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PROLOGUE
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Mini Jenna: "We're baaaaaaack!"
Lord Cynic: "... Huh?"
Mini Ivan: "You couldn't get away from us forever!"
Lord Cynic: "Oh, NO!!!"
Mini Garet: "Where's the kitchen, I'm starvin'!"
Mini Isaac: "It's okay Cyn, we won't blow up anything."
Mini Sheba: "Yet."
Lord Cynic: "!!!" OO;
Mini Jenna: "Cynic doesn't own Golden Sun."
Mini Garet: "Cynic's a weirdo, and that's how he's gonna stay singing doo wah diddy diddy dum diddy doo."
Lord Cynic: ¬¬ "I'm not the only one then..."
Lord Cynic: "As people have noticed, FFnet's cracked down on chat/script style fanfics. Luckily for me, I managed to delete mine in time before getting disabled. That means, "Prank or Promise" or my TSLOA series, and my Pokemon fanfics, have had to be deleted. Sorry for any inconvenience. Now, to the chapter!"
Chapter 6 - The problems about marriage
"Be vewy, vewy quiet... I'm hunting Gawets... huh huh huh huh..."
Jenna strolled through the forest casually, a fireball blazing in her hand. Although her pace was light and carefree, her eyes had a burning - to toast a certain redhead. In fact, she was constantly incinerating shrubbery off stems and leaves off trees. Birds, squirrels and other wildlife huddled together inside a burrow in fear to hide from Jenna's pyromania, but one creature was more desperate than anything else to conceal himself.
A redhead teenager crouched inside a bush, watching in fear as Jenna continued to roast everything in her path. He became even more fretful when Jenna was mere metres from his hiding spot.
'Don't let her see me, don't let her see me,' Garet thought desperately. 'I'm too young to lose my hair!'
"Oh, Gawey!" Jenna sang mockingly. "Where are yooooouuuuu? Come on out, I won't hurt you... much."
"Liar!... oops..."
"A-ha!"
Garet yelped as a ball of flame singed the top of his hair. Smelling the smoke of his charred broom haircut, he sprung out from the bushes and streaked out of the forest.
"I wasn't going to kill ya before, but now you're DEAD MEAT!" Jenna yelled as she chased Garet, pelting him with infernos of fire. Garet simply screamed in terror as he tried to escape from the fiery brunette {"Take the double meaning as you will"}.
Tensions were still pretty high between Granite and Tonic. Tonic was still ticked off at Granite's attitude to his Venus Adept master, and he was still nursing a sore head. They were, however, still sitting on the same ledge in Isaac's wardrobe, albeit with an aura of hostility between them.
Finally, heaving a heavy sigh, Granite turned to Tonic. Noticing that he was staring at her, Tonic swung around slowly to face him.
"What do you want?" she asked sharply. Granite hesitated, but he built up the confidence to reply.
"I... I wanted to apologise for my behaviour before," he said quietly. Tonic became taken aback but listened to what he had to say. "I was rude, and I had no right to act the way I did. I hope you can forgive me, but I'll understand if you don't."
Tonic's face softened, and when Granite lowered his head in rejection she pounced on him, almost making both of them fall off the shelf. When he'd regained his senses, Granite looked up to see Tonic smiling serenely at him.
"Toni -" he began, but he was silenced when Tonic's lips locked with his. After they released, he blurted, "I wanna marry ya!"
Tonic's eyes widened. "Really?"
"But I can't," Tonic admitted sadly. "Djinni marriage is illegal."
"We'll see about that!" Tonic jumped down onto the floor, then looked up at the confused Venus Djinn. "Come on, we gotta find the others so that they can help us!"
"Help us?" Granite cocked his head to one side, nearly toppling off the shelf himself. "With what?"
"We're going to the Elder's Sanctum." Tonic explained. We're gonna have Djinni legalised... or someone's gonna get hurt."
"Uh... okay."
