::mob of angry reviewers is beating on the door::
Uh-oh. I'm in for it now. Hey, Lull?
Lull: Hm?
How about that unleash effect of yours right about now? You know, the one about 'negotiating a temporary cease-fire'?
Lull: Sure thing. ::unleashes, and the mob placidly lays down weapons::
^_^ I think we're going to get along just fine, Lull.
I'm not going to respond to reviews this time... you all basically told me not to kill Ivan, so there wouldn't be much variety. ^^ But thanks to all the reviewers! I'm glad people liked the battle scene, even though Lull wasn't very supportive of it.
Lull: It's my job to criticize.
But really, I never said Ivan was dead - or dying. To clarify: he's been hit by that nasty beam thing. He's in the same state that other guy was back in chapter 2. You assume too much... just wait and see. ^^
Now, on to the final chapter! I hope it was worth the cliffie! ^_^
******************************************************************************
She stumbled through the darkness, searching. Where was he? Panic gripped her as her eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden lack of light. Slowly she made out his form, sprawled limply on the ground. She dropped to her knees and shook him. No response. She whispered his name, and shook him harder. Blood from a cut on his shoulder was seeping into her robes, but she didn't care. She called him louder, fighting the dull pain that was creeping into her heart...
Suddenly Sheba froze, an awful feeling of deja vu creeping over her. She had seen all of this coming. Hot tears crept into her eyes. Why hadn't she just told him - anyone - about her dreams? This was all her fault. Tears flowing freely, she leaned forward and buried her face in his chest, muffled sobs echoing throughout the room.
I'm so sorry, Ivan...
Her sobbing abruptly ceased as another sound reached her ears. Opening her eyes and pulling him closer, she pressed her ear to his chest.
A heartbeat.
Sheba nearly dropped Ivan in her haste to open her pack. He was alive! That meant she could do something... she could save him! Rummaging deeper through her supplies, she felt for the smooth, cold glass of a bottle. Instead, Sheba gasped and drew her hand away as something sharp pierced her skin. She stared disbelievingly at her cut finger.
A shard of glass mocked her, plastered to her skin by a shimmering, golden liquid. The cut sealed over even as she watched. It couldn't be, could it? Helplessness seized her again. She had packed more than one bottle, she knew she had. They couldn't all have broken. Ignoring the sharp edges that nipped at her fingers, Sheba finally closed her hand around smooth, unbroken glass. Relief washed over her as she laid eyes on the precious medicine.
She had the bottle at Ivan's lips when the logical part of her brain took over. He had been hit by the beam. Water of Life wouldn't do anything for him. She desperately wanted to believe it wasn't true, yet she knew it was.
It took all of Sheba's willpower to close the bottle and stand, etching Ivan's location into her mind. Where were Felix and Isaac? It would have to be one of them - she only had one bottle, and they were the ones who could use Revive. She couldn't rely on the Djinn after a battle like this one.
Digging frantically in the nearest pile of stone, Sheba searched for any sign of her friends. The faster everyone was conscious, the faster they could get help for Ivan. He would make it. He had to.
Pushing a particularly heavy stone out of the way, she caught sight of Isaac's golden locks. Hope sparked within her. As she pulled more rocks from the pile, the Venus Adept began to emerge, out cold and looking very beaten. Seizing him as tightly as she could without causing further injury, Sheba pulled with all her might, freeing him from the debris.
Uncapping the bottle again, she tipped the contents into Isaac's mouth, praying that it would work quickly. Sure enough, his sapphire eyes opened after a few moments.
"Sheba?" Isaac quickly sat up, winced, and gingerly lowered himself back onto one elbow. "What happened?" Realization, then worry dawned in his eyes. "Ivan... did he..."
"He was hit," she replied shortly, turning away. "But... he's alive. We need to find the others quickly." Looking back toward Isaac, she saw pain and sorrow in his face. A golden glow briefly surrounded him before he stood, face shadowed.
"Do you think... he'll make it?" Isaac's voice was barely above a whisper. It was so unlike him that Sheba had to swallow tears. Isaac had always been the strong one, and now he was asking for reassurance.
She only wished she could give it to him.
"I don't know," Sheba responded, voice breaking. "I don't know." Wordlessly, Isaac nodded and began to search the cave for the others.
Sheba squinted into the darkness, again searching for the other Adepts. She had had little success, and was about to go find Isaac when she caught a flash of blue in the corner of her eye. Getting closer, she nearly tripped over Mia, who was sprawled out on the floor, dress stained and aqua hair mussed. She bit her lip and called Isaac over.
