Chapter 2:
Through the Tunnel
Mia ran towards the dark figure, her sled full of supplies dragging behind her, hoping it was one of her friends, or someone who had seen them. The stranger fell out of sight as a hill rose in front of her, but it didn't take long for Mia to climb it. She opened her mouth to shout a greeting- but the man was gone.
She froze. There was no way the stranger could have disappeared so quickly. Unless, the blood ran out of Mia's face, he teleported. Alex could teleport. For a moment that was the only thought running through her otherwise numb mind. But the hopeful part of her mind quickly rebounded; there was no way he could have survived. Was there? But if he is alive, whispered the sneaky voice from last night, could he be responsible for the strange illness?
The girl closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her temples. She didn't need this right now. Her eyes hadn't closed for more than five minutes in the last 36 hours. Exhaustion swept through her thin body and she just wanted to crawl in a hole and die. "Gods protect us all," she muttered.
Her despair didn't last long; she had mission she had to see through. Summoning the inner strength that had served her so well when she learned of Alex's betrayal in the first place, she pushed all thoughts of him and her weakness out of her mind. Finding her friends was her first duty. Only after she had succeeded would she pay the strange man and his abrupt departure any heed.
"Now that that's settled, where could they be?" she mumbled. "Well, if I was in their situation, I'd head towards Sam's house. Isaac would've been smart enough to ask for directions, right? Even if he didn't though, it's still my best bet to backtrack towards Sam's."
Suddenly it dawned on her that she was talking to herself. I have got to stop doing that she thought as she walked off across the tundra towards Sam's. Various thoughts tumbled through her head like a waterfall, but she ignored them. Her concentration was focused on looking for her friends. Good thing she was paying such close attention, otherwise she would've missed a black hole gaping in the ice.
She scrambled over the ten yards or so that separated her from the hole. With a cry of delight she recognize the loud voice that was emanating from it, "Garet!" Now she was at the edge and she peered down the dark shaft, trying to make out the familiar shapes of her friends.
For a moment she heard no response. She began to think that it had only been her imagination; overtired and sleep deprived as she was. Then, as if from a long way off:
"Mia!"
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Isaac landed cat like on the balls of his feet. "Jenna," he cried desperately, "Jenna, are you alright!"
There was no answer.
"Jenna!' Tears were streaming down his face. He realized it wasn't his fault that Jenna had fallen down the hole, but a part of him couldn't help but feel guilty; feel as if it was all his fault.
"Isaac…" it was a whimper,.
He ran over towards where he had heard her voice, nearly tripping over Jenna's prone body. She lay only a few feet from where Isaac had landed. By now his vision had grown adjusted to the dark and he could see that Jenna didn't look so good.
Her cinnamon colored hair was spread around her and her face was deathly still except for the tears that were running down her face. He could understand why she was crying. Her left leg was twisted unnaturally beneath her; and the white glint of bone sparkled in the faint light.
"Jenna!" he fell to his knees and grabbed her hand, 'Hold on Jenna, I'm gonna heal you."
The freckles stood out starkly on her now bloodless face, but she attempted to a smile,
"Don't worry….I can…heal myself."
He couldn't help but laugh at her bravery. "Same old Jenna," he smiled, "But I don't think you can heal an injury as bad as this."
She closed her eyes and gave a tight nod, "Suit yourself"
Carefully, Isaac placed his hands over her injured leg. There was a flash of yellow as he tried his strongest healing cure. The leg got a little better, at least the bone had reinserted itself into the flesh. But the agony of bone and flesh knitting back together also served to make Jenna whimper in agony.
"What's wrong?' asked a wheezing voice. Garet had landed, belly flopping, just in time to see Isaac's healing.
Isaac frowned, "Jenna broke her leg and I tried to heal it. I did some good, but she's still in a lot of pain."
Garet seemed unsure of how he should feel, after all he had just been enraged at the girl, so he settled for a 'well, it was all her fault' sort of look.
The Earth Adept scowled at his friend, "Don't," he said sternly, reading Garet's thoughts as clearly as if he had been a Jupiter Adept.
Garet shrugged, "Wasn't gonna say nothing," he mumbled.
Isaac snorted, then looked back at Jenna, she was still conscious, but just barely it seemed. For the first time he noticed she was bleeding at the head as well; a thin trickle of red blood intermingling with her tears. Sitting back on his heels, Isaac's face twisted unhappily, "This is beyond my skill. I can't heal head wounds with much chance of success, we really need Mia."
