'Faye'rytale

Chapter 28

"You can't come with me. Who will run Fayedom if you come along? Athena would have wanted you to stay here. She even wrote in her goodbye note that I will take care of it. Besides, it's too risky. We don't even know if she's alive.", said Zac trying to convince Raeburn to stay back.

"Why are you so concerned about me? A while ago you didn't even trust me.", said Raeburn defensively.

"I am not concerned about you. I don't want a burden on my mission. Also, it's not really about Athena. Ava is my great-great-granddaughter. She is my priority."

"How selfish of you! I am coming with you. I can't trust you to bring back Athena safely. You wouldn't mind sacrificing her to save Ava.", said Raeburn contemptuously.

Leaving control of Fayedom to Caspian, Raeburn set off with Zac on Pegasus, the world's fastest boat. It cost him a leg and an arm to buy the boat. But it was worth it. They reached the destination in one-hundredth the time it would normally take. As they dived into the depths of the Bermuda Triangle, something told him that Athena was somewhere down there.

The men were welcomed at the entrance by an amiable old lady with a sweet smile, who gave them a quick summary of what was awaiting them. Zac and Raeburn split ways to make the search easier. After traversing Tengoku for two days, Zac finally spotted Athena walking by herself, eating a bowl of cereal, in the garden of a cottage. He was stunned to see what she was carrying around. Nirvana. He had tried to design the machine years ago in his youth before he uploaded himself onto Zac-Wave. It didn't go as planned. But here it was in its full glory. He knew she didn't have much to live unless it was unplugged. Zac headed towards her. She suddenly stopped walking at the sight of Zac. He was here to rescue the two of them. She knew, under the circumstances, only Ava could be saved.

"Athena, I'm so glad I found you. I hate to break it to you but, Raeburn ..."

"What? What is wrong with him?? Is he alright?"

"He's gone."

"Gone as in? Gone where? Back to the past?"

"No. He's gone. Forever. It was a car crash."

Her heart stopped for a second. She could not feel anything. The machine she was plugged onto started beeping. The bowl in her hand fell on the ground and broke into a million pieces. The impossible happened. She was neutralized. Without wasting a second, Zac pulled out the plug from Nirvana.

A few hours later, she saw Raeburn standing at the gate of the cottage.

"But... how? I must be imagining ..."

"No, Athena. It's not your imagination. It's me.", said Raeburn.

"No, no, no. I think I'm going crazy. It's my mind making you say what I want to hear. You are just a figment of my imagination.", said Athena tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Athena, I'm sorry I had to lie to you. It was the only way I could save you. I wasn't even sure if it would work. I'm overjoyed it worked.", interrupted Zac.

And then Athena took a deep breath and ran to embrace Raeburn as if it were the last time, she could do it. She was so relieved that he was alive. That's when Ava and Camila stepped out of the door. Raeburn was taken aback to see Camila again. Ava had recovered from the virus and looked as fresh as a daisy. Zac met his great-great-granddaughter in person for the first time. They had tea in the garden, and it was a cheerful atmosphere.

"Now, how do we go back?", asked Ava in the midst of the celebration.

That was a question nobody at the table had an answer to.

To be continued ...