Parallels
Chapter 19
Pulling the blankets closer to her body, Mia silently cursed the freezing tempatures of Prox. Being on the run and moving randomly throughout the world had caused her to adapt to more temporate and warmer weather, and though they had prepared for this trip, they were still nowhere near ready.
But they didn't have a choice; they had to go on, or face defeat.
At least, that was what she had told the collection of Adepts and non-Adepts alike that formed their small party to try to bring Prox into the conflict. And for the last two hours, she had been whispering to herself that they had no choice but to go on. Sadly, she felt as though she would be unable to even carry out her own orders.
The only thing that kept her going, and a sizable chunk of their team as well, was Felix. While it puzzled her as to why he was suddenly becoming intelligent and knowlegable, he seemed to have an aura about him, one that most Venusains seemd to naturally emit. Perhapse it was some kind of natual leadership, or some form of involentary, instinctive reaction to a crisis. Whatever it was, seeing that man with dark and blue streeked hair walking onwards, without any sort of additional warmth no less, was inspiring.
This very fact worried Mia greatly. Not only was Felix suddenly able to function on his own without cowering whenever she spoke, but he seemed more mature, more able, more willing.
More like the Felix she had loved and lost a year ago.
Glancing around at the frozen waste land, she noted the sheer walls of hills and cliffs surrounding them. Most were simple hills that had mounds of snow for peaks, while others were high cliffs, most of which went as high as the sky, or so it seemed. The only two colors she observed were white and brown, though there was some plants of varying color here and there. Strait ahead, the outline of the city was quite visable, though there was something wrong.
What it was, Mia could not say, but something felt...odd. Snow seemed to be blowing strait down onto the city in odd patterns, with tongues of flames licking at them. Knowing Prox, it was possible that it was some form of special ceremony, or ritual. If it was, their chances of getting Prox to aid them were all but zilch, as the Proxian Council never met three weeks after a traditional ritual or ceremony.
Nearing the village, she noted why her instincts were telling her that something was amiss - the snow that she saw was not snow, but smoke. And the fire was not ritual fires, but psynergetic in origin.
Something was attacking Prox.
Despite the cold, despite the freezing temperatures gnawing at her neck, she shucked the sheets, racing forward to see what could be done to assist the city. As she passed Felix, she was shocked to find that he was jogging until she caught up, matching her faster pace as she continued to run. What in the name of Mercury was he doing? Why wait for her, when he could already be at the center of the fight? What was he doing?
Glancing at the throngs behind them, she noted that they were suddenly running, many of which had shucked their own blankets, leaving them in the cold, to try to keep up with her. Or was it Felix that was their leader now? She could not tell for certain, this new question, but she knew that it could wait until they could figure out why Felix had changed so...
She kept running, but almost stopped to a halt when they neared the city's plaza. All around were buildings of various size and shape, many of which were built after Babi and his men had passed through and trashed the then-village. Half of the buildings were in shambles, others partially burning. All around the plaza were warriors, civilians, and kids, all watching a towering, blue-skinned warrior with tall, turqoise hair unleashing round after round of psynergy. What was Saturos figh...
It was then that Mia noted the thing that was causing the problems. Coming to a hault, Mia stared at the thing. Whatever it was, it made the gigantic Martian look quite small. Completely made of fluids and water (and held together by who knew what), the thing towered over some of the smaller buildings around the city, with large, stubby legs of water. The legs ran up to a large sphere, completely transparent, with no features other than two appendages that formed into arms.
Stopping at the outskirts of the fight, Mia watched as Saturos summoned a head-sized ball of magma, hurling the sphere towards the towering water behemoth. Air and reality seemed to warp around the ball, showing that Saturos was using everything he had to send the sphere at the creature. Why would he have to do so?
She then saw why. The belly (or was it the BODY?) almost bounced the shot right off, and seemed barely phased by the attack. For reasons unknown, the monster simply stood in place, almost mocking the city's sole defender. Watching Saturos, she noted that he was looking towards a small group of Proxians laying down.
Her eyes widened as she noted Karst, Agatio, and a few other Proxians of notable combat status, all unconcious or dead. She wanted to run over, to see if she could heal them, but a hand grabbed hers, giving her a warm squeeze. Glancing, she stared at Felix.
