"The first step is always the hardest"-anonymous

Prelude. RECOMMENCEMENT

The Eastern Sea was a place that was normally crowded with so many trading ships, fishing ships, and pirate ships that it was difficult to even see the seawater. However, after the legendary Venus Lighthouse was lit, the sea was oddly quiet of any activities. The waves had been extraordinarily rough after the sudden explosion of golden light atop the lighthouse, and few dared to travel far out on the sea at such a strange time. There was, however, one crew that was daring enough to face the sea. Their ship was not rough and weatherworn, either, from years of harsh weather and dangers, but rather it was a sleek work of art that seemed to be granting the sea a favor by gracing its waters with her beauty. On the head of the fair ship was the lifelike and realistic carving of a fierce, roaring dragon, eyes glowering with jaws opened in a voiceless roar to terrify foolhardy ships that dared to enter its path, if there were any such ships left at sea to frighten. Glimmering in a soft afterglow as the last fingertips of the setting sun brushed against the smooth polished wood, the ship sailed steadily towards the east.

Facing the east was a golden-haired, blue-eyed boy, staring emotionlessly out into the horizon. There was nothing to see for the Eastern Sea was empty of everything but the endless silver water. The sea was nothing like what Kraden had told him about. At first, the sea had struck against the ship mercilessly as if it was nothing but a mere floating toy, the wind whipping ferociously around him and his companions. Yet, after a few hours, the crashing waves mysteriously calmed down to gentle waves, and the fierce wind had calmed down to a soft breeze. Compared to their travels and the monsters they had fought, sailing on the open sea was dull. He had at first been excited to sail on the sea, but now he was already tired of it. He sighed softly as he leaned against the ship.

"Is something bothering you, Isaac?" asked a blue-haired maiden at the wheel, the concern evident in her voice as she watched him.

Isaac shook his head wordlessly as he continued to gaze across the sea.

Ivan, the purple-eyed wind mage, shook his head with a sigh from atop his perch above the cabin where he had been watching the setting sun and feeling the sea breeze. He was bored as well, and he could not help but to watch the exchange between Isaac and the girl. He caught the look on the girl's face, noticing that although Isaac did not want her to worry, his silence was only worrying her more. He could not stand it. How could Isaac be so clueless? To think that their leader, the calm, although slow, decision-maker, was such a fool to girls. He leaped off his perch, feeling the wind swirl around him gently, allowing him to land onto the deck softly.

"Do not worry, Mia. Isaac is just feeling a little restless out here in the open sea," Ivan reassured the girl confidently, as if he could read Isaac's mind.

Isaac frowned at Ivan as the boy smoothed out his purple tunic and straightened his green and yellow vest-like top. Ivan knew his feelings perfectly; then again, he could expect nothing less from the psychic boy. He may have been the youngest of the group, but he was probably one of the most powerful Jupiter mage on the Angara and Gondowan continents combined.

"You flatter me Isaac, but your thoughts were strong enough to almost knock me over. You were silently screaming, 'Mind Read me, damn it!' Any simple Jupiter mage could have pick up your thoughts," Ivan's voice spoke within his head.

Isaac glowered at Ivan, who only blinked his large purple eyes innocently at him. "Stupid mage," Isaac muttered to himself, while Ivan just smirked.

"I feel restless out on this sea, as well," Mia said softly, causing Isaac and Ivan to turn and look at her in surprise.

"Mia, I thought you would have loved being out on the sea, especially because you are a Mercury Adept," Ivan said.

"I do," Mia agreed. "I love the sea, but… the sea here is quite different. Back home at Imil, I could always hear the sea's crashing waves or the sea birds crying. I have heard tales of the fierce waves of the Great Eastern Sea, but now that I am here, it turned out to be quite different. I feel as if we are still on land."

"Speak for yourself," a voice groaned from behind the group. "I do not feel like I am on land at all. I can feel myself rise and fall, and worse of all, I feel sick."

"Why, Garet, I believe you are seasick," Mia said amusingly, as she turned to see the brown-haired Mars Adept.

Isaac turned to see his best friend Garet leaning against the railing, who really was looking a little green. The two of them had been best friends for pretty much all of their 17 years, but the two were like night and day. While Isaac preferred to keep his feelings to himself, at least before Ivan decided to reveal them to the world, Garet would have made no hesitation to make his thoughts known. His tendency to speak before thinking tended to get him into trouble, while Isaac would tend to think too much before he spoke. It was strange how two people with conflicting nature could get along so well, but they supported each other despite their clashing personalities.

