YAY! Another chapter! Happy about it? You better be!
Thanks in advance for reading, and a special thanks to all my reviewers:
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NOTE: There's some heavy stuff in this chapter.

Now read!

Jenna sniffled and sobbed at the ruined dock of her house, the house where her entire family had died just weeks ago. It had been such a short time and already all of Vale had forgotten, tried to move on. Everyone still looked at her with those pity-filled eyes, those eyes that said it would have been better if she had died with her family. She couldn't help but agree, then she wouldn't be so sad, so alone every moment of every day. There was no hope for a normal life for her anymore.

She had nothing anymore. She had no grandparents. She had no cousins. She had no family. She had nothing. She was the last of her family. Nothing. Alone. Friends? Only Isaac and Garet. They were the only ones who hadn't changed around her, all the others just pitied her. Only Isaac and Garet were left. She couldn't comprehend it. In one moment she had her family, she was happy, she had played with her brother, and Isaac, and Garet, then, she was alone, crying, lost.

The sun still hadn't risen over Vale, a sliver of orange was glowing over the mountainous surroundings, so all of Vale was still sound asleep. Jenna hadn't been able to sleep since the Boulder and she was so horribly tired. She just wanted to rest, to fall asleep, wake up, and for everything to have been a horrible, horrible, nightmare. She could wake up and Felix would hug her in the morning like he used to and her mother and father would have breakfast ready for them. Then she and Felix would go to hang around with Isaac and Garet, and life would be fun…

Yeah… that would be great, but she knew that would be the dream, this cruel reality was no nightmare, it was her life now. Her life without love, happiness, fun, or light. She choked on a sob, her body unable to handle the strain of crying after so long without sleep or proper care. She was desperate, a wreck, she just wished for anything to help her out of this.

Isaac and Garet were there for her, as were their families, and as nice as that was it was no help. Isaac's family was shattered without Kyle to provide, and Isaac was just as lost as she was inside. Garet did what he could, as did his family, but there was only so much that could help and they could not provide the solace she required. No… she was alone. Isaac would have been the one to help… or Felix… but both of them were gone, never the same.

She stood up, shaking her head, this couldn't be her life… this nightmare couldn't be what she had to face every day for the rest of her life. She had to change that, make this nightmare into something she could live in, find some happiness in it, find something, anything, to live for. She tried to run from the dock, to make it somewhere, but she never even got through her house. Her eyes fell on a tapestry her mother was weaving before she…

Jenna collapsed to the ground, tears flowing anew, as she took the material in her hands. It was nothing fantastic, just a decorative piece to hang above the stairway, but it meant so much now. She ran her finger over the pattern, her tears leaving a damp trail behind it, until she reached the frayed end where her mother's work had stopped. She held the piece close to her face, hugging it tightly as her tears squeezed out from her eyes.

"Mom…" She choked out.

This tiny piece of fabric had reduced her to tears so soon after she had tried to regain strength, change all of this sadness. Was this how easy it was? Would she eventually just start collapsing at the mere mention, or thought, of her family? How was she ever to find strength, to move on, if she couldn't even make it out of her own house without collapsing, without feeling her world fall down around her?

Maybe all of the villagers were right, she had heard the whispers, the murmurs in the crowd whenever she was seen, maybe she should have died with her family. They thought she couldn't hear, that they were thinking of what would have been best for her, but she picked out every word about her or her family these days, and each and every one cut so deep into her. Only when Isaac and Garet spoke to her about them did it seem okay.

They were great, but the rest of Vale was right, she should have died with her family. She should have been there with them, trying to help her brother. She should have gone with them into the life that waited after, spent eternity in paradise with her family in happiness. She would have left behind Isaac and Garet, but they could always lean on each other. They could move on without her, they were strong, growing stronger each day since the Boulder. So, they'd last…

But her? No… she was not strong enough to survive this, she was weak, broken, lost, without her family, without her brother. He was always the one by her side when Isaac could not be, giving her strength to get through the hard times, looking after her when they were younger and she was scared at night. Holding her through the scary storms and whispering comfort to her. Without him, she didn't know what she would do.

She just wanted to see them again, to hug her brother, Felix, again. She looked around her ruined house, one that used to be so alive and loving, it was now dark, broken, and cold. She just wanted them back. She just wanted to be back with them, she didn't care how.

Not believing what she was doing, but doing it all the same as her tears ran faster, Jenna dug through the remainder of the kitchen. After a minute or two of sobbing and the clattering of cutlery, she was brandishing the smooth blade of a knife. Crying as she returned to the remains of her sitting room, surrounded by the happy memories of her family, Jenna rolled up her sleeves slowly.

She was shaking so violently as the knife hovered above her wrists that it threatened to just slash at her arm without her controlling it. Taking deep breaths as she hesitated and shook, Jenna dropped the knife, unable to do it. She couldn't just leave Isaac or Garet to find her like this… not without an explanation… she, she had to say goodbye… but she couldn't go see them, they'd tell her to stop, they wouldn't understand.

