Kefka's Inner Sanctum

Following Kefka's defeat, the tower began to be unstable and was shaking greatly.

As everyone prepared to head out, Setzer ran in with Gau, Gogo and Umaro. "There's no time to lose ! Airship's just ahead !"

Celes motioned to everyone towards the exit. "Come on, everybody ! We have to work together !"

Terra morphed into her Esper form and began to lead and stumbled. Celes helped her up. "Terra ! What's wrong ?"

The Magicites began to crumble to pieces, one by one. The sudden realization sunk in, especially with Terra. "The Magicites… Magic is disappearing from this world…"

Edgar looked on glumly. "The Espers… They no longer exist…"

Celes quickly turned to him, panicked. "You mean Terra too ?!"

Terra stood back up, ready to give it all to save everyone. "Come with me, I can lead you out with my last ounce of strength."

Everyone contributed to the escape. For Cyan, he overcame his fear of machinery. Just as he, Edgar and Celes were stepping down some stairs. Edgar was the last to go down, but the stairs gave away when Cyan unknowingly pressed a switch, leaving poor Edgar dangling.

Edgar hung on to the ledge for dear life. "Cyan ! Think you can handle that switch ?"

Cyan just grumbled a bit. "Machines ! I HATE machines !" He tried to figure out the mechanism and finally decided to jump on the switch, getting Edgar to fall face first on the stairs. He looked at it in triumph. "You have to show technology who's boss !" He laughed it up.

With Setzer, he, Celes and Edgar were forced to choose between a left and right door. Setzer took a coin decided that heads would be left and tails would be right. Just as Celes was heading left, the coin fell on the tail side. He shouted out to her. "Wait !" An explosion occurred from the left room. He pointed to the right door. "Let's go that way !" He took a deep breath. "Sometimes in Life, you just have to FEEL your way through a situation." Celes and Edgar quickly ran inside, leaving Setzer to his thoughts. "Darryl, I'm starting to sound just like you !" He ran off to join the others.

Further through the tower, Edgar, Celes and Setzer met up with Sabin. As they were about to head through a door, an enormous steel girder threatened to flatten everyone. Fortunately, Sabin grabbed it and held on to it thanks to his incredible strength. "I didn't turn my back on the Kingdom, big brother… I knew you'd be a better King. I trained hard knowing I might have to help you one day… Now I know why I have these stupid muscles !" He threw the girder into a hole, allowing everyone to keep going.

At one point, Edgar and Mog were going through a pipe and a trap door opened, nearly swallowing the Moogle. He held on to the ledge. "Heeeeeeelp ! Save me !"

Edgar quickly jumped to the opposite side, where a convenient crane stood. Operating it, Edgar was able to get the Moogle to safety, but grabbed him a tad tightly. Mog expressed his discomfort rather quickly. "The hair ! Watch the hair !" Edgar could only laugh at his friend's troubles.

Almost halfway through the tower, Setzer, Celes and Umaro were attempting to get inside a door. No matter how hard she rammed, Celes couldn't get it open. "It won't open !" Umaro did what was totally natural : Charge through the stone wall, making a path to the door nearby !

Where Terra's party was first stuck, Edgar, Setzer, Celes and Gogo had their own little troubles. Celes and Gogo were separated by the gap, leaving Setzer and Edgar stuck at the lower platform. Celes tried to activate the mechanism, but nothing was happening. "Both buttons have to be pressed simultaneously…"

Setzer quickly came up with an idea. "Gogo ! Watch Celes and do exactly what she does !"

When Celes blinked, Gogo did so ! When she flicked a certain switch, Gogo did the same on his end. Eventually, everyone was granted safe passage except Gogo. When everyone ran off to the exit, Gogo forgot about the gap and fell in. Thankfully, he was able to pull himself out quickly.

When they were outside, Gau, Edgar and Celes were climbing down the rocky slopes. Gau, being the agile Wild Boy, he descended with ease. When Celes and Edgar caught up with him, he pointed downwards. "Gau find short cut !" When Celes didn't see it, Gau grabbed her and tossed her down, much to her discomfort, quickly following after her.

In the middle of the outside area, Ahsoka stopped when she saw their shuttle. "Ok, Master, I'm going to get her running again while you keep going with the rest. Don't worry about me. I'll catch up to you all !"

