So I got this idea partly from replaying Dark Dawn, and from two stories on here, one called 'Bickering', the other called 'Resolve'. They both mention that Isaac is in trouble at the time of the Grave Eclipse, and that the Grave Eclipse does actually reach Mt. Aleph. So this is my interpretation. There's a possibility of second chapter, but I thought I'd see how well this one went down first.
So enjoy!
It was fortunate that Isaac and Garet had decided to collect their supplies from Patcher's Place a day early. Otherwise, there would have been nobody in the small settlement to fend off the monsters when the shadows came. As versed in psynergy as the settlers were, none of them had any experience in wielding that power in an offensive manner. The lives of everyone in Patcher's place rested squarely on the two Warriors of Vale.
Isaac hurriedly barricaded the door, and lent against it, a light band of sweat covering his forehead. He had been hard pressed to get all the settlers into Patcher's Inn, but he and Garet had managed it. It was a tight squeeze, but Patcher had supplies enough to last them a long time. Isaac stood outside the door, eyeing the darkness. The shadows had engulfed to continent just as he and Garet had reached Patcher's Place. Knowing that something like this always spells danger, Isaac and Garet had rushed into the settlement, and had begun to move people towards Patcher's Inn when the monsters appeared.
The monsters had not been expecting any sort of resistance; so when Isaac, in an almost casual manner, beheaded a Cursed Soldier with his sword, the monsters took notice. At first it looked as though the two adepts were not going to need to use their psynergy at all, but the monsters were many, and would not go down easy. Isaac eventually unleashed a Grand Gaia, giving Garet room to perform a Supernova attack, sending many monsters sprawling. In the brief lull in fighting, Isaac had yelled to the townspeople to lock themselves in the Inn, while he and Garet had flung themselves back into the horde in an effort to divert their attention.
Just as suddenly as they had appeared, the monsters had vanished, Leaving Isaac and Garet flustered very confused. After a moment's hesitation, Isaac had sent Garet to watch the Inn, whilst he went to the Psynergy Training Grounds to round up anyone who had been left behind. It wasn't a pretty sight. Dead bodies lay everywhere. Men, women, children… Tears of sorrow and frustration began to form, as Isaac quickly made his way through the obstacle course, hoping without hope that he might still find some survivors.
It was only at the final 'lighthouse' that Isaac's prayers were answered. Two children, a boy and a girl, had hidden behind the 'Doom Dragon'. Isaac's soft and soothing voice had coaxed them out of their temporary sanctuary, and he had hefted the boy onto his back, and carried the girl in his left arm. This made the way back very tricky, especially the ladder. Isaac had just been glad there were no monsters at the time; that would have made things difficult…
"Isaac!" Garet's voice broke through Isaac's daydream, and the adept looked up to see his best friend standing on the roof of the Inn. "There's more coming… A lot more." Garet launched a fireball down the hillside as a flare, and in the light, row upon row of monsters were marching steadily up the hill. Cursed Soldiers marched in rank, and Death Scuttlers, as their name suggests, scuttled among the marching monsters, as they drew ever closer to the settlement.
"Evidently our efforts did not go unnoticed." Isaac said, half to himself.
"What did you say?" Garet yelled down, not having heard.
Isaac smiled and looked up again at his friend. "You stay up there for now. When the first ten ranks are in range, let loose. Perhaps we can scare them off before they even reach here."
Isaac saw Garet nod, and also saw the doubt in his eyes. Isaac's mouth thinned grimly. Garet was right to doubt, he thought. There's no way a force that large would flee from two adepts, even two as powerful and experienced as Isaac and Garet. This was not going to be easy.
"Garet!" Isaac yelled up to the Mars adept, waving to attract his attention. "Stay with the Inn. I'm going to introduce myself to our visitors!" Garet's faced betrayed his misgivings with that idea, but Isaac was, always had been for that matter, his leader. Isaac rarely made the wrong decision, and if this was what must be done. It must be done. Garet nodded back to Isaac, who gave an encouraging smile. "You stick to our plan." He called over his shoulder as he made his way out of the settlement. "Ten ranks, then scorch their sorry souls!"
Garet looked on despondently as Isaac made his way towards the army; alone. He hated the idea of his best friend walking into danger like that, with no one at his side to protect him.
That should be me! The thought came unbidden out of his mind, but it was true. Garet had stuck by his friend through thick and thin. From the night of the falling boulder, all the way to Mars Lighthouse, Garet had been there, watching his friend's back. But now, Isaac had ordered him to protect the townsfolk, and that meant standing here, at the Inn, watching his oldest friend walk out to face hundreds of enemies, alone. It didn't seem right, but Isaac was the boss.
