Hello, old and grey! My apologies for the delay in updating. Putting Adepts into modern Earth and making it enough to believe can be verrrrrrrry difficult.

I have updated my bio (amazing, eh?), so check it out when you get a chance. It's been greatly revised.

I'm very pleased with the amount of reviews I got. So, I'll do the responses now.

NintendoGamer: Thank you. You know, you're right. I thought about it just after I had sent it in, and thought it was pretty unbelievable. So, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna resubmit chapter two, with the content required to make it believable. And yes, Ivan is sarcastic again, much like me. And don't you go insulting midgets, good sir! I happen to be a midget! ^_^

QueenDragonGoddess: Thank you very much. Yes, I see where you're coming from. I'm resubmitting chapter two, and I changed something with Mia's dress. Go back and check it when you get a chance.

Anime-Master7: I see. Oh, and your bad. ^_^

moon man: uhhhhhh . . . thanks?

Black Demon567: I hope it was worth the wait. And there will be romance . . . just not as frequent as in the last story.

Great Saiyaman: You know, you and I think a lot alike. My personality reflects that of Ivan's. And I've always liked speed in a game too. It's great when you can win through speed in a game. And you're right, not many Ivan/Sheba characters are out there. But I know it's still somewhat overused, so I went with variety. Glad you like my pairing! *gives thumbs up*

Ssonic: Yes . . . veeeeery expensive. I heard that the exchange rate for gold was over $400 an ounce, so I calculated that into it. If they had cashed it all the bank would have owed them money. Imagine that!

khmerboi919: I'm glad you like my work. And sorry, no new characters, though other people will pop in here and there. But no new main characters. Sorry . . .

Well, that was fairly simple. On with chapter 3!

Chapter 3: Rescue Sheba: Part I

This was going to be impossible.

Isaac and Mia were in a city that rivaled the size of all the cities of Weyard combined. The population of this city, Seattle, was almost as much as in Weyard. And they were expected to find one person? Isaac didn't know how they would ever find her. Hopefully, they would be able to sense a telepathic distress call, or something similar.

Another contributing factor to a disadvantage was that neither of them knew Sheba's Psynergetic abilities. For all they knew, she could send out a distress call that would cover the whole of the city, or just within a few feet of her! So, looking for her was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

They had been walking for over two hours now. Hand in hand, they were looking, or rather they were trying to sense whether Sheba was in the area or not. But they had had no luck so far. With every step they took, they were becoming more and more discouraged. There were so many things hampering their progress the chances of finding Sheba seemed next to none.

"Did the Wise One have any idea of where Sheba might be in this city?" asked Isaac, gesturing towards the tall buildings. "We may be walking for a long time before we even get anywhere."

"No, he never mentioned it," said Mia, sighing. "But, hopefully she know that she should at least try to send out a signal, hoping that she'd be rescued."

"We can only hope," said Isaac.

They stopped for a minute and leaned against a brick wall. They were no strangers to walking for hours on end, but all the same, there were so many new things to pay attention to that their energy was exhausted.

"Well, I guess we have to think for ourselves, without the Wise One's help," said Mia. "If I were Sheba, and I needed to be rescued, where would I go?"

"Well, that's a good question," said Isaac. "I'd probably go somewhere that stands out from everywhere else."

"True," mumbled Mia, thinking to herself. "Well, this place has a lot of really tall buildings. So . . . which one looks different from all the rest?"

They scanned the skyline. All the buildings looked just the same . . . tall, gray, and large. Except that some were taller, or narrower than others next to them. Their hopes began to fade as they looked around them, as they saw more and more ordinary buildings.

"There!" shouted Mia, pointing behind Isaac.

Isaac spun around, and looked where Mia was pointing. There, he saw a definitely interesting building. It was off in the distance somewhat. It looked like a giant needle, because there was a sharp point at the top of the building, even though the round main top made the "needle" part seem a bit strange.

"That's as good a place as any to go, we haven't gotten any clues as to where else she might be," said Isaac. "Let's get a taxi. I don't feel like walking all the way there. We might as well make full use of this new world while we have it, right?"

"Agreed," said Mia, flagging down a passing taxi.

