SWIFTLY TILTING WOMAN

"We are pleased that you have come this far, Etrosian Princess. For a time, we worried that you would not make it."

"Gogo," Gilgamesh half growls, "what are you here for?"

"To put an end to all that we have seen to be wrong."

"Which is everything, no doubt," I say, feeling cold, sustained by the warmth of Gilgamesh's hand.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Too late," I sneer, mustering what snark I have left, "Absolute Virtue is gone. Make like the rest and get yourself into 'the next cycle' so we can have our peace."

"Oh, no, you are misinformed. Absolute Virtue was a diversion. Cleverly crafted, I give you that, but a diversion none the less."

"Oh, fun, more revelations. If you have any more up your sleeve, let's have them out now, so I can die without the headache."

"You certainly maintain a healthy spirit, for one whose spirit is swiftly deteriorating, Oersteddian Queen. But in honor of the requests of the dying, I'll lay bare my hands. Where to start, though?"

"Wait, 'I'? 'My'? What happened to the plural personas?"

"Not presently required," Goegnuo says, with a shrug. "Now save your strength. Here comes the exposition. It likely won't be a very wordy one. After all the rants you've been through. I promise to keep it brief. Now if only I could determine where to begin . . ."

"You could begin by leaving," Gilgamesh says.

"No, no, I'm afraid I can't. Ah! Let's start with the most frustratingly cliché, shall we? The revelations."

Goegnuo snaps its fingers, and two persons emerge from the shadows. I don't have time to be surprised at the sight of one Sol, Warrior of Light, Alfador the cat, and Aerith, perpetual meddler, as Goegnuo reaches for its mask, and, after a quick tug, drops it to the floor. The face revealed is none other than that of Cosmos'. Yet the face differs from hers. It's older, with crow's feet dotting the corner of her eyes, and a fade to the blonde, leaving it almost white.

"Goegnuo is three people, not two," she explains. "Gogo, who serves as the host persona, normally, Enuo, who gives us our drive, as well as our powers, and Mio, the present body, and dominant will. That would be Go, then g, for Gogo, En, then u, for Enuo, and just one o, for Mio."

"You're Cid Lufaine's wife!" Gilgamesh gasps, recalling Cosmos' revelation, so long ago.

"Indeed. I am her. Or rather, I am a composite of Mio, as well as the memories of all the women whose persona she usurped over the years. I survived for a very long time by jumping from one woman's brain to the next, nibbling away at the corners of their memories. For a time, I made use of one Raem, to make space in people's heads for me. Unfortunately, every jump brought a snippet of some other woman along, and I eventually got too big for heads."

"By which time you died, I suppose."

"Inasmuch as I could ever die. But that's not really the point. The point is, just like Cid, I looked for our family. And when I found Cid, I found him beyond saving, as was the rest of my family. Caught up here, in this place and situation. I won't bore you with my version of reality and history, so suffice it to say, when I found my husband and son, they were beyond saving. Captives of Shinryu, and the woman who sought to be me. For a time, I gave myself up to despair, as I'm sure many others have.

"Wandering the Void, I came across Gogo and Enuo, who were rather certain that you would come to be, and that you would break the chains that bound my family. They had many names for you. Omega, Destruction, The Void Incarnate, Etrosian Princess, and many far more poetic and lengthy. I understand you even had a few that were vulgar, if well-intentioned.

"To make a long story short, We three became one, and together, decided we'd set out to find you. It's been a long journey, and I won't bore you with the details of it, but I'll say this: Along the way we discovered something special. Alpha Weapon, the opposite of Omega. A creator, to Omega's destroyer.

"Sparing you the details, my plan has been to obtain this Alpha Weapon, and bring it into contact with Omega Weapon. Beyond that, well-"

"No spoilers," Alfador says.

"Correct," Mio says. "And we've now succeeded in our goals thus far. All Alpha's components are here. Alfador, the beast, and Sol and Aerith providing the beauties."

"What about the blade?" I ask, only half interested at this point.

"Ah, that you've brought to us." Mio replies, pointing to Excalibur in Gilgamesh's hand. "Excalipur."

"What?" Gilgamesh more states than asks, his surprise evident. "I think you're confused. I beat Arthur, fought my way through Heaven's best, battled Chaos, and slew Cosmos with this sword. I believe I'm confident when I say this is Excalibur, not Excalipur."

"Sorry!" Aerith chimes in, "But that'd be my fault. I persuaded Benjamin to aide us in our efforts, which boiled down to him retrieving this sword from me."

"Wait, that means you were the knight with the swords?" I ask.

"Yep! Actually, you guys gave me a lot of work. I had to persuade both Firion and Terra to help you out."

"No, I distinctly remember Terra NOT being helpful," I say.

"She doesn't like you very much?" Aerith apologizes.

"So Benjamin WAS a traitor, then."

"Oh, no! You've got it all wrong! Benjamin was loyal to you. That's why he helped us out."

"I don't get it," Gilgamesh says, "How could helping you help us?"

"Ah-ah!" Alfador chides, "No spoilers, not yet."

"So now what?" I ask, mildly interested, and also mildly dead.

"Hush, little one, soon you will see. So very soon. Now, Alfador, the time has come for us to part."

"Hold it!" I say. "Give me a minute to get to my feet, then we'll settle this."

"I'm sorry," Mio says, looking puzzled, "settle what?"

"This business of last one standing. Whatever you're doing, I'm going to stop you."

"Oh, please, child. You don't even know if my intentions are noble or not. And you have no hope of fighting me. You cannot hope to stand."

"Maybe I can't," I say, "but he can."

Just then Gilgamesh makes to strike at Mio and cut her down. Mio side-steps him, then wrests Excalipur from his hold, running him through moments later. The weapon barely hurts Gilgamesh, but it's distraction enough for her to pick up Omega Weapon and drive it through him as well. As he falls to the ground beside me, Mio calmly states, "Now he can't."

"Gilgamesh!"

"Where was I? Ah, yes. Alfador. It's time for you to go."

"As you desire, madam. May I ask, though, for the benefit of the departing, why are you doing all this?"

Mio's face grows pale a moment, and her eyes distant. She seems lost in a far off place as she considers her response. It doesn't take her more than a moment to snap to, and she answers, "What would you do for love?"

"As I expected," Alfador answers, bursting into bubbles of light that float into Aerith.

"Your turn, mi-" Mio stops, puzzled by the sight. Aerith is clasping Sol's hands, whispering in his ear.

She says, just loud enough to hear, "What would you do for love? I do this for my loved ones. What do you do for yours? For love, warrior, what would you do?" She seals the question with a kiss, then erupts into more of the energy bubbles, floating down the warrior's lips.

"Something is wrong here," Mio states, Excalipur snapping free of her grasp and flying into the hand of the warrior. "Something is very wrong."

The blade begins to glow, along with the warrior, then, after a flash of light, they seem to come to a dull gleam. The Warrior drops his helmet to the ground, revealing hair that is red, and white no longer. He looks so familiar, but I suspect that's my insanity talking, more than anything.

"No." Mio says. "You look . . . so much like him. How? Who? This is wrong!"

The warriors eyes open, fire alone dancing within them. An emotion so intense I cannot describe it accurately as mere hate, nor as mere love. It's so much more . . .

"Hello, mother." He says. "This, I do for love."