The Venus Clan Chronicles: Echoes of the Past

"No...This can't be...This...isn't happening...I...I killed them...I killed them all!"

The boy sat down there in fear. Someone was killing everyone around him and he wanted to protect them. Just as he screamed, an overwhelming power surged from the boy and killed everyone around him instead. His family, his friends, and his fellow clansmen. Everyone around lay unmoving on the ground, as his power killed them all.

He started crying as the person he wanted to protect everyone from walked over to him, knelt down and held up his chin. "It's amazing, the true power of one of the Venus Clan, being released by one so young...! You will be just like me!!! You and I, the last of the Venus Clan, who will bring death everywhere we go!"

The figure turned his back on the six-year old boy and started walking away, laughing maniacally as he retreated from the scene of the massacre. The boy could not stop crying. He could not forgive himself. Instead of trying to protect all that he has ever known, he destroyed everything instead by killing everyone.

"My child...don't cry...it's not your fault..."

"Mom!" The boy cried as he hugged his mother. "You're still alive!"

"My child...remember what you have been taught...the power of the Venus Clan is that which can create and save lives, and also one which can destroy and kill everything the power of the Earth has ever created. Choose to let out your power for life, not death...you are too young to understand right now...but you will when the time comes...Do not use the power of Venus the way Dirge has...but use it to protect Weyard from the power of death...never forget...my last words..."

The boy's mother collapsed as she finished those words. There was no longer any movement or breathing from his mother. The boy continued crying until he had no more tears to shed.

A lone figure walked towards the Venus Lighthouse, while looking around the forest that surrounds the lighthouse, as if seeking for something hidden. The winds blowing past the lighthouse roused his yellow scarf towards the direction he was walking. Even his blonde hair swayed with the wind.

After searching for a while, he finally located the hidden path among the forests which leads to a place hidden from the world. Only people who were born there knew how to get to the hidden village.

The lone figure finally found his way into the ruined village beyond the hidden path in the forest. There were gravestones that were shoddily put up everywhere, arranged in as a neat manner as possible. He walked to two particular gravestones that were in-front of the rest. Just then, the wind blew towards the direction behind him, catching his scarf towards that direction. He just stood there, staring at those two gravestone for a few minutes.

"Mum, Dad, I'm sorry for not coming to see you for almost twelve years. That's because the place I grew up in for the past twelve years do not allow Adepts to go out of the village. One of the last surviving elders brought me there. For the past twelve years I was happy living there. My foster parents have taken very good care of me."

The figure paused and decided to sit down in-front of the two gravestones. He suddenly found his scarf interesting and started playing with it. This scarf, was the last present his real parents gave him. He treasured it a lot, and always wears it without fail.

"I have so much to tell you. So much that I do not know where to start. About my life, about my friends, and most of all, about my adventures across Weyard."

There was an uproar among the Venus Djinn as Isaac made his way across the Suhalla Desert. There was a furious discussion among them as the Venus Adept cast Douse to put out a small tornado.

"Well, it's the only obvious reason," Granite argued. "That is the hidden path in the forest near Venus Lighthouse! And it leads to the secret village of the Venus Clan!"

"But the Venus Clan has totally disappeared for the past twelve years!" Flint yelled back. "That's why the Venus Lighthouse has remained unguarded!"

"And you have no proof of it!" Sap added. "Like Flint said, the Venus Clan was wiped out twelve years ago! We all felt it, the sudden deaths of a group of Venus Adepts near Venus Lighthouse!"

Isaac sighed. The Venus Clan was wiped out twelve years ago. And it was his fault. But of course, he wasn't about to tell them that.

"Say Isaac," Crystal asked as he sat on Isaac's shoulder as the Adept doused another tornado. "I've always wondered. Why is your power of Venus stronger than that of Felix? Doesn't all Venus Adepts born of Vale possess the same amount of power as each other?"

"Are you sure it isn't because of the Power of Alchemy which I possess imbued into the Mars Star that has been entrusted to me by the Wise One? Or couldn't it have been because I've been exposed to the beacon of the Mars Lighthouse?"

"You can't fool me, Isaac of Vale," Crystal replied. "I have allied myself with Felix temporarily before I decided to finally ally myself with you. I could immediately sense the difference in power between the two of you. And I have allied with the both of you before the Mars Lighthouse was lit. A Djinni can sense the natural power of an Adept the moment we ally ourselves with one. The difference in power is too great."

Isaac sighed. Isn't there anyway to hide something like this from a Djinni? Probably not, he decided. And besides, the squabble between the nine Venus Djinn was getting on his nerves. There was just no peace and quiet for him. And there seems to be only one way of shutting all of them up. He had debated leaving the nine Djinn back at Vale with Felix while he was gone. But in the end had decided against it, as he thought he may need their help. Travelling alone just wasn't safe, even if you're an Adept. Monsters have the capability to cast Psynergy and it could put him in danger. But then, it probably wouldn't matter, since he had been super-charged by the power of the Mars Lighthouse as the seal on Alchemy broke, plus he possesses part of the powers of Alchemy itself. But then, you'd never know.

"Will you all please stop this discussion right now?" Isaac screamed at his Djinn. "Kyle and Dora aren't my real parents, happy? Two Mars Adepts aren't supposed to have a child which possesses the power of Venus! I am born of the Venus Clan! If this revelation would make all of you shut up, then so be it! Now please leave me alone!"

"Whoa," Salt thought. "That was so un-Isaac like. Isn't he supposed to be calm and thoughtful?"

Crystal shrugged. "Well, there's always a first."

All of the Djinn finally stopped their debate and decided to keep their mouths shut until they reached home.

"Felix!!! How long are you going to take just to get that one banner!?" Jenna cried out as she grew impatient from waiting for her brother to bring one little elongated piece of cloth.

"I'm coming!" Felix yelled back. Then he silently muttered to himself, "Why are all Mars Adepts so fiery tempered?"

But of course Felix knew the answer to that question. Mars is the power of Fire, and Fire is all hot and has a fiery temper. They say your personality reflects in your element when you're an adept. Of course, it's mostly true, but it's not always true.

Felix stopped beside the ladder Jenna is on and quickly used the Carry Psynergy to bring the rolled up banner to her side. His sister immediately grabbed it and let it roll to the ground, with her holding the other end up at the pole. Felix sighed and grabbed the other end and quickly made his way to the other pole where Garet is waiting at the top of another ladder. Once again, the Venus Adept used Carry and brought the other end of the banner up where Garet quickly grabbed and pressed it up against the pole. After positioning the banner at the right place, both Mars Adepts proceeded to tie the banner in place.

"I don't understand Garet. How are you able to put up with Jenna's temper?" Felix asked blankly.

"It's probably because the both of us possess the same temperament as each other," Garet replied. "Think about it. We are both Mars Adepts, the both of us are fiery tempered. Don't you think we're the perfect match for each other?"

"Yeah, yeah," Felix grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "Just be sure to never ever make her cry or I'll be the first one to come after you."

"Yes, yes, dear over-protective brother of Jenna's," Garet replied as he climbed down the ladder.

"Hey! Were the two of you talking behind my back?" Jenna asked as she walked up to her brother and her boyfriend.

"Of course not, my dear Jenna," Garet replied as he brought the auburn-haired girl close to him. "We were just saying how you're the perfect match for me."

"You better be or the both of you will be eating Beam Psynergy for dinner," Jenna threatened.

"Oh come on Jenna. Would I lie to you?"

"I don't think you would dare, Garet."

"Hey, Jenna, who designed the banner?" Felix asked.

"Ivan and Sheba. Why?"

Felix facefaulted. "Jenna, the number one rule among us. Never ever ask two Jupiter Adepts, especially those who are in their teens, to do something like that. They will only drive you nuts."

"What do you mean?" Jenna asked, staring at the shocked face of her older brother.

"Both of you, just take a look at the banner."

Both Jenna and Garet turned to look at the banner which Felix is currently staring at. At the sight of it, they nearly fainted.

"Isaac is so going to faint at the sight of that."

"You know Ivan, we shouldn't have given Felix that banner," Sheba grumbled. "They are most definitely going to faint at the sight of it."

"Oh come on Sheba," Ivan replied as he stared down at another banner they are both working on. "This banner is the actual one. Isaac's not going to see that 'horribly designed' banner. I just wanted to give them a shock. But I almost hate to imagine the looks on their faces when they see it. And it's supposed to be a happy occasion. What's wrong with having a little fun?"

