Yes! I'm back with the second installment of Golden Sun: Underworld! I would have updated a lot sooner, but my Internet hasn't been working lately. And I've been watching the Olympics.

Steam: Fat whoop.

And I've been really lazy. And school starts soon, and I still have to finish my Language Arts summer homework (evil) and I've been absorbed by Tales of Symphonia for Gamecube (go get it) and... (rambles on)

Aroma: Enough with the excuses, you'd better hurry and write, or we will chuck javelins at you, drown you in a pool, and... cut yourself on ice skates!

Steam: That's the winter Olympics.

Aroma: Oh. Die anyway! (Throws javelin)

(Dodges, barely) I need domesticated muses...

"..." : Talking,

'...' : Thinking,

[#] : See bottom of page for reference.

I got two reviews! Everyone else on the face of is probably saying "Hah! Only two reviews! Fool," but two reviews seems to be all I'm getting. My humor one-shot got two reviews, last chapter of this got two reviews, I'm betting this'll get two reviews.

Reader Response Stuffish Things:

Black Demon567: Well, actually... This is my second fic. But thanks for welcoming me anyway. You aren't an idiot. I think. (No offense.) But, you are my first reviewer for this story.

Xanda: Why, thankee! Here's your update!

Despite the fact that this has (Alex's POV) in it, he is not the main character. Maybe. Kinda. I haven't decided if I should have plot twists or not. Yeah.

I never knew how easy writer's block is to get rid of. I still have summer homework and there's a week left until school. And somehow, (for some odd reason) I'm writing (this) instead of writing (English homework).

Chapter One: The Realm of the Dead

Alex could see the rocky underside of Weyard get farther and farther away as he fell on top of Mount Aleph. The sun shone faintly on the edges of Weyard. Alex felt the Wise One's Psynergy dissipate, and he was free to move. Feeling damp, he glanced up at the edge of the world, where Gaia Falls sent endless tons of water cascading off of Weyard. The wind threw the spray about, making it feel like a soft rain. 'I'm falling... I wonder where I'll end up. Probably I'll keep falling until Weyard gets too small to see, and I'll eventually die.' Alex knew there was no point in panicking, so he didn't.

He walked over to the edge of Mount Aleph and looked down. Below the falling mountain was a shimmering purple wall, which absorbed several rocks falling from Mount Aleph. They hit the barrier and disappeared with an explosion. 'Oh, holy crap!' he thought, staring at the purple bubble. 'I'm doomed...'

The spray from Gaia Falls continuously hit the barrier. Alex noted curiously that it went through. 'It must only destroy solid objects...' he mused. Mount Aleph struck the barrier, and disappeared, again exploding. Alex remained, his ears popping as he fell lower and lower. He hit the barrier.

(Alex's POV)

Time stopped. Water froze halfway through the barrier. So did I. A shape, formed of the shimmering purple substance of the barrier, appeared in front of me. Strangely enough, it looked like giant bee merged with a spider. A giant, ugly, hairy spider. The bee-spider spoke. "Hello, Alex."

"H—How do you know my name?" I stuttered.

The creature sighed. "I have been watching you, Alex." I noticed that it spoke in my mind, because it had no mouth. "The gods have decreed that the first living thing to hit the barrier protecting the Underworld and survive will be granted one curse. This may only be used on the spot below where you fell from the world above. In your case, on Mount Aleph."

My mind swam with questions. "The Underworld?"

"Yes," Charon said, "The Underworld. You will find that, though it looks the same as Weyard, things are different."

Remembering that it spoke of a curse, I thought of my anger towards Isaac and his friends and smiled evilly. "This curse, what does it do, exactly?" I asked, hoping it would be deadly.

Charon laughed at my ignorance. "You will decide what it does, Alex. It can destroy all of Weyard, or it can make you smell like a fish. There is no limit to its power." I grinned.

The barrier flickered, then disappeared underneath me just long enough for me to fall through. I looked up and saw Charon mutter something under its breath. The world went black.

(End Alex's POV)

Alex woke to find himself staring at the ground. He groaned and stood up, his mind still groggy from the fall. "How did I survive?" he asked out loud.

"You didn't," said a voice from behind him.

Alex whirled around and spotted a man. "Who are you?" he asked.

