Ever had this idea in your head that you just can't get out of there? This was one of those for me. I know it seems a lot like Genga's A Land That Isn't Ours, and yes, that did partly inspire this story, but no, it does not follow the same plotline. Without further ado, here's my first finished fanfic, To Reflect.
They fell.
Wind ripped at their clothes, cracking them like whips. Saturos smiled; he had few regrets. Although their mission was not complete, it did not overly concern him. The lighthouses would be lit, one way or the other. Felix knew the importance of the return of Alchemy, and would see to it.
He did not blame the group that had finally defeated him and Menardi; they knew not the implications of their actions. Isaac was a good person, only caring for others. Saturos had seen the pain in his eyes as he saw the two Proxian warriors fall back into the beacon. He did not know, Saturos mused. But then, how could he? He had never seen Gaia Falls, never felt the emptiness in the abyss near Prox. He was running off of a few scant pieces of information from a possibly crazy rock. His mission was the opposite of the Proxians' own; to keep the lighthouses dark. He was a good person, willing to protect his friends at all costs. Saturos's mind drifted back to the battle...
"GARET!"
The cry tore from Isaac's throat as he saw his friend knocked out by the flat of Menardi's scythe. He dove towards Garet, knocking aside the Proxian like a bowling pin, and rushed to Garet's side, flinging out healing Psynergy in incredible quantities. Mia fell close in step with Isaac, waving a hand and summoning Boreas to keep the Proxians occupied.
Both sides were relieved when the flame-haired youth opened his eyes and sprang to his feet. Truth be told, the Proxians did not want to hurt the kids. They just acted the part of the villain. Menardi was much gentler than her skills said. They had hoped to scare the kids away...
But that could never happen now. Both groups were fighting in earnest, for life or death, for the future of Weyard...
Saturos had never understood it when people said that when you were about to die that your whole life flashed before your eyes. But time slowed down, it seemed, and left you in a bubble, to your own memories when you died...
"NO! FATHER!"
Saturos tore the night with his scream. His father had just become one of the victims of the abyssal void beyond the Mars Lighthouse. A rogue bolt of lightning had struck him, addling him. He had danced around crazily for a few seconds before teetering on the edge of the cliff of nothingness.
Then, he fell.
After the funeral, nothing had been the same. How could it be? His father was dead, his mother not far off, ruining her liver out of grief for her dead husband. Saturos was forced to take care of himself from age 10 onward.
It came as no surprise when his mother died, but it still hurt him to the core.
Saturos understood the irony of his own death. He was at peace with the fact that he was going to die. He just wished that he had been able to see the beacon of Mars shining as brightly as the one above him. He remembered exploring the lower parts of the Lighthouse when he was a kid, along with Menardi. He smiled. His life then had been fun and games then compared to now. They had fought the monsters for sport. Sometimes, Agatio would come along, or even Karst, Menardi's younger sister.
"Saturos!"
He turned.
"What?"
"Little help here?" Menardi's voice was slightly strained, understandably so since she was fending off a bunch of apparently cannibalistic Doodle Bugs, as Saturos saw that some other bugs were eating the cooked carcasses of their fallen compatriots.
He made a face.
"Ugh..." Waving his hand, he conjured a multitude of fiery orbs. Each one found a target.
"Thanks."
"Aww man, I wanted to kill the bugs!" Agatio grumbled from the entrance to the room that everyone was in.
"Howsabout taking care of Mr. Ugly breathing down your neck, idiot?" Karst sneered. "Huh?" queried said idiot. Turning about, he noticed the big minotaur behind him, axe raised for a killing blow.
"Oh shit." Acting quickly, Agatio cast Rising Dragon, blasting a hole in the ceiling.
"Nice going, idiot! Ruining the Lighthouse now, are we?" Karst threw her hands up in mock despair.
"Well, there was a big ugly monster trying to kill me, sooo..."
Saturos wondered absently if anyone ever found out that it was them that blasted all those holes in the Lighthouse. The rightmost dragon head in the first room was missing its flame pedestal, thanks to an overzealous attack by Menardi, and the double doored room in which that battle had occurred was now partly blocked off by ice thanks to Agatio.
Saturos heard a sound below him. Flipping over, he realized it was the sea. He smiled. Four words formed on his lips, heard by no one.
Menardi was experiencing similar thoughts to Saturos. She was remembering her family. A mother who loved both her and her little sister, and a father who couldn't remember ever having kids. Hmph. What a pair. Her mother had more than made up for her father's incompetence as a human being, but it was at times too much for the poor woman to handle...
"Mother?"
"Not now, sweetie."
"Mother-"
"Menardi, not now."
"But-"
"Not now!"
Menardi backed away from the door to her mother's bedroom, having gone there after hearing sobs from within. Concerned about her mother, whom she loved dearly, Menardi had tried to talk to her, to comfort her, but it wasn't easy. When her mother got into a mood, it was best to leave her alone. As usual, this time was no different. Walking away, Menardi decided it was a good idea to just leave the house.
She went to Saturos's house.
She thought something was wrong when she walked into the door.
"Saturos?"
He turned, and she saw that his eyes were puffy.
"Yes, Menardi?"
Shaken by his appearance, since she wasn't used to seeing him like that, she asked, "Is this not a good time?"
"Not really, but I could use the company."
A few minutes later, they somehow ended up kissing.
Menardi smiled at the memory. To think that she would have fallen for someone like Saturos was inconceivable . At least, it had been before that day. She had had her eye on someone quite different, but that person didn't feel the same way. She stopped thinking along that path. That way led to tears. She looked at her hand. On it flashed a ring, the rubies and the diamond on it sparkling from the light of the beacon. She felt the tears come, but this time for an entirely different reason.
"Do you, Saturos Astonsson, take Menardi Bestonsdotter to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?"
"I do."
"And do you, Menardi Bestonsdotter, take Saturos Astonsson to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?"
"I do."
"Then through my authority as the leader of Prox, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may-"
Puelle's words were cut off as the bride and groom followed his instructions a little bit too early.
Menardi smiled again. She knew that her life was over. But she accepted that. It was the way it had to be. She just wished their child had been able to see the world. She hadn't told Saturos, but ...
She heard a sound. Turning around, she saw Saturos saying something. She knew what it was.
"I love you, Menardi."
"I love you, Saturos."
SPLASH.