Chapter 19: The Jupiter Lighthouse

A cool breeze could be felt in the pristine hallways of the Jupiter Lighthouse, gently blowing along the purple and pale blue stone lining the halls. Large open rooms and multi level expanses were the norm here in stark contrast to the cramped, dusty, and sand filled rooms of the Venus Lighthouse from months prior.

That didn't stop the massive structure from feeling like a maze however, especially since some of the navigation was based on the will of the wind. The strangest method of transportation throughout the lighthouse was by far being blown from platform to platform or room to room in a cyclone born of amplified Jupiter psynergy.

"I really hate this," Garet commented, bending down with his hand on his knees. The Mars adept slowly took deep breaths to combat the motion sickness from the rapid spinning and weightless sensation generated by the unique method of travel.

Mia also found herself with her arm against the wall for support, similarly taking a moment to recover after a series of short "flights" from platform to platform. Fortunately each small trip was no more than a handful of seconds at most, but they still took a toll on the group when they underwent a few back to back.

Isaac seemed to at least be hiding it better, but Ivan was the only one to be mostly unaffected by the movement. Perhaps it was a side effect of the Jupiter aligned energy that helped the younger blonde boy avoid any ill effects, but he was grateful to not be suffering like his companions.

"Hopefully we won't have to do too much more of this," Ivan commented, trying to raise the spirits of his companions while waiting for them to recover.

"It looks like the last one for now at least," Mia voiced once she felt she was able to, pointing toward the doorway ahead.

Happy to avoid any more flying around for the time being, all four adepts made their way through the doorway and into the next room. To their surprise, this new room was a lot more dilapidated than the ones before it. Broken pillars lay on the ground, blocking the way forward with pieces of rubble strewn about.

"This looks like a lot of work," Isaac commented, trying to look past the massive pillars to see what was beyond. "Garet, give me a hand," he requested, walking up to the one immediately in front of the group and giving it a bit of a push to see if it would roll.

With both adepts pushing on the heavy stone pillar they were able to make it move, building up speed as they put more effort into it. After letting go, the pillar continued to roll and started drifting forward on one side before crashing into a half broken column as it turned from the uneven pressure on both sides.

"Whoops," the redhead said as the crashing noise from the collision echoed around the room.

"Ah…I hope we didn't have to go that way," Isaac added, seeing how difficult it would be to try to pull the pillar backward after it was wedged in between two columns.

Ivan just shook his head as Mia offered her assistance. "Maybe I can help keep it moving straight next time?" she asked, eyeing the crooked mess Isaac and Garet had just made.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Isaac replied, looking over at the next pillar in the way.

The solid blocks of stone were far too heavy to accurately control with just two people, but became much easier with Ivan and Mia on each end to more finely tune how much force was being applied and steer the pillar on a straighter course. It was hard work, but with everyone working together they managed to clear the pathway of the massive obstacles and progress further into the lighthouse.

Coming to another large room, immediately they could all see a number of stationary pillars sticking up from the floor at the same height as the ledge they entered on. Across the room were more ledges to reach and, judging by the light flooding in, a door to the outside.

"Looks like we'll be jumping our way across," Ivan said with a shrug, not seeing any alternative ways of getting to the other side.

It was a very common situation to run into all across Weyard in the journey of the adepts so far, and despite the precise coordination needed to use whatever was available to jump across gaps, only Garet had ever fully lost his balance and fallen when confronted with this situation.

There had been a few other close calls, and Garet almost broke his foot when he did actually fall the one time, but surprisingly falling off something had never led to any major injuries previously.

That being said, most of those jumps were one or two hops across to solid ground nearby and nowhere near as complex as the mess of pillars strewn around this room. Garet found himself apprehensively eyeing the jumps to pick out a path to the other side while muttering under his breath.

Isaac and Mia were doing the same thing, eyes glancing from one pillar to the next, trying to find the safest way across. None of them were having much luck though.

"Don't some of these jumps seem a bit far apart?" Garet asked after a bit, frowning as he eyed some of the irregularly large gaps that looked dangerous to attempt crossing. "I can see there are a couple of pillars we could potentially use down there, but there's still too many large jumps I think…" he added, pointing out some slidable pillars they had encountered before.

"Yeah, I saw those too," Isaac answered, picking out the placements needed to fix some of the gaps.

It's not like the adepts had never needed to use unevenly spaced jumps or makeshift pillars before. Out in nature where there obviously wouldn't be any sort of precisely placed stepping stones it was common to run into that kind of situation, but their experience in the last two lighthouses was that manmade jumping puzzles were generally fairly standardized.

Mia continued to calculate new paths, her finger pointing from pillar to pillar as she envisioned someone crossing in different ways. No matter what though, she couldn't find a way to avoid making any dangerously long jumps.

Isaac climbed down the nearby ladder and went over to look at the pillars they could move around, trying to see if he could get a new perspective on the puzzle.

Ivan saw all of this and frowned, squinting as he looked out towards some of the larger gaps before something in his head clicked. Taking the initiative, the Jupiter adept jumped across the first couple of pillars before coming to the first gap. Calling upon his psynergy, Ivan closed his eyes and opened them again.

"Ah…thought so," he remarked, getting everyone's attention before jumping directly into the middle of the gap between the two large pillars. Instead of falling, it looked like the blonde boy was standing in midair. "I thought I recognized this shape," Ivan commented. "There's an invisible platform here," he called out to the rest of his friends.

"That'll do it," Mia said, relieved to know that there wasn't some other missing piece of the puzzle they didn't have available to them yet.

"I'm willing to bet that gap over there is too," Ivan also said, pointing over at another ringed section without a clear path forward.

"If that's the case…" Garet started to say. "If we move a pillar to that gap and that gap, we should be able to make it across," he stated. "Still, I'm not a fan of jumping onto something invisible," the Mars adept added.

"Here?" Isaac asked, moving over to one of the gaps Garet pointed out, moving his arm back and forth in front of him as he approached, just to make sure he wasn't going to run into an invisible pillar or something.

