Author's Note: Never really tried responding to the reviewers before but I think I'm gonna give it a go! If you guys are gonna stick around for this story I might as well get to know you all!

Cstan: Haha, you wait until you start reading this chapter; I think I may have gone a little overboard on the crazy .

Jollygreendragon: Overusing words is one of my weaknesses. I'm usually good at not doing so but sometimes I just end up rushing through portions to get a chapter out that I fall into the trap. I should probably keep an online thesaurus out to help me out but thank you for the criticism and advice!

IGAF-kun: Thank you! Hopefully the work continues to be good for the rest of this thing.

ForteEXEMaster: I wasn't planning on making the first chapter so short and leaving it with such a hook but, as is quickly starting to happen with this project, I tend to suddenly have new ideas on the fly which I try to mold and make them suit my needs. Apparently for the first chapter I was successful as your compliments seem to point out!

Anne Iriel Devay: The Apollo Lens scene, in my opinion, is pretty much the epitome of what Dark Dawn is about which is going for the more emotional, more powerful scenes. It's very inspiring and it offered a connection between two characters (Matthew and Sveta) that Camelot hadn't tried before in the previous Golden Sun games.

Alright, now to get to the official first chapter of the fic! And if any of you were caught off guard with what happened in the prologue…wait until you see what I decided to do here.

Xxxxxx

The memories were his own.

When the darkness claimed him, images and sensations passed through his mind. The markets of Kalay, a sunrise viewed from Goma Plateau, the cold air of Tanglewood. These were places that he had visited and the images that were linked to them came and went as he slept. A simple visit to these areas and more were not the only reason they came to him, however, for they also held a special place in his heart.

Kalay had been where he had been born and where he had spent a good portion of his childhood. Within his mind, his memories that were linked to his home seemed to gather together, forming into a mismatched cluster. And then, one after the other, the memories starting passing through him.

His small hand was held in his mother's firm grip as they made one of their usual trips to the marketplace. Young, only four-years-old during this trip, his eyes were wide with wonder as he constantly craned his neck to try to find anything interesting atop of the dozens of stands that dotted the marketplace. A couple of passerbys, recognizing his mother, would stop to just say hi or chat. Always they would look down at him with smiles and greetings and he would always just step closer to his mother's legs, his face hiding within the folds of her dress.

The memory went and there came another. Enthusiastically, he ran across the room and jumped into the arms of his grandpa who placed his hands at his sides to lift him up and spin him around, both of them laughing. Upon being placed back on the floor, he turned to his grandmother who held out a birthday present for him; a small stuffed animal that looked exactly like one of his father's djinn. Smiling wide, the recently-turned six-year-old took the toy and hugged it tightly to his chest.

Nearing seven-years-old now, he walked into his parents' bedroom to find his father once again carving a piece of wood that he had been hard at work on for weeks now. Spotting him, his father held out the now finished product for him. It was a wooden sword which he immediately took and swung at the air with to the amusement of his father. From the years until his eleventh birthday, he would regularly spar against his father in their small home.

At eleven he felt the tears of his mother mixing with his own as he held her tight and she, him. Expressing their goodbyes, he pulled away from her before taking his pack and heading towards the door where his father awaited him along with his Uncle Garet and best friend.

There were more memories of Kalay; more birthdays, family gatherings, picnics, and so on but they were soon used up and replaced with his memories of their cabin atop of Goma Plateau.

With another clash of their wooden weapons, he disengaged and leaped backwards. Keeping up the attack, Tyrell charged after him, his wooden axe swinging to bring him down. He stopped in mid-retreat, however, and sidestepped around his friend's overhead swing, bringing his sword around which he used to strike his opponent at his exposed back.

It was not the first and it was certainly not the last bruise that either of them would receiving during these training sessions as memories of when that axe had struck his back, arms, and more came to his mind. The injuries didn't stop when they switched to real weapons either.

