I LIVE!!! cough Yeah, I'm not dead. I was sick and then my brother bought Soul Calibur II. So...uh...that was the beginning of the end. But I worked on this fic! And here it is! Oh, yeah and for you Isaac/Mia fans, check out my Deviant Art account. You might like what you see.
Suh: Garet is a fun character. I feel I can do anything to him. Your fic is great! I just had to say that because I read it again (I love it so much!).
Dark Ice Dragon: I didn't quite understand the whole "shipping" thing for a while, but I think I get it now. Mudshipping= Isaac/Mia (although it could also be Felix/Mia, but that isn't as common), Flameshipping=Jenna/Garet, Steamshipping= Garet/Mia (it could also be Jenna/Piers, but that isn't so common either), Windshipping= Ivan/Sheba. I think Felix/Sheba is called Softshipping or something like that, I don't remember. I'm not sure where the whole "shipping" thing started. I know that's also common in Yu-Gi-Oh! Fics, although definitely more complicated. If I'm not mistaken, "shipping" started in Pokemon fics with Team Rocket (Rocketshipping? Get it? :D). I'd rather just write it out rather than use all the "code names" and such.
Smurf Cat: In order to achieve the ending I want it there kind of has to be a little Garet/Mia (although it's greatly one sided at this point) in there. Oh there definitely will be more Felix/Sheba action in the next two chapters. insert evil grin Heeheehee...
Flowers of Moss: Thank you, sorry it took so long...XD
Dark Star Dragon: Gulp...Piers does love Mia...and they do get back together...and...well...you'll see. You've been so nice to me, but I have to put Garet/Mia in there. Sorry...;;
Wild Fox of the Wasteland: I actually did get my hands on some Pocky, thanks to Mike, president of the Asian Club. He's great. I know what you mean about the art though. I have tons of work, but I'm still working on getting it all on my computer. I need a tablet badly!
Shadowthewindadept: I know how you feel. I got caught up in Soul Calibur II. That is an addictive game. I also have a ton of fic ideas swimming in my head.
Wolfy129: No problem! I like responding to my reviewers! You guys are great!
If it is your pleasure do read on for chapter thirteen.
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Chapter Thirteen: The Walls Come Crashing Down
Felix sat idly in the library. The Jupiter and Mercury clans would be coming for them soon. How was he going to achieve peace if a full-scale war was going to happen? Where would he begin? How could he convince the others to join him? Sheba had informed him the day before that the Jupiter lighthouse had been lit. He had to do something, but what?
"Already probing the problem of the upcoming war, I see," Sheba said. Felix jumped. It was going to take him a while to get used to her knowing his every thought. Felix smirked a little and nodded.
"It would be difficult to win, I mean it is two clans against one," she added.
"This is true," Felix said. Sheba began to examine the books on the shelves.
"It would be most convenient if you could team up with another clan who has a mutual hatred of the clans you're going up against," Sheba stated. Felix gave her an unreadable look.
"Are you suggesting that we ally ourselves with the Mars Clan?" Felix asked.
"I believe I am, Prince Felix. Relationships may be a bit, shaky, but if you fall, it won't be long before the two clans go after the Mars Clan. If you put it to them that way, they'll reluctantly suck up their pride and work with you," she answered. Felix silently contemplated the suggestion.
"That might not be such a bad idea," he said finally. Sheba smiled and exited the library. Felix had developed a fondness for the oracle, although he didn't always like to admit it. He used to pride himself in being so immune to the charms of women, but now, he feared that he had succumbed to one. Isaac knew of all this, he could read Felix like a book. The blonde was also aware of the need for secrecy in regards to this affair. Felix sighed, 'I've got to focus on the task at hand, I've got to convince my father that working with the Mars Clan would be to our benefit.' Isaac came into the library a few minutes later.
"Hey, Felix. Sheba says you have something on your mind, what is it? I'm all ears," the blonde said. Felix smirked.
"She always knows just what I need," he said, "Tell me this, in view of the fact that we may be attacked by the Jupiter and Mercury Clans in the coming months what do you think about an alliance with the Mars Clan?"
Isaac's face became blank.
"You're kidding right?" the young commander said.
"I assure you I'm not," Felix replied, "If we fall, they will surely be the next target, I mean, they do have the Mercurian princess."
Isaac became very quiet as he quickly weighed the military benefits as well as the detriments.
"I'll support you in this," he said finally, "but you'll want my father's backing also before you bring this before the king."
Felix nodded. "Good point. If I have solid proof that this is a good military endeavor, then my proposal will surely be taken seriously," he said thoughtfully, "Well I've got some negotiations to do with your father, Isaac. Would you come with me?"
"Of course," the younger boy answered. The two quitted the library with determined expressions on their faces.
