A/N: So who else is psyched for Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory? I know I am!

Anyway, here's Cecil's confrontation with Baron's highest authorities!

Drowned King

Patria: I'd say you were right to try and set that old man straight. Men his age are just too stubborn for their own good.

Sasuke: I don't know, kids can be just as stubborn sometimes.

Pith: Glad to see at least Yang made it out of that ordeal. I'm just sorry that Rydia got eaten. I can tell it must have really hurt you.

Kairi: I'd comment about something...but I'm pretty sure my question will be answered later.

Sora: Probably for the best!

Sasuke: Yes, it was painful. But wait until what happens next.

The next morning we followed Cecil to the secret passage. He had to move a slab of wood to reveal a special keyhole on the stone wall. He used the key, and a part of the wall moved to reveal the entrance of a cavern.

As the six of us walked through the waterway, I was in a depressive mood. And out of all people to notice, it had to be Tellah. "You seem very distracted, Sasuke."

I sighed. "I'm sorry...I just...can't stop thinking about what happened to Rydia."

"I know what you mean. It is not a fate I would've wished on anyone, let alone a child. I cannot help but wonder... If I had stayed with you all back in Damcyan, would I have been able to do something to prevent it?"

I shook my head. "No offense, but I'm not sure their was anything you could've done."

"Maybe not, but it doesn't stop the regret...stop me from thinking that I, as a fellow magic user, could've done more for her...that I could've taught her more." It was good to know that the old sage actually sounded like he did care for once. "It never feels good when an old man like myself outlives the young. Even this Rosa woman sounds too young, in my book, to die. If she is anything like my Anna, then I cannot sit by and let Golbez have his way with her."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "So you do have your priorities sorted out then?"

"I cannot promise I'll stop pursuing revenge, but I will promise that will not allow anyone else to die if I can help it. Even if it means putting revenge on hold." I supposed I could only ask for that much from him. Maybe I was too hard on him before.

It was a long trek, but we made it inside the castle. Cecil poke out of the exit to make sure there were no guards around before signaling us to come out. We moved through the structure as discreetly as we could. We found ourselves lucky to have not run into any guards...perhaps too lucky.

"I don't like this," I whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. "It's too quiet."

"I agree," replied Cecil. "We should've encountered a guard by now. But it's as though this castle is deserted."

"Give me a minute," Yang said as he put his hands together and concentrated. After a while, he spoke again, "I'm sensing life energy most concentrated in the castles lower dungeons. Likely prisoners... But the rest of the castle seems devoid of life...except for two signatures at the castle's center."

"The throne room... one of them has got to be the king. I really would very much like to get some answers from him. Not to mention, I wouldn't feel right about leaving again without putting an end to Baron's oppression."

"But...there's something strange about them both that I cannot identify. We must be cautious."

With that we continued through. Soon we finally encountered someone.

"Captain Cecil!" An armored soldier called as he approached us.

"Commander Baigan!" replied Cecil.

"You're alive!" Baigan exclaimed. "So good of you to return."

Cecil looked at the commander apprehensively. "Baigan... Tell me you've not joined him too."

Baigan raised his eyebrow. "Him?"

"Golbez."

The soldier jumped a little but regained his composure. "I-I am commander of His Majesty's royal guard, Cecil. My loyalty belongs to Baron, now as ever."

The paladin seemed to relent. "Forgive me, then. I heard Cid is being confined in the castle. Is it true?" He seemed to trust this Baigan person, but my sixth sense wouldn't leave me alone. There was something not right about him.

Baigan looked down. "I fear it is. I led my men to the dungeons in hopes of rescuing him, but... only I survived."

"I see. Will you come with us, then? Your blade would be most welcome."

The commander bowed. "Consider it yours, Sir Cecil."

My eyes narrowed. After what happened with Xehanort. I could not be silent this time. I quickly drew my sword and pointed it at the commander, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Sasuke!" Cecil exclaimed. "What are you-"

"How do we know we can actually trust this man, Cecil?" I declared. "My senses of danger have been going off since this guy showed up. Seems a little too convenient that we encounter a supposed ally in a seemingly deserted enemy castle, don't you think?" Cecil seemed to be considering my words.

