- Stirring Earth -
-o-; Meh. It is the ennnnd!
[Felix: Hallelujah!]
Well, there's the epilogue. Don't really know what I'll do with that... Mia's baby? *KEEL EET!* ...Nah. Don't like Mia, but I'm not that cruel...
[Felix: 0_0 How does Picard DEAL with this?]
Maybe he likes it? I dunno. I never talk to him... Just you, Steph, Taylor... Lu... Aury, who's in the Bahamas... GRR! Yep. I'm just pissed that the bracelet I took at least 40 minutes making broke in a few seconds. -_-;; I didn't even have it on my wrist for more than fifteen minutes... GRRR! ::Grumble:: You peeps don't need to listen to me rant... Just read the story you're here for...
Warning: *Yawn* PicardxFelix sap (I think), some angsty moments... Bleh. A summon shows up, so, yeah. Pro'bly outta character (The summon), but I'm weird like that.
.~.
Chapter eight: Storm
Hey, has anybody noticed the trend in chapter titles? ^_^;
- Desperation, tears, and a god with problems -
.~.
"Nononono! Backbackback! No, wait! Go! Go!"
"Sheba, make up your mind!"
"Oh, too late."
Ivan sighed, pressing the heel of his hand into his close eyelid, trying to reduce the pain that blossomed there.
"I have a headache." Picard stated.
"Don't whine! We're almost there!" Sheba snorted, at the bow of the ship. "Ivan!"
"I have a headache, too!"
"You're all so whiny today!"
"You have your days too, Ms. Child of the Gods..." Ivan said sourly.
"It's Mrs." Sheba corrected flatly. "And those days are THOSE days."
"Oh, that clears everything up!" Picard said from the wheel.
"Shut up." The Gods' Child snapped.
"Are we almost there?" Jenna asked, sticking her head out of the infirmary door, where Garet still rested.
"Almost. We'd get there sooner if these two idiots didn't complain of non- existent headaches." Sheba replied, glaring at said idiots. Ivan sighed again.
"I *do* have a headache..."
"You're lying, Ivan."
"D'you think I look like I'm lying?" Ivan pouted, moving next to her and giving her his special puppy dog eyes. Sheba grumbled.
"You *swore* that you'd never use those against me again." She reminded him tartly.
"Oh, did I?"
"Whatever. To the left, all the way up, then around the volcano! We're almost there!"
"You said that an hour ago, Sheba!" Picard said.
"Just do it!"
"Yes ma'am." The Lemurian said quickly, remembering the fact that crossing a mad Jupiter Adept who had a thunderbolt fetish with a Mercury Adept was probably a bad idea. A very bad idea.
Soon enough, they came into the expanse of water where they had fought Poseidon. With a few more calmer directions from Sheba, Picard steered around the large chunks of rock and towards Lemuria, where Felix awaited them.
.~.
Felix... We're almost there. Will you want to come home with us? I can only hope for the best.
...It doesn't matter, really. I'll drag you, kicking and screaming, all the way back to Vale if I had to. Because I love you that much. It hurts me to see you in pain, but taking you home is something I must do, or my soul will never be at peace.
I miss our conversations, after all...
.~.
Sheba smiled faintly at the course of thoughts running through Picard's head. She hadn't Mind Read him exactly, but her heightened sense of detecting strong emotions was enough. The poor guy... All heart broken... Because her little twit Ivan had spied on them...
Ooo, Ivan had a plasma bolt with his name on it.
"We've made it! Jenna, Ivan, come on!" Sheba yelled, vaulting over a railing in her excitement.
"What about Garet?"
"He's sleeping, isn't he?"
"Yeah, but..."
"He won't notice a thing unless a sea monster jumps on him and screams bloody murder. Come on, you're worried about your brother, aren't you?"
Jenna nodded, casting the door Garet lay behind a glance. After setting the plank, they went down to walk amongst the crumbling ruins of Lemuria...
"Well, why *wouldn't* he come?"
"He doesn't like Lemuria anymore?"
"There's no way! Lemuria's his home!"
"Um... He doesn't... he doesn't... Er..."
"Look!"
The other Lemurian guard looked to where his friend was pointing.
"Picard!"
"Hey, you two! Have you seen Felix around?"
The two guards looked at each other.
"Yeah..." One of them said uncertainly.
"Why?" The other asked.
"He ran off during the night. We've come to retrieve him." Jenna answered, adjusting her traveling cape.
"He ran off?"
"But why?"
"You two ask far too many questions..." Picard said tiredly. "We've come to get him, that's all. You have no business asking further."
The two guard were stunned a moment.
"But -- "
"We still -- "
Whomp.
"Did one of you cast Sleep?" Jenna blinked, looking between the two blonde Jupiter Adepts.
"Did you?" Sheba poked Ivan.
"Did you? I did."
"So did I. That would explain them falling so suddenly."
"Oh. Well, now that the path's cleared, come on!"
Stepping over the unconscious (And drooling) guards, the four of them made their way towards Felix.
.~.
Felix was sitting on a corner of the roof of Lunpa's house. Breathing in the misty air, he sighed. Sure, running off was always exciting, but being bored... Ugh. Shaking his head and wondering why he came to Lemuria of all places -- Champa would've at least been a bit more interesting -- he stood and began moving back towards the door, when he noticed something.
Not noticed, really, but *sensed*... That was...
The beating of his heart suddenly sped up.
That was the aura of a Mars adept, a large aura of Jupiter adepts, and a Mercury adept...
