Chapter 8: Never an Absolution

Gem of the Deep

Chapter 8

Never an Absolution

DISCLAIMER: Mummies Alive! is the property and trademark of Dic Inc. and the producers of that show. This page is intended for entertainment purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Disclaimer: TITANIC is a Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Lightstorm Production. Basically, anything that's in the movie isn't mine, and a copyright infringement is not intended.

Thanx again to Mia, who's allowing me to use her character Lyris, in this story, and for all of her super ideas and help in writing this chapter imperticular ^_^

A Little Reading Music? Try This

The end of Titanic sunk out from underneath them, sucked down by it's immense weight. Large bubbles passed their faces in a rush to topside, strangled by the cold waves consuming them and trying to surface. They almost tickled, yet, as the water's temperature hit them, there was nothing to "feel" anywhere near that freezing water.

Still gripping the prince's hand, Nefer-tina knew that they had to surface as quickly as possible. She tried to open her eyes, but the second she did, they stung greatly in the cold, salty water. The bubbles that were passing them were heading up to the surface, so she began to push her was forewards in their directions as well.

Presley didn't even feel anything happening. The water was so gripping, he had lost all sense of where they were. Even as his guardian grabbed his hand with an added force, he couldn't have noticed it if he wanted to. The only thing he could think about was how cold and dark the world was now.

She felt the waves wash over them, then a burning around her entire body. A fierce tremor shot threw Lyris as her body became submerged with the others. She could feel every muscle in her body screaming and fought against the urge of panic as it arose coldly in her stomach. She quickly looked to her left, then to her right. All around them was pure blackness, the same scenery that had enveloped them all just before reaching Southampton. And it was truely one of the same - she couldn't see, feel, smell, touch... or breathe.

In the back of her mind, the muse realized that she had been seperated from the others and was alone in the blackness of the sea. She began to tremble violently, not because of the temperature, but because of the thought of dieing in this dreadful place.

The best he could, Armon tried to reach out to anyone, anyone that was there with him. Yet, all around there was nothing to see. Even the light blue waves that had plunged them into this bitter cold could no longer be seen. Only the dark.

Realizing which way the bubbles were travelling, the warrior brought himself to begin to travel upwards towards the surface. Along the way, he hoped to maybe pass or meet the other members of his team, who had been above just as the stern fell. It was a difficult task in itself. The freezing Atlantic plus the added force of the ship going under and the inability to bend his right arm made goings slow, but he persued on, determined not to stay under the black waves another moment.

Kicking with all of her might, Nefer-tina tried desperately to break the ocean's surface, her prince still in tow. The boy didn't even know what was going on. All he could still feel was the biting cold all around him, freezing him nearly completely. His thoughts weren't even those of dying. Only of the obvious.

The charioteer lunged forewards in the black sea, creating small bubbles which told her of the way to the surface. She thanked the gods that they were both wearing lifebelts, which would make the swim easier. Still dragging yourself and another up through the burning temperature was bad enough.

Nearly in a panicking state, Lyris still attempted to search for a way out of the freezing water. And still, the black current forbode her from reaching anyone or anything. The suction of the ship was beginning to rescede, the waves from it's departure had no doubt stopped. There was only one alternative. The muse opened her eyes ever so slightly, feeling the salt and cold sting at them. Ever so gently, she blew air into the water, watching where the bubbles went. Unusually enough, they were flowing down her person, down past her feet and into a deep expas of nothingness. She began to push the water past her and turn around.

Her lungs cried out in pain, but the charioteer continued on, pulling them both through the blackness, following the light navy bubbles towards their destination. She couldn't feel her hands, she couldn't even tell if she was holding onto the prince anymore. Nefer-tina turned her head around to make sure, but one again, she could only see darkness beyond. Her head began to feel light. She was going to pass out.

Lyris didn't even know if she was going anywhere. There was no current anymore, not longer anymore bubbles. The muse began to feel fog in her head, and the world all around began to fuzz. Her limbs were practically numb and she didn't know if she could go on...

Realizing that it was now or never, Nefer-tina made one more attempt to raise them to the surface. She pushed against the water, her feet kicking in her heels and her hands nearly covered by the new brown jacket. The charioteer forced them up just a little bit more, finally realizing that this would be the farthest they would ever go. Or so she thought.

The second her head breached the surface, Nefer-tina breathed in with a tremendous gulp of air. Her chest ached and burned, nearly forcing her back underneath the waves, but the lifebelt prevented that. The blackness that had been all around just moments before was replaced with another. One more chilling.

Presley nearly jumped to the surface and yelled loudly at his arrival, panting to catch his breath. The immense cold and the time spent underneath the water had drained him of practically all energy, only the charioteer's hand carrying him up had saved him. The prince's head throbbed deeply, and he could nearly feel himself relaxing in the biting ocean.

Her head whipped around madly in search of their other teammates, her smoky black hair whipping about her face in long, wet strands. However, she couldn't see them. In fact, she could hardly see anything, there was too much commotion around them. Every which way she turned, there was always someone there.

The water seemed alive with life, though it was only that of those desperate to get out of it. Over one thousand former passengers of the RMS Titanic splashed around in the black sea, creating tiny dots of light blue when seen from above. They were all screaming for mercy, crying out into the night for anyone to come and save them from the freezing water. Many of which were alone, lost from their friends and relatives.

Nefer-tina's jam began to shiver uncontrollably, terror arising in herself as she saw many moving around in the ocean around them. It was an unearthly fright, one that was sent all the way up her spine and back through her arms and legs. The fridgid water did nothing to soothe it, there was nothing that could.

Presley closed his eyes tightly, sealing them from the splashing from a steerage passenger screaming and flailing his arms in the sea. The cold water was more than he could take at the time, the salt stung worse than the over-clorinated waves at the public pool. He too began to splash around, but only so that he could turn around and see Nefer-tina.

The charioteer glanced at the boy after he had turned around. His face was a pale tan by now, his lips starting to turn blue. She thought that that was what she must have looked as well, perhaps even more pale. The boy began to shiver violently, gripping the top sleeves of the lifejacket with his now numb fingers. " Whe-where are th-they?" He asked her with a scared tone, his chattering teeth getting in the way of his words.

Nefer-tina looked over her shoulder at all around them, horror rising again in the pit of her stomach. There were so many of them, too much she knew. Too many passengers crying out to those in the boats, slamming their arms into the ocean's surface as if attempting to fly away from there. Too much screaming...

The charioteer slowly turned her head back to the prince, who had been waiting patiently half-submerged in the water, shivering. " I do-d-don't know." She replied in the same manner, her jaw still jumping up and down because of the temperature. Her throat was sore, she could hardly speak. It was numbing as well, along with the rest of her in the burning ocean waves.

The screaming around them never seemed to cease. Instead, it only hightened, washing away any feelings other than terror and pain. They cried out to the world beyond,

" Help us! For the love of God! Please, help us!"

In those yells and cries, a faint voice stuck out beyond all the others. There was no explaining it or getting around it. The two turned their cold heads in the right direction, heading off towards the North-West. In front of them many others still screamed with all their might, slapping their arms into the crashing sea, creating bubbles and light blue sparks of water.

" We know you can hear us, save us, Please!"

With one more push, Armon parted the two horrified passengers in his way, slapping his hands into the water's surface trying to go foreward. He couldn't see anyone that he knew. All around were from steerage or second-class, many didn't even have any lifebelts. Things began to fall into place for him. They let the first-class people on first, knowing that there would be no more room for others...

" Nefer-tina! Lyris!" He called out again, waves bursting from the sea as he attempted a breast stroke through the large mass of people. Never in his life had he ever felt such a stinging pain over himself. Even fighting in the Pharaoh's army and losing his arm wasn't this painful. It was more like one thousands knives all at once, everywhere.

Behind him, a slight reply was sounded through the huttling mass of splashing victims. The warrior turned around, forgetting about the burning water and his numb limbs, and concentrated on that one voice. Over everyone an image could not be seen, yet the sound was there and like a guiding light, he followed it.

" Bring 'round the boats! Turn about, save us!"

Presley couldn't feel his body anymore. He didn't bother to either. His head was beginning to fog up, only the sound of terrified screaming getting in through his ears. His throat was starting to make small sighing noises, a reaction from the cold water. All he could do was stay there, half submerged in total blackness.

