Wrath of a Goddess
Story by Mikaa
Characters by Camelot and Nintendo

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or world presented in this story (the rightful owners are Nintendo and Camelot).

Warning: This story is rated T for Teen, primarily for violence and descriptive gore, with mild language thrown in. You have been warned.

Chapter 12 - It's A Secret, Kid

The shouting outside brought an end to the uneasy silence within the room Alex was in. Sitting in a chair that had not been built but a mere two months ago, Alex almost wished that he had recieved punishment for what he had (unwillingly) done. For the last two hours, Isaac had been darting back and forth, gathering this and that, putting said this and that into various pockets and bags, and once every thirty minutes checking on Alex. Felix, meanwhile, just stood in a corner and stared.

It was Felix that really made it unbearalbe. For whatever reason, that cold stare never, never left Alex even for a second. The shouting outside did not draw off the stare, and neither did the odd glance from Isaac. The silence did not help much, and only led Alex to wonder if he was either dreaming or dead.

Either one would be better than that silent, intent stare.

Isaac yet again looked at Felix, nodded (again), and moved on to other things. Alex could only begin to guess what sort of communication they had going on, especially since Felix never even moved or nodded in response. Did the dark haired Venusian learn a few tricks from that girl, or had Isaac somehow gained said ability from the Stone of Sages?

Thinking of the stone brought a chill to Alex. That stone was the reason he had sought to relight the towers. That stone was the reason he sought to control the world, to make it a better place, with no death or disease. That was why he wanted to make a utopia for himself and Mia.

And all his power, all his dreams, all his efforts, resulted not only in countless suffering, but also in death. By his own hands. Worse yet, now it seemed that Mia was dead or injured (neither of the Venusians would answer his questions after that meeting earlier), or worse, crazed.

On that note, Alex mused, how in the name of Mercury did she throw lighting bolts? And how in the name of all the Elements did she survive an assault by the Wise One, when he had failed so royally? Not to insult Mia's abilitites, but how?

How, indeed. It was his fault that whatever had happened to her had taken place. It was his fault (though indirectly) for the "storm" that hit Vale years ago, that removed Felix and his family (and Isaac's dad) from Vale. It was his actions that nearly killed Mia, his actions that sent him (again, indirectly) into Jenna's bed the night before.

And now it was his fault for the death of Isaac's mother, a few other villagers, and the justification Garet needed to have permission to beat him senseless.

Said thought brought up another question, one that still annoyed Alex: why had Isaac defended him? Did he not know that Dora had been killed at his own hands? And for that matter, how in the name of Boras did he know about Alex being controlled? These questions were adding up faster than Alex could think, and the fact that Felix was also tight lipped was making Alex quite worried.

Nevermind that they were the only two that cared if he was alive at this point. that only made Alex more worried. Why did they care if he lived or died? What use could he possibly have to them? Especially since his powers were still recovering after the beatings he had recieved recently.

Watching as Isaac walked passed him again, Alex looked into those eyes, hoping to see something, to see that glimpse of, well, Mia, that he noted earlier. Said glimpse he did not recieve, but his gaze was noticed. Isaac stopped, stared back at him, and for a moment, there was volumes of emotions in that look.

All at once, Alex saw hate, rage, anger, distrust, fury. He saw sadness, pity, depression, misery. Hope, joy, happiness were there as well. All manner of feelings were in that moment, and Alex realized that Isaac was not all right. Call it a hunch, but something had to call Isaac off of wanting Alex dead after the brightness ended, and though he never hinted at hating him, something felt wrong.

Taking a deep breath, he tried his luck (which hopefully would get better; how could things get worse?):

"Why?"

Their eyes locked for a moment, and that flicker of feelings came and went again, and Isaac turned to put the bundle he held down. His task done, he faced Alex, pulling up a chair to sit across from the Mercurian as he held the gaze.

Sensing that he was silently being asked to specify what he was asking, Alex spoke again, "Why are you protecting me?"

The only noise was the distant shouts of the crowd outside. Alex paid them no mind; if something was up, they would know soon: this was far too important now.

"You did not commit murder of your own will."

Alex fought his impatience. It was obvious Isaac knew of the... thing that took hold of Alex, but time was short. "How do you know about that?"

Isaac took a deep breath, then turned over his shoulder to gaze at Felix. Yet again, the silent Venusian did not move, did not speak, did not blink. Isaac seemed to find what he sought, then turned back to Alex. "What I say here, you cannot repeat. Ever."

Alex swallowed, wondering what was so key that he would recieve THAT kind of statement. Nodding, he waited for more.

Isaac continued: "After I, er, beat you," Alex swallowed a bit, his jaw a reminder of that incident, "I managed to reach Mia. I don't know why, but I held on to her, as if that would have helped. Then I found myself not alone."

Frowning, Alex stared at Isaac, wondering about the sudden pause in the story. What was said next nearly made him faint:

"I was with him."

It was Isaac's voice, that was certain. But while it was Isaac's voice, it was, well... Alex had no real way to explain it. Call it a sixth sense, or just being around the person for years. Whatever it was, he was shocked at recognizing Mis in that voice.

"I was trapped in my own body, by a force I still cannot believe. When Isaac reached me, I tried to fight the presence in my mind, but I soon found myself looking at my own form through the light."

The tone changed: "We then realized that we shared each other's thoughts, knew what each knew, both sharing the same mind and body." An ironic smile crossed Isaac's features, "not exactly what we expected when we made our vows."

A small pang of pain hit Alex, but he dismissed it; were they seriously telling him that both of them were in one body! What of Mia's body?

The "voice" of Isaac continued, "Mia was aware of the power controlling her using you. Knowing that and the look you gave me when I nearly killed you," Alex swallowed hard at that news; Isaac almost killed him? "I could not bring myself to let you be punished for that which you had no control over."

Taking in this information, Alex tried to form a reply. But what to say? Did Isaac know all of Mia's thoughts and memories, of how they had feelings for each other? Worse yet, did Mia even have feelings for him like he had for her? The implications of sharing a mind as intimately as Isaac/Mia was insinuating was staggering. And he thought that Jupitarians were intimate in their sharing.

Glancing past Isaac to look at Felix, Alex wondered what his story was, why he was so cold. As he opened his mouth to speak, Isaac cut him off. "We need to go now. Someone will come soon to tell us about the attack nearby."

Attack? What attack? What was Isaac talking about?

Seeing Alex's puzzlement, Isaac continued to stare at him as he rose. "Mia's mind is with mine, but the presence that controlled both her and you is now attacking Vault nearby."

Alex paled at the implications of what was not said, "You can feel it?"

Isaac spoke, but it was with Mia's mind: "Not only us," Isaac turned to look at Felix, "the Wise One can sense it too."

Alex nodded, then froze. "Wait a second...

"Say WHAT?"

End of Chapter