Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun.

A/N: Lord Destroyer, I made that completely up. About Ektun's punishment, well, they had to have some sort of guardian, right? And the whole imprisonment thing I sort of borrowed from Diadem: Worlds of Magic.

I opened my eyes to a dark sky with a few patches of light. Mia and Garet had apparently finally stopped talking for the other three were still fast asleep next to the pool.

"Mia, wake up!" I called. "Ivan!"

Ivan opened his eyes quickly. "What is it? Are we being attacked?"
"No, but it would be best to leave before the sand gets too hot." I explained.

Mia was standing over Garet already. "Wake up!" she shouted.

Ivan rushed over and covered her mouth. "Are you crazy?" he demanded. "Do you want all the monsters in the desert to hear?"

Garet sat up. "What?"
"I was just trying to get him up!" Mia protested.

"Who?" Garet wondered sleepily.

"You, who else?" Mia told him. "Now get up."

"Breakfast before we leave." I announced, holding up the leftovers from yesterday's supper.

"Breakfast!" Garet exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Great! I'm hungry!"
"What's new?" I muttered. "We've got to save some for lunch, though. Have a dumpling."

Mia munched on some rice thoughtfully. "It's not bad cold." she remarked.

Garet made a face. "I hate cold rice! Flare!"

A flare of fire leaped up over the food, warming it.

"You could have set all of us on fire!" Mia scolded. "Give us a warning first!"

"I'm careful!" Garet argued. "I wouldn't have set anybody on fire! Really!"
Mia made a snorting noise. "Then what do you call this?" she demanded, reaching over and holding up my hair.

"What's wrong with my hair?" I asked.

"It's charred." she explained. I touched my hair. My hand came away with burned hair on it.

"You burned my hair!" I accused Garet.

"It's only a little bit!" he protested.

I sighed. "Let's leave."

I took one step away from the cool oasis. The sand was still hot. I forced my feet to take another step, and another. My feet arguing with me every step of the way, I managed to make it to the next oasis.

"Reveal." Ivan murmured, revealing...a treasure chest. I collected the axe from the hidden chest.

My feet still protesting, I forced myself to walk back to the oasis.

Or at least to the cool shade.

A monstrous creature, resembling a boar, was waiting for us. Ivan hit it weakly, trying to fend it off.

Flint. I mentally summoned.

Mia weakly swiped at the goblin. It slunk off.

Back to the wonderful, cool oasis. I sighed in relief as I sank into the water.

Mia was muttering something about the desert under her breath. "Giant pigs that wear clothes and stand up, huge scorpions, unbearable heat..."

She stopped abruptly and pointed to herself. Instantly her wounds healed.

She healed each of us in turn, and then, with considerable reluctance, we headed on.

We had to backtrack over our previous steps to find where we'd gone wrong. Finding it, we continued on.

We found a rest in some cool shade.

"Ahh..." I murmured, leaning against the cool wall providing the shadow.

"Hot sand that burns your feet through your boots..." Mia started.

"Just shut up, Mia." Garet snapped. "None of us are in the mood for this."
Mia shot a glare at him. Under normal circumstances, I would have tried to stop their fight, but I didn't feel like playing peacemaker right now.

"We're all in a bad mood," Ivan started.

"And we don't need a midget to help us out." snapped Garet.

"Guys," I tried, but Mia cut me off.

"I am sick of all this arguing! I hate this desert!" she screamed.

"Gee, do you think?" mocked Garet. "I would never have guessed."
"You..." Mia seemed to be searching for an appropriate word to call Garet. Then she shrieked. "Monster!"

"I am not a monster!" he protested indignantly.

"No, I mean monster! Behind you!" Mia pointed frantically.

Garet rolled his eyes. "Like I'd fall for that. I've got a little brother, you know. I'm not gonna fall for the oldest trick in the book."

"No, really, Garet, there's a huge bee behind you." Mia insisted.

"There is one, really!" I agreed helpfully.

Garet glared at me. "Why are you on her side?"
"No, there really is one, Garet!" Ivan exclaimed. "And it's about to sting you!"

"Ouch!" he yelled suddenly.

"Told you so." Mia said in a know-it-all tone.

"Everybody!" I shouted in my most authorative voice. Everyone froze and looked at me.

"First, we are going to get rid of that bee. And then, we are going to leave the shade, stop arguing, and go through the desert. Is that clear?"

