As Luck Would Have It
A/N: First of all, see the note about Restore and Restore at
the end of the chapter. Now, on to answers and such:
Jupiter Girl: The Ivan-prophetic thing was supposed to be an ironic joke.
Griffinkhan: Who doesn't agree about the fence?
General Failure: McCoy was NOT frozen. Just socked, a little.
Everyone else said basically the same things…so, ON TO THE STORY! At long last!
Chapter 20: Charge
"Let's make this a bad day for them and not us, then," Isaac said determinedly. The Lizard Men drew closer with every second, and the five Adepts looked at each other wearily, wondering if Ivan's words were true. If this was indeed a trap, why was it here, and who had set it? Had it been set for them, or just any traveler on their way south?
"Save those thoughts," Ivan told himself. The Shaman's Rod came up as the first three Lizard Men leapt into an attack. In seconds everything became a flurry of activity as the Adepts fought for their lives.
Garet found himself split off from the others, surrounded by three of the things, each about one and a half times his size. "Forge! Fever! Get out here!"
"Aye captain!" Fever squealed excitedly. "Let's burn 'em down!"
"I'm not a captain."
"Is it at all possible to negotiate with you big fellas?" Forge asked, directing his query at the Lizard Men. The nearest one only growled and swiped out at Forge, connecting with Garet's shoulder instead and sending him into a full spin. His whirling motion gave him an idea, and as Forge gave a resigned, "I guess not," Garet raised a hand and grinned sardonically.
"Guard's Heat Wave!" he yelled, and the waves of fiery energy radiated in the circles he made as he spun, throwing all three Lizard Men for enough off balance for him to attack one. Ignoring his dizziness and aching head and shoulder, he jumped at one, getting in a few good hits before he was facing all three again.
The other seven seemed to move much faster to Zoe, Isaac, Mia and Ivan, who were all defending at once against the onslaught of attacks. They were already weak when this fight began, and now it was beginning to look hopeless. Psynergy flared in bright flashes followed by water, wind or raining stones. Ivan cast Plasma more times than he could stand, and one of the Lizard Men did fall. As it disintegrated, the one behind it kicked out, sending Ivan sprawling backwards, dazed.
"I didn't think Lizard Men were capable of complex attack formations," Mia commented as she cast Tundra, freezing one to the spot before she bashed it with the Witch's Wand, retrieved from the ground where it had been dropped. The movement made pain flare in her face and side, but she ignored it, focusing on the enemy first.
"That's the problem," Isaac said, using Ragnarok to bring down a second, needing to lean on his sword to remain standing. "They aren't. That's why I'm wondering if Ivan was onto something. It may very well be a trap. But set by whom?"
"Logical answer—Saturos and Menardi," Zoe offered, ducking under the swing of a clawlike hand.
"I thought we said 'screw logic'," Ivan groaned as he rejoined the battle. He caught sight of Garet, on his knees and at the mercy of three of the Lizard Men. "You guys can handle these?" he asked, diving and rolling to Garet's aid. The other three would have stopped and stared had they not had more pressing matters to attend to.
The next few moments passed rapidly, two more Lizard Men falling, but the damage done to the Adepts enough to give the remaining Lizard Men the advantage.
Zoe found herself trapped in the same ring as Ivan and Garet, the latter of whom was unconscious on the ground. Ivan and Zoe weren't doing all that great either, ringed by four Lizard Men, the other two being taken down by Isaac and Mia, though they couldn't see it.
"Ivan…how fast…can you run?" Zoe asked, breathing hard, sword long ago fallen to the ground. The Lizard Men knew they were weak. They were taunting the Adepts, striking and pulling back in ways that had been thought beyond their limited thought capacity.
"Why? Got a plan?" Ivan asked.
"Not one that…lets everyone…survive," Zoe said dejectedly. It was hopeless. Her thoughts brightened a split second later as she felt energy building within her. She was starting to like the feeling. "Ivan, duck."
"What?" Ivan asked as the air around them began to heat up. "Oh no. Hit the deck," he moaned, kneeling beside Garet to watch.
"Explorer's Charge!" Zoe yelled, and from her outstretched hand exploded a ball of flaming energy. It wiped out the two Lizard Men in front of her, and nearly took down Isaac as well, as he made his way over to help them.
He caught Zoe as she collapsed, and Mia hurried to join them. She, Isaac and Ivan looked up at the two Lizard Men left, the largest and strongest of the group. They looked at each other, sharing the same thought. There wasn't enough power left to take down these creatures, not even one.
A shadow blocked the sun, and for a moment they feared another enemy, but when they looked up there was nothing to be seen.
Suddenly there was a blinding flash, a yell, and a sudden chill in the air. The remaining Lizard Men, to the shock of all the Adepts, were frozen solid, fading shortly after.
