Chapter 3: The Reason Why She Was Leaving

Felix took a deep breath, looking at Sheba very closely and trying to identify her feelings. Quite the hard feat, however. People who are used to read other people's minds, or dig deep into their emotions, tend to prepare themselves way to perfectly against someone who might do the same to them. As a matter of fact, the only reason why Felix could so easily lose his usually cool temper was because with Sheba, there was never a way to find out what was happening. She would never say anything, neither would she even express anything with her face. If he, Felix, was a man that almost no one could ever aim to surprise, Sheba was a girl for whom not even that man was surprising enough to even raise an eyebrow. Trying to know what she was thinking was not possible unless she herself made it possible. Quite unlike Jenna.

And right now, after telling to himself that Sheba had all the right to be the way she damn well wanted, Felix found himself regretting he never was confident enough to ask her to trust him with her feelings. At least with a look. At least with the faintest expression... Something that only he could notice. Nobody else... Yes... He wanted her to trust him and only him...

...Shit. He messed his dark brown hair, frustrated. This is not the time for this. This situation is serious! Come on, Felix, get a damn grip!

"You're asking me?" The Earth Adept repeated, while everyone looked at him with the look of someone who is expecting a particularly important judgement. "Don't make me laugh. You may very well be her brother. You may very well share the same blood. But, I wonder... Where in the hell have you got the attitude, the love of a brother? Why are you asking me if she was happy with us, instead of asking her? Who cares about what I might think or feel? This is about her."

Jenna, Garet and Isaac shared a grin with each other and faced Zeth and Sheba once again. Sheba's strange purple eyes suddenly seemed to return to normal, and her expression –to Felix's great and unconceivable pleasure- had finally shown an emotion that they had never seen. Thankfulness. Sure, Sheba can laugh, smile, smirk, joke, yell, be angry and everything else, like a normal human being. But the fact that she was burdened with being a Jupiter Adept made her expressions and her emotions be a thousand times quicker to disappear, quicker to change, and to leave and do not come back for a considerable amount of time. When she smiled, it never really seemed like it was an honest smile. And when she laughed, it never really felt like she was having fun. She hided a lot of things... She had even more secrets than Felix could ever fathom to have.

"Hmph..." Zeth smirked. "... You're Felix, right?"

"So what if I am?"

"I've heard your name. All of your names, actually." Zeth folded his arms. "Did you actually think that just because you happened to share the same battles, tears, laughs with Sheba, she would all of a sudden rather to be with you than with her true family? Don't get too cocky. You don't even understand the ways of the Wind Tribe. What can you possibly know about...?"

"I was." Sheba said, interrupting Zeth. He looked at her, as if he had not expected her to talk without his permission. "I was very happy. And I still am happy... To be with you. But..."

"If you really were happy then get over here and stop even looking at that guy's eyes. He's creepy." Garet said, earning Jenna's glare. He sort of became paralyzed, while Jenna clearly moved her lips and said quietly: 'do not interrupt her again or I'll kill you'. Garet gulped and replied a quiet 'yes Ma'am'. Sheba looked down for a while, and then her eyes stopped when she looked at Felix. The young man felt her gaze on him, and he felt warm on the inside.

"But you don't know many things about me." She said finally. Zeth was smiling. "When Isaac and his friends joined us... I felt..." She stopped for a second, and Felix felt like his soul was being horribly tortured as soon as he could distinguish a couple of tears on Sheba's eyes. She's... She's crying?!

"...I felt like I didn't belong with you guys! All of you knew each other, and while Piers and Mia didn't, they got along as if they knew each other for ages... But I didn't know anyone! Only... Only you Felix!"

"Sheba..." Jenna's tears began to flow as well. She covered her mouth with her hand, shocked to see her friend finally opening her heart. Felix was completely astonished. Garet and Isaac were surprised, as they had only got an experience of such nature with Ivan... But as a man, Ivan did not need to express his emotions like that. The mere act of fighting, for a man, was a way to take unnecessary luggage from his heart. And between men, moreover, communication often did not need to be through words. Exchanging punches, or clashing swords, or sharing looks proved even more appealing for a man, when he needed to talk with someone.

