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.

15. Moon and Sun

Golden Sun: Wings of Anemos

Chapter 15 – Moon and Sun

- \/\/ -

The blond man stepped back from Alex, his sword sliding out of the man's body with an eerie silence. The wind howling across the rooftop made the only sound, though whether it screamed in mourning, anger, or triumph, Ivan could not say.

Alex stumbled for a moment, his hand pressing against his stomach. Mercury Psynergy pulsed, attempting to knit the wound shut, but Ivan knew no Psynergy could close a wound that deep. The pulses wavered, then disappeared as Alex's eyes rolled up into his head, moments before the man collapsed onto the stone roof. Red filled in the background of the great bird emblem beneath his body, slowly spreading through the channels.

The blond man looked away from Alex and met Ivan's eyes from across the roof. The boy unconsciously stepped backwards as Felix and Garet strode past him, both drawing their swords and standing firm against the other man's challenge. Neither spared a glance for the fallen Imilian.

Jenna stepped beside him, laying one hand on his arm gently. When he looked over at her, Ivan could see the deep fury in her face fading, leaving only grief in its wake. She shook her head, the grief sliding behind a mask of determination as she faced forward again, saying everything the girl could not: 'We're not done yet.'

Ivan glanced behind them quickly, seeing Kraden crouched on the stairs to the roof, supporting them from safety, as he always had. The man's old eyes met Ivan's young ones for a moment, before the scholar nodded. He did not smile; Ivan doubted any of them could. The nod was encouragement enough, however.

Feeling the resolve inside him harden once more, Ivan turned forward. On the other end of the roof stood the blond man, breathing heavily as he raised his blade once more, facing the group of four. Ivan could feel the lingering remnants of Jupiter Psynergy everywhere around him, knowing just how much the man had used.

The wind whistled from behind him as he and Jenna drew their swords, moving around to flank their opponent. His eyes snapped between each of them as he slowly stepped backwards, moving towards the edge of the roof to avoid being surrounded. He took each step carefully and precisely, but Ivan watched as the man stumbled once, one knee buckling ever so slightly.

He could hear the voice the wind sang with, this time, for now it sang to him. It echoed in his ears, a glorious tune with a simple melody, one that would someday be turned into a tavern song to be spread to all ends of Weyard. It sang of their exploits, of the struggles, of their loves and their losses.

It sang of their victory, and though the world would join in gratefully, it would never dampen the bittersweet taste that filled Ivan's mouth.

- \/\/ -

Garet sighed and kicked at a loose rock as he and Isaac shuffled across the empty plain towards Anemos. The teleportation sickness had worn off in the last hour, leaving him feeling refreshed, much to his surprise. While it had been bothering him, the only thing he wanted to do was sleep, but now, free from the constant nausea and in the warm night air, he found himself feeling perfectly rested.

After some thought, he realized his vigor was not all that unusual. He had not done anything particularly strenuous today, had slept long the night before, and was no stranger to long periods without sleep. Were he to lay down, he knew he would find himself asleep before long, but so long as he kept moving, the fatigue would not come for a few more hours, at least.

The boredom, however, had settled in shortly upon leaving Contigo.

The flat, open plain between the two cities made it impossible for anything to hide, leaving him nothing to keep his attention watching for. The land itself held nothing interesting around, nor any uneven terrain to warrant his focus. Isaac had been mostly silent since their departure, responding to most conversation attempts with simple, one-word answers.

He was probably tired, Garet realized. Isaac had spent the day prior not only traveling to and from Mars Lighthouse, a several-hour trip, but also wandering for hours within the lighthouse itself. Past the end of another long day, and Garet likely would have been tired, as well. His own adventures in the past few days, though explosive, were brief. Psynergy recovered far more easily than physical stamina.

Though he had surprised himself with his recovery time there, as well. Even before he slept, by the time they had reached the boat, he no longer felt that painful hole in his mind that accompanied severe Psynergy exhaustion. He had experienced the lingering headache several times, though never so severe as following the fight against the spirits of Anemos' victims, but each one had lasted longer than this one. Had he really improved so much with his Psynergy?

The thought pleased him. He had proven his physical prowess during the Colosso trials, courtesy of the difficult training he put his body through every day, but seeing a marked improvement in his Psynergy since Alchemy's restoration thrilled him as well. Both held equal importance to him, but he knew well that he lacked the inherent talent for Psynergy that Ivan held, and it forced him to train his mind harder to make up for it.

It made sense to him, though. The gods had gifted him with a natural ability for combat, one he had taken up and bonded with easily. A sword felt comfortable in his hands, as if it was meant to be part of his body, instead. To have given him Ivan's penchant for Psynergy, as well... That simply would not be fair. Everyone had to have their weak points, after all.

"Doesn't mean I have to live with them, though," Garet muttered to the sky with a slight grin.

"What?" Isaac asked.

Garet glanced over at his quiet companion. "Just talking to myself."

Isaac nodded and turned his face forward again, scratching at his chest. Garet frowned before looking forward also. Not so much as a witty remark. Isaac must be really exhausted, he thought. Mars Lighthouse had been tiring enough to simply explore, but when you added the creatures that had taken refuge there from the eternal blizzard that howled across the north...

Wait. He wasn't scratching.

Garet glanced back over at him for a moment, then said, "Alright, what's bugging you?"

Isaac looked over at him, his hand continuing to rub at his chest. "Nothing, why?"

"Because you're always fidgeting with that ring when something's bothering you," Garet said, pointing at Isaac's hand, which immediately dropped. "You suck at lying. Out with it."

Frowning at his friend, Isaac returned his eyes to the empty plain ahead, remaining silent. For a long moment, Garet wondered if he might have crossed a line – it certainly would not have been the first time, not even with Isaac. After a few tense moments, however, Isaac sighed. "I feel...wrong."

Garet stared at him. "Wow. Thanks. That detailed explanation cleared everything up for me. I feel so enlightened now, I should go become a monk."

Isaac laughed, a welcome sound that made Garet relax. A young man though he might be, Isaac still had a very boyish laugh, one that never failed to reach his eyes. "You're right, that wasn't very helpful, was it?" He shook his head. "I mean, the way I feel about all this feels wrong."

"About what?" Garet asked. "Anemos?"

"Sort of," Isaac said. "Don't get me wrong, I definitely want to stop them. I have no problems there. It's just... I feel the same way I did back when we were chasing Felix. I felt that surge of pride in everything I did, thinking that what we were doing was for the good of all of Weyard. I felt like a hero."

Frowning, Garet said, "Well, we were heroes. Why wouldn't you feel like that?"

Isaac shook his head. "No, we were heroes for what we did on Mars Lighthouse. Once we joined Felix, once we knew the truth, that feeling went away. I no longer felt like a hero, just that I was doing a job that needed to be done. Like pulling weeds, or getting firewood. It was...different."

"There was no more pride in it," Garet said.

"Yeah," Isaac said, nodding.

The two fell silent as they continued walking. Garet understood exactly what Isaac meant; the same had happened to him, as well. The idea that the two of them had left home in order to save the world filled him with pride. It motivated him to push on when things grew difficult, to find hope when despair threatened to overwhelm them. Only they could stop Felix. To fail would be unthinkable.

Following such a complete role reversal when they met in Contigo, however, a crisis of faith about the situation would be expected. Garet struggled for a few days with the revelation that they had been lied to, finding it difficult to muster up the motivation for even simple tasks. Never one to dwell on a problem for long, however, he quickly recognized his new role, forgave himself his past transgressions, and redoubled his efforts.

He thought Isaac had, as well, but that seemed to not have happened. He had found some powerful motivation, certainly, likely the rescue of his and Felix's parents, but saving the world had dropped off his list. How could he take credit for saving the world after fighting so hard to kill it?

Now, though, in a completely separate situation, the feelings had returned, and justifiably. The Anemoi had more or less outlined their desire to kill everyone not of Jupiter's origin, a crime of unthinkable brutality. The motivation to stop them not only stemmed from Garet's pride, but also his anger, anger at the people who believed themselves to be above all else.

Isaac surely felt the same, or at least similarly enough. Why were these feelings bothering him? "So... What's the problem, then? Do you think we're doing the wrong thing again?"

Shaking his head, Isaac said, "No, absolutely not. This needs to be done." He looked down and sighed again. "I just don't deserve to feel this way. Not after what I've done."

Garet raised an eyebrow. "What, after you've saved the world?"

The other Valean shot him a reproachful glance. "No. After betraying Vale. After what I almost did to my mother. After what I did do to my father." Isaac chuckled suddenly, but it held a bitter tone, with none of the cheer his previous laughter had. "I told my father I tried to kill him, you know. After we got back to Vault, I couldn't hold it in. I confessed that I knew the whole time it was him. Do you know what he said?"

Garet shook his head, silent.

"He said he was proud of me," Isaac said, his words nearly dripping with disgust. "He was proud his son made the hard decision between himself and the world. He was proud of the choice that I've never hated myself more for."

"What else could you have done?" Garet asked. "Would you have left the lighthouse dark?"

"No, and that's what I hate." Isaac shook his head. "I'm no hero. A hero would have found a way to both save my father and light the lighthouse. Choosing one over the other is simply a coward's decision, either way. It's admitting that you can't find a way to shape your own fate, to decide your own path. I have no right to feel like a hero."

Garet frowned. This was not his area of specialty. He had no difficulty sorting out his own feelings, but his self-understanding was of little use in trying to help others sort their own out. Mia understood people. She should have been the one having this conversation with Isaac.

But she's not, a voice in his head said. It sounded like Ivan. You're the one he's telling this to, and you're the only one who can talk to him about it.

I have no idea what to say, though, Garet argued back against himself. He's being stupid about this, but I don't know how to tell him that.

Don't lie to him.

Felix's words echoed in his head once more, and he briefly wondered if that happened to the others, too. The advice still applied, though, and it immediately revealed the first thing Garet should say.

"Isaac, quit whining." His friend glanced over at him sharply, but Garet simply returned the gaze flatly. When Isaac opened his mouth, Garet cut him off. "No, shut up for a second. You're getting bent out of shape for something that doesn't matter right now. This is a completely different situation."

