Jenna tossed and turned, but she couldn't get comfortable. Beyond the fact that it is rather hard to sleep with your mouth puffed out with air, some sixth sense told her that something was terribly wrong. She had just heard foot steps outside her window.

Turning over to look, she saw the window open and close softly, as if by its own accord. Jenna readied a Mars Psynergy to strike the intruder – for she was not fooled by the phantom window, she could do as much herself – and waited for the intruder to show him- or herself.

Darn this gag, she thought. Why did Sheba have to play that prank tonight of all nights?! Finally, the intruder stepped in the light.

"MMMPH!" Jenna, shocked, cast every spell she knew; without the guide and power of her voice, though, they were easily smothered by the intruder, who teleported her away even as Sheba, one bed over, woke up. The last sight Sheba would see of Jenna for a long time was of Alex – for that was who it was – plunging a strange glowing orb deep into Jenna's chest, and Jenna responding by beginning to writhe in pain.

Seconds later, in transit

Jenna, drained of energy, stared down in horror at the strange sphere buried in her chest. She could feel her Psynergy being drawn into – heavens, she could see streaks of red draining from her body into the now-pinkish orb. It seemed to drain her energy as well; though she had struggled at first and attempted to remove it, she barely had the energy to lift her head now, staring helplessly as every last drop of her Psynergy was drawn into the orb. Alex, noticing her gaze, chuckled ruthlessly.

"Feel that? You are no longer an Adept, Jenna. Every last drop of Psynergetical ability has been drawn into this orb." Jenna gasped in pain as the orb slid out of her body, not even leaving a mark. Squeezing the orb, Alex burst it open, and the streaks of fire drained into him.

"I hope you like the cold!" he cruelly chuckled. They arrived at their destination: the Mars Lighthouse. Jenna immediately began to shiver; dressed only in a light nightgown, and without her Psynergy, she had little defense against the cold.

"I've always wondered what it feels like off the edge of the world," said Alex nonchalantly, still chuckling maniacally. Then, "You can find out for me!" and without warning, he threw the limp Jenna off Gaia Rift!

Vale, in the morning

Sheba woke up slowly. What a strange dream, she thought. I dreamed that Alex came and took Jenna. I keep having it, maybe I should mention it to somebody…

"Hey Jenna? If I think I'm having prophetic visions, but I'm not sure, should I tell anyone?... Jenna? Are you there?" Catching sight of her empty bed, she screamed, "JENNA!"

Sheba ran downstairs, calling for Jenna, hoping beyond hope that she would still be there, hoping that the dream was not real… but it was. As the sound of the sleepy friends awakening filled the inn, Sheba ran into Piers' arms as he opened his door, weeping.

Blushing rather fiercely, and trying to keep his balance, Piers gingerly patted her on the back. "What happened Sheba? Did something happen to Jenna?"

She sobbed, "Heaven yes! She got kidnapped by Alex and it's all my fault!"

"How is it your fault?" And how did Alex get in here? He's practically crackling with Psynergy. Jenna could've detected it from her bed easily, unless… oh Sol, you messed up Sheba. Guessing the answer, Piers repeated, "How is it your fault?"

"I GAGGED her for Sol's sake! And I knew this was coming! I knew but I didn't tell –"

"– because you weren't sure if it was a prophetic dream or not?"

"How ... did you know?" said Sheba, surprised momentarily out of shock.

"I told him about my dream, which sounds suspiciously like yours." said Ivan soothingly, walking out of his room. "Don't feel bad Sheba, its not really your fault. If anything we should thank you; Alex would likely have gone after as many as possible and maybe even all of us if you hadn't made Jenna vulnerable. How, exactly, do you – or me or Piers or Isaac or Garet or anybody plan to rescue all the rest on their own? As for the dream, the whole point of them is that they can't be changed; they will happen, guaranteed. The trick is to prepare for it so you can undo it as quickly as possible." Sighing, Ivan finished, "That was quite a speech."

Managing to choke out a faint chuckle, Sheba whispered sadly, "Yes it was, and I guess you're right." A little louder, she continued, "But why didn't you tell us if you had a dream too?" She looked around, as if for the first time, and immediately let go of Piers, she too blushing furiously.

"I want to know that too," said Garet, walking out of his room stretching and yawning and thus walking right into the wall. "Stupid door!"

"Same reason you didn't; I didn't think it was prophetic." responded Ivan irritatedly. Sighing, he continued, "Besides, what good would it have done? Somehow or other, Jenna would have ended up gagged and kidnapped. Telling you just would have made you apprehensive. But enough chatting, we need to figure out where she is, because I doubt Alex provided for her comfort."

"That's one way to put it," said Isaac grimly, hearing their conversation and walking over. "In fact, I would not be surprised if he provided for her discomfort." Sighing, he asked, "Does anyone know where we could get a focus? Some hair off her comb, nail clippings, anything like that? If Garet and Felix or I worked together we could probably track her... Garet? Why are you blushing?"

"Um... well... uh..."

Isaac sighed. "Garet, I honestly doubt that Felix cares if you love his sister. So just say so!"

"Um... well... uh..., more like would she mind, but, well... nevermind. I, uh, do have this locket, though... "

"Aw, isn't that sweet...Garet has a locket with Jenna's hair in it!" chuckled Mia, closing her door. "Wherever did you get it?"

