Nips: yes well, I know some pretty twisted people o-O;; Yes, it's been a really great fic so far, my best to date. The end is not as tear-jerk as 'Friends', since this is a fanfiction and they had 7 years on the set XP but I AM hoping to make it emotional. 'Friends' was incredibly sad when it ended, and I'm still going to try for touching/sad if I get an alternate ending done. n-n
Piers: Which she won't. n-n
Sun: T-T
CMAK: yes yes, I'll be sure to finish this fic. I planned Hidden Currents for a few weeks before I started writing it out. This next one is still just forming. n-n
Felix: =-T she hit me eye again with her Cattle prod.
Felix's mom: T-T You forgot to fold the laundry!!!!
Felix: =.=;;
Fire Dragons: o.O;; you SURE you're okay? n-n you just have to keep checking up on me. I'm getting one chapter up every week/week-an-a-half give or take a bought with Writer's Block n-n.
Host: o-O;; Mountain-load of OOCness in this chapter. You're scaring me with what you make the Adepts do…
Piers: o-O;; I think I need to work on my people skills if that's what my friends really think of me…
Sun: T-T I HATE Conservato. But I was confused as to how to start this chappie, it was VERY hard to get them all where I wanted o-O;; Enjoy n-n.
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Is it Truly
Hydros sat in his study, musty old papers covering his oaken desk as Lunpa and Kraden shuffled through a stack near the window. None of them speaking as they scanned the ancient texts.
"Have either of you found anything even remotely connected with what we need?" they king asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly, Lunpa roughly set the scroll he was looking at in the ever-growing pile beside him, Kraden shaking his head as he took another from the dwindling one beside him.
"Nothing that looks at all useful, whoever wrote this fool thing didn't think to write out something to show us what the Fates want to happen." The explorer sighed, something that would have been painful if he'd not been in a city of Mercury-Adepts.
"I think the Fates wanted to know what we mortals would come up with." Hydros looked up, startled at the new voice, confused as he recognized the man standing there.
"Come to gloat have we?" he asked, looking back to the segment of the Prophecy before him. Conservato stepped fully into the room, glancing over at Lunpa and Kraden, he gave them a dark glare.
"May I have a moment alone with his Majesty?" He said, oddly humble. Lunpa raised a questioning eye-brow at Conservato's strange behavior, but motioned for Kraden to get up without a word and left, both taking a few of the documents with him as they did so. As the door clicked shut behind the Explorer, Hydros turned his full attention to the Senator before him.
"Now what's all this about?" The king asked, Conservato's mouth twisted in dis-taste as he pulled a small scroll out of his volumes robes, and held it out to the king. Hydros took the old parchment, unrolled it, and scanned a few lines at the top, his eyebrows creeping steadily up as he read.
'Under the Goddess's eyes will the truth then be found. In her cavern of ice will the Bond shine true, its light upon the Master in pain, and the one still by his side.' Hydros looked up at Conservato, confused.
"What?" He said, still stunned by the other man's gesture, "Why are you—"
"I dislike Piers." Conservato said simply. "I dislike how he disobeyed Lemurian law, and almost got himself killed doing it. I dislike everything about him. I set out to banish him, and I did." The Senate head puffed up his chest as he spoke. "But I have seen what Alchemy has given back; I know how many in the city see him as an icon. I also hate that Babi far more than I ever will Piers; he riffled through Senate records in his stay, stole documents from us, then killed a citizen, stole the draught, and finally hijacked a ship." Reaching forwards, he tapped two gnarled fingers on the thin parchment before the king.
"This is my way of seeing everything that bastard has worked for fall." He said with a sneer, turning swiftly on his heel without another word. He opened the door and strode out as Lunpa poked his head in. The three men stood staring at each other for a good long while.
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Piers ran down the shadowed crystal passage, ignoring the glass-like walls that trapped him, heedless of the crystals crushed under his feet. Running was useless, and usually made it all worse, but he didn't care, he couldn't take standing still anymore.
Piers skidded to a halt as a shadow down the passage moved, he tripped in his haste and fell back, sharp crystals cutting into his hands. He scrambled to his feet desperate to get away, not wanting to see who was chasing him, only to have a heavy boot slam down on his back, driving his face into the ground.
