A/N: Hello again! I present Chapter 2. And hark! You all get some Valeshipping and Sandshipping/Lighthouseshipping (whichever you prefer to call FelixXSheba) in this chap!

I'm sorry if it was a little confusing last chap. Please bear with me if things are a little confusing; it'll clear up as the story progresses. Part of it was my fault and part of it was Leader's. I didn't want him to know everything since I didn't think Alex would spill out all the Adept secrets and knowledge to him at a whim. He seems more the type to tell only as much as he needs to. But, as I'm writing him, I guess it's still my fault. Oh well, lol. So, please bear with me until the story reaches the opportunity for the characters to understand all of what's happening to them concerning the Summons and Guardian Summons. They don't know themselves, so I can't write them knowing, right? If the previous chapter was really too confusing for anyone, though, let me know so I can better explain it, because confusion is not my goal. Further enlightenment is.

Until that time when all is revealed arrives, I pray that you'll enjoy the ride! :D Please enjoy Chapter 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun or Naruto.

Chapter 2

"Here, let me help you, Jenna."

"Isaac, I am perfectly capable of washing dishes on my own. I am not an invalid!"

Jenna stood over the sink, her hands dripping in lather from attempting to perform a daily chore. Her throat burned from her frustration, and she could feel the heat traveling around her body and the soap beginning to smoke on her hands. Taking a couple of calming breaths to ensure she didn't lose control and start mindlessly using psynergy, she assessed another similar situation with narrowed eyes that seemed to keep reoccurring, along with her increasing fiery temper.

Okay, she tried to reason through an anger-filled mind, she was pregnant. She'd grant that. Isaac's recent overprotective-ness was understandable. But she wasn't even 2 months yet! She was barely showing! Her pregnancy shouldn't matter in terms of work. Then her reason began to slip as red began filling her mind's perspective. Yet he and Felix had managed to defy all the odds. During that time, he and Felix had been driving her unbelievingly insane. She was being treated as an invalid. They didn't think she still had the ability to work. They were belittling her. The memories came drifting forward with a flaring vengeance strong enough to desire a vendetta. 'Here, let me help you Jenna… No, Jenna, I've got it… Don't worry; we'll take of it, Jenna….'

If they didn't let her start doing some work soon, she was going to go bonkers!

As she stood there steaming, the red grew ever so steadily stronger.

Isaac stood a few feet from her fiery aura in the entryway from the living room to the kitchen, afraid of getting burned if he stepped too close. He watched as Jenna slowly dried her hands on a dish towel before finally turning on her heel to face him, her temper under tight reign. She walked with the controlled step of an executioner over to where he was in the living room, a short distance from the front door. She only needed an axe or mace and a cover to hide her face to complete the visual to go with her aura, Isaac realized. His insides were twisting. Perhaps he could run. He glanced toward hopeful salvation from his peripheral vision, but then resigned himself to his fate. He was her husband. He'd take it like the man was he was.

As Jenna made her deliberately leaden march towards him, every step sounded to Isaac like the drum beating the countdown to his decapitation. He watched her seething form smolder ever closer. Then his brain shot into a frantic overdrive, trying to decipher what he had done wrong before it was too late to save himself. He drew up a blank. Then his recent offer to assist her with the dishes came to mind, but that couldn't be it. How could she get so stressed out over something as small as an offer to help with washing dishes? It was a silly notion. It had been a helpful suggestion, too. After all, Isaac felt Jenna had been stressing over work lately. He didn't want his one and only love to be stressed, especially in her current condition. But then helping her didn't seem to work. So he went to someone who might give advice (and offer insurance to his life since he spoke about it): he went and told Felix. Her brother agreed to help keep her from working when possible, and threatened the new husband with death if Jenna worked on Isaac's watch. Thus, he kept trying to keep her from working. She couldn't be stressing herself over it, could she? Wasn't it was the perfect solution? No work, no stress. Yet he could never keep from making her stressed. All he wanted was to help her. What else could it be? What was stressing her? He didn't want anything to happen to her! Perhaps there was something wrong with him. What was he doing wrong?!

While Isaac began frantically fretting over the situation, his mind running in a million directions yet reaching nowhere, Jenna had to inwardly admit that her rising blood pressure wasn't beneficial to her current state of health. Really, though, these instances just kept piling up- and from both him and Felix. Was there a connection between her recently over-protective husband and her already over-protective brother…? Putting it like that, she didn't doubt it if they had teamed together. Unfortunately, knowing her brother, she wouldn't doubt it either if Felix had told Isaac to keep her from doing chores. He probably threatened Isaac, too, Jenna thought with a snort. This thought only served to flare her passions with the notion of cooperative conspiracy, though. She snorted again, like smoke from a bull's nostrils in their fury.

