(A/N: Do we need an intro? Forget the reviewed reviews. You'll get them later. You got a story, so quit your whining. Be grateful. It was worth the wait.)

Part 23: Backstabbing

"How much further?" Jenna asked quietly. They'd climbed what seemed like innumerable flights of stairs and taken them at double the pace any of them would have preferred. Even Menardi had taken to the slower pacing breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth.

"Until we find the portal to the aerie," Saturos said flatly, his hand fastened firmly to Sheba's arm. He continued roughly herding the young girl up the stairs, Felix just behind him, watching the two very closely.

The stairs emptied them out onto another floor; turquoise and brown veined marble, dotted with maiden statues, similar—yet uniquely independent—to those in Mercury Lighthouse. Saturos's gait hardly faltered as the fourth in their group appeared next to him in a bright flash of water. Alex took up the pace, falling in step beside the Proxinian. He gave a quiet cough to clear his throat. "Three floors up," he said quietly.

"Are you certain?"

He nodded.

A small silence. "What can we expect?"

"Nothing that I saw," Alex murmured.

Saturos frowned, looking at his companion. "Nothing?"

Alex shrugged helplessly to himself. "No traps, no puzzles... No axes hanging from the ceiling, tests of psynergy, nothing of the sort."

"And you're certain it was the aerie portal?" Saturos asked, his brow drawn in tightly.

A smirk flickered across Alex's lips. "Really, Saturos, you offend me."

"I apologize."

"I accept."

Saturos paused thoughtfully. He stopped in the middle of the room, standing on a seal identical to the one they'd seen outside the façade of the entrance. He glanced at Menardi, handing her Sheba as he murmured, "We're almost to the aerie."

"Then why have we stopped?" Jenna asked

Menardi looked at her levelly. "This is as far as we go together."

Felix frowned, quietly murmured, "What do you mean?"

"We've already discussed it," Saturos said flatly.

Felix let out a slight scoff. "We? Who's we?"

"The group," Menardi replied.

Felix flushed. "Last I recall, I was in the group, too."

"You're only a boy, Felix," said Saturos.

"I'm nearly a man now."

"Men don't turn on their companions," Saturos snapped. "Nor on their masters or friends." His gaze darkened. "Not even dogs do that."

Felix took half a step back, stunned by the blunt blow.

The Proxinian took in a deep breath, staring the boy down. Felix's face was wrinkled with lines of anger, but the hurt showed in his eyes, somewhere mixed in the amber-honey consistency of his vision.

Saturos let out a long breath until his ribs felt too small for him, then breathed. "We're sending you out to Idejima."

Jenna glanced around them. Her eyes stopped on Saturos, confused. "Now? Why—?"

"The boat needs to be ready for immediate transport," Menardi said softly. "We

may need to leave quickly."

Kraden's face twisted in confusion. "Leave quickly? Why would we need to—"

"Isaac," Jenna murmured, looking at Saturos. "He's here, isn't he?"

Saturos's gaze didn't move from Felix. "If he isn't by now, he will be soon."

"So, that's why you're sending me away," Felix said with a bitter smile. "You don't think I can face them."

"Don't be foolish," Menardi growled. "We're trying to avoid them at all cost."

"We just don't want you getting excited, that's all," Saturos finished.

Felix's entire body was tense. The hurt was gone from his eyes, replaced with only his anger.

"The longer you sit here, the closer Isaac gets," Saturos said pointedly.

"I'm not afraid of him," Felix said.

"Neither are we," Alex said softly.

"We just want to make sure no one gets hurt," Menardi agreed.

Felix looked at all of them, still unable to believe what he was hearing. "B… but what if worst comes to worst? You'll need me."

Saturos's eyes flashed. "We don't need you. The only time we needed you was to get into Vale and this alchemy-damned lighthouse."

Felix's body stiffened, as though he'd taken a blow to the gut. The air came in through his nostrils sharply, in sudden bursts.

Saturos stared at him for a long moment before turning his back on him. "You know where you need to take them. Alex will be along as soon as we've reached the aerie."

"What about Sheba?" Felix asked.

Menardi's grip on Sheba's arm shifted slightly. "She'll stay with us."

"She's brought you here," Felix said quietly. "Doesn't that mean its time we let her go?"

"We'll decide that," Saturos said.

