A/N: Sorry for the long delay in updates, on top of a ridiculous work schedule that I am still trying to balance I am having inspiration issues- which is not to say I lack inspiration or ideas, only focus. This chapter is pretty long, and it was going to be longer- but I figured that you guys have waited way to long to hear from me. I can practically feel people worrying here- you know that this fic might not be a thing anymore. Dont worry, I'm still kicking. I just felt like I've agonized over this chapter enough for a lifetime so if You guys catch anything that needs editing please hit me up with a PM or something.


The King and the Lionheart

Chapter 29: The Destination of Confrontation

By Bamvivirie/ Sunspice


"Another conversation with no destination, another battle never won, and each side is a loser. So who cares who fired the gun? And I'm learning, so I'm leaving, and even though I'm grieving, I'm trying to find the meaning, let loss reveal it, let loss reveal it."

Florence and the Machine, St. Jude

It took us all of an hour to gather and head out from the Inn at Narshe and towards the upper passes after I returned from my self imposed exile, I was relieved at least to find that no one wanted to immediately discuss my reason for leaving. But the silence was worse, because I knew I should break it- I should but I couldn't. Oh lord was this a bad time to be remembering I was terrible at talking to people, I had really been doing so well up to this point; but it just kind of figured didn't it? I finally come to a point where I need to express that I wasn't trying to hurt anyone, and I can't even bring myself to catch anyone's attention.

I took a deep breath allowing the cold biting wind of the pass to enter my lungs, and distract me for a moment from my thoughts- I needed a moment to clear my mind, it was so filled with all the emotional baggage attached to the mess I made. That was when I took the time to look up and observe those around me- my eyes immediately went to Terra at the front, bundled up in my old coat, looking distinctly sullen. Edgar next to her was pushing forward through the snow breaking a lightly covered path, the weather had taken an unfortunate turn the moment we decided to head out, and I was anything but happy about that; in truth this was because I was sure the ambient magic in the air had been affected by the turmoil I was feeling.

'Really, it is a wonder that there wasn't an accident before this,' Leviathan commented from the back of my mind, he was still rather angry himself- like a friend affronted on behalf of another, he'd taken exception to some of the things said. I was kind of thinking he was a drama queen, because I hadn't cared about it quite as much, but I wasn't going to tell him that. 'It's not uncommon for young summoners- or young magic users in general to have accidents such as this. Really it's in your nature; we even in the past accommodated for this because it was expected, I remember so many accidental freezing's and random fires. Of course most mages come into their power when they are reaching puberty- we espers are just lucky you are older and more mature, I can't imagine what any of this would be like if you were at the age to be boy crazy.'

'Thanks for that ,' I told him as I had a brief flashback of myself in high school, I hadn't ever really been boy crazy, but Fleshia had- and that always meant I got dragged into her brief PI stints as she tried to win said boy's affections. I would say that this wasn't normal, but my sister had a rather bombastic personality- so it was normal for her, I don't think I ever fit into the realm of normal. I derailed this train of thought with a vengeance, giving it the mental version of a suplex- I had to be focused, things were getting close and they could so easily go up the creek without a paddle.

And they all just walked on oblivious- I mean no one really knew what was going to happen honestly, even me and I had you know knowledge of the future. But I'd also changed so much- so much and not enough. I pulled my coat closer to me as another powerful gust of wind swept down the trail- Sabin ever the worrier stepped back to brace me against the next strong gust and I threw him a grateful look. He really hadn't said anything, but it wasn't a worrying silence with him- as odd as it might seem we didn't walk in an uncomfortable silence, he treated me just as he had before the fight and part of me really wanted to believe that he would treat me the same even after everything else that we were gearing up for.

