The New Kid

Chapter 16

Yuja: I messed up.

Isaac: Gee, you finally noticed?

Yuja: Maybe it's just because I wrote it that I'm being so critical, but I think that last chapter needed some serious rewriting. I even forgot to mention the appearances of the other characters. Now I'll have to change parts so the events that were forgotten in the last chapter can happen later and still make sense. Eek! Until I reach the climax, this story is gonna drive me nuts! And then I'm having trouble with some of the Alchemy parts. Between Earth and Wind, I can't remember which was hot and wet and which was cold and dry. I think Earth is hot/wet, but I'm not 100 sure. I know Fire was the hot and dry, and Water is cold and wet…

Jenna: -.-; Now she's going to go through all her notes until she finds that page. Seriously, people, she studies this stuff.

Isaac: -.-; How sad. She's starting to sound like Kraden.

Kraden: Want to know about how-?

Everyone: NO!

Jenna: Yuja doesn't own Golden Sun.

Yuja: And enjoy these stories and frequent updates while you can, people. I move into my dorm this week and start college classes next week, so updates might be slow until I develop a routine of sorts. Weekends will probably be my only writing time for a while, and even then I'll probably be stuck with a bunch of homework. On the bright side, I only have 2 hours or so of classes on Fridays. Yay for 2-and-a-half days of weekend!

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Turning his head as little as possible to see the source of the voice, he felt the color drain from his face. There they were, both being held by the arm by a different guard; Garet and Mia, two of his closest friends out of the six. Two of the friends that were supposed to be safely back in Vale were now standing behind him with their hands tied behind their backs. All because of him. One of the four new guards silently moved to stand just behind Isaac.

Isaac turned back to Iodem, who moved forward, rose still in hand. "I was not speaking in jest Isaac. I am willing to do whatever is necessary to get a job done. If you do not start cooperating, then they shall pay as well."

Isaac tried looking as emotionless as possible. If there was ever a time to play dumb, this was that time. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know these people."

Garet stared at Isaac's back in disbelief. Why would Isaac claim to not know him? And that voice. It sounded almost dead. It wasn't the Isaac they knew. Then he remembered what Isaac had told him that day in the park. I just can't stand the thought of anyone else getting hurt, least of all any of you guys.

Iodem smirked at the boy. "Is that so?" He nodded towards Saturos and Menardi in the corner. Menardi grinned wryly at the two new comers, more for the threatening effect, and moved towards them quietly.

"That girl, she certainly is a pretty young thing. It would be a shame to have her scarred like how you were." Menardi moved closer to Mia, Saturos moving to stay near Menardi.

Isaac fought back the urge to show the slightest concern. If Iodem knew he was getting to him, it was all over. But Iodem knew he was hitting a nerve, whether Isaac admitted to it or not. "It's all up to you, Isaac. Their lives rest in your hands." After another tense silence, Iodem nodded again and Menardi reached for the blue-haired girl.

"Wait!" Menardi pulled back her hand.

Iodem looked back at the person in front of him expectantly. "Yes?"

Isaac hesitated. Iodem seemed ready to give the order again when Isaac continued in a more resigned tone. "I…I'll do it."

"Isaac, no," whispered Mia, but Isaac ignored her.

"But if I do this, then my friends are to remain unharmed. I want them returned to their proper homes and never involved in any of this ever again. And I don't want any family member to get involved either."

Iodem's grin widened. "Of course. Heal the fern first, though." He motioned at the plant. Isaac reluctantly stepped forward, past Iodem, and kneeled at the fern.

Garet tried moving, but the guards held him back. "Isaac, don't!"

Isaac closed his eyes. I'm sorry. His hand began to glow. This plant is…I can feel…

"Isaac! Don't worry about us! Just don't give up to these people!" His hand connected with the tip of one of the branches, and the glow spread. Garet shook his head, not wanting to believe that it had come to this.

After a short time, the glow faded, but Isaac stayed kneeling, blocking the view of the plant from the others.

