Chapter XIV

Days of Innocence

It was a cold night in the sparse woods south of the Mogall Forest. Alex was no stranger to the cold, having spent most of his life in Imil, and the last year or so in the even-colder northern reaches where Prox lay. So while he sat on a cold rock, high up on a hill overlooking the path below, he did not so much as shiver, even when the wind cut through.

On the other hand, the four travellers he was watching looked very cold, bundled up as they were in their sleeping bags around a weakly flickering fire. From the distance he was from them, he could only just make out their shapes, but their hair colours were enough to be sure it was them.

He dared get no closer, even under cover of darkness, or while they slept, for one simple reason: At some point in the past few days, Isaac's group had seemingly caught on that Alex was following them.

This complicated things somewhat for him. He'd been able to keep a comfortable distance on them ever since they had left Imil, but after Kolima Forest they had become noticeably more cautious. Alex wasn't sure when exactly, or how, but he must have tipped them off that he was following them.

Alex could follow them at least until they reached Xian, at which point he would have to go on ahead and catch up with Saturos and the others at their agreed meeting point, as they had decided earlier. And as he and Isaac's group had already finished passing through the Mogall Forest, that didn't leave him much time.

As he watched them, his eyes fell upon the blue-haired girl.

Alex's cousin fit into their group like a missing puzzle piece, her sweet smiles and gentle words as revitalising to the three young men as her healing Psynergy. He observed her as automatically as he observed the others; he'd killed any emotions he felt for her long ago.

The group of four spoke like old friends as they travelled. Alex was always too far away to catch any bits of their conversation, but it was clear enough to him that they all appreciated one another's company. Quite a change from the tension-fuelled silence of Saturos' company.

Aside from the occasional flash of Psynergy during a monster attack, the group stood out in no extraordinary way; to the casual observer, they were simply a foursome of young friends out on an adventure.

Alex bit his lip and shifted slightly upon the rock on which he sat. He had to admit he was a bit envious of the comfortable atmosphere.

If only Saturos' methods were a bit different. These four could have made powerful allies. Had they been working with them, rather than running from them…

Ah, but would Mia have ever given up her duty of guarding the lighthouse had Alex not forced her hand? Even if he told her everything he knew, and made her understand the necessity of their quest?

He knew his cousin; she would not have. Mia, for all her kindness and warmth, was as cold deep down as the snowy land they had grown up in. Her duties in healing did not extend to forgiveness, and Alex had already betrayed her the day he'd left. She was rigid, and clung desperately to the old ways.

And when the world changed, those who could not change with it would perish. Imil, Vale, and all the others who had kept their secrets and hid themselves away from the rest of the world… they will all face the truth they tried so hard to ignore.

That morning, Isaac and his companions continued on.

The next target for their enemies was undoubtedly Venus Lighthouse, which was found at the north-eastern edge of Gondowan, the continent south of Angara. It was quite a ways from eastern Angara, and so that gave them plenty of time to catch up with and hopefully stop them.

Firstly, they would need to pass through the Alpine Crossing, a rocky crossroads area through which the Silk Road cut straight through. Ivan, who was familiar with this path from following Hammet on it, quickly explained that there was a slight problem.

"We'll need permission to use Silk Road," he told them. "This time of year, passage through is normally reserved for approved merchants coming and going from Xian, Kalay, and Tolbi. In most cases, a small group of travellers wouldn't be allowed through, but with my connection to Master Hammet, we should be able to manage it."

"What about Felix's group?" Garet asked. "They would need permission too."

"I doubt being told they were not allowed to pass would stop them," Isaac muttered.

The others nodded silently, agreeing on the implication.

Ivan explained that the eastern gate of the Alpine Crossing was maintained by the city of Xian. They would need to seek out the mayor there for approval. As this would also allow them the chance to ask about rumours regarding Felix's group, and give them a much needed opportunity to rest after the Mogall Forest, there was no debate that they would be stopping there.

After Xian, they faced a long trek through the hostile Lamakan Desert, with the small mining town of Altin and the secluded Lama Temple being the only stops on the way. Thus, they were eager to get some rest before continuing on.

When they arrived at Xian the next morning, they found an opulent city of water and trees, and architecture unlike anything Isaac had ever seen before. Everything about the city, from the houses to the signs, looked new and exotic to him. Judging by the wondrous expressions on Garet and Mia, they were similarly impressed.

Ivan, having passed through Xian many times on his travels with Hammet, took the task of explaining the new culture to his companions, which he did with relish.

