Alright, it's time to make this story popular-ish again! I'm finally happy to announce that it will begin to pick up from here, though there are not many chapters left. One note about these chapters is that they'll probably start feeling very quick, and that's because of all the time jumping that's going to be taking place. I don't plan on writing more god-awful chapters about how depressed Isaac was during the time in between major events, so I'm just going to skip any filler parts that I deem unnecessary. Yay for progress! Also, I used the song Musique pour la Tristesse de Xion from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days as a sort of inspiration while writing this (basically had it on replay the entire time :P). It's a sad song, and I think it complements this chapter very well, so maybe have a listen to that while you read.

On a different note, I'm leaving for a trip this Friday (woo Disneyworld! :P), so I'm gonna say don't expect the next chapter for at least a week and a half after that (two weeks tops). I don't plan to bring my laptop with me, and I probably wouldn't be writing much if I brought it anyway, so I suppose you'll just have to put up with however the ending for this chapter goes.

On another different note, I just heard about Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix about a week ago. At first I was like 'OMG! I need to get a PS3 for when this comes out in NA because I'll be damned if I can't replay KH and reCoM in HD and then watch two and a half hours of 358/2 Days cutscenes!' but then I saw a video that is supposedly going to be the launch video for the PS4 release on Feb. 20th or something. Then my thought was more like '…this thing better be backwards compatible with PS3… I'm not gonna waste my money on a PS3, if it's successor comes out by the end of the year…' so basically I have to play the waiting game. I'm also waiting on the Wii U to release some worthy games. No use in buying an entire system for two or three games…

So, to sum that all up, this story will be progressing fairly quickly from now on, I won't be updating until I'm back from my trip, Square Enix better announce KH 1.5 for NA soon (as well as start working on KHIII, come on guys it's been like eleven years since the first one), Sony better announce a backwards compatible PS4, and I'm waiting on some quality games before I buy a Wii U (like the Wind Waker remake).

And a final warning type thing; there is some suggestiveness right at the beginning of the chapter. It's not so much an implication as a blatant telling of the event. That doesn't mean I'm going in detail and stuff, I just mean… it's kinda hard to explain, so maybe just read the chapter. I promise there's nothing X- or M-rated (unless suggestiveness counts as M).

Thanks for reviewing!
AnriMia24: Ah, Anri, you never cease to please me with your consistent reviews :). Hopefully you'll forgive me for Isaac's characterization; I can't say if he's going to change much or not because it would spoil the ending if I did, so just keep on holding onto hope. This story will never be a disappointment to me, and I can assure you that it will be completed. Yes, there's sections I would've liked to improve, but that's just a natural thing. Besides, this is the turning point in the story where things start to get a little more interesting ;)

Disclaimer: Perhaps one day I'll become a huge corporate leader of every gaming company so that I can officially say that I do own the rights to all of these. Then again, I doubt I'd still be writing fanfics if I could just make my own games :P

Desolation

Perfection.

Everything was perfect again in Isaac's life. No longer did he have to wonder about the things that kept his love from him. No more did he have to wallow in his grief. He could finally release all his emotions. He could run to her, hold her delicate frame in his arms, feel the softness of her lips upon his. He wanted her to know just how much he'd missed her, how much he longed for her. Simply reaching out his hand would allow him to touch her arm, brush her face, intertwine their fingers. There were so many things he could do in that moment, but what should he choose? One would not be enough; he simply had to do all of them.

And that's exactly what Isaac did.

It had felt like a dream, and he was so afraid of waking up that he held Mia as tightly as he could. He was sure that he'd wept like a little girl, but he didn't care so long as he was once again reunited with the one person who could make everything better. She embraced him delicately, gently rubbing his back as he buried his face in her shoulder. Over his own sobs, he could hear her crying as well. She'd missed him as much as he'd missed her. So long they'd spent apart, and to be reunited again so suddenly overwhelmed the both of them.

Isaac basked in the moment, trying to take everything in. Before he knew it, he'd already begun doing everything he wanted to. He brushed a tear from her soft, beautiful face, interlocked his hand with one of hers, and kissed her with so much emotion that he could almost feel it radiating from his body. He'd never needed someone so badly in his lifetime. All the pain, the agony, the desolation was gone. Everything was truly perfect again.

