8BTFreek: The ending was supposed to be a mix between that, some of the meditation in the Circle of Magic quartet, and, oddly enough, playing in an orchestra. Don't ask. As for the little turncoat, acting comes with his job. How else would he be so good at manipulating people without them knowing?
AmandaZgreat: Being able to imagine what the characters look like is a sign of imagination, not insanity. Otherwise I'd be thrown into the nuthouse, since I act out all the scenes in my head before and while I'm writing them out. I actually had seen stuff that you've written even before Beta reading your fic: I've read your reviews. You've got a good vocabulary and write the way a person would talk; a lot of people don't do that.
Evil Bob: Oops. I'll correct that.
Vyctori: How many chapters are left roughly? At this rate it's about four or five chapters per Lighthouse with three left, so on second thought, it's more like twelve or fifteen. So maybe I'll have 30 chapters total, but I doubt I can write an addition of 30 chapters. Sorry about that.
As for the description, are you actually comparing this fic to Circle of Magic, or something? Cool!
headhit I'll fix those.
I plan to keep writing this fic and hopefully keep on improving. After all, what's the point of posting something if you're not proud of it and sure it's the best it can be?
Miraivo: Well, you more or less gave me the starting point from where I've determined various things that will pop up in this chapter and also why Alex is evil. I have weird logic.
WildfireDreams: So basically, I either had a confusing ending or I had a cliffhanger… Hopefully the latter.
Potato Man: Sorry, I'm counting the number of reviewers, not the number of reviews. Good idea though. Don't worry about Picard; I've figured out a slightly unorthodox way of getting him back. Wow, it seems that everyone either loves the Prussian thing or wants me to correct it! I'll be sure to include that information though.
Dracobolt: Thanks!
End of Response Section
I'm trying to get my update time to be around once a week or at least once every two weeks so you'll see an update twice a month. I'm sorry it's been about three weeks since I've updated, but recently my periods of free time have been completely missing the times when the computer is available, and I have a problem writing fanfictions on paper. So, in short, be happy you're able to read chappie number fourteen this week.
Disclaimer: Rallalon does not own Golden Sun, any of its characters, items, and or locations. Nor does she own very cold lakes, possessed people, confused people, people who can't remember the names of other people (with the exception of herself; she does own herself), thinking in the second person, dizziness, shades of blue, mindsets, or Norse mythology.
………
"Come on, Dr Crade. It's easy to walk on. Really, it is."
"How can you be sure it will support someone who isn't an Adept?"
"Poke it with your foot or something!" Saturos yelled out in exasperation. He then abruptly felt as if he had been thrown into a very cold lake and yet somehow remained dry. He felt Satornil's growing dizziness and need to sit down.
And that could only mean one thing: Picard had lit the Lighthouse. Now they needed to get down before the Lighthouse sent the Mars Adepts spiraling into the deep dark pit known as unconsciousness.
"Are you two, uh, you four… Are you alright?"
Huh? Since when had Crade crossed over? Come to think of it, when had Satornil fallen down? And was it just him, or had the Lighthouse gained a little bit of an extra boost to be affecting him this quickly? Or was it that Satornil was so much weaker than he was?
A glance at Makrina confirmed she and Menardi were in the same state. Of course, Menardi wouldn't let a little thing like her diminishing consciousness stop her. As proof, Menardi heaved Makrina up and started up the stairs, only turning back to say, "Crade, help him. I've got enough problems moving myself around."
She thought he needed the old man to help him! We'll see about that! Satornil told him, sharing his sentiments. They hoisted themselves up and were about to send a comeback in the girls' direction when they saw the smile on Makrina's face.
For someone who's not that good of a strategic thinker, she sure knows how to get people to do what she wants, Satornil commented as they climbed.
