Eep! Whew... I am still alive...

Mia: You should consider yourself lucky for that.

Yeah...

Ivan: Are you trying to be Queen Cliffhanger?

Nah, Griffinkhan's already received that honour.

Felix: Camelot owns Golden Sun! =D

~*~*~

Chapter the Third

Discovery of the Curse

~*~*~

Felix had been unlucky enough to encounter a giant of a beast, a ten foot tall behemoth. It bellowed loudly, a booming war cry that seemed to shake the foundations of the room, and thrashed its long, tapering tail ridged with spines that travelled along its back before becoming tufts of hair poking up on its cranium. Its dark indigo skin rippled with underlying muscles as long neglected limbs flexed experimentally. Large claws protruded from its feet and hands, and its bright green eyes were fixed directly on the surprised Venus Adept. It had a long muzzle which ended in a shiny black nose and rows of gleaming teeth with sharp points. The monster stood proudly on its feet, its arms bunched up at its side as it prepared to battle.

"Oh no..." Felix gulped as he took in the creature's appearance. To him, it seemed bigger than the Fusion Dragon. "Um, I took a wrong turn," he said hesitantly, unsure of how the monster might react. "Sorry to disturb you, I'll leave now?"

However, the monster did not seem very pleased that Felix was considering leaving it alone. Its long coiled tail immediately uncurled and actually wrapped around the perimeter of the room. If Felix wanted to leave the room, he was going to have to climb over its giant tail and that would require turning his back on the enemy and the thought of doing that was not pleasant.

"You want to fight?" Felix could not help feeling disappointed since he would rather have fought this hulking fiend with some help not completely alone as he was right now. "Fine then, if I have to, then I'll try my best."

The monster struck first, launching its hand at him and sinking its claws into the stone floor, causing deep pits and rivulets. Felix narrowly dodged and cursed under his breath. It was fast and the size of its claws made the Sol Blade look the size of a toothpick.

"Nice try," Felix gasped, pushing his raven hair out of his eyes. "But now it's my turn. Grand Gaia!"

The ground shook wildly and chunks of stone flew upwards as golden fire surged forth, ripping through the ogre. Shards of flying rock and stone struck him, bouncing off and leaving red weals. And then it was over. However, the monster was still up and looking intensely furious. It gritted its teeth and swung its hand at Felix again.

This time, Felix was not so lucky. The point of a claw grazed him and he went flying into its rough tail, wincing as he felt the pain of impact. He looked nervously at his wound and was somewhat relieved to see that it was not too serious. "P-Potent Cure!" Felix wheezed and the golden aura of his healing Psynergy washed over him, healing the wound. Felix got to his feet and looked scornfully up at the monster.

The monster bellowed and struck again, but Felix narrowly dodged it and stepped back, racking his brains for the next step to take.

"Petra!" Felix called out the name of one of his djinn. "Aid me with your power!"

Petra, the Venus Djinni, appeared in the sky with a burst of golden light which projected from it and shone directly on the fiendish creature. The light changed from gold to grey and then Petra disappeared. The monster appeared to be stone for a second, but that was soon over and it was frozen in place.

Felix could run, or he could carry on fighting. Something that somebody had once said to him came to mind.

A wise man knows to flee from battle when he is injured.

Felix was not injured, but since he was alone and if he continued to fight this fiendish, gigantic creature, he could end up very badly wounded with no means of escape and he could even die if he continued. It would be reckless to do so. Making his mind up, Felix hurriedly turned and clambered over the frozen tail, rushing out of the room and charging back the way he had come, stumbling over corpses that lay in his way. He gasped for breath as he rushed up the stairs and slammed into the wooden door. To his immense joy, the door gave way and fell over.

A thunderous roar sounded. It sounded like an angry creature which had just lost its quarry. Felix fled for safety.

Mia walked steadily onwards, holding tightly onto Jenna whom she was now carrying on her back. She seemed to have become very light and Mia was worried that it was due to the loss of blood. Fortunately, Jenna seemed to have stopped bleeding now and Mia was relieved, but she was still unconscious. Mia was also very disappointed that her Mercurian healing spells had no effect on Jenna's strange condition.

Mia...

"Who's there?" Mia stopped in her tracks and glanced around cautiously. In front of her, a human form silhouetted in a bright light appeared. Mia took a step back, eyeing it with suspicion. It was a ghost, it had to be to have appeared out of nowhere like that, but what did it want?

Mia... Look at me...

The light faded away to reveal... Mia did not see, for she had immediately locked her gaze with a pair of warm brown eyes. Now she was lost in a vast ocean, her mind seemed to have disappeared altogether, as she moved at the will of the ghost, marching forwards with brisk steps. Had she been able to see for herself, she would have seen herself precariously teetering on a sill. She would have seen the misty expanse rushing up to meet her.

