Rain Child: Okay, I'm going to be honest. I didn't want to put this up. I have the oddest feeling it will be ignored, or flamed, but my friends persuaded me to post it. If the Isaac/Jenna, Garet/Mia, or Felix/Sheba pairings offend you, go away, unless you are content with one-side Isaac/Mia, and one-sided Garet/Jenna. Anyways, this is also slightly AU, as I have yet to get to the Jupiter Lighthouse, though I think it's not too far off track. So, please, for the sake of an exhausted and much-ignored author, don't flame for pairings. Constructive criticism is always welcome and thanked!!!!
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UnrequitedChapter One, Part One
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An exhausted group of five stood by the final transport of the Jupiter Lighthouse. It wouldn't be long before they were atop the aerie.
"Come on! We've got to hurry!" insisted the leader, beckoning to one of the other four, who stood transfixed, glancing back to the path they had recently crossed. The person chose their words carefully, saying them slowly,
"There's no hurry."
"There will be if they catch up!"
"But they don't understand our motive. If we just--"
Another voice broke in, "She has a point…"
A fourth voice assented, "They think we're a threat, a force of evil."
The leader's battle-calloused face softened considerably as the forth spoke with fervor. Frowning, the leader consented gruffly, "We'll wait at the aerie. But if we fight…" he broke off.
Not exactly happily, the others boarded the elevator with their leader, that same one looking back sadly. As they reached the aerie, a second group, with four persons arrived, panting for breath, having run the whole way to the elevator, just to catch up, only to lose sight of the first five. The tallest one complained grumpily,
"Just great! If it wasn't for Miss 'I need to rest!' over here, we'd have caught up to them!"
The leader glared at the tallest one, but remained silent. The tallest one caught the glare of the leader, and blushed, embarrassed.
"Sorry," he apologized, "it's just we have to save her."
The woman he'd complained about smiled gently, "It's quite all right."
The youngest nodded in agreement, and finally, the leader nodded too, looking concernedly at the woman. They all sighed in relief as the elevator came down. Feeling in somewhat better spirits, they all boarded, the woman gently holding the taller man's hand.
During this time, the first group stood upon the aerie, trying to wait patiently for the other four to arrive. One the five tapped her foot, and sighed quietly. The other girl, and the youngest of, the group, smiled comfortingly, whispering to the first girl,
"They'll be here soon, don't worry."
The three men stared at the two girls, the older man remarked jokingly, a glimmer of youth in his eyes,
"This, boys, is when we wish we could have the use of Mind Read."
The blue-haired man smirked towards the dark-haired leader, muttering,
"Don't worry about her. She's strong. She forgave you, you know."
"Ah, but I do, if something happened--"
"She's strong. She has you and him protecting her, even though she certainly doesn't need it."
"…Picard, sometimes I swear you're the Jupiter Adept instead of Sheba."
"…Don't be ridiculous, Felix. I'm just older than you. And besides, Sheba already knows, and then some."
Felix grumbled, his battle-scarred, and training-calloused hand tightening its grip upon the Mythril bag, as he waited, ignoring the shrill sound of his sword, his sword that ached for battle. He studied the impatient scene before him—Kraden and Picard, obviously in a discussion about Lemuria (Kraden never got as excited about anything else!), Jenna and Sheba, whispering anxiously about who knows what. Sheba glanced towards him, and then turned to Jenna, who laughed half-heartedly. Felix know why it was half-hearted, and vowed silently,
'I'll kill him if he hurts her…'
Sheba turned abruptly, hearing the loud thought. She looked towards Felix, her eyes wide with surprise. She directed a thought to him, reflecting her confusion,
'Why? He loves her.'
'She's been through too much pain. She's strong, but not that strong. I didn't exactly make things any easier…'
'She forgave you, and it wasn't your fault.'
'But if she joins him, and he rejects her?'
'I'll hold you to your vow.'
"SHEBA! You okay?" Jenna yelled, pulling the Wind Adept from the conversation. She blinked, answering quickly,
"I'm fine. Are you?"
"Of course I'm…"
Pale lavender eyes pierced until they hit the truth hiding in Jenna's brown ones.
"…Fine…I'm fine…" A lie. They both knew it was. Sheba smiled sympathetically, and the two girls walked over to rejoin their friends.
A click. The elevator was back. Four people stepped off, their eyes confused, frustrated, and angry among other things. They two groups stood in silence, as if engaged in a staring contest. Finally, the tallest one spoke, as always, voicing others' thoughts.
