Woo! My first multi-chaptered Golden Sun fic! Go me!

Disclaimer that I think we shouldn't need to put in but I will just so no one flames me for saying that I don't NOT own Golden Sun or other crap, not that I'm saying Golden Sun IS crap, it's awesome: I don't own Golden Sun. I'm not... Camelot, or whassisname Takahashi (the dude—brothers, actually, who made it.) Yeah.

Steam: Bit long of a disclaimer, don'tcha think?

Shut up. Anyway, this is my muse, Steam! The Mercury Djinni! She's from Golden Sun. Although, if you don't know that Steam is from Golden Sun, why are you browsing that section of fanfictions?

Aroma: Another unsolved mystery...

And, this is Aroma, the Jupiter Djinni! Come, smell his... well, aroma! Go into a coma! End up in Tacoma! (City in Washington (State), known for its bad smell.) And... I'm outta rhymes...

Aroma: Hey! I don't smell THAT bad!

Yes, you do. Maybe I (in the future) will write fanfictions of a different category, and you click on my name, read my bio, and review my other fanfictions! (hint hint hint)

Aroma: Right now, that would be 'fanfiction.' Singular.

(Stabs Aroma with cattle prod) Anyway... Read and Review!

I took some (Okay, all) the dialogue from the epilogue of The Lost Age and put it in here, but the rest is new. And I would have posted this earlier (before I went on vacation) only the Document Manager was screwy. Figures, I probably would have gotten at least one good review by the time I get back, only I couldn't post it.

Steam: Good thing, too.

Okay, peoples... Just to inform you that... Squirrels are evil! Yes, evil. They plot to kill us all... Yeah. As I said earlier, I was on vacation, and we went camping in Vancouver B.C. It was booooring. At this one spot, we kept hearing these thuds from something hitting the ground. We got out of the tent to find... Green pinecones. Ya' know, the un-ripe kind that's really hard? They kept dropping from the trees, and we would have to keep looking up to make sure we didn't get hit. One hit our brand-new (Okay, a month old) car, and left a scratch. They also bombarded our tent. So, when the squirrel came down the tree, I chucked a pinecone at it. I missed

Aroma: ...Bit long. Hey! That's a good idea! (Starts chucking green pinecones at me)

Hey! What're you—Ow! That was—ow! Uncalled for! Heeeelp!

Prologue

"At last, I have it! Eternal life... and limitless power!" The blue-haired man stood atop Mount Aleph, shouting triumphantly. "At last, the power of nature is mine to control as I will!" Standing at the peak, he raised his arms. "Rise, storms! Rise up and unleash your might upon Vale and the foothills of Mount Aleph!" He waited. Nothing happened. Puzzled, he raised his arms again in the sorcerous-looking pose. Nothing happened. "That's odd... I should have limitless power... So why can't I call up a simple storm?"

Suddenly, a large rock with an eye appeared. Shocked, Alex dropped his pose. "Wh—who are you?" he asked.

The rock's voice spoke in Alex's mind. "I am called the Wise One..."

The name struck a bell in the depths of Alex's memory. "The Wise One? Vale's protector?"

The Wise One nodded—bobbed up and down. "You wish to have limitless power?"

"Wish to?" Alex scoffed. "I just got it!"

The Wise One shook... er... turned left and right. "No. Your power is nearly limitless, but it has boundaries."

Alex's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Nearly limitless? You speak in riddles." He glared at the floating rock. "Can't you see? The power is mine!" he cried.

The Wise One floated closer. "Yes. You also have nearly endless life. And your Psynergy is... somewhat stronger."

"If you are trying to anger me," the Mercury Adept warned, "have a little taste of exactly how much power I have attained!" Raising his hands, he started to glow light blue. Glowing rings rolled up from his feet to disappear at his head. Concentrating fiercely, he forced the Wise One away by a yard. "Look at me!" He smiled, still glowing. "My body is brimming with power!"

Without speaking the Wise One formed Psynergetic (is that a word?) rings around himself. Alex, struck by the Wise One's power, went sprawling, and remained stunned on the ground. "How!? What's going on?" he screamed frantically. "I should be all-powerful! How could you defeat me?!?"

The Wise One shook itself sagely. "You are not all-powerful, Alex. Your body has limits, as does your life."

