Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Slagton, somewhere in the sky over Filament Town...

--

The Goliath sails through the dark sky, like an ocean liner on the water. Clouds billow around the beast of an airship, concealing the stars from view. Grace mourns the lack of constellations and refuses the plate of food offered to him - he isn't hungry. The day has already been long, and although he is exhausted, he will not let the men who stole him from his home have the satisfaction of thinking that they can control him, too. He stubbornly gazes out the window, watching the moon dimly light the clouds as they pass by. Absentmindedly he smooths the skirt of his nightgown. They could have at least let him change before kidnapping him.

He can hear the laughter from the rooms on either side of his. He can hear the jovial conversation of his military captors at the table, drinking and eating as they discuss "top-secret" missions and brag about their accomplishments. One man sits at the head of the table, clearly in charge. He wears a brown suit and dark glasses, hair slicked neatly to one side. He mostly listens, but when he speaks, the others revel in his words. "Another one well fought, ay Muska?" A mustached man cheers, clapping the brown-suited man on the back.

A sudden flash breaks through the clouds and Grace squints at it before it disappears as quickly as it came.

Everything tilts to the right as a loud explosion knocks everyone to the floor. The men quickly regain their wits as Grace fumbles for his glasses. He just manages to slide them on as he hears, "Stay here!" and the door slamming. "Blasted pirates!" another voice yells, followed by round of gunfire. The world tilts again, coupled by another explosion, closer this time. Grace looks up as footsteps pound across the roof. The sound of a shootout blares from the hallway and Grace's heart leaps into his throat.

Suddenly the man with the brown suit enters - Muska, Grace thinks - and opens a briefcase. An antenna spits out from it and Muska begins tapping on the device, sending out coded pulses onto the airwaves.

Now is his chance. Grace surveys the room and finds an empty wine bottle abandoned on the floor. Carefully, he picks it up and raises it into the air before slamming it down hard on the man's skull. Muska crumples, and Grace quickly digs through the man's jacket pockets before retrieving his prize: his grandmother's necklace. Someone pounds on the door and he gasps in surprise. He fumbles with the cord before clasping it around his neck and opens the window.

The cold sting of air hits his face and jumps down his throat. Grace does his best to ignore the tremor in his fearful fingers as he climbs through the window, clinging to the outer hull with a white-knuckled grip. He only makes it a few feet before a man - a pirate - leans out the window. "I found him!" Grace hurries his pace, but loses his footing and slips down a few rungs before catching himself. He watches a screw break loose and tumble down into the clouds below, vanishing from sight. A fall from this height would certainly mean death.

He tries to catch his breath, but the air is thin. His joints begin to lock up as the freezing temperatures cling to his muscles, making it increasingly difficult to maintain his grip on the rungs that were never meant for climbing.

Grace somehow manages to climb back up just below the windowsill. The window above is open, and he reaches up to grab onto it-

Another pirate bursts through the door, and the couple occupying the room jump in surprise. The pirate marches toward the window and pushes their head through, spotting Grace instantly. "I got you!" They bellow, swiping a hand down in an attempt to grab him.

Grace tries to duck but his hands slip, and he falls backwards. The pirate reaches for him again but only grabs air.

Grace screams as he falls, the wind whistling in his ears. Cold stings every part of him. The heavy clouds obscure the Goliath as he falls, falls, falls.

The crystal around his neck begins to glow, and the last thing Grace sees before passing out is brilliant blue light against a dark sky.

---

Simon finally reaches the front of the food line and extends his pail to the shopkeeper. "Some meatballs for the boss, please." He says, to which the man obliges, scooping the food into the pail. "Sure thing! You're working late tonight, kid." He says, mustache curving with his smile.

"Yeah, things are finally busy for a change. The boss is hopeful for some iron from this load."

The shopkeeper closes the lid to the pail and hands it back to him. "Well, here's to hoping then. It's on the house today, and take some for yourself too - a growing young man like you needs his energy!" He slides over an extra few meatballs in a cloth and waves up the next customer.

Simon nods in thanks and takes both the pail and cloth out of the shop. He eats his own share as a few more people comment on his overtime, to which he nods in response and continues down the path to the mines.

He tucks the empty cloth in his pocket as he stumbles up the steep hill. Something catches his eye as he reaches the top. "What the-?"

