Hey out there. Some people out there might recognize these first four chapters, as I have the (Unedited) versions posted under 'MiraiEvo'. Sadly (or maybe just pathetically), I forgot the passwords to both my account and my e-mail. Sad, no? So anyway, I've edited them and am reposting them now under a new sn. I do plan on writing more of them, and have a few ideas as I write this…enjoy, I guess.

BTW-I don't own Golden Sun.


The Smaller Picture

Undying Hatred

Chapter I of -

It was a beautiful day in the misty land of Lemuria. Of course, everyday in Lemuria was beautiful, so the inhabitants had come to expect such. Lemurians were beginning to rise and get about with their daily chores as they would on any other normal day.

Today, however, was not a normal day.

The previous afternoon, the small island had received visitors, a happening so rare that not even the eldest Lemurians could recall another such instance. The two travelers, a (slightly egotistical) man who called himself Lunpa with his friend, a (more reserved) man called Babi, arrived looking rather perplexed at the fat that they had actually come upon a legendary civilization.

Of course, Lunpa jumped right in with the natives, chatting with the indifferent citizens about everything from his family to random philosophical questions (Why doesn't the mist blow away with the wind? Is there even wind in this place?). Babi seemed a bit more personal, keeping to himself and simply walking around the city with an air of confidence that seemed to be that of a great leader.

While the adults were a bit wary of the new additions, the few children were curious about the arrivals, and had gone to the palace, hoping to get a glimpse of them coming out after they had talked with their Lord Hydros.

All of them, that is, save one.

It was a familiar sight to all Lemurians to see this boy, shoulder length blue-hair back in a ponytail with a few stray bangs falling in front of his golden eyes, run down the path from the house where he lived with his father, mother, and uncle early in the morning to the harbor where his father worked. His brown books clicked along the pebbled pathway as he ran, a pouch of herbs tied to his umber belt that kept his blue shorts up to his white shirt. His name was Picard.

It was also a familiar sight to see, at the docks themselves, a large, well-built man by the name of Leon with hair and eyes that greatly resembled Picard' tied back with a headdress (customary of their land to wear once a boy had come of age) working away at a ship, often with his young son, wife or in-law nearby. He had been working on this ship for more years than anyone had bothered to keep count of, but it was certainly well past one hundred.

It was an elegant ship, that in all its carvings, paintings, and presence, seemed to posses the wonder and elegance of Lemuria that was washed away with the loss of alchemy. That ship was Leon's pride and joy, for he had spent the majority of his life working on it planning and construction, and it was nearing completion. The ship was fully capable of sailing, as he had proved to the rest of the dumbstruck city. Leon smiled fondly at the memory.

Flashback

Ancient Lemuria greatly reminded the picnickers of their home, with the columns made of some ancient material, the statues of some unknown deity, and even a submerged fountain from which their drought was pulled from. It seemed so natural and untouched, though Picard (being the curious child that he was at the time) didn't allow it to stay that way for long.

The group was enjoying the meal they had packed in celebration of the boat being able to sail. Of course, it consisted of Leon's favorite dishes so that it could have doubled for reassurance should it have failed, but that fact needn't be recognized by the Lemurian. The ship had moved quite smoothly, powered by the black crystal Leon found that he was able to channel his psynergy through.

"Look daddy! Look at that!" a sudden yelp from Picard interrupted the adults' conversation. Leon stood up and rushed to his son, wondering what the inquisitive boy had found. He thought it would be a trivial thing that meant the entire world to a small child; a pretty rock, or a funny looking beetle. He certainly did not expect to find the boy holding a small, crab-like creature with a reddish, claw-like tail and luminous yellow orbs in his hands. It was odd-looking, but it certainly was not a beetle. The boy looked up at his father with his eerily similar eyes and asked the question Leon knew had to be coming,

"Can I keep it?"

Leon grimaced, sighed, and put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Son, don't you think he'd be happier here, with his family and friends?"

