Chapter 1
"Are you serious?!" Terra laughed.
"Yeah!" Sabin grinned, "he said he'd grow branches before getting married, and now that lady Kanai has shown to be even worse than him! A toast to my brother!"
"And to the lady of his dreams!" the woman with green hair grinned.
They raised their cups of tea, laughing. Who could ever have believed that Edgar would find a noble woman who was as fond of… err… hunting as him? Good grief…
"Say, Sabin," Terra said, smiling, "don't you ever think of getting married?"
He almost dropped his cup.
"Me?" he said, sheepishly feeling his ears change color, "nah, I'm not the kind of guy…"
"Hey, hey, you shouldn't tell yourself things like that," Terra said, absentmindedly following the brim of her cup with a fingertip, "it's like when you tell yourself that you're stupid. You're not that either."
She smiled at his astounded look.
"Celes said something like that when I met her after the Apocalypse," Sabin said, trying to not let his embarrassment show, "well, it might be true, but I'm not considering getting married. How about you?"
"No, I don't know…"
Terra sighed and shrugged her shoulders.
"There is no one for me."
"Aww, don't tell yourself things like that!" Sabin smiled and winked with one eye.
She smiled back at him. Good old Sabin…
"By the way," she said, leaving the subject, "I didn't hear you snore last night, couldn't you sleep?"
"Yes, I could," he said with a little pride in his voice, "but I've found some breathing exercises that help off snoring."
"Couldn't you have found them a few years earlier?!" Terra exclaimed, playfully making an attempt to throw her tea at him.
"Ahh! Spare me!" Sabin laughed, throwing himself on the floor.
Terra sat back on her chair, laughing.
"God, my stomach will ache in two days after this!" she moaned, smiling, "you're more dangerous like this than when you fight…"
"Instead of my fists I should have used my mouth to bring the monsters down, you mean?"
He got back on his chair with a chuckle.
"You've really improved your way of talking anyway," Terra smiled.
"Thanks."
Sabin stretched his arms.
"Well, time to get moving," he said, "that school won't get built by itself."
"I really appreciate that you're helping us with it," Terra honestly said.
"I wonder if your kids agree…"
They left their empty cups on the table and got out in the morning light. From almost all of the houses other men and woman came, ready for another day of work. The skeleton of a building awaited them.
Sabin watched Terra as she walked in front of him. Since she was going to work, she didn't wear any of her usual clothing with its soft red and green color. Instead she was dressed in a light grey shirt and an pair of old, blue pants that were really too big for her. She had probably lent the clothes from somebody. Her hair was as always in a cute ponytail, waving back and forth as she walked on. The prince found that he was smiling to himself, without really knowing why. He cleared his throat and instead focused at the work that needed to be done. Even though many in Mobliz weren't very happy about what was going on, it was going to be completed.
No, the children weren't exactly thrilled by the idea of a school, but everyone else agreed that they at least needed to learn some math and to read.
Once again the sound of saws and hammers filled the air. The rest of the town's population awakened bit by bit and started with whatever they were occupied with. And many of the children sourly watched the workers, even though Terra had told them at least five times that it was a school and not a prison. But they weren't happier to hear that. Steven had even bitterly said that there wasn't any difference.
Terra sighed as she saw the small, angry eyes. The children were used to freedom. But this school would only take a couple of hours of their days! It was just being built so that they'd have some place to study the basics. Then there were more, better schools in other towns if they'd want to keep studying. Children…!
"Hey, what are the poisonous looks about?"
Sabin grinned at the boys, holding a plank and giving a nail one single hit with his hammer. The nail went into place as simple as that.
"I didn't like the word 'school' when I was a kid either," the prince continued, calmly, "but at least you won't have to learn how to dance."
The boys stared at him, and Terra dropped her hammer.
"Can you dance, Sabin?" Cecil almost stuttered.
"I'm a prince, you know," the bodybuilder grimaced, "being able to dance with noble women is a part of the job."
He rolled his eyes.
