Ah, yes, the one and only SirGecko is back again with the first double-digit chpater of mine: chapter 10. This chapter is my biggest. It's HUGE. 17 pages on my computer (which is actually not much bigger than chapter 8), and it'll take me about 20 minutes to read it (and I'm the fastest reader in my class). So, it's a long one folks. And I'm sure you'll like it.
Thanks to all my reviewers. I thought I got a smiley face from Anime-Master 7, but I can't remember . . . ah, well. And I'm glad that I know Akachi isn't dead (or hasn't lost interest in this fic). So, you two and all the others, thanks a lot for reviewing.
Now . . . *face turns red* for the disclaimer. I DO NOT OWN GOLDEN SUN. If I did, well, I'd publish this. But, since I'm using licensed characters and ideas, that's not really an option now, is it? Damn . . .
Oh well. Now, for the immense chapter 10!
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Chapter 10: The Race Against Luna
Lunora and everyone else grabbed their blankets from where they sat next to the fire, and then tore out of the inn, shouting a hurried "Bye!" to Sagan as they went.
"Okay guys, this is the plan," said Lunora. "We have three hours left. There can't be any delays. We have to be as quick as possible in order to catch Alex and the others, and to get off of the lighthouse safely. We must run! Now!"
Without a backward glance, she and the others raced out of town. The sky was completely black now, because night had fallen. This made things all the more colder. Everyone threw the blankets over their heads (except for Mia) and they all set off in the direction of the Luna Lighthouse.
"Be warned . . . the lighthouse will be very hard to see," shouted Lunora. "It's entirely black, so we may very well run into it."
The group quickened their pace against the wind as much as possible, but they were having great difficulty standing up in general. This was by far the worst weather that they had encountered so far. They were getting closer to the center of the storm. Luckily for them, this would be their shortest walk.
But to Isaac, it didn't feel that way. The wind bit so fiercely as his exposed bits of flesh that the numbness he felt was almost instantaneous. New red lines came down from his lips and nostrils. Despite how cold he was feeling, he took off the blanket and tossed it to Mia, who put it on gratefully.
"How much longer will it be until we reach the lighthouse?" shouted Ivan.
"Not much longer," Lunora screamed back. "In fact, we should be coming up on it very qui-"
She suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everyone why she did so. The howling wind, the swirling snow . . . it was gone. There was no wind to numb the skin, no snow to blind their vision . . . nothing. Nothing but quiet.
Isaac looked around, his mouth hanging open. For he saw that the wind and snow was still going strong about 20 feet behind him. It was like the center of those fierce ocean storms . . . hurricanes, he thought they were called. In the center, it was all calm and pleasant, while the storm raged around them. And then, he looked ahead.
The Luna Lighthouse was there, black as the darkest shadow; Isaac briefly wondered how he was able to make it out against the mass of black in the air. The lighthouse looked quite ominous to him, but he suspected that it would look less ominous had it not been for the swirling snowstorm all around them. Still, others looked at the whole situation from a different viewpoint.
"It's magnificent," breathed Mia.
"It has a foreboding sensation, I think," said Garet. Isaac at least knew that he wasn't the only one who thought this.
"Well, maybe you'll change your mind when you look up to the top of the lighthouse," said Lunora.
Garet and Isaac looked up, and their mouths dropped. Great, billowing, black clouds were emanating from the top of the lighthouse, and fanning out in all directions. It was like there was a giant mechanism up there that was generating the clouds, and sending them out.
"Well, I don't know how you find that magnificent, Mia, because that scares the Hell out of me," said Isaac.
"I bet if we sat here and watched, the clouds would get bigger and blacker, as Luna gets angrier," said Lunora airily.
"Hey, I just thought of something," said Garet.
"Really? Wow that's an improvement from last time, when you tried to think of something and nothing happened," said Ivan. Everyone snickered. Garet ignored this snide remark.
"Well, tell us on the way Garet, because we need every minute we can get," said Mia. Everyone nodded, and proceeded up the black stone steps, and through the front entrance of the lighthouse.
"Now, what were you thinking of?" asked Solaris, as they stepped into the first room of the Luna Lighthouse.
"Well . . . I was just wondering . . . why the Hell are we even bothering to come here, if we're just going to let Felix and the others light the beacon?"
"Because, even though we're going to let Agatio and Karst light the beacon this time, does that mean we're going to let them light the other two?" responded Lunora curtly. "It'd be best to stop them here rather than on the Mars Lighthouse, which is where we're going next."
"Oh, I get it now," said Garet, nodding.
"That's good. Now, let's focus on what's ahead."
"Lunora, why do we need to hurry? Don't you know the layout of the lighthouse?" asked Ivan.
"Because, swe- I mean Ivan, I only know a little bit of it," said Lunora, her pale blushing furiously. "My path was blocked by a statue that I need a Mars adept to move. I can guide you through the portion of the lighthouse that I do know, however. Come on."
