This chapter was nothing more than a pain to write. I HATE writer's block...
(Dew): And a pain to read.
(Char): And a pain to be a muse for.
...Do you ever give a constructive comment?
(Dew): Sure.
(Char): Dew, go construct something I can use to hurt Omniflyer with.
(Dew): Sure thing! ^_^
0.o ...ack...
Review Responses (how did I forget these last time?):
CS: Evil is good. Well, only as far as writing goes...
Midnight C: Hey, who said Garet was dumber than Kraden? No, aside from the characters. And the programmers. And the plot developers. And we authors. And the readers. And the reviewers. And...
MercuryAdept: Hey, cliffs are good! If you don't like them, TURN BACK NOW!!
Great Saiyaman: Thank you! ^_^
0==|=R=a=g=n=a=r=o=k=: I explain a few more things here, don't worry.
Akachi: AAACCKK!! *ducks for cover from Agatio, then realizes that Pyroclasms can't be dodged by ducking* ...ouch...
QueenDragonGoddess: It's HARD to update with Writer's Block!
Jupiter Sprite: I'm posting, I'm posting!! And yes, glowing red eyes are never good.
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"So let me get this straight," Jenna said, arms folded across her chest and staring at Sheba. "You were at the plaza and got attacked by Ivan?" she asked. Sheba nodded.
"But... it didn't feel like Ivan, you know?" she posed meekly. "His eyes were a deep, deep red... and... and he seemed so... un-Ivan-like..."
"Un-Ivan-like?" Felix asked, with a slight smile.
"I can't describe it!" she rounded on him. Felix kept his gaze fixed on her with unblinking eyes, but didn't say anything else.
The group of Adepts, now seven in number, were all gathered around the front stoop of Jenna and Felix's house. Isaac and Mia were side-by-side in front of the flower garden, and Garet was uncharacteristically quiet near the edge of the property. It wasn't common for him to be so far placed from Jenna, but Isaac supposed that with Felix here as well, he was just staying clear for the sake of peace. Still, he was a little too far...
Picard sat near Felix and Jenna, his silk headpiece draped over his forehead. He was paying close attention to Garet, as well, but thought not nearly as much of it as Isaac did.
Meanwhile, Sheba was sitting cross-legged in the shade of Jenna's house. Her eyes were red, not like Ivan's had been, but as though she had been holding back a deluge of tears over what had happened. It was no secret that Ivan and Sheba had become very close. Both had grown up with no knowledge of their past, and were treated differently as children because of their Adept lineage: Ivan was shunned by his peers, and Sheba was treated as a veritable goddess.
But now Ivan was being restrained, and for the first time since she met him, Sheba felt alone again. She still had her other friends, of course, but there was something comforting about Ivan, be it his ability to talk with her without words, or the similarities they shared, that drew her to him and him to her. To be suddenly shut off from that connection was disturbing to say the least.
"There's got to be some reason why he was trying to break into the weapon shop," Isaac commented. "We've got to figure out what it was, and how to stop it from happening again."
"You know," Felix said slowly, "if something strange has happened and we know nothing about it, it may not be a poor decision to go and find..." Jenna groaned, interrupting him.
"Kraden..." Jenna mused.
"Kraden," Felix smiled, with a grin at his sister. She scowled.
"Kraden," Sheba said resolutely, and stood, taking off quickly for the scholar's residence. Picard took her shoulder to slow her.
"We should probably send someone to the plaza, to see what Ivan was looking for," he said. Sheba glared at him.
"You mean me? Do you not think I can handle listening to what's happened to Ivan?" she wheeled on him. Picard flushed.
"I'm saying you may not like hearing what he has to say," he said, unwavering from his position. Mia stepped between them.
"Sheba, no one is saying you can't handle it, and Picard, she has a right to know what's happened to Ivan." The Lemurian gave a slight nod of his head and withdrew. He knew almost as well as Isaac that there was no point in arguing with Mia when she became fixed on an idea, let alone against her and the young Jupiter Adept. "We just need someone to go check on the plaza. The rest of us can go visit Kraden." Before she finished her last sentence, Garet had already risen, and with a quick hand signal that resembled a wave and a salute, took off for the plaza, wordless.