Jenna's head pounded, pain erupting inside it. Her eyes creaked open a fraction of an inch. Her vision was blurred, but she could see Mia walking away without her, leaving her lying on the ground outside the castle. Her mouth moved, yet the movement was so faint that it could easily have been missed.

"Mi...a..." Jenna mouthed, willing sound to come out, but she could not even hear her own voice. "Mia..."

Mia was in a trance, not caring where she walked, barely realising what she was doing. She did not know that she had just jumped out of a window, she did not know that she had just left her friend behind and walked off, she knew nothing. She heard nothing, nothing to distract her from her enchanted daze. A dreamy smile lit up her face, her eyes gleaming with a radiant glow.

Jenna groaned softly, the only sound she could make at the moment. Her fingers twitched and then her hand glowed with a red light, which spread to the rest of her body. Fortunately, her Cool Aura spell she had barely been able to cast worked its healing magic on her, restoring her vitality and cleansing away the blood. Jenna scrambled to her feet and shouted with considerable effort. "MIA!"

Mia stopped in her tracks, the sound having broken her out of her reverie. She swiftly turned towards the sound and was stunned to see Jenna standing there, looking fit and healthy. Mia grinned happily and ran back towards her.

"Jenna!" Mia exclaimed, holding her and looking at her, clearly stunned. "You're... you're okay!"

"Yeah," Jenna shrugged with a half hearted smile. "I'm not sure how, but I woke up and I was able to use my healing Psynergy and it worked for some reason. Perhaps it's something to do with being outside of the castle..."

"Outside of the castle..." Mia looked up at the large stone building and her eyes widened. "How did we get out? I... didn't I jump? How... the ghost... it was as if it put me into a trance..."

"What's with this thick mist?" Jenna grumbled. "I can hardly see anything! I don't remember seeing a mist before..."

"I wonder if anybody else has escaped the castle," Mia wondered hopefully. "Although I don't get why we were allowed to escape."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon," Jenna started walking. "Anyway, lets go and have a look round."

"Okay," Mia followed, looking around carefully in case anybody else was outside.

"Unng... you're fast," Sheba grunted as she swung her mace time and time again. "But I'm just as fast as you are!"

Ivan did not say anything as he swung the Masamune, trying to strike his best friend down without knowing what he was doing. He had not said anything for the duration of the battle. It was as if he was still asleep and this was just like sleepwalking. He moved swiftly and skillfully, lunging and stabbing, only for each move to be parried with the Tungsten Mace. Sheba was defending herself, she did not wish to hurt Ivan. It was not Ivan who was doing this, it was Lila controlling him and trying to kill her through him.

"Give up, Lila, this is not going to work!" Sheba spared a second to shoot a dirty look at her, then she turned her head and was alarmed as the Masamune came dangerously close to her face, swinging past and clunking hard against her mace. Her grip loosened in her shock and another swing of the sword sent it clattering to the ground, rolling a metre away from her.

"You seem to have dropped your weapon," Lila said cattily with a devious smirk.

"NO!" Sheba tried to reach for it but Ivan ploughed into her, knocking her into the ground. The point of the blade hovered at her neck and she gulped, her eyes crossing as she looked down at it. She was being pinned down and she was unable to reach for her mace, it was just out of reach of her fingers. Sheba's eyes swivelled up and she looked directly at Ivan, who had a snarl on his face. His teeth were clenched and his pupil-less eyes seemed to bore into her.

"Ivan... don't!" Sheba flung out a hand and her palm connected with Ivan's forehead as she cast Mind Read. She immediately shot into Ivan's mind, exploring every corner of it, breaking through the weak defences. She desperately tried to communicate with him telepathically, using their Jupiter skills to aid her.

Ivan! Wake up!

Ivan twitched and jerked, falling sideways off Sheba and slumping to the ground. The sword fell by his side and he stared rigidly up at the ceiling. Sheba panted and moved over onto her side, thankfully grasping the mace. Still holding it, she crawled over to Ivan and examined him. His eyes moved towards Sheba and she was relieved to see that they had reverted to normal.

"S...h...e...b...a..." Ivan spoke softly, his mouth moving slowly, so it seemed as if he enunciated each letter. He looked worried about something, perhaps he thought he might have hurt her.

"Hey, Ivan," Sheba smiled with intense relief. "How are you feeling?"

"NO!" Lila screamed, stamping her foot on the floor childishly. Her face was reddened with rage and scrunched up, her mouth opening in a large hole as she screamed. "You broke my control! How could you!"

"I'm... fine..." Ivan responded, his mouth curving into a similar smile. "And you?"

