Hey everybody! It took me a while to get around to actually writing this chapter, but I finally managed to do it :P. Despite having the basic plotline written out in front of me, I didn't exactly know how to continue off of the last chapter. It took me a while, but I managed to come up with this (All in between breaks from studying, no less).

And I got more than 2 reviews this time! :D Thanks to Mr0cheese, AnriMia24, anon (dunno if that means you didn't put in a name or if you actually wrote in 'anon', but whatever :P), and Holly3500 for your kind words. As it's been pointed out, and I fully agree, I'm not the best writer when it comes to grammar, mainly because of commas… My lack of attention during and following English 10 is coming back to bite me now, but I will do what I can to work on it…but not on this chapter…because it's already been written and, being the lazy bum that I am, I don't feel like going through all of it to find grammar mistakes. I will try to be more wary of them in future chapters.

Also, I've recently found one of my callings in life that I'd like to pursue. Not that it's at all related to you guys, but I've decided that I want to compose music for media in the forms of movies, tv shows, and video games (preferably concentrating mostly on the latter). Anyways, I would be eternally grateful if you would check out my soundcloud page and share some of my songs on facebook or twitter or whatever other things you might be using. Here's a link to the first song I've made since graduating high school. Since I have no premise to work with, I kind of make up my own movie/tv/video game situations for which to base my songs on. So if you guys could help me get my name out there, that would be spectacular!

snd*sc/QELXyG (I can't actually post a link so the * should be a dot)

On with the story!

Disclaimer: Camelot owns Golden Sun, I don't!

Despair

"Awesome!" shouted Tyrell, punching the air with his free hand. "You and Uncle Felix smashed that monster like 'Pow! Smash! Bang!' and he went all 'Bleargh! Roar! Ugh!' and died!"

Garet looked down at his son and grinned; watching him imitate the sounds of Isaac's described battle with the troll-ghoul-mauler monster. He was glad to see Tyrell actually starting to enjoy the story, as he was clearly showing signs of boredom from the descriptions of heartbreak and love.

"Tyrell, you're so weird!" said Karis, elbowing him in the side; however, she did not let go of his hand. "This isn't a fighting story, it's a love story!"

"Yeah, but it sounded so cool! I wanna fight monsters!"

"No! Good boys don't go fighting monsters! They stay with their girlfriends and love them!"

"Yuck! I never want a girlfriend if it means I can't fight big strong monsters!"

Karis smacked him on the arm. "You dumb head! I'm your girlfriend!"

Upon hearing those words, Tyrell struggled to get away from her, but Karis had him in a surprising vice-like grip while she glared at him. Garet couldn't resist bursting out laughing, and even Matthew and Isaac snickered a bit at the humourous scene.

"Let go of me, Karis! I'm not your boyfriend! Matthew can be your boyfriend!"

"Tyrell! I'm a girl, not a toy! You can't just give me away! You better hope I forgive you for this when we're married!"

"NOOOOOOO!"

By this point, Garet and Matthew were practically rolling on the floor in tears. Isaac smirked at them, as he was reminded of similar situations from his own past. He could see how his son's life might play out much like his own had: he being the bystander while Jenna and Garet constantly bickered about everything. However, he decided that those moments would come up later in the story anyways, so he kept them to himself.

"Alright, you two, that's enough," said Garet, finally regaining his composure. He managed to stop Karis from hitting Tyrell, but couldn't stifle his laughter when he realized she had not let go of his hand.

Isaac gently lifted his laughing son back onto the sofa, and sat back down in his chair. Trying to remember where he was in the story, Isaac scratched at his sideburns.

"…Where did I leave off again?" he asked them.

Garet shrugged, still shaking a bit from his uncontrolled giggle fit. "I think you and Felix were at the inn?"

"Oh, that's right. So I woke up the next day…"

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"Isaac, wake up," came a quiet voice from beside him. Isaac could feel a hand shaking him sternly from his sleep. "We should get going now."

Isaac groaned. He had slept terribly and felt as though Felix was waking him up too early. Rubbing his eyes, he asked groggily, "What time is it? It still looks dark out."