But that was a long wait for a train I wasn't sure was going to come, maybe I could stand to give him a bit more of my trust then I was extending to others, and I wanted to- but I was also afraid, afraid that I would do this and it would backfire massively. More on this later, as I should have been focusing on the trail ahead and not the fact that one of my best friends was making me feel weird and anxious by being you know- a decent guy about the whole thing. Ugh if there was a name for what kind of neurotic mess I was, I wouldn't hesitate to take it. The snow was getting heavier on the ground now, and I could see Edgar at the front breaking the trail, and that was when I first really put my finger on what was making me uneasy- not just the whole mess with Terra or the fact that I was on the outs with most of my friends.

I felt the magic around us almost rustle and shift in the space around us- I had no idea why it was being this way, the magic that gathered around us during our fight was still there, and I would carry it with me until I exhausted it. But this was different; there was more magic out there, in the snow in the air, in the very mountains around us than what I knew we had before. I wasn't even the only person to notice it, if I was reading Celes's expression right- Terra was too busy being angry for me to read her properly, and I didn't think she had the proper background to understand that the magic around us was more than it should be.

Paused for a moment looking up at the mountains around us and letting myself just feel, the magic in the area almost had a taste too it, if you could say it was a taste- really what I mean is that it had an odd feel, like Shiva's tasted like snow, or Ifrit's tasted like ash and it wasn't so much a taste as the memory of a taste. I would never get the feel of Leviathan's magic out of my head, for all that I'd not experienced much of it on its own- I think it had something to do with the fact that we were currently connected at the gooey brain bits, it was like the salty smell of sea air. I'd loved the sea air before coming to this world, so it was really no surprise that we got along so famously.

But this was different, this was nothing I could immediately identify- it felt like when you bake something with cinnamon and the smell gets everywhere, and I normally liked it- but this almost felt like too much cinnamon, which in excess could be smothering. Some cultures are fond of it in excess, but I wasn't raised with it as a staple so it could be good or overbearing depending. This feeling was definitely overbearing, like it saturated the mountains around us and I shivered at this, because I had a very bad feeling. This was the work of an esper, and not a friendly one.

"The frozen one- he was recently moved through this pass was he not?" Leviathan said sounding worried, " It may be his, and I would not count on good will from that corner. Not yet at least." I took in a sharp breath before taking a moment to consider my options, and how very limited they were again. I keep landing here, up crap creek without a paddle- I needed to work on my landings. And I needed to get moving, I pushed myself to a short jaunting run trying to wade through the gather snow and catch up with Edgar at the head. Nothing can really run through heavy snow unless it's a moose- and you don't mess with a moose man, for any reason. Bonafide mega fauna from the last ice age; they would run a person down without a second thought.

I managed to catch up to him without to much trouble, catching his attention with a somewhat childish tug on his coat sleeve.

"Fionna?" he said looking at me with guarded interest, and I briefly wished for a time when I regarded snow with fun and wonder and not the sudden fear that seemed to fill me now.

"We need to move," I said kicking myself for the stupid way I'd phrased it, really I could use some points in speechcraft- it would do me a world of good, "I mean we need to get out of the pass as soon as possible, and if you have any men here they need to move too."

This seemed to genuinely perplex him and he opened his mouth in the way someone does if they intended to comment, but said nothing.

"And why should we leave the pass undefended?" came the voice of Bannon, and I was really beginning to think he was a wet blanket- a justified wet blanket, but still too damp for my tastes.

"It would be anything but undefended Bannon-" I said with a weary sigh, trying to find the best way to phrase whatever it was that I was attempting to tell them, "It is not safe for anyone to remain here for any length of time, and if the imperial troops really do come a battle will be the least of their worries."

"What do you mean?" Edgar asked features suddenly furrowed with alertness, "Are you saying that something is going to happen?"

"No and yes," I said turning to wave Celes closer, "She knows it to, though she doesn't know what to name it- you feel it don't you, the magic in the air?" the blond woman gave me a hard searching look before nodding.

"There is something fell surrounding us, as if the wind itself is stifled by something" She said finally after a tense moment.

