Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Chapter One (Reunion):

Isaac ran breathlessly through the forest northwest of Bilibin.  Over the hill, he could see them. The group had used psyenergy to overwhelm country folk and steal their produce.  Up close, he realized they were in their mid twenties with a sloppy look.

"Mother Gaia!" He screamed.  They turned in alarm.  One managed to leap out of the way just in time, but the others weren't so lucky.  They were engulfed by the might of the Earth.

"What the…" The remaining thief said.  "Who… what are you?" He looked back at his comrades.  Some were confused, and some were very angry.

Isaac paused, not knowing how to respond at first.  What did he want? Justice for Bilibin? Not only for Bilibin, he told himself, for everyone else as well.  "I'm Isaac… and I'm here to stop you." With a final breath he screamed, "Odyssey!"

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Navampa walked up to the innkeeper in Naribwe as his men joked and laughed behind him, having the time of their lives.  He slapped down some coins on the counter.  "I need room and board for eight!" He told the innkeeper.

"I'm sorry." The innkeeper apologized, "But we already have only eight beds." The man did look sorry.

"That's perfect then!" Navampa laughed, not knowing what the problem was., "There's eight of us," He said slowly as he counted on his fingers is he really did have eight men.

"Yes…" The innkeeper said, "but we have a reserved bed at the time." The innkeeper pleaded.  Navampa suddenly lost his temper and grabbed the man by the collar.

"Now you listen to me." He snarled menacingly, "I would like room and board for my men and you will give it to us…" He paused, "free of charge.  I will handle the man with the reserved bed when he arrives… personally."

"I'm s-sorry…" The innkeeper stammered, "B-but I can't…" Navampa suddenly lost control and tried to punch the innkeeper, but a metallic staff hit him right in the nose, sending him flying against the wall.  Things cracked… not the walls.  A small, cloaked figure, stood in front of the innkeeper.

"What the…" one of Navampa's men said as the rest got up, brandishing their swords, eyeing the stranger.  "No one does that to our boss!"

The cloaked figure lifted the hood, revealing a pretty blonde haired girl.  It was Sheba.  "Only seven?" She sounded disappointed.

"Holy crap! It's a girl!" The man said, "Seven's plenty for a wee girlie like you! We're gonna show you who wears the trousers around here…"

Sheba could only smile as she summoned Thor.

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Jenna leaped to the left as a geyser of water narrowly missed her.  Beside her, Felix raised his sword, "Megiddo!" He screamed.  His blade whistled as he leaped several feet up and came down with a mighty clash that had a huge magnitude.

Alex collapsed to his knees but rolled away as Jenna tried to finish it with a strike.

"Echo!" Felix called, "Help me out here." His sword glowed an eerie glow.

"Cannon! You too!" Her staff started to heat up blazing with a red aura.  The two darted forward, leaped, and struck Alex, unable to move fast enough to dodge.

"Venus!" Felix called.

"Mars!" Followed Jenna.

"W-w-warp!" Alex gasped as he dived forward to grab the unconscious Kraden and escaped from the foot of Mt. Aleph, beaten and thrashed from his descent and struggle.

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Mia looked up at the white clouds as she walked en route to Vale.  Her journey hadn't been very long.  It didn't compare with the journey across Angara and then sailing around the world in pursuit of their adventure's end.  In truth, she missed those days.  At least then she had action.  These days, when a ruffian approaches her for money, the man has guilt over his face.  How could he mug a girl that had the look of an angel upon her? And if one does have the guts, they aren't much of a challenge.  They're quickly dispatched with her psyenergy.  She didn't approve of violence, just that she wanted the misfits and criminals off the streets before they could do harm to people that won't be able to defend themselves or send the misfits to jail as easily as she could.

"Mia!" Someone called out to her.  It was Ivan! She stopped to allow her old friend to catch up.  He was panting at a full sprint.  "H-h-help…" He pleaded… "Piers went crazy and is now chasing me with a flying ship!" Mia tried hard not to roll her eyes.  Boys and their games…

"Let's go then!" She giggled.  The two broke into a sprint.  Just as they did, an enormous ship with wings streaked over them.  A faint sound of laughing was heard.

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Garet's eyes brightened in the innkeeper's kitchen window as he saw the flying ship.  He rushed out the backdoor to meet his friends, despite the angry voice of the innkeeper calling him back.  "About time!" He pouted.  "I've been starving myself senseless waiting for you guys and all you've been doing is taking your jolly good time." He looked at them, hurt and abused.

"I'm sorry, Garet." Mia apologized.  Truthfully, she did not mean Garet any ill harm.  Garet was just like a little boy with a big body.  He would literally eat anything and everything and he was so self-centered at times.

