Where are we now?

By: Padfoot-chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun.

Shonen-ai Warning.

-Prologue-

Robin collapsed to the ground on the Mars Lighthouse aerie after the battle had been won. Ivan knelt down next to him, dropping his staff on the ground and slipping his arms around Robin's strong shoulders. Kyle, Robin's father, was laying on the ground a couple of feet away from Robin and Ivan, unconscious from the battle. A few feet away from him, Felix's parents were lying on the ground, unconscious as well. All three of the adults were covered in their own blood and had dark bruises along their bodies.

Felix and Jenna rushed over to their parents' sides, "Mother! Father!" Felix spun around and looked back at Robin, his warm chocolate eyes burning with anger, as Jenna dropped to the ground to tend to her parents' wounds.

"You knew," he started angrily as Robin stared down at the ground with a blank, almost dead look in his pale blue eyes, not really seeing the ground at all. "You knew all along that my mother and father were part of the Doom Dragon, but you still fought as hard as you did. Robin, they're dying and you killed them!"

"Don’t yell at Robin!" Ivan yelled back to the Venus Energist who jumped when Ivan yelled at him. The Jupiter Energist tightened his grip around Robin's shoulders, "Would you rather Robin have done nothing at all and allowed your parents to kill all of us? They can be healed, Felix. We have the Psynergy, we are not helpless here."

Robin closed his pale blue eyes and leaned against Ivan, resting his head in the hollow between Ivan's neck and shoulder. Picard glanced at the two before nodding and brushing back his light blue hair. He walked over to Felix and placed a reassuring hand on the younger man's shoulder, "If we heal them now, Felix, they will be just fine after a little rest and some food and water."

Mary took a step toward Felix and Picard now, wanting to help as much as she could, "Leave the healing to me. I will make sure that they recover to full health. I will even tend to them afterwards so that they do not relapse." Felix nodded to the two Mercury Energists and looked back at Robin, now concerned about his former best friend.

The younger Venus Energist had his head turned away from Felix now as Ivan rocked him back and forth in attempts to comfort him.

Kanata, Aoshi, Yoru, and Okami were standing around the center of the Mars Lighthouse, staring down into the darkness in the middle of the aerie. "This is the last one," commented Aoshi in a foreboding whisper to the other Legendary Warriors that stood next to him. The others nodded in silent agreement.

"My lighthouse." started Yoru, "I never thought that I would return here, not under these circumstances at the very least. It has been so long since I was here last."

Kanata turned around to face Felix; "You should fire the beacon now, Felix, while we are ready for Yoru's yami to appear. I am sure that he will leave once Ryou calls to him."

Felix turned away from Robin and walked over to the four cross-Energists. They took a few steps to the side, making way for Felix. The Venus Energist pulled out the Mars Star, stretched out his left hand and released the crimson orb into the dark abyss of the center of the lighthouse.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence as the small group of Energists waited patiently for the final beacon to be lit. Yoru tensed in anticipation, knowing that his yami would flee as soon as he was awakened. He wanted to get the fight over with now, on his time and not on Ryou's.

Robin lifted his head from Ivan's shoulder just as the Mars Star hit the heart of the Mars Lighthouse. There was a blinding flash of light and then…nothing.

-TBC-

Where are we now?

By: Padfoot-chan

-Chapter One: Cor-

Pale blue eyes blinked sunlight out of them as an arm was lifted up to shield the eyes from the golden rays of the sun. Those eyes now scanned the sight before them, an unfamiliar sky, with unfamiliar…suns.

Robin sat up suddenly, his eyes trained on the two burning orbs in the sky above him. His mouth hung open in shock for a moment before his mind went back to something that Okami had once told him. The sun was merely a star, not even a very big one when one was to compare it to the other stars in the sky. Even if this were true, and with Okami telling him, he knew that it was-but even so, how could there be two suns-stars-this close to Weyard?

The Venus Energist finally gave up and looked around the landscape, only to be met with the same unfamiliarity that the sky had given him. He had traveled all over Weyard, not one island untouched in his voyage with his friends. However, here he was now, in a strange, foreign land, all alone. Or so, he thought at first.

His chest felt light, Robin noticed, and when he looked down to see why, he spotted Ivan lying on the grass next to him, unconscious. Robin's heart caught in his throat, something it had not done since Ivan nearly died on him after they first met.

Robin turned hurriedly and picked the Jupiter Energist's wrist up, checking it for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the vein beating against his index finger. Robin leaned forward, slowly, and placed a light kiss on Ivan's forehead, 'He is so adorable when he's asleep like this…so peaceful. I feel guilty for putting him through all of this.' thought Robin as he watched his lover sleeping, 'Maybe if we had not asked him to join us he could have lived a normal life and maybe even have fallen in love with a woman instead of me.'

The thought pained Robin as soon as it crossed his mind and he felt Ivan stir in his lap. Just as he looked down to see if Ivan was waking up, the Jupiter Energist grabbed the sides of Robin's face with his hands and pulled the Venus Energist into a sheering kiss.

They had kissed many times before, but never like this. Neither of them had wanted to let their relationship get out of hand because of their age and what other people would think. They had not found the time to do anything either. Towns were spread out far apart and sometimes it took weeks at a time to go from one town to the next.

Ivan laced his fingers through Robin's hair as Robin wrapped his arms around Ivan's waist, holding him up.

They finally broke apart, gasping for air. Ivan threw his arms around Robin's neck, holding him close, "I wouldn’t give this life up for anything." he said, his voice coming out in sharp gasps, "I love you more than anything else in the world, Robin. I would not trade my relationship with you for a normal life even if I could. I need you."

