A/N: HELLO!!!! Sorry for the lack of updates, I didn't have much time on my hands. But I was suddenly hit with inspiration from Flame Ray! Thanks Flame Ray! And everyone else too! Thank you all for reviewing. Please enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 14

Felix's POV

The wind blew harshly over the lighthouse's aerie making me shiver at the supreme cold. The fact that I was soaked, thanks to that odd waterfall transporter that lifted us up here, made matters worse. Alex led us through the oddly made lighthouse that was full of running water left and right. Jellyfish creatures and sea lizards blocked our way, but Saturos and Menardi handled them with ease as they torched the poor critters to smouldering ash.

We stood around the giant hole in the centre, where supposedly you were suppose to throw in the Mercury Star to light the beacon. But we weren't sure if we were suppose to just toss it in…

"What if it doesn't work? We'll lose the Star!" Menardi cried. She was soaked too, but she didn't look at least fazed by the extreme temperature. Her breath swirled around high above us as the wind blew harshly through our hair.

Saturos grabbed the blue orb out of the mythril bag. It glowed with a strong, blue aura. Saturos held it tightly within his hand, examining it. "This Star will know what to do," he said.

Alex grunted, "Do hurry. We have some visitors on the way."

"Visitors? What do you mean? I thought only you could enter this place!" Menardi growled at him.

Alex just shrugged. "I didn't think she'd follow us. But it seems she has joined up with those boys."

"What?! You mean they're alive?!" Jenna cried out. Alex gave her a slight nod and she started to smile. "Thank goodness…"

Kraden too, seemed happy to hear the news. I felt relieved as well. I knew Isaac and Garet would get themselves out of trouble, no matter how tough the situation was.

Saturos looked more annoyed however. "It's amazing they survived the eruption," he growled. "We should grab the Mars Star from them then. Now," He turned towards the hole. "We shall light the beacon…" Without hesitating, he tossed the Mercury Star high into the hole.

I held my breath as it fell silently into the dark abyss below…

Nothing happened.

I looked over at Alex who began to grin. Menardi snorted, "Nothing's-"

Suddenly, shimmers of blue and white energy flashed from the dark hole. They swirled around and around, gathering in the centre right above the chasm. It grew as it gathered more energy, forming a large glowing ball of blue and white. It shone brightly, illuminating the whole aerie a beautiful shade of light blue. It pulsed like a beating heart.

I gaped in awe at the large glowing ball of energy. I felt it's tremendous power flowing all around us. It was calm and gentle, just like a stream.

Saturos was first to speak. "We did it, Menardi. We lit the first lighthouse."

Menardi let out a triumphing laugh. "This is it, Saturos. The first step to unleashing Alchemy back into our world!"

Alex smirked, looking at the glowing orb with delight. Kraden and Jenna silently watched as they hung beside me.

There was a small cough coming from where we came. Saturos tensed, grinning as he realized who it was. "It's those brats. Everyone, go on ahead, I'll handle them," he said.

"Go on? Where? It's a dead end on the other side," I told him.

Alex answered for him, "Don't worry. That platform there acts as a moving floor that will elevate you up or down when the lighthouse is lit. Energy is restored to the old Lighthouse's mechanisms. We shall escape on there. It'll lead us to the bottom of the lighthouse."

"Go. Take that platform down. I'll take the Mars Star from those brats," Saturos said.

Menardi nodded. "Felix, take your sister and Kraden," she told me.

I nodded. "Yeah, yeah…" I muttered. Jenna and Kraden didn't need to be told like that… I followed her to the large platform as I jumped across the hovering little steps. It was scary to leap on them; you could easily fall and plummet to your doom. Alex chose the easy way; he teleported somewhere. Probably waiting for us at the bottom.

Slowly, I carefully leapt over to the platform, hearing and interruption from atop the aerie.

"Hold it right there! Saterus!"

Garet came stomping madly up the steps, accompanied by Isaac and two others I've never seen before. A young boy and a beautiful girl stood poised at the side, ready to fight.

"Garet!" Jenna yelled. She smiled happily, seeing the boys both alive and well.

