Chapter Eight
Which deals exclusively with Fisherman's Horizon

The White SeeD ship rode the waves towards FH. Reeve sat on his bunk and let his mind wander back to his past. He had been born normal in all but one respect. He had a powerful telekinetic ability that he was unable to control. He had been ostracized and even persecuted at school. One time, a freak telekinetic outburst destroyed his home, killing his mother and father. The Kramers had taken him in after that, teaching him to use his powers for himself, instead of letting them use him. That brought a chuckle to his lips. Edea and Ellone, the Sorceress and the Time Junctioner, teaching the telekinetic. Not exactly the blind leading the blind, but the comparison was in there somewhere.

He had finally felt confident enough to join the ranks of the White SeeDs once his powers were under control. Now, he kept a brace of daggers inside his sleeves, ready to fly at a moment's notice. One almost flew when his cabin door burst open. Fortunately, Reeve's reflexes spared the young White SeeD the discomfort of a dagger between the eyes.

"Captain Reeve!"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Come to the bridge, sir. There's something you ought to see..."

Reeve hurried to the bridge. A monitor showed an enlarged view of FH as they approached. A flash of white appeared between buildings, then a building fell over and the creature responsible was revealed. A giant moogle was attacking FH! Reeve spun around. "How could this happen?"

Douglass, the ship's resident scientist, stepped forward. "It, um, appears to have mutated and grown. There also appear to have been some psychological changes as well..."

"You don't know either."

"...Right."

"What's our ETA to FH?"

"Approximately five minutes." One of the bridge crew responded.

"All right. I'm going ashore at FH. You guys warm up the Ballistic Cannon."

Douglass stepped forward again. "Surely you're not thinking of destroying such a unique creature?"

"What would you suggest? Tie a bell to its neck so we know just where it's rampaging?"

"No, sir. I do, however, have a new type of shell for the Ballistic Cannon that I would like to try out on this creature."

"What does it do?"

"Um, it's a bit hard to explain, but basically it would pacify the creature by suppressing its dark side."

"Dark side?"

"Yes, sir. All creatures have a light side and a dark side. You know that a Vysage is a fearsome beast. But did you hear about that time a Vysage saved a small boy from Geezards?"

"I think I did hear something about that..."

"Yes, well, that was an instance of the Vysage's light side. This creature attacking FH is obviously the manifestation of the dark side of a moogle."

"Hang on. Just how are you defining light and dark?"

"Life, sir. Specifically, the life of others. The light side performs actions that preserve it, and the dark side destroys it."

"I see. Well, load up that shell. We'll try it if all else fails."

The boat docked at a relatively flotsam-free berth, and Reeve leapt ashore. Douglass tossed him a small device. "Sir! You might need that!"

"What is it?"

"It's a tracking device! I tuned it to the Mog 's bio-signature!"

Thud! Crash! A boat slid along the road.

Reeve tossed it back. "I think I know where it is, thanks!" He pulled out a small radio. "Radio check. Testing. Everything OK?"

"Bzz... Crackle... Everything OK here, Captain."

Reeve slipped the radio into his pocket and headed for the moogle.

* * *

The train screeched to a halt and Beatrix stood. The conductor came down the aisle. "No problem, folks. Fisherman's Horizon is having a small monster problem, so we're gonna head on back to Esthar for now."

Beatrix stopped him. "What is the problem?"

"Big monster's attackin' FH. We gotta head on back. Company policy."

"Do company policies allow you to drop passengers at an area outside of the train stations?"

"Well, yes, ma'am, but you'd hafta leave your name in case anything happened to ya."

"My name is Beatrix. I'll be getting off here."

"Well, alright, ma'am. You be careful now." He wrote Beatrix's name down in a small book.

Beatrix climbed off the train and headed for FH.

