You know a story's taken on some sort of life of its own when spin-offs start appearing. Thanks again, Akiko for your little side story with Alex and Kraden. It really made my day! ^_^

This chapter probably sucks since I'm not that great at writing comedy, but I had a lot of fun with it anyway. If I get at least one giggle out of you then I'll consider my humble efforts worth it.

*Trials and Tribulations*

The group made their way back towards the ruins and the town where the Lemurian ship was docked. Jenna was having more fun than usual pestering Garet and she hung onto him like a bad case of static cling. He grumbled and complained like he normally did, but it was obvious to all of the onlookers that he really didn't mean it at all. As far as Isaac could tell, his best friend had never seemed happier, and neither had Jenna.

"Well it's good to see that the two of you finally resolved your differences," said Ivan. "There's hope for this world yet if even someone like Garet can find true love."

"What the heck's that supposed to mean, Ivan?" Garet demanded.

Ivan grinned mischievously. "Absolutely nothing." Sheba giggled under her breath.

"This is quite the merry little crew of lovebirds, isn't it?" Picard inquired. "We should make a point to find more female Adepts on our travels, shouldn't we, Felix?"

Felix was frowning slightly at the sight of his sister hanging all over Garet. "Jenna, of all people why did it have to be him?"

"Oh shut up, Felix," said Jenna. "You've known how I've felt about him for years."

"But he's so…so…" Felix couldn't find the right word.

"Oafish?" Ivan suggested. He counted off on his fingers. "Moronic? Clumsy? Stupid? Hard-headed? A human garbage disposal…?"

"Ivan, I am going to give you such a thrashing!" Garet growled. "You'll be sorry you were ever rescued from Agatio!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" Ivan returned, running ahead of the group. Garet wiggled himself free of Jenna and followed, but Ivan was far too quick to catch. He ducked behind a tree and pulled a branch towards him. As Garet approached, Ivan let the branch loose and it snapped back, knocking Garet to the ground.

"Ow…" he moaned. "That was a really dirty trick, Ivan."

"And you fell for it completely. Of course I wouldn't have expected anything less from you."

The others caught up and Jenna helped Garet back to his feet. Then she turned to Ivan. "Why are you always picking on my Garet?! You know damn well that's my job and no one else's!"

"Boy Jenna, you really know how to make a guy feel loved," Garet groaned. Jenna smiled innocently at him, making her eyes big and soulful.

"Garet dear, you know that I live to keep you on your toes." She squeezed his arm and placed her head on his shoulder. "You like it--admit it."

"I admit to nothing!" he declared as he looked down at her. Her smile broadened and a lump suddenly formed in his throat. "Well…maybe…"

"And this is the guy who was accusing me of being twisted around a woman's finger!" Isaac laughed.

Garet promptly shook himself free of Jenna's iron grasp. "I will never be as pathetic as you, Isaac!"

"Never is an awfully long time," said Isaac, still chortling. "I'd say you're well on the road to total pathetic-ness."

"Take that back!"

Jenna feigned looking hurt. "But I love you, Garet! Don't you love me too?"

"It's not that, Jenna. It's…"

"You don't love me!" Jenna wailed. She buried her face in her hands and emitted fake sobs, which naturally made Garet quite uneasy.

"Jenna!" he pleaded nervously. "Don't cry! I'm sorry!"

She giggled, lifting her head. "Gotcha, Garet. See? You are just as bad as Isaac--if not worse."

Everyone else laughed as Garet's face turned the color of his element. No matter what he did he always ended up the butt of every joke. Mia shook her head as she laughed. "You certainly do have quite a hold over him don't you, Jenna? Could you give me lessons?"

"Lessons?" Isaac inquired. "I think you're quite good at it already!"

"It wouldn't hurt to have a little insurance though," she teased. Isaac smirked and nudged her with his elbow. Mia giggled and hugged him.

"It doesn't seem so bad being under a woman's sway," Jenna said.

"Well, the thing is that Isaac likes it," Garet griped. "Some of us would prefer retaining a degree of independence."

"Hmmm….those vocabulary lessons really seem to be working," Ivan muttered.

"That's it, Ivan!" Garet roared. "When I get my hands on you…!"

"You still have to catch me first!"

Felix and Picard scratched their heads. "Quite a colorful crew you've gathered here, Isaac," Felix said.

"I see little has changed since we met in Lemuria," Picard added.

Isaac shrugged. "Well, you know the old saying--you can take Garet out of Vale but you can't take the oaf out of Garet."

"Who in Angara said that?" Sheba asked.

"I think it was his mother."

************

"I hate rain," Garet complained when they'd stopped for the night. They'd set up camp in the shelter of the ancient temple, since it was the only building that didn't look ready to fall apart. A steady drizzle was falling outside, and it could be heard echoing from above as it soaked the structure.

"Pipe down," said Picard. "The rain is a necessary and beautiful thing. Without it, our whole world would turn to dust."

"Don't mind him, Picard," Isaac said. "He's a hydrophobe."

"I don't doubt it," the Lemurian replied. "I never met a Mars Adept that wasn't."

"Stop calling me names!" Garet cried.

"Garet," Sheba began calmly. "A hydrophobe is simply someone who's afraid of water."

