Yo! I kept this chapter from you guys (who are/were waiting) for far too long. It'd been done for ages, but I forgot it was in my documents. My bad, haha. Well, here you go!

Dropping In

Chapter 4

The morning sun rose with a beaming passion, shining its intangible heat and magnificent light upon Weyard. The night's stars seemingly faded from existence as the flaming sphere of warmth appeared over the horizon, early clouds tagging alongside its rising. Vault's citizens rose once again for another beautiful day of work and socializing, including those resting at the Inn. While many had been confused by the eruption days earlier and the theft attempts the day before, the people decided to carry on as before, with caution. Both issues had been solved apparently, and it wasn't something to worry about any longer.

Yesterday night still plagued Matthew's mind. That man behind the mask, yes, he knew who he was. Those deep, chocolate brown eyes, matching shade of hair, that aura he emanated, and his voice. He knew him, and now he was wondering how the brunet was here. Did he get sucked into the past thirty years ago like him, too? To be truthfully honest, he hadn't figured out how he got in this time, dimension, whatever it was, either. But, there was something he was grateful for. Being told his presence in this time period will have no effect on the future he came from, as it already happened. Instead, a new timeline will branch off. Matthew's presence was unforeseen, apparently, and even if he hadn't approached his father of the past, his being here already altered the time stream and went off track.

That's what he learned from the man yesterday night. When he heard that, he sighed in deep relief. At the very least, he wouldn't be ruining his own existence!

Though, the plan they made yesterday still had him confused. It wasn't exactly "their" plan, as the other man mostly told him to, practically, stay here. He would still travel with his father for some time, a few months at most, while the masked mysterious man ventured out to gather more information and materials. He also told Matthew he would run into healing water called Hermes' Water eventually, and told him to take some whenever they reached it. Well, that was fine and dandy. But if he wanted to get back home, wouldn't staying away from Isaac and Garet, and Ivan for that matter, be better? However, that notion was shot down quickly. Matthew remembered it ever so clearly.

-x-x-x-

"So, why can't I just come with you, then? Wouldn't that be easier for you than go through annoying lengths to locate me? And, aren't we supposed to be ahead of Dad?" Matthew asked, wondering why the brunet suggested his plan.

"No. I want you to still continue to travel with Isaac and Garet. It'll not only help you learn new things, but it will prove disastrous if you don't." The older man looked at the young spiky blond, frowning. "You've made Isaac of this time believe you were his brother. Imagine what sort of emotion he would be in when he found his 'little brother' missing? Again, for that matter?" Matthew paled a little when that was thrown in his face. Yeah, Isaac, even in this time, was just as overprotective and worrisome as the one he knew and still loves. To be technical, he loved both versions of his father.

"…That wouldn't bode well, at all."

"Exactly. That is why you cannot come with me. At least, not yet." The brunet male smiled a little.

Matthew blinked. "Not yet?"

"No. When the time arrives, I will come for you."

"How do you know where I'll be?"

The man tapped his forehead, and smiled again. "I recognize your Psynergy signature from anywhere. Not only is it similar to your father's, it is familiar with me because of your mother. Both of them, I recognize. Therefore, I can find you by extending my Psynergy from my body." He placed his mask over his face again as he turned to leave the village. "Matthew, trust me on this. I understand you want to help, and you will. There is a Psynergy spell I would like for you learn, and the only way you will get to know it is if you remain with your father for the time being."

Matthew, while intrigued of learning a new Psynergy spell, still frowned at the prospect of remaining. He loved his father and Garet and Ivan, but he also had a home world to go back to! He had his friends, all seven of them, his parents, his parents' friends, Karis—

The blond blushed red at the mention of her name. She was one of his closest best friends that he grew up with, alongside Tyrell. Noticing the boy's flustered face, the brunet chuckled with genuine mirth. "Thinking of someone?" He asked, the teasing tone evidently showing.

"Um…yeah." Matt answered slowly, looking away abashedly.

"Don't worry. You'll see her again. Now, go back to your room and get some sleep. You have a long road ahead of you."

