Oi...I feel like an idiot...I disabled anonymous reviews...my fault as a newbie... :P
Anyway...thanks to Navy Blu for pointing that out...
Do I really need to put up a disclaimer every chapter??? I don't own Golden Sun....
=======Summons=======
Two giant angels appeared in the sky. One was a complete mess of demonic armor and weapons. The other was the opposite, with big wings, shining armor, and a lion's head on its right arm. The powerful summons of Catastrophe and Judgment launched their attacks, big sizzling ball of evil power and big shining ball of pure energy rocketing down from the heavens at lightning speed.
"Holy shit..." exclaimed Jenna. There wasn't anything else she could say. She had gotten the Catastrophe summon tablet late in their journey and had never seen it combined with the awesome might of Judgment, having never thought of it. The summons' attacks pounded the Big Ooze, spraying bits of it everywhere. Its concentration disrupted, the ice around Jenna melted, and she fell to the ground. "Ow..."
Looking up, she saw her saviors and the demon and angel who they summoned. Who else but Isaac, Garet, and Ivan? Catastrophe vanished with a bang, while Judgment hovered around the tell tale scene of its power before sailing away into the spirit world.
"You alright?" asked Garet, picking Jenna up by the arms. "Sheesh, you look a mess. What did that thing do to you? Good thing we got here as we did."
"Actually, we would have gotten here sooner if Garet hadn't slept in for such a long time this morning. He was impossible to wake up," commented Ivan
"Figures..." said Jenna. "Well, at least you guys are ok. I was beginning to worry about you three, especially you, oaf," poking Garet. Garet protested Jenna's words while at the same time trying to see if she was alright without being too forward.
Isaac looked around, "Where are Felix and Sheba?" he asked. "It's not like Felix to leave his little sister to fight off a monster this big on her own, and Sheba wouldn't do that either."
"I told them to make a run for Imil," replied Jenna, looking at the translucent blue blobs of the ooze lying around them. "No way..." The little bits were coming together again. Slowly the ooze was regenerating itself as more and more bits of blue goo came together. "We should get out of here! Nothing's supposed to be able to stand up to both Catastrophe and Judgment!" yelled Jenna.
"Run from that thing? Yeah right," said Garet, drawing his Fire Brand. "Shouldn't be anything the four of us can't handle. Bring it on!" He charged, unleashing a Purgatory. The still forming blob managed to throw up a Drench, nullifying the attack. "What the...Pyroclasm! Liquefier!"
Isaac and Ivan joined in. Tempests and Stone Spires hammered the monster. "Odyssey!" yelled Isaac. His most powerful attack struck the Big Ooze, tearing a hole that seemed to regenerate a little more slowly than the holes before did. Spark Plasmas and Liquefiers had the biggest impact on the creature, disintegrating bits and pieces of the monster. However, the process was slow and the adepts were tiring. Their most powerful psynergy could only do so much and it cost them serious energy. Isaac began to conserve his magic, only using his powers to heal and rejuvenate the other party members. His Gaia Blade and Titan Blade had little effect on the blob, but every little bit helped.
"Ok...maybe this'll be a little harder than I thought..." said Garet, breathlessly, leaning on his Fire Brand. "At this rate, it'll take forever for this thing to go down."
"What else can we do except keep on fighting?" asked Ivan, launching a Destruct Ray and unleashing Asura at the same time. He then used his djinn, Aroma, to replenish the party's waning psynergy and Breeze to give them a little more resistance to the multiple Ice Missiles and Glaciers. "Still, this thing must have a weak point somewhere."
"Try to get around the back, Ivan. Garet, Jenna, and I will take care of the front and distract it. Go!" Isaac was hoping that there was some part to this thing that was weak. He knew that they couldn't go on forever fighting like they were.
"Zephyr, give me a boost." Ivan dashed around through the forest, coming out behind the blob. Problem was, the back looked nearly the same as the front, minus the eyes. "Hmmm...Luff, seal its psynergy away for as long as you can." The djinn flew around the ooze and plunged itself into it, sealing away whatever produced psynergy in the monster. Satisfied, Ivan summoned Thor. The god of thunder himself came down from the clouds, throwing bolts of lightning at the ooze. Ivan studied each bolt and where it landed, noticing more convulsions came from the bolts that landed higher up near the horn on the ooze. Dashing around the still convulsing blob of jelly, he told Isaac what he observed.