"You're lucky, boys. You'll only have to put up with reading and a little math. That's nothing, trust me. Did you know that there's twelve different ways to ask somebody for a dance? And I had to learn all of them. You shouldn't be complaining."
"Was that why you ran away from the castle?" Sean asked.
"Partly. And I'd rather be a warrior than a prince, anyhow. Look here, this is something I learnt in the school I choose to attend."
He placed another nail against the plank, put the hammer down and clenched his fist. The iron spike went into the wood as easy as when he had used the hammer.
"Cool!" the boys gasped.
"Yeah, but don't try it before you have trained for at least ten years, like I have done," Sabin grinned, "run along now, you'll have plenty of time for this building when it's done."
The boys left talking loudly about how awesome Sabin was. Terra walked over to him.
"I didn't know you could dance," she smiled.
"And if you tell anyone, I'll have to kill you," Sabin replied with a grin.
"Alright, I'll keep quiet. I must say, you've got a great hand with children."
Sabin shook his head.
"I wouldn't say that, they make me do such stupid things. Do you have a bandage?"
With a grimace he put his bleeding knuckle between his lips. Terra had to chuckle at his behavior before she went to her house to get something that could help Sabin. But by her door, she found something that was much more important than a small wound on a prince's hand.
"Oh my God, Interceptor!" she exclaimed.
He looked almost as if he was dead, gasping so faintly that it was hardly recognizable. On his pads were deep cuts, and dark pieces of dried blood stained his fur.
Half the town came running as they had heard her shout.
"Something must have happened to Shadow!" Terra harshly concluded, looking at Sabin.
He grimly nodded.
"Come on, pup," the prince said and carefully lifted the great beast from the ground, "you need some caring… huh?"
As he lifted Interceptor, he unveiled a piece of black cloth that the dog had been lying on. The beast must have dropped and fallen on it; the scummy slobber on the cloth showed that he had carried it in his mouth. Terra didn't care about the disgusting parts and picked up the black thing. It was torn, and grey on the backside. Somebody had been writing something on the lighter side.
"What is it, Terra?" Sabin worriedly asked as he saw her pale face.
Without a word and with lips pressed together, she held the cloth between her hands so that he could read the writings. The letters were broken and sprawled; written in haste. And in blood. Even though Interceptor's drool had worked on the message, it was still readable.
"Good gods…" Sabin muttered.
To whoever found
The Cult of Kefka never disappeared. Warn the Warriors, especially Terra Branford. I'm done for. Don't try to help me.
Shadow"We'll have to warn everyone," Terra said, frowning deeply, "if they've got Shadow…"
She fell silent, clenching her teeth. It was too well apparent that the chances of the assassin even being alive in said moment were puny.
"It will be hard to tell Gogo," Sabin muttered, forcing back his anger, "and Relm too. She always liked him… I won't let them get away with this! Damn!"
He snarled the two last sentences.
"Don't worry, Interceptor," Terra grimly told the dog, "everything will be fine, I promise."
Lying to an animal… what a thing to do. But Terra had to, to keep herself calm. Interceptor weakly yelped.
Half an hour later the big dog was sleeping in Katarin and Duane's house, with so many bandages that he almost looked like a mummy. He'd survive, to Sabin and Terra's relief.
"I'll go and see if I can catch Setzer in South Figaro," the prince grimly said as he walked towards the door of the small house, "he was going to visit Locke and Celes after dropping me off here yesterday."
"I'll come with you," Terra resolutely said.
He looked at her, rather surprised.
"Shouldn't you stay here and guard?" he asked.
She bitterly shook her head.
"No. Shadow wrote that I needed to be warned, so he probably feared that they'd be aiming for me. It wouldn't be a surprise if that were true, right? They're worshipping Kefka, and they surely know about all of us since our story is nothing of a secret. So I better get out of here to protect everyone."
"Alright. Let's go."
They went to Terra's house.
"Wait a moment," the woman of the two called as she hurried up the stair.