"I'm okay," Sheba assured him. "Ivan, we have a problem and its name is Lila. Want to help me?"

"Sure thing!" Ivan exclaimed, scrambling to his feet with surprising agility. He picked up the Masamune and the two Jupiter Adepts stood side by side, clutching their weapons and facing Lila.

"Playtime's over," Sheba growled, tightening her hands around her weapon and tensing. "It's time to stop acting like a coward and fight."

"Sheba..." Ivan glanced at her then back at Lila. "Don't be too violent, she's only a stupid little girl who tries to kill people and uses them against their friends. I should have known you could not be trusted, Lila, that you were luring us into a trap, but in the face of danger we were a bit too trusting, except Sheba. Now what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I..." Lila bit her lip and looked guilty, like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "I'm sorry..." Her voice came out as a low-pitched whine, and it was difficult to tell if she was being honest or not.

"You led us here to trap us," Sheba spoke, trying to keep her voice calm despite the anger she felt towards the young, dead girl. "You're the reason we're caught in this deathtrap. Why? Why did you bring us here, why does everybody want us to stay, to die?"

"We're so lonely," Lila spoke in a mournful voice. "We're stuck here in death forever, and it's been so long since anybody who was alive came here. And once they come, we want them to stay there forever, then they want to leave! You were going to leave and we didn't want you to... we're dead... it's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Large tears rolled down her pale face and she burst into hysterical tears.

"Just a poor little ghost who's stuck on the face of this world," Ivan said with pity. "This place... it's like it's stuck in time somehow, like a curse. They are yearning for the living, jealous even... because they are dead and we're not."

"But isn't there some way you can break... this curse?" Sheba asked. "What is it that's causing this? Causing you to be stuck here?"

"I don't know!" Lila hiccuped through her tears, her sobs rising to an audible wail. "But I think it's something to do with that stupid mist! It wasn't there... when we were alive!"

"The Mist?" Ivan and Sheba looked at each other curiously. Neither of them understood exactly what Lila was talking about.

"Yeah," Lila nodded, her curls falling into her tearstained face. She did not bother to sweep them back as she continued to speak. "It's kinda strange. There's this weird mist around the castle, which you probably didn't see when you came because it was dark, but sometimes it comes really close. I've heard that's the only time when you can make it go away, but nobody knows how!"

"How come nobody has found it before?" Ivan asked. "It doesn't really make sense... is it only there at night?"

"We went a long way," Sheba recalled. "It could have been really out of the way, and only found at night, and who really goes wandering around outside at night? That must be why..."

"The mist..." Lila's wailing quietened and she went back to sobbing. "I think it's really close right now... I can feel it... please... try and free us..." She started to fade away, until she was completely gone and Ivan and Sheba were alone in the room.

"Wow..." Sheba's mouth dropped open. "This is all... totally weird..."

"We had better be very careful when we try to get out," Ivan warned her. "Nobody wants us to leave. We have to find the others. I wonder if there's a way to get rid of the mist?"

"Poor ghosts," Sheba sighed deeply. "They are just jealous of us, because we're alive and they aren't. They are trapped by a curse and it's not their fault. They were innocent, I know they were."

"Yes, me too," Ivan pushed the Masamune back into its scabbard. "Lets go, Sheba, we have to find the way out."

"Alright, lets go!" Sheba darted off with Ivan following behind as they searched for the exit.

Isaac lay on the ground in confusion as the mist swirled around him. He was not sure. Isaac did not know why he was not sure, he just knew that he was. It was a strange kind of confusion that he felt just lying on a cold ground, swathed in mist, with a foreboding castle stretching a long way above him, its peaks and turrets stretching to the hazy sky, steps and balconies looping around it, with cold eyes that masqueraded as windows constantly watching him. Isaac faintly remembered that he had fallen, but why had he fallen? Did he jump out of the window? No, that was Garet... and Isaac had climbed down and lost his grip...

Isaac gasped and quickly got to his feet, looking around frantically. He was amazed that he was still alive after such a terrible fall, but he had to know if Garet was alive as well. If Isaac had survived a fall, Garet could have too, but Isaac had to take into consideration the fact that Garet had fallen further than he had. Garet had been led to jump from the window, Isaac had slipped halfway down the castle wall.

"Garet!" Isaac called desperately, walking through the strange mist. "Are you there, Garet?"

The mists seemed to wrap themselves around Isaac, stretching wispy tendrils around his fingers and slipping down his nostrils, making their presence known upon his body as they raked his blond spiky hair, but he tried not to pay any heed to them. Surely it was only a bad fog, that was all it had to be.

