Chaptwer twelve
Tolbi and the Shrine at Last
IOE: Ugh, fine, conscience, you win, I'll write some more for this fic.
Conscience: You're only listening to me NOW because you want to rest after writing some more of chapter 5 of Break!
Feizhi: Who's this?
IOE: um, uh…A Nathaniel-hater!
Feizhi: SPARK PLASMA! (Conscience is fried to crisp)
IOE: Thanks. ZOMG now that I don't have a conscience, I can put off applying to colleges soz I can play Golden Sun: Dark Dawn! Anyway, Fehize: what you read was a horrifying error that was actually the notes I leave for myself so I can remember the plot and stuff. I'm glad you mentioned it; otherwise it would have been up way longer for the entire world to see. And Dream Adept, thank you for continuing to read this and I'm so pleased and, frankly, surprised that you were hooked! Breaking ground, you made me squeeee! Thank you so much! Well, anyway, before we begin this chapter, I think I should inform you that a character being described in this chapter honest-to-God isn't a Mary Sue. That said, she's going to be a lot of fun to write for because I thought I'd make things a little hairier. If ever I wrote a Mary Sue by the way, she would be an all-powerful writer who ruled the world and had a harem of Adepts.
Flotsam: Disclaimer: Ignira of Esperon does not own Golden Sun.
:::
As the days of rest progressed, Isaac's long and boring days were often cheered by Kiri's company. The Uranus Proficient and Isaac would swap stories. Kiri would tell him humorous stories about living with Carver, who would often sing hymns at the top of his voice on Holy Days, though he could not carry a tune. Isaac would tell Kiri stories from his travels. She would listen more intently than any audience Isaac had ever had, and he appreciated this.
This clued Isaac into Kiri's eagerness to leave her home and become Isaac's guide; Kiri probably missed the excitement of traveling like she'd used to with her father. Isaac wanted to ask Kiri about her father, but he was hesitant. Any discussion of Kiri's father, he guessed, would certainly upset her. He felt deeply sorry for the girl, and the way her father had died. He almost knew her pain; he had thought his father dead for three very long years. Still, Isaac felt there was a difference between losing a loved one in a tragic accident and a loved one being murdered by another living being.
Ethan, meanwhile, was acting increasingly anxious. He would keep pestering Isaac to see how he felt and to make estimates on how soon Isaac thought they could continue their journey. When he wasn't bothering Isaac about leaving, Ethan would demand to know all about Isaac's abilities. Isaac didn't like bragging, and so he wouldn't be too detailed in his assessment of himself as a swordsman and an Adept. Even so, Ethan would always seem either impressed or relieved. Finally, Isaac was fed up.
"Ethan, what do you want from me?" he finally demanded. Ethan feigned shock.
"I-saac," he pouted, and Isaac could sense that a long, melodramatic speech was about to follow.
"Every time you've come to check on me, you've been interrogating me all about my combat experience! I'm very experienced, okay? We'll be fine!" he bellowed.
"Alright," said Ethan, and as he went to wave his hand to show he was leaving, Isaac reached over and grabbed it.
"…Or are you trying to assess how I am in a fight because you're using me?" he growled.
"Of course not!" exclaimed Ethan, his voice a bit higher than usual. He tried to escape from Isaac's grip, but the Venus Adept held on tighter.
"What happened to all of your henchmen from when Kiri and I first met you?" he demanded. Ethan frowned and wouldn't meet Isaac's eye.
"And don't lie," Isaac quickly added. Ethan sighed and gently removed his hand from Isaac's grip.
"All will be explained in due time," Ethan announced dramatically, waving his hand.
"Actually, Ethan, I think now might be a good time, before we start traveling with you," Isaac shot back coldly. Ethan pouted again.
"Alright," he said, sinking into the chair by the bed that Kiri usually occupied, "When you met me on the boat, I was on the run."
"From your henchmen?" Isaac questioned, but Ethan shook his head.
"No, they were frightened off," he said sadly.
"By who?" asked Isaac.
"Her brother," replied Ethan, "He's a Pluto Proficient, a powerful one, too, so I can't blame the boys for abandoning me."
"OK, I think you should tell what happened from the beginning," said Isaac, lost. Ethan nodded and took a deep breath.
"So, there I am, in my underground lair, Love Shack impeccably furnished, men at my disposal, when a pair of travelers enters my cave. Normally when people pass through, you see, they seek coolness of my cave as a relief from the normally hot and arid climate and I usually take advantage of the situation.
"Anyway, my men have-excuse me-used to have instructions to defeat trespassers in the cave unless they were pretty young maidens. They then were supposed to alert me. The girl, however, went ahead and started fighting my guards. When she finally reached the Love Shack and I found out she was a Saturn Proficient…." Ethan trailed off dreamily.