One memory had him and Tyrell greeting one of their fathers' friends. With him was a green-haired girl who smiled shyly at them. He greeted her with a smile and a shake of her hand while Tyrell did the same except he added a comment. That comment caused the girl's smile to harden, her eyes narrowing, and when he shook her hand he suddenly jumped back with a yelp as if he had been shocked…which was exactly what happened as the girl smirked.

While his father offered encouraging words in his ear, his hands cupped a small sapling. His brows knitting in concentration, he tapped into his psynergy. Directing it from deep within him, he felt his psynergy flow out from his center and towards his hands. In response, a golden aura encompassed them and, with an exertion of his will, he drove his power to extend from his hands and towards the saplings. The effects were instantaneous as the sapling grew, using his psynergy as nourishment as it bloomed into a rose.

It was this rose that he would pluck and give to his mother when she came to visit the next day. Carefully, she took the rose and held it to her nose, taking a whiff of the fragrance. There was a strange mix of pride and wariness at his display of manifesting powers but the smile and hug that she gave him was all warmth and love that any parent would have for their child.

The memories played through his mind faster upon reaching Tanglewood. From pleading with Tyrell who was poised to jump off the roof with the soarwing at his back, the memories fast forward to their trek in the dark woods. His sword clutched in his hands, he swung and slashed at twisted creatures that came from the shadows including a giant, carnivorous plant that seemed to have a never-ending amount of vines as he cut and cut only to have more keep coming.

The memories were becoming scattered as they got closer to the present and were offering only brief flashes now.

The Psynergy Vortex at his back, he barely dodged an arrow shot from the crossbow of an armored soldier that had ambushed them…

Prying at the lid of the box with his weapon, he found the blue-haired student of Kraden tied up within…

With the defeated brother generals of Kaocho at his feet, he looked to the blue-haired prince who offered a hand to show friendship and allegiance. When he shook his hand the prince suddenly turned into a lavender-haired princess whose long ears twitched as she smiled, her green eyes sparkling while he felt the briefest of flutters within his chest.

The Mountain Roc screeching at him, it shot it's head towards him, its beak opening wide, seeming to want to gobble him whole before a golden sword made out of his Venus psynergy struck it.

Falling to the ground on his back, he managed to recover fast enough to roll to the side, the long blade of the agent of the Tuaparang slamming into the ground where he had been a moment ago.

The princess who had offered her hand in friendship now clung to him in despair as she cried, the final howl of her brother echoing through the night while a pirate prince guided the ship away from Belinsk. The ship of which led them to a girl with an imprint of the Third Eye at her forehead who stared up at him in a way that made him feel as if she wasn't looking at him but, rather, into him.

Following a map that Karis had marked with circles for their destinations, he took each piece of Umbra Gear from their resting places and handed them to Sveta who took them and slipped them onto her form, her green eyes now narrowing in determination as she locked the gauntlets and more into place. For his own treasure there was the hilt of a golden sword which his hand enveloped before, with one swift tug, he pulled the legendary Sol Blade from its pedestal. And with both hands now grasping the hilt, he leaped at the Chaos Chimera, raising his weapon high into the air as he sought to attack at what he assumed was a blind spot which he was immediately proven wrong when one of the creature's four arms caught him in the side, an explosion of pain causing the wind to be knocked out of him, his ribs ready to crumble beneath the blow.

A blast of white enveloping all around him, blinding him…

And then he awoke.

Xxxxxxxx

With a start, Matthew's eyes opened wide as he shot up in bed.

He immediately regretted it. The ribs which he had said were fine now raged at the action, causing spikes of pain to stab across his chest and abdomen. Instinctively his arms curled around them as he bit back a scream, instead reducing himself to pained growls as he dropped back onto the soft bed, curling himself into a ball as all he could do was let the pain run its course.

What am I doing? I'm an Adept aren't I?

His mind still trying to clear from the last vestiges of sleep, the thought had been slow to come to him between that and his injured ribs. He was sweating too, his body feeling like it was on fire as he tried to figure out where he was and what was wrong with him. There were too many thoughts and questions for a mind that was only becoming dazed with the bombardment of mental input.

