Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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Chapter Four (Things Go South):
"He was right here!" Felix gaped. "How could he have gotten out? Surely someone would've noticed him walk out!" Felix scrunched up his face in disbelief. Alex had escaped from custody. He had talked with the blue-haired Adept and found out some alarming information. When he went to get the others, he was gone! "It's impossible!"
"Maybe not, Felix." Piers interrupted. "I am confident that you would not be so careless as to let him just get away. Perhaps there is more to the cell than what we see…"
"Have…" Garet started, "Have you lost your crackers, Piers? This is a jail… in Lunpa."
"Precisely. One would think that a prison in a thieves' town would have a back door."
"You're absolutely right, Piers." Kraden walked in. He had joined in the celebrations while Felix was talking to Alex. He had only just heard of Alex's escape. "I agree. There is more to this cell than meets the eye."
"Would you guys tell me something before we go get all paranoid?" Garet asked irritably. "Would you tell me why there's a random crate in the middle of the cell?"
"Well actually, Garet… it's against the wall and—Garet you're brilliant!" Ivan exclaimed as he opened the cell gates frantically and walked in with Kraden following him hastily. Ivan bent down and inspected the spot between the walls and the crate. "Garet, Isaac, Felix… one of you please move this crate! I can feel air blowing through!"
Felix moved through the doors swiftly. "Move!" He waved the crate aside with a ghostly white hand that materialized from his fingertips. "Let's go everyone!"
"Wait!" Isaac slowed down. Everyone stopped, but Felix exploded.
"What are we waiting for? Alex is getting away!"
"I know but we have to think! Piers, you have to get your ship ready just in case we're in for a chase again."
"A fine idea, Isaac." Kraden piped. "I should go with him. I would only slow you down."
"Good idea." Jenna commented. "Garet, you should go, too. You might slow us down…"
"You don't have to be mean, Jenna." Garet pouted. "But I will go with Piers and Kraden. They might need someone strong to… y'know… do some lifting."
"Right." Jenna rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's go. Felix already left us behind." Sure enough, the brown haired adept was gone. No doubt he had already pursued Alex.
Isaac, Jenna, Mia, and Ivan ran into the cave after Felix.
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Felix scrambled out of the exit. He stood near Dodonpa's lair. "Damn it!" He cursed. "And I trusted that little scumbag!" He ran to the entrance, but was stopped by the guards.
"Hello, friend." Guard one emphasized. He stepped forward putting a hand up to stop Felix. "I'm sorry, but Dodonpa doesn't want company at the moment."
"Get out of my way." Felix ordered. He was about to sweep past the guard when the second one spoke up.
"Be careful, friend." Guard two warned, "We do not accept orders from travelers." The two did not even try to conceal their hostility any longer.
"I don't want to hurt you." Felix threatened as he tried to walk past them again, but he was pushed roughly back.
"I don't think you understand just how many of us there are." Guard one said. As he finished saying this, a dozen guards walked from the shadows. They brandished their blades with a manic look upon them. Felix rolled his eyes. "Judgment!"
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Isaac's breathing was labored as the ground beneath him rose in incline. Explosions erupted from aboveground and bits of rock and dirt started to fall about. "I think Felix's started the fun without us," Isaac said in between breaths. They scrambled out of the exit to see Dodonpa's lair. Along the entrance were scattered men lying on the ground in pain. "Well, at least we've got a clear path."
They walked through corridors and rooms, passing by unconscious people on the ground or people on the ground awake, shaking with great pain until they finally arrived in Dodonpa's throne room. It looked like someone had been looking for something. In a corner, they spotted a treasure chest that had a broken lock and it had been tossed aside. A door that led to the dock was already open. They didn't waste any time. Not even bothering for conversation, they synchronized thoughts and ran into the doorway, descended the stairs and ran through the passages at a sprint.
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Felix staggered out of the exit and cursed. A ship he knew too well as Saturos and Menardi's ship was sailing away. Dodonpa was nowhere to be seen. No doubt he had already made himself scarce. No matter. Felix already knew where Alex was headed. His head throbbed. How many people had gotten in his way? About thirty, and they were all taken down pretty hard. He himself did not get the better deal. Not only did his head hurt, but there was a gash on the back of his head and a deep cut on his left forearm. He cast Cure on it quickly, before he lost too much blood.
Isaac, Jenna, Ivan and Mia staggered out of the exit out of breath. "Are you okay, Felix?"
"Yeah," Felix's eyes wandered to the ground. He longed to scratch the itch his gash on the head was causing. He hoped the others wouldn't notice and think him some sort of cold-hearted man. No better than Dodonpa. "I'm fine."
"You're bleeding!" Mia gasped. She cast Earnest Ply on Felix quickly. Felix braced himself and sure enough, the healing tissue was no walk in the park. "Is it better now?"