"Fine, fine," Sheba replied as she stared at the people of Vale scurrying about, decorating the village up for the celebration of the upcoming 18th birthday of Isaac. The blonde-haired Venus Adept had left Vale temporarily, saying that he had somewhere he had to go alone. Of course, no one in Vale stopped him, as they knew that he was fully capable of taking care of himself. He has, afterall, travelled all across Weyard. They didn't even question where he was going. The villagers just took this chance to decorate the village up, since the day which Isaac said he would return happens to fall on his 18th birthday. They all wanted to give him a nice surprise when he returned.

Vale had been rebuilt East of Mt. Aleph within the six months since the Golden Sun had risen. The only reason Vale was rebuilt so quickly was thanks to Master Hammet and the people of Kalay and Vault. Master Hammet had provided the necessary funds to purchase the materials and the people there had all pooled their strengths together with those of Vale to reconstruct the houses needed to give everyone of Vale a place to once again call home. It was due to all their efforts that Vale was finally finished a month ago. They had even managed to salvage the remains of the large Psynergy Stone that lies at the Town Square of old Vale and moved it there. Now it felt like they had never lost their home in the first place.

"Ivan, are you done? I get this feeling that Felix will come looking for us any moment!"

"Alright, alright, I'm almost done here. Can you quickly finish up on the other side over there?"

Sheba quickly got to work. The Jupiter Adept worked as quickly as possible, cause she is getting a real bad case of the jitters, and she was sure that Felix, maybe not Felix, but Jenna will be real furious.

"There! I'm finished here!" Ivan announced proudly, looking upon the banner with pride.

"I'm done here too," Sheba replied as she fell back on the grass and stared at the sky.

"Just in time too," Gust muttered as he floated a few inches above Ivan. "Jenna looks furious."

"What in the name of Sol happened here?" A man in his late fifties muttered as he walked around, surveying the place. "What just happened to Heryl?"

He stopped as he saw a boy kneeling on the ground, crying beside the body of a woman, whom he assumed to be his mother. Seeing him as the only survivor, he walked up to the boy and stared at him. The boy felt someone looking at him and tried to wipe away his tears quickly with both of his hands at turned to look up at the person.

"Elder!" He cried as he recognised the face. The Elder knelt down and hugged the boy. The boy in-turn clung tightly onto him.

"What's your name?" The Elder asked as he stroked the back of the boy.

"Isaac..."

"Now Isaac, tell me what happened here."

Isaac started to cry once again as he struggled to explained what happened. "Some guy named Dirge--- He came here...and...and tried to kill everyone--- I--- I...wanted to protect everyone...but..I don't know what happened...I screamed...and this overwhelming power overcame me--- And it killed everyone! I killed everyone!!!" And he just burst into tears, crying into the robes of the Elder.

"There, there, just cry everything out...it's not your fault..." Elder Magus said softly into Isaac's ear. "You were just unable to control your power. You're still too young to control your power."

"Isaac! How nice of you to drop by!"

"I was in the neighbourhood, so I thought to drop by and see how are you and Tolbi doing, Iodem."

"Tolbi is doing fine," Iodem replied. "Why don't you come inside the castle for a while?"

"Sure."

Isaac followed Iodem through the streets of Tolbi to the Northwest, where the castle of the late Babi lies. He surveyed the town quickly and noticed that the place hasn't quite changed during the walk. As he went into the castle, he also noticed that the castle hasn't changed in the least either.

"Have a seat," Iodem said has he pointed to a seat right across of him. Then a maid quickly served them some drinks.

"The Tolbians seem to be doing fine," Isaac commented as he took a sip of his drink.

"Yes. When Babi passed away, they readily accepted me as their new Lord. I was the person closest to him. The people knew that I will rule Tolbi as Babi has. And I intend to keep things the way as they are, including the yearly event of Colosso. We always need to get new guards."

"Iodem, I'm sorry. I wasn't able to get to Lemuria before Babi died..."

"What are you talking about? It's not your fault that Babi died. You and your friends did their best," Iodem said, reassuring the Venus Adept that he didn't blame him. "Besides, your Lemurian friend explained that even if you had managed to reach Lemuria before Babi passed away, Lemuria no longer made those Mystic Draughts. One would have to directly drink from the fountain in Lemuria, which was impossible in Babi's condition."

Isaac nodded. "So Piers explained things to you... Well, I'm relieved that you don't blame us for Babi's death."

"Don't worry about it. No one said it was your fault. Besides, Babi's lived long enough already. Time for us younger ones to step in help him take over what he started."

"I'm sure you will make a very good ruler, Iodem."

"Thanks for the encouragement. Oh, by the way, will you be taking part in Colosso again this year?"

"I think I'll pass," Isaac replied. "The last time I took part in that, the people whom I beat weren't exactly very happy about it. Navampa, Azart and Satrage even went all the way to the continent of Hesperia to look for me. It was only after Kraden argued that Psynergy is part of the warrior's skill and that it wasn't illegal that they let us off."

"You must have had a bad experience," Iodem commented.

"Nah, they were nothing. But it's scary that they are so bent on revenge..."

"With that aside, since you won the last Colosso, you're entitled to be one of the guards. I don't suppose you would want that job either?"

"You know I'll never agree to that Iodem," Isaac laughed as he finished his drink. "Travelling all over Weyard or staying back at home with all your family and friends is much better than staying here and be a boring guard."

"I thought as much. I just thought I'd ask, but I wonder why did I even bother when I already know your answer?" Iodem laughed at himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Lord Iodem!"

A guard rushed in yelling Iodem's name stopped beside him. "One of the families is being attacked by a group of powerful monsters outside of Tolbi! Our two best guards are unable to fend them off!"

"This is bad," Iodem replied, standing up in his chair. "If our two best guards can't fend them off, then none of our guards can fend them off... But, aren't they supposed to be able to handle the monsters around here?"

"They said the monsters seem to be stronger than normal," The guard explained.

"The release of Alchemy may have caused it," Isaac replied. "Kraden has this suspicion that when the seal on Alchemy was released, not only adepts are stronger, monsters that can use Psynergy are also considerably stronger. Of course, they didn't grow very much stronger, only a bit stronger, since they didn't get exposed to its power a lot, unlike those who were exposed to the beacon of the Mars Lighthouse when it was lit."

"Namely you and your friends," Iodem replied. "But no matter what, we still have to help defend the people who are unable to defend themselves!"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Isaac said as he stood up. "I can help."

"Oh yeah! You're an adept, aren't you?"

"And it took so long for him to remember that little detail," Isaac muttered to himself.

Magus looked over to Isaac as he finished up the last of the graves which both he himself and the young adept had made for the killed clansmen. The only thing that was on his mind was why Isaac's power had released itself at such a young age, just like Dirge.

"This is just like Dirge when his power awakened at such a young age... Because of this he has accepted it at a young age and released it as the power of death. One can only choose the power of life at an older age. He will bring death everywhere he goes. I have to stop him, with the power of life, no matter what. But it may be impossible. An adept of the Venus Clan which releases his or her power at such a young age is more powerful than the other adepts. What a big problem. The only way I can think of is to seal him. But even then, Dirge will eventually break the seal..."

Magus turned to look at Isaac who was still kneeling in-front of his parents' graves. He had already long stopped crying. He was just kneeling there, staring at the markings of the graves silently.

"But the seal will be able to last for at least ten years, and by then, this boy would have grown up. I can seal his power for about the same amount of time, until he is able to control it. Then it will be up to him to choose life or death...if he chooses life, he can defeat Dirge, if he chooses death, then Weyard will be doomed. But no matter what, he is the clan's last hope. I need to bring him somewhere that can teach him how to use Psynergy. He needs to know the basics of Venus Psynergy before he can even begin to control the true power which he possesses. Too bad I can't stay by his side and guide him... I have a lot of things I need to settle..."

Having made his decision, he walked over to Isaac and sat down next to him. "Isaac, I'm going to seal the power which you released. Remember, it's not your fault that everyone is dead. It's just your power has awakened too early and you are unable to control it. By sealing that power, you won't be able to use that part of the power which belongs solely to the Venus Clan, but you will still be able to use that part of the power which belongs to any Venus Adept. But the seal will eventually be broken and that power will resurface again. But by then, you will be old enough to control it properly. It is then you will have to choose to release that power as life or death, the power of the Venus Clan of Heryl. Do you understand?"

Isaac nodded as he understood the Elder's words. He sat there quietly as Magus applied the seal onto him. But as the Elder did that, Isaac had made up his mind. He was going to forget that he possessed this power, the power of the Venus Clan. He was going to hide it away, run away from it. So that it will never hurt anyone again.

"How much longer do you think we can hold on until reinforcements come?"