Iodem was starting to get anxious now. "Well?" Isaac remained silent. "Oh, for Sol's sake, get up!" He grabbed Isaac by the shoulder and shoved him away. "What's this?" He studied the fern more carefully. The twigs were now a dull gray and the leaves were dark and withered. "This plant is…it's dead!" He rounded on Isaac, who was still sitting on the floor where Iodem had pushed him to. "Is this your idea of a joke?"

Isaac hesitated for a few seconds. Everything was swirling, changing from clear to blurry to clear, and it made him dizzy. "I-I don't know what happened." He held his head with one hand, wishing that the spinning would stop. "I-I couldn't-"

"All you had to do was bring it a little closer to life, not wipe it out!"

"I-I-" Why was he suddenly feeling so sick?

Iodem grabbed Isaac up by his shirt. "I don't know if you've noticed, Mr. Wood, but this isn't a game we're playing!"

"I-I know! I-I just couldn't-"

"Get him out of my sight!" Iodem pushed Isaac away again. Two of the guards quickly grabbed him up by the arms, but neither was sure of how to act when Isaac suddenly went limp between them.

"Isaac!" Mia moved forward a step, but a hand held her by the shoulder.

"Stay put," said a voice quietly. "Trust me. If his Psynergy takes over, you don't want to be anywhere near him." Mia looked back to see Saturos holding both her and Garet by the shoulders as Menardi moved in only a few strides to reach Isaac.

"Out of my way," she ordered, shoving the two guards aside once they had lowered the boy to the floor. She carefully felt his forehead and the sides of his face, all of which were clammy to the touch. "He's got a slight fever. He might also have the chills once he wakes up."

"What's the matter with him? He's supposed to be stronger than this," fumed Iodem nearby.

Saturos now moved forward. "It was that plant." Iodem focused on the man. "It was all ready beyond his level of healing."

"Isaac is a far stronger Adept right now that you could ever realize, Iodem," came a new voice. Everyone looked up to see the source and found Picard. "Just because his healing abilities are less than perfect, there's another part of his Psynergy that is constantly getting stronger."

"Well then, if he's constantly getting stronger, then why is he out cold?"

"Because that is his power: to share the consciousness of any plant, greenery, or anything else having to do with the earth. However, such an ability has to be controlled, or else this could happen." He motioned towards Isaac. "That fern was already dying and well beyond help. When Isaac tried to heal it, he most likely sensed the threat, but nevertheless tried to save it in exchange for his friends, and so he accidentally experienced what the plant experienced. As this was happening, the fern almost perished entirely, taking Isaac down with it."

"I don't believe this." Iodem glanced around the room and all the people in it. "All this time, we've been tracking a kid who gets sick when a plant dies? Then, just how, exactly, is he supposed to REVIVE things?"

As Picard had been explaining, Menardi had started to cast her own healing spells. Just as Iodem was about to have a fit, Isaac suddenly let out a gasp and his eyes shot open. He then started coughing violently, his eyes darting from one person to another as though searching for something. He had a disoriented look to him, but he instantly calmed down when he saw Mia and Garet to the side.

"Take it easy now, kid." Isaac looked at who had spoken. Not only had it been Menardi, but the fact that she was next to him gave him every reason not to "take it easy." Her hand began to glow again as she reached for him, but he pushed her hand away and scrambled to his feet.

"Keep away from me," he demanded, backing further away slowly.

"I only meant to heal you."

"Yeah, just like how you persuade people?" He rocked on his feet unsteadily, but he somehow stayed standing. Glaring at Iodem and trying to stand upright, he swung one arm to point at his friends. "I want them released! I don't want any friends or family involved!"

Iodem smirked smugly. "You didn't heal the fern."

"It was already dead!" There was a quick vibration as his shouts echoed in the large room, a faint glow surrounding him, but he resumed his normal voice as he finished talking. "I can't-! I can't heal the dead." The glow vanished. His arm fell back to his side as he sunk to his hands and knees. "What's dead is dead. It can't be brought back," he said quietly to the polished floor.