"Well, come on, let's go find the others."
Granite shrugged but jumped out of the wardrobe and followed Tonic towards Mia's bedroom. Downstairs, their human masters (or counterparts, romance wise) were passing a milestone in their relationship.
"W... wow."
"That... that was intense."
"I quite enjoyed it."
"Me too."
Faces sweating, hair wet and sticking in different directions (more so in the young male's case), Isaac and Mia sat up straight on the couch they'd been sharing. The paper and coffee mugs on the side table had long since been forgotten, but a notebook and some pens lay untidily on the floor. The tired but also pleased and energetic smiles on the teenagers' faces suggested the satisfaction of their efforts.
"At last, the wedding shop list is complete," Mia said breathlessly, brushing hair away from her eyes.
"Planning a wedding has been as difficult as the Wind Adept has foreseen," Isaac said mysteriously. When Mia looked at him strangely, he simply smiled and shook his head.
"So, I heard about the big news recently," Ivan said, as the guys - Ivan, Felix, Isaac, Garet and Piers (not Picard) - sat at a table in the newly constructed café. "Start the day with our own Golden Sun," was its philosophy. As Ivan rightfully commented on the day of the caf's opening: "They're trying to milk as much as they can out of our adventure."
It was half an hour later that they figured out the unintentional pun.
In the present time, however, Isaac looked at Ivan in a confused manner.
"What big news?" he asked. He'd only been half-listening to start with though: the sugar he'd been spooning into his coffee had built up into a small hill atop the froth.
"Big news? Where?" Garet asked stupidly. He'd been staring at the caf's large neon sign: 'Land of the Rising Golden Sun' (thus proving Ivan's point), so he had no idea what was going on.
"Not in your universe, that's for sure," Felix muttered.
"Your big news," Ivan said, ignoring Garet and Felix and looking at Isaac. "The first of us to leave the brotherhood is... Isaac!"
"You did the deed?" Garet asked stupidly still. Felix flicked the back of Garet's head harshly, and he yelped in pain and glared at the brunette.
"Unless there's something he's not telling us, no," Ivan said. 'I'll check it later though,' he added as an afterthought. "He and Mia will be walking down the road of matrimony soon."
Isaac reddened with embarrassment, but Garet's stupidity never ceased to amaze those not in the conversation.
"Soon? Is that road not built yet or someth - OWW!"
"Idiot," Felix growled as Garet rubbed his head in pain. "He means they're getting married."
"Oh, that's splendid!" Piers cried in excitement. Everyone jumped; they'd forgotten he was also sitting with them. "When's the big day?"
"We haven't decided yet," Isaac admitted. "We haven't finalised the wedding plans or anything."
"Beware," Ivan said. "Planning weddings is risky business. Just hope Mia doesn't go asking your mum to help her."
"How'd you come to know about weddings, Ivan?" Garet asked, rescuing himself at last from Felix's death glares.
"Travelling with Master Hammet had its advantages," Ivan explained. "He told me stories about his romances with Lady Layana, including the fiasco that was their wedding."
Ivan was about to go into detail when Felix's watch beeped.
"Well, fellas," he said, stepping to his feet, "I have a meeting to catch. Isaac, good luck, Garet, good riddance." Felix then left the café rather quickly, leaving some suspicious stares behind.
"I wonder why he left so quickly," Ivan said.
"I don't think he'd tell us if he asked," Isaac replied cynically.
"I guess we'll just have to find out then," Ivan declared, climbing out of his chair. Isaac followed suit, but Piers hesitated. Garet wasn't mentally present - he was humming Spanish Flea to himself.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Piers asked apprehensively. "It'd his own business, whatever it is."
"Then it's our business to find out," Ivan said with finality.
"But -"
"Piers," Isaac said exasperatedly, "I'm only going to say this once: Grow some balls and be a man. Don't let fear turn you into a wuss." He was about to pause for a reaction when his watch also beeped. "Oh crap, I better get home before Mia kicks my butt." He sped off as fast as he could, Ivan and Piers raising eyebrows after him.