Robin tightened his grip on the Jupiter Energist, "Oh, Ivan…I love you, too."

They sat there for a while before Ivan blushed lightly, glancing down at the ground. He hopped off Robin's lap and looked at Robin's clothes, "Robin, what happened to your armor? And your gloves and scarf?" Robin lifted a hand to his neck and noticed that his scarf was missing. When he looked down, he also found that his armor and gloves had disappeared as well. Ivan's cape and chest armor was gone also.

"I don’t know…I don't even know where we are, Ivan." The Jupiter Energist looked around at this statement, puzzled by their strange surroundings.

"What happened? We were on the Mars Lighthouse before," started Ivan, rising to his feet. Robin stood up after him, stretching his arms for a moment, "Where are the others? Gerald, Mary, Kanata, Aoshi, Yoru, and Okami…? And Mamoru and Amiko?" Ivan turned to Robin and gripped his arms, "Robin, what if Mamoru and Amiko are alone? They have only just learned basic Psynergy. I have a feeling that the monsters here are very powerful."

Robin shook his head, placing a light kiss on Ivan's forehead, "I am sure that the two of them are just fine."

"Teleport to them." begged Ivan, now gripping onto Robin's tunic, "Please, Robin. I am sure that they are scared." Robin bit his bottom lip at the pleading look in Ivan's violet eyes and the Jupiter Energist knew that Robin would not turn him down now.

"Fine, but you have to find them so that I can teleport." Ivan smiled and closed his eyes, searching for Mamoru and Amiko's auras.

He could feel a glimmer of something in the distance but as soon as he tried to figure out to whom the aura belonged to, it disappeared. Ivan opened his eyes, frowning, "I can't…I can't sense anyone here." Robin blinked down at Ivan before searching himself. He suddenly felt four powerful energies come together in a giant explosion of power to be replaced by an even stronger energy than the pervious four powers combined. However, this power quickly disappeared, so quickly that Robin was unsure he had felt it in the first place.

"I just felt something," he whispered to Ivan who looked back up at him, "It was strange, though, there was suddenly four energies…that came together in this giant explosion and then there was an even stronger power."

"But I didn't feel anything," mused Ivan, leaning against Robin as his eyes suddenly lolled, "Robin…I'm tiered." Robin nodded and leaned down, taking Ivan into his arms, "Robin, I didn’t mean for you to-"

"Hey, you haven't let me carry you while you were conscious since that storm near Vault, and even then I had an excuse." said Robin, grinning down at Ivan, "Not this time. You are perfectly healthy."

"Tiered, though," blushed Ivan.

"Don't ruin my fantasy," Ivan rolled his eyes, but he could not help but smile at the Venus Energists holding him.

Robin was adorable when he was being romantic; he even tried to be romantic when they were around other people, especially if some girl tried to hit on either of them. Moreover, he could be serious one moment when he was either talking to Okami or Mary and then goof around with Gerald the next minute or tease Yoru about his hair. He would always find time to do something for Ivan, though.

There was one time when Yoru caught a cold and they had to stop in Xian and wait until he recovered. It was late and they had already stayed in the oriental town for two nights, but Robin had suddenly pulled Ivan away from his book and took him out to the lake.

By the time, they had been together for nearly a month and the others still had no clue about their relationship.

No one was out but they could hear families talking within their homes and laughter carried down from the hill from the Inn. Robin made Ivan sit on the edge of the lake and covered his eyes before saying something in a different language that Ivan did not understand. Then the Venus Energist uncovered Ivan's eyes and told him to look up.

Puzzled by the older teen's actions, Ivan did as he was told and looked up. There was a strange sound off to the left as something shot up into the sky and then exploded. Ivan was about to get up but Robin laced his arms around Ivan's waist, stopping him from rising from the ground.

"They're called fireworks." Robin breathed into Ivan's ear as the Jupiter Energist looked back up at the exploding lights in the sky, now mesmerized by the bright colors.

"D-did you do this?" asked Ivan, looking back to see that Robin had been watching him the whole time, "For me?"

Robin smiled, leaning down and kissing Ivan lightly on the lips, "Maybe, maybe not." He turned away and looked up into the sky as Ivan watched him for a moment before returning his gaze to the sky and leaning against Robin's chest.

He smiled, "Thank you, Robin."

"I'm glad that you like them."

~-~-~-~

Ivan smiled to himself and wrapped his arms around Robin's neck, resting his head on the hollow of Robin's neck, "What did I do to ever deserve you?" asked the Venus Energist in a whisper, holding Ivan tighter.

"Funny," whispered Ivan, "I was just thinking the same thing myself. You are one of the nicest people that I have ever met, Robin. You are so brave, honest, and…you make me feel like I am important, like am I wanted."

"You are important to a lot of people, Ivan, not just me," said Robin, pausing in his movements. They had reached the edge of a vast lake, the light from the two suns shielded from them by an oak tree. Robin set Ivan down on the ground next to the tree, letting the Jupiter Energist lean against the oak tree.

Robin leaned against the trunk of the tree and laid his head on Ivan's shoulder, taking a deep, relaxing breath, "I want to thank you, Ivan."

"For what?" asked the Jupiter Energist as he stroked Robin's sandy blonde locks.

"For what you said to Felix back on Mars Lighthouse," whispered Robin, closing his pale blue eyes and taking another deep breath, this time picking up Ivan's scent, "I knew that my Father was part of the Doom Dragon, but…I had to fight, something was telling me that that was the only way to save him and Felix's parents. That was why I fought so hard…no there was another reason why I fought as hard as I did. I did not want you to get hurt, even though you can more than take care of yourself.

