Hi.
If you don't remember what's going on, re-reading the last chapter and the summary included will get ya back on track.  It'll take like five minutes to do that, so do it!

Caught up? Good.
Now, here ya go, losers.

You would think a flaming immortal guardian would be the highlight of your weekend adventure to save a dying goddess.

At least, that's what Jordan had hoped.

Jordan was wrong.

And it all started with Tom.

Tom was an awesome guy and Jordan considered him a close friend,  not to mention the green man had saved his life.  The decision to let Tom join the expedition to save the goddess from the man he swore legiance to was a decision made despite heavy disapproval from the two Mianitees, but Jordan had made it anyway because he strangely trusted the man despite his recent attempt at Jordan's life.

No, Tom was a great guy.

What Jordan forgot was Tom's proneness to possession.

All had been going well to begin with once Furia had mysteriously run off.  They had quickly overcome their shock and found a small skiff conveniently nearby to get to the island with since the bridge had been burned away.  The wind had been favorably in their direction and strong enough to only need minimal help from the paddles the champions held, though Capsize had quickly gotten into the spirit of things and called out row times while her brother drunkenly slurred them in an echo after her, ruining the tempo. 

They made it to the island without issue and neatly tied the boat to a bridge post anchored at the edge of the water.  Capsize and her brother quickly stepped off, staring at the small tower in reverence. Jordan alighted after them and the second his feet touched the ground, a strong invisible wind caused the grass to ripple outward from his foot and the coarse strands faded gently into a lush emerald green. The sky itself seemed to brighten significantly and the dead vines choking the tower crumbled away, leaving the white-washed stones as clean as if they were new.  The group gaped at the sight, but what was more shocking, however, was the overwhelming feeling of rightness that flooded Jordan, as if the island had been waiting for him.

"I haven't seen this place like this in years." Capsize's voice was low and wistful.

Then came the first problem.

Capsize whirled on the two Mianitees who were both preparing to step off.

"One of ye will have to stay."

Sonya and Tucker stared at Capsize incredulously before looking at each other.

"Why?" Jordan asked curiously.  He had expected the fiery captain to object to Tom's presence on the island, not one of the Mianitees.

She turned to him, her expression firm.

"If yer gonna have the Dianite boy with ye, you'll need a Mianite kid to balance the group.  The place is finicky and if thars two of 'em, the scales are tiltin' to their side and everythings unbalanced." She explained quickly.  "This be sacred ground, Sparkly, it's sensitive to these things.  The three of us are fine, but those three weigh heavily in on one side or the other, so one has to balance out the other.  Honestly, I'd rather none of 'em joined." She mumbled the last part.

"That's bullshit." Sonja crossed her arms.

"Thar's the rules, foxy." Redbeard growled, obviously not liking the aggression towards his sister. "If both of ye step on, one will have tuh be removed, if ya catch me drift, and it won't be pretty."

The two went silent, and Sonja had the decency to look chastised.

Jordan took this in somberly before turning to the couple. 

"It's your decision." He supplied helpfully.

"I'll go." Tucker stepped forward.

Sonya crossed her arms stubbornly.

"What? Going to leave me because I'm the girl of the group?"

Tucker turned scarlet before whirling on Sonja.

"Sonj! Why do you have to-"

"Kidding! I'm kidding!" Sonja shoved his shoulder playfully with a grin.  Her tail tapped gently against his leg as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.  "I'll sit this little trip out, just don't do anything exciting without me." She grinned. "Though I totally call dibs on the next ticket to certain death."

"We're just dropping a heart off, Sonj." He grinned, the tension draining from his shoulders as he backed up to the edge of the boat.

"Keep a watch on these boys for me, Cap!" She grinned as she called to Capsize, who, to Jordan's surprise, gave a grin back.

Tucker stepped to the edge where Tom was waiting for him and together, the two stepped onto the island.  There was no dramatic change, as there had been with Jordan, however both boys immediately went taut.

"Woah." Tom touched his chest gently.

Tucker was also looking at his own chest apprehensively.

"What's wrong?" Jordan studied the two of them who were now looking at each other as if seeing strangers.

