The sound that broke the silence was a soft thunk of Jenna falling to her
knees, witnessing the town she called home flaming below her. Tears welled
within her purple irises and she began weeping nearly uncontrollably.
Felix and Garet moved quickly to console her, though they themselves both
had a hard time accepting what had happened. Isaac, whom never moved a
muscle since he first spotted the town, remained completely still, staring
down at the burning homes. Mia moved forward, and turned to face him; Mia
saw no emotion on the face of the warrior. Or perhaps, it was so many
emotions they all blended together; she couldn't be sure. One thing was
sure, she did feel the surge of emotion from Isaac, though he had no
intention of displaying it. Ivan, Dargon, and Triad were busy trying to
figure out what to do next; go down and see what was going on or to keep
moving.
"We're at a quandary here on this one, guys. What should we do?" Triad asked.
"Is this where your dreams told you to go, Ivan?"
"I think so. I think we need to investigate the area for any survivors. I just wish I knew what caused this."
"No matter. Let's go check it out, but we might want to leave Jenna up here with someone to look after her."
"She'll be fine." Felix responded, obviously overhearing their conversation. "I think she'd prefer to investigate than sit here." Triad shrugged at Felix's comment, but relented.
"Well, you seem to know Jenna better than any of us, so I guess if that's what she wants. . ."
"It is." She replied, halting her tears. "I want to find the people responsible for this and personally tear their arms out from their sockets!" She stood, Angelic Ankh in her left hand. "I'm going to go give whatever did this what-for!" Jenna shouted, eyes full of fire as she skidded down the rocky embankment to the burning Vale. Garet was notably surprised by the girl's quick change in emotion, but was the first to follow her down the hill. Isaac, soon realizing this was his battle too, jumped from his perch and tailed Garet closely. Mia, seeing Isaac moving quickly, did the same. Felix more deliberately waited a few moments and then followed; he managed to catch up in mere seconds to Isaac. Triad, Ivan, and Dargon, whom had been the furthest from the threshold anyway, were the ones in the back. Vale was within their reach moments later, when Jenna finally crossed the limits through the southern entrance. Garet came to her side seconds later, panting heavily. Isaac arrived seconds later, with Mia and Felix arriving at roughly the same time. Ivan was the next to arrive, followed by Triad, then the armor-clad Dargon. Isaac walked forward into the town, half-expecting to still smell the ambrosial bliss of the baker's pastries. The only thing he smelt was the hellish stench of brimstone, sulfur, and burning rotting flesh. His stomach leapt over several times as he struggled not to vomit from the awful stench of death. Night had now fallen in the town of Vale, but the burning homes provided eerie illumination to the town. He turned to his companions; Garet was looking quite green himself, while Felix and Jenna looked merely unsettled. Through inspection, he noticed Triad to be nowhere in sight; he soon found out why when he heard the sounds of retching moments later. Isaac, who was quite at distress, drew his Gaia Blade and walked carefully through the town, the others following, weapons in hands.
"What happened here?" Triad asked, having caught up and recovering from his nausea moments before. The arm in which he held his crystal sword was shaking slightly, showing his uneasiness to the situation. Isaac pitched his way down another street and was promptly attacked by an unknown creature. The creature grabbed him and attempted to bite out his throat, but he managed to shove it off by kicking it in the abdomen. Getting his focus, he realized it was a zombie; nothing he couldn't handle. Pushing his sword forward into attack position, he leapt at the creature, cleaving off its right arm, and then stabbing it in the chest. It fell to the ground moaning, before it ceased a moment after it had been downed.
"Isaac! What was that?!" Garet shouted.
"Zombie. The place must've been attacked by monsters." He said, after turning away and back to Garet. The large boy walked up and investigated Isaac's handiwork.
"Isaac, this isn't the work of monsters." He said, fear trembling in his voice.
"Then what was it?" He said, turning back.
"Take a look." Garet replied. The Venus Adept turned back to look at exactly what he had killed. It was a zombie all right, but in life it had brown hair and a mustache to match. The figure was very familiar. "Isaac, this was Mr. Carson; in life, at least." Isaac took a step back. It WAS Carson, the blacksmith in Vale. Why the hell was he a zombie, anyway? What the hell had happened here? He had no idea at all. "Isaac, something big happened here. Something big and evil. No wonder we could all sense it." Isaac nodded, but his reply was choked with the withholding of tears.