Alex shook his head in disbelief and anger. "This cannot be! Who is responsible of this treachery? Who has robbed me of my dream?"

The Wise One glanced at Alex's unmoving body. "I, the Wise One, imbued the Mars Star with some of the power of the forming Golden Sun. It rests even now in the hands of young Isaac."

"Why?"

The Wise One decided to ignore the question. "The heavens and earth are changing, Alex! You must flee now!"

"Wha—what?" asked Alex, still lying on the ground.

The Wise One floated away from him. "Mount Aleph will be drawn into the heart of the earth! [1] You must flee or join it forever!"

Alex struggled uselessly against his bonds of Psynergy. "Flee?! I can't flee! I can't even move!"

"Ah, yes. You now see the limits of your power." The Wise One sounded satisfied. "If you are swallowed by the earth, you may not survive." It floated over the cliff edge, taking one last look at Alex's blue form. "If you survive, perhaps we shall meet someday..." The rock shrunk slightly, then disappeared in a flash of Psynergy.

Alex felt the mountain rumble underneath him, much like it had when the Elemental Stars were taken from the innermost chamber a year and a half before. And slowly, the mountain's base crumbled, bringing the mountain, Sol Sanctum, and Alex with it.

Alex watched as the ground drew closer. It was like an elevator with an open door: all he had to do was walk out as the floor passed. But he was frozen. The ground was twenty feet away, then ten. Alex, fighting the Wise One's Psynergy, managed to reach out and finger the soft grass at the base of the destruction, before the earth above him crumbled, turning everything black. [2]

Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia, Felix, Jenna, Sheba, Piers, Kyle, and Jenna and Felix's parents walked up the hill, minutes from Vale. Jenna sighed happily. "Finally! We've reached Vale!" Garet stared at the ground, still walking.

Sheba gave him a funny look. "What's the matter, Garet? You're finally home again. Aren't you happy?"

"Garet's just worried about what's happened to everyone in Vale," replied Ivan.

The group had sailed to a beach on the other side of the mountains west of Vale, and had been trudging east for four days. Mia broke the silence. "So it's just over that last hill?"

"I can't wait to see what your hometown looks like!" Piers exclaimed.

"It's beautiful," said Kraden, full of pride for his town. "I'm sure you'll like it, Piers."

They halted a quarter of a mile from the peak of the hill. "I'm just going to close my eyes," said Jenna's dad. "Someone tell me if it's alright to open them."

Jenna's mother agreed. "Me too... would someone please tell me how things are?"

"I'll go," offered Isaac. "Come with me, Felix."

They walked in silence, until Kyle called, "How's it look, Isaac?"

"I'm almost there!" Isaac called over his shoulder. Reaching the top, he and Felix froze, staring at the sight. "It... It can't be..." Isaac whispered softly.

Jenna started to get impatient. "What is it, Isaac? ...Felix?" Neither answered, still staring at the devastation. "Say something!" she demanded.

Felix spoke softly, but everyone could hear. "I'm sorry, Jenna, but... Vale... Mt. Aleph... They're gone!"

"What!?" Everyone rushed up the hill. Where Mount Aleph and Vale had been was now a patch of ground, barren save for the rocks scattered on it. Even the top of Mount Aleph was gone.

Felix's father spoke for them all: "This is terrible..."

Isaac, Kyle, and Garet whispered names of their family still in Vale.

Jenna wavered. "Isaac... Garet... What can I say to comfort you?" They stared at the barren fields. "They're here somewhere... They have to be here..."

"What can we do? How can we help them now?"

"I don't know..." Kraden admitted. "Call out to them... such a tragedy..." [3]

Felix spoke up. "I'll call them..." He walked up to where Isaac, Garet, and Kyle stood, still staring. "Isaac... Garet... I understand what you're feeling. I've felt it, too. But standing here won't bring them back. Let's go back to Vault. We can rest there and think..."

Garet spoke at last. "Your family's safe, Felix. You don't have to worry about it anymore... But what am I supposed to do?" His voice had a ring of despair. "...I'm all alone now."

"Aww... poor baby..." Sheba said mockingly.

Jenna spun around. "Sheba, what's got into you?" She swung her staff, hitting Sheba in the stomach and hissed, "How could you say that to Garet?"