"It's like..." Tucker seemed lost for words.

"It's like a string... pulling at my chest?" Tom supplied, though he looked distraught as though even that explanation didn't justify it.

"Ye two have been linked in a way." Capsize spoke up and both men focused intently on her. She seemed slightly embarrassed by the attention, but continued on anyways.  "If one of ye acts out o' turn, there will be heavy consequences on the other.  Our role be to retain balance should it be broken, though-" She gave them each a heavy stare "I'll be breaking something of yours if either of ye cause disruptions."

Tom looked slightly nauseous, and Tucker, after swallowing hard, nodded.

Jordan looked at the Captain in surprise.

"How come you know all this crap?"

Capsize suddenly looked pained and it was surprisingly Redbeard who answered.

"Our mother was the priestess of this temple." For the first time that day, the man sounded sober.  "You could say we were raised on it all."

It was then that Jordan remembered how little he knew the pirates.  They had just met days ago, and had given each other pretty bad first impressions, Jordan himself kidnapped by the lot.  However, he found the group surprisingly trustworthy, and after the past few days, he had even grown to like them.  Redbeard was a jovial sort, often jumping you with weird jokes and sayings when least expected. Capsize... she was certianly something else.  She was fierce, unafraid to say whatever she wanted with the attitude that dared you to fight back.  She also had this habit, Jordan had noticed, to drum her foot loudly when she was upset or crinkle her nose whenever her brother made a particularly bad joke.

Right now, however, her head was lowered and silence fell over the group.

Until Tom broke it.

"Welp, this is fantastic.  Can we just go drop off justice bitch's heart and be done with it? Im not too keen on being 'linked' to this guy for too long.  This much salt isn't good for the soul."

"Wasn't aware you had a soul."

"Ah! The salt! It buuuurns!"

Jordan watched with a smile as the two bickered playfully.  The tension that had begun to grow amongst them seemed to have faded, and Jordan was grateful for the lift in the mood.  Tom caught his eye and gave him an exaggerated wink which caused an amused snort to escape Jordan's nose.

He felt a presence at his side and looked down to see Capsize standing silently next to him.  She was smiling, but her eyes were far away.

"Will them fighting like this cause a problem?" Hr whispered.

She gave a small sigh.

"Nah, nothin' this small will cause a problem, though it's defenitely annoyin'." She muttered back.

Jordan gave a small chuckle, but Capsize still looked as though she wasn't fully there.

"I'm sorry about your mother." He spoke in a low voice, but Capsize started anyways. She looked up at him in surprise before turning away and giving a small nod of acknowledgement.

Jordan should've stopped there, but her silence was too awkward for Jordan's extroverted brain.

"Was your mother..on the island when-"

"My mam passed long before this attack."

Jordan waited for her to continue.  She sighed.

"Thankfully, my mam didn't live to see this happen to the village she loved. " Capsize's voice was quiet and bearly distinguishable beneath the sound of the two bickering nearby as they walked.  "She died when I was six, fighting off invading pirates.  She succeeded in getting them to leave, alright, fierce devil that she was, but not before they took a couple of the village kids."

Jordan was seriously regretting letting his curiousity free now.  He had touched on more than just a sore subject, but a traumatizing one.  He had more questions than ever now, but held them back, realizing that answering his question had taken enough out of the fiery captain.

"She never knew, of course.  We were nowhere near her, hadn't been all day, but even after thirteen years of hell, I can still remember my mam's smile." Capsize herself had a soft smile on her face now.

"She sounds like one amazing woman."

"She was." She agreed softly.

"Man I haven't seen my mom in years." Jordan started as Tucker's voice joined the conversation, unaware that the the two men had stopped their bickering.  "She always had this big goofy smile and laugh that you could hear for miles.  She was getting old when I was chosen. She's probably retired by now now that I think of it.  Sometimes... sometimes I forget how long I've been here.." Tucker trailed off.  His face was suddenly pained, and Jordan looked away, giving him privacy.