Jenna surveyed Isaac as he stood steadfast in the stubborn dying light before twilight, his stance of final defense mixed with resignation to an early grave. She took in the worried blue eyes of her husband, so out of place amidst the exterior rocky strength, and she felt her anger, so stoked in his arson of her passions, begin quieting as her resigned love for him cooled her fiery spirit from the level of eternal damnation to purgatory. The only times she ever saw her strong man, firm as Mt. Aleph, become rocky with turmoil like from an earthquake- which he himself could generate- were usually in times he was fretting about her or his parents. It gave her a surge of placating warmth to know he cared, but she was still frustrated with him, no matter what. While her fiery spirit would cool, it wouldn't allow her to let go of it that easily.

And yet, looking into his anxious storm-blue eyes with the chaos to fit one, contrasted by the orange-gold his hair became dyed in the light of setting sun, set against such caring features, she felt herself giving in. He was only worried for her health, however much how he was handling it irked her….

She sighed, finally letting go of her passionate fury but not intending to let him get away. Although, considering it was herself, fiery Jenna, she had to wonder how he somehow managed to quiet her fury without doing anything but standing there, waiting for her to rip his head off. How was it he could always quell the passions of her heart as easily as he could rouse them? That thought almost rekindled her frustration as though he could control her without even lifting a finger, but Jenna managed to shove it away for another time.

Isaac inwardly breathed in relief. Her smoldering anger was slowly burning out. Another brushfire calmed before the conflagration. He didn't how it was always calmed, but one didn't question fortune when it struck in your favor. Now he could ensure his words getting through to her. He also knew what to say, now that he thought he pieced the correct information to the right problem. Isaac spoke, watching warily for any signs of overlooked sparks. It wouldn't do to ignite the fuel that was just apparently extinguished. There might still be a couple of dying embers with enough fire to rekindle and spread; and, then, he may never put it out.

"I'm sorry if I've been frustrating you about working, Jenna," he said, carefully checking his words and tone, "but I'm just worried about you. I want everything to go well, like you do. I'll try to back off."

"Thank you," Jenna replied, her posture revealing she had been placated enough not to require spark-watching, to Isaac's relief. He felt his tenseness melt with the revelation that his guess was correct. "I really appreciate the care," Jenna continued, snapping Isaac's full focus back to her, "but I really want the space. I do not need to be babied, Isaac. I can still do just as much as I used to, regardless of my pregnancy. You and Felix have been frustrating me to no end lately when you both take this too far."

Ah. This was partly Felix, too, Isaac realized. His overprotective-ness was a given- Jenna was his younger sister- but at least this second turn of good fate meant it wasn't all on him.

Sensing an opening for continued favor in his direction, Isaac cut in, "Then we'll talk to Felix also and see if-"

"See if what?"

Jenna and Isaac both turned to see Felix standing silhouetted in the dying light of the day, wearing his old armor and his Cloud Brand strapped to his waist. Sheba stood just behind him in the doorway, holding onto his hand. Her engagement ring glittered in the final fading rays as the sun left to sleep while the moon took her watching post. Her medium-length golden hair swung across her back and shoulders as she moved to enter and close the wooden door, smiling from a foreseen joke. Neither of them sensed the dissipating tension that still hung in the air between Jenna and Isaac.

"If you're willing to let me bury you in another spar?" Felix continued in a joking manner.

"And who said you could bury me?" Isaac retorted.

"Your spar record, that's what."

Isaac grinned back, stretching his arms and already warming up in the anticipation of Felix's tacit challenge. "Tonight will be my night."

Felix tried but failed to look shocked as he continued the childish argument. "What is this? You're challenging the Great Felix that has creamed you to Cybele more times than Garet has brains to count?"

"Hey, don't make of Garet," Isaac returned in the same manner, "when he's the one that will be running Vale- not the Great Felix, I might remind."

Felix laughed, clearly enjoying their fun verbal spar before they began the one he came to ask Isaac to. "So, is that a challenge, Mighty Isaac of the Mars Star?"

"I'll defend the honor of my heroic title as I send you to Cybele!"

Their childish game continued as Isaac went to gather his Gaia Blade from the chest in the bedroom, his footsteps fading with Felix's close behind as they exited the living room.

Jenna sagged onto the couch with a mournful moan, burying her face in her hands.

Sheba didn't notice Jenna's quiet lament. Her back was to her friend as she watched the men disappear up the stairs. Laughing at Isaac and Felix's antics, Sheba said cheerfully, "Ah well. Boys will be boys, right, Jenna?" She stood for a few seconds waiting for a reply, but none came. Hearing no response, she finally turned to face her friend. Her countenance changed to one of worry as she assessed Jenna's state of being. Walking quickly up to her and sitting on the couch beside her, Sheba put her arm gently around Jenna. "Hey, Jenna, what's wrong?" Sheba murmured, before joking, "You can't be that worried about Isaac, can you?"

Her attempt to lighten her fiery friend's mood was as futile as creating fire with wet sticks.

Abandoning the attempt, she continued, "C'mon, Jenna. We've been friends for a long time, and I know not much dampens your spirit. What's wrong? Who did it? Tell me and I'll zap 'em. Make their hair stand up in all directions and you can point and laugh at them."

