Isaac sat kneeled next to Mia, tears welling up in his eyes. He'd now lost
everything; what could he possibly do without anything to fight for? All
he could hear was the mocking laughter of Saturos and Menardi, and the dead
silence of Edward Giles. Isaac's heart tore from his chest, and he felt
completely powerless to do anything.
"Well, it looks like I finally got through to that idiot." Saturos laughed. "Now it seems I have something better to barter with than a soul of a friend and a stranger. I also have his lover. Funny how things turn out sometimes."
"Indeed." Menardi stated.
"Well, Isaac. . . I'll make a deal with you: Give me the Mars Star, and I'll restore the souls of all of them. I know how much you want Mia back. You can't get along without her, you know."
Isaac flinched. Saturos was right; he couldn't get along without her. But in handing over the Mars Star, he'd be dooming the world to destruction and mayhem. What chance could he have alone against the three most dangerous opponents he had ever faced? He couldn't decide.
"Isaac, you know you can't resist this offer."
Isaac still didn't respond. His mind raced a thousand different places at once. One second, he was thinking about his childhood, the next about Imil and the siege, the next about fishing, the next about sailing, and the next about Mia. Mia. Nothing else mattered to him anymore, so why couldn't he hand over the Elemental Star and get her back? It was crazy enough to work.
"I'm waiting, Adept."
Isaac slowly reached for his side bag, where he kept the Star in its bag. Just as he was about to reach it, a voice called out to him.
"ISAAC! What do you think you're doing?!" He recognized the voice, but it wasn't Garet or any of the others. "You're not honestly. . .? I don't believe you." The voice called out again. It blared in his head, but he knew it wasn't from an outside person; who was it?! "If you're willing to give in that easily, I guess those stories you told were nothing but lies." It hit him then.
"Justin?!" He called out in his mind.
"That's right. What the hell are you thinking? Saturos will kill you the moment he gets the Star away from you!" The voice of Mia's deceased apprentice reached him.
"But, Mia. . ."
"He has no intention of releasing Mia and you know it!"
"Yeah, Isaac! Start making sense!" Megan's voice called out. "You know as well as Justin does it's just a trick!"
"But, what if he does want to restore her?. . ."
"Wake up, Isaac! Have you not been listening to me?! Would Mia want you throwing your mission and life away on a gamble?! No! She would want you to keep fighting for as long as you were able!"
"You can't leave it this way, Isaac. You can only do this yourself!" Megan shouted out.
"But, I can't. I don't have the strength to beat them alone!"
"You have all the strength you need, Isaac! Have you forgotten something? You've forgotten how much strength your love gave you, Isaac. That's how you defeated Sirius in Imil with the Judgment of Venus: out of love. Love for us, and love for Mia." Justin's voice echoed through the recesses of his mind. "Have you forgotten your promise to Mia? We know what it was; apparently you don't. I believe your words were, 'I want you to know that I stand ready to defend you with my life. I won't let them get you even if it is beyond my power to stop them'. You promised to do that to her, Isaac. If you give in, you'll be breaking that promise."
"But I broke that promise by letting Saturos take her spirit away."
"No, you didn't. You'd be breaking it by sitting idle. You can save her, Isaac. You know it. You have the strength. You have the spirit. If you're half the warrior Mia always said you were, you could do it. So, do it." Justin's voice sounded in his mind, fading away slowly into obscurity. Had the voice been real? Or was it his imagination? Whatever it was, it was right. Confidence began to well up in the Venus Adept, and he slowly pulled himself together.
"I'm losing my patience, Adept!" Saturos shouted. "Do you accept my proposal? What is your answer?!" Saturos growled after finishing his statement. The Venus Adept's back was turned on him, but he was still slouched over. "Your answer?!" He demanded. Isaac's form moved slightly, and his head lifted. Laughter. Half-mocking, half-maniacal. He stood slowly, Gaia Blade still in hand. He turned around, still laughing evilly, his face full of fire and passion.
