A/N: Hey, guys! In the previous chapter, Terra was rescued by Arvis, a resident of Narshe, and fled to the mines chased by the guards, where she passed out from a nasty fall. Fortunately, Locke, sent by Arvis to help her escape from Narshe, defeated the guards with the help of a group of Moogles, one of whom, Mog, follows him. Now, the three are heading towards Figaro. Before we begin, let you know that I have added the other two of the four main characters: Locke, the tritagonist, because of how he is involved in the plot and how he interacts with Terra and Celes, and Kefka, for his role as antagonist. End of the premise, I hope you enjoy this story and let's get started!

Chapter 3: Figaro, the Kingdom in the desert

(''Terra's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST'')

(Objective: Make your way towards Figaro.)

Characters:

Terra

Locke

Mog

After leaving Narshe, Terra and Locke descended south and found themselves in a flat area, where they spent the night with a sleeping bag and set off again the next day.

''Do you think we will be safe in Figaro?'' Terra asked.

''Yes. Arvis is also convinced of this. To reach Figaro, we must go to the desert to the south. It will take some time though, so I'd look for some chocobo.'' Locke replied.

''What are chocobos?'' the girl asked, as she had never heard of chocobos.

''Apparently, you missed out a lot of things when you were in the Empire. Chocobos are chicken-like birds, and are usually found in forests, but there are also stables where you can rent them for a few gil. They are docile and are often ridden. They are also used for racing, as they are fast in running.'' the adventurer explained.

''Let's rent a chocobo, kupo!'' Mog added.

''By the way, if you remember, how old are you?'' Locke asked.

''I'm eighteen.'' Terra replied.

''Then I think the king of Figaro might be interested in you. Don't pay too much attention to it, OK?'' said the treasure hunter.

Once they reached the desert, the three headed west and reached a small forest, where they found a hidden chocobo stable and paid 80 gil to rent the chocobo. Suddenly, they heard some screeching sounds, and the group saw some black crows trying to peck them.

''Darkwinds!'' Locke exclaimed, and they all temporarily dismounted their mounts to equip their weapons and defend themselves against the pesky Darkswinds, which they managed to defeat after Mog learned to use a new dance, the Wind Rhapsody, although the girl was hit in the shoulder by their sharp beaks.

When they arrived in the desert, Locke barely held back the urge to take off his blue vest due to the heat, and they also had to face other monsters: the Alacran, a desert scorpion with a paralyzing sting(1), and some desert manta rays. Mog learned yet another dance, the Desert Lullaby, and as he danced, he sent blades of wind from his hands at the desert manta rays, but the Alacran was tough, and the Moogle would have been paralyzed had Terra not struck the scorpion with her sword.

''The castle is close, kupo!'' Mog shouted a few minutes later. On the horizon, a large castle could be seen. Terra got out of the chocobo and stroked it. The bird, emitting its ''kweh'' cry, left to return to where it was before.

(''Terra's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST-s'')

(''Figaro Castle- Final Fantasy VI OST'')

In addition to the size of the castle, among what immediately stood out were the numerous towers and the fans that rotated around the turrets, giving the impression of being technologically very advanced.

A guard in green and orange armor stopped the group, but recognizing Locke, he let them pass. ''The King would like to see you.'' he said.

Terra, followed by Locke and Mog, went on following the red carpet at the entrance, and reached the throne room, where the king of Figaro was waiting for them sitting on one of the two thrones of the room. He was tall and handsome, with long blond hair tied in a ponytail by two ribbons and blue eyes, and wore royal blue and green robes with shoulderpads and a matching cape. His hair was so long that when untied, it reached his back. Locke whispered something to him, and was surprised to hear this explanation. ''Are you talking about this young woman?'' he asked, then stood up and looked at Terra. For a moment he thought about how beautiful the girl was, but he quickly realized that the situation was serious and turned to think.

''Not to be rude, but who are you?'' Terra asked.

''Ah, yeah, sorry, I didn't introduce myself! Really rude of me to turn my back on a young lady! I am Edgar Roni Figaro, King of Figaro.'' said King Edgar Roni Figaro, bowing to her.

''Surprised that someone like me knows a king?'' asked Locke, who began conversing with the king about the trip.

''Let's leave her here for a while, then we'll see what to do.'' Edgar said.

''I'll leave you now. See you later!'' said the adventurer, leaving the room.

