Jupiter Adept
By: Avaria
Disclaimer: I own every word in this fanfiction, so HA!
Jupiter Adept: You are the tenth review.
Alex: It wouldn't be my story without more Picard ;). That's half of why Vil's so obsessed with this ficcy.
Chapter Three: Journey
"Get up, Ivan!" Gust said urgently. "The rain's over, and Picard says we should get going before they start again."
"Knowing Picard, he says we should stay here for a while, but hey, why not, I'm not tired anymore," Ivan said, sitting up and shaking his head to clear it. "Though food would be nice."
"Ten steps ahead of you, Ivan," Picard said from over by the pile of sticks that had once been a fire. "Made you breakfast." He handed a bowl filled with something hot to Ivan, and a spoon, and the Jupiter Adept thanked him and ate quickly.
"And he said he was low on power," Torrent muttered in an aside to Gust. "Trust him to reserve near half of his energy, 'just in case'."
"Well, you know, they're all the same," Gust commented. "Mercury Adepts, I mean."
"I know. Believe me, I know."
"This kinda makes me miss Sheba's cooking," Ivan said, making a face at the taste of the food.
"For Sol's sake, I'm a healer, not a cook! I'd like to see you do better!" Picard said defensively. He knew he wasn't a master of cooking, but he also didn't think he could be that bad.
"Actually, I cooked all the time when it was Isaac, Garet, Mia, Zoe and I out on the road. Though I never had the pleasure of attempting to cook one-handed," he remarked thoughtfully. "You do your job well, Picard, and if your job was cooking, I wouldn't be able to say that."
"Kinda makes you glad we don't eat," Gust muttered.
"Heck yeah," Torrent agreed. "That stuff looked like glue with lumps."
"Are we going to get going?" Ivan asked, standing and getting his Zodiac Wand. His smirk wiped the look of shock off Picard's face. "Did you not just hear me, Picard? I said, you do your job well."
Picard laughed. "Oh very funny." Standing and gathering his things, Picard laughed quietly to himself, until his hand bumped against something inside his pack. He pulled it out and looked at it, eyeing it strangely. "Ivan, do you recognize this?" he called.
"Recognize what?" Ivan called back. Still walking with a slight limp, he joined Picard by the cave entrance and looked at the object. "Jupiter help us all," he said in awe. "It's the Mars Star."
"What is it doing here?" Picard wondered aloud. "It shouldn't be here. I know I didn't have it when I got to Tolbi. Heck, I didn't have it when I left Tolbi!"
"Can we contemplate this while moving?" Gust asked, a trace of urgency in her voice. "It's getting overcast again, and I don't want to be caught in the rain!"
"Sure, sure, let's go," Picard said, mind obviously somewhere else, shoving the Mars Star back into his bag and throwing on his cloak. "Ready, Ivan?"
"What are my choices?" Ivan asked helplessly. "Let me warn you though—monsters are still about, even two years after."
"I know that. What do you think the trip across the Karagol was like? A vacation?"
"You could have gone around to the south of the Karagol, you know."
"But it was water, Ivan."
"I know it was. The element I get to beat up on."
"Please, don't beat up on me. Then where would you be the next time you encountered Rat Warriors?"
"Up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Heck, I don't even think I'd have a boat." This made all four companions laugh. For a while after, they were silent, moving slowly but at a steady pace. They had a brief encounter with some Zombies, but Ivan easily took them down with Shine Plasma.
"Zappage is so wonderful," Gust sighed wistfully.
"'Zappage'?" Ivan and Picard asked together. "What is 'zappage'?" Ivan went on.
"A word invented by yours truly. Zappage is the idea or action of zapping."
"Ah. Zappage. Right." Ivan turned to Picard. "Do you think all Djinn do this, or maybe just all Jupiter Djinn, or maybe just Gust in particular?"
"That's a familiar question," Gust remarked. "I suppose you meant it that way." The Djinni hopped from Ivan's shoulder to his head. "You know, Ivan, you're hungry."
