Part Four
Chapter 16: A Nightmare's Game
"Nowhere to run my dear," came the taunting voice. It seemed so hauntingly familiar to Terra, but her memories were such a jumble that she couldn't tell, "Not even within your own mind!"
Terra glanced at the utter blackness around her. She didn't know where she was, or how she had gotten there…all the girl could see was the darkness that seemed to press in on her from all sides. Terra listened as echoes from her subjugator's voice bounced throughout the nothingness, but could not pinpoint where it was coming from. His voice seemed to come from everywhere.
"I own you!" it told her, "You belong to me, body, mind and soul!"
"What…are you talking about?" Terra questioned forcefully, trying to suppress a stammer. Something about this voice seemed to inspire sheer terror in her. She could not explain it, and could hardly suppress the feeling. She almost wanted to scream.
Her tormenter laughed, coldly, "You don't remember, do you?" he questioned, "Oh, this will be so much fun then," the unseen creature seemed absolutely cheerful at the thought of her discomfort.
Unconsciously, Terra took a step backward and nearly fell when she realized that she stood at the edge of a cliff. The girl steadied herself, suddenly realizing what was going on. The torturous entity wanted her to fall.
It has said something about not being able to hide…even within her own mind. This was within her mind? Then the cliff was symbolic. If she fell, then she would loose control again; forfeiting her soul to this beast…whatever it was.
"I gave you back your strength, Terra," the darkness explained, "I own your power. I gave you the magic of another world."
"This isn't real! You don't own me!"
To this, the darkness merely laughed again, "This is very real. You are going to be working for me once more."
It seemed so sure of itself. It couldn't be true, could it? Terra fought it, bet felt herself being pushed back once more.
"No!" she cried.
"Yes," it replied, "You will lead your friends to the merge points, retrieve the treasures and then lead them right into a trap."
"No!" Terra repeated, "I won't," she added weakly. She could feel it smile as she neared defeat.
Then, a small voice whispered, Fight Terra. Then aloud, "Daughter! You must fight!"
"Father?" Terra questioned.
"You must not let him destroy you, Terra," her father told her, "He has no more power within your mind than what you give him."
There was a pause before the darkness spoke, "Why Maudin. My old friend," it stated sarcastically, "How nice of to see you again."
"Dark Heart. You should be dead," Maudin replied.
"As should you," scoffed the darkness, "But we both seem to have lived on in one form or another."
"You can never have the power you seek. The one called Kefka tried, and was destroyed because of it."
Dark Heart chuckled, "Kefka was an overzealous fool who had no idea how to use the power he held. I will not make the same mistake. Once the rift opens fully, the merge complete and I will rule supreme!"
"You are a fool!" Maudin countered, "What you plan will destroy all three worlds. You won't have anything left to rule over."
"We will see…"
With that, there was a bright flash of light. Terra felt herself being lifted, and slowly began to wake…
***
Terra jerked awake. She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs; trying to discern fantasy from reality. Dark Heart's words came back to her, as did her father's. He had saved her again.
Her head began to hurt, and suddenly flashes of the past few days began to resurface. Terra wept softly as the painful memories came back to her.
But now, she knew what she had to do.
Chapter 17: Ancient Treasures
After Setzer landed the Falcon in an open field, he and the others went below deck to sort things out and plan their next move. It seemed that something was up if they had been attacked. Perhaps they had gotten closer to…well, what ever it was, then they thought.
"What happened to you, Raven?" questioned Squall. Indeed, that was the topic on everyone's mind whether they knew him or not.
Raven shook his head, "I don't know," he replied. The young man sat at the table with the others, but didn't make eye contact, "It's fuzzy. I was battling with Terra like I said, but when I tried to draw spells from her, both of us passed out," Raven shrugged, "When I woke up, I had wings. Weird, huh?"
The others nodded in agreement, and a moment later, Raven continued, "But now Terra says she doesn't remember what happened to her."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" It was Locke. Everyone looked to him.
"And what the devil is that supposed to mean?" questioned Edgar.
Locke slammed his fist on the table, "I'd say that's pretty damn convenient! Terra has a history memory lapses. Now we need to know if Celes and the others are safe and she's gone and forgotten again!"
Raven pointed his finger at Locke, "Listen, why don't you just back off! You're not the only one who has ever lost someone you love; we're not going to get anywhere if we bully Terra around."
Setzer looked to the others, "He right. Locke, I know you're upset, but we can't take that out on our other friends."
