Disclaimer: Sorry, Didn't Make Golden Sun or any of it's sequels, existent or not as they may be.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I'm really sorry it took so long to get this chapter done, but I experienced a huge case of writer's block and I really think this chapter could be a lot better, but this the best I could come up with. It should get better, sorry again.

Everything ached as Isaac slowly and reluctantly awoke. With an accompaniment of pops and cracks, he managed to sit as he massaged the bump on the back of his head. At their master's will, Isaac's thoughts began to slot into place.

Mia was talking to me, he reflected uncertainly, as if suspecting his mind of fooling him, and then I felt something breathe on by back, so I turned and there was...

His efforts where interrupted as he heard Jenna burst into laughter. Reflexively, he turned to stare at her as she was desperately trying to keep the mouthful of what she hoped was oatmeal from swelling out and onto the ground. For some reason, she thought this made the entire situation all the funnier.

Isaac's gaze switched to the other figure, who was pinching the bridge of his nose in mock pity. He had a large grin on his face that suggested that he found Jenna's antics just as amusing as she did.

Glancing to the other side, he saw Mia sleeping soundly a short distance away. Isaac automatically stood and walked over to her and kneeled down at her side.

"Mia?" he asked, "Mia, are you okay?"

With a moan, Mia returned to the real world, and wasn't very happy about it.

"Isaac?" she asked as she opened her eyes, "Is that you?"

"Yes it is Mia," Isaac replied, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Wha...What happened?" she asked, sitting up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and pointed at Mitch, "And who is that?"

"I'm not..." Isaac began, but was cut off as Jenna approached.

"Hey guys!" she said, nonchalantly but unsuccessfully brushing something off of her lap, "Are you guys alright? Come on and get some breakfast!"

Mia and Isaac exchanged glances and shrugged simultaneously. They where brought up and firmly believed in not trusting strangers, but any trap that was baited with a hot meal would have them banging down the door.

After making themselves comfortable with a hot bowl of oatmeal, Isaac and Mia sank into their own world of conversation and joking which contained nothing of interest. Periodically Isaac glanced over to Mitch and then to Jenna, and thought that it was a good thing that Felix was sleeping or unconscious or whatever he was. Otherwise, Mitch might have been short of a few brain cells.

There was the sound of twigs breaking as someone was coming through the woods and Isaac stood up and turned towards them. Out of the trees came Kyle, looking very out of breath and waving a piece of parchment around frantically. Following him came Dora, Piers (Picard), Sheba, Garet, and Ivan. They all looked suitably exhausted and equally relieved to see Isaac.

"...Isaac...!" Kyle managed while gulping for air, "...Letter...!"

"Dad?" Isaac asked, glancing down at his oatmeal for no reason whatsoever and then to Mia, who shrugged, "What's wrong?"

Mitch felt Jenna's restraining hand on his shoulder and he slowly released the tension of his bowstring and slipped the arrow back into its quiver. His reaction made sense however, for most people didn't see a frantic, middle-aged man in his pajamas appear out of the forest waving an envelope. As far as Mitch was concerned, the postal service wasn't that dedicated.

Kyle stumbled forward and would have collapsed if Isaac hadn't caught him. He took a minute to calm down and urgently shoved the letter into Isaac's arms, "Read this," he said.

Isaac, with suspicious glances at the letter, pulled it open where someone had already read it. After a few passes, Isaac looked up at Mia in denial and wordlessly handed the letter to her. Mia gasped; the letter was passed around in wordless surprise. The yelling would come later.

Mitch, not knowing what on earth was going on, held a bowl of oatmeal up to Kyle's nose and said, in a very cheerful voice, "Oatmeal?"

Sunset

"ASSASSINATION!?" Isaac shouted, throwing his arms into the air, "But how? Why?"