"But she's done her part," Felix argued, stepping toward Menardi. "If we need to leave quickly, when will we have time to—"

"Until the Lighthouse is lit, her part is not yet complete," Menardi snapped, pulling the girl out of his reach. She stared him down with hot-blooded eyes. "She stays."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Why do I get the feeling you aren't telling us everything?" Kraden murmured.

Saturos's face pulled tight as a sneer tugged at his lips. "Really Kraden, when haven't I been honest with you?"

Kraden shook his head. "I didn't mean to imply that—"

"Perhaps, it would be best if we ceased the needless prattling and began toward our various destinations," Alex said flatly.

When Felix's continued to stare silently at Saturos, the Proxinian added, "Alex will be down as soon as we've found it. We'll send the girl down with him."

Felix's eyes darted between the girl and Saturos. Finally, his eyes rested on the latter. "Fine," he grumbled.

"Good," Saturos said. "We shouldn't be much longer. If it comes to dusk and we haven't arrived at the peninsula, bring the ship up toward the lighthouse."

"But none of us know how to pilot the ship!" Jenna argued.

Saturos looked at Felix. "He does."

"I thought I wasn't to be trusted," Felix muttered darkly. "Besides, how am I supposed to pilot anything without the orb?"

Saturos set a hand on the small shaft attached to his belt, the one topped with the small black crystal, polished to a fine, smoothed sphere. "We'll be sending that with Alex also."

"The star too, I suppose," Felix grumbled.

"No," Saturos said flatly, though this clearly took Alex off-guard—he started as Saturos continued. "We'll handle the star until we return."

"Sounds as though you have every aspect of this planned out, Saturos," Kraden said quietly.

Saturos's face didn't change as he simply stated, "I always do. Go now. We'll meet you within the hour of your arrival."

The split groups started in the various directions when Jenna suddenly stopped. "Wait."

Saturos turned to face her.

She swallowed. "What if… what if the beacon is lit but you don't come?"

Saturos's lips pressed into a fine line. "Won't happen."
"But—"

"Within the hour," Saturos said flatly. "We won't be much longer." Saturos looked at Felix one last time. The boy was clearly confused, but he knew better than to cross Saturos at that moment. Not only had they almost reached the second of their goals, time was running short.

"Right," Felix murmured. He cast a quick glance at Sheba. She held herself well, but he could sense her distress, swarming around her like a thick musk. He swallowed hard and nodded at her. She managed to return the gesture, and he turned away, starting for the stairs. One hand on the hilt of his sword, he swept in front of Jenna and Kraden and began downward.

Saturos watched him for a long while, finally brought back to the moment by Alex.

"Saturos," he said shortly. "We haven't any time. Mia and the others could arrive at any moment."

Saturos breathed in through his nose. "Right." He turned around, starting down the hallway, Alex at his arm and Menardi and Sheba bringing up the rear.

"The girl was right, you know," Alex said quietly as they started for the stairway. "What if something does happen while you're up there? It isn't a good idea for you to keep the only other star we have with you."

"The last thing we need is for you all to leave on the assumption we're dead," Saturos said with a bitter laugh. "Can you imagine how awful that would be?"

"Yes," Alex said flatly, starting up the stairway behind him. "I can."

"Besides," Saturos said. "What would you tell everyone when you returned to Prox without us? Puelle and Agatio would tear you clean in two."

Alex took in a sharp breath at the statement, chuckling lightly. "It isn't as though they could tell…" He waited a moment for Saturos to agree, but when no answer came, he added, "can they?

"My mother could," Menardi said softly. "So would Karst."

"The Elder would know," Saturos agreed. "He knew the two of us too well to not know if we'd fallen."

"Besides," Menardi said with a slight grin. "We aren't exactly going to go down without a fight, Alex. If we get in a fight with insurmountable odds…" She glanced at Saturos. "Let's just say we have a trump card up our sleeve."

"Oop!"

Menardi gasped as Sheba took a sudden dive toward the stairs, crashing down leaving Menardi holding her hand. "Good heavens, child!" she said, startled and slightly irritated by the sudden falling.

"I tripped," Sheba said softly, sitting on a step. Menardi released her hand as the girl rubbed her wrist gently.

"What happened?" Menardi asked, motioning up to Saturos to keep moving.

"I shouldn't have braced myself," Sheba muttered. She looked up at Menardi. "I twisted my ankle…" She groaned. "And my wrist."

