(Omniflyer is laying in bed with a laptop and covered by many bandages) Dew was kind of mad about that last cliff...
(Dew): *grumbling*
...Very mad.
*the door bell rings*
...? Dew, go get that!
(Dew): Get it yourself, you lazy bum.
I'm wounded!
(Dew): Doesn't matter.
Argh... *jumps out of the bed, bandages falling off, and appears to be in perfect health again* Huh. That was lucky. *goes to the door, and opens it* Hello? Hello? Is anybody here?
???: Down here, moron.
*looking down to see a Mars Djinni sitting on the front steps*
Uh...oh...
(Char): The IMPS didn't think Dew was doing a good enough job, so they wanted two of us to be here.
Oh, bad day, bad day.
In response to the reviews:
To Void: Yeah, don't you just?
To MercuryAdept: I think Jenna and Garet liked that even more than you, come to think of it.
To Midnight C: What do you mean Mia can't die! Of course she can!
*begins typing in the story* "And Mia died a horrible, horrible death, with Isaac grieving over her."
(No sooner are the words written than they vanish from the computer screen, and Mia and Dew appear and unleash about every single Mercury Elemental attack on Omniflyer, in addition to Isaac's Odyssey attack) Hmm. I see what you mean.
To Akachi: Yeah, you see, the problem with sending Agatio after a djinni, is when that djinni Sets himself to me, and then I get beaten up in the hopes that the djinni will re-emerge...that was painful.
Disclaimer: I'm sorry, everyone, but I've been lying to you all! I really do own Golden Sun! I also have a perfectly chiselled body, millions of dollars, have my choice of sports cars to drive every morning, and am a Bridge Salesman in my spare time. Now, if you believe all that, there's this one great model in Brooklyn...
Disclaimer 2: If you actually believed that, I'm sorry. I actually DON'T own Golden Sun. Really. I'm telling the truth this time. Really!
(Dew:) JUST GET TO THE CHAPTER!
Eep.
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Chapter 8
Soul vs. Strength
There was nothing Mia could do as the sword was sent flying towards her heart. None of the other adepts could do anything as they were too far away and their Psynergy took too long to cast.
And for a second, it seemed as though time froze, as so many things happened in that one moment.
Garet thought, 'If I let this happen, Isaac will never forgive me!'
Sheba watched in horror and sadness, realizing that this Mimic was going to break her heart for the second time.
The other Mimics looked on in anticipation and joy, happy to see one threat taken out before it could even react.
And the Mimic that was about to kill Mia suddenly found its sword-holding hand detached and its head rolling on the floor.
********************
It was a feeling not even the figure could understand. Just watching from the ceiling as the Mimic disarmed the girl and prepared to kill her triggered something in him that he could not deny, and sent him flying at the Mimic, sword in his hand before he even left the support beam. He quickly removed the Mimic's sword hand and head, and stood, unmoving.
********************
Mia opened her eyes, caught her breath, and wondered why she was still alive. And then she saw the one thing she wanted to.
She didn't even take the time to see if she was safe from the other Mimics. She just cried, "Isaac!" and ploughed into him, crying into his shoulder.
From the group of Adepts, Garet and Jenna smiled at each other and simultaneously cried, "Awwwwww!" but that may have been a little premature. Isaac felt Mia crying into his shoulder and shrugged her off.
Mia stumbled back. "Isaac...what...?" She began to waver, her knees buckling, not able to understand why he had just shoved her away.
The other Adepts stared as well, unable to understand. It was almost confusing enough to make them forget about the other two Mimics. Almost.
"Isaac of Vale!" one cried. "You slew one of our number, but you cannot defeat us! We have defeated you once before, and that defeat shall plague you again now! We are invincible!" As if to prove their strength, they jumped into the lines of other Adepts.
Ivan let loose a Tempest, and Sheba followed with a Spark Plasma. The winds howled and the electricity crackled, but the Mimics remained little more than annoyed. Thinking that Psynergy was uneffective against these fiends, Garet and Felix dashed to oppose them, and began exchanging blows. The match seemed even, so to better the odds, Sheba fired a Destruct Ray at one of the Mimics. The Mimic spun with his sword extended after parrying a slash from Garet. He deflected the attack with an odd sword Psynergy skill that Sheba didn't recognize. The Destruct Ray bounced away from him and promptly struck Ivan. Ivan was thrown back against the wall and showed extreme difficulty in getting up. After all, he wasn't prepared to block it. Sheba gasped and ran over to him.
Finally, the Mimics managed to barely overpower Garet and Felix, and when Jenna tried a Dragon Fume, it, too, was reflected this time towards Mia, who was still looking in some disbelief at Isaac. She didn't notice the attack coming, so again that feeling told Isaac to protect her. He stuck the Sol Blade in front of her, which easily parted the attack around her.
