Sunny no own. Reader no sue.

Chapter 6
Darkness

"Yes." The word was clear once spoken, the tone bridging no argument at all against the speaker's point.

"No." Less commanding, the blunt reply held little save for an undertone of determination.

"Yes!" Sharper now, the slightest tinge of anger scoring the repetition.

"No." A hardened mark of stubbornness, not about to give in under the slowly mounting pressure.

"Yes!" A quicksilver rebuttal with a very dark promise of retribution.

"No." Yet again, no change, a stern, hardened answer.

"YES! YES, YES, YES, YES!" Unfortunately, there are only so many words which can be used to describe an argument involving two words with no viable point to be made by either side.

"Eh… No." Piers said again, his voice finally breaking as he sighed slightly, shaking his head from where he sat on one of the ship's hard wooden chairs. The aqua-haired Mariner would have crossed his arms as he did so, but he was held in place by the thick cords which had been taken from above deck and manipulated with 'Lash'. And Jenna wasn't about to let him go any time in the near future.

"Tell me damn it! Who is it we're going to see?" The Mars-Adept shouted at him, her rusted hair bristling like a cat's tail despite her having braided it for today. Jenna's hands were on her hips, booted feet separated about a foot or so and pulling at the brown leather of her skirt. One gloved hand held the mother-of-pearl shard which hummed with alchemy, the reason for the possessed ropes which had hunted Piers down.

Isaac, the lucky bastard, was backing up against the wall behind her, his gloveless hands up in front of him as he looked as though he were the one being shouted at instead. Piers slowly skilled his features to calm, taking a deep breath for a moment to clear away his slight irritation, opening his burnished eyes again with a look of ageless calm -one didn't last long in Lemuria without acquiring this sort of control- and spoke.

"Technically, 'we' wouldn't be the correct term." He said simply, speaking with an air of dignity about him which made Jenna's anger grow a few more steps "'Felix', would." Garet let out a small -yet justified- whimper, bringing both large hands up over his eyes. The red-head shook his head back and forth slightly as if in a bad dream, his tan leather boots with their creamy covering shuffling back and forth slightly as a sign of his growing fears. Sheba moved rather quickly, not wearing her violet shawl to slow her down in the slightest as her blond head ducked behind the door as Jenna's eye twitched. Repeatedly.

"I'll cast something hot enough to put Mars to shame if you don't give me an answer, Piers!" Jenna shouted in his face, coming right of close to do so as, Mia sought refuge behind the other Mars-adept, Piers knew he had to say something.

"If you keep shouting like that your face may stay that way." He said calmly.

For a moment, there was complete and utter silence in the room, and Piers regretted his fleeting act of defiance as it was almost as though he could hear the blood vessels popping in Jenna's skull. She certainly had a temper.

Not feeling bad about it, Piers gave out a small yelp as a Flaming serpent flew over his head, singeing the back of his head-dress as he ducked away from the beast. It rammed right into the cabin wall behind him, probably going through the side of the ship as he could feel the vessel give a sudden lurch to the port side before righting itself.

"Jenna, he's on fire!" Ivan cut in, his voice making its way through the sudden gaggle of very foul words which were streaming through the Lemurian's head at the idea of damage. Piers' eyes widened as he felt the growing heat on the back of his neck, and heard Jenna mutter, 'Oops'.

The next few moments were utter chaos that included the following: Piers running around in a panic even though he was tied to a chair, Mia chasing Piers trying to cast 'Douse'. Garet running around for the hell of it, Jenna chasing Garet trying to get him to shut up, Isaac chasing Jenna to make sure she didn't hurt his friend. And Ivan and Sheba looking over the scene in awe before sprinting out the door to find Kraden and Felix.

Plus, there was a grand total of sixty-three Djinn speeding around in a blind panic for no particular reason at all, except that when something unforeseen happens Jupiter Djinn flip out and run, Mars Djinn get hyped around fire, Mercury Djinn get freaked when one of their masters is on fire, and it was Isaac's turn to take all the jumpy, paranoid Venus Djinn.

About twenty minutes later, Piers was looking over his charred head-dress. All of them were soaked, and Felix was in pain from failing to hide his laughter.

"Well? Are you finally going to tell us?" Jenna asked him quietly, Piers glanced at where Felix seemed like he was dozing against the far wall of the cabin, half-leaning on the large armoire, his dark eyes closed as he certainly looked tired and a bit out of it. Healing two battered and very wet Mars-Adepts was a challenge at all times, doing so when one was your sister and you couldn't keep a straight face was madness. So, that meant it also required healing of the healer.

