Porom sat on the edge of their building's rooftop and counted the stars. The air was cool, but not unpleasantly so, and she relished the feeling. It wasn't often that she got time to relax and appreciate the sky like this. It made her feel closer to home, remembering the cycle of the moon that changed her power and forced her to learn the phases.

Not that she cared most of the time. Either she or Palom was stronger in most cases and they balanced it out.

Not that Palom would let her forget one way or the other with his whining.

White magic drifted their way as Refia taught Yuj the methods of this world. Porom found her habits crude, but Yuj couldn't follow Porom's educated work.

"Hey." Arc slipped in beside her and looked up. "It's really pretty tonight, isn't it?"

Porom followed his gaze. "I miss the constellations back home."

"You know, we didn't always have one moon. Used to be two."

"What happened to the other one?"

"I never figured it out. The legends only speak of a second moon without ever explaining its disappearance. It just… vanished one day."

"Ours did that, once. But's a spaceship, so it's not so mysterious."

"I'm sorry, it's a what?"

Leonora peeked up over the rim of the roof and blinked at them. "You're just sitting up here?"

Arc looked about them like he only just noticed. "I guess so. What, is it strange?"

"A little." Leonora clambered over the edge and took a seat beside Porom. "It's a nice view, though, so I can see why you like it."

"Not too hard to reach, either," Porom said. "Arc made it up without too much trouble and he can't even fly."

Leonora pouted. "I can't either."

"And you made it up anyway," Porom said. "My point is made."

"How do you fly?" Arc asked. "Is it wind magic? Or a combination of black and white? Given both you as a white mage and Palom as a black mage can do it, I don't see how it could be anything special to either of those schools."

Porom hesitated. "It's… a lot more complicated than that."

"Oi!" Palom's voice from below. "Are you three going to stargaze all night or are we going to test that theory on wormholes?"

Porom groaned. "I thought you considered stargazing an important activity?"

"Not when we have better stuff to do!"

Arc bit his cheek. "I should probably go work on that…"

"Oh, ignore him." Porom sat up. "You can do whatever you want."

"I've got it." Leonora scrambled off the edge and Porom scowled at her enthusiasm. Palom tried to hide his own, but it showed through the slightest skip in his step and the increased speed of his staff-swinging.

"She lets him boss her around," Porom said once Leonora left earshot. "You'd better not do the same."

Arc blinked and looked at her. "You're upset?"

"… A little."

"Oh. Well, I'll try not to let him boss me around, but it's not my strongest suite."

"Good."

"And will you teach me how to fly in return?"

She meant to say no, but something about the eagerness to his eyes made her hesitate. What would she think if she had the opportunity to learn from someone older how to learn faster? When did she stop yearning for Tellah's guidance and instead looked to her own judgement.

How small he looked in the moonlit moment, how curious, and how young. Was that how she looked to Tellah? Was that how she looked to the Elder?

… Did she look powerless and did they dismiss her for her youth?

"Of course, I'll teach you."

Palom swung his staff about him like it could ward off the cold and like it didn't disturb the air to chill him further. But better to be chill than let this warmth distract him.

Leonora hummed beside him, eyes sparkling in the moonlight and dress-like tunic disturbed by the wind. Her headpiece glimmered and those gloved hands played with her loose hair.

"I suppose," she said, "if we don't balance that out, we might just see ourselves become normal people for all of five hours. How is that different from how we've been?"

"What?"

She looked at him and Palom dodged her gaze. "The portals. You know, stabilization versus efficiency? I know there's a certain threshold in which we can afford some unreliability, but I'd rather not split one of our people in two in the hopes of making them a little faster during the final battle."

"Right. Portals."

Leonora stopped and took his arm to make him stop with her. "You're distracted."

"Only a little."

"But this is the only thing you've been thinking about since we got here! Where did your attention go?"

"Other things."

"Not worth telling me?"

"No."

She frowned. "We're partners, Palom. If it's serious, you'll tell me, right?"

"… Yeah."

That got her to drop it and turn back to the road they took toward the river. Only she didn't walk again.

"Now something's wrong with you?" Palom asked. "Sure, let's trade places."

Leonora didn't look his way. "I don't want to go to the river."

"Afraid of the monsters hiding inside?"

"There aren't any monsters—"

"That was a joke, Leonora."

"Oh. Duh. No, I just don't like the thought of going that way. Why not just practice here?"