Garet sat on the slate roof, his legs beginning to ache. He hadn't sat down since he and Isaac had left the Lookout Cabin, and that must have been hours ago. He looked up to check the moon to gauge the time, before chuckling and shaking his head ruefully. There was no moon. Of course; this was all caused by the moon blocking the sun. Isaac wouldn't have looked for the moon; he would have known it was pointless. Garet continued to chuckle as he thought of all the times he had made a fool of himself. The one he especially remembered was when he accidently crushed his sister's flower garden whilst Moving a pillar. Thankfully Isaac had been there to rush Garet away before Kay could lay her hands on him. That had been the first day of a most remarkable journey.
Garet stretched and rose. Now was not the time to be reminiscing about the past. There was an angry horde below, and a whole settlement that needed protecting. Garet was determined not to let them, or Isaac, down. Sending another fireball flare into the air, Garet watched as his friend 'greeted' the oncoming army.
A strange calm settled over Isaac. Was this how it was to end? It would certainly be a fitting one for a Warrior of Vale, but would it be the right one? Isaac shrugged off the thoughts of death, as he had done many times before, and drew his sword. A great flash in the air let him know that Garet was watching, and the monsters began to charge when they saw Isaac, sword drawn. This was it.
Isaac planted his feet firmly on the ground, taking strength from the earth, becoming one with it. When the monsters were almost upon him he unleashed Wild Growth. Vines exploded from the ground around Isaac, trapping the Cursed Soldiers and Death Scuttlers who had dared to get too close. Summoning Odyssey, Isaac cut through the vines and the monsters with comparative ease. Unleashing Ground, several more monsters were stopped in their tracks, only to be viciously thrown back by a Quake Sphere. A Cursed Soldier leapt at Isaac's back, only to have his attack deflected by the effect of Granite. Twisting sharply, Isaac sword cut down the confused monster in seconds, and Isaac continued the motion to skewer a Death Scuttler that had pounced at him.
Isaac backed away, breathing heavily. There were too many. Isaac unleashed Sap, draining the life from a Cursed Soldier and giving himself extra strength. He ducked as a Death Scuttler jumped at him, and finished it with a Stone Spire. Pain shot through his body as Cursed Soldier got his blade through his defence, and left a shallow cut across his chest. Rolling his wrist, Isaac's sword slashed through the monster. Suddenly, Isaac's vision started to blur, and a great weakness fell upon him.
Poison!
Isaac stumbled away, trying to get some distance between him and the monsters, as he unleashed Salt. He instantly felt stronger as the Djinn purged his body of any maleficent infection. Casting Cure, Isaac stood up straighter, and his eyes narrowed. The monsters hesitated, unsure what to make of the warrior in front of them who, moments before had pretty much been at death's door. Isaac raised his right hand to the sky, and said a single word.
"Judgement."
Garet watched as Isaac attacked the monsters. Stress and anxiety preyed upon the Mars adept, and it was only the fact that Isaac had made him watch over the townspeople that was keeping him from joining his best friend in battle. He cried out as Isaac took a cut to the chest; no actual words, just a strangled gasp as his friend stumbled backwards, seemingly defeated. Garet's eyes opened further as Isaac stood. He had seen that posture before; on both Venus and Mars Lighthouse, just before battling the Fusion Dragon and the Doom Dragon. Garet knew then that Isaac was not going to back down, and it would take his death for the army to get within Garet's range. Garet's mouth dropped. That had been Isaac's plan all along.
Then Isaac raised his hand.
A loud boom echoed across the land, and Garet watched as a bright light burst through the dark, shadowy mists. The light transformed into a winged knight. Judgement hovered over the battlefield, surveying the darkness that covered the land, before aiming his shield down at the swarm of monster. A ball of light fired from the lion's head on the shield, and Garet raised his arm to protect his eyes as it exploded with blinding light amongst the Cursed Soldiers and Death Scuttlers. Hundreds died instantly, consumed by the light, but for every one that was destroyed, there were three to take its place.
The sound of bone of rock caught Garet's attention, and he spun around to a second horde of Cursed Soldiers descending from the cliff face into the town. Without a moment's hesitation Garet leapt, casting Pyroclasm as he hit the floor. Rolling smoothly to his feet, Garet wrenched his axe from his belt, and unleashed Kindle. As Kindle's strength began to flow through his body, Garet charged straight into the oncoming Cursed Soldiers, scattering with great swings of his axe. As the effect of Kindle began to wear off, Garet unleashed Shine. Bright light exploded into the monsters, and those that weren't hit were temporarily blinded by the strength of the light. Garet took this opportunity to cast Searing Beam, and blasted a channel for him to escape from the centre of the Soldiers. With his back to the Inn, Garet showed no fear as he stared the monsters down.
