Isaac was awoken not by the birds, but by a sudden wave rocking the ship
that he sailed in. He
was thrown clean from his hammock and collided with the hard floor below.
He felt the pain of
his plight and held his head as it rang in agony. He groaned loudly to
express his situation,
but it fell upon deaf ears; Ivan was sound asleep, still within his hammock
and Garet was
nowhere to be seen within the men's sleeping quarters. Slowly, he stood,
clutching to a rail
above his head, waiting for another wave to throw him from off his feet.
That wave didn't
come, much to Isaac's relief.
Slowly, trying not to wake Ivan, he crept from out of the room to the main deck where, surprisingly, the sea was very calm. Where that wave had come from was anybody's guess. He took in a breath of the fresh air and suddenly felt much better. He walked out to the bow, where he saw a familiar face. Garet turned when he noticed Isaac was there and smiled. He'd styled his hair again perfectly as always, the brown spikes standing as vertical as the he was.
"You took you're time getting up!" He chuckled.
"Is it midday already?" Isaac asked.
"Just passed." Garet told him. Garet turned back to the open sea and for a few moments, both marvelled at the sight.
"Kraden always said he'd show me the ocean..." Garet sighed.
"Lighten up, Garet! We've only been into the voyage a day! We'll find them and Lemuria." Isaac was only trying to cheer him up, Garet knew, but what he was promising him might have been too much he knew.
"You're probably right." Garet admitted.
"I am." Isaac assured him.
"It's a beautiful day, is it not?" Ivan was now awake, they both knew. Only he would come up with such a comment on a morning.
"Morning Ivan." Garet said.
"Hey Ivan, did you feel that wave?" Isaac asked. Ivan looked at him completely blankly.
"What wave?" Ivan enquired.
"Oh, it was huge!" Garet began, "It sprayed the whole deck! Fortunately, I was well away from it when it happened."
"Could Mia have caused it?" Ivan enquired. Garet shook his head.
"Haven't seen her all day. She's been below deck the whole time." Isaac shook his head.
"Wouldn't be surprised. She's probably sick of the sight of it by now, what with being a water adept herself." Isaac concluded.
It was then that Ivan suddenly fell to his knee. Isaac immediately helped him raise himself. Garet, however, had drawn his blade almost by instinct. Ivan still looked dazed when he was standing.
"What is it, Ivan?" Isaac asked.
"It's a monster, isn't it?" Garet impulsively blurted out. Ivan shook his head weakly.
"Is it sea sickness?" He guessed. Ivan shook his head again.
"Then what on earth is it?" He shouted. Ivan then spoke, in a voice as quiet as a mouse.
"We have to dock the ship." He muttered.
"What? We've not even left the mainland yet! We're no where near Lemuria!" Garet moaned.
"We have to dock the ship!" Ivan shouted. That surprised Isaac; He'd never seen Ivan get so angry before. From his pocket Isaac drew the black orb.
"You're not going to do it, are you?" Garet asked in disbelief.
"I'm concerned for Ivan. Besides, a little detour won't harm us." Isaac assured. Garet turned around, grumbling to himself. He obviously wasn't pleased.
The commotion had caused Mia to come to the deck. She was dressed in her usual blue clothing as were all who were of the mercury clan. Her face, however, conveyed concern.
"What's happening? Why are we moving to the mainland?" Mia looked to Garet, who was still angered by what had gone on.
"Ask Isaac." Garet grunted.
"Isaac?" Mia said, expecting a reply.
"Ivan wants to go to the shore for a while. I think he's feeling sea sick." This was met by resistance form the blue haired woman.
"Isaac, we can't stop every time we feel a little down. Kraden and Jenna will be miles ahead if we make this stop." Isaac wasn't going to give up, however.
"What if Ivan is really ill?" Mia crossed her arms.
"I could treat him." She told him.
"I mean really ill!" Isaac said.
"Are you doubting my ability?" Mia asked him. That would have lead to an argument if it wasn't for what Garet said next.
"Hey, there's someone on the shore there!" He pointed to a solitary figure standing on the beach. He was cloaked, hiding his entire complexion and shadowing his appearance. The cloak was black, which would have been uncomfortable to wear in the heat that was in the air. The ship was slowly stopping right next to the young man, almost as if the tide itself wanted it to. Isaac looked to Garet.
"It's your choice." Garet said to him.
"Let's get the ramp down." Isaac suggested.
It didn't take long, especially with their teamwork. Within a few minutes the ramp was down, conveying a clear path for the stranger to climb aboard. The four of them, however, blocked that path with there very selves. The stranger then spoke in a cold, yet commanding method.
"Hail! I seek passage on your vessel!" He told them. It didn't take them long to reach a decision.
"I'm sorry, but we aren't taking passengers on this trip. You should head for the Babi Lighthouse. There's a port near there." Isaac suggested. He expected that would be it, but it wasn't.
"You don't understand," The young man told them. He put his right foot on the ramp, "I need passage on your ship!" Isaac looked to Garet, who was already ready for combat.
"Threatening us won't help you, stranger! We're not ordinary people, you know!" Garet's threat caused Mia to roll her eyes and Isaac to sigh. Being so open about their abilities wasn't going to help them in the long run, he knew. What the stranger said next shocked all of them.
"Neither am I, Adepts." Garet turned to Isaac in disbelief.
"How can he know of us?" He hissed. The stranger took another step onto the ramp. Isaac now drew his sword, almost attempting to scare the person off.
"You don't want to fight me, Adept." Isaac took another step closer to the cloaked figure, prepared to fight him off if he had to.
"Be careful!" Mia beckoned to him.
"I know, Adept. I know about Vale. I know about the elemental stars. I know about your quest. I know of you, Isaac!" That stunned Isaac, as no one had done that before. The others were equally gob-smacked, Garet even lowering his weapon.
"What shall we do now, Isaac?" Isaac stood in thought for a while, considering all the options. Eventually, he turned round and walked back on board.
"Let him on." He told Garet.
The figure stepped up the ramp. When he was on board, didn't look at any of the other crew and stepped out to the other side of the ship. There, he looked out to the sea, the ever-expanding floor of blue. While Garet grabbed the ramp and started to pull it in, Ivan whispered to Isaac.
"That person scares me." He said, almost with a whimper in his voice. Then, Isaac got thinking. He thought of the 'illness' Ivan got and how it led to this, a complete stranger getting onto their ship.
"How are you feeling, Ivan?" Isaac asked hastily.
"Much better now," Ivan told him, "Why do you ask?"
"Garet, don't pull that ramp in just yet!" He beckoned to him. He'd almost finished when that was shouted. Garet grumbled some curse as he was forced to push it back out. Isaac had drawn his blade as he ran towards the stranger. The stranger had turned around.
"It was you! It was you who made Ivan feel ill! You made us dock our ship!" Isaac shouted.
"Hey, it was you who wanted to dock, remember?" Garet commented, like he always did.
"Shut up!" Mia and Isaac both told him. Garet gritted his teeth at that and drew his sword also. The four of them approached the cloaked figure and surround him, confining him to the bow of the ship. The cloak figure laughed at them, a sight which they hadn't seen like this before.
"Yes, I did make Ivan demand to be taken to the shore, but for good reason." The man explained.
"There's no good reason to hurt one of our friends!" Garet butted in. "I didn't hurt your friend. If I wanted to, I would have, but I didn't," That point caused Garet to be stumped, "It may not seem like it at the moment, but you need me." That triggered Garet again.
"Yeah, we need you to get off our ship!" He shouted to the figure.
"I'm not going to fight you." The figure told them.
"Then it looks like you're going to be beaten pretty bad!" Garet told him. Isaac gave him a stern look.
"What?" Garet moaned. Isaac simply shook his head.
"Show us your face." Ivan asked.