Edgar lightly kissed Terra's hand, and she looked at him strangely. ''So, you are a soldier of the Empire, right? Don't worry, Figaro and the Empire are allies. Stay here and rest as long as you want, I'm not the type to hurt a lady.'' he told her.

''No offense, but why are you helping me? Is it because of my abilities?'' asked the girl.

''I'll give you three reasons. First, your beauty captivated me.'' Edgar replied, holding up a finger. ''Second, I'd like to know if I'm your type...'' he held up another one. ''And as a third reason, yes, i guess that your skills count.'' he held up a third finger. He realized that the former imperial soldier was looking at him puzzled and confused, wondering if this man was serious. ''I think I'm a little rusty. Anyway, the servants are preparing lunch, and in the meantime, explore the castle a bit.'' he said, leaving.

Terra began to explore the castle, lost in thought. ''I suppose a normal girl would be fascinated by him after these words. But I'm... I'm barely normal...'' he murmured. Some of the staff told her how the Empire had conquered the entire southern continent and razed three towns there, such as Maranda, attacks led by an 18-year-old general, which made her nervous, wondering if it was her, and about the Magi. From room to room, she also heard that Edgar was always and constantly turning his attention to women, even the old or plains ones, and that he had even tried once with the priestess of Figaro, getting himself into trouble. A soldier said that in the castle there was a very special engine room, which hid a secret.

(''Figaro Castle- Final Fantasy VI OST-s'')

At one point, Terra reached a room in the westernmost tower, and saw a portrait on the wall showing two blond boys, and she was certain that one of them was Edgar, but she didn't know who the other was, knowing only that they were very similar in appearance, and ran into an old lady. ''Hi, miss, I'm the priestess. I suppose you are intrigued by that portrait. Edgar had a younger twin brother. He was a sweet and caring boy, and always cared for his family, even though he was sickly and even smaller than his brother(2).'' she said.

''If he's his brother, what happened to him?'' asked the girl.

''He left the kingdom ten years ago, giving up the throne. He was seventeen years old.'' replied the priestess.

(Ten years ago...)

A seventeen-year-old Edgar was in the castle library, located in the easternmost tower, and was joined by another young man very similar to him. He had the same eyes and the same blond hair, but he was physically smaller than him, and he seemed worried about something. ''Edgar, what happens to our father? Why is everyone talking about the succession?'' he asked.

''Don't you get it? Look at him, his face has become so thin!'' Edgar replied.

The young man looked at him confused, but always worried. ''What do you mean?'' Edgar suddenly ran down the stairs, with his head down, and the boy looked even more worried than before, noticing that his eyes were full of tears. ''Are you... crying?'' He murmured. He was Edgar's twin brother, who gave up the throne in exchange for freedom.

(Flashback end)

''Ah, yes. Sabin Rene Figaro. He's a man by now. He was so disgusted with the succession to the throne that he left the kingdom, and it seems that it was decided with the toss of a coin. I wonder where he is now.'' the priestess said.

Terra left the room and met the chancellor, who told her that lunch was ready, and took her to the kitchen, where Edgar and Locke were waiting for her. On an immense table with at least a dozen chairs around it, there were various foods typical of the nobles, such as various meats, fish and exotic spices. ''So, did you enjoy my castle?'' Edgar asked as he ate some beef.

''To be honest, I've never seen such a large place, Edgar, your castle amazed me.'' Terra replied. ''Speaking of lunch, it's been so long since I last had a meal like this that I don't remember when it was.''

''Well, I'm happy about it.'' replied the king.

''Locke, I'm surprised you know a king.'' Terra then said.

''Yeah, in fact, maybe you weren't expecting it.'' Locke replied. Edgar also had time to get to know Mog the Moogle, and was surprised to hear that he could evoke the power of the earth by dancing.

When lunch was over, a soldier arrived. ''Your Majesty! Someone from the Empire wants to see you!'' he cried, and the girl turned her gaze to the king.

''There is no doubt about it! It's Kefka Palazzo!'' Edgar declared.

Hearing those words, Terra felt a severe headache and nearly fell to the ground. She saw the same things she had seen before she lost consciousness at the Narshe mines, and realized that this man was indeed him.

''Terra, what's wrong?! Did you remember anything?'' Locke asked, worried.

''Yes...'' the girl answered. ''Kefka... he's bad, right?''