"Yeah," Garet called out. "And that one," he said again, pointing to the other area he recently identified.

"You don't have to worry about running into anything," Ivan called down to Isaac, having seen the Venus adept's caution a second ago. "It's a floating platform, so I don't think you'd hit it down below," he explained, putting his weight on the edge to test its stability.

"Thanks," Isaac called back before using his psynergy to pull one of the pillars away from a corner it was wedged in. "I'll move this one over here," he said, indicating the first position Garet had pointed out.

"Guess that makes the other one my job then," Garet commented, climbing down the ladder to go get the other pillar.

Mia also wanted to test out the invisible step and hopped out on the pillars after Ivan, waiting on the one right before the invisible platform that Ivan was standing on. Seeing this, Ivan jumped to the next pillar and did his best to point out to Mia where to go. "It's really directly in the middle of these two," he said, pointing at where he and Mia were currently standing before trying to point right to where the invisible one was again.

Mia lined it up as best she could. "This is going to be weird," she commented before jumping and landing with her arms outstretched, trying to balance very gingerly so as not to fall. She carefully felt out the edges of the platform with her foot to get a better idea of the shape and size.

Isaac had his pillar in place and looked up to see Ivan and Mia up above. "How's the positioning?" Isaac asked Ivan.

"Should be fine," Ivan replied, jumping onto the platform Isaac had moved. He jumped again to the next one in order to make room for Mia behind him while Isaac started back towards the ladder to climb back up.

Garet finished positioning his pillar and followed after Isaac, both of them starting to make their way across to the first invisible platform. "It really is right there in the middle," Mia said, doing her best to point it out based on her memory. "It was wide enough that you shouldn't have any trouble if you land on it as well," she added for the two boys' benefit.

Isaac took the leap and landed on the platform, crouching down in place to feel out the edges with his hands. Ivan meanwhile had reached where he thought the second invisible platform was hiding.

"Yep, looks like there's another invisible one over here," Ivan called over before nibley jumping across. "It's the same situation as before," he stated.

Isaac moved on and jumped to the next pillar after his inspection as Garet took his turn with the invisible platform. Mia carefully continued forward as well, catching up with Ivan and crossing to the far side ledge they had been trying to get to.

Isaac followed with Garet close behind until they came upon the second invisible platform. Isaac jumped forward and landed on the platform, but one foot hit the edge and he slipped, throwing him off balance.

"Oh shi-" Isaac got out, hastily using his momentum and other leg to jump to the next visible pillar. He made it, but was still off balance and had too much forward momentum to stick the landing.

Jumping once more, Isaac pushed toward the ledge where Mia and Ivan were waiting, but it was clear he wasn't going to make it. The blonde boy slammed into the side of the ledge, knocking the wind out of him as he held himself up with his arms above the edge.

"That looked like it hurt," Mia commented as she and Ivan stepped forward to help the winded adept up onto the ground.

Isaac moved out of the way to make room for Garet before laying on his back to catch his breath. Mia quickly checked to make sure he wasn't actually injured while Ivan watched on as Garet prepared to make the jump as well.

Seeing Isaac slip, Garet was extra cautious as he made his way across, managing to do so safely. Walking over to his friend on the floor, he offered his hand. "You all right?" Garet asked, helping the Venus adept to his feet.

"Yeah," Isaac replied as he got back up.

"At least you didn't fall," Ivan shrugged, knowing Isaac was fine again. "It would be a very inopportune time to get injured," he added.

"Tell me about it," Isaac answered. "I guess that'll count as another close call…" he mused as the group of adepts started to make their way toward the doorway leading outside.

Mia shook her head. "I'm honestly surprised that we don't have more falls than we do," she commented, thinking back on other similar situations.

"Hey!" Garet objected. "What do you mean 'falls?' I've only actually fallen one time," he stated, turning backward to face the others briefly as he walked through the doorway.

The others just shrugged, but didn't respond as their attention was taken away by the exterior of the lighthouse. They were really high up now and the view of the surrounding area was incredible. All four adepts paused for a moment to take in their surroundings, previous conversation forgotten.

"Wow," Ivan commented, speaking for all of them.

Mia could feel the wind in her hair as she looked out over the road they had taken to get here, tracing it all the way back to the barely visible town of Contigo in the distance. A quick glance upward made it clear they were close to the top of the lighthouse now and that the beacon remained unlit.

Maybe it was something about being outside again, but their goal of reaching the top before Felix's group really felt in reach now. Without having run into them at all, the consensus between Isaac's party was that it would be best to wait at the top rather than try to search for them and risk missing them within the lighthouse.

"It might be bad luck to say it…but it looks like we're going to beat them there this time," Mia commented, voicing what everyone had been thinking.

"Shhh!" Ivan shushed her, playing into the superstition even though his face betrayed his excitement at that exact same thought.

Garet laughed and led the way forward again. "Don't worry so much," he stated, making his way along the exterior ledge of the lighthouse towards the eastern side. "Just a little more to the top. If we can-" the Mars adept was saying before being cut off abruptly.

The ground beneath him had suddenly collapsed. There was only a moment of shock registered on his face before he fell out of sight.

"Garet!" Isaac yelled, rushing forward with the others towards the newly created edge.

A groan could be heard from down below where the red haired boy had landed with a sickening thud. Looking down, Mia could see him dangling from another ledge below by one arm while his left arm dangled uselessly at this side.

"Hang on Garet!" Mia called out, acting swiftly and jumping down to the ledge below herself to render aid.

"Mia!" Ivan called out as the cerulean haired girl landed and immediately went to try to help Garet up.

"Give me your other hand," Mia instructed Garet as she grabbed the one on the platform to provide him with extra stability.

"I…can't," the Mars adept replied. "It's totally numb. I think I broke it," he explained.

Mia took her free outstretched hand and used it to grab Garet's good arm as well, struggling to try to pull him back up to safety. It was no use. Without Garet being able to help, she didn't have the strength to save him alone. "I'm not strong enough," Mia admitted, settling for helping him keep his grip instead.

