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I'm so happy with the reviews my story is getting! And so it begins… Thank you so much for reading it, everyone! ^_^
Disclaimer: Just remember that I don't own Golden Sun, OK?
*Chapter 3*
Several days later…
"Unusual craft you have here," Jenna said to Isaac. "How does it move without any sails or oars?"
"It's propelled by MoonstonesPsynergy," Isaac replied. He was trying to fix the rope ladder to the crow's nest, which had snapped in a few places from Garet's abuse. Garet liked to do things rough.
"Oh," said Jenna. She leaned against the rail and watched him work. "Garet was telling me about some of your adventures. Did you really get arrested in Bilibin?"
Isaac laughed. "Yes. It was all a big misunderstanding though. Since when is trashing a bar and stabbing its owner really that big a deal? Lord McCoy said we defied his orders by going to Kolima, and his soldiers thought that meant we broke the law. Since I'm the 'leader' of this group, I was the one who got to spend a night in jail. Word of advice: If you ever drop the soap, leave it."
"Tell me," Jenna began "I saw Garet and Ivan one day near Vault. They demanded an Antidote plant from Saturos but they wouldn't say why. And when Saturos refused, they took off towards Kalay quite urgently. Care to enlighten me on what that was about?"
"You always did have a sharp memory, Jenna," he said. "I'd practically forgotten about that."
"So why'd they need that Antidote? And why weren't you with them for that matter? You and Garet are rarely apart now that you’re carrying his child."
"Because the Antidote was for me," Isaac said. "I had a craving for one. Stupid, really. I was bitten by a poisonous bug in the Lamakan Desert."
"And your healer couldn't cure that on her own?" Jenna asked, sounding quite critical.
"Mia is very good at what she does, but even she has her limits. By the time we realized that bite was poisoned, the venom was already in too deep for her to cure it without an Antidote plant." Isaac cringed a bit at the memory of that wound. It was one experience he wished he'd never had. "But Saturos and Menardi, being the one-dimensional pure evil villains that they are, had stolen all the healing items in Vault, which is where we were at the time. Garet and Ivan went to meet a supply caravan from Kalay and get that Antidote. Mia stayed behind to look after me."
Jenna looked puzzled. "Since when is a little insect venom potent enough to slow someone like you down? I've been hit with that stuff before and it wasn't a big deal." (*A/N: Kind of like a bee sting or something similar. *) In-text author’s notes are WIN!
"That was no ordinary insect," he said. "That was evil manifest.Ivan thinks it was strengthened by someone or something." He paused a moment as he tied one of the ladder rungs. "It was a very deadly kind of poison."
She jumped. "Isaac, I'm so sorry! I should've been there to help you!"
"Even if you had been there, I doubt you could've done much. You can thank Mia And her powers of sexual healingfor saving me. Her powers kept me alive until Ivan and Garet got back to join in."
"And is that why you're with her?" Jenna asked, looking at her feet. "Out of gratitude for saving your life?"
"Of course not. It was more because I finally managed to get laid, and I wanted to keep that around. It wouldn't be good to base an entire romance on gratitude. I love her for far more than that. Her skill with tentacles and chain, for instance."
"Are you sure? I've known you a long time, Isaac, and she doesn't seem like your type. You’ve never been into that kinky stuff."
"I have a 'type?'" Isaac questioned.
"You know what I mean. I always pictured you with someone bolder and more confident. Someone who looked good in tight leather."
"You mean someone like you?"
Jenna blushed slightly. "Well…yes! Mia seems nice enough, but she's kind of quiet and shy. And how do we know that she can be trusted? She told me that Alex is her former apprentice, and he's certainly not to be trusted. I have no idea why my brother insisted on letting him stay on with us. He gives me the creeps."
"Mia is nothing like Alex," said Isaac resolutely. "She’s got boobies. He'd been gone a year before she even found out he'd joined up with Saturos, and then he betrayed Mia's trust by lighting the Mercury Lighthouse." He knotted the last broken rung. "Why are you so down on her, anyway? You only met her a few days ago--give her a chance."
"I know, but you mean a lot to me, Isaac, and you've been through so much. I'd hate to see you have your heart broken."
Isaac smiled. "I've missed talking to you like this. But you needn't worry about me or my relationship with Mia. We made a vow to each other and we both intend to keep it no matter what happens. You should worry less about my love life and focus more on your own."
Her whole face turned bright red and then she exploded. "Isaac! That's terribly presumptuous of you!"
Drops of rain started to fall from above, interrupting their conversation. Jenna began to melt. The sky slowly darkened ominously as the wind picked up. "It looks like we're in for a bad one," Isaac said, observing the clouds. "Go round up the others and tell them to be on guard. This could get ugly."
"Right." She went to find the others and Isaac dashed to the helm, where Mia was controlling the ship with the Black Orb.
"Arr, Captain! The ocean's be getting rough," she said. "It's be taking more power to steady the ship."
"Can you hold out long enough to get us through?" he asked.
"Yes, Aye, as long as we're not stuck in the thick of it for long. Go tend to the rest of the ship, Captain. I'll be all right."
The heavens fully opened with a thundering roar as the angel Gabriel got a strike and sheets of heavy rain made it difficult to see anything ahead. Ivan struggled against the howling wind to get to the crow's nest, in hopes that he could use Reveal to see through the storm. The rain was frigid, and when combined with the wind, made the travelers feel quite cold. To top it off, the ship bounced up and down on the waves like a really bad carnival ride The moonjump, perhaps?, taking everyone's stomachs with it.
"I knew I shouldn't have eaten such a big lunch," Garet complained.
"Be careful up there, Ivan!" Sheba called.
"Can you see anything?" Isaac added.
Ivan gripped the railing as tightly as he could and cast Reveal to clear away the murk. "I see dead people! Nothing yet!" he hollered down to the others.
