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Once again, thank you so much to: UltaFlame, MartinIII, insoki, mediocre, AxelXIII, CyBeastSaber, The Fox Writer, Rocky0825, SpiritGuardian, AAA, Anonymous, Marahute Sol, Kd7sov, 17th warrior, riais, Grayjack72, bente-unerz36, Lofast, and Frutillas. You guys do a fantastic job of reviewing, so thank you. Special honors go to SpiritGuardian and MartinIII. For the most part, you two have reviewed every single chapter.

Many thanks to UltaFlame this chapter especially, for pointing out my (ack!) canon error involving the Sol Blade, seeing as they have not yet been to Mars Lighthouse. I try very hard not to make those. To my knowledge, this is my first big slip up in any of my stories.

Merry Christmas/Hanukah/Holidays/Whatever-I'm-not-politically-correct to everyone who has read or reviewed my story! It is now my number one most-read story! Thanks to all of you!

A short summary of Chapter 10: Isaac sits the group down after a long day of tension, and they talk out some problems. Sheba loses the respect of pretty much everyone. Then, as she talks to Piers afterward, she and Piers see the flash of battle off in the distance, and recognize it to be Felix's Psynergy.

Tundra

Chapter 11: Being Together

A loud, frantic knock roused Isaac from his sleep. Groggily, he stepped out from under the sheets to open the door. Behind it, a muffled male voice said, "Isaac! Isaac!"

Isaac zombied his way over to the door, grasped the handle, and pulled open the heavy oaken door to admit his mysterious visitor, who happened to be Piers.

"Whassumatter?" slurred Isaac.

"We've found Felix," Piers said.

Isaac felt the electricity jump down his spine, the sleepiness evaporating like still water on a hot day.

"Where?"

Piers led him up the steps and out on to the deck, where Sheba pulsated with the familiar blue-white glow of active Psynergy. The air around her shimmered slightly, indicating that the Psynergy was Reveal. She stared out over the ice-filled bay, focusing on something off in the distance.

"Where are they?" Isaac asked Piers, looking out over the edge of the boat.

"North…" said Piers, pointing in the general direction. Isaac strained his eyes fiercely, but he saw nothing…

Nothing…

Nothing…

"Look! There!" exclaimed Sheba, pointing up into the night sky.

A small beam of white light floated down from the heavens, not unlike the beam in the center of Jupiter Lighthouse, though this one was a soft blue, not purple. It hung wispily in the air, formless.

Then, with a small glint from space as warning, a massive, searing pillar of white light exploded from the sky, piercing every fold and corner for miles. The brightness, even as far away as it was, overpowered the three Adepts on the deck. Piers and Isaac cringed and covered their eyes, away, while Sheba crumpled and her Psynergy failed. Moments later, the light faded.

"Sheba!" exclaimed Piers.

She stirred with a moan on the floor below. She slid gingerly up from her back to a sitting position.

"That… was n-not human," she said fearfully.

"That light?" asked Piers, as he pulled her back up.

"Uh huh," she affirmed. "The only power like that I've ever seen was on top of the lighthouses."

Great power… thought Isaac.

"Isaac?"

Piers' voice snapped Isaac out of his reverie.

"Do you want us to rouse the others?"

"Yes, do it," said Isaac. "If we leave now, we will be there by sunrise. It's too dangerous to try to fly the ship at night, wouldn't you say?"

"I agree. I don't think I could pilot the ship airborne well enough during the night. I'd more than likely kill us all."

"That would be nice to avoid," Isaac replied.

"Yes," said Piers, as he turned to go back into the ship. "Sheba? Are you coming?"

She got up slowly.

"Yes, I am. I'll get Garet and Ivan. You'll get Jenna?"

"Who'll get Jenna?" asked the Fire Adept, who crossed the deck in her pajamas. "What was all that… light and stuff?"

"That 'light and stuff' was your brother and Mia," said Isaac, "and something else… unnatural."

"That's never good," Jenna muttered.

She plaintively ignored Sheba's presence, as if the Jupiter Adept weren't even present, and spoke to Isaac as if the night's confrontation hadn't even happened. It was impossible not to admire, or at least respect, her extraordinary level of bullheadedness.

"Well, are we going to find them or what?" she probed.

