A/N - Part one of two - This is where Kefka gets his ass handed to him. Well, next chapter. But he is a complete horror in this one!

Hope you enjoy xD

'This plan was perfect, Exy! I have my toy just where I want her, all by herself!'

Kefka pointed his crooked index finger at the crumpled body on the floor. Kathryn was still very much unconscious; her face and body were extremely bruised, and blood was streaming from her nose; her injuries gained from the impact of Kefka's mid air kick.

Kefka chuckled gleefully as he rubbed his hands together. He had been waiting for this moment for oh so long, and finally, finally, it was really happening.

Exdeath meandered his way out of the midst of the foreboding shadows he was standing in. His metallic foot armour clanked on the aluminium grated floor as he slowly made his way over to Kefka, who was prodding Kathryn's body like a piece of meat about to be stewed.

'Is the whelp still alive?' Exdeath's booming voice half scared Kefka, who was now pulling Kathryn's head up by grabbing a fistful of her black hair and letting it slump back onto the metallic grating. It hit the floor really quite hard, creating a sickening 'thump' on impact, which made Kefka giggle.

'Ooh! That's going to hurt when you wake up…'

'Kefka…'

'Oh. Sorry. Yeah, she's alive. I want her alive for the…finale.'

Kefka began to laugh wildly, accompanied by an equally wild (yet loud, and very booming) laugh uttered from Exdeath, as they sauntered down the various floors and out of Kefka's tower.

It was around half an hour later when Kathryn began to stir; very slowly at first, because she was in so much pain. After a little while longer, she managed to lift her head, which was pounding, only to instantly vomit on the floor beside herself. She was incredibly dizzy, her head was reeling from her broken nose and constantly banged head (no thanks to Kefka), and she was voraciously scared and disorientated. As her eyes flickered fully open, it took them a few seconds to properly gain focus on her unfamiliar surroundings.

Where was she?

Where was Cecil?

Who had done this?

She managed to muster enough strength to struggle to her feet, wobbling unsteadily on the spot as she pulled her aching body upright.

'H-hello?' she called out in desperation. 'Is anyone here?'

It dawned on her quite quickly that no-one else was there. No-one to protect her. No-one to defend her…

For the first time since she had been summoned to the realm of Dissidia, she was completely and utterly alone.

As she began to realise just how much danger she was in, she began to sob. Tears fell prominently down her heavily bruised cheeks onto the metallic floor. She didn't feel like the twenty one year old adult she was, she felt pathetic, useless.

If she was unable to defend herself, what hope did she have? What was the point?

Dejectedly, she sighed, and sat promptly back down onto the floor. She drew a cigarette from the long since crumpled pack that was still in her pocket, lit it using the last of the fluid in her lighter, and took a long drag. The nicotine had an instantly calming sensation on her, and she began to relax slightly, taking everything in as she began to continue thinking. She did not realise that whilst she was deep in thought, her outstretched hand began to glow, and an all but forgotten reminder of the binds she had made with people here began to appear. It was Firion's wild rose, and as soon as Kathryn laid her astonished, icy blue eyes on it, she remembered.

'Firion's wild Rose. This was his dream, and he gave it to me…'

Because that's what friends do. They help each other out…

How could she have forgotten? She had people relying on her for the first time in her life. She had responsibilities that were far more important than anything before.

Cosmos was relying on her, the other warriors; her friends were relying on her, and Cecil…Cecil was relying upon her more than anything.

If she was going to get out of this situation alive, she was going to have to stand and fight for what she was defending.

It was coincidentally very lucky that Kathryn did come to her senses quickly, because no sooner had she jumped up from the floor, and stamped out her cigarette, that she heard something coming from a few floors down.

Hoping that it was just a figment of her imagination, she crept to the railings on the sides of the floor, and leant over, just in time to see Kefka skipping merrily up the stairs, humming an unfamiliar and daunting tune as he made his way back up to his precious toy.

Kathryn drew her head back quickly, and froze on the spot. She would have to think quickly if she was going to do anything, the only option she had to use at the moment was to stand and fight, and Kefka was not going to go down easily.

Racking her brains as Kefka reached the next level; Kathryn cleverly spied a broken waste pipe, large enough for a person to climb into. Deciding that this was her only viable option, she tip-toed over to the entrance of the pipe, and silently slid herself in.

The stench of stagnant, putrid water filled her nostrils as she tried to make her way through quietly, the green algae that plagued the surface of the water clung to her jeans and her hands as the water lapped at her body. Now was not the time to fret about stagnant water and algae, she had to hide herself quickly.

Up ahead, the drainpipes joined onto another set of drainpipes, meaning there was a corner she could hide herself behind, rendering her obsolete from anyone's view should they think to look into the pipe. Quickening her pace only slightly, she managed to make her way around the bend of the pipe and sit down quickly; just as Kefka made it to the floor she was on. She sighed silently, and waited for the realisation from that bastard clown, that she was no longer in the spot she was before, and no longer unconscious.