"Keep on your guard, Garet. We don't know how many other townsfolk got turned into zombies. Go warn the others. I'm going for a look around."
"Alone?"
"I'll be fine, Garet." Isaac pushed, pointing Garet back down the road he had come down. Isaac turned and continued his path. His oafish friend sighed and walked back down the path and rejoined the group.
Though when he caught up with the group, they were already engaged in a fierce battle; a large group of undead had ambushed them and were attacking from all sides. Garet had no time to lose; he drew his Swift Sword and leapt into battle by unleashing a Sonic Smash on an unsuspecting zombie. The battle remained short-lived when Ivan summoned his Tornado attack, sending the bodies of the undead in every direction, slaying each one on the spot.
"Nice work, Ivan." Mia said.
"Thanks. Garet, where's Isaac?"
"He's off looking for survivors. I suggest we split up into pairs and take a look around."
"If we do that, we'll have an odd man out." Triad replied.
"I'll go look for Isaac." Mia replied after a moment. "Don't worry about me; I can handle a few zombies on my own." She dashed off in the direction Isaac had left to, leaving the others behind. Dargon secretly rolled his eyes behind the visor of his Captain's Helmet; he knew those two were lovebirds from the start, but he had no idea that they were that hopeless. He guessed no one else in the group knew, save for Felix, that Isaac and Mia were in love with each other.
"Who's on the teams?" Ivan asked.
"Well, I better go with Garet to make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Jenna sighed.
"No one's asking you to be my partner, Jenna."
"You didn't hear me, did you, Garet?"
"Apparently not."
"Cut it out, you two." Triad said. "You two make a good team despite your bickering. All right, Ivan, you with me?"
"Fine by me." Ivan replied.
"Felix, you're with Dargon." Garet stated.
"Well duh, Garet! Who else would he be with?" Jenna asked.
"Knock it off, both of you!" Felix snapped. "Can't you stay serious for two minutes? Come on, Dargon." Felix said, marching off to the north.
"Right." He said, following.
"Jenna, you and I will look this way." Garet said, moving east.
"Well, I guess we go south." Triad concluded. Ivan nodded, and the three groups split apart.
*****************************
"I can't believe what's happened here." Ivan said. "It's like a nightmare." He glared down at the body of the zombie he just vanquished; it was a child. A young girl. He was ashamed at what he knew had to be done; he felt no better than one of the centaurs that had attacked Imil. Ivan was ready to lose his mind having to fight these abominations that were once human, and Triad looked the same way.
"I wish I knew what did this; it wasn't a bite from a zombie or anything; it looks like whatever caused this was magical in nature. Perhaps they were cursed." Triad remarked, sticking his blood-stained crystal sword back in its scabbard.
"If only we could know for sure."
"We've found no clues or traces of survivors. Now what?"
"I don't know. My senses are dulled right now."
"Probably from using your Psynergy so much. It's draining on one's body, Ivan. I'm not even an Adept and I know that."
"All I sense is evil. I wish I knew what the source of it was." Ivan said, looking to the north at Mount Aleph. "Could it be up there?"
"I doubt it, Ivan." Triad said. "Whatever caused it was definitely a creature of some sort, whether it was human or beast, I do not know." He continued, facing north as well. Both remained silent for a while before the winds carried a new voice to their ears.
"The dark wind howls; I sense a great danger that will plague the world unless it is stopped." Ivan and Triad spun on their heels to face their new arrival, and Ivan's visage lightened on sight of the figure. She was roughly his height, with the same color hair and eyes as himself. Her face was calm, neutral, and objective.
"Sheba! What are you doing here?"
"The same thing you are, Ivan. Following my instincts; it looks like I've arrived too late to help anyone." She returned, voice calm and even.
"No. This is far from over; I'll bet that this kind of thing might happen again." Ivan returned.
"Your instincts tell you so?" She inquired, tone unchanged.
"Yes."
"Then it must be so. I suggest finding the source of this plague first; I still sense it within the area. We must be cautious, however. This force could be bigger than all of us." Sheba returned.