Baigan glared at me. "How dare you... Who does this squire think he is to judge the commander of the guard?"

"I'm afraid I have to agree with the boy," said Tellah. "My senses have also been acting up."

"As have mine," said Yang. "I told you before that there were two odd signatures in this castle. Well, he is one of them."

Palom then plugged his nose. "Not to mention, something stinks." I found that odd, because I couldn't smell anything unusual.

"I smell it too..." said Porom, "a monster's stench." The two must've had sensitive noses to be able to smell it then.

Baigan then jumped. "What!?" He started looking around as though looking for something. "Be on guard, everyone!" To me this just looked like a pathetic attempt to save face.

Palom put his hands behind his head nonchalantly. "Oh, give me a break! His acting stinks too."

Porom shook her head. "You would expect him to try harder to fool us, wouldn't you?"

Cecil then drew his own sword and pointed it at the commander. "So you have gone over!"

Baigan then sighed as he shook his head. "Why must you all keep accusing me of being some kind of traitor? After all, Golbez's wishes are Baron's wishes." If that didn't sound delusional, I didn't know what would. "I'm merely repaying a great man for the wonderful gift he gave me." Suddenly darkness began surrounding him. "Behold the might he grants to Baron!"

And with that, the commander transform into a monster. It was a pale reptilian creature in red armor and had his arms replaced by snake-like appendages. Before we could let his ugly appearance sink in, he swiftly spin-kicked us all hard, knocking us all back. He then let out a high-pitched inhuman laugh. "Who's ready to die?!"

Cecil quickly got up and charged at Baigan with his sword. But as soon as he swung, the commander bent over backwards with remarkable flexibility before kicking him away. Yang then lunge in with a flying kick, only for the creature to swift dodge, wrap one of his snake-arms around his leg and then throw him into a wall.

"Firaga!" shouted Tellah.

"Pyroblast!" shouted the twins.

Baigan however chuckled. "Dark Reflection!" He put up a magic wall that just absorbed the blazing spells, before spitting them out right back at the mages with a coat of darkness, blasting them back. As the wall vanished, he laughed. "Nice try! But your spells won't do you any good against me!"

"Sonic Wave!" I launch a wave that manages to slice one of his snakes off, which promptly dissolved into darkness. I then dashed in and sliced off his other snake as it attacked me. Before I could strike him, he suddenly kicked his knee hard on my stomach, just below my chest armor. Then he wrapped one of his snake-arms around my sword arm...wait didn't I just chopped both of them off? I got my answer when I saw the other snake-arm grow back from its stump.

"Blinding Bite!" he shouted before I felt a sharp bite on my arm, followed by him kicking me into a wall.

As I stood back up and watch Cecil engage the traitorous commander, I noticed that it was quickly getting dark in here. However the slight burning in my eyes told me that the problem was my vision. I grunted before exclaiming, "My vision is failing!"

"Stunning Bite!" I heard baigan shouted as my vision completely faded.

I then heard Yang grunt. "Can't...move..." It seeming that those snake-arms' bites could impair us in various ways. This was going to be tricky. As if the fact that those snakes could regenerate wasn't enough of a challenge.

Soon I could here footsteps rushing toward me, and my danger senses told me it was the enemy. I gripped my sword, hoping I could manage to defend myself despite my current blindness.

"Flash Cover!" I heard Cecil shout as I suddenly felt his light appear in front of me. "Light slash!" I heard a few cuts and I could sense the monster backing away from me.

"Esunaga!" Tellah shouted as I felt a light around me before the darkness in my eyes faded, and my vision finally returned. Looking toward Yang I could see him do a few quick stretches as if working out the stiffness from his previously paralyzed state.

"Sir Cecil!" Baigan exclaimed. "Surely you can tell, I'm stronger now! This is power Golbez granted me. What he offers to Baron! No one will dare challenge our kingdom again! How can you not see the eternal glory Golbez will bring to us!"