His eyes stared directly at the beast, almost as though he was looking past the beast. Or was he looking INTO it? Whatever his eyes were seeking, they conveyed the feeling of a decision.
Mia realized just what he had planned as he took off at a run.
She tried to yell, to call him back, but her pleas were drowned out by a loud thrumming. Or was it a wail? Whatever it was, the noise was almost that of a massive sea mammal when singing beneath the waves. Following the source of the noise was quite easy - the beast radiated the sound from almost its entire being.
Watching Felix bolt towards Saturos, she watched as he slowed down, hands raised up in the shape of a V pattern. To her shock, a mild glow encased his being, giving him a brilliant yellow aura.
It was the first time he had shown signs of psynergy.
Trying to stay focused on him, she found it difficult to concentrate. For some reason, a faint cloud of dirt, dust, debris, and snow began to swirl around the monster at impossible speeds. At equally impossible speeds the cloud grew, becoming denser with each moment.
Glancing towards Saturos, she noted the look of shock on his face as he turned to face Felix. Though it was obvious (even from a distance!) that he was glad to see help, he obviously didn't expect to see a person that looked like one of the two outsiders that had bested him.
Glancing back at the beast, the cloud was close to solidifying. For whatever reason, the creature had not mooved since Felix began his attack, and Mia began to worry that it was preparing to lash out. The next thing that happened, though, ended that train of thought.
From the sphere surrounding the creature, thousands of thousands of little vines grew, each one weaving through the sphere to wrap around others. Soon thousands of thousands became hundreds of millions, as the sphere became a solid shell of plant and earth.
Cheers from the throngs of villagers and her own team were heard, shouting various praises and victory chants. Mia slowly walked forward, eventually standing next to Felix. He had lowered his arms, staring directly towards the massive shell he had created. Glancing at him, she noted that he was almost exhausted, though she only knew this from his face.
It dawned on her that he was going to extreme lenghts to ensure that the morale was high, that she and the Resistance had enough spirit to keep going. But why did he do this? What did he have to gain from this?
Approaching footsteps broke her train of thought, and glancing upward alowed her to stare at the tall Proxian "rogue" warrior. Saturos looked even worse than Felix, small breaks in the skin allowing blood to seep out, while bruises from the creature and blisters from his attacks coated what skin the ratted clothes did not hide.
"What is your name?"
Blinking, Mia recalled that these were actually the first words that Saturos had uttered when she first met him, back when the Felix she knew had bested Saturos and Agatio, along with Isaac.
"Felix."
If Saturos was shocked at this, he didn't show it. Nor did he show puzzlement. Whatever reactions he was having from the news, he beamed the same aura she had seen him present to the other Felix years ago - sheer admiration.
This Felix had bested a beast all of Prox could not beat - single handedly even! Only a few could even come close to that in the world, and most of those few had been slain at one point or another by Isaac and the Regime.
Gesturing towards the wounded Proxians, Saturos's voice rumbled slightly. "Mia, Felix, if you will follow me? Once the council is healed, we will convene a session for you."
Deciding to not mention that, officially, he was no longer associated with anything the Council did, Mia followed Saturos and Felix, suddenly full of hope that they just might defeat the Regime.
Deep within the lower chambers of Isaac's palace, Garet squirmed. It always disturbed him to be within this room, as the place seemed to be filled with a stench. Not one of death, decay, or blood, but of...something. Some said it was the smell of dead brains, or souless bodies.
When it came to Hamma, Garet preferred to not know. Most people that knew Hamma well did not last long.
Staring at the figure sitting in the center of the room, he watched as she ran one hand over her long, lavender hair, the other down her legs. While some usually found this to be quite disturbing, Garet had seen her in far worse positions. Namely, when she "ate" the "souls" from her victims.
And unless Garet was able to get that younger Hamma soon, he would be in the very position that anyone dreaded when near this woman.
A piercing scream reverberated around the room, and Garet stared at Hamma, watched as her eyes opened wide, her chest rising and falling fast and hard, matching her breathing. Her hands seemed to reach out, trying to grap something in the air, but failing. One hand suddenly went to her stomach, while the other glowed a dark shade of purple.