* * *

A loud "KUPO!" rang out over the city as Reeve approached the giant moogle. He had already dubbed it 'Mogra' after a famous Galbadian 'B' movie monster. The beast spotted him. Reeve quickly backpedaled as a section of building crashed to the ground in front of him. "I guess rational discussion is out of the question..." He raised his arms and stepped forward.

"Moogle! If you can understand me, I give you a choice! Cease your actions and live, or continue and die!"

Mogra roared a deep, rumbling, "Kupo" and threw a boat at Reeve. He forced a bolt of telekinetic energy into the ground, launching himself into the air. The boat passed harmlessly under him, shattering against a building. Landing, he aimed his arms in Mogra's direction.

"You were warned! Now, face the consequences of your actions!"

Dagger after dagger flew from Reeve's sleeves, pummeling Mogra with dozens of sharp blades. The enormous fairy retreated.

Beatrix approached FH cautiously, her sword drawn and ready. She soon saw Mogra and Reeve. "That man is certainly brave, but foolish..." She rushed to his aid. "You seem to be having trouble! Allow me to assist!"

* * *

August and Marlene drifted, in astral form, over FH. Marlene "glanced" over at August. *We should do something.*

*Yeah.*

*But what can we do? We don't exist here.*

*Hang on... Moogles can sense life, right?*

*I think I remember that from my classes...*

*Follow me!* August swooped towards Mogra with Marlene following close behind. They buzzed the giant creature again and again. Mogra roared and swatted at them as one might swat at an annoying fly.

Reeve gaped. What was going on? What was that moogle getting so annoyed about? He let his spirit drift into the astral plane for a moment. Ah, two spirits were pestering it. He returned his mind to his body and redoubled his attack. He barely noticed Beatrix had come up.

Beatrix faced Mogra, sword at the ready. "Prepare to face my fury!"

August turned, sensing a buildup of some kind of energy. *Look!*

Marlene turned. *Who is that?*

*I don't know, but she's powerful. We should get out of here. Do you remember the legend of Cecil?*

*Cecil? The Dark Knight turned Paladin? Of course! My father used to read me that story when I was a little girl! You mean she's...?*

*Yes! A Holy Knight! I thought they were long gone... If she's about to use what I think she is, we're not safe!*

*Oh, Goddess, a Holy Knight! Let's go!* The two spirits sped back towards their bodies.

Beatrix raised her sword in front of her. "My fury knows no bounds! Stock Break!" She swung her sword at the beast, and an explosion of energy knocked it on its back. The moogle struggled to rise.

Reeve realized that they wouldn't be able to beat it with just the two of them. He pulled out the radio. "What's the status on the Ballistic Cannon?"

"Bzz... Crackle... Cannon warmed up, loaded, sighted, and ready to fire. Guillotine shell loaded. We can fire at any time."

"FIRE!"

A low "crump" was heard from where the ship was docked. Then, a high-pitched whistling filled the air. Reeve flattened himself on the ground, pulling Beatrix down with him. The shell flew nearly straight down, slamming into the still-prone form of Mogra. Mogra let out an ear-splitting kupo and collapsed. Reeve stood as dark, oily mist began to seep from its body.

"Douglass, I thought that shell was just supposed to pacify it!" Reeve yelled into the radio as Mogra began to stir.

"Hold on, I've got a reading... Damn! Looks like I miscalculated or something, sir. Instead of suppressing the creature's dark side, I seem to have made it material. I recommend you clear the area, sir."

Mogra stood, as the mist seeping from its body ceased and began forming a black mirror image of it. Dark Mogra roared and stepped forward to attack Mogra. Reeve and Beatrix stood near a wall and watched. They both decided it would be better to wait for one of the creatures to win.

* * *

Pandora and Laguna arrived in Timber without incident, and Laguna went off to check the offices of Timber Maniacs and see an old friend. Pandora, meanwhile, sat down on a bench and pulled out her sketchpad. She started to doodle, drawing what she could remember of the crystal chamber in her dream and the face that it had ended with. A cry brought her out of her artist's trance. She leapt up and saw a woman lying on the ground with a strange humanoid creature standing over her. It carried a large curving sword and wore what seemed to be a helmet with a giant plume trailing down the back.

