Chapter 18: The Best Possible Future

Mia greeted the new day with a yawn, stretching an arm out above her head as she opened her eyes. Everything was a blur at first while the world slowly came into focus. The first thing she noticed was that she was still quite tired despite just having woken up.

Once the Mercury adept could make out her surroundings, Isaac's sword caught Mia's eye and she blinked to clear her vision in confusion. The sword wasn't a hallucination, but its presence helped Mia become aware of the reason for her sleep deprived state.

An arm was draped over Mia's side and she could feel a warmth on her back as she lay in bed. It was a comfortable presence and it brought a smile to Mia's face as she recalled the night before.

No wonder I'm still tired, Mia thought to herself as she closed her eyes again, enjoying Isaac's companionship for a little while longer. After everything that had happened between them, she had a hard time actually falling asleep, and spent a long time awake with the blonde boy instead of resting.

Mia brought her hand towards where Isaac was holding her and placed it gently over his own. To her surprise, Isaac's shifted his hand on top of hers and interlaced his fingers with Mia's. "Good morning," he mumbled softly from behind her.

Hearing Isaac's voice instantly put Mia in a good mood. "Good morning," Mia replied, tilting her head back slightly so it made contact with the adept behind her as a gesture of greeting. Now that Isaac's hand was conjoined with her own, she brought it up towards her face and rested her cheek against it.

Isaac could feel the smooth skin of Mia's face on the back of his hand and smiled as he allowed the cerulean haired girl to enjoy the comfort his hand provided her. The atmosphere from the night before was a lot more charged from the expression of feelings long hidden, but Isaac found that he also enjoyed the more calm and cuddly Mia that was making an appearance this morning.

Content to not interrupt the moment, neither adept spoke any further as they remained snuggled together in bed after spending the night in each other's embrace. It felt so peaceful in the little cabin, and for Mia it was like a validation of the growing feelings for Issac she had been struggling with over the course of many months.

It had been almost a year since their journey together began, which gave a lot of time for Mia to come to know the blonde boy lying next to her and eventually fall in love with him. Looking back on it, it wasn't surprising that things ended up the way they did. She had spent so much time with Isaac over the course of their journey that it would have been weirder if they didn't grow close as a result.

It's not like either of them had ever come out and admitted their feelings directly to each other, but last night's actions were enough to convince Mia that Isaac felt at least something for her, and she could find plenty of happiness in that. It was a bit embarrassing that she had allowed her emotions to completely take control, but when the end result was waking up in Isaac's arms, Mia found she didn't mind one bit.

Isaac was starting to catch on too. Though he was initially hesitant thinking that Mia simply enjoyed his company and was used to his presence given their constant closeness on the road, he also didn't want to assume more than was true and ruin their relationship by mistake. The Mercury adept's affection last night helped chip away at that illusion and clue Isaac in on her true feelings. Even now he didn't dare say for certain he understood Mia's feelings exactly, but at the very least it was clear there was some attraction there.

Little did he know, but the kiss Isaac planted on her forehead had left Mia yearning for more. It only halfway fulfilled her wish from the night spent in the Suhalla Desert cave together with the blonde boy. She often found herself vividly remembering how she almost kissed the Venus adept while he was asleep, and how she decided she'd rather wait for a real kiss with him instead. Isaac might not have had any clue about what happened back then, but for Mia it was like she was one step closer to that goal after the night before.

Seeing that Mia was perfectly content, Isaac didn't want to move and disrupt her, keeping his hand still as she continued to hug it. He smiled as he glanced at the adept lying next to him. There was no doubt that this night would be remembered as an embarrassing moment for both of them, but Isaac was perfectly fine letting it play out as long as it would last. Seeing Mia in this blissful state was worth any sort of future embarrassment to the blonde boy.

The pair felt like they could have laid there forever, and had it not been for the reality around them, they might have. Light from the window was continuing to creep further and further into the room as the sun rose slowly over the course of the morning. Every inch of progress it made was akin to an hourglass counting down the time Mia could stay, and she knew it was almost up.