Some wondered just how Hamma fueled her odd and disturbing powers. Some said that she used the minds of those that she drained. Others claimed that she used the life energy of some child in her womb that she kept in the fetus stage indefinitely. Still others claimed that she "pleasured herself" to attain her abilities.
Given what he had seen the past four months, Garet was betting on the latter.
Watching her, he noted the glow fade, noted the hands move from their positions. She pulled her legs to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. It was almost as if she was terrified at something. But what could terrify the omnipotent Hamma?
"The council is ill," said a a breathless voice, though even through the hard breaths, it was still seductive in a way. "But Mia has a warrior who entrapped Picard, cutting off my contact. I tried to connect with this...warrior, but his mind attacked me."
Frowning, Garet stared into the eyes starind at him. This duplicate of Felix had already proven to be annoying and untouchable, but if he had caused Hamma trouble, there was little they could do against him.
Unless they went after Mia.
"Hamma, would you cause Mia to do some damage?"
The woman blinked, "I could, but it would cost a few people. And you know I want that girl you told me of. I wish to meet her, to see what she is like."
Garet privately wondered if Hamma wanted more than that. If his ears were good, this other Hamma was more powerful than that idiot of a mage. If this were the case, then Hamma might actually try to tame her, for use as some kind of puppet.
Whatever the outcome of THAT would be, Garet didn't care. But he knew that Ivan would probably be devestated if his new "toy" would become his sister's plaything.
"I will bring you more, and I will bring her. I will bring her first, though, if you cause Mia to...fall from grace."
Hamma tilted her head, a mindless grin on her face. Staring in curiosity, Garet found that he could not move as the woman neared him, pressing her figure against his. "Garet, Garet, Garet. Do you know that what you ask is quite costly? To do it now would require some..." She licked his face, almost..thinking on what she tasted. "...compensation. I would hope you do bring me someone soon, as I would hate to," she nibbled on his chin, much to hsi displeasure, "taste your mind."
She backed away, moving back to her chair. To his shock, Garet found himself walking towards her, kneeling at her feet. Against his wishes, his lips kissed her shoes while a light chuckle was heard above. Having been in this situation before, Garet knew all too well that Hamma did this simply to prove that she was superior to him, to show that he was insignificant compared to her.
Garet normally would kill at this sort of action. But given that she was useful, he tolerated it. He didn't like it, but he put up with it, hoping that he would not soon be dependent on it any longer.
Awakening in his private quarters, Ivan surveyed the room. In a matter of hours, he would be warping to the Proxian Council with the young girl to meet with Agatio and Karst, to give them strategic data to destroy the Regime. Though it pained him to turn on his best (if not closest) friend, he had no choice - Isaac's Regime was becoming too dangerous to maintain.
Moving out of the chair, he glanced towards the bed where Hamma had used for the last few nights.
Only she was not there. In fact, it was almost as though she had been grabbed after putting up a stuggle. The sheets were in dissaray, scratch marks on the post were obvious, and a few dents in the floor. But why would he not be alerted to such an action?
Unless someone, somehow, sealed his senses off from the intrusion. And, with much worry, he realized just who could do such a thing:
His own sister.
Well, this could have gone a bit better. Hope I didn't offend anyone with this...
Review comments!
Zidanet - Is it? It's not supposed to... Thanks for the review!
TemplarofNi - Thanks!
Dragon asesino - Thanks!
wildcats1310 - Thanks!
Mare Serenitatis - Have you started any new fics lately? Anyway, I would comment on your theories, but doing so would spoil a lot. Suffice it to say this one word: Former. Thanks!
Forgotten Souls - Thanks for the long review! I believe I discussed most of your comments with you...
Smurf Cat - Thanks for the many reviews! Though I do wonder why the Backup review pages list you as Smurf Cat...
Freek - Thanks! And out of curiosity, why are you in Germany? Holiday? Family?
Pyro1588 - Thanks and thanks! And as far as Garet's fate, no comment...XD
Andrew - Thanks!
I will be trying to work on the next chapter or so in the coming weeks, but please bear with me - my schedule is quite hectic of late, and I lack the time I used to have with this story. Ahh, life is a cruel mistres...
Again, I hope I didn't offend anyone...
I DO NOT OWN GOLDEN SUN OR NINTENDO!!!
REVIEW TO SEE THIS CONTINUE!!!
