Part Two
Chapter 8: Legendary Esper
Terra slowly faded back into consciousness. She opened her eyes and found that she was in a glass cage of some sort. The room surrounding her was dark, and she couldn't make out much.
Her head ached, and her throat felt raw. Almost as if she had been screaming, but she couldn't remember anything. What had happened? Terra closed her eyes again, trying to recall what had happened to her after she, Edgar and Setzer left Mobliz.
She thought as hard as she could. She and Edgar had been talking…what then? Terra couldn't remember. She vaguely remembered being poked in the ribs…the Falcon! It had been attacked!
The creature had tried to destroy the airship.
Terra's eyes opened and a gasp escaped her lips when she remembered the rest…The monster had used magic! But how?
"I see you're awake," came a disembodied voice. Terra heard the male voice chuckle, as if it was some sort of joke. She sat up, trying to get a better look at the source, but it was to no avail.
Terra hesitated. She pulled at her torn clothing, attempting to cover herself better. "Where am I?"
She could practically feel his smile…his eyes as they scrutinized her from the shadows, "All in good time, my dear," came the reply, "You have nothing to fear from me. At least as long as you do as I say."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Terra kept her voice as even as she could, trying not to betray her fear. Even though she could not see her captor, his aura seemed to permeate the very air around her. She could sense that he had no good intentions for her whatsoever.
"It means," he paused, "That you are being given a chance. You have already been infused with the first treatment, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if your senses have been enhanced somewhat. Even now you would probably be able to use your more basic abilities."
"Treatment?" Terra questioned in disgust.
"You have been infused with a substance formed of pure life energy. The magic of a different world…Materia."
Terra looked out at the shadows with rage clearly evident on her face. She had had enough with being experimented on. Terra thought that when she escaped from Kefka that the nightmare of "treatments" would end. But it seemed that even now she was plagued by those who would impose their wills on her. They had NO right to determine her fate, "How dare you experiment on me. What is this 'chance' that you actually think I would accept?"
He said simply, "Serve me and have your missing half restored."
"What makes you think I'd serve you?"
"Girl," the voice said cruelly. He laughed, "I said chance, not choice."
Her captor strode confidently from the shadows. When Terra saw him, she backed against the glass in fear. She was no longer able to suppress the terror that rose from within her.
"Hello, Terra..." It walked closer to the girl and smiled, exposing a mouth packed full with small, stinger-like teeth.
Terra had always prided herself on keeping her cool no matter the situation, but this was too much even for her....Terra collapsed to the bottom of the chamber, holding herself in fetal position as he approached her. In his hand was a fist sized green orb.
And as he neared her, the orb flared to life…
Chapter 9: Separated
"Who the Hell are you?" came a frantic, yet still somehow majestic call.
Squall grunted against the pain that wracked his entire body and struggled to open his eyes. Above him stood a tall man with long blond hair that was bound in a ponytail. He wore royal colors, and was covered in a blue cape. Though Squall's vision was too blurred to make out much else.
He opened his mouth to attempt an answer, but was only able to produce a faint gurgling noise. Squall's vision darkened, and he felt his body begin to let go. Though he fought it, unconsciousness took him.
***
He woke again, what felt like hours later. An incessant beeping filled the air. It was soft, but annoying none the less. Squall tried to think back to what had happened. He just didn't know. He'd nearly been blinded by that light…then the fall.
Squall grimaced. Kash, Rinoa, Athena…Raven! Where was Raven? Squall opened his eyes, and found that the source of the beeping was some sort of monitoring device. It looked as if he had ended up in some sort of hospital. People who looked like doctors and nurses were hurrying this way and that.
There was a silver-haired man sitting next to him. He sat shuffling a deck of cards and apparently hadn't noticed that Squall was awake. He studied the older man carefully for a moment, and finally decided that the man wasn't a threat.
"Hey," Squall said after a moment. He figured that he might as well try to find out what had happened.
The man looked up from what he was doing and eyed him cautiously, "Well, you're finally awake," he said with a bit of amusement, "You gave Edgar and I quite a scare. You fell from the sky and landed right on the deck of my airship."
"I fell from the sky?" Squall questioned.
The man nodded, "Yes. We were kinda hoping that you would be able to explain that. Though by the look on your face, I would bet that you don't. Name's Setzer by the way."
"Squall," he replied. The man was right too; he had no idea how he could have fallen from the sky.
"Well, Squall, I suppose it's true what they say."
"And what is that?"