After telling the driver where they wanted to go, Isaac and Mia settled themselves into the backseat of the taxi. For being so small, it was quite roomy. Black leather seats, and a cool blast of air coming from the front of the car. The car itself smelled slightly like vanilla, the kind Isaac like to put in his drinks at home. The driver was friendly, and was whistling as he accepted their money.

Buckling into the car, Isaac and Mia closed their eyes, and focused intently for any sign of Sheba. They would be able to tell if she was nearby, they were sure of it. Ivan had sent out a similar Psynergetic cry for help when he and Garet got lost in Mogall Forest.

It seemed to take forever for the taxi to get going, probably because of the traffic. Isaac and Mia didn't really like this aspect of this world . . . noisy, crowded, and a general difficulty to navigate through. But when the taxi did get going, they were able to finally cast their minds about for a sign of Sheba.

There was total silence for the first five minutes of the drive, with the exception of Isaac's and Mia's hearts, beating slightly faster for each minute that passed by without a sign of Sheba. It seemed to take forever. There were clouds of red appearing in Isaac's vision, like you get when your eyes are screwed shut very tightly.

It then struck them both on just how much they cared for Sheba, when they hardly even knew her. The only time either had ever spoken to her was at the dinner in Lemuria, and that was mainly just "pass the bread" or something similar. Perhaps it was just human instinct, to want to help someone trapped, isolated from all they knew.

But then, they heard it. A pinging, a piercing noise, intensity so high that they were both amazed they didn't hear it before. It was definitely Sheba all right, they could tell by the similar pulsing Jupitarian energy that Ivan sent off whenever he cast Psynergy or read one's mind. It was her.

"Stop! Stop the car!" shouted Mia.

"What? You want me to pull over here? I thought you were going to the Space Needle," said the driver.

"I know, but we changed our minds! Please stop the car!" said Isaac.

The driver pulled into the next available space on the side of the road and Isaac and Mia quickly got out and thanked the driver. Still looking slightly puzzled, the driver nodded and drove back into the throng of traffic.

Isaac and Mia looked quickly around, trying to concentrate on the signal. They turned on the spot to see which direction it was coming from. They finally stopped, facing the direction to the right of the building that the driver had called the Space Needle. Both agreeing that this was correct, they set off at a run towards the direction of the signal, bumping into several people.

It took them a good twenty minutes to reach the near-origin of the signal. Looking up at the building, they saw that it was a stadium of sorts, with the words "Safeco Field" written across the entranceway of the stadium, whose exterior was a forest-green. But that's not what distracted them.

There was a multitude of people coming towards the entrance to the stadium. They were milling around the entrance, and lines backed up at least fifty feet. Horns honked, and a man in the street with something sticking out of his mouth that made a shrill "tweet!" sound whenever he blew on it was waving people and cars by.

Isaac looked at Mia and said, "This is going to be impossible. How are we going to find her in this?"

"It's going to be difficult, that's for sure," agreed Mia. "But from what I'm hearing, she's inside the stadium."

"Where there's probably ten times as many people as out here," said Isaac.

"Hey, I thought Ivan went to Alaska," said Mia jokingly. "Come on Isaac. I'm sure it's not that bad."

She was wrong, however. As they milled closer to the entrance, they saw that the people were handing tickets to the people at the gate. These things were apparently what allowed people to get in.

"See those tickets in the pocket of that man's jeans?" said Isaac.

"Yeah, what about them?" asked Mia.

Isaac took two of the three tickets, checking to make sure one name was for a male and the other female. "I had to do it."

"Isaac! There's got to be a place where we can get our own," said Mia. "That's stealing."

"We don't have the time, otherwise we would get our own," said Isaac. "But she could move somewhere else, or we might not be able to find our way back." Mia still looked skeptical. "Come on, Mia. The perfect opportunity is staring us in the face. We have to take it."

"Well, I suppose you're right," she sighed.

Very slowly, the line worked its way forward until Isaac and Mia were up front. They handed their tickets to the man at the front, who scanned them with a sort of device that could tell the real deal from a phony. After nodding, he handed a portion of the ticket back to them, and motioned for them to enter the stadium, which they did.

