I've returned with another chapter!

(Dew): What took so long?

Life.

(Char): You don't have one.

Yeah, but....HEY!

(Dew): Truth hurts.

Well, I know, but... HEY!!

(Char): Oh, pipe down. You deserve it after that last cliff.

Yeah, I had a feeling people wouldn't like that one...

(Dew): So why write it?

I'm evil. And somewhat sadistic in that way.

(Char): *nodding* Finally, something I can agree on with this moron...



[I dedicate this chapter to my best friend, ZenithV, who is currently en route to his new life in Britain. May you have nearly as great a life there as you did here, so you miss me and Endo P a little. The starting of this chapter denotes a lazy, typical day in the life of the Adepts with nothing to do, just like we had so many of...]



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Sol rose over the distant horizon of the mountains beyond Vale. The Golden Sun began to shine more brightly with the onset of day. Kraden always wondered why it didn't shine as brightly at night as it did during they day; being made of pure alchemy, shouldn't it shine equally as bright at all times of the day? Which, in turn, prompted Garet to offer, "It's a sun, it shines at day. Isn't it obvious?" Hence arose the only situation in which the simple thinking of the Mars Adept may very well have overcome the wisdom of alchemists.

Vale was a much livelier place now. The eight Adepts that had lit the beacon on Mars Lighthouse had now taken up more or less permanent residence there. The group had grown so tight that none of them wanted to leave each other for very long. Occasionally a few people would go off travelling for a few days, but they would always end up back at Vale. It had become a refuge for everyone, especially the Adepts who were harassed growing up like Ivan for their differences.

Felix rose from his bed, refreshed after a nice sleep. He had put in a rigorous day of sparring with Isaac and Picard the day before, and was still a little sore from where Picard clipped him with the flat of his blade. Over and over again.

He slowly descended the stairs and found Jenna to be up already. She was sitting just outside the door, watching the lazy sunrise and enjoying a quiet morning. He poked his head out the window to join her.

"You're up early," he commented.

"What, did you think I could sleep during this?" she asked, gesturing to the crimson sunrise. Felix nodded.

"Who couldn't? It's early!" he said.

"I've never known you to be this lazy," Jenna replied. "Have a rough day yesterday?"

"Very."

"Were you sparring again?" she asked.

"Maybe," he answered mysteriously. Jenna frowned.

"You don't have to hide it from me just because you can't beat Picard. Or Isaac," she added as an afterthought.

"I can beat Isaac easily," he replied hastily. Jenna smiled, realizing she'd hit a nerve.

"You know," she replied. "Isaac did have to get as good as you in a much shorter time. You had three years of training on him. So it just goes to show he's a quick learner. There's no shame in losing to a quick learner," she smiled. "Maybe when you're older," she smirked at her older brother, knowing full well that if anything would get a rise out of the even-tempered Venus Adept, that phrase would be it.

"Older, nothing," Felix said, closing his eyes. He moved his hand along the counter beside him until he found a glass of water, and sneakily threw it over the Mars Adept. She gasped after the liquid landed on her and glared at him with a look that could freeze even Karst in her tracks. "That just goes to show you that you shouldn't argue with your elders. Maybe when you're older," Felix laughed, placing special emphasis on 'you're'. Jenna simply stared at him, and let a crimson glow overtake her left hand. Felix noticed this and withdrew his head from the window and shut it. Fast.

********************

Meanwhile, Isaac was munching on a piece of toast in his kitchen. He finished it and slowly rose from the table. He took a quick look around his house and sighed. He'd misplaced his scarf. He was wearing everything he should be: boots, tunic, gloves... but no scarf! Where did he leave it?

He bolted up the stairs and started searching frantically around his room. He upturned his sheets on his bed, looked under the bed, scavenged through the closet, searched the coat racks along the hallways... nothing! Not even a scrap of yellow. Finally, his eyes came to rest upon his mother's old blue, green-circle patterned scarf. He shuddered. He couldn't wear that, could he? But... he needed a scarf!

Isaac sighed and looked out the window. Just as he did, he saw Garet strolling broadly up the path to his house. Around his neck was a bright yellow scarf.

"Garet!" Isaac cried. "My scarf!" Garet looked up and waved.