As Obi-Wan went to meet with the others, Ahsoka quickly ran to the cockpit. At first, the controls weren't co-operating. She punched at the console, eventually getting it to work. "Oh no, you don't ! I haven't survived through this adventure to end my life here, while this tower crumbles around me ! You will work, you kriffing bucket of bolts !"

Obi-Wan met with Edgar, Celes and Setzer. Celes was very happy to see him. "Obi-Wan, what perfect timing ! This door here just locked on us ! Can you open it somehow ?"

Obi-Wan reached for his lightsaber. "Oh, that shouldn't be a problem. Allow me." He ignited the blade and created a hole, allowing everyone passage. As Celes, Setzer and Edgar went through the hole, Obi-Wan was left to his own musings. "Nothing happens by accident… right Master Jinn ?"

Through an unstable floor, Terra lead Edgar, Locke and Celes. Celes accidentally dropped a heirloom piece while the floor was beginning to collapse. Locke quickly motioned her to continue. "Come on ! This floor's about to break open !" Seeing Celes attempting to retrieve the piece against better judgement, Locke quickly turned around and grabbed her hands as she was able to fall to her death.

Celes was dangling above the chasm. "Locke !"

Locke held on to her hands as tight as possible. "I will not let go… I promise !" He gathered all his strength to pull her back to safety. He was a bit concerned about her rash decision. "You almost ate it trying to pick up that silly trinket !"

The floor shook some more, prompting Locke to pick Celes in his arms and run off with the others.

Passing through the Magitek Laboratory ruins, Terra had to stop all of a sudden. Setzer, Edgar and Celes looked as Terra released Maduin's Magicite, the spirit of her father.

She allowed the Magicite to float in the air and felt her father's aura. "Father… ?"

Maduin's voice sounded through the room. "Terra… we must part now. We Espers will disappear from this world… forever. But if the Human part of you is very strongly attached to something or someone… You will probably be able to remain in this world as a Human being…" Maduin's Magicite then crumbled away like the rest.

Closer to the entrance, Relm and Strago were struggling through some conveyor belts. Strago had lost his footing and was being pulled away. Relm groaned as she ran to fetch him. "Grandpa ! Stop goofing around !"

Strago struggled to regain his footing. "Sorry, dear…"

Relm held on to him as she pulled him with her. "If I even hear a peep out of you, I'm gonna draw your portait !"

Strago knew he was in trouble. "No ! Anything but that !"

Relm couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. "But, you know, just once… I'd really like to make a portrait of you… on canvas, of course !"

Strago face-palmed. "Relm ! How can you be thinking about pictures at a time like this ?!"

Elsewhere, Shadow lodged himself in a corner, Interceptor trying to stick with him. Shadow just shoved him away. "Interceptor ! Get going !"

His dog slid over to him, whimpering. Shadow petted him one last time. "Stay well…"

As Interceptor ran back to Relm and Strago, Shadow accepted his fate and sat at the corner. "Baram ! I'm going to stop running ! I'm going to begin all over again…"

Everyone (except Shadow) was gathered on the Falcon's deck with only Relm and Strago still lagging behind. As they arrived at the top, the crane's hook was just out of reach. Strago wasn't going to let that stop him. "No… NO ! A "kid" like me doesn't know the meaning of defeat !" He gathered his strength of hopped on several steps until he could reach the hook. "Gotcha !" The crane lowered a bit, allowing Strago to grab onto Relm, whom held Interceptor in her arms. Finally, everyone was gathered and ready to leave.

"Come with me !" Terra, still in her Esper form, took to the air. Setzer quickly took the wheel and began to fly as fast as possible.

As the Falcon began gaining altitude, the last Magicite crystal in the party's possession crumbled…

Celes ran to the edge of the deck, sensing Terra's power slowly leaving her. "Terra ! It's okay ! Your power ! It's fading…"

Once the Falcon was finally out of the tower, Obi-Wan began to feel very concerned. "Where is Ahsoka ?! She should have gotten the shuttle functioning by now !"

Just then, the shuttle just whizzed past them, just as Kefka's Tower crumbled and exploded. Obi-Wan felt immediate relief. "Thank the Force ! She got out in time !"

Now the party had one last issue to deal with, Terra's Esper powers were fully depleted and she fell down fast. Setzer quickly brought the Falcon downwards in an attempt to rescue her.