"Pay for the meal I owe the innkeeper and we'll call it even." He grinned.  Piers did not restrain himself from hitting him in the back of the head.

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Felix and Jenna descended down the steps below the sanctum and ran to the mayor's house.  "Mayor…" Felix called as Jenna took a moment to catch her breath.  Since their return to Vale, she really let herself go.  "We have a bit of bad news."

The mayor looked up intently at them and at that moment, Garet, Ivan, Mia, and Piers walked in engaged in jolly conversation.  The seriousness stopped them dead in their tracks.  "What's going on here?" Piers asked.

"Jenna, Kraden, and I went to investigate the weird earthquakes we've been having." Felix explained, "Kraden suspected that Alchemy is at fault and that the source of the chaos was Sol Sanctum."

"And…?" The mayor asked curiously.  "What did you find?"

"Alex." Jenna breathed.  "We accidentally freed him.  He was trapped in the rubble that blocked Sol Sanctum's doors.  He tried to kill us quickly.  Felix and I managed to dodge one of his geysers.  Kraden wasn't so lucky..." She paused looking ashamed.

"WHAT?" Everyone gasped.  They looked at Felix and Jenna's face desperately, looking for some sign of a joke.  Something that said, 'Ha, fooled you', but there was none.

After the long pause, "Where was Garet during all this?" The mayor asked.

"I was uh… awaiting the arrival of Ivan and the others." He reasoned.  I knew I shouldn't have left early to get some grub, he smacked himself mentally.

"You would've been more of a help to Felix and Jenna!" The mayor fumed. Garet put on a weak smile and apologized quietly to Felix and Jenna.  "Still, we can't help it now.  Do you know where Alex could've taken Kraden?"

"Alex was weak after our battle.  He barely managed to warp away.  Kraden was unconscious." Felix said, "I don't think he'll get far.  He might just have enough energy to make a journey to either Vault, Lunpa, or Kalay."

"He's at Lunpa." A voice interrupted.  Everyone froze.  They turned to see a lean blonde boy with a blue and gold outfit.  His eyes were as blue as the scarf, but far warmer.  Right now his appearance was devastating.  There were rips on his tunic and he had bags under his eyes.  He clearly rushed through his mission requested from Bilibin.

"Isaac!" Everyone greeted.  Isaac walked forward.  Despite his appearance, his physical state could not be better.  His lanky arms that once struggled to hold a sword three years ago were hardened into tough muscles that gripped a sword like an extension of his hand.  His legs were strong and his stamina exceptional.  His aura was filled with warmth and power.  All this was obvious to everyone as he walked towards them.

"How do you know he's at Lunpa?" The mayor asked suspiciously.

"Just think about it." Isaac sighed as he sat down on a wooden chair near the table., "I passed by the Inn at Vault on my way here… it's way too obvious.  If a blue-haired adept passed with an unconscious old man everyone knew, people would talk and I'd be one of the first to hear about odd strangers.  And we all know Kalay is a bit of a stretch.  Alex can't possibly have enough energy to bring himself and Kraden there.  Kraden would wake while he was asleep and get away."

Everyone thought about it for a minute and decided that he was right.  "Lunpa it is, then?"

"Wait, Isaac." Felix interrupted.  There was one more person that should have been here, but wasn't.  "Where's Sheba? Didn't she go with you?" Isaac nodded and sighed.  He stood up and walked to the nearby window, overlooking Vale.

Isaac looked out.  "Not soon after we began our journey, she decided to embark on a quest to find Anemos.  She's probably still interested in where she comes from.  We all gained a bit of something on our last quest together.  You, Jenna, and I regained our family… Garet the approval of his grandfather, Ivan, his family roots and sister, Mia… well… she gave the Mercury Clan more honor that what they could ever have hoped for.  Piers fulfilled a destiny that he had wanted to achieve.  He also succeeded in performing the duties bestowed upon him from King Hydros." He tore his gaze away from the window and looked at Felix in the eye.  "I could not stop her."

"What about me?" Felix whispered to himself, just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.  "Did I not mean anything to Sheba?"

"I'm sorry." Isaac looked away again, not able to look his childhood friend in the eye.  Everyone's look of pure sadness was was quickly turned to face away from Felix's wandering eyes.

Felix nodded, his face full of hurt.  "I understand."

"To Lunpa, then?" Isaac looked around.  Everyone nodded reluctantly.  "Then Lunpa it is." Isaac said with slightly less enthusiasm.

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A/N: After Midiot's review of Chapter One, I kinda added more to it.  See what you guys think…