"It's not quite dawn. We should get a move on, though. I'd like to see my family as soon as possible, and I'm sure everyone is worried about where you went off to."

Yawning, Isaac nodded to show he understood. Slowly getting up, he reached for his scarf, only to find something else in his hands. Huh? What is this? he thought. It was too dark to see properly, but he could feel that it was a different material than his usual yellow scarf. However, he soon remembered that he had been wearing the red neckerchief that Jenna gave him. His head flooded with memories of the day she had given it to him again; a bad start to a new day.

"You ready to go, Isaac?" Felix had gotten all his things ready so quickly, Isaac was surprised he hadn't been packing all night long.

"Yeah, it's not like I had anything with me."

"Then let's check out."

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Their journey back to New Vale was rather uneventful, to say the least. Felix, who was anxious to see his family and friends, kept a swift pace, forcing Isaac to speed-walk the entire way. The sun was already over the horizon when they arrived at the entry gate to New Vale. The two Venus adepts made their way up towards Felix's house. When the front door came into view, they saw it open to let out a somewhat tired-looking Jenna. Quickly exchanging a glance with each other, the two young men walked up to meet the girl they had both been hoping to see.

She looked up to see the two of them approaching; a mixture of sadness, happiness, and relief coming over her face. She ran towards them and held them in a tight embrace.

"Felix! Is it really you? I can't believe you're back! It feels so surreal!"

"I know, Jenna. It's hard to believe I'm here as well. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble with my absence."

She looked at him, eyes glistening, but tearlessly smiled for the brother she had longed to see. Turning her head towards Isaac, she spoke to him also, "And you! Where did you go off to yesterday? We were supposed to meet up after I was finished at Garet's, but your mother said she hadn't seen you all day."

Isaac blushed a little, feeling guilty that he hadn't realized that she actually meant when she said she would see him later. "S-sorry, Jenna. I had…something to deal with."

She tilted her head slightly, a bit confused by his explanation, but put it behind her. "Oh," she said, "well at least you're both safe, and that's what matters. I still can't believe it's you, Felix! I'll go get Mom and Dad! Isaac, you should probably go let your mom know that you're okay."

Nodding in agreement, Isaac released his grip from Jenna, and watched the siblings go back into their house. His sad thoughts of Jenna were gone now that he realized she had been worried about him and seemed happy to see that he had come back with Felix. He took off towards his house to make sure his parents didn't have to worry about him anymore

When he reached his house, Isaac quietly pushed open the door, hoping that his parents would still be asleep. However, he was greeted by a rather angry-looking Dora.

"Just where have you been, young man?! Your father and I were worried sick when you didn't come home last night! I thought perhaps you were out with Jenna, but when she came by to see you I began to fear the worst, especially since your bed was still empty this morning! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Isaac was dreading this talk with his mother. He was hoping that he would have been able to sneak into his bed while they were still asleep so that they would think he had come home after they went to bed. "Sorry, Mom. I had to…go to Vault…to meet Felix there. We got caught up in a scrape and we stayed the night to rest up." While it wasn't an entirely true story, the basic premise was more or less correct. Feeling satisfied with that story, he waited for his mother's response.

However, Dora simply kept glaring at him. Kyle, who had been sitting over at the kitchen table, decided to say something before she exploded again. "That was irresponsible of you, son. You should have at least left a note or something so that we'd know where you went off to. It's worrisome when nobody has any idea where you've gone."

"Sorry, Dad. I wasn't really thinking when I took off yesterday."

"Yes, well you'll have plenty of time to think about it while you're re-thatching our roof!" answered Dora. "We need to add more layers to it for the upcoming winter months, and I think this will be the perfect punishment for you." She stomped over to the table before adding, "No psynergy. I don't want this job to be a quick and easy task for you."

Sighing, Isaac slumped upstairs to change his clothes; the ones he was wearing were still covered in dried blood and dirt from his battle the other day. When he neared the dresser, he realized that he hadn't mailed his letter to Mia yet. He thoughtlessly changed his clothes and scanned over the letter before snatching it and the lucky medal off his desk. He flew down the stairs and yelled to his parents that he was going to the post office before disappearing out the door.