Scrambling to a desk, she hastily found a piece of parchment and a pen. Quickly scribbling the note down, unable to control her hands, her tears blotting and running the ink, Jenna wrote down her final goodbyes to her two friends, telling them she was sorry.

Carrying the note back with her she slid down to sit beside the knife again. Placing her goodbye beside her, Jenna lifted the knife again, still unable to repress these shakes as she pressed the cold steel against her skin. It was so cold it burned. Taking one last breath, she dug the knife into her wrist and cut upwards along her arm, biting back her scream as the pain ripped through her body.

Feeling her strength sap away as blood began to pour from the new wound, the knife swapped hands and the process repeated. This time she felt no pain, just a blissful light-headedness. She sagged over onto her side, letting herself die on the floor.

Jenna opened her eyes suddenly, realising that her lips were locked together with Isaac's.

Sheba winced as she awoke, not moving too much upon the first stirring of her eyes. Pain was evident throughout her body, though she could tell someone had gone through the trouble of healing her. She tried to assess how, or even where, she was, but that was made rather difficult by the still rocking state of the ship, obviously the storm had yet to pass, maybe she wasn't out for as long as she thought.

Looking down at herself she found she was on the couch in the common room, still soaking wet and freezing. She gingerly pulled herself to a sitting position, finding she was tied down a bit, obviously to prevent her from rolling away if the ship rocked too much. Severing the rope with a quick jolt of Psynergy she sat up fully, wincing again as she put some pressure on her hand. Biting back some wetness at her eyes, she found that her wrist was wrapped up gingerly, a small splint against it to hold it steady. She scowled at the mending arm, before trying to remember what had happened.

She had been in battle and loving it. She wasn't one to exactly enjoy battle, but she didn't really mind. She sat pondering the hour she had spent burning monsters with lightning and sending them flying overboard with a fierce gust. Garet had been with her for the entirety of it, dispatching even more beasts than she did with axe and flame. Obviously something had finally managed to get to her, and she was sure she'd be told when the storm finally broke.

Kraden came scurrying from the stairway and upon noticing Sheba, ran to her side. The girl smiled to him as he took a seat beside her, "You should rest, Sheba, you're very badly bruised."

"Is that what hurts so much?" She grinned a little, massaging the various points that hurt, "Damn, and here I was ready to go back out and kill something."

"You must rest, dear, everyone else is working on something, no one can heal you yet. However, I could mix up something to eat if you wish." The kindly scholar smiled.

"That'd be great, Kraden, thanks." Sheba beamed, nodding, "I'm gonna get changed though, can't be catching a cold or anything stupid."

Kraden agreed that was a wise course of action and shuffled away as he always did to make something for the Laliveran girl. Sheba smiled to him, wondering how the group would have made it through a lot of their troubles without his knowledge of the world. Granted, she could always still tease him for his childish burst of anger when he wasn't let into Lemuria when they first arrived. To think he'd sometimes chastise her for being a child. She quickly made her way to her room, locking the door behind her, just in case anyone were to walk in while she changed.

Stripping down, Sheba looked over her naked form in the mirror. Of course, she blushed slightly, she very rarely looked at herself without something on. She liked to consider herself as pretty, attractive, or cute, feminine enough to attract some boys' attentions. Still, she was pretty young… she thought that maybe she should let her hair grow a little longer. How might it look? She could do it up differently after all, maybe reinvent her whole look… break away from her past with simple changes.

Shaking her thoughts from how nice she may or may not look, she turned her attentions to her injuries. There were spatters of small purple marks all over her form, along her arms, her legs, stomach, chest, back, and head. There were cuts here and there, some quickly healed leaving a small mark, others scabbed over clearly healed by a non-Adept. She wasn't very accustomed to being injured, not while she lived in Lalivero, but now she seemed to have to deal with cuts and bruises every day, and that was all if she was very lucky. She didn't really mind though, there were no scars of previous injuries thanks to the healing Psynergies of Felix, Jenna, Piers, Mia, Isaac, and the multiple Djinn they had.

Smiling to herself, admiring how she looked, ignoring the injuries of course, Sheba nodded and decided to have a quick shower. She felt rather heavy, waterlogged in a sense, and she didn't smell the best as it were. Quickly running to the bathroom and letting the water run free, Sheba stepped under it, letting the warmth wash over her. She only stood under for a minute or two, admitting that she may end up back out in the fight soon enough, wounds permitting.

Quickly washed, to a degree, Sheba towelled herself off, and redressed quickly, bringing her soaked clothes out with her as she left her room. As she reached the stairs leading upstairs though, her way forward was barred by the descending form of the large Mars Adept, soaked to the very bone. The man smiled widely to her as he reached the bottom and gave her a gentle rap on the arm. He looked ridiculous, she hadn't really been able to look at him when she was out in the storm, but now there was nothing to distract her.

