"Great," scoffed Uncle Press, and swam off toward the panel.

He looked at the three other switches: green, red, and white. He first reached forward and pushed the green one. All that happened was that the green crystal started to glow, and the yellow light stopped blinking.

"That must be to turn off the evacuation alarm," I said.

There were two choices left. From where I sat, the white crystal looked as if it had already been pushed down.

"I think the white crystal raises and lowers the podium," I said. "It must be the red one."

"Red it is," said Uncle Press.

He reached forward, touched the red crystal, and glanced back to me. I gave him a nod, and he pushed it down.

And that's when the partyreallystarted.

First, the red crystal flashed brightly. That much I expected. The next thing we knew we were surrounded by sound. It started as a low whine, but then grew in volume. It sounded like giant engines were powering to life. Then the mountain rumbled. The waves it sent out from its movement started to buffet the hauler.

Uncle Press shot back to us and grabbed on.

"I think now's a good time to be someplace else," he said.

"Hang on!" shouted Spader.

He hit the throttle and we began rising again. The monstrous sound grew louder. The hauler was being buffeted so hard that it was making my teeth chatter.

"You okay, Press?" called Spader.

"Get us outta here!" he shouted back.

Then I heard something new. It sounded like cracking, but it was immense.

"Uh-oh," said Spader.

There it was again. "Uh-oh." Ihated"uh-oh."

Spader was looking up. I looked up too and saw that we were getting closer to the hole in the dome, and safety. But that's not what the "uh-oh" was about. The trouble was, the rest of the dome was cracking! The rumble was sending shock waves through the water that were so strong, we could actually see cracks traveling across the surface of the dome. But unlike the last time the dome cracked, this wasn't in one single place. Now, the entire dome was beginning to shatter!

"It's breaking up," shouted Spader.

"Get under the hole!" I shouted back. I figured that if it all came down, humpty-dumpty-style, then our only chance of not being crushed would be if we were under the hole.

"I gotta pick up speed!" shouted Spader.

"I'm okay," answered Uncle Press. "Go!"

Spader pushed us faster. It was a race to make it out of that hole before the whole world came crashing down on us.

"Come on, come on!" Spader coaxed the hauler on.

I killed the lights because we didn't need them anymore and could use every last bit of power for speed. We then hit the field of floating debris. Pieces of everything hit the bubble. I wasn't worried about the gla.s.s breaking. If the raiders' waterguns couldn't shatter it, then I didn't think a chunk of floating junk could. I was more afraid that something would hit Uncle Press.

"We got it!" Spader yelled.

And a second later we shot up out of the hole and into the light of open ocean. Unbelievably, the dome had held. But we weren't safe yet. The sound of the roaring engines was even louder outside of the dome. The water was still vibrating like crazy, and there was something new. All around us were ma.s.sive jets of air bubbles shooting up from around the perimeter of the dome.

"Keep moving!" shouted Uncle Press.

Spader hit the throttle and we sped away. It didn't matter where we went so long as we didn't stay here. The jets of air shot up all around us, like fissures opening up somewhere deep below and letting off pressure. There was no way to avoid them. They kept hitting us and knocking us around. This was probably the closest I will ever come to being inside a washing machine.

"Press?" called Spader.

"Don't talk, drive!" shouted Uncle Press.

Finally we got past the fissure jets and Spader was able to put us right. The water just beyond them was absolutely calm. In seconds we had gone from being tossed in heavy seas to floating as calmly as if we were in a bathtub. It was a strange feeling. I wasn't complaining.

"Nowthatwas a tum-tigger," said Spader.

But it wasn't over yet. The roar of the engines, or whatever they were, was still growing louder even though we were out of the turbulent zone. The air fissures had suddenly stopped erupting, and as soon as the bubbles stopped shooting up, the engines whined louder.

Then we heard another cracking sound.

"The dome's collapsing!" Spader shouted.

We all looked back at the coral reef, expecting the dome to collapse in. But that's not what happened. It erupted. Yes, it started to expand upward.

"I don't believe it," Spader whispered in awe.

Believe it.

