Chapter 4

"It looks like they've spotted us Menardi." Saturos glanced to the top of the Sanctum, squinting his eyes. He noticed a flurry of activity atop the tall monument, and ushered the rest of his troops forward. "I've been waiting for this moment," he said, "Ever since we escaped Venus Lighthouse."

"It wasn't easy, I tell you that." Menardi glanced at her legs, covered with scars from the burns they endured. "We got lucky, though, as Alex did continue his promise to light the Lighthouses."

Saturos shook his head negatively. "Yes, but from what I heard, Alex got what was coming to him atop Mt. Aleph. The Wise One avenged everyone he fooled and used for his own advancement. Enough about the meaningless adept; he matters no more."

The leaders rode on, trailing close behind the vanguard. Vale's front gates were highly visible now - it was only a matter of seconds until they reached it. The first infantry unit turned the last corner, now on the straightaway to the gate. They approached the archway, now five hundred feet away. The soldiers raised their swords, shields, and spears up, ready to make the first contact with the defenses of the city.

The weapons never got there.

The gates quickly opened, and a large boulder rolled through them. Ill-prepared to make a change in direction, the entire first cavalry was wiped out. The gates shut just as quickly as they had opened, leaving the leaders stunned.

"Blasted fools! Mt. Aleph is now permanently active! How could I miss such a calculation!" Saturos smacked his forehead, punishing himself for his stupidity. Menardi looked over to him as they rode. "I told you! We should pull back and regroup now, and let them waste more rocks!"

Saturos, eyes now filled with belligerent rage, glared at his female companion. "No! Don't you see? They are controlling the boulders with their psynergy - the Wise One has granted them this power since the volcano is now always active. We must simply time our attacks. He pulled his horse to the left, breaking apart the army into two smaller forces. "Now, we both feint and charge!"

Both groups pretended to converge on the center, then pulled back a split second before the gates opened. As they opened, they turned around and headed back to the gates, barely missing the boulder. A sizable amount of troops reached the inside, able to knock down the gatekeeper and make it accessable to everyone. The army, not interested in wasting time on villagers, continued up the road, with Saturos yelling in victory.

***

Jenna peered down the great slope that led to Vale. "The first boulder hit! Archers are reporting casualties into the hundreds!" Cheers erupted from the defense force, but Felix motioned for silence. "The battle is not over! Everyone stay alert - I still see no end to their lines, so it looks like we haven't even touched a fraction of them yet."

Jenna, now unknowing what to feel, turned to Garet. "What's going to happen when Saturos and Menardi reach us?" Garet, currently fiddling with a long bow, dropped it on Piers and walked over to Jenna. He put an embracing arm around her. "Nothing's going to happen to you. I am, however, afraid of what's going to happen to them. Go easy on 'em." Garet winked and turned back around, now facing an enraged Piers. Jenna formed a sly smile. Yes, now would be the perfect time to get some revenge.

"JENNA!" The loud shout interrupted her daydream. "That's the third time I called you." Her brother stood before her, out of breath from issuing orders. "You and Sheba need to go down below the roof for right now. We need somebody to-errr-watch the backside."

Jenna saw through this as fast as Sherman through Atlanta. "No. I'm staying right here, and I'm fighting. So is Sheba. We want a piece of those bastards too, don't we Sheba?" Sheba, looking up from listening to Piers, gave a nod, signaling her support.

Felix now grabbed Jenna on the shoulder. "Jenna, that was an order. I'm in charge of the defense, and we need to make sure our flank is clear!" Jenna pulled away from his hand. "The scouts have told us the flank is clear! Besides, the back of the Sanctum is covered by trees and mountaintops!"

The Venus Adept took a step towards Jenna, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her over to the staircase to the lower level. "Jenna, don't make me tell you again! I'm doing this for you!"

She looked at his eyes. "Funny, I'm doing this for me too." She brought her fist up and promptly nailed Felix right in the jaw with it. He fell backwards and onto the steps, quickly stopping his descent. Boiling with rage, the Mars Adept walked over to the edge again with her bow in hand. Felix now got up and, wiping the blood from his face, stared at Jenna. She loaded her bow, and aimed it at her brother. "I will hit you, not in a place to kill, but I will hit you if you try to stop me." The staring contest carried on until a large bird whizzed by Jenna's ear. That was no bird - the people saw that it was instead an arrow, now lodged in the Sanctum wall. Jenna spun around, aiming her bow downward. Seeing the first horseman, she fired, striking him in the eye. Similar arrows followed, some hitting while others following without causing harm. Jenna glanced at the horizon at her brief intervals between firing arrows. It had begun, but where was Isaac's group?

***

"Move in the battering ram!" Menardi yelled, motioning for the advancement of more troops. The large siege weapon had been lugged all the way from Prox from boat and now it was near the end of its long pilgrimage. The cavalry had now reached the gates of the Sanctum and was weakening the insurmountable barrier with their swords. The ram neared the gate as 13 Djinn rained down on the rioting men. Immediately following it, as the clouds darkened. Menardi, shielding her eyes, looked upwards to see the great show happening in the sky. "They summoned Iris."