"Is that... Is that how you were feeling all this time? Sheba?" Jenna asked, holding her sobbing back. She, unlike Felix, had a much more caring, kind heart. She was like an explosion, her temper easy to fire, and her rage quite threatening... But surprisingly enough for a Fire Adept –and unlike any other female Fire Adept Felix had known, like Menardi, or Karst, who were as fearsome as men and then some- Jenna was also sensitive, feminine, fragile and quick to sympathize. She was her mother's daughter, after all.

"Yes..." Sheba was not sobbing, but her tears were thicker and more abundant with each word she said. She looked mere moments away to break down. "Felix... You're the only one I felt close to when there were six other strangers on the ship. I never hated them... I never hated anyone... I love you all! But... But with you... Even if you were never expressive, or if you almost never said anything about yourself, I felt like I could never lose hope any time I was near you! Yet... Inside my heart I always knew... I always feared..." She had finally begun to break down. Felix, though not revealed on the outside, felt like he was being tortured, crucified, slaughtered with each word and tear Sheba shed. He was on so much pain, that he felt for a moment like he was at the top of Mars Lighthouse's beacon again, and his parents were lying on the floor... Cold as steel. The memory of that very experience almost kind of paled in comparison to the pain he felt right now, while seeing Sheba cry.

"... I always feared that the time would come when you would also forget about me. You would also leave me alone and never care about me! That's why, when at Venus Lighthouse... I wanted to die!" She looked down as she cried. "I didn't want you to save me and then forget about me as the time passed! I didn't want to be alone again... I've been alone enough! Even now, I still don't know why you jumped after me! I don't understand...! But I know that you will never say why... And this time, before you have the chance to forget about me... I want to be the one who leaves! I want to know my family, I want to know those people who would never forget about me! Never!"

"Shut up, Sheba." Felix said. His hair was momentarily covering his eyes. But his voice was neither cold nor warm... He seemed to be on trance. Jenna, Isaac and Garet watched closely. Sheba looked at him, about to lose her temper.

"What?!" She asked.

"Are you serious...?! Are you really serious?" He said, his hands trembling. "Why in the hell would you even think I'd forget about you?! Did you seriously not think about how important you are to us?! Why didn't you open your heart to us before?! Why does it have to be in front of this clown?! How many things do you really think we shared?! We almost died together! How in the HELL would it be possible for me to forget you?! Are you stupid?!"

"You're the one being stupid!" Sheba yelled back. She walked closer to Felix, her tears still flowing. "How dare you yell at me when I'm trying to tell you how I feel?! Are you an animal or something?!"

"Animals are great! They never FORGET the smell of a member of their pack! Maybe you should be more of an animal too, instead of being stupid!"

"You insensitive bastard!" She moved her hand so fast, that Jenna, Isaac and Garet never noticed that Felix had been slapped until the sound of a hand hitting a face was heard. "Do you even understand the danger of this situation?! Why did you fools even come for me?! I said it clearly enough, didn't I? I don't want to be with you children anymore!

"I don't understand anything because you never TELL US anything, Sheba!" Felix faced her again after being slapped. He took her hand in the air –impressively- before she landed another slap. "You're always hiding stuff from us, from ME! And you said out of all seven of us, I was the one you got along with the best?! Then why did you never tell me anything?! Why did you leave me as an ignorant, just like everybody else?! In fact, I would have never known you were leaving had it not been for Isaac! For all I know, it could be ISAAC the one you get along with the best, seeing as you talked to HIM instead of ME!

"What!" Sheba landed another incredibly fast slap with her other hand. Because of the hit, Felix's grip over her right hand was lost, and she took the chance to slap him again, and again, and again. "You idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Don't you damn see it?! Are you freaking blind or something?! I couldn't say anything about this to you because if I saw you I would never be able to leave! Because I would never be able to say 'good bye' to that gigantically stupid face of yours! It is BECAUSE I cherish you more than anybody else that I didn't want you to know! As stupid as you were you would have followed me, and Zeth would...!"

