As Luck Would Have It
A/N: Sorry this took so long. As most of you know, I've been working quite quickly on My Wish for You (go read it if you haven't *looks significantly at Triad*) and I've only just had a few ideas for this one here, so I suppose I'd better get to it! Oh—a select few of you know what else I've been working on in my non-ALWHI non-MWY time, and don't any of you dare reveal it! Garet, you might want to keep Akiko tied down for this specific secret thing. But don't worry, you'll love it when I'm done ;).
Griffinkhan: Ivan's had more than one prophetic statement in this story. But I do plan to reach the deadly spitting statues sometime this chapter.
Alex: What do you mean, poor Quartz? Quartz is my favorite GS1 Venus Djinni!!!
Jupiter Girl: Glad to know someone really liked that bit about why the gorilla was mad. I worked hard on that one. Now get yourself over to MWY and read whatever chapters are new for you!
Alayea: They do talk funny, don't they?
General Failure: Alright, I don't want to admit it, but…caught. I forgot completely about the Douse Drop! But don't worry—they'll get their hands on the thing.
On we go…
Chapter Twenty-Four: A Fruitless Endeavor
After a long, much-welcome stay in the Xian Inn (it took them about an hour to figure out which building was the inn—the sign was in a language none of them had ever read), Isaac and the others actually felt ready to face another day.
"It's something about Inns," said Ivan, enjoying some sort of purple berry that he had pulled from a nearby tree. "It's like we never even fought a battle yesterday."
"I think it's actually something about sleep," said Isaac, shining an apple on one end of his yellow scarf. "Almost like we're…recharging somehow."
"And the Djinn don't pester us while we're asleep, because they sleep too," Garet added brightly. For once, he wasn't eating anything. "Well, sleep in their own sense."
"Sleep isn't all that refreshing," Ivan protested. "I had some odd dream about us being related, Garet."
"You really didn't have to tell me that. Thank Mars you don't have prophetic dreams."
"Not yet, anyway."
"Hey look," said Mia, desperate for a change of subject and certain she'd hit on something that at least Garet would be interested in watching. "There's a guy kicking logs over." They watched as the man jumped at a log and kicked it. The log flipped end-over-end and landed on the stump in exactly the position it started in.
"That was nothing," said Ivan, pulling the Orb of Force from his pocket. "Watch this!" Holding out a hand, he sent a Force blast at the log, which shot, spinning, high into the air and landed with a loud bang, standing upright. The man who had originally been kicking the log stared in shock, having not seen anything move it.
"I distinctly remember a rule about showing Psynergy to non-Adepts," said Mia crisply, beginning to walk ahead. "Or, more correctly, a rule about not doing so."
"Yes but he'll never know," Ivan pointed out. "Hey, purple-head, you're being pretty quiet. Something up?" Ivan turned around to face Zoe, walking backwards as he did so.
"Th'sun," she muttered. "S'm clouds. Couple birds."
"You do have a point."
"Ivan…you seem…um…over-active," Mia finished, unsure if the word 'excited' truly applied and unwilling to suggest 'hyper'.
"Yes. I don't quite know why myself. It's a nice feeling though. Maybe it's left over from Summoning Procne." Ivan shrugged, smiling. Really, it seemed like a perfectly nice day, with not even an ominous dark cloud hanging about.
"Or maybe it's just the way you are when you actually sleep," Isaac offered. "Apparently Jupiter Adepts are quite the hyperactive bunch."
"It's better than being dumb as a rock and about as smart as one too," Ivan argued. The others stared at him for a moment, as though unsure of what he'd just said.
"That was cold," Isaac said in a genuinely hurt voice.
"Wasn't talking about you, Isaac," Ivan said, grinning at Garet. "Well…not entirely," The Mars Adept then proceeded to make Ivan into something extra-crispy. Mia looked at Isaac, who rolled his eyes. With a sigh, she held out her hand and fired a stream of water at both of them.
"What?" Isaac asked, surprised. "What was that?" Ivan and Garet, dripping wet, looked quite shocked themselves.
"Well, I found this," Mia began, holding out a glittering blue stone, oval-shaped and about the size of a marble, "yesterday, right before we figured out that we'd gotten to the end of Mogall Forest. I landed on top of it, far as I know." Mia flinched as Fizz materialized on top of her head. "Fizz! There are people around! Get off there!"