Jenna winced at the sound of the other girl's name, and Isaac wondered what grudge she held against the Mercury Adept. "Don't worry," he mouthed, giving her much smaller hand a tight squeeze, "I know how to cheer you up."
Turning to Garet, a sly smile crossed his features, "You know Garet, if someone, but I won't mention any names, had been smart enough to stay up there and lower down some rope we'd be fine. But no, you just had to jump after us like some sort of giant lemming."
Behind him he felt Jenna shake with silent laughter as Garet reddened slightly. He opened his mouth to reply, "Oh yeah Isaac! Well-"
"Garet!"
"Huh?" the Mars Adept ceased mid-sentence and looked upward. "Mia!"
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Mia was overjoyed, it was them! "How are you guys? What happened?" she called down.
It was Isaac who answered this time, "Jenna fell down this hole and we sort of jumped after her. She's hurt pretty badly and we need you to heal her!"
"Alright," Mia yelled back. "I'll tie a rope and we can climb back up after I heal Jenna."
"Sounds good!" came Garet's cheerful reply, "And Mia?"
"Yes?"
In her mind's eye she could see Garet grinning like a lunatic as he shouted up to her, "I'm glad you're alive!"
Mia laughed as she slammed a stake deep into the ground and tied a rope around it, "Me too!"
Sticking her medical kit in her mouth, she shimmied down through the hole, trying not to dwell on the fact that she was scared of heights ever since she had almost fallen to her doom. Much to her relief, her feet touched the ground a few minutes later. "Wow, that was scary." she muttered under her breath.
Her brain didn't have much time to register how glad she was to be back on solid ground before she was swept into a bone crushingly tight hug. "I'm glad to you see you too, Garet." she breathed as she felt her face turn blue.
"Ummm…Garet… I think you're crushing her." Isaac told his friend.
"Oh." Hastily Garet let go of Mia, causing her to stumble back several paces before she regained her balance. "Sorry about that Mia," he laughed, rubbing his head awkwardly
"No harm done Garet," she said, glad the dark hid her blush. She turned to face Isaac,
"Where's Jenna?"
He pointed a little off to the side where he had propped her up against a wall, "Can you fix her?" he asked nervously.
Mia nodded and strode over to where her friend lay. Assessing Jenna's injuries she smiled, "Of course. I've patched up worse than this before. You did a good job on her leg Isaac. This won't be hard at all."
"Pure ply!" she commanded.
A halo of blue light surrounded the two females; it gave the whole thing an eerie, ethereal look. Then Mia slumped forward gasping. "I can't do it," she whispered in amazement.
Isaac's eyes widened and he grabbed her by the shoulders, "What, why not?"
Mia closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pulsing headache she now had, "I don't know. I haven't used any psynergy since last night when I healed Sam's parents."
Garet frowned and crossed his arms, "Mia...how much sleep did you get last night?"
At the thought of sleep, Mia let out a huge yawn, "None at all, really. It's not recommended to fall asleep when you're freezing in a blizzard. Most of the time you won't wake up."
Isaac nodded as listened to what Mia said, "No wonder you can't heal Jenna, you're worn out!"
Jenna spoke for the first time since Mia had joined the group, "Don't worry," she whispered, her breathing shallow. "You tried, and I'm sure I'll be fine."
Mia gave her a tiny smile, "Of course you will." but Isaac couldn't help but notice a worried look on her face. Pulling Mia to the side he asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Mia sighed, "I should've known I couldn't get away with lying to you Isaac. It's just that Jenna's injuries, while easy to heal if I was at my full strength, are quite grave. The leg isn't so bad, but I'm worried about the head injury. And there's no way in Heaven or Hell are we going to be able to get her back up that rope in the condition she's in."
Garet, noticing the two's hushed conversation walked over, "What's up?"
Quickly Mia and Isaac explained. He nodded and frowned, deep in thought or at least, deep in thought for Garet. "Well…" he began slowly, "There are tunnels leading out of here. Any idea where they go?"
Mia snapped her fingers, "That's it! Garet, you're a genius!"
