8BTFreek: I don't know... That contest sapped my inspiration...
Eshli: But it's only two more OneShots to go. Please do one? Please?
8BTFreek: [sigh] Fine. I'll do a new OneShot, and it'll be something few people will expect.
Eshli: Uh-oh. You never use those words when something good's about to happen.
8BTFreek: Well, this is a OneShot inspired by "Show Me The Way" by Styx. This one's a bit sadder than normal, but... It's still got some happy. It's just that the happy is after all the sad. Bleh, I can barely write the summary. Well, here's "Spirit Guide", the new OneShot by the one and (thankfully) only Me. And before you ask, no, I don't own Golden Sun.
{Spirit Guide}
"Ev'ry night, I say a prayer," he whispered, "in the hopes that there's a heaven." He knelt by the bed. So many things had happened, and not all of them were good. He felt the emptiness next to him, and sighed. "But ev'ry day, I'm more confused, as the saints turn into sinners." That was true enough. All that had happened... First Saturos and Menardi had become ruthless, then Alex became power-hungry... "All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of pain." His head fell. Perhaps the others could cheer him up. Probably not. "And I feel this empty place inside, so I pray I've lost my faith."
Jenna's hand touched his shoulder. "Felix, it's time for you to be sleeping. After all, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We need to go and light Jupiter Lighthouse." He looked up at her. She smiled sadly, then turned and faced the window.
"Show me the way," he whispered to the night. "Show me the way." Wind blew around him. "Take me tonight to the river, and was my illusions away, and show me the way." Secure in having done what he set out to do, he got into the bed and tried to sleep.
()()()
The dreams came again. His eyes were forced to open, and he saw his companions. One by one, they fell. He was the last one standing, but he couldn't make it. The dreams were all the same in the end. Isaac would crush him, sometimes in gruesome ways, sometimes with Psynergy, but it was always with the same pained expression, one that seemed to say, "I'm sorry, Felix." And then, after the torture, Isaac would speak. "I'm sorry, Felix, but it had to be like this. I can't let you relight the beacons, and if that means I must kill you..." His head hung. "I just never-" That was where the dream always ended.
But not tonight. "I just never thought I'd have to. Felix, we could've been on the same side. Why did you choose to fight? Why?" A croaking sound came from Felix's mouth.
"Vale will die if I don't, Isaac. It starts with Prox and Imil, Yallam and Contigo. It ends with Vale. We must light the lighthouses. It is destiny." Isaac muttered something. His voice had changed since he asked the question. Now it was feminine. The darkness that was overcoming him faded, and he was able to stand.
"Cast it in," said Isaac in the female voice. "It is destiny." An unfamiliar face was now on Isaac's head, and she smiled at him. He smiled back at her and cast the star in the beacon. Light filled his vision, light and... Was that a room?
()()()
The three of them were slowly climbing the lighthouse. To nobody in particular, he said, "And ev'ry night I go to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred."
Piers looked strangely at him. "I close my eyes and know there's peace in a world so filled with hatred. The Ode to Guidance, third stanza. Or second unrepeated stanza, depending on how you classify it." He cocked his head. "I thought you'd never read poetry?" Felix paused to think for a moment.
It was true. His thoughts had never included reading any poetry, let alone an "Ode to Guidance". He tried to clear the words from his head, but someone else was speaking in it. "Then I wake up each morning, I turn on the news to find we've so far to go..." He looked at Piers. "When was it written?"
"About fifteen hundred years ago. Actually, my great-grandmother knew the authoress. She said it was a prayer for peace. That was the last thing Grandma Ameli told me before she died." Felix raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Grannie was approaching twenty-one hundred at the time, so..." Felix shook his head. He doubted the Lemurian could be believed.
Felix shrugged. As they neared the top, they could hear yelling. "Garet! Mia!" The voice was unfamiliar, but the one that followed it was.
"Can you hear us?!" shouted Isaac. "Are you okay?" Garet's voice came up.
"Yeah, but I can't get back up. My arm's broken or something, and it hurts like mrsh!" Apparently, the "Mia" that was down there with him had put a hand over his mouth.
