I'm back...
(Dew): After WAY too long.
(Char): *nodding* What took so long? No excuses!!
Well, firstly I have school (which gets really annoying). Second, I still have a nasty case of writer's block.
(Dew): Smell that, Char?
(Char): Yup.
What?
(Dew/Char): The sickening stench of EXCUSES! [Ice Missile/Flare Wall]
Gaaaaahhh... that hurts... I hate these muse things....
Well, I have good news for you all. Well, I suppose it could be bad news, depending on how much you like my stories, but I hope you'll think it's good news. If you've been paying attention to what I post, you'll see that I've mentioned that I finally got an idea for my next fic. But then, I got to thinking, why finish this fic and then take forever to start a new one, when I could just continue this one with the idea I have for the next one?
That means that this fic is no longer going to stay at the original 4-5 chapters I planned for it to be. No, this will probably end up being as long as, if not longer than, Faces of War (gold points to everyone who read and reviewed that story).
So, bearing that in mind, this means that this chapter will be a semi-conclusion to the original plot of Light's Shadow, and the start of my other idea. This idea came about when I realized that I liked the name of this fic... and I realized I could torment you all for the next 13 chapters or so with the name Shalex. Shalex, Shalex, SHALEX!! BWAHAHAHA!!!
(Dew): *cowering* STOP THAT!
(Char): What a stupid name...
It was supposed to be. Anyway...
That doesn't necessarily mean you're in for a cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. But... aw, who am I kidding? I know all Mudshippers will hate it, and no, it's not meant to be a remake of what I did in FoW. That means, there will be no surprising... well, I'll let you find out for yourself, now won't I?
Oh, and there will be spoilers as to the end of the Lost Age! I warned you!!
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Flames raged in the sky above the plaza, and Isaac and company were running there as fast as their legs would carry them. A few of the civilians they passed looked in confusion as Ivan passed them by, but thankfully, no one tried to stop them.
As they neared the plaza, the temperature began to rise. 'Garet' was unleashing great amounts of psynergy.
"I'll kill him for this!!" Jenna exclaimed as she overtook Isaac. Her staff was in hand, and she was the first one to round the corner as the approached the plaza.
"You'll have to beat me to it," Mia said, running beside her.
"And you'll both have to keep me away from him," Sheba said overtaking the both of them. The three girls were well ahead of the rest of the group as they stormed into the plaza.
"Actually," Picard said, grinning slightly at the three femmes fatales. "I'm kind of worried for Alex's sake, right now..." Isaac smirked at him.
"Don't you mean Shalex?"
"Hey, Jenna came up with that dumb name, and I have no intention of using it... OW!" he cried, as a small flame shot back from Jenna hit him square in the arm. "She has good hearing!"
"And good aim!" Jenna called back. Ivan and Isaac laughed.
In all reality, though, the three ladies had the most reason of anyone to be ahead of the rest. Sheba was fighting to get vengeance, not only for what Shalex did to her the night before, but for what he had forced Ivan to do. And an angry Wind Adept is nothing to trifle with.
Jenna was fighting for the same thing. Shalex was currently causing havoc in Garet's body. Her Garet, of all people! She couldn't believe Shalex could be so obnoxious as to take over her Garet!
But perhaps Mia's reason was deeper than both of them put togther. She had once been great friends with him, Alex. She had even started to fall in love with him. But one fateful day, at the time of the Mercury Flare, he betrayed her. He left her, and on his way out of her snowy hometown, he trampled all over her broken heart. The next time the gentle healer was to see him, he would be working with Saturos and Menardi, on a quest, she thought at the time, to destroy the world. Well... perhaps gentle was not a word to be used to describe Mia now.
Garet had already burned down two buildings, and was currently in the process of rampaging through the weapon shop for the weapon Kraden had forged when the three of them reached him. Mia cast Douse, which knocked Garet painfully to the floor with a grunt.