Alex continued on as though nothing had happened, leaving the two others on the stairwell. "It never ceases to perplex me, the devious workings of the Proxinian mind," he said dryly. "But returning to the subject, I still don't feel it in our best interests to have you keep the star."

Saturos's face had changed, the good humor suddenly gone. "Whose interest, Alex? Mine or yours?"

Alex let a breath of nervous laughter pass his lips. "Please, Saturos, you hurt me with such comments. I'm simply saying that in the interest of the group that if anything were to happen—"

"Such as?"

Alex paused at the top of the stairway, leaving Menardi and Sheba waiting near the bottom. "You know what I speak of, Saturos."

Saturos rounded on him, cloak swelling behind him. "I'm not afraid of Isaac," he growled, jaw clenched and baring his teeth.

Alex pursed his lips. "Liar."

Saturos's shoulders squared. His eyes narrowed and he turned his back on him. "We don't have time for this," he said. "Every moment we waste, our danger increases."

Alex looked back down the hallway, listening. Menardi and Sheba were still tending to the girl's injury. He pressed his hand against the archway of the door. Ice silently crept over the frame, softly murmuring as it expanded into a thick sheet over the entire doorway. "How can you worry about the dangers that await you when you don't see those before you?" he murmured to himself.

Saturos hadn't heard, and continued down the hallway as though nothing had occurred. Saturos confidently strode across the room, across the colored marble seal near the center of the room. Though he hadn't seen as it slowly began to sink into the ground.

"There," Menardi said, lifting her hands from Sheba's wrist. "Good as new.

Sheba rubbed her hand. The skin was warm and soft, red but no longer sore. She eyed the ground, unable to make eye contact with the Proxinian. "Thank you."

"No trouble," Menardi said flatly, standing to her full height. "We'd best be catching up." She turned, looking at the stairs as she started up. She frowned. The step they stood on had a thin stripe of moisture running down it, gathered as a tiny pool in the crease between tiles.

"Strange," Menardi murmured. "How that get there?"

"I must have slipped on it," Sheba suggested quietly.

"Yes… but that doesn't explain…" Menardi suddenly stiffened. She rushed up the stairs, finding a thick sheet of ice plastered over the door, thick enough to block out the light. Just like the Mercury Lighthouse when they first...

Menardi froze. "No…"

Saturos froze as a quiet rumble began to echo in the corridors. He looked around the room, unable to determine from where the sound was coming from. "Alex!" he shouted over the rumble.

No answer.

"Alex, what's that noise!"

And as quickly as it had come it was gone. Saturos took a step back worriedly, placing one hand on the elemental star and the other hovering in readiness over his sword. "Alex?"

Like an oceanic rush, it swept over him. For a moment, he thought he was drowning, until he realized it wasn't water. Earth flowed around his body, surrounding him, etching itself into his skin, his eyes. Millions of tiny shards clawed at his scaled shoulders, pulling up thin strips of dark blood. The rumble resonated in his ears for hours, though it couldn't have been more than half a minute. It was thick as it was heavy, and course as it was damp.

Saturos broke through the surface, finding himself engulfed in a fine sand, heavy and wet. It covered the room, waist-height almost the entire length of the room. He kicked it away from himself, only to have it cave in on him again. He groaned. "Alex! Alex, where are you!"

"Tell me, Saturos…"

He turned to see the Imilian man set himself down with dance-like grace atop the sand. "How many times have you ever waded through wet sand?"

"What are you talking about?" Saturos growled, baring his teeth.

"You see, I grew up on the edge of a frozen ocean," Alex continued, sand crunching under his boots as he shifted his weight. "I remember my grandfather used to take me during the storm seasons and we would spar for hours. You on the other hand grew up in a barren, wastelandic tundra. Not quite the ideal place to harvest the powers of a Fire Adept." Alex looked at Saturos, his sea-green eyes dark. "I, on the other hand, grew up surrounded by water."

Saturos grunted, trying to climb on top of the wet sand that had crowded his body. It was heavier than the armor itself, almost fixating him to the floor. "Alex, get me out, now," he growled deadpan.

"I don't think you understand, Saturos," Alex said with a satirical smile. "You see, pardon the expression, but I have never been fond of playing second lute."

Saturos grabbed for his sword, pulling it from its holster and scattering beads of sand across the room. "I'm more than a match for you, Alex."

"You forget, Saturos," Alex said, just over a whisper. "We're not in those snw fields you grew up on. We're in my home, this time." His lifted his chin, his eyes narrowing. "Now… give me the star."

