As Luck Would Have It
Disclaimer: How long's it been since I've done one of these? Go read the one in the first chapter…maybe it was the second…oh whatever. And please answer the questions that are at the end of this chapter, as they are important to what I do with this story!
A/N: Long time no type, huh? Sorry. School, dentist appointments, swim team practice and a pumpkin pie on camera were really slowing m down. But (and Feonyx will be happy) it's FINALLY HERE!! Chapter Seventeen! Here we go!
Chapter Seventeen: Talking to Tret Tree (Aaaaaah! Alliteration! Anyone who got the joke in the past two sentences, raise your hand)
"I hate forests," Ivan complained. Isaac chose to ignore him. He was much too happy, surrounded by, as Ivan had put it, 'far too much green, brown and muddy' and was rather enjoying the sense of security the abundance of Venus gave him.
"Might I ask why?" Garet inquired, wanting and making many attempts at revenge for Ivan truly burning his hair. At least an inch and a half was gone, and he knew it would take forever to grow back.
"All this earth, this green, giving off its Venus feelings…it makes me shudder," Ivan concluded, doing so as he spoke. "Not to mention that the wind, if there is any at all, does nothing to relieve this amazing degree of heat."
"I know," said Flint from his perch on Isaac's head. "Isn't it heaven?"
"A bit lower than heaven, you stupid Djinni," Gust muttered.
"Much lower," Ivan agreed. "Though I can't see how a Venus Djinni can talk of heaven, what with it being up in the sky and all. They'd be much more suited to somewhere…more down-to-earth, if you will. Perhaps even underground."
"Gust was underground," Torrent put in. The Jupiter Djinni's sense of inferiority virtually disappeared at the chance to take on a Mercury Djinni in a war of words.
"I was put there, you imbecile, by the Elemental Spirits! I can't exactly go against their wishes and desires. And where did they find you? Perhaps, underwater?"
"In a tree," Zoe reflected. "At the moment, jumping out of the tree. But in a tree nonetheless."
"Nonetheless is a big word," Ivan muttered.
"Are you implying something?"
"You picked up on it? Amazing!" Ivan spat sarcastically.
"Oh, he is not in a good mood," Mia whispered to no one in particular. And no one chose to acknowledge her remark, so she resigned herself to being quiet and keeping the somewhat disturbing thoughts of trees that could talk and turn others into trees out of her mind.
***************
"Troll!" Ivan yelled as one leapt from between the trees.
"Sure. After we've been pushing logs around for an hour, now they throw a Troll at us," Garet complained.
"'They'?" Zoe asked, in her mind calling for Zap to get ready.
"Whoever it is that throws all this bad luck at us all the time. I mean, seriously, we have the worst luck of anyone I know!"
"I don't like Trolls," Isaac muttered darkly, and Garet, Ivan and Zoe nodded in agreement. Mia gave them all a puzzled look, then gave up on guessing as the Troll's axe took a swing at her head.
"Wind Seer's Plasma!" Ivan called, enjoying the voltage the Troll was hit with from above. "Oh, that felt good!"
"Zap unleash!" Zoe cried, and the Jupiter Djinni became a swirl of wind that enveloped all of the Adepts in a protective barrier.
"That worked well," said Zap's voice from somewhere within the gusts.
"You didn't tell me you couldn't attack!" Zoe was yelling, and Zap's chuckle echoed in the eye of their little tornado.
"I never told you I could, either. Never assume things, little girl."
"If you say one more word, Zap, I swear…" Zoe was cut off as the Troll dove through the winds, big axe aiming right at Ivan. Mia acted fastest, leaping and kicking out; turning the Troll's hand and axe enough that Ivan was hit with the side rather than one of the bladed ends.
"Sleet unleash!" she yelled, her voice barely heard above the swirling winds. The Mercury Djinni appeared ringed in light and shot a barrage of ice and snow at the Troll's legs, freezing it to the ground. "It won't hold for long in this heat!" Mia reminded them.
"Heat, huh?" Garet asked, a grin slowly spreading over his face. "Guard's Volcano!" A great pillar of fire and lava erupted under the Troll, toppling it over as it faded away. "Hey, that was fun! Go new Psynergy!"
