Chapter 4 is here!

(Dew): (unenthusiastically) Yay.

...you know, you're really starting to annoy me, Dew.

(Dew): It's hard work.

Aren't you supposed to like...stop me from being too evil and writing so many cliffs?

(Dew): Oh, yeah. *draws himself up to full height of...what, half a foot?* No cliffhangers in this chapter!!

Or...

(Dew): *Brandishing cabinet door* ...

...I'll take that into account.



To the rest of you, this chapter is the beginning of the war and why I rated this one PG. You have been warned! Also, I think this one's going to be a bit longer than usual.

(Dew): Why, best cliffhanger spot?

*whistling*



Disclaimer: Ok, some of you may be surprised to find out that I don't own Golden Sun. Amazingly, Camelot does, which means I don't, because my name is not Camelot (although I do know some Cams...)

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Chapter Four

First Blood



The threat of war over the land was evident to the six travellers. Every person they passed was either fleeing from Vault or speeding ahead of them to get there. The route between the two cities had never been so used.

"Hey Isaac," Garet called after half a day of walking.

"Hmm?"

"Why are so many people heading toward Vault? These are innocent people who have no reason to go there. They have nothing to gain from this." Garet pondered.

"They have a lot to gain, Garet," said Ivan softly.

"How do you figure?"

"Well, firstly, these people have all met Master Hammet at least once," Ivan began, "and Master Hammet has never really put the wrong impression on people. So if people have met him, they generally want to help him. After all, he's done so much for people. He donates money, gives loans, leads expeditions to far-off places to get new material for selling and trading..."

"Not to mention he gave you a roof to live under," Sheba added.

Isaac smiled at Ivan's explanation. He knew many people were here to help Master Hammet, of course, but he had to wonder how many people were here just because they knew they had to be, like him.

"The other reason," Ivan continued, "is that most of these people realize they have to help in one way or another. These people are mostly from Kalay, and they realize that if Lunpa's forces get there, it's as good as ruined. Imagine having a huge enemy force in Vale, Garet."

"Hmm...I see your point," Garet said.

"Amazing," Jenna smirked, "Garet understood something!"

"Quiet down, Jenna, or I may have to show you what the river current is like," Garet countered, and they all chuckled. The situation was too dire for actual laughter.

********************

By nightfall, the group finally reached Vault, and found it to be, not empty, as Garet expected, but absolutely packed. There was hardly room to move about the streets. Apparently, most people realized that Vault would be the battleground. As Isaac looked around, he saw a huge lack of civilians. All these people were armed to the teeth, preparing for a bloody war. There were no innocents here, just people ready to die for something they were willing to defend.

"It's amazing..." Sheba marvelled.

"What's that, Sheba?" Jenna asked.

"All these people, coming together," she began. "I'm amazed that so many people would gather on Master Hammet's behalf, and he hasn't even talked to any of them yet!"

"It's not uncommon for people to come together to defend their home and their leader," Felix mentioned.

"I can't see people coming together to defend, say, Lord Babi," Sheba said.

"Yes, but in fairness, you have reason to have a grudge against him," Felix countered.

"I can't believe you even used the term fairness in the same sentence you referred to Lord Babi!" Jenna cried. "Sheba was a prisoner for no reason other than he wanted a lighthouse built with his name!"

"He needed the lighthouse to find Lemuria to stay alive," Felix reminded her. Jenna opened her mouth to argue, but Isaac stepped in.

"Whatever may have happened in the past is not our concern now," he said. "What matters right now is this war. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if this battalion numbered into the thousands by the time it's ready to march."

"Let me check," Ivan said. He quickly turned and Mind Read a passerby. "Yeah, you're right. The army will be into the thousands when they march."

"When do they march?" Garet asked.

"Tomorrow at noon," Ivan replied.

"It's always at noon," Garet grumbled. "Always."

********************

Isaac led them out of town where they set up camp. He started thinking about the events of the following day. He started to worry. He knew that his friends wouldn't use Psynergy in combat. Well, Jenna, Sheba and Ivan might use low levels, just because they didn't have the physical strength needed to fight for very long. He started to wonder. Against such grand numbers, how great a chance did they have to survive? How long would it take until he started losing people? Until their group of six became a group of four? Or of three?