Tom didn't say anything, and Jordan remembered what Tom had told him of his family.  He tried to meet his eye, but Tom remained staring downwards.  Jordan wondered briefly why the green man had even confided in him so quickly about such a part of his past.  Perhaps it was just a ruse to sway him to Dianite's side, but Jordan felt there may have been more to it which, Jordan could understand.  Sometimes there were things you tried not to talk about that just kind of fall out when talking to a stranger, someone who won't be so easy to judge.  Perhaps Tom simply knew that Jordan, with no sense of who Dianite was, would not be disgusted or hold negative feelings towards him after the story.  Either way, it made him feel a warmth towards the stubborn man.

"What about yer own mother, Spark?" Jordan started as Redbeard appeared next to him, so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the pirate's approach. He really was becoming pretty absent-minded these days.

"Ah." Jordan hadn't expected the question and scratched behind his neck awkwardly. "She was my mom, I guess?" 

The other's stared at him in disbelief.  Jordan flushed. 

"Okay okay, sorry, I just- I um... I don't exactly... remember her?"  Jordan lowered his head, trying to hide his face."One day, I just kind of woke up in the middle of the forest with nothing but a ragged tshirt and jeans, and my name floating in my head. I remember having a mom, I mean I had to of, right? But like, all I have of her is..well it's like a feeling? It was warm.  I remember she was really warm." At the last bit, Jordan lowered his voice, feeling his cheeks heating up in embarrasment.  He hadn't meant to say it, but at the question, more had come spilling out than intended.

He felt Tom's attention on him, but he now was the one avoiding another's gaze.

A large hand covered Jordan's shoulder and he glanced sheepishly up into the thick,  tangled beard of the drunken pirate.

"Am sorry, Spark." He said, surprisingly gently before giving a loud hiccup that caused Jordan's mouth to twitch up in a small smile.

A silence fell amongst the group as they continued across the island, which was bigger than Jordan had originally thought.  Sonja was no longer visible, the hills blocking the shore from view.

"So uh, how do we open the door?"

Jordan, grateful for the change in subject, looked towards the tower.

Tucker had reached the tower's entrance and was staring up at it confused.  He wasn't baffled without reason. The "door" was a solid wall of purple-ish, perfectly smooth wood without a trace of a handle or any way of opening it. There were, however, tendrils of red and blue swirling up the length of the door, ending in large orbs of each color just inches above Tucker's hat.  The door was strangely large, as if used to letting in figures of an immense size.

"Ah." Capsize stepped forward, shooting a look at her brother. "Forgot 'bout that, eh Red?"

"Ye still 'member it?" He grinned at her, as if sharing an inside joke.

She gave a dramatic groan, but gave him a small smile in return.  Then, noticing the confused looks on the others faces, had mercy on them and began to explain.

"We were dragged by our mum to the tower more times than I can remember." She chuckled. "And we heard her say the password so many times that it was practically our lullaby."

She turned to the door, and stepping forward, raised her arms and laid a hand on each of the orbs. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak clearly, without her usual thick accent.

"My right hand I give to darkness
destruction and despair. 
The left I give to light and hope,
kindness, and care.
I am the balance forged from pain,
power o'er all is not my gain.
Open up and open wide. 
Give free the wisdom you hold inside."

In comparison to the chant, the door's opening was almost disappointing.  Jordan had expected a dramatic reaction similar to his walking onto the island, but the door was almost silent as it slid upwards, disappearing into the ceiling above.

"That was so cool." Tucker breathed next to Jordan.

She turned back to them, a tinge of pink dusting her cheeks.

"It's nothin special, pretty simple stuff."

"What language was that?" Tucker asked breathlessly.

Jordan turned to him in confusion.

"It be the tongue of Ianarea." She said softly, her accent back and at full power, making her sentence feel full of "r" sounds.

"It...sounded like English to me." Jordan admitted, looking around for someone else to confirm, but he was met with only a shrug from Tucker.

Capsize regarded him curiously , but then shrugged as well.

"Probably yer connection to mah lady." She guessed before turning back and walking inside, dismissing the subject.

Still mulling over the fact that he somehow magically knew another language, Jordan followed the group inside, a pounding headache beginning in his temple.  Once he caught sight of the interior, however, the thought was swept out of his mind.

