Chapter the Ninth - Crossroads

Edgar could still hear the chaos as they were pulled out of the sewers of Vector. The uproar was just as before, but stricken with terror and malevolence. An angry red glow came from the center of the city; the scorching blaze of the Imperial Palace's funeral pyre.

"That way," the portly man pointed across the sky-bridges.

They hurried along the narrow street, ignored by those huddled in the alcoves. Edgar glared at the pair skeptically.

"Name's Wedge," the white-haired man offered. "He's Biggs."

Edgar saw Banon shrug. "Those aren't your real names, are they?"

"No offence," Wedge answered as they crossed the bridge. "But it's safer this way."

Cyan's expression soured even more than usual. Edgar was just as suspicious, but they needed the two men to escape. "How do we leave?"

"By chocobo. We've made arrangements at a stable and with the palace blazing, you'll have no problems leaving the city," Wedge pointed down the street past a cluster of houses.

An explosion roared throughout Vector, causing Edgar to turn back. Even with sky-high buildings in the way, he could see fireballs engulfing another hideous demon. It was not the bird, but some sort of horned beast.

Turning around, he smacked into Locke.

Edgar dove to the cobblestone as Locke hopped over, the two men swearing at each other as they fought for balance. Edgar barely succeeded, only to see Cyan draw his stolen blade.

"You traitorous dog-"

Locke slid around the legs of the rotund Biggs. In a flash, his blade was pressed to the portly man's throat. "Who are you?" he screamed wildly.

With a wrinkled brow, Edgar realized that Locke was not threatening them; those beady eyes were on Wedge.

"Locke, calm down!" Sabin had gotten in Cyan's way. "Those guys are Returners-"

"No they aren't!" Locke snapped. "I know this one," his blade pressed closer to Biggs' throat. "He ambushed me and killed Maria!"

"Maria?" Edgar echoed.

"The opera singer! The one that looks like Celes!"

Edgar exchanged a concerned look with Banon, who decided to step in. "Locke, we've known each other for years. This isn't the time, we need to get away from the Empire."

Locke eyes darted to Wedge. "Stop that!"

Wedge froze in the middle of reaching into his leather vest. "Buddy, you're insane. We just saved your friends' lives."

"You two are working for her, I know it."

"Hypocritical words, traitor," Cyan was trying to force his way past Sabin.

"What, me? I almost died trying to save your lives! All of a sudden, hell decides to claim the Empire and I'm scrambling to find needles in a burning haystack-"

"Where were you anyways?"

"Edgar? You're questioning me? What about these two?"

"What about them? They just saved us!"

His knife pressed even harder against Biggs' skin. "You don't even know who they are and you still trust them?"

"Locke, Edgar," Banon's voice was soothingly calm. "We can discuss this later. The Empire will be coming after us."

Reminded of the imminent threat, Edgar's heart began to race. "Locke, let Biggs go. Once we're at the safe house-"

"Forget it! I'm going back to spit on Gestahl's body."

"Locke-"

"You guys are alive, that's all that matters," Locke pulled Biggs with him as he retreated. "If you're not going to believe me, fine, your funeral. I'm going to make sure the old man's dead, once and for all."

"Revenge isn't worth your life, Locke!" Edgar shouted. "You need to let her go!"

"Really?" Locke pushed Biggs forward just as Cyan charged. "Why don't you try it sometime!"

Cyan threw Biggs out of his way and ran after Locke. Edgar followed, but the pair skidded to a halt when they saw the empty alleyway.

"He's gone."

"And so must we," Banon noted.

---

The further they ran, the more confounded the situation became. His sense of uneasiness had brought him alongside of Cyan, staying far away from Biggs and Wedge. There was just something wrong about... everything.

And then a chill ran down his back.

"Wedge," Edgar gestured at the second sun behind them. "Back there, why'd you tell me I did a great job?"

The Returner had removed his helmet, white-hair sparkling behind him as they sprinted. "I don't remember what I said. The explosions were a huge shock. I thought I was dead for a moment."

"I remember exactly what you did: you congratulated me."

"That was me," Sabin pointed out. "I thought this was all your plan?"

"Not in the slightest!" Edgar snapped. "But you-" he pointed at Wedge, "-screamed great job."

"I don't remember... and watch where you're running," Wedge kept his eyes on the road ahead.

Edgar skidded to a stop. "No, I think I've had enough. Cyan, these two are working for Celes."

Sabin might have argued, but Cyan had unhesitatingly served royalty for a lifetime. Without a question, Cyan's blade was between the four of them and the pair of interlopers.