"You want my answer, Saturos? My answer is:. . . 'Go to Hell.'" After he finished his statement, golden Psynergy seemed to overflow from his body and Saturos took a step back. The boy's power had now fluxed and had jumped in power three-fold. "I have a promise to keep, Saturos! I will not fail! I will not be defeated!" His power began to swell again, causing cracks in the ground around him. "Prepare yourself, Saturos!" Isaac shouted, dashing at him with his sword. Saturos blocked the attack with his blade, but he was using every ounce of his strength just keeping the enraged warrior from powering the sword from his hands.
"Menardi, Edward! I could use some help here!"
"I thought you never needed help, Saturos." Isaac stated, sounding somewhat insane. "You were always the loner; to proud to count on others." Isaac withdrew from the push-and-shove game he was playing and actually started attacking viciously. Swing for swing, Saturos scarcely could keep pace, but then Menardi intervened by coming in with her scythe. Isaac quickly blocked it, and turned back to his offensive on Saturos.
"Why won't you die?!" Menardi shouted, trying to cut Isaac's head off with her weapon. Isaac instinctively knew it was coming and ducked underneath the attack while pressing his own. Menardi, openly frustrated, began glowing red; her weapon did the same, and she tried to hit Isaac with a Death Size attack. Isaac leapt nimbly from the attack, giving Saturos a moment to rest while the Venus Adept switched the focus of his attack.
"And you, you're as pathetic as Saturos. . . an opportunist and a bitch with an annoying laugh." Isaac stated, still sounding out of his gourd. Isaac's weapon flashed with a gold energy as he leapt at Menardi; the power of Flint did the rest. Menardi was sent flying back, obviously angered. She struggled to stand, but in the meantime, Isaac had returned to openly attacking Saturos.
Saturos was surprised and taken by Isaac's bloodthirsty attacks; the warrior had never been so powerful in his offense. Saturos always knew Isaac as a pacifist; not a true killer. . . this wasn't his nature at all. This made the Venus Adept ten times more dangerous than before; not only was he powerful, he was unpredictable. To prove his unpredictability, Isaac suddenly leapt away from Saturos and headed straight for the column Edward Giles was perched upon. A blast of Ragnarok shook the pillar, knocking the archer off his perch, and onto the main battleground floor.
"And you, I hate you the most, Edward." Isaac smiled, lunging at him. "You sold out your own people. . . for power. You haven't learned anything in your life have you?" Isaac asked, swinging his blade at him. The spry Edward dodged and danced between attacks, but Isaac continued talking. "Power is as insignificant as a blade of grass, and it's as fleeting as a herd of deer. Power is nothing!" Isaac shouted, swinging at him again, only to catch Saturos's blade.
"Power is everything, Adept!" Saturos shouted back.
"If it's everything, how come you haven't defeated me yet? You claim to be the most powerful being in existence, so why hasn't your vaunted power done you any good?" Isaac responded, while swinging his sword, catching Saturos in the side. The bag with the Anubis Orb fell free and to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Isaac summoned Zephyr and blazed to the bag, quickly removing the orb. His mind raced, and green energy was unleashed from the orb into the sky.
However, before all of the power could be drained from the Orb, Saturos struck back, hitting Isaac in the side, causing him to drop the Anubis Orb. Saturos forced Isaac away from the Orb with his own offense. "Edward, get the Anubis Orb, now!" Meanwhile, the glowing green energy had left the Aerie of the Lighthouse and moved back to the town of Titanus. Mia remained motionless nearby; the energy released apparently wasn't hers.
"Right!" The archer complied, rushing over to the orb. He picked it up, and examined it. The object they had worked so hard for was a green glass marble the size of a baseball; why was it so anti-climactic to him? He fumbled the jewel around in his hands for a moment, but stopped when he felt a shearing pain in one of his fingers. Gazing down at it, he realized he had cut himself; but with what? He was only holding the orb; but why did it cut him? He looked at the orb more closely than before; as he did so, his eyes caught sight of a large crack in it. The orb was broken, and he had cut himself on the crack. "Saturos! The orb. . . it's broken!"
