As Luck Would Have It
Disclaimer: I'm just not gonna do this any more. If there is anyone out there on ff.net who owns any of this, then you're very lucky.
A/N: Help! I have a tennis match today! So because of that, Kaede is gonna write most of this chapter, and I'll come back and 'fix' it.
Kaede: In other words, she'll edit out what she doesn't like and put in what she thinks I've forgotten.
Vil: Yes, that too. But, after this, I'm gonna need 17 reviews before I'll post chapter seven. So, I gotta go, good luck Kaede!
Kae: I'll need it.
Chapter Six: Explorer's Storm
"Just how far away is Goma Cave?" Zoe asked after they'd been walking for about two hours.
"Garet won't like it, but we're gonna have to spend at least one night out here, unless you want to sleep in the cave," Isaac said, grinning. "I'd rather start to go through the cave in the morning, and maybe we'll make it out before the sun sets all the way. I don't really know how big or how confusing Goma Cave is."
"It has to be pretty big, to go straight through the Goma Mountains," Garet observed. "Hopefully it's light in there, too."
"Afraid of the dark, Garet?" Zoe teased, and Torrent giggled.
"No, I am not afraid of the dark. I just don't like it very much."
"Now that's a scary thought—a seventeen-year-old afraid of the dark!" Isaac said, trying and failing to hold back his laughter.
"I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK!"
"Are you afraid of that?" Zoe asked, pointing at the three figures that were fast approaching them. They looked like giant rats, only they carried swords and shields and wore helmets.
"Rat soldiers," Isaac said, drawing his sword. Garet and Zoe did the same, the latter shaking a bit. She was better with a sword now, and Isaac had let her use the sword that had been taken from the lead thief, the Bandit's Sword, but she wasn't sure she could beat one of these giant rodents.
"It would be easier if you could use Psynergy," Garet said, almost as though he had read her mind. No, that's Ivan, she reminded herself.
"You don't think I haven't thought of that?!" Zoe retorted, gulping as the first rat soldier reached them. Isaac raised his sword and charged it, only to be blocked by the thing's shield.
The second rat soldier advanced on Garet. Almost instantly the two were trading blows, testing each other's strength, seeing who would tire first. It's not gonna be me, Garet thought defiantly.
The final rat soldier approached Zoe and grinned, showing sharp yellow teeth. It let out a screeching yell and ran at her. She brought her sword up just in time, and her arms ached with the force of the rat's blow. The thing moved so fast, Zoe had no time to attack, only to defend. Each blow came harder and faster, and Zoe was on the verge of dropping the sword when it happened.
An inhuman yet vaguely familiar cry rent the air, seeming to come from the sword itself. Zoe's arms seemed to move on their own power, and the words came out of her mouth before her brain had time to process them.
"Rapid Smash!" she yelled, slicing quickly and fatally with her Bandit's Sword. The rat soldier disappeared, and Zoe dropped the sword, unable to hold onto it any longer.
"A little help here!" Isaac called, as the remaining two rat soldiers advanced on him. The thought Where's Garet? flashed across Zoe's mind, but she quickly picked up her sword again and ran to Isaac's aid.
"Use your Psynergy!" Zoe yelled, heaving the sword up painfully and blocking one of the rat soldier's strikes.
"I can't! I'm all out!" he shouted back, swinging at the other rat soldier and being blocked by its shield. "If I could, I would, believe me!"
If I could, I would. The words echoed in Zoe's head. She couldn't, she knew that. She didn't have any special powers like Isaac and Garet had. She couldn't move things with ghostly hands, or read minds, or summon fire from thin air, or move the earth, or call lightning from the sky. About the only thing she had done since meeting Isaac and Garet was exploring. Traveling. But right at that moment, she wished more than anything that she could do what they could, use the powers that they all said she had.
If I could, I would. Believe me.
Well maybe you can.
Suddenly, the force she'd felt when she'd shook hands with Ivan was coursing through her again. She felt like she was glowing, though when she looked at her hands she saw nothing unusual. But the feeling was getting stronger, threatening to burst out through her hands, her feet, everywhere.
Closing her eyes, she gathered all that power into a small area, and with a metallic thud dropped her sword. Without even thinking about it, she threw one hand to the sky. It began to grow dark with gathering clouds, and thunder could be heard. She said the words without really knowing she was saying them.
"Explorer's Storm!"
Thunder boomed, and a great spray of electrically-charged water spurted from the gathered clouds and struck both rat soldiers, destroying them. As quickly as they had darkened, the skies cleared again. Nodding, Zoe picked up her sword and sheathed it.
"Nice trick," Isaac said in an awed voice. Zoe's eyes widened as it sank in. She had used Psynergy.
"Yeah…yeah, I guess it was but…I can't…Isaac, I've never…I shouldn't be able to do that," Zoe stammered, hands beginning to shake. Isaac gently put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.
"I told you all along you were an Adept. I'm not sure what kind yet…I've never seen that kind of attack before…but you obviously can do it. Garet, what did you…Garet?" Isaac glanced around and finally caught sight of Garet's still form lying on the ground. "Garet!"
