Look who it is! It's me, all inspired. I've actually had some time to write this past week, so let's get started.
Voice: Psst! What about me?
Oh, right. *ahem* Introducing... ::drumroll in background:: My new muse...
Lull! ::symbol clangs::
Lull: ::emerging from JS's hair:: Hello! ^_^
Yup, Vil went and got me a muse! Lull was a great middle of September present, Vil. ^___^ Thanks! Now, go read! And... I don't own Golden Sun. .
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Sheba brought her staff down across her body, sighing as she watched the last enemy in front of them fade away. Her feelings of uneasiness had been growing, and she wasn't liking it one bit.
"Are you all right?" Ivan asked, the third - no, fourth - person who had asked what was wrong.
"Fine," she snapped. Seeing his hurt look, she sighed and added, "I'm sorry. I'm just getting a bad feeling, and it's making me nervous."
"I can understand that. After all, we don't know how hard this monster will be to defeat."
"No..." Sheba mused, more to herself than to the Adept next to her. "It's not that..."
"Ivan? Sheba?" Felix queried. Sheba looked up to realize the rest of the group had begun to move on.
"Oh... sorry." As Sheba ran to catch up with the others, sudden images flashed through her head. Squeezing her eyes shut, she stopped and forced them away. Ivan approached from behind, worry radiating off of him, and Sheba quickly wove her way into the middle of the group, attempting a casual expression.
"I hope this monster won't be too much trouble," Felix was saying. "We should be prepared for anything."
"Especially if it goes and freezes Shine," Jenna joked. "We need our light."
"No..." Sheba said distantly. "It uses fire..."
Everyone turned to stare. After a moment of stunned silence, Garet spoke. "How... do you know?"
Sheba was slightly intimidated, and stood inside the circle of Adepts wearing a bewildered expression. "I... don't know... er, that is to say... um..." She looked down at her feet. "I'm not sure," she murmured. "But it is fire-based. I'm sure of it... somehow."
"Do you know anything else about it?" Isaac asked, in a familiar businesslike tone of voice. "It would be useful to know as much as we can."
"Well..." Sheba thought for a moment. Memories tugged at the edge of her mind like a child tugging on a shirt sleeve. She quickly dismissed the child. If the memories were not let into her mind, perhaps they would leave entirely...
"No, I don't think so," she finished.
The child still stood on the edge of her mind, staring at her with insistent eyes.
Sheba was lost in her own thoughts for a while after the confrontation. She didn't know why it had been so terrifying to think about the memories-
Because you're lying to yourself, a voice whispered in her mind.
Sheba ignored the voice, and continued walking.
You know what's going to happen to him, the voice persisted. Admit it...
"I won't," she muttered fervently to herself. "No, no, no..."
"What was that, Sheba?" Mia asked, walking next to her. Her eyes held their usual cheery shine, but there was concerned curiosity hiding in their depths.
"Oh, nothing," Sheba assured her quickly, looking up and giving a weak smile. "Just talking to myself..."
The Mercury Adept continued to walk on in silence, but Sheba knew she had not convinced her. Sighing inwardly, she focused her eyes forward, dread washing over her as the memories continued tugging.
She stared at Ivan's back, fixing her eyes there and never moving them, as if watching him always would keep him safe, standing, out of the dark...
Suddenly Shine's light flowed outward along the floor as the walls that had enclosed the group disappeared. Now the only thing illuminated was a small patch of floor. Sheba heard their footsteps echoing as they entered a larger space.
She stopped in her tracks. Her mind was screaming at her, heavy dread growing in the pit of her stomach. "Isaac..." she said, voice more confident than she had expected, "we're close. We should get ready." He gave her a quizzical look, the light casting strange shadows across his face. "Just trust me. I can feel it; it's not too far ahead of us."
The group slowly began to arrange their Djinn, nervously discussing summons, when the small pool of light on the floor suddenly expanded, the whole room growing an eerie red in color. Even the walls looked as if they were ready to burst into flame.
"Shine..." Jenna stammered, fear growing in her eyes, "too bright..."
"It's not me," squeaked the Djinn, disappearing from Jenna's head.
"He says he's used up," Jenna said hopelessly. "That means..."
