"Welcome home, Kyle… Isaac…"
"You survived!"
"So did you…"
- Kyle and Dora speaking the final words from Golden Sun: The Lost Age

While this quote has no relevance to my story or this chapter, I felt that it was appropriate for an incredibly nostalgic quote to be placed here. Finishing this story is giving me the same feeling I had when I finished the game for the first time all those many years ago. Also, I've decided that my lengthy author's note would best be put at the end, for I have much to say.

Oh, and I must say that I'm extremely happy with the ten reviews I got! Seriously, I can't express my gratitude enough, so you've all received a relatively long response :)

Disclaimer: Since this is the last time I'll have to write one for this story, I'd better make it legit. I do not own Golden Sun, it's characters, or any terms or concepts affiliated with it. All rights go to Camelot and Nintendo as its respective owners.

Epilogue: Happiness

What began as a rather hectic morning had finally come to a close as the sun touched the peaks of the western mountains. The orange glow of the almost sunset flowed in from the kitchen windows behind Isaac. The room seemed oddly quiet, for no one spoke with Isaac's now-completed story. The three children looked around lazily; having missed their midday naps, they were quite obviously tired. The djinn had inconspicuously managed to float their way over to their elementally respective child adepts and snuggled up against them. Garet had an indeterminate expression on his face, making Isaac wonder if the man was waiting for something or if it was simply his normal face.

"Uncle Isaac," said Karis, the ever-questioning tone in her voice.

"Yes, Karis?"

"What did you and Auntie Jenna do? When you were talking you said that you and her did something bad and then you didn't want to talk to each other after."

Isaac blushed. Of course he hadn't been explicit in his storytelling, they were just children after all! He looked to Garet for help, knowing that the Mars adept would understand his plight, but he was met with a simple smirk. Seemed as though Garet wanted to see what he could come up with. In truth, he could probably just say 'had sex' because the children definitely would not know what that was yet, but Karis would probably ask what sex was, bringing the Venus adept full circle in his attempt to avoid the situation.

"Oh, we did some… grown-up things. Yes, that's right, you guys wouldn't understand if I tried to explain it. We did some bad grown-up things that made both of us very uncomfortable around each other afterward." Isaac sighed in relief when Karis accepted the simplistic answer with a nod.

"Papa, I'm tired," Tyrell yawned, wiping at his eyes as he did so.

"Me too, Uncle Garet," added Karis, laying her head on Tyrell's shoulder.

Garet looked down at the three sleepy children and grinned slightly. Without a word, he lifted Tyrell and Karis (who were still holding hands), and carried them into the children's bedroom. Isaac watched as the Mars adept walked up the stairs before turning back to Matthew, who appeared to be fighting his sleep to no avail.

Rather than following Garet's example, and carrying his son upstairs, Isaac walked over to the couch and took a seat beside his dozing son. He smiled as he reminisced about the day Matthew was born and all the memories they'd had since. This child, this gift from Sol, had made his life unconditionally better since the day he was born, and Isaac silently berated himself for allowing himself to forget that. Softly, he placed his son in his lap and cradled an arm behind the toddler's head. This simple action was enough to send Matthew into the peaceful sleep he'd tried so hard to fight.

"Master…" came Flint's mental voice from between Matthew's arms.

Isaac looked down at Flint, who had been 'sleeping' (since djinn didn't really need sleep) in Matthew's embrace, and tilted his head a bit. "What is it, Flint?"

"Forgive me, but you seem more… at ease. I'm aware that you've told this story to Garet and Ivan before without such results, and I became curious as to what made this time different from those other times."

The once depressed man pondered the question for a moment, searching his mind for an answer. It was a legitimate question, as he'd never really felt any less depressed after telling the story before, so Flint had every right to wonder why he'd be feeling any better on this particular occasion. Isaac pondered through the possibilities: perhaps he'd told it enough times to put some of the events behind him, or maybe this feeling was only temporary. However, one specific reason seemed to pop out in his mind, and he was sure that it had to be this one.

"Well, I'd say that it's because of him," said Isaac, lightly rocking Matthew to indicate whom he meant. "In truth, I only had to tell Garet and Ivan about half of that story because they were there during a good amount of the events. I guess telling the entire thing had a different impact on how I felt about the way my life has played out. I've had a lot of ups and downs, but I always kept going, even when things seemed bleak and terrible. Well, if you don't count the time Ivan stopped me from hanging myself, that is."

