4)---------- In Which, the monster receives a name

4)---------- In Which, the monster receives a name.

"Let's just see if this'll work," Rosa muttered under her breath as she uncorked the vial in her hand and, cradling Cami's head in the crook of her arm, poured its contents down the limp boy's throat.

Kain, Lori, and Cami's mother stood expectantly in the doorway.

"Well?" Kain inquired after a few minutes had passed with no effect.

Rosa shook her head.

"It'll take time to have any effect. It has to counteract all the poison that's spread through his bloodstream - we're going to have to wait and see." She moved away from the bedside and to the door. "What's your name again?"

"Max," Cami's mother replied. "That's Maxine, but seein' as how you're royalty an' all, you can call me Max. My friends do."

Rosa rolled her eyes discretely.

"Okay, Max, I want you to let me know the moment anything changes in him." She turned to Kain. "I'm sending word to the scholars at the Great Library to look into the possible identity of this monster. We've got to find out more about it. Go do whatever you need to do." And she walked past them and out of the house.

Kain frowned slightly. Rosa had been acting a little out of character lately.

"Are you staying here?" he asked Lori, who shrugged.

"I guess so."

"Lori's always got himself a place here, he does," Max interjected. "His family ain't no good, but he's a decent kid, he is . . . " And she went off on another of her tangents. The fast-spreading purple splotches on her hands and arms apparently did nothing to diminish her vocals.

Tossing the boy a sympathetic glance, Kain turned and left after Rosa.

Despite his apparent invisibility, it was with considerable caution that Edge made his way through his castle. Still, no one made any move to challenge him, or even seemed to notice him. Eventually, he felt a little more at ease.

At least, as at ease as someone can feel after realizing they've been turned into a ghost by a really weird sword . . .

Then Kormag charged through the corridor, and he instantly turned to follow him.

The Royal Advisor burst through the balcony doors, and Edge was at his heels. Moving on ahead, he saw that what must have been the entire army - what was left of it, anyway - and most of the citizenry making up the assembly. And he got a sinking feeling that he was really going to hate what the Chancellor had to say.

Kormag approached the railing and unknowingly stepped right into Edge, who yelped with disgust and jumped aside. Oblivious, he spoke to the congregation.

"Eblanians," he bellowed in his scrawny voice, "a reliable source has brought word that the Kingdom of Baron has been placed under epidemic status. A strange plague is spreading through it quickly. Due to its contagious nature, we are delaying our attack plans."

"Attack plans?! You idiot!" Edge shrieked at the old man, who, of course, didn't hear him.

"But we're taking advantage of the delay, and as soon as they lower their warning flags, we will move in with our army more powerful than ever! They won't stand a chance!"

"What are you talking about?! They'd blow you out of the sky before you even reached striking distance!!!!" Edge yelled into the air. "It's suicide!!"

A voice from the crowd carried up to them.

"What about the Caller?"

Edge instantly abandoned his ravings about Kormag's stupidity and turned to the Chancellor with an evil glare in his eyes.

"She is being . . . well taken care of," Kormag replied with a chuckle, which spread throughout the assembly.

Rage boiled up in the young King to the point where he would have ripped the Chancellor apart . . . if he'd been tangible. Instead, he did the only thing he could. He left the assembly and bolted for the dungeons.

Being familiar with Kormag's habits, he could guess exactly where Rydia would be, and he was right. The deepest, darkest, and dampest cell in the entire dungeon.

Ignoring the Guard who returned the favor unknowingly, Edge ran right through the door and into the cell.

Rydia was sitting on the bed, arms crossed, a troubled look on her face. Every now and then, she turned to try and see out the window, but it was small and so high up that she wouldn't be able to see a thing, and it was so dirty it didn't even let in enough light for her to tell the time of day.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there and watched her, conflicting emotions running through his own heart as he considered what must be going through hers.

With a deep sigh, she shook her head and plopped back on the bed, coughing slightly at the cloud of dust that shot up around her as she did so.

