At least this one came up sooner…. If possible, this one has more angst than the last one.

By the way, even if you DID, by chance read this one before, the ending sequence overwent a major overhaul, adding in a bit more FelixxSheba interaction. I definently like this ending better.

WARNING- There IS implied Lighthouseshipping this chapter, as well as the Proxians in a positive relation. If you don't like FelixSheba, I respect your opinion. If you're really close-minded and despise the Proxians, too bad.

Silencing the Screams Pt II of II

Felix

Everything seemed to be crashing down around us.

Of course, the lighthouse was really rather stable, and likely not to just topple over at any given time, but what with a battle of such epic proportions as this one, we could never be to sure.

We being Sheba and I. Saturos and Menardi had just fused, yelling at me to take Sheba back to the ship, as they didn't think they'd be able to control their transformed state. All previous stress-induced arguments forgotten, I simply nodded, grabbed Sheba and ran. We had opted not to take the elevator, as the beacon was still rising and preventing it from properly functioning.

So here we are now, running down the tanned halls of my element. The light has been kindled, and I could feel it rising up slowly from the ground as I continued down to meet it. Sheba, with her heightened agility, was always about five steps ahead of me as we ran down the corridors, with myself panting to keep up and trying not lose sight of her.

I could not help but wonder what was happening above us. Saturos and Menardi were undeniably the strongest fighters in Prox, but Isaac and his friends had already proved to be stronger than any of us ever imagined they'd be. What if they lost? What could we do, Jenna, Alex, Sheba and I? I may have had the Jupiter Star, but what of the funds to get us there? The ship?

And how could I ever live with myself, knowing that I may have caused them to fall?

That last one made my eyes sting a bit, but my face quickly hardened to the emotionless mask I had become fond of using in Isaac's presence. It was better if they didn't know what was going on. I knew I was already banned from Vale forever, having forgone the teachings, there was no changing that. I made a loophole myself for Jenna, preventing her from the knowledge that we were actually working to save Weyward, not just our parents.

Our parents. What would become of them? I know the Elder and Puelle wouldn't harm any of them should my foster parents' fail, but what of the others? There were a few residents who were reasonably quite passionate about this whole mission. How would they react to knowing their fighters had failed and placed their fate in the hands of a Venus adept they adopted into their culture, his fiery-headed sister, a healer who used his calming, reassuring aura to manipulate others, and a child who supposedly fell from the sky?

I began to reprimand myself for even thinking that way. For the love of Prox, why had I even gone back up the lighthouse? All it did was hold Saturos and Menardi back. Why, if I hadn't, they'd have lit the beacon and be done by now!

A scream brought me out of my reverie, and I snapped back to attention fast enough to knock aside a goblin that was about to attack. Sheba looked at me and gave a relieved smile.

Oh, yeah.

Sheba.

She was the reason I had gone back up. Perhaps I'm more in tune with my element than I had previously believed, but I didn't think the lighthouse would react so well to it's lighting, and I didn't want Sheba there to find out if I was right.

A tile fell from the ceiling nearly hitting the god-child in front of me.

Then again, I didn't think it would be this negative, either.

Suddenly, Sheba stopped. I couldn't stop myself and narrowly avoided crashing into the fourteen-year-old. I turned around to see a dazed face on the girl. As I was about to question her, it suddenly transfigured into a shocked one. She bolted back up the stairs at nearly twice the speed she had been going before. After a second's hesitation, I followed.

"Sheba!" I cried out, trying to get her to slow down a bit. She didn't hear me, and another tile fell, coating the room in dust and debris.

"Sheba!" I called again. I heard a second scream. I searched for the source, trying to discriminate it from the cracking and rumbling of the lighthouse. A third scream.

"SHEBA!" I sprinted this time, and managed to catch up fast enough to knock away another goblin seconds before it released an attack. Sheba nodded gratefully, and was about to sprint up the stairs before I grabbed her shoulder.

"Why are you running back?" I was about to ask her.

I meant to ask her.

But the words wouldn't come out. Sheba understood, though, and answered my un-asked question.

"It-it's Saturos and Menardi…" I was about to chide her, telling her that there was nothing to worry about, when I noticed something peculiar in her word choice.

Saturos and Menardi…

Unaccustomed to using such foreign names, Sheba had early on given the pair nicknames. 'Satty' and 'Menny'. Though childish in a way, they soon picked up popularity between Sheba and Jenna. If Sheba was using their real names, she was being serious.

So instead I just nodded and followed her, thankfully at a slower pace this time. My throat was still sore from yelling amidst the debris, giving it a scratchy sort of coated feel. I opted not to talk. Fortunately, Sheba could mind read all my questions without transfer of sound, and similarly commute her answers.