Pandora dashed towards the creature, her blade appearing in her hands as she ran. The creature let out a high-pitched giggle as light began to enfold it. Pandora swung her sword, but it passed ineffectually through the light that quickly dissipated, taking the creature with it. She stopped and helped the woman to her feet.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. But that... thing stole something from me!"

"What?"

"Oh, it wasn't much, just a Potion. Thank you for your help."

"No problem." Pandora walked back over to the bench, picked up her sketchpad again and did a quick sketch of the creature. She was working on the details when Laguna came back and sat down beside her. He glanced at the drawing she was doing.

"You're an artist?"

She looked up. "Yeah. It helps to pass time. Plus you can take down some things that you can't put in words. Here, look at this." She passed him the pad. "A woman was attacked by this thing about five minutes ago. It stole something from her and disappeared."

Laguna took the pad and examined the drawing. "I've never seen a creature like this."

"Me either. You think it might have some connection to the storm?"

"I have no idea. But you know what? I was just talking to one of the reporters for Timber Maniacs, and he said that a new cave was discovered near Galbadia Garden."

"So? One of the earthquakes probably uncovered it."

"That's what's weird! There were no earthquakes in that area! And the cave was covered in ice! Plus, it looked like there had been people in it."

"People?"

"Yes! There were treasure chests in there! They'd been opened, but there had to have been something in there!"

"Huh. Maybe we should check it out."

"Nah. It's already been thoroughly explored. Besides, I've gotta get back to Esthar, remember?"

"Right." Just then, the train to FH pulled into the station. They boarded and sat in the cabin waiting for it to depart. Pandora finished her sketch and used the remaining space to describe the encounter, while Laguna field-stripped his gun and reassembled it. Pandora looked up as the train lurched into motion. She glanced over at Laguna. "I hate train rides. I like trains, but I hate riding in them. There's barely anything to do, the magazines are at least two months old, and sometimes the company stinks." She pointed to the other occupant of their car, an old man who had fallen asleep and started to drool.

Laguna chuckled and pointed to the disassembled pieces of his gun. "That's why I bring something to do." They both laughed, causing the old man to snort in his sleep and mumble, "come on, you've already escaped 34 times... Zzz..."

Pandora settled back and closed her eyes, letting the rocking of the train soothe her into slumber. She awoke to the jerking of the train slowing to a stop. A voice came over the intercom. "Please excuse the interruption, folks, but there will be a slight delay. It seems a boat has landed on the tracks ahead, and we need to clear it out of the way before we can continue."

Laguna stood. "Come on, let's hoof it the rest of the way."

Pandora stretched and yawned. "You sure? How far are we?"

"Close enough. We need to get to Esthar fast."

The two climbed off the train and worked their way through the understructure of the bridge to get past the boat. Returning to the track surface, they started walking. FH was already visible in the near distance. They stopped as they heard a muffled "crump" from that direction. They glanced at each other and began running in the direction of FH. Pandora soon settled into a marathon stride, while Laguna put on short bursts of speed and then fell back, panting. After a little while, he watched Pandora and settled into a fast, but sustainable pace. As they ran, Laguna glanced over at Pandora. "How... puff, puff... Do you do that?"

"Huff, huff... I had a lot of practice in my line of work."

"What did you do?"

"It... wasn't quite legal at the time. Still isn't. I'll tell you later!"

As they neared FH, they heard the sounds of battle. They paused to catch their breath, then were forced to scatter as a building crumbled near them. Laguna looked around. "What is doing this?!"

They raced into the central square to see Mogra and Dark Mogra facing off. Mogra was stumbling backwards, claw marks showing on its body. Dark Mogra, however, appeared as fresh as the proverbial daisy. Pandora gasped. "!..."

"What?"

"That's! I've! I!"

"Please, speak."

