Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun or anything associated with it, with the exception of this fanfic. This is unfortunate, because there would be a sequel in the works if I did. Also, the dialogue in the prologue is identical to that at the end of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. This has been done for consistency, seeing that this fanfic is a sequel.

A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading the first chapter of Moonlight Angel! This fanfic is essentially what would happen if I was put in charge of developing the storyline for a "Golden Sun 3" title. Consider it a sequel to Golden Sun: The Lost Age, if you will. This is the first fanfic I've written in years (and my first Golden Sun fanfic), but I hope you will find it enjoyable nonetheless. The prologue was annoying to write since it's a recap of an event at the end of GS2 and I wanted to use the actual dialogue for consistency, but from the next chapter onward, I get to be creative. Yay!

So without further ado, I present to you…

Chapter 1 – Prologue

Alex's eyes stung as he glared up at the summit of Mount Aleph, gusts of wind tearing at his face. Beneath his hands and feet, the mountain trembled as if afraid of what was to come. He grinned and pressed onward. His ultimate goal was so close that the sweet taste of victory already tantalized his senses, and his heart was racing with anticipation. The Mercury adept had grown weary from the climb and his limbs were in agonizing pain from scaling the rocky surface of the mountain. He doubted he could muster any Psynergy at this point to make his trek a little easier. It mattered not, for the Golden Sun would soon be in his hands, and its warm energy would flood through his veins and grant him the power of a god. All that remained was for the Mars lighthouse to be lit.

As if on cue, the sky blazed white for a moment and Alex turned his sights towards the Northwest. The horizon was bathed in beautiful crimson light. A surge of joy coursed through the adept's body as he stopped for a moment to admire the sight.

"The Golden Sun…The very quintessence of Alchemy's power! It's beginning!" he exclaimed to the winds. His dreams had finally reached fruition! Continuing his climb, his right hand caught on a loose rock. It was dislodged and tumbled down the steep mountainside; Alex scrambled to get a firm grip before he tumbled after it. He looked up at the summit in desperation.

"Wait for me! Please, wait! Wait until I reach the summit of Mount Aleph!"

Though the strength had already drained from his muscles, he felt strangely rejuvenated by the sight of the fourth lit beacon. The summit was not much further. If he worked quickly, he could still reach it before the luminescence from the four lighthouses converged to form the power that he sought. He could not afford to slow down here. With that in mind, he continued to climb rapidly, casting an eye on the sky above Prox from time to time. The color of the light was beginning to change. In other words, the four elements of Alchemy were already beginning to react to one another.

With one last burst of energy, Alex managed to reach the summit just in time, though his body was spent and he was panting heavily when he arrived. He staggered out to the middle of the summit and raised his arms to the heavens, preparing to accept this long-awaited power. His pale blue hair flailed out in the air behind him as the light finally came together: the Golden Sun had been born. It was more spectacular than Alex could have ever imagined it would be. His vision became white for a second, and a flame was ignited deep within him that quickly spread throughout his body. When he could see again, he rejoiced in the golden light that now bathed Mount Aleph. He ran to the northern edge of the summit and glanced out over the mountains and hills in the distance, far below him. A smirk crept across his face.

"At last I have it! Eternal life…and limitless power!" he yelled. His voice resounded around him, echoing his declaration of power. He spun around and glanced upward. "At last, the power of nature is mine to control as I will! Rise, storms! Rise up and unleash your might upon Vale and the foothills of Mount Aleph!"

He stood still and listened to the sound of his own voice echoing. When he realized that nothing had come of his demand, he scratched his chin and gave an irritated grunt.

"That's odd…I should have limitless power…So why can't I call up a simple storm?"

A strong presence appeared behind him, and he turned to find a being unlike any that he had seen before. It seemed to be a boulder, but it was levitating as if by some kind of Psynergy. Alex approached it cautiously, but stopped and backed away when it revealed a large, frightening blue eye.

"Wh-Who are you?" Alex blurted out, alarmed by the intruder's unusual appearance. The stone made a low grumbling sound as it regarded the insolent water adept.

"I am called the Wise One…"

"The Wise One? Vale's protector?"

The boulder made a movement that seemed akin to a nod.

"You wish to have limitless power?"

Alex glared at the Wise One and the sly grin reappeared on his face. He chuckled.

"Wish to? I just got it!"

The Wise One made another low grumble before continuing. It seemed to be contemplating something, as if there were more to the situation than Alex was aware of.

"No. Your power is nearly limitless, but it has its boundaries."

