Pairings: (yay! I remembered!) Isaac x Jenna, Garet x Mia (it's a hate hate relationship :P) Alright, kudos and extra cookies to biodermic who pointed out that it's on Angara and not Gondowan, sadly enough, I actually looked at my gs2 map to find it, I didn't look very hard as you can tell. And the pairings are just there, it isn't going to be a lot of romance within the story, it's just so you know the characters are together and the pairings have no role in the plot. The Garet x Mia pairing is in this chapter, I haven't decided how to write up the Isaac x Jenna one yet, they're probly already a couple in the story though... Also, there's kind of a switch from here on in, it's no longer humour, though bits of humour will be slotted in. With the introduction of evil and such (and such a twisted one he is) I don't think I could carry humour out of any scenes involving him. now, enough authors notes """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

There were smiles, hugs, handshakes and a great deal of "hello's" and "I missed you so much" the latter from Mia, of course. The four adepts had finally found each other once again, upon entering Vale, Ivan and Mia headed directly to Garet's house, knowing Isaac had been living there for a while from previous letters sent back and forth. On their way, however, they ran into Jenna who offered to escort them to the fishing location.

"They're fishing?" Mia said in response to Jenna's statement,

"Yeah, there isn't much else for them to do right now. No one needs a warrior around anymore."

Mia gave a small, forced laugh, neither Ivan nor Jenna noticed.

"So what have you two been up to?" asked Jenna, "Have you two been together a while?"

Ivan went wide-eyed and suddenly blushed, Mia also blushed and looked away. "I meant as travelling companions! honestly!" she gave a sort of false laugh to show it was just a small misunderstanding.

"Ahem, alright, now that's done and over with, I think I'll just, er, go sit by the stream for a bit." Ivan smiled and walked off, his cheeks still tinted rose.

Mia stepped up to Ivan and Garet, "Ivan and I actually came here to ask if you guys wanted to go on a picnic, Jenna, you are also welcome to come. Felix as well if he's around." she smiled

"Sure, I'd love to come!" Jenna walked to where Isaac was standing and hooked her arm around his, Isaac suddenly flushed and blushed at the same time, making it only more noticeable he turned his face away towards Garet who was laughing at him.

"Oh? and when did this happen?" said Mia teasingly,

"When we got back to Vale after our journey and everything settled down, we started seeing each other, right Isaac?" she rubbed up to him and he turned his head back and nodded, the blush looking very out of place on his pale face.

Of course even Mia couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Have you brought any food with you then?" asked Garet,

"What? what about food?"

"Well, you said it was... a picnic right?"

"well, yes... but"

"Then there has to be food!"

"Picnics aren't all just eating you know, they involve games and fun!"

"How do you have fun at a picnic without food?"

Isaac interjected suddenly, "I still haven't found that stupid crouton you threw at me last week, you know..."

"see? fun!"

Isaac half ran half leapt at Garet, who, being down to his very last piece of toast had to make a life-threatening decision, eat, or throw... Garet found himself running from the worst foe he'd faced yet while scarfing down the semi-cold toast, through his full mouth he shouted, "Don't make me throw crust at you!"

"How! it's already halfway to your arse!"

Ivan snapping out of his stupor, thought this was hilarious and nearly fell into the stream. """""""

"look at them all, smiling, happy... if only they knew..." a smile graced the puppet-master's face. "If only... they knew..." his hand reached up and brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen out of place, the fingers creeped back across his skin, lingering on the single imperfection on his body. A simple scar and a mechanic eye; it had been slashed over a hundred years before. He had lived this long for the simple fact he was not really alive, "Irony... how ironic I am. To control the dead and be dead myself. But I suppose," the puppet-master mused, "that I do control myself, my own actions," his lips pressed tightly together created the faint outline of a grin.

"M-master..." a boy stood in the corner of the room, there were two boys and two girls in the room, each of them stood in a single corner of the room. Boys across from each other, girls the same. The other children looked to the boy who spoke, "Why must you speak to yourself? you scare me when you do that..." the boy must have been no older than eight. Yet he was mature, he held no material possessions, he never had any. Again though, if given one he could not use it for comfort, his thoughts were his comfort. The boy winced as his master spoke,

"I speak to myself... because I must contemplate... I have control over so much, yet the ones I am after remain unscathed... I must send my children, pull their strings, Arion." he turned his pale, thin face towards the boy who had spoken, "I send you, it is only fair, the youngest of my children go first."

"B-by myself, father?" the boy held back his tears and stood where he was, punishment happened too often to the others around him he knew what he could get away with saying and doing.

"Of course, I have adopted you into my family, all four of you. I taught you all Earth's might, Water's properties, Fire's heat, and Wind's elegance. No one should be able to stand against one of you alone.

"Y-yes master," the boy was quivering, he had been with this man who had adopted him so long ago, much more than eight years could let on, in fact, when time stops for years in between, what can you do but become stronger...