Palom looked about them. "It's flat land. Doesn't make for great pathways, does it? Unless you want to make the sky fall and turn the place into an inward sphere."

"We're not making portals that big."

"Nope." Palom broke the space between them to form a wormhole that stretched some fifty meters across. Not visibly—only his end appeared to them.

She blinked at him before adopting a toothy grin and taking a rock to throw through it.

Palom twisted the portal wider and took five careful steps back. Leonora did the same. Before, they kept a larger distance because they didn't know how to make them safer and now that distance shrunk by the day.

Leonora chucked the thing and it disappeared inside the wormhole. She paused and Palom pointed behind her. She followed his gesture to see the thing drop from the sky across the field and thud into the ground.

"What if you hurt someone?" Leonora asked. "Did you know there wasn't anyone there?"

"It's too late for anyone but us to be wandering the fields or Porom will take their heads off."

"Not ours?"

"She's given up getting me to conform to her bizarre standards."

"I imagine the lakes will burn and the sky fall before you follow someone else."

"Except you."

Leonora cocked her head and furrowed her brow. "Me? Why would you follow me?"

"Because you've got a head on your shoulders. Just don't let it get too big and we can work something out."

"What kind of a something?"

He sighed at her serious tone. "Joke, Leonora."

"Oh."

"Don't worry." Palom gave her head a gentle push. "You wouldn't get anything from me following you, anyway."

"And what does that mean?"

"Compliment, Leonora."

"Oh." She pressed her lips together and looked up at him with large eyes. "Why don't I understand all your mannerisms yet? I study everything you do, but I can't grasp you as a person."

Palom remembered to breathe and dismissed his portal. "I like to keep people on their toes. Come on, we don't have all night. Where's yours?"

"Right. Portals." Leonora stepped back and whirled her hands about like a child first learning to cast. "Wormholes."

"Make one point—"

"And connect it to another." Leonora punched through space and left a swirling vortex before her. "How close?"

Palom didn't want her anywhere near the thing but he didn't say that. "Give it an arm's length."

Leonora took measured steps back and waited. Palom formed a ball of ice in one hand and chucked it. It shattered midair, startling Leonora.

Palom formed another one, though something rubbed him wrong about that. There wasn't anything in the air that he felt should have interfered in the formation of the ice, especially not that would make it that brittle.

Leonora took a deep breath. "You won't let me rest tonight, will you?"

"No, it's not forming right."

"Wrong air?"

"It's humid enough." He tried another layer of ice over the brittle one and just made it worse.

Leonora reached for it and Palom handed her the sphere. She felt it over before dissolving it to water. "That's garbage. Are you messing with me?"

"No." He formed another one, the aggravation of the failed two enough to ignite the black burn in his stomach again. This time it came as a solid weight, but before he threw it in the portal, he felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. "Are we supposed to have visitors?"

"I don't think so."

"Then we need to get back to the Cabin."

Valhalla brought back a certain pain that Noel didn't expect to feel again. They passed the shore where Caius forced his hand and where the paradox started its cleanup. Where he and Serah fought for the last time before she died and…

"Noel." Yeul took his arm. "Don't lose yourself to the past."

"I'm not."

Serah gave them a worried look before saying something to Lightning that had her and the rest go on without them.

Noel stopped. "I'm fine."

"You're not," Serah said. "Coming back always hurts and you should know that we'll do what we can to help."

Yeul released him. "And there's no time to lose. We need get Hope back and we can't do it without you."

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

"When have I ever done that? I almost lost you, Noel. I won't waste our time with empty words."

"I forgot who I was talking to."

Yeul took him in a tentative hug. "I feared. I still fear. What if we lose someone else? What if we don't win? I can't See anymore and that terrifies me."

Serah chewed on her lip and Noel held out an arm for her. "There's room for one more," he said.

She perked up, though something still troubled her going by the tension in her steps toward them.

"Don't leave again," Yeul said. "Please."

"I won't."

Serah joined them and desperation betrayed her in how tightly she gripped him. He forgot how much she smelled like sun and wondered at how much the same it was since he lost her on Pulse.

"We'll stay together," Yeul said. "We can change the future."

Serah choked out a short laugh. "Our specialty."

Noel's eyes heated and he squinted against the tears. Couldn't ignore the nagging fear that this was temporary. He forgot what it felt like to have one sister at his side, not to mention both at once. It seemed impossible.

"I failed you both."