The two guards stood protectively in-front of the family of three, the parents and their child. Despite the injuries they have already sustained, they continue to fight the pack of four wild wolves. The two guards were already pretty drained as they continued to grip their weapons tightly.

"As long as we can afford to, no matter what!"

One of the wolves howled and summoned some sort of flame from nowhere. It burned through the two guards as went through them. They knelt on the ground, sticking their weapons on the ground for support after taking the brunt of the attack. They were attacked by a similar force the last few times, and they have no way to counter it.

"Can you still fight?"

"I'm not sure...But I think I can..."

"Mommy! Daddy! Are we going to die?"

"Don't worry dear, we will protect you no matter what happens!"

One of the wolves made a lunge for one of the guards. Using every last ounce of his strength, he swung his sword and knocked the wolf back. All four of them stood growling feriously, staring at them. There was only one thing in the beasts' minds. Kill. Kill all humans which they come across.

All four of them lunged for the two guards.

~Unleash Vine!~

Before the four wolves reached the two guards, a brown creature appeared between them and melted into the ground. After it melted into the ground, vines started shooting out of the ground, tangling the wolves. They growled and snapped as they struggled to break free.

"Are the both of you alright?"

"L-Lord Iodem!"

"Iodem! Bring the two guards and stay with the family! I'll handle them!"

"Alright! I'm counting on you Isaac!" Iodem replied. He quickly helped them to his feet and walked over to where the family of three were hiding.

"L-Lord Iodem," One of the guards muttered. "W-Will that kid be okay? Fighting by himself?"

"Don't you recognise him?" Iodem questioned. "He's the winner of this year's Colosso!"

"You mean he's the kid with a special power that won this year's Colosso?"

"Yep. That's him alright. The one and only."

Isaac stood in-front of the wolves with the Sol Blade drawn as he saw one of them cast a Flare Wall and burned the vines away to free themselves.

"Fire Psynergy, eh?"

"Ow! That hurt!" Vine complained as he reappeared on Isaac's shoulder. "They are so mean!"

"I thought nothing can hurt you...Djinn..."

"Well, we can't be killed, but that doesn't mean we can't be hurt!" Vine whined unhappily.

"Fine, fine. Just get back inside my body, alright?"

Without saying another word, the Venus Djinni disappeared back into Isaac's body.

One of the four wolves quickly lunged towards Isaac as soon as it got free. It thought by attacking quickly, it will be able to catch the Venus Adept by surprise. But Isaac had other plans. He raised the Sol Blade to the sky and it started glinting in the sunlight. Then he started focusing his will onto the weapon.

"Unleash Megiddo!"

The power of Sol dropped down from the sky onto the attacking wolf. It was immediately defeated. The power of Megiddo was just to much for the beast. It was then the other three wolves realised that Isaac was no ordinary opponent. They quickly stood their ground deciding what to do next.

Isaac wasted no time however. Immediately raising his Venus powered free hand to the sky, he called out one of his Earth Psynergies at his disposal.

"Mother Gaia!"

A brown beam of light rose in-between the remaining three wolves and widened, engulfing them. Rocks started rising from the ground as this happened, knocking the beasts and injuring them. After the Psynergy cleared, the wolves were injured in several places but were still standing, and they continued growling ferociously, staring at Isaac with murder in their eyes.

"Maybe I should have used a stronger psynergy," Isaac thought silently to himself. "But I need to conserve some of my energy just in case they pull something unexpected."

As Isaac was thinking, the beasts eyes glowed brighter and grew slightly larger. They growled even more ferociously this time, and their growl was practically saying the word 'kill'.

"Kill? Are they saying kill?" Isaac thought, horrified. "Bloodthirsty monsters that will stop at nothing to kill, they can only be affected by one power on Weyard, Power of Death of the Venus Clan!"

After receiving a burst of power, the wolves all lunged towards Isaac at once. Since the Venus Adept was distracted, all three of their attacks hit home. Isaac was knocked to the spot where the family, Iodem and the guards were hiding. Having sustained some serious injuries, Isaac had trouble standing up. He tried to stand up by using the Sol Blade for support, but he was gritting in pain from the attack.

"Not good...being attacked by one monster powered with Death is bad enough, but three? Ugh, I need to beat them somehow..."

But before he could stand up properly, Isaac collapsed onto his knees while still gripping onto the Sol Blade for support.

"Isaac, are you okay?" Iodem asked, coming out of the hiding spot.

"Iodem! Get back!" Isaac commanded. He tried to gather his thoughts quickly to cast one of his healing psynergies, but he couldn't focus. The pain was too great for him. Iodem was worried, but he went back to his hiding place anyway, hoping that the Venus Adept would come through.

"That's right. I need to protect them. I need to protect those weaker than me...I have to protect them!"

The three wolves knowing that Isaac was unable to retaliate, quickly charged towards the Adept once again, intending on finishing him right there on the spot. But something else was happening. There was that surge of power once again. The same power that was unleashed by Isaac that wiped out the Venus Clan twelve years ago.

"No! Not again! The seal can't be broken at a time like this! Not when people are near me! I'll end up killing them again!"

But this time, Isaac was thinking clearly. He did the only thing he could to try and prevent history from repeating itself.

~Unleash Granite!~

The little Venus Djinni appeared and erected his shield around Isaac and those in hiding before the light engulfed the whole battlefield until nothing could be seen.

"So, it's you. I've finally found you, my little Venus Clan Adept. And I will make you mine." The shadow that have been monitoring the battle walked away with a smile on his face.

"Please guide him and teach him how to use Psynergy. I'm counting on the both of you."

"Don't worry. We will. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Kyle, Dora, you don't know how much this means to me. The future may depend on him."

"Don't worry Magus, I will take good care of him," Kyle replied.

"We will take care of him as if he was our own child," Dora added.

"You were the only people that I could ask to look after him," Magus said as he stared up into the night sky at the entrance to the village of Vale. "The two of you are Adepts and this is a village of Adepts. Plus the both of you don't have any children. I'm sure you would be delighted to have a child to look after."

"Don't worry Magus, he's in good hands," Kyle reassured the Venus Clan Elder.

"Elder, am I going to stay here from now on?"

"Yes. Be good for me and your new parents, okay?" Magus said softly, looking down once more on young Isaac.

"Yes I will," Isaac replied. "Mom, Dad, I'm sleepy. Can I go sleep already?"

"Yes, you can. We will bring you to your new home, okay?"

"Okay! Good bye Elder! I will be good!"

"Kyle, Dora. Don't let anyone know of Isaac's origin. Treat it as if he was born in Vale," Magus said firmly. "I don't want to get the two of you into trouble. I know how Vale's laws are."

"Don't worry. We'll tell them that we didn't allow him out of the house and never told them that we had a child until he was of a certain age. The Valeans won't probe into the matter further, as long as they know that he's an Adept."

"Then I'm relieved. Thank you once again." With those last words, Magus turned and left the village of Vale as silently as he had came and disappeared into the night.

Isaac stood knelt to the ground, still gripping tightly onto the Sol Blade for support as he opened his eyes and surveyed the damage. For one thing, the wolves he was fighting lay dead and slowly disappeared back into the earth. He was satisfied with that bit of discovery. The Venus Adept slowly turned his head behind him to see if Iodem and the others were alright. But the scene wasn't what he wanted to see. The people he was supposed to protect were lying on the ground, unmoving and unconscious. Even the rock that they were hiding behind was totally disintegrated, with no trace of it left.

For the first time in his life, Isaac panicked. He had never panicked during the fight against the Fusion Dragon at the top of the Venus Lighthouse. He didn't even panic when they had fallen into Agatio and Karst's trap at the Jupiter Lighthouse. Worried yes, but panicked, no. He even stood confidently with Felix in the battle against the Doom Dragon atop the Mars Lighthouse. He didn't even panic when he realised that he may have killed his foster father Kyle and Jenna's parents. And the battle against the four guardians of the four most powerful summon tablets, he didn't panic either. He just thought calmly and fast, without panic on a way that could defeat them. He was calm and thoughtful by nature, and that was what made him a natural leader. He rarely lost his cool.

But the reason he panicked this time was because he may have killed innocent people with the power he had been running away from for a long time. The power that belonged solely to people of the Venus Clan. The power that wiped out the village of Heryl twelve years ago. Isaac was afraid. He was afraid that he had killed innocent people with his power. Again.

"Granite! Answer me!" Isaac cried as he frantically searched his mind for the Venus Djinni. Forgetting about all his wounds, the Venus Adept quickly stood up and sheathed the Sol Blade back into the scabbard on his back as he started looking for Granite when he wasn't getting any response. After looking for a while, he found the Djinni shaking his head near Iodem's unconscious body.

