Disclaimer: To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun and everything in association with it belong to Camelot, Nintendo, and whoever else legally and rightfully own it. This is a work of fiction-anything that has a counterpart in real life or resembling it done without my knowledge is purely coincidental. This is a fanfic written for entertainment purposes only, and is for these purposes only.

"Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality."-Nikos Kazantzakis

Chapter 1. ILLUSIONS (Part 1)

"Damn, and the sun was shinning this morning, too," Garet pouted as he looked upwards into the dark clouds that were literally dumping water onto him, Ivan, and the eight fallen men around them.

Ivan could only turn his head and raise an eyebrow in amazement as he leaned against the cabin, trying to catch his breath.

* * *

"Wake up, Isaac," Garet whispered.

Isaac grunted as he turned away from Garet.

"Isaac, wake up!" Garet whispered, shaking Isaac by the shoulders.

"Lemme 'lone," Isaac muttered as he buried his face deeper into his pillow.

"Isaac!" Garet whispered loudly, continuing to shake Isaac.

"All right, I am up," Isaac groaned as he sat up, running his fingers through his messy hair. "What hour is it?"

"The sun is just about to rise," Garet said.

"WHAT!?" Isaac exclaimed.

"Shut up," Ivan moaned as he threw a pillow at the two. "I am trying to sleep!"

"Wake up, Ivan," Garet said as he threw the pillow back at Ivan.

"I wanna keep sleeping," Ivan said into his pillow.

"Oh no," Isaac said as he hopped out of his hammock. "If Garet wakes me up this early, you do not get to sleep in, either, Ivan." Isaac walked over to Ivan and pulled away his blanket. "You are going to have to wake up and join us."

Ivan glared at Isaac as he rubbed his eyes. "Why did you wake us up this early, Garet? It is not like we have anywhere else to go. Mia is controlling the ship now. She took the last shift."

"But you guys always wake up at sunrise," Garet pointed out. "It is not like I woke you guys up earlier than usual."

Isaac groaned. "Garet, two reasons-one, we are on the ocean and the sun rises earlier for us now than when we were back in Vale up in the mountains. Two, we are farther East than where Vale is, and we are heading East as well, making the hour of sunrise earlier than usual."

"Oh," was Garet's only response.

"How do you know the sun is rising now, anyway?" Ivan asked curiously. "It does not look like you have gone up on deck yet."

"Sixth sense," Garet said with a shrug. "Today is going to be a great day. The sun is rising and it will be a sunny day!"

"Right, and predicting the weather is your seventh sense," Isaac said good-naturedly as he pulled his blue shirt over his tunic.

"Of course it is! Nothing can go wrong today!"

* * *

"Morning, Mia!" Garet called cheerfully as he stepped onto the deck.

Blue green hair, shining from the rising sun, flew as Mia turned in surprise. "Garet, you are awake early this morning."

"Anything unusual?" Garet asked, as he purposely ignored the significant looks Isaac and Ivan threw at him.

"No, not really," Mia said with a sigh. "It is still the same as before."

"How strange," Ivan said as he walked to the side of the ship. "The sea must be a lot larger than I thought. If I did not know any better, I would have thought that we have not moved any further since last night."

Isaac saw what Ivan meant because the scenery around them had not changed in the slightest bit. The sea still seemed to stretch all around their ship endlessly. He could still feel the gentle rise and fall beneath his feet as the same gentle waves lapped against the ship. The slight breeze continued to swirl around him, teasing his hair. The only difference now was that it was morning. The sun was rising from the horizon, chasing the shadows away. Yet, the rising of a new morning did not seem to shine upon any land, especially one called Lemuria.

"I do not believe this!" Garet began to whine. "Are you sure we moved at all since last night? Everything looks exactly the same!"

"Well, the sea is a large body of water. If we did not see miles of water around us, I would be worried," Mia said.

"But nothing changed at all-not the wind nor the waves," Garet replied. 

"There is nothing we can do about it," Isaac sighed. "We can only keep on sailing east and look for the large area of mist that we saw from the lighthouse."

"I guess so," Garet grumbled. "I want to eat. What's for breakfast?"

"Garet, all you ever think about is your stomach," Mia pointed out.

"That is not true, Mia! Stop picking on me," Garet complained.