A moment later we saw. Something was pushing the dome up from below. It was the top of Faar's mountain! In that one amazing moment, it all came clear to me what transpire meant. When Abador and the council debated about whether to reveal themselves to Cloral or remain hidden, they weren't talking about self-destruction. They were talking about rejoining their world, literally. The preparations that had been going on for centuries were all about pushing the Lost City of Faar back to the surface. The three of us watched in shock as the top of Faar's mountain broke through the weakened dome and continued to rise toward the surface.

Luckily one of us had the smarts to do a little mental calculation.

"Faar is a big place, gentlemen," said Uncle Press. "We are still in the wrong spot."

Good thinking. If Faar was coming up, we were still too close.

"Outta here!" shouted Spader, and hit the throttle once again.

As we sped away I looked back around at the spectacle. The mountain continued its impossible rise up through the shattered dome. In a few moments, the peak would break the surface of the sea. It was awesomea but we weren't home-free just yet.

"Slight problem," Spader said while scanning the instruments.

"What?"

"We're not moving."

Whatever force was being used to power this city's ascent had gotten hold of us. It felt as if we were fighting a wicked current coming right at us.

"More power!" I shouted to Spader.

"I'm trying! It's pulling us back."

Spader pressed the throttle to full power, but it didn't help. We were being sucked back toward the mountain. It was like being sucked into a rip-current. But then, suddenly, everything reversed. I didn't know if the force of the mountain rising was now stronger than the pull of the engines that were forcing it up, but in an instant we went from being pulled back to being pushed forward by a tidal-wave force of water. Our hauler suddenly shot forward faster than it was ever designed to go.

This underwater wave ride lasted a full minute. Finally Spader was able to get control and slow us down.

"I'm taking us up," he announced, and we shot topside.

A few moments later we broke the water's surface. I quickly opened the bubble top and pulled myself out to get to Uncle Press. He was exhausted, but okay. He pulled the swimskin off his face and looked up at me.

"Are you sure it was the red b.u.t.ton?" he said with a smile.

I had to laugh. Man, this guy was cool.

We then heard something that sounded like a giant whale breaching the surface. But it wasn't a whale, of course. It was Faar's mountain. Spader joined us on the top of the bubble and the three of us watched in wonder.

The mountain rose slowly from the water. It was impossible, yet there it was. We were far enough away now that we were safe, but close enough to see detail on the mountain. As it rose higher the marble buildings were revealed along with the paths that wandered between them. Bit by bit the city that had been hidden for hundreds of years was once again feeling sunlight.

"Look!" shouted Spader.

We looked around us and saw green heads popping up in the water everywhere. The Faarians were coming up to witness the rebirth of their home. There were hundreds of them stretched out on either side of us. They all pulled off their swimskin hoods so they could see this miracle through clear eyes.

Faar's mountain continued to rise. Of course the higher it got, the larger it became. I was beginning to think that maybe we were still a little bit too close. If this thing kept getting bigger, pretty soon we'd be lifted up with it. The mountain now towered over us. What emerged next from below was the hauler hangar that was the lifeboat for Uncle Press and the brave Faarians.

It suddenly hit me that with Faar rising, the haulers came up with it. They could now be pulled from the hangar and sent on their mission after all. This was incredible! There was still a chance to save the underwater farms.

With a final shudder, Faar's mountain stopped moving. One last wave of water hit us - we rode up and over it, and then settled. The three of us sat there on the floating hauler, in complete awe. We were now looking at a huge island, and a city.

All around us the Faarians began to cheer. They screamed and laughed and hugged each other and they cried. They had gone from losing everything to starting an incredible new life on Cloral. This was their destiny and they welcomed it.

I couldn't help but think of Abador. I hoped he somehow knew what had happened. It may not have been his hand that brought Faar back to life, but it was definitely his spirit.

There was one other amazing fact. We were now looking at the only dry land on the entire territory of Cloral. As Saint Dane had said to us earlier: "Not bad for an afternoon's work, don't you think?"

CLORAL.

Theseawasnowcalm.Thethreeofussatonthebubbleof the floating hauler, staring at the reborn city of Faar. None of us could say anything for the longest time. There were no words that could truly describe the spectacular sight we had just witnessed. Well, maybe there was one.

"That wasa cool," I said, knowing it was the biggest understatement of all time.