As the rays of light began to gently warm the tips of her fingers, Mia understood that was it. She wasn't going to get caught dead in Isaac's room like she almost was back in Tolbi. That had been a very close call and not an experience either adept would have liked to repeat.

With a sigh, Mia let Isaac's hand go and shifted herself so she could look at the blonde boy. He had a smile of resignation on his face as he gazed back, gently rubbing Mia's shoulder briefly as he withdrew his own hand from their embrace.

"I need to get going before the others come looking," Mia explained.

"I know," Isaac nodded, being already on the same page as her.

Mia took a moment longer to lay there facing the Venus adept before stepping out of the bed and smoothing out her gown and hair as best she could. Isaac watched her with a longing gaze, wishing it didn't have to end so soon, but understanding that was the way it had to be.

Mia took another glance back towards Isaac to flash a smile and say, "See you in a bit," before turning to leave. She opened the door a crack to make sure Ivan or Garet weren't happening to walk by at that moment before slipping out and shutting the door quietly after herself.

Isaac looked at the closed door for a few seconds longer before letting his head fall back onto his pillow and relaxing. He could still detect the faint scent of Mia's presence thanks to the Mercury adept spending the night wrapped in the sheets he was lying on, and Isaac found a hint of a smile make its way onto his face as he processed everything that had happened.

Mia quickly made her way across the hall and slipped into her own room to fix her appearance before venturing outside again. Her untouched bed and messy visage staring back at her in the mirror was a stark reminder of what had occurred, and the Mercury adept could see the embarrassment reflected in her cheeks when the night's events started to catch up in her mind. Determined, she set to work on her hair first.

Out on deck Ivan and Garet were looking out towards the approaching land mass in front of the ship. They were approaching the port town of Contigo, and Garet had opted into an early start to the day to make sure they would get there as fast as possible. Ivan found himself assisting with navigation as the pair managed the slow approach towards the docks, chatting a bit to pass the time.

"I'm interested to see what the town will be like," Ivan was saying as Garet made a minor correction to line up better with where the docks were going to be.

"Isn't Contigo your hometown?" Garet asked the younger blonde boy, sparing a quick glance over before focusing back on the direction the ship was headed.

"Yeah," Ivan replied. "...but I really don't remember much about it at all," he answered. "I was taken away from here at a very young age," came the explanation.

Garet stayed silent a moment as he considered the idea of having a hometown he couldn't remember, but found he wasn't able to really understand. "Makes sense," he said to prevent an awkward silence. "I wonder if any of it will feel familiar to you," the Mars adept stated.

Ivan shrugged but didn't need to reply because at that moment Isaac walked out onto the deck and came over to join the pair. "Morning Isaac," he called out to the newcomer.

"Morning," Isaac replied with a yawn, acknowledging Ivan's greeting and Garet's nod of his head.

"Tired?" the redhead asked his friend, taking note of the yawn.

Isaac shrugged. "Didn't get enough sleep last night," he explained, looking over towards the port that was growing in size as it got closer. "We're already here?" the blonde boy asked, becoming a bit more alert as he realized it wouldn't be a day out on the ocean again.

"Yeah," Ivan replied. "Shouldn't be long before we're in town. We should stock up on supplies while we can too," he added.

Isaac squinted towards the shoreline and frowned. "We might have to make it quick," he commented.

Garet looked in the same direction, raising his hand to his head like a visor to block the glare of the sun. "Is that…another ship?" he asked, making out the shape of a vessel already docked at one of the piers. "You're not saying that it's…" the Mars adept cut himself off before fully finishing the thought.

"Could be," Ivan agreed with a furrowed brow. "If it is them, that makes things a bit more complicated," he said.

As that brief conversation was taking place, Mia made an appearance and was able to catch the tail end of what was going on. She blushed slightly when Isaac noticed her presence and the blonde boy also glanced awkwardly away for a moment, but composed himself quickly.