*******
"Here we are. Garet, you need to move this statue for us."
Ten minutes later, Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia, Solaris, and Lunora came to a halt in front of a statue of Luna, blocking a door across a narrow gap. Garet stepped forward and Moved the statue out of the way, revealing a long, narrow tunnel.
"Okay, I don't know anything about the lighthouse beyond this," said Lunora.
So, equal now in knowledge of the current situation, they hopped over the gap and proceeded along the dark, narrow tunnel. Where the tunnel ended, it opened into a very wide, spacious room. Silvery rainbow dust glimmered along the walls, illuminating the walls. They were carved out of black stone, the face of Luna peered back at them kindly from every few feet, where heads were carved into the stone.
"Look! A stone tablet in the middle! It probably tells us vaguely about what we need to do," said Lunora, running forward to read it.
Ye who seek to climb the Luna Lighthouse, must do so using your cunning, daring, and agility. For those who do not finish in time, thou shall suffer a very painful and instantaneous death. This structure will not be testing your skills as an adept, but at your ability to get through mazes. These will slow ye down sufficiently. So, combine all three, and finish with ease. Ignore even one of the three, and ye will never know the light of day again. So, unless ye wish to spend the rest of your life in the core of Luna Lighthouse, proceed with caution!
"Mazes," grunted Solaris. "So simple, yet so dangerous. If we get lost too much, we die. I'm sure there will be pointers along the way."
"Sounds like we need to act quickly," said Isaac. "Let's move!" So, moving quickly, all rushed past the stone tablet, and went deeper into the Luna Lighthouse.
After a few minutes, and after climbing a set of gleaming black stone steps, the group came up on another stone tablet, and the makings of a maze looming in front of them. Lunora bent over to read it.
Ye who wish to challenge this maze . . . must do one thing before ye find the exit. Ye must find the Obsidian Diamond and return it to the Luna statue to which it belongs. Good luck, Adepts of Renown . . .
"Right, so all we have to do is find the Obsidian," said Mia. "That doesn't sound too difficult."
"It's probably harder than it sounds, though," remarked Solaris, a set expression on his face.
"Let's go! We must move quickly!" urged Lunora. "I know you're getting tired of hearing this, but it is crucial that we act!"
Ivan nodded. "Shouldn't we split up?"
"No, we'll be screwed if we get separated," said Isaac.
"Uh, can we go now?" said Garet. Everyone nodded, and proceeded into the maze.
As soon as they got 10 feet inside the walls of the maze, however, a wall materialized out of nowhere, and sealed off the entrance with an earsplitting *THUD!*
"Oh, damn," moaned Garet. "Oh, damn, oh damn, oh-"
"Shut up, will you?" snapped Ivan. "Swearing at it won't help. Let's just concentrate on finding the other way out."
Garet nodded, and they began their search for the Obsidian. Scouring the floor for the diamond, they bent low, eyes sweeping back and forth along the narrow halls they walked. But after 10 minutes of fruitless searching, there was no trace of it. Tempers were running high.
"Dammit! We keep wasting time!" cursed Solaris. "I know there's nothing we can do about it, but It's just frustrating!"
"Well, maybe it's not on the ground," said Mia, grinning broadly.
"What do you mean, it's not on the ground? Where else would it . . . why are you so happy?" asked Isaac.
Mia pointed to the wall. And there, glittering brilliantly, was a gleaming, shiny, large black diamond embedded slightly in the maze wall. Solaris walked up and pulled it out of the wall with little difficulty.
"This is it," he said happily.
"Now, let's find that statue of Luna," said Ivan.
It didn't take them long to find Luna, only about five minutes. The statue was beside the left wall of the maze, the left eye glittering, and empty stone in the right. Solaris pulled the Obsidian out of his pocket and placed it inside Luna's right eye socket. Nothing clicked, as Isaac had remembered was the case back in Sol Sanctum. Instead, fuchsia-colored energy radiated from the statue, and seconds later, the same color energy glowed in particular stones in the walls.
"Come on! If we follow the purple stones, we'll find the end of the maze!" said Lunora.
"How do you know that?" asked Garet.
"It's the only explanation for what just happened," said Lunora simply, trying her hardest to be patient with Garet. "Now, let's go!"
They followed the glowing stones in the walls, and a few minutes later, they came to the stairway that led up to the next floor. They hurried up them, and came across another stone tablet, with yet another maze in front of it.
"Read the tablet," said Isaac to Lunora. She nodded, and approached the stone protruding out of the floor.
Congratulations on passing the first test. It was to test your abilities in general. Now is the test of Daring. Ye who wish to challenge this maze . . . must do two things before ye find the exit. Ye must find the Chimera that lurks within, and defeat it and retrieve the orb it holds. Next, return it to the Luna Statue to which it belongs. Good luck, Adepts of Renown . . .