Nefer-tina watched as the once faint mist that was coming from her mouth became a blanket of pure white, the color hightened by the temperature and the dark surroundings. She looked back at her prince, unsure what to tell him. She couldn't say they would be alright, he knew better. She couldn't say that the others were alive somewhere, she didn't know that either...

The voice echoed over the cries for help again. She cocked her head towards it, trying to concentrate on that and only that. It was her name, she hear her name. Someone out there was trying to find them.

" Hello? Ja-kal? Rath, Armon, Lyris?! Hello?!" She screamed as loud as she could. It had to be one fo them, all others that she knew had gotten to a lifeboat. The charioteer held her breathe, stopping the white mist from her nose and mouth, hoping for a response.

Presley saw his guardian turn around and yell at someone, but he had been pre-occupied and didn't know who. Maybe others of their party were nearby, perhaps it was that young man that she had been talking about. Either way, they weren't going to be along for very much longer.

Armon heaved once more, his body straining to go on. The water was just too cold to do anything, even though it was such a short distance. The lifebelt on his right arm was angling him over into the water on the leftside, and he had to fight to keep steady. Under the water, the warrior's fingers shook violently, covered over by the black waves.

He lurched in the water, expecting to see nothing but more and more passengers from steerage and second-class, passengers he didn't know. Instead, a very welcomed view came to him and he actually felt a small half smile form on his face. " Nefer-tina!" He called out loud in front of him.

The charioteer looked over her shoulder again, out towards the voice that had been summoning them in the dark of the night. She was tired of this, someone was calling out to them, but because of the barriers that the other victims were creating, they couldn't move nor do anything to help. With any luck, the other party would realize this and come in search for them.

Someone came out of the blackness, and Nefer-tina's expression widened in a small grin. Never had she been so happy to see a familiar face. Presley shot a glance in their direction, his body burning all over with pain. His jaw shook quickly, chattering his teeth through dark blueing lips. He'd give anything to keep this from happening now.

" Armon!" Nefer-tina called out, gaining enough strength to lift her hand out of the water and wave it high above her head. The figure turned in their direction, and began to head over to them. The large body of the warrior was far better at ploughing a way through the mass of crying passengers than the two shivering bodies of herself and the prince.

He reached, and immediately asked the question, " Are you guys alright?" He immediately felt like taking such an obvious inquirery back. Of course they weren't, they were stranded in the middle of the North Atlantic...

Nefer-tina took it as well-fitting question, and sarcastically responded. " N-never b-better, but I'm g-go-gonna have t-to take a lon-long soak in a tub after th-this." She forced a weak smile at him, teeth still chattering and the red lipstick she was wearing doing nothing to hide blue, chapped lips.

The guardian's turned their attension to Presley, who was watching them both intently. He smiled ever so slightly, but it faded quickly as the force of more screaming and splashing from behind him came back, and the boy went back into a sleep-like state, where he could see everything around him, but couldn't easily react to it.

The charioteer and the warrior slowly pushed their ways foreward, so that the three were in a small group. Light blue waves spat up at them as they did so, stinging their faces and creating tiny lights in the dark ocean surface. The three stayed this way for only a few seconds, white mist pouring through the chilling air.

A second splash behind Presley brought their attension away from each other, and towards the prince. His eyes were almost half closed, they had been in the water for nearly one minute, and though it didn't seem like a long time, it was an eternity for them all. The guardian's watched from behind him, and were delighted by the results.

With one small push through the water, Lyris breached the surface and immediately began to breathe in as much air as her lungs would hold. White clouds shot out through her mouth, nearly blinding her from the world beyond. Her teeth chattered violently, and her entire body grew weary and tired. Her arms and legs were already numb, so she couldn't tell how cold they were.

No later did she shake her head free of excess water and turn around, was she miraculously face to face with the three that she had been thrown into the water with, all huddled in a small group. They all looked terrible, each one a light shade of peach, if not already a pale white, with darkening blue lips and tired eyes, chattering teeth and messy hair. She was no exception either, her skin was a pastey white, she could see it on the backs of her hands,and her once bouncy auburn curls were spiraling down by her face in thin streaks, falling from the french twist at the back of her head.

She moved to the right, then foreward, coming up beside the prince and leaning her way into the small huddle. The muse couldn't help it, but she felt like they were about to play a game of football.

Nefer-tina glanced to the muse, the smile now gone from her face. It was too much work keeping it on, no matter how happy she wa to see them all. " Is ever-everybody here...in one p-p-piece?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood slightly.

" You could s-say that." Armon replied in a flat tone, beginning to shiver as well through the dark business suit he wore.

Lyris shakily looked to her right, then to her left. The scene around them was the very definition of chaos. Screams filled the water and air, and thousands of bodies flailed and cried out for help that would not come. It made her shiver even moreso, caught up by the cold and human emotions involved. God she wished they weren't screaming...

She turned back to her companions, confusion and fear in her eyes. " Where-re're... where are the oth-thers?" The muse choked back a cough that was about ready to come to her throat. The faint sound of her own voice was barely a whisper in this sea of yelling victims.

Nefer-tina frowned. " Haven-t't s-seen them." She stated matter-of-factly. " Th-they were too f-far away I g-guess. Mayb-be pushed away by th-the current." Her attension was then brought towards Presley, who hadn't said a word in the many moments their conversasion had been going on. His breathe was coming out in short, staggering gasps now, light white mist floating through the air every few seconds or so.

The muse saw it too, and she reached out, placing a numb, pale hand on the prince's white lifejacket. " Are y-you alright, m-m prince?" She asked between chattering teeth. He gave her an odd look, one that sarcastically said, " never better", yet at the same time, pronouncing, " Of course not, we're all going to die." It was heartbreaking for anyone to watch.

" C-come on, we c-c-can't stay here fl-flapping out wi-wings all n-night." Nefer-tina stated. Reaching out as well, she gripped the other side of Presley's life preserver collar, and slammed her arm into the waves again. Light blue water squirted here and there, but she never faultered. Slowly but surely, the charioteer began to move away from their area and out into open, less populated waters, away from the dreadful screaming and shouting.

Lyris gave Armon a hurt look and he returned it without thought. Never had they been prepared for something like this. Talking about it and reading about it was one thing. Being there at the scene of a horrifying mass death occurence, letting a ship sink out from underneath you and watch as those whom you loved were slowly taken away... that was another matter.

" Save one Life!..."

***

There was nothing else to do. All around, screaming, crying, yelling, shouting... splashing water and freezing bodies, drenched by the black Atlantic waters and numbed by the intense temperature. The world was going in slow motion now, only the lapping of water against them was in the regular speed of which they were accustomed to.

At first, he couldn't move. More to the point, it was too much to move. The freezing water was even more cold than he last remembered, draining life out of his limbs and his senses. Before him, the screaming and the shouting of the steerage passengers, accomidated with a few from first class were droned out by a sea of momevent. It was almost as if he could only concentrate on one thing - seeing or hearing. Seeing was the best option.

He breathed out again, letting the bright white mist flow through the air, before gently disappearing into the wind. Closing his eyes, the world was actually pretty relaxing there, but it wasn't to last for very long. It was simply the shock of the sinking ship and those struggling to the surface keeping everything silent and serene. Soon everything would come into play.

In this case, a large splash to his right was what brought him out of the sleeplike trance. At that instant, the pain returned in full force. The burning ocean water which numbed them all to the core, the biting air that was alive with life. even the stabbing pains that had been brought out from their disasterous trip below decks were apparent.

Ja-kal pushed his way through a small opening in the water's surface, glad to be up over the waves instead of underneath them. After the Titanic had gone down, he had forgotten where they were, why they were there... a faint calm had spread over him and he just wanted to fall back down into the darkness and relax. But he knew that in order to get any good out of this, the leader would have to be up where the others were, so he had denied himself the right to finally rest.

When he reached the surface, it was simply a huge mass of loud, splashing passengers attempting to stay afloat and stay alive. Every which way he turned, there they were, blocking his view and path to going anywhere. Until a few of them moved out of the way, and a small clearing in the dark sea was apparent to him. He began to swim towards that to try and get a better view.

Never had he been so tired. Holding onto the round of the life preserver, and pushing through the cold water with the other arm, he wanted to stop and just lie there, to never move again. But he had an obligation to the rest of his team, and he couldn't rest until he knew that they were all alive. For the time being...