"Well, don't worry about them," said the voice of Menardi's sister. Felix had recognized her back in Madra, but he'd said nothing, afraid that she would ask after her sister (she had anyway, but at least Felix hadn't directly brought up the subject.) "They'll be just fine."
The four travelers looked at each other. Jenna said, "Isaac can't handle two at once, even if his friend helps him." Felix refrained from making a growling noise. After all, he approved of Isaac, if this was the same Isaac he'd known growing up.
"And I keep on hoping for a sign, so I pray I just won't know." He moved with the rest of them, running to reach Isaac.
Unfortunately, when they arrived, it was too late. Isaac had been downed in battle, and so had his friend. Jenna ran and knelt by the unconscious Isaac. "Isaac," she said, "I'm here. So is Felix. Let him light the beacon." Karst's shrill laugh rang out.
"Felix, eh? The little Valean babe is here with you? At least he remembers his goal. Unlike Alex... Well, Felix, go light the beacon." Felix nodded. The Proxans smiled and walked off, Agatio following Karst's movements like a giant menacing dog.
Felix waited to see if Isaac and the other one were okay. Jenna looked at him. "Felix, Isaac has something to say to you." Felix walked over to the boy and knelt by him.
"Felix, I don't know what you're doing, but I'll trust you. Take... Take the Mars Star." Felix slowly nodded, taking the Elemental Star from his friend's hand. He was sure this was the Isaac he'd known all those years back in Vale. As he went up to the Aerie, Piers followed him.
"Felix, you'll need someone to help in case you get attacked." Felix nodded, grateful for the man's companionship. Perhaps he could tell him about the strange face that had been haunting his mind.
"Thanks, Piers. Say, have you ever seen a woman with flowing purple hair?" Piers looked taken aback at the question.
"Purple? Until I met you and Sheba and Jenna, I thought all people had blue hair. I'm afraid the only one was Feizhi. Why, has she been haunting your dreams?" The man was eerily good at guessing. Felix wondered if he was a partial Jupiter Adept.
"Not Feizhi, someone else. Someone with purple hair, a small, cute nose, enchanting eyes, large, beautiful... er, nevermind." He turned red. Talking about women in such a way had always made him embarrassed, and this was the worst. He was sure he'd never met her, and he was already falling for her. But perhaps he'd seen her somewhere and couldn't remember. He thought back.
{Flashback}
Lama Temple, close to the Lamakan desert. There, they had overnighted. Felix had been awake most of the night, pacing the temple. Upon coming across one room, he'd met the temple's keeper, a woman by the name of Hama. She had been reading something...
"Show me the way." She looked up at Felix, somewhat surprised. "Are you in need of guidance?" He nodded dumbly, engrossed by the sheer beauty of the one who stood before him. "Read this, and see if anything strikes you as being yourself." He went up to where she stood and read from the great tome. As he scanned the verse, he saw one passage that described him perfectly.
Slowly, he read it aloud. "Show me the way. Bring me tonight to the mountain and take my confusion away," he said. "Show me the way." She looked at him, her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm.
"You... You are the One. That's why I've been having those visions." She recoiled, a determined look on her face. "You must leave. Leave now, and do not return until you have lit the lighthouses. If you do not... The world is at stake. You know what you must do." She looked at him, sadness in her eyes. "This, I regret most of all." She stood in front of him and placed his head in her hands. "You will forget until the memories burst forth. Until I see you again, you will not remember a thing from tonight." She burst into tears. "And... Do not forget that I..." Footsteps echoed outside. "Hide!" she whispered to him. He nodded, then ducked behind a potted plant. Saturos and Menardi walked in.
"Well, Master Hama? Will our quest succeed?" asked Saturos. Menardi stood beside him, looking impatient. "Or are we destined to failure?"
"Your quest will be successful, although you may not survive." The two stepped back at these words. "I know not, but I do know that the beacons will be relit."
Saturos nodded grimly. "Menardi, we must prepare for departure." She nodded. The two exited the room together.
"Leave!" said Hama as soon as the pair was out of earshot. "Who knows who will drop by next?" She grabbed him and bodily shoved him from the room, which was a surprise. He was much bigger than she was, and probably a good deal stronger, though he didn't know. "Go, and do not forget." He nodded.
He never saw her again.