"Hang on, I'm coming to help," Isaac said, dropping his pack next to Mia's and peering over the edge at the two adepts below. The small platform the pair was on didn't have a lot of room left for a 3rd person. "Mia, try to shift to the side a bit so I can get down there," the blonde boy called down.

"I'm afraid you won't be helping anyone…" a voice none of them recognized chimed in from behind Isaac and Ivan.

Ivan whipped around quickly to face the unknown speaker, placing a hand on his sword's hilt as he did so. Isaac took another look at Mia and Garet down below but had to let that go for the time being due to the hostility in the mystery voice.

Walking towards the two adepts still on the original platform were a pair of people with ruby red eyes. The man was well muscled with wavy white hair spiking out from his head and a dark blue tattoo from his hairline down to his eyes. The woman next to him was shorter with dark reddish-pink hair and black leather boots and gloves. Both of them wore capes dangling down from the shoulders that fluttered in the breeze.

"Who are you?" Ivan asked suspiciously, hand still resting against his sword.

The woman smiled at him. "Me? Why I'm Karst," she said simply, coming to a stop a little ways away from Isaac and Ivan.

"And I'm Agatio," the man introduced himself.

Isaac wasn't happy about the unwanted distraction. "Well right now we're sort of in the middle of helping my friend down there," he replied. "If you're not here to help, then please stand back so we can deal with this," the Venus adept added.

Karst shook her head slowly. "Your friends will have to take care of themselves. You have a little debt to repay," she stated.

"Debt?" Ivan questioned. "What are you even talking about? We've never even seen you before!"

Agatio glared at both of the blonde boys. "Regardless, you have done Karst here a great wrong, and you're beginning to be a hindrance to us," he said.

Ivan and Isaac looked at each other in confusion before looking back at the strange pair of people in front of them. Isaac seemed to have a realization though. "Wait a minute…" he started to say, examining Karst and Agatio more closely. "You look somewhat familiar. Do you know Saturos and Menardi?" he asked.

Karst gave Isaac a feral grin that he could have sworn he had seen before. "It seems you're not as dull as I thought after all," she practically spat out. "You're right," she confirmed a moment later. "We are of the same clan. The Fire Clan from the frozen land of Prox in the far north!"

"Prox?" Ivan questioned. "Never heard of it."

Agatio took a moment and turned away to face towards the north in the direction of his homeland. He sighed. "That doesn't surprise me," he stated. "Our town hangs on the edge of extinction," Agatio shook his head. "And the seal on alchemy is responsible!" the white haired man exclaimed, clenching his left hand into a fist.

"That…doesn't make any sense," Isaac replied, confused by the man's words.

"It matters not if you understand!" Karst interjected. "Soon Prox will recover its lost power…"

"We shall bring Prox back from the edge," Agatio agreed, turning back to face the two blonde adepts. "Then all the people of Weyard will kneel before us for all the wrongs we've been forced to suffer!" he added.

"You think we'd let you after hearing all that nonsense?" Ivan asked, his face betraying anger that was bubbling up underneath.

"See?" Karst asked. "You ARE a hindrance," she commented with a condescending smile.

Isaac turned an irritated gaze towards the red haired woman. "And Felix was trying to help you?" he asked.

Agatio shrugged again and smiled as well. "Actually…We have no idea what Felix's objectives are," he admitted.

"Nor do we care so long as he lights the beacon of the Jupiter Lighthouse," Karst followed up.

"Then get out of our way! We're here to stop Felix!" Ivan exclaimed. Both Agatio and Karst shook their heads in unison, standing resolutely in the only path out. "Move…or we will be forced to move you," Ivan threatened, seeing that things were turning more hostile by the second.

"Did you hear that Karst? They actually want to fight?" Agatio commented in an incredulous tone.

Karst laughed. "So you mean to tell me you would leave your friend…hanging?" she asked, pointing out the predicament Garet was still in down below.

Isaac took a moment to look back down to where Mia was doing her best to keep Garet from falling any further despite the broken arm before turning back to Karst. "You mean this was all part of your plan?" he asked in a calm sounding voice, barely concealing the anger he felt just below the surface.

"Cowards!" Ivan threw out, drawing his sword out slightly from its sheath as he did so.

"If you really are the brats that killed Saturous and Menardi…then you've earned some new foes," Agatio stated, unfazed.

"Come now," Karst spoke up again in her condescending tone. "We merely evened the playing field. Would you be crying foul if you were fighting us four on two?"

"So you hid up here and set a trap to try to kill Garet and Mia?" Ivan angrily asked.

Agatio smiled and confirmed the answer for Ivan with a nod. "We didn't plan on snaring both of them though. That was a pleasant surprise!" he commented.

"I hope you don't think we're afraid of a fair fight, two on two either…" Ivan commented, finally drawing his sword and displaying his willingness to battle.

Agatio laughed. "A fair fight?" he scoffed.

"After what you did to my sister, we have no reason to fight fair against you either," Karst spat, venom dripping in her words. "After all…we have a third. A Mercury adept...Alex!" she announced.

Silence overcame both parties for a moment as nothing but the wind whistling past the spires of the lighthouse could be heard. Karst's eyes darted to the side and then she turned around, walking back the way she came and glancing around as if looking for something.

"Karst. What's wrong?" Agatio asked.

"Speaking of Alex…where is he?" she asked suddenly, bringing attention to the fact nobody had seen or heard from the Mercury adept at all since the exchange began.

"What?" Agatio exclaimed, surprise cracking through his strong and confident demeanor.

"Alex?" Isaac and Ivan questioned, also looking around to see if they could spot the man that supposedly split off from traveling with Felix's group.

"Did you see where he went?" Karst asked Agatio, who had regained his composure.

"Bah! Forget about him. Honestly I was planning to do the same to him that we're about to do to them anyway!" he exclaimed, pointing back over towards Isaac and Ivan. "My only regret will be the inability to wipe that sneering smile off his face," Agatio commented.

Karst smiled and gave the two blonde boys a hate filled look. "Well then…I guess you'll just have to take your aggression out on these brats. It'll help you feel better and we can avenge my dear sister all at once!" she exclaimed.