"It is you who shall now fall, Isaac," cried the Mimic, and the pair of them rushed at the Venus Adept. Isaac raised the Sol Blade and disappeared.
The others couldn't believe what they had seen. Mia had the Cloak Ball, after all, so Isaac couldn't have used Cloak to disappear. The Mimics, apparently confused as well, stopped in the centre of the room, still facing Mia.
"Where are you, coward?" the other cried. His partner was about to speak, but a sudden blade piercing his throat from behind stifled all words. The first Mimic turned behind him and saw Isaac withdrawing his blade. "How did you get there?!" He cried. "You couldn't be that fast!!" He slashed as powerfully as he could, but Isaac simply deflected the blow and stabbed back, so fast that nobody present could see what had happened. The last Mimic slumped. "Forgive me......King......Dodonpa......"
The other Adepts looked at Isaac in disbelief. Mia slowly approached him, and the other Adepts pulled themselves off the floor, slowly approaching as well.
"Isaac..." Mia whispered. "This is not Isaac," she said.
"What are you talking about, Mia?" Garet wondered. "Look at him!" But Mia shook her head. She stared into Isaac's eyes. There was no hint of the spark that had once been there. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then Isaac's was gone. Where his normal blue eyes shone, his eyes now were dull and lifeless. It was as if someone had taken an eraser that erases black instead of white, and ran it down Isaac's eyes.
"Look at this eyes, Garet," Mia said sadly. "This is not Isaac anymore." Garet moved forward to look, but Jenna shoved him out of the way.
"You're right..." she whispered. "What happened to him?"
"Where are you, Isaac?" Mia cried, dropping to her knees. Before anyone could speak, a brilliant light filled the room, and the Adepts saw no more.
********************
The first thing Ivan could remember seeing was...nothing. Then he felt a cold floor, and looked down. He was lying on a stone circle, decorated with the symbol of Jupiter. Sheba lay next to him, so he shook her gently, and her eyes fluttered open.
Ivan looked around the room. It was a large stone circle, with four circles placed as though opposing corners around the room. Each circle contained the symbol for an element, and that element's respective Champion or Champions lay above it. Ivan tried to run to them, but he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't leave the Wind circle.
"Wake up!" Sheba cried, looking around the room. Mia awoke from above the Water circle, and Felix awoke from above his Earth circle. It took a little longer to rouse the Mars Adepts, but they woke eventually.
"Okay," Garet grumbled when he roused, "where are we, and why can't I leave?"
"You are here," a voice boomed, "because I deemed it so. Because one of your number wondered about Isaac and I felt...compelled...yes, that is the mortal term for it...to explain it to you. You can't leave because I don't want you to yet."
"I know that voice," Jenna said. "Is that...?" Her question answered itself, as a large sphere that appeared to be made totally of rock with one large eye floated over to them from above. As it hovered in the centre of the circle, they noticed someone sitting, eyes closed, in the centre of the circle beneath him.
"Isaac!" Mia cried.
"What did you do to him, Wise One?" Felix said, nearly spitting the name 'Wise One' at him.
"I gave him life again. Or at least, I gave him the life he needed to end this foolish war you humans have started," it replied.
"What do you mean?" Sheba inquired.
"Strong though he may be, Isaac alone was not enough to end this war. So, I needed to give him the strength he needed. As he is now, Isaac is stronger, faster and more able to respond to tactical situations than he used to be," the Wise One loomed.
"Yes, but at what cost?" Jenna asked. It turned to face her.
"At the only cost that would allow me to grant him these gifts: his soul."
"You removed his soul?!" Garet burst. "What gives you the right?!"
"I didn't not remove it. I traded it for strength. At any rate, that is irrelevant," the Wise One continued. "The point is, Isaac now possesses enough power to end the war."
"Power often costs too high a price," Ivan whispered, so that the others could barely hear him.
"Be that as it may," it said, "he is exactly what you need right now."
"What we need right now," Mia said, voice trembling and rising, "is Isaac. Not this puppet that you created. We need a leader, someone to talk with and confide in, who can understand us and tell us what we need to hear when we need to. All you've created is a body that dances to your whim. This...this thing," she spat, "can't lead us or guide us. He just does as he pleases and whatever happens, happens," she finished, now on the verge of tears.
"Not entirely true," the Wise One said. "While it can't lead you, it doesn't do as it pleases. It listens to me and obeys me entirely. And, should you be willing, I can make it listen and obey you, as well."
"Stop calling him 'it'!" Mia cried, sinking to her knees again.
"The point is," Ivan stared at the Wise One, "what this group needs is Isaac back. Being together is what gave us the strength to come as far as we have, and that is what will give us the strength to defeat Dodonpa."
"You speak of things you have no knowledge about," the Wise One answered.