The figure didn't reply.
"Show us your face." Ivan asked.
The figure turned away from them.
"Are you scared?" Ivan asked the figure.
No answer was the firm reply. Isaac watched as Ivan asked his questions and saw a side of this man that he hadn't shown before. It was Garet, once again, who ruined the opportunity for them.
"That's it! I'm taking his on now!" Garet charged up to the figure.
"Garet!" Isaac shouted.
"What the hell is he doing?" Mia asked.
Garet started to swing his sword at the figure. It was then that Garet stopped. Stopped stone cold in his tracks. The man had turned around and was looking directly at Garet. Garet stepped back as soon as the figure stepped forward.
"You want to see my face? You really want to see it?" Garet gulped. Then, without even thinking of the consequences, he grabbed the man's hood and threw it from his head. What they saw was truly surprising.
They saw black hair; they saw what looked to be a normal face. His hair was spiked up in very short spikes, no more than an inch in length. He seemed to be about the same age as they were, although his face showed maturity well beyond his years. When he turned to face them, however, they saw something hideous. A scar. A long one, stretching from the top of his forehead, over and through his left eye and down to his cheek. It was deep and it was obvious that below his left eyelid the eye didn't work. On a closer look, Isaac noticed that the way the scare cut into the skin, it would be impossible for him to open his left eye. He quickly turned away form them, trying to mask his scar. All the hatred that was swelling up in Garet suddenly left him, as if he almost felt pity for the man. Mia walked towards the stranger, closer then Garet.
"Let me look at it. I could heal it for you..." Mia suggested.
"It's impossible." The stranger told her.
"How do you know unless I try?" Mia asked him.
The man didn't turn around again. Mia didn't step away, however. She was determined to get as much information out of him as possible.
"What is your name?" She asked him.
There was a slight pause before he replied. "...Abbadon." He told her.
"We should go below deck, Abbadon. Maybe I could treat it for you. How does that sound?" Abbadon slowly nodded his head, agreeing.
"Okay. You can try." He told her. Both of them walked past the boys and went below deck. Ivan watched them and started to follow them. Isaac put one hand on Ivan's shoulder and shook his head.
"Leave them to it." Isaac told Ivan. Isaac then turned to Garet, who was still slightly spooked by the whole experience. Isaac could see Garet was shaking.
"What's wrong, Garet? Why did you stop?" He asked.
"I didn't," Garet told his friend, "He made me." There was a chilling silence, broken by Ivan.
"What shall we do with the ramp?" He questioned. Isaac had forgotten about the ramp for all this time. Garet had done a good job concerning placing it, so it hadn't drifted away. Isaac looked to Garet. Garet sighed.
"Okay, I'll move it." He slowly trudged over to it and began to pull.
"Thanks." Isaac said to him. With that, Isaac returned to the bow of the vessel and took out the black orb. Ivan walked up there also, took a deep breath and looked out.
"I don't trust him, Isaac." He told his friend.
"Why don't you mind read him? Discover his true motives?" Isaac suggested. For a moment, Ivan's face lit up with a smile, then returned to a frown.
"What if he can mind read too?" Ivan asked.
"Woah! You think he's an Adept?" Garet had only just finished lifting the ramp and had gone to join them when he heard that comment.
"How do you think he made me feel ill?" That question made even Garet pause for thought.
"He's right, Isaac. That person must be an Adept." Garet agreed. Isaac was thinking of other things, however.
"East or west?" He asked.
"What?" Both of the others were confused.
"Shall I go east or west?" Isaac had to make the question clearer before either of them understood it.
"Oh! West, I say." Garet decided.
"Sounds a good idea." Ivan agreed.
"Then it's settled. West we go." And with that, nothing happened on board deck for an hour or so.
Below deck, Mia had Abbadon sat on a chair within her own quarters. Her room was slightly more decorated and fuller than the boys, seen as she had more items to fill it with. Hung up on one of the beams above them was a spare set of clothing in case the one she wore was ruined. Unlike the boys, she had bed instead of a hammock, which she'd made fresh for the following night. By her bed was a backpack, which contained all the items she needed for the journey and also some of her more personnel belongings, which I shall not go into detail about at this moment.
"Hold still for a minute, please." She said to Abbadon as she applied some liquid to his scar. It stung a little, as he flinched slightly when she applied it.
"I'm sorry! Did that..." She asked, trying to gain forgiveness.
"It's alright. It's always stung like that." He assured her. Mia went over to her backpack and got from it a small towel, which she used to dry her hands. She turned to him, only to realise that hew as wasn't looking at her. He was looking into the mirror that was hung up in front of him. He was observing his scar, looking at it. He then spoke.
"I look hideous, don't I?" He asked. Mia was unsure how to answer that. It made her fell a little nervous him asking it. After a moment of thought, she chuckled a little.
"You look fine, trust me." She told him. He smiled a little, then returned to his sad look.
"It's nice of you to say that, but you don't have to lie." He reminded her.
"No, I mean it." She replied. He smiled again.
"Thank you. You're the first person who's told me that before." He said to her. She then put the towel away and looked at his cloak, it's plain black colour almost suspicious in it's own right.
"Why do you hide away, Abbadon?" She asked him. He turned away when she said that, almost as if he was afraid of the answer, "You can tell me." He sighed.
"Four years ago..." He began. Their conversation was cut short.
"Monsters!" Garet shouted from above deck.
Mia looked up and reached for her staff. Abbadon had already started to run up on deck. When Mia got there she saw what they were dealing with.
A Wyvren. It resembled a small dragon and was flying above the boys a good ten metres. They had all drawn their weapons and were ready for combat. Mia stuck back with Abbadon in the distance.
"We can't let it damage the vessel!" Ivan protested.
"I know that, but I don't think it does!" Garet shouted to Ivan. The green monstrosity let out an inhumane shriek and began to dive. It's wings were stretched out wide, revealing a 15 metre wingspan and teeth that could slice through the hull of their Lemurian vessel.
"Brace yourself!" Isaac warned. Garet was ready to slice at the creature, as was Isaac.
What they weren't counting on was that the Wyvren could breath fire. From his mouth he belched a large fireball that hurtled towards them at great speed. Isaac dived out of the way of the projectile, but Garet wasn't so lucky. It almost hit him straight on and he was flung across the deck by the force, the wall of the cabin breaking his fall. Garet was almost knocked cold, being unable to drag himself up easily. Ivan looked at the damage. The Lemurian ship wasn't scratched by the impact, yet the flames now roared, the smoke bellowing high above them. Mia was preparing to use her psynergy when Isaac noticed what the creature was doing next.
The creature had got a considerable distance away fro the ship and was charging another fireball. This time, it aimed at the sea in front of them. What resulted from the impact was a tidal wave. It outsized their vessel.
"So that was what caused that wave!" Isaac gasped. He then drew himself back to the current events, "Ivan! Can you blow that wave away from us?" "I'll certainly try." He replied. Ivan clasped his hands and with a large pulse of psynergy, blew a sonic waves the dwarfed any he's ever done before. It had clearly drained him of all his psynergy as he fell, only being supported by his staff. The sonic wave flew to meet its target and for a second, it looked like it could actually stem the wave. The wyvren, however, had other plans. It flapped it's wings as hard as it could, increasing the speed and power of the wave that now hurtled towards them.
"It's not going to do it! The waves gained too much strength!" Ivan shouted. And with that, the wave disrupted the sonic wave and continued on it's assault, only slightly hindered by Ivan's attack.
"Get ready!" Isaac warned. Isaac, using all of his power, created a shield around the front of the vessel, hoping it would shield them from most of the impact. To his surprise, it did little of the sort. The foam the erupted onto the deck carried Ivan and Isaac across to where Garet now was. He'd only just managed to pick himself up and was soon knocked over again by the incoming wave. Even Mia was unable to hold her ground and pretty soon she'd fallen over also. Only Abbadon remained standing in the watery inferno.
