Hello again, everyone!

Thanks to Mr0cheese, AnriMia24, and Golden Sun Guy 17 for reviewing! I love making people wonder what will happen next and I'm also glad that my attempts at comic relief with the kids is working. :)

I don't really have anything else to say before this chapter other than to check out my soundcloud! (Thanks to those of you who have done so. Link on my profile.)

Disclaimer: Who owns Golden Sun? Camelot does!

Emptiness

A light crunch came with each step Isaac took across the snowy plains. There was nothing but white in every direction and it was beginning to hurt his tired eyes. After leaving the village, he had walked all through the night so that he could cover as much ground as possible. It would be difficult to hide his trail, so he figured that instead of hiding it he would just get as far away as his body would allow. Shivering, he breathed onto his gloved hands. Isaac was tolerant to cold temperatures, but walking through a frozen landscape for an entire night without stopping would leave even the people of Prox with chills.

"Master Isaac," sounded one of the djinn's mental voices, "we should rest somewhere. It isn't safe to continue like this."

"And where do you suppose we can rest, Quartz?" responded a rather irritated Isaac. "We passed by Vault sometime last night, and the closest town is Lunpa. I doubt we'd receive a warm welcome from Dodonpa."

"But you are sick. We have assessed your body, and you are in need of medical attention or at least some rest to regain your strength."

"We can't stop now. If I want to get away from New Vale then I can't risk being caught up to. You have to underst- Aaaaaauuugh!"

A sharp pain suddenly stabbed at his leg. Isaac had been so caught up in his conversation with Quartz that he failed to see the small pack of rat warriors coming at him. One managed to jab its spear into Isaac's leg, which now tainted the snow with red blood drops. He managed to dodge a second attack before hopping back to draw his sword. Though he barely noticed, the wound was quite deep and would not allow him to move very much.

He was already irritable from his lack of sleep, but Isaac was now pulsing with rage. The pain of losing Jenna to someone else spurred his attack on the rats standing before him. Three of them thrust their spears forward, only to have them parried by the blade of Isaac's sword. Knocking them off balance, he slashed them across their bellies and watched as they fell back. The other three had circled behind him, preparing to ambush him while he felled their comrades. He felt another spear pierce his back, and cried out in pain. Furiously, he whipped around and smashed his attacker's head with his shield, effectively breaking its skull. Another charged at him while the other took a few steps back. Isaac sneered at the charging rat, noting that its companion was attempting to flee. Easily decapitating it, he looked up towards the final rat which he suspected was about to run. However, the rat warrior looked at its headless companion before bringing its eyes to Isaac. It snarled at him angrily, but Isaac stood ready for the final attack. Unexpectedly, it reached into a pouch and stealthily tossed something at Isaac's feet. Isaac snorted at the pathetic attempt to hit him until he realized that it was a smoke bomb. The mild blast made him stumble and a thick haze blocked him from seeing even a few inches in front of him. He expected the rat to attack him in this moment of disorientation, but instead heard a loud screeching sound. Finally, he managed to clear the haze enough to see what was going on. The rat had relinquished an odd-looking curved horn and blown in it to call for reinforcements.

"Great," Isaac muttered through gritted teeth, "I'm losing my edge out here. Or maybe the rats are getting stronger."

The rat stopped blowing the horn and clapped its shield with its spear a few times; it was taunting Isaac. He was not one to be taken lightly, though, especially by a pathetic rat warrior. He called one of his djinn upon the creature, wanting it to suffer more than the others.

"Mold! Kill this bastard!" he shouted.

A strange glow emanated from the rat and it looked at its body confusedly. Without warning, it took its own spear and pierced itself through the chin and out the top of its head. Isaac smirked as the glow left its body and disappeared.

He was about to heal his wounds when a blunt force hit him in the back of the head. Collapsing in the snow, he felt his sword fly from his hands. In a slight daze, he flipped over to see what had hit him. A large group of punch ants, rat warriors, and vermin were charging in his direction after seeing their fallen comrades disintegrating around him. A strangely large punch ant was bearing down on him, winding up its right fists for another swing at his face. Isaac quickly rolled out of the way to avoid the punches aimed right for his nose.