"A fight, huh?" said Garet, flexing his arms and drawing out his Giant Axe. "I've been waiting for one of these for a long time . . ."
"Are you insane?" said Lunora. "This is no gargoyle, Garet. Chimeras have three times the strength of a normal monster, and is three times as clever, seeing as it has three heads."
"We've fought little Chimeras before," said Isaac, recalling the beasts in the Venus Lighthouse. "If I remember correctly, it had a lion head, an eagle head, and a snake head, but I'm not sure."
"We can talk about it on the way!" said Mia urgently, taking Isaac's hand. "Come on, we'll decide what to do when we get there!"
"How the Hell are we going to find it though? That is the problem . . ." said Solaris distantly.
"We'll find it," said Lunora reassuringly. "It may be clever, but Chimeras are not hard to find."
They started to hurry along the maze, listening for any roars, screeches or any other unearthly sound. They also scoured the ground for any sign of a monster.
"How much time do we have left?" asked Ivan.
"Approximately 2 1/4 hours." responded Lunora.
"That's it?! We've already been out of Tundris for 45 minutes?" said Mia shrilly.
"There's nothing we can do to control time," said Solaris, when he saw that she was looking at him. He then walked up to her and whispered something in her ear. "I can take people back in time to view things, not to change things." Mia nodded in understanding.
They continued along in silence, all senses perked for any signs of noise. They didn't have to wait very long. A shrill roar was heard, not too far away from where they were standing.
"I think that's the beast we're trying to slay," said Lunora. "Isaac and Mia, take the Lion Head. Me and Ivan will get the Eagle Head. Garet and Solaris, take on the Snake Head!"
Everyone nodded, and proceeded down the hallway they were in. After a few more dizzying turns, roundabouts, and long hallways, they ran into the Chimera.
It was about twice as tall as Ivan, its three heads leering down at all of them. They all looked pissed off, too. The lion head opened its mouth wide . . .
"Duck!" shouted Isaac, and everyone did so, the spurt of fire that blazed overhead missing them only by inches. "Everyone, take the heads!"
But it was no luck. All of the group's time was either spent dodging the fire, lightning, and acid (depending on which head they were fighting), or launching useless attacks with their swords, which the Chimera dodged.
"Arrgh, this is useless! Can't we use psynergy?" Garet yelled, after narrowly avoiding a spray of acid from the snake head. "They can't dodge that!"
"Good idea," said Solaris, raising his palm. "Sunbeam!"
Instantly, greenish-yellow light began to gather at Solaris's fingertips. He spread his fingers out wide, the energy growing larger and larger. Once Solaris's fingers were covered by green energy, he thrust them forward. Narrow beams of energy struck all three heads. Two struck both the Lion Head and the Snake Head. One hit the Eagle head. The Chimera gave a shriek of pain and surprise, writhing under the relentless tide of Sol Energy that was bombarding it. Solaris shifted his hand slightly so that The Eagle head was getting two beams now, and the Snake Head only one. Eventually though, the beams dissipated.
Isaac, Garet, Ivan and Mia stared open-mouthed at both Solaris and the writhing Chimera. The Chimera itself was not dead, but severely weakened. Solaris, Isaac, and Ivan looked at each other, and nodded. In one movement, all three leaped forward and sliced their respective Chimera heads clean off. The Chimera body slumped over sideways, revealing an orb underneath.
The orb was beautiful. It glittered even more brightly than the orb in Lunora's staff. There was, instead of a crescent moon, a half-moon encased inside the sparkling orb.
"C'mon," said Lunora. "Let's find that Luna statue and get this over with!"
"Wait! You've overlooked something!" said Mia. "I see a Mercury Djinn!"
She was right. A Mercury Djinn popped out from behind one of the Chimera Heads. It looked up at Mia, sensing right away that she was the Adept of that kind.
"You have found me," said the Mercury Djinni squeakily, but kindly. "Since I waited to see if you could defeat the Chimera, and you obviously did, you have proven to me that you are worthy of me to join you."
"Was that your Chimera?" said Ivan.
"Oh, no, just a convenient little test that has nothing to do with me," said the Djinni. "I am Balm. And you are?" they all introduced themselves. "Well, Mia, I am yours to use in battle if you wish," said Balm.
And he joined Mia. The other Mercury Djinn accepted Balm with warm welcomes, and instantly they began to strike up a conversation.
So, they set off past the remains of the Chimera. After many twisting hallways, dead ends, and turnarounds, they found the statue. Isaac stepped forward and placed the orb in Luna's outstretched hand. The same reaction occurred in this maze as the last, black stones in the walls now pulsing with purple energy. They followed the blocks, and in a few minutes, came to the staircase.