-x-x-x-

Matthew was half trapped, though. One half of him really wanted to stay with his father of this time, but then the other half of him wanted to take priority over the other blond and find a way back home. Both were important to him, honestly speaking. This was becoming more troublesome than he originally thought.

"Yo, Matt! Ready to go?" Garet asked the duplicate 'brother' of his best friend. "We have a long way to go before we reach the next place." Matt simply nodded, smiling in response. Putting his earlier thoughts on the back burner for now, he analyzed the positives of this situation. Here he was, thirty years in the past, before the lighthouses were lit and the elements released, apparently. He was technically reliving the moments his father and Garet's pasts, as well as Ivan's and if things go as the way they originally should, Nowell and Rief's mother, Mia of this time, should appear as well. He was reliving the times of the Sun Saga, basically, and would be going on a new adventure.

Weyard was vastly different compared to the one he was used to traveling for over a year and a half. As Kraden would say, "this would be the perfect time to study all the different changes!" Ah, Kraden. Even his words of studying hadn't completely left.

Isaac stepped up beside his best friend and brother, adjusting his sword and its sheath on his back. "This next place we need to go to is called Bilibin." He informed them, now producing the map they were given before leaving Vale several days ago. Isaac traced the road from their current location of Vault, to their next destination. "Right here. This is Bilibin."

"Aww man, that's so far away!" Garet complained, right on time. "And we have to walk there?!"

"Of course, Garet," Isaac deadpanned as if explaining the most obvious thing in the world. He rolled up the map as he continued, "how else are we going to get there?"

"Ugh…" the red-head grumbled under his breath, looking away. He really did despise walking such long distances. He'd eventually tough it out, but that didn't mean he liked it!

"Well, we best be going on our own ways from here," Ivan's voice came up from behind them. The three older Adepts turned and saw the Wind mage walking towards them. He had two bags with him, both probably filled with days worth of supplies. "I have to save Master Hammet."

The second those words were spoken, the others fell into light surprise and frowned yet again, reminiscent of yesterday night. Even though Ivan told them he was going to, it still surprised them anyhow. "Ivan…" Isaac started, but the smaller Adept shook his head. He cherished his new friends, he really did. But, he had to save someone much more important than they were at the time. If he had to sacrifice his own life to do so, then may it be.

"I must go. There is no one else who knows where Master Hammet is. At least, that's what I hope. The less people know, the better. I need to save him."

"But, it's dangerous to go alone!" Garet exclaimed, russet eyes on the purple-eyed boy. "You could get hurt or worse!"

"Then it's a sacrifice I must take," Ivan replied sharply, not angrily. "Master Hammet has been a father to me ever since he adopted me as a baby. He raised me like his own son. I simply cannot allow him to stay trapped in Lunpa forever. I have to do something!"

"But—!"

"Garet. Let him go." Garet turned to face Matthew, whom he thought had spoken to him. The blond shook his head and nodded towards Isaac. Said Earth Adept continued. "I know it's hard to let Ivan go somewhere dangerous, but there's…nothing we can do. I wish there was a way, however."

The auburn-haired teen gritted his teeth together, grumbling something again and crossed his arms. "Yeah, but doesn't mean we should though… I don't like it."

"I don't either," now came Matthew's proper voice, which confused Garet. He was mistaking Isaac's and Matthew's voices now. That's perfect. "But like Isaac mentioned, there's no other way. We'll have to part ways from here." Ivan nodded slowly, smiling just a little. At least they understood the gravity of the situation.

"I best be off now," the smaller Adept began, "I wish you three the best on your journey. I do hope we meet again."

"Yeah, of course, Ivan," Isaac smiled.

"You take care and stay safe," Matthew supplied after. In the back of his mind, he was going to save his daring question for the Ivan of his time. This kid was just crazy when on a mission, though it couldn't be helped.

"You better come back," Garet added in a demanding tone. "I consider all my friends very special to me. So you just better make sure to come back!"

The younger blond nodded, his amethyst orbs on all three of them. "I will. I will make sure of it." With that, the Wind Adept turned and began his way out of Vault from the northern exit, bypassing a dog sitting beside a tree on the way out. The three watched him as he went, his figure getting smaller in the distance until it finally winked out of their sight. Many moments later, they sighed, not in relief however.

