Chapter 11, Mask: Identity Crisis
Isaac awoke from his dream and looked out the window. It was still dark out. Isaac yawned and slowly stood up and took a quick bath. Afterwards he put on his clothes and armor; retrieved the Gaia Blade and went down stairs. Isaac took a loaf of bread, a little butter and poured himself a glass of milk. Draining it, He ripped off a large bite of bread and put a bit of butter on it; then Isaac stuffed it into his mouth. Isaac brushed his teeth quickly and then stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth. Having finished his breakfast Isaac cleaned up and then went outside.
Matthew had pretty much the same schedule as Isaac. Bath, clothes, armor, weapon, food, more food and clean up; Matthew however, had one addition to his schedule: Jenna. Matthew had awoken earlier than Isaac, specifically to tell Jenna goodbye. Matthew, knowing all too well that Felix could beat him to a bloody pulp, used his Venus Psyenergy to create a life to Jenna's window. Matthew knocked on the window softly and waited for her to answer. After a minute or two Jenna appeared in front of the window, smiling, Jenna was wearing grey sweatpants and a white undershirt. Jenna smiled at Matthew and quickly unlocked the window and let Matthew in. Matthew gave her a hug as soon as he was in her room. "Do you have to go?" Jenna asked. "You're the one who wanted me to be friends with Isaac" Matthew pointed out. "I know but that doesn't mean you had to go" Jenna said. Inwardly Matthew rolled his eyes and thought now she tells me. Outwardly he said "Well this will be a good way become friends with him" Jenna, defeated nodded her head in defeat, thinking of no way to get Matthew to stay. Well there is one, but I promised Felix and mom I wouldn't do that until I'm married… Jenna thought. Matthew had turned to leave so Jenna ran and hugged him from behind. He turned around and kissed her for a long time. Jenna noticed the water in her eyes, and not wanting to appear weak, said goodbye.
Isaac was waiting at the large psyenergy stone in the center of town. "Matthew's late" Isaac muttered to himself. Isaac was rapidly taping his foot against the ground; he was growing annoyed. Isaac slowly walked to the town entrance. After arriving at the entrance of New Vale, Isaac waited a few more minutes for Matthew. He was about to run off when Isaac saw Matthew running to him. "Wait up Isaac" Matthew said trying to sound kind. Isaac stopped walking and turned around. "Come on Matthew let's go" and with that, they were off. An hour later they had made it to Vault. "Hey Isaac, would you mind if I go buy some supplies?" Matthew asked, while thinking his stomach. "Sure go ahead" Isaac replied. He himself had someone he wanted to talk to. Slowly he walked to the house: Calsen's house. Slowly, Isaac crept through the door and up the stairs, he saw Calsen lying there, asleep. Isaac watched her a moment, he noticed that her previous wounds had been healed; in all honesty she had never looked better. Isaac, no longer angry decided to wake her up.
Calsen awoke from her pleasant dream, to see Isaac, sitting in a chair near her. Since her last conversation with Isaac she hadn't expected to see him anytime soon, and certainly not in her home. Calsen pulled the covers to her shoulders, "What do you want?" she asked hesitantly. "I wanted to talk" Isaac answered. Calsen, still hesitant asked "about what?" Isaac running out of time answered bluntly "I forgive you for destroying my relationship with Jenna; now I'm sorry but I have to go" Isaac stood and clenching his fist walked down stairs and way back to Matthew. Calsen was very confused and pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. Deciding that she wasn't dreaming and she ran to her small balcony and screamed out at Isaac. "THANK YOU AND ISAAC, LEANR HOW TO KNOCK" Calsen had a small smile on her face.
Matthew had finished buying their lunch and was looking for Isaac. For their lunch he had bought some premade sandwiches, two each. Matthew had gotten stuck in the crowd of people and couldn't find Isaac. Matthew was beginning to become annoyed with the many people that were stopping him from finding Isaac. Matthew looked at a small balcony one house had, thinking that maybe if he jumped up there he could see Isaac. Oh well Matthew thought, revealing that he was an Adept probably wasn't the smartest idea. Matthew was still watching the balcony, having spaced off a bit when he noticed the door open and the woman from Colosso, Calles was that her name? Matthew wondered, but what really drew his attention to her was the fact that she screamed something about Isaac. Matthew stood on the tips of his toes and saw Isaac's trademark hair. "Hey Isaac, over here" Matthew shouted hoping that Isaac could hear him over the loud street noises; luckily Isaac did hear Matthew and promptly walked to him. "Hey" Isaac gave a smirk. Matthew decided not to ask why he smirked and simply said "come on let's get out of here"
After several hours of walking, Matthew and Isaac arrived in Tolbi at nightfall. Quickly they went to the palace to meet with Iodem. "Isaac, Matthew. Good to see you two; the duel is to take place tomorrow at two o-clock at Babi Lighthouse" Iodem stated. "Wait I thought that was destroyed?" Isaac scratched his head in confusion. "It was, King Jerome had it rebuilt north east of here by the waterfall. Anyway, for tonight you two can sleep in the royal guest rooms; right this way" Iodem motioned for the two earth Adepts to follow him and began walking down a hall. After a short walk he arrived at two doors. Iodem pulled out a key, unlocked the doors and opened the doors for Matthew and Isaac. Isaac noted how huge the room was and then quickly went to bed and drifted to sleep.
The next morning Isaac and Matthew awoke slightly early and quickly bathed, put on their armor and readied themselves for the coming duel. When they had finished readying themselves, the two men went to the kitchen and grabbed a quick breakfast and a loaf of bread. Afterwards they began the journey to Babi Lighthouse. It was about eleven in the morning when they arrived at the lighthouse. It was a slightly intimidating structure. It was very tall and large; a few hundred feet in the air. It had red circular walls and very few windows. As Isaac and Matthew entered the lighthouse they saw that, although the lighthouse looked fancy on the outside; the inside was almost entirely hollow with the small exception of a set of circular stairs. Isaac looked at Matthew and with a shrug of his shoulders, began jogging up the long flight of stairs. At high noon, Matthew and Isaac were almost to the top and decided to take a quick lunch break. Isaac broke the loaf of bread and tossed half to Matthew; within minutes their lunch break had finished and the Adepts stood to finish the long walk to the top. When the two arrived at the top of the lighthouse at two o-clock they saw that the top of the lighthouse had a glass dome over it to prevent dumb people or kids from falling off and dying. They also saw Ark and Cross.