''Listen, Terra. I know you're from the Empire and would like to talk to Kefka about it, but it's better if I take care of it. You stay here, OK?'' Edgar asked, and Terra nodded as the King of Figaro walked out, followed by Locke.

(''Kefka's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST'')

Outside of Figaro Castle, although the sands were hot to the touch, the atmosphere seemed even more so because of that hothead of the representative of the Empire that Edgar had to see. This man looked like a clown, with blonde hair in a ponytail, a feathered headdress and a face painted in white with bright red around his eyes and lips. His robes were of very erratic colors and patterns, from purple with pink polka dots to black with yellow stripes, and he wore purple pointy boots. It was he, Kefka Palazzo, who complained constantly during the mission. ''Phooey! Emperor Gestahl's stupid orders! Edgar, you pinhead! Why did you have to live out in this stinking desert in the middle of nowhere?! I HATE recon jobs!'' he screamed, his voice so shrill and insane it broke the peace and almost made the sky tremble. ''And... there's SAND in my boots!''

The two soldiers accompanying Kefka immediately cleaned his boots, and the clown man let out a horrible and disturbing laugh, then insulted them, and they were clearly annoyed, not so much by the recon mission itself, but by the guy. ''Why do we have to bring this moron along...'' one of the two thought.

''I agree with you... why do we have do it ourselves...'' the other soldier said in his mind. It was no secret that in the Empire, everyone except Gestahl hated Kefka. Years earlier, he had been the first to undergo Cid Del Norte Marquez's experiments on the Magitek Knights, and this gave him great power, but he completely lost his sanity in the process, then became a court magician, although he had more of the role of a general, he loved destruction, the suffering he caused to others and death and was capable of making macabre jokes about the atrocities he committed with sadism on the verge of the extreme, emitting hysterical and demonic laughter and going into a rage at the slightest provocation or contradiction. Kefka rudely pushed the guard away from the entrance and waited for the king to come out.

(Objective: Talk with Kefka to find out what he's up to.)

Characters:

Edgar

Edgar stepped out, facing Kefka and the Imperial soldiers. ''What are the plans of the Empire? I have heard that you were busy in the conquest of two or three nations. And what are you doing here in my kingdom? We're allies!'' he asked.

''None of your business. Besides, we, allies with this pile of sand? Don't be foolish!'' the soldiers replied.

The king then turned to Kefka. ''What brings Gestahl's court mage here?'' he asked calmly.

''A girl of no importance escaped us. They say she took refuge here.'' replied the clown.

''Does that girl have anything to do with that ''witch'' they talk about?'' Edgar asked.

''No, she just stole something of minor value.'' Kefka replied. ''Is she here?''

Edgar got the feeling that Kefka was lying, and he wanted to tell him that those lies made as much sense as that hideous and ridiculous outfit he was wearing, but he knew it would be a bad thing to say, and decided that he would only say it in a joke with the others. ''Hard to say.'' he replied, to the shock of the representatives of the Empire. ''There are more girls in the castle than grains of sand in the desert. I can't keep an eye on them all!''

''Trying to protect her is a losing battle, dear Edgar. I wish you nothing happens to your precious Figaro!'' Kefka replied, giggling, then left. It looked like a real threat.

(''Kefka's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST-s'')

''I don't like this at all. That Kefka has some screws loose.'' Locke said, referring to Kefka. Terra walked out the door, and she was very scared and nervous, squeezing her knuckles so hard they turned white.

''Locke, take Terra to her room, she needs to rest.'' Edgar said. He then turned to Terra before returning to the castle. ''I'd like to speak to you, but I have a commitment to the Chancellor. You know how it is, being king isn't all sunshine and rainbows.''

Locke led Terra to the easternmost tower, where there was an empty room with a bed. ''Sorry i got involved in all this, you haven't even rested.'' he said.

''Is it true that you are a thief, Locke?'' the girl asked.

''I'm a TREASURE HUNTER!'' the adventurer snapped, but hearing Terra laugh, he calmed down. ''Anyway, Edgar is only pretending to be an ally of the Empire. In fact, he is collaborating with a rebel group, the Returners, and I am the messenger of the group. Old Arvis is one of us too, and he wants Narshe to be a part of it.''

Terra was bewildered. ''The Empire... But I... I'm an Imperial soldier!'' she exclaimed.