"They beat us here huh?" Mia asked, commanding the attention of the other three who were just discussing the second ship at the docks.

"It seems that way," Ivan answered, sparing a quick glance towards Mia before all four friends locked their eyes back towards the shore for answers.

"We'll need to be ready for anything then…just in case," Mia cautioned, checking to ensure she brought her important belongings with her.

Isaac rested his hand gently on his sword. "Hopefully it won't come to that," he replied, though his body language betrayed the fact he was prepared if needed.

Garet continued to steer the ship gently into port, knowing that despite their new sense of urgency, it would be a bad idea to cause an accident and damage either the ship or port facilities. With the docked ship coming into better view, it became clear that it was quite similar in design to the one the adepts were currently on.

"Looks like a Lemurian ship," Mia commented what they were all thinking.

"Where the hell did they get that?" Garet exclaimed in surprise.

"Well technically we don't know it's them yet," Ivan pointed out.

"I can't imagine it being anyone else though," Isaac replied. "It's not like there are a bunch of Lemurian vessels sailing around. It's supposed to be a lost city after all."

"You think they found it somehow and got a vessel from there?" Mia asked.

Isaac shook his head. "I have no idea," he answered truthfully. "That said…the townspeople we spoke to were talking about a fourth person traveling with Felix that we didn't hear about before they acquired a ship…"

Garnet frowned. "Come to think of it, that one town was talking about him having 'strange powers' when we passed through," he added.

"Could he be an adept as well?" Ivan mused, looking thoughtful.

"Ah…that's why it's a Lemurian ship," Mia spoke up, having realized something. "Only an adept could control a Lemurian ship properly," she stated.

Isaac nodded. "That's why it being a Lemurian ship specifically is more unsettling. I used to think being an adept to some degree was relatively normal when we were living back in Vale, but adepts seem to actually be quite rare if our travels are anything to judge by," he explained, looking over at Garet to see what he thought.

Garet nodded in agreement. "I felt the same way. Unless there are a lot of adepts out here we don't know about, it's most likely that this ship is one being used by Felix," he answered.

"Well…I was born here," Ivan said. "For that reason there could very well be other adepts, but I still think it's most likely that it is their ship given the circumstances," he added.

"Only one way to find out," Isaac commented with a shrug. "Let's get into port," he stated.

With nods of agreement all around, the four adepts prepared for docking the ship and bringing it into port. They underwent all the usual tasks needed to safely anchor the ship and disembark with no trouble, but what they saw when they got off the ship was unexpected.

A familiar face from many months earlier greeted them with a wave of the hand.

"Master Hama?" Ivan asked quizzically, wondering if he was seeing things.

"Hello again," she greeted the adepts as they made their way onto the docks. "It's been a while since we last saw each other."

"Almost a year I think," Ivan commented, thinking back to when they first met among the mountainous region of Angara.

"How have you been?" Mia asked politely as the group of four gathered the things they would need.

"Well, thank you," Master Hama replied with a nod of acknowledgement in the Mercury adept's direction. "You'll be happy to hear that Feizhi and Hsu are both in good health too," she added, knowing the next question Isaac was about to ask.

"That's…good to hear," Isaac replied, caught off guard but recovering quickly from Master Hama's keen insight.

"What brings you out here though Master Hama?" Ivan asked. "I can't imagine meeting you at the docks where we happen to be is mere coincidence…"

She laughed. "Your insight serves you well," she said. "But please…just call me Hama. We don't need such formalities among friends and family," the violet haired adept added.

"Hama it is then," Ivan nodded, accepting her request without further comment.

"As for why I'm here…well…I'm sure you've probably guessed it's partially related to this," Hama explained, pointing over to the second Lemurian ship asking in the port's waters.

"You know something then?" Garet asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked over the other ship.

"I…had a feeling that this is where I needed to be right now," Hama answered somewhat cryptically. "We should discuss things someplace else," she said after a moment.

