...no, seriously...this chapter has no name.
A small side note: The squirrel belongs to Queenie Z.
Oh yeah, and I took the reader spotlight out of this chapter. It was getting too long. Thank you very much for the reviews none-the-less. I appreciate it. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up a little faster. One last thing... This chapter ended before I've finished writing about the date with Sheba. I'm sorry about that, but I felt the chapter was getting too long as it was, and I didn't want it to drag on. Next chapter I'll move for some more original stuff. The date with Sheba will conclude next chapter. Also, I'm leaving for vacation, and I didn't think I'd have time to make the entire date look real, which I think it needs to be because Isaac and Sheba aren't a common pairing. Anyway, enjoy!
Oh! One last thing...the Genie Dolls...well, Genie is another name for Djinn or Djinni, I think. I can't remember where I found it. Oh well, it works.
-Joker
Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun...instead, it's rightfully owned by Nintendo and Camelot.
Within the Plaza of Vale, there is a small building. This building is a resource for all that you could need. That is...if all that you need is along the lines of Herbs, Antidotes, and other small items that are usually found after killing a monster.
Outside of the building, there was a sign. It was a fairly new sign, placed out in front where every one could read it. A small ring a scorch marks on the ground surrounded it. In bold letters, it read:
For all your lesser item needs! We carry herbs! And...well, that's about the best item we have!
Below that in even bolder letters, it said:
Garet Jerra is hereby BANNED from this shop for the following:-Destruction of our old sign, which we loved dearly.
-Being drunk at the time of said destruction.
-Scaring customers. They were about to buy some herbs!
-Excessive nudity.
-Flirting with our store clerk after she kindly told him not to.
-Attempting to kiss our store clerk after she told him to go away.
-Not buying anything.
-Screaming at a squirrel and throwing our items at it.
-Plotting the destruction of our town with said squirrel, even though everyone knows squirrels can't understand humans...especially one as drunk as said banned citizen.
In young Garet's defense...the squirrel had shifty eyes, so he would totally go along with a destruction-of-Vale plan.
Inside the store, the female clerk was busy at work, doing what she did every day while working.
The young woman hummed quietly to herself, stopping every now and then to take a sip of her water. She didn't move her feet at all, and would stare straight ahead. She carefully placed her mug of water down on the counter in front of her, and continued staring ahead at the door in front of her. After a few minutes, she reached down and carefully pulled out a rag from under the counter, unfolding it so slowly, that you'd think if she went any faster her grandmother would spontaneously die.
Changing the tune that she was humming, she placed the rag on the counter top and then moved it side-to-side, wiping it across the already perfectly clean counter.
This was definitely not her day...
Normally, her item shop would be packed with so-called heroes and adventurers, out to save the world/love interest/game designer's credibility. On many occasions all three.
But alas, today her shop was empty. Possibly because of that destruction-of-the-sign event occurred the previous day, or possibly because today, nobody felt like they would need to buy an herb.
"We really need to stock some chicken dinners..." the girl muttered. Sighing, she began cleaning the counter in wide strokes, oblivious to the other figure who had just entered the shop.
"Um...excuse me..." said a voice, waking the girl up from her day dreaming of being a protagonist in Golden Sun 3, and not just another shop keeper. The girl jumped, and looked around.
"Sorry...I didn't hear you come in!" she said apologetically, feeling a little stupid, because she couldn't see anyone. The clerk looked around again, blinking in confusion.
"Quite alright, ma'am... I require your assistance," squeaked the voice again.
The clerk realized that it was coming from below the other side of the counter. Leaning over, she poked her head over the side to see who was talking.
"Gah!" shouted the clerk. She jumped back, then quickly jumped forward again to look at the creature standing before her.
"Heh, shoulda expected that," said Granite, looking down at himself. "I guess I do look a little bit like a monster..."
The stunned clerk was shaken, but managed to lean forward even closer. Her wide eyes seemed to grow even wider, and her face paled. "It...it can't be!"