Three heads nodded meekly. Mia quietly swatted the bee with her staff.

"All right."
We continued on.

"An oasis! Finally! I'm dying of thirst!" Garet exclaimed melodramatically. He started forward.

Ivan caught his arm. "Wait. We don't know what's in there. Reveal."

The true vision swam before my eyes in the heat-a giant scorpion was clicking its pincers in a quicksand pit.

"Th-thanks, Ivan." Garet stuttered. We all cautiously edged around it.

Finally, we did reach an oasis. I sank into the water gratefully after removing my boots.

I closed my eyes and dived deeper into the pool. The cool water was such a relief on my blistered skin.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my foot. I kicked, trying to surface. Strong arms pulled me out.

I gasped for air. "Thank you, Garet." I peeled the crab off of my injured foot.

"No problem." Garet grinned. "Anyone else need saving?"

We stayed at the oasis at least an hour, sometimes in the water, sometimes out, but never straying far from the cool pond. But eventually we had to leave.

"To the next oasis, I think." I pulled my boots on. "Let's go."

We walked along the cool sand for about an hour before being attacked. Another boar-like creature and two large bees. One bee buzzed angrily, flying over Mia's head. She gave a shriek and collapsed.

Garet immediately rushed over to her. "She's not dead." he reported. "It did some sort of stun-hey! Ouch!"

The bee had stung him.

"Venus," I choked out.

Gust spun out.

"Fever!" cried Garet angrily, getting to his feet again.

The other bee buzzed over to me. I felt my joints stiffen. I realized I was being stunned and I tried to speak. But my mouth was frozen, like the rest of my body. I couldn't even blink.

Mia struggled to her feet. She muttered something to Garet. He nodded and said something in reply. Ivan nodded.

Garet lumbered over and picked up my motionless body. He started running. The boar and bees didn't bother to pursue us.

I felt a ghastly liquid being poured down my throat. I gagged.

Suddenly, my eyes felt watery, and I blinked. I could move again!

"Why...did...Mia...recover...without that stuff?" I asked, slowly regaining control of my mouth. "And what was that stuff?"

"We don't know, and it was an elixir." answered Ivan.

"I think maybe that bee was younger." Mia decided. "So its sting wasn't too bad."
I glanced up at the lowering sun and sighed. "Let's try to make it to the next oasis before nightfall."

We dashed across the hot sand to a circle of stones.

But it turned out to hide only a treasure chest with a jar of thick green liquid. Mia slipped it in her pack along with the other mysterious potion.

Just as the last sliver of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, we reached the oasis. Drinking the water thirstily, I let my mind wander.

I wondered how Mother was getting along. I vowed that, if that bridge from Kalay to Vault was ever repaired, I would visit both Vale and Vault again. Garet was very worried about his family, too, although I knew he'd never admit as much. Plus Ivan, and Mia, especially, wanted to see our families and our hometown.

And you could collect Sap from Vault! Flint exclaimed happily.

Sap? I repeated in confusion.

That Venus Djinni? he persisted. In Vault?

Oh, that Sap. I had forgotten that Djinni that we'd seen early in our travels. That was only a couple of weeks ago, but it seemed like a century ago.

Back then, I had been sure that we'd stop them easily. We-no, I shouldn't deny myself-I have already failed once. I know it won't be easy. And I know that, whatever we do, we have to get Jenna away from Saturos and Menardi. Even away from her brother.

Or perhaps Felix needed rescuing, too. Perhaps he, too, was being kept there against his will. But with all the evidence so far, I doubted it.

I wondered, not for the first time, what that man from Imil, Alex, had to do with any of this. He clearly wanted the lighthouses lit...but why? And how had he learned of such things?

I stopped sipping the water and tried to rest. But it was hard. Ivan was still reading his book, Alchemy in Action. That wasn't the problem.

The dilemma was Garet and Mia. They were still talking.

"I've known Alex since I was very young." Mia confided. They were talking about Alex!

"I am...I was sure he would never do anything so awful. He was, in a sense, my best friend. I still don't see how he could betray me like that." she continued.

I rolled over uncomfortably. As curious as I was about Alex, Mia wasn't choosing to confide this information in me. I tried to drown them out by putting my arms over my ears.

That was better.

Yawning, I promptly fell asleep. I needed my rest, for who knew how long we'd wander in this forsaken desert?