I'm still happy with the last chapter. I hope I don't kill your interest with this one!
Thank you!
QueenDragonGoddess: I don't know what it is about Isaac/Jenna, it's just easier for me to write. Thanks for adding this to your favorites!
Jupiter Sprite: You'll see them briefly in this chapter. They'll be in it more soon. Yes, Wise One is evil. I don't care for Wise One all that much.
Dark Ice Dragon: Hopefully a lot of your questions will be answered in this chapter. And yes, Jenna did jump on Isaac's bed while he was still asleep. Poor guy.
Suh: Somehow, I knew you'd love the last chapter! Yes Garet can be sexy, it all depends on how you look at him. I can't wait until I start my fic where all of the GS crew is in high school. That's going to give you a whole new perspective on a certain NPC character that people tend to ignore. I've never actually played Dungeons and Dragons, but I would have loved to! I probably would make a good Dungeon Master with my imagination.
Wild Fox of the Wasteland: I'm glad you liked the "plot development." You'll find out who the mysterious man is soon enough.
Net Strife: I'm updating because I love reviews. I want more! I hope you like this chapter!
Hyper Basketcase: Don't worry, as long as you like it, I'm happy!
Wolfy129: I have no idea where pink fluffy ninja bunnies came from. It was something completely random and senseless. I hope this chapter's just as good.
Dark Star Dragon: It's okay, a lot of people don't like Garet. Poor, neglected guy...I wrote more and here it is!
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Chapter Fifteen: And so it Begins...
"What will you do?" Sheba asked. The teenagers looked dumbfounded.
"As we speak," the oracle continued, "the dark followers of the Wise One make their way towards the Elemental Stars. Perhaps you have heard of them?"
"Yes, but weren't they only a legend?" Jenna answered. Sheba held out the red orb in her hand.
"This is the Mars Star," she began, "if it lights the Mars Lighthouse at the northernmost part of Weyard, the world will be thrust into more turmoil than it already is. You all are chosen to help Felix stop all the lighthouses from being lit and bring peace to this world."
A long silence befell the group. It was a large responsibility that was placed upon them.
"I don't know about all of you, but I've had enough of war," Felix said, breaking the silence, "I want to be with all the ones I love."
Jenna smiled at her older brother. If he was willing to save the world, so was she.
"I feel the same way," she added, "I'm willing to stick by you brother, as long as we'll be together in the end."
"I'll go wherever you go Jenna," Isaac said, "We're all in this together."
"What about you Garet?" Sheba inquired. The dragon boy was quiet. 'She won't last much longer if you keep her here, you know that,' she said to him telepathically. Garet looked up at her in shock.
"Did you…" he began.
'Yes, I did,' she said mentally, as she narrowed her eyes, 'Mia's as much a part of this as you are.'
"You won't influence me," Garet growled and walked away. Jenna nudged Isaac.
"Talk to him," she whispered. Isaac nodded reluctantly and started after him. When he finally caught up, the prince started walking faster. Isaac quickened his pace until he was walking stride for stride with the angered Garet.
"What do you want?" the dragon prince snapped, "I'm not taking any advice from someone who'd betray his own friend."
Isaac stopped dead in his tracks as the rage built up in his chest. That was still a touchy subject for him and the last person he wanted to discuss it with was the arrogant Martian Prince.
"How dare you say that to me!" Isaac cried, "Do you think I enjoyed hurting the woman I love!"
Garet stopped walking, but didn't turn.
"Truth be told Prince Garet, if Jenna and her mother had stayed in our castle any longer they would have been killed! I didn't want to watch her leave, but I knew she was better off alive and well somewhere else! It would have been selfish of me to make her stay!" Isaac yelled. The two were silent for a few minutes. Garet turned a little and nodded thoughtfully.
"Thank you," he said, and with that he took off down the hall. Isaac, thoroughly confused, shook his head and sighed.
"Only for Jenna,: he mumbled.
Garet slowly opened the door to his room. Mia was lying on his bed, asleep as usual. He hung up his sword, and stood over her for a few minutes. She looked more fragile than ever, the red sheets made her skin look ghostly white and it sent shivers down Garet's spine. The dragon prince knelt beside his bed and took one of her small, pale hands in his large, gloved claws.
"Mia, I'm sorry," he began, "I never meant to hurt you at all. I just wanted to have you near me, and I was willing to keep it that way at all costs."
He was silent as he listened to her labored breathing. Garet's face grew pained and he held her hand to his forehead.
"It was selfish of me to do that to you Mia," the dragon prince continued, "I don't know what to do now."
The princess' slim fingers tightened on his hand. Garet looked up with a determined look in his eyes. It suddenly became all so clear to him.