"You can come take it," Saturos said, struggling to create some sort of decent defensive position, but unable to move.

"Really, Saturos," Alex said dryly, slowly reaching down and pulling two matching daggers from his belt, one in each hand. "I would hate to see you and Menardi fail in your mission."

Saturos's eyes narrowed. "Those are new."

"Do you like them?" Alex sneered. "They come from the far east. Used to slay dragons, I'm told."

"I'm more the dragon than you know, Alex."

"They'll more than take care of you." He spun the daggers on his forefinger, his blue eyes darkening. 'I'll be taking the star, Saturos, one way or the other. At our first chanceby at Mercury Lighthouse, you had others to defend you. This time, I've made sure it's only you and I. The Mercury beacon is burning bright. Mar is still dead cold in the Northern Wilds. Admit it or not, I have the advantage." He paused, lifting his chin as though to shadow the smirk on his lips. "And I'm giving you the chance to simply walk away."

"I'm not afraid of you," Saturos grunted, trying to push through the sand.

Alex sighed momentarily and smiled. "Very well, that won't be a problem."

Menardi continued to hack away at the wall of ice to no avail. Alex had grown stronger. This was far thicker than the wall they had encountered at Mercury Lighthouse their first time. She panicked, dropping her scythe and clawing at the wall as though that might somehow serve her better. She rounded on Sheba. "What are you doing!" she roared.

Sheba winced, fumbling for wording. "W… that is, I… I—"

"Get over here and help!" Menardi shouted, her voice cracking in urgency.

Sheba stared at her helplessly. "But I—"

The girl let out a small cry as Menardi pulled her in by the collar, giving her a hard shake and pulling her close until their noses near touched. "You help me, child, or—so help me—I will tear you in two with my bare hands!" she hissed furiously.

Sheba eyed the woman fearfully, almost gauging to see if she would actually go through with such a thing. Menardi released her, sending her back into the wall. She started clawing again with a small hunting dagger, chipping away shard by shard, hardly denting the wall.

Sheba swallowed. "Wh… what should I do—?"

"You're an adept," Menardi snapped. "Be creative."

Saturos scrambled backward through the sand, keeping his focus on Alex, who was now also ankle deep in the damp sand. He stared at him, his eyes struggling to find some small, even minute, flaw in Alex's stance. He walked across the sand with cat-like grace, even as his calves sunk further into the dune-like waves that now covered the room.

He took special care to observe his moves, his speed, how he held himself, shifted his weight from side to side. He recognized his style, a small, slender someone making a tentative approach, watching, half-waiting half-hoping, for an error in his favor.

It had once been his own style.

Saturos allowed himself to be drug into the circling motion Alex began, though his steps were rough and uneven in the damp earth. Alex held both daggers with animal intensity. Long red, satin ribbons dangled from the hilt of each onix blade, serrated at the base, then carved into a razor-fine point.

"Stop staring and fight, Saturos," Alex growled.

"The first move is yours, backstabber—"

"On the contrary," Alex said. "Were I a backstabber, you'd be dead by now."

"Trying to maintain a degree of honor?" Saturos asked dryly.

"This is just one minute detail that will be left out from the chronicles of future reference."

Saturos had been using the pre-fight banter as a mere distraction, a hope to discover something deeper than skin concerning Alex's technique. It wasn't until Alex set himself into motion that Saturos realized that every assumption he had made to that point was wrong.

Alex not only moved with the fluid water-like grace he recalled from their first tangle, but with speed and strength behind it. He deflected a sharply placed thrust from one of the twin daggers, only to be surprised that he had not used enough force. Alex drove him backward with the blow, driving them deeper into the sand.

Saturos swung out, leaning his body weight into the motion, but Alex swiftly ducked and reappeared at Saturos's side. Before Saturos could react, one of the blades had driven through the thickly plated scales, into his shoulder. He cried out, turning with his free hand and slamming his forearm into Alex's chest.

The Water Adept landed in the sand with a surprised cough, trying to bring back air to his lungs. Saturos sprung before Alex could regain his footing, leaning a hard blow to the ground. Alex rolled to one side, gasping in through his teeth as the wind grazed his tunic. He quickly flipped to his feet, shakily attempting to regain some degree of balance.