"Yeah, we just have to get Garet and Ivan," said Piers.

"They were right behind me…" Jenna said, with a hint of a grudge, looking over her shoulder. "It was impossible to stay asleep through that lightshow. See, here they are."

Ivan and Garet came out on deck, also in their pajamas.

"Oh," Jenna continued, focusing her eyes on Piers, "Kraden is still asleep in his room. He hasn't moved since before we left today, so I say we just let him sleep."

"Sounds good to me," said Piers, glancing slightly at Isaac, not wanting to usurp leadership.

"Let's get going," said Isaac, with weary enthusiasm.

Isaac had not, until this moment, comprehended under what level of awkwardness that human beings were capable of functioning. Jenna's wrath was nearly palpable, and it was spread over more than half of the group. As they made their way down the gangplank, they all gave Jenna a wide berth. Sheba did her best to hide in Piers' shadow, hoping that she could somehow go unnoticed. A moment later, karma slapped Sheba in the face.

Garet, who was still half asleep, released a startled yelp as he slipped off the plank and fell ten feet down and collided sickeningly with the ice below.

"Garet!" Ivan shouted, rushing down to his friend.

He knelt down at Garet's side, and turned him onto his stomach, and blanched. Garet's forearm bent in at almost a thirty-degree angle, and the bone protruded from his skin, splintered. The snow beneath him began to take on a deep, sanguine hue.

"Ohmigosh, that's so gross," said Jenna, shivering in revulsion.

Garet began to laugh hysterically. The rest of the group looked on in shock.

"Garet," asked Ivan, "what's the matter with you, man? Your bone is poking out of your arm."

"Aw, man, I know! Haha, look at it! It's so awesome! Oooohh..." he said as he poked his forearm, "nasty!"

He began laughing hysterically again.

"He's pain-drunk, Ivan," Isaac responded. "I guess we worry about Felix and Mia tomorrow. If they've made it this long, they can make it one more night. Let's take care of Garet. Ivan, run back inside and wake up Kraden, get the table upstairs ready. We're going to need space to work."

He nodded and hurried off to Kraden's room.

"Piers, can you help me pick him up? Girls, you too. We need to carry him back on to the ship."

It's a good idea to get Ivan away from him, even if it's just for a moment, thought Isaac. He's going to get too worked up around Garet.

Sheba, with a face as pale as a ghost, steadied Garet's head, while Piers and Isaac clasped hands underneath his back. Jenna led them up the ramp, carrying his feet. Ivan and Kraden met them at the door. Kraden looked as somber as Isaac had ever seen him. They guided him carefully through the entryway and placed him on the table.

Kraden deftly cut off Garet's sleeve and extended the injured limb. Kraden looked to Isaac.

"Well, Isaac," he asked simply, "what do we do now?"

The rest of the group looked at Isaac as well.

Isaac, standing on Garet's left side, bit his bottom lip as he mumbled, "Give me a minute..."

He racked his brain, thinking about what to do for his best friend. What did he know about broken bones? He knew that the village healers handled them fairly easily, and not all of them were as gifted as Mia.

Where was Mia when her healing abilities were badly needed? She wouldn't be struggling with something as small as a broken bone, certainly. She would already be halfway done.

Focus, he thought to himself. What have I seen? What have I heard about broken bones? I know that you have to set them... I know someone will have to knock Garet out. Um...

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do," said Isaac. "First, Garet needs to be totally unconscious ten seconds ago. Piers?"

"Happy to oblige," said Piers, who promptly thumped Garet on the head with the pommel of his sword.

"Not exactly advanced medicine," he grimaced, "but it will do for now."

"We have to work fast, everybody," said Isaac. "Someone else needs to put his bone back in place while I try to heal him. Anybody want to volunteer?"

No one seemed particularly interested in touching the sinew-laced mess protruding from Garet's forearm.

"I'll do it," said Sheba with the slightest shiver. "I saw some of the people in Lalivero do it once. I think I remember how..."

Her skin began to crawl as her hands went across the just-opened flesh and bone. Her face took on a pale green hue, but she fought her nausea down as she pulled the skin back and pushed the bone into place, careful to push muscles, ligaments, and tendons aside as she did so. The bone fit like a puzzle piece. She pulled her hands, now covered with blood, away, and took a step back. This time, her nausea overcame her. She turned around, fell to her knees, and retched on the floor.