"Who was the last person to use this cell?" she irritably demanded of the Guard.

A laugh came through the door.

"Who cares? He's not there anymore," was the reply. "I don't believe he's anywhere anymore."

"I'm not sure which is worse: getting beheaded at dawn or spending the rest of my natural life in this rat-hole."

"That rat-hole is the only thing you're going to be seeing ever again, murderer. Learn to like it. This is what happens when you commit such a crime as you have."

Rydia closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

"I told you - I didn't kill Edge! I didn't kill anyone!"

The Guard made no reply.

"They think you killed me?" Edge exclaimed, startled. "Well . . . I guess if they needed to make up a story like that, then not so many people were in on this conspiracy after all." He sighed. "Oh, Rydia. I'm sorry I brought all this down on you . . . you didn't deserve this . . . "

She rolled over to one side.

"How did he die?"

"Like you don't know?"

"For the sake of conversation, then, dang it!! How was he killed?!?!"

"According to what the Chancellor could make out of what little was left, you used FIRE3 on him and destroyed him."

"FIRE3?! On a person?! That's outrageous!!! Not to mention smelly. I'd never do such a thing, much less to Edge . . . "

"And you're going to tell me again that Kormag was plotting against the throne and used you as a goat, I take it?"

"He did!" Edge shouted. "You fool!! He did use her as a goat!"

The Guard, of course, made no reply to Edge.

"You fool - Edge was my friend!!"

"And a fine way you had of showing it!"

"Call, Rydia!" Edge exclaimed. "Call your way out of here!! Man, Leviathan would sure make short work of that dork!"

Rydia lay silently, unaware of the advice, which she couldn't hear.

Edge kicked at the air and cursed. Of course she couldn't hear him. No one could. But why was she here? She could get free at any time!

Or could she? He found himself wondering. Goodness only knew to what end Kormag would go to ensure that his prisoner did not escape. Rydia wasn't a fool, nor did she like damp, enclosed rooms. If she'd been able, she would've gotten out long ago, he was certain. So what was holding her here?

He had to find a way to communicate with someone. He had to get in touch with someone who could do something about the situation. There had to be someone who could put an end to this madness before it was too late . . .

But what could he do?

Feeling weak again, he let himself sink to his knees, concentrating on what he needed to do.

He needed to get word to someone with an army. An army big enough to take Eblan from Kormag's rule . . . but then what?

If Kormag was defeated in battle, where would that leave the Kingdom? Heck, if he did attack Baron, it may turn out for the best! Maybe Cecil would be able to bring some order to this madness . . .

But Cecil's Kingdom was in enough turmoil on its own, between his own people's hatred of Eblanians and the plague Kormag had spoken of . . .

I wonder - just what sort of plague is this? What caused it?

He sighed, wondering if everyone was okay there, or if the situation was just as terrible in Baron as it was in Eblan.

"Edge . . . "

Startled, he jumped and turned his attention back to Rydia, who had whispered his name.

"What? Rydia, can you see me? Can you hear me?"

But she just shook her head slowly.

"You couldn't be dead . . . "

She was just talking to herself, trying to make sense of the situation . . . and come to terms with everything that was going on.

"I'm not dead!!!!" he shouted. "I'm trapped on another plane! I'm not dead!! Just because I'm a ghost doesn't mean I'm dead . . . why am I even bothering?" He raised his arms and then let them flop to his sides in a helpless gesture. "I should just face it. There's no one in this world who can hear me . . . not unless there's someone out there who talks to ghosts." He thought. "Or maybe someone who can raise the dead." He thought some more. "Or even . . . just the swooned?" A thought came to him.

"I think I need to try and get in touch with the most powerful White Wizard on the Earth," he declared to himself.

The Barracks were a series of low buildings built attached to the Southern side of Castle Baron, between the Castle and the City. The section in question - that which housed the student population - was not exactly the coziest place in the world, to put it kindly. It was built for training, and nothing more, and students usually relished the privilege of going to their homes on the weekends, which was the policy.