"And he's the one telling me to grow balls," Piers grumbled. Ivan smirked as Garet finally returned from his mental stupor. The next line he said summed up his overall intelligence throughout the conversation.
"Good riddance? What's that supposed to mean?!"
"So," Isaac began, before Mia could say anything, "what will you be buying first?"
"I don't know," Mia replied uncertain, wringing her wrists. "Maybe I should ask Dora and see what she thinks."
"M-My mum?" Ivan's words echoed in Isaac's head: 'Mothers and weddings make for embarrassing experiences. Under no circumstances should you allow Mia to ask Dora for help, or expect a global takeover of your wedding.' "Um, I think there's something else we should do first," Isaac said aloud.
"What's that?" Mia asked curiously.
"Hook our Mars Adept chums up for the double wedding," Isaac replied.
"Oh, that's right!" Mia cried, remembering at last. "Any idea where they are?"
Garet and Jenna streaked past the window, Garet screaming, Jenna screaming abuse. Behind them, blazing straw roofs, charred, stripped trees and shish-kebabed raccoons littered the streets in the wake of Jenna's destructive pursuit.
"No idea," Isaac answered, brows furrowing. He and Mia sat back against the couch, staring at each other in confusion. It wasn't long before they were pashing again.
"Owww... not again..."
Ivan and Sheba were planning another nasty trick when a scar on Ivan's left shoulder stung sharply.
"What is it?" Sheba asked, with a hint of indifference as she tied string together.
"It's a scar... on my left shoulder," Ivan said, rubbing it sorely.
"I never knew about it," Sheba said, slightly intrigued.
"No one does," Ivan explained. "However, I think I know why it's stinging... it's done this before."
"It has?" Sheba raised an eyebrow. "What does it mean?"
"... Isaac and Mia are pashing again," Ivan said disgustedly, ears turning into slits. Sheba smirked and continued tying the string.
"Zzz... I am... Super Sap! ... Behold, my sappiness!... zzz..."
Flint and Fizz had to cover their mouths to smother their laughter. Behind them, Dew (who'd taken to thinking of Fizz as an older sister and following her everywhere) was giggling uncontrollably. Flint and Fizz 'shh'ed at her, and silently they approached the sleeping Venus Djinn. In Flint's paw (or whatever) was a blindfold, and when they were close enough he tied it around Sap's eyes.
When the blindfold was tied tightly around Sap's eyes, Fizz gave the okay to Dew, who nodded and stood in the middle of Mia's room. The other Venus and Mercury Djinni watched in amusement as Dew took in a deep breath and glanced at the snoozing Sap. When she saw he was still sleeping, she screamed at the top of her voice.
"HELP! SUPER SAP! I'm in danger! Help!!!"
Every other Djinni except Flint, Fizz and Sap fell over into unconsciousness.
"Geez, she's a big screamer," Flint said to Fizz, both who'd been wearing miniature earplugs. "Even I could hear her through these things."
"Trust me," Fizz said irritably, yanking her plugs out of her ears, "if you've spent more than two weeks alone with her for company, you'll be wishing she had volume control."
Flint raised an eyebrow, but he had no time to open his mouth before 'Super Sap' sprang into action. {"Took him long enough."}
"Fear not, fair maiden! Super Sap is on his way! I... dear Cybele, my vision's gone!" He tried to look around, but Flint's blindfold blocked out his vision. "This must've been the work of my notorious nemesis, Flint the Fiend!"
Fizz and Dew stared incredulously at Flint, who said in self-defence, "Just because I tripped him into the toilet (after Garet was finished), doesn't mean he has to make me his enemy."
"Flint!" Sap called. "Stop being a coward and show yourself!"