"Yes, but you are much more stronger then I am." tried Ivan, blushing at the attention Robin was giving him. He should have been used to all the attention that he received from the Venus Energist, but it still seemed a little new to him.

"The power is not my own…the Wise One, he said that I received most of my power from the Mars Star."

"Even so, I think that most would have abused that power, but you used it properly." comforted Ivan, leaning his cheek against the top of Robin's head, "Please do not feel bad, Robin. Whenever you are sad, I am sad." Robin smiled.

"And your happiness is my happiness." returned the Venus Energist, taking Ivan's free hand in his own, "But I feel safer around you, Ivan. I never truly understood my feelings for you. All I knew was that I wanted to stay near you, no matter what it took, regardless of what other people thought. And for the first time in my life, I actually feel complete. Like the hole in me has been filled."

Ivan blushed and smiled, "I never knew that…that I was that important to you, Robin."

"I haven't gotten the chance to tell you just how important you are to me, Ivan." muttered Robin, sitting up and looking down at Ivan, "We are always on the move and we are always surrounded by people. But we are done now. All four elemental lighthouse beacons have been fired, the yamis of the four Legendary Warriors have disappeared completely and everyone is safe."

"Robin, we don't even know where the others are. We don't even know where we are." started Ivan, sitting up on his knees and leaning forward, "We aren't in Weyard anymore, and you know it. Something happened when Felix fired the Mars beacon, something that transported us to another world-or another plain. We could be dead!"

Robin smiled to himself, "Well, if we are dead, at least we are together." He laughed softly, his shoulders shaking with the joyous sound, "If we are dead, explain to me why you can hear my heartbeat?" The Venus Energist grabbed Ivan gently and made him lean forward more, pressing Ivan's ear against his chest. Ivan blushed as his hands went to Robin's chest to stop himself from falling, but he could hear the soft beating of Robin's heart in his chest. The Jupiter Energist pulled away reluctantly and nodded to Robin.

"But…where are we if we aren't dead?"

"We could be trapped in our own consciousnesses and still standing on top of Mars Lighthouse Aerie, only in a comatose state." suggested Robin, "But I don’t think dwelling on that is going to help us out any. If we are here, we are here for a reason. Maybe because someone wants us here or because someone needs us. Besides don’t you think that we deserve a break after all the fighting and traveling we have been doing lately?"

"Yes…" Robin turned Ivan around and made him lean back against him, "Wha-?"

"Relax," breathed Robin into Ivan's ear, "I want you to relax now, Ivan. You're so tense." The Jupiter Energist blushed as Robin began to massage his shoulders. He relaxed into the Venus Energist’s touch and closed his eyes, contented on staying that way forever.

'As long as I am with Robin…I will be safe and I will never be alone again," thought Ivan, drifting in and out of consciousness as Robin began to hum to him, 'He will get us home in the end. He always comes through. This time will be no different.'

-TBC-

Where are we now?

By: Padfoot-chan

-Chapter
                                    two: Aculeus-

The
                                    bloody figure stumbled through the darkness that surrounded him. He had managed to escape the boulders that had been crushing
                                    him for so many hours that he had blacked out from the pressure and the pain of his bones being crushed under the rocks. He
                                    was unable to move for those hours, his plan to gain the ultimate power of Golden Sun dashed among the stones because of that
                                    blasted little Venus Energist, Robin.

It was Robin’s fault that he had been trapped in that stone prison in the first place. If Robin had never gotten involved he would have gotten what he had wanted in the first place. He cursed the name Robin. If he ever managed to find his way to the surface again, he would personally destroy Robin the only way he knew how. By getting to Robin’s beloved little Jupiter Energist, Ivan of the Anemos Clan.

His plan was perfect. Even a blind fool could see that this Ivan was special to Robin, more than a friend or companion, much more than that. If he could get his hands on the Anemos boy, he would be able to reek his revenge on Robin for stealing what he had wanted the most; Power.

He was laughing. A strained, blood hacking laugh, but it was laughter nonetheless. A laugh that would make ones blood run cold. Even the darkness around him seemed to shrink back from the sound of this laughter. No one would be safe from him now. He had nearly succeed but Robin had been there to stop him without knowing it but no one would be there this time, not if he was going to do anything about it.

-~-~-~-

‘I must be dead or something,’ thought Felix as he pressed his hand to his forehead to try to halt that throbbing in his head. His thoughts wondered to what had happened before he woke up, back on Mars Lighthouse with everyone. He had thrown the Mars Star into the aerie after they had fought against the Doom Dragon, against his and Jenna’s parents, as well as Robin’s father.

The look on his former best friend’s face…he had never seen Robin so down. He probably should not have taken it out on him. And Ivan…he had never seen Ivan yell at anyone before, least of all at him. Felix had always thought of Ivan as the submissive one, letting the others take care of things for him and he would be there as backup or something. How wrong he had been.

Felix finally opened one russet eye, looking around the clearing. He was lying under a strange looking tree, the massive green leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. The sun was out, bathing the glade around him in a warm light. This was his kind of weather. Ever since that storm almost four years ago back at Haidia Village, he had always felt uncomfortable during a rainstorm, as if something devastatingly bad was going to happen any second and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening.

Felix pulled himself off the ground and rested his back against the tree, taking a better look around the large glade he had he seemed to have been dropped in. In all his travels he had never seen a place such as this, giant, snow peeked mountains off to his right, a vast lake off in the distance in front of him and a huge sky above him that seemed to go on for miles. He pushed his bangs out of his eyes and exhaled a deep breath, closing his eyes against the alien sight in front of him.

