Author's Notes: This chapter, along with ANY writing task that I have attempted since... well, since about halfway through the Europe trip... has given me complete hell. I want to keep churning out chapters repeatedly, and it makes me agonise that I'm not putting this out as much as I want for you all, but... I really am stuck here. I have plenty of ideas, and I have a good idea of where it's all going. But... anytime I sit down to work, I get about one paragraph into the story before ceasing entirely.

You really don't need to hear about my problems, though. You didn't come for that, you came for a Golden Sun AU. Well, ask and ye shall receive... oh, and please excuse the lack of formatting, which I've now corrected. QuickEdit causes more problems than it fixes.

PROJECT PSYNERGY

Chapter 6 – Deeper

Felix panted heavily, bending over slightly to catch his breath. Perhaps he was setting his goals a little too highly... pushing himself like this was more likely to do him harm than good. But, no... he could do this. He had to, or he'd never learn anything about Alex and his little projects.

The curiosity that had plagued Felix's mind recently had gone from simple inquisitive thoughts to complete and utter domination of his thoughts. Saturos and Menardi had been gone for a few days now, leaving Felix to continue his warrior training alone. Hence why he was duelling with a mechanical counterpart.

Artificial intelligence was, in his mind at least, a total impossibility. Intelligence was derived from free will, and free will was derived from a soul's actions. Just like you couldn't make a computer think for itself, Felix was convinced that an intelligent robot was exactly the same. Computer systems were bound by rules, whereas a human's soul designed it's own rules that could be altered as it saw fit. Without this freedom of action – with a constant limit to what they could do – computers could never become 'intelligent.'

Then again, the duelling dummy was little more than a simple machine programmed to follow certain behavioural combat protocols. If it saw an opening, it probed it, and it defended itself when it's sensors detected a threat. If he could score a hit, the robot would shut down, and if it scored a hit with it's reduced power energy blade then it would also cease functioning.

But Felix knew of the recording device inside it's head – the one that Saturos had placed there to analyse how many victories or losses Felix had. Of course, it was voice controlled, meaning that he couldn't just go in and alter the figures. Anything that happened in this training run would be known to Saturos when the time came.

He vowed not to let it best him again.

Straightening and reactivating his energy-diverter equipped blade, Felix assumed a ready stance. "Training Unit Model A3-76139, activate."

With a whirr of gears the machine straightened, and it's built in energy blade hummed to life. The crimson blade immediately began probing for gaps and weaknesses in his defence, forcing Felix to start moving.

The training unit was only a machine, and despite it's advanced technology it couldn't match his physical movements very well. This meant that Felix could stay out of harm's way to a degree, but he had to be careful – should he fall outside the machine's outer sensor field, then it would automatically shut down and recall the battle as a disqualification.

He swung his blade in a backhanded slash, attempting to score a strike against the machine's torso. With rapid movements the crimson blade flashed through the air and clashed with his own, forcing Felix to back away slightly. Seeing this sudden opening, the machine moved to the left and thrust at Felix's side. He swivelled to the side himself and brought his own weapon down on the machines.

The machine backed away, bringing itself out of effective harm's range but still keeping Felix within the maximum sensor field. It then began performing what the brown-haired man referred to as 'combat drills' – several strikes, all aimed at various exposed parts in an attempt to leave him stung and end the fight. While the random number generators inside kept each move unpredictable, Felix was well-trained enough to evade or block each of them as it came.

When this had continued for a time, Felix switched his stance and began taking the offensive. He performed a rapid series of slashes that Saturos had taught him, aiming not to kill but to weaken with relative ease. The machine was well-versed in the manoeuvres, though, so it parried each of the strikes just before the blue blade came into contact with the metallic plating of it's exterior.

They continued exchanging attack after attack for a fair amount of time. Felix could feel his energy declining – this was not the first training run he'd performed that morning, and he could feel his power rapidly slipping away. Seeking to end the training now before he got careless and the machine landed a successful strike, he swept to the side and performed a rapid slash to the head.

The machine was fast enough to deflect the blow with it's blade, but not fast enough to stop Felix from slipping back to his previous position and bringing the energy weapon down onto it's exposed shoulders.

