Disclaimer: If I owned Golden Sun, you could safely expect at least two more Golden Sun games, a TV show, movies, and this would be published as an official book. ;)

I woke up and found about an inch of sand on my face. Apparently Ivan's wind Psynergy hadn't lasted. I sneezed several times before sitting up and brushing myself off.

The Jupiter Adept was already awake, reading a book as always. He didn't even notice as I leaned against the wall. My movement woke Mia, however.

"Should we wake Garet and Iodem up?" she wondered. Iodem heaved himself up.

"There is no need to wake me up," he yawned.

"Earthquake, Whirlwind, or Ice?" I asked tiredly.

Mia yawned. "I'm still tired. Ivan?"
Ivan sighed and put his book down. "I'm going."

Iodem watched with fascination as Garet was spun around rapidly in the air by, to him, nothing visible. I yawned. Dreams of the lighthouse had plagued me throughout the night, and I felt as though I had fought Saturos, Menardi and Alex single-handed. I was exhausted, which didn't bode well for today.

"Food," grunted Garet. He was not a morning person.

"Yes," I agreed. I wasn't, either.

Mia smiled. She was. "I'm getting it ready." She spread out the blankets over the middle area and put all of our breakfast food in the middle of that. "Ivan, clearly those two aren't feeling good enough to do more than speak monosyllaballically, so will you chop the meat? Garet, I'm sorry, but you have to light a fire. Don't worry, just light a fire right there."
"Wind?" Garet prompted.

"Oh, right." Ivan immediately stopped the blowing wind. "I can't stop it for long..."

"Okay." The fire was lit.

"Are you four like this all the time?" Iodem wanted to know.

"Every morning." I replied, managing two words.

"Ah."

"It's ready!" Mia chirped.

I dragged myself over to the blanket. "Yum," I commented brightly.

After I forced the food down, my head started to clear. I blinked several times. "Which way?"

"I dunno," Garet mumbled.

"None of us know," Mia said sensibly. "Unless...Ivan?"
The Jupiter Adept blinked. "Um...what?"
"Which way?" I repeated.

"How am I supposed to know?"
"How do I know? Master Hama said you had that sight and stuff!" I pointed out.

"Oh. Well, I don't know. Sorry." Ivan smiled apologetically then drifted back to his thoughts.

"How about...right?" Iodem suggested at random.

"Sounds good." I nodded. "I guess we should go."

After Garet and I cleaned up breakfast, we headed down the right passage. After we got a few feet, we reached another sandstorm.

I pulled the gem out once more. The monster spun down from its regal seat at the top of the sandstorm as it disappeared.

"Ragnarok," I mumbled.

"Flare Storm," muttered Garet.

Ivan cast a huge Whirlwind, spinning the monster up in the air and then dropping it down again. Mia simply swung her "angelic ankh". The monster collapsed.

We continued on in silence. After another sandstorm lizard, Ivan spotted something interesting. "A huge, buried head! I wonder..."
"Warriors? We have a problem. There is a gigantic sandstorm...just behind you."
I turned slowly and was swept up in the sandstorm. I couldn't see the others. I pulled out my gem. Rain poured down. I spun down into the center, and Garet, Mia, and Ivan were spun there, too. A huge lizard, bigger than the others, waited there for us. It resembled the others, only at least twice as tall, lime green, and with dull purple eyes instead of bright blue.

Quake Sphere! I thought suddenly. The ground beneath the lizard shook, bits of rock embedding themselves in the scaly skin.

Garet formed a fireball in his hands and tossed it at the lizard. The storm lizard's hood was burned painfully.

"Unhand these four wonderful knights, Sir Isaac, Sir Garet, Sir Ivan, and Lady-"
"Gust!" Ivan snapped.

"Yes, Sir Ivan! I shall do battle!" Gust fluttered over to the lizard, fierce winds following her.

Ivan rolled his eyes.

"Storrrrrm Rrraay," growled the monster. Bolts shot from the sky, sparing me but striking the other three.

"I'm sleepy...sleepy...sleepy..." Mists filled the middle of the sandstorm as Mist spoke the hypnotic words. I squinted, trying to see if the lizard had been affected. It shook itself off, seemed hurt, but did not rest.

"Sonnnic Slllash." Huge wind waves pierced my skin. I'd never thought wind could hurt, but this did. Mia was badly injured, and the wind blew away the fog.

Ground, we need you desperately.

Ground zoomed out, weaved around the lizard excitedly, and ran back. "Done!"