"You do realize if you had been faster then Jenna wouldn't have that scar down her leg from the Doom Dragons talons, right?" Felix jeered, he removed his foot letting Piers turn over, the Lemurian looked right up into his friend's smoldering eyes, anger coming off the Venus-Adept in waves. The head of a staff slammed down next to his shoulder,
"What did you expect Felix?" Sheba asked, walking into his line of sight. "He couldn't even sail away from his Island without getting into trouble. Needed people he didn't even know to go to Alhafra for him." Sheba stuck her nose in the air, like she often did when talking about Alex or remembering Babi, or anything else that disgusted her.
"But I didn't ask—" He was cut off as Isaac's boot rammed into his head.
"No you didn't ask." The other Venus-adept said sharply, "You never ask, you just expect people to do things for you. Just like you expected that old man from Madra to journey through the Yampi desert at his age to help you." Piers rolled onto his side holding his head, barely a moment's respite before he felt some one grab the back of his shirt and hoist him up.
"What a wimp." Garet jeered, throwing him against the jagged wall, "Damn Felix, I feel sorry for you having to travel with this guy for a few months before we came." He said conversationally as he dealt Piers a kick to the stomach. "Sheba has more endurance than this pathetic sailor." Piers couldn't fight as his friends took turns kicking and punching him; Ivan and Jenna joined them soon, adding in their views as well.
"Remember how we traveled all the way across Southern Gondowan to Kibimbo, and then we had to argue with him before he let us help?" Jenna said as Isaac was having another go at him with Psynegry. The Mariner coughed up blood as the sharp vines leapt out of the ground to attack him.
"It's good to get what we think of you out in the open Piers," Ivan said cheerily, sparks collecting between his hands. "It means that we can get rid of the weakest link, and not have you unsure about our reasoning." He glanced over at Sheba, "Remember when Kraden was talking about whether certain attacks hurt more depending on the kind of Adept?" He asked; Sheba nodded as Ivan looked back, the sparks becoming a strong current running through the younger Adept as he smiled slightly. "Now we can test that theory."
Pain flooded Piers' world, mental and physical, he screamed and revolted against what was happening. The world became distorted and the colors seemed to bleed into one another. The pain ebbed away slowly, the caverns fading from his vision as the wounds healed as if they had never been, leaving only an odd light shining in the distance. Piers knew what would happen if he tried to reach out to it. But no matter how badly he wanted, needed, to try reaching Mia through the Bond, he knew he wouldn't be able to take his friend's harsh words again…
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Mia squeezed Piers' hand as she felt his pain fade away, fighting back tears at how strongly he had been hurt this time. It kept growing, more painful and unbearable each time. The only respite was when he hung without feeling, she hated it, but it was far better that the pain he felt otherwise.
"So, we have to take him back into the Lighthouse?" Ivan exclaimed "Back where he was almost killed? Who comes up with this stuff??" They were all crowded into Piers' small cabin, Lunpa, Kraden and Hydros, revealing what they'd learned from the texts.
"The Fates when they are very bored I'd say. Nothing more interesting than killing off a few hero's or making their lives hell now and then." Lunpa said sarcastically.
"What about Babi?" Felix asked, from where he stood leaning against the wall "Do you think he's still alive down there? Only been a week, he might not be dead yet. Those men were pretty beat-up, most killed, but not him." Sheba bit her lip, mulling over the question.
"He was slammed into a fountain, and he's frail, that ought to have injured him at least a little bit." the Jupiter-Adept said.
"Yeah," Jenna seconded, "I was blasted back into one of those things and I sure wasn't ready to shake it off all that fast." Hydros mulled over this a moment.
"If he is still down there, I am sure you all should be able to handle him." Lunpa said "His Psynergy was always weak; I doubt he could get the upper-hand on any of you." the others all nodded in agreement,
"Yeah," Garet said, flexing his arm as he spoke, "We were all confused when we were down there last, this time we know what's happening. If he shows up I sure won't let him get past." Garet flashed one of his light smiles as he spoke, everyone else feeling a bit better with the positive thinking. Hydros turned slightly to look at Mia,
"Are you alright with this?" He asked her in a serious tone, Mia nodded her head,
"I can feel what this is doing to him," She said, still holding Piers' hand, "I want nothing more than to make it end for him." Hydros nodded looking back to the others he said;
"It is still early in the day, and I suppose you have all eaten?" Felix nodded Ivan and Sheba getting up from where they had been sitting in the corner.