Chapter 19
Pulling the blankets closer to her body, Mia silently cursed the freezing tempatures of Prox. Being on the run and moving randomly throughout the world had caused her to adapt to more temporate and warmer weather, and though they had prepared for this trip, they were still nowhere near ready.
But they didn't have a choice; they had to go on, or face defeat.
At least, that was what she had told the collection of Adepts and non-Adepts alike that formed their small party to try to bring Prox into the conflict. And for the last two hours, she had been whispering to herself that they had no choice but to go on. Sadly, she felt as though she would be unable to even carry out her own orders.
The only thing that kept her going, and a sizable chunk of their team as well, was Felix. While it puzzled her as to why he was suddenly becoming intelligent and knowlegable, he seemed to have an aura about him, one that most Venusains seemd to naturally emit. Perhapse it was some kind of natual leadership, or some form of involentary, instinctive reaction to a crisis. Whatever it was, seeing that man with dark and blue streeked hair walking onwards, without any sort of additional warmth no less, was inspiring.
This very fact worried Mia greatly. Not only was Felix suddenly able to function on his own without cowering whenever she spoke, but he seemed more mature, more able, more willing.
More like the Felix she had loved and lost a year ago.
Glancing around at the frozen waste land, she noted the sheer walls of hills and cliffs surrounding them. Most were simple hills that had mounds of snow for peaks, while others were high cliffs, most of which went as high as the sky, or so it seemed. The only two colors she observed were white and brown, though there was some plants of varying color here and there. Strait ahead, the outline of the city was quite visable, though there was something wrong.
What it was, Mia could not say, but something felt...odd. Snow seemed to be blowing strait down onto the city in odd patterns, with tongues of flames licking at them. Knowing Prox, it was possible that it was some form of special ceremony, or ritual. If it was, their chances of getting Prox to aid them were all but zilch, as the Proxian Council never met three weeks after a traditional ritual or ceremony.
Nearing the village, she noted why her instincts were telling her that something was amiss - the snow that she saw was not snow, but smoke. And the fire was not ritual fires, but psynergetic in origin.
Something was attacking Prox.
Despite the cold, despite the freezing temperatures gnawing at her neck, she shucked the sheets, racing forward to see what could be done to assist the city. As she passed Felix, she was shocked to find that he was jogging until she caught up, matching her faster pace as she continued to run. What in the name of Mercury was he doing? Why wait for her, when he could already be at the center of the fight? What was he doing?
Glancing at the throngs behind them, she noted that they were suddenly running, many of which had shucked their own blankets, leaving them in the cold, to try to keep up with her. Or was it Felix that was their leader now? She could not tell for certain, this new question, but she knew that it could wait until they could figure out why Felix had changed so...
She kept running, but almost stopped to a halt when they neared the city's plaza. All around were buildings of various size and shape, many of which were built after Babi and his men had passed through and trashed the then-village. Half of the buildings were in shambles, others partially burning. All around the plaza were warriors, civilians, and kids, all watching a towering, blue-skinned warrior with tall, turqoise hair unleashing round after round of psynergy. What was Saturos figh...
It was then that Mia noted the thing that was causing the problems. Coming to a hault, Mia stared at the thing. Whatever it was, it made the gigantic Martian look quite small. Completely made of fluids and water (and held together by who knew what), the thing towered over some of the smaller buildings around the city, with large, stubby legs of water. The legs ran up to a large sphere, completely transparent, with no features other than two appendages that formed into arms.
Stopping at the outskirts of the fight, Mia watched as Saturos summoned a head-sized ball of magma, hurling the sphere towards the towering water behemoth. Air and reality seemed to warp around the ball, showing that Saturos was using everything he had to send the sphere at the creature. Why would he have to do so?
She then saw why. The belly (or was it the BODY?) almost bounced the shot right off, and seemed barely phased by the attack. For reasons unknown, the monster simply stood in place, almost mocking the city's sole defender. Watching Saturos, she noted that he was looking towards a small group of Proxians laying down.
Her eyes widened as she noted Karst, Agatio, and a few other Proxians of notable combat status, all unconcious or dead. She wanted to run over, to see if she could heal them, but a hand grabbed hers, giving her a warm squeeze. Glancing, she stared at Felix.