Therefore, Kain was more than a little surprised to enter the building and find almost a full assembly of his trainees staring him straight in the eye.

"Erm . . . " he said, taken a bit aback.

"Sir, hello, Sir!" said one of them.

"Hi," he replied. "Euh, what are you all doing here?"

"We've got nowhere else to go," one of them pointed out.

Recalling Lori's statement, Kain frowned slightly.

"Okay, kids, I think it's time we gave the Kingdom a pep talk, you?"

They agreed.

"Rosa!" he called, charging through the Castle corridors in search of his childhood friend and Queen.

"Yeah?" she called back from the throne room. "Uriat was just telling me how foolish you are."

He stormed in and glared at the Chancellor, who suddenly began to squirm.

"Explain."

Uriat opened his mouth to reply, but Rosa cut him off.

"He seems to be under the impression that your motives border on treachery."

"Explain further."

Rosa gestured to the squirming Chancellor.

"Let him explain."

Uriat cleared his throat slowly.

"You don't deny, of course, that according to tradition, the Dragoons have not answered to the King?"

Kain shrugged.

"Of course I don't deny it. The Dragoons were always an order that stood apart from the throne, dedicated to protecting the Kingdom, preferably according to the Ruler's wishes, but against if necessary. They had the right to disobey an order if it conflicted with their conscience." He grinned. "That's why Royal Advisors throughout the ages have really disliked us."

"But you had that privilege lifted from you, did you not?"

Raising one eyebrow in a dangerous manner, Kain replied, "I don't see what business that is of yours. What relevance does this have? Because I have more important matters to - "

"By training others in a code from which you have been banished, you are committing an act of treason!"

"What?! How treacherous is that?! If anyone's treacherous here, it's - "

"Both of you, shut up," Rosa snapped. "Uriat, get out of here. I'll deal with this later."

Uriat sniffed and flounced out of the room.

"He hates me," Kain declared, wrinkling his nose.

"He knows you have more influence on Cecil and I than he does. It bothers him. What did you need?"

Kain shook the matter of Uriat and his accusation from his mind and recalled his thoughts to more pressing matters.

"Rosa, the Kingdom's not in very good shape."

"I realize that, Kain."

"No, I mean, more so than just being under plague status."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Over half the Kingdom's been kicked out of their homes and are now living on the streets, a good many of them without food and the like."

Rosa frowned and got up from her throne.

"What do you mean? I mean, why? What's going on?"

"Non-infected people are rejecting family members. They're afraid to go anywhere near an infected person."

"But that doesn't make sense! It spreads by contact only!"

"Tell that to them."

She rubbed her temples and grimaced.

"I don't need this . . . okay. What can we do?"

Kain shrugged.

"You're the Queen, Rosa."

"*sigh* Fine."

She stepped out on the Castle balcony, her long blond hair streaming back over her white gown and now-purple skin, and instantly a huge crowd converged, but not before she could tell that Kain's summation of the situation was correct; over half the Kingdom had been turned out of their homes and was living in poverty on the streets.

The things you notice when you look out a window. Shocking.

Before she knew what she was saying, she was yelling at the top of her lungs:

"It spreads by contact only!!!!!"

A great murmur ran through the crowd, and she regained her composure.

"Citizens," she re-began, "I know you're scared - we all are - but look at it this way: when all this is over, and everyone's been cured, how are you going to explain yourselves to your relatives which you've turned away? Where is it said that you have the right to turn against your own blood because of sickness? You're supposed to take care of your family when they're sick, or have you forgotten?"

Everyone stared at her.

"My husband is on his way to get the cure - "

"We don't know there is a cure!" someone yelled. "The one you used on the boy has had no effect!"

"Wrong again, you spittin' moron!!" retorted a familiar harsh tone.

Rosa, along with everyone else, watched Max's entrance silently.