"What?!" Saturos shot back. "We went to all of that and the damned thing got broken?! It might not even work now!" Isaac was taken back by this new fact; he managed to release most of the spirits from the orb, but the one that mattered still remained inside the orb. Isaac felt himself slipping back into depression, but he pushed the thoughts from his mind and focused his attack further. "I guess you heard; your girlfriend isn't coming back now. If you had cooperated. . ."
"Can it, Saturos!" Isaac shouted, slashing him in the face, leaving a bleeding gash. "I've had enough of you!"
"And I've had enough of YOU!" Menardi shouted, casting Cataclysm at Isaac. The Venus Adept was caught in the fiery holocaust, but he emerged little more than seared. Menardi surged forward with her scythe, while Saturos charged with his sword at the same time. Edward drew the string on his bow, and let loose an arrow on the convergence point of his two allies. Isaac, being at this point, leapt straight upward. The agility boosting effects of Zephyr hadn't worn off yet, so it gave him a huge jump height. The arrow hit the floor and split in two, while Saturos and Menardi skidded to a halt two feet from running into each other. Confused, the two noticed Isaac's landing point nearby.
Enraged with a battle fervor, Isaac leapt forward at Edward Giles, and charged him at full speed. "This is for Justin and Megan!" He shouted. Leaping into the sky, Isaac raised his sword to land a blow. However, Edward leapt backwards avoiding the strike and as he smiled to spite Isaac, he found three feet of steel in his chest. Isaac kicked Edward's now lifeless carcass from his sword and turned to a stunned pair of Saturos and Menardi. Isaac's sword dripped with blood as he turned to his enemies.
"Who's next?" Isaac asked, barely louder than a whisper.
Saturos and Menardi didn't speak a word, but rather flung themselves into battle. Saturos remained in front while Menardi flanked behind Isaac. The fighters had the Venus Adept surrounded, but he didn't let that get in his way. Alternating blocks, Isaac defended himself from both opponents with equal measure. One second he blocked a horizontal sword swing, the next, a vertical scythe swing.
"Give it up, Adept! You can't win!" Saturos shouted.
"Really?" Isaac smiled, blocking his attack. He quickly reversed the direction of his sword and thrust backward. He heard the gasp of Menardi, who now had a pierced stomach. Isaac frowned as he pulled his blade forward and concentrated on the person in front of him. "That was for Vale." Isaac now pressed his attack, swinging wildly in front of him, much like his earlier offensive. Saturos now was forced to become defensive, and each of Isaac's sword swings brought him closer to the edge of the Lighthouse platform.
"Where did you get all of this power?!" Saturos asked in shock, while still battling Isaac point for point.
"I told you, power is meaningless!"
"Then what is your strength?!"
"You mean the force that drives me?"
"Yes, whatever the hell you call it!"
"The force that drives me to fight. . . that force is love. Something you never had, Saturos. That makes you weak! I fight with my heart, and that has made all the difference!" Isaac shouted at the Mars Adept. He swung hard, causing his foe to stagger back to the edge of the Lighthouse. "This is for Mia!" Isaac shouted, swinging high and horizontally. His blow hit home, and Saturos stood stunned for a moment.
"Incredible. . ." Saturos muttered in his last breath. His frame fell from the Aerie of the lighthouse to the ground below. Isaac watched his head separate from the rest of his body on the way down, and he sighed in relief and sorrow. Only half the battle was over. Now he had to revive Mia somehow. He walked over to Edward's corpse and palmed the pale and no longer glowing Anubis Orb.
"Venus, help me. . ." Isaac sighed, walking over to Mia's still frame. He bent down beside her, pressing the orb into her shoulder. "I pray to you, Venus. . . please restore the one I love. She means more to me than anything else in the world." He remained silent for a few moments. Nothing happened. "Venus, please. . . I beg of you. Help me." Silence. . . again, nothing happened. "Mia. . . Mia. . ." Isaac cried, pressing his face against hers. "Please hear me, Mia. I want you back; don't give out on me like this. You promised me you'd always be here with me. I've kept my promise; please keep yours. . ." Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he gave her a long kiss. He pulled away a moment later, but no life had shone through her. The orb was indeed useless.
