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I'm SOOOOOOO sorry for making you people wait so long for this chapter! This is the climax *snickers like a fifth-grader* of the story and it took forever to write (I'm still not completely satisfied with it). I hope that it's worth the wait! Special thanks to XZO for his story suggestion--it inspired part of this chapter. Gee, thanks so much, XZO. *glares* You’re a real pal.
Disclaimer: For the 11th time, I don't own Golden Sun (cripes, this is getting old). Just noticed that, did you? This chapter is also a little violent, but I'm pretty sure that it's still PG safe. I demand gore and viscera! I laugh at your puny PG fight scenes! *eats a brain*
*Chapter 11*
Once the skies were dark and all the lights in the village had faded, Isaac cautiously entered Tartarus. After dark was when the vampires gay hookers town guard came out in force. He stuck to the shadows as best he could He’d swapped a few Djinn with the others so that he could be a Ninja, since the streets were being patrolled by several guards. Remembering Ivan's directions “Second star to the right, and straight on till morning”, he found the prison house. It certainly didn't look inviting, and two Winky guards were pacing in front of the lone entrance. He studied them a moment, and spotted a set of keys on one of their belts. Bingo! he thought. Now I won't have to break any doors. He reached for a pair of Sleep Bombs and tossed them towards the guards. A thin veil of smoke settled around them then quickly cleared away.
"What was that?" the first guard asked.
"I don't know," said the second guard. He yawned. "Probably just the wind or something…" Because whenever a strange cloud of smoke rises up from the ground, I immediately assume it’s “just the wind”. I swear, if I were an evil overlord, these guys would so be eliminated by now. Now both of them yawned. They slowly sank to the ground and Isaac could hear them snoring. So far, so good.
He sneaked over to the sleeping guards and took the set of small keys, only useable in this dungeon, then headed into the building. It was even worse than he'd pictured from Ivan's story - continental breakfast only lasted until 9:30, and the Playstation was broken, and considerably colder than it was outside. If this weren't a village of powerful Adepts, he'd lay siege to the whole place for imprisoning Mia in such a horrid abode. Powerful, sure, but since they’re all such bloody idiots, surely it wouldn’t be so hard. But since that would be foolhardy, he would gladly settle for just getting her back. Come on, you’re a hero who’s rescuing his true love. You’re supposed to do something foolhardy and just plain dumb. He found the single locked door - the other prisoners were on the honor system - and started trying the various keys.
"I'm here for you, Mia," he whispered.
She'd know his voice anywhere, but thought that she must be dreaming. That would certainly explain the three-headed rhinoceros in the corner that was trying to convince her to invest in timeshares. That is, until she heard the jingling on the other side of the door. "Isaac!?" she exclaimed in quiet disbelief. Actually, Santa. The lock clicked and the door creaked open. IT’S A TRAP! Instantly, Isaac rushed in and they held onto each other like they'd never let go, feeling as if time had suddenly screeched to a Halt. Neither of them said a word, but it didn't matter, as the embrace and the kiss that accompanied it interpretive dance said it all.
When time finally started again, they both relaxed their death grips a little and looked at each other, their eyes shimmering with happy tears. Though Mia's broad smile looked the same as always except for the fangs, she was clearly ghostly pale, a side effect of vampirism, even in the poor light. Her eyes seemed a little duller too, but they still shone brightly with love and kindness and unholy intensity. Isaac returned her smile. How could he not? She was prone to beat people up if they took her stuff. They were together again, and that was all he'd wanted. Well, that and a blow job…
Mia squeezed him again and rested her head on his shoulder. "This is exactly the way I imagined our reunion. Well, okay, there was a little less clothing and a little more sexin’, but that can come later. Oh, Isaac, I've missed you so much!"
"I know. The thought of this moment is all that kept me going. I’m a creature of hormones. I'm so sorry, Mia! I should've found a way to prevent this from happening to you."
"Don't blame yourself," she said. "You found me, and we're together now and that's all that matters." I’d kinda think that escaping matters, too, unless you’re looking for a romantic, Romeo and Juliet-esque dual death. She coughed quite heavily, which made Isaac feel even guiltier not to mention concerned.
"Ivan was right--that is a nasty cough. I ought to rip those guys apart for doing this to you! Isaac SMASH!"
"No, I'm OK, really. I just need a chance to recover someplace more…homey."
"Right." He kissed her again and cast Potent Cure. A warm, golden glow passed from him to her.
"I know it's not much, but I hope it helps."
"Well, it’s not as good as healing sexx0rz, but I’ll take what I can get. I feel better already," she said happily, and she really did feel slightly strengthened. "Now let's get out of here."
Together, they went back to the door, but Isaac could now here voices outside of his head for once. Quickly, they both ducked into the shadows to stay out of sight. Remember, Isaac’s a Ninja. And the king of the pirates. He’s a Pirate-Ninja. A very unhappy superior had discovered the two snoozing guards.
"You idiots! How dare you fall asleep on guard duty!"
"It's all right, Captain," said the first guard. "It's not like the prisoner can go anywhere."
"Who could get past the street guards anyway?" the second added. Now they’re asking for it. As soon as you mention how inescapable a trap or cell is, you’re just asking for a jailbreak.
The Captain glowered. "Go check and make sure she's still locked in her cell while I figure out what your punishment shall be." Visions of whips and chain flashed through his head.
"Isaac!" Mia whispered. "They're coming this way!" She’s a regular Einstein, eh?