Time passed agonizingly slowly, but soon most of the group was assembled. Picard and Jenna were helping Isaac find Felix, while Sheba sat in silence with Garet and Mia. She had quickly returned to Ivan, and stayed close to him, afraid, for some reason, to leave him alone. She had quickly found a Potion for him in her pack. Now, cradling him protectively, she monitored the slow rise and fall of his chest. Garet and Mia's faces held expressions similar to hers as they gazed mournfully at their friend. The same worried thoughts teased at all of them.
The two Venus Adepts drifted over to them, followed by Picard and Jenna. "Is it really that serious?" Felix murmured, studying Ivan with worried eyes. Sheba glared. Of course it is! her mind screamed.
Felix stepped back, alarm showing in his face. "Well, we'd better hurry up, then. Come on, everyone..."
Garet scooped up Ivan, a vacant expression in his features, and trudged over to Felix. Mia noiselessly followed, casting a quick Ply on Sheba as she went. When everyone was within the Venus Adept's range, he raised a hand and whispered, "Retreat."
Nothing happened.
Frowning, Felix tried again, with no result. "The monster must have put some kind of barrier on the cave," he announced. "Maybe to protect itself... we'll have to walk." Despite his calm words, fear shone in his eyes, as well as everyone else's. Sheba stared at Ivan's lifeless form, cold growing in her chest. Time was too precious - they would never be able to get him to a healer.
A healer wouldn't be able to help anyway, the voice in her mind proclaimed.
Through her silent tears, Sheba told it to be quiet.
Sheba's heart pounded as she held Ivan tightly against her. Don't look down; don't look down. Normally she didn't mind heights, but an endless black pit was a bit different. As she concentrated, her Psyenergy pulsed at her feet one more time before she dropped, hard, back onto solid ground. Stumbling slightly, she steadied herself and carefully lowered Ivan to the floor. His breathing was painfully shallow, and his cheeks had lost color. They had to get him out fast.
Reluctantly leaving Ivan where he lay, Sheba clutched the Hover Jade and turned back toward her friends on the other side of the gap. She launched herself into the air with firm determination.
Drifting away, she glanced back over her shoulder. He looked so alone...
When everyone had crossed the gap, Sheba pulled Ivan off of the floor and listened. There was the heartbeat, but she could barely hear his breathing at all. Garet slowly took Ivan from her.
"Run," she whispered.
The group broke suddenly into the sunlight, and were nearly blinded. As they regained their vision, they faced the sudden truth; no one was here. Vale, along with its sanctum, had been evacuated. They were at least an hour from Vault, even running - even with Coal or Zephyr. There was no way Ivan would make it.
"Sheba..." Mia turned toward her, sorrow in her face. "You have to try to save him."
Sheba stared. "I...I can't!" she protested, voice rising shrilly. "Not on my own! You saw what happened last time - I can't do it! I can't... I..." She felt panic rising in her as the truth hammered at her. He wasn't going to make it...
Ivan was going to die.
Suddenly, Jenna grabbed the younger girl by the shoulders. "Sheba, you have to try! You're the only chance he has." Desperation shone in her eyes. "He sacrificed himself - he risked his life - to protect you. And he's going to lose it if you don't do something."
Sheba stared into Jenna's face for a moment, then slowly stepped back and looked around at her friends.
"She's right," said a voice. Breaking their circle, the Adepts turned to face the sound.
"Kraden?!" chorused several voices.
"I have been scrutinizing the situation for some time now, and I believe that -"
"How did you get here?" Garet blurted incredulously.
"I... well, I followed you," the sage admitted, scholarly expression wavering for a moment. "But that is not important now. Sheba, you must do as Mia and Jenna say and help your friend out of this disastrous state."
Sheba shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Her head was spinning. Looking around once more, her face set determinately.
"All right. I... I'll try."
"Excellent! This only goes to show that..." The scholar continued chattering, despite the grave situation they were in. Sheba shut his irritating voice out of her mind as she watched Garet carefully set Ivan down against the side of the small cliff they had exited from. Kneeling beside him, she gazed down at his motionless form.
This had better work.
She closed her eyes, then hesitated and reached for his hand. Holding it firmly between both of hers, she took a deep breath and threw herself into the spell.
The familiar heavy fog settled over her as she entered Ivan's mind. It was even worse here than it had been last time. Panic returned. Would she really be able to save him?
The blackness was everywhere. Ivan's familiar aura was just barely distinguishable from the heavy darkness. Sheba slowly looked around her. The fog was even dampening her own Psyenergetic aura, its sparkle fading.
Sparkle?
