I DON'T own Golden Sun. Ugh how many times do I have to say this?!
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"Ugghhh..." The five Adepts had been traveling for nearly three hours, and Garet had lost most of his former enthusiasm.
"Aw, come on, Garet," said Videll cheerfully. We're halfway there already!" Garet just looked at her.
"Don't you feel so much better, Garet?" Ivan said wickedly. Garet glared at both of them - he didn't have enough energy to pound them into the ground, his first reaction.
"How can you two not be tired?" Isaac groaned. Ivan and Videll were currentlyat the head of the group, maintainting a brisk trot, even after all this time. The other three were struggling along in the back, finding it difficult even to move. "I was energetic next to the Venus Lighthouse, but this is ridiculous!"
"It's windy," replied Ivan simply, as if that explained everything. Garet started to say something, but stopped when he saw an enemy approaching.
"Whose turn is it?" he asked wearily.
"Mine," replied Mia. She stepped up and flicked her finger at the single bat, sending a small spray of water at it. It was instantly defeated.
"Jeez," mumbled Isaac, "these monsters-"
"I don't know if you can even call them monsters," Garet interrupted. He was currently seated on the path, taking this opportunity to rest his tired legs.
"-are even weaker than the ones we battled in Vale," he finished with a glare at Garet. Isaac did not like being interrupted.
"Maybe," came Mia's frightened voice, "but those sure aren't!"
The other four turned to see two Earth Golems and a Fenrir standing before them. The Fenrir snarled its challenge, making it clear that it did not intend to let the five travelers make it to Lalivero. The Golems just stared eerily at them.
"Mia and Garet, take the left Golem!" Isaac shouted as the party assumed battle positions. "Ivan and Videll, you take the one on the right - combine your attacks! I think I can handle the Fenrir alone."
The four assumed their assigned positions, Garet mumbling something about "overconfident leaders". The Fenrir's party let out a battle cry and leapt at the Adepts.
The five friends had been battling for a few minutes, and they were starting to gain the advantage. Mia and Garet were doing very well, using Garet as the primary fighter and Mia as the healer. Garet shot a branch of flame straight at the Golem, blinding it. In its blind thrashing, though, it hit Garet directly, throwing him back several feet. Mia was ready. She concentrated a blast of Psyenergy into her palm and shot a sheet of ice straight at the Golem. It let out a cry of pain, wildly trying to fend off the attacker it could not see. Mia took this opportunity to cast a pure ply, fully healing Garet.
Isaac lunged at the Fenrir with his Gaia Blade, intending to disable one of its legs - those claws were a major problem. But the Fenrir was fast - faster than Isaac had expected. It dodged the blow, sending him off balance. He lifted his Gaia Blade just as the Fenrir pounced, keeping its snapping jaws at bay. They tumbled over and over across the grass. As they slowed, Isaac saw his chance. He pulled his knees up to his chest and kicked-
Ivan and Videll were handling their Golem with ease. Their speed and ability to combine attacks were too much for the Golem. It swung sharp claws toward the two Adepts continually, but their speed far outmatched its own. This time they flipped over its claws, as easily as if they did it every day. They landed side by side and joined hands, communicating and planning by thought. They raised their hands towards the sky. "Shine Plasma!!!" The sky's wrath poured down onto the Golem in a barrage of storm bolts, knocking it to the ground.
The Golem seemed to be defeated, but it had been smart. Coming out of its dead act, it lunged at the two Jupiter Adepts, catching them off guard. Videll dove to the side, managing to escape, but Ivan was caught across the chest by the claws. Before he could even cry out, he was thrown against the large boulders to one side of the path. Here was something they had not taken into consideration. The rocks trapped Ivan, cutting off any possible escape.
Videll knew what she had to do. Any Psyenergetic attack she projected would not reach the Golem in time. As the monster prepared to swing, she called on a power deep within her...
Ivan shut his eyes, bracing himself for the fatal blow. It never came. He opened his eyes to find a bubble of violet light encircling him. The Golem looked stunned - obviously it wasn't that smart. As the Golem hesitated, Ivan saw Videll sinking to her knees...
Pain flooded her. It was too much. She couldn't keep her hold on the spell. She saw the shield flicker away as she hit the ground. She was vaugely aware of Ivan through the haze of pain, cornered and vulnerable to the blow that would end his life... "No," she whispered. "I won't give up now..."
With the last of her strength, she forced the barrier up again, stopping the Golem's claws inches from Ivan's throat. "Ivan! Get out of there!" she yelled. Snapping out of his trance, he obliged, diving through the Golem's legs while it was still off balance from the attack. Recovering quickly, he turned and sprang onto the thing's back and jumped high above it. With a quick twist, he plummeted back down toward the Golem, his feet skyward and his Zodiac Wand pointing toward the enemy. His aim held true. A sickening crack was heard as the Golem's spine (or whatever it had in there) snapped. Their enemy defeated, the two friends collapsed against each other, too tired to stand.
Garet lunged, forcing the Swift Sword through the Golem. At the same time, Isaac launched Mother Gaia at the Fenrir, finishing it. The party sized up their wounds. Isaac had a few bites and scratches from his tussle with the Fenrir, which Mia set to work on right away. After managing to stand, Ivan nearly fainted when he felt the blood that had soaked his shirt through.
"Garet," Videll called weakly. He came over to where she sat. "Could you get Corona set up? I need to recover my Psyenergy."
Garet nodded. The Djinni materialized on his shoulder, then jumped into the air, surrounding Videll with restoring flames. As soon as that was done, she turned to Ivan and cast Blessed Wind. The cuts vanished instantly.
"I'm getting better," Videll commented with a weak smile.
"Wow," came an awed voice. Mia had finished healing Isaac and was looking at Videll with admiration. "I've seen that technique used before! It's the only shield powerful enough to stop monsters this strong."
"What was that, anyway?" Ivan asked. "And why did it hurt you to cast it?"
Videll shook her head. "You explain, Mia."
"Well," Mia continued, "it's the only shield that can block monsters of this level. The Great Healer back in Imil told me about it. A few chosen Adepts were taught the technique thousands of years ago. It was passed down through their families, and the ancestors of those Adepts can now use it. It-"
"Enough about old people," Garet broke in. "Why did it hurt her to use it?"
Mia glared at him. Seeing an argument about to start, Videll quickly picked up the explanation. "The shield is so strong, it has to have a downside to balance the power," she explained. "The Adept who casts the shield feels the pain that the blow would have caused."
"Videll, you could have killed yourself with that!" cried Ivan, alarmed. "You shouldn't have-"
"Yes, I should have," she told him firmly. "That thing would have killed you. While the user feels the pain, it does no actual damage. What it would have done to you was much, much worse."
Isaac shook his head. "Any other things you can do that we had no idea about?" he asked, grinning. "You do something unexpected every day!"
"That's it," she replied, grinning as well. "I didn't think I'd ever need a shield that strong. I hadn't used it in years."
"Well, let's go," Garet said, completely off topic. He was already continuing down the road.
There was a collective groan from the rest of the group. "In case you haven't noticed, Garet, some of us are tired," Ivan informed him. Garet looked back. No one showed any signs of moving. They simply sat against the rocks, looking at him expectantly.
With an exagerrated sigh, Garet trudged back to his friends. Smiling at their victory over Garet, they began to tiredly set up camp. When the exhausted travelers finally finished, it was dark, and they fell asleep immediately.
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Sorry for the short chapter. I needed to introduce the shield, and this was the latest place I could cut off. I'm going to start using my secondary genre in the next chapter.^_^