"Ivan!" Mia cried, suddenly remembering. The Jupiter Adept was slumped against a tree, unmoving. With a quick glance around at the forest and at the others, she ran to him and held out both her hands.
"Mia? What the?" Isaac asked. He was all too relieved that the Troll was gone, and knew there might be more about. Garet, who also seemed to understand this, drew his sword and stood ready, eyes darting back and forth, searching for any sign of movement.
"Ply," Mia whispered, and a soft blue glow formed around her hands. Isaac and Garet turned, and Zoe stopped arguing with Zap to watch as a fairy-like creature similar to the ones they had seen in Mercury Lighthouse appeared in an indigo flash, swirling around in the air above Ivan and showering him with sparkling Mercury Psynergy.
The glow faded, and Ivan suddenly sat up, reaching for the Shaman's Rod as though expecting an attack. Looking around at everyone watching him, and obviously all alive, he caught the relieved grin on mia's face and nodded.
"I could learn to like you Mercury Adepts," he said, and Mia laughed. "If only because you're the ones who can save my sorry butt."
"Isaac could," Garet put in, and Ivan made a face.
"Sorry, but I've got an aversion to Venus Psynergy. It's…I guess it's opposite of me. Which reminds me. Aren't we supposed to meet up with some talking trees sometime soon?"
"He's right, you know," Zap said, and Zoe glared at the Djinni. "We had better be going."
"Oh, disappear, Zap," Zoe muttered.
"Happy to comply…Zoe," he said almost hesitantly, as though he'd been about to say something else, then flashed out.
With a sigh, the five Adepts began their trek through the trees once more.
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"Just, I want to ask one more time, why me?!"
"Because you're you, Garet. Now come on or we'll never get to the bottom of this!" Isaac called. Garet, grumbling about the unfairness of the entire situation, slowly and carefully stepped onto the log and made his way across the water.
"It's not even very deep water," said Fever from his shoulder. "In fact, it might make for a good swim?"
"Swim?!" Garet yelled, losing his balance and nearly toppling right into the water.
"Swim. Most ordinary people…humans, anyway…do such. After having to put up with Imil for so long, I figured I might as well try it, and what do you know, it's wonderful!"
"Fever, you are insane."
"Most Djinn are. We just never tell anyone."
"Don't start," Garet advised as he jumped off the last log and onto the ground. "Land! At last!"
"That took you all of three minutes, Garet. Crossing the water, I mean. It wasn't that terrible!" Isaac laughed. He couldn't shake the happy feeling of all this Venus element, but he also knew that tough trials lay ahead.
Walking through a narrow gap, almost a path, through the trees brought them to the two most immense trees they had ever seen. And both of them had what might pass for faces.
"I think we've found our friends," Garet mumbled, staring at the immense things with open awe.
"Who are you?" said a female voice they recognized as Laurel. The tree that was directly in front of them was the one speaking. Isaac, who had been leading the group, felt a strange sensation, much like he had when Ivan had first read his mind. "Oh! You are the ones who resisted Tret's glamour?" Still rather shocked, the Adepts nodded.
"Sure, that's us," Ivan said softly.
"I sense a great warmth within you," Laurel said, for a moment closing her eyes. "But if you came to rescue Tret, you are already too late," she continued sadly. "Soon Tret will die, and we shall wither away without him. Leave now, children, before the entire forest is destroyed."
Ivan's face took on a puzzled frown. Laurel closed her eyes again and Ivan acted quickly, holding out a hand and calling on his Mind Read abilities.
"The healing waters of Mercury Lighthouse might save Tret," he said aloud as the thoughts came to him. "But the fountain's waters have long since dried up."
"They haven't, though," Mia reminded them, pulling a bottle of blue liquid from her bag. "Before we left Imil, I filled this with Hermes' Water from the Lighthouse."
"That solves one problem," Garet said, with a wary glance at the other large tree. "That must be Tret. Do we have to talk to him too?"
"We don't have a choice," Isaac said, approaching Tret cautiously. The forest was suddenly filled with a dark violet glow, and a voice boomed around them.
