Gamer update! (Not that any of you care whatsoever :P). Finished KH3D the other day, and despite not being as drawn in by it as some of the others in the series, I still loved it. For me, it's always the characters and cutscenes that seem to draw me into RPGs. I'm pretty indifferent about how good graphics are because it's all about story and characterization for me. Then again, Mia had a minimally definable character in the GS series… You know what, scrap all that; I'm pretty much a sucker for any RPG. If it has a love-related plot or I can realistically make up a relationship between characters, then I'm probably sold :).
On a more fanfic-related note (but still about KH and not GS), KH fans should check out Milk & Marshmallows by Redeeming Endeavor. I can't imagine any KH fans haven't since it's got like 42738752698345725 reviews and favourites, but in case you haven't. Actually, even if you aren't a huge KH fan, it's still a worthy read for any hopeless romantics like myself.
Okay, enough about KH. GS is still where it's at, and that's why I'm writing this story! :)
Thanks to my ever-faithful reviewers :P. My responses might seem kinda cryptic, but that's somewhat the idea here.
Mr0cheese: You've successfully relieved my insecurities about the time skip, so for that I thank you. Regarding Isaac's years through age 27-31 and his relationship with Jenna, I'm only going to say that there won't be as much interaction as you're probably expecting until a rather specific point… Cryptic response #1
Hanabro: Post-secondary life sucks. I'm still only a first-year, but I hate lectures so much. Thankfully, music courses let you play singing games in class (not that I like singing, but it's funny :P). You said you'd be shedding manly tears for when Isaac and Mia split, but you may find your eyes glistening with a different feeling near the end… Cryptic response #2
AnriMia24: You seem to have made quite the name for yourself. Oh, don't be modest; I saw that Droory, the super avid softshipper, wrote a mudshipping story just for you. Also, I'd be lying if I said that the things you suggested I consider were not already on my old plot outline, but whether I've chosen to use them is something only I can know ;). I think the secret Isaac has been keeping from Garet will have a heavy impact on you, but whether it's positive or negative even I can't say… Cryptic response #3
jaime: Ivan is also the only one I've implied (and am now outright saying) gets married for certain. Don't know about anyone else though… Failed cryptic response #4
Disclaimer: *Sigh…
Destruction
The light sound of snowflakes bumping the window accompanied the morning chill that wafted around the mansion. Isaac didn't notice the temperature, though, as he was still in bed with Mia. The two lay there for some time, keeping each other warm under the blanket.
"Good morning, sleepy," mumbled a half-awake Mia.
Grumbling, Isaac managed to croak something somewhat comprehensible, "Ugh, five more minutes, mom."
Mia giggled. Apparently she'd never heard a twenty-seven-year-old man ask his mother for five more minutes of sleep. "I certainly hope you're joking, Isaac. I'm not sure how I'd react if you told me you had proposed to your mother and cuddled her to sleep!"
Well that certainly got his attention. Laughing, he kissed the top of her head, which was lying on his chest. "Shh, it's a secret, Mia; only something I would tell to my fiancée."
He felt her head shift as she turned to look up at him. A warm smile was on her face, and she crawled up so that she was at eye-level with him. Giving him a light peck on the lips she glanced down at her hand to examine the ring she hadn't taken off. Everything about last night had gone by so quickly, yet it felt like time had stopped. The memories were so clear, yet the event was such a blur. It certainly was a paradoxical evening.
Isaac was slightly surprised when he noticed something a little out of the ordinary. What surprised him more than the actual predicament he found himself in was that the situation hadn't crossed his mind until this point, but that didn't really matter anymore, since he did take notice eventually. A light blush formed on his cheeks as he completely processed the information in his head.
His shirt was off.
Usually he went to bed with a light cotton shirt, but nothing separated him from Mia. That was when he noticed something else.
She wasn't wearing her usual nightdress or blouse. Only a bra could be seen on her upper body.