"Where was her brother while all of this was happening?" Isaac asked him. Ethan shrugged.
"Playing with dead people, I don't know. Anyway," Ethan sighed nostalgically, "You haven't the faintest idea of the chemistry between us. I tell you, Isaac, it was like electricity! Of course, I've always had a terrible weakness for female Saturn Proficients. After all, why, just look at how shamelessly I pursue Penette. Ah, she'll come around eventually, that one—"
"Please explain what happened with the Saturn Ade—er, Proficient and her brother," Isaac pressed impatiently.
"Yes, well, she wasn't quite right in the head, but this didn't bother me. We were getting along swimmingly when all of a sudden her brother discovered us…" Ethan seemed to be reliving the horror as he told Isaac this. He took a deep breath.
"I didn't know she was blind," he began, and Isaac's jaw dropped open, but before Isaac could exclaim his horror and disgust, Ethan pressed on: "Honestly, Isaac, it was dark and even if I'd known she was blind, it wouldn't have mattered because that girl was not shy about getting what she wanted, I'm telling you."
Isaac had no idea what to make of Ethan's behavior, or his bizarre description of the Saturn Proficient.
"…so…then what happened?" he asked, hoping he was not unintentionally inviting unnecessarily vivid descriptions of what had happened between the Saturn Proficient and Ethan.
"We-ell," Ethan continued, "Her brother walked in on us. He was a rather protective older brother."
"Ethan, you were seducing his blind sister!" Isaac interjected indignantly, and then checked to make sure Kiri wasn't nearby to hear any of this. Ethan frowned at him.
"Wording it that way doesn't accurately describe what occurred. Vice versa might be, however. Anyway, long story made more brief, I barely managed to escape and I've been on the run from her brother ever since. What makes matters even more, uh…dicey is that her brother is a more than competent Pluto Proficient," he said.
"What powers do Pluto Proficients have?" Isaac asked. Ethan raised his eyebrows and then leaned in, intrigued by the question.
"So it's true, what the girl told me. I thought she was a little deluded with fairy tales or something, but no…you're really not from this world, are you?" he asked him. Isaac didn't like the way Ethan looked at him, as though he was being surveyed for value.
"No, I'm not. What can Pluto Proficients do?" Isaac asked. After a moment more of studying Isaac, Ethan replied:
"Pluto Proficients are very rare to come across. All of them are wealthy because Pluto Proficients have the power to find valuables. Also, they have the…unpleasant ability to manipulate the dead."
Isaac stared at him.
"Isaac, please take me with you. The powers I've inherited from Ilzero could make me useful to you, and I'm also an accomplished Neptune Proficient," Ethan pleaded, "And if we keep moving, we probably won't come across the Pluto Proficient anyway. I need a destination to go to now that I have no home, no purpose anymore, and more than that I need protection. I think an excellent warrior like you could help in that last case especially."
"Ethan, I won't fight this man for you. I think you deserve it," said Isaac bluntly.
"Very well, but at least take me with you. I was being honest when I told you that I owed you for saving my life," entreated Ethan.
Isaac took a deep breath. He was going to regret this, he knew.
"Alright."
:::
Nathaniel grinned and leaned over the side of the ship to feel the air in his face. His hair was whipped around by the wind, and he opened his mouth to taste the salty sea air. He smiled, and stood back up again. He loved nights in the middle of the sea on a boat. The blackness of night was wrapped around him like a cool blanket. Above were sparkling clusters of countless stars. He loved where he was right now. There was a warm calm in his chest that made time seem to pass at a pleasuably slower pace. The only way things could possibly be better? If Piers would let him Cast, startled bystanders be damned! Alas, how the sea water below was beckoning.
Behind him, Jenna and Garet were leaning over the ship, faces green. Nathaniel wondered what it would be like to be seasick. To his left, he overheard Sheba report to Felix that the Djinn had just about reached their destination, the river near Altmiller Cave, guessing by the maps on the ship. Nathaniel could not help but chuckle at the image of the little creatures flying a giant ship, and then felt a surge of concern for Piers' ship. He then made his way over to Sheba to ask if the Djinn had mentioned anything about accidentally damaging the ship, when Piers beat him to her and began to interrogate about his ship's condition. Sheba then laughed and waved Piers off, assuring him that everything was absolutely fine. Nathaniel relaxed, but Piers still seemed anxious.
There was then an announcement on the ship that they were about to make port.
"Excellent," Nathaniel heard Garet say hoarsely from the side of the ship.
Once they felt the ship stop, Nathaniel was nearly bowled over as the two Mars Adepts hurried to get off the ship as soon as possible. They somehow managed to beat the crowd of people that began to push and shove their way off the ship. Nathaniel growled indignantly at this.