Mia giggled. "Tee hee! I wonder..."

Garet had heard them. "Sheba, Mia? You think this is funny? I've lost everyone! My whole family!" he said angrily.

"Garet!" called a voice from their right. "Don't be so sad!" Everyone froze as the voice continued. "I thought you might be a little more confident after your adventures!"

Garet turned as a child exclaimed, "Ha ha! I got to see my brother cry!" Everyone gasped and turned to behold Garet's entire family.

"So you made it back, Garet... I knew it would take more than this to beat you, son."

Garet's mother looked like she was crying. "Welcome home, Garet."

The mayor of Vale [4] smiled. "You look surprised to see us, Garet."

Confused, Kyle looked at the family again. "How did you survive?"

"The Wise One warned us of danger. He [5] guided us here to safety," said Kay.

Garet's grandmother looked sadly upon the former town. "Everything was destroyed... Our homes... Our town..." She trailed off as Kraden spoke.

"But the Wise One saved you all?"

"I'm... I'm not alone!" Garet cheered.

Kraden paused. "If you all made it out, did Dora as well?"

As one, the Adepts and their companions turned to the right to behold Dora. For the first time in what felt like forever, Isaac's worries disappeared, and a true smile etched itself on his face. "...Mom..." he whispered.

Dora also smiled. "Welcome home, Kyle... Isaac..."

Kyle grinned. "You survived!" he exclaimed. He and Isaac ran to Dora, and gave her a hug.

"So did you..."

(Alex's POV)

I awakened. I knew I was alive, from the pain. My left leg was caught under a boulder, and I guessed it was broken. But that didn't matter. I was alive. I remembered nothing before the earth crumbled on me. Remembered nothing but rocks. I froze as the memories caught up with my descent, and I remembered the other rock. The one with an eye. The one that floated. The one known as the Wise One.

Brief Flashback

I shook my head in disbelief and anger. "This cannot be! Who is responsible of this treachery? Who has robbed me of my dream?"

The Wise One glanced at my unmoving body. "I, the Wise One, imbued the Mars Star with some of the power of the forming Golden Sun. It rests even now in the hands of young Isaac."

End Flashback

Anger coursed through my veins as I remembered the blonde warrior from Vale. Fighting for the wrong cause, so firmly set in his belief that he was right. Fool. He had stolen my life's dream, and left me broken under a mountain of rock. My heart beat faster. Somehow, I would survive. And somehow, even if it would be the last thing I would see, I would see Isaac laying at my feet with my sword through his chest. Isaac, and all his friends. They would die.

(End Alex's POV)

Alex lay on his back, thoughts furiously racing through his brain. The rumbling of the mountain, still drilling its way through the ground, wasn't helping, either. 'Wait... Isn't Weyard flat?' Alex sat upright at the thought, gasping at the pain. If Weyard was flat, and he was going through it... There was only one possible result.

The mountain fell.

Aroma: Ohhh... You bad! (whacks me with those things you burn imprints on cow's sides) Bad! (whacks) Bad! (whacks) Pitiful excuse for an author!

Steam: Setting them up on the FIRST chapter with a cliffhanger!

Wasn't my fault...

Aroma: Sez who?

Um... It was my Destiny™ to write a cliffhanger for the first multi-chapter fic I've written! The fault lays on the Divine-Powers-Beyond-My-Control™!

Steam: You've been learning, haven't you?

Yup.

Steam: Bad! (Grabs cattle prod and continues to beat me to death)

[1] I got the idea for this fic when the Wise One says "You will be drawn into the heart of the earth" and I realized there was no "heart."

[2] The ground crumbles around the hole where the mountain was. Just so you flamers out there don't keep saying it didn't do that. In this universe, it did. Plus... This is an AU. What did you expect, everything the same as the game?

[3] The way Kraden says it, "Such a tragedy..." just makes me laugh.

[4] Mayor of Former Vale, that is. Or Mayor of Barren Plains with Big Rocks. Which do you like better?

[5] How do they know the Wise One's a guy? SEXISM, I TELL YOU, SEXISM! Ugh... Could you imagine if was a girl, though? The one eye, with HUGE eyelashes and eyeshadow?

Steam: Not a pretty picture...

Review!