Isaac drew his sword. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." He looked to Mia. "Stick close to me. I'll get us out of here somehow." Most probably through the Power of Love and improbable happenings. Can’t wait.
She nodded nervously. Those guards were strong. Even someone as powerful as Isaac wouldn't be able to handle all of them on his own. And she didn't have much power to help him thanks to her stint in prison. She hadn’t heard Isaac’s advice about not going for dropped soap. He knew this of course, and shoved all thoughts of vengeance aside. Getting Mia out of here took top priority. He hadn’t gotten laid in, like, two days!
With the Gaia Blade at the ready Whoa, Isaac, now’s not the time!, Isaac's heart raced as the two guards approached. There was no way around it--he would have to kill them to eliminate their threat. The longer he could postpone revealing himself the better. As soon as the two guards stepped through the doorway, he thrust his sword forward and stabbed both of them. They crumpled to the floor with barely a noise and a pool of blood began to collect around their bodies. Strikes me as a bit off. While I’m sure that one could kill a person with one thrust of a sword, the lack of description has me assuming he’s stabbed these two through the chests. I’ve been led to believe that this isn’t exactly an instantaneous way of killing someone. Like, shouldn’t they be groaning and screaming? I mean, if it was a blow to the throat or head or something, I can see them being silenced, but, seriously, I’m having trouble believing there was no sound. Particularly since two of them got skewered. While I might buy the first guy dying, the sword probably lost momentum when it pushed through him, so I can’t imagine the second begin so thoroughly skewered. Definitely not enough for a silent, instantaneous death. However, if I’m wrong, enlighten me. Still is a little hard to swallow, though. Isaac ripped off one of their blood-soaked capes and placed it around Mia's shoulders, since he'd noticed that she was shivering. However, it wasn’t from the cold. She was just freaked out at watching cold-blooded murder, even if it was necessary. She thanked him silently and gripped his left hand.
Outside, the Captain tapped his foot impatiently. He was a tall and imposing figure, bearing a stunning resemblance to Saturos. The only big difference was that the Captain looked older and had longer hair. But his skin was the same shade of indigo and his eyes the same dark red the color of EVIL! as Isaac's deceased adversary. He wouldn't be as easy to get past as his lackeys. They never are. Boss battle time!
"You two are so incompetent!" he scowled. He marched towards the door. "I'll have you two drenched in water for this!" What, that’s the best punishment he could come up with?
"Here he comes," Isaac whispered. He reached for a Smoke Bomb. "Get ready."
The Captain, still scowling audibly, How do you scowl audibly? No, seriously. reached the doorway and received a nasty blast of black smoke in his face. With Mia in tow, Isaac dashed past him and made a b-line movie for the village gates.
"STOP THEM!" the Captain sputtered at the top of his lungs. I’ve never thought of sputtering as being a particularly loud method of communicating…
The exit was in sight. But upon hearing their leader's command, all of the guards in the streets had gathered by the gates. It was difficult to tell how many there were in all--somewhere between thirty and forty and all them appeared quite strong. Prox had a roaring trade in anabolic steroids. Isaac sized them up as he slowly backed away from them, keeping Mia shielded with his body using Mia’s body as a shield. This was bad. She was smaller than him.
"Hey, it's just a meddling kid," one of them said. "How'd he manage to steal our Mercury Adept?"
"Now what?" Mia whispered, her voice trembling in fear.
"Don't worry," Isaac whispered back with all the confidence he could muster. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." He turned to the Proxians. “Pick a card, any card!” He reached for some Crystal Powder. Just a little to give him a boost before the upcoming fight.
The Captain appeared from the back streets, now free of the choking smoke. "You've made a grave error, boy," he said. "No one messes with the Fire Clan of the North!"
"Well, you shouldn't have messed the woman I love," Isaac retorted. He threw the Crystal Powder and it turned into shards of ice that rained down on most of the Fire Clan. Isaac and Mia quickly retreated back into the allies Lol, spellcheck. and out of sight.
"You little rat!" the Captain shouted. "Fan out and find them! They must not escape!"
"Yes sir!" the guards replied. Not really much to say except that these guards are really stereotypical. Know what would be cool? If Stan Lee was doing the writing for this. Spiderman battles are always full of witty banter.
From their hiding place behind a cluster of barrels, Mia and Isaac heard the many footsteps fade away and quietly sighed in relief. They were safe for the moment and now the guards had split up. Taking on all of them at once would've been a death sentence, but now Isaac could deal with each one individually as he worked his way towards the gates. He held Mia tightly to help keep her warm and cast Potent Cure again.
"Save your Psynergy," she whispered. "You might need it."
"I have a Psy Crystal with me," he whispered back, kissing her forehead to reassure her. "It'll be OK, I promise."
Even though she trusted him more than anyone, she was still full of fear. They were severely outnumbered and his bag of tricks would run out eventually. He’d already used up his full repertoire of handkerchief tricks, and he was down to only one rabbit. He was frightened too, but he was doing his best to swallow it and put on his bravest face. ( >=/ )He had to get her out of here no matter what the cost. Five low, low payments of $29.95!
One of the guards stepped into the alley. He peered over the barrels and spotted them, but before he could give a shout to his comrades, Isaac slit his throat. The two of them carefully crept around the buildings, inching closer to the gates. They ducked behind a set of crates to wait for another opportunity to move. A pair of guards walked by the crates but didn't stop to investigate. Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, another single guard sneaked up behind them and grabbed Mia by her wrist.
"Let me go!" she cried, struggling with all her might.
"Here they are, Captain!" the guard called.