Jenna chuckled weakly, the sound muffled from hiding her face in her hands. She mumbled, "His hair's already sticking up everywhere, so there won't be much difference."

"Garet, huh? Awesome! I owe him a nice sizzling from the crack he said about Felix yesterday-"

"No, not Garet!" Jenna grumbled, lifting her face a little so she could spit out, "Smoke the conspirator pair of my husband and my brother!" Then she plunged her face into her hands again.

Sheba felt her annoyance peak at the Venus duo. Why was it always them when it came to Jenna? "What did they do, Jenna? I need to know what sins they're paying for this time before I can render judgment. Then we can decide what level of lightning bolt to cook 'em with."

Finding an ear that was finally willing to listen, Jenna came out of her withdrawn shell and poured out her frustrations of the past couple months for Sheba, who listened attentively. Twenty-five minutes later, the full story had finished bringing itself into the light for all to recognize the crime committed against her.

"Okay, that does it." Sheba stood up, flexing her fingers to ready herself like she usually did before she used psynergy. "Well done, extra crispy, or burned and still smoking? I can offer a package deal if you like?" She chuckled.

Jenna smiled weakly. "The last sounds appealing," she admitted. "Although, I'll be willing to forego their death for a sharp bolt if they'd just listen to me and stop it."

"Have you tried talking to them?" Sheba asked.

Jenna nodded. "I tried talking to Felix a couple of days ago. He just denied doing anything that wasn't 'absolutely necessary in that particular situation'," Jenna said, marking air quotes as she breathed life into her brother's past words. "As for Isaac, well, I finally got him to figure out what he was doing and stay still long enough to listen to me when you two arrived. You can see what's more important to him now," she grumbled.

Sheba sighed. Sitting back down to give her friend another hug, she consoled, "Accept it. Men are idiots. It's a fact of life. Unfortunately, it also happens to be a fact we have to live with. But we do what we can. Next time, trap Isaac where he can't run away and there are no possible distractions. Men have short attention spans, too."

"I didn't think there'd be a distraction to worry about," Jenna replied with a groan.

"That's just called experience," Sheba dismissed with a wave. "You'll finish catching on to how to catch a guy's ear with time. For now, just accept that although he's being a total brainless idiot, he still cares for you and will come back once the males stop fighting for superiority." Sheba paused for a moment. Then, she added seriously, "I've seen the way he looks at you, the way he acts with you, the aura he carries near you. There's no doubt in my mind- or his (I've checked) - that he loves you. Besides, who else that you know would willingly chase you halfway across Weyard to rescue you?"

Sheba's words and insight put warmth back in her heart. This was why she liked talking to Sheba- she always knew how to fix her perspective. Jenna murmured, "You're right. Thanks, Sheba." She smiled.

Sheba grinned. "Now that's the Jenna I know." Leaping up, she announced, "Alright! We'll watch your husband get creamed by my fiancé, and then you'll watch as I impart judgment to the reigning champion. You'll watch the reigning loser receive his penance after he recovers. When they're both in hospital beds afterwards and can't go anywhere, you can make them listen to you. How's that?"

Jenna laughed. "And who said my husband was going to lose?"

"His spar record."

They both laughed just as the competitors started coming down the stairs, Isaac now dressed in his old armor and his Gaia Blade now strapped to his back. It was dark by now; but, whether in good or bad weather, at noon or midnight, nothing could ever postpone their spar.

Unsheathing the Cloud Brand, Felix stabbed his sword into the air, shouting joyfully-

"Let's get this party started!"

Two cloaks flapped quietly in the chilled breath of night. Red eyes gleamed like two Mars Stars from the darkness, watching the group exit the cottage for the Isaac and Felix's spar.

Perhaps this would provide sufficient entertainment for his impatient partner while they waited for the opportune moment to strike. At any rate, this would also allow them some insight into what they were up against, and what was the strength of their power.

Despite what his face showed, Itachi, too, was awaiting the spar with interest. He wanted to see more on what psynergy could do.

"It's cold tonight," Jenna murmured, trying to fight the chill by wrapping her cloak a little tighter around herself.

"We are entering autumn, sis," Felix pointed out. "But I don't even consider this 'cold'. Nothing comes close to the ultimate meaning of the best synonym to 'cold' until you've lived Prox."

"True meaning of frigid, huh?" Isaac joked.

"Frigid was the daytime of a summer in Prox."

Silence greeted his sober words.

"So," Isaac finally broke the silence, "are we going to start your defeat or not?"

Felix grinned as he went to stand a few feet opposite Isaac. "Now we're talking."

Sheba, who had voted to play referee (Jenna opted to sit and watch from the porch), called out, "No out of bounds. Whatever style you wish to use- within reason- is acceptable. In other words, don't destroy the landscape beyond extreme repair and don't kill each other. Avoid lethal blows; I don't want to wake the Great Healer up if this lasts a long time. The last person standing wins. Are you READY?"

They unsheathed their swords, the sound cutting sharp and piercing as the blades in the night air.

Sheba raised her arm. "Stances- SET!"

