Author's Note
Li: SPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREAK! (does a spring break victory dance) Sorry this chap is so late, readers. I've been lounging around doing nothing.
Voice of Reason: When you should have been studying for the history test you have the day you get back.
Li: Be quiet! Fanfiction before school, period.
Roy: History is boring.
Li: Yes. Yes, indeed. Counting down to Advent Children is much more fun. 10 days left! Anyway, this chapter sheds a bit more light on what Alex has done to Alerai and Aria. Enjoy!
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Chapter Eight: Prox
"Gah! Blech, this is awful!" Vincent wailed as yet another wave washed over the side of the ship, drenching him. "I hate the ocean!" Being almost half-wolf, Vincent hated to be wet for longer than about ten seconds.
"Don't say that on my ship." Piers threatened good-naturedly.
"But the water is cold!"
"We're in the north sea. Of course it's cold! You're the one who volunteered to help with the tiller!" It had been a total of three days since they started out. Lehran was below deck, resting to recover her Psynergy, so Piers and Vincent were keeping the ship on a careful course around icebergs. "We're almost there, Vincent. Get a grip."
The lycanthrope growled in the back of his throat, adjusting the wheel ever so slightly to dodge another iceberg. Piers was up on a higher platform, calling down directions, since he knew the most about these seas out of the nine of them. From the tower, they heard Saturan cry, "Is that Prox?" The Venus-Mars Adept pointed to a tiny cluster of houses in the snowy landscape. Piers called back a yes, as Vincent steered the boat into the mouth of the river.
When they landed in the tiny harbor, Piers could see the confusion in the eyes of the people of Prox. He wasn't surprised. The last time they had seen a Lemurian ship was when Felix had come back, eighteen years ago. Before that, there had been only one ship in all of Prox, Lemurian of course, and Saturos and Menardi had taken it with them.
He went down the gangplank first, with the others following close behind. He went up to the harbormaster and said, "Don't you remember me?"
He stared a moment, then said, "No... It couldn't be... Piers?"
"Yes, Farian." Piers said with a grin. "I'm glad to see that you remember the 'untrustworthy blue-haired thief'."
"Aww, Piers... You still haven't forgotten?" Farian groaned.
"Nope. You called me Alex and demanded to know why I had stolen Saturos and Menardi's ship. I'm not soon to forget that." Piers laughed.
"How was I to know, you blue-haired imp?"
"Imp! That's almost worse than thief!" Piers cried in mock horror and indignation. "In the eighteen years since we left Prox, I have never found anyone as insulting as you!"
"Eighteen years..." Farian mused. "That brings us to our next question. Eighteen years go by, and you still look fifteen?"
"Lemurian." Piers reminded him. "Longevity. But I've decided not to be immortal anymore."
"Why?" Farian asked.
Piers slipped an arm around Lehran's waist and hugged her close. "Oh, I don't know..." he drawled, smiling like the imp Farian had named him. Farian grinned knowingly, before inquiring about the others.
"So, Piers... Who are your friends?" He looked at each in turn. Pausing at Saturan, he said, "And why does he look Proxian?"
"Ahh. See, eighteen years has really gone by, for everyone else if not for me. These are the children of the Saviors of Weyard." Piers said. "This is Tori, Isaac and Mia's son. Lief and Lehran, Ivan and Sheba's twins. Jasmine, Jenna and Garet's daughter. Alerai and Aria... And Saturan. He's Felix and Mariella's son."
"Felix and Mariella's son..." Farian said to himself. "Nice to meet you all. You're named after Saturos, I presume."
"Yes." Saturan said proudly. His mother's words echoed in his mind, Never be ashamed that you are half Proxian.
"Interesting. Piers, will you all be staying for a while?" Farian asked.
"Probably a few days. Right, Tori?" Tori nodded. He looked around at the frozen streets, at the snow piled high on rooftops, and smiled. Prox seemed like a nice, cozy town.
After settling in at the inn, Saturan wanted to go exploring.
"Go on." Tori told him. "It is where half of you is from. Just be back for dinner, I guess."
Saturan wandered out into the icy streets of Prox. He looked around for a while, passing the mayor's house, the Sanctum, and many other homes. Finally, he turned a corner and found himself in a small graveyard.
Suddenly inspired, he walked over and began checking the tombstones. When he found what he was looking for, he knelt and read the inscription.
"Saturos. A beacon of hope in our troubled times." he whispered aloud. He looked at the others next to it. Menardi, Karst, and Agatio. He wondered suddenly how Menardi and Karst's parents must have felt, losing both their daughters to the quest for Alchemy.
"He was a great person, wasn't he?"
Saturan turned and saw his cousin Jasmine standing behind him. She came over and read the stone for herself.
"Makes you wonder what kind of terrible world we live in that four such good people could die, when all they were trying to do was help the world." she said quietly. "And why no one even really honors them, besides the people of Prox and those in Goldenia. They, especially Menardi and Saturos, were the ones who actually did something. Vale's elders turned them away? They came back and took the Elemental Stars themselves, because they knew it was right."
"It was the Wise One that killed them. All four of them. He sent Isaac and Uncle Garet and Ivan and Mia after Saturos and Menardi, even though he knew the world was dying! Then, he changed Karst and Agatio into Flame Dragons, and they were murdered, because our parents didn't realize it was them. He killed them, and here we are trying to help him stop Alex! If Alex didn't pose an imminent threat to the world and Tori's sister, I'd still be at home."