But the suggestion did come to him and Matthew immediately took it to heart, wanting the pain to stop or, at the very least, lessen. His hands still at his ribs, Matthew forced himself to concentrate, to tap into his psynergy and draw upon the healing powers of his element rather than the combative ones. Though not a healer like Rief or Amiti, his Cure spells had always been sufficient and no matter what the distractions may be such as being injured as he currently was, he could always pull them off as easily as any Quake or Growth spell. As he had done more than a hundred times during his life, Matthew drew out his Venus psynergy, directing it towards his hands and, by extension, his ribs.

His hands glowing as they tended to do, Matthew knitted his brows in concentration. Using such healing psynergy gave the Adept insight as to what, exactly, was wrong with him and he could sense what was causing him so much pain. The Chaos Chimera had indeed struck him hard enough to damage his bones but, other than two cracked ribs, there was some leftover bruising that had yet to go away. In fact, it was not as bad as he thought; the only reason he hurt right now was because of how he had accidentally aggravated them when he had awoken.

Not a problem then, he thought with certainty as he fed his psynergy back into him to heal them.

But they didn't heal. To the shock of the Venus Adept, his ribs refused to heal. He felt his psynergy pour into him and envelope his ribs with its healing touch…but they didn't heal.

Was he off on the casting somehow? After his first successful cast of Cure years ago, he had never once failed to do it again during future attempts whether performing it on himself or others. Frowning, Matthew nonetheless thought that had to be the case for there was no other plausible explanation for his failure. Being more careful this time, he once again casted, his hands glowing a second time as he tried again…only to get the same results.

Why isn't it working? Mend!

Unfortunately such a simple mental command was far from being able to do what his psynergy couldn't. Shocked and confused, Matthew removed his hands from his torso, instead raising them to his face as he looked at them incredulously. He had not failed in the casting, he knew for certain this time, so what was going on? He still felt a bit exhausted but he should've been able to conjure up enough to at least do something.

He looked back down at himself suspiciously and it was only then that he noticed the bandages that were wrapped around his bare torso. It actually took him a few, slow moments to recognize the cloth strips that were tied around him as such. In a party that had several members capable of healing any injuries in an instant, there had hardly been any need for bandages. Sure, they had carried some around just in case but Matthew couldn't even remember the last time that they had actually used them.

Despite seeing that his injuries had been treated during his slumber, the sight only caused him to feel more troubled then comforted. Surely Rief or Amiti or someone would've thought that their psynergy could've done the job possibly ten times better then Matthew's own Cure spells and the fact that they hadn't and instead used more basic applications of first aid worried him. Maybe it wasn't just him that was incapable of healing his injuries…

"Wait." Holding a hand to the side of his head, Matthew suddenly remembered how he had gotten here. They had been walking out of the Apollo Sanctum, heading to where they had left Eoleo's ship, before they had stopped when his overprotective friends had gotten worried about his injuries. Rief had come up, saying that he could cast Ply and…

And he said they weren't healing! he remembered with a start. And…Sveta!

The beastgirl coming to his mind and the image of her collapsing erased any thoughts of concern for himself. Being slow and careful this time, Matthew pushed himself up from the bed, turning so that he sat on the edge, his legs hanging over them. Pinpricks of pain causing him to wince, he nonetheless succeeded and his eyes looked around to allow himself to get an idea of where he was and what to do next.

Fortunately, it seemed that his friends had managed to bring him back to Eoleo's ship as his initial examinations clearly showed that he was in one of the bunks. In fact, he saw that it was his bunk that he had selected when they had first acquired the pirate ship as, with a closer look, he could see trinkets and supplies that he had collected during their quest scattered throughout. A couple psy crystals were placed atop of a desk that also sported a pair of psy grenades and gunpowder bombs – souvenirs from their skirmishes with the Tuaparang. Someone had sheathed and hung up his Sol Blade and, next to that, there was a chest where he knew he would find spare clothes and armor pieces that he had saved just in case.

He was the only one in the room and with a tilt of his head he tried to listen for anyone that may be wandering through the ship at this moment but to no avail. Though the more practical thing to do would be to rest and wait to see if someone would come to check up on him, his concern for Sveta and a need to discover if she was okay drove him to the conclusion of getting up and finding out himself.

