See That Girl?

By Joker's Specter

Disclaimer: Golden Sun belongs to Nintendo and Camelot.

I scanned the scene below from high above as the young pair exited the town they grew up knowing as home. It was a difficult task, so I knew that leaving their town would be one of the hardest things they'd have to do. After all, they may never see it again. Vale...the town that houses the protectors of Mount Aleph. They failed... I failed. They could not protect the entrance, and I could not protect the elemental stars. We are all at fault here. I must do my part to protect these two.

I will not fail these two children. I only wish I could assist them more directly. However, for now it seems that observation is the best tactic.

-- -- -- -- --

"C'mon Isaac, I just wanna go in and look around!" complained the spiky, red-haired Adept known as Garet. Childish as he may act sometimes, he certainly was the stronger of the two. From what I've seen, I've noticed that the two Adepts make a great team for this adventure. Combined, their skills are just enough...I hope...

At the current time, I was watching the two of them from very close by in the town the children of Weyard call Vault. It wasn't very large compared to Vale, the town that guards Mt. Aleph. I felt strangely out-of-place here in my new body. I wasn't sure if it was the town or if it was me. Not only that, but nearly every human of the male gender paid quite a lot of attention to me. I wasn't sure why, either.

I thought that it might've been my human clothing that I picked out. I wasn't sure whether I should wear male or female clothing, so I combined the two and wore the female clothing over the male clothing.

Ignoring the stares I was receiving, I returned my gaze to the two Adepts. They had entered the town only moments ago, and the Mars Adept wanted to go into a specific building. The Venus Adept thought they should move on, believing that going into the building would only slow them down.

"Please, explain to me why you want to go into the item shop," said Isaac with a slightly frustrated tone of voice.

Garet bit his lip and rubbed his chin. "Umm...to...to stock up on herbs?"

Raising an eyebrow, Isaac said, "You don't think we find enough as it is from the monsters that drop them?" After his sentence, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of the green herbs. "Look how many we found just traveling from Vale to Vault...I think we can manage without buying more."

"Oh...well, what if they have some kind of special edition herb?"

"Wha? Special edi-" Isaac paused, shook his head, and put his hand over his face. "Look, I know you don't want to go in there to buy herbs. Tell me the truth, Garet. What is the point of going in there? We've already wasted time standing here, and I don't think we need to waste more."

Garet narrowed his eyes. "You're too smart for your own good... Alright, here. Let me show you," he replied. I watched as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and guided him to one of the windows.

"Go on, take a look," said the Mars Adept. Curious, I moved closer to the pair. I made my way behind them, far enough away so they wouldn't get suspicious but close enough so that I could view what they were seeing.

"Okay, so what is it I'm looking at?" asked Isaac, squinting as he peered into the window.

"The girl, Isaac... The girl..." Garet whispered. My ears could barely pick up what he said.

I watched as Isaac's head slowly turned to look at his friend, a look of disgust appearing on his face. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth to speak. "The clerk?! She's the reason you're holding us up?" he said harshly.

Garet grinned, and nodded. "She's so beautiful... I think I'm going to marry her..." he said.

Isaac looked back at the window, and then back to Garet. "First of all...Jenna is far more important than this...we have to rescue her and Kraden, and recover the rest of the elemental stars like the Wise One said. Second of all...I really think she looks like your sister, so I don't think you'd want to marry her," he said patiently. He knew that Garet sometimes had a hard time grasping things in his mind.

If the Mars Adept was happy before, he wasn't anymore. His face quickly made shape to an expression of disgust.

"Isaac! What in Weyard--argh! I didn't need to know that!" shouted Garet, throwing his hands in the air. He turned to peer back into the window, his expression staying the same.

"Oh man! Now every time I look at that girl I'm gonna think of my sister!" he said as his head fell back and he covered his face with his hands.

I saw a tiny smile appear on Isaac's face as he watched with amusement at his friend's rants. Opening his mouth to speak, he said, "Anyway...let's ask someone where the Mayor's house is. Maybe he could tell us if those...those kidnappers...took Jenna and Kraden this way." He had gritted his teeth at the word "kidnappers".

Glancing back to Garet, I watched him pres his forehead against the window, and a look of pain spread across his face. "We could've asked her..." he muttered.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Well...what's stopping us? Let's go ask her," I heard him say.

