Thank you to demonz8000 for inspiring me to move and type this up! Intros and Prologues are over, the quest begins here. Er, officially, anyway. It's still kind of intro…
Warnings: Er…nothing really, unless you feel you still need to be warned of slash. My writing style is shifting a bit, too…I'm going from the third person limited to a slightly less limited third person.
Pairings: I guess it could kinda be Felix/Isaacish…
Rating: K+ I guess…unless kidnapping moves it to T.
Notes: PoV switches from Felix party to Isaac party and back. They finally meet!
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Marble Hunt!
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After the incident with the lightning bolt downstairs, that was, no doubt, a part of the trap that triggered the storm three years previous, Felix and Garet were hesitant to move anything else. With much effort and a few pointers from Jenna, who flat-out refused to push any statues with them ("You boys will do fine!"), the three Valean teens managed to disarm the trap. Apparently, light reflected by statues with shiny bracelets was the key.
The patterns on the floor where Kraden was standing had switched places--the silver moon and the golden sun were in opposite places. After the previous debates about whether to continue or go back and warn the elders, the choice was clear ("We carry on! We didn't push all of those statues just to turn back!" Jenna insisted).
Walking into a swirling portal (probably of doom) into what could easily be another plane of existence was the easiest thing the party of four had done all day.
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Kraden immediately rushed to the edge of the slimy green platform to look around. He was chattering to himself before Felix even finished floating gracefully out of the portal.
"…Ocean?" Garet finished.
"No, no, it can't be the ocean…The ocean has waves," Kraden amended hastily.
Garet repeated himself louder, "I said 'What is the ocean?'"
"The ocean is a vast expanse of water stretching farther than the eye can see. It's so enourmous one could get lost on it," replied Kraden absentmindedly. "Oh! The elemental stars! They really exist! Oh, my, this is more than I could have hoped to see in my lifetime…"
Felix walked toward the rest of the party, too late to warn Kraden not to try jumping on the platforms leading to the tall statues holding what appeared to be very large glowing marbles. Kraden almost slipped off of the platform before coming back, a bit disappointed that he couldn't see the giant marbles for himself.
Jenna helped him steady himself on the slimy green center platform. Garet was the first to speak what all three teens were thinking, "What are the elemental stars?"
Kraden's eyes gleamed behind his glasses, a sure sign he had a lecture ready. Were it not for the slippery floor, he would have probably paced as he spoke, "You all three recall my lessons about the foundation of all matter, correct?" All three adepts nodded. They could easily recall the four elements that everything was composed of: earth, water, wind, and fire. "The elemental stars are a physical manifestation of these elements, Venus' earthen beauty, Mars' fiery spirit, Jupiter's swift intellect, and Mercury's liquid calm, all manifested before us!" Kraden was absolutly giddy from the discovery.
"Wow, they must be powerful!" Garet exclaimed.
Kraden nodded sagely, "Within these simple baubles lies enough power to conquer the world." He turned to try his luck at jumping to the nearest star, but Jenna held him back. She grinned and turned to Garet and Felix.
"Make the boys get them," she advised.
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The trio walked through the seldom-used halls of Sol Sanctum, their footsteps echoing throuh the cavernous passages. Isaac was the only of the three to have never visited the hallowed ground before. Saturos and Menardi had come once before with a raiding party. The only reason the pair had made it out alive was because they had merely been the guards at the time. They were to stand at the doors to the Sanctum and warn the others if any curious Valeans tried to play hero.
It was presumed that Alex had visited Sol Sanctum before, as well, but none of the trio was entirely sure of just how far Alex had been. They were also unsure of their bushy-browed accomplice's current whereabouts. This was becoming a more common occurrence each day.
Each new room was a wonder to Isaac, and the final pair of chambers with the silver moon, and shining golden sun on the floors proved to be the most amazing thing he had seen yet. Saturos and Menardi were not pleased to see it, however. An entire raiding party of Prox's finest failed to solve a puzzle that three teens and an old man had no troubles with.