"Ugh! Isaac, what was that just now?" Granite complained as the little Djinni tried to shake the pain out of his head.

"Never mind that! Are the people you shielded still alive?" Isaac screamed. His eyes were clearly showing panic now. Even someone who wasn't observant enough would notice the panic in the Venus Adept's eyes.

"I don't know," Granite replied. "That blast was too powerful. I couldn't completely block out all of that power."

"But you blocked some of it, right?" Isaac said. Even his voice showed signs of panic now.

Granite simply nodded.

"Don't worry Isaac, I'll check whether they are still alive or not," Crystal said, appearing from Isaac's body.

Crystal hovered over each person one by one and took a look at them. Being a healing Djinni, he can easily ascertain whether someone is injured, dead, or simply downed. After looking at every single one of them, he returned to Isaac's side.

"Isaac, they are still alive and unconscious. Not downed either, just injured and unconscious."

Isaac heaved a sigh of relief. He had never felt more relieved at the news. Isaac just collapsed knees first onto the ground and sat there. It was then he remembered about his wounds. The Adept winced at the pain and leaned forward as he breathed heavily with his left arm as support and his right hand on his chest.

"I completely forgot about my wounds," Isaac laughed. He felt like collapsing onto the ground right now and go to sleep only to wake up and find out that this had never happened. But there was no such luck.

"Isaac, you better start healing everyone before the wounds get too serious," Crystal advised. He quickly disappeared back into the Venus Adept's body as quickly as he had appeared. Granite too did the same thing.

"You didn't have to tell me that Crystal," Isaac muttered. He quickly gathered his senses together and sat upright again, still feeling the pain from his wounds. Focusing all this thoughts, he quickly brought up his right hand.

~Unleash Crystal!~

Crystal reappeared in the sky and quickly melted into the ground. An aura of Earth power appeared underneath Isaac, Iodem, the two guards and the family of three. Crystal's healing power quickly rose from the ground, and healed everyone of their wounds. After doing his deed, the Venus Djinni disappeared back into Isaac's body once again.

This time, Isaac really collapsed onto his back with his arms spread wide on the ground. He stared at the limitless blue sky with a smile of relief on his face.

"Oh come on! It was just a joke!" Ivan whined. "And Sheba has no part in this! It was my idea!"

"It's a good thing this wasn't the actual banner, or you would have eaten Beam Psynergy for dinner tonight!" Jenna fumed.

"Jenna, calm down," Felix said, trying to calm his younger sister's temper down, but not to much avail. Then he turned to Garet as he realised that he wasn't able to calm the Mars Adept down. "Try and calm Jenna down, will you?" Felix sighed. "Jenna's temper seems to have gone to a state where she won't even listen to me."

"Now calm down Jenna," Garet said as he approached the auburn-haired Mars Adept which also happens to be his girlfriend. "There's no harm done, so don't worry about it..."

"No way! How can he play a joke like that?" Jenna screamed. "What if that banner really was the banner to be put up there? Isaac doesn't like jokes! And he's my very important friend! He's been like a brother to me since the incident more than three years ago! I won't take a joke like this either---"

Jenna stopped talking as she felt Garet give her a hug and kissed on her cheek. "Now Jenna, calm down. There wasn't any harm done. Besides, Isaac won't know anything about it, so please stop being angry."

"Alright fine," Jenna muttered. "I'm going home now to cool down. Isaac is coming back tomorrow so the rest of you had better get the rest of the decorations done. And remember to check up on the food preparations!"

The rest of the gang stared at the retreating figure of Jenna and gave a sigh of relief all at the same time. At least that was over.

"I don't think I'll ever want to do that again," Ivan muttered under his breath. "Or I'll really be eating Beam Psynergy for dinner one day."

"I told you not to give Felix that banner," Sheba complained as she took her out staff and lightly whacked Ivan on his head.

"Ow! I won't be doing it again for a long time. Maybe never," Ivan retorted. "Especially if it involves Jenna. That fiery temper of hers is scary and dangerous!"

Felix just sighed. He never thought that Jenna's temper had grown that bad. The Venus Adept only wished he was around for the past three years since the incident. Then maybe he would have been able to keep his sister's temper in check. Jenna's temper had always been like this since they were young. But then, Felix was always able to keep her temper in check and calm her down, but he wasn't able to do it just now.

"Sigh, being apart for three years can do some serious damage to a person..."

"Why all the tension in the air? Ivan, did you do something bad?"

"He sure did---" Sheba started.

Everyone turned to the sound of the voice. And they were happy to see some familiar faces. But Ivan was especially happy to see the one who spoke.

"Sister! You've finally arrived!" Ivan cried as he ran to hug his older sister, Hama.

"Well, I promised to bring her over from Contigo, didn't I?"

"You sure did Piers," Felix said. The Venus Adept walked up to the blue-haired Lemurian and shook his hand. "Welcome to the newly constructed Vale. How's things back in Lemuria?"

Well, for one thing, Conservato and the Senate ain't very happy that the seal on Alchemy is broken. But King Hydros was relieved that we succeeded. At least now Weyard won't die. But the only problem now is that will the people use Alchemy for war again and history repeats itself?"

"I don't think we have to worry about it that much," Felix replied, giving Piers a pat on the shoulder. "The full force of Alchemy can never be abused. Well, at least not with Isaac around."

"Why is that?"

"Just before we started reconstruction on Vale, the Wise One informed us that he had entrusted part of the Powers of Alchemy to Isaac in the form of the Mars Star," Felix explained.

"Doesn't that make Isaac more powerful than the rest of us?"

"Well, Isaac is more powerful and can use his Psynergy for longer periods of time without rest, but we're stronger too. I'm sure Isaac would guard and use the Power of Alchemy which he has been granted wisely. He was always the most sensible one among us."

"The Defender of Alchemy?" Piers said. He had meant that as a joke, but he didn't expect Felix to laugh. The Mercury Adept looked at him with puzzled eyes.

"Yes. Isaac, The Defender of Alchemy."

"Man! Where does that leave us?" Piers said quite unhappily.

"Isaac will never leave us out. He wants us to help guard the Power of Alchemy too," Felix said as he put his arm across Piers' shoulders. "No matter what happens, we are his friends. And friends help each other, right?"

"Hmm...I like that. We are The Defenders of Alchemy! The group who released Alchemy once more on Weyard and are also the ones to protect it from abuse!"

"You seem very spirited about it," Felix replied as he removed his arm from Piers.

"Of course," Piers said with a smile on his face. "Oh, Felix. There is one thing I want to ask you. I want to live in Vale from now on. Is it possible?"

"Yes! Of course! There's absolutely no problem! We just need to build a house for you! But why? What about Lemuria?"

"I'm tired of living in Lemuria. It's too boring. I want to stay at a more lively place, and a place close to my friends."

"But what about King Hydros? Ain't you one of his most trusted people?"

"Yes. But Lunpa is also one of his most trusted people. With Lunpa by his side, the Senate won't dare lay a finger on the King. Besides, I'm unhappy living there, King Hydros knows that. He has given me permission to live outside of Lemuria. We have also established a means of contacting each other if there is ever any trouble."

"You seem to have given it a lot of thought," Felix commented, amazed at the preparations the Lemurian had made.

"I have, and I know this is where I want to be. Besides, I'm supposed to be exiled from Lemuria, remember?"

"Alright. I'll get people to have a house built for you. You can stay at Isaac's place for the time being. I'm sure Kyle and Dora won't mind. The rest of our houses don't really have much room. Only his."

"It's okay, I can stay at the inn for the time being---" Piers started but was cut short by the Venus Adept.

"Don't say such things. Besides, we need the inn to house travellers that come by Vale and rest. It won't be right. The inn is only for outsiders to use. And you're no longer an outsider since you're going to live here. Come, I'll bring you over and have a talk with them."

"Sure. Thank you so much."

"Hey! We're friends, right?"

Piers simply nodded. Felix quickly dragged the Lemurian across Vale to where Isaac stays.

"I have a feeling that this is going to be a talk between Jupiter Adepts, I guess I better leave the three of you alone. I'll go and see if I can do anything about the rest of the decorations."

"Garet! Ivan and I will come and help you when we're done talking!" Sheba shouted after the flame-haired Mars Adept.

"Sure! Will do!" Garet yelled back. He quickly disappeared further into Vale.

"Sister, did you find anything about Sheba?"

"I'm afraid I didn't find out a lot," Hama replied. "Sheba's origin is well, unknown."

"So even Hama couldn't find anything about my family and my origin," Sheba muttered, sounding more dejected than ever.