His normally spiky-red hair, standing nearly a foot up from his head, was long and slick behind him, almost as long as Felix's. It was heavy with the rain and stuck to his face in a most unceremonious appearance, Sheba couldn't help but laughing as he stood in front of her.

"Hey, good to see you up, squirt, how you doing?" He beamed broadly, leaning casually against the wall, unperturbed by Sheba's reaction.

"Hang on, hang on." Sheba laughed, catching her breath, "Sorry, but you look so much different, you gotta let your hair stay loose someday, I'd love to see it normal. Oh, and I'm fine, I guess. Don't really remember what happened? You were there right?" Sheba tilted her head.

Garet chuckled a bit at the girl, "I'm not as dashing with my hair loose, you know, no competition for Felix or Piers, but hey, maybe you'll get lucky and I'll do it someday. Yeah, you got hurt, I hauled you back. Nothing too bad, I guess, though, bet you have some pretty nasty bruises."

"Yeah, a few, but I'm all good. Ready to go back out and fight!" She exclaimed energetically, delivering some small punches to Garet's chest with her good hand, then she fully heard what Garet said and her arm wrapped around his broad chest, barely able to meet at his back.

Garet blinked twice, and raised his eyebrow, "Uh… if you hug a monster I don't think it's gonna return the sentiment. Lucky I'm not a monster then, eh?" He laughed as he wrapped her up in his muscular arms, tenderly to avoid hurting her aching form.

"Don't be stupid, I was just thanking you. You saved my life!" Sheba smiled, looking up at him as she let him go.

"Pfft, that all? Please, if I got a hug every time I saved someone I'd never be outta someone's arms. Besides, you would've been fine. You would've woke up on a beach or something and become a warrior queen. You're badass like that."

"Damn right!" Sheba laughed, admitting to herself that she probably would have just broken down and cried on some random rock, if she hadn't died. It was a nice fantasy though.

"Yeah, exactly! You'd of been fine, it's Ivan I'd be worried about. All he did when he took your place was ask about you, I nearly threw him overboard myself. 'Oh, what happened Sheba?' 'How could you let something happen to Sheba?' 'Will Sheba be okay?' This close," Garet said, holding his thumb and forefinger very close to each other, "to him being gone."

As much as Sheba knew he was joking, she wasn't sure how much he was. She couldn't help but blush as she thought of Ivan worrying for her, "Yeah, he's a wuss, but that's what he's got us for!"

"You know it! Anyway, I gotta get going, Shebs. Need to clean up and get some food in me. Ivan and Piers are out fighting right now. Good to see you better." Garet said as he continued down the hall and into his room.

Sheba smiled to herself as she ascended the stairs, making her way to the common room to find Kraden just finishing the food he had promised her. Sheba hungrily tucked into it and continued to smile to herself, thanking Kraden once she was done.

Isaac frowned and swung his legs from his bed. It was incredibly early, and he was still tired… though, it wasn't as if he was able to sleep if he tried. His father had died in front of his eyes, along with one of his best friends and his parents, Jenna's parents. In the blink of an eye they were gone, lost under the incredible weight of the Mt. Aleph boulder. Crushed and gone forever. They had searched all around Vale for weeks after, but no evidence of them ever came to be. Empty coffins, bearing an item of clothing, were buried.

Isaac wasn't sure how having found the bodies would have been better. It could have been worse, his mother, and most definitely Jenna, would have broken down when the bodies were found in whatever state they had been left. It would have been better for them though… to have a proper burial, to be amongst their ancestors, not to be thrown somewhere in Weyard to decay in the wilderness.

Fresh tears formed in his eyes and he wiped them away. There was no point in succumbing to the sadness, though no one would blame him, it was better to be strong, to push through it and make his father proud, to take care of Jenna for Felix and their parents. Strong… had his Psynergy been stronger he could have helped save Felix. They all could have escaped the dock before the Boulder fell. Had he taken his Psynergetic studies more seriously none of them would have had to die.

That's why he trained now, in whatever free time he had. He and Garet, it was their fault Felix and the others were gone, had they been stronger, or faster in finding someone, everyone would be okay. Pulling the scarf his father had given him for his birthday four years ago, a scarf he didn't take to wearing too often before the accident, Isaac headed out of his house, stopping only briefly to see if his mother was not still awake. She had cried herself to sleep almost every night, and he hated seeing that. She seemed to be sound asleep now though.

Vale was cold, colder than it should have been this time of year. Perhaps it was just how early he was up, but Isaac felt that it was the tragedy that was doing this to his hometown. Even during sunny days everything seemed dull, more than just those he was close to had died in that storm. Other fathers, other mothers, other sons and daughters, had perished during the horror. What possible evil could Vale have committed to anger the Gods so much? They always did their best to follow the teachings that had been passed down.