A huge black silhouette began to rise out of the shadows. All attention was focused on it; they all knew what it was. With grim determination, the Adepts stepped into fighting stances.
All except Sheba. Gripping Ivan's arm, she hurriedly whispered in his ear, "Be careful. Please, Ivan, be careful - something awful's going to happen..."
The pure terror in her voice caught Ivan's attention; he turned to find the same fear in her eyes. It scared him. Sheba wasn't normally one to show so much fear.
Stepping away and turning her gaze back toward the monster, panic threatened to engulf her. It joined the forbidden memories on the edge of her mind.
Suddenly, red light flashed before her eyes as searing fire was spewed in all directions, sending the Adepts scattering.
The memories were breaking in.
That fire... the fire she had known was aligned with the monster. She had seen it before. In her dreams. No, she thought to herself bitterly, premonitions. That's what they were all along. I'm such a fool...
Each image flashed before her eyes in turn. Ivan, she thought wildly. Where is he? If all of this comes true... if...
Sheba practically threw herself across the room, earning stares from her friends as she came to stand between Felix and Ivan. She wouldn't let anything happen. She wouldn't let her nightmares come true.
She looked up. Red, flaming eyes in darkness.
Sheba wanted to cry.
All around her, hands were raised in the air.
"Flora!"
"Daedulus!"
"Eclipse!"
Deciding to conserve some Djinn for later, Sheba called out, "Shine Plasma!" Her barrage of lightning bolts joined the gods and goddesses in the air around the beast. In the shower of sparks that followed, Sheba got a better look at the thing. Its fur was stark black tinged with red and orange, and bright red eyes stood out as the only apparent facial feature. She first assumed it to have four legs, but saw that an extra pair in the front housed long, lethal claws that shone in the rapidly flickering light. Glancing behind the beast, she saw a tail tipped with spikes.
The monster flinched under the mighty blows, giving an ear-splitting cry of pain. Its eyes flared, and fire was suddenly surrounding the group, spinning around slowly like clouds drifting lazily through the sky.
Picard quickly called on Shade, whose watery resistance blocked most of the searing heat. Garet and Jenna, hardly affected by the scalding temperatures, took advantage of the temporary protection and fell upon the beast with sword and spell.
The monster swiped at the two Fire Adepts with its claws, sparks showering as the shields reflected the blows. The shields flickered, then faded as Garet and Jenna were sent skidding across the chamber.
"Deluge!" Picard cried, and as huge amounts of water formed around the beast, Picard concentrated and kept them there. Sheba watched in awe. He was trying to drown it! Mia followed with her own Mercury spells.
Water conducts electricity, Ivan silently reminded her. She could practically see the smug grin on his face.
Smirking, Sheba raised her arms.
"Spark Plasma!"
"Destruct Ray!"
The water around the monster flashed brilliantly as wave after wave of lightning ran through it. When the light finally faded, the creature could be seen writhing helplessly, still encased in water.
But not for long.
With a desperate motion, the monster forced its head through the wall of its liquid prison, taking a huge gasp of air before opening its mouth wide and firing an immense wave of fire straight at Picard.
The Mercury Adept tumbled backwards, severely burned, and lay still. The beast roared triumphantly as the water surrounding it fell to the floor with a huge splash.
"Zephyr!" Ivan called, and Mia sped across the room, falling to her knees at Picard's side. Sheba forced herself to swallow her worry for her friend and turn her attention back to the battle as soft blue light surrounded the fallen Adept.
She caught the awful gleam in the beast's eyes as it turned toward Ivan, the chamber growing hot and dark. She knew something was coming - the familiar dread threatened to cut off her air.
"Lull!" she cried desperately, and the room returned to normal, the monster swaying placidly in place. She smiled and thanked Jupiter that Lull had ended up with her.
The two Earth Adepts stepped forward, pummeling the creature with Stone Spire. Sheba frowned. Why didn't they cast Grand Gaia? Then she realized what they already had - an attack like that would probably cause the entire cave to collapse. She sighed, half-heartedly casting Destruct Ray as her spirits sank. The Venus Adepts were being limited, and the beast was resistant to fire - only four of them could use their Psyenergy to its full effect.