A minute later Sabin caught an empty backpack that was thrown at him.
"Go to the shop and get some supplies, alright?" Terra said from top of the stair, "I'll have to shape up…"
"Are you sure I should…" Sabin said, hesitating.
He didn't feel like leaving Terra alone now that he knew that there was a mad cult running free. As if reading his thoughts she tried to smile.
"I'll be fine, Sabin," she said, "I'll just change clothes and find my sword."
"Well, okay."
The prince left the house, even though he wasn't very happy about it. He knew that Terra could take care of herself, no doubts, but… if Shadow…
Sabin almost walked backwards to the shop, trying not to let Terra's home out of his sight. He didn't feel very secure.
As soon as he entered the shop, the merchant held up a hand.
"I've heard about it already, Sir Sabin," the man grimly said, "what do you need?"
Katarin and her husband had gotten the story and were going to inform all the grownups about the danger. No kid should be allowed leave town, just to be sure. This wasn't a good moment for leaving anything in the hands of fate. They had obviously already been in the shop.
The bodybuilder had to smile.
"Look, I've got the money needed to…" he began.
"No, no. If Terra is going anywhere, I'll help in any way I can. I'm not more fond of anything that has to do with Kefka than anyone else with a grain of sanity left."
In her room, Terra grimly stripped out of the lent clothes and with a sigh reached into her wardrobe, bringing out a red and yellow striped full body-slim and a pair of high boots. She had saved the clothes from the battling that had ended two years ago, why she had never known. Certainly not because she had thought that she'd put them on again. They only reminded her of all pain she had gone through. It wasn't easy to put them back on. But as it was done, she bent down and pulled out a small chest from the wardrobe. After opening it, she sat still for a moment and watched what was inside. A light half-plate armor, the hilt of a sword, a couple of black earrings, a sword and a small golden box covered with jewels.
The sword and the armor had never had any magical value, they were just plain equipment that she had used in the earlier battles. But the earrings had once shone with blue light from within, and filled her with calm and focus every time she had been chanting. The lonely hilt had grown a blue, shining edge whenever she had grabbed it and gotten ready to fight, turning her strength into a magical blade without harming her; the Atma weapon. And the small box…
She picked it up. It was so small that it easily fit in her palm, the jewels were tinier than her nails. They didn't cover the box completely, she could see the gold beneath.
Master Kefka's treasure.
The madmen in dark robes, the men in the Cult of Kefka, had named the gem box that.
Whenever she had held it while chanting, it had filled her with strength and making casting even the most powerful spell as easy as breathing. It was hard to tell how it had ever had such power; it was empty. It must have been something with the box itself.
Terra couldn't stop wondering where Kerr… Kefka had found such a treasure. Or had he created it? Maybe the goddesses had? Had it been a treasure of the espers? Next time her father came to visit her mind, she'd ask him if he knew anything about the once powerful artifact.
It had no magical use either nowadays. It was surely worth a fortune, but that was nothing in compare to the power it once had provided.
Come to think of it, why would Kefka give such a treasure to a group of worshippers, why hadn't he kept it safe himself? On the other side, he had never been a man of logic.
Terra shook her head. There was no time for these kind of thoughts now! She put the box back into the chest and brought out the armor. When she put the metallic pieces over her chest and secured the plates on the front side of her legs, she had to fight against a shudder. It wasn't easier to clasp the belt around her waist and put the sword in its sheath.
Ugh…
This didn't feel very good.
She had no time to ponder all of her thoughts and doubts, however. She heard Sabin open the door downstairs and the sound of his footsteps.
"Are you ready, Terra?" he called.
"Just a minute!" she yelled back and closed the chest, pushing it back into the depths of the wardrobe.
She looked around the room, with a cold feeling in her stomach hoping that nothing in all of Mobliz would have changed when she returned. If she returned. It was time for battles again. And again…
Terra fought back another shudder and went to the door. Sabin watched her all the way down to the first floor, and she couldn't figure out what he thought. Never had been able too. She could almost read Edgar like an open book, but not Sabin. There was seldom any telling what he'd do next.
