I've decided to edit this fic and made some significant changes. I hope you enjoy and please leave a review! I'd appreciate the feedback! :)

I'm also thinking about adding another chapter or two to this fic. Stay tuned for (possible) future chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun!

Mia was sitting on the rooftop of their home, which had been graciously given to them by Kyle and Dora after the reconstruction of Vale; the couple was now living in a cottage near Kraden's. From up here, she could see New Vale's plaza and the small village gates. Looking at the setting sun in the horizon, she watched the gates eagerly, awaiting his return from the assignment…an assignment she wished he never had to accept.

It had been a month ago since Isaac had left with Garet, Felix, Piers, and twenty of Vale's best men to Lunpa. According to the information that was given by the mayor, Dodonpa managed to break out of his prison and take over his father's throne by force. Driven out by his own son, Donpa managed to flee out of the village with a few loyal soldiers and noble thieves. They arrived at New Vale a few hours later and immediately went to Garet's grandfather, asking for assistance.

Mia's gaze shifted towards the cherry blossom tree that she and Isaac, with the help of Kay, had planted several months ago. Budding pink flowers could be seen growing along the fragile branches. As a gentle breeze blew, some of the matured blossoms gracefully fell to the grass below. Looking at the cherry blossoms reminded her of the morning strolls they used to go on, which would always end with the two of them sitting under that tree. Mia smiled tenderly as she remembered one particular morning...

Mia and Isaac had just finished breakfast and were now resting comfortably under the cherry blossom tree. There was a cool morning breeze in the air and the grass beneath them had some dew on its blades, slightly dampening the picnic tablecloth they were sitting on. Fallen cherry blossoms surrounded the two as Isaac had one arm around Mia, who was leaning against his shoulder. A picnic basket full of used silverware and dishes sat nearby.

Mia smiled contentedly. "That was a delicious meal, Isaac. Thank you."

"Anything for you, Mia." Isaac said. He felt her shiver slightly as another breeze blew past them. Isaac looked down at her.

"Are you cold, Mia? Would you like to go inside now?"

She shook her head. "No, let's stay here a little longer. I'm fine." Isaac gave a slight chuckle, gently pulling her closer to him. Mia responded by nuzzling her head against him affectionately.

"Isaac?"

"Hm?"

"You know, we haven't gone on our morning walk yet."

"I know."

Mia quickly sat up and felt Isaac's forehead with her hand, her eyebrows furrowed with concern. "You're not sick or something, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." Isaac laughed, gently taking her hands with his. "I actually wanted to do things a little differently this morning and take our walk after breakfast. It was...kind of my plan." She gave him a quizzical look, but he remained silent as they slowly stood up.

Another breeze blew by them, showering the two with more pink flowers.

Isaac saw a fully-bloomed flower land gracefully on Mia's head. Gently, he took it and placed it on Mia's hair, just above her right ear. "There. A cherry blossom fit for you."

She giggled as her fingers felt the silky petals of the flower. "Don't flatter me, Isaac."

"But it's true!" he exclaimed, holding her hand. "But there's something more better than that flower and you'll find out when we go on our stroll."

Mia felt her heart starting to race, but she kept her composure. "Then, let's go on our walk, shall we?" He nodded, but before either Adept could take a step, they heard someone calling out to them. The voice belonged to Isaac's best friend, Garet.

"Isaac! Isaac!" Garet panted as he descended a flight of steps and ran, stopping in front of the two to catch his breath. He noticed the picnic tablecloth beneath their feet. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

"No, Garet. You're not." Isaac answered half-irritatingly. "What is it?"

"My grandpa's lookin' for you. It's sort of...important." Garet said apologetically, scratching the back of his head. "Uhh…Please excuse us, Mia. I didn't mean to barge in." He felt his heart sink when he saw her crestfallen face. Isaac saw this and wrapped her in an embrace, which she returned.

"I promise we'll finish this later." he reassured her as they continued to hug each other. "Besides, it's sort of my little surprise."

She broke the embrace, giving him a small smile as she fixed his scarf. "Whatever it is you wanted to tell me can wait."

Isaac nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He turned towards Garet. "Let's go."

She watched as they ran off in the direction of Garet's house, disappearing as they ascended the flight of steps.

Mia dug out a small jar from her robes pocket. Inside was the cherry blossom which Isaac had given to her that day. She had been preserving the flower by freezing it slightly with her Ice Psynergy; the freezing process had slowed its growth, thus keeping it fresh.

