"Good Times Gone"

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

Lost it on the chesterfield
Or maybe on a gamblin wheel
Lost it in a diamond mine
It's dark as hell and hard to find
You can climb to the top of the highest tree
You can look around, but you still won't see
What I'm lookin for

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

I sat in that old chair, letting the little bird hop around on my fingers. Every once in a while I dared a glance at the young man across the room. He sat there with his golden blonde hair still untamed. Looking out the window I knew what he was thinking. I wished he would talk so bad. He just stopped right after he was about to tell me something about Jenna after I had mentioned Conservero's exile due to bad temper. He just started laughing 'If Jenna-' then cut off and fell silent.

It seemed like an eternity- even for a Lemuria.

I wanted him to talk some more- about the old days. I knew he wanted me to talk as well- say something, anything. I was the only thing left and his descendants had forgotten their heritage in full.

"Tell them." Is all I could say.

"Picard?" He looked up.

"Tell them." I repeated. "Tell them who you are. Tell them who they are."

"What am I supposed to do, show up at their door 'Hello, I'm your great great great great great great great great great...'"

"Ok, I get the point."

More silence.

"Do you think it will ever come back?"

"What will come back, Isaac?"

"The good old days."

"I'm afraid to answer that."

After some more silence, he spoke up again. "What happened to it?"

"The good old days?"

"Yeah."

I smiled. At a million he still acted like a child. "Isaac, this time we're living in is the good old days. There's something good about every day."

"But it isn't OUR days..."

"True. But our days will come back. Maybe not the same, but they'll be back."

"Promise?"

"I hope."

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

Where the good times gone?
Where the good times gone?
All the stupid fun
And all that shit we've done
Where the good times gone?
Well I still don't know

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

After our talk Isaac left again to wander around and look after the lands. We've seen a few ages pass. People just suddenly stop and start over ((Ame: Think Big O, but here even inventions have to be reinvented.)). Isaac found his enjoyment in helping to guide them. ((Just think of all the big Isaac's in history. Isaac Newton, Isaac from the Bible, Isaac Williams (founder of Isaac's resturant and Deli!)))

His blood was blessed blood ((Ever read Ceres: Celestial Legend by Watase Yuu? And christians should know what became of Isaac's sons. They created nations!)).

I sigh as I leaned up against my boat's railing. I just felt like sailing.

No.

I didn't feel like sailing.

I felt like burying my head in my arms on the rail and sobbing until I coughed up my lungs and my heart fell out of my ribs.

I wanted to turn around and tackle Felix as he stood there steering the ship and crying into his chest as he lay pinned to the ground.

But Felix wasn't there.

I wanted to remember all of our adventures together. But he just wasn't there. He never would be.

I lost him, I lost him, I lost him, I lost him, I LOST HIM!

I cried hard as I ran insanely, desperate for anything to make the pain go away.

I ran and opened my watery eyes to the bow of the ship, the waters below me clear and... and...

Welcoming...

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

Out in the back in the old corn field
Underneath the tractor wheel
Thought I'd dig, til I'd found it first
Broke my back and died of thirst
You can bribe the devil, you can pray to God
You can sell off everything you got
And you still won't know

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

I jumped, feeling my body be thrown as it hit the side and eventually felt the pull of water as I got pulled under my ship.

I let my body lay limp, enjoying the new pain in my lungs as they cried for air. I felt the wooden ship move above me as it passed. It was the rudder that hit me and set me in a painful launch around an a small whirlpool before I surfaced and breathed, refreshed.

I watched almost happily as the ship sailed on, it was almost like seeing the ghosts of my past sail away to rest in peace.

I could see us all laughing and fooling around on the deck.

All those times...

Ah, but that wouldn't help me now.

Nobody else in the world cared besides Isaac. And nobody believed in Alchemy anymore. It was all science and discovery. The world would soon enough start again and Alchemy could make a come back... but our ancient heroes will be forgotten...

Of course the early civilizations would always remember our Gods Iris and Thor and all of the others, but then they'd grow away from them like they were old fairy tales.