"Is that good news or bad?" Jenna asked.
Mia focused her Psynergy with all her might to keep the ship righted, feeling that her head would burst at any moment. But she'd hold on until the Black Orb sucked out every last ounce of her power if she had to. She expertly guided the vessel amidst the mighty wind and the wild ocean, unwilling to let either claim her friends or her lover. Jenna could drown, though, for all she cared. And she kept her ears open for sudden announcements from Ivan in the crow's nest.
"Really big wave dead ahead!" Ivan shouted. "Hard to port!"
Mia willed the ship to the left but part of the wave still crashed onto the deck. The sudden surge of water swept Sheba all the way to the stern, but at least she didn't fall overboard. Garet slipped in the giant puddle and started cursing at the ocean at the top of his voice.
Ivan started to cast Reveal again when another wave jostled the boat and he fell over. Trying again, he stood up, cast Reveal, and spotted something in the distance. Was it a wave? No, it was… Chuck Norris!
"Land!" he hollered as loudly as he could. "Full reverse!!"
Too late. The ship ran aground, the force of the impact sending everyone flying. Ivan himself nearly fell from his post, but luckily managed to grab hold of the ladder first. Though the storm persisted, the ship was firmly planted where it sat and didn't rock at all with the crashing waves. Its rocking days were long past. These days it listened mainly to jazz.
"Do you think we're safe here?" Sheba asked.
"Garet, go see if we're taking on water," said Isaac. He leaned over the side of the ship but couldn't see any immediate damage to the vessel. This was one heck of a way to discover solid ground!
"Everything below deck is dry," Garet said, reappearing. "I think we're OK."
"Then we can wait this storm out inside, right?" Jenna questioned.
"Right," Isaac agreed. "We can find out where we are once the storm subsides."
**********
"I am so sick of getting wet at every turn!" Garet growled as he wrung out his wet clothes. "I hope we won't be sailing again for awhile."
"This has been quite a voyage," Ivan said. "For over a month we saw nothing but open ocean and in the past week we've hit land twice. What were the chances of that?" The same as the telephone number of an Islington flat where Arthur once went to a very good party and met a very nice girl whom he totally failed to get off with. He pulled the blanket from his bed around his small frame. "Is it cold in here or is it me?"
"You'll feel better once you dry off," said Garet. "Stupid water."
Ivan nodded and sat down on his bunk, shivering slightly. "What are you reading, Isaac?"
"Probably a manual for young lovers the Kama Sutra," Garet teased.
"For your information, it's a book about Adept classes particle physics," said Isaac. "Sheesh. Mia isn't the only thing I think about."
"Only the thing you think most about," Garet pressed. "She's in the back of your mind right now, isn't she?"
Isaac blushed slightly but continued reading. Ivan and Garet both snickered. "Look at him blush!" said Garet. "He looks like a killer tomato!"
"Ah, leave him alone," Ivan said. "You're just jealous because he has a girl and you don't."
"No I'm not! What Isaac and I have is special, and Mia can’t ever take that away!"
"Yeah right. You can't hide these kinds of things from a mind reader you know."
Garet grimaced, not wanting to admit that Ivan was right as usual. "So what's it like, Isaac?"
"What's what like?" Isaac asked, still reading.
"Being with Mia. Being in love. Getting laid. Doing the nasty. Getting jiggy with it."
Isaac thought a moment, trying to find the right words. "It's hard to explain. It's kinda like that upsurge of power you feel after a level four summon, only it lasts the whole time. Just having her near me makes me feel like I have endless Psynergy and that I can do anything. That must sound really silly, but I don't know how else to describe it."
"No," said Ivan. "She has quite an effect on you for sure, and I don't know if anyone could find the exact words to properly describe that. Except horribly sappy."
"Some guys have all the luck," Garet said. He thought about Jenna and wondered if he'd ever have the nerve to tell her that he liked her as more than a friend.
Just then, Ivan felt an odd tinge in the back of his mind. He'd been starting to get premonitions now--a direct result of his growing power and experience. He focused his Psynergy to get a closer look while the other two watched.
"What did you see, Ivan?" Isaac asked. ”And don’t say ‘dead people’ again. That one’s getting old.”
Ivan looked a bit uncomfortable. "This is the first vision I've ever received about any of us. Usually they're only about places or objects." He bit his lower lip. "You may not like it, Isaac. It's about you and Mia."
"Me and Mia?" Isaac looked worried. "What about us?"
"She has an STD. There's some kind of force trying to come between the two of you," said Ivan. "I don't know what kind of force it is, but it's very strong, and it wants to drive Mia as far away from you as possible. AIDS, perhaps, or herpes."
"But how?" Isaac questioned. "And why?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know. It gets worse too. If my vision is correct, than she could be in great danger if this force successfully pushes her away."
Mia in danger? The very thought sent a shiver down Isaac's spine. He shut his book and tried to think of what this force could be. What in the world could possibly come between them? They'd made a vow to always stay together--what could be powerful enough to destroy that?
"Don't worry about it, Isaac," Garet reassured him. "You two are crazy about each other. Mia wouldn't let anything chase her away from you."
"True," Ivan added. "My premonitions are still quite weak. This one may not mean anything."
"Still…" Isaac trailed. He stood up and pulled his still damp clothes back on. "I'll be back. I'm going to go see her. I want to get in as much sexin’ as I can before anything bad happens."
Garet and Ivan nodded knowingly and watched him leave. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have this power," Ivan said. "I may have caused him to worry for nothing."
"It'll be OK, Ivan," said Garet. "I'm sure everything will work out somehow. Isaac would never let Mia go without a fight."
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Foreshadowing is cool! ^_^ Next chapter, the storm escalates, and I'm not talking about the weather!