Crystal Legacy - Generation 5 (Part 17)

 

Abandoned by her mother at an early age, Citrine has always been loved by her family and she loves them all the more in return. But even that love can't fill the hole inside of her, and chasing after her past only leads to more heartbreak.

Later that night….

Moonstone: …mmph. Stomach’s not as young as it used to be…

Moonstone: ….yeah…that third slice was a mistake. Oof.

Moonstone: Ori, heel. …Ori? Where….

Moonstone: What’s….ugh….

*thud*

Saffron: Moony? Babe? Did you fall?

Saffron: *gasp* MOONY! No no no no not yet–Moonstone! Moony wake up!

Saffron: Moonstone Crystal wake up this instant! –ugh, come on–wake up!

Saffron: No no no–Moony, babe, wake up–CAL!!!

Saffron: CALCITE!!!

*doors open*

Citrine: Daddy?

Calcite: Stay there–Ma?!

Saffron: Come quick!

Calcite: Ma, what is going–no!

Saffron: Call the rangers! We need an ambulance!

Citrine: *sniff* …I guess…I guess she didn’t want you two to worry.

Citrine: …no. No, the doctors have been by. She’s in no pain, but…*sniff* They’re not sure she’ll wake up before. ….yeah.

Citrine: Um…they’re saying…maybe six hours? At max eight. Where…Britechestnut. …is Aunt Luna….oh. In Honey-on-Bagel…that’s too far, too. D’you want me to…

Citrine: …yeah. Yeah, I can do that. I’ll….*sniff* I’ll let her know you and Aunt Lu love her. And I’ll…I’ll tell Dad that, too.

Citrine: What? Me? Oh…no, I’m fine. Well, I’m….it’s okay. I mean it’s not but–yeah.*sniff* …I…thanks, Auntie. No, I’m not alone. Pep’s here. So’s Fern.

Citrine: Pep, d’you…no. Okay. Um…yeah. Yeah, it’s a lot right now. We’re…we’re gonna stay until it’s over. I just…you should know before…yeah.

Citrine: …yeah. Uh-huh. I will. …love you too, Auntie. 

*phone call ends*

Citrine: *tearful sigh* ….dammit. 

Fern: Hey…

Citrine: We were so close….just a few more days, we could have…

Fern: We still can.

Citrine: …what?

Fern: This is Waffle Creek, remember? Best Hospital on the continent, and…d’you know what it’s called?

Citrine: …no?

Fern: Silver River Medical Center. Sunshine, that’s the Silver River right outside! We follow that and we–

Citrine: Fern. Don’t give me any false hopes. Please.

Fern: I’m not. We do this, you and me. We find out one way or another and let it go.

Peppermint: Are you serious?! You want to go out there, now?! Gram’s got hours left, at best, and you want to take a chance on a damn tree?!

Fern: Can you live with yourself if you don’t.

Citrine: ….no.

Fern: Just say the word.

Citrine: ….we’re going. Right now.

Fern: We’re going. Pep, hold down the fort. We’ll be back as soon as we can.

Citrine: Oh, Watcher…it goes everywhere!

Fern: Yeah, but it’s flowing back this way.

Fern: So, we follow the river. Follow the flow downstream and go from there and–

Citrine: …and if it doesn’t work….

Fern: Then you know you tried. 

Fern: Now come on! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover!

Hours later….

Citrine: Damn…river! It’s led us nowhere!

Fern: Easy, sunshine! We’ve got one more place to check. 

Citrine: There better be something here or I’ll–I’ll–

Fern: Hey–look, over there.

Citrine: What?!

Fern: Everything else is brown from the cold, but that tree–

Citrine: That’s a willow tree!

Citrine: That’s the Spirit Willow! It has to be! We found it!

Fern: …no wonder this thing needs protecting it stick out like a sore thumb!

Citrine: We found it…now what? The stories said this thing protected the well but…how? Did it grow on it or…

Fern: It’s a Guardian Tree…those usually hide a hollow trunk entrance…

Citrine: I don’t have a chainsaw! *sob* Please…please, I just want my Gram to live!

Fern: Citrine…

Citrine: ….please…I don’t know if you’re more than a tree, but please–

Fern: Citrine!

Citrine: *gasp!*

Citrine: …where…are we?

Fern: The Sylvan Woods….the last home of the Fae. 

Citrine: This is…pinch me, I have to be dreaming.

Citrine: *breathy laugh* We found it!

Fern: We found it. The Queen’s Well.

Citrine: Come on! We’ve got to get back quick!

