When they arrived back at Lancastre, Parker took Master Sora’s body to the grassy area near the top of the waterfall. He felt the master deserved to have the best spot Parker knew for his final resting place.

The three of them sat by his grave for hours before Alexis convinced them to go inside to get some rest. After everything that had happened, they weren’t able to rest easily or for very long. Parker would wake up consistently, screaming from his nightmares. Caleb laid on his side and stared at the wall, unable to fall asleep and Alexis stared at Parker from across the room, worried beyond belief.

Several weeks pass by with their day-to-day activities showing little variety. They would “wake up” and eat a small breakfast. Then they would go pay respects to Master Sora for roughly an hour. After they finished paying their respects, they would go for a run around the island, however many times their hearts desired that day. Next, they would practice their Imperials until it was time to eat something for lunch. Once they finished eating, they would sit on the bridge and stare silently out over the waterfall. When their food finally settled, they would go back to practicing their Imperials until it was time for bed.

This went on day after day for weeks. When they would practice, they would go all out on each other. With Parker and Alexis having figured out how to induce healing through their Water Imperials, being able to not hold back had become much easier for them. Some days, they would run drills through the woods like they had done with Master Terra before he became deranged. Other days, they would traverse down the mountain and see what types of creatures they could find.

Everyone was back to full health and feeling at the top of their game, physically speaking. They were all still feeling emotionally wounded from Master Sora’s death though. Parker knew it would always hurt, but he was hoping that would be able to find a way to accept the master’s sacrifice and turn it into something that drove him. To a point, it did help his training. However, he still struggled to not hang on the thought of his late master. Thinking about what he would say in their training. What types of things would he have them do to improve themselves? Some days, his drive to work hard soared and he felt great. Other days, not so much.

Alexis and Caleb both were struggling with the loss of Master Sora, but they could tell that Parker was definitely taking it way harder than they were. A few weeks after they arrived back at Lancastre, Alexis started to bring up the idea of Parker jumping back in time. It seemed that idea had gotten pushed to the wayside with everything that had happened.

They all knew it was what needed to happen, especially since it meant that Master Sora would still be alive. It was just the practicality of it that was stopping them now. Before, Parker had not been able to jump back in time very far and that was when he was able to put one hundred and ten percent of his focus into it. But now, it seemed like he could only put eighty percent of his focus into it on a good day.

Another week passed by with their normal routine. Everyone seemed to be improving both physically and emotionally, so Alexis decided to bring up the time jumping again.

“I know it’s what we need to do!” Parker snapped back. He saw Alexis’s head drop and his heart sank. “I’m sorry. You know that I’m trying my hardest. I’m getting there. It’s just going to take some time.”

That was the end of the conversation. Alexis knew he was right, but it didn’t make her feel better, so she walked away to take a breath. Parker looked over to Caleb, who wouldn’t make eye contact with him right away.

“Just don’t forget that we’re hurting too.”

After another week, Parker asked for Alexis and Caleb to sit down with him by the fireplace so he could talk to them. Alexis and Caleb looked at each other confused. They talked all the time, why did he have to ask and why did it have to be the fireplace?

Stolen story; please report.

“What’s up?” Caleb asked as he took a seat next to the fire.

Parker stared intensely into the fire for several moments. “I’m worried guys. Like really worried.”

Alexis squinted her eyes in confusion. “What are you worried about? We’ve come so far!”

“What if I can’t do it? What if I only make it back a year? Six months? That’s not enough!”

Alexis got up and sat next to Parker, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. “We believe in you Parker. We know you can do this.”

“But I don’t. That’s the problem. How am I supposed to be able to do this if I don’t believe that I can?”

Caleb frowned. “Did you have something else in mind?”

Parker stared through Caleb. “I do… but I don’t think either of you will like it…”

“Tell us,” Alexis said.

“Lara needs to pay for everything she’s done.”

“We know that,” Alexis responded. “That’s why we planned for you to go back in time to stop her.”

“But I don’t think I can do that. She needs to pay now. We need to stop her.”

After Parker said this, everyone’s heads dropped down, thinking about everything that had happened. Parker’s mind jumped back to a memory of Master Sora talking to him during one of his private lessons.

“Whenever you battle, or heck, even during an Aether match, the person or team that goes into it with a clear mind and a level head will almost always be the victor.”

Parker knew that Master Sora had been right. They had to come up with a clear plan of attack if they hoped to take Lara down. He needed the confidence to be able to jump back in time to stop her and as of right now, that was something he just didn’t have.

“We need to go after her,” Parker said again. “Between the three of us, we can create a plan to take her down, I know it.”

Alexis looked at him unsure. She knew he was right, but she couldn’t muster the nerve to think about what she would do if she were to lose either of them. They’d already all lost so much.

-----

Days and nights passed by in the blink of an eye as they planned and practiced. Blood, sweat, and tears were shed. Some days were easier than others, but some days Parker thought that he’d never wake up again if he went to sleep.

They’d each grown significantly stronger through their training. Parker and Caleb were showing clear muscular definition all over. Alexis’s body grew more and more toned.

Throughout their training, they always took time to stop and mourn Master Sora. It seemed that no matter how long it had been, it always felt fresh anytime they thought about it. At the same time they mourned, it reignited the fire in their hearts to work harder to stop Lara.

When evening would roll around, Parker would go find a quiet, secluded place where he could focus. Once he was settled, he would take the time to practice tracing Alexis and Caleb’s cores as they moved around. After a while of that, he would reach out to trace other cores to see if he recognized any.

Over a month had passed. Day after day of training and following a strict routine. All three of them had agreed to stop Lara at all costs. It was up to them to save this world since it seemed that no one else was stepping up to the plate.

Parker had traced Lara’s core about a week before and checked in numerous times throughout the day to make sure she was staying in generally the same area. From what little he could tell, Lara was staying in the same place or at least only left it when he wasn’t checking in on her.

“I think we’re going to have the edge on her,” Parker stated one night while they were eating dinner near the waterfall. “She’s always near the same spot when I check on her core and it resonates the same every time.”

Alexis smiled slightly, “Hopefully that’s the case but we still need to work harder than ever. We’re going to have one shot at this.”