"Attempted assassination," Mia corrected, pointing to the text, "He's just sick. It says that someone poisoned his dinner,"

Isaac turned to glare at her in denial and returned to his pacing. Everyone was settled around another campfire. Mitch sat next to Jenna as she explained everything to him. Without a word, he listened contently and periodically he scratched his chin thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to say something, but a warning glance from Jenna reminded him that he promised to be very quiet.

Everyone else was watching Isaac pace back and forth, probably wearing a trench into the earth. He mumbled incomprehensibly and quickly to himself as everyone was getting seasick.

"Wouldn't the Food Taster get sick?" Sheba asked to the group in general. There where a few mumbles of agreement but Isaac shook his head sadly.

"He was sent home because he was ill," Isaac said. He added, "What logic," in a cynical tone.

"But who would want to hurt Hammet?" Ivan asked to no one in particular with a tear in his eye. Hammet had raised him and now that he was hurt, Ivan was filled with sorrow for his adopted father. Sheba leaned over and comforted him gently with a supportive embrace. Ivan and Sheba also where an item, but they usually didn't show their feelings in public, for some reason. This was one of the few exceptions and everyone watched for a moment to see if anything more interesting was going to happen, but soon gave up.

What Jenna knew of Hammet could have been scribed into a book comparable to the size of 101 Spotted Owl Recipes by the EPA. With what she hoped was professional confidence, she told Mitch of Hammet, and how his death may cause a few problems in the economic bionetwork. Everyone knew that Hammet was a very successful merchant, who often traveled to exciting and exotic countries that which Jenna had only heard of in Kraden's geography lessons, which Jenna usually missed on account of her being sound asleep, to sell his wares.

She looked up as Isaac mumbled, "But why? Why would anyone want to try and kill him?"

Everyone sat in thoughtful silence.

"He was...is very rich," Mia offered reluctantly.

"So are we," Isaac countered. It was quite true too, Mia thought. When they where fighting horrible monsters from gods-knew-where, they didn't expect access to the demon's bank accounts.

There was another pulling silence, the kind which made them want to stand up and shout his/her name as loud as possible.

"Could it have been...politics?" Mitch suggested with no intended sarcasm. Some people didn't get his tone.

"Hammet is a great man!" Ivan said defensively, turning his threatening gaze to Mitch, "There's no way anyone could want to kill him!"

"But hasn't it already been proved that some has tried?" Mitch asked calmly, not catching Jenna's warning gaze.

"Are you suggesting that HAMMET - !" Ivan began, jumping to his feet. He didn't finish the sentence because he was too busy kicking Mitch in the jaw.

For some reason, Jenna felt a twinge of anger as she watched Mitch throw his head backwards. Jenna found that she couldn't stop staring at Ivan's left eye, and worse, her fist began to itch.

Sheba jumped to her own feet and calmed Ivan down while Jenna managed to keep Mitch on the ground and his fist not in Ivan's face while trying not to punch him herself. Mia mumbled under her breath and Mitch audibly sighed in relief as the blue waves of energy healed him.

Isaac resumed his nervous pacing.

"They need motivation," Isaac mumbled after a long moment. He looked contemplatively into the sky and he repeated, "Why..."

Mitch leaned back casually, "Has he done anything important? Something that could draw attention to him specifically?"

"Hammet has generously given to the poor and hungry!" Ivan barked, standing again, "He is noble! You...you...(Ivan shifted his foot into a more offensive position)...you..."

Jenna could sense the future in this discussion and she moved into a standing position. Not jumped or rolled, but she simply appeared to be sitting down and a moment later, she was on her feet, with nothing in-between. Seething in rage, she pointed her index finger in warning.

"Don't you talk about Mitch that way!" she snarled, surprising Ivan to the point where he stepped backwards. He and Jenna where locked in a glaring contest while Sheba was trying to pacify Ivan while Mitch tried to do the same to Jenna.