"Right. Garet, give us an attack boost, Jenna, standby all your djinn; we'll do a triple Meteor while that thing is in shock with its psynergy locked away. The head's the weak point, aim for it," said Isaac, although inwardly, he wasn't sure that even three meteors would work against this ever regenerating creature. The party leapt into action. Isaac started things off with a Grand Gaia, his most powerful psynergetic attack.
"Hey!" A familiar voice sounded through the crisp air.
"What the...is that who I think it is? Picard?" wondered Jenna. "Oi! What are you doing here?!?"
"I was out getting some herbs for Mia and I got sidetracked by a Mauler cub that had hurt itself. I saw Thor come down about 500 meters off to my left, and I knew it had to be you guys. Oh crap...what is that?" Picard replied, and then he saw the Big Ooze. Apparently, Thor's effects were wearing off, but the ooze was reduced to throwing pieces of itself at others because of the psynergy seal. Picard dodged the flying piece of Big Ooze and drew his Excalibur. "Whoa..."
"Picard, it's good to see you again, but we need a way out of this. Lend Jenna four of your djinn," said Isaac, looking greatly relieved that the Mercury adept had arrived. The Lemurian complied.
"Got it Isaac," said Jenna, understanding what needed to be done. She closed her eyes, focusing on her psynergy and the thirteen djinn on standby within her and summoned the most powerful summon that she, and the entire party, knew. "Iris!" A heavenly angel descended from the sun itself, combined the opposing elements of water and fire into a colossal attack, formed with intense solar energy. There wasn't a stronger summon, and Iris, the goddess of rainbows and light, struck the flopping ooze with the might of the stars. The Big ooze was ripped apart, horn to non-existent feet, pieces flying everywhere only to be incinerated by the colossal amount of energy. There was no telling how the attack didn't affect the adepts at all, as they were all able to witness the destructive power of Iris without being harmed. The effects of the summon didn't stop there. Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Jenna all felt regenerated and energized to some degree.
"...well that wasn't too hard...did you guys really need to use Iris on an oversized blob?" asked Picard, looking at the fading angel in the sky.
"Shut up..." said Jenna, bopping him on the head with a closed fist. "You don't know what that damn blob was made of."
"Can you take us to Imil now? I could use some food and rest...especially food. The stupid storm ruined most of our food, so I've been living on toasted bread and Mauler meat," said Garet.
"Yeah sure," replied Picard, walking down the path. "Where are Felix and Sheba?"
"Down the road somewhere. I sent them down since Sheba was hurt and couldn't fight too well," replied Jenna. "Good thing Isaac and Ivan showed up, or else I would have been toast...or ice since that thing froze me to a tree before the others helped out."
"Hey...I helped too. Catastrophe can't be summoned without my djinn!" said Garet, disliking that he had been left out.
"Yeah, yeah, but according to Ivan, you could've gotten to me quicker if you didn't sleep so much!"
"That wasn't my fault! Isaac made us walk half the night and we ran into a bunch of small oozes and dirges."
"Small oozes and dirges made you sleep like a baby? You're a weakling and an oaf...and to think I was worried about you. Guess I was right to be."
"You were worried about me?"
"I said that 'cause I can't be mean to you all the time..."
Ivan snickered, "Sure..."
Jenna looked at him with a red face, "Shut it Jupiter boy. Don't get any ideas."
"Really...then why is your face red?" replied Ivan.
"It's cold! Your face is red too!" Jenna rubbed her arms and face for emphasis.
"Right...whatever," said Ivan. He looked at the Venus and Mercury adepts walking ahead and ran ahead to join their conversation, leaving the two Mars adepts to their arguing.
----------------------------
After meeting up with Felix and Sheba down the road, the two had stopped to redress Sheba's wounds and wait for Jenna despite her command to go all the way to Imil; the party of now seven reached the second northernmost town of Angara. It was a beautiful sight. The newly fallen snow had given the town a pristine look with chimney's puffing smoke and kids having snowball fights outside with watchful parents watching from shops and homes. Imil didn't have gates or walls; animals never ventured near the giant lighthouse nearby and humans didn't bother attacking such a remote, but thriving, town.
Nowhere else could a person in Angara find snow jewelry, precious jewelry made of stones that could be hollowed out to fit an ice crystal or snow that would never melt farther south due to the gems' exceptional freezer like qualities. Insane conditions such as the Lamakan Desert offered exceptions. Few places offered hospitality like Imil did, with their warm and festive inn. Maybe it was because few people visited, that the inn was in such good condition and that hosts were always warm and welcoming.