She held it close to her as she looked back at New Vale's gates. Her heart started to beat faster as she saw a small group of people entering the gates. From where she was, she couldn't tell whether or not it was Isaac's group, but there was only one way to find out. Her fingers tightly gripped the jar containing the cherry blossom; she hoped that Isaac had survived. Without further hesitation, she clambered down the ladder and ran as fast as she could to the plaza to meet up with the returning group who she saw were headed for the inn…

Garet, Felix, and Piers were sitting around the dining table in the inn, waiting for the chef to return with their dinner. Around them, the remaining five men out of the twenty who had gone with them were rejoicing their victory as they chugged down some ale, ate heartily, and chatted ceaselessly with each other. Felix and Piers ignored the raucous and watched as Garet sat there gloomily, toying with the salt dispenser.

The Mars adept looked up at them and slouched in his seat. "Man, why did it have to be like this?!"

"I know how you feel." Piers said. "But we'll have to tell them about it sooner or later."

Felix looked around to see if the chef was coming with their food, but quickly looked back at Garet and Piers when he saw Mia entering the inn. "I think breaking the news is going to be sooner than you think." He looked at Garet. "You should be the one to do it."

Garet was taken back by the suggestion. "Why me? I thought we were going to tell as a group."

Felix sighed. "Don't you get it? She's known you longer than us! You've traveled with her the longest. You should know her well by now."

"How am I supposed to break it to her?" Garet asked. "You know me. I'm not good at this kind of stuff!"

"Just try your best, Garet. Whichever way you try to tell her, I'm sure she'll understand." Piers assured him.

"You should go and meet with her before she finds our table and wonders why Isaac's not with us." Felix added.

Garet placed the salt dispenser next to the pepper one and stood up. "All right, I'll do it!" he said indignantly as he started walking away, but stopped and returned to the table. He dug out five gold coins and placed them on the table.

"When the chef arrives with the food, give him these as a tip." he said to Felix and Piers. "Tell him it's my thanks for letting us eat here for free." Both Venus and Mercury Adepts nodded silently and watched as their friend quickly left and disappeared into the crowds.

Mia weaved her way around the inn in search of the group she had seen earlier. "Why is it so packed? Is there some sort of celebration?". She jumped slightly as she felt a finger tapping her shoulder. She quickly turned around hoping that it was Isaac, but she saw Garet instead.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." he said. "Are you all right?"

Mia gave him a small smile to hide her disappointment. "Yeah, I'm ok. Don't worry about it. So, you guys made it back. Is this why there's so many people here?"

"Yeah." Garet replied. "The innkeeper saw us coming in through the gates and insisted on a mini-celebration for our return. The chef cooked up a storm and told us the food and drink were on the house so that's why we're all here."

"Well, then why are we standing here talking?" Mia asked incredulously. "Let's go and enjoy the celebration with Isaac and the others!" Her eyes looked past him and she leaned to the side a little bit. "Where are they?"

Garet felt cold sweat running down his back. He can't break it to her in here; it would ruin the good spirits of the people who were having a good time. He had no choice but to lie to her for now.

"Well, actually..." Garet began, scratching the back of his head. "Isaac and those guys are all upstairs, asleep. We've been travelling all day today without rest since everyone just wanted to be back home."

"You made it back here in a day?!" Mia asked, visibly shocked. "I'm surprised you're not falling over from sheer exhaustion."

"Garet felt the cold sweats returning. "Hehe...well, that's me, you know. Food always keeps me up and about, especially when it's free."

"You and food are like white on rice." Mia joked, shaking her head. "Well, in that case, I'll let Isaac and the others sleep. They need their rest. You should get some sleep too!"

"Right..." he trailed off, watching her turn around to leave. Without thinking, he quickly reached out and placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him. "Garet? What's wrong?"

"Uh...before we left for Lunpa, there was something I had meant to pick up at your place. It's a...birthday gift for my brother, but he's a nosy little runt so I had Isaac hold on to it for me. It's in his room so I was wondering if I can come by to pick it up."

"Of course." Mia replied. "Stop by anytime you'd like." Garet nodded his thanks, dropping his hand and watching her leave the inn. When he saw the door close behind her, he started heading back to their table. There, he found Felix and Piers already eating their meals.

Garet grinned as he took a seat. "Mmm! My favorite dish! The chef knows me too well!"

Felix swallowed his mouthful of food. "So, did you tell Mia?"