Fern: I’m gonna go find a wheelchair. Can you get your Gram up?

Citrine: Y-yeah. I will.

Fern: Okay. I’ll be back in five!

Citrine: …gram?

Citrine: …is this the right thing to do?

Citrine: Should I keep going? Or should I just…let you go?

Citrine: ….Gram? Are you…can you hear me?

Moonstone: …mm? 

Citrine: Hi, Gram. How’re you feeling?

Moonstone: Oh…Citrine, baby…

Moonstone: I’m alright. You know, all things considered. *yawn* Can’t quite shake off the sleepy, but…nothing hurts. Suppose that’s a sign, isn’t it.

Citrine: The doctor gave you something pretty strong, yeah. 

Moonstone: Good doctor.

Moonstone: I’m sorry you have to see this, baby. If it were up to me, I’d have gone in my sleep.

Citrine: Gram, no–we wouldn’t have…have gotten a chance to say goodbye if you had! And I–

Citrine: ….this is going to sound crazy, but what if you don’t have to die.

Moonstone: *snort* Citrine, everyone dies. 

Citrine: Not right now, I mean.

Moonstone: *sigh* Kiddo…

Moonstone: I’ve lived a good life, Citrine. Your Gramron, your Mom and Dad, you and Pep…I’ve had a life filled with love! I’m sad it’s ending now, but…

Citrine: What if it didn’t have to end yet.

Moonstone: It’s too late for modern medicine, Citrine. Nothing short of a miracle’s going to fix this.

Citrine: A miracle…or magic.

Moonstone: ….what?

Citrine: That thing Pep and I’ve been going on about? We’ve been trying to track down this magical well that can heal any injury, any illness…and we found it, Gram. It’s here, in Waffle Creek.

Moonstone: …what?

Citrine: We found a way to fix your heart. 

Moonstone; Citrine, that’s–

Citrine: I know it’s hard to believe but–

Moonstone: Honey my mother was Queen of the Fae! Nothing’s hard to believe! I just.

Moonstone: Get an old woman’s hopes up at the end…I don’t know how long I have, baby.

Citrine: But this can fix you. It will fix you! We just have to try, so.

Citrine: ….do you want to try? Or would you rather….

Moonstone: …we’re going to need a wheelchair.

Fern: One wheelchair, right here! And I called us a cab, too. So, are we going or…

Moonstone: …we’re going. Help me up.

Citrine: We didn’t bring a change of clothes–

Moonstone: Leave it–Fern, bring that chair over here!

Moonstone: ….listen, you two. If this doesn’t work—

Fern: Ah-ah! All due respect, Miss Moony, but it’ll work!

Fern: They don’t hide things that don’t have power, you know. We Hunters are very, very good at letting useless things go.

Citrine: And it was really really well hidden, Gram. It’ll work.

Citrine: It has to work. Just…have a little faith, okay?

Moonstone: …okay, baby. For you, I will.

Saffron: There you…are. What in the world is going on here?! Moony?!

Fern: Uh-oh…

Saffron: What are you doing out of bed–why didn’t you call me if you were awake?!

Moonstone: Saf–

Saffron: The doctors said you shouldn’t be getting out of bed! Come on, we need to–

Moonstone: SAFFRON CINDERS LISTEN TO ME!

Saffron: !!

Moonstone: ….there might be a way to fix this. Fix me.

Saffron: …what?

Moonstone: Citrine, and Pep, and their friends. They’ve all been looking for a way to fix this, and they found it. They found a magical well that can–

Saffron: Moony…

Saffron: You know how crazy this sounds.

Moonstone: Crazier than our dead daughter haunting the family, and her twin being able to see her at peace again?

Saffron: ….when you put it like that…

Saffron: It’s…look, it’s freezing out there, this thing may not work, if it doesn’t–

Moonstone: Then we know we tried. Saf, I never wanted to stop fighting. I just couldn’t use what we had before. But now…

Moonstone: Now there’s a chance! Please. We have to try.

Saffron: …is this what you want? Even knowing it may not work?

Moonstone: Even knowing it may not work.

Saffron: ….okay. Let’s go. There’s a cab out front already, so.

Moonstone: …so what’re we waiting for. *sobbing laugh* Let’s go.

Saffron: Come on, kids. Lead the way.

Citrine: Okay…here we are. Gram, are you…

Moonstone: …I should have gotten shoes.

Saffron: We can–

Moonstone: No, we are not turning back!

-

*foliage rustles*

Fern: What–

Saffron: Moony, I’m just saying…

Moony: …..I’m not making this trip a second time, Saf. It’s now or never.