Not needing any more prompting, Agatio stepped forward with a nod and rushed towards Isaac throwing out a fiery fist augmented by psynergy as Karst pulled out a scythe reminiscent of Menardi's.

It was all Isaac could do to quickly draw his weapon and block the attack with the flat side of his blade. Fire psynergy burst around the impact point, dissolving in the air as the Venus adept was forced back a step. Meanwhile, Ivan waited to see what Karst would do, rightly realizing this was going to be a defensive battle.

What nobody noticed was that Felix's party down below had seen the entire spectacle. It was at that moment that another familiar voice rang out.

"Isaac! We're on the way!" the voice yelled out.

"Jenna…?" Isaac muttered, not able to dwell on it for long. Agatio's frown turned into a scowl as he redoubled his attack, pushing Isaac back even further towards the edge Garet had fallen off.

"Don't distract them," another voice from below said, chiding Jenna for her outburst, but from then on there was only the sounds of combat.

There wasn't much room for Isaac and Ivan to maneuver with their backs to the ledge, forcing them into a head on fight at a disadvantage. Karst swung her scythe in a wide arc at Ivan, who found he needed to block the blow instead of dodge or else it would go directly through to Isaac next to him.

Gritting his teeth, Ivan brought his blade up to stop the strike and called upon his psynergy to increase his agility. Casting spells seemed to be out of the question as Karst pressed her attack, grinning ferociously as she pummeled the Jupiter adept with swing after swing.

Isaac could see that Ivan was in trouble out of the corner of his eye, and was desperately looking for a solution. Agatio was not giving him a chance to think though, continually pummeling Isaac with a combination of martial arts and psynergy. It was a fighting style Isaac had never encountered before, and it threw him off balance trying to defend against it.

Fire psynergy blossomed in between punches or even accompanied them as Isaac found himself defending against the kinetic energy unleashed from the additional explosions, even as the flames singed his clothes and hair.

There had to be a turning point, and Isaac did his best to force one. With a shout, Isaac swung his sword in rapid succession to force Agatio backwards, strengthening his strikes with the power of his own Venus psynergy.

The effort was causing Isaac to sweat as he picked up the pace, but it wasn't wasted. The larger man took first one step, then two, then another step in retreat as the Venus adept kept up his assault. Pushing Agatio back gave Ivan more room to maneuver, and the younger boy took full advantage of it. Dodging out of the way of Karst's attack, Ivan was able to buy enough time to send out a quick spell, surprising the Mars adept with a jolt of lightning.

The unexpected counterattack slowed her offensive and opened up more holes for the pair of blonde boys to exploit. Ivan immediately started channeling more powerful psynergy as Issac jumped targets from Agatio to Karst. Isaac's blade flashed in the sunlight as it swiftly changed course, aiming for the winded woman still recovering from Ivan's surprise attack.

"Oh no you don't!" Agatio called out, moving to block the strike.

Isaac smiled despite his exhaustion and backed off quickly to get out of the way. His goal was never to actually hit Karst in the first place. As Ivan unleashed a windstorm towards Karst, Agatio realized the blunder he had made. Isaac had managed to lure the Proxian towards Karst to allow Ivan's psynergy to hit both of them. As the swirling wind enveloped him, he grinned in anticipation of a tougher fight than initially expected.

Isaac followed up with a spell of his own, conjuring shards of rock that he sent flying in the direction of the Mars adepts, causing minor injuries from cuts and bruises. Playing into their teamwork, Ivan capitalized once more and sent blasts of Jupiter psynergy honed to a knife's edge at his enemies, forcing Agatio to step in the way and weather the blows to protect Karst. Blood burst like tiny explosions from gashes on the man's arms as successive attacks continued to hit him one after the other.

Isaac's cooperation with Ivan paid off and it looked like they finally had a brief reprieve from the prior onslaught until Agatio dropped to his knees and revealed Karst channeling Psynergy behind him. Seeing this, Isaac desperately tried to put up a quick shield with his own psynergy to protect himself and Ivan, but it was too late.

The result was a massive explosion of Mars energy that easily ripped through the hastily constructed barrier and blasted a hole out of the side of the lighthouse wall. Isaac and Ivan were thrown backward, heavily injured by the impact.

"I think…we need…to take them seriously," Agatio managed to get out, breathing heavily and trying to recover from his own injuries at the same time.

"It seems that way," Karst commented, eyes narrowing at the damage done to her companion. She placed a hand on the fallen Proxian's shoulder and cast a healing spell that mended a lot of Agatio's wounds with a flickering ruby light.

Standing up again, Agatio regarded the Venus and Jupiter adepts in front of him with a newfound respect that had not been seen in his gaze previously.

Ivan and Isaac also shakily got to their feet, relying on Isaac's healing powers to help recover from Karst's attack. Ivan let out the slightest laugh. "Don't underestimate us…you might get caught by surprise," he said with a grin.

Both sides sized each other up again, but this time there was notably more distance between them thanks to the Proxians backing off slightly and acting more cautious than before.

The temporary ceasefire and exchange of words didn't last long however as Agiatio once again went on the offensive. Slamming his fists together, he generated a raging storm of psynergy in the form of a fiery dragon that shot out towards Isaac.

The Venus adept reacted quickly and imbued his blade once more, slicing through the psynergy attack as he rushed in head on. There was no way to avoid getting injured with this method, but he did manage to lessen the power of the attack with his quick counter. Agatio raised his metal plated fists to knock Isaac's sword off course and engage in melee combat once more.

It was hard for Isaac to use his psynergy in the fast paced conflict. There wasn't enough time for longer spells and it wasn't like he could use an earthquake type ability with his friend barely hanging onto a ledge in close proximity. He did what he could though, and quickly shot the rubble from the floor at Agatio to serve as a distraction while unleashing another flurry of blows with his sword.

Karst's hands glowed red as she channeled psynergy once more, but Ivan replied in kind. Crackling lightning arced across the blade of Ivan's weapon as he dashed forward to meet the Proxian head on. Karst unleashed a torrent of fire, but Ivan's quick movements were enough to duck out of the way and slide across the stone underneath the attack.