The Venusian king impatiently tapped his scepter on the marble floor as he listened to his son's proposal. It really sounded as if there was no way around it. Even his top military advisors had agreed it would be the safest move for the time being. They would have to join up with the Mars clan to stop the on coming threat. Diplomatic matters worried him not, it was the fact that he would have to face his wife and daughter that scared him the most. Would he be able to face them? Would they ever forgive him for what he had done? An idea suddenly came the king as he gazed at the calm face of his son. He had never taken much interest in diplomatic affairs before, so this would be an excellent chance to see how he would perform under such circumstances. Felix was old enough to handle this himself.
"Your proposal is a most effective one, would you yourself like to see this through to the end?" the king asked Felix. The boy looked stunned as he stared at his father.
"Excuse me, father, you want me to establish an alliance with the Mars clan?" he inquired.
"Of course? Why not?"
Felix straightened his posture, "I will do my best to please you father."
With a graceful bow, Felix retired the company of the king. Sheba was standing outside the door, waiting for him.
"Excellent job. The first of many diplomatic affairs you will take on your own," Sheba said. Felix smiled.
"Thank you for your commendation, it means a lot," he answered. Sheba became very quiet as they continued down the hall.
"You do know why he's asking you to go?" Sheba asked. Felix shook his head.
"He doesn't want to face Jenna and your mother," she said bluntly. Felix was stunned. His father was afraid of the two women who cared for him most.
"Just remember what I told you, Prince Felix," she said, "They will forgive you, but it won't be completely easy."
"Must you call me Prince Felix?" he asked. Sheba raised her eyebrows.
"Should I call you otherwise?" she inquired. Felix was a bit taken aback.
"I was...what I was trying to say...I just..." he began. Sheba smiled.
"You want me to just call you Felix, correct?"
"Yes," he answered. Felix gazed down at her, and she gazed back with dreamy purple eyes. The prince felt his face grow hot and the oracle giggled. Felix had many admirers but he had always tried to avoid them at all costs. Sheba was different. She knew how to draw him to her, without making him feel uncomfortable.
"Well if it isn't the two little lovebirds," Isaac said sarcastically. Sheba rolled her eyes and Felix only started blushing more.
"So when's your father heading out to the Mar's territory," the commander asked.
"He's not," Felix said, "I am and you're coming with me."
Isaac looked a bit confused, "Why us?"
Sheba got a far off look.
"You will learn why, soon enough," she answered, "Now we must leave this area, I don't like the atmosphere around here."
They left as Sheba had requested. The boys had no idea of the pair of eyes that was watching them.
"You will not spoil my plans for immortality," a voice rumbled, "I must live forever at all costs."
Isaac fumbled with his scarf in the mirror. Today, he, Felix and Sheba were going to go confront the Mars clan. Today, he would be face to face with the one he had betrayed. There was a faint knock on his bedroom door.
"Come in," the blonde boy said. Felix poked his head in.
"Are you ready?" he asked. Isaac sighed and nodded.
"Good, we're leaving," he said. The younger boy followed Felix out the door and to the carriage. Sheba was waiting for them. The ride to the Mar's Clan started out quietly. Sheba gazed at each boy expectantly.
"You both are so worried," Sheba said softly, "Don't fret so, everything will turn out well."
"That's easy for you to say, you don't know what happened," Isaac snapped. Sheba gave him grave look.
"Don't you tell me what I do and do not know," she said sharply, "They don't call me an oracle for nothing. I know what happened that day, you are thinking about it as we speak."
It was early morning as a group of soldiers made their way down the hall towards Princess Jenna's room, led by a boy with messy blonde hair. He hesitated in front of the door, but then he kicked it open. The dragon girl woke with a start and stretched her wings.
"What's wrong Isaac," she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
"It has been decreed by the king, that all dragon trash must be purged from the Venus clan," he said almost robotically. Jenna looked taken aback.
"What?" she inquired, "Isaac, what happened? I thought—"
"You obviously haven't been listening. By order of the King, you are to be expelled from the kingdom," the blonde boy said.
"Isaac?" she asked getting out of bed.
"Seize her," he ordered the guards. Two armored men gripped her arms. Jenna struggled and she succeeded in knocking one of them out, but once he was down, two more took his place. Once she was restrained, she continued to yell protests at the top of her lungs. Isaac held his sword to her neck.
"You will come quietly, or I'll slit your throat," he said icily. Jenna was too stunned to retaliate as she was dragged out of her room. Isaac walked ahead of them, hiding the hurt etched on his face. He could hear the screams of Jenna's mother sounding from down another corridor. Felix watched quietly from his bedroom door. Jenna caught sight of him.
"Felix, help me! Don't let them take me away! Please, big brother, help me!" she cried tears forming in her eyes. Felix closed his eyes and shut the door. He couldn't see her but he could block her cries for help. He ran his fingers through his messy brown hair and sank to the floor. He felt so empty and void. He should be in tears, but they wouldn't come. He only felt numb.