In the dark, he can make out a beacon of blue light, like a falling star. "What is that?" He whispers to himself, picking up speed as it approaches the ground. He trips over abandoned railroad tracks as he continues to run toward it. He manages to catch himself as he reaches the entrance to the mine, stopping just short of the slope into the pit.

Simon carefully makes his way down as the light continues to fall - no, float - into the pit. He can make the light out more clearly, now. It hovers just above...an angel, with fluffy brown hair and glasses, wearing a white gown the flutters as they float. Simon wastes no time, heading over to the headframe and balancing his way across the rail over the pit. He tries not to look down, even when his foot slips and fear shocks through his body.

He reaches the platform and sets down the pail, extending his arms to try and catch the angel. The angel's floating slows, and they hover over Simon's arms. The light, which Simon can now see is a necklace of some kind, pulses along with its wearer's breathing then dimming, slowly, before the stone becomes dark completely. The angel suddenly drops and Simon squats under the weight, straining to lift the angel up and not fall over the edge at the same time.

Luckily, he manages not to kill them both and sets the angel on the platform beside him. He's breathing, which is a good sign. Under better light, Simon can see that their hair is a dirty blonde, not brown. They are not an angel, but a boy, who looks to be about the same age as Simon, no older than sixteen. Simon puts a hand on the boy's forehead. Cold.

"KID!"

Simon jumps. Ava, his boss. No one ever uses his name, no one ever asks. He knows he told her at one point, but he's not so sure she remembers.

"What are you doing up there?! Did you bring my dinner?!"

Simon grabs the pail in question and waves it to her. "Yeah, I did! But this boy came down from the sky!"

Ava shovels coal into the furnace and wipes the soot onto her overalls. Steam blows out of a pipe and she scowls, rushing over to turn the knob. "Stupid fucking pipes!"

Simon scrambles, not wanting to leave the floating boy alone but needing to go down to Ava. He removes his vest and lays it overtop of the freezing boy. Not much, but better than nothing. He hurries down the stairs and rushes over to Ava. "Listen, boss, a boy came-"

Another pipe bursts and Ava cuts him off to go fix it, pointing out another leak across the room for him to fix.

The steam subsides, and suddenly the shaft bell chimes.

"Shit!" She turns to the shaft, then to Simon. "Go to the hoist while I fix this. Can you handle that?"

Simon nods and rushes over to the controls. Ava yells something to him, but he can't make it out over the noise. He grips the right lever and pushes it forward. Gears spin and the machinery rattles as the wires spool up. The headframe trembles under the weight of the shaft cart being pulled up to the surface.

"HIT THE BRAKE!" Ava yells, and Simon does just before the cart can slam into the upper frame. The doors swing open and the miners shuffle out with their heads hung. They push out the cart, but deliver the bad news.

No iron, no silver, not even any tin. Simon casts a glance over to Ava, whose face is calm, but eyes boil with frustration. The COI have been breathing down Filament's neck for weeks for more iron, to which each load coughed up less and less in response. Ava was getting anxious at the threat of closure, and frankly, Simon was too.

The miners part ways and head home for the night, sighing with exhaustion.

"Shut off the boiler. We're not going to find anything today." Ava says, grabbing the dinner pail. "Things keep going like this, we'll all be starving soon." Simon swallows. Steam builds up and curls out of the pit, just a little to the left of where the floating boy is laying.

She reaches for the lamp by the office. "And maybe you can oil that damn machine!"

Simon tears his eyes away from the headframe platform. "Okay!"

"Night!" Ava calls, shutting off the lamp and walking through the tunnel back to the town.

Simon finishes his work at a supernatural pace and all but runs back up the stairs to the boy. He makes a makeshift rig and lowers the boy to the ground from the platform. Snagging an empty wheelbarrow, he loads the boy into it and begins the long walk home.

He lets the boy take his bed and sleeps on the floor, and he dreams of an airship following a blue light to a place he never sees before waking up.

Chapter Text

Filament town outskirts

--

Grace wakes up, and he doesn't know where he is.

A trumpet fanfare plays above him, not blasting and obnoxious, but peaceful, eloquent. He sits up, the soft pink blanket spilling off of his shoulders and bundling onto his lap. He turns and looks out the window beside him just in time to watch doves fly past, and the sun beginning to peak over the cliffs outside. Wherever he is seems to be at the top of a hill on the edge of a cliff, with a valley stretching down below and another cliff opposite. It's a beautiful sight.

Perhaps I did die from the fall, he thinks, and this is the afterlife.