He then became very irate at the conversation he overheard on his way off. A porcine, older man was growling to another:
"…lose my business because I can't use Psynergy to make my crops grow faster or bigger like me neighbors."
"Not natural, that Psynergy. Ask me, them Adepts should all find their own place to live and leave us normal folks alone. Tundaria'd be a right place for the lot of 'em."
He could make his way to only one of them, the man on the left with a bristly beard. Nathaniel, barely pretending he was trying to make his way through the crowd, elbowed him very hard in the ribs and hurried along.
On the docks, it was very crowded and difficult to move. Nathaniel saw that Jenna had found some crates and stood on one so that the others could see her. He made his way over to find Garet sitting on the crate next to hers. Upon seeing Nathaniel, he scooted over to make room for Nathaniel to sit.
"Thanks," said Nathaniel, obliging.
"Feeee-lix!" sang out Jenna, peering through the crowd.
Garet pointed towards Tolbi.
"You can't see it now because of all the people in the way, but this city is awesome. It has to be my favorite city in the whole world," he told Nathaniel.
"It is?" he echoed coolly. He could only harbor hatred towards Babi's city. Nathaniel could not help resenting Garet not only for loving Tolbi, but also for telling this right to his face. Of course, he considered that because Garet knew of Nathaniel's non-Lemurian origins, he might think Nathaniel did not have the same sympathies. On the other hand, Nathaniel had been raised in Lemuria. How could Garet not assume Nathaniel identified himself with Lemuria? Then again, Nathaniel remembered that Garet could be a little dense sometimes. He tried not to smile as he remembered the way Jenna had put it once: "I've encountered rabid bats with better reasoning skills than Garet."
The crowd was thinning. Eventually, Nathaniel could see Tolbi.
He had to admit it was breathtaking. In the dark, one hundred colorful lamps lit the streets and candlelit windows glowed in the night. The buildings were all two-story, sometimes three-story. He couldn't see much more, but the lights were enough to make Tolbi admirable.
Sheba appeared and stood next to Nathaniel.
"Ugh, Tolbi," she spat, and Nathaniel was suddenly more fond of Sheba than before.
"Why aren't you and Piers best friends yet?" Garet asked her.
"Are you talking about me?" asked Piers, approaching with Felix.
"Gang's all here!" exclaimed Jenna. "Let's go!"
They made their way across the docks and were finally on solid ground. Jenna and Garet commemorated this by promptly kissing the ground.
"…what if the inn's full, like last time? Does anyone know if it's Colosso season?" asked Garet after he helped Jenna stand back up. As he asked this, a man was passing by, carrying a crate, and assured them that the Colosso entry trials weren't for two months. They thanked the man as he continued into the docks with his crate. Jenna then gave her brother the biggest smile Nathaniel had ever seen.
"Looks like she's about to ask Felix for something," Garet whispered to Nathaniel. Sheba heard this and giggled.
"Feeelix," cooed Jenna, "Would you mind finding the inn and getting us rooms while we check out the town? Pretty, pretty please? You can meet us after you do!"
"I'd rather not try to find a vacant inn with decent prices all by myself when this town is so huge, Jenna," replied Felix coolly.
"Actually, why don't I take care of it? I have no interest in exploring Tolbi," offered Piers grimly. He turned to Nathaniel and Sheba.
"I assume you two, having the same sentiments about Babi's city, will want to join me?" he asked them. They nodded.
"Oh? Are you sure?" asked Garet.
"I'd really rather just get the inn-acquiring part of the night over with, anyway," Nathaniel replied.
"Well, then Felix, how 'bout you join us?" suggested Jenna.
"I should really help them," replied Felix.
"Oh, the maybe we should join y—"Jenna began, but Garet interrupted.
"Looks like you guys have got it under control. We'll be seeing ya," he dismissed, and then took Jenna's hand. Jenna, obviously preferring to explore Tolbi, let Garet gently pull her towards the street.
"Excellent," said Sheba. Piers frowned.
"Do they expect us to find them when we're finished?" he asked irritably.
"Relax," said Sheba, "I'll just send them a telepathic message when we've got the rooms. Ooh, speaking of, I should tell Ivan we're here."
Her blue aura swirled for a minute or two as Sheba psychically communicated across the Karagol, and Nathaniel wondered enviously what it was like to be a Jupiter Adept.
"Ivan says that if we find the Order of Olympus, we should wait before we take action. He wants me to tell him when we do, because he and Mia are anxious to find out where Isaac is, and hopefully give a little payback. They're doing all they can for the students right now, but they'll teleport here as soon as I send word," reported Sheba.
"Great," said Nathaniel, "But they really shouldn't hold their breath. This city's huge."
Sheba laughed.
"You know, I actually told him that, ha!" she said, smiling.
