Disclaimer: I don't own FF, they belong to Square, lucky dogs. But I do own my original characters. Hope you like this chapter.

Later that night, Cecil, Rosa, Kain, Rydia, and Edge were inside an old, wore down house. Rosa was hyperventilating and telling Cecil about her dreams. "I've been having those scary dreams again. First that dream in which I stopped by a lake and bleeded when I heard a baby's cry, and now this...?"

"Calm yourself, Rosa." Cecil reassured. "What are you seeing now?" He put his hands firmly on her shoulders as he reminded her to use these dreams as clues.

She took a deep breath and explained "I'm seeing some kids stabbing me when I laid helplessly on the ground and when I was still alive, some dogs were biting and tearing my robe apart! Then they lifted me up and nailed me to that tree!"

Cecil realized something. "The tree...the tree is the source of the curse."

"W-what are you saying, Cecil?"

"I'm saying that the tree we saw earlier is hiding somewhere in that campground. We've been acting very strangely since we saw it. All those dreams and our thougts are being manipulated by our emotions, just like what Zemus used to do." Determined as ever he declared "Rosa, we must find that tree and destroy it!"

She swallowed and asked "You think...this will work?"

"So, we finally found the problem, haven't we?" Edge sighed as he was walking in the room. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Cecil and Rosa stood up and Edge led the way out onto a flimsy bridge. It started to squeak when he stepped on it and it snapped in half. He grabbed on one end and yelped. The party came rushing to him and the half broke. Edge landed on his bottom and as he stood up he rubbed it in agony. "Ow..."

"Let's go!" Kain said and he leapt to the ground. Rydia tied her Chain Whip to one pole of the bridge and skimmered down with Rosa and Cecil. When they reached the bottom, Edge stood up and gloated "That wasn't too bad." "Don't be so foolish, Edge. We need to find that tree." Rydia scowled.

After what seemed like forever, they finally found that humongous, dead tree Rosa was talking about. It was located next to a campfire that was put out not too long ago. A very familiar sight.

"This is it." Cecil said.

"The source of the curse." Kain added.

Rydia said "This dark spell has been manipulating many people, according to the legend. I can't use my Eidolons because they will be under the possession, too. I'll use my Elemental spells instead."

"Great idea, Rydia." Cecil remarked.

"Besides, we have a warrior of light to protect us." Edge exclaimed.

"Then let's tear it down!" Kain declared. The team was ready to fight.

Their strategy is to attack the trunk so Cecil used his Excalibur, Edge threw a Fuma Shruiken, Rosa casted Protect, Kain focused and jumped, and Rydia casted Firaga. Not a single blemish appeared so they tried again.

This time Rosa used Shell on the team and the tree started to move. Just then it used Darkness and hit them to the ground. As they stood up, Cecil realized "It's trying to defend itself from us!" They were sapped.

"Watch out!" Rosa screamed as the tree unleashed its prowess again. They braced themselves and the damage was minimized.

A third time Cecil critically hit the trunk, Edge threw a Fuma Shruiken, Kain jumped, Rosa casted Curaga, and Rydia used Flare which branded it. They repeated the routine and a huge branch started to fall. It crashed to the ground and then three dogs growled. They came running from behind the tree, there were two Flamehounds and one Icebeast.

Rosa Dualcasted Berserk on the two hell hounds, Cecil sliced one, Kain jumped on the second one, Edge used his Murasames on the Icebeast, and Rydia casted Bio. The Icebeast used Blaze on the team which critically wounded them.

Rosa Dualcasted Curaga on everyone then Berserk on the blue dog. Edge used Tremor, Kain jumped on the second Flamehound, and Cecil diced the Icebeast.

At the fourth turn, Kain focused and jumped on the Icebeast which vanished. Edge casted Frost on the red dogs and Rydia casted Blizzaga. Rosa used Cura on the gang and the others repeated the process until both dogs dissipated.

Then they attacked the tree and the trunk fell with a loud crash. Thin smoke rose up from the stump then dissapeared.

"It's done." Cecil said.

"The tree is destroyed!" Rydia exclaimed.

"Heh! That was too easy!" Edge bloated "Come on, is that all you got?"

Suddenly they heard a snicker. "You may have devastated my resting place, but my wicked spirit lives on.. And in less than fifteen seconds, you are gonna perish anyway. Consume my wrath and I will meet you in the Netherworld and smite you all. Hehehehehehehe!"

They realized what was happening after they saw black mist heading their way, it was Dark Breath. Then they started to choke and suffocate. Their life was decreasing rapidly and Cecil went on all fours.

He heard Rosa speak to him. "Cecil...Cecil! CECIL!"

He gasped for air and woke up. He took some deep breaths until he calmed himself. He hugged and squeezed her and she whispered. "You were dreaming."

"Ah, yes...I thought I'd lost you.."

"It's alright, Cecil. I'm fine." she reassured. He looked out his left window and realized it was dawn. Pyroflies glowed at the dark blue and lavender sky. "Come on. Let's get ready, they're waiting." Rosa said as she stood up and changed. Cecil wondered why he kept having those nightmares, surely there must be a reason.