When he reached the building, Isaac casually walked in with his letter. Paying a single gold coin for the envelope and mailing fee, he wrote 'Mia, Imil' on the front of it. He scrunched his face, realizing that she had much better curvature than him, but decided that it wasn't worth paying for another one to try again. Tucking his letter and the lucky medal inside, he handed it to the clerk at the counter, who stuck it in a bin labeled 'Northern Angara'. Quickly as he came, Isaac left the post office, picking up some hay on the way back so he could begin working on the roof as soon as possible.

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The winter season came about two months later, much to everyone's surprise. Isaac was glad that his parents had the foresight to have him thatch the roof so soon. Trudging through the medium layer of snow outside his house, Isaac started heading up to Garet's. It was chilly times like these that he was glad to sport his yellow scarf.

When he reached Garet's house, he was almost knocked over by Aaron who was running out to play in the snow with the other children. Kay smiled and welcomed him in.

"Hello Isaac," she greeted, "I think Garet is just getting ready. The lazy bum should be down in a few minutes. You can sit by the fire with Jenna."

"Thanks Kay," he said, glad to be out of the cold. He hadn't even noticed Jenna at first, but smiled at her when she looked his way. She returned his smile, turning back to face the hearth she was seated by. Tapping the snow off his boots, Isaac strolled over to Jenna and sat beside her, putting his arm over her shoulder. He wasn't exactly sure why, but ever since Felix had left for good, Jenna had become close with him again; not that he was complaining.

She smiled and squeezed his other hand in hers. "You cold?" she asked him.

"Not too much. Unlike you and Garet, I can actually handle cool temperatures."

She glanced at him, a smirk coming to her lips, "Oh, really? Because I remember saving your butt when we were at Jupiter Lighthouse. Seemed like those brisk winds were really getting to you."

He chuckled lightly, "Yeah, but that was because of Karst, Agatio, and the lighthouse, not the wind. Garet was just as bad at Mercury Lighthouse, and neither of you were enjoying Mars until we melted all the ice."

She giggled a little bit and they sat there silently for a moment. Changing the subject, Jenna inquired Isaac, "So have you heard from anyone lately?"

As of late, Isaac had become somewhat of the messenger between their friends. Jenna and Garet liked to oversee the letters he was writing, and often signed their names at the bottom as well. The only letters that Isaac kept private were the ones from Mia. He had a difficult time explaining to Jenna why he was doing so, but she seemed to understand when he said he didn't want to risk her feeling jealous again.

"Oh you know; Mia, Piers, Ivan since he's visiting Hama in Contigo. The usual."

"That's nice that they're all doing well. I haven't heard from Sheba and Felix in a little while."

"Don't worry Jenna. I'm sure they're just busy with settling in and everything. By the way, Piers said he was going to send everyone a carrier pigeon. Says it'll make sending and receiving letters way faster, especially since he's always on the move."

"He's so thoughtful! I wish they could all be here during this time of year. It's the best time to get together with friends and family by the fireplace."

"Well actually," started Isaac, "I got a letter from Mia a week ago saying that she would be leaving Imil to come visit us. Since it takes her letters about a month to get to us, she should be here in a few weeks!"

"Oh, how nice of her to come visit," Jenna said mindlessly. Although she had told him time and again that she wasn't jealous of Mia anymore, Isaac could still see remnants of her past feelings towards the Mercury adept. He told her she had nothing to be jealous of and that she was just as attractive and friendly as Mia.

"Yo, guys!" boomed Garet's voice from the stairs, "You ready to head out?"

"Head out? Garet, I just got here five minutes ago!" said Isaac, wondering where his friend wanted to go.

"Yeah, Garet! We were just warming up by the fire. Where do you want to go anyways?" added Jenna.

"The inn's having its winter celebration! There's gonna be lots of food and free cookies from the bakery! Plus there's a dance later. It's like a whole season of partying!"

Isaac had forgotten about the yearly winter celebrations at the inn. He thought back to the last one he went to three years ago and how much fun it had been. "Are they still doing it all winter?"

