Disclaimer: Don't own Golden Sun, just Videll.
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Here they come, she thought grimly as the water funnel approached the island. She knew from what she had seen of the future that Ivan would be badly hurt, and she squinted up at the funnel to see if she could spot him. And good thing she looked up, because just then a piece of the ship's wrecked mast was hurled from the top of the funnel to come crashing down on her. She spotted it just in time to jump out of the way, but she lost sight of Ivan. Quickly she looked up again, but the four Adepts were already sailing over her head. She was glad to see their Psyenergy surrounding and protecting them as they disappeared into the forest at her back.
Quickly she set off into the woods, looking for any sign of the Adepts. After a few minutes she heard a groan off to her left. She broke through the bushes and immediately spotted Ivan lying limp on the forest floor, his clothes stained with blood and his face tight with pain.
"Ivan!" she cried urgently as she ran to him. "Ivan, can you hear me?" She was glad to hear his soft "Wh-who are you?" despite the fact that it was barely audible, even in the silence of the forest. Without giving an answer, she knelt and examined Ivan.
His bloodstained shirt was ripped apart, revealing a deep gash running from his left shoulder to his right hip. A quick look confirmed that it had missed anything vital. Closing her eyes, she laid her palms flat on Ivan's damp, sticky chest and concentrated with all her might on her most powerful healing Psyenergy, Blessed Wind. She winced when she saw the result - the wound had been worse than she thought. Usually Blessed Wind resulted in full recovery. Only the worst wounds merely scabbed over, as Ivan's had. She began to tear strips from her cloak, using them as makeshift gauze and bandages. If only she had her healing herbs with her! She hated applying untreated bandages to a wound - she much preferred a proper dressing.
Ivan's voice came again - stronger now, but still frightened: "Who are you? What happened?"
"My name is Videll," she replied, not stopping her work. Only when Ivan was bandaged to her satisfaction did she look at his face. His eyes were wide with fright and pain, and the very sight of him softened her tense mood. "You should rest," she told him, her voice softening. Wanting to comfort him, she positioned herself near his resting place, making it clear that he would be safe while he slept. She watched him until he drifted off to sleep.
Isaac slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, and he was surprised to see treetops above his head. A forest? What about the ocean? And the ship - Then he remembered the kraken. He quickly sat up and looked around. It was very dark, as the trees and vegetation were relatively thick, blocking even moonlight. Nevertheless, he could see Mia lying in the bushes to his right, covered with scratches from the thorns. Seeing her cuts, Isaac quickly examined himself for injuries. There were none, apart from several bruises on his arms and back. He turned back to Mia and used Revive. She sat up and blinked, then realized Isaac was next to her.
"Where are we?" she asked in a trembling voice. "What happened to the kraken?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," he told her as he looked around for the others. He soon spotted Garet lying under a tree not far off. He ran over to him and revived him as well. Garet sat up and took a quick look around.
"Where's Ivan?" he asked. Isaac and Mia looked around too - there was no sign of Ivan anywhere.
"I hope his Psyenergy protected him like it did for us," Mia said quietly, gazing off into the woods. Suddenly she turned, a determined look in her blue eyes. "We have to find him!" she said.
Though the three searched long hours, they found no trace of Ivan, and finally, exhausted, they dropped to the ground in a deep, dreamless sleep.
Ivan slept all afternoon and through the night, waking late the next morning. Videll was sitting by a fire to his left, her back turned to him. He also noticed that the forest floor had been cleared of leaves and branches, and a tent had been set up to his right. All of a sudden the worry hit him. Where were Isaac and the others? He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain streaked across his wound, and he fell back to the ground.
Videll, hearing the noise, turned, looking worried. "No, Ivan," she scolded as she came to sit by him. "Don't sit up. Don't push yourself too hard. Isaac and the others will be fine. They were not hurt by the kraken, and their Psyenergy probably cushioned their fall."
"How did you know what I was thinking?" Ivan asked, startled. "You couldn't be..."
"Yes, Ivan," Videll replied, smiling. "I am a Jupiter Adept, just like you."
"So that means... you must have seen the kraken in the future, right?" he questioned.
"Yes," she replied, "and that is how I knew you were hurt. You are in no condition to go looking for your friends," she added, "and if I leave you, some creature or other will have a very good breakfast. Several have already tried." This drew an involuntary shudder from Ivan. "We will look for your friends when your wounds have healed enough," Videll promised. "But chances are they will find us first."
Satisfied by this, Ivan lay back down. He was asleep within minutes.
When the other three Adepts awoke, it was dark again. This time they spotted a flickering light through the bushes to their right. Cautiously, they crept over and peered through the thick vegetation. The first thing they saw was Ivan lying asleep on the ground. The three exchanged glances, unsure of what to do. Garet was the first to muster his courage and step through the bushes and into the clearing.