* * *

"So bored," Garet said monotonously as he sprawled on the ship's deck.

"Stop saying that. You have already said that fifty-one times," Ivan pointed out.

"You actually kept track?" Garet said incredulously. "You must be more bored than I am."

"Yes, I am- Wait, that was not the point, Garet!"

"Garet, go do something if you are so bored," Mia commanded from the wheel.

"Like what? There is nothing to do. I am so bored."

"Fifty-two times. You know, you remind me of Hammet's guards," Ivan chuckled. "Kalay used to rarely be troubled so they never have much to do. They pass the time by whining and gambling."

"That is it!" Garet exclaimed.

"What is?"

"We can gamble!"

"Have you lost your mind?" Isaac called.

Garet glanced up to see Isaac sitting atop the cabin roof, legs dangling over the edge. "Why not?"

"What are you going to gamble with?"

"I have dice," Ivan provided helpfully.

"You do? Why would you have dice?" Mia asked.

"No reason…"

"You probably gambled with the guards," Isaac suggested.

Ivan wrinkled his nose as he reached into his pack for two pairs of dice. "And I thought I was the psychic one in this group."

"That is to get you back for all the times you announced my private thoughts to the world," Isaac retorted.

Ivan huffed as he handed the dices to Garet. "The dice are loaded, Garet. They activate with a little Psynergy. Just a little will do. Then they will all land with the 6s facing up."

"Yes! Dice! Let us play the High-Low game," Garet said eagerly as he grabbed the dice. "Get ready to lose, guys, because I am feeling lucky today!"

* * *

"That is not probable!" Isaac exclaimed as Garet won for the seventh time straight. "You rolled 23! What were the chances that you would roll a 24 right after that?? That is one out of a million. The dice must be loaded!"
"These are Ivan's dice. How could I cheat? And Ivan's not even playing anymore."

"You are cheating, somehow!"

Ivan could only smile as he watched Isaac and Garet start arguing over the dice as Mia tried to calm them down. He climbed the ladder placed next to the cabin wall up to the cabin's roof. He enjoyed coming up onto the roof because he could sit in solitude as he watched the waves and felt the sea breeze. As he laid down on his back to look up into the clear blue sky, he could not help but wonder over what Garet had pointed out earlier in the morning.

It was strange that nothing seemed to have changed. After all this time of traveling with Mia, he knew perfectly well how easily and quickly the water could change from gentle to rough. These constant calm waves were disturbing to his nerves, but maybe he did not know enough about the sea to make a proper judgment. Maybe there was nothing unusual about experiencing only small gentle waves. Had he become so used to the constant activity and excitement of traveling and fighting that he could not stand some peace and quiet?

Ivan…

"Hmm?"

Ivan…

"Who is calling me?" Ivan asked as he sat up.

"Ivan, is something wrong?" Isaac called as he climbed up the ladder. "No one is calling you."

'No one is calling me?' Ivan thought to himself. 'Then…who was calling my name?'

"Are you okay?" Isaac asked, looking a little concerned. "You look a little worried."

"I am fine. I guess this silence is causing me to hear things," Ivan said with a small laugh.

Isaac looked at the small boy who had now wrapped his arms around his legs. His purple eyes still looked disturbed, but he knew better than to push Ivan. "All right, then. If you ever need to talk, I will always be there to listen," he told the wind mage with a smile as he started down.

"Thanks, Isaac, but I am fine," Ivan insisted a little more firmly, driving all thoughts about the mysterious voice out of his head. He must have imagined it; that was the only explanation. He was about to head down as well when something stopped him.

Watery reflections, round and round you go. Are you sailing straight, hee, what do you know? Your mind can play with your eyes and we can play with your mind. A puppet on strings, we can pull you down. Join us in our grave, as you sink and drown.

"What!?" Ivan panicked.

"Ivan?" Garet called from below.

"Watery reflections, round and round we go. Are we sailing straight, but what do we know? Our minds can play with our eyes and you can play with our minds. A puppet on strings, you can pull us down. Join you in your grave, as we sink and drown," Ivan muttered frantically.

"Ivan, are you sure you are feeling okay?" Mia asked in concern.

"Watery reflections, round and round we go. Are we sailing straight, but what do we know?"

"Ivan, what are you talking about?" Garet said, frustrated.