"Eh...what?" questioned a confused Granite, tilting his head.
Leaning forward even closer, the girl gasped, and said, "They have talking versions of the Genie dolls?! When did they make those?!" It was obvious that she was very excited.
Granite's eyes were blank. He had no idea what the girl was talking about, and made sure she knew this.
"What's that? Genie dolls?" the Djinni asked.
The girl squealed. "And it responds too!"
What Granite didn't know, is that a Genie doll is a stuffed toy based on the looks of the four types of Djinn. They were made years and years ago, back around the time Alchemy was locked away and people knew what the Djinn looked like. Back then they had various names, and the group of people who created them knew them as Genies. The only way one could ever find a doll anymore is to hope that one of the families who had lived in the area for a long time still kept one, handing it down to their kids.
"My grandpa would be so happy to see that they're making Genie dolls again! And now they talk!"
Granite was still confused.
"Do you run off of a Psynergy stone? Or is it a type of magic?" questioned the clerk.
"Actually, my energy is drawn from the Earth particles around me. It's really a complicated-" Granite started, only to be interrupted by the girl.
"When did they start making more dolls of you? Can you say that type of thing? Are you some type of advertisement?" she inquired. Leaning forward, she poked Granite in the forehead, making him flinch.
"What is wrong with you woman?! I just want to buy some paint!" he shouted, jumping back in surprise.
"Paint? Are you supposed to come with paint accessories? I only have real paint for shields...but that's for humans, not cute little Genie dolls!" said the clerk.
Granite had all the information he needed. He only needed to find a place where they sold paint, and then report back to Flint. Now that he had found out this place carried paint, he wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Probably because of the annoying store clerk. Nodding to the girl politely, Granite ran out of the store--not so politely.
"Wait! Let me look at your label! I want to know where I can buy one!" the young woman called after him. However, he was already gone.
--------
"So...Sheba next...?" asked Isaac. "Doesn't that just strike you as a little odd? I mean... Mia and Jenna I can understand, but I don't see Sheba and I as a good couple..." said Isaac, wanting to wrap up the whole thing so he could get back to controlling his body.
"Eh...well, we can do a simulation of you and Menardi instead, if you'd like," said Flint. He'd been wanting to say something like that for awhile now. He half wished that Isaac would agree, too, because he knew he could have a lot of fun doing a simulation like that.
Isaac shouted out in surprise. "Gods no! That's...that's just not right!" he yelled, trying to block out the images of Menardi kissing him as Jenna had.
Flint snickered. "Why not? She's attractive..." responded the Djinni, knowing full well that Isaac thought differently.
Isaac was officially disturbed now.
"Yeah, right... Two problems with this whole thing..." muttered Isaac after he made a mental note to get drunk and forget the new images he had conjured. "One...no, she's not attractive... Maybe if I were a Proxian. Two...she's dead, remember?"
Another chuckle was heard from Flint. Sighing, he said, "It wouldn't hurt to show you what it would be like just for fun..." Flint was hoping that Isaac would either agree with him, or tell him to forget it and show him his "date" with Sheba.
Isaac decided to take the coward's way out and change the subject. He didn't want to risk anymore of his precious sanity. He was already planning on burning his scarf when he got back home, just because he had imagined Menardi wearing it.
"How about you guys just let me have control of my body back?! I'm not kidding around anymore!" he exclaimed.
Flint made a sound of agreement. "Yeah...I understand fully. Unfortunately, we need to keep you occupied for the next hour or so..."
Isaac felt as if his stomach had decided to gain a mind of its own and travel down to meet his toenails.
"What?! Why? What are they doing with my body?" he quickly asked after the sinking feeling stopped getting worse.
Flint mentally cursed at himself. "Huh? What?" he said, pretending he didn't know what was going on.
"You said you had to keep me occupied, and I want to know what for!"