Puppet-master stood from his throne in the dead centre of the room and walked to his "son".

"I trust in you," he placed two fingers, one on each eyelid, and closed them gently. The boy faded from the corner. He could hear the children's fear, their hearts beating rapidly, these were no longer children, they were bringers of death. Each of them had had the opportunity to kill, the most experienced of them all had only just departed to find his targets... """""""

Garet yawned and stretched, "oh man, am I ever stuffed!"

"Y'know, Garet, that's probly cuz you stole everyone else's food too, and after you ate so much for lunch already." said Mia, pointing a finger accusingly.

"What? I doubt you'd want it back, besides! Ivan and Isaac handed theirs over!"

"I didn't intend for you to eat half of my meal as well, though Garet. I wasn't finished eating and now I'm still hungry..."

"Hello." a small boy interrupted them, standing less than a metre away it was miraculous none of them had even seen him coming. The boy looked innocent, but his eyes held secrets beyond their comprehension. Jenna finally spoke up,

"Er, hello little boy, I haven't seen you around here, are you travelling by yourself?" she queried.

"Actually, I'm with my father," there was a certain glint in his eyes, the secrets within them wanting to spill over, "I was just wondering your names, you all seem so familiar..."

"Allow me to introduce them! It would be my pleasure." Kraden approached them, "After all, they are the heroes who saved our land! This is Isaac, Ivan, Garet, Mia and Jenna. There are three others, however, they are not with us at the moment.

'Sheba will not be seeing you again, there are only 7 left, fool' "Oh, it's a shame... but, I've heard so much about you, the great Scholar Kraden who guided the heroes and taught them absolutely everything they know!" he had a large grin on his face and he was dancing around as he spoke, "If I could.. I'd like to speak to you about your accomplishments with the group! you've inspired me to become a scholar myself! I'd wish to hold a private counsel with you, sir," the glittering of his eyes returned, it was almost impossible for Kraden to resist.

"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I can't refuse!"

'FOOL!' "please, follow me!" the boy skipped to the water's edge, and once Kraden had a arrived a thin wire appeared in the boy's hand, only noticeable by a glint of sunlight reflecting off of it, 'Time for a swim, old-timer' The glint was gone and checking to make sure the adepts weren't looking he made as if to help Kraden closer, but instead tripped him. Noting the yell Kraden gave he knew he had to react fast, "Grab my hand!" and as Kraden reached out to grasp his hand, the wire did it's job and cut a deep, yet barely noticeable cut on Kraden's wrist, 'that's the end of him' the boy smirked silently to himself, but to the adepts rushing over to him it looked as though he was weeping.

"Kraden!" Jenna shouted and ran along-side the stream, Kraden remained face- down in the water, however, the water around his left wrist tinged with red. Isaac and Garet waded into the water and pulled out Kraden's limp body. The wound, cleaned from the water, was too thin to notice, there was, however, a very large bump on his head from when he fell.

'How do you like that, the poor scholar had an accident.' the boy displayed his false tears and ran away, Ivan chased after him but once he rounded a tree he discovered the boy had disappeared. """""""""

"Excellent job, son. You have destroyed their research link. But why have you come back so soon, Arc?"

"So soon? Is two heroes' deaths not acceptable, father?"

"Sheba lives, son. I have taken over her soul and she is my new play-toy." Sheba's limp body appeared from thin air and fell into the puppet-master's lap, he cradled her face, "ah, but the youth did not even put up a fight. She journeyed so long and so hard, yet was defeated by a single blade's edge..." the dagger also appeared in his hand, "Yet even in this state her soul resists me..." he placed the dull edge of the knife along a line at her neck, "Such a simple child, naive and misunderstood... she deserves to aid me in the downfall of her friends... wouldn't you agree, Sheba? The empty eyes continued to stare at nothing, but the soul spoke to him, "As I thought, you continue to resist me, even through my complete domination over Lalivero, and you did nothing to stop it... why resist now? when it's already over for you?" he raised Sheba's chin so the blank eyes stared into his; he peered through them and they bore into the cowering child in the corner of a dark room, a single light above her that did not illuminate anything but herself and a small circle around her. 'I will be free!' her soul spoke, 'You will fall like all others we have faced! and I shall never succumb to your insanity!'

'S-Sheba?'

Her spirit's eyes widened, the voice was Kraden's, 'They get closer to them everytime... and I am powerless to help...'

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" OK! End of chapter 4!!! (finally, yes, I know...) anyways, just a thing about this, in order for the puppetmaster to control anyone, they must first be killed or sapped of all their strength. Then he steals their souls and puts them into the darkest recesses of his mind where he can communicate with them and toprment them all he wants. He crushes the spirits (literally) of those he no longer needs, and that is when they truly die.

E.D. wow... it's longer than I thought it was...