And so they began a very long walk through Tolbi. It wasn't nearly as unpleasant as the other walking journeys Nathaniel had had to make with this group. For one thing, the odds were unlikely that any of them would be in mortal peril. For another, the scenery and temperature were far more pleasant than the miserable desert landscapes of the Lamakan at night. There were lights and color everywhere—blue, gold, and purple banners from what Nathaniel understood to be a Gondowan holiday were draped everywhere. The streets were absolutely packed with vendors and people—even more so than in Kalay. A whole street had nothing but Mars Adepts casting Psynergies for spectators to "ooh!" and "ah!" at. Music from Gondowan drums filled the air, and little Suhullan flutes trilled merry melodies. There was chatter everywhere, there was nothing but people. This made it rather difficult to stick with the group and communicate with each other. Sheba's telepathy did not make things easier, either—it was too loud for Nathaniel to hear himself think. And yet, he adored it. Though he preferred the sound of waves crashing against a ship, Nathaniel loved this experience, which was something he had never experienced in Lemuria.
It was at this moment that he was most proud of himself for sneaking onto Piers' ship and getting involved. What he was experiencing excited him. What was more, he had never been close to anyone so much as Piers, and here he was making friends with such fun, interesting people, like Sheba. Nathaniel was especially glad that he had met Sheba, another person who didn't know where they had come from. He smiled at her, and she smiled back and pointed to a stand nearby where a plump, rosy-faced woman was selling mugs of warm beer. He couldn't hear what she was suggesting, but he had an idea, and so they slipped away from Piers and Felix, gave the woman some coins, and clinked their glasses. They grinned at each other, drank deeply, clinked their glasses again, and then had a race to see who could finish first. It was the richest-tasting beer Nathaniel had ever tasted. Unfortunately, it was a tie, and Nathaniel began to reach in his pockets to see if he could afford a re-match. Sheba saw what she was doing and shook her head.
"We should rejoin the group!" she shouted in his ear. Nathaniel reluctantly nodded and they began to make their way through the sea of people towards Pier's blue hair.
"That was definitely not the watered-down piss you get in Yallam!" Sheba shouted in his ear. Nathaniel laughed.
They rejoined Felix and Piers, who appeared to not have notice their brief absence. Piers was bent over, his hand over his mouth, face red with laughter. Felix, meanwhile, clenched his jaw and began stomping along. Sheba poked Piers in the ribs.
"What happened?" she hollered. Piers held up a finger to signal that he needed a moment to regain composure.
"I'll tell you when I don't have to shout as much!" he replied. Sheba and Nathaniel were disappointed, but decided they would be patient.
At long last, after much walking and finding inns that were either too expensive or too shabby, they found a modestly priced inn, purchased two rooms, and trekked upstairs to said rooms, and flopped onto their mattresses.
"Our belongings are still on the ship," sighed Felix, and Nathaniel started to worry that they might have to get up and walk all the way to the ship and bring their heavy stuff back.
"…we'll get them in the morning, though," Felix finished, and Nathaniel relaxed.
He sighed and sunk into his soft mattress. It had certainly been a long day. He lay there for a few minutes, refusing to get up. Meanwhile, Felix and Piers undressed for bed and climbed under their sheets. Almost right away, Nathaniel could hear Felix quietly snoring from the bed next to his.
There was a knocking at the door, but Felix did not stir. Nathaniel sat up, but saw that Piers was getting it. He opened the door and Nathaniel could see Sheba standing in the hall. She peeked in to see that Felix was asleep.
"…so what happened that made Felix look so embarrassed?" she asked gleefully. Piers chuckled and let her in. Sheba tiptoed in and Piers gently closed the door behind her.
"Well," he said, "This—hang on, how come you two didn't see it?"
"We got separated from you guys for a moment," Nathaniel lied automatically.
"Ah," said Piers, "Well, you see, there was this man who was clearly inebriated who approached Felix and—"He chuckled. "—thought Felix was a woman."
Sheba laughed.
"An understandable mistake," she remarked.
"Anyway, the man attempted to grope Felix. Well, you can imagine what happened next. Felix broke his arm and pushed him into the crowd. The man looked so bewildered! I thought he might retaliate, but apparently Felix scared him off," finished Piers, who then started laughing again.
Nathaniel laughed so hard he could not breathe. After a few minutes of laughter, Sheba then added:
"Or perhaps the man didn't come back because he'd realized his mistake when he'd groped Felix!"
The three of them broke into a fresh chorus of laughter, and were relieved to see that Felix was sleeping so soundly that the noise did not disturb his slumber.
"Oh, Jupiter," sniffed Sheba, who was nearly crying from laughing so hard, "I can't wait to tell Jenna."
"Did you tell her we've found an inn?" asked Piers. Sheba nodded.
"You should have given her directions to the wrong inn as revenge for not helping us find one," said Nathaniel seriously. Sheba smiled and shook her head.