"Magic," I said turning back to the men, "And a great deal of it is lodged in this pass, we might move unhindered but I wager that this is only because it hasn't yet been disturbed- if the imperial troops have Magitek armor, or if they say have a mage who isn't afraid to throw his power about?"

"They likely won't make it through the pass without triggering it?" Sabin ventured from behind me, and I gave him a grateful look.

"How did it get here?" Locke asked turning about and looking at the mountains around us, as if he expected it to jump out at him right then and there.

"How does anything get anywhere?" I asked rhetorically, before amending it with something more useful, "Some of it is natural, all things in this world have some magic to them- but most of it, the magic that Celes and I are sensing? That was left much more recently, and there is only one event I can think of that would leave magic behind."

"The esper," Edgar said finally looking at me, "Are you saying that it is malevolent- that it left a trap?"

"Not necessarily," I answered chewing on my lip as Gau took a moment to tug on my sleeve, not to catch my attention but more as a measure of reassuring himself. He seemed so young standing there next to me, and I put my hand on his wild mess of hair as the group seemed to question and collectively stand around with unease, "It likely has no clue who we are, or why it's been moved, and in any case we have to move, and move anyone else in this pass to safety as quick as is possibly."

Edgar had a searching look, as if he was attempting to search for any treachery in my words, while Bannon only seemed to be attempting to come with an alternative solution. At least no one was pointing at me and screaming obscenities with a crazy look in their eye- which is an experience I'd suffered once in my life and was not eager to suffer again. But then something solidified in his gaze, and he seemed to come to a conclusion- with a nod he motioned for us to continue marching, and I could see why. Turning around rewarded me with the view of the town and the pass below, and although it was nearing twilight as we marched I could still make out the line of mech suits in the lower portions of the pass- we were running out of time and we were out of options.

We would have to face the army as it was or- or something else might occur that I had been carefully hedging around in my mind as I walked, I let the rest of the group move ahead of me as we reached the summit. The area was less like a saddle that most passes would seem to be, and more of a broken plateau with large boulders sticking up like broken spires of granite- if they could even be called granite in this world. All told it was quiet the forsaken place to find oneself, covered in snow hosting a slew of half hidden but well insulated soldiers it looked even more outlandish and just beyond, almost too far away for me to see sat the great frozen esper.

It was odd how the sight of the plateau and the sight of the esper perched at the edge seemed to play contrast to one another; for the great frozen thing gave off an almost serene glow, I would say almost like an aurora borealis. I'd never seen one in person, but the colors of it flickered and danced like a fire as the snow peacefully covered everything. It was snowing less here then it had been in the pass and as the last of the soldiers came to report to Edgar- or so their conversation led me to believe. Sabin looked at me as if he was trying to read something he didn't quite understand, and I moved towards Edgar once more- I had to be sure that the last of his men were out present.

"Edgar," I said quietly catching the man's attention, the soldiers of course did not know me at all and gave me looks which I decided to pointedly ignore. I guess there wasn't anyone present who knew about my visit to the castle- more's the pity, I could use a familiar face.

"Yes Fionna," he said look of concern etched on his brow "Is there anything I can help you with? Have you been able to discern the reason for the magic in the pass?"

"I just wanted to be certain that this is everyone-" I said carefully weighing what I would say about my next idea "I do not believe that the magic will be present for very much longer."

Edgar turned to one of the soldiers who appeared as though he wished to speak, nodding to him as a way to indicate that he was listening.

"I can confirm that these are all the men we have here," the soldier said before adding "The rest are with the villagers in Narshe." I was a bit relieved at this, glad that we hadn't left the people completely defenseless- even if they were well hidden. Not that the residents of Narshe were ever really defenseless- kind of like saying a porcupine was defenseless because it didn't look like it would attack you.

"If that answers your question, might I ask Fionna- what do you mean that the magic won't be present for long?" Edgar said quietly adopting a thinking pose- eyes showing no emotion and betraying no thoughts. I was not sure he entirely trusted me, but I knew that didn't I? I shook it off turning away, what I was doing was rude- socially speaking, but I didn't have the words to express what I was intending. Besides mentally recoiling at the horrific thing I was thinking of doing- no going to do. Sabin made to follow me as I walked back towards the pass, and I paused before turning looking at him for a moment.