Grace turns to his right and sees a ladder leading up to an open trapdoor. He slides out of the bed and finds his shoes placed neatly on the floor. A weight settles on his neck and he feels the crystal still attached to its cord. Maybe not, then. Why would he be in the afterlife with something that causes him so much trouble?

He slips his shoes on and walks to the ladder. He notices the table is set and a kettle boiling. The trumpet plays on.

Grace grips the rung and inhales sharply, remembering his previous climbing experience. Shakily, he goes up.

The trumpet gets louder as he climbs, and sunlight greets him as he pulls himself onto the roof. The doves from earlier fly down right above his head and he gives out a frightened squeal, covering his head with his arms until they pass.

The music stops. "Hello!"

Grace looks up and sees a boy, about his age, holding a trumpet. He wears a headband around his forehead, which doesn't prevent his curly brown hair from falling in front of his face. If it bothers him, he doesn't show it.

He leaps down the brick stairs and slides onto the roof. "I'm glad to see you're alright." He holds out his trumpet before switching it to his other hand and extending it. "What's your name?"

Grace takes his hand and shakes it. "Thank you. I'm Grace, and you?"

A look of surprise flashes across the boy's face before he recovers and says, "Simon."

Simon sets down the trumpet and digs into his pocket. He pulls Grace's hand toward him and pours bread scraps into it. The doves flock to it instantly.

"It's okay to feed them, they won't hurt you."

Their beaks peck at his hands, tickling him, but as Simon promised, they don't do him any harm. Grace laughs at the sensation.

"Oh good, you laugh like a regular person. The way you fell from the sky, I thought you were an angel..."

The doves finish feeding and begin to disperse, pecking at the shingles for crumbs. "Thank you for saving me," Grace says, watching the birds.

"I had to catch you, the way you were floating-"

"Floating?" Grace cuts him off.

"Yeah, I think it was your necklace. It was glowing, and when it stopped, I had to catch you so you didn't fall into the mines. You don't remember?"

A dove pecked Grace's shoe. "I remember an airship..." His home. The men. The Goliath. The...something. "But I can't remember anything else after that. I don't know how I survived."

HONK!

A little way's away, a vehicle speeds along the path leading from the town to Simon's house. It honks again, the sound reverberating off the cliffs into the chasm below.

Simon shields his eyes with his hand. "Wow, a real automobile. You don't see those around here much, we don't really have the metal for them..."

As it comes into better view, Grace can make out the driver. A woman with red hair being accompanied by five others, who jostle the car with excitement as they approach. One of them shouts in a familiar voice, and it rings in Grace's ears. He turns to Simon and grabs his wrist, pulling him back into the house.

"What's going on?"

"Those are pirates. They're after me, they're the ones who attacked the airship, they're the reason I fell, I have to get out of here-"

Simon grabs Grace's shoulders, trying to calm the other boy down. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here safely. Hmm..." Simon looks around and spots some clothes, grabbing them and shoving them into Grace's arms. "Put these on." He twists and grabs a hat off the table and puts it on Grace's head. "That too. When we leave, stay behind me. I'll do the talking." He ducks down to the lower floor while Grace gets changed.

Grace finishes disguising himself and shoves his nightgown under the bed before joining Simon downstairs. An unfinished flying machine is suspended in the middle of the room, taking up much of the floor space. He sees Simon shove something into his vest before he turns and sees Grace, beckoning him to follow. He grips the door handle and says, "Follow my lead."

The two of them burst through the front door as the pirates, currently wearing formal clothes (disguises?), walk up to it. "Hey, you!"

Simon turns, expertly keeping Grace behind him. "Yes?"

"Query: You haven't seen a boy around here, have you?"

Simon tilts his head and Grace guesses he's rolling his eyes. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm a boy."

"Ugh, a boy in a nightgown! Have you seen a boy in a nightgown?!" The pirate stamps his foot in frustration.

"Hmm..." Simon dramatically taps his chin as if in deep thought. "Nope! And we're late, so see ya!" He grabs Grace's shoulder and they run off, flying down the path as fast as they can. They hear shouting behind them and are almost to the village when Grace looks over his shoulder and sees the automobile charging towards them. Simon looks too and his eyes widen.

"FUCK!"

They gain speed as they run down the hill. Rows of cramped townhouses are built right next to each other, providing partial coverage as they turn onto the next street. Simon waves and shouts to a woman with a scar on her face speaking to two more disguised pirates. "BOSS! BOSS!"