"Erm...no I didn't..."
Bane, possibly the smartest of three present Djinn, decided to be dumb at that moment. "Yes you did..."
Well...dumb, or evil.
Flint began to get nervous. "Granite...don't lie..."
"I'm Bane, and I never lie, remember?" Bane stated.
Isaac was beginning to lose his patience. "Well?" he said angrily. His tone of voice reminded him of Kay when Garet did something to her stuff, and wouldn't confess to it.
Coughing nervously, Flint muttered something under his breath, allowing only his fellow Djinn - Bane and Vine - to hear. Then, in a much louder voice, he said, "We are doing this out of respect for Dora. Now go ahead and start the simulated date, Granite!"
Both Isaac and Bane rolled their eyes in disgust. They could agree on one thing, even though it was for different reasons: Flint never listens.
--------
"So do you know what's wrong with him?" asked Kay, struggling not to drop Isaac as she helped Mia carry him to a couch.
Oddly enough, it seemed as if Isaac wanted to be dropped. He wasn't shy about letting the two girls know that either.
"Let me go you Mercury and Mars fiends!" he - or rather Quartz - said.
Kay raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... Isaac never talks like that... That sounds more like something Garet would say," she told Mia.
Mia nodded in agreement. "Poor Isaac. He's very ill, but we can't figure out with what..."
"Oh, so you don't know what's wrong with him then," said Kay, understanding the situation a little more.
"I'll tell you what's wrong with me. I've got two lesser element nitwits carrying me like a rag doll, who have no respect for Venus!" I want to get that mural painted!" Isaac yelled, moving his arms and legs in an odd manner. The action only made Kay and Mia quicken their pace.
Kay looked down at Isaac with a look she rarely used on anyone but Garet. "Now listen here Isaac. I don't care if you are sick... You are being extremely rude, when all we're trying to do is help you... I don't want to hear any more of this 'lesser element' stuff...otherwise I really will treat you like a rag doll!" she said harshly.
Mia widened her eyes, surprised to see someone other than an enemy speak like that to Isaac. At the same time, she was surprised that Isaac was insulting Mercury and Mars. He had always shown respect for all elements.
"Wow...you became angry fast..." said Mia quietly.
Kay shrugged, and said, "Well, he may not be Garet, but he really is acting somewhat like him...so it comes naturally, I guess."
The two girls maneuvered themselves and Isaac's struggling body to Kay's and Garet's couch.
"Garet!" shouted Kay, calling to her younger brother.
The response she received was both quick and loud. "I'm not in your room...again!" Garet replied, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Kay groaned and rolled her eyes. "Come down here and help us!"
The house was silent. Kay and Mia placed Isaac on the couch, using their body weight to pin his arms and legs down. Meanwhile, Isaac was concentrating on throwing the two girls off of him so that he could move freely.
Moments later, Garet's voice was heard yet again.
"Why?" he asked. The nervousness in his tone had increased.
Kay moved her body so that she was sitting on Isaac's legs.
"Because something is wrong with Isaac! He's...he's acting a lot like you!" said Kay. She looked down at Isaac and bit her lip. "I fear the worst for him..." she said sadly to Mia.
Mia couldn't tell if Kay was joking or being serious. Either way, she just nodded and said, "Yeah..." quietly.
The sound of Garet running down the stairs could be heard. A few seconds later, he slowly appeared in the room, looking around for any sign that he had done something wrong.
"What'd you say 'bout Isaac?" he asked walking slowly to where the two girls had Isaac pinned.
"I'll tell you what they said!" growled Isaac. "They won't leave me alone so that I can pain my mural!"
Garet scratched his head. "Eh...that doesn't sound like what they said..." he stated with a confused expression.
"Well...whatever. My point is-"
Isaac was cut off by a voice that sounded like it was coming from under Kay, where Isaac's legs were. "Is that Garet? Lemme kick him! Or at least have Sap hit him!" it squeaked.