Had they found him?
No, they couldn't have --
"Felix! Where are you?"
"Felix!"
Biting his lip, he ducked into the passageway, running back to his room and scooping up his meager possessions. What to do... what to do...
He eyed the Teleportation Lapis. Where could he go...? No where in Angara, they'd find him... Perhaps somewhere on Osenia? Mikasalla? No... That was too close... Contigo? No! His mind raced for answers.
Then it occured to him.
Prox.
.~.
Once they reached the fountain, they split up. Ivan went to ask the guards stationed at King Hydros' palace. Sheba went to the graveyard, Picard went to his uncle, and Jenna was directed to go to Lunpa's house.
"Find him?" Ivan asked Sheba breathlessly as they met each other back at the fountain again.
"No... Nobody over there has seen him..." She murmured.
Picard cursed under his breath. Felix had to be somewhere --
"Lunpa? Lunpa! Open up!"
"Wha -- what? Ms. Jenna?"
"Is Felix here?"
"Why, yes he is, but -- "
Lunpa was thrown aside as Jenna swept past him. She glanced around the room frantically, then she ran over to the staircase.
"Felix!"
.~.
Felix had managed to stuff his things into his traveling bag, and he paused a moment to detect the auras. The Jupiter adepts -- Ivan and Sheba, he presumed -- were far off. The Mercury -- Picard, he thought dejectedly -- no where nearby. The Mars --
"Felix! There you are!"
He whirled. Jenna!
"Finally! All this time, and..." Jenna stumbled over to him. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
All this time? It had barely been a few days! He glanced out the window again. Jenna had stopped near the table to catch her breath, but she wasn't watching him. Apparently, she didn't expect him to disappear again...
"Felix, oh, Felix, I was so worried!" The Mars adept sobbed, moving as though to hug him.
"I'm sorry, Jen..." Felix said softly, clenching the Lapis in one hand, hidden to her eyes. "I'm really sorry."
"It's alright, Fe! Just come back." One of her delicate hands moved towards him, to touch him.
A yellow Psynergetic circle appeared under Felix's feet. All the papers and books Lunpa had neatly stacked suddenly whirled away as Felix prepared to Teleport once more. Jenna fell backwards, landing hard on her backside.
"I am sorry, Jenna! But please, give me more time!"
"Felix, no, wait! You can't -- "
"I'm sorry!"
He disappeared into little Psynergetic blobs of color, whizzing off out the window. Jenna was stunned beyond belief.
"I was so close... Felix... Why?" Jenna wailed. Lunpa found her sitting amongst a pile of his books, papers, and portraits, crying her eyes out.
.~.
Picard sighed. Jenna had been so close to Felix... So close... But he had left. Again. What was wrong with him? Everyone was perfectly fine about their relationship, or so he thought.
"Mother... You told me I deserved happiness... But were you sure of your words when you said that?" He asked the gravestone.
He reached out to touch the cool stone, tracing the letters etched into its surface.
"You also said you would protect me and my loved ones once you passed on. Would you protect Felix? Would you make sure nothing happens to him, and that he comes home in one piece? If you would do that, I will be eternally grateful." Bowing his head and clasping his hands, he silently chanted a Lemurian prayer, hoping the messenger of the heavens would take his request to his deceased mother.
He couldn't afford to waste more time. Nodding to the gravestone one last time, he went to find his friends.
.~.
Dammit... Felix... We came so close. Why do you run? Do you... hate me? No, you can't. Not with all the two of us have been through. But why must you face your inner trials by yourself? I can help. Jenna can. Sheba, Mia, Isaac... All of them.
I love you so badly it hurts. But your time away from me hurts me even more...
...I miss your eyes so much.
.~.
"Where would he go now?"
"I don't know! Just find him!" Jenna sobbed.
"Please, Jenna..."
"Why? Felix! We all miss you! Why can't you come back?"
"Jenna, get a hold of yourself!" Sheba scolded, gripping the Mars adept's shaking shoulders. "You won't be of any help if you're an emotional wreck!"
"She's right, Jen." Garet, who had recently gotten up after hearing his wife cry her eyes out, said. "You're the only one here who knows Felix best besides Picard."
Picard stood at the wheel, resting his chin on a peg. None of them knew where he could have gone. And new cities may have popped up since the lighting of the Lighthouses... No. That wasn't possible, Ivan always checked with them when he found out that new colonies had been made.
Then it occured to him there was somebody else that knew plenty about Felix.
Sheba was leaning on the side of the ship, staring morosely at the water, when she noticed rocks were passing them by. Or, rather, they were passing rocks.
"Picard! What are you doing?"
"There's somebody else who might know where Felix has gone!"
"And who is that?" Sheba asked, her interest piqued.
"Hama."
"But -- Hama's in Contigo!"
"Exactly." Picard said grimly. "We have to go to her..."
"But... It'll take *ages* to get to Hama!"
"Do you have any better ideas?" The Lemurian glanced at her. Sheba frowned and looked away.
"No..."
"Then go tell the others to prepare their Psynergy. If we're going to make good time, we have to fly."
Sheba sighed as she walked back down to the deck where Jenna and Ivan were arguing over something. If Picard was wrong about Hama knowing Felix's whereabouts, she was going to smack him into next Friday.
.~.