"Sabin, you should stay here." I said turning back to walk to the edge of the plateau, but he only continued to follow me and I gave him an over the shoulder look before rolling my eyes with a sigh. The man could survive half the crap he's been through already, then I wouldn't worry about what was going to happen- he stood a better chance then I did realistically if this backfired on me some way.

"You will not die," came Leviathans voice from the back of my head in support "We will not let you, you have my resistance to cold, and Cactuars natural speed enhancement. There are better skill sets for the area we are in- but this will do nicely all the same."

I still had the magicite pressed into my bracer- unfortunate Esper, whispering to me it the wordless way that they did in this form, like a dream wishing to be made real it existed just at the edge of my mind. The lack of wind at my back told me that there was someone behind me, and I knew it was Sabin even as I stood at the edge of the pass surveying what I had to work with. I raised my arms up palms down, and fingers loose, and felt the magic pulse in my mind as I reached out touching it with a small tendril of my own.

I took a deep breath in and for once very fervently wished I could see what it was that I was doing- ten or twelve feet of clear vision was all I had, and the snow really wasn't to blame here for my lack of seeing. I wished I was as clear sighted as I had been before I needed my glass, the glasses that I no longer had because I'd stepped on them the first chance I'd gotten. But there was no helping it and I had to do what I had to do- I took a moment to glance behind me, maybe to reassure me that my friends were behind me, maybe to gauge their expressions I wasn't really sure and turned back focusing on the magic once more using my mind's eye to feel out its boundaries.

The magic only really seemed to be lodged on surface layer of snow lining the pass, and to the unaware this might seem to be a small thing- but an avalanche rarely starts with anything more then the slightest shift.

"Sabin, what do you see?" I asked quietly making out shapes but uncertain of their position or composition- I mean for all I knew I could be looking at rocks, they would be moving rocks but they would still be rocks.

"The Imperial Troops are advancing pretty quickly through the pass, but they are still a ways from reaching us. " he said and I could feel a silent question on the air- one I couldn't quite decipher before I shook it off, I had to focus. I took another deep breath, closed my eyes and twinned my magic into the strange magic festooning the pass. I released that same breath before moving again, using my hands to guide the magic as Shiva taught me so long ago dragging it along the pass like one would rake leaves in fall.

A single snowflake on its own is fleeting, beautiful and frail- it exists alone for a brief moment in the world unless it is followed closely by others. Snow on a mountain looks pristine and beautiful, but disturb it only a little and you might find yourself reassessing your first impression- I felt the rumble in my bones as the snow gathered on the mountainsides, sliding and gathering speed as it went. The magic crackled electrically as is dissipated further, fading out as my will was done- just a twist, a wish and my means brought about the end of others. I kept my eyes closed as I heard the snow bear down on those in its path, shutting out the screams of panic with trembling hands. I would never forget those sounds, I knew it in my mind, felt it in my heart.

I was cold, and blinded by choice because I chose to close my eyes, magic flowed wildly in my veins making me feel wild, alive and invincible- but for once it wasn't the euphoric sensation I knew, ever influenced by my feelings it crackled madly in my chest to the pounding of my heart. I shuddered as it pushed to be freed, all of it- not simply the small amount I'd expended to seize the espers magic and do my will. "Fionna?" broke through my mental wall, accompanied by the warmth of a large hand on my back it won out against my own mental build up and I felt myself- and the magic in my veins shift suddenly settling at the sound of Sabins voice.

"Yes?" I said after a brief attempt to clear my throat, my voice still broke but it was a little less noticeable then it might have been otherwise.

