I Came, I Saw, I Conquered
Well, I forgot the Disclaimer in the first chapter, which is pretty bad of me, so here it is!
Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun or its characters.
Well I've got that over with. I won't be doing one for each chapter - it's just one of those things that I don't see the point of. Anyway, thank you all very much for the reviews! It didn't take you long, did it? And it helps an author a lot, especially when they're always getting writer's block like me. Damn writer's block, burn it to hell.
A bunch of rioting Satanists: How dare you insssult the Devil'sss domain?! For thissss you shall pay at the hand of Lucifer and Beelzebub! Mwahahaha!
Piers: Quick! Run for the hills! They're throwing petrol bombs at us! (Runs off screaming)
abstractmind: Ivan being a warlord is cool! And a little odd. Thank you for the FIRST review, it brings a tear to my eye, aah. (whipes a tear from her eye) I think I need a tissue...
PyroDragon88:Ya I did try hard with this fic to make the characters how I would think they'd act, so thank you, and Ivan will have a big role! Hooray! Piers/Mia? Yes, it will probably be so, n-n. Alex being evil? Well, we can only wait and see what he's up to...
Alex: I'm innocent! Honest!
Ivan: (kicks Alex out of the way) I read "Mercury's Light"! I must say that I enjoyed it very much! Yes I did!
ShadeXH: Yes! One of my no1 priorities. To write longer chapters. Stories are so much better that way (excepting some fics). Well, thank you for the review, and I will carry on! I think you'll like this chapter n-n
S.P.Q.T: I'm glad you find it funny. I don't want it getting too serious on me or I might start crying (hell, that would be sad). Anyway, thank you very much, and I agree. film slogans are way too clichéd.
Favri the Fisher: Yeah, even I'm finding it hard to keep up, it all seems so confusing. It's one great big conspiracy! n- n- n- can I wink anymore?
Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!
Chapter Two: Fog And Mist, Disturbed
"Just remember one thing," Mia said in a clear voice, laying her hand on Piers' shoulder. "Please don't appear too surprised when you see our warlord as so many have – and said so – in the past. I know for a fact that it annoys him, whether he shows it or not."
Piers nodded, suddenly looking very apprehensive. "Uh, Mia?" he asked, and she looked at him quizzically. "You are coming in too?"
"Yes I'll come in, unless you don't want -"
"No! I mean, no. I would like you to come in with me," he replied, rather flustered. "It's just, this is a whole new place for me. It's all rather daunting."
"Yes, I understand," Mia answered. "Well, let's go in then, and get it all over and done with."
It was true that Mia was interested in what Piers had to say. It wasn't just the way he had appeared that morning, or what he had come to tell her. It wasn't even the deep sadness and knowing he held in his golden orbs that told Mia that something was wrong. She felt it in herself; a new nagging sensation. A mixture of anxiety and dread that steadily grew inside her the moment she felt Piers' presence by her side.
Slowly they entered, lowering their heads under the low thatched roof of the building. On entering, the darkness pressed in on them like an ebony blanket, and for a moment, both were blinded, waiting slowly to adjust to the light.
"Hello," Mia said, trying to sound calm. "This is important. I have come with a visitor who has news for the warlord. May we please talk?"
It was quiet.
Then someone lit a candle, and all the curves and surfaces of the room lit up with a soft red, glimmering light. A light breeze blew in through the open door, bringing with it the scent of the open sea. Piers' eyes widened, and Mia's face fell into a warm smile.
"Hello Master Kraden," she said genially. "May we talk with the warlord? It's," she said, looking sidelong at Piers, "rather important."
Kraden paused, appearing rather mesmerised by Mia's presence. "Oh, err, yes, of course!" He turned to Piers. "And who might you be, young traveller?" he asked. "You don't look from these parts – your clothes, they're very unusual."
Piers cleared his throat. "My name is Piers," he said, nodding slightly. "I come from… a place where you might not have heard of."