After the splash, Rath felt his eyes instantly snap open as the surroundings became clear once again and the realities that they were all facing came into play. They were in the water now, the cold, black, deep... it was so cold. He was still gripping the inner tube in both arms in front of him, while the actual hole of the life preserver was opposite his person.

The scribe turned in the direction of the movement, still keeping an eye on those around him and others from far away still screaming loudly trying to be heard. A familiar face caught his attension and a very quick, to the point conversasion commenced.

" Rath?"

" What?!"

" Are you alright?"

" What do you think?!"

Ja-kal sighed in both relief and in an attempt to relax just a little bit. Quickly, he brought the inner tube around from behind him so that it was in front of him, and he was able to hold onto it with both hands. He half closed his eyes, letting white mist fly into the biting air.

Rath turned away slightly, still with the same exausted expression. What was there to do now? Just sit there and wait to die, go off searching for the others? Just forget everything that had just happened...

Ja-kal spoke out of the blue with as much determination that his voice could muster. " The others." He started, putting his chin on the white life preserver so that he woudn't be wasting energy keeping it up. " They're out there somewhere. We have... to find them."

" And how would we go about doing that?" The scribe asked in an unamused tone. Talking now was even becoming difficult. Because of all their time in the water below decks, they were ahead of all the others in the sea as far as hypothermia was concerned. There were no more chattering teeth nor shaky words between them.

Ja-kal looked in every direction he could without taking his chin off of the inner tube. How would they go about doing that indeed. The water was alive with hundreds of souls, the other four could have been anywhere. It was the ill fated needle-in-a-haystack number.

Finally, the leader stopped to his left, and watched in that direction with intent. It interested him more than the other areas, perhaps they were down that way. " Let's try that way." He announced, raising his head up from the preserver and jolting it ever so slightly to the left.

Rath looked in that direction as well. " Why there? They could be anywhere, why try in that direction?"

Ja-kal closed his eyes and looked down at the lapping water around them now. He then raised his head and spoke with more assurace than he ever had. " I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. If we have a chance to find the others, than we should take it..."

" Ja-kal, it's..."

" No, listen." The leader interrupted, a spark of life starting to form inside of him once again. " The Jewel of the Nile is lost, I know that, and I am also aware that is is my fault. But ever since we left the dock, we have all changed for the better. Perhaps we were never meant to find the gem. And if we were not meant to find it or retrieve it, then perhaps we were meant to live and die together." It sounded like a minister preaching in church more than the leader's own words.

Rath ignorantly raised an eyebrow at him. " You've been in the water too long."

" Come on." Ja-kal stated in a defeated tone, pushing the preserver to his right side again, and digging into the water's surface with the other. This time there was no way to escape the fury of the freezing water, as there had been before. To him, it seemed alot more real.

The scribe huffed as the leader began to make his way back into a large splashing mass of passengers. There wasn't any point to it now. They would meet up, another few minutes after that, they would be gone. The crystal was lost, there was no reason to go anywhere.

And he continued to tell himself this even as he too pushed the preserver back and followed.

***

" G-get up on here m-my prince." Nefer-tina told him gently, pushing him towards a long, wide piece of wood floating on top of the black water. It was about five feet long, two to three feet wide. The intricate patterns carved on it were absolutely smashing. This plank had no doubt come from the great Titanic.

Presley gripped the other side of the wood, and began to pull himself up onto it, watching as his hands made a bad attempt at staying clenched to the plank as it slowly tilted into the water. The charioteer helped him the best she could, but wasn't strong enough to keep the board all the way level, and it tilted more and more into the water. It took the strong hands or Armon to keep it level as the boy carelessly rolled over onto it, and out of the water.

" Thanks." Nefer-tina told her fellow guardian, the pains in her throat beginning to lessen the longer she was submerged in the water. She turned back to Presley, who was lying on his stomach against the woodwork, still blowing large puffs of mist from his mouth.

" That-that'll help you." She told him quietly, an unquenchable shaking sensasion going through her entire body as she spoke.

For the second time in almost two minutes, the prince finally spoke. " How lo-long has it be-b-been?" He asked quietly, his voice choked and wavy.

Lyris force a small smile on her face, her white teeth showing through blueing lips. " Not v-very long my pr-prince. Only about a min-minute or t-two." She leaned forewards slightly in the dark water, mere inches away from the wood plank. " We wo-w-won't be here f-for very long. The b-boats will be c-co-coming back soon to.. to get us." She swallowed hard on the last few words. Presley gazed at her with a believable expression, but she knew that he was only doing it so that her efforts wouldn't have been for nothing.

Nefer-tina grinned a little, and placed her arms on the short end of the plank, about a half foot away from Presley. " See? Ev-everyting's going t-to be alright. We-re going t-to make it ho-home."

The prince sighed and leaned his cheek on the side of his soaking camel-colored wool coat. He wasn't going to be that way for long, just until he wasn't feeling so tired. Any minute now things would get better. He trusted his guardians on this one.

Nefer-tina looked up from the boy, across the plank where Armon was gripping onto the other side with his left, bendable arm. She gave him a sad, very much pained expression; Lying to the boy was hard on them all. He then glanced over to Lyris, who was floating just a little ways away from them. She frowned to him, and than to the charioteer, a faint tear welling in the corner of her eye.

Already, it was beginning to quiet down...

***

Ja-kal heaved his way through a small group of immigrants, listening as they shouted out to those in the lifeboats in their native tongues. All here seemed to be in the same position - whether young or old, big or small, and of different nationalities, they were all the same in the gripping Atlantic waters.

The waves were starting to slow down, but it was still rough goings for anyone trying to move through them. Trying to pass through an avenue of calming steerage passengers, Rath pushed his way through a small, shaking wave. The small shaking wave turned out to be a little more than that, and it slammed against him, forcing him back down underneath the freezing water, and tearing the life preserver from his grip. Under the water, it was the same as being sucked down by the ship. There was no way to get up, as much as you tried. The sea was just too cold.

The scribe was able to surface for a quick moment, breathe in, then was sent back down under the waves. Just as he went down again, his hand caught something, and with the help from that, he was able to pull himself back up to the surface and remain there.

The object turned out to be a piece of broken plank, probably used by crewmen to get the collapsibles off of the Bridge roof. It was rough, has splinters and sharp edges on either side, but it was floating, and was keeping him afloat as well. Behind him and away from his line of vision, another of the ship's tragic victims found the lonely life preserver, and kept it as his own, slowly paddling away with it.

Ja-kal turned around to see if his comrade was still with him. To his surprise, all he saw was a small splash, then nothing. The leader quickly turned around and tried to go back, but the tiny current from the wave made it difficult, and he had to fight to keep foreward momentum.

Rath gripped the board, never minding that it slowly dipped underneath the ocean's surface with the applied pressure. This was practically the last straw again for him- they lost the jewel, they were stranded in freezing waters, and worse yet, the old saying " if looks could kill" stood out very well then and there.

Ja-kal approached and was about to say something to him, but the scribe interrupted him before he even begun. " Ja-kal, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here, or why..." He began in a severly agitated voice, shuffling around slightly to try and keep the board afloat. The leader turned his head to the right and looked out over the many screaming victims in their icy grips, away from the conversasion. " We are stranded, stranded in the middle of a huge ocean! They could be anywhere, they could be this way, that way, any other way but this one. We are never going to find them!"

" There they are." The leader stated in an almost flat tone of voice, still looking out over the sea away from them.

The scribe huffed insincerely. " Sure they are..."

Ja-kal glanced back at him, but for only a second before returning his gaze back to his far right, and who he thought were the remained of their party lost in the black waters, as they were. " Yes, there they are... over there." The leader suddenly sounded distant, watching carefully, mind going a mile a minute.

" Impossible." Rath reminded him. " You'd have to be a psychic to figure out where they are."

" This way!" Ja-kal called, suddenly having more strength and speed to get to the prince and the other guardians as quickly as possible. He once again started to push through the black freezing waters, splashing the white waves and fighting against the calming current.

" Or completely out of your mind." The scribe sighed. Not able to do anything else, he let one of his hands go from the rough wooden plank, and placed it back in the chilling waters. The movement now was even slower than before. The vast temperature of the water was so intense that even the simple act of pushing through the calming sea was a trial in itself. It wasn't healthy for anyone to be in the burning ocean for this long.

