.
"If there was, I... don't remember. Only their hatred fills my memories. My heart was heavy enough to sink into the abyss. How could humans forget me so? I granted them their prosperity! Why must I be the one who suffers?" Reptar asked.
"That still doesn't excuse treating so many worlds as your playthings." Zack replied.
"Who decides what is wrong, impudent boy? You? Humans are chattel who forget what they owe when it suits them. Without dragons, humans would have no agency. No sentience. We gave them everything! Why must it be I who faces death, alone in exile? Why must I look upon my tormentors as they thrive? WHY?" Reptar asked angrily.
"Reptar..." Zack started to reply.
"But I have a solution, Zack. We shall build a new kingdom, you and I. As soon as we have found the ideal land for it." Reptar said.
"Why can you not build here? What is so "ideal" about this land you seek?" Zack asked.
"This world is already tainted by the humans and their dominance. I have been searching the astral plane for realms in which things did not go awry. But none of the realms are right. None of them have MY Kingdom of The Confederacy." Reptar replied.
"This was all to find your ideal kingdom from before it was destroyed? That's why you invaded so many Deeprealms all at once?" Zack asked.
"The contemptible vermin of this realm betrayed me. But among the endless possibilities across the astral plane... there must be one realm in which they did not. One realm where I was not defied, not rejected, not driven away by the sword." Reptar replied.
"Yet you found no such realm." Zack said.
"Correct. Every realm is worthless. Even if I wipe out all the vermin there, as soon as I move to the next realm, it is wrong too. I cannot find my perfect Confederacy! They are all wrong! ALL!" Reptar said.
"Of course they are. You can repeat your search a thousand times over and never find it. Your ideal kingdom of The Confederacy is no more." Zack said.
"But that can't be! If you and I, working together, can find an unspoiled realm, we can build a new kingdom where human and dragon can live in harmony!" Reptar said.
Zack shook his head.
"It's too late for that, Reptar. Your beyond redemption. Your mind has snapped already. This will be the last realm. For you... and for me." Zack said.
Reptar gasped, realizing what he was going to do.
"Zack, don't..." Reptar started to say.
"I will use the song you passed down to restore things to the way they should be. Even if death, or worse, awaits me, I will save my friends. And you." Zack said.
"You will not! You know full well that there are consequences to singing that song. It will curse you to wander in agony for all eternity, just as that man Mike does." Reptar said.
"That doesn't matter to me anymore. I am prepared to face my fate, however terrible it may be." Zack said.
"Zack, no... I'm not ready!" Reptar said.
"Enough, Zack. If it takes my life to end this travesty now, I give it freely. Let the show begin." Zack said.
He cleared his throat and attempted to start singing his song.
"ZACK, STOP!" a voice ordered.
"What?" Zack asked in confusion.
"Don't do it, Zack! You don't have to die here all alone!" the voice replied.
All the children teleported back into the area.
"You all came? But how?" Zack asked.
"Wally and Savannah had one of those little gems!" Abigail replied.
"We believed real hard that they could work on all of us! Although this woman named Siri did most of the work." George added.
"Siri." Reptar thought.
Tommy turned to Reptar.
"Are you the ringleader here? Your not laying one claw on our friend!" Tommy snapped.
"Together, Tommy!" Chuckie cried.
"HAAAAAAAH!" Tommy yelled.
He attacked Reptar with Midnight Skadi, while Chuckie attacked with Radiant Naginata. However, Reptar wasn't hurt in the slightest.
"He... he didn't even flinch! Just what is it we're facing?" Chuckie asked.
"GrrrRRRR." Reptar growled.
"Are you Reptar? Give me back my papa! Now!" Abigail ordered.
"I cannot. Peter already belongs to me." Reptar said.
"Is Mama alive?" George asked.
"What did you do to them?" Zack asked angrily.
"Nothing. Peter and Petra are the only humans I've suffered to live. They... are all I have now. It is a pity, Zack. I thought that we could come to an understanding. But I see that you have failed me, just as this realm did." Reptar replied.
He teleported away.
"Reptar! Auuuuughhhh!" Zack shouted angrily.
"Zack?" Abigail asked softly.
Zack took a deep breath.
"Why?" Zack asked.
"Huh?" George asked.
"Why did you come back?! I had him! I was on the verge of defeating him! Why did you interfere?" Zack asked angrily.