"Good morning to you, too!" he replied. Isaac flew from the window to the stairs and took the entire flight in one leap. He burst from the door and jerked his scarf off of Garet's neck, nearly strangling him in the process. Garet coughed and rubbed his neck.

"Remind me never to get between you and that rag again," he wheezed. Isaac tied the scarf around his neck and sighed.

"Sorry about that, Garet, but I just need the scarf, you know? I walked over every continent with this thing!" he replied truthfully. Garet would never forget that. He'd misplaced every other item of clothing at least once; even his boots he'd temporarily misplaced on the boat, right when they reached Tundaria. It was a very cold walk for him that day... However, he had amazingly never misplaced the scarf.

"You do realize, of course, that life has gotten very, very boring," Garet asked. "You know we've spent about five minutes on the topic of your scarf?"

"You only got here a minute ago, Garet," Isaac smiled at the Mars impatience. "It almost makes you wish for the days when we had something to do, doesn't it?"

Garet nodded. "I'd love a problem right about now. Maybe just a small one, but something to go wrong and cause a little panic, you know?" Just then Mia ran past Isaac's house, flying in the direction of the plaza.

"Isaac, come quick!!" she cried as she tore past the two best friends. Garet's eyes went huge.

"I didn't mean it!" he insisted, but Isaac was already hot on Mia's trail.

********************

Isaac caught up to Mia about halfway to the plaza. He managed to pant out a quick, "What's wrong?" after his frantic pace to catch up to her.

"I don't know, I think it's Sheba!" she explained. "I heard that she was found hurt in front of the weapon smith's shop."

"Sheba?" Isaac asked. "Who could hurt Sheba? She's pretty tough!" he recalled, remembering the time she took out upwards of seven Doodle Bugs with a single Spark Plasma. Of course, Ivan had just been injured badly by one, so rage was a significant factor, but Isaac tried to forget about that.

"I don't know," Mia worried. "If there's someone strong enough to beat Sheba, I think we're all in a little trouble..." Isaac looked at her.

"We'll be fine," he said, cutting himself off as Mia looked at him. "I'll be fine," he smiled. "And you'd better be, too!" She laughed.

"Deal," she agreed, as the plaza came into sight. There was a large crowd gathered around the weapon smith's. Isaac and Mia approached the scene, and saw Sheba laying still in front of the door. Mia leaned down next to her, and started looking her over.

"How is she?" Isaac asked.

"She looks okay... It looks like someone knocked her out. She'll be just fine. Can you Revive her? I'd like to heal her a little bit and see how she's feeling, and I can't do that if she's unconscious."

"Sure," Isaac nodded. Just as he was about to, Garet came galloping up behind them, panting.

"How do..." he gasped, "you two run that fast...?"

"Talent," they replied at the same time. Isaac was about to cast Revive when he was interrupted again, this time by Ivan, who was storming into the plaza with all Jupiter speed at full tilt. As he passed Garet, the Fire Adept thought he saw an unusual tinge in Ivan's purple eyes, but on further inspection, they looked perfectly normal, so he ignored it and looked back to Sheba.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"She's right here," Mia replied. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. Just give Isaac a chance to wake her up, okay?" Ivan nodded. He moved to kneel down next to Sheba.

Isaac focussed his strength, felt his Psynergy channel through four of his djinn and cast Revive. A golden light draped Sheba, and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked around the circle of her friends and wondered why she was on the ground. Then she wondered where this terrible headache came from.

Then she wondered about Ivan.

"Sheba!" he cried, slowly lifting her off the ground to support her. "Are you all right? What happened to you?" he worried.

"I'm... fine," she said softly. She frowned. Something wasn't adding up. Wasn't Ivan the one who did this to her in the first place? What was he playing at?

The crows, in the meanwhile, gave a collective sigh and began to disperse. The weapon smith went inside his shop, but everyone left the Adepts alone.

"Hold still," Mia said, and she waved her hand over Sheba and cast Pure Ply. A crowd of fairies drifted down and sprinkled dust over her Sheba, healing her. She felt her headache subside.

Sheba slowly picked herself up off the ground. She sent another curious look at Ivan. What was going on?

"Sheba, what happened to you?" Isaac asked her. "We need to know if we're going to do anything."