Again Saturos swung, trying to catch the Imilian off-guard, but Alex was faster. Crossing his blades in front of him, he caught the sword between the cross. Saturos leaned himself into the sword, Alex wincing under the weight. Pale beads scattered across his forehead, but his body did not give way. Neither, did Saturos believe, it would.

He pulled away, stabbing straight forward, trying to catch the man in the ribs. Alex jerked his waist back, just out of reach. Loosing footing, he flipped back, tucking his feet in and landing on the sand, small clouds racing around his feet.

Saturos rushed forward before Alex could recover, but again, he had underestimated him. Saturos was shocked as he fell against a dune, grabbing his arm in silent shock. He pulled his hand back. There was blood there, a slash to match the gap from earlier. He glanced at the ground, looking for the dagger, but finding none. Instead a shard of sand and ice lay melting at his feet. Saturos looked at Alex, fingertips still glowing with a soft light. The light grew. He was concentrating his power.

Saturos jumped to his feet, grabbing a tight handful of sand until it poured through his fingers. Before Alex had a chance to reacted, Saturos flung a handful of hot water at him.

Alex gasped, wincing at the heat as it eat through his tunic, landing on his skin. He let out a soft scream. It hadn't been water. It was liquid sand.

Saturos came like a blur, moving like the undertow of a river, and Alex was drowning. Sword in one hand, sand in the other, his balance was suddenly perfect, his movements flawless. Alex swung out at Saturos's side, only managing to draw back in mortification as hot sand lapped at his wrist. He dropped one of the daggers.

Alex was gasping for air. His arms ached from the stream of motion, duck, flip, roll. Slash, hit, run. He landed no blows, and Saturos seemed, if anything, to be gaining more energy, rather than losing it.

Alex's footing caught on a soft spot. He started to spiral backward to catch himself with his hand and flip to his feet. Saturos's eyes were quicker. His blade rushed out, drawing blood at Alex's wrist. He cried out, dropping the blade in the one hand and crashing to the pale sand, red drops falling all around him.

He opened his eyes, tried to move, but a blade was suddenly aimed at his throat. He squirmed backward, away from the tip, but it followed him until his back was against the wall. He stared up in horror at Saturos, red eyes dark against moist silver skin.

He took in several breaths, watching as the Proxinian edged toward him, sword in one hand, Alex's unretrieved dagger in the other. His chest rose and fell in an unsteady tempo, neither accelerating nor slowing. He winced as Saturos lifted his hand, flinging the dagger at him. It flew over his head and out the window, ebony tinkling once as it hit the wall on it's decent.

Saturos's breathing was hard. Blood covered his shoulder, seeping into the cracks between each scale. He rubbed a line of sweat from the blue markings that lined his eye, struggling to slow his breathing. His eyes burnt into Alex's forehead for what seemed like many minutes, before he spoke. "Get out."

Alex watched in pure confusion as Saturos turned his back on him. He shoved the sword into his scabbard with a quiet metallic note, walking—no, limping— to the door.

Alex pushed himself to him elbows, sitting up and staring. His mouth hung open, collecting flies for a long while before he almost silently managed, "What?"

The Proxinian stopped, pausing for a moment before he turned. He ran his hand across his brow, breathing steadily. His eyes narrowed. "Go home, Alex," Saturos said flatly. "You aren't wanted here."

Alex scrambled to his feet, light already flowing from his fingertips. "If you think for one moment that this is ov—" His words were choked short. In one swift movement, Saturos had bridged their gap. His fist was clenched around Alex's neck, fingers pulled taut as rope. Black shone in and out of Alex's vision as the sound of Saturos withdrawing his blade rang out in the room. Louder still was the whisper in his ear.

"I could kill you, you know… and quite frankly, I should. But heresy is grounds for excommunication. You would toss any of us aside for your precious glory. Or is it more than that? …don't lie, Alex. I already know. You've been after it all along, the Golden Sun. I knew it from the time I first saw you what your real interest in the lighthouse was. You don't even know what it is, do you?"

Alex struggled to respond, but he was out of air.

He fell hard against the cool sand, gasping and choking as his sight filtered back until the marble over him became clear. He watched in shock as Saturos walked away from him, dragging one foot slightly behind.

He paused in front of the wall of ice that laced the doorway, stopping and casting a glance at Alex. "I'm letting you live, Alex. Not because I like you."

"Then wh—"

"I won't have your blood on my hands," Saturos said softly, staring at the wall. "You were one of us. I trusted you." He looked to Alex again. "Trusted, not liked. You may be willing to shed my blood, but I'm not willing to shed yours."