Grace trips on a loose cobblestone and his hat flies off. The pirates recognize him and break away from the woman, running straight toward them.

Simon helps Grace up and they dodge the assailants, practically landing at the woman's feet. Simon recovers first. "Boss, those are pirates, and they're after Grace!"

The woman eyes Grace momentarily, then the pirates. "I thought they looked familiar. Probably the Vat Clan if I had to put money on it." She jerks her head to the side. "Get in the house, escape out the back. I'll hold them off."

They waste no time following her directions, ducking inside and slamming the door behind them. Simon locks it for good measure and they race through the house, bursting through the back door and shambling down a drop-off. Simon grabs Grace's hand and pulls him in a new direction. "This way, to the rails. We can catch the next train if we hurry. It should be shipping out of Filament Station in a few minutes."

They drop onto the wooden bridge that spans far above the town built into the cliffs below. They stay in between the rails, sprinting toward the junction that would meet with the main line.

A steam engine comes barreling toward them, and Simon waves at it to slow down. It does, somewhat, and the two of them begin running to keep pace. They grab onto the rungs and jump, pulling themselves up and into the carts being pulled along by the engine.

The engineer looks over to them. "Hey kid, who's your friend?"

Simon stands up, catching his breath. His expression turns sour for a moment before he replies, "His name is Grace, and pirates are after us!" He points to the automobile speeding down another bridge.

The engineer nods and begins to increase the steam. The automobile tumbles onto the tracks and begins to gain on them.

"Can't this thing go any faster?!" Grace yells over the engine.

"Sorry kiddos, this is the best she can do!"

The automobile crashes into the back cart, and two of the pirates jump out and begin making their way to the front.

Simon ducks down and begins separating the cars from the engine. They pass through a tunnel briefly before being spat out the other side, and the pirates continue to get closer. Grace turns and sees an extra shovel by the engineer. He grabs it and turns back toward the pirates, throwing it horizontally at them, catching them both in the chest and sending them sprawling backwards.

The carts jerk forward as they catch a bump on the rails. Simon stands up and begins spinning the break wheel on the carts. Now free of the extra weight, the engine begins to speed up as the carts break and slow down. Grace and Simon jump onto the engine just before it pulls away completely, and they watch the automobile become smaller and smaller as they speed off.

---

The boys continue to shovel coal while the engineer steers, changing tracks when necessary. After a while, he exclaims, "Well, look! It's the army to the rescue!"

Grace stops shoveling and Simon follows suit. They exchange a look. Army?

The engineer pulls on the break. In front of them, a fortified army tank begins to slow on the tracks. "Hey! Could you help these two kids? Pirates have been chasing them all day!"

Simon hops off the train to get a closer look. The tank door opens, and a soldier steps out, followed by a man in a brown suit. Grace gasps behind him and begins to step back.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Grace looks terrified. "Goodbye, Simon." Is all he says before turning and running the opposite direction.

"Come back here!" The man says, and him and the soldier begin to run. Simon trips them both and takes off after Grace, who suddenly stops.

Barreling down the tracks is the automobile, pushing one of the carts in front of it. The red-haired woman from before does not look happy.

Grace spots another bridge branching off and runs onto it. Simon pursues, and bullets ricochet behind them. He can't tell where they're being fired from or at whom, he just keeps running.

"Don't follow me, Simon! You'll get hurt!" Grace tries to wave Simon away, but he continues to run.

Suddenly the automobile is following them again, but the terror of the pirates is short lived compared to their new problem: the tank firing on the bridge.

The pirates go flying and speed past them, Simon tackling Grace and jumping out of the way just in time to avoid being flattened. They slip toward the edge of the bridge and Simon grabs the edge of the rails, clinging on to both the tracks and Grace desperately. The army fires again, and the pirates retreat into the far tunnels.

"Don't let go!" Grace yells.

Simon strains, trying to pull them up but it's no use. The bridge begins to collapse, and they start to descend at an alarming rate. The wood and metal dig into Simon's skin. His muscles scream in agony. He's still sore from coal shoveling. Grace begins to slip in his arms.

The bridge breaks completely and Simon is forced to let go of it, instead directing all of his strength to holding onto Grace instead. Even though they would plummet to their deaths anyway, he did not want to let go of Grace. They fall into the chasm below.