"Good," I told him absently. Ivan was meanwhile frantically opening a jar of the green liquid. He swallowed it hastily, and I saw his wounds Psynergetically heal.

Garet raced over to Mia. "Be okay, be okay!" he pleaded.

She opened her eyes. "I'm...fine. Go...fight."
"Ember!" he called instead. The Djinni stomped out, waved an indifferent hand, and I felt my Psynergy return. Mia managed a weak smile.

"Ply Well..." The Mercury Adept stood up unsteadily.

"Storrrrrm Rrray..." the creature commanded again. This time a bolt hit me. I cringed. Granite! Should have thought of him earlier, I scolded myself. The Djinni silently began his trek around us.

"Tiamat!" shouted Garet. The huge dragon beat her wings and blew jets of flame at the lizard.

"Fizz..." Mia waved a still feeble hand over Garet. Fizz trotted out, crying about healing Mars Adepts. The monster attempted a bite in Ivan's direction.

The Jupiter Adept dodged it. "Procne!"

"Judgement!" I bellowed. The ground rippled, tumbling the lizard. Next, a volcano erupted beneath it. Ivan poked it with his rapier. Mia murmured, "Neptune."

The monster batted at her with a huge claw. She cried out. Garet struck...and the monster fell.

We stood there for a moment, catching our breath. Finally, Ivan murmured, "Reveal." He grabbed our hands. "Look."
A trail of glowing footprints, definitely not human, was revealed. We followed them, finally reaching a Mars Djinni. Another Djinni, Venus, popped out from behind the first.

"Flash, looks like we've got visitors. Big stupid Adepts, from the look of it," she reported.

Flash sighed. "We? Bane, would you stop acting like we're in this together?"
"Two heads are better than one, even when they're as thick as yours," Bane retorted. "Anyway, wouldn't you rather us band together at least to take care of these Adepts?"

"Fine," grunted Flash. "I'll go attack them. If I look like I'm losing, you jump in, okay?"
"Who died and made you supreme Djinni?" grumbled Bane. "Okay, fine."

"You know we can hear every word you're saying," I pointed out loudly. "Right?"

Bane glanced at us. "Looks like they've got a non-Adept too."

Iodem took a few steps back, watching the Djinn in fascination. "You can tell who is an Adept?"

"Of course," Bane replied. "Flash, are you going to wait around all day like Haze? Get moving! You're supposed to be attacking them, remember?"

Flash was eyeing us uneasily. "You're not the boss of me, Bane!"

"Maybe not, but surely you don't want to join those Adepts? I mean, you're so stubborn that I wouldn't think you'd give up on your loner thing right now," Bane shot back.

"True," considered Flash. "I'll go."
With that, he aimed a fireball at Mia immediately. But Garet moved in front of her and took it instead. It didn't hurt the Mars Adept a bit. In fact, it seemed to make him stronger. "Why can't you just join us peacefully?" he reasoned.

"I don't want to join anyone!" snarled the Djinni.

"You watch what you're saying," called Bane, "or I won't come in to save you!"

"I don't need you to save me!" Flash shouted back.

"Fine then, join the Adepts!" she cried.

"I will!" Flash stomped over to Garet. "I Block damage to party with a firewall." That said, he disappeared.

Bane was seething. "That idiot Djinni! Fine, I'll join them too!" The Venus Djinni huffed her way over to me. "And I Attack with nature's venom." That said, she disappeared.

Bane! cried Flint joyfully.

Bane! echoed Ground.

It's poison-tongue Bane! shrieked Quartz fondly.

Hello, Bane, greeted Sap.

Hi, Bane! shouted Granite.

Hey, everyone. Guess I'm not the only one who joined these Adepts.

Boo! Vine mentally shouted.

Bane laughed. Hey, Vine. I knew you were here.

No, you didn't.

Yes, I did.

How?
You left your float-joy over there. Bane replied dryly.

Oh.

"Let's go," I said to the others. We made our way to the edge of the desert.

But Iodem stopped when we reached it. I turned. "Iodem...?"

"Sheba," he murmured. "We have seen no sign of her. Should we continue on?"

"Of course," I answered, my mind not on Sheba but on Jenna. "We must."
"Very well. We shall leave the matter of Sheba to the guards at our gate." Abruptly, the Tolbi man turned again and walked out of the desert.

I followed, and the others followed me. I quickened my pace, although I felt like collapsing. The sooner we got to the lighthouse, the better.