We reached the top aerie again just in time to hear a gut-wrenching howl of pain. It was an odd sound, though, as though it were made by two creatures with the same voice. I froze, and I could feel Sheba do the same a step behind me. I cautiously walked within viewing range of the aerie's plateau. From there, I witnessed the blood-crested, mangled bodies of my friends collapse into the gapping hole meant for the star.

I wanted to scream, but no sound came from my throat. It was still sore, apparently.

Garret, despite being thick-headed and ignorant much of the time, chose to be observant that day. As his gaze swept across the aerie, I landed on Sheba and I. Instinctively, I took a step closer towards the wind adept.

"You-you beat them, Isaac?" The words seemed to be pulled from my throat. He simply nodded. He had never spoken in my presence since this whole ordeal began. He was quite the chatterbox before…

After a brief, painful discussion, I felt I had made myself clear to Isaac and his companions. I began walking towards the now-functioning elevator, trying to keep my emotionless mask up. It was only through a heck of a lot of concentration that my face was kept from betraying the ongoing mantra in my head.

They're dead they're really dead Saturos and Menardi are gone and I couldn't do anything about it and they're gone and I'll never see them again and Karst will be sad and maybe even Agatio will admit it and I've failed Prox no I've already been cast away from Vale I won't lose another home oh but they're gone they're gone and they're never coming back-

And suddenly, the lighthouse began to shake more violently that it had before. With an earth-shaking, echoing crash, it seemed that even the Gods were vengeful against those who dared fire the Venus beacon.

And perhaps they had been, for the Child of the Gods had fallen off.

"SHEBA!" I cried for the umpteenth time that day, my throat constricting in pain from the loss of two of my friends and the desperate yelling.

Regaining my footing, I feel onto my knees, putting my hand out, hoping to catch hold of Sheba's hand, hoping I could pull her up, hoping I could save her from the mess I had brought her into.

"Sheba!" I cried, trying to hold back the tears of both stress and sorrow that threatened to overwhelm me at the thought of losing another person close to me, "Take my hand, please!" I pleaded, my words only pulling themselves from my throat out of desperation.

"No, Felix," She began, sounding awfully depressed as well, "I-I can't," She continued, her voice pained, "I can't! Don't worry about me! Stop leaning foreword, you can't reach me! Stop it! We'll both fall!" She was on the brink of tears by now, and yelling with a hint of hysteria in her voice. I suppose anyone would, given these circumstances.

"No, Sheba…" I croaked, my voice hurting even more. I wasn't sure if she could even hear me this time, with the growing winds around us as the beacon's light swirled into it's magnificent, almost mocking existence as two corpses continued falling down the pit until they reach the bottom and-

I managed to cut myself off there. Sheba must have heard me, though, as the smiled weakly and replied, "I-I'm sorry Felix. And…" I held my breath as her small, but roughened fingers slipped further from my reach.

"…Thank you…"

And she fell.

"NO! SHEBA!" I cried, instantly, ignoring the blood I could now feel in my throat. "I-I won't…let you DIE!"

And with that, I jumped.

I couldn't help but notice that my throat was now inflamed, and some of the blood was leaking from my mouth. But that didn't matter now. I was going to die, anyways.

But it would be worth it.

Just as long as I could reach her first.

Just as long as I could take the fall for her, and save one life today.

Just as long…

The Next Day

The lighthouse incident seems like it happened so long ago. It doesn't seem like, just yesterday, two of my closest friends lost their lives, and a third almost did as well.

As the others rested in Dalia, I slipped away to find the Great Healer in the town's Sanctum. I had been unable to speak since the lighthouse episode (causing some embarrassment upon awaking to Jenna teasing me about saving Sheba), and blood was still coming from my throat.

After motioning to the healer that I could not speak, he and his assistants examined my throat for any injuries.

They found one.

A splinter of some unrecognizable, ancient material (from the lighthouse, I surmised) had make a large cut in my throat. Using their psynergy, they were able to heal the cut. The pain and damage were made, however, and they told me it would be near a year until I'd be able to talk fluently again.

After getting back to the inn, I was immediately jumped upon by my sister and the diminuitive Jupiter adept. Finding myself unable to answer their questions, I simply took Shebas' hand and put it to my forehead. Taking the hint, she did a mind read. Looking saddened and a bit shell-shocked, she explained my 'condition' to Jenna. As Jenna hurried off to tell Kraden, Sheba turned back to me.

"I-I'm sorry…"

Don't be. I thought. Moving her hand from my forehead to my back, she hugged me tightly. Not knowing what else to do, I simply hugged back.

"Darn it, Felix…" she started, her words muffled by the cape she'd buried her head in, "I can't even stay mad at myself when you look at me like that." I laughed silently at that.

"At least-" she began, pulling back, "I have an excuse to hug you now. After all, you're the leader now, so you're gonna have plenty to say!"

You don't need to touch people to mind read them. I chided again. You're stronger than that. She smiled.

"But they don't know that."

A year or so of this?

Fine with me.