"Oh. I forgot. But really, what do they care if I show myself?" Fizz asked in his usual dry tone.
"I care about not being asked several personal questions," Mia hissed. "Now get off my head!" Even Fizz knew to listen when she took that tone of voice, and disappeared. Instead, his voice spoke from nowhere.
"Douse Drop. Mercury Psynergy. Useful."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"Douse Drop, huh?" Zoe asked, holding out her hand. Mia dropped the stone into it. "It's got a sort of blue glow thing going on inside it." Handing it back to Mia, Zoe fell silent again.
"You! You look like you are warriors!" said a man, running up to them. Isaac hesitated, then nodded his agreement. "Come with me! See if you are masters of Chi as we are!"
"Chi?" Ivan questioned. Garet and Isaac shrugged. The three of them began to follow the man, as did Mia, but Zoe reached out and caught her shoulder before she could get too far ahead.
"What is it?" Mia asked, and Zoe pointed. Up on one of the cliffs was a Mercury Djinni. It bounced from foot to foot, appearing not to notice the people of Xian at all.
"I wonder how you get up there," Zoe mused, but suddenly found herself being dragged along by Mia, who seemed to have an idea of her own.
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"At the very least, you could have told all of us," Garet pouted, referring to Mia's newest companion. Zoe shrugged.
"Face it, you're just jealous that everyone except you has three Djinn," Ivan said smugly. "Only a second-level Summons for poor, big, oafish Garet—OW!" Ivan turned and looked at Garet remorsefully, and Garet looked up and the sky and whistled innocently.
"So apparently, the people of Xian call Psynergy 'Ki,'" Isaac continued, ignoring Garet and Ivan's arguments. "And whatever they do is called Chi. And that girl with purple hair is looking for someone who didn't come home early, or something," he continued as the conversation replayed itself in his mind. "Apparently this girl…Feizhi I believe…has…visions."
"Visions? She can prophesy?" Mia questioned, ignoring Mist, her newest Djinni, as she jumped from foot to foot on Mia's head.
"She said she got hit on the head by gems," Ivan recounted, jumping into the conversation. "I'm wondering if it wasn't the same as what Tret and Laurel were talking about."
"Psynergy stones? You think?" Garet asked, and the four of them continued their conversation. Zoe was only half listening. Ever since Fuchin Temple, something hadn't seemed quite right. She'd been alright in Mogall Forest, but now the feeling was catching up with her.
Strange things had entered her head after she'd collapsed in that cave. There were…images, of a family together, a mom, dad and three kids, laughing and talking and doing things like picnicking and sledding. Together. For some reason, these mental pictures brought tears to her eyes when she thought of them.
She didn't have the slightest clue who any of those pictured were, and she really didn't know why it bothered her so much.
And interspersed with those images were…others. Ones from just after she had met Isaac and Garet, fighting the thieves in Vault, and Saturos atop the lighthouse, and being taken captive by Tret Tree in Kolima forest.
There was a set of pictures, of a tall woman in her early twenties or late teens talking to someone whose back was turned, and holding a child in her arms. With tears in her eyes, she gave the child to the man she was talking to and turned away, leaving. Something about this seemed even more familiar than the images of the family.
Burned most prominently in her mind, however, was the figure of a giant, golden, flaming bird, so large it pushed away the night's darkness and lit up the world as though it were as bright as day. It was above a group of people she could not recognize, they were so small, and she knew that somehow, this was a picture of victory.
Something slammed into her—hard—from the side, knocking her to the ground and shaking her out of her reverie. Something else whooshed by over her head, making a sickening noise as it ran into whatever had knocked her down. Confused, Zoe looked up.
"Isaac!" Ivan cried, and Isaac grimaced. The fist of an Ape had slammed into him, and he'd done well to hold his ground against it, but it hadn't been a fun experience.
"Fireball!" Garet yelled, feeling the power of a new Psynergy surge within him. He followed behind his attack, slicing the Ape with his Broad Axe and watching with a satisfied grin as it disappeared.
"Thanks," Isaac said, then, "sorry Zoe. You were spacing, and you didn't see it coming, I suppose."