"Don't you even start with me," Serah said. "We've talked about this."

They stayed together for a while, Noel not wanting to disturb them until they finally found the strength to move on toward the looming palace. When they did, Yeul guided them through its halls and Noel got the impression she knew this place a lot better than Serah.

He felt no wind here, yet the motion of their steps disturbed an ancient and lingering pressure. A silent and pressing force that held no presence.

Noel said nothing of it before they arrived in a large room with arched windows overlooking the Time Sea and faced a woman in straight black hair that sat at an altar by the front. Stone benches formed neat rows and guided the way toward the altar while the dull light from outside cast refracted shadows across the ceiling. A room made for occupants it never housed and a sky that showed on no mortal.

Lightning and the others were scattered about the room, Cies and Reds talking amongst themselves like old friends.

Sound blurred in his ears and he watched the twenty-some-odd people talk about Bhunivelze and worlds and the Council. How often did they do this? How often did they talk and argue instead of going and fighting Bhunivelze head-on? Did they expect the same of him?

Sazh noticed Noel's silence and wandered his way. "You happy to be back?"

Noel cleared his throat and remembered where he was. "Of course, I am."

"You certainly don't look the part. What, did you act in school?"

"We didn't have school."

"Beg pardon, but you get my point."

Noel summoned his lance and swung it about in his hands. "Snow's friend killed me without choice and now lives with blood on his hands. Yeul's lived her entire new life without me and went for who knows how long thinking I was gone forever. Because I was weak and didn't see the signs, I delayed you all in the retaliation against Bhunivelze. I held everyone up!"

"You don't blame yourself for all that, do you?"

"… I do."

"Look, I can't speak for what you've gone through, kid, but we all are learning to move past these things."

"What things?"

"The past. Mistakes. You know, wrinkles in our tapestry of life and all that."

"I don't think dying is just a wrinkle."

"Nah, but those other things you listed are closer."

"They're not as minor as that."

"Not up close, they're not. Believe me, none of this feels easy. None of it feels right. But in the grand scheme of things, you'll find it's not such a big deal as all that."

Noel stabbed his lance into the ground and the conversation around them quieted. "You think I don't see what's happening?"

"Tell me what it is you think is happening!" Sazh jabbed a finger his way. "You tell me, son! You died! So what? You're alive now!"

"I wish I wasn't!"

"And why is that?"

"I don't know! I wasn't supposed to survive! I'm not supposed to exist anymore! And I don't like that I still do!"

Sazh looked about them at the crowd that now watched them, then he scowled and pulled Noel off to the side. "You don't like the change in plans?"

"Maybe I don't!" Noel wrenched away from him but kept his voice down. "Maybe I liked the thought of finishing after we fixed the timeline! Maybe I thought I'd catch a break for once! Maybe I thought that I wouldn't have to walk forever again! Maybe I'm done seeing new things!"

"That makes two of us."

Noel drew up short. "What?"

"You're not the only one that would like a break, kid. I'd love a vacation from this god duty crap, but we are where we are."

"I don't like telling myself there's nothing I can do."

"It's not that there's nothing you can do. It's that we have our choices here and one of them is better than the other."

"There's gotta be another option."

Serah made to come closer, but Lightning held her back. Sazh said, "Believe me—we've talked to Mwynn about it and we've argued with all the dead souls you could ever want to meet. We've got our choices and they are limited."

Noel dismissed his spear from a distance and wondered how he lived without doing that before. "We can change the future. That's our thing. We make the impossible possible and we decide our fates. Why is it any different now?"

"Because with power comes burden, son. We're growing up and there's new rules to abide by. I'm not saying you can't screw said rules, but none of us know how and I'd rather not gamble the fate of the galaxy for my own convenience."

"Fine. For all our sakes, then."

"That's also what we do, isn't it? Make things better for everyone instead of just ourselves?"

"Yeah. Always has been, I hear."

"Then you'll stick with it a little longer."

Noel gave a reluctant nod and Sazh looked satisfied. They said nothing for a moment and Noel worried that Sazh would push the issue further before the man got up and left Noel to himself. Sazh joined the others, who had finally found something else to distract themselves with, though he didn't miss Yeul's curious glances.

Arc fell asleep on the roof and Porom hated how cold that made her feel by proxy. How did he survive sleeping in these temperatures at night when she could barely function during the day without heating spells?

