CHAPTER 11
Isaac slowly opened his eyes and admired the blue haired girl still sleeping in his arms. He smiled as he recalled the events from the night before and how he had finally let Mia know all his feelings for her. Careful not to wake her, Isaac stood up and laid his extra blanket over her body.
Time to get ready for the day ahead, Isaac thought as he rummaged through his pack to find some stuff for breakfast. I'm so unbelievably happy right now that it almost doesn't feel real…but I have to keep my focus today so we can finally finish this quest. Gosh, that's not going to be easy with everything that's happened…
Isaac left the tent and went outside, where he was greeted by Jenna and Ivan, who had somehow managed to start a fire to cook with in the snowy weather. "Breakfast?" Ivan asked him.
Isaac nodded in response and said, "Thanks." Ivan handed Isaac a plate and Isaac sat down on a log near the small campfire.
Jenna looked over at Isaac and commented: "You seem to be in a good mood today." Isaac shrugged before she continued. "I guess you're just glad that our journey is almost over and we can finally go home," she said.
"I suppose that's part of it," Isaac replied nonchalantly. Jenna looked like she was about to ask another question but she got interrupted by the emergence of Mia from the tents.
"Good morning," Mia told everyone as she got some breakfast then walked over to where Isaac was sitting and sat down directly next to him, a lot closer than most people would consider comfortable. Jenna's eyes widened slightly but she refrained from commenting until Mia planted a quick kiss on Isaac's cheek, causing the Venus adept's face to flush with color.
Jenna laughed and Ivan just muttered, "It's about dam time…"
"So how did this happen?" Jenna asked with a smirk.
Isaac scratched his head sheepishly as Mia replied. "That…is a secret," she said with a happy smile. "Let's just say that Isaac decided to tell me a few things that were very sweet of him," Mia explained as she interlocked one of her hands with Isaac's.
Isaac smiled and went back to eating breakfast as more of the group started emerging and talk shifted to the Mars Lighthouse and what was in store for them. Before long, the group had packed up and began to make their way toward the lighthouse.
…
Eight adepts stood atop the aerie of the Mars Lighthouse, staring at the unlit beacon. It was hard for any of them to believe that their journey had come to its end. "Wow, we did it…" Garet said breaking the silence that had descended upon the heroes. Felix took out the Mars Star and stepped forward to fulfill their destiny, but was suddenly halted by an invisible force and pushed back in line with his friends.
To the surprise of everyone, the Wise One appeared and admonished them for attempting to light the lighthouse beacons. Despite the arguments the group brought up to defend their actions, the Wise One's opinion would not be swayed. He revealed that Alex was attempting to harness the power of the Golden Sun for himself; however the group knew they had to remain steadfast and light the last beacon in order to save the world anyway. The Wise One decided to leave them with a small warning that a miracle might occur to prevent them from doing just that.
That's some miracle…Mia thought as she watch the three headed dragon land on the aerie between the adepts and the beacon. Instinctively the group spread out and took up battle stances, prepared to fight thier newest adversary. Mia's head turned to find Isaac calling on his psynergy to back Garet up as he rushed in to attack. A bolt of lightning from Sheba crackled against the dragon's hide causing it to roar in pain and divert its focus to her.
A quick earthquake from Felix threw the monster off balance and provided an opening for Garet, who slashed at one of the beast's legs. The dragon counterattacked by shooting a torrent of fire at Felix who raised his shield to absorb most of the damage. Piers cast a healing spell to help Felix recover from the residual effects of the flame.
The dragon's tail swiped at Garet, but missed by inches as Garet dove out of the way. Mia cast an ice spell to try and slow the dragon, causing its attention to turn to her. A sharp claw came her way but was stopped a shield of Venus psynergy from one of Isaac's djinn. Ivan conjured up a powerful tornado and sent it racing at the dragon while Jenna scored a direct hit with a cycle beam and followed it up with a slash from her blade.
At this point the dragon let out an angry roar and leapt up into the air. A few seconds later bright white light came racing toward the lighthouse aerie. Garet called upon his djinn Flash to protect the party, but the protective barrier couldn't stop the whole attack. Ivan, Piers, Garet, and Sheba got hit the worst and were knocked to the ground as the force of the attack hit them. Mia, Isaac, and Felix immediately began to tend to the wounded as Jenna distracted the dragon that landed again with a massive blast psynergy.