"What is that you're saying, Sheba?" Zeth said. Until then, he had been merely chuckling at the sight of Sheba and Felix losing it. But right there, right at that moment, his face showed another side of him. Jenna and Isaac, who noticed as much, had their weapons at the ready. Sheba looked at Zeth, as if realizing something, and then fell silent, merely glaring at Felix. He glared back even harder.

"He would what?!" He asked. "You were talking to me, not to that jerk! Sheba, look at me!" Sheba looked down to the ground, her hands warm and itching after she had slapped Felix for the first time in all the history behind them. She shook her head. Felix grabbed her from her shoulders, and pushed her back and forth, gently. "Sheba, goddamn it! LOOK AT ME!"

"I can't tell you!"

"The hell you can't! I'll make you!"

"That's enough, out of you." Zeth extended his arm, opened his hand on a palm and aimed at Felix. "That's no way to talk to my sister. Get away from her..."

"Shut up!" Felix yelled at him, and Jenna saw so much hatred on his eyes that she feared for the sanity of her brother's mind. "You have no business here! If you say a word again I will make you pay for all you've done, you cowardly-...!"

But as fast as had Sheba slapped him, perhaps even faster, Felix was thrown away by an incredibly strong, thick and sharp current of wind. He fell to the ground, his arms and legs covered in small but painful looking slashes. Blood was already coming. He did not yell in complaint, but it was evident that he was suffering from the blow.

"FELIX!" Jenna, Garet, Isaac and Sheba yelled together.

"As I said before, don't get too cocky, kid." Zeth retrieved his hand and looked at Sheba, who knelt down and tried to help him get up along with Jenna.

"Bastard...!" Isaac glared at Zeth. "Now you've done it! Garet, let's teach this idiot a lesson!"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Garet growled, while both drew their swords and dashed towards Zeth.

"Oh?" Zeth laughed out loud. "Isn't that interesting? You're going to teach me a lesson? I'd like to see you flies try."

"STOP IT!" Sheba cried out. Isaac, Garet and Zeth looked at her. "I'm not running away, Zeth. So don't break your promise! Leave them all alone! And you fools!" She faced Isaac and Garet. "Don't you dare fight him. He'll kill you both!"

"You think we're gonna stand here like imbeciles while this guy goes and does that to Felix?" Isaac was evidently too angered to be talked out of the fight. "Don't interfere, you hear me?!"

"You're the ones who are interfering!" Sheba replied, angrily. "Just stop the fighting or...!"

" 'Promise'?" A voice said. While Isaac, Garet, Sheba and Jenna turned their heads to see, Felix had already got to his feet, barely, and with his mouth bleeding he gave Zeth the look of a hungry lion. He touched his stomach, and mumbled: 'Potent Cure'. A glittering, golden light surrounded him for a second, and his wounds disappeared. "What promise, Sheba?"

But she wouldn't answer. She would just look down. Felix tucked his hair behind his ears and drew his sword.

"I see." Felix walked to where Isaac was. Sheba mumbled 'wait', grabbing his arm, but he struggled to get his arm free. "Isaac."

"Got it." The mentioned said, glaring just as much as Felix was.

"Two regular Earth Adepts trying to match the mastery of an Anemos Tribe member?" Zeth said mockingly. "You guys are either too brave or too stupid. No matter. Sorry Sheba. Our promise doesn't say anything about your friends attacking me. I'll have to kill them all.

"Zeth, don't you dare...!"

"Don't worry, Sheba." Isaac said, both he and Felix starting to glow. "It's a hundred years too early for us to be defeated by the likes of an asshole like this. Just have faith on us. Garet, you ready?!"

"Yeah." He said, glowing as well. Jenna stood beside his brother.