Isaac and Mia did their best to maneuver quickly through the mass of people making their way to the stands. Still, it was slow-going, because Isaac was right. There were many more people in here than outside.

Once they finally finished climbing the stairs, they found themselves staring at a humongous, green field with a diamond on it, and people in white uniforms throwing something to each other. To them, it looked very odd.

"Is this in the scrolls that the Wise One gave us, by any chance?" asked Isaac. Mia rifled through her bag, and found the bundles of rolled-up parchment. She unfolded one of them.

"Only a little," she reported. "It's a sport called baseball. It doesn't go into a lot of detail, only saying that anywhere from 5,000-42,000 people can show up at one game."

Isaac whistled. "That's a lot of people," he said. "There's got to be at least 30,000 people here now. Can you still hear the signal?"

"Oh yes," said Mia. "Well, let's walk around. Maybe we'll be able to see her somewhere else."

They started to walk, eyes open this time in case they saw Sheba anywhere. For a while, the signal grew slightly fainter. In a way this was good, because the pitch of it was so high that they were getting a headache from listening to it for so long. But after walking about halfway around the stadium, it grew back to its original pitch, and then steadily got stronger.

"She's close, I can feel it!" said Isaac, fists clenched.

"Me too . . . oh my head hurts," groaned Mia.

"Mine too. Oh, it's getting louder!"

"There she is! I see her!"

Isaac spun around, looking in the direction of Mia's finger. Then, he saw her too, sitting down in one of the seats, looking around worriedly. Then, she saw them. Her eyes glowed purple. And the last thing that Isaac and Mia saw before the pitch of the signal became so high that they passed out was her running towards them, the purple gaze etched firmly in her figure.

*******

Isaac awoke much later with a headache so violent he felt like someone had been beating it against a wall. He couldn't hear much because of the noise either, noticing this when he barely heard himself cough. Turning his head to one side (which hurt worse than ever when he moved it), he saw Mia slumped against a wall, with Sheba at her side. They appeared to be talking, until Sheba noticed that he was awake.

"Good, you've finally come around," she said, helping him up gently.

"Ugh . . . where am I?" he said hoarsely.

He took a good look around for the first time, and noticed that they were in a narrow passage between two buildings. Sheba had set fire to some papers and had put them in a coffee can. The buildings were made out of brick, and Isaac could faintly hear the dripping of water from somewhere close by. It was dark and dirty, the ground scummy.

"You're in an alleyway close to the stadium," said Sheba. "I took you both here so we wouldn't be noticed."

"What happened?" asked Isaac.

"Well, when I saw you two, you obviously passed out from the strength of the signal I sent out to you guys," said Sheba. "I meant for it to be that way too."

"Why?" asked Isaac.

Sheba took a moment before responding. "In Lalivero, I took a great deal of time studying into my powers. Apparently, I was a Jupiter Adept, I just didn't want to believe it at the time. And when I was reading on their history, I came across some very interesting things.

"During the Great War between all the clans many years ago, the Jupitarians wanted to come up with new spells, new techniques that were unknown to the enemy, and therefore could not be countered very easily. But some of these spells were for defense and distress as well as offense. One of the spells they came up with was the one I just used.

"The spell is a type of distress call, as Mia thought it was when she awoke. However, no one was to be trusted during the Great War. So the Jupitarians, being the cleverest of all the clans, came up with a backup to the spell."

"What was that?" asked Isaac.

"What happened to you," said Sheba. "In case I was being hunted or tracked on the signal by another Adept of another clan, the spell knocked out the first person or persons who came into eye contact with the distressed Jupitarian. If it was indeed another Adept, he or she could take them as prisoners once another Jupitarian came. The Jupiter Adepts are the only ones capable of taming the signal so it doesn't knock them out. If Ivan had been with you, he would have stayed conscious while you two passed out. It was the Ancient Jupiter Adepts' way of a fail-safe rescue."

It took Isaac a minute or two to register all this information. But it made sense, just in case someone took advantage of her weakness in this place. Better safe than sorry, he reasoned. But he was just happy to have found Sheba safe.

"Well, as soon as I don't have a headache anymore, we can take you back to the safehouse," said Mia. "And we'll wait for the others."