"Round and round we go. Round and round we go."

"Ivan!" Isaac cried as he climbed back up the ladder again. However, when he reached the top of the roof, he was shocked. The normally bright violet eyes were clouded over and were glowing eerily, as Ivan's hands clutched his hair, shaking his head. He still was muttering continuously about going around and around and the puppet on a string. This was not the Ivan he knew. What was going on?

"Ivan, snap out of it!" Isaac said as he shook Ivan by his shoulders. "Hey, what is wrong?"

"Watery reflections, round and round you go. Are you sailing straight, hee, what do you know?" Ivan laughed. His normal soft voice had changed to a high-pitched girl's voice as he continued to laugh hysterically. "Join us in our grave, as you sink and drown!"

"Ivan!" Isaac said in a panicky voice. This had never happened before. Was Ivan possessed?

"Ivan, what is wrong?" Mia called.

"I do not know what is wrong with him," Isaac said. "He, he keeps repeating this thing about going around and around and being puppets on a string. Ivan, snap out of it!"

Suddenly, Ivan's eyes returned to their normal bright color as they became focused again. Ivan's eyes darted from side to side, frightened, until he noticed that Isaac standing before him, hands on his shoulders. "Isaac, what happened?"

Isaac sighed with relief as he removed his hands from Ivan's shoulders. "Thank goodness."

"Isaac? Ivan?" Mia said softly as her head poked up to see the two blond boys sitting in front of her. She joined them and was relieved to see that Ivan appeared to have returned to normal. "What happened?"
"I, I do not know," Ivan began. "I heard a voice in my head, saying something about going round and round…"

"And being puppets on strings being dragged down as we sink and drown?" Garet asked as he also climbed up to join them.

"Yes, but how did you know?" Ivan asked, surprised.

"You were reciting it out loud to us over and over again," Isaac told him.

"'Watery reflections,'" Mia began.

"'…Round and round you go. Are you sailing straight,'" Garet continued.

"'…But what do you know? Your mind controls your eyes and we control your mind. A puppet on strings,'" Isaac started.

"'…We can pull you down. Join us in our grave, as you sink and drown,'" Ivan finished. "That was what…the voice said to me.

"As threatening as it may sound, it also sounds…somewhat like a warning. Do you not think so?" Mia asked.

"Our mind controls our eyes, and they control our mind…" Ivan repeated again.

"It kind of reminds me of what my sister once told me," Garet brought up. "She told me that if you really wanted to see something, and your mind was so focused on seeing it, then your eyes will deceive you and you will start seeing it when, in reality, it's not really there."

"I bet she told you that when you thought the grass was really food," Isaac laughed.

"Shut up, Isaac! I was only six," Garet said, turning slightly red.

"Deceiving… That's it!" Ivan suddenly exclaimed.

"What? What are you talking about?" Garet asked.

"Do you not see it? Or actually, you do see it!" Ivan said, excited.

"You're doing it again, Ivan. You are not making sense!" Garet complained.

"This is an illusion! We are being deceived!" Ivan started to stand up and look frantically around him.

"But would there not be a source of the illusion?" Isaac asked, puzzled. "Before, the illusions appeared as rocks."

"Watery reflections… When you glance into the water, you will see your reflection. It looks like a real person, but it is not!" Ivan exclaimed as he started to hurry down the ladders. "Why did I not realize it earlier? Water is known to change; yet so far, the Eastern Sea water has been a constant calm with small gentle waves. The water is the source of the illusion."

He rushed over to the side of the ship, peering over to look into the water. Another Ivan appeared into the water, peering over the same image of the ship. Or was it? For a fleeting second, it looked as if his reflection gave him a slight wink.

"How could that be?" Mia questioned out loud from behind him.

"It makes sense, though. Maybe that is why no ship has ever been able to find its way to Lemuria. The ship must have been caught in an illusion, but unaware of it, thinking it continues to sail east while it is really sailing in circles," Isaac said.

Ivan had already begun to feel the electric tingle of his Psynergy coursing through his body as it raced to his fingertips. He closed his eyes as he raised his arms, focusing the Psynergy to dispel the illusion. "REVEAL!" Yet, after the word left his lips, he was hesitant to open his eyes. This was all a wild assumption; he had no idea whether he was right or not. 'I hope… I hope that I am right…'

"Ivan, look ahead!" Mia suddenly called.