Early the next morning, Isaac and Jenna were finishing up their packing. The quest would be long and hard, and they didn't know quite what to expect. Jenna picked up an odd stone from off her shelf.
"Do you think we'll need the Carry Stone?" she asked. Isaac shrugged.
"I'd bring all the psynergy related items that I can find," he told Jenna as he carefully tucked a string of green Catch beads in his pocket. There was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Jenna sang. The door opened, to reveal Sheba.
"Felix is waiting at the flying ship, are you two almost ready?" she asked.
"Yes," Isaac answered. Jenna picked up her bag and her staff and the three of them set off down the halls in silence, each one contemplating their role in the adventure they were about to begin. As they were about to leave, Jenna hesitated.
"Wasn't Garet supposed to come with us?" she asked Sheba. The oracle shook her head.
"Not if he doesn't want to," she answered. The dragon girl nodded sadly and turned for the door.
"Wait!" a loud voice called. Garet was running down the main hall toward them. In his arms, wrapped in rusty colored sheets was the delicate form of the Princess Mia.
"We're going, too," he said looking down at Sheba. The younger girl smiled and nodded. The five of them left the Martian castle and made their way to the ship, which wasn't too far off. They walked up the gangplank and onto the deck. Felix was already at the helm, and was ready to go.
"Are we all set?" Felix asked of his crew. They nodded confidently.
"Then, we're off!" he said giving the wheel a slight turn. The ship slowly lifted off the ground and into the horizon as they set off on the first part of their journey.
Feizhi spun around in awe of the library in upper Lemuria. There were so many books she didn't know where to start. Ivan had already picked out one and was buried in it. The older girl stopped admiring the books and gave him an odd look. Ivan never really enjoyed studying before so this sudden change was a little alarming. Feizhi suddenly got a devious look on her face and she crept toward him slowly. She snatched the book from his hands.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked playfully. Ivan narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
"Give it back so I can finish studying," he growled. Feizhi ignored him completely and flipped through the book.
"This about courting," she said with a mischievous tone to her voice, "Are you preparing for Sheba's return?"
Ivan jumped out of his chair.
"Give it back!" he cried as his face started to rouge a bit. Feizhi giggled and held it above her head. Ivan leapt into the air and snatched it out of her hand.
"I forget we can fly sometimes," Feizhi said as she sat on the rug in front of the prince.
"I really should be reading that book, then maybe I could marry Isaac," the older angel said dreamily. Ivan muttered something from behind the book.
"What? You don't think I'm good enough for him?" she huffed.
"No, that's not it," he said. They were silent for a few minutes.
"Then what is it you don't like about Isaac?" Feizhi inquired. Ivan scowled, but didn't answer.
"Am I detecting a hint of jealousy?" she asked, a wicked smile spreading across her face. Ivan's face turned a deeper shade of red and shook his head wildly. Feizhi put her finger on his forehead.
"Don't lie, I can read your mind if I want the truth," she said. Ivan sank deeper in his chair and gazed up at her fearfully. Feizhi straightened up and smirked. She turned and switched her hips as she walked away. Ivan gazed at her over the top of the book he was holding. Receiving the ability to see the future greatly changed the purple haired girl. She used to be shy and quiet, but now she was confident and assertive. He didn't know why, but whenever she mentioned other guys it made him angry. It shouldn't have made him feel so mad, considering he was supposed to be in love with Sheba. Nowadays though, Sheba seemed to be distant vision veiled in purple smoke. Feizhi was there in his face and he loved to listen to her constant and endless ramblings.
"Ivan?" Feizhi asked, breaking his train of thought. Ivan snapped to attention.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Please stop staring at me, it makes me a little uncomfortable," she asked. Ivan nodded dumbly. He seemed to be under her spell, and Ivan loved every minute of it.
Lady Uzume stood on the shore of the beach and let the waves lap at her toes. She loved the sea and water, even though her psyenergy element was earth. It seemed the only way she could feel close to both was at the shore. She knew of the danger that was approaching and Lady Uzume didn't care. Not for the moment anyway. She heard footsteps on the sand.
"Who's there?" the brown haired woman asked.
"It is I, Lady Uzume," a male voice replied. Lady Uzume sighed as she put on her sandals.
"Susa, you are about to become family, you may call me Uzume," she said as turned to him. He bowed slightly.
"Yes...Uzume. What are we going to do about the Venus Star?" he asked. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"I don't know, we'll have to take this day by day," she said calmly. Susa nodded and started to leave. Lady Uzume sat down on the sand and stared reflectively at the sea. There wasn't much she could do to stop the dark warriors from coming and it felt hopeless. She could only find solace in the calm relaxing sounds of the sea.