The Venus Energist stretched out his arms and legs and slumped against the tree, rubbing the bridge of his nose lazily and yawning widely. “Jeez, Felix, just because you think no one is watching you, does not mean that you can throw all manners aside, does it? You great big slob. Should I start calling you Gerald?” A laughing, silky smooth voice said from above Felix. He turned his head up quickly, smacking the back of his head against the hard bark of the tree.

“Ouch!” The person dropped out of the tree lightly and knelt down next to Felix, one cool hand holding the side of his face while the other checked the back of his head where a large bump was beginning to form. “You had been kiss it and make it better, Picard, unless you want me to run you through with my sword.” The Mercury Energist made a quick clicking noise with his tongue before turning Felix’s head roughly toward him. There were those golden eyes that Felix had fallen in love with.

“Kiss it and make it better?” asked Picard, laughing before a serious expression took over his face, “I think I can do a little better than that, don’t you?” He bent down a little further and brought his lips to Felix’s, his tongue dancing along the bottom of the Venus Energist’s lip for a moment before the younger man opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. Felix grabbed onto Picard’s shoulders and pulled him down on top of them, both men falling to the ground. They remained like that for a long moment before Picard pulled away, gasping for air.

“That was nice.” Mumbled Felix making Picard smirk and reach over to tap the bump on his head. The Venus Energist flinched visibly and started to say something to Picard when the older man kissed him on the lips again, silencing him successfully. Picard pulled away again, smirking down at Felix, a light blush creeping onto his pale cheeks. The Mercury Energist’s smirk was replaced by an apologetic smile and he reached around and lightly tapped the bump on the back of Felix’s head, healing it with a quick Ply. “Thanks.”

“It was my fault that you got that thing in the first place.” Laughed Picard as he rolled off Felix and folding his arms behind his head, gazing off at the leaves above them. “So, do you know where we are?” Felix shook his head, closing his eyes and sighing. “We should really start looking for the others, you know? They could be hurt or something.”

“There isn’t much either of us can do if the other are seriously injured.” Reasoned Felix, opening his eyes again and turning to Picard, “We aren’t very good at healing. Only surface wounds and the like, but if there are any broken bones or internal bleeding…”

”I know, but still, we cannot just leave it up to Mary, Jenna, and Okami to heal those wounds, can we?” asked Picard, “We could at least find them so that we are not separated any more. We could still be of help for the surface wounds, too, you know?” Felix sat up, looking down at Picard as the breeze blew his long hair to the side.

“Where would you have us look? Do you want us running around all day looking for them in this strange place? Okami and Robin are the ones with the Teleportation skill and then only the Jupiter Energists can communicate telepathically with the others so what does that leave us with? We are up a creak without a paddle, Picard, and you know it. The best thing that we can do is rest up and then we can start looking for the others.” They watched each other for a minute before finally settling on going with Felix’s idea.

Felix dropped back onto the ground, reaching over without looking at Picard and pulling the Lemurian over to him. “Can I ask you a question?” Picard rested his head against Felix’s chest, shrugging his shoulders as he closed his golden eyes, taking a deep breath, reveling in the familiar scent that was the Venus Energist’s own, “When did you figure out that you loved me?”

“I guess it sort of just snuck up on me.” Admitted Picard, drumming his fingers on Felix’s chest. “At first, I was confused about my feelings for you. I knew that there was something different about you and my feelings for you were more than just a little unhealthy, or considered pure by any law.” He laughed at this, “I guess it was when we went to Lemuria, when I found out that my mother died from heart failure. The others were at Lunpa’s then but you came to me to make sure that I did not do anything foolish like taking my own life in my grief. No one ever showed me that kind of compassion before, no one outside of my family that is. It surprised me a little and it started to scare me when I thought back to just how nice you were being to me. I confess that you were sort of driving me a little crazy.

“I knew that my feelings for you were wrong, I was always taught that people of the same sex were never meant to love, but then why did I have such strong feelings for you? If I was never intended to love someone of the same sex, then why would I like you in that way in the first place? I toiled with those questions day and night, letting them run around in my mind until I was almost at the breaking point and I thought that if I had to live another moment in a world without you that I would throw myself from the first elemental lighthouse we arrived at.” Picard laughed softly as Felix began to play with his hair, “That is when you came to me and started to ask me questions about my childhood, what I could remember of it…every little detail. It confused me and even made me a little angry to find that you wanted to know so much about me, when you would tell me nothing of your past. I was beginning to feel a little jealous of that fact, that I would tell you just about everything and you would relent nothing to me, almost as if you were doing this on purpose. I am easy to anger because of that. That is when I started to call you a spoiled brat that always got his way.”

“I remember that…we got into a huge fistfight on the ship and nearly run aground before Jenna and Sheba managed to tear us apart.” Commented Felix, pausing in his movements before he started again.

“I started to have feelings for you long before I admitted that they were there, but you were always on my mind ever since I first meet you. Not in Madra, of course, I was too busy thinking about how long the Mayor would take before he would be able to release me from that cell.”

“You left a lasting impression on me.” Started Felix, “Even if I did not realize it then, I was always thinking about you after I met you in Madra. Your eyes, that’s what I remembered the most. They aren’t the same as Yoru’s eyes, yours are…I don’t know how to put this but…I don’t know, just different.”

“You’re blabbering again, Felix.” Teased Picard, poking Felix’s nose. The younger man when to say something to this but Picard interrupted him again, pressing a finger to Felix’s lips to stop him from speaking, “Weren’t you mad that I was a constant thought in your mind? That the memory of me never seemed to leave you?”