"Ivan," said Isaac, nodding in Sheba's direction as he poured his Psynergy into Garet's body, "take care of her, please."

Ivan acquiesced, and knelt down behind Sheba, massaging her back as she continued to throw up on the floor.

Isaac refocused on Garet. The cogs within his mind churned, processing what had already happened and deciding what to do next.

"Can anyone sew?" asked Isaac.

"What kind of question is that?" Jenna blurted. "Look at his arm!"

"I'll do the stitches, Isaac," said Kraden. "I've picked this up living by myself for my entire life."

"Oh, right..." said Jenna.

Kraden removed his ever-present brown cloak and placed it on the nearby couch, atop Sheba's makeshift bed. He walked wordlessly over to the storage cabinet, and removed a small sewing kit. He produced a needle and threaded it deftly.

"Jenna, will you heat the needle, please?" Kraden said with impressive focus.

The glow of her Psynergy was barely perceptible as she fired a small but intense blue flame over the tip of the needle. After about ten seconds, she stopped the heat, and Kraden began to work, threading the needle back and forth through the gash that ran the length of Garet's forearm. Small beads of sweat began to form on the wizened scholar's forehead as he weaved Garet's skin back together. Piers and Jenna pushed the separate sides of their injured friend's skin back together as Kraden worked, while Isaac poured his Psynergy into Garet's body like a waterfall.

Behind them, Sheba trembled as she stood back up. Ivan offered his shoulder, and she accepted. The beleaguered wind Adepts stood quietly behind their friends, watching breathlessly as Kraden wove Garet's future back together.

The sweat on Kraden's forehead intensified, but his focus didn't waver. Nine stitches later, Kraden put the needle down and wiped his brow.

"It is finished. I think... I've had all I can handle for tonight," he laughed wearily. "I'm going to go back to sleep."

He meandered lazily out the door of the common room and down into the bowels of the ship, where a warm bed waited for him.

The rest of the group barely heard him, as their attention was centered on Garet, but in reality, they were quite the sight themselves.

Isaac was near his breaking point, covered in sweat and breathing as if he had just finished a marathon. Sheba looked like death, and it was because of Ivan alone that she stood. Jenna and Piers were both utterly drenched in blood, like a scene from a graphic 90's horror movie.

Jenna couldn't help it. She laughed, raucously. She had spent the previous two hours in her room, letting her frustration with Sheba, Garet, and Ivan broil, telling herself all sorts of crazy things about how she was going to show them, and let them have it, vindicating her rage.

A half hour of blood and guts later, it didn't really seem important anymore. Nothing but this moment seemed important anymore. She was just happy to have her friends. Even in all of their faults, in all of their failings, in all the glory of their imperfect adolescence, they were her friends. Her face blossomed into a ear-to-ear grin as her glee continued to spill over.

Piers caught her eye, and her contagious, feminine laughter convinced him to pop a smile as well, a smile which soon turned to a gleam and then erupted into a deep wooping. Ivan caught the disease too, and Isaac quickly followed. Even Sheba managed a feeble chuckle as some of the color returned to her face. Jenna laughed and laughed and laughed. She laughed until she couldn't breath, until she cried.

As the mixed tears of mirth and regret flowed down her face, she pulled Piers into a tight embrace. Piers looked surprised – and a little winded – for a moment, but then embraced Jenna as well, and beckoned the rest of the group to join. Isaac exhaled deeply, and hugged his two friends tightly as well. Ivan helped Sheba over, and they joined in the huddle.

In the middle of the pile, Jenna's tears turned entirely to those of happiness. As she did, she felt a warm hand slide itself into her grip. She looked around, and caught Isaac's eye, who squeezed her hand tightly when she did so. She smiled brightly.

"Everyone..." she said.

They split apart, savoring the warmth of the moment. After a moment, Ivan spoke.

"I'm gonna get Sheba to bed. W-who's go-oh-oh-ing to watch Garet?" he yawned. "He's gonna wake up pretty soon and I'm guessing it won't be very fun."

"Jenna and I will take care of that," said Piers, "assuming Jenna is ok with it."