"It's my fault," Zoe said, frowning. "I have to watch where I'm going."
"Speaking of where we're going," said Ivan, pulling out the map and staring at the path they were on alternately. "North or west?"
"West."
"North."
"Well that certainly decides it," Isaac said dryly. "Why north, Garet?"
"Because Mia said west," he said with certainty.
"Well, that's…one theory. Likewise, Mia—why west?"
"Because this map says Altin is in the west, and if they're flooded like this Feizhi apparently says, maybe we can do something about it."
"She's got a real point there, Garet," Ivan admitted.
"Go north," said Forge, appearing on Garet's head. "You'll love it, I promise!" The Djinni disappeared before any questions could be asked. Isaac sighed.
"Alright then. Let's try north. But I swear I will wring that Djinni's neck if what's out there isn't worth it," Isaac warned.
The trek north was, if nothing else, boring. Nothing jumped out at them, nothing was lurking in the shadows and planning their demise, and nothing at all seemed even remotely interested in them. They crossed a bridge and found themselves on an island in the middle of a wide river. Isaac and Ivan stared at their surroundings while Mia and Zoe continued to look at the Douse Drop.
"Is there a point?" Ivan asked sharply. Garet looked around, at a loss. A voice somewhere near his head said, "Wait. Just wait."
A few moments later, something small, red and vaguely familiar strode out of the trees. And to watch a Mars Djinni attempt to stride is no serious matter. Ivan found himself laughing so hard he fell over, and Isaac wasn't much better off. Mia just barely kept control of herself, and Zoe eventually joined Ivan on the ground. Garet just stared at the four of them.
"Oh, hello there," said the Mars Djinni in a pleasant voice. "And you are?"
"Uh…Garet…say listen, aren't you going to fight me?"
"Would you like me to?" the Djinni asked.
"It…it just feels like you're supposed to," Garet offered, and the Djinni attempted a shrug. Isaac couldn't take it anymore, and fell to his knees, tears in his eyes from the laughter. Even Mia was giggling now.
"Well, I suppose that if you want a fight, mister Garet, I'm not opposed to giving you one," said the Djinni slowly. "You're quite sure, now?"
"Get it over with before we die of laughter!" suggested Ivan, grinning like a fool. The Djinni looked at him haughtily.
"If you're certain," it said again, standing opposite Garet and appearing to be waiting for something.
"Erm…Flare Wall!" Garet ventured, but the Djinni dodged out of the way.
"And what happens after we fight?" it asked, bouncing.
"If I win, you join me and come along on this quest. Fireball!" Again, the Djinni dodged.
"And if I win?" it asked cheerfully.
"You won't. Heat Wave!" This attack, at least, hit home, and the Djinni laughed and emerged from the flames practically unharmed.
"This is fun! Do you guys do this every day?" asked the Djinni happily. Garet just stared. Ivan had been taken by another fit of laughter, followed closely by Zoe and Mia.
"That Djinni is way too good for you, Garet," Isaac commented. "Pure, untainted curiosity."
"I see a strategy in this one," Garet began, and was thrown off his feet by a burst of Volcano Psynergy.
"Garet, extra crispy," Ivan said, still laughing madly.
"You know…I'm really glad that all Djinn aren't like you," Garet said pointedly. The Mars Djinni looked shocked—or as shocked as any Djinni can look. "Too many questions makes me angry. Unleash Fever!"
The Djinni did not dodge as Fever was unleashed upon it. Instead, it happily cried, "Ooh! Another Djinni! I remember you!" and barely took notice as Fever's built-in effect, delusion, caused the world to grow rather hazy and begin to spin a bit.
"You're going down," Garet muttered, grabbing the Douse Drop from Mia's hand.
"Garet, what the—" Mia asked, but was cut short by a sudden, quick downpour, which drenched everything, including all five Adepts and the single visible Mars Djinni, which decided it didn't like rain much and formed into a dozen tiny flames, which flew into Garet's hand and disappeared.
"Corona," he said, grinning. "See, now I can get back at the rest of you. If you pick on me, I'll bring out Corona to ask you all questions."
"Now can we go west?" Mia pleaded. Isaac nodded his agreement. Garet handed Mia back the Douse Drop, and they began to walk westward, Ivan and Garet arguing as the other three walked as far in front of them as possible without their noticing.