"Cami just done broke out of it! He's as well as he's ever been! Slight amnesia aside, we've got a cure!!!"

A burst of cheering rose up from the people, and Rosa turned to re-enter the Castle.

Now they just had to wait for Cecil.

It took a lot of time and concentration, but finally Edge managed to control spatial transport. With a bit of effort, he could transport his ghostly form from Eblan to Baron, and he did so, arriving with a POP in the Castle Courtyard.

"Whew!" he exclaimed. "What a rush!" Looking around, he found the Courtyard deserted, and then realized why: it was night. It had taken longer than he'd thought to master transportation.

But what mattered now was that he was here. He entered the Castle unchallenged by the Guards and went up to the top of the Left Tower, hoping that somehow, either Cecil or Rosa would be able to hear him, being experienced with White Magic.

When he entered the room, however, he was greeted only by the sight of Rosa sitting on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a quilt, shivering.

Odd, Edge thought. I know it's Winter, but . . .

"Rosa?" he tentatively called, hoping for some spark of realization from her.

But she didn't notice. She just sat there, shivering.

"Dang it," he seethed under his breath. "She can't hear me either . . . what the heck am I supposed to do?" He looked up. "You hear me, Masamune?! What the heck am I supposed to do?!?!"

No answer came. Another question did, though.

"Rosa? Why are you purple?"

No answer came for that one, either. Sighing, Edge turned and left the room. If Rosa couldn't hear him, he had little hope anyone else would be able to either.

On a whim, he sought out Kain's room. The Dragoon was fast asleep, blanket pulled up to his nose, and unruly blond hair covering what part of his face it didn't. He had to admit to himself: he looked so pathetically cute and peaceful when he was asleep.

"And meanwhile, I'm sitting here like a ghost!" he blurted out.

"Shut up, Edge, I'm trying to sleep," Kain mumbled, rolling over. Then he rolled back over and opened his eyes.

"Edge?" he inquired in a bleary voice. "What're you doing here? And why, for goodness sakes, are you a ghost?"

"You can hear me?! You can see me?!?!" Edge yelped.

Kain rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Woah. What's going on here, man?"

"Woo-hoo!" Edge sang, dancing around the room.

"Cut that out," Kain snapped. "What's going on?"

"Okay!" the Ninja sang, skidding to a halt, kneeling on the floor. "Here's what's going on: I am trapped in another plane of existence, and my stupid Chancellor had usurped my Kingdom, and he's holding Rydia in the dungeon. No one can see or hear me except for you, for some odd reason."

Kain raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

So Edge backtracked, explaining what he had told Rydia, the details of the assault on them both, and finally what had happened when he'd attempted to use Masamune to fend off their attackers.

"It was really weird, man. It conked out everyone in the room, and then went and sucked me right up. Can you imagine what it feels like being sucked up into a sword? I mean, I was not built for that sort of thing!"

"I imagine not."

"So the next thing I know, I'm floating around in this goofy place that . . . well, I just can't describe it, I guess. Naturally, I'm like 'What's goin' on here?' "

"Naturally."

"And then this little snarling ball of fur jumps at me, and says," he stopped to clear his throat and speak in a deep, rasping voice, " 'You have been brought within Masamune, and will now dwell within his realm.' Then it skitters off, and I'm still confused."

"I can see that."

"Yeah. So anyway, I'm just floating there for what seems like about forever, and eventually decided that I should try to find a way out of there."

"Good thinking."

"Thank you. Of course, I had no idea how I was going to do anything about it, because you know, I was just floating in the middle of nowhere, and stuff. So what I end up doing, and don't laugh - it worked, after all - was trying to will myself back to this plane."

"I see you were semi-successful."

Edge shuddered.

"Semi? Heck, it scared me out of my wits when I realized I was a ghost!"

Kain got to his feet.

"Okay, let's go find Rosa. Maybe she'll know something about how to get you out of there before - "

"Before? Euh, man, I need to get out of here, like now."