Palom and Leonora returned, but without that usual excitement they found from their research. Porom wondered what might get those two depressed, but she doubted she'd get anything out of Palom if she asked, and Leonora wouldn't realize what she was talking about—or at least pretend she didn't.

Porom floated herself down from her perch atop the Cabin and greeted the two. "That didn't take you long."

"What, were you waiting for us to get back?" Palom asked.

Leonora pursed her lips and looked between them without saying anything. Porom wondered why Leonora either got quieter or louder around Palom—it seemed random what determined her mood during these moments. Her refined manners lapsed around him.

"We have a job to do and I like to stay on top of your efforts," Porom said.

Palom rolled his eyes. "So, I can talk to you about it in the morning."

"We made some progress," Leonora said.

"What kind of progress?"

"The not much kind." Palom stepped between Porom and Leonora. "Would you lay off?"

"It's not an invasive question."

"It's really not," Leonora said.

"I don't care. I'm tired and I could really do without the hovering. Besides, Leonora doesn't need your micromanaging to get work done."

Porom studied Palom's irritable face. "Since when did you compliment other people?"

"Since they earned it."

"You don't think enough about others to—" Porom noticed the slightest flush of pink at his ears and the way he inched as close to Leonora as possible without touching her. The way his hand reached for Leonora and he used his staff as if to ward Porom back. The way Leonora didn't seem to realize his actions because she couldn't take her eyes off the back of his head. "Oh."

"Oh what?"

"Nothing." Porom stepped away. "I should go wake Arc. You two need your rest, after all."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Not everything I say is double-edged, brother. I mean it—you two have been working so hard lately, you'll need to sleep long tonight to recover your wits."

"What's going on?" Arc had woken up and got halfway down the building. "Any progress?"

"Oh, shit." Palom looked behind them. "I forgot."

"Forgot what?" Porom asked.

Leonora stiffened. "You didn't like something about the river. Is this about that?"

"Get back." Palom shoved at Leonora. "Back, I said. Go tell Baralai we have intruders."

"But—!"

"Do it!"

Leonora worked her mouth in protest before running inside the cabin.

Footsteps. Porom snapped about to see two silhouettes in the dark, one wearing checkered robes and the other a modest set of tunic and dress.

"Porom," Rosa said, checkered robes brushing the grass. "We've found the answers you've sought your whole adventure. Why didn't you come to me sooner? I know you feel like a third wheel next to these other heroes."

Porom stuttered, words failed. "But you were busy in Baron?"

"What's more important than your work here with the other mages?"

"We're the only mages. Rosa, what are you doing here?"

Rosa smiled and put out a hand. "Come with me, Porom. We'll fix this together."

She no sooner saw that hand than her grip on reality slipped.

Porom lost herself in time. Twisting colors and stars filled her view and magic lost its reason. She forgot the smell of spring and the cold of winter because the light of order filled her person and warmed her to the point of burning. Fire in her blood and inferno in her heart that left her fingers oddly numb.

Something shattered in the distance and she blinked as she returned to reality.

Palom and Arc both stood with her, their persons alight with the faintest glow that wouldn't appear to the average human, though Arc's light cast broken ribbons of shadow instead of dispersing it entirely. Bhunivelze marked his soldiers and kept them.

Hope and Ellone stood in their realness, replacing… that mother figure.

Porom brought her staff to her with a flick of the wrist and brought up a barrier to block off Ace, who arrived and raised a hand full of cards. He would have sensed their arrival before Palom led God straight to the heart of their encampment.

An alarm sounded and voices raised in the night before all the collected forces of their guild mobilized. Arc took on the Eos trio while Palom flew off to find their captive targets.

Ace threw more cards her way and Porom blasted them with a gust of wind. He moved his hands and they flipped back on track.

Porom opened a portal below her and launched into the basement, where Palom already broke the bands keeping Lenna, Shinra, Krile, and Faris down. The four joined her and they portaled back to the house's front door.

It seemed so simple to her now—how did it take so long to understand small-scale teleportation like this?

Serah, Firion, Lebreau, and others confronted Hope and Ellone.

Porom hit Yuj with sleep and sent him toppling to the ground. Lebreau snapped up her head to see her and Porom afflicted her with blindness.

Baralai whipped that staff of his and something bit Porom's leg. He already discarded his power, so Porom whispered a chant and used the wind to slam him into the building. He wouldn't get up until someone healed him.

Faris targeted Serah with water.

