Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See first Chapter.

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 Karst straitened up. "Isaac wasn't the only surprise," She said." They were all far more powerful than I'd expected."

"Don't worry, Karst! We'll win in the end…" Agatio said, as they began to leave.

"…y…you….b…b…bitch!"

Karst whirled around to see Felix kneeling on the floor. "Felix is still alive! I don't believe it!" she exclaimed.

"…S…S…Sheba…" Felix said, a tear dropping from his eye.

"Karst, if we stay much longer, Isaac and the others will come! We should leave!" Agatio said, not turning around.

Felix raised his head. "I…I…will kill…you…for that…Karst!" he said.

Karst smiled and walked over to the struggling Felix. She reached in her boot and pulled out a dagger! She grabbed Felix's chin with her hand. She stared into his eyes for a moment. Karst was smiling, but Felix saw no emotion in her cold red eyes.

Karst moved her head closer to Felix's. She kissed him. She pressed her lips to his and would not pull back. Felix began to feel weaker. He dropped the sword he was leaning on for support. Karst's tongue was trying to get into his mouth. Felix couldn't take it anymore, he relaxed his mouth and Karst's tongue entered… The fire within Karst's probing suggested to Felix that she had done this many times. The slut! He thought. When he finally could do so, he bit down on Karst's tongue. But she hardly seemed to notice…

When she withdrew, Felix tasted hot blood. He spat out her disgusting fluid. Karst licked her lips as blood dripped out of her mouth.

"Well, aren't we rude…" she said. She drew close to Felix once again, but this time she took the dagger and plunged it into Felix's chest, inches from his heart!

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" He screamed into the ever-darkening clouds.

Karst whispered into Felix's ear, "If you're not killed from the lack of air, you'll choke on your own blood!" She wrenched the dagger from Felix causing another yelp of pain but not nearly as loud. Karst pushed him onto his back where he lay in searing pain.

"We must leave now!" Agatio said. "Else the others will come and stop us…"

"Right," Karst said standing erect in front of the fallen Felix. "The others must be dead, else they would show signs of life…"

Karst walked away from the bodies of the fallen young. She and Agatio were about to head down the path they came when…

"It'd be best you took the elevator. The others are beginning their assent."

Agatio turned, "Alex?"

A sky blue haired Mercury adept looked upon the torn up Proxans. "If you leave that way you will die, take the elevator. Don't ask questions, GO!!!"

"When we are fully healed, we will kill you for betraying us!" Karst snarled.

"By the time that you could, I'll be gone. Now go…"

The two Mars adepts jumped on the platforms to the elevator. It shuttered for a second and they descended…

"They're gone…" Alex murmured.

"uh…uh…"

"Huh?" Alex asked. He saw that the owner of the moans was Jenna! "Ah, Jenna!"

Alex ran over to the young girl's aid. He saw that some of the Water of Life that Felix had tried to give her landed on her lips. Alex got Jenna to lick her lips to get the last of the sacred water.

Jenna slowly opened her eyes. "Uh ungh…A…Alex?" she muttered.

"Shh, stay down Jenna. I'm going to help you." Alex said. He began to glow as he had done a while earlier, when he met up with them before the fight. Jenna felt strength returning to her body. She was now fully conscious.

"What happened Alex?" she asked.

"No time to talk, help me heal these two," he said calmly, walking over to Picard.

Jenna didn't understand why he was helping them, but as long as the others needed help, she wasn't going to ask questions. She went over to Sheba and cast Healing Aura. Jenna was low on Psynergy, but she knew that the Jupiter Lighthouse would renew Sheba's strength. Sheba slowly opened her eyes.

"Wha- ah…uh…FELIX!!!" Sheba yelled. "Where's Felix?" She was hysterical!

"Sheba, please rest. You took a hard hit, lie down…" Jenna said.

"Where's Felix?" she asked again quietly. The cut where Karst had struck left little to be imagined, Jenna closed up the long rip in Sheba's clothing.