"You're Fume is a force to be reckoned with Jenna." Piers replied softly, throwing the charred remains out on deck to dry, and moving towards the steps on Felix's right, throwing a glance towards both siblings even though Felix didn't seem intent on paying attention to his surroundings. "But I'd rather face that than three massive energy swords."

Garet had a strong grip. End. Of. Story. He liked to use that strong grip on your neck, if you start laughing when you're healing him, after he gets beaten up by your sister, because he was running around the room screaming like an idiot. Healing Jenna was different, Jenna was family.

Jenna was a pyromaniac, that's was what Jenna was. Jenna was the kind of person who, if she didn't think you were doing your job as fast as possible, you got scorched. Felix flexed his fingers inside his glove, checking to see if he'd healed all the burns on his hands and lower arms. Rolling his head slightly to check and make the bruises on his neck were gone.

Well, after three years in Prox, at least he was used to both fiery tempers and the power behind them. Not that he'd thought them to dangerous when he'd first arrived; there had been other things to hold his attention.

--Flashback--

I was paralyzed, I couldn't have moved if my life depended on it. My boots, not made for this weather, must have been frozen to the ground beneath my feet as I stared out at it, stared out at nothing.

There was nothing there. Only a few more yards, and the world just, stopped. Nothing but endless darkness on all sides, the only movement being the flakes of snow flying down into the abyss, and the forks of raw energy threading through that sheer emptiness in what I would assume to be the distance. But at the same time, it felt like there wasn't any difference in being in one place or another, if you were in there. I couldn't tear my eyes from the darkness, no matter how hard I tried, my eyes could see nothing beyond it, no change. It was just, empty.

I was at my father's side and he had one hand around my arm; as if he were afraid I'd fall from where we were. Agatio, Saturos and the Elder were up a bit closer to it, my mother, Kyle, Menardi, and that girl Karst were a ways behind us.

'I lost my parents to the Void.' I remembered Karst's voice from when we'd stopped near the mountain; it had been rather hard to imagine it then, but now, looking out. The idea wasn't so hard to grasp. What happened when that curl-tail lightning struck the ground? Was that… why we'd had to veer to the east and west so many times heading towards the Lighthouse?

"This; is the threat to all Weyard." The Elder spoke, I managed to tear my eyes from the Void at last. I had to say, seeing Saturos and the Elder up against the sheer darkness, it was very ominous, the winds rushing both into and out of the darkness ruffling their clothing in an intimidating manner. "If the Lighthouses are not fired, then there shall be no halting our world's destruction." He continued, I really could only nod ever-so-slightly in agreement. Master Kyle wasn't convinced though.

"This may be a grand display." He said curtly, coming up to where my father and I stood, his mouth, as it had been the past few days, was a sour, grim line which made it look as though he'd been chewing the unripe peel of a lemon. "And I do not doubt it has taken many unfortunate lives, but how do you expect us to believe that it grows and consumes the land closest to it?" As Master Kyle spoke, I looked between him and my father repeatedly. I was untrained in my Psynergy, but even I could feel how the ground beneath me seemed to cringe. The life coming from the earth seemed to fade the closer it came to the edge. I wasn't sure why Isaac's father couldn't seem to feel this.

"Kyle," My father spoke, sounding almost, sympathetic, wary. "You are not an ignorant man, I am almost certain you can feel what I can, I know for a fact that Felix can, and he isn't even half-trained." My father paused to look his friend up and down, then released his grip on my arm as he turned to where my mother stood.

"Martha, can you feel anything?" My mother shook her head,

"Nothing, and I don't like it, normally I can sense things in the world around me, beyond where you stand, there's nothing." My father's expression was grim as he looked back at Kyle, for the moment it seemed I was forgotten.

Not that I minded, it gave me a chance to walk a bit closer to the edge. I've heard that there are people who also use the powers of Mercury and Jupiter somewhere, I don't know what the snow would tell those of water, but for all that the wind and earth are opposing elements, the winds coming off of this emptiness feels… empty, or better yet, like oil, something I know soap and water won't get rid of, something I'm going to carry with me for a long while. It sickens and scares me all at the same time.

"Watch where you put your foot, runt." Saturos said casually, like he didn't care as I came up to where the three of them stood. But I saw how he kept Agatio right next to him, and how he didn't look as relaxed as he seemed, sharp, crimson eyes watching everything at once, always coming back to the void as if expecting something to suddenly leap out of the abyss. The Rift even made Saturos nervous, and rightly so. I stood next to Agatio near the Edge, I'd told him he reminded me of Garet. And the way his eyes seemed to expand the longer he stood there sure wasn't proving me wrong.