"Are you alright?" he asked, gravely.
"Yeah," she said and tried to smile, "there's just so much…"
She fell silent and sighed.
"I'll survive, Sabin. Thanks for caring."
"Hey, of course I care," he said with a small smile that made her feel much better, "you're my friend. Here."
He gave her the backpack. It clinked lazily; there were bottles of various potions and some food rations where there once had been emptiness.
"I had to force the merchant to accept some money," Sabin said, "you're popular around here."
Was that a compliment? Terra didn't know, so she just tried another smile. Sabin nodded and went into his guestroom to get his own backpack.
Then they went towards the chocobo stables.
Once again, Sabin watched Terra as she walked. Fascinating… just one hour ago she had been walking before him, looking like any young woman. That her hair was green, well, he had never minded about that. But now, it was as if the clock had moved a couple of years backwards, and she was Terra the half-esper again. If she had raised her hands and sent a wave of fire towards a tree, he hadn't been surprised at all.
Sabin wondered if he changed like that too, when he put on his light armor and went into battle. Funny… he found that he missed the other Terra, the peaceful one. The warrior had her strength, but she was strong as a regular woman too, somehow. And much happier. Sabin didn't like to feel that grim, bitter aura encircling her now. Maybe it was mostly because she grieved for Shadow's fate, and she hadn't been prepared for something like this. Heck, he hadn't either, who could have been… but he was more of a warrior than Terra had ever been. He thought that he'd better watch her closely from now on until this crisis was over with.
Before he knew it, he had reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. Terra stopped walking and turned around in surprise.
"It'll be fine, okay?" Sabin said, encouraging, "whatever happens, everything will be alright again. We'll find those idiots, beat the crap out of them and return home safe."
She smiled hesitantly, surprised of his behavior. It was unlike Sabin. But his apparent worry for her feelings made her feel a peculiar happiness.
"I'm glad you care," she said, "but don't worry. I'm a big girl, you know."
He chuckled.
"Yeah, I know," he said and carefully squeezed her shoulder, "come on, let's get ourselves a chocobo each."
She nodded, and they began walking again.
"Where are you going, mama?" little Lia asked as Terra was about to mount her bird.
"I'm going to South Figaro," the young woman told the small girl, "and I want you and your siblings to behave while I'm gone, alright?"
"Sure, mama. Bye!"
The little girl waved with both her hands as the two travelers left the town.
"I don't get it," Terra told Sabin as the grass was flying beneath the birds' claws, "if those madmen have been around for all this time, why haven't they made a move earlier?"
"Maybe they have been shattered until now, or awaited some kind of 'sign'?" Sabin thoughtfully said, shrugging his shoulders.
Both he and Terra startled and stared at each other, thinking about the same face. A hidden face.
"You don't think that Gogo…" Sabin began, but then shook his head and answered his own unspoken question, "no. I shouldn't even think something like that about him."
Terra shook her head in agreement. They both knew that Gogo rather would die than even remind anyone of his twin brother again. What had happened about five months ago had been enough for the rest of his life.
"But where is he, by the way?" Sabin asked, still not completely able to shake off the unpleasant idea.
"Last I heard, he was still in Doma and helping Cid and Cyan to work on some kind of air-condition device to warm up the basement during the winter," Terra said.
"Well, I guess another unveiling could bring those idiots to their knees, if needed…"
Terra grimly nodded.
By the evening they spotted South Figaro. To their relief there was a very big, distinctive shadow on the field outside of the town. If the Falcon was there, Setzer hadn't left the town yet.
The two chocobos gladly ran away as soon as the travelers dismounted. Silly birds, really…
"Where do they live again?" Terra snarled and almost wildly looked around, "I haven't been here for some time…"
"This way!" Sabin grimly said and hurried into town.
