Atlantis

The Finale

I woke first and made it over to Amanda's new body before she fluttered open her eyes. I smiled as she looked up at the sky with a tear that ran down each check. My hand reached out and her small one took it. Nyla helped Death stand on weak legs and we stood walking over to the edge together. The sun was gone now and the first stars began their faint glow over the world.
The ground rumbled again taking parts of the city down to the ocean. "We need a way down." Amanda said automatically taking control of the situation.
"That's obvious." I countered.
"Don't be a smartass Emily."
"Yes'm." I glanced at Death. "Guess that would be a lot to ask of him."
"What about Jerry?" Amanda asked.
"I don't suppose you have his cell phone number?"
"Right." Amanda said loosing her words.
"Fine, Death how many can you take?" I asked.
"Two maybe." He said letting his wings appear behind him. "Make that one and I will only make one trip down since gliding will be about all I can do."
"Alright you take Nyla and go." I said waving him off.
"How will you get away?" He asked picking up Nyla and positioning himself at the edge. "You can't open a stable portal in your current state."
"I will make a call then." I said pushing him off the edge.
"Great now what?" Amanda said combing a hand through her hair.
"We whistle." I said as she gave me a weird look. Letting out my highest whistle we waited for our help to descend. I was rewarded half an hour later as Pluto the faithful steed came soaring from the sky. The tower we stood on was crumbling so bad that it was a hazard to stand anywhere close to the edge. He didn't have enough room to take off and land so I made a split-second decision. I tossed a child onto his back from our small platform and fell back to avoid falling with the rubble.
"Emily!" Pluto cried flying away to avoid the debris.
"It is too dangerous to carry both of us, Pluto! Take her to safety I'll follow you." I yelled.
Amanda who was clinging with white knuckles to the dragon-steed looked at me with angry eyes. She knew I was keeping a secret from her. "You better explain!" She yelled as they flew off the same way Death did.
I let out a sigh. rebuilding my body to fly away was too taxing for me right now. Even if I did transform I wouldn't be able to make it out of the range of the sinking city in time. There were only ten minutes left until the finale after all. I sat down next to the dead body of Amanda and touched the cold lifeless forehead. "This will hurt beyond measure and.." I looked over to the limp body of Rahn. "I still have to get him out of here."
I crawled slowly over to the body of the sleeping creature taking his hand. It was still warm and had a steady heartbeat. "A portal." If only he got through that would be enough. I tried again and again but the only portal I could open was the size of a head. I shook Rahn yelling for him to wake up. No response. Five minutes left.
A bitter taste filled my mouth at not being able to save everyone. The sky started humming and I looked up to see a great black dragon falling towards us. I covered Rahn's body with my own but that didn't stop us from falling as the tower crumbled beneath the impact. The air ripped at our clothing and rocks seemed to hate our skin with their sharp edges. "If you were to pick a time to wake up. Now would be exceptional!" I yelled trying to right ourselves so that I could reach the wall beside us. I got close enough and let my hand touch the wall scraping down it in order to find something to grab. My hand caught and pain raced through my upper body as Rahn jerked to a halt and my body slammed into the wall. I tried to heal my body but nothing was working, if I didn't find a way to get us somewhere solid my mind would go into automatic shut down.
The shoulder my holding arm was attached to was for sure dislocated so up was near impossible at the moment. Below us about ten feet down was a balcony of sorts but how attached it was, was uncertain at this time. No choice then. I let go and twisted so Rahn would land on me. It hurt so bad I screamed and let Rahn roll off to the side. I was amazed I could still see straight after all that. I let out another cry as a huge piece of the structure fell towards us.
Somehow I managed, painfully, to pull Rahn inside just before the rock took away our outing. The inside was even worse with all the falling ceiling's and broken windows. I looked out again but saw nothing. A portal. I drew everything out for my last attempt and got a hole the size of a sewer plate. It wavered around the edge but it would do. I drug the sleeping body over dropping it down into the black pit. This would take him outside the city limits hopefully to where someone could see him.
The portal closed right after his toe went through. I collapsed on my face too tired to move another inch. This was it the last minute, did I want to be sailing out of here? Yes but that was a hope to far to be real. Or was it, for a roar sounded outside. I managed to get to my feet and jumped without looking out into the sky.
I was caught by powerful jaws that were missing a few teeth and with powerful strokes we flew out of the city. Fate wasn't that kind though, a rock flew from the sky and tore out a huge chunk of Jerry's wing. We spiraled out of control to the ocean only to pull out flat for long enough to get us half a mile from the city. Dragons were meant for the sky but had decent swimming skills, that is, when they weren't injured.
Jerry dropped me first and then sank in a tidal wave of water nearly drowning me. I sputtered to the surface trying to find the big red creature in the middle of the ocean. A giant echo of noise sounded from the city distracting me from my quest. The city was sinking and due to the change the water was coming for us in giant waves. I ducked below the surface and opened my eyes. It was near impossible to see but I swam deeper looking where Jerry had hit the water.
I returned to the surface for air then dived again deeper. I managed to grab something as a wave passed overhead. I pulled it up with me to the surface in a new burst of strength probably given to me by the blue. Jerry's humanoid head surfaced only to be crushed as another wave pushed us further out to sea. The water around us was red with our blood but I was convinced he was worse off than me. He could barely breath and I didn't seem to have enough air to use.
We were dunked over and over and sprayed in a fine mist in between. "I think I can see the shore." I yelled over the surging waves.
No response so I ducked under to avoid being twisted underneath the next wave. "Going for it." I yelled again heading toward the large mass of land in the dark. I fought wave after wave all the while trying to keep two heads above the water. The energy I had faded fast and I wasn't even halfway there.
"Not...Going to.." Jerry coughed weakly.
