Jazzy - In the Shadows

"Are you sure?" Tony asked Wolf, squinting further into the water to verify his presumption.

"Yeah, pretty sure." Wolf smiled and began to take off his coat.

"Wha-- wha-- what are you doing?" Tony asked Wolf as he saw preparing to jump in. He was crazy, there had to be another way. It was much further down than it actually looked, he could tell. The water magnified the crystal and made it appear to be higher up than it was.

The crystal was embedded into the side of a rock formation that clung to the side of the hole. There didn't seem to be any bottom to the hole, nor did it have any other promising solutions to getting the crystal. This was the last one; all they needed was right in front of them and yet it seemed crazy to just jump in.

"I'm getting it," Wolf declared simply as he peered into the water and estimated how far down his swim would be, whether or not he'd have enough oxygen.

"No you're not! It's too far down, let's figure out another way to get it," Tony tried to reason and motioned around him, suggesting that they use the resources near them.

"No time." Wolf shook his head. Before Tony could argue with him again, Wolf took a deep breath and dove into the water hole. Tony dropped to his knees before it and watched as Wolf swam deeper and deeper into the small opening. The water was freezing cold. Wolf was taken quite aback by this, expecting it to be as warm as the humid air was, and found that it wasn't. He was also surprised to learn that the hole opened up after the surface and into a rather large underwater cave. Plant life was as abundant as it was on ground, every type of plant seemed to be growing on the side walls and even clung to the rock formations that shot up from the bottom, (presuming that there even was a bottom).

Wolf's attention was not focused on the plants or even how deep the hole was; it was on the crystal from which he never took his eyes. It seemed as though he was being held back; the gem never seemed to come any closer to him whatsoever. Finally, when he thought that his arms would fall off from swimming, he reached the small ledge that the crystal was attached to.

Tony watched from above, holding back his hopes, not willing to let them be crushed again. Wolf went further into the water, and Tony found himself rooting Wolf on again, as he did when he'd climbed the tower in Kissingtown. With his eyes glued on Wolf's figure, he failed to notice the thick green vine that was slowly twisting around his ankle.

Wolf wrapped his hands around the light green crystal, and pulled. It slid out of its hold very easily, clean and clear. Despite the need for oxygen, he paused underwater and gazed at the rock, smiling. He finally had it, the last crystal. He could practically feel Virginia in his arms again.

His smile grew wider as he kicked for the surface. He exploded out of the water, gasping for air. He clutched the side of the hole and pulled himself out and onto the green foliage. Wolf sat with his feet dangling in the water, looking at the crystal with a wide smile.

"See Tone, nothing to it," he said. Wolf stood up and shook off the water before taking in his surroundings. It took him a moment to realize that Tony wasn't there. He searched around the area for him frantically, his eyes watching for any movement. "Tony!" he called out, but got no response.

Then his eyes caught a pool of water across the path from his, the water rippling from movement. He dropped the crystal onto the ground and rushed over to the other hole. He looked down and saw a figure flaring about deep down, being pulled rather quickly. There was no time. Nothing to do but jump.

Wolf took another deep breath and dove down into the water. His body instantly reacted to the intense cold and he felt a slight tingle on his fingers. Strangely, that pool of water was even colder than the other! Wolf swam harder and faster, but Tony seemed to be flying down, miles ahead of him.

The desperation on Tony's face was horrible; it was one of the worst things he had ever seen. Tony was plunging deeper and deeper down to the bottom, the light was fading and they were slipping into darkness. Tony's arms were stretched out for Wolf, trying to reach him.

As Wolf took another stroke, he noticed in horror that Tony had stopped moving all together. His body was still in place, almost frozen in time by the water. As Wolf came closer, he noticed a thick vine was wrapped around his ankle, and so he headed for that first.

With a tight grip, he pulled on the vine until he heard a muffled crack as the vine snapped. He grabbed Tony under the arms and swam like mad for the surface. He felt his deprived lungs ache and his heart call for air. Wolf saw small dots dance in front of his eyes and his head became light.

Just when he felt he was about to lose consciousness, the water broke and his heart and lungs filled with oxygen. After taking several breaths, he heaved Tony onto the ground where he quickly followed. Tony looked bad.

His lips were a pale blue and his face was blank and empty. Wolf felt for a pulse, but didn't find one. He tried his best to remember CPR from what he had been taught years ago, but not much was registering. He placed his shaking hands on Tony's chest and pressed down hard.

Wolf immediately got a response, a low gurgling noise from Tony. "Come on Tone, don't quit on me now!" he shouted as he pressed on his chest again, receiving another gurgle.

"Tony, come on back. You're no good to Virginia like this!" Fear crept in Wolf's voice, afraid that he wouldn't be able to revive him. He had no idea what he was even doing. He tried again, but was much more successful and Tony began to cough up water. Wolf tilted Tony on his side and let him breathe in heavy gulps of air. Wolf closed his eyes and silently thanked him for being all right.

"Holy Hell! What happened back there?" Tony said, feeling a heavy sense of deja vu. He took another gasp of air and sat up next to Wolf.

Wolf didn't want to tell Tony if he didn't remember, it was probably better that way. But the look in Tony's eyes made him explain. "A vine wrapped around your ankle and pulled you down. I barely got you out in time," Wolf said softly. There was a moment of silence between the two, both soaking in what had happened.

"Thank you, Wolf," Tony said, smiling at Wolf. He placed a firm hand on Wolf's shoulder and squeezed it gently in appreciation.

He shrugged and smiled back. "I owed ya one." Tony and Wolf shared a hearty laugh before raising up and getting the water off of them. Wolf walked over to the crystal where he dropped it and regained his previous smile. He picked it up and tossed it over to Tony, who held it up and looked it over, a smile spread across his face as well.

"We did it," Tony said happily. "Now let's go find Virginia."