The spinning fire surrounded the group once again, this time no obstacles standing in its way. Sheba dropped to the floor, trying to avoid some of the searing flames as she monitored Ivan. He was still safe.
The red light of Jenna's healing spell surrounded the Adepts as Mia and Picard rejoined the fight. All of the Adepts seemed to join into one mind as Psyenergy attacks of every element rained down on the monster. Sheba didn't notice the clubbed tail until it whizzed by her shoulder, leaving a thin gash, and knocked Felix and Garet across the room.
When Mia next returned to the battle, there was blood staining the front of her robes.
As the chain of attacks continued, Sheba began to wonder when the thing would fall. The injuries were piling up on all of them, and Mia and Jenna were kept so busy they were hardly ever fighting. As soon as the thought left her head, she spotted that horrible tail hurtling towards Ivan. She was sure she had lost him, but he flipped over it just as it reached him, taking a blow to his shoulder instead of being gutted by the spikes.
She almost instinctively unleashed Breath, who helped with Ivan's wound a bit. He shot her a grateful look before launching into another attack.
Sheba's brow furrowed as she watched him. He was too quick, his reflexes too good to be caught by surprise. She just didn't see any way he could be hit by something like the attack described. Maybe her premonitions had been wrong.
Smiling to herself, Sheba threw herself back into the battle with new hope. The monster was weakening, its attacks losing their potency. It would be over soon, and everything would be fine. The clang of a sword reached her ears as she watched Isaac slash at the beast in a combination of quick, effective moves. Gracefully dodging a swipe from the claws, he retreated back to the circle of his friends. As soon as he was clear, Sheba cast Tempest, smiling as the monster staggered. It was wavering now, weaker than ever. It would fall at any moment...
The room grew hot again, unbearably hot. The darkness grew, swallowing the Adepts up. Sheba grimaced, preparing to use Lull to distract the beast from Ivan, but found she couldn't move. Looking up, she met bright, fiery eyes.
It's after me, she realized, heart plummeting. Not Ivan. Me.
Petrified, Sheba fought the force that held her in place, but to no avail. The room started to blur, the forms of her friends only blotches of color against the dark backdrop. She sucked in her breath and waited, resigned to her fate.
A voice called her name, and she heard quick footfalls as dark energy formed in the creature's mouth. The beam shot out, the footsteps grew closer...
The room snapped back into focus as Ivan leapt in front of her, arms spread apart. The beam hit him in midair, and Sheba cried out as the darkness surrounded him.
She watched in horror as his eyes widened, the room blanketed in silence. He moaned softly as he staggered, then fell, the soft sound echoing through the cave as loudly as a gunshot.
A moan of despair escaped her as her own thoughts echoed through her head. There just wasn't any way he could be hit by it...
Unless he chose to take the blow.
Paralysis broken, Sheba raced to his side, panic welling up inside of her. He was breathing, alive - but for how long?
The monster roared, bringing feet down hard onto the ground and sending shocking vibrations across the floor. The Adepts were thrown in every direction as the room began to cave.
Pain bombarded all parts of Sheba's body as the cave walls rained down on her. A blow to the head nearly knocked her senseless, and her rage and sorrow grew steadily, engulfing her senses. Head spinning with fragmented images, she forced her way out of the rubble and threw her arms in the air.
"Spark Plasma!" she screamed.
The beast let out one last roar, and fell to the ground with a huge crash. The room's red light faded as the glowing eyes went dark.
All was still, Sheba's heavy breathing the only sound in the darkness.
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Wow, you're all going to kill me for that one. There was a good reason for ending it there, I promise! ^_^;;;
Lull: That battle scene was pitiful.
Oh, come on... battle scenes are hard! At least I got the point across. If I had described every move in detail, it would have taken forever!
Lull: Well, you'd better start writing again quick! It took you way too long to update, pitiful or not.
...It's your first day on muse duty. Can't you cut me some slack?
Lull: ^_^
*sigh* Well, I hope that chapter wasn't too confusing. In my opinion, the battle wasn't too terrible. ::glares at Lull::
Review! I think the next chapter's the last one, so tell me what you think. Feedback motivates me. Although I have the next chapter planned out nearly to the word... ^^