As the evening got deeper and darker, candles and lamps were lit inside of the houses. Sabin and Terra ran through bars of shadows and weak lights spilling out of the windows, dark, light, dark… there was much more dark than light. The thought sent a shiver through Terra's stomach. She had thought that she was done with fighting! She hadn't wanted to pick up the sword again!
Sabin reached a house, not different from all the others, and hit the door a few times with his fist, almost breaking it. Terra stopped by his side, trying to regain her breath. The prince was also breathing deeply after the run.
After what felt like an eternity Locke opened the door, frowning. The frown disappeared as he saw who it was.
"Don't knock like that," he said with a smile and snort, "I thought it was the police or the empire…"
He noted the looks in his friends' faces and fell silent, frowning again.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Shadow…" Terra gasped, still not fully recovered.
She reached for a pocket and handed Locke the now dryer piece of cloth. He took it and backed into the light of the house to be able to read the message, waving at Terra and Sabin to get inside. They obeyed.
"What, the cult?" Locke exclaimed after reading the bloody letter.
"What?" Setzer said as he came into the hall with Celes one step behind.
"Read this," Locke said between clamped teeth and handed the gambler the message.
Celes read over Setzer's shoulder, a frown growing deep in her usually smooth forehead.
"No…" she muttered as she had read it all, turning to Terra and Sabin, "what happened?"
The two new guests hurriedly explained how they had gotten the letter. Setzer clenched his teeth and grimly nodded.
"Well, I hate flying at night, but I'll make an exception," he said.
"I'll get our old armors, Locke…" Celes began.
"No!" Locke and Setzer simultaneously said, resolutely.
The blond woman's husband furiously shook his head.
"No, Celes," he said, "I'm not letting you get even close to battles in your condition."
"Locke, it hasn't even begun to show yet!" the former magitek knight said, "this is a battle that concerns all of us!"
"I'm not going either," Locke said, "I won't leave you alone. Not now."
Celes snorted.
"I'm pregnant, not helpless," she said.
"Oh, congratulations…" Sabin and Terra said, finally catching the message.
Locke shook his head, looking at his friends.
"I'm sorry," he said, "you'll have to fight without us this time."
"We understand," the prince of Figaro said with a nod, "should we really, really need you we'll fetch ya."
Setzer grabbed his jacket from the clothes rail and put it on even as he walked through the door.
"Take care, Locke, Celes!" he called back, "come on, you two!"
Terra and Sabin hurriedly said good-bye and followed the gambler through the town.
Locke closed the door.
"But what if they need us?" Celes said, frowning.
"No, they'll be fine. I'm sure they will."
He turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Look, I know you don't want to sit here doing nothing while our friends fight; I don't like it either. But I don't want you to put yourself at risk anymore."
"You never complained before," she pointed out, rather cold.
No, she really didn't like the situation.
"You wasn't pregnant before," her husband said, trying to calm her down.
"It doesn't turn me into a lost kid, Locke."
"No, I know that. But you don't want to put our child in danger, do you?"
Celes sighed and looked away. Locke draped his arm around her shoulders and brought her back into the living room. Setzer had forgotten his playing cards on the table. Not his deadly ones, of course. Just a regular set of cards. Locke sat down in the sofa, making Celes do the same. He absentmindedly began to assemble the cards into a neat heap, taking a look at the ones Setzer had had at hand. Seemed like the master of games would have won again if they hadn't been interrupted.
"I'm not sure about this, love," Celes said, frowning, "I have a bad feeling…"
"They'll be fine," Locke repeated.
"I don't know. If Shadow fell to those people…"
She fell silent and draped her own arm around Locke's shoulders. He leaned back and wrapped his arms around her.
"If something like that happened to Shadow, he must have been unlucky or outnumbered. Probably both."
Locke sighed, clenching his teeth.
"The poor devil…" he muttered, rubbing his forehead, "left as king of mysteries after pushing Gogo from the throne."
"I hope he didn't suffer too much…" Celes bitterly muttered.
"So do I."
Shadow shook his head, trying to think. No, no, no… what the heck