Or none?

********************

Sol rose in the morning to see Isaac already up, a short ways away form the campsite, dwelling with mixed emotions. He had spent the latter half of the night awake, thinking about the first battle that would take place in only a few short hours. Eventually, sometime before breakfast, Ivan and Sheba confronted him.

"You know, Isaac," Ivan said, "we really don't need a leader thinking thoughts like you were last night." Isaac turned on him, and Sheba giggled.

"Leave me to my thoughts, you dwarf," he smiled good-naturedly.

"We can't help it. They can be so amusing sometimes," Sheba laughed.

"Oh, whatever," Isaac relented. "A pair of mind-readers...how did I get stuck like this?"

"At any rate, you don't need to worry about us, Isaac," Ivan said. "We can handle ourselves out there."

"And if it looks like we're in trouble then I won't hold back with my Psynergy, ok?" Sheba asked.

"No," Isaac replied.

"What do you mean, no?" Ivan asked.

"I mean, these are still normal people being forced into war by Dodonpa. We can't go in there with Clay Spires and Spark Plasmas and Pyroclasms firing," Isaac reminded them.

"But if we're in trouble and we need to..." Sheba trailed off.

"Do whatever you need to in order to escape," Isaac said. "No more, no less."

"Very well," Ivan relented. "Now are you going to come and get breakfast? I want to make sure Garet doesn't get near the fire..."

"I'll catch up to you two in a bit," he replied. The two Jupiter Adepts nodded and left for camp.

'He's really serious about not using good spells, isn't he?' Sheba inquired. Ivan nodded.

'Say what you want about Isaac, he's never been happy with the prospect of hurting or killing people. This is going to be really hard on him,' Ivan admitted.

'This is going to be really hard on all of us,' Sheba corrected him. Ivan sensed she was terribly nervous about his, even more than he was.

'It's not too late to leave, you know,' Ivan offered. 'You can leave and no one will think any less of you...' Sheba cut him off.

'I appreciate you trying to give me a window to leave, but I'm not taking it. I'm staying here until the end,' she said. Ivan simply nodded and smiled at her.

'You and me both.'

********************

Breakfast and lunch came and went for the Adepts (it went a bit slower for Garet), and off in the distance, they could hear the war drums booming and the troops thundering off to the battleground. And opposing them, they saw the army of Dodonpa, marching toward them. No words were spoken, no terms, no conditions. The conditions had already been spoken and rejected by both sides. There was nothing left to discuss. The armies just met and began the fight.

Damn the peace.

********************

"So what's the plan, fearless leader?" Garet asked.

"We go in, help Kalay's forces," Isaac replied. "Repel Dodonpa's army, but try not to kill. Non-lethal blows. Let's just see if we can drive them off first." Jenna frowned.

"Do you really think that will work?" she asked.

"No. But I want to try and get out of this with as little casualties on both sides as possible," he replied.

"Tell that to them," said Felix darkly, gesturing to the front lines of both armies, where the blood had already begun to spill. Sheba looked on the verge of tears. Ivan noticed.

"If anyone wants out," Ivan said quietly, "last chance." Everyone denied him except for Sheba, who simply looked him in the eye.

'Thanks for trying.'

Isaac looked at his friends, for what he hoped was not the last time. He drew a deep breath and forgot everything else.

"Let's do it."

********************

The six Adepts burst from the sidelines onto the battlefield. Battle-hardened by the deadliest creatures on Weyard, the six were the most devastating power on the battlefield. Garet and Felix immediately went to the same area and started leaping in and out of enemy ranks, hitting each enemy with the flat of their blade, dropping them, but making sure they could get up when it was all over.

Jenna, Sheba and Ivan, generally being the spell casters, stood back to back in a circle and fired simple spells, Ray and Fume, just enough to drop the enemy without killing them. If any enemy got too close, they ran into the head of a staff.

Isaac was alone on this one, having been separated from Garet and Felix early on. He danced in and out of the rows of Dodonpa's army, dropping every soldier he came to with the flat of his blade. Isaac had no intention of killing anybody. To emphasize this, he sent a Quake attack into the ranks of a battalion on the other side of the field. The soldiers fell to ground. The attack didn't knock them out, but it did buy the Kalay side a little time to position themselves.