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

The morning sunlight streamed in on Isaac's face, causing the Venus adept to slowly awaken. He rubbed his eyes to wipe the sleep away, yawning as he sat up a bit. The first thing he realized when his vision was clear was that he was in an unfamiliar room. It took him only a moment to realize that he was in the spare bedroom instead of his own. Then a sad thought struck him.

Had it all been a dream?

Had he really just slept in a different bed that night for no reason? Other than the smell of alcohol in his bedroom, there was no real reason that he would sleep downstairs. No, it had to be real. Such happiness couldn't have been caused by a dream, could it? He remembered being with Mia, holding her in his arms, kissing her lips for real. How could a dream seem so vivid?

What happened next made him feel like an idiot for even questioning the reality of last night. A light groan came from beside him, and a soft arm curled over his torso, his bare torso. He smiled as he turned to face the sleeping Imilian beauty lying beside him. The white sheets and pillows looked like puffy clouds, giving Mia the true appearance of a sleeping angel. Isaac brushed some hairs off of her face, careful not to wake her.

Things from yesterday were starting to make sense now. He hadn't received a letter from Mia for two months because she was trying to surprise him. He was extremely lucky that Garet had decided to show up and talk some sense into him, or Isaac would have continued being a drunken mess for when Mia arrived. Had that been intentional? Perhaps Mia had told Garet that she was coming back and asked him to check up on the Venus adept. Regardless of whether that was an intentional checkup or not, Isaac was grateful that all the pieces seemed to be coming together. Even the heap of clothes on the floor seemed to make sense.

Well, that's because those were a reminder of the most sensible thing Isaac could remember from yesterday.

He blushed at the thought. He didn't need to look under the blankets to check for his underwear because he knew it wasn't there. There was just such a huge release of emotion that it would have made less sense if they hadn't done it. Despite Mia being a healer, Isaac had to admit that even she must have been holding in a lot of emotion if she had gone through with… it. It wasn't like healers didn't; they just usually saved themselves until after marriage. Whatever, it's not a scandal as long as no one finds out. Besides, we'll be married soon enough.

Mia stirred slightly, snapping Isaac out of his thoughts. He felt her arms squeeze tighter around his torso as she groaned again and buried her face in the pillow. How cute. Isaac chuckled to himself as he moved closer to her face. The feeling of her nude body squishing against his was, well, sexy, but at the same time it was making him feel a bit awkward.

"Good morning, love," Isaac sang lightly. He couldn't help himself, he was just too happy and his heart was aflutter.

"Mmf-ffrmf-mmf," came the incomprehensible mumble from Mia's pillow.

Chuckling, Isaac reached his hand around her head so he could turn her face towards him. After getting her to face him, he softly coaxed her, "C'mon, Mia, open your eyes. Don't you want to see me?"

He watched as she slowly opened her stunning, crystal-blue eyes. She stared at him blankly for a few seconds before a small smile formed on her lips. Isaac could feel her arms squeeze him tight for a moment before he noticed a blush forming on her cheeks. Despite her reddening face, Mia's smile didn't fade, proving to him that she'd slept with him because she wanted to as well. The blush really didn't mean much, since he was still blushing as well.

"Good morning, Isaac," she said softly, followed by a yawn.

He kissed her delicately on the forehead. Now that they'd released all of their pent-up emotions, he wanted to ease back into things. Of course he was still elated that she was there with him, but he was wary of being too forward with her. She should be treated like a queen, in his eyes. A rumbling in his stomach caused him to chuckle a bit.

"Are you hungry, Mia? I should probably make us some breakfast."

"That'd be nice. I'm a bit hungry after all my travels and… last night."

Giving her another kiss, Isaac slid out of bed, wincing at the unexpectedly cold air. It must've been because he wasn't wearing anything. Though the two lovers had seen each other in this state last night, Isaac couldn't help but blush at the fact that his bare backside was facing Mia. It didn't help much that the cold air was also turning his skin red, giving his entire body a red blush. Quickly as he could, Isaac scooped up his briefs and threw them on so that he was at least covering his unmentionables from direct sight. Hastily putting on his pants (his shirt didn't seem to be anywhere) he turned back towards Mia, only to see her beet-red face staring back at him, her hands holding the blanket up to cover her chest. Blushing madly, Isaac tossed her camisole, dress, and underwear onto the bed before hurrying out of the room.