He blushed slightly in embarrassment. "I knew that."

Jenna smiled. "Don't let them bother you, Garet. I hate the water just as much as you do."

"I'm just glad I'm not the only one."

"Rain doesn't bother me," said Sheba. "But it is a bit drafty in here." She huddled a little closer to the fire and to Ivan.

"Want me to start another fire?" Jenna asked.

"No, that's all right," Sheba answered quickly, knowing that Jenna would burn the whole place down if given the opportunity. Sometimes she was a little too fond of her element.

"Suit yourself." Jenna hugged her knees, leaning her head on Garet's shoulder. "As much as I hate water, I'll be glad to get back to our ship. It's safer there."

"I do hope we don't run into Agatio and Karst again," Ivan said. "I'd prefer to get some more training in before our next encounter."

General nods of agreement passed around the group. "Of course now you've probably jinxed it, Ivan," Felix said.

"Aw, those two freaks don't scare me," Garet declared. "Their full of hot air."

"Not unlike another Mars Adept I know," said Isaac. Garet reached over and cuffed him in the shoulder.

"For one night can I not bear the brunt of everyone's jokes?!"

"Nope," Isaac replied. Garet grumbled audibly as usual.

"Well what do you expect?" Ivan inquired. "You're the one who gave us such classic comic moments as the bathroom incident the other night."

"Bathroom incident?" Picard questioned. "I'm not sure I want to know."

"Please don't ever mention that again," said Jenna as she blushed.

"All right, now you have to spill," Felix said. "What's this all about, Jenna?"

"It's nothing, Felix," she said. "I was taking a bath at the inn we were staying at, and Garet accidentally walked in on me. Nothing happened."

Felix's face darkened as he stared incredulously at Garet. "You saw my sister naked?"

"Only for a moment!" Garet said nervously. "It's not like I knew she was in there!"

"You violated her privacy!" Felix accused. "No one's allowed to see that side of Jenna!"

"Felix!" Jenna scowled. "It was an accident! Leave him alone!"

"Don't look at me like that, Felix!" said Garet.

"You walked in on her!"

"By accident! I didn't even enjoy it--trust me!"

"Are you saying my sister's ugly?"

Garet cowered. "No, no! Of course not!"

"Felix!" Jenna cried in protest again. The rest of the crew just laughed.

"Poor Garet," said Ivan. "Bad luck follows him everywhere."

"He's not going to be able to sweet-talk his way out of this, that's for sure," Isaac sighed. "I'd feel sorry for him if it weren't so funny."

Picard grinned. "No I remember why I missed all of you so much. There's never a dull moment when I'm with this crowd."

************

"Are you asleep, Mia?" Jenna whispered.

"No, why?"

"No reason. Just wondering if anyone else was still awake."

The temple was silent save for the faint noises of their sleeping companions and the sound of the falling rain outside. Since he minded the rain the least, Picard was currently standing guard by the door. Jenna and Mia were laying close enough together to see each other's faces in the dim light, and they were huddled against their respective loves.

"That was quite the commotion with your brother earlier," Mia whispered. "I thought he was going to rip Garet's head clear off his shoulders!"

Jenna wrinkled her nose. "He's willing to leave me alone on a floating island but he goes ballistic if a boy's interested in me. I'll never figure out big brothers."

"You're lucky to have someone looking out for you like that, though."

"Perhaps. It doesn't bother you having him around, does it? I know what he did is impossible to forgive."

"No, I'm all right, really. Felix seems different to me now, somehow. After hearing his explanation, his actions make more sense. And I know the rest of you won't let him pull anything like that again, so having him here doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would."

"I'm glad to hear that, Mia." Garet snorted a bit in his sleep and the two girls giggled softly.

"A gentleman he's not," whispered Mia.

"He's hopeless all right," Jenna agreed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with him. You'd think spending as much time with Isaac as he does that some of the good habits would rub off."

"Oh Isaac has his quirks too. I think they're just less obvious."

"Like?"

Mia smiled and reached over to whisper something in Jenna's ear. "No!" Jenna exclaimed almost too loudly.

"Yes!" Mia insisted. "Don't tell him I told you--he'd die of embarrassment."

"My lips are sealed then." She lifted an eyebrow. "I'll be--you learn something new everyday."

"Indeed." Mia pressed herself closer to Isaac. "For all their faults though, I think we're both very lucky to have them."

Jenna nodded. "Garet's not perfect, but I wouldn't trade him for anything. I love him despite all his flaws--maybe even because of them."

"I'm very happy for both of you. Mercury knows it took you long enough!"

"Hey!"

"I'm just kidding. I know how hard it is to work these things out. And sometimes what seems obvious to everyone else can go unnoticed by you for years. Love is funny that way."

They listened to the rain outside and Garet's snoring, which was steadily escalating in volume. "And to think I might have a whole lifetime of this to look forward to," Jenna sighed.

Mia giggled. "There are worse things he could do in his sleep. Goodnight, Jenna."

"Goodnight, Mia."

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Yeah, I know that wasn't the greatest chapter I've ever written, but I wanted to give Felix a chance to play "big brother." Hope it was at least a little funny. I'll make up for the lackluster-ness next time.