Disclaimer: Still don't own Golden Sun. Oh, well.

A/N: This part in the game took me a very long time! I couldn't stand leaving Hammet, but I had the hardest time!

We stayed in our little line, keeping our hands tightly linked so the Psynergy would hide all of us. Two bright torches made us visible, but there weren't any guards around to see.

We slipped back into the cover of darkness and I breathed a sigh of relief. Holding a finger to my lips, although I wasn't sure if the others could see me, I led the way past two heavily tattoed guards. They were talking to each other, casually, about what I didn't bother to try and hear. I almost touched the nearer one as I brushed by.

Finally, we had to walk into the torchlight. I hoped desperately that the guards wouldn't see me, and walked out of the shade. They didn't notice.

We slunk into the next room. A guard leaned against the wall, looking right at us. Of course, it was impossible for him to see us in the cloak of night. Behind the wall, we reentered the torchlight and walked through a doorway.

An old man was sitting on a barrel, humming tunelessly. Luckily, he didn't spot us. We backed out of the room hastily.

Back into the darkness.

I'm afraid of the dark...remarked Sap, scaring me so badly I tripped and fell. The guard turned his head, trying to find the source of the noise.

Sap, what is it with you and scaring the wits out of me? I demanded angrily, pulling myself up and looking at the others. They were visible now, since Garet had lost hold of my hand. I grabbed his tightly again, and with my other hand fished out Babi's ball. I concentrated...

We were invisible in the dark once more, and we sneaked by the guard with no trouble. Even loud Garet's footsteps were soft.

The next room didn't seem to have a guard, so we started off to the south. Bad idea. A guard came trooping toward us, and, helpless, the light caught the edge of my toe. We were doomed.

"Who are you?" called the guard, his voice shaking slightly. He whistled, loud and clear. I stood frozen as the guards grabbed us and tossed us back outside.

"And stay out!" I heard the guard call.

I stood up and dusted myself off. I helped the others up and we became invisible again. We sneaked past the front guards with no problem, and the two tattoed guards had fallen asleep.

We made it back to the room we'd been caught in, but waited for the patrolling guard to pass in the other direction. When he did, I jerked Garet's hand and ran.

"Everyone all right?" I whispered.

The nearest guard shook. "Who's there!"

Garet leaned near to my ear. "We're all here."
I nodded. The guard's torchlight blocked the next passage, so we stumbled up some stairs instead. Sap was still whimpering in my mind.

Rudely, I mentally shouted, Shut up, Sap!

His whimpering ceased quickly.

Guards quickly patrolled this corridor, and it was hard for all of us to pass at once. We managed it, though Ivan almost got seen by the last guard.

Straight ahead of us was a door, but we'd learned that unguarded doors just weren't worth it. The next door wasn't guarded, either, but we gave it a try.

Three guards, all wearing red bandannas, waited for us. We immediately walked into the torchlight just for entering the room.

"Who are you?" demanded a guard.

"They're here to get Hammet back!" cried another.

"Yeah!" agreed the last. "What bold rascals! Dodonpa will be livid if we lose our prized captive!"

"Yeah, we'll be in for it if we let these kids get away." agreed another.

During this discussion, we were slowly sliding out the door. The nearest one noticed that and glared at us.

"You're not going anywhere, kid!" he snarled. The three of them advanced on us, clearly ready to attack.

One lunged at me, but I dodged it. "Gaia!"

The guards yelped as a ton of rocks were dumped on them. Garet looked impressed. "I didn't know you could do that!"

I blinked. "I didn't either."

Garet shrugged and shot a massive fireball at them. "How can you not know?"
I rolled my eyes. "You didn't use to be able to throw fireballs! I think it's just practice, that's all. Watch out!"
A singed guard barely missed Garet.

Ivan shrugged. "If this is a battle of Psynergy..." He left the rest unspoken as a huge thunderstorm moved in atop the guards.

I cringed. The thunderstorm reminded me that we weren't on our way to saving Jenna. I pushed the thought from my mind as Mia called up an ice storm.