Saturos failed to block Garet and Mia as they shoved past, but as long as their hands were tied, they couldn't get past the other guards that moved to stop them. Picard waited silently to the side as Menardi stood and backed away from Isaac.

Iodem, however, didn't take the short rumble as any warning or cause for concern. "Until you start showing some results, your so-called friends are staying here. We will make you cooperate, one way or another. Now, stand up." Isaac stayed down, his hands clenching and unclenching on the hard, smooth ground.

Let me control it. Just this once, let me control my own abilities.

Iodem frowned. "I said to get up." When he was ignored again, Iodem scowled as he grabbed the boy up by the hair. "I said-."

"Let him go!" From out of nowhere, a ball of flame struck the aging man in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground where he slid into the table. The disruption caused the vase on top to wobble, toppling dangerously until it fell over and into Iodem's lap, soaking him from head to waist. All eyes flew to the one who had issued the attack, and even he looked shocked at his own actions.

Isaac half raised himself, ignoring the sputtering man on the floor as a few guards collected themselves and rushed to help him, and stared at the red-head. "Garet?"

Garet's right hand was straight out in front of him, the charred remains of rope littering the ground around his feet. Garet pulled back his hand to study it, then looked down at the rope pieces, and finally, nearly grinning from ear to ear, looked up at Isaac. "Well," he laughed nervously, "that was new."

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"It was still great. Just admit it, Mia." Garet put his arms behind his head as he sat against the wall to his new, reinforced cell.

The four friends had been relocated to a new area that resembled their last prison, but one side of the hall seemed specifically designed for Adepts. Jenna, Felix, and Mia now shared one normal cell with three wooden benches around the sides. Garet, however, was put into a separate one across from them with shining, purple bars and no benches. Only one door served as an entrance to the hall.

Mia crossed her own arms and glared down at him from her standing position. "Yes, and now we're all under even more surveillance, thanks to you."

"What did you expect me to do? They were hurting Isaac."

"What happened next, Garet?" asked Jenna. "Where's Isaac now?"

"I'm not sure. They put my hands in that brace before I could do anything else, and then they wasted no time in getting us out of there and down to here."

"You idiot." Garet frowned over at Felix who sat solemnly in the front corner. "There's no telling what happened in there after you two were taken away. You're actions might have just made things worse for Isaac."

"I wouldn't worry about that," squeaked a small voice. In the hall between the rows of cells, an air vent cover in the ceiling trembled before lifting and disappearing into the darkness. Less than a second later, it was replaced by a boy's face framed by short blonde hair. "Last I heard, Isaac's about to come join you."

"Ivan!"

"Hey Jenna." Ivan grinned. "Did everyone miss me?"

Felix half smiled. "I was wondering how long you would stay up there."

"Oh, so you did notice me? I thought I saw you look up when I kicked that bolt a few feet back. For such a high tech place, there sure is a bunch of junk, especially in these vents. I can't stay long, but Sheba thought it would be a good idea to let you at least know we were here. She's got surveillance covered, and being Jupiter Adepts has its advantages when walkie-talkies aren't an option."

Mia gripped the bars hopefully. "Ivan, how did you get in here?"

"Long story, and now is not the time. Actually, we've got some inside help, and you'll never guess who it is. Oh, and don't worry about things back home. We've got that covered for the next day or so."

"But, who's-?"

"Can't tell you, Garet. If I did, then you would act different around him and that would be suspicious, so you'll just have to stay in suspense for now." Garet seemed put-off by this, but accepted it as a reasonable answer nonetheless.

"What about Isaac?" questioned Felix. "What's happened to him since Garet and Mia were brought back here?"