"Yeah, man! They always do it all winter! It's not like there's a whole lot of other stuff we can do, so I say we go there, eat some food, maybe get tipsy, who knows what'll happen?!"

"Haha, Garet you're such a dork!" said Jenna, laughing at the overenthusiastic Mars adept. "But it does sound like fun. I should probably go home and change then. I don't wanna show up in my puffy winter clothes!" She quickly got up and ran to the door, eager to get ready for the celebrations. "Meet me at my house when you guys are ready!" she called before heading out the door.

"I guess I should probably go change too," said Isaac, slowly getting up from the couch and walking towards the door.

"Wait Isaac," said Garet, stepping towards him. "I heard you saying something about Mia coming back. We should bring her with us once she's here. Maybe we can get her drunk," he said with a devilish grin.

Isaac laughed and lightly punched his friend's shoulder, "You dumbass, healers don't drink! I'm sure she'll be happy to come celebrate with us, but she's gonna be sober."

"You never know Isaac, we're only twenty! 'Why waste your youth?' is what I always say."

"Yeah and how many times have you gotten in trouble over that same motto?"

"Shut up!" Garet laughed, shoving Isaac towards the door, "Besides, you might get lucky with her," he winked.

"…Garet I'm dating Jenna…man, you must be drunk already."

"I'm not gonna say I'm drunk, but I may or may not have found my old man's brew stash. I figured I'd be a good son and make sure that he's drinking quality ale. After careful analysis I can confirm that he is."

Isaac laughed and shoved his buzzed friend, watching him stagger over a stool. "I'll see you in a bit Garet. You gonna need help walking to Jenna's?"

"You talk too much! I'll be fine. Just don't take too long."

Isaac smiled and shook his head as he left his oldest friend's house. Leave it to Garet to start drinking before the party. Then again, it wasn't the first time he'd done something like that before.

Isaac quickly got changed into something more suitable for a party. He was about to leave his house when he heard tapping at his window. He opened it to find two pigeons pecking at it, letters attached to their legs. He quickly unfastened the letters and gave each of them a few seeds before putting them in a bird cage he'd bought. Unraveling the smaller letter, he scanned over the formal writing of Piers.

Isaac,

I hope you are doing well. This is your carrier pigeon. I'm sure you are smart enough to figure it out, but you may have to remind Garet that he has to feed his before he sends it off and also when one arrives to him. I expect that this will allow us to send letters much more quickly.

Your friend,

Captain Piers

Isaac noted that it only said the one with this letter attached was his pigeon. Had someone else already received theirs and sent him a letter? That sure was quick. He was glad that he would be able to send and receive letters so quickly now that he had a speedy way of doing so. Taking the second one, he instantly recognized it to be from Mia. He felt his chest stir as it always did when he received one from Mia. He carefully read each word of the letter he was not expecting to receive so soon.

Dear Isaac,

I'm sorry to say this, but I may be a bit longer than I was expecting. As I was passing through Bilibin (which is much larger by the way) it seemed that there was a bit of an epidemic. There was quite a bad case of the flu going around, and I couldn't stand by as a healer without doing something. I'm sure it will only be a few extra days for me to arrive; one week tops. You can survive without me until then, right? Anyways, I understand what you were saying about the monsters before. Luckily I only had encounters with small ones, but they were still surprisingly strong. I'm glad I brought a mace along as well. I doubt my staff would hold out if I were to face off against a large monster. Anyways, don't worry about me; I'll be fine on my own.

Looking forward to seeing you,

Love Mia

Despite the fact that she always signed her letters saying 'Love Mia', Isaac still couldn't get used to it. He felt his face get hot every time he read those two little words, regardless of how many times he'd seen them. He was just glad that Jenna didn't request to see the letters because she would most definitely be upset if she saw that at the bottom.

Realizing he didn't have much time, Isaac stashed the letter under his mattress, with the rest from Mia, and quickly left his house; figuring he could write a response to her when he got back.

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The party was absolutely incredible. The decorations hanging from the walls and ceiling were well made, and the band had played great music all day and night. Everyone who had shown up was in good spirits. Taking a break from dancing, Isaac, Garet, and Jenna found a table where they could rest to stop their legs from falling off.