Swiftly, Isaac took the Gaia Blade and sliced off the arm gripping Mia. Instead of slicing off the guard’s head or something. The guard gave a yowl of pain and surprise and couldn't stop the pair as they disappeared again. The Captain arrived a moment later.
"Well, where are they?" he demanded.
The injured guard gripped what remained of his arm. "That's no ordinary kid, Captain," he managed to say. "He knows what he's doing." Oh, that’s why the guard wasn’t killed. He needed to tell us how special Isaac is.
"That was a little too close," Isaac panted. Mia nodded in agreement, trying hard to suppress her coughs so that they wouldn't be heard. They hadn't found any new cover and were just standing in the shadows. Isaac could see the town gates not far away. The coast appeared to be clear--they had to chance it. Feelin’ lucky, punk?He grabbed Mia's hand and bolted for the exit, but the strain of running and hiding had worn hard on her and she stumbled. That was when the guards found them.
"I'm sorry, Isaac," Mia said through her coughs. Just drag her or something.
Isaac stood over her, brandishing his sword. Unfortunately, he lost control and accidentally lopped off Mia’s ear. The remaining guards formed a circle around them, closing them in and negating any hope of escape. The Captain approached them, smirking.
"Your luck has run out, boy. Now you will pay for embarrassing the Fire Clan of the North." He unsheathed his own sword. Obligatory phallic symbolism reference. "You're mine!"
He lunged forward, clashing his sword against the Gaia Blade and slowly pushing Isaac backwards. The rest of the guards charged in with their weapons. With his back up against the proverbial wall, Isaac wasn't going to give up without a fight. Wasn’t that just what he’s been doing, fighting?His sword glowed gold and unleashed its mighty Titan Blade attack, knocking the Captain away. Immediately, Isaac hurled the last of his attack items at the incoming soldiers. While the Crystal Powder, Weasel's Claw, Bramble Seed and Oil Drops weren't much on their own, when combined they struck a mighty blow and blasted most of the incoming enemies far away. ”Looks like Team Prox is blasting of agaaaaaain!” *twinkle* The rest of them got a taste of Isaac's Stone Spire. Tastes like chicken!
"So, you're an Adept," the Captain said, rising. "Well that explains why you've been a bit of a challenge. But you cannot hope to stop me with weak attacks like that. Do you have any idea of whom you're dealing with?" His sword pulsed with flame. "I am Valerdo, leader of the armies and the mightiest warrior in the Fire Clan. Only our clan leader can match my strength! Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Isaac implored. Word choice?"I heard one of your clan members make a similar claim once, and I managed to defeat him. He stood no chance against my Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He narrowed his eyes. "You'll pay for what you've done, one way or the other. I accept all major credit cards, but no travelers’ checks, please."
Valerdo snickered. "Your confidence means nothing unless you can back it up." He charged again. Isaac leaped into the air, bringing his sword above his head, and brought it down hard against Valerdo's. This just gives me a really funny mental image. Once again, the Gaia Blade flashed and prepared to unleash its attack, but this time Valerdo saw it and retaliated with a burst of fire, which Isaac only barely dodged. He cast Ragnarok and managed to knock the sword from his opponent's hand, but Valerdo countered with another inferno and didn't miss this time. Isaac flew a few feet and lost his grip on the Gaia Blade, which swished through the air and planted itself in the ground not far from in Mia. Valerdo quickly grabbed his sword and went to keep Isaac pinned by stepping on his chest. Midnight’s battle scenes are always so easily twisted into pervy slash fics to anyone with half a mind in the gutter.
"It ends now, boy," he said, pointing his blade at Isaac's neck. "This was all too easy." He lifted his weapon high to deliver the finishing blow, but a sudden blast of ice caught him off guard and sent him flying. Isaac looked over to Mia, who still had her palms forward from casting her attack. She was breathing hard and beads of sweat were dripping down her face, but she forced a smile and threw the Gaia Blade to him. He jumped to his feet and caught it, but not before it had embedded itself in his chest, not taking his eyes off of her. She clearly couldn't afford to spare whatever energy she had left yet she'd dug into her reserves to help him. He had to make sure that she wouldn't have to do that again.
He started to go to her when several of the other guards rushed towards him with their weapons blazing. Isaac quickly cast Stone Spire again, knocking three of them down, and dispatched the other two with his strongest sword swipes. A few more had been thinking of jumping in, but cautiously backed away when they saw their comrades fall. Truly, this boy commanded astonishing power for his age Well, he is the protagonist., and the rest of the guards didn't dare to take him. That left only Valerdo, who managed to snatch Mia before Isaac reached her. OH SNAP!
"I should've killed you earlier," he said to Mia, holding his sword to her throat. "You and your entire race shall never be allowed to threaten my Clan again." So, uh, when did they threaten you in the first place? Even during this whole fight sequence, it wasn’t Mia who went around slaying people.
