Chapter 7 has arrived!
(Dew): Much to our dismay...
I'm so glad I don't listen to you. I would have given up on this story a long time ago...
(Dew): What a shame that would be.
I'm glad you concur.
(Dew): *throws the Game Boy at Omniflyer. The game cartridge falls out, and Golden Sun: The Lost Age clatters noisily to the floor* ...oops.
You....hurt....the game...
(Dew): No I didn't!! No I didn't!!
YOU...HURT...THE...GAME!!
(Dew): You can't hurt me! I'm protected by the International Muse Protection Society!
No number of IMPS can save you now, Dew! GET BACK HERE!!
(Dew): AH! *running away* Is this revenge of some sort for what I've done to you every other chapter?!
*lumbering after Dew, groaning incoherently*
Disclaimer: (Dew): Umm...he doesn't own Golden Sun. There, I did the Disclaimer for you. Are you happy? Please?! Help!!
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Chapter 7
Taking the Initiative
The hours were passing by slowly. Very slowly. Garet and Jenna noticed this.
"Man," Garet complained, for only the twentieth time that hour. "Are we absolutely sure that we have no Psynergy that can quicken time?"
"I can stop time," Ivan smiled at him, referring to his Halt Psynergy, which indeed would freeze one object in time for a few moments.
"Oh, that helps a lot," Garet said, his impatience now beginning to show to the others.
"Maybe it would go faster if you sat quietly," Jenna growled.
"Maybe it would go faster if we had some sparring matches while we waited," Garet suggested. "You and me, Jenna?" Jenna frowned at him.
"I could beat you any day of the week, Garet," she said.
"I would love to see that..." Garet trailed off, and Felix sighed.
"Can you two not keep still for even ten minutes?" he wondered.
"That depends," Mia said. "How much time is left until night?" Felix looked outside the cave.
"I would say just over an hour," he replied. The Mars Adepts groaned.
"Then, no," Mia answered, and they started waiting again.
After about another half-hour, something very unexpected and welcome happened. A flash of light went off (nearly blinding the Adepts thanks to the darkness of the cave), and when they could see again, they saw seven djinn hovering in the air in front of them.
"Hey, everybody," Flint said. "I've brought the cavalry at last." The Adepts looked around and noticed the djinn Flint had brought.
"Flint!" Mia said in surprise. "Who asked you to bring the cavalry?"
"Isaac did," he replied, and a silence filled the room, but not nearly as deep a silence as it would have been a couple of hours ago.
"Zephyr," Ivan smiled, trying to change the topic from Isaac. "How have you been?"
"Not too bad," the djinni replied. "Things have been a little slow without you, and you know how much I hate that." Ivan chuckled.
Scorch jumped up to Garet's shoulder. "Miss me?"
"What, I get you, but not Corona?" Garet joked. Scorch hit him with his tail.
Mia bent over and picked up Tonic. "It's nice to have you back, buddy." Tonic hopped to her shoulder, finding a nice spot of warmth between her hair and robe.
"It's nice to be back," Tonic replied, quite comfortable.
Haze flew up to Sheba's height and hovered. "I know you wanted me back, Sheba," the djinni said laughingly, rolling in the air to show off a little.
"It's not the same without you," she replied, smiling.
Jenna and Felix smiled as Core and Petra made their way over to them. "You guys have great timing, don't you?" Jenna smiled.
"None better," Petra nodded.
"Not to interrupt all this happiness," Flint said softly, "but where's Isaac?" All the happiness in the room was again sucked out like Garet with a plate of spaghetti.
"It's a...long story, Flint," Mia managed to say.
"But with a bit of luck, not a sad one," Jenna said meaningfully, with a look at Mia and then at the clothing fragments hanging on the gate. Mia nodded. Ivan spent the rest of the two hours explaining the events of the past days again, partially through Mind Reads and partially through talking. When it was all over, it was finally night.
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Hour upon hour had passed by, and still the figure hadn't found Dodonpa. Climbing around the ceiling was growing tiring. The wooden support beams that held the ceiling up were beginning to hurt his hands, and it appeared that no matter where he turned, he ended up back where he started. Still, though, he continued, as if living only for this one purpose, and crawled across the ceiling to find Dodonpa.
A guard appeared from around another corner. Looking up, he saw the figure climbing on the ceiling. And promptly shuddered.
The figure dropped quietly to the floor. The guard froze. He would have drawn his sword, but the terror of this figure paralyzed him. The guard looked into the figure's eyes but saw nothing.