"You're shaking." He said, and he was right- how I'd managed to miss this I didn't know, but I was trembling and it wasn't because of the cold. I opened my eyes, looking back towards Sabin and turning back to the group standing behind us. I moved shakily around Sabin, letting his hand fall away from me as I moved to join them again- many of the men I didn't know personally moved away as I neared looking towards Edgar who merely wore an expression of carefully voided emotion. I looked to Terra who wouldn't meet my eyes, while Celes stared at me with something akin to disbelieving horror, Locke was simply staring out over the pass refusing to look at me at all and I fisted my hands in the material of my coat sleeves.

Gau moved to his normal position at my side before grabbing a fistful of my coat and burying his face in it, I put a trembling hand on his head and studiously ignored the people around me wishing fervently to be anywhere but here. The espers were silent in my head and the world seemed at the moment to be all too quiet now, filled only with the whistling of the wind- funny that so many things in this world were nothing like their pixel counterparts, but the sound of the wind that was something that had not changed.


They weren't staring at me- strange how something that wasn't happening could affect someone so, I wasn't being stared at and it bothered me. It bothered me because I could feel them wanting to stare, wanting to back up, wanting to shrink away as they prepared for the soldiers that had despite my attacks somehow survived- driven by the mad commander who pushed them so. Fear could be a powerful goad, and Kefka was adept at using it- they would be here soon, and we would face them. We very noticeably had the high ground, and even with the Magiteck armor that survived they were at a sever disadvantage- but they were going to give it the good ole try now weren't they? I tried to not glare at the man who unintentionally made a very circular route around where I was sitting quietly- Edgar was standing by a hastily erected command post issuing orders not five feet from me, and the man had to talk to him but he'd taken the longest possible route to do so.

Sometimes you just want life to be like some stupid cliche love song, where you hit a wall and there is somebody there to help you over it- and sometimes it is, you have beautiful fantastic moments of purpose, or happiness or some such nonsense. But then you're right back to square one the next moment, and you wonder what happened- this was the moment after, the clarity of purpose was gone faded like an old newspaper and I was just a bundle of stupid, tired and emotions without name. I was also at this moment glad I didn't wear makeup because I'd run my hand over my face more times then I could count, both because I was genuinely tired and because I had no idea how I was going to fix, well anything frankly.

The magic in me was quiet at least, for the moment simply flowing through me lightly as if it were something that behaved regularly and didn't try to act out on its own or push me to do stupid things from time to time. I was also trying to ignore the urge I had to move towards the glowing esper at the edge of the plateau, this whole place was like ignoring things hop scotch at this point, and I was alway terrible at that game as a kid. But Terra appeared to be a champion player at this point, and I could appreciate that on some level.

And with almost an immediate snap the whole camp was scrambling as scouts sounded the alarm, I was treated to the sight of men snapping almost immediately to readiness; Sabin being a key example of how a man could go from being calm and collected to ready for a fight in a few moments- not that he ever didn't look calm and collected even in battle, man had a chill about him that I didn't think I would ever see lifted. I slid off the rock I'd chosen as my perch, hand going to my sword only to stop briefly and remove the gloves I had on before securing it again. The bite of the frigid mountain air was not great, but my grip on the hilt of my sword was more important.

The familiar hilt was reassuring in its own right, and I felt myself settle into a stance even as the heavy winter gear pulled a bit- new as it was it hadn't really been worked properly, like a new pair of hiking boots it wouldn't settle right until it was a bit more worn. And like a snap I could feel my formerly foul mood slip away, like it was tucked into a side pocket for examination at a later date.

My sword swung free easily and sat in my hand- no longer the heavy thing it had been at the beginning of my journey, glittering with an inner light in the darkness. Our group seemed to drift together without conscious thought, Sabin to my left slightly ahead of me, Cyan to my right and Gau crouching just to Sabins right- both were brawler types, while I and Cyan used swords. Edgar was standing not far from Sabin as well, Terra came next in line in much the same arrangement that our little group had with Terra to the back, while Edgar stood in front- no doubt a result of our magic, it was useful in battle but the delay it took to summon our power could mean the difference between life and death so even if we were capable of fighting we were more useful towards the groups back. The same was true with Celes and Locke actually who were on the other side of Terra and Edgar; Bannon was well behind the whole lot with a final contingent of soldiers, if somehow this whole thing went south someone with a brain needed to destroy the esper before it could be put to their uses.