"Jenna!" Garet cried, noticing us.

"Jenna!" It was Isaac. He ran beside Garet glaring angrily at me. I did nothing but returned his glare.

"Isaac! Garet! I'm glad you're alive!" Jenna cried.

Menardi growled at her, "Shut up, girl, or I'll hurt you!"

Jenna gave her a nasty look. "You can't do that… Felix will protect me!"

I froze.

Menardi smirked, giving me a sharp sneer. "Oh? You will, Felix?" she asked snidely.

I didn't answer. I felt everyone's eyes watching us. I just averted my eyes to the floor.

"Of course he will! W-Won't you? Felix?" Jenna asked urgently.

I didn't answer.

Menardi laughed. "He won't disobey me, girl. Now shut your trap!"

"No!" Jenna bellowed.

Menardi raised her hand so fast, but I grabbed it just in time to stop her from slapping my arrogant sister. I summoned enough courage to face her. "Don't hurt her," I growled.

Menardi was stricken back, surprised at me from stopping her attack. "You dare defy me, Felix?!" she hissed.

"No- I-"

She drew back sharply and slapped me.

I heard gasps beside me. The pain stung my cheek, but I didn't care. I kept my gaze at the ground.

"Felix…" Jenna whispered.

I shook my head, telling her to be quiet.

"Menardi, enough!" Saturos growled. "Get out of here, now!"

Menardi hesitated, biting her lip. "But, are you sure you can handle them on your own?" she carefully asked.

Saturos smiled coolly. "Of course. A bunch of children could never defeat me."

Garet roared in rage. "For the last time! I'm not a child, Saterus!"

Saturos snorted at the redhead. "Saterus?" he repeated in a cold, calm voice.

"Well that's your name, isn't it? You and Melody!" Garet growled as he pointed to Menardi.

I couldn't help but grin at Garet. Menardi was angry. "Melody?!" she hissed. "My name is Menardi, red-haired brat!"

Garet scratched nervously at his head, blushing slightly. "Uh…" he stammered.

Isaac however, laughed. "Ha! I was right! Their names are Menardi and Saturos! I told you so!"

Garet rolled his eyes and muttered something I couldn't hear. Jenna began to giggle quietly.

Saturos looked impatiently at us. "Menardi, go!" he hissed.

Menardi nodded quickly and looked around for a switch or lever that could get this platform to move. Then she found one on the statue of the goddess. There was a click and then the platform began to rumble and descend.

"Isaac! Garet! Please be careful!" Kraden called out before they disappeared from sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac's POV

I watched with contempt as Felix and Menardi disappeared on the moving platform with Jenna and Kraden. Garet let out a low growl before turning back to face our foe, Saturos.

The cold, blue-haired man grinned evilly at us as he stood and watched us with icy red eyes. "You kids are too late. The Mercury Lighthouse has been lit!" he sneered.

I cursed under my breath. The pulsing orb of blue light behind him radiated enormous amounts of Psynergy around us. And he, Saturos, was also charged of incredible power that I could easily feel from where I was standing.

Mia was on the verge of tears as she stared at the unforeseen turn of events before her. "It can't be true…" she whispered, clenching her staff tightly in her hands. Her new Djinn friend that we ran into, hidden behind a little waterfall, named Sleet, appeared on her shoulder and gently rubbed his head on her cheek.

"Do not worry, Mia," the little Djinn cooed softly, "The Lighthouse may have been lighted, but now it will watch over you and your people. You have not lost."

Mia sniffed and nodded slightly. "But…," she whispered. She shook her head then turned and faced our foe.

Saturos drew his sword and smirked at each of us. "I can handle all of you little brats. You're nothing but weaklings!" he roared as he charged.

He caught me by surprise as he knocked me to the side with a swift kick. I landed hard on my right shoulder, feeling a sharp pain flow through my arm. I heard some scuffling, yelling, and then a clash of two swords. I got up quickly and felt a light touch on my left shoulder. Mia cast Ply on me and smiled.

"You alright?" she asked.