Flint seemed just as confused as when he had first asked the question. Despite being by Isaac's side for many years, the ways of human logic still baffled and intrigued him. Even in his eternal life, he felt that he would never grow to fully understand humans. How could such simple creatures lead lives filled with such complexity and chaos? Perhaps the true question was how one could possibly choose to make the right decisions when the wrong ones are often much simpler, especially when dealing with something as fragile as the human heart.

But Flint had come to learn that not all humans are weak. Weakness is a subjective term that refers to ones flaws; thus, it is something that can only be seen in the eye of the beholder. Someone like Isaac was incredibly difficult to be placed under the category of strong or weak. Through battles, teamwork, and willingness to sacrifice for the good of others he had proven that he had a strong heart. Contrarily, he had proven his weakness through attempts of suicide, desire for alcohol, and his inability to cope well with emotional distress. What an odd, but always interesting species the djinn had come to lend their powers to.

"Something bothering you, Flint? You still seem a bit confused."

The djinn shook his 'head', "No, I was just thinking about humans, and what odd creatures they are. I have lived for a very long time, yet never have I fully understood the complexities of the human mind. It seems even non-adepts can lead difficult lives, and yet they are so much simpler than adepts. I hope to someday learn all that I can about humans."

Isaac smiled at his first djinn friend. He'd never taken Flint for a philosophical type, but was… amused, for lack of a better word, by his ponderings. The sound of heavy footsteps descending the stairs stole the Venus adept's attention, and he turned around to see Garet coming back to take a seat by him.

"Matt's a trooper," said his moustached friend, "I saw him fighting off sleep. Guess he wanted to make sure he heard everything."

"Yeah… it's strange to think that he's so much like Jenna in that respect. I've never been a very persistent person, so he doesn't get it from me. I guess that's how people can tell he's her son too."

"Mm. You seem… happier than you did earlier. Storytelling a stress reliever for you or something?"

"No, it's… it's kinda hard to explain. But I am feeling better, no doubt."

"That's good to hear. So, uh… well, if it's not too much trouble, do you mind finishing up the story for me?"

Isaac blinked. "What do you mean? That's all there is to the story. You've been here with me for the events that followed that last part. Everything leads up to this where I feel slightly better after years of sadness."

"Heh, I feel like I'm the bearer of bad news then. I don't really wanna get you down again, Isaac, but I still never got that explanation out of you. The real reason why you've been so depressed?"

"Oh… right…" mumbled Isaac, casting his gaze back down towards his son.

"I fancy I can make an educated guess before you actually tell me outright. Maybe it'll lessen the pain for you a bit." Isaac shrugged, allowing Garet to go on with his prediction. "Well, it seems obvious enough that it had to do something with Mia's kids. My guess is that you're upset she had kids without you. You knew her promise to always love you could break, but you secretly hoped that it never would."

Isaac shook his head. It was a well thought-out guess, and he could easily see why Garet would think that. He'd once thought that to be the reason, but that fact never seemed to top the real reason; and he realized that this wasn't really anything that had gotten to him. After all, he'd be a hypocrite if he got upset over Mia having children without him, since he'd done exactly that with Jenna.

"I can see why you'd think that, and I'll admit that finding out she'd done that without me was a bit upsetting, but that was never really the reason. If anything, that just added a bit to the list of reasons I was depressed, but it wasn't the main thing."

"Then what, pray tell, could have led you into such a downward spiral?"

Isaac looked down at Matthew, then back up at Garet. "Here, hold him for a minute. I think it'd be best if I showed you. That way you can fully understand my situation."

Garet looked at him in confusion, but took the sleeping Matthew from Isaac regardless. Nodding, Isaac stood up and made his way towards the staircase. When he reached the top, he slowly made his way towards his room. As he crossed the threshold, a wave of uncertainty came over him. Now that he'd actually entered the room, he was second-guessing his choice to let Garet know the reason. His feelings about the whole ordeal were… complicated. Nevertheless, he'd made a promise to his friend, and Isaac had never intentionally broken a promise before. He hesitantly reached for the drawer on his nightstand and slid it open. Luckily, Matthew couldn't read yet, so he must have ignored the letters in the drawer when he earlier went to retrieve the locket. Ruffling through a few papers, Isaac found the two that he was looking for and made his way back into the living room.

"What are those?" said Garet, handing Matthew back to Isaac as he sat down on the couch.

"They're letters from Mia… the only two I've received since she left four years ago."

"She still writes to you?"

"Well, like I said, they're the only two she's sent, so I wouldn't really say so. They're both pretty important, so I think maybe you should read this one first."