Crap, I can't get away from these! With my leg and back like this, they'll catch me in no time! He coughed up some blood, trying to stand up before another attack came. Luckily the leading punch ant seemed to be the only one close enough to attack him, so he just had to avoid its attacks for now. He got to his feet, dizziness blurring his vision. Isaac eyed his sword lying in the snow a few feet in front of him. He attempted to run to it, but tripped over a spear from one of the disintegrated rats. Cursing, he felt the punch ant leap onto his back with a flurry of jabs aimed at the back of his head. Quickly kicking it off, Isaac lunged for his sword and quickly swung it around, slicing off the ant's fists. It contorted and fell down in agony. It wasn't dead but he decided to ignore it since it would not pose a threat to him anymore.

He used the few seconds he had to sloppily heal his wounds. Unfortunately, Isaac's head was still spinning from the sucker punches, and he wasn't able to cure his dizziness. He was starting to feel woozy. Concentrating as hard as he could, he called upon his psynergy to aid him.

"GRAND GAIA!"

A large chasm appeared in the ground, releasing huge chunks of earth that flew up out of the hole and hurled themselves towards the oncoming army of monsters. Isaac stumbled and fell back on the ground as he watched a portion of the army get crushed under the rubble. However, he could feel the strain of casting such a powerful spell taking its toll on his body. What was worse was that the bulk of the army was still charging towards him. He couldn't move, the spell had proven too much for his spinning head and he soon found himself staring at the sky; gravity felt stronger now. The army came upon him in an onslaught of spears and punches, and within moments Isaac blacked out completely…

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Karis gasped, clutching Tyrell's hand even tighter. Tyrell, who had been excited about the battle, now hid his face in Karis's little dress out of fear of the monsters. Matthew was silently crying, telling his stuffed Flint that it would be okay. Even Garet, who had heard this story before, shuddered thinking about his friend in such a hopeless predicament.

"U-Uncle Isaac," stuttered a frightened Tyrell, glancing around to make sure there weren't any monsters in the room, "did…did you die?"

Karis flicked him in the ear. "You dummy! He couldn't die; otherwise he wouldn't be alive right now!"

"Hey, I'm not dumb!"

"Actually, Karis," said Isaac, "I was very close to dying that day. In fact, I'm told that I was fading in between life and death for quite some time. I suppose, technically, I was on the brink of death: dead and alive at the same time."

"Oh," answered Karis, dropping her gaze in slight embarrassment. "Sorry, Tyrell, I shouldn't have said you were a dummy." She kissed him on the cheek to apologize. Tyrell had long since given up on trying to stop her from being his 'girlfriend', but still grimaced when she did things like that.

"Awwwe well isn't that cute?" sounded a female's voice.

Matthew gasped, glancing around the room while clutching his stuffed Flint tighter, "W-who said that?"

"Monsters!" screamed Tyrell.

"Relax, son," Garet soothed Tyrell, rubbing his son's shoulder. "Fever, quit hiding! You're scaring the kids!"

A small red-tinged flash emitted from one of the stuffed Mars djinn lying on the floor. Standing up, it turned around to face the adepts on the couch and floated over to Tyrell, landing on his lap. Tyrell was still jumpy about monsters, so he squealed when Fever landed on him. Looking up at Garet, Fever spoke mentally again.

"Really, Garet, I thought you would have told them about us! Is this really the first time they've all seen a real djinni?"

Isaac and Garet both looked at each other, then back at Fever, feeling a little guilty that they hadn't shown their kids what a real djinni was like.

"Mmf, speak for yourself, Fever, I've been around this whole time! Ack…choking…can't….breathe"

Matthew yelped and released his stuffed Flint, scrambling to get away from it. "Y-you just talked! You can't talk! You're just a toy!"

The 'stuffed' Flint hopped over to Fever, much to Tyrell's dismay, and turned around to face Matthew. "My, my, aren't you a clever one," he voiced sarcastically. "Well I've been a toy for the past three years because there wasn't really a need for me to show myself. However, little miss Fever over here," he bumped her, "just haaaad to make herself known. We talked about this, Fever! We were supposed to wait until they were older!"

"Wait!" interrupted Karis. "Does that mean that my Gust and Breeze are real djinn too?"