"Excuse me, but I don't think been introduced. My name's Triad Orion, and you are?"
"My name is Sheba. It is nice to meet you, Triad."
"The pleasure is mine. So, I take it you know Ivan from his travels?"
"Yes, I do." Sheba replied, tone remaining very calm. Triad whispered close to Ivan's ear.
"Quiet type, isn't she?"
"Sometimes. She'll get used to you."
"I'm just not trustful of new people, Triad. It was thinking the other way that got me taken hostage twice." She returned.
"She heard us?"
"I'm a Jupiter Adept. Your mind is as loud and clear as a bell."
"Yikes! Hey, it was bad enough when I had Ivan here reading my mind, but now I got another person to worry about? Geez. . ." Sheba broke her objective facial expression and smiled.
"Ivan, your friend is funny. A bit stupid and a tad annoying, but funny."
"Hey!"
*****************************
Mia slowly walked though what remained of Vale's west side; not much remained at all. Most of the houses here had already been burned to the ground, and the bodies of several burned Valeans lay scattered amongst the rubble. Mia's heart ached at the sight of each dead body, but she imagined the pain would be twice as worse on Isaac's heart. Each second, the realization of what could've happened in Imil if Isaac hadn't been there to stop the siege. She knew that the exact thing would've happened in Imil, but her body would probably be amongst her people's. Shuddering, she sought only to find Isaac and see if she could comfort him. Mia continued to pace down the path, seeing the remains of zombified townsfolk that had been slashed and hacked into submission; Isaac had no doubt been through here, and he was undoubtedly angered. The sword marks in the remnants of the monsters were viscous and bloodthirsty. Mia wasn't sure if the warrior responsible for this was the Isaac she knew or some wild beast. She followed the footprints of dead blood and mud and eventually moved to the edge of town and into a forest. She continued following the disturbed underbrush, and eventually she could hear a river raging not far away. The path was going uphill, and she could see a clearing not far ahead, where the sound of the river raged louder. Clearing the forest, she gazed out to a thirty-foot cliff above the fast moving river, with none other than Isaac standing at the edge of the peak, bloody Gaia Blade in his right hand. He stood, staring at the other side of the embankment, which had to be a hundred feet away. No motion was made of his body, though his long golden scarf flapped in the light winds from the north. Mia made no notion to approach, though he finally shifted his arm and slowly sheathed his sword. Isaac's arm returned to his side, and he continued gazing into the star- studded night sky. Finally, she determined it would be best to just talk to him, so she cautiously walked up beside him.
"It's kind of funny, Mia; the way the world works. . ." Isaac uttered, not turning his head.
"Isaac. . ."
"Why, Mia? Why them? Why Vale? Of all the towns on all the continents in all of the world, why did it have to be Vale that this happened to?" Isaac clenched his fist. "If only I hadn't left Vale out of my own selfish ambition! The town would still be okay!"
"Isaac, you don't know that. . . besides, if you hadn't left town, everyone in Imil would be dead by now. Myself included." Mia said, cupping his clenched fist in her hand. It loosened almost instantly, but tightened lightly around her hand. "Isaac, fate is cruel; sometimes there is just nothing anyone can do. One way or another, one of the towns would've been wiped out; maybe even both." Mia paused before continuing. "Isaac, I know you've lost a lot recently. . . but you can't let it wear you down or turn you into a compassionless, bloodthirsty savage. Remember what you told me, Isaac? About how Justin and Megan wouldn't want me to be grief-stricken forever? Do you really think the people of Vale are any different?" Mia asked. "Isaac, if it makes you feel better, I promise you we'll find who did this and see that they meet justice." Isaac finally turned to face Mia, and he nodded slowly.