Garet reached for the newer-looking document that Isaac was holding out for him. He wasn't really sure what he could expect of this. There were endless possibilities, and saying that they were directly related to Mia wasn't exactly specifying anything. Turning it over so that it was right side up, Garet carefully read the neatly written letter.

Dear Isaac,

I'm sure you weren't expecting to hear from me. I'm more surprised that you actually replied to the letter I sent you a few years ago to tell me what had happened in your life.
I'll skip the formalities and get right to the reason that I am writing this letter to you. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I've had another child. You are smart enough to realize that this one, Rief, is not like Nowell. I know I promised to love you, Isaac, and I've hurt myself knowing that I made the same mistake as you did. My feelings for you have never faltered, but I was so lonely without you. This must be an odd feeling for you, since you told me about Matthew in your letter. I can't deny that that knowledge may have sent me into a further despair, but I've grown beyond that. I have no right to be upset or angry with you now that I, too, have borne a child out of loneliness. I can only hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. You are still my one true love.

Never forget.
Mia

Garet scanned it a couple more times before scratching his head. A few thoughts were running through his mind, but he couldn't seem to piece them together. Would the other letter answer some of his questions? Well, he could only hope so, because he wasn't guaranteed an answer from Isaac.

"Something the matter, Garet?"

"I, uh… well, to be honest, some of the things in this letter don't really make sense to me. The way she words things makes it sound kinda like Rief and Nowell are… I dunno, different I guess. It doesn't really specify what she means, so I'm not exactly sure what it is I'm supposed to be reading. On a different note, I'm not sure how you felt about her saying she still loves you and all. I'd think you'd be thrilled, but then the other thought is that it's kinda like a dagger to the heart since it only makes the fact that you can't see each other even worse."

"At least you're on the right track with your thinking," said Isaac, sounding a bit downcast, but not as much as he had that morning. "Here, if you read this one, that one should make more sense. I had to make sure all of the context was in place before you found out everything."

Garet eyed the letter in Isaac's outstretched hand. It was clearly older than the one he currently held, and had apparently been read many more times. He began to question if he really wanted to find out the reason for his friend's pain. Everything he'd learned about Isaac's life was complicated and upsetting, but here sat said Venus adept, willingly allowing his best friend to discover the deepest secret he'd kept from the world. Glancing back up at Isaac, he was met with a reassuring expression. Hesitating slightly, Garet reached out, carefully grabbed the letter, and turned it over so he could read the tear-stained curvature.

Dear Isaac,

I know that being away from you for only one year is probably an odd time to be writing to you again, but this is something that you deserve to know about. I should have written to you earlier on, but I just couldn't bring myself to hurt you. Now I find myself in a position where I must tell you the news. There is no excusable reason to be subtle, so I will be blunt with this.
I have a daughter, Isaac. Her name is Nowell and she was born only a short time ago. I should have told you when I was pregnant, but, as I said before, I was afraid of the pain it would cause you. Afraid not because you thought I may have cheated on you, but because of the fact that I never cheated on you.
To put this simply, Isaac, Nowell is your daughter. I knew it would destroy you to know that you may never meet her, but I thought it would be worse to never tell you of her existence. I couldn't keep a horrible secret like that from you, not when you had told me that being a father was your dream. Perhaps someday you will get the chance to meet her. I promise I will do everything in my power to make that happen.

Don't give up on hope.
Love Mia

Obviously, Mia hadn't given up on prefixing her name with 'love' at that point, but that wasn't exactly the most pressing thing on Garet's mind.

He sat holding the letter, jaw agape, rereading the exact same phrase over and over again. Isaac, Nowell is your daughter. Nowell. Isaac. Daughter. Your. Is. Everything about that phrase was an explosion in his mind. Garet was too dumbfounded to speak. He slowly brought his gaze upwards to see Isaac with an unchanged expression. It would seem as though Isaac expected no less of a reaction from what Garet was currently giving to him.

"She… she… you… two kids?" Garet stuttered dumbly.

"Yes, Garet. I have two kids, Mia has two kids, but between the two of us there's only a total of three children. Nowell has two half brothers. Matthew and Rief are not related in any way."

Suddenly, Garet's movement and speaking abilities returned to normal, allowing him to smack himself on the forehead. "Gods, no wonder you never told anyone! I feel bad knowing your deepest, darkest secret! …But… Isaac, I'm so sorry. It must be such a terrible burden to carry. After all these years, you've been upset because of possibly one of the most complex situations I've ever known. I can't sympathize with you because I can't even imagine what it would be like to never meet your own daughter."