"But I-"

"Nope, shut up for another second. Actually, go with a minute this time." Garet stopped walking and turned to face the other Valean. "Did you do a bad thing in betraying Vale? Maybe. I don't think so. I never really realized it until we returned, but our town was pretty stupid about some things. For a bunch of people who never left the town, they sure liked to claim knowing a lot about how the world worked. Did we betray Vale's teachings? Yeah, there's not much point denying that. But what was Vale's purpose, Isaac?"

Isaac stared at him for a moment. "Am I allowed to talk now?"

Garet rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"Oh, alright then," Isaac said, a small grin playing on his lips. "We were there to keep the world safe from Alchemy."

"Exactly," Garet said, poking his finger into Isaac's chest. "Which is what we're doing right now, just in a different manner. Vale's laws were outdated and no longer served its purpose. But this is all irrelevant," he said, shaking his head. "None of this has anything to do with the Anemoi. If you want to kick yourself for everything we did to restore Alchemy, that's your choice and I won't try to change your mind. But regardless of what you've done in the past, right now, you're a goddamn hero."

Isaac shook his head as well. "I don't think it works like that."

"It does," Garet said firmly. "Restoring Alchemy was in the past. Stopping the Anemoi is a completely different thing. Just because you did something bad before doesn't mean you can't be a hero right now. Isn't that what atonement is all about? Making up for bad things by doing good ones? If you insist that you were a coward before, which I still think you're stupid for doing, then make up for it by being a hero now."

Isaac stared at him for a long moment in silence, then sighed. "I guess I can try."

Garet shook his head again. "No, screw that, I don't wanna hear that crap. You hold a portion of the Golden Sun and have not one, but two Psynergetically-enhanced swords that were hidden in their respective lighthouses. If you can't be a damn hero with all of that, then pass them off to me and I'll show you how to do it."

Rather than respond, Isaac simply smiled and tilted his head towards Anemos, then turned and resumed walking. Garet fell into step beside him, wondering if he had successfully made his point. There were times that Isaac simply threw up a mask of acceptance and understanding when he just wanted a discussion to end, but Garet prayed this was not one of those times.

Searching for a way to change the subject, a sudden thought occurred to Garet. "Oh yeah, what's going on with you and Feizhi?"

Isaac's hand unconsciously moved up to the ring around his neck, then stopped as he realized it, forcing it back down. "What?"

Garet rolled his eyes. "Have you even talked to her again? You haven't, have you?"

"Well, I just... I don't want to not have an answer for her," Isaac said, refusing to look at Garet.

"Jeez, Isaac, you think ignoring her is gonna help you find that?" Garet shook his head and slapped his arm around Isaac's shoulders. "You don't have to give her an answer right away, but you'll never reach one if you don't spend some time with her. When this is all done, take a couple weeks to visit her. If you haven't made up your mind, stay longer. Stay until you can answer her, one way or the other."

Isaac frowned. "But I've got things to do in Vault. We still need to-"

Garet waved his other hand impatiently. "Don't worry about those things. I can cover you for that. Besides, the work's been slowing down over the past few months. We've already got everyone settled somewhere, it's all touch-up work now. Saving the world twice? I'd say you'll have earned a little vacation time for yourself."

"I just-"

"If you don't go, I'll drag you there myself," Garet said flatly. "And then I'll stick around the whole time, hovering behind you, making sure you're spending time with her. How about that?"

"Fine," he muttered sourly. "I'll go."

Garet pulled his arm from Isaac's shoulders and clapped his back. "Good man. And stop sounding like I'm sending you to wade through swamps and clean up every pile of muck with your tongue. She's just a girl."

Isaac's expression nearly sent Garet dancing with delight.

- \/\/ -

Sheba paced her luxurious room restlessly, moving from the window, to the wall, to the mirror, to the door, then back to the window. Rage bubbled away inside her like water above a fire, threatening to spill over and scald everything around her. She wanted to smash things, to break them, to tear down the walls and rip apart the floor. She wanted to destroy every inch of her prison she could see, then seek out the unseen parts to continue her rampage.

Tisiphone was the only thing stopping her. The woman herself had said nothing, of course, while Sheba walked back and forth, nor did Sheba believe the woman would do anything to stop her if she started. Though Felix, with his cool, calculating mind, would likely have protested, Sheba could not help but trust the handmaiden. Her gut told the woman could be trusted, and above all logic, reason, and emotion, she trusted her gut.

It would be the handmaiden who cleaned her mess, Sheba knew – Tisiphone and the other servants of the palace. She doubted they really cared whether or not she stayed, except perhaps as the alternative to her terror of a brother. Her rage was directed primarily at the kings, but it would not be they who paid for her random acts of destruction.

So she resisted her urges. She resisted the urge to take the little wooden footstool by her dressing table and hurl it through the window, raining glass into the small garden below. She resisted the urge to unleash a powerful gust to tear her door from its hinges, splintering it into pieces all down the hallway. She resisted the urge to use every muscle in her body to reach up and tear the sheets from her bedding, shredding them like a cat.

With the force of a sucker punch, a brilliant idea suddenly struck Sheba so hard it left her reeling for a moment. She stood in the center of her room, stunned, uncomprehending as to how she had simply overlooked such a simple solution to her problem.

If Ivan could do it, so could she.

Taking a deep breath, Sheba pulled Jupiter Psynergy to herself. She felt the currents around her shift and swirl, falling into a neat, continuous pattern around her. Slowing her breathing, she prodded the flow, adjusting it so that instead of circling her, it enveloped her, withdrawn into her body and emitted from it simultaneously.

She focused on Yallam, seeing the layout of the town clearly in her mind. She could see Sunshine's forge, where they had first met the talented blacksmith. She could see the outside of the inn, originally a great relief to tired eyes and sore feet. She could see the single tree in the field just outside of the town, lit by the moon. Fireflies surrounded it now, though she had no idea if the creatures lived near Yallam. They just seemed fitting.

Her ears rang slightly as her body seemed to fade away from her, as if she had grown lightheaded. Before it could vanish entirely, however, the entire process stopped suddenly, the built-up Psynergy dispersing in an instant.

"No!" she screamed as her eyes snapped open, mind grasping for the pieces of the teleportation technique, but all traces had utterly vanished, the sweat on her forehead the only indication of the attempt.

"I apologize, my lady," Tisiphone said from her spot by the door, bowing low. "Our city has long restricted translocation inside the city walls. Attempts to enter leave one at the gates, while attempts to leave simply fail."

Sheba did not look at the woman. The anger and fury that had settled with her epiphany returned with vengeance, exploding out in a wordless scream. She walked to the wall and pounded her fist into it several times, wanting nothing more than to take her rage out on something, anything.

This was Tolbi all over again, Tolbi before she met Felix and the others. Fine clothes, lavish quarters, infuriatingly polite servants... All nothing more than paintings to hang on the walls of her cell. She knew well enough that bars and shackles did not make a prison.

A knock on the door spun her around in an instant, though she simply stared at the door for a few seconds. When the knock came a second time, Tisiphone glanced at her questioningly. Sheba hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Tisiphone opened the door, then stepped to the side, bowing. In the hallway stood two young women, looking a few years older than Felix, peering into the room curiously. They had the same bright, blond, straight hair that many of the Anemoi shared, one wearing it loose, while the other held it tied back in a ponytail. "Excuse us," the latter said, "but do you mind if we come in?"

"What do you want?" Sheba said bitterly. "Come to mock and threaten me, as well?"

The woman shook her head. "No. Just to talk, and if we can, to help."

Sheba stared at them for a moment longer, debating whether or not to trust them, or even if she wanted to talk to anyone, before deciding she did. She doubted that anyone besides the kings could match her and Tisiphone together, at any rate; hadn't Hydros said that only they were immortal? "Come in, then."

The two stepped inside, bowing slightly to her as they entered. "Thank you, Phoebe," the second said as she closed the door behind her.

"My name is Sheba," the girl snapped, her anger flaring up instantly.

The woman with the ponytail spun to face the other, her hand slapping her on the back of the head. "Mom told you she was using a different name." Turning back to Sheba, the woman shook her head. "I apologize, Sheba. We should have asked first."

Staring at her in confusion, Sheba asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Aisa Urania," the ponytail woman said, then gestured to the other. "This is my sister, Morta."

"Nice to see you again, Sheba," Morta added, bowing slightly in apology.

Sheba stared at them in silence again. Urania. That explained their visit. Now she could see the resemblance in the light blue of their eyes, a stark contrast to their pale skin and hair. "You're King Atropos'...daughters? Sisters?"

"Daughters," Aisa said, moving towards the small chairs that sat around a small table near the wall. "She mentioned your return, as well as your...objections towards it."

Her stomach suddenly turned over. "So she sent you to try and change my mind."

"What? No! No no no!" Morta said quickly, waving her hands. "She just mentioned it to us, so we decided to come see you. We figured you were probably alone here, and needed someone to talk to."

Sheba continued to stare at Morta, her mind pulling together a plan quickly. Psynergy gently pulsed from her mind and reached towards Aisa as Sheba asked, "So you won't be reporting everything I say back to her?"

The answer came twofold: "No, of course not," said Morta, and Not if you don't want us to, thought Aisa.

Immediately after the thought passed through Sheba's head, Aisa stepped back, her expression turning hard. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Being safe," Sheba said. "Since Anemos' return, my family has been in danger, my friends have been attacked, and I've been kidnapped. Excuse me for being a bit rude in order to take some precautions." When Aisa's expression calmed a bit, Sheba gestured to the chairs. "Now that I have, please, sit down."

Morta immediately sat down opposite Sheba. Aisa hesitated a moment longer, then seated herself beside her sister. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't really think about it from your perspective. I was just a bit...surprised. I've never had my mind read before."

Sheba sat down as well, the edge of paranoia still not fully leaving her mind. "So. You guys are both princes, right?"

Aisa nodded. "I'm the heir to the Falcon Throne, Morta is the second."

"And I'd like to keep it that way," Morta muttered quietly.

"Falcon Throne?" Sheba said, confused. "Isn't that what I'm heir to?"

"The thrones are sequential in power, not equal," Aisa said. "Each of the kings' heirs inherits the Falcon Throne upon their respective kings' death. If the Roc or Eagle Thrones are empty, then the kings below them get bumped up. So, technically, our mother would be the heir to the Roc Throne, while King Clotho is the heir to the Eagle, and both you and I are the heirs to the Falcon. Whoever succeeds is based on who died."

