Author's Note

Li: Yippee! Wheeeeee! (flies around on near-sugar-high)

Roy: She beat Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. And it made her very happy.

Li: "Very happy"? Understatement of the century! I had all of Eliwood and Ninian's supports too, so Ninian got to stay and marry Eliwood! It was the perfect ending! And it confirms that you are half dragon!

Roy: Ummm... I thought you knew that. And people who don't play Fire Emblem have no idea what you're ranting about.

Li: Too bad for them! Anyway, time for a new disclaimer! I may not own Golden Sun, but I do own all the kids, Mariella, and some M&M's! Yay for chocolate!

Roy: Uhhh... (backs away)

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Chapter Three: Chance Meetings

The following morning, Saturan, Tori, Jasmine, Lief, and Lehran set off from Goldenia. It was a long road to the coast, where Felix kept the ancient Lemurian ship that Piers had given them before he left. The Wings of the Anemos were still attached, but none of the small group knew Hover, so they would just be decoration.

"I can't believe we get to go to Lemuria!" Tori said happily. "To think, they knew the way all along and never took us to visit!"

"If you want to go to the stars, If you want to go to the stars..." Lehran sang softly. She was the youngest of the group, since her twin brother was two minutes older.

"It might be hard driving the boat. None of us know a thing about boats." Saturan said. He glanced at the beach that they were fast approaching.

"It's Psynergy powered. It can't be that hard to steer." Lief said reasonably.

"Sure..."

Alerai and Aria were making their way along a long, dusty road.

"We're lost." Aria complained. "We'll die of thirst before we ever get near the town."

"No, we won't." Alerai was determined to get there and find a way to stop Alex. He had been hounding them for years, trying to get them to tell him what he wanted. They had finally given in, only because they were fearful for their lives. "Look, there's some people. We'll go ask them for directions." He led Aria over to the group. The men took in the pair's odd looks, glancing among themselves as if for answers.

"Who're ye?" one asked.

"My sister and I are lost. Is this the road to Goldenia?" Alerai asked.

"Mmmmm... Goldenia, hmmm? I think it's just over that ridge." He made some curious signs with his hands, then said, "But I'm afraid ye'll never reach there."

"Why not?" Alerai felt himself getting more and more nervous.

"Because ye and yer sister are comin' with us!" He signaled, and the pirates that had been sneaking around behind them pounced. Alerai and Aria found themselves fighting for their freedom in a cloud of scuffling pirates. The pirates obviously thought that they might be able to get some kind of ransom for them, not realizing that the siblings had no family.

"Look! Pirates!" Lief said.

"Pirates, here? What are they doing?" Tori asked. "If it's Sir Eoleo and his crew, we've nothing to worry about."

"It's not, Tori!" Jasmine cried. "They're attacking somebody!"

"Well, let's go help, then!" Saturan was already off and running down the hill. Jasmine muttered something about the rashness of boys and followed. Tori, Lief, and Lehran brought up the rear. When they reached the fight, Tori gasped. A boy with hair like gold was fighting furiously. Another kid, a girl with long, silvery hair, stood back to back with him, trying to hold off the oncoming pirates. They were about to be overrun.

Must not use Psynergy... Alerai was chanting to himself. He would not, not in front of these men who had attacked them so violently, nor in front of the strange kids who had just run up.

He saw one of those kids hold out a hand, saying something that sounded vaguely like, "Halt!" He wondered what yelling at them would do, until he saw three of the pirates drop frozen to the ground. Another kid cried out, "Whirlwind!" and swept the remaining pirates away.

Aria appeared in a swish of silver hair, whispering into his ear, "Adepts!" before being pulled out of the fight. Alerai felt himself being pulled away from the pirates as well.

The boy who had used Halt was busy using it on the rest of the disoriented pirates.

"Should wear off in a few hours." he said, sounding satisfied. Alerai noticed that his skin was faintly blue.

"Are you okay?" A boy with blonde hair peered at him curiously.