Isaac and Felix slid into their battle stances as fluidly as water. All their focus was on the other. They had their prides at stake, after all.

Dropping her arm quickly, Sheba yelled, "FIGHT!"

Isaac charged at Felix, aiming for a swipe to his side. Felix dodged it with a low parry, catching the opposing blade and pushing it back with a sudden force that caused Isaac to back up a couple paces as he steadied himself.

The moment open, Felix didn't hesitate. Thrusting his sword forward, Isaac had barely enough time to dodge the attack by moving quickly to the side and readying his next strike as he speedily appeared behind Felix. As he brought the sword down toward Felix's back, Felix dropped into a roll, stopping several feet away from Isaac. As he got up to face him, grin plastered all over his face, Felix leapt back into the fight with a quick secession of strikes and thrusts.

Forced into defensive, Isaac dodged and parried while planning what to try next. Felix tended to leave himself open for a few seconds when he did a sword thrust, so he would wait for that again, though if he played it too much, Felix would eventually realize what he unconsciously doing if he hadn't already. He continued playing defensive, until one strike came that missed his head but severed several upright hairs.

Felix laughed. "Early haircut, Isaac? I can finish the job."

"You're the one who needs it!" Isaac retorted with a quick jab that Felix pushed aside with his sword, leaving Isaac unprotected from his rashness. Before he could defend himself, Felix had planted a solid kick to Isaac's stomach that sent him flying.

"Or I could continue driving you to the dirt," Felix offered.

Righting himself easily, Isaac shot back with a grin, "I'm going plant you one of these times, and you won't be able to uproot yourself. Just you wait."

"Care to try?"

Isaac charged back, swiping at Felix's chest with his sword in response.

Itachi watched from his perch with interest as the spar between Isaac and Felix progressed. The spar fluctuated between simple kenjutsu (A/N: sword fighting. Remember, Itachi's going to be thinking in terms of ninja skills, being a ninja after all.) to advanced kenjutsu. Then it went from only advanced kenjutsu to advanced kenjutsu mixed with taijutsu, though mostly kicks since their hands were occupied with their swords. However, shortly thereafter, they began adding a type of earth elemental jutsu, but it wasn't any type of elemental jutsu Itachi had ever seen, except something similar from Alex. It seemed to cover plants as well as earth. He assumed it must be psynergy, where they didn't seem to require hand signs. Then again, Leader did say they were Adepts, so he concluded it must be a type of psynergy. Though, try as he might, he had never managed to learn much of how it worked from Alex, so he studied the fighters intently, hoping to procure their secrets.

They seemed to focus briefly, and then their bodies would emit a slight glow as light energy began emitting from and around them. Judging by their slight exertion, heat energy was released as well, but judging by how little it was and their easiness with it all, they were skilled at this as Alex was. Perhaps they were more skilled. He had observed a couple of kids in the town practicing earlier in the day, and by the concentration they were using to move a two-foot rock together, they were barely on the basics. That was evident by the old man instructing them to focus and whatever else he told them but Itachi couldn't hear from his distance that morning. Perhaps he could persuade him or someone else to impart some of their knowledge, if Alex was refusing to. He didn't like sitting in ignorance when there was a way to glean to knowledge.

As Jenna watched the spar from the porch more quietly than Sheba, she suddenly felt a warm tingle, like the type she got when she had an internal happiness, or like there was something she should be aware of but didn't know how to pinpoint it. This was usually up Sheba's alley, being the Wind Adept, but she didn't feel like bothering her friend for something probably worthless. Sheba was having the time of her life; she loved watching Isaac and Felix spar like this. She loved the nights they could all get together, and so did she, actually. Jenna decided against needlessly worrying her friend. It was probably just stress from earlier that evening and then being out in the cold night air.

It was nothing, she told herself.

She returned to her quieter, but still enthusiastic, cheering from inside the porch. Sheba continued her more energetic cheering from the outer edge of the porch, trying to get as close as possible without putting herself in danger of the fight.

Raising his glowing hand from the ground, Felix lifted up a wall of earth that instantly hardened, blocking the rock spires Isaac had sent his way. As the dust from the smashing spires settled, Felix tried his best to catch a couple of quick breaths without inhaling anything. It wouldn't do well to start coughing in the middle of the spar. That would only give Isaac a chance for an opening.

He reached for his sword, breathing a little heavily. Feeling his psynergy align with the Cloud Brand, he felt it begin flowing into the blade, the heat causing it to warm and glow a dull orange, quickly darkening into red. He waited for the psynergy to accumulate as Isaac threw his final spire.

There was a muffled crack before the hiss of crumbling rock. His psynergy strength had overpowered Isaac's in the technique, but Felix hadn't expected anything less due to what it took to create and hold an earth wall that strong. Not only that, but then to push psynergy out from the cracks in the earth to dismantle Isaac's psynergy control that was holding it together. Perhaps he shouldn't waste so much strength; there were other ways of dealing with spires and his brother-in-law's attacks.

How about a nice little return gift? Felix thought as he smirked.