Felix sneezed, the force of it making him stumble into a large snowdrift. Even after the lighting, snow was abundant in Prox. Damn that. He was laying on his side in deep snow that was beginning to numb all his senses. He considered, for a moment, staying there and letting everything just go numb, but the last thing he wanted was for Jenna, Picard and everyone else to be more devastated than they already were. Yanking himself out, most of his right side tingling in the crisp air, he continued along the frozen stream towards Prox.
"Mommy, look!"
"What is it, dear?"
"Someone's come!"
The woman blinked once at her bouncing child, then at the person trudging towards the gate. She squinted. He looked vaguely familiar...
"Go fetch Puelle, Sara."
"Okay!"
The girl ran off through the snowflakes.
.~.
With some crazy, last-minute changes in their course, Picard had set the boat down at Kimbobo, insisting that cutting through Gondowan would be faster that going all the way south to the Cliffs. Now, they were staying at the Inn, all contemplating their current situation. Jenna was sniffling occasionally on Garet's shoulder. Garet was stroking her hair and looking blankly at the floor. Ivan and Sheba were plotting the fastest way to Contigo near the window. Picard was no where in sight.
Picard was standing on the cliff nearby the great statue, the same area where he had first joined Felix's team. With a sigh, he wondered if this was all just a lost cause.... Would it have been a better idea just to wait for Felix's return? Felix seemed to have no knowledge as of how fast time passed. A few years could pass before he realized he had loved ones waiting back at home for him. So, it was better to go after him, even if he ran...
"Do you wish he would come back?"
Picard jumped at least two feet into the air and he whirled around. Nobody. Okay, this was getting cliche.
"...Who?"
"You know... Him."
"'Him'?"
"Felix... The one you love."
"Why do you know, or care?"
There was a rustle in the trees. Picard glanced sharply in their direction, and a man leaped out.
"Who are you?" Picard demanded, fingering the dagger in the sash at his waist.
The man smiled good-naturedly. His brown hair seemed to fling outwards at the sides, making him look like a bird had made a nest in it. His eyes were a clear blue, his skin, pale, and his clothing was nearly all blues and golds. Picard blinked.
"You don't know, do you? Oh, I suppose that's good. It's better if you don't recognize me..."
"...I'm supposed to know who you are?"
"I am Azul. Pleased to meet you, again."
"Azul? The dragon? The summon?"
Azul scowled.
"The god, yes."
Picard blinked rapidly.
"The gods have human forms?"
"Obviously." Azul said with a roll of his eyes. "You and the others aren't the *only* ones protecting Weyard, you know. But people would notice if some scary dark beast with long nails, some dragons, and a knight with wings and a huge sword walked around town."
"I see..." Picard murmured.
"Now, let's get you to Felix!" Azul clapped his hands.
"...What? ....What about Jenna and the others?"
"Oh, they won't care either way, as long as you come back with Felix." Azul smiled broadly. "Do you care for flying that much?"
"Flying?"
"No, I suppose flying would take longer... Teleportation is best."
Picard, at this point, wasn't sure he liked Azul's company that much anymore, god or not.
"Let's go, then!" Azul grabbed him by the hand, pulling him up into the air. "To Prox!"
....Prox?
They disappeared into the night sky.
.~.
....Should I be grateful that Azul is doing this for me? Why can I even think, anyhow? I'm defying the laws of gravity and sanity! And speed... I left my stomach somewhere on that cliff. Is he really taking me to Prox? Why the hell would Felix go there to begin with? ...Azul is scaring me. But I'm more worried about Felix. I'm not complaining.
.~.
"Here we are!"
Picard fell face forward into the snow.
"Nice landing." He remarked. Azul frowned as they began walking towards the gate.
"That's something pleasant to say to a god who can strike you down at any given time."
"So why did you bother bringing me here?"
Azul sighed.
"Because Daedalus ordered me to, and trust me, an unhappy Daedalus is a very bad Daedalus."
Picard found himself staring at the god.
Azul looked at him.
"What? Have you ever *seen* an unhappy Daedalus? Or, for that matter, an Iris on her monthly?"
Picard shuddered.
"Yes, it's scary. A normal human such as yourself would be traumatized for life."
"I already am..." Picard muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
The two of them walked into Prox, unaware of the biting cold as they were Mercury-based. There were only a few villagers milling around, none of them noticing the foreigners in their presence. Azul stopped short in the middle of the path, his eyes glowing a bright blue a moment. Then, with a beckoning of his hand, the two of them headed to a house up on a cliff, to the north.
(WAAH! It's coming to an end! ;-;....... Oh, um, whatever.)
"Um... Azul? Question?"
"Yes?"
"If Felix is in one of those homes, won't the owners get mad at us if we barge in?"
"No worries! Gods can get around any problem!"
"Should I.... be worried?"
"No need to be worried, nope, none at all!"
"They're going to kill us, aren't they?"
"Possibly, but I can always make sure they're preoccupied momentarily as you two dramatically, romantically reunite!" Azul sighed girlishly. His companion was sure hearts were floating around the god's head.
Picard pitied the other gods with a deep, deep sympathy.
"Come on. You first." Azul held out a hand towards the door.
"No. You're the god. You go first."
"Your lover is waiting behind that door, Picard."
"Humans can't kill gods."
"Do you want me to just leave?"
"I think I'd be safer that way!"
Azul glared at Picard a moment before opening the door and heading inside. Picard followed him.
.~.
Felix lay in the bed Puelle had let him rest in, his body curled up into a fetal position. Some 'great warrior' he was. He rested his cheek on the pillow, resisting the rising urge to sob. He missed Picard so badly...