"I, uh, kinda stole it off her brush... and shut up Mia, or shall I start jabbering about you and Isaac? Here, let's go to Kraden's and find the book about tracking."

"What's that about Mia and me?" said Isaac.

"Come yawn... oops. I meant come on Isaac. Are you blind, or just in denial?" moaned Felix tiredly, finally leaving his room. "And what's all this about my sister?"

"She got kidnapped, and –"

"SHE WHAT!? AGAIN?!"

Everyone, Sheba included – who had been cheered up by the recent plague of blushes – immediately started trying to attempt to stop Felix adventuring after Jenna in just his nightclothes, succeeding only when Ivan hit him with lightning every time he left the house.

"As I was saying, she got kidnapped, and Garet apparently loves her! Isn't that sweet?" chuckled Mia .

"Uh, Mia, I really don't care about the second part –"

"See! I told you so!" said Isaac.

"–mostly because I already know. While I do care a lot about the first part, I don't think you have to sit on me anymore, Ivan."

"Phooey. Your cheeks were turning blue."

"My point exactly. Anyway, I seem to remember Kraden talking about a tracking spell?"

"That's just where we're going now. Hopefully he still has the book."

And they did. They walked down to Kraden's house in the woods. Kraden had recently discovered how to make materia, that is, modified Psynergy Stones that held a copy of any Psynergy cast on it, although they required a hundred Psynergy Stones each to make. Luckily, Hamma had opened her storeto Kraden, allowing him to create a decent number of materia. First, they made twelve Teleport Lapis'; since Sheba had nearly dropped hers down a well on the way to the house, they had agreed to bring spares in case such a mistake happened again. Then, Isaac and Felix made an emergency Potent Cure Ruby each, while Ivan made one Mind Read Needle and Mia and Piers made Douse Drops. Sheba, however, was remembering something..."

"Kraden, what would happen if you combined a bunch of these materia, say a hundred of them, the same way you'd combine Psynergy Stones?"

"Such an orb would be able to hold much more Psynergetical energy, obviously. Maybe even enough to hold an Adept's worth!"

"What would happen if you plunged such an orb into an Adept's chest? Hypothetically?"

"Well, due to the amount of Psynergy in the Adept, the psychic pressure would force Psynergy into the stone, resulting in a siphoning effect, causing the stone to absorb as much Psynergy as it could. Since it takes some Psynergy to restore Psynergy or to control it, it would also cause the Adept to cease being an Adept. It would likely not leave a mark though, as by that point the 'stone' would have been refined into pure Psynergy. Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure I saw Alex do just that."

Felix, hearing this, cried "Oh poor Jenna! Are you sure, Sheba?"

"The orb looked almost exactly like these, but bigger, and clearer. And I thought it was starting to look pink when they left."

"There can be no doubt then," sighed Kraden sadly. "Jenna has lost her Psynergy, and if Alex was the captor, I doubt he would be nice enough to leave her the small amount of Psynergy needed to retain her Adept status. Hurry then!"

"Hey people, I found the book!" shouted Ivan.

"Perfect timing! Jenna's lost her Psynergy!"

"... She WHAT?!"

"You heard me! We have to go quickly!"

"Alright then, here it is. Garet, the hair?"

"Here."

"Alright, we need an Earth Adept and an Adept that matches her element –"

"Her current? Or her birth element?" asked Felix worriedly.

"Uh... I think it's supposed to be her current..."

Groaning, Isaac said, "Alright then, who volunteers to waste all their Psynergy? Since that's the only way we're gonna get an Adept who's not an Adept."

Garet immediately said, "I'll do it," to a chorus of laughter.

Patting his back, Felix said, "I'm sure you will."

"I just realized," said Garet, "That's the first time Mia hasn't teased me about... you know."

"Don't worry, I'm just thinking up a good 'un!"

Despite the situation, the eight friends found the time to sit down and laugh off their burdens for a while.

Thousands of miles away, an hour ago

As Jenna fell, she was rather surprised to find herself landing on what was apparently empty void. Chortling still, Alex walked on to empty space. As he did, lines of light began to course through the void, outlining an igloo-shaped room.

"Aw, isn't that sweet. You thought I was going to kill you, no? Don't you worry, I need you as bait for your friends..."Alex walked over to Jenna, and in one swift move hamstrung her with bonds of freezing ice, which Jenna did not appreciate at all. He then rolled her oven so that she held down a button on the floor marked with strange runes, and left. Jenna, by this point recovered enough to be angry, read the runes, and realized to her horror that they read, 'Elevator descend. Hold down to prime, release to activate'. She immediately stopped struggling. Hearing Alex teleport to places unknown, she thought, Hurry up Garet, I'm freezing, and PLEASE don't fall for the trap!

Unbeknownst to her, Alex had merely teleported a few feet, and proceed to jump off Gaia Rift. In midair, he caught himself with wind – and flew down the cliff.

Author's note: 'Bout time things started getting interesting! Next up: what happened to Alex? Will Felix and the others fall for the elevator trap? Why did Jenna say "Garet" instead of the leader "Felix"? And where does that elevator go? Find out... some random time in the future when I finish the third chapter! :P Read and Review!