I briskly nodded and clambered to my feet in haste, drawing out my own blade.

Garet was barely holding up his own as he blocked most of Saturos's attacks with his short sword. Saturos, however, had the upper hand. He had more experience with a sword, plus, his sword was bigger. He forced Garet back, almost to the edge of the aerie.

Ivan quickly cast a quick lightning spell that stunned Saturos just for a moment; long enough for Garet to retaliate against him. Garet thrust forward and drove Saturos back just slightly. The bigger man growled and jumped back.

Fire began to surround his body as he summoned his Psynergy. "Die, fools!" Saturos roared.

I cursed silently and ran ahead of everyone. "Granite! Shield all of us! NOW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

A flash of yellow erupted around us before the flames embraced our bodies. I suddenly felt the scorching heat. It was unbearable! I couldn't breath!

But it soon ended and I felt the cool, winter air around me again. I saw Saturos look disbelieving at us as we stood unharmed by his fiery attack. I grinned at him.

"What?!" he hissed. "I've underestimated your powers. Hmph. No matter." He twirled his blade once in a circle and smirked. "This is going to be quite amusing…"

'Careful, Isaac. My power no longer protects you but my energy remains,' Granite mind-spoke.

I gave a slight nod. "Saturos, you should give up while you can," I told him sternly.

The man narrowed his crimson eyes to slits and twitched his lips into a thin smile, mockingly. "Foolish boy. What makes you think that a bunch of little brats could ever defeat me, the Great Saturos?"

"You don't seem that great at all," Garet muttered under his breath. I smirked at his comment. Unfortunately, Saturos heard it.

"Enough of this idle chitchat! It's time for you to die!" With that, Saturos lunged forward, straight for me!

He swung from the left and I managed to block it, almost losing my grip on my sword's handle. Saturos was more powerful than I had intended…

Crimson eyes glared icily into mine as he stepped back and swung again, this time from the top. My arms were sluggish from the hard impact from last attack that I moved too slow to block…

A sudden flash of purple lightning cracked before my eyes, hitting Saturos directly but also singeing me as well. I let out a sharp cry as I felt a burning pain surge through me. My arms were numb. I heard a clatter and realized it was my sword. Gritting my teeth, I managed to stay standing in jolts of pain. Saturos was still standing too, unfortunately, baring his sharp fangs for all of us to see.

"Isaac!" It was Ivan. "Oh God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you as well!" Ivan cried in worry as he rushed beside me.

"Don't worry about it!" I said quickly through clenched teeth. Mia had already began another healing spell on me.

Saturos growled at us and called upon another Psynergy spell…

Shit…

"Mia! Ivan! Isaac! DOWN!!" Garet roared as he leapt in front of us.

I pushed Ivan and Mia down to the stone floor with me. Garet summoned his own Psynergy and called forth a shield of fire…

Both opposing Fire Psynergies collided in a sudden flash of orange and immense heat. I cringed at the burning air around us. I felt Ivan and Mia tense beside me. A sudden cry caught my attention; I looked up, feeling the heat water my eyes, and saw that Garet was barely avoiding the attack…

"Garet!" I choked out. It was too hard to breathe…

Finally, the flames subsided. The three of us were okay but…

I took a deep breath before rushing towards a falling Garet. I caught him before he hit the ground. I could feel the flame's heat still on his slightly burned body through my gloves.

The redhead coughed and grinned at me. "Don't…worry about me…" he croaked.

"Garet!" Mia cried as she knelt beside us. She started another healing spell…

"Not so fast!" came a roar.

"Gust!" Ivan yelled.

An angered Saturos was unexpectedly blown back by the Jupiter Djinn's attack. He landed on his back with a grunt.

Mia continued to heal Garet. "Take care of him," I told her.

She gave me nod as I got up and grabbed my sword. The dark man before us hissed as he got up. Pure hatred plastered over his features. "You brats are starting to annoy me…" he growled.

I smirked. "Give up yet?" I taunted him.

He was more furious at me. "You shall be first to DIE!" he screamed and leapt into the air!

