Wings of Anemos

by HyrulianJedi

Generations ago, the Kings of Anemos took their people and fled the world, becoming little more than a myth. When myths come alive, however, Weyard's most recent heroes find themselves struggling to balance their own issues in this new world against the future of Weyard itself, learning the price some must pay to be heroes.

3. Concern

Golden Sun: Wings of Anemos

Chapter 3 – Concern

- \/\/ -

The only things Ivan could feel any more were the fierce pounding of his heart against his chest and the sharp pain from the stitch in his side. His run had lasted what felt like hours through the dark city, seeing nothing else moving in the night.

Every so often he would stop, resting with his hands on his knees as his breaths came in great, ragged heaves. Before long, though, the sound of shuffling feet would reach his ears, or the swish of clothing, or the song of a sharp blade. He continued to find the strength to run, though he did not know how long that energy would last.

The buildings faded away, trees rising up in their places. He plunged into the thick of the forest without a second thought, wanting nothing more than to put distance between himself and his hunter. On a twisting and turning course Ivan's feet brought him, the idea of finding his way back out never once crossing his mind.

He stopped again, placing a hand on a tree for stability. His side felt like an inferno and his feet gradually grew heavier. Could he keep this up forever? How long could he run?

A soft melody drifted into his ears. Frantically he spun around, searching for the source, but could see nothing through the darkness but trees. Turning on his heel, he fled once more, dashing away from the song, but he felt his feet thicken. His balance failed; his legs stumbled; his body fell.

Tears now streaming down the sides of his face, he began to crawl away desperately. He could hear the leaves crunch behind him in a steady, unhurried pace, slowly growing louder as they neared. His entire body now fought every movement, sluggishly responding to his increasingly frantic mental commands.

Something suddenly pressed into the small of his back, crushing him against the ground. He screamed in frustration and terror, demanding that his body obey him. A high-pitched voice responded to his cries with laughter, demonic and remorseless.

The pressure suddenly lifted from his back, but before he could try to escape again, something smashed into his side and shoved, rolling him over onto his stomach. Two red stars twinkled at him above the shimmer of grinning teeth before everything vanished.

- \/\/ -

"He's sleeping."

"Go to him, I'm sure he'll want to wake up."

Garet's eyes opened blearily at the sound of voices, but before he could clear the drowsiness from them, something heavy landed on his stomach. Both air and fatigue left him quickly, his Psynergy quickly coming to bear. Only the sight of red quelled the coming firestorm.

"Aaron!"

Reaching forward, Garet pulled his brother into a bone-crushing hug, eliciting several loud cracks and a squeal from the boy. Apologizing, he let the boy step back, looked him up and down, then pulled him into a much more gentle embrace.

"Ugh, Garet, why do you always have to wake everyone up by shouting?" Ivan said as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Guys, look!"

"I swear, Garet," Jenna started, covering her face with a blanket, "if this isn't worth it-"

"Oh, don't worry, Jenna. I think you'll be pleased."

The girl immediately threw the blanket aside and looked up, as did the others. "Kraden! You're safe!"

The old scholar smiled. "I am, as is Iodem. I'm glad to see that all of you made it back safely, as well."

"What took you so long to get here?" Garet asked, standing up with Aaron on his back, his arms hooked under the boy's legs.

Kraden turned on Garet with an indignant expression. "I'm sorry we aren't as young as you lot," he said. "Someday you'll find yourselves getting tired at reasonable times, too, and you'll understand just how much you've put this old man through."

Isaac grinned. "Kraden, you're usually the first one awake and the last one asleep."

"No more backtalk," he said, wagging his finger. "Garet's been rubbing off on you too much."

"Hey, I don't backtalk!" Garet said, causing everyone to stare at him. "...You all can go feed dirges."

Kraden shook his head, looking around them. "Why are you all sleeping in the parlor? Oh, never mind. Come, we'll get the cooks to get some food together. I'm sure you're all very hungry."

"Yeah, I'm starving," Garet heard his brother say as they all began following Kraden to the dining hall.

He started to respond, but changed his mind and remained silent as the boy struck up a conversation with Jenna instead. His eyes fell on Felix in front of him, who had already begun explaining to Kraden the theories he and Ivan had discussed the previous evening, when the other three had arrived. Garet was not particularly concerned with figuring out Alex; though he was sometimes loath to admit it, both Felix and Ivan were very intelligent and observant. Between the two of them and Kraden, he had no doubt they would figure out what he planned.

After all, Felix had been precise in his assumption that everyone would head back to the palace. Upon arrival, Garet had nearly run back out after discovering the palace mostly empty, until Felix stopped him long enough to remind him that three strong, fit warriors accustomed to traveling would cross Tolbi in much less time than two old men and a child. Convinced to wait at least a day, they had settled down, only for Isaac, Jenna, and Ivan to arrive just after dusk.

They briefly shared their experiences, and although they had not seen Kraden, Iodem, or Aaron either, the fact that they had come to the palace left Garet feeling relieved. The talk quickly turned to Alex and their plans of action, Felix agreeing with Ivan's conclusion, saying that it had significantly less holes than his theory.

Felix might have been wrong about Alex, but he had definitely been right about the palace. So why couldn't Garet find it in himself to apologize, or at least thank him? His courage was unquestionable; he never let fear interfere with his actions or judgment, always instinctively pushing it aside when he needed to. Like the day before, when he had been trying to follow what he thought had been Aaron up the face of a cliff. Fear had not even been an issue.