"Pardon" a small, squeaky voice piped up, "But my 'family and friends', as you say, are quite a distance from this place." Leon looked around searching for the source of the voice. Picard laughed and pushed the creature closer to him.

"He's talking dad. The little creature is talking." Needless to say, this was quite a strange encounter. His wife and brother-in law had abandoned their lunch in favor of the boys' discovery, and were quite puzzled as well. To their surprise, the blue animal made a sort of shuffled bow.

"Spring the Mercury Djinni at your service! In current need of finding Shade, though..." and with that, the Djinni now identified as Spring hopped out of Picards' hands and ran off into the overgrown grass.

The party, still a bit shocked, turned to leave when they were all drenched in a torrent of water. Following the water was Spring with an identical creature chasing it. The two continued to chase each other, creating spirals of water around the picnickers as they watched in shock and amazement.

Suddenly, the second one stopped and turned to look at Picard, now soaking wet. Spring squealed and ran to get the cloth they had laid out to eat on to dry the company off. Of course, it went unnoticed that she had, in the process, sacrificed the family's lunch to whatever insects happened to be creeping around the barren ghost town.

"See, Shade? Now look what you've done!"

The second Djinni, whom the party assumed to be Shade, glared at her upon being accused of the act.

"What I've done? You're the one who blasted me!"

"Well I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't been hiding!"

"I wasn't hiding, you moron, it's called sleeping, maybe you should try it!"

"Well maybe YOU should try thinking before you spray!"

"…I'm going to be the mature responsible one now, and refrain from answering."

"Oh really? What's the matter? Is your brain just another of you weak and underused muscles?"

"!Why you…!"

"Ok, that-that's quite enough I think..." Leon started out. The Djinni turned to him and bowed in apology.

"Sorry, sir." Startled by their abrupt change in behavior, Leon had nothing more to say. Shade then proceeded to examine Picard.

"Say, kid, what's your name?" he questioned.

"Er, Picard..."

"You a Mercury adept?" Shade continued.

"Well, I suppose. But all Lemurians are, really...it's nothing special..."

"But you're gonna be reeeeeeeeeeeeal strong! Oooh! Can we stay with him Shade? Can we?" Spring was apparently very enthusiastic about the idea.

"Hold on a minute..." Picards' Uncle came in. "What do you mean, 'stay with him?'"

End Flashback

Leon chuckled. Any resistance had been futile and obsolete. The two Djinni were set on staying with Picard, and as the boy found no reason to object (he was quite exited about it, truthfully), the Djinni stayed with him.

They had learned later that when Lemuria sealed itself off from the rest of Weyward, the Djinni couldn't get through the misty barrier to Sol Sanctum (and the other Djinni) once alchemy was sealed off. They each claimed to have powers to heal and put up barriers, respectively Spring and Shade, but they could not prove it until the elemental stars were removed. Until then, they could float around and squirt water, and be a general annoyance to the public. Not that anyone cared in the least (Seeing as how Lemuria had plenty of water in it in the first place and a little excitement once n a while was a welcome change from the norm).

"Dad!" A voice interrupted Leon's pensive thoughts from the ships deck. "I have a question! Dad!"

"Hold on a second, Picard, let me get down first!" Leon climbed down from the crows nest and leaned down next to his son. "Now what's the problem?" Picard looked very concerned with his eyes wide and questioning, as though this were a life-threatening matter.

"Mom say's it's my birthday, but I can't remember. Is that bad dad? Is it bad that I don't remember my own birthday?" The boy slurred the words together as he hurried to get them out. Leon chuckled.

"Now, now, Picard, it's alright. Honestly, I don't think half of Lemuria could tell how old they were or when their birthday was." Leon's face changed to one of realization. "So it's your birthday today, eh? Better trust your mother with these things I suppose. Here, go throw these in the spring for a bit, a'right?" He said, handing his son a few golden coins. Picard gleefully took them and ran off towards the springs. Leon could see Shade and Spring behind him, making patterns as they flew happily behind him.

