Learning a Lesson

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Hey, I'm back with a one-shot for Akiko's challenge

Ivan: Cool. It better not be angsty...

Nah, Im a bit tired of angst...

Jenna: Camelot owns Golden Sun!

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"Bye, Kraden!" Isaac hastily yelled as the eight Adepts quickly poured out of Kraden's cottage. The old man had just sentenced them to another one of his lessons, something to do with Alchemy as usual, and while it probably hadn't been totally useless, it had been rather long. Ivan immediately came up with a bright excuse for them to leave when Kraden suggested that they go and inspect the local wildlife, since nobody was quite in the mood for monster battles.

"That was a good excuse, wasn't it?" Ivan asked hopefully, looking around at his friends. "Saying that we were going to go have lunch with Isaac's parents?"

"Do Isaac's parents want us to have lunch with them?" Sheba shot him a sharp look and dug her elbow into his waist and he doubled over, wheezing. "What if they have plans of their own? You're so rude!"

"Rude? Me?" Ivan looked shocked. "At least I wasn't the one who called Garet a poor baby!"

"Well, he looked like one," Sheba protested, throwing up her hands. "He was all blubbery and crying and stuff."

"That's enough, you two." Mia walked between the two Wind Adepts, trying to cut off their argument before Garet turned positively homicidal, or horror of horrors, actually did cry again. "It was not that funny and it isn't funny now, is it?"

"We-ell..." Ivan and Sheba side-eyed each other and a glare from Mia immediately prevented them from continuing.

"Geez, I'm starving," Garet complained, thankful that Mia had shut Ivan and Sheba up. "Kraden sure kept us in there a long time."

"It didn't seem that long to me," Piers scratched his head of aquamarine hair. "But then again, I am Lemurian, and a short time to me can be a long time to you. Either that, or you kids just have no patience."

"It really disturbs me when you call us kids." Felix sweat dropped. "You look about Sheba's age."

"Seriously, did we need to know anything Kraden said?" Jenna complained, blinking and yawning. "Sometimes, I wish that we could just tie him up and put him in the cupboard. Why does he always want us to be with him? Why doesn't he ever have somebody else over for once? Or just experience the wonder of being alone?"

"He might have his reasons," Mia suggested. "Maybe because he travelled with us-"

"Kraden had me, Garet, Jenna and Felix over at his place long before even the storm that was about four years ago now." Isaac shook his head. "Maybe he just had a thing for young, impressionable kids."

"Well, can't Kraden have a thing for old people like him instead?" Jenna grumbled. "I've got better things to do than listening to a rambling... old..." A flash in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she came to a stop, turning to look at a strange woman bathed in light and holding a wand. "Man?" The woman waved her wand and Jenna froze, her vision turning dark. She remained frozen in position for a few more seconds and then the woman disappeared.

"Jenna?" Sheba called. "What are you doing?"

"Dear me!" Jenna was now staring in wonder at her breasts and then her hands. "I do believe that this is an experience unlike any that I may have experienced before!"

"Did you hit your head?" Ivan asked.

"Allow me to assess the situation." Jenna held up a hand and then she tugged on a strand of her hair. "Judging by my apparel... and other features... this does not look favourable in the least."

"She's cracked," Garet guessed, backing away. "Listening to Kraden must have turned her head." He froze as Jenna shot him an injured look. "Wh-what?"

"Jenna, we're going to my house now." Isaac looked at the very confused girl. "Come on, we'll check your head for injuries there."

"I did not happen to bump my head," Jenna muttered as she followed the group, looking fascinated for some reason.

"Huh?" Kraden had just sat down in his chair and then he froze, much like Jenna had when the woman had waved her wand. The old man blinked several times, pushed back his chair and stood up, wincing as he did it too fast, which was not particularly kind on his old bones. He shakily lifed his gnarled, wrinkled hands to his face so that he could get a good look at them. "AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHHHH!"

"Did you hear that?" Piers asked. "It sounded like it was coming from Kraden's cottage."

"How is this possible?" The red-haired girl muttered under her breath. "How? Did I do this?"

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine," Sheba piped up. "He probably just dropped something."

"Sheba, when you drop something, you don't scream like that," Felix protested. "Maybe he fell over. He is quite old."

"Excuse me!" Jenna snapped.

"You really aren't well, are you?" Mia looked sympathetic. "Poor girl."

"You're not going to faint or anything, are you?" Felix looked horrified for a second.

"I'm fine!" Jenna protested. "Sort of... not really... but I do find this change quite fascinating, I do wonder what caused this to happen."

"She's turned into a lunatic." Garet rubbed his forehead. "Does this mean we're going to turn into lunatics too?"

"I know someone else in this group who's a lunatic," said Isaac cheerfully. "Tall, brash, rude, eats way too much food, makes holes in my roof- ouch!"