...Or had it? He glanced up, causing Aaron to look down at him and grin. He smiled back then looked forward again, thinking. True, he never feared for his own safety, but could he really say he never let fear affect him? Was it not fear for Aaron's safety that had driven him on a near-blind rush through the city?

Looking back, he realized it had happened before, too, just not for Aaron. Fear for Ivan had led him to take a strike of Saturos' meant for the boy. Mercury's beacon had saved him there, allowing Mia to stop the bleeding of a wound that would have otherwise been fatal. And on Jupiter, his fear for Mia had him leaping off a many-storied tower, almost falling to his death. Felix's timely arrival had been his salvation there.

While the latter had proved rather unnecessary, taking Saturos' blade had undoubtedly saved Ivan's life. Back then, Ivan had the constitution of...well, a young girl, something that Garet had mercilessly teased him about. He had eventually toughened, much to Garet's satisfaction, but still fell prey to the occasional jab from the older boy.

So did he really want to rid himself of that fear, too? It was certainly dangerous to himself, but it had undoubtedly saved lives before. Of course, getting himself killed did little good in the long run...

Garet shook his head as he walked into the dining hall. How had he even managed to get thinking about the subject? Now was not the time to be thinking about things like that; portents of doom might loom in their future, but at the moment, they were all safe. This should be a time of celebration!

His feelings must have shown on his face, however, because when Kraden glanced back, he immediately said, "Garet, please, no displays this morning. I think we could all use a nice, calm breakfast."

Frowning as he placed Aaron down, Garet said, "I wasn't going to do anything rowdy. I just think we should be happy that we all made it through this."

Kraden eyed him over the top of his glasses. "Yes, well, not everyone was as lucky as us. Let's try and keep them in mind." He motioned towards the table with a sweep of his arm. "Please, sit, everyone. The food will be here in a few minutes."

He waited until everyone had seated themselves, then slowly descended into his own chair. "First, I would like to personally thank Sean," Kraden said, causing the blue-haired man to wave at the others. "Without him, I expect Iodem, Aaron, and I would not have made it back here nearly as quickly or easily. We may very well owe him our lives, and that is a debt that can never quite be repaid.

"Second, I would like to also thank another of our Colosso competitors here this morning, Buford." At Kraden's words the man nodded shortly, not looking at anyone in particular. Garet suspected he was not entirely comfortable being around people like this; he looked a lot like Ivan whenever the boy became ill at ease.

"While I certainly do not doubt the abilities of Felix and Garet," Kraden continued, "I am certainly grateful for his help in them returning to the palace. The streets of Tolbi have become rather dangerous since yesterday."

He paused here, chewing on his lip thoughtfully. "I would also like to apologize for failing to stop our...disturbance."

"Don't worry yourself with that," Felix said immediately. "Tolbi's soldiers stood no chance against him."

Kraden nodded. "I suppose you're right. Still, even though I had no way of preventing it, I feel responsible for the end result, both of Alex and this storm. Tolbi will need help in the coming weeks to re-stabilize. Buford, Sean, this is where I would like to ask both of you for your assistance."

Buford looked surprised, but said nothing. Sean asked in his place, "What sort of assistance, Lord Kraden?"

"While Colosso will unfortunately be canceled for this year, the guard is now lacking, and the ones I have left will be spread thin helping restore the city. I'm going to need competent warriors to help maintain the peace right now."

Buford nodded. "Of course. I would be honored to serve, Lord Kraden."

"As would I," Sean added. "Though I would like to get to Ouranos first, to make sure he's alright."

"We definitely saw the need for it," Garet said. "I'd like to help out also, Kraden, at least until we have a better idea of what we're doing."

Kraden shook his head. "Actually, Garet, I have another task for you and the others. While returning to the palace, I heard reports of a intense lightning storm to the south, near Lalivero. Specifically, around Venus Lighthouse."

Felix looked up sharply. "What? Like the one we had here?"

"No, no, not that bad," Kraden assured him. "I received a letter from one of my students there this morning by carrier pigeon, and he said that, other than its sudden appearance and ferocity, it was normal. Not necessarily an attack, like here."

"Still, that's too much to take as a coincidence," Jenna said. "Is Sheba alright?"

Shrugging, Kraden said, "I don't know. He didn't say. However, I figured that would be something you would want to investigate."

Ivan tapped the fingers of his folded arms thoughtfully. "Kraden, have you heard of anything similar from the other lighthouses?"

"No, but that's exactly the direction I was heading," Kraden said, smiling at Ivan. "I would like you to also investigate that."

Frowning, Felix said, "This is going to take some time to get around to each of the lighthouses. We wouldn't be back until tomorrow evening, most likely."

"That's true...if you went as a single group."

Garet stared at Kraden for a moment, as did the others. Only Sean and Buford did not, though they had obviously noticed something odd about the old man's statement from the reactions of the others. "How would we split up? Did you find another tool to let us teleport?"

Kraden shook his head. "There's no need. Those alchemy tools are nothing more than shortcuts, a means to allow Adepts to use complicated Psynergy without spending time mastering it. Ivan, I believe you are certainly skilled enough to teleport without the aid of the lapis."

The Jupiter Adept's eyes widened. "M-me? No, Kraden, I'm sure I can't. It's hard enough with the lapis, there's no way I could do it without."

"You can," Kraden said firmly, staring at Ivan so intensely that the boy had to drop his gaze. "The Psynergy is complex, no doubt about that. I doubt you will ever find it easy to perform, but I am fully confident in your ability to use it."

