Hello there again! This is the third chapter and yeah...don't ask about Garet and his embarrassing moments...
Mia ran through the hall of Mercury Lighthouse and bumped into a giant Lizard Man. She fell back and it didn't do anything, except stand there. She looked at it a bit more.
It wasn't doing anything.
Maybe it's a giant statue or something, she thought, standing up and walking around it.
The Lizard Man shifted quickly and blocked her way. No matter which way she went, it kept blocking her!
She stopped to catch her breath after running around a lot and heard laughs from behind her. She turned and saw the boys who had helped her before.
"Garet, I dare you to try to go around the Lizard Man," the short one pointed at Mia and the monster.
"No, do it yourself! I'm not a fast runner," the one named Garet protested.
"Yes, let's outrun it instead of just getting rid of it," the boy who had helped her before replied blandly.
"Oh! I didn't think of that! You're so smart, Isaac!" Garet exclaimed.
"Yeah, and you're smart too," Isaac walked forward a bit, turned, and gestures for the other two to follow him.
Mia stared at them in surprise. Were they going to help her yet again?
"Are you going to help me?" she asked.
Isaac jumped and looked at her as if she had just appeared.
"No, we're NOT going to help you, we're only doing this for fun," he said without emotion.
Mia raised her eyebrows. Was he being sarcastic or did he really mean it? She could only watch as they used their own Psynergy against the Lizard Man and made short work of it. Amazing, she thought to herself, should I ask them to help me make my way through this lighthouse? There are other monsters like this one. She shook her head. This was her duty and she had to do this herself.
"Finally, Garet, you used your Psynergy! Did you finally get smarter or were you showing off for the girl?" the violet-eyed boy sneered at Garet.
Garet pouted, crossing his arms," Do you doubt my skill, Ivan?"
"I doubt more than that!" Ivan grinned, smacking Garet on his back. Garet jumped, wincing.
"Thank you all. Now I have to get going," Mia bowed and rushed off into the next room.
"Oh sure, just thank us and run away. Hey, how about joining us! We need your Psynergy to go to the top of Mercury Lighthouse!" Isaac called after her.
In the next room, Mia stared at the statue holding a pulsating red jewel near its heart. She ran to the next room and into one filled with water and stepping stones. She jumped onto the stone in front of her, remembering how she and Alex used to play here until they had to go back. She jumped onto a platform and went up its stairs.
As she made her way to the middle of the room, she saw another statue, blocking the ground next to a gap. In frustration, she slammed her palm into the wall, flinching at the pain.
Now, she needed those travelers to help her again. She hated getting help from them since she felt so helpless.
"Psynergy Man to the rescue!" Garet screamed, charging in. Mia tried not to laugh when he said that. He blushed a deep red color and used Move on the statue to pull it into the gap.
"Psynergy Man?" Mia asked.
"We dared him to say that," Ivan appeared from the doorway, laughing.
"No, not we, you. There is a difference," Isaac said, walking in after him. Garet blushed even more as he stood next to the statue-filled gap.
Mia giggled," You all keep saving me, thank you very much! I'll help you with anything you want."
"Kiss me!" Garet exclaimed, smiling.
"Kill him," Ivan pointed at Garet with his thumb.
Isaac sighed," I'd ask you to join our happy little group and help us with your Psynergy, but apparently, my followers want you to do other more important things."
Mia grinned," Okay, I'll join, if it's my choice." She glanced at Garet in disgust, wondering if he had been serious. Isaac nodded, smiling a little.
"From now on, you are my slave, any objections?" Isaac asked.
"R-really?" Mia questioned, wondering what kind of people she was now traveling with were.
"Yes, I was serious," Isaac muttered sarcastically. Mia tried to smile in spite of her anxiety, fear, and freaked out feelings.
See what you've put me into, Alex? She sighed, walking to the statue and jumping over it. Everyone else jumped after her.
"What are you here for?" she asked Isaac as they walked through the hallways.
"I need to stop those jerks from lighting all of the lighthouses because apparently, it was my fault that they got the Elemental Stars...though I'm not saying that it wasn't my fault," Isaac replied, frowning.
