I can't write battle scenes to save my life, so I apologize for the anti-climatic encounter at the Jupiter Lighthouse. It really sucks! As of this writing, my party in the game is at level 47 (!), so I based Ivan, Garet and Isaac's attacks on that.
Disclaimer: Just your average fan writing a fan fiction, that's all. Camelot owns all the characters and all the copyrights. Hooray for them!
*Chapter 9*
The following day, the Adepts stood before the mighty, towering structure of the Jupiter Lighthouse. It radiated an intense energy, and it crackled slightly with charged electricity. A placard by the door caught Ivan's attention while the others gawked at the building.
"'This gate shall yield only to the one with the blood of Jupiter who bears the Rod of the Ancients,'" he read aloud. He fumed. "We need the Shaman's Rod! I forgot that I gave it to Saturos back at the Venus Lighthouse!"
Sheba giggled playfully and reached into her pack. "You mean this Shaman's Rod?" she asked, pulling it out.
"How'd you get that?" Garet questioned.
"Felix told me to hang onto it," Sheba replied. She smiled at Ivan. "It was very sweet of you to give it up to save me, Ivan. I know how important it is to you."
"Don't mention it," Ivan said, blushing slightly. He stepped up to the door and tapped it with the end of the rod. A powerful gust of wind whistled by as the door to the Lighthouse slowly slid open.
"Nicely done, Ivan," said Isaac. "Now let's hurry."
A short distance away, Felix and Alex watched their adversaries disappear into the Lighthouse. Once the coast was clear, the two of them entered the tower as well and rushed to beat everyone else to the Aerie.
"Isaac?" Jenna asked timidly as they ascended the tower. "You're not going to fight my brother, are you?"
Sometimes it was easy to forget that Jenna was Felix's sister. "I don't want to, Jenna," Isaac said honestly. "But I have to stop him no matter what. You understand, right?"
Jenna nodded. "I know. But I hope you realize that I can't fight him."
"Me either," Sheba added. "I understand that Felix is your enemy, but he also saved my life. I can't take sides in this battle."
The boys nodded. "That's OK, Sheba," said Ivan. "We wouldn't want either of you to fight him if you don't want to."
"What about Alex?" Garet asked.
"He's fair game," both of the girls said together.
Despite the usual pratfalls and monster attacks typical of all the Lighthouses, they got to the Aerie in record time. The flame wasn't lit just yet, but Felix and Alex were standing right next to the pit. Felix was holding the Mythril bag with the Jupiter Star, and they only seemed to be waiting for their pursuers.
"You're late," Alex teased.
"How the heck did you get here before us?" Garet demanded. "Ivan opened the door!"
"What can I say--we're just faster than you are," said Alex. "Now you can watch as we light the Jupiter flame."
"Not so fast," Isaac said. "What have you done with Mia? I thought you were going to bring her with you."
"Well, we ran into a bit of trouble," said Felix. "The Jupiter Star was stolen from us and we had to get it back. Your friend turned out to be the perfect thing to trade for it."
"You gave Mia away like a piece of property?" Ivan cried. "How could you be so heartless?"
"I didn't have much choice," Felix said. "I wasn't dealing with ordinary thieves--they knew how valuable the Star was. I had to offer them something of similar worth and Mercury Adepts are a rare commodity."
"And you couldn't trade Alex instead?" Jenna asked. "Felix, what's wrong with you?"
"I resent that, Jenna," said Alex indignantly. "You treat me like this after all the help I've been to you and your dear brother?"
"We never asked for your help!" Jenna growled.
Isaac drew the Gaia Blade. "Where is she?" he demanded.
"You'd be wise to forget about her," said Alex. "She's as good as dead by now anyway."
"Sad but true," Felix added. "My apologies, Isaac. I was going to trade her to you for the Mars Star, but fate had other plans, I guess."
Rage overtook Isaac's better judgment. He lunged for Felix sword first, desiring reparation for what he'd done to Mia. Felix quickly countered and the sound of clashing metal echoed across the Aerie. Not wanting to be left out, Garet set his sights on Alex, but the crafty Mercury Adept was a step ahead of him. A tidal wave washed over the Aerie, blasting Garet, Jenna, Ivan and Sheba to the other side. Alex snickered.
"You aren't even a challenge."
"You were always too cocky," Sheba said, rising. She lifted her staff and cast Spark Plasma, sending a barrage of purple bolts in Alex's direction. Ivan looked at her in surprise.
"Where'd you learn to do that?"
