Disclaimer: To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written solely for entertainment.

"The rolling mist came down and hid the land: And never home came she."- Charles Kingsley

Chapter 5. MIST

…Red sky at night, sailor's delight…

Mia's words from earlier seemed to hang in the air.

… Red sky at morning, sailor takes warning…

The ominous words of an ancient sailor's proverb hung in the air.

…Will you heed the warning?

Mia once again was the one who took the wheel and greeted the rising sun. The sun's fiery red light lit the sky, giving it a pink glow. The silver sea reflected an image that mirrored the dawning sun, making the sun look like a giant fireball that was bursting out of the water. Or like blood that was bursting out of a body. Mia shivered at the thought and struggled to remember something her grandfather once told her, but could not remember exactly what.

"Are you cold?" a voice asked her kindly as something warm and heavy was placed around her shoulders.

Mia tilted her head back to see Isaac standing behind her, wrapping her in a plaid blanket.

"You are up early," Mia teased. "Did Garet wake you guys up again?"

"No," Isaac smiled. "Ivan wanted to sleep in today, so he made sure to cast Sleep several times on Garet last night."

Mia chuckled, her earlier worries pushed aside. A nagging voice in the back of her head continued to bother her, but she ignored the voice for now. "And why are you up, Isaac?"

"Hmm," Isaac pretended to ponder. "I was wondering if maybe one of our lovely Adepts was lonely and wanted company."

"Why how thoughtful of you," Mia played along. "Just who could this Adept be?"

"Well, how about you?"

"Mmm, I would love to have some company."

The two Adepts smiled shyly, standing around awkwardly.

"Argh, what is this?" a voice yawned from behind them.

Isaac and Mia turned around to see Ivan staggering onto the deck.

"Ivan! Why are you up?" Isaac asked in surprise. "I thought you wanted to sleep in."

"I did, but I was bombarded with a sickening sweet feeling."

Both Isaac and Mia blushed as Ivan yawned again, covering his smile. 'Isaac and Mia are some much fun to tease.'

"Sorry, Ivan," Mia had begun to apologize. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"

"I can't fall asleep again, so I might as well stay up," Ivan said. "Remind me to wake Garet up later. I think I cast one too many Sleep; Garet is sleeping like a rock. By the way, Mia, any idea of how much longer it'll take before we reach Lemuria?"

Mia shook her head. "No, although I feel that we are close."

 "We must be pretty close if the mist is already rolling in."

A huge expanse of nearly opaque mist hung thickly before them, hiding any signs of an island, lest of all a civilization, that existed in the center. The temperature of the air had dropped. An occasional wetness could be felt. Mia bit her lower lip as she tried to recall something that had been bothering her. She absent-mindedly ran her fingers through her head and wrinkled her forehead.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" Mia looked up to see that Isaac had been gently shaking her shoulders. "No, nothing is wrong."

"You do know that if something is wrong you should let us know. By now, if any of us feel something is awry, it is usually true."

"It's nothing," Mia dismissed with a wave of the head. "My head has just been feeling a little foggy."

Ivan laughed. "That's quite funny that your head is feeling foggy and we're sailing through a mist."

Mia shot Ivan a look that showed clearly how funny she thought the situation was.

"Maybe it isn't just a coincidence," Isaac said.

"It's really nothing. Don't fuss over it, Isaac."

Mia watched Isaac nod before leaving with Ivan to check the supplies and to… What was that thing she needed to remind Ivan? There was something else that she was supposed to remember, too. She was never the forgetful type. 'It must have been the lack of sleep,' she reasoned to herself. She had been staying up late and getting up early each day to navigate the ship. It was only logical that her head felt fuzzy. It was nothing to concern Isaac about. Nothing.

A glance around the empty deck reminded Mia that she was alone at the moment, alone in the chilling mist. The blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders had fallen for a while, but when a chilly breeze blew by she bent down to wrap the blanket once more around her shoulders. Her legs were tired from standing nearly all night and gave out as she sank to the deck. With the blanket wrapped around her tight and her aching legs rested, she felt so comfortable that she wanted to fall asleep on the spot.

'But I can't,' Mia chided herself. 'I have to… Why is my head so foggy? I just want to sleep.'

She only wanted to stretch out for a second, so she allowed herself to lie onto the deck. She almost sat up again when her cheek came in contact with the damp cool deck, but she settled back as she rested her face against her hands. Her eyelids droop downwards, only for a minute to rest her eyes. Yet it was so comfortable to just settle in and keep her eyes closed. Just a few more minutes and she would get up, a few more minutes.

"Mia, wake up," Isaac said as he shook Mia frantically.

"Maybe we should let her rest," Ivan said with a yawn as he plopped onto the deck. "She had been up for most of the night."

"Yes, but suddenly falling asleep like this is unusual," Isaac said worriedly.

"I can understand, though," Ivan said with another yawn. "I feel awfully tired, too."

Unable to help it, Isaac let out a yawn as well. "I do too. But we can't sleep now. This isn't the time."

Ivan had already sprawled out on the deck, eyes fluttering rapidly. "I just can't stay awake. I'm so tired."

"No, I can't sleep," said Isaac as he gently slapped his face several times. Each time, however, his sleepiness just increased several folds. His head felt too heavy, and it was easier to give in and nestle his head into his folded arms. His consciousness soon subsided as he fell into a deep sleep.

***

"Ivan!" Garet roared as he stomped up the steps toward the deck. "Who said you could cast Sleep on me like that? How could you all let me sleep in like that? Granted, I did like the extra sleep…"

He pursed his lips as he opened the cabin door, prepared to whine some more when he noticed the slight chill. He thought nothing of it as he opened the door and stepped onto the deck. Within a blink, his visibility was almost nothing as he was plunged into the midst of heavy mist.