Isaac nodded in agreement. "If you came here to speak with us it would be wise to hear you out, even if we are in a bit of a rush," he said.

Hama inclined her head in acknowledgement. "If you're referring to your other friends that arrived earlier, a short conversation with me won't prevent you from catching up to them," she stated confidently.

With the agreement of all present, the group of 5 meandered down the main road past shops and houses as they made their way to a public sitting area across from an impressive looking structure that dwarfed the rest of the nearby buildings.

Sitting down, Hama could tell the gaze of the four adepts with her were glued to the larger structure. "That's Anemos Sanctum," she explained, breaking them out of their trance and regaining their focus. "You could call it an old holy site from the ancient Anemos civilization," she added with a shrug.

"It sure is large," Garet commented, earning a chuckle from the violet haired adept.

"That it is," Hama agreed. "Incidentally, the sanctum is the main reason I'm here," she added. "There's a seal on it that prevents the terrible power of Anemos from being unleashed…not too unlike the lighthouses you four have been occupied with over the last year," she explained.

Hama shook her head briefly before continuing. "The seal has been weakening recently though, so I came here to inspect the seal and ensure it stays intact by any means necessary." She paused for a moment.

"But I digress," she sighed. "That's my own mission, and not the reason for me meeting up with you," Hama added.

That brought everyone's attention back to Hama as they wondered why it was she did seek them out. She dove right into it without preamble. "There are many possible futures for this world, but I intend to lead it down the best one," Hama stated. "To do that it was necessary for me to come here and meet with the four of you," she added, looking at each adept in turn.

The four stayed quiet as they let Hama explain further. "You intend to go to the Jupiter Lighthouse do you not?" she asked.

Isaac nodded and answered from the group. "That is where our adversaries are going," he confirmed.

"Do you have the means to enter the lighthouse?" Hama asked, following up on her question before.

Ivan frowned. "Well we were hoping we wouldn't have to…but I get the feeling you've seen something that leads you to believe otherwise," he replied.

Hama nodded in confirmation. "I'm afraid there's no avoiding the lighthouse in your future," she said. "But…that's why I want to give you the key you need to open the way forward," she explained.

"The key…?" Mia asked, confused.

"I thought you just needed an adept of that element to get into the lighthouses," Garet stated as Isaac listened in silent thought.

Hama smiled. "The key isn't an object, but rather a person," she continued. "Only a descendant of the Anemos has the ability to unlock the Jupiter Lighthouse," the violet haired adept told the four in front of her. "Fortunately for the four of you…" her gaze shifted over to the youngest person present and everyone else followed her gaze over to Ivan.

"Wait. Me?" Ivan asked, confused and seeing everyone staring at him.

"You were born as a Jupiter adept here after all," Hama explained. "The blood of the Anemos runs in our veins, and likely was what awakened your psynergy powers as well," she added.

"A descendant of the Anemos…" Ivan muttered to himself, turning his hands over and inspecting them as if something about him might have changed.

"You and I both are," Hama stated. "To open the way through you need to recognize that fact though," she explained.

"The person actually has to know they're a descendant in order for the way to open?" Isaac asked, wanting to clarify.

"That's correct," Hama confirmed. "That's why I felt I needed to come here to let Ivan know about his heritage," she explained.

Garet frowned. "You sure seem to know a lot about Ivan," he commented. "Even things Ivan himself didn't know…"

Hama smiled. "Why shouldn't I?" she asked. "I am his older sister after all," Hama stated simply.

The expressions of surprise on Garet, Mia, and Ivan's faces rivaled the time Felix said he would continue trying to light the lighthouses, but Isaac remained relatively normal. The older blonde boy nodded slowly, still surprised, but less so than the others. He had his suspicions ever since learning Ivan and Hama were both from Contigo, but never actually voiced them to anyone.