"Eternal glory!" I shouted. "That is your excuse for ruining innocent lives!"

"Sacrifices must be made to achieve greatness! A squire like yourself would never understand!"

"Sacrifices!" Tellah shouted. "Don't you dare call my daughter a sacrifice! Don't you dare call Mysidia, Mist, Damcyan, and Fabul sacrifices!"

I pointed my sword at the monster. "I understand that Golbez is nothing but power hungry terrorist! And you're no guard commander! You just a dishonorable glory hound!"

"Enough!"

"And what about the citizens of Baron?" asked Cecil. "The people are living in fear. Their freedoms are being robbed. And the guards are putting salesmen out of business. What kind of a kingdom forsakes its own people?"

"They're the ones who refused to lend us their support!"

"Well what did you expect?! You're going into war without provocation! No sensible citizen would support that!"

"They just need to learn their place. Defying their very protectors will have severe consequences! We're the ones watching over them! And this is the thanks they give us, by not serving us?"

"Such arrogance!" said Yang. "A kingdom is supposed to serve its people, not the other way around!"

"I'm waisting my breath with you all! I'll show you that power is all that matters!"

With that, the fight continued. Cecil, Yang, and I swung at him, slicing his regenerating snake-arms left and right, but other than that his swift movements and flexibility proved to be a hassle. Tellah and Porom mostly focused on healing and support, especially from his snake bites, since Baigan's Dark Reflection would just send offensive spell right back at us.

And Palom had to wait until he saw an opening before he could do anything. But that opening he needed proved to be essential, as the boy manage to use an ice spell to freeze his feet to the floor.

"What!?"

I quickly grabbed my Red Fang and jabbed it on Moon Cutter. "Flametongue!" I then sliced both his snake arms off with my fiery sword, the flames burning at the stumps.

I leapt back as I saw Yang then focused his energy, gaining a slight aura on him before he extended all his elemental claws. That's a first! "Prowling Tiger!" He swiped at him, causing him to squeal out in pain front the fire, ice, and lightning effects.

Then Cecil charged in and stabbed the monster with his Mythgraven Blade. The paladin looked at his former commander with disdain. "I expected better from you. Holy Flame!" And Baigan was engulfed in a white flame as Cecil removed his sword. The creep screamed and flail in pain until he was reduced to ash.

I then looked to the paladin and saw him lower his head in shame.

Before I could say anything, Palom put his hands behind his back and smiled. "Hah nothing to it!" He then turned to Cecil. "But seriously, you shouldn't be so quick to trust people!"

Cecil clenched his fist. "Even Baigan... who seemed so loyal..."

I walked up to him. "Don't beat yourself up, Sir Cecil. Some people just can't resist the promise of power."

"Yet how could I have failed to sense the danger like the rest of you?"

Yang put his hand on Cecil's shoulder. "You just need to train your sixth sense more. You're still new to being a paladin after all."

"He's right you know," said Porom.

"You still have some growing to do yet," said Tellah. "But you're not at fault for this. Some people just know how to keep up appearances."

Cecil looked up at us before saying. "Thanks guys... Now then let's get to the throne room."

We walked further into the castle until we reached our destination. We entered the throne room to find a lone figure sitting on the chair. A man wearing a red robe, a gold crown, and a head covered in light brown hair. King Jared himself. As we approached, him he stared at up with impassive eyes.

"Cecil," the king said coldly.

"Your Majesty," Cecil replied in an equally cold tone.

"So, you've returned at last! And all the stronger for your journey, by the looks of it. I am glad to see you safe." The sarcasm in his voice was subtle yet noticeable. "And look at you! You've become a...a paladin, is it? Hmph... I'm afraid that won't do at all. Paladins are of little use; the power of a dark knight would be much more useful to us. What ever happened to your wish to follow in my footsteps?"