"Your clan should burn in the flames you command!" Mia exclaimed. With the last ounce of her power, she cast Ice Missile and freed herself from his grip. Panting heavily, she stumbled back and fell over--right into Isaac's arms. Aw, how cyuuute! *gag, lolz*
Valerdo slowly rose, badly injured from the two water-based attacks he'd suffered. Isaac could feel the rage radiating off of him and how that rage was increasing his power. “Mia, what does the scanner say about his power level?” “It’s over NINE THOUSAND!” “What, nine thousand?!” He had to end this battle now before Valerdo's rage made him too powerful to defeat. Mia struggled to catch her breath but just couldn't, so Isaac pressed his lone Psy Crystal into her hand to help her recover some of her strength.** As much as he could use that quick relief, she needed it more. He got to his feet and rushed towards his enemy, running on pure adrenaline and determination alone. Valerdo's hands ignited and he cast another fiery blast, but Isaac leaped over the flames Jack be nimble, Jack be quick… and came at him sword first. The Gaia Blade glowed again, but this time it wasn't in preparation for the Titan Blade--it was only his own power. Stu-senses tingling! Isaac’s about to defy logic and probability with Stu powers! He brought his sword down with such force that he actually sliced Valerdo's blade right in half. Looking at his broken weapon in stunned disbelief, Valerdo backed away a few steps and Isaac's shining blade went right through his torso. He fell on his back, clutching his wound, and laughed up at the one who'd defeated him.
**Now, this is an important plot point, so it’s vital that I take extra-special care in ripping its credibility to shreds. First thing to note is that a Psy Crystal restores all PP, not just some. Andy helped me out by telling me that his level 35 Mia had 228 PP in his file, since I didn’t have an applicable save myself. Now, this would make it so that Mia could easily cast Wish Well a couple times, get the two of them to max HP, and still be able to do it quite a few more times. She’d probably get 17 Wish Wells this way, giving Isaac more than enough strength to take down the weakened Valdero, and letting Mia be able to back Isaac up with a couple attacks, too, if she really needed to. Therefore, at this point, the story should have ended. That is all.
"I underestimated you," he said, gasping for air as the blood bubbled up from underneath his hand. "Go ahead and finish me, kid. You've fought well."
Isaac placed the Gaia Blade back in his scabbard. "You don't deserve such a merciful death. I think I'd rather leave you here to die slowly and painfully--just as you intended to do to Mia." He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm and turned to leave. Valerdo growled audibly. How dare a mere boy mock him this way and deny him an honorable death? He lifted his hand and cast one last attack--a blazing flame shaped like an arrow. With his back turned to it, Isaac didn't see the projectile and it hit him just above his waist near his right side. ARROW’D! He fell over and Valerdo laughed evilly before he finally died.
"NO!" Mia screamed, stealing my bold formatting. She ran to Isaac but he was already getting to his feet, holding his right side with his left hand. He forced a smile.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here while we still can."
Mia tentatively nodded through her tears and together they left Tartarus and vanished into the woods. They'd gone a fair distance before Isaac succumbed to his injury and slumped to the ground, leaning his back against a tree. Mia crouched beside him and tried to cast Ply, but even after absorbing the power of the Psy Crystal, she still didn't have the strength to do it. Her hands wouldn't even glow with a trace of her Psynergy she had enough power to cast it 57 times.
"Isaac," she said urgently. "You have to heal yourself! My Psynergy is still too weak!"
Isaac laughed slightly at the irony of the situation. He'd gone through all of that to save Mia, and now he was the one who needed saving. He was such a fool sometimes. Can’t argue there. "I can't, Mia. I used up the last of my power to defeat Valerdo."
"What?" she asked. "No, you have to try! You can't give up now! You just can't!"
He took a deep breath and tried to cast one of his healing techniques, but like Mia, all of his Psynergy was gone without a trace. The tears streamed down her face faster and faster as she realized that he was right. Neither of them could heal his wound. THESE WOUNDS, THEY WILL NOT HEEEEAAAL!
"Why?! Y??" she sobbed hysterically. "We're finally together again--everything's supposed to be all right now!" She held her head in her hands. "This is all my fault! I should've helped you get out of there!" Now, now, Mia. No one’s gonna blame you for succumbing to weakness forced upon you by the authoress so that Isaac could look heroic.
"No, Mia," he said gently. He pulled her close with his free right arm. "You can't help it that you got sick. These things just happen, I guess." Tomorrow, we’ll go down to the pound and get you a new Venus Adept.
"But why you? Why us? This isn't right! You never should've come for me at all--not if it has to end like this!"
"Mia, listen to me and believe me when I say this; you're the single greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I would rather die a thousand deaths than live one day, one moment, without you. Nothing in the world could've stopped me from finding you, not Felix, not the Fire Clan, not a hundred copies of Deadbeard's ghost." Just… *twitches*He smiled again, his eyes watering. "And just getting one more opportunity to see you has made this whole fiasco worth it." Oh, come on. You shoulda just left her. Jenna would have been happy to screw you, and with much less hassle.
They kissed, and then Isaac threw up blood all over her and died. Mia was so happy to hear him say those things and yet so impossibly sad knowing that this was the last time they'd be together. You could always go the Romeo and Juliet route. She buried her head in his shoulder and tried to hold back her tears, to little avail. Isaac hated seeing her so sad, and it honestly hurt him more than the pain caused by the slow ebbing of his life. Just die already. Then we can get to the cheesy resurrection that much quicker. He squeezed her tightly and rested his head on top of hers, fighting the sorrow he felt for her. The nearly five days they'd spent apart had seemed like an eternity. He couldn't allow them to be separated again. That was why he’d have to kill her, too.
"You can't die, Isaac!" Mia sobbed. "You can't leave me all alone after everything we've been through to be together! After all, it’s not like we had lives before each other or other friends who care about us!"
"It'll be OK," he said Dude, you’re dying, his own tears cleaning some of the grime from her hair. He cries shampoo?"I'm not going to abandon you this time."