"But then we wouldn't have met Piers, or seen Lemuria, Prox, or Garoh." Jasmine pointed out. Saturan sighed.
"I know. I just... wish I could have known them like my dad did."
Inside the Mars Lighthouse, Alex sat and watched his captive sleeping peacefully. The girl had been no trouble. He had gotten her to think early on that he would never hurt her. Oddly enough, she trusted him somewhat. She was still wary of him, because of the stories her parents had told her of his betrayal, but she wasn't terrified of him.
Alexei turned over, mumbling something in her sleep. Alex stood up, leaving the room to go look through the rest of the lighthouse.
He went to the aerie, and looked out over the frozen landscape. He could see the town and harbor easily. There was the unmistakable silhouette of a Lemurian ship in the bay. Alex laughed softly. They were here.
"Alex?" a small voice asked. He turned and saw Alexei standing behind him. The little girl must have followed him up. She came over and looked as well. "What's that big boat?"
"Your brother and his friends are here." Alex told her. He did still feel a shred of compassion for the girl, Mia's daughter. "They should be here in a day or two."
"Really?" Alexei was smart enough not to say anything else. She knew that Alex wanted her brother's power for something bad. She was being perfectly good, so that maybe he'd let her go home.
"Yes. Come, let's go wait for them."
"It's too darn cold." Lief groaned. He was wearing about six jackets, and it wasn't helping. Looking at Saturan and Jasmine, he said, "You two are lucky to have Mars powers."
"Yes, well. We're almost to the lighthouse, Lief, don't worry." his twin soothed. She smiled at him, before looking ahead. "See? It's just up this hill."
Aria was incredibly nervous. Most of her life had been spend avoiding Alex, and now they were walking right into his lair. Tori sensed her tension and hugged her.
"It'll be okay. I won't let him hurt you." he promised. Aria smiled at him, dazzling him yet again with her amazing smile. He grinned mischievously, scooping up some snow and tossing the ball lightly at the back of Piers' head. The Lemurian whirled, but the whole group was looking back at him innocently. Piers shook his head and turned back to the lighthouse.
Alerai was thinking the same type of thoughts as his sister, although more along the lines of how many different painful ways he could mutilate Alex. He had briefly considered chopping his head off, but that would be too quick. He wanted Alex to suffer like he and his sister had.
"I suggest ripping out his fingernails. Preferably with rusty tongs or something." Lief suggested. In answer to Alerai's baffled glance, he said, "I read your mind, just a glance. I wanted to see what kinds of thoughts were putting that lovely expression on your face."
Alerai laughed. "Yes. That might work. Then I'm going to systematically break every bone in his body, starting with his fingers. Then..."
"Okay, now you're getting gruesome." Lief said, holding up his hands in surrender. "That's a bit graphic for me."
"Sorry. Alex tormented us for six years. It's hard, imagining defeating him, because everything we could do to him would only make up for a fraction of what he did to us." Alerai told Lief. "He nearly drowned Aria once. He locked her in a tank and told me that he would kill her unless I told him if Isaac still had the Golden Sun. He didn't want to go blazing into Goldenia unprepared, because all of the Saviors would be there to fight him. He started filling the tank, and I refused to talk, because I didn't believe that he would actually kill her. But the water kept getting higher, and soon there was no air left..." Alerai trailed off, lost in the memory. "Read my mind. It's easier to show than to tell." Lief was surprise, but called on his Psynergy. He could see the memory through Alerai's eyes.
"Tell me, boy. Does he still have the Golden Sun?" Alex said harshly. "Unless you want your sister to die, Alerai."
"No! I'm not telling you." Alerai said defiantly. Then he looked at the tank, and his resolve started to crumble. There was no air left, and Aria had both arms wrapped around herself, trying to hold her breath longer. Her frightened eyes bored into his. "Alex!" Alerai wailed. "She's drowning!"
"Tell me, Alerai." Alex insisted. The blue-haired Imilian glanced at the tank. "I'd say she only has a little time left. I'd hurry, if I were you."
"No..." Alerai whispered. He threw himself on his knees in front of Alex. "I'm not sure! Please, let Aria go! Please, Alex?"
Alex sighed, releasing the water. He opened the tank, catching Aria as she tumbled out. She was breathing heavily, trying to restore oxygen to her fuzzy brain. She realized Alex was holding her and pulled away, stumbling to Alerai. He hugged her, murmuring, "It's okay..."
Lief came back to the real world. He got his bearings, before turning to Alerai and saying, "He really did that?"
"Yes. That was the first time he actually threatened to kill one of us. He was holding us prisoner again at that point, but we escaped. Then we went to talk to Laurel, and met you... He did find us though, just after we escaped. We could see in his eyes that he would honestly kill us, and we ended up giving in. That's how he knows that Tori has the Golden Sun." Alerai explained.
"Monster..." Lief whispered, before lapsing into his own thoughts. That cruel demon would meet his match soon enough, Lief was sure. If anyone had tried to do that to his twin, he would have... well, he didn't know what he would have done. Alerai had to be a very strong person to deal with abuse like that, both physical and emotional.
Alerai wondered what Lief was thinking. He had no idea how strong Lief thought he was. He thought Lief was probably marveling at how pathetic he was, just giving in to Alex like that. He had no idea what was going on in others' heads. If he did, he'd have been able to do something about this before it all started.
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Li: Isn't Alex such an evil bastard? He's so fun to write! Anywho, part 1 of Mars Lighthouse next chapter. The end is near! 2 more, an epilogue, and I'm done! Yay! See you next chapter!