He sighed, knowing better than to dwell on it, and walked a slow deliberate path that would lead him past Garet's house and to Jenna. She had been staying with him since she had no family left in the world. As he reached the house, he threw a pebble at Garet's window, hoping to wake the normally heavy sleeper. Watching the window, Isaac wondered if he should toss another before a voice came from behind.

"Hey, Isaac, I'm already up." Garet's voice was sombre and low.

Isaac turned to nod to his friend, "Hey… how's Jenna?"

The red-head shook his head and shrugged, "I dunno. She wasn't in her bed when I woke up a while ago, I thought she went over to yours."

"She wasn't in her… where is she?" Isaac asked, urgency entering his tone. He was worried after all, she hadn't been the same since the Boulder, she put on a brave face around others, tried to show that she could take it, but only Isaac and Garet saw her how she was now.

Garet shrugged again, "I don't know, I was gonna head over to yours to see if she was there. Split up?"

Isaac nodded feverishly, desperate to find his friend before something bad happened, "I'll head to her house, you go check the plaza. If she's not at either place, meet at the graveyard. If we can't find her, we'll just loop around again."

"You got it, man." Garet took the order and sprinted off down toward the main gates of Vale. She had wandered there several times, staring out at the world beyond, hoping to see her family walking back to her.

Isaac mentally thanked his friend. He had been so good to the two of them, Jenna especially. He always put anything aside for either of them, didn't matter what it was, if it was for them, he'd make time. He really was the best friend anyone could have, Isaac wasn't sure how well he or Jenna may have been able to cope without him there to help them. Isaac spun on his heel and took off sprinting toward her house. He could see the ruined shambles from here, nestled by the waterfall, but Jenna was not by it. He wondered if he should run to the graveyard first.

He shook his head and pressed on, she rarely went to the graveyard, and his steps were becoming more and more urgent as time went on. He wasn't sure why he was so worried.

Glancing down at the graveyard from an overlooking hill, he saw it devoid of Garet, which meant he was on his way to or already searching the town square for the girl. Being so early in the morning, there was no Valean to ask as he ran. Before he knew it, he was sprinting harder than he ever had toward her house, trying to hold back tears. She had voiced enough times that she just wanted to end all of her sadness and be with her family again. He refused to believe that she would eventually succumb to that weakness, but every part of his body argued that.

As he advanced on her house he swore he caught a glimpse of Garet heading toward it from another part of the town. Jenna was absent from the destroyed dock by her house, and he couldn't see her through any of the holes in the house. Bursting through the ruined door, Isaac was faced with his worse fear.

Jenna was slumped on the floor, tears and blood streaming from her body.

"Jenna! NO!" Isaac roared as he rushed to her side. Gods, damn it, no!

Isaac clutched Jenna close to him, holding her tight, checking for any sign of life. The tiniest of thumps against his fingers was all he needed to ignite the hope in his chest, he could still save her. He could still save her. He couldn't let her die, when he could still save her.

Carefully lifting her into his arms, wishing he knew even the most basic of healing Psynergies he burst back out of the door and ran as fast as he could to the Sanctum. He cursed and cried as he struggled up the many stairs leading to it, who the hell decided it should be so far away from the town, from the people who needed it most!? Gods, damn it, he couldn't lose Jenna too!

"Isaac…" The barest hint of Jenna's voice came into existence.

"It's okay, Jenna, it's okay." He said softly, though more for himself, to make himself believe that it would be okay. Jenna didn't even seem to be aware of where she was. She was so pale, and so close to death that Isaac didn't care what she had to say right now. Just get her to the Sanctum, save her, that's all that mattered.

Cursing at the heavy doors as he finally reached it, Isaac roared at the top of his voce, and resigned to kicking them in an attempt to open them. He only succeeded in making a dull thud pound through his mind, slowly nailing down Jenna's coffin with each blow. Gods… Gods no… Isaac broke down, his tears pattering uselessly against Jenna's body. He failed, he couldn't save her.

"My word what is… Gods… Boy, get her inside, quickly!"

Isaac's eyes shot up, the Great Healer and his understudies were crowded at the now open doors. He pushed himself into the Sanctum, and laid Jenna's body on the healing slab at the back of the main room. As he set her down, he saw all of the Healers' powerful restorative Psynergies flare to life in front of him. One of them, noticing Isaac was still present, quickly ushered him out, despite Isaac's outrage. He struggled against the larger man, but it proved useless as he was left shouting Jenna's name from behind the closed doors.

"Isaac! Isaac!"

Isaac whirled around, brushing the tears from his eyes as he saw Garet advancing on him. The boy held out a note, tinged with blood toward Isaac, "Is she okay? Did you get her here on time? When I didn't find her I went to her house, and there was blood everywhere and a knife and then I found this! Is Jenna okay?"