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*Sniff!* And you thought the cliffhanger for Chapter 10 was bad! Well, I'm already working on the next (and last) chapter, so please don't call the lynch mob just yet, OK? Too late. *throws cell phone into the bushes*
I'm SOOOOOOO sorry for making you people wait so long for this chapter! This is the climax *snickers like a fifth-grader* of the story and it took forever to write (I'm still not completely satisfied with it). I hope that it's worth the wait! Special thanks to XZO for his story suggestion--it inspired part of this chapter. Gee, thanks so much, XZO. *glares* You’re a real pal.
Disclaimer: For the 11th time, I don't own Golden Sun (cripes, this is getting old). Just noticed that, did you? This chapter is also a little violent, but I'm pretty sure that it's still PG safe. I demand gore and viscera! I laugh at your puny PG fight scenes! *eats a brain*
*Chapter 11*
Once the skies were dark and all the lights in the village had faded, Isaac cautiously entered Tartarus. After dark was when the vampires gay hookers town guard came out in force. He stuck to the shadows as best he could He’d swapped a few Djinn with the others so that he could be a Ninja, since the streets were being patrolled by several guards. Remembering Ivan's directions “Second star to the right, and straight on till morning”, he found the prison house. It certainly didn't look inviting, and two Winky guards were pacing in front of the lone entrance. He studied them a moment, and spotted a set of keys on one of their belts. Bingo! he thought. Now I won't have to break any doors. He reached for a pair of Sleep Bombs and tossed them towards the guards. A thin veil of smoke settled around them then quickly cleared away.
"What was that?" the first guard asked.
"I don't know," said the second guard. He yawned. "Probably just the wind or something…" Because whenever a strange cloud of smoke rises up from the ground, I immediately assume it’s “just the wind”. I swear, if I were an evil overlord, these guys would so be eliminated by now. Now both of them yawned. They slowly sank to the ground and Isaac could hear them snoring. So far, so good.
He sneaked over to the sleeping guards and took the set of small keys, only useable in this dungeon, then headed into the building. It was even worse than he'd pictured from Ivan's story - continental breakfast only lasted until 9:30, and the Playstation was broken, and considerably colder than it was outside. If this weren't a village of powerful Adepts, he'd lay siege to the whole place for imprisoning Mia in such a horrid abode. Powerful, sure, but since they’re all such bloody idiots, surely it wouldn’t be so hard. But since that would be foolhardy, he would gladly settle for just getting her back. Come on, you’re a hero who’s rescuing his true love. You’re supposed to do something foolhardy and just plain dumb. He found the single locked door - the other prisoners were on the honor system - and started trying the various keys.
"I'm here for you, Mia," he whispered.
She'd know his voice anywhere, but thought that she must be dreaming. That would certainly explain the three-headed rhinoceros in the corner that was trying to convince her to invest in timeshares. That is, until she heard the jingling on the other side of the door. "Isaac!?" she exclaimed in quiet disbelief. Actually, Santa. The lock clicked and the door creaked open. IT’S A TRAP! Instantly, Isaac rushed in and they held onto each other like they'd never let go, feeling as if time had suddenly screeched to a Halt. Neither of them said a word, but it didn't matter, as the embrace and the kiss that accompanied it interpretive dance said it all.
When time finally started again, they both relaxed their death grips a little and looked at each other, their eyes shimmering with happy tears. Though Mia's broad smile looked the same as always except for the fangs, she was clearly ghostly pale, a side effect of vampirism, even in the poor light. Her eyes seemed a little duller too, but they still shone brightly with love and kindness and unholy intensity. Isaac returned her smile. How could he not? She was prone to beat people up if they took her stuff. They were together again, and that was all he'd wanted. Well, that and a blow job…
Mia squeezed him again and rested her head on his shoulder. "This is exactly the way I imagined our reunion. Well, okay, there was a little less clothing and a little more sexin’, but that can come later. Oh, Isaac, I've missed you so much!"
"I know. The thought of this moment is all that kept me going. I’m a creature of hormones. I'm so sorry, Mia! I should've found a way to prevent this from happening to you."
"Don't blame yourself," she said. "You found me, and we're together now and that's all that matters." I’d kinda think that escaping matters, too, unless you’re looking for a romantic, Romeo and Juliet-esque dual death. She coughed quite heavily, which made Isaac feel even guiltier not to mention concerned.
"Ivan was right--that is a nasty cough. I ought to rip those guys apart for doing this to you! Isaac SMASH!"
"No, I'm OK, really. I just need a chance to recover someplace more…homey."
"Right." He kissed her again and cast Potent Cure. A warm, golden glow passed from him to her.
"I know it's not much, but I hope it helps."
"Well, it’s not as good as healing sexx0rz, but I’ll take what I can get. I feel better already," she said happily, and she really did feel slightly strengthened. "Now let's get out of here."
Together, they went back to the door, but Isaac could now here voices outside of his head for once. Quickly, they both ducked into the shadows to stay out of sight. Remember, Isaac’s a Ninja. And the king of the pirates. He’s a Pirate-Ninja. A very unhappy superior had discovered the two snoozing guards.
"You idiots! How dare you fall asleep on guard duty!"
"It's all right, Captain," said the first guard. "It's not like the prisoner can go anywhere."
"Who could get past the street guards anyway?" the second added. Now they’re asking for it. As soon as you mention how inescapable a trap or cell is, you’re just asking for a jailbreak.
The Captain glowered. "Go check and make sure she's still locked in her cell while I figure out what your punishment shall be." Visions of whips and chain flashed through his head.
"Isaac!" Mia whispered. "They're coming this way!" She’s a regular Einstein, eh?