As the two guardians made their way towards the distance lead by Ja-kal, slapping the water's surface to try and get by, a small group of three third-class passengers huddled together, alone and lost in this world, frost beginning to form on the tops of their heads.

***

Still holding onto the wooden plank, Nefer-tina surveyed what was going on behind them now. The intense screaming echoeing through the lungs of practically every person struggling to stay afloat on the calm sea was slowly beginning to die. Each person that stopped yelling out to the lifeboats made the area just that much more quiet. But still others prevailed, and the screams continued through the night.

Presley slowly opened his eyes half way open, his head still sitting peacefully on his tan wool coat sleeve. He could see the white mist again, and noticed as well that the water's surface around the small plank was calming down, hardly rocking them in it's current. But through this, it was still too cold. He couldn't feel his body...

" Th-the boats..." He whispered, amazilngly enough talking as loud as he could. " They-y're n-not... coming, are th-they." He stated matter-of-factly, finally realizing the truth about the situation.

Lyris looked at the boy with disbelieving eyes. She pushed herself slowly through the water's surface, a small stream of ripples following as she did so. "Th-they're p-probably j-just wait... waiting for the suct-suction of the shi-ship to pass. The-th-then they'll... come... back." The sentance took a rather long time, haulted by her chattering teeth and having to keep swallowing to keep her throat from going dry.

The charioteer raised her head up, it bobbing ever so slightly up and down and her jaw doing the same in a more violent manner. " S-see? Ever-everything's g-going to b-be-be fine. Is that-t an-any way to t-talk?" She grinned just slightly, her lips now completely blue in color.

" Yes, is it?" A faint voice asked in the same tone, only a little farther away. Presley's eyes snapped open in recognition, and he didn't feel so tired anymore. Nefer-tina got a confused look in all of her features, and glanced at Lyris with it. The muse raised an eyebrow at the sound, and cocked her head to the side to see if she could hear anything else. Armon turned his head side to side searching for the voice once more.

" Th-that was... weird." The charioteer announced, the confused expression still on her face.

Presley, however wasn't at all confused nor shocked by the voice. He instantly began to shift position on the panel, causing it to rock back and forth in the black water. Armon quickly grabbed the end and attempted to steady it once again, but it was too long, and the end that Nefer-tina was on still bobbed like a cork.

The boy pointed out past the charioteer's head, and towards the masses of groups of crowds of passengers that they had left behind to find the board floating in this much calmer sea. The prince was able to produce a smile for the first time that night. " N-no, that-t was Ja-kal! I kn-know it w-was! I-it was him!"

" S-same th-thing my p-prince." Nefer-tina corrected him, still on her little sarcastic kick for the day. She didn't belive him, and really didn't hear what he was saying. She was merely concerned with staying awake, let alone turning her head to see what was going on again.

Lyris followed the boy's finger into the crowd of crying individuals. She squinted slightly to see what was going on, but once again, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Only the same, terrifying image that had been with them for what seemed like an eternity. " Pr-Presley, I do-don't think th-that he-he... he's here." The muse tried to talk reality to him, but Presley still looked on with determination, as if he could see something they couldn't.

Armon watched where the prince had been directing to from the other side of the wooden plank. Even now, when things looked hopeless and there was no chance of ever returning, he was glad the boy could cling to some slip of hope. No matter how fleeting it was.

Suddenly, his eyes too widened in recognition and glory at the same time. Through the crowd, a little ways away, even in the dark of the night, the starry sky gave enough light to them to throw a slight gleam on everyone around them. One person came through the crowd, slowly making their way towards them, holding onto something in his left arm. A few moments later, another followed him in the same manner.

The prince heaved foreward on the board, nearly sending himself and Nefer-tina back into the black ocean. His breath was coming out in short, quick gasps now as his heartbeat increased with excitement. Presley grinned a little bit. Getting hopeful was almost causing him to warm up.

Nefer-tina watched her prince with deep concern. Suddenly, he shifted position, and she fought to stay clamped to the wooden panel. The dark waves pushed against them again with the new added force, and she yelped quietly as they began to engulf her again. But the plank quickly steadied once agin, and she relaxed ever so slightly.

But Presley still watched, a huge smile developing on his face. Lyris, looking both confused and weary decided that it may have been delirium from the cold water starting to overcome the boy. She gazed in the direction that he was so interested in, over the charioteer's head and into the expas beyond. Her heart sank as she had to yet again view the horror of the hundreds of victims screaming and wailing into the night sky to be rescued. Oh how she wished they weren't screaming...

Nefer-tina looked over her shoulder once the panel stopped moving around. She was so numb, she didn't even feel the sharp edges dig into her arms as it did so. She guessed there were pros and cons to being half frozen.

Behind them, the scenery was just how she had left it, black and terrifying. They had begun to drift away from the splashing and crying of the crowd, and were being sent into open waters. There was no one else there to view, besides the dark outlines of acouple screaming passengers.

Suddenly, just like all the others, a form became apparent to her, slowly streaming through the calming sea surface. It was difficult to watch at first, because she was turned away from the figure, and had to strain her eyes to see anything there. But there was one there alright, heading for them. She got a familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Eyes wide, she slowly turned around to face Presley. He looked down at her from his position, and grinned widely, eyes once more full of life and even a slight tint of color returning to his face. It was unusual, yet inspiring all at the same time.

" M-my god..." She whispered.

" Told-d ya." He said quietly, winking at her.

***

Reluctantly, still after all this time, Rath continued to follow Ja-kal's slow form through the barrage of screaming victims still kicking and thrashing on the ocean's dark surface. And even though the leader's pace was starting to diminish ever so, the scribe felt himself quickly getting lost and long behind him as the mere moments grew on. It was getting more and more difficult to stay focused on one thing, one direction to follow. And, to make matters worse, the stabbing pain in his side was burning more and more now, despite the frosty night.

For a time, Ja-kal seemed to disappear from view, covered over by the many other passengers going this way and that, creating small waves, ripples and crashes against the ocean surface. Bright blue waves hid others from view and brough more out into the open. It was a literal maze of desperate bodies crying out to those who would lend an ear to hear.

Ja-kal knew that he couldn't go on for much longer. The temperature must have been dropping, he could actually feel himself getting colder. Yet, even though he was almost completely numb, he continued on with the incentive that he had seen the others through the crowd, and they were going to meet up again.

It was almost as if land had stopped, and the sea suddenly started. After splashing and pushing his way through the mass crowd, screaming passenger after wailing person, there was all of a sudden a calm on the water's surface. The huge group almost stopped at a border, and then all he could see was ocean surrounding them for hundreds of miles.

But no, there wasn't just the sea around them now. The starry sky lit the tops of the waves, their tiny crests looking almost like thin white threads floating over a long black sheet. But there, only a few meters away, a small island seemed to immerge from the darkness. It was silouetted against the slight navy horizon, and the starry night cast grey lines over the contours of what was there. Or, who was there. Fate must have been playing a fair hand in this, for Ja-kal could plainly see, even this close to them that he could have had no idea that they were who he knew they were.

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Rath was still with him. A little ways away, the scribe continued to push on, pulling the long plank along with him with what looked like extreme difficulty, but it continued still. The leader then turned back towards the group out along in a small sea of their own, and began to kick his feet again, floating through the small ripples over the calming ocean towards them.

With one last desperate push, Rath was able to get through the large group of wailing passengers and into more open waters. The long plank seemed to act as a small boat of it's own, and after that one last push, began to drift on top of the waves and through the water without any effort on his part. Which by now was a good thing, since he felt like he was about ready to fall off of it any moment. Meanwhile ahead, Ja-kal was making up for lost time, driven by determination to meet up with the others.

At first, he didn't think that they saw him. After all, all he could see was a large outline of quiet figures sitting half submerged in the bitter cold water. By now he could tell it was them, just the way that everyone presented themselves and where they were. He threw his arm into the black surface, pushing himself through the ocean like nothing he thought was possible for him, making bright blue waves spring up and soak him and the life preserver steadily bobbing up and down.

Out in the distance, a distress whistle sounded and began to echoe through the night sky like a lark's song in summertime.