"Wow," He breathed as I came up, that care-free smile that had been plastered over his face had vanished as he turned to face me, yes, a lot like Garet, he could become serious when it was needed. "Can you imagine falling through that?" He asked softly, looking back out, "Now I feel even worse for Karst and Menardi." He said in a hushed tone, only for my ears. I blinked and looked at him,

"What happened?" I asked, probably not to receive an answer, but trying my luck anyways. Seeing it now, I could imagine being killed by it, but how exactly seemed to elude me. Agatio looked back at me, still talking quietly,

"Their folks came up here with a few others to check on how fast it was moving," He said, continuing with his voice still hushed down, "One of those bolts of light apparently shot out and hit them. There were no screams or anything; they were just there one minute—"

"And gone the next. Now watch your step I'm warning you both." Saturos cut in, his voice menacing and seeming like a loud boom after our own quiet talking. Agatio and I jumped slightly at his words; the two of us turned our backs on the void, nodding to him and quickly beginning to walk away. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw some kind of flash, assuming another bolt of in the distance was flailing across the abyss, but at the same time, Saturos' eyes were focused behind us, if it hadn't been to fast, with his words still in the air, I would have said he looked pained.

There was an earth-shattering crash, the moment we started to walk from the edge, and I felt heat scouring the soles of my boots. I heard my mother's scream as the ground beneath me shattered like glass and fell away, leaving both Agatio and I suspended in the emptiness. A strangled cry broke out of me, terror running through me like wild fire as I seemed to just float away, nothing holding Agatio or I back. Like any of those thousands of sowflakes, we were just caught by the dying winds and thrust away.

Saturos's hand whipped out instantly, grabbing Agatio's hand and yanking him back towards the side, to the world. Agatio threw one hand out behind him blindly, where I was, and caught the end of my scarf, the one I'd tried refusing back at the Elder's home. As Saturos pulled Agatio back, I came as well. I could have wept right then and there when the world started coming closer again, but as soon as he came close to the edge, Agatio slammed onto the hard snow, letting go of me once more. I must have been close enough though, because, even without Agatio, I fell too, the world holding onto me again as gravity took hold and pulled.

But I missed the ledge, my hand shot out unthinkingly, and my gloved hands caught a small stone jutting out of the snow, held only by the ice around it. I flailed my feet around, trying to find a notch in the stone wall for my boot to fit in. The rock seemed to pulse, the scene reminding me of the river and the bank reaching out to me, but this time I found nothing. I felt a strong hand latch around my wrist, followed by more hands reaching down and hoisting me back up onto the snow.

My heart was pounding in my throat as I was pulled up; feeling a burning sensation in my chest as I fell hard, turning on to my back and scrambling away from the edge, my boots failing to catch on much that was solid though, just slipping on the ice and loose snow and not pushing me back very far. Fear, worse than the river and the storm combined, coursing through me as my gaze was fixed on the darkness. My mother was at my side almost instantly; she threw her arms around me and was sobbing with fear. My father bent over us both, I heard him speaking to me, but I couldn't make out his words. I didn't care who was there right then, both my arms quickly wrapping around the one my mother had in front of me, pressing my head against her should as if the ground were about to shatter again under me.

I would never be able to forget the feeling, there had been absolutely nothing around me. No gravity holding me down, nothing at all affecting where I went save that final push of the earth being broken. I leaned against my mother's shaking form a bit more, closing my eyes as I focused on the ground beneath me once more.

It seemed to call to me, the ground below the snow. The stone was calling out to me, making sure I was safe. It was weak under the ice, but it was still there. It almost felt as though the ground were reaching out for me as well, like it had already lost too many pieces of itself to see me go as well… It seemed to calm me, but only slightly. Dimly I heard my father speaking to Master Kyle,

"If that is not dangerous friend," He was saying, his voice calm, but faltered repeatedly as he spoke, "Then I do not know what is,"

I looked up and glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see Master Kyle, Menardi, and Karst standing there, or the two Proxians near Saturos and the Elder who were looking over Agatio. But Menardi and Karst were a ways off, far from the rest of us; the two seemingly speaking to one another with Menardi on the younger girl's shoulders. I think it was the first time I ever saw any sort of real emotion on the blond woman's face, so, maybe this was why they'd broken into Sol Sanctum… I also saw the shocked look on Kyle's face as he stared out at the Void. He hadn't just seen me flying out into the emptiness… he'd seen Isaac, he'd seen his son's terror, heard his son's scream, not mine.