"Why the rush?"

"Like I said, my stupid Chancellor has usurped my Kingdom, and he's holding Rydia in the dungeon! Not only that, but the moment you guys are off epidemic status, they're going to attack Baron head on."

Kain frowned.

"Can they do that?"

Edge shook his head.

"No."

"Oh. I understand. Well. Let's go talk to Rosa."

Rosa listened to Kain's explanation with a blank expression. When he reached a conclusion, she had one question.

"Kain, what are you ON?!"

"Huh?"

"You're nuts! You expect me to actually believe that you've been chatting with Edge's ghost? Is this some kind of prank?"

"No." And the seriousness of his tone wiped the humorous smirk off her features. "I'm perfectly serious, Rosa. He's standing there, right there, in the corner."

She looked to where he was pointing, but saw nothing except a few cobwebs.

"Kain . . . you're serious, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"Erm . . . have you considered maybe that you're . . . under a little too much pressure lately?"

"Oh great!! She thinks you're crazy!" Edge cried. "This is all I need!"

"Shut up," Kain snapped at him.

"Hey!" Rosa exclaimed.

"Not you!" he explained. "Him!"

"Kain - "

"Kain - "

"What?!"

Both of them shut up. He began to pace.

"All right, Rosa, what would it take to prove it to you that I'm telling the truth?"

"I'm not accusing you of lying, Kain . . . "

"So what would it take to convince you that I'm not crazy, and that I'm really chatting with Edge's ghost?"

She was silent for a moment, thinking.

"Turn around, Kain." He complied. "If Edge's ghost is lurking around, he'll be able to tell you what I'm doing."

"Sound good?" Kain inquired of Edge.

"Sure."

"Fine," Kain told Rosa.

So Kain stood, facing the wall. Edge stood next to him, watching Rosa.

"She's sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes."

"You're sticking your tongue out and crossing your eyes."

"She looks startled."

"You look startled."

"She's standing on her head."

"You're . . . Rosa, I didn't know you could stand on your head!"

He heard a crash.

"She fell."

"Okay . . . I guess you can't."

"OH MY GOSH!!!!" she screamed. "It's TRUE!!!!!!"

Kain turned back around to face her.

"Told you so."

"Shut up. For crying out loud, Kain, shut up." She sat down heavily on her bed. "Kormag's now running Eblan?"

Edge nodded with a sour expression.

"Yep," Kain emphasized.

She covered her face with her hands.

"But there's nothing we can do, Kain . . . Edge. I mean . . . we have a plague! If we tried to intervene in any way, not only would it probably invoke a violent reaction from your people, it would spread this disease to them!"

Edge frowned, considering this, and chewed on his fingernails.

"Before we can do anything, even to help Rydia, we have to wait for Cecil to get back with the necessary ingredients for the . . . th . . . e . . . i think i'm going to be sick . . ."

Kain turned his attention from Edge to her, concerned.

"Rosa?"

She jumped to her feet and bolted from the room, holding her stomach.

"What's with her?" Edge inquired.

Kain shrugged.

"Anymore, I don't know."

The next morning, bright and early, Rosa and Kain returned to Max's dwelling to see what, if any, information could be given by Cami.

They found the boy sitting at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands in a manner that stretched out his face and made him look really funny. Lori was absent, and so was Max. So, however, were the purple scales and tail.

"Cami," Kain greeted, sitting next to him. "How are you?"

He looked up and shrugged.

"I'm fine. Thanks. Sir."

"Did anything happen?" Rosa asked lightly, sitting on his other side. "While you were unconscious? Any subconscious activity? Something that might help name the monster?"

The boy shuddered so heavily that he almost fell out of his chair.

"It's really freaky," he said in a tiny voice. "It . . . it makes you remember things!"

Rosa frowned.

"In what way?"

"In what . . . well, you just start reliving your life all over again in your mind. Things you forgot, things you remember, things you remember wrong . . . it's just weird."