Only a meter or so now, until he got there. Ja-kal worked just a little bit harder to get there as well, breath steadily pouring into the air like smoke from a steam engine. The inner tube seemed to almost hold him back as the leader approached them, finally glad that they were all together again.

Just seconds before he got to everyone, he saw Nefer-tina turn around, her hands still gripping onto the long wooden panel that Presley was lying on. Her hair was gleaming in the luminescence from the stars, glistened up by the cold waters that some of it still continued to waft in. Her face was now a deathly white, and her lips, as well as slight parts of her nose and ears had a bluish tint to them.

Presley was lying right to the side of her, and he didn't look any better. His hair had fallen back away from his face more or less, which was the same color as Nefer-tina's, a pastey white. He looked so unusual wearing such a long and bulky life preserver as he looked like a very small, scared child on the makeshift raft.

But even though he was scared and cold, the prince couldn't contain his happiness to see his other guardians coming to join them.

" Ja-kal!" He shouted as hard as he could as the leader approached them. It wasn't anything more than the voice of him when he was normally talking, but it was the loudest the boy had been ever since the Titanic had gone down.

The charioteer's eyes softened. She had been pushing herself too hard against the raging waters, and fighting to bring the prince hope. But she hadn't needed to do any. It was themselves that brought Presley, and all of them hope. All of them being together once more, in any situation. There was no other comfort more important than family, and truely, they were family...

" S-so you fou-found us." Nefer-tina grinned, showing off white teeth underneath deep blue lips. She blinked her eyes, trying to hide any escaping tears that may want to surface during that time.

Ja-kal nodded in an extremely shaky manner, giving everybody the go-over with his eyes before anything else went on. To his right, just a small ways away from the panel, Lyris smiled and dipped her head, letting thin auburn curls fall around her face. On the other side of the panel, Armon has a proud, content look over all of his features for being so glad that they were all once more together again.

" Yes." The leader whispered, though talking as loud as he possibly could. " We found you..."

***

" I-i-it m-must ha-ve taken-n y-you a w-w-while to f-find us-s." Presley remarked, finally settling down on the panel and resting his head on his crossed arms in front of him.

" You were no picnic to find, my prince." Ja-kal told him in a gruff whisper, trying to get more of a sound coming out then what actually was. The cold was beginning to get to him even more now, so much so that the shivering had stopped.

" Yes, ho-how d-did you f-find us-s?" Lyris asked in a soft tone, still only mere inches from gripping onto the long ceiling board. She had an awaiting expression through the pale white skin and blue lips such as all the others. For one of the first times, the muse wanted to hear a story.

Ja-kal merely shrugged his shoulders a little bit. " There isn't much to tell really. It must have been...fate." Fate was the only word that he could have used to describe the goings on at this point.

Rath rolled his eyes at the thought, finally stationing the board on the right side of the floating panel and remaining there, slowly bobbing up and down in the gentle waves. " Ja-kal, if you talk about fate one more time tonight, I'm going to have to put a finger down my throat." It was more of a tease than anything else, but it was nearly a silent statement droned out by the crying crowds beyond them.

" N-now that we-we're all here, th-then we'll-ll be al-r-right." Armon pointed out in supreme optimism, still gripping the end of the panel, and unfortunately, being the farthest away from the group.

Nefer-tina's head began to quickly bob up and down in a violent manner as she tried to nod at the idea. A quick spasm went through her, and she couldn't stop shivering. Shortly after, it slowed down, but her jaw still jumped against her teeth chattering away. " Th-that's-s r-right." She whispered, closing her eyes tight and setting her chin on the end of the panel trimming.

The prince looked over the group with sad eyes. It was wonderful that they were all together, but he knew that even that couldn't save them unless someone came to rescue them soon. " Y-you-you're sure th-that the bo-bo-ats are com-coming soon-on?" He asked.

Lyris grinned a little, both glad that Presley was taking their good humor and talks as hope for them, but also pained that he continued to ask that question, and they had to continually lie about the facts. " Y-yes m-my prince. They sho-should-d be com-ming soon." She was able to get out.

The muse moved closer to the wooden ceiling board, lifting her hands out of the water to grip it. She grasped onto the panel ever so gently, applying only a tiny fraction of her weight to it. She was much more comfortable this way, she had something to hold onto and keep her balanced in the water.

The second she did so, however, the board instantly began to buckle and the right side if it slowly descended into the black ocean, dipping the left side up higher than the water's surface. Presley suddenly snapped out of yet another trance he was about to go into, and cried out with a hoarse throat as the very ground which he was lying on began to head down into the ocean - the second time that night. Nefer-tina opened her eyes up, and gripped onto the left corner of the panel to try and steady it as Armon did the same from the other side. Rath was too far away to do anything, nor had the strength to try if he wanted to, and Ja-kal reached out to help, but was pulled back by the unusual weight of the life preserver.

The muse let go the instant that things began to fall apart, wafting back into the cold sea water up to her neck. She closed her own eyes and shivered, letting her body unsteadily convulse under the dark waves.

" G-guess th-that isn-n't going t-to wor-rk." She announced in an unhappy sigh, finally forced to contend with the slapping waters around them. Presley's eyes finally came back down from near panic, and into their lazy, restful position. Nefer-tina lay her head back on the panel trimming, and Ja-kal still gripped the life preserver with all of his might.

The atmosphere around them all started to change from that point onward. Screams were starting to get far less usual to hear, and more and more victims of the tragic disaster decided that they were not going to be rescued in time. The echoeing whails weren't even around anymore, just some separate little " Help!" cries that never wanted to die. A huge hand had just swept over the entire crowd, shutting the mouths of everyone who needed to be heard.

Lyris sighed into the cold air, seeing her breath turn nearly milky white in it. The starry night illuminated everyone's breath now, doing a simple job of making others feel even more in peril than they already were. Around her, the black sea was like a blanket, getting ready to swallow her whole and suffocate her if it had the chance. She shivered at the thought.

With more of a weary sigh than his usual annoyed one, Rath let go of the long plank with one arm, and placed it back into the burning water. With as much might as he could muster, the scribe turned the board around so that it was soon nearly perpendicular to the side of the panel, almost like an add-on addition to the design.

With a small movement of his head, he was able to get the muse's attension out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face him, and for the first time that night besides Ja-kal, he saw what the cold ocean was doing to others now. Her auburn hair lay wet and disheveled, small spiraling tendrels falling softly around her face. Her once terra cotta skin was dulled over with an unearthly tint of blue and her normally bright eyes were almost empty of life - replaced with the sense of fear, that although none of them wanted to think about, was claiming them all by now.

The scribe tried to get up a little higher on the plank instead of lying against it in a limp manner, but it was almost as if all energy had suddenly vanished, and there was nothing left. There wouldn't be anyway that he would be able to help her on this one.

" Lyris," He began, barely even a normal whispering tone. " Lyris, get up on the other side of the plank."

She didn't quite get the first bit of the statement, but the end of it was perfectly clear. The muse looked down at the black water slowly lapping against her white life jacket. She glanced up again, concern in her eyes. " A-are you su-sure?" She asked through chattering teeth.

" Lyris, just..." He began, speaking in a louder, more demanding voice, but then quickly took it away. It was just too much effort to attempt anything other than a whisper. " ... just hurry up." He finished, in a quiet, almost monotone voice.

The muse thought about it for a moment, thinking about the pros and the cons. It would get her a little ways out of the water, but what if she was too heavy? What if the board sunk? They would both have no hope... There was something about the water now, something that changed her mind very quickly. It must have been the fact that she would have given anything to escape this chilling end, even her own life in an ironic sort of way. Slowly, she began to paddle over to the board.

Looking at it from closer up, it wasn't as small as she thought it was. The entire thing itself was almost four foot long, and about one to one and a half foot thick. The plank itself was pretty narrow, about an inch, no wonder they had broken earlier with the collapsibles. On either end there was a sharp breaking point, where jagged edges and splinters went every which way.

Lyris placed her hands on top of the left side of the board, the side that was closest to the panel and the opposite side from where Rath was waiting silently for anything to occur. Carefully, she pushed against it with some of her force, and was delighted to find that the plank hardly went down into the water at all. Carefully, she slid her chest onto the board, and pulled herself up onto it so that only her legs dangled in the dense black nothingness of the Atlantic ocean

A sudden loud scream echoed over them all, causing the muse to jump. It startled her so, especially after having the entire world calm and quiet down for the last few seconds or so. The board jumped too, bobbing up and down in the burning water and creating ripples. Rath perked up slightly as this happened, the vibration as well as the small splashing waves catching him off guard, but the excitement quickly faded.