Ark wore a long dark blue cloak (A/N: kind of like the Akatsuki cloaks from Naruto only Ark's is dark blue) and had a katana strapped to his waist. Ark had blue hair, like all Mercury Adepts, that went straight up. He also had a dark gleam in his eyes. Cross, on the other hand, wore a green jacket with white pants and had very short blond hair. He had two katanas strapped to his back (forming an X-shape) and a rather large sword going through the X. He wore a straw hat atop his head. Cross also bore a dark smirk and had a scar across his head. In all honesty Isaac was nervous. Matthew gulped before placing his hand on Ra's Vengeance.
"So you finally decided to show. Hahaha guess I over estimated your value of life" Ark crossed his arms and smirked. "Well it looks like we will be home for dinner doesn't it Cross?" Ark looked across the open area of the lighthouse at his partner. Cross didn't respond, he simply watched Isaac. It was a genius tactic actually; it was making Isaac grow even more nervous. After another moment of staring, Cross turned to Ark and nodded to him. As soon as Cross nodded Ark broke into a fury of ice missiles. Isaac swiftly drew the Gaia Blade and slashed at the missiles head at him. As they closed in Ark waved his arms out and the ice missiles exploded; sending out hundreds of small ice needles. Isaac summoned a wall of dome of earth around himself to stop the needles. To his ever growing shock, some of the needles went into the dome and struck Isaac's chest. Isaac shrugged it off and sprinted at Ark. Ark smirked and created a shield of ice to block Isaac's strike. After the block, Ark swung as hard as he could at Isaac's neck, nearly decapitating him! At the last possible second, Isaac leaped at the ground in an effort to dodge the attack. Isaac thought he was done for only to hear a sharp "cling" sound. Isaac looked up to see Matthew, with several ice needles in him, blocking Ark's blow. Realizing what he had to do, Isaac swung the Gaia blade and struck Ark's feet. Ark screamed in pain and created a large glacier of ice to throw at the earth Adepts. As Ark threw the giant glacier, a massive golden eagle smashed through the glass dome and into the glacier; sending ice everywhere. Isaac realized, to his delight, that Matthew had used Bane of Apophis. Seizing the opportunity, Isaac screamed out "Titan Blade" and a large blade of energy came crashing into Ark and then exploded in a massive blast.
After the smoke cleared Isaac and Matthew looked to see a hole in Arks chest; amazingly Ark was still alive. Ark stood slowly, put his hand to the new hole in his chest and used his Mercury Psyenergy to create a block of ice to stop the bleeding. Ark gave a devilish smile before drawing his katana and lunging at Matthew. Quickly the young earth Adept moved his sword up to block the strike; surprisingly though Ark swung down and struck Matthew's knee. Matthew fell to the ground in pain and grabbed his knee pouring his healing Venus Psyenergy into the gash in his leg. Isaac sent a wave of pure psyenergy at Ark flinging him back to the edge of the Lighthouse. Ark stood and used his Mercury Psyenergy to make his sword larger. He swung down at Isaac… to no avail. With a powerful attack, Isaac shattered Ark's katana into tiny bits of metal and ice. Isaac walked Ark to the edge of the area. Isaac pointed his sword at Ark and spoke to him. "You tried to kill my friend you flipping maggot" Isaac, with the blunt side of his sword, smashed the Gaia Blade into Ark's head. Isaac turned around and began to walk back to Matthew only to hear Ark rush him. In one swift motion Isaac turned around and smashed the tip of the Gaia Blade into Ark's heart. Isaac, angry, walked back to Matthew and helped him up. After Matthew was healed the two Earth Adepts walked over to Cross who had watched the entire fight without helping his partner.
Cross smirked before he spoke again. "So you defeated my foolish partner HA, he was a pathetic buffoon. Now face true fear" Cross held out his arms and leaped high into the air. Suddenly thunder clouds came in and sent terrifying blasts of thunder out. Slowly Cross rose in the air, he looked up and his eyes were pure white. Suddenly Cross' back erupted in blood and… feathers? White angel wings had emerged from Cross' back; they were bloodied up and his back was bleeding too but it allowed Cross the ability to fly. Cross devilishly smiled; while his wings emerged he had grabbed his two katanas. His large blade just barely dodged the wings that had emerged. Cross raised up his arms and a thunder cloud came rolling in; instantly it started raining… hard. After a few moments hail came down two, the storm was so rough that it was difficult to see anything else. Cross swung his sword down but was completely out of range of the two earth Adepts which confused Isaac and Matthew. As Cross finished swing a speedy blast of lightning came flying out of the sky and narrowly missed Matthew. Cross swung again and the lightning came again; barely missing Isaac. Isaac, with his experience with Jupiter Adepts, knew that summoning lightning takes a large amount of psyenergy; knowing this, he realized he could just dodge until Cross ran out of Psyenergy power. "Matthew just keep dodging, lightning costs a lot of psyenergy Cross can't keep this up for long" Matthew nodded as he dodged another blast of lightning.
Half an hour later, Matthew and Isaac had become tired of dodging. More specifically, Isaac was shocked that Cross still had lots of psyenergy. After a moment of quick rest, Isaac looked up at Cross. "How is it that you still have so much psyenergy after thirty minutes of non-stop lightning?" Cross laughed fairly quietly to himself and explained, saying "I'm using natural lightning" When Isaac and Matthew still looked confused Cross continued. "I'm using the lightning that this storm creates. I use psyenergy to direct when and where it strikes but that doesn't take much effort. The only usage of psyenergy was creating the storm. After that the storm maintain itself" Cross laughed when he saw the looks of understanding on the earth Adepts faces. "Ok enough of a break your done" Cross swung his blades at both Adepts before him, lightning forced them to jump back. Cross smiled as he threw the swords at threw Adepts. Yet again Matthew and Isaac dodged only to see the katanas unleash a blast of electrical Jupiter Psyenergy. Both Venus Adepts were wounded, stunned and ultimately unable to dodge Cross' next attack. Cross had drawn forth his largest sword and slammed it into the ground, a gigantic blast of lightning landed between Matthew and Isaac, forcing both over the edge. Matthew drew his sword and cried out "Bane of Apophis" which caused a large golden eagle to swoop down and catch him. Matthew looked over to see Cross flying in the air; he was making sure he had killed them. Unfortunately he hadn't. Isaac had grabbed the edge and hung there. Cross raised his large sword above his head and swung down… only to meet Ra's Vengeance.