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"Never thought I'd see the day that Garet the Great Mars Adept of Vale resorted to Mercury powers to bring down a Mars Djinni," Ivan said, still laughing quietly.
"So you've said," Garet muttered through clenched teeth. "Seventy-three times."
"A Mercury attack," Mia corrected for the seventy-third time. "Singular. Definitive…well, more definitive than 'powers'."
"Can we stop?" Zoe asked, instead of adding in her usual 'What other option is there?' and having Mia explain it again. "It was a nice way to pass the time and all, really, but it has passed the point of old, and even ancient, and is getting towards dead. Quite close to dead, actually."
"Hey, isn't that the girl from Xian?" Ivan asked, and Isaac nodded. He had become quite good at tuning out the repetitive conversation over the past hour or so. "What's she doing here, and how did she get ahead of us?"
"She probably passed us when we took Garet's detour," Zoe said, walking up to the girl and tapping her lightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me? It's Feizhi, isn't it?"
"Oh!" Feizhi cried, turning around. Spying Isaac, she looked at him pleadingly. "Warrior, what should I do? Should I return to Xian?"
"It's in his personality," Garet said to Zoe consolingly.
"Well, what are you doing here?" Isaac asked, quite at a loss.
"I am looking for Hsu," she said plainly. Isaac's face went slightly red.
"Is he here?"
"He is supposed to be near here," Feizhi said. Isaac sighed.
"Quite honestly, I think you should return to Xian," he said resignedly. Feizhi studied him carefully.
"It is kind of you to consider my safety," she said after a pause. "However, I must stay and find Hsu."
"Alright then," Isaac said, turning to walk away. Halfway to where the close cliffs opened up again, Mia stopped him.
"You're just going to let her stay here?" she asked sharply. Isaac looked at her, his face Venus-calm.
"In my experience, trying to change the mind of a woman is a fruitless endeavor," he offered with a smile. Garet grinned, and Ivan snickered. Zoe and Mia looked at each other, identical looks on their faces.
"This merits a plot of revenge," Mia said to Zoe.
"Oh yes, it does," Zoe said maliciously.
"Good. You two work on that while the three of us head to Altin," Isaac said, hiding a grin as he continued to walk.
"You just wait," Mia said ominously, and the five of them continued their trek to the town of Altin.
When they arrived there, however, the mood changed from light and jovial to quite serious. Walking to the edge of Altin's tallest cliff, the Adepts studied the situation.
"Perhaps it rained here a lot recently," Ivan offered. "This place is practically a giant rain barrel, with the way it's built."
"No," Zoe said with a note of laughter in her voice. The others looked at her, wondering what in the world she could be laughing at. "No, I don't think that's it at all. No rain could do this."
"Then what could?" Garet asked.
"That," Zoe stated, pointing. Isaac followed her finger, saw what she was looking at, and groaned.
"Ivan, I am beginning to hate it when you offer random suggestions," he said, squinting at what looked for all the world like a giant spitting statue. Only it was alive, and flooding the town of Altin.
"Let me guess," said Ivan. "Not only was I right when I thought of these before, I'm betting we have to fight them if we want Altin to stop looking like someone built it in the middle of a lake. Literally."
"I think that's it," Garet said. Ivan sighed.
"From now on I'm keeping my big mouth shut."
"You do that."
The five of them quickly decided that it was better to drain the village, even if it meant showing them all Psynergy, than to let it continue to be flooded. Further complications arose when they approached the 'giant spitting statue' only to have it retreat into a nearby cave opening.
"Mines," Ivan said, standing in front of the opening and feeling a light, cool breeze coming from inside. "Altin's famous for it's gem mines."
"Shall we go in?" Isaac asked, looking at the others.
"Yes."
"Of course!"
"Yeah."
"Like we have a choice."
"Alright then. Let's do it." And with those words, the Adepts stepped into Altin Mine, ready to hunt for whatever it was that was causing Altin so many problems.
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Vil: Another chapter, finally. Sorry it took so long, and sorry My Wish for You is taking longer. There are…things afoot (though not in Contigo). What things? I cannot tell. Not just yet, at any rate. So, by now you know the drill…
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