Garet pulled away from the window. "What? No way! Because of you, I'm scared she'll start yelling at me to get away from her flowers, just like Kay always did," he exclaimed.

They both stared at each other for a moment, and then looked down in unison. I assumed they were checking to make sure they weren't standing on any flowers.

When he saw no flowers, Isaac looked back up to his companion and said, "Anyway, we've got to ask somebody. Come on."

"Alright, but hey--we need to find some place to eat. I'm hungry."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Garet, we only left Vale an hour ago...and we ate right before we left," he muttered.

Garet poked his stomach, looking down at it with curious eyes. "I know...but I guess all that fighting we did made me hungry again."

Rolling his eyes again, Isaac nodded. "Alright, after we talk to the Mayor we'll find something to eat. Let's go ask around for the Mayor's house right now, though."

The pair turned and looked around for someone to ask. I should've looked away or acted like I was doing something else, but I did not think to do that. Immediately their eyes fell on me.

"Um, excuse me, ma'am?" called Isaac, raising his hand in the hair and striding over to me. "Could we ask you a question?"

I wanted to avoid confrontation with the two of them, so my response was clear. "No."

Stopping dead in his tracks, Isaac opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Opening it again to speak, he said, "Okay, sorry to bother you then."

He gave me one last look before turning to walk back to Garet, who still was standing next to the window with a shocked expression on his face. His eyes were as wide open as they could go, and his face had turned red. When he noticed I was looking at him, his face reddened even more. I found it strange, but common. Most men I looked at went red in their faces. I couldn't figure it out.

My sensitive hearing picked up Garet whispering something to Isaac. "I...I want to marry that girl, Isaac," he whispered. His voice was quavering--something I don't hear often in humans with Garet's personality.

"Yeah, I know you want to... C'mon, we need to keep asking around."

I turned away from them, feeling uncomfortable under Garet's stare. I walked over to act out a scene I generally saw humans do--shopping. There was a fruit stand in front of me, and I examined the fruit as if I were looking to purchase them.

"No Isaac, I'm going to marry her. I can't believe you don't see how beautiful she is..."

"Yeah, I know. I can't let anything slow us down though, Garet."

"If I knew you didn't like Jenna, I'd think you're crazy," said Garet.

Isaac spoke up quickly. "What? L-Like Jenna? What're you talking about?"

"Never mind," Garet replied. I turned to look at him again, and noticed he was still looking at me. I had the faintest idea that he had figured something out about me. That made me even more uncomfortable, so I looked away again.

"Excuse me, sir?" I heard Isaac call.

-- -- -- -- --

The rest of the time Isaac and Garet spent in the town of Vault I hid away, high up in the sky. I abandoned the clothing I had used, because I figured it was all wrong. I would find a new set of clothing in the next town.

I was not sure of the next town's title, but I knew where it was located. As soon as I was sure that Isaac and Garet had left the town of Vault, I swiftly traveled the short distance to make my preparations.

So far everything had gone well for Isaac and Garet.

-- -- -- -- --

I had made special care to get the correct clothing this time, but it still didn't help my situation with the male humans. The men in the new town stared at me just as the men in Vault had done. A few of the women took a couple glances at me too, while others would hit the men standing next to them, and look at them angrily. It was a strange thing indeed...

When Isaac and Garet entered the town, I was happy to have found something else to give my attention. Ignoring the other civilians, I immediately returned to my state of observation. I noticed this time that they were accompanied by a new person. A younger boy with blonde hair. Upon closer observation, I heard them refer to him as "Ivan".

I received mixed signals from Ivan. On one hand he appeared timid and shy, while in his eyes I spotted confidence that could lead him to challenge even the largest of men. It reminded me much of Isaac's eyes.

Garet's eyes showed a strong bond with his friends. He relied on them, much like they relied on him. Even now, he was joking with Isaac and Ivan, showing his more friendly side.

I soon realized I was too close, as Garet had spotted me.

"Isaac!" he exclaimed, reaching over and grabbing his friend by the arm. "It's her! That girl!"

Isaac jumped, surprised at Garet grabbing his arm. "What? What girl?" he asked, wriggling out of Garet's grip.

It didn't seem to matter that I was staring right at them. Garet pointed and said out loud, "Right there! The one from Vault!"