Arc flew outside, thrown back by Gladio. Arc recovered himself in record time and levitated before hitting Prompto with a fireball. Without the Crystal's energy, he didn't have the same power as before, but Bhunivelze's grace almost made up for that.

Something snapped nearby.

Porom looked to find Shinra frozen in fear at the chaos. The boy lost Bhunivelze's hold and Lenna looked to be slipping. Without their shards, they would drop in moments.

But neither were valuable tools. Both were acquirements of opportunity and Porom didn't sense any urgency from the Source to keep them broken.

Instead she focused her attention on supporting Palom, who appeared in a flurry of fire that burned a streak through the yard and lit up some heroes in orange, hungry bursts.

She had to keep him and Leonora separated.

Faris' blood pumped hard in her veins and her heart beat faster than the fire that roared about her.

Leonora moved nearby and Faris slammed her to the ground before turning her attention back to Serah, who used that strange creature of a weapon to hurl arrows her way. Faris fought her with black magic to keep those things flying off-course, but it didn't stop some from nicking her sides.

Something hit her from behind and Faris blasted Leonora back again with a flare of fire. Serah took the opening to dive in close and change that bow to a sword.

The girl was no amateur to fighting with a blade, but Faris doubted she'd spent more than a year with the thing going by her sloppy form and haphazard habits. Leonora attacked again from behind, but Krile soon came in and distracted her with that dagger of hers and a gathering hoard of wild animals.

Faris focused on Serah again. Despite the minimal training evident in her opponent's swings, Faris couldn't keep toying with her forever.

Serah fought her until Faris forced her against the wall and doused her again with a torrent of water that silenced her and gave Faris the advantage. She understood water and the streaming ribbons that flowed through the air moved as if it understood Faris.

Serah gurgled and choked and her skin turned funny colors, but Faris wouldn't stop. The moogle struggled to change form and Faris knew she had the two pinned.

Serah spasmed, body unable to process how she was still alive when a mortal would have drowned by now. It took longer but eventually even her body gave out and went limp.

Something triggered. Faris remembered choking on seawater and the awful taste of it invading her senses before waking up to a gang of gnarly pirates. Remembered burnt fingers and torn skin before she adjusted to life on the unforgiving waters.

Iris rolled out of the way of a fireball from Arc and joined Gladio for a combined assault on Palom, who used ice and wind to put up a barrier. Gladio threw Iris right at him and Iris broke that thing to the ground to allow Gladio an opening.

Palom cursed and barely got out of the way. Meanwhile, Prompto distracted Arc.

Gladio caused enough trouble for Palom that Iris dashed in and grabbed his legs. He kicked her off and sent her flying.

Iris flailed to land herself and skidded until something caught her. Someone.

She looked up to find the scowling face of another Red, this one with messy hair and some rough scars on his face. "Best teach this bastard a lesson," he said.

Iris scrambled free of him. "Thanks."

The new guy summoned a lance and took a place beside Prompto, who miraculously stayed alive during his scuffle with Arc. Iris thought the kid powerful, yet his spells didn't compare to Palom's massive explosions and whirlwinds. Maybe that crystal energy wasn't so potent after all.

Iris rejoined Gladio and kept Palom busy. Getting the upper hand on this guy seemed impossible with his constant whirling and barriers, though at least he stopped with the teleporting some time ago.

Refia danced in with a burst of white magic that cooled Iris' burns and calmed her head. The girl must have took a shine to Penelo's style with the new fluidity to her motions.

"Thanks!" Iris called. Refia shouted something back, but it was lost to another spell of Palom's that boomed and sparked with ice and fire.

Refia released another cure and rushed off to help others. Iris wondered if they got Baralai back on his feet, yet.

"Such pests," Palom said before reaching down and cutting a deep chasm in the planet to separate them. "I'll deal with you later."

"Only if you take me, first!" Another Red came in—Trey, armed with a bow.

Palom turned too late and took an arrow to the shin.

"Wait!" Prompto yelled. "We're missing Porom!"

"Bit busy for that!" Gladio called. He launched Iris over the chasm and she rolled into place to take Palom by the arrow.

Only for him to break it off and stab her through the shoulder with it.

Gladio, Iris, and Prompto moved as a coordinated party of friends that would give them trouble despite none having so much as a hint of talent toward magic. They ganged up on Arc and Porom flew his way to beat them back with borrowed fire from Palom's storm. She combined it with wind and blew up an inferno between them and Eos' champions.