"You mean you don't know that attack Ivan?" she asked. "I'll have to teach it to you sometime--it's very useful."
Slightly embarrassed, Ivan cast Tempest to show off his own power. Jenna and Garet cast Dragon Fire and Inferno respectively, though they knew that such attacks wouldn't pose much of a threat to a water master such as Alex.
An icy mist settled around them, quelling the flames and winds. "I hope those weren't your best shots," said Alex. "You can't beat me like that. And two fire Adepts aren't even worth my time, so why don't you just give up?"
"Hey, I don't need Psynergy to beat you," Garet declared, brandishing his sword. "Are you afraid to fight us fairly?"
"We've got you outnumbered," Jenna added, standing next to Garet.
"Why, Jenna, aren't you worried about your brother?" Alex said mockingly. "He seems to be in a bit of a fix."
The others looked over to the far side of the Aerie. Sure enough, Isaac had pinned Felix underneath him and had the Gaia Blade pointed at his throat.
"Go ahead and do it," said Felix. "Do it if you've got the guts."
"Where's Mia?" Isaac asked in a low, steady voice. "Who did you give her to?"
Felix laughed slightly. "You haven't changed at all--still letting your heart do all the talking. How did you ever manage to destroy Saturos with that tender soul of yours, anyway?"
Isaac pressed his sword a little further, growing steadily more impatient and angry. "For the last time--what did you do with Mia?"
"She's in Tartarus," Felix said. "It's a village not far from here, but good luck getting her out of there. That is, assuming she's still alive." He smirked a bit. "Now that you know, you'll never get a better chance to kill me. So just get it over with."
Even with the tip of his blade in the prime position to put an end to his quest, Isaac hesitated. Despite everything Felix had already done and his insistence of lighting the remaining Lighthouses, he was still an old friend from the past. And however angry he was with Jenna, Felix was still her only family. What right did Isaac have to kill him?
Felix sensed the apprehension behind the sword. He seized the opportunity and flipped Isaac over his head. "You are too soft for this sort of thing, Isaac," he said as he stood up. He took out the Jupiter Star again and hurled it towards the pit.
"NO!" the others cried. But it was too late--the Star fell into the Lighthouse and a beam of purple light shot up from the pit.
"Too bad for you," Felix said. "I'll find a way to get the Mars Star from you the next time we meet."
"Fat chance of that!" Garet barked. "This isn't over!"
"We look forward to it then," said Alex, going to Felix. "Until we meet again, adieu." And they both disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"Shoot!" Garet fumed. "We couldn't even stop them from lighting the flame!"
"Um, I hate to interrupt you, Garet," Ivan began. "But if what happened at the Venus Lighthouse is any indication, we should get out of here before the flame fully ignites."
Since the tower started to shake at that moment, the others heeded his suggestion and they made a swift retreat. From a safe distance below, they watched as the purple light of Jupiter shone across the sky. It was quite beautiful, but a pall of despair settled upon the group as they realized that they'd failed once again.
"Well, at least we know they can't light the Mars Lighthouse just yet," said Sheba. "That's some comfort."
"I blew it," Isaac said softly. "I could've taken the Jupiter Star right then and there, but I let my feelings get the best of me. I'm such an idiot."
"No, Isaac," said Jenna. "Thank you for sparing Felix. I know you're still mad at me for what I did to Mia, but I also know that you didn't kill him because of me. I'm truly grateful."
"Felix is the real idiot," Garet sighed, frustrated. "He didn't even tell us what he did with Mia."
"To trade her away like a used possession…" Ivan trailed. "That's simply despicable."
"It's all right," said Isaac. "I did manage to pry that much out of Felix. She's in some nearby town called 'Tartarus.'"
Jenna and Sheba both gasped.
"What kind of place has a name like that?" Garet wondered.
"Felix, you didn't…" Jenna whispered.
"Poor Mia!" Sheba exclaimed. "No wonder Alex told us she was as good as dead!"
"You know about Tartarus?" Ivan asked.
Sheba nodded. "Saturos and Menardi mentioned it a few times in passing. They came from Tartarus. It is the village of their Fire Clan."
There was a stunned pause. "This is some crazy joke, right?" Garet asked in disbelief. "You're just pulling my leg, aren't you, Sheba?"
"I wish I were," she replied.
"Maybe the other members of the Fire Clan aren't like Saturos?" Ivan suggested, grasping for some sort of hope.
