I started a Deviant Art account. The HTML for site killed me so much! I didn't have time to work on this fic! I was mad, so I put my site aside for now, and I just put my art there. Now, to get the rest of my stuff on there...

Thank you!

Wild Fox of the Wasteland: I never had one of those Kudos bars, are they good? I'm trying as hard as I can to keep this fic updated!

Flowers of Moss: I needed a little fluff in there! I'm glad you liked it!

Void: I'm glad you reviewed at all! I'm also proud of you for being mature about not wanting to read this fic anymore. If you don't like, you don't have to read! (don't worry I/M fans, I *am* working on a fic for you!)

Shadowthewindadept: It depends on which old person it is...

Flame Angel: Hi! I'm glad you like it! I hope I didn't take too long in getting this up!

Wolfy129: That's sad, Johnny Cash was pretty cool. I'm glad this cheered you up!

Suh: You make me forget you're a year younger than I am! I always picture you as some eighteen-year-old girl giving me such awesome critique! And your art is great! Not to mention, I love the way you write! Okay, back to responding to your review. I think I/J can be very cute, it takes a really good writer to make you like something you don't support. Does that mean I'm a good writer? ...Maybe... Oh yeah, Saturos knows about her...he just pretends to be oblivious to the Menadri's "condition".

Without further ado, here's chapter twelve!

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Chapter Twelve: Wrath of Poseidon

            Piers watched the misty horizon with eager anticipation. He was going home, after two months of war. The Jupiter lost their oracle and surrendered. King Hydros was going back in a few weeks to discuss the more complicated terms of their forfeit. Piers felt the ocean breeze pass through his hair. 'I'm almost home,' he thought as he vaguely saw the shapes of the buildings in upper Lemuria come into view. Piers looked down at the water. Usually there were dolphins swimming around the hull of the ship, but there were none. He squinted to get a good look at the water through the thickening fog. It was black. He blinked a few times and looked again. His eyes had not deceived him, the water was a dark, inky color.

            "This is not good," Piers mumbled as they docked in upper Lemuria. As soon as he was off the boat, Piers took to the streets. The city was very crowded. 'Is everyone in upper Lemuria today!?' he cried internally as he impatiently worked his way through the crowds.

            "Piers!" a small, female voice cried. The blue haired man spun around to see Megan and Justin making their way toward him. When the finally reached him they hugged him tightly.

            "Kids, what happened?" Piers asked, "Where's Mia?"

            "We were attacked by the Mars clan," Justin answered, "And the prince took Mia."

            Piers felt all the blood drain from his face. Megan noticed this change and gazed at him worriedly.

            "Piers?" she asked timidly.

            "Garet...took...Mia?" he inquired. The children nodded nervously. Without saying a word, he took a child in each arm and headed back for the docks. King Hydros was talking to some of the surviving soldiers, when he returned. The blue haired admiral put the siblings down.

            "King Hydros, we have a situation," he said coolly. The children had never seen Piers act so cold before, for them it was unnerving.

            "Tell your uncle what happened," Piers said. Megan and Justin told of the attack, and how Prince Garet had taken Mia hostage.

            "We can't go under water, and we couldn't attack, they left us to starve, our resources won't last much longer up here," Megan said finishing off their story. King Hydros wasn't quite sure what to do. Piers breathed heavily. He was trying hard to contain his rage.

            "Piers, I know how much you care for Mia, but it'd be suicide for you to go in and try to get her back," King Hydros said sternly. Piers closed his eyes and nodded.

            "You know that if we go too far north, we can't fight as well, so I want you to stay here until further notice. Understand, Admiral?"

            "I understand, and respect your orders, your Highness," Piers replied, giving him a salute.

***

            Mia felt uncommonly dizzy that day. Maybe it was the heat, or maybe it was the fact that she was thirsty, or maybe she was just homesick, but she didn't feel well at all. She fiddled with her chains as she watched Garet pace the library impatiently. Mia sighed and lay her head back in the cozy red velvet chair. 'Sleep...sleep is what I need,' she thought. The Mercurian princess hadn't slept well for several days, mainly because of her distrust of the Martian prince. He put up such a fight in keeping her, it made her a little wary as too his reasons in wanting her here at all. 'I'm not something to be used, I'm a thinking individual just as he is!' Mia thought as she continued watching the enraged Prince.

            "Garet, I want to go home," she mumbled. He stopped pacing, but didn't face her.

            "I really want to go home," she repeated, "My father's home from war, Megan and Justin are probably starving, and Piers—" Mia stopped there and got quiet. The last person she wanted knowing about her love life was Garet.

            "What about Piers?" Garet asked.

            "I know Piers is probably worried about me," she said quietly. Garet turned taking a sudden interest in what she had to say.

            "So who is this Piers guy?"

            Mia felt her cheeks turn a little pink, "Well..." she started.

            "Well?" Garet echoed, raising his eyebrows.

            "I guess I kind of have a soft spot for Piers," she finished. Garet rolled his eyes.

            "So do you like him more than me?" he inquired.

            "Well Piers never held me hostage in his room for three weeks," she answered coldly.

            "That's not fair! Well, what if I never captured you and we never went to war, and there was peace. Would you pick me, or Piers?"

            Mia thought for a minute. That was a good question, what if the situation was changed? Would she even give him a second glance?