Coming up from below, Ivans sword managed to slice across the forearm of Karst and deliver another jolt despite her best efforts to dodge out of the way at the last second. With her other arm, Karst brought her scythe around to prevent further follow up, flicking Ivan's sword skyward with the butt of the handle.

With the blade out of the way, Kars reversed the scythe's trajectory quickly, bringing the blade edge back down and the pointed end directly into Ivan's foot.

"Arghh!" Ivan grunted in pain as the weapon sliced cleanly into the top of his foot with a splattering of blood. He maintained enough clarity of mind despite the sudden injury to bring his sword directly towards Karst's neck and force her backward in response. The action successfully prevented her from making his own injury worse, but it was still a very bad situation for the blonde boy.

Isaac quickly glanced over to see what had happened, but instantly regretted it as Agatio landed a series of punches backed by more explosive Mars energy. "Don't get distracted!" the older man yelled out as he got solid blows in on Isaac's shoulder, chest, and stomach, pushing him back to the edge of the ledge they were fighting on once again. Isaac still managed to get his sword up to stop the assault and counterattack by sending a blade of pure psynergy plunging directly into Agatio's body, but was forced to drop to his knee from the injuries he had sustained as well.

Isaac found himself winded as he gingerly touched the injuries he had just endured, calling upon healing psynergy to help relieve the pain. His shoulder was in bad shape and it felt like he probably had a couple of cracked ribs as well.

Ivan attempted to put weight onto his injured leg, knowing he couldn't stay still, but the blinding pain shooting through the foot and up his leg prevented anything more than a limp. Karst noticed this and backed off further, free to use her psynergy with no chance of Ivan being able to counter.

A blast of psynergy from Karst knocked the struggling Ivan to the ground and his weapon out of his hands. "Isaac…I don't think…I can't hold on," Ivan's voice called over as he was barely able to get to his knees, supporting himself with an arm against the floor.

"Hang on Ivan!" Isaac called back in support of his friend, slowly standing back up to try to make it to the Jupiter adept's side, despite his own injuries.

"Your concern… is your weakness!" Agatio called out as he brought his fists together and once again the fiery visage of a dragon came shooting out in Isaac's direction. This time there was nothing he could do as the attack hit him head on, knocking him to the floor, barely conscious.

Agatio immediately collapsed to one knee, making it clear he was also barely holding out after Isaac's last attack. Karst didn't look to be in great shape either, blood dripping down her arm from when Ivan landed a hit earlier, but was at least better off than any of the other three. Nonetheless, she was in a good mood. "We did it Agatio!" she exclaimed excitedly, looking at the two defeated adepts in front of her.

"We did…" the larger Proxian agreed, looking over at where Isaac lay on the ground next to Ivan, who no longer had the strength to support himself, slumping to the floor along with Isaac.

"He was no warrior," Karst sneered, looking at the Venus adept as well. "His concern for his friend gave you the opportunity to strike," she added.

To their surprise, Isaac's hand shifted slightly and they noticed he was still barely conscious.

"What's this?" Agatio got out. "He's still alive…even after that blow?" he struggled to say.

Karst frowned, not having expected just how tough Isaac and Ivan turned out to be. "It would be a shame if you and I ever had to regret letting them live…" she directed Agatio's way as she started to call upon her psynergy to help the more heavily wounded man.

Agatio struggled to his feet with the help of Karst and gave her a nod of agreement.

"Sorry, but I'm not letting that happen," a third voice chimed in from behind the two Proxians.

"Felix. What is that supposed to mean?" Agatio asked, turning to face the newcomer with a hint of anger in his face.

Karst didn't take kindly to the intrusion either. "Be grateful!" she spat. "We just did you a favor!" the Mars adept added.

Agatio looked around briefly before addressing Felix again. "I understand that when the Venus beacon was lit, the ground shook so fiercely that the very earth itself split," he stated, looking directly at the brown haired Venus adept. "Curious that nothing of the sort has happened here!"

Karst shook her head in disappointment. "You haven't even lit the bacon yet, have you?" she asked. "And after all we've done to help you!"

Felix shook his head. "We were on our way to light it right now…" he replied simply.

"If that's the case, then go do it!" Agatio answered.

Sheba stepped forward to speak up. "That doesn't mean we're going to leave them behind," she stated, indicating the injured Isaac and Ivan.

Karst sighed. "Oh great, are you going to betray us now too?" she asked pointedly, looking back at Felix again.

Felix shook his head. "Not betray…but neither are we going to let you finish them off," he answered resolutely.

"Typical," Karst said with disappointment. "You don't even want us to finish off your biggest foe," she lamented.

The tall, cerulean haired man wearing a blue headband and who was very clearly a Mercury adept stepped forward from behind Felix to address Karst and Agatio. "If you're only here to clear the way for us to light the beacon, then your work is done," he said in a calm voice.

Agatio shook his head. "Isaac proved to be a greater foe than we imagined. It would be foolish to let him live," he appealed.

"Consider how powerful they were even without the aid of a Mercury or Mars adept," Karst implored, trying to get Felix to see reason.

Jenna finally spoke up with a shake of her head. "It doesn't matter. If you want to kill them, you're going to have to face us first!" she exclaimed.

Agatio and Karst gave each other a quick glance in the moment of silence, but didn't reply.

"You're both quite injured," Felix pointed out. "I highly doubt you could take on all four of us right now," he added as a thinly veiled threat. "I think it would be best if you left now…"

"It seems we don't have much of a choice," Karst answered, gripping her scythe a bit more tightly as she looked back to where Isaac and Ivan lay.

"But Karst…your anger…your sister…" Agatio brought up, knowing how much his fellow Proxian was looking forward to getting her revenge.

Karst just shook her head however. "If we try to fight them right now too, we'll definitely be defeated," she said. "I am filled with rage, but I refuse to be blinded by it. I am not suicidal," she answered.

"So that means we give up?" Agatio asked rhetorically. "Fine. But this is not the end," the Mars adept warned Felix.