"Thank you, Mia. I'm just not used to feeling powerless to do something; it's never been an option for me in the past. It's just. . . Vale held so many memories for me. That little town meant more to me than even I thought; it was the place of my birth, where I was raised with Garet and Jenna, where my father taught me how to use a sword, where my father died, where I was forced to leave after the Sol Sanctum incident, and where my mother died. So many different memories; so many different emotions. I still remember the smell of the cakes at the baker's. They were freshly made every single day, and the baker's pastries were never too sweet; her pastries were to die for. I miss the quiet murmur of the streets, the bustle of friendly people. Even this spot holds many memories to me. I remember when Garet and I were about ten, we came down here to go fishing; the river was calm then, and it was full of small-mouth bass and trout. We sat down on the bank here and fished for hours at a time, never catching a thing. We didn't care, though. We just had a good time doing nothing. Why, another time, Garet's sister stomped through here and dragged him home by the ear because he forgot to clear the table after breakfast. I don't think I had laughed that hard in my whole life." Isaac reminisced. A strange sort of joy and sorrow flashed through his sapphire blue eyes as he spoke, conveying each emotion he felt. "Then, about four years ago. . . a huge boulder tore through Vale, killing my father, Jenna's parents, and supposedly Felix. It wasn't until later that I figured out who it was that was responsible for that incident. . ."
"Who?"
"Saturos and Menardi. They were attempting to break into the Sol Sanctum even then. You can imagine at the moment I saw them plunge from the Venus Lighthouse, it brought a great sense of satisfaction and closure; though it didn't last forever." Isaac stopped for a moment. "Mia, thank you for being here with me. It means a lot to me. More than you'll ever know."
"I think I know, Isaac." She said, hugging him warmly. "You've only been there for me all the time; from the moment we met to now. I love you, and I'll be here for you no matter what."
"Mia. . ." He leaned down to kiss her, but she moved up into it instead. Again, the moment lasted for hours, yet only seconds. As they slowly pulled away, their eyes locked again, and both remained silent; only the sounds of the winds and the river in front of them made any noise at all. Minutes passed, as they continued studying each other.
"You know, this is such a touching scene, I think I'm going to vomit." A sinister voice rung out. Isaac and Mia both cancelled their stares and snapped to the real world. "Pathetic. Truly pathetic."
"Wait. . . I know that voice. . ." Isaac muttered to himself, and he spun around while drawing his Gaia Blade.
*******************************************
Author's Note: Now you know why I posted both chapters at once! If I posted this alone, I was likely to have an atomic bomb dropped on my house! At least this way I'm safe! No one can get through my defense systems! (Triad's doorbell rings.)
Voice: Pizza delivery for Triad Orion!
Triad: PIZZA! ALL RIGHT! (Charges to door and opens it, only to see Midnight C, Alex, Vilya, and every other angry GS writer on FF.net.) Um, I can explain. . . Really!
"We're at a quandary here on this one, guys. What should we do?" Triad asked.
"Is this where your dreams told you to go, Ivan?"
"I think so. I think we need to investigate the area for any survivors. I just wish I knew what caused this."
"No matter. Let's go check it out, but we might want to leave Jenna up here with someone to look after her."
"She'll be fine." Felix responded, obviously overhearing their conversation. "I think she'd prefer to investigate than sit here." Triad shrugged at Felix's comment, but relented.
"Well, you seem to know Jenna better than any of us, so I guess if that's what she wants. . ."
"It is." She replied, halting her tears. "I want to find the people responsible for this and personally tear their arms out from their sockets!" She stood, Angelic Ankh in her left hand. "I'm going to go give whatever did this what-for!" Jenna shouted, eyes full of fire as she skidded down the rocky embankment to the burning Vale. Garet was notably surprised by the girl's quick change in emotion, but was the first to follow her down the hill. Isaac, soon realizing this was his battle too, jumped from his perch and tailed Garet closely. Mia, seeing Isaac moving quickly, did the same. Felix more deliberately waited a few moments and then followed; he managed to catch up in mere seconds to Isaac. Triad, Ivan, and Dargon, whom had been the furthest from the threshold anyway, were the ones in the back. Vale was within their reach moments later, when Jenna finally crossed the limits through the southern entrance. Garet came to her side seconds later, panting heavily. Isaac arrived seconds later, with Mia and Felix arriving at roughly the same time. Ivan was the next to arrive, followed by Triad, then the armor-clad Dargon. Isaac walked forward into the town, half-expecting to still smell the ambrosial bliss of the baker's pastries. The only thing he smelt was the hellish stench of brimstone, sulfur, and burning rotting flesh. His stomach leapt over several times as he struggled not to vomit from the awful stench of death. Night had now fallen in the town of Vale, but the burning homes provided eerie illumination to the town. He turned to his companions; Garet was looking quite green himself, while Felix and Jenna looked merely unsettled. Through inspection, he noticed Triad to be nowhere in sight; he soon found out why when he heard the sounds of retching moments later. Isaac, who was quite at distress, drew his Gaia Blade and walked carefully through the town, the others following, weapons in hands.