"I am? I guess I am, a little."
"A little my left eye. You're trying to hide it from water-boy over there. Figures. You and Zoe, you two were the worst and the best at hiding those things."
"Hiding what things?" Picard asked.
"Anything that they didn't want the others to know," Torrent and Gust said together.
"Um, ok. But listen, I'm hungry, too. What do you say we stop for lunch?" Picard asked cheerfully. The sense of the presence of water everywhere put him in an unusually cheerful mood.
"You're not cooking," Ivan said decisively.
"Like you are? Ivan of Kalay, world's greatest cook, does everything single-handedly—literally?!"
"Correct again, Picard. You're getting better at that. This seems a good enough place to stop to me." With those words, Ivan shot a spark at some dry grass, quickly gathering sticks and whatever else dry he could find to keep the fire going. "Lunch is on the way!"
"Well, at least your cooking is better than Garet's cooking," Torrent consoled Picard. "All we ever got from him was ashen remains. I remember him trying to fry an apple once. And the day he fried the nuts still in their shells and they exploded…I think he still has that scar on his forehead…"
"Fry cook extraordinaire, huh?" Picard asked with a grin. "What I'd expect, from a fire-user."
"No, you don't get it. Garet's motto was not 'fry'. Garet's motto was 'all food must look the same, therefore it all must be a pile of burnt dust'. Because he would eat it no matter how bad it tasted. Because he was Garet."
"That sounds about right, actually," Ivan put in. Using the cooking gear that Picard carried, he had thrown together a better-looking and better-tasting form of the morning's 'glue with lumps', slicing an apple and adding it to the mix.
"Ok, you are teaching me this recipe, Ivan," Picard said when he was finished.
"Nothing to teach," Ivan said coolly. "Just throw it all together and hope it doesn't burn. Or, if you're Garet, hope it does more than burn."
"Is it me, or do all our conversations circle back around to Garet?" Gust asked. "If he knew how much we talked about him, his head would be so big he couldn't get his shirt on in the morning." Ivan, laughing, nodded his head in agreement. The image of Garet with a head the size of a watermelon did nothing to stop his laughter, but the sudden noise in the bushes to his right was more than enough to shut him up. The rustles were quickly followed by figures leaping from the shrubbery, and Ivan didn't even have the time to react before sharp claws scratched lines across his face.
"Ack! Picard, look out!" Ivan cried, scrambling to his feet and grabbing his Zodiac Wand. "There never were Mad Moles on this side of the Karagol before," he said as he swung at one of the five creatures. "And I never thought they were smart enough for ambush."
"This isn't the time," Picard muttered, driving one off with his sword and warily watching the others. "A little help, Torrent?"
"Sure thing!" cried the Djinni, not even waiting for Picard to unleash her as she dove on one of the Mad Moles.
"Gust unleash! Follow Torrent!" Ivan called, too distracted to pay attention to whether Gust attacked or not. He was busy jumping and dodging the mole's sharp teeth and claws, trying to keep his Wand between him and it. Reaching into the speed he knew as that of a Jupiter Adept, he suddenly became a purple-and-green blur, taking down the Mad Mole with only a few swings and instantly heading for another one. This one seemed a bit smarter, because it dug itself into the ground, staying just below the surface and springing whenever Ivan paused for a fraction of a second to change direction as he fought off the third mole.
Picard was having his own problems. He was about to summon Mercury but before he had gotten past 'I summon' the teeth of the fifth mole latched onto his leg, digging deep and tearing with a searing pain into muscle, even reaching bone. Stifling a scream, Picard instead sent all his rage and emotion from the pain into one giant blast. "Liquid Fire!"
Ivan barely got out of the way in time, the blue flames disintegrating the three remaining Mad Moles and singeing Ivan's cloak and hair. He looked in awe at Picard as the light faded—the attack seemed similar to his own last-ditch attack, Shining Strike, one of those things that only manifested itself in extreme emergencies. Picard's cry of pain changed the look on Ivan's face from awe to concern, and he knelt beside the Mercury Adept, who was sitting and clutching his leg.