            "Let's see...Piers is charming and kind and you are..." she paused, and began playing with her chains.  She was unsure as to whether she should continue.

            "Go on, be honest," Garet said.

            "You are rude but you're still pretty nice I guess."

            Garet sat on the floor in front of the chair Mia was sitting in.

            "Continue," he encouraged.

            The princess shifted uncomfortably in her chair a little and cleared her throat.

            "Uh...Piers is tall, well not taller than you, and lean. You're basically a giant to me."

            Garet shrugged, "I've been called worse."

            "He's always been there for me. I don't know about you just yet. I can't really say," Mia said, finishing off her relatively short comparison. Garet stood up and looked thoughtfully at his surroundings.  Mia wasn't sure what to expect.  This inquisitive, and almost charming side of Prince Garet was one she had never seen in him before.

            "Well, now I know what I must work on," he said quietly. Mia gave him a quizzical look.

            "May as well start now," Garet sighed as he straightened his posture and held out his large, clawed hand to the confused princess.

            "Would you accompany me to tea, Princess Mia?" he said in a dignified voice. Mia stared at him for a few minutes, trying to figure out whether or not she should laugh, or just continue gazing at him in disbelief. Then she smiled and placed her small hand in his.

            "Yes, I shall," she replied.

***

            Piers gazed at the northern sky from his bedroom in upper Lemuria with his angry blue eyes. In a week, the Jupiter clan would join up with the Mercury clan and attack both the Mars and the Venus clans. Piers gripped Mia's bracelet, the one she gave him before he went to war. 'I won't fail you Mia, I know you're suffering, but I'll come and save you,' he thought. He heard a faint knock at his mahogany door. The azure haired man opened it, to reveal a little blonde haired girl staring up at him with her large brown eyes.

            "Megan, what's wrong?" he asked her gently as he let her in his room. She climbed on his bed and gazed at him nervously.

            "You're going back to war?" Megan inquired. Piers nodded.

            "What will happen to us?" she asked quietly. Piers breathed deeply and tousled her hair.

            "You'll stay here, the water will clear up in a few more weeks, and the Jupiter are bringing food," he said, to the worried little girl. Megan let out a little sigh.

            "Piers, I know you're angry, but promise me one thing," Megan said solemnly, "Promise you won't let your rage control you. Just bring Mia home safe."

            Piers gazed at the blonde child. She was very stressed out for a girl her age.

            "I'll bring Mia home, don't you worry," he assured her. She slid off his bed and headed for the door. Megan turned before she left and gave Piers a weak smile. As soon as she was gone, he flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What was going to become of the world he lived in if they continued fighting?

***

            Mia held her head, as another dizzy spell came on. It felt unbearably hot in the room as she stared at the food in front of her. She was tired of eating Martian food. She longed for fish, seaweed and rice, food from her homeland. The princess suddenly felt cold and she gripped her shoulders trying to preserve warmth near her body. 'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself. Jenna, who was sitting next to her, noticed her strange behavior.

            "Mia, what's wrong?" Jenna whispered. Mia shook her head in confusion. Menardi, glanced across the table at the Mercurian princess' paling face. Garet, always perfectly oblivious to everything, continued shoveling food into his mouth, missing the ocean haired girl's plight. Even Garet's sister noticed Mia wasn't doing well. She leaned over and whispered something to her father. He sighed, and gazed kindly at Mia.

            "Princess Mia, would you like to be excused?" the Martian king asked. Mia nodded dumbly. Garet, who still wasn't paying attention, said nothing to protest her leaving. 'Come on Mia, you can at least make it to Garet's room,' Mia coached herself mentally. All of a sudden, she couldn't move her legs, her breathing became labored and her vision grew white and hazy. She felt beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead, and nausea building in her stomach. Without another warning, she sank to the ground in an ungraceful heap.

***

            Menardi peeked into Garet's room later that evening. Mia was swallowed up in the red sheets of Garet's bed, in another fit of delusion. She had taken ill, and it was very apparent that she had to go home. The prince of course wasn't hearing of it. The princess was under the watchful eyes of the best doctors. Menardi sighed and rubbed her now flat stomach. 'I'm not sure how much longer I can help Saturos and the others,' she thought sadly as she started down the hallway to her room, 'What will we do little one?' She slowly pushed open the door to her quarters. Saturos was sitting by the fireplace reading in his chair as he usually did. She kissed his forehead and curled up on their gigantic bed.

            "Saturos, I don't know what we're going to do...Pretty soon I won't be able to help you three in keeping the stars safe," Menardi sighed as she turned to face in his direction.

            "Don't worry, we'll just get Alex to finally get off his lazy butt and help us fight instead of planning, he's stronger than he thinks," her husband replied without looking up from his reading. Before Menardi could give another suggestion, a frantic Karst burst into the door.

            "It's Agatio! He's just outside the castle gates, he's really hurt!" she cried. The three of them rushed outside to the larger dragon's aid. When they got to his side he gripped Karst's arm.

            "I couldn't stop them. They got to the Wise One, they're stronger," he gasped, "They lit the beacon!"

            The three dragons sat dumbfounded. Menardi felt silent tears slide down her cheeks and Saturos let out a string of curses. Karst just hugged her old friend and sobbed into his chest.

            The tide was changing for the worse.

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Uh...I'm just tired now. I need a cookie. Maybe some Pocky too.

Next Chapter:  The Walls Come Crashing Down