I was going to say that, Saturos replied, a bit confused. They must be getting closer to one another because of the joint effort of getting to the beacon. Usually, Saturos let his Russian counter-part have the control over the body, but here their strength was draining to the extent that it took both of them to do most of anything. Both of them noticed that they had the same walking and stair-climbing pace: weird.
It was getting rather unnerving how alike they were becoming. Or maybe how alike they had been at the start; Saturos wasn't completely sure on the issue.
Neither was Satornil.
"Guys," Makrina called from further on up, "we've got a bit of a problem!"
………
Xander was thoroughly confused.
What had started out as a favor to his almost-girlfriend had rapidly turned into a crazy event, featuring a story-telling lord and his almost-girlfriend's cousin's missing girlfriend being possessed. Then there was his almost-girlfriend's cousin's missing girlfriend's missing cousin being possessed too, along with the addition of his almost-girlfriend being possessed as well.
Yep, he was confused. Maybe he should start learning what their names were and, in Gary and May's case, actually using them.
Speaking of May, she and Gary's missing girlfriend… Jen was it? She and Jen were arguing about the whole deal, but it seemed they were rather confused as well.
The only "possessed" person that wasn't talking was Jen's cousin, a boy looking to be around sixteen or seventeen. His name either had either not been uttered or had simply been forgotten by Xander. Probably the latter; he didn't have the best memory for names.
Xander looked the guy in the eyes. Even from yards away, he could still see that a person with a scarred spirit was looking through those eyes.
The guy looked up…
…and met his gaze. "Alright, Alex. This is the point of no-return." The Venus Adept looked back down into the depths of the beacon. "Ready to cross it?"
Alex could've laughed at how funny that sounded coming from him. In fact, he had done so, judging from the confused look on the Valeman's face. "Felix, you misjudge the situation; that line was crossed a long time ago. Crossed the moment we accepted the truth."
Felix's brow tightened, a sign of him thinking of things that upset him. The squire thought he was unreadable, but Alex knew his every thought. The Mercury Adept schooled his face into a similar expression, not wanting to show his amusement. I know every part of you, Felix. You can hide nothing from me. Not your dying hopes, not your hesitation, nor your doubt. Not even the fear that threatens to devour you whole.
"Are you ready yet? I thought you wanted to be the one who lit the beacon, Alex!" Menardi snapped, roughly handing him the mithril bag containing the Mercury Star. So short of temper, so hasty, so sure of herself and yet so completely unknowing. She even thought that she and Saturos were still in control. A perfect tool.
Alex suddenly had a strange feeling. Just a flicker that was quickly repressed. What was it?
Whatever it was, it's not important, he decided.
He looked around at the members of his party. Impatient Menardi was apparently experiencing a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and irritation, judging by the set of her ears. The male Mars Adept was watching him intently while keeping an ear aimed at the elevator, ready to hear anything that was coming up. Kraden was clearly filled with excitement, being the crazy old kook everyone thought he was.
And Jenna… Dear Jenna was standing by the old scholar's side, her nervousness and anxiety shown clearly on her face. The girl, so dear to her brother, so dear to so many, half wanted to help them, half wanted to have her friends come and take her home.
And like Felix, she thought she was unreadable. How little both of them knew.
The flicker again, stronger. Gaia, what is that? he asked himself. No matter; I'll figure it out later.
"Alex?" Felix asked, his inquiring gaze adding "are you all right?" to his question.
The feeling returned stronger than ever, strong enough for Alex to know what it was. Guilt, he thought both skeptical and amazed. I'm feeling guilty. He had thought he had run out of guilt when he knew he was betraying Mia; apparently he hadn't.
Grimacing and guilt-ridden, Alex cast the Mercury Star in. As a wave of Water Psynergy flooded…
…out from the lit beacon, encompassing them all. Something inside of Xander responded to it, growing larger, but still miniscule. But that wasn't the only change, not by a long shot.
He was gripped by a fierce panic, a panic that wasn't his, a panic caused by the approach of an early death. Something grabbed control of his body, making it jerk, before stopping and looking around in bewilderment.
