Fights are not what they first appear to be when people prepare themselves for the fight. People, contrary to popular belief, did not automaticly go off and do decisive moves against each other within the first few seconds. No, actually, real people assesed thier advantages and disadvantages. Like pros.
Isaac was in front of them both, and Sean knew exactly what was going on here with the postions. Ornamos stood there, ready to go on off and make sure that the first attack would be one that wouldn't show thier full strength. After all, they have been studying that mystical power for over twenty-five years now. So what if Isaac had it for nearly double the time. Every single day they have trained day after day after day for a possible challenge.
Sean could remember the day that he and his partner lost to the Kracken. It was... shameful, but taught him a lesson that death would most certaintly not teach them. And that was that power could be controled. Ever since the mysterious rumblings that came from the far northern regions of Angara (of which ended up being the large mountain falling down), Ornamos and he have traveled the land to discover about Psynergy.
What an amazing thing. They both remembered that the Kracken defeated them both, so they both vowed - as best friends - to train until they became even more unstopable than those "eight heros" from Weyard. He wondered if the lad, Isaac, knew who they were. He seemed to be well traveled.
It was at that time that Ornamos began the first strike. Another thing about the common misconception of buff people is that people seem to believe those with brans have no brains. Sean knew he was increasingly smart, and even Ornamos has graduated from the Kaylay Acadamy - top of the class, of course. Sean was a class year younger... Becuase Ornamos was just as smart as he was strong, it seemed that he had a strategy. Good. They were going to need it to defeat the orange-haired child in front of them. At least, he hopes the lad can fight that well enough to actually tire them out...

Chapter Three:
Something Not Quite Right...
Year:
57 (and a half)

Sean rared staight up into action, following the course of his best friend. It was going to be a difficult fight, after all, for Sean had long since learned and mastered Diomand Berg; Ornamos long since leared how to cast Liquifier. Best not to start off that way though... It was required that they test each other's strength by starting low, then raising higher. After all, this was to be his second fight against - what he hoped - against a fully trained Adept. Not just any Adept, but a Valean Adept, the strongest type of Adepts around. He was not cocky, so he knew he had to make sure that he was going to stay ahead of the little orange-haired aquaintace.
Mercury powers were sometimes really close to Mars power, closer than Venus's "closeness" to Mars. Though at first seemingly different - and oppossing - elements, one must use thier heads for the knowledge of what was going on with the movements of the two elements. Fire flowed in ways that was water, but only slower, hence water was fire flowing faster and colder. Both fire and water could become into a solid: ice and solidified sheets of magma. If one understood water, one could understand fire. Hence the main reason as to why he and Ornamos made an unstopable team.
Ornamos casted a simple Eruption. Nothing too strong, but nothing weak enough to be considered an insult. As a fighter, Sean knew how it was with people and egos, as well as pride. Last thing anyone needed was an insulted sparring partner, for sometimes real fights to the death were caused by such madness. The magma, like all forms of Psynergy, seemed to come flying straight up from the ground from an invisible vent. It exploded in a fury of dazzling colors, enough to make any random passerby stand and gape in awe. Those red lights pierced the ground, and then...
Like Sean thought, the small little Valean - little Isaac by around ten years - standed that attack. It seemed like if that attack was a mere little blow. Sure, the evidence of the attack was easily noticed by the little smallest of scraps upon the face of the boy, but they were so tiny, they seemed like little specks of dirt than anything else. Sean readied himself for his own attack, making sure it was around the same level of strength of his partner's. Focusing Mercury powers into its solid form, he raised his hand and casted Hail Prism.
Like what the name stated, lots of hail fell down and hit their target straight where it needed to. Once again, the lad, Isaac, proved to be able to cope with those attempts.
Slowly, Ornamos began to push towards the stronger and stronger attacks that were making more and more damage. Surprisingly, the lad stayed upright. As in the Colosso tournament, Isaac casted moves like Mother Gaia and Ragnorak. In the inside, Sean had to smile. Sure, this was just a practice fight, but it still had the feeling of massive gain to know that you were winning.
Right about when Isaac was about to cast Potent Cure on himself, Ornamos came in for the kill. Actually, since this was a practice fight, it was actually a move ment to send the teen to the ground - the sign of defeat. The timing was excellent, and down went the lad. Sean was celebrating in the inside, in his cool manner, but Ornamos was singing his own praises to himself.
"Man, you left yourself totally open!" yelled the estastic red-head, obviously glad that they won. "But whew, you tired me out!"
Sean stood still, then dusted off the little pieces of dust that the lad's Mother Gaia caused upon his clothing. He stood there and pondered like he always did. It was true. Despite their combined powers over Psynergy, the boy tired - tired - him out to the bone as well. And this was a two against one odds! Sean frowned when he thought he was suppossed to be smiling. The whole thing seemed like a lost rather than a win. In fact, Isaac was still sitting down, laughing at Ornamos's behavior rather childlikely, already healed by his own Venus powers.
Why did it seem like the boy was only playing with them both?