"We didn't mean to. We found something we could do to help, though. So we had to come back!" George replied.
"There was one more secret you were keeping from us, wasn't there?" Chuckie asked.
"What? I don't..." Zack started to reply.
"We came to hand over our memories. That should cover the song for you, right? Then you don't have to die for it." Tommy asked.
"How did you know about that?" Zack asked.
"Someone told us. I can't remember what he looked like now, but he must have loved you a lot! He gave us that hint because he didn't want to see you die either." George replied.
"We'd like to hear it from you, though. Can you tell us the whole truth this time? Will the song work if you don't die? Do we still have time to save everything? Come on, Zackary! We have to know!" Dil asked.
"One price for the song that can defeat Reptar is the singer's life, yes. But another is an amount of human memories equal in value to that life." Zack replied.
"That's excellent news! We can still be of assistance after all." Chuckie said.
"You mustn't! You've already lost your memories of your home realms. The only ones left to give are what you've made since coming here. Are you really willing to forget your time fighting here alongside everyone?" Zack asked.
"If it will save the life of a friend, I won't hesitate for a moment." Kimi replied.
"A friend? But I told you that I'm not the Zackary you knew in your realms. There's no saving them. You can walk away now with no need for regret. That way you can return to your own realms without any need for sacrifice!" Zack said.
"No sacrifice? We'd be giving up you!" Dil said.
"Surely your memories are more important then the life of a stranger." Zack said.
"That's crazy talk!" Tommy said.
"If you think that, then you gravely underestimate the value of your memories! I know how important your memories are to you. It was lonely growing up in the Deeprealms, never able to venture out on your own. I suspect you didn't have many friends. I know I didn't. Everything seemed fresh and new when I finally left. You... or people just like you... became my first true friends. I had finally found my purpose. We were comrades in arms. I have many precious memories of them." Zack said.
"Yeah... sounds like you had it rough." Tommy said uncomfortably.
"Having to forget any of that would be death. Maybe that makes me selfish. But my friends only live on in those memories. Their worth saving to me. That's why it seemed a fair trade if I was the song's only victim. I never intended to ask you to give up your memories. What about all your loved ones you'd never want to forget, after all?" Zack asked.
"Oh." George replied.
"Don't you see? You all come from different realms. Which means that after this, you'll never see each other again. All you will have of the friends who stood beside you here are your memories. You would discard these memories so easily? Throw that all away? It would be as if everyone here was dead to one another. A fate far worse than if I were the only one to die." Zack said.
"That's not true! If our memories are of you sacrificing yourself, I don't wanna keep them anyway!" Abigail said.
"It's a fair price, Zack. Yes, we may lose our memories of our time here and the moments we've shared. But it will be worth it if you... not the Shigure we knew, but you... get to live." Chuckie added.
"Yeah. We're all in this together. Nobody has to take all the burden and die alone." Savannah said.
"Are... are you all as one on this? There will be no taking back this decision, I remind you." Zack asked.
"That's fine. We're sure." Jesse replied.
"When the battle is over, you will remember nothing of what took place here. It would be as though it never happened. Knowing that, do you still want to do this?" Zack asked.
"Even with that knowledge, our hearts are not swayed." Wally replied.
"We'll see this through together. Who's to say it's the last time we'll see of each other? So long as you survive, there's always a chance." Harold added.
"Your one of my dearest friends, Zack. Of course I want to help you. If I forget you, that's just a chance for us to become friends again!" Susie added.
"As for me, I've made up my mind, and I'm not taking no for an answer." Darryl added.
"Don't make me gag you to stop your song until you agree! I'll do it!" Nicole added.
Zack sighed.
"Your incorrigible, all of you. If you had been any less persistent, I could have died remembering you." Zack said.
"Stop saying that." George said.
"Sorry, Zack! I know you were excited to die, but too bad!" Abigail said.
"Not so bad as all that, I suppose. If my plan had to have a flaw, I'm glad it was that my friends were too kind. Very well, then. Please give me your memories when the time comes." Zack said.
"Their all yours!" Abigail said.
"Thank you. Let's not tarry any longer. Reptar is very close by. You will see him as he truly is... and you may see your loved ones as well. Are you prepared for that?" Zack asked.
"I'm ready." George replied.