Princess Viv: Thank goodness for the short one-week holiday we have over here in the UK! (Cheers) Or I would never have gotten this chapter done! Lol, anyway, here it is, Chapter 16. Sorry for the delay, as school has been crazily hectic, and I hope you all enjoy! Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun.

Golden Sun: The Fight for the Stars

By Princess Viv

Chapter 16: The Truth Hurts

Previously…

"Who are you really?" Mia found herself asking, her pale lips quivering as the figure leaned closer and closer to her; quickly, she scrambled away, but a hand suddenly shot out quickly and grasped her shoulder, causing her to gasp in surprise and slight pain.

Mia stared down at the bronzed arm that held her shoulder tightly, obviously not wanting to let go. The water adept immediately stopped struggling, knowing it would just hurt her further, and there was nowhere she could run. Now the tan-skinned hand moved upwards, and in a flash, it had grabbed Mia's chin, and was turning her head towards the hood of his dark cloak. "My dear girl… This is who I am."

Slowly, while one strong hand pulled a frightened and frozen Mia's face ever nearer to where his face was meant to be, the Sol Lord's other hand appeared, and proceeded to stretch towards the top of his cowl. Gradually, his hand pulled off the hood which concealed his features, and as it fell down, Mia's blue eyes widened at the sight that greeted her, her pretty face right up against the face which had been revealed.

"No!"

"So, how can I be of assistance?" Kent beamed cheerfully at the two young adults sitting on large, comfy sofas in front of him, both sipping hot, scalding tea.

"Well, Mast—I mean, Kent. My friends and I require to knowledge about where the Sol Lighthouse lies. I was hoping you could tell me." Pyra replied, lifting the steaming mug to her pursed lips, her whole body sunk into the large folds of the old sofa.

"Ah… The Sol Lighthouse…" The older man rubbed his clean-shaven chin, deep in thought, his amber brown eyes misty with memories; Felix watched him intently, hoping the journey to Sunka had not been in futile. "It has been a very long time… A very long time indeed…"

After a short moment of silence, Kent gazed up at his patiently awaiting guests again; his eyes contained a hidden sadness deep within, "I may be able to help you, my friends… I trust you, Pyra, so I will assist you the best I can. However, I need to know one thing: Why do you seek the Sol Lighthouse?"

"It's a very long story…" Pyra sighed softly, shaking her head with remorse, "But I… We will tell you." She turned to Felix, making eye contact with him, her blood red eyes pleading for permission. The Venus adept stared at her for a short moment, hesitant; however, he felt that this man was trustworthy enough, and his friend's eyes were boring unmercilessly into his, causing him to internally flinch, so he surrendered, and gave Pyra a sharp nod, his handsome face as emotionless as ever.

"It began like this…" Felix started to speak quietly, his voice now filling the small living room, the other two listening intently to the earth adept.

Meanwhile, in a small space of fifteen minutes, an extremely worried Isaac had managed to hurriedly round up the rest of his team, and now they clustered next to him in a circle, awaiting for him to speak; the members of the group that did not know about the terrible situation were rather confused, but they guessed immediately it was important, since many of the others, especially Jenna, looked very anxious. And where was Mia?

"Everyone," Isaac began, his golden blonde hair hanging limply over his face, shadowing his normally bright blue eyes, "About three quarters of an hour ago… They… He… Him… She…" He struggled to find the right words, but then sighed with submission and frustration, "Damn it!" he cried, whacking a cold hand to his head.

"What's going on?" Kay asked, frowning, aware that Megan, who was blinking back tears, was whispering rapidly and softly to Justin beside her; slowly, the young boy's expression changed gradually, until utter horror alighted his face, frightening Kay greatly.

"No! You're joking, right?" Justin exclaimed to his upset twin sister, then turned to an unhappy Isaac standing in the centre of the crowd, his head hung low, "What do you mean, missing?"

When the leader of the team failed to answer, and others were thoroughly confused, Garet spoke up for Isaac, his strong arms wrapped tight around a frail Jenna, "Yes, it's true… Mia has been captured by the Sol Lord."

A loud gasp rippled around the group, and horrified faces appeared amongst the shocked crowd, along with loud exclamations of "What?" "How?" and "I can't believe it!" Though a few knew Mia was missing, they had no idea it was the Sol Lord. The enemy they were facing. The enemy they were fighting against.

"My sister has been taken by the Sol Lord?" Piers slowly spoke, his golden eyes dark with anger,

A crying Megan was coping with an enraged Justin, trying desperately to hold him back as the young boy yelled loudly at nobody in particular, unshed tears shining in his eyes, "How could you lose her like that? You should've looked after her better! Now she's gone forever, to that bastard, that whatsisname, the Sol Lord!"

"Justin, please, please just stop!" Megan sobbed, clinging onto her fuming and upset twin, her wet tears rolling down her pale cheeks. Never had she seen her twin so angry and in no control before.

"Justin…" Ivan walked over to the struggling boy, his words soft, and his face anxious. Everyone else was too preoccupied with their subdued thoughts, and the wise Jupiter adept knew this young boy and his twin sister needed much comforting and consoling. He knew it felt like losing their mother; they had already lost their birth parents, but if they lost Mia too…? Ivan did not want to think about that just yet. He didn't want to think about that ever.

