Well it seems that I had no real plans this weekend other than doing some readings for my English class (sweet life…), so that meant more time for writing this fic!

I have to say, despite only getting one review, it's quite humbling to have people respond positively to my first fic; especially since it hasn't really gone anywhere yet. My thanks to you, AnriMia24; you can now go on saying that you were the first person to ever review my work :P

On an unrelated note, I just finished Xenoblade Chronicles the other day, and after 150 hours of gameplay I can honestly say this: Greatest. Game. Ever. I never thought that a game might actually make me feel emotional to a huge extent, but man was I wrong. I feel that my manhood won't be called into question when I admit that I actually thought I might cry when "Beyond the Sky" started playing in the ending scene. I don't think I've ever felt nostalgic about a game five minutes after finishing it since TLA, so good on you, Monolithsoft. Honestly if you haven't bought this game and you own a wii, you have yet to own the single greatest RPG; yes, even better than Golden Sun (never thought I'd say that).

Anyways, enough of my ramblings.

Disclaimer: Own Golden Sun, I do not. Owned by Camelot, it is.

Ceremony: A Hero's Home

Home. It was a sight Isaac and his companions thought they may never see again. It was a marvelous sight to behold, and the adepts were glad to be in a welcoming place after all of their hardships.

Following the destruction of Vale, Felix proposed that instead of relocating all the citizens, they should rebuild their lost hometown. Everyone agreed to his idea, and the plan was set in motion. Had it not been for the assistance of Kalay and Vault, they would not have completed their task in such a short period of time. Two years later, the official completion of New Vale was marked in the pages of Angarian history. Of course, they had the insight to build it on a mountain farther away from Mt. Aleph.

On this particular day, the citizens had gathered around the very large sanctum at the northern end of New Vale. The Great Healer had proclaimed that the warriors deserved to be rewarded for their efforts in a most honourable way: knighthood. Because New Vale was a theocracy and not a kingdom, it seemed fitting that the Great Healer should knight them in the sanctum.

The crowd filed in and took their seats when the doors were opened. Everyone was dressed in the best clothes they had. Some of these were not very formal, considering the destruction of their old home; however, no one seemed to mind, and everyone remained in high spirits.

Outside, Isaac nervously awaited the signal to enter with the rest of his companions. He had insisted that they should dress more formally, but the Great Healer told him that that would not be necessary: stating that it would be more appropriate if the villagers could see exactly what their heroes looked like when they lit the final beacon.

"Isaac, you really need to calm down," said Jenna, noting his apparent nerves.

"Yeah, man! What're you so worried about anyways? We're heroes!" piped in an enthusiastic Garet.

"I know, I know," returned Isaac to his two old friends. "Honestly, I don't really know what I'm getting so worked up about. I just feel like this is too much, you know?"

"Nonsense," Ivan stated. "The fact of the matter is, Isaac, that we performed great deeds under both your and Felix's leadership."

"And," interjected Sheba, cutting Isaac's reply off, "we also managed to save Jenna and Felix's parents and your father."

"I'd say that's no small feat for a simple knighting ceremony! Wouldn't you agree, Felix?" said Piers.

Felix smiled, a more common sight since their return home, and turned to Isaac. "I can empathize with Isaac. I, too, think that this whole ceremony is a little too much." The other adepts groaned. "That being said, I think it would be disrespectful not to accept their reward. We owe it to ourselves and all of Weyard to humbly accept this prestigious award."

Isaac blushed slightly, staring at his feet. Felix is right, he thought to himself. Sometimes he forgot that Felix was only a year older than himself. His wisdom far outmatched that of Isaac's. It was foolish of him to think that they were undeserving of what they were about to receive; however, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was still much too extravagant. I don't truly deserve this honour. For Venus' sake, I spent half of my adventure trying to stop the ones who were doing the right thing! Felix deserves this honour, not me. He felt a soft hand rest on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Isaac," came a serene voice. Turning his head, he looked to Mia, their blue eyes meeting each other as she reassured him. "You don't need to feel nervous. You led us across the world, and selflessly protected all of us along the way. It was you who confronted Felix, and helped rejoin our two groups, and it was you who selflessly encouraged us keep going when the journey seemed impossible."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Isaac was speechless, but he smiled nonetheless. Mia always knew what to say to him, whether it was about their adventure or something vastly different like his thoughts of Jenna. "Thanks, Mia," he said quietly. She smiled back to him, taking her hand off his shoulder. She was a spectacular friend.

"Oh, there's the drums!" said Jenna, snapping Isaac out of his thoughts. "That's our cue to go in!" She affectionately held his arm and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Isaac took a deep breath, calmed that his friends were there with him, and happy that he could share this moment with Jenna. The doors opened and they walked down the centre with pride.