"Don't trouble yourself," Isaac sighed.

"Man, I used to think I had issues. I guess it's a little late to tell you I'm here for you. I don't mean to add to your pain, but now I'm more curious about what her kids are like, specifically Nowell. You'd think people who know you and Nowell would see somewhat of a similarity, right?"

"Actually," said Isaac, going towards a desk to retrieve yet another paper, "I heard from Kraden recently. Seems he's actually been in Imil for a few years now. Apparently he's Nowell's early-learning teacher."

"Oh, well don't keep me in the dark, lemme see what he said!"

Taking the third letter from Isaac, Garet skimmed over the lengthy letter, skipping the ramblings and parts he deemed boring.

Isaac,

Greetings and salutations. How have you been these past few years? I suppose that… blah blah blah psynergy blah blah blah Imil blah blah studies…
I must say that I was rather surprised to find Mia living here without you. After the tragedy in New Vale, I knew the two of you would go to Kalay, but I was surprised to find only Mia back in Imil… blah blah relationships blah blah…
I suppose things cannot always work out, and you have my condolences over such an unfortunate turn of events. I'm sure you know of Mia's child, Nowell, though. My, even for a toddler, she certainly is a striking image of her mother, extremely intelligent as well. Oddly enough, I cannot stop myself from being reminded of you when I am watching her learn. I teach many of the young ones here in Imil, but she is remarkably similar to how you behaved, except that you were a teenager and she is an infant. Nevertheless, she shows signs of remarkable leadership amongst the others, and prefers to learn by doing rather than reading. No matter, I'm sure there are many children with similar personalities. It is in the genes… blah blah blah…

Write soon, and keep me up to date with whatever it is you are doing. I am most interested.
Kraden

"Ugh, that man does not know when to stop talking! I'm surprised he fit this all on one piece of parchment."

"Yeah, but I'm sure you just skipped to the parts about Nowell, anyway. That was why I gave you the letter, and I wouldn't expect you of all people to read a letter from Kraden."

"Well, well, looks like jokester Isaac is back!" chuckled Garet.

Isaac chuckled as well. It felt good to feel like his old self, even if it was for only a brief moment. It was times like these that he would cherish, for good things didn't seem to happen often in his life as of late.

"Anyway," said Garet, "I should probably get back to that errand for Ivan. If he's coming tomorrow to pick up Karis, then he'll be wanting it done by the time he gets here."

With that, Garet took his leave of Isaac, making his way towards the office down the hall. Isaac stayed on the couch for a minute, slightly rocking Matthew back and forth in his arms. He quietly gathered together the three letters Garet had placed on the couch and carried Matthew up the stairs to put him to bed. As he climbed the stairs, Matthew began to stir a bit, catching Isaac's attention.

"Dada…" he mumbled sleepily.

"Oh, Matthew, I was just about to put you to bed. Tyrell and Karis are already there."

As they reached the top, Matthew asked Isaac something that he was clearly not expecting from his son. "Dada, are you happy?"

"…Well, yes, I'm feeling pretty happy."

"No, I mean are you a happy person?"

Isaac stopped outside of the children's room and looked down at his son's face. The boy was clearly still groggy, but he was waiting for an answer. What could a father tell to his young son in a situation like this? Oddly enough, this was something Isaac thought about quite often. Was he happy with his life? How many things did he have to be happy about? Some questions were straightforward, while others were a bit more philosophical. Of course, the one that he could not seem to find a definitive answer for was probably the most appropriate: What is happiness? Of course, Isaac could simply lie and say that he most definitely was happy, but he disliked the thought of deceiving his son. No, the best course of action was always to do what was right, no matter the consequences.

"To be honest, Matthew, I'm not sure. I'd like to tell you that I am a happy person, but that would be a lie. I know I haven't been a very happy man for a long time, but I promise that I'm going to try."

"Don't worry, Dada, I won't leave you."

"Hmm? I didn't think you were going to."

"I know, but I know it makes you sad when people leave you. Mama left you a long time ago and Miss Mia left you before I was born. Both of them made you sad, so I won't make you sad."

Isaac couldn't help but chuckle. While he was never worried about Matthew abandoning him, he certainly enjoyed that his son was intelligent enough to piece together something like that. As he chuckled away, Isaac felt a gentle hand touch his cheek. Stifling his laughter, Isaac looked down and smiled at his son. Shifting his hold on Matthew onto one arm, he brought his other hand up to his son's and allowed Matthew to grip around his pinky. It was in that moment of recreating the very first physical contact Matthew ever made with him that Isaac realized what his happiness was. No amount of material items or swooning women could ever amount to the feeling he had right then: love for his son.