" A little jumpy tonight?" He asked in a solemn tone.

" I-I ha-hate it whe-wh-when they sc-scream." Lyris pointed out, her jaw still chattering from the cold as a slight North wind passed by them all, and headed out to sea.

***

The water's surface became a clear slate of nothingness. Those who fought to cry out could no longer be heard from a far distance, and the many that had stopped beforehand waited quietly in the heart of the black ocean, a mixture of feelings dwelling inside of them. There was no comprehension of time now, just simply the lapping of the water against them, and the fierce cold that was eveloping them all and sending them to death's doorway.

Slowly, Presley opened up his eyes, realizing that he had once again fallen into a sleep-like state. As the boy turned his head this way and that, he remembered where he was, and his heart began to pound in fear once again. His body began to convulse with violent tremors from the exposure to the icy waters of the Atlantic waiting calmly underneath the large oak panel. He had hoped beyond hope that it had all been a terrible dream, and he would wake up safely in his bed the next day. Never in his life had he been so cold, so scared, and so hurt. His mind suddenly began to wander...

Questions began screaming at him while he lie there shivering. Questions about what his mom and dad would do when they found out�.but no, he realized that they would never find out. They would live on without the knowledge that their son was the reborn Prince and had traveled back in time with his guardians to the Titanic, only to die there cold and afraid. They'd proabably think he was kidnapped or something and the police would start this whole big search across the nation looking for him...

But they'd never find him. Never. And his mom would cry and blame herself for not being a good mother and his dad would live in guilt because maybe if he'd been there in San Francisco everything would still be okay. And both of them would someday die too, never ever knowing what happened to their only son...

The thought of it was just too horrible for the prince to ever imagine. Even after seeing the terrors of this night, the fear shown on so many faces that he knew, he still couldn't imagine what that would be like for two of the most important people in his life. He would have cried if he still could, but the frigid air around him made it impossible to even think let alone shed a tear. Yet no matter the conditions, a slight whimper escaped his throat, the easiest sound that he could have mustered for the pain he was going through then.

Nefer-tina groggily opened up her eyes, a dull throbbing coming from right between her eyes. A headache, at a time like this. She sighed, watching carefully as her breath transformed into white mist, rolling into the cold air like clouds over a blue sky. Her arms, crossed neatly in front of her weren't shivering anymore. Her hands, both of them clenched in fists were a bright white which shone in the dull luminescence of the starry sky. The charioteer looked up at the night sky above, tiny tinkling lights speckled here and there, with a brilliant view of the Milky Way beyond them.

In front of her, Presley let out a small groan, almost like a desperate cry for help from the back of his throat. She couldn't tell if he was awake or not, his face was turned away from her and nothing else seemed to be different since the last time she had seen him. The groan happened again, and then she knew that he was awake.

"Shhh, Pre-Presley it's a-alright," Nefer-tina's voice sounded through the darkness. "We're h-here with-th you m-my Prince, you're-re not alo-alone�." She tried to pick up her hand from the panel, to perhaps nudge him if he really was asleep and this was just a bad dream.

Before she could muster enough strength to do so, a quiet whisper replied to her. "N-nef?" Presley moaned as another shiver racked his small body. His mind was whirling now, the sky above began to twirl around and around. He nearly forgot what was happening. "I-I can't f-f-feel anything�."

Nefer-tina swallowed hard, and slowly moved one of her hands to his shoulder the same way she had tried to previously, with better results. Her arms felt as if they weighed a ton, as though it was dead weight, for she truly could not feel her arms anymore at all. They had been in the same position for too long, crossed against the panel trimming. The long blue coat sleeve ripped off the oak surface as she removed it, stuck to it by the frozen water.

"M-me�.me neither kidd-ddo." She told him, her jaw starting to chatter uncontrollably once more, her breath beginning to come out in faster and quicker amounts.

Presley turned his head around to his left, a strand of frozen hair falling down in front of his eyes. He faced her now eye to eye, both seeing the other's sorrow reflected back at them. Tears formed and froze in Presley's eyes as he looked at his guardian. Her once black mane was white with frost, and her features were rimmed with an eerie blue tint. He wondered if he looked the same to her, the thought making his anger rise slightly. She could be the one lieing out on the ceiling plank instead of he. But instead, she and the others were stuck in the water, slowly freezing to death trying to keep him alive.

"Nef�"

"Do-d-don't worry m-my prin-ce�.I-I'm doing alr-alright�.." Her teeth chattered as she spoke, interrupting whatever sentance he was about to put forth. The charioteer knew that she had to make him feel better about the situation, otherwise he wouldn't last any longer than they would. " Ev-even better on-once t-the boat's g-get he-here..."

Presley ignored her last statement, not letting the lie about the boats get to him anymore. "I-I wann-nna g-go ho-home�" He whispered, his eyes closing slowly and his body growing still once again. He began to relax again, a nice, soft feeling engulfing him and the world around him. It was not long before he had fallen once more into his cold induced sleep.

"So do I kiddo�so do I�." Nefer-tina finished, resting back on the panel trimming, feeling the carved edges underneath her chin once more as the lace-like indentations helped shape the board's intricacy and interest. Unusual for her, for she realized besides that, she could hardly feel anything anymore, not even the water lapping against them in the steady rythmn of the sea.

***

She sighed, gently placing her shaking head on her crossed arms in front of her, letting the mist roll out into the biting air. Only minutes before, she had been feeling cold, lost and alone. But unlike all the others, she could still feel, and it scared her. She didn't want to see anyone, anywhere die right in front of her. She rathered that she went first, instead of waiting in agony.

Lyris half closed her eyes, just listening to the sounds around them now. She couldn't place the time, it seemed like an eternity, but must have only been a little more than five minutes at the most. The cries in the dark had nearly vanished around them, while the occassional whail of mercy still echoed over the victims of the tragic sinking.

" I-it's gett-tting quiet." She announced in an extremely soft tone, her jaw beginning to flutter the second that she opened her mouth. The muse didn't care if anyone else heard her, she had to hear it for herself. By the gods it was getting so quiet around them. The screaming of the other passengers as they cried out in terror had been bad enough, striking a chord in her heart that her lyre couldn't even get close to. But this somehow, this eerie silence from the crowd... the silence was worse.

Opening his eyes up only slightly, Rath began to come out of an almost coma-like state, the muse's words being some of the first spoken by any of them in the past few minutes, or the the only few that he was able to hear. The world was a blur now, even after blinking several times, he couldn't see straight. And the cold, the immense, deep cold that they had all felt previous... the cold was gone, leaving behind a feeling of emptyness. It was an eerie thought, almost as if the rest of him wasn't even there.

" I thought that was what you wanted." The scribe answered in an extremely slow matter, still staring straight ahead. He couldn't have moved to face her if he had wanted to.

Lyris flicked her head to the right, amazed that anyone had actually heard and acknowledged her. Her heart warmed with the fact that everyone else may have been still alive in the freezing water... and that she wasn't alone. " I th-thought so t-too." She stated in a dry tone, a tiny blue smile crossing her face at the thought.

But it quickly faded and reality stung her through her numbing senses. They had continually talked about getting out of here, seeing home again some way, some how as if the Jewel of the Nile wasn't really lost and they were lucky enough to recieve such a gift.

A whimper escaped her as she was about to speak, her throat now dry and very much cold by taking in the biting air around them. "We're never going to see home again are we," She said quietly. "This is it for us. To die again in this way, frozen and lost in another time�." She shivered at the thought.

It didn't look like he reacted to it, but it was understandable. Rath closed his eyes as she finished saying it, taking it all in. He knew the truth, but never thought that the muse would give up hope for their futures as well as their prince's. The entire world now was starting to turn upside down.

" No we're not." He told her in a hoarse voice.

She looked back at him again with a look of confusion. She knew many things about the scribe, but never had she ever thought of him being such an optimist, and such a supreme one too. Armon of course, Nefer-tina perhaps, Ja-kal... Ja-kal had his days. " Wh-what?"