He wrenched himself up suddenly, clutching the blankets around his chest. Something had shot through his mind, something so fleeting... He knew what it was, yet it felt so distant, so foreign...
His chin dropped to his chest as hot tears trickled down his cheeks. The grip in which he held the blankets was shaking violently. He would go insane this way, and soon. Hadn't he done the right thing in leaving? Or would this only lead to an early death for him? With a cry of frustration, he leaped out of the bed, heading towards the door.
Felix, with all his luck, however, ran into something. Something warm...
"Where are you going?" It whispered.
"Some place... where I can find peace again." He whispered desperately back.
"You've found it already. You just left it..." Something brushed over his lower lip and he tried wrenching away, to no avail.
Azul watched the scene unfold in the hallway, a triumphant grin on his face, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on the wall.
A hand curled fingers in his messy hair, pressing his face against a familar chest.
He... had cried into this chest more than one time. He would cry into it one last time before the tears would end for good...
"I don't know what I should do anymore... I don't know what I *can* do... Please... don't go..." Felix begged.
"I won't. Not ever." Picard murmured, leaning down and kissing him with complete and total abandon.
". . .I love you. . ." Felix said, holding onto the Lemurian's shirt tightly. Picard smiled and kissed his forehead.
"I love you, too. But you're such an idiot, you know that?"
"That wasn't very romantic...." Felix frowned.
"Our relationship has always skimmed the lines of romantic, but I think it's leaning more towards oddity." Picard sighed, kissing his hand. "Shall we go home?"
"Okay..." He nodded. He blinked. "Um, who's that?"
"Who?" Picard hugged the Earth adept close, tucking Felix's head under his chin as he smiled at Azul over his hair. Azul waved, then disappeared in a sparkle of blue and gold.
"Never mind, he's gone now..." Felix said disappointedly. "Let's go home."
"We have to make a stop first. I... sort of left everyone else behind at Contigo."
"How'd you get here, then?"
"Divine intervention." Picard said, a secretive smile on his face.
"...I won't ask..." Felix muttered, grabbing the Lapis. "To Contigo we go."
.~.
Anywhere for you, love.
.~.
~ ~ E n d e ~ ~
.~.
WAHOO! End! ^_^ YEESH, anybody else think that was a hell-of-a-long chapter?
[Felix] ....-_-
::Pats Felix on the head:: ::Pauses:: ;-; WAAH! IT'S THE ENNNND! ::Sob::
[Felix] ^o^
[Taylor] Whoo! The end of yaoi!
You people are so mean! ;_; ::Cries:: My sister is hogging the computer currently, and I... sort of see no reason in answering reviews, this IS the last chapter. I'm considering not doing an epilogue (What the hell can I DO for an epilogue, anyhow?) and just leaving this as it is, but I'll feel guilty, and... Why do I get the feeling some of you are going to come after me with weapons of mass destruction if I don't put one final chapter up? 0_o....
[Taylor] That's mainly on cause of Shiro, I think.
No... I'm perfectly fine with fire.... I'm just... afraid... of what... some others... might do... I might do something ::Edges further away from reviewers:: with Azul... I mean, he was weird enough here... I can only wonder what happens in God-Ville. Or whatever they call it.
[Taylor] Try 'Heaven.'
Nah, that's for God, not gods.
[Taylor] -.-;
Azul... Azul and... ::Looks around:: Ulysses? Haures? 0_o... Or, maybe I should just have a mad Daedalus and a PMS-y Iris running around...
[Taylor] Enough with the yaoi! I'm sure the reviewers will be traumatized if you have that icky beast that Haures is swooning over Azul!
Haures won't look like he is. -_- He'll end up looking something like Karasu from YYH... ::Sighs dreamily:: Karasu... Mmm....
[Stephanie] Oh dear, she's lapsing into 'Bishie' Mode...
::Snaps out of it:: Oh. So my sis isn't on the computer. I'll answer reviews quickly, then...
Karalen the Wood Elf: 0_0 ::Dives for flag:: Have a plate of cookies to go with it? ^^
TaoGirl: I'll see 'bout the epilogue, okay? It'll feed your update- addiction, ne?
Gay Witch: 0_o I'm happy with Felix. I get to chain him to the ground, anyhow! ^o^
Kairi Flamebreeze: Hey, kewl name. ^^ Well, I'm not going to kill Jenna... I like her too much. And then, I'd have David on my tail. o_o; That's not good. At all. Maybe some other one, okay?
Dragoness: Well, I didn't go for that completely... Something a bit more romantic. ^^;
Akiko-san: Of COURSE you're revered! ::Bows:: *_*
Taidigimon: Mm, true, but that'd be sad...
Shiro Amayagi: You're conceited. Yes, you are. Don't make me sic the chickens on you! And if you don't like this... ::Glare:: THEN WHY THE HELL D'YOU READ IT?
Phishykiss: 0_o....
Kavria: ...Taylor...
[Taylor] XP
Baka. -_-;
[Taylor] Heeeey....
Riyn: Yes, Alex is that... I dunno. Would that count as pathetic? ^_^;; SaturoxFelixxSaturos scares me... ::Hug::
Mare Serenitatis: 0_o.... I.... won't ask...
Yeah, thanks for the fun times, peeps. ^_^ Epilogue... soon. Tell me if you want that to be a yaoi (...Gods. 0_o...), or just humor (With a few possible bits of shonen-ai on the side). It'll be fun either way! (Both will be humorous...) Yeah. Vote...