"MIA!" Isaac cried out, letting his Gaia Blade clatter to the ground beside him. "Please. . ." He said between hyperventilating sobs. "This can't happen. . . it can't. . . Mia. . ." He leaned down and kissed her again, hoping by some sheer miracle that the orb had some power left. Again, his hopes were in vain, but he kept his face buried in hers. "I'm sorry, Mia. . ." He closed his eyes and tried to force back his sorrow. Tried to forget the pain, and the loss, and everything else he was feeling. It was over. He had nothing left to live for.
"Isaac?" A voice whispered. It seemed so far away, but it felt so close. Isaac opened his cobalt eyes into a pair of soft aqua gems in front of him. Was he dreaming again? "Isaac?" The voice repeated.
"Mia?"
"Isaac!" She exclaimed, pulling him into a kiss. Moments passed before Isaac could get a breath, and when he finally did, he sat up straight.
"But how? The orb wasn't working. . ." He gasped out. Mia sat up in front of him and pointed to his chest. The Venus Adept looked down, noticing something under his tunic glowing a soft blue color. Pulling it out, he noticed it was the amulet Mia had given to him in Imil weeks ago. "The amulet?"
"The amulet was supposed to symbolize hope in the Mercury clan, Isaac. It also was a symbol of life and love."
"But, how did it work?"
"My guess is it fed off of your hope and love, and granted your wish. . ." Mia said, blushing. "I never told you before, but that amulet is called the Lover's Amulet; for a good reason too. It was a legend in the Mercury Clan that the amulet had the power to restore the spirit of the wearer's love, but I thought it only a legend."
"So, it worked because you are my true love?"
"Yes." Mia smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Let's go. Our work here is finished."
"Not quite." Isaac said, standing up. He tossed the cracked Anubis Orb onto the ground, and picked up his bloodstained Gaia Blade. "You will never hurt anyone again!" He shouted, driving the point of his weapon into the orb, shattering it into a thousand pieces on the ground in front of him. Isaac sighed, sheathed his sword, and took Mia's hand into his own. After he helped her to her feet, Mia couldn't help but to kiss Isaac once more. There they stood, sharing their feelings, and their hearts.
*********************
Author's Note: It's not over yet, folks. I still have another chapter left in me, so stay tuned for the final chapter.
"Well, it looks like I finally got through to that idiot." Saturos laughed. "Now it seems I have something better to barter with than a soul of a friend and a stranger. I also have his lover. Funny how things turn out sometimes."
"Indeed." Menardi stated.
"Well, Isaac. . . I'll make a deal with you: Give me the Mars Star, and I'll restore the souls of all of them. I know how much you want Mia back. You can't get along without her, you know."
Isaac flinched. Saturos was right; he couldn't get along without her. But in handing over the Mars Star, he'd be dooming the world to destruction and mayhem. What chance could he have alone against the three most dangerous opponents he had ever faced? He couldn't decide.
"Isaac, you know you can't resist this offer."
Isaac still didn't respond. His mind raced a thousand different places at once. One second, he was thinking about his childhood, the next about Imil and the siege, the next about fishing, the next about sailing, and the next about Mia. Mia. Nothing else mattered to him anymore, so why couldn't he hand over the Elemental Star and get her back? It was crazy enough to work.
"I'm waiting, Adept."
Isaac slowly reached for his side bag, where he kept the Star in its bag. Just as he was about to reach it, a voice called out to him.
"ISAAC! What do you think you're doing?!" He recognized the voice, but it wasn't Garet or any of the others. "You're not honestly. . .? I don't believe you." The voice called out again. It blared in his head, but he knew it wasn't from an outside person; who was it?! "If you're willing to give in that easily, I guess those stories you told were nothing but lies." It hit him then.
"Justin?!" He called out in his mind.
"That's right. What the hell are you thinking? Saturos will kill you the moment he gets the Star away from you!" The voice of Mia's deceased apprentice reached him.
"But, Mia. . ."
"He has no intention of releasing Mia and you know it!"
"Yeah, Isaac! Start making sense!" Megan's voice called out. "You know as well as Justin does it's just a trick!"
"But, what if he does want to restore her?. . ."