"Oh no," she smugly replied, "If I bother them, it might kill the romance."
Piers rolled his eyes.
"Ha ha," said Nathaniel, "But seriously, did you tell Jenna and Garet that we bought rooms?"
"Not yet," Sheba replied, yawning, "But I will. See you in the morning."
With that, she left the boys' room. Nathaniel sighed.
"Right, we have to start looking for the cult tomorrow," he groaned, and began undressing for bed. As he did this, Piers settled into his. Nathaniel blew out the candle on the other side of the room, and felt his way through the dark until he was sure he was climbing into his bed.
That night, he dreamt of what he'd remembered before, back in Lamakan's cave:
The reflected lights glimmered through the water. A rushing sound poured through his ears. All around him was a swirling, purple glow. He looked around him to see submerged buildings. A light was coming from a ways off. If he could just keep Casting, propelling himself through the water, he could reach it….Everything was shaking. He broke his focus and slammed into the coral. He was losing consciousness….
He woke up in cold sweat. He sat up. Sunlight smiled in through the windows onto his bed. He'd been trying to make sense of this memory since Lamakan, but so far had come up with nothing more than the guess that this was what had happened before he'd washed up on Lemuria's shores. He hadn't told anyone about it, not even Piers. Where were these submerged buildings? Nathaniel rubbed his head. He was sick of this. He resolved to tell Piers about it; maybe he would know.
He looked over to see if Piers was up yet. The Lemurian was dozing softly. Nathaniel decided he may as well get dressed and ready. It was going to be a long day.
:::
Isaac stepped off the ferry, pleased that this time, things had been uneventful. Kiri appeared next to him.
"This is great!" she grinned, "I think we'll reach the Uranus Shrine today!"
Isaac was nearly overjoyed. He was getting closer and closer to finding his way home.
"I checked the map. All we have to do is continue north," said Kiri.
"We should probably eat our lunch as we walk, so we can save time," he said. He pointed to a stand set up nearby where two young men were selling sandwiches. Kiri frowned. Isaac knew it was because she preferred sitting down to eat. She did not complain, however, and ate her lunch as they went along.
They were following a dirt road through Tarnilla's savannah. It wasn't a very long walk, but the anticipation made time drag on. The grasslands were particularly hot, as it was the middle of the day. What made this even more unpleasant was Kiri and Ethan's constant complaining.
"Sweet Neptune! Couldn't we stop for another rest? This journey is so trying of the feet!" Ethan pleaded.
"No!" Isaac shouted.
What irritated Isaac the most about this was the fact that his experience in the Lamakan had been far worse than this, and yet Ethan's and Kiri's complaints were more annoying than his companions' had been.
"Ethan, Kiri, I will leave you here so the crows can have their lunch. Please stop reminding me of the weather," Isaac finally told him off.
Isaac kept squinting to see if he could spot a tower in the distance. He'd imagined that it would be a pearly white tower, glinting in the sunlight. However, the landscape remained flat. Finally, he saw a line of blue in the distance. It grew larger and larger until Isaac realized they were walking towards the ocean. It sparkled in the sunlight.
"Kiri, are you sure we're going the right way?" he asked finally.
"Uh huh," Kiri replied confidently, "I had plenty of times to look at the maps while you were healing. Besides, I've been here before, remember?"
"Let's take a rest and look at the maps," suggested Ethan, who promptly plopped down in the dirt. Isaac was not annoyed by this, as he was about to suggest the same.
He wiped sweat from his forehead and knelt down. He removed his pack from his shoulders and opened it. He began looking for the map.
"You're wasting your time," said Kiri, "I know I'm right." Still, she sat down, too.
Isaac pulled out the map, but Kiri snatched it from him. She pointed at a point on the map on the northern part of Tarnilla, somewhere near the sea.
"See? We're—"she began to say, but then she looked at the map again and raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, wait. I read it wrong," she said.
"Oh no. Please tell me we're not far away from where we should be," begged Ethan.
"We're not," said Kiri matter-of-factly, "We're actually there. I thought we had to go a little further."
Isaac gaped at her.
"What do you mean? There's nothing here!" he snapped.
Kiri looked at him resentfully.
"Weren't you listening when I told you about the shrine?" he demanded.
"Yes! You said it was in a tower!" Isaac argued.
"No, I said it was high up," replied Kiri. Before Isaac could make of what she said, Ethan added:
"Uranus Shrine is in the sky. Everyone knows that, but I suppose you're an exception, being as foreign to Erutun as foreign could be."
Isaac swallowed, scarcely believing what he was hearing.
"You mean…it's in the clouds?" he asked.
"Yes!" Ethan and Kiri replied in unison.
Isaac understood now. This explained why Kiri had said that they would need her Psynergy to get in. He had just assumed it would be like an elemental lighthouse where the door needed a Psynergy to be Cast upon it or something.