"I am!" a cheery male voice called to their minds. "But this Breeze toy here is just a toy…"

A faint purple flash emitted from one of the Jupiter djinn sitting on the ground. He flapped his wings and perched himself on Karis's head. She giggled while he nestled in her hair.

"Breeze went off somewhere in Morgal. I've been so lonely without her. Zephyr and Squall don't keep good company. They just like staying with Master Ivan."

Karis took him from her head and gave him a tight squeeze. Then she rested him with the rest of the djinn on Tyrell's lap.

"So, Master, let's hear the rest of the story!" said Flint.

Isaac smiled at the group. He was a bit hesitant to continue with a bigger audience, but realized that the djinn had been listening all along. This was a good way to get rid of his depressed mood; sitting by the fireplace with friends and family while reciting the stories of his past.

"Let's see here. I blacked out and the next thing I remember was hearing voices…"

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"How is he, Great Healer?"

"He seems to be doing better, though he is still in a very critical condition."

There are voices. I know one of them.

"Well, at least he's alive."

"Yes, young Isaac here is very fortunate that the two of you found him when you did."

Who is it though? Why can't I open my eyes? I can't move at all. Two of them? Where did they find me?

"I'm just glad we got there in time."

"Mm. You should get some rest. You've barely slept since you brought him here."

"Thank you, Great Healer, but I think I'd like to stay by his side a little longer to make sure he's okay."

"Are you sure? You seem awfully tired. Why don't you get your companion to watch him while you rest a bit? I will inform you if he wakes."

They sound worried about me. What happened? Where am I? Who are these people?

"…I suppose you're right. Please don't hesitate to come get me if he so much as stirs."

"I shall. Have a pleasant sleep."

Silence. I want to see them. Why can't I remember that person's name? I hope I'm not home. I remember trying to leave home. Quartz was telling me something. Where could I be? What am I doing here? Why…

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Isaac's vision was blurred when he finally managed to open his eyes. How long had he been in this place? It was dark in the room, lit only by torches in a seemingly cave-like hall. A sanctum, perhaps? He seemed to be lying on some sort of medical bed. It was cushioned, but underneath the cushion was stone. It was hard and uncomfortable. Who were those voices from before? He knew one voice, but couldn't put a name or a face to them. He couldn't move his head and he couldn't see or hear anyone. He tried to get up, but his body would not respond to his attempts. It was much too painful to force anything right now. He tried to call for someone, but only a groan escaped his scratched throat.

Then he heard something: footsteps. Again he tried to turn his head towards the sound, but to no avail. The footsteps came closer until a figure stood above him. He focused his eyes until the image of this person became clear. A woman. He recognized her, but could not put a name to her face.

"Isaac, you are awake. I am glad," she said. She had a different voice from the people before, but he still recognized this woman's face.

He groaned again, trying to speak. Maybe she could heal him.

"Oh, your throat has not healed. I will bring you something." She left briefly and returned with a vial of green liquid. Gently, she poured it into his mouth. The liquid soothed his throat and he could feel his voice returning to him. Some of the aches of his body lessened, but not enough to allow him to move.

"Thanks," he croaked. His voice was hoarse, but at least he could speak now. "Where am I?"

"You are in Bilibin sanctum," she replied. "Has your vision cleared yet?"

He glanced around. He no longer had to concentrate to focus on something. "Yes, I can see."

"Good. You are healing smoothly. Do you…know who I am?"

He looked at her again. He knew her, but her name was escaping him. She looked quite unique, and it only added to his frustration. Purple hair, green eyes, a Xianese accent. "F…Fuh…F…I'm sorry, I can't recall your name, but I know you."

She smiled, "Do not worry, Isaac. It has been nearly three years since I last saw you. I see you are wearing the ring I entrusted that old man to give to you."

She slid it off his finger and showed it to him. That ring. Where had it come from? Kraden had given it to him in Contigo. He said it was from a friend, a special friend. It was a beautiful golden colour and he wished to thank whoever had been so kind as to give him something as precious as this.

"Thank you for the ring. I wish I could remember your name. I'm having a hard time recalling many names right now."