I felt a sharp pain and I saw one of the thieves looking at me triumphantly.

I gritted my teeth, bearing the pain. Flint!

A fast moving, yee-hahing, golden Djinni shot out, laughing insanely. The thief batted at Flint helplessly.

"Thieves?" muttered Scorch, jets of flame shooting out at the guards.

"Omigosh, thieves!" shrieked Squall. "Lunpa thieves! The famous righteous-"
"Be quiet!" Ivan cried.

Squall complied, settling for zooming at one of the thieves. He froze, unable to move.

Mist yawned. "Wow, those fellows need to learn the values of beauty sleep!"

All three collapsed after those powerful attacks. Mia smiled. "Wish!"

My wound from the guard's blade healed before my eyes, and I felt the pain ease away. "Thanks, Mia."

We left the unconscious guards, linked hands, and used the cloak ball again. But we had no choice but to step out into the light and face the guard. His face contorted.

"The scoundrels searching for Hammet!"

I know all four of us tried not to hurt him too badly, but if you'd heard some of the names he called us in battle..

"Simpkin," he jeered when Garet missed hitting him. That earned him a nice shower in ice from Mia.

"Idiot!" he called as he dodged Ivan's attack. Gust was quite angry.

"Fool!" he taunted when he rolled away from my attack. His reward was a fierce Ragnarok.

And he called us worse, too, some names I care not to mention. When he lay unconscious on the floor, I felt my heart stop pounding, and we continued through the door he'd blocked. Who I guessed to be old Donpa and a nurse were in there. Donpa was asleep. We backed out of the room, not wanting to wake the ruler of Lunpa.

We went through another door with another patrolling guard. I headed in the wrong direction the first time and almost got caught.

We emerged in a cell, the key beyond our reach. Another guard leaned against the wall, whistling.

"What do we do?" wailed Ivan almost silently.

I shrugged. "I've got no-wait a second! Yes, I do!" I dug in my pack frantically.

"What are you looking for?" Mia demanded, watching the guard carefully.

I finally found what I was looking for-Mother's prized beads. I strung them round my neck, feeling slightly ridiculous, and reached out mentally.

The invisible hand reached...reached...and grabbed the key. I caught it in my hand and started fumbling with the lock.

It finally unlocked, but the noise drew the guard over. It was time for another battle. Ivan, the nearest, attacked! His rapier flashed in the torchlight. I lunged, but he dodged it, laughing. His sword found Mia, but he also earned a whack in the head with her staff and a perhaps stronger than normal blow from Garet.

Ramses!

"Oh, by, a Ludba thief!" observed Fever.

Deadly arrows from Ivan's Atalanta hit the thief. He howled.

"Fear me, the mighty Hail!"

The guard finally wavered and fell. We walked down the stairs. And then down another flight of stairs.

Ivan rushed ahead and tried the door. "It's locked!"

Mia smiled. "Why not try over here? Whirlwind?"

Ivan looked at a pile of leaves and shrugged. "It's worth a try."
Garet made a scoffing noise when they blew away harmlessly. "Next idea?"
"Wait..." I muttered. "Reveal..."
Ivan's eyes lit up. "Great idea! Reveal!" The Jupiter Adept reached out and touched something only he could see. The door swung open.

Inside, he dashed to the right. I struggled to keep up, finally giving up and trailing behind along with Garet and Mia. Ivan had disappeared when we reached the cave.

I broke into a run, and, reluctantly, so did the other two. We moved a box, and, after about fifteen minutes, we reached Lord Hammet.

The merchant was turned away from us, and when he heard us enter, he called, "Is it time to eat?"

"No! Master Hammet!" exclaimed Ivan excitedly.

Hammet turned around.

A look of awe appeared on Hammet's face. "Ivan, is that you?"

He nodded solemnly.

"These people, are they friends of yours?" Hammet ventured.

A slow smile crossed the Jupiter Adept's face. "Most definitely."

Hammet smiled too, a sort of lonely smile. "Then it would appear your journey has begun."