"Oh ho!" Kraden said exultantly, and he held the front of the book he was reading up to the candlelight. Squinting at its cover, Piers read 'A History of Ancient Alchemy & the First Age of The Golden Sun'. He raised an eyebrow. "Come," Kraden carried on, leaning over the table. "Tell me then. I do love to share a little knowledge with -"
"Kraden?" Mia suddenly interrupted. "Could we please talk with Ivan now?"
"Oh! Yes of course." Kraden got up and re-adjusted his half-moon glasses upon his nose. He bustled out of the room and out of sight. As the two sat silent for a while, they heard the low inaudible mumblings of Kraden and who they could only imagine was the warlord himself.
Then suddenly, he entered. Piers had trouble keeping his face straight, but he managed it. Ivan stared at him for a moment, then sat at the table and gestured for his two guests to do the same.
"What is it that's the problem then?" he asked, his voice only starting to crack. He was fairly short with a mop of blond hair. He sat erectly and with pride, and watched Piers with unblinking eyes.
This was the only chance Piers had. He might as well tell this warlord everything, remembering Mia's words. Again he cleared his throat.
"I am Piers, and have come to warn you of an arising problem from the North. Danger is coming, and it's arriving at a quick pace. Something must be done before time runs out, and the doom falls upon you," he said seriously.
Well, that sounded pretty awful, Piers thought, taking in a deep breath. He looked to Ivan, who was sitting in silence, staring blankly at him. Piers immediately felt very uncomfortable.
"There is something contained within these lands that the Northern people want?" he abruptly said, after a long moment of silence. Piers, dumbstruck, could only nod his head. How did he know? he wondered, but when he looked back to the warlord, he was met only with understanding in those light violet eyes…
Something was happening. Alex looked up, and immediately sensed it. I need to be somewhere else, somewhere where truths are being unveiled, he thought, standing upright. He took a step forward, then another –
"Alex!" He froze at the sound of his name. "Alex, wait! Where are you going?"
"And what is it to you?" he snapped as Isaac ran up, to stop in front of him.
"Look, you're the first person I've seen this morning," Isaac answered as if this explained everything. "But too many things have been happening in – the last few hours!"
"If you mean the ship, I already know."
"…You do? Oh well, that's one thing less to tell you then. But if you know that, then you'll understand that the foreigner who it belongs to is here. He was with Mia, and they've gone to see Ivan."
Alex looked at him thoughtfully. It was slowly starting to make sense to him. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked out to the sea. Trying to suppress a smirk that was attempting to form upon his lips, he asked, "How do you know this?"
"Well, as you know, my father is the coastguard to the village. He went to check out the ship after Ivan had that vision, and of course it was there. He came back about an hour ago with the news. Have you seen it yet? It's one hell of a ship!"
"Yes, I have seen it. How do you know about the foreigner?"
"Well, I haven't actually seen him, but I met Sheba just a second ago. She's got some kind of suspicions about goings on – I'm not sure what. Anyway, she saw him, and she had some kind of a dagger that she reckons belongs to him. I have to say it doesn't look like it comes from around these parts, but still…"
This nut's speech patterns are awful, Alex thought mildly. How are you supposed to understand what he's saying? "Where did you see Sheba?" he asked uninterestedly.
"Err," Isaac thought for a second, looking to the side. "I saw her back in the village. She looked really lost in thought about something, so I asked her why. She said she'd just been to see Felix." Isaac shook his head slowly. "No wonder she was on a different planet. Sometimes I find it hard to understand what Felix is about."
Isaac paused, waiting to see what Alex would say about the information he'd given him. Alex merely blinked.
"You are too vague," he concluded, closing his eyes. Before Isaac could say anything Alex's body clouded over with a misty blue light, and vanished.
I was so close, Sheba thought angrily to herself. "I was so close!" she said loudly and immediately tried to suppress her frustration. She sat on the grassy slope, the sun bearing down on the back of her bare neck. The dagger was laid in her lap, covered by her shadow. "I know something is wrong here," she murmured thoughtfully, stroking one finger along the dull blade. "Why am I the only one that can see that?"