Sheba nodded. That explained why Clotho seemed to defer to her father that morning. "Doesn't Clotho have an heir?"

Morta snorted. "No. He says he's 'too busy' to work on that right now. And always. He's lucky he lives forever."

"I wouldn't count on that," Sheba said, glancing out the window.

The sisters looked at each other. "Do you really want him killed?" Aisa asked.

"Do you really think he can be killed?" Morta added.

Sheba did not answer at first. How much did they know about what happened? How much would their mother have told them? She first thought of changing the subject, then remembered she was talking to the one who would inherit the kingdom someday. "I was at Venus Lighthouse when they attacked," she said, still staring outside at the blue sky. "I watched the worst lightning storm I've ever seen strike the lighthouse that was being visited by a bunch of kids my age, kids who've never seen outside of Lalivero. Had I not been there to draw and divert the lightning, they would have died. My brother was with them. My real brother," she added, glancing back in time to see Morta's mouth open. "I almost died myself."

Sheba shook her head. "And that's only what I saw. Some of my friends watched lightning bolts obliterate part of Tolbi, sending the entire city into a panic during their biggest festival of the year. Another friend's town was sent to sleep in the middle of a northern winter. If she hadn't been found the next day, everyone there would have died. And there were more, too. Other attacks that either failed by chance, or that we just didn't know about."

A silence settled in the room. Sheba glanced around again, double-taking when she spotted Tisiphone still standing by the door; the woman had not said a word and Sheba had forgotten about her entirely. "Come sit down, Tisiphone. We have another chair."

The handmaiden glanced over, shocked. "My lady, I couldn't!"

Sheba frowned. "In that case, I order you to come sit down."

Tisiphone's mouth opened once, then closed again as the woman moved over to the sitting area, seated herself silently with her hands folded neatly in her lap, then locked her eyes onto them and did not move.

Sheba watched her for a moment, then turned back to Aisa. "I also watched him personally attack the King of Lemuria, a peaceful man who works hard to keep his country at peace. Clotho attacked him, and would have killed him, had we not intervened to save him."

Morta's eyes widened. "You fought the Luminous King? And lived?"

Sheba could not help the grin that spilled over her face. "My friend took a full blast of his light to the chest and was perfectly fine four days later. He was the one who ran from us, a fact he doesn't like being reminded of."

Silence returned, a guest Sheba found frequently visiting recently. This time, though, she found it too overbearing. No background noise traveled through the palace walls. Standing up, she walked to the window and opened it to allow a warm breeze to spill inside. She closed her eyes and welcomed the fresh air gladly, hearing the calls of birds from the roof.

"I think I understand why you hold such hatred for us," Aisa said quietly from behind her. Sheba could tell the woman had followed her to the window, though her movements were silent. "Did you know that, until we landed, Anemos had no birds? The City of Wind, represented and heralded by birds, yet we had none of our own. I'd only seen drawings, and simply heard about their songs."

As Sheba opened her eyes, Aisa stepped beside her at the window, staring out over the city. "I think we've lost a lot in our self-imposed exile. Our city prospers well enough, for one in such an isolated situation as ours. We have no poverty, no homelessness. Our crime is minimal. We live in a great city, but..."

"But in it, you live alone," Sheba finished.

Aisa nodded. "We need the songs of birds in Anemos, but Anemos has no birds left. They all belong to Weyard now. In order to hear their song, we must accept that what we once had is lost, but what we stand to gain is no less beautiful."

Sheba said nothing for a long moment, looking at the city with Aisa. "Is this how others feel?" she asked at last.

"Yes," Aisa said, making a sweeping gesture across the city. "The people here live comfortably. Most are content to live their entire lives in the city's walls, growing and loving and dying. They've never cared about what lies beyond. Now, though... Now, wanderlust has struck many. Their return to a world they've never seen has awakened their curiosity. They wonder what else is out there. What more they might see."

"Only the kings knew of the world, because of their long lives," Sheba said, nodding in understanding.

"Some wish for domination, or isolation, of course, as I'm sure people do in your cultures, but they are the exceptions," Aisa said.

Agatio immediately appeared in Sheba's mind, sneering at her. The man had wanted Alchemy restored to save Prox, like every other Proxian, but she had always felt more to it than that. He held much pride in his people, far more than the others she had met, and frequently boasted of Prox's grand status in the past. He wanted to restore it to that glory, and Sheba had no doubt of the force he would have used to do so.

Yet, as Aisa said, he was the exception, not the rule. Saturos, Menardi, and Karst seemed to have no plans for Prox other than survival, nor did any of the Proxians she met in the town. They merely wanted to keep their home safe, as anyone would.

"Sheba," Morta said, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. "I think there's someone you need to meet."

Aisa looked at her sister briefly, then nodded. "I agree. I think it would do you a lot of good."

The girl turned around and glanced between them warily. "Who is it?"

Morta hesitated a moment, then said, "It's the woman who sent you to Weyard when you were a baby."

Sheba stared at the woman, then shook her head. "You're right, I do want to talk to her. Let's go." She stepped back and motioned to the door, feeling her heart leap as she cast everything aside in the sudden decision. Tisiphone stood to follow her, and Sheba almost told her to stay behind, but then realized the woman's presence did not bother her at all. She simply did not feel like a bodyguard or babysitter to the girl.

Aisa led them out into the hallway, following the same path she had taken that morning to the throne room. When they stepped into the entrance hall, however, they moved to the right, heading for the massive, steel doors that Sheba had seen. Her unasked question as to how anyone could possibly open them became unnecessary when the two guards stepped aside, placing their hands atop a metal sphere on the contraptions at the doors' bases. Jupiter Psynergy hummed as the machines began to spin, the doors themselves slowly swinging outward.

"Going somewhere?"

Sheba spun around, finding the captain of the guard, Damon, standing behind them with a frown on his face. Tisiphone instantly stepped back, moving slightly behind Sheba, but the man paid her no mind. Instead, his firm gaze locked onto Aisa, the heel of his palm settling onto the pommel of the blade at his waist – a silent and subtle threat not unnoticed by Sheba.

"Does she need permission to leave the palace, now?" Aisa asked, one eyebrow raised. "I was under the impression King Lachesis himself gave her leave of the entire city. Are you here on his authority to rescind that?"

Damon's frown deepened, giving him the slight wrinkles his face had not quite yet earned naturally. "I merely find it odd that our young prince remains in her room until you decide to pay her a visit, my prince."

Aisa waved her hand. "Then feel free to scurry off to our parents and sing of our exploits to them. Unless you intend to stop us, leave us alone."

"Be sure to warn them to keep an eye on the city streets," Sheba added. "I'll be leading an army back by sundown."

Damon said nothing, so she turned and began following Aisa once more. Down a wide set of stairs they walked, much of the stone worn and weathered, with several parts replaced with wood. Sheba supposed quarries were a bit difficult to come by on a floating island, after all.

They set off down one of the streets in silence as Sheba glanced around. Though she had seen the buildings from a distance and found their appearance unremarkable, up close she could not help but be impressed by their construction. Though initially constructed with bricks of stone and clay, like those in Contigo, Sheba could see an odd sheen covering the walls. As she passed close to one, she reached out and ran her hand across it, finding the surface cool and flawlessly smooth, almost like glass. Some sort of hardened paste, she assumed, one that would protect the stone from the damage that time and weather brought.

As they walked, Sheba found herself surprised at the city. Not at anything in particular, or even a general magnificence, though; she was surprised simply at how normal everything seemed. A quiet murmur filled the streets in the lull of late afternoon, as people filtered home for dinner. Every now and then, Sheba heard the sudden shout of someone, or the squeal of a young child, but even those failed to break the calm atmosphere.

She saw bakeries and cobblers, barbers and tailors. She saw what seemed to be a few bars, their doors closed but windows lit, people moving about inside as they cleaned and set up. The clear ringing of a smith's hammer echoed down from a side street, while the smell of a roasting steak wafted along through another.

The people that passed her gave her no more than a cursory glance. In many parts of the world, her bright, blond hair had earned many stares from the locals, yet here, everywhere she looked, she saw yellow, green, and as everywhere else, the aged silver. Only once did she see brown hair, though it was almost light enough to be called orange.

They milled about their business around her, oblivious to their surreal appearance to the girl. How could they know? Why would they think anything odd about their shopping for the evening's meal, or meeting some friends for an afternoon drink? What was so strange about an old couple sitting on a bench and watching the passerby, or a group of sweaty men unpacking a slew of crates?

The city seemed no different from those she had seen elsewhere, and this truth baffled Sheba. Ever since hearing about the legends of the city in the sky, the people who were so advanced they lifted their entire country into the air, she had imagined...well, the unimaginable. Her mental image shifted and changed the more she saw, combining all the fantastic creations of her imagination with all the equally fantastic creations of various cultures. She had expected a city of light, shimmering all through the night. She had expected a city of steel, turning as red as the ocean during sunset. She had expected a city of towers, stretching like fingers to grasp the stars from the sky.

She had never once imagined this.

"Here," Aisa said, stepping to the side of the street. Before them stood a house as unremarkable as the rest, looking identical to the others nearby. Sheba wondered briefly how Aisa knew which house to stop at.

"Take this," Morta said, holding something out.

Sheba took it and turned it over in her hand, finding what appeared to be a small tuning fork, only a few inches long, with a cord slipped through a hole in one end. She hesitated briefly, then threw it around her neck, slipping the fork beneath her shirt. "What is it?"

"A way of contacting me," Aisa said, pulling another one from beneath her shirt. "Push a little Psynergy into it and talk, and I'll hear it through mine. Once you're done here, let me know and we'll come back for you."

Sheba nodded, then glanced at the building again. "You're not coming in?"

Aisa shook her head. "We'd be intruding. This is for you."

"We'll be in the area in case anything comes up," Morta said, then turned and walked back up the street with her sister. Sheba watched them go in silence, her hand moving up to lightly touch the tuning fork through her shirt.

"I will wait here for you, my lady."

Sheba jumped slightly, then turned to Tisiphone, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had nearly forgotten the woman was there. "Are you sure? Aren't you following me to keep me safe?"

Tisiphone shook her head. "There is no harm waiting for you in here."

The girl stared at her for a moment, then nodded again. "If you say so." Turning back to the building, Sheba stepped forward and knocked on the door three times.

"Ah, come in, please!" a woman's voice called from inside.