The paladin narrowed his eyes. "You know, I remember you always expressed concern over my wellbeing for choosing to be a dark knight, due to how difficult it had been for me to use darkness without hurting myself. The king I knew would've been proud that I found my own path, and one much more suitable for me." He paused for a moment as he gritted his teeth in anger, while the rest of us decided to remain quiet at this personal exchange. "What happened to you? Where is that noble knight that took me in as an orphan and raised me as his own?! Why are you waging war against the world and stealing the Elemental Crystals!?"

"Baron is the mightiest kingdom in the world. I would think it deserves to house such precious artifacts. And yet we are denied the honor of housing even one. Especially when one of them was kept in a small village of mages, like Mysidia, rather than a kingdom like the rest."

"Considering Baron's history of starting wars, I'm not surprised we were never entrusted. Heck, Eblan was denied this honor too. But it's no excuse for taking the crystals by force! And what about Mist? Why burn that village to the ground when they had nothing you wanted?"

"The summoners and their eidolons would've been a great treat to our plans. Especially, their most prized summoner, what was her name again...Lydia?" My fist clenched at the mention of Rydia's late mother. "Why do you think I sent you into the cave instead of using the Red Wings to deliver the ring? I knew the Mist Dragon guarding the cave was Lydia's and that slaying it would slay her as well. And after that the rest would fall easily to my trap."

As much as I wanted to let Cecil handle this conversation himself, this I could not remain silent. "She had a daughter you know! Because of you, a child had to suffer through the death of a parent!"

"That is not my concern. Since it is to my knowledge that the child is no more, courtesy of Leviathan. Which I find ironic considering that a fledgling summoner was swallowed by the King of the Eidolons himself." I found myself stunned at that revelation. Nobody said anything about Leviathan being an eidolon, let alone their king. "Either he was unaware that she was a summoner, or he had given up on the human world and wanted to cut all ties with it. Whatever the case, I'd say good riddance to them all."

My anger boiled. "You rotten-" I ran forward, only to be held back by the Paladin .

"Enough! Just tell us what you're really want with the crystals!"

The king stood up as he put his hands behind his back. "Golbez is going to bring a new age to our world. The crystals are a necessary component to his plan."

I could see Cecil's fist clench. "So this was Golbez's idea! Why are you going along with it?! Do you not see the damage you're doing? Just what is Golbez planning to do with the crystals?!"

The king shook his head. "I see no reason to explain it to the dead."

Cecil looked visibly stunned to hear that from his own surrogate father. "King Jared?"

And suddenly the king's demeanor seemed to change. "King Jared? Who might that be? Oh I think I've just remembered! You must mean that feeble old fool who refused to surrender us this kingdom." That statement made us all tense up. He then started laughing. "Yes, that's it! It's his part I've been playing all this time! I must say I've enjoyed impersonating him." And now the truth comes out. This creep who ordered Cecil to do horrible things...wasn't King Jared at all, but an imposter.

The paladin looked visibly angry at this revelation. "What have you done with Jared!?"

The false ruler chuckled. "I must say, for a former dark knight he certainly was soft. 'This world had seen enough bloodshed,' he said. How sentimental! And he must've been long out of practice, as it was easy tearing him limb from limb."

"You monster!"

"Would you like to go and see him? I can take you to the depths myself if you wish. You'd best not mistake me for another Scarmiglione. How one as weak as he came to be crowned an archfiend is something I will never know. The fact that that Xigbar fellow had to turn him into a...pseudo-Heartless for him to survive your first bout...only to lose once again, and to a newly turned paladin no less, is proof enough of how weak he really was compared to the rest of us." Xigbar again... Well that explains the earth archfiend showing up in Mysidia, and probably the additional dark aura he had then. But a pseudo-Heartless...that was a disturbing thought.

Cecil drew his sword. "Then you're one of them too!"