"Coins," Mia muttered, picking up something from the ground. "A bag of coins. We aren't the first."
Isaac nodded grimly in agreement. Ivan and Zoe, though thinking the idea was an unpleasant one, were preoccupied with the figure retreating into the shadows.
Bilibin, Zoe thought, hoping Ivan would pick up on it. He did, and nodded, and this time their thoughts were the same. Who is he, and why does he follow us?
"We can't make it," Mia said suddenly, and all eyes capable focused on her. She was kneeling on the side of Garet opposite Ivan and shaking her head slowly.
"Elaborate?" Ivan asked, a worried look on his face.
"I don't have enough Psynergy to heal all of us, and I doubt Isaac does either."
"Or Zoe," Isaac added. "I think she's used up. Wait," he said suddenly, getting an idea. "Where's the next place we have to go?"
"A place called Fuchin Temple," Ivan said, studying the map wearily.
"Do we have enough Psynergy to get one of us there?"
"Probably," Mia speculated. "That would leave the rest of us in a bad position, though."
"Could you handle it?"
"Isaac, exactly what are you planning?"
"Send one of us to Fuchin Temple for help," Isaac said. He sighed as Ivan and Mia gave him incredulous stares. "Any better plans?"
"No, but I don't like the one we have," Mia said, a concerned look on her face. "Who would go? And it's obviously not safe enough for anyone to travel alone."
"Send Zoe and me," Ivan said, and Zoe glared at him. You volunteered me! She thought angrily, and Ivan picked up on it, barely hiding a smirk. "We're the least…tired, and the least injured. And the only ones who wouldn't be much help right now," he added as Mia started to protest.
"Mia, look at yourself," Zoe said, placing a hand on her shoulder and wincing as her ears rang from Mia's shriek. "You obviously can't go, and Garet can't, and I have the strong assumption that Isaac would stay behind no matter who else is."
"Never assume," Ivan began, but when no one moved to cut him off, he sighed heavily. "It's not the same without Garet."
"Nor will it ever be, if you two don't hurry," Isaac said, meeting Ivan's eyes steadily and hoping he got the meaning behind the words.
"Right, right, were going," Zoe said, looking at them concernedly for just a moment. "Come on, Iv'. Maybe you can talk some sense into Zap along the way. Make him stop twittering nonsense at me all the time."
"All Jupiter Djinn do that," Ivan said exasperatedly, obviously thinking of Breeze and Gust. They went on talking, taking their minds off the recent events, leaving Isaac and Mia staring after them.
"What are we going to do, is the question," Mia said, a pensive look on her face.
"I think it's obvious," Isaac said with a long, drawn sigh and a glance at Garet. "Let's just hope to Sol that we've got the Psynergy to do it."
***************
It was long into the night before Ivan and Zoe stopped for a break. Both were tired and sore, but neither wanted to risk taking any longer than they had to. A guard had let down a bridge for them about an hour ago, and to their great relief there were lights in sight in the distance.
"Fuchin Temple…I hope," Ivan said with a long, relieved sigh. "And I hope they've got someone who can help us."
"Why didn't we think of using our Djinn?" Zoe asked suddenly. Ivan glanced at her with an amazingly humorous expression of curiosity, but Zoe managed to hold back her laughter. "Mia's got…what's-his-name…Fizz, right? Fizz could have helped."
"We didn't Summon anything, either," Ivan remarked, his mind floating back to thoughts of trap and enemies. "Was there something wrong with our minds?"
"If there was, it was already there when the battle started," remarked a dry voice, and Zoe groaned.
"Go away, Zap," she said annoyedly. "Or at least keep quiet when you aren't visible. Must you have some comment for everything?"
"Perhaps."
"I see why you Jupiter Adepts are so crazy," Zoe remarked to Ivan, who hid a smile.
"Come on," he said, standing and stretching. "We've got friends waiting for us out there." Zoe stood as well, and was, quite frankly, considering the benefits of a staff weapon over a blade. Ivan, picking up on this, grinned smugly as he leaned on his Shaman's Rod. "Jupiter Adepts are crazy, huh?"
"Crazier than…than…whatever it is I am," Zoe said, the thought occurring to her that she didn't know exactly what kind of Adept she was. Just another side-effect of my new and totally weird lifestyle, she thought. The fact that she had identified her travels as new and weird would not register until much later.
For Ivan, however, the words hit home immediately. He sighed and wondered if his constant thought-reading state was do to an extreme lack of energy or control. The other half of his mind (and consequently the more awake half) was trying not to think of how or what Isaac, Garet and Mia were doing.