"Hey, watch it!" Jenna yelled at Mia. "Don't hurt him!" Mia started at her unbelievingly. Emotions were running high, true, but was that any reason for Jenna to vent her anger on her?
"We've got to stop him!" she replied quickly.
"Yes, but you don't have to hurt him!" she called.
"It was only Douse!!"
"He's weak against your petty Mercury powers!"
"Petty?! I'll show you who's petty around here!!" Mia glared at her. Sheba stared at both of them and screamed.
"Jenna, get a hold of yourself!! We need to take Garet down first!" Jenna looked a little hurt, and Mia beamed at her. "And you, Mia, we're all on the same side!! Fight like it!" Mia's grin disappeared. Just then the rest of the group caught up.
"What, can't you guys keep peace without me?" Isaac smiled. The girls just frowned at him, glares that would freeze the Suhalla Desert over in an instant. "Ooo-kay... how about I just start fighting?" Picard and Ivan sniggered.
"So," Ivan said, drawing his staff and walking calmly over to Garet. "We meet at last." Garet suddenly rolled to his feet and slashed out with his sword. Ivan blocked, but it left a large dent in his staff. "Better the staff than me, I suppose. So you want to play, Garet?" he taunted. "Fine by me!" Ivan channelled his psynergy and wind began to dance around him, rippling his clothes, blowing back his small cape and ruffling his hair. Ivan raised his staff above his head and twirled it in circles, the wind growing ever fiercer. "I summon... Thor!!"
"You don't need to do that!" Jenna cried, but Felix placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Watch. He knows what he's doing."
The intimidating form of Thor appeared over head. He swung his mighty hammer, and great bolts of lighting arced towards Garet. Garet called up a wall of flame, which somehow managed to dissipate the bolts. But in his haste to defend himself, he didn't notice Ivan sneak up behind him. Ivan placed his hand on Garet's back and called "Spark Plasma!!" Garet was overcome by bolts of electricity and slumped.
"Well...that was easy enough," Felix commented. "I didn't even need to draw my sword."
"Yeah..." Jenna looked down. "But how do we get Shalex out of him?" The others winced, not because they didn't know how to free their friend, but because Jenna had said the name again.
"I think..." Ivan began, but stopped abuptly. Sheba looked curiously at him.
"What?" she wondered. Ivan said nothing.
"Ivan...?" Isaac asked. Ivan closed his eyes and walked toward Sheba. She looked curiously at him. "Sheba, get away!"
"What? Why?" she asked in confusion, but Ivan had already opened his red eyes and swung at her with his staff. She stumbled to one knee.
"He switched bodies again!" Picard cried.
"How are we supposed to beat him?!" Jenna cried. "He can just jump whenever we get the edge on him!" Isaac furrowed his brow.
"There's got to be a way... there always is... always!"
"Well, whatever it is, we need to think of it fast," Felix said, sparring with Ivan. "Before he..."
"Before he wha- Ivan, look out!" Mia cried, noting Ivan's eyes return to normal and the sudden crimson shade in Felix's. Only Ivan's Jupiter gifted speed saved him, and he ducked out of the way of Felix's swipe. He rolled back to Sheba and helped her up.
Isaac ran over to Garet and cast Revive. He rose slowly and, after inquiring to where he was, noted Jenna fighting against Felix. Obviously it was a lot to take in.
"Gee, Jenna, I know you like me, and I know Felix doesn't want us together, but are you sure fighting him is the only way to resolve it?" Jenna, in mid-spin from a dodge, clipped him over the head with her staff. "OW! Yes, huh?"
Jenna nimbly dodged two of Felix's slashes, but the third caught her in the leg. She limped away over to Mia. The healer rushed over to assist her. "Don't worry, Jenna, I've got you covered," she smiled. Her hands glew blue as she began to cast Ply Well, but Jenna's eyes went wide in terror as she saw Mia's serene aqua eyes go red, and the Ply Well turn into a point-blank Ice Missile attack. Jenna screamed and dropped at Mia's feet.