Isaac on the other hand was having a hard time controlling his emotions. He had to make her leave, or the people would come storming into the castle and kill her. He'd rather know she was alive and well and have her hate him than to have her dead.
"Isaac, I thought you loved me," Jenna said quietly. Isaac stopped and gave her the coolest glare he could muster.
"What makes you think that?" he asked coldly, "What would make you think that I for one minute I ever loved a slut like you?"
He narrowed his eyes to make his point. Jenna hung her head.
"Today, my world is ruined. My father hates me, my brother betrayed me, and you...you ripped my heart out and crushed it," she mumbled, "I don't know who you are, you're not the Isaac I love." There was a long period of silence.
"I hate you, Isaac, I hate you!" she said bitingly. Isaac bit his lip.
"Did you hear me? I HATE YOU!" she cried, contempt dripping off every word. Without another warning Isaac turned suddenly and slapped her hard.
"Damn dragon whore. Do you remember what I said earlier?" he said drawing his sword. Jenna gave him a deadly leer and snarled. Isaac signaled for them to open the castle gates. The citizens of the city smiled evilly at her as she was dragged past them. Isaac kept a stony look on his face. No one could tell how much this tore at his heart. 'Jenna will never forgive me,' he thought, as he stared ahead, 'I will never forgive myself for hurting her.'
Felix found that the Martian king, unlike his son, was very level headed.
"So you see your Highness, although we have a rather strained relationship right now, if we were to stand alone, we will both surely fall," Felix said finishing off his proposal, "However, if we stand together, we have a chance at winning."
The king contemplated the things put before him.
"Your points are valid and well taken, I will discuss these matters with my military advisors," he said, "If all goes well, we will have an official document drawn up before the week is out. You are free to rest here until a decision is made."
Felix was then sent down to the library to relax with Isaac and Sheba for a while. Once he entered the library, he took a deep breath and collapsed into a chair.
"I never want to do this again," Felix said. Sheba came over and leaned on the arm of the chair.
"You must, you are going to become King," she told him simply. The prince sighed and closed his eyes.
"You're sad. You miss your sister," Sheba said. Felix didn't open his eyes.
"Sometimes it's like I can hear her voice," he said sadly. The sound of laughter was heard outside the door. Felix sighed again and shook his head, "I can even hear her now."
Sheba heard the laughing also, and she turned toward the library entrance. The knob turned to reveal Jenna and Garet, who were dumbstruck at seeing them.
"Well, it seems this time you weren't dreaming, she really is here," the oracle said. Felix opened his eyes and came face to face with his sister. Her gaze was rather unreadable, she seemed happy and enraged at the same time.
"Felix...Isaac..." she began. Garet stepped in front of her.
"Leave," he said gruffly. Isaac looked at Felix and they both rose and began to do as Garet had asked. Jenna watched, in a sort of dazed sadness. Accompanied by Sheba, the two left the room. Jenna was still in a fog. She was unsure of how to react to the situation. The red headed girl sat in the seat Felix had been in. Something was bothering her, something just wasn't completely right. She had so many questions left unanswered. Jenna sat still for a few more minutes.
"Jenna, are all right?" Garet asked. Jenna didn't respond, but she jumped up and ran out of the room. Garet ran after her.
"Jenna!" he cried, "You can't go to them, they've lied to you, and they will only continue to lie!"
"But I know one person in that group who has no reason to lie," Jenna cried back. Garet grabbed her arm.
"You can't trust those guys," he said rather forcefully.
"I don't trust the guys at this point," the dragon girl replied, "But I do believe I can trust the girl. If I'm correct, she's the Jupiterian Oracle."
"How do you know, she's not plotting something with them? How do you know?"
"I don't know," Jenna replied, shaking her head, "But I do know that I have to at least try."
Garet released her arm and took a step back. He had a serious expression on.
"Go, I hope you receive the answers you need," he said simply and walked away. Jenna continued down the hall. She knew where her brother was staying, so she headed toward his quarters. She nodded to the servants as she passed and knocked on his door. Felix opened the door surprised at who was there.
"Don't flatter yourself into thinking I came to see you," Jenna said sharply, "I came to ask something of the oracle. May I speak to her please?"
Before Felix could say anything to Sheba, pushed past him. She smiled at the dragon girl and held out her hand.
"Pleased to meet you Princess Jenna," the blonde girl said cordially. She glanced back at Felix who was giving her a look of confusion.
"I need to ask you a few things, I hope you don't mind if we take a walk," Jenna responded with equal civility.
"It's no problem at all," Sheba answered. The two started down the hallway together. They were no more than a few feet away when Sheba stopped and turned rather abruptly.
"There's no need to worry Prince Felix, you can close the door now," she said rather coolly. Jenna turned and gave him a slighting glare. At this reaction, the Venusian prince quickly shut the door. Sheba laughed a little.