Isaac drew his sword. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." He looked to Mia. "Stick close to me. I'll get us out of here somehow." Most probably through the Power of Love and improbable happenings. Can’t wait.
She nodded nervously. Those guards were strong. Even someone as powerful as Isaac wouldn't be able to handle all of them on his own. And she didn't have much power to help him thanks to her stint in prison. She hadn’t heard Isaac’s advice about not going for dropped soap. He knew this of course, and shoved all thoughts of vengeance aside. Getting Mia out of here took top priority. He hadn’t gotten laid in, like, two days!
With the Gaia Blade at the ready Whoa, Isaac, now’s not the time!, Isaac's heart raced as the two guards approached. There was no way around it--he would have to kill them to eliminate their threat. The longer he could postpone revealing himself the better. As soon as the two guards stepped through the doorway, he thrust his sword forward and stabbed both of them. They crumpled to the floor with barely a noise and a pool of blood began to collect around their bodies. Strikes me as a bit off. While I’m sure that one could kill a person with one thrust of a sword, the lack of description has me assuming he’s stabbed these two through the chests. I’ve been led to believe that this isn’t exactly an instantaneous way of killing someone. Like, shouldn’t they be groaning and screaming? I mean, if it was a blow to the throat or head or something, I can see them being silenced, but, seriously, I’m having trouble believing there was no sound. Particularly since two of them got skewered. While I might buy the first guy dying, the sword probably lost momentum when it pushed through him, so I can’t imagine the second begin so thoroughly skewered. Definitely not enough for a silent, instantaneous death. However, if I’m wrong, enlighten me. Still is a little hard to swallow, though. Isaac ripped off one of their blood-soaked capes and placed it around Mia's shoulders, since he'd noticed that she was shivering. However, it wasn’t from the cold. She was just freaked out at watching cold-blooded murder, even if it was necessary. She thanked him silently and gripped his left hand.
Outside, the Captain tapped his foot impatiently. He was a tall and imposing figure, bearing a stunning resemblance to Saturos. The only big difference was that the Captain looked older and had longer hair. But his skin was the same shade of indigo and his eyes the same dark red the color of EVIL! as Isaac's deceased adversary. He wouldn't be as easy to get past as his lackeys. They never are. Boss battle time!
"You two are so incompetent!" he scowled. He marched towards the door. "I'll have you two drenched in water for this!" What, that’s the best punishment he could come up with?
"Here he comes," Isaac whispered. He reached for a Smoke Bomb. "Get ready."
The Captain, still scowling audibly, How do you scowl audibly? No, seriously. reached the doorway and received a nasty blast of black smoke in his face. With Mia in tow, Isaac dashed past him and made a b-line movie for the village gates.
"STOP THEM!" the Captain sputtered at the top of his lungs. I’ve never thought of sputtering as being a particularly loud method of communicating…
The exit was in sight. But upon hearing their leader's command, all of the guards in the streets had gathered by the gates. It was difficult to tell how many there were in all--somewhere between thirty and forty and all them appeared quite strong. Prox had a roaring trade in anabolic steroids. Isaac sized them up as he slowly backed away from them, keeping Mia shielded with his body using Mia’s body as a shield. This was bad. She was smaller than him.
"Hey, it's just a meddling kid," one of them said. "How'd he manage to steal our Mercury Adept?"
"Now what?" Mia whispered, her voice trembling in fear.
"Don't worry," Isaac whispered back with all the confidence he could muster. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." He turned to the Proxians. “Pick a card, any card!” He reached for some Crystal Powder. Just a little to give him a boost before the upcoming fight.
The Captain appeared from the back streets, now free of the choking smoke. "You've made a grave error, boy," he said. "No one messes with the Fire Clan of the North!"
"Well, you shouldn't have messed the woman I love," Isaac retorted. He threw the Crystal Powder and it turned into shards of ice that rained down on most of the Fire Clan. Isaac and Mia quickly retreated back into the allies Lol, spellcheck. and out of sight.
"You little rat!" the Captain shouted. "Fan out and find them! They must not escape!"
"Yes sir!" the guards replied. Not really much to say except that these guards are really stereotypical. Know what would be cool? If Stan Lee was doing the writing for this. Spiderman battles are always full of witty banter.
From their hiding place behind a cluster of barrels, Mia and Isaac heard the many footsteps fade away and quietly sighed in relief. They were safe for the moment and now the guards had split up. Taking on all of them at once would've been a death sentence, but now Isaac could deal with each one individually as he worked his way towards the gates. He held Mia tightly to help keep her warm and cast Potent Cure again.
"Save your Psynergy," she whispered. "You might need it."
"I have a Psy Crystal with me," he whispered back, kissing her forehead to reassure her. "It'll be OK, I promise."
Even though she trusted him more than anyone, she was still full of fear. They were severely outnumbered and his bag of tricks would run out eventually. He’d already used up his full repertoire of handkerchief tricks, and he was down to only one rabbit. He was frightened too, but he was doing his best to swallow it and put on his bravest face. ( >=/ )He had to get her out of here no matter what the cost. Five low, low payments of $29.95!
One of the guards stepped into the alley. He peered over the barrels and spotted them, but before he could give a shout to his comrades, Isaac slit his throat. The two of them carefully crept around the buildings, inching closer to the gates. They ducked behind a set of crates to wait for another opportunity to move. A pair of guards walked by the crates but didn't stop to investigate. Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, another single guard sneaked up behind them and grabbed Mia by her wrist.
"Let me go!" she cried, struggling with all her might.
"Here they are, Captain!" the guard called.