Flint and Fizz (along with some of the other Djinni) were getting rather exasperated when Granite and Tonic arrived. One look at the scene before them, and large sweatdrops slid down the back of their heads.
"What the -" Granite started, but upon hearing a new voice Sap's attentions were switched to the new arrivals.
"I know that voice!" he declared. "It must be none other than Flint the Fiend's slimy sidekick, Grimy Granite! (Granite scowled.) And where there's Grimy Granite, there's his equally devious girlfriend, Terror Tonic!"
Tonic blushed, but an anger vein throbbed on Granite's forehead. However, Sap still hadn't realised the blindfold around his eyes, so he stumbled around blindly. Flint and Fizz sniggered out of earshot of Sap, and that's when Tonic and Granite remembered their original purpose for being there.
"Hey, guys," Tonic began, "can I have your attention?"
No one gave any notice, and Granite shrugged at Tonic. She tried again.
"Guys? Hello? Can you hear me?"
Again, no one but Granite noticed her, and she became extremely ticked off.
"HEY, I'M TALKING HERE!!!"
The reaction to this was extraordinary: Flint and Fizz froze on the spot, mouths gaping open; 'Super' Sap was stuck in mid-leap (Lord knows how he managed to do it in the first place with the blindfold); Granite and Dew had shrunk anime-style; and other Djinni were sweatdropping nervously. Tonic realised these reactions to her little outburst and blushed darkly.
"Um... hello," she mumbled in a small voice. "Erm... Granite has something to ask all of you."
Several tiny bodies hit all types of surfaces (beds, wardrobes, Venus fly traps... no comment) as Djinn after Djinn fell down in stupidity.
"ARGH!!! Lemme out!" Ground screamed as the Venus flytrap tried to eat him up (how ironic). Some Mercury Djinn - Hail, Dew and Spritz - sighed sympathetically and, with a little struggle managed to tug Ground free from the evil plantation.
"What... what is that thing?" he gasped, staring horrified at the fly trap, which was snapping and, strangely enough its eyes were gleaming. "... Why does it have eyes?"
Somewhere, Super Mario music played and a "Wa-hoo!" was heard. Sounds of bouncing and "Mamma mia!" filled the confused silence, and the Djinni became rather perplexed as to the sanity of this story.
"What the heck is going on here?" Flint demanded. "What is that thing and what's it doing here?"
"I know!" Mist piped up. "Isaac had it imported from somewhere, and he gave it to Mia as a present before they got together. She's been watering it with her Psynergy everyday. I've watched her tend to it, feed it and trim it whenever she's not with Isaac."
"Well," Flint said, scratching the top of his head, "I guess that explains the eyes on it..."
"Er, fellow Djinn community," Granite called out, "can I have your attention again?"
The others had forgotten he and Tonic were there with a purpose, and they turned back to the couple. Satisfied finally that she was being received their full attention, Tonic spoke up.
"Okay, first thing's first, Granite and I are unofficially engaged," she announced, although she couldn't help turning a healthy magenta as she said it. At once, everyone started crowding around them, congratulating Tonic and patting Granite on the back. Granite nearly fell in range of the Venus flytrap again and tried to avert everyone's attention to the subject matter.
"Anyway," he said, when he was able to escape everyone trying to suffocate him, "although we're sort of engaged, there's still a problem that prevents us from getting married."
"Ah, yes," Quartz mused, puffing a miniature pipe. "Weyard laws prohibit Djinni marriages from happening."
"That's what we've come here for," Tonic said, taking over. "We need people to help us override the matrimony laws and make Djinni marriage legal."
"I'm in," Flint said almost immediately. "Anything to get away from that maniac Sap."
"What was that, Fiend?" Sap called from inside a chest of drawers (again, Lord knows how he got inside it in the first place). "I challenge you to a duel!"
"Can we hurry it?" Flint muttered to Granite and Tonic. "He's starting to drive me nuts."
"Why's he have the blindfold on?" Granite asked, listening to Sap constantly banging the insides of the drawer to try and escape.