The Proxian pair stepped through the portal with ease, they didn't even have to work to get here. Isaac paused at the entrance to the secret chamber. Someone was clearly ahead of them. He secured the Kibombo tribal mask he had received from Alex a year ago and stepped through, afraid of what, or rather, who he might find.
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On the other side was water; slimy green pillars with shiny statues of beautiful goddesses holding giant glowing marbles over water. A lot of water. It was a bit like the sea, except the water was clearer and calmer.
In front of them, Garet and Felix were making their way to a glowing purple statue holding one of the aforementioned giant glowing marbles. Saturos and Menardi were already threatening Jenna and Kraden to keep them quiet.
The pair turned around in confusion when they picked up the Jupiter star, despite the Proxians' efforts. They must have been expecting Kraden or Jenna to say something. Damn, Isaac thought. He looked around more carefully, only to realize how poor the hide-until-they-get-all-four plan was. The Jupiter platform was completely disconnected from the other stars. The boys would have had to return to the center platform anyway.
"Who are you?" Felix demanded, protective of his sister, as always. "What do you want with Jenna?"
Saturos and Menardi laughed mirthlessly at him. Menardi was the one who spoke first, "We want the elemental stars!"
"No, don't do it, boys!" Kraden yelled.
Isaac bit his lip nervously. Saturos and Menardi were not above using violence and hostages as scare tactics. They preferred intimidation to confrontation. Menardi's sister had been different in that aspect alone.
"Don't give the stars to them!" Kraden insisted when Felix moved to take the mythril bags holding the elemental stars. Damnit! Isaac thought, Here it comes.
Saturos had been persuaded to promise not to harm any Valeans. Isaac now owed Alex a favor, but the look on Menardi's face when she heard it applied to her as well had been entirely worth it. The two Proxians may be brutes, but they could at least keep a promise. Probably. Of course, they all knew that direct violence was not the only intimidation tactic.
Menardi stepped toward Jenna, psynergy already collecting in her hands. "I suggest you bring those stars over here!" she shouted, smiling maliciously.
Felix and Garet were debating. Isaac could tell every moment of hesitation was paining Felix. He had no idea if Menardi was bluffing. Of course, no one else really knew if she was serious, either. Jenna was his sister, though, and she won over the world in the end. Despite Felix's decision Garet was still a bit wary. "How do we know we can trust you not to hurt them anyway?"
"How indeed," Saturos replied, grinning. "Isaac, take off that ridiculous mask."
Menardi stopped her threatening, allowing her psynergy to fade to smile as well. "Yes, Isaac. Off with the mask, or it's off with her head."
The four Valeans were in awe. Isaac? The same Isaac they thought to be dead? Surely not! Isaac was surprised, too, but he knew it was better not to test Menardi's patience, so he cast the mask into the nearby waters. There was an unnoticed splash resulting from the action.
Felix was the first to react. He grabbed the mythril bag holding the Jupiter star from Garet and rushed toward the center platform. Garet was struck speechless by both Venus adepts' actions, leaving him to gape like a fish on the Jupiter star's platform. Jenna was still stuttering, unable to say Isaac's name.
A swirl of psynergy bubbles in front of Felix diverted eveyone's attention from the walking-dead-boy momentarily. It was Alex. Of course, Isaac thought, rolling his eyes, Show-offy bastard. He was relieved fot the distraction, all the same.
"Ah, I'll be taking those," said Show-offy bastard, holding his hand out for the stars.
"Go on, he's with us," Saturos assured Felix, who grudgingly handed over the bags of mysterious, shiny overrated marbles.
Alex teleported back to the trio guarding the exit. "What about Jenna and Kraden?" demanded Garet.
"Oh, don't be silly! We want all of the elemental stars, and then you can have Jenna back. We're taking Kraden, regardless," Alex replied nonchalantly.