The faker laugh maniacally as his voice became more distorted and his form suddenly began to ripple as though he was made of water. Suddenly, he's engulfed in a large pillar of water. I drew my katana, Yang took a battle stance, and the mages took out their staves. Soon the whole chamber was flooded in an ankle deep puddle. When the pillar washed away, the false king was replaced with a large blue turtle monster, with long roughly human-like limbs, and a roughly human-shaped head with a mouth full of shark teeth and soul piercing eyes. He then spoke in a growly voice, "I am the Drowned King, Cagnazzo! Archfiend of Water, and sworn servant to Golbez! Bow down before me!"

I could see Cecil shaking in anger. And I couldn't blame him. "It was you from beginning... The order to raid Mysidia of its crystal... To slay the Mist Dragon... Tricking me into burning Mist Village... That wasn't my king at all... IT WAS A DEMON LIKE YOU!" His Mythgraven Blade shined brightly. "Luminous Shard!" He launched his attack at the archfiend's head.

But Cagnazzo retracted his head into his shell, and the attack impacted the hard shell. I couldn't tell if it did any notable damage. Then he poked his head out before spitting out a jet stream at the paladin, blasting him onto the ground. Yang then leapt up to the giant turtle, slamming his foot onto his skull as he bounced up in the air before extending his ice claws. He swiped his claws onto the shell, a patch of frost covering the spot he struck. I noticed the beast shiver a little. I then launched a Sonic Wave at him, but he once again retracted his head.

"Blizzaga!" I heard Tellah shout as his spell impacted the opening the archfiend's head went through, covering it in a large chunk of ice.

Cecil, Yang, and I took the opportunity to attack his front limbs. But soon, those limbs flailed, knocking us away, and steam thawed the ice as his head broke out. "That was cold!" He then stomped his front limb and the puddle beneath us bursted, knocking us off our feet. As we stood back up, soon the water began to gather around the turtle ominously. "Drown in despair! Demon Deluge!" Then the gathered water turned into a tidal wave.

With no means of avoiding it, all I could think of was holding out my Moon Cutter and hoping its absorption powers would protect me. It worked to an extent. I still felt the water rush through me, but I could feel my sword absorbing the force to the point that I only skidded back a couple feet, as well as becoming coated with water magic. When the rush stopped, I had fallen on one knee. I took a quick glance at the others and saw that Cecil, Yang, and Tellah had crashed into the wall while the twins were protected by a barrier courtesy of Porom.

Not wanting to waste any time, I charged with my Liquid Steel powered sword. Yeah, I figured water wouldn't work on a monster that controls water. But I figured I could at least use it as a distraction as decided to do something I hadn't thought to try before: I unleashed the elemental magic as a Sonic Wave. I put all the water magic into it to the point where the element left my sword. It impacted the archfiend's face, as I quickly dashed forward and used Breakthrough to pierce into his shell.

Cagnazzo roared in pain before he turned his head to me. "Scalding Spray!" Just as dislodged my sword from his shell, he sprayed me with boiling hot water, blasting me backward leaving me on the ground writhing from my now burning skin. I tell you, getting drenched by boiling water is NOT fun! That was probably the worst physical pain I had ever had to experienced in my life. I could barely focus on anything else but the pain when the turtle spoke. "An outsider such as yourself ought not meddle in affairs that do not concern them!"

"Ice Barrage!" I heard the twins shout as I felt a chilling gust flew past me, but my eyes were shut tight so I did see what happened but I heard the archfiends pain.

"Curaja!" Tellah shouted a warm light surrounded me and before I knew it, my burns had disappeared. I got up to see Cagnazzo half cover in ice.

"Light Slash!" Cecil slashed the monster several times with his light coated sword.

Yang then came dashing at the beast, with a glowing fist, "Dragon Fist!" he shouted as he uppercutted him right in the jaw show hard that his neck appeared to stretch slightly for a second.

As the mages continued to pelting the archfiend with ice magic, I realize that he must be vulnerable to the cold. So I took out my Blue Fang and imbued Moon Cutter with ice. "Icebrand!" I then charge at him again a stabbed one of this front limbs, causing it to freeze solid and him to growl again.