As the final dust settled, Felix gripped the hilt of his blade tightly before leaping out behind his protection. Thrusting his sword into the air, he bellowed, "Ragnarok!"

"Ragnarok!"

Itachi interestedly returned his thoughts to the spar below as the Sentinel carrier summoned a fiery sword against the Dullahan bearer. As he watched the blonde resort to blocking the attack with a transparent-orange psynergetic barrier, he began feeling slightly frustrated. No matter how much he watched, he couldn't understand how these people managed to use jutsu without hand signs. Since learning of psynergy, he had understood that it more mental energy, but it seemed to draw on bodily energies as well, albeit not as much as chakra. Chakra and psynergy seemed so similar yet so different. It irked him, not being able to glean the knowledge he required for a thorough analysis. And he still didn't know why they didn't need hand signs. Abandoning that train of thought, he moved to a different one, but still along the same lines.

Psynergy would be more difficult to counter without the heads-up of what psynergy they were using since they didn't use hand signs, and the ability of using the Sharingan to copy the technique would be withheld from him as well. Without hand signs to signify it as a jutsu and no Adept lineage, he was increasingly seeing no method of learning psynergy that he could see. He considered a pact with a Summon might enable the ability, being psynergy-based, but he still didn't know how to procure one. Did they require signing scrolls…? Going nowhere further with that thought, he once again moved elsewhere.

He knew an Adept could only use one element- the one they were born with- but he also wondered if it was possible for them to use techniques from different elements. And their elements worked slightly different, but he had worked out where to group what for the earth, water, wind, fire, light and darkness categories. That shouldn't be a problem any longer; though, while they appeared to have light and dark (to balance the light) in their elements due to the Summons, there were no Light or Dark Adepts according to Alex. Then should he have included light and dark to the list, or shouldn't he have? It was "recondite" in the ultimate sense of the word. It was confusing even him, and he was the genius. As he watched the Guardians utilizing techniques that only required plants and surrounding land, he reasoned that their Earth Adept category was correct from their information, and he was still no further with his other notions.

Deciding to drop the different element idea for later also, he recalled that lightning or wind jutsus were the best to use against this particular type of Adept. But would their Guardian, pact or if they had djinn affect their psynergy or strength? He recalled Alex mentioning that psynergy techniques and strengths could be affected by "different things", but he hadn't elaborated any more than that. He assumed it would affect their psynergy and strength, but he really didn't know what kind of effects they could have. Alex kept a tight "I have no knowledge of it" lid on everything pertaining to that.

He was growing increasingly tired of Alex's skirting of information and his giving just enough to get by. He was fast becoming tempted of just persuading Alex to tell; but, unfortunately, fighting between members was prohibited, not that it didn't happen anyway. What he wouldn't do to acquire some wanted answers…

The epitome of confusion and frustration- that was what this venture equaled to. But since they could no longer acquire the bijuus, what other alternative did they have to accomplish their goal?

The weird tingling feeling still hadn't left Jenna, and she was beginning to wonder if it was actually meaning something. Closing her eyes as she slowly pulled away from the present, she tried to immerse herself in the feeling to help identify it, as Sheba had taught her to do.

When she had succeeded in concentrating only on the feeling and blocking out the sounds and emotions of the spar, she began to dissect it. First, Jenna found only worry. Fine, perhaps that was insecurity that Isaac and Felix wouldn't stop bugging her. But then, as she tried to draw on the worry feeling, there wasn't frustration in it, as she had felt earlier. No resentment. It was… was… actual worry, but a foreboding fear. Expectant.

Great. She was becoming a seer like Sheba and Ivan. They were doomed; the world was ending. Again.

No, don't ignore it, Jenna admonished herself. That was Sheba had taught her. Even if it felt silly or not plausible, give it the attention it deserved or "it may not return since you didn't listen," she had said. Fine, I'll listen, she thought, as she plunged herself into it again, freeing herself from her own inner distractions.

Okay, it was foreboding. It was expectant. Why was it expectant? Was something going to occur?

Surprisingly, she felt something like an affirmative response. It was like the inner warmth, or someone responding using her own voice since it hadn't found its own yet. A mixture of an innate reply with an adrenaline-like 'yes' driving around her body.

So it was a warning. With that thought, it was like she had slipped on a shoe that finally fit right. She was on the right track, then. But warnings are generally bad. Was it bad?

Lukewarm.

Lukewarm?

How could it be lukewarm?

Nothing.

Deciding not to let not receiving a returning feeling get her down when she seemed to be making some weird sort of progress, she decided to continue.

So, it was going to be bad….

Warmth.

But not as bad as it could be.

Slight warmth.

Opening her eyes, Jenna decided she was going nuts. She had to be. She was frustrated with this hot-cold game that was leading nowhere. She was probably talking to herself, anyway.