"Not like I ever take the easy way out," Matthew spoke to no one in particular, sporting a small grin at that. Nonetheless, he revisited the thought of simply dropping back into bed when he tried to stand up only to have his ribs protest. Not just his ribs either as the vicious sunburn that he had gotten from the exposure within the Apollo Sanctum had yet to be healed as well, thus giving him some added discomfort.

Still, he managed to get to his feet and he thought of that as an accomplishment though he was hardly standing straight. One arm still curled protectively around his throbbing middle, the Venus Adept was slightly hunched over but he still considered this acceptable. Briefly he thought about retrieving a shirt to better clothe himself but he considered that a lost cause; his injuries would even make that chore too troublesome. Telling himself that all he needed to do was check on Sveta and then he could head back to bed, Matthew moved to the door where his free arm grasped the handle and pulled it open.

Stepping into the hall, he thought of where Sveta could be and opted for the obvious: in her room. If she was similarly recovering, then they probably brought her to her room as they did with him and his. Which means… Frowning, Matthew brought up his mental map of the pirate ship and tried to pinpoint the correct path. Not too far and not that close either as he would have to venture through a couple halls to get to her room. Maybe he'll bump into one of the others on his way there.

And if she wasn't in her room? With a shrug, Matthew told himself to take one step at a time and that there was an equally good bed in her room to wait for her in.

Wait. Matthew froze as he realized just what, exactly, he had been thinking. That thought just went somewhere horrible.

Shaking his head to clear the mental images that came with it, Matthew focused on the task at hand. It was going to be slow going he soon found out when he resorted to having his free hand press against one of the wooden walls of the hall as he made his way forward, using it as support. His ribs still prickling with pain and every inch of his flesh feeling as if it was smoldering, he wasn't looking forward to what was clearly becoming an uncomfortable trip through the pirate ship.

How long was he out? The question popped up in his mind as he walked and Matthew was a bit disturbed at the fact that he hadn't woken up at any point during the journey from the Apollo Sanctum. Even if they hadn't had to fight through a bunch of the shadow creatures as they had to do when first traveling to the Sanctum, it had taken at least a day to reach it. And if the others had to carry both him and Sveta, thus slowing them down, then who knew how long it took.

He can't remember at any point in their journey where he had slept for more than a day. Belinsk had proven to be the most exhausting after traveling through the underground ruins, the duel between Blados and Chalis, the activation of the Luna Tower, their evacuation and later the storm that they had been forced to weather through upon Eoleo's ship. Though Matthew and the rest had practically collapsed in exhaustion upon the deck and slept there, they had been on their feet once morning hit.

Then again, what did it matter? So what happened at the Apollo Sanctum had taken more out of him then he thought. What did it matter? They had managed to stop the Grave Eclipse and save the world. Whatever it may have cost to his health was worth it in his mind.

Of course, it was only as soon as he thought that, that his vision suddenly blurred.

Not again, Matthew thought as white spots suddenly danced in front of his eyes. They did not blind him, not like before, but his vision was hampered all the same.

The throbbing at his ribs now turned into a punch in the gut that dropped him to the floor. Despite how he was still using the wall for support, he fell heavier then he liked and that only caused his cracked bones to hurt more, making him gasp with pain. His head was swimming and Matthew pressed his forehead against the wall as if that would somehow make it stop. Sweat was starting to glisten on his skin and he felt it roll off his face as the sunburn now turned into an inferno that felt like it was cooking him alive.

"What's going on?" Matthew gasped aloud. In desperation he tried again with Cure, casting the spell in order to give himself some manner of relief.

It only made things worse. The heat at his skin, unbelievably, intensified as if in response to his psynergy and the golden aura that had enveloped his hand suddenly grew erratic. More than that even as, despite his blurred vision, Matthew saw that there were other colors mixed in with it. There was a brighter, more pronounced yellow that tinged the golden glow and, with a squint, Matthew thought he could see traces of…violet?