Just an empty void, devoid of the normal spark of life seen in the eyes.
The figure dropped the guard with a quick knee to his stomach and then an elbow to his back. The guard fell silently, and the figure rose to the ceiling again and continued, hoping not to have to waste his time with another guard.
It was the sixth one he'd dropped this hour.
********************
"There," Garet said, after Sol had finally sunk. "It's night. Now can we do this?"
"Let's do it," Jenna agreed, relieved that the time for action had arrived.
"Ok. It's time," Felix nodded. "Djinn, Set yourselves to somebody and let's go." All the djinn Set themselves to their partners, but Flint hovered around, a little depressed.
"You can come with me, Flint," Mia said. Flint nodded, and Set himself to her.
Mia wasted no time at bringing the Cloak Ball out of her bag. She clasped it tightly in her palm, waited until it glowed black and said "Cloak".
The effects were instantaneous, with all of the Adepts disappearing into the shadows. To the common passerby it would have meant a very long stay with a psychiatric professional. To the Adepts, however, the effects were nothing new or surprising, so they simply swallowed hard, took a deep breath and took to the back alleys of Lunpa, readying themselves for what they hoped would be the end of the war.
Of course, no one expected this to be an easy task. But a combination of dedication, the will to end the war, and the possibility of seeing Isaac again proved to be the motivational factors to the group of wayward Adepts. The seriousness of the situation was not taken lightly by any member of the group. Each was serious, was sincere, was pensive about the task at hand, and was totally focussed on the job. That's was Felix was thinking when he heard a loud thump.
"Darn it, Garet, will you stop tripping the soldiers?!" Felix groaned. Garet chuckled.
"I love Cloak..."
It didn't take long until they reached the drawbridge of the castle. Which, to the surprise of no one, was up, leaving a very deep gap between them and the door. It was very apparent that Dodonpa wanted no visitors.
"Typical," Garet sighed. "If there's an obstacle than can be in our way, it will be."
"So much for subtlety," Ivan said. "It looks like we can jump the gap if we get a speed boost."
'I'm one step ahead of you, Ivan,' Zephyr said to him mentally. Ivan nodded.
"We just need to get that wooden door out of the way somehow," he said, looking mischievously at Garet and Jenna.
"Oh," Garet said. "Oh!"
"This'll be good," Jenna smiled.
"What do you want to use for this?"
"Fume, maybe?"
"No, this has to be dramatic."
"Flare Storm?"
"I was thinking Inferno."
"I'm thinking Pyroclasm."
"Will you just choose one and use it?!" Felix burst.
"Fine, fine," Garet said, gathering his Psynergy. Jenna did likewise. The other Adepts waited a moment until...
"Pyroclasm!" they cried, unleashing a blaze of fire that incinerated the door on contact.
"Call Zephyr!" Ivan cried, and the Adepts felt their speed rise dramatically.
"Jump for it!" Sheba cried. They leaped, and cleared the gap easily, landing safely in the castle. At least, as safely as could be considering they were in the lair of the war's instigator.
"We made it," Mia gasped.
"Was there any doubt?" Garet laughed. He looked outside the burning door and saw throngs of soldiers staring at it, not able to comprehend what had happened to the door. "Nice Pyroclasm, Jenna," he laughed.
"Thanks! You, too."
"If the congratulatory festival is done for the door removers..." Felix said impatiently.
"Congratulatory festival?" Garet repeated. "It was a compliment and a thank you!" Jenna nodded.
"How long did it take you to think that phrase up, brother?"
"Fine, then," Mia said. "If the flirting is done..." Garet and Jenna turned as red as the Pyroclasm they had just cast.
"I...We weren't...that wasn't...!" Garet stuttered. Jenna mouthed wordlessly, and the others began walking to find Dodonpa from the safety of the shroud of cloak. Jenna was about to reply to Mia when Garet dropped his hand on her shoulder.
"Just wait until we find Isaac for that, Ok?" he asked. Jenna grinned and nodded, and they followed after the others.
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They followed twisting passage after twisting passage, passing curiously dropped guards as they went, and it seemed like every time they made a turn in the right direction, they ended up at the same intersection again.
"Geez, Felix, can't you get us there any faster?" Garet wondered. "You're leading like I would."
"Garet, don't say things so harsh," Ivan joked. Sheba giggled.
"I'll show you harsh, you midget..." Garet muttered under his breath so no one could hear.