He began to panic. Had they done what he thought they did? Obviously things had gotten a bit heated last night, but the blurred images were blocking his memories. They hadn't been drinking, but for whatever reason he could only remember the feeling of Mia's body pressing against his. The only solution he could think of was to check if his unmentionables were covered. Nervously lifting the blanket, he stole a glance downwards.
Oh, thank the gods. His shorts were still on, and so was Mia's underwear. It seemed that things had gotten heated, but they were both still rational enough not to go all the way. He chuckled slightly, wondering if Mia was going through all of these thoughts right now.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Oh, it's nothing important," he responded calmly. "I'm just going over everything that happened last night. It seems so surreal."
"You can say that again," she said. Her cheeks turned a bit pink, obviously thinking of what happened after accepting his proposal. She laid her head on the pillow beside him and began tracing lines on his chest with her finger. The light touch tickled, causing him to twitch a bit.
He turned his head so that he could look her in the eye. Her gaze was concentrated more on the invisible pictures she was drawing on his bare chest than his face. He could honestly stare at her beautiful face all day. She was so perfect, and the way she blushed was so slight that it made her seem even prettier. He never wanted to leave the bed if he could stay like this all day.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, still concentrating her gaze on her finger's canvas.
His lips curled up. There was no reason to hide what he was staring at. "You," he stated plainly. That caused her to look up and meet his eyes. The two pairs of blue orbs locked in that instance, unable to look away. He pulled her in for a long kiss, thinking that there could be nothing better to do right then.
She chuckled when he pulled away, "You're so sweet, Isaac. I probably don't look very good right now; I'm not much of a morning person."
He paused for a second while he thought of an appropriate response; "I can't wait to see you once you get ready, then; because if this is unflattering, then I may just melt away when I see normal."
She giggled and nuzzled her face against his cheek. "My, you're certainly the gentleman this morning. I think I could get used to this."
"Well, you're gonna have to. We're getting married, remember?"
"I couldn't forget it if I tried, and I can't even think of a situation where I'd want to forget." With that she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and crawled out of bed, much to Isaac's disappointment. "I'm going to take a bath. No peeking!"
He laughed pulling the slightly displaced blanket back over his bare torso. "I don't think seeing you naked would be much different than seeing you in just your underwear, Mia."
She turned to him as she was about to go through the doorway into the master bathroom. "You'd be surprised," she said seductively, giving him a light giggle and a wink. Now this was a side to her that Isaac hadn't experienced before. His shorts suddenly got tighter, and he decided that he'd wait until Mia was done bathing and fully clothed before he would get up.
"So, where are we heading next, Isaac?" asked Mia as she sat down for breakfast after her bath.
"Uh, to be honest, the whole reason for leaving was so I could propose. I wasn't sure what you'd wanna do after Bilibin," he responded from the kitchen, stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth.
"Mm, well, I actually wouldn't mind heading back to Imil, if you had nowhere else in mind. It's not everyday you can show off to everyone that you're getting married!"
"Are you sure, Mia? We haven't been gone for that long, and I'm fine with taking you wherever."
"Oh, Isaac, you're just as thoughtful as ever. I never said we had to leave right away, but, you know, I don't really feel like travelling anywhere unless it's back to Imil. This is a really amazing house mansion thing that we'll probably never get another chance to stay in, so it's either home or here."
Isaac chuckled and took a seat beside her at the table, giving her a one-armed hug from the side. "I'd like to stay here too, at least for a couple more nights, anyway."
Getting up so she could sit on his lap, Mia gave his forehead a quick kiss before she took a bite of her fruit tart. Isaac wasn't sure if anything could make him happier right now. He was on vacation in the most lavish house he'd ever been in while the most beautiful girl in all of Weyard sat on his lap. Did he also mention that she was his fiancée as of last night? This was the life.
_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_
"I-I can't believe this. How can this be happening? Why now? No, no, no, no, NO!"
"Isaac, I'm so sorry. You couldn't have known this was going to happen. There was no way you could've stopped it either."
Isaac looked up and down the letter from Jenna over and over, as if to determine if it was real or not. His eyes brimmed with tears and it seemed Mia wasn't completely sure how to comfort him: probably because something like this had never happened to her before.