"You feeling better?" She asked coldly, apparently too upset to be kind anymore. Felix did not mind.

"Yeah. Let's all of us kick his sorry ass."

That being said, the four precious youngsters from Vale, a heated, angry look on their faces, prepared themselves to battle. As if they were once again going to face the three headed Dragon, the four of them had an aura of determination that Sheba knew, no matter how many times she said 'stop', they wouldn't listen. Zeth, in the other hand, just looked like he was about to do some very boring, annoying chores.

"I see. So you all would rather die here than just let her go peacefully. Ahhh…" He sighed. "…You Fire and Earth Adepts never change. That's the reason why Anemos was always superior…" He did not draw any sword or any other sort of weapon, as opposed to his enemies, who were armed with swords. He did give the impression of a man about to be killed, but Sheba knew way better.

"Very well, then… Shall we begin?"

Right after he had said those words, the clouds in the sky went grey and charged with ominous thunders. Felix and Isaac charged ahead, Garet behind them and Jenna stood in her position, should she have to heal anybody. Felix and Isaac's swords began to glow with a yellow light. Before they could land a hit, however, a thick and ridiculously fast clap of lightning fell down in front of them. Felix miraculously saw through it and unleashed his sword's yellow light as a shield.

"Iron!" He yelled, summoning his Djinni. Sure enough, the Earth Djinni came out of his sword and body and covered both him and Isaac from the thunder. Garet, who was behind them, jumped above the shield and used it to gain more speed. As he jumped again towards Zeth, the Anemos quickly aimed his hand at him as he did with Felix not too long ago.

"Not gonna work, pal!" Garet yelled. He covered himself in blazing red flames, which were also spinning like a typhoon. Garet stretched his right hand and aimed at Zeth as well. Two voices were heard.

"Sonic Slash!"

"Heatwave!"

Air and fire clashed in a titanic explosion, both cutting and burning every single tree around them. Jenna dashed towards Garet, wielding her light sword and aiming at Zeth.

"Dragon Fume!" An enormous, lethal dragon made entirely of flames was thrown from the tip of her sword to Zeth, who snorted and covered himself in a wind tornado, strong enough to dissipate the fire as if a small candle had been the one thrown. From their Djinni shield, Felix and Isaac finally joined the fray, running past Garet and Jenna. Their whole bodies were shining. And then they disappeared in thin air.

Zeth gazed around him, trying to find them while his Tornado shield protected him from any frontal attack. Then he closed his eyes, as if trying to use his Wind Adept's future seeing, but Felix and Isaac had already shown up right above him, in the air.

"Too late!" They both said. They prepared the back of their swords, which were both glowing again with the same light, and soon after that, a clash of steel screeched all over the place, deafening Sheba and the Fire Adepts for several seconds. Zeth had drawn his sword to defend himself. But due to the reinforcement the Earth Adepts had used with both their Echo and Flint Djinn, his sword was trembling.

"What's the matter?" Felix said, smirking with mockery. "Are these lowly Adepts really beating you?"

Zeth merely gave a grin.

"I'm just merely giving you a chance to entertain me."

The blonde Anemos native spun on his feet, and a horizontal tornado threw Isaac and Felix away, not without making them spin like tops. They fell on the ground, as the clouds in the sky got darker. Zeth stopped spinning, and raised his hands to the heavens.

"Spark Plasma."

Right then, very much like when Sheba and Ivan said the same words, purple rays of lightning fell to the spot where the Adepts were. These thunders, however, carried small amounts of incredibly hot energy that melted every single place they touched. But unlike Sheba's or Ivan's Spark Plasma, Zeth's was immeasurably faster, and the amount of thunders flying down was greater. Jenna had to cover them all in her Cool Aura to replenish their health after the rain of thunders died.

"See?" Zeth said. "So far, I haven't shown you anything different from what you've already fought in the past, yet you don't seem to be able to make me even move an inch. How sad."