I wrapped my arms around myself to keep from shaking as my mother pulled back a bit. I wasn't cold, well, I was, but that wasn't the issue. I was fighting to rid myself of the sensation of floating away like that, that sickly feel of oil covering me so badly now I just wanted to shed my skin and crawl through the dirt and sand to be rid of it. I'd have rather climbed have Mars Lighthouse than go through that again, hell, I'd climb all four and light them too! I knew it would haunt my dreams like the Storm and Jenna already did. Maybe… maybe that was why they'd broken into Sol Sanctum…

All of us were shaken; the Elder left Agatio to Saturos for a moment and walked over to where I was. He seemed to ignore my father, not in a rude way or anything, I was still his son, but he wasn't there to prove a point. He knelt down in front of me and placed one hand on my shoulder until I looked at him, his crimson eyes set in green tinted skin searching mine, but I couldn't really see the differences at the moment, green skin, long nose, pointed ears, they... These people still felt pain, still lost friends and family, they, they didn't deserve this fear… Perhaps there was a reason for breaking into Sol Sanctum…

"Are you alright, child?" He asked in a wheezing voice, I swallowed and nodded after a moment or two, I don't know if it was a lie or not, but it's what I did. He simply nodded back and stood slowly, using his staff as an aide, I didn't watch him as he walked to where Karst and Menardi were, but I was almost certain he was asking them the same thing. My mother was brushing the snow flakes out of my hair, murmuring to me softly while my father and Master Kyle spoke softly off to the side. After a few more minutes, we all stood and made ready to leave, that consisted of fixing scarves, gloves, and shaking the snow off of us if it was necessary.

I remember little of the trek back to Prox, we halted in Mars Lighthouse as we made our way South. Unlike last time, the Elder allowed Menardi and Saturos to explore a ways and leaving the rest of us outside after the Elder proved he was still strong in the mind. He simply lifted his staff and allowing blue rings to circle his form before the world bled red and a large creature looking like a blue bull five feet across the shoulders and seven high, was reduced to a charred pile.

Regardless, they found themselves blocked only a floor above us by a pillar of stone, every other door cut off by ice that was too thick to melt, the route to dangerous to take the Elder anyways. I remember the vaulting ceilings and the glass-like stone of the corridor we'd all waited in; glowing a faint red color in the dim light. Even without torches or windows, the entire Lighthouse was well lit.

After Saturos and Menardi came back, we headed out again, a storm blowing up from the South-east and Imil. At another rest-stop the Elder told us that most storms came from that direction, massive winds coming off the ocean and over the mountains. The winds made it difficult to stay on route, but when we finally trudged in sight of the Elder's home, his wife was there to greet us with warm food and drink.

"I told you it was a terrible idea," She berated both the elder it seemed along with Saturos- not Menardi so much though- as she helped take Karst's wet scarf and gloves, placing them where everyone's were on the mantle before the large fire. The Elder sighed into the large chair near the fire, the rest of us all spread around the room to eat, in wooden chairs, seated on chests, or leaning against a wall. "Taking children to the Rift, what a horrifying suggestion."

Once I finished my meal, I had to fight to keep my eyes open against sleep. Agatio, Karst and I were all seated on a long bench in front of the fire, our backs to it and watching the conversation. I was exhausted, but the idea of what Isaac and them would have said about me for needing a nap forced me to stay awake. I was thankful that Karst and Agatio were having a hard time as well, given that Agatio almost fell back into the flames had Saturos not cleared the room and yanked him up right.

Either way, it seemed like we'd been won over by the Void, I myself was willing to believe what we'd been told. I'd felt the ground beneath me, and it did seem like it was starving. For what I couldn't put my finger on, but it was starving jut the same.

I wanted to take this chance to speak with Karst and Agatio again, but despite sitting next to the pair, that idea was smothered as Menardi went to them both and began ushering them out. I heard her tell the rest of us that she was going to take them home to get some rest. Saturos muttered something about not playing at the Inn, but I didn't catch it exactly. I was actually too tired to care, it was almost evening anyways. My parents both seemed to notice my fatigue, and only a short while later Mistress Marci was leading me down-stairs.

I fell lifelessly onto the bed that had apparently become mine; two others had been dragged down the steps as well for my parents and Master Kyle. The Elder's wife asked me if I needed anything in a way that reminded me of how my grandma would always fuss at home whenever I caught cold,

"No, I'm fine ma'am." I replied in a slurred voice she nodded, silver bun shaking atop her head as she vanished back up the steps. I sat up on the bed and began tugging at my boots, thankfully this time I didn't need any help. Settling down under the covers, I listened to the sound of the wind around the strong house, and the quiet murmur of the others above. Unlike the last few nights when I had gone to sleep and the adults had been up-stairs talking, there were no shouts or loud arguments, for that I was grateful; it let my mind wander to other things.