"Yeah, just let me wash myself up first," she said, looking down at her hands and arms with disgust. "I've never had so much blood on me in my entire life... Ugh! So gross!"

She walked over to the nearby sink and began to wash the grime from her arms.

"Me too," Piers agreed.

"Well done, everyone," said Isaac. "His arm looks good, by any standard. I'll get some ice from outside and then we'll... Woah!" he exclaimed as he fatigue and dizziness overtook him, and he stumbled backward.

He grabbed hold of Sheba's couch-bed to prop himself up.

"I'll take care of him," said Jenna from the sink.

She hoisted his arm over his shoulder with a smile.

"C'mon, let's go to – oof – bed," she said, as his weight came down on her after his first step.

She lifted him back up to a comfortable position on her shoulder, and led the blond seventeen-year-old down the stairs to his room, where she set him down gently on his bed. It was still unmade from his hurried wake-up earlier. Isaac took two deep breaths to steady himself. Jenna made her way out of his room.

"Good night, Isaac," she said as she moved to shut the door.

"Wait!" said Isaac.

His right hand unconsciously drifted closer to the door.

Jenna stopped and turned around. Her left leg stood crossed behind her right, and she gently rested her hands on the doorframe and the knob. The fact that she was so beautiful didn't help Isaac overcome his nervousness.

"Can we talk about... y-you know... what Sheba said, uh, earlier?" he asked.

"Um, y-yeah, sure, I guess," she replied, closing the door and stepping back over to his bed. "What do you want to... talk about?"

She sat down on the bed next to him, just outside of an arm's reach.

"I dunno, just... how you feel about this whole thing, I guess."

Jenna's finger drew and erased circles in the flannel covering on Isaac's bed.

"Well... this whole thing is a mess," she said.

"Ha, yeah, obviously," Isaac chuckled nervously.

"I guess it's... well... more than a little sudden, too."

She began to draw figure-eights. Isaac gave a small nod of agreement. She bit her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry, I'm totally beating around the bush here... I don't know how... how to say this, Isaac, but... I-I... well, Sheba is my best friend, so I've... told her, um, everything, and that i-includes how I feel about you."

Jenna felt a curious sensation in her chest. If she had the ability to describe it, she would have said that it felt like her rapid heartbeat was restricting her breathing, but also that she had never before been so keenly aware of the clarity of each breath.

She straightened the back of her hair nervously. She had taken her ponytail out as soon as they had finished working. Isaac's bright blue eyes might as well have been x-rays. He rarely blinked, and she couldn't help but think that he already knew exactly how she felt about him. She stood there with a naked soul, trying to confess.

"I like you. I have for a long time, too. When Sheba... When Sheba told everyone earlier tonight, I couldn't believe it. She promised she wouldn't even bring it up again, when I told her. It took her forever to get it out of me, too. I kept denying it until we got to Jupiter Lighthouse, but after that, we talked one night... I told her everything. I didn't plan on telling you. I hadn't seen you in such a long time, and I didn't think there was any way you would like me back... But now that it's all out in the open anyway... Oh, you probably hate me now!"

She stared straight at the floor, trying not to tear up.

"Jenna, I like you too."

"Stupid Sheba!" Jenna fumed, "I knew you wouldn't... wait, you like me?"

"Yeah, since forever. That's why I left Vale. I didn't really feel like a special hero or anything... I just wanted to... I dunno... This is gonna sound stupid... save you, I guess."

"Isaac," she said, with her brown, puppy-dog eyes, "that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

He gleamed brightly. She smiled too.

"I'd give you a hug, Isaac, but..."

She spread her arms out and grimaced as she looked down at her blood-covered body.

"It's ok," said Isaac. "I'll probably be asleep before you could get back, so... good night, Jenna."

"Good night, Isaac." she replied.

She turned off the light in his room and began to pull the door shut. Before she left the room, she poked her head back inside. A stray beam of moonlight shone through the small, round window on Isaac's wall. That small moonbeam illuminated an even brighter smile on his face. With a head full of deviousness, she quietly snuck back into the room...

Isaac was mostly asleep before he hit the pillow.

Mostly asleep. Not all asleep. Mostly asleep meant he was slightly conscious.

And indeed, he was semi-conscious when he sunk into his pillow. He remained in this state of half-sleep for about ten seconds.