Garet looked at Ivan, who had not picked his eyes up from the floor. Kraden was probably right, he realized. Ivan always underestimated his own abilities, but had a talent for quickly mastering different uses of his Psynergy. He would just need some reassurance when the time came. "So I guess some of us would go with Ivan, while the others use the lapis?" Garet asked, returning his gaze to Kraden.

"That's correct," he said. "One group should go to Lalivero, since we know for a fact that a storm happened there. The other is up to you."

"I vote Imil," Garet said. "We should check up on Mia, as well."

"We have friends in Contigo and Prox too, though," Isaac said. "We need to check them."

Felix shook his head. "No, I agree with Garet. Prox is used to dealing with storms of all kinds. They'll be fine. And Hama is in Contigo right now, right?" Ivan nodded. "She can see the future clearer than Ivan, who saw it coming, so I'd bet they're fine as well. Imil is the most questionable one."

Jenna nodded. "I agree. We can check out Prox and Contigo this afternoon, after we're over the teleportation sickness, then return in the evening."

"No," Ivan said, "we should return here first. It'll delay getting to the other cities, but it's no use finding something out if we can't tell anyone, should something happen."

"A good plan," Felix said. "Any objections? No? Alright, then who are we sending where?" Silence descended on the table as each of the Adepts looked awkwardly from one to the other.

Kraden cleared his throat. "While I know you're all concerned about both, I also know you still hold allegiances to your old groups, even if you won't admit it. Felix, Jenna, go to Sheba. Isaac, Ivan, and Garet, go to Mia. Check on them, find out what, if anything, happened, and report back here."

Garet shuffled guiltily in his seat. As usual, Kraden had hit the nail on the head. He was concerned for Sheba, absolutely; she was a good friend to him, and he enjoyed having her around. But his first instinct was to find Mia, and it shamed him, despite Kraden's words.

"Then we should get going as soon as possible," Isaac said, standing up.

"Absolutely," Kraden said. "Now sit back down. You're not going anywhere until you've eaten."

With obvious effort, Isaac sat himself back down, bringing a grin to Garet's face in spite of the situation. "You're like his other mother, Kraden."

"I swear, sometimes I'm an other mother to all of you," he said.

Breakfast came and went quickly, though it lasted long enough for Garet to think that Ivan did a better job. The moment the last plate was empty, the five scattered to grab their gear. As Garet was buckling his sword belt on, he heard soft footsteps behind him, recognizing them immediately. "What is it, Aaron?"

He turned around and found the boy wearing the heaviest clothes he had brought and Garet understood. "Aaron..."

The boy's eyes turned pleading. "Garet, please. I want to come with you. I want to see Imil. I want to stay with you."

Garet shook his head. "No way, buddy. I don't know what we're going to find up there, and I want you somewhere I know is safe."

"But I can take care of myself! You're been training me!"

"I said no, Aaron."

His face turned as red as his hair before he turned and stormed out of the room, earning a sigh from Garet. Aaron was his brother, to be sure. Finishing his dressing-out, he returned to the entrance hall and stepped outside to the others.

"What's wrong?" Isaac asked immediately.

Garet waved a hand. "Just Aaron. He wants to go, I told him no. He'll get over it." He looked around. "Felix and Jenna already gone?

Isaac frowned, but nodded, turning to Ivan. "Are you ready?"

The blond boy shook his head. "I still don't think I can do this."

Kraden and Isaac both opened their mouths to reply, but Garet's mouth was faster. "Pff. Are you serious, Ivan? You're the smartest of all of us, and probably the best Adept as well. Weren't you the one who figured out how to put out a fire by making wind blow away from it? Come on, quit doubting yourself and just do it."

Ivan stared at him for a moment, saying nothing.

"Oh, yeah, and if you can't do it, I'm gonna steal your clothes while you're in the bath again."

Garet grinned as Ivan's face reddened, noticing Isaac trying to hide the smile on his face. "Fine," Ivan said, grabbing both of their hands. "Here goes nothing."

As the boy closed his eyes, Garet could feel him channeling his Psynergy. He felt the power surrounding him gather and condense around the Jupiter Adept. It absorbed into his body and pulsed back outward in waves, growing steadily stronger, but after a few seconds it stopped.

Giving his hand a squeeze, Garet said, "Come on, Ivan. You can do this. I know you can. You don't want to chase me down naked any more than I do."

Ivan smiled this time, nodding. "Alright, let me try again." The waves returned, washing over Garet, and this time, he could feel his body becoming lighter and thinner, until suddenly, it vanished completely.

- \/\/ -

The sudden appearance of a bright light burned at Sheba's eyes through her eyelids. She rubbed at the red glow feebly and groaned, earning a gasp from whoever had brought the light.

"Sheba! You're awake!"

She recognized the voice of her mother and cracked open her eyes, trying to let them adjust. She turned away from the windows, where her mother had apparently opened the curtains, finding the direct sunlight too much for her. Judging from the light pouring into her room, it had to be late morning or early afternoon. That was odd, as she rarely slept so late. "Why'd you let me sleep so long?"

She felt her bed compress slightly as her mother sat next to her, placing her hand on Sheba's head. "Honey, you've been asleep for almost a day."

Confusion ran through the girl's head until the memory suddenly returned. "How- oh!" She shot straight up, her eyes snapping wide open, despite the searing sensation it brought. "Javen! Where's Javen? Is he okay? Did he-"

Zahara shushed her daughter with a finger to her lips. "He's fine. Everyone's fine. You're the only one that got hurt."