What am I doing here? a confused voice warily asked. I can move again, but this isn't right… The force in control of his body turned his head, looking about. That's Mercury Lighthouse! it exclaimed, surprised. What's going on?
Exactly what Xander wanted to know.
………
Makrina studied the scene in front of her in disbelief. From what she had learned from Menardi and personal experience, the Lighthouse was a powerful force when lit, and the ball that floated over the shaft was the core of that power, the physical form of the Lighthouse's element. It was a force that could weaken a Fire Adept meters away. So it made sense that touching that core was a bad idea.
A bad idea that Picard had apparently gotten.
The king was completely surrounded by halos of Psynergetic light, but through them a few details were clear. The Mercury Adept was leaning on the swirling blue sphere, his feet on the rim of the shaft, his right arm from elbow down was in the orb of the pure quintessence of Mercury. His head lolled about on his shoulders; the Psynergy proved he wasn't dead, so Picard had to be unconscious.
But using Psynergy while unaware was what you were doing never had good results; it had a strain on the mind and wasn't controlled. Still, Picard didn't seem to be actually doing anything with it; he was using it because he was filled to bursting with it. It was as if he was a cup overflowing with water: the liquid overflowed all around the rim without being poured in any direction.
"Flude," Saturos cursed from behind her in a whisper, not having strength to waste on speech. "Things are never simple are they?"
The Lemurian's body leaned in further as more of his arm was pulled in. A little while later and he would either be suspended by his arm or have it pulled off.
"Gets better and better," Satornil agreed in Russian.
When will they ever learn that sitting around all day doesn't do anything? Menardi asked her silently. Let's pull the twit out while the boys contemplate our predicament. The pair of them shakily strode up to behind Picard, two people forcing one pair of legs to walk. On three. One, the Proxan started.
Two, the Russian continued.
Three! they cried in unison and grabbed Picard by the back of his jacket. Before they could even pull, a searing pain exploded in their minds and in Makrina's hands. Ice as cold as the Tundra tried to freeze them. Waves swept them about and under-tows attempted to drag them down to the depths of a Psynergic sea. These forces Menardi could partly shield from her counter-part, having a bit of experience with each, the former from living in Prox, the latter from rescuing Felix's parents from drowning. After that little swim, she had sworn off the entire activity, but she still knew how to do it.
But the third part was the worst: steam. Makrina had been burned by steam once before; she hadn't so much as touched a kettle since. Menardi, however, was caught completely unaware. In Prox there was no such thing as steam, and because as a Mars Adept she knew how to stop flames from burning her, she had never been hurt by heat in her entire life. Rather strange, considering how it would happen to her in death.
But it did. They were being scalded, seared, and scorched by the steam for what felt like an eternity of wet pain. Anguish that was so excruciating neither of them could even remember how to scream lasted for an eternity.
And then it stopped.
Makrina weakly looked around and felt a band of pressure in each arm, between her elbow and shoulder. Unable to stand, she tumbled to the floor of the Aerie, ripping a belt out of Satornil's hand and one out of Crade's.
Wait… her mind dimly thought.
Belts? Menardi asked her, in the same feeble state.
And indeed they were. It seemed Satornil and Dr Crade had been to afraid to touch her directly and had risked having their pants fall down instead. Not the best plan, but smart.
She looked over to where Picard was. By pulling her out, they had pulled Picard with her a bit, but only about an inch. But the, before her very eyes, that inch was recovered by the Lighthouse Beacon.
Even her afflicted mind knew that certainly wasn't good.
………
Who the heck is Alex? Matthew asked Felix. It seemed that nearly everyone around here was recovering some sort of ancient personality and a guy by the name of Xander had just done so. Alex and Xander… what a bizarre coincidence.
No more than Jen and Jenna, I suppose… It was still weird.