"Wake up, Isaac! Have you not been listening to me?! Would Mia want you throwing your mission and life away on a gamble?! No! She would want you to keep fighting for as long as you were able!"
"You can't leave it this way, Isaac. You can only do this yourself!" Megan shouted out.
"But, I can't. I don't have the strength to beat them alone!"
"You have all the strength you need, Isaac! Have you forgotten something? You've forgotten how much strength your love gave you, Isaac. That's how you defeated Sirius in Imil with the Judgment of Venus: out of love. Love for us, and love for Mia." Justin's voice echoed through the recesses of his mind. "Have you forgotten your promise to Mia? We know what it was; apparently you don't. I believe your words were, 'I want you to know that I stand ready to defend you with my life. I won't let them get you even if it is beyond my power to stop them'. You promised to do that to her, Isaac. If you give in, you'll be breaking that promise."
"But I broke that promise by letting Saturos take her spirit away."
"No, you didn't. You'd be breaking it by sitting idle. You can save her, Isaac. You know it. You have the strength. You have the spirit. If you're half the warrior Mia always said you were, you could do it. So, do it." Justin's voice sounded in his mind, fading away slowly into obscurity. Had the voice been real? Or was it his imagination? Whatever it was, it was right. Confidence began to well up in the Venus Adept, and he slowly pulled himself together.
"I'm losing my patience, Adept!" Saturos shouted. "Do you accept my proposal? What is your answer?!" Saturos growled after finishing his statement. The Venus Adept's back was turned on him, but he was still slouched over. "Your answer?!" He demanded. Isaac's form moved slightly, and his head lifted. Laughter. Half-mocking, half-maniacal. He stood slowly, Gaia Blade still in hand. He turned around, still laughing evilly, his face full of fire and passion.
"You want my answer, Saturos? My answer is:. . . 'Go to Hell.'" After he finished his statement, golden Psynergy seemed to overflow from his body and Saturos took a step back. The boy's power had now fluxed and had jumped in power three-fold. "I have a promise to keep, Saturos! I will not fail! I will not be defeated!" His power began to swell again, causing cracks in the ground around him. "Prepare yourself, Saturos!" Isaac shouted, dashing at him with his sword. Saturos blocked the attack with his blade, but he was using every ounce of his strength just keeping the enraged warrior from powering the sword from his hands.
"Menardi, Edward! I could use some help here!"
"I thought you never needed help, Saturos." Isaac stated, sounding somewhat insane. "You were always the loner; to proud to count on others." Isaac withdrew from the push-and-shove game he was playing and actually started attacking viciously. Swing for swing, Saturos scarcely could keep pace, but then Menardi intervened by coming in with her scythe. Isaac quickly blocked it, and turned back to his offensive on Saturos.
"Why won't you die?!" Menardi shouted, trying to cut Isaac's head off with her weapon. Isaac instinctively knew it was coming and ducked underneath the attack while pressing his own. Menardi, openly frustrated, began glowing red; her weapon did the same, and she tried to hit Isaac with a Death Size attack. Isaac leapt nimbly from the attack, giving Saturos a moment to rest while the Venus Adept switched the focus of his attack.
"And you, you're as pathetic as Saturos. . . an opportunist and a bitch with an annoying laugh." Isaac stated, still sounding out of his gourd. Isaac's weapon flashed with a gold energy as he leapt at Menardi; the power of Flint did the rest. Menardi was sent flying back, obviously angered. She struggled to stand, but in the meantime, Isaac had returned to openly attacking Saturos.
Saturos was surprised and taken by Isaac's bloodthirsty attacks; the warrior had never been so powerful in his offense. Saturos always knew Isaac as a pacifist; not a true killer. . . this wasn't his nature at all. This made the Venus Adept ten times more dangerous than before; not only was he powerful, he was unpredictable. To prove his unpredictability, Isaac suddenly leapt away from Saturos and headed straight for the column Edward Giles was perched upon. A blast of Ragnarok shook the pillar, knocking the archer off his perch, and onto the main battleground floor.