That was a large portion of their plan after all, to push the frozen thing off the edge of the cliff into the valley below if the empire was too close- it was why the people of Narshe moved it so far in the first place. If it didn't outright destroy the poor thing, it would put it in a place that was so difficult for the Empire to get it out of that it might not be worth it.

With a clatter of ear ringing sound the Magitek armor at the front of their lines crested the hill followed by a line of foot soldiers that had by some luck survived and they met with the front line of Resistance soldiers- and let me tell you it was nothing like the movies, there was a crash of metal on metal, screams and undefinable noises that was almost overwhelming. Fire- magical fire was thrown from their side, and I could see Kefka at the back throwing magic willy nilly as men fought, indiscriminate in soldiers he hit. You would think he would want to not kill his own men, but that was not on the agenda apparently.

At this I looked towards Terra and Celes, bother returning the same look I'd given them and we each pooled our magic, pulling any ambient magic from the air as we went and released a flurry of spells. For Terra it was her well known Fire spell, returning fire towards Kefka as Celes threw Ice at our opponents- I in turn went for something more defensive and cast a haste spell on several of the frontline soldiers.

The enemy foot soldiers held for a brief moment before their lines broke and they ran wise of them; the armors however remained, a few Lobos with them and Kefka was in true form now as our own men withdrew from him for obvious reasons. For equally obvious reasons our group pressed forward, Sabin and Gau moved towards the remaining Lobo's while the clatter of fired arrows peppered the foremost Armor unit. None of us had a lightning spell- which I was having mixed feelings about, as part of me thought it might be just the thing while another part was certain it would just give the armor more power to work with.

But machines weren't just weak to lightning and I was ready to try something new- magicite taught skills over time, but it was a slow process. Espers however could impart skills and spells at a much faster rate, and that is where I pulled my newest trick from. I'd never really had the chance to use it, as water was anything but needed in our travels. I mean we spent several days drifting down a river- I didn't think more water would be useful in that situation. But in this one it was a sure thing.

I whirled on my heel pulling my magic and letting it gather the snow around me as fuel, releasing it as a small wave that crested over the top of the suit of armor. Celes seeing me in motion used her magic to freeze it solid immobilizing the armor before dodging an incoming attack from another. Terra flung white hot fire at it, and I realized very suddenly that the mechs were after us specifically- I mean it made tactical sense, we were the biggest threats and we were also quite vulnerable. But that didn't mean I was going to act like some cowed damsel in distress- I flung another wave down at the mechs feet and again Celes froze it solid catching its legs in ice.

And suddenly we found ourselves backed against each other, Terra to my left and Celes to my right as we hid behind the frozen mech- each of us panting as we struggled to come up with something. Celes was probably the most experienced person at this sort of thing, was the thought that prompted me as I spoke "What should we do Celes?"

"They're targeting us…" She began and Terra grimaced before adding her two cents.

"That's what I thought."

"I'm not surprised Kefka would have told them something," I grumbled wishing I could throw a shoe at the man's head, or perhaps something more potent and burning. "He's crazy but he isn't entirely an idiot."

"Unfortunately, he's just good at acting like one." Celes said with a dry tone and we all shared a droll look.

"Like a crazy or like an idiot?" I said with a small bit of humor, and that got me a couple of 'really you have to make a terrible joke now?' looks.

"If we attack the mechs head on we'll only hit a brick wall." Celes said returning to the main subject, her tone was stern but her eyes said the brief break from subject hit its mark- If I sounded like an idiot, but I managed to get her to focus more on the best line of attack and less on our current circumstances then it was worth it. The men were buying us time in their own way, attacking and distracting the mechs but it was only a matter of time- flesh tired more easily than metal, unless it was Sabin; man was made of Adamant or something.