"Enough!" He shouted as literally began to steam up, thawing all the ice on him. I was able to retreat fast enough before he used his Scalding Spray on himself to melt the ice faster. "You have all truly become quite the pests!" He then jumped up and retreated into his shell as he began to spin rapidly. He slid along the puddle covered floor all over the chamber, ricocheting off the walls and crash into Cecil, Tellah, and the twins, knocking them away. He then charged at me, and I was only quick enough to block with my sword. I could feel Moon Cutter absorb some of the force, but the pushback was still getting to me.

That was until I saw Yang's aura coated hands come from behind me. "Stalwart Turtle!"(1) I found it ironic that he was using a move named after a turtle against a turtle demon. But his hands blocked the spinning shell, and the pushback I was dealing with ceased.

Now that I could stand my ground, I decided to unleash the power the archfiend was giving my sword with this attack. "Counter Cutter!" I successfully shove him away, and he ended up flipping onto his back as he stopped spinning.

Cagnazzo then got out of his shell, and with those long limbs was able to flip himself back onto his stomach. "That's it! I'll drown you all this time!" He then gathered water around himself again, obviously preparing for another tidal wave. "Demon's-"

"Thundaga!" Tellah called, as a powerful lightning bolt struck the demon, not only giving him a big shock, but also dispersing and evaporating all the water he was gathering!

"Why you!"

Yang then extended his ice claws again and pointed them at the archfiend. "Sasuke! Blue Fang!"

"Right!" I pointed my Blue Fang and we both unleash the raw ice power of our fangs.

"Blizzaga!"

"Ice Barrage!"

The mages joined in and soon enough the demon turtle was all covered in ice, struggling to move.

And Cecil was not about to give him a chance to thaw himself out, as he charged his sword with a strong light. "Sacred Cross!" He slice him twice in a cross pattern, followed by the monster being engulf in a bright light. Cagnazzo let out a dying roar as his body slowly turned into vapor, and all the water in the chamber quickly evaporated with him.

With the Archfiend of Water dead, we all panted from exhaustion.

"It is over..." said Yang.

"For King Jared...and Baron..." said Cecil.

"For Mysidia..." said Porom.

"And for Mist...and Rydia..." I finished.

Suddenly we heard the door burst open. "Filthy imposter!"

Startled we turned around to see three new figures. At the forefront was a short chubby middle aged man with an explosive brunette beard, wore blue overalls, a blue helmet and goggles, and carried a wooden hammer in one hand and a battle axe in the other. Accompanying him were two soldiers in red armor, one wearing a gold helmet and the other wearing a silver one, and both wielding swords.

The chubby one spoke up. "You've got another thing coming if you think you can keep me locked up in a musty old sty like that! Eh?" He seemed to do a double take as he looked around the chamber in confusion. "Where'd that faker go?"

The soldiers soon eyed Cecil and jumped in surprised. "L-Lord Captain! Is that you?"

The chubby man also jumped. "Cecil!?"

Cecil looked at the chubby man. "Cid!" He looked at the soldier with the gold helmet. "Biggs!(2)" And finally looked to the one with the silver helmet. "Wedge!(2) Boy, am I glad to see you!"

The three approached us while Cid shouted with restrained fury. "You're alive! You had me worried you...you...you!"

"I'm sorry. I wish I could've been able to send word to you."

"But what happened to the fake king?" ask Wedge.

"We just destroyed him. It was the Archfiend of Water, Cagnazzo, a servant of Golbez. Where have you all been?"

"Nearly the whole staff had been thrown into the dungeons by Golbez's minions," answered Biggs. "Only the few ruffian soldier were allowed to roam freely. But the entire Red Wings force has been replace by monsters. It was thanks to Cid's resourcefulness that we finally escaped."

"Wahahaha!" laughed the mechanic as he pulled out what looked like a nail filer. "They couldn't keep this sharp wit locked up for long! But the nerve of that Cagnazzo feller! He couldn't fool me after he demanded I tell him where the secret hangar to my newest airship model, when the real king should've already known."