Passing through the streets, they spotted a group of children being instructed by an older man. The children punched and kicked in rhythm to their mentor's commands.

"What is he teaching them?" Mia asked.

"Martial arts," Ivan explained. "In Xian, they do not carry weapons. They instead train their bodies to defend themselves. A very skilled fighter can face a man armed with steel, and disarm him without either combatant being injured."

"That's amazing!" Garet exclaimed. "I would love to learn that!"

"It takes many years," Ivan said with an amused smile. "I've picked up a few things here and there during my stays here, but that's nothing. The masters dedicate their entire lives to it."

"What about that?" Mia asked, pointing.

A young girl stood a few paces before a wooden block, staring intently at it as though it were some strange thing she'd never seen before. It was hard to tell from where they were, but she appeared to be sweating from the effort.

"That's the next level," Ivan said. He came to a stop, and said, "Watch."

A moment later, the girl swelled with an energy which Isaac felt faintly, and leapt forward, moving with such speed that she seemed to blur. She struck the wooden block with her bare fists, and there was a loud crack. The girl came to a stop beside the block, and where she had hit it, there was now a large crack upon its surface.

"That was awesome!" Garet exclaimed.

The girl herself was less enthusiastic. She examined her damage to the wood with a dejected sigh. It would seem she'd hoped to shatter it entirely.

"That's what they call chi," Ivan explained as they continued on their way. "Similar to our Psynergy, I suppose, but different."

"Different how?" Mia asked.

Ivan thought for a moment. "Chi is the art of harnessing the energy of the body. Psynergy, or ki, as the people here call it, comes from the mind. When I was younger, and my Psynergy was just beginning to appear, I thought they were one and the same. But I found the skills that drew from the mind much easier than those of the body. It was strange, because most here find that the other way around. Ki is something of an abnormality to them; a discipline beyond even the chi arts that the masters struggle to attain."

Isaac considered that as they walked. The powers of Psynergy, which he had always thought unique to Vale, seemed to be something everyone had the potential to learn. But most struggled to master even the most basic techniques, while Adepts such as them found it second-nature.

Was this due to being so close to Mt. Aleph? Perhaps Mia and her clan had become Adepts from their proximity to Mercury Lighthouse. If that was the case...

"Ivan," he said. "Do you know where you were born? It wasn't in Kalay, was it?"

The small boy turned to him, a frown on his face. "No, it wasn't. I was taken in by Master Hammet during his travels. I was too young to remember, and he never told me where it was. Why do you ask?"

Isaac shook his head. "Just curious."

Setting that aside, they continued on. Ivan explained to them that Xian did not have a traditional mayor as most towns do, being governed mostly by the wisdom of the most skilled master of kung-fu. This would be Master Feh, whose temple stood at a high hill in the centre of town.

On their way there, Ivan bumped into a green-haired girl carrying a bucket of water, which she spilled all over the ground. After telling him off, she went back to the river, leaving an embarrassed Ivan behind to be teased by Garet.

Isaac took advantage of the delay to ask a nearby villager about the group they were pursuing.

"I'm very sorry, I saw no one like that," the elderly lady said.

"I see," Isaac said. "Thank you, anyway."

He went to leave, but the old lady frowned, deep in thought. "Actually, I do remember seeing an unusual man. Just yesterday, I saw him at the inn. He had blue hair, and he seemed in a hurry."

"Blue hair?"

The old lady nodded. "Yes. Just like her, in fact."

She pointed to Mia, who was standing nearby. The healer turned, meeting Isaac's gaze with a slight frown.

She didn't say anything to him, but it was clear enough from her change in attitude that she had heard the exchange. She said nothing for a few minutes, and did not meet Isaac's gaze.

Tret had informed them that someone had been following them near Kolima Forest; someone who had the same abilities they did. Despite their caution after leaving, they hadn't found anyone, but Isaac had suspected that it had to be someone from Saturos' group. It clearly couldn't be Jenna, Kraden wasn't an Adept, and Saturos himself needed to lead the group. Sneaking around didn't seem to be Menardi's style, and Felix would surely want to stay near Jenna. Process of elimination left Alex as the likeliest subject.

If he had been tailing them, perhaps he had moved on by now, which would make sense if he had been in Xian only a day before them. That meant that Alex was probably hurrying to catch up to the others, and therefore that they weren't much farther ahead of Isaac and company.

If they hurried, there was a good chance they could catch them.