"That's two down, two to go," said Lunora, looking out of a gap in the stone wall of the Luna Lighthouse, to see where the moon was.
"What? We have two left?!" exclaimed Garet.
"Yes, one on each floor," said Lunora. "Now, let's get into the third maze as quickly as possible!"
So, they quickly climbed the staircase, and emerged onto the next floor of the Lighthouse. They saw in front of them, the same scene that greeted them on the other two floors: stone walls with a tablet just in front of the entrance.
Congratulations on passing the Test of Daring. Now is the Test of Agility. Ye who seek to challenge this maze . . . must do two things in order to reach the exit. Ye must run like the wind. . . . Ye must survive . . .
"God dammit, another maze?" whined Garet. "We'll never make it to the top in time!"
"Quit griping," snapped Ivan. "I'm tired as it is. What do we have now, Lunora?"
"Well, let's read the tablet," said Lunora, stepping forward.
"I have a funny feeling that this maze isn't going to be good," said Ivan sarcastically. Garet rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, guys," said Mia. "Let's go. Quickly!"
And so they proceeded across the threshold of the maze. As usual, a stone column rose out of the ground, blocking the entrance. After walking for a minute or so, they saw that this wasn't a maze at all. It was just a bunch of winding, twisting passageways.
"Well, this isn't so bad," said Isaac. "But, that doesn't mean-"
*CLICK!*
"What the Hell-" said Solaris. He looked down, and saw that Garet had stepped on a switch.
The rest of the group looked around, trying to find something that was affected by the switch Garet stepped on. But they were scouring the wrong place. They were looking at the walls, trying to find a stone wall that rose or fell from the ground.
"Oh Jupiter," groaned Ivan. "Look at the ground behind us!"
Everyone stopped looking at the walls and looked behind them at the floor . . . only to find that there was no floor. It was falling to the floor below! And they only had ten feet of stone between them and the drop!
"Now we know why it's the Test of Agility," said Garet.
"RUN!" roared Ivan.
They did so. They ran faster than ever before. The passageways they took wound around and around, the disappearing floor like an evil monster trying to devour his way to Isaac and company. But, the 'monster' hadn't caught up with them. Yet.
"We still haven't gotten any further on!" shouted Lunora. "We can't run like this for much longer!"
"Oh good! We've turned towards the other side of the lighthouse!" said Mia breathlessly.
All this time, the disappearing floor inched closer and closer to the last person in line: Garet. He was never quite the one for speed, and he was now only five feet away from the disappearing floor's edge. He poured on the speed however, and managed to add another few inches between himself and the floor's edge.
"It won't be long until we reach the other side!" shouted Lunora. "Just a few more minutes! Hang in there!"
"I . . . can't . . . go . . . this . . . fast . . . much . . . longer," wheezed Garet. He and Mia were starting to lag behind now.
"These clothes are . . . too heavy . . . on me," panted Mia, bu she still managed to keep herself right behind Isaac.
Garet's leg muscles were screaming in agony from all the running. But Garet, whose teeth were gritted against the pain in his lower legs, kept going. Looking up, he saw them all turn, and the stairway just ahead of them.
'Run!' he thought to himself. 'Just a few more seconds . . . keep going . . .'
The floor's edge was just inches away from his foot. Lunora, Ivan, and Solaris were already on the steps. Isaac cleared it next. Mia barely made it. Garet was about to jump. . .
"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!" he screamed.
He had timed his jump too late. His foot sank with the disappearing floor, but with some feat, he threw himself forward and just barely managed to grab the bottom stair.
Isaac rushed forward and grabbed his wrists. And, with Solaris's help, since lifting Garet was no easy task, they managed to pull Garet up. Isaac dusted him off unnecessarily.
"You okay, man?" he asked.
"Yeah. It just scared the Hell out of me, that's all," said Garet.
"It would have scared me too," said Solaris. "You up to some walking?" We've got one more floor to go."
Garet nodded, and they all climbed the stairs together. When they arrived, they found one final stone tablet, and a humongous maze looming before them.
Congratulations on passing the Test of Agility. Now is the Final Test . . . the Test of Cunning. Ye who seek to challenge this maze . . . must do three things before ye reach the exit. Ye must pull the combination of switches to open the door to the second area of the maze. Then, ye must align the correct number of switches to open the door to the third area of the maze. There, ye must find the Staff of Luna and return it to the Luna Statue to which it belongs. Good luck, Adepts of Renown . . .
"C'mon," said Lunora. They all entered the maze.
This, by far, was the most confusing maze they had been in yet. The halls were narrow, and they ran into many dead ends. The hallways twisted and turned so that you either met a wall, or you ended up on the same path that you were five minutes ago. It was very frustrating.
"This sucks," said Garet.
"No kidding," said Ivan sarcastically. "If there was an award given for stupid and pointless comments, you'd be the only one nominated." Garet just shook his head, and didn't say anything.