Sheba pulled her hand back and hesitated for a moment, then pulled open the door and stepped inside. The house's interior was small, only one room, but neatly maintained. She could see an iron stove against the left wall, a small wooden table beside it, while a bed took up the opposite wall's corner. In the center of the room sat a green-haired woman, scrubbing at some clothes in the large basin of water in front of her.

She looked up as Sheba closed the door behind her, confused, then smiled. "Wrong house?" she guessed.

"I don't think so," Sheba said, frowning. "I was brought here and told I should talk with you. I'm Sheba."

The woman laid her clothes back into the basin and stood up, drying her hands on an apron. "Well, I'm not sure why someone thought you should talk to me, Sheba. I don't think we've met before. I'm Leda."

"Nice to meet you," the girl said, then hesitated. How exactly did she go about bringing this up? "I'm sorry, this is still a bit awkward to me. I'm not really sure how to start."

Walking over to her and peering more closely at her face, Leda shook her head, frowning also. "Well, who was it that brought you here?"

"Umm..." Sheba suddenly felt awkward. How exactly did she tell this woman that one of her city's princes had dropped her off on her doorstep? "It's a bit of a long story."

Leda's eyes narrowed very slightly. "That shouldn't change the answer."

Great. Now she's suspicious of me, Sheba thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, this may sound ridiculous without the background, but...it was Prince Aisa."

The woman's eye movement reversed, then kept going. "Prince Aisa? Why- Who are you?"

Shaking her head, she said, "I told you, my name is Sheba." A sudden thought occurred to her. "And though I don't want to use it, maybe you know me as Phoebe, instead?"

Leda's gasp cut through the serenity of the house, easily covering the ambient noise drifting in through her open window. Her hands reached out to steady herself on the chair beside her as her whole body suddenly trembled slightly. "Who... Who are you?"

Sheba swallowed, not wanting to speak the rest. "I'm... I mean, my name was once Phoebe Moirae, when I was born here. I was told you were the one who sent me down to Weyard."

The sound that came from Leda's mouth could not be described in words by Sheba. The closest she could come to describing it was the sound of a bubble collapsing underwater, combined with the caw of a crow, yet coming out like a hiccup. The woman's hands flew to her mouth, covering them as her eyelids strained against her face.

Staring at Leda warily, Sheba still could not react in time as the woman rushed her. Panic erupted inside her as the Anemian reached out and grabbed her, but before the wind she unconsciously summoned could be released, she realized the woman had not attacked her.

She had embraced her.

And she was crying.

As Sheba held her in confusion, something tickled the back of her mind. She instinctively pressed the side of her head against Leda's, her mind buzzing behind her ears. She recognized the feeling as the same she felt when a stray thought or word triggered memories of the previous night's dream, forgotten with the rising of the sun. Struggling to grasp the fragments of the feeling, Sheba closed her eyes, leaning into the woman's hug.

And all at once, she recognized the arms of her mother around her, holding her long-lost daughter tight.

Her eyes widened in the same manner as Leda's had only moments before as the realization settled around her with such absolute certainty. It was not a guess, not a hunch, but an undeniable fact. The touch brought to surface flashes of memory she never knew existed, little more than sounds and gentle caresses.

She stepped back slowly, Leda's arms slow to release their strong clasp. As Sheba looked upon her birth mother's face again, she found tears flowing down the sides. The sight of them stirred some ache in her chest; was it guilt, at having none of her own? "You're my mother," she said slowly. When the woman nodded, she continued, "But...I thought you were the one who sent me to Weyard."

"I was," Leda said quietly, her voice wavering. "I couldn't bear seeing you grow up to be like one of those monsters. Your father... He's a cold man, the kingdom his only duty. He would have never given you the love you deserved. I prayed you would find better on the surface." She stared at Sheba for a moment, a questioning look on her face.

Sheba nodded now. "I did. A great family took me in. I have a father, a mother, and a little brother I love." She smiled slightly. "His name is Javen, and I miss him so much. I miss all of them."

Leda sat back down in her chair, closing her eyes and sighing. "Good. That's good. I'd always worried that...I don't know, that you had died, or been taken as a slave, or raised to be a monster anyway, or a hundred different terrible things." She suddenly opened her eyes again, gesturing across the table. "I'm so sorry, please, sit down!"

The girl did so, seating herself across from her mother, but found herself with nothing to say. She had dreamed of meeting her real family for so long, of talking to them, of learning who they were, but now that she sat in front of one who she actually wanted to do so with, she could think of nothing.

"You've grown so much," Leda said softly. "You're a young woman now, and so beautiful." The woman wiped at her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I'm falling to pieces over here, rambling about."

Sheba smiled. "That's alright. Had you been the first one I met, I probably would be too, but...well, I didn't. I'm the one who should be sorry. I feel so...so detached right now."

Leda shook her head again. "You have every right to be. I know your father, and I've heard about your brother."

"Is he not your son?" Sheba asked, confused.

"No," Leda said, a small smile coming to her face. "After I sent you away, I was exiled from the noble quarter. Evidently your father did have some love for me, otherwise I would have been executed." The woman looked down at the table for a moment before saying, "Phoebe, what- Sorry, I mean, Sheba, what-"

"You have every right to use that name," Sheba interrupted softly. "From you, I would answer to it."

"Thank you," her mother said, "but when I sent you away, I lost the right to it. Phoebe would have been the king's daughter. You are Sheba now." The woman sighed, wringing her hands in her lap. "But I wanted to ask, what do you want to do? Do you want to stay here?"

"No," Sheba said instantly, the word coming out with more force than she intended. "Not like this, at least. My friends and I... We're not going to allow this war to happen. We're going to stop the kings."

Leda's eyes widened again as she leaned forward. "You can't be serious! You'll be killed if you try!"

Shaking her head, Sheba said with a smile, "You don't know my friends. We've beaten demigods, dragons, and the lighthouses themselves. We've fought Clotho to a retreat once already. If anyone can do it, we can."

"And if no one can?" the woman asked quietly.

"Then I will die trying," Sheba said firmly. "I would rather die trying to stop them than live under their rule."

Leda stared at her in silence for a moment, despair creeping onto her face. It touched her slightly widened eyes as she blinked back tears once more, her eyes never leaving Sheba's. After a moment, though, she smiled, pride chasing the despair away. "You have a good heart, Sheba. A strong heart. I could never fight like you do."

"I have too many things to fight for," she said, glancing at the window and the gently wafting curtain. Birdsong drifted in with the breeze, a simple melody that repeated twice before stopping. "...And now I suppose I have more." She turned back to her mother, laying her hands flat on the table. "I need to leave, but I will return. They've set things up so that they think no one can stop them, but we're going to. We have to. We can't-"

Several loud booms entered through the window now, causing Sheba to stop mid-sentence. It took her a few moments to recognize them as thunderclaps, though too low to be natural.

Psynergy.

She could think of only one reason someone would be using such offensive Psynergy.

"I need to go," Sheba said quickly, jumping to her feet and knocking the chair over backwards. "My friends are here." She turned to the doorway, then stopped. Spinning back around, she ran to Leda and threw her arms around her. "I'm glad I got to meet you. I promise, I'll be back to see this through."

As she spun back around to leave, Leda called out, "Wait!" Sheba turned around yet again to find the woman fumbling with her wrist, and after a moment, she held out a gold bracelet to her. "This was given to me by my mother. I'd like you to take it, Sheba, so that no matter where you are, no matter how much you might come to despise this place, you'll know there's someone here who loves you. Always."

Sheba hesitated for a moment, then walked back to her mother, throwing her arms around her again. "Thank you," she whispered. "For everything."

"I'm so proud of you, Sheba," Leda said, stepping back as she clasped the bracelet around Sheba's wrist. "Be strong."

The girl glanced down at the charm, finding two gems set into the gold, that of a brilliant green swan looking up at her, its wings wrapped around a glittering red egg. She looked back up at her mother for a moment, smiled and said, "I'll see you soon," then ran out the door.

- \/\/ -

Behind them, the sun sat low in the sky, crimson light radiating out across it. Above them, the bright, warm colors faded away, leaving the solid blue of early evening overhead. Before them, deep purple framed the gate of Anemos, the shadow in the sky seeming to settle over the city itself. The only light in the eastern sky came from the moon, slowly rising to take the sun's place.

Felix stopped before the gate, peering through the iron to the city beyond. As each of them had reported upon returning, no guards patrolled the gate or walls. Some movement could be seen further down the road, but Felix saw only the mundane travels of the Anemoi at the end of a long day.

Etched into the walls, and continuing through the twisted wrought iron of the gate, was a continuous ring of runic symbols. He glanced at them briefly, but had no idea if they were anything more than a decoration, so he focused his attention back to the gate.

The gate itself was locked, but Felix knew that would prove no challenge to overcome. Instead, he turned around to face the others. In their faces, he could see the same determination mirrored from his own. The seven of them, as well as two others, had managed to join back together in the most unlikely of situations. Their single will was evident in more than just their presence, as well; he could feel the cohesion of the group pull them tighter than it had previously, with none of the uncertainty or hesitation that had been present in Lemuria.

He had no words for them.

Turning back around, he reached out and touched the gate. His mind slipped into the large lock binding the two halves together, navigating the dark corridors in silence and ease. One by one he lifted the tumblers, feeling them slip into place before moving on to the next. When the last tumbler clicked, he gently shoved it away from him.

The gates swung open with a long whine, breaking the silence they had undoubtedly held for centuries. He stepped forward after them, crossing the border into Anemos. He had wondered if the very ground would protest him, offended by the presence of an outside after so long without one, but the path felt no different from the nearly vanished one they had taken here.

The people were a different story. Though no alarms were raised and no weapons unslung (though he could see none, at any rate), the squeal of the iron gate drew the attention of several nearby. Their mouths fell open as they pointed at the intruders, speaking in hushed tones to those nearby. As Felix stepped forward, they backed away, ducking into houses and side streets, though a few pairs of eyes continued to watch from behind windows.

"It's all so elaborate," Hama murmured from behind him.

Felix could not disagree. The buildings had the solid construction and decoration style of a strong city, like Tolbi or Kalay. He wondered if Anemos even had slums. "Let's keep moving before word spreads."

"Where to?" Isaac asked. "That building in the distance?"