"Funny," Garet spat, "I was about to say the same thing to you." It turned to face him, now angry.
"Do you mock me, Mortal?!"
"Yes, I do," Garet answered simply.
"Very well. Then we shall see just how strong this Isaac you have spoken so highly of is!" it roared, and suddenly, before them, were two Isaacs.
"Isaac...?" Mia asked meekly. The right one stirred.
"...Mia...?" He blinked. Where was he? Why were his friends all around him? Why was the Wise One above him? Who was this?! It looked just like him, but...it didn't feel the same. Not physically, of course, it just didn't...feel right.
"What happened?" Sheba asked. The Wise One rose higher.
"The Isaac on the right is the Isaac that you claimed as your leader. The Isaac on the left is my creation. They will fight now, and whichever one is victorious will live. The other one will die, making way for the stronger one, mine, to live."
"You're setting a death match of some sort?!" Felix cried. Unusual to see him show any emotion...
"Why, yes...Yes, I suppose I am," the Wise One replied.
The Warrior Isaac drew the Sol Blade. It glowed a piercing black, reflecting the soul of its wielder, which was empty, devoid of anything but strict combat training.
"I don't know how you've brought the two of us here, Wise One," Isaac said. "But if I must fight myself to regain my friends and my life, then I shall not lose." Isaac reached to draw, but realized that his Sol Blade was in the hand of the other Isaac. His scabbard was empty!
"No fair!" Garet cried. "How do you expect him to fight if he has no weapon?!"
"If he is truly as good as you claim, surely he can defeat a mere imitation of himself, armed or not," the Wise One laughed.
"You coward!" Jenna cried. "Give our Isaac a sword!" But the Wise One spoke no more.
Isaac shifted into the best fighting stance he could allow himself without a weapon, and waited until the other Isaac charged. When the other Isaac moved, however, no one saw it move. Some sense Isaac couldn't even place forced him to drop, so he fell to his back, and saw the Sol Bland extend above him from behind. He kicked behind him and hit his adversary in the stomach. Winded, but not defeated, the other Isaac fell back.
It was at this point that Isaac realized that without a weapon, he really had no winning condition. He could bludgeon the other him until he couldn't move, but odds were that he would be killed by the Sol Blade long before then.
"Is there nothing we can do?" Sheba worried. Mia rose and paced about her circle. She pushed frantically against the 'walls' of the Water circle, but she couldn't leave. She looked down and noticed she had dropped her staff when she was brought here. In fact, the staff was lying with part of it outside the circle. Praying that the staff would not be subject to the same restriction she was, Mia turned it so it faced Isaac, and kicked it away.
"Isaac!" she cried, hoping to draw his attention to the staff that had just hit his foot. Isaac carefully bent over and picked up the Meditation Rod, which now trembled slightly, as if begging to unleash its special attack. Isaac had no problem with that.
"Nirvana!" he cried, and spheres of energy roped from the fake Isaac to the real one, and Isaac felt his strength growing. The other Isaac, however, suffered a drain of his energy. Thankfully for the Warrior Isaac, the real Isaac's lack of ability with a staff kept the Meditation Rod from damaging him too much, and also from using it to protect himself.
Isaac, however, realized this as well. Not only was he using a weapon he had no skill with, but he was facing a creature who contained all the physical skill he did, and also wielded the Sol Blade. And with that came the most powerful weapon special he had ever seen: the Megiddo. The Megiddo attack was more powerful than even most of his best Psynergy skills.
And, as if reacting to his thoughts, the other Isaac allowed the Sol Blade to glow an even deeper black, until it gave off an eerie howl. The other Isaac smiled.
"Megiddo," he said darkly, not sounding like Isaac at all. He let the Sol Blade conjure a small meteor and then rose to smash it. The meteor flamed with a dark fire and crashed to the ground. Isaac saw it fall, and lowered Mia's Meditation Rod. It would be no use here.
Instead, Isaac, turned and stared up at the meteor crashing down upon him. He didn't even defend itself. He just let himself become swallowed up in its dark fire.
The explosion rocked the room, blowing all the Adepts to the back of their circles and deafening them.
And Mia realized she had lost Isaac again.
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Huh. Not doing your new job too well, are you, Char?
(Char): 0.o
I mean, you're supposed to stop me from Cliffhanging.
(Char): 0.o
You know, I think she's shocked into silence, everybody.
(Char): 0.o
Char, continue your expression of "0.o" if you want to leave this house forever.
(Char): o.0
^_^* Typical.
(Dew): Oh, that's not right.
What isn't?
(Dew): Two cliffhangers in a row?
\/_\/ Get used to it.
(Dew): ...You will die. *raises the couch*
How can you lift a COUCH?!
(Char): Rage.
Well, I suppose that...ack! Run away!!!
...no, not you guys. You have to review. That button down there. Go ahead. Take a chance.