EPISODE 5-4

"Count, we could save ourselves, but the wee ones don't stand a chance." O'Chunks didn't look like he was posing that as an option- he looked distressed.

Sherwood sat down in the snow and buried his face in his arms. "I'm sorry, guys," he said. "I wish none of this happened."

Gary sat down next to Sherwood and put his arms around him, the way he was taught to comfort people he cared about.

"It's okay," said Derek. "It…it's okay."

A single tear fell from Sherwood's eye. He lifted up his goggles and let it drop down into the snow…

The teardrop hit the X band on his uniform.

That wasn't the only thing that happened.

All of a sudden, he began to glow. It wasn't noticable to anyone at first, because it was faint against the storm. But in a matter of seconds he was glowing brightly against the snow, and Gary was as well.

"Wh- what's this?" Sherwood gasped in suprise.

Count Bleck shielded his eyes with his cape and looked at this must curious occurance. "Bleh huh?" he said.

"I'm sensing something," said Tippi. "It's been here all along, but it was so weak... it's something I haven't sensed in a while... it's..."

Gary started clicking excitedly.

"Dude, you're all glowy and stuff!" Mark exclaimed.

The storm directly around them receeded. The winds were less powerful, and the snow fell thinly. Then, in an exploison of light, a Pure Heart burst up from the snow.

"That's what it was!" Tippi said, relieved. "It was on the tip of my tongue! A Pure Heart, that's what it was. Pure Heart."

The Pure Heart hovered high above their heads, spreading it's aura of light all around it. Everything the aura touched was calmed, and the storm around it receeded. Already, the biting cold was going away and the stinging winds felt less harsh.

The heart made a great swoop around the entire base of the mountain, and came to rest above the heads of the group. All around them, the air was still and calm. The snow fell gently, like on a Christmas card. Count Bleck, Tippi, O'Chunks, Sherwood, Gary, Mark, Derek, John, and Jerry were left standing dumbfounded under the light of the Heart. The tranquility was almost eerie, compared to the maelstrom they'd been trapped in only moments earlier.

"Wow," said Derek. "You never told me you could do that."

"Uh... yeah," said Sherwood.

Gary stopped clicking and started rocking instead. He looked up at the Pure Heart, then down at the snow.

"I don't understand," said Count Bleck. "Timpani, do you have any idea?"

"This is usually where me and Mario would go to ask Merlon," said Tippi. "But I was thinking of something..." She fluttered down in front of Jerry. "Hey, um... how long have you guys been stationed here? Sherwood said something about right after Grodus fell?"

"Eh, not directly," said Jerry. "Few months, maybe. I don't wear a watch. Hey, any of you guys wear a watch?"

"No," the others said.

"Yeah," said Jerry. "There you go, we don't have watches."

"Count Bleck," said Tippi, "How long after the Cataclysm did you summon the Chaos Heart?"

Count Bleck began to count on his fingers.

"Doesn't anybody have a calander around here?" she shouted in frustration.

"Maybe it'd help if yeh told us what yeh was gettin' at," said O'Chunks. "Maybe it's 'cause me brain ain't up to snuff, but I ain't followin' ya."

"Look," said Tippi, "Remember when we went up against Dimentio?"

"No," said Count Bleck.

"When Mario and I went up against Dimentio?"

"Ah. Yes, I do."

"Well," said Tippi, "Dimentio thought that once the Pure Hearts were used once, that was it, but it wasn't. As long as there was love, the Pure Hearts were free."

"I'm with you so far."

"The Pure Hearts have been hidden away for the 1500 years since they were created, and after the battle, nobody's sure what happened to them." She paused to collect her thoughts. "Is it possible that they've just been... around?"

"They would have needed to be summoned by love," said Count Bleck.

"Right," said Tippi. "Sherwood's love for his friends and his old life, that he wanted back, wanted to save, more than anything. His heart is protecting this place."

"I don't believe it," Sherwood mumbled. "I just don't believe it."

"I don't, either," said Tippi, "but that's the best I could do."

"It was very good," said Merlon, and all of a sudden they saw him standing behind them. Everybody jerked in suprise.

"Merlon!" Count Bleck shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"I sensed a great power erupt in this region," Merlon explained. "And, from what I can tell, just in time. I came to investigate."

Count Bleck was still trying to catch his breath. "Well... why don't you tell somebody when you're going to do that?"

