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PROLOGUE
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Crowd: "Cynic! Cynic! Cynic!"

Lord Cynic: "Yes, thank you, thank you. This is my second chapter of this fanfic featuring original songs by me. This is Mia's side of the story, so to speak. See ya!"

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Lord Cynic: "I don't own Golden Sun... or Holden Sun for that matter..." oO "Golden Sun is property of Camelot Soft, so eh."

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Chapter 2: "Darkness through the light"


As Isaac stood alone outside the house, someone inside was sleeping restlessly. The young Mercury Adept inside was tossing and turning and moaning desperately {"Not what people might be thinking"}, and like Isaac was before she was sweating profusely.

+


"Be careful!"
"Don't worry, we can handle this thing!"

Mia watched in terror as the three strangers she briefly encountered in Imil battled a ferocious Lizard Man (I think that's it). A short blonde boy was casting strange wind magic at the beast; a tall boy with taller red hair was pelting fire; and another blonde boy (slightly shorter than the fire wielder) was striking at the monster with his blade. Even though his fighting was fierce, the boy's blue eyes were calm and warming, and Mia couldn't stop staring. In fact, her mind was so preoccupied that she didn't notice that the battle was over within seconds.
"That was easy," the redhead said, wiping his forehead with his hand. The short blonde boy nodded and smiled, holding his strange rod tightly. However, the taller blonde boy was still watching the unmoving beast they'd just defeated, and only when the redhead yelped did he finally turn around.
"What did you do?" the short boy asked, as the redhead hopped on the spot.
"I dropped my sword on my foot," he said, cringing. The tall blonde boy sighed in exasperation, causing Mia to giggle and everyone to notice her again, making her blush.
"Oh, have I introduced myself?" she asked timidly. "My name is Mia."
"The name's... oww.... Garet," the redhead said, hopping on the spot still.
"I'm Ivan," the short blonde boy said, nodding. Everyone turned to the quiet boy who seemed to be staring at Mia in the same way she was staring at him. When he realised everyone was watching him he blushed and cleared his throat.
"I'm, er, Isaac," he mumbled quietly, looking down at the ground. Mia giggled again and smiled, making Isaac blush again while the other two watched in amusement.
Meanwhile, the Lizard Man had recovered and was slowly approaching Isaac. Everyone was busy watching each other so they didn't notice it raise its weapon until -
"Look out!"
"What the -"
In one swift action, the Lizard Man struck upon Isaac, sending him crashing to the ground, then it disappeared before Garet or Ivan could destroy it. Mia stared at the lifeless body of Isaac, and although she hardly knew him she started to weep. Until...
"NO! Isaaaaaaaaaaaaaa -"

+


"Isaac, no!... oh..."
Mia looked around at the surrounding darkness and her heart stopped pounding in her chest. She brushed some hair out of her face and sighed in relief.
"Oh thank Mercury, it was only a dream..."
Smiling, she switched on a light and shifted around on her bed to look at the wall behind the bed, which was full of photos. There were photos of her with Megan and Justin back in Imil; her with Isaac, Garet and Ivan in Xian; her and Isaac in front of his house, her in his arms and both blushing bright red...
Her smile grew wider as she gazed at this photo, remembering the day it was taken...

*


"Oh for goodness sake, Garet!"
"Sorry, it was an accident!"
Garet hastily hurried off the roof of Isaac and Dora's house, revealing yet another hole. After he scrambled off, Dora glared at him, giving him the cue to get the heck out of there as Isaac and Mia arrive
"Should I even -" Isaac started, but stopped when Dora shook her head wearily.
"Now," she began, "just where have you two been all morning?"
"Nowhere, Mum," Isaac said quickly. "Just around the waterfalls."
"And what do you do there for three hours?"
"Just talk," Mia said quietly, staring to blush. "Game, set and match" were written on Dora's face as she continued her interrogation.
"Yes, I've been hearing 'talk' about you two myself," she said without changing her facial expression.
'I hope the others haven't been giving her ideas,' Isaac thought, frowning. He looked up at the house to try and change the subject, and noticed the hole in the roof. "Uh, let me guess -"
"Yes," Dora said before he could finish. "I don't suppose you could fix it for me?"
"Um, sure," Isaac said absent-mindedly, still staring at the hole in utter disbelief.
"I'll help," Mia chimed in. "You might get yourself hurt," she added to Isaac, beaming at him and causing him to rub the back of his head embarrassingly. Dora smiled at the two.
"Okay," she said, hitching her handbag over her shoulder, "I'm going down to the markets. Bye Isaac, Mia."
"Bye, Mum."
"Bye, ma'am."
"Please," Dora said, "It's Dora to you."
"All right," Mia replied, bowing. Dora nodded back and left, leaving the two teenagers alone together.
"Well," Isaac said finally, "after you, Mia."
"Thank you," she said, beaming at him again and making him blush. She began to ascend the ladder, smiling secretively to herself.
'Dora must like me to let me call her by her name,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe it has something to do with Isaac...'
However, while she was preoccupied with her thoughts her foot slipped on one of the top rungs, causing her to become off-balanced. She came to her senses as she slipped off the ladder.
"Whoa - Oh!"
Instead of landing on the ground, she had been caught by Isaac in his arms. Her face blushed when she looked up to see him smiling at her in relief.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently. She nodded and smiled back at him, but a bright flash interrupted their moment. Isaac let Mia back onto her feet as someone's familiar laugh faded into the distance.
"GARET!" Mia shrieked, causing Isaac to fall over. She stuttered an apology to him before running off to find the culprit. She knew just where to find him, too.