Later Cecil and Rosa were at the throne room and she talked to him when the nobles are out of earshot. "Cecil?"

"What is it?" he asked as he faced her.

She took a deep breath. "Can I be with you always?"

"What's this all of a sudden?" Cecil wondered.

"I talked to Odin recently. And I was wondering if...we can start a family together. I know its early, its only been a month since we ended the war and retrieved all the Crystals. But...if you still want to wait, I can understand."

"Rosa..?" he said speechless.

"When I remembered His Majesty raising both you and Kain, I was hoping that...we can do the same he did. To pass on our legacy to our newborn, regardless of what gender it will be." She looked down deep in thought and raised her head again and asked "Can we do it together?"

After a few moments he nodded slowly and hugged her. "Of course." And she closed her eyes while being in his warm comfort.

At the Enterprise Rosa and Cecil were talking about the preparations in settling down. He said "We'll set a course to Mysidia and go the the Elder at the Tower of Prayers, so we can have his blessing. And then we can head back to Baron."

"Alright." she nodded.

Cecil took the helm and the airship rose above the castle. The guards wished them good luck and they were on their way.

It headed east over the ocean and when they almost got there, Cecil saw a paddle boat with people with red skin. The two never saw anything like it. "Who are they?" Rosa wondered.

He shook his head and answered "I'm not sure."

"Look!" she pointed.

He walked over to the side and saw two males rowing and a female tied up in ropes.

"It looks like she's in trouble." she said and Cecil agreed to follow them and see where they're taking the hostage. They did and saw a small island with a cave; the two men docked and took the lady inside. Cecil landed the airship when they were out of sight and he and the White mage set out to investigate.

They walked over small puddles and mud as water dripped from the stalactites above. They came to two paths and he looked at the tracks to see where they went.

"Over there, the left passage."

She bent down and was astonished at the footprints. "It looks like they're moccassins of some kind."

He nodded and led the way to a cliff. They hid at the side while they watched the two red skins torture the girl. She was cowering at the edge and the two kept closing in on her.

One of them spoke "It seems that your father isn't here to protect you now. You shouldn't have betrayed his trust."

The other snickered "Who would've thought that you're the chief's little girl? You're as weak as a Chocobo chick and just as worthless."

"It would be quite amusing to get rid of such a vile little insect like you!"

He took out his axe from his waist and threatened to kill her. The other did the same. She backed away closer to the edge and Cecil had enough. He drew his blade and they looked over to see the trespassers.

"Hey! This isn't your business to get involved. Unless if you want to join her." the first one said.

The second licked his lips with his eyes ravenous. "I would love to teach these whites a lesson or two when it comes to messing with...our affairs."

"Count me in!" a third one sneered as he appeared and yanked out his axe.

Rosa and Cecil prepared for battle, but she didn't bring her bow and arrows. She didn't know they were going into a fray. As if he read her thoughts, he reassured "It's alright. I'll do the fighting. You just do what you do best, your healing spells."

She nodded and stepped back as he took the front.

One aboriginal took the rear while two went in front. Cecil started the fight by using Cover to protect Rosa in case she gets hit. She casted Protect on both of them and the first native used Screech, which lowered their defense.

The second one used Bluff to increase his attack power and the third one attacked Rosa, but Cecil immediately took the blow with his Lustrous Shield. He counterattacked and she used Shell.

The first redskin hit Cecil and he sliced him, and he also diced the one in the rear. The second one used Bio on both teammates, which began to sap their stamina.

The Paladin attacked the left one and he used Fira. The White mage casted Cura and Cecil hit the right one critically, he disappeared. The two remaining hit Cecil with their axes and he countered them both.

One of them vanished and because the battle was one-sided, he decided to retreat. The pair did their winning poses and checked on the girl who lost her balance and fell off the edge.

Cecil immediately sheaved his sword and ran to the precipice. He dove into the river below and Rosa came rushing toward it. Submerged he swam down to the drowning girl and grabbed her under his arm. They rose to the surface and he swam to the bank, carrying her on his back. When it was shallow enough, he stood up and she opened her eyes. She climbed down and Rosa ran to them.

Drenched but relieved, she thanked them for saving her life and taking out the savage men. "I don't know why my people turned on me."

Cecil was agap. "Your people? Would you mind telling us who you are?"

Gratefully she nodded and introduced herself as Dragon Rose, Chief Abdullah's daughter. They hailed from the village of Tenebre, which is the middle island of the archapelligo. Cecil and Rosa greeted her as the new king and queen of Baron.

"Nice to meet you. Such fine warriors you two are. A White mage I see and you must be a..."

"A Paladin." he added. She looked at him quizically and he answered that he is a warrior of hallowed light.

"Then it's true! I heard stories of the great man of light who ended the war and restored peace to my people! Come with me. I must go back to my village where my father is waiting for me. You're allowed to go with me, if you accept." He nodded and they led her to the Enterprise where they headed south to a circular island.


A/N: In case you're wondering what the heck Tenebre means, it's "darkness" in Italian. This may give you a foreshadow of what's about to happen. Oh, and that dream scene is a heads-up for my other upcoming crossover. Hope you're liking this story so far; it'll become more intense as it goes on. Keep a lookout for the next chapter.