A World Away
Prologue
Locke Cole was sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Blood ran down the side of his head. All of his dear friends were strewn around him, in a similar fashion. Kefka walked up to him and pulled Locke upright. Locke's eyes flickered open and shut as he tried to regain his senses. How long had he been out? His eyes opened more and saw the clownish expression of Kefka staring back at him. It was a mixture of humor and pure terror that gazed in to the eyes of Locke Cole. The world's greatest treasure hunter struggled to get away, but Kefka's power was inhuman. Locke couldn't even get to his sword that was on the ground beside where he stood.
"Should you be the first?" Kefka asked, "Or should I start with your girlfriend? Perhaps I should kill General Celes before your very eyes. Yes, I would take more pleasure in that." Kefka laughed.
"No..." Locked groaned, "You can't! I won't let you!" he cried. With that, Locke broke free of Kefka's grasp and retrieved his sword. They stood about 10 feet apart, staring each other down. It lasted for a few minutes until Kefka laughed.
"You still think you can defeat me? I'm immortal, fool!" Kefka insisted. At the same moment, Locke, moving faster than any eye could track, crossed the 10 feet, and brought the sword to bear. Kefka managed to slap the blade away at the last moment. Kefka drew his own weapon, a crudely formed sword with a human skull for the hilt. Kefka slashed across Locke's body with the sword, but Locke was able to jump out of the way before the blow landed. The two locked weapons, eyeing each other once more, trying to break the stalemate. Impossible, Kefka thought, I'm stronger than this imbecile. Kefka kept pushing until he realized it wasn't that Locke had the same strength as him, but that his muscles were frozen. He couldn't move. Kefka's eyes widened and glanced around, behind Locke he saw Celes with her arm outstretched towards him.
"Stop," she mouthed. Locke grinned, and gripped his sword tighter, a bright blue hue surrounded the blade. The finishing blow fell, and Kefka came to the ground, hard and fast. Locke ran to Celes and embraced her. Tears ran down her face.
"Is it over?" she asked.
"Yes, it..." Locke started, but Celes went limp in his arms. He shook her, but she wouldn't wake up. He laid her on the ground, and she started shaking uncontrollably. A white glow formed around her body, and flew in to the sky, as if something had left her. Locke checked her pulse.
And then there was nothing but blackness.