When they reached the front, the eight companions stood side by side and knelt before the Great Healer. Having rehearsed this several times before, the adepts each stood in pairs beside his their respective elemental partners: Ivan and Sheba, Piers and Mia, Garet and Jenna, and Felix and Isaac. The Great Healer, adorned in an extravagant gold-lined silver cassock, smiled and raised his ceremonial staff, which was said to be blessed with the powers of Luna.

"Today," he began, speaking in a melodious tone, "we celebrate the heroic deeds of the heroes of Weyard. It is because of their actions that our world will live on for many ages to come!" He paused as the citizens of New Vale applauded. Now beaming, he continued, "Yes, yes, it is because of them that our beautiful village has been rebuilt as well. Words cannot express my feelings of gratitude for these warriors, and how honoured I feel to bestow upon them this most prestigious rank."

Lowering his staff, he stepped over to the end of the row at which the two young Jupiter adepts were kneeling. Beginning with Ivan, the Great Healer lightly tapped each of his shoulders with his staff and proclaimed his rank, "Rise, Sir Ivan: Sorcerer of Winds." Ivan stood up, blushing slightly as he faced the Great Healer. Now being seventeen, he was more mature, but everyone could tell that it was a strange feeling for one so young to be referred to as 'Sir'.

Moving along, the Great Healer repeated this process for Sheba. "Rise, Dame Sheba: The Tempest Sorceress." When both of them had risen, he gave them a blessing, "May the winds of Jupiter grant you fortune in your travels." They each bowed, and turned to face the crowd, beaming with pride.

Continuing the ceremony, he moved along to the Mercury adepts, patiently awaiting their turns to be knighted. Again tapping each of their shoulders, he dubbed them, 'Admiral Piers: Captain of the High Seas' and 'Lady Mia: The Healing Angel of Imil'. Also allowing them to rise, he blessed them, "May the serenity of Mercury grant peace to your souls." They, too, bowed and turned. Rather than continuing on to Garet (who seemed to be getting more impatient by the minute), the Great Healer once again raised his staff and recited, "These are the knights of Luna! May her love protect them in times of despair!"

"Hear, hear!" shouted the crowd, clapping for the newly knighted adepts.

Without dallying, the Great Healer handed his ceremonial staff to the mayor, Garet's grandfather, and exchanged it for an equally extravagant ceremonial rapier, inscribed with the powers of Sol. Continuing the process in the exact same way, he allowed the Mars adepts to rise as 'Sir Garet: Hero of Flames' and 'Dame Jenna: The Fiery Justice'. "May the passion of Mars grant you happiness to match your tempers." Some chuckles sounded from the audience while the two Mars adepts blushed at the Great Healer's somewhat humourous blessing.

Finally, he had reached the last two adepts. The leaders of the group had been reserved while they waited for the Great Healer to bestow this great honour upon them. Just as before, he stepped before Felix and tapped his shoulders. "Rise, Lord Felix: Protector of Weyard, and Slayer of Darkness." Felix stood up, his expression unfaltering from its usual stern expression. Though he was extremely good at hiding it, Isaac could sense that Felix was incredibly proud to be named a Lord in the eyes of Vale's leader. Still unable to completely quell his nerves, Isaac flinched slightly at the rapier's touch. "Rise, Lord Isaac: Master of Earth, and Slayer of Evil." Incredible. To be named the 'Master of Earth' by New Vale's highest authority was the greatest honour Isaac could ever dream of receiving. He rose and faced the Great Healer, as everyone else had. "May the embrace of Venus grant you further steadfast leadership in your future endeavours." Isaac humbly bowed with Felix and faced the citizens.

Without missing a beat, the Great Healer raised his rapier and proclaimed, "These are the knights of Sol! May his light give them strength in times of need!" Again, the crowd resounded with a 'hear, hear' to cheer for the newly proclaimed knights. Now holding the Luna Staff and Sol Rapier in each hand, the Great Healer stepped to the centre of the row to finish his ceremony.

"Indeed, without the bravery of these warriors our world would be lost inevitably! We are grateful beyond words for what they have done and I believe that it is only appropriate that they shall be hereby known as the Warriors of Vale!"

An enormous cheer erupted from the crowd, and the adepts, including Felix, couldn't help but smile as their friends and family roared in happiness over their achievements.

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Isaac stood on the bridge outside the sanctum, staring into the sparkling water as it rippled from the small waterfall just above. It was nearly sunset, and the way the orange sparkles bounced off of the water was quite the sight to behold.