The reduced power of the blade was not enough to slice through metal plating, but it was enough to leave a faint burn in the steel sheet that covered the machine's exterior. Instantly, it's sensors reacted to the presence of the energy and sent an immediate command to the central processing unit – Shutdown.

Faster than a human could react to, the machine's battery ceased supplying power to the motors installed in the gearing systems and all movement ceased. The energy blade deactivated, and Felix withdrew from the object. He breathed in deeply, and then hit the activator switch on his own energy blade. The blue weapon wavered, then vanished entirely.

"A very impressive fight," a person said from behind him.

Felix span around in surprise, amazed that he hadn't heard the person approach. He had been occupied, true, but that didn't mean he was unable to hear footsteps. Nonetheless, they had snuck up on him.

Who the person was, Felix was unsure. But he immediately had a guess as to the identity upon studying the man's features. Long cerulean hair could only mark him as a Lemurian.

"Very impressive indeed. I can see why Saturos has taken such a keen interest in your training, Felix." The Lemurian gave him a small smile. "Out of curiosity, do you know who I am?"

"Are you Alex?" Felix asked.

"Excellent." The smile broadened. "Well, since we both know each other, introductions aren't really necessary. As such, I'll get straight to the point. No doubt Saturos has mentioned to you how he is involved in my work."

"He did, yes." Felix nodded.

"Did he mention that I may be interested in gaining additional volunteers for this work?"

"Yes."

"That saves me a great deal of trouble then." Alex clapped his hands together. "Felix, I need the assistance of a fighter like yourself in my research project. I suppose you could say a guinea pig, but I don't want to demean you in that way... as an assistant. Saturos conveyed your interest to me, so I was hoping you'd be up to it."

Felix kept his features bland, but his mind was racing. Perhaps his unusual burst of curiosity would be sated at last... if he was a part of Alex's affairs directly, there would be no need for a middleman in discovering what was truly happening.

"If I may ask," he said hesitantly, "where are Saturos and Menardi?"

"They're still at my facility," Alex said casually. "Their work is done for now, but I still to keep them around for a day or two to make sure there were no ill effects as a result of what occurred. They're all perfectly fine, though, so don't be concerned at their continued absence."

Felix nodded slightly. "So... what does this research entail?

"Human augmentation," the Lemurian replied simply. "At the very least, I think Prox deserves a little more than a forgotten position at the most secluded segment of Weyard. Donating the results of this project to the Proxian government should help them to recover from the Lemurian embargoes since the war."

"Why would you do that?" Felix asked, looking curious.

"I'm a Lemurian," Alex answered. "Unlike most Lemurians, though, I think it's a little unfair for all the blame and all the repercussions to be placed on this place. Prox started the war, yes, but the Lemurians escalated it further."

"I suppose so..."

"But I digress. I need another capable swordsman, and you fit the part excellently. Are you interested?"

"Well..." Felix looked around. "I don't see why not. Saturos and Menardi verified that it's fine, so... sure."

"Excellent." Alex glanced at his wristwatch. "Well, you have to excuse me for departing so suddenly, but I really am a busy man. Thank you for your acceptance – I'll summon you when your presence is required."

Felix nodded, and the Lemurian turned and left the training area. In the sudden void his absence created, the swordsman called feel dozens of questions bubbling to the surface of his mind. This curiosity was unnatural for him... perhaps there was something driving it on.

Perhaps it was his memory...

o-o-o-o-o-

Ivan lounged on his 'throne', as he chose to call it. In actual fact, it was the main pilot's chair of the boat which the Elementalists had granted him to use for countless missions. It was more like his home than any other building that he had stayed in, and far more useful too. It was fairly innocuous looking, but there were many modifications within it's hull to maximise it's usefulness.

Alhafra was not much of a home to the blonde-haired teen. It was one of his operating grounds, certainly, but if he truly belonged anywhere in the world than it was here. The boat was outfitted to take him almost anywhere in Weyard that was accessible by water, and it could easily facilitate his operations and sustain his well-being for at least a month.

Isaac and Jenna had certainly been impressed. Jenna had been somewhat excited by the prospect of taking it all the way to Imil, and it had taken considerable effort on the part of the two males to keep her calm. At present, Ivan was fairly sure that the pair were in the sleeping quarters.