The interior was made of the same carefully hewn white-washed stone as the outside, though it appeared darker in the dim lighting of the room.  The only light in the vicinity came from a large purple stained glass window across the backside, directly across from them, the tinted light casting everything in its reach a soft shade of violet. A low stone wall encircled the area in front of them, sectioning off a higher platform that ringed around the walls, leaving a circular spot on the ground level in front of them.  There in the center of the room stood a figure of stone.  The statue depicted a calm, beautiful figure, her arms raised outwards, showing off her billowing dress.  A cloth covered most of her face, leaving only her mouth uncovered, lips pursed in a thin line.  Chains were visible around her arms, twisting around them until they reached her wrists, where they dropped down several inches before seperating into smaller links that grasped into opposite edges of a shallow bowl.  The bowls had each been respectivsly detailed in thin lines of ink the same colors the door had been painted in.  At her feet was another shallow bowl, detailed in careful swirls of violet that seamlessly faded into small patches of red or blue so artfully done that they were unnoticable from afar.

Jordan recognized the figure immediately as Ianite.  The depiction so uncannily accurate that the artist had to have seen the Goddess himself.

Tucker let out a loud gasp.  For a moment, Jordan thought he was just impressed with the interior, but looking back, he noticed that Tucker had doubled over.

"You okay, Tucker?" Tom asked.  His voice was cold, however, and Jordan shot him a weird look before stepping towards Tucker. 

"I'm good." He replied, standing up straight.

He looked pale, but shook off their questions of concern, waving for them to continue on.

Jordan felt a warmth in his jacket pocket and quickly removed the glowing heart from within.  The heart seemed to be pulsing erratically in excitement as Jordan approached the statue, now noticing the charred remains of a fire long since burnt out literring the shallow basin.  He hesitated, not wanting to place the beautiful light in such a dirty spot.  With his free hand, he began to dust the ashes out, but this was where the main problem came around.

Tom had been unnaturally quiet for a while now.  Jordan had added it up to the touchy subject from before and had brushed off the man's silence with ease.  Now, however, he wished he hadn't.

Tucker cried out a warning, but it came too late.  The heart was snatched from Jordan's hand before he could process what was happening, enraged shouting from the others echoing in the empty space. 

For a second, a raging pain seared through his head, filling every nerve in his body.  Then it was gone, and Jordan found hinself panting, the concerned voice of Redbeard desperately trying to penetrate the ringing that dominate his hearing.  His vision blurred, but Jordan shook his head desperately, the situation pushing itself to the front of his mind.

Tom had stolen the heart.

Jordan stood quickly, whirling around to face Tom who was bolting from the room, Tucker and Capsize hot on his heels. 

It was as though someone had poured a bucket of ice down Jordan's back, his mind going blank as he stared after the running figures.  Then, he felt a cold anger filling his veins and a familiar voice consuming his thoughts.

"Justice" It whispered.

The neutrality of the island had been disturbed.  Tom had betrayed the trust of his comrades and thrown the situation into chaos.  The green one was a rulebreaker, an imbalance. 

"Justice." It whispered again, though it sounded like a demand this time.

Another voice tried to push into his thoughts.

"No" it whispered "Tom is your friend. Something else is wrong."

But it wasn't loud enough, not strong enough to stop Jordan's hand as it reached for the sword strapped to his back, as his legs filled with a sudden strength that sent him flying across the room and out the door.  He vaguely heard Redbeard call after him, but the words were lost in the rush of wind as Jordan ran.

Tom was halfway across the island, headed back towards the skiff.  He heard a voice shout out in confusion, and realized it was Sonja, clueless in the skiff.

"There are more important things to worry about." The voice interrupted, and Jordan's mind began to blank again, but he fought it this time.  He had caught up to Tucker and Capsize and something was wrong.

They had come to a stop, Tucker with his back to Jordan and Capsize in front of him, gripping his shoulders.

She looked up at him as he approached, her expression unreadable, though a flash of anger was visible in her eyes as she saw him. 

"I told ye not to bring 'em." She said, softly.

He ignored her as Tucker swayed bonelessly in Capsize's grip.