Matthew swung up, aiming for Cross face; only for Cross to fly high and dodge the attack. Cross swung his sword down again, this time actually aiming for Ra's Vengeance. The attack struck just above the handle; it took all Matthew's might to not lose his grip on the sword. Matthew tightened his grip before starting to go low, midway through the slice, Cross lowered his blade to stop Ra's Vengeance; however, Matthew sent the blade up. It should have sliced it off however; a lightning strike came down and blocked the sword. Cross smiled before sending a light blast of Jupiter Psyenergy at Matthew. The young Venus Adept was sent towards the back of the golden eagle he was on. Matthew stood and mentally commanded the Bane of Apophis to fly straight into the lighthouse. The attack was unexpected to Cross. The eagle surged forward and smashed through the lighthouse; leaving a massive hole in it. Because of the shock wave, Isaac fell. Isaac was Matthew fallen as well and an idea struck him; smiling to himself he called forth the "Titan Blade". The blade went under Matthew and under Isaac; it then crashed into the lighthouse. Matthew and Isaac disembarked the sword and entered the destroyed lighthouse. They saw Cross, with his jacket blown off and his pants ripped to his knees, fly straight to the top of the lighthouse. Isaac screamed in frustration and then launched himself and Matthew to the top via Venus Psyenergy.
At the top Isaac and Matthew arrived a bit too late. Cross had walked over to Ark's body and placed his hands on Ark's unmoving body. Cross put one hand on Ark's chest (just below the ice area Ark had made) and slowly pulled extracted a small dimly lit blue orb. "Matthew do you know what he's doing?" Isaac asked. Matthew nodded as he watched. "He's extracting Ark's life force" Isaac turned to look at Matthew in confusion. "But I stabbed him in the heart how could he still be alive?" Matthew thought for a split second before answering. "Either Ark is barely alive or his body still contains the essence of his life force. I think Cross plans on absorbing Ark's life force er life force essence into him to strengthen himself" Isaac nodded in understanding before asking one last question. "Why are we standing here doing nothing if Cross is going to become even stronger" Matthew looked at Isaac and smirked. "Because you wanted to ask some questions" With that the young earth Adepts sprinted at Cross who unleashed a wave of wind to keep the Adepts away. Slowly the blue orb of life essence moved into Cross. Cross rose into the air again then Ark's body floated up into the air, together their bodies merged and a large flash of white light happened. After the light, a single body floated down. The new warrior wore a dark green cloak that was like Ark's only green; the main deference was that when it got to the legs it parted showing his white pants and yellow belt. The new warrior had a single long katana strapped around his back. "You may call me Core, and now you will fall" Core pulled free his katana and raised it above his head. "Now face my ultimate technique: Ultimate Golden Lightning Tsunami" Isaac was angry and he agreed with Core, now was the time to end this. Isaac looked at Matthew and gave him the nod. Isaac shouted out "TITAN BLADE" and Matthew bellowed "BANE OF APOPHIS" Together a giant golden Eagle appeared far above the lighthouse, it opened its' beak and the Titan Blade protruded from it. Suddenly giant huge electric waves were sent flying into the eagle. But it was as if the eagle ignored it. It simply went flying through the massive waves. The eagle unleashed the Titan Blade and it went through all of the waves and into Core! Then the eagle went flying through the waves and also crashed into Core the only deference: The eagle sent Core through the floor and into the bottom of the lighthouse. At the bottom the eagle and sword both exploded violently. Isaac thought he heard Core's horrified scream. If that wasn't enough to kill Core then what happened next did.
Because of the extremely powerful explosions, the lighthouse's base structure was destroyed and the lighthouse collapsed upon itself; and by extension; Core. Isaac and Matthew had jumped off at the last possible moment, allowing them to send the earth up to catch them. After a long hour of rest, Isaac and Matthew stood and began the short journey back to Tolbi. On the way back they talked a bit. "You did very well out there Matthew" Isaac complemented. "Thanks you did great yourself" Matthew and Isaac were both very weary from there duel; both had extended almost all of their psyenergy and were wounded. "Matthew can I ask you a question about your Tundaria mission?" Isaac had a very specific question in mind and was happy that he now had a friendship with Matthew; which allowed him to ask his question. "Go ahead and ask" Matthew replied. "How strong is Mask? I faced him in Colosso and he was definitely stronger than me and I think he was holding back then. I only won on a technicality." Isaac had had Mask's power on his mind ever since he had heard about it from Jenna. In all honesty it worried him. From what Jenna said, it sounded as if Mask was equal to a Doom Dragon and a half. The Warriors of Vale had barely beaten the Doom Dragon so Isaac had no idea how they were to avenge Sheba. "To be honest Isaac, he is powerful, far more powerful than you, me, Jenna and Felix combined. I have no idea how far his true power is. When Sheba's protector first came out she seemed to be on par with Mask. But then at the end of the fight, Mask said something about thanks for the fun, and unleashed a strong attack. I personally believe that he has held back anytime any of us have fought him" Isaac whistled in dismay and was also at a loss for words. They had walked for a while now and were coming upon the last hill before they could see Tolbi. Isaac switched his walk to a jog. "Come on Matthew, you should go faster. The faster we run the faster you'll see Je-" Matthew gave Isaac a questioning look as Isaac had stopped midsentence. Matthew jogged up to see what had put Isaac at a loss for words. When he came to the top of the hill he gasped in shock at what he was seeing. Tolbi was aflame.