"I'm sorry, Kiri," he said sincerely. She shrugged.
"I should think so. Annyway," she said, and grinned, "Are you ready to enter?"
Isaac smiled.
"Yes," he said.
Kiri stood up and helped him up. Ethan stood up, too, uncertainly.
"I should warn," he said, "I have a bit of a fear of heights."
"All Neptune Proficients seem to," sighed Kiri, "But that's really your problem, Ethan."
"How does this happen? What do you do?" Isaac asked her.
"There should be a little stone circle nearb—oh, there!" exclaimed Kiri. She ran a dozen paces to a flat, green rock in the dirt. There were intricate carvings of an ancient language that Isaac did not understand. The rock was the size of a round dinner table. Kiri stood on it, and motioned for them to do the same.
Ethan edged as far as he could away from the sides of the circle, his eyes wide with anxiety. Isaac felt he knew what was going to happen next. Kiri was grinning from ear to ear.
"Float," she giggled, and Isaac felt the rock wobble dangerously. He and Ethan instinctively grabbed Kiri's shoulders for support as the rock slowly began to leave the ground. She mocked them for this, and peals of laughter filled the grasslands as the three rose higher and higher in the air. The air became colder.
"I don't want to die!" shrieked Ethan as the ground became far, far away and the winds of the sky whipped around them. Isaac felt sympathy, but there was little he could do. The startling view was enough to make anyone frightened; he himself was holding Kiri tightly for support and trying very hard not to look down. Kiri, meanwhile, seemed to be having the time of her life. Isaac shut his eyes tightly and prayed for them to reach the Uranus shrine already.
At long last, he felt them halt. He opened one eyes, and then the other.
"Heeeere we are!" Kiri sang out.
They were surrounded by clouds. It was a fluffy, white landscape, almost like the scenery of Imil. Before them stood a series of metal walls, arranged like a geometric maze, all walls, and no ceilings. The structure shined in the sunlight, almost blindingly. There were holes in the walls shaped like the outlines of birds. It was bizarre. It was beautiful.
Ethan immediately leaped off of the rock and sailed into the cloud. His body bounced on the cloud—apparently the ground here was very soft.
"Ohhh fiiinally!" Ethan exclaimed. Isaac let go of Kiri and carefully stepped onto the cloud. It was almost spongy, like walking on a cake that hadn't been iced yet. Kiri followed him, rubbing her arms.
"You both were grabbing me so tight, it was like holding two scared cats," she observed ruefully.
"Sorry. Are you alright?" Isaac asked, embarrassed. She smiled.
"I'll be fine. Let's go get the blessed object!" she declared, and ran to the shrine. Isaac laughed and ran after her.
The outer part of the shrine had a perimeter of about 100 feet and was shaped like a hexagon. The next was a little smaller and shaped like a heptagon. Finally, there were just three walls, two side connected to a central metal wall at obtuse angles. Kiri and Isaac halted. There, floating above the three walls was a sickle. Isaac was pretty sure it was made of flint. It looked ancient. He stared at it, transfixed.
"What are you waiting for, Isaac? Take it!" Kiri urged. Isaac shook his head.
"It's never that easy, Kiri," he said. He knew this from all of his travels.
"It's just the three of us up here, now get that thing!" appealed Kiri. Isaac nodded. He hesitated, and then reached up and grasped it. As soon as his fingers closed over the handle, there was a rumbling. Isaac tensed up, preparing for whatever was going to happen. He unsheathed his sword and handed the sickle to Kiri.
"That thing's too old to be used as a weapon," he told her.
"Isaac, we should run," said Kiri, frightened.
"No, it's better to fight with walls around," Isaac said. Kiri swallowed and nodded. She stuck the sickle into her bag and stepped into a battle stance, holding her staff at the ready.
Isaac heard footsteps behind them and turned to see a man striding towards them. He was handsome and older, with platinum blond hair and pale, delicate skin. He wore shining, green armor made out of some sort of scaly animal's hide. Isaac felt himself stiffen with fear—the man had red eyes with no pupils. Next to him, Kiri was shaking.
"I am the guardian of this shrine," the man told them in a soft voice, "and I must ask you to return the blessed sickle you just stole."
"I can't. I need it to get back home," Isaac said levelly, trying not to betray his unease. The man was expressionless.
"Are you sure? I'll have to kill you if you don't give it back. You're already frightened; I can hear your heartbeats," whispered the man. Isaac's skin crawled.
"The Wise One told me this is the only way. I'm sorry," he said firmly. The man nodded. There was a very tense pause, and then, without warning, the man leaped into the air. Isaac prepared to block an attack, but the man was soaring upward over the walls.