With a bit of healing, Ivan and Piers managed to get to their feet and prepare for more combat, freeing up Isaac and Felix to help Jenna while Mia and Piers took care of Garet and Sheba. Jenna stepped back to recover after stopping the dragon's blows singlehandedly and invoked her psynergy to restore her energy. Ivan used a Jupiter djinn to increase Isaac's agility and watched as Isaac ran into the fray with his sword ready to strike.
Isaac dodged a bite and a claw before sinking his blade into the left knee of the dragon and ducking out of the way of the dragon's tail, as well as the fire it breathed at him. Felix cast a powerful Odyssey spell from behind the dragon to turn its attention away and allow Isaac to escape.
The dragon roared and leapt into the sky again, causing the now familiar white light to form and rush toward the group. Without a second thought, Isaac cast a barrier on everyone just before the white light hit, doing massive damage to the already injured group. As the light faded, only Mia, Isaac, and Felix were still upright. Felix parried a blow from the dragon's claws as it landed but was knocked across the aerie by a tail swipe. Isaac managed to get a good swing at one of the beat's heads, but failed to notice the tail swinging back his way to knock him to the ground. Fortunately Mia conjured a wall of ice to stop it just in time and spare Isaac from Felix's fate. She followed up with a Freeze Prism attack and rained hail the size of boulders upon the dragon.
Mia dodged a torrent of fire aimed in her direction and turned to see a horrifying sight. Isaac parried a swipe from one of the dragon's claws and counterattacked with his blade, but was caught as another claw raked his torso and pushed him out of the way. A heavily injured Felix jumped in front of Isaac to prevent the dragon from finishing him off as Mia rushed to Isaac's side drawing on all the healing psynergy she could muster and pouring it into the blonde boy.
It seems to be working a little bit…Mia noticed as the bleeding slowed. Isaac looked up at her with gratitude but it was obvious enough he was in pain.
"The fight….It has to end….now…" Isaac choked out, grabbing Mia's hand and transferring some of his power to her.
Mia felt a tear born of fear come to her eye, but ignored it and nodded at Isaac, knowing exactly what he intended her to do. It's a bit risky for everyone else, but we don't really have much of a choice, Mia understood. Mia called upon her power as well as Isaacs and channeled it together.
"Azul!" Mia yelled out, releasing the energy in a massive burst and watching as the form of a massive sea serpent appeared, bringing with it the wrath of Mercury and Venus combined. Using the last of her protective psynergy, Mia shielded her allies from the blast and hoped it would be enough.
The pure psynergetic serpent made contact with the dragon and exploded, causing the beast to roar in pain. Garet had finally managed to bring himself to one knee and cast a powerful heat wave to follow up Mia's summon and the dragon finally slumped forward onto the ground, defeated.
Mia breathed a sigh of relief at the dragon's demise before turning back to Isaac and inspecting his injury more thoroughly. Isaac looked up at her and asked, "How bad is it Mia?"
Mia just shook her head. "It's certainly no minor scratch, but it'll definitely heal." Mia helped Isaac to his feet and put his arm around her shoulder to help support him. "Next time don't scare me like that though," she added with a meaningful look at Isaac.
"Sorry Mia…That was a fantastic summon though," Isaac said in response.
Mia smiled and looked around her as all the other adepts were getting to their feet, some shaken, some injured, but at least they were all alive. "I can't believe this is finally over," Mia said simply as Felix walked forward and cast the Mars Star into the beacon.
…
The next day, all eight adepts were headed for Vale along with Kraden, Felix and Jenna's parents, and Isaac's father. As it turned out, the dragon they fought on the lighthouse was actually a trick of the Wise One and was composed of the energy of Felix, Jenna, and Isaac's parents. Fortunately the lit beacon of the Mars Lighthouse healed them after the battle and finally reunited the children and parents after three long years.
The group was nearly at Vale after traveling on the flying ship together and an air of excitement hung around the adepts because their quest was finally over. Isaac was lying on his bed in the cabin while Mia was sitting next to him, changing the bandages on his torso.