''Not anymore. They were using you, and things have changed now.''

''I know... I just don't know what to do. Every time I try to think, my head hurts even worse.''

Locke put a hand on Terra's shoulder. ''Don't think about it anymore. What matters is that now you decide for yourself. At the right time you will understand what is the right thing to do. Now get some rest.'' he replied, before leaving the room.

The young woman was now so confused that she did not know what to do. ''But how will I know which way is right?'' he thought. With no other choice, he went to bed, and later, Locke did the same. Edgar discussed a strategy with the chancellor, then went to sleep, thinking about Terra. He wanted to understand if she was important to the Empire, but he wanted and had to help her.

That night, Edgar woke up with a start after smelling a strange smell. ''What the...?'' He didn't even have time to fix his hair or get dressed when the Chancellor joined him, in his pajamas. ''Sire! Come quickly!'' he shouted.

So, still in his nightgown and with his hair all ruffled, the king immediately went down the stairs and left the castle, discovering that it was on fire. It wasn't very big right now, but it was expanding. ''What's going on?!'' he asked the guards, who were screaming in panic.

''It's the Empire! Kefka set the place on fire!'' shouted a guard.

Kefka walked in, and Edgar was really annoyed. ''What do you think you're doing?!'' he snapped.

''Bring me the girl, now!'' Kefka replied bluntly.

''I have no idea what you are talking about!'' replied the king.

''Then welcome to my barbecue! Ahahahahah!'' the mad court mage sneered.

Edgar, knowing there was nothing else he could do, went back to the front door and told the guard to get Terra ready. ''I guess I have no choice...'' he murmured, climbing up the tower. However, he whistled and three chocobos came, so I jumped and landed on one of them. ''Or maybe I do!''

Kefka chuckled in amusement. ''The noble king abandoning his castle to save his own skin!'' In all this, however, he hadn't even noticed Terra, who was with Locke on one of the towers.

''Now! Jump!'' Edgar yelled, and Terra and Locke jumped off, landing on the other chocobos along with Mog, then turned to the soldiers. ''Good! Now sink the castle in the sand to put out the fire!''

''Dive Mode activated!'' said a soldier, and the whole castle began to move and dive into the sand.

''Witness the glory of Figaro!'' the Chancellor shouted, and the castle disappeared.

''KILL THEM!'' Kefka screamed, and two Imperial soldiers on Magitek armors charged the group, knocking everyone out of their chocobos.

(''FIGHT! Ver. 2 (Ambush) - Grandia 2 OST'')

(Objective: Defeat the Magitek armors and escape!)

Characters:

Terra

Locke

Mog

Edgar

''Magitek armors! Watch out!'' Edgar yelled, equipping his sword.

''We can't escape unless we take them out!'' Locke said. A Magitek Laser hit Edgar dead-on, and Locke barely managed to avoid a metal kick from their legs. They didn't know, however, that something unexpected was about to happen. Edgar struck one of the two Magitek armors twice with his sword, but both he and Locke noticed that Terra was still. ''Run, Terra!'' they shouted.

The girl did not react. She was charging magical energy to use black magic, and there was a ball of fire in her hands. ''FIRE!'' she yelled, releasing the energy. A floating fireball shot out of her hands, flew towards one of the Magitek armors and exploded(3), destroying it.

Edgar, very shocked, gasped. ''What's the matter, Edgar? What was it that made you jump like that?'' Locke asked him.

''Did you s-s-see what I saw? You did, right? Right?!'' the king stammered.

''Yes, that girl is amazing!'' the treasure hunter replied.

''No, Locke, don't you understand?! That was MAGIC! MA-GIC!'' Edgar yelled, full of emotion.

Locke was equally shocked, and a lot of emotions shot through his head. ''M-M-M-M-MAGIC?! SHE USED- SHE USED MAGIC?!'' he screamed, and he and Edgar started whispering to each other. Terra was very embarrassed.

''Terra, what is it you did just now?'' Edgar asked.

The girl was now full of shame, with her head down and her eyes closed. ''I'm sorry, I...''

Locke pushed Edgar away, knocking him to the sand. ''No, we should be apologizing. I didn't want to make such a big deal out of it.'' he replied.

''Nor did I... it just surprised me, I've never seen magic before.'' the king added. ''Where did you learn that?'' he then asked, but Terra didn't answer.