Sheba laid back, closing her eyes again. "I messed up. I forgot about the stupid beacon."

"No, what you did was very brave," her mother said, leaning forward to hug the girl. "We're all very, very proud of what you did. Situations like this are why you have your powers, so that you can use them to protect others."

She said nothing for a few moments, trying to think back, but the whole incident was fuzzy. The details were gone; all she could remember clearly was the searing lightning strikes, the fierce desire to protect Javen, and the nauseating feeling of Venus' beacon. Just the thought of it made her stomach turn over again, though she suspected a few moments later that it was just hunger.

Her mother shook her head at her request to go get food. "You need some more rest. I'll bring you some."

"Mom, I've slept for almost a day. I'm fine."

"Your food is coming," Zahara said again, opening the door. "In the meantime, though, some visitors would like to see you. They've been very concerned."

Sheba made a face. "Unless it's Javen or dad, I'm not really in the mood."

"Oh?" The woman glanced back over her shoulder as she stepped outside, raising an eyebrow with a smile. "Well, Felix will be sorry to hear that."

This time, Sheba's stomach did somersaults. "Felix?"

Her mother vanished from the doorway, but she was quickly replaced by a tall, brown-haired man. "I can always come back when you're in the mood," he said, a small smirk playing about his face.

The sheets flew aside as Sheba leaped from her bed, crossing the gap to the door before Felix even had the opportunity to blink, ensnaring the man in a tight hug. After a moment, she felt his arms return the hug. "I can't believe you're here! I was-"

With a sudden horror, Sheba realized she had no idea what she was wearing, if anything at all. Releasing Felix and stepping back, she looked down to find the only thing on her other than her underclothes was an oversized shirt that she frequently wore to bed. Blushing furiously, she quickly asked, "Um, who else is here?"

Her response came in the form of a burgundy-haired girl flying into her, much in the same way she had flown into Felix. "Sheba Sheba Sheba Sheba Sheba!" Jenna shouted, picking the girl up as she hugged her.

"I hope you're not out of bed, Sheba," her mother's voice called in through the window. Jenna reluctantly put the girl back down, allowing her to quietly sneak back into her bed before calling out that, yes, of course she was.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

Jenna put her hands on her hips. "What, can't we stop in for a visit without being interrogated?"

"Hah hah," Sheba said dryly. "You're supposed to be in Tolbi right now. You didn't come because I got hurt, did you? It's nothing bad."

"Actually, we didn't even know you were hurt until we got here," Felix said. "We did hear about the attack on Venus Lighthouse, though, so we came to make sure you were okay and find out what really happened."

The girl shrugged. "No idea. A lightning storm just dropped out of nowhere. You said the lighthouse was attacked, though? By who?"

Felix shook his head. "Also no idea. You weren't the only area struck. Tolbi had enormous lightning bolts rained down on it, and we think similar storms happened at the other lighthouses."

Pulling up her knees under the sheet, Sheba leaned onto them. "Looks like I missed a bunch in just a day. This all happened late yesterday morning?"

Nodding, Jenna said, "That's not even the half of it. Guess who decided to show up to Colosso yesterday?"

After realizing that Jenna actually wanted her to guess, Sheba thought about it for a moment. "Piers?"

"No, the old man is still avoiding us. Close, though."

"...Conservato?"

"Ew, no."

"Uh, Mia?"

"Nope, but closer. The others are actually checking on her right now, though."

Sheba frowned. "Puelle?"

"Getting further away."

"Jenna, I have no idea. Just tell me."

Obviously ready to burst with the news anyway, Jenna practically blurted out, "Alex!"

Sheba sat upright. "What? He's alive?"

"Apparently," Felix said. "He showed up, trying to take something from Isaac, but the storm separated us. We were lucky, in a way. He's definitely become very strong. He can use all types of Psynergy now."

Her mouth dropping open, Sheba said, "What? Like, completely? I know you can learn some weak skills of other elements with a lot of training, but..."

"Years of training, actually," Felix corrected. "Saturos once told me it took him the better part of his life to learn how to use Venus to heal himself. He said it was one of the most challenging things he ever did, and he was one of the most gifted Adepts I've met."

"But Alex had it all," Jenna said. "He even held Felix to the ground with gravity – his own element."

"Well, he won't next time," Felix said, crossing his arms. "I'm not about to put up with his intrigues again."

"Hear hear!" Jenna cheered. "Dibs on getting to punch him in the face!"

Sheba laughed, then fell silent as her mother returned with three bowls of potato soup, giving one to each of them and then leaving again. The girl sipped at hers slowly, thinking about the turn of events. If they had not come to Lalivero, she would not even know about Alex, let alone about the other lightning storms. How many more had there been? What would have happened to everyone if she had gone to Colosso, instead of being there to protect them?

"You're looking very thoughtful, Sheba," Felix said suddenly.

"Just wondering about some what-ifs," she said, shaking her head. "Those don't matter. However, what we are doing does, so...what are we doing?"

Felix and Jenna looked at each other, then back at Sheba. "What do you mean 'we'?" Felix asked. "You're-"

"Felix, if the next words out of your mouth are 'staying here' or 'staying in bed', then I swear to Procne, you will find these storms very insignificant compared to what I will do to you."

He frowned at her. "I was going to say you're certainly not up to traveling just yet, but if your body is in the same condition as your mouth, then you have the fastest recovery time of anyone I've ever met."

"You bet I do," she said, grabbing the sheets to throw them back, then stopping suddenly.

"What?" Jenna asked.