“Not really, it was sort of comforting to think that no matter where I was or what I was doing the thought of you would always come back to me, and each time it was all the sweeter. I started to wonder what you were like and that pushed me to get you out of that jail cell all the sooner.” Laughed Felix, “When we returned to Madra and found that you had left for Gondowan, I was a little perturbed. We had gone through all of that trouble just to find that you had already left.”

“Well, I did not really have a choice, now did I? I had to try and retrieve my Black Orb from Kibombo.”

“Yeah, I know but still…I really wanted to see you again. I was so happy when we found you there, a little surprised…but happy nonetheless.” Picard smiled, turning his head slightly so he could look up at Felix. “That seems so long ago, now, though, but I remember is with such clarity…”

“As do I.” The Mercury Energist brought himself up a little bit and pressed his lips to Felix’s for a sweet, chaste kiss before he rested his head on his lover’s shoulder and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to a peaceful sleep.

-~-~-~-

A door opened in the darkness, smoke drifting out from within the depths of the room. A woman stood in front of the door, holding out a long black outfit, gloves, a headdress, black leather boots, and a large sword wrapped in blood red cloth. A tall man stumbled out of the doorway, pausing in the middle to lean around the wood and rest his head in his hand, groaning as the woman took a step toward him.

Cold, lifeless green eyes quickly turned to the woman, freezing her in place. “Where am I?” asked the man, watching her carefully. The woman turned her head away from the man, thrusting out her arms to hand him the garment and sword. He reached out for the sword, laying it against the wall before slipping on the clothes.

“I-in Tundaria.” Stuttered the woman as the man dressed. He narrowed his eyes at her once he was finished dressing and picked up his sword, unwrapping it from the cloth.

“Why was I awoken from my slumber?”

“To…destroy Weyard, of course.” The man stared at her again before laughing, a cold sound that made the woman shiver in fright. “Why do you laugh? That it what the Apocalypse Energist was born for, to destroy Weyard once all of the elemental lighthouses are lit and the yamis of those lighthouses are sacrificed to the gods and goddesses of the four elements. I summoned you! You are to do my bidding and I command you to destroy Weyard!”

The man stopped laughing, setting his cold gaze on the woman once more. He moved forward and in a matter of seconds had the woman pinned against the wall, his sword pressed against her neck, already drawing blood. “I take orders from no one, woman. Do you think you could control my power? I am stronger than you can even fathom, do not dare belittle me.” He pulled away and the woman let out a sigh only to have the man turn back and slice off her head.

The man stared down at the blood on his sword and on the ground before he bent down, lifted the blood red cloth from the ground and wrapped it around his sword again. He licked his lips as he stepped over the woman’s body, the heel of his boot splashing lightly in the blood. “It seems that I have finally awaked after a thousand year slumber. It is time to have fun with the Savior once more, I wonder how much the Savior has changed since the last time we fought.”

-TBC-

Where are we now?

By: Padfoot-chan

-Chapter three: Memento mori-

He was slowly sinking to the bottom of a deep lake, bubbles of air rising from his mouth as his dazed eyes gazed up back at the surface, a faded reflection of himself staring down at him from the glittering water. He was trying to remember something. Maybe just about everything that had happened to him. Why had he forgotten? Where was he now? Why was he sinking, slipping through the cool, wet water? It was almost without hopes of ever hitting bottom or ever returning to the surface.

Blood red surrounding him and then…The Mars Lighthouse…it all came rushing back to him like a flood. His eyes snapped open and he struggled against the water, glad that his amour was suddenly missing. The cross-Energist looked back toward the lakebed and turned his right hand toward it, summoning a strong jet of water to slam against the muddy bottom, propelling him to the surface, toward the air.

His head finally broke against the surface and he gasped for air, tossing back his soaked locks and coughing out all the water that he had inhaled while he was drifting below the water’s surface. His deep blue eyes looked around the area to find that he was floating in a large lake with a little river branching off from the north, carrying melted snow down from the mountains to provide the lake with fresh water. This place was strangely familiar, from the cool feel of the water, the gentle breeze in the air, and the snowcapped mountains that curved around in the distance. However, this was not Weyard. He could see that right away, as his eyes drifted from the mountains to the two bright suns hanging in the sky.

The cross-Energist broke his gaze away from the strange sight and swam to shore, pulling himself onto the grass and taking off his boots to drain the water from them. ‘What could have gone wrong?’ he thought mildly, at the same time wondering what had become of his amour and gloves. ‘Felix lit the Mars Lighthouse just like the other three but there was that blinding light at the end. Were we knocked into a different dimension? Or from our very bodies even?’ He frowned as he played these scenarios in his mind, wondering which was more palpable. Both of them seemed to pretty out there and he was having trouble believing that either could have happened.

He flopped back onto the grass, resting his arm on his forehead to shield his eyes from the light shining down on him. “I don’t understand what could have gone wrong. Where we right in never lighting the beacons in the first place? But then…Weyard would have eventually been destroyed.” He yawned, rolling over onto his side and sitting up, slipping his boots on again before standing up and starting to walk, stumbling a little here and there. His mind was still reeling with everything that had happened and the questions kept coming, making it even worse. Where was he? Where were the others? We they safe, were they even alive? What was going to happen to him next?

He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening as he turned around slowly. He had felt a sudden surge of power behind him and now, a few feet away from him, dark cape billowing in the cool breeze, stood a young man, a foot taller than him with a sadistic smirk on his face, the emotion never reaching his cold, dead yet beautiful eyes. “Hello, Okami, Child of Earth and…Savior of Weyard.”