"What happened here?" Triad asked, having caught up and recovering from his nausea moments before. The arm in which he held his crystal sword was shaking slightly, showing his uneasiness to the situation. Isaac pitched his way down another street and was promptly attacked by an unknown creature. The creature grabbed him and attempted to bite out his throat, but he managed to shove it off by kicking it in the abdomen. Getting his focus, he realized it was a zombie; nothing he couldn't handle. Pushing his sword forward into attack position, he leapt at the creature, cleaving off its right arm, and then stabbing it in the chest. It fell to the ground moaning, before it ceased a moment after it had been downed.
"Isaac! What was that?!" Garet shouted.
"Zombie. The place must've been attacked by monsters." He said, after turning away and back to Garet. The large boy walked up and investigated Isaac's handiwork.
"Isaac, this isn't the work of monsters." He said, fear trembling in his voice.
"Then what was it?" He said, turning back.
"Take a look." Garet replied. The Venus Adept turned back to look at exactly what he had killed. It was a zombie all right, but in life it had brown hair and a mustache to match. The figure was very familiar. "Isaac, this was Mr. Carson; in life, at least." Isaac took a step back. It WAS Carson, the blacksmith in Vale. Why the hell was he a zombie, anyway? What the hell had happened here? He had no idea at all. "Isaac, something big happened here. Something big and evil. No wonder we could all sense it." Isaac nodded, but his reply was choked with the withholding of tears.
"Keep on your guard, Garet. We don't know how many other townsfolk got turned into zombies. Go warn the others. I'm going for a look around."
"Alone?"
"I'll be fine, Garet." Isaac pushed, pointing Garet back down the road he had come down. Isaac turned and continued his path. His oafish friend sighed and walked back down the path and rejoined the group.
Though when he caught up with the group, they were already engaged in a fierce battle; a large group of undead had ambushed them and were attacking from all sides. Garet had no time to lose; he drew his Swift Sword and leapt into battle by unleashing a Sonic Smash on an unsuspecting zombie. The battle remained short-lived when Ivan summoned his Tornado attack, sending the bodies of the undead in every direction, slaying each one on the spot.
"Nice work, Ivan." Mia said.
"Thanks. Garet, where's Isaac?"
"He's off looking for survivors. I suggest we split up into pairs and take a look around."
"If we do that, we'll have an odd man out." Triad replied.
"I'll go look for Isaac." Mia replied after a moment. "Don't worry about me; I can handle a few zombies on my own." She dashed off in the direction Isaac had left to, leaving the others behind. Dargon secretly rolled his eyes behind the visor of his Captain's Helmet; he knew those two were lovebirds from the start, but he had no idea that they were that hopeless. He guessed no one else in the group knew, save for Felix, that Isaac and Mia were in love with each other.
"Who's on the teams?" Ivan asked.
"Well, I better go with Garet to make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Jenna sighed.
"No one's asking you to be my partner, Jenna."
"You didn't hear me, did you, Garet?"
"Apparently not."
"Cut it out, you two." Triad said. "You two make a good team despite your bickering. All right, Ivan, you with me?"
"Fine by me." Ivan replied.
"Felix, you're with Dargon." Garet stated.
"Well duh, Garet! Who else would he be with?" Jenna asked.
"Knock it off, both of you!" Felix snapped. "Can't you stay serious for two minutes? Come on, Dargon." Felix said, marching off to the north.
"Right." He said, following.
"Jenna, you and I will look this way." Garet said, moving east.
"Well, I guess we go south." Triad concluded. Ivan nodded, and the three groups split apart.