Man, I don't even remember doing some of this stuff, Isaac thought to himself as he eyed the things in the hallway. Mia's robe and cardigan were thrown on the floor leading towards the spare bedroom. His trench coat lay not far from them, along with his shirt. The fact that his shirt had already come off before they were even in the bedroom made him blush in embarrassment. You don't mess around, do you, buddy? Garet's voice echoed in his head.

As Isaac picked up the clothes and headed into the living room, he noted some other things that they had apparently knocked over during their moment. The coat hanger, a now-cracked flowerpot, and a chair were just a few of the things that seemed to have been knocked about by their… loving…

Trying as best he could to avoid thinking of how they managed to make such a mess, Isaac dropped the clothing on the couch and made his way into the kitchen. Had he known Mia was coming, he would've bought some things while he was in Kalay or at least gone out hunting. All he seemed to have was some dried meat, a few bread rolls, and some fruit. After searching on his porch and in the cupboards, he managed to scrounge together some mint leaves and a single stalk of celery. So much for hospitality. Sighing, Isaac filled his kettle with water and placed it over the fireplace. Maybe he could at least rehydrate the meat. How was he supposed to treat Mia like a queen if he didn't even have the supplies to satisfy himself?

In truth, he knew that she wouldn't mind at all, but it made him feel like a bum to give her such a basic meal after she'd been travelling for two months. It was probably the same sort of thing she had to eat while travelling. Why was he getting so worked up about this anyway? On any given day he would've cared less what they ate for breakfast, so why was it so important today? It wasn't like he was trying to make a good first impression; after all, this was Mia, the girl he'd been dating for ten years!

Wow, it's already been ten years… To think that we were supposed to get married three years ago; it's almost like a dream. Who stays engaged for three years?! I suppose I can't really treat it like that since we weren't even together for the past two. Still, it's been far too long. Oh, the ring!

Isaac ran upstairs to retrieve the ring before finishing up with breakfast and taking it over to Mia. As he'd suspected, she really didn't seem to notice just how basic the meal was, relieving him of his ridiculously reasoned stress.

"Isaac," Mia sighed as they sat by the fireplace after breakfast.

"Yes, Mia?" he responded, placing his arm around her. This would usually be when she rested her head on his shoulder, but for whatever reason she didn't this time.

"I, um…" she glanced at him somewhat uneasily, causing a pang of fear in his heart. "Never mind. I-It's nothing."

"You can tell me, Mia. You can always trust me."

"I know, I'm sorry, Isaac. It doesn't seem like a good time right now though. I promise I'll tell you later, okay?"

He eyed her nervously, but shrugged it off as best he could. Reaching into his pocket, Isaac retrieved the engagement ring he'd brought from upstairs.

"You said you'd be wanting this back," he said, taking her hand so he could put it on her, "so I kept it safe until I could see you again."

She stared down at the gleaming ring on her hand. Isaac leaned forward a bit so he could see her face more clearly. Her eyes were shimmering and a smile graced her lips, but something seemed off. He was sure that the tears in her eyes were of joy, but something about the way he was reading her face was conveying sadness rather than happiness or relief.

"Are you all right, Mia?" he asked, figuring it couldn't hurt to do so.

Mia was silent, seemingly caught up in her own little world. Isaac felt a bit uncertain, so he cleared his throat and asked again, "Uh, Mia?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, Isaac. Yes, I-I'm fine, I just needed a moment. I… I thought I might never see this ring again."

Something was definitely off about Mia today. She and he were both terrible liars, so Isaac knew right away that that wasn't why she'd gotten emotional over the ring. Why was she acting so strangely? It wasn't like them to keep secrets from each other. They never had before, so why the need to when they're together again? It hurt him to know that she was hiding something, but he didn't want to question her any further. Something was clearly causing her pain, but she didn't want to share it with him. Under normal circumstances he would push her to tell him, but there was something odd about this, and he wasn't sure if trying to get her to say what was wrong would be the best option.