"Oh I wouldn't say you were the only one," said a quiet voice right in front of her. Sheba started, and looked up to see Alex standing before her.
"What do you want Alex?" she asked sourly, not bothering to hide the dagger this time.
"I would like to look at the weapon you have, if I may," he answered in a mocking voice.
"Why?" Sheba snapped. "You knew I had it in the first place. Oh, and for your information I did not steal it."
"Ah, I am most sorry about that. I must have got it wrong." Alex moved forward and sat on the grass slope to her left. "May I look at it?" Slowly, untrustingly, Sheba handed it to him, and he held it carefully in his hands, saying nothing.
"Well?" Sheba said after a while, getting irritated.
"Where did you find it?" Alex asked, still inspecting the dagger.
Sheba was about to say something, then closed her mouth. Why was he so interested? Wait, that's not a hard question, Sheba thought. He's probably up to something like normal.
Alex noticed her pause. "Don't lie to me Sheba. I'll know," he said scathingly.
Sheba raised her eyebrow. Who does he think he is? I suppose he thinks he can read my mind, the nutcase. "I found it in the forest," she said, looking away. "And before you ask why I was out in the middle of night in the dangerous woods, it's because Garet threatened me to go and look for Aaron, his younger brother."
"Huh," Alex said indignantly and Sheba scowled, knowing it was all just a show. Did he care about her? No, of course not. "That's not very nice of him is it? And why was his brother out in the forest?" Alex asked, handing the blade back to her, and trying to smile. Sadly it just looked like a malevolent smirk.
Sheba sighed. "Sleepwalking. Are you finished with this interrogation now Alex?" she asked, wanting him to leave her alone so she could think.
"Please, don't sound so derisive. It doesn't suit you," Alex stated, and Sheba scowled. He heaved a sigh, hardly noticing her annoyed expression. "Well, I suppose I have other things to do," he explained. "Thank you for your time." He got to his feet.
The small boat rocked abruptly upon the calm sea.
"Whoah!" he yelled, and quickly grabbed out, only just catching the net in time before he lost it to the waves. "What on earth was that?"
Above his small fishing boat, the seagulls squawked and, in a flurry flew towards the coastline. The man watched, wide-eyed.
Then ahead of him, where the mist was just starting to disappear from the surface of the wide ocean, a great cloud of seagulls lifted from the gentle waves, disturbed.
Quickly, he hooked the line of the large net onto the side of the boat, and pulled it up on the other side. Then he headed to the helm, and held a hand above his eyes to block out the sun's rays.
Something was moving smoothly through the fog. It looked like a faded dream, or a distant memory as it moved serenely, casting ripples to its sides, but as it slowly got closer, he was sure he was not imagining things.
Sheba frowned, and looked out to sea. A new breeze was blowing inland, an unnatural one. It disturbed her, and she got to her feet.
"Yes?" Alex asked, mistaking her motivations for a want of his attention.
"Shut up," Sheba said, holding up her hand. She stared out onto the horizon, but could see nothing. A sudden strange mist lay upon the ocean's surface, close to the cliffs, and clouded the view. "There's something out there," she whispered, her eyes trying to penetrate the obstacle.
"Excuse me?"
"Can't you feel it? Something's coming." Immediately Sheba started to run for the coastline.
A sudden dread filled his veins, and he made a small noise of fear in his throat. A looming shadow was heading straight for his small fishing boat, and as the mist slowly cleared, he saw two figures stand up on the bow of the ship. One lifted an object, and held it under their chin, aiming it for him.
He brought his hand away from his eyes, and his arm hung loosely by his side. He was paralysed, already knowing his fate.
The twang of the arrow echoed repeatedly across the placid waves.
It brought with it the darkness of his vision.
"What the hell was that?!" Sheba suddenly yelled, and rubble fell from the side of the cliff. She was getting too close to the edge. She took a step back, and turned. "Something's just happened," she said urgently to Alex who was standing a little way back. "Something that's not good."
"Like what?" he asked, as she started to walk past him, quickening her pace with each step. "What!" Alex yelled, grabbing her arm and holding her back.