Eventually, it reseeded, leaving the crew dazed and exhausted. They knew that they had no chance against the creature. It wasn't it's power, but it's tactics that had beaten them. They watched however, as Abbadon walked onto the deck and beckoned to the creature in anger.
"Hey!" He shouted.
The Wyvren stopped and turned to face him.
"What the hell is he doing?" Garet cursed.
"If you want to pick on someone, pick on me!" Abbadon shouted to his foe. The wyvren screeched a battle cry and flew in to meet the new challenge. Abbadon drew no weapon to attack his foe with, simply standing on the deck, looking foreboding.
"He's a mad man!" Garet shouted.
"He's our only hope." Isaac told Garet.
The Wyvren charged up another fireball and hurled it towards Abbadon. Abbadon stretched both his hands out and moved them in an arc. In front of their very eyes, a white barrier appeared in front of him, translucent in colour and powerful in appearance. All watched empowered by awe as the barrier, it disappearing with the projectile, absorbed the fireball. The wyvren, that was fully expecting a raging Firestorm shrieked in dissatisfaction and started to dive towards Abbadon. It was then that abbadon drew his blade. A long handle, capable of two hands, was pulled to visibility from under his cloak. A red velvet like material, the blade a glistening silver, padded the handle. The blade itself was slightly longer than Isaac's and the same thickness, being more a long sword than a rapier. He held it with both hands, as if he were about to take off someone's head with the first swipe. The creature came up close to him and was about to swipe it's own claws, the sharp black talons looking quite capable in their job, when he took his shot. A swipe that was straight and horizontal, he cut a deep wound into the wyvren's chest. It howled in agony and the wound, the lashed out with it's tail, flicking it towards him. Abbadon jumped the tail with ease, then flipping backwards to avoid the first and second swipe of it's claws. The wyvren shrieked for a third the and prepared to hurl another fireball, this time at the cabin itself where abbadon was standing close to. By now the others had stood themselves up and were prepared to join in. Before they could charge, Abbadon raised his hand in defiance.
"No. This is my fight. Go back. Into the cabin." He ordered.
"Hey, I'm not taking any orders from nobody!" Garet shouted.
The fireball had been emitted. Abbadon didn't look to it, instead he shouted at them.
"Move!" He beckoned. This time, they didn't hesitate. The four of them filed into the room and watched through the various portholes. Isaac couldn't believe what he was seeing. Abbadon, from his hand, threw a small white fireball, it dwarfed by the hot ball of molten energy the wyvren had emitted. Both impacted shortly after and in mid air, a large white flash erupting as a result. The creature flicked its head away and stammered in the air, dazed by the flash. Abbadon, however, wasn't. He stared the glow white as he charged towards the creature. He bent his legs and, with a leap, jumped. He jumped high, higher than any of them had before. He had leapt over ten metres to where the creature's head was. He'd already sheathed his blade and had now grabbed onto the wyvren's head with his hands, his legs propped onto its neck.
"What the..." Garet gasped.
The wyvren howled as from his very self; he emitted a tremendous explosion, his being thrown several metres from the wyvren. The wyvren was blasted mush further, however. It was far from the ship by the time it had stopped. It wailed in agony, as if blinded. Then, without another sound, it started to fly away from the ship. The four of them watched as Abbadon fell, looking like he wouldn't make it onto the ship. Mia gasped in horror as he fell past the side. There was no splash, however. They stepped towards the side, hoping not to see him floating in the sea.
A hand clasped itself on to the side. It startled them, but only for a moment. A second later, another hand clasped the side. Then, Abbadon, himself unhurt, shimmied himself back onto the deck of the ship. He brushed himself off and brushed his had through his hair, then sighed. He then, without even talking to any of the others, looked out to the sea again.
"I'm sure it's gone now!" Garet told Abbadon. Straight after that, Abbadon started to run back towards them.
"Brace yourselves!" He shouted.
The ship rocked vigorously under the shockwave emitted from the last tidal wave. Ivan fell over quickly, yet Isaac and Garet held onto the side. Mia, however, was not so lucky. For she was by the side of the deck where the ship was hit when it happened. She screamed for a split second, and then lifelessly fell off the side into the water.
"Mia!" Isaac shouted as he saw her fall. All of them ran over to the side to see the splash she made. Garet was struck dumb by it. Ivan was stunned. Abbadon had already removed his cloak and sword. He ran to the side of the deck and jumped.
"What on earth..." Garet shouted.
"Leave him!" Isaac hissed.
Garet grumbled again. All waited for signs of either of them. Ivan was close to crying. Garet was pacing up and down the deck. Isaac was by Ivan, trying to calm him down. Within the minute, there was the sound of another splash and a deep breath being taken. All ran back to the side to see Abbadon, soaked through, holding Mia in his left arm. She looked blue and cold, not breathing.
"Get me a rope!" Abbadon beckoned. Ivan had thrown one down the second he asked for one and, with that, he climbed up the side and gave Mia to Garet, who ran to the boy's quarters with her in his arms. Isaac went in also, leaving Ivan outside, with Abbadon. Ivan turned to see the soaked man walking to his cloak and putting it back on. He also put his sword belt back on his waist and walked straight past him.
"Abbadon..." Ivan said calmly. Abbadon stopped and turned his head to look at Ivan for a second, who was still close to tears. He was waiting; waiting for someone to tell him it would all be all right, that she'd be alight.
"I can't answer that, Ivan. Search inside yourself for your answer." With that, he walked by the boy's quarters to the back of the ship. Ivan was left there, standing alone, puzzled. Then, he realised something.
"He... he read my mind!" He thought.
"Where the hell is it?" Garet shouted. He'd been rummaging through Isaac's back for the past ten seconds, looking frantically for it.
"The Water of Life is at the bottom, with the herbs!" Isaac shouted. He was by Mia, who was on the floor, still wet, still out cold. Garet eventually reached the bottom of the bag, still grumbling.
"Why'd you put it at the bottom anyway? They're that important, you'd put them at the top!" He moaned.
"If I put them at the top, they'd break!" Isaac shouted back, "Now hurry up! I don't know how long she's got!" A few moment's later, Garet pulled out a bottle with yellow liquid.
"This it?" Garet shouted. Isaac turned to him. He nodded.
"That's it! Bring it here!" He ordered. Garet passed it to his friend, who then pulled the cork out quickly; yet trying not to spill it's contents. Isaac opened Mia's mouth very slowly and then, with the utmost care, poured the liquid into here mouth. Now, he waited. He wanted her to swallow it herself, but if that wasn't possible, he knew he'd have to force it down her throat.
"Come on, drink it..."Isaac said, almost as if he was begging for that to happen.
Sure enough, she swallowed the Water of Life. A second later, she coughed. She started coughing uncontrollably, spurting water out that was once in her lungs. Garet went to her.
"It's alright. You're safe now." Isaac assured her.
"Wha... what happened?" She asked them.
"Well, this big wyvren came up..." Garet began.
"She knows that!" Isaac reminded him.
"Oh yeah, you were there!" Isaac sighed with that comment, "Well, after that man had beaten the wyvren it flew away and caused a tidal wave, probably when it fell in the water and died. You were flung off the boat and into the water. He then went in after you and brought you back up to the surface and onto the ship. I then carried you into here, where I found a water of life at the bottom of his back. He poured it into your mouth, and then you woke up. There. The last five minutes in a nutshell."
"That's it?" Mia asked.
"Yeah, why?" Isaac seemed concerned at that.
"It seemed like I was in the water forever..." She commented, "Until he got me out of there."
"You could still tell what was happening? I thought you were out cold." Garet puzzled.
"Remember, I'm a mercury adept. Water is my element." She reminded him.