The men at the gate didn't stand a chance. The large fire burned parts of their bodies in the Sanctum's low walls. Menardi, immediately checking the battering ram, rushed it to the gate before the Djinn recovered. She unlocked the hatch, letting the garrisoned men inside rush out, and the ram began knocking down its lone foe - the wall that determined the fate of the world.

***

Jenna's barrage of arrows claimed another man's life. "Hehe, I'm ahead of you Garet!" She glanced over as the male Mars Adept fumbled with his bow. "This isn't exactly my forte, Jenna." Their taunts were interrupted by Felix, having forgiven Jenna for the attack. "Jenna, since you're our best archer, we need you up here on the roof. I'm just taking Garet, Piers, and Sheba down below to help reinforce the gate. We'll call when we need your Psynergy also."

Jenna nodded, hitting another soldier without even looking down. Jenna had agreed with her brother to work together since their scuffle in order to save their lives. A man to the right of her was nailed by a thrown stone, and he collapsed on the floor. Jenna shivered and nailed the man's assailant with another arrow.

Clenching her fist, she yelled words of revenge at the enemies, who had killed so many of her friends so far. Her eyes filled with fires of rage, as she issued the decree, "Prepare to experience the hell of a Mars Adept!" Some of the men on the ground laughed at this as they continued to hassle the front gates. "Is that a threat, mistriss?" some mocked back.

Jenna silenced one of the laughers with an arrow. "No," she answered, "It's a promise."

***

Felix ran down the steps, leaping over the safety rails instituted to keep order, the complete opposite of what was happening now. He swung from the previous rail and located himself in the square gap between the circumscribing stairs and dropped straight down to the floor. Garet followed, as did Piers with Sheba clutched desperately in his arms.

They ran through a hallway, Felix thrusting open door after door to reach the main hall. Where the hell was Isaac? Reinforcements would be coming from Vault any moment, but they wouldn't be enough. Something must've happened to Isaac.something horrific.

Turning the last corner to the Sanctum's main doors, they saw the girls struggling to keep the door from crashing down, using every ounce of psynergy. Felix ordered his group to aid the villagers, and the trio he commanded started giving assistance to the falling door.

Alas, it was not enough. The door fell to the ground and soon crumbled under the stampede of charging soldiers. Felix and his group drew their swords, fighting as many as possible. He saw, in the background, a soldier every now and then fall dead in his tracks, and smiled knowing his sister was still helping them. Everything was under control - the four of them controlled the choke point with ease, each taking up to 10 soldiers at a time with their psynergy.

Until it happened.

A large blast ripped through the floor, perishing all of the soldiers they were fighting - but also knocking the Adepts on their backs. Two figures walked through the now open archway. "Well, well, well Felix..we meet again." Menardi took a step forward, smiling at the pathetic Venus Adept.

Felix, struggling for strength, lifted his head to look at them. "But - how - you - Lighthouse?" he kept a wary hand on his sword, ready to defend himself or his friends at any cost.

"Ah yes, that was quite a challenge." Saturos shook his head and smiled. "Allow me the honor of telling you. See, we were not killed falling into the bowels of the Lighthouse - as we told you, Mars and Venus share a special relationship. We were merely immobilized for the time being. However, you were so kind to light all of the lighthouses, including Mars. This rekindled our energy and freed us from the dominant grasp of Venus. From there, we returned to a safe Prox, and organized a force to come here."

Menardi gave an affirmative nod. "So you see, we were never dead. Your friends were so kind as to not inflict any mortal wounds on us. And now we have returned, seeking the power stored in this Sanctum." She walked over to where they laid, raising her sword and holding it over Garet. "You know," she said, a smile conquering her mouth, "I liked you the least out of all the annoying kids we faced." She twirled the sword in her hand, then began its slow descent downwards towards Garet's chest, and more importantly, his heart.

A blur of motion knocked the blade out of her hand, sending the blunt end into Saturos, knocking him backwards into a wall. Jenna stood in the doorway, an insane smile across her face and a Djinni on her soldier. She spun her sword in her hand, and sly said, "I always make good on my promises." Leaping into the air, she activated all nine of her Djinn, raining down on the defenseless Menardi.

The stunned Fire adept fell onto the ground herself, unable to block the attack. Saturos, now recovering, met the full blast of two Meteor summons. The two laid in a heap, a safe distance from Felix and his group. Menardi reached up, and, as if her hand had summoned it, a large ray of red light met her outstretched palm, revitalizing us. She laughed at the girl's foolish attempt. "We have learned to harness the power of pure Alchemy. Have you?" Saturos revived himself in the say way, and they stood shoulder to shoulder. In a flash, the two had hit Jenna with the blunt sides of both of their weapons. She collapsed onto Garet, who was nowhere near recovering.

Menardi smiled and stepped over the fallen party. "Now to finish you off.I knew we should've have drowned you when we had the chance." She raised her sword into the air, its hilt meeting the edge of Saturos'.

And in the distance, the sun softly set.