Jenna was having a fine, uneventful weekend. Matthew and Isaac had left a few days ago but Jenna was almost happy about it because it gave her time to figure out her feelings. After a day of staying in bed, the young Adept decided to talk with Mia about it. Jenna enjoyed the outdoors; that's part of the reason she went with Felix; camping out under the stars almost every night with your brother and best frien-. Sheba Jenna thought, it still hurt to think about her even if it had been a while. Jenna wasn't sure the pain would every go away, all thanks to stupid Mask. Jenna hated him. She wanted him dead, which scarred her she hadn't ever wanted anyone to die well except maybe Agatio but he was a huge jerk. But that's beside the point, even with Agatio she would have saved him if she could but with Mask… Jenna didn't really know what she would do if he was hanging off a cliff. Would she help him or laugh and use Move on him. That was also something Jenna needed to talk to Mia about. Jenna was almost to Mia's house now so she quietly knocked on the door. Quickly Garet's mother opened the door and told her where Mia was. The easily angered woman walked to Mia's room and knocked on the door… no answer. Jenna figured Mia would be in Garet's room and walked up there. Jenna was correct, Mia was there feeding Garet his breakfast.
Mia turned around when Garet gestured behind her to Jenna. Mia gave a little wave and smile. "Hey Jenna what's up?" The visitor returned the wave and smile with a reply "Not a lot I was hoping we could talk" Mia gave a sympathetic look and said "Sorry but Piers invited me to lunch" "I don't like you too together" Garet piped up while clenching his fist. "Well I'm here almost all the time, it's about time I see some friends… other than you and Jenna" Mia almost forgot about Jenna in the room. "Ok well I guess we can talk later" Jenna turned to leave but Garet spoke again. "Hey Jenna I can talk with you if ya like, I've been feeling better" Garet lied, he hadn't been feeling better but even he could see that Jenna needed to talk to someone. "It will be just like old times?" Garet commented. Jenna considered it for a moment "Sure Garet it will be fun" Mia got up to leave and meet Piers while Jenna sat in Mia's old chair. "So Jenna what's wrong?" Jenna smiled; Garet wasn't one for small talk. "Well, that was blunt" Jenna saw Garet's face become a bit worried, Jenna wondered why. "p-please don't hurt me" Garet pleaded. "Why would I hurt you?" Jenna was confused. Garet realized that she didn't know of her own legendary temper… best to keep it that way. "No reason, sorry for being blunt but what is wrong? You're not acting normal" Jenna looked at the floor for a minute before answering. "Well I originally thought Isaac betrayed me, now I know I overreacted, however I'm also in a relationship with Matthew, and I don't know what to do. I love Isaac and really like Matthew and I don't want to hurt Matthew" Jenna explained. Garet thought hard, of course he wanted her and Isaac to get back together but he wanted to not be biased; he genuinely wanted to help Jenna. "Although it makes me sad to say this but, I think the correct thing to do would be to stay with Matthew unless he does something warranting break-up" It was an genuine answer, she was with Matthew now and Jenna never does anything to emotionally hurt someone. Sure she would hit people or use psyenergy on her friends, but that was her personality and that stuff didn't matter. Her relationships will actually affect her life, and Garet knew she would try to do what's right for everyone. Jenna nodded contemplating Garet's words. She turned and looked at Garet and gave him a large smile. "Thanks Garet I think that's what I'll do" although painful, Garet returned the smile. The two talked about Garet and Mia's relationship, reminisced, talked about Garet's new sword, Vulcan's Might and had lunch. It was good for Jenna, she had needed this.
While Jenna and Garet were conversing, Mia had walked down to Piers cabin down the river. Mia was happy to talk with Piers, during the adventure she had made a close friend in Piers. As they were both Mercury Adepts they had much they could discuss, whether it was fighting, healing, Djinn or even Lemuria and Imil. They had become fast friends. Mia hadn't talked to him much after the adventure, he had gone sailing and Mia had stayed at New Vale and Imil. So when Piers had invited her to lunch at his cabin she had been delighted to go. Truth be told, although she loved Garet, it could get tiresome and annoying up there all day.
When Mia arrived she was surprised to see that Piers had built a dock at his cabin. Of course it couldn't hold anything extremely large but it worked for small boats. What surprised Mia more was that on the dock was a two person silver table with an elegant white table cloth over it. It had silver goblets and cups and silverware. And most curious of all was that Piers was nowhere to be seen. "Hello? Piers are you here?" Mia called out, while looking around. When there was no answer Mia timidly walked to the door of the small cabin and knocked. "Piers hello? Its Mia can you open up?" Mia heard a loud crash and she quickly opened the door to see that Piers had dropped a large cooked chicken on the floor. "Dang it, that was are lunch" Piers said to himself. "It's ok Piers, I have an idea" Piers gave her a curious look.
Thirty minutes later
"Well it worked" Piers said with a look of shock. "That it did" Mia replied. Mia's idea was to get a large pot and fry the chicken. It got rid of the germs and tasted very good. Piers had agreed and tried to keep the rest of the dining experience elegant. After lunch, the two Mercury Adepts talked for awhile. They talked about Mia's relationship and reminisced too. "So Piers where are you going to live, I mean I figure that you won't stay in New Vale your whole life" Mia asked as she walked over to the dock, slipped off her shoes and sat with her feet in the water. Piers went and joined her before speaking. "I think I'm going to sail the seas for a long while and just look" Piers was gazing down the river now. Mia put her hand on his leg and asked "What will you be looking for?" Piers turned to look at Mia "I don't know" Piers admitted, he originally was going to ask Mia to join him in sailing around the universe, but after hearing the love between Garet and Mia, and seeing the glow Mia had in her eyes he knew he wouldn't throw himself into the mix. He loved her enough that he wanted her to be happy. Mia gave him a smile and said "Well Piers, you can always visit me and Garet" She was being sincere; maybe she didn't know that Piers and Garet were almost complete opposites. Piers was always kind and quiet, Garet was obnoxious and loud. Piers would go out of his way to be nice, like fixing a house. Garet would try to help and end up destroying it. Piers didn't understand why Mia loved Garet, but was content that she was happy. "Thank you Mia, it has been nice to talk to a friend" Piers said as he smiled. Piers got up off the small dock and helped Mia up too. Then he gave her a hug and told her goodnight. Piers went straight to bed, he dreamed of the life he would never have with Mia.