He and Mia had returned to Imil about two months ago, and had sent out letters to all of their friends regarding their upcoming wedding. Neither of them wanted to rush it, but it was so exciting that they had set a date for only four months away. Everyone except for the invited guests from New Vale had responded almost as soon as they had received their invitation. Initially, Isaac was a bit angry with his friends and family for not being the first ones to respond, but now that he'd received a letter from them two months late, it was no wonder why they hadn't gotten the chance to respond.
"I just… just… why did this have to happen?!" he cried out. Mia took the letter from him, trying to help him divert his eyes from the words written on the page. Unfortunately for her, the words had burned themselves into his mind.
Isaac and Mia
Please forgive me for not writing in such a long time, but there's been a disaster here. About two months ago, Mt. Aleph erupted, causing everything within at least a one hundred mile radius to become covered in ash and burning rocks. We must have built New Vale too close, because it was hit hard. We've all had to evacuate and relocate in Kalay. Isaac, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but it's your mother. It seems that with all the recent chaos and – well, you know how prone to sickness she is – other things going on that she took ill as we were fleeing the village. I don't know the full details, but I do know that she's in the sanctum here with some of the injured citizens. Your father was also hit in the arm by a flaming rock, but I'm not completely sure how he's holding up. Please, I know it's short notice, but we need you to come to Kalay as soon as possible.
Write back once you've read this,
Jenna
PS: Once things have calmed down, I'm sure everyone will be overjoyed to attend your wedding. Congratulations!
He could feel Mia's hands rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. Shrugging them off, he brought his hand up to wipe the tears in his eyes.
"When will you leave then?" she asked him sadly.
"I… I don't know. I think I should leave tomorrow. I have to make sure everyone's okay. M-mom… Dad… I'm sorry, Mia. I have to leave as soon as I can."
"I understand, Isaac. I… I'm coming with you."
"What? No, Mia, you don't have to do that. This isn't going to be easy, and I'll need to be at my strongest if I'm going to help them."
"But that's exactly why you need me, Isaac. You're obviously devastated right now, and now more than ever you need me to help you through it all. We promised that we'd always be there for each other, and I intend to hold up my end of the bargain." She gazed into his eyes, a serious look in her usually soft blue eyes.
"Mia, I… I… Oh, Mia!" he cried as he fell into her open arms. He'd never felt so broken in all his life. His old home, his friends, his family; what if they were all gone when he went? He was only aware that Jenna was safe, but what if she had downplayed his parents' conditions? Was Garet safe? Why hadn't Ivan told them anything, or Kraden, even?
All the while, Mia held him tightly in her arms. "Have faith, Isaac. We'll get there and we'll do everything in our power to help them. I'll help tend to the wounded, starting with your parents. I'll make sure that nothing bad happens to them, I promise."
The two of them went about getting their things ready for the two-month-long journey ahead of them.
Isaac would do everything he could to save his parents; he had to.
_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_
The two arrived in Kalay on schedule, but their journey past Vault – or what was left of it, anyway – only added to the horrific thoughts that occupied Isaac's mind. The once green mountains and plains in the general region of New Vale were now different shades of black, grey, and brown; scorched by the flames of Mt. Aleph.
"Isaac!" a familiar voice screamed as he and Mia entered the city limits of Kalay. He was instantly wrapped in a tight hug from an incredibly tired-looking Jenna. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were puffy, and her clothes were covered in dirt and ash.
"Jenna! Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll take you two to the sanctum right away." She hurried off instantly, forcing Isaac and Mia to run after her.
The scene was much worse than Isaac could have possibly imagined. Hundreds of familiar faces stood and sat around the sanctum. Most of them were covered in dirt and ash, much like Jenna. It seemed that with all of the chaos, none of them had had the chance to bathe. That or they were too preoccupied to think of it. Even after two months, the citizens looked as though they'd just fled their destroyed home yesterday.