Both Isaac and Ivan looked over to me, wearing confused looks on their faces. Isaac, took a good look, and then turned to Garet, saying, "So?"

"So nothing! She's the one I'm gonna marry!" said Garet, not afraid to talk loud enough for people around him to hear.

"Garet...haven't you noticed that half of the people in these towns look the same? The Inn keepers are pretty much identical. That's probably just another person who looks like the girl you want to marry," stated Isaac.

Garet shook his head. "Nope, that's her. I know these things, Isaac. That's definitely the same girl."

Isaac sighed. "Well, we can't stop now. The palace is up that way," said Isaac. "That guard said we needed to ask them to get by the barricade." It was clear that Isaac wanted to stick to his duty. I couldn't understand why Garet wasn't doing the same. The fate of the world was in his hands, and he was standing there saying he was going to marry me.

Why would he want to marry me? I couldn't understand it. Very few things about Garet made sense to me.

"Wow..." said Ivan. "You said she was in Vault? I would have remembered seeing someone so beautiful if they had lived there...she must have been visiting temporarily. She must be traveling, which would explain why she's here now."

"Whoa there little man, don't you start moving in on her. I saw her first," said Garet, pushing Ivan back a little and stepping forward himself.

Ivan simply shrugged, and said, "That's okay. I need to stick to my duty before I can go looking for someone to have a relationship with."

Isaac nodded. "You know, for someone so young, you're very smart. I would think that Garet would want to stick to his duty too..."

"Hey now, that's not fair! I'm not saying that I'm calling off the quest here...I'm just saying that maybe we could...y'know...ask her to join us," Garet replied, turning to look at Isaac.

Instantly I knew that I should walk away. I couldn't interfere, and joining them would be one of the worst ways of interfering. I turned around and walked into a building--the Inn, hoping to have them forget me.

Unfortunately, Garet wasn't one to let things go so easily. Moments later he entered the building. I could almost hear his heart beating from where I sat on the other side of the room. He weaved in between the tables and soon was upon mine.

"Hi, miss," he said nervously. Behind him, Isaac and Ivan entered the Inn. I could tell that they were frustrated by the looks on their faces.

I turned my head away from Garet, pretending to ignore him.

"Um...well, I have a question for you..." he said slowly. He began to sit down in the chair across for me, but I glared at him, so he paused for a moment and then stood up again. "You...you wouldn't mind joining our team, would you? The food benefits are great!"

Food? That must have been his poor attempt to joke with me. Food wouldn't matter to me--I don't eat.

"We're on this quest, see...and we could use someone of your...um...caliber...to travel with us."

I shifted my chair so that my entire human body was facing away from him. I had seen other people do this to him sometimes, and he usually gave up and went away when they wouldn't listen to him. I was hoping it would work for me.

Isaac and Ivan had come up beside Garet. "C'mon Garet, we need to get going," said Isaac quietly.

"Aww, but--c'mon!" pleaded Garet, bending over the table to look me in the face. "Just for a little bit. We're on a really fun quest, and you just happen to look like the type of person that we need!"

"Fun?!" exclaimed Isaac. "What's fun about our friends being kidnapped? What's fun about the destruction of Weyard if we don't succeed?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ivan step back a little, wanting no part in the argument. I wanted no part of this myself.

Garet tried to explain that he didn't mean it like that. While he was sputtering out nonsense, I stood up to leave. I was becoming too much of a distraction. They were already behind as it was.

"By 'fun' I meant 'fuuuun', like, y'know, hanging out with friends!" Garet managed to spit out. He quickly lost interest in the not-so-amused Isaac when he turned around to see me walking away.

"Wait!" he called, bounding over a few chairs and stopping in front of me. "Please don't go!"

"Garet!" shouted Isaac.

"Just a second!" exclaimed Garet, holding up an index finger. "The more help the better, right?"

Isaac threw his hands in the air, turned around, and walked back to the entrance to the Inn. He stopped by the door, waiting for Garet to hurry up. Ivan, meanwhile, was staring at Garet and I. Already I had managed to slow them down. I could not understand why Garet was being so stubborn, or why he wanted me to join their quest directly.

"Look, you won't even have to fight! I just want to get to know you better is all..."