''It doesn't matter, okay, Edgar?! Terra can use magic and we can't, that's the difference!'' Locke cut him short. ''The point is, her magic could be useful to us!''

''Thank you, Locke! Thank you, Edgar!'' Terra exclaimed, winking at Edgar and Locke, who nearly fainted. Now they knew why she was so famous, and now, they had a powerful ally.

''You know, Terra, as you saw from the castle, Figaro is the most technologically advanced nation in the world, and this is also thanks to Edgar: he is a very experienced engineer, and in his spare time, he creates special tools that he also uses in combat. Look.'' Locke said. In fact, Edgar took what looked like a normal crossbow, but when he opened fire, several darts shot from the crossbow and hit the remaining Magitek armor. ''Pretty cool, huh?''

Using the Fire spell again, Terra set on fire the Magitek armor, which exploded, and everyone climbed back into their chocobos. ''Long live Figaro!'' Edgar cheered.

''So long, clown face!'' said Locke, teasing Kefka.

And speaking of Kefka, he was furious. The siege had been a failure, and Edgar had made Terra escape, breaking his ''alliance'' with the Empire. ''Son of a sandworm! You'll pay for this!'' he screamed.

(''FIGHT! Ver. 2 (Ambush) - Grandia 2 OST-s'')

(''Chocobo FFXII Version- Final Fantasy XII OST'')

As the three chocobos ran, Locke continued to giggle. ''That was great!'' he shouted.

''They really were bad people... I was so scared...'' Terra murmured. She was lucky Edgar had brought her to safety.

''Terra, there is someone we would like you to meet. As Locke said, I'm not really an ally of the Empire, I pretended to be so as not to arouse suspicion, and we're part of the Returners. Your ability to use magic will be essential to us to win this war.'' Edgar said.

''Arvis said that Esper in Narshe reacted with you. There must be a reason.'' Locke added.

''These powers are a natural thing to me, but I haven't the foggiest idea.'' Terra replied.

''But no human is born with powers like yours!'' Edgar exclaimed, and the girl, taken aback, pulled the reins of her chocobo, causing it to stop immediately. ''I apologize.''

''It's nothing. What should I do?'' Terra asked, very confused.

Edgar took a while to answer. It was a good question. ''The Gestahlian Empire is after you because of your powers, and we can't let them capture you, or the world will fall into their hands. Terra, you want to understand your powers better, right?'' The young woman nodded.

''Then we recommend that you go to Banon, the leader of the Returners. He might help you understand more about your powers.'' Locke concluded.

''To the south of the desert, there's a cave that will lead us to South Figaro. Then, we will go east to reach Mount Kolts, and from there, we will pass through the Sabre Mountains to the north. That's where the Returners Hideout is.'' Edgar said. ''We are in the middle of the night though, so let's get some rest before going in there.''

(The machinist Edgar joined the party!)

The group left the desert behind and reached the cave, where a Figaro soldier on a chocobo stood guard at the entrance. ''King Edgar! What are you doing here at this time of night?'' he asked.

''We want to go through the cave to reach South Figaro. We can't go on with our chocobos, so take them to the castle.'' Edgar replied.

''Yes, sir!'' the soldier said, and with a whistle, he attracted the attention of the other chocobos and carried them back to the castle. Terra, Locke, Mog and Edgar set up a tent and fell asleep.

(''Chocobo FFXII Version- Final Fantasy XII OST-s'')

A/N: Terra ran away from Narshe, and now, she and Locke have a new ally in Edgar. Now the group must travel to the Resistance headquarters in the Saber Mountains. What will they face before they get there? And what happened to Edgar's twin?

(1): The Alacran's ''Numb'' special attack inflicts ''Stop'' status, immobilizing those affected. While this is an altered status other than ''Paralysis'', it has the same effect, as the ATB gauge of the character that is paralyzed does not fill, although the effect lasts less. In Final Fantasy VI, the ''Stop'' status is more common because in this game, Paralysis is completely absent.

(2): According to a rare manga that tells more of Edgar and Sabin's story, Sabin, before his adulthood, was weak and sickly due to a genetic disease inherited from his uncle Francis and his grandfather, and because of this, he was despised by his father, King Stewart.

(3): This version of the move is very similar to how Zelda uses her side special move, Din's Fire, in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros Ultimate: a magic fireball that explodes on command, except that in that case, it is more powerful in the inner part of the explosion.