Isaac snatched the note from his friend, and quickly scanned over it, oblivious to the questions he was being assaulted with. It was near illegible, stained with tears and blood, but it was clearly intended to be Jenna's final goodbye to the two of them. Isaac crushed the note in his hand, tearing it up and stuffing it into his pocket to burn later.

"ISAAC!" Garet roared, grabbing the front of his tunic, finally getting his attention, "Is Jenna alive!?"

Tears were running unbound from both of their eyes as Isaac answered, "S-she was when I… when I g-got here… I dunno… t-they can s-save her, r-right?"

"Y-yeah!" Garet tried to sound reassuring, but his shaky voice couldn't do it, "S-she'll be, f-fine. Just wait."

The two sat there for hours, watching the sun rise as the rest of Vale began to wake. They were afraid someone may come looking for them, find what Jenna had done. She'd never be able to get over this if all of Vale found out. They prayed they never would.

"Isaac. Garet." The voice prompted them to jump to their feet and they met eyes with the Great Healer, "We have done all we can, she is alive, though very weak, she will need rest."

"Can we see her?" The two asked anxiously.

"You may, but remember, she is very weak, she may not be able to communicate very well."

"Thank you. Thank you so much. Please, don't tell anyone about this. She doesn't deserve that." Isaac begged as Garet ran into the Sanctum.

"No, my boy, I shall ensure this does not leave my Sanctum. Jenna has been through more than I care to imagine in such a short time. I pray you and your friend will take care of her." The Healer answered as he moved away.

Isaac thanked the Healer again and was at Jenna's side in a heartbeat. She was so pale, and tears streaked down her cheeks as she stared up at the two of them.

"I-Isaac… Garet… I-I'm s-sorry… I'm so… so sorry… I just… I j-just couldn't… couldn't t-take it anymore… I-I…" The girl voice broke, exhausting itself before she could finish and fresh tears ran free.

"Shhh…" Isaac whispered tenderly, taking her frail hand in his, feeling his own tears drip from his eyes, "It's okay. Garet and I will always be here for you."

"Always." Garet reaffirmed kneeling down to her level to wipe away her tears.

Jenna closed her eyes and smiled the tiniest bit, probably passing out. Isaac tried to stop himself from crying, to be strong for Jenna. But the person he loved more than anything else in the world had nearly killed herself, had he been a few seconds late, he might be cradling her still warm corpse. To think that just being that much later meant the difference between losing the girl he loved and saving her. He was just glad he had saved her. He'd never let her go, he promised to chase her to the ends of Weyard if anything ever happened.

Eventually the Healers came to suggest they restore more of her life, and Isaac and Garet were ushered out. Quickly realising they had to destroy all evidence of this, they ran to Jenna's house to clean away everything for her sake. They had to save her from the ridicule, the shame, everything. Today would be the same as yesterday in the eyes of all other Valeans. No one would know what Jenna had tried to do.

Isaac and Garet owed that to the person they loved the most in the world.

Isaac pulled away from Jenna, smiling as he opened his eyes to see her wine-red orbs, watering slightly, glittering in return to his. Suddenly, the rocking state of the ship returned to them, reminding them that were still in the thick of the most vicious storm they had ever seen.

"Isaac?" Jenna questioned as she took a step or two back, blushing madly.

The blonde scratched the back of his head, his blush matching Jenna's, "Sorry…"

Jenna began sniffling, wiping her hand under her eyes as she smiled at the boy who had just kissed her. She couldn't understand why everything that should make her happy was making her cry instead. Then, when Isaac hugged her trying to stop her crying she began to laugh, and she found her answer. They were tears of joy. She had never understood that saying before, not really, but she got it now, and she was glad for it.

She wrapped her arms around Isaac tightly, letting her gentle sounds of mirth escape her. Isaac held her closer smiling to himself as well. He had made her laugh, he didn't know how to take that really. One moment after their kiss she looked ready to cry and now she was laughing… it made him feel a little embarrassed and ridiculous, but if Jenna was cheered up after everything today then he was fine with that. Besides, she had kissed him last night.

Jenna released Isaac after a time, still a few giggles escaping her form as she looked at him, "Thank you."

"Anytime." The blue-eyed boy responded, running a hand through her hair.

She beamed up to him, but then something came to her mind. They had been down here alone for a few hours, it was probably time for their joint shift. As much as she didn't really want to, it was what should be done, "Hey, do you think we should go check on things up above? We've been down here for a while."

Isaac's smile faded a little at that, but he nodded to her, "That's probably best. But… I… I'll stay here for now. I'll take the next hour"

Feeling slightly rejected, but understanding that they could get hurt if they distracted each other, Jenna smiled, "I'll be back soon." Jenna said softly, passing a finger across his cheek. She really wanted to stay with him, to live out the dreams her childhood dreams with Isaac right now, but she couldn't be selfish. Someone could get hurt. Isaac would never forgive himself for that, and she definitely wouldn't want that on her either.

