By Mikaa
Chapter 4 - Wrath of the Insane One
A/N - Yea, and the Mikaa doth said, "Let us overuse the title gimmick yet again in the fourth chapter," and yea, it was done. Sarcasm aside, I was suprised how well the last chapter seemed to go over (Ky's comments about Felix's precious pony-tail aside). And now, we have the most twisted chapter yet. OK, so all of these have been twisted, and knowing my past history, Alex will probably be welcomed back with open arms.
Oh, pleeze. I sincerely hope no one assumes that will happen. Because it will. In a way. Or not. Why would I want to welcome him back after what he did?
Then again, I am the Mikaa. And we all know the Mikaa loves to do the unexpected or unpopular. Which naturally puts me in a bind.
Especially after you read this chapter, since I take the Insane One's actions one step further, and one step closer to a grand finale.
Oh, and this chapter contains the usual crap that I stated in the last three chapters, I own not Nintendo or Camelot or the rights to Golden Sun, Read At Your Own Risk, blah blah blah, and yakakadady.
And now, to Wrath of the Insane one, complete with Mia in leather and whipping Isaac.
Or something. O.O
To the chapter. Before I am killed.
Dimly, Isaac was aware of merely being aware. How long he was out, no, how long he was even in this pit, he did not know. He groaned at the mere tingle of his empty stomach, dismissing the notion that Alex would starve him out. No, if he really was as insane as he looked, he would find something more sinister than mere starvation.
Then again, there was always a first time to be wrong about such things.
"So, you are awake."
Mia. His pains and thoughts evaporated at the sound of her voice. Looking up, he was awed at the sheer beauty before him. Shrouded in the same robes that she wore in Imil and wrapped in an almost angelic aura, it was as though he had died.
Wait. It was a trick. It had to be a trick. This was another instance of Alex tormenting him.
But that smile, that innocence, it was as if she had never seen the near end of the world.
And then it hit him, why Alex said that he did not have to worry about Mia, why she seemed so nice: Alex. So obvious. Pain surged through his entire being, but it was not from hunger or physical attacks.
Mia, the woman he knew, who he loved, who he wed, who he sired a son with, was gone.
From atop the small ridge overlooking the remains of Vale, Alex smiled, blissfully unaware of the smell of burnt skin under his robes, the sent of blood. If he had not cooked alive from that bitch's attack, then why should he heal and remove the smell? It reminded him (and potentially others) of his immunity to such attacks. Why heal that strike that Felix inflicted on him? If it did not kill him, it only helped to remind that worthless whore what would happen to him if he betrayed Alex again.
And best of all, only now did that Sheba tell them of what happened in the woods, probably just barely able to come to conciousness from his attack. Her fortune that her lover would attack a superior being and spare her an early, easy death. Too bad her survival would not be in her favor; by tomorrow, she would only be a memory in Alex's mind.
But first, he had to secure the ones who would live; there would be those who resisted his power, who would resist change. Too bad, that they would be wasted so easily, so effortlessly.
Alex smiled as he heard footsteps behind him, rising slowly to turn and face Picard. Apparently, the Lemurian had no idea of Sheba's revelation below, and was in shock at seeing the man who had "betrayed" them so easily.
Before the ancient being could talk, Alex was already in motion. From his hand spewed a fume of fire and sulfuric rocks, consuming Picard in a sea of anguish and torment. Alex shivered in pleasure as Picard tried to scream, tried to summon his energies to douse the fires cooking him alive; but his mind was already fried to ash, his screams merely air being forced out of his lungs before incinerating in the fire cooking his body.
Mere moments later, what had once been the great Lemurian was nothing more than a pile of ash. Centuries of life, gone in a second.
Just like the ways of the lifeforms below the ridge. Soon, my pets, soon you will know no pain.
Except that of my suffering.
Laughing so hard that even those dead could hear him, Alex laughed, arms stretched out, welcoming the alerted visitors. It was begun.
End Chapter 4
I'll let you reread that chapter and soak it in for a second.
Yep. Picard/Piers is dead. What, you expected everything to be fine and dandy at the end? No Phoenix Down will save Aeris, er, Picard, folks. Welcome to the Insanity.
Speaking of which, enjoy the surviving characters as long as you can; Picard was just the beginning. More blood will be shed, and only a few will live. Oh, and Isaac and Mia? There will be significance to that, do not worry. Maybe I will be predictable. Maybe I will have Isaac kill himself to end his suffering. Or maybe I will drag this out by writing a behind-the-scenes bit next chapter?
Aw, screw it: I'll do that right now!
Why not?
Here you go, for the two of you who care about the original version of this fic:
Originally, Isaac, NOT Alex, was the insane one, though it began more subtly than Alex's decent into the dark realms of the mind. In the original format, Alex was dying when Isaac found him, and when Isaac allowed Alex to grant him his memories (after a typical Alex-was-trying-to-undo-past-wrongs bit), Isaac recieved the power that Alex had recieved, and went insane from the sheer power infusion. And for those that care, Picard was a guaranteed dead man in that version as well, though through differient means:
See, Mia was noting her husband was showing signs of changes in his attitudes, and was consulting Picard about it. Isaac was nearing, and Picard hid behind some tapestries (because, you know, all good villains have those in their homes). Isaac and Mia began to argue, and Isaac attacked Mia with a blast of electricity (oh, did I mention she was pregnant when he did that?), only to stop when Picard charged him. Picard was slayed at Isaac's hands in a manner virtually identical to the way he died above, and Isaac, being the nice chap he is, simply walks off, leaving a fried body (not ashes, as above) and a scorched Mia (with a living baby, go Mia (she was sheilding the baby, though that would be later)) behind.
And that...was as far as I got. Eventually, I revisited the idea, and what you are reading now is the end result. Personally, I would have loved to see the responses an Insane Isaac/Evil Isaac would recieve with the review crowds, but then I conceeded that having Alex go nuts was more typical and allowed for more suprises than the shock value of an Evil Isaac. Go figure.
Anywho, please review, and feel free to e-mail me comments on the original version (or in the reviews, even).
Thanks again, and look for the grand finale soon, as Alex begins his attack on Vale, and Isaac and Mia square off (in typical memory-wipped fashion, shaken, not stired, but with a twist).
Mikaa, Lord of the Insanity, Master of Picard's Doom, Soon to be Killed by Reviewers