Instead of answering in words, Felix sent him a swarm of memories: a roof-top in Prox, an argument in the Elemental Star Chamber, a small cerebration after Mercury Lighthouse that Alex wanted no part of, washing up on Idjema, the inn in Alhafra, the outskirts of Champa, healing in Jupiter Lighthouse, news of betrayal from the Wise One, and seeing the remains of Mt Aleph… Alex's burial place.
So… Not good?
The was a long pause before Felix answered him. Depends… the Venus Adept replied at last.
On what?
Reasons. If he was insane or not. That sort of thing.
Did you say insa–
Sorry, but in case you haven't noticed I've having a conversation with the said Mercury Adept too and it's getting rather difficult with you talking too, Felix interrupted, rude in more than one way. Sensing Math's now sullen mood, he continued with a more gentle touch. It's been a long, weird day. Can't an old geezer vent a little?
You're not an old geezer.
To save himself the trouble of having to conversations at once, Felix didn't argue. Matthew could pick up on how the Venus Adept was noticing how he wasn't acting old at all in Math's young body. He wasn't sure, but Matthew could've sworn he felt Felix concluding that it was the lack of aching joints and a limp.
Matthew mentally shook himself and tuned in on what Felix was making his mouth say, wondering if this was what it felt like to be a Tok'ra. I'm way too addicted to the Sci Fi channel, he admitted to himself.
It was Alex's or Xander's turn to talk. "Felix, do you honestly expect me to believe such a ridiculous story? This has to be some trick of the Wise One." Alex, then; Math seriously doubted Xander would know about the Wise One.
"Alex, check around in the back of your mind. There's someone there. You're in his body." Silently to Matthew, he added, Speak in English to him; he'll have to realize that, with Xander's knowledge, he understands.
What do I say?
Any thing you want. Try to calm Xander down or get Alex to stop repressing him.
Matthew mentally nodded. "My name's Matthew." Well, it was a start. But Xander's face was already bearing a confused expression.
The expression changed, still confused, but as if it were being used by another person. "Are you being…possessed, too?"
That had to be Xander. "Felix is sort of… rooming with me except instead of sharing a room, we're sharing a body. Freaky, yes. Annoying, yes. But… Fine, at the moment, I can't particularly say anything good about it, but there has to be an upside somewhere."
May I? Felix asked.
Mi casa, su casa. Well, actually, in this case, it's more like: mi cuerpo, su cuerpo.
"Alex," Felix began, "We don't really have time for your suspicions right now. A few of our party are still up at the top; they've been there a while longer than it should take. They might be unable to get down. That's where you come in."
Xander's eyebrow arched. "You want me to Warp up to the top? For whose incarnations?"
"Kraden's and the Proxan's."
"Which batch of them?" he asked condescendingly.
"Saturos and Menardi," Felix answered simply.
Is it just me, or are you leaving out Picard?
The latter. Alex isn't exactly fond of him.
Then aren't you lying?
It's something Alex himself taught me: don't give extra information unless people ask for it. He was only asking about incarnations…
And not about Lemurians, Matthew finished. He wasn't sure if this could be defined as something smart or something… else.
While the pair of Venus Adepts were having their chat, Xander's eyes had been closed and rings of Mercury Psynergy began to float up from his feet. They surrounded him, disappearing at his head, and Alex began to flicker in and out. Abruptly, he stopped.
"I can't…" he uttered, stupefied by this development. "This kid's holding me back." He blinked. "Did I just call him a goat?"
………
Despite how everyone else around him was having trouble standing, Dr Crade was feeling fine. The Russians were out of it, Makrina especially, but the stubborn will of the Proxans was clearly stopping them from giving up.
Makrina sat up weakly as he removed his and Satornil's belts from her arms. "It hurt…" she croaked out feebly, her voice sounding as if she had been screaming. The belts had most definitely been a good idea. "Why didn't it hurt you?"
