Felix of Vale

It was done. Yes, Saturos and Menardi were gone, but Venus Lighthouse had been lit, the Jupiter and Mars Stars were accounted for, and Felix and Sheba were unharmed.

With a brilliant flash of light and Earth energy, the Venus Beacon finally appeared above the Aerie. The ground began to shake. Felix was able to keep his balance, his Psynergy warning him of what the Lighthouse's power was doing.

It did not immediately occur to him that not everyone had that advantage.

At that moment, Isaac and his group reached the top of the Aerie. "Isaac..." said Felix warningly.

Saturos and Menardi turned to face the newcomers. "So! You've come to stop us?" Saturos asked.

"You see what your defiance has brought us, Felix?" accused Menardi.

Felix cut her off. "I don't need to be rescued, Isaac. Just wait, and you can see the power of this beacon's light!" Turning to Saturos, he added, "Now, will you let Sheba go?"

"Silence!" roared Saturos. "You'd best step carefully, Felix, or the both of you will suffer."

The Water Adept with Isaac - Mia, Felix thought her name might be - whispered something to Ivan, next to her. He nodded and called out, "We won't let you lay a hand on Sheba - or Felix!"

Menardi arched an eyebrow, clearly considering that. "So you're worried about her too, are you?"

Saturos smirked. "Don't worry. We won't hurt her... if you meet our conditions."

Menardi shot him a glance. "What are you doing, Saturos?" she asked under her breath.

"Leave this to me," he muttered back. Turning to Sheba, he called, "Sheba! Do you remember the rod connected to Hesperia?"

Alarmed, Sheba tried to remember. "The... Rod of Hesperia?"

"The rod we need to reach Jupiter Lighthouse!" Saturos snapped, clearly annoyed.

Eyes wide, Sheba nodded. "Ye-yes..." she answered in a small voice.

Gesturing to Isaac and his friends, Saturos said "These people have a rod. Is it the one?"

Sheba moved forward, only to be stopped by Menardi's sharp "Can't you do it from where you are?" She nodded nervously and started her Psynergy. Felix couldn't tell exactly what she was doing, though he guessed it had something to do with Mind Read.

She kept it up longer than Felix expected. Longer than the Proxians had expected, too, it seemed; she only stopped at Saturos' "Well?"

"It... might be..." offered Sheba tentatively.

Saturos frowned. "It 'might be'? Don't you know?"

That, Felix decided, was enough. "Don't yell at her!" he shouted, stepping between them.

"We're not yelling," hissed Menardi. "We just want a straight answer. So, Sheba...?"

"Their minds are veiled," the Wind Adept explained, "I cannot tell for certain, but... I think it's the rod."

The Proxians conferred quietly for a moment. Then Saturos addressed Isaac's group. "Do you know the terms we will require before we agree not to harm Sheba?"

Isaac nodded, scowling. "You want Ivan's rod."

"Ah, you're smarter than I thought. Yes, give us the Shaman's Rod and Sheba will not be harmed. Do you accept?"

Isaac nodded again, almost without hesitation. "If it'll save Sheba, you can have it."

"What?" asked Garet. "That's Master Hammet's! He trusted it to you, Ivan!"

Menardi looked at him oddly. "Don't you care what happens to Sheba?"

At Garet's hesitant nod, Saturos snarled, "Then you will give us the rod!"

Garet backed off, scowling furiously, and Isaac held out the rod in question. "Go get it, Felix," said Saturos.

Felix started. "Me?" Right after all that?

"You are still loyal to us, aren't you?" asked Saturos archly.

"Go on, Felix," added Menardi.

Felix sighed, but walked over to Isaac and took the rod. He tried to give him a look, to say 'You don't need to do this,' but he had no idea if Isaac got the message. He tried to hand it off to Saturos, but was waved off. "Keep it safe," the Proxian told him. Felix shrugged and returned to the other side of the aerie.

Sheba started to head toward Isaac's group, but stopped at Menardi's barked "Where do you think you're going?"

Mia turned to Menardi. "We gave you the rod, so now you're letting Sheba go, right?"

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Saturos, sounding all innocence.

"You said you'd free Sheba if we gave you the rod," reminded Ivan.

Saturos laughed. "You seem to have misunderstood. I said we wouldn't harm her... but I never said we'd let her go!"

Felix wasn't happy to hear that, but before he could say anything Garet burst out, "You're changing the deal?"

"Not at all," said Menardi lightly. "It's not our fault if you misinterpreted the terms!"

"Besides, if we were to release Sheba... she'd be in quite a fix," Saturos added.

"What do you mean?" asked Mia.

Menardi shook her head. "You don't expect her to get back to Lalivero on her own, do you?"

Puzzled, Ivan answered, "What do you mean? We're going to take... her... oh."

"Exactly," said Saturos with a smirk. "You won't be going back at all."

Garet pulled out his axe. "You're the ones who aren't going anywhere!" he bellowed.

"Bring it on, whelp!" Saturos retorted, his sword seeming to appear in his hand. "You won't live long enough to regret your stupidity!"

"Prepare to experience firsthand the power of a master Fire Adept," growled Menardi, already swinging her scythe.

This is a dream.

( I dreamed a dream in time gone by... )

Saturos wasn't happy.

( Actually, nobody was happy. )

The door from Milliways opens into ( a small room. )

In the darkness, underground, a meter takes its measurement. A threshold is reached, and a message is sent to a control center.

The time has come. Commands are produced, and engines begin to turn over. For the first time in millennia, the machine is operating.

The light is sufficient for the shadow, so the shadow is brought.

All he could think was I wasn't there, I wasn't there.

He'd told her he'd be by her side, and he wasn't. And now he couldn't be.

She was gone, they were putting her in the ground No, don't do that, she needs the wind wants the sky must have the air and there was nothing he could do. Nothing he'd been able to do...

But he should have tried. When had he let impossibility stop him? He stepped forward -

No, he didn't. The others were holding him back. Didn't they understand? He'd promised to be with her. He wanted to explain, but this was a funeral, you didn't talk at funerals.

And then she was gone, and for all the people around he was alone. Completely alone.

--

In the end I want to be standing
At the beginning with you.

She'd been all over the world; he knew that. Most of the places she'd been, he'd been with her.

But somehow, Sheba loved Vale.

Felix didn't really understand it. Even he didn't really love Vale; not now.

But he couldn't deny the joy on her face as she - with the other Adepts who had joined them on the journey - helped the locals clean up and rebuild Vale.

--

I'll be there when the world stops turning!