"Get off me!" Sheba growled, and pulled herself away from him. She ran.
For a moment, Alex stood, immobilised. Sheba had just sensed, or seen something out at sea; something that was just another clue that concealed the truth to this entire mess. What was he even doing here anyway? If he wanted answers, he should have been at the warlord's home, where the truths were probably being uncovered that very moment. If Isaac hadn't come and interrupted him, he would be there now.
And what of that dagger? He thought. When no answer came, he cleared his mind, concentrating. Then, he disappeared from sight, leaving only a faint aura in the troubled air.
Mia now sat, very rigid in her seat. Piers was silent, and Ivan was completely motionless, and neither of them had talked for the last twenty minutes.
And yet, Mia wondered, there is a connection here that I can't seem to understand. She could almost see attachment between the two as they stared into each other's eyes, and it unnerved her to no end. She sighed, her confusion beyond her.
Then someone burst into the room and at long last, the invisible thread between the two seated was broken. Ivan blinked, and saw Sheba panting slightly in the doorway. She held in her eyes a certain fear and bewilderment, and beyond that, excitement.
"Something has happened," she stated clearly. "And I think you should all come."
"Where is Alex?" Ivan asked, not moving from where he sat. Sheba, a little taken back by this seemingly irrelevant question, thought for a second.
"I – I'm not sure. He was at the coast with me when I saw the mist; when it… it came…" she trailed off, and looked down. Ivan nodded slightly, looking deeply concerned.
"Mia," he suddenly said, and she looked at him quizzically. "You have known Alex the longest. I need you to find him and ask him what is happening." He turned to Piers sitting before him. "Piers, I thank you for your information, and I give you my deepest regards." Piers lowered his head when Ivan said this, and again Mia wondered what had gone on between them in those last twenty minutes. "I would like you to find Garet, and ask him to return here with you."
There was a silence. It had been a beautiful morning and a promising day for Mia, but now the dread seemed to hang in the air like a dank smell. She could almost feel the worry apprehensiveness drifting off the people around her, and yet she had no idea what was going on. She had never felt so confused, and it was almost frustrating for her.
"Well," Sheba said finally, exasperated. "What do you want me to do? I'm not useless, you know!" She placed her hands on her hips, glaring threateningly at Ivan.
"Sheba, I would like you to find Isaac and Felix, for certain reasons," he answered, glancing at Piers. "Tell them to go to the coast and meet me there."
"Ok then!" Sheba said, and was about to leave, when she suddenly stopped. "But, what about Jenna?"
For the first time, Ivan smiled. "She's already waiting," he answered simply.
"So Sheba," Isaac asked as he followed the younger girl through the village. "What's all of this that's going on then? I mean, yesterday everything's pretty much normal, and it's not even midday today and everyone's worried, and strange things are happening, and we're having visitors -"
"Yes, I know, and sorry, I don't know," Sheba answered. Isaac looked blankly at the back of her head.
"Huh?" he said.
"You heard me. Now where's Felix got to?" Sheba asked, looking from side to side. He had not been at the blacksmith's, and neither had Jenna. Argh! She said in her head. This is all I need. Why can I never find that idiot?
"I dunno," Isaac said mildly. Truthfully he didn't really care. To him, Felix was a barrier between Jenna and himself. One that he didn't seem able to knock down.
They turned the corner and fell on the path towards the cliffs. The now clear sea was in view, and the breeze it brought with it towards the land came in refreshingly. Walking towards them was none other than the person they were looking for and he appeared not to have noticed them yet.
"Felix!" Sheba yelled, and ran towards him. Isaac followed, a little disheartened. He looked up, and stopped in his tracks, watching them tensely. Sheba came to a standstill, Isaac stopping behind her. "Felix, we need to meet Ivan at the cliffs. Oh, and I was right, and you were wrong!"
Felix raised an eyebrow in reply. "What are you talking about exactly?" he asked. "Are you telling me you've discovered the great secret of the 'Black Dagger'?"