"He's being healed by Alex and Picard, he'll be okay…"

It was true, Alex and Picard used what little Psynergy they had to heal Felix. But their efforts were as if they were trying to revive a rock… Soon Picard stopped.

"I can't do anymore, I'm tapped..." he said.

Alex stopped as well, "There's no sense in trying to heal him," Alex muttered to Picard. "Our Psynergy isn't working. Karst's blade must have been dipped in the Death Potion…"

"The Death Potion? What's that?" Picard asked.

Alex removed the clothing covering Felix's wound. It was bleeding into his lung and every time he inhaled or exhaled, a sickening sucking noise was emitted from the wound. Alex removed his gloves and pushed the butt of his hand onto the wound after Felix exhaled.

"That will prevent him from crushing his heart…" Alex said.

Felix opened his eyes. Everything was so…strange… He could see two blue haired people over him, but their identities were shrouded in a fog in his eyes. He felt pain in his chest and found it heard to breathe. He coughed. He felt something go up this windpipe, blood… He continued to cough out his own blood for a minute. Picard was scared, Alex was calm. When Felix stopped his coughing attack, Picard relaxed a little.

"What is the Death Potion?" Picard repeated.

"It is a potion used by merciless warriors," said Alex, "It is used as a torturing item, the person who has the potion somehow put into their body cannot heal himself or be healed by Psynergy. That is until the person can get it out of his body, then the spell would be lifted.

"The only way for the potion to poison the body like that, is for it to go straight to the blood and through the heart. Karst couldn't have picked a worse spot for Felix to be hit. If he is untreated, he will choke on his own blood before his heart gets crushed…"

Picard understood it all. He looked at Felix and began to shiver. The red liquid pouring out of Felix's mouth and on his chest made Picard sick. He didn't want to believe it, but he was certain that his young friend was going to die.

"What's going on?" a voice called.

It was Jenna.

"Why are you not healing him?" she asked desperately

"We can't do anymore Jenna," Alex said with sorrow in his voice. "Karst had this planned, Felix can't be healed by Psynergy now… He is going to choke on his blood, and die…"

Jenna's eyes widened. She rushed over to Felix's side, unwittingly pushing Alex away, forcing his hand off the stab wound.

"Felix!" Jenna cried. "Felix what's happening to you, let me help…" She used Healing Aura on him with the same results as Picard and Alex. Realizing that it wasn't working, she stopped. "…Felix…no…" she moaned. Tears formed in Jenna's eyes, the thought of loosing her brother again was too much to bear. The sucking noises brought Picard to his senses after being stunned of the truth.

"Jenna, Move!" Alex said. "I know you want to help, but you're making it worse." He put his hand where it was and pressed when Felix exhaled and held it there…

"What's going on?" Sheba asked getting up shaken from her near death experience. She looked at Felix's nearly lifeless figure, Jenna crying in Picard's arms, and he trying to comfort her.

Picard looked up. "Felix's lung is pierced, and our Psynergy is not working…He may…." He trailed off.

Sheba had gathered from what she saw and heard that Felix was for sure going to die. She showed no emotion, save for a blank stare. She walked past the others and stood before the Light of Jupiter. She looked to the base of the beacon. She gazed upon it for several seconds before she spoke again.

"You…you lied to me!" She muttered looking up at the light. "I was going to gain some answers by coming here. Instead you throw me deeper into the darkness!" She clenched her fists, tears were pouring from her eyes. "WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME!?!?!?" She screamed at the light.

The others stopped what they were doing, except for Alex and Felix who could not be disturbed, and looked at the young Adept. Sheba fell to her knees, she cried aloud. She was certain that Felix was dead, and that she was going to be alone forever. She had loved him ever since they first saw each other. She suddenly remembered all the events leading up to this moment, starting with her meeting with Saturos…

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"Is she okay?"

"That last tornado nearly took her away!"

"What happened to the guards?"

"They must have been sent back to Suhalla."

Sheba could hear voices, but she could hardly understand them. The Tornado Lizard's last attack sent her to the ground, unconscious. She was just now awakening. Her eyes flickered open. She saw a man with long aquamarine hair kneeling above her.