"We'll go make sure everything's ready so we can get moving." Sheba said; the two making their way to the door as Isaac nodded. One by one they each left to get weapons ready, making sure the ship was alright to sale after a week in the harbor.
Once only she and Leon were left in the room, she turned again to Piers, he still wasn't feeling anything; his emotions were blank. Though she was glad he wasn't in any pain, she was now beginning to worry.
"When you are in the Cavern again, you ought to be able to reach him through the Bond. His Majesty is not sure what will happen when you do." Leon said; rising from his seat he continued. "If the gods look kindly on us, then perhaps by evening he will be awake and able to recover from this." he sighed, walking from the room, he glanced back over his shoulder at her. When he was gone, Mia reached out and gently stroked Piers' cheek,
'Perhaps by evening he will be awake and able to recover from this' Leon's voice echoed in her head, Mia bent her head, praying he was right.
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About an hour later, the Adepts pulled into the old wharfs near Ancient Lemuria, no need this time to go through the Caves. Garet and Felix carried Piers off the boat with Isaac in the lead and the others trailing behind. They moved single-file down into the ruins, Mia as close to the stretcher Piers was on as possible.
It took them about an hour to make their way through the maze of pillars before they found the path back to the large manor from before, this time passing through, Hydros paused to look around the main room.
"Majesty?" Lunpa asked as the adepts continued down the way, Hydros turned at his title, hearing the question in his old friends eyes, he said;
"Back when I was still young, this used to be the house of the Senate. I remember my own father leading me down the halls when Lemuria as a whole was at its height."
"Oi! King Hydros! Lunpa!" Garet's voice echoed a ways off down the passage "You coming or not? He's not getting any lighter I tell you!" Smiling slightly, the king and his advisor chose not to hold up the others any longer.
Walking down the dingy stone passage, the adepts took the same route they had the first time, stopping when they came to the Lapis engraved on the floor. Ivan pulled out the small cube and siphoned a small amount of Psynergy into the small object; it pulsed and glowed as the group fell apart in mid-air.
Mia stumbled slightly when they were let down on the identical Lapis. She pulled her cloak around her shoulders as she felt the chill under the Lighthouse; winds from the Tundra above seeping below ground to freeze the small puddles on the ground.
"Every one ok?" Felix asked "All body-parts intact and in the right place?" Jenna snorted,
"Not the most appropriate time to be funny." She said in a snippy tone,
"You wanna carry him?" he asked, giving his sister a level look. Ignoreing their two friends, the party started off again, any conversation dieing down almost instantly until they came up to the grand ice-doors glowing an eerie ethereal blue.
"Uhhh… Guys." Garet said, a bit unsure as they paused in front of the gate. "Didn't we, you know… Blast the doors to pieces little over a week ago?" Isaac nodded, a bit unsure as well, Mia dragged herself from her thoughts as she heard them muttering too each other.
"It's Mercury Lighthouse you guys." She said, "Inside there's a statue and small sanctum devoted to the power of Mercury, of course the doors were repaired."
"All by themselves?" Ivan asked, "We should have those installed on the ship, then at least we won't have to worry about constant repairs." Sheba glanced over her shoulder at him,
"Not helping the situation Ivan." She said, her breath misting in the chill air. Rubbing his gloved hands together, Isaac walked forward and pushed the doors, they groan in protest, but the massive mounds of ice moved rather smoothly to reveal the same breath-taking site as before.
Stumbling slightly with their burden, Felix and Garet moved inside towards the statue of the Goddess, unnerved to find the bent fountains standing tall and proud again, but that the orb the Goddess held still levitated there glowing and sending off small sparks of energy, the remains of it's casing still littering the floor. Sloshing through the shallow canal, the two adepts set Piers down near a rather large shard of the orb's shell. It had landed in a way that left it stable so they could rest Piers up against it. Mia came up and took a place at his side.
