Dimension Travelers

Chapter 36

I must admit, Seth's plan was brilliant. It was the perfect sabotage plan. Well, that's what Eclipsa will think. That's what She's supposed to think. Hopefully they'll make her stay in the "palace." It'll be easier to get to Her. We finalize a few details of Seth's invasion plan. One thing that crossed my mind is if all these other prisoners can be trusted. I guess we will find out the hard way.

The rest of the day, Jared tells us everything we needed to know. He said that if we attacked from the sky, we'd stand a better chance. That means Seth and I'll need to morph into something potent and dangerous, like a dragon. They have most likely never seen one before. We would spook them so bad that they'd forget how to fight altogether. Well, that's what I'm hoping, anyway.

Rick and Firefly would be fighting not the ground while Seth and I attack from the air. Since there are no oceans here, we'll be attacking from just about every angle. They don't stand a chance, as Seth said. I can't wait until noon. (Yeah, it's that soon.)

We have looked over the map many times and no matter what we try, Seth's plan seems to be the best option. We can't wander through underground tunnels, we can't wander through the halls and have multiple fights, we can't fight from the air--just Seth and I, that's asking too much; all we can do is attack from the inside out. Rick, somehow, keeps insisting that there's another way that we haven't looked at yet. He, at first, was for Seth's idea. But then, the idea of his brother going back drove him insane. Truth be told, there wasn't another way. After hours of trying, I snapped.

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" I yell. "There's no other way! We tried and there's no other option. Unless, of course, you'd like a massive, bloody battle!"

"That's exactly what we're trying to avoid." Seth says. "What's gotten into you?"

"Yeah," I say, "just a few hours ago, you were for this mission! What on earth is wrong with you?"

Rick doesn't say anything.

"Rick, listen to me," Jared says. "I can do this. I'll return alive. Why can't you just accept it?"

Rick turns away from us.

"He can't lose his brother again." Firefly says in a creepy tone.

We all look at her.

"What?" I ask.

"Brothers mean more than the world to each other. So, if you lost a brother for two years, and then you suddenly find him during a time of war, wouldn't you try every option to protect him?" Firefly explains.

We're silent.

"How do you know this?" Seth asks.

"Yeah, it's not like you can read minds, right?" I ask.

"No, I can't." Firefly says. "Think about it. Just think. Seth, wouldn't you try something like this if you had a brother?"

I look over at Seth.

He pauses. "Yeah, I would. But, if there was no other option, I'd just let it go and continue with the mission at hand." He looks over at Rick.

Rick looks up and glares at Seth. "So you're saying that it's ok to put my brother, who I was supposed to protect, back inside that living hell place and start a bloody coup by himself? So now I should just go with the flow?!"

"Not exactly." Seth says. "I'm saying that you need to face reality. Jared can do this. He wants to. Besides, he won't be alone."

"I don't care!"

"Well, I do!" Jared says gets up in Rick's face. "You don't need to worry anymore. You don't have to protect me. You can't--not during a battle, anyway. I'll be ok."

We all wait, suspense is in the air. Will Rick really trust his brother and let him go? This is huge, Rick knows that. We may have just met Jared, but I have a feeling he feels the same way, like Rick does.

Is Rick seriously going to put his feelings--other obligations--above our mission; a mission that will save hundreds of people just like Jared? He won't do that...Will he?

Rick slowly gets up. He looks at all of us for a long time. I'm holding my breath. He's not going to quit, is he? He can't just--! Calm down, you're jumping to extremes here. Maybe he just--

"I can't do this. You'll have to continue without me." Rick says.

Told myself so.