"Do with Isaac what you will," Karst said.

Felix's party all looked at each other and smiled, glad to see it wasn't going to end in yet more conflict.

"Swear to us this though," Agatio spoke up. "If we leave now, you will light the beacon, yes?"

"Of course," Felix answered with a nod. "That's what we came here to do after all," he answered.

Agatio shook his head in defeat. "Very well. I don't care if you want to help your friends, but the beacon comes first," he stated.

Jenna was mad at that reply, but held it in now that they avoided a potential fight. "Go brother," she said. "I'll tend to them."

Felix nodded his agreement and Agatio and Karst finally took some steps away from the two adepts lying on the floor.

"Good. Light the beacon…and bring the Mars Star Isaac carries along with you when you do," Karst stated, approaching where Felix was standing.

The Venus adept looked surprised at the request and took a moment to respond.

"It's not like this was only about revenge…" Agatio shrugged when Felix hesitated.

"Do it. Or we will be forced to make you," Karst warned.

Felix was torn. He needed the Mars Star to light the Mars Lighthouse, but this was not the way he wanted to get it. Fortunately he was saved from having to make the choice.

"Felix…take it," Isaac spoke up weakly, surprising everyone as he struggled to open his eyes and look in his fellow Venus adept's direction. "I…don't understand…but…I still trust you…" he struggled to say.

"Isaac…" Jenna muttered softly under her breath, unable to conceal the joyous smile on her face at the blonde boy's declaration of trust despite the situation everyone was currently in.

"Very well…" Felix said, walking over to retrieve the Mars Star from Isaac and take the chance to cast a very brief healing spell on him as he did so to help stabilize his fellow Venus adept's condition.

"We'll be awaiting you at the top then," Karst said, seeing that Felix did indeed do as he was told. Agatio and Karst made their way past Felix's party and back into the lighthouse to make their way up to the summit.

Everyone watched them go for a brief moment before springing into action. As soon as the Proxians were gone, Jenna rushed over to Isaac's side and began working to heal both him and Ivan.

"Isaac, you're going to be all right," the Mars adept assured him as she helped him sit up again.

"Ah…thanks Jenna…" he said with a groan, as he did so. "Garet and Mia are still…" Isaac pointed out, trying to peer over the edge to see what situation his friends down below were now in.

"I'll handle that," the Mercury adept of Felix's group said, pulling some rope out of his pack and handing it to Sheba nearby. "You'll need to help us back up," he explained to the blonde girl before walking to the edge and looking down.

Before doing anything further he looked back towards Felix who was about to leave to light the Lighthouse. "Hold up Felix," the man said. "Let me get them to safety and then I'm coming with you. I don't trust them," he added. "It'll be quick. Karst and Agatio don't need to know."

"Good point," Sheba said as Felix nodded his agreement. "It would be safer if the two of you went. I'll help Jenna out with treating injuries. I have some medication and items that should help that we picked up earlier," she explained.

With that settled, the Mercury adept looked back down to where Mia was still doing her best to keep Garet from falling.

"Hey! Mia right…?" he questioned, getting the cerulean haired girl's attention. "I'm Piers. The introduction will have to wait, but can you make some more room for me to get down there? I'm going to help you get him up," Piers explained, indicating Garet.

Mia shifted as far to the side as she could, giving the newcomer just enough space to safely jump down to where she and Garet had been stuck the entire time.

"His arm's probably broken," Mia explained the situation so Piers would know why Garet wasn't utilizing his other hand.

"Got it," Piers said, reaching down to grab Garet's good hand and finally give Mia some relief. She shook her hand out quickly to relieve the constant tension that had been on it for the past several minutes, but knew Garet was probably in much worse condition and went straight back to helping.

"Okay ready?" Piers asked Mia as they got prepared to pull.

"Let's do it," she replied before Piers counted down.

"3…2…1…Pull!" he called out as they both strained as much as they could to bring Garet onto the cramped platform with them. Garet let out a grunt as he too used all the strength he had left to assist with the effort, anchoring himself to the platform with his one good arm.

Mia gave a sigh of relief as Garet was finally brought to safety and sat with his back to the lighthouse wall, both arms slumped at his side to rest. "Thanks…" was all he could manage to get out to both of them before closing his eyes and leaning his head back to relax for a moment.

Piers nodded at Garet and Mia. "Well I'm off to accompany Felix then," he stated. "Sheba and Jenna should be able to help you back up with the rope once you've had a chance to recover a bit," he said.

"Thank you," Mia acknowledged as well before he left.

"Sheba!" the male Mercury adept called out. "Can you help me back up?" he asked, grabbing onto the rope himself.

Felix walked over to assist since Jenna was busy healing Ivan's foot, and the pair managed to bring Piers back up to the top level. "All right, let's go," Felix told the cerulean haired man, who nodded in agreement. "You guys can handle the rest here right?" he asked Jenna and Sheba.

"Don't worry about us," Jenna answered with a smile. "We've got this."

Isaac gave Felix a nod that he returned, and without another word Felix and Piers turned back to make their way to the summit.

Knowing Piers probably wouldn't have left Garet and Mia in a dangerous situation didn't stop Isaac from wanting to see his friends safe for himself, so he peered over the edge to where Garet and Mia were resting. "You guys good down there?" he asked.

"Just tired from holding on for so long," Mia answered for both of them. Garet acknowledged the question by lifting his good hand, but didn't have anything further to add and didn't open his eyes. "How are your injuries?" Mia called back since she was unable to get a good picture of what happened above while holding onto Garet's arm the entire time.

"I'll live," Isaac answered. "Probably a broken rib or two, but Jenna's helping out with healing the rest," he explained. "Ivan's foot looked pretty bad though. I think it'll be a bit before he's in fighting shape again," the Venus adept assessed.

"All right," Mia nodded. "I'll come help out once Garet's good enough to climb back up with everyone's assistance," she said.

Isaac nodded and went back to what he was doing up above: Using a bit of the psynergy he had left to take care of some of his own smaller injuries.