Kain glanced around the room.

"Where's Lori, anyway?"

Cami looked at him with a sour grin.

"Max told me he passed out just shortly after you both left yesterday."

"Oh."

"And she collapsed shortly after getting back here last night."

"Oh."

Rosa stood suddenly.

"I need to send another message . . . this could change things."

And she charged out of the house.

Kain watched her go, shaking his head. Why was she acting so coldly lately . . .

"But you've got a cure, I mean, everyone's going to be all right, right, Sir?" Cami asked in a worried voice.

Shrugging, he replied, "Yeah, we've just gotta wait on Cecil. He's taking his good old time about getting back."

"You don't think that maybe . . . "

Kain looked him squarely in the eye.

"No."

Kormag watched the loading of the Falcon with much intensity. At his order, the Airship was being loaded with enough weapons and supplies to support an army through a major battle.

Which was exactly what he intended.

"Sir."

He jumped, startled by the distraction, and turned to find himself face to face with about twenty of the young soldiers.

"Yes, what do you want?"

The one who had spoken hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing his words.

"We question the order to attack Baron."

Kormag felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a dangerously cool voice.

"I - we - mean . . . well, King Edge had been very adamant about not attacking. The moment he's killed, you order we attack. Isn't it, well, acting against his orders?"

A streak of fear shot through the Chancellor, but he outwardly maintained an appearance of annoyance.

"Acting against his orders? Those were orders that led to his death, Boy."

"But - "

Kormag raised a hand, his smooth-talking ability back in place.

"I realize that you were attached to the King - you and the other younger fighters. You followed his ideals very closely. But what you have to understand is that he was very young, and not yet fully ready for the burden of ruling a Kingdom.

"He insisted that peace could be kept with Baron. You all know, though, that we've been enemies for a hundred years, that they are not to be trusted. We had warned King Edge many times that they would take advantage of his trust and act against him, but he refused to listen, placing his trust not in his advisors, but rather, in his alleged Baronian friends. Now we all see that those friends did, indeed, destroy him. It is all we can do now to avenge not only him, but all other lives taken wrongfully by Baronian hands."

"But, Sir," the boy insisted, "he was the King of Eblan! He ordered us not to attack, I don't see how - "

"The King lived in a fantasy world! This is reality! We must attack now, as soon as their plague is ended, while they're still weak, to end this war with as few losses on our side as possible."

"That war is over," inserted another of the soldiers in a level tone.

Kormag looked him straight in the eye.

"It was. Perhaps it is. But now we fight a new war. A war spawned with the slaughter of our King. You believe yourselves to be so faithful to him - prove it. Avenge him."

Dejected, they turned and left him standing there to oversee the loading of the Airship.

Edge, who had watched the scene silently, left the scene without a word.

Rosa paced around the Throne Room nervously. She'd sent another message to Marion, her old teacher, who was now spending a tenure at the Great Library, studying other forms of the spells she'd taught for so many years.

Cami had passed out in a little less than a day. Yet, she and the others were lasting twice as long without any of the dizziness he'd displayed. While he'd lost consciousness before the spots were easily visible, she, among much of the Kingdom, was almost more purple than not, but still aware.

In the last couple of hours, many had begun dropping like flies, while others were still going on without a qualm. There were too many unanswered questions. She needed answers.

A heavy knock was heard at the door.

"Uriat, if that's you . . . "

"Rosa, if I were Uriat, I would have shot myself long ago."

"Oh. C'mon in, Cid."

The door pushed open to allow the entrance of the bearded engineer, a little less purple than her, but not by much.

"What's the word, Rosa? Do we have an answer?"

She sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know. We have a working cure, but Cecil left two nights ago, and no one's heard any word from him. If he doesn't hurry up, we may learn the final effect of the poison firsthand, which I personally would rather forgo."

"You're not alone there. This is creepy."

"Creepy's a mild word for this situation. Now Kain's communicating with Edge's ghost."