"Yes, thank you, Mia." Felix put on a weak smile as he rubbed the spot where he'd been hit earlier. It was just a bruise. No big. He didn't have to become Garet all of a sudden.
"I'm really sorry we lost him," Ivan apologized. "I guess we just weren't quick enough."
"No." Felix looked up for any sign of Piers and the flying ship. "I know where he's headed. And I think it's best we head there now."
"Where exactly is there?" Jenna asked rudely. All that sprinting made her legs all tired and she was just a grouch when it was close to that time of month (No, people, she is not a werewolf)
"Anemos, the city in the sky. Alex is trying to get the power of the Golden Sun." Felix explained. "His plans were ruined by the Wise One last time. So he plans on lighting the four remaining lighthouses and getting the legendary power of the Blue Moon."
"That's impossible! The lighthouses are already lit! We traveled across Weyard." Jenna insisted, "There are only four lighthouses and we lit them all."
"No, Jenna." Felix clarified, "There are four more to be lit in order to release the Blue Moon. This bit of information was why I left Alex's cell to get the group together. If we don't light the four remaining lighthouses, all of Weyard will cease to exist."
"Now where have I heard that before…" Isaac sighed. "Nonetheless, I agree with you, Felix. It is our duty as Weyard's protectors, being the ones who started this whole mess, to save it once again from destruction." A flying ship flew over the mountain landing directly in front of them.
"There's more to it than that." Felix told them. "But I'll tell you on the way. I'm sure Piers and Kraden would like the bit of info themselves as well."
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"So if we don't light the four remaining lighthouses, even Weyard will cease to exist?" Kraden asked.
"That's what Alex told me." Felix said, "He said that the other world and Weyard are bound because they were both one world at one point, which was The Lost Age. Since Alchemy was released here, the other world is engulfed by the falls much faster. When the four lighthouses cease to exist there, there is no stopping Gaia Falls from destroying the rest of Weyard."
"Do you think he's telling the truth?" asked Ivan suspiciously. "I mean, what if he's just sending us on a wild goose chase while he fulfills his real agenda."
"I think he's telling the truth. And in any case, what if he is telling the truth? We can't run that risk!" Felix answered.
"This is all very interesting." Kraden pondered out loud. "Of course, we have to go. It's for Weyard as well. And a world full of things just waiting to be discovered! Oh, I can't wait! When are we going?"
"Now. There's no time to waste. We have no idea what waits for us on the other side of Gaia Falls, but we have to conquer it. We also have to keep our eyes open for other Adepts that could help us." Felix informed.
"Hey, look!" Garet called from the outside. "There it is!" Everyone followed him out. Sure enough, they were approaching their destination. No one could resist taking a look at Weyard's mysterious wonder.
"Wow!" Kraden gaped, "Even though I've been near it before, it's still so overwhelming. It's so huge and mighty!" Everyone nodded. What could one say when facing Gaia Falls.
"I'm glad you feel great about this, Kraden. Because from here, I don't see where we're going to end up." Garet snorted, "I mean… haven't we heard stories of people falling off Gaia Falls?"
"Don't worry, Garet." Piers said confidently, "We've got a flying ship. We can just fly over!" He took out the Hover Jade from his pouch.
"I guess..." Garet admitted nervously, closing his eyes tight. "Tell me when this is over. I can't look."
"Garet," Jenna rolled her eyes, "You can be such a wimp sometimes." She could not, however, succeed to hide her fearful gaze at Gaia Falls. It wasn't a problem as everyone else was looking at it and Garet had his eyes closed.
"Hover!" Piers smiled happily. The ship floated in mid air and glided forward past the falls. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they looked down to see that they were well over Gaia Falls. Beside it was a huge blackness that seemed to stretch on forever.
"Hey Garet?" Ivan called, "It's over." Garet opened his eyes and practically had a heart attack when he took a look over the railing.
"We're so high up!" Garet panicked. "Why are we so high?"
Jenna rolled her eyes and slapped Garet on the shoulder, "Don't be such a baby. Would you rather we not hover and get past the falls the hard way?" Garet shook his head jerkily. "Good, now come on, Piers! Feed some speed to this boat. I'd like to see this brave new world Felix was talking about!"
"An excellent suggestion, Jenna!" Kraden agreed. "What do you say, Piers?" Everyone looked to Piers who was sweating profusely. He was focused on the Hover Jade so much, one would think he was worried about something… Finally, he turned to them, still keeping the ship flying.
They proceeded on for a few more seconds until, "Uhm… guys?" Piers piped nervously.
"What's up?" Everyone asked, now dying to know what the matter with Piers was.
"I'm out of psyenergy." Piers confessed, ready to faint. Everyone paled. A moment passed, then, the ship dropped over the falls into the dark abyss…
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A/N: HAHAHAHAHA CLIFFHANGER BABY!!! Next Chapter: Over the Falls