"Yes." Next he'll want to know who I am, why my hair is gold, who Aria is. They always do, and we never tell anyone. Alerai thought. He smiled hesitantly at the boy, then saw another one helping his sister to her feet. This boy had blonde hair paler than the first boy's, and violet eyes.

"I'm Tori." the first boy said. "That's Lief. He's Saturan." He pointed at the bluish boy. Then he continued, "That's Saturan's cousin Jasmine, and Lief's twin, Lehran."

"What's your name?" Jasmine said, trying to be friendly.

"I am Alerai. My sister is Aria. We are travelers." he said quietly, as if by speaking too loud he might call Alex to them.

"Alerai and Aria. One wouldn't think you're related. You look so different..." Lehran murmured. Alerai involuntarily flinched. Questions were coming. But Lehran noticed the tiny gesture and said, "But if you have things you don't want to share, that's fine."

Alerai sent her a look filled with such thankfulness, you would think she'd saved him from dying. Aria came to stand with her brother, and asked a question of her own. "Where are you from?"

"A town called Goldenia." Tori said. "It's north of here."

"I see..." Alerai said. "And your full name wouldn't happen to be Torian, would it?" If this was him, Isaac's son, the one with the Golden Sun's power, it would be dangerous to be around them.

"Yes... How did you know that?" Tori asked, baffled as to how they knew his name.

"Just a guess." Aria assured him. "We do that. If people introduce themselves with a nickname, we try to guess their full name."

"That's cool." Lief said. Aria smiled at him, before looking at Tori.

"Where are you going?" When Tori said Lemuria, she was surprised. It was dangerous to stay with them, but Lemuria was the one place Alerai couldn't warp them... "May we come with you?" she asked. "We have no family and nowhere else to go. Please?"

"We're... uhhh... on a dangerous journey." Tori found himself disoriented by her dazzling smile, shining like the moon and stars on a dark night.

"We don't mind." Alerai said quickly, seeing why his sister asked.

"I don't see why not." Saturan said.

"The more the merrier." Jasmine agreed.

"They can come." Lehran said firmly. They all agreed, and continued down the road to the beach.

Once there, Tori pulled out the Black Orb his father had given him. It raised the boat from under the waves of the bay. They all trooped on board, and Tori put the orb in the central chamber. Then there was a mad scramble to choose cabins. Lehran and Aria, as well as Lief and Alerai, shared cabins. Finally, they worked out how to move and steer the boat, and were off.

As they went to sleep the first night, Lehran watched Aria. The girl seemed nervous, and flinched at the sound of water slapping against the sides of the boat. After she was asleep, Lehran lay awake. She heard Aria moaning.

"No... Get away... Get away! No... no... Alex..." she whimpered in her sleep, her voice fading to a whisper at the end. Lehran sat up. Surely this girl couldn't know Alex! Not the same Alex that they themselves were searching for a way to stop. And if it was, it sounded like Alex had been torturing her. She wondered what secrets the girl had to hide.

Lief had been doing like his sister, watching Alerai. The boy paced, and reacted sharply to the sounds of splashing water.

"What's wrong?" Lief asked. Alerai shook his head violently, his golden hair swinging back and forth over his eyes.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

Lief thought a moment. "Did you have a bad experience with the ocean, or boats?"

Alerai wanted to laugh. This wind Adept thought he was scared of the ocean! Or boats! It was nearly comical, the innocence of the question, and yet...

"No. Water just... bothers me, sometimes." Like he would ever tell anyone why. There was no need for anyone else to share his pain, or his sister's. They could deal on their own.

Lief nodded, knowing that the boy was not telling the whole truth. But he knew better than to pry into his mind. Instead, he just rolled over in his own bed and went to sleep.

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Li: All right! Third chapter done and quotation mark problem fixed. All is well.

Roy: Sure is. They go to Lemuria next chapter, right?

Li: Yep. Lemuria is one of my three favorite places in the whole game. Lemuria is pretty, Contigo has Super Lucky Hi-Lo Dice, and Prox is full of nice people who all like Felix, which makes it a nice place to visit. But yeah, Lemuria next chapter. See you then! Don't forget to review, or I'll get Roy to hurt you with his sword...