Wow, he thought to himself, Lord Isaac. Never in my wildest fantasies did I dream I might someday be a lord! Knight, perhaps, but never a lord. An elderly couple passed by, congratulating him as they went. He watched as they walked towards their new home, hand in hand. He was extremely grateful that he had gotten to help rebuild the village for good people like them, and secretly he envied their long lasting relationship with each other. It was times like this that he was glad to share his experiences with Jenna. After chasing her around the world, Isaac knew that she was the one he wanted to be with. Her fiery passion was what drew him in, and despite her slightly unpredictable temper, he loved her for it all the same. He felt a pair of arms circle around him from behind. Well speak of the devil. He smiled and turned his head slightly to see the brunette who had wrapped her arms around his torso.

"What're you doing up here, all by your lonesome?" asked a familiar voice, "Everyone's down at the inn setting up for the party."

"I just came here to think," He replied, turning around so that he could return her embrace. She quickly replaced her arms to hug around his neck so that he could place his own around her waist.

"Well at least you aren't getting into trouble," she said. "I don't think Garet ever stops to think. Ever! That's probably why he's always getting into trouble."

He chuckled, thinking about all the times the three of them had gotten into trouble due to Garet's lack of foresight. "Well," he started, "we can't give Garet all the credit. I seem to recall an incident involving a charity breakfast at the old orphanage."

"H-hey! We promised never to bring that up again!" she said, stifling a giggle while lightly smacking his arm. "It wasn't my fault that food caught on fire! It was just taking too long to cook was all." Her lips curled into a mischievous smirk, "And to think I came all this way here to give you something nice."

Isaac smiled and decided to play along. Making a mock expression of guilt, he fake pleaded, "Oh no, I'm sorry, Jenna. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. How can I ever make it up to you?"

Laughing, she pulled him in closer and whispered seductively into his ear, "Maybe this will work," and she pressed her lips to his in a long, passionate kiss. How he relished these moments where he could privately spend time with Jenna. Felix could tolerate their relationship, but he definitely didn't like it when he could see them acting like a couple, and Garet never seemed to stop pestering them when they were together. Still, it was moments like these that Isaac felt made all of the disapproving glares and bad jokes worth it. They pulled away and stared into each others' eyes.

"So," he grinned, preparing himself for what he was about to say, "What was that nice thing you wanted to give me, because if that was it then I'm a little disappointed."

Jenna laughed and smacked his shoulder. "You jerk! Now I really won't give it to you!" He could see she was joking though, as she began to loosen her grip on him. Unraveling her arms, she reached into the small purse she had brought and pulled out a red neckerchief. "Ta-da!" she said handing it to him. "What do you think?"

Isaac inspected it carefully. While it was just a plain red colour, it was made with very good material, and he was rather impressed. Scarves were really more of his style, but he could pull off a neckerchief just as well. "It's great, Jenna! Did you make this yourself?"

"Mm-hmm," she said smugly, grinning while rocking back and forth on her heels.

He pulled her in for another quick kiss. "Has anyone ever told you how wonderful you are?"

"Only you like a zillion times."

He laughed at that, realizing that he had probably said it countless times. "Don't ever change, Jenna."

She smiled back at him, a look of warmth in her eyes. "For you, Isaac, I won't." She quickly gave him another kiss and said, "Well, I better get back to the inn. They need me to help set up the tables." With that she took off back the way she came, leaving Isaac alone with his thoughts again.

Thoughts of Jenna were quickly turned into thoughts of their adventure and all the people they had met along the way. It was strange to think that they had not known most of these people until about two years ago. There was Piers, the gallant Lemurian sailor, who they had met simply because he was already travelling with Felix. He was very friendly, and the group had instantly gotten along with him. Then there was Sheba, who was a lot like Ivan: quiet for most of the time, but mischievous when the moment was right. Even Ivan, who had been travelling with them since basically the beginning, hadn't been someone they knew until meeting him in Vault shortly after Isaac and Garet had left Vale. Then there was Mia. Mia, Isaac thought to himself, a warm smile coming to his face. I remember the first day we met her. We didn't do much, but somehow our destinies became intertwined with each other. She had kept the group going in many tough situations; healing them when need be, but also proving to be no slouch on the battlefield. Isaac smiled inwardly. Any guy would be lucky to have her. She's smart, pretty, always knows the right things to say, and she always looks out for her friends. I can't think of a better friend than her. She was quite unlike Jenna in almost every way. While Jenna was feisty, outgoing, quick to voice her opinion, and sometimes a little temperamental, Mia was the exact opposite: shy, reserved, and always thinking of others. It was these things that made Isaac glad he had met her.

"Hello Isaac," came a voice from behind him.

Man I must be turning into a Jupiter adept, Isaac thought jokingly to himself. He turned around to face the girl he had been thinking about only moments ago.