*****************************
"I can't believe what's happened here." Ivan said. "It's like a nightmare." He glared down at the body of the zombie he just vanquished; it was a child. A young girl. He was ashamed at what he knew had to be done; he felt no better than one of the centaurs that had attacked Imil. Ivan was ready to lose his mind having to fight these abominations that were once human, and Triad looked the same way.
"I wish I knew what did this; it wasn't a bite from a zombie or anything; it looks like whatever caused this was magical in nature. Perhaps they were cursed." Triad remarked, sticking his blood-stained crystal sword back in its scabbard.
"If only we could know for sure."
"We've found no clues or traces of survivors. Now what?"
"I don't know. My senses are dulled right now."
"Probably from using your Psynergy so much. It's draining on one's body, Ivan. I'm not even an Adept and I know that."
"All I sense is evil. I wish I knew what the source of it was." Ivan said, looking to the north at Mount Aleph. "Could it be up there?"
"I doubt it, Ivan." Triad said. "Whatever caused it was definitely a creature of some sort, whether it was human or beast, I do not know." He continued, facing north as well. Both remained silent for a while before the winds carried a new voice to their ears.
"The dark wind howls; I sense a great danger that will plague the world unless it is stopped." Ivan and Triad spun on their heels to face their new arrival, and Ivan's visage lightened on sight of the figure. She was roughly his height, with the same color hair and eyes as himself. Her face was calm, neutral, and objective.
"Sheba! What are you doing here?"
"The same thing you are, Ivan. Following my instincts; it looks like I've arrived too late to help anyone." She returned, voice calm and even.
"No. This is far from over; I'll bet that this kind of thing might happen again." Ivan returned.
"Your instincts tell you so?" She inquired, tone unchanged.
"Yes."
"Then it must be so. I suggest finding the source of this plague first; I still sense it within the area. We must be cautious, however. This force could be bigger than all of us." Sheba returned.
"Excuse me, but I don't think been introduced. My name's Triad Orion, and you are?"
"My name is Sheba. It is nice to meet you, Triad."
"The pleasure is mine. So, I take it you know Ivan from his travels?"
"Yes, I do." Sheba replied, tone remaining very calm. Triad whispered close to Ivan's ear.
"Quiet type, isn't she?"
"Sometimes. She'll get used to you."
"I'm just not trustful of new people, Triad. It was thinking the other way that got me taken hostage twice." She returned.
"She heard us?"
"I'm a Jupiter Adept. Your mind is as loud and clear as a bell."
"Yikes! Hey, it was bad enough when I had Ivan here reading my mind, but now I got another person to worry about? Geez. . ." Sheba broke her objective facial expression and smiled.
"Ivan, your friend is funny. A bit stupid and a tad annoying, but funny."
"Hey!"
*****************************
Mia slowly walked though what remained of Vale's west side; not much remained at all. Most of the houses here had already been burned to the ground, and the bodies of several burned Valeans lay scattered amongst the rubble. Mia's heart ached at the sight of each dead body, but she imagined the pain would be twice as worse on Isaac's heart. Each second, the realization of what could've happened in Imil if Isaac hadn't been there to stop the siege. She knew that the exact thing would've happened in Imil, but her body would probably be amongst her people's. Shuddering, she sought only to find Isaac and see if she could comfort him. Mia continued to pace down the path, seeing the remains of zombified townsfolk that had been slashed and hacked into submission; Isaac had no doubt been through here, and he was undoubtedly angered. The sword marks in the remnants of the monsters were viscous and bloodthirsty. Mia wasn't sure if the warrior responsible for this was the Isaac she knew or some wild beast. She followed the footprints of dead blood and mud and eventually moved to the edge of town and into a forest. She continued following the disturbed underbrush, and eventually she could hear a river raging not far away. The path was going uphill, and she could see a clearing not far ahead, where the sound of the river raged louder. Clearing the forest, she gazed out to a thirty-foot cliff above the fast moving river, with none other than Isaac standing at the edge of the peak, bloody Gaia Blade in his right hand. He stood, staring at the other side of the embankment, which had to be a hundred feet away. No motion was made of his body, though his long golden scarf flapped in the light winds from the north. Mia made no notion to approach, though he finally shifted his arm and slowly sheathed his sword. Isaac's arm returned to his side, and he continued gazing into the star- studded night sky. Finally, she determined it would be best to just talk to him, so she cautiously walked up beside him.