The Lemurian smiled and took out the orb that controlled his ship. It was made of a strange black crystal he found, and he doubted that he could find another one like it if he searched a hundred years. He had cut it in a way that the light reflected off of it and created designs on the floor as he turned it over in his hand. It reminded him of the days when he would leave the inner city of Lemuria so sail his boat in the area around the city and watch the patterns on the water out there.

He smiled at the memories, and then realized how much he had been looking back on what had been recently. He frowned. Surely that couldn't be an omen, could it?

Perhaps not, a little voice in his head reasoned, but your son running back in a hurry from the springs looking worried on his birthday likely is. His head jerked up at that. My son?

"Dad! Dad!" Picard voice was anxious, sounding worried and frightened. Leon knew that this was indeed something to worry about.

"What is it? What's wrong, Picard?" He asked, trying to calm the boy as he ran off the ship onto the dock .
The boy's voice sounded rushed for the second time that day, though this time his hands were trembling along with his voice. "It-it's Babi! He broke into the palace records and stole the blueprints for the springs. He took some of the drought, quite a bit actually, from the spring, and I-I think he's looking for a ship now, Dad!" Leon, while surprised, didn't doubt the boy. Lemurians weren't trusting of outsiders, so he had put his felling about Babi off as that, but he wouldn't put thievery past the man.

"Alright Picard, it's ok, I'll go check, alright?" Picard nodded and Leon moved towards the gate to Lemuria. He had a bad feeling about this, and that feeling was drawing him to the gate. He looked at the ground, and his heart nearly stopped beating.

One...

Two...

No, it's couldn't be right. He could clearly see Picards' frantic footsteps, but on top of them were more recent footprints. Ones with foreign tread markings, who also looked in a hurry. Leon's heart dropped to his stomach and stayed there as his eyes widened in realization.

They were Babi's footprints.

"Get of off me! Get OFF!" He heard his son's frantic yelps, accompanying thrashing sounds indicating that he was lashing out at his assailant. "GET OFF!"

"Picard?" His voice wavered, and he ran as fast as he could back towards the ship, praying that Picard had gotten too close to a crab. Yes, that was it. And those other footprints, they-they had to be his own. Perhaps he was so nervous upon checking, he had gone in a circle, and was looking at his own. That had to be it, he convinced himself. It had to be!

Still, he was not surprised when he came upon the harbor. Babi indeed was there, and he had Picard, his son in a deadlock, a dagger to the boy's throat. Shade and Spring were clearly trying to help, but possessed no psynergy to help, and their small forms had little impact on Babi's larger mass. Babi looked nervous, and kept glancing back at the gate, as if expecting all of Lemuria, armed with swords and daggers, to come rampaging through it at any second.

Leon would have laughed, had the situation not been so serious. The only thing Babi need worry about coming through the gate was Lord Hydros, or perhaps Conservato. Or worse, the both of them. Their arguments could be quite frightening to have to listen in on. But no, nothing came through the gate. It was just Leon, Babi, and Picard. Though it seemed that it would soon only be Leon and Babi.

"Give it to me." Babi commanded. Leon looked confused.

"What?"

"Give it to me!" Babi repeated. "The black crystal that powers this vessel!" Leon understood now. Babi had the plans for the springs; he had the drought, now he just needed the boat to get away with it all.

He fingered the crystal, and looked at it for a moment. He was about to throw away everything he had spent his whole life on. Was it-no. He shook his head violently. It was worth it. This was Picard, this was his son.

"Come now, you wouldn't want your dear son to have an encounter with my dagger, do you?"

"Dad-don't" Picard managed to choke out. Leon shook his head.

"No." Leon began, his voice sharper than before. Babi looked puzzled. "I have spent the last two hundred years or so working on this ship." He looked up at Babi's startled expression.

"I have also spent the last hundred years or so with my son." He looked at Picard, then up at his ship.

"However," he sighed, "Even if I spent the next two hundred thousand years working on this ship, it would still only be a ship." He feverently prayed that he wouldn't have to do this, that someone would come through the gate and help.

"But spending the next hundred years of my life without my son, knowing all the while that I could have helped him," The gate was still barren.