Felix nodded. "I would bet on that being the palace, and if they sent one of their kings to get Sheba, I'm sure they'll be keeping her close."

As they continued on, he heard Garet mutter, "Right into the wolves' den..." Felix found the imagery eerily accurate, but saw no other way to approach. They would never remain unseen, not even at night, and creeping around while searching for Sheba would only give time for their presence to become known. Their best bet would be to move quickly and directly.

Silence escorted them through the city. A tense hush announced their arrival and lingered after their departure, as if breaking it would bring them back. Not even Garet spoke again for some time, the man falling to the back and frequently turning around.

Wooden boards covered the streets, though in a few alleys that evidently experienced low traffic, Felix could see smooth brick beneath, obviously worn and broken. Gently probing beneath the boards with his mind, he found a similar scene beneath, damaged enough to warrant the installation of a new street surface. Downside of racial genocide: having to fix your streets the hard way, he thought wryly.

Eventually the street spread out to twice the normal width as it settled into a straight line to the palace. With no obstacles in sight, they upped their pace, reaching the plaza before the palace in a matter of minutes.

"Good gods," Ivan breathed, staring up at the palace doors as they started up the stairs leading to them.

Felix said nothing, but silently agreed. Standing at double the height of normal doors, yet constructed of what seemed to be solid steel, he could not help but wonder how the Anemoi opened them. Such a door, even on hinges, would be nearly immovable.

"Who are you?"

His eyes shifted slightly to a guard standing to one side of the door, his hand now resting on his sword hilt. A quick glance to the other side revealed a second guard, both who Felix had ignored entirely on his approach. Had he simply been that inattentive, or had he merely unconsciously dismissed them? He could see the sweat on their foreheads from the afternoon's heat, but knew another kind had now joined it. The furtive, skittish way their eyes bounced around between all of them told Felix more than he needed to know about their experience as guards.

"We're here for Sheba," Felix said calmly, continuing up the steps.

"What? Prince Sheba?" the second guard asked.

A sudden snort prefaced the comment that Felix instantly knew Garet would make. "Prince Sheba? What?"

"We don't have time for this," Alex murmured, stepping up next to Felix and waving his hand. The stone of the palace wall reached out and wrapped around the two guards like fingers, ensnaring them in a firm grip. A pulse of Jupiter Psynergy followed and both guards' heads dropped, the pair falling asleep instantly.

Felix nodded his appreciation, stopping as he reached the doors. He glanced at Alex briefly as the man followed him, and when he looked over as well, Felix felt their minds synchronize wordlessly. Each held out a hand to the doors, Venus Psynergy taking hold of the steel with ease. They swung open slowly, a metallic cracking sound coming from inside as they moved.

Another pair of guards appeared in the growing gap, drawing their swords, but something in the air rippled as it passed Felix. In the next instant, both guards were airborne, sailing away from the doors as their swords clattered to the ground. Felix felt Hama step up behind him, muttered, "Let's go," then resumed pulling the door open.

Felix cleared the threshold first, Alex following directly behind him, both sweeping their eyes across the entrance hall quickly. He moved forward after finding no immediate threats, though he kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. After a second glance across, he turned back around. "Garet, Jenna, Mia, hold the entrance and guard our backs. Piers, Hama, take the left stairs. Isaac, Ivan, take the right. Alex, come with me," he finished, gesturing towards the doors along the opposite wall, where two more guards had just been incapacitated by Hama. "Sweep as quickly as possible. Find Sheba and get back here."

"I've seen this place before," Ivan murmured. "In a dream."

"Do you have any idea where they might be keeping her?" Felix asked immediately.

Ivan shook his head and Felix wasted no more time on questions, but simply moved across the hall. A long staircase lay behind the doors, which he and Alex began to climb two at a time. The stones of the walls attacked the guards that awaited them above, shifting out to slam into the sides of their heads. Both fell at once, one rolling down the stairs for a moment before folding into a position that stopped him.

Felix threw open the doors at the top and stepped outside, sunlight faintly kissing the back of his neck. The stairs led to the roof, evidently, though when he glanced around, he realized it actually served as the throne room. Fitting, he thought.

As he turned around, scanning the rooftop, he discovered someone else around the corner, standing at the western edge of the roof, looking out over the city. The blond woman turned around as Felix stepped out, looking at him with a confused expression. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Friends of Sheba," he said shortly. "Where is she?"

"I see she was right to put her faith in you," the woman said, a smile rising on her face. "You must be close friends, indeed, to invade the Palace of Anemos."

"Answer me," Felix snapped. "Where is she?"

Irritation flickered across the woman's face for a moment, quickly replaced by the smile. "I don't answer to commoners."

Felix felt the sharp charge of Jupiter Psynergy form in an instant, but before he could so much as move, the woman lashed out with a fierce bolt of lightning. No sooner had the bright bolt seared its image on his eyes, however, it rebounded off to the side mere inches in front of him.

The air before him shimmered slightly as Alex stepped around him, the reflective Psynergy dispelling. "You must be either King Moirae or Urania, I presume."

The woman raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "And you must be the Mercurian Lycoris spoke of. You're right, boy. I am King Atropos Urania."

Alex frowned suddenly. "Atropos? Surely not the same Atropos that reigned when Alchemy was sealed?"

"The same," she said, placing one hand on her hip. "Are you a scholar of history, Mercurian?"

"Not in particular," Alex said slowly. "Mythology is more of my subject of choice, though as I'm sure you can imagine, mythology and Anemian history overlapped quite extensively until recently."

"Alex..." Felix muttered, glancing around them cautiously. Having one of the kings in front of them meant nothing if the other two could still show up. They needed to move now.

"Your dog seems to be in a hurry to leave," Atropos said, tilting her head slightly. "Surely you don't prefer our young prince's presence to mine?"

Alex nodded. "So is Sheba your child, then? Or is she a Moirae?"

Atropos snorted. "She belongs to Lachesis, not me. Why do you think I haven't killed you yet? I'm far more interested in watching this play out than I am in stopping you."

"Then would you be so kind as to point us in her direction?" Alex asked.

Shaking her head, the king smiled again. "I think not. I would have more fun toying with you, I think." She pointed her hand at Alex again as the shimmering barrier appeared once more, but it had no effect on the slowly-flowing Jupiter Psynergy that appeared. Felix could feel the invisible tendrils reach out and attach to Alex, his energy immediately moving towards Atropos.

The Imilian jerked back suddenly, the connection severed as both Alex and Atropos stared at each other in surprise. "What was-" she began, but Alex cut her off.

Swinging his hand up, the stone roof spiraled up around her, winding and twisting around her body and trapping her in place. Before she could respond, Alex grabbed Felix's arm. "Looks like we're going to have to jump," he said quickly, then ran for the edge of the roof. Felix had seen Ivan and Sheba jump from enough heights to hazard a guess as to Alex's plan, though the thought still made him uncomfortable.

The two reached the edge of the palace and leapt off without hesitation. Felix felt his stomach rise up as he watched the ground approach, but he forced the feeling aside and kept his eyes locked. The last thing he needed would be to injure himself from an assisted landing.

Fierce winds whipped into existence beneath him as he approached, buffering his body as if he were no more than a sheet of paper. He wobbled slightly above the currents, then dropped the remaining few feet to the ground, landing solidly. Alex landed beside him, immediately turning his gaze back up, but Atropos had not followed.

His attention next shifted to the side of the palace, where several guards now emerged, likely from some barracks, though he still found the number far smaller than he expected. What intrigued him were the weapons they carried – short rods that seemed to open on one end, with handles on the other. Though he initially worried they might bring archers, since the guards were out of effective range of their Psynergy, he now found himself more curious as to what they would do.

When the guards shouted, he regretted that curiosity.

Without any buildup or warning, other than their shouts, wells of Jupiter Psynergy suddenly appeared above himself and Alex. Lightning snapped down from the great pool in the air, dropping down like water leaking from a glass. The bolts were small and frequent, many missing entirely, but not entirely ineffective. When the first one struck Felix, he hissed in pain as a line of fire moved from his head down to his left foot, instantly numbing afterward.

He immediately raised the ground around him, forming a cover above his head to shield himself. He watched as Alex held one hand in the air, his reflective barrier repelling the strikes with ease as he walked towards the guards. As he neared, they dropped their weapons and drew swords, but a simple swipe of Alex's hand sent them all flying into the palace wall. Two stood back up, only to slam back into the wall, and did not stand again.

Felix dropped his makeshift roof and followed Alex, who had picked up one of the strange rods. As Felix approached he held it up, saying, "Seems to launch Psynergy, so it can be used at a larger range. It's probably the same technology that was used in Anemos' initial attack."

"We need to get back inside," Felix said, nodding his head towards the front doors. He could see Jenna standing just outside them, her eyes scanning the area.

When they reached the doors, Garet did a double-take when he saw them. "Didn't you guys...?" He trailed off in confusion, pointing back into the palace.

"Met a king on the roof," Felix said quickly. "Got away. Sheba?"

Mia shook her head, taking the Anemian rod that Alex handed to her. "Isaac and Ivan just got back, they couldn't find her."

As Felix turned to the left staircase, frowning and wondering what was taking Piers so long, the sailor suddenly appeared – sprinting back towards the entrance hall, with Hama right behind him. Before anyone could say anything, however, a bolt of white light crashed into the wall behind them, exploding violently. Piers stumbled and continued running, but the blast lifted Hama up and threw her over the railing unceremoniously.

"Hama!" Ivan shouted, dashing over to where she had fallen. The woman had already picked herself up by the time he reached her, mumbling something inaudible to him, then placed her arm around his shoulders as they moved back towards the doors.

Felix returned his gaze to the top of the stairs as Piers reached the bottom, heading for them as well. From the hallway emerged Clotho, walking casually towards the stairs. White-hot rage instantly flared up in Felix, taking much effort to push back down to manageable levels. "Where is she?" he shouted at the king.

"You're annoyingly stubborn, aren't you?" the man asked as he took the steps one at a time, slowly and gracefully. "Phoebe's place is here, not with you worms. Your feet have no right to step inside this palace."

As Clotho touched the ground level, a great gale rushed towards them. Felix watched the wind nearly pick up Ivan, settling instead for throwing both him and Hama into a backwards tumble. As they reached the stairs outside, Hama grabbed hold of her brother and shoved hard against the ground, avoiding the painful roll down the stairs by jumping the entire way.