"Another prize photo for my collection of blackmail."
Garet confidently strolled out of the photo shop holding his latest shot. However, Mia was outside waiting for him, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Hey, Mia," Garet said brightly, but then noticed that she didn't look all smiles and sunshine. "Er, what's up?"
"You have something I want," she said, pointing to the photo he was holding.
"Oh, er," Garet stuttered. "It's nothing, really."
He started to walk away when Mia said, "Then I guess this is also nothing, really?" He turned around to see her take a photo out of her robe, fanning herself with it. {"Let's just say her robe has pockets, all right?"} The horrified look on Garet's face seemed to say it all.
"How did -" he managed to gasp, but Mia didn't let him finish.
"Give me your photo and you can still die with dignity... whenever that is."
Reluctantly, Garet handed Mia his photo and in return she handed him hers, She let him leave quickly, then she stared down at the photo of her and Isaac. She was thinking only one thing:
"He looks really cute in this."

*


Mia hadn't seen Garet for the rest of that day, but later than she passed his house she could've sworn she smelled burning celluloid. She became pretty sure about what he was up to, but didn't say anything to the others.
In any case, now she gazed warmly at the photo of her and Isaac, but her face changed when her heart did a flip-flop while she stared at Isaac's friendly smile.
Isaac was unaware, but Mia loved him with all her heart. From his gentle smile and goofy grin to his spikey blonde hair that never stayed down, she was in love with him. However, she couldn't build up the courage to tell him how she felt. What would he say? Would he reject her? She didn't want to risk another broken heart, not after the way Alex had betrayed her. Still, she felt strongly that Isaac wouldn't treat her the same way Alex did, but she couldn't tell her how much she loved him.
Sighing heavily, Mia climbed out of bed and crept to the window. Instead of looking out onto the garden where Isaac still stood, she stared at the sky in the same way he did in his room. The moonlight basked her in its bright glow as she continued to gaze. Deep inside her a song welled up in her heart, and it was now that she sang.

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This love is eating me up inside,

And my love for you I just cannot hide.

I wish that you knew,

About my neverending love for you,

But now I know what I must do.



I have to tell you how I feel tonight,

Because through the darkness you are my light.

Your heartwarming grin and your warm embrace,

Always bring a smile to my face,

And even if you don't feel the same way,

My love for you will forever stay.



You picked me up when I was down,

You made me laugh whenever I frowned.

You made me feel like there's no one else here,

And now I can no longer fear,

So my heart is filled with neverending cheer.





I have to tell you how I feel tonight,

Because through the darkness you are my light.

Your heartwarming grin and your warm embrace,

Always bring a smile to my face,

And even if you don't feel the same way,

My love for you will forever stay.



I will pour my heart out to you,

Because I know that's what I've got to do.

I hope you feel the same love I feel,

Because my love for you will always be real.



I have to tell you how I feel tonight,

Because through the darkness you are my light.

Your heartwarming grin and your warm embrace,

Always bring a smile to my face,

And even if you don't feel the same way,

My love for you will forever stay.

---------------------------------------------------

Upon finishing her song, she finally noticed the blonde Venus Adept outside.

"Isaac," she whispered. "If only you knew..."
The clock in her room ticked as she averted her gaze back to the stars. Suddenly, an invisible light bulb flashed above her head and she clapped her hands.
"That's it! I know what to do!"
A bright smile on her face, she put on her robe and started to go downstairs.

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Lord Cynic: "And thus, the second chapter is complete. Again, "Light through the Darkness" (the song) is an original by me. The next (and should be final) chapter may come soon, we'll have to wait and see."

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Reader's Spotlight

"Joker's Specter"

Thanks dude. You raise a good point about Isaac/Mia not being on love on the journey, but of course (as a Mudshipper) that's hogwash.



"Anime-Master7"

Ah, no worries then, mate.



"LilTyphoon"

Ahaha... first, I know what the photo is, but I'll reveal it later. Second, I'm in Australia, so no spring break. *Shrugs* Term 1 holidays are coming up soon, though.



"TheOneAndOnlyT"

Thanks for that, I appreciate it. Mudshippers all the way!



"Lord Isaac"

Again, it'll all be revealed soon enough.



"Yugi the Other White Meat"

A banana in duct tape... there may be a way to use this somehow... wait... no, lost it... nuts.



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Final Chapter: "One Wish"