-for as many times as the waves embrace the shore, is as many times as I think of you.-
-o-; Meh. It is the ennnnd!
[Felix: Hallelujah!]
Well, there's the epilogue. Don't really know what I'll do with that... Mia's baby? *KEEL EET!* ...Nah. Don't like Mia, but I'm not that cruel...
[Felix: 0_0 How does Picard DEAL with this?]
Maybe he likes it? I dunno. I never talk to him... Just you, Steph, Taylor... Lu... Aury, who's in the Bahamas... GRR! Yep. I'm just pissed that the bracelet I took at least 40 minutes making broke in a few seconds. -_-;; I didn't even have it on my wrist for more than fifteen minutes... GRRR! ::Grumble:: You peeps don't need to listen to me rant... Just read the story you're here for...
Warning: *Yawn* PicardxFelix sap (I think), some angsty moments... Bleh. A summon shows up, so, yeah. Pro'bly outta character (The summon), but I'm weird like that.
.~.
Chapter eight: Storm
Hey, has anybody noticed the trend in chapter titles? ^_^;
- Desperation, tears, and a god with problems -
.~.
"Nononono! Backbackback! No, wait! Go! Go!"
"Sheba, make up your mind!"
"Oh, too late."
Ivan sighed, pressing the heel of his hand into his close eyelid, trying to reduce the pain that blossomed there.
"I have a headache." Picard stated.
"Don't whine! We're almost there!" Sheba snorted, at the bow of the ship. "Ivan!"
"I have a headache, too!"
"You're all so whiny today!"
"You have your days too, Ms. Child of the Gods..." Ivan said sourly.
"It's Mrs." Sheba corrected flatly. "And those days are THOSE days."
"Oh, that clears everything up!" Picard said from the wheel.
"Shut up." The Gods' Child snapped.
"Are we almost there?" Jenna asked, sticking her head out of the infirmary door, where Garet still rested.
"Almost. We'd get there sooner if these two idiots didn't complain of non- existent headaches." Sheba replied, glaring at said idiots. Ivan sighed again.
"I *do* have a headache..."
"You're lying, Ivan."
"D'you think I look like I'm lying?" Ivan pouted, moving next to her and giving her his special puppy dog eyes. Sheba grumbled.
"You *swore* that you'd never use those against me again." She reminded him tartly.
"Oh, did I?"
"Whatever. To the left, all the way up, then around the volcano! We're almost there!"
"You said that an hour ago, Sheba!" Picard said.
"Just do it!"
"Yes ma'am." The Lemurian said quickly, remembering the fact that crossing a mad Jupiter Adept who had a thunderbolt fetish with a Mercury Adept was probably a bad idea. A very bad idea.
Soon enough, they came into the expanse of water where they had fought Poseidon. With a few more calmer directions from Sheba, Picard steered around the large chunks of rock and towards Lemuria, where Felix awaited them.
.~.
Felix... We're almost there. Will you want to come home with us? I can only hope for the best.
...It doesn't matter, really. I'll drag you, kicking and screaming, all the way back to Vale if I had to. Because I love you that much. It hurts me to see you in pain, but taking you home is something I must do, or my soul will never be at peace.
I miss our conversations, after all...
.~.
Sheba smiled faintly at the course of thoughts running through Picard's head. She hadn't Mind Read him exactly, but her heightened sense of detecting strong emotions was enough. The poor guy... All heart broken... Because her little twit Ivan had spied on them...
Ooo, Ivan had a plasma bolt with his name on it.
"We've made it! Jenna, Ivan, come on!" Sheba yelled, vaulting over a railing in her excitement.
"What about Garet?"
"He's sleeping, isn't he?"
"Yeah, but..."
"He won't notice a thing unless a sea monster jumps on him and screams bloody murder. Come on, you're worried about your brother, aren't you?"
Jenna nodded, casting the door Garet lay behind a glance. After setting the plank, they went down to walk amongst the crumbling ruins of Lemuria...
"Well, why *wouldn't* he come?"
"He doesn't like Lemuria anymore?"
"There's no way! Lemuria's his home!"
"Um... He doesn't... he doesn't... Er..."
"Look!"
The other Lemurian guard looked to where his friend was pointing.
"Picard!"
"Hey, you two! Have you seen Felix around?"
The two guards looked at each other.
"Yeah..." One of them said uncertainly.
"Why?" The other asked.
"He ran off during the night. We've come to retrieve him." Jenna answered, adjusting her traveling cape.
"He ran off?"
"But why?"
"You two ask far too many questions..." Picard said tiredly. "We've come to get him, that's all. You have no business asking further."
The two guard were stunned a moment.
"But -- "
"We still -- "
Whomp.
"Did one of you cast Sleep?" Jenna blinked, looking between the two blonde Jupiter Adepts.
"Did you?" Sheba poked Ivan.
"Did you? I did."
"So did I. That would explain them falling so suddenly."
"Oh. Well, now that the path's cleared, come on!"
Stepping over the unconscious (And drooling) guards, the four of them made their way towards Felix.
.~.
Felix was sitting on a corner of the roof of Lunpa's house. Breathing in the misty air, he sighed. Sure, running off was always exciting, but being bored... Ugh. Shaking his head and wondering why he came to Lemuria of all places -- Champa would've at least been a bit more interesting -- he stood and began moving back towards the door, when he noticed something.
Not noticed, really, but *sensed*... That was...
The beating of his heart suddenly sped up.
That was the aura of a Mars adept, a large aura of Jupiter adepts, and a Mercury adept...