"Yes." answered Ivan simply. "I am a little late, but I have come to save you." The Adept's voice sounded awkward.

"You shouldn't have risked yourself, Ivan." scolded Hammet. "Tell me, how is Lady-"

"Hold it right there!"

A man's voice, sharp and cruel, rang out in the cell. A man who was unmistakably Dodonpa entered. His hair was dark, and he was sneering. His dark eyes were cold, and his mustache was set in an almost straight line, like his thin lips.

"Sorry to interrupt your teary little reunion!" he sneered.

I felt prickles of dislike crawl down my spine. This man was trouble.

"This must be your little rat, Ivan." spat Dodonpa. I opened my mouth to protest but he continued like the rest of us weren't even there. "You always did claim he'd rescue you! Look at him! He's just a child!"

Garet and Mia glared at him. Ivan shuffled his feet.

"But to think these children could get this far!"

He had gone too far. I was about to start when Garet interrupted. "Hey, if we're just kids, what does that make your pathetic thugs?" There was a challenge in my best friend's voice.

Ivan joined in. "What kind of scum takes ransom money and then doesn't free his hostage?"

Hammet gave a start. "So you've been extorting money from Layana!"

"Now that we've found Hammet, we're taking him back to Kalay!" I spoke up.

"And you can't stop us!" added Mia.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Dodonpa sneered. "Hammet is what I like to call my little money tree."
"You dirty scoundrel!" Garet spat.

"Name-calling won't help you!" Dodonpa smirked. "I'm not giving Hammet up!"
"We can do more than call names," I protested, unable to keep my loathing for this man out of my voice.

He sneered. "Then why don't you prove it?" Dodonpa reached over and pulled an unseen lever.

The ground began shaking, and the back passage opened up. I wondered what horrors this evil man had stored in here.

"This little trap here marks the end of your good fortune!" declared Dodonpa. A monster, about as tall as Garet, slithered out. It was a hideously deformed thing, big, bulbous eyes and a drooling tongue. It's body was blue and yellow striped.

"I like to call him Toadonpa!" shrieked Dodonpa, doubling over in laughter.

I took a deep breath. I imagined a huge earthquake. Toadonpa moaned as he hit the ceiling repeatedly. Suddenly, the ground stopped shaking and a barrage of bolts shot out from Ivan's outstretched hand.

Next a volcano erupted under the creature, and ice rained down upon it. Toadonpa made a gagging noise and let out some putrid smelling vomit near Mia. She shrieked and jumped over, toppling Garet.

Ragnarok!

"Fireball!"

"What do I do again?"
Ivan's voice was patient. "Kite, just give Isaac more time, all right?"
"Okay..."

Everything and everyone froze. Granite! Ground! Ragnarok!

"Freeze!" Ground called.

"Protected!" declared Granite.

"Ungh..." moaned Toadonpa, pinned down by Ragnarok.

Time moved again.

"Ugh, don't spit on me!" cried Ember in disgust. "Okay, your Psynergy is restored."
"A Toadonpa!" cried Squall excitedly. "It's an honor to beat you!"

"Stupid," muttered Sleet.

Sap!

"I'm scared of frogs!" whined Sap.

"It's a toad, not a frog," Scorch corrected. "I hate toads!"

"Unhand those virtuous, brave, chivalrous, wonderful, brave, kind, brave, intelligent, brave-"
"Gust, more fighting, less talking!" called out Ivan.

Spritz ran laps around us. "Healed!"

Flint!

"Yee-hah!" shrieked Flint, flying at Toadonpa. He moaned.

"Achoo!" sneezed Fever, flames flickering near him.

"Procne!" bellowed Ivan. Toadonpa was lifted up in a huge whirlwind where he was electrocuted by energy rays.

"Neptune!" summoned Mia. Water poured over Toadonpa.

"Oh, you don't stand a chance," stated Smog, fluttering over to Toadonpa.

"Judgement!" I called.

The ground rippled. Rocks and energy rays shot at Toadonpa. But still he didn't fall.