She moaned, gaining his attention. "Huh… what…happened?" She asked.

The man with the blue hair turned away from her, "Hey, she is awake."

Sheba could see four other people standing nearby in the sand. They walked over.

"W-Who are you?" She asked. Her head was pounding as the man with the blue hair sat her up.

"We are a group of wanderers," a blonde woman with pointy ears, and who looked like she was wearing face paint, said. "We come from the north."

"We have been searching for you," A tall man with short, grayish blue hair, and skin and an evil look about him.

 "Huh? You have? Why?" she asked. Some of the others looked puzzled as well.

"Saturos, why do we need her?" a thin, beautiful young girl with garnet hair asked the evil looking man.

"Because she is a Jupiter Adept!" someone who Sheba could not see said. The voice was strong, quiet and its owner couldn't be too much older than Sheba.

"What's an Adept?" Sheba asked.

"A person who can use Psynergy is an Adept," the blonde woman said.

"What's-"

"Never mind about that for now," The man with short hair said. "We haven't introduced ourselves properly yet. I am Saturos."

"I am called Menardi," the blonde said.

"Alex," the one holding Sheba said.

"I'm Jenna," the other girl said.

An old man appeared from behind Jenna and another man behind him. "I am Kraden," the old one said.

"Felix," a fifth man that she didn't see before said. It was the same person who called her an Adept. He had long brown hair and he looked very troubled and thin.

"I'm Sheba," Sheba said to them.

"And now that we have introductions settled," Saturos said, "We must get to the other end of this desert before anything else is said."

"Lets go," Alex said. He helped Sheba to her feet. He gave her a little water, which she was grateful for, and they continued to the other end of the Suhalla desert without another word.

At the other end, before Suhalla Gate, they stopped to rest. There she learned that her powers were not as uncommon as she believed. In fact, there were many groups on Weyard that had people like her. She also learned that these people knew how to enter the lighthouses, and that they were lighting them as well. They had already lit the Mercury Lighthouse and were on their way to the Venus Lighthouse. They said that they needed a Jupiter Adept, the hardest to come across, to complete their mission.

"You will come with us then," Saturos said, it was not a question.

"But what about Faran and those that love me?" she asked.

"You will see them again as soon as we complete our mission!" Menardi said.

"No, you will release her once we can get into the depths of the Venus Lighthouse." Saturos and Menardi looked at Felix. "Sheba is not related to our mission, she is not related to any of us nor does she know anything of Alchemy. She told me she hasn't seen her family in 5 weeks. We let her go then!"

"Do not tell us what to do Felix!" Saturos snapped. "You know what is at stake if you disobey us!"

Felix's face twisted. He was both angry and shocked. Why, Sheba didn't know.

"We won't get anyone involved who isn't related to the mission, Felix." Menardi said.

Felix nodded in defeat. "Alright," he said.

Sheba went over to him after Saturos and Menardi continued on. She faced him. "Thank you for trying, Felix," She said.

Felix looked at her. This girl, whom he had met only minutes before, was acting as though she knew him for years.

"I just…You're welcome." He quickly turned and walked on with Saturos.

"Lets get going," Alex said and they continued on.

When they met the guards at the gate, Saturos wasted no time in torching the gate and Menardi sent them to the ground. Sheba screamed. The force these people used to get by the guards without a word was shocking. She grabbed the nearest person to her, which happened to be Felix. He instinctively put his arms around her and hid her face.

"Shh, it'll all be over soon. Don't worry," he said. He looked down and saw that it was Sheba he was holding and not Jenna. He blushed but did not move away. This was a something that Felix liked to do, comfort someone. Pushing her away would also be the worst thing he could do.

When they finished, Saturos told them to continue. Sheba did not let go at first, she was scared of what the guards would look like. Felix led her though without seeing either one of them.

"Thank you, Felix…" she whispered, crying.

"Don't worry, Sheba. I'll protect you…"

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            End Chapter 3

            I'll stop updating for a while… Give you a chance to let it all sink in…

R&R