"Oh, I do apologize," said Merlon. "Now... I simply came here to tell you that the power of the Pure Hearts, in this sense, is completely uncharted. The Light Prognosticus is not revealing any more pages to me. Even the ancients didn't look this far in advance. Or, perhaps they didn't expect the Light Prognosticus to be able to counter the Dark Prophecy. Whatever the reason, the Pure Hearts are behaving in wonderus ways we could never have predicted."

"Didn't we discuss this the last time we met?" asked Count Bleck.

"No," said Merlon. "Or did we? I don't remember now."

"Me neither. Timpani, did we already discuss this?"

"I don't know," said Tippi, "I didn't hear it, but then I wasn't there for the first half of your meeting."

"Oh, right. Well, if we don't remember discussing it, then it's worth discussing again."

Merlon cleared his throat.

"Anyway," said Count Bleck.

"The Pure Hearts came here because they were both called and needed," said Merlon. "I don't know why, and I don't know how... I believe you're going to have to find that out for your--"

"The Prognosticus!" exclaimed Count Bleck. "We were talking more about the Prognosticus than the Pure Hearts, that's what it was."

Merlon tapped his foot.

"Continue," said Count Bleck.

"You're going to have to find out for yourself what this means," said Merlon. "I believe that your organization, with it's goals, will benefit from learning about the Pure Hearts. Bring peace to the world."

"I don't understand," said Sherwood. "What does this mean for me, and for us?"

"It means," said Merlon, "that you're protected. Because of the Pure Heart, you can live in this valley for as long as you're stationed here. The Pure Heart will move on, but the love it left here will never leave."

O'Chunks gagged.

Sherwood tugged on Count Bleck's cape. "Hey, uh, Count... I can't help but feel I was a small part in something bigger than I can understand."

"That may be," said Count Bleck. "But all you really need to understand is that this valley is yours, now. Whatever you're doing, you can continue to do it. What is it you're doing, anyway? Taking over the world, was it?"

"Not anymore," said Sherwood. "We're an accounting firm now."

"Huh."

"At least until he finds another scheme for world domination, I mean. Then it's back to that."

"Of course."

"Yeah."

"This is goodbye, now," said Count Bleck. "Sherwood, Gary, I thank you for what you've done for our organization. I can assure you, it's more than you could ever imgine you could have done for us. You've helped us greatly in our quest for Answers, though you did not intend to."

"Hey, Count," said O'Chunks. "Can we move this along, eh? Me feets gettin' cold standin' oot 'ere in the snow."

"Very well," said Count Bleck. "I hope we meet again, X-Nauts."

"Thanks for everything!" chirped Derek.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch!" seconded Jerry.

"Feel free to save our lives anytime," added Mark.

"Goodbye!" said John.

Sherwood gave Count Bleck a hug, which he gladly returned.

"Thanks," said Sherwood. "I don't understand what's going on, but I feel like nothing's wrong anymore. When I left here, and decided to come back, I felt like it was the last resort for us to live... but apparently I care about this place and these people more than I realized. It's not just stability I need- it's friends and a place that feels like home."

O'Chunks gagged again.

"O'Chunks, keep it to yourself," warned Count Bleck. "This might be a little sacchrine, but it's an important example for us to set for impressional minds."

Immediately, their attention was moved to Gary who was fidgeting with his hands and looking up.

"Yes," said Count Bleck. "I was most certainly referring to Gary."

The Count and his men disappeared back to Caslte Bleck, and Merlon left on his own. Now only the X-Nauts were left.

"So, what was it like there?" asked Mark, as they all headed back inside.

"It was all dark and stuff," said Sherwood. "It was all black with white windows. Real creepy, you know."

"Were all the guys as creepy as he was?"

"You bet!"

"Any cute girls?"

"Yeah, there was this real uptight girl who was all business-like and junk. She could be cute if she put her hair down and got a new outfit. There was also this green chick who turned into a daddy long leg. That was nasty, but she was pretty okay. Then there was this other girl who was dressed as a jester. She was messed up."

"Come on, tell us all about it!"

"Okay, so when Gary and I got there, it was just the uptight chick, right?... So she was all like, 'Yeah, um, so, this is Castle Bleck.' And I'm all, okay, yeah, so he's Count Bleck and this is Castle Bleck, makes sense..."

The voices of the X-Nauts faded as the door shut behind them, leaving them to start their lives again. All was well.