It always came down to two gods that were remembered. This age was Tiamate and Charon. Last age they had Iris and Flora. That was some fun. Iris was the goddess who caused good and her daughter Flora caused bad by accident since she was clumsy. A cute tale.

If that wasn't bad enough there was always the end of the age. Money. It was always money greed and lust that was worshipped. Humans become so wrapped up in themselves that the gods make them start over.

Maybe someday they'd remember the gods and the old ways. And they could live. Another golden age- one that would last. I just hope they can live without Alchemy. The current ages abuse it and mix it senselessly. Abusing a gift from the gods while ignoring them- Alchemy will be taken away.

But we can't ever tell them. No age can know about any other- this is our secret, not even the chosen ones can know about it.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

Where the good times gone?
Where the good times gone?
All the stupid fun
And all that shit we've done
Where the good times gone?
And you still don't know

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

I swam back to Lemuria, ship back in the harbor. Damn Lemurian ships. They always came back ((ever notice that when you use Teleport?)). I sighed, using parch to dry myself and trudged into my house.

I packed for a very long trip.

I spent the day stacking crates onto my ship, that night I slept bobbing in the Sea of Time.

The next day I set out to catch up with Isaac.

Feeling the wind on my face I closed my eyes and let the never dying rock of the sea take me back.

It was times like this I expected someone sneak up behind me and cover my eyes.

Sighing deeply, nothing happened. Not even monsters popping up every five feet.

Looking around, I was sure I was alone on the sea. So I headed down below deck. Laying on my bed I looked around the old cabin. Out of pure need I jumped up and threw myself onto Felix's bed and smothered my face in his sheets. Even if his sent wasn't there I couldn't tell you- my mind still told me it was and I could smell it.

I rolled onto my back, grinning. Things happened here that nobody else knew- and that was a secret that I kept myself. A secret I probably wouldn't keep from the next ones.

I closed my eyes and let the tears roll as I remembered...

The passion of the first time...

I remember when he told me he loved me. Ok, so he didn't tell me. That quiet man had woken me up to tell me the sun was up- though he never said a word before I stood up and he pinned my head to the top bunk with a kiss. And... it went on from there.

So many times... I could hear him say my name, I could almost feel his hands against mine right now, pinning me here. Pinning me to my memory of him. Such warmth...

I reached my hand up to touch his chest and feel his heart beat again, but jumped as my hand passed right through the ghost of the past.

"Felix..."

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

Saw it on the silver screen
Preacher says, "don't know what it means"
Last page ad in a comic book
Bought me a map, showed me where to look
It ain't carved of stone or made of wood
And if you paid for it, then it's still no good
And you still won't know
What I'm looking for

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

((Forward to Ame's house in the future. Amino Domino))

I sat in the lay-z-boy recliner in that little house in Ohio. I could hear my grandchildren laughing in another room with their friend.

When I sat up, my eyes caught a glint of light off of the table. I grabbed in my hand a small white device with a large plastic screen ((take a guess!)). Leaning back and looking it over, I found a switch on the bottom and switched it to 'on.' I watched a small video clip play out on the screen and pressed the 'start' button when asked. Playing with it a little, I wound up controlling a deformed Isaac through Tolbi.

Slightly amazed I sat back up to put it back and found two thin paper books under it and flipped through them.

The covers read 'Caught In The Rain' with subtitles underneath. Recognizable drawings were it's content. Out there in the back room with my grandchildren laughed the girl who wanted to be the scholar of this age and share our tale. ((I DO NOT OWN GOLDEN SUN! CAMELOT DOES!!! The doujinshi is something I DID make though...))

I doubt she could ever catch the full emotion of it. They could never know what happened.

laying back down I noticed a low book shelf beside me, filled with books about native American Heritage ((NOTE: Native Americans are supposedly descendants of Lemurians and carry memories of the ancient days.)).

Taking a second good look at this family's living room, books on olden day gods and myths and legends. Books on stone tablets and scriptures. Game maps matched up to modern maps. Just about anything and everything that would hold clues to our past.

But even with these they'd never understand. Our days weren't about this- it was about feelings. There was more- more than a scholar could ever understand.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

Where the good times gone?
Where the good times gone?
All the stupid fun
And all that shit we've done
Where the good times gone?