The room fell silent, and went still. Even Isaac - or at least his arms - stopped struggling. All eyes fell on Kay. Or rather...
"Kay? Did...did your butt just talk?" asked a stunned Garet.
Kay, meanwhile, was looking down at Isaac's legs.
"I-I'm not sure..." she managed to say.
Mia had a mixed expression of confusion and surprise. She opened her mouth several times, attempting to speak, but failing horribly. Garet was trying hard not to laugh, and praying to Mars that they would hear the voice again so that he could be sure he had heard anything in the first place.
Kay was shifting around, trying to see what had spoken. Finally, she decided she would see better if she wasn't sitting down, and then jumped up, off of Isaac's legs. She spun her head around to look at her pants.
Isaac bit his lip, hoping that they would just forget about the whole thing. He (Quartz) made a mental note to injure Ground when this was over.
"I'll repeat myself for good measure. Kay, did your butt just talk? I need to know whether I'm still drunk or not..." Garet stated clearly. A huge grin was plastered across his face.
"I think...that it was Isaac's legs," said Kay, raising her eyes to look at Isaac.
"Oh sure, 'cause that makes so much more sense..." said Garet, using large amounts of sarcasm.
Kay turned around for a few seconds to glare at her brother. "Actually, yes, it does make more sense that way," she muttered, looking back to Isaac.
Garet scratched his head. "Huh...yeah, I guess it does make more sense..." he said.
Mia nodded, and said, "I heard his legs talk just when we were outside too...it's as if Isaac's...possessed..." she said quietly.
While the other three Adepts pondered on what had happened, Isaac was having a battle with himself. Or at least that's what it looked like. His left hand was slapping his leg, while he bit his right hand, which was pinching his chin.
Apparently his possessors weren't doing a good job collaborating with each other.
While Garet, Kay, and Mia sat there, thinking that things couldn't get any weirder, they were immediately proven wrong by the appearance of Granite, hopping into the room.
"Oh...hello... I was told I probably would find Isaac here..." he said while Garet, Kay, and Mia all looked at him with confused expressions.
"Um...well, have fun with whatever you're doing," he said quickly. He bobbed his head twice, and then hopped over to Isaac's body. With one final leap, he launched himself into the air. In a flash of light, his body split into an aura of sorts and was absorbed into Isaac's body.
"Oh...um...welcome back Granite..." muttered Isaac, trying to avoid the various confused looks that his fellow Adepts were staring at him with.
--------
"I have a very special event planned for you two!" exclaimed Dora, trying not to smile too brightly, but failing for the most part. "I've got the whole town involved for this one!"
Isaac yelped in surprise, and Sheba's eyes grew to the size of large eggs.
"What?!" shouted Isaac, finally understanding why Dora had kept to herself over the past few days, and why she had made him stay in his room for the better part of the day.
"Well...I thought that we could hold two events at once! Your date, and a carnival to celebrate your success with your quest, and our success rebuilding Vale!" Dora said while grinning.
Isaac groaned and put his face into his hands. He wished he had a chair to sit down in, because he felt like falling over. Unfortunately, Dora had removed all of the chairs from their kitchen--which is where they were. When Isaac had asked where the chairs had gone earlier, Dora just said "You'll see," and winked.
That was a firm clue that something very bad was happening. Bad, that is, if you were Isaac.
Isaac looked around again, longing for a chair. After a few seconds, he muttered, "Ah, whatever..." and sat down on the floor, wearing a scowl that would scare anybody except for a mother. And maybe Dullahan...
Another unfortunate coincidence, seeing as how Isaac's mother is the one he would have liked to scare off at the moment.
"Oh stop acting like that!" said Dora, putting her hands on her hips. "It's very childish!"
Isaac snorted. "Well, when my mother decides to stop running my life, then I will!"
Dora tilted her head. "But...I'm your mother."
"I know!"