"It's kind of funny, Mia; the way the world works. . ." Isaac uttered, not turning his head.
"Isaac. . ."
"Why, Mia? Why them? Why Vale? Of all the towns on all the continents in all of the world, why did it have to be Vale that this happened to?" Isaac clenched his fist. "If only I hadn't left Vale out of my own selfish ambition! The town would still be okay!"
"Isaac, you don't know that. . . besides, if you hadn't left town, everyone in Imil would be dead by now. Myself included." Mia said, cupping his clenched fist in her hand. It loosened almost instantly, but tightened lightly around her hand. "Isaac, fate is cruel; sometimes there is just nothing anyone can do. One way or another, one of the towns would've been wiped out; maybe even both." Mia paused before continuing. "Isaac, I know you've lost a lot recently. . . but you can't let it wear you down or turn you into a compassionless, bloodthirsty savage. Remember what you told me, Isaac? About how Justin and Megan wouldn't want me to be grief-stricken forever? Do you really think the people of Vale are any different?" Mia asked. "Isaac, if it makes you feel better, I promise you we'll find who did this and see that they meet justice." Isaac finally turned to face Mia, and he nodded slowly.
"Thank you, Mia. I'm just not used to feeling powerless to do something; it's never been an option for me in the past. It's just. . . Vale held so many memories for me. That little town meant more to me than even I thought; it was the place of my birth, where I was raised with Garet and Jenna, where my father taught me how to use a sword, where my father died, where I was forced to leave after the Sol Sanctum incident, and where my mother died. So many different memories; so many different emotions. I still remember the smell of the cakes at the baker's. They were freshly made every single day, and the baker's pastries were never too sweet; her pastries were to die for. I miss the quiet murmur of the streets, the bustle of friendly people. Even this spot holds many memories to me. I remember when Garet and I were about ten, we came down here to go fishing; the river was calm then, and it was full of small-mouth bass and trout. We sat down on the bank here and fished for hours at a time, never catching a thing. We didn't care, though. We just had a good time doing nothing. Why, another time, Garet's sister stomped through here and dragged him home by the ear because he forgot to clear the table after breakfast. I don't think I had laughed that hard in my whole life." Isaac reminisced. A strange sort of joy and sorrow flashed through his sapphire blue eyes as he spoke, conveying each emotion he felt. "Then, about four years ago. . . a huge boulder tore through Vale, killing my father, Jenna's parents, and supposedly Felix. It wasn't until later that I figured out who it was that was responsible for that incident. . ."
"Who?"
"Saturos and Menardi. They were attempting to break into the Sol Sanctum even then. You can imagine at the moment I saw them plunge from the Venus Lighthouse, it brought a great sense of satisfaction and closure; though it didn't last forever." Isaac stopped for a moment. "Mia, thank you for being here with me. It means a lot to me. More than you'll ever know."
"I think I know, Isaac." She said, hugging him warmly. "You've only been there for me all the time; from the moment we met to now. I love you, and I'll be here for you no matter what."
"Mia. . ." He leaned down to kiss her, but she moved up into it instead. Again, the moment lasted for hours, yet only seconds. As they slowly pulled away, their eyes locked again, and both remained silent; only the sounds of the winds and the river in front of them made any noise at all. Minutes passed, as they continued studying each other.
"You know, this is such a touching scene, I think I'm going to vomit." A sinister voice rung out. Isaac and Mia both cancelled their stares and snapped to the real world. "Pathetic. Truly pathetic."
"Wait. . . I know that voice. . ." Isaac muttered to himself, and he spun around while drawing his Gaia Blade.
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Author's Note: Now you know why I posted both chapters at once! If I posted this alone, I was likely to have an atomic bomb dropped on my house! At least this way I'm safe! No one can get through my defense systems! (Triad's doorbell rings.)
Voice: Pizza delivery for Triad Orion!
Triad: PIZZA! ALL RIGHT! (Charges to door and opens it, only to see Midnight C, Alex, Vilya, and every other angry GS writer on FF.net.) Um, I can explain. . . Really!