Swiftly, Isaac took the Gaia Blade and sliced off the arm gripping Mia. Instead of slicing off the guard’s head or something. The guard gave a yowl of pain and surprise and couldn't stop the pair as they disappeared again. The Captain arrived a moment later.
"Well, where are they?" he demanded.
The injured guard gripped what remained of his arm. "That's no ordinary kid, Captain," he managed to say. "He knows what he's doing." Oh, that’s why the guard wasn’t killed. He needed to tell us how special Isaac is.
"That was a little too close," Isaac panted. Mia nodded in agreement, trying hard to suppress her coughs so that they wouldn't be heard. They hadn't found any new cover and were just standing in the shadows. Isaac could see the town gates not far away. The coast appeared to be clear--they had to chance it. Feelin’ lucky, punk?He grabbed Mia's hand and bolted for the exit, but the strain of running and hiding had worn hard on her and she stumbled. That was when the guards found them.
"I'm sorry, Isaac," Mia said through her coughs. Just drag her or something.
Isaac stood over her, brandishing his sword. Unfortunately, he lost control and accidentally lopped off Mia’s ear. The remaining guards formed a circle around them, closing them in and negating any hope of escape. The Captain approached them, smirking.
"Your luck has run out, boy. Now you will pay for embarrassing the Fire Clan of the North." He unsheathed his own sword. Obligatory phallic symbolism reference. "You're mine!"
He lunged forward, clashing his sword against the Gaia Blade and slowly pushing Isaac backwards. The rest of the guards charged in with their weapons. With his back up against the proverbial wall, Isaac wasn't going to give up without a fight. Wasn’t that just what he’s been doing, fighting?His sword glowed gold and unleashed its mighty Titan Blade attack, knocking the Captain away. Immediately, Isaac hurled the last of his attack items at the incoming soldiers. While the Crystal Powder, Weasel's Claw, Bramble Seed and Oil Drops weren't much on their own, when combined they struck a mighty blow and blasted most of the incoming enemies far away. ”Looks like Team Prox is blasting of agaaaaaain!” *twinkle* The rest of them got a taste of Isaac's Stone Spire. Tastes like chicken!
"So, you're an Adept," the Captain said, rising. "Well that explains why you've been a bit of a challenge. But you cannot hope to stop me with weak attacks like that. Do you have any idea of whom you're dealing with?" His sword pulsed with flame. "I am Valerdo, leader of the armies and the mightiest warrior in the Fire Clan. Only our clan leader can match my strength! Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Isaac implored. Word choice?"I heard one of your clan members make a similar claim once, and I managed to defeat him. He stood no chance against my Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He narrowed his eyes. "You'll pay for what you've done, one way or the other. I accept all major credit cards, but no travelers’ checks, please."
Valerdo snickered. "Your confidence means nothing unless you can back it up." He charged again. Isaac leaped into the air, bringing his sword above his head, and brought it down hard against Valerdo's. This just gives me a really funny mental image. Once again, the Gaia Blade flashed and prepared to unleash its attack, but this time Valerdo saw it and retaliated with a burst of fire, which Isaac only barely dodged. He cast Ragnarok and managed to knock the sword from his opponent's hand, but Valerdo countered with another inferno and didn't miss this time. Isaac flew a few feet and lost his grip on the Gaia Blade, which swished through the air and planted itself in the ground not far from in Mia. Valerdo quickly grabbed his sword and went to keep Isaac pinned by stepping on his chest. Midnight’s battle scenes are always so easily twisted into pervy slash fics to anyone with half a mind in the gutter.
"It ends now, boy," he said, pointing his blade at Isaac's neck. "This was all too easy." He lifted his weapon high to deliver the finishing blow, but a sudden blast of ice caught him off guard and sent him flying. Isaac looked over to Mia, who still had her palms forward from casting her attack. She was breathing hard and beads of sweat were dripping down her face, but she forced a smile and threw the Gaia Blade to him. He jumped to his feet and caught it, but not before it had embedded itself in his chest, not taking his eyes off of her. She clearly couldn't afford to spare whatever energy she had left yet she'd dug into her reserves to help him. He had to make sure that she wouldn't have to do that again.
He started to go to her when several of the other guards rushed towards him with their weapons blazing. Isaac quickly cast Stone Spire again, knocking three of them down, and dispatched the other two with his strongest sword swipes. A few more had been thinking of jumping in, but cautiously backed away when they saw their comrades fall. Truly, this boy commanded astonishing power for his age Well, he is the protagonist., and the rest of the guards didn't dare to take him. That left only Valerdo, who managed to snatch Mia before Isaac reached her. OH SNAP!
"I should've killed you earlier," he said to Mia, holding his sword to her throat. "You and your entire race shall never be allowed to threaten my Clan again." So, uh, when did they threaten you in the first place? Even during this whole fight sequence, it wasn’t Mia who went around slaying people.