"Flint!" I called. A flash of yellow and a sudden feeling of power in my sword was my answer. I raised the golden blade above my head and blocked the man's attack with ease.

Bewildered, Saturos glanced at my sword before attacking again. I swung first, hitting nothing by air as he leapt to the side. He then slashed but I ducked and forced a punch into his hard gut. I pulled back in pain. It was like punching a stone wall…

He coughed but didn't falter in his stance. "Insolent pest!" he yelled. He slashed again, this time using both hands, and brought his sword down quickly. I managed to block it with my fading sword. I was knocked back by his strength and lost my balance.

Saturos followed quickly with a side slash that knocked me (again) into the stone floor. A stinging pain in my side flowed all over my body, blurring my vision. Darkness flooded into me… I didn't know what happened next… I heard someone yell my name. Then I heard someone screaming…

Sounded like a girl's scream…

Mia?

I heard laughter soon after. A deep, evil laughter…

'Isaac!'

…echoing around me in my dark world… Everything was black… But why?

'Isaac! Please! Wake up!'

…Who…?

'Isaac! We need you! Everyone needs you!'

Who…? Everyone…?

'Isaac! Wake up!'

Everyone…? Garet…

'Isaac… Please!'

Ivan…

'Please…'

Mia…

Everyone…

'Isaac?!'

Flint…

'Isaac! Hurry! Open your eyes! Everyone…'

Everyone…

I snapped my eyes open, feeling a surge of pain flow through me once more, dulling my vision. I blinked several times and froze at what I saw…

Mia lay still on the ground, badly hurt. Red stained her robes of white… Garet was back up, but still injured from before. He grimaced at every attack he made on the now weakened Saturos. Ivan was panting, fully exhausted from using most of his Psynergy…

Saturos, no matter how weakened he was, was still stronger than all of us…

'Isaac! Quickly! Gather both mine and Granite's energies into one to summon a guardian of the ancient desert!' Flint cried.

I hissed in pain as I crawled to my knees. That's when I noticed my clothes covered in thick blood…. My blood…

Cringing, I managed to weakly stand up. Clutching my deep wound, I watched once more, the battle before me.

Garet was faltering quickly from blocking all of Saturos' attacks. Ivan couldn't use any of his spells for fear of hitting Garet.

Enough is enough. Time to end this…

I closed my eyes, sensing the air. I could feel the Mercury Star's energy real easily but that wasn't what I wanted.

I felt it, just slightly…. Lingering in the air… The familiar presence of Venus Psynergy. I called for all of it to come to me; to join me.

Grasping the air with my fingertips, I felt it all flow towards me. The energy wasn't faint anymore. I could feel it around me, more powerful than the Mercury Star…

I opened my eyes, seeing a soft yellow glow around me. Warm and gentle… focused all the energy into my palm.

'Now, Isaac. Summon Ramses!'

At the top of my lungs, I yelled it out to warn Garet and Ivan, and mostly, to bring fear to the evil being on before the Mercury Star, "I summon RAMSES!!"

The golden glow around me intensified to a blinding white light that surrounded my whole body. I let out a cry as I felt an immense power flow from within me burst out.

A deep growl broke through the sky. Sand… Sand?!

Yes, I wasn't seeing things. Sand swirled around me…Suddenly, a large figure appeared above my head. A large moving stone statue, which looked like a skeleton-like head on a triangle-like structure with two blocky hands, hovered above us. I froze in awe, staring at the so-called guardian of the desert.

"Isaac, wielder of Venus, what is it that you wish?" a booming voice erupted in my head.

Saturos… Take him down with all your might! I ordered the guardian.

"As you wish."

I glanced over at the shocked and surprised faces of my friends. They stood frozen, along with Saturos, staring at the creature above them.

"Garet! Ivan! Move!" I warned them.

They ran far into the opposite direction just as Ramses clapped both his blocky hands together with a deafening boom. Chunks of rock and ancient stone showered over the evil man who stood frozen in place. Seconds have passed and Saturos was nowhere to be seen under the pile of rocks.