"...Sister?" Ivan said slowly, mulling it over in his mind as he looked over the Jupiter adept in front of him. Everyone else wanted to see how Ivan would react and were watching closely. "I always felt there was some familiar feeling about you, but couldn't place it," Ivan explained as he tried to take this new revelation in.

Something didn't feel quite right though. Isaac looked over to watch Hama's reaction and saw the smile on her face as she looked at Ivan. "Why now?" Isaac decided to ask, trusting Hama would get his meaning. This simple question caught Hama's attention and she turned to Isaac to see what the blonde boy had to say.

"I felt like something was up when you were so eager to teach Ivan back at the temple," Isaac explained his thoughts. "You didn't say anything at the time though, so why now?" he clarified for everyone else's sake.

Hama's smile had a hint of sadness in it for a moment, but it cleared up quickly. "Back then it would have just been a distraction in your quest for Ivan to know he had a sister," she obliged. "I would have liked to tell you back then if I could have, but it wasn't the right time," Hama added, turning to face Ivan directly.

"I…understand," Ivan said hesitantly, discerning the truth behind those words.

"Even so…" Mia interjected as Garet patted Ivan on the back, unsure of what to say to his friend. Each adept went through a few moments of silence as they processed what they were hearing.

"Wouldn't it still be a distraction now?" Garet finally spoke up again, rejoining the conversation that he started.

"Probably," Ivan answered for Hama, allowing his sister to just nod in agreement.

"There's no point in hiding it now though since he needed to know the truth of his heritage," Hama explained to everyone. "I couldn't very well convince him of that without leaving him wondering if I continued to explain nothing. It wouldn't be good to have you distracted trying to figure all this out either," she added, directing her last sentence directly to Ivan.

Ivan nodded his acceptance of those facts. "I am having a hard time processing all this so suddenly," he admitted. "I think it likely would have been more difficult back then though as you're saying," he explained.

Hama nodded, then looked away over towards the Anemos Sanctum to the side. "It also just felt like the right time to tell you," she commented after a moment. "No future is ever certain, and we never know how long we have to enjoy living together in this world. Sometimes it's better to say what you want to say or do what you want to do while you have the chance in order to avoid any regrets, you know?" Hama added with the briefest of glances in Mia's direction before looking back to Ivan.

Mia's heart fluttered slightly as she interpreted the meaning of the look Hama spared her and the image of a certain blonde boy filled her head. None of the others seemed to catch the glance, but the words still resonated with each of them anyway, reminding them of the many close brushes with death in their journey so far.

Seeing the somber faces around her, Hama tried her best to cheer everyone back up. "Enough with the depressing thoughts though," she interjected. "I wanted to talk to you to help you on your journey, not bring you down," the Jupiter adept explained. "I'm glad to have had a chance to run into you all again."

"It is always nice to see a familiar face," Isaac agreed, recognizing it was in their best interest to quash any potential negative thoughts before they could take root considering another confrontation was on the horizon.

Mia smiled and nodded her agreement as well, acknowledging the attempt to improve the mood. "It was nice to hear about Feizhi and Hsu as well," she added.

Ivan shook his head. "If anything I'm happy," he stated. "That said, I have so many questions for you…sister," the younger jupiter adept added.

Hama smiled. "I'm sure you do, and I wish we had more time for me to answer all of them and catch up, but I think that's unfortunately not the case right now is it?" she asked.

"It's not," Ivan agreed, but gave her a smile anyway. "That just means we'll have to catch up later," he said.

Hama's sad smile returned, but she reached out across the table to Ivan and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It'll just have to wait then," she replied. "I am relieved to have finally told you though," she admitted.

Garet had been quiet for a little bit, but finally spoke again. "Speaking of catching up…If you need a descendant of the Anemos, then how is Felix planning to get into the lighthouse?" the Mars adept asked.

"Good point," Mia interjected. "Felix could be under the assumption that Sheba can get them in, but might be mistaken," she said.

"Unless Sheba is also…" Ivan started to say.