Had they found him?
No, they couldn't have --
"Felix! Where are you?"
"Felix!"
Biting his lip, he ducked into the passageway, running back to his room and scooping up his meager possessions. What to do... what to do...
He eyed the Teleportation Lapis. Where could he go...? No where in Angara, they'd find him... Perhaps somewhere on Osenia? Mikasalla? No... That was too close... Contigo? No! His mind raced for answers.
Then it occured to him.
Prox.
.~.
Once they reached the fountain, they split up. Ivan went to ask the guards stationed at King Hydros' palace. Sheba went to the graveyard, Picard went to his uncle, and Jenna was directed to go to Lunpa's house.
"Find him?" Ivan asked Sheba breathlessly as they met each other back at the fountain again.
"No... Nobody over there has seen him..." She murmured.
Picard cursed under his breath. Felix had to be somewhere --
"Lunpa? Lunpa! Open up!"
"Wha -- what? Ms. Jenna?"
"Is Felix here?"
"Why, yes he is, but -- "
Lunpa was thrown aside as Jenna swept past him. She glanced around the room frantically, then she ran over to the staircase.
"Felix!"
.~.
Felix had managed to stuff his things into his traveling bag, and he paused a moment to detect the auras. The Jupiter adepts -- Ivan and Sheba, he presumed -- were far off. The Mercury -- Picard, he thought dejectedly -- no where nearby. The Mars --
"Felix! There you are!"
He whirled. Jenna!
"Finally! All this time, and..." Jenna stumbled over to him. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
All this time? It had barely been a few days! He glanced out the window again. Jenna had stopped near the table to catch her breath, but she wasn't watching him. Apparently, she didn't expect him to disappear again...
"Felix, oh, Felix, I was so worried!" The Mars adept sobbed, moving as though to hug him.
"I'm sorry, Jen..." Felix said softly, clenching the Lapis in one hand, hidden to her eyes. "I'm really sorry."
"It's alright, Fe! Just come back." One of her delicate hands moved towards him, to touch him.
A yellow Psynergetic circle appeared under Felix's feet. All the papers and books Lunpa had neatly stacked suddenly whirled away as Felix prepared to Teleport once more. Jenna fell backwards, landing hard on her backside.
"I am sorry, Jenna! But please, give me more time!"
"Felix, no, wait! You can't -- "
"I'm sorry!"
He disappeared into little Psynergetic blobs of color, whizzing off out the window. Jenna was stunned beyond belief.
"I was so close... Felix... Why?" Jenna wailed. Lunpa found her sitting amongst a pile of his books, papers, and portraits, crying her eyes out.
.~.
Picard sighed. Jenna had been so close to Felix... So close... But he had left. Again. What was wrong with him? Everyone was perfectly fine about their relationship, or so he thought.
"Mother... You told me I deserved happiness... But were you sure of your words when you said that?" He asked the gravestone.
He reached out to touch the cool stone, tracing the letters etched into its surface.
"You also said you would protect me and my loved ones once you passed on. Would you protect Felix? Would you make sure nothing happens to him, and that he comes home in one piece? If you would do that, I will be eternally grateful." Bowing his head and clasping his hands, he silently chanted a Lemurian prayer, hoping the messenger of the heavens would take his request to his deceased mother.
He couldn't afford to waste more time. Nodding to the gravestone one last time, he went to find his friends.
.~.
Dammit... Felix... We came so close. Why do you run? Do you... hate me? No, you can't. Not with all the two of us have been through. But why must you face your inner trials by yourself? I can help. Jenna can. Sheba, Mia, Isaac... All of them.
I love you so badly it hurts. But your time away from me hurts me even more...
...I miss your eyes so much.
.~.
"Where would he go now?"
"I don't know! Just find him!" Jenna sobbed.
"Please, Jenna..."
"Why? Felix! We all miss you! Why can't you come back?"
"Jenna, get a hold of yourself!" Sheba scolded, gripping the Mars adept's shaking shoulders. "You won't be of any help if you're an emotional wreck!"
"She's right, Jen." Garet, who had recently gotten up after hearing his wife cry her eyes out, said. "You're the only one here who knows Felix best besides Picard."
Picard stood at the wheel, resting his chin on a peg. None of them knew where he could have gone. And new cities may have popped up since the lighting of the Lighthouses... No. That wasn't possible, Ivan always checked with them when he found out that new colonies had been made.
Then it occured to him there was somebody else that knew plenty about Felix.
Sheba was leaning on the side of the ship, staring morosely at the water, when she noticed rocks were passing them by. Or, rather, they were passing rocks.
"Picard! What are you doing?"
"There's somebody else who might know where Felix has gone!"
"And who is that?" Sheba asked, her interest piqued.
"Hama."
"But -- Hama's in Contigo!"
"Exactly." Picard said grimly. "We have to go to her..."
"But... It'll take *ages* to get to Hama!"
"Do you have any better ideas?" The Lemurian glanced at her. Sheba frowned and looked away.
"No..."
"Then go tell the others to prepare their Psynergy. If we're going to make good time, we have to fly."
Sheba sighed as she walked back down to the deck where Jenna and Ivan were arguing over something. If Picard was wrong about Hama knowing Felix's whereabouts, she was going to smack him into next Friday.
.~.
Felix sneezed, the force of it making him stumble into a large snowdrift. Even after the lighting, snow was abundant in Prox. Damn that. He was laying on his side in deep snow that was beginning to numb all his senses. He considered, for a moment, staying there and letting everything just go numb, but the last thing he wanted was for Jenna, Picard and everyone else to be more devastated than they already were. Yanking himself out, most of his right side tingling in the crisp air, he continued along the frozen stream towards Prox.