At Barren Falls, the Mobliz children witnessed the Falcon swooping down and back up. Someone was picked up in mid-air…

One of them summoned to the others. Something amazing was happening. Katarin was giving birth to her baby. Duane helped her through the process and both were soon proud parents, gaining much admiration from the witnessing children.

Back on the deck, everyone recovered from Setzer's insane stunt. To their surprise, by the edge of the deck, stood Terra, in her Human form. Setzer helped her back up.

Terra quickly hugged him. "Thank you, Setzer !"

Of course, Setzer wanted to hog all the credit to himself. "Didn't I say it before ?! This is the world's fastest ship !"

The Falcon flew over the oceans, plains, forest, cities, etc… Kohlingen was being rebuilt, as was Thamasa. They even flew over Mobliz and the children were so excited about the new baby that they shouted the news to Terra. Figaro Castle was also regaining its former glory. The shuttle, being an Ambassador Shuttle, flew right by the Falcon. Ahsoka opened a hatch by the side, prompting Obi-Wan to join her.

He turned to everyone. "Well… I guess this is it. We've kept our word that we wouldn't leave until your world was safe. I'm sure people miss us back at ours. Take care, all of you !"

Edgar shook hands with him. "It's been an honor to have you two fight at our side. I wish you two a safe trip back to your own world. Good luck !"

Ahsoka waved goodbye to everybody as Obi-Wan leapt into the ship. For a brief moment, the shuttle stood still, once the engines were warmed up, it flew at high speed towards the stars.

Once in deep space, Ahsoka set the coordinates for Kiros. "Here's hoping Anakin won't kill us when we arrive. Knowing him, he's probably worried sick !"

Artisanal Togrutan Colony, Kiros

Several hours later, the Jedi Ambassador Shuttle was landing near the T-6 Shuttle that held Padmé, Anakin and Palpatine. Once on the ground, they saw Anakin running towards them. Ahsoka wasn't looking forward to her Master's likely lecture. "Hoo boy… Here he comes, Master Kenobi. I think we're in for an earful !"

Obi-Wan crossed his arms. "No matter what he says, we'll explain our predicament, whether he wishes to believe us or not !"

"Where have you two been ?! It's been over two hours that we've been trying to get in touch with you !"

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan both looked at each other. Ahsoka broke the silence. "Two hours, you say ? Uh… I don't know how to break this to you, Skyguy… But we've been away for more than a couple of hours…"

Anakin scratched his head. "What the kriff are you two going on about ?! I demand an explanation !"

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Oh, you'll get one. But believing our story… will be another matter altogether…"

They explained their tale from beginning to end. Anakin had a very hard time taking them seriously. "So you mean to tell me that you two ended up on some planet where Magic was real and you fought an Evil Clown as the Villain ?! What kind of an idiot do you two take me for ?! It can't be true… !"

Obi-Wan swallowed a lump in his throat. "It's too bad you don't want to believe us, Anakin. You ought to know we have no reason to lie to y… Hold on a moment…" He caught the sight of something stuck to Ahsoka's left montral. "Ahsoka… is that a Ribbon still attached ?!"

She yanked out the item in question. "Well, what do you know ? Guess I forgot to remove it after I gave the last blow to Kefka…"

Anakin was immediately curious. "Ok… humor me, Snips. What's it supposed to do ?"

"Protects from everything… even Poison !"

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Now you're pulling my leg, Snips !"

She puts it back on and reaches for one of Padmé's Jogan Fruits. "Watch !"

Padmé panicked. "Ahsoka ! What are you doing ?! You can't eat Jogan Fruits ! You'll be sick !"

"Not with this, I won't !" She took a large bite, munching happily. "Yum ! This is sweet !"

Anakin quickly turned to Obi-Wan. "Uh… I guess I owe you two an apology ! Too bad I missed out on all that "fun"."

Ahsoka turned to her Grand-Master. "You know… I don't think I've said this before : There really is no place like home !" They went around, seeing that things were definitely improving.

I've done it ! I've completed the story a couple weeks ahead of schedule ! This has been a monumental project. It'll be the last major story for a very long while. I have a Christmas-themed oneshot that will be released over the weekend. I really have to thank Lux's Sister for her continuous support and reviews. Please leave a review.