"I see," she replied, "the back of your skull was beginning to cave. I would be surprised if you remembered anything right now. My name is Feizhi, the daughter of Master Feh and student of Master Hama. You showed us your Ki in Xian. Then you used it to rescue Hsu from the boulders."

Memories flooded back to his mind. Back in Xian, Silk Road, Altin, everywhere in Eastern Angara. He had learned the power of Ki from Master Nyunpa and fooled the Xianese fighters into thinking it was Chi.

"F-Feizhi…I remember now. Why am I in the sanctum? I'm in so much pain. Where are the others? I could hear them earlier, but I couldn't see or speak."

"Ah, they are resting now, but I shall wake them at once. We shall explain everything to you when everyone is ready."

With that she turned to get the others. He thanked her as she left, hoping that some memories of what happened would come back to him. He began to doze, trying to concentrate on what had resulted in him being immobile in a sanctum. I was leaving home. New Vale, that's what it's called. Good, at least I remember that. Why was I leaving, though? I remember…sadness…emotional turmoil…heartbreak. I was…in love? This doesn't make sense. I didn't want to be followed. I…I…I can't remember. I wish Garet were here, or Jenna. She would know what to say. She would know why I left. Did I leave for her? Did she go somewhere? This is so frustrating!

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the large sanctum doors opening followed by three pairs of feet. He wished he could turn to see who it was, but his body screamed at him when he tried to move. Helplessly, he lay there waiting for them to come to him.

"Ah, you are awake! Thank the gods!" an old man's voice resounded. It echoed off the large stone walls around them.

"I have brought them, Isaac," said Feizhi. "Have you remembered anything more?"

"No," he answered sadly. They were still out of his field of view. It must be a large sanctum he thought to himself.

"Isaac…" sounded another voice; the voice from earlier. A soft and gentle woman's voice. Who could it be?

They finally reached the bed and stood around him, each with a different expression upon their faces. Feizhi was smiling at him. She already knew that he was awake so it came as no surprise. The old man bore an uncanny resemblance to someone he knew, yet his voice was different. The man's beard and moustache must have been as long as the two girl's hair. He had a stern expression on his face while he mumbled something quietly. His hands were hovering over Isaac's body, a white glow emanating from them. He's a healer; a Great Healer. They always look the same as each other. The white glow confused Isaac for a moment. White was not the colour of any psynergy he knew of, but then he remembered that non-adepts could not use psynergy. Great Healers were typically blessed with some special healing powers, but it was different than psynergy. Looking to the last person, he couldn't help but feel warm inside. She was smiling slightly, but a worried expression masked it. Wow, she's gorgeous. Why do I feel like I know her? Stupid brain! His chest stirred, and he couldn't help but smile at her.

"Isaac… do you know who I am?" she asked; her voice soothed him.

"I… I think…" he answered. A flicker of a memory came to his mind momentarily, "The Angel Healer of Imil…"

She smiled, her eyes were glistening. She had such a pretty smile, but why did she look sad? Had he said something wrong? Why was she crying?

"Yes, Isaac, but do you know my name?"

He concentrated, trying to bring back memories of this azure-haired girl. Her pale complexion was complemented by the orange glow of the torchlight. That image helped him remember something about her, but not her name. Hoping that it might help him to remember, he squeezed his eyes shut and audibly recalled what he could.

"We were standing…on a bridge… A pond by my home, New Vale. It was sunset. We…had a…ceremony that day. You were in a pale blue dress. We talked about…uh…I can't remember. Damn, why can't I remember? We were celebrating…the end of our adventure…and rebuilding New Vale. You looked stunning. I didn't tell you that, though."

He opened his eyes, unable to recall anything else. She was blushing, and a tear fell from her eye onto his shoulder. That sparked another memory.

"You…you and some other people left. What were their names? Felix was with them. There was…I…I…uh…I-something and She…something and a captain of some sort and you. You were crying…I was too. We hugged for a long time. But…I still can't remember your name…"

She cried more intensely now. Sniffling, she tried to wipe her tears, but many escaped and fell to his shoulder. He hadn't meant to make her cry.

"I'm sorry… I wish I could remember your name. I can't remember anyone's name from that day; only my old friends and family from Vale."

"I-It's alright, Isaac. Feizhi s-said that you were having t-trouble remembering names. I was only hoping t-that m-m-maybe you'd still remember your M-Mia."