"Felix…" Isaac said. His and Felix's eyes met for a second, and he understood. They nodded in agreement and stepped in front of Garet and Jenna.

"Garet, you and I will cover him. Jenna, give us some time."

"Roger."

The four of them scattered in different directions. Jenna ran to Zeth's right, Isaac to the left. Garet was in front of Zeth, and Felix stood behind for the time being. Zeth's eyes flew over all of them wondering what the plan was… But it had already begun.

"Searing Beam." Jenna had said with firm voice, and sure enough, a sphere of pure lava and fire formed in front of her. She aimed at Zeth, and the sphere was thrown covered in fire waves, a huge, powerful beam flying furiously to him. He countered using Spark Plasma once again, as a shield, which ended up in another explosion. Garet clapped his hands.

"Liquefier" He said in a spell. He then separated his hands and aimed at Zeth. The latter, soon enough, found himself surrounded by a particularly hot fire wave, which then scattered around in the form of countless beams of blazing red fire. It was like an earthly meteor shower, only way smaller. Its power, however, seemed to be just the same. Several of the small beams landed away from Zeth and caused explosions all over the place. The Earth melting. Quite like his own Spark Plasma. The rest of those beams were sharply aimed at him. He had to spin on his feet once again, faster this time, to surround himself in a hurricane of wind and dissipate the fire attack. But Garet's liquefier was so hot that it did not dissipate, but mixed itself with the wind, turning the tornado fire red. As soon as Zeth finished spinning, the red wind vanished and he could be seen. He was panting, and apparently his clothes were burned slightly.

Immediately after this, to his right and to his left, two shiny, human-size swords fell to the ground and stabbed the floor. He looked in front him, but there was only Felix. Then, he looked above, and he found Isaac on the air.

"Oddysey." The blonde Adept said loudly. A sword the size of a large building, made of pure light just like the previous two, materialized in front of Isaac's hands. With a battle cry, Isaac threw it, and the huge sword clashed with Zeth's own real sword. Yet another explosion deafened Sheba's ears as she watched the battle with fear. Isaac landed in front of where Zeth was.

"Granite!" He said. From his body, the same yellow light from before scattered and flew to Jenna, Garet, Felix and Sheba, after which, the light took the form of a sort of shield or mirror. Isaac was covered by it as well, as he looked at Felix and nodded.

"Do it."

"Roger." Felix replied. He closed his eyes and extended his arms to the heavens, while Zeth got to his feet after the attack and wiped furiously the blood from his mouth. What happened next made Zeth even more furious. The entire sky was cleared once more, and this time, there were no clouds at all. Instead, the form of a winged, colossal warrior was seen flying through the sky.

"Shit." Zeth said, evidently not ready for such blow. The Winged Warrior aimed his right hand, which was covered by a weapon that looked like a lion's face, at the ground. Specifically, the spot where Zeth was.

"Judgement." Felix said in a whisper. The Winged Warrior formed a white sphere of light, and then fired it… It flew down to Zeth as a falling star. Isaac, Jenna and Garet took cover behind Felix, and Sheba braced herself. She was far away, but she knew far well the power of such attack. The white beam of light clashed with Zeth, and the largest possible explosion that had happened on the fight smashed the ground. Several trees were taken out, all the way from their roots. It felt like an earthquake. Almost as if it was the end of the world.

Only it was just the end of the fight.

After the turmoil was over, and the smoke faded away, the Adepts were deeply surprised find Zeth still standing. He was very harmed, that much was certain. His clothes were torn, his body covered in wounds and blood, and his sword completely shattered. But he was standing.

"Well, will you look at that?" He said. "You're all not just a bunch of brats, I see. That makes it even more important to kill you. All of you. Sheba, don't worry. You're coming with me…"

"Wait…! Zeth!"

But it was too late. Zeth had already disappeared, leaving only a small vortex of air behind. Isaac and the rest gazed around.

"Where'd he go?!" Felix asked trying to feel his presence using the Earth, but to no avail. He got nothing. And then, as if to reply to his call, Zeth materialized out of thin air in front of Felix. He grabbed him from his neck and smirked.