Isaac's heart leapt as he saw two shadowy figures in the mist. One was tall and stocky, and seemed to be the right shape to be Garet. The other one seemed to have the form of a woman. Isaac shivered as he thought that it might be a ghost. If it was a ghost and Garet was with her, then Garet was in danger. Isaac broke into a run, darting towards the figures, his mouth wide as he shouted.

"GARET! Watch out!"

As Isaac came closer, he could see them clearer. It was definitely Garet, and the woman was the one who had lured him out of the window. Garet was looking confused and he turned towards Isaac, a quizzical expression on his face. The woman looked at Isaac and her eyes flashed, her ruby lips curving into a devious smile.

Or maybe I'll have you instead...

Isaac stopped dead in his tracks, frozen to the spot. The woman started to glide towards him and he could not move, he could not escape from her. She came ever closer, her eyes boring into his. Garet stared wordlessly at them, still looking like he did not have a clue what was going on. Isaac would have spoke, but he could not. Seductive arms wrapped around his torso, he felt rancid breath on his skin, and the dead lips zoned in on his own.

'Isaac, what are you doing?' Garet thought as he stared at his best friend currently locked in an embrace with a ghost. It confounded belief. Garet usually got confused, but now he was beyond confused, in the pits of mystification. Nothing was really making sense at the moment. Why had he jumped from a window? How had a castle split everybody up? And why was Isaac snogging a ghost?

"Isaac?" Garet ventured nervously, wondering if he would pay any attention to him. Isaac however showed no indication that he had heard Garet as he continued with the embrace of death, although Garet was sure that it was not his will. The ghost had to be controlling him, the same way it had made Garet jump from that window. His face hardened and his fists began to glow with red fire.

Are you going to use Psynergy, Garet?

Garet shuddered as the voice sounded in his head. Two large fireballs glowed in the palms of his broad hands but he did not throw them yet. Who was speaking and how did they know that he was using Psynergy, how did they even know it was called that? Was his mind... being read? Garet shook his head as he dispelled that notion. It was ridiculous. He knew perfectly well when Ivan and Sheba read his mind, why should a ghost reading his mind be any different?

I would think twice if I were you, Garet!

"Why?" Garet whispered softly, staring intently at the glowing embers nestled in his hands. They did not burn him, as they radiated a gentle heat, born from his own body. However, if he was to throw them, they would become scorching hot and burn through foes.

Because if you strike me...

Garet momentarily looked up at the chestnut haired woman who was currently seducing Isaac and realised that this was the ghost whom was speaking in his mind. He waited with baited breath, dying to know why he should not use Psynergy although he hoped not literally.

You'll strike Isaac too!

Garet softly cursed under his breath, letting the fireballs simmer away and die, leaving nothing but a few specks of cold ashes which were blown away by a gentle wind. He had been defeated. There was no way Garet would strike Isaac down, so trying to strike the ghost down was a lost cause. And it did not help that Isaac was weak to fire one bit.

"Garet!"

Garet turned and his eyes widened as he saw two figures approaching, breaking through the mists so that he could see them and they could see him, as well as Isaac and the ghost that was currently embracing him.

"ISAAC?"

"Oof!" Ivan skittered backwards on his heels as something rammed into his stomach with sudden force. "Wh-what was... that?"

"Gross!" Sheba exclaimed, hitting back something long and snaky with her mace. "There's tentacles coming out of the walls!"

"This does not look good," Ivan gulped and narrowly avoided a sneaky tentacle. "We'd better run!"

"This castle gives me the creeps!" Sheba exclaimed as she started to run, Ivan jogging alongside her. They had their work cut out for them, diving underneath and vaulting over tentacles that stretched out of the walls and struck without warning, only to be knocked back with a well-aimed swing of the Masamune or the Tungsten Mace.

"Me... too!" Ivan panted as he tried to outrun the tentacles. "I don't know how much more of this stupid stuff we can take!"

"Ivan! Look out!"

Ivan momentarily looked back and let out a shout as a slimy tentacle rammed into his head and sent him sailing into the far wall. The impact of colliding with the wall was enough to knock him out. Fortunately, the tentacles had withdrawn as Sheba ran to his side and the danger was over for now.

"Wake up," Sheba shook the unconscious Adept. "Don't leave me alone here." She looked around nervously and bit her lip anxiously, hoping that nothing else was planning to come their way. She would have to fight and protect Ivan if that happened, and that did not sound as easy as it should have been.

Felix walked on and on, beginning to feel very bored. It was as if the castle was completely empty. He had not bumped into anything living or dead for a long time and he still did not know where he was. He was in an unfamiliar part of the castle where he had not been before, but why had he not seen it on the tour of the castle? Perhaps... it had been kept secret for a reason. Felix wonderd what the reason was.