"No fair!" Jenna whined. "How come he gets to skip out on the boring lecture?"
But no one answered her. They just followed Sheba as she walked after Kraden's house.
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"Kraden!" Picard called, knocking on his door. "Kraden, get out here!" Picard had no problem ordering the elderly man around; after all, being a Lemurian, he was far older than Kraden could ever hope to be. After a few more knocks, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the door. Unfortunately, they were too faint to be heard by the ears of the rash Mars Adept.
"Hurry up!" Jenna cried, barging towards the door and flinging it open. She felt a little resistance as the flung it open, but didn't see anything that would serve as a proper obstacle. She looked to the end of the hall, and saw that Kraden was laying in a tangled heap in the corner. "Kraden... what are you doing on the floor like that?" Picard was gaping at her, mouth open, and Sheba and Felix had their normal objective faces set. Mia and Isaac were doubled over with laughter, but they were always in a good mood in the other's company, so the others ignored them.
Kraden, meanwhile, was slowly pulling himself up to his feet, mumbling to himself. "... blasted Mars ... think they ... knocking innocent people ... the floor ... should teach them ... elderly people..." Sheba calmly walked over and pulled him to his feet.
"We need to talk," she said quickly. "Now."
"Oh, dear..." Kraden trailed.
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A full hour had passed before the story had finished and all the Adepts had spoken their piece. Kraden was rocking back and forth on the tips of his feet, usually a sign that he was about to make a conclusion.
"I think..." Kraden began, but that was as far as he got before Sheba interrupted him.
"What, what?!" she burst, leaping over to him.
"I think we should go to the jail and find Ivan before we go any farther." Sheba nearly fell face-first.
The group walked (or ran, in Sheba's case) to the jails. It took only a minute as Kraden's house and the cells were so near each other, but that minute seemed an eternity to Sheba, though she reached the cells well before the others arrived there. The others walked into the room to find Sheba holding Ivan's hands through the iron bars of the cell. Their foreheads were pressed together, and a small, glittering tear was slowly leaking from the corner of her eye. Ivan was mumbling to her, and Sheba was shaking her head. They assumed that Sheba was trying to convince Ivan that it wasn't his fault, but it was hard going.
"How are you holding up, Ivan?" Isaac asked, approaching the cell. Ivan looked at him with red eyes.
"I've... seen better days," he tried to joke. But it sounded rough and hoarse.
"Kraden, can you tell us what's happening now?" Sheba pressed. Kraden looked up from a mushroom on the ground he was observing.
"Hmm? Oh, yes... quite," Kraden said, clearing his throat. He drew himself up to his full height (barely reaching Isaac's shoulders) and searched his robes for a match. "Observe," he said, striking the match. It gave off a flickering light, which illuminated the dimly lit cells.
"So?" Mia wondered. "It's a match."
"A lit match," Jenna commented.
"A lit match that isn't going to explain itself," Sheba shot at them, gesturing for them to stop talking. The two girls feigned being hurt, and then focussed on the match again.
"Note how the match gives out light," Kraden said.
"I know that," Sheba said. "How is that related?"
"Do you see what the result of the light is?" he posed.
"We can see more," Isaac stated.
"You may be able to see more, but you obviously don't understand better..." Kraden mused.
"What do you want us to see?" Felix asked.
"Ahh..." Picard said. "I think I get it!" Kraden smiled.
"I expected you would. I'm surprised you didn't figure this out on yourself!" he commented.
"What is there to understand?" Jenna wondered.
"Look at this," Picard said. "The light enables us to see around in the cave, correct?"
"I get that!" Sheba exclaimed. "What else is there to see?"
"The point is: what else isn't there to see?" Picard said.
"Huh?"
"What can you see behind Kraden?" he asked her.
"I can't see anything, of course. There's too much shado...oh," Sheba said.
"For every light, there must also be a darkness," Kraden explained. "This match gives out a light, but it cannot illuminate what is behind me, and so the spot behind me is dark." Picard nodded, and looked at the other Adepts.
"For every light, a shadow."
"Okay, but how does that apply to us?" Isaac asked.