Missing the obvious, Dora shrugged, and said, "Anyway, get up off of the floor. Childish or not, there's a young lady here who is ready to have a great time tonight with you at the festival!"
Dora's enthusiasm sickened Isaac. He looked up at Sheba, almost wishing that she would ask not to go, and instead do something else. Something that involved less people.
Being met with silence, and a tiny smile from Sheba, Isaac decided he'd try again.
"Mom, I don't exactly want to be around the entire town while on a date..." Isaac responded, looking back up at Dora.
Dora laughed, shaking her head slowly. "Well, I wouldn't worry about that! Kraden can't make it, because he'll be busy perfect some new formula or another."
Isaac wasn't surprised about that. No, what surprised him the most is that his mother actually thought that one person not attending the festival would make a difference.
Then again...it was Kraden. In all reality, that did make things slightly better. Isaac shuddered at the thought of Kraden telling him stories of how romantic he was in his youth again. Last time he told stories like that, he had to stop Garet from jumping out of Kraden's window.
"Anyway, I'm sure you'll have fun! I've arranged for dances, music, food, games, and a few other things!" exclaimed Dora.
Sheba's eyes lit up. "That does sound fun...sort of like the festivals in Tolbi!"
Making a face, the blonde-haired girl said, "Those were the only things I enjoyed in Tolbi."
Shaking his head, both in disgust and defeat, Isaac stood up. Now that Sheba wanted to go, there wasn't anything he could do. Unless hiding under his bed was a rational option.
Which it wasn't.
"Fine, fine...I'll go...as long as nobody stares at us..." said Isaac, hanging his head.
"Oh, that's fine. I'm not having them put up the 'Isaac and Sheba are on a date! Congratulate them!' banner until later in the evening after all the little ones go to bed. We wouldn't want them teasing you!" said Dora.
Biting his tongue, Isaac dug his fingernails into his palms. After a few seconds of venting, and a realization that his palms and tongue were hurting, Isaac said, "Gee...thanks mom..." Sarcasm was showing its ugly face all over what he had just said.
"Okay, we'll all head down in about half an hour... Make sure you don't eat anything!"
Isaac grabbed his scarf and waved it around like a flag. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Woo-hoo..." monotonously.
--------
All at once, the scene stopped playing. Isaac looked around, wondering what happened. It was then that he noticed that the blackness around him was a little lighter before. He took this as a sign that his eyeballs had either started to bleed, or that the Djinn had done some redecorating.
"So...what do you think?" asked Flint.
Isaac was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure what Flint was talking about. Slowly, a thought entered into his mind.
"Wait, that's it?!" he questioned.
"Er...of that scene, yes..."
"Oh, so there's more, right?"
Now it was Flint's turn to be silent. He couldn't believe that Isaac was asking to see more. He had taken a lot of time to make this particular scenario very tormenting.
"You...you liked that scene?" asked the Djinni in amazement.
"Oh...well, yeah, I guess. I mean, it's kinda funny...but only because I pretend that it's Garet in there instead of me," replied Isaac.
Vine giggled. "That's what I did, too!"
Isaac chuckled, and sighed. "Yeah...poor Garet...getting put in that situation..."
Not sure how to handle the current situation, Flint muttered a few inaudible words. After a moment of recollection, he snapped back to his senses.
"But, that wasn't Garet! It was you!"
"Well, sure...but it's all fake anyway, right? I may as well make it at least a little entertaining."
Flint was getting angry. Isaac was making this very difficult for him, and that was just downright mean.
"Alright, Isaac. How about we just show what it would be like if you dated Garet, then? Heck, we won't even use things from your memories! We'll just make the entire thing up!"
All of the sudden, a loud rumbling shot through the area around them.
"Gah! What was that?!" shouted Flint.
"Er... I'm thinking you snapped his brain..." muttered Bane.
"We aren't even in his brain! We're more in his heart, if anything!"