"He's been asleep for two days now and hasn't even stirred once."

Through the torment, Matthew was able to notice the voice that spoke up somewhere down the hall. He recognized it as Rief's, sounding as if it was slowly coming towards him as the Mercury Adept kept speaking.

"Nothing's working. He still isn't responding to either my or Amiti's Ply and the best we've done was bandage him up. I know you only recently recovered but we're trying everything we can think of; I already had Karis try to heal him but to no avail."

"It is not a problem."

A second voice and one that Matthew also recognized. Sveta?

"I owe a lot to Matthew. If there's the slightest possibility that my psynergy can heal him then I'll do everything that I can to make sure that he's okay."

"I had Himi take a look at him," Rief continued, drawing ever closer. "I'm thinking that the light of the Apollo Sanctum had done something to him and from what she says I could be correct. She said something about his aura and-"

"Matthew!"

The horrified cry let Matthew know that he had been seen. Gritting his teeth, he looked up in time to see Sveta running and stopping over him. Behind her, he could barely make out Rief who struggled to catch up, the beastgirl having left him in the dust.

"Matthew what's wrong?" Sveta asked quickly as she dropped down in front of him.

"You're okay." Matthew didn't know how he managed to speak but he did. More surprisingly, he felt a smile of relief come to his face as he looked at Sveta. Though her eyes were wide and frightened, her hair having been recently combed and brought back into her two braids. There was no evidence of the battle at the Apollo Sanctum having ever affected her.

"But you're not!" She reached out her hands towards him. "Here, let me help!"

Her hands touched his face and she vanished.

No, not vanished. It was just happening all over again as Matthew felt the numbness take hold over his body, putting a stop to the pain if only momentarily. The thoughts, the emotions, the sensations came next.

He could smell the sweat that hung heavy in the air. An offensive odor, his nose wrinkled at it but his concern overrode any such minor discomforts. He was in pain and he had to help. Though not a healer like Rief, he had some healing psynergy that could help him. Concentrating, his clawed hands held his face as he concentrated-

His clawed hands.

Bluish gray eyes met green, both pairs widening in shock. In front of his – no, they're hers – green eyes, Matthew was only able to stare in disbelief as he looked at himself. Instead of lying on a ground like a corpse, however, he could see that his body still possessed a spirit within it. The spirit inside used his gray eyes to stare at him and Matthew saw the confusion and shock clearly displayed within them. Those gray eyes then looked down, examining his own body, and that was when Matthew knew.

The spirit inside his body was Sveta's.

He couldn't help it. With a cry of shock he suddenly pushed his body back, wanting it away from him, to somehow sever this connection-

-and then he was falling backwards, landing on the floor with thud. The pain came rushing back and he couldn't stop the scream that issued from his lungs as his ribs exploded with pain.

"Sveta, what did you do?"

Through blurry eyes Matthew could see Rief running passed Sveta, the young Mercury Adept coming to stop next to them.

"Matthew can you hear me? Say something!"

Matthew's attention was on Sveta. One hand grasping at her chest, as if making sure that the body was in fact hers, Sveta stared down at Matthew. Blurry vision or not, he could see how wide her eyes were and instead of scooting forward to help him, she actually moved back from him as if afraid to come anywhere near him.

Blackness once again engulfed both his sight and consciousness.

Xxxxx

The memories were not his.

It was the scents that clued him in. Whereas his memories were linked more with sight, these relied more on the sense of smell. So when the images of the familiar, decorated halls of the palace and the dark ruins that were hidden beneath it came to his mind, he did not 'see' them with his eyes but rather with his nose. Within the palace halls, he was able to catch the odor of the different woods that were used to construct the furniture, the polish and soap at the windows, down to the very scents of the servants themselves as they moved to complete their daily chores. Within the ruins beneath the palace, the catacombs filled his nose with its old, musty scent. Despite the near-overpowering smell, he could detect the odors of some of the monsters that dwelled within such as the tangy odor of the Viragos that patrolled for what prey could be found.