"What happened?" Ivan asked urgently. He was aware that he sounded quite unlike himself, but at the moment, with Gust not around to point it out, he didn't really care. "Come on, say something, Picard."
"Your face…" Picard whispered, and Ivan reached up and touched his cheek. He instantly regretted this as he felt the sting from the scratches one of the Mad Moles had given him.
"That wasn't exactly what I meant by 'say something', but it proves you're alive," Ivan attempted to joke. It worked, to some degree, for Picard smiled, but the smile quickly turned into a grimace again. "This'll be fun. I've never gotten to play 'role reversal' with a Mercury Adept before. Ok, water boy, move your hands." Picard's eyes, both pain-filled and amused at the same time, caught Ivan's and held them. Ivan sighed and shook his head. "I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking. But do you have any other ideas?" At this Picard gave him a helpless gaze. "I didn't think so. Now, I know you heard me. Move your hands." Reluctantly, Picard let go of his leg and placed his hands on the ground.
"By the god of thunder…" Ivan whispered. It had become a common expression of his two years ago, and it was no less easily said now. "They were just moles," he went on, more to convince himself than Picard. His mind lit on something then, something he'd long kept stored in his bag and forgotten about, simply from lack of need to use it. Reaching for the pouch on his belt, he undid the knot that held it closed and dug around inside. Finally, he came up with a ring held between two fingers. The sky-blue stone set in the band flashed once, then went dim. "Darn it! I forgot! I can't use it!"
"Can't use…what?" Picard asked weakly. Anger flared in Ivan's eyes at his stupidity. Only a Mercury Adept could…Picard was a Mercury Adept!
"My ring. Or, actually, Mia's ring, but she said she didn't need it, in fact said I'd probably need it more than she would, so I took it. But only a Mercury Adept, in other words, you, can use it, because it's the Healing Ring." Picard, understanding, held out a hand, and Ivan dropped the ring into it. Closing his eyes, Picard combined the power of the ring with what little remained of his own power and felt the deep gashes in his leg begin to heal. If he had been at full power, they might have vanished completely; as it was they only got smaller and less painful, which was more than enough to satisfy Picard. About to hand the ring back to Ivan, he realized the Jupiter Adept was occupied with bandaging what cuts remained on his leg.
"You know," Ivan commented, tying a tight not, "you should keep the ring. I certainly have no use for it, and even if I had a use for it, I can't use it. By the way, you should invest in a bag like mine. All that stuff you carry wouldn't be nearly so heavy then. And, before you ask, yes, I do babble on like this. I think I picked it up from Gust, actually. It gives me something else to think about, and I can remember Mia and Isaac talking on like this a lot too, so it must serve some purpose." Finished, Ivan smiled at Picard.
"It has a purpose. And you know it well enough. You sure you weren't supposed to be a Mercury Adept?" Picard asked with a half-smile.
"No one has ever asked me that before, and I really hope they don't start now. I was asked, once, if I was certain that I was meant for the power of Jupiter and not the power of Venus, don't ask me why, I really don't know. Venus power gives me the willies like you wouldn't believe."
"Ivan."
"Yeah Picard?"
"Shut up."
"I had this same conversation with Garet once, you know."
"I can believe it." Sighing, Picard suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to collapse where he sat and just…sleep. For a good long time. But he knew he couldn't. They had to keep going, or he wouldn't reach Altin in time, and Ivan might not get to Lama Temple on his own. Ivan, picking up on these thoughts without conscious effort, was surprised at Picard's loss of the idea that Ivan should go back to Kalay. The Mercury Adept usually held on to the ideas he thought were sensible.
"I won't mind if you want to sleep, you know," Ivan remarked, smiling and wincing when the scratches on his face flared in pain again. Picard smiled back and, using his pack for a pillow, fell asleep.