"What if we hit low?" Terra suggested, and this seemed to give Celes and idea as she took on a thoughtful expression.

"We could hit low- yes that would work. Fionna, do you think you could mass cast that water spell over a large area?" Celes asked me quietly and I thought about it for a moment.

"Yes, it would be a bit tricky- but we're fighting in snow so I could probably pull from that." I gripped my sword tighter and added with a bit of uncertainty, "But I don't know if I could hit all of the mechs with enough water to freeze them like we did this guy." I added a tap to the metal just above us.

"There shouldn't be any need," she said a small smile gracing her face- it was the sort of look someone got when they were about to say check mate, and she beckoned both Terra and I closer before whispering. It was a simple plan and we moved to execute it the moment Celes was done talking- I moved to one side of the mech sheathing my sword as Terra and Celes moved to the other. The position wasn't really that important, but the timing was; I waited with baited breath as Celes looked out from behind our improvised shield before she pointed at me and then gave me the signal to go.

And I was off like a shot flinging a small water spell flat and thin as Celes threw out an ice spell behind me, making the water freeze flat and hard, and I jumped- sliding on it much like I would if I were wearing socks on hardwood, and the sound of thumping feet behind me said that Celes was right behind, a third confirming Terra's involvement. In this condition it really didn't take much to freeze water solid and keep it so, and that is exactly what we did which actually took an amazing amount of coordination.

I didn't know where it was coming from, but I that was about all the wit I could afford as I skidded down passed the first mech, and toward the fighting with little to no control over where I was going. This was more than likely going to end with someone getting impaled- and I was just hoping it wasn't going to be me, before coming to a skidding halt in the center of the fighting. Celes and Terra only just managed to stop behind me without reenacting some sort of three stooges gag, before I moved my feet to a more stable position- the three of us formed a triangle as we stood back to back and I began to weave my water spell, raising my hands to the sky I started taking the moisture of the snow and sapping the power remaining in the air from the esper to form a spell wide enough to hit the area that was needed.

The sound of mechs turning to face our direction but I ignored them as Celes and Terra waited on me for their cue, closing my eyes to concentrate.

"THERE! THERE! You FOOLS stop them at once!" Came Kefka's all too familiar voice, cutting through my attempt at concentration- and for a brief moment I fought the magic that wanted to be turned to a different purpose, I was far from the only mage on this mountain. But the magic I held wasn't being drawn by any of those I could identify and it worried me that it fought to be free so.

'Your will be done Fionna, concentrate- your will is what it wants to do. But it is mindless power, the more of it you gather too you the harder it will fight you." came Leviathans voice from the back of my mind, and like a masters voice it worked to snap my mind back to the point of focus. I felt the heat of a spell release, and opened my eyes certain that I would see my own impending doom- but instead I was treated to the sight of a fire spell hitting a shield spell full force, and I looked over to find Celes breathing hard but looking triumphant.

I turned back and with a twist let the might of my spell go, power leaving me in a rush as the water spelled flowed out around me- followed closely by Celes releasing her own ice spell and I watched as it laced into the flow of the water. The water spell I cast latched onto the feet, and only the feet of the mechs surrounding us- and this is where Terra came into play as she moved like a dancer flinging fire into the chinks in the armor suits- this spurred the soldiers into action Edgar unleashing a particularly effective volley with his auto-crossbow. Sabin straight up falcon punched a mech in a soft wiring bits and pulled out something that looked very important, while Gau was climbing another with Cyan menacing it with his sword- Locke was nowhere to be seen.

The whole scene was utter chaos, and that was about the time I felt the world tilt- and the scene faded to black.


A/N: You know it never really occurred to me that I have yet to illustrate what Fionna's sword really looks like. I'll have to fix that sooner or later- I dont draw much anymore so it might be a challenge.