These memories were hers. Though they did not belong they were yet clustered within his mind. And like his memories they offered a slideshow of her life. But unlike his memories, he felt the foreboding presence that clung to hers; the presence of death, pain, regret, and misery that came from a life of hardships.

The welcoming scent of her mother caused warmth and happiness that woke her from her nap in time to feel her head nuzzle against her which she returned eagerly. Another sniff told her that there was another and she felt the finger that held the scent of her father tickle her nose. In response, her small hands reached out to take hold of the digit and her ears perked up when she heard his deep chuckle.

Flexing her hand, she unsheathed her claws at the urgings of her brother. Smiling in response, he unsheathed his own and held his hand up to hers so that their palms pressed against one another. His were so much longer and sharper then hers but with a pat of her head he promised that she would be as strong of a fighter as any beastman in the country.

How desperately she wished that she was that strong when they came. Despite her protests and the grip that she had on her mother's leg, her brother was able to pry her loose. At the command of their father, he took her in his arms and disappeared behind the secret exit just as the door to the throne room burst open. Though she continued to protest her brother continued onwards, down to the ruins. He did not run fast or far enough as she was still able to smell her parents…and how the scent of blood mixed with them.

Under the watchful eye of a trusted servant, she punched and kicked at the air with a fever. Already sweating, breathing heavily, she ignored it as she flipped backwards. Landing on her feet, she crouched and performed a leg sweep on an imaginary opponent before transitioning back into another flurry of punches.

Her ears twitching curiously, she poked her head just enough around the corner to spot her brother surrounded by a small crowd of about a dozen other beastmen. He was speaking passionately, waving his arms as he addressed them. After thrusting his fist into the air, the other beastmen cheered and mimicked the motion. Her eyes glancing down, she could see the weapons gathered at their feet and on their belts.

With their independence and having managed to regain the palace, she once again walked the halls that now felt so alien to her. The scents that she had once known from childhood were now tainted with the scent of the invaders that had taken her parents from her. When she ventured into what had once been the room of her parents, all she saw were that the furnishings had been replaced and the entire room converted into a chamber that held bottles of liquid that gave off the strong stench of alcohol. Sorrow and anger quelled within her heart but, with a deep breath, she forced it down as her calm façade managed to go undisturbed.

Her calm was shaken when she approached her brother. While he looked over the latest reports with a serene face and a well-trained eye, she could feel…fear. Of the future and a possible repeat if they were not strong. He gave no indication of such things but somehow she could sense it all within him.

He watched each memory of her life as they passed through him. As the years went on, as her brother continued to watch over his people, he saw the relative peace of the present and felt her underlying fear of the future. These fears came in the form of two unknown people that approached her brother one day: an armored man with a giant sword who was accompanied by a long, pink-haired woman that sported a pair of horns. Despite how she wanted nothing more than to have her brother dismiss them, he instead leaned forward while listening to a proposal, quite interested in what they had to say.

Unsure of what to do, she went to the cells where a little girl was currently being held. The guards had taken from her a bag that was hanging nearby and, determined, she took the bag and left the palace. As to where she was going with the bag she did not know. To find hope she supposed.

She found that hope in the ruins near Te Rya Village. After running and navigating through the caverns, well aware of the scent that chased her, she finally showed herself to it.

It was a boy with gray eyes and a yellow scarf. Upon looking at him she felt something special about him in an instant. She could trust him. Holding up the bag, she offered it to him as she smiled at him, sure that she found a trustworthy spirit that could help her.

Xxxxxxx

Author's Note: This chapter ended up getting a little crazier then I had recently intended. Actually, this whole chapter wasn't supposed to exist. I had actually planned to skip all this but then I had the idea of the whole Matthew-Sveta memory swap and momentary body-switching and the like. If it's become a little too weird for you guys I wouldn't worry too much about it; I'm pretty sure this is the one and only time I will go into such crazy stuff.

The next chapter will be a lot tamer and I expect that to be the same for the rest of this fic so hopefully you guys won't get frightened away by this moment of insanity and/or brilliance. But hey, if you enjoyed it, then good for you!