Disclaimer: Still don't own Golden Sun.

...and walked from the grass onto the sand. There was an actual line, almost completely straight, although sand was scattered over the ground all the way to Suhalla. But here, this was real sand, a thick layer of it. This was the desert.

I made a face and took a few more steps. This desert wasn't as hot as the Lamakan, of course, since that was a Psynergetic heat, and, anyway, it was winter. Plus the sun was on its way to setting, so the temperature was considerably lessened. It was still incredibly hot, though. I knew sweat beads were going to form on my forehead.

Garet grinned when he entered. "This isn't so bad." he remarked.

"Easy for you to say," muttered Mia, who was sweating heavily already. "You're a Mars Adept."
Ivan mopped his forehead. "It isn't as hot as the Lamakan, at least," he offered optimistically.

"Nothing could be as hot as the Lamakan," I murmured. "Now, which way should we go?"
"I do not know," Iodem answered. I felt a small surge of anger. I wasn't asking you!

But I forced a smile. "Let's try, um, the left." I started out that way. Soon, we came to a narrow passage. I took one step in...and almost got caught up in the quickly formed sandstorm.

I gulped. "Uh-oh."
"Water," mused Mia. "Isaac, what about that blue gem you have?"

"What blue gem?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Oh, yeah, the one you used on me once!" Garet exclaimed.

"When was that?" Ivan wondered.

"You mean this?" I pulled a small blue jewel out of my pack. "It's worth a try." I concentrated. Rain fell just over the sandstorm. The storm slowed...and a huge, ugly creature crawled out.

It resembled a very large lizard, about as tall as me. It stood on two legs but its arms nearly touched the ground. Its hands were oddly clawlike. It had a reddish-orange hood around its monstrous face and piercing blue eyes.

Ivan acted first, casting a Plasma. The bolts shot out of his hands and shocked the lizard.

I was next, swinging my blade. I severed a clawlike hand and danced back, ready. The monster let out a hiss and swatted me with its remaining hand.

"Heat Wave!" cried Garet, jets of flame shooting from his fingers like arrows from hundreds of nocked bows. These hit the hood and burned it off effectively.

Mia mumbled something unintelligible from this distance and ice flew from her fingers, finding bits of giant lizard to pierce. The creature shook itself and spoke.

"Warrrrd..." it growled, and a Psynergetic shield floated in front of it.

Iodem was watching this display in unabashed amazement. "Amazing..."

"Time to call in the Djinn," I muttered under my breath. Time to fight, Flint.

The Djinni flew at an incredible speed towards the storm lizard. "Bet you can't get me!" he cried joyfully, feinting to get at the lizard. Finally, he flew right at the ice blue eyes and pierced one with his loved "blow that can cleave stone". The monster moaned and Flint zoomed back to me, excited.

Garet followed my example.

"Don't you try to hurt me!" shouted Scorch, flinging vicious fireballs at the lizard.

"My, my, a storm lizard," observed Smog. "We don't stand a chance." That said, he flew at the monster fiercely, his name following him.

"Lizards don't stand a chance against the mighty Hail!" No prizes for guessing who shouted that while throwing bits of ice at the monster.

After these four enthusiastic (with the possible exception of Smog) attacks, the lizard fell. Iodem stared for a moment, then actually applauded, clapping his hands happily. "Amazing!"

For the first time I actually felt pleased with Iodem.

"I most certainly don't fear for my life with such magnificent warriors traveling as my companions!" Iodem complimented.

I grinned. "Thanks."
"Thanks," echoed Garet.

"Thank you," thanked Mia.

"Thanks," Ivan added.

We continued on. But we hadn't gone far when we met a dead end with only a chest. Iodem reached to open it but Garet stopped him. "Don't," the Mars Adept warned. "It could be a mimic."

"Beg pardon?" Iodem asked, confused.

"It's fine!" I called. "It's just an armlet." I handed the piece of armor to Mia. She fitted it on.

"Who leaves these things around, anyway?" wondered Garet.

"Supposedly the good faeries, according to my book," Ivan informed him.

"Faeries," Mia repeated thoughtfully. "What does a faerie look like?"

"Nobody knows," Ivan intoned. "They're supposed to be really shy."

"Surely you don't believe in such tales?" scoffed Iodem.

I grinned. "Iodem, we've been through an evil desert, met two talking wood spirits or something like that, seen a curse that turned a town into living trees, and seen almost every kind of monster you can imagine. We battled the kraken and fought a bunch of living statues. So I'd believe any faerie tale, even one literally about faeries."