"We should mark our paths," suggested Isaac. "That way, we'll know what paths we've been on."
"Great idea," said Mia. "I can leave a line of water behind us, on the paths we've traveled."
"That'd be great," said Solaris, nodding.
So, they started off again, Mia leaving a trail of water behind them on every path they took. The effects of this idea soon became apparent; they found themselves walking along passageways that they had never been through. It usually led to dead ends, but after about 15 minutes, they saw something sticking out from the wall.
"Look, what're those? I haven't seen them anywhere else," said Garet.
"They look like . . . yes, they are they're switches!" cried Lunora, sounding happy. They all rushed up to the switches.
Getting a closer look, they saw that the switches were no more than levers in the wall, which you pulled down on. A door was in front of them. In fact, there were several doors, one in front of the other. Since Solaris was the tallest, he moved forward, and started jumping into the air, trying to see how many doors there were.
"There are four," said Solaris, panting, as he stopped jumping.
"Well, there are five switches," said Isaac, pointing to the wall. "That probably means that one resets them all."
"Whoa!" yelped Garet, as he stumbled over something low on the ground. "It's another stone tablet!"
Ye who wishes to proceed to the next area of the maze . . . must pull the switches in the correct order. If ye pull the reset switch, the doors will reset themselves and you'll be locked in for an hour, before the doors unlock again. Since I wish to be kind to people who traverse the lighthouse, I will tell you hints.
The switch farthest to the left unlocks the 1st door.
One of the switches near the middle is the reset switch.
When ye pull a switch, it opens the door it is assigned, and closes another.
One switch opens two doors, and closes none.
Good luck . . .
Isaac immediately strode forward and pulled the first switch. He instantly heard the sound of grinding stone. He saw the door in front of him disappear into the floor, revealing a door identical to the first.
"Okay, what switch do we pull next?" asked Mia, her face screwed up in concentration.
"Well, it said that one of the switches near the middle is the reset switch," said Solaris slowly. "That means . . . that the middle switch is okay!"
Solaris walked forward and pulled the middle switch. What they saw next was both satisfying and disappointing. While they saw the second door lowering itself into the floor, the first door rose up again, to block their path.
"Shit!" exclaimed Garet. The rest of the group didn't say anything; Garet had said the word that they were all thinking.
"That's okay," said Lunora. "Remember what the tablet said. When one door opens, another closes. Now, we have to decide on another switch."
"I don't remember the tablet saying anything about the switch at the other end," said Ivan, jerking out of his thoughts. "I'll pull that one."
Ivan ran forward, and pulled down hard on the right-end switch. They heard the sound of grinding stone. Solaris jumped up and down again a couple of times, and then stopped and turned to face the group.
"Door four opened, but nothing else happened," he said, looking puzzled.
"I think I know," said Lunora. "That switch was supposed to close a door that was already closed."
"That's very possible," said Isaac. "Now, comes the big decision. Which middle switch do we pull?"
"If we screw up, that's it," said Lunora, looking slightly afraid. "That'll waste a good hour, and that's over half of our remaining time."
"I think all we can do is give it our best guess," said Solaris. "Let's just try the switch on the left side of the middle one, shall we?"
"It's your call, Solaris," said Isaac hesitantly. "Since I have no better ideas, go ahead."
And with that, Solaris walked forward once more. He stared at the switch, and sighed deeply. He stretched out his hand, and wrapped his fingers around the lever of the switch, and began to pull-
"NO!" shouted Mia. "Don't! It's the other one!"
Solaris, who had pulled the handle down 1/4 of the way to the bottom, stopped instantly, and shoved the handle back to the place where it started.
"How do you know?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know. I just know," said Mia, breathing heavily.
"Well, I see no reason why not to follow your wish," said Solaris. "Since I have no idea, and you have a hunch-"
"It's not a hunch," said Mia indignantly. "I know it. I don't know how, so I can't tell you. All I know is that I'm right."
"Okay, okay," said Solaris, putting up his hands. "I wasn't challenging your logic, Mia. However, since you're so certain, come up here and pull the lever yourself."
Mia nodded, and slowly approached the area of switches. She stretched out her hand, and grasped hold of the cool stone of the switch. Then taking a deep breath, as though she wanted to pull it before she changed her mind, she yanked as hard as she could on the switch. It clicked into place.
They heard the sound of grinding stone. The group had closed their eyes, not wanting to watch. When they opened their eyes again, they weren't disappointed.
Doors one and three were now embedded into the ground, as well as the others.
"Yes! We did it!" shouted Garet, jumping up and down.
Mia grinned, and rushed over to Isaac. "I knew it would work!" she shouted joyously.