Isaac nodded again, smiling to her as she left, "Jenna!" He called, just before she left his view, "Be careful…" She nodded to him before quickly hurrying to the upper decks, smiling just enough to not reveal anything. There was nothing to come across until she came into the kitchen where Kraden was cooking something.

"Kraden!" Jenna yelled playfully, having snuck up on him.

The aged scholar nearly had a heart-attack, which cheered Jenna up even more to see as he turned startled to her, "O-oh, Jenna, my dear, please don't do that."

"Sorry, what's happened while I was below?" She asked, patting him on the shoulder in apology.

Kraden smiled a little, accepting the apology, "It has been mostly uneventful. Sheba was injured a while ago, but she is up now and recovering nicely. Garet brought her in and looked rather tired, Ivan has taken her place outside. Garet came in a while after, and Piers took over for him. I am unsure as to where Mia has gone, this is a large vessel after all."

"So, Sheba's okay?" Jenna asked, worried for her best friend.

Kraden nodded, turning back to the food he was preparing, "Of course, a little sore, but she'll be fine."

"Alright, I'm gonna take over someone's shift out there. Tell him to go help Isaac with repairs if it's needed. He probably won't hear me." Jenna said as she rushed to the door leading to the deck. She could hear the wind howl, the rain pounding weightily against the wooden structure with such force it sounded like it could break through. Steeling herself, and holding her sword at her belt, she tore the door open before slamming it shut behind her.

She couldn't even see in front of her with all the rain and wind, and it was incredibly dark out, the sun had probably set, or was doing so. She acclimatised to the storm quickly and rushed over to the others. Monster's bodies and fluids were sloshing around on the deck and being thrown off around them. It seemed this was where Mia had gotten too. She tapped her on the shoulder tenderly, but she still whipped around ready to drive her mace into her. She was quick enough to stop herself though, as was Jenna to pull out her blade and block.

The woman had a small cut or two across her face and Jenna made several gestures towards the cabin. It didn't take long for her to get the message and she quickly ran inside. Jenna smirked, cracking her knuckles and nodding to Ivan and Piers as more monsters started over the rails.

Garet yawned as he wrapped some bandages around the cuts he had just cleaned. They weren't anything to worry about, but it was just good practice and he had learned rather fast that it was best to do it as soon as possible. He was kind of sore, but that was more from being tired, his muscles ached because of how much he'd swung his axe around and having to dislodge it from bodies was never particularly easy either.

Massaging his shoulder as he made his way to the lower decks, he made a mental note to ask Mia to heal it later. Eventually he found Isaac leaning against a wall amongst the lowest decks of the ship, his Psynergy slightly active, his eyes closed.

"Isaac." Garet said as he approached, announcing his presence. He was careful of what to say, that morning hadn't been easy on them, and he wasn't sure how his time alone with Jenna may have gone.

"Hey, Garet, how are things up above?" Isaac asked, smiling a little.

"Alright I guess, Sheba was hurt, but she's fine now… otherwise we're all good. How about you?" Garet answered, keeping his tone careful and calm just in case.

Isaac nodded, "Alright, I was still pretty shaken for a good while after this morning, but I guess it's good news right?"

Garet beamed broadly to his friend, patting him on the arm, some of the Psynergetic glow passing along him, "Course it is, your dad's alive, man, and Jenna's family. That's great news. Has Jenna realised that yet? Or is she still mad at Felix, or sad, or what? I haven't seen her since you two came down here."

Isaac pursed his lips for a second, thinking, "She was like me, but she was putting on a better face than I was. It still got to her though, how could it not, you know?" Garet nodded at that, "She seems fine though… we didn't actually talk about it too much… kinda didn't want to."

Garet let out a breath and agreed, "Guess that makes sense, but you'll have to talk about it eventually, man, no point in pretending things are still the same. I'll talk to Felix when we're out of this… seeing as I'm not as attached as you two to this situation. Probably won't do anything, but hey, worth a shot. Might rope in Piers, he seems to be able to get to him sometimes."

"Maybe…" Isaac answered.

Garet raised his eyebrow, tilting his head to look Isaac in the eye, "You alright, man? You seem distracted… well, more than you should be."

Isaac took a very deep breath before he spoke, and even then he was very careful and deliberate about it, "I kissed Jenna."

Garet let out a very exaggerated gasp, laughing once he came out of it, "Noooooo! Oh, how could you!? Especially after she kissed you last night! That would have been big news any time before last night, bro."

"But after everything this mo-"

"Pfft, she doesn't care about that! You are dense! I've been telling you two for years that you're perfect for each other, and it's obvious as hell that you love each other! What in all of Weyard has made you think that a second kiss between you two is a bad thing!?" Garet asked loudly, smiling the entire way.

