John's POV

"Um, are you sure we're supposed to go to the Evertree?" John was asking, nervously.

"For the last time," George said, annoyed, "Yes, we're supposed to go to the Evertree. Just calm down."

They had finally reached the Evertree, the huge tree towering over them. As they emerged from the bushes and into the clearing, he spotted Ivan and Jef.

"Ivan, Jef," Riley called to them.

They both turned around and gave them huge smiles, "You guys came."

"Of course we came," George said.

"Yes but you're still late," John heard a familiar voice and he spotted Zoron, Hope, and Zoey walking towards them.

"It didn't exactly say what time," John retorted.

"What matters is we're all here again," this time, Irene spoke, who was walking towards them with Lenori.

The team fell into silence. They knew that they weren't complete. They can never be complete without Eilene...

Before he could stop himself, the memory of the burning ship flashed into John's mind.

"I'm not leaving you."

"No, you're not, because i'm leaving you. You know that dream was going to happen."

"John?" he jolted back to the present, "Are you okay?"

He saw that everyone was looking at him worriedly and he shook his head, "Of course i'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"

No one answered his question.

After a few moments, Lenori spoke, "You all must be wondering why you're here. Well, let me explain. You already know that the Evertree is sick and is in fact dying. Great Beasts are also being summoned back but Zerif had already captured some of the Great Beasts."

John felt anger and hatred build up inside of him. That name, that criminal.

"The Four Heroes of Erdas have split into two," she went on, "Two went down to check a door which was a tunnel going down. They had found this book and somehow, the door is related with the Evertree. They had found out that there is a rot under the Evertree's roots. The other two went to get the other Great Beasts before Zerif captures them."

"How did Zerif exactly capture the Great Beasts?" Zoron asked.

"There was this twisting parasite on his forehead," Lenori answered, "and the other Great Beasts he captured had the same twisting parasite. He could control them easily. While Conor was trying to get Kovo and his human partner back to Greenhaven, they had met Zerif and a small piece of the parasite had entered a cut in his wrist and is slowly making its way up. Even Jhi the Panda can't heal it completely, only slow it down."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Irene asked.

"There are some people I would like you to meet," Lenorie told them, "and that is when you come in."

Then, two figures started walking towards them. Both of them had red cloaks but the only difference was that one wore a faceless white mask while the other had a clothed mask, only showing the eyes. They both nodded to them.

"This is King," Lenori introduced them, pointing to the one with the mask, then to the other one, "and this is Lin."

"Who are you?" John asked.

"We're the Redcloaks," the one named King answered, "We seek to protect the future from the past."

"And how are you helping us?" Ivan asked.

"I have the answers you seek," the one named Lin spoke and she pulled out a book from her pack and handed it to them.

John took it, looking at Lin suspiciously. There was something familiar about her voice but he shook the thought off. He opened the book and flipped to the pages. He saw pictures of the twisting spiral, pictures of some mountains and the door with the same spiral, and the Evertree. The words were unknown to him, a forgotten language. He handed back the book.

"How do we know this isn't some sort of trick?" John asked, suspiciously, "How do we know if we can trust you?"

"You probably won't," Lin said curtly, "You never will, anyways."

He didn't know why but her voice sounded so familiar. Her eyes, he had seen them before. He knew this person before.

"Why would we trust those who conceals their face?" Zoron asked, suspicious as well.

"Because we've done wrong before," King answered.

"I'll handle this, King," Lin said, "You need to go."

Something passed between them and King nodded and walked away.

"You've done wrong before?" Hope repeated.

"Who are you?" John demanded, getting impatient.

Lin didn't answer for a while, then spoke, "You knew me before but I suppose she actually is dead."

"Who are you?" John repeated, more loudly, "Show yourself."

"If I show myself, will you be able to trust me?" Lin asked.

"We might," George spoke up.

"I'm not going to ask you again," John muttered, "Who are you?"

Lin looked at him for a while, then slowly removed her mask and the hood. John froze as he saw who she really was.

Standing right there was Eilene, but it wasn't Eilene.

And they meet once again! Please vote and leave a comment on what you think. Stay tuned for the next chapter!