Alex slowly stood, realizing how entire his ache was, looking at his arms, swollen and raw where they were burnt. He took a step toward Saturos, stumbling backward dizzily as the world suddenly fell around him.

Saturos laughed darkly to himself. "You're not all-powerful, Alex. Far from it." He looked back to the wall. "I'm going to melt this wall, Alex. You will be gone by the time I have finished."

Alex reached out, fumbling to balance himself on the pillar. His head pulsed, each beat sending razor pains through his arms. He couldn't think. He didn't want to anymore. He just wanted to leave.

He summoned up what small amount of psynergy he had left. His body shone as he began his focus.

"And Alex."

He turned.

"Make no mistake." Saturos lifted his chin. "If I ever see you again, I will kill you."

Alex said nothing. He focused once more, and brought himself to the core of his memory. With a sudden flash and a hint of rain, he was already gone.

Menardi had her hands pressed to the ice, focusing through the cold on a small point of heat within her mind. She couldn't feel her hands, but she didn't care.

The little wind adept had done all she could imagine. She tried wind, tried lightning, though it was more a small spark than the magnificent display she had managed before. Menardi had grown content that the girl was making an effort, though the poorly crafted wooden staff had little to no effect on the wall.

Menardi gasped, suddenly pulling back, but held firm. She looked down, realizing a pair of hands had found hers. The skin was silver.

"Saturos!" she shouted.

He screamed something back, but it was muffled by the ice.

She pulled her hands away, crouching to look through the slender holes her hands had forged. "What?"

"Stand away from the wall," Saturos called back. "I'm going to try something."

Menardi sighed, grabbing Sheba and hurrying down to the curve of the tower stair. Bringing Sheba in close, she pulled her cloak to cover the both of them. She winced as a loud crashed roared through the hall and small shards of ice landed all around them.

She lowered the cloak, rushing back up the stairs. She put her hand to her chest and let out a long breath. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Nearly," Saturos murmured, kicking the last of the ice from the doorway. He stumbled backward as Menardi tackled him hard around the waist. He caught his balance, but only barely. She was shaking.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," she hissed into his shoulder.

Saturos sighed, letting a slight grin light his lips. "I won't." He pulled her back, watching her for a moment before finally letting her go. He sniffed slightly, motioning to the small girl on the stairs. "Take her," he said softly. "We don't have much further."

Alex fell with a startled smash to the floor cursing loudly as his arm cracked against the marble. He rolled over, pulling it to his chest, swearing as his eyes began to water. His center was gone. His balance was gone. He was gone.

He pushed himself to a more upright position, examining his wrist. A dull pain was racing along his fingertips, spreading up until it beat all the way up to his elbow. He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to his feet.

Excommunication? Who was Saturos to excommunicate him? What did he even know of the Golden Sun? Nothing. But Alex knew. He'd read, studied until his eyes near bled from the smoke the a dim candle in the middle of the night. His Grandfather used to speak of it. Tell stories.

He clenched his fists, realizing how thick the taste of blood was in his mouth. He spit a mouthful to the ground, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. He couldn't stop. Not when he was this close. But Saturos had no pity for him. Menardi wouldn't easily be swayed; her opinion was set in Saturos. Left up to the two of them, he would be dead before he reached Idejima. But what if…

Felix.

Alex licked a little blood from the corner of his mouth, walking across the room toward the downward stairs. Felix was merciful. He was already in the same boat as Alex. But why bother have Felix convince them to keep him, when he could simply tilt the scale a little more.

Alex would wait at Idejima with Felix, Jenna, and Kraden. By the time Menardi and Saturos would return, the beacon would be lit, and Alex would already have Felix's full attention.

Saturos and Menardi would not be pleased to see Alex there, but once their Venus Adept sided with him, it would be treason. Not only would he and Felix be enough of a match for the two Proxinians. Both his and Felix's beacons would already be lit, doubling their strength.

Yes, Felix would serve his purpose well enough.

Alex straightened himself, using a little psynergy to heal, or at least cover the severity of his wounds. He continued the downward spiral to the lighthouse entrance they had discovered primarily.

If Saturos and Menardi wouldn't have him, he already knew Felix would.

(A/N: Told you so. R&R. I'll repost this with reviews later, but thank you all! I LUV EVERYBODY WHO REVIEWED! MWAH!)