"Your clan should burn in the flames you command!" Mia exclaimed. With the last ounce of her power, she cast Ice Missile and freed herself from his grip. Panting heavily, she stumbled back and fell over--right into Isaac's arms. Aw, how cyuuute! *gag, lolz*
Valerdo slowly rose, badly injured from the two water-based attacks he'd suffered. Isaac could feel the rage radiating off of him and how that rage was increasing his power. “Mia, what does the scanner say about his power level?” “It’s over NINE THOUSAND!” “What, nine thousand?!” He had to end this battle now before Valerdo's rage made him too powerful to defeat. Mia struggled to catch her breath but just couldn't, so Isaac pressed his lone Psy Crystal into her hand to help her recover some of her strength.** As much as he could use that quick relief, she needed it more. He got to his feet and rushed towards his enemy, running on pure adrenaline and determination alone. Valerdo's hands ignited and he cast another fiery blast, but Isaac leaped over the flames Jack be nimble, Jack be quick… and came at him sword first. The Gaia Blade glowed again, but this time it wasn't in preparation for the Titan Blade--it was only his own power. Stu-senses tingling! Isaac’s about to defy logic and probability with Stu powers! He brought his sword down with such force that he actually sliced Valerdo's blade right in half. Looking at his broken weapon in stunned disbelief, Valerdo backed away a few steps and Isaac's shining blade went right through his torso. He fell on his back, clutching his wound, and laughed up at the one who'd defeated him.
**Now, this is an important plot point, so it’s vital that I take extra-special care in ripping its credibility to shreds. First thing to note is that a Psy Crystal restores all PP, not just some. Andy helped me out by telling me that his level 35 Mia had 228 PP in his file, since I didn’t have an applicable save myself. Now, this would make it so that Mia could easily cast Wish Well a couple times, get the two of them to max HP, and still be able to do it quite a few more times. She’d probably get 17 Wish Wells this way, giving Isaac more than enough strength to take down the weakened Valdero, and letting Mia be able to back Isaac up with a couple attacks, too, if she really needed to. Therefore, at this point, the story should have ended. That is all.
"I underestimated you," he said, gasping for air as the blood bubbled up from underneath his hand. "Go ahead and finish me, kid. You've fought well."
Isaac placed the Gaia Blade back in his scabbard. "You don't deserve such a merciful death. I think I'd rather leave you here to die slowly and painfully--just as you intended to do to Mia." He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm and turned to leave. Valerdo growled audibly. How dare a mere boy mock him this way and deny him an honorable death? He lifted his hand and cast one last attack--a blazing flame shaped like an arrow. With his back turned to it, Isaac didn't see the projectile and it hit him just above his waist near his right side. ARROW’D! He fell over and Valerdo laughed evilly before he finally died.
"NO!" Mia screamed, stealing my bold formatting. She ran to Isaac but he was already getting to his feet, holding his right side with his left hand. He forced a smile.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here while we still can."
Mia tentatively nodded through her tears and together they left Tartarus and vanished into the woods. They'd gone a fair distance before Isaac succumbed to his injury and slumped to the ground, leaning his back against a tree. Mia crouched beside him and tried to cast Ply, but even after absorbing the power of the Psy Crystal, she still didn't have the strength to do it. Her hands wouldn't even glow with a trace of her Psynergy she had enough power to cast it 57 times.
"Isaac," she said urgently. "You have to heal yourself! My Psynergy is still too weak!"
Isaac laughed slightly at the irony of the situation. He'd gone through all of that to save Mia, and now he was the one who needed saving. He was such a fool sometimes. Can’t argue there. "I can't, Mia. I used up the last of my power to defeat Valerdo."
"What?" she asked. "No, you have to try! You can't give up now! You just can't!"
He took a deep breath and tried to cast one of his healing techniques, but like Mia, all of his Psynergy was gone without a trace. The tears streamed down her face faster and faster as she realized that he was right. Neither of them could heal his wound. THESE WOUNDS, THEY WILL NOT HEEEEAAAL!
"Why?! Y??" she sobbed hysterically. "We're finally together again--everything's supposed to be all right now!" She held her head in her hands. "This is all my fault! I should've helped you get out of there!" Now, now, Mia. No one’s gonna blame you for succumbing to weakness forced upon you by the authoress so that Isaac could look heroic.
"No, Mia," he said gently. He pulled her close with his free right arm. "You can't help it that you got sick. These things just happen, I guess." Tomorrow, we’ll go down to the pound and get you a new Venus Adept.
"But why you? Why us? This isn't right! You never should've come for me at all--not if it has to end like this!"
"Mia, listen to me and believe me when I say this; you're the single greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I would rather die a thousand deaths than live one day, one moment, without you. Nothing in the world could've stopped me from finding you, not Felix, not the Fire Clan, not a hundred copies of Deadbeard's ghost." Just… *twitches*He smiled again, his eyes watering. "And just getting one more opportunity to see you has made this whole fiasco worth it." Oh, come on. You shoulda just left her. Jenna would have been happy to screw you, and with much less hassle.
They kissed, and then Isaac threw up blood all over her and died. Mia was so happy to hear him say those things and yet so impossibly sad knowing that this was the last time they'd be together. You could always go the Romeo and Juliet route. She buried her head in his shoulder and tried to hold back her tears, to little avail. Isaac hated seeing her so sad, and it honestly hurt him more than the pain caused by the slow ebbing of his life. Just die already. Then we can get to the cheesy resurrection that much quicker. He squeezed her tightly and rested his head on top of hers, fighting the sorrow he felt for her. The nearly five days they'd spent apart had seemed like an eternity. He couldn't allow them to be separated again. That was why he’d have to kill her, too.
"You can't die, Isaac!" Mia sobbed. "You can't leave me all alone after everything we've been through to be together! After all, it’s not like we had lives before each other or other friends who care about us!"
"It'll be OK," he said Dude, you’re dying, his own tears cleaning some of the grime from her hair. He cries shampoo?"I'm not going to abandon you this time."
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*Sniff!* And you thought the cliffhanger for Chapter 10 was bad! Well, I'm already working on the next (and last) chapter, so please don't call the lynch mob just yet, OK? Too late. *throws cell phone into the bushes*