"It looks much better today," Mia said with a smile as she inspected the wound Isaac received in their final battle on the Mars Lighthouse. She picked up some fresh bandages and after applying some healing psynergy to help speed up the process, Mia wrapped the wound back up. "You're all set now. It should be as good as new in a few more days," she told Isaac.
Isaac smiled and sat up and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek for thanks before standing up and offering her his hand. "Why don't we go join the others? Flying certainly gives us a nice view and we should be almost to Vale by now," he said.
Mia smiled and took Isaac's offer, following him out to the deck where everyone else was enjoying the view of the countryside as they flew over. It'll be nice to see Isaac's hometown again, Mia thought as she stared out over the landscape with Isaac. It's been a while since we were there and we only stopped by for a short time since we were in the area.
"It should be just around that mountain up ahead," Isaac pointed out to Mia as everyone else began to join them near the railing in anticipation. As the ship rounded the mountain, Isaac's eyes narrowed and a few exclamations of shock could be heard from the other passengers on the ship.
"Where is Vale…?" Jenna wondered looking out over the side of the ship where the small town should have been located.
Isaac shook his head in puzzlement. "It's gone…" he said slowly and felt Mia's hand tighten its grip on his.
"Never mind that…Where the heck is Mount Aleph?" Garet asked incredulously. "I mean….how does an entire mountain just disappear…"
"I hope everyone from the town is okay…" Ivan added, voicing everyone's unsaid concerns.
"Set it down here Piers," Felix said calmly. The adepts felt the ship slowly descend to the ground as Piers complied with his request.
The mood on the ship turned somber as the adepts landed and disembarked near where Vale should have been. It was obvious that nobody had expected this to happen as the group moved up to the location of the missing town. It almost looked as if a massive earthquake had just destroyed everything in sight. The entire town was in ruins and the group could do nothing but stare at their former home with surprise.
"Ah, I knew that had to be you all," a voice rang out behind them. "Who else would show up in a flying ship…" the newcomer said.
Mia turned around with the rest of the group and saw Isaac's mother who immediately noticed Isaac's father, Kyle. Mia watched the happy family reunion with a smile and listened as Dora explained that everyone from Vale was safe in Vault and that they are starting plans to rebuild the town in a nearby area.
As relief spread through the group because the townsfolk were safe, everyone decided to head for Vault and get some well-deserved rest, however Isaac had another idea.
"I'm going to look around Vale for a little while and I might spend the night out here," Isaac told everyone. "I'll meet up with you all in Vault later. I just feel like visiting some of the places I used to go I suppose…" he added.
Some of the adepts looked like they understood the need to see his home again and accepted the statement.
"Do you mind if I come along then?" Mia asked Isaac. "I'd still love to have you show me around even if there's not much left," she explained.
Isaac smiled and shook his head. "Of course I don't mind Mia. You didn't even have to ask. I'd be happy to have you along," he said.
Isaac's parents looked at Isaac and nodded. "Just be careful son. We'll be in Vault. I think I should go pay a visit to some of our friends and let them know I'm back," Kyle told him.
Isaac smiled before replying to his father. "No need to worry about me dad. As long as I have Mia along, there's no way I can get hurt," Isaac said as he reached out and took Mia's hand, causing her to blush slightly at both the praise and his touch.
The two adepts said their goodbyes to the others for the day and made their way into what remained of Vale together.
They wandered around the town while Isaac pointed out various locations and told stories of all his memories at those places to Mia. She laughed as he described the funny things that had happened, such as the time Garet got yelled at by his sister for accidentally crushing her flowerbed with his psynergy training, or when Jenna accidentally set her hair on fire and jumped into the river to put it out. The couple wandered around for a few hours until the evening came the sun began to descend over the horizon.
"There's one more place I'd like to show you Mia," Isaac said, leading her up a small pathway surrounded by trees. "I hope it's still intact," he added as an afterthought.
A few more steps uphill brought them to a small clearing with a rock overhang above them near one of the waterfalls in the hills around Vale. "It's just how I remembered…" Isaac said. "Looks like we're just in time for the sunset too," he added, sitting down with his back to the wall of rock.
