Lord Cynic: "Mooo... moooooo!"

Mini Garet: "?"

Mini Isaac: "Too much grass."

Mini Garet: "Oh..."

Mini Sheba: "Meeeowwww!"

Mini Ivan: "Cock-a-doodle-dooooo!"

Mini Garet: "Uh... should I -"

Mini Isaac: "DON'T ask."


Mini Jenna: "... I'm the only sane one (Isaac/Garet/Mia: "Hey!") Hmmph.. first of all, Garet, you were never sane. Second, Isaac and Mia, you two are the soppiest lovebirds I've ever seen. Anyway, Golden Sun is free from Cynic and his evil potato wedge-eating grasp... be thankful for that at least."


Chapter 10: Night Three

"Uh... oww..."

Ivan rubbed his head as he woke up, and then stared around at the others. A grin spreading across his face, he got up and crept away from the other dozing Adepts - or tried to. As soon as he managed to untangle himself (which involved a lot of silent cursing), he scrambled away to a safe distance.

"This is perfect! Now..."

He closed his eyes, and then started to crackle. Lightning surrounded him, then he whispered, "Flash Bolt!" At once, a blue lightning bolt zapped the others and they leapt up, yelping.

"Ow!" Sheba complained, rubbing her behind in pain. "What was that for!"

Ivan smirked. "Wake-up call."

Sheba growled. "Why, you! I oughta -"

"Shh!" Mia appeared at the top of the stairs, and was glaring at everyone. "Try and keep it down will you?"

All eyes were on the two Jupiter Adepts, who were looking daggers at each other (Not to mention maces, staffs, rapiers and fluffy Kirby wands... yeah). Eventually Ivan and Sheba noticed this and turned around reluctantly to face Mia, who was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Now, if you want to come up, do so QUIETLY," she warned. Everyone knew better than to anger her - again, and they slowly climbed up the steps to join her. However, they sweatdropped when they arrived. Pillows were being used as protective walls around Mia's, as she dubbed it, 'sentry'. Mia's 'sentry' consisted of a magazine: "Vale's Fashions Today & Yesteryear"; a cordless kettle (which she refilled herself); a mug; some coffee grounds, and a photo of a smiling Isaac (besides the one inside her pendant). She'd turned this facedown before the others arrived, but nonetheless they were still surprised.

"Er..." Garet began, but he was positively stunned stupid (not a difficult feat).

"Nice decorating," Felix commented.

"Thanks," Mia said, glowing. Everyone raised an eyebrow at Felix first.

"You... spoke," Sheba remarked. Felix frowned.

"So?"

Everyone shrugged, and then raised their eyebrows at Mia.

"What's the point of this?" Sheba asked, frowning as well.

"Safety," Mia said matter-of-factly. "A sleep-walking Isaac can be very unpredictable, as you know."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but Sheba remained unconvinced.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" she asked. "You haven't got any other... 'incentives'?"

Faces turned to Mia, who stared back blankly. Suddenly, her face grew scarlet and a look of utter terror.

"N-No!" she cried, then covered her mouth. "How can you think that, Sheba?" she asked in a whisper.

Sheba shrugged. "You can't say it hasn't crossed your mind."

"That's sick, Sheba," Jenna said in disgust.

"That is not what I had in mind," Mia said through gritted teeth. "You've seen what happens when Isaac turns into one of his multi-personalities. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Guess so," Sheba said with another shrug. Mia frowned.

"Did you have fun being on the receiving end of Isaac's fury?" she asked. This caused Sheba to growl and the others to turn white.

"You left us on purpose, didn't you?" she hissed. Mia gave a mischievous smile. "You sneaky little -"

"Speak for yourself," Mia replied. "You're no Golem."

"I can take you on any day!"

"Bring in on, short stuff!"

"Uh... guys?" Piers piped up. "What about Isaac?"

At that moment, Isaac burst out of his bedroom wearing a referee uniform and a whistle around his neck. Everyone but Sheba and Mia sweatdropped, while said females themselves continued to glare at each other.

"Fighters," Isaac announced, "to the Arena!"

Mia and Sheba glanced blankly at Isaac, and then proceeded down the stairs. Isaac followed, and then Garet and the others trailed behind him, still shocked and surprised. Only Felix and Ivan seemed excited at the prospect of, as they dubbed it, a "Siren Fight".


Once everyone was outside, Isaac took up his position once again.

"Fighters, approach!"

Mia and Sheba approached him, still glaring at the other out of the corner of their eye. Isaac cleared his throat, and the girls turned to face him. The others scuttled away to watch, hoping they wouldn't get blown away.

"Ready?" Isaac asked. Mia and Sheba glanced at each other briefly, and then they turned back to Isaac and nodded. He cleared his throat again and unleashed Granite, who created a protective barrier around him. "Fighters, prepare for battle!"


As Mia and Sheba stood a few metres away from each other clutching their weapons (Mia her Crystal Rod, Sheba her Mediation Rod), Felix and Ivan started making bets.

"200 coins, Sheba wins!" Felix declared, slamming his wallet onto the ground.

"400 coins that Mia wins!" Ivan countered, slapping down his coin bag. Jenna tutted irritably.

"This isn't a game!" Jenna whined.

"Oh, relax, Jenna," Garet said, adding his wallet to the kitty. "250 coins that Mia wins."

"Well, Piers?" Ivan asked, turning to him.

Piers glanced at Jenna, who had given up and returned to watching the battle. "Well..." he pondered, as Isaac declared the battle begun. "Oh, why not," he said finally, dropping his coin bag into the kitty. "Lessee... 350 coins that they knock each other out."