Sheba scowled. "No, but something dangerous is coming, right for our land!"
"And what is it that happened this morning that you saw out at sea?" Isaac asked, joining in the conversation. Sheba paused.
"I didn't actually see anything, because this sudden mist appeared right at the bottom of the cliffs." She explained to him. "But it was more of a sensing thing – I sensed something happening, and I've got Ivan to back me up, because he seems to understand everything that's going on. He's sorting it all out now."
Isaac snorted. "You talk like he's some great… superhero or something. He's a blond fifteen year-old with a strange ability to see visions and… other strange stuff."
"Hey! He's our appointed warlord," Sheba retorted, up and ready for an argument. "If he knew were saying this about him -"
"Perhaps we should go and carry on with this argument by the cliffs," Felix intervened quietly. "You said that's where we're meant to be meeting Ivan."
Sheba huffed. "Fine then. Let's go." She marched past Felix and on towards their destination. "And I'll show you where I sensed the thing out at sea," she said over her shoulder as Isaac pulled a face at her. They followed the Jupiter Adept to the coast, and waited.
"When did he say he would be arriving," Isaac asked sarcastically after a while. "Any time soon?"
Sheba ignored him and stood fairly close to the edge. She looked out to sea, shielding her eyes. "The mist, it's completely disappeared," she murmured. "It didn't hang far out like it normally does in the morning – it suddenly appeared around near the bottom of the cliffs, out of nowhere."
"You might have been seeing things," Isaac pointed out, and he quickly got an answer.
"No Isaac. You think you're seeing things when you're surrounded by shadows, and it's the middle of the night, not in early morning when you're wide awake and with someone else who has just as good eyesight as yourself," she replied touchily.
Well she's in a bad mood this morning, Isaac thought. …Hey, wait a minute; she said she was with someone! "Sheba, who were you with?"
Sheba suddenly bit her lip, feeling uncomfortable in Felix and Isaac's gaze. "I was with… Alex," she muttered.
"Why?" Felix abruptly asked, and she glanced at him. He returned her stare, looking passive as he did for much of the time. Unless someone was bothering him, of course.
"Uh," Sheba said, trying to think. "He was interested in… the dagger. So I was showing it to him – though I didn't really want to," she added sourly. "Then I felt that sensation that something was really wrong, and that's when I came here, to the cliff-edge."
Felix did not answer.
"You and your sensations," Isaac muttered darkly when it was clear that Felix was not going to say anything more. Sheba glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice. "No wonder you're so full of our warlord."
"But you agreed he'd be a good leader," Sheba snapped at him.
"I know, and we used to be great friends. But I think the power's getting to his head -"
"Well I would like to see you do a better job, you stuck up -"
"Sheba, be careful," Felix suddenly said, looking off to the right.
Isaac took a step forward, returning Sheba's attention to him. "Who are you calling stuck up? I'm simply saying my opinion on things, and if you don't like it, then tough! Sheesh," he added. "What's got into you today? You're not normally this grumpy."
As the argument became heated, neither noticed the low echoing noise that seemed to rumble off the cliffs' sides. Sheba, back turned to the sea, was infuriated.
"Look! Just because I've got to grips with the fact that something is going drastically wrong, and will probably have a great effect on us, because I know that a danger is headed straight for our own homeland and am trying to do something about it, I'm not going to be exactly over the moon, am I? I should be asking what's wrong with you!" she yelled at Isaac.
"Nothing's wrong with me Sheba! But whatever the situation is, it would be easier for us all if you calmed down a bit!" he retaliated.
"And I can tell you… right… now… what the..?" Sheba suddenly looked down, and watched in horror as her foot seemed to slip of the steep edge of the soaring cliffs.
And she fell.
Nooooooooo! A cliffhanger! Literally!
Piers: Do you think that's where the word originates from? It could be...
What? Oh, yeah. I suppose.
Piers: O-o Well don't be too interested then.
(holds up a carrot threateningly)
Piers: o Not the carrot!
Review or he get's it!
Piers: Please.. do it.... it hurts! It hurts!