Locke shook his head, "I suppose so…"
"No, Locke is right," All eyes turned to the far wall as Terra entered the room from where she had slept. She had gone back to human form. Setzer managed to find some work clothes that had been left by a work crew. She was now clad in a boots, light brown leather pants, and a loose-fitting, gray shirt.
Raven looked at her tear-stained face, wondering what she planned to say.
"Locke has a right to know what I know," continued Terra. She sat, taking the place next to Raven. "I think I'm beginning to understand what happened to me…to us."
A moment of tense silence passed before Edgar prompted, "Go on."
Terra nodded, "I was taken to some place beyond the Sealed Gate, but not in the Esper World. Somehow it was beyond that too. Almost as if this world exists in the gap between dimensional fabric. It was made up of fragments of our world and the other two."
"So there are more than two worlds then?" questioned Squall. Terra now had his full attention. If she knew where Rinoa was, then he, follow this Esper to the ends of the world.
"I believe so," Terra replied, "The creature known as Dark Heart took me. He infused me with some magical substance called Materia and ripped my thoughts from me. I don't know how…I wasn't conscious at the time.
"I believe that he is trying to merge all three worlds into one," Terra looked to the others, gauging their expressions. Some looked shocked, while Raven and Squall kept their reserve up. "The darkness doesn't seem to understand that doing so will destroy the universe as we know it. All he cares about is obtaining three ancient treasures."
"Treasures?" questioned Locke.
"Magical treasures I'd assume," Edgar added.
Terra nodded, "As the worlds begin to merge, they will be uncovered. In our world, a special orb called the 'Antipode Materia' will be uncovered. I believe Antipode means 'fire and ice' in an ancient language. In the third world, a place of light will appear that will allow the drawing of magic. I don't know what will be on Squall and Raven's world, but Dark Heart seems to want it very badly."
"Then we should go after it!" called Edger.
Setzer shook his head, "How could we get to it?" he questioned, "We have no way of traveling through dimensions, and even if we did, this Dark Heart would probably be right on top of us the whole way."
"True," agreed Terra, "However, he seems to deem the 'Antipode Materia' of less value, and it is in our world, so perhaps we could attempt to retrieve that item."
Raven nodded, "That seems to be our best course of action at the moment."
"Agreed," Squall replied.
Locke sighed in a put-upon manor, "I suppose it's better than doing nothing…."
"There is one other thing…" Terra added hesitantly, "There were others with me."
"Others?" questioned Raven.
"I know I saw Celes. Dark Heart was angry because she wasn't breaking like the others."
"Celes…" Locke cut himself off.
Terra continued, "I don't know how long she could have held out…but I doubt it was long. Dark Heart seems to know how to expose weakness in others."
"So what are we supposed to do?" asked Locke, "Do we go after this Antipode Materia?"
Raven could see a look of anger in Locke's eyes. The man definitely seemed engaged that his wife had been kidnapped. Not that Raven blamed him; on the contrary, he knew just how Locke felt.
"Terra?" questioned Setzer, "Do you know where the artifact is?"
She shrugged, "I know the general area, but not its precise resting place."
"And where is that?" inquired Locke.
"Somewhere within the boundaries of the Kingdom of Trina."
There was a pause.
"Oh no!" Edgar exclaimed, an alarmed expression on his face, "Not there!"
Terra looked at him, "What's wrong?"
"Yes, Edgar, you look positively spooked!" observed Locke.
"The Kingdom of Trina is ruled by King Frenzy. He is neurotic to say the least."
A moment later, Setzer stood, "I remember him. I tried to refuel the Blackjack in his kingdom once and he turned me away because of my hair! Could he really still be in power."
Edgar nodded, "He is. My kingdom just finished setting up a trade agreement with Trina. He's quite paranoid as well. One of the stipulations was that no one from Figaro enter his boarders without the kings permission."
Locke looked away, "So basically, we're right back where we started."
"Couldn't you ask him, Edgar?" asked Terra, "After all, you are a king yourself."
Edgar chuckled, "It's hard to get anything out of that old coot. He's so unpredictable that I could hardly venture a guess." A moment later, he continued, "I suppose it's worth a try though," he nodded.
"I'll start the engines then," stated Setzer, evenly. Raven could tell, even through the man's cool exterior, that Setzer didn't want have any wish to encounter King Frenzy again. Somehow, Raven had a feeling that he wouldn't ever want to see him again either.
Raven watched silently as Setzer left. A moment later, he stood and turned to Squall, "So how have you been handling without me?" he asked jokingly.