The man chuckled. "Have you forgotten me so soon, Alex?"

Alex frowned. "How do you know my name?"

Another voice spoke from the distance, sounding distinctly feminine. "Honestly, Alex. I'm hurt that you forgot your former companions!"

Alex gasped. "No! Not—But... Isaac killed you!"

Both of them laughed. "Fool," said Saturos, smirking. "Fool, this is the Realm of the Dead. We are dead. So are you."

Alex, Saturos, and Menardi sat around the wooden table. Alex sighed. "According to this map of this gods-cursed place, we are..." he trailed off as he prodded the said piece of paper with his finger. "We're two miles north of Mount Aleph, right?"

Saturos frowned. "Well, yes, but why do you care?"

"I must be at the peak of Mount Aleph—I have an... errand... to do there," said Alex. Internally, he grinned. It was time for revenge on Isaac! Sliding his chair back, he got up and started for the door.

Saturos's eyes widened as he remembered something. "Alex! You mustn't—" But Alex was gone. Saturos chewed his nails anxiously. "Menardi, don't you think we should stop him?"

Menardi rolled her eyes. "Alex will be fine," she told Saturos.

However, Saturos didn't share her faith in their blue-haired ally. "But, what about all those mysterious disappearances in that area?" he inquired.

Menardi sighed. "Okay, fine. If you think we should follow him, I'll come. But if it turns out to be a waste of time, you'll owe me 2,000 coins."

"Deal."

Alex groaned. He had been climbing for hours, but he still hadn't reached the top. He stared up and sighed. The rock seemed to be endless. Resuming his climb, he noticed a flattened plant on his left. 'What the...' He stared at the plant. 'Wait... I broke this! What the hell is going on here?'

Saturos rolled his eyes as he stared at the Mercury Adept from below. "Stupid idiot... Does he really think that he's getting anywhere?" he muttered.

Menardi grinned. "No, he stopped. I think he finally realized that you can't get to the top that way." She jumped an inhuman height, landing on the ledge above [1]. "Think he'll figure out how to get there when we reach him?"

Saturos shook his head. "No, even he isn't that smart. We wouldn't know if we hadn't listened to that Wise Old Man who lives Far Away in a Hard-To-Get-To Area [2]. We'll just have to tell him."

(Alex's POV)

I heard rock crumble below me as I pause my ascent upwards. Looking down, I saw Saturos and Menardi leaping off of a ledge as it fell to the ground far below me. "You two... What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear I was going alone!" I said, sitting on a rock.

Menardi glanced at me. "So, Alex, have you gotten to the top yet?"

I fumed. Obviously, she knew how. "No."

Saturos chuckled. "Well then, we'll just have to show you." He was between me and the cliff. Lunging forward, he grabbed my shoulders.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled.

Saturos smiled evilly. "Showing you the way." He shoved me forwards, and off the mountain.

The wind tore at my robes as I fell. The ground was slowly getting closer. My eyes started to tear, so I shut them. 'Saturos... He betrayed me!' I fell past more rock. 'I'm dead when I hit the ground... I guess this is the end.' I opened my eyes, barely able to make out a forest below me. I felt a jolt. My vision clouded.

I woke to see Menardi staring at me. "Saturos! He's awake!"

"About time, too," Saturos said grumpily.

"How did I—" I stopped. I was on the top of Mount Aleph. "How the heck did I get up here?"

Saturos stomped over to me. "There is a portal 100 meters above the ground around Mount Aleph. Only if you are moving fast enough will you be taken up here."

"But why did you shove me off?" I wanted to know. "You could have told me that I was safe!"

Menardi shook her head. "No. For some reason, this place seems to have an adversity to Mercury Adepts. Anyone else will be warped. For a Mercury Adept to warp, he must believe that he is going to die."

I thought about that for a minute. "Waaaiiittt... If I tried to take it again, I'd know I wouldn't die. Which would mean that I would know I would die. Then I wouldn't. Then I would. Then I— What the hell?" [3]

Menardi laughed at my confusion. "We don't really get it either. My guess is that you wouldn't die, but you wouldn't warp, either."

Saturos smirked. "You'd just hit the ground. Hard." I glared at him. "So, Alex, what was your 'errand' you wanted to do here?"