Isaac stared at her, at a loss for words, but Mia ignored him. "This cavern is just a part of a network of tunnels that intersect all throughout Imil and the surrounding area! They were believed to have been built by an ancient civilization for-"
"Mia!" Garet interrupted her, "That's very and fascinating and all, but get to the point please, you're beginning to sound like Kraden!"
Mia blushed and muttered, "Sorry about that… What I was trying to say is, these tunnels go everywhere. Several even go up to the lighthouse itself and I know that at least one of the entrance's there have a proper staircase we can take Jenna up. Then all we have to is give her some of the Hermes Water from the spring and she'll be fine."
Isaac nodded his agreement, "Sounds good to me, and it'll be a lot quicker than having one of us run to and fro from the lighthouse. Just one question; which way is it?"
The blue haired Adept closed her eyes and thought about her location. When she opened them she immediately pointed to thin tunnel that diverged from an odd angle, "That way!"
Isaac turned with a grin, "You hear that Jenna? We'll have you fixed up in no time."
There was no response, Jenna had passed out. Isaac rushed over to her, "Jenna!"
"Isaac, don't!" shouted Mia, "She needs to rest."
The leader of the group stopped mid-stride, and he slumped in defeat, "Alright. But whose gonna carry her?"
Mia immediately turned to Garet. "What?" he yelped, "Why me?"
"Because you're the strongest one here," she said matter-of-factly. "You know very well I can't carry her, and Isaac could, but it'd be slow going. Jenna needs to be treated as soon as possible."
Garet grumbled but did as Mia told him, hoisting the female Mars Adept onto his back,
"Fine, but mark my words, I am gonna make Isaac carry her at least part of the way. She's his girlfriend after all."
"She's not my girlfriend!" yelled Isaac hotly, probably more hotly than he should have.
Mia giggled and Garet just waved him off.
"She's not my girlfriend," Isaac repeated, quieter this time. Then, more loudly, he started off down the tunnel, "C'mon you guys, we don't have all day."
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Ivan was hiding an evergreen shrub. It was prickly and kept poking him even through his thick mage's robe. I wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for Sheba he thought angrily.
Then he sighed. No, that wasn't fair. He had wanted to go out with Sheba after all, and he did know that Felix liked her.
Unfortunately, he hadn't realized Felix liked her this much. Ivan wondered how long he'd been hiding here; three quarters of an hour maybe, and before that Felix had been chasing him for a long time. "Damn all relationships," he muttered crossly.
"I heard that," came a sly voice from behind him.
Ivan squeaked and jumped several feet into the air. His start of surprise was met with a sudden out pouring from laughter from the person who had snuck up on him: Sheba.
"Oh Sheba, didn't see you there," he said nervously.
Sheba chuckled, her eyes dancing merrily, "You didn't did you?"
Ivan laughed. Then his voice became serious, "Look, Sheba, we need to talk."
She nodded, "I know, I had no idea Felix would react like this."
"So, what do you want to do?"
The blonde girl smirked, "Well, first I want to go back inside, you must be freezing out here. Felix's agreed to a truce. I have his word that he won't try to hurt you or try and pry any information out about our…uh…date."
Ivan nodded, relief spreading from the tips of his straw colored hair to his numb toes,
"Alright then."
Suddenly, a dizzy feeling swept through him, scaring away all the bits of relief that he had been soaking in. He dropped to the ground, clutching his head. Vague pictures pulsed through his mind. There was Mia; water rushing around on all sides. But that picture was soon replaced by others; people screaming and fires, the healing spring, something dark…a demon? and a blue haired man who bore a striking resemblance to Alex. The boy groaned as his head desperately tried to process the images.
"Ivan!" Sheba shrieked, "Ivan what's wrong?"
He moaned, but the vision was beginning to subside, "We have to get to Mercury Lighthouse. The others are in trouble."
Sheba didn't question him, only nodded and pulled him to his feet. With the renowned speed of the Jupiter Adepts they raced to get Felix and Piers. Meanwhile, in his mind he was piecing his fragmented premonition together.
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After his close encounter with Mia, the dark figure had teleported back to Imil to observe the schematics of the group that was left behind. Much to his delight, he had found them on the same fragile footing; there was a definite amount of jealousy and distrust among all of them. The Adepts would be only to easy to crush.
However, now he was not feeling so elated. In interest he had watched as the youngest boy had fallen to his knees and recognized the blank look on his face as a vision. Now intrigued, he had probed the child's mind to see as he saw; and quickly recoiled in shock.