Okami’s heart skipped a beat, his body growing numb soon after. That voice…the man’s voice was hauntingly familiar to him and so was that sadistic smile resting on the man’s pale face. He took a step back, his heart and mind telling him to run as fast a he could in the opposite direction, in any direction for that matter as long as it lead away from this man. The man was trouble and Okami could feel that he wanted nothing more than to kill him on the spot. His body was not cooperating, though; something was holding him in place and all he could do was take a couple of steps back at a time. The man moved forward, his moves graceful like those of a dancer.

Okami shook his head, moving back a little too quickly and tripping over his boots, falling backwards onto the ground with a thud. He watched as the man continued, his jet-black hair falling into his eyes to hide them from view. “W-who are you? What do you want from me?” asked Okami, bowing his head as the tears streamed down his cheeks. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to kill him, he just did not know why. Okami could not remember where he had seen the man before but he was familiar, everything about him was familiar. Those eyes, the way he moved, that smile, every little detail reminded him of something, he just did not know what.

The man paused in his movements, tilting his head to the side as he watched Okami shaking before him. “I am the Apocalypse Energist, and you, my little boy, are the Savior. I must kill you because of this, but I must say, I would like to have a little fun with you before I do that. What do you say?” Okami snapped his head up, all fright leaving him, only anger filling his senses. “The Savior that I fought last denied me before I killed her. Will you do that same? There is something about you that I like, something that the other Savior did not have. I admit that this is strange. All Saviors are supposed to be the same.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly before he knelt down on the ground in front of Okami, stroking the younger Energist’s cheek with the back of his gloved hand. The cross-Energist shivered at the touch. “There is something…darker to you…I find that…very…” He leaned forward, Okami frozen again by his actions. The Apocalypse Energist’s eyes slid close as his lips met Okami’s in what was at first a soft kiss.

Okami felt his hands move without his conscious thought, slipping them around the dark Energist’s neck. His own eyes closing as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth to allow the Apocalypse Energist’s tongue to slide inside. He pushed Okami down on his back, hands moving to undo the cross-Energist’s semi-wet tunic.

-~-~-~-

Yoru tumbled down the hill after tripping over a small rock, rolling to a stop only when he reached the bottom. He sat up, brushing the twigs and leaves out of his light blue hair. The cross-Energist looked around the strange glade, hoping he would sense one of his friends there, or at least some form of intelligent life other than an animal. So far, he could not sense anything.

Yoru climb to his feet, brushing the grass and dirt off his tunic and pants before he started walking again, even though he could not sense anyone’s aura, he could tell that someone was in trouble. It was more of a painful pounding in his heart that he could not ignore than anything else. Okami would probably have told him to forget about it and stay in one place until someone else came and found him, but Okami was not there. Maybe if he had been, then he would not be running off.

The cross-Energist paused, touching a hand to his heart and closing his eyes. “What’s wrong? Why do I feel like…something really bad is happening right now? Okami…” He shook it off and started walking again, wishing that he had his staff to lean on. Here he was in a strange land without his friends and without his beloved weapon. He was a strong Energist thanks to Okami’s training and he could probably battle for hours maybe even days on end but he was even better when he had his staff to fight with. He needed his friends as well; he was starting to worry about them.

He frowned now. Mars Lighthouse was his elemental lighthouse; he should know everything about it so why had he not known that something like this was going to happen? Could someone have tampered with his lighthouse to make something like this happen? But how could that be? He would have sensed it if someone had done something, anything to his lighthouse. He would have sensed it if someone even stepped foot in his lighthouse.

Unless…he shook his head. Not possible. It was his lighthouse. The gods and goddesses had chosen him to look after it and only he could do that, no one could trick his senses without one of the gods knowing and then informing him that something had happened. Unless…this was meant to happen. It was all planned out by that one person and the gods and goddesses. Yoru sighed, falling to his knees and resting his forehead in the palm of his hand. “Why do you have to be such a stupid idiot, Ryou? What do you have planned for us now? Wasn’t lighting the elemental lighthouses enough for you?”

-~-~-~-

Kanata sat up, looking around as she wrapped the bandage around Aoshi’s ankle. “I am sorry I can’t do more for you, Aoshi.” She apologized to the older cross-Energist. Aoshi shook his head, laughing weakly.

“This is just fine, you have done more than enough for me already. Besides, I think I can walk on this leg the way it is, anyway.”  Kanata frowned, blinking down at Aoshi’s broken ankle. “It isn’t your fault that I broke my ankle, or that your Psynergy is all gone. I feel out of that tree, so it’s my fault and I should have to deal with it as is, right? I was not careful.”

“Yes, but still…you should not be walking on a broken ankle. You could make it worse and that is the last thing we need right now. We don’t even have a clue where the others are, or even where we are for that matter. No, I think we should stay right here until you get better or until I regain most of my Psynergy back. The latter is most likely to happen before your ankle heals up.” Said Kanata, lightly poking at the Mercury Guardian’s ankle.

“What about Amiko and Mamoru? Do you think the two of them will be able to handle all of this on their own? They are still only ten and they both fully have not mastered their Psynergy. They still have trouble with even the most basic of summons.” Kanata smiled weakly.

“Yes, but you cannot expect ones so young to be able to summon Isis or Catastrophe. And it is unheard of for Meteor or Boreas to be summoned by even the most skilled of Energists. Ivan only summoned Thor on top of Venus Lighthouse because he sensed that Robin’s life was in danger. Robin still has trouble summoning Judgment and you know that.” She turned away, looking out at the grass as a gust of wind blew over them, making the blades of grass ripple as if it were water and not grass at all. “I think they have been doing quite well and they are both very smart kids, they can take care of themselves.”