The Venusian came to a stop as he spotted something new. He was in the process of walking down a very long hallway, and there was a long way to go yet but now he had discovered a new way to go. Set into the wall was a stone arch and just beyond that was a flight of twisting stone steps which appeared to go on for a long way. Felix was tired of walking down unfamiliar hallways so he hurriedly started travelling up the steps, prepared for the long climb which would take him to the top of the castle. Whatever was up there, he would soon find out.

"Isaac..." Jenna stared at the blond Venus Adept, disbelief registered on her face. "Garet, what the heck is he DOING?"

"How could he do that?" Mia wondered, her face chalk white with horror. "Go off with a ghost... I thought better of him..."

"No! You've got it wrong!" Garet exclaimed before they decided to go and give Isaac a piece of their minds. "The ghost is controlling him!"

"Really?" Jenna looked at him with mild scorn. "The ghost is controlling him?"

"And just why," Mia cut in, although not as meanly as Jenna. "Why would the ghost even want to get off with Isaac in that way?"

You don't get it, do you?

"Huh?" Garet, Jenna and Mia turned to look at the ghost and Isaac. Isaac had not moved, still locked in his fatal embrace with the dead woman.

This is not being done out of love... I have not tasted such sweet youth, such blissful life in so long... his life force is all I want and here he is, giving it to me so willingly.

The trio exchanged blank, confused looks with each other. The comment on life had unsettled them slightly but it was still not enough for them to fully comprehend what the woman was saying.

Watch...

Swift gazes fixed on the embracing couple and then something happened that caused them to look horrified. Isaac seemed to have stretched as if jerked on strings, his body taut and balanced on his toes. His hands had started to curl strangely as if... as if Isaac was somehow turning old.

"Isaac!" Jenna exclaimed, her hand flying to her mouth. "She's..."

"What are you doing?" Mia screeched, staring in shock at the curling hand of Isaac.

He is losing his youth to me... when it is fully gone, Isaac will be so old... that he dies.

"No!"

You lose...

"Not yet we haven't!" Garet growled belligerently. "I never give up!"

"Isaac! No!" Mia started running towards them, her hand outstretched but she ended up crashing into a newly formed barrier around the clinching duo and falling to the ground, looking stunned. "Unnnhhhh..."

"You cowardly ghost!" Jenna beat on the faint, transparent barrier that shimmered slightly, allowing her to see it. She tried to break through but it was too difficult. "Let Isaac go!"

"You... wrench!" shouted Garet, hurling a fireball straight at the woman who was holding Isaac in an embrace of death. However, the fireball merely hit the barrier and fizzled out with a gust of steam. Garet sagged, looking disappointed. "I don't believe it..."

"Isaac..." Mia's blue eyes welled up with desperate tears and she buried her head in her hands. "He can't..."

"No..." Jenna protested softly, her hands pressed firmly against the imposing barrier as she watched the cruel spirit suck away Isaac's life.

"Ivan..."

Ivan turned on the spot as he looked around in amazement. He was not sure where he was, but it was as if he was on the sky for it appeared as if he was walking on the very clouds he often saw above him, up high above Weyard. Had he looked down, he might have been able to see it, but his attention was solely focused for now on the person who had spoken his name.

A tall woman stood just a few metres away from him, a kind smile on her face. Her dark amethyst eyes twinkled like stars, her creamy face framed by soft, wispy lavender hair. She wore robes of white, green, purple and gold. Ivan thought that he knew who she was although he hardly dared to hope that it might actually be her, the woman he could not remember.

"My dear Ivan, my baby," The woman held out her arms, a joyful tear running down her cheek. "It's me, your mother."

"Mom..." Ivan's voice shook as he looked at her in amazement, taking a giddy step forwards. "Mom!" He hurtled forwards into her arms and revelled in her gentle embrace, the embrace he had always wanted. The loving hug of a mother, a soothing kiss on his head. He had longed for that privately without admitting it, and now he was receiving it.

"I missed you, Ivan," Ivan's mother smoothed his blonde hair with a gentle hand, her nails long and smooth as they raked over the soft tendrils. "I have missed you so much. I have not seen you since you were only a little baby."

"Mom," Ivan was too choked up with emotion to say much else, happy tears forming in his eyes. "I'm so happy to be with you at last."

"Yes, we're together at last," His mother released her embrace and held him at arm's length to get a good look at her son. "Now you can come with me and we will live together peacefully in death. Whatever you do, do not look back."

Ivan was a curious type of person. Perhaps he was not curious in the same way as Sheba who could quite happily sneak around deviously and find out things that she should not be, but Ivan still had the thirst to know things and it was only natural for him to have childlike curiousity, to know why it was that his deceased mother had forbidden him to look backwards. And so, the Jupitarian did exactly the opposite, craning his neck and looking back.