"…There he goes…" Matthew said, frowning.

"And we should, too." Isaac added. "Come on, guys. We have some catching up to do."

-x-x-x-

They walked for miles, running into monster encounters along the way. Most of them were annoying Slimes and Bats which were easily handled by the combined efforts of Isaac and Garet. Matthew decided he'd only 'pitch in' when he felt his father and adopted uncle needed it. Otherwise, he'd stay on the defensive and support with his healing Psynergy. It'd been proven that he was a capable healer, much better than Isaac. Matthew gave himself a mental pat on the back for listening to his mother's earlier advice of utilizing his Psynergy for healing than attacking when he was younger. The gods know what Tyrell and Karis would've been like if we didn't have some healer on us when we first started our journey. He thought.

The three Valeans (Matthew considered himself one since both of his parents were from there) had just crossed a bridge southeast of Vault's surrounding area when another batch of monsters popped out from nowhere. There were two Wild Mushrooms and two Bats. Garet groaned in protest when he saw them.

"Oh come on!" The Fire Adept half whined, earning a pair of rolling eyes from his best friend and a head shake from said best friend's brother.

"The faster we kill them the faster we move on." Isaac said as he drew his sword and sidestepped a charging Bat. He swung down when it started up again. It took some damage to its wing but still kept up its pestering assaults at the slightly older Earth Adept. Isaac grunted as he eventually got hit from one of the Bat's attacks, a Sonic Wave, hissing when the blow contacted his body. He swung his blade again to slice the infuriating creature in half but the Bat had other ideas in mind. It evaded and sent another Sonic Wave at its opponent, forcing Isaac to abandon his battle stance and dodge. While in mid-dodge, one of the Wild Mushrooms decided to intervene and crash into Isaac from his left, effectively making him tumble over it and land on the ground painfully hard with an audible 'thud'. The hiss of the Bat was all the warning he got to move and roll out of the way to evade the flying creature's aerial assault.

Thinking quickly, Isaac cast a Quake spell, hoping to stall the nuisances while he got up to prepare himself again. The Wild Mushroom was hit but the Bat simply flew over the raised ground to avoid being hit. That was too predictable. The older blond thought, trying to assess how he'd stop the Bat from flying around. The only other way to get it grounded was to strike from above. Logic pointed him in that direction. It also pointed out that he wouldn't ever be able to jump high enough to strike the Bat down, either.

If only I could get my Earth psynergy to hit it from above it... Isaac thought as he sidestepped the charging creature once again. That simple thought brought upon another until an idea formed in the Valean's mind. What if he could get his psynergy above it? Isaac began gathering energy in his mind as he started shaping the idea in his mind's eye, turning it into a hopefully new spell he could cast later on if he practiced.

With Garet, who was dealing the other Bat and Wild Mushroom, was groaning in aggravation. He swung his large sword at both of them, hoping to hit them at the same time. His auburn-brown eyes narrowed angrily when the Bat#2 dodged and the Wild Mushroom appeared to taunt him with its flexibility. Gritting his teeth, Garet charged the blue-topped shroom monster, bringing his sword across with a wide, horizontal arc made to slash the beast. The Wild Mushroom#2 wiggled and jiggled angrily upon being hit and slammed into the Fire Adept with its body.

"Gah!" Garet cried, tumbling backwards, mainly from surprise the thing counterattacked and because he tripped on his own feet. This caused Bat#2 swerved to hit next but since Garet was already falling down, it missed.

These things are getting on my nerves! I just want to flame them silly. Wait! That's it! Grinning madly, Garet got up to his feet, ducking under the Sonic Wave Bat#2 tried to assault him with and began forming the appropriate psynergy spell to cast. Thoughts cleared and the energy formed, he threw his left hand out and called out, "Fire!" Several balls of the flaming aura materialized from the air and struck the intended targets. The Wild Mushroom#2 screeched unintelligibly and tried to put the flames out by rolling. The Bat#2 attempted to swerve and swoop around to put out its own fire but was unsuccessful in its efforts. Garet bellowed out in laughter at the misery of his opponents.