{eof}
The memory burst into his skull. He could see the tears running down her face, could feel the terror in her voice upon the two of them being discovered. He could still hear the gentle movement of the small stream that surrounded the temple. "But... She's there. She isn't here, or I would have seen her." His head hung.
"My friend, it sounds like you have fallen in love. And from what you said, she's kind enough to help you out of a difficult situation." He nodded at the stairs. "Come on, we've got a beacon to light." Felix sighed, then pulled himself up the stairs. The beacon had to be lit.
()()()
The Aerie wasn't really crowded. Sure, there were four people, but the place was large enough to crowd in a small village. Karst motioned to the beacon. "Cast it in," she said. Felix nodded.
"It is Destiny," he muttered. The words from the dream echoed in his mind. He picked up the Jupiter Star and cast it into the gaping hole in the Aerie.
Light flooded his vision. Piers stared in awe at it. "I've heard of such things," he whispered, "but I never thought it would be so beautiful."
Felix was lost in thought. Some voice was speaking in his mind. The beacon's light would be seen for miles, he knew. The voice called in his head again. "And if I see a light, should I believe? Tell me how will I know?" Suddenly, the voice's identity rang clear.
"Hama," he whispered. "Do not forget. And forget I will not." The Proxans smiled at him.
"Well, you've outlived your purpose." Agatio punched him in the stomach. The Mars Star fell from his pocket and onto the ground. Agatio picked it up and handed it to Karst. "Now then, we'll need to kill you. We can't afford to have a turncoat following us. It'll be painless, don't worry." With a nasty smile, Karst drew her scythe. Felix and Piers took defensive positions and drew their twin swords, Felix carrying the Cloud Brand, Piers holding a Greatsword.
After a few blows were exchanged, Jenna came running up. "Felix, Piers, we were getting worried! What's going-" She spotted Karst and Agatio and gasped. "I'll help you!" She drew the Dracomace from her belt and proceeded to aid the boys in giving the two Proxans a walloping.
However, only a few more blows were exchanged before Sheba came running up. "They're ok! I'll just help you with these twits!" She drew the Meditation Rod. Karst and Agatio looked at each other worriedly before plunging back into battle.
At the end of it all, Felix and his friends emerged victorious. Felix looked at his two opponents. Alex warped to the Aerie and healed the Proxans, as Felix had expected. "I only want to keep a challenge for you," he said as he poured healing energy into Agatio's unconscious body. "After all, you could've taken the Star from them and lit the lighthouse, but where's the fun in that?"
Karst glared at him. "You almost let us get killed. Remind me to return the favor." She looked at Agatio. "Come on, you. Let's get going." The image of a giant dog was once again tacked onto Agatio as he followed Karst off the Aerie.
As the pair exited, Isaac and his companions came up onto the Aerie. "Isaac!" yelled Jenna. She ran over to him, but stopped when he looked at them. Something in his eyes was dark. "Isaac, it's over!"
"Why did you run, Felix? And why are you doing this?" But Felix didn't answer. The memory was still running strong, but it was now stronger. "Very well, then. I'll ask you when we get to Contigo. Be there, or we'll go chasing after you again." He jumped on one of the lifts and dropped back down to the ground.
"Well," said Sheba, "let's go." The others nodded, and Felix led them down by elevator.
()()()
Felix had explained the situation in its fullest, and Isaac seemed to believe. Garet had had many questions, but fortunately Kraden had answered them all. Finally, a voice broke into the conversation. "Well, now that we're all in agreement," it said. He spun around.
There she stood, exactly as he'd remembered her. He tried to say something, but they mowed him over. "Hama!" shouted the one Garet had named Ivan. "What are you doing here?"
"Ivan's sister is here," she said. This caused Ivan to gasp.
"So..." Nobody seemed to notice how she'd said it, save Felix. Just as he was about to say it, she gave away the secret.
"Yes, I'm your sister." Tears had come to her eyes again.
"Sister..." She glared at him.
"Do not call me that until you have finished your quest. You might be tempted to drop it." Ivan closed his mouth, nodding sagely. "The situation is delicate. I am afraid I can say little more. If you do not light Mars, there will be no hope."
"But Karst and Agatio stole the Mars Star!" yelled Piers. "There's nothing we can do, short of stealing from them." He had lost his cool in the conversation.