Mia? Was that her name? Suddenly he felt his mind flood with memories again. Their adventure, the knighting ceremony, the bridge, the day she left, her letters, everything came back to him. "Mia…? I…I remember now. How could I let myself forget you? Mia, my beautiful Imilian friend." They both blushed but smiled at each other. Her tears still flowed, but they were now tears of joy.

"Oh, Isaac, I wish I could hug you, but your injuries are too great and it would only hurt you."

"That's alright; we can hug when I'm fully healed." Remembering something, he asked all of them, "Where are my things?"

"We have kept them locked away so to prevent any thieves from taking them. You seem to have had a few valuables with you," said Feizhi, walking over towards a locked door.

Isaac felt a cooling sensation come over his body. He looked away from Feizhi to see Mia aiding the Great Healer. Her palms glowed blue and he could feel his aching muscles relax. She walked towards his head and examined it.

"Isaac," she said a little shakily, "this…this may hurt. I'm not sure how badly, but fractured skulls are always painful."

He braced himself for the pain, "Okay… I'm ready."

She placed her hands beside his ears and slowly seeped her psynergy into him. He had braced himself for pain, but he didn't realize that it would be the most excruciating experience of his life. It felt like his head was imploding, and he tried to keep himself from crying out, but the pain was unbearable. His body shook, as it wasn't healed enough to flail around. The agony still caused him to perceive his body as writhing around, though. It had only been a few minutes, but Isaac felt like she had been healing him for hours before she finally stopped.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered into his ear. "Your skull is healed now. I had to wait until you were awake. I had to make sure your mind was still intact before I could heal it. I didn't want to heal your brain if you would forget everything you've ever known."

He was gasping for air and he could feel his heart racing. After a while he managed to stammer something out, "It's okay, Mia. I'm glad you're looking out for me. You've always been good at that."

She smiled at him. "We should let you get some rest. I expect you'll be strong enough by tomorrow to move around."

"Thanks everyone. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll have recovered some more of my memory."

"I should think so," said the Great Healer, who had been silent through all of this. "You were easily able to recall things once these ladies told you their names, meaning your amnesia is not severe. With some rest, I believe most, if not all, of your memories should be restored by tomorrow afternoon."

"Good night, Isaac. I look forward to hearing your story tomorrow," said Feizhi, bringing his things to rest beside his bed. She then turned and headed towards the door.

"I will give you two some privacy," said the Great Healer, following after Feizhi.

When he heard the doors close, Isaac spoke again. "Aren't you going to get some rest, Mia? I heard you and the Great Healer speaking earlier. He said you hadn't slept much since I've been here. By the way, how long have I been here?"

Mia giggled a bit before answering him, "Shh, everything will be explained tomorrow, Sleeping Beauty. Don't worry about me; you just concentrate on getting better. I'm going to make sure that you're alright before I go to bed."

"Oh. Okay then, I just thought you might feel more comfortable somewhere else," he paused and smirked, "I mean, I didn't know one of your hobbies was watching people in their sleep."

She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips, trying to stifle her laughter. "Well I didn't know you accepted gold rings from old men claiming they came from 'special friends'."

He laughed lightly, the convulsions hurting his ribs. She laughed as well before telling him seriously that he should rest up. Sighing, he agreed that she was right and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Mia."

"Sleep well, Isaac."

He wasn't sure if he'd imagined it, or if it had been part of his dream, but right before he fell asleep Isaac swore he felt a soft kiss on his cheek.

As you can see, I'm prolonging the suspense from last chapter into the next chapter. :)

So what did you guys think? I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter because of the cute little IsaacxMia banter going on at the end and because it gave me a chance to practice writing some fight scenes (which will be more prominent in my next fic. I've already got an outline :)). Giving him amnesia was a completely spur-of-the-moment idea, but I think it worked because it allowed me to expand a bit on the IsaacxMia infatuation.

Hopefully you're all bursting with questions at this point, and I'm glad to say that most, if not all, should be answered in the next chapter!

Let me know what you thought of this chapter in your reviews! And, as always, check out my soundcloud! (Link on my profile)

See you next chapter!

-GengaJupite