"No... no... NO!" Kraden screamed, rushing to the door and pushing it open, stepping out onto the grass. He pulled off his glasses and looked at them in horror. "What's happened to me? I... I've turned into Kraden? No... I'm in Kraden's body!"

Jenna-in-Kraden's body screamed again, and looked around in despair. Everything was suddenly blurred and she realised it was because she hadn't replaced the glasses. Jenna grimaced, placing them back on and hoped very much that she wouldn't have this problem until she was very, very old.

'How am I going to get out of this one? I'm doomed!'

Wild laughter caught her attention and Jenna spun around on her feet, spotting two children in the bushes who had been watching her.

"Kraden's potty!"

"He's flipped!"

"Well, I knew he would eventually!"

"Hey, he's looking at us!"

Jenna growled and stooped down to scoop up some pebbles from the ground. She immediately ran towards the bushes as fast as she could, considering that she was trapped in the body of an old man, and flung the pebbles as hard as she could at the kids, who were pointing and laughing. They screamed in terror and fled for their lives, looking back in fright at the furious old man, not knowing that it was a very bad-tempered Mars Adept, but who could blame her? Anybody would be grumpy if they were an 18-year-old girl suddenly stuck in an old man's body and not knowing why. She realised that it had hurt too, when they had been poking fun, and the first threads of regret formed in her mind.

"Okay, lets think about this," Jenna gasped out in Kraden's gravelly voice. "Now, the group went that way..." She looked in the distance and could just spot the eight of them, including Kraden in her body. "If I go after them and tell them about this, maybe then we can figure out how to get me and Kraden back into our right bodies." She took off after them, very much thankful that Kraden was not yet suffering from arthritis or anything like that.

"May I enquire if Ivan's excuse was true?" Kraden-in-Jenna's body spoke up, looking hopeful.

"Didn't we already cover that?" Ivan frowned. "Um... well, we can go have lunch at Isaac's house if his parents say so, right?"

"But you said you were going to!" Kraden exclaimed.

"Of course we are," Isaac soothed him. "What's the problem, Jenna? You've had lunch at my house loads of times."

"Maybe she misses your mom's cooking," Felix suggested. "Although I think my mom's cooking is better."

"No, my mom's cooking is better," Garet argued.

"Guys, please!" Mia frowned. "This is a nightmare..."

"Maybe we should just have stayed with Kraden." Piers looked at the bickering boys, shaking his head.

"Really?" Jenna looked hopeful. "Maybe we should go back, listen to him some more. He is a very wise old man after all."

"What's wrong with you, Jenna?" Sheba frowned. "A few minutes ago, you were-"

"Wait! Wait!" Jenna-in-Kraden called out, rushing up to them. She leaned over on her aged knees, wheezing for breath. "I just wanted to..."

"I'm sorry, Kraden, but we've really got to go," Isaac said sympathetically, breaking off in the middle of a well structured statement of why his mother's food was better because it was healthier, much to Garet's disgust. "Mom will be mad if we're late."

"But..." Jenna bit her lip. She had only been reunited with them for a second or two and they were already walking away, saying their apologies as they headed towards Isaac's house, not even knowing if Dora was willing to cook for eight. Only Kraden stood there, in her body, looking sympathetic as well as astounded. She could understand why, seeing yourself standing in front of you was extremely disturbing. Jenna felt a prickle at the back of her eyes and gasped.

"Okay, enough already!" Jenna exclaimed. "I'm sorry that I was being mean about Kraden, he really is a very nice old man and if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't know half the stuff we did, and I'm glad we do! Now please let me back into my body!" She shuddered and froze in place, not noticing the woman who had waved her wand at her from behind and vanished again. "Ohh..."

"I'm back in my body... I'm back!" Jenna glanced at Kraden, who was now examining himself, and then she rushed after the group. "Hey, wait up, everybody!"

"What's wrong now?" Felix asked.

"I... you'll never believe what happened..." Jenna shook her head in amazement as they continued to walk towards Isaac's house. "It was so weird..." She remembered the sadness she had felt inside Kraden's body, feeling that everybody was ignoring her and leaving her alone, and for the first time she realised why Kraden wanted them to be with him so often, because he was often alone and he needed company, and they should be inviting him to spend time with them too. "Stop!"

"Now what?" Isaac looked back as Jenna rushed towards Kraden, who was still standing there and looking very confused.

"Kraden!" Jenna called out. Kraden looked up. "Do you want to come with us to Isaac's for lunch?"

"What happened to her?" Ivan murmured to Sheba, who just dug her elbow in him again.

"Well, at least she's not rambling on like a lunatic again." Garet looked relieved.

"Maybe she just had a change of heart," Piers suggested.

"Or we could say that I learned my lesson," said Jenna cheerfully as she rejoined the group with a delighted Kraden.

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Okay, this was weird, but... I hope you enjoyed it!

Ivan: Please review and tell us what you thought!