"And you, I hate you the most, Edward." Isaac smiled, lunging at him. "You sold out your own people. . . for power. You haven't learned anything in your life have you?" Isaac asked, swinging his blade at him. The spry Edward dodged and danced between attacks, but Isaac continued talking. "Power is as insignificant as a blade of grass, and it's as fleeting as a herd of deer. Power is nothing!" Isaac shouted, swinging at him again, only to catch Saturos's blade.
"Power is everything, Adept!" Saturos shouted back.
"If it's everything, how come you haven't defeated me yet? You claim to be the most powerful being in existence, so why hasn't your vaunted power done you any good?" Isaac responded, while swinging his sword, catching Saturos in the side. The bag with the Anubis Orb fell free and to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Isaac summoned Zephyr and blazed to the bag, quickly removing the orb. His mind raced, and green energy was unleashed from the orb into the sky.
However, before all of the power could be drained from the Orb, Saturos struck back, hitting Isaac in the side, causing him to drop the Anubis Orb. Saturos forced Isaac away from the Orb with his own offense. "Edward, get the Anubis Orb, now!" Meanwhile, the glowing green energy had left the Aerie of the Lighthouse and moved back to the town of Titanus. Mia remained motionless nearby; the energy released apparently wasn't hers.
"Right!" The archer complied, rushing over to the orb. He picked it up, and examined it. The object they had worked so hard for was a green glass marble the size of a baseball; why was it so anti-climactic to him? He fumbled the jewel around in his hands for a moment, but stopped when he felt a shearing pain in one of his fingers. Gazing down at it, he realized he had cut himself; but with what? He was only holding the orb; but why did it cut him? He looked at the orb more closely than before; as he did so, his eyes caught sight of a large crack in it. The orb was broken, and he had cut himself on the crack. "Saturos! The orb. . . it's broken!"
"What?!" Saturos shot back. "We went to all of that and the damned thing got broken?! It might not even work now!" Isaac was taken back by this new fact; he managed to release most of the spirits from the orb, but the one that mattered still remained inside the orb. Isaac felt himself slipping back into depression, but he pushed the thoughts from his mind and focused his attack further. "I guess you heard; your girlfriend isn't coming back now. If you had cooperated. . ."
"Can it, Saturos!" Isaac shouted, slashing him in the face, leaving a bleeding gash. "I've had enough of you!"
"And I've had enough of YOU!" Menardi shouted, casting Cataclysm at Isaac. The Venus Adept was caught in the fiery holocaust, but he emerged little more than seared. Menardi surged forward with her scythe, while Saturos charged with his sword at the same time. Edward drew the string on his bow, and let loose an arrow on the convergence point of his two allies. Isaac, being at this point, leapt straight upward. The agility boosting effects of Zephyr hadn't worn off yet, so it gave him a huge jump height. The arrow hit the floor and split in two, while Saturos and Menardi skidded to a halt two feet from running into each other. Confused, the two noticed Isaac's landing point nearby.
Enraged with a battle fervor, Isaac leapt forward at Edward Giles, and charged him at full speed. "This is for Justin and Megan!" He shouted. Leaping into the sky, Isaac raised his sword to land a blow. However, Edward leapt backwards avoiding the strike and as he smiled to spite Isaac, he found three feet of steel in his chest. Isaac kicked Edward's now lifeless carcass from his sword and turned to a stunned pair of Saturos and Menardi. Isaac's sword dripped with blood as he turned to his enemies.
"Who's next?" Isaac asked, barely louder than a whisper.
Saturos and Menardi didn't speak a word, but rather flung themselves into battle. Saturos remained in front while Menardi flanked behind Isaac. The fighters had the Venus Adept surrounded, but he didn't let that get in his way. Alternating blocks, Isaac defended himself from both opponents with equal measure. One second he blocked a horizontal sword swing, the next, a vertical scythe swing.
"Give it up, Adept! You can't win!" Saturos shouted.
"Really?" Isaac smiled, blocking his attack. He quickly reversed the direction of his sword and thrust backward. He heard the gasp of Menardi, who now had a pierced stomach. Isaac frowned as he pulled his blade forward and concentrated on the person in front of him. "That was for Vale." Isaac now pressed his attack, swinging wildly in front of him, much like his earlier offensive. Saturos now was forced to become defensive, and each of Isaac's sword swings brought him closer to the edge of the Lighthouse platform.