Yes. The curse bestowed on me. "Stand back."

(End Alex's POV)

Vale, Angara.

9:02 A.M.

"Isaac!" Dora called, looking up the steps leading towards his room. "Wake up! You're supposed to got to Vault and pick up the donations from Master Hammet, remember?"

Upstairs, Isaac groaned. 'Man, why do I have to be up so early on our second day back? You'd think I'd be able to sleep until dinner for saving the world, but no! Not even 'till noon. Slavedrivers...'

Two hours later, Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia, Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Picard started trudging along the path. Although all had their weapons and armor, they didn't encounter any monsters. Not even a dead slug. Jenna sighed happily. "It's so quiet... Not even a dead slug..."

Ivan gave her a funny look and scooted off to talk with Isaac. "So, Isaac, how much did Hammet give us?"

Isaac sighed in frustration. "Ivan, we've been through this a hundred times already. Master Hammet," he emphasized the title, "is donating as much as we need. This first bit is for rebuilding the sanctum."

Ivan frowned. "I know all that. I just wanted to know if we need one of his wagons to carry the bags with." He chuckled as he remembered the last time they got a donation.

"What did you laugh for?" asked Isaac.

Ivan grinned. "Remember last time?"

Isaac smiled as well. Due to some idiot's stupidity, the eight Adepts had ended up rolling a huge bag of money all eight miles to Vale. Garet had tried carrying it and had gotten squashed under the weight. When later asked about it, he replied with a simple "Heavy. Heavy as hell."

"Hey, Isaac!" Isaac turned to see Garet hailing him. [4] "How much farther is it to Vault?"

Isaac sighed again. Garet's impatience had really been getting on his nerves. "It's just around that bend ahead of us!" he shouted.

Garet sighed. "I knew that." The group had been walking in silence for a whole fifteen seconds (a new record) in silence when Garet attempted to make some conversation. "First person to spot a dead slug gets 200 coins!" he called.

"What's with the dead slugs?" asked Mia. Picard shrugged. Garet, arguing with Jenna, was saved thinking of a witty comeback by what felt like an earthquake.

(Alex's POV)

The ground shook underneath Saturos, and Menardi, and me as I called upon the curse. A voice spoke in my mind. 'Wielder of the power... What do you wish?'

I looked around, startled, before realizing that my companions had not spoken. Images flashed through my mind: Sol Sanctum, the lighting of the beacons, and, finally, the peak of Mount Aleph. Isaac. The one who had defeated me, yet I had never battled him. I envisioned all eight Adepts in my mind, concentrating on them in my mind. My eyes narrowed. "Kill them."

(End Alex's POV)

The ground, fifty thousand miles and a universe away, quit shaking. Isaac managed to stand up to survey the damage. Surprisingly, there seemed to be little damage. Upon taking a closer look at the trees around him, Isaac realized that there was no damage. 'Strange... It's almost as if nothing was affected but us...'

The Adepts climbed their way up to their feet. Felix managed to convey everything. "What the hell was that?"

The sky darkened. Almost instantly, thunder rolled across the land and lighting flashed across the sky. There was a sound like an explosion, and rain flew down from the heavens. The rain fell, hitting the ground and eight Adepts.

Eight Adepts, all on the ground, unmoving. Hearts stopped, minds frozen, souls gone.

Oh, man, I just killed them all. (Sobs) Now I'm all sad...

Aroma: What the (beep)!

Steam: You evil, evil, evil author! You're not allowed to kill off all the main characters at once!

Core: Yeah! You're supposed to pick them off, one by one, with a sniper rifle from 200 yards!

Aroma Steam: ...You're here, too.

Core: Yeah. Kill him!

Aroma Steam: Agreed.

Crud. Now not only are my muses after me, but all the fan clubs of various characters, too? I'm screwed...

[1]: Think Golden Sun prologue, after you lose to Saturos and Menardi. The really big frog jumps.

[2]: There's always a Wise Old Man who lives Far Away in a Dangerous, Hard-To-Reach Place that you need to talk to in order to get Much Needed Information. Always.

[3]: There's usually something confusing like that. Think time travel.

[4]: Hailing as in calling, not kow-towing and saying "All hail Isaac!" and offering various objects and/or dead slugs.

Review!