"Take that!" He gloated.

"Spire!" Isaac's voice shouted from a fair distance away. Garet turned and saw his best friend striking Bat#1 out of the air with a rocky stalagmite psynergy spell. The Bat#1 hissed before dispelling into the atmosphere, signaling its demise. His auburn eyes tried to find Isaac's wayward brother, only to find him not within the area. Where'd he go? He was just about to voice his question when Isaac yelled at him.

"Garet, behind you!"

"Huh?"

Garet barely turned around when the Bat#2, not aflame anymore, was dashing right towards him! The Fire Adept gasped and hurried into a defensive position with his sword before him, the surface side showing.

"Growth!"

Rumbling below the Bat#2, the earth parted quickly as an overgrown, thorny multitude of vines snagged the winged creature in midair and trapped it. The sharp thorns punctured into its body, squeezing it tight until it met its end like its brethren. It even swiped the two Wild Mushrooms, too. The pair of Valeans gaped at the sight of the quickly cast and initiated psynergy spell that destroyed the Bat with such ease. "Whoa..." Garet finally mouthed out, basically saying that for both him and his best friend.

"Sorry about taking your kill." came Matthew's nonchalant reply. The teen in question reappeared from wherever he went and applied his Psyngery to healing his father's and Garet's minimal wounds. "It sort of scared me there."

"...Uh... It's okay. Thank you." Isaac managed to say. He put his sword away, still surprised. But Garet snapped out of his stupor and rounded on the younger teenager anyhow.

"How'd you do that? Like, it was super quick and everything! And where the heck did you go?!" He yelled, shaking Matthew by his shoulders. The aforementioned latter couldn't speak because he was being manhandled roughly; all that came out were slurs, stutters and gasps.

"Garet! Cut that out!" Isaac reprimanded his friend. Said friend stopped shaking Matthew but kept his powerful hands on his shoulders, still staring at him, waiting for answers to his questions. Matthew shook out of his dizzy spell and sighed.

"Okay, one, I practiced a lot until I was able to cast spells quicker and two, I was in another fight. More monsters tried to sneak up on you guys and..." he paused for a brief second to catch his breath, "I led them away from you until I could help you out."

"By yourself?" Garet asked again, an incredulous expression donning his face.

"Yeah? They weren't that big of a deal." Matthew said with a simple shrug. Really, he hadn't fought Bats and Wild Mushrooms in ages. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he fought them, either. But they were leagues below him and his strength. Strength he needed to keep hidden away from the past-Valeans, he mentally added to himself.

"Matt, that's dangerous. You could've gotten hurt or worse." Isaac directed his lecturing tone to the younger Earth Adept who sighed again. "I'm serious, Matt. We need to stay together. The monsters will more or less get stronger the longer we're on this journey. I don't want to end up losing you or Garet because of something so foolish."

While he knew all that, Matthew still frowned at the familiar lecture he received. He was ten years old when his father had said something similar to him and to be on the receiving end of the same message again reminded him of his blunders. He may be miles stronger than his father and Garet, but they were still working their way up to get stronger so they could 'save' Weyard. In a way, he deserved the talk. I shouldn't be too careless like that. Dad has a point. We do have to stick together, well, more like I need to stay close to them so nothing bad happens to them.

"Right, I'm sorry... Isaac." Matthew replied, still trying to get used to calling his father by his first name.

Isaac relaxed some from the apology and nodded. "As long as you understand the dangers then. Let's move on." Garet finally released the time-traveling Adept and rushed around to find the 'spoils' of their battle. For whatever reason, monsters dropped Coins and items. Nobody knew how or why that is, but who's complaining? Once he was done collecting the items and stashing them into his pack, Garet raced over to catch up to Matthew, grinning. Isaac was currently leading the way again. They weren't too far from crossing over the first bridge, which was thirty or so minutes southeast of Vault.

"So, what kind of monsters did you fight anyway?" Garet asked, hoping to get some kind of conversation going.