Furthermore, Jenna couldn't figure out why she was so angry. When people insulted Felix, or even herself, she simply shrugged it off and sometimes added a threatening glare for theatrical significance, but she felt that whatever Ivan was going to say, he'd better say it fast so that she could shove it back down his throat. She saw that Ivan's eyes where beginning to water as his resolve faltered. Her leg had spasms as her eyes traveled down to his shins.

"Calm down Jenna," Mitch whispered into her ear, "It's alright,"

"But he was going to insult you!" she hissed back, turning her head slightly towards Mitch but still glaring at Ivan through the corner of her eye.

"It doesn't bother me," he replied, "Really, it doesn't,"

Jenna finally broke eye contact to look at Mitch, "Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"It doesn't bother me," Mitch repeated, "But thank you for the effort,"

With a smile, Jenna's mood suddenly bounced back, as it did often and without warning. She nodded and returned to her spot, where she then sat back down and meaningfully slipped her hand into Mitch's, who gazed at her with a raised eyebrow but said nothing.

"We've basically ruled out him being rich then, right?" Isaac asked the group. There was a mumbling of agreement, "Then why?" Isaac repeated again.

"I'm sure that Hammet is a very honorable man," Mitch began cautiously, Ivan seemed relatively contented, "But what if something he had done had attracted negative attention to himself from maybe group of evil or very stupid people?"

Isaac looked thoughtful, "I suppose so," he said reluctantly. Everyone nodded affirmation. "Then we would have to find something important that he has done lately..."

Everyone again sat in thoughtful silence.

Jenna was deep in contemplation when she registered movement on Mitch's part; she glanced over and watched Mitch root around as quietly as possible in his backpack. He produced an apple and Jenna eyed him as he buffed the skin on his tunic. He turned his head, smiled idiotically, took a bite out of it, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and offered it to her. She accepted it with a thankful nod and did the same and sat for a while, simply staring at it.

Reasons, she thought, Reasons...A reason for someone wanting to hurt Hammet...Let's see...Hmm...This is a good apple, it must be one of those extra sweet varieties. Jenna began to absentmindedly toss the apple up and catching it on the way back down. Getting off track now...Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, Reasons...Crunch...Very good apple...Important things that Hammet has done lately...My, I have to ask Mitch where he gets these things, they are really good. I haven't eaten much lately because...

Jenna's eyes widened as the metaphorical light bulb switched on.

Apple Food Large Supplies of it Kalay and Hammet has New Vale Doesn't Have!

"I've GOT it!" Jenna exclaimed as she pointed to the apple excitedly, "Food!"

Isaac was the first to respond, "Yes, It's a very nice apple Jenna," he said, glancing at Mia through the corner of his eye. She shrugged helplessly.

"No!" Jenna said ecstatically, "That's why! Food! The shortage of it in New Vale! Hammet was attacked because he offered to help US!" She turned to Mitch.

"I know why!" she bubbled happily.

"Err..." Mitch began, looking to Isaac and then to Mia for assistance, "That's very good Jenna,"

There was a silence. Not an absence of meaning, but simply an absence of sound. Jenna's very expression was screaming 'AND!?'

"...and..." Mitch said softly, he was learning to navigate the treacherous peaks, rivers, and volcanic craters of Jenna's delicate temper, "I'm...proud of you." He was also learning that it would be easier to belay down a cliff using dental floss and a paper clip.

Later, they would have sworn that a 'Ding!' sound was heard, as if to confirm Mitch's correct answer as Jenna planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You'd better be," she whispered and turned back to the rest of the group, who where shuffling around restlessly, "There, that's why he was poisoned," Mitch was nonchalantly wiping his face clean with his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Jenna asked.

"Err..." Mitch replied, "...nothing..."

Jenna watched him finish with a raised eyebrow, and then kissed his cheek again, thus making any scrubbing worthless. She smirked playfully.

"Well," Isaac spoke up, "What do we do now?"

The entire group chorused "To Kalay to see Hammet!!!"

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