"Mommy, look!"
"What is it, dear?"
"Someone's come!"
The woman blinked once at her bouncing child, then at the person trudging towards the gate. She squinted. He looked vaguely familiar...
"Go fetch Puelle, Sara."
"Okay!"
The girl ran off through the snowflakes.
.~.
With some crazy, last-minute changes in their course, Picard had set the boat down at Kimbobo, insisting that cutting through Gondowan would be faster that going all the way south to the Cliffs. Now, they were staying at the Inn, all contemplating their current situation. Jenna was sniffling occasionally on Garet's shoulder. Garet was stroking her hair and looking blankly at the floor. Ivan and Sheba were plotting the fastest way to Contigo near the window. Picard was no where in sight.
Picard was standing on the cliff nearby the great statue, the same area where he had first joined Felix's team. With a sigh, he wondered if this was all just a lost cause.... Would it have been a better idea just to wait for Felix's return? Felix seemed to have no knowledge as of how fast time passed. A few years could pass before he realized he had loved ones waiting back at home for him. So, it was better to go after him, even if he ran...
"Do you wish he would come back?"
Picard jumped at least two feet into the air and he whirled around. Nobody. Okay, this was getting cliche.
"...Who?"
"You know... Him."
"'Him'?"
"Felix... The one you love."
"Why do you know, or care?"
There was a rustle in the trees. Picard glanced sharply in their direction, and a man leaped out.
"Who are you?" Picard demanded, fingering the dagger in the sash at his waist.
The man smiled good-naturedly. His brown hair seemed to fling outwards at the sides, making him look like a bird had made a nest in it. His eyes were a clear blue, his skin, pale, and his clothing was nearly all blues and golds. Picard blinked.
"You don't know, do you? Oh, I suppose that's good. It's better if you don't recognize me..."
"...I'm supposed to know who you are?"
"I am Azul. Pleased to meet you, again."
"Azul? The dragon? The summon?"
Azul scowled.
"The god, yes."
Picard blinked rapidly.
"The gods have human forms?"
"Obviously." Azul said with a roll of his eyes. "You and the others aren't the *only* ones protecting Weyard, you know. But people would notice if some scary dark beast with long nails, some dragons, and a knight with wings and a huge sword walked around town."
"I see..." Picard murmured.
"Now, let's get you to Felix!" Azul clapped his hands.
"...What? ....What about Jenna and the others?"
"Oh, they won't care either way, as long as you come back with Felix." Azul smiled broadly. "Do you care for flying that much?"
"Flying?"
"No, I suppose flying would take longer... Teleportation is best."
Picard, at this point, wasn't sure he liked Azul's company that much anymore, god or not.
"Let's go, then!" Azul grabbed him by the hand, pulling him up into the air. "To Prox!"
....Prox?
They disappeared into the night sky.
.~.
....Should I be grateful that Azul is doing this for me? Why can I even think, anyhow? I'm defying the laws of gravity and sanity! And speed... I left my stomach somewhere on that cliff. Is he really taking me to Prox? Why the hell would Felix go there to begin with? ...Azul is scaring me. But I'm more worried about Felix. I'm not complaining.
.~.
"Here we are!"
Picard fell face forward into the snow.
"Nice landing." He remarked. Azul frowned as they began walking towards the gate.
"That's something pleasant to say to a god who can strike you down at any given time."
"So why did you bother bringing me here?"
Azul sighed.
"Because Daedalus ordered me to, and trust me, an unhappy Daedalus is a very bad Daedalus."
Picard found himself staring at the god.
Azul looked at him.
"What? Have you ever *seen* an unhappy Daedalus? Or, for that matter, an Iris on her monthly?"
Picard shuddered.
"Yes, it's scary. A normal human such as yourself would be traumatized for life."
"I already am..." Picard muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
The two of them walked into Prox, unaware of the biting cold as they were Mercury-based. There were only a few villagers milling around, none of them noticing the foreigners in their presence. Azul stopped short in the middle of the path, his eyes glowing a bright blue a moment. Then, with a beckoning of his hand, the two of them headed to a house up on a cliff, to the north.
(WAAH! It's coming to an end! ;-;....... Oh, um, whatever.)
"Um... Azul? Question?"
"Yes?"
"If Felix is in one of those homes, won't the owners get mad at us if we barge in?"
"No worries! Gods can get around any problem!"
"Should I.... be worried?"
"No need to be worried, nope, none at all!"
"They're going to kill us, aren't they?"
"Possibly, but I can always make sure they're preoccupied momentarily as you two dramatically, romantically reunite!" Azul sighed girlishly. His companion was sure hearts were floating around the god's head.
Picard pitied the other gods with a deep, deep sympathy.
"Come on. You first." Azul held out a hand towards the door.
"No. You're the god. You go first."
"Your lover is waiting behind that door, Picard."
"Humans can't kill gods."
"Do you want me to just leave?"
"I think I'd be safer that way!"
Azul glared at Picard a moment before opening the door and heading inside. Picard followed him.
.~.
Felix lay in the bed Puelle had let him rest in, his body curled up into a fetal position. Some 'great warrior' he was. He rested his cheek on the pillow, resisting the rising urge to sob. He missed Picard so badly...