Sheba blushed. "Um, I need to get dressed."

Jenna giggled, grabbing Felix by the arm. "We'll be waiting outside."

Sheba waited until the door was closed, then jumped out of bed and began changing, stopping only once in order to pinch herself. After she verified that it was not a dream, she let her emotions soar once more. Felix had come to take her away from Lalivero! She'd spent months wishing for something like this to happen, although she could have done without the lightning storm. She began quietly humming to herself as she pulled a shirt over her head.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

The humming instantly stopped as she spun to the window, finding Javen sitting in it, looking at the ground. Sheba said nothing; she could not very well deny it, but the words to explain it escaped her. She did nothing to mask the guilt on her face, not while looking at his expression of betrayal. Before she could find something to say, he disappeared back out the window.

The girl stood in silence for several minutes, staring out the empty window. For so long she had hoped that someone, anyone would come and bring her away from Lalivero. She always watched her fantasies from her own view, as she left the town laughing and excited for what was to come.

Never had she looked from the view of those left behind. Her parents would normally have been reluctant in letting her leave, but with her injury only a day before? They'd never let her leave at the moment, and if she was after the source of the storm that had caused the injury, possibly not at all. She had always found Faran and Zahara reasonable people, but in the end, they were still parents and would not willingly let their daughter walk into such danger.

And Javen...she had promised him she would always come back to him, but that did not diminish the feeling of loss he would feel until she returned. Remembering her own feelings when the others had left her in Lalivero, she suddenly understood his own feelings. Her words would only temper his pain with the hope of her return, but that would take time for him to get past the loss.

She would need to leave now, and leave quietly. Lalivero did not hold Felix in very high regard, despite Sheba's insistence on his good nature, and if she tried to leave with their knowledge, they would accuse him of foolishly placing her in harm's way.

After pulling on the remainder of her clothes, she went to her desk and began rummaging through it, finally pulling out some paper, ink, and a reed pen. She quickly scribbled down her plan and reason for leaving now, making sure to emphasize that it was her decision to do this, and that she knew how risky it was. Satisfied, she threw a bag on her bed and began throwing some spare clothes into it.

"Good gods, you move like a fugitive," Jenna said, poking her head back in, then motioning to Felix. "What's going on?"

"We're sneaking out," Sheba said, grabbing up the necklace of seashells Javen had made for her and placing it around her neck. "The entire town will try to stop me, and with good reason. We're probably crazy for doing this."

Jenna nodded, then grinned. "Downright insane, I'd say. What's new?"

Sheba could not help but smile in return, glancing around her room one last time. Seeing nothing that she felt necessary to take, she nodded to the others. "I'm ready. If we move carefully, but quickly, we should be able to get out before anyone realizes we're leaving. I've already left a note, so let's go."

Felix shook his head. "No need, we've got a better way." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a blue gem and tossed it to Jenna.

Sheba eyed the jewel with surprise. "You convinced Ivan to give up his most precious possession?"

Rolling her eyes, Jenna said, "Like he ever uses it anyway. No, we're hoping he figured out how to do it without the lapis, since we grabbed it to come here."

Slightly surprised at Ivan's accomplishment, Sheba pushed the question aside for a more important one. "Are you sure you guys are fine to teleport again?" she asked with concern.

"We've been here since just after dawn," Felix said. "We didn't want to wake you up, but we waited to make sure you were okay."

"Oh," she said, trying to hide her slight embarrassment. "Well, let's not do it in here. Everything will go everywhere. Outside would be better."

Felix nodded, stepping towards her when she tried to shoulder her bag. "No. I've got it."

"Oh," Sheba said again, failing this time. "Um, thank you Felix."

He said nothing, simply turning towards the door, but then stopped. She peered around him and found Javen standing in the doorway, staring at Felix with his arms stretched to the side, blocking passage.

"Javen?" she said quietly.

"You're not taking her away again," her brother said in the same tone. "I won't let you."

Felix's head turned ever so slightly, glancing at Sheba out of the very corner of his eye, then turned completely back towards Javen. "Would you stop me, then?"

Javen nodded furiously. "I'll kill you if I have to."

Sheba gasped. "Javen! You shouldn't say that!"

Felix shook his head. "No, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. That's the attitude a brother should take towards his sister, even if she's the older one." He crouched down to look Javen in the eye. "See that other girl, Jenna? She's my little sister. If someone ever tried to hurt her, I would find them and pull them apart piece by piece.

"He's why I can't bring boys home," Jenna whispered to Sheba, but the other girl ignored her.

"I understand why you're doing this, Javen," Felix continued, not having heard his sister. "I know exactly how you feel. I can only promise you, as one brother to another, that Sheba is as much a sister to me as she is to you. If anyone hurt her, I would hunt them to the ends of Weyard and beyond."

Javen stared at him for a moment. Sheba wanted desperately to say something, but knew she should not interrupt. The boy asked, "Why do you need her, then? Why can't she stay here?"

"Your sister is special, Javen. She's strong, smart, cunning, and she can do amazing things. We need to go find a very bad person, and I need her help to stop him. If I didn't absolutely need her, I wouldn't even let her come."

By now, Sheba had forgotten to breathe. She knew Javen obviously could not stop Felix and that Felix would never hurt Javen, but the last thing she wanted to do was leave Javen behind with such negative feelings. It was important that she leave with his permission; she doubted he would get over her departure if she did not.

"You jumped off the lighthouse when she fell, didn't you?"

Felix nodded.