Sighing in defeat, he slumped back on the couch and rubbed his face. "Oh, okay…" He hadn't realized last night, due to some emotional reasons, but a question now surfaced in his mind. "Hey, Mia, where's all your stuff? Did you put it upsta-"

"Let's go for a walk," she cut him off quickly.

Stunned by her sudden interruption, Isaac stared at her for a moment, now more confused than ever by her strange behaviour. He had never seen her act like this before. The girl he fell in love with was always caring, kind, and warm-hearted. Why did she seem so distant all of a sudden? Fear formulated itself in Isaac's heart as he quickly recognized the similarity of his situation with Jenna. He prayed that there was no correlation between these two situations. There could be a million reasons why Mia was hurting. He shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions.

Yet the fear of knowing how it had gone the first time still replayed in his mind. "Sure," Isaac gulped, "we could go down to see everyone. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know you're back."

"Um, could we maybe go just the two of us? I'd like to spend some alone time with you before we meet up with the others. It's been a while since I've gotten any." A smile came to her lips as she turned to look at him. It was only slightly relieving to him though, as she still had that sorrowful tone in her voice.

"Yeah, uh, I'd like that," he replied, scratching his head.

Without another word, the two of them stood up from the couch and went to grab their jackets. Isaac quickly ran upstairs to get the knife that he'd returned up there. Strapping it onto his belt, he came back downstairs to see Mia coming out of the spare bedroom, a sad look on her face.

"Everything all right, Mia? I know I've asked a few times now, but I just can't shake the feeling that something's eating away at you."

She shook her head in response, "D-don't worry, I'll tell you later. I'm just not… ready to yet."

Again, the fear shot through Isaac's body as he recognized the similarities of being shut out by his lover. He wanted to believe that it was something else, but the doubt in his mind would not allow it. It was eerily similar to how he felt the first time. Of course he hadn't suspected that Jenna was going to leave him, but that feeling of distance they had when she was mad at him was the same as what he now felt with Mia, except Mia wasn't mad.

"Uh, let's just go for that walk then," he said, trying to stay as positive as possible. "There's a nice park in Kalay. It's not near the residential area, so we won't likely run into any of our friends."

Mia nodded in response and lightly stepped towards him. Even in her apparent sadness, Isaac couldn't stop admiring her beauty. It was a melancholic sort of beauty now that both pained and calmed him. It shouldn't have been calming, but Mia always had that effect on him. Taking her hand in his, they slowly left the cabin together and headed down the mountain path.

The park Isaac was talking about was typically a pretty sight, but today it appeared rather sombre. Though it was sunny up on Goma Plateau, the city of Kalay was blanketed with dark storm clouds. It didn't seem as though it would start raining, but the air had a foul mood about it. The browning leaves of the trees twirled as they fell from the deciduous trees lining the pathway. Isaac had never known this place to look so sad, but perhaps it was only because he was still troubled by Mia. Said Mercury adept stared at the ground as they walked hand-in-hand through the gloomy park.

"I'm sorry, Mia. This place usually isn't so… sad-looking. It's usually very pretty. Maybe it changes to fit your mood. You should cheer up!" He was trying to joke to lift her spirits a bit, but it seemed not to work, as she only forced a single breathy chuckle.

"I'm sure it's typically lovely, Isaac," she responded monotonously.

They kept walking until the walkway ended at a gazebo with a few benches inside. Like the park in Bilibin, it was high up and overlooked Kalay. The two places were very similar in the fact that they never seemed to stop growing. Bilibin had already been named a kingdom, and Kalay certainly seemed to be on its way there. The two adepts sat at the bench closest to the lookout point. Neither said anything for a bit; they just stared out at the city. Isaac spoke in attempt to clear the sorrowful feeling from the air.

"I, uh, liked to come here when you were still in Imil. It reminded me a lot of how we were back in Bilibin. We've had so many good memories there; I hope that I never forget them. Of course it was always nicer weather there, but it was the thought that counted. I always felt like you were close by when I could come here and watch the lights twinkle over the city."

"Mm-hmm," said Mia. There was a hitch in her response, quickly followed by a sniffle. Isaac turned to see her biting down on her bottom lip as a tear made its way down her cheek.