It took Kefka merely seconds to realise his precious toy had eluded his grasp once more, and he howled in rage. A howl, that made Kathryn's hair stand on end as it echoed down the drainage pipes.

'NO! How could this happen again?'

Kefka clutched fistfuls of his brilliant blonde hair as he thrashed around in rage. Kathryn breathed a sigh of relief. If Kefka thought she had escaped, he would ultimately go searching for her, and this would be the perfect time for her to escape. She waited with baited breath for any signs of retreat from Kefka, but she would be in for a long wait if she thought he would give up that easily.

It just so happened that Kefka did not think for one minute that Kathryn had left the building. He had been waiting just outside the entrance with Exdeath, and would have noticed if she had attempted to escape his clutches. No. She must be here somewhere...

He crept along the metallic floor, making absolutely sure that he was making no audible sounds whatsoever. If she was nearby, she would hear any sounds made. The sheer vastness of this tower made any sound carried amplified by tenfold.

As he walked past the drainage pipes, they grabbed his attention more than anything in the building. Sure, she could have hidden in the esper tubes, but he would have spotted her by now. No. She would have gone for the easy option, the quickest option…

Smirking as he crept over to the pipe entrance, he cupped his rather large ear in his hands, waiting for Kathryn to make a noise. He was adamant she was in the pipes; he just had to wait for some kind of proof. This came, in the form of Kathryn's foot slipping as she was preparing to make a quick dash. Stagnant water sprayed over her face as she gagged and wretched as the putrid substance hit her tongue.

This was almost too much for Kefka to bear. He shrieked with joy when he realised he was right after all. She would regret trying to escape him, but, he had her right where he wanted her now; trapped, with no way out.

'Bingo. We've got a winner here. Or should I say…loser?'

Kathryn did not dare reply to the clown. She was too scared to even open her mouth. Something bad was about to happen, she could tell, it was in the ambience of the air that surrounded her, goading her like an incessant bully. What on earth was she going to do now? She had no way past Kefka…

'Heh. Let's see you try and escape THIS, little girl…'

Kefka's smile turned into an evil, Machiavellian grin as he clicked his finger. The sound of buzzing electricity could be heard at both ends of the draining pipe, fizzling and crackling as they made their way through the putrid water. Kathryn could hear them approaching, but did not know what they were until it was too late. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced upon a flashing streak of blue coming straight at her from the right, and as she turned her head to the other side, from the left also. She held her mouth in pure fear. She could not escape this. She was going to die here, in this disgusting, rusted excuse for a pipe, and no-one but Kefka would know.

With a final cry of: 'ZAPPO!' Kefka laughed horribly at Kathryn's terrifying, heart wrenching scream as electricity fought its way around her body. Her muscles tensed and contracted freely, her heart pounded dangerously out of rhythm, and her eyes rolled around in her skull. She couldn't hold on. She could not hold on any longer. This was it, this was her time…

It was a horrible thing to greet Cecil as he walked into the confines of Kefka's tower; the laughter of pure evil combined with the shrill, blood curdling, agonising screams of the woman he loved. His eyes flashed crimson upon hearing the cries, as the rest of the Cosmos warriors looked on in horror…

'Kefka Palazzo, you are truly dead when I get my hands on you…'

The tiny Tarutaru black mage kicked her legs voraciously as she sat on the white, ornate, marble plinth with her beloved Goddess; Cosmos. She hummed a dainty little tune as her tiny legs cut through the air.

Carefree and truly happy, she did not want her relaxation time with Cosmos to be ruined by anyone, or anything, which of course meant, this would not go according to plan.

As if summoned to directly annoy Shantotto; a man clad entirely in ornately decorated onyx style armour walked slowly up to the plinth; wielding two swords; one long, and one short.

He came to an abrupt stop metres away from Shantotto, who sighed heavily and sarcastically as she jumped down, landing with a resounding splash into the shallow water below.

'And what do we hold the graciousness of your presence…sir? Need I remind you that you are nothing but a fool if you think you can get away with disturbing not only I, but her.'

She pointed a miniscule finger at the stunning golden goddess, whose brow furrowed over the presence of this unknown knight.

He merely stared back through the eye holes of his vastly horned helmet, brandishing his swords over his chest as he spoke with a rugged, English – esque accent.

'I am Gabranth; Judge Magister of the Archadian Empire, and I have been sent here to confront Cosmos…'

'Oh, is that so? Ohohoho! If you think you will lay a hand on my Goddess, I think you'll find that the answer is a resounding, no!'

Shantotto readied her mage staff as Gabranth wielded his dual blades. This was going to be a fight that Shantotto was really going to enjoy…