"They will not make it. They lack the capacity, or perhaps the wisdom." She looked pointedly at Felix. "But there is one among you who will be able to, even if the rest of you fall. To get there, however, you will need to work together. And even then, he might be unable to be the one to succeed where others fail until he casts in the beacon. Or she," she added, upon receiving glares from Jenna and Sheba.
Mia, on the other hand, whispered, "Felix is the one she means, isn't he?" Felix took it silently. This had not been told to him, even when he'd asked her for guidance.
"You must prepare. Get to work." Something in her voice told them that if they didn't hurry, Weyard would be lost. Felix was about to go when her voice stopped him. "Felix, please stay with me." He nodded, still entranced by her.
"Show me the way. Show me the way. Take me tonight to the river and wash my illusions away. Show me the way." She smiled at him, a sad smile.
"There is one more verse that is said to inspire, one that you will need to know. 'Show me the way. Give me the strength and the courage to believe that I'll get there someday.' And both will you need." She turned to go, but he turned her around.
"You forgot one person. You addressed all except me. Why?" She hung her head, and he could see tears running down her face again.
"I feared... I feared that I would not be able to give you the needed inspiration. I almost failed." He reached and lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye. She swallowed, then continued. "I am still afraid. I shouldn't have asked you to stay behind. I should've let you go on with you duties. I mean..." He placed a single finger to her lips.
"Do not forget. I never wanted to forget, but... What? What did I have to remember?" He looked her in the eyes, his face a mask of curiosity. "What was so important?"
"Do not forget. Do not forget that... That you have my heart, my soul, my being." She grabbed him, her arms circling around his back. "That I love you more deeply than I love anyone else, though I barely know you. That we are one, separated by body. Never forget that."
"You have my heart as well, Hama, though we had barely met. And my feelings remain the same. My heart is yours." He grabbed her in an embrace. "And I will not let you give it back." He planted a kiss on her lips. She smiled afterward.
{eos}
8BTFreek: Well, that's OneShot number 9. Next one's the "Great Big Tenth Anniversary OneShot." As always, please review!
Eshli: But it's only two more OneShots to go. Please do one? Please?
8BTFreek: [sigh] Fine. I'll do a new OneShot, and it'll be something few people will expect.
Eshli: Uh-oh. You never use those words when something good's about to happen.
8BTFreek: Well, this is a OneShot inspired by "Show Me The Way" by Styx. This one's a bit sadder than normal, but... It's still got some happy. It's just that the happy is after all the sad. Bleh, I can barely write the summary. Well, here's "Spirit Guide", the new OneShot by the one and (thankfully) only Me. And before you ask, no, I don't own Golden Sun.
{Spirit Guide}
"Ev'ry night, I say a prayer," he whispered, "in the hopes that there's a heaven." He knelt by the bed. So many things had happened, and not all of them were good. He felt the emptiness next to him, and sighed. "But ev'ry day, I'm more confused, as the saints turn into sinners." That was true enough. All that had happened... First Saturos and Menardi had become ruthless, then Alex became power-hungry... "All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of pain." His head fell. Perhaps the others could cheer him up. Probably not. "And I feel this empty place inside, so I pray I've lost my faith."
Jenna's hand touched his shoulder. "Felix, it's time for you to be sleeping. After all, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We need to go and light Jupiter Lighthouse." He looked up at her. She smiled sadly, then turned and faced the window.
"Show me the way," he whispered to the night. "Show me the way." Wind blew around him. "Take me tonight to the river, and was my illusions away, and show me the way." Secure in having done what he set out to do, he got into the bed and tried to sleep.
()()()
The dreams came again. His eyes were forced to open, and he saw his companions. One by one, they fell. He was the last one standing, but he couldn't make it. The dreams were all the same in the end. Isaac would crush him, sometimes in gruesome ways, sometimes with Psynergy, but it was always with the same pained expression, one that seemed to say, "I'm sorry, Felix." And then, after the torture, Isaac would speak. "I'm sorry, Felix, but it had to be like this. I can't let you relight the beacons, and if that means I must kill you..." His head hung. "I just never-" That was where the dream always ended.