"I don't have any Psynergy." That little statement was both a blessing and a curse to him. A "blurse" of a sort.
"But we do," Satornil or Saturos said. "and it didn't hurt us either. Plus, Psynergy can hurt a person who doesn't have it as much, if not more, than a person who does have it. Must be caused by physical contact or something…"
"I only grabbed his jacket," Makrina argued.
A thought struck Dr Crade. "I remember talking to Picard about something. It came up when he said he had had his headband thing since he was a child. Since that had to be literally a million years ago, I asked him how that was possible. He told me it was because of this thing he could do called Restore. He had done it so many times that his Psynergy was practically the only thing holding his clothes together."
Makrina gave him a funny look. "Can you get to the point? I'm having trouble understanding English right now."
"Psynergy wise, touching his shirt is as good as touching his arm," the archeologist concluded.
"You could have just said that…" Satornil/Saturos sleepily said from his position on the Aerie's floor. "So…belts?" he asked, holding his own up.
Dr Crade took it. "I'll get Picard hooked up. You work on standing up." Something flickered at the edge of his vision, but when he turned it was gone. Maybe the Lighthouse was getting to him too.
He fastened Satornil's belt around Picard's right arm, wishing the holes went down further. If Picard's arm hadn't already been melted off or something, it would be squeezed horribly when they pulled the king out, but there was no other useful place to put it. Thankfully, the other was long enough to go around his waist and still have an adequate amount of belt left to pull on.
Satornil's body had gotten to its feet, but there was no telling which of its occupants was responsible for it. He weakly reached for the belt around Picard's midsection. It was clear that he would lean back and let gravity do the pulling for him.
"Ready?" the archeologist asked. "On three. One."
Dr. Crade prayed it would work. What if the Beacon had consumed the king's hand, leaving them nothing to pull out but a stub? "Two."
What if the Lighthouse decided to suck them in too? "Three!"
Satornil leaned back, supported by only his fasten on Picard. Dr. Crade joined in, and more and more of the Lemurian's arm appeared bit by bit. But just as he believed Picard would come out, their progress slowed, the Lighthouse reluctant to let go of the Adept.
Wait… Maybe the Lighthouse actually didn't want to let Picard go, as a child refuses to part from a new toy. It might just be stupid personification, but it was worth a shot. After all, nothing else was working!
"Mercury Lighthouse!" he called. "Would you, uh, mind letting Picard go?" The Russians were looking at him as if he were mad.
"Well, why not?" he hissed at them. See if they could come up with a better idea!
Turning his attention back to his one-side conversation with a building, he continued, "We're going to visit, um, your, well I guess you could call them siblings, and light them too."
The beacon pulled back harder than ever, jealous, and the sphere took on an icy shade. That had obviously been the wrong thing to say. But on the positive side, he knew the Lighthouse would respond to him now.
"But I'm sure Picard would love to come back. He seemed to be rather… rather… rather taken with, uh, some of your waterfalls earlier."
The beacon stopped pulling Picard in, but didn't let go either. The orb of Mercury Psynergy, however, took on what could only be described as a proud blue.
The Russians/Proxans gaped at the sight. Although the whole thing was his idea, Dr Crade was fighting the urge to let his jaw hang slack. So flattery worked with all things; not just animate ones.
"As an archeologist, I'm amazed with how well built you are! Over a million years old and still retaining all of that detail on the walls! Simply extraordinary!"
The blue became even more prideful. Picard slipped an inch.
"But I fear you might be inadvertently hurting Picard in your eagerness to… uh, play with him."
The proud azure changed to a denying navy blue.
"Not intentionally! It's simply that although Picard is an incredibly strong Adept, he's still not strong enough to withstand your Psynergic might."
The sphere gained a proud, but questioning tint. "Why aren't you affected?" it seemed to ask.
"I have no Psynergy, so I can't sense it. But judging by how the simple act of doing so is making Makrina and Satornil so weak… Your Psynergy must be very strong."