Well, one thing at a time, Isaac told himself. First they actually needed to make sure they could get through to the next town at all.

After Garet finally gave up on urging Ivan to ask the bucket girl out, they resumed their way up the hill to the large dojo where Master Feh taught.

Isaac was just about to open the door to go inside when it swung open all on its own.

"Father, you are a fool!"

A violet-haired girl stormed out of the building, so caught up in yelling at someone behind her that she paid no attention to the four travellers about to step inside. The girl collided head-first with Isaac, knocking them both to the ground.

"Isaac!" Garet exclaimed. "Not you, too!"

He drew himself up and offered to help the girl, but she brushed him off.

A moustached man poked his head out the door. "Feizhi! Come back inside at once! We must have a civilised discussion about this!"

The purple girl jumped back to her feet, angrily shouting, "I have nothing more to say to you! If you refuse to believe my dreams, so be it! But I believe them, and I will not let Hsu get hurt because of your stubbornness!"

And with that, the girl stormed down the hill, leaving behind four very confused Adepts.

"I am very sorry," the man said to them. "Are you injured?"

He offered a hand to Isaac, and helped him back up.

"I'm okay," he said. He glanced back down the hill, where the girl was already gone. "Er...what was that all about?"

"My daughter, Feizhi," the man said. "She has gotten the idea in her head that she can see the future. She now believes a friend of hers will be trapped beneath rocks at the Alpine Crossing. And rather than acting rationally, she has chosen to go off into the woods by herself, thinking she must hurry to save him."

"You don't believe her?" Ivan asked.

"Of course not. This is a delusion of hers. She has desired such powers since she was a child, even studying ki at Lama Temple despite showing no talent or progress at it. She refuses to accept that she does not have powers, and acts out in childish ways. Ah, but I'm sure you care not for the private affairs of our family. I apologise for my daughter assaulting you."

Isaac wouldn't have described that as assault, but he wasn't about to question the man's apology.

"I am Feh, master of this temple. I trust you have some sort of business here, as you were about to step inside before that incident occurred?"

Of course, they needed to ask for permission to go through Alpine Crossing.

Isaac nodded in response.

"Please, come inside. We can talk over tea."

As the Adepts followed Feh into the temple, Garet muttered, "I wish a beautiful girl would bump into me."

In response, Mia gave him a kick in the shins.

A little more than two weeks had passed now since their departure from Mercury Lighthouse, and Alex still had not returned. Not that Jenna minded, really; he could drop off a cliff and she wouldn't shed a single tear for him. But without his self-indulgent monologuing occupying the air the group had grown noticeably more quiet.

Jenna was aware that a good part of that was also due to her refusal to acknowledge Kraden's presence. After the way he'd betrayed Isaac and Garet at the lighthouse, she couldn't so much as look at him any more without feeling a wave of disgust. He was aware of this; every time their eyes met by chance he'd quickly cast his gaze elsewhere, a look of tired guilt weighing them down. And yet despite that, the scholar seemed more like himself than he had since setting out on this damned mission; he walked with renewed energy, and spoke frequently with their captors about their goals, Alchemy, and the like. It only infuriated her more to see him so excited about this mission, when their friends were risking their lives to save them.

And so, without Kraden as an ally, and without even Alex to keep her company, Jenna was more alone than she'd ever been. However, despite these conditions, Jenna did not despair. In fact, she felt more hopeful than she had since she'd first been abducted. Because she knew Isaac and Garet were alive, and she knew they were coming for her, and most importantly of all, she knew now that they could win. They had beaten Saturos at Mercury Lighthouse, so they could beat him again.

And when the time came, she wouldn't stand by helpless as they saved her. She would fight beside them, kill the monsters who took them from their home, and then return to Vale together.

And Jenna knew her captors were well aware, too. She didn't miss the renewed urgency of their travel, or the occasional worried glance on the path behind them from Saturos and Menardi both. Isaac's group wasn't far behind, and they knew it.

Even now, the two Proxians set a hard march, walking several paces ahead of her. Kraden did his best to keep up with them, no doubt trying to be part of their conversation, while her brother lagged behind as always, a few steps behind her.

Saturos turned his head slightly, taking a long look at the rod behind them, which twisted and turned off in the distance. The corners of his mouth were tight, and his eyes narrow. Jenna couldn't help but smirk at the sight of the proud warrior, worried that a group of kids was going to catch him by surprise-

Her smile dropped off her face in an instant, as she exclaimed in surprise. Her left foot refused to move as she tried to take the next step, and her balance was gone. She fell on the hard ground, crying out in pain at the impact.