Ramses then disappeared in a wisp of yellow light, taking along with him the fallen rocks and revealing an unconscious, bruised and bleeding Saturos.

All my strength drained away with the light… I collapsed onto my knees in pure exhaustion. Feeling a strong arm supporting me from falling any further, I looked up and saw Garet's slightly singed face.

"Isaac! You okay?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Does it look like I'm okay?" I asked him back. But then, I remembered Mia. "Mia! You-ack!…"

Argh… I felt a surge of pain run through my body. I winced, gritting my teeth as I continued, "You have to save her!"

Garet looked over at Mia's still form. Ivan was feeling for a pulse…

Ivan shook his head, "She's still alive… But her pulse is faint… I don't know if…" he trailed off, shaking his head sadly.

No…

Wait… The Water of Life…

Trying my best to ignore the pain, I reached into my bag, feeling the small bottle. My hands were trembling when I gave the bottle to Garet. "Give it to her…" I mumbled.

Pain flowed through me once more. I couldn't take it anymore…

"Isaac!" I heard Garet's shaky voice, but I couldn't see him anymore. The pain was overwhelming; drowning me within it… into darkness…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Garet's POV

"Isaac!"

I shook his body, just slightly, to get him to wake up. No use… His body hung limp in my arms. He was looking pale and weak from the huge blood loss…

Shit! What do I do?!

'Baka!' came Forge's voice. 'Hayaku (hurry up) and give the Water of Life to the girl!'

Water of Life?

I looked at the golden bottle, stained with blood, that Isaac had given me. I remember it now. The mayor of Vault had given this as a gift for catching those thieves.

Carefully, I laid Isaac's unconscious body on the ground, and limped to Mia's side. Burning pain surged through every limb in my body, making me curse with every step. Trying to shield a blast of fire with a shield of fire wasn't a good idea after all… But luckily, Forge and Fever had lent me their strength. If they hadn't… There would be one crispy body smouldering atop the Mercury Lighthouse.

Mia was as pale as her white robes, well, ignoring the blood staining it red… She was barely breathing…

I knelt down, more like drop, beside her and held her head on my knee. It took a lot of effort to pry open the small bottle.

Ivan watched in silence as I carefully poured all the contents in the bottle into Mia's pale lips.

Seconds painfully passed… There was no change in her state.

"Mia…" I whispered. "Mia? Come on… Please, wake up." I urged the sleeping girl. "Mia…" I started to tremble with fear.

If she doesn't wake up… Isaac will…

Hot tears stung my eyes… I choked back a sob, feeling all hope….fading away.

This can't be happening… I shook my head. No… It can't be…

Just then, a soft moan came from a stirring body in my arms. I jerked up, relieved. "Mia!"

Her aqua eyes fluttered open, confused. When she saw me, she sat up in a flash. "Garet! W-What happened?! Where's Saturos?!" she asked, showing no signs of ever having a mortal wound.

I gaped at her for a moment, surprised that she healed so quickly…

Ivan spoke first. "Mia! Thank goodness you're alright! Hurry! Isaac-"

"Isaac!" I interrupted. "Mia! Heal Isaac!"

Mia looked past me saw Isaac's unconscious body. She hurried to his side and performed her healing spell.

Relieved, I let out a sigh.

A sudden noise coming from Saturos' body caught my attention. A groan of pain…

Damn… He's still alive!

Ivan noticed it too. "Garet, what are you…?" he asked, seeing me climb painfully to my feet, sword clenched tightly within my hands.

"I'm going to finish this," I told him, angrily. I didn't mean to sound angry at him. It was the sight of that evil man, Saturos, that made my blood boil. I limped towards the fallen body, sword ready at my side.

However, I froze when I saw a figure with blue hair and icy blue eyes, appear behind the Mercury Star.

The one called Alex…

I bared my teeth at him in anger. What did he want?! None of us were in any condition to fight…

"Stop," he told me in a rather calm voice.

I tensed and glared at him.

"I have no intention to fight you," he said, raising his arms as to surrender.

"What do you want?!" I growled at him.

