Seul Choix

He hated the sound of it.

He hated that harsh metallic clang of the swords hitting each other in ferocious battle. With the monsters, it was different. Only a few of them had physical weapons of their own, and he had the knowledge that they weren't actually people as he defeated them.

For a moment, his mind drew back to his battles at Colosso. Back to how he had used Psyenergy and metal alike to defeat his opponents. But that was all it had been. Fighting until one of them was knocked out. This fight was completely different.

This was a fight to the death.

Their blades locked at the hilts as they pressed against each other. Both of them pressed harder, trying to gain the upper hand in the fight. Isaac looked up into the once familiar eyes of his former friend. He saw none of the warmth and kindness that had been there when they were young. Felix was slightly taller than him, but hadn't it always been that way? Slightly taller, slightly stronger, slightly better, and always more important in Jenna's eyes than him.

In the background, he heard Jenna yelling at them to stop fighting each other. He could see her, Sheba, and Kraden out of the corner of his eye, huddled together. The latter two held onto Jenna and kept her back away from the fight. His friends, his companions—Garet, Ivan, Mia—were on the other side. He could see them in his peripheral vision, but he thought they looked worried. But they watched the fight play out. Not one of them jumped into help him. Somehow, they all understood this was between him and Felix.

"Why?" Isaac asked his friend in a hoarse whisper, refocusing his attention on the fight.

But Felix had no answer beyond the feral grin on his face. With a frustrated cry, Isaac broke their dead lock between them before attacking head on. They were evenly matched now as they exchanged blows attacking and defending. Then it happened. He could see it: an opening in Felix's defense. And with skills honed in his long travels, Isaac pulled off a maneuver that disarmed his opponent. Without thought and with practiced movements, his sword slid home into his foe's chest.

His friend's chest.

Felix's chest.

With a feeling of horror and his eyes wide with shock, he pulled his sword free. Felix staggered back a few steps, gripping his wound with his hands before he collapsed to the ground. Jenna was screaming in an entirely different way now. How would she ever forgive him? Isaac dropped his sword as he raced to Felix, his mind (and his mouth) yelling "no" over and over again. How could he have let this happen? Had he meant to end the fight this way?

He pressed his hands to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, and Jenna was there, holding her brother's face, crying at him to come back, to not die on her again.

"Mia," he called out. There was desperation in his voice. "Mia!"

The Mercury Adept was there, casting Ply, but it wasn't working and Isaac was casting Cure and Revive with all his strength. But it was too late; there was no life in his eyes.

Now, Jenna was sobbing. The kind of inconsolable sobs that racked the whole body. Isaac looked at his hands and saw the blood on them—the blood of his friend—felt the horror of what he had done. And then he was screaming…

And screaming…

And screaming…

Isaac shot up in his bed, breathing hard as his mind tried to bring himself back to reality after the terrible images of his nightmare. He squeezed his eyes shut as he rested his arm across one knee as the other one pinched the bridge of his nose. After a few moments, he had calmed down enough to breathe normally. He opened his eyes and glanced around the room. He found himself in the cabin that he shared with Garet and Ivan on the ship. He could see Garet's form, snoring in peace on his bunk, unaware of the turmoil that was ravaging Isaac's mind. With slow cautious movements, so that he wouldn't wake up Garet, he slid out of his sheets. Isaac picked his way to the door, where he slid out in silence into the night.

He made his way to the deck of the ship, feeling the cool ocean breeze rustle through his hair as he came out into the open. They were anchored in the sea, not a speck of land in sight as the boat lifted and fell with the waves.

"Isaac?"

He glanced up at the helm towards the soft voice to see Ivan standing at the wheel. It was the younger boy's turn to stand watch. They only needed one because they each had enough skill to fight any monster that might attack during the night. And the rest of them were not far away in any case. "Is anything wrong? It's not your turn yet for watch," Ivan continued sounding concerned.

"I know," Isaac said as he climbed up the stairs to stand beside his friend. "I couldn't sleep."

"Oh," Ivan said sounding almost confused. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Isaac assured him. His tone was quiet but firm. He didn't want to talk about his nightmare. At the moment, he felt very much the need to be alone, so he added, "Why don't you head on down to sleep? I'll take it from here."

"You're sure?" Ivan asked. In the dark, Isaac couldn't see the details of his face, but he could imagine the piercing look in Ivan's gaze. Isaac only nodded his assent. "All right," Ivan agreed though his tone was still doubtful. "Good night, Isaac."

Isaac murmured a response and Ivan began to walk past him. But that was when it happened. Isaac made the mistake of allowing Ivan to lay his hand on his arm. Isaac knew that when he saw the glow of Psyenergy around Ivan, it was already too late. "Oh, Isaac," Ivan uttered.