Mia's eyes shot open as soon as she heard waves crashing against the ship. Her eyes were no longer cloudy and bloodshot, and they had regained their calm sparkle. She lazily studied her surroundings. Her eyes fell on Garet, who was sleeping in a chair next to the bed she was in. The Mercurian princess used what little strength she had to nudge him. He jumped and yelped a little. He grinned when he saw that Mia was awake.
"How are you?" Garet asked gently.
"Fine," she whispered, "Just tired."
"Do you want me to take you up to the deck?" he inquired. Mia nodded slightly. The Martian prince scooped her up and carried her out the room and up the stairs. The sun was a little bright and Mia blinked her eyes a bit to get used to the light. She saw Jenna talking to a boy with blonde spiky hair. Mia wondered if that was the Isaac guy that she was always talking about.
"Look who's awake," Garet called to her. Jenna and Isaac both turned. The dragon girl jumped up and squealed.
"Mia! You're okay!" she cried, "Isaac, this is my friend Mia!"
The blonde boy nodded and waved. Mia smiled weakly. Jenna grinned thoughtfully.
"Garet, Mia's hair is a little messy, don't you think?" she asked. Garet nodded.
"I'll go get a comb," he said.
"You can leave Mia, she can sit on the deck with us," Jenna declared. The dragon prince gently put Mia down so she was leaning against a wall and left. Jenna and Isaac sat nearby.
"You don't know what kind of a fight Garet put in keeping you at the palace," Jenna sighed, "but Isaac brought him to his senses."
Isaac shook his head. "I didn't say anything really," he said, "It was all up to him, if he really cared for you as much as he said he did, he would take you home. And apparently he does."
"That could be a problem," Mia said quietly.
"Is there someone else at Lemuria?" Jenna asked solemnly. Mia nodded.
"I'm scared," she whispered, "He won't take too kindly to finding out I was kept in Garet's room and Garet will fight back naturally."
"Which one do you love more?" Isaac inquired. Mia shook her head.
"I used to be so sure, but now I'm not," she said sadly. Garet returned as she finished that statement and sat next to Mia.
"Are you hungry?" he asked as he started to run the comb through her hair. Mia nodded. Jenna jumped up.
"I'll get you something!" she said and bounded over to the galley door. Mia closed her eyes as Garet worked out the knots in her hair.
"So Garet, do you think we should fill Mia in on the entire story as to why we're going?" Isaac asked.
"She has a right to know," Garet answered.
"Well, you know about the Elemental Stars, right?" Isaac asked. Mia nodded.
"The Wise One has evil followers trying to find them and light the lighthouses at the four corners of the world. If they are all lit, the world will be thrust into chaos. We have all been chosen to stop this from happening."
Mia nodded to show her understanding of the situation.
"When I get my strength back up, I'll help," she said quietly. Isaac smiled. Mia seemed like a sweet girl. Garet started to twist her hair into a braid as Jenna came back with a bowl full of fruit slices.
"I didn't know what fruit you liked especially, so I cut up a bunch and brought it," the dragon girl said brightly. Mia nodded and took a slice of an apple.
"Garet, I didn't know you had this kind of side to you!" Jenna declared as the dragon prince tied a dark blue ribbon at the end of Mia's braid.
"I used to braid my sister's hair all the time, so I'm used to it," the larger dragon said. Mia absently played with her new braid as she finished her apple slice. There was only one other man who braided her hair besides her father. She remembered the shy blue haired boy as he ran his fingers through her hair. The princess smiled slightly as she recalled how shy Piers used to be. Then she glanced over at Garet. He seemed to hover over her protectively, more so than he ever had before. It made her feel very torn. Both men cared for her so much and she didn't want to hurt either of them. Hopefully it would all be clear to her soon.
Piers paced the docks as dusk descended upon upper Lemuria. He felt he could get lost in the crowds and forget his problems sometimes. But walking down the crowed platforms didn't bring him much solace. Every blue haired girl made him turn, they reminded him of Mia. The admiral shook his head sadly. He knew she was either dying or dead, she had been away for too long. A little over a month had passed since she was captured and they had no idea of what had happened to her. He sat down on the pier and stared at the ships coming in and out of the port. In the distance he could make out a fast moving object headed toward them. He ignored it for a while, dismissing it as a bird or something, but as it drew closer, he saw it was a craft of some kind. It was coming closer and fast.
"Is that a flying ship from the Venus clan?" Piers wondered out loud. It landed slowly in the water in front of him. The gangplank slowly came down. A boy with long brown hair came down first with a shorter, blonde haired girl not far behind him. They were followed by a dragon girl who was arm in arm with a spiky, blonde haired boy. Piers eyes widened in surprise as in the arms of a gigantic dragon boy was the pale, fragile form of Mia.
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Piers meets Garet. That equals a ton of romantic tension! Poor Mia. I feel for the girl.
Next Chapter: I'm Blue