After tuning out Isaac's shouting and Garet trying to gain more time with the situation, I thought to myself about what the wisest course of action would be. A few more seconds had passed, and I finally said aloud, "Okay...I will travel with you." I paused for a moment to give Garet a moment to stop replying to Isaac.

I must have shocked Garet with my words, because his eyes became really wide, and his mouth hung open. He had stopped in mid-reply to Isaac.

"Wha...wait, what?" he asked.

"I will go with you...but, you must no longer hinder your friend."

Garet glanced over to Isaac, a wide grin spreading quickly over his face. He nodded, and said, "Okay, agreed."

Without another word, I turned and began to walk to where Isaac and Ivan stood. Garet quickly returned to my side, like a faithful dog with its master.

"Sooo...what's your name?" he questioned.

I quickly realized I did not have a name for my human form. I wanted to keep my identity a secret, so I could not use my true title.

"What would you call me?" I asked, stopping in front of Isaac and Ivan. Isaac gave Garet a questioning look, while Ivan just stared at me. When he noticed I was looking his way, his face quickly turned red and he pretended he was searching in his pockets for something.

"What would I call you? Um... I'm not sure. Beautiful?" Garet said.

I nodded. "Then that will be my name."

All three of them stopped what they were doing to look at me.

"You want us to call you 'Beautiful'?" asked Isaac, speaking for all three of them.

"Unless you would rather call me something else, I think that is a very good name for me."

The three of them still looked confused, but they seemed to be okay with the idea.

"Hey! Can we make up your age too? Seventeen is a good age for you," said Garet. Isaac quickly shot him a look, which was for the best. I could not tell them that I'm well over the age of seventeen. Anything I would say from that point on would be a danger to the quest.

"Well, erm...'Beautiful'... I suppose you will be traveling with us then?" asked Isaac.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Garet spoke for me. "Yeah. Also, I think it would be best if she slept close to me at night. That way I could protect her from dangerous stuff."

Ivan chuckled softly. "Garet... I think your snoring is even more dangerous than all of the thieves in Lunpa," he said.

"Well that's not very hard to do. My little brother could take on the lot of them," Garet shot back.

"Guys! Quiet!" said Isaac, raising his voice and an arm to get their attention. "We need to be going now. Garet, you can inform, um, 'Beautiful', on the way of how dangerous our adventure is. Inform her of the reason we're on the quest, but don't make it very, uh, 'descriptive'."

I instantly knew that Isaac was warning Garet not to say too much about Psynergy, or the power of alchemy. Garet, however, did not.

"You mean like how bloody our battles can get and stuff?" asked Garet, scratching the back of his head.

Isaac rolled his eyes, and Ivan said, "He means..." he paused, stepped forward telling Garet to bend down, and whispered into his ear. I assumed he was trying to not let me hear him, but my hearing was focused just enough that I could listen to him anyway. I was correct in my assumption that they were talking about Psynergy.

"Oh! I gotcha! None of that," said Garet, smiling at Isaac. "Even though she's bound to find out sooner or later."

Isaac opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. Instead, he shook his head and walked out of the Inn. Ivan and I followed him, while Garet followed me.

-- -- -- -- --

"Ahh! Not so tight!" shouted Garet.

"Hold still!" exclaimed Isaac. After pausing for a moment, he said, "Consider the pain your consequence for not battling properly." He tightened the knot on the cloth that he had wrapped around Garet's arm.

"Not battling properly?!"

"He means showing off," stated Ivan, watching in amusement.

Realization crossed Garet's face, and he said, "Ah, well, you see... I wasn't showing off, really. It was more like I was taking a few seconds to...um...survey the scenery."

Isaac looked up to Garet's face. "Let's review what happened. You hit that zombie once. It fell down to the ground, while you struck a pose, saying 'Steel is mightier than dead flesh!' And then you looked over to Beautiful, grinning like an idiot. I consider that showing off."

"I thought you considered it not battling properly..." muttered Garet. "And I didn't know that zombies were quick to get back up on their feet... Or that they had sharp teeth..."

"I do consider it not battling properly! Garet, if she's becoming a distraction, then I'm going to have to ask her not to come with us the rest of the way," said Isaac firmly.

I stood off a ways, pretending I wasn't hearing them. I knew that Isaac was right. His decisions proved to me that he could lead the three of them to victory on this quest. I just hoped they stood a chance against those who had stolen the elemental stars.