"You aren't sad, are you, Dada?"

"No, Matthew, and I won't be sad ever again. This I promise."

"Is something making you happy?"

Isaac smiled and kissed his son on the forehead. The young boy barely reacted, but a small smile replaced his curious expression. There was only one answer to Isaac's happiness. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling confident. He could tell his son the answer to this question without hesitation, and he would fully stand behind his answer until the day he died. Smiling at his sleepy son, Isaac closed his hand around Matthew's tiny hand, and allowed the newfound happiness to replace the depression that clung to his heart. One word, one reason, one family.

"You."

I can't believe it's finally over. I know the finale is probably much shorter than everyone was expecting, but it isn't quite over! You can skip past this lengthy author's note if you just want to read the ending. Really, the reason I put this here is because I had two endings for this story, but I couldn't decide on only one to use. Therefore, the first ending is up there^ and the second one is after all of this. That might sound weird, but trust me it'll make sense since they don't take place at the same time as each other.

Anyway, wow, I still seriously can't believe I'm done this. I mean, yeah, I started it back in mid-November, so it's not a ridiculously long amount of time that I've been writing, but I almost feel like it's been a stepping stone in life :P. I still remember back to the summer of 2012 when I was contemplating over and over if it was too nerdy to write a fanfic. Eventually I just said screw it and started plotting it out, since I already had ideas in my head. Still, it feels great and a little saddening to see this end. Oh, and I'd like to congratulate AnriMia24 for correctly guessing Isaac's turmoil. I dunno if anybody else guessed it; I tried to downplay the lovemaking between Isaac and Mia so that people wouldn't really think anything of it. However, clever little Anri over here was observant enough to piece it all together.

Technically the story isn't over since there's a little more to be read down below, but I'm writing all this out after I finished writing out the conclusion. If anyone's wondering about a sequel; no, there won't be a sequel, but when you read the conclusion, you'll see that this is not the end for this story… that may sound confusing, but you'll understand once you read it.

On the note of other stories, I'm planning on writing a GS crossover series with games like Xenoblade Chronicles, Kingdom Hearts, and Radiant Historia. The first 'book' in the series is called Connection: Sol and Monado so check it out if you're curious or bored. The first one is gonna be mostly GS and XC, so you won't have to know too much about the other two, but some KH knowledge would be helpful. Honestly, I'm not writing that story for popularity (since crossovers don't tend to get too much attention I find), but more because I have a fair amount of game knowledge all compiled in my head, and I'd like to sort of empty it out in a way, so making a story out of it seems like the best way. I've got a plot worked out and everything, so there's no issue about it just being random crap thrown about everywhere.

I'm also planning on writing a Kingdom Hearts fic too, so if you aren't big on crossovers or KH then I'm sorry to say that I'll be taking a little break from GS for a while. I like to keep my mind fresh, so lingering around in one fandom when I've got so much love for many more seems illogical. If you are a KH fan, then this is good news for you! It's going to be a RokuNami-based fic with a bit of SoKai and possibly others, though it's central to Roxas and Naminé. It's called All's Fair in Love and War (cheesy, I know), so check it out if you get the chance.

My brain also decided that it would be a good idea to think up the plot for an Fire Emblem fic, so, yes in case you're wondering, this does mean that I'll be working on three stories simultaneously -_-. It's not that I can't handle the pressure, but I was kinda like 'ugh wtf, brain, do you want me to die?' Well, regardless, it's gonna be an AU high school fic (I know, typical, eh?) that crosses over characters from all of the FE universes that I've played. Since I haven't played FE 1-5 (well, technically I played Shadow Dragon and Heroes, so 2, 4, and 5), you won't see any characters from Gaiden, Seisen no Keifu, or Thracia 776. If I decide to put any in, they'll have minor roles since I don't really know their personalities and such. It also has the most ridiculously random pairing for the main ship, but I won't spoil it for you. You'll see when I post the first chapter since it'll be in the story description. Look for a story called Crossfire or just visit my profile.

Worry not, GS fans, for I shall return to my roots later on in time. People have been giving me some suggestions, so I'm sure I won't run out of ideas. In the meantime, you can check out my oneshot, Clear as Mud, or eagerly anticipate the next installment in this series. Again, there's no sequel, but… you know what, just read the conclusion, you'll understand what I'm saying!