"Hroom! He will not speak to you, child!" the voice roared. "I control all in Tret's realm!" The light faded, and Isaac backed away, eyes wide.
"That was informative," Ivan muttered. "Should I Mind Read Tret too?"
"No, let's just get this over with," Isaac said, shaking off the shock and taking hold of a vine that led to a hole just above Tret's 'face'.
"No way Isaac," Zoe said, backing away and holding out her hands.
"What?"
"I am not climbing any tree! It's way more unstable than any lighthouse!"
"But Zoe, we need all the help we can get!"
"No way! I am not going."
"You can't stay out here alone!"
"I'll stay," Ivan volunteered, but Gust appeared and shook her head.
"I thought you might like to know, there's an object of interest to you, Ivan, at the top of this tree. And, before you ask, it contains no stairs. Besides, I'd like to climb it and feel the wind again."
"Oh, alright, fine, but you owe me big, Djinni."
"Maybe I'll save your life someday."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
"I will stay," Mia said finally. "I'm not a very good tree-climber anyway—there weren't many climbable trees in Imil, and I was too busy to do much besides healing and teaching Megan and Justin."
"Can we just deal with this?" Garet asked, grabbing the vine and beginning to climb.
"Right behind ya, buddy," Ivan said, scampering up agilely behind Garet.
"Don't die down here," Isaac said with a half-smile, climbing up last. Zoe and Mia looked at each other and began to laugh.
"Die? With you around?" Zoe asked, sitting and leaning back against the sleeping Tret's large trunk. Mia, smiling, sat down beside her.
"That windy Djinni of yours should keep trouble away," she said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Zoe did likewise, enjoying the coolness of the air here and the small bit of sunlight that filtered down through the trees.
Neither of them noticed the slight movement of one of the tree's roots, snaking ever so slowly toward them.
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"Oh no, no stairs, but instead we've got vines to climb, and spider webs to be leaping into and out of," Ivan complained. "And really, as much as I love the wind, vines between upper and lower branches while gales are blowing aren't really very safe."
"Ivan, turn around!" Garet yelled, and Ivan spun almost faster than Garet's eye could pick up, and found himself face to face with two giant, hairy, eight-legged terrors.
"SPIDERS!!" Ivan yelped, jumping away and holding up the Shaman's Rod in a defensive position. "No one told me there were spiders in this tree!"
"Afraid?" Garet asked, slicing through one as Isaac cast Spire on the other.
"N-n-n-no…ok, then yesssss…I hate spiders! Gust unleash!" Gust immediately dove with the power of Jupiter on the remaining Spider, destroying it. "And I hope I never see another one."
"I doubt that," Isaac said, taking hold of yet another vine. He looked at the ring that was, for the moment, sparkling on his finger. He had found it in a treasure chest inside of Tret, and somehow he knew it was the Healing Ring, usable only by Mercury Adepts. That wasn't him, of course, but it wasn't Garet or Ivan either.
About an hour later, the three had finally reached the top of the tree. They stood on the highest branch they could reach, and Ivan shot a glare at Gust.
"What was the point of all this climbing and…that last Spider?" Ivan winced at this, glancing quickly at the fang marks on his arm where the Spider had latched onto him. "There's nothing here."
"Just wait a moment. I sense him nearby." Gust closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. "A little to Garet's left, and back. Approach the spot, and you'll find him."
"Him whom?" Ivan muttered, but walked determinedly past Garet and stared at the spot Gust had indicated. He was rewarded by the sudden appearance of a Jupiter Djinni.
"Another one?" Isaac asked mournfully. "Why am I the only one with a single Djinni?"
"Because you're you?" Garet offered, and Isaac gave him a mock punch.
Ivan, meanwhile, raised the Shaman's Rod in his left hand and faced the Djinni. "You want a fight, I see. Then let's fight!" Focusing on the Shaman's Rod in his hand, Ivan sent his Psynergy through it and at the Djinni in one great bolt of blue lightning.
"A variation on Plasma, perhaps," Garet speculated, his eyes narrowing as he saw Ivan stagger and lean on his weapon for support. "Isaac?"