Suddenly, his skin and limbs turned inside out and began to change. Isaac and Kiri watched the horrid transformation, mesmerized. An immense, red-eyed, green dragon with white fur appeared above them, the true form of the guardian. It stretched out its limbs.
Kiri hollered in surprise.
"It'll be ok," reassured Isaac, "I've fought dragons before." Except all those times I had at least three other people with me who were a lot powerful than Kiri… he thought worriedly.
"Where's Ethan?" Isaac asked her, trying not to betray anxiety in his voice.
"He's probably where we left him, but that doesn't matter—there's no seawater or anything up here!" Kiri replied, panicking.
The dragon, now ready, reared back its head.
"That's ok, we don't need Ethan. We can probably take care of this ourselves," Isaac lied, "Now, Kiri, don't move just yet. We're going to dive out of the way at just the right moment. Do you trust me?"
"Yes, Isaac, I do," Kiri replied firmly. The dragon began to open its mouth.
"NOW!" Isaac shouted. He grabbed Kiri and rolled over to the side.
Isaac was blinded by a searing white light. There was an intense heat from where they had just been. Kiri screamed. Isaac leaped to his feet.
"Odyssey!" he roared. Two rapiers pierced the dragon's body, holding it in place, as a colossal sword stabbed at it, but, to Isaac's dismay, did not penetrate the dragon's scales.
"Isaac, look! It melted the walls!" Kiri yelled, pointing, but Isaac could already tell from the awful scent. He could not take his eyes away from his enemy, anyhow. The dragon was now hurtling towards them.
"Trade wind!" Kiri screamed, thrusting her staff. There was an immense gust of wind that forced the dragon's course of flight to shift away from them. Isaac suddenly appreciated Kiri's power.
"We need to penetrate its skin," said Isaac, watching as the dragon began to turn around, "Kiri, can you use your Psynergy to get me on the dragon's back?"
"I'll try," said Kiri, gritting her teeth. Isaac sheathed his sword.
"OK, just let it fly at us this time," Isaac ordered, and braced himself as the dragon neared them again. It was launching itself at them, flying faster than any man could possibly run.
"Do it now, Kiri!" Isaac cried.
"Isaac, you have to jump!" Kiri yelled. Isaac did so, and Kiri shrieked:
"Jetstream!"
Isaac felt his body propelled into the air so fast his neck nearly snapped. Focused, however, Isaac placed his hand into a groove in the dragon's back and hoped for the best. His body was whipping around in the air, barely anchored to the dragon. Isaac thrust his other arm onto the dragon's left shoulder and held on to dear life. He was certain he'd almost ripped his arm out of its socket, but he would have to persevere. His legs were still waving around in the air, and he pulled them to the dragon's back. He could now see Kiri on the ground, running out of the way. The dragon's jaw opened wide and Isaac's heart nearly stopped. He looked around to see if Kiri hadn't been bitten or swallowed, but managed to see her dodge the attack and use Trade Wind again to force the dragon away.
Suddenly, Isaac felt the muscles in the dragon's long neck twist, and he knew it was turning its head to attack him. He immediately scrambled up its neck in the hopes of getting behind the head in time, but the dragon must have been expecting this and swiftly turned its head. Isaac was thrown off the dragon's back. The wind rushed in his face as he plummeted into the cloud below. He landed just outside the walls of the shrine. The wind was knocked out of his and he felt a few ribs break. He was in pain, but he had to move quickly or he could die. He screamed as he forced himself to roll over. He was nearly blinded by the pain.
"Potent Cure, Potent Cure, POTENT CURE!" he wheezed as he watched the dragon rear back its head. His broken ribs mended themselves, and Isaac dove out of the way as a flash of blinding, searing light erupted from the dragon's mouth. Isaac fired a Grand Gaia at it, but because of the dragon's tough scales, the Psynergy only served as a sort of barrier, not an attack.
Just as the Psynergy was fading away, Ethan appeared beside him.
"Isaac," he said, "I'll try to assist in any way that I can, but I don't have a sword, so I need you to open your canteen so I can use Ilzero's powers to use it."
Isaac was shocked that Ethan was not only volunteering to put himself in danger, but also behaving with a sense of determination Isaac had never seen before. Nonetheless, he unscrewed the cap of the canteen at his side, and felt it almost instantly become lighter.
"Where's the little one?" Ethan queried, and Isaac pointed into the shrine.
"I need you to distract it so I can find her," Ethan told him, and Isaac nodded. He fired another Grand Gaia at the dragon and started making a run for the opposite side of the cloud. Near the edge, he turned around, panting, and saw the dragon racing after him. Isaac looked behind the dragon; Ethan was nowhere to be seen. Isaac then started following the edge of the cloud, trying to make his way back to the shrine. He fired Grand Gaia after Grand Gaia behind him. His heart was pounding in his ears. The adrenaline was coursing through him. He turned around to see the dragon dodging his Grand Gaia and shooting its body straight at him. It opened its jaws wide, and Isaac could see an array of shining teeth the size of bananas. He readied to roll over to the side, but the dragon was ready this time and jerked its head.