When Isaac woke up the next morning, he couldn't remember for sure, but he could have sworn that just before he fell asleep, he felt a soft pair of lips gently kiss his cheek.

Over the course of the night, Garet only woke once. He was in pain, but Piers procured one of the group's precious potions and administered some of the potent panacea to the area around the stitches, and allowed Garet to drink the rest. The potion allowed Garet to sleep soundly until the next morning.

Ivan had taken the second shift of Garet-sitting, and when dawn's sunbeams first became visible over the mountains to the north, Ivan began to wake up the rest of the group. About fifteen minutes later, they all stood on the deck, dressed in their boots and snow gear. Piers flew the ship around the cliffs and the lone mountain that stood between them and the explosion of light that they had seen the previous night.

The landed behind a small snow dune, and decided to take the rest of the trek on foot, to leave Garet and Kraden away from any danger. From the ground, however, they encountered a small problem. Over the wide, identical snowdrifts, everything looked the same.

"So..." said Ivan, "somebody knows where we're going, right?"

"I got this," said Jenna.

She drew in a large breath, and yelled, "FE-LIX!"

They all stood still, straining their ears. No response was forthcoming.

Jenna continued to call as they made their way northwest. For ten minutes, they continued with no results.

"Come on guys, help me!" she pleaded.

"FE-LIX!" she called again.

"JENNA!" the distance finally shouted back, from directly in front of them.

They all ran up the snowdrift in front of them. Waiting for them at the top was the sight of a hut, which stood in the snow barely fifty meters away, with Felix in front it. Immediately afterward, Mia appeared from the door.

They all took off from the hill at a sprint. Jenna arrived first and nearly knocked her brother to the ground with a ferocious bear hug.

"Felix... Y-you made it... I thought I lost you. You promised me you would never do that again!"

She pulled him tighter.

"You've lost some weight," said Jenna, pulling her head away from his chest briefly.

"I know," said Felix. "We've been rationing the food. Believe it or not, Phoenix tastes rather good, but not as good as their eggs do. Especially scrambled."

She rolled her eyes and hugged him tighter.

Mia hugged both Ivan and Isaac tenderly.

"Where's Garet?" she asked, concerned.

"He's... on the ship," said Ivan. "He took a nasty fall last night. He broke his arm. It went all the way through his skin and everything."

Ivan paused for a moment.

"Come to think of it," he pondered aloud, "isn't that the same arm he hurt jumping after Mia?"

"You're right! It was his left arm, just like last time," Isaac said.

Mia looked hurt.

"It isn't your fault, Mia," assuaged Ivan. "He just fell off the plank when it was all wet and slippery."

That's what she said, Ivan thought to himself.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

"He's... stable?" Ivan asked Isaac.

"Stable," Isaac agreed, "but we do need you to take a look at him when you get back. We did surgery on him. It was really gross..."

"But really cool!" Ivan interrupted.

"I was gonna say nerve-wracking," said Isaac dryly, "but I guess cool works."

"We should get going then," said Felix, who came up with Jenna and Sheba. "We can catch up back on the boat. I suspect we'll all have plenty of stories to tell."

You got that right, thought Isaac.

Well, that was the end of an ENORMOUS chapter. Over 4000 words! That was a behemoth! Hope you all enjoyed it!

A few things...

First, did anyone besides me laugh at Ivan's joke?

Second, I made an allusion to a great movie by the name of The Princess Bride. Did anyone catch it?

I tried as best I could to shorten this chapter, but I had to put Felix and Mia back in before the end of it. There are some more deep conversations that should be coming along in the next chapter. Expect the following: Sheba and Jenna, Mia and Jenna, Sheba and Ivan/maybe-Garet, and Isaac and Felix (possibly). I tried not to draw this out any longer than necessary. Trust me, I know that I cut short some reunion conversations. Expect the next chapter to be very heavy on the dialogue (at which, conveniently, I suck).

Any thoughts on the quality of thewriting of this chapter? I appreciate everyone who comments on the story, but my writing needs more improvement than my storyline does, at this point... I'd appreciate it.

I'll hopefully update very soon. I have another long car trip coming up, so I'll have plenty of time to write!

Once again, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all of my readers, and especially my reviewers. You guys are the absolute best!