Immediately, she noticed the pain in her ankle.

A moment later, the others were there.

"What happened?" Saturos demanded.

Felix, who was kneeling beside her, answered, "She tripped over a tree root."

Jenna tried to climb up to a sitting position, but the moment she moved her leg, a shooting pain shot through her and she went still.

"Stupid girl," Menardi muttered, probably rolling her eyes. "You need to pay more attention to where you're going. This isn't your village, there's dangers out here-"

"Enough," Saturos interrupted, causing Menardi to sigh and wander away.

"Can you still walk?" Saturos asked her, surprisingly calm.

"No," Jenna said through her teeth. "I-I think I twisted it."

Felix placed a hand on her arm, perhaps to help her sit up, but Jenna roughly pushed him back, even in spite of the pain she was in.

"Damn it, Alex..." Saturos muttered. "Never around when we actually need him. He could have that fixed in a minute..."

Saturos held his chin, thinking for a while. In the silence, Jenna managed to get to a sitting position, taking note of the already-visible swelling above her boot.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she did that on purpose," Menardi said, stepping back over to where Saturos stood. "Trying to slow us down."

"I was looking at her when it happened," Kraden spoke up. "She certainly did not notice that root."

"Hmm." Menardi raised an eyebrow. "Convenient that you're the one who immediately jumps to her defence. How are we to trust anything that you say? You haven't-"

"Now is not the time for this!" Saturos barked. "We have to get to Alpine Crossing quickly, and unless you know of some way to get her there with that injury, would you all be quiet and let me think?!"

Menardi blinked in surprise, as did Jenna. This was the first time she'd seen Saturos speak to Menardi this way.

"Felix," Saturos said after another moment of thought. "Use your healing Psynergy to patch her ankle up as best you can. Catch up with us at Alpine Crossing. You know where we'll be."

"I will," Felix answered with a nod.

"Come," Saturos said to Menardi and Kraden. "We can't afford to waste any time."

Jenna watched the three of them depart down the path, wondering just why it was that Saturos needed to get to Alpine Crossing so badly.

"Jenna," her brother said softly.

"What?" she said, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I'll need to take your boot off in order to heal your ankle."

"Do whatever you need."

"I'm sorry," he said hesitantly. "It'll hurt."

"I know. Just get it over with."

Jenna clenched her teeth and squeezed the hem of her cloak, anticipating the pain she knew was coming.

Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as she thought. Felix gently undid the laces of the boot, and pulled it off her foot as slowly and carefully as he could. It actually hurt more when he pulled down her stocking, exposing the red and swollen skin.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I'll have this fixed in a moment."

A moment later, Jenna could feel the gentle flow of Felix's Psynergy, as he undid the damage in her ankle.

"I figured you would have enjoyed hurting me more," she muttered under her breath.

As she wasn't looking at him, she couldn't tell if he reacted to her words.

"You know that's not true," he said. "I didn't want you to be dragged into this. I argued against it, back in Sol Sanctum. I didn't even want you to know I was there; that's why I wore that mask."

"So you would rather me never even know you were still alive?"

"No. I didn't want to go back to Vale, not until the mission was over. Once all this was done with, I wanted to come back and surprise you with-"

"With what?"

Finally glancing at Felix, Jenna saw he was biting his lip.

"Nothing."

Jenna scoffed. "The knowledge that you had unleashed Alchemy and doomed the world to destruction? Was that going to be your big surprise?"

After a moment, Felix shook his head. "Of course not. Freeing Alchemy may destroy the world, or it may save it. I don't know what will happen, but that was never why I was doing this."

"Then why?" she demanded.

Felix hesitated. "I... I can't say yet."

Jenna sighed, more disappointed than surprised at this point.

An uncomfortable silence ensued, as Jenna waited with what patience she could muster for Felix to finish mending her ankle. Several long minutes passed, and finally, she couldn't take the silence any more.

"I'm surprised they left me here with just you," she said. "Aren't they worried I might run?"

"With a twisted ankle?"

She would have groaned and punched him on the shoulder like they did as kids, if she didn't hate him. "After you healed me, obviously."

"Saturos trusts me," Felix said simply. "He knows I wouldn't let you escape."

"Not even your own sister?"

Felix hesitated, as the faint glow of his Psynergy faded out, his work finished.

"No," he said heavily. "Not even you."