They looked at each other for a few more moments, then the boy dropped his arms and stepped to the side. "Don't let anything happen to her," he whispered.

Solemnly nodding again, Felix stood. "I would die for her, Javen."

The boy looked over to Sheba, and when she spread her arms, he came running into them, his wet face burying itself into her shoulder. "I told you, Javen," she said softly. "I'll always come back. No one can keep me away from you. You're my brother, and I love you more than anything." She pulled him away and looked him in the eyes. "I need you to be strong for mom and dad. They're going to need you. Make sure to tell them that I love them, too."

She stood back up, smiling down at Javen. He wiped his eyes and returned the smile, weak though it was. "I love you, Sheba. Will you tell me about your trip when you get back?"

"I'll tell you everything," she said. Looking up to Felix, she nodded.

He returned the nod and stepped outside, glancing around quickly. Seeing no one close to them, he motioned for them to follow. He grabbed onto Jenna's empty hand, while Sheba touched her arm, turning to watch Javen. With one final wave to her brother, she felt the Psynergy break down her body into particles as she raced through the air.

- \/\/ -

Ivan experienced the wondrous and terrifying feeling of being weightless for about three seconds before he crashed into a snow bank. Some distance away he heard Isaac and Garet experience a similar fate.

He quickly pulled himself out, bending over and retching, though nothing came up. Nothing ever did. They would simply dry heave for a few moments and continue on with a very persistent nausea for several hours. It never advanced to actual vomiting, though, unless aggravated by something they did. Jenna had unwittingly taught them that lesson once; none had ever forgotten it.

Ivan set about brushing the snow off before it could melt and leave his clothes wet, though some managed to sneak into the gaps. He could feel the ice melting in the small of his back, settling into his underclothes with an uncomfortable chill. Sighing, he brushed the last of it away, then turned to the other two. "Sorry," he said with a shrug.

Garet shot him a dirty look, wincing and arching his back, likely for the same reason as Ivan. "Could you have got us any further away?"

Raising an eyebrow, Ivan simply said, "Can you feel Mercury?" Garet nodded. "Then consider yourself close enough. Now excuse me while I heave air."

Ivan saw Isaac grin as he bent over again, feeling like the pressure in his throat would burst if nothing continued to come up, but eventually it subsided once more and settled into that mood-fouling nausea. "Something funny?" he asked, a bit more acidly than he wanted.

"You," Isaac said. "Whatever Garet might say, you just teleported us all the way across Angara by yourself. If that's not one of the greatest milestones in Psynergy we've seen, I don't know what would be."

"Finding a cure for this stupid sickness would be a pretty good one."

Isaac rubbed his own stomach, his grin half-turning into a grimace. "True enough, I suppose. Still impressive, though."

"Hey, I'm wet, cold, and feeling like crap," Garet said. "It looks like we've still got about an hour's walk to Imil, so can we get going?"

As they began their steady trudge across the tundra, Ivan thought more about what Isaac had said. His initial irritability fading, he realized just how much of an accomplishment this really was. None of them had ever thought they could use the skills of the alchemy tools without them. How had they not discovered this on some simpler skill? Each of them had mentioned before that teleportation exceeded everything else they could in complication, yet it had been the first to be accomplished without a tool.

Ivan felt a small surge of pride that accompanied the surprise. True, he had not thought it possible, yet he had been the one to perform it! He had realized early on that he utilized Psynergy more efficiently and effectively than Isaac or Garet; he eventually learned that only Sheba could match him in that area.

His mind turned to the side, now whirring in an almost mechanical fashion. Everything in the world was comprised of the four elements, and that included Psynergy. However, as they had learned, Psynergy was not simply broken down into the simple four elements; each element had numerous subdivisions that they controlled, and every now and then they stumbled across them, usually from the alchemy tools. Who could have guessed that teleportation was governed by Jupiter?

The gears ticked once more.

Bending down, Ivan scooped up a handful of the snow, feeling the cold through his gloves. The last snowfall must have been a wet one, judging by the sticky quality of the snow. Perfect. Packing it into a rough sphere, he pulled back and hurled the ball. It took a small adjustment of wind to correct his aim, but the projectile hit its ultimate goal: the back of Garet's head.

"Wha-!" He spluttered briefly, spinning around and finding Ivan standing still, staring straight at him. "Oh, you've asked for it now." Scooping up his own handful of snow, Garet launched it straight towards the other boy, needing no improvement of his aim.

Ivan made no motion other than to raise his hand, channeling the Psynergy that pulsed from his mind. Just before it reached him, the snowball suddenly stopped in midair. Garet said nothing, watching with curiosity, as did Isaac. Ivan reached out to the snowball, touching it gently, then wrapped his hand around it and held it for several seconds.

"What is it?" Isaac asked.

In response, Ivan pulled his hand back, then leaned in to inspect the snow. "It didn't melt. Not at all. I couldn't squeeze or move it, either." Stepping around it, he dispersed his Psynergy and the snowball resumed moving as if it had never stopped, whiffing through the air and landing back in the snow.

Garet understood. "You don't have the Halt Gem, do you?"

Ivan shook his head. "Isaac got me thinking. I wanted to see what else I could do."

"So...you can stop time?" Isaac asked, folding his arms. "That's pretty useful."

Shrugging, Ivan said, "It's got limited usefulness. You can't actually affect the stopped object at all, not even move it. And you have to constantly maintain it stopped. And I'm sure it's much harder on anything living, like pretty much all Psynergy is."