Isaac smiled at her, and then bent her over backwards and planted a long kiss on her lips. Mia returned it gratefully. Whether it be by coincidence, or intentionally, some of the shimmering substance that surrounded the outer walls of the lighthouse drifted over and rained down upon Isaac and Mia.
Mia, since Isaac had slid both of his hands behind her back, lifted herself off the ground. Isaac, of course, was able to hold onto her. She clasped her legs around Isaac's waist as they kissed harder, with more hunger.
"Ohhh, that's not right!" said Garet to himself.
"So romantic," said Ivan.
"Shut it. I despise romance," said Garet, glaring at Ivan.
"No you don't. The real reason is that you're jealous of them, aren't you? You still want Jenna, don't you?" said Ivan teasingly, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"You read that, too?" said Garet, looking horrified.
"Yup, I read and know all," said Ivan gleefully.
"You won't when I knock you out," snarled Garet.
"I'm not going to tell anyone that doesn't already know; I just like to find things out for myself," said Ivan pleasantly. "But, if you want to embarrass them, be my guest," he added, gesturing his hand to where Isaac and Mia were kissing each other. "I'm not stopping you."
Garet remained still for a moment. After thinking, he cleared his throat loudly enough for Isaac and Mia to hear.
"Before you get too comfortable, let me remind you that we still have a schedule to keep," said Garet. "And unless you hurry, you won't be snogging anything here in an hour and a half."
This had somewhat of the effect that Garet wanted. Isaac and Mia pulled apart, looking embarrassed. Lunora glared at Garet, but it was mild. She couldn't be all mad at him, because even though he disturbed Isaac and Mia, he was right. They did have a schedule to keep.
"Let's go then," said Isaac, sweeping past them all and not looking at Garet.
And so they continued. As soon as they stepped over the four doors, they rose once again out of the ground, and halted in place, blocking their path.
"It is to be expected now," said Lunora. "No way to get back, except to Retreat." She glanced at Isaac, who nodded.
If it's necessary, I will Retreat us from the lighthouse if we are in danger," said Isaac. "I'm sure we'll meet up with Agatio and the others on the ground."
"Yeah, but battling them outside in that weather? How will we live?" asked Garet.
"I can't think of everything, okay?!" snapped Isaac. "Please, let's just take one problem at a time. And, the next problem is finding the next set of switches. Let's do that, as quickly as possible."
"Yeah, and without any interruptions," added Garet loudly and irritably. Isaac glared at him, but Garet glared right back.
"Boys, please," said Lunora. "You can fight later. But we must proceed."
And to they started to walk ahead, Mia spraying a stream of water on the floor like usual. This part of the maze was more confusing than the first part, and had it not been for Mia's water trails, they would have been lost for hours. And unfortunately, that was a quantity of time they did not have.
"Hey, look on the bright side," said Garet. "At least there aren't any monsters in here. We'd have been exhausted a long time ago."
"That's true," agreed Isaac. "We are fortunate in that."
"If ever you see a way to our right, which is toward the other side of the lighthouse, that's the way we need to go. That'll get us closer to the exit of this maze," remarked Solaris. "Because if I jump, I can see the stairway."
"You can?" said Garet, sounding happy for the first time in hours. "That must mean we're close to the exit, then!"
"Yeah, but we still have to find another switch trap and . . . what was it . . . and we have to find Luna's staff before we can go to the next floor, right?" said Ivan gloomily.
"Yes, that's what we have left to do," said Lunora, looking around a corner and shaking her head, signaling that it was a dead end. "We must go this way," she added, nodding her head in the opposite direction. "This is the only remaining path."
And so they proceeded. It was toward the other side of the lighthouse, according to Solaris, so this was good news. All the same, Mia kept the thin stream of water flowing from her index finger, to make sure they didn't get lost.
All of a sudden, a loud "Yes!" from Garet told those in the back of the group that they had found the second set of switches.
"Damn!" shouted Isaac, coming up on the area where he heard Garet's shout. But he didn't have to wait long; Garet was fighting his way towards Isaac.
"Yeah, I was all excited at first, but I looked at the tablet, and then read what it said . . . It's a timed deal," said Garet grimly.
"I know, I read the tablet," said Isaac. "Come over here you guys, and read this tablet."
They all did so. It was a tablet like the previous one that they had read, back at the first area of switches. Only this one was rather short, compared to the last one.
Ye who wishes to proceed to the next area of this maze . . . must do so within the time limit. Guide your platform correctly to the exit, and ye shall survive. Take too many wrong turns, and ye shall fall to the previous floor, having to restart this maze all over again. Ye will probably not survive the fall, either. Good luck, Adepts of Renown . . .
"Well, we're under a time limit anyway, how much worse can this be?" said Mia, trying in vain to sound cheerful.
Nobody said anything to this comment as they walked slowly down the passageway. After walking for about a minute, they reached their second trap. Their mouths dropped.