Isaac shrugged off Ivan's hand but said nothing. Again, he couldn't see Ivan's face but he could see him twisting his hands together in front of him. "I know I promised not to read your minds, but I was just so worried and…" Ivan trailed off. After an awkward moment of silence, he asked in a tentative voice, "Do you really think that you'll have to kill Felix?"

Isaac didn't answer for a long moment. Finally, he proposed, "What if it's my only choice? How can I sacrifice the entire world for one man?"

"Perhaps we can think of another way," Ivan reassured him. Isaac let out a huff. It was typical of the younger boy to be so optimistic. "Maybe Felix will give up if we can talk to him—when we catch up to them at the next lighthouse."

A little amused, Isaac inquired, "How do you know we'll find them there?"

"Well, we've caught up to them at the other two lighthouses, didn't we?" Ivan asked as if it was the most logical thing in the world. "We seem to be improving our timing each time, too. It's possible this time we can actually get there in time to stop them." This time, Isaac only nodded his agreement. "I think…" Ivan began.

"What?"

"I think he's still your friend, Isaac," Ivan whispered to the floor. He lifted his head and continued, "I've got this feeling, you know?"

A small smile slipped onto Isaac's face at that. "Who am I to argue with the mind reader?" he asked.

Once We Were Friends

"Guys, wait up!"

"No way, Jenna!" Garet said. But he stopped anyway to turn around and stick his tongue out at the girl coming up the hill behind them. "Girls are gross. Right, Isaac?" he asked as he turned to his friend right beside him.

Isaac jolted for a moment at being asked a question and didn't answer right away. He didn't agree with his friend (and he kind of liked Jenna, all things considered). But he didn't want to make Garet mad, so he felt that there was not a good answer to the question. Because sometimes, when Garet got angry, things blew up. Literally. As he thought about it, the same thing happened sometimes with Jenna, too. Luckily, he was saved from having to answer as Felix came up behind them and whacked Garet on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Garet cried as he rubbed the spot, turning to glare at their friend. "What'd you do that for?"

"Don't be mean to my sister," Felix warned with narrowed eyes. The boy was ten years old—a whole year older than the three of them. Therefore, he knew everything and was the definite leader when the four of them were together.

Finally, Jenna caught up to them as she crested the hill and came to stand next to Isaac, giving the blond boy a smile. Isaac tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach when she did so. "Hi, Jenna," he said in his quiet voice. "Sorry we didn't wait for you," he added.

"That's all right," Jenna chirped. But then she turned and glared at Garet as she growled, "I know it wasn't your fault."

Isaac ducked his head at Jenna's praise for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he caught Felix's expression and so he looked up at his older friend. Felix was frowning and looked to be having a deep thought. He glanced between Jenna and Isaac and pursed his lips. "What?" he and Jenna asked at the same time.

A small smile crept onto Felix's lips, which in "Felix" terms counted the same as if he had a wide grin plastered on his face. "Nothing," he declared. But his tone suggested otherwise. "Come on."

They all started to walk towards the town square again. All of the sudden, Felix whacked Isaac on the back to the head, like he had done to Garet minutes before. "Why did you hit him?" Jenna demanded of her brother even as she turned a concerned gaze to Isaac. Isaac, for his part, rubbed the back of his head and glared questionably at his friend. Garet, on the other hand, started laughing.

"Don't be mean to my sister," Felix repeated but in a far more serious and low tone than he had with Garet.

"He wasn't being mean to me at all," Jenna protested. "In fact, out of all the Vale boys, Isaac's by far the nicest."

"I know. And that's why it's okay," Felix said. With that cryptic replay, he started walking again. The three younger kids traded confused glances before trotting after him.

Reconcile

Felix's—or he guessed Piers'—ship was quite similar to the one they had gained from Lord Babi. It was strange that now they were set out to achieve the very thing they had started out to prevent. But he couldn't deny that what Felix and Kraden explained made sense.

The Wise One was probably furious at him.

In silence, Felix joined him at the railing of the ship. The sun was close to setting on the horizon. All the others were spread out along the ship's deck, engaged in various activities. Isaac had been left alone for the past few days. He had seen Jenna sometimes make a move to come and talk to him before she would stop. He was glad they understood the weight of the burden he now carried in light of making the decision to follow Felix. The burden to help him light the beacons was his choice. Though he hadn't been alone, as the leader, as the one chosen by the Wise One, he knew the responsibility lay on him.

Finally, Felix broke the silence. "Garet hasn't changed," he commented, which was weird to Isaac as Felix had never been one for small talk. They had always been similar in that regard. Then Felix added thoughtfully, "Except that he blows things up more efficiently now."

"I'm still not sure that's a good thing," Isaac replied. Both young men glanced at each other and chuckled. Silence reigned again and Isaac was glad that it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. He wondered if after everything they'd gone through, they were still, in fact, friends. "I used to have nightmares," Isaac admitted. "About what I would do when we caught up to each other."