The lights grew larger, brighter, and considerably more welcoming as they got closer. The sight of two children stumbling about in the dark no doubt evoked surprise in the few residents of the temple outside this late. Nevertheless, two of them intercepted Zoe and Ivan just before the sound of the waterfall became unbearable.
"Children are doing what here at this hour? From Xian, are you?" asked one. Zoe shook her head to clear it and try to decipher this odd backwards way of speaking.
"We need help," she said finally. "Our friends are out there…there was a battle…we all couldn't make it here." Zoe shrugged helplessly, not knowing what else there was to say. Before the man could reply, an older-looking man with a distinguished air about him pushed past.
"Thank Jupiter," Ivan muttered, then gave the elderly man a friendly smile. "Hello. Care to help us?"
"I would very much like to," he answered in a wise voice. Zoe looked from Ivan, back to the man, and back to Ivan. Neither of them noticed this however. "You see, I am traveling around the world to spread good will. But can the two of you make it back so far?"
"We sure as ever can try," Ivan said determinedly. The second man, having not spoken yet, laughed quietly and produced a sparkling violet stone from a pocket.
"Use this," he said, holding it out to Ivan, who took it. Instantly there was a flash, and the Psynergy Stone disappeared. Zoe and Ivan suddenly felt much better, with their Psynergy fully energized, and Zoe wasted minuscule time with her Restore Psynergy.
"Now Ivan," she said as she, Ivan and the three men headed away from the temple, with the two younger ones riding horses that pulled a cart in which the old man rode.
"I want a ride," Ivan threw out. "What Zoe?"
"Who is that man?"
"A Great Healer. There are tons of them…well, enough so that one or one of their younger counterparts resides in pretty much every city I've been to. Except, of course, for Imil, now. Mia came with us."
"Geez. What a wonderful piece of information. Why am I never told until matters reach the desperate level?"
"You never ask," Ivan said simply, in the typical Jupiter Adept reply, and in fact the exact words Zap was saying in Zoe's mind.
They were moving along at a relatively fast pace, and relief grew more and more prominent in the Adepts' minds. Of course, that only lasted until the newest shadowy form leapt from a thick grove of trees.
***************
"Mia," Isaac asked for what seemed like the thousandth time, "how—"
"An hour, at most," she said, intercepting the question with a half-answer, half-sigh. "That's all. None of us can last any longer than that."
"Not good odds."
"They never have been before. I see no need for change."
"We've got to trust Ivan and Zoe then. What about Garet?"
"Isaac…I almost don't want to tell you," Mia said regretfully. "He's your best friend, and you're in no position to be worrying."
"No more than you are."
"It goes against my code, Isaac. I'm sorry."
"Code?" Isaac asked incredulously. He would have shifted position so he might see Mia's face, but the very idea of shifting made him see stars.
"My own personal code. I'm not telling, Isaac, and that's final. I'll tell you after Zoe and Ivan return with help. Unless you drive yourself mad with thinking about it beforehand," Mia added, a smile in her voice.
"That bad, huh?"
"I keep forgetting that you're half healer too."
"Only half?"
"Does it matter?"
***************
Zoe and Ivan stood before the others, weapons in hand. Only when the figure raised its hands in a gesture of peace did Ivan set the end of his Rod down and Zoe drop the point of her sword to the dirt.
"I'm here as a friend," said a voice. The voice carried an unfamiliar, soft accent, though its tone was definitely one of tranquility.
"Who are you?" Zoe asked. She was confident she knew this man, for he was a man, and a tall one. He wore a hooded cloak wrapped tightly about him, and his face was hidden beneath the shadows of its hood, even though he stood in the ring of light from one of the horse rider's lanterns.
"A friend," he repeated, an obvious grin in the tone. "I wanted to congratulate you, mostly, Ivan and Zoe," he continued.
"What do you mean?" Ivan asked. He couldn't even read this one's mind, though he certainly was trying. Ivan never got his answer, though, for the man was gone, silently and almost unnoticeably back into the trees.
"I'm starting to think the Elements conspire against my curious mind," Ivan muttered, wasting no time in continuing to walk on. He knew they had no time, almost literally, and he wasn't about to waste any more of it.
"Likely they do," Zoe said. "Look! There's a light ahead!" she cried, pointing.
"A fire?" asked the Great Healer. One of the men nodded.
"It's them. It has to be," Ivan whispered.
"We'd better hope so," Zoe agreed.
***************
Restore and Restore. Mia has a Restore Psynergy that cures some sort of status ailment. Zoe has a Restore Psynergy that acts almost like Ply. Deal with it. Sorry for the confusion—when I wrote Zoe's Restore in, I had no idea there really WAS one already.
A cliffhanger of sorts. Hope you guys out there are still
interested. Review please!! No minimum this time, because I don't know when I
can have the next chapter done. I'll try to hurry.
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