Weaving through the crowd, Isaac and Mia followed Jenna into the sanctum only to find the look of things much worse in there. The people outside had only been unharmed people, but the way things were in here almost made Isaac faint. So many familiar faces, people he had grown up with, laid on stretchers or had bandages wrapped around different parts of their bodies. He almost vomited when he saw body bags being wheeled away. How could this happen to such good people? He felt Mia gently take his hand, and he felt a slight bit of tension leave his body.
"They're just through that door, third and fourth bed down the aisle," said Jenna, pointing at a door near the back of the sanctum. "I-if you don't mind, I need to leave. There's… there's someone else I need to go see."
"Thank you, Jenna," Mia responded when Isaac stayed silent. Jenna nodded in response and quickly went off in search of whomever it was she needed to see.
"Isaac," Mia said softly to him. He had stopped in front of the door. Why couldn't he bring himself to open it? Was it for fear of seeing his parents in a worse condition than the others? Why else would they be kept in a separate room? He couldn't move, the anxiety was too much for his body and mind.
Instead of forcing him to do it, he felt Mia's hand gently on top of his. He could feel her turn the knob and lightly push the door open before calmly beckoning him in. Gulping, Isaac entered to see a long row of beds side by side, each with an occupant. He wore a mortified expression as he looked a short distance away to see his mother and father lying in adjacent beds. Fully regaining control of his motor functions, Isaac ran over to the beds of Kyle and Dora.
"Mom! Dad! It's me, Isaac!"
The pair of them groaned slightly before opening their eyes to see their worried son standing at the foot of their beds.
"Isaac? You came," said his lightly balding father. Isaac glanced at Kyle's arm, only to instantly regret it. His right arm was completely charred, and in some sort of weird-looking bag. It felt painful to even look at it, yet Isaac couldn't tear his eyes away from the bloody, blackened limb protruding from his father's shoulder. It would probably have to be amputated from the look of it. He looked pleadingly at Mia who nodded reassuringly and walked over to Kyle to assess the damage of his arm.
"Isaac, oh my beautiful son," the grey-haired Dora managed to croak out before coughing madly. Jenna was right, his mom was quite ill.
"Mom, please save your strength," he said, trying not to choke as he fought back tears.
"Now you listen to me, Isaac. I may *cough* be sick, but I'm not hurt or anything. I'm *cough* going to *cough* be fine."
Isaac wasn't convinced. When she had fallen sick during his adventure, she didn't even look a third as bad as she did right now. Mia, taking note of Dora's coughing fits, walked to her bedside.
"Ma'am, please try to relax while I do this. It'll help ease the psynergy into your system."
"Oh, come now, dear, you don't have to call me ma'am. Just Dora is fine. After all, you're going to be my new daughter-in-law, aren't you?"
Mia smiled as she hovered her hands over Isaac's mother. The blue glow from Mia's hands seemed to seep into Dora's body without a hitch. Isaac sighed in relief as he heard his mother's breathing become less raspy and hoarse. She seemed to relax and fall asleep as Mia finished up her Ply.
"Thank you, Mia," he said to her. Catching her small smile, he looked back over at his father, who had also fallen back asleep. "Will he be alright?"
Mia's smile faltered, and she didn't meet Isaac's eyes as she spoke, "I'm sorry, Isaac, but it looks like the damage is too much for even my powers to attend to. At this point, not even the healing waters of Hermes could save his arm. Unfortunately, it's been left in this state for too long. We can only pray that he's lost feeling in it, so that it won't be painful when they ampu-"
"Don't! Just… don't say it," he cringed as he turned away from Mia and his father.
Mia hugged him from behind and buried her face into his shoulder blades. "I'm so sorry, Isaac. I really wish there was something I could do! It kills me to see you like this, and I wish I could just heal your pain as well!"
Isaac sighed. What could he say to her? She obviously knew it wasn't her fault, but he didn't know what he was supposed to say right then. He wasn't much in the mood for thinking of something, so instead he took one of her hands in his own and led her out of the room.