Rath moved his head back and forth ever so slightly as the view in front of him began to spin out of control. Hypothermia had long set in, he knew how it worked a little too well... now with hands on expreience. Still, he tried to keep a straight voice and a sunny disposition for the muse. " Well," He began, having to swallow before anything else was spoken. " You're the one that told the prince that... that the boats would be coming soon."

She turned away a little, eyes starting to fill up with tears once again. It seemed so unusual that they were stranded in the middle of the North Atlantic, and yet she could still cry. She breathed out unsteadily, the sobs as well as the cold adding to it. " Y-you know pl-ainly w-why I di-d-did that." She stated rather sharply. " H-he has to be-believe that everyth-thing will be alright-t."

" Even, if... you didn't." He finished the sentance, closing his eyes again and blocking the swirling world around him.

Lyris choked back a sob, closing her eyes tightly and letting just one small tear slide down her cheek. " Yes." She answered, her voice starting to choke up once more.

Rath pushed enough strength to stay awake a little bit longer. There wasn't anyway that he was leavin gher out here like this. Everyone else seemed to be miles and miles away, never speaking, or even bothering to move. "Lyris, you didn't care to listen to me after the ball, or... out on the deck, but for once in your life listen to me now. We're going to make it through this, we've been in tougher spots before�.you've said that to me countless times..."

" Not-t like th-this. Not-t at a t-time s-such as no-now..." She opened up her eyes again, the small teardrop starting to freeze against her cheek as the biting wind overcame them and froze their senses again. She looked over to him for a third time, her head bobbing unsteadily up and down as her jaw chattered in the cold. For the last few minutes, her eyes had adjusted to seeing everything in a new light, mainly the one falling down from the heavens above through the luminescence of the stars. Like all the others, he seemed to be frozen in time, literally. His dark black hair had a thin layer of frost over it creating a graying effect, just like her own, and it fell around his eyes and temples carelessly. He was so white indeed... like a manicane from one of the Galleria display windows. " O-our jour-n-ney is ov-er."

For the next few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Lyris held her breath, hoping that sometime he would rejoin the short conversasion for just a little bit longer, too keep her company, to keep her safe. She waited and waited, her breath coming out in thin, quick gasps, only staying white in the wind for a mere moment before disappearing.

After what seemed like another minute or so of dead silence, the muse put her head down in grief, violent spasms starting to overtake her body once more. She couldn't stand this anymore, to see her comrades and friends die away right in front of her. She couldn't move, the board would tip, she couldn't shout out because her throat was too dry. She placed her chin down on the plank, noticing how she could no longer feel the rough surface underneath her skin. It suited her just fine, she didn't want to stay like this another moment.

As the moments passed by her, the muse felt her strength suddenly leave her, as if all of a sudden drained from her soul. The cold hovering around them didn't seem so threatening anymore. She let her body relax against the wood surface, and felt how comfortable this was for her. Far better than splashing about on the waves of the Atlantic crying for help that would never come.

"You're very lucky I didn't just... leave you there on, the docks..."

Lyris grinned the best she could, closing her eyes tightly to block out all horrible images of the past and present. The lapping water became far less apparent to her. Like the former world had passed away.

" Y-you wouldn-n't have do-don-ne th-hat." She responded in a near whisper shivering only slightly. Looking out ahead of her, the calm sea lay waiting. She had never seen such a calm sea before in her life.

" You could... have been left behind..." He replied, after sucessfully breaking free of the weakness the freezing water bestowed on everyone. It was going to be a difficult conversasion to finish however, since in the last few moments of Lyris talking in the same tone she had before, he never heard a word that she said. The entire world collapsed on itself, leaving behind a few broken pieces, swirling around and around, clasping together, forming new images... quickly, he shut his eyes again, the only movement he could seen to muster.

Lyris yawned, the quiet feeling that was overpowering her taking control, and she couldn't withstand it any longer. " Hmmm..." Was the only other sound that she bothered to make to the statement, concerned with only the biting cold retreating from her and one of emptyness slowly starting to take it's place.

" Very lucky..." He finished, too low and quiet for anyone to even hear. Blocking the whole world out, Rath sunk foreward on the board, letting it bob up and down gently in the soft waves for a while. The last thing that he could descifer was when a shock of sleep passed through him from his head to his feet, making his shoulders slump down, and remained perfectly still.

***

Off in the distance, the tiny wail of the distress whistle stopped it's loud, shrill voice over the entire area.

For the first time in many minutes, Ja-kal was finally able to bring himself up to open his eyes and take a look around at what was happening to them all. The life preserver, which he gripped to with very little effort didn't feel like it was doing it's job. There was nothing that could save him from this, this deep, hollow feeling in his heart.

Looking directly in front of him, the small outline of Presley showed in the darkness, silouetted by a tiny white light which was pertruding from the heavens above. The boy was turned away from him, all sense of emotion disappearing into the blackness. The only image of life was the slow, thin lines of white mist from his mouth traveling through empty space.

The leader turned away in defeat. He had done this to them all, he had been the one to discover the truths about the Jewel of the Nile, he had been the one that angered Maat enough to lose her temper, he had brought them here... and what was worse, he knew that it was his fault that the crystal was probably at the bottom of the ocean by now, destined to remain forever a gem of the deep...

"How could I have let this happen?" He asked himself in an unsteady, nearly silent tone. The cold was gone from his body now, he couldn't do anything to save his teammates, his teammates that would have followed him to the ends of the earth, and had. Who even traveled back in time to claim a small prize in their fight for survival... and lost.

A mere foot away, a cold figure stirred in her sleep. A wonderful sleep, one that told a story of a mystic ship that sailed into the sunset every night, and away from the dawn every morning. One of gallant parties and joyous dances that lasted through to the sun's rays. Beautiful gowned women, refined gentleman and crystal glasses poured nearly half full of the finest wines in the world. Of a safe, warm bed, meetings with friends and unimaginable beauty that would last until the mighty vessel docked in just a few days time...

Suddenly, Nefer-tina jolted away, and the brilliant spectacle that had once lay before her was replaced with the deep blue night sky and lapping water around her shoulders. The party dresses had vanished, replaces with soaked, freezing clothes floating around in the black current. And there was nothing safe and warm about this place... all had on masks of white and caps of heavy frost on their heads and shoulders. The only fine thing pouring with any of them was the steady rythmn of white mist into the biting arctic air.

One again, the charioteer swore to the gods for leaving them in such a dreadful place. The bright lights of the Titanic were warm, inviting to all. Here, mere shades of gray were the only colors she could see. And she couldn't hear, she couldn't hear anyone.

She hear a very faint, almost nonexistant sound behind her, a familiar one that she had heard all throughout this journey. Slowly, she began to turn her head around, listening with pain as her long black hair crinkled and made small poping sounds as the ice fragments in it twisted and broke. She faced to her left, to the only person in the right position to make any noise then.

" Ja-ja-kal?"

The leader's body hardly gave so much as a twitch when she spoke his name. His body gripped limply to the life preserver, and he listened blankly as his breaths came at longer intervals. The prolonged exposure he had endured in this hell was finally catching up to him. At first, he fought it as he might have fought Scarab or a shabti, bravely and unafriad. It wasn't long before the ice around them soaked into his heart, as thoughts of his failure crept into his mind.

He gently looked up to her, his chin still resting against the white inner tube. This was the easiest position to be in, and all of them seemed to realize it - all five of the guardians were in it, or in a variation of the idea. It made movement difficult, but it was so less work...

"I... failed him� I failed you all�" His voice was so soft, so monotone, it caused her to shiver, though not from the cold.

The charioteer caught herself, mouth slowly opening in anguish. "No Ja-kal�" Nefer-tina's voice wavered slightly. "Don't do this�it wasn't your fault�" It was a very delicate time for them all, she couldn't risk having him start up on this. She wouldn't let him, their last moments shouldn't... couldn't end like this, regreting the past and blaming themselves.

"It's so� cold�" He hardly broke the words from his throat, dry to the bone and freezing just like all the rest of him. His lips were now frozen in an unearthly shade of blue, his brown hair collected with ice and frost, changing it to nearly a deep tan color. "And our... prince�"

Nefer-tina's bottom lip began to quiver uncontrollably, not her jaw like before. She didn't care anymore, she couldn't stand to see them all like this. " N-no, it's... it's go-going to be alr-right," She started, feeling tears starting to well in her eyes.