Suddenly a flash of blue light fills his vision. They begin to slow down. The necklace hovers between them as they float, gently being lowered down to the town below, into a mineshaft hole not dissimilar from the one in Filament.

The weightless feeling tickles at Simon's skin. The air fizzles softly, like the foaming of water on the beach. The light of the necklace dances and reflects off of the stone surrounding them, causing even the dullest of the rocks to sparkle like diamonds as they descend.

They reach the bottom, their feet quietly resting on the ground as the magic begins to fade. Simon quickly pulls off his pack. He finds his lamp and matches, trying to make use of the last notes of light before it disappears.

"Quickly, it's going out!" Grace says, frantically rubbing the stone as if it will glow again.

The lantern lights and they both smile.

"I guess your necklace must come to life when you're in trouble. This is the second time it floated you down."

Grace looks down a the stone. Simon didn't get a good look at it before, but now he notices the symbols carved into it. Two differently sized circles with an arc connecting them.

Something flashes overhead and they both look up. The mineshaft was lengthy, easily two hundred feet tall.

"That's a long way down." Simon muses. "We should probably get going."

They begin down the tunnel, the lantern casting long, dancing shadows on the walls as they walk. Simon feels Grace loop an arm through his dangling one and grip tight. The soft light catches in Grace's blonde hair. It looks like sunlight. Simon coughs and tries to ignore the warmth spreading to his face as they continue along the rocky path.

After a few hours of walking, they decide to rest. Simon pulls out his lunch satchel and retrieves the egg sandwich he made for this morning's shift. He takes apart the two slices with an egg on each and hands Grace his share.

"So, Grace. If you're not an angel, where are you from?" Simon asks, taking a bite of his half. The egg comes off completely, and he carefully pulls it into his mouth. Grace laughs and copies him, chewing and swallowing before giving his reply.

"I'm from Gondoa, deep in the northern mountains. I used to live there with my parents. But when they died, I was all alone. The only thing that kept me going was the farm, and taking care of the animals." He lets out a small laugh. "I actually used to pretend that I was a teacher and they were my students, and I would teach them about things my parents had taught me. Stuff about the clouds and stars...but then everything changed." Grace's expression darkens and he looks away. "The day the men came and took me away. It was the middle of the night, and I wasn't even able to leave feed out or release the animals into the wilderness. They took my necklace and put me on the airship-"

"Whoa, they kidnapped you?" Simon exclaims.

Grace turns his head back to him and Simon sees the tears welling in his eyes. "Yes."

"It was that man in the brown suit, on the tracks."

Grace nods, pushing his glasses up to rub away the tears. "Sorry, sorry." They settle crookedly on his face, and Simon unthinkingly reaches up and fixes them. They both smile.

"What about you? I know you live in Filament, but not much else. What are your parents like?"

It's Simon's turn to look away. "For a long time, it was just me and my mom. She was an explorer, and she would fly on her airship and chart the skies." He pulls out the pictures he grabbed earlier, handing them to Grace.

"Eridia..." He hears Grace whisper.

"My mom took that picture from an airship. She loved to fly. That's the floating island, Eridia. Most people think it's just a legend, but my mom actually saw it. The other picture is of her airship."

"Her and her crew got caught in a storm, thundering and dangerous like no other, until it suddenly subsided. Through the clouds, it looked like a castle just floating in the sky. She said it was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen." He taps the frame. "That was the only picture she was able to take. She used to draw it, too. In her journals, she drew the castle, and what she thought the people looked like. She used to call it Eden. She was sure it was filled with things like treasure, iron, and mother trees - but nobody believed her. They called her a liar."

"...Being called a liar is what killed her."

He takes a deep breath and jumps to his feet. "But I'm going to prove she's not a liar! As soon as I finish my own ship, I'm going to fly up there and find Ed- Eridia myself." He shovels the rest of his food in his mouth.

Grace finishes his bread as well and they take off again. Simon's brow wrinkles in deep thought. Grace begins rambling about something, seemingly out of a nervous habit. He lets the other boy's words become white noise to him as he becomes so absorbed in his thoughts that he stops paying attention to the tunnel ahead.

Something bumps into them and they startle, causing Simon to drop the lantern. It shatters on the rough terrain and the flame goes out. Simon hears rustling and he scrambles to get up before the tunnel is lit again. A figure stands above them with their own lantern.

"Hm, looks like a couple of little goblins found their way down here."