Mia returned home happy that she had finally gotten out of the house. Still, she didn't want to head back to Garet's yet so she walked to the broken bridge where she was sure Jenna would be at. She was wrong, dismayed she realized Jenna was probably still at Garets. Mia walked down to the house and came in. Garet's mother had insisted that Mia didn't need to knock since she lived there now. Mia walked down to the stairs to go see Garet only to run into Jenna. They waved but didn't talk for long because Jenna was tired. Mia walked upstairs and saw Garet almost asleep. Mia walked over to him and kissed his cheek. "Mia…" Garet softly said. Mia was sure that he was asleep so she went downstairs to sleep, content with a good day.
Isaac was shocked at the bloodshed before him. Tolbi had been massacred; the streets were filled with blood and bodies. It seemed as though every person was dead and every building was set aflame. Matthew had vomited when he saw all the destruction. Isaac had been silent, he had actually known some of these people, they had helped him and he had helped them. It devastated him. The two continued to walk through town, tired and weak but still on the guard. They both had their swords drawn but probably didn't have the energy to fight off an army. The two Adepts made their way down to the castle. Opening the grand doors and checking out the inside. All of the castle had been burned. Previously white, it was now a grayish black due to the flames. They walked through the ruined castle in disgust at the devastated bodies around them. Eventual reaching the hallway linking the coliseum with the castle, they discovered the body of the king. He was mutilated, his arms ripped apart and his legs thrown aside. His head and crown were on a pike in the middle of the hall. Isaac and Matthew vomited until their insides hurt badly. Then they continued to the coliseum. There they discovered, to their horror that an enemy unit was there, huge tables were set up and it looked as though they had been feasting. Currently they were in a circle around a single man who was fighting another man. Matthew, in his disgust rushed the enemy. They turned laughed and drew their swords. The unit then ran straight at Matthew. He used his Venus Psyenergy to send the soldiers high into the air, most of them crashed and died but about 15 of them lived. One threw his javelin at Matthew and got him in the leg. Matthew cried out in pain and launched a rather large wave of earth out at the warriors; the remaining warriors all went flying to the walls and ceiling, all dead on contact. Matthew approached the man who was fighting for his life. Matthew walked to him and saw that it was Iodem. He was cut up and bruised, he had been bleeding and lost lots of blood, he didn't seem too good. Then Matthew noticed the man's face; it was Iodem. "Matthew, that means… Isaac… is here… as well… please hurry… save Tolbi" Iodem closed his eyes and he quit breathing.
Isaac saw it, the death of Iodem. However he also saw a man run off down a hall. Isaac began chasing after the man. Turning to the right, he saw the man enter a doorway to the left. Isaac quickly followed the man into the room revealing stairs. The man ran up three floors before exiting. Isaac did the same and saw the man jump through a window onto the thin stone on the outside of the coliseum. Isaac ran and jumped onto the edge as well. The man didn't want to be captured, (obviously) jumped up and climbed up to the roof. Isaac did the same and saw the man sprinting towards the city. The man reached the edge of the coliseum roof and leaped off, falling two stories before crashing into the roof of a burning house. Isaac, after a moment of hesitation, followed the man off the coliseum and onto the rooftop. By this time, the man had jumped to a second roof top and Isaac followed. After several minutes of chasing, the man leaped off of a tall house onto the roof of a house situated on the edge of a very tall wall. The man collided with the roof and it caved in. Isaac jumped through the whole and ran after the man and through the burning house. The man flipped a burned table over behind him to try to stop Isaac; he however merely jumped over it and continued running at the man. It was then that Isaac noticed that the man wasn't running anymore in fact, he was limping! The man slammed a door shut only to realize that he was on the wall above the still burning lower district of Tolbi, The man stopped and slowly turned around. It was King Jerome! Isaac was shocked and outraged. "Wait how are you here? I saw your body" Jerome let out a laugh. "That was the body of the king, not my body" Isaac crossed his arms. "Explain. NOW" Jerome let out a sigh. "Well we've accomplished our goal so there's no point in keeping it a secret. After Colosso Suhalla, Lunpa and Lalivero entered into an alliance. Lunpa sent its best assassin who assassinated the king. Then they set me up as the king" Isaac took a step forward. 'Why you?" Jerome chuckled. "Because I looked the most like the previous king" Isaac dropped his hands to his sides. "Why do all this?" Jerome looked down. "Only two years since the Golden Sun and everyone has increased in power exponentially. Everyone except Tolbi and that was only because they hadn't gathered a new king yet. We knew that when they acquired a new king they would enter into a new golden age. So we decided to destroy them while they were weak" Isaac too two steps forward, forcing Jerome to step onto the edge of the wall. "Did you really have to kill, no murder, everyone in Tolbi" Jerome nodded. "It was necessary" "Even the children?" Isaac clenched his fist in anger. "If we let anyone survive they could raise an army later and destroy us" "HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK OFF MURDER, DEFENSELESS, INNOCENT PURE LITTLE CHILDREN? YOU ARE A DESPICABLE LITTLE COWARD OF A MAN!" Isaac raged. "Does that mean you are going to kill me?" Jerome asked weakly. Isaac looked at Jerome. I can tell he's going to kill me thought Jerome. "I won't kill a defenseless person, so no, I am not going to kill you" Isaac was angered that his code of ethics wouldn't allow him to kill Jerome. It was one thing to kill Saturos and Menardi in combat, it was another to kill a defenseless wounded person. Jerome tried to walk away, but Isaac stopped him. "I HATE YOU JEROME AND IF I EVER SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU. Oh and it won't be a easy death" Jerome took another step back in shock and fear… only to forget that he was on the edge of a wall above raging flames. As quickly as a wounded man could he grabbed to the edge, but Jerome knew he couldn't hold on for long. "Isaac help me, please" The darkest look came to Isaac's face. "Just because I won't kill doesn't mean I have to save you" Isaac watched as Jerome fell into the burning flames below him. Jerome swore and swore as he was burned, he cursed Isaac's name repeatedly but it didn't stop the raging flames. When the agonizing screams stopped, Isaac walked back to Matthew ready to return to home.
It had been two nights since the destruction of Tolbi. Matthew still felt sick to the stomach and Isaac had been distant. The two had had little to no social interaction since Tolbi. Both of their clothes and armor had blood soaked into it; some of it theirs, some Ark and Cross's and some just the blood from Tolbi's people. So when they arrived at Vault both were anxious to get a long night's sleep. Isaac skipped dinner and went straight to bed. He fell asleep quickly enough; only to dream a nightmare. Matthew on the other hand, ate a lot of food, took a long bath and only then did he go to sleep.
