A.N: Well, here's another Golden Sun angst fic from yours' truly. First off, this is NOT a romance fic. It's more of a friendship-type fic that I thought would fit in nice with the game. I've wanted to write this fic for a long time. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. If I did then Isaac would actually talk and the annoying squeaking during conversations would be deleted.
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Mercury's Light
By: TimeSage
'I failed.'
That was the only thing the girl named Mia could think. She was laying face-down in her bed in her room. After leaving the lighthouse, the group she met decided to stay the night at Imil upon seeing exactly how late it really was. They all got separate room at the inn, while she went back to her room in the sanctum. Upon entering though, she immediately went into a crying fit.
'I failed. I allowed the Mercury lighthouse to be lit. And Alex, my own apprentice, is now on the side of evil. I can't do anything right.'
After a while her crying turned into sobs, and later that turned into heavy breathing. Afterwards she got off her bed and grabbed a coat. It was long, about the size of a trench coat, but it was made of fur and other warm material. She put it on over the pajamas she was wearing, carefully put on a pair of shoes, and walked out of her room.
Upon entering the main part of the sanctum, Mia was immediately hit with the draftiness of the winter season outside. It was cold and dark in the room, a perfect metaphor for what she was feeling right now.
Turning to her left, she saw the candles at the back of the room still aflame, with a lamp sitting under them. Mia carefully picked up the lamp, and using one of the candles, lit it. She then carefully replaced the candle and covered the lamp. The light from the lamp helped light up the room so that the door leading outside could be seen. Quietly as to not wake up Megan and Jordan, she walked out into the night.
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In another part of town, a teenager named Isaac sat on the roof of the inn. He wore a heavy brown jacket over his dark-blue tunic. His normally spiky blond hair now drooped slightly due to the falling snow soaking it. He did nothing but sit there, looking at the stars. But if you stood next to him, you would see that his eyes seemed void of life; oblivious to the world around him. They looked…
…empty.
Isaac shivered slightly, a sign to any passerby that he wasn't used to the cold climate of Imil. As he closed his eyes, he began to think.
'Everywhere I go, something bad always happens: my dad's death; the robbery at Vault; the people of Kalay who are still waiting to be saved. And now the Mercury Lighthouse…'
Isaac stopped his thoughts to look out into the horizon. In the distance, the beacon of the Mercury Lighthouse shined brightly, bathing the sky around it in a warm blue color.
'The lighthouse has been lit. We should've been faster. Now there are only 3 lighthouses left. We just started, and already we're behind.'
Isaac gave another sigh. His eyes were holding back the tears that were threatening to fall.
'How many people have to die because of me? How many more lives have to suffer the same fate as my father…?'
Isaac couldn't hold it back anymore. He closed his eyes as a single tear began to roll down his face. More would've fallen if he hadn't been broken out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps below. Slowly edging towards the side of the roof, he looked down to see who else would be up at this hour.
'It can't be Ivan; he was asleep before we even got back. And when I left the mine and Garet's room, nothing short of the end of the world could wake him up. I wonder…'
Finally, Isaac made it to the edge. Carefully looking down, he clearly saw who it was.
"Mia?" he whispered.
In the shock of seeing her, Isaac didn't notice his shift of weight. The snow under him began to move, and before he knew what was happening, he fell straight off the roof and into the pile of snow below as more snow fell off the roof, burying him.
(A.N.: HAHAHAHA!!! Sorry, there really isn't a point as to why I just did that. I just felt the need to lighten the mood a little bit in this story.)
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Mia turned around. She could've sworn she heard something. As she looked around, she didn't really see anything odd until she looked at the inn.
'Hmm… wasn't that snow pile smaller a couple of seconds ago?' Shrugging it off, she continued her walk out of Imil.
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As Mia left, Isaac pulled himself out of the snow pile. After shaking the snow out of his hair, he immediately saw Mia leaving the town.
'Where in Angara is she going?' he thought to himself. Brushing the rest of the snow off, he set off after the blue-haired girl.
Careful as to not let her see him, he followed her through the snow-covered hills outside of town, careful to not lose sight of the glow of her lamp. After reaching the top of the last hill, he figured out where she was going.
'Mercury Lighthouse? Why is she going there? Especially now?'
Isaac watched as Mia walked up the steps to the lighthouse and entered it. He then set off after her, still keeping his distance. He wasn't afraid of her being attacked. Earlier that day, after they rode down the tower, Mia went back in to make one last inspection on the lighthouse, only to come back reporting that all the monsters had mysteriously vanished.
As they walked through the already explored place, Isaac couldn't help but notice how spooky the place was in the dark. The only light that they had besides Mia's lamp was the faint glow of the lighthouse beacon from outside and the glowing stepping platforms in the water. Finally, they reached the top. Isaac stayed back in the doorway, and slowly peeked around the corner. He saw Mia hold her hands out to the statue in front of her and use ply. Immediately, Isaac heard the rumbling of the waterfall changing directions. Once the rumbling stopped, he waited a few seconds before slowly stepping into the room.
Mia was gone, as he had hoped. Knowing that the waterfall would eventually go back to normal, he quickly climbed on. Unfortunately, he ended up slipping again and had another bad trip up.
(A.N.: HAHAHA! Poor Isaac.)