Toadonpa heaved again and vomited all over Garet. He looked disgusted.

"Ha-ha!" called Hail.

"Tiamat!" shouted Garet. A dragon flew into the cave and blew hot flames over Toadonpa. Toadonpa wavered...

And the monster fell. We stood there, in a line. Hammet was watching, entranced. Where was Dodonpa, I wondered?

"Uhnn!" a voice moaned. "Get it off me!"

Something underneath the monster wriggled.

"He tried to pull a dirty trick on you!" explained Hammet. "When Dodonpa saw his monster was losing, he tried to stab you in the back!"

Dodonpa groaned. "Just a second longer..."

"You dirty snake!" Ivan spat.

"Dodonpa, you are rotten to the core!" scolded Mia.

"Sure, fine, just get this thing off me! I'm sorry!"

"Get this thing off of me?" I repeated, winking.

Ivan caught on. "Oh, I don't know. That thing looks awfully heavy for us children to lift."

Mia smiled. "Yes, you're right. Should we even try?"

Garet shook his head. I copied his gesture.

"I agree," she agreed angrily. I was surprised. Mia was usually pretty gentle, and I was sure she'd argue. "What do you think, Lord Hammet?"

The merchant was staring at Dodonpa struggling. He paused, deeply in thought. "I think we have to try at least."

So each of us grabbed a leg and heaved. We moved it off Dodonpa easily. He still struggled. "I can't get up!"

"Did you break your leg?" Mia asked, her healer nature finally reappearing.

"I should be able to stand after a bit," Dodonpa assured her.

"Thank goodness," breathed Ivan.

"What do you mean, 'thank goodness'?" demanded Garet. I shared his sentiments. "He just tried to kill us!"

Mia sighed. "He said he was sorry. We have to forgive him."
For a moment I thought Garet would protest, but he gave in. "I guess you're right. But I still think he ought to be locked up like

he did to Hammet. What do you think, Isaac?"
I tore my eyes off of Dodonpa, helpless. "Yes,"

"Just leave him here like this for awhile!" requested a voice.

Donpa was standing in the doorway weakly.

"Father!" exclaimed Dodonpa.

Donpa staggered nearer. "Dodonpa..." he murmured. And then his tone changed. "You pitiful wretch! I always told you that if you did evil to others...others will do evil to you. You must right all of the misdeeds you've done! I feel bad for spoiling you. Look at the trouble it has caused!"
Dodonpa lifted his head. "See! It's all your fault that all this happened!" he accused.

"Yes, which is why this is going to hurt you more than it does me!" Donpa cried.

"You're not serious!" Dodonpa whined, sounding like a spoiled three-year-old.

"I most certainly am! You're going to spend some time here thinking about all you've done!" Donpa declared. He walked over to Hammet. "Dodonpa has caused you all sorts of trouble, hasn't he?"

"No, not at all!" lied Hammet gracefully.

Donpa smiled wisely. "I must apologize deeply for all of this."
"You don't need to apologize!" protested Hammet, though his eyes said differently.

"Then you forgive me?"
"Of course!" Hammet agreed.

Donpa smiled. "I am sorry about the trouble. You four-I have something that may help you. Please come over here."
We did.

The old ruler of Lunpa produced a Mercury Djinni from his pocket. "This is Tonic."
The Djinni looked frightened. "Are you sure you'll be okay without me? Are you sure I'll be okay?"
Donpa smiled "Yes, to both questions."
Mia walked forward and took Tonic in her hands. "Do you want to join your friends now? I've got Fizz, and Sleet, Spritz, Mist, and Hail!"
The Djinni brightened. "Fizz? I hope she's okay!" She disappeared.

"Also, please leave by the same means you came. Dodonpa's men will be on the lookout for you. I spread some rumors that brigands had snuck in to kidnap him, but failed and ran off. That way, now they won't let anyone down here to spot Dodonpa!" Donpa seemed delighted by his brilliance. "Plus, they have left to find the intruders!"

We said our goodbyes and headed out. "Retreat..."