There she stood, basking in the radiance of the setting sun. It was a wonder that he hadn't noticed how beautiful she was before, seeing as he had virtually spent half a year travelling across Weyard with her, not to mention the past two years that she had spent helping rebuild New Vale. Her azure hair and pale blue dress flowed gently in the soft breeze. Though she had a naturally pale complexion, it was complemented by the dimming light of the sunset. She looks stunning he thought, knowing he was safe to think that without Ivan or Sheba around to accidentally pick up on one of his stray thoughts.

"Hey Mia," he replied casually. "I thought you were helping them down at the inn."

"I was," she answered calmly; her voice was serene. "I came up because they had enough help without me." She walked gracefully over to where Isaac was standing and leaned on the rail next to him. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The way the sunset gets reflected off the water."

He paused for a moment, not quite knowing what to say. "Yeah," he said, not really knowing how else to respond. "It's just like the pond in the old village, except this one's way bigger."

"Mm," she replied, still staring at the rippling water. They were both quiet for a while, staring at the water. It was not an awkward silence, but a calming one. Mia had that effect on people where she could easily make them feel at ease, even when things were getting tense. Isaac began getting lost in thought again when she broke the silence.

"This is nice, don't you think? We've been constantly busy with tasks for the last two and a half years, and we – at least I – haven't really had a chance to relax like this for quite some time."

"I'd have to agree with you on that one. Everyone's been so busy making sure that everything gets finished that it's hard to imagine getting any time to just stop and think. Luckily, the construction's all done now, so maybe we can kick back and get back to our old lives."

"That would be pleasant." She smiled that peaceful smile of hers. "It's a bit sad to think of though," she said, suddenly changing the tone of their conversation. "Now that New Vale's been finished, it only makes sense that the rest of us should head back to our own homes."

Isaac's face dropped when she mentioned that. "Oh yeah, I guess I had gotten so used to you guys being around that I didn't really think about the fact that you'd have to go home eventually." He was downtrodden. The friends he had grown so close with would all be leaving to their individual homes within the week now that the town was basically standing on its own now. "I didn't even realize how many of you would be leaving us either. I'll miss all of you too much: Ivan, Sheba, Piers, and you most of all Mia."

Oh crap, he kicked himself mentally, did I actually just say that?! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Isaac scratched the back of his neck sheepishly; smiling awkwardly while attempting to play it off like he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. However, Mia didn't seem to mind. She turned to him and smiled warmly. "That's sweet of you to say, Isaac. I'm sure that I'll miss all of you greatly as well."

He sighed in relief. At least she didn't get uncomfortable about it. I'd better be more careful about slip-ups like that happening again. For a moment they didn't say anything. Just staring into each others' eyes seemed to be enough for the both of them.

"Isaac! Mia! The party's gonna start soon!" Came Jenna's clear shout from below. Isaac quickly shifted his focus away from Mia, praying that Jenna hadn't seen that. It was a simple friendly exchange of looks, but he didn't want Jenna to misinterpret that. Blushing, he stole another quick glance at Mia. To his surprise, she seemed to be blushing as well. Perhaps she was thinking the same thing as he had been.

"We'll be down in a sec, Jenna!" he called back to her. Good, it looked as though she hadn't seen that semi-awkward stare he and Mia had just shared. She nodded in approval and ran back towards the inn, crashing into Garet as he rounded the corner. A soft giggle came from beside him and he looked to see Mia slightly covering her mouth, looking at the scene that had just unfolded. Isaac chuckled as well, watching Jenna yell inaudible things at Garet, eventually smacking him over the head.

Turning back to Mia, Isaac said in a playful manner, "Well then, my Lady Mia; would the Angel Healer of Imil care to walk with me to the celebration?"

She giggled again. What a cute laugh she has. "Why certainly, my Lord Isaac," she returned just as playfully. "I would be honoured if the Master of Earth safely escorted me there."

"Then let's be on our way before it gets too dark," he laughed. "After you," he added, gesturing for her to go by.

"My, how chivalrous of you!" She giggled again and began heading towards the inn. He followed soon after, and they walked down together: Two very close friends.

Now I can probably guess what some of you readers are gonna be thinking. "Hey, this is a mudshipping fic! What's with all the Isaac/Jenna mush?! I came here to read genuine mudshipping and blah blah blah blah rage rage rage…" Honestly, it's only chapter two of the story and I'm not anywhere close to the end, so don't expect that things will be like this forever.

Also, I hope that Isaac didn't come off as a sleaze ball at any point because he was complimenting Mia so much (especially right after his meeting with Jenna). I realize that he and Jenna are together right now, but I wanted to show that there was some small hint of infatuation between him and Mia, even though they're just friends. In life, at least in my own, I've found that you can be attracted to other friends while dating someone at the time. It doesn't make you a scumbag, it just means that you have attractive friends and are fully aware of it. Just be smart enough not to try anything while you're with someone else because your thoughts are private, your actions aren't.

…Gotta stop rambling in these things…

Please R&R!

-GengaJupite