The Elder and his wife had both made it quite clear that the four of us were not going to be chained up anytime in the near future, but that we were also expected to remain in the village at all times. I also knew that, if we did try to escape, that they would shorten the leash on us. I wasn't at all fond of the idea of being held captive, and I hated the idea of constantly being watched. But the way things were now was defiantly better than they could be.

One thing worried me though, okay, not just the one, there were tens of things worrying me, but the main one was the real reason we'd been brought here. They wanted us to unleash Alchemy, the one thing that could completely and utterly destroy Weyard. It was blasphemy, what they were saying went against everything taught to us in Vale. To go back and try to tell everyone who remained that we had to enter Sol Sanctum and take the Stars? Then travel around the world and fire the Beacons? It was madness!

But then again, if it was blasphemy to say that Alchemy would save the world, then what was it to see the Rift? What was it to almost be lost in a sea of emptiness that would one day devour the world, if not proof that there was good to Alchemy? And, blasphemy it may have been, but my own panicked thoughts returned to me; would I really rather unleash alchemy than go through that again?

I thought on it, as long and hard as I could. I needed only to think of Jenna flying into that endless abyss, or my mother. Aunt, father, grandmother, neighbor, mayor, friend, or Karst's parents… Anyone at all in the world… Yes… yes, I would rather be cast out, be in exile or anything of the like, if it could save someone who was still needed in life, save someone from being pulled into the emptiness.

I rolled onto my side, one arm tucked under my head as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the faces of our friends and neighbors, if we just showed up again with that ridiculous plan. But… that was why they'd broken into Sol Sanctum.

'I'd rather they believe I was dead right now than ever have them know I approve of this.' I thought to myself, a bit surprised about how I actually worded it in my mind. But, I did approve…

I pushed the thoughts of Alchemy and Vale from my mind, thinking back over what had happened during the day. My meeting with Karst and Agatio came to mind right after the terror of the Rift. I would have liked to talk with them a bit more, the two seemed nice enough. With these better thoughts in mind, the warmth of the house coupled with my exhaustion, soon sent me off to sleep, so I heard nothing more of the conversation above me; knew nothing of what was being planned.

--End Flashback--

"It was an accident, I swear!" Felix's head came up as he heard Jenna's insistent pleas. He moved from his place at the wall, remembering why he didn't like standing like that as his back protested sharply. He walked out on deck where the others were, and couldn't help but stare at the very charred Piers face-down on the deck, nine spent Mars-Djinn around him.

"'Accident'?" Isaac was shouting in disbelief, gloved fingers tangled in his blond hair where he looked as though he'd been working with ropes a bit earlier "How is nine consecutive Summons an 'ACCIDENT'?" Jenna just shrugged, looking completely and utterly innocent, a halo above her head would have been perfect. Perfect, save that a pair of devil horns would have been keeping it up…

"They got out of hand, what can I say?" She commented innocently, Isaac just stood there mouth open, apparently to shocked to think up anything else to say.

"How's 'Sorry' for a start?" Piers muttered into the deck, Mia crouching at his side, apparently slow to cast 'Pure Ply'. All eight- which included Kraden who was standing off to the side, his thick wool robe pulled tightly around him against the cooling sea winds- looked up as Felix came out on deck, making him feel like he had something in his teeth, or that the Djinn had played some joke while he'd been inside.

Mia bit her lip then placed one hand on Piers' back to cast the spell. There was a dull glow as small blue lights floated about them both a small creature in gossamer clothing fluttering in and out of sight before the energy, vanished into Piers as he was healed. The Mariner sat up with a slight groan, he looked quite odd without his head-dress on, but Felix forgot about it as Piers got to his feet and pointed at him.

"You just told Jenna on a whim. I get set on fire and Summoned on, and I still haven't told them." He said menacingly, Felix grinned sheepishly

"Uh… Thanks?" He tried. Piers gave him a sour look as he made his way past and down below decks. Muttering all the while about how saying one was cold, did not mean they wanted to shake hands with Mars. Felix just smiled sheepishly, taking a step back as he saw the look on his sister's face, before running after the Lemurian in a panic.

"FELIX!"

I'm happy with this chapter! There wasn't nearly as much editing to be done, just some additional description about the passage of events! Done in one day! PWNED!