" It was all so hopeless..."

" No, d-don't say that!" She cried out, her voice straining. "Please Ja-kal don't say that! It wasn't anyone's fault that we're out here, it wasn't your fault that the Jewel of the Nile was lost... and there's no one to blame for us sitting here in this ice water." Nefer-tina was so busy trying to convince him of what she believed, she hardly even noticed the pain and the cold starting to leave her weak body.

The leader closed his eyes again and leaned heavily against the life preserver. He wasn't even listening to her anymore, everything that she told him was only an excuse to try and make him feel better about the situation. But nothing could stop the inner pain that he was feeling. " Nef... Nefer-tina, I'm sorry..." He began, as if doing so would make amends of everything that had happened.

" It was meant to be!" She choked, letting the tears start to fall freely now, gently warming tiny lines on her face as they found their ways down it. " Who's fault was it that the Titanic sunk? No ones... it was just... like that... it was suppose to happen..." She closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep the cries in her throat.

Ja-kal couldn't react anymore. Their time spend below decks, racked by freezing water and impossible odds had left him with less time that all the rest who had been up on deck, and slowly, he began to slip away from them. With each passing moment, he seemed to sink lower and lower into the water, as if his guilt were pulling him down physically as well as mentally.

Nefer-tina watched in horror as this was happening. She kept repeating to herself that this couldn't happen, she couldn't let this happen, but thoughts were stronger than actions, and she couldn't move to help. In a panicing attempt, she looked around wildly at the rest of the team, whispering in an almost shy, scratchy voice, " Help, guys... guys, please..." Her tears began to spread now, only to end up freezing on her cheeks and chin as the cold got to them.

She to her right, Lyris was facing her, most of her body slung across the long piece of the collapsible's plank. Her face was white, and she was at such a distance that she couldn't even tell if she was breathing anymore. Beside the muse, Rath was faced away from her, sitting very low in the water, with his arms and chin resting against the top of the board. Neither could do anything.

She looked over the prince's sleeping form, over to Armon. He was somewhat still awake, and when she motioned towards him, he gave a glance back her way. But she could plainly see that he couldn't have been any use to them now. His great golden arm wrapped in the life jacket was the only thing left supporting him besides the long ceiling panel. He was immobile. Helpless.

Nefer-tina turned back to Ja-kal, another stinging tear rolling down near the side of her nose. " It's going to be alright... it has to be. There'll be a boat... they'll come back for us, yes they will." She smiled at the thought, her teeth chattering out of control as she opened her mouth. Her voice was slightly slurred from the slow sobs escaping her mouth. " And then we'll all be... together again, all safe and warm. Together. And someway, somehow... Rath'll figure out a way to get us all home and... Presley'll be with his mom again... Lyris will be playing her music, and , and Armon will be eating us out of house and home once, ...once more..."

" I can't hold on any longer�." Ja-kal whispered then, stopping her ranting hopes of rescue. If he was able to, he would have almost smiled at the irony.

"Yes! Yes you can!" Nefer-tina's body ached and recoiled as she desperatley attempted to manuver the board she clung to towards him. But it was ultimately fudile, it was too big, she was too weak. The charioteer, still desperate to keep him going began to talk again about the future. " And you'll be there, giving us all orders just like... just like you used to. And I'll be getting on your nerves, staying out late... denting the Hot... the HotRa." She cringed slightly as she though she saw him slip on the wet vinyl, but he still heldfast to it, though with difficulty. "Don't let go Ja-kal! Just hold on a little longer... for us... please..."

Slowly, Nefer-tina turned away from the right, and back into her straight, flat position. If she couldn't do anything, than she didn't want to be the person that saw someone else die before others. She squeezed her eyes tight, letting the few remaining tears roll down from them and down her face. She was getting too weak to fight anymore, she wanted to so badly but didn't have the heart to attempt it. As much as she tried to stay awake, others just couldn't.

" Just a... little longer..." She trailed off, blocking out the sounds of the ocean around them. The lapping water against the ceiling panel, a distant cry of mercy from someone who still had the ability to fight once more. A splash a little ways away from them, echoeing in the dark of night...

***

If the ocean had been quiet before, than it must have been just a fragment of the silence that was there now. Looking over the area, no one moved, no one spoke, not even in whispers. Everyone had on faces of pastey white, and frost covering all of their heads and outer clothes. A frozen mother held fast to her child wrapped in a blanket, even in death. The Master of Arms, clinging desperately to a thin sheet of board had his head tilted to the sky,a whistle still stuck in his motionless mouth. A certain young man holding onto one of Titanic's promenade deck chairs never bothered to move, covered head to foot with ice.

The silence was turning her insane, she could feel it. It was the only thing she could feel. She thought, even if she didn't believe it, that she was the only one of them still breathing in the dark of night. A light Atlantic wind picked up and died, picked up and died as the seconds ticked by for her. She had her head tilted a little to the left, leaning against her shoulder, eyes half closed.

The time for hopeful wishing had long since gone, and depression had clung to her like the frost of the evening. Had she the strength, she'd have cursed the day Scarab ever lured Presley into the musuem, awakening them from death and turning the boy's life upside down. She began to curse all of them - Rath, Ja-kal, Armon, Lyris�all of them. She cursed them for ruining their Prince's life�for bringing him back to this time�.for making him suffer like this��.for leaving her alone.

In the back of her mind, Nefer-tina realized she'd lost all feeling about three minutes ago. It wouldn't be long now. This adventure to the Titanic hadn't been a Godsend, it had been a curse on all of their heads. And to think, she had been so excited about the whole thing. Why hadn't she just listen to Ja-kal in the first place instead of galavanting around the ship like she did? Maybe if she'd taken things seriously� if she'd looked harder� She had betrayed them all with her foolishness. Sure, she'd only wanted a little fun�but at what cost?� It wasn't worth it.

Her thoughts began to become fuzzy, jumbling about in her head. Her eyelids flickered to stay open and focused, but her mind continued to wander to the previous few days, searching for some happy moments of dancing, or Jonathan, probably scared to death for her� to Joscerine Andasia�whatever-the-rest-of-her-name-was. Poor Joari. She'd never know what happened to them. Who they really were and why they were here. She'd only know that in the end, Nefer-tina had betrayed her too.

Slowly, she rested her chin against the boards, the icy water brushing in and out of her tangled hair like it had so many times before. Carefully, she closed her eyes all the way, actually seeing frost on her eyelashes before they covered her pupils and bloched out the scenery completely. Strange, she'd forgotten how this felt. To actually feel again, not to have to cling to a memory, or try and remember what and where she had felt such a thing and try to recall. It had been bliss to her these past few days. Yet, this was it. The end. There would be no last minute saves this time, no heroics.

For she was the last one to hope.

***

A quick flicker brough Lyris out of death, it seemed. She was lying with her right cheek on the board, it slowly bobbing up and down underneath her. The steady vibration would soon send her to sleep again, probably for the last time. At least it was peaceful now. She hated it when they screamed...

That flicker happened again, this time nearly right in front of her. The muse lifted her eyelids to see what was happening, this definitly wasn't usual at a time like this. Perhaps it was a flashlight that somehow found it's way to being in the chilling water or maybe a watch back gleaming in the dull light from the stars. Which reminded her...

Out of the very corner of her eye, she saw the light, hovering around them. It went in an unsteady pattern, darting this way and that, just a few feet out of the water. It's base moved very slowly around them, and towards them. She gave the image a concerned look. She was seeing things, she must have been seeing things... there wasn't anyway that this was real.

" ... boat..." She whispered in her throat, never bothering to move her lips as she said it, the words mearly flowing through her partway opened mouth. The white mist that was suppose to be coming out through her teeth like many times before, unusually enough, never showed itself.

With one last sigh, Lyris leaned her head back against the wooden surface, slowly closing her eyes. The last image that she had to carry away with her now was of a small light following it's way around the crowd stranded in the freezing water, illuminating faces, bodies... and the sea. The sea, which was so beautiful, yet so deadly. The gentle ocean, the one that she had loved for so long which had spelled doom for everyone in it.

She had never seen such a calm sea...

To be Continued in Chapter 9: Destiny Fofilled Return to the Gem of the Deep Homepage