Master Feh turned out to be pleasant enough, and after a quick talk over five hot cups of tea, and explaining that Ivan was Hammet's servant on his way back to Kalay, he signed off on their pass allowing them to pass through the guard gate.

They did some quick shopping in town and sampled the local food, before retiring early to a set of inn rooms. Garet and Ivan shared a room, leaving the other to Isaac and Mia. It was the same arrangement that they had come to with the tents. As they only had two tents between the four of them, Mia had needed to pick one of them to share with. It hadn't taken her long to pick Isaac, and when he later asked why, she explained that she simply thought he was most gentlemanly and thus least likely to invade her privacy. And so upon reaching the inn, they had seen no reason to spend extra money on a third room, and Mia had no qualms with sharing a room with Isaac again.

Isaac himself was less certain about her faith in him; he couldn't have helped but notice that Mia had a very nice figure under those bulky robes. And of course, the teasing he got from Garet and Ivan did not help matters.

There was no awkwardness to be had at Xian's inn, though; they were all exhausted from several days of travel through Mogall Forest, and collapsed into snores the moment their heads hit their respective pillows.

It had been evening when they woke, close to sundown, and after a brief discussion, they had decided they might as well just head out instead of waiting for morning. The moon was bright, the air was cool, and most importantly Saturos' group was likely not far ahead; what reason did they have to hang around in Xian?

And thus Isaac and friends had found themselves walking down the well-tread path from Xian to Alpine Crossing. They made typical conversation as they walked, Ivan telling some story from his travels with Hammet, while the others listened and asked questions.

Isaac, however, found himself distracted. He kept thinking back to Mia's expression from earlier, when that old lady had mentioned seeing Alex.

Mia was beautiful, gentle, and kind, and Isaac felt like he could trust her with anything, but there had been something about that look in her eyes that had bothered him. There had been distractions after that, with Master Feh and his strange daughter, so he hadn't had the chance to ask her about it. And now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't sure how to bring up the subject.

Was it too personal of a think to ask? Clearly Mia was not happy with her cousin's betrayal, much like Isaac felt about Felix, but did it go deeper than that? What was she planning to do if they ran into Alex?

He couldn't help but feel there was more to this than she had told them, but he also felt like she would dodge the question if he asked her. Perhaps it was because that while Mia was probably the kindest and most giving person he'd ever met, she hadn't told them much about herself yet. She had been strangely guarded so far.

Isaac shook his head, deciding he would bring the subject up with her when the time was right. He turned his attention away from his own thoughts back to the road ahead...

...just in time to see the person standing right in front of him.

"Excuse me!"

"Gah!"

Isaac nearly jumped back in surprise at the girl who had seemingly appeared from nowhere. Not anticipating his sudden stop, Garet crashed right into him, followed by Ivan and Mia. The four of them collapsed onto the dirt road in a heap of limbs.

Ivan groaned as he untangled himself, "What the-?"

"It's her!" Garet exclaimed. "The cute girl that knocked Isaac over!"

The violet-haired girl ignored them, peering intently at Isaac through the darkness. After a moment of concentration, her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth.

"It is you!" she said. "I knew it! I was not certain before, as I was worried for Hsu and fighting with my father, but I thought I recognised you! And I was right!"

"I don't think we've met," Isaac said carefully. "Er, at least not before today..."

"We have not, but I have seen you!" she said excitedly. "I have been seeing you in my dreams for months!"

Garet, who by now had climbed back up and brushed off his legs, gave Isaac a sly, knowing look.

"Not like that," Isaac said intently to him. Turning back to the girl, he said, "Listen… Feizhi, right?"

She nodded, apparently pleased that he had remembered her name.

"Can we take a step back here? What is this about seeing me in your dreams?"

"Perhaps dreams is not the right word for them," Feizhi said thoughtfully. "At times I have very strong moments, where events will play out in my head. And I have come to realise that they are things that have not yet come to pass, but inevitably will."

"Visions of the future," Ivan said.

"No one believes that they are anything but fantasies, not even my own father," she continued. "And yet, not a single one has been wrong. So when I foresaw Hsu trapped under those boulders, and I tried to warn my father…"

Isaac couldn't help but find it hard to believe himself, but he had also had a conversation with a tree not too long ago, so he wasn't going to write anything off. "What sort of things have you seen?"