-TBC-

Where are we now?

By: Padfoot-chan

Chapter four: Heaven’s Masters

Robin sat up slowly, not wanting to wake Ivan now that the young Jupiter Energist had finally fallen asleep. The Venus Energist move Ivan so that he way resting on the ground now and then stood up, looking around for any sign of his friends. “Where could they be? I hope nothing bad has happened to any of them.” He let out a sigh and fell back onto the grass next to Ivan. “So much the saving the world, eh?”

He closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree as his hand absently played with Ivan’s silky hair, making the younger teen smile in his sleep. “I know that you are counting on me, Ivan.” He whispered carefully, opening his eyes slightly so that he could watch Ivan now, “But this is bigger than me. Everything has become so confusing. We are all separated and I do not even know where to begin to look for the others in the strange world. Even if we do find the others, what do we do from there? How are we supposed to get home?

“I cannot do this by myself. I am not as great as you think I am. I only came in to all of this because I wanted to find myself.” Robin bit down on his bottom lip, closing his eyes and leaning his head back further before looking up at the leaves in the tree above him, “I did not know what I wanted to do with myself. Mother expected me to be normal, settle down with Jenna or something. I never liked Jenna like that though and I did not want a life like that. I did not want to go old without having journeyed around Weyard at least once, or without having made a name for myself. I wanted to be remembered for some reason, but I guess many people want that at one time or another.

“At first it was all just an excuse, going after the Elemental Stars to help prevent the world from being destroyed. Then, it became more of; I need to save Jenna and Kraden. I don’t think the others believed it because I didn’t believe it myself.” He smiled to himself. “Then you came in to the picture and I started to see that there was something more to this foolish world that we live in and that there was something more than being remembered. I just wanted to love you and I wanted you to love me back. I wanted to make you happy, I wanted you to be safe and I wanted you to feel protected. It is somewhat selfish, but I wanted to be the only one…that made you smile. I think I still want that even now.

“It has nearly been a year since I was last in Haidia Village. I am glad that you were able to see my mother, though. She really seemed to like you.” Ivan rolled over in his sleep, making Robin pause as he watched him, an amused smile slipping onto his face as the Jupiter Energist picked himself up sleepily before resting his head on Robin’s lap. “I don’t know what I did to ever deserve you but I want to thank the gods for bringing us together.”

-~-~-~-

“Shit! Where are they, Mercury?” A young man with long, blood red hair and fiery red eyes ran in to a large room, the heels of his boots clicking loudly as he entered the room. A young woman with long, white-blonde hair and amber eyes turned to the man with an exasperated look in her eyes. Another woman, one with elbow length, light blue hair and deep blue eyes, hidden behind thin, round glasses looked up from a large tome before shaking her head and returning her attention to the book. “Hey, don’t give me that look, you prissy little-“

“Mars, will you shut up.” Snapped the woman with white-blonde hair, cutting the man off before he could finish his insult, “Mercury is looking for them as we speak. It seems that Ryou placed a spell on the Mars Lighthouse because of the Wise One’s foolish actions in this matter. Robin and his friends have disappeared. So has Alex, which is why Ryou has taken the actions that he has.

“It appears that if Ryou had not done what he did, they would have died because of the Wise One. They are indebted to the eldest Legendary Warrior, it seems. He has been following our orders up until now.” She tilted her head as she watched Mars, now pacing around the room before her. “Will you please stop that, your pacing is getting on my nerves.”

“Oh, am I angering Venus? The goddess of Love and Beauty.” Mars threw his hands up in to the air before turning on his heel, “Oh Heaven forbid. Where is Jupiter? I wish to speak with him, rather than you twits.” Mercury sighed, her concentration finally broken by Mars’ constant questions.

“Jupiter is in his room, sleeping, as usually. Another crises and he is once again sleeping through it.” She rolled her eyes as she picked up a feather quill and wrote something down on the old book in front of her. “It would appear that Alex…is still in Weyard, somewhere in Sol Sanctum.”

“And the others? Where are they?”

“Daisuke and Ryou are in Ryou’s palace. Okami is…oh my.” Venus turned her head, moving past Mars and hurrying to Mercury’s side, leaning over her book to see.

“What? Has something terrible happened to my Okami? If something bad were to happen to him, I wouldn’t be able to figure myself.” Mercury closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. “Oh, Mercury, please do not delay the news any longer. What has become of Okami?”

“Akito Akiyama, the Apocalypse Energist…has reached him.” Mars and Venus’ eyes widened and they shared a frightened look.

“Is he…still alive?” asked Mars tentatively. Mercury pulled of her glasses, setting them down on the table in front of her.

“It is worse than that. Akiyama has…he has…” She could not bring herself to say it. She shrunk in her chair; her shoulders shaking at the tears cascaded down her cheeks and onto the pale blue robes she was wearing. Mars turned his head away as Venus fell to her knees.

“I promised myself that I would never let that happen to him again. He doesn’t deserve that!” Venus tightened her fists around the cloth of her robes. “Why did Okami have to be the Savior? We knew that the elemental lighthouses had to be lit, we should have warned them about the Apocalypse Energist. It was like we gave him an open invitation to do this to Okami.”

The door to a room opened and the three paused, turning to the door slowly to see a young man standing there in pale green robes. He had piercing amethyst eyes and short auburn hair, “You know that we were not allowed to do that, Venus. We may be gods, this may be our world that we created and the Legendary Warrior are our direct creations, however…we cannot interfere with their lives more than we have already. Doing so would upset the balance of power.