Ivan wound up being subjected to a movie of his life. It was as if images in his memory, or even images that he of course could not remember, had been pasted onto the sky and played back for his benefit. He saw his mother handing him out as a swaddled baby to Hammet in Contigo, being trained as a servant, running around and playing with other children in the streets of Kalay, the eruption of Mt. Aleph, joining with Isaac and Garet and eventually recruiting Mia, Mercury Lighthouse, meeting Hama in Lama Temple, the Venus Lighthouse... the events leading up to Jupiter Lighthouse, ad the climax, finding out that Mars Lighthouse had to be lit as soon as possible... the discovery that Hama was his older sister... his friends... Isaac, Garet, Mia, Felix, Jenna, Sheba, Picard... Hama... his sister...

Ivan broke away from his mother's hold with an anguished shout and started running towards the pictures of his life, desperate tears flowing from the corners of his eyes. He purposefully ignored his mother's agonised scream, knowing that it would be wrong to abandon his sister and his friends when it was so important to get the quest finished and to save the world. He had lost his mother many years ago, and although it was nice to see her, he could not turn away from his life. Ivan pedalled straight through the frozen life images and then found himself falling into empty nothingness...

"Ivan, please... please wake up!"

Ivan moaned softly and his eyes creaked open. His vision was blurred but he could just make out the hazy form of Sheba, looking concernedly at him. Her face lit up wih considerable relief.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alright!" Sheba exclaimed. "I was really worried for a minute there. You had gone so cold... I was worried... I thought you were going to die... but now you're awake."

"Sheba," Ivan stared at her and then his eyes began to mist over, the corners of his mouth turning down. "I saw her... I saw my mother..."

"Oh, Ivan," Sheba pulled him into a consoling hug and he cried freely into her chest while she rubbed his back. As she comforted him, she wondered about her own parents, if they were still alive out there somewhere... but she would probably never know.

Felix walked tiredly up the staircase, taking one step after another. He was beginning to feel extremely bored as he made his way up the long, seemingly neverending staircase. It was nearly enough to make him wish that a bunch of monsters would come thirsting for battle, but Felix was not really sure he wanted that in this kind of place. It would be qute easy to vault over the sides and fall all the way back down, and not a good place to take chances. Felix found it strangely easy to forget that the castle was supposed to be dangerous, he was that bored but still, he supposed, it was better than fighting a ten foot tall monster.

He was possibly the most fortunate out of all the Adepts at the moment, he was not in danger or witnessing terrible things that would have made him scream.

He did not see the hulking apparition sneaking slowly towards the Jupiter Adepts in the darkness while they lingered in each other's presence, Sheba trying to quell Ivan's desperate tears with all the comfort she could lend him.

He did not see the macabre creature that ambushed Picard, plucked the Exclalibur from his sheath without warning and threw it before advancing on him with its weapon, a blade suspended on a chain.

Nor did he see Jenna and Mia pounding desperately on an unyielding barrier while Garet cursed and shouted, as Isaac grew old and withered in the clutches of an ages dead woman.

All Felix saw was a ray of hope, as he walked off the staircase and entered the topmost peak of the castle, the tallest room with triangular holes for windows surrounding it. In that room he found the Lord and Lady of the castle, two dead people, standing there as if they had been waiting for him all along. Lord McLean held a strange orb in his hands. Both of them looked unnaturall, their eyes blank with the coldness of death that they experienced, their skin withered and pale as if it were their bones showing through.

"You," Felix said shortly, not in any mood for manners. "You've been waiting for me the whole time, haven't you?"

"Where are your friends?" Lord McLean rasped in a dead voice that sounded like the rustling of autumn leaves as the breeze swept them across the ground.

"I thought perhaps you could tell me," Felix responded sarcastically. "Thanks to your petty little tricks, we all got split up and I do not know what is happening to them, but I do know that I had to fight off a horde of mad zombies and I nearly got killed by a giant monster."

"I see you are not enjoying our entertainment," Lady McLean said coldly. "We are all dead, trapped for eternity in this castle, forever in the mists of time. Thanks to our orb of power, we made sure it was this way. And the living shall die, and join us in this eternal death!"

"You're mad!" Felix exclaimed, his dark brown eyes widening in horror. "You... it's your fault that the castle's this way?"

"A long time ago our castle was destroyed by invading monsters," Lord McLean started to explain, stroking the orb in his hands as he spoke. "Yet our spirits remained as if we were searching for something. I found the Mist Crystal, and I discovered a way that would keep us here forever. The castle returned and we dwell in here, experiencing the eternal dead and luring the living to join us. Once every year however the Mist Crystal's power weakens and that is when I and Lady McLean seek solace in the highest room in the castle, watching the mists creep closer to the castle. As long as the crystal remains intact, we stay here in death in our castle."