"Hmm..." Isaac clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "Still useful against stuff like that, being thrown at you. And maybe you can control other aspects of time? You know, slowing it down or speeding it up?"

"Not sure," Ivan said. "I'll look into it, though. Some other time. I really don't want to exert myself too much right now."

They resumed their uneven march, but Garet slipped back to come alongside Ivan. The blond cringed slightly, expecting a handful of snow down his back for his transgression. Garet shook his head, though. "Don't worry, you're safe. I see why you did it, and you've learned something that will be really useful."

Ivan relaxed, his shoulders slumping down from their hunched position, but then a large arm clapped down across them. "However," Garet continued, "that doesn't mean I can let it slide. You're safe for now, but someday, somewhere, I'm going to get you back for that. And when I do, you'll remember this conversation and know that you've earned it." He shot the smaller boy an enormous smile, which Ivan returned weakly.

For the remainder of the trip to Imil, the nausea in his stomach had been eclipsed by the small knot of terror, the kind that only appears when one knows something inevitable had begun its countdown. Ivan wondered briefly whether or not this was the same feeling those with fatal illnesses felt.

He suspected the two were very similar.

By the time they arrived in the snowy city, the feeling had vanished, replaced by a vague sense of unease. As the three passed by the first houses, Ivan noticed the serene silence surrounding them.

"Where is everyone?" he asked softly, more to point out the oddity than to get an answer.

"It's the middle of winter," Isaac said. "People get sick easier in winter. They're probably inside."

The explanation was a reasonable one, but it did not convince Ivan, the unease continuing to gnaw at him. There were a number of reasonable explanations; perhaps there had been a festival in another part of the town? Perhaps the people in this area had simply gotten together at a single house?

But the more they walked, the more Ivan became convinced that the explanation was not a reasonable one. When he voiced these concerns to Isaac, the Venus Adept pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I don't know," he said finally. "Let's find Mia. She should have some answers."

"Someone else might, too," Garet said suddenly, pointing ahead. "Look."

Ivan did, and he saw a black smudge in the snow. With a sudden jolt, he realized the smudge was a person, collapsed, and partially covered in snow. In moments they had reached the person and Isaac bent over him, rolling the man over carefully. He placed his hands on the man's chest, frowned, then leaned in close to his face.

"He's breathing," Isaac said after a few seconds. "Slowly, but he's breathing. And there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him, either."

Crossing his arms, Garet said, "He's lying unconscious in the middle of a frozen street. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that means something's wrong with him."

"Your wit is as sharp as your looks, Garet," Ivan said dryly, prompting a grin from the Mars Adept. "Physically, he's fine?"

Isaac shook his head. "I think he has some frostbite, but I can't really tell. I know he has no injuries, though."

"We need to get him inside," Garet said. "Then we go for Mia. She knows how to handle that stuff."

"Agreed," Isaac said. "You get the feet."

As the two Valeans picked up the man, Ivan walked ahead of them to the nearest house. He knocked twice, calling out, "Hello? We need some help." He waited a few seconds, then knocked again, more forcefully. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Getting no response again, he reached down and tried the handle, finding the door unlocked.

He quickly realized why no one had answered.

"Guys, we've got a bit of a problem," he said as the others approached.

"What?" Garet said. "Come on, move out of the way, this guy's heavy." The boy obediently stepped aside. "Thanks, now- oh what the hell is this?"

"Tried telling you," Ivan said grimly. Inside the house lay an elderly woman on her side, lying on the hallway floor. Ivan followed Isaac and Garet in, where they lay the man on the carpet beside the woman, then glanced into the adjoining room.

"Another in here," Isaac said, walking in and crouching down by a collapsed adolescent. "Same condition, minus the frostbite. Perfectly fine."

Ivan walked past him and peered into the kitchen, then yelped in shock. "Isaac... There's...there's..." he swallowed and took a deep breath. "There's blood everywhere."

Stepping past him into the kitchen, Isaac found what Ivan had once again seen enough of. A large pool of blood had radiated outward from another woman's head, spreading across the wooden floor. Her blond hair lay strewn wildly about it, much of it matted together with the crusty rust of dried blood. Isaac crouched next to her as Garet looked around the kitchen and Ivan fought back the nausea that had nothing to do with his teleportation sickness.

"She's alive too," Isaac said. "In fact, she's also relatively fine. It's a cut on her head, but it's clotted up on it's own."

Garet nodded, pointing at the table's corner, where Ivan could see a slight red smear and a few golden hairs. "Yep, right here. Must've fallen onto it."

"But why is there so much blood?" Ivan asked.

"Scalp cut." Isaac tapped the top of his head, looking at the table. "They bleed really bad, but usually look worse than they are. Garet's got the right of it, she had to have fallen."

"Did the others just fall, too?"

Isaac looked at him sharply. "The sass isn't appreciated, Ivan."

Ivan felt himself redden shamefully and looked at the ground. "...Sorry."

"Let's get going," Garet said. "I don't like this. We need to find Mia."

Isaac nodded his agreement and stepped out of the kitchen, Ivan following silently. He hadn't meant to be so degrading, he thought as they walked outside. This feeling, this unease, had not abated upon discovery of what had happened to the Imilians, and it kept him on edge.

He shook his head, pushing the excuses away. The attitude had not been needed, regardless of his feelings, but he would need to wait before he properly apologized to Isaac. The strange state of the town needed to be investigated first.

They walked by more houses as the town grew more dense, nearing the center, and Ivan began peering into several windows. Inside most of the houses, he found a similar scene: people simply lying on the ground, assuming them to be breathing as well. If not, well, they were beyond help.