"Yeah, who am I supposed to take out?" Garet joked, cracking his knuckles.

"I was just outside the plaza last night," Sheba began.

"Alone?" Mia asked, sending a glance to her and a sly smile to Ivan.

"Yes," Sheba replied, and Mia's grin faded a little. "I... heard glass breaking in the plaza, so I came here to see what was going on."

"What happened next?" Garet asked.

"Let her speak, Garet, you'll find out," Ivan replied. Garet glared at him.

"I got to the plaza and found that the weapon smith's shop was broken into," Sheba remembered. The events of last night were a slight blur to her, but she remembered this well enough.

"Who broke into it?" Mia asked. Sheba quickly tried to dodge the question.

"I got into the shop and found a... hooded figure looking around the shop for something," she answered.

"A hooded figure?" Isaac replied, looking a little dejected. Sheba supposed he was hoping for an identity.

"Yes," she answered. "I tried to get him to surrender..."

"Good luck," Garet muttered.

"...but he wouldn't give himself up. I had to fight him," she said.

"And this one guy knocked you out?" Isaac asked quizzically. "I think you're not telling us something. There's no way just one guy could stop you."

"We started fighting and I used Impact to give myself an advantage," Sheba recalled. "I didn't want to just... crush the guy with Psynergy."

"Why not?" Garet asked.

"Because," Mia sighed at him, "sometimes you want to leave people in a state that I don't have to clean up your mess." Isaac smirked.

"Anyway," Sheba continued. "I thought I had an advantage, but then he cast Impact, too."

"What?" Isaac asked unbelievingly. Sheba nodded.

"And then I tried Shine Plasma but he threw Spark right back at me," she said.

"So how did he knock you out?" Garet asked, getting impatient.

"I cast Tempest on him, and... blew his hood off. He surprised me and got me when I wasn't...ready..." Sheba said.

"You know who he was?" Ivan asked.

"Yes, but..."

"Tell me, then! Tell me, and I swear I'll crush him!" Ivan cried.

"But... Ivan, I... I..." Sheba stumbled. This wasn't adding up at all. It was him! But... Ivan didn't have those red eyes today... but still... it was him! Sheba was sure of it!

"I don't think..." Sheba began to say, but Ivan cut her off.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," he said reassuringly. "I'll just find out for myself. Relax," he said, and cast Mind Read.

"Ivan, no...!" Sheba said, but it was too late. Ivan was already reading her memories of the previous night, and saw what occurred right when the Tempest knocked the hood off the thief's head. He gasped and broke the connection.

"It...it can't be!" he gasped.

"Who is it?" Isaac said. Sheba looked down.

"It's..." Ivan stuttered. "It's... me...."

"What?!" Garet cried. "There's no way!"

"How can it be?" Mia wondered. But before any of them could say anything else, the weapon smith came from inside his store to confront them.

"I heard it all!" he said. "You!" he pointed an accusatory finger at Ivan. "You're coming with me!"

"Just wait a minute, sir," Isaac began, but the shopkeeper had already began taking him away.

"Where are you going with him?" Sheba cried, eyes welling up.

"I'll take him to that cave outside of town. A few of us converted it into a rather nice holding area for creeps like this guy. We haven't had to put anyone in yet, but he can be the guinea pig," he replied.

"No!" Sheba cried. "Bring him back!"

"We'll get this sorted out, Ivan!" Isaac called. "I promise!" Ivan said nothing, still paralyzed by shock.

And no one noticed the slightly redder shade of Garet's eyes as Ivan was roughly dragged past them.

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(Dew): Hey, that's not nice!

Neither are a lot of things.

(Char): Like this! [Pyroclasm]

HOT!! OWWWW...

(Dew): Maybe you'll think twice about cliffhangers now...

Not likely.

(Dew): [Froth Sphere]

COLD STUFF....brrrr....

(Char): Get it?!

...If I say yes, will you leave me alone?

(Dew): Yes.

Yes.

(Char): Excellent. *hops away*

(Dew): *follows*

...You'll notice I said I agreed that I understood the consequences. I never said I would stop cliffing. Okay, that means to the rest of you, get started on reviewing and I'll get started on the next chapter. It's a two way street, you know! You review for me, I post for you! Get it? Got it? Good! ^_^