Ivan gave her a quick hug to comfort the young Jupiter Adept. "Don't worry Sheba. I promised to find out about your origin and I will. After Isaac's birthday celebrations, we will continue on with this journey to find your origin. As long as we don't give up, I'm sure we will find it one day."

"Ivan, thank you," Sheba replied, returning the embrace. After hugging each other for a few seconds, they finally separated from each other's embrace.

"I suspect Sheba is related to the Anemos," Hama continued.

"Related to the Anemos?"

"Yes. And we need to discover how she's related to the Anemos, and what her purpose is," Hama added.

"But where can we find answers?"

"The Anemos Sanctum may hold some answers to it."

"The Anemos Sanctum?" Sheba repeated. "But we've thoroughly explored it already. There shouldn't be anything else."

"I suspect there may be a secret room that has yet to be uncovered," Hama explained. "And it won't be easy to discover. We may need to look very hard for it. We may even need the power of more than one Jupiter Adept to enter."

"Shall we go there after this Sheba?" Ivan asked, putting a comforting hand on the Jupiter Adept.

"I don't know..."

"Sheba, you know what I think?" Ivan asked. Sheba gave him a shake on her head. "We shouldn't let any possible leads up, even if it ends up being a false alarm. We should check it out nonetheless."

"You're right, Ivan. We'll go take a look," Sheba replied, nodding at her boyfriend.

After their adventure, Ivan and Sheba had confessed to each other that they liked each other. Ivan was worried that Felix was the one she liked, but his worries were unfounded. Felix just looks out for Sheba liked he looks out for Jenna, as a brother. Felix was afterall a kind and caring person, who never allows anyone who isn't involved in something come to harm. That was the the case when Sheba was kidnapped by Saturos and Menardi. She was forcefully taken because they needed a Jupiter Adept to get into Jupiter Lighthouse, but Felix always made sure she never came to any harm. And Sheba looks up to Felix like the older brother she could never have.

"Sister, you'll be leading way," Ivan said, giving Hama a quick nod. "And now, we should continue helping out with the decorations. And then we will sit back and enjoy the celebrations before we set off once again."

"I'll help. I don't think I want to be hanging around here doing nothing," Hama said. Ivan gave another nod and the three Jupiter Adepts set off further into Vale, looking for Garet.

Piers looked around the newly constructed Vale as Felix led the Lemurian across the village towards Isaac's house. He wondered if the layout was anywhere near the original Vale. But he was sure about one thing. The way the houses were built, it was the same as the old Vale. The material used for the houses were strong wood. They made up the walls and floors of the house and also the overall structure of the house. The roofs were covered with strong straw bundled together and reinforced with wood to hold them there. Then finally, the houses were painted into the colors that suit the people.

Piers stopped as Felix stopped in-front of a house and started knocking on the door. The Mercury Adept looked on at his best friend as they waited for an answer. The both of them had become fast friends when they first met at the village if Kibombo. They could talk to each other about anything. Very soon, they became best friends who could confide in each other about anything. The relationship they shared with each other was like that of Isaac and Garet. Best friends.

The door finally opened after about a minute of waiting. The one who answered the door was Isaac's father, Kyle.

"Hey, Felix, how are you?"

"I'm fine as always, Kyle," Felix replied.

"Are you looking for something in particular?"

"I would like to have a talk with you about something," Felix replied. "It concerns my friend here. Can we come in?"

"Sure, it would be better to talk inside afterall," Kyle replied, showing them the way into the house.

They were lead into the house. The house consists of three doors and a step of stairs that lead upwards. One of the doors lead to the master bedroom, the room which Kyle and Dora stays in and the other, leads to the kitchen, while the last one leads outside the house. The hall area was decorated with a few shelves and a bookcase. There was a picture of Kyle, Dora and Isaac hanging on the wall above the fire place. Then there was a table and sofas lined up on two sides of the table.

"Have a seat," Kyle said as he pointed to the sofa. Felix and Piers quickly sat down and waited for Kyle to sit himself too.

"Kyle dear!" Someone yelled from the kitchen. "Who was it at the door?"

"It's just Felix and a friend of his, Dora," Kyle shouted back.

"What a relief! I thought it was Isaac!"

"Our son will never knock on the door to his own house, remember? Just concentrate on the food preparations for the party!"

"You're right! How silly of me!"

Kyle turned back towards Felix and Piers once again. "If I remember right, you're that Lemurian, Piers, right?"

Piers nodded. "I'm flattered that you remembered me Kyle."

"Of course. I don't forget the friends of Isaac easily," Kyle replied. "Now what brings the two of you here?"

"Piers wants to move into Vale," Felix explained. "But we don't have an extra house in the village at the moment, so we need to build one first. I was thinking of letting him stay here until we can get one built, since you have an extra room."

"Sure, no problem," Kyle replied. "Isaac is our only son and all the houses were constructed the same way. Thus we ended up having an extra room. You can stay here as long as you need, Piers."

"Thank you so much," Piers replied. "I'll go and bring over my stuff from the ship then."

"Sure, no problem."

"Piers, I'll give you a hand," Felix said. Piers gave the Venus Adept a nod and lead him out of the house towards the place where his ship was docked.

"For someone moving house, you sure don't have a lot of stuff."

"Of course. Lemurians don't exactly have a lot of valuable stuff," Piers replied.

Both Felix and Piers returned from the ship ten minutes later, each carrying only a bag of stuff. Kyle was showing them the way upstairs. Stopping at the first room they came to, Kyle opened the door and pointed inside.

"This is the unused room. Isaac's room is the other one at the end of the hallway. Feel free to make yourself at home, Piers."

"Thank you," Piers replied. "I'll start to unpack my stuff right now."

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

Felix and Piers walked into the room and scanned through the entire place. The bed was positioned beside the window and there was a set of drawers beside the bed away from the window with a lamp resting on top of the drawer. The wardrobe lay at the corner across the bed. There was a table and a chair at the other side where the wardrobe lay with a shelf beside the table.

"Wow, this room looks comfortable," Felix commented. "Looks better than my room. I wonder if Isaac's room has the same stuff?"

"Come on, let's unpack. Don't you still need to help with the decorations?" Piers asked as he walked over to the wardrobe and started unpacking his clothes.

"Sure, just tell me where you want the stuff to go," Felix replied as he started to look through Piers's other bag.

Half an hour later, with the help of Felix, he managed to finish unpacking faster than he'd expected.

"Well, now that every thing is in place, I shall help you finish up the decorations on the village," Piers said.

"Yeah, we need to finish that by today. We have no idea when Isaac will be returning tomorrow so we need to finish the preparations by today. Any help is greatly appreciated."

"What are we waiting for?" Piers nodded. Both the Adepts quickly got out of the house and checked to see where else was still in need of help.

Isaac couldn't sleep that night. He just sat in-front of the campfire which he had made and stared at the flames dance. He had made camp in-between the roads that laid between Kalay and Vault. He had too many things on his mind. For one thing, the seal which seals the part of his Power of the Venus Clan was released. And another thing, those wolves he fought not too long ago. He didn't notice it at first, but after he killed one of them, the other three grew stronger. It was then he felt a familiar aura. An aura that belonged to the Venus Clan. The wolves were supercharged with the Venus Clan's Power of Death. And it brought out all the killer instincts and power the wolves possessed.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

"It's nothing Crystal," Isaac replied. The Venus Adept quickly added in another piece of firewood to keep the fire going.

"You cannot hide it from me, Isaac of Vale. From the looks on your face, you are thinking about something of grave importance, are you not?"

"Tell us! Tell us!" Quartz yelled over the fire as he jumped happily on top of Isaac's head. But the effect of it was, the Venus Djinni ended up messing up Isaac's hair. Not like it matters, since Isaac's hair was already messy. The Venus Adept was never unable to keep his hair in a neat manner. It always ends up being all spiky like.

Slowly, one by one, all nine of Isaac's Venus Djinn appeared from his body. Quartz finally stopped jumping on Isaac's head and joined the other Djinn. Only Crystal remained sitting on Isaac's right shoulder. But all of them have the same pleading eyes.

"Why are you all suddenly so interested in what I'm thinking of?"

"We just want to know more about your past, Isaac," Salt replied innocently. "Know you better, you know."

"My past is something that I don't want to talk about. Besides, I hated myself for what I did."

"You're just running away from it, aren't you?" Bane asked, tilting his small Djinni head to the side.

Isaac kept quiet. He simply didn't want to say anything else tonight. The past that he has been running away from was finally catching up to him. He simply didn't know what to do. The only thing he could think of was to continue running away from it. For as long as he can.