"What?!"

She filled him in on that issue, and he shook his head and whistled.

"This is not shaping up to be a very good weekend."

"Really." She shook her head back at him and sat heavily on her throne. "I sent word to the Great Library about an hour ago via the Rapier. We should be getting a reply any minute now."

"What do you think they'll say?" Cid inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't know." She put a hand to her head. "I don't know. But I do know that I need some headache medication."

The door opened a bit further and Kain tossed her the vial of painkillers she'd supplied him with when he was whining about stupid people.

"Check it, Rosa, they actually work."

She caught the vial and stared at it dumbly as he entered the room and propped himself up in a corner.

"Hey, Cid!"

"Hey, Kain!"

"You're looking very purple lately!"

"You too!"

Rosa shook her head.

"You two are pathetic."

"We try!" Kain replied with a wink. "Gotta maintain our spirits in these trying times!"

"So," Cid said to him, "I understand you've been chatting with Edge's ghost?"

"Off and on. He keeps going off to do his own thing. I have no clue where he is right now."

"How's he doing?"

"Well, he's pretty torked."

Cid nodded.

"That makes sense . . . what with his Kingdom being usurped and all . . . "

"Yeah, I'd be pretty torked too. How 'bout you, Rosa?"

"I can't believe this! How can you two be sitting there being cute with all this going on?!"

"Just talented, I guess."

The door was then thrown all the way open and slammed against the wall at the mighty thrust of a newly-arrived White Wizard.

"Rosy!" she bellowed, silver hair streaking behind her as she bounded in. "I've got a name for your monster!" She charged up right in front of the throne and thrust a tattered book into the Queen's hands.

This was Marion, the White Wizard and Scholar who had trained Rosa in her basic magic, and the only person in all the world who would ever dare call her "Rosy" to her face.

"You see," Marion explained, directing Rosa to the correct passage. "Its name is Masters. It was first sighted over ten thousand years ago, and shows up once per millennium, then vanishes. No one knows where it goes in its off hours, but it's pretty lethal when it shows."

"I know," Rosa vehemently agreed. "What about its poison?"

"Look here," Marion instructed, pointing out an exact line in the book.

Rosa read silently, her face a tight, grim line.

"Oh dear," she whispered.

"What?!" Kain asked.

"What is it?!" Cid demanded.

"What's it say?"

"What's goin' on?"

"What's going to happen?"

"Can we defeat it?"

"Is Cecil in danger?"

"What's going to happen if he doesn't get back in time?"

"SILENCE!!" Rosa yelled.

They both shut up and stared at her, along with Marion, in stunned silence.

Rosa grinned.

"Being a Queen has its fringes." Then she turned her attention back to the book. "Listen to this, guys."

)----------When Masters' venom enters the bloodstream, it will spread and multiply, slowly transforming the victim into a new version of itself. Depending on the amount of exertion put forth by the victim will determine how fast it spreads, and how long the victim has before losing consciousness. If much exertion is put forth, the victim may lose consciousness in a matter of hours. If little is put forth, the transformation may be nearly complete before consciousness is lost. Either way, the victim will fall unconscious as the poison continues to spread. Once consciousness is lost, the victim will regress to his birth and relive his life entirely within his mind. When he reaches the present, he will awaken, but will no longer exist as a person. The victim will have become another of Masters' race. There is no antidote once this stage is reached.

)----------If Masters' blood mixes with that of the victim, consciousness will be lost almost instantly. The cure must be administered as quickly as possible. The age of the victim is very important. The younger the victim, the less time it will take to relive his life, and become Masters.

Kain whistled.

"That's pretty heavy, Rosa."

Rosa closed the book silently.

"We don't have much time," Marion told her. "What can be done?"

The three of them all waited expectantly for Rosa to answer.

"We have to wait for Cecil," she finally replied. "There's nothing else we can do."

"Exertion," Cid mumbled. "So it's a matter of exertion."