---

"You totttttally lost that one on purpose Isaac! Why would you do such a horrid deed!"
"Watch out world," muttered Flower as Isaac's feet made noises upon the road towards Kaylay. "Flint has discovered the word 'horrid' and is using it rather well if he was doing a sonnet."
"You know," muttered Geoude, who was snuggled nice and warm inside Isaac's yellow scarf with his buddies, "for Flint's girlfriend, you are pretty mean..."
That in turn recieved a slug from Flower. Isaac sighed as he felt all the commotion inside his bundle of cloth that surronded his neck. He felt like this conversation was going to pick up with Flint as SOON as the two people who "defeated" him were far out of sight. Well, I guess I might as well say it now. If I don't, Flint might just try to plop a squid in my clothes, again, just so I can tell him. Ew... Man, was that squid one nasty, slimy bugger.
"Actually," said Flower now, having one of her little feet ontop of Geoude's round and plump face, "I was wondering the same thing." Plop. Oh Goddess, she was trying to sink Geoude's head into his chest-like area... "Anyone could tell that you weren't using your full skill. I have seen more stunning moves from Grand Golems, and they are pretty patethic monsters to you now!"
"YAH!" butted in Flint. Ah yes, Flint... "I mean, come ON! Mother Gaia? Mother? That is - like what? - totally, TOTALLY the crappiest move someone at YOUR skill should have you done! Me, I would have been all 'Grand Gaia'! PWASSSHH! POW! BAMMM! And then 'ODDESSY!' Shing, Shing, Shing. KAPA, KA-WHAMM! THEN THE SOL BALDE OF DOOM! SHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! POW! FWASHAAAAAAAAAAAAA! FWASHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! KABLOIE!" By now, Isaac and the rest of the very sensible and sane Djinnis were just sighing and looking down at Flint, who was now doing some really wierd squirming poses on the ground. "AHHH! SAVE ME! I'M-M BURNING ALIVE! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Squirm squirm.
"Hey, Flint!" yelled Flower. "Stop making mating calls to the ground and get up here! We are almost to Kaylay. MAYBE, we might get there by morning if you sit on Isaac, FOR ONCE."
Isaac hung his head in defeat. Sometimes, when you want to be rational to a Djinni you realize that they are practicly a bunch of little idiots that would never listen to reason, despite how much you try. But at least they were his little friendly idiots.
"Altight! Time for 'Interigation Isaac!'" yelled Flint, sticking his hand out as if he had some sort of Psynergic light to shine straight in the poor Isaac's eyes. "Come ON Isaac! You gotta say as to why you didn't fight to your full potential!"
"Is it because you did not wish to hurt our feelings, Isaac?"
"WHA!" yelled all three Djinnis at once. Isaac turned around fast, already having his Tisiphone Edge (for the Sol Blade was to strong for anything short of a boss) out of it sheath and ready for a possible attack, the thought of casting Oddessy already at the tip of his mind. However, he noticed the person behind him was not an enemy or a boss, but Sean from earlier in the day. Crap...

---

"Just as I thought..." muttered the blue-haired person, reliving the sheer quickness of the lad's sudden drawing of the sword to his throat before Sean had any time to prepare. "You were holding back."
"What are you doing here?" asked the child, with a little hint of caution in his voice.
Sean stood up, facing the shorter one, but not having a bad stare at all. In fact, all he really was was curious about the fact as to why Isaac held back what seemed to be enough power in Psynergy to have defeated them. He had hypothesised about something, but did not want to tell his friend, lest it hurt the good feelings that Ornamos was thinking. Isaac must have done that to make sure that they stayed in that good mood they met him with while walking down the road. He lost on purpose.
"I am only here to ask as to why you lost on purpose. If you truely wanted to spare me an insulted feeling and hurt to my pride, you should have defeated us instead of losing. That made it seemed like we lost despite what was then obvious. But it isn't, really?"
"Ah... Well... See..." stuttered the boy.
"Well...?"
Sean saw the lad, Isaac, ponder a little bit. It was silent for a while, then the boy raised his head to talk in an apologetic tone. "See, my Psynergy... I was a little afraid that I would accidentaly injure both of you really bad if I used my best Psynergy. You see, my Venus powers are... meant for killing and destruction. Only four are for healing. I... I just didn't want anyone to get really hurt, so I lost so you two would go along your way..."
Sean shook his head in a dissapointed manner. "Psynergy is a warriors' power, as you should know by now. Of course the spells are going to be ones meant for taking the life of something. That is often how you end up protecting something. But it seems you know that already as well.
"Anyways," he continued, as he shook his head, "I am not here for a psychiatric talk about such things. I am here for a request."
"A... request?"
"This may sound odd, but I want you to cast one of your more powerful Psynergy upon me so I may discover as to how much I am lacking in my own skills." At those words, Sean noticed that the lad was going to resent, but he continued. "No, I am not trying to commit suicide. I mearly wish to know. Besides, if you want to replace my ego, let me feel your Psynergy. That way I know I was defeated as something better than a bug that was recieved sympathy."
"Come one Isaac, do it for Mr. Crazy. That was he can leave and we can go to where we need to be!"
Sean knew what Djinni were, but only from stories that came from the times he visited Vale or Contigo. Eventually, and very much so reluctantly, Isaac accept to do only one of his attacks. Sean readied himself in a defensful position...
The strange thing was that he heard the words of "Oddessy", saw the three swords materlize and then hit him with a sheer force that was unfamtonable to comprehend, but felt something else. Sean always prized himself for able to estimate an enemies strength, like the warriors from Prox in the high north, and this was a brief moment he tried to check the lads strenght and compare it to himself...
But something was not quite right in this whole Oddessy thing. The feeling around the spell was not a normal one, but one that seemed to want to supress him under an immense weight.
And another thing...
Before he passed out by the sheer power of that attack, he though he saw the child bathed in a very faint, and very pale, golden light.
Before he got to see a better look, however, the state that is not awake claimed him.

------

For those that need to know, this part was not done on Isaac's point of view for a few reasons.
One was being that this section under his point of view (p.o.v.) would not work at all for my words and the things I am trying to get out here.
Two was because as a story that is third-person view, this story will sometimes have others to be the main p.o.v.
But for those who ask further, it will only be characters that have already existed in the game. And no, it will not always be a NPC. In this case, no one else would quite fit, so an NPC had to be placed here.
Thanks.
-Fehize