"I don't want her to think I'm just using this as a way t-"

"Not this again." Garet whined, "Dude, you used that excuse for three years in Vale. I understood it for the first year, a bit of the second, but by year three it was ridiculous. That's still true now, c'mon, man, she kissed you last night when everything was just peachy! Get over this honour thing of yours. She. Loves. You. How many times do I have to tell you that? Get in the game! Be a boyfriend, take her on romantic dates, eat candlelit dinners, dance under the moonlight, all of that!"

"Garet, you know I love Jenna. There's no way you know the reverse though."

"Wrong. You think you're the only one who has talked to me about their feelings? I'm Jenna's best friend too, bro, she didn't tell you everything in Vale. I heard a few things, you know." Garet smirked, "Get over yourself, or you're getting punched, got it?"

Isaac smirked as Garet brought his fist into view, "Alright, man, thanks. Just needed a second opinion, glad you agree. I didn't think I was, but I needed to know."

"So you were playing me?" Isaac smirked and nodded, "Alright, you are getting punched." Garet laughed, punching Isaac in the arm quiet heavily, which resulted in some yellow orbs to trail from Isaac's Psynergy and into his arm.

"I can still kick your ass, but not right now, after the storm." Isaac said, reminding Garet of their watch over hull integrity.

Garet snickered, "Chicken." The two laughed as Garet walked to the other side of the room and slid against a support beam until he was sitting on the ground. Isaac mimicked him. Garet smirked and tossed a small pouch over at him.

Isaac, wondering what it was, pulled it open to find about one-hundred worth of gold within the pouch. He lifted it up and gestured to it, "What's this?"

"Gold, genius. Happy Birthday." Garet smiled, "I know it's late, but hey, better late than never. I know it doesn't compete with Jenna, though I could try that if you prefer."

Isaac laughed a little, "No thanks, but take it back, you didn't need to get me anything."

"No way, bro. Keep it. I'll just end up gambling it away with Ivan and Sheba." Garet said, holding his hands up to show he wasn't ever going to take it back. Isaac shrugged and tucked the pouch onto his belt, "Hey, speaking of Ivan and Sheba," Garet started, "You think they like each other?"

Isaac shrugged a little before considering that. He had tried to get the two together back in Contigo, and though it didn't go as planned it seemed they came back better friends. Maybe they would, but who could know when it was those two, "Dunno, I'd say they do. Well, that Sheba does anyway, Ivan's a little hard to read."

Garet snickered, "You're telling me. Yeah, I was thinking they'd be cute together, plus they're around the same age and stuff, you know? I was teasing Sheba a little when I came down, you should have seen how red she went, I mean, whoo, it was something. Should we 'help 'em out'?"

Isaac shook his head, "I think it would be funnier if we didn't. If it's gonna happen one of them will get the other eventually, plus everything with them is funny. And we'd get a chance to embarrass them for a change. How's that sound?"

"Excellent." Garet smirked broadly, Isaac could see all the workings of his nefarious plots taking place in his eyes and laughed.

"What about Mia?" Isaac asked, wondering how Garet was doing with that pursuit.

Garet shrugged, suddenly looking crestfallen, "Not well… or at all. Dunno… just don't think she's interested. I'd say I was something more like a big brother. She would have gone for you if you didn't talk about Jenna night and day I'd bet."

Isaac doubted that, "No way. She'd never of been interested in me. Ivan, maybe, for his boyish charm and stuff, but not me. I still say you're the best match for her amongst us. Ivan's gonna get Sheba, Piers is too old, and Felix… well, he's Felix."

"She's living with Felix." Garet countered.

"True…" Isaac responded slowly, "But that doesn't mean anything, she only wants to help him, or so she says." Garet raised an eyebrow at that, gesturing for explanation, "Well, after everything she's seen of him, and everything we used to say about him, she wants to know what changed him. Felix used to be cool, you know? Now he's different, she wants to help him get over whatever happened in Prox all those years."

"Good luck to her. I mean, I know it's Mia, but she'll have her work cut out for her."

"After today? No doubt."

Felix continually blinked the mixing moisture of rain and tears from his eyes. These past hours had done nothing but aggravate him, given him time to think of all his failings. He could do nothing but think of his sister, or Isaac, or Mia. Usually he could think and focus his thoughts away from such thoughts, driving them away into a place where he could keep them held under a single thought of defiance. In this storm though it was impossible.

The mingling challenge and lack thereof when fighting the storm made his thoughts somewhat rampant. He had to focus, to an extent, on fighting this storm, to keep them all alive, yet it was monotonous in a way. A wave comes one way, turn against it, vision obscured, deal with it. It was that simple, and though it took considerable physical strain to keep him doing it for so long, it didn't challenge him enough to keep his thoughts at bay, and it challenged him just enough to prevent him from doing it.