"Mia, please tell me what's wrong. I know something's been hurting you all day, but I can't stand by any longer while you're in pain. Please, just… let me help you, Mia. You know I'd do anything for you."

Multiple tears streamed down Mia's face as she absorbed what Isaac had just said to her. He went to wipe them from her face, but Mia was quick to stay his hand. He could then grasp that it had something to do with him. Though he wanted nothing to do with the issue, it appeared as though the problem was central to him. Hands shaking, he raked them through his hair, not even trying to hide the fact that he knew it had to do with him.

"It's me, isn't it? I did something, I must've, otherwise you would've told me what the problem was already."

She shook her head, giving him a slight sense of relief, but that feeling was immediately cut short. What she said next was so heart stopping that Isaac wasn't sure that… well, he wasn't even sure what he was unsure of. It was such an icy pain, that Mia may as well have frozen his heart right there. His eyes filled with tears as the sound of her words replayed themselves in his ears, repeating over and over like a painful, throbbing migraine.

"We can't be together, Isaac."

And it was pure pain that filled his body, numbing his senses to all else. Mia, the beautiful Imilian healer who'd shown him the light, was leaving him. Everything he'd worked for, everything he'd wanted, everything he needed was leaving him. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks, dripping off his chin and crashing onto the ground with his newly crushed dreams. She promised she'd always be there for him and he for her, but now everything was changing.

"W-why?" he managed to stutter through his sharp breaths.

Clearly it was hurting her just as much as him, and that was what didn't make sense to him. If she was hurt so badly, then why did it have to be this way? If she truly loved him, then couldn't they stay together no matter what? What could possibly tear them apart after suffering through two years away from each other? They were finally together for one day, but now it was all crashing down on him. His life was over.

"I-I wish it c-could've been some other way, Isaac, b-but I… I…"

She was trying to continue, but he couldn't make out what she was saying through all the blubbering. He'd learned from his mistakes with Jenna's breakup, but the pain from this cut so much deeper. Ten years of his life were going to waste because of this. He could never look back fondly on all those moments. They would just be painful reminders of what he'd spent a third of his life trying to strive for: a happy ending with the woman he truly loved.

"I-it's not that I d-don't love you, Isaac," she managed to choke out, "b-but I had to c-come see you one last t-time."

"What do you mean, Mia? Why would this be the last time you could see me?"

"B-because Bilibin Cave is c-closing up. The war in Imil n-never ended, b-but I had to see you again. The m-mountains are shifting so quickly that they're crushing the t-tunnel. Once I g-go through it on m-my way back it'll shut for good."

"No," he muttered, seemingly defeated. "Mia, I-I can come with you! I'll start my life over in Imil with you! Together we can fight off the monsters and-"

"I wish it were that simple, Isaac," she said, taking a deep breath so that she could calm her trembling voice. "But something terrible will happen here. You must stay to protect the Wise One…"

"Protect… the Wise One? Mia, what on Weyard are you talking about?!"

"A terrible premonition that both Piers and I had. Only Jupiter adepts are known to have visions of the future, Isaac, so it's unlikely that we coincidentally had the same dream. We both heard the voice of a man plotting to destroy the Wise One. The voice of… him."

Isaac knew she was referring to Alex. She never spoke with such loathing towards anyone else. However, none of this was making sense. Alex was dead, anyway. All Isaac knew right then was that he wanted to stay with Mia. He was still trying to cope with the feeling that she was leaving for something as trivial as a premonition shared between Mercury adepts.

"Mia, please, I can make this work. I'll have Garet or Ivan watch after the Wise One. Or I'll watch Mt. Aleph from one of the mountains closer to Imil." Already he knew those things wouldn't work. Garet wouldn't be able to continue his normal life if he was looking out for the Wise One, and if Ivan was living up at the lookout cabin then Sam would have a difficult time getting to Kalay every day. As for watching from Imil, it would be impossible with all the monsters around. There truly seemed to be no solution.

"Mia, I… I need you. I nearly killed myself while you were away. I spent the last six months as an alcoholic because I was so distraught over waiting for you. I can't be away from you again, I just can't! I'm… I'm afraid, Mia."