Anyway, I have some people to thank for standing by my story for all this time, even when it got really sad and depressing. CruelRuin and Hanabro, I thank you guys for your kind words and such. Even though you both were only around to review for a short amount of time, I enjoyed your thoughts and words. Proxian, Holly3500, Golden Sun Guy 17, jaime, and bearclaw13, even though I only got one or two reviews from you guys, I appreciate that you took the time to do so. All I wanted was to hear from people, so I'm glad that I got to. And last, but most certainly not least, Mr0cheese and AnriMia24, my favourite reviewers of this story. Not only did you review every chapter (you were close enough, Mr0cheese), but you each wrote an extensive review for each one. My apologies for that ultimatum on reviews, because I feel that it was mostly going to affect the two of you. I'm very glad that there are people like you who will take the time to read and review each and every chapter, so thank you. Thank you all, in fact. I won't be doing this for every story I write, so be glad that you were a part of the first one :). I apologize if I missed anyone: if you've only reviewed chapter 22, then you aren't on this list, but your response is just below.

With that being said, to the people who reviewed chapter 22, we all thank you, for this conclusion would not have made it here without you! Also seems like people wanted, sorry, "expected" to have Garet lay a beatdown on Isaac. Sorry, folks, it was never in my plans to have him do so from the moment I plotted that scene in November.

CruelRuin: You certainly know how to compliment, that's for sure :). In terms of the reviews, it wasn't so much that I was afraid people didn't like my story (I also wouldn't say I'm on par with the best, but thank you!) as it was I wasn't getting feedback from many people. Lately it's just been you, cheese, and Anri with maybe one other every once in a while. I just started getting frustrated since I already had a pretty good idea of how you guys felt about it, and I wanted to know what other people were thinking. As it's been stated above, my next works won't actually be centralized around GS. Unless I do some oneshots or something, I don't plan on writing the next one for some time. I do like the Piers idea, though I'm more of a romance writer, so I might have some difficulty writing a non-romance adventure story, but I will look into the idea. Again, if you haven't, check out my oneshot and read the conclusion down below to get a glimpse of my next GS story. Until then, it's been a pleasure getting your feedback :).

Proxian: Worry not, friend, for I'm not hurt by the lack of reviews. If anything, I feel guilty for making that ultimatum in the first place… On the outside it looks like I have tons of reviews (fifty something at this point), but it's only because it was the same people reviewing each chapter. Anyway, I'm glad that you took the time to do so even though you have to work. I'm honoured that you would say my mudshipping fic is your favourite, as I'm sure you've probably read more fics than I have. I think I only started getting into them around mid 2010 or something so only about 2.5 years, and that's on and off, mind you. As for duskshipping, I've never really had much standing in Felix's relationships, other than kind of liking lighthouse. That being said, I won't trash the idea of writing a dusk fic; it probably won't be a priority, but if I come up with any ideas, I'll be sure to write them down.

Mr0cheese: Damn, had people been reviewing as quickly as they did for chapter 22, I think I would've finished the story at least a month ago :P. I also had a chuckle when you said the Garet anger thing because you're the third person in a row to have expected something to come of that. Hopefully it wasn't an issue with my characterization of him, but I never planned for Isaac to get beat up. Besides, it looks like you understand why he didn't. Anyway, Golden Sun is gonna take a backseat to Kingdom Hearts and Fire Emblem for the next little while (unless you read the crossover I'm making), so at least I know you'll stick around for FE (at least I hope so). GengaJupite class changes to Grandmaster! :P

BritRecon: Dude (I'm assuming you're male, judging by the limited amount I saw on your profile), I'll get to your flattering words in a second, but that pun made me laugh. At first I was like …so he wrote support in all caps… wait… wait a second… LOL Oh, you. This guy *points to you*, this funny SOB right here, made a pretty simple pun that made me laugh for longer than it probably should have. If you read all of this ridiculously long author's note you'll know that I do intend to carry out an FE fic, though it's honestly the randomest crap I think anyone would have ever thought of. Seriously, I won't tell you the main shipping, but rest assured it's never been done before (probably because no one thinks like me :P). Anyway, I can't thank you (or anyone else who's said it) enough for giving this story such praise. Honestly, I thought it was dying out when I was going through the depressing chapters, but these kind reviews have given me hope for my future works! As it's been said, I won't be staying in GS for the time being, but I know you'll be there supporting my FE fic to an A rank.