His eyes stared directly at the beast, almost as though he was looking past the beast. Or was he looking INTO it? Whatever his eyes were seeking, they conveyed the feeling of a decision.
Mia realized just what he had planned as he took off at a run.
She tried to yell, to call him back, but her pleas were drowned out by a loud thrumming. Or was it a wail? Whatever it was, the noise was almost that of a massive sea mammal when singing beneath the waves. Following the source of the noise was quite easy - the beast radiated the sound from almost its entire being.
Watching Felix bolt towards Saturos, she watched as he slowed down, hands raised up in the shape of a V pattern. To her shock, a mild glow encased his being, giving him a brilliant yellow aura.
It was the first time he had shown signs of psynergy.
Trying to stay focused on him, she found it difficult to concentrate. For some reason, a faint cloud of dirt, dust, debris, and snow began to swirl around the monster at impossible speeds. At equally impossible speeds the cloud grew, becoming denser with each moment.
Glancing towards Saturos, she noted the look of shock on his face as he turned to face Felix. Though it was obvious (even from a distance!) that he was glad to see help, he obviously didn't expect to see a person that looked like one of the two outsiders that had bested him.
Glancing back at the beast, the cloud was close to solidifying. For whatever reason, the creature had not mooved since Felix began his attack, and Mia began to worry that it was preparing to lash out. The next thing that happened, though, ended that train of thought.
From the sphere surrounding the creature, thousands of thousands of little vines grew, each one weaving through the sphere to wrap around others. Soon thousands of thousands became hundreds of millions, as the sphere became a solid shell of plant and earth.
Cheers from the throngs of villagers and her own team were heard, shouting various praises and victory chants. Mia slowly walked forward, eventually standing next to Felix. He had lowered his arms, staring directly towards the massive shell he had created. Glancing at him, she noted that he was almost exhausted, though she only knew this from his face.
It dawned on her that he was going to extreme lenghts to ensure that the morale was high, that she and the Resistance had enough spirit to keep going. But why did he do this? What did he have to gain from this?
Approaching footsteps broke her train of thought, and glancing upward alowed her to stare at the tall Proxian "rogue" warrior. Saturos looked even worse than Felix, small breaks in the skin allowing blood to seep out, while bruises from the creature and blisters from his attacks coated what skin the ratted clothes did not hide.
"What is your name?"
Blinking, Mia recalled that these were actually the first words that Saturos had uttered when she first met him, back when the Felix she knew had bested Saturos and Agatio, along with Isaac.
"Felix."
If Saturos was shocked at this, he didn't show it. Nor did he show puzzlement. Whatever reactions he was having from the news, he beamed the same aura she had seen him present to the other Felix years ago - sheer admiration.
This Felix had bested a beast all of Prox could not beat - single handedly even! Only a few could even come close to that in the world, and most of those few had been slain at one point or another by Isaac and the Regime.
Gesturing towards the wounded Proxians, Saturos's voice rumbled slightly. "Mia, Felix, if you will follow me? Once the council is healed, we will convene a session for you."
Deciding to not mention that, officially, he was no longer associated with anything the Council did, Mia followed Saturos and Felix, suddenly full of hope that they just might defeat the Regime.
Deep within the lower chambers of Isaac's palace, Garet squirmed. It always disturbed him to be within this room, as the place seemed to be filled with a stench. Not one of death, decay, or blood, but of...something. Some said it was the smell of dead brains, or souless bodies.
When it came to Hamma, Garet preferred to not know. Most people that knew Hamma well did not last long.
Staring at the figure sitting in the center of the room, he watched as she ran one hand over her long, lavender hair, the other down her legs. While some usually found this to be quite disturbing, Garet had seen her in far worse positions. Namely, when she "ate" the "souls" from her victims.
And unless Garet was able to get that younger Hamma soon, he would be in the very position that anyone dreaded when near this woman.
A piercing scream reverberated around the room, and Garet stared at Hamma, watched as her eyes opened wide, her chest rising and falling fast and hard, matching her breathing. Her hands seemed to reach out, trying to grap something in the air, but failing. One hand suddenly went to her stomach, while the other glowed a dark shade of purple.