"Oh!" Garet said, remembering all of a sudden.
"We'll leave you rest for a little, then we'll have to talk about him." Isaac told Mia.
"I'll be alright. I'll go to my own quarters and heal up." She said, slowly standing up herself.
"Alright. We'll be here when you're ready." Isaac replied. Mia slowly walked out of the room to be greeted by Ivan, who was more than happy to see her. It took her a few minutes to get past him and to her own quarters, where she lay on her bed and rested. There she thought, of what had happened in this day and of the battle. She marvelled at Abbadon's ability in combat, but knew that, despite what the others thought, he was a caring person at heart. She sighed as she closed her eyes and slept.
Nightfall came and with it, the meeting began. Abbadon hadn't been invited, naturally and was standing at the stern of the ship, looking at the sea and at the remnants of land that were the mainland as Mia came from her quarters, refreshed after her nap. It was a cold night, the wind bringing with it a chill that sent a shiver down her spine.
She walked up to where Abbadon was standing and stood next to him, looking at what was to be their last sight of their home continent for what Mia thought was to be a long time. Abbadon didn't look like he was cold as he stood there, arms crossed.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He commented. She could see the rows of trees and the sandy beaches of her home as they passed by the lit Mercury Lighthouse. It light was almost soothing to her and she felt a sense of home.
"Yes, it is," She agreed. Silence reigned for a few solitary moments. She then began to speak, "Thank you." She said.
"For what?" He asked.
"For saving me." She said. He sighed and shook his head.
"No, you shouldn't be thanking me. It was my fault." He said, hanging his head low.
"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.
"I should have known the wyvren's body would make a tidal wave. If I'd have told all of you, you wouldn't have fallen in at all," He turned from her and walked away. "I feel terrible. I put you and everyone else in danger. I am a fool." Sadness seemed to be in his voice, yet there was no sign of him becoming teary. He let his arms hang down by his sides, "I don't deserve your thanks. I don't deserve any of it." He began to walk away.
"Abbadon." She said to him. Surprisingly, he stopped. "Don't blame yourself. We all make mistakes."
"You nearly died. I can never forgive myself for that." He said, kicking himself emotionally.
"but you stopped that. Even though you made a mistake, you corrected it. You stopped anyone being hurt. If you weren't there, we would have all died." Abbadon turned his head to her.
"They're talking about me in there." He said.
"How do you know?" She asked.
"I just do," He walked towards her and then stood back along side her, "They aren't going to let me stay. Garet disliked me on sight. I scare Ivan. Isaac, even though he wants to, doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm suspicious." Mia chuckled slightly.
"You're just being paranoid! They wouldn't think that!" She couldn't believe what Abbadon had said to her.
"I can sense it." He said in reply. She then asked a more personnel question. "Are you... an adept?" "Yes. I am an adept. I can wield Psynergy. I think, however, that that was obvious enough," He was right, she knew. No normal man could've done what he did. He then turned to her, "You should go talk to them."
"But..." She protested.
"I'll be fine. I'm used to the cold." His voice was always full of sorrow, Mia had noticed. He rarely spoke with a happy tone or in a relaxed manner. He also noticed that he was always critical of himself.
She walked away from the stern and towards the boy's quarters. She could already hear there talking.
"I don't trust him." Garet started.
"Let's not jump to conclusions." Isaac told him.
"Remember, Isaac. The last time we met someone with that kind of power was three years ago, when Saturos and Mernaidi tried to get into the Sol Sanctum. Such power only means evil," Garet argued, "Besides, there's something about him I can't put my finger on."
"Is that what made you stop when you were going to attack him?" Ivan asked.
"yeah, that's it. Did you sense it too?" Mia didn't know what Garet was talking about. Mia didn't 'sense' anything odd about Abbadon. To her, it seemed like Garet was simply making up excuses to have him leave. Mia walked in to find Isaac thinking and sat down. It seemed that Ivan and Garet were trying to present their case to Isaac and make him agree with them. The two standing boys noticed Mia's entrance.
"Mia, tell Isaac what a weird guy that guy is." Garet asked.
"He has a name, you know." Mia told Garet.
"Does that matter?" Garet asked her.
"Have you actually talked to him?" Mia asked to them. Garet and Ivan looked at each other, then back to Mia.
"Do we have to? He's trouble, Mia. Anyone could see that a mile off." Ivan said to her. Isaac was still thinking at that time.
"So you're going to cast him out simply because you don't like the look of him?" Mia was getting frustrated with Garet. Isaac could see this and stood up to settle the matter.
"I've decided that if Abbadon is to cause this much tension, then he is not worth taking with us. I don't want us to be torn apart by this. We have our mission and I want to stick by it," He said. Then, turning to Mia, he said, "I'm sorry."
"Not as much as I am." She said, stepping out of the quarters. Garet shook his head and looked to Isaac.
"Glad to see you agree with me on something!" Garet said, finally smiling for the first time that night.
"I'm not agreeing with you, Garet," Isaac told him. Garet stopped smiling when Isaac said, "I'm just trying to prevent things from getting out of hand." Ivan looked to the exit.
"Shouldn't we tell Abbadon?" He suggested. Garet and Isaac seemed to agree as they all walked out and to the stern. Mia was with Abbadon; both looking out to the mainland, now only must visible thanks to the light from the Mercury Lighthouse. Mia turned round when they arrived; yet Abbadon did not.
"Abbadon?" Isaac said, trying to get Abbadon's attention. Abbadon did not turn round.
"I'm listening." He told them.
"I'm sorry, we're not going to let you have transport on our vessel. We're going to drop you off at the nearest point we can." Isaac tried to be as calm as possible, yet he had a slight sense of fear, almost anticipating him getting absolutely mad. He, however, did no such thing.
"Any particular reason?" He asked.
"I feel that you create tension among my companions. No offence, I'm sure you're a nice person at heart..." Isaac didn't get to finish.
"He is a nice person! You haven't even tried to accept him!" Mia argued.
"And I suppose you have?" Garet said, with a slight of anger.
"What's that meant to mean?" She asked, shocked by Garet's bluntness.
"He saved your life, yes. But anyone could have done that!" Garet was starting to get angry with Mia's defiance.
"Did I see you jumping into the sea?" She asked.
"I don't want to cause a fuss." Abbadon told Mia.
"Well, someone's got to do it," Mia replied, "If he goes, I do." Garet laughed, deeply and with a passion. "Oh, that funny! You, leaving!" Garet's laughter wasn't met with the best reply. Mia folded her arms again. Abbadon looked to her directly. Garet, realising that it wasn't such of a joke, stopped laughing.
"You're serious..." Garet realised.
"You don't have to do this for me..." Abbadon said again.
"If I don't do it, a big miscarriage of justice will be done." Mia felt like she was on the moral high ground, looking down on the others. Garet turned to Isaac.
"What shall we do?" Garet wondered.
"What can we do?" Ivan asked.
"We can either let him come along, or Mia goes with him." Isaac told them.
"I knew that!" Garet blurted out.
Isaac stepped up to Abbadon, who was now standing quite uncomfortably. His arms were still folded, and he wasn't looking at any of them, expect down the floor in the opposite direction to Mia. When Isaac was next to him, Abbadon met his gaze. His blue eye met Isaac's. Isaac saw a glow in the man's eye that he'd never seen before in anyone else. Isaac put out his hand to shake his.
"Welcome aboard." Isaac said. Abbadon looked at the hand and chuckled, quietly and only slightly. He then clasped Isaac's hand and shook it. Garet stood there, amazed. Ivan, however, was less shocked. Isaac then turned away to the rest of the troop.
"I think it's time we turned in," Isaac suggested, and then turned to Abbadon, "You coming?" Abbadon shook his head.