Garet ran his hand through his spikes, his brown eyes flashing with impatience. "I don't know how you can stand this. It is so quiet and empty here, it is almost as if we are in a graveyard. I wish there was something to do besides just watching the waves."

"If you are feeling sick, you should not watch the waves," Mia advised Garet. "You should look far off into the distance, like the horizon."

"Or," Ivan said with a small smile, "you could always come join us and say farewell to Angara and Gondowan for the last time. In a few more hours, it will be dark, and by the time we wake up tomorrow, we will no longer be able to see land any longer."

Ivan's words brought an uneasy silence upon the members of the boat. Although the four of them had been traveling around the continents for quite awhile and had not been home for a long time, there was something different about sailing away from their homes. It was as if in the very bottom of their hearts, they had hoped that their traveling would end after reaching Venus Lighthouse. Yet, any hopes of reaching the end of their travels were soon gone. Although Saturos and Menardi were destroyed, and Felix presumed dead, or at least missing, Isaac and Garet had not found their childhood friend, Jenna. They could not put their guards down, either, because Alex was still somewhere out there, and they had no idea what he could be up to.

"We've been traveling for so long, and yet it feels like we've only just begun," Ivan said, repeating what he had said before the four stepped onto the Lemurian ship.

Garet nodded silently in agreement. "To imagine that we have traveled all across Angara and Gondowan to finally come here, the Great Eastern Sea."

"It has been so long since I have been home. I wonder how my students are…" Mia wondered wistfully.

"And how Master Hammet and Lady Layana are…" Ivan said sadly.

"Stop it!" Garet exclaimed, causing the others to look at him in surprise. He blinked his eyes rapidly. "Let's talk about happier things," he said hastily.

Mia smiled understandingly. "Of course. We have much to look forward to on this trip."

"Yes, we will be able to visit Lemuria," Ivan grinned. "I wonder what kind of place it is."

"We are going to find Jenna and Kraden first, right? I bet Kraden would love to see Lemuria," Garet said knowingly. "He loves the unknown and mysterious. He really needs a new hobby."

* * *

Somewhere, an elderly man traveling with a group of younger people let out a huge sneeze.

"Is something the matter, Kraden?" asked a brown haired girl.

"I do not know. I was fine a minute ago…"

"Someone must be talking about you," the girl teased.

* * *

"Speaking of finding Lemuria and Jenna," Isaac began softly, "which one comes first?"

Garet blinked in confusion. "Of course, Jenna comes first! What do you mean, 'which one comes first?'"

"But we do not even know where she could be," Isaac replied. "We at least have an idea of where Lemuria is. Babi has helped us greatly during our travels-he gave us the Cloak Ball, this ship. Without any of it, we could not have come so far. Don't you think that we should at least find his 'Lemuria' for him first?"

"What are you talking about Isaac? Do you not want to find Jenna? Or are you still afraid to tell her about Felix?" Garet accused.

"That is not the reason at all. I just feel guilty," Isaac said, rubbing his arms as he avoided facing Garet.  "Babi really needs the potion, but we do not even know when we can search for it if we look for Jenna first. I feel…somewhat indebted to him and obligated to fulfill his one wish."

"That Babi is just a selfish lord who is afraid to die!" Garet spat. "You want to help a man like him first before Jenna?"

"That's not it at all!" Isaac said, frustrated. "But we promised him we will find Lemuria-"

"And we will! After Jenna!" Garet exclaimed. "We are not sneaking out of our promise!"

"You guys, please," Mia began.

"Let's talk about this reasonably," Ivan pleaded.

"Do you not think that we ought to complete Babi's wishes first? Without his Cloak Ball, we could not have saved Master Hammet!" Isaac said, shooting a significant glance at Ivan.

"That is true," Ivan said hesitantly.

"That is a cheap shot, Isaac," Garet growled, "trying to make Ivan feel guilty."

"Without Babi, we would not even be on this ship, and then how would we search for Jenna?"

"Stop it, Isaac! Look, I know that Babi has done quite a bit for us, but Jenna is the one being held hostage by Alex. Without Felix, who knows what sort of danger she would be in!" Garet shouted. "Do you just want to leave her in the hands of people like Alex? You rather go do the bidding of some jerk? What kind of person are you, Isaac? You are not his dog!"

"I just think it is the right thing to do," Isaac insisted.

"Yeah? Do you think that just because you are the leader-"

"What about me being leader?" Isaac asked dangerously. "Are you questioning my leadership?"