"Isaac, it's okay that you don't want to tell us," Crystal said. "You can tell us when you're ready."

"Yeah! Yeah! Tell us when you're ready!" Quartz cried in his hyperactive tone, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Besides, this wasn't the real reason we all came out to talk to you about," Flint added.

"It...isn't?"

Crystal finally joined the other eight Venus Djinn on the ground around the campfire. "Alright! Everyone ready?"

"Yes!" All the other eight Venus Djinn yelled in unison.

All nine of Isaac's Venus Djinn all glowed with a powerful yellow aura. They focused all their earth power into one spot. In-front of Isaac's face. In that one spot, something was forming within the light. Isaac couldn't make out what it was, but it seems to be shaping into a pendant, with a chain attached to it.

"Isaac! Catch it as it falls!" Crystal yelled over the yellow aura.

The Venus Adept did was he was told. The aura disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The pendant that was formed dropped into Isaac's open hands. He carefully scanned the pendant. There was a beautiful yellow ring attached onto a silver chain. Although the drawings were small, Isaac could see that the ring had carvings of a tree, rocks and stalagmites around it. And right in the middle of the ring, lies a beautiful Topaz gemstone shaped in two cones both joined at their base.

"What is this for?" Isaac asked. He still wasn't sure what was going on and why his Djinn have given him this.

"Happy Birthday, Isaac!!!" The nine Djinn yelled at once.

"Well, it's a little early, but then it's almost midnight, so what the heck," Salt commented. "So technically it isn't your birthday yet since that's tomorrow, but since it's almost tomorrow---"

"Stop it, Salt!" Granite cried as he tackled the status aliment curing Venus Djinni to the ground.

"That pendant is a present from all nine of us to you, Isaac," Ground explained.

"A birthday present, huh?" Isaac muttered. His mouth slowly curved upwards, indicating a smile.

"Isaac's smiling! Isaac's smiling!" Quartz cried excitedly, jumping up and down once again.

Isaac placed his gloved hand on the reviving Venus Djinni. "Quartz, settle down will you? I swear! You have too much energy!"

Flint, Ground, Sap, Vine, Bane and Crystal all laughed. Even Granite and Salt stopped tackling each other and laughed. The Venus Adept too couldn't help it and laughed with them too. After laughing for about a minute, all of them settled down once again.

Isaac took another look at the pendant and finally put it on. The Topaz gemstone sparkled under the moon's light. "So, what is this for?"

"It's a Topaz Pendant," Crystal explained as he jumped onto Isaac's shoulder once again. "Wearing this greatly amplifies the power of a Venus Adept. It basically increases your power with the Earth Element. And it can be worn by no one else but you."

"You mean you're strengthening the already overpowered me?" Isaac complained. "First the exposure to the beacon of the Mars Lighthouse, secondly, part of the Power of Alchemy was entrusted to me. And now this. I'm having trouble keeping up with all this. I still have yet to discover what new powers I have been granted by Alchemy!"

"Don't worry Isaac," Crystal said with a small smile on his face. "Just do everything at your own pace."

"Do I have a choice?" Isaac replied.

"I don't think so."

For the rest of the time before midnight, Isaac's Djinn all played around the campfire. They certainly have lifted his spirits and calmed his mood. Isaac smiled once again as he played with the Topaz Pendant. This was one night that he would never forget. Cause this was the night in which he realised just how strong the bond between him and his Djinn were. So even if Alchemy happened to grant him immortality, he would never be alone. His Djinn will always be with him.

"Ohh...I do hope I'm not late!"

"You should have left earlier, Mia."

"Spritz, you know I was unable to. The elderly couple sudden fell sick with an unknown illness while I was about to leave," Mia muttered. "Of course, I had to ascertain their state before knowing what kind of treatment to give them."

"And that took half-a-day," Spritz commented.

"Well, I used my healing psynergies to not much effect. Then I tried using the Hermes Water from the healing spring in the Mercury Lighthouse to heal them," Mia explained. "But still it wasn't of much help. And I thought that the Hermes Water was supposed to cure anything. I couldn't leave until I was sure that their sickness had calmed down. Who knew the Hermes Water took some time to work."

"Which ate up half-a-day of time."

"Ahh...I don't have time to be talking to you right now," Mia replied. "I'm almost at Vale, so let's just hope I'm on time."

Mia moved quickly across the roads from Goma Cave to the new location where Vale was rebuilt. She would have reached Vale last night if she wasn't delayed, and now she was walking as quickly as she could to Vale before Isaac reaches home. She had a feeling that if the Venus Adept didn't see her, he would be quite disappointed. The Mercury Adept clutched tightly onto the present she had for Isaac. She was afraid that she might lose it in her rush.

Soon, Vale was in sight. Mia quickly walked into the village, trying to spot a familiar face. But no one seems to have noticed her come into Vale at all. The Valeans were all in a rush, busy doing something. Last minute preparations perhaps? Or could the celebration have started already?

"Oh no, am I late?" Mia muttered to herself. "But I still have to try and find someone I know..."

The Mercury Clan Adept tried looking around Vale once again, walking nearer to the busy crowd of Valeans. Searching the tens and twenties of faces, she finally found one she recognised. She had auburn-colored hair with her hair tied up high with a black band, much like how Mia has her hair tied, only that she ties it with a white ribbon. She wore a magenta colored tunic with a brown chestplate over it with a short purple colored cape hung behind. There was a brown skirt together with the tunic which consisted of a strip of a lighter shade of brown finish. And to complete it all, she chose a pair of almost knee high brown colored boots as her footwear.

Relieved, Mia quickly walked towards the girl before she lost sight of her among the Valeans. "Jenna!"

Jenna stopped when she heard her name being called. She knew it was a familiar voice. But then, she hears many different voices everyday. And this was one voice she hadn't heard for a few months. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she was sure that she knew that voice. But the Mars Adept didn't want to think about who it was anymore. Jenna just turned around to the direction where the voice came from. And she saw a familiar blue-haired girl that wears healer robes coming towards her.

"Mia! You're late! Aren't you supposed to have arrived yesterday?"

"Something came up back at Imil that needed my attention. Thus I got delayed for half-a-day."

"Being the only healer in Imil must be tough," Jenna commented, putting her arms behind her and tilting her head to the side.

"Well, it was tough when the healing waters of the Mercury Lighthouse dried up, but now that the fountain is overflowing with the Hermes Water, my job became easier. At least I can get away for a while. I trust my apprentices well enough to look after the Imilians while I'm away. I only wish that one of them was an Adept of the Mercury Clan."

"Don't worry Mia," Jenna replied as she gave Mia a pat on her shoulder. "I'm sure you will have a child who will be a Mercury Adept."

"Thanks, Jenna. Oh by the way, has the party started yet?"

"Nope. Isaac hasn't returned yet. So you made it on time."

"What a relief. What's going on right now?" Mia asked as she looked around the still busy Valeans.

"Oh. Just last minute preparations," Jenna replied, shrugging. "Everyone is standing by to surprise Isaac when he comes back. Felix is on the lookout for him."

"Where are our other friends?"

"They are already at their positions," Jenna explained. "I was just directing some order around here and hoping to see that somehow you managed to make it here on time."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Mia commented excitedly. "I even have a present ready for him!"

"The rest of us too," Jenna said, giving Mia a small smile. But within seconds, her smile turned into an evil one. "You like Isaac, don't you?" Jenna whispered only for Mia to hear.

Mia immediately turned beet red. "Uhh...What...What are you talking about?" Mia cried, panicking.

"Oh, come on, you can tell me," Jenna replied as she gave the Mercury Adept a small nudge with her elbow.

"Uhh...What if Isaac doesn't like me???" Mia shuddered.

"I'm sure he feels the same about you," Jenna replied. "Isaac takes care of me like his sister, especially during the past three years when I thought I'd lost Felix. There's no way he likes me. Besides, I have Garet now."

"But...But..."

"Mia, listen to me. Isaac's a great person. Any girl would love to have him as her husband. With that said, you better tell him how you feel before you really miss your chance. By that time, it would be too late for regrets. But to tell you the truth, Isaac can be pretty clueless sometimes."

"Ha ha. You're right, I've noticed," Mia laughed. "But he's a great leader."

"Yeah, too great that I even think that he's a better leader than my brother! Isaac is so much more resourceful compared to him!"

Both girls laughed. Despite having only known each other for a few months, they became the best of friends very quickly. They say that Mars and Mercury were opposing elements and could never be good friends, but Mia and Jenna's friendship has proved it wrong.

"Garet! You can't touch the food yet!"