"When things fall, they fall…" after a moment, Setzer brightened a bit, "Anyway, we thought you might die, so we brought you back to Figaro Castle to have you treated. You're lucky we were there," he continued, "We were about to call of our search for our missing friend and leave when you showed up. Strange though…I have a hunch that she wasn't there anyway," he looked back to his cards again.
"What about Raven?" questioned Squall in haste. At this point he really didn't care about keeping his cool. Something odd was going on, "Where is the man that was with me?"
"There was no one else," replied Setzer, "It there was, he probably fell into the ocean. I didn't see anyone though…"
Damn, thought Squall, I hope that hot head didn't get himself killed!
"If you're up to it," continued Setzer, "King Edgar would like to have a word with you."
"King Edgar?" Squall questioned.
The silver-haired man gave him a quizzical glance, "Don't tell me that you've never heard of King Edgar Figaro before." Squall explained that he hadn't. Setzer chuckled, "Well it seems that fate has thrown a new card into the deck."
***
Squall entered the thrown room of Figaro Castle and found the man he'd seen back on the airship sitting on one of the ornately decorated thrones. In his hands were Squall's Gunblade.
"You are King Edgar?" asked Squall. He gave the man a traditional SeeD salute as a sign of respect.
"No formalities here," said Edgar with a tense smile. He looked to Setzer who nodded, apparently giving a silent signal that Squall was not a threat. Edgar immediately relaxed a bit, and asked, "Who might you be?"
"I'm Squall Leonhart, a SeeD from Balamb Garden."
Edgar scrutinized him for a moment, "Balamb Garden? What is this SeeD?"
Thought he kept his features neutral, Squall was surprised. He had never encountered anyone who didn't know what SeeD was.
"Um…it's a mercenary group that protects the world from evil Sorceresses."
"I've never heard of that…" Edgar trailed off. He seemed to be pondering something.
"That's alright," Squall was thinking too, "I've never heard of Figaro Castle either." Squall couldn't help but think back to what Kash had said… All of them are in place now. We shall use their power to open the gate.
Edgar spoke, stirring Squall from his thoughts, "These Sorceresses have magical power? How do they get it?"
Squall sighed. He really didn't want to get into a big explanation about it, "Some are born with it," he finally said, "Other's gain their power by receiving it from another…" something in Edgar's expression clued him off, "You have no idea what I'm talking about," he stated flatly.
Edgar shook his head, "No," he admitted, "but I'd like to learn. It might help us find out what happened to our friend Terra."
We shall use their power to open the gate, Kash had said. Squall's stomach knotted.
"This Terra," Squall began, "Is she a powerful girl?"
Edgar nodded, "She was once. She is half Esper, but all of her powers faded when magic died."
"Why?" queried Setzer.
Squall looked at him grimly, "I have a feeling that I'm not from around here…"
Chapter 10: Disjointed Realities
Raven jolted up, "Athena!" he screamed. Reality came back to him, and he soon realized that he was no longer at the Sorceress Memorial. It was a house, and he was laying on the floor next to a fireplace. Raven coughed and caught the taste of seawater on his tongue.
A young woman came rushing in at the sound of his voice. "You're finally awake!" she exclaimed happily, "When I found you washed up on the beach, I thought for sure that you wouldn't make it." She was a blond-haired girl with deep blue eyes, wearing a red dress and a yellow scarf. She looked to be younger than twenty, but Raven wasn't sure.
"I guess I'm in your dept then," said Raven. Though he had no idea where he was or how he could have ended up washing upon some beach, "You got a name, kid?"
"Relm," she replied with a smile, "This is Thamasa by the way. I guess you probably couldn't tell by looking at the inside of my house."
"Raven Ebony," he returned the smile as best he could, but something puzzled him, "I've never heard of Thamasa before, and I've been everywhere."
"That's odd," replied Relm, "This town's as old as dirt! How could you not have known about it?"
Raven shrugged. Looked like he had gotten himself into another mess. "What about Squall? Did he wash up too?"
Relm shook her head, "Nope just you. Sorry."
"Don't worry," Raven said this despite the fact that he was very worried himself, "Squall is too stubborn to die." He chuckled a bit, but it turned into a sigh.
"Why don't you rest here and look for him in the morning?" suggested Relm.
Raven was in no position to object. Even now he could feel exhaustion taking its toll on him, "Thank you for the hospitality miss."
Relm nodded, then left, letting Raven rest.
***
"…And that's all I know." Squall had just finished explaining about SeeD and the Sorceresses, as well as the more recent event's involving Rinoa, Raven and Kash.