A slightly bashful blue. "Well, they're only Mars Adepts," it seemed to say in mock-humility.
Dr Crade had to chuckle at this, although he knew it might just be his imagination playing tricks on him. "It's quite possible that Mars Lighthouse might think the same thing of Mercury Adepts."
The sphere took on the look of a raging sea. "Then Mars Lighthouse would be wrong!"
The old archeologist realized he had stumbled on to something. "Well, how strong are the Water Adepts that Mars Lighthouse usually sees?"
He didn't know if it was possible for a ball of Water Psynergy to look indignant, but this one did. "Then let Mars see this Adept!" the waves of color seemed to roar. Picard was shaken slightly when he was mentioned. "Then Mars would know Mercury to be the best!"
"That's a wonderful idea!" Dr. Crade agreed.
"But…" An unsure tint appeared in the midst of the thrashing waves.
"We'll bring him back. Right after we show Mars which Element is best."
The waves calmed to a blue that vaguely reminded him of a young child. "Promise?"
"I promise."
Picard fell away from the sphere, unconscious, but otherwise harmed.
As far as Dr Crade could tell.
………
Xander thought there could be no end to his confusion. Not only was he going mad, but he was taking lessons from his hallucinations! Lessons on how to send himself across or up great distances, merely by using something called "Psynergy" and a technique called "Warp".
I shall take care of the Psynergy part, Xander, Alex told him. But you are required to place yourself in a certain mindset before we can Warp together. Tell me, do you like this place?
I guess…
Well, don't. It's a horrific place. Totally and completely horrible. But up on the Aerie… There it's wonderful.
Are you…insane?
Somehow Xander knew Alex was irritated. It's the mindset! You must want above all else to be somewhere else then where you are.
Why can't you just really want to get to where you're going?
What do you have to compare with your destination, but where you are? Alex asked condescendingly, as if explaining this to a young child. In order for that location to be more, your current location must be less. You don't want something unless it's better than what you have.
What happens when you find the ultimate location?
If such a place existed, I haven't discovered it yet. It's certainly not this place. No, this place down here is horrible… You get my drift. It's difficult to achieve the first time, but the process becomes easier each time. Now focus on our destination; I'll focus on hating here.
Xander focused on wanting to get to the Aerie, the very top of this building which he had never seen. It must be wonderful up there, so grand. The entire building was magnificent, but the very peak from which one must be able to see for miles…? That would be the best place he had ever seen. It must be. It had to be.
He felt Alex's loathing for this clearing, with all these sickly trees and trampled grass. There some appalling animal had nibbled all around the trunk of a young maple tree. A retched deer had ruined the one thing in this entire place that could've been of any good; now it was dead, as all things eventually would become.
Alex's reasons were stupid at best, but despite this, they still increased Xander's longing for the top of the tower, for the Aerie of the Lighthouse! His counterparts disgust drove him to a longing that threatened to drive him mad. He must get there! He had to!!!
Distantly, he felt Matthew grabbing onto his arm…
… and releasing when they were on the Aerie. Xander barely noticed Math dashing forward to where his weaken companions laid.
They were on the Aerie! They had made it! They had reached the phenomenal and awe-inspiring place where great amounts of Psynergy filled them… but after a while… that was actually rather… dull.
A fierce disappointment filled Xander. But… it was supposed to be… He felt like crying, like giving into the great despair that threatened to consume him whole. It was… supposed… to… to…
In a sharp comparison, Alex was as cold as ever. You become accustomed to it.
How…? Xander felt completely crushed. How could you go through this another time?
By realizing that some other place might be better and Warping to that.
But you said you never found it… That it never was better. Xander had a sudden realization. It's like an addiction! You get a high and then the world is so drab in comparison! He paused. Did I just use the word "drab"?
You must be acquiring my vocabulary. It might be good for you.