"You know *urp* Isaac…I've had my share of…uh…crap I forgot, but *hic* it was important so remind me later of…yeah," said a very intoxicated Garet. In between songs, Garet made sure to drink at least three glasses of ale, and considering they had been there all day it was a miracle he hadn't passed out on the floor yet.

Isaac laughed, being a bit drunk himself, "Don'tchu worry 'bout it, man! I'm sure it was important!"

Jenna was in hysterics over the two of them. She, being much smaller than her two companions, needed much less alcohol to get drunk. "You guys aren't making sense!" she giggled.

"Hey! More sense *urp* than a…than a…uh…*hic* Punch ant with…" Garet trailed off his sentence, finally passing out on the table.

Isaac tried to take another gulp of ale, but spat it back in his mug, laughing over nothing in particular.

"Isaac, we should stop! We don't *hic* wanna be like Garet!" Jenna called to him over the music.

"Hehe you're right. *Urp* let's just finish our glasses and that'll be it!"

"Heehee, okay and then we can dance again!"

The two drunken friends downed their glasses and got up to rejoin the crowd of people dancing, leaving Garet to sleep on the table.

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After the party ended, Isaac and Jenna were sober enough to walk Garet home. Of course, Garet was still passed out, so it fell to them to somehow lug him there. Luckily, Isaac had the carry stone with him, and was easily able to float him home beside them. Luna knows how they would have carried both him and themselves up to his house at the top of the village without it. When they reached his house, a very unimpressed Kay answered the door for them.

"Ugh, some mayor he'll make. I think we should wait until Aaron can take over."

"Where can we lay him down Kay?" asked Jenna.

"Just leave him on the couch. I'll leave a pail by his head so the big lummox doesn't puke on the floor."

Isaac floated him over to the couch and softly laid him down. Grinning as he left, Isaac took Jenna by the hand and started walking her home.

"Isaac?" she said as they started heading down the hill.

"Yeah Jenna?"

"Can we…talk somewhere…before you take me home?"

"Uh, sure, but wouldn't you rather wait until another day when we're completely sober?"

"No, I…I think now would be the best time to talk."

"Okay, we can go to my thinking spot."

He turned them around and began walking up the hill. Thankfully, Garet's house wasn't far from the sanctum, so it would be pretty easy for them to get to the bridge. Wondering what it was that Jenna needed to speak to him about, he walked a bit slower to ponder it. When they reached the pond, he still hadn't come up with anything.

The moon shone down brightly, reflecting beautifully off the snowy landscape and frozen pond. The miniature waterfall still flowed, but ice surrounded the area where the water was splashing. It was a truly magnificent view.

"Luna's awfully pretty tonight," said Jenna, taking in her surroundings.

"Yeah," said Isaac, wondering if she was just in a romantic mood.

"I…I guess you're wondering what I wanted to talk to you about."

"A little bit. I'm more curious about why it couldn't wait."

"I'm sorry, I was just afraid that if I put it off any longer you might end up hurting more."

Isaac felt his chest tighten up and he froze on the spot. He mentally prayed that his immediate thoughts were wrong. "J-Jenna? Is…is everything alright?"

She looked up at him, and that was when his heart stopped. She was visibly crying, but her voice was unwavering. He knew that meant she was serious with what she was about to tell him and he couldn't help but let a tear escape his eye.

"I'm so sorry, Isaac. I just think… I need to figure out me for a while. With the whole Mia thing I just couldn't stop being upset over it. Then when you came back with Felix I thought maybe we could work out again, but after he left for the second time something was different. I tried so hard to make myself want you, but I just couldn't feel the same way anymore."

"J-Jenna…please…d-don't do this. I-I can make it work, I promise!"

"You're so thoughtful, Isaac, and I'll always love you for that, but…I just don't love you in the same way anymore. I'll always think fondly of you. You were my first kiss. Just…please don't blame yourself. It's not at all your fault. I-"

"How is this not my fault?! I screwed up! I should've never gotten close with Mia!" Isaac was in complete hysterics now. He couldn't help the tears falling from his eyes. He loved her, and he always thought that she loved him just as much.