Matthew smiled. "Well..." He started, wondering how he would phrase this. He was told he was too serious, but now was his chance to prove he wasn't some stick in the mud or joke-less fighter. He had some humor in him! Somewhere. "The monster was a ghost. It grabbed me from behind! I was shocked but so... Amazed!" Hah! He started laughing a little. Garet, seeing the joke where it was, joined along with him. Isaac stopped, staring at the two and frowning.

"I don't see how that's so funny... I don't even..."

"But you get it, right, Isaac?" Garet said through his laughing spurt. "AMAZED! Because the ghost monsters out here are called 'Amaze'? Hahah! Oh man. I have to remember that one!" Isaac continued to stare at them in bewilderment as the pair still gawked like leprechauns that just found a pot of gold. I still don't get it. He thought again and shrugged. Matthew spotted his father not laughing with them and internally pouted.

Jeez dad. No reaction. No wonder I got my not-so-humor from you. You hardly laugh at jokes! The future Adept grumbled. At least I got Uncle Garet to laugh. He paused for a quick second before shrugging himself. Then again, he laughs at anythingthat seems funny.

Eventually, Garet calmed down and the three trekked through a small wooded area to cut through the walking distance and from the main road and to avoid monsters. Secretly, Matthew cast his Avoid spell to lower their chances of being found by said monsters. There would be time to help train Garet and his father during the journey. I bet I can help them become stronger than they were. He added with a smirk.

They arrived at the first bridge in no time, crossing over it and bypassing the large river it was built over. The rest of the way was mostly flat land, filled with grass everywhere and very little trees. The sun was still overhead, blazing brightly. Wind captured their hair, scarves (both Venus adepts), and left a pleasantly fresh scent around them. Matthew smiled, watching nature with his eyes. He got over the fact he was thirty something years into the past, traveling with his father and Garet. It was like a dream come true, a fantasy that only happened in those fictional works. Time-travel? Ha, who ever thought it was real? He could only grin a shit-eating grin. Wait until he found a way back; he'd tell his friends and those darn philosophers about how true time-travel really was!

And he'd bring evidence with him, too. If possible.

Well, it was unintentional traveling through time. He didn't mean to come here. It just happened. Hm, now that he thought about it, the last thing he remembered was arriving home at the Lookout Cabin and then heard the tell-tale sign of a Psynergy Vortex. It was way too large and much too close to the cabin for his liking. Especially towards his friends. Especially Karis—but after that, he couldn't really remember much. What idiotic thing did he do to get him blasted to this time era, anyway?

Ugh, thinking about it is giving me a headache. After all, Uncle said he was going to find a way out for us. ...I still can't believe he's been stuck in this time era for five freaking years. No wonder Mom and them couldn't find him.

"Yo Matt? Helllloooo in there!"

Blinking out of his reverie, the future teen looked up to see Garet waving his gloved hand in his face, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him. Isaac had stopped again, looking overly concerned. Uh-oh. When he makes that face, that means his mother henning was going to show up. Hurry up, and come up with some stupid idea, Matt! He rushed himself. "Sorry, just thinking about something." He gave lamely. Isaac didn't buy it but didn't say anything about it. Garet accepted his words at face value.

"Huh, must be some hard stuff if it had you pausing for a long minute."

"Haha, yeah," Some real hard stuff, indeed. "A-Anyway, what's the plan?"

"Hm, we were going to break for ten minutes. There's two more bridges that are coming up close, according to the map," Isaac explained, his eyes scanning the aforesaid map. "One is supposedly half an hour's walk from our current location and the other is around three hours from here." Garet paled at the last one. "The thing is, there's a cave called Goma Cave that we need to pass through in order to reach Bilibin, Kolima and this northern town called Imil."

"Aww, let's take the first bridge! I'm sure that's the way." Garet said quickly, hoping to the gods that the first path was the right one.

"Hm..." the older blond hummed in thought.