Simon's eyes adjust and he makes out a familiar face. "Old man Jack?"

Jack was - is - a miner for the COI, who had fallen down a shaft in an accident. No one has seen him in months, and he had been presumed dead until now.

"In the flesh!" Jack said enthusiastically, extending an arm to Simon. He takes it and the man helps him to his feet, then turns and helps Grace as well.

"How did you..."

"Survive? Well, I always come prepared!" He wiggles and his massive backpack moves with him, items clinking and banging against each other. "That and there's an opening to the tunnel just about ten miles from here, I can take you kids there if you'd like!" He turns and spots Grace's necklace. His eyes widen and he points frantically, "and I have something to show you, young man! Don't worry, it's on the way. Follow me!" Jack scuttles off without another word, leaving Simon and Grace to hurry after him.

They keep a comfortable distance behind him, prompting Simon to share his thoughts.

"I think the man with the army and the Vat clan are both after your necklace." He whispers.

Grace nearly trips over a rock but manages to steady himself. "I think you're right, but I had no idea it was so powerful. My mother gave it to me before she died. It's been in my family for as long as I can remember. She told me never to give it or show it to anyone." He whispers back, double checking that the stone is hidden underneath his borrowed shirt.

"Well, I guess we orphans should stick together, huh?"

Grace gives an aborted nod, then lowers his head. "I'm sorry, Simon. It's my fault you got mixed up in all of this."

"Are you kidding? This is the most interesting thing that's ever happened to me. I'm glad to be on this adventure with you, especially if it means neither of us are alone."

They smile at each other as Jack comes to a stop in the mouth of a wide cavern.

"Here, come, sit."

A small lean-to tent sits against a wall. They shuffle underneath and sit across from Jack. "The rocks here are my friends. They speak to me, and they've been especially restless since last night."

"They...speak to you?" Simon asks.

"Oh yes, the earth speaks to all of us. And if we listen, we can understand." Jack grabs his lantern and opens it. "They speak in a very small voice." He extinguishes the flame, and the cavern dims. They wait for a few seconds, and suddenly the floor begins to glow. Beautiful crystals begin to shine, and the ceiling takes on a pattern of stars all on its own.

"It was just a hunk of rock a second ago..." Grace says, still gawking.

"The answer is inside the rocks. Let me show you," Jack says, plucking a smooth stone from the ground. He gently hits it with a hammer and it splits, light ebbing from the cracked surface inside before fading. "All the rocks around here contain a bit of xenonite. Humans once knew how to mine it, but sadly no longer."

Grace gasps. "Wait..." he pulls out the necklace. It shines brightly in the dark cavern. "My stone is glowing."

Jack's eyes become the size of dinner plates. "That's a pure xenonite crystal! There hasn't been one since before my great-grandfather's time!" He holds up a trembling hand that stops just short of the stone. "No wonder the rocks were restless..."

"It possesses incredible power." Simon adds, having witnessed it firsthand twice.

"Legend has it that only the people of the floating city of Eridia knew how to make such crystals. They used xenonite to make Eridia float in the sky."

Simon lights up brighter than the stones. "I knew Eridia wasn't just made up. You see, Grace? It's just like my mom said!"

Jack's tremors grow stronger and he curls in on himself. "I'm sorry, could you put it away? It's too strong for me."

"Oh, sorry." Grace tucks it away.

Jack slumps back down onto his seat and relights the lantern. The blue light spills away as the lantern overcomes it, and the rocks grow dull once more. "My great-grandfather used to say that the rocks become restless when Eridia appears over the mine."

Simon bristles with excitement. "That must mean that it's over the mine right now!" He turns and grabs Grace by the shoulders. "Grace, this means that I can prove that my mother was right! Eridia is real!" In his haste, he misses the frown growing on Grace's face.

A sigh comes from Jack. The man turns to Grace and says, "Child, I must tell you something."

Grace gently shrugs off Simon's hands and bends down. "What is it?"

The previously jovial tone has disappeared from Jack completely. "That crystal is extremely powerful, but with a power that rightfully belongs to the earth from which it came. To forget that and try to use the power for selfish reasons will bring great unhappiness. Do you understand?"

Grace nods.

"Your crystal should remind us that we come from the earth, and to the earth we must return." Jack swipes a hand over his face and slowly lifts himself into a standing position, grabbing his lantern and backpack as he does so. "And now, we shall return you two to the surface. This way."