The Hunt for Aquatenite

Chapter - 33 Liza

Zeth, Olivia, Ophelien, and I were sitting in a circle on the ground. The good giants had dragged all the injured evil giants to a corner and were now standing on the sides. The Gladius was pacing around the hall if a gladius can even do that. A frustrated atmosphere was covered over the hall.

It was quiet. No one said anything. But I couldn't take the silence so I voiced out what I knew was on everyone's mind. "We can't do nothing when Lucy and the others are on the most important mission! We've gotta help them at least."

"But you heard Ophelien. We can't open the door." Olivia reasoned, looking at the wall where the door should've appeared. "There's nothing we can do to help them. I'm afraid my brother will do something stupid!"

"Well, maybe Zeth can open the door. I have seen him do that."

Zeth shook his head. "The giants can't open the door without dad's permission. If I could, I would have."

That was true. I knew Zeth would do everything in his power to complete our mission.

"But if you think he is lying so that you can't reach your friends and help them to destroy Aquatenite to kill all the giants, then you're wrong." Betwin chimed in from his spot beside the hall door.

Now that was something we needed to understand. I started to question them but Ophelien beat me to it.

"Why would you all die?" She asked, a confused look on her face. "The stone only affects the King."

Betwin raised his bushy eyebrows, crossing his arms. "Oh, don't act like you don't know. You can just save your havens and humans and kill off us giants. You just care about yourselves. No need to act like you care."

Now, that was heartbreaking. The only thing: We had no idea what this was all about. We were killing the King. I doubted we had a top-secret plan to kill all the giants afterward.

Zeth slapped a hand on Betwin's mouth before he could say anything else. But now that he had blabbered so much, there was no way I was going to let this topic rest.

"What is this all about? And don't you change the topic cause this conversation isn't vanishing anytime soon." I said, stepping closer towards Zeth and Betwin but I was pretty sure it wasn't as intimidating as it was supposed to be.

Zeth sighed, removing his hand from Betwin's mouth. "Well, I don't suppose you're letting this go." He paused before saying it. "Aquatenite was designed to kill all the giants when destroyed."

I was glad I wasn't eating anything because I would have choked really badly after hearing this.

We all were taken aback a little. This wasn't what any of us were expecting.

It took a while for me to find my voice. But when I did, I couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

Zeth looked down and spoke in a small voice, "I thought you'd give up on your mission to save us. And I don't want...dad to be alive."

"So you all decided to sacrifice yourselves," Olivia said, sounding disappointed.

Everyone was silent for a while. But I knew everyone was thinking of the same thing- a way to save Zeth and team. There had to be a loophole.

The silence felt uncomfortable. Filled with guilt, anger, and sadness.

"At times like this, I wish Lucy was here." I said while not meaning to say it out loud.

Olivia chuckled, "That's why I tell you to attend academics too. Maybe you won't need Lucy if you hear Tyrek's classes."

Well, that was offensive. I pouted, "Hey, you can't teach me something I don't wanna learn."

Olivia stood up, folding her hands. I followed the same which led to a staring competition. I could hear some quiet, suppressed laughter from the giants.

Ophelien smiled too but like an adult, she came to stop us from arguing, "Now, you two. Don't start a fight. Even though I would love to see this." She said the last part quietly.

I gave Olivia one last look before turning back to Zeth but I kinda liked this fight. It was a fight like real friends do.

"Well, then what have we got to save Zeth and team?" I said, smiling inside. We had wasted a lot of our time. We couldn't waste any more time.

"No plan is what I know. Has anything happened before that proves something that can help us? It works like that in films."

"Actually, there is something that might help," Zeth told us but he looked unsure of himself.

A small light of hope ignited inside me. "Spill it."

"It was said that the magic of Aquatenite doesn't work in the outside world as it does here. Its power is bound inside this land."

It seemed like a great help but Zeth's expression said otherwise. It looked like a great time to ask, "And what's the downside?"

"We are not sure if this is true." Betwin answered for Zeth. "It was a long time ago when your ancestors created Aquatenite. It could be a risk to go on with this plan."

"But it's the only plan we've got right now," Ophelien said, adjusting her mask. "It might even be the only way." She paused "What is life without a little risk?" She winked at me which was creepy. As if she knew something about me that I didn't.

"Then, let's execute the plan," Olivia announced.