Alex held up his hand and flexed his fingers. He could feel the new power running through them. The Golden Sun, after all, was the very heart of Alchemy. If everything that he had learned was true, not even such a powerful being stood a chance against this new strength.

"Nearly limitless?" Alex asked. "You speak in riddles. Can't you see? This power is mine!"

The Wise One seemed to nod again. "Yes. You also have nearly endless life. And your Psynergy is…somewhat stronger."

Alex was visibly irritated by what this mass of rock had told him, and his body seemed to react on his own. Poised to strike, he was ready to prove his worth as the most powerful adept in Weyard.

"If you are trying to anger me, have a little taste of how much power I have attained!"

Mercury Psynergy flowed from Alex's hands, and the Wise One became enveloped in a veil of water. All at once, shards of ice plummeted, waves crashed, and jets of water tore away at the stone guardian. Alex was delighted, for it was easy to see how much more destructive his Psynergy had become now that he had acquired the Golden Sun.

"Look at me! My body is brimming with power!"

However, when the water had cleared, the Wise One emerged unharmed by his assault. Before Alex could launch another attack, the Wise One had gathered Psynergy of its own. Lifted by an unseen force, the water adept's helpless body was thrust away. He collided with the ground forcefully and screamed in pain as his body rolled a few more meters and became limp. Once he had stopped moving, the Wise One lifted him off of the ground again and held him there, completely immobile.

"How!?" Alex managed to shout through the incredible pain. "What's going on!? I should be all-powerful! How can you defeat me?!"

The Wise One lifted Alex a bit higher and let him fall to the ground. He stifled another cry and lied there pathetically, unmoving as the guardian approached him.

"This cannot be! Who is responsible for this treachery? Who has robbed me of my dream?"

The Wise One turned its eye toward the northern sky for a moment, scrutinizing the glimmering light of the Mars beacon in silence.

"I, the Wise One, imbued the Mars Star with some of the power of the forming Golden Sun. It now rests in the hands of young Isaac."

"Why?"

There was a pause, and the earth beneath Alex shook more violently than ever before. The Wise One blinked and fixed its gaze upon the water adept once again. It was a somber gaze – one that chilled him to the bone. When the Wise One next spoke, its tone seemed different. It was not spiteful or friendly, nor was it calm or fearful.

"The heavens are changing, Alex! You must flee now!"

"Wh-What!?"

Alex attempted to sit up, but it seemed as if his body had been weighed down. He writhed for a moment as the Wise One explained the situation.

"Mount Aleph will soon be drawn into the heart of the earth! You must flee or join it forever!"

Struggling had proved futile. Alex could not move. Though he could feel the Golden Sun within him, he could not move to save his own life. The reality of the situation had gripped him, and Alex was overcome by an emotion that he had not felt for a very long time: fear. What had he come this far for? Was he really about to lose all of it in the blink of an eye? His life was flashing before his eyes, and he doubted that the Wise One would do anything to lift him out of the grave that he had dug for himself.

"Flee?! I can't flee!" he screamed desperately to the rock as if it might make a difference. "I can't even move!"

The Wise One made a noise similar to a chuckle, and it turned to face away from Alex.

"Ah, yes. You now see the limits of your power. If you are swallowed by the earth, you may not survive. If you survive, perhaps we shall meet again someday…"

And with that, the Wise One surrounded itself with glowing white Psynergy and vanished into thin air, along with Alex's hopes of escaping. He could feel the mountain crumbling beneath him, beginning to slide into the depths of the earth as had been predicted. But what could he do? For some reason, his power was completely tapped. Had the Wise One done this to him, or was it a curse that he had brought upon himself? It was impossible to know the answer now, for the Wise One had disappeared. Faces of people from his past spiraled around him like dancing lights. He had used so many pawns in order to achieve his own goals. Saturos, Menardi, Felix…Agatio and Karst…and they had all done splendidly in the end.

Because of Mount Aleph's size, it had not entirely sunk until nightfall. As the earth rose around him and rocks and boulders began to crumble down upon what was once the summit of a mighty mountain, one last person came to Alex's mind. When he thought of her, he felt a pang of guilt. He did not care much about the people that he had sacrificed in order to attain his final objective. However, he knew that, wherever she was now, his betrayal must have crucified her until the end.

And so, he smiled one last time as large rocks fell about him, threatening to crush him alive. That girl had always been an angel. It was such a shame that he had been the one to tear out her wings.

A/N Note: Yay, we're done with Ch. 1. Ch. 2 is where the actual story starts, so look forward to it. - MC