"He's got Mia now!" Picard cried. Isaac gripped his Sol Blade.
"Now it's personal!!" he roared, drawing it from its sheath and letting its light overtake the store.
"Oh, thanks a lot," Garet said.
Isaac dashed toward Mia, ducked under one staff swing, jumped over the second, and rolled around a third. He landed right beside Jenna, cast Revive as quickly as he could manage, and then flipped away from Mia's attempt to stop him. Then he placed the Sol Blade back in its scabbard and waited.
"Is that it?" Ivan asked. "All the theatrics, the drawing the sword, the light, the fancy moves... that's all you're going to do?" Isaac smiled at him.
"Of course. I'd never fight Mia," he said. Ivan slapped his forehead.
"Hopeless..."
Shalex-Mia, however, seemed to have no problems fighting Isaac. She dashed towards him and leaped. Before she struck, though, she stopped and landed. Her first sight was a red-eyed Isaac drawing the Sol Blade in front of her. Mia gasped and leaped back as the first strike came far too close to her stomach.
"This is starting to get way too frustrating..." Picard said. "Is there no way to beat him?" Before he had finished his last word, however, Isaac stopped moving. He bent to one knee, and then fell to both knees, and then arched his back and screamed to the sky. A huge cloud of darkness escaped from the orifices on his face, and it settled before him and formed into a familiar shape.
"Alex!!" Mia cried through gritted teeth. "How dare you show your face here...!"
The cloud had become Alex. Though he still had the same long blue hair and icy, penetrating gaze, that was where the similarities with his old self had ended. He was clad in a long tunic, black and light blue in colour. His pants were pitch black, and his boots were of the same colour, though with stripes of blue racing down the sides. Looking closer at his gaze, Mia realized it wasn't the same after all. They were a deeper blue, and if you looked far enough, there was a pool of blackness hiding behind them.
"I show my face quite easily here," he yawned, "though it is ever so much more amusing to appear as yours." He turned to face Isaac. "Thank you ever so much, Isaac. Your slight absorption of the powers of Alchemy have worked well with my own, allowing me to phase back into a solid form of existence." He stretched, as though getting used to his own body again.
"Save your melodramatics for just once, Alex," Isaac groaned, slowly rising from his spot on the floor. "What do you want?"
"Why, nothing more and nothing less," he said smoothly, "than this." He strode over and in one fell swoop before anyone could stop him, grabbed an elegant and powerful sword. "Kraden's famed Sword of Hilda. Pity how he named it so poorly." Garet fumed.
"I remember Hilda. She was a great woman! She and Kraden were so happy before the boulder incident..."
"I thought no one died that night," Picard asked. Jenna shook her head sadly.
"Hilda wasn't killed by the boulder... she was killed by the stress of that night. She couldn't take all the excitement. She had a heart attack."
"Kraden became totally obsessed with alchemy after that," Isaac informed them. "It was something to take his mind off her."
"So Kraden wasn't always..." Picard trailed.
"A moronic, babbling, senile old fool? No, he wasn't," Alex said, and the others glared at him for his blatant disrespect of Kraden.
"Enough Alex!" Mia cried. "We've beaten others before, we'll beat you, too! We'll beat you so you can never bother us again!" She charged at him, all the anger she had ever felt for him culminating into this one attack. Alex smiled.
"My name is not Alex, you fool!" he laughed, grabbing her by the neck. Mia choked. "I am Shalex!!" He threw Mia toward Isaac, who caught her carefully and sunk to the floor with her as she gasped for air.
Meanwhile, Jenna, of course, was crowing to all within ear distance. "Did you hear that Picard?" she laughed, punching him on the shoulder.
"I wish I hadn't," he groaned.
"Now, as for you," Shalex said, pointing at Isaac with the Sword of Hilda. "Alchemy's full power is split between you and I. And I want it back!!"