Mia sat down next to him and learned her head against his shoulder as Isaac put an arm around her. "It has a beautiful view," Mia commented.
"It does, doesn't it?" Isaac said with a laugh. "I used to camp up here with Garet and Jenna sometimes when we were little. We'd always watch the sunset and be amazed every time…"
"I can see why," Mia said, giving Isaac a smile. "I'm glad you showed this to me," she added.
They sat arm in arm and watched as the sun continued its lazy descent over the horizon. Mia snuggled up next to Isaac and suddenly said, "Thanks for being there for me Isaac."
"Hmm…?" Isaac replied, turning to see Mia's pretty face looking up at him with happiness.
"You were always there for me on our journey," she explained. "Whenever I needed someone to talk to you always listened to me, whenever I was feeling down you always found a way to cheer me up, and if I ever got hurt you were always there to take care of me," she said.
Isaac could only describe the look on her face as joy, but all he could think of was how adorable she looked. "Mia…" he began. "You know, you got me through all the hard times we had as well. It didn't take me long to realize you were someone special…and I don't mean the fact you probably saved my life at least a dozen times. I can't really explain it, but being with you was so calming and comforting. Before I even knew it, I began to see you as something more than a friend…"
Mia took Isaac's free hand in hers, prompting him to continue speaking.
Isaac paused to think about what he wanted to say before continuing. "I promised you that I'd eventually tell you what was on my mind that one night in Contigo when you found me in the snow…" Isaac began to say. "Back then I knew exactly how I felt about you, but I tried to just push aside and bury my feelings…"
"That flower…" Mia absentmindedly murmured as she recalled the night that seemed so long ago.
"Yes, that flower you saw was a beautiful azure color…the same color as your hair," Isaac explained. "To me it symbolized the girl I loved but couldn't ever tell…I didn't think it would be possible for a girl as amazing as you to be interested in me at all…yet here we are now…" Isaac laughed as Mia blushed slightly. "It's really sad looking back on it. I didn't want to say anything for fear that it would ruin our friendship and possibly the whole quest, but it seems my concerns were unfounded…"
"Yes they were," Mia giggled, giving him a quick peck of affection on the cheek. "But are you trying to embarrass me with all your compliments?" she teased.
"Ah…That wasn't the intention…Though I certainly don't mind that they do," Isaac said.
"Oh?" Mia asked, waiting for an explanation.
"Well you certainly look adorable when you're blushing," he told her with a sheepish smile.
At those words, Mia leaned in and gave Isaac a proper kiss. When the two leaned back, both had blushes creeping up their faces. "Hmm…I think it makes you look quite handsome as well," Mia said to him in a matter-of-fact voice, trying to hold back laughter.
"Hey Isaac?" Mia said after a few seconds of silence.
"Yes?" Isaac asked.
"Let's camp out here tonight," she said simply, looking to see his reaction.
"If that's what you want, I'd be more than happy to," Isaac said, kissing her gently on the cheek.
"It'll be like our whole adventure never ended," Mia explained. "One more night out under the stars together…I think it's romantic," she sighed.
Isaac hugged her and let her lean back against his chest.
"You're right. This is perfect," Isaac said. "I get to be here with you and there's nothing to worry about. No world to save, no lighthouse to light…this is how it should be."
Mia smiled as the sun finally disappeared completely over the horizon.
"Good, because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Mia replied. "I wouldn't mind just sitting out here with you forever…"
THE END
Well that's it. The story of Isaac and Mia is now complete. I think I provided an ample amount of both combat and fluff in the last chapter to try and please everyone (though I have to admit after writing the chapter before this one it was extremely hard to go back to writing a combat scene). I quite enjoyed working on this story as a whole, however the bi-weekly update timetable was probably a little too much for me to handle with how busy I've been in life. I guess I managed to make it work though because I stuck to it outside of the few weeks between chapters 4 and 5.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my story and I'd love to hear from all you readers what you thought of it, so please leave me a comment and inspire me to continue to improve and write more mudshipping.
I'm toying with some ideas for an epilogue at the moment, however the story is officially complete at this point. If I do end up writing an epilogue it won't come out as soon as the chapters usually would. It may only be a week or so, but it could be a month or more so stay tuned!