Ivan, needing something to do and thinking it a good idea, wet a square of cloth with cold water and held it on his face. "The left side of my face sure takes a beating," he remarked to the open air. The wind stirred momentarily, and Ivan felt it wrap around him, holding him as only it could, and only for an adept like himself. "I will find my answers," he vowed, glancing at the sky. The sun was about two hours' distance past noon, he decided. Vault was still at least a day's trip away, two now, with Picard slowed because of his leg.
"Ok, I'm sick of being alone. Gust! Set yourself!" he called. Instantly he felt a small surge of power, and the Jupiter Djinni appeared on his leg. Glancing over at Picard, Gust let out a long, low whistle.
"What did you do to him, Iv'?"
"Not me, one of those Mad Moles. Those things have powerful teeth."
"And look at your face! Hey, Torrent!" Gust called, and in a blue flash the Djinni was on Ivan's other knee.
"Yeah?"
"Lend Ivan a hand?"
"I didn't ask for any hand," Ivan muttered, and Gust simply glared at him.
"Can't," Torrent said with a Djinni-style shrug. "I'm an attacking Djinni. Remember Fizz? And Spritz? You want one of them. Or maybe Dew…nah, it's not all that bad."
"Well, how about Picard then?" Gust asked, and Torrent's eyes shifted to her partner, and she let out a quiet gasp.
"The last time I attack without waiting for the order to," she whispered. "But we're still facing the same problem. I am an attacking Djinni. Get it through your airy head. I attack, and I power a summons. And, when not fighting, try and provide useful insight and occasional humor."
"There was that one time," Gust said, "with Isaac in Goma Cave. But I guess you're right. That was different. Two hours, Ivan."
"What?" Ivan asked. He had long since lost interest in the Djinn conversation, instead losing himself in the deep blue of the sky. White, puffy clouds contrasted startlingly against the crystalline blue, and the golden light of the sun made everything appear to shine. Of course, being a Wind Adept and sensitive to weather changes, Ivan knew there was more rain coming. But right then he'd just been enjoying the moment, absorbed in the simplicity of it all and surrounded by the gentle breeze that embraced him. If anyone ever heard me talk about how I view the wind, he thought, they'd think I was crazy.
"You are crazy," Gust said aloud in reply to his thought. "And I'm guessing you have two hours before it starts some serious raining. The winds are shifting about a mile south, bringing the rain with them."
"Well, now you've made my common sense start a war with my conscience. I can't very well continue on to Vault and stay here at the same time."
"You might wake him up and travel until it starts raining," Torrent suggested. "Honestly, I'm wondering why I haven't collapsed on the ground like he has."
"Because you are 'standing by' to power a summons, remember?" Ivan pointed out, and Torrent nodded. "In that state, Djinn are not affected by their partner's current state. Or something like that. Mia gave me some technical definition a while back, and I remember most of it. That was just the short version."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Wake him up!" Gust said urgently. "Vault is more than two hours away, and even if I try to hold off the rain, we won't make it in time. We'll be spending a night out."
"We would have been spending a night out anyway," Ivan said, standing and stretching, wincing at his still-sore ankle and arm and at the newer sting of the scratches on his face, then bent and shook Picard awake. "Come on, get up, honestly, you sleep sounder than Garet, and that's saying something." Picard, half-asleep, looked up at Ivan drowsily.
"What time?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing his golden-brown eyes. Ivan almost laughed at the sight of him, so strong-looking and acting like an innocent little child who slept in.
"About two in the afternoon, I should think. Gust says we have two hours minimum until rain hits us, and I think it'd be best if we travel while it's still clear. It might be easier for both of us."
"How, Ivan? I can barely stand." Picard frowned. He hated admitting that he had a weakness. "As much as I don't like saying so, I know I can't walk all the way to Vault."
"Well you don't have a problem there. We might cover half the distance to Vault, if we hurry as much as we can."
"That still doesn't solve the problem of how I walk."
Ivan sat in thought for a moment. Then, suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "I've got it. Switch weapons."
"What?"