"I see..." Felix stared at the small, innocent looking orb that was the cause of all their troubles. A small, round glass object with a hazy fine mist inside that made a smoky effect upon the glass. He looked back up, a determined expression on his face. "Well, I'll just have to try and destroy it then!"

"You won't get a chance, boy!" Lady McLean snarled, linking her hand with Lord McLean's as he held the crystal in the other.

Before Felix could even move, a surprising transformation took place before his own eyes. The two ghosts had suddenly merged into one being, slightly taller than he was and somewhat bulkier, with glaring, slanted yellow eyes and long, tousled black hair falling over its shoulders, as well as a long beaked nose. Hands lengthened into elongated claws, arms and legs became long and gangly. The being snarled and stomped a clawed foot, sounding a battle cry. It wore a ragged white shirt around its torso and a shred of loincloth further down. The Mist Crystal was now hanging on a slender chain around its neck.

"Whoa..." Felix took a step back, staring at it in amazement, then he soon recovered and was able to retort. "That's seriously the best you can do?"

Claws slashed through the air in a fluid motion but Felix was quicker, dodging and jumping back, a dangerous idea beginning to form in his mind. First, before he put it into action, he would try to use his Psynergy.

"Odyssey!" Felix shouted, glowing with the aura of Psynergy, his sword drawn and placed flat across his palm, held tight in the other hand as he normally held it before he prepared to strike. Twin swords flowed through the air and rammed directly into the beast, then Felix ran forwards and drove the Sol Blade directly through its scaled hide. It screamed in pain as he jumped back, expectantly waiting to see how much damage he had done. The creature slowly rose to its feet, and the scars left from the Odyssey psynergy seemed to close up slightly, leaving only red weals.

'It can't... can it?' Felix gulped as he looked at the thinning wounds. The monster smirked cattily at him as if it had just triumphed over him somehow. 'Oh no, it's healed itself!'

"A healer, huh?" The Venus Adept tried not to look cowed since healing was not that unusual after all. "Well, that's only a slight disadvantage, isn't it?"

The humanoid looking monster screeched and leaped into the air, coming down with claws drawn once more slashing through the air at him. Felix tried to dodge the attack, but the claws managed to rake his arm. The monster stepped back and sneered at Felix who was looking at his wound in dismay.

"It hurts..." Felix complained, deciding that he might as well go and put his plan into action now. The monster was actually quite quick and strong with apparently skilled healing psynergy for its wounds had almost completely disappeared, leaving only faint lines. It expectantly waited for his next move, its yellow eyes glinting coldly as it watched him.

"You want more?" Felix asked, stepping backwards until he was almost out of the room. "If you had any wit and intelligence and bravery, then you would follow me right out here! But then again you're probably too chicken to fight fairly so I wouldn't really be surprised if you chose to stay up here and lick your wounds, whinging like a brazen coward."

As he had thought it would, his comments had angered the beast. It roared furiously and lowered its head, charging directly at him. Felix turned and started running until he found himself on the staircase and the monster suddenly bearing down on top of him. Felix ducked and rolled, grabbing onto the bannisters to stop himself from falling all the way. The monster came to a stop a few steps further down and screeched, lumbering towards him. Felix stood up tall, flat against the bars and then the humanoid thing leaped. The next few moments seemed to be in slow motion as Felix ducked and aimed a kick, elevating it so that it went sailing over the edge, but it managed to grab his cape and pull him over as well. Felix shouted in pain as agony shot through his back and he stretched out his arms, managing to grab hold of the railing with one hand. The desperate Venus Adept valiantly kicked at the creature that was hanging onto him and trying to drag him down and he was reassured by the sound of ripping fabric as it started to plunge down, holding a mere shred of green material.

In the fury of the battle, the chain had broken, the chain that held the orb. It came away from the creature's neck and went sailing down into the depths of the stairwell. The creature screamed and reached out, but it was too far away. The Mist Crystal was out of reach, rushing towards the inevitable impact upon the stone grounds of the castle.

Felix sighed exhaustedly, holding on with one hand. His other arm hurt too much to move and he was just too tired to try pulling himself up with only one arm. He miserably rested his head against the cold stone bars, wishing he had just cast a Grand Gaia and blown the monster off the steps or something instead of trying stupid stunts, but it was too late to regret anything now. It always was.

That one last minute was the most desperate for every Adept in or just outside the castle.

As Felix hung on for his life, Picard was staring death in the face as he was pinned to the wall and the grotesque creature's weapon came sailing towards him. It was surely going to hit its target and he just could not escape.

Ivan opened his eyes and saw the claws of death slashing through the still air. He screamed and Sheba turned to look, but it was just too late for the Jupiter Adepts as the fiend struck at them.