When he finally looked up from the ground, Isaac spotted Jenna and Garet heading out the front doors of the sanctum. Wanting to see if Garet was alright, Isaac pulled Mia along behind him as he quickly moved towards the door. Upon reaching it, he pushed the doors open to see them sitting on the front steps. Jenna was rubbing his back, tears streaming down her face, but Garet had his face in his hands as he shook slightly. This was a new sight for Isaac. He wasn't sure if Garet had ever cried in his life.
"Jenna, w-what's going on?" Mia asked cautiously. Before she could answer, Garet stood and hurried away from the sanctum. Isaac quickly went after him before either of the women could say anything.
"Garet, wait!" he called after his tall friend. What the hell was going on? He must have chased the Mars adept for at least ten minutes before Garet finally stopped at the edge of a pier overlooking the Karagol Sea. Isaac stopped as he watched his friend scream out to the water and shoot hundreds of fireballs into the sky and sea. This continued for about another ten minutes before Garet slumped onto the edge of the pier and dangled his legs over the edge. Realizing it was safe to approach now, Isaac slowly made his way towards him.
"Garet…" he said, unsure of how to go about the situation.
The Mars adept sniffled and wiped his moustache, allowing the tears to fall into the water beneath him. "Why'd you follow me, Isaac?"
"I had to make sure you were okay. Obviously something happened, but you ran off before we could get an answer."
Garet stayed silent, staring straight out in the direction of where Tolbi would be. Isaac sighed and sat down beside his friend, wanting to help him without seeming insensitive by asking what happened. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"What was it like, Isaac," Garet suddenly asked, "when you thought your dad was gone forever?"
Taking a moment to process Garet's question, Isaac responded sadly, "I… I felt helpless. I thought if I'd only gotten there sooner maybe things could've been different. It all happened so quickly, and I didn't know what to do, so I ran. I thought if I ran, I could run from my problems; run from the horrible nightmare that was my father's death, Jenna's parents' deaths, Felix's death, the deaths that were my fault. I ran straight into Saturos and Menardi, and then they almost killed us. At that point, my own death wouldn't have mattered to me."
"Then you know… You know what I'm feeling right now. But pain isn't something you can run from. It's something you have to face head-on. If you don't, you might as well wind up dead…"
"Garet…"
"I'm a little jealous, Isaac. In the end, it turned out that your father was alive. He was alive and he came back home with us. There's nothing like that for me. There's no light at the end of this tunnel. I prayed to Sol that he would make it. He's been in the sanctum for two months now, as soon as we got to Kalay, and I finally thought things were starting to look up. I was kidding myself, and now he's never coming back…"
"Who…?"
Garet's eyes began watering again, and rivers trailed down his cheek as he tried to take deep breaths. His lip quivered as he tried to speak, but only a quiet moan escaped his throat. Isaac had never been in such a situation before. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't tell Garet that everything would be all right, because that was probably the last thing he wanted to hear, especially since Isaac still didn't know whom Garet was talking about.
"So young, so brave…" Garet mumbled. Without warning he shot up onto his feet and screamed out again, shooting fireballs in every direction.
"Garet, stop!"
"AAAAAAAAH! DAMMIT ALL TO HELL! WHY HIM? HE WAS STILL JUST A KID, JUST MY BABY BROTHER! AARON, WHY?!"
Isaac nearly choked and fell in the water upon hearing the name of the victim. Aaron, Garet's kid brother. By now he would've been only sixteen years old. Isaac still couldn't believe he'd heard that right, though. Aaron, just another lively kid in the village, was dead. Now he understood what Garet had been saying about his father turning out to be alive. Aaron would get no second chance. There was no higher being to come and save the soul of Garet's brother. He was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do at that point.
Isaac could feel his mouth go dry as he watched Garet slump down a short distance away. Tears rolled down Isaac's face, but he didn't know what to say. He'd experienced death, yes, but it had turned out to be false in the end. What could he possibly say to Garet?
"Garet, I… I… If you ever need someone to talk to, or anything at all… I'm here for you."