He wrenched himself up suddenly, clutching the blankets around his chest. Something had shot through his mind, something so fleeting... He knew what it was, yet it felt so distant, so foreign...
His chin dropped to his chest as hot tears trickled down his cheeks. The grip in which he held the blankets was shaking violently. He would go insane this way, and soon. Hadn't he done the right thing in leaving? Or would this only lead to an early death for him? With a cry of frustration, he leaped out of the bed, heading towards the door.
Felix, with all his luck, however, ran into something. Something warm...
"Where are you going?" It whispered.
"Some place... where I can find peace again." He whispered desperately back.
"You've found it already. You just left it..." Something brushed over his lower lip and he tried wrenching away, to no avail.
Azul watched the scene unfold in the hallway, a triumphant grin on his face, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on the wall.
A hand curled fingers in his messy hair, pressing his face against a familar chest.
He... had cried into this chest more than one time. He would cry into it one last time before the tears would end for good...
"I don't know what I should do anymore... I don't know what I *can* do... Please... don't go..." Felix begged.
"I won't. Not ever." Picard murmured, leaning down and kissing him with complete and total abandon.
". . .I love you. . ." Felix said, holding onto the Lemurian's shirt tightly. Picard smiled and kissed his forehead.
"I love you, too. But you're such an idiot, you know that?"
"That wasn't very romantic...." Felix frowned.
"Our relationship has always skimmed the lines of romantic, but I think it's leaning more towards oddity." Picard sighed, kissing his hand. "Shall we go home?"
"Okay..." He nodded. He blinked. "Um, who's that?"
"Who?" Picard hugged the Earth adept close, tucking Felix's head under his chin as he smiled at Azul over his hair. Azul waved, then disappeared in a sparkle of blue and gold.
"Never mind, he's gone now..." Felix said disappointedly. "Let's go home."
"We have to make a stop first. I... sort of left everyone else behind at Contigo."
"How'd you get here, then?"
"Divine intervention." Picard said, a secretive smile on his face.
"...I won't ask..." Felix muttered, grabbing the Lapis. "To Contigo we go."
.~.
Anywhere for you, love.
.~.
~ ~ E n d e ~ ~
.~.
WAHOO! End! ^_^ YEESH, anybody else think that was a hell-of-a-long chapter?
[Felix] ....-_-
::Pats Felix on the head:: ::Pauses:: ;-; WAAH! IT'S THE ENNNND! ::Sob::
[Felix] ^o^
[Taylor] Whoo! The end of yaoi!
You people are so mean! ;_; ::Cries:: My sister is hogging the computer currently, and I... sort of see no reason in answering reviews, this IS the last chapter. I'm considering not doing an epilogue (What the hell can I DO for an epilogue, anyhow?) and just leaving this as it is, but I'll feel guilty, and... Why do I get the feeling some of you are going to come after me with weapons of mass destruction if I don't put one final chapter up? 0_o....
[Taylor] That's mainly on cause of Shiro, I think.
No... I'm perfectly fine with fire.... I'm just... afraid... of what... some others... might do... I might do something ::Edges further away from reviewers:: with Azul... I mean, he was weird enough here... I can only wonder what happens in God-Ville. Or whatever they call it.
[Taylor] Try 'Heaven.'
Nah, that's for God, not gods.
[Taylor] -.-;
Azul... Azul and... ::Looks around:: Ulysses? Haures? 0_o... Or, maybe I should just have a mad Daedalus and a PMS-y Iris running around...
[Taylor] Enough with the yaoi! I'm sure the reviewers will be traumatized if you have that icky beast that Haures is swooning over Azul!
Haures won't look like he is. -_- He'll end up looking something like Karasu from YYH... ::Sighs dreamily:: Karasu... Mmm....
[Stephanie] Oh dear, she's lapsing into 'Bishie' Mode...
::Snaps out of it:: Oh. So my sis isn't on the computer. I'll answer reviews quickly, then...
Karalen the Wood Elf: 0_0 ::Dives for flag:: Have a plate of cookies to go with it? ^^
TaoGirl: I'll see 'bout the epilogue, okay? It'll feed your update- addiction, ne?
Gay Witch: 0_o I'm happy with Felix. I get to chain him to the ground, anyhow! ^o^
Kairi Flamebreeze: Hey, kewl name. ^^ Well, I'm not going to kill Jenna... I like her too much. And then, I'd have David on my tail. o_o; That's not good. At all. Maybe some other one, okay?
Dragoness: Well, I didn't go for that completely... Something a bit more romantic. ^^;
Akiko-san: Of COURSE you're revered! ::Bows:: *_*
Taidigimon: Mm, true, but that'd be sad...
Shiro Amayagi: You're conceited. Yes, you are. Don't make me sic the chickens on you! And if you don't like this... ::Glare:: THEN WHY THE HELL D'YOU READ IT?
Phishykiss: 0_o....
Kavria: ...Taylor...
[Taylor] XP
Baka. -_-;
[Taylor] Heeeey....
Riyn: Yes, Alex is that... I dunno. Would that count as pathetic? ^_^;; SaturoxFelixxSaturos scares me... ::Hug::
Mare Serenitatis: 0_o.... I.... won't ask...
Yeah, thanks for the fun times, peeps. ^_^ Epilogue... soon. Tell me if you want that to be a yaoi (...Gods. 0_o...), or just humor (With a few possible bits of shonen-ai on the side). It'll be fun either way! (Both will be humorous...) Yeah. Vote...
-for as many times as the waves embrace the shore, is as many times as I think of you.-