"So you believe that someone is trying to open some sort of dimensional gate?" asked Edgar, "And it might be using Terra and these other girls to suite its purposes?"
Squall nodded.
"Fascinating," stated the king, "Now I have just one more questioned for you," he held up Squall's sheathed Gunblade, "Just what is this? I've prided myself at being a master of machinery, but this weapon is quite remarkable."
"It's my Gunblade," explained Squall. He very much wished that Edgar would stop asking so many questions and help him search, "A combination gun and sword."
"I figured as much," replied Edgar. He handed the weapon back to its owner, "Quite a majestic weapon."
Squall nodded again, "Now that we know each other's situation, we should take that airship of yours and look for them."
Edgar slowly shook his head, "I'm afraid that's impossible at the moment…"
"Why?" questioned Squall.
Setzer answered for him, "The Falcon took on heavy damage during an attack. When I got a good look at the engines, I was shocked that the ship had even stayed in the air."
King Figaro continued, "My best engineers are working on the Falcon even as we speak. However these things take time."
Squall could tell that Edgar was sincere. He clenched his fists, but only said, "Alright….whatever…"
Edgar continued, "I think we should use this time to collect more information and come up with some sort of plan."
"Agreed," said Squall, "So I guess for now we could…"
Squall was abruptly cut off when the doors of the thrown room fell open and a blue clad man rushed in.
"Edgar!" He looked to the others, "Setzer! Thank God," the man was practically screaming as he hurried toward Edgar, "I didn't know where else to go!"
Edgar stood, clearly dismayed, "What is it Locke?"
Locke stood before the king, a looks of extreme loss on his face. Squall knew that look well, for it had been on his face just days before. Locke gasped for breath, but continued on, "Celes is missing!
***
From what Squall could tell, Locke and Celes were married, or lovers at least. Locke went on about how the 'Rune Knight', as he referred to her once, had disappeared several days before and that he had been searching for her ever since.
Just how he knew Edgar though, was another matter all together. With his outfit, sword, and bandana, Locke looked more like a pirate or thief than someone who would befriend a king.
"So Terra is missing too?" questioned Locke. He seemed much calmer now that he understood the situation a bit better. He motioned to Squall, "Just who is this guy?"
"This is Squall," replied Edgar. He looked to Squall, "I think it would be better if we discussed his situation later…say, over dinner?"
"No time!" Locke insisted, "We have to look for her…err, them."
"As much as it pains me, we have to wait. The Falcon was damaged when Terra disappeared, and will take at least a day to repair."
Locke sighed, "Damn! So be it!"
Edgar put a reassuring hand on his old friend's shoulder. He really did hate to see him like this. Locke was one of Edgar's best friends. They'd been through a lot together…
…The two had met years before. Interestingly enough, Edgar met Locke when he caught him "treasure hunting" in his royal chamber. Needless to say, Edgar hadn't been pleased. Locke soon found himself jailed like a common thief, thrown into Figaro Castle's dungeon.
The king went down to visit him a few days later. After all, not many people had the audacity to attempt to rob the King of Figaro in his own castle. Edgar was surprised when the man actually apologized.
It was then that the name of the Returners, an underground anti-empire faction, came up. Locke explained that he had been trying acquire money for the group so that they could buy weaponry.
This interested Edgar greatly. He had sympathized with the group for some time now, but was unable to make contact with them. Although Edgar had played 'the good little puppet king' for the Empire, truth be told, he hated them to the core. Edgar and his prisoner talked for many hours. In the end, Edgar released Locke and agreed to provide the Returners with his best weaponry.
Though it took a while, Locke and Edgar each gained the respect of the other…
…And now they were good friends, which was he hated to see Locke in such pain. He had been overjoyed when Locke announced that he Celes were going to be married. Edgar threw them the greatest wedding that he could possibly manage on such short notice. The ceremony and feast were still left unmatched to this day…and would likely remain that way until Edgar's or Sabin's wedding. If either of them ever did settle down that is.
Edgar looked to his friend, "We're going to find her, I assure you. But first we need to know what we are up against. We can't start going off half cocked, right?"
Hesitantly, Locke nodded, "I suppose so," he grudgingly agreed.
"Good. Now why don't you rest in the guest chambers? I'll have one of the servants fetch you at supper time."
Chapter 11: Friend or Foe?
"Lord Dark Heart!" came the call.