So what?! So I can use big words as I sink into depression?
Alex gave a mental shrug, giving Xander the impression that he'd better drop the subject. Xander also felt that Alex knew the mixture of disappointment with desperation very well. If just one Warp felt like this, what would a second feel like? And after a third? After four times? After fifty?
It was a miracle Alex hadn't gone insane! Xander pushed a sudden thought out of his mind; he didn't want to think about that possibility just yet!
Alex prodded his thoughts in the direction of the ones they were attempting to rescue. That's what you should be thinking about. The one who looks slightly blue with hair half-black and half silver is definitely Saturos' incarnation. And any woman traveling with him with those ears must be Menardi. The old man can be none other than Kraden, and… What is he doing here? A sharp flash of jealousy overflowed into Xander's mind, so strong the Canadian had to remember he'd never met Picard before; this was Alex's emotion, not his.
What's the deal with him? Xander knew he'd get an extremely biased reply, but he needed to ask anyway.
Surprisingly, it wasn't. He found his ultimate place.
The wave of desperation swept over him again. Where was it?! he mentally shouted. He needed to find it, he needed to, he had to…
Right where I had been, Alex replied, sounding unbelievably hollow. I missed it, he found it, and I want to know why.
But where had you been? Xander knew that he should be respecting Alex's feelings a little bit more, but it was imperative that he find it! "Imperative"? It didn't matter.
With Felix and the others.
So it wasn't a physical place or a set location at all! Then I, uh, we should stay with them!
The was an incredibly long pause. And then… Alright. But they might not want to keep us around.
So we'd better be help. Xander went to the blue man lying on the floor. He didn't really know what one said for situations like these but there was one technique that never failed: "Hello."
"Hello," the other greeted back, the way he pronounced his "h" as a "g" gave his nationality away. "Who are you?" the Russian asked.
"I'm Xander. I've got Alex here too."
"You tried to take over the world…" he muttered, trying to get up. Now he had an accent similar to Alex's; this would be Saturos.
Both Alex and Xander were caught be surprise. "I didn't want to take over the world," Alex explained. "I only wanted the Golden Sun. Who told you that?"
"Picard."
Rage flooded through the Water Adept in a similar fashion to that of the Psynergy from the beacon. He takes my place, he gets to be happy there, and now he is spouting lies about me! "And who told him that?"
The Proxan lost his temper. "I'm sure he'd love to tell you that, but right now he's unconscious, and I doubt he'll be coming to for a while. But while you wait for that, why not help me the flude up!"
He took a breath, and the accent, as well as the speaker, changed. "Look, we're having a bit of a bad day…" A good portion was spoken in Russian before: "Understand?"
"Let's just get you over to the elevator; none of you need stand for that."
"That's what I just said!" When Alex placed Xander's hand on the man's upper-arm, not the shoulders for some reason, one of the Fire Adepts in Satornil's body asked, "What about Picard?"
Alex grunted in disgust and Xander dragged the Lemurian's unconscious form closer to the Proxan/Russian. Xander released the other Mercury Adept as quickly as possible; touching the man gave his hands the strangest feeling imaginable.
"So it still hasn't worn off?" asked the woman shakily standing behind him.
"What?" Xander asked curiously.
"How about I explain when we get down?"
"Deal."
You might want to know something: she just bribed you.
Huh?
Service for information.
A service that we were already doing. You read into things too much.
"Are you ready yet?" Saturos asked impatiently.
"A moment please," Alex replied, as cool as ever. Place yourself into the mindset again.
No way!
Alex didn't respond verbally. Instead he let Xander be aware his presence, a calm force touched by a bit of surprise. It was a simple thing Alex was asking, and it was important it was done. Alex didn't want to do it but he was stilling going to; why couldn't Xander? Was it really so hard? Wasn't there a possibility that it could be even slightly better over there? Was the request really that unreasonable?