"I'd rather sleep under the starts, thank you." With that he turned back to his view of the Mercury Lighthouse. Isaac and the others went to their quarters. Mia stayed there and watched. Abbadon turned to her.
"You don't have to stay." Abbadon told her.
"No. I want to." She said to him.
"Very well." He said as he turned to the view.
Slowly, trying not to wake Ivan, he crept from out of the room to the main deck where, surprisingly, the sea was very calm. Where that wave had come from was anybody's guess. He took in a breath of the fresh air and suddenly felt much better. He walked out to the bow, where he saw a familiar face. Garet turned when he noticed Isaac was there and smiled. He'd styled his hair again perfectly as always, the brown spikes standing as vertical as the he was.
"You took you're time getting up!" He chuckled.
"Is it midday already?" Isaac asked.
"Just passed." Garet told him. Garet turned back to the open sea and for a few moments, both marvelled at the sight.
"Kraden always said he'd show me the ocean..." Garet sighed.
"Lighten up, Garet! We've only been into the voyage a day! We'll find them and Lemuria." Isaac was only trying to cheer him up, Garet knew, but what he was promising him might have been too much he knew.
"You're probably right." Garet admitted.
"I am." Isaac assured him.
"It's a beautiful day, is it not?" Ivan was now awake, they both knew. Only he would come up with such a comment on a morning.
"Morning Ivan." Garet said.
"Hey Ivan, did you feel that wave?" Isaac asked. Ivan looked at him completely blankly.
"What wave?" Ivan enquired.
"Oh, it was huge!" Garet began, "It sprayed the whole deck! Fortunately, I was well away from it when it happened."
"Could Mia have caused it?" Ivan enquired. Garet shook his head.
"Haven't seen her all day. She's been below deck the whole time." Isaac shook his head.
"Wouldn't be surprised. She's probably sick of the sight of it by now, what with being a water adept herself." Isaac concluded.
It was then that Ivan suddenly fell to his knee. Isaac immediately helped him raise himself. Garet, however, had drawn his blade almost by instinct. Ivan still looked dazed when he was standing.
"What is it, Ivan?" Isaac asked.
"It's a monster, isn't it?" Garet impulsively blurted out. Ivan shook his head weakly.
"Is it sea sickness?" He guessed. Ivan shook his head again.
"Then what on earth is it?" He shouted. Ivan then spoke, in a voice as quiet as a mouse.
"We have to dock the ship." He muttered.
"What? We've not even left the mainland yet! We're no where near Lemuria!" Garet moaned.
"We have to dock the ship!" Ivan shouted. That surprised Isaac; He'd never seen Ivan get so angry before. From his pocket Isaac drew the black orb.
"You're not going to do it, are you?" Garet asked in disbelief.
"I'm concerned for Ivan. Besides, a little detour won't harm us." Isaac assured. Garet turned around, grumbling to himself. He obviously wasn't pleased.
The commotion had caused Mia to come to the deck. She was dressed in her usual blue clothing as were all who were of the mercury clan. Her face, however, conveyed concern.
"What's happening? Why are we moving to the mainland?" Mia looked to Garet, who was still angered by what had gone on.
"Ask Isaac." Garet grunted.
"Isaac?" Mia said, expecting a reply.
"Ivan wants to go to the shore for a while. I think he's feeling sea sick." This was met by resistance form the blue haired woman.
"Isaac, we can't stop every time we feel a little down. Kraden and Jenna will be miles ahead if we make this stop." Isaac wasn't going to give up, however.
"What if Ivan is really ill?" Mia crossed her arms.
"I could treat him." She told him.
"I mean really ill!" Isaac said.
"Are you doubting my ability?" Mia asked him. That would have lead to an argument if it wasn't for what Garet said next.
"Hey, there's someone on the shore there!" He pointed to a solitary figure standing on the beach. He was cloaked, hiding his entire complexion and shadowing his appearance. The cloak was black, which would have been uncomfortable to wear in the heat that was in the air. The ship was slowly stopping right next to the young man, almost as if the tide itself wanted it to. Isaac looked to Garet.
"It's your choice." Garet said to him.
"Let's get the ramp down." Isaac suggested.
It didn't take long, especially with their teamwork. Within a few minutes the ramp was down, conveying a clear path for the stranger to climb aboard. The four of them, however, blocked that path with there very selves. The stranger then spoke in a cold, yet commanding method.
"Hail! I seek passage on your vessel!" He told them. It didn't take them long to reach a decision.
"I'm sorry, but we aren't taking passengers on this trip. You should head for the Babi Lighthouse. There's a port near there." Isaac suggested. He expected that would be it, but it wasn't.
"You don't understand," The young man told them. He put his right foot on the ramp, "I need passage on your ship!" Isaac looked to Garet, who was already ready for combat.
"Threatening us won't help you, stranger! We're not ordinary people, you know!" Garet's threat caused Mia to roll her eyes and Isaac to sigh. Being so open about their abilities wasn't going to help them in the long run, he knew. What the stranger said next shocked all of them.
"Neither am I, Adepts." Garet turned to Isaac in disbelief.
"How can he know of us?" He hissed. The stranger took another step onto the ramp. Isaac now drew his sword, almost attempting to scare the person off.
"You don't want to fight me, Adept." Isaac took another step closer to the cloaked figure, prepared to fight him off if he had to.
"Be careful!" Mia beckoned to him.
"I know, Adept. I know about Vale. I know about the elemental stars. I know about your quest. I know of you, Isaac!" That stunned Isaac, as no one had done that before. The others were equally gob-smacked, Garet even lowering his weapon.
"What shall we do now, Isaac?" Isaac stood in thought for a while, considering all the options. Eventually, he turned round and walked back on board.
"Let him on." He told Garet.
The figure stepped up the ramp. When he was on board, didn't look at any of the other crew and stepped out to the other side of the ship. There, he looked out to the sea, the ever-expanding floor of blue. While Garet grabbed the ramp and started to pull it in, Ivan whispered to Isaac.
"That person scares me." He said, almost with a whimper in his voice. Then, Isaac got thinking. He thought of the 'illness' Ivan got and how it led to this, a complete stranger getting onto their ship.
"How are you feeling, Ivan?" Isaac asked hastily.
"Much better now," Ivan told him, "Why do you ask?"
"Garet, don't pull that ramp in just yet!" He beckoned to him. He'd almost finished when that was shouted. Garet grumbled some curse as he was forced to push it back out. Isaac had drawn his blade as he ran towards the stranger. The stranger had turned around.
"It was you! It was you who made Ivan feel ill! You made us dock our ship!" Isaac shouted.
"Hey, it was you who wanted to dock, remember?" Garet commented, like he always did.
"Shut up!" Mia and Isaac both told him. Garet gritted his teeth at that and drew his sword also. The four of them approached the cloaked figure and surround him, confining him to the bow of the ship. The cloak figure laughed at them, a sight which they hadn't seen like this before.
"Yes, I did make Ivan demand to be taken to the shore, but for good reason." The man explained.
"There's no good reason to hurt one of our friends!" Garet butted in. "I didn't hurt your friend. If I wanted to, I would have, but I didn't," That point caused Garet to be stumped, "It may not seem like it at the moment, but you need me." That triggered Garet again.
"Yeah, we need you to get off our ship!" He shouted to the figure.
"I'm not going to fight you." The figure told them.
"Then it looks like you're going to be beaten pretty bad!" Garet told him. Isaac gave him a stern look.
"What?" Garet moaned. Isaac simply shook his head.
"Show us your face." Ivan asked.
The figure didn't reply.
"Show us your face." Ivan asked.
The figure turned away from them.
"Are you scared?" Ivan asked the figure.
No answer was the firm reply. Isaac watched as Ivan asked his questions and saw a side of this man that he hadn't shown before. It was Garet, once again, who ruined the opportunity for them.