The next morning both Adepts woke up late in the morning, almost the afternoon. Slowly they put on their blood stained clothes and walked towards New Vale. After a good hour of slow walking they had finally arrived at New Vale. Both were quite relieved to be back. Isaac went to Garet's to eat, rest and talk. Isaac was exhausted and he figured that talking to his best friend would be nice. So he walked up the very used stairs to his friends clutter room. Isaac was slightly surprised to see that Mia wasn't there. Almost every time Isaac had gone to see Garet she was there, except when she was off getting the herbs. So Isaac took joy in the fact that he could have a real conversation with Garet, who wouldn't be in fear of upsetting Mia. "Hey Garet, how are you holding up, and be honest" Isaac said as he sat down next to Garet's bed.
"Well, since you want me to be honest and all, I'm in a lot of pain; its just constant pain, here look at this" Garet threw off his shirt to reveal that his back was bloodied up muscle, no skin had grown back and even then, the muscles were a dark sickly color as though he was being poisoned. Mia believes that Alex used some type of psyenergy 'poison' to hurt me and that's what is stopping me from healing" Isaac leaned back in sighed. Garet was surprised, usually Isaac had a fairly weak stomach, the old Isaac would have thrown up at the sight, so Garet knew something bad happened in Tolbi. "Isaac, what happened in Tolbi?" Isaac turned and looked out the window, not particularly wanting to talk about Tolbi. It didn't exactly bring back fond memories anymore. Sure there was the originally Colosso was fun at Tolbi, but then the bad stuff happened: Babi died, Calsen ruined his relationship with Jenna, Alex showed up and nearly killed Garet, they first found Mask and then it was brutally demolished and its people were butchered.
"Sorry Garet, but yeah, stuff happened, a lot of stuff happened" Isaac began his tale of the champions of Suhalla, Lunpa and Lalivero, the fights with them, the discovery of the Golden Sun in him, the battle with Ark and Cross and finally the conclusion of the discovery that Jerome was a traitor who planned the annihilation of Tolbi. At the end of the tale, Garet whistled, which stung but Garet was used to it, everything hurt these days.
"What about Jenna?" Garet knew this might be a bad idea to ask about but went ahead and did it anyway.
Isaac shrugged, "we're friends again, so that's a start. Right now she's with Matthew and what she basically told me is that, I had my chance and now it's Matthew's turn" Isaac closed his eyes recalling the memory, I know I want her to be happy, but I want to be happy to"
Garet nodded in painful understanding. "I think she never got over you Isaac, she has always loved you, even when we were kids, and she didn't hang out with us for me. It was for you, she crushed on you since you we were kids. So don't worry, you'll get another chance" Isaac appeared to look up (figuratively speaking) at the words, and smiled,
"Yeah I guess your right" Thanks for the talk Garet, Isaac said as he stood to leave. The young Adept had been at Garet's for almost two hours, telling him what all happened at Tolbi. It was kinda exhausting, so Isaac went for some lunch. At the inn, Isaac bought a sandwich and some potato chips. He walked to a table and saw Jenna and Matthew sitting and eating together. He felt a ping of hurt at the sight and looked away to start eating and to avoid the sight. Isaac tried to finish his food quickly so he could leave only. He couldn't stand the sight of them together.
Meanwhile, Jenna had seen Isaac walk inside the Inn/restaurant. However she knew he wouldn't want to eat with her and Matthew so she pretended not to see him. When her boyfriend left (after paying of course) she instantly went to Isaac to talk with him. "HEY Isaac how are you?" Jenna saw that Isaac's eyes went huge in fear at seeing her. Jenna laughed a little before sitting in the seat next to him. "What are you doing here?" She asked, enjoying every minute of his fear at Matthew coming back.
"Um fine, listen Jenna, I uh… uh need to go bye" Isaac rushed out of the inn, leaving Jenna in his wake. Jenna crossed her arms and counted to ten. When she hit ten, Isaac came back in, and paid for his meal and then tried to leave again only to be chased by Jenna. As they raced, Jenna was able to slightly direct where they were going, so she eventual got him to the small cliff at the edge of town. Jenna sent a surge of pure psyenergy at Isaac sent him flying off the cliff and into the ground. Jenna smiled and said "That's what you get for trying to blow me off, hn" She turned around, crossed her arms and walked away inwardly smiling. Isaac laughed and was extremely happy that he had one of his best friends back.
THREE HOURS LATER
Mia was worried, her grandparents had sent a message saying that Justin lacked enough skills to heal everyone; and on top of that, her grandfather had shown symptoms of a certain disease that Mia knew couldn't Hermes' Water couldn't heal. In essence, Imil needed Mia and Mia needed to help Garet. Mia shed tears thinking about it. Ultimately, Mia decided to leave New Vale a few days before intended. Which is why she was walking down to Isaac's to tell him to pack up because they were leaving tomorrow after lunch. She knocked on the new, yet old looking, door and waited for someone to come. After a short wait, Dora came to answer the door and told Mia to head right on up. Mia thanked her and went on her way.
"Isaac, are you in here?" Mia asked as she lightly knocked on his door and then entered the quant room. It wasn't big but also wasn't extremely small. It had a bookshelf, a desk, a closet, and a bed with Isaac sitting on it.
"Yeah what's up Mia?" He asked, as he turned around to survey the girl. She had beautiful eyes, Isaac noticed. But this was Garet's girls and Isaac would never date her. He smiled, looked at her, expecting a reply.
"We're leaving tomorrow after lunch, so pack up" Mia surprisingly commanded. Isaac hadn't known Mia to ever really be forceful or demanded, or well a leader. But he didn't mind, tomorrow would work for him just as well as any other day.
"Cool, where are we going to meet?" Isaac asked as he stands and walks over to his closet and began pulling out his needed armor, and weapons, potions and well, anything else that was useful really.
"At town center, in front of the Psy Stone" Mia said. Isaac nodded and Mia turned around and left. She wondered how long it would take Isaac to get his stuff together. Probably not too long considering he just got back from a journey, but hey, you never know Mia thought to herself as she trotted down the dirt road to Jenna's.