-

Fern: …what was that.

Fern: …uh, Citrine? You…might want to hurry.

Citrine: I’m going, I’m going, jeez…okay, tree. We’re here. Can we…thank you. Thank you so much.

Citrine: Stay close, everyone. It’s a bit of a winding road.

Citrine: What was that back there?

Fern: I think we were being watched. Just…couldn’t shake the feeling.

Moony: Saf–

Saffron: I’m just saying–

Citrine: Gram?

Moonstone: I can do this myself.

Saffron: You don’t have to! 

Moonstone: Yes. I do. I can feel it.

Moonstone: This place…it wasn’t meant for you. I don’t want it to hurt you, so please. Let me do this myself.

Saffron: ….I’m right behind you anyway.

Moonstone: …I know.

Moonstone: Come on, old lady…one foot in front of the other…come on…

Moonstone: Ah–

Saffron: Moony!

Ori: Easy! Easy, Moony…

Ori: Why do you always push yourself so hard? *sigh* Come on, old lady. Up we get.

Moonstone: …who’re you callin’ old…you’re ancient in…dog years.

Ori: *snort* There you are.

Moonstone: It was you. This whole time…why?

Ori: Why not? 

Moonstone: ….no riddles. Why?

Ori: …because someone needed to watch over your family. And…because I failed you.

Moonstone: …what? When? 

Ori: Amber. I wasn’t there to protect her.

Moonstone: You’re a dog, Ori, how…

Ori: …I’ll explain later. 

Ori: I couldn’t save Amber. But I can save you. Are you with me?

Moonstone: ….yeah. Let’s do this.

Ori: You three, stay there. If this works, we’ll know soon enough.

Saffron: And if it doesn’t?

Ori: …we’ll know soon enough.

Ori: Watcher, from your hands are all lives given, to your embrace are all lives returned. We beseech you, aid us in restoring this weary frame, so that the soul within may yet live on.

Ori: Ready?

Moonstone: ….ready.

Ori: Hold your breath.

*sound of water splashing*

Saffron: Please…please work…

*water clears*

Ori: …Moony?

Moonstone: *cough* I’ve got weed in my hair, don’t I.

Ori: *laugh* Better than skunk. Come on, up we get.

Citrine: So what…who are you?

Ori: My name is Ori. Yes, the same as your Gram’s dog.

Fern: The same dog that’s been around since Miss Moony was our age?

Ori: The same.

Citrine: How?

Fern: I’ll tell you how: Guardian Spirit.

Ori: One and the same. To put it really simply, Citrine, I’m not alive. The lifespan of the dog is tied to Moony, but the spirit–me–is immortal. I can shift forms as needed, and when she dies the dog goes with her.

Citrine: But why?

Ori: Because it’s easier to have a dog you can explain as a look-alike than a Berry–

Citrine: No, I mean, why attach yourself to Gram? Why tie yourself to a mortal like that?

Ori: ….Mother asked, at first. After that…well. I’m fond of you all now.

Citrine: Mother. As in the Queen of the Fae or–

Ori: As in Astral. You know her as the Watcher.

Citrine; WHAT!?!

Fern: As in the Watcher herself assigned you to…keep watch over the Crystal family?

Ori: That’s the long and short of it, yeah.

Citrine: W-why?! What did we do?!

Fern: Besides piss my uncle off royally…I just realized…

Ori: You’ve got worse than Mantis’ temper to worry about. There was someone watching you out there.

Citrine: Who?

Ori: I don’t know.

Ori: I’m not a Seer, and they were trying to hide from you. All I know is that they’re dangerous, and that they’re very interested in you both. 

Fern: ….that’s…not great.

Ori: No. It’s not. You two wanted the Well for healing, but it represents power for more than just that.

Citrine: …and power attracts trouble.

Ori: And those who would seek to cause it. And now that whoever was out there knows you two know how to access this place….you’re both in danger. 

Fern: But…wait, normal berries can’t use the Well, can they?

Ori: No. What you Hunters call Occults are the only ones who can, but it responds most strongly to Fae blood. Moony will be fine, butIf something happens…I don’t know if this Well will work on you, Citrine. It’s been too many generations since Firefly. The bloodline is too diluted.

Citrine: Oh, well…great. 

Fern: Wait wait wait–what’s going to happen? Do you have any idea who would–

Ori: There’s too many forces at play here to be sure. That, and…*sigh* The reason I’m watching over all of you, Citrine? There’s someone darker involved here.

Fern: Wait you don’t mean–