Cecil chuckled. "It is great to see you are all okay."

"Wait a minute!" Cid then looked around for a second. "What about Rosa? She ran off after you...said she was sure you were still alive. But we haven't seen her since."

The paladin looked down. "She was...taken by Golbez."

"While you were with her!? How could you let that happen!? Hmph... Golbez, eh? Not enough for him to use my airships like that...has to go and take Rosa, too!"

"And she's still in danger," Tellah spoke up impatiently. "So if you wouldn't mind leading us to this flying ship of yours, perhaps we could talk on the way!"

I could just feel Cid's veins bulge at that. "Who's this testy old timer think he is?"

The sage huffed. "One might ask the same of you!"

"Me? You're calling me old? I'm half your age, and then some!" I couldn't say for sure, but Cid looked to be in his fifties to me while Tellah looked in his sixties, so I doubted that half your age comment was true.

Porom then got between the old men. "Please, let's not argue! You're Cid, right? This is Tellah, the great sage and wizard. That is Master Yang, grandmaster of the Fabulian monks. That is Sasuke, an apprentice swordsman Sir Cecil took under his wing. My name is Porom, apprentice mage of Mysidia.

Palom put his hand behind his head. "So now we have another geezer on board. And man, grown old men acting like children. Typical!"

The sister rolled her eyes. "And the one who doesn't know how to mind his tongue is my twin brother, Palom."

"Hmph... Goody-goody!"

I put my hand over my chest and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet one of Cecil's friends."

Yang then bowed with his hands together. "It is an honor to meet you, sir. But I fear our situation does dictate haste."

Cid gave a huge grin. "Oh, now there's some men who know some manners!"

"Now then," said Cecil. "Where is this new airship of yours?"

Cid chuckled. "You mean the Enterprise? My secret hangar is in the one place nobody would think to look! I thought it might come in handy one day, so...

"We don't have time for this blathering!" Tellah snapped. "Rosa's life is a stake!

"I know that! No need to be shouting about it, I heard you the first time! Well then, follow me!"

We all exited the throne room. However just as we entered the corridor out, we heard a familiar voice echo throughout the room.

"Hahahahaha! The Drowned King, Cagnazzo, deposed!" Hearing the archfiend's voice again sent chills down my spine. "But the wicked are not wont to fall alone. In life I was terrible...in death, steeped in terror greater still. Drink long and deep of it ere you die! I'll save a briny pit for you in the abyss! Mwahahahaha!"

As the voice faded away, the room started to tremble.

Tellah was the first one to know what was happening, "The walls!" I looked to the left and right an realized those walls were slowly closing in. Instantly we were all on edge.

Cid ran to the exit and tried to open it. "It's barred!"

Tellah tried to open the door we came in. "This one too!"

Cid then tried to use his axe to chop his door open, only to get knocked back by some kind of barrier. "Are you kidding me?!"

The lot of us went into full panic mode. If those walls continued to close in, we were going to be crushed to death. Cecil, Yang, Cid, Biggs, and Wedge immediately began pushing at the walls, with me and Tellah soon following. We tried as hard as we could to stop the walls, but it was proving to be futile.

Soon I noticed that the twins were looking at each other in a way that made me wonder if they were reading each other's mind. They then nodded. "Guess there's only one thing to do, huh Porom?"

"Indeed Palom." The two then each positioned themselves at the center of one of the walls.

Cecil took notice too. "Palom! Porom!"

Palom turned to us. "Cecil! Sasuke! We'll miss you!" Wait what?

Porom then spoke. "It was almost like we gained two older brothers." Again what?

"What's gotten into you two?" asked Tellah.

"We won't let you all die like this, that's for sure!" said the boy.

"Tellah, look after Sir Cecil and Sir Sasuke for us!" said the girl.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" I shouted, as I was getting a really bad feeling that whatever they were about to do would not end well for them.

"Together! Now!" shouted Palom.

"Right!" replied Porom.

