I'm writing this on about five hours of sleep, so let's hope for the best. ^_^
I'm not doing disclaimers anymore - you all know who owns Golden Sun, and it's not me.
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A burst of flame erupted underneath Agatio, knocking him back. (You didn't really think I'd kill my own character, did you?)
The other three Adepts rushed up to Videll. Isaac pulled her up off the ground, not taking his eyes off of Agatio and the others. Her eyes flickered open.
"Ivan?" she asked immediately. Her voice was faint.
"He's fine - well... not dead, anyway."
Videll turned toward the enemy party, looking ready to kill. Besides Alex and Felix, there were two new faces. One was the tall, muscular man who had tried to kill Ivan. He looked very much like Saturos, with the same red eyes and similar hair. Standing next to him was a woman with long hair like Menardi's, only a bright red. Isaac could guess that anyone to mistake her for a weak girl would regret it.
"How did they get up here?" muttered Felix, eyeing the Adepts. "Without Ivan..."
"It's the girl," sneered the woman in a feminine voice.
"I doubt she could be much of a challenge," smirked the man in a deep, hard voice. "A weakling like her. They probably just dragged her along so they could get into the lighthouse."
Videll's eyes flashed, and sparks of lightning began to play across her fingertips.
Isaac laid a hand on her shoulder, a silent order to control herself. "Surrender now, and we might spare you," he said coolly.
"And let Ivan go," added Videll softly.
"Hmmm... no, I don't think we will," said the man in a mocking voice. "But we won't kill him yet, either. We'll have a little fun first." He grabbed Ivan and, smiling, flung him headfirst into the lighthouse railing, where he lay still, unmoving. Videll silently vowed she would kill that man someday.
"Now then," he continued calmly, "I don't think we've introduced ourselves. We are Agatio and Karst, future rulers of this planet." Garet made an amused noise behind his sword.
"You think that's funny, do you?" Karst snapped. "I doubt you'll be so amused once you clash with us." Then, with a small smile, she tossed something over her shoulder and into the lighthouse beacon.
A shaft of violet light shot from the beacon, lighting up the night sky with its glow. Then it burst into a hovering lavender globe, shimmering with silver luster.
Not a smart move, Videll thought to herself. The power of Jupiter flowed through her veins. She felt strong, invincible. Nothing would stop her now.
"If we must fight you to get Ivan back, we will," Mia said coldly. She appeared calm, unphased by the lighting of the beacon.
"I don't know if fighting you would be much fun," Agatio taunted. "Maybe we should save our strength for a more powerful enemy." He recieved no response from the four Adepts - just cold glares. He shrugged. "Fine. Have it your way."
He signaled to Alex and Felix, and they moved back, guarding the prisoners. Besides Jenna and Kraden, there was another girl with them. She had short blonde hair and purple eyes.
Sheba, Isaac thought.
Agatio, Karst, and their challengers assumed battle poses, and the fight began.
Agatio made the first move, slashing at Isaac with his sword. He caught him unprepared for the early attack. Seeing his weakness, Karst began to move toward Isaac as well, but Garet called on Flash, easily deflecting the blow. Mia took this opportunity to heal Isaac.
Videll concentrated the power that fought to escape her, and let it out. Spark Plasma shot down onto Agatio and Karst, but they weakened only slightly. Now the Adepts were hit with Inferno.
Flash helped a little, but the blow was still heavy. Mia unleashed Spritz to heal the party's wounds, and Isaac unleashed Mother Gaia. Garet followed up with Flare Storm before their enemies could recover.
Seeing that her friends were doing well, Videll slipped away from the battle. Staying low, she made her way through flashes of Psyenergy and raining debris to where Ivan lay. Getting a good look at him, she nearly cried.
His hair was tangled and dirty, and his clothes were smeared with mud, grime, and something else. She bent closer. Blood. Every inch of skin visible was covered in cuts and bruises. Biting her lip, she gently wiped away the mud on his face. A large bruise was spreading across his cheek, and a fresh cut ran from his chin up to his forehead.
Suddenly she heard a warning shout from her friends. Pulling Ivan close to her, she ducked low, keeping herself between him and the fight. A pillar shattered behind them, showering the two Adepts with shards of marble.
Seeing her chance, Videll pulled Ivan behind a statue of Atlanta before the dust cleared. Still sheltering him from danger, she cast Blessed Wind.
Ivan awoke in Videll's arms. Something was going on behind her that he couldn't see... "What's going on? Where is everybody?"
"Fighting," she replied. She pulled a small knife from her boot and sliced the bindings that held Ivan. Once she thought it was safe enough, she set him down. "Can you stand?"
"Yeah." He stood, and saw the scene behind Videll. Mia was down, blood smeared across her limp form. Karst and Agatio were still fighting, as were Isaac and Garet.
"I think we might win this," Videll said. "Isaac can revive anyone if we can give him the chance..."
Her voice trailed off as Isaac fell.
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Hehe... yeah, another cliffhanger. This should be the last one for a while, though.
Now REVIEW!!!