"Isaac, please stop," she said more tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "I wish there were another way, but the way these things have worked out, I just can't imagine it happening. I love you more than anything, Isaac, but that's why I have to do this. We can never be together, so I need you to move on! I can't keep stringing you along, knowing that it won't work!"

She stood and almost started to go until Isaac quickly grasped her by the wrist. "Mia, I… I'll always love you. I always have loved you, and I will love you until I die. This… this is my worst nightmare come to life. I failed. I couldn't keep my family safe from the eruption, I couldn't keep my promise to be safe while you were away, and now I'm losing you for good."

He could feel her arm shaking in his hand as she turned to look at him one last time. Each syllable of every word cut him like a dagger. "I'm sorry, Isaac, but this is goodbye. Forgive me, my love." With that, she pulled her wrist from his grip and quickly ran out of the park. And just like that, their relationship was over, severed by a cruel fate. As quickly as she'd returned home, she was gone forever from his life.

He wanted to run after her, but he found that his shaking body would not allow him to give chase. The only thing he could do was stare at his open palms as he rested his elbows upon his knees. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his hands as he silently wept. In his hunched position, he failed to realize the three djinn that appeared beside him.

"Master Isaac…" voiced Flint, but Quartz held him back, allowing Mist to speak first.

"I… I'm sorry… for all that I've said to you. You truly made Miss Mia happy."

Isaac gave no indication that he would respond, allowing Mist to take her leave of them. Before the other djinn could speak to him, though, Isaac unexpectedly fled the park with as much haste as his legs would allow. He had no interest in staying at that place any longer. It would always be a constant reminder of the worst day of his life. It was a place that would remind him of some of the best days as well, except that they were now painful memories: things he would look upon with remorse.

He'd let her slip through his fingers. The one thing he still held in high regard had gone away from him because he was too powerless to stop it. The pain he'd felt when Mia left the first time was nothing compared to now, because she was gone forever now. He would be lucky if he ever saw her again. In fact, that was the reason she said she was leaving him. They would never see each other again. It was either divorce – no, just a pathetic breakup since they weren't even married yet – because they would never see each other again, or never see each other again so break up. No matter what he could have said or done it wouldn't have worked out.

It was a lonely walk back up the mountain path, lonelier than he'd ever felt before. He'd walked up that pathway countless times, yet none felt so desolate as this. Isaac didn't care though; he didn't want to see anyone right now. Hell, he'd probably never want to see anyone ever again. What's the point in getting close to people? They just pretend to care about you until you eventually die or have to go your separate ways. I don't have a reason to live anymore. The only one I ever cared about was Mia and now she's gone from my life. I'm nothing without her. Might as well kill me now. Despite the depressing thoughts and infinite opportunities to hurl himself off a cliff, Isaac instead made his way through the tunnel and across the bridge to his cabin.

Luna was now high in the sky, illuminating the sad scene upon which Isaac was the centerpiece. He sat by the fireplace, skimming over the old letters she'd sent to him. He even still had the ones from when he lived in New Vale. Sol, they were so in love even back then, though they didn't know it at the time. Why did love have a way of turning people around? One minute he's in love with the most beautiful girl in all of Weyard, the next he hates himself for falling for anyone at all.

After reading them over for about the tenth time each, Isaac sighed and turned to go up to his room. He probably still had a few bottles of booze left to drown his sorrows away. What difference would it make now? The only reason he'd stopped drinking was because of Garet, and that was only yesterday morning. It wasn't like he'd exactly gotten clean; he just stopped drinking for two full days. Before he ascended the stairs so he could indulge, however, something caught his eye.

The door at the end of the hallway was open enough that he could see something shining in the moonlight on the pillow. Great, she left something. Just another stupid reminder that I'll only be able to remember her through her things.

Isaac made his way to spare bedroom and placed the old letters on the nightstand. He could feel his eyes start to water as he recognized the shiny object sitting on the pillow as the locket that she always wore, the one he'd gotten her that resulted in their first kiss… Best to not linger on that thought. Underneath it was a small note with a label that said to read it before opening the locket. Heeding the instructions, Isaac thoroughly read, hoping to fill the void of Mia with these last words she'd written to him.