Felix nodded, and he figured he guessed what those nightmares would have been about. Isaac wondered if he might have had similar ones. "That's also why I didn't want you to find us," Felix stated. "I was…afraid I wouldn't get the chance to explain. Or to tell you about your father."

If that was meant to distract him, Isaac allowed it to work as he asked, "How is my dad?" He asked because he wanted to know and he didn't want to stay on the topic of those nightmares any more.

Felix shrugged nonchalantly. "When I left with Saturos and Menardi, he was fine," he said. Isaac knew that he wouldn't get anything beyond that because Felix was saying that he didn't know any more than that. "Missed you and your mom, though," he added. There was another silence before, out of the blue, he blurted, "Jenna talked about you all the time."

"She did?" Isaac asked, unable to keep the joy and blatant curiosity from his voice. Remembering who he was talking to, he dropped his gaze and added, "I mean…"

But Felix cut him off by ruffling his hair, like he used to do when they were little. "It's all right," he said. Isaac looked at him confused, wondering what he meant by that. Before he could ask for clarification, they were interrupted by another voice.

"Isaac? Could I…talk with you?"

Felix and Isaac turned to find Jenna standing behind them, looking hesitant and determined all at the same time. He looked to Felix, who gave him one of his famous non-committal shrugs. Taking that as a sort of "yes" Isaac looked back at Jenna and nodded to her. The siblings to switch places. Jenna took Felix's spot at the ship's railing and Felix headed off to other parts of the deck. Before Felix could completely leave, Isaac caught his attention by saying, "Hey, Felix." The older man turned back and raised an eyebrow at him. "Friends?" Isaac asked.

"Always," Felix replied with a small smile.

After that, Isaac and Jenna were alone and silence fell between them. Unlike his silences with Felix, this silence was full of tension and awkwardness. "I worried about you," Isaac finally said to break it. He slid his hand along the railing until it lay on top of hers.

With that and Jenna's bright smile in response, the tension between them dissipated. She turned towards him and pulled her hand out from under his but only so that she could place it on his arm. "I wanted to make sure you were alright," she said. "You've been awfully quiet since we left Contigo."

Isaac shrugged. "I know I'm doing the right thing. I can feel it. But…I…"

"You broke your word to the Wise One, right?"

He nodded, glad for her immediate understanding of his feelings. "I can't help but think it's going to come back to haunt me one day," he said.

"Whatever happens, we'll get through it together," she reassured him. At that moment, her face flushed and she stammered, "I mean everyone. All nine of us cause we're all together. Not just you and me. Unless you want it to be you and me. Did I say that out loud?" she asked almost horrified. "Oh, dear…I mean…"

She cut off her rambling when Isaac's fingers trailed down the side of her face. "You and me sounds wonderful," he said amused.

"It does?" she asked with unmasked hope in her voice. "Really? I always thought, you know, but you never said anything, so I didn't know know—"

Isaac cut her off once again by putting his lips over hers. He could tell he shocked her by her stillness. Honestly, he kind of shocked himself, but it wasn't long before she started to kiss him back. It was kind of awkward in their inexperience but in a sort of sweet, adorable way. His hand snaked from her cheek to the back of her neck to pull her closer to him. Jenna's head turned a little to allow him to deepen the kiss.

He, of course, completely forgot that they were on a ship. In the middle of the ocean. With other people on it. Other people who were standing right there.

Later, he supposed the catcalls from Garet were inevitable.

"Yeah, Isaac!" he called out, bringing Isaac and Jenna back to reality as they pulled away from each other and turned to look at their friends. Isaac felt as if his face was on fire with embarrassment and he could see Jenna's face blushing a deep red as well. Yet, most of their friends looked happy or amused at them. Sheba and Mia were actually giggling with one another behind their hands.

Felix, in a move so reminiscent of past times that Isaac blinked, smacked Garet upside the head. "Don't be mean to my future brother-in-law." It was all Isaac could do to not gape at his older friend.

"Yes, it is very childish of you," Piers added. "You should be happy for your friend."

"I am happy for them," Garet protested. "You're just jealous because you haven't had a girlfriend in like a thousand years," he added in a taunt.

Piers eyebrows shot up his forehead as he said, "What? I have, too!"

"You have a girlfriend, Piers?" Jenna asked surprised. "Why didn't we get to meet her?"

"More importantly, does that mean you are over a thousand years old?" Sheba asked eagerly.

"For the last time, I am not telling you my age!" Piers said firmly.

This caused an easy laughter among most of the group. Even Isaac and Felix smiled. Isaac locked gazes with his one-time enemy, fellow Venus Adept, and life-long friend with a question dancing in his eyes. Felix gave him one deliberate, slow nod.

So, Isaac didn't feel guilty at all when he slipped his hand into Jenna's and intertwined their fingers together.