The three of us exchanged glances and started to laugh. It was an incredible moment. We helped the city of Faar complete its destiny and probably saved Cloral at the same time. If there was a lesson here it would have to be that you should never, ever lose hope. We had given up. Thrown in the towel. The fat lady had not only sung, she had left the stage. Saint Dane was already doing his victory lap. But we pulled it out. Unbelievable. The only way we could show our disbelief was to laugh. It felt great.

We watched as the Faarians swam toward their city and tentatively crawled up on the sh.o.r.e. One by one they emerged from the water, gathered together, and stood looking up in awe at their mountain city. It was the first time the sun had touched their buildings in centuries. Water still poured from the beehive of tunnel openings that dotted the mountain. The transpire was complete.

As we sat, watching this wondrous sight, we heard the sound of waves slapping against a hull. All three of us turned to see that the black submarine was cruising toward us. My first thought was to jump back in the hauler and get the heck out of there, but a closer look told us there was no reason to be afraid. The deck of the submarine was lined with aqua-neers. They were all staring at Faar with the same look of wonder. Just as Spader had predicted, his mates had won. They now commanded the raiders' sub.

Stepping from out of the control tower was Wu Yenza. She walked out into the sun and stood with her hands on her hips confidently, watching as they drew closer to us. She was very much in charge.

"She's good," Uncle Press said.

"She's better than good," I added. "If not for hera"

I didn't have to finish the sentence. We all knew where we'd be right now if Yenza hadn't gone for help. I turned to Spader and said, "Maybe you'll get a promotion for this."

An odd thing happened. Spader didn't smile and make a clever comeback. He just watched the approaching submarine intently. His mind was somewhere else. Even though we had just pulled out an incredible victory, there was now a dark frown on his face. Without a word, he dropped back down into the hauler and powered up so we could rendezvous with the sub. I looked at Uncle Press. All he could do was shrug.

As Uncle Press pulled off his swimskin, Spader guided our hauler right up alongside the sub. An aquaneer tossed us a rope so we could tie on. Spader handed me the two air globes and water sleds and I tossed them up to the aquaneer. We then all climbed aboard the sub and were reunited with Yenza.

"I guess you found Faar," she said with a wry smile. Another understatement.

"What made you leave?" asked Uncle Press.

"A hunch," she said. "When you didn't surface, I a.s.sumed you had found the city. And if Zy Roder was right behind us, I didn't want to take him on myself. I'm good, but notthatgood."

"Where is he?" asked Spader with no emotion.

Uh-oh. Now I knew what was in Spader's head. The sight of the sub approaching had reminded him of Saint Dane. I was afraid that he would still be looking for revenge.

"He's in the brig down below," answered Yenza. "I won't let him get away again."

Spader walked past us toward the control tower.

"Spader, let it go," I called.

But Spader kept walking. What was he going to do? Uncle Press and I followed him.

Spader entered the control tower. He grabbed an aquaneer by the shirt and demanded, "Where is the brig?"

"Below, halfway to the stern," answered the aquaneer, a little intimidated.

Spader pushed him aside and headed for the ladder.

Uncle Press called, "Spader, stop. Take a breath."

Spader wasn't listening. He slid down the ladder. We were right behind him. We hit the main deck and had only taken a few steps when we heard a scream come from the back of the sub. It was a horrible, pained howl. Without a word we all began running toward the sound. Spader was a few feet ahead of us and glancing into each doorway as he pa.s.sed, looking for the source. Finally he saw something and entered a doorway. We followed right behind.

This was the right place. The room was split in half. We had just entered the front half. The back half was closed off by prison bars. On the floor in front of us was an aquaneer. Another aquaneer was behind the bars of the cell. Roder/Saint Dane was nowhere to be seen.

"He killed him!" shouted the aquaneer behind the bars. He was all sorts of excited and out of breath.

Uncle Press immediately went to the fallen aquaneer.

"Who did?" demanded Spader.

"Zy Roder! We were putting him in the cell when he suddenly turned on us. The guy is strong! He threw me in here and closed the door, then grabbed him and choked him and -I think he's dead." The guy was out of his mind with panic.

Uncle Press checked the aquaneer's pulse.