Author's Note:

Hello everyone and welcome to the second chapter. This one picks up after the events of Sol Sanctum, I'm trying my best to quickly run over the events that largely remain unchanged in this AU since if you're reading fanfiction about this game, you must know how they play out already. This chapter also features a brief appearance from the big-time antagonist, Alex, though it has more focus on Garet and Felix. Thank those who've shown their support of this fic and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Chapter 2

Garet groaned.

He'd overdone the psynergy again, hadn't he? His mom was going to beside herself with worry for him for at least a week now.

"Garet?"

Kraden's voice echoed in his ears…that's right, he'd been with him, Isaac and Jenna in Sol Sanctum, then Saturos and Menardi showed up…

He sat bolt upright, instantly devolving into a coughing fit as his body protested. Someone was immediately beside him, gently rubbing his back and he realised that it was Kraden. Eventually, his coughs subsided, and he looked up at the scholar, "What happened?"

The elderly man gently pushed him back down into the bed he just realised he was in, "Goodness me, you certainly overtaxed yourself that time. What were you thinking, using an attack spell like that in your state?"

"Kraden, Isaac, Jenna, the Elemental Stars…what happened to them?"

The man hesitated, "Well…"

He then went into the whole tale, how Saturos and Menardi demanded the stars, Felix's reveal, the beginnings of the eruption, the appearance of the Wise One and their subsequent flight from the Sanctum, leaving Isaac, Jenna and the Mars Star behind.

"Are Isaac and Jenna still alive!?" Garet all but shouted.

Kraden put a hand on his shoulder to stop him leaping out of bed, "I'm afraid I do not know for certain, but I have faith that they came out okay. They had plenty of time to escape, even if they were following far behind us."

"But we need to find out for certain!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible at this moment in time."

A foreign voice joined the conversation, and they both turned their eyes to the door to find a blue-haired man stood watching them. He strode into the room, confidence oozing out with every step, stopping at Garet's bedside, "You see, the eruption of Mount Aleph has caused quite a bit of a stir, especially in your home of Vale. To return there would be most foolish on our part and we do have other matters to attend to."

"And who are you!?"

The man seemed unfazed by Garet's aggression, "My name is Alex, and I am the reason you're not still in Sol Sanctum."

"What do you mean?"

Kraden coughed, "Ah yes, you see, Alex was the one who convinced Saturos and Menardi to bring you along with me. In fact, he was the one who carried you most of the way."

Garet looked at the scholar in surprise, "What, really?"

The elderly man simply nodded, and the boy turned his attention back to Alex, "Why?"

The man responded, almost casually, "Like Master Kraden here, I also have a feeling that your two friends survived. No doubt they'll come after us in an attempt to rescue you and bring the Mars Star with them."

"So, I'm a hostage."

Alex nodded lightly, "Indeed, though I assure you that you won't be harmed, Felix certainly won't allow it, you are one of his friends after all."

"Kraden?"

A fourth voice filled the room, and Felix hurried in, stopping swiftly when he saw everyone who was present.

In the three years he'd been missing, Felix had certainly changed. Like all of them, he'd grown taller and had matured somewhat, now carrying himself with a slight aura of confidence. However, this confidence faltered slightly as he glanced over at Alex. Kraden nodded at him in greeting.

"Ah, Felix, I assume you're here to check on Garet?"

Alex turned towards the door, "I think I shall leave you all to it."

Without another word, he swept out the door, closing it firmly behind him and leaving the three of them alone.

A tense silence lingered between them, as Felix kept his eyes averted from Garet's unwavering gaze while Kraden glanced nervously between them. Eventually, it was the Mars Adept who spoke.

"You abandoned Jenna and Isaac!"

His voice came out accusing, disgust pouring from the words. For his part, Felix offered no defence against it, simply staring at the floor. The other boy spoke again, "Why Felix? How could you just leave them!?"

"It wasn't supposed to go this way."

His response was barely audible, but Garet heard it well enough.

"Really, that's all you have to say!?" The boy's hands curled into fists, "You abandoned Jenna three years ago and you abandoned her now! Why Felix, why!?"

Again, he received no response, and he growled.

As far as he was concerned, Felix was now evil, no better than Saturos and Menardi, who'd already proven they had a willingness to harm anyone who'd try and stop them. Who'd leave their own sister behind in a volcano that was about to erupt?

In anger, he raised his arm and Kraden, who'd quickly guessed what he was about to do, tried to stop him.

"Garet, don't!"

Not heeding the man, the boy cast Flare, while he wasn't expecting it to do much actual damage, he certainly knew that it would hurt. However, the flames were far weaker than normal and he immediately starting coughing like crazy. Kraden was beside him like a shot, supporting his body and lowering him back onto the bed, lecturing him all the while, "You reckless boy, you're nowhere near being strong enough for these sort of shenanigans yet!"

Felix had taken a couple of steps forward, his face filled with concern, but Kraden stopped him in his tracks, "Felix, I think its better if you leave for the moment, I can handle this."

The young Venus Adept hesitated for a moment, but a single look was enough to cause him to leave the room.

Once Garet's coughs had finally subsided once more, Kraden pushed him back into bed. For a few moments, nothing was said, but the scholar eventually addressed his charge, "Garet, while I understand your feelings, I think you should take a moment and consider Felix's"

The teen made to speak but the scholar shook his head, "Please, just listen to me."

The boy looked down and Kraden continued, "I know for certain that leaving Jenna and Isaac behind was the last thing he wanted to do, in fact, he would've tried to save them if Saturos hadn't dragged him away." The elderly man sighed, "Now, I can't say as to why he's remained away from Vale for the last three years, but I know he still cares about you all. Apparently, the original agreement was to keep the people of Vale out of this affair, particularly you, Isaac and Jenna, but our own investigation of Sol Sanctum ruined that."

Kraden paused for a moment, then smiled softly, "You know, he was most concerned about your condition, he even carried you part of the way and tried to see if his healing psynergy would help you." He nodded, "And as I've said already, we don't know for certain what happened to Isaac and Jenna after we left, so we still have hope that they survived."

He looked at Garet meaningfully.

"Just remember that that same hope is all Felix has as well."

PS-So, in regard to Garet attacking Felix, I just felt that with his character at this point and what had happened, he'd certainly want to make him pay. Please let me know what you thought, and I'll hopefully update soon.