"Where are they? Where's Felix, Piers, and Jenna?" she asked.

"Ivan and Lunora have gone to get Felix north of here, in Alaska, and Garet and Solaris went to get Piers in Portland," said Mia, showing Sheba these places on the scrolls.

"I see," said Sheba. "So what about Jenna? Who's going after her?"

"All of us," said Mia. "When the others return with Felix and Piers, we'll all meet at the safehouse and set out to Reno, Nevada, which is where she is."

"And when we've rescued them all, we're gonna get the Hell out of here, and go back to Weyard," said Isaac. "Where it's safe."

*******

It would be done.

The Wise One floated down one of the many twisting hallways in Sol Sanctum, heading towards the room where many other Adepts from all around Weyard were going to gather.

There was no other way. It would be his way. Or no way.

He had finally arrived at his destination, and floated through the wall into a cold, stone room with many pillars. Floating to the highest one, he made sure that his presentation was ready, and that all was in order.

It was time.

Instantly, many different Adepts appeared in the room, summoned by the Wise One himself. They came from all clans: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury alike. They all looked around at their surroundings.

The room resembled that of the Elemental Star room somewhat, but this room looked less inviting. The only floor in the room were the pillars that were littered all over the place. The pillars themselves descended into darkness, the thing upon which the pillars were standing far below. The walls were a cold, stony gray, and the room itself was chilly, but more than in temperature. The room had a sense that whatever was told in it would not be good.

They were ready.

"Thank you for coming," said the Wise One. I won't bother you with anything but the bare facts. As you all know, the elemental lighthouses have been lit. All six of them, even the two Chief Elements. This presents a serious problem." The other Adepts nodded in agreement. "You know about the dangers of man, taking over the lighthouses and using them for themselves, no matter who or what gets in the way.

"That means that we have to take them ourselves, take all the surrounding towns next to the lighthouses, and Vale. We'll need to hold the sanctum. No matter who or what gets in our way, we must take Prox. We must take Vale. We must take Lemuria, Contigo, Tundris, Lalivero, and Imil, and destroy the lighthouses. We must prevent the destruction of Weyard!"

"But what you said, 'no matter who or what gets in the way' . . . wouldn't that be like what a madman would do if he or she had Alchemy's power?" piped up a Mercury Adept on a nearby pillar.

"It doesn't matter. If you want to look at it that way, so be it. What I'm saying is that you can either help me in my cause, or be caught in the crossfire when my forces come after your towns, your homes. If you join, I can guarantee protection of your home and family, nothing more, nothing less."

There was a lot of nervous muttering, and more than one skeptical face, but most of all, fear dominated every feature of the Adepts' faces. The Wise one had gone insane. Anything or anyone to destroy the symbols which have dominated Weyard for years? This was insane!

"We'll capture and hold the lighthouses until all of the opposition has been defeated. And then we will destroy the lighthouses, and a new age will arise on Weyard!" said the Wise One. "Call me radical, but me must protect our land!"

"What about the six Adepts who lit the lighthouses?" asked a Mars Adept.

"I have already taken care of them, they will not be coming back for awhile," said The Wise One. "They will find it a real problem getting back here, let me assure you. Now, are you with me?"

The Adepts engaged once again in quiet muttering. They didn't necessarily agree with the Wise One's tactic of protecting the world, but something had to be done . . . and the definitely didn't like the alternative to not joining up. They turned back to the Wise One, and, all two hundred faces nodded.

"Good. I've got all the plans here." A large scroll floated into the air. "It will be kept in here for safekeeping. Now, let's go. Our first course of action is to start from the outside and work our way in. That means, we capture Tundris first." All the Adepts nodded.

"Let's go."

It had begun.

************************

I'm still saying nothing.

Be warned that updates, due to extreme difficulties with putting the Adepts into modern Earth believable, will probably be sparse until the second half of the story comes along. But keep your eye out for this! I'm by no means quitting!

Now review! My geckos have been practicing on ignorant dummies who like to annoy me (which isn't any of you), so they haven't lost the knack. Do what's right, and what's good for you.

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!

~SirGecko~