"Give me your sword, and you take
the Zodiac Wand. It makes a great crutch, trust me." Ivan's lazy grin sparked a
similar smile on Picard's face, and he unbuckled the sword from his belt and
handed it to Ivan, hilt-first. Ivan took it, holding it with some struggle off
the ground. "Ok, so it's a bit heavy. Not like I haven't had to carry heavier."
"Shove it into that magic bag of yours," Picard said as he pulled himself up using the Zodiac Wand. "There seem to be more surprises in there than even you know about."
"There usually are. Ok, the sun sets west, so north is…this way," Ivan said confidently, beginning to walk, Picard following a few feet behind. Gust and Torrent had disappeared, though Ivan sensed that Gust was off holding back the storm. Two hours passed this way, the sun getting lower and lower in a sky that grew steadily more overcast. Finally, after about three hours of nonstop walking, Ivan felt the first drops of rain. A glance behind him told him that Picard needed to stop, and he began scouting around for some suitable form of shelter.
Gust flashed onto his shoulder. "Storm's coming from the southwest, and so is the wind. Ideal shelter would face northeast." Ivan nodded, for once appreciating the Djinni's ability to sense his thoughts. Searching around again, Ivan sighed. There were no mountains nearby; in fact they had just crossed the bridge that was closest to Kalay. The forest would have been the next best place, but the trees were half a mile away, and Picard looked to be on the verge of collapsing. Still, Ivan had to chance it. Speeding up a bit, he aimed for the trees, rain coming down harder with each step he took. "Head for the forest!" he yelled back to Picard over the roar of the wind.
When they had at last reached the shelter of the trees, Picard sat down hard on the ground, placing his hands on his wounded leg and trying to send what power he had into it. Ivan sat with his back to Picard, not wanting the Mercury Adept to see that his yelling had reopened the gashes on his face. Touching one, his hand came away red, and he grimaced. It couldn't have been that bad, could it? Pulling a bandanna from a pocket, Ivan held it to the side of his face.
"We're stuck here for the night, I can assume?" Picard asked, and Ivan nodded silently. For some reason, the storm seemed to be taking Ivan's energy right away, and he felt drained. Slowly, he leaned up against a tree and closed his eyes. Picard saw Ivan's hand fall from his face, and the bandanna fell to the side, its purple color stained a deep red. "I'm not going to like this," Picard reasoned as he limped over to Ivan, his leg feeling much better and able to bear some of his weight. Reaching out a hand, he gently ran his fingers along the cuts on Ivan's cheek and sighed. Focusing, he brought the blue glow of his power to his fingertips and used it to close the cuts as best he could.
"Better to have a past and it be unknown then to have one known and shunned," he muttered as he sat down a few feet away, leaning against a tree trunk and drifting into sleep.
Gust, sitting a little way away, heard these words, but her ability to fight off Ivan's sleep was entirely gone, and she closed her eyes also.
~^~^~^~
"We can't go in this rain and wind, Sheba!" Salen argued, and Rilion nodded emphatically. The storm was growing stronger all the time, winds hurling things about, some of them heavier things than the adepts. Sheba's face was wet with a mixture of rain and tears. She didn't like the idea of Ivan being caught out in this.
"Sheba!" said a familiar voice suddenly, and a small form was blown into her arms. She caught and held the creature in both hands, turning so the wind was at her back and opened her hands to find that she held a Jupiter Djinni.
"Kite!" Sheba said excitedly. Kite had been one of Ivan's Djinn, two years ago when she'd met him. Now she felt the Djinni joining itself to her, recognizing that it would be safe this way.
"Come on, Sheba!" Rilion called. "We have to get inside! Salen says the spiral winds are coming!"
"They are," Kite agreed. "Coming from the southwest. Go inside—I'll be alright." Sheba nodded as Kite flashed out, then followed her students inside and locked the door, praying that, wherever Ivan was, he was at least safe and protected.
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Chapter three done! No more until 16 reviews! And feel free to present any ideas you have—all comments are appreciated! ~Avaria