As she eyed her friend beside her, now doing whooping cheers 'cause her brother had once again knocked her husband to the ground, Sheba's words came back to her. "Listen or it'll disappear…"

She sighed inwardly, but reluctantly plunged herself back into it, deciding to accept for now that she was actually feeling something. The inner warmth felt slightly reluctant as well, as though admonishing her leaving, but seemed to welcome her back at the same time. This time, as Jenna was dissecting the inner feeling, she felt an antsy feeling to it. Like when they were running out of time to light the Mars Lighthouse, and the Wise One was standing in the way and then making them fight their parents in the form of a three-headed dragon.

…Running out of time?

Warmth.

Okay, piecing it together, she had a feeling of running out of time, so she needed haste, and foreboding. She could've sighed. Go and save the world again, huh?

She almost felt the feeling laughing.

Then she felt her frustration at whatever it was that was laughing at her. So she sent that feeling towards the other one.

The laughing stopped, to her happiness.

Then it was quiet, as if the feeling was done with dissection for meaning, except for a feeling of expectancy. It was waiting for something…. But it was a familiar waiting, like something she wanted, too.

Warmth.

Here we go again, Jenna thought, but didn't fight it. She went with it. Something that she wanted, too…. She wanted several things, though. What could she have in common with a weird warmth that could answer her back, though…?

Her mind drifted. She wanted to be a good wife for Isaac, and she wanted to be a good sister to Felix and a good friend for all her friends. She wanted to still be a good daughter to her parents, and a good mother for her child, as well as a good teacher and a strong fighter. She didn't want to lose her skills. She wanted to learn. She wanted recognition from Isaac and Felix for when they had been belittling her without realizing it.

Warmth.

It wanted recognition from them, too?

Cold.

Knowing them?

Colder, if possible.

…Recognition?

Warmth.

Recognition?

Warmth.

How did she give recognition? Saying thank you?

Lukewarm. Then she had a tingling feeling, and suddenly an image of speaking to Sheba when they first met popped into her mind's eye.

An introduction.

It wanted an introduction.

Warmth.

She was speaking to something?

Warmth.

She was speaking to something. Or someone, but she didn't ponder on that too long. This was really cool! She sent her excited feeling.

And got one back.

She sent a picture of herself.

A purple flower was sent back to her.

A flower?

Then there was a feeling of urgency, and a push. Then, like suddenly being shoved from under your toasty bedcovers into the frigid air of your bedroom when it's winter, Jenna was left without the feeling… and whatever it was she had just "talked" to.

She didn't know what to make of it, except that she shrugged to herself and came back carrying the feeling of foreboding and urgency as she opened her eyes.

It was there again. The feeling. She tried to watch the spar, but the "voice" of it was becoming stronger now the Jenna was listening. The spar wasn't important, but something was. Something she should be seeing but wasn't. Right in front of her nose.

But what was it? Jenna was having a hard time seeing it.

Deciding to trust it, she let it guide her eyes. Eventually, it landed on the dark forest and cliff face beyond the clearing where Isaac and Felix were sparring. There was nothing there. The moon was in the sky, covered by several clouds. There was forest full of trees, bushes, shrubs, grass and weeds. Just shadows and leaves and red-

Wait. What was that? She looked again.

Red pinpricks?? Glowing pinpricks, at that. If this was Garet's idea of joke and he burned down the forest, he was getting a wallop from her…. But while she had an innate aura of fire from it, it wasn't fire. She'd have to forego walloping Garet. Oh well.

Jenna kept her eyes on the light while reaching over to poke Sheba in the shoulder, saying, "Hey, Sheba, look at that." She got no response, so she poked harder. "Sheba!"

"What?" Sheba turned to her to see Jenna looking at something in the distance. Turning in that general direction, she asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Red lights. In one of the trees," she responded. "It's not fire. And don't say they're fireflies; they're not fireflies."

Sheba narrowed her eyes into the shadows. She couldn't tell. "I'm not sure, but I can find out," she murmured, readying her Jupiter psynergy.

Narrowing his eyes at the weakening fighters that were continuing their spar on the surprisingly still-traversable ground, he decided that it was enough. He wished to test their skills himself after getting a view of their abilities. Reviewing some of what he had seen with what he already knew, he deduced that the blonde chosen carrier of Dullahan, Isaac, was faster on his feet than Felix, the chosen carrier of Sentinel, but Felix packed more power and a little more blade skill. Isaac seemed to have slightly stronger elemental might, though. They also appeared to balance each other, which would make challenging them together a more drawn-out fight than he was hoping for. Reasoning the strengths of Dullahan and Sentinel with theirs, he decided who would challenge whom. They appeared weaker individually, and he wished to play on that weakness.

He turned to Kisame.

Closing her eyes to focus, Sheba breathed, "Reveal," into the wind. As she opened her eyes, the shadows parted for her- with some difficulty, as though something was straining against it, for some odd reason- to reveal two figures she had never seen before standing in one of the trees.

Her eyes narrowed. What were they doing there? They appeared to be talking, but she couldn't hear from where she was, and she wasn't sure she could make the wind carry the sound all the way to her, what with all the noise the boys were making in their spar.