The other guys sweatdropped as Jenna spun around.

"In the meantime," she said, scooping up the kitty in her arms, "I'll look after them."

Felix and Garet growled but made no comment as everyone turned to watch the fight.


"I'll make you eat your words!" Sheba declared, launching an attack on Mia with her Mediation Rod. Mia smirked and blocked the attack with her own Crystal Rod.

"Hah! I have three years and battle experience ahead of you! Hail prism!"

Gigantic ice shards crashed upon Sheba, who stumbled backwards with shock. Her trademark smirk has returned, and Mia looked taken aback.

"Pathetic!" Sheba shouted. "I know most of your attacks, and they do nothing to me!"

Mia growled. "Darnit! That attack wasn't strong enough..."

Sheba smirked. "And now, the ultimate attack: Spark Plasma!"

"Uh oh..."

As the sky darkened and crackled, the spectators scuttled further away. Mia glanced up at the sky where clouds had started to form.

"This won't be good..." she said, and she closed her eyes.

"And now," Sheba declared, as lightning crackled around her like on a Super Saiyan 3.


Dramatic commercial break ("Boo!")


"And now," Sheba roared, as lightning from the sky flashed violently, "This will be the end! Prepare to meet the power of Thor! SPARK PLASMA!"

Suddenly, the lightning from the sky darted straight for Mia, who bellowed, "Freeze Prism!" Glaciers struck the lightning, and everyone (except Isaac) was caught in the devastating blast.


Isaac stared around at the scene of destruction. Sheba and Mia were lying on the ground unconscious, and everyone else seemed to be stuck in peculiar places: Ivan was hanging on a branch in a tree, Garet was hanging out of a chimney, Felix was hanging out of a window, Piers was blown back into his boat, and Jenna was in the bucket in the nearby well. As he stared around, Isaac sweatdropped and deactivated Granite's barrier, then he called on Quartz, who hurried to revive everyone.

"Agh! Help!" Ivan wailed, as he hung onto his branch.

"Mmmf! MUURRFFF!" Garet mumbled, as his legs flailed desperately.

"... What the?" Felix's legs kicked in the outside air, as he attempted to figure out where he was.

"... Urg... where am I?" Piers poked his head over the side of the boat. "Whoa! Someone get me down!"

"Guys?" Jenna called from her predicament. Isaac ran over to lift her out of the well as male voices yelled in desperation.

"Whhoooooaaaaaaa! Heeeellllllll - OOWWW!"

Ivan landed on his butt, Felix on his back, Piers on his butt, and Garet on his head. Only Garet wasn't affected by his fall, but no one was surprised. They shook their heads exasperatedly as Mia and Sheba finally woke up.

"Urg... what happened?" Mia rubbed her head as Sheba looked around.

"So, everyone got blasted by the attack?" she guessed.

Isaac shook his head. "Granite protected me. ("Figures," Sheba said) Ahem! I hereby declare the battle a no contest!" Sheba and Mia stared at him in disbelief, but he remained strong on his decision. "Decisions will not be amended! If you have a complaint, I will have no choice but to declare you the loser. Well?"

Sheba and Mia shook their heads quickly, and that's when Isaac snapped back into reality.

"Wha... wha... where am I?" He looked down at what he was wearing, and blushed bright red. "Agh!"

Mia and Sheba glanced at his clothing, and while Sheba smirked broadly, Mia turned away, blushing and giggling uncontrollably. It had turned out that Isaac was back in his Djinn PJ's - well, his shirt and shorts, anyway.

He smiled shyly and started backing away towards the house, his cheeks still burning. "Well, um..." he stammered, fumbling to find suitable words, "it's... a bit chilly, I'd... better... get back... to bed... yes... good night." He suddenly spun around and ran into the house, Mia and Sheba watching after him.


The others had crowded around the well and were discussing certain financial matters.

"All right," Piers said, rubbing his hands together, "gimme the cash."

"Well, I would," Jenna began, as Felix, Garet and Ivan eyed Piers with resentment, "but there's a slight problem."

"... What?" Piers asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, in the blast, all the coins were blown into the well," Jenna said slowly.

Piers remained unconvinced. "We can fish them out. Out of the way! I need my winnings!" He tried to dive into the well, but Garet and Felix held him back. "Lemme go!"

"We can't let you do that," Felix said, but Piers fumed when he, Ivan and Garet smirked. "You'll just have to let them go, buddy."

Piers huffed. "Fine!" He stomped away to the house, and Garet grinned.

"Oh well," he said brightly. "I'm not the only poor guy here, right?... right?" His face plummeted when Felix and Ivan whipped out their wallets.

"Sorry, Garet," Ivan said. "I guess you're the only one busted, eh?"

Felix was less forgiving. "Sucked in!"

Garet gaped wordlessly for a long time. "But... I... you... the money... well..." He groaned quietly, then turned around and trudged back to the house.

The remaining three watched him go, then hi-fived each other.

"All right, give us the dough," Felix said, emphasising with his hand. Jenna nodded and gave Ivan and Felix their share of the money. The three of them then walked back to the house, grinning widely.


Mia and Sheba watched everyone else walk back to the house, then turned to each other.

"Dispute settled?" Mia asked hopefully.

"Guess so," Sheba said, shrugging. But as they walked back to the house, Sheba added, "By the way, I saw the expression on your face when you were looking at Isaac. I don't have to be a mind reader to know that you'd love to see him in those PJ's again."

Mia made no comment, but she blushed scarlet and quickened her pace, while Sheba's smirk grew wider.