AnriMia24: I, too, hope that you smiled at this, and if none of what happened above made you smile, then what happens in the actual conclusion is almost guaranteed to. I'll bet that cookie on it :P. This story probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere without you constantly there to review it, so I thank you most of all. Hopefully you'll still be around for the next GS fic I write. It won't be mudshipping central, but there will still be mudshipping included. The crossover I'm writing is also mudshipping, but then I don't know if you follow other games, so I wouldn't want you to be confused by the other games involved and such. I'll be back at some point, though, I promise.

tutien99: Well, I hope you weren't disappointed with Mia's downplayed reaction to Matthew's conception. I suppose I could have made it more detailed than just the implication that she didn't write to him for a couple years, but I didn't think it would be all that realistic if she told Isaac everything in a letter. The jewel in the locket (which he did touch, actually) changes to represent the colours of the heart of the one who touches it and the heart of the person they truly love. Mia didn't want him to touch it because it would still be connected to her heart until he touched it, meaning that it would show whom she truly loved. He touched it anyway out of fear of seeing it someday change colour, meaning that she had fallen in love with someone else. I think I actually read the first chapter of your story, but then started getting too busy to continue. I'll revisit it at some point, but it may not be for a while because I've put quite a workload on myself.

bearclaw13: Odd as it may sound, I'm glad you pointed out the things you didn't like and any issues you saw; after all, my work isn't perfect. Had I changed the plot around a bit, I'm sure I could have made Tyrell's birth legitimate, but since I didn't want Garet to lay a beating down on Isaac I had to have a reason that would stop him. I agree, Garet was kind of OOC (the part that was getting to me was the disgraced honour part), but I had trouble trying to get him back in character at such a trying time in both their lives. As for FE, I'm only on my second playthrough, but my first one is at 75 hours or something because I was trying to get all the supports to an A level (something I still haven't completed). The only reason I started my second one is because I wanted to use a female tactician (though I like the portrait of female Morgan much better than the male one).

Mr. E Box: Short, sweet, simple; I approve. Thank you, sir! The main point was to have it stay canon even though that required the opposite shipping from my preference. It seems I've been able to get quite a few non-mudshippers interested in the story, so I'd say that's the biggest accomplishment here though :)

Meteor64: Now this is the review I've been waiting for! I'm not going to say that I was looking forward to a critical review, but I was actually hoping to receive one (hopefully that makes sense :P). I'll have to go back and reread how the beginning is written to see what you mean about formality, because I haven't really looked at the earlier chapters since they were posted. I have to apologize for the repetitiveness of the dialogue and descriptions (like Isaac's Mia worship), as that's something that's plagued my writing for years. While it seems to work well enough on essays and papers thankfully, it did make me a bit nervous to start writing this in the first place (as the public's opinions are more important that my profs' :P). I tried to make the sex thing make sense, but I understand where you're coming from since I, too, felt that I was pushing it a bit with that length of time. Unfortunately I made them start dating pretty early on, so ten years is what I had to deal with. As for the element adept thing, I'm really bad with descriptions (as I pointed out above with my repetitiveness), which resulted in a lack of different ways to refer to each person. I don't think I would've used the examples you gave me (no offense), but I definitely could've spent some more time on that. Unfortunately, in that respect, I already finished editing by the time you said that, and couldn't be bothered to re-edit everything again, so there is still an abundance of 'element adept's in this finale. I think what I liked most about this review is that you've made it clear to the other reviewers (whom I've tried to convince as well) that I am not perfect, especially when it comes to storytelling and writing. As I said in some chapter earlier on, I think the most suitable way to describe me is an efficient writer but nothing more. I get my work done to a satisfactory degree, nothing more nothing less. And as for FE, I feel bad that you have to wait so long, but you're gonna love Awakening. My favourite things about it were definitely the new classes and support system, so if that's the kind of stuff you're into then you'll be drooling as much as I was.

Memmola: Aw yeah, manly tears are always welcome in the sad parts of my story :). I'm always worried that my love or sadness sections will come off as stupidly cheesy, so it's reassuring when people respond the way I want them to! Not really sure what else to say, you had a relatively short, straightforward review. Thanks for taking the time to do so and hopefully my break from GS won't turn you away from my work by the time I've returned!

I suppose this has gone on long enough, hasn't it? Well, thank you all for sticking by this story, and I promise that this isn't the last you'll be hearing of me. Don't forget to review once you're done reading the conclusion, and check out my soundcloud!