The Jupiter Adept had foreseen his plan!
He had to act quickly then; the next step of his plan started tomorrow night; at the Vernal Equinox. If the boy figured out his plans and told the others, he'd be forced to wait until the beginning of autumn when once again light and dark walked the earth in equal proportions.
"I have no choice but to get rid of them, and now," he murmured
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It was an impressive looking cavern. Rather large; it's ceiling vaulted upward, giving Garet the impression they were deep underground. For that matter, they were deep underground. Stalactites hung tightly from the ceiling; glimmering softly from the damp; and twisting stalagmites strove to reach the ceiling far beyond. They succeeded in some areas, no longer stalagmites but full fledged columns.
From the darkened cave spread half a dozen tunnels in all different directions. "Alright Mia, which one?" asked Garet; though he was pretty sure he already knew. Their course hadn't changed much since thirty minutes ago when Mia had first pointed out the way.
Mia gestured towards the tunnel he had thought she would, her eyes shining in the darkness, "We're close now, I can feel it; maybe even less than a quarter of a mile."
"That's good," said the Fire Adept, "Jenna's getting heavy."
Isaac opened his mouth to offer to take Jenna, but was thrown back when out of nowhere came a giant, feral looking wolf.
"How the hell did that get in here?" demanded Garet. He let Jenna slide to the floor and grabbed his sword.
Isaac grimaced and readied his sword as well, "Probably fell through a hole like us. It shouldn't be too hard to beat though. Mother Gaia!"
The Earth thrust upward in a beam of yellow light, sending the wolf flying just as Mia screamed, "Isaac, no!"
Isaac's attack had proved too much for the wolf, who ran off into the tunnel from whence he came. Unfortunately, it had also proved too much for the cavern itself. With a shudder, the Earth roiled.
"The ceiling's coming down!" bellowed Isaac.
Garet dragged Jenna out of the way, but noticed Mia was standing directly beneath where the rocks would fall. With a shout he shoved her into Isaac and jumped back just as part of the ceiling collapsed; separating them.
When the dust had cleared, A large pile of rocks had dissected the once glorious cavern.
Carefully positioning Jenna in a corner, Garet began moving large stones, "Isaac, Mia! You guys alright?"
Isaac answered him, "Yeah, we're both fine! Mia's looking a little stunned, but other than that, nothing to complain about."
"That's good. What do you want to do now? The tunnel towards the Lighthouse hasn't caved in, should I continue walking that way and get Jenna to the Lighthouse?"
He didn't have to wait long for an answer; Isaac was always decisive on things like this.
"Yes," he replied automatically…almost as if he had been programmed too, "You go on ahead. Mia and me can move the rocks out of the way and catch up with you later."
"I'll see you then," Garet called. Picking up the other Fire Adept, he headed down what he hoped was the last tunnel to the Lighthouse.
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Isaac dusted off his hands and turned to Mia, who was leaning against a large boulder.
"You alright?" he asked.
She gave him an odd look, but nodded, "I already told you, I'm fine. I'm just going to be happy to get back to Imil and sleep."
"Well, if you're sure you're alright, how 'bout helping me move this rockslide out of the way."
In answer, Mia moved toward him and began dragging away some of the heavier ones.
"Whoa, take it easy Mia. I can move the big ones. Wait," he snapped his figures, "I know, I'll have my djinn help."
He summoned his nine djinn, who busily set to work. Some of them even seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"Oh, that reminds me, I still haven't given Forge back to Garet!" Mia cried suddenly.
Isaac shrugged and brushed the sweat out of his eyes, moving rock was hard work, "Don't worry about it. We'll meet up with him soon."
"Yeah, I hope so. I'll have to thank him. I don't think I wouldn't've survived the night without Forge."
Isaac gave her a strange, assessing stare, "Yeah, I guess you will. So that's what, the
second time Garet's saved you then?"
Mia grimaced and nodded, "Yeah, I guess it is. Huh, I never wanted to be a damsel in distress."
Isaac laughed, "Don't worry Mia I've never viewed you as a damsel in distress."
Mia smiled, "Thanks Isaac. That means a lot."
Isaac suppressed a mad grin, and dusted off the dirt from his hands on his tunic. There was a sizable hole by now, they would be able to get through soon. He turned around and grabbed his friend by the arm, "Mia, can I say something?"