"Aww...come on Kay, just one bite?" Garet pleaded.

"NO! One bite can easily become many for you, I know that better than anyone else!"

"Garet! No designs on the food!" Jenna screamed. It seems that both Jenna and Mia overheard the conversation between Garet and his older sister. "Now get away from the food before you end up eating Fume Psynergy!"

"Eep! Jenna! I was...uhh...kidding! Yeah that's right...I was just kidding..."

"Good. Now be a good boy and get away from the food to your position," Jenna threatened with an evil gleam in her eyes. Garet was spooked and ran back to where he was supposed to be. Kay followed suit. Mia couldn't help but giggle.

"That's the only way to deal with that pig," Jenna huffed and placed her fists on her waist.

"Hey! Isaac's approaching Vale!" Felix screamed as he ran towards the crowd. "Everyone! Quickly! To your positions!"

Everyone quickly scrambled towards their positions at a speed that is supposed to be achievable only by Jupiter Adepts. Felix stopped at where Jenna and Mia were. Near the area where the food was placed.

"I see you made it Mia," Felix commented. "We should be getting to our positions too. Jenna, take care of Mia. No time to look for a position for her."

"Geez, I know that, Felix," Jenna muttered. Then she grabbed Mia by her hand. The Mercury Adept held onto Isaac's present tightly with the other. "Come quickly!" Mia complied and followed Jenna. Felix quickly went the other direction towards his position.

Isaac was relieved the moment he saw Vale in sight. He had been walking for the whole morning, passing Vault only about two hours ago. The Venus Adept wanted to be home right now, resting in his bed, or perhaps racking up idle chatter with his friends.

He couldn't wait any longer. Isaac immediately ran the rest of the way back to Vale.

When he reached the entrance of the village, Isaac couldn't see anyone in sight. It felt kinda strange. There was always someone busy with something. Unless...

It was then Isaac noticed two poles sticking out of the ground and there were leaves running between the two poles at the top.

"Was that supposed to be there?"

Then he saw two small winds materialise at where the leaves were. "Is that Whirlwind?"

It was stupid question to ask himself, Isaac noted. Of course it was Whirlwind. He had seen it being cast enough times to know that. So why was he asking himself that? He didn't bother trying to answer that. The Venus Adept just continued staring at the two Whirlwind Psynergy blowing away the leaves. After the leaves were gone, the two Whirlwinds disappeared, revealing a banner beneath it. And it had the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY Isaac" written in large letters, with a bunch of designs around it.

"HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, Isaac!!!"

Isaac nearly got a shock from that. He thought that he was going to die. Well, maybe anyone else would think the same thing if they too got shocked by practically everyone in the village all at once. The Adept knew that today was his birthday, but he hadn't exactly expected a surprise party. He thought that it would be the same as every other year. Just a small party with present giving. But from the looks of things, there were a lot of preparations done for this party.

"Isaac, what's wrong?"

"Oh, uhh...It's just...I've never been shocked like this before...it came as a big surprise...I was stunned..."

Isaac frowned. He noticed the people who were standing in-front of him. It wasn't just Felix, Jenna and Garet. Ivan, Sheba and Piers were all there too. But most of all, she was here.

"You're all here..."

"I was the one who gathered all of them here," Jenna replied, giving Isaac a huge smile. "It's your 18th birthday, we had to make it special. So that you will always remember it."

"With all my friends..."

"Oh! Isaac, our presents for you are all back at our houses," Felix commented. "Shoot, we better go get them, shouldn't we?"

Jenna nodded. "Of course. Well, you better get into the party mood quickly. And maybe you would want to put your weapon away first, before you start partying!"

"I think I'll pass," Isaac replied. "I feel safer with my weapon with me."

"Well, have it your way. We'll meet again later at the food area, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Isaac nodded as he watched his friends go away. But then he noticed that Mia did not follow them. "Mia, aren't you going to go with them?"

"Uhh...no," Mia started nervously. "I just arrived here today, so I don't exactly have a room to stay in. And, your present is here with me. Maybe you would want to accept it now?"

"Yeah, why not," Isaac replied. Mia handed the Venus Adept the present she had been holding onto tightly ever since she left Imil in fear that she may lose it. Isaac readily accepted it. "Do you mind if I open it now?"

"No! Of course not!" Mia replied hurriedly. "You can open it now if you want!"

Isaac nodded as he proceeded to open up Mia's carefully wrapped present. When he was done, the wrapping paper had come off nicely, and inside, it was a book on potions and how to make them.

"A Book on Potions?"

"Weren't you interested in learning how to make potions?" Mia asked. Her face fell suddenly. She thought that Isaac didn't like her present.

"Well, yeah, Mia. I am. But how did you know?" Isaac asked, looking at the Mercury Adept quizzically.

"Actually, it was Jenna who told me," Mia replied, blinking her eyes slightly. "This is actually supposed to be a present from Felix, Jenna and me. I believe they have the other part of the whole set. These kind of books were easy to get back at Imil. So I was kinda in-charge of getting this book..."

"I see," Isaac replied as he flipped through the book. "Wow, this is a good one."

Mia gave a small smile as she looked at Isaac flip through the book. The Mercury Adept was scanning the Venus Adept from head to toe. She just couldn't help it. It has been a few months since they last saw each other. And Mia missed him a lot. She wondered if Isaac felt the same? It was then Mia noticed something different from Isaac's usual battle attire. There was a pendant resting on top of Isaac's armor.

"Well, what do you know? It's a Topaz Pendant!"

Isaac and Mia both turned at the sudden outburst. One of Mia's Mercury Djinni was sitting on her shoulder. Isaac do not know which one though, since it wasn't allied to him. Only when a Djinni is allied with an Adept then they would know his name. But no matter the circumstance, any Adept can understand a Djinni when they talk.

"Whoa! Spritz, why did you appear suddenly?"

"That pendant Isaac is wearing, is a pendant that can only be created with the power of Venus Djinn. His Djinn must have had that made for him."

"Wow, really?" Mia replied. "That's cool. What does it do?"

"It greatly increases the power of a Venus Adept. And only the Adept which the pendant is given to, can wear it. And of course, it can only be given to an Adept on special occasions."

"I would think that Isaac's birthday is a special enough occasion."

Isaac's shoulder now sat one of his Venus Djinni. And this time, only Isaac knew which one it was.

"Crystal! Now what brings you up here?"

"Of course. A birthday is special enough to humans," Spirtz replied.

"It's an interesting occasion," Crystal replied. "People give presents to the human whom is growing a year older on that day. And I thought that would be a good chance to give something to Isaac as a present, so I gathered his other Djinn and we made it for him."

"Yes, yes, it's a good idea," Spritz replied. "It can also show how much the people we ally ourselves with mean to us."

By this time, Isaac had already closed the book and held it in his left hand. Mia was holding and scanning the entire pendant Isaac was wearing. "Wow, it's so beautiful..."

"Mia, I can get the Mercury Djinn to make an Aquamarine Pendant for you when your birthday comes," Spritz replied.

"Wow, really?" Mia said. She had stopped admiring Isaac's Topaz Pendant and turned to look at Spritz.

"Of course!" Spritz replied cheerily.

"Mia, I think we should go join the party already," Isaac said. Mia nodded and they made their way to the heart of the party together.

"So, this is the other part of the present Mia talked about."

The Adepts were all gathered outside of Isaac's house after four hours of partying. The rest of the Valeans had volunteered to clean up everything, allowing them to take a break. The Valeans said that they had helped out so much with the preparations, and they were the saviors of Weyard, and they deserved the break. So they all ended up accompanying Isaac with his present opening. Garet was busy scoffing up the leftover food from the party nearby while Isaac did that.

The last present he opened was from both brother and sister, Felix and Jenna. It was the other half of the present Mia had mentioned. It was a potion making set, filled with all the necessary equipment to make all sorts of potions.

"Wow, this is great! This must be the best present I've received this year!" Isaac cried.

Felix, Jenna and Mia smiled. But the others looked hurt. "Does that mean you didn't like our presents?" Ivan asked.

"No! Of course not! I like your presents too! It's just that this is the best one out of the lot. It was something I've always wanted. But it was impossible to get one, since we were never allowed out of Vale. But thanks to recent events, all this have changed."

"Isaac always wanted to learn to make potions," Jenna replied. "And now his wish has came true!"

"Yeah," Garet mumbled with his mouth full of food. He had finally finished eating up all the leftovers and was chewing the last of that food at the moment.

"Garet! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Jenna screamed. She gave Garet a fiery death glare, which nearly made Garet jump out of his wits.