"Come with me," Kraden gestured, and began to walk out of the cell cave. Ivan coughed. "Oh, of course..." Kraden walked over to the cell door. He drew a vial with a potion from it and poured it over the lock on the door. It shattered, and the door swung open. Everyone gaped at Kraden.
"I could have done that," Ivan said. "But..."
"Oh, stop it," Kraden said. "I know you're innocent, Sheba knows you're innocent, and all the others know you're innocent. No one cares that you've been wrongfully imprisoned."
"But..." Ivan began, but Sheba stopped him with a quick kiss. He blushed. "Okay, then."
"Now, follow me," Kraden said. He walked outside the cave and back to his house. The others followed.
Kraden walked around the side of his house and pulled a string dangling from his roof. A ladder dropped. Jenna looked in amazement.
"Why do you have a ladder leading to your roof?" she wondered.
"Sometimes you need a roof for some reasons. Rescuing a cat, experiments, getting away from it all, Mars Adepts," he added in an undertone. Jenna scowled at him.
"So what's up there?"
"A very nice view, among other things," Kraden said, grunting as he tried to heave his ancient body up the ladder. "But something you'll love to see."
"What's that?" Isaac asked, nearing the ladder.
"Let the Jupiter Adepts go first," Mia said, pulling him away. With a nod for thanks, Ivan and Sheba quickly scaled the ladder, and smiled at the beauty of the sight they saw, then grimaced as they realized what it meant.
"What is it, Sheba?" Jenna called up. "What do you see?"
"It's... the Golden Sun," she said, barely loud enough for Jenna to hear. A hush fell over the Adepts as this information settled in.
"So the Golden Sun gives off the light of Alchemy, but the more light it gives, the more shadow you get," Ivan reasoned.
"Exactly," Kraden said. "I believe you have been possessed by the shadow of the Golden Sun."
"But... that doesn't make any sense!" Felix called from below.
"And why not?" Picard asked.
"What would a shadow want with a weapon from the weapon shop?" Felix asked. Kraden shifted.
"Ah, yes. Well, you see... that may be my fault," Kraden said. "I was experimenting with alchemy, and I... kind of ended up forging a sword."
"You created a weapon?" Jenna asked unbelievingly.
"Yes, accidentally," he said uncomfortably. "But that is not the point. The point is, this weapon, if handled properly, could even be stronger than the Sol Blade which Isaac carries." Isaac's hand moved to his Sol Blade, and it glowed a little, as though defying Kraden's statement.
"But what would a shadow want with this weapon?" Isaac wondered.
"It's not the shadow, per se," Kraden said. "It's the personality that the shadow took."
"Personality?" Ivan asked. "What do you mean? This is starting to get a little creepy..."
"The Golden Sun, when it was formed, nearly had it's power drained by Alex, correct?" Kraden posed.
"Yes," Isaac said. Then his heart sunk. "Wait... you mean the shadow is..." Kraden nodded.
"Yes. The shadow is Alex, in some way or another," he said.
"A shadow Alex?" Jenna wondered. "An... Alex-shadow? A... Shalex?" Isaac blinked at her. "What? It's the best I can do on short notice!" she said.
"So... how do we stop him?" Felix asked. Kraden frowned.
"I don't know how to stop him, to be honest with you," he said. "But I think he can only possess someone who has been exposed to great amounts of Psynergy. Seeing as how you are all the ones who have been exposed the most, from the lighting of the Mars Beacon and the rising of the Golden Sun, you all would be the ones to be possessed. And because none of you are, it is safe to say the shadow has somehow been dispelled." Jenna frowned.
"Not... all of us are here," she whispered. Before Kraden could reply, the eruption of flames from the plaza drew all the Adepts running toward it.
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That took way too long to write.......
(Dew): Alex?
(Char): SHALEX?! What kind of a lame name is that?! Jenna would NEVER come up with something so STUPID!!
...Char is way too attached to Fire Adepts...
(Char): And Garet's possessed now?! That's not good either! *sobbing*
Yeah, well, we're building to the ending (hey, I warned you that this would be a short one). On the upside, I think I'm nearly over this darned writer's block, and I even came up with a plot for my next big long fic! ^_^ I love it when that happens! So let me know how this chapter was, okay? Review!!
(Dew): ANOTHER FIC?!