Matthew, however, scanned through his memories of the locations. The name "Goma" was familiar to him. Where have I heard it from? He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the ground as he did so. Ah...wait! The Goma Plateau! Yeah, the Lookout Cabin was built around there. So this Goma Cave place must have merged with the remainder of Vale and Vault to become the place in my time era.He stopped briefly to dredge up more memories, trying to pinpoint anything he could. Then there were some highlands named after Goma, too. Could this cave really have evolved into those? Hm. Unfortunately for him, however, the term 'Bilibin' made him shudder involuntarily. That place...it spoke volumes of how ugly it turned after the Golden Sun event. It had been a town in this time era, but in his time, it was a full blown country. A money-hungry country ruled by the queen, a descendant of the McCoy's. They simply weren't satisfied with whatever they got, even after the Warriors of Vale saved them.

Shaking out of his anger quickly, Matthew thought about Kolima. He wondered if the village and its forest were anything like his of his time. Then again, Laurel and Tret recognized him and his friends as their parents' children when they met.

Then, Imil. Matthew never went there, but Rief's and Nowell's mother, Mia, had originated from that small village. The Mercury Clan guarded the Mercury Lighthouse with duty and diligence. He also learned from Rief that the traitor, Alex, had also came from Imil and was Mia's cousin. Matthew remembered what Amiti told him before they separated ways to their own homes.

'I have this awful feeling Alex is connected to me more than I think.' was the prince of Ayuthay's last words before bidding them goodbye. Even Tret seemed to recognize Amiti as apart of the Mercury clan when he was partially examined and that he was related to Rief in a way.

That can only mean one thing... Oh fu—

"Hey, earth to Matt!" Garet's voice bombarded his thoughts once again, startling the younger teen out of his thought train. Man, he was just on a good—or is it bad?—trail there, too.

"Uh, yes?"

"Isaac wanted your opinion on which route we take. Like, do we take the closest bridge, which is about northwest of us or the furthest bridge, which is northeast-ish."

Oh, that's what. Matthew sat down on the nearest, average sized rock, pondering. If the aforementioned towns and villages were northward, then they'd have to take the bridge that's closest, right? But, then again, the Goma Plateau was east of the Lookout Cabin, which was built miles away from the ruins of Mt. Aleph, where Vale used to exist. And, if this Goma Cave was anything like said plateau, location-wise, wouldn't it be east of Vale, too? Drumming his fingers against his leg, Matthew sighed. Gosh, if only Rief were here. Or Eoleo—that man could read any map and decipher the next destination in a heartbeat.

"Well, we should go for the furthest bridge." He decided. Garet gasped and paled again while Isaac wore a victory grin.

"I told you we should, Garet." The older Venus Adept added.

"Grr... Well, I guess then! But if you two are wrong, I'll be the one laughing!" The fiery-haired teen declared and crossed his arms.

Isaac rolled up the map and put it away safely. "Fair enough. Anyway, let's take our small break first before heading off again. We should kill as much daylight as possible." The other two agreed and took out their water canteens and a small snack of sandwiches to munch on. Adepts normally burned out their energy by training, even using the Psynergy to cast. It takes a lot of 'brain power', as advanced Adept researchers wrote. Because the Adept has to form the spell within their mind and apply their affinity to create said spell to cast, it requires vast amounts of nutrients to restore the mind's capabilities to stay attuned to the natural energy and affinity of the user.

Because the energy is cast from mind manipulation, 'psychically', it is called "invisible magic" to those unable or not attuned to the nature power of Weyard.

That's why resting whenever possible was an Adept's best friend. If they use too much energy casting spells or holding a spell for a long duration, they drain themselves and tire out. Experienced Adepts train daily to utilize not only their affinities, but to continually power their spells for longer time. Psy Crystals are a boon for any Adept, as the crystal itself is hardened and structured solution made especially out of the natural elements, attuned to assisting Adepts and replenishing their energy.

Naturally born Adepts are attuned to the affinity of their parents. If two Adepts of the same clan or clan descendant have children, those children will naturally inherit that affinity. If two Adepts from similar but different clans, such as a Venus and Mars clan, the child inherits the affinity of which the father lies in and has close ties with the secondary affinity. In Matthew's case, he inherited his father's Earth Psynergy, but has a minor affinity to Fire because of his mother. Casting Fire Psynergy isn't as easy as it comes like his friend Tyrell's, but his is about second best to him. Not counting Eoleo, that is.