"At first, things I did not understand," Feizhi said. "A cavern that sparkled like the night sky, a stone with a single eye floating in the air, a small beast shaped like a drop of water hiding within a fountain… I thought perhaps I was going mad, until I dreamed of a great eruption that turned the sky red and dark. A few weeks later, Xian got news of the eruption of Mt. Aleph, and I knew that was what I had seen."

The Adepts exchanged glances.

"And I have seen you in so many of these dreams," Feizhi said to Isaac. "The warrior with the golden scarf… I did not understand this either, until now. You are someone of great importance, whose hands are guiding these events, and shaping the future!"

Isaac bashfully scratched his cheek. "I'd say my hands are more tied than guiding. All I'm really trying to do is save my friend."

Feizhi blinked, looking a bit put-off at his response. Perhaps she had expected someone different; some confident and heroic figure, rather than the uncertain teenager that she'd found. Isaac certainly did not think of himself as a hero, or as a shaper of history. Even having the other three in his group see him as their leader was more than he'd wanted.

"Speaking of saving friends," Mia stepped in. "What did you say about your friend, Feizhi? That you saw him trapped under a rock?"

Feizhi nodded, with a grim expression. "Not yet, I'm sure, but very soon there will be a disaster at the Alpine Crossing. A landslide will hit and block the path with rocks. And though I did not see it for sure, I know Hsu will be coming back from Lama Temple and will take that path."

Ivan made a whistling sound. "Alpine Crossing is a major location in the Silk Road. It being blocked would massively disrupt the yearly trade routes. Kalay would lose a lot of money…"

He grew quiet then, his face betraying the worry he was no doubt feeling for Master Hammet. They still had not yet heard anything of what had happened to him in Lunpa.

Feizhi took a deep breath, and then said to them, "I came here to ask your help. I do not have faith in my ability to prevent the futures I see, nor would I have the strength to move a boulder large enough to pin Hsu in place. If I go alone, there may not be anything I can do to help him. Alpine Crossing is not much farther from here, so..."

"Of course," Isaac said without hesitation. "We wouldn't dream of just leaving your friend in danger. We'll do whatever we can."

Feizhi beamed at that. "Thank you so much! I do not know how I will repay you, but I promise I will!"

Isaac was about to tell her that he needed no reward, but then he took in the look of sheer gratitude on the girl's face, and bite his tongue. Perhaps not even gratitude that they were helping her, but that they had believed her when so many others would not.

"We should hurry then," Isaac finally said.

The others agreed, and the now-five member group started off, Feizhi leading them.

Jenna walked on tender feet, still feeling some lingering pain even after Felix had healed her ankle. Her brother walked in silence at her side. He seemed to be in no real hurry to catch up to the others, and Jenna certainly wasn't, so she was content with walking at a leisurely pace. The sun had set some time ago, and the plains before them were illuminated by a bright full moon. No more hidden tree roots saw fit to grab at her, so despite her sore steps, the walk was strangely peaceful.

An awkward silence had taken them since they had started off, but eventually Jenna was unable to bear quiet any more.

"This isn't so bad," Jenna found herself saying, more to herself than Felix. "Without the others around it's almost like..."

Felix turned his head very slightly, giving her a brief look.

Jenna sighed and wished she hadn't said anything.

Almost like things were back then.

Back before that day when everything had changed. Back when she still had a family, and a home. Back when she wouldn't find herself driven to a shaking panic at the sound of thunder.

Her brother, who for three years she had genuinely believed to be dead, was right beside her, and yet she could barely bring herself to look at him. How many people out there would kill for the chance to have a loved one back?

"Jenna..." Felix said, with a touch of hesitation. "It wasn't by choice that I left you alone all that time."

She glanced back in turn, unsure what to say.

"When they took me to Prox, I was a prisoner, too," Felix continued. "I wanted to leave, but there was no way I could. I couldn't have survived in that wilderness on my own, especially not after my injuries from the boulder."

Jenna considered for a while, and then responded, "You're not a prisoner any more, though. Something changed in that time."

Felix nodded. "With nothing else to do there, I studied. I read every book I could get my hands on. And after the things I learned... there's no way I couldn't help them."

Jenna scoffed. "And what things were those?"

"The edge of Weyard's land, near Prox," Felix said to her, "It is eroding away with time. The Proxians have measured the distance, year after year, for longer than we've been alive, and each year that abyss grows slightly closer. If nothing is done about it, one day the edge will reach the lighthouse, and eventually Prox itself. By releasing the seal on Alchemy, Prox could be saved."

Jenna came to a halt and stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide in disbelief. "You can't be serious..."