"Thunder Mine."

There was a loud, quick 'boom', and Felix was thrown away again, covered in purple sparks. He was being cut by these sparks over and over again.

"Felix!" Jenna yelled. "Bastard…!" She ran towards Zeth, but as she tried to stab him with her sword, he merely stepped aside and grabbed her from her neck in the same way. Isaac and Garet ran to them.

"Don't you dare…!" Isaac had said, but the same sound as before was heard, and Jenna was also thrown away. She was covered in blood too, to Sheba's horror. Before Isaac and Garet could counterattack, Zeth grabbed them both together and did the same to them. The four Adepts were completely covered in blood, the sparks never finishing their job.

"It's not yet possible for mere Weyard Adepts to defeat a member of the Anemos tribe. You did good, however… But that only made it necessary for me to obliterate you." He pointed his index and heart fingers together at them. The skies did not go dark again, but the Spark Plasma fell just as strongly, without any need for them. This time, each thunder found its way to the Adepts. Not one was left unscathed. As they shouted in pain, Sheba ran to his brother with tears falling from her eyes.

"Stop!" Sheba had yelled. She stood before them, making Zeth's attack stop momentarily. "We made a deal, Zeth. Don't you dare break it! You made your point! You are stronger, you win the battle! Now leave them alone!"

"That won't be possible." Zeth said. "Such a powerful group of Adepts… I can't let them roam free. Not even here. If they go to Anemos to take you back, we will all be in danger, including your family. Don't you care about that?"

"They won't go to Anemos!" Sheba said. She turned on her feet and stared at Felix. "Promise me." She said. "Promise me that you won't come for me!"

"What was the promise you both made, Sheba?" Felix said, trembling due to the pain, and his blood falling to the ground. Jenna was unconscious, Isaac and Garet were about to join her. Felix too. Though he seemed determined to learn the truth before that. "What kind of promise did he make to you that made you agree to leave?"

"Please. Just promise me. I don't want to see you anymore, so promise me that you won't come to Anemos!"

"Answer to me!"

"I HATE YOU!" Sheba yelled at Felix, while she cried. "I hate you! I despise all of you! So don't come after me! Stay the hell away from me! Don't make me kill you myself!" She covered her right hand in lightning and pointed it at Felix. "Promise me that you won't come after me! Felix!"

"Stop joking around with me." Felix said. Zeth smirked.

"See, Sheba? He's got to die. There's no way he's going to give you up. Move aside. I'll finish him."

Sheba glared at Felix, about to break down and sob again. Felix, completely disregarding the sort of situation he was in, began to laugh. Although his body was heavily injured, and although he was mere moments away from losing consciousness, he was healthy enough to take Sheba's lightning covered hand.

"You hate me?" Felix put her hand, guiding it with his own bloody one, on his chest. Right where his heart was. "Go ahead. Kill me. That is the only way I won't go after you."

Sheba finally lost it.

"Why are you doing this?!" She asked in desperation. "Why can't you just listen to me and do as I say?! Are you retarded?!

"Perhaps." Felix said, trembling. "Perhaps I am… But remember, Sheba. The leader from our group is me. If you want to leave, you can do so only with my permission. And…" He coughed up some blood. "…Don't bother asking me for it. I'm not going to let you leave. Ever. You'll have to kill me."

"Your wish is my command." Zeth said behind Sheba. After this, Felix was surrounded by wind… And pulled violently to the air. Sheba, completely paralyzed while seeing him being played with as if he was a rag doll, lost her balance and fell to her knees. Felix finally fell to the ground, where Zeth silently knelt down and aimed his hand in a palm at him.

But suddenly, and unexpectedly, Felix began to glow. A golden light, nothing like Sheba had ever seen before, surrounded Felix's body like a shield, and made him stand up… Zeth recoiled in surprise, his face showing deep confusion.

"What the…?!"