Jenna shook her head. "You weren't lying about Ivan's foot," she said. "I've done what I can for now but you got pretty mangled," the redhead said to the Jupiter adept.

Ivan shrugged. "Well, we survived so that's one thing we have going for us," he commented. "Thanks for healing it though. I feel a lot better already," he added with a smile.

"No worries," Jenna replied before Sheba came over and knelt down with some medicines in hand.

"I'll take over here," Sheba told Jenna. "Let me see if we can do anything more with these," she said. "You get back to helping Isaac out," the blonde girl added.

Jenna nodded and turned her attention back to Isaac. With everything happening between the fighting, injuries, and rescue mission to save Garet, Jenna's mind was in pure work mode. She hadn't given any real thought up until now about what she called out to Isaac the last time she had seen him at the Venus Lighthouse, but with things starting to calm down a bit, she found herself remembering her words from that time and getting a bit flustered.

Jenna was finally reunited with the blonde boy she confessed her love for. Did he remember? She didn't know, but it made Jenna self conscious even as she did her best to focus on the task at hand.

If Isaac noticed the change in her demeanor, he didn't mention it. For him there was too much else going on. He simply allowed Jenna to help heal him in silence until everyone was interrupted by a bright violet light from above and the gentle shaking of the lighthouse. It was an unmistakable sign.

"Ah…" Isaac said softly. "Another beacon lit…"

Jenna stopped healing for a moment and stared at the sad smile present on Isaac's face as the blonde boy looked up towards the heavens. Her embarrassment dissipated rapidly at this sight and she felt like she should say something, though didn't know the right words.

"Felix is…" Jenna tried to say before stopping. "Isaac, we aren't your enemy," Jenna settled on matching Isaac's melancholy smile with one of her own.

"I know," Isaac answered, allowing himself to look at the redhead. "At the very least, I never considered you an enemy," he told her.

Jenna felt genuine happiness at those words, but left it at that for now as another voice called up to them.

"If you guys are all right up there I think it's time I stopped lazing about," Garet's voice rang out from below.

"Garet!" Jenna called down to the redhead, not having had a chance to see him yet.

"Hey Jenna," he replied, raising his good hand in greeting.

"Hold on. We'll get you up," Jenna said, looking over to see Sheba putting away some of the medications she administered to Ivan's foot. "Hey Sheba, can you help out here too?" Jenna asked the blonde girl.

"One sec," she replied, putting away the last few medications before coming over to help Jenna pull the Mars adept up.

"I can-" Isaac started to say before Jenna pushed him swiftly back into a sitting position.

"Vetoed," she said quickly, having expected Isaac's reaction. "You need to rest. Let us handle this," Jenna smiled.

"You know me too well," Isaac shook his head but let her have her way.

"Ready Garet?" Jenna called down.

"Yeah, but I broke my arm so you're going to be doing a lot of pulling," Garet explained.

"I'll try to help push him up too," Mia called out, lending her aid to the team effort.

"All right, let's do this then," Jenna said before pulling on the rope to help Garet back up to where everyone else was.

He awkwardly climbed onto the main platform with one arm, trying to be careful not to further agitate the broken one. Once he was up, he turned back and said, "Let's get Mia up too."

Mia was a lot easier, being lighter and with two working hands, so it was no trouble getting her to safety. Isaac was relieved when the two that were trapped down on the lower ledge could finally be with the rest of them.

For Mia it was the first time seeing Isaac and Ivan's injuries, and healed though they were, she could tell they were not minor. Broken ribs on one boy, a broken arm on a second, and a busted foot on the third. Her psynergy would help, but they were all injuries that would all take time to heal fully.

"Thanks," Mia said, with a genuine smile for Jenna and Sheba. It was the first time that either Jenna or Mia had seen each other up close, and the two found their gazes lingering on each other slightly longer than normal as a result. For Mia, she found herself more closely inspecting the childhood friend that confessed her love to Isaac, and Jenna found herself curious about the woman that had been traveling around with Isaac for a year.

Sheba interrupted their little moment though. "Aren't they taking a bit long?" she asked, referring to Felix and Piers.

Jenna welcomed the distraction since her thoughts were beginning to return to Isaac and what relationship he might have with Mia after all that traveling together. "I'll go check!" Jenna said, jumping up quickly and making her escape before anyone could stop her.

Sheba shrugged. "Well she's in a rush to check on her darling brother I guess," she joked, as an apology to everyone else there.

Garet laughed, appreciating the humor despite the situation. "That's just like her," he agreed.

"Sorry about that," Sheba said a bit more seriously. "I should probably follow her in case something did happen, but I don't want you guys to feel like we're running away or anything," she added.

It wasn't that the thought hadn't crossed anyone's mind, but nobody in Isaac's party wanted to voice their doubts, and so they stayed quiet and let Sheba continue.

"We actually did want to meet up with you all sooner or later," Sheba explained, trying to help Isaac and his friends be more comfortable with what she was saying. "It was Jenna that convinced Felix to relent and stop running away," she said with a smile. "I guess that's just the connection she has with the two of you," Sheba added, nodding toward Garet and Isaac.

Sheba looked up to where Felix and Piers were probably at and then back to the assortment of injured adepts. "If you still need a minute to recover, that's fine. We aren't going anywhere," she said. "Come join us at the summit with everyone else and I promise Felix will explain everything," the Jupiter adept said with a kind smile.

Everyone took a moment to share a glance and judge the Jupiter adept's sincerity before Isaac spoke up. "Sounds good Sheba," Isaac answered. "We don't want any of you to get hurt, so go help them in case something did happen. We'll follow along shortly," he told her with a smile of his own.

Sheba nodded. "Thanks for understanding," she answered. "I'll see you again shortly then," the blonde girl added, before turning to follow Jenna to where Felix and Piers were waiting.

"They…seem sincere?" Mia asked hesitantly after Sheba disappeared into the lighthouse.

"I think they are," Garet voiced, backing up what Isaac said after Sheba spoke to them.

"They didn't have to help us, but they did anyway," Ivan pointed out. "If that doesn't prove it, I'm not sure what would," he added.