Mia arrived to see Jenna and Matthew lying on the couch making out. Mia resisted the urge to scream 'GET BACK WITH ISAAC' and calmly walked over to the couch and poked Jenna. Jenna stopped kissing and turned around. Jenna instantly blushed, embarrassed to be caught making out with her boyfriend.
"Um, he- hey Mia, Why are ya here?" Jenna asked while trying to do her best not to look at Matthew.
"I wanted to tell you two that we are going to leave tomorrow after lunch, we're meeting at the psyenergy stone" With that, Mia turned around and walked to the door. Before she left she turned around and with a roll of her eyes said "You can resume your activities now" Mia smirked when she saw Jenna blush an even deeper red. After Jenna's house, Mia simply went to Ivan's room and told him about the early leaving. After that, she went back to Garet's house and slept comfortably in the room that had been made for her.
The next day after lunch, the group met at the stone and very silently walked to Piers ship about an hour away. Everyone knew what they were doing. Ivan went to pilot the ship, Isaac and Matthew went around preparing the ship for lift off, Jenna and Mia went to clean the rooms. Mia sighed, this was her life and it was good. After finishing all the rooms, Mia and Jenna walked out onto the deck and watched the lift off. Mia smiled as she felt the wind go through her hair and on her face. Mia loved these moments, they were almost completely perfect. Mia walked down to Ivan. Mia asked, "hey Ivan, how long until we arrive at the Apojii Islands?"
"Three days probably" Ivan said without turning around.
"Okay thank you" Mia turned and walked down to Isaac who was sitting and taking a break. "Hey, I haven't talked to you in awhile" Mia said with a kind breath. On their adventures, Mia and Isaac had become very close friends. Isaac and Mia would talk to each other about anything. Both new they wouldn't ever consider dating. So they were always able to talk to each other. Mia had always known Isaac loved Jenna; she had even encouraged him (and Jenna) to speak up about their feelings. Which, eventually Isaac did.
"Yeah, it has been awhile" Isaac said as he watched her sit next to him. "so how are you Mia?" Isaac knew she was hurting, he also knew, (because of Garet) that her grandfather was sick.
"I'm holding up" Mia said, deciding not to lie. She didn't have energy to lie.
"You sure? I mean I heard about your grandfather" Isaac realized he was stupid to even mention her grandfather in front of her, as evidence she started to cry when he mentioned him. Isaac put an arm around her and held her close; knowing he couldn't say anything to make her feel better. So he just held her.
Jenna had finished cleaning and had gone to talk with Matthew for a little bit. After that, she went to the top deck to see where Mia was. As Jenna walked up the stairs, she heard sobs. Quickly she jogged up and turned to face the sobs only to Mia; being held by Isaac. It took every single ounce of Jenna's willpower not to blast her friends on sight. Instead, she unleashed fire. Fire was coming off her like dynamite. Jenna, stomped back down stairs and decided to not think about what she saw. Jenna waited for about two hours. Matthew came and brought her dinner and they ate in silence. After dinner, Matthew left (not wanting to get on her bad side) so Jenna was sitting alone in her room waiting for Mia.
Around bed time, Mia came through the door, her eyes still wet from tears. Mia waved to Jenna, but the fire Adept gave her an evil eye. "Are you okay Jenna? You are acting a bit weird." Mia asked with a smile.
"I saw that you let Isaac hold you." Jenna said coldly, which was odd because usually, she doesn't withhold her anger.
Mia shook her head in frustration and anger before answering. "He was comforting me because my grandfather is really sick." Mia didn't withhold her annoyance. "And besides, you are not dating Isaac anymore, remember?"
Jenna dawned a look of understanding, embarrassment and guilt all at once. "I'm so sorry Mia. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and it's true I'm not dating him, but I stil-" Jenna realized her next words were going to be: 'still have feelings for him.' But she really didn't want to admit it, so she stayed silent.
Mia, seizing the opportunity, teased "What is it, cat got your tongue?" Normally, Mia didn't tease or do anything rude at all. However, she was angry, tired, annoyed, and frustrated, so she seized the chance. Jenna, greatly blushed, and then scurried off to ready herself for bed. She dreamed a beautiful dream of love.
xXx
Over the next few days, ship life became normal. Isaac and Ivan took turns piloting the vessel and Matthew watched for any obstructions and for land. Mia and Jenna made meals and cleaned and healed Matthew when he fell off the ladder once. Life became fun, living with friends and rivals. Unfortunately, after a couple of days of sailing, they arrived at the Apojii Islands.
The islands had become a rather large rain forest since the Golden Sun. They had an exotic wildlife, filled with animals, plants, trees and water… lots of water. The water was slightly cold, but manageably so. So, to Jenna, the beautiful but easily-angered Mars Adept, it was annoying to walk in water and ruin her boots. Fortunately it didn't take long to reach the small settlement, near the edge of Gaia Falls. The group asked around about the Mapolgi Flower, but so far no one had seen it, so after two days of walking around the Adepts decided to search for it by sight rather than rumor.
After twelve hours of walking up and down the land dangerously close to Gaia Falls, they hadn't discovered the Mapolgi Flower. While sitting down for a quick lunch break. Jenna looked at Isaac and began remembering her time with him. The few months had been amazing, and now, Jenna realized she had fallen in love and never stopped loving him. Isaac thought the same, as he they stared into each other's eyes. Matthew saw the looks in their eyes and knew what he was going to do. Before he could though, Mia shook Jenna and her thoughts drifted. Near the end of lunch, Jenna pondered about her previous time at the falls.
"What are you thinking about Jenna?" asked Isaac, who could always tell when she was forming an idea. Furthermore, he could tell when it was a good idea, which was why he asked then.
"Well, when we were here last, Felix used his Sand Psyenergy to reach a special beach. Then we jumped off onto a small ledge that had a cave in it; and I'm wondering if the flower would be there." Jenna explained, surprisingly accurately. Usually Jenna held a selective memory, rather than a detailed one.
"Well it's worth checking out at the least." Said Mia who had become, (like before) the leader of the group.