Isaac looked around the battle desperately for his friends. He hadn't seen any of them since this bloodbath started. He searched as best he could, which wasn't very well considering he was still dodging enemy attacks and delivering his own. He was isolated in this one, and he had no way of knowing where the others were.

Out of the corner of his eye, Isaac thought he saw something that wasn't quite right. The front lines were evenly matched along the field, and no side was gaining any ground, but on the other side of the field, Kalay's forces were dropping fast. Isaac tried to get there, but there were too many soldiers in the way. Thinking fast, Isaac cast Stone Spire into the ground. The spires stuck up from the ground and created a temporary stepping stone bridge, which allowed him to jump over most of the soldiers and reach the other side of the field. What Isaac saw there made his blood run cold.

Kalay's forces had dropped in number drastically. The grass was stained with a crimson hue and the cause of the sudden atrocity was to be seen just ahead. There, across a clearing caused by the lack of Kalay soldiers, staring at Isaac with no lack of hatred in their eyes, stood three human-shaped Mimics.

"Isaac," one sneered slowly. "Little, little Isaac. Why did you still decide to fight? This is no place for you! This is the place where the great King Dodonpa beings to extract his revenge!"

"The only revenge that will be extracted here will be by me, for what you have done to these people," Isaac said gesturing around the clearing.

"Well, then, Adept. Try your best," he taunted.

Isaac readied the Sol Blade, but soon found himself in the middle of a circle formed by the three Mimics. They were dancing around him at blinding speed, and Isaac found himself getting dizzy. But it wasn't because of the movement. As the Mimics danced around Isaac at lightning speed, they began to cause air fluctuations. Soon, A giant vortex formed around Isaac, as the Mimics cried "Tempest!".

Isaac knew this was bad. Tempest never sucked you in the middle . You were always thrown about the outside and then released. But stuck in the middle, Isaac found himself spinning uncontrollably, and, due to the suction from the inside of the vortex, he also found himself suffering from a lack of air. The Tempest attack suddenly became a whole lot more deadly.

********************

Jenna, Sheba and Ivan were still repelling soldiers when they noticed the whirlwind that was Tempest start to pick up speed.

"Is that a Tempest attack?" Jenna asked.

"It would be...but that's a Tempest attack that was cast simultaneously," Sheba said.

"That's too powerful! It's going to wipe out this entire area!" Ivan cried. "We've got to go!"

"But what about Isaac?" Jenna worried.

"There won't be an us to find him if we don't get out of here now!" Ivan said, now yelling to be heard over the roar of the wind. Thankfully Garet and Felix were still nearby, and when they saw Jenna, Sheba and Ivan in full retreat, they made sure to head out, too. Everyone was still worried about Isaac, but even Garet realized there was nothing they could do now.

********************

The Tempest attack picked up speed, and just about everything else, too. Soldiers were thrown around like dolls, and boulders were picked up and tossed like skimming stones across a lake.

And in the middle of it, Isaac fell unconscious, finally succumbing to the lack of air.

********************

The armies had parted, both being thrown back by the power of the Tempest attack. Sol was setting, Luna was rising, and, for a short time, a quiet stillness reigned over the land outside Vault.

And also over one yellow scarf-wearing Defender of Venus, who now lay motionless among the debris.

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(Dew): 0.o

*whistling*

(Dew): Another cliffhanger?!

What is this cliffhanger you speak of? I am not accustomed to this word.

(Dew): *picking up the cabinet door again*

Ack! Oh, come on, Dew! I need to build suspense somehow!

(Dew): So it's all right to kill Isaac?!

...not if I value my life.

(Dew): I want a chapter 5 NOW!!! *hits Omniflyer, who manages to block it with his hands. Unfortunately, this breaks his fingers in the process*

OW! Now how am I supposed to write the next chapter?

(Dew): Very fast!

With broken fingers?

(Dew): It might hurt a bit!

-_-* I get the feeling I'm in for a long couple of days.

To the rest of you, I'm going to take this time to mention that, thanks to the onset of school, I'm going to start updating this weekly, instead of bi-daily as I have been.

(Dew): What?! You just waited to put this cliffhanger in on the last chapter before you update in weekly periods?! You evil, sadistic...

This could go on for awhile. Please review!