Whatever they were here for, Sheba got a bad vibe from them, so she decided to be wary. She liked to trust her hunches. "There are two people in the tree," she murmured quietly to Jenna. "One of them has glowing red eyes. That's what we saw."

"Red eyes?" Jenna questioned. "Like a Proxian?"

"Yeah," Sheba agreed, "but they're definitely not Proxian, although the guy standing next to Red Eyes is blue like Saturos and looks like a human shark." She chuckled.

Choosing only to lightly indulge in laughter at Sheba's joke and then continue to press the topic, Jenna asked, "So, what to do you gather from them?"

"I don't like the feel of them," Sheba murmured, her words sober again. "They give off a warning I don't like. I've never seen them before, either, so they're not anyone we know of."

"Threat?" Jenna asked at a similar volume.

"Perhaps. Shall I find out?"

"Go ahead. At least it'll be better than standing around and wondering. Be careful, though. We don't know what they're capable of."

Sheba closed her eyes again. Allowing her mental wavelength to begin blend with the stranger's, she let her psynergy to skirt close to their auras. Once that was done, she delved into the mind of the dark-haired stranger.

She was met with some resistance, but as her wavelength began to match, it began to give away. It felt veiled, though, like she was looking through semi-transparent glass. He must have a really strong mind for that to happen. Then darkness encroached upon her from his mind- his current state of mind. She felt a carefully locked away sadness and anger in a far corner, but she didn't want to spend the time to delve deeper into it. It wasn't what she was looking for, anyway. He was extremely skilled, so said his mind and a few images so procured from his memory. He was also very proficient in mental techniques and illusions. He was probably a Jupiter Adept. Surprised at the notion as she was, she would have to be careful he didn't turn her technique against her while she was still inside his mind. She didn't know how long she had before he noticed, either. She would celebrate the finding later; perhaps as a Jupiter Adept, he had some relation to her. But with the possibility of him being an enemy, she didn't know if she should feel happy and excited or not.

Then she caught a feeling of fire talent.

But how could a Jupiter Adept be proficient in fire psynergies naturally? As she thought this question, suddenly something didn't seem right. Why did the word 'psynergy' not seem to fit? Sheba was becoming increasingly confused. He didn't seem to match her earlier conclusions. Back to the drawing board.

Then a word popped up: ninja. A crossed-out leaf symbol. Images of a closed-in village filled with people and then the current pattern of red clouds that adorned his cloak.

What did the jumble mean? Sheba didn't have a clue. What was his name, anyway?

Uchiha Itachi? What kind of name was that? What did that mean?

"Kisame, you will take the Sentinel carrier, the Guardian Felix. I will challenge the blonde Dullahan carrier, Isaac. We're after the Guardian Summons Iris and Catastrophe, whose carriers are on the porch down there, but we'll have to go through Isaac and Felix first. After we test the Guardians, we'll attempt the Guardian Summons," Itachi concluded in a quiet murmur. "After we acquire the Guardians Summons, we'll return for the Guardians, just in case. We might need them both together. We don't know how this works."

Kisame nodded. "Understood."

Were they really friends or foes? It was a feeling that pointed to the latter, but she hadn't pulled any concrete proof out. What were they doing here? Why were they spying?

Pushing further, Sheba only got more jumbled words and images. Then she got a brief flash of Isaac, Felix, Jenna and herself as they were exiting the house along with a feeling of patience. But it was more like a predator-stalking-their-prey patience. It sent ice crawling down Sheba's spine. What did they want with them?

It was beginning to look like they were foes.

Feeling a slight sense of fear course through her, she searched hurriedly, trying to learn why they were after them and what they were doing in Vale. It didn't feel good, and from what she could gather from his memories, both his partner and the one she was inside of were a force to be reckoned with individually, to say nothing of their strength together. But then again, she thought, her friends and herself weren't taken lightly in their abilities, either. She shouldn't feel fear over an unknown that could still be dealt with, now that their surprise attack was over.

She needed to learn why they were there- fast, before he realized her presence….

Itachi suddenly felt hidden eyes on him, and a power was touching him just enough to test something. He turned his burning gaze to where he felt it from. It was the Catastrophe carrier, Sheba. Her brows were furrowed as she stared intently in their direction. She couldn't be seeing them, though; it too dark to see them from that distance. He had purposely picked the spot for that very reason. Besides, he had also put up a cloaking jutsu; she shouldn't be able to see him, let alone sense him.

Perhaps she had seen his Sharingan….

Wait… His brows creased together as he studied her. She was utilizing psynergy, for she was glowing faintly as she stared exactly where they standing. It was like she was seeing through him, almost….

Like a jolt, he finally felt the presence in his mind. What was she doing there? How did she get past his mental barrier? How could he have not sensed the intrusion before?! Hissing under his breath, his eyes narrowed angrily at her before he shut them so he could have full focus against her. He pushed against her mind with a hard shove, trying to end her search before she found something he didn't care to be revealed.

Their surprise attack and reconnaissance was now ruined by her and her infuriating ability. Alex would pay for not informing them of this.

