The Hexed

Chapter One: The Deal

I opened my eyes slowly against the harsh light; I was in a room somewhere, but I had no idea where. I couldn't remember much about what happened over the last few hours, except the sharp pain that was in my head and the fact that I was now handcuffed to a bed in a badly lit room somewhere. I glanced over at the bed, which was also the source of the bad smell within the room; it was filthy, and covered in stains of a dubious origin. Grimacing, I attempted to at least loosen myself from the cold, metal grip of the handcuffs. It was no good, they were affixed pretty tightly. Sighing deeply, I turned my gaze to the wooden floor below me. It felt cold within the room, very cold, so I had an inkling that I was still in Narshe, at least.

Just when I was about to resign myself to fate and wait for my captor to arrive, I remembered about the miniature knife I kept in my pocket; twisting my body to an uncomfortable angle, I proceeded to violently thrash my body in the vain effort of releasing the knife from my pocket. Still no good, my black leather trousers were far too tight. At least they kept my legs from the cold a little.

Whilst I was still thrashing to and fro, I didn't hear somebody enter into the room.

"What the hell are you doing?" came a squeaky voice from in front of me. I quickly shot a glance upwards and saw before me an adorably short moogle, holding a spear.

"Mog?" I cried. I was wrought with confusion; I hadn't seen Mog since the Kefka Incident… it must have been at least three years now. "Are you my captor?" I said, whisper-like. It was such an unreal situation, I couldn't help but stare blankly as Mog went over to a pink leather sofa and sat down.

"I'm afraid so, darling." Mog replied in his high-pitched, demure voice. Attaching a cigarette to a silver holder, he slowly lit it and inhaled deeply, casting a look over at me when he exhaled. "Listen, sweetie;" he began, smiling, "there's something I need you to do for me."

"What?" was all I could think of saying, as I reset my body back into a better position.

"We have a big problem; the people that you left behind so long ago…" Mog sighed, wiping his brow as a look of fear crossed his furry face, "…they've been hexed."

"Hexed?" I repeated; I knew what it meant, but I didn't expect to hear about it.

"Yes, dear." Mog nodded his head slowly and again puffed away on the cigarette held in place by his well-manicured paws. "It began a few weeks ago upon the airship in which your group insist on riding; I keep telling them to get rid of the old piece of junk, but, ah well." He let out a sigh as he continued with his story. "They've all come down with some sort of illness. At least, I thought it was an illness to begin with, but the symptoms are very bizarre."

"What kind of symptoms?" I dared to ask; I was burning with curiosity, ignoring the aching pain in my wrists.

"Well, you see, this is where it begins to get odd." Mog laughed, girlishly. "They've reverted to… well." He suddenly stopped and glanced over at me again, his pink eyes shimmering. "I'll let you see for yourself when you board the airship and do exactly as I tell you."

"And what makes you think I'll do anything for you?" I spat; usually I wouldn't be so roughly spoken to a friend of mine, but he had kidnapped me and now had the audacity to ask for help.

"Unless you want to stay here for the next few years eating out of a dog bowl and answering to my every command, dear, I suggest you do as I say!" Mog blushed, covering his face with his paws and laughing manically. I had no choice but to help him.

Upon the airship…

The radio I held in my hand came to life, giving off a violent hissing noise as I adjusted the frequency to Mog's.

"Hello?" I called quietly down the radio. I shook it a little in my hand out of frustration. After a while, a faint voice echoed back through the white noise.

"Sweety!" it shrilled. "I can hear you now. Good job, dear." Mog laughed mockingly. "You operated the radio, so that's a start, I guess."

"Look, pal," I began, a smile on my lips, "I'm just outside the airlock of the airship, okay? So keep your knickers on."

"You contacted me to tell me that?" Mog asked, disbelievingly. "You're such a loser, Locke." He cut the transmission, leaving me again in silence. Sighing deeply, I holstered the radio to my belt and turned the door to the airlock, allowing myself in. I was surprised that the door was unlocked, actually; Mog had told me he had contained all my formers friends within the airship so they couldn't escape. So where could they be?

"Hello?" I whispered; my voice echoed through the metal corridor as I slowly walked along it. I regretted speaking now, my voice sounding eerie to my ears. Biting my lower lip, as I was bricking it, I turned the corner in the corridor which led to the bedrooms. I had contacted Mog earlier and learnt that they were all locked in various parts of the ship; Terra was locked in her bedroom. Thinking it best to start with the woman with whom I had shared so much in the past, I held no hesitation as I stepped up to the door of her bedroom.

"Terra?" I said, flatly, knocking on the wooden door thrice. No reply. "Are you here?" I said again, hoping vaguely for some response.

"…Locke?" came a faint voice from behind the door; it sounded weak, tired and frightened.

My heart pounded hard in my chest; I really heard the voice of Terra, who I hadn't seen in so long. Completely forgetting myself and the consequences, I unlocked the door to her room and flung the door open. Standing within the doorway was Terra, as beautiful as ever. She looked as though she had just woken up; her eyes were half-shut and smeared with last night's make up. To me, she looked wonderful.

"Terra!" I exclaimed, unable to draw her close to my breast. She pulled away in shock.

"Locke…" she whimpered, starting to well up with tears. "Take my hand." She began; she was acting a bit strangely as she led me over to the bed and sat me down with her on its soft, pink duvet covers.

"It's going to be all right, Terra." I sighed, drawing her yet again to my breast in a warm embrace. Now I knew Mog had been lying; he must have gone crazy or something. Now that Terra was liberated, I could continue to release my other friends from captivity.

"Yes, it is." She smiled weakly, pulling me closer to her. "Now that you've opened the door." Came a silent whisper, yet it resounded in my ears like a gunshot.

"What?" was all I could say, as I drew away from her. She had the most manic look in her eyes as she clutched a candlestick in her hands;bBefore I had the chance to react, she whacked me mercilessly around the head with it! It was no use, I lost consciousness before I had even hit the ground. All I heard was her laughing loudly and screaming: "I'm coming, you bitch Celes!".

When I came round, I realised the room was empty. I wondered how long I had been out for as I weakly pulled myself up on the bed; the room was spinning violently and I wanted to vomit. Controlling the urge to puke, I unhooked the radio from my belt and activated it.

"Mog." I spat, weakly. "Mog, can you hear me?"

"Locke?" came a shout from the other side. "I've been trying to contact you for 20 minutes, you fool!"

"Sorry; I had a little trouble." I chuckled, rubbing my head.

"You let her out of her room, didn't you?" came a high-pitched sigh. I didn't say anything as I heard the familiar strike of a match from the radio. "You idiot."