"It was my fault too!" Garet whined," Why didn't you include me in the story?"
"You don't count, all you did was follow me around," Isaac shrugged.
"No! I did some stuff by myself too! I wanted to break into Sol Sanctum and see what's inside!" Garet protested.
"Yeah, keep believing that," Isaac sighed as they emerged into a room with three waterfalls and another door besides the one they were near now. Garet pouted, giving up.
The next room was full with pipes spouting water and incomplete pipes, with their parts somewhere near them.
"I predict that after this room, we will get soaked," Ivan growled, pushing a nearby pipe into its place. Another opening started spouting water.
Mia stared at everything. It was a mess here and water was everywhere. She lifted her boots and marveled at the wet floor.
"Yes, none of us have seen water before," Isaac yawned, moving casually into a water jet and got pushed out into an area with some stairs. By then, his trousers and shirt had gotten wet, but only partially.
"Ugh, I hope we don't get hypothermia," Ivan complained as he followed suit.
"I don't like...water," Garet muttered, running in the direction the water jet was pushing him. They all stared at Mia to do the same. She smiled timidly and went into the water.
It was a weird feeling to get pushed like that. She intended to do it gracefully, but she fell when the jet caught her and landed by their feet. She got up quickly, staring down at her wet dress in disgust.
Isaac stared at her for a moment and commented," It'll dry." Mia nodded, blushing.
"Okay, let's go!" she yelled, tired of them looking at her so closely. Ivan shook his arms every so often as if trying to get the uncomfortable feeling of wet clothes off.
"There'll be more like those," Isaac waved vaguely at the jets," Please try not to fall again."
Mia felt like he was making fun of her. She gritted her teeth and realized that they should hurry up and catch up to Alex.
"Alex," she whispered, frowning.
"Alex, you mean that guy with blue hair who looks like a girl?" Garet asked.
"He does not look like a girl!" Mia snapped.
"No, he looks like a manly man, just like Saturos or Garet, with his long blue hair and petite figure," Isaac murmured, running down some stairs and coming out behind a pipe. He ran down and was pushed south by a jet. He shook off some water and continued traversing his way around the room. Nobody followed him and they waited for him to appear again.
Suddenly, the pipe that Ivan had pushed into place was shoved back out. The water from the pipes stopped flowing and Isaac stepped back out, soaked and shivering.
"Isaac! You did it!" Garet exclaimed.
"No, duh, why do you think the water jets are gone. Come on, let's continue, I saw a treasure chest somewhere near," Isaac urged, still freezing.
Mia undid her cape and placed it around Isaac. She blushed when she did it and didn't say any more.
Isaac didn't seem to notice what she had done, but she saw him smile for a second.
Alex, what are you planning? Do you know what I'm doing now? Mia felt worried, wondering if Alex was like she had remembered.
There was a noise and Mia looked up from walking to see that they had opened the chest and found something nice. She smiled. Will I get stronger if I stay with them?
"What's this?" Garet asked, grabbing the star-shaped object they had found.
"Idiot, it's a Psynergy Crystal! Haven't you seen one before?" Ivan demanded.
"No, where did you see one?" Garet raised an eyebrow, not hearing the idiot part.
"Master Hammet once showed me one that he had gotten from trading! You can use it to recover Psynergy when you're low on it," Ivan grinned, snitching the Crystal from Garet," I accidentally used the one he had gotten. Boy, he got angry at me that day!"
"Aw, Ivan, do you miss him?" Garet teased, grinning.
"No, but I guess that I should go rescue him at some point," Ivan shrugged," After all, he has taken care of me for a long time." He fingered the crystal for a while before stuffing it into his pack. "We'll need that," he murmured.
"No, duh," Isaac muttered, leading the way to the exit of the room. In the next room, Isaac sighed, pushing Mia's cape back towards her. "I'll be okay," he said in response to her worried expression.
She nodded, feeling like she was taking care of another one of her fellow villagers.
I hope I do get stronger, she thought, smiling as she put her cape on.
They continued on the ascent through Mercury Lighthouse, with the (ahem) occasional "squabbles" and...fights.