Some wondered just how Hamma fueled her odd and disturbing powers. Some said that she used the minds of those that she drained. Others claimed that she used the life energy of some child in her womb that she kept in the fetus stage indefinitely. Still others claimed that she "pleasured herself" to attain her abilities.
Given what he had seen the past four months, Garet was betting on the latter.
Watching her, he noted the glow fade, noted the hands move from their positions. She pulled her legs to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. It was almost as if she was terrified at something. But what could terrify the omnipotent Hamma?
"The council is ill," said a a breathless voice, though even through the hard breaths, it was still seductive in a way. "But Mia has a warrior who entrapped Picard, cutting off my contact. I tried to connect with this...warrior, but his mind attacked me."
Frowning, Garet stared into the eyes starind at him. This duplicate of Felix had already proven to be annoying and untouchable, but if he had caused Hamma trouble, there was little they could do against him.
Unless they went after Mia.
"Hamma, would you cause Mia to do some damage?"
The woman blinked, "I could, but it would cost a few people. And you know I want that girl you told me of. I wish to meet her, to see what she is like."
Garet privately wondered if Hamma wanted more than that. If his ears were good, this other Hamma was more powerful than that idiot of a mage. If this were the case, then Hamma might actually try to tame her, for use as some kind of puppet.
Whatever the outcome of THAT would be, Garet didn't care. But he knew that Ivan would probably be devestated if his new "toy" would become his sister's plaything.
"I will bring you more, and I will bring her. I will bring her first, though, if you cause Mia to...fall from grace."
Hamma tilted her head, a mindless grin on her face. Staring in curiosity, Garet found that he could not move as the woman neared him, pressing her figure against his. "Garet, Garet, Garet. Do you know that what you ask is quite costly? To do it now would require some..." She licked his face, almost..thinking on what she tasted. "...compensation. I would hope you do bring me someone soon, as I would hate to," she nibbled on his chin, much to hsi displeasure, "taste your mind."
She backed away, moving back to her chair. To his shock, Garet found himself walking towards her, kneeling at her feet. Against his wishes, his lips kissed her shoes while a light chuckle was heard above. Having been in this situation before, Garet knew all too well that Hamma did this simply to prove that she was superior to him, to show that he was insignificant compared to her.
Garet normally would kill at this sort of action. But given that she was useful, he tolerated it. He didn't like it, but he put up with it, hoping that he would not soon be dependent on it any longer.
Awakening in his private quarters, Ivan surveyed the room. In a matter of hours, he would be warping to the Proxian Council with the young girl to meet with Agatio and Karst, to give them strategic data to destroy the Regime. Though it pained him to turn on his best (if not closest) friend, he had no choice - Isaac's Regime was becoming too dangerous to maintain.
Moving out of the chair, he glanced towards the bed where Hamma had used for the last few nights.
Only she was not there. In fact, it was almost as though she had been grabbed after putting up a stuggle. The sheets were in dissaray, scratch marks on the post were obvious, and a few dents in the floor. But why would he not be alerted to such an action?
Unless someone, somehow, sealed his senses off from the intrusion. And, with much worry, he realized just who could do such a thing:
His own sister.
Well, this could have gone a bit better. Hope I didn't offend anyone with this...
Review comments!
Zidanet - Is it? It's not supposed to... Thanks for the review!
TemplarofNi - Thanks!
Dragon asesino - Thanks!
wildcats1310 - Thanks!
Mare Serenitatis - Have you started any new fics lately? Anyway, I would comment on your theories, but doing so would spoil a lot. Suffice it to say this one word: Former. Thanks!
Forgotten Souls - Thanks for the long review! I believe I discussed most of your comments with you...
Smurf Cat - Thanks for the many reviews! Though I do wonder why the Backup review pages list you as Smurf Cat...
Freek - Thanks! And out of curiosity, why are you in Germany? Holiday? Family?
Pyro1588 - Thanks and thanks! And as far as Garet's fate, no comment...XD
Andrew - Thanks!
I will be trying to work on the next chapter or so in the coming weeks, but please bear with me - my schedule is quite hectic of late, and I lack the time I used to have with this story. Ahh, life is a cruel mistres...
Again, I hope I didn't offend anyone...
I DO NOT OWN GOLDEN SUN OR NINTENDO!!!
REVIEW TO SEE THIS CONTINUE!!!