Mia's saving grace turned out to be her proximity to the door – instead of blowing outside with the two siblings, she caught hold of the doorframe before she could lose control, holding herself onto it. Felix crouched down, pressing his hands into the stone floor and sealing them inside. Isaac moved similarly, though using his sword instead of his hands.

Alex stepped in front of the remaining ones, placing both palms together in front of him like a spear. The winds parted for him, allowing the three he shielded to back down the stairs in a controlled fashion.

As the wooden doors leading to the throne roof opened, the winds died down. Atropos stepped through the doors, her eyes immediately fixing on Alex. Felix stood back up, a quick glance backward telling him Mia had followed the others. Turning back to the pair of kings, he drew his sword quietly, stepping up next to Alex as Isaac did the same opposite him.

"Well," Clotho said, smiling. "If it isn't our overconfident Venusian, our royal knight, and the Worm King himself! Did you bring any other kings with you, or will this have to satisfy me for today?"

Alex's smile mirrored the Anemian's. "Worm King, is it? That doesn't seem very distinguishing."

Clotho shrugged. "I am afraid your refusal to introduce yourself has left me at a disadvantage there, so I have no choice but to be generic."

"Ah, that's true, I did promise you an introduction later," Alex said, nodding. "Very well. I am Alex Ambrosen of Imil, here as the unofficial representative of the Mercury Clan." He bowed deeply to them, dropping his head down. Once his hair had fallen over his eyes, he flicked them briefly to Felix, where they lingered for a moment before returning as he stood up.

At once Felix understood. Alex would do what Alex did best, of course: talk. He did not see the point, though, given that no one was left inside to search the palace. Given their situation, however, he could see no downside to stalling. Atropos, though not having taken her eyes from Alex, held her silence and position.

"Unofficial? Why is that?" Clotho asked, tapping his cheek.

Alex's smile twitched briefly, then steadied. "Regretfully, I had to accept the mantle of traitor and exile when I chose to restore Alchemy, against my clan's wishes and teachings. Before I belong to the Mercury Clan, however, I belong to a far greater clan: that of Weyard."

Now Clotho bowed to Alex, though it lacked the sharp contempt and sarcasm Alex seemed to inject into his body language. "I suppose gratitude is in order, then. Without your work, we would still be drifting through the sky, waiting for someone to take their fates back into their own hands."

"My hands are the only place I would keep my fate," Alex said, holding them up as he spoke. "I think that is where everyone should keep theirs. Why else would I come here tonight? Your young prince deserves the right to handle her own fate, as well."

Laughter echoed throughout the entrance hall as Clotho tilted his head back. "You play this game well, Clanless King! Tell me, though, if she should hold her own fate, why do you fight in her place?"

"Not everyone can wield power through strength of Psynergy," Alex said calmly, shaking his head. "Those that lack the strength themselves have no choice but to inspire others to fight in their stead...to fight for a purpose."

Clotho raised an eyebrow. "And you fight for her, then? You fight for her freedom?"

Alex smiled. "Your prince would make a great king, if she chose that path. See all that she has inspired?"

"Very well, then," Clotho said, spreading his arms. "Fight for her, then. Fight for her freedom by sacrificing your own!"

- \/\/ -

Isaac reached over one shoulder to draw his sword, then paused. After a brief internal debate, he switched shoulders and tugged on the other hilt the way Garet had showed him. The metal clasp unsnapped as the enormous blade came loose, swinging around to settle in front of Isaac.

It felt strange to him, holding a sword in front of him with the weight of another sword still on his back.

In some ways, it almost felt like a betrayal. He had certainly grown attached to his sword, in no part due to its strange enhancement of his Psynergy. Turning it aside right now for this other blade, saying it was not good enough to help now...

He shook his head. Such thoughts were distractions. Inhaling slowly, he raised the sword above his head slowly, taking care to maintain it steady. He could feel the great power quietly pushing against the constraints of the blade, searching for release.

I will free you, he thought, and closed his eyes.

His mind moved from his head, up his arms, through his hands, and into the sword itself, settling into the great gemstone that adorned the hilt. In his mind the gem flashed once, turning into Mars' beacon. He stood atop the lighthouse again as snow drifted down lazily around him in the darkness, the great blade of Prox still in his hand.

The power of Mars enveloped him so thickly that he doubted he could have used his own Psynergy if he tried. He could feel it pressing into him like a thousand hands. Was he being judged? Tested? Examined? He could not say. He felt that the thousand hands belonged to a hundred thousand sets of eyes, but he stood alone on the aerie.

He turned back to the beacon, straightening his back and lifting his head. "I need your power," he said firmly into the silence, watching as the swirls of red and white light endlessly shifted across the beacon's surface. "As the one who sacrificed everything to light you, I ask that you help me now. Release your power for me. Release the power in this blade."

Silence answered him, broken only momentarily by a brief burst of wind. He stood there for a long moment amidst the drifting snowflakes, watching the beacon, but it did nothing different than usual. He scanned the swirling colors, trying to find some answer or pattern in their designs, but nothing appeared to him.

When the beacon went dark, the stones of the aerie vanished from beneath him. He let out a surprised shout as he began to fall through the darkness, tumbling all around with no sense of direction.

Isaac pulled his mind back from the blade with a sudden jerk, stepping backwards. He shook his head briefly at Felix, who held a single eye locked on him, but before he could say anything, Clotho laughed again.

"Was such a pretty blade meant to deter me?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips. He shook his head and glanced to the stairs. "Retrieve my sword," Clotho said to a guard standing there. He turned back to Isaac and the others with a casual sweep of his hand.

Wind slammed into Isaac's chest, hurling him back out the door with ease. He lost sight of Felix and Alex as he spun through the air, but when more wind reached out to stabilize him, he saw that they had similarly been caught off-guard. Ivan lowered each of them to the ground carefully, asking something, but Isaac had already focused on the palace doors as Clotho stepped through them, followed by Atropos.

"Wouldn't want to cause unnecessary damage to the palace," he said casually. "Now. Do you have a preference as to the order of your deaths?"

"Yours will come first," Felix called out, standing back up and moving forward. "Give Sheba back to us, and I will ensure it is a quick death."

Shaking his head again, Clotho said, "How many times must I tell you that Phoebe's place is with us?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that my name is not Phoebe?"

Isaac's head snapped to the side, finding Sheba emerging from the mouth of a side street near them. Behind her stood a growing mass of yellow and green-haired people, gathering to watch the spectacle. The girl walked steadily towards her friends, her hands balled into fists as she stared at Clotho. "My name is Sheba!" she shouted, straightening her back and standing as tall as her fifteen years allowed. "The same Sheba who told you I would start a war within your walls!"

Felix moved across the plaza to shift their defensive line to cover her as well, visibly suppressing an urge to simply run to the girl, while the others moved forward. Clotho made no movement towards them, however, simply standing there with a smirk on his face.

As the three parties reconverged, Jenna nearly flew at Sheba, scooping the girl up into a hug and spinning her around as she squealed in joy. "I was so worried about you Sheba I can't believe they took you I just wanted to come straight here and beat the-"

Hama placed her hand on the girl's shoulder as Isaac returned his gaze to the kings, who had still not yet moved. Clotho's smirk seemed to only grow larger, creating a sense of unease in the bottom of Isaac's stomach. "Rejoice later, Jenna," the woman said. "We need to leave. Ivan, are you ready?"

To Isaac's surprise, it was Sheba's voice that answered. "No, we can't. There's no teleporting inside the city, in or out. We have to run for it."

The unease solidified as Clotho's smirk became a full smile, his teeth staring out like a hungry animal's. "That's right. You're trapped in here with us. Run if you like, if you think you can make it out before I kill you all. Perhaps some of you might. You, Phoebe, will not be one of them," he added, looking past Isaac at the girl.

No one answered for a moment. Isaac knew as well as the others that Clotho's words were not an empty threat. He would have little trouble picking them off as they ran. Yet, if fighting him could not be avoided, they would do better to stand here and fight both him and Atropos, praying the third king did not arrive. What could they do, though? Their last fight resulted in a stalemate, with both King Hydros and Alex present, and against only a single king. Against two...

"Why would we run?" Sheba called out, much to Isaac's confusion. She might be a bit overconfident at times, but she knew as well as he did that they stood no chance. "Do you really think anyone here is afraid of you?"

Clotho's smile vanished immediately. "You would be stupid to not be."

"I dunno," she continued. "I mean, I have no doubt you could beat us to the gate. No one can run away faster than the great Sovereign of the Ostrich, after-"

"Silence!" Clotho shouted, his words piercing Isaac's head sharply, forcing the young man to clutch at it with his empty hand. The king stared at them for a moment, turning only when the guard arrived with his sword. Isaac moved his hand to see it clearly, finding a blade that looked more like some long, terrible pitchfork than a sword. The blade split after emerging from the hilt, as if someone had simply cut out the center of it.

Clotho took hold of the weapon silently, letting the tips rest on the ground. He turned back at them, then looked over to his other side. "My dear king, I do not believe your assistance will be necessary."

Atropos glanced at Alex briefly, one eyebrow raised, then back at her fellow king. "You are certain?"

"I need no help for such worms," he said calmly, the anger gone from his voice. "Nor will I be remembered asking for it. I ask that you withdraw."

The woman again looked at Alex, her gaze lingering even longer this time, before nodding. "Very well. I will wait for our young prince's return." She bowed slightly to him, then turned and walked back to the palace.

Isaac glanced behind him and found a triumphant glow on Sheba's face, though she struggled to keep it hidden. She had just made this fight winnable. But...did they really need everyone to win it? Was it worth that risk? "Alex, I think I have a better idea."

"Speak it quickly, then," the man said, his eyes never leaving Clotho.

"Everyone else runs for the gate," Isaac said simply. "You and I stall him. When they're gone, we warp out."

"What? Why are you staying?" Garet asked.

Before Isaac could answer, Alex chuckled. "I see. Strangely fitting, yet also practical. Have you learned to use it yet?"

"Not yet," Isaac said, shaking his head. "But now's as good a time as any to learn." Turning to Felix, he held out the Proxian blade. "Here. I won't need this. See if you can figure it out."

"You'll be back to do that yourself," Felix said firmly, but took the blade regardless, turning around and ushering the others away. He paused as they started moving and turned his head slightly, not quite looking over his shoulder. "Isaac, Alex... Don't die."