"You think you are so great just because everyone talks about how responsible you are. Isaac is always the hero. He is the smart one and everyone wants to be like him. Everyone wants him to be leader," Garet said in a scoffing tone. "Well, I am sick of it! Always having to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulder, Isaac never makes a mistake because he is the golden boy!"

"You think I like all the pressure?" Isaac laughed in a bitter tone. "You always have decisions to make, you always need to think about the consequences. After all, I have to be the 'perfect leader.' I would not want anyone to get hurt just because I made a bad decision. I always have to think about the right thing, the best thing, never thinking about what I would like. Do you ever wonder how I feel when each of the two lighthouses was lit? I always wonder, is it because of me that the lighthouses were lit? Maybe it was my fault!"

"Please, you two, this is ridiculous!" Mia cried. "You two are best friends!"

"It is always about you," Garet snarled. "You want to go to Lemuria first so that Babi can thank you, so that you can be the hero! Maybe you do not want to look for Jenna because you do not want to fail!"

"Garet, how can you say that?" Ivan said, shaking his head.

"Do you wonder what Jenna must be feeling? How do you think she will feel when she learns of this? Or do you not care at all?" Garet demanded.

"How can I not care about Jenna? We are like brother and sister!" Isaac fumed.

"Yeah, or maybe you just stay with her because you feel guilty about that accident three years ago?" Garet suggested.

Isaac was normally a calm, collected person, but even he had a limit to his patience. Garet knew that he had struck a nerve when he suggested that Isaac did not care for Jenna at all. After Garet's comment, Isaac had lowered his head, his entire body shaking silently.

"Garet…" Isaac said, clenching his fists. He shot Garet a poisonous glance, his eyes narrowed. "How dare you… how dare you say that!" Saying that, Isaac punched Garet squarely in the face. Garet had angered him so greatly, that he did not even consider the consequences of what he was doing.

Garet felt himself fall over, not from the strength of Isaac' punch, but from the initial shock that Isaac had actually hit him, even though he knew that he was asking for it. He would even admit that he might have deserved it, but he would never say that aloud. He knew that he was testing Isaac's limit, but this was too much. He had a deep sense of pride, and Isaac had just injured it. He was not just going to sit there after Isaac punched him in front of Ivan and Mia, looking like a fool. He leapt to his feet, spitting at a spot near Isaac's feet.

Isaac just stood there, tilting his nose up slightly as he watched Garet get up. Garet's pride was no secret to him, and turning up his nose at him would probably just infuriate him. He knew it, and he wanted to anger him. Isaac was not going to allow Garet to think that he could do and say whatever he wanted to. He was going to teach him to shut his great big mouth.

Garet charged at Isaac with a sudden burst of speed, surprising Isaac greatly. Garet never displayed such speed before. He barely had time to bring up his arms to block some of the hit. However, the force was enough to bring him crashing into the cabin with a crack. He did not have much time to react when Garet was in front of him again. This time, however, Isaac was ready as Garet swung another of his powerful punches towards him. Isaac ducked and kicked his feet out, trying to knock Garet to the floor.

"Nice try, Isaac," Garet said as he watched Isaac's legs shoot out, simply leaping out of harm's way. "I traveled with you long enough to know what you are thinking."

"Really, Garet?" Isaac's voice called.

Garet looked to see that Isaac was no longer in front of him. While he was busy dodging Isaac's last attack, Isaac had simply disappeared. He instantly turned behind him, but no one was there either. "What?"

"Up here, Garet," Isaac's voice called from above. The kick was merely a distraction to avert Garet's view from him for a second. He only needed a second to mutter Carry while Garet was talking and feel his Psynergy leak out from within him to form a pair of ghastly looking hands that lifted him upwards.

Garet snapped his head up to only see Isaac leap off of the hands as they disappeared, receiving a swift kick to his stomach, causing him to skid backwards. He barely had time to dig his toes in to prevent falling over again when he noticed that Isaac had lifted his sword above his head while a soft golden glow surrounded his body. He smirked slightly. If Isaac wanted to use Psynergy, well, two could play that game. Garet felt a warm tingling sensation that happened every time he used his Psynergy, a fiery flame that coursed through his veins. He lifted one of his hands up into the air as the soft red glow gathered into his hand. Neither of the two boys moved nor paid attention to Mia's and Ivan's pleadings to stop as they watched each other carefully.

"ERUPTION!" Garet called.