"No way! She's not a distraction! Besides, how could you get rid of something so perfect? I mean, just say her name! Beautiful... Beeeaaauuutiful! It's the perfect name for her..." Garet said out loud. "And...hey, why aren't you just healing me?" he said, a little quieter.

"Not in front of her...remind me to do it later," Isaac said simply, standing up and observing his work.

"Oh, don't worry. My screams of pain in the middle of night should remind you."

"You mean your snoring is actually screams of pain?" questioned Ivan.

"Oh ha ha, funny," said Garet, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, if you'll excuse me boys, I'm going to go talk to the most beautiful person in all of Weyard." Garet jumped up, and walked over to me, wearing a large smile on his face.

"Hi!" he said, stopping in front of me. I looked over his shoulder and saw that Isaac had returned to getting their equipment ready to go, and Ivan was watching Garet and I.

"Hello..." I said. "What do you want?"

"Oh...um...nothing, really. I just wanted to say hi, and stuff."

"I see... How is your arm?"

Garet looked down at his wounded arm, saying, "It's better than ever, actually. Zombies teeth are weak compared to muscle."

I raised one of my eyebrows. "Better than ever? If it's wounded, how is it better than when it's healed?"

Garet paused for a moment, considering this. "Eh...never mind then. So, anyways, we're heading to Kolima Forest now... I figured maybe before we get there we could talk a little...y'know, tell each other about ourselves," he said.

I studied his face for a moment, wondering just what it was he wanted to find out from me. Did he figure out my true identity? Was he trying to get me to admit it to him? I was not sure, but I had to make sure he knew that I would not tell him anything.

"Okay...sounds interesting. I think we'll only have time for you to tell me about yourself, though," I said calmly.

Garet scratched his head. "What do you mean? Kolima Forest is still half a day from here..."

"I am aware of that. I think it would take even longer than half of a day to tell me all about your life."

I was 'playing dumb' as I've heard some call it. I knew perfectly well what Garet had meant, but I was acting like I did not know. My goal was to keep the Adepts from asking questions.

"No, I don't think you understand... I didn't mean we tell each other about our entire lives..." said Garet.

I shrugged--a human gesture that I'd been trying out while nobody was looking. "Oh well... I would still like to hear about your life," I replied.

"Really?" asked Garet, amazed that someone would say that.

Before I could respond, Isaac called to us, telling us that it was time to start moving again.

"Ah, well, I guess I should start with the day I was born. I don't remember much myself... Shocking, I know. Anyway, my mom tells me that I was adorable. My dad says I was dropped accidentally on my head. It doesn't show, though," Garet said as we started walking. He then went on to tell me about his life.

-- -- -- -- --

The next five hours were the most mentally painful moments of my life. I had not expected Garet to give me every detail of his life up to the age of eight that he could remember. Either his long-term memory was excellent, or he was making up details and events.

"So then after my dad handed the stick to me, I took it and threw it to my little brother. He missed it and then ran like a dog to catch it. It was hilarious!" said Garet. "Then my sister came out of the house, complaining about the frogs I had put in her room earlier. Do you remember me telling you about them?"

"Yes..." I muttered, trying to stop the screaming I was hearing in my head. I was almost certain that part of my brain was in agony.

Up ahead, Isaac and Ivan were talking to each other. Earlier, when I was thinking more clearly, I heard Isaac ask Ivan if he would try reading my mind. Ivan had agreed to do it later, and they continued to carry on a regular conversation after that. Finally, after five and a half hours of internal suffering, I heard Isaac announce that we were coming up to Kolima Forest, and that we should prepare ourselves to spend the night there.

I had never known relief before that moment.

"Aww, that's too bad. Maybe we can continue this later, huh? Looks like we'll have to be keeping our attention focused on the quest again..." said Garet. It was as if he thought that focusing on the quest again was a bad thing...

"Yes...I suppose I will be looking forward to it," I replied quietly, hesitating slightly.

Upon entering the forest, I immediately sensed the Adepts' growing fear. They showed it by looking around nervously, gripping their weapons tighter, or holding on to my arm. I couldn't think of anyway to remove Garet from me, so I had to walk with him awkwardly as he held onto my arm. Soon after, he moved down to hold on to my hand.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you..." he said quietly, looking down at my face.