"Holler if you need anything," Garet said as the others backed out of the cavern, the power radiating from the very walls telling them simply that they were un-welcome guests. "Or if you see tall dark and dead in the shadows." Mia nodded as she saw Lunpa and Hydros usher Leon out into the hall as well. No one knew what kind of power this would unleash, so they'd agreed that it would be safest if it were only Mia and Piers inside. As Lunpa stepped out of the doors way, the two massive chunks of ice moved of their own accord to slam shut, locking her in, and the other's out.
Mia looked at Piers' face, even hours after he'd been in such pain he still hadn't reached out to her, no matter how hard she tried to reach him through the Bond. Even sitting in the Cavern, the light of the Mercury Beacon shining down on them both, she couldn't feel him stir in the slightest.
Removing her gloves and placing one hand on his cheek, she whispered his name softly, reaching out through the Bond at the same time.
"Piers…" She whispered, "Piers, wake up, this is the last time, I promise you. But in order for this to end, you have to wake up, please, Piers." Mia's breath caught in her throat as she noticed something, placing her hand at his throat she felt for his pulse. Pulling back suddenly, Mia's eyes grew wide, hot tears threatening to spill over.
She could barely feel his heartbeat, his pulse had slowed in recent hours, and she hadn't even noticed. He was dying because she couldn't help him…
Mia gave a start as she felt a small flare in the Bond, to small to be called a flare, just a small jolt, but it was still something. Placing one hand over his heart, she hated how long the pause in between throbs was, closing her eyes, she tried to grab onto that one small part of him that moved. Pain spilling over, Mia leaned on to his chest sobbing. She didn't know what to do; she didn't know how to help him. She never stopped pouring her aura into the bond, still desperate to reach him, so focused on this one thing that she almost missed his hand on her back.
"Don't cry Mia…" he said in a strangled voice. Startled, she looked up into his tired golden eyes, her own blue over-flowing with tears. "I always hate to see you cry." He said; he was shaking like he always did when he woke-up, maybe more as his heart continued to slow under her hand. Mia threw her arms around his neck, unable to do what he wanted as she poured herself into that small part of him in her mind. He gasped slightly as she did so, his aura intertwining with hers, his features relaxing as he looked down at where Mia was clinging to his chest.
"You c-can't die n-now Piers." She sobbed, "Y-you just c-can't, not after everything with the L-lighthouses and the world, and-and all of our friends. You-You just can't leave us all, you-you can't leave me… P-please… Piers…"
"I don't want to go…" he said softly, he gently lifted her head to look him in the eye, "I won't be able to take it again though…" He said softly, "After the pain, th-there was nothing but peace. Y-You were the only thing that brought me back this time." That blue oil surged up again, covering his eyes for a moment, cutting him off from her again, she almost screamed as tears streamed down her face. He fought it off, gripping her shoulders he looked deeply into her eyes, Mia urging every fiber of her being into staying connected to him.
"Please," he whispered, shaking as panic seeped into the Bond, "Help Me…" Pain tore through her as his eyes went blank again, the power sweeping him off for what would be the last time. Mia screamed as fire laced through her, blinding her as she felt herself being torn. She couldn't explain it, the only thing remaining solid as all knowledge of her body slipped away like grains in an hourglass, was the constant fear that if she let go of the Bond, then she'd loose the one most important thing to her.
After a few moments, Mia collapsed lifelessly against Piers' sleeping form, her blue eyes coated with the same slick oil as his.
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Watching the young Adept scream as the Bond tore her sol from her now lifeless body was amusing to watch and something to mull over before a warm fire. But the fact that the Trident and unlimited power were within arms reach, and that the only ones keeping it from him were still locked away.
Now that was something to mull over.
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Sun: -Holding mallet ready to bop people- ONE Hentai remark that's ALL I need and there's nothing left but a pile Reader-Mush T-T
Host: -Poking an unconscious Piers with a pointy stick- Easy Grasshopper. -.-
Sun: -eyetwitch- Did you just call me a bug?!?! T-T
Host: o-O;; !!!!!
Sun: KAPOOWW!! BAM!!BAM!!BAM!!SMAK!!SHMAK!!! BUH BYE!!!!
Host: -Somewhere over Kuntuky.- Xx;;
Sun: -Still holding killer mallet.- NO HENTAI!!! -eyetwitch- REVIEW!!!