Jenna shook her head. "Felix told me about that place once. He said that the members of the Fire Clan were the most powerful and ruthless people he'd ever met, just like Saturos and Menardi. He said that he wouldn't put anything past them, no matter how twisted or cruel. And Mia's a Mercury Adept too--their least favorite kind of person!"
Isaac paced a ways away, lost in daze. His chest felt tight and he couldn't catch his breath. How could anyone do something as awful as sending Mia into the clutches of Saturos's clan? What would those monsters do to her? And how would he save her from such a dreadful place? His heart ached with longing and fear as he sunk to his knees. If he had missed her before, then now his entire soul was wracked with pain as if a chunk of it had been ripped out. This wasn't right! Mia didn't deserve such an awful fate. If either of them had to be taken, it should've been him for failing to protect her in the first place. It couldn't end this way! He had to see her again, to hold her again, even if only for one short, fleeting moment.
"Do you know where Tartarus is?" he asked, swallowing his inner terror.
"Not exactly," Sheba said. "But if Felix said it's not far, than we should be able to find it without too much trouble."
"But how are we going to get Mia out of there even if we do find it?" Jenna asked.
"We'll worry about that later," said Isaac. "First, we have to find Tartarus. We'll come up with a plan after that." Mia, he thought. I'm not going to give up on you. I'll move heaven and earth itself to get you back.
Mia hugged her knees tighter to her chest for warmth. Her dank prison cell was cold even for someone raised in the arctic wilderness. Of course, it didn't help that her jailers had taken away her warm cape and robes, leaving her with only the thin slip she wore underneath them. They'd taken everything she had that looked remotely valuable, including the silver clip she wore in her hair and her precious ring. She didn't have much feeling left in her fingers, but they felt even colder without that reminder of happiness and safety.
She'd been here for only two days and she was already starving, filthy and completely exhausted. The Fire Clan had gladly traded the Jupiter Star for her when they realized that she was a Mercury Adept. They'd had her heal all the ailments in the village, which had ranged from splinters to pneumonia. She hadn't had enough power to do all of it, and when she'd begged for a rest, they refused to give her one. Quite the opposite--they'd poked her with their weapons to force her to keep going. They didn't care about how draining it was to cast various healing Psynergies hundreds of times without a break. When she'd finally finished, she'd barely had the strength to breathe.
After that, they'd tossed her into this cell. It was barely large enough for her to lie down and consisted of nothing more than four stone walls, a heavy iron door, and a cold dirt floor. The only light came from the tiny crack underneath the door, and even then it wasn't very bright because the corridor beyond wasn't lit. The whole place reeked of human remains and death, but she never heard another soul except for the occasional clompings of the prison guards. Just once, a slot in the door had slid aside and someone had tossed her a lump of rock-hard bread--hardly enough to help her recover her strength. But then, she hadn't expected that the Fire Clan would treat her very well in the first place. The moment Felix had mentioned them she'd known she was in dire trouble, and now she knew exactly where she stood here. They would use her powers to suit their needs until she slowly wasted away to nothing.
Too bad one couldn't take on an entire village single-handedly. She shut her eyes and tried to imagine herself someplace else. Anywhere was better than this dark and lonely prison. She wanted to be back on the ship. She wanted a full meal, a hot bath and a day's sleep in her soft bed.
But more than any of those things, she wanted Isaac.
Now all alone in the cold and dark of this solitary cell, she missed him so much that her entire being hurt. The sheer emptiness of this prison swallowed her up and made it all too easy to fall into the trap of fear and despair that threatened to drain away what remained of her will. How would he ever find her here? He didn't even know where she was. And even if he did find this place, how could he get her out when this was the home of the Fire Clan?
And then there were the things Alex had told her. What if Isaac really was dead? This awful, horrible thought felt like a knife twisting in her heart. If that were true, then she had no hope of rescue at all. But what would her freedom be worth without Isaac to share it with? To never see his eyes, hear his voice, or feel his strong arms around her again would be a worse fate than the one the Fire Clan had planned for her. A life without him wouldn't be worth living.
Isaac, where are you? Mia kept wondering over and over. She felt for her ring, but it wasn't there to remind her of his vow. That promise seemed like the stuff of dreams, something too beautiful to exist in this lonely darkness. Please let him be OK, she thought. I can find a way to survive in this place, but only if there's a chance I can see him again--even if it's only for a single, fleeting moment.
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Impossible odds, fear, longing, despair, heartache--did I leave anything out? Well, if I did, remind me to include it in Chapter 10!