Isaac changed direction at the last time and rolled the opposite way, but, to his horror, he had fallen right off the cloud. He screamed in surprise as he saw the ground far below rising to meet him.
"FLOAT!"
Isaac's heart stopped as his body ceased its downward descent and slowly began rising. He thanked every god in existence. Waves of relief washed over his body.
He was back on the cloud. Kiri was standing by the edge, her eyes watering. She was breathing shallow breaths. Behind her, Ethan had his arm outstretched toward the dragon, which seemed to be writhing in pain. Feeling that it wouldn't be risky, he hugged Kiri very tightly and said:
"Thank you, oh, thank you."
"Ethan's forcing water down the dragon's windpipe," Kiri responded, "That should buy us some time. Let's go."
They ran together over to the dragon. Isaac could see now that below the chest of the dragon, there were no scales; only flesh.
"Just aim me at its underbelly," Isaac commanded Kiri. He pulled out his sword, braced himself, and jumped.
"Jetstream!"
His body slammed into the soft underbelly of the dragon, but Isaac had made sure to keep his sword steady. It pierced the soft flesh and the force of Kiri's Psynergy forced Isaac's arm all the way into the beast's stomach. He felt sick. He felt alive. He moved his arm in a great circle, cutting as many of the innards as he could manage. The dragon howled, and Isaac could feel its body falling to the ground. Thinking quickly, he pulled his arm out of the dragon and pushed off of its belly.
He landed on the cloud and rolled over. The cloud shook violently as the weight of the dragon crashed down on it. Isaac stood to view the corpse, but as he got to his feet, he felt them sinking into the cloud. He turned to Ethan and Kiri, who were noticing that they were sinking, too.
"The cloud's losing its magic!" he called to them. "Run!"
They hustled towards the rock as fast as they could. It was like running through thick mud. The rock was floating where they'd left it. The three of them reached it at the same time, and stood in the center of it. The rock began to sink at the same pace it had risen before. Isaac, unnerved that he had nearly fallen to earth, held his breath as he beheld the scenery. It was gorgeous at this height. Just as he was thankful that the rock was working fine, the dragon came back into view and his heart nearly stopped.
Blood dripped from the stomach of the giant green lizard. At first, Isaac thought with horror that it was still alive, but then saw that it was just the corpse sinking through the crowd. He watched, fascinated. Once free of the cloud, it plummeted to the earth. There was a deafening BANG as it crashed into the ground, but Isaac didn't dare look to see what had happened from this height.
"Cool," said Kiri, "The force of the fall made a huge crack in the earth!"
"Will we land in it?" Isaac asked her worriedly. Kiri peered over the edge of the rock.
"If we hop off the rock at the right moment, we'll be okay, I think," she said calmly, but Isaac was not comforted by the idea of an impromptu jump that might result in falling down a crevice anyway. Still, there was nothing he could do but wait until they were near the ground.
"Do you still have the sickle?" he asked Kiri.
"Of course I do," said Kiri.
It then struck Isaac that a major leg of his journey to return to Weyard was now over. He sighed with relief. The hope of being reunited with his home was now refreshed. He would see Vale again. He was going to see his friends, his mother again. He was going to see Mia again. It was at this moment that Isaac made up his mind. He could not waste his time waiting and worrying any longer. Life was far too brief and unpredictable. When the moment was right, he decided, feeling bold, he was going to make his feelings known to her, no matter how he worried she might respond. What he wanted most at that moment was just to be sharing the spectacular view from this height of the sun setting on the grasslands with Mia.
:::
From the window in their bedroom, Jenna and Sheba could take in the giant size of the city. Today, they would finally find the Order of Olympus, Sheba was certain of it.
"We're so close," she told Jenna breathlessly.
"Do you know what I'm going to do when we find the Order of Olympus?" Jenna asked her hollowly. Sheba nodded gravely. She knew.
"I don't have to read your mind to know, Jenna," she said.
"Do you know what I am going to do when we find Isaac?" Jenna asked her.
"I don't know what you're going to do, but I'm honestly going to hug him so tight, Felix will have to Cast Revive," said Sheba seriously. Jenna smiled.
"Well, first, I'm going to beat him within an inch of his life for making us all worry so much…" she began. Sheba laughed.
"And then?" she asked.
"And then…I don't know. I'll probably end up kissing him again," said Jenna. Sheba froze.
"…again?" she repeated, shocked. She stopped herself from adding "But what about Garet?"
"Again," Jenna grinned.
:::
IOE: Well, that was an unexpectedly mushy ending for both paths of the story. Please review!