-GengaJupite

It was a bit cloudy over the Goma Plateau, then again it couldn't be worse than those ominous, purple-tinted clouds that showed up to the east. Forty-seven-year-old Garet sat in his office, scribbling down the words at the end of a rather large book. Dotting the period of the final sentence, he blew on the page to dry the ink. He closed the book confidently and stared at the front cover for a moment. Flipping it open to the blank first page, a look came over his face as if a lightbulb went off in his head. Happily, he neatly wrote down a title, careful to make his curvature as tidy and fancy as possible. Content with his work, he left it open to dry.

"So that's what you've been working on for all this time," came a voice from behind him.

Garet jumped at the sound of his companion's voice. Since when did he get so stealthy? Then again, the Mars adept had to admit that he'd gotten quite absorbed in his work. "Isaac! You scared me!"

"Heh, I didn't even sneak in, you were just too into what you were doing. That's quite a title you've created. I didn't think you could be such a poetic, literary person, Garet," Isaac jeered.

Garet glanced back down at the title he'd created for the book. Honestly, he didn't think it to be all that interesting. It was just two little words followed by a few more words. Still, he had to admit that the fancy font he'd written it in did make it look a bit more sophisticated.

Blue Fire
Memoirs of a Mars Adept

"Yeah, well, I figured I'd write down my story. You know how you had yours from all those years ago when you told the kids? Well, this is basically my story from the same time frame."

"Ah, so it's like a parallel to mine. Interesting."

As the two were talking, a knock sounded from the front door. Isaac swiftly made his way there while Garet waited another minute for his ink to dry. They had been expecting the kids to return with the Roc's Feather sometime soon, but weren't expecting them for at least a few more months. As the Venus adept approached the door, another set of knocks sounded. Gee, talk about impatient people. Not like we get a ton of visitors anyway. He was met with complete surprise when he answered the door.

"Isaac. It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

He was speechless. Both people before him were giving him their own form of surprise. They were both familiar; however, Isaac felt that he only recognized the man who spoke. He wasn't really getting a good look at his companion, for she hid behind the man. Isaac heard a gasp from behind him, indicating that Garet had just entered the room and also had the same reaction.

"P-Piers? What are you doing here?" Isaac finally managed to say.

"Er, it's a long story. I'll explain it to you in a bit, but right now there's someone that I think you should meet."

The young woman behind him stepped to his side and looked the Venus adept up and down. Despite having never met her before in his life, Isaac knew who she was instantly. Other than the bulbous purple hat and two pigtails instead of a ponytail, she was a spitting image of her mother. He wanted to speak, but found his voice to be caught in his throat again.

"I-it's nice to finally meet you, sir," she said timidly. Sol, she even sounded like her mother the first time he'd met her. "I suppose I should probably tell you my name. I'm-"

"Nowell," he said before she could finish. "You're Nowell."

A smile graced her beautiful face, and he could see tears begin to form in her eyes. Either that or it was because tears were causing his own vision to blur. She didn't back away or cringe when he reached his hands up to grasp her shoulders. It was as if he couldn't tell if she was real or not. He'd dreamed of this moment for sixteen years, and now it was finally happening.

"I've waited so long to meet you, Nowell, and now I finally have. Nowell, my beautiful daughter."

He was gripped in an embrace that he instantly returned to the girl who had, up until a few moments ago, been a complete stranger to him.

"Oh, father, I, too, have waited a long time to meet you!" she said tearfully.

He held her tightly, never wanting to let her go; as if she would leave like Mia had. Isaac could feel the locket pressed against his chest grow warm. He loosened his grip from Nowell to click it open. The Gift of Venus glowed brightly, the gold and blue jewels producing light and heat from the rekindled love he felt for Mia. Even after seventeen years away from her, his love had never dwindled. This union with their daughter only reminded him of his undying love for the Mercury adept. Nowell smiled, knowing full well what this item was, and a tear slid down her cheek to know that the blue and gold colours still proved Isaac's love for her mother. Seeing the girl who looked so much like Mia had when they were young made him remember the feelings from when he first held her hand, became her boyfriend, proposed to her, and reunited here at the cabin with her. The feelings of giddiness, joy, elation, and true love.

"How did you know where to find me?" he asked her, still in disbelief that he was speaking to the daughter he thought he'd never meet.

"She told me about you; where you live, what you're like, and what your dreams were in the past. It's been a long time, but she's been waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

Nowell smiled, oh how she resembled Mia so. Isaac wished he could return to his youthful days when he didn't have a care in the world. The days when he could sit by a fire with Mia were some of the best of his life, and in Nowell's smile he could see all of his days of love and joy flashing before him. His daughter took his hands in hers and looked him in the eye, piercing him with his own crystal-blue eyes.

"You."

The End