"That would explain why Cami passed out so quickly," Kain realized. "He put more effort into each drill that day than most of the others did for all of them put together."

"And it would explain why some are passing out and others aren't," Rosa whispered. She looked at Kain and Cid. "How long do we have, I wonder?"

Cid and Kain exchanged a startled glance, reminded suddenly of their own mortality.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," was all Kain could think to say.

Rydia was laying on her back, tapping one foot in the air to a song only she could hear, trying to figure a way out of there.

A thump outside the cell reached her, and she got up and went over to the door, unsure of what to expect.

What she wasn't expecting to see was the Guard unconscious and snoring, with Timothy, her student, standing next to him uncertainly, and a large shoe flopped in a corner.

"Timothy!!" she exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?!"

He looked up at her and grinned.

"SLEEP spell!" he told her.

"How could you learn a SLEEP spell?"

"I didn't. I found someone to enchant a shoe for me, so when I threw it at the Guard, it acted as a SLEEP spell and put him out!"

Rydia blinked, startled.

Timothy stood on his tiptoes to peek at her eye-to-eye through the door.

"Ms. Rydia, did you kill King Edge?"

She looked at him in the eyes.

"No. Timothy, I did no such thing. Edge was my friend, I would've never hurt him."

He nodded.

"I didn't think so. That's why I'm here. Why haven't you Called your way out?"

She seethed.

"Kormag put up a Drain Barrier around this cell. The moment you enter, your MP goes to zero. I can't Call for help."

A stupid grin appeared on Timothy's face.

"So this is a good time for that 'stupid bird'?" he innocently inquired.

The stupid grin spread to Rydia.

"Yes, in fact."

Timothy, still grinning, began his incantation.

Kormag and the Cook were standing in front of the Castle, looking over the citizenry in their tents and cabins.

"It's amazing how easy it was to take them over," the Cook mused.

"Of course!" Kormag laughed. "They don't even know we've done it!"

"I - what's that?!"

A bright green light shot out from the small windows of the dungeon.

Kormag slammed his fists to the sides of his head.

"No! Impossible!"

A smashing sound was heard from below. Then, before their very eyes, the wall blew out into the moat, and Chocobo swam out, fighting to keep his head above the water. Clinging to his back was the Caller and a small boy he knew from somewhere, but couldn't place.

"Hi, Kormag!" Rydia sang to him. "Long time no see! Now I have a favor to repay!"

"NOO!"

As he stood there and screamed, Chocobo bore down on him, pinning him to the ground. Rydia jumped off his back and landed lightly beside the Chancellor, grabbing his stringy hair in her fist.

"Okay, Kormy, now 'fess up! Did you kill Edge?!" she demanded in a voice full of hatred.

" . . . "

She yanked at his hair and Chocobo moved his beak threateningly close to his head.

"I didn't kill him," she hissed. "Did you?"

"No," he whispered.

"Louder!" she yelled. "EXPLAIN!!"

"No! I didn't kill him, and neither did you!"

"Then where is he?!"

"I don't know! He vanished! As soon as he grabbed Masamune - "

"Crud!!!" Rydia snapped, dropping his head back to the pavement and alighting upon Chocobo's back. "Masamune's got 'im! C'mon, Chocobo, we've gotta figure out what to do now . . . "

And as Kormag continued to lie there, the great bird and his two passengers ran off and vanished.

"Timothy, I think it's established that you can't remain in Eblan," Rydia told him as they rode off. "Where should we take you?"

He shrugged.

"I-I don't know."

She thought.

"We could run you to Damcyan. I'm sure Edward wouldn't have a problem with it."

He shrugged again.

"Okay."

She squeezed his arms.

"Thanks, Timothy. You really stuck your neck out back there. It was very brave of you. Keep that bravery, and maybe someday you will be able to Call Bahamut and Leviathan."

Chocobo snorted.

"Shut up, you stupid bird," she snapped.

"Damcyan?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Fine."