Hastily Isaac knelt beside his friend and shook him gently. "Garet, come on, get up…"
Zoe knelt beside Isaac and looked at him, but shadows hid most of his face. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and abruptly he turned his head away. Zoe frowned and reached out a hand, placing it on Isaac's shoulder.
"You found me this way, didn't you?" she asked, and Isaac nodded. "Then maybe we should just wait awhile. See what happens."
"He's my best friend, Zoe," Isaac said bitterly. "If anything happened…I wouldn't be able to do it alone. I wouldn't have gotten this far alone. If…if he's…"
"If he's dead," Zoe said quietly, and Isaac nodded again, this time turning to look at her. To her shock, Isaac's face was wet with tears. Zoe's expression turned to one pf puzzlement, and she looked down at Garet. She was about to suggest that Isaac use his Cure Psynergy, but then remembered that his power was used up. She wondered how he'd get it back.
"We'll wait here then," she said decisively. Torrent appeared from inside Zoe's pack, trying to pull something out behind her. Zoe reached over to help, and came up with her bottle of water in her hand. "Are you thirsty, Torrent?" Zoe asked, confused.
"No, silly. Give it to Isaac!" the Djinni replied, shaking her head knowingly.
"Don't be impertinent," Flint said disdainfully. "It isn't becoming."
"Has it ever mattered before?" Torrent retorted, sticking her tongue out at Flint and grinning.
"Stop it, both of you," Isaac scolded, taking the water bottle from Zoe. Looking down at it, his face was puzzled at first. His expression became one of awe, then happiness, then excitement.
"It's just a bottle of water," Zoe said. "No need to get so excited."
"You don't understand. This isn't 'just a bottle of water,' this is a bottle of Water of Life! But how did you get it?"
"It's been in there all the time. I thought it was just plain water."
"Oh man, this is great! We can use this!" Isaac seemed unable to contain himself. Gently lifting Garet's head and opening the bottle, he put the mouth of the bottle to Garet's lips and poured the water into his mouth and down his throat. Then he set Garet's head back down and handed Zoe the empty bottle.
"Um, Isaac?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah?"
"What did you just do?"
"You'll see."
"Uh, sure…" Zoe rolled her eyes. She had an idea of what might happen, but she'd still rather have had Isaac tell her.
A few moments later, Garet groaned and opened his eyes. "What was that?" he asked, slowly sitting up. Isaac grinned.
"You missed it, Garet. You missed the best Psynergy attack I've ever seen. And it wasn't one of mine, even."
"Did Ivan come back?" Garet asked, shaking his head slowly to clear it. He turned his head to Isaac and saw his grin, and Zoe's grin too, but there was no sign of Ivan.
"Not exactly," Isaac said mysteriously.
"Then who…Zoe! You used Psynergy?" Garet was shocked.
"You look very surprised for one who was insisting I could use Psynergy and that I was an adept all along, Garet," Zoe said with a mischievous grin. Garet sighed and shook his head.
"We won, then?" he asked, and Isaac nodded. "Then let's get going. I don't want to be out here longer than I have to." They all nodded to each other and stood, the Djinn leaping on to each of Garet's shoulders. As they walked, Isaac described Zoe's Psynergy attack in rather vivid detail.
"So, Zoe," Garet said when Isaac was finished, "might you have told us about this trick before we had to fight those rat soldiers? Hey!" he cried as Zoe shoved him.
"Better watch what you say," Zoe teased. "I might get the urge to have the sky zap you some." All of them burst out laughing, and Isaac turned his eyes to the road ahead, thinking, Maybe it was a good idea to bring her along after all.
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The sun was nearly set when they finally stopped for the night. Much closer now were the Goma Mountains, and Isaac seemed satisfied with the distance they had traveled. He lay down and was asleep almost instantly.
Zoe was laying on the ground, using her cloak as a pillow, and was almost asleep when she heard Garet's voice ask, "Are you afraid?"
Propping herself up on one elbow and looking at him, she asked, "Afraid of what?"
"I don't know. Anything. The wild, the fighting, the danger…your power?"
"Afraid of my power? You mean like my Psynergy?"
"Yes, I guess."
"Well…I didn't really have time to think about it…I mean, when I needed it, it was there. It just happened on its own…I didn't make a conscious effort to do it. I guess I sort of am afraid that it might backfire sometime and hit one of you, or something or someone friendly, but I figured it was a fluke."
"Psynergy isn't a fluke. Ever. You have it, or you don't. I wonder what kind of adept you are."
"I don't know. I wish I could remember." For a long moment, they were silent, and Zoe lay back down and closed her eyes, falling asleep.
"So do I," Garet whispered into the night. "So do I."
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Vil: Yes! I won the match! Yippee!
Kaede: Go you. Now, I just want to warn you all, you…you READERS you ;)… this is not meant to be a romance between ANYONE. Get it?
Vil: Got it?
Kae: Good. Now remember, 17 reviews are needed for the next chapter!! (psst! Down here—
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