All of his thoughts were allowed loose, and he could do little to fight them back, try as he might. Every possible scenario of the past, the present, and the future flashed into his mind continually. Every scenario for if Jenna had killed herself, if he had accepted Mia, if he had told Jenna about their parents the first chance he got, if he had tried to be more of a brother, if he had explained fully to Isaac his reason for lighting the Lighthouses, if he had never entertained Mia that first night, if he had not returned to the plains the next morning out of nostalgia, if, if, and if. So many possibilities, so many ending in more positive outcomes for right now, others becoming so devastatingly different that he feared many of them wouldn't even be here right now, if any at all.

So many possibilities. Kraden had told him once of a theory of other Weyards, essentially meaning that any possibility could exist on another, meaning there could be so many differences, or so few. To think that if this theory was true, all the scenario's Felix could possibly imagine may be occurring right now to another him, and other versions of all his friends. Considering that, he thought himself a little lucky, things could be so much more horribly worse, that he should be thankful that they were at least all here. That they were all well, happy, for the most part, and loving.

He cursed as a wave caught him off guard, so lost in thought as he was, and he forced the wheel around to counter the blow they had suffered. Casting a wary glance behind him he found Ivan and Jenna to be on board with him, fresh corpses washing off deck because of them. He smiled at little as he turned back to the wheel, thinking of his sister and he then chastised himself. He should stop considering the past, what he had done wrong or right, and considering the future and how he should mend his failures, starting with apologising to his sister and Isaac.

There was no point in wallowing in this new failure after all, it was different from his others, it was far more personal and closer to those he cared for. He thought of the future, how he could change it for them, make it better. Of course he'd apologise, maybe tell a tale of their parents in Prox, and allow them to be together without his watchful eye. Yet, somehow there was still that voice that told him this was wrong, and that voice was Mia's, his own hypocrisy.

If he allowed them to be together, even under the pretence of apology, though he knew it was right, what was to stop Mia from pursuing the same with him? True, she had been largely silent over such things since leaving Contigo, but last night was something to be wary of. He felt his heartbeat, which was rather pumped in the storm, quicken slightly as he thought of how Mia looked when they finished dancing last night, how beautiful she truly was, how close he had come to kis-No. None of it. He was having none of his ridiculous thoughts. Mia would be kept away for her sake, not his, it was the best he could do for her.

He could deal with her even if Jenna and Isaac ended up together, he was strong enough to do that at least. Still, he hoped that Isaac and Jenna wouldn't be distracted from the quest, or that Mia or he would by their tentative relationship. Hopefully they would all be able to deal with it, after all what was the point in fleeting happiness if they all died trying to light the beacon, dooming the world to destruction?

No.

No. He wouldn't allow that. He would succeed, no matter the cost. That was his quest, save the world, he would not fail. He would expend all of his own life to see that become truth while all that he loved remained safe and alive. It's all he could hope for after his life, honour in death. A Proxian code. He may be criticised by some in his death for releasing Alchemy and destruction, praised by others for saving the world. If he could spare his friends from the same ridicule, receive all the blame for the Beacons, then it would be worth it.

Felix continued to battle the storm for what seemed to be an unending amount of time designed to just sap his energy, until at last the waves began to soften, the wind lost its fangs and its howl and softened to a timid breeze once more. The rain still pounded fiercely down on the ship, the black clouds still all around them, but Felix could tell the storm was over. The presence of Jupiter, so strong just half an hour previous was now mostly absent, returned to its usual balance. Felix could no longer feel the constant presence of electricity in the air around him, and the wind was slowing to a breeze to soothe his battered form.

He slumped onto his knees, his exhaustion finally getting the better of him, releasing the wheel. Felix began to chuckle under his breath, eerily low, and he turned his eyes up to the skies as his laughter became louder. Rain pounded heavily onto his face running down and dripping from his chin onto his chest, not that it made a difference. Felix had survived the storm, which meant everyone else had survived too. They hadn't been stopped yet, and they wouldn't. He felt rather blasphemous, prideful, and confident, as he laughed.

"You can't win." He whispered, not realising that his sister and Ivan had come to his side, but his voice was too low for them to hear, "We won't give up. You can't break us."

The rain continued to batter his form, but he didn't care, he could survive that too. The two forms by his side left him, no doubt to retrieve a healer and see how everyone was. Felix went back to laughing upward, just loud enough for it to be heard in his ears over the dull patter of the constant rainfall. To laugh at death, the very force he was driving himself into to save all the others, filled him with a surge of self-assurance.

Each and every day, almost every moment, they were being driven closer to the ominous force that loomed over all of them, everyone, and each and every day, in every moment, they triumphed and survived everything it threw at them. It couldn't beat them, and it wouldn't. It was as simple as that. Together, Felix knew that no matter what they went through, they were strong, resolute, and unbeatable. Even with all the feuds they caused, or he caused, amongst them, they still survived together.

All of them, Felix's friends, couldn't be stopped.

Finally, his laughter and defiance spent, waves of exhaustion overcoming Felix's form, he fell into unconsciousness.

And that's chapter twelve!
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Until next time, guys and gals,
Your friend and writer,
Droory