"What is it, my second in command?" questioned Dark Heart. He turned from his completed project. Leaving the girl to suffer at the bottom of her prison.
She hesitated, absently tucking a strand of red hair behind her pointed ear, "It seems that Raven has survived…as has Squall."
The dark one breathed out sharply and frowned. Kash had failed him, and for that he would pay dearly. He wouldn't kill the man…no. But he would make him think twice about ever failing again. He told Kash to make sure that neither of them survived, but instead, the fool assumed that the transfer of dimensions would do the job for him.
Dark Heart grunted in annoyance, "No matter," he stated confidently, "They will not be more than a nascence," Dark Heart smiled evilly, "They will be swatted like insects when the time is right."
"There is one other thing my lord."
"And what is that?" Dark Heart carefully eyed up his second in command. He ran his tongue across his barb-like teeth, relishing the taste of blood when one of the jagged spines pierced the soft muscle. He almost smiled as the red fluid ran over his taste buds.
"Its Raven's Blade. With it he might be dangerous. It has the ability to reflect magic."
At this, Dark Heart did smile, "Interesting."
"I should know," continued the girl, "I designed it myself."
He nodded, "If that be the case…" Dark Heart turned back to the green-haired girl, "When she awakes, send our newest recruit out to intercept Raven," his expression darkened, "He'll have the honor of being the first she kills."
***
Raven awoke as the sun began to rise. A few rays of the golden light filtered through a nearby window, falling across his face and eyes. Shaking off the remnants of sleep, Raven sat up and looked around him.
The fire had long since extinguished, but the room had not taken on the chill of morning. Raven ran his fingers through his mussed hair and after a moment, he stood. When he looked around, he saw Relm. She was sitting at a nearby table, her head down, fast asleep.
Raven smiled slightly, letting his emotional mask drop for a few moments. He replaced it though as he slowly walked up to where the sleeping girl rested. The man shook her gently, attempting not to startle her, but failed.
Relm awoke with a start. She looked up at him for a few seconds, but then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sorry," apologized Raven, "I just wanted to thank you for your kindness and tell you that I have to leave soon."
"Don't mention it," replied Relm slyly, "I guess I've just been a bit jittery since my grandfather died a few months ago," she looked away. Then, after a bit of hesitation, she asked, "Where will you go?"
That was a good question. Raven wasn't even sure where he was, let alone where he should go. Thamasa, Relm had said. But where on Earth was Thamasa? Raven shook his head, "I'm not sure. I'm looking for some people. Friends of mine. Do you have any idea where I might start looking?"
"Well…" Relm got an odd look on her face, "There's Eboshi Rock, and the mountains to the north, but other than that you're…kinda on an island."
Raven sighed and chuckled to himself. Of all the places he could have ended up! "Great," he muttered.
Relm gave him a cross-eyed glance, "Hey. Watch your attitude, buster, or I'll paint your portrait. Even with all the magic gone, my pictures still pack a wallop!"
Now it was Raven's turn to be surprised, "Magic gone? How long was I out?"
"And how much magic have you seen recently?" questioned Relm. She laughed, as if thinking it all a game.
Raven put his hand over his face, "More than I'd have liked."
"Sure, Raven," she laughed again, "I think maybe you should rest awhile longer. Looks like you mighta gotten a knock to the noggin."
"Whatever."
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Relm let out an exasperated heave and made a face, "I'll take your word for it," her expression softened, "Look, if you need a guide through the mountains, I'm your girl. I know them like the back of my hand."
Raven nodded, "Sure, thanks," he said absentmindedly. Magic gone? If only he had some drawn spells to show her. Though not impossible, it was hard for Raven to hold Para-magic inside him without a GF. On top of that, without the enhancing qualities of a GF, what magic he could draw was weak. That was probably why most people broke down and used GFs. But Raven didn't trust them. They tended to be far too unreliable – slow to summon, and in general, they seemed to have a dislike for him as well. Raven much preferred to rely on his physical attacks. As long as he had The Blade in his hand…wait a minute…
"Where is my sword," he questioned. Until then, he hadn't realized that it was nowhere to be seen. Relm must have put it and its magnetic sheath in another room.
"Oh, I'll get it for you," replied Relm. With that, she got up and went elsewhere in the house."
A moment later she returned, carrying his sword in both hands. The sheath was slung around her shoulder. He met her half way and took the weapon from her.
"Thanks. So when would you like to go?"
"How about after breakfast?" replied Relm.
Raven's stomach growled. He suddenly remembered that the last thing he had eaten was that putrid tasting Funguar, "As long as it has nothing to do with mushrooms, sounds good."