"Well, ever since hot head here put on his little show…" This phrase was met by several protests from Garet, all of which were easily ignored. Ivan paused, as though listening to something else, before returning his attention to the crowd below. "Actually, you can ask him that yourself. They're bringing him down now, so I'll just be disappearing. Rest assured, things are looking up. But we aren't sure if Isaac should know that we're here. It might cause a change in his behavior, and considering how closely they watch him, we can't take that risk. Oh!"

There was the sound of approaching footsteps outside. When everyone looked back up the vent had been replaced and there was no sign of their visitor. The door opened and the usual mass entered. One guard unlocked and opened the cell next to Garet, two guards led Isaac roughly by the arms, and three more followed behind as backup. Isaac was shoved into his new prison, stumbling until he fell completely to the ground. His hands were still restrained in one of the metallic braces behind his back, and no one even unlocked them before retreating. The barred door was slammed shut and the men left.

Mia held the bars even tighter. "Isaac?" He was laying still, his back to them.

Garet barely moved, staring down at the blonde beside him. "Well, I guess this answers the question of what they did with him after we left. What?" Jenna was giving him a glare that would have made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end if he hadn't been Garet. "At least tell us if you're conscious, bro."

Isaac sighed. "This is why I didn't want any of you to get involved." There was a pause before he spoke again. "What are you all doing here, anyways? I thought you were studying at Felix and Jenna's. Did Iodem send people to pick you up, too?"

Jenna gave his back a confused look. "Don't you remember? We tried protecting you from Alex behind the school, but then you were knocked out and Saturos and Menardi appeared. You can guess what happened after that."

"So, you really were there," whispered Isaac mostly to himself. "I thought I saw you, but... Mia and Jenna were beside me, Garet and Felix were between Alex and me."

"That's right," piped in Mia. "Alex tried attacking Garet and Felix, but you pushed them aside and took the hits yourself."

"When I woke up here, on my own, I thought I had only dreamed it. I hate to admit it, but I…I didn't even worry about all of you. I believed that I had only imagined it and you were all still safe at home." He cringed, causing Garet to look up again.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah." Isaac managed to get in a sitting position against the wall as well and glanced around. "It's this cell. These bars; they're draining my Psynergy."

Garet sighed. "Yeah, I felt that, too. They probably upped the effect for you."

"H-How long have we been here?"

Felix pulled back his sleeve to check his watch. "I guess you lose track of time here. I don't know when dawn is exactly, but we must be close. Let's just leave it at that."

Jenna groaned. "That explains why I'm so beat."

"We're all tired," stated Mia quietly, "but it's not like there's much we can do about it, unless we take turns napping or something."

Isaac exhaled slowly. "There is something that can be done."

"Don't even think about it," cut in Garet.

"You don't know what I was-"

"Then let me take a wild guess. Do you really think that cooperating with those jerks is going to make this any easier on any of us?"

Isaac stared at the wall in the opposite direction from his prison mates. "If they send you all home, then yes."

"What about us?" asked Felix. "Do you really think it would be any easier on our minds knowing that we left you here, alone and at the mercy of those bloodsuckers?" Isaac didn't respond.

Jenna groaned again as she laid out on the bench against the back wall. "Can we just get some rest for now? Maybe you boys will have better tempers and actually be thinking straight once you get some shut eye."

Felix nodded his agreement. "She's right. There isn't anything any of us can do right now, so we might as well rest and get our strength back. Garet can stay awake to keep watch incase anyone comes by."

"Yeah…wait… Why do I have to be the first?-!-?"

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"Isaac, what are you doing?" A ten-year-old boy looked up nervously from his mother's prized golden rods to find his father standing only a few feet away.

"Uh…I…um…was just… Smelling the flowers!" The boy stood quickly, putting his feet together in hopes of blocking the sight.

Kyle raised one eyebrow questioningly. "Is that so? Then, one: where are the training wheels for your bike over there; two: why are there flower pedals stuck on the front end of your bike and in the gears; three: why is there a narrow trail like a bike tire going into the flowers; and four," the man leaned to the side slightly to see around the boy's feet, "why are there pieces of your mother's flowers lying all over?"