Bane noted that, and rephrased what he had said. "Okay then, I think you stopped his heart... Where we come from, I think that's considered killing somebody."
Vine gasped. "You killed Isaac!" she sobbed. "Murderer!"
"No! I didn't! You can't kill somebody by telling them you'll show them what it would be like if they date Garet!" said Flint. Under his breath, he added, "C'mon, say something Isaac!"
"Well...that would kill me," Bane stated.
"You're not helping!" yelled Flint.
While Vine cried, Bane shook his head, and Flint yelled at them both, a figure appeared in the grayness around them.
"Hey guys! I'm back!" announced Granite. "Good news! That one shop carries paint."
"Granite! Flint Killed Isaac!" screamed Vine before going back to her crying.
"Eh...what?"
"I did not! He's just..." Flint started, searching for a good word to use that wouldn't cause Vine to cry more.
"Um...well, anyway...sorry about my entry into the body there. You know how it is with us Venus Djinn... I'm going to go tell Quartz the good news, so we can head down there and buy it. Just keep Isaac busy a little longer, and we should be fine," said Granite with a confused tone of voice.
The Venus Djinni left as quickly as he could.
Flint went over in his mind what Granite had said. Something seemed to stick out about it.
"Hey, that's it! Granite's the reason the place shook up!"
Vine's sobs began to decrease, and Bane mumbled something under his breath.
"Isaac?" called Flint.
There was no answer.
"Hmm... It seems the mentioning of him dating Garet, combined with the shock of Granite entering the body, sent him into some type of stunned mode," concluded Bane.
"Heh," laughed Flint nervously. "Um...Isaac?"
After a moment, a low, but strong voice said, "If you ever even think of showing me what it would be like if I dated Garet...I will kill you. I swear to you, I will. I will bring more pain to you than you've ever experienced before... I will give you thousands of paper-cuts and rub lemon juice all over them. I will drop you on Garet's hair. I will, and I mean it, make you suffer."
Apparently Isaac was fairly mad.
"Oh...um...sorry...yeah, no more of that," Flint said, going over the scenarios of pain in his head. "Um, Bane? Will you start up the simulation again?"
"With undying pleasure, oh great one..." said Bane sarcastically.
--------
"So! Here we are, at the festival..." said Sheba, more nervous than excited. The walk down from Isaac's house was full of awkward silences. The most they had said to each other was, "Oh, are you okay Isaac?" and "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Didn't see that rock there..." when Isaac had tripped.
"Yeah, here we are..." muttered Isaac, looking around for anybody he was friends with. Even though it was a date, he wanted to be around other people so he felt more comfortable. Sheba was mysterious to him, in a way, and it made him uncomfortable when she was around him. It didn't help the matter when he remembered that she could read minds.
"Anyway, what would you like to do first?" Sheba asked, standing still and looking around at all of the games.
Isaac scratched the back of his head, observing the various stands. "I'm not sure...I'm still shocked at how much work my mom put into this thing. It's like she'd been planning it for a long, long time..."
"Heh, maybe she has..." said Sheba, pointing to Dora. Dora was parading around giving out orders to the people working the games and food stands.
Sighing, Isaac turned to look at Sheba. "Listen," he said, "I'm sorry that my mom's making such a big deal about this... I think that if it gets too out of hand, we should leave."
Sheba smiled. "Well, thank you for caring. Still, you're mom put a lot of work into this... I would think she'd be hurt if we left," she said, scanning Isaac's face.
Isaac smiled slightly, sensing that Sheba was just trying to be nice. "Yeah...you're right, I suppose. Looks like we're stuck here... I might just have to win you a stuffed Djinni to make up for it," he said, pointing to one of the game stands.
Giggling, Sheba nodded. "Okay then, let's go see if you can win me one."
The pair walked over to one of the game stands. It was at that moment that Isaac began to feel more comfortable with Sheba. After all, she was his friend. He had no reason to be uncomfortable.