Garet's smile quickly vanished. He shook his head slowly as he picked up his fork and knife and began to cut his steak. "Not yet. I sort of…lied to her."

"You lied to her? Why?" Piers tried to ask through his mouthful of food.

"Sorry guys, but I can't risk telling her in here. I told her Isaac was upstairs, asleep." Garet explained.

"Nice going, Garet!" Felix said angrily. "Now you'll break her heart even more when you tell her the truth!"

Garet ignored Felix's comment and continued to eat silently. His eyes looked at the window above Felix. Strangely, the blue sky was beginning to turn dark with grey clouds...

"Strange...I thought the elder in Lunpa said that Angara would be scorching hot all week." Garet contemplated as he continued to look out the window.

"Don't be so hard on him, Felix. I'm sure he knows what he's doing." he heard Piers say to Felix.

Felix glared at the Mars adept. "I hope so."

Mia was in the living room of their house, sitting by the fireplace and staring at the flames eating away at the firewood. She heard the fall of raindrops as they pattered against the window.

"Strange…It's raining. The sky was clear this afternoon when I was making my way to the inn." Mia thought as she watched the water droplets slide down the window. "Well, a little rain can't hurt. At least the cherry blossom tree outside will grow even nicer with this rain. It hasn't rained since about a week ago."

She ignored the sound of the rain and went back to staring at the fireplace, thinking about her meeting with Garet at the inn earlier. Why did he seem so hesitant when she suggested to go celebrate with Isaac? Maybe she was just being too judgmental with his response, but he wasn't acting like himself...

A knock from the door interrupted her thoughts. Behind it, she heard Garet's voice calling her name. Standing up, she walked over to open it and a soaked Garet came in, leaving puddles of water behind him.

Mia quickly grabbed a folded towel from a table nearby and handed it to him. "You'll catch a cold if you don't dry yourself this instant!" she scolded as she ascended the stairs. Moments later, she returned with a dry pair of pants and a cotton shirt.

"Here." Mia offered, handing him the set of clothes. "I know you keep a set of your clothes here for nights you stay over at our place to do alchemy research. You can use our bedroom upstairs to change."

"Thanks, Mia." Garet said as he finished drying his hair. "I'll be quick; I promise."

Mia decided to clean up the water while Garet went up to change. By the time she had finished, he came back downstairs dressed in his spare clothes. In his hands were his rain-soaked pants, tunic, cotton shirt, and belt.

Mia took the wet clothes from Garet. "So, did you get your brother's birthday present from our room?"

"Uh...about that." he began. "I did, but that's not really why I came here. I wanted to talk to you about something." Mia silently nodded and gestured for him to follow her into the living room. She laid his clothes separately near the fireplace and took a seat on the couch. Garet did likewise and sat on the one across from her.

"Ok, Garet. What's this all about?" Mia asked in a slightly serious tone. "I'm all ears."

There was a moment of silence before Garet broke it. "How should I start this? I…uhh…re-remember what I said about Isaac sleeping at the inn?"

She nodded silently, but deep inside; she feared the worst. Her hands searched her robe pockets and took the jar with the cherry blossom out.

Garet lowered his head and clenched his hands as he felt his eyes starting to sting. "He...Isaac...died in battle against Dodonpa...I'm sorry for lying to you..." He heard the sound of quiet sobbing and lifted his head to see her holding something close to her chest.

"How...did he die?" she whispered almost inaudibly. Fighting back his own tears, Garet stood up and took a seat next to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"You sure?"

Mia wiped some tears away with a gloved hand. "I'd like to know...please continue."

"All right." Garet sighed. "So this is what happened..."

Isaac, Garet, Felix, Piers, and the remainder of their twenty were fending off Dodonpa's soldiers as they surrounded the group. Dead bodies from Isaac's and Dodonpa's men lay strewn on the ground around them. The son of Donpa himself was sitting comfortably on his father's throne watching them with some amusement.

"Had enough, Isaac of Vale, or are you and your pathetic small army going to continue this useless onslaught?" Dodonpa asked mockingly.

"No!" Isaac yelled as he slew another one of Dodonpa's men with a quick stab. "I'll never back away! When we're done here, you would've wished you ran and hid away like the coward you are!"

"Hah! Run away you say? Haven't you looked at yourselves!? You should be the ones to run away!" Dodonpa snorted. Isaac hated to admit it, but he was right; he and his companions were gradually growing exhausted from the fight. Somehow, they needed to end this fight soon...

He saw Felix take a battle stance beside him. "Are you trying to scare us, Dodonpa? It's going to take more than scare tactics to bring us down!"