But not tonight. "I just never thought I'd have to. Felix, we could've been on the same side. Why did you choose to fight? Why?" A croaking sound came from Felix's mouth.
"Vale will die if I don't, Isaac. It starts with Prox and Imil, Yallam and Contigo. It ends with Vale. We must light the lighthouses. It is destiny." Isaac muttered something. His voice had changed since he asked the question. Now it was feminine. The darkness that was overcoming him faded, and he was able to stand.
"Cast it in," said Isaac in the female voice. "It is destiny." An unfamiliar face was now on Isaac's head, and she smiled at him. He smiled back at her and cast the star in the beacon. Light filled his vision, light and... Was that a room?
()()()
The three of them were slowly climbing the lighthouse. To nobody in particular, he said, "And ev'ry night I go to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred."
Piers looked strangely at him. "I close my eyes and know there's peace in a world so filled with hatred. The Ode to Guidance, third stanza. Or second unrepeated stanza, depending on how you classify it." He cocked his head. "I thought you'd never read poetry?" Felix paused to think for a moment.
It was true. His thoughts had never included reading any poetry, let alone an "Ode to Guidance". He tried to clear the words from his head, but someone else was speaking in it. "Then I wake up each morning, I turn on the news to find we've so far to go..." He looked at Piers. "When was it written?"
"About fifteen hundred years ago. Actually, my great-grandmother knew the authoress. She said it was a prayer for peace. That was the last thing Grandma Ameli told me before she died." Felix raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Grannie was approaching twenty-one hundred at the time, so..." Felix shook his head. He doubted the Lemurian could be believed.
Felix shrugged. As they neared the top, they could hear yelling. "Garet! Mia!" The voice was unfamiliar, but the one that followed it was.
"Can you hear us?!" shouted Isaac. "Are you okay?" Garet's voice came up.
"Yeah, but I can't get back up. My arm's broken or something, and it hurts like mrsh!" Apparently, the "Mia" that was down there with him had put a hand over his mouth.
"Well, don't worry about them," said the voice of Menardi's sister. Felix had recognized her back in Madra, but he'd said nothing, afraid that she would ask after her sister (she had anyway, but at least Felix hadn't directly brought up the subject.) "They'll be just fine."
The four travelers looked at each other. Jenna said, "Isaac can't handle two at once, even if his friend helps him." Felix refrained from making a growling noise. After all, he approved of Isaac, if this was the same Isaac he'd known growing up.
"And I keep on hoping for a sign, so I pray I just won't know." He moved with the rest of them, running to reach Isaac.
Unfortunately, when they arrived, it was too late. Isaac had been downed in battle, and so had his friend. Jenna ran and knelt by the unconscious Isaac. "Isaac," she said, "I'm here. So is Felix. Let him light the beacon." Karst's shrill laugh rang out.
"Felix, eh? The little Valean babe is here with you? At least he remembers his goal. Unlike Alex... Well, Felix, go light the beacon." Felix nodded. The Proxans smiled and walked off, Agatio following Karst's movements like a giant menacing dog.
Felix waited to see if Isaac and the other one were okay. Jenna looked at him. "Felix, Isaac has something to say to you." Felix walked over to the boy and knelt by him.
"Felix, I don't know what you're doing, but I'll trust you. Take... Take the Mars Star." Felix slowly nodded, taking the Elemental Star from his friend's hand. He was sure this was the Isaac he'd known all those years back in Vale. As he went up to the Aerie, Piers followed him.
"Felix, you'll need someone to help in case you get attacked." Felix nodded, grateful for the man's companionship. Perhaps he could tell him about the strange face that had been haunting his mind.
"Thanks, Piers. Say, have you ever seen a woman with flowing purple hair?" Piers looked taken aback at the question.
"Purple? Until I met you and Sheba and Jenna, I thought all people had blue hair. I'm afraid the only one was Feizhi. Why, has she been haunting your dreams?" The man was eerily good at guessing. Felix wondered if he was a partial Jupiter Adept.
"Not Feizhi, someone else. Someone with purple hair, a small, cute nose, enchanting eyes, large, beautiful... er, nevermind." He turned red. Talking about women in such a way had always made him embarrassed, and this was the worst. He was sure he'd never met her, and he was already falling for her. But perhaps he'd seen her somewhere and couldn't remember. He thought back.