There was a long drop down to the previous floor, with platforms hanging in midair littered around the place. A glowing platform hovered in front of them, large enough for about 10 people to get on. There was also a large hourglass at the front, along with a long, thin lever.
The platform itself seemed to be riding on a suspended golden, glittering track, that wound around every single block to the other side. There was, however, no direct route to the other side. Which meant, by the way things looked, that they had to steer it on the most efficient route in order to make it to the other side within the time limit.
"What's that?" asked Garet, pointing to a platform off to the left.
"What?" asked Lunora, following his finger. "Oh, my!"
Everyone looked towards that direction, and saw a glittering staff lying on the platform. If they were closer, they might have even been able to see it better, but even from a distance, they could tell it was beautiful.
"Well, whose gonna steer this thing?" asked Isaac.
"Well, I think we should let Lunora steer it, since this is her lighthouse," said Ivan.
"Yeah, because men have hardly any sense of direction," said Garet.
"Speak for yourself there, buddy," said Isaac, Ivan, and Solaris together, while Lunora and Mia giggled.
"But I agree with what Ivan said," said Mia. "It would be only logical."
"Fine then, I'll steer it," sighed Lunora. "Well, are we ready?" Everyone nodded.
Everyone stepped onto the platform. As soon as they were all on, the platform lurched forward, away from the floor. The hourglass flipped over, and sand began trickling through the narrow center, falling to the lower bulb. Lunora, caught by surprise, rushed forward and grabbed the handle.
"We need to retrieve the staff! So, I'm going to steer us closer to that first, and then head for the other side!" she said nervously.
"By my estimate, we have about five minutes worth of sand in the hourglass," said Isaac, who had been staring at it ever since they got on the platform.
"That's it?" said Mia. "We have to be wise in our choices of the route we take."
All of a sudden, the platform lurched to the left. All looked over at Lunora, who had pushed the lever in the same direction. They were getting closer to the staff now.
All cast their gaze on the path they were taking, except for Solaris. He was advising Lunora on when and when not to turn. Isaac looked at the glittering stars suspended in midair on which the platform was riding. Looking at the rear, he saw that the stars turned dark purple as the platform passed over them.
"Turn right here, and we should hit the platform with the staff on it if you turn right again," said Solaris.
"Right," acknowledged Lunora, and she pulled the lever to the right.
In an instant, the platform started to travel along a new trail of golden 'track', which led right, and closer to the staff. Lunora kept her eyes on the next turn she would need to make in order to get to the staff. When the platform arrived, she jerked the handle accordingly. The platform turned onto the new path.
"We have about three minutes left," said Isaac. He continued to watch the sand, now that he was done looking around at the track.
"Right, here we are at the staff platform," said Lunora.'
She pulled the lever back, and the platform instantly stopped. She got off, went over to the staff, and picked it up. Bringing it onto the platform, she set it down, and jerked the handle forward.
"Boy, that's really pretty," said Garet, admiring the staff. Everyone unanimously agreed.
The staff was definitely that of Luna's. It's design was so elegant, that only a Goddess such as herself could possess such a beautiful weapon.
The staff was long and silver, about 2/3 the height of Ivan. At the bottom of the staff, four legs protruded from it, so it could stand upright. At the top of the staff, a full moon was surrounded by arcs, standing out from the orb about six inches. There were five arcs themselves. They were all different colors of stone. Blue, Green, Red, Purple, and silvery-gray arcs encased the moon inside the staff, how, nobody knew. The orb was suspended in midair.
"One minute," said Isaac, sounding definitely nervous now.
"Oh, no," said Lunora. "I haven't even got the platform going towards the other side yet!"
And so, at the next available opportunity, she pushed the lever left, and the platform jerked towards the other side of the lighthouse. When the available path halted, she turned left again, and then right as quickly as possible.
"About 20 seconds!" shouted Isaac.
"Look, there's the statue of Luna, waiting for us on the other side!" remarked Garet, pointing. There was indeed a Luna statue on the other side, right as soon as they got off.
"We're on a straight path now!" said Lunora. "We should be there anytime."
"Ten seconds!" said Isaac.
Lunora threw all of her weight on the lever, in the hopes of speeding up the platform. No luck. The platform continued on at its now seemingly slow speed.
"Five, four, three-" said Isaac.
The platform rammed into the other side of the lighthouse. Everybody jumped instantly. Garet only just made it. He jumped just before the platform vanished into thin air. Looking back, they saw it reappear on the other side, and the purple stars turn gold again.
"Damn, that was close," said Garet, panting with relief.
"You okay?" asked Isaac.
"Yeah, just fine," said Garet.
"I've got the staff here," called Ivan.
"Please give it to me," said Lunora softly.
Ivan walked forward and handed the staff to Lunora. For being of such elegant design and power, it was extremely light. She walked forward and placed it on the Luna Statue's outstretched arms. The statue glowed with purple light as usual, but then, it did something unexpected. It began to speak.