"Yeah! You tell that jerk, Felix!" Garet chortled. "You heard that, thief? Stop being a coward and face us!"

Dodonpa watched Piers take down the last of their soldiers. Now the great hall of the Lunpa fortress was littered with soldiers' bodies thanks to those Valeans!

Isaac pointed his Sol Blade at the thief still sitting on the throne. "Surrender peacefully, Dodonpa! It's all over!"

The thief snickered and drew his saber. "You think I'll give up that easily!? Think again, runt!" He rushed at them, lifting his sword above his head. "The lot of you will all die where you stand!"

Isaac quickly blocked his attack. "Stop this, Dodonpa! You're not going to win now!"

"Don't mock me, you imbecile!" Dodonpa yelled as he started his onslaught. Expertly, the young Venus adept blocked every single attack that was thrown at him. In the end, the Sol Blade broke the fragile saber, unarming and injuring the opponent in the process.

To Isaac's surprise, Dodonpa was still standing, laughing hysterically as blood started seeping out of his wounds. "You think some fancy swordplay's going to take me down?" He snapped his fingers and about twenty archers appeared from behind camouflaged trap doors hidden throughout the room, their arrows trained on the Adepts.

"Your choice. Surrender or die..." Dodonpa sneered.

Felix looked up at the archers. "Isaac, what should we do? It doesn't seem like we can take down those archers with one Psynergy spell."

Isaac tightened his grip on the Sol Blade's hilt. "There's only one way out of this now..."

Realization hit Garet first. "Isaac…you're not serious…are you?"

"Yes, I am." Isaac said definitively. "These archers know what they're doing. Their arrows won't miss."

"You're going to sacrifice yourself so we can get out of here safely?" Felix asked dubiously. "Isaac, that's absurd!"

"It'll be even stupider if none of us made it out of here alive!" Isaac retorted. "Now get yourselves out of here!" Garet watched as Isaac's Sol Blade started to grow a crimson red.

"What about Mia and your parents, Isaac!" Piers exclaimed.

Isaac lowered his head as his shoulders started to quiver with grief. "Break...break the news to them as soon as you get back to Vale." He dug something out of his pocket which he tossed to Garet. "Garet, please give Mia this and tell her that I'm sorry for breaking my promise." He wiped his face with a tattered glove. "Get out of here! Now!"

Without being told again, Felix, Garet, Piers, and their five men started running for the door which would take them back to the corridors and eventually lead out to Lunpa.

Dodonpa raised his hand. "They're not going to get out of here either!" Archers!" As the archers trained their arrows on Felix's fleeing group and fired, Isaac swung the crimson-looking Sol Blade, causing a trail of fire to emit from it. The flames burned the arrows right away before they even left the bows of the archers...

"Your battle is with me, thief!" Isaac growled, his body overflowing with Psynergy. "We're ending this now!"

When Felix and the others made it back to Lunpa, they felt the ground shake and heard a loud boom. Everyone, including them, looked in the direction of the fortress as a dome of light surrounded it. At that moment, Felix, Garet, Piers, and their men lowered their heads in silence...

"And that's the whole story." Garet concluded. Silence had filled the room save for the sound of heavy raindrops outside. Mia watched as he stood up and went to his tunic, which was still lying out to dry near the fireplace. He retrieved the velvet box which Isaac had given to him back at Lunpa and took his seat next to her.

"I don't know what's inside, but Isaac wanted you to have this. Sorry, it's a little damp from the rain." he said, handing it to her.

Mia took the box from him and opened it slowly. More tears streaked her face as she saw its contents; a matching silver sapphire amulet and ring. Small diamonds were surrounding the blue gem and it was hanging from a thin, silver chain. She took the amulet from the velvet box and fastened it around her neck. Then she carefully slipped the ring on her ring finger.

Garet stood up and went to retrieve his clothes from near the fireplace. "Well, I must be going now."

"It's pouring outside, Garet. You're going to get wet again! If you would like, you may stay here for the night." Mia offered. "But I don't want your family to worry about you."

"If you want me to stay with you then I would be happy to." he crossed his arms and laughed. "Heh! My family won't worry. Besides, I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Then…you will stay?" Mia asked hopefully.

He left his clothes to dry by the fireplace and took a seat next to her. "Of course I'll stay with you!" The Mars adept looked up at the ceiling. "Besides, I don't want Isaac haunting me in my sleep because I left you alone in the house!"