"Isaac, please," she said just above a whisper. Little streams still fell down her face, but her voice still remained strong, "Mia's a wonderful girl. You should be glad you became friends with her."

"But now I'm losing you because of her! Dammit! I really thought we were getting back to normal! I'm such an idiot!"

"Isaac, it's not your fault… I just don't…feel the same about us anymore."

"Why, Jenna?! If it isn't because of Mia then what is it?! You don't just stop loving someone! There's always a reason behind it, but I haven't heard you give me one yet!"

"Isaac, please stop shouting. You're causing a scene."

"No! I'll yell as much as I want! All I want to know is what went wrong between us! Why can't we be together?! I love you, Jenna! There's nothing I want more than to be with you! Why can't you see that and love me back just the same?!"

"Because there's someone else, okay?!"

Isaac, who had basically gone on a rampage, stopped suddenly. He wasn't prepared for her to scream at him, and he most definitely didn't expect to hear her say that. He was at a loss for words. How could he respond to that? Someone else? Who could it be? Who could have stolen the love of his life away from him?

Jenna was now crying into her hands, loud gasps and sobs muffled by them. Isaac didn't care, though. He had to know something. He was no longer in hysterics; rather, he had taken on the role that Jenna had had just moments ago: tearful but unwavering.

"Who?" he asked sternly, angrily.

"I-Isaac, don't. I c-can't say. Otherwise you-"

"Who is it?!" he commanded, louder and angrier.

"I-I can't. You'll hurt him."

"TELL ME WHO THE HELL YOU LEFT ME FOR!"

"I can't!" and with that she took off for her house sobbing. She melted the snow before her feet to prevent herself from slipping. He could see that she was doing what she could to stop him from catching her.

But he wasn't giving chase. He just stood there staring after her, tears streaming from his eyes. He quickly ran the other way, towards his house, afraid that the Great Healer may come out from the sanctum to see what all the ruckus was about.

Isaac quickly bolted up the stairs and locked the door to his room behind him. He was shaking all over: not from the cold, though. Punching at his mattress, he eventually fell down onto it, sobbing.

"Jenna," he whispered to himself, "I'm so sorry, this is entirely my fault. How could I have been so stupid? So naïve? I can't believe this is happening. I shouldn't have yelled at you either. Now there's no chance of us getting back together."

Not completely sure why, he pulled out the letters from Mia. He thought that they might bring him comfort, as they had before, but instead they only brought him more pain. He was about to tear them, thinking they were why his relationship was ruined, but decided against it. Carefully, he opened his desk drawer and placed them in. There was no reason to hide them anymore; it wasn't like Jenna would care if she saw them now. He flopped onto his bed and lay there on his tear-drenched pillow for what felt like an eternity. Isaac knew it couldn't be a nightmare because he didn't sleep a wink that night.

Valeshippers, please don't kill me! :) Mudshippers, rejoice! (Not over the fact that he's depressed, but it finally got to the first point you were waiting for). Neutral people…carry on :P

I tried to make it seem as genuine as a breakup can be. From my own experience recently :(, I found that when it's a breakup like this, the one breaking up with the other will try to make sure that their partner isn't going to hurt anyone or themselves. Honestly, like Isaac, I was in a flurry of emotions. I hated myself, my girlfriend (while somehow still loving her), anyone else that may have caused it, pretty much everyone; but mostly myself. Now I'm going for as much realism as I can here, so unfortunately (especially for all you hopeful mudshippers) he's not going to instantly go to Mia and fall in love with her like some fairytale. Life doesn't play out like that, and if you read the description for this story or even go reread the first chapter, you'll understand that these things don't always turn out the way they're planned.

Hopefully that doesn't give away any spoilers. I was going more for what won't be happening. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope there wasn't too much going on in it, but you'll have to let me know.

Please R&R because I was really happy to get four (five if you count both of Mr0cheese's) reviews instead of the typical two! Also, check out my soundcloud :) (Link at the top and on my profile)

Until next time,

-GengaJupite