The two then started gathering a lot of magical energy. And I could sense their synchronization, as though they were preparing a twincast. And before I could say another word, the twins shouted, "Twin Break!"

There was a bright flash of light, and when it subsided we were left with the sight of the two children turned to motionless statues, both with their hands attached to their respective walls and their feet attached to the ground. The walls had completely stopped, even the rumbling stopped indicating that whatever force that was powering this trap was now gone, the barriers were probably gone too. But all our focus was on the poor kids.

"Palom... Porom..." Cecil said in shock.

"They turned themselves to stone?" said Tellah. "Hold on, now... Esunaga!" He raise his hand and light surrounded the two petrified twins. But...nothing was happening.

"Wh-What wrong?" I questioned. "Why isn't it working!?"

"I'm afraid twincasting that spell has made it far too potent.(3) An Esuna spell will not restore them."

That statement... broke me. Yet again small children that accompanied us were lost forever. First Rydia and now Palom and Porom... And once again, I was helpless to save them. I was angry... angry at Golbez for setting up these events, even if indirectly, but more that I was angry at myself for allowing this to happen. My anger grew until it was boiling. "Why...?" I said softly. Then without even thinking about it, I drew my sword and raised it high in the air as I turned toward the exit. "WHHHHYYYYYY?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I swung my blade down as hard as I could, and before I even knew it, the exit had been blow wide open. And I'm not just talking about the door, I mean a large hole was blown on the wall itself.

"Yikes!" I heard Wedge say. "Remind me not to make that kid angry."

"Agreed..." replied Biggs.

Yeah apparently that hole was indeed my doing. I honestly couldn't tell you how it happen, as I was too distraught to really pay attention, nor to even care. Regardless, I felt completely drained...in more ways than one. I fell to my knees in despair. "Why does this keep happening?"

"Fools..." Tellah said with sorrow. "If any of us had to die, it ought to have been me."

"They were...only children," said Yang. "Forgive me, you two..."

Cid let out an angry growl. "That does it! I'll fire up the Enterprise! We'll venge 'em both!"

"You will answer for this Golbez!" Cecil said venomously.

I could sense that Cecil, Tellah, and Yang were able to regain some of their fire. I on the other hand...couldn't even muster a spark... I didn't realize it just yet...but I was losing my fighting spirit. 'Why?' you may ask. Well, let's see, I lost my mother, my master, my home, pretty much everything I knew. Then on this new journey, three children I had befriended, one of which I was particularly attached to, had lost their lives under my watch.

And if that wasn't enough, the loss of these three little kids... were making me lose hope that little Kairi was still alive.

A/N: Well, didn't I tell you Sasuke's emotional roller coaster wasn't done yet? And now he's starting to losing hope. How is this gonna affect him next chapter? You'll just have to wait and see.

Footnote:

(1) This one is based on Yang's 'Brace' command that raises his defense greatly for a turn, better than the standard 'Defend' command.

(2) Biggs and Wedge, a Star Wars reference, are pretty common names in the Final Fantasy franchise, the FF4 world being no different. They are temporary party members in the first chapter of the sequel, FF4: The After Years, but then it turns out that they were the two soldiers who openly questioned Cecil about their orders to steal the Water Crystal in the opening scene of the first game. {Biggs: We are the Red Wings, the pride of Baron! Must we now be thieves, sent to plunder from the weak?/Cecil: Enough./Wedge: But, Lord Captain! The Mysidians offered no resistance! And still we cut them down.} So I decided to have them appear here.

(3) This is to address a little plot hole. The game claims that the reason Tellah's spell didn't work was because they turned to stone of their own wills. However, the same thing happens in the FF4: TAY and yet a simple Esuna spell was all it took then. So my headcanon is that the real reason Tellah's Esuna didn't work was because Break was twincasted (especially since Porom herself was unable to use Break let alone Black Magic in general in game so she had to have channeled with Palom in the same way they used Twincast), making it so much more potent that Esuna not enough to reverse the petrification, whereas in TAY Break was not twincasted, and therefor that time Esuna would work.