"I'm going in to put all these in my room," Isaac said as he stood up, gathering up all the presents from his friends and quickly disappeared back into his house.

"Well, we certainly had fun," Felix commented. Everyone else agreed.

"I can't wait for my birthday to come," Mia said suddenly, straightening her hair up with her hand. "I want one of those pendants that Isaac is wearing!"

"Now that you've mentioned it," Sheba started. "I've noticed that Isaac is now wearing some sort of pendant."

"It was a present from his Djinn," Mia explained, putting her hands down. "It's something that only Djinn can make. Maybe all of you will get one too when your birthday comes."

"I certainly hope so," Jenna sighed. "It looks so beautiful."

"Big Sister Jenna!"

Jenna looked up to see a kid with someone walking behind him coming towards the Adepts. He had long, brown hair with a long fringe covering his left eye. He wears a dark yellow tunic with a pair of black pants with a light blue coat over them. And to complete it all, he wore a pair of brown boots to complete his footwear. He didn't wear any armor of any sort. The dressing was that plain.

"Luka, what's up?" Jenna asked.

"This man is looking for Isaac," Luka replied, pointing to the man behind him.

"Isaac is back in his house," Felix replied. "He should be down soon."

"I shall take my leave now," Luka said and walked away.

The man was slowly examining Felix from head to toe. The Venus Adept felt a bit nervous being examined like that. He had to say something. "Excuse me, it's something the matter?"

"So, this is the power level of an ordinary Venus Adept," he simply replied, giving Felix a smile.

"What the? What do you mean by that?" Felix retorted. He felt insulted. Jenna stood up beside her brother and prepared to defend him.

"No one insults my brother and gets away with it!"

"Now, now, my dear Mars Adept, don't get angry, alright?" The man replied calmly, giving Jenna a big smile. "I'm an Adept of the Venus Clan, and we are stronger than ordinary Venus Adepts. This is the first time I've met a normal Venus Adept. I'm naturally curious."

By this time, the rest of the Adepts have all stood up from their positions, eyeing this mysterious stranger. They were all wondering the same thing. Just who was this guy? Does Isaac know him? And he is a Venus Adept of the Venus Clan, a clan which they have never even heard of?

"Wait a minute. Wasn't the Venus Clan wiped out twelve years ago?"

"Flower? You know something about the Venus Clan?" Felix asked. He had heard the Venus Djinni and had decided to ask for answers.

"The Venus Clan was supposed to be wiped out twelve years ago by some unknown force," Flower replied. "Could it be possible that there were survivors?"

"Survivors or not, I don't like this guy. I can't believe Isaac knows someone like that."

"Hey, guys what's going on?" Isaac asked. He had just opened the door to his house and came out. And he saw that everyone seems to be confronting someone. And somehow, he had a very bad feeling about it.

"Isaac, there seems to be someone looking for you," Felix replied as he got out of the way slightly so that Isaac could see who it was.

Isaac couldn't believe his eyes. The person standing there was someone whom he had hoped to never ever meet again. The past was really catching up to him. The Venus Adept now had doubts that he could ever run away from it forever.

"Why am I still running away? Because I'm still scared? But I shouldn't be running away anymore. Elder Magus said I would be able to control my power by now. But... No. I must continue to run away. My power nearly killed people again yesterday. I have to run away from it!"

Isaac hadn't noticed that the man had walked towards him during the time he was thinking. His friends had let the man through without any resistance. And he held Isaac's chin up, like the way he did twelve years ago. But only this time, Isaac wasn't crying. He was staring at him with eyes filled with deadly hatred. His friends stood ready to strike in a moment's notice if that man tried to harm Isaac in anyway.

"Dirge, what do you want?" Isaac snarled, his voice clearly in a venomous tone. It was from that tone which the rest realised that Isaac knew the guy, but they weren't exactly on friendly terms.

"I'm flattered that you remembered me, Isaac," Dirge replied with an evil smile. "It's simple, really. I want you."

Isaac's friends were all really ready to rumble right now. That man wants Isaac? They weren't about to let some mysterious person take their friend away.

"You're someone that I don't want in my life ever again," Isaac replied, the venomous tone still in his voice. Isaac had grabbed that man's wrist and removed Dirge's hand from his chin. "You were the cause of all my problems. And now you want me? No. I don't think it's me that you want. It's my powers, right? You just want to use me, right?"

"Well, well. It seems that you've grown really smart. Perhaps you have learned something here during the past twelve years of your stay here?"

Now his friends were really confused. Isaac lived in Vale for only twelve years? But he's eighteen. How could he have only lived here for twelve years?

"You're eighteen this year, right? Well, isn't eighteen the age where a Venus Clan Adept have to choose to use his power for Life or Death?"

"I am a Valean now, not a Herylean. I have no reason to do that. Now go away!" Isaac screamed as he clenched his fists tightly as if he was ready to punch something real hard right now.

"No." Dirge replied, not moving from his spot. "I will have you, even if I have to take you by force, my little Venus Clan Adept!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Aww...Damn. I took too long to finish this up :( Finally, my first Golden Sun FanFic, done! Loved the game a lot BTW. And by far the longest piece of a chapter I have ever written for my FanFics! SO: Guardians Chapter 6 wasn't even this long, and I have no idea whether Chapter 7 would even compare to Chapter 6 :(

Well, for those who have played Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, you know that there isn't an existence of a Venus Clan. It was where I got my idea from. I was thinking, hey! In the game, there was a mention of a Mercury Clan which Mia and Alex are both from. And then there was the Mars Clan of the North, from the Village of Prox, which Saturos, Menardi, Agatio and Karst are from. And then there is the Anemos Clan, which is some sort of a Jupiter Clan, which Ivan and Hama are both from. And oh, a Elemental Clan does not necessary mean they protect the Elemental Lighthouses ;) Look at what happened to the people of Prox. But there was no mention of a Venus Clan in either games, so I came up with something on the Venus Clan. I was like, "What do you think happened to the Venus Clan?" Of course there isn't really any proof that a Venus Clan ever existed on Weyard. So maybe they were all wiped out XXX years ago?

Why pick Isaac as a Venus Clan Adept? Why not create another character? Well, the reason is quite simple. The Venus Clan was wiped out some XXX years ago, and I made Isaac a survivor. Of course that still doesn't explain why I picked Isaac. Well, for one thing, Isaac is Kyle and Dora's only child. I couldn't use Felix, cause his features look somewhat like Jenna, so it was obvious that they REALLY are siblings and I can't twist that fact. Isaac was the only person whom I can twist the facts on. Mind you, I treat everyone equally in my Fics, but I just love to twist facts on my favourite character of the game. Just look at what I did to Dias with my SO: Guardians fic ;) Of course, by looking at Kyle and Dora I noticed that Isaac do possess somewhat the same features as them, but then, those are just the in-game pics. In-game pics are not exactly 100% accurate, due to hardware constraints, this is a GBA we're talking about! It's not as powerful as putting graphics on a TV, plus the memory of a cartridge is more limited compared to a CD, hence the less details, and there wasn't any official art of Kyle and Dora. So, I could still ignore it ;)

And sticking in the location of the Village of the Venus Clan was easy. All the three other Elemental Clans resided near the Elemental Lighthouses, Imil is near Mercury Lighthouse, Contigo is near Jupiter Lighthouse and Prox is near Mars Lighthouse, so this one had to be near Venus Lighthouse. I made it a hidden village, cause it was...uhh...much easier XD

Great. All that explanation... I think I better stop my ranting now. And oh. One more thing. I have planned this fic to be in four parts. They will be in individual fanfics, not chapters. So this is FanFic One of the series. I hope I can get FanFic Two done quickly. Isaac is sooooooo going to have a lot of explaining to do in the next part XD Well, after reading all this, I do hope you would drop me a review and tell me what you think of this Fic. I know, my facts may end up a bit whacked out, but I'm doing my best to make everything fit in. And yes. I've already completed both games :P

P.S. My FanFics are also located at FF.Net. I am unable to submit certain fics to this site, due to the FanFiction Guidelines. I wasn't even sure that it would get put up here. But it made it ^_^ That means my level of writing has certainly improved. If you're curious to read some of my earlier works (This is my latest piece of FanFic BTW), visit FF.Net and look for my Pen name, Rena Chan

Rena Chan
http://soguardian.deep-ice.com/ (Star Ocean: Guardians FanFic Official Site)
http://www.deadjournal.com/~renachan/ (My Online Journal)
http://members.atozasia.com/renachan/ (Star Ocean 2 Archive)
http://houkouha.fateback.com/ (Houkouha, a Star Ocean EX Anime Site)

Rena Chan's Fanfiction