Garet stomped angrily and nearly lost his footing on the slimy green platform, before deciding that following Felix might be the better course of action. Felix, on the other hand, was busy making his way to the center platform. He completely ignored his two near-slips and was busy fishing around in his cloak for something. By the time he reached Isaac, Felix was holding out a ridiculously long yellow scarf.
Garet had almost caught up with Felix by the time he handed the long yellow scarf to Isaac. After handing it over, Felix stood, staring at Isaac with an unreadable expression on his face. Garet had to tug on Felix's sleeve before he even considered moving.
Isaac had not forgotten where Felix's cloak came from. The scarf he now held was not new. It was well-preserved though, unused for three years, as if it had been meant to be a counter present to the cloak. Isaac had given Felix the green cloak (it still looked fairly new, even now) approxiamately two weeks before the infamous incident. It had been entirely too big at the time.
Jenna stood nearby, completely baffled by the exchange. Neither her brother nor Garet had shown any sign at all that they were angry with the traitorous bastard. Isaac was allied with temple robbers, and had lied about his own death; yet, neither Felix nor Garet seemed to care. The only thing stopping her from making a break for it was the bottomless well of psynergy she could feel radiating from the two not-quite-human temple robbers. At this point she was rather glad she was a Mars adept; it meant she couldn't feel how much psynergy the bushy-browed temple robber posessed, as well.
If it weren't for the quake resulting from the removal of the Mars star, neither Isaac nor Jenna would have likely noticed the boys were done until they came back. The flashes of light and the water draining were pretty hard to miss, too, but it was the change in temperature from the magma seeping through the floor where the water had just been that really got everyone's adrenaline pumping.
Alex was the only one completely unphased by the events. He could warp, no need for him to worry. Saturos actually looked surprised, but Menardi was wary. She had summoned her scythe. It could do nothing for her, of course, but it looked deadly, and that was at least a little comforting.
A giant floating rock with a great rocky eye was suddenly in the middle of the room, pushing the lava back and holding the roof up to give the adepts time to escape. Saturos ushered Menardi and Kraden through, only pausing at Jenna because Felix was shouting. He wasn't demanding his sister back, like Isaac expected though, he was shouting, "You had better take care of her until I catch up, you bastard!"
Saturos ushered Jenna through as well, and Alex followed. Isaac fell back so he could be given a chance to speak. "You had better make it out of here alive!" he called back, grinning, because it was like old times again. Just for that one moment they were back in Vale together, goofing off because Felix had been dared to do something dangerous again, except now the game was serious. Isaac reluctantly followed his comrades.
Alex warped the party out of Vale, one at a time. He had to have two psy crystals to make it, because Alex was powerful, but everyone had their limits.
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"What are you waiting for?" The rocky eye demanded. "Ah, I see,"it said, seeming to understand some simple problem. More rings of psynergy circled it, rising and disappearing. Felix and Garet bacame bubbles of energy that reformed into teenage boys outside of the portal into the elemental stars' chamber.
The boys ran for the exit, ignoring the crumbling bits of ceiling. Garet almost got hit by a falling rock on the way out, but Felix grabbed his arm just in time.
All of Vale was waiting outside of the road to Sol Sanctum, no doubt only waiting so far away because the Great Healer would not allow them to come any closer.
Felix's grandparents, and Garet's entire family were waiting in the front of the crowd. The boys had some explaining to do.
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A/N: Okay next chapter will be centered on Isaac's party.
I have a question for the audience, regarding pairings. I had originally planned for Garet/Ivan, however, I noticed that Jenna/Sheba is not well-liked by one of my reveiwers. I prefer the odd pairings, but it really makes no sense to ship somehing that the readers don't enjoy anyway. It won't make a major part of the plot (er, that I know of, anyway) but if anyone has something against either pairing speak up now. I'll either change it so everyone ships within their element, or to steamshipping, and Jenna/Sheba, leaving Piers and Ivan to fend for themselves.
If no one feels it necessary to speak out, I'll stick to my original plan. That's all for now.