Isaac,

I know this is hard for you, as it's absolutely devastating for me. I wish I could have made your dreams come true, but sadly fate had other plans for us. I don't know if you'll be angry or sad or scared without me in your life, but I want you to know that I still love you more than anything or anyone else. I hope you regarded the instructions, because I want you to look at the jewel inside as proof of my love for you. I am the last one who touched the jewel; therefore, it is still linked to my heart. As long as you do not touch it, you will always know that I love you.

Never forget.

Love Mia

How it pained him to read those final words. To know that theirs was a forbidden love, unable to exist with the hand fate had dealt them. Isaac wanted to cry out to the heavens to scream at whatever gods had forsaken him. Nothing would bring him relief from this though. Even if he could destroy the one who had caused this terrible destiny, it would never reverse time to give him a better outcome. He would forever live on without the love of his life, cursed to know that she wanted to be with him just as much.

Tears dripped onto the note as he clicked open the locket, careful not to touch anything within it. The old picture of them still remained on the left side. They were so happy back then, so carefree and full of joy. It now seemed more painful than pleasurable to look at it, but he couldn't seem to stop. He also noticed that the colours of the jewel, like Mia had said, were still the same: gold on one half, blue on the other. Before he could think to stop himself, Isaac touched the jewel with his finger, watching as the blue and gold halves switched colours with each other. He never wanted to see Mia fall for someone else, and having it connected to her heart would only leave him with more paranoia than security.

Closing the locket and gathering the letters, Isaac walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He no longer wanted to indulge himself on alcohol; instead, he just wanted to go to sleep. Nothing would wake him from this awful nightmare, so he may as well get the rest that he was depriving himself of. It wasn't like things were going to get better, so he thought it best to simply sleep away his sorrow for tonight. Carefully placing the letters and locket in his nightstand drawer, he crawled into bed, too upset to care about changing into his nightclothes.

He wished that he could sleep away his life, finding escape in his dreams.

Scenes from the next chapter of What is Happiness?

"Are you insane?! You were gonna kill yourself!"

"You don't mind if I stay here with you, do you, man?"

"Garet and I broke up."

"Mia's gone, what else do I have to live for? I won't be stopped this time."

'Oh, gods, no! No, no, no, no, no! What have I done?!'

I figured I'd leave you a nice little sneak peak since I'm not going to be here for a while. Take note that none of the quotes are directly related to each other, meaning that none of these quotes are in direct succession of each other. Each line will appear in that order, but how spread apart, I'm not quite sure yet :)

Well, contrary to last chapter, this one is rather lengthy and I actually enjoyed writing it. Even though it was awful having them finally split apart, I got to work on my emotion capturing. I think for the most part people have been saying I'm good at capturing the real emotions of characters, which is good because some of my dialogue is ridiculously cheesy and describing setting isn't my forte. If I had to rate myself in terms how my writing is I'd say that I'm best at making realistic thoughts/emotions and worst at describing settings. Clear as Mud was a challenge, and even then it was all focused on thoughts and emotions since setting was only apparent near the beginning and little bits throughout the rest of the story. I think it's because I tend to repeat setting descriptions in different words.

Anyway, I know mudshippers (except Mr0cheese since he's actually looking forward to Jenna reappearing in the story. Next chapter, man. She's got a huge role) will be, as an understatement, upset over the events of this chapter, but I'd like to know what you guys thought of the chapter itself. Everything make enough sense? Unfortunately, I'm a lazy editor so I tend to edit it twice at most, which makes me miss things that I don't notice until after I post the chapter and at that point am too lazy to fix. I'm almost certain there's a part in chapter two or three that says 'his their' when it's only supposed to say one of those, so proof of my laziness :P

Okay, so I'm thinking there's only about three or four chapters left. Oh em gee, guys, it's almost done! I realized that I am actually a ridiculously fast updater because other stories I'm reading haven't updated in like four or five months. MONTHS. Seriously, how does it take people years to finish a story that's only ten chapters long? I don't even understand how that happens, but maybe it's because they spend time editing and perfecting their stories while creating elaborate plotlines while I just sit here typing an entire chapter in one sitting, look it over once or twice, and hit post new chapter… Careful planning is for chumps! (jk I respect careful planners)

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-GengaJupite