The boy looked down at his feet. "Sorry, Dad. I just wanted to ride my bike like the other kids at school."

Kyle just smiled and shook his head as though amused before kneeling to be eyelevel with the boy. "Are you still worrying about those other kids? I didn't even know you were interested in learning to ride. But, I guess if you're suddenly going to start using that thing," he shrugged, "then I suppose I have no choice but to take Friday off from work and spend the weekend teaching you."

Isaac was practically beaming. "Really? You'll teach me how to ride a bike like the other kids?" Kyle nodded with an even bigger smile back.

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Isaac opened his eyes, taking a few seconds to remember where he was. Purple glowing bars; his hands restrained is some kind of metal brace; a bad headache. Oh, yeah. He was in some kind of modern dungeon, and his friends were here, too. Guess I dozed off. The sound of Garet snoring lightly to the left was the only sound that reached Isaac's ears. Looks like even Garet was too tired to stay awake. Isaac smiled faintly to himself, but the reality of the last twelve hours brought him back to his usual depressed self.

"Isaac? Are you awake?"

Surprised that someone else was awake, Isaac looked across the hall to the other occupied cell. "Mia?"

Mia was leaning against the bars in the front corner farthest from Isaac. "You know, even if you did cooperate with those people, you do realize that we couldn't leave you, right?" She spoke quietly, and Isaac thought she sounded tired. Maybe the Psynergy-draining abilities of his and Garet's cells were affecting her as well. Isaac hesitated in responding, and Mia continued speaking. "You trust us, don't you?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I trust you."

"Then I need you to trust me when I say that everything is going to be okay. I can't tell you how I know, but I need you to just trust me on it. Don't give in to those people."

"Mia, what are you-?"

"Will you trust me on that? Will you promise me that you won't sell your life just to save us again?"

Isaac hesitated again, but finally he nodded. "Alright. I promise."

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Yuja: Aww…isn't that cute? I finally got in some comic relief. I was going to give Garet some lines here at the end, but I went blank on what I wanted him to say by the time I reached my laptop. Oh well. He's got enough lines in his own story.

Good grief, I got a lot of reviews for that last chapter… Makes me extra happy D

savinglifelessness -- n-n;; meep! Don't worry, I will.

Spirit Seer-- Gee, is it really that suspenseful? Glad you like it so far.

Sorceress Sakura --Here you go. Another chapter finished. Now, about your MR stories…

Fjord Cannon-- Really? I didn't think that chapter was so grand, but I'm glad someone did.

Trixie's girl-- Will do. I couldn't become an actual author if I were to quit now. Fanfics are nice practice, after all.

epobbp-- It's only taken me a month to update this. That's almost a record for me! heheh

Kd7sov-- I agree; Babi is a heartless,lowlife jerk. At least Saturos, Menardi, Karst, Agatio, and Alex (yes, I think Alex has his reasons for his behavior in the games)had good intentions. Babi was just out to save himself from the beginning. And that last cliffy wasn't really meant to be very…well…cliffy…but you were one of the few that seemed to catch that, so kudos to you.

Mercury Gold --Yes, that actually makes since, scarily enough. I couldn't have summed it up any better if I tried.

Meneil -- Well, Garet and Mia made it out okay…oh, and Isaac survived too.

Isaac: -.-;; So unloved.

fuzzy blob of doom -- n.n;; Is it really that shocking when I update within a few months? I'm starting to think I have a reputation or something.

Min the Demon-- Yes, cliffhangers are evil…unless you're the one writing them. At least this chapter didn't end in one.

a MErcury adept-- Um, Felix? ((tries looking innocent))

((Meanwhile…in the middle of some desert…))

Felix: I swear that Lapis must have an expiration date or something… (starts sinking in sand)……… -.- Figures.

((Back at Yuja's))

Yuja: I'm sure he's doing just fine wherever he is. n-n;;