Before he reached Ivan, he heard a voice on his right: "Shh! Don't wake him." All three turned toward the voice, Isaac and Mia stepping out of the bushes as they did. They saw a young violet-haired girl about Ivan's age sitting by a fire. She had them fixed with her steady gaze, seeming to look straight into their hearts.
"Who are you?" Isaac asked cautiously.
"I am Videll," she replied, "a Jupiter Adept."
"How did you find Ivan?" Mia asked her.
"Come and sit down," Videll said, beckoning, "and I'll tell you everything." Videll explained about herself, her powers, and how she found Ivan. Hearing his name spoken, Ivan's eyes opened. He was now able to rise onto his elbows as his friends rushed over to him, glad to see him awake.
"Are you all right?" Mia fussed.
"What happened to you?" Isaac asked.
"I don't know what all the fuss is about," Garet scoffed. "He's obviously fine." But his eyes gave away his concern, and Ivan knew he felt the same as his other two friends.
After everyone had heard the story from Ivan's point of view, Videll chipping in during the parts where Ivan was unconscious or asleep, they began to discuss what they would do once Ivan was better. Noticing that Garet had been quiet, unusual for him, Mia asked him what was on his mind.
"Well," Garet faltered, "I mean, I was thinkin'..."
"Thinking what?" Videll asked, speaking for the first time since Ivan's story.
"Well, I was wondering if... if maybe... you wanted to come with us, Videll. We could use someone like you to help get the Elemental Stars back."
A smile lit up Videll's face. "Sure," she told him, "I'd be glad to help you four on your quest." She paused for a moment. "But right now there's one major problem."
"What is it?" the four asked in unison.
"Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. A few weeks ago I was testing out an amulet I'd found - a teleportation amulet. But the spell was interrupted by the magical barrier around this island, and I was left here."
"You mean a Psyenergy barrier?" Garet asked. "Then maybe..."
Videll looked at Garet for a moment, then shook her head. "No, Garet, this isn't Lemuria. I've been all over the island, and there's no civilization anywhere." Garet looked puzzled. Videll smiled a little. "I did tell you I was a Jupiter Adept!" she reminded him. "Anyway, that's why I'm here. I would have tried harder to get off the island, but then I had a vision about the kraken. I knew you would need help, especially Ivan here," she said, smiling at him. To everyone's surprise, Ivan blushed.
Videll seemed not to notice. "So, we can't get off the island. The amulet was destroyed in passing through the barrier." Then a thought hit her. "But you four got through... maybe the kraken's water funnel disrupted the barrier!"
"If that was true," Ivan said slowly, "We would need to find the place where the funnel met the barrier."
"Oh, that's no problem," Videll assured him. "I know this island forward and backward. The real problem is what we'll use to sail out. "We'll need something better than a raft to find Lemuria, even just to get back to the mainland to stock up on food."
"I'm stumped," admitted Garet. "What do you think, Ivan? ...Ivan?"
Looking over at him, the other four Adepts saw Ivan was asleep. "We'd better let him rest," Videll suggested. "He needs it. That kraken beat him up pretty badly. We can plan more in the morning."
After everyone woke up the next morning, they planned some more and decided to send Isaac and Mia out to see what driftwood they could salvage from the ship, while Garet and Videll stayed to protect Ivan. After a half hour or so, the two scouts returned.
"It's a miracle!" Mia cried as she ran breathless into the clearing, her eyes shining.
Isaac came up behind her. "The ship is hardly damaged at all," he told them excitedly. "If we really work at it, we could have it good as new in a few days!"
Everyone was excited by this. As soon as Ivan was better, they set to work. The main body of the ship was mostly undamaged. Mia's water Djinn worked on the rudder, as it was submerged in the water. Mia worked on getting the water out of the inside of the ship, belowdecks and such, as she could control the water with her Psyenergy. Garet and Isaac repaired several holes in the walls of the ship, as they were the strongest physically. At first, the mast was a real problem. It was much too high for any of them to reach without the right equipment. All their efforts seemed wasted, but then Ivan and Videll found they could summon up strong pillars of wind to hold them in the air, and use air currents to move wood up and down from where they sat. With all the Adepts working hard, the ship was repaired within a week.
Then the Adepts collected food. The scarce fruit and meat on the island would not be enough to sustain them for a long journey. The five agreed that it might not even be enough to get them back to the mainland.
"We'll just have to use our food sparingly," declared Isaac. "If we eat small meals, it should last us until we get back to land and can restock." Garet, of course, grumbled at this, but everyone agreed it was the best thing to do.
The next day, the five Adepts boarded the ship and started their quest anew.
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