Hama interrupted with a frown. "If you mean the blonde girl traveling with your adversaries, I could see the power of Anemos flowing through her even from afar," she explained. "It was unmistakable. There was something unnaturally strong about it… and even if she's not aware of it herself, I think she will be able to open the Lighthouse anyway."

"Even though she wasn't born here?" Mia asked for clarification.

"I can't speak on the circumstances of her birth, but her power is clear," Hama replied. "Besides, just because most Anemos descendants are here, doesn't mean they all are," she added.

Isaac frowned. "That's…unfortunate, but it doesn't really change our plans from before we knew about this whole Anemos business in the first place," he said.

"That's right!" Garet exclaimed. "It doesn't change what we need to do," he stated, placing his palm solidly on the table with a resolved look.

Hama smiled. "I've kept you all long enough," she said, seeing that Garet was energized and ready to go. "There are plenty of shops here for you to stock up on supplies if you need them before heading out," she explained. "The Lighthouse is more than a day's journey from town and the group you're chasing only left a little while before you arrived. There's plenty of time for you to catch up to them," the Jupiter adept stated, standing up from the table.

"What about you?" Ivan asked, looking over at his sister as he too stood up.

"I have my own duties in this town to attend to," she stated, pointing casually over to the sanctum behind her with her thumb. "You can be assured that I'll be supporting your efforts from afar however," Hama said, reaching out and ruffling Ivan's hair with her hand.

She laughed. "Sorry…I always wanted to do that at least once," she explained, seeing the incredulous look Ivan gave her. The other three found it funny as well and stifled their own laughs so as not to embarrass their friend.

Ivan just sighed though. "I suppose I have to let that one slide, seeing as you're my sister then," he admitted defeat with a smile. A few seconds passed, but hesitantly Ivan stepped forward and gave Hama a hug, this time surprising the older Jupter adept. She looked like she didn't know what to do for a second, but returned his smile and the unexpected gesture.

The sight was enough to bring warmth to the hearts of Isaac, Garet, and Mia as they looked on, glad that Ivan was able to make a connection with his sister. Seeing this unfold, Garet reached out and put his arms around the shoulders of the adepts on either side of him. "Ivan, we'll be in the markets when you come to meet us," he told his friend, steering Isaac and Mia away from Ivan and Hama as he did so.

"Thanks," came Ivan's reply as he realized Garet was trying to allow him some time on his own with his sister.

Isaac and Mia got the message and Garet dropped his arms as the trio made their way over to the nearby stalls to stock up for the Jupiter Lighthouse journey.

"How considerate," Mia teased as Garet led them away.

"Oh stuff it," Garet replied, earning a chuckle from Isaac. "My bud just essentially met his sister for the first time. It's the least we could do," he answered seriously.

"I know," Mia replied just as seriously with a smile on her face, happy for the Jupiter adept in their party.

Garet couldn't help firing back though. "This'll only ever happen to Ivan once so of course I can be considerate when it comes to that," he explained. The Mars adept let loose a devilish grin, looking between both adepts before finishing what he was saying. "Don't expect me to act the same when it comes to your incessant flirting though," he added, poking Mia and Isaac right back.

Without knowing about the previous night, Garet had no way to know he scored a direct hit, but the pair of adepts felt their faces go red.

Not wanting Garet to catch on, Isaac decided that distracting him was the best method to redirect the Mars adept's attention. "Come now, do we really have time for all these jokes with Felix already on the way to the Jupiter Lighthouse?" he asked.

Mia caught on quickly and agreed. "Let's make sure we're properly prepared for anything that might happen," she said, making a show of looking around at the nearby stalls to find the supplies they were looking for.

Garet just shrugged. "Well that's no fun, but you have a point," he admitted. "I guess I'll have to save it for after the lighthouse," he added with a grin, striking up a conversation with a nearby vendor about the potions and tonics they had on sale before Isaac or Mia could reply.

Somehow they managed to keep the atmosphere carefree, despite knowing what lay ahead.