The last shreds of Isaac's life were slowly slipping away as he was drunken in by the intoxicating venom of the fiendish ghoul that embraced him, not hearing the screams of his friends, not seeing them pound desperately on the barrier that separated them.

Their fates depended solely upon one small object that fell towards the ground, the very object that had been keeping a castle and its residents hostage in the mists for two hundred and fifty years. A simple orb with a fine mist captured inside, its surface smooth and clear, free of any cracks or blemishes. It seemed to sparkle and shine in the darkness as it plummeted.

With one final resounding bang, it struck the ground and with an almighty crack, its surface was fractured and the shards of glass sailed off in different directions, glittering as they skittered over the stone floor. The monster screeched but it was just too late and the last thing it saw before it hit the ground and perished was a coil of mist snaking up from the place where the orb had landed.

And it was in that instant that the mists rushed forwards and devoured the castle, taking every spirit and illusion with it, replacing the site with grass and a river snaking through, making it appear as if there had never been a castle there before.

Felix was stunned as he groped at nothing, his mouth opening in a soundless scream as he plummeted downwards.

Picard sighed in relief as the blade disappeared only centimetres away from his chest. He looked around in surprise as he got up and picked up the Excalibur, wondering what exactly had happened to the castle.

"That was close, wasn't it?" Ivan shuddered, still remembering the rush of wind he had felt as the claws had slashed at them, one only a whisker away from penetrating his skull.

"Not kidding," Sheba stood up and turned around, clearly mystified. "I wonder if we'll ever know what became of the castle?"

"Maybe they are free now," Ivan suggested hopefully. "Somehow."

Isaac collapsed to the ground as the spirit which had been holding him disappeared with the mists. The mists had also devoured the barrier so Garet, Jenna and Mia came rushing to his side.

"Is he...?" Jenna ventured nervously, looking at Isaac's limp form.

"Isaac..." Mia turned him over onto his back and checked for his pulse. "Isaac's alive... thank goodness, he's still alive!"

"And he's back to normal too," Garet added. He had been freaked by Isaac's transformation while the woman had sucked his life out, his hair had even been turning silver, but now it was back to ordinary dishwater blond.

"Unnnh..." Isaac shivered and opened his eyes, staring up at everybody. "Hi... what's happening?"

"It's a long story," Jenna told him. "We'll tell it later."

"Hey, here's Picard!" Garet exclaimed as the Lemurian came walking towards them. "Did you meet ghosts?"

"Naturally," Picard replied.

All heads were turned towards a sound, a massive splash that sent water gushing into the sky and falling back down in scattered drops.

"What was that?" Ivan asked, staring at the place where the sound had come from.

"Sounds like somebody fell into some deep water," Sheba giggled, wondering who it was.

"Why me?" Felix complained loudly as he emerged from the river, swimming clumsily towards the river bank and hauled himself up, staggering over the grass as he clutched his wounded arm, looking hurt.

"Hey! Felix!" Sheba rushed up to him and looked at him concernedly. "You're hurt..."

"Yeah," Felix winced. "It's just a little scratch..."

"That splash was really something," Ivan grinned and started walking away, towards the others as Felix and Sheba followed.

The reunion was a happy one. Mia tended to injuries and then Felix got out the map, so that they could pinpoint their exact location and figure out how to get to Mikasalla from where they were.

"We should be here," Isaac pointed at a blue streak. "That's the river Felix fell into-"

"Don't remind me," muttered the soaking wet Venusian.

"So we go to Mikasalla... this way!" Jenna punched the place where Mikasalla was with a finger.

"Hello, it really is nice to see you all again. I do hope we can get to Mikasalla as soon as possible and that we can tell our tales on the way. I am quite famished after all," a new voice cut in.

"Hello, Kraden," said Sheba halfheartedly. "How... nice to see you again."

The sky was clear blue, dotted with very few clouds, so the Adepts could set off on their journey to Mikasalla without fear of rain. As they walked, their tales were told and the puzzle was finally solved. Where the castle had been, there was no indication, save for a little bow nestled in the grass that could have been white once, but now it was too dirty and stained with age that it was too difficult to tell. Nobody who picked it up would know that it had once been worn by a little girl two hundred and fifty years ago, who had led a team of warriors to a castle that had been trapped there ever since and in turn helped to bring about the freeing of the castle so that the ghosts of the past were finally at rest.

W...o...w... This was... long...

Isaac: I feel that long is an understatement.

Felix: It's... colossal!

I worked myself to the bone on this, it had better be worth it!

Ivan: I'm sure it will. Please review or the ghost of Lila might come and get you.

Sheba: And we mean it! >=)

Mia: Hey! No scaring the readers! :o