A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told Mia she already knew what he wanted to say. She stared him in the eye; she had never realized how blue they were before…. "I-uh," she stammered, but then shook her head. Her feelings were too muddled to let herself get in a relationship, especially a relationship with Isaac, "No, Isaac, just no."
Isaac pursed his lips, looking slightly frustrated, but dropped her arm, "Alright Mia, I won't press you."
The rest of their time passed in a awkward silence; broken only by an occasional titter from one of the djinn.
"Well, we're done," said Mia after awhile.
Isaac forced himself to smile, he had to respect Mia's feelings, "Yup. Now c'mon, Garet and Jenna are probably waiting for us."
He stepped through the entryway they had made, then helped Mia through; trying not to blush as their hands touched. He avoided meeting her eyes, "Guess we'll be going then."
"Guess so."
Still trying not to notice one another, they walked off down the tunnel Garet and Jenna had entered previously.
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Felix grabbed Ivan and shook him hard by the collar, "What did you see?"
Ivan whimpered, "I can't explain it. They're in trouble, or they're going to be. I just know we have to get to the Lighthouse!"
Felix shook him harder, "What about Jenna, did you see anything about Jenna? Is she hurt?"
"Felix!" shrieked Sheba angrily, "Leave Ivan alone! You've never had a vision, so you don't know what it's like to explain it! The future's a very volatile thing, and nothing Ivan saw is set in stone! So put him down now!"
The brunette Adept dropped the smaller boy, "Fine," he snarled, "But Ivan, tell me, did you or did you not see my sister?"
Ivan rubbed his throat, "I…I think I did."
Felix struggled to keep his voice under control, "Then was she hurt?"
The blonde hesitated and bit his lip; looking very much like a frightened child, "At first yeah, she was hurt…she was with Garet and her head and leg were wrapped in bandages. Then, I dunno, it's vague…"
"Was she better?" Felix pressed, unaware of the blood vessel that was pulsing on his forehead.
Hesitation filled Ivan's face, "Yes….and no."
Felix lunged for the still sitting Ivan, but was dragged back by Piers. "Calm down Felix," he hissed.
"Alright," Felix breathed heavily, "What do you mean yes and no? I want a straight answer this time!"
There was a pause, before Ivan answered heavily, "How can I best explain this? Afterwards, I saw a flash of her. She didn't seem hurt physically, but….there was something wrong. Her aura, it was black."
Felix screamed in frustration, "Her aura was black! What the hell does that mean?"
Sheba tugged on his cloak, "Leave it be Felix. We'll find out soon enough, but if Ivan says we need to be at the Lighthouse, then we need to be at the Lighthouse. Fate will determine whether or not we meet up with Jenna there."
Ivan snorted, "There's no such thing as Fate." He picked himself up, "But Sheba is right, Felix, we need too get to the Lighthouse. If my premonition was correct, Jenna and the others will be there."
Felix grabbed Sheba and ran off, looking over his shoulder at Ivan and Piers, "Then why didn't you say so in the first place?"
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"I see it!" shouted Garet to himself. Adjusting Jenna so that she didn't fall off, he ran towards the crumbling stone steps that undoubtedly led to the Mercury Lighthouse. He bounded up the stairs and into a dark passageway. In the distance he could hear water bubbling; the healing springs.
Suddenly he stopped. He heard someone groaning and cursing nearby. Carefully, he sidled down a tiny hallway that he would have missed had he not heard the strange voice. There shouldn't be anyone down here!
The hall ended at a plain looking wooden door. Garet tried to joggle the doorknob discreetly; but the door was locked. Inside he could hear the person from earlier moan in what sounded like frustration. With a snarl, the red haired boy kicked it down. So much for discreet… Surprisingly, the door swung right off the hinges. Well that was easy, he thought.
However, he froze when he saw who was in the room, busily attempting to remove a pipe that would flood the underground tunnel Garet had just exited.
"Alex!"
A/N: So ends part two.
Bleagh…I hate writing anything even vaguely resembling romance. I always feel like I don't do it write…..and like my small intestine is about to rise up and strangle my brain. So why do I write stuff that sometimes vaguely resembles romance? Because I'm a sap of course.
Well, review please!
Disclaimer:
I DO NOT, NEVER HAVE, AND NEVER WILL OWN GOLDEN SUN!
Happy Travels!
Zaurak