"I thank ye for returning my staff to me. As a reward for getting this far, ye may keep the staff for as long as you wish. But, ye must give me something of your own that ye value. A fair exchange. If ye wish to stay the way ye are, that is acceptable too. Make your choice . . ."
"Wow! I'd want the staff! Take it!" encouraged Garet.
"I want it too," said Lunora slowly. "But, what could I give Luna that is of value to me?"
"Your staff," said Isaac at once.
"But . . . I've kept this staff for many years," said Lunora. "I don't want to give it up just like that."
"I'm sure you'll like the new one just as much, though," urged Garet. "C'mon. If it was Luna's staff, I'm sure it's no antique piece of crap you find nowadays in those places that they actually call weapon shops."
"Y'know Garet, I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one," said Isaac, nodding.
Lunora hesitated, but not for long. Taking a deep breath, she removed Luna's Staff and replaced it with her own. Instantly, the statue spoke again.
"Ye has presented me with a worthy exchange. Ye may use my staff anyway you wish. But I have one more ting to give you, as a token of proving yourselves worthy to traverse my lighthouse. Good luck, Adepts of Renown . . ."
And the statue moved about a foot out form the wall, and a Luna Djinni appeared out from behind! It was quite odd to Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia. They had never seen a wild Luna Djinni before.
"My name is Mystic," said the Djinni softly, but squeakily. "Who are you?" They all told Mystic their names. "Honored. Lunora, I was assigned to aid the first Luna Adept to pass this point. And that would be you. So, I am yours to keep." And the Djinni joined with Lunora, and instantly began to get to know her other Djinn.
And then, with a sound of grinding stone, a wall in front of them opened slowly, revealing the spiral staircase just beyond.
"Come on!" said Isaac, and they hurried forward, Lunora testing out her new staff slightly as she ran, and they all climbed the staircase to the next floor of the lighthouse.
This was a simple room, the only thing in it was a stone tablet, and a large platform, bathed in light, which was shimmering with a great quantity of the silvery substance surrounding the outer walls of the lighthouse.
"C'mon, let's read the tablet," said Solaris. "There's no more mazes to get through, it shouldn't be that bad," he added, reading the look on Garet's face.
Everyone agreed, and they all let Lunora to the front, who was holding her beautiful staff. The light given off by the beam enveloping the platform lit up the staff faintly as well, dancing in it, and casting twinkling stars on the floor.
"Okay, let's read it," she said, stepping forward to read the tablet.
I congratulate ye for passing the four tests of the Luna Lighthouse. Since ye have proven yourself worthy of continuing to the top, I shall hold off Sol's rising for an additional ten minutes, buying ye extra time. The time remaining can be viewed with this ball I am handing ye. Good luck, Adepts of Renown . . .
And underneath the words was another message, extremely short. Lunora looked at it and read:
is in
the message stopped, unfinished.
"What the Hell does that mean?" snapped Garet. "What is in what?"
"Think back, Garet," said Solaris, nodding his head. "Remember the stone tablet back at the Jupiter Lighthouse? Remember its unfinished message?"
Garet and the others thought for a moment. All of a sudden, Lunora spoke up.
"'The Sol Lighthouse'," she said simply. "Put it together, guys. The Sol lighthouse, that was the first message, and is in, that's the second message. Now we have: The Sol Lighthouse is in . . . what?"
"Yeah, I'm sure that the Mars Lighthouse's final tablet will tell us the actual location," said Isaac thoughtfully.
"Whoa, hold up!" said Garet. "Lunora, what is that?"
Because, out of thin air a silvery ball appeared. It was not a timekeeper like the sorts that Isaac was used to, but a crystal encircling a full moon. Numbers surrounded the outside of the orb, in increments of 15. Light illuminated a portion of the moon, so it looked like a particularly large slice of pie.
"It's our time-keeper," she said excitedly. "My guess is that the segment of the moon-rock that is illuminated is out amount of time, and the numbers are the amount of minutes we have," said Lunora. "Which means . . . we have about . . . 32 minutes remaining."
"Come on!" said Ivan, gesturing to the platform with his Kikuichimonji sword. "We must hurry if we still want to rescue Jenna, Felix, and Sheba!"
"Oh that's right!" said Garet immediately, drawing out his weapon. Everyone followed his lead.
Lunora got on the platform first. Then Isaac. Then Solaris, Mia, Ivan, and Garet followed. The platform shimmered, and they began to rise, towards the Lighthouse Aerie.
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Well, this story is heating up. Everything from here on out is the best work on the story, I'll tell you that right now.
So, considering that, review! Review, review REVIEW!!! *hears shoutingi n the background* Shut up, geckos! I can handle this myself! OWWWW! *gets torched and Ice thrown at by geckos*