"Wow, we must be really close to Lemuria! How could you guys not wake me up?" Garet said with a pout.

However, he received neither reply nor recognition. "Isaac? Ivan? Mia? You guys, this isn't funny. If you're mad that I slept in, it's all Ivan's fault! Honest!"

Garet frowned as he blindly waded through the mist. The mist was so thick he could stick out his tongue and taste a near solid mass. His hands groped widely ahead of him as he tried to make his way to the side of the ship.

Upon reaching the railing, he narrowed his eyes into small slits as he tried to see something. Yet, his burst of energy felt drained and he was already weary. He knew that oversleeping would make him feel tired upon waking, but he had the strange sensation that he had been thrust into a similar situation before. Back in the very early days of their quest when his life was almost in danger, he had been similarly drained of his strength. Unconsciously he sank to his knees, but before he drifted off he saw a shield come up. Just like that time… back in Kolima Forest!

Garet bolted up as he glanced around him, using Flare to temporarily illuminate the area. Where were the others? He noticed that Mia, Isaac, and Ivan were closely sprawled together by the wheel as he rushed over to check on them. Upon approaching them, he sighed with relief as he saw their shields up as well.

"You guys, are you okay?" he said softly, waiting for them to stir. He glanced ahead and paled. "Umh, although I'm sure that you guys deserve more sleep than I do right now… I'm sure you all planned to eventually wake up. So, unless you guys want to permanently rest in peace, can you guys please wake up soon?"

"Hmm?" Ivan muttered groggily as he sat up. "What are you yapping about Garet? I thought I used Sleep on you to keep you from waking us up too early."

"Good morning to you too. In case you wanted to know, we're about to crash into rocks and settle into our watery graves."

"What are you talking about Garet?" Isaac said as he looked around him, noting the dark outline of jagged rocks. "Mia, Mia wake up and turn the ship! Turn the ship!"

Mia sat up and by instinct started grabbing the wheel. She turned the wheel sharply to her left as the Adepts all held their breaths. Fortunately, they had managed to pull into a huge opening, avoiding the collision. "That's what it was!"

"What is?" Ivan asked.

"That is what I was trying to remember. There is an ancient sailor's proverb-red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor takes warning. I suspected that there was something strange going on. The mist tries to lure us to sleep, causing the ship to eventually sail pass this area or crash into the rocks. We were lucky that Garet woke us in time and that there was this opening."

The opening, however, turned out to be more than an indentation among the rocky formation. It led the Adepts into a huge area that was free from mist but was filled with rapid currents, whirlpools, jagged rocks, and volcanoes.

"Lemuria must be at the end of all this," Garet said.

"Only problem is how to reach the end of all this," Ivan replied.

"It shouldn't be too hard."

If only everything that should would happen. After much whirling and after being swept back into the sea, the Adepts realized just how hard the task was.

"It doesn't make any sense," Isaac groaned.

They had already attempted the watery puzzle several times, as well as sailing all around the surrounding rocky border. There was just no way in. The ship was now idly drifting along the rocky border as the Adepts pondered the situation they were in.

"I don't see any way in," Mia said. "We have already tried it several times. Nothing worked, not even Psynergy."

"And I don't know how much longer I could keep this shield up," Garet grumbled. "Maybe we should give up for now."

"You should never give up," the female voice chided.

"But you already said that you don't see any way in."

"Garet, I wasn't the one talking," Mia quietly told the Mars Adept.

"Isaac, when did your voice started sounding like a girl's?"

Isaac smacked Garet across the head.

"OW!"

"Garet, she was the one talking to us."

Garet turned to look in the direction Isaac was pointing to see a woman hovering by the ship.

"Is she… flying?"

Ivan shook his head. "Garet, look closely. She's being held up by water. She's just like…"

Just like Mia. Ivan didn't need to say it as the rest of the Adepts had already noticed the resemblance. Besides using Mercury Psynergy, the woman had bluish long hair with slight silver streaks and deep blue eyes that held a glint of silver that twinkled like a piece of foil caught in sunlight. "Did you want to reach Lemuria? There is an easy way there, but you'll have to come along with me. My name is Lynn."

Garet scowled. "Isaac, this is very suspicious. What if this woman is an illusion or some trap set up by the Lemurians? Remember, Picard warned us that looks can be deceiving."

"Picard?" the woman beamed happily. "You have met my son? Is he well?"

"Your… son?" Ivan repeated slowly. "Picard is your son?"

"He left a few days ago for Champa and hasn't returned yet. I hope he comes back soon."

"What do you think, Ivan?" Isaac asked.

"Well, she does not seem to be lying. We also don't have too many other choices."

"I say we follow her," Mia added.

"All right, Lynn. You said that you could take us to Lemuria, right?"

"Of course. You'll want to hurry because the mist will slowly wear away your shields."

"Wait, how are we going to get there?" Mia asked. "Lemuria must be within this rock border, but we couldn't navigate through the whirlpools and currents."

Lynn shrugged. "I don't know how to go through that way either. I never left Lemuria."

"Wait, if you never left Lemuria, how can you be right here before us?" Garet asked, confused.

A peal of tinkling laughter filled the air as Lynn smiled. "That is because I'm not physically here." She reached out to grab Isaac and Ivan and motioned to Garet and Mia to grab on. In a shimmer of lights, the Adepts disappeared from the misty border and reappeared in the middle of a green plaza.

"Welcome to Lemuria!"

~To be continued in Chapter 6-LEMURIA

A/N I don't think we ever learned Picard's mother's name, so I just used Lynn. She's not my character-I just named her and gave her a personality.