"That brother of yours is a rare one," the oracle commented. Jenna smiled.
"Very rare indeed," the red haired girl added. Sheba and Jenna continued on in silence.
"You want to know about your brother and Isaac, correct?" Sheba asked. The dragon girl started. She hadn't expected her to know what she was thinking.
"Y-yes..." Jenna began, "But how did—"
"I'm an oracle, I know all," Sheba answered, "And yes, I do know what you're going to ask."
"Oh really?" Jenna said, a little miffed with the shorter girl for sounding so indignant, "Then what would be my first question?"
"You wish to know how your brother feels about you," the oracle answered, "The answer is he feels the same as you do."
Jenna, snorted a little and put her hands on her hips, "All right, what would my ne—"
"Your next question is about Isaac. Yes, he does love you probably more than he ever did in the past."
Jenna was taken aback by Sheba's quick answers. She wasn't sure if the younger girl was telling the truth, and what was more, she didn't like her "holier than thou" attitude. Jenna's thoughts were interrupted by a soft sigh from Sheba.
"I'm sorry, I've been very rude and cold haven't I? I'm making you more defensive than anything else," Sheba said, "Go ahead, I won't tell you what you're thinking, or what you're going to say. You just ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability."
The dragon girl blinked a few times and let out an awkward cough.
"Okay..." she said, "If my brother and Isaac care so much then...then why did they hurt Mother and me? Why?"
Jenna wiped away a few tears. Sheba put her hand on Jenna's shoulder.
"I could answer that question for you," Sheba said to the older girl, "But that answer is best to come from the men in question, don't you think?"
"You're right..." Jenna replied. She breathed in sharply. She had to face them sooner or later. Sheba linked her arm with Jenna's.
"Shall we go?"
Jenna nodded, her heart beating wildly in expectation.
Felix tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of his chair. He didn't like for Sheba to be out of his sight for too long. What's more he didn't like the fact that he was with his sister. It wasn't because he didn't trust Jenna, he just didn't know what they were talking about and the suspense was unnerving. Isaac came in his room a few minutes later. The blonde looked about the room curiously and then smirked.
"Where's Sheba?" he questioned. Felix narrowed his eyes at him.
"With Jenna," the Venusian prince answered. Isaac stared at his friend in disbelief.
"You're joking right?" Isaac said as he took a seat in a chair not far from Felix.
"I wish I was," he replied. The blonde sighed and collapsed on Felix's bed.
"I wish she knew that we didn't hate her," Isaac said softly. The older boy made no reply but continued to glower at whatever happened to be in front of him. What was Sheba planning? The door opened revealing Sheba and Jenna was not far behind.
"We have a visitor," Sheba said, "She wishes to ask you two a few questions."
The boys glanced at each other nervously. This was the moment they dreaded. Jenna stood stiffly by the door and gazed intently at them.
"Let me just say this first, that through all this, I still care for you both. I always will," the dragon girl began, "I must know, do you care for me? Do you love me and my mother as much as we love you?"
At first neither boy knew what to say, or how to react. Felix could not find the words and Isaac, was suddenly very interested in the floor. Jenna nodded slowly.
"I see," she said softly, "Well, I guess I'd better—"
"How strange..." Isaac said finally, "How strange that women are so capable of relating how they feel, so quickly. We as me are so brave in other aspects, but we shy away from our feelings. Mainly because we're afraid of them."
"Isaac..." Jenna whispered. Isaac stood up.
"I'm not asking you to forgive me, and I'm not asking that you forget what I did to you," he said coming close to her and taking her hand, "But I want you to know, that I do love you."
"That was very moving," the princess said, "but do you expect me to fling myself into your arms after that?"
Isaac smiled a little and shook his head. Jenna hadn't changed one bit. He kissed her hand gently.
"No..." he said, "You might after this."
The blonde tilted Jenna's chin towards him and planted a rather sensual kiss on her lips. Sheba smiled calmly while Felix began to flush and grumble. The younger girl leaned over to the clearly irritated prince and whispered, "There's no need to be jealous." Felix only blushed more as he sank deeper into his chair. 'At this rate,' he thought, 'I'll never be able to give my apology.' As Isaac finally broke the kiss, Jenna all but crushed the blonde in a hug. Felix coughed a bit to get their attention. Jenna shyly turned her focus to her brother.
"While my apology may not be as...moving as Isaac's," he began, "I can assure you, baby sister, that I love you with all my heart."
Jenna sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"You guys..." she began. It seemed like things were beginning to change for the reunited teenagers. If only they knew what changes lay ahead.
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So that's chapter thirteen. Next chapter, we'll be focusing on this aspect of the world still, we're not quite through here yet. Yeah. Review please.
Next Chapter: Cloudy Vision, Crucial Decision