Another situation flashed before his eyes.  Tucker, bleeding out in the grass.  Tom, blood dripping from his mouth and nose. Nade-.

Jordan gripped his sword tightly.  This would not be like then, he promised himself.  He would not let himself be possessed again.

The voice in his head raged angrily, worsening his pounding headache.

"What's wrong with Tucker?" He asked quickly, glancing around for Tom who had also stopped some feet ahead at the edge of the water, his back turned to them.

The fog in his mind was thickening, trying to subdue him again.  His grip tightened on his sword, but he stayed where he was,  his concern rooting him.

Capsize seemed to have lost her patience, her expression splitting into an angry frown.

"Remember what I told ye only a few minutes back?" She growled.  "The two are tied, Spark.  I know ye feel it too.  The island's balance is fragile and yer mate has shattered it like cannon shot at a greenhouse." Her voice cracked as she looked between the two boys "Now yer gods are flippin out and yer eyes are glowin'."

"My eyes are what?" Jordan (though he wouldn't admit to it later) squeaked, touching his face cautiously.  It was true, a violet light reflected weakly on his upraised fingers.  He walked around Capsize to get a better look at Tucker.  Tucker too had an unnatural light filling the man's eyes, though his was a solid blue.  Unlike the anger that filled Jordan, Tucker seemed pained.  His face was screwed up in an expression of torture, his breathing erratic.

Jordan paled, not liking Tucker like this. 

"How do we help him?" Jordan whirled on Capsize, though the voice in his head tried to make him turn back, to get the green traitor only meters away. He shook his head frantically, trying to physically knock it out of his head.

She frowned at him, giving him a look as though she thought him stupid.  He was pretty sure he looked it.

"Spark, ye have to do yer job." She said simply.  When Jordan continued to look confused, she sighed.
"'Member when green boy over there said it was like a string was attached between them?" Jordan nodded, remembering the look of shock on the two. "Tom there has just thrown all his weight onto his end."

And Jordan understood, imagining himself if a chord had been hooked in his chest and pulled hard, but unable to be dislodged. 

"But-" Capsize continued. "It shouldn't be this bad." She confided, giving Tucker a light shake from where he still stood supported by her arms. "He should be strong enough to do something, to push the balance back.  The only reason he would be like this..is if someone else is helpin' Tom."

And Jordan understood immediately.

He should have understood from the start.

Then he had an idea.

Keeping his eyes on Tom, he grabbed Capsize's wrist.

"Get Sonj on the island."

She pulled her wrist from his grip, but he was met with silence.  When he glanced to where she was, he found her gone, pelting towards the boat.  He quickly had to grab Tucker, who had begun to crumple without the support of Capsize.

Sonja, bless her soul, didn't ask questions.  The second Capsize came in earshot, the fox girl lept onto the island and came running towards them.

Immediately, Jordan felt a shift on the island.  The anger in him was still powerful, but some of the cracks in the balance had been pushed back together.  Tucker shivered, and then stood.  He still looked pained, but now he seemed more aware of his surroundings.

"Thomas." He growled.

Tom too had felt the difference it seemed.  He was bent over, as if short of breath, though he had been still for a while now. 

Now that Jordan was sure Tucker was no longer under threat, he raced towards the green figure at the beach.

Tom must have heard him, for he whirled around.  For a moment, Tom's  eyes were wide with shock, then a large malicious grin spread across his features.

His eyes were alight with a crimson glow as he mockingly waved the glowing heart.

"I got in~" Furia sang.

A/N
Claaaaasic Furia cliffhanger...

OMG TURTLE WHERE YOU BEEN.

I have one word...

College.

Sorry to you guys who are invested in this story. I did warn about bad updating skills!  Life has been hectic, which is no surprise when you choose engineering as your major... T-T

But I was getting a lot of notifications about upset readers, so I've been piecing this chapter together whenever I got the chance and here it finally is, though I admit there may be some typos due to how quickly I edited it.

Thanks for reading, and I'll try (emphasis on try) to make sure the next update doesn't have such a big gap after this one.

Welp, gtg to work, have fun with this! :)

~Turtle