"That's it! I'm taking his on now!" Garet charged up to the figure.
"Garet!" Isaac shouted.
"What the hell is he doing?" Mia asked.
Garet started to swing his sword at the figure. It was then that Garet stopped. Stopped stone cold in his tracks. The man had turned around and was looking directly at Garet. Garet stepped back as soon as the figure stepped forward.
"You want to see my face? You really want to see it?" Garet gulped. Then, without even thinking of the consequences, he grabbed the man's hood and threw it from his head. What they saw was truly surprising.
They saw black hair; they saw what looked to be a normal face. His hair was spiked up in very short spikes, no more than an inch in length. He seemed to be about the same age as they were, although his face showed maturity well beyond his years. When he turned to face them, however, they saw something hideous. A scar. A long one, stretching from the top of his forehead, over and through his left eye and down to his cheek. It was deep and it was obvious that below his left eyelid the eye didn't work. On a closer look, Isaac noticed that the way the scare cut into the skin, it would be impossible for him to open his left eye. He quickly turned away form them, trying to mask his scar. All the hatred that was swelling up in Garet suddenly left him, as if he almost felt pity for the man. Mia walked towards the stranger, closer then Garet.
"Let me look at it. I could heal it for you..." Mia suggested.
"It's impossible." The stranger told her.
"How do you know unless I try?" Mia asked him.
The man didn't turn around again. Mia didn't step away, however. She was determined to get as much information out of him as possible.
"What is your name?" She asked him.
There was a slight pause before he replied. "...Abbadon." He told her.
"We should go below deck, Abbadon. Maybe I could treat it for you. How does that sound?" Abbadon slowly nodded his head, agreeing.
"Okay. You can try." He told her. Both of them walked past the boys and went below deck. Ivan watched them and started to follow them. Isaac put one hand on Ivan's shoulder and shook his head.
"Leave them to it." Isaac told Ivan. Isaac then turned to Garet, who was still slightly spooked by the whole experience. Isaac could see Garet was shaking.
"What's wrong, Garet? Why did you stop?" He asked.
"I didn't," Garet told his friend, "He made me." There was a chilling silence, broken by Ivan.
"What shall we do with the ramp?" He questioned. Isaac had forgotten about the ramp for all this time. Garet had done a good job concerning placing it, so it hadn't drifted away. Isaac looked to Garet. Garet sighed.
"Okay, I'll move it." He slowly trudged over to it and began to pull.
"Thanks." Isaac said to him. With that, Isaac returned to the bow of the vessel and took out the black orb. Ivan walked up there also, took a deep breath and looked out.
"I don't trust him, Isaac." He told his friend.
"Why don't you mind read him? Discover his true motives?" Isaac suggested. For a moment, Ivan's face lit up with a smile, then returned to a frown.
"What if he can mind read too?" Ivan asked.
"Woah! You think he's an Adept?" Garet had only just finished lifting the ramp and had gone to join them when he heard that comment.
"How do you think he made me feel ill?" That question made even Garet pause for thought.
"He's right, Isaac. That person must be an Adept." Garet agreed. Isaac was thinking of other things, however.
"East or west?" He asked.
"What?" Both of the others were confused.
"Shall I go east or west?" Isaac had to make the question clearer before either of them understood it.
"Oh! West, I say." Garet decided.
"Sounds a good idea." Ivan agreed.
"Then it's settled. West we go." And with that, nothing happened on board deck for an hour or so.
Below deck, Mia had Abbadon sat on a chair within her own quarters. Her room was slightly more decorated and fuller than the boys, seen as she had more items to fill it with. Hung up on one of the beams above them was a spare set of clothing in case the one she wore was ruined. Unlike the boys, she had bed instead of a hammock, which she'd made fresh for the following night. By her bed was a backpack, which contained all the items she needed for the journey and also some of her more personnel belongings, which I shall not go into detail about at this moment.
"Hold still for a minute, please." She said to Abbadon as she applied some liquid to his scar. It stung a little, as he flinched slightly when she applied it.
"I'm sorry! Did that..." She asked, trying to gain forgiveness.
"It's alright. It's always stung like that." He assured her. Mia went over to her backpack and got from it a small towel, which she used to dry her hands. She turned to him, only to realise that hew as wasn't looking at her. He was looking into the mirror that was hung up in front of him. He was observing his scar, looking at it. He then spoke.
"I look hideous, don't I?" He asked. Mia was unsure how to answer that. It made her fell a little nervous him asking it. After a moment of thought, she chuckled a little.
"You look fine, trust me." She told him. He smiled a little, then returned to his sad look.
"It's nice of you to say that, but you don't have to lie." He reminded her.
"No, I mean it." She replied. He smiled again.
"Thank you. You're the first person who's told me that before." He said to her. She then put the towel away and looked at his cloak, it's plain black colour almost suspicious in it's own right.
"Why do you hide away, Abbadon?" She asked him. He turned away when she said that, almost as if he was afraid of the answer, "You can tell me." He sighed.
"Four years ago..." He began. Their conversation was cut short.
"Monsters!" Garet shouted from above deck.
Mia looked up and reached for her staff. Abbadon had already started to run up on deck. When Mia got there she saw what they were dealing with.
A Wyvren. It resembled a small dragon and was flying above the boys a good ten metres. They had all drawn their weapons and were ready for combat. Mia stuck back with Abbadon in the distance.
"We can't let it damage the vessel!" Ivan protested.
"I know that, but I don't think it does!" Garet shouted to Ivan. The green monstrosity let out an inhumane shriek and began to dive. It's wings were stretched out wide, revealing a 15 metre wingspan and teeth that could slice through the hull of their Lemurian vessel.
"Brace yourself!" Isaac warned. Garet was ready to slice at the creature, as was Isaac.
What they weren't counting on was that the Wyvren could breath fire. From his mouth he belched a large fireball that hurtled towards them at great speed. Isaac dived out of the way of the projectile, but Garet wasn't so lucky. It almost hit him straight on and he was flung across the deck by the force, the wall of the cabin breaking his fall. Garet was almost knocked cold, being unable to drag himself up easily. Ivan looked at the damage. The Lemurian ship wasn't scratched by the impact, yet the flames now roared, the smoke bellowing high above them. Mia was preparing to use her psynergy when Isaac noticed what the creature was doing next.
The creature had got a considerable distance away fro the ship and was charging another fireball. This time, it aimed at the sea in front of them. What resulted from the impact was a tidal wave. It outsized their vessel.
"So that was what caused that wave!" Isaac gasped. He then drew himself back to the current events, "Ivan! Can you blow that wave away from us?" "I'll certainly try." He replied. Ivan clasped his hands and with a large pulse of psynergy, blew a sonic waves the dwarfed any he's ever done before. It had clearly drained him of all his psynergy as he fell, only being supported by his staff. The sonic wave flew to meet its target and for a second, it looked like it could actually stem the wave. The wyvren, however, had other plans. It flapped it's wings as hard as it could, increasing the speed and power of the wave that now hurtled towards them.
"It's not going to do it! The waves gained too much strength!" Ivan shouted. And with that, the wave disrupted the sonic wave and continued on it's assault, only slightly hindered by Ivan's attack.
"Get ready!" Isaac warned. Isaac, using all of his power, created a shield around the front of the vessel, hoping it would shield them from most of the impact. To his surprise, it did little of the sort. The foam the erupted onto the deck carried Ivan and Isaac across to where Garet now was. He'd only just managed to pick himself up and was soon knocked over again by the incoming wave. Even Mia was unable to hold her ground and pretty soon she'd fallen over also. Only Abbadon remained standing in the watery inferno.
Eventually, it reseeded, leaving the crew dazed and exhausted. They knew that they had no chance against the creature. It wasn't it's power, but it's tactics that had beaten them. They watched however, as Abbadon walked onto the deck and beckoned to the creature in anger.