"Wait," Garet said, throwing out his arm, then pointing down. Ivan saw a set of footprints in the fresh snow. "Those are new. Very new. As in today. Someone here is still walking."

"Should we follow the footprints or go to Mia?" Ivan asked, both he and Garet looking to Isaac.

"To Mia," Isaac said without hesitation. "Her house isn't far. We can follow those after we make sure she's safe."

To Ivan's surprise, though, the choice had been irrelevant; the set of footprints led straight to the door of Mia's house. His stomach knotted again, but he steeled himself. None of them readied weapons as they approached the door, silent as the town, but they all cleared their minds.

When they threw open the door, they found Alex waiting.

He sat on the edge of her bed, looking up at them with a general disinterest. As they moved to strike, he held up one finger in warning, then pointed behind him. Lying on the bed, eyes closed, was Mia. She looked like all the others they had seen, though she had been placed under the covers.

Ivan's lightning faded from the forefront of his mind, but hung around the back, waiting to be called upon. "What are you doing here?" he nearly shouted.

"You show up in Tolbi and lightning destroys the city," Garet said, his hand automatically settling on his sword hilt. "Now you show up in Imil and everyone is practically dead. If you're not the one doing it, which I don't entirely believe anymore, then you're a walking jinx."

An amused look appeared on Alex's face. "I suppose it's outside the realm of possibility that I might have suspected something had happened here, of course."

"Yeah, I'm not putting much faith in that one."

"Oh? So, then, what are you doing here, then?"

Garet shook his head. "That is why-"

Isaac cut him off. "Enough, Alex. We're not here so you can dance around us with your words. Why are you here? You know perfectly well you have no right to be."

For a moment, Ivan saw Alex's expression flicker, before settling back into his usual smirk. "This is my hometown, Isaac. I have more right to be here than you."

"You betrayed your hometown. Betrayed Mia."

"Like you betrayed yours?"

Isaac opened his mouth, paused, then shut it again, looking away from Alex. Ivan stepped forward. "Stop it. Answer the question, Alex."

Alex shrugged, as if he had simply been seeing how long he could distract them. "I already told you. I'm here for the same reason you are."

"Then you didn't cause any of this?" Ivan asked.

"What, this sleep? No."

Garet scoffed. "Sleep? You think all these people just fell asleep?"

Alex looked at him neutrally. "Why ask me? Ask your personal expert."

His gaze returned to Ivan, as did Garet's and Isaac's. He felt his face redden slightly. "How am I supposed to know?"

Standing up, Alex motioned to Mia's unmoving form as he stepped back. "If you don't have the capability, then I must be severely overestimating your skill. It took me only a matter of days to learn how to gaze with the eye of Jupiter."

Ivan stepped forward slowly, shifting his eyes between Alex and Mia. As he reached the side of the bed, he gave Alex one long, last cautious look, still wondering if the whole thing was a trap of some sort. Deciding that Alex could have attacked them at any point, he turned to Mia, casting aside his normal sight. Mia's body was replaced by a brilliant luminosity that dazzled Ivan through the bleak room. In addition to the sharp colors her body now radiated, she glowed with a bright blue aura.

Ivan recognized the aura, both having seen it on Mia before and on others. It was the unmistakeable mark of an Adept touched by the power of Mercury. Curious, he turned his head, looking at Alex. The man appeared in the same sharp brilliance that his clansman had, yet his aura eddied around him unstably, a mix of blue, purple, and yellow.

"See anything interesting?" he heard Alex's voice taunt, sending color rippling across his vision.

He turned back to Mia, seeing her through the thick blankets that had been laid over her body. He could see nothing unusual at first, only seeing her as healthy, like Isaac had already established as the norm. Moving back up to her face, he noticed a subtle movement and leaned in.

From Mia's head came a ripple, spreading outward like a halo until it faded, followed by another. Even now, Ivan could not quite see these ripples; they appeared as if someone had thrown a pebble into the still water of reality itself. At once, he understood the meaning of these rhythmic ripples and stepped back, returning his sight to normal.

"He's right," Ivan said. "She's sleeping. It's deep, but it's definitely sleep. It's..." He paused, thinking about what his next words meant. "...It's similar to the way I put things to sleep. In fact, I think it's the same, just deeper."

Alex clapped his hands twice. "Good job. Your mind will take you far, Ivan. It is indeed Jupiter Psynergy that put Imil to sleep, as it was Jupiter Psynergy that rained lightning on Tolbi. But how can two such powerful spells be cast almost simultaneously in two entirely different areas? And how could such power be generated?"

"It has to be someone powerful," Ivan said. "More powerful than us."

"Ah, not quite," Alex said, wagging his finger. "No, this is quite beyond the abilities of any Adept, even myself. At least, an Adept drawing upon his own power. Can you think of a way for an Adept to draw limitless power?"

"Sneaking off to steal the Golden Sun?" Garet shot.

Sighing, Alex said quietly, "If only." At a more normal volume he said, "Also no. Did I not just say that I'm not capable of this? Where would one have to be in order to gather Jupiter energy of this magnitude many times over?"

Now Ivan understood. "Jupiter Lighthouse. They're drawing power from the beacon, from the very essence of all Jupiter Psynergy."

"Correct," Alex said, beaming. "I stopped in Contigo before coming here and found something very interesting."

"And what is that?" Isaac asked.

"The moon," Alex said, smirking at the look of horror emerging on Ivan's face. "Anemos has once again landed on Weyard."