Fine… Xander conceded. You don't have to try to manipulate me. He just wished he could shake the feeling that the word "try" didn't apply to Alex's efforts.
………
"Where'd they go?" Gary demanded. "How can anyone simply vanish like that?"
May sighed patiently. "It's called Psynergy, Gary. And it works through concentration and meditation. Once you've concentrated enough, you can unleash it–"
"So you're talking about magic," Gary accused. "You expect me to believe they left by magic?"
But Ian was using his regular tactic: stay out of the way. It was working so far. He would gather information from out side the fight and see if he could make sense of it without getting riled up. It was never very hard to remain calm for Ian; after a lifetime of bullies, he had developed very thick skin. Anyway, this approach left him uninvolved in fights and able to notice details others did not.
For example, an elevator-like thing descending the tower's left side. He thought he saw people on it.
"Um, excuse me…?" he tentatively asked the other four. "There's something coming down."
Jen heaved a sigh of relief. "That's wonderful news. We thought they might be stuck up there for life."
This set Gary off immediately, but Ian continued to watch the descending platform. Who was on it? What could make that thing work without ropes or anything?
The elevator ground to a stop, resting slightly above the floor of that part of the tower. And then the oddest group Ian had ever seen got off of it.
Xander, with an expression of absolute disdain, was helping Matthew haul a very familiar looking blue-haired man down to the old ladder. They were followed by librarian Crade, who was making sure both parts of his little group were fine. And he was followed by…
…a man and a woman, as completely drenched as he was. Why weren't they in the Plaza? Could he get help from them? He stopped, and was interrupted before he could even ask. "Only the two of us survived," the man muttered, distraught. What did he mean by that? Had everyone died while he had gone!? He nearly ran back but stopped when he realized the woman was talking.
"How could we have anticipated Sol Sanctum would unleash such a fury?" Her voice too was filled with its share of despair.
The fury? Did they mean the storm? This was from Sol Sanctum? How…?
"It's a miracle that even the two of us were spared," the man admitted.
Curious, Isaac struggled to get a look at the pair through the thick curtain of rain.
"That switch..." the woman pondered quietly, as if to herself. It was nearly a miracle that Isaac could hear her over the sound of the downpour and the roar of the thunder. "It must have been a trap…"
"But to think it could conjure up a storm this powerful!" her companion shouted, angry to have been beaten by a switch in a Sanctum.
"… Another demonstration of the awesome powers of Alchemy," the other continued.
"Regardless, we must not fail next time we challenge Sol Sanctum," the man said firmly.
"Challenge Sol Sanctum?" What could that mean?
When the woman spoke again, the despair in her voiced nearly covered by resigned determination. "Next time, we shall certainly–"
"Isaac! Wait up!" Garet yelled from behind Isaac, the noise of the rain and his splashing through the puddles almost over whelming the sound of his loud voice.
The man walked over the edge of the ledge, a slightly wet sound accompanying his every footstep. Isaac rubbed at his eyes upon finally seeing the man, lit only but the frequent lightning. The rain must be obscuring his vision or something; people weren't blue, unless it was with the cold. "You were eavesdropping on us just now, weren't you?"
Isaac thought he heard Garet say something, but it was drowned out by thunder.
"You must forget everything you heard," the woman half pleaded. What were those things sticking out from her head? They couldn't possibly be her ears…
The man sighed, seeming to regret what he had just decided to do. It sent a shiver down Isaac's spine. "Don't worry… We'll help you forget." He drew his sword and jumped down. The woman…
…followed him weakly, as if only just recovering from a tiring disease. Despite this sight, a great wariness over-took him, a feeling of vigilance and alarm that was not his own.
It was like an impulse, what happened next. How, Ian couldn't say; he had never met these people, never even heard of Psynergy until a few minutes before. He did know, however, what the word his mouth yelled next. It meant the end of the world in Norse mythology, the one with Thor.
"Ragnarok!"