"That would not be living." No one did.

"It would be going through hell." He neared Babi and put his hand out containing the crystal, it's surface reflecting more graceful patterns that seemed to mock Leon's' decision to betray his ship.

Babi reached out and put a hand on the crystal. The scene paused, and then everything happened at once. Babi pushed Picard away, and in doing so slashed Leon in the chest, showering all three of them in the man's blood. Even afterwards, no one was sure if it was purposeful or accidental, but the damage was given.

Leon, from the shock of being cut, fell to the ground with Picard on top of him, the younger one clutching his throat and gasping for breath while looking horrified at what he had just witnessed.

At the same time, Lunpa closely followed by both Lord Hydros and a very angered Conservato. At the top of his lungs, Lunpa was shouting curses in several languages, all aimed at the man he once called 'friend'. Babi did a double take, looking at the father and son one last time before running aboard the ship and calling upon the little bit of psynergy he possessed, and steered the boat from the harbor with it.

Still yelling, Lunpa reached the dock first, panting, his throat horse from yelling and tears welling up in his eyes at the realization of what he had caused by bringing Babi to Lemuria. Once he realized that Picard and Leon were there, he gently pulled Picard off and desperately tried to calm the boy down. Hydros and Conservato began to examine Leon, but they were clearly too late to save the man. He was dead. Picard had seen it, and bore a renewed hate and general mistrust for outsiders.

The next day, Picard began to work on a ship.

100 years later

Hydros watched contently as Picard began loading his ship. Once Shade and Spring had suddenly gained psynergy, it was clear that the elemental stars had been removed. Someone was trying to fire the beacons, and Hydros had decided Picard would find out whom and help them.

Both Conservato and Lunpa questioned the king's decision (though Conservato was opposed to anyone trying to fire the beacons), as the young man held more mistrust for foreigners than any other Lemurian. Hydros held fast, however, and remained with his decision that Picard should go. Upon learning this, of course, Conservato began going no about how Picard could never be allowed to return, but Hydros paid him no mind.

Lunpa watched the young Lemurian pack his ship, marveling on the similarities between father and son. They both had the same air of calmness, it seemed, though not the same amount of luck. The boy had searched long and hard, but never could find any more of that mysterious crystal his father had fashioned an orb from, and had to settle with another, less appealing substitute that suited the purpose. Lunpa sighed.

"Oie, Picard! Come here, I want to give you something." He called to the (by Lemurian standards) young man. Upon being beckoned, Picard dropped the box he was carrying and jogged over to Lunpa.

"What is it sir?" he asked with little excitement in his voice, the two Djinni looking up at him with identical looks of apprehension. Lunpa smiled.

"First, close your eyes." And the boy did as he was told. Lunpa tied something around Picards' head. "You may open them...now."

Lunpa had tied to Picards' head the headdress that had belonged to his father. Generally, boys were only given them once they had come of age, but with Picard leaving and his return unknown, both Lunpa and Hydros agreed that it was an appropriate time to give it to him.

"This- this is"

"Your fathers'." Lunpa finished. "He would've wanted you to have it." Picard looked shocked, as Spring and Shade swirled around him, admiring the new accessory. Then suddenly, he gave Lunpa a hug.

"Thank you" he whispered before running off to finish his packing. Lunpa had a surprised expression on his own face at this point, but soon relaxed into a smile. Maybe Hydros was right.

Maybe Picard would trust others again after all.

End


Anyhow, the explanation. It was just sort of a 'what the-' thing that came upon me while I was playing TLA. Picard seemed rather hateful of Babi, talking about how he was not well liked in Lemuria and all, when the Lemurians themselves seemed rather indifferent to outsiders appearing. Later on, I was looking through my inventory of the original GS crew and noticed that they had a black crystal whereas you had a plain old orb. Added to that, no one mentioned really how Picards' father died, just that he was young when it happened. So, from that and my major hatred of Babi, this was born - how nice.

Chapter Count-

Words-3360

Pages- 9

Review please!