He scratched his chin, feeling the very beginnings of stubble there. Sometimes, people found it hard to picture Ivan as a youth... his calm, calculating exterior matched with his keen intelligence and skill with all facets of Elementalist activity was something that most others would have placed under much older and more experienced people.

Ivan didn't really have anything to say about that... he just suspected that he'd had a fairly well brought up childhood. He knew that his parents were deceased, certainly, but he was also fairly sure that some remnant of his family still existed at his hometown of Contigo.

Absently inspecting the features around him and seeing that the boat was still on course, Ivan leaned back in his chair and stretched. He was getting a little tired... near-constant activity was rapidly siphoning away his energy reserves, and he'd doubtless need some rest soon. He wondered whether he should turn command of the ship over to one of the others, or simply rig up an automation program.

Perhaps he should lay the task before them. It was meagre, to be sure, but perhaps it would go a step further in showing them that he trusted them. Ivan smiled at his own thoughts. Trusted them... he didn't know why, but Isaac and Jenna seemed so much more worthy of his trust than many others. Perhaps it was because they were of similar ages, and acted accordingly.

Or it could have been that their age would limit their worth in the eyes of a rival, and therefore they were less likely to be members of a rival organisation. This drew an even bigger smile.

Whatever the case may be, Ivan felt easier among them than he would have had an adult joined him in this mission. Many felt uncomfortable working with him since, despite his abilities, they didn't like the idea of a younger person accompanying them... or being superior to them in terms of skill.

No matter. He trusted them and that was that. That thought aside, Ivan tapped a few commands into the boat's inboard computer and brought up a map of Weyard. Calculating their current position, Ivan determined that they were almost due west of Lemuria proper and headed straight for Southern Angara. From there, they'd follow the coastline around the continent and towards Imil. It would take a couple of days, but it was preferable to flying. At least this way they had a portable base of operations if all things failed.

"Where are we?" said Jenna's voice from behind him. Ivan didn't bother looking - he just moved aside and tapped the map.

"Right here, in the Sea of Time. The Lemurian continent is due east."

Jenna nodded. "This boat certainly makes good time. We only left Alhafra about twenty-four hours ago."

"It's a good vehicle," Ivan nodded in agreement.

"Very good – I don't of many other boats with connections to the Net."

"That cost a very large amount of money to install," Ivan said with a laugh. "It's just a wireless uplink to the regular Net servers, but it's almost untraceable. They can get a rough picture of where the ship is if they look hard enough, but all they'd get is 'the Sea of Time'. And in case you haven't noticed, that's pretty big."

"So I noticed," Jenna said. "Isaac's making full use of that capability, though. I get the picture that he spends more time on the Net than he spends in real life. He was like that before."

"What do you mean by before?" Ivan asked.

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You said that Isaac was like that 'before'. When did you mean? You haven't known him for that long, have you?"

Jenna blinked and looked skyward. "That's weird. I don't know what I meant."

Ivan gave her a curious glance, then decided that prying wouldn't be worth his time. He shifted his gaze towards the boat's control module. From a cursory glimpse, all was well, but he still leant forward and manually checked the systems one-by-one. Jenna watched as he did so, noting just how quickly and efficiently he was able to do everything. Barely one frame had appeared before Ivan had moved on to another.

"Why are you doing that?" she asked casually.

"I want to be sure everything is working fine," he answered.

"I thought that was all automated."

"It is. I just don't trust it."

Jenna barked out a laugh. "You don't trust computers? That sounds strange coming from one of the best hackers in the Elementalist organisation."

"And you're telling me that you do?" Ivan countered.

"...well, yes." Jenna shrugged. "Isn't that normal?"

"Of course it's normal. That doesn't make it right." Ivan concluded his inspection of the boat's integrated computer systems and turned his attention fully to Jenna. "Computers are machines. Unfeeling, unthinking machines. They can do only what they are commanded to do by humans. Not just the human using it, but other humans who gain access through hacking. You cannot trust something that cannot think for itself, especially in my line of work."

His companion laughed slightly. "I suppose so. But you certainly take it seriously."

"Of course I take it seriously. I'm younger than you are, Jenna, and you know how older members of society treat you. It's even worse for me, since I can't even pass for anyone older like you might. To them, everything is based off age, and age is based off physical appearance. In order to get somewhere as high as I have, I had to be incredibly skilful. I couldn't do it by being lax in my own security. And since I cannot trust the machines that I use, then I can only trust in my own abilities."