Lenna broke free, her energy ripped free from the link, and she joined the fight on the self-proclaimed heroes' side.

Krile's presence flickered for the briefest moment, but she remained intact and battled Vaan and Penelo. Setzer joined them and turned the tables—Krile unbalanced to use more power than before. Her body wouldn't last much longer after this.

Faris struggled with Serah, but eventually overpowered her and bound her to the ground before summoning water and blasting the girl with it.

Faris, who all but radiated with pent-up energy and rage, knew her target to be unkillable. Porom caught a hint of her plan to extract Bhunivelze's power by force from the thief.

Ace, Firion, Lebreau, and Yuj fought Hope, but God's vessel stuttered under His control and Hope's motions turned choppy and mechanical, like a doll broken free of strings but without another source to smooth their movement. He eventually blinked out of existence with a portal with Lebreau and Yuj hopping in after him. Firion ate parchment and channeled white magic.

The inferno weakened and Porom gestured for Palom to join them. The mages together created a whirlwind of ice that froze the ground about them and forced back the defendants with broken, slippery ground.

The air chilled and brought snow flurrying down despite the clear night sky. Gladio and Iris stumbled back.

Leonora blasted the area with more fire and beat back some of the ice. Porom hit her with more air and caused another fireball that hit the house and lit in an orange glow before it burst into flame. White magic mixed with black from Refia's storm of a curaga.

Something bit her cheek and Porom spun to find Ace caught up to her. Trey and another of his friends had joined. Iris, Gladio, and Firion now ran her way. Baralai was up again and switched between healing the fallen and working with Vaan and Penelo.

Porom ground her teeth. There was no way they could beat even a handful of those guys with so few. Before she could open a portal, however, Prompto appeared and she prepared to blast him sky-high.

Only for him to reach out, take her wrist, and plead, "Take me back."

The thought rippled through them and she opened a portal to leap out, but not before she caught a glimpse of the others following suit.

Blue Terra vanished from view.

Another of those pesky children arrived.

Faris kicked Serah aside and readied to take on this new kid that held a katana like he knew it all his life.

"You leave her alone!" the guy shouted.

"Or what?"

"I'll do something we'll both regret!"

Faris flipped her sword about to test her wrist before kicking Serah again. The guy took the bait and ran toward her without a word.

They locked blades. "It's not like you even know her," Faris said.

He glared at her with all the hate she'd seen in one look before. "These bodies aren't your toys, Bhunivelze!"

"I'd say He agrees." Faris spun and kicked out Jack's legs. "Tools and toys are very different things."

Jack scrambled back to his feet and stabbed Serah through the heart and into the ground. The girl let out one last breath and started to fade.

Faris screamed and grabbed for Serah's body, but it evaporated into the night air without a sound and left Faris grasping for nothing.

Nothing but the drowned grass and the burning building.

Buildings she burned, like those on unfortunate coastlines that begged for mercy before getting ravaged for supplies. She took what she needed and moved on without care for those that suffered for her survival.

But she moved past that. She knew a better life in light of what Bartz and Lenna taught her. She—

Cut by the sword and tumbled to the ground.

She disconnected. She remembered herself.

Pain ignited, the trap of sorts left by Bhunivelze in the event of losing a pawn. She would die. The man above her didn't move to end it faster.

Lenna screamed for help. Faris bled and she was too far away for Lenna to get her in time.

Penelo leaped in and took Faris. Lenna felt a short thrill of relief before a force slammed against her chest and she heard the words, "About time I got one of you."

Kefka slipped inside her like a foot into a well-tailored shoe and Lenna lost control of herself. Felt her mouth stretch and pull and her fingers flail before Kefka got comfortable and rolled her neck.

She glimpsed fire and blood before memory faded to present. The matching of this place to his past and desire was what drew the spirit here. Kefka wanted destruction and the end of all things and he would participate to find that in…

To cause that in them.

Kefka rolled her shoulder in its socket and set her eyes on Trey. He fought from a distance, bow poised and precise in its targets despite the arrows not leaving much of a mark in the pawns. Bhunivelze trained them not to care for pain like they should.

Kefka pulled on the holy power lent her and blasted Trey with a mix of fire and air that exploded in a shockwave that sent him flying backward. The Red Gods were immortal, but their bodies weren't.

Trey cried out in surprise before Kefka took him by the throat and slammed him against the wall of the Cabin. Lenna's strength shocked them both.