Ivan's eyes popped open as he looked up to see an ominous sign. Without a moment's warning, dark storm clouds had crowded the blue sky of morning, hastily rumbling towards him and his friends. As if it was declaring war, the storm clouds roared as they raced across the sky, pounding on war drums. Rain began to shoot towards them, shot from the dark bows, as spears of lightening were hurled downwards. The sea began to wail along with the thunder that echoed through the raven sky, tossing the ship as she reached up towards the sky.

"Garet, I thought you said it was going to be sunny today!" Ivan said.

"Well, I thought it was!" Garet replied. "I do not know. I was just making that up!"

"Mia!" Isaac yelled, ignoring Ivan and Garet as he took command. "Take the wheel!"

Mia nodded as she promptly slid down the ladder and rushed towards the wheel at the front of the ship.

"Garet, make sure everything is secured. Ivan! Try to use your Mind Read to sense for living creatures and find land. We have to anchor this ship and wait out the storm."

"What are you going to do, Isaac?" Garet called out as he climbed down the ladder.

"I am climbing up to the observation deck and see if I can see anything."

"What?" Mia cried incredulously. "The railings up there are not that high. In this wind and with these waves, you will get knocked off of that small platform! Do not be foolish! We have not seen any sign of land all day. Through this rain and darkness, what could you expect to find?"
"I still have to go up there," Isaac insisted, "because I still have to try."

"Isaac-"

"Just leave me be!" Isaac shouted angrily.

"Fine then! Sorry for worrying about you, Isaac!" Mia shouted as she turned around. Why does Isaac not listen to her reasons? She was hurt that he would ignore her like that. Did he not trust her? "Isaac…" she whispered, her voice lost amidst the war cries of the sea.

Isaac groaned to himself as he looked around him atop on the observation deck. Mia was right, and he knew it. 'You shouldn't have yelled at her,' his conscience reprimanded him. 'I will make it up to her after we get out of this mess…'

"Isaac, I feel some very faint traces of human thoughts on the port side!" Ivan called as he pointed to the left. "We should head in that direction."

"Excellent!" Isaac called back, getting ready to climb back down.

Just then, an enormous wave crashed against the ship, causing her to shudder. The wooden platform beneath Isaac's feet groaned and swayed. The floor, already slick from the rain, caused his feet to accidentally slip. The railing served as little barrier as he felt himself being thrown over. Desperately trying to catch hold of the railing, his hands slipped.

"Isaac!" Garet called in alarm.

Mia turned when she heard Garet's cry to see Isaac falling. "Isaac!" she screamed.

"Mia, I have a plan! But we have to act quickly!" Ivan's voice called to her through her mind. She listened to his plan and quickly nodded.

"WHIRLWIND!" Ivan called.

"DOUSE!" Mia shouted simultaneously.

The whirlwind that Ivan had created began to mix with the water that Mia had called on, creating a water funnel. The giant column of wind and water moved towards Isaac, catching him as he fell.

Isaac was surprised that he did not crash onto the ship's deck, and saw that he was on top of a spiraling water whirlwind. Ivan and Mia must have quickly worked together to prevent his fall. He quickly leaped to the ladder of the platform that was nearby and looked down to see his friends gathered around.

"Are you all right?" Garet shouted.

Isaac nodded silently as he looked into Mia's eyes. Her blue eyes looked so relieved and radiated with a soft happiness that touched him. Did he cause her to worry so badly? He wanted to call out to her, to apologize for being such a fool when another enormous crash hit the ship. He watched in horror as Mia, who had let her guard down when she noticed that Isaac was safe, stumbled backwards, crashing into the rails. A pair of watery hands seemed to have risen from the sea, reaching out towards her.

"Mia!" Isaac cried in alarm.

Mia turned her head and tried to move, but was caught within the phantom hands.

"What the-" Garet stuttered as he turned around. "Mia!"

For a moment, Mia was suspended in the air, trapped by a pair of mysterious hands, when suddenly she disappeared as the hands dragged her into the water.

"MIA!!" Isaac screamed, and for a split moment, the storm was silent. In a flash, however, the storm continued to wail and scream, drowning out the cries of the anguished Venus Adept.

~To be continued in Chapter 2 -OVERBOARD