If an Adept has a child with a non-Adept parent, the child has a 50-50 chance of not inheriting the ability and simply carrying it as a recessive gene. If a naturally born Adept marries a non-naturally born Adept, such as the case is with Karis, then the child will still inherit the ability from their Adept parent, but have a 'weakened version' of those abilities. It was the main reason Karis does not possess the Mind Read ability like her father because her mother wasn't a natural born Adept. And, she was happy about that, too. Matthew thought, grinning a little. Kind of glad she can't, either. But she IS good at reading facial expressions and body language. Maybe that's her alternative to the Mind Read. She can Face Read and Body Read instead.

Knowing he was thinking thoughts of one of his childhood friends, he blushed, earning the audience of the other two nearby.

"Matt? Are you getting ill?" Garet wondered.

Really, Garet? Matthew wondered but didn't repeat that. "N-no, I'm not. Just, y'know, thinking."

The heavily built teen raised an eyebrow. "Again? And it's making your face turn red. You know, I hope you aren't allergic to anything in those sandwiches."

"I-I'm not. It's just...er..."

"Does my little brother have a girlfriend?" Isaac asked out of the blue. Matthew's eyes widened and Garet almost choked on his water he just took in. Both turned their gazes to Isaac, who was simply nibbling on his sandwich casually.

"W-what?!" Matthew spluttered. That was so random and out of place!

"Isaac! What ever gave you that idea!?" Garet asked, thankfully taking that question out of the younger blond's mind.

The aforementioned former shrugged impassively. "What? It's obvious he's thinking about girls. Or a girl in particular. He's really at that age. So are we. Hell, I even like Jenna, but I don't think she notices."

Matthew started to choke on the sandwich bite he just swallowed. Gods, his dad was already trying to make advances on his mom at this age!? Then again, maybe he knew he was attracted to her before then. Perhaps my dad isn't so...too serious and oblivious as Mom makes him out to be. I guess some of her stories were exaggerated back then. Typical mothers and their bedtime stories.

"Y-you like Jenna?"

"Garet, you know I do. I told you that like last year."

"Oh yeah... I remember. Hey! Remember that time when you tried to set up a mistletoe above her for Christmas—"

"Let's not go in that direction." Isaac interrupted, trying his best not to blush at the memory.

Matthew raised an eyebrow. Oh? That seemed new. He never knew such a story existed. In fact, a lot of the embarrassing things they did at this age he wasn't ever told about. It was a shame he wasn't a Jupiter Adept. He'd have Mind Read all the juicy information (and blackmail) out of his father's mind if he could. But alas, he wasn't. Perhaps if he was lucky enough, they'd spill the beans someday. He'd have to bide his time and get them to completely trust him.

"Uh, anyways," he entered the conversation again, "for your information, I wasn't thinking about girls. Or a girl for that matter."

"Uh-huh." Isaac deadpanned.

"Riiiight." Garet supplied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Matthew groaned and face-palmed. His father and uncle were acting like total teenagers! Wait, they are teenagers! Double face-palm. You can do this, Matt. Just... just handle it. They're the same age as you. They have a right to be... like this. He still prayed to whatever deity out there to shield him from the rest of their teenager antics. He hoped the rest of the journey wouldn't befall anymore strangeness like this, either. Matthew could only hope.

Chapter End!

I'm not sure if I mentioned Matthew's class specific, but he's in the Cavalier Class in my game. So he has the added Psynergy of the Ply series, the Wish series, Cure Poison, Revive and Avoid. I had him with the Cure series, too. Anyway, he'll remain in that class for the remainder of the story. Pretty much the 'advanced healer' haha.

(If you're wanting to know his Djinn, it's Chasm, Geode, Spring, Dewdrop, Serac, Waft, Geyser, Swift and Tinder.)

I also changed the cover image. Kinda. Just made it better. :D I don't own the drawing, just rendered the image and did the BG. Hopefully, it's all good. Credits to Pixiv for the drawing. (finding the artist was ridiculously hard, since I got the image from tumblr.)

Like it? Review if you want!

Edited: 8/20/2015