Isaac drew his normal sword as Felix followed the others, the familiar weight settling perfectly into his hand. Their unseen connection clicked into the back of his mind with a comfortable warmth, like the feel of his own pillow, in his own bed, in his own house.

As he stepped forward with Alex, Clotho shook his head. "Stall me? Why would I bother remaining to toy with you?" His wings unfolded from his back in a burst of light, stretching out and flapping once to flex them. Crouching briefly for an added burst, the Luminous King jumped into the air as his wings pushed down, powering into the air.

When Alex raised a hand, he immediately crashed back down.

His eyes snapped up at the Mercurian in anger and confusion, but Alex simply wagged a finger at him. "The Clanless King did not dismiss his audience yet."

Clotho gaped at him, still not understanding. Isaac found the loss of his arrogance and sense of control very satisfying. "But... Gravity? How?"

"Hydros may be the last of Weyard's old kings, but I am here to usher in a new era," Alex said, spreading his arms. "I am Alex Ambrosen, heir to the throne of Weyard and the Alchemy that flows within her. Clanless not only by choice, but by my very nature, for who could choose which aspect of himself to embrace most? Kneel, Clotho, for you stand before he who has touched the heavens and made them tremble."

Clotho stared at the man for some time in silence, the shock gradually fading from his face. "Of course. I should have known that someone would have inherited the Sun's power. Foolish of me to think otherwise."

His wings flapped once, then folded back into nothingness as he raised his sword. Lightning crackled up the blade, arcing between the two halves as it rose. When it reached the tips, Clotho said, "Let's see how well you use it, then, worm."

The blade swung outward as Alex's hand mirrored it. Much to Isaac's surprise, however, nothing happened. Alex and Clotho stared at each other in confusion for a moment before Alex chuckled softly. "Of course. If two people of equal power try to create opposing differences, they would simply cancel each other out. Interesting."

"Feel free to cancel this, then," Clotho snapped, his empty hand swinging out this time. A sharp, white light burst from his palm, its luminosity all the more evident in the evening's fading sunlight.

Alex seemed ready for the attack, however, as the air shimmered before him. The bolt of light struck the barrier with a bright flash, forcing both Alex and Isaac to reflexively flinch back, but then rebounded off into the empty sky.

Clotho did not let up, bolt after bolt smashing into Alex's reflective barrier. Isaac could see the man flinching back further and further with each successive hit, obviously not affected only by the flashes of light accompanying them. Only when Alex blindly spun his fingers in a "let's go" gesture did Isaac realize the man was waiting for him to do something.

Could he rush Clotho? Doubtful. All the man needed to do was turn his hand to the side and begin attacking Isaac instead, who had no such defense against the powerful Psynergy. Glancing down, Isaac realized a convenient advantage he held, however. The boards beneath the Luminous King's feet suddenly splintered and cracked at Isaac's command, Clotho suddenly dropping several inches without warning.

The king stumbled and Alex immediately dispelled his barrier. The air around Isaac grew hot and dry as an armada of icicles formed around Alex straight from the vapor in the air. Isaac never realized a Mercury Adept could even do that; Kraden had taught them water always moved from a gas to a liquid, and then to a solid as it cooled.

The volley flew at Clotho as they formed, loosed from the invisible bows of a hundred invisible archers. Again lightning snapped from Clotho's hand, but before it could touch the ice, they all melted into small strips of water. The lightning passed through them harmlessly, caught by Alex and diverted into the ground with a twist of his waist.

Each individual pocket of water now swirled around Clotho, gathering into a collective pool. Isaac briefly felt the pulse of Jupiter Psynergy, but in the instant before wind burst outward in a blast that would have scattered the water easily, Mercury Psynergy beat it. The water instantaneously refroze, encasing Clotho in a patchy, rough prison that reminded Isaac of the stringy cocoons the silkworms of Xian wrapped themselves in.

The frozen wrapping lacked a perfect covering, however, which Clotho quickly used to his advantage. With a short shout, Isaac felt the force of the king's voice resound and shatter the front of the ice, allowing him to dive out of the prison with no time to spare – mere moments later, great stone stalagmites burst from the ground diagonally, shattering what was left of the ice with their points. Clotho rolled as he landed on the wooden walkway, smoothly rising back to his feet and dashing at Alex, his empty hand held behind him and glowing brightly.

Isaac acted quickly, remembering the tactic from his last encounter with Clotho. Though he had no statues to place in the king's way this time, he had a surrounding just as useful. The boards beneath Clotho's feet began to snap and give way, but to Isaac's surprise, the king bounded over the breaks without so much as a moment of hesitation. Could he simply detect the presence of the Venus Psynergy as it was acting?

Before Isaac could come up with an alternative plan, however, the Anemian reached the Imilian. Clotho thrust his hand forward as the light intensified, but Alex vanished before the energy could touch him. Clotho immediately spun back around, finding Alex behind him, but when the blue-haired man gestured downward, Clotho fell to one knee, straining to keep himself up.

Alex smirked. "I told you to kneel, my king. You should have simply done so in the beginning and made things easy."

"I kneel to no worm!" Clotho shouted, lunging forward again, his hand almost too bright to look at. Isaac watched his sword rise behind him, however, pointing straight back and crackling with yellow lightning. Before he could shout out a warning to Alex, the man disappeared and reappeared behind the king once more. The yellow bolts jumped to the man instantly, sparks crackling across his body.

Before Clotho even turned around, the yellow rolled through the remainder of the spectrum of colors, then vanished. The king turned with a smile on his face, slowly advancing towards Alex, who did not move. Isaac realized with a growing horror that he could not move, nor could he do anything to solve that problem; Clotho had sealed his Psynergy, as well. It would not last long, he suspected, but any time would be long enough.

Clotho reached out with his empty hand, grabbing hold of the front of Alex's clothes. "Too predictable, worm. I-"

Before he could finish, he roughly pulled his arm back as Isaac's blade came crashing down between the two men. Clotho backed away sharply as Isaac pulled his sword back, turning towards the king. "Forget about me?"

Clotho's surprise quickly turned to amusement. "You never had more than a sliver of my attention at any time, boy. You deserved less, honestly."

"Yeah?" Isaac said, speaking with a courage he did not feel. He wondered if it was a tactic he had picked up from Garet. "Let's see if I can change your mind, then."

The Valean moved forward, swinging his sword, but as he expected, Clotho's moved to meet it this time. Such a surprise could only work once, he knew. Now he simply needed to stall until Alex could free himself from Clotho's paralysis.

Part of Isaac wanted to watch the strange, double sword that Clotho wielded, the way the edges reflected the light rather distracting, but the rest knew that to do so would doom him. He fixed his gaze on the man's face and started lightly, quickly confirming that, yes, Clotho did in fact know how to use the sword. He had held an idle hope that the weapon had simply been for show, but knew that with hundreds of years of experience, the king had to have learned at some point.

As he pressed harder against the other man, however, he found it a bit surprising how he pushed him back. Though Clotho held a steady defense against Isaac, the Valean could feel a lack of ease on the king's part. His arms and body made the motions to defend him, but they moved with a very slight delay, as if his brain simply failed to respond right away...or as if his reflexes needed that instant to remember what to do.

Isaac had to fight from laughing. Clotho was rusty.

The knowledge soothed his fears and gave him strength. He launched everything he had into an assault, forcing the king back away from Alex. Clotho evidently realized the same thing, from the way his face slowly traded the smirk for a concentrated frown. Isaac could see a glistening layer of sweat forming on the man's forehead, matching the one that Isaac had earned from the heat long ago.

When he took his first step up onto the palace stairs, Isaac heard a click from Clotho's blades. The sudden reappearance of the smirk stopped his advance suddenly, warning bells going off in his head. The reaction likely saved his life as the king's sword suddenly split apart, scissoring across where his neck would have been.

Isaac stumbled backwards away from the blades, trying not to let his frustration reach his lips. Of course that was why the blade was split; what other reason even made sense? The twin edges flashed out once more as Isaac backpedaled, his own sword moving rapidly to deflect them.

Too soon, however, he misjudged, as he knew would eventually happen. With his own blade still recovering from the momentum of his previous block, he had no weapon to parry Clotho's other sword with. Quickly reaching out to the two touching blades with his mind, they suddenly repelled each other, Isaac's own blade reversing direction and crashing into the oncoming one.

Clotho frowned slightly, but Isaac knew the tactic would be necessary. His Psynergy pulsed again and again, creating and nullifying momentum between the three swords as he needed to keep them away from his body. When he tried to use the effect to clear Clotho's guard as he struck, the man simply responded with a fierce burst of wind.

Stumbling backwards once more, Isaac windmilled his arms momentarily to avoid falling down, knowing Clotho would be on him in an instant if he did. Instead of following him, however, Clotho merely pointed one of his swords at the Valean.

Isaac's heart leaped into his throat and he instantly lunged at the other man, using his sword to repel the king's. The blade turned away, a bright bolt of purple lightning arcing off into the side of a building and throwing stone and dust into the air. There would be no taunting paralysis for himself, Isaac noticed bitterly. Clotho fought now to kill.

Jupiter Psynergy continued to gather around the man as he brought the other sword forward, forcing Isaac to repel it away as well. Each swing now preceded a blast of lightning, a sharp metallic smell filling the air, accompanied by a light haze. He could feel his own sword resonating with him, the metallic pulses drawing and repelling the other swords coming easily, but he doubted he could outlast Clotho when it came to Psynergy. Where the hell was Alex?

Much to Isaac's surprise, Clotho suddenly stepped away, peering through the gray haze at Isaac. The young man stared back, feeling his heart pounding against his chest, but otherwise still feeling fine. He suddenly found himself very thankful for all the training Garet had dragged him through in preparation for Colosso.

With a flick of the king's blade, the haze suddenly thickened into a thick smoke, turning everything more than a couple feet away into a gray wall. Clotho's outline vanished as he stepped backwards, leaving Isaac nearly blind. The smoke stung at his eyes, nose, and throat, but Isaac fought down the urge to break down into a coughing fit. The king stood just outside his visibility range, he knew, and would enter again to attack in a few moments, peering through the smoke easily with Jupiter's eye.