"Hey!" He shouted.
The Wyvren stopped and turned to face him.
"What the hell is he doing?" Garet cursed.
"If you want to pick on someone, pick on me!" Abbadon shouted to his foe. The wyvren screeched a battle cry and flew in to meet the new challenge. Abbadon drew no weapon to attack his foe with, simply standing on the deck, looking foreboding.
"He's a mad man!" Garet shouted.
"He's our only hope." Isaac told Garet.
The Wyvren charged up another fireball and hurled it towards Abbadon. Abbadon stretched both his hands out and moved them in an arc. In front of their very eyes, a white barrier appeared in front of him, translucent in colour and powerful in appearance. All watched empowered by awe as the barrier, it disappearing with the projectile, absorbed the fireball. The wyvren, that was fully expecting a raging Firestorm shrieked in dissatisfaction and started to dive towards Abbadon. It was then that abbadon drew his blade. A long handle, capable of two hands, was pulled to visibility from under his cloak. A red velvet like material, the blade a glistening silver, padded the handle. The blade itself was slightly longer than Isaac's and the same thickness, being more a long sword than a rapier. He held it with both hands, as if he were about to take off someone's head with the first swipe. The creature came up close to him and was about to swipe it's own claws, the sharp black talons looking quite capable in their job, when he took his shot. A swipe that was straight and horizontal, he cut a deep wound into the wyvren's chest. It howled in agony and the wound, the lashed out with it's tail, flicking it towards him. Abbadon jumped the tail with ease, then flipping backwards to avoid the first and second swipe of it's claws. The wyvren shrieked for a third the and prepared to hurl another fireball, this time at the cabin itself where abbadon was standing close to. By now the others had stood themselves up and were prepared to join in. Before they could charge, Abbadon raised his hand in defiance.
"No. This is my fight. Go back. Into the cabin." He ordered.
"Hey, I'm not taking any orders from nobody!" Garet shouted.
The fireball had been emitted. Abbadon didn't look to it, instead he shouted at them.
"Move!" He beckoned. This time, they didn't hesitate. The four of them filed into the room and watched through the various portholes. Isaac couldn't believe what he was seeing. Abbadon, from his hand, threw a small white fireball, it dwarfed by the hot ball of molten energy the wyvren had emitted. Both impacted shortly after and in mid air, a large white flash erupting as a result. The creature flicked its head away and stammered in the air, dazed by the flash. Abbadon, however, wasn't. He stared the glow white as he charged towards the creature. He bent his legs and, with a leap, jumped. He jumped high, higher than any of them had before. He had leapt over ten metres to where the creature's head was. He'd already sheathed his blade and had now grabbed onto the wyvren's head with his hands, his legs propped onto its neck.
"What the..." Garet gasped.
The wyvren howled as from his very self; he emitted a tremendous explosion, his being thrown several metres from the wyvren. The wyvren was blasted mush further, however. It was far from the ship by the time it had stopped. It wailed in agony, as if blinded. Then, without another sound, it started to fly away from the ship. The four of them watched as Abbadon fell, looking like he wouldn't make it onto the ship. Mia gasped in horror as he fell past the side. There was no splash, however. They stepped towards the side, hoping not to see him floating in the sea.
A hand clasped itself on to the side. It startled them, but only for a moment. A second later, another hand clasped the side. Then, Abbadon, himself unhurt, shimmied himself back onto the deck of the ship. He brushed himself off and brushed his had through his hair, then sighed. He then, without even talking to any of the others, looked out to the sea again.
"I'm sure it's gone now!" Garet told Abbadon. Straight after that, Abbadon started to run back towards them.
"Brace yourselves!" He shouted.
The ship rocked vigorously under the shockwave emitted from the last tidal wave. Ivan fell over quickly, yet Isaac and Garet held onto the side. Mia, however, was not so lucky. For she was by the side of the deck where the ship was hit when it happened. She screamed for a split second, and then lifelessly fell off the side into the water.
"Mia!" Isaac shouted as he saw her fall. All of them ran over to the side to see the splash she made. Garet was struck dumb by it. Ivan was stunned. Abbadon had already removed his cloak and sword. He ran to the side of the deck and jumped.
"What on earth..." Garet shouted.
"Leave him!" Isaac hissed.
Garet grumbled again. All waited for signs of either of them. Ivan was close to crying. Garet was pacing up and down the deck. Isaac was by Ivan, trying to calm him down. Within the minute, there was the sound of another splash and a deep breath being taken. All ran back to the side to see Abbadon, soaked through, holding Mia in his left arm. She looked blue and cold, not breathing.
"Get me a rope!" Abbadon beckoned. Ivan had thrown one down the second he asked for one and, with that, he climbed up the side and gave Mia to Garet, who ran to the boy's quarters with her in his arms. Isaac went in also, leaving Ivan outside, with Abbadon. Ivan turned to see the soaked man walking to his cloak and putting it back on. He also put his sword belt back on his waist and walked straight past him.
"Abbadon..." Ivan said calmly. Abbadon stopped and turned his head to look at Ivan for a second, who was still close to tears. He was waiting; waiting for someone to tell him it would all be all right, that she'd be alight.
"I can't answer that, Ivan. Search inside yourself for your answer." With that, he walked by the boy's quarters to the back of the ship. Ivan was left there, standing alone, puzzled. Then, he realised something.
"He... he read my mind!" He thought.
"Where the hell is it?" Garet shouted. He'd been rummaging through Isaac's back for the past ten seconds, looking frantically for it.
"The Water of Life is at the bottom, with the herbs!" Isaac shouted. He was by Mia, who was on the floor, still wet, still out cold. Garet eventually reached the bottom of the bag, still grumbling.
"Why'd you put it at the bottom anyway? They're that important, you'd put them at the top!" He moaned.
"If I put them at the top, they'd break!" Isaac shouted back, "Now hurry up! I don't know how long she's got!" A few moment's later, Garet pulled out a bottle with yellow liquid.
"This it?" Garet shouted. Isaac turned to him. He nodded.
"That's it! Bring it here!" He ordered. Garet passed it to his friend, who then pulled the cork out quickly; yet trying not to spill it's contents. Isaac opened Mia's mouth very slowly and then, with the utmost care, poured the liquid into here mouth. Now, he waited. He wanted her to swallow it herself, but if that wasn't possible, he knew he'd have to force it down her throat.
"Come on, drink it..."Isaac said, almost as if he was begging for that to happen.
Sure enough, she swallowed the Water of Life. A second later, she coughed. She started coughing uncontrollably, spurting water out that was once in her lungs. Garet went to her.
"It's alright. You're safe now." Isaac assured her.
"Wha... what happened?" She asked them.
"Well, this big wyvren came up..." Garet began.
"She knows that!" Isaac reminded him.
"Oh yeah, you were there!" Isaac sighed with that comment, "Well, after that man had beaten the wyvren it flew away and caused a tidal wave, probably when it fell in the water and died. You were flung off the boat and into the water. He then went in after you and brought you back up to the surface and onto the ship. I then carried you into here, where I found a water of life at the bottom of his back. He poured it into your mouth, and then you woke up. There. The last five minutes in a nutshell."
"That's it?" Mia asked.
"Yeah, why?" Isaac seemed concerned at that.
"It seemed like I was in the water forever..." She commented, "Until he got me out of there."
"You could still tell what was happening? I thought you were out cold." Garet puzzled.
"Remember, I'm a mercury adept. Water is my element." She reminded him.
"Oh!" Garet said, remembering all of a sudden.
"We'll leave you rest for a little, then we'll have to talk about him." Isaac told Mia.
"I'll be alright. I'll go to my own quarters and heal up." She said, slowly standing up herself.