His best friend did not look up, however. Instead, Garet simply stood and started heading back in the direction of the sanctum. "Come on, the girls are probably waiting," he said solemnly.
The entire walk back was silent. Isaac had to keep his eyes off of Garet's grim expression to keep himself from breaking down. It wasn't fair. Why did a kid so young have to die? There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of cruel, heartless people in the world, so why did an innocent kid have to meet an early demise. What did Aaron, not to mention his family, ever do to deserve such a terrible fate? When they finally reached the sanctum, Jenna and Mia were right where they left them. It looked as though Jenna had explained the situation to Mia, as she was crying when they approached.
How could such tragedy strike the lives of ones so young? Not just Aaron, but the other people affected by him. The heroes themselves were yet to reach the age of thirty, yet here they were caught in the middle of one of the biggest disasters ever recorded in Angara's history.
Night fell quickly on the broken city of Kalay. Master Hammet and Lady Layana had generously opened their home to the people of New Vale. Isaac and Mia decided that they should stay at the local inn, rather than taking a room from someone who had probably lost everything.
Thoughts lingered in Isaac's mind as he tried to sleep. Mia's light breathing beside him usually helped him fall asleep as well, but it was not so on this night. So much had happened in such a short period of time. Barely two months ago he was happily and excitedly planning his wedding with the woman who now slept beside him. He wasn't sure how to tell her, but the wedding would have to be postponed while they helped the citizens of New Vale reclaim their lives. He felt horrible about putting off the day they had both looked forward to, but Mia had to understand.
"Isaac, you should get some sleep," Mia mumbled from beside him, "tomorrow will probably be just as grueling."
He turned to wrap his arms around her, "I know, it's just hard. There's so many things floating around in my head right now."
She turned her face towards him and gave him a slow kiss. "I'm sure there is. Truth be told, I have a lot on my mind too. Isaac, I know this is going to sound awful, and I'm truly sorry for having to give you more bad news, but I think until further notice we're going to have to call off our wedding. If we want everyone to attend, then two months is not going to be enough time for them to get back on their feet. Please understand. I'm doing this out of my love for you."
Isaac paused for a moment, stunned by what she had to say. He was literally about to tell her the exact same thing, but she had beat him to it. He kissed her again, and smiled for the first time that day. "I'm glad that we're on the same page, Mia. I was afraid you might be hurt if I suggested it, but you beat me to the punch on it. You're wonderful, Mia, and I love you for being you."
She gave him a sleepy smile before closing her eyes and nuzzling up closer to him. Amidst all the sadness and negativity of the day behind him, Isaac felt warmth from Mia. She had spent all day healing the injured, yet she still kept a level head and knew exactly the right things to say. She was the fire that kept him going when things got tough.
We can do this. Together, we can help get the citizens back on their feet, and then we'll have our wedding. She'll always be here for me, and I'll be there for her. That is one thing that will never change.
Isaac didn't know how painfully wrong his last stray thought would turn out to be…
Ooooh semi-cliffhanger! Okay, well, not really because that's a really vague last sentence, but I'll leave it as a semi-CH because I may know what it means, but you don't necessarily :).
Anyway, I'm kinda neutral about this chapter. I mean there was some fluff, not a lot, but I think I filled in emotional turmoil where fluff should go. As you can probably guess by now, this is the second decline of Isaac's emotional journey. It started low with present day Isaac, then went high with New Vale Isaac, then it dropped from Jenna-less Isaac, then it rose again with Mia's Isaac, and hit an all time high at newly engaged Isaac. It's pretty much a roller coaster because now it's about to drop again, as you should all know based on the first chapter. Now it's just a question of 'will Isaac's emotions end on a high note or a low note?' Guess you'll have to find out at the end of the story ;).
Hopefully I made at least one person tear up at the Aaron part, too. I dunno if it's because I was writing this pretty late, so I was delirious, or if I legitimately thought my own sad part was sad, but I started feeling pretty down when Garet screamed out to the sea.
Well, let me know if I tugged at your heartstrings in your reviews, and don't forget to check out my soundcloud!
-GengaJupite