{Flashback}
Lama Temple, close to the Lamakan desert. There, they had overnighted. Felix had been awake most of the night, pacing the temple. Upon coming across one room, he'd met the temple's keeper, a woman by the name of Hama. She had been reading something...
"Show me the way." She looked up at Felix, somewhat surprised. "Are you in need of guidance?" He nodded dumbly, engrossed by the sheer beauty of the one who stood before him. "Read this, and see if anything strikes you as being yourself." He went up to where she stood and read from the great tome. As he scanned the verse, he saw one passage that described him perfectly.
Slowly, he read it aloud. "Show me the way. Bring me tonight to the mountain and take my confusion away," he said. "Show me the way." She looked at him, her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm.
"You... You are the One. That's why I've been having those visions." She recoiled, a determined look on her face. "You must leave. Leave now, and do not return until you have lit the lighthouses. If you do not... The world is at stake. You know what you must do." She looked at him, sadness in her eyes. "This, I regret most of all." She stood in front of him and placed his head in her hands. "You will forget until the memories burst forth. Until I see you again, you will not remember a thing from tonight." She burst into tears. "And... Do not forget that I..." Footsteps echoed outside. "Hide!" she whispered to him. He nodded, then ducked behind a potted plant. Saturos and Menardi walked in.
"Well, Master Hama? Will our quest succeed?" asked Saturos. Menardi stood beside him, looking impatient. "Or are we destined to failure?"
"Your quest will be successful, although you may not survive." The two stepped back at these words. "I know not, but I do know that the beacons will be relit."
Saturos nodded grimly. "Menardi, we must prepare for departure." She nodded. The two exited the room together.
"Leave!" said Hama as soon as the pair was out of earshot. "Who knows who will drop by next?" She grabbed him and bodily shoved him from the room, which was a surprise. He was much bigger than she was, and probably a good deal stronger, though he didn't know. "Go, and do not forget." He nodded.
He never saw her again.
{eof}
The memory burst into his skull. He could see the tears running down her face, could feel the terror in her voice upon the two of them being discovered. He could still hear the gentle movement of the small stream that surrounded the temple. "But... She's there. She isn't here, or I would have seen her." His head hung.
"My friend, it sounds like you have fallen in love. And from what you said, she's kind enough to help you out of a difficult situation." He nodded at the stairs. "Come on, we've got a beacon to light." Felix sighed, then pulled himself up the stairs. The beacon had to be lit.
()()()
The Aerie wasn't really crowded. Sure, there were four people, but the place was large enough to crowd in a small village. Karst motioned to the beacon. "Cast it in," she said. Felix nodded.
"It is Destiny," he muttered. The words from the dream echoed in his mind. He picked up the Jupiter Star and cast it into the gaping hole in the Aerie.
Light flooded his vision. Piers stared in awe at it. "I've heard of such things," he whispered, "but I never thought it would be so beautiful."
Felix was lost in thought. Some voice was speaking in his mind. The beacon's light would be seen for miles, he knew. The voice called in his head again. "And if I see a light, should I believe? Tell me how will I know?" Suddenly, the voice's identity rang clear.
"Hama," he whispered. "Do not forget. And forget I will not." The Proxans smiled at him.
"Well, you've outlived your purpose." Agatio punched him in the stomach. The Mars Star fell from his pocket and onto the ground. Agatio picked it up and handed it to Karst. "Now then, we'll need to kill you. We can't afford to have a turncoat following us. It'll be painless, don't worry." With a nasty smile, Karst drew her scythe. Felix and Piers took defensive positions and drew their twin swords, Felix carrying the Cloud Brand, Piers holding a Greatsword.
After a few blows were exchanged, Jenna came running up. "Felix, Piers, we were getting worried! What's going-" She spotted Karst and Agatio and gasped. "I'll help you!" She drew the Dracomace from her belt and proceeded to aid the boys in giving the two Proxans a walloping.
However, only a few more blows were exchanged before Sheba came running up. "They're ok! I'll just help you with these twits!" She drew the Meditation Rod. Karst and Agatio looked at each other worriedly before plunging back into battle.