"I'll show you Spark Plasma," Ivan retorted.
"How did you hear...Stay out of my head!!" Garet cried. Jenna started laughing. Garet looked at her as if he was betrayed.
"Sorry, but I think Ivan's got you that time," she smiled.
It seemed like the farther they went, the bigger the castle was. No matter how well Felix led them, they always seemed to return to the same place. Ivan began studying the walls.
"This is starting to remind me of Air's Rock..." Jenna fumed.
"Mia, could you drop the Cloak for a minute?" Ivan asked.
"Why?" she wondered.
"I want to cast Reveal here," he said. As it turns out, not all Psynergies were meant to be used with each other. The last time Ivan had cast Reveal with the Cloak up, he had seen through the 'hidden truth' that Cloak put up, and seen a little more of his friends and little less of their clothes than he had intended...
Mia dropped Cloak and Ivan cast Reveal. Much to his surprise, though, the wall he had been scrutinizing showed nothing.
"There's nothing there, Ivan," Garet said. But the Jupiter Adept's senses told him otherwise.
"No, there's something here, all right," he said. "Sheba, if we cast Reveal together, looking at the wall, do you think we could increase Reveal's power?" he asked.
"I don't see why not," she replied. "If the Tempest attack could work so well..." (her voice faltered a little) "...then a team Reveal should work well, too." And with that, the two Jupiter Adepts focussed on the wall and simultaneously cast Reveal.
And a doorway appeared.
********************
The figure was still strolling along the hallways, finding nothing, when suddenly a group of people appeared from out of thin air. Something snapped in the figure's mind. A memory of the past...of people he used to know...people he used to be close to... but he shrugged it off, and noticed that the group had somehow revealed a hidden path. They opened the door that lead deeper within the castle, and silently, so as not to be heard, the figure crept in the door behind the last person and bolted for the ceiling again, before he was noticed. He prepared to move on, but something held him back...something about these people kept him fixed there. So instead, he followed them, being careful not to be seen.
What was so special about these people?
********************
The Adepts crossed the threshold, Mia going in last. As she did, she could have sworn she felt a breeze going up from behind her just as she went through the door, but after looking around and seeing nothing, she shrugged it off.
"Are we close?" Garet wondered.
"I think so," Ivan replied. And no sooner had he spoken than they arrived at a large, empty hall. It was just a stone room. There was nothing to fancy it up. It was totally stone, save for the wooden support beams that held the ceiling up. Out of the corner of his eye, Ivan thought he saw something moving up there, but he figured he was just imagining things. There was nothing in this dark, empty room.
Mostly empty, anyway.
"Welcome, Adepts," called a cold voice. It was a much creepier, much colder and eviler tone of this voice in particular, but Garet, Ivan and Mia would remember the voice of Dodonpa wherever they heard it.
"Dodonpa..." Mia whispered. "Where are you?!" she cried. "Show yourself!" The only reply was a laugh, and the sound of metal clanking against stone, and Mia turned to see a metal gate closing behind them, sealing them in.
"What is this?" Felix cried. Just as he spoke, three human-shaped Mimics appeared, having already perfectly disguised themselves as walls in front of the real walls.
"About time we got some action," Garet said. But even before he had drawn his sword, Mia had her Meditation Rod at the ready, and was running towards one Mimic.
"This," she cried, "is for Isaac!" She whirled the Rod around to bash the Mimic's head in laterally, but it simply absorbed the blow and grinned. Mia jumped back and charged energy in her weapon, letting the weapon howl with power and unleash Nirvana, but the Mimic danced around it, grabbed Mia and flung her toward the wall. It raised one hand and clasped it around her neck and pinned her against the wall with it. In her panic, Mia dropped her Meditation Rod.
She struggled, kicking against it and trying to free herself, but it was physically too strong for her. The Mimic drew his sword and sent it screaming for her heart.
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(Dew): *hiding in tree* 0.o
GAME...WAS...HURT....
(Dew): I'm sorry, everyone! I couldn't stop him from cliffhanging when he's mad about the game!
...Actually, I'm not mad at all.
(Dew): ...what?!
I just needed some free space to get a cliffhanger in without you hurting me for it.
(Dew): Oh, I will SHOW you 'hurting you for it!'
Eep.
[Due to the nature of this next portion, we can't write it even in the author's section at the end of a PG fic. Having said that, please review, and the update will come whenever Dew decides to stop mauling Omniflyer.]