"Don't forget the manticore!" added Ivan.

Iodem merely sniffed, and we turned back and took the other fork. Eventually, it, too, led to a sandstorm. Again I held up my gem and again rain poured upon it. The monster looked exactly the same and we defeated it without much trouble.

I pushed on with vigor even as the sky darkened to night. Soon we faced several passages, each sure to contain at least one sandstorm and monster. Garet collapsed on the ground.

"Isaac, we've got to stop!"

"No! We have to keep going!" I protested.

Mia sighed, sitting down on the sand next to Garet. "Isaac, calm down. We'll get there in plenty of time. Don't worry."
"You were like this the last time we were going to a lighthouse," added Ivan.

"And with reason!" I argued. "It was lit!"

Iodem regarded us. "I do not know what this is about lighting lighthouses, but we must rest. It is a pity we do not have comfortable accomodations, but-"

I gave in. "Fine. We'll rest. I assume Babi sent provisions?"
"You assume correctly. However, the water is hot by now-"
I heard a steaming noise. Mia was standing over the basin of water, ice tumbling from her fingers. "Not anymore," she reported.

"And I am not sure if the soup is warm enough-"
I heard a crackling noise. Garet was sitting near a flame and the container of soup. "It is," he called.

"I am sure we cannot eat with this horrible wind-"

The wind stopped blowing. Ivan was sitting casually with his hands held out. "You're right," he answered.

"And we need some meat."

I walked over to the nearest sandstorm, summoned up some water, and called down several Ragnaroks in succession. I walked back calmly with the lizard meat. "Anything else?" I asked with a grin on my face.

Iodem's dark eyes flicked from Mia and the water to Garet and the soup, and then to Ivan and the still air and me and the meat. He gulped. "I...forgot how powerful this Psynergy is."

I smiled, glad of the unnerving effect our powers clearly had on the Tolbi man. I was sure Iodem would no longer have a problem with our authority. "Let's eat."

After our sumptious meal, it was time to fall asleep-or at least, for Iodem it was. The non-Adept actually snored almost as loudly as Garet as he slept. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Adept and Mia were chattering about something or the other. Ivan was, no surprise, reading a book. I laid down and tried to rest.

"-yeah, I wonder what's up with Felix-"

"-don't know. But-"
"-too. He's really worried about her."
I rolled over, hoping to drown out my friends. They were talking about me in that last bit I caught and I knew it. But instead I heard the unbearable noise of snoring. I rolled back over, hoping they'd stopped.

They hadn't, and now I could hear every word as clearly as if they were whispering it in my ear. They were no longer talking about me, but, worse, they were talking about Jenna. Apparently they hadn't exhausted the subject back in the last desert. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to listen to my Djinn, also chatting. But it only seemed to make it louder.

"Yeah, we've known Felix practically forever and it was only a matter of time before Jenna started tagging along with her older brother," Garet was telling her. "I think the first time was when we were...five?"
Six, I mentally corrected. I remembered that day so clearly...

It was my sixth birthday, and I was going to go over to Garet's house to celebrate. Felix was coming, too. He was older than both of us, but we were the closest boys in age to him, so he stayed with us most of the time. Felix had claimed that even if we got too "babyish" for him that he could play with Kay, who was almost exactly his age.

I was very excited, counting down the days until my birthday. And when it came...

It was a sunny, beautiful day and Mother allowed me to walk alone to Garet's house instead of waiting for Felix or Kay, both eight, to stop by and escort me. There was a spring in my step as I walked up the familiar path to my very best friend's house. But when I reached the house I stopped in confusion.

The other kids were waiting for me in the garden, as planned. There was Felix, Kay, Garet,...but who was that strange girl?

She looked younger than me by about a year and she was grinning broadly. Felix rolled his eyes-a common gesture for him even at age eight-and stepped towards me.

"This," he explained, "is my little sister, Jenna."

"Hi. Are you Isaac?" Jenna said this very quickly.

"Um, yes," I answered. "How do you know?"
"Felix told me, of course," she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And since he's Garet, then you have to be Isaac! Happy birthday, by the way."

Taken aback, I looked at her older brother.

"She begged Mother to come along." Felix informed me. "Jenna really wanted to meet you two."

"I think we'll have lots of fun," the little girl said with a straight face.

And we did, I thought to myself, amused. We most definitely did, and have, and we will again after we save you...

...plus the rest of the world.