At the end of it all, Felix and his friends emerged victorious. Felix looked at his two opponents. Alex warped to the Aerie and healed the Proxans, as Felix had expected. "I only want to keep a challenge for you," he said as he poured healing energy into Agatio's unconscious body. "After all, you could've taken the Star from them and lit the lighthouse, but where's the fun in that?"
Karst glared at him. "You almost let us get killed. Remind me to return the favor." She looked at Agatio. "Come on, you. Let's get going." The image of a giant dog was once again tacked onto Agatio as he followed Karst off the Aerie.
As the pair exited, Isaac and his companions came up onto the Aerie. "Isaac!" yelled Jenna. She ran over to him, but stopped when he looked at them. Something in his eyes was dark. "Isaac, it's over!"
"Why did you run, Felix? And why are you doing this?" But Felix didn't answer. The memory was still running strong, but it was now stronger. "Very well, then. I'll ask you when we get to Contigo. Be there, or we'll go chasing after you again." He jumped on one of the lifts and dropped back down to the ground.
"Well," said Sheba, "let's go." The others nodded, and Felix led them down by elevator.
()()()
Felix had explained the situation in its fullest, and Isaac seemed to believe. Garet had had many questions, but fortunately Kraden had answered them all. Finally, a voice broke into the conversation. "Well, now that we're all in agreement," it said. He spun around.
There she stood, exactly as he'd remembered her. He tried to say something, but they mowed him over. "Hama!" shouted the one Garet had named Ivan. "What are you doing here?"
"Ivan's sister is here," she said. This caused Ivan to gasp.
"So..." Nobody seemed to notice how she'd said it, save Felix. Just as he was about to say it, she gave away the secret.
"Yes, I'm your sister." Tears had come to her eyes again.
"Sister..." She glared at him.
"Do not call me that until you have finished your quest. You might be tempted to drop it." Ivan closed his mouth, nodding sagely. "The situation is delicate. I am afraid I can say little more. If you do not light Mars, there will be no hope."
"But Karst and Agatio stole the Mars Star!" yelled Piers. "There's nothing we can do, short of stealing from them." He had lost his cool in the conversation.
"They will not make it. They lack the capacity, or perhaps the wisdom." She looked pointedly at Felix. "But there is one among you who will be able to, even if the rest of you fall. To get there, however, you will need to work together. And even then, he might be unable to be the one to succeed where others fail until he casts in the beacon. Or she," she added, upon receiving glares from Jenna and Sheba.
Mia, on the other hand, whispered, "Felix is the one she means, isn't he?" Felix took it silently. This had not been told to him, even when he'd asked her for guidance.
"You must prepare. Get to work." Something in her voice told them that if they didn't hurry, Weyard would be lost. Felix was about to go when her voice stopped him. "Felix, please stay with me." He nodded, still entranced by her.
"Show me the way. Show me the way. Take me tonight to the river and wash my illusions away. Show me the way." She smiled at him, a sad smile.
"There is one more verse that is said to inspire, one that you will need to know. 'Show me the way. Give me the strength and the courage to believe that I'll get there someday.' And both will you need." She turned to go, but he turned her around.
"You forgot one person. You addressed all except me. Why?" She hung her head, and he could see tears running down her face again.
"I feared... I feared that I would not be able to give you the needed inspiration. I almost failed." He reached and lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye. She swallowed, then continued. "I am still afraid. I shouldn't have asked you to stay behind. I should've let you go on with you duties. I mean..." He placed a single finger to her lips.
"Do not forget. I never wanted to forget, but... What? What did I have to remember?" He looked her in the eyes, his face a mask of curiosity. "What was so important?"
"Do not forget. Do not forget that... That you have my heart, my soul, my being." She grabbed him, her arms circling around his back. "That I love you more deeply than I love anyone else, though I barely know you. That we are one, separated by body. Never forget that."
"You have my heart as well, Hama, though we had barely met. And my feelings remain the same. My heart is yours." He grabbed her in an embrace. "And I will not let you give it back." He planted a kiss on her lips. She smiled afterward.
{eos}
8BTFreek: Well, that's OneShot number 9. Next one's the "Great Big Tenth Anniversary OneShot." As always, please review!