Felix stopped and turned back to her.

"That is the reason you're doing all this? To save the people who stole you away in the first place...?"

"Not all of them were cruel to me," Felix said.

"I can't believe you! After all that, you just chose them over us! Just when I was starting to second-guess myself; just when I was considering the idea of forgiving you...!"

"Jenna..."

"No! No more of your excuses! Let's just get back to the others, I'm sick of talking to you already!"

Felix frowned, and it looked like there was something more he wanted to say, but he eventually just sighed and continued down the path.

Finally, they came to the Alpine Crossing; a set of gradually rising hills eventually reached a narrow choke point where several paths converged into one, around which large cliffs rose forebodingly. Normally one would be forced to pass through the narrow path cutting through the hills, for which there was a guarded gate that one needed permission to get past. But Felix led her to a secluded area well off to the side, where a set of vines worked their way up the steep hill.

Saturos, Menardi, and Kraden were waiting for them at the top. There was still no sign of Alex.

"Took you long enough," Menardi said dourly, once they were within earshot. "For a moment, I was starting to have my doubts."

"You thought I would abandon you?" Felix asked her.

"Where your sister is concerned, I question your ability to make clear decisions."

Felix chuckled, and Menardi's eyes narrowed.

"What's so funny?"

"The idea that you, of all people, would think less of me for being worried about my little sister."

For a moment, it looked like Menardi was going to erupt.

"Enough," Saturos cut in. "I'm not in the mood for any petty arguments."

Though she held her tongue, Menardi's eyes were fire, staring unblinking at Felix.

"I expected Alex to be here waiting for us," Saturos muttered. "And yet we're here first, even after Jenna's delay."

"Was that the plan?" Menardi asked him.

"Not quite," he answered. "He was the one who picked this spot out; he figured out a way to slip past the guard gate. I would have assumed he'd be here waiting for us."

"There are no rules with him," Menardi said dismissively. "He'll show up whenever he decides to. Until then, we should just carry on as before."

Kraden gazed off in the distance, indifferent to their conversation.

"It's not like him," Saturos muttered, half to himself.

Menardi studied his expression for a moment, and then asked in a quiet voice, "You don't think...?"

Jenna stared, wondering just what it was they were so concerned about.

"Saturos," Kraden said suddenly. "I see them."

Drawing in a sharp breath, Saturos dashed to Kraden's side and looked off in the same direction.

"That's not possible," Menardi insisted, following after him. "We had a day's lead, at least..."

Jenna looked out at the winding path below, which stretched out across the plains and cut through the forests around Xian. She couldn't see what it was they were talking about, but she knew exactly who it was the Proxians were so worried about.

She grinned.

"No doubt about it," Saturos said under his breath.

"What do we do?" Menardi asked.

Saturos glanced at the narrow passage at his back. "Alex is on his own. We need to move, and we need to move now!"

Jenna and the others were driven down the small cliff into the narrow passage. Saturos made a good effort of hiding his panic, but it was clear enough that he was afraid.

She considered making a break for it. If Isaac's group was close enough that Kraden was able to actually see them from up on the hill, there was a good chance she could make it to them. If Saturos and the others came after them, perhaps Isaac, Garet, and their friends plus Jenna herself would be enough to fight them off...

Unfortunately, she knew she wouldn't make it. Her ankle was still too sore to attempt such a thing. Even the pace they were moving at was sending jolts of pain up her leg.

"Quickly!" Saturos hissed at them.

They descended the hills, and found themselves on the Alpine path behind the guarded gate. Nobody seemed to have noticed them, and Jenna was thankful for that; Saturos would surely kill anyone who tried to stop them.

They made haste to the end of the crossing, where the large cliffs broke back out into fields, on the western side opposite of Xian. Saturos pushed them on a for a few minutes more, until the cliffs of the crossing stood a comfortable distance away.

"This is far enough," Saturos said, as they came to a stop.

Jenna turned to him in confusion. The others seemed to have been anticipating this.

Saturos took a few steps away from them, and and held his hands out at his sides. His Psynergy swelled and Jenna could feel the intensity of it as a heaviness in the air.

"What...?" She glanced around, but no one acknowledged her.

Fireballs formed within the Proxian's hands, growing in size until they were larger than his head.

"If I could, I would brought this down right on their heads," Saturos said under his breath. "But this will be good enough..."

And then, Jenna understood. Saturos had not been hurrying them because he was afraid of Isaac's group. He'd planned on this all along.