Felix's hair started hovering, and was strangely dyed in another colour. It was golden hair. Like Zeth's. His eyes had received the same colour. He did not seem to be even conscious. He moved like his body had taken over his mind. Almost like someone who had been possessed. He aimed his shining hand at Zeth… And a powerful, breath-taking shot of golden light tossed Zeth in the same humiliating way he had done with Felix seconds ago. A large crater joined the small collection of craters from previous explosions. Zeth got to his feet, almost as beaten up as Felix was… He was completely stroke by fear.

"The… The Golden Sun…" He mumbled. "… I see… All of them were exposed to it… But its power doesn't show itself unless they're about to die. It's deep within their Psyenergy's Well." He made his arm be bathed in purple lightning, very much like Sheba. "Now, it is more than necessary for me to kill them."

The light had gone out from Felix's body, and he fell to the floor, panting. Zeth made his way to him slowly, stumbling while he walked. Sheba did the same.

"Felix! Felix... Please answer to me! Felix!"

"Why, I thought you hated me… And now you're sad that I'm about to die?" Felix said, smiling. Sheba, as she recognized the word 'die' began to cry again.

"Wh-what are you saying?!" Sheba grabbed Felix's hands. They were cold. "No… Wait, Felix… Felix you can't…!"

"He can." Zeth said behind her. "And he must." He moved her away in one hand motion, aggressively making her fall to the floor away from Felix. But Sheba got to her feet quickly and dashed to Felix's position once again.

"I won't let you harm him anymore. If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill me first." Sheba said, standing between Felix and Zeth. The Anemos Adept gave her a small, yet frightening smirk. Then, Sheba's worst fears came real.

"I don't mind. That would be like killing two birds with one stone." Sheba closed her eyes, hugging Felix's bloody body as she felt death knocking the door of her soul… But the pain never came. Death never came in. Instead, what she felt was her body being moved, and something liquid and hot falling to her body. She opened her eyes… And then, as all the tears had been shed, she could only let out a painful scream of despair… Felix was on top of her. And Zeth's hand had pierced through his chest… His eyes went slowly gray.

"FELIX!" Isaac and Garet yelled, terrified. Luckily, Jenna was unconscious. Sheba tried to get up, as Zeth took his hand out on one try. But Felix would not let her.

"Y-you idiot…"The Earth Adept said. "H-how can I… Let the person I love… Go a-away…? Huh?"

Sheba could not find the words to reply to that. The shock had rendered her powerless. Zeth seemed to get ready for another attack.

"Huh? You still alive? Impressive. As expected from someone who was exposed to such large energy. It's a pity I didn't get to see more of it." He said as he aimed his lightning hand once again.

"Don't worry. You'll have another chance at it." A female voice said. Sheba, Felix and Zeth turned their heads, and a second later, Zeth was completely covered in the same Spark Plasma he had used. After that, when he tried to counterattack, a wind slash pushed him away from Felix and Sheba. Three familiar faces showed up right before them. In front of Zeth was a woman with purple hair and delicate eyes. Beside Felix and Sheba was another woman with blue hair and a white, bright dress. Beside Jenna, Garet and Isaac, there was a young man with blonde hair and purple eyes. Out of nowhere, Master Hamma, Mia and Ivan had joined the fray.

Sheba desperately took Mia's hand.

"Mia… Please… He's…! He's going to…!"

"It's okay, don't worry." Mia said, smiling to her. She laid Felix down and began healing him, cleaning his blood and closing his horrifying wound with her healing Water Psyenergy. Ivan was doing the same with the others, apparently borrowing Mia's Djinn. Hamma seemed to be quite upset, as she was trembling while she attacked.

"Hamma?" Zeth said, looking at her. "What are you doing here…?"