A triumphant smile was on Garet's face as Isaac was shot upward by the sudden fiery blast that appeared beneath his feet, trapping Isaac in the center of the flaming column. The immense heat could be felt from where he stood as he watched the flames lick playfully at Isaac's skin. Garet's smile soon fell, however, when he noticed that Isaac still managed to painstakingly slash his sword down.

"RAGNAROK!" Isaac croaked out. Suddenly, a gigantic bright sword appeared in the sky and sped toward Garet. In an instance, Garet felt as if his body was being skewered.

When the flames disappeared, Isaac fell to the ship's surface with a thud, his entire body singed. Garet collapsed, too, his body sore as the sword disappeared. Both had stood up to attacks that were more powerful, yet, to each of them, the attack from their best friend had somehow left them feeling weaker than normal. It was as if somewhere deep inside each of them, the hearts that strengthened them protested against this pointless argument. Both chose to ignore this subconscious feeling, however, as they struggled to stand up for another showdown.

"Isaac, Garet, stop!" Mia cried to the two boys. "This fighting is foolishness!"

Ivan clutched his throbbing head as Isaac's and Garet's thoughts were flying wildly, their thoughts too strong to block out. He could hear the inner thoughts of Isaac and Garet, knowing immediately that the two boys were reluctant to fight. Their stupid prides were the only things driving them on, both too stubborn to set them beside. 'I have to put an end to this stupid squabble!' Ivan thought desperately. When Ivan was contemplating to use Halt, the two boys lunged at each other. There was no time to use Halt, so Ivan made a risky decision.

Mia watched in horror as Ivan sprinted towards Isaac and Garet. Ivan stopped in between both of them, planting his feet firmly and bracing himself for the blows. Eyes widening, Isaac and Garet held back their punches and kicks as they skidded to a halt, crashing into Ivan. The three toppled over in a blur of colors and of hands waving franticly, crashing to the ship's deck with a thud. Mia rushed over hurriedly, trying to help the three boys to separate from each other.

"Are you all right?" Mia asked, as she helped pull Isaac up.

Garet rolled over clutching his head, moaning. "I think so…"

Ivan sat up with difficulty, the crash knocking the wind out of him. "I'll be fine," he wheezed.

"I am fine," Isaac muttered, as he rubbed his stomach gingerly.

Mia's eyes were slightly misty as she slapped all three boys in the face.

"Ow!" Garet retorted. "What was that for?"

"That was for the foolishness of both you and Isaac," Mia said fiercely.

"Then why did you slap me as well?" Ivan demanded, rubbing the red mark across his face.

"For being a sensible person making such a reckless move! You could have gotten seriously injured."

"Well, at least they stopped," Ivan grumbled.

"I cannot believe you two," Mia scolded, paying no more attention to Ivan. "You both know better than that! Honestly! First, you two bicker like children over something that you could have discussed reasonably. Then you both intentionally provoke each other, saying things that you do not mean. To top it all off, you both decide to fight each other because of your egos."

"I'm sorry," Isaac said softly. "I'm sorry, Mia, for worrying you. Ivan, I'm sorry for dragging you into this. And Garet, sorry for-"

"Me, too," Garet cut in softly, understanding shining in his eyes. "Let us not worry about which one comes first. We will see when the time comes. After all, we trust your decisions, leader."

Isaac cracked a small grin. He stretched his hand out and Garet immediately clasped it.

"Friends?" Garet asked.

"Always," Isaac replied.

"Can you forgive us for being such idiots, Mia? Ivan?" Garet asked.

Ivan smiled. "Of course."

"I don't know…" Mia started. "Maybe I can, if you do the dishes for a week!"

Isaac grimaced while Garet groaned at Mia's condition.

"Mia!" Garet moaned.

"Shh, she is planning to let you off with just one day if you play along," Ivan said with a wink.

"Ivan!" Mia shrieked. "Stop ruining everything!"

Isaac shook his head good-naturally while he turned his gaze back to the lands of Angara and Gondowan. The lands now appeared to only be a line in the horizon, disappearing rapidly as the ship sped away. Only the golden light that shone brightly from the beacon of Venus Lighthouse could still be seen clearly, bidding him farewell. One day soon, Isaac hoped, the golden light would welcome him back again.

~To be continued in Chapter 1 -ILLUSIONS~

Please pardon any mistakes with ship terminology. I really don't know much about ships. I hope you can tell what part of the ship I am referring to-luckily, the Lemurian ship isn't that big, so you can probably guess what I'm talking about. If you know the correct terms, please feel free to let me know so I can correct them. Arigato and R & R!