Staring at her own form in disbelief, she saw that the bright violet aura that usually surrounded her during the spell looked very different. It had taken on a lighter hue than usual, and was shimmering with a suppressed sparkle that it had never had before.
Looking behind her, where the aura was stronger, she saw a strange shape in the area around her back. Focusing on it, it looked almost like wings were protruding from between her shoulder blades. She experimented a bit, and they spread, shimmering within the darkness.
Sheba was snapped back to the situation at hand when the fog began to close in on her. This was a mystery indeed, but it would have to wait. The question she really had to deal with was one of survival.
Pushing her Psyenergy outward, she fought the darkness as she had before, but it wasn't enough. She continued to focus, even as she felt herself being pulled inward, losing concentration. Would she make it?
I will make it, she told herself. I have to. Ivan's life is at stake here, and...
I love him.
For a moment, a part of her was shocked at her own thoughts. But she soon dismissed the feeling. Of course she loved him. True, she had never used those words, but the feeling had always been there. It had always been the same.
Sheba smiled and let the emotion wash over her. As she battled the dark, her Psyenergy suddenly felt stronger. She thrust out with it, and watched in awe as it spread around her, bringing light back into the scene.
Her strange aura pulsed, and without really thinking about it, she spread her wings and rose. Throwing her arms wide, she sent light lavender luster into every corner of Ivan's mind, joy escalating as she felt his aura returning. The last of the fog faded, and Sheba dazedly watched as the mental activity around her sped up, bringing life back.
She lingered for a moment before slipping out of the spell.
Vale reappeared around her, and Sheba found herself kneeling again in front of Ivan, his hand still clutched in hers. She looked into his face with growing suspense. Had it worked?
His eyes opened.
He smiled, his gentle smile that she knew so well. "Sheba..."
"Ivan..." she murmured, eyes filling as she took him in, "You're..." Abandoning words, she fell forward and held him as tightly as she could, joyful tears spilling over. She had done it, he was alive!
Suddenly, she pulled away and looked at him. "Ivan," she said meaningfully, "I love you."
His smile grew, and he pulled her closer. Their lips brushed, and Sheba gasped quietly as emotion burst between them. Deepening the kiss, she ran her fingers through his hair, heart singing. "Love you too," he murmured in her ear as he gently pulled away.
Sheba slowly stood, helping Ivan up. She still held his hand. With a broad smile on her face, she turned toward the others, who showed varying degrees of surprise. Garet looked stunned, but Mia only smiled.
"I see you did it," she said.
"Yes," Sheba replied slowly, "but... I don't quite know how."
"Ah, but I do," Kraden beamed.
Sheba raised her eyebrows.
"It's quite simple, really. You were in Ivan's mind, and that greatly affected your powers. He believes in you. In fact, if I am quite correct, he would trust you with his life. You appeared in his mind as he thinks of you, and you were capable of doing anything he believed you could do."
The scholar stopped to catch his breath, taking in the rather confused expressions on the other's faces with a look of satisfaction. "In other words, it was love. Love and trust. The powers of emotion."
Garet shook his head. "I won't even ask how you knew all that. But now that our group is whole again," he said, looking meaningfully at Ivan, "back to Vault?"
"Indeed," Picard mused. "It seems we have survived again."
The eight Adepts began to wander back through Vale, Ivan and Sheba holding hands in the center of the group.
Kraden scurried to catch up, smiling to himself.
"Ah, to be young again..."
The two Jupiter Adepts lay together on the roof of Vault's inn, sunlight dappling them as it filtered through the trees overhead. Ivan stroked Sheba's hair, and she smiled up at him drowsily before resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.
Ivan sighed contentedly, looking up at the sky. It was beginning to turn a beautiful rose color as the sun set over the rooftops of Vault, the few clouds above drifting lazily past.
He had once heard the people of Lalivero call Sheba the child of Jupiter. He had considered the idea at the time, but now he knew they had it wrong. Ivan smiled to himself as he drifted off to sleep.
Sheba was Jupiter's angel.
So? So? Did'ja like it? I had a lot of fun writing it, let me tell you. ^_^ The accents the mac puts in didn't transfer to ff.net right, so I couldn't make deja vu look all fancy, but... oh well. And I just couldn't resist that little fluffy scene at the end. I don't think I'll ever get tired of romance... ^.^
Anyway, I hoped you're all satisfied with that! Thanks to everyone who read or reviewed, or who will. I've chased Lull off so she can't dampen my victory. ^^ I'm a little reluctant to end this, I'll admit, but this is what I planned it out to be from the very beginning. I don't know what I'll write next (I'm open to suggestions ^^), but I'll hope to see you all then!
Review, and so long!