Saturos threw the fire.

"Wait!" Felix shouted suddenly. "There's someone there-!"

But it was too late. The fireballs moved with a deafening whoosh, thrown up to the highest cliff that faced them. It struck the stone wall with a flash of red, and a loud rumbling filled the air as the rock wall gave way.

Jenna looked to her brother, whose eyes were wide in a silent panic.

When it was over, and the dust settled, the debris had formed a wall blocking off the exit.

"That should slow them down, if nothing else," Menardi muttered.

"Saturos," Felix said with urgency, "there was somebody in the path. I saw them just before you struck the cliff..."

"It is no concern of ours," Saturos muttered. "Let's go. I won't have us lose this chance by loitering here."

Without another word, Saturos was off, Menardi close behind, and Kraden following just a moment later.

Jenna was unable to move. Her hands were shaking, her heart pounding...

The sight of those rocks falling had brought her right back to that night. She could see, as vividly as it had been in reality, that boulder coming down on top of her home and her family...

"Jenna?"

She looked up, and saw her brother staring at her with concern.

"Sorry," she managed. "L-let's go..."

Felix still looked concerned, but he nodded and started off. Jenna walked behind, still shaking. Her steps were unsteady not from the pain still in her ankle, but from the shock of what had just happened.

Would she never be able to move on from this, she found herself wondering.

Casting another glance at Felix, she saw her brother's fists were clenched, his jaw set, and his eyes burning at Saturos' back.

A/N: The longer you're away, the harder it is to come back. Here I am, almost a year and a half later, with a new chapter. Like I said before, I sometimes take very long breaks with these things.

I've kept myself busy through 2017 with other projects, most notably the second entry in my Bacorium Legacy series. I've been re-releasing the chapters of the first book over on Fictionpress, and now that Book II is finally 100% done I plan to release it one chapter at a time there as well. If you enjoy my writing, head to the sister site and look it up (I'm under the same username). Now that that huge monkey is off my back, I'll be able to devote some more time to this one. Maybe I'll finish off the Broken Seal half of the story before I take another hiatus (...maybe).

The Isaac/Mia, Garet/Ivan sleeping arrangement is, as many of you might guess, a reference to the Angel and the Slayer. If you haven't read that, it's a classic in Golden Sun fanfiction, and you are missing out, even if you're not a fan of mudshipping.

I particularly liked how the scenes between Jenna and Felix turned out. With Alex off on his own, and Kraden no longer on speaking terms with her, Jenna has no one else to talk to. She wants to hate her brother for what he's done, but in time she might come to understand or even possibly agree with his decisions. Maybe she's so standoffish to him because she's actually afraid of that? Well we've all played the games, so there's no point in trying to act like we don't know what's going to happen. But take my word for it: in this version of the story, there's a good reason why Felix hasn't just told her what's going on.

Meanwhile Mia hates her cousin for his betrayal just as much as Jenna hates her brother. Perhaps more than someone devoted to a life of healing should. Isaac is bothered by this, but how is he going to talk to her about it?

I haven't decided how long I'm going to have Feizhi hang around. She'll be around for a bit longer than she is in the games, but I haven't made my mind up on what point would be good for her to leave. Master of Reality's novelization had her hang around with the party for a while, and while I liked the idea, I felt the author didn't really do anything interesting with her in that time. I have some ideas for reasons for her to stay around, but I haven't fully decided yet. Which brings me to my next point...

I write this story a bit differently than most of my other work. For things like Bacorium, or my other long fanfic the Persistence of Loss, I have each chapter extensively outlined before I even start writing it. With Return of Alchemy, I only have a loose outline covering the major beats of the story. I treat each chapter almost like it's own short story, and I try to come full circle with it. This particular chapter was a bitch and a half for this reason as well as the other issues above, as I kept changing my mind on different ideas after realizing certain things weren't working. There were several previous drafts of this chapter, some of them with drastically different scenes. The first was going to have Kay be the person following them instead of Alex, for instance!

But I digress...

If you have any thoughts about the chapter, please drop a review. Even if it's just to let me know you liked it, or that you hate me for taking so long to finish it. Seeing those notification emails is a big motivating factor for me, and knowing that others are reading and enjoying my work is the thing that keeps me coming back. Of course, if you hated the story, you can always tell me that too. Typos and other flubs I would prefer be sent through PM, so I can correct them without everyone knowing about my embarrassing mistakes ;)

Next chapter: Lama Temple!