Squall hesitated for a moment, "Well enough," he replied, "I just want this over with."
Raven gave a weak laugh, "You and a lot of other people."
Squall nodded. Shortly afterward, he stood as well, and he and Edgar made their exit, leaving Raven and Terra alone.
Terra finally stood, her eyes averted from Raven. She seemed tense for some reason, but he could only guess as to why. Terra kept silent, and appeared to be ready to leave, but Raven still felt the need to talk to her.
"Are you alright?" Raven asked matter-of-factly.
The girl nodded, but still said nothing, as if afraid that she would say something wrong.
"Terra?"
"It's nothing. Nothing you need to be concerned with anyway," Terra paused again and looked up at him with urgency, "I still feel the darkness on the fringes of my mind when I sleep. I'm afraid of what I might do if it gains control of me again. Will you be able to stop me again? Will I hurt the people I care about? Will they have to hurt me? Kill me?"
"Don't think about it," consoled Raven. He put his hand on her shoulder, "Just don't push yourself. Maybe you should stay back. Not come with us to Trina."
Terra sighed and shook her head, "No," she told him, a sudden look of determination on her face, "Let me tell you something about me. When I first escaped from Kefka's experiments, I didn't know who I was or why I had the power I did. Then the memories began to resurface…soon I didn't want to know anymore. I lost control of my Esper power and went completely berserk." She shifted uncomfortably, "I ran away from myself because I was too afraid to face reality. A year later things seemed to repeat. I didn't know what to do so I ran away again. This time to a town called Mobliz…"
Terra turned away, "I've been running half my life and I'm tired of it. Dark Heart did some horrible things to me. He's not going to get away with it," she looked back to Raven, obviously fighting back tears, "I'm not running any more."
Raven nodded, his brows knitted with concern, "I think I understand," he said after a moment, "Do what you think is best."
"Thank you," Terra replied, "There's another thing. I believe that this Dark Heart is connected to my father somehow, but I don't know how."
"I'm sure we'll figure everything out in the end."
The soft whir of the Falcon's engines filled the air. Terra turned away from Raven again, "I like your wings," she said shyly. Before Raven could ask her what she meant, Terra quickly left.
Raven glanced briefly at the door, wondering what was going through Terra's mind. She seemed to be a very complex woman, almost as complex as Athena. They were a lot alike, Raven concluded. He sighed, and a moment later, he made for the exit.
"You be careful!" came a disembodied voice.
Raven froze. He'd thought that he and Terra had been alone. He turned, as Locke emerged from the shadows on the other side of the room.
"What is that supposed to mean, thief?" Raven chided.
"Treasure Hunter," Locke corrected, "And I mean, I don't want you toying with Terra's affections."
Raven gave the man an indignant look, "Like I would ever do that! You gotta lot of nerve," then he added hastily, "I already have a girl anyway."
Locke remained indifferent, "Yes, but she's not here and Terra is. I'll admit that I don't know you that well, but if you lead Terra into something that you're not willing to finish…if you hurt her – you will be very sorry."
"Well this is a change for you," only a few minutes earlier, Locke had seemed ready to tear the girl's head off.
"Despite my anger before, I care for Terra very deeply. Do not play with her heart."
Raven nodded and gave a short laugh, "No worries there."
Locke left.
What nerve, thought Raven, I can't believe he'd think that I…I would…well, I wouldn't! Not in this lifetime.
He'd try his best to shrug off anything Terra did without hurting her feelings. Truthfully though, Raven doubted that Terra could feel that way about him. After all, they had just met. And it was true, Raven did feel something for Terra, but he was sure that it would turn out to be nothing.
Raven sighed and made for the bridge.
Chapter 18: The Lunatic and the King
The Kingdom of Trina seemed to have recovered greatly since the day the world changed. There were flower gardens everywhere in the Castle town of Trina. The streets were clean, and every building was in top condition. Everyone seemed happy and content, far from what Terra would have expected from Edgar's description.
She'd thought that the town would be…something like Zozo. Perhaps cleaner and with fewer thieves, but not nearly this luxurious. She'd at least thought that there would be a veritable army on the streets, in order to put down any uprisings. Thought it seemed as though King Frenzy was as kind a ruler as Edgar. What could have spooked him so badly?
"So what's so bad about this place?" Squall asked the question for her, "I've seen far worse than this before."
"Yeah," Raven added, "This seems like a paradise compared to some of the towns I seen on this world so far."
Edgar shook his head, "Frenzy is good to his people, but he is still a bit off his rocker if you ask me."