That got everyone nodding in agreement. "Well…let's find out what's going on then I guess," Isaac said, getting to his feet. "We shouldn't keep them waiting too long…just in case," he added even though he didn't believe Felix would flee again.

"Can you walk?" Garet asked Ivan, helping the younger boy up and using himself as a makeshift crutch to help him out.

"About as well as you can climb right now," Ivan quipped back.

"You must be fine if you can joke like that," Garet replied with a grin. "I see they didn't knock your sense of humor out of you at least."

Isaac's injuries were still painful, but there was no easy way to help him, so Mia found herself not rendering any assistance even though she stuck close by just in case. Ivan was able to walk better than expected thanks to healing received from Jenna and the medication Sheba had provided. The wound looked worse than it actually was, though it did still limit the Jupiter adept's mobility quite a bit.

The group of four hobbled back through the lighthouse and up towards where Felix and his friends were waiting by the ignited Jupiter beacon. As Felix's group noticed them coming, they turned toward Isaac's party and waited for them to get there.

The glowing beacon of pure Jupiter psynergy swirled slowly in the background as four adepts walked up the steps to the top of the lighthouse in order to truly meet up with the people they had been chasing after for so long.

Despite the cordial interactions earlier, there was a tension in the air that made everything feel more serious and official as Isaac stepped forward.

"Felix…Jenna..." he stated to get their attention.

Felix nodded at him but didn't reply, waiting to see what he would say next.

It was Garet that spoke though. The Mars adept looked around for Agatio and Karst but didn't see them anywhere. "I guess they got away," Garet commented, starting the conversation off on a different topic than the main question at hand..

"And after attacking us too," Sheba confirmed. "As expected…" she commented.

"I knew something was going on after Sheba noticed it was taking too long," Jenna said in a frustrated tone, shaking her head in disappointment.

"We beat them…but unfortunately Alex showed up and helped them escape," Piers explained for the sake of Isaac's party what had happened in their absence.

"Alex was here?" Mia spoke up, surprised to learn of his presence.

"It seems like Alex is always showing up randomly," Jenna said. "I seriously have no idea what he's even trying to do half the time," she commented.

"Hmm…" Mia considered, not sure what to make of that news.

"Alex aside…" Isaac spoke up again. "Felix, we want to know what's going on here," he said directly.

Felix shook his head. "It was…complicated," he replied. "There were a number of extenuating circumstances that led to all of this," Felix continued.

"What circumstances?" Garet asked impatiently, pressing the Venus adept for answers.

"I was trying not to get any of you involved in any of this," Felix said, shaking his head. "But it's past the point now where keeping you in the dark does any good," he added.

Garet nodded, indicating his willingness to hear his old friend out, but another distraction came before Felix could continue.

"...Ivan?" Isaac interrupted suddenly, seeing that Ivan's attention was distinctly in the other direction, away from the conversation.

The Jupiter adept didn't respond for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he looked out across the expanse below and the road leading back to Contigo. Everyone else's attention was placed on the blonde boy, who didn't seem to notice until Isaac tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," Ivan apologized to everyone, seeing all the gazes pointed in his direction.

"What is it?" Isaac asked, prioritizing whatever it was that was going on with his friend.

"I'm…not sure," Ivan's answer came as a bit of a surprise to everyone and they waited for him to elaborate.

"I can feel…something…" Ivan tried to explain. "...And whatever it is, it's not good," he added.

"A vision?" Mia inquired.

"No, not exactly," Ivan stated. "It's not something I can see. It's more like an omen…a sense of dread in my chest emanating from where Contigo stands," the Jupiter adept said. "I…I feel like I need to return there…And soon…"

Sheba's expression looked worried as she understood the best out of anyone else there what it was like to live with visions and the powers of foresight. "If it's one of those feelings…" she spoke up. "...It probably shouldn't be ignored," the blonde girl advised.

Isaac took a moment to glance back at the fully formed lighthouse beacon. "I wonder…" he muttered, glancing over to see Mia was looking in his direction, likely following the same train of thought. Outside of some minor rumbling, there had been no immediate cataclysm to strike after the lighting of the Jupiter Lighthouse, unlike last time. The worry in Mia's face substantiated Isaac's fears.

"I agree with Sheba," Isaac said, looking at Ivan and wondering just what it was that was going on with his younger friend. "After what happened when the Venus Lighthouse was lit, we can't be too careful," he explained, causing more than one face to go pale at the thought of a similar catastrophic event unfolding.

"Ah…in that case, might it be better to head back to town then?" Jenna asked, remembering the tidal wave that had swept her out to sea a couple of months earlier. "We can always discuss everything else further either there or on the way back," she suggested.

Ivan wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "That…might be a good plan," he agreed, the worry in his face plain to see. "I have a very bad feeling about this," he added.

"It's settled then," Garet spoke up. "I don't know what the deal is, but I trust Ivan. If he says we need to be worried, then I think we need to be worried. We don't have time to waste here," he interjected in an attempt to spur everyone into action.

Isaac turned back to Felix once more. "You're not going to try to run off on us again right?" he asked directly.

Felix shook his head. "No. I owe you a full explanation for all of this. I'm not going anywhere," the Venus adept answered.

"Trust me," Jenna interjected. "If he tries, I'll roast him before he can so much as suggest leaving without you," she promised.

Felix raised an eyebrow at his sister but didn't comment. Everyone else felt smiles gracing their faces at the natural sibling interaction. Ivan was still on edge, but the tension generated by his statements eased a bit as a result of Jenna's efforts.

"Very well," Isaac laughed. "I'll hold you to that," he told the redheaded girl.

Jenna just gave him a mischievous grin in response as both groups prepared to descend from the Jupiter Lighthouse.


A/N: So yeah, I just wrote this Chapter in 2 days to keep progressing the story towards the home stretch. There's still quite a bit left to go through, but with the 3rd Lighthouse lit it does feel like we're entering into the final arc of the story soon. I'm looking forward to my upcoming plans for this story and am doing my best to stay motivated to write on!

Thanks again to everyone for reading =)