Isaac kissed Mia quickly and rose to face Shalex, Sol Blade in hand. "The full power of alchemy will be on the line in this fight, but it will go to me," he said. "And I will use it to protect this land!"
"Fool," Shalex spat. "The power can be used for so much more... and it will be! We battle!"
Alex charged at Isaac and slashed with the Sword of Hilda. Isaac could see why Kraden had said it could be the most powerful blade ever. He buckled under the onslaught, but came back ready for more.
"Is that all you can do?" Isaac taunted, pushing Shalex back. "Come on, surely you've got more than that!"
"More than you'll ever know!"
Isaac swung vertically, but Shalex blocked and knocked the Sol Blade out of position. He stabbed, and Isaac twisted to avoid it. Shalex slashed horizontally, hoping to decapitate Isaac, but he was too fast, and he ducked.
Shalex then cast Froth Sphere. Isaac managed to dodge all but the last two spheres, which struck him. The bubbles damaged him, but they also slowed him down greatly, as the bubbles had the unfortunate effect of turning the dirt they were on to mud. Behind him, he could hear Mia struggling to remove her own feet from the sticky substance, but focussed more on saving himself.
Shalex took swing after swing, but Isaac, still with his foot stuck, managed to block each one. He cast Spire to force Shalex back. He recoiled, and Isaac had enough time to free his feet.
"So, it's a psynergy battle you want?" Shalex mocked. "Then beat this!" he called. His hands glowed a deep blue. "Ice Missile!" Isaac was ready for the block, but he was shocked to see Shalex point his hands towards a totally different person.
"Mia!!" Isaac cried. "Move!!"
"I can't!" she cried, still frantically trying to pull her feet from the ground. Isaac flew towards her, reaching her mere moments before the shards of ice did. Isaac realized that he couldn't get her out of the way in time.
So instead, he turned to face Shalex and the Ice Missile attack. He threw his arms out and took every single shard himself. Mia remained perfectly healthy.
"Isaac!!!" she cried. "No!!" Shalex laughed as Isaac slumped to Mia's feet, bleeding badly.
"Mia..." he groaned. "I love you.... Mia..." but he was to say no more.
"Isaac!!" she cried. "I won't let you die!!" she screamed glowing a brilliant blue shade. She called up every last channel of psynergy she had, and her power took over her whole body. "Pure Ply!!" she cried, taking over Isaac's body with a blue light as the familiar crowd of fairies sprinkled their healing dust over her whole body.
And when it ended, Isaac was no longer bleeding.
But he wasn't breathing either.
"Isaac....no, no, please, no," Mia whimpered. "Please, no..." Shalex laughed and raised his hands to Isaac. A white psynergy flowed from Isaac to Shalex, and he laughed.
"All of Psynergy's power is now mind to command. Fear me now, mortals... I am immortal!!!" He rose to the sky and began to fly away. Mia gritted her teeth.
"Shalex... I don't care where you run!!" she cried, tears running down her cheeks. "I will find you!!! I will extract vengeance for this!!!" Shalex's mocking laughter could be heard as he flew off into the world.
"You can never stop me now, Mia!! None of you can!" he called back. Mia threw her head back and screamed at him.
"SHALEX!!!"
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(Dew): You evil...
(Char): NO!!
(Dew): ...sadistic...
(Char): I can't believe you!!!
Oh, it's not that bad. Just think of it as... the start of a journey.
(Dew): ...corrupted...
(Char): But you killed Isaac!!
Yeah, and don't think I'm going to pull some Wise One-induced revival thing here. He's dead.
(Dew): ...demoralized...
(Char): You know everyone will kill you for this, RIGHT?!
^_^;; Well, that and for the use of the word 'Shalex'.
(Dew): ...author-wannabe. I will kill you for this!!
(Char): I'll help!!!
So will all of these people reading. Remember, reading = reviewing! Reviewing = good!! Friendly reviews = good! Death threats = not-so-good, but I don't think I'm going to have much of a choice about that...