"Shut up! Do you want to die?" I yelled getting a mouth of seawater.
Silence followed by more coughing by the both of us. "If we make it...If..I think I'll tell you."
"When we make it, Jerry. When." I said realizing we were getting nowhere. My energy was nearly gone by now and it was all I could do to keep us afloat after the continuous waves. I will get us there if its the last thing I do, I thought putting all my strength to my arms and legs.
I didn't get to keep my word. The next wave was too much for me to fight and we sunk to the bottom.
*
I coughed so hard that my eyes felt like they would pop out of my head. I leaned onto my elbow as water exited my lungs in a violent matter. "Gross." I muttered falling back onto cold sand. The moon was behind us casting its shadows forward into the ocean that lapped around my legs and feet. I made it.
My head turned down shore and there he was laying in the sand not to far from me. "We made it Jerry." I said crawling along on my hands and knees.
It was worse than I thought. A large gash went down his side while others criss-crossed his arms and legs. I was afraid to flip him over for the sand beneath was bright red. "How much blood do you have." I said putting my ear to his chest. There was a faint sound of a heart beating but his breathing had stopped. Careful not to look to low I put my mouth to his trying to get him to breathe again. Jerry was pale for his dark tanned skin and growing colder.
I thought it best to get him somewhere dry and warmer than the sand so I drug him up the beach into the safety of a overlook. I went up the bank and gathered dryish grass to use and stumbled upon a body with heavy damage done to it. "Sorry." I said taking all but the armor and loincloth of the creature. I made a make shift bed and before I put Jerry in it I covered the lower area the best I could and leaned him up against the wall.
With great care I cleaned and bandaged the worst of the wounds putting him in the bed when I finished. I must have been out longer than I had thought for all my wounds and broken bones were mostly healed. A fire would be good for the meantime, I thought, getting up to go up the bank again. Jerry started a fit of coughing though and I darted back down inside the overlook. I tilted him up as he coughed then back down when he finished.
I managed to create a fire sometime later after trying several different methods of lighting the tinder. The grass burned so fast I could barely keep up with it and any driftwood I found was too wet to burn. I finally gave up and took off my shirt letting the fire burn that as it dried the less damp wood while I fed it piles and piles of grass. I sat down with a sigh as one log finally took fire and burned slowly instead of incinerating upon contact.
"Thanks Blue I owe you my life." I said. As if in response the ocean crept up slowly forming a little stream of water to the body behind me. I watched as it glowed a faint blue and covered Jerry's body.
"Heal." came a small light voice. "I can close wounds but that is all."
"You are too kind."
"Anything for you, sister. Singularities are as rare as it gets." The blue glow faded but the water seemed to swell up across the fire forming a shape that was close to me in figure. It had no distinct features though. "Is this the sun?" It reached out with clear fingers to touch the substance only to sizzle when it touched.
"Careful, you don't want to put it out." I cautioned as the hand drew back.
"Cannot touch?"
"This isn't the sun, Blue, it is similar but it is called fire." I explained. "It isn't alive but it needs to eat to grow and stay lit."
"What does it eat?" Blue asked then pointed the wood nearby. "It eat the wood then?"
"It burns the wood yes." I said tossing the piece it had picked up into the fire.
"No!" she yelled pulling it back out as she sizzled.
"Why not?"
"The wood will burn. Burning hurts." So it did hurt when the figure touched the fire.
"The wood isn't alive anymore it can't feel the burn anymore. It's okay." I watched it reluctantly put the wood back. "There that was't so bad was it?"
"I want to see more of the world." It said still facing the fire.
"How can I help?" I asked with a slight smile.
"Come back when you have a small clear shell."
"You mean a vial?"
"Vial?"
"A small clear container like this." I held up a vial that I had gotten from the body.
"Yes." A finger reached over the fire and took the vial examining it. It placed it inside the head pulling it back out full of water. "Carry it with you and I will be able to see the world and talk with you at night. Come back every month or so to refill it though."
"I will." I said taking the vial back and putting a stopper on the top.
"Bye." It said running into the ocean without another word.
"Bye?" I said waving at the ocean. The sun was coming up and Blue didn't seem to like the day to much. That and Jerry was stirring in his sleep. I grabbed an unused piece of cloth and covered my almost bare upper body not that he cared much about that stuff. "Morning."
"Hmm." He looked out at the rising sun. "We made it." He said slowly.
"Waiting for the rescue team right now."
"What rescue team?"
"I should probably call, huh?" I stood up and turned inland letting out a shrill whistle. "Now we wait."
He looked at me like I was crazy then examined himself. "I thought you couldn't use magic."
"Can't."
"Then who closed my wounds?" He asked
"Blue." I said pointing to the ocean.
"The ocean doesn't use magic."
"Yes it does now bow your head and thank it for saving your life." I crossed my arms.
He sighed and said it all the while looking at me like I was a nutcase. "Want me to prove my case?" I asked sternly.
"No I believe you." I glared unconvinced. "Honest I do." He said. I huffed and sat down by the fire again.
"Guess I should thank you." I said after a silence.
"You're welcome for both." Jerry said laying back down.
"Both?"
"You put the clothes on me I presume?"
"I hate you!" I screamed throwing a log at him.
"Hey I'm injured." He whined.
"I don't care."
Jerry smiled at himself and I tucked my knees in to hide my face. Help better come soon.
*
I got my laugh when Pluto came to pick us both up. Jerry winced painfully as he got on and I pushed him around as we flew to make sure flight was easier for Pluto. Turns out everyone got to safety and they even found Rahn collapsed outside the inn they were staying at. Clyde had made it out before the fall and was treated along with the rest.
We had a party after everyone was able to walk freely and it turned out they would reinstate Amanda as ruler after all.
*