***
After breakfast, the pair set off through the plains with Relm in the lead. To Raven's surprise, there were few monsters that were willing to challenge them. Even the ones that did attack the two were weak and completely lacking magic attacks.
They were taken down with minimal effort from Relm and Raven.
Raven looked down on the body of a large rabbit-like that he had just slain, "Man, I could get spoiled fighting monsters this weak."
"I guess," was the only reply he got. For just then, a large Doberman appeared out of nowhere and tackled Raven to the ground. His Blade was knocked from his hands.
Raven attempted to get the dog off of him, but that only made it more ferocious. The monstrous pooch bared its teeth, growling and snapping at him. All the while letting torrents of hot air wash over Raven's face; its breath stank of blood.
"Hey…Relm," Raven called as he dodged the creature's biting maw, "Could you give me a hand here?"
Relm pulled a paintbrush from her pocket and answered, "If you would stand still for a moment, maybe I could!"
"Stay still?" Raven could barely believe what he heard, "This thing's trying to bite my head off!"
"Just for a moment!" with that, Relm proceeded to swipe the air with her brush. Within moments, she had 'sketched' out a perfect replica of the monster. A moment later she called out, "Alright, Fido! Sickem'!" The dog obeyed and launched its own attack on the Doberman. The clone dog tackled the its target sending them both sprawling to the ground.
"What were you saying about the monsters being pushovers?" scolded Relm.
Raven stood and rushed over to Relm, "What in the name of…"
"Later!" Relm interrupted, "Let's get outta here!"
***
They reached the mountain range.
It was a while before either of them spoke again. But after awhile, Raven looked at Relm, "I see what you mean about your portraits packing a punch. But how could you do that without magic?"
Relm shrugged, "I was born with that ability. It's just a part of me. Gramps used to say that I was born with a paint brush in my hand."
Raven chuckled.
Relm laughed, "See? It's not so hard so smile from time to time."
He put his fingers to his mouth…indeed, he was smiling. It quickly faded though. "Nowadays I find more comfort in this blade if mine than anything else," he said, gripping his gloved hand around the handle, "I suppose it's made me somewhat cold."
Relm cocked her head to one side and frowned, but kept quiet. Raven sighed. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to move on. After all, he had seen Athena alive. If he could just find her they could fight side by side once more. If only he could have found a way to rescue her before…
"Hey!" called Relm. Her sudden outburst shook Raven from his thoughts, "Take a look at that cave!"
Raven looked up. Not far from them, a cave stood. And though it was dim, he could see a soft pink light shining from somewhere within. "It's probably just some light coming from the other end of the tunnel," he suggested.
Relm shook her head, "I told you, I know this place like the back of my hand," when she saw that Raven didn't understand the importance of her statement, she added, "There is no exit to this cave."
"Hmmm…" Raven studied the light for a moment, "It might be worth checking out. You wanna stay here?"
"No, I wanna come too."
Raven nodded, "Ok, just stay behind me."
As the two entered the cave, the tension quickly rose. There was an unnatural feel to the air around them. Raven slowly walked through the cave, and Relm followed. On first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the dim, rosy light. The only thing he noticed was the musty smell and the abundance of cobwebs.
He kept glancing sharply around, for he kept thinking that he could see something just out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked this way or that, there was nothing there. Shadows scurried in the darkness around them. Or so it seemed. Yet even when he concentrated solely on watching, he could not tell for sure if what he saw was really there.
Raven could tell that Relm saw them too. She too was glancing about with a worried look on her face. He grasped her hand to comfort the girl and motioned for her attention, "It looks like the source is just up ahead."
She silently acknowledged him.
Not long after that, the tunnel opened up into a chamber. There wasn't much to the room. It was simple, rough rock through and through. However, what sat in the middle of the chamber was of interest to both of them…
There, on the ground, sat a being that looked strangely like a Guardian Force. The creature appeared to be female; her skin was pink and matched her frazzled hair perfectly. The creature's eyes were closed, so Raven couldn't get a look at her eyes. There was a certain beauty about the girl. She looked so human, yet at the same time, undeniably…foreign. He found himself staring, not able to tear his eyes away or think of any possible course of action.
The girl sat motionless, as if in deep meditation or prayer.
Relm moved over and whispered in his ear, "Raven, that's Terra," she motioned to the girl before them, "She's a friend of mine…but she shouldn't be able to take her Esper form now that her source of magic is gone. Something's wrong…" Then she called out, "Terra!"