Jenna's smile faded. Ivan's words were so sincere that they were beginning to infect her own thinking. Just machines... just mindless objects that can only think as well as their operators.

"Has something happened to you because of computers?" she asked, wondering if he'd respond in the affirmative like they always seemed to in his situation.

Surprisingly though, Ivan shook his head. "No. I'm just cautious. I have to be – I just said why. I'm involved heavily in something that could be called criminal, despite my good intentions. I'm only fifteen, and I really don't want to spend a good portion of my life in a prison."

Jenna nodded. "I can understand that. Still, you have no real regrets if you lose what you have helping people."

Ivan smiled. "Optimism is a good trait to have... you're extremely luck to possess it."

She shrugged. "It was tough. I had to learn it. But that's for another time." Jenna spread her arms and stretched, yawning slightly. "Well. Forgive the analysis on my part, Ivan, but you obviously know more about Project Psynergy than you're letting on. And possibly more about this mission. So, in the interest of preserving our lives, I'd like to know what you left unsaid."

Ivan didn't even move in reaction. Instead, he reached over to the computer once again and started typing in commands.

"Don't evade me," Jenna said. "I have as..."

"Quiet," Ivan interrupted. "I can only work so fast. You'll have your answers in a moment."

Jenna closed her mouth and looked at him, surprised. Perhaps they didn't know as much as she thought. Judging from his expression and body language, Ivan had no intention of holding back in the slightest.

"Okay." Ivan typed one final command, and a large portion of text interposed itself on the screen. Jenna leaned forward and glanced over it, determining it's nature. It was a report on the research program Prox was conducting, though it still looked to be from the preliminary stages. Nonetheless, she quickly read through it.

Project Psynergy – research program designed to augment human physical capabilities. Augmentation is achieved by injecting a critical bacterium into the bloodstream. In a matter of hours the bacteria infuses itself with blood cells and spreads, and within a 12-hour period is present in all parts of the body. The bacteria acts as a booster for mental thought on the subconscious level. The boost is vastly powerful and, as a result, tapping into the subconscious energies through focusing can allow a person to affect the very world around them. This can lead to both constructive and destructive uses.

There are four types of bacteria strains to date, and each allows the individual to tap into a different aspect of the world. Mercury controls the water, Venus the earth, Jupiter the air and Mars the flame. Essentially there are four focal points in the world where these bacteria are present in large abundance, and there are several more where a specific element seems to be a lot more potent.

End Diagnostic 1-001.

Jenna read through it a second time, disbelieving.

"This... sounds like something out of a book." She barked a laugh. "Are they serious?"

"Deadly serious, though it isn't at the point where it's being used just yet." Ivan's expression was grim. "They're still testing various locations for the efficiency of each element, and attempting to instil the bacteria into the people at these places. Our intended destination is one such place – a facility for augmenting people with Mercury bacteria."

"...does everyone else know this?" Jenna asked quietly.

Ivan nodded. "Sadly, the higher-ups in the Elementalists are aware of this. That report is perhaps the only complete one we have, though. The other..." he tapped into the keyboard once more, and in a matter of moments the text was replaced by a far smaller document.

Delivery of equipment scheduled for Mercury base. Location Imil + 12.6 kilometres northeast.

"The list of equipment to go with that included the crates of bacteria of the Mercury strain. I don't know where it originated, but I've tracked the possibilities to Lemuria or Tundaria. Both of which seems unlikely for the Proxians to visit, but that is irrelevant." Ivan closed the document. "What is relevant is that they're being shipped here, and Mia tells us that people are disappearing and reappearing a few days later with strange symptoms."

Jenna didn't want to hear anymore. She had the sudden oppressive feeling that she was involved in something way over her head, and all of a sudden the weight of that was beginning to crush her. Nonetheless, she was there and she was involved whether she liked it or not – she'd have to grit her teeth and carry on.

"But... why aren't we going to destroy the damn place?" Jenna demanded. "I don't want to sit around while people are being used against their will!"

"Relax," Ivan said, gesturing for her to calm down. "I have more to say."

Jenna gritted her teeth. "It's not that useful to me if I'm doing nothing but sitting around." Nonetheless, she backed down.