"That's my line." Hamma said. "Now, I'm going to be very clear while saying this, and I hope you are not so foolish as to ignore what I say… You are injured. You have gone through a battle with four Adepts, two of which are aligned with that Element you hold as your weakness. Besides of that, I have also joined the battle, and as you know, I am as much and Anemos Adept as you are. You have no way to survive if you keep battling. We will have the Adepts healed in a matter of minutes. You are in no shape to face a battle with the Four Elements together. Isaac's group is here, as you can see."

Her eyes and Zeth clashed as strongly as two swords.

"Leave now. And do not return." Hamma ordered with a cold, icy voice. Zeth, who seemed to know already that she was right, merely glanced at Sheba for a second. He smirked, as he began fading away with a current of wind.

"You have only postponed the inevitable, Hamma." He said. "You'll all see me again soon enough… And you, I'm going to make sure I kill you, first."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Hamma replied.

Without further ado, Zeth vanished. The sky returned to its normal shape and colour, and the signs of a battle were only the craters left by the explosions. Jenna, Garet and Isaac recovered thanks to Ivan's healing, and ran over to where Felix and Sheba were. Hamma walked towards them as well.

"Felix…!" Jenna shouted, terrified. She knelt down beside Sheba, who was just as worried, if not more, while Mia completed her treatment. Hamma looked at the others.

"Is everyone all right?"

"Yeah… Thanks, Master Hamma." Isaac said, gazing worriedly at Felix. Hamma and Ivan smiled.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine." Ivan said.

"You guys saved us!" Garet hugged Mia as soon as she finished. "We would have been dead if you had arrived a second later…! Mia, thank you so much!"

Mia giggled as she returned the hug. Before anybody could say anything else, Felix opened his eyes. The first two faces to greet him were of course, Jenna and Sheba. The rest smirked at him as soon as he sat. He touched his chest and gave a chuckle.

"That was close, huh?" He had said to Isaac, when a hand slapped his face, yet again.

"Uh… I think we should leave them alone for now." Ivan said, looking at Sheba getting ready to murder Felix in her own way. Jenna wiped out her tears and giggled. Isaac, Garet and Mia nodded with the same smile in their faces. Hamma agreed.

"We'll be waiting at Vale, Sheba. Felix." She said. Sheba nodded, while Felix struggled to get up. Hamma chuckled and left them.

"You…" Sheba got to her feet. "… Don't. You. Dare. Do. That. Ever. Again!" She slapped Felix each time another word was said. Felix stopped the last one, but she continued with her other hand. She was crying again, and he felt like he was dying once more.

"Please stop crying."

"Shut up!" She yelled. "Ordering me around after you almost get killed?! What kind of half-assed stupid are you?! You bastard!" She slapped him again, Then, silence. She was sobbing. Felix wrapped his hands around her, smiling. Whatever she said, it was nothing for him. He felt like he had won. She was there, with him. Nobody had taken her away.

"Don't you… Don't you see it… Felix?" Sheba said, sobbing strongly. "How can I let the one person I love… Die?"

"You love me? Really?" Felix asked, as if he had not heard well. Sheba glared at him.

"Of course I do! Stupid! And I don't even know why, seeing as you're so bossy and clumsy and… And…"But she could not say anything more. She merely hugged him back, crying the hell out of herself. Felix felt better then. So she can also cry due to happiness… So she can also love, he though.

"Please don't ever… Scare me like that… Ever… Ever… Ever again. Felix please." Sheba looked at him, no more tears, but only a couple of green eyes showing him how much she really loved him. Felix smiled and moved her face up with his hand. He leaned his face over, slowly, wondering how it would feel to actually taste Sheba's lips, after so much time wondering about things like what did she really think about him, what she felt for him and such. Funnily, he had skipped all the questions he wanted to ask, and went straight ahead for what he wanted to do the most, since he met her. Smiling as he had never before… Felix kissed her. After some seconds, or perhaps years, or perhaps centuries… They broke apart, completely blushed.

"I'll try to never scare you like that. Ever." He said, finally.

"You better." Sheba replied, smiling for the first time in hours. Tasting glory, she went and kissed him again. It was going to be a long afternoon for the both of them.