"Hmm?" Isaac asked. He had been studying the ring again, trying to get it to work at least a little, and having no luck.
"Would it come as a surprise to you if those Spiders were poisonous?"
"Probably not much of one. Why?"
"Deep in thought, I see. Look at Ivan!" Isaac's head snapped up and he squinted a bit, trying to catch sight of the rapidly-moving Jupiter Adept as he dodged the Djinni's attacks. "Ok, look at Ivan when he stops moving," Garet amended.
Ivan stopped soon afterwards and sent another blast at the Djinni. The Djinni staggered backwards, but still stood defiantly facing Ivan, who was breathing hard and barely standing on his own.
"Garet, cover me," Isaac said, using a voice that the Mars Adept had rarely heard from his friend. Said voice made him shake his head and sigh, but Isaac didn't notice, too busy heading for Ivan and the Djinni.
"Squire's Earthquake!" he yelled, and the tree seemed to shake to its very roots, tossing the Jupiter Djinni all over the place and throwing Ivan backwards.
"Don't try that again!" Garet called, catching Ivan, or rather stopping Ivan's flight as he was thrown backwards.
"Right. Flint unleash!" The Venus Psynergy being too much for the Jupiter Djinni, it faded into wind and sent its glowing breezes at Ivan. Ivan, now thoroughly unconscious, had no knowledge of this Djinni even being defeated.
"Ivan?" Garet asked urgently. Ivan, of course, did not respond. "Isaac! Get over here!"
"Coming, coming. Oh, Venus, this isn't good. But I swore there was…" Isaac trailed off, beginning to dig through his bag. It was a wonderful little bag he carried now, it could hold so much and yet weigh so little, and was a definite improvement on his heavy pack. They had each gotten a similar bag in Imil, and so far Isaac had no complaints.
"I know I have one in here, somewhere," he went on, more to himself than Garet.
"Ivan, you sure are getting most of the beatings today," Garet said, for the simple desire to make conversation. "You might have more bad luck that I do, actually. Alright, Isaac, I give up, what are you looking for? I thought you could take care of this with Psynergy!"
"Not poison, I can't! And I was looking for this," Isaac said, smiling victoriously and holding up what looked like a bunch of blue berries attached to some leaves.
"Lunch?" Garet asked, more than a little confused. Then it hit him. "Oh. Antidote. Too bad though—I could go for some food."
Ivan came to quickly one Isaac used the Antidote, and instantly he felt the added power of a second Djinni. "Breeze?" he asked aloud, and the Djinni appeared before him. Before Breeze could speak, however, Ivan held up a hand. "I know what you are, who you are, and what power you are bound to. Thanks for trying, though."
"Alright then. Was there anything else you wanted?" Breeze asked in a quiet voice.
"Um…what do you do? I mean, do you attack, or defend, or…oh, I don't know!"
"My power is to aid in the resistance of you and your companions," Breeze said quietly. "Is that everything?"
"As far as I know, yeah."
"Alright," Breeze practically whispered, disappearing. Ivan puzzled over the Djinni's strange actions for a moment, then shrugged. Standing, he followed Isaac and Garet back into the tree.
"We're no closer to solving Tret's problem though. I think he's possessed by something evil. If he is, we may be in for—YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Isaac yelped as the spider web he'd been walking across gave way beneath him, and he fell through.
Ivan and Garet rushed to the broken web and looked down. Garet let out a low whistle. "Long drop. Very long. Come on, Ivan," he said, taking a deep breath and steeling himself for what he was about to do.
"We're jumping after him?" Ivan asked in shock and a bit of fear.
"We're jumping after him," Garet confirmed with a grim nod, and without another word jumped after Isaac.
"We're jumping after him!" Ivan cried, glancing up in a 'why me' gesture, then leapt into the air.
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Vilya: Cliffhangers. I love 'em. Chapter eighteen is already forming in my mind (though I would have liked to continue, this was plenty long), so be ready!!
Kaede: Y leen los fanfictions rapido!
Vilya: Right. What she said. Kaede, would you do the honors?
Kaede: Sí señorita! Magic arrow, on the way!
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