The Adepts quickly finished their meals and went back to the settlement and used Isaac's Sand psyenergy to reach the usually inaccessible beach. After that they took a leap of faith onto the ledge Jenna had mentioned earlier. The Adepts walked through the falls into the cave, which due to the Golden Sun, had changed. Instead of an enclosed cave, it was as if a large part of Weyward had fallen off. It revealed the falls but no one would be able to see it from above. Beyond that there was a room on the other side of the rocky field underneath the Apojii. Mia sprinted to the room, feeling it within herself. She smashed through the dark entrance and looked around. It was slightly caved in. Mia began heaving rocks as quickly as she could. Eventually it revealed a small doorway about two feet tall and one foot wide. Mia went to the ground and looked in the hole. To her delight, the Mapolgi Flower was found.
"You have found it for me," Said a dark, ominous voice. Mia slowly turned around, worry creeping up her back. Please don't be him, please don't be him! Mia pleaded to herself. Unfortunately it was him. With his black armor and ominous black mask and sword, it was Mask standing before her with an outstretched hand. Mia could only stutter, she was so afraid that she couldn't even speak. "Just give it to me Mia." When Mia still made no move to give him the Mapolgi Flower, Mask sighed. "Very well Mia."
Instantly his sword was unsheathed and swinging at Mia. It was all Mia could do to move three inches before the quick slash cut into her arm. She screamed, but not at the blood gushing out. Rather she screamed because Mask had grabbed her by the neck. She was sure he was smiling behind that Mask. Mia wanted to smash his frickin face in, but she was powerless to stop him. He threw her all the way out of the room and into the main rock plain. She landed ten feet from the edge but the Mapolgi Flower hadn't. It was about ten inches from the ledge. Mia reached her hand out and screamed for help. The other Adepts were already moving. Ivan used his wind psyenergy to push the Mapolgi Flower back towards Mia, while Jenna rushed to help Mia up; meanwhile, in unison, Isaac and Matthew drew their swords and rushed at Mask. Chuckling to himself, Mask used Warp to dodge moments before the blades crashed into his previous spot. "Pitiful." Mask said as he slammed his fists into the backs of his enemies. Both Adepts were slightly surprised at his attack. It was unusual for someone to teleport away.
Currently however, Mask warped himself again this time near Mapolgi Flower. Mia, realizing his intent on destroying the flower sent her arm out to protect it. Mask smirked inside his mask as he smashed his foot into her hand, fracturing bones in the process. But to Mia the sacrifice was worth it, the flower was safe. She felt Mask's black blade press against her neck, it brought out a single drop of blood. Mia looked behind Mask and saw Gaia Falls; she now had a plan. Closing her eyes, Mask figured she was awaiting his strike. What he didn't think of was the massive waterfall behind him. Mia opened her eyes and smiled. She had used three fourths of her psyenergy reserves to divert Gaia Falls into the cavern, soaking everyone and slamming Mask into a cavern wall. Mia had also covered the Mapolgi Flower with ice to stop its' death.
Mask was furious. How could Mia, a weak healer out smart him. Mask was determined to defeat these measly Adepts. With a wave of his hand, a large black blast of energy smashed into Ivan and Mia and Ivan, had it not been for Matthew and Isaac earth psyenergy; Mia and Ivan would have been thrown of Weyward! Instead they slammed into a newly erected earth wall. Mia was unconscious but Ivan still stood. He began rushing at Mask who was far away. Meanwhile Mask Warped in front of Jenna, who was unguarded at the moment, he pulled his blade back and went to pierce her heart. Instead, he pierced Matthew's.
At that Moment Ivan, (who had been training and learning ancient secrets since Sheba's death) rushed at Mask to hold him off. "MATTHEW!" screamed Jenna as she rushed to his side. Isaac rushed to his friends side as well, his fury growing stronger.
"Just hold on Matthew, we'll do everything we can, you'll be just fine" Isaac said. It was a lie, with Mia unconscious there wasn't anything they could do.
(A/N: the … in Matthew's dialogue are coughes)
"No, it's too late for me, Jenna.. I've seen the way you look… at Isaac." Tears welded up in Jenna's eyes as she heard him say this. She had realized it herself, but had also promised herself not to break his heart. "Jenna, it's okay, I… just want what's… best for you, and right now that's Isaac." With his last ounces of strength, he took Isaac's hand and put it with Jenna's. "You two… belong… together… goodbye." At that his head fell to the side and his hands lost strength, held up only by Jenna, Matthew was gone.
Now it was Isaac's turn to be furious. He clenched his hand and summoned the Gaia blade. From Jenna's perspective, he had a large and growing golden aura. What she didn't know was that it was the Golden Sun. Isaac, stalked towards Mask and Ivan (who was being defeated). He swung the Gaia blade and a line of Golden Aura went out and smashed into Mask, who staggered back, amazed at Isaac's power. The two sprinted at each other. Gold struck Black. Light struck Darkness. Both were powerful. Fortunately for Isaac, and unfortunately for Mask, the Golden Sun's power increased while displaying itself. So for now they were equals, but the longer the fight dragged on, the stronger Isaac would get. That when Mask decided to introduce a game-changer. Using his Venus Psyenergy, he shatter, the ground, creating an incline leading into the falls! Mask jumped onto some stone, and using his earth abilities, directed it to bring him to the surface. "YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY." bellowed Isaac, who used Move, to smash Mask back to the Adepts. At the same time he used earth psyenergy to secure his friends from falling. When Mask crashed onto the ground his mask was heavily cracked. Isaac sent out a powerful blast of the Golden Sun that crashed into Mask's mask and destroyed it revealing his identity. Everyone's mouth dropped open, but only Jenna spoke:
"FELIX?"
Author's Notes: CLIFFHANGER! Their fun The entire Tolbi destruction stuff is because Tolbi in the original golden gun was the most powerful city in Angara, but in Dark Dawn it isn't even mentioned, this is my reason why. There are probably only one or two chapters left and I'm going to do an epilogue that will be first person Isaac POV, and sorry for the long wait, I burnt myself out after non-stop writing the last chapter. Epic Pillowcase: Suggestions are awesome! They are really helpful and I know you aren't telling me how to right my own fic Oh, so keep up the suggestions. Thanks for your support