"When I was in the installation last, the Proxians had one Imilian citizen there. That's Mia, and I rescued her, since I felt like you do – I can't let them be used against their will. However, I realised that it was a little too late when I got there."

"What do you mean?"

"Mia told me that she remembered waking up in a dark room and being there for an indefinite time. In reality, she'd been there for two days. In that time... the Proxians had implanted the bacteria in her bloodstream."

"What!" Jenna demanded again.

"I checked the records in the Proxian computers. They did it almost immediately after capturing her. She's carrying Mercury bacteria inside her. But there's not much we can do about that anymore... you read the reports. In half a day it becomes fully integrated with your system. Given the correct triggers, she could very well start using it, but she's not of the Proxian number. She isn't being controlled."

"...you're keeping her amongst the Elementalists to study her behaviour," Jenna deduced. "You've reduced her to a zoo animal."

"Not me," Ivan said with a sigh and a shake of his head. "That's why I was angry at Kraden. The world may be a book to him, but I'm a lot more realistic. I want to let her return to her home. But I was overruled." He shrugged slightly, and then turned to Jenna. "So I'm getting my revenge."

"Say what?" she asked.

"I'm going to use the language of love to convey my appreciation to the Proxians. The language of explosives. I have a fairly powerful array of explosive devices stashed on this boat, intended to level the island once we've extracted as much as we can from the databanks. And, contrary to what the others in the organisation believe, that is most certainly the best way to hamper their efforts."

"...I underestimated you," Jenna said as she shook her head.

"Most people do."

o-o-o-o-o-

"So what do you think they'll have us do?" Karst asked Agatio and Menardi. The three were sitting in the living room of their chambers which they had been granted during their stay in Alex's installation. "Lords and Ladies of the new Proxian Order, maybe? Generals in the army?"

"More like lab rats," Menardi countered. "Because at the moment that's exactly what we've become. Let's face it – we volunteered to get ourselves in here. I'm not complaining about it, but it really is a cage. A gilded cage, mayhap, but a cage nonetheless."

Agatio snorted. "I suppose you're right, but I find it highly doubtful that we'll just be swept under the rug. This experiment is secret, sure, but it's fairly well known amongst those of us who work here. I knew that it was an attempt to amplify human abilities even before I volunteered. We're known about, that's for sure, so it won't look too good if, after initial successes, we suddenly end up deceased."

"Such a positive outlook," Karst murmured.

"I try."

"Alright, fine, so Alex won't kill us." Menardi shrugged. "But when everyone else is altered like we are, then we won't really stand out that much, so I wouldn't expect anything grandiose. Money, perhaps, but little else."

"Thanks for spoiling my fun, big sis."

"That's what I'm here for," Menardi countered with an evil grin.

Agatio spread his arms and stretched, moaning slightly. "Whatever they have us do, I hope they do it soon." He lazily dropped his arms by his sides again before glancing around the room. "Hey, where is Saturos, anyway?"

"I'm not sure," Menardi replied tersely.

"You sound like you do," Agatio countered. "What's the matter, did your boyfriend do something that he told you to keep a secret?"

Menardi's face reddened. "Hey, it's not like that. He's not my boyfriend."

"Of that I have no doubt," Agatio answered with a laugh, which Karst joined in. "Do you know or not?"

"Well... no, not really." The Proxian woman bit her lower lip. "He left this morning just as I was waking up. He told me to go back to sleep – he was just doing something."

"Curious," Agatio murmured. "What would that 'something' entail? Conferring with our esteemed leader about something, perhaps? Asking about how to properly unlock the abilities that have been implanted into his system?"

"You sound as if he's part of a conspiracy," Karst said. "Relax, big guy. It's probably nothing major, and he'll most likely show up eventually. With any luck, he'll drag the Lemurian with him so we can figure out if the implantation was a success."

"Actually, I think it is," Menardi said.

"Huh?" Karst looked over at her sister. "What in Weyard do you mean? We haven't even done any tests or trials yet."

"Haven't we? I set one up this morning for us." Menardi leaned forward. "It works for me, I just want to check with you two. Tell me... how does the temperature feel?"

Agatio cocked his head sideways curiously. "It feels normal – an average Proxian day, although relatively warm."