"Isaac!" Mia threw herself onto her former leader, her arms wrapped around him. "You have no idea how much I've missed all of you." She hugged each person in turn, clucking in disapproval when she saw the state of Sheba's arm and Jenna's battle worn appearance. "What happened to you guys?"
"Nothing really, just a couple bears and some blue jelly attacked us in addition to Garet's poor navigational skills," replied Sheba. Pointing to her arm she said, "This happened because of that freak storm and a lucky Mauler." After a little conversation and catching up between everyone, Felix suggested that they get settled in.
"Right, come on in to the inn, I'll get you some rooms and Picard, Megan, and Justin can help you guys out with injuries or anything," said Mia. She led them to the inn. "I'll go see the mayor. Be right back." With a wave, she stepped out the door. Essentially a giant log cabin with some iron supports, the inn featured a large common room with three fireplaces and lots of soft armchairs, sofas, and tables. There were a few other visitors and travelers staying at the inn, but the isolated town was mostly made up of full time residents and long term merchants.
Isaac and Felix got a room together, as did Garet and Ivan, Jenna and Sheba. Picard already had his own room in the inn which he had been staying in for the past year and a half. Having arrived late afternoon, the party shared a light dinner in the inn's dining area with Mia who had come back after meeting with the town elders. After several hours of talking about their past, present, and hoped for future, the adepts turned in.
---------------------------
The next day, Isaac and Felix woke up early for an early morning workout in the bitter cold of Imil. Morning came and went. The others woke up to find an already energized Isaac and Felix ready to explore Imil after more than a few months of being away from the beautiful snowy town. The two Venus adepts joined Mia on her daily rounds, checking on the health of Imil's people. The Water of Hermes may be keeping the people healthy, but Mia never wavered in her duties as the town's primary healer. Megan and Justin, Mia's two protégés often followed her around, learning more and more and becoming accomplished healers.
The two approached Isaac, "Hey Isaac. Mia told us that you were the one who made her staff."
"Yeah that was me," was the reply.
"It looks really cool with that sapphire on top and the polished ivory wood. How long did it take you to make it?"
"You should have seen him, sweating away in the blacksmith and the jewelers. He spent all his time making that thing in the six months before Mia left," said Garet. Isaac and he were waiting outside a house with the two adolescents while Mia checked out the inhabitants. "Sure was something special though, wish I could make something like that."
"It was 4 months Garet, not counting the previous years of toying around with gem cutting and weapon making," replied Isaac. "It wasn't that good..."
"Stop being modest."
"Yeah, Isaac. We knew the real reason you made that staff," said the young mischievous adepts.
"Uhh...you mean there was something beyond it being a parting gift?" questioned a puzzled Isaac.
"Of course...o wait...never mind," the two said as Mia walked out again.
"Mia, is there something going on today?" asked Garet. He was looking around, noticing that the people were acting a little strangely. Girls giggled and pointed at Isaac and Garet. Grown men walked by, throwing glances filled with respect at the two younger men. "People are acting strangely around us..."
"Hm? Oh it's nothing. People are just a little shocked to see the heroes of Weyard walking around in our little town," was the reply. "Well, that's it for today's rounds. Is there anything you guys would like to do?"
Isaac shook his head, "Nah, just take us somewhere, show us something interesting, introduce us to some people; doesn't matter what we do." Ivan and Sheba had disappeared to the Mercury Lighthouse to see how the lighthouse was doing. Also, Sheba had never seen the water aligned monolith. Jenna and Garet were exploring Imil on their own with the supervision of Felix, of course.
The day passed uneventfully, evening coming around fast. The mayor invited the party to a welcome dinner starting around 7 in the picturesque town square. Predictably, it was far more than a simple welcome dinner. The town square had been set up with torches and heat lamps to help ward off the cold, but everyone dressed up in their warmest clothes anyway. Since outdoor events were rare, most of Imil's populace turned up to welcome the heroes of the world.
Tables laden with food had been set up. Decorations had been hung around the square. Ivan looked around, "Is that a dance floor I see being set up?" Sure enough, an area next to the central fountain had been roped off with a shivering band sitting on a small stage off to one side.
'Looks like tonight's going to be a good night! Just look at the food, feel the ambience, the giggling girls...hey, what was that for," said Garet.
Isaac pointed, "Time to sit down with the mayor. Try to remember the manners your family tried teaching you, so you don't embarrass yourself."