“If it happened, it was meant to happen. Okami is a strong boy, he was able to get through something like this, and he will be able to get through it again. It is his fault, anyway, for allowing Akiyama to get as close as he did. He should have been on guard. Did he stop him, no; he did not stop Akiyama from doing this. He allowed him to do it. You cannot overlook that fact.” He turned to Mercury, “Inform Ryou of what has happened. Akiyama is his yami, he should know that he had been awakened, if he does not already know, that is.”

“Yes, Jupiter, but…”

“Alex will do as he wishes now. He has no reason to return to Ryou unless it is to retrieve Daisuke.” He narrowed his eyes, “Daisuke is loyal to Ryou, however his feelings for Alex may prove it difficult for him. They are no longer any of our concern. Keep an eye of Robin and Ivan, though. I have a feeling that something is going to happen to them.”

“And if something does, what do you want us to do, Jupiter?” asked Mars, stepping in front of him. The taller man smiled, making Mars back down a little.

“Do whatever you want. From now on, I do not give the orders and you will no longer take them, my dear friend. I just do not want you stopping Akiyama from doing what he wishes. This is Okami’s battle and he will be the one to fight it or not, do you understand that, Venus?” Venus nodded solemnly, “Very good then. As long as you do not do anything too dramatic, you can do as you wish. However, with you, Mars, you overact with everything.”

”Shut up! I do not!” Jupiter waved a finger at the younger god, smiling contentedly.

“Thank you for proving my point. Now, if you would excuse me, I was in the middle of my nap.” He walked out of the room and through the door he had come from. The three remaining gods stared after their leader.

“Do you really think he is going to sleep?” asked Mercury.

“With Jupiter, you can’t really tell what goes on through his mind, but it would be best to do as he says. I am going to watch Robin and Ivan, where are they?” Mercury pointed at a spot in the book and Mars turned, walking out of the room. “I’ll watch them from the observation tower, make sure Venus doesn’t end of becoming a permanent fixture on the floor, will ya, Merc?”

“Merc…? That idiot…” muttered Mercury before turning to Venus and kneeling down on the cold floor next to her, “Venus, I am sure that Okami is going to be all right. He is still alive and that is what matters, right? Even if he was…well, I would not say that he was raped this time around. He did do this of his own mind, I think…from what we know of Akiyama, he does not posses the ability to make people do things that they do not want to.” Venus shook her head, turning her amber eyes up to look at her friend.

“But I made a promise to myself that I would not allow something like this to happen to Okami ever again. He was just an innocent little child when it first happened. He wondered out of Karei Town after his parents died and I thought he would be just find on his own so I went to Venus Lighthouse to make sure that no one entered it. I should not have turned my back on him when he was so young. Jupiter told me something bad was going to happen to him but I did not listen to him. I thought…how could anyone hurt someone as cute as him?” She shivered, wrapping her arms around her body, “He may not look as if he has changed on the outside, but all you have to do is look in to his eyes. He is not the same little boy that I watched grow up. The same boy that I saw laughing as he trained with his parents. If I could change it, I would.”

”Okami is different, yes, but it is for the better. He is more cautious now because of that experience. However, Venus you cannot keep watch over the boy forever. He is not the innocent little cross-Energist that you once knew and you have to except that, for both your sakes.” Said Mercury, “It is as Jupiter said, if it happened, it was meant to happen. Okami could have stopped Akiyama and you know that. You know the limits of his powers better than anyone else.”

”Yes, because the only limit I gave him…was his own weak body.” Whispered Venus, turning her head to look out the open window, watching the clouds as they slowly rolled past them. “I still feel as if it is all my fault from picking Okami to be the Savior this time around. Maybe Yoru or Aoshi would have been a better choice. Kanata’s ancestor was the pervious Savior, so she was out of the question.”

“You chose Okami because you felt that he would be the perfect choice this time around. Maybe he can fight Akiyama in his own way.” Mercury smiled, “After all, he is the guardian of Love and Beauty, maybe he can use that to his advantage.”

“I hope you are not suggestion that Okami…seduce Akiyama! He’s already swapping spit with that damned Energist!” Venus frowned, “Maybe a little more than just spit by now…” Venus and Mercury paused, both getting disturbing images in their heads at this [1].

“Thank you ever so much for that visual image, Venus.” Coughed Mercury, blushing slightly as she tried to shake the image of the two Energists from her mind, “But yes, that is what I was suggesting for Okami to do. I have always been wondering about the Apocalypse Energist. He is always the yami of the top Legendary Warrior, correct? Well, before now, no one has fit his personality better than Ryou.”

”Yeah, so?”

“Well, Ryou changes his colors more than anyone else as long as it is best for the other Legendary Warriors. Maybe Akiyama is the same.”

”Are you saying we can change him? He is supposed to be the one capable of destroying Weyard.”

”Moreover, the Savior, Okami, is supposed to be the one who has the power to stop him. Stopping does not necessarily mean killing him, right? Just as long as he does not destroy Weyard.” Venus sighed, getting to her feet and walking over to the window, leaning out a little to look down at the ground, thousands of miles below them.

“I don’t think Okami will go for that.”

“You never know. He would do it as long as if kept his friends safe.”

“Yes, but I wonder what Yoru plans to do to Akiyama once he finds out what he has done to Okami.”

-~-~-~-

Okami bit down on his lip as the dark Energist slowly trailed wet, hot kisses down his bare chest. ‘I can’t I stop him?’ He thought numbly, ‘Why do I want him to…do this…’ Okami reached up slowly, running his fingers through the Apocalypse Energist’s hair. “Please…keep going…”

-TBC-