The group approached Trina Castle. There was, as could be expected, a pair of guards protecting the entrance. They were well armed, and obviously trained; it definitely would be a good idea to avoid a fight with them.
"Halt!" one of them called. He raised a hand as an indication to stop. When the party had done so, he continued, "What is your business in the castle?" he questioned. His voice bordered on threatening, but he made no attempt to reach for the sword at his side.
Edgar stepped forward, "I am Edgar, King of Figaro. We wish to speak to the King in order to gain permission to search Trina for…an artifact."
The guard considered this for a moment, "You'll excuse me if I would not permit a well armed party to enter the castle."
Edgar agreed, so the guard went on, "Four of you may enter, but you must leave your weapons with the others."
"Agreed," Edgar replied, "Terra, Locke, and Raven - you're with me. Setzer and Squall – head back to the airship. This may very well take a while."
***
Half an hour later, Edgar and the others were led to the throne room. King Frenzy sat in his throne, his retainer by his side.
This room in particular seemed to be exceptionally plush and luxurious. All the walls were of the finest stone and ornamented with cypress and teak wood. Gold and jewelry decorated almost every piece of furniture and shelf. Frenzy's thrown itself was make of strong oak, and was covered with velvet and silk. All in all, Edgar found the display to be rather tacky. Thought the others seemed to be impressed.
King Frenzy was as Edgar had seen him last, an overweight, middle aged man with frazzled, gray hair and a barely noticeable nervous twitch.
The king remained silent, but his retainer greeted them, "King Edgar. What may the great King Frenzy do for you today?"
"We wish permission to search the king's lands in order to locate an artifact."
Terra leaned forward and whispered, "He doesn't seems so bad so far."
"Just wait," prompted Edgar.
King Frenzy leaned forward and whispered something in the retainer's ear. A moment later, the retainer responded, "The king regretfully must deny your request on the grounds that you did not state it in the form of a question."
"Huh?" came the unanimous reply. Everyone except Edgar seemed surprised by this response. Edgar himself appeared ready for, and indeed had warned the others about a response like this. Still, Terra found such a reaction to be very irregular. Perhaps King Frenzy had been aptly named after all.
"However," the retainer continued, "He says that he will fulfill your request if you do something for him."
Edgar wasted no time, "Then may we hear it?"
The King nodded and whispered in his retainer's ear again. "The King wants the green-haired girl to entertain him."
Me? Terra questioned her self. What could he mean by that?
The other three erupted in to a chorus of complaints, "If you mean what I think you mean…" "Positively out of the question…" "Who the Hell do you think you are!?"
"Wait!" called Terra, "Let's hear him out."
The others looked at her but settled down.
The retainer nodded, "The king wishes to be entertained by having her sing a song…with instrumental accompaniment."
Terra held up her index finger, signifying 'just a moment'. The retainer gave them leave and the four huddled together.
"What do you think?" asked Terra.
"I don't know…" Edgar began, "It just seems…"
"Odd," Locke interrupted, "You were right about this guy, Edgar."
Edgar only nodded in reply.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" questioned Raven."
"Well," Terra spoke up again, "I don't have Celes' singing voice, but I suppose…I sing. It seems to be the only way."
"Are you sure you want to?" asked Locke.
Terra shrugged, "It's not a matter of 'want'. We seem to have no choice," She reasoned.
"I guess so," Raven said.
They turned back to the king, "We'll do it," Edgar replied.
"Excellent," the retainer beamed, "We'll allow you to work out the details among yourselves. You have one hour to prepare, and will be summoned when your time has expired."
They agreed and returned to the hall.
"So what song are you going to sing?" questioned Edgar. Raven watched as Terra went on her tiptoes to whisper her choice in his ear. Edgar smiled, "An excellent choice, milady."
Terra gave him a small smile, "I'd like a stringed instrument for accompaniment. How about a twelve-string guitar? You know how to play stringed instruments, right Edgar?"
Edgar took a step back, "I know how to play the lute, but a guitar is a totally different instrument."
"I'm sure you'll manage," Terra said slyly. With that, she turned and went off to practice.
"This ought to be interesting," stared Locke with a smile.
Raven merely watched as Terra left.
Edgar smiled as well, "Yes, I suppose it will be."
***
(Author's note: This song is written to a version of Terra's theme that can be found here: http://www.geocities.com/powermandx/ffgeetar.mid. I'm not sure where I originally go it from so sorry about that.)