"Destroy the Star. Destroy the Star."
Garet blinked in surprise as he heard the Cursed Soldiers repeating the phrase over and over. However, there was no time to ponder as to the meaning of the words, as Garet quickly brought his axe up to block and overhead attack from the nearest Cursed Soldier. Garet quickly unleashed Flash, and several Cursed Soldiers found their attacks prevented by a great barrier of heat and light. Garet flung out his hand and cast Flarestorm to wipe away the front two rows of monsters. With room to breathe, Garet raised his hand to summon Tiamat. Another great boom echoed to the hillside as a great dragon descended from the skies. Swooping down twice to find her targets, Tiamat eventually landed beside Garet, before unleashing a torrent of fire over the Cursed Soldiers. No one escaped.
Isaac had taken the opportunity presented to him by Judgement to return to the settlement. He had done enough damage by himself, now was the time for him and Garet to present a united front. Both Ground and Granite set themselves to him as returned to find Garet no longer on the roof. Panic flared within the Venus adept as he looked wildly for his best friend. A huge eruption of fire exploded from behind the Inn, and Isaac relaxed. Garet was fine. Isaac climbed onto the roof of the Inn, and looked down the hill, arms outstretched in front of him as he cast Wild Growth again. The whole slope within one hundred metres of the settlement rumbled, and vines grew two or three metres tall before falling down, and lying there.
That ought to slow them down a little. Isaac thought grimly as he heard a scrabbling sound coming from behind him. Instinct kicked in, and he spun on his heel to deliver a wicked slash at whatever was creeping up on him. It was blocked by an axe.
"Whoa there, Isaac!" Garet exclaimed. "It's bad enough the monsters want to kill me; I don't think I could stop you too."
"What in Sol, Garet?" Isaac yelled back, "You want to give me a heart attack? At least announce that you're coming up behind me!"
"Sorry! I just didn't realise you were a slash first, ask questions later sort of guy." Garet said defensively. "And it's not as if I was expecting you to be here."
"Where have you been, anyway?" Isaac asked, shifting the conversation away from pointless bickering.
"A few monsters tried to sneak down past me. I sorted them out, no problem." Garet planted his fists on his hips as he puffed up with pride.
"That's great." Isaac's voice was a little condescending, but there were other things on his mind. "So all we have to do now is finish of the few thousand in front of us. Shouldn't be a problem, right?" He turned to his friend, who looked very deflated at the mention of more monsters. Garet looked down the slope, and saw the Cursed Soldiers and Death Scuttlers struggling through the vines.
"Why did you grow all those vines?" Garet queried. Why hadn't Isaac just waited for them to get closer before using his psynergy.
"I was setting it up for you." Isaac said, his eyes narrowing and a small smile playing on his lips. "This way we can annihilate around half of their numbers in one fell swoop." When he noticed Garet still hadn't understood, Isaac pointed in the direction of the vines.
"Set fire to them you idiot!"
Slightly taken aback by Isaac vehemence, Garet stepped up to the edge of the roof, and clenched his fists together. A great fireball erupted from his hands, into the packed vines. The flames spread quickly, and the Soldiers and Scuttlers burnt like dry wood on a hot day.
"That gives us some time to prepare." Isaac said as he sat heavily on the roof. Garet didn't say anything; he just sat next to his best friend, exhausted. The two friends sat there in silence as they watched the flames consume monster after monster. Those not caught in the fire stayed far away from the flames, not wishing to suffer the same fate as those before them.
Still the two friends sat there, and still the fires burned. Garet glanced over at Isaac. He had that look again. With a sigh Garet turned back to the fire, which was just now beginning to burn. He could see the surviving monsters edging closer and closer as the fires got smaller and smaller.
"We're in a lot of trouble, aren't we?" He asked Isaac as the two of them rose to their feet.
"Yes." Isaac's monosyllabic reply was punctuated by the rasping of his sword from its sheath. Garet drew his axe once more.
The two of them stood on the edge of the roof, watching as the monsters grow in confidence. They were almost at the settlement now, the fires dying out swiftly. The Cursed Soldiers and Death Scuttlers were almost at the Inn. Garet turned once more to his best friend.
"But we're not going to retreat, are we?"
Isaac smiled at his friend, before leaping off the roof, into the mass of monsters.
"No."
Author's Note: I'm not really sure what to make of this one myself! I never really considered myself to be a good action writer, but I felt that this story needed to be written (It had been floating in my mind for a few days before I decided to do anything about it!). Like I said there's definitely potential for another chapter, but at the same time, it could easily be left as it is, especially seeing as Isaac's fate in the game is unknown (This also allows this to stay as potential canon, rather than it being AU in the future... but that's beside the point here.). What do others think?