"Alright. We'll be here when you're ready." Isaac replied. Mia slowly walked out of the room to be greeted by Ivan, who was more than happy to see her. It took her a few minutes to get past him and to her own quarters, where she lay on her bed and rested. There she thought, of what had happened in this day and of the battle. She marvelled at Abbadon's ability in combat, but knew that, despite what the others thought, he was a caring person at heart. She sighed as she closed her eyes and slept.
Nightfall came and with it, the meeting began. Abbadon hadn't been invited, naturally and was standing at the stern of the ship, looking at the sea and at the remnants of land that were the mainland as Mia came from her quarters, refreshed after her nap. It was a cold night, the wind bringing with it a chill that sent a shiver down her spine.
She walked up to where Abbadon was standing and stood next to him, looking at what was to be their last sight of their home continent for what Mia thought was to be a long time. Abbadon didn't look like he was cold as he stood there, arms crossed.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He commented. She could see the rows of trees and the sandy beaches of her home as they passed by the lit Mercury Lighthouse. It light was almost soothing to her and she felt a sense of home.
"Yes, it is," She agreed. Silence reigned for a few solitary moments. She then began to speak, "Thank you." She said.
"For what?" He asked.
"For saving me." She said. He sighed and shook his head.
"No, you shouldn't be thanking me. It was my fault." He said, hanging his head low.
"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.
"I should have known the wyvren's body would make a tidal wave. If I'd have told all of you, you wouldn't have fallen in at all," He turned from her and walked away. "I feel terrible. I put you and everyone else in danger. I am a fool." Sadness seemed to be in his voice, yet there was no sign of him becoming teary. He let his arms hang down by his sides, "I don't deserve your thanks. I don't deserve any of it." He began to walk away.
"Abbadon." She said to him. Surprisingly, he stopped. "Don't blame yourself. We all make mistakes."
"You nearly died. I can never forgive myself for that." He said, kicking himself emotionally.
"but you stopped that. Even though you made a mistake, you corrected it. You stopped anyone being hurt. If you weren't there, we would have all died." Abbadon turned his head to her.
"They're talking about me in there." He said.
"How do you know?" She asked.
"I just do," He walked towards her and then stood back along side her, "They aren't going to let me stay. Garet disliked me on sight. I scare Ivan. Isaac, even though he wants to, doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm suspicious." Mia chuckled slightly.
"You're just being paranoid! They wouldn't think that!" She couldn't believe what Abbadon had said to her.
"I can sense it." He said in reply. She then asked a more personnel question. "Are you... an adept?" "Yes. I am an adept. I can wield Psynergy. I think, however, that that was obvious enough," He was right, she knew. No normal man could've done what he did. He then turned to her, "You should go talk to them."
"But..." She protested.
"I'll be fine. I'm used to the cold." His voice was always full of sorrow, Mia had noticed. He rarely spoke with a happy tone or in a relaxed manner. He also noticed that he was always critical of himself.
She walked away from the stern and towards the boy's quarters. She could already hear there talking.
"I don't trust him." Garet started.
"Let's not jump to conclusions." Isaac told him.
"Remember, Isaac. The last time we met someone with that kind of power was three years ago, when Saturos and Mernaidi tried to get into the Sol Sanctum. Such power only means evil," Garet argued, "Besides, there's something about him I can't put my finger on."
"Is that what made you stop when you were going to attack him?" Ivan asked.
"yeah, that's it. Did you sense it too?" Mia didn't know what Garet was talking about. Mia didn't 'sense' anything odd about Abbadon. To her, it seemed like Garet was simply making up excuses to have him leave. Mia walked in to find Isaac thinking and sat down. It seemed that Ivan and Garet were trying to present their case to Isaac and make him agree with them. The two standing boys noticed Mia's entrance.
"Mia, tell Isaac what a weird guy that guy is." Garet asked.
"He has a name, you know." Mia told Garet.
"Does that matter?" Garet asked her.
"Have you actually talked to him?" Mia asked to them. Garet and Ivan looked at each other, then back to Mia.
"Do we have to? He's trouble, Mia. Anyone could see that a mile off." Ivan said to her. Isaac was still thinking at that time.
"So you're going to cast him out simply because you don't like the look of him?" Mia was getting frustrated with Garet. Isaac could see this and stood up to settle the matter.
"I've decided that if Abbadon is to cause this much tension, then he is not worth taking with us. I don't want us to be torn apart by this. We have our mission and I want to stick by it," He said. Then, turning to Mia, he said, "I'm sorry."
"Not as much as I am." She said, stepping out of the quarters. Garet shook his head and looked to Isaac.
"Glad to see you agree with me on something!" Garet said, finally smiling for the first time that night.
"I'm not agreeing with you, Garet," Isaac told him. Garet stopped smiling when Isaac said, "I'm just trying to prevent things from getting out of hand." Ivan looked to the exit.
"Shouldn't we tell Abbadon?" He suggested. Garet and Isaac seemed to agree as they all walked out and to the stern. Mia was with Abbadon; both looking out to the mainland, now only must visible thanks to the light from the Mercury Lighthouse. Mia turned round when they arrived; yet Abbadon did not.
"Abbadon?" Isaac said, trying to get Abbadon's attention. Abbadon did not turn round.
"I'm listening." He told them.
"I'm sorry, we're not going to let you have transport on our vessel. We're going to drop you off at the nearest point we can." Isaac tried to be as calm as possible, yet he had a slight sense of fear, almost anticipating him getting absolutely mad. He, however, did no such thing.
"Any particular reason?" He asked.
"I feel that you create tension among my companions. No offence, I'm sure you're a nice person at heart..." Isaac didn't get to finish.
"He is a nice person! You haven't even tried to accept him!" Mia argued.
"And I suppose you have?" Garet said, with a slight of anger.
"What's that meant to mean?" She asked, shocked by Garet's bluntness.
"He saved your life, yes. But anyone could have done that!" Garet was starting to get angry with Mia's defiance.
"Did I see you jumping into the sea?" She asked.
"I don't want to cause a fuss." Abbadon told Mia.
"Well, someone's got to do it," Mia replied, "If he goes, I do." Garet laughed, deeply and with a passion. "Oh, that funny! You, leaving!" Garet's laughter wasn't met with the best reply. Mia folded her arms again. Abbadon looked to her directly. Garet, realising that it wasn't such of a joke, stopped laughing.
"You're serious..." Garet realised.
"You don't have to do this for me..." Abbadon said again.
"If I don't do it, a big miscarriage of justice will be done." Mia felt like she was on the moral high ground, looking down on the others. Garet turned to Isaac.
"What shall we do?" Garet wondered.
"What can we do?" Ivan asked.
"We can either let him come along, or Mia goes with him." Isaac told them.
"I knew that!" Garet blurted out.
Isaac stepped up to Abbadon, who was now standing quite uncomfortably. His arms were still folded, and he wasn't looking at any of them, expect down the floor in the opposite direction to Mia. When Isaac was next to him, Abbadon met his gaze. His blue eye met Isaac's. Isaac saw a glow in the man's eye that he'd never seen before in anyone else. Isaac put out his hand to shake his.
"Welcome aboard." Isaac said. Abbadon looked at the hand and chuckled, quietly and only slightly. He then clasped Isaac's hand and shook it. Garet stood there, amazed. Ivan, however, was less shocked. Isaac then turned away to the rest of the troop.
"I think it's time we turned in," Isaac suggested, and then turned to Abbadon, "You coming?" Abbadon shook his head.
"I'd rather sleep under the starts, thank you." With that he turned back to his view of the Mercury Lighthouse. Isaac and the others went to their quarters. Mia stayed there and watched. Abbadon turned to her.
"You don't have to stay." Abbadon told her.
"No. I want to." She said to him.
"Very well." He said as he turned to the view.