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Mia stared at the ball of blue light in front of her. The beacon glowed softly, not bright enough so that one would be blinded upon looking at it. Carefully, she put out the fire in her lamp and put it away. She then slowly walked to the edge of the lighthouse and jumped to the nearest floating platform, landing on it perfectly. Balance was one of the most important lessons she had to learn as an adept, so she was confident with each jump she made. Finally, she landed for the last time, at the middle tower of the lighthouse. She began walking towards the stairs, not hearing the sound of somebody jumping behind her.
Finally, she stood next to it. The beacon still shining it's light in front of her. Finally, for the first time since she left, she cried. All the guilt, all the sorrow she felt that day finally broke through. She kneeled there and cried, not know how long she had been there.
'I can't be the guardian of Imil. If I can't even protect the lighthouse, how can I help save innocent lives?'
Getting back to her feet, and wiping the tears out her eyes, she walked to the edge of the lighthouse. She looked down at the coast below, watching as the waves crashed into the sharp rocks below. Taking a deep breath, she decided to finish what she set out to do in the first place by taking a step off the edge…
…only to be held back.
Two hands grasped her shoulders, preventing her from falling. Slowly, she turned her head back to look at the person who was preventing her to end it all. But she didn't expect what she saw.
Eyes. Two empty blue eyes looking back into her own. For that brief second, she couldn't move. All she could do was stare back at them. Finally, she broke out of the trance and looked again at the person, only to go into another slight shock.
"Isaac?"
"What are you doing Mia?"
She couldn't respond. Her head hung low as another fit of tears threatened to spill. She didn't struggle as Isaac guided her back onto the platform.
"What are you doing Mia?" he asked again. Mia didn't know how to respond. She could only say the first thing that came to mind.
"…It's all my fault," she whispered, the tears forming in her eyes.
"What do you mean? What's all your fault?"
"Everything. Alex, the lighthouse, its all my fault! I should've been more responsible!" she cried, the tears streaming down her face.
"No, its not," replied Isaac.
"Yes it is. You don't know what its like!"
"Don't I?" he asked, a serious expression on his face. Suddenly, he pulled back his sleeve, removed his glove, and turned his hand around. He then held it out for Mia to see what it was: a scar on his wrist.
"3½ years ago, my father, along with my friend Jenna's parents, died. We both took it pretty badly, but I tried not to show it, for everyone's sake. But eventually, the pain got too much. I grabbed one of my mom's knives and slit my wrist. I eventually passed out from the lack of blood. I would've died if Garet hadn't found me and taken me to the sanctum."
Isaac had to stop to wipe a tear from his eyes. He looked at Mia to see if she was listening, and saw her looking back at him. So he continued.
"After I regained consciousness, I found myself back at home. I saw my mom and all my friends around me, most of them had obviously been crying. Before anybody even said a word, I understood. I understood just how much I meant to all of them. I knew that I had made a big mistake, and I knew that I had to live, for them."
Isaac couldn't even hold his head up anymore, he could barely hold back the tears forming in his eyes.
"I'm…I'm sorry," he heard Mia say. When he looked up, he could see the tears falling from her eyes.
"About what? You couldn't have done anything."
"I know, but I wish I could've done something."
"I know how you feel. Some of the places we've been to, you just can't help but want to go back in time and fix things."
The two stood there, both looking out at the sea. The only sound was the crashing of the waves to the shore. Eventually, the lack of sleep caught up to Mia as she began to nod off.
"Getting tired?" Isaac asked her after noticing the sleepy look on her face.
"A little," she responded, yawing quietly.
"Let's head back. It's kind of late, and we have a long trip in front of us tomorrow."
"Yeah, you're right." Mia then pulled the empty lamp out of her coat. "I wonder…"
She then slowly walked towards the light of the lighthouse. Then we she reached it, she held the lamp out towards the light. Isaac knew what she was thinking, and didn't stop her. Finally her hands reached the light and disappeared within. What she felt she didn't expect. It was warm. Not too hot, not to cold. It was a nice warm feeling, one that made you feel safe and ok with everything around you. She just stood there, absorbing the feeling. After a while, she finally pulled her hands, still holding the lamp, out of the light. She then looked at the lamp, which now glowed with the blue light from the lighthouse. She suddenly turned to her side after hearing something, and saw Isaac pulling his hands out of the light too.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.
"Ever since I got curious as to why you were standing here for a several minutes without moving."
"Really? I've been standing here that long?"
Isaac nodded, and then turned to the light. "I don't blame you, though."
"I'm curious though. How can something that's supposed to cause a huge catastrophe give off such a nice feeling?"
"I don't know. Maybe there's more to the lighthouses than we thought."
"Maybe." Mia then turned back to Isaac. "Come on. We better head back."
"Ok."
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The snow was even deeper than before by the time the duo returned. With the light of the lighthouse nearby in Mia's lamp, all of Isaac and Mia's sorrow were gone. Finally, they arrived at Mia's sanctum.
"G`night Mia," Isaac said, turning back to the inn.
"Isaac, wait," Mia called out to him. He stopped immediately and turned to see what she wanted. But before he knew what was going on, he was quickly pulled in a big hug.
"Thank you," she whispered. Isaac was kind of surprised by Mia's sudden action, but quickly regained his senses and returned the hug.
"You're welcome," he whispered back.
And the two of them stayed that way, shining with the glow of the lamp's Mercury light.
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