"Sorry. That's a battle between the light and dark sides of a moogle. I've heard that in most creatures, one side or another is in control. In chocobos, moombas and moogles, it's the light side. In other monsters, it's the dark side. Occasionally, there will be kind of a mental battle between the two sides to determine mastery. This is normally within the creature's mind, causing it to go on a wild rampage wherever it may be. But this has somehow become externalized in such a way that there are actually two separate entities fighting it out. If one of them wins, the other can go on alone, with no influence from the other side. From the looks of it, the dark side is winning. I'm going to try to help. You stand by and back me up." She pulled the flute out of her pocket. "I knew I'd seen this somewhere before." Placing it to her lips, she began to play.

A sweet, melodic sound came forth, washing over Mogra, healing its wounds and breathing new life into its struggles. The moogles began to fight back and forth, first one, then the other giving ground. The contest remained equal. Pandora lowered the flute. "Pant, pant... No good. We need some kind of amplification..." She noticed Reeve and Beatrix standing nearby. "HEY!" The two looked over. "Miss! Can you come here for a moment?"

Beatrix walked over to Pandora. "Yes?"

"Can you sing?"

"Yes... Why will singing help?"

"Song and music together have much more effect than just one on its own. Do you know Aria de Mezzo Caraterre?"

"The great love song? Yes."

"Great!" Pandora placed the flute to her lips again and began to play the introduction to "Aria de Mezzo Caraterre", the greatest love song of the longest-running play in Deling City. Beatrix listened for a moment, then when the time was right, began to sing. Beatrix's voice rang out clear as crystal across the city. Those people who were still in the city stopped to listen.

"Oh my hero, so far away now,
Will I ever see your smile?
Love goes away, like night into day
It's just a fading dream..."

Mogra shook its head, rallied, and began moving towards Dark Mogra.

"I'm the darkness, you're the stars.
Our love is brighter than the sun.
For eternity, for me there can be,
Only you, my chosen one..."

Dark Mogra fell back before Mogra, fear showing on its face.

"Must I forget you?
Our solemn promise?
Will autumn take the place of spring?
What shall I do? I'm lost without you.
Speak to me once more!"

As the music crescendoed into the famous "Phantom Dance" scene, Mogra began to tear into its dark brother with its claws. Dark Mogra was forced farther and farther back.

"We must part now, my life goes on.
But my heart won't give you up.
Ere I walk away, let me hear you say.
I meant as much to you..."

Dark Mogra was forced into the water at the edge of Fisherman's Horizon as Mogra advanced. Dark Mogra retreated into the water up to its waist, where it reached the edge of the shallow water and faced a sheer drop-off to the ocean floor.

"So gently, you touched my heart.
I will be forever yours.
Come what may, I won't age a day,
I'll wait for you, always..."

Mogra let out a triumphant kupo as the music approached the final crescendo. Energy began to gather around the pompom on top of its head. The energy grew brighter and thicker, then it was unleashed in a beam at the defenseless form of Dark Mogra. As the beam struck, Dark Mogra's body imploded with a colossal "pop", scattering shards of dark mist everywhere. The song ended. Water lapped onto the shore. Tentatively, a seagull wheeled overhead. Mogra turned. It began slowly walking toward the group. Reeve, Laguna, and Beatrix began to back up. step by step. Pandora stood her ground. The giant moogle towered over her. Slowly, it began to shrink. Its speed of shrinkage grew, and within a few minutes, it was normal size, i.e. waist-high. It held out a paw. Pandora crouched and looked at what it held.

"For me?"

The moogle nodded. Pandora took the item. It was a green hair ribbon with a small charm dangling from it. She examined the charm and found it to be a tiny silver moogle. "Thank you. I shall treasure this."

The moogle jumped and kupoed with glee, then turned and toddled off. Laguna came up to Pandora. "How did you know to do that?"

She straightened up and looked at him. "Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast, sir Laguna. Didn't you know that?" She walked off, leaving him to stand and stare.