"Yeah, I feel the same." Karst shrugged. "What's the deal?"

"This is the deal." Menardi pulled an electronic thermometer from her pocket, held it in the air above them, and pressed the on button. The tiny computer screen turned black for a moment, then showed up a series of numbers.

2 Degrees Celsius; 35.6 Degrees Fahrenheit

"It's cold outside," Menardi said with a slight smile. "And I made sure that the heating system was set to very cold. Yet we can't feel a thing."

Karst and Agatio were stunned for a moment. They stared at her, disbelieving. Then Agatio barked out a laugh.

"I get it... we're supposed to be able to manipulate fire and heat, right?"

Karst nodded slowly. "So that would mean we don't feel extreme temperatures..."

"More than that," Menardi said. "We don't feel any temperature other than a neutral warmth kind of sensation. I don't know if this ability has limits or not, since this is the only test I've attempted... but it's certainly indicative of a small level of success."

Agatio smiled broadly. "Impressive. It's certainly a start."

At that moment, a communicator crackled into activity somewhere in the living area. There was a pause, and then Alex's voice filled the air.

"Good morning, you three. Please prepare yourselves – in just a few minutes I shall drop by, and we can begin testing to see what your newfound abilities can do for you. Alex out."

Karst glanced up at the communicator, then to her companions again. "Party time,"

o-o-o-o-o-

"Operational status?" asked the captain.

"All perfect. We're away." The Proxian navigator eased the throttle forward, making the supply ship accelerate away from the Proxian port. "We're on course for Division 57 base." He shook his head. "Poor guys... it mustn't be much fun to be assigned to Imil."

"I don't know," the captain countered. "It can't be that much worse than other places, and at least this one is close."

"Yes, but..." the navigator stopped, glancing at the computer readout. "Problem.

All of the cargo bays files just disappeared. The connection must have been severed."

"Not good. That means the camera as well, right?"

"Right. I'll head down there and see if I can fix it up. Keep us on course, and I'll radio in if I can't fix it." The navigator got out of his chair and left the cabin. The captain glanced over at the computer screen. A few minutes passed, and still no change occurred on the monitor.

Then his radio started beeping. He retrieved it from his pocket, pressed the receive button, and placed it to his ear. "I'm here – what's the problem?"

No response.

"Hey, are you there? What's going on?"

Before a reply could come, however, the captain felt an immensely sharp pain to the back of his neck. His head span, and he fell out of his chair. In moments he slipped into unconsciousness...

o-o-o-o-o-

Piers replaced his energy pistol in it's holster and leant down to the now incapacitated guard. It seemed pistol butts made exceptionally good bludgeoning weapons – he was out like a light. The Lemurian agent reduced the throttle power to one-quarter speed before grabbing the downed Proxian and dragging him to the storage room.

He hurriedly tied his hands and feet and placed a gag around his mouth before placing him beside the navigator before returning to the cabin. He then took his place at the navigator's chair and started typing in commands into the computer terminal.

"Map..." Piers muttered as he worked. "Reroute... Lemuria... Confirm..."

Then he put the throttle at full speed again and gripped the control wheel, bringing the ship around and pointing it towards it's new destination. Piers nodded at his work. His report may have been late, but that didn't mean he wouldn't grace King Hydros with his presence regardless.

o-o-o-o-o-

Author's Notes: It's time to come clean, I think. The reason these updates are getting further apart and progressively worse is because I'm a depression sufferer. Over the past few months I've tried medication, an overseas trip, time off school... every solution to help me out. I'm getting nowhere fast, though, and my depression is something that I think will never leave me alone. I couldn't care less about most of it's features, but the real problem... it kills my writing ability as well. Over the months, as depression is taking more and more control, I'm unable to get in the mood of writing. When I do, I normally type up about half a page of pure crap which is promptly deleted. That's exactly what I think this chapter is – pure crap. I hate it, and I hate every part of it. My betas are telling me otherwise, though, which is the only reason I'm letting you see this.

I swear that depression is an infliction that I wouldn't wish on the worst Mary Sue in existence. So please excuse me for taking forever to get this damn thing up – it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Hopefully you'll like this story enough to wait around for it, but I'll understand if you don't. I'll write review responses next chapter, since I don't want to take even longer to get this thing up.