Kefka let out a long laugh that rippled through her sternum and pealed against the noise from around them. "You kids think you can fight against us, do you? Hm? DO YOU?"

Trey struggled to speak and Lenna felt his voice box vibrate against her palm. "You don't belong."

"I don't see how that's relevant," Kefka said. "Now tell me, where might I find my esper girl?"

Trey struggled against his hold and his face discolored from air deprivation. "… Terra?"

"Yes, yes!" Kefka eased his grip just enough to allow Trey to keep talking. "She owes me something and I must collect!"

"I'll never say."

"I can make that happen, of course. But first, tell me!"

"You'll never find her—even I don't know where she's gone off to this time."

"Oh, she's travelling then?" Kefka stuck her other hand against his mouth and Lenna felt Trey's cool breath. "That's a lot better."

Fingers dug in at the throat and clutched his larynx. Lenna fought to stop him, but Kefka's control overpowered hers.

Jack drew up short at the sight of Lenna ripping Trey's throat out. Blood splattered her from head to toe and a maniacal grin stretched her face in unnatural angles before she stuck her fingers over Trey's heart

"No!" Jack ran forward and Lenna snapped her mad eyes to him before Jack knocked her aside and ran his katana straight through Trey's heart. The last thing Jack saw before Trey faded was disbelief in those discolored eyes.

"Hey!" Lenna kicked at him. "That was mine! Fine, I'll just find someone else!"

Lenna's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed. Jack caught her before she touched the ground. "Hey," he said. "Don't be dead! Please, don't be dead!"

"Here!"

Jack whipped his sword out again to face Refia and she stumbled back, hands splayed. "Wait!" she said. "Are you on our side or not?"

Jack remembered to breathe. Then dismissed his weapon and shook. "I don't—"

Refia dropped to her knees beside Lenna and lit up a cure. "What damage?"

"I-I don't know. Someone possessed her and just… left again."

Refia swore and funneled more white magic. Ace joined them, clothes torn and skin bloodied. Jack held himself back this time. "Where'd Trey go?" Ace asked.

Jack's breath hitched and he bowed over Lenna's sleeping form. "I had to kill them both. I had to."

"It's not permanent," Ace said. "They just went back to Valhalla is all."

"I know, but…"

Baralai came their way, steps faltering in an unnatural fashion. "Lenna?"

"Fine," Ace said. "Resting."

"And you two?"

"Can't die," Jack reminded him. "No one's allowed to worry."

"Jack," Ace said.

"I'll choose when I worry," Baralai said. "We'll gather those still standing and figure out shelter. For now, catch your breath. I'm going to go find some of that ale these people keep talking about."

"We'll do that," Ace said. "Thank you. And get some white magic in you because you're barely standing."

Baralai left them without another word and Jack remembered to dismiss his sword. "Nine?" he asked. "Is he still… here?"

"Yeah. In fact, I don't know that we can convince him to leave anytime soon. Kinda got him started on his whole 'gotta protect everyone' thing."

"He's not the only one," Refia said before pulling away. "Her injuries are minimal, but we'll want to keep an eye out for after effects. I thought Baralai said we wouldn't see any other spirits?"

"We weren't supposed to," Ace said. "This is something we'll have to look into separately."

"You guys okay?" Vaan shouted.

"Just dandy," Jack muttered.

"I've got them!" Refia shouted back. "Honestly, I'm just happy we didn't lose anyone tonight."

"Except the Cabin." Ace turned to watch the thing burn. Jack didn't think to survey the now-decimated landscape—where lush foliage danced about the land, scorched earth now met his gaze. Chunks of ice melted into the ground and upturned plant life scattered the ground. Fried trees still stood in most places where they used to, though some appeared to hold better shape than others.

The Cabin itself barely smoldered now, but Leonora could barely manage a fraction of what she normally could. After a full day of work before this, she must have pushed herself to get even the pathetic water spells she managed. Others carried buckets, but the building was too far gone to hope for any recovery tonight.

"I'll go help with Faris and the rest." Refia left them, an enchanted grace to her step.

Ace nudged Jack with his boot and said, "We'll be fine."

Jack forced a smile. "Right! Nothing like some blood to get us down, right? Blood's nothing! Just the force of life and all that!"

Ace pressed his lips together and looked away. "Nothing like some blood."

"The force of life." Jack felt tears on his cheeks.

Just loss of life.