That may have been the very first time I had ever seen the face of someone wanting to protect me. I do not think anyone has ever said that to me. It amused me to the extent that I could only nod to him. I was not sure what else to do.

-- -- -- -- --

Kolima Forest was an interesting experience. The Adepts did an excellent job keeping the fact that they had used Psynergy a few times hidden from me--or so they thought. If I were a normal person, I would not have seen it, or the signs of them using it.

By far the strangest thing to ever happen to me, however, was yet to come. When engaged in battle with the tree spirit, Tret, who had recently been tainted. Garet had almost lost consciousness, and Isaac was too preoccupied to heal him. Ivan himself was pulling forth all of the energy he had left to summon Psynergy and attack. All I could do was stand back and watch. I could not interfere in a battle such as this.

Garet was hit once more with a strong energy blast, and he flew back into a wall. After a moment, he slowly stood up, wavering slightly. I could tell he could not take much more abuse. I expected him to jump back into the fight. However, he surprised me. He stumbled over to me, opened his mouth, and said, "I...I can't risk dying...without kissing you first..."

And then he leaned forward and put his mouth on mine.

The sensation I received from it was a very strange one. I did not understand it, but I could not pull away from it. It was as if I was frozen, and no matter how much I told myself to move away, I did not. Time stood still, you could say. It felt as if some form of Psynergy was affecting the area around me, but I knew that there was no magic here.

Garet pulled away, smiling slightly. I think he wanted me to say something, but I could not say anything. After a few seconds of silence, he turned away from me, and continued on to help Isaac and Ivan defeat the tainted spirit of Tret.

-- -- -- -- --

Isaac, Ivan, and I exited Kolima Forest, with Garet being dragged along by the other two Adepts. He had lost consciousness after he had taken a final hit from Tret. Soon after, Isaac and Ivan defeated Tret, which was followed by an explanation from Tret and Laurel--another forest spirit--about how they were dying. The only thing that could help them was the healing water of the Mercury Lighthouse.

That was fortunate, because Imil was where we were heading next, I assumed. It was, after all, the location of the Mercury Lighthouse. It was common sense that the thieves who stole the Elemental Stars would be heading there first. I told Isaac earlier that if his quest was to take him to the lighthouses, then that would be the best place to go first.

So, since we were heading there first, Isaac knew that there was still a chance to save Tret and Laurel, even if the healing waters had dried up. I was not too fond of the idea of taking our minds off of the quest. We did not even have to enter Kolima Forest in the first place. However, Isaac was the type of person to do whatever he could to help people out. It was the only reason he would take his mind off of the quest at hand.

A few minutes after exited Kolima Forest, Isaac must have felt guilty about leaving Garet unconscious. He told Ivan to lay Garet down on the grass, so that he could heal him. After they had him on the ground, Isaac told Ivan quietly to try to read my mind now, while he revived Garet.

I showed no emotion at all about Garet's current state, but Ivan didn't seem to notice that. He tried to take advantage of the fact that his friend was hurt to touch me. He needed to be in direct contact with me to read my mind, which is a Jupiter Adept skill.

"Don't worry, Beautiful. He'll be okay. Isaac is just doing a, um, a healing technique he learned from his father," said Ivan, putting his hand on my shoulder. It looked a little awkward, since he was shorter than me, but he did not seem to mind. Soon, I felt a flow of Psynergy enter my body from his and center on my mind. My first instinct was to put up a mind block, which I did. After a moment's thought, I figured the best approach to go along with veiling my mind would be to create fake thoughts for him to read.

I quickly disguised my real thoughts with fake ones that involved me worrying about Garet's condition. After Ivan came across those, he began to dig deeper into my mind, searching for more on who I was. I could not allow that. I swiftly created an image of Garet and I kissing that one time, hoping to scare off Ivan as it had scared me at first. When he found that memory, Ivan's face turned red, and he removed his hand from my shoulder, saying, "Only a few more minutes and he should be okay."

The boy walked over to Isaac to tell him what he had found. Isaac seemed satisfied with what Ivan had said, telling him that he should try again later when Garet was not on my mind.

-- -- -- -- --

After Garet was revived to consciousness, the four of us traveled the rest of the way to Imil. We made it to just outside of the town by the time it got dark. When we were walking down the hill to the small, snowy village, Garet began getting close to me again, saying things that confused me.