"Why!?! Why are you doing this, Felix? I-we, don't understand. Why destroy the world?"
"What is started must be finished, Garet, is it?"
Garet stepped back, not yet having noticed Picard, who had spoken. Ivan spoke next, a little timid, but clear and true, convinced to prove what Felix was doing was wrong.
"Alchemy is a threat. The Wise One said so, didn't it?"
Felix nodded sullenly, until Sheba spoke up, remembering something, "But he also said only if it is misused. So then, if we were doing this for good, would that be misusing it?"
All of them shook their heads, murmurs of 'guess not' and 'no' going through them all. Mia spoke, obviously confused, but, like Ivan, convinced she was right.
"But wasn't it Alchemy what brought down the Golden Age?"
Kraden, resuming his teaching tone, countered in this almost war of words, "There would have been no Golden Age, dear, if it weren't for Alchemy." Felix nodded in agreement to Kraden.
Isaac finally spoke, having finally understood.
"You're doing this, for…them, aren't you? Alchemy, to restore things, a stopper for death…"
Jenna nodded, keeping her face blank as she answered, a hint of desperation in her voice, "Yours too. Also to restore things to what they used to be, but yes, that swayed my decision. Isaac," she paused unsure whether to continue, "I'm, I'm tired of being alone. Your mother is too. Surely you are…?"
The Venus Adept nodded somberly, as his companions finally understood what Felix, Sheba, Picard, and Kraden had been trying to tell them all along. All nine realized, quite abruptly, the air had been tense with the very essence of the clashing psynergies. They felt the tension drop, and old friends embraced, able to freely speak.
Mia approached Jenna, smiling kindly. Jenna searched the Mercury Adept's eyes carefully, looking for what she found in everyone else's eyes. There, she had it too—pity. Holding back a sigh, the Fire Adept greeted Mia warmly,
"Hi. You must be Mia."
"So, this is the wonderful Jenna that Garet can't stop talking about. He must really have a thing for you."
"No, he just talks too much. Maybe we did, before all this started."
"He never can be quiet, can he?" Mia joked, Jenna laughing half-heartedly.
"Clumsy too."
"He and Isaac are quite the odd pair of friends, Garet loud and obnoxious, but great to be around, and Isaac, all quiet and stoic."
"Yes…" the Mars Adept hesitated, "Isaac didn't used to be so quiet."
Sheba joined them, breaking the uneasy silence,
"Felix wasn't quiet either, was he?"
"Oh, he loved to play pranks with Isaac and Garet." Jenna shook her head sadly, and changed the subject,
"Maybe we should light the lighthouse…"
Sheba readily agreed, and Mia, though she frowned a little, nodded in assent. Jenna whispered something to her brother, and took the Mythril bag from his hands, and gave it to Sheba.
"How about you and Ivan do the honors, seeing as you both Jupiter Adepts?" she suggested, already pulling Ivan away from his conversation, telling him it was time to light the lighthouse as he protested, though it was futile.
The others stood back Sheba and Ivan tossed the Jupiter Star into the hole. The others stood on either side: Mia, Garet, Isaac, and Jenna on one side; Kraden, Picard, and Felix on the other side.
As the light of the lit beacon filled the aerie, Jenna locked hand with him, watching as Sheba and Ivan grinned foolishly. Jenna smiled inwardly herself, for Sheba only had eyes for her beloved brother. Even Felix looked happy and content, if only for a little while.
Jenna smiled up towards him again, and he smiled back.
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"You fool!!! Why didn't you see the light of Mercury in his eyes!?" Jenna scolded herself bitterly, punching the wall, cursing her own stupidity. She hit the wall again and again, mourning the long-time loss. Finally, she regained calm, and pulled her hand away from the wall, inspecting its damage. Blood seeped out from the knuckles. The Mars Adept smiled wryly, wrapping the bloodied hand,
"Time to go see Mia again. I really have never been good with a kitchen knife, try as I might, it's just not the same as a sword."
The once fiery girl smiled crazily, as she left the house, calmly greeting whomever she passed. So much had changed since her innocent years of traveling to save the world.
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Rain Child: Well, that's chapter one of part one. I'll have chapter two up soon, I promise, if you'll review. I'll probably upload anyways though, but it means a lot if you review, so, yeah…
Rain Child the Depressed