More flashing images. The village again. A four-person group out in the middle of nowhere. Himself sitting on a porch with a younger boy looking similar to him.

Perhaps he was a sibling? Sheba didn't know. She just continued scanning, trying to find what she looking for.

A group wearing similar attire. They were in a dark cave. Then they appeared again, but as holograms. A person in a yellow cone-like hat before the holograms. A base. A different area. The village again. A monument with several carved faces. A tower of importance.

Sheba was moving in a direction that wasn't going to be of help. She needed to go back the group. She was going somewhere with that.

A boy they were pursuing. He had something inside him. A hotel. A white-haired man saved him at the last instant with a frog that appeared from nowhere. More people in the cloaks. A base.

There. Perhaps she was getting somewhere. She pushed that.

Mission failure. Rings. A couple of member deaths. A name: Akatsuki.

What kind of name was Akatsuki?

A flash of blue hair. A woman with a flower in her hair. She was standing beside their leader in the center. The group again. A cave. A person in the center. Some sea-green hair stuck out as similar colored eyes stared from beneath the hat. Annoyance.

Why did Sheba feel foreboding all of a sudden? She pushed for those images from his memories.

More images. Anger and more annoyance. Not enough information. Annoyance. Irritation at the person. Newest member. More annoyance. An image. A flash of sea-green hair as the hat was pulled off-

And it felt like the walls were caving around her, pressing her, pushing her from all sides as she went from one emotional turbulent to another. He had discovered her presence! She needed to get out-!

Itachi pushed harder. Whatever she had done, she was very skilled at it. He hadn't even realized what she was doing, and even paying full attention he didn't know what she was viewing. And then he caught some random images. She was looking for information on Akatsuki and its members. She couldn't learn too much. He needed to get her out now.

Arming his force with chakra, he gave another hard shove, his hardest yet. He felt her presence sent flying from his mind.

He opened his eyes, breathing slightly harder than normal as he eyed her physical form on the ground. He needed to strengthen his mental forces for the next time. Catastrophe's carrier was a force to be reckoned with once she was in your mind. He briefly wondered what Adept type gave you those types of skills.

Then the ruckus started- the reaction to her return. He turned to Kisame.

"Let's go."

Kisame grinned wickedly.

Sheba was thrown out of his mind with a shove like a super-charged punch to her gut that not only threw her out, it threw her physical body as well. The force behind it was strengthened by something akin to psynergy, but she didn't know what it was. She wasn't in his mind long enough to find out. Her return to her physical body was quick as she was slammed into the wall after the connection broke.

Jenna was at her side in an instant, followed by Felix, Isaac just behind him. As Sheba weakly stood, coughing slightly as she tried to regain the breath that got knocked out of her, she choked, "That was some strong mental defense." She reached a shaky hand to wipe away the blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. "Ouch," she muttered, "I bit my tongue." She swallowed the metallic taste with a grimace.

"What happened?" Felix demanded, giving Sheba an arm for support. Cupping the side of her face with his hand, it began to glow slightly as he healed her injured mouth.

Jenna pointed to the tree where the strangers still stood, obscure to the naked eye. "There're a couple of people up there. Sheba was figuring out who they were with Reveal, and then attempted to read one of their minds. I don't know how much she learned, though."

"There are two strange people in the tree and you didn't think to tell us?" Isaac asked incredulously.

"We didn't know if the situation warranted concern or not," Sheba explained, her words slightly slurred by her healing tongue.

"And when were you planning on sharing this with us?" Felix demanded.

"As soon as we learned what the situation required," Jenna responded, her tone adamant in their choice.

"You should've told us anyway!"

Jenna opened her mouth to retort to her brother.

"Quiet, you guys! That's not the point!" Sheba interjected, her breathing still a little heavy. "They're from some group called Akatsuki, and they're here because of us. We have something they want, but that's not what I'm getting at." Her eyes were wide as she said in a quaking voice, "They were sent here by-"

She was interrupted by two soft thumps on the ground behind the group, at the far end of the sparring field. As they slowly made their way over, Sheba whispered with fear-filled eyes,

"Alex is alive. He's the one who sent them here."

A/N: And that's it for now. I actually planned a much further chapter ending, but as this was one line into page 20, I don't think you want to sit through 40 pages. I'll stick it into the next chapter, or however long it takes to reach the point I had planned on stopping on. Plus, I added more than I had planned due to sudden inspiration, so that's another reason for the length. ...Was this too long or was it okay?

Lol, no, Jenna is not going psycho. There is a purpose for it, and I may have been a little obvious with it. Can you guess who she was 'talking' to? I don't know how well I pulled off that part, either. What did you think of that part in relation to the chapter? Was it real cliché or did it seem to somewhat flow?

Also, what did you think of the fight scene? Good, bad, or somewhere in between and I need more work? This was the section I was the most nervous doing and I almost skipped writing it, but I think it turned out rather good. How did you think I did?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please R&R!! I love hearing your thoughts. Thanks. :)

~Spirit Seer