The man smirked. "Saving him," he pointed to Saturos.

Just then, Saturos moaned and climbed to his feet. "I don't need you to save me, boy." he hissed through his fangs. He almost stumbled over if it hadn't been Alex who caught him. Now leaning beside the blue-haired guy for support, he gave me a cold stare.

"Alex…" a soft voice from behind me. "Why? Why are you doing this?" Mia, who was still healing Isaac, who looked a little better, stared tearfully up at the man she knew.

A flash of sadness flashed over his eyes but it disappeared as fast as it came. "Mia, my dear. I really must apologize for what I have and for what I am doing with these people," he spoke, showing no sign of emotion at all. "You see, Mia," he continued, "Staying here wasn't an option for me. There's nothing here for me, in fact. I'm not like you… You're gentle, kind, caring… While I despise the useless humans around us." He said the last sentence bitterly.

"There was no way that I could be a healer like you, Mia. Everything you taught me… about caring for others with my powers, was all a joke to me."

Mia shook her head sadly, looking away from him. "Alex… I'm sorry." she said.

I was confused. Why would she be sorry? That Alex guy should! I was about to say it, but I realized that I shouldn't get involved with something I don't understand…

"Sorry?" Alex asked, raising a brow. "What for, Mia? I chose to join Saturos on my own. You didn't do anything wrong. The return of Alchemy is what I want for this dead planet, so that is why I'm doing this. Don't blame yourself, my dear." With that, he warped away with Saturos, leaving us gaping in surprise at the empty space where those two once stood.

Then I heard a snarling voice to the side, "Fools. Next time, I'll be ready to take you all down!" Saturos and Alex had warped to the moving platform thing. He sneered at us.

I glared back at him. "Oh yeah?" I hissed. "We're going to beat you up the same way we did before!"

Mia, however, was more concerned with Alex. "H-How…? You never knew how to teleport!"

Alex smirked. "That was the old Alex, Mia. I can't be the same Alex forever," he answered. "Before we leave, do you still possess the Mars Star?"

I growled at him. Should I say yes? Or no?

If only Isaac was conscious, he would know what to do…

"Well? Do you?" he asked again, impatiently.

I nervously looked at the ground. "Uh… No, we don't!" I blabbed.

I saw Ivan give me a look that said 'What kind of lie was that?!'

Alex smirked again. "Really? Then I believe you. I don't feel it's presence on any of you," he said, brushing back his hair with his free hand.

He then turned around and pushed a switch on the statue, making the platform move down. "Farewell."

I let out my breath, relieved that Alex really believed me. Then I limped towards Mia. "How is he?"

Mia wiped away her tears. "I healed his wound, but he's exhausted. He should sleep for now," she said, somewhat feeling down.

"You alright?" I asked her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah! I'm fine! In fact, I feel greater than before after I woke up. What did you do?"

"Huh? Oh! I gave you some Water of Life." I told her, showing her the empty bottle.

"Water of Life? It sounds just like the healing waters of Mercury…" Her eyes widened. "The healing waters of Mercury!" she gasped. "The water has returned, now that the Lighthouse is lit…"

Healing waters? That sounds familiar…

Ivan piped up with my answer. "The healing waters, Garet. We need some to take to Tret."

"Tret? Oh yeah! Tret!" I said. "Come on, let's get outta here. I'll carry Isaac." I took a step and almost toppled over. I forgot about the pain…

Mia placed a hand on my shoulder. I felt a warm and gentle feeling all over my body. The pain faded away…

"Thanks!" I said. I stood up, feeling better. I sheathed my sword, grabbed Isaac's and placed it back in it's scabbard and then lifted Isaac up and onto my back with ease. He was actually much lighter than he looked.

The platform thing had risen back in place with a soft murmur. Carefully, I leapt from one floating platform, to the next. I've been hopping on steps all day…

With a small click, the four of us heading straight down….

A/N: Ah! I hope you liked this chapter! I've changed so much of the dialogue. Hmm, oh well. I can't remember everything they said. So it'll be awhile to update again! So until then, take care!