"Y'know, it's not my fault I fell in love. After all, you're the one who tripped me," he said, grinning ear-to-ear. I suspected he thought he was amusing, when really he just confused me.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Oh, you don't know that one?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, well... Hmm... Stupid sun, it's the only thing hotter than you in all of Weyard." He smiled again, and winked.

Nothing he said made sense. "Actually, it's cold here in Imil... And the sun is not in Weyard."

Garet smacked his forehead. "Well, okay then, what's heaven like? I want an insider's opinion," he replied, winking yet again.

My heart jumped a few beats. I knew now that he must have figured out my true identity. Nobody would have assumed I was from the heavens if they did not know the truth.

"How...how did you know?"

Now it was his turn to be confused. After a moment, he smiled again. "Well, isn't it obvious? Only someone as beautiful as you could be from heaven!"

I had not realized my human body had flaws that would give away my true identity. I had been revealed. I could no longer hide who I was, as they already the truth. I dropped my head, saying, "Well done. You are far more intelligent than I suspected. It seems I overlooked something when creating my body."

Isaac and Ivan had noticed that Garet and I had stopped, and they walked up to us. Garet, meanwhile, looked at me with a blank face.

"Wait, so, is that a pick-up line aimed towards me?" he asked.

I cared not for what he said. I took a few more moments to let Isaac and Ivan catch up, and I began transforming back to my original form. My true form. From deep inside me, a bright-blue glow shot out, engulfing my body.

"Gah!" I heard Garet shout.

"What'd you do to her?!" Isaac yelled.

"N-Nothing!"

Moments later, my transformation was complete, and I was once again in my true form.

"What in the name of Venus?! It's the Wise One!" exclaimed Isaac, stepping backwards. Ivan jumped back, falling into the snow. He had not seen my true form before, so the shock was much greater for him. Garet, meanwhile, stood still. His mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were the widest I had ever seen them be.

I swiveled my eye around, looking at the three of them. Their reactions were amusing, to say the least.

"Oh my god! I kissed the Wise One!" Garet shouted when he snapped back into reality. "My mom will never let me date again!"

Ivan seemed to drop his guard a little bit. He turned to Isaac, and asked, "Who's he?"

"He's the Wise One...and, I'm not sure why he's here. Why are you here, Wise One?" questioned Isaac.

I hovered a little higher over them. "For observation. I had to make sure you could do this. You are still children, in my mind. I had to be sure you would stick to the quest. Oh, yes, and I am not a 'he'. I am genderless."

Ivan chuckled slightly, watching as Garet fell to the ground shouting about "Disturbing images," or things related to that.

"I see. Well, I hope you've seen that I will complete this quest. You may not have known, but I need to rescue my friends, as well. They alone are enough motivation to keep my mind on the task," stated Isaac.

"Yes, I have noticed that, and I can say that I am happy I chose you. You are strong minded, and I have no doubts that you can do this. I must leave you here, now. You have no need of my help." I nodded to the three of them, receiving replies from only Isaac and Ivan. Garet was on the ground, rolling around in the snow and moaning as if in pain. I thought that perhaps Isaac had not healed him completely, and some of his injuries gave off a delayed feeling of pain.

I turned upwards and zoomed off towards the sky, leaving the three Adepts to their quest. Down below, I heard Ivan say, "So...basically Garet kissed a rock?"

-- -- -- -- --

I returned momentarily to watch them from high above Imil. I was not surprised to see them staying at the Inn. I was, however, surprised to see Garet up and well. He was just like before, outgoing and in high spirits. It took me a moment to see who he was talking to. He spoke softly in a blue-haired girl's ear, and winked at her. She giggled and her face turned red. Tuning in my hearing, I watched him lean in to the girl's ear and say, "So, what's heaven like? I want an insider's opinion."

End: See That Girl?

For starters...I usually support Garet/Jenna and The Wise One/nobody... Next, I'd like to apologize to all those who may take this a little too far and actually end up with disturbing images burned in their heads. I call it Magmashipping! Thanks to my good friend and fellow author Navy Blu for that name. Also, thanks to all of those who've supported me. I know I said I'd list you all, but there's just too many. Again, thank you. Also, again, sorry for the disturbing stuff. If it helps, I think I've gone insane. Does that help? Oh well, at least it's original... La la la...

-Joker