"It was meant to be a trick," Flint explained. "Somehow, I think it's gone too far."
"I'll come too," Fizz said aloud, joining the growing band of Djinni "It'll give me some good ideas for more pranks."
Granite and Tonic sweatdropped, but as soon as Fizz announced her joining on the quest, Dew piped up as well.
"I'm coming too! Can I, Fizz? Can I? Pwwweeeaaaseee?!"
"Oh, fine!" Fizz said exasperatedly. "Just, keep it down, will ya?"
"Okee," Dew said, smiling widely (i.e., the face).
Granite and Tonic looked at each other, wondering how many of their friends were willing to try and help them on their quest. Before they could even sigh, Vine and Bane had appeared mysteriously behind them.
"Vine and Bane, reporting for duty!" they said together.
"AAH!" Granite and Tonic jumped, and Tonic said irritably, "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," Vine and Bane muttered, drooping their heads.
"Anyone else?" Granite called out. "I think we have room for one more!"
"Count me in, then," Sleet said, hopping beside Flint and Fizz. "I'm always up for a little adventure.
Granite and Tonic decided there were enough, if not too many helpers and started to lead the way out of the bedroom and out of the house.
After everyone departed, the remaining Djinni - Quartz, Ground, Hail, Spritz, Mist (and Sap) - shrugged.
"What should we do now?" Ground asked, looking around the bedroom.
"I dunno," Spritz said, sitting on the bed and heaving a sigh. "Guess we're stuck by ourselves."
"Alas!" Sap cried from inside the drawer. "That Flint the Fiend has encased me in an unescapable cage! That rotten sneak!"
"Oh no," Spritz groaned. "I forgot about him."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
At least half an hour had passed since the pursuit of Felix had begun. The angry forest wildlife was still trying to exact revenge on the Venus Adept, and slowly they'd grown in numbers. It also didn't help Felix that certain blonde Jupiter Adepts had tipped the animals off about his previous hiding spots, so he had nowhere to take cover from the inevitable assault.
After a long period of running without rest, the hunt for the brunette had finally reached the houses of Vale. Felix dashed into the nearest house and slammed the door behind him. Several bees collided into the door, and Felix jumped back in alarm when their stingers started protruding through the wooden door. He desperately glanced around for somewhere to conceal himself, when he heard singing coming from upstairs. Forgetting the wrath of the forest creatures if they managed to burst inside, Felix listened to the serene music.
'I wonder who that is,' Felix thought to himself. 'Sounds kinda pretty.'
Felix was about to get the absolute Venus freaked out of him when the source of the music proceeded downstairs. The person, still singing, walked freely down the stairs, unsuspecting of the intruder. As she strolled into the living room where Felix currently was, Felix went absolutely pale and the girl mortified. They took one look at each other and screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Mini Garet: "Hey, there's no food!"
Lord Cynic: "... I hid it all. No one getting into my sta -"
Mini Jenna: "Found them!"
Lord Cynic: "NOOOO!!!"
Reviewer's Spotlight (I'm watching you... somehow)
"Black Demon567"
Yep, Robin is Isaac's Japanese name. Personally, Isaac sounds better, but that's just my opinion. We'll see Robin and Picard in the next chapter, hopefully.
"Anime-Master7"
... eh, sorry. Hope the length of the chapter makes up for the delay of the update.
"Link015"
Seems every reviewer likes the anime classifications. You've got a weird Mia there, though... just sayin'.
"Joker's Specter"
... well, took me a long time to update. Cancels out, dun it? Hopefully the next chapter will be quicker than this took. Maybe... 3 weeks? Eh.
"Lord Slasher"
And that translates to... a death threat. Lovely. Thanks for the review, though. Makes me feel speeeecial. Lah!
Chapter 7: Robin and Picard up to some devious plays. (I just suck at chapter titles, so meh.)