"Yeah sure, whatever." They approached the biggest table, giving their greetings and digging into fine Imilian fare. Garet managed to keep his usually terrible table manners down to a minimum, and even engaged in a friendly conversation with the mayor's daughter. Ivan began to speak with the other elders of the town about the state of the lighthouse that he had visited earlier in the day. Brother, sister, and Sheba politely excused themselves to go around table to table at the request of some of the townspeople. Isaac, Picard, and Mia sat together, talking about things with the mayor and his wife, the condition of Imil, Northern Angara, and other such news.
"Hey, is that Garet dancing?" Mia asked. Isaac looked at the dance floor to see his best friend dancing with the mayor's daughter.
Grinning, he said, "I never knew Garet knew how to dance." Picard laughed along, but he was taken away by a cute brunette. Soon the floor was crowded as the band began to play.
"Isaac would you like to dance?" asked Mia.
"Uh...I don't really know how..." replied an embarrassed Isaac. Having spent the majority of his time training and sparring with Felix, they were the only two people in the party who had never learned how to dance. Garet had learned from his family being in such a prominent position in Vale. Ivan and Sheba grew up in respected places, as did Picard. Jenna, being a fiery person, had learned as soon as she had known that there was something called dancing.
"Oh, its alright. I'll show you how its done." Not taking no for an answer, Mia took Isaac by the hand and led him to the floor. Isaac picked up quickly enough, but it was still obvious he was pretty new at this kind of thing. He laughed as he noticed Felix was also being taught by the mayor's wife and several laughing girls.
"You're pretty good for a beginner," said Mia, flashing an angel's smile.
"At least I'm not as red as Felix is..." thought Isaac. He began to enjoy himself, relaxing for a few hours, something that he hadn't done very much. "Besides, Mia's looking pretty nice tonight...hey!" Isaac felt a Mind Read flow through him. "Ivan!" He felt Ivan's distinct psynergy.
"Sorry, couldn't help it. You two were looking so intently at each other," said the Jupiter adept as he whirled by with Sheba in arm. He winked, disappearing into the crowd.
Isaac sighed. He felt the music slow down, and he slowed accordingly with Mia in tow and looked around for his other friends. Ivan and Sheba had disappeared. Interestingly enough, Felix had gotten the hang of the music as well, settling down in the song with the mayor's daughter, all the while keeping an eye on Garet and Jenna. Picard was nowhere to be seen, but that could've been attributed to what Mia called, his giggling fan club, which had unofficially formed a week after his initial arrival.
He felt and saw Mia's head rest on his shoulder. "Eh...don't think that. No don't think that either and definitely don't' think THAT...she's your friend, no more," Isaac thought. Her blue hair tickled his face, making him look upward to a beautiful crescent moon and a sky full of stars. There was a peaceful ambience as people swayed back and forth.
"I'm glad you came to visit. I missed all of you so much, especially you," said Mia.
"Me?"
"Yes you..." Mia slipped into silence for the rest of the night, content to be in Isaac's arms. The song ended and Isaac, Felix, and Co. headed to their rooms, tired from an interesting day.
------------------------------
An uneventful two weeks passed. Isaac and Mia were almost constantly together, either by themselves or with a few other members of their world saving party. Garet learned some negotiation skills, sharpening up his leadership qualities for a future inheritance of the top job in Vale. Picard continued to study the Mercury element in the lighthouse. Jenna often tagged along with Garet or went around with her brother, making friends and doing some shopping for people back home. Ivan and Sheba did the same, but at the same time, they were troubled by their Jupiter sense.
Something was happening or already happened, they just didn't know what. Seeing that their sense of trouble was fleeting and not very strong, the two wind adepts ignored their intuition, only to find a black raven flying in from the south, carrying an interesting message. A hastily scribbled message said,
"Vale, attacked by a hit and run. Thieves/bandits ran north. Suspect Lunpa involved. Bilibin and Vault attacked as well. Local adepts and soldiers no match for the sheer numbers of attackers and the surprisingly quick attack. Make haste and return to Vale for a meeting of local leaders. Be on guard for raids on Imil as well. Wyverns." There wasn't a signature, but the handwriting was distinctly from Vale. The party was being summoned back home.
====================================================
Author's note: that was an interesting chapter to write...not too satisfied with how I ended this chapter..., not too good with romance stuff either, its coming slowly... haven't played the game in a while, djinn and summons may be a little off in description and stuff....suggestions?