Raven immediately sensed the error of her decision. He wrapped his hand around Relm's mouth, trying to keep any more sound from coming out. But it was too late.
At once, Terra's eyes shot open, revealing the dark, green pits within. Her face darkened as her eyes took on a fiery glow. Terra hissed, then stood and dusted herself off.
"Terra?" questioned Relm. She now knew what Raven had sensed before…Terra was definitely not herself.
She examined them for several moments. No emotion displayed itself on her face. After looking at Raven, her gaze shifted to Relm, and a glimmer of recognition fell across Terra's dark features.
"Why Relm," said Terra sweetly, "How nice to see you again. Good news, I don't have to kill you…" she put a hand to her chin, seemingly thinking about her last remark, "Hmmm…maybe just for fun anyway," she laughed evilly.
Relm took a step back, "Terra! What's gotten into you?"
Terra shrugged. Though it appeared to be a feminine gesture, her body flexed, revealing her to be much stronger than Raven would have initially thought. This meant that in a hand to hand battle, Terra would probably come out on top, "What indeed?" Terra replied cryptically.
Without turning, Raven addressed Relm, "Run…" he breathed, "and don't look back."
Hesitantly, Relm did as she was told. She took off at full speed out of the chamber.
Terra laughed again, "I'll find her," she promised, "And I think I'll torch Thamasa while I'm at it."
"You'll have to get by me first!" screamed Raven. His previous captivation had passed. To him, Terra was now just another monster. Raven drew his Blade.
"That's what I had in mind," replied Terra evenly, "It seems my master wants that sword of yours."
Gripping the Blade with both hands, Raven shot back, "Sorry, it kinda has sentimental value to me. So I guess the phrase would be, 'you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.'"
Terra smiled slightly, "Sounds good to me…but if you want cold, that's Celes' area. I'm fire!" Then, launching herself into the air, Terra unleashed a volley of fire element spells.
Raven held his Blade in front of him, blocking each discharge, but he could feel the fire heating up his sword as it absorbed the blasts. She paused for a moment, making Raven think that the Esper might have run out of energy. As he watched, Terra hovered in front of him, letting her top fangs protrude over her bottom lip.
"What, is that supposed to intimidate me?" mocked Raven. He wanted to trick her into using one of her more powerful attacks. It was risky, but Raven had a plan, "Show me what you've got!"
Raven was rewarded for his taunts. With a cry of rage, Terra screamed, "Fire 3!" and holding her hands in front of her, she launched a giant ball of superheated plasma at him. Raven was ready though. Drawing back, he slashed out with his sword and smacked the fireball with the blade. The energy as reflected, and went flying back to its source. It hit Terra dead on, and sent her crashing to the floor.
"How do you like a taste of your own medicine?" asked Raven.
Terra, gave no answer, not that he had expected one. She leapt up and charged at him with all her might, but Raven used the same tactic that Squall had used against him earlier. He sidestepped, parried her off, and then spun around, giving her a smack on the rear with the flat side of his Blade for good measure.
The Esper fell to the ground again. While she composed herself, Raven leapt back, putting some distance between himself and her. When she stood though, Terra emitted a high-pitched animal-like screech.
Raven screamed in pain. He was forced to drop his sword and cover his ears. It felt like his head was about to explode. He knew he had to do something fast, but it was getting harder and harder to think.
There was one possibility, but it was as risky as doing nothing. However, doing nothing was definitely not an option, so Raven called out, "I don't know what kind of power you're using, but prepare to have it used against you! Draw!"
The instant the orbs of energy left Terra, she stopped screeching and began screaming…almost as if in pain. She dropped to the ground, crying loudly, then fell unconscious.
When the drawn magic entered Raven, he received the shock of his life. The energy was so strong that he too fell to the ground, completely overwhelmed. It felt like his entire body was on fire. Despite himself, Raven cried out as he felt the power surging through him.
Even in her unconscious, Terra began reflexively casting off random spells. Most of which hit the surrounding walls and ceiling. The cavern began to collapse from the strain, raining rocks down on them. The cavern was not as strong as it had been, weakened by her spells. Then boulders started falling around the entrance blocking their only way out.
The cavern walls collapsed to dust, and the ceiling was not far behind. Raven could tell he didn't have much time left. Though all he cared about now was making the scorching pain that wracked his body end.
If he had one consolation, it was that Relm and the people of Thamasa would be safe. However, that was the last thing he thought before darkness took him…