He closed his eyes first, letting the stinging tears fall without trying to hold them. His mind slipped into the ground, searching for footfalls or other movement while his ears did the same without Psynergy. Only silence surrounded him, however, and he kicked himself for thinking otherwise. He had seen Ivan turn his footfalls into little more than feather drops; why would Clotho not do the same to someone who he had just blinded?

The king could not take to the air, Isaac knew, not without his wings blowing away the smoke, or at least disturbing it. If he had to remain on the ground...

Isaac spread his feet slightly, planting them more solidly on the boards, then shifted his sword into a reverse grip before plunging it through the wood and straight into the stone beneath. The brick parted, accepting the sword with what felt like a warm welcome.

The young man instantly felt his mind spread across the plaza, feeling every brick, ounce of mortar, and crack in both. He could feel the supports for the wooden walkway above the shattered stones, tied into the walkway itself. His mind reached up the walls of nearby buildings, tying itself into the wooden shingles, the clay flowerpots, the rich soil within, and even the windows themselves, much to his surprise.

He felt the nervous patter of feet at the edges of the plaza where the citizens of Anemos continued to watch the assault on their city. His invisible eyes ran up the stairs to the palace, passing by the trapped guards and racing along the steel and stone of the walls. They even penetrated the palace slightly, peering inside to the group of people watching through one window, and the lone woman watching through another.

Venus herself seemed to lean close to his ear and whisper wordlessly, I am at your command.

With authority like that, who needed Mars?

The ground around Isaac trembled briefly as Venus Psynergy pulsed through it, then erupted outward. The wooden boards shattered as the earth beneath exploded, great stalagmites thrusting up from the plaza like the crooked teeth of some terrible subterranean monstrosity. They pushed to the surface in a spiraling fashion around Isaac, the eye of the underground hurricane.

There. Off to one side, a foot pressed against one of the stalagmites, pushing off. Isaac turned his mind in that direction, the rocks suddenly exploding into fragments. Stones of various sizes showered the area, too many for Isaac to track individually, but the hiss of pain told him everything he needed. The ground trembled once more, then burst violently as if it were a geyser of water. He left a craterous wound in the plaza as stone and wood and king flew into the air, bouncing and rebounding off one another before landing in a heap on the ground.

A gentle Jupiter presence moved past him from behind, the breeze fluttering his hair and brushing across the back of his neck with a whisper. Slowly Isaac opened his eyes, finding the smoke dispersing in the wind as Alex walked up beside him. "I was going to apologize for leaving you alone, but it seems I wasn't quite needed."

"More the sword than me," Isaac muttered, breathing more heavily now. Though the physical combat had not bothered him much, the constant Psynergy use had begun its toll, especially within the last minute. Such wide concentration and devastating power never lasted long, even with the amplification from his blade.

A burst of Mars energy above his head caused Isaac to turn his gaze upward, finding a thin red beam passing through the deep blue abyss. It lingered for a moment, looking as if someone had cut the sky to prove it could bleed, then vanished. The signal, he realized. The others are safe.

Across the plaza stones clattered against each other and onto the remains of the walkway as Clotho pushed himself back to his feet, his swords lying forgotten on the ground. One side of his head had turned red with blood, staining his hair an odd brown color. His doublet, once one of the finest Isaac had ever seen, now sported numerous tears and rips throughout, mingled with streaks of dirt.

It was his face that Isaac could not look away from, though.

"Arrogant worms," he spat, his mouth contorting into a scowl so fierce Isaac doubted few sailors could match. His eyes burned furiously, flicking between both of them as he spoke. "I've had enough of you."

"No, Clotho, this world has had enough of you," Alex said calmly, then glanced at Isaac. "I think a change of plans is in order, Isaac. I don't think it's time for us to leave just yet."

He kept his gaze fixed on Clotho. "You mean to stay and finish him."

"I do," Alex said. "I think we've proven ourselves up to the task, and that will leave us with one less king to deal with. Better to do it now, while the opportunity presents itself."

Isaac nodded in silence. He had no delusions about letting Clotho live, though he had not expected his judgment to come this soon. If the two of them could defeat a king like this, what would happen when they added the Myrtle armor to their lineup, or once they figured out how to use that Proxian blade? Suddenly this war seemed very winnable.

Clotho spat on the ground between them, though Isaac noticed it lacked the clear color of pure saliva. "You think you can defeat me? Me? A king of Anemos? I've evidently toyed with you worms for too long."

Alex shook his head. "No, Luminous King, you've just simply realized that toying with us was a very, very stupid idea."

The king grinned, his teeth splotched red, holding his hands out to the side as they began to glow. "Come, then, see what I am capable of! See the might of he who brings the heavens crashing down upon your heads!"

Jupiter Psynergy pulsed outward from Clotho in an invisible wave, but the sheer overwhelming presence of it still made Isaac step back. With the sun nearly set, the king's hands lit the plaza up like a bonfire, casting new shadows everywhere. Clotho threw his head back, staring up into the sky as his mouth opened, loosing a wordless shout. He clapped his hands together above his head, the light joining and launching into the air.

Isaac followed the light high into the sky where it shattered, many minute points of light moving across the sky like a pack of falling stars. Slowly the points grew larger and brighter, Alex finally muttering the same thing that occurred to Isaac: "They're returning."

Before either could take any action, however, the first bolt of light streaked down in front of them, exploding and throwing both from their feet. Isaac felt bits of wood and stone pelt his face as they flipped through the air, landing hard on a blessedly undamaged section of the boardwalk. As they quickly returned to their feet, however, another bolt struck a short distance to their side. Though further away than the first, it still struck with enough force to disrupt their uncertain balance and send them sprawling to the ground once more.

A third bolt landed, but fortunately, it impacted some distance to their other side, obliterating the corner of a house, but giving them enough time to reach their feet once more. Alex quickly threw his hands up, and not a moment too soon, as another bolt crashed into his reflective barrier. Unlike the others, however, this one did not simply rebound back into the sky; it burst like a massive raindrop, Jupiter energy washing over the barrier and dispersing all around them.

Isaac shivered as he felt the tremendous power behind the blow, recognizing Clotho's words as truth. The force the bolt struck with shook Alex as he shielded them both, his wince making Isaac grimace sympathetically. A fifth bolt landed to their side again, the blow stumbling both, but not knocking them down. Isaac braced himself for the next strike, but it never came.

He chanced a glance to the skies, finding them devoid of stars, real or falling, then turned back to Clotho. The king had dropped his hands, breathing heavily, but had not made any movement to attack again. "It was you," Isaac said quietly. "You were the one who attacked Tolbi."

Clotho smiled, his face twisting into a cruel mockery of humor. "The City of Peace? Yes, that was my handiwork. I quite enjoyed seeing firsthand the effects, as well. I never was able to make use of our great lighthouse. My father held onto the throne longer than I would have preferred."

"You mean until your fellow kings had him executed," Alex said.

"Fellow kings?" Clotho shook his head. "They may have carried out his sentencing, but I was the one who had him arrested."

"You...what?" Isaac said, disbelieving.

"I turned him in," Clotho repeated. "My father was weak and unfit to be a king, so I had him removed. His actions would have destroyed Anemos, so I acted to save it. I had no choice."

Isaac's vision flashed briefly as something hot jumped up into his chest. "Shut up," he said slowly. "Don't you dare say that."

Clotho cocked his head. "What?"

"There's always a choice," Isaac spat, glaring at the king. He felt a fire growing inside him, wondering briefly if it was a result of the latent Mars power in his body, or simply the burning rage that had ignited. "You didn't kill your father to save anything. You killed him to further your own goals, to continue hurting others. You disgust me."

"I feel such concern over a worm's disgust," Clotho said, rolling his eyes as Jupiter Psynergy gathered to his hands once more.

"I'm proud to be a worm, you vulture!" Isaac shouted, drawing Venus Psynergy in to match the growing fury inside him. The concentration grew as he channeled it into his blade, then started forward towards Clotho. Gripping his sword tightly in both hands, Isaac spun around once, twice, thrice. At the end of the third spin, he hurled his blade straight up into the air with a mighty swing.

The sword spun through the air, drawing all manner of objects to it as it flew. Stone ripped itself from the ground and flew towards the blade, as did the wood from the walkway. Shingles from houses flew, along with Clotho's discarded swords. Windows shattered, the fragments of glass flying to join the other objects. Anything and everything that Isaac's mind could touch became airborne, wrapping around the sword tightly. Even the ring around his neck gravitated towards the growing mass, along with the chain it rested on. The only thing pushing against the growing sword of Venus was Weyard herself, keeping it aloft as more and more materials joined it.

Clotho sneered at the massive sword, raising his shining hands towards it, but a pair of black cords suddenly snapped out, wrapping around his wrists and pulling them back. Another pair bound his feet, and yet another wrapped around his neck, pulling him to the ground. Several of the black ropes immediately leapt over him, tying him down.

Isaac glanced over at Alex to find his hands pointing at the man, Venus energy pulsing from him as well. "Light begets shadow, Lycoris," he murmured. "Foolish of you to forget that."

The Valean returned his gaze upward as the last few fragments joined his weapon, an enormous sword now outlined against the dark sky. It spun lazily, finally slowing down, until its tip pointed downward.

All at once the fury inside him turned cold. No hesitation preceded his command.

Weyard reversed her draw on the sword, push turning to pull. The blade flew down as if thrust down by the hand of Ohrmazd himself, the divine god of judgment. Despite the dark bindings, light still flew from Clotho at the incoming sword, stripping away portions of the amalgam blade as it fell, but it fizzled in the face of such massive momentum.

Isaac heard his shouts abruptly end as the great sword slammed down into him, burying itself all the way to the hilt.

The rage and adrenaline that burned inside him faded, exhaustion filling the void they left behind. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees, his vision turning white at the edges, but a hand on his shoulder made him look up once more. "We need to leave before Atropos returns," Alex said, holding out his other hand to the side. Isaac's sword crumbled, the pieces falling back to the ground as the original blade emerged from the construction, flying straight to Alex's hand.

The man turned it and held the handle out as Isaac stood up slowly, wiping his face off before taking the blade. "Thank you."

Alex shook his head. "No, the gratitude is mine. You saved me, today."

"Let's argue about this later," Isaac muttered. "After I sleep."

"Fair enough," Alex said with a grin, placing his hand back on Isaac's shoulder as both men vanished in a burst of Mercury Psynergy.