It was about an hour later that Edgar led Terra back into the throne room. He had received his instrument from one of the King's aids, but still had his doubts as to whether he could play it. Edgar truly wondered why Terra had chosen the guitar as an instrument when she could have had any she wanted. He looked at the instrument with some distaste.
"Are you ready?" questioned the retainer.
Terra nodded, "I believe so. How about you, Edgar?"
Edgar gave an exasperated sigh, "I am."
The others gathered, and the King took his seat. A moment later, Edgar began to play…
Awakening
Upon this day, I am waiting.
Upon this day, I am searching.
For until this day, I was dieing...
Now there's you, now there's you.
I used to think I was alone.
I used to think, no one cared!
But now you - are with me.
I know...you, are there.
Terra paused as Edgar played the refrain. She glanced quickly off to the side. Edgar followed her gaze and found that she was looking at Raven. Raven, however, kept his gaze away from her. Edgar looked back at Terra, who now had a pained expression on her face. She began to sing again…
I used to think, I was alone.
But I'll tell you this, I was wrong.
How long will you, stand by me?
How Long? How Long?
When I was alone, I was shaking...
When you're by my side, I am strong!
How Long will you stand by me?
How long? How long?
What's so great about love?
What's so great about that?
Why are you so happy?
Why can't I...love...like...you?
What's so great about love?
What's so great about that?
Why are you so happy?
Why can't I...love...like you?
Terra sighed when she ended. She continued swaying to the beat of the music and Edgar finished playing a few moments later.
"Well?" questioned Terra, almost impatiently.
King Frenzy leaned over and whispered in his aid's ear. A moment later, he told them, "The King says he was unimpressed." The retainer seemed genuinely empathetic.
There was a moment of tense aggravation.
Locke grunted, but restrained himself, "Well, I suppose it was worth a shot."
Not that we could have expected more from him, Edgar thought. He looked up from his reflecting, and was surprised to see Terra approaching the king.
"But…" she stammered. Terra appeared unable to believe Frenzy's audacity. "We did as you asked. I entertained you, and you still won't grant our request?"
"Terra," Edgar pressed. He put his hand on her shoulder to try and calm her, "He is the King. He can do as he pleases in his kingdom whether we like it or not."
Terra wasn't convinced. She simply shook her head at Edgar, "There is no other way," she turned her attention back to the King, "Listen! Whether you believe it or not, the future of the universe depends on our being able to search your land. We have to find that artifact and we have to find it NOW!"
Edgar's eyes widened, "That was unwise," he thought aloud. Terra most definitely was not herself.
However, to everyone's surprise, the King began to chuckle. Then, a moment later, he began laughing hysterically. Frenzy whispered in his retainer's ear again.
"The King," the man relayed, "finds the idea that you think you can boss him around most amusing. Therefore he believes that you have honored your half of the bargain and will fulfill your request."
The group stood there, shocked. "Th…thank you, your highness," Terra stumbled.
"If we may go then," Edgar encouraged.
The King nodded and waved for them to leave.
A few minutes later, Edgar and the others exited the castle.
"Well…" Raven began, "He was a total psycho."
"Agreed," Locke decided.
Edgar laughed, "And to think, this was one of his good days," he joked.
Terra remained silent. Not that that was unusual for her, but the look on her face told him that something was wrong.
"Terra," Edgar motioned to her quietly. They went off to the side, allowing the others to go ahead toward the Falcon, "Are you feeling alright?" he asked her.
She hesitated, tentatively looking up at the others "I don't know," she finally replied, "I'm trying to keep my emotions under control, but it's hard."
"You don't usually have problems keeping yourself restrained, Terra," Edgar pointed out, "What is wrong?"
"I feel like I'm constantly being pushed around," she replied softly, "I don't know how much longer I can hold out."
Edgar couldn't help but feel for the girl. Terra was one who was liked to stay reserved. This whole experience had shaken that reserve greatly, and now she wasn't sure what to do. "Maybe you shouldn't try to hold out," he suggested.
"What do you mean?" Terra gave him a curious look.
"Well. Just let yourself feel what you need to feel. The more you fight them, the more they'll build up. Understand?"
"Terra nodded, "Yeah."
"Good," replied Edgar, "I'd better catch up with the others now. I hope you feel better."
Terra couldn't believe he was leaving it at that. Not that Edgar was the type to butt into people's privacy, but he seemed way too eager to end the conversation. She watched him go, and slowly began to follow.
Maybe he was right, Terra considered. She tucked a loose strand of green hair behind her ear, "But how am I supposed to do that?"