"Where did you get all of this power?!" Saturos asked in shock, while still battling Isaac point for point.
"I told you, power is meaningless!"
"Then what is your strength?!"
"You mean the force that drives me?"
"Yes, whatever the hell you call it!"
"The force that drives me to fight. . . that force is love. Something you never had, Saturos. That makes you weak! I fight with my heart, and that has made all the difference!" Isaac shouted at the Mars Adept. He swung hard, causing his foe to stagger back to the edge of the Lighthouse. "This is for Mia!" Isaac shouted, swinging high and horizontally. His blow hit home, and Saturos stood stunned for a moment.
"Incredible. . ." Saturos muttered in his last breath. His frame fell from the Aerie of the lighthouse to the ground below. Isaac watched his head separate from the rest of his body on the way down, and he sighed in relief and sorrow. Only half the battle was over. Now he had to revive Mia somehow. He walked over to Edward's corpse and palmed the pale and no longer glowing Anubis Orb.
"Venus, help me. . ." Isaac sighed, walking over to Mia's still frame. He bent down beside her, pressing the orb into her shoulder. "I pray to you, Venus. . . please restore the one I love. She means more to me than anything else in the world." He remained silent for a few moments. Nothing happened. "Venus, please. . . I beg of you. Help me." Silence. . . again, nothing happened. "Mia. . . Mia. . ." Isaac cried, pressing his face against hers. "Please hear me, Mia. I want you back; don't give out on me like this. You promised me you'd always be here with me. I've kept my promise; please keep yours. . ." Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he gave her a long kiss. He pulled away a moment later, but no life had shone through her. The orb was indeed useless.
"MIA!" Isaac cried out, letting his Gaia Blade clatter to the ground beside him. "Please. . ." He said between hyperventilating sobs. "This can't happen. . . it can't. . . Mia. . ." He leaned down and kissed her again, hoping by some sheer miracle that the orb had some power left. Again, his hopes were in vain, but he kept his face buried in hers. "I'm sorry, Mia. . ." He closed his eyes and tried to force back his sorrow. Tried to forget the pain, and the loss, and everything else he was feeling. It was over. He had nothing left to live for.
"Isaac?" A voice whispered. It seemed so far away, but it felt so close. Isaac opened his cobalt eyes into a pair of soft aqua gems in front of him. Was he dreaming again? "Isaac?" The voice repeated.
"Mia?"
"Isaac!" She exclaimed, pulling him into a kiss. Moments passed before Isaac could get a breath, and when he finally did, he sat up straight.
"But how? The orb wasn't working. . ." He gasped out. Mia sat up in front of him and pointed to his chest. The Venus Adept looked down, noticing something under his tunic glowing a soft blue color. Pulling it out, he noticed it was the amulet Mia had given to him in Imil weeks ago. "The amulet?"
"The amulet was supposed to symbolize hope in the Mercury clan, Isaac. It also was a symbol of life and love."
"But, how did it work?"
"My guess is it fed off of your hope and love, and granted your wish. . ." Mia said, blushing. "I never told you before, but that amulet is called the Lover's Amulet; for a good reason too. It was a legend in the Mercury Clan that the amulet had the power to restore the spirit of the wearer's love, but I thought it only a legend."
"So, it worked because you are my true love?"
"Yes." Mia smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Let's go. Our work here is finished."
"Not quite." Isaac said, standing up. He tossed the cracked Anubis Orb onto the ground, and picked up his bloodstained Gaia Blade. "You will never hurt anyone again!" He shouted, driving the point of his weapon into the orb, shattering it into a thousand pieces on the ground in front of him. Isaac sighed, sheathed his sword, and took Mia's hand into his own. After he helped her to her feet, Mia couldn't help but to kiss Isaac once more. There they stood, sharing their feelings, and their hearts.
*********************
Author's Note: It's not over yet, folks. I still have another chapter left in me, so stay tuned for the final chapter.