"Did some of Locke's craziness rub off on you?" Wedge's eyes watched the tip of Cyan's sword. "We saved-"

"This was Celes' plan all along," Edgar deduced. "You two screamed loud enough to make sure everyone thinks it's my plan, that the Returners were responsible for annihilating the Empire's gathered leadership!"

"That's quite a leap in logic," Banon remarked. "But I've never heard of either of them."

"And Locke said you killed a girl he was protecting," Sabin glared.

"There's no escape plan. Celes wants the scapegoats dead so we'll never talk," Edgar accused.

Biggs' eyes darted down the road.

Edgar followed. "Oh shit."

It was a mob; thousands of Imperial civilians armed with tools of their trade.

"Returners!"

"They killed the Emperor!"

"They slaughtered General Leo!"

"Kill them all!"

Biggs and Wedge both slapped on their helmets.

"Well it's been fun," Wedge grinned. "But it's time to cash out while we're ahead."

Cyan darted forward, but the two men were already on the run for their supporting crowd.

"Now what?" Sabin gestured at the narrow street. Buildings hemmed them in on both sides.

"Now we die with honour," Cyan faced the massive crowd. His blade glinted under the sunlight.

Sabin stood next to Cyan, the two men in the center of the road. "Right beside you."

"I've already made my peace," Banon leaned against a door. He jumped aside when it opened.

"I hear words of defeat."

Edgar's mouth dropped. "Shadow?"

The dark cloaked man gestured at the gloom behind him. "Your passage has already been bartered. Save the heroism for another day."

Cyan glowered suspiciously, but Sabin cheerily followed Shadow. The three men shrugged. They had left nothing to lose.

---

Her hearing was the first thing that came back. She forced her eyes closed while her blood simmered with rage.

"I run things, Colonel," Kefka's unmistakable voice assaulted her ears. "Now kill her, or get out of my way!"

"Bind her," it was the Imperial Guardsman. "Her trial-"

"Trial?" Kefka hissed.

"Trial," the Colonel stood his ground. "And restrain her magic."

"Sir, General Christophe ordered everyone with even the slightest training in-"

"Right, the palace," an exasperated sigh. "Just make sure she's unconscious, and tighten that gag!"

Even the Imperial Guard had thrown in their lot with Kefka. So be it.

Celes' eyes snapped open. The gag around her mouth was choking her, but her eyes locked with the Colonel's.

His horrified gasp was the last of his life.

Bits of grey matter splattered across Kefka's face as men's skulls exploded. Those holding onto Celes found sapphire flames devouring their flesh clean off the bone. They died staring at their own exposed skeleton.

The ropes around her wrists shattered as soldiers charged. She spat out her gag.

"Insects."

A wave of her hand and their bodies splattered against unyielding brick. She sneered as she twirled around, taking the time to point at each individual soldier as a beam of blue light shot forth. With each blast, another of her most-trusted soldiers shattered into a thousand pieces of flash-frozen flesh.

Major Collins was last, and she had something special for him.

Forgiveness.

He whirled through the air and rammed through the side of a wagon. Though his limbs were twisted like a pretzel, he alone would live.

A blast of crimson inferno tore past her and burned through a building. Magitek Armors towered above, cannons flaring to life as blast after blast of elemental magic bore down on her lithe figure.

The runes of her blade shimmered.

Her skin was white as she willed the Armors out of existence. They crumpled, exploded, or vaporized into thin air, all while dozens of their brothers belched forth energy to level mountains. Soon nothing but blinding crimson light surrounded her, like the center of the sun and just as hot.

Her eyes glowed with the magic they threw at her.

With a scream, it was over. Mist rose from the corpses of the army that opposed her. Armors or soldiers, their shadows were forever frozen into the surrounding buildings. She smiled at the icicles hanging off their frosted faces.

"You are so violent."

Celes glared at Kefka, the coward resurfacing at last. "So you did survive."

Kefka's chuckle irritated her. She gestured, but nothing happened.

"Huh... was that it?"

Celes laughed back at him. Her hand rose to the heavens.

A building undulated into existence behind her, twin armored towers slanted with a great maw in between. It moved, eyes of the purest white light surrounded by blessed white and red armor. Holy energy gathered, brighter than even the blaze of the palace.

It shrieked in horror as star-speckled darkness washed over it, swallowing the Esper alive.

Celes spun around, chills running down her back as she recognized the shape appearing out of the inferno. He strode through the oceans of fire without a care.

"Gestahl."

The Emperor stopped beneath the frame of the Imperial Gates. "I'm disappointed in you, Celes."

He tossed an old, twisted cane to the ground.

"So very disappointed."