"Damnit, she was like a mother to Megan and me! No, wait, she was our mother! She was our only mother, best friend, and carer. She loved us with all her heart, and now you're telling me the guy we're fighting, the most evil person in the whole of Angara, captured her! What if she dies?" Everyone flinched at his last statement, and suddenly Justin's tears had escaped his eyes and were flowing freely down his face; he wiped them away furiously, and the young boy freed himself from a sobbing Megan, who fell into Ivan's arms, weeping. Kay, paralysed, wanted to help Justin, but found she could not move, nor, she knew, would she have made a difference. The others looked on mournfully.

"It's all my fault."

Suddenly, everyone turned to the sad, bitter voice that had softly spoken. Isaac stared at the ground, his eyes dark and zombie-like, and continued in a hollow tone, "It's all my fault… I should've been there for her… It's all my fault… All my fault…" Suddenly, he began hitting himself with a tight, curled fist, tears seeping uncontrollably out of the corners of his shut eyes.

"Isaac, stop it!" Jenna cried; both her and Garet ran over and grabbed him, trying to desperately stop his self-afflicting punches.

"I'm sorry, guys… I'm so, so sorry…" Isaac whispered, his head in his hands, his golden blonde hair plastered everywhere. He was completely lost, in mind and body.

"Don't say that, Isaac, it was not your fault." Jenna soothed her friend, her own eyes welling up with tears, "I am as much to blame as you are…"

"We'll get her back, man." Garet said in a tight voice, clapping his best friend on the back.

"I'm sorry too…" Justin, now leaning on Kay and crying no longer, spoke up, his voice tired and weary, "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that, Isaac. I'm sorry." He left Kay, and took shivering Megan out Ivan's arms, and hugged his twin sister tightly, burying his tear stained face in her blonde hair. "I'm sorry, sis."

"Isaac…" Piers left his silent, sad wife and approached the trio in the middle of the group, "You need to be strong. We all need to be strong, for ourselves, for the world, and for Mia. We may not know what has happened to her, but we will find her, I swear on my grave. She's my only sister, and I promise I'll find her."

Looking around, Isaac peered at his comrades. Megan and Justin embraced each other still, the twins finding consolation in each other, understanding what the other was going through; Kay took a confused Aaron into her arms, and hugged him to her, whispering soothing words into his ears; Ivan clasped Sheba to him tightly, smiling faintly while Sheba wiped away silent tears; Sapphira stood alone, her head bowed, her sadness etched across her face; Garet and Jenna were in each other's arms in mutual sadness and silence; and Piers stood rigid in front of him, the pain clear on his face, but strength stood out in its midst.

Taking a deep breath, the golden haired leader forced a small, determined smile, and tightened a clenched fist with fury and resolute. "I will get you back Mia, if it's the last thing I do… I promise you…"

"Onward." Isaac declared with his usual strong loud voice that a moment ago he thought he had lost forever, "Onward. We will not let the absence of one of our team dishearten us. Though I am sure we are all grievous of what has occurred, we will journey forth to the Sol Lord. We will find him, fight him, and beat him. I promise each and every one of you that I will personally see that Mia is avenged, and returned to us safe and sound. If not… then let my spirit's flame be blown out."

With the tight grasp on her shoulder lifted, Mia quickly scrambled backwards as far as possible, trying to desperately get away from him, her beautiful face shocked and horrified by what she saw; her pale, shaking hands gripped the white bed covers subconsciously, and her aquamarine eyes were wide with disbelief.

"It's not possible… No… No… It can't be! This is all an illusion!" Mia whispered loudly, blinking back stinging tears that threatened to escape and shaking her magnificent blue head, "No… This is all a lie… I'm dreaming… I must be!"

"No, Mia, this is no illusion. This is no dream! Your eyes do not lie! This is the truth!" The sol Lord shouted and spread his arms wide, triumph and contempt spilling into his familiar voice, "Look at me and believe what you see! Accept it, you foolish girl!"

"I won't believe this!" Mia screamed, tears now flowing freely down her pale cheeks and dripping onto the bed, dampening the duvet, "Never!"

She stared at that face. That oh-so-familiar face that was now screwed up with victory, evilness and disgust, a mocking smirk on his lips. That handsome face she would normally see in her dreams, smiling down at her serenely, protecting her; now it felt more like a nightmare… a nightmare she could not awake from. Oh, that was his soft, golden blonde hair, his blue eyes, his height, his build…

Everything was his.

Mia dropped her head, letting her long locks of blue fall and mingle with her tears of sadness and disbelief; with parched lips, she continued whispering the same words over and over again, letting her tongue repeatedly taste her salty tears dripping downwards, "No… No…. Isaac… No…"

"The truth hurts, doesn't it, my dear Mia?"

Standing in front of the sobbing girl, Isaac – or someone who indeed looked exactly the same as Isaac – watched the pleasing scene unfold, an evil gleam or triumph in his blue eyes, the smirk lingering on his lips.

"Mia, you're all mine!"

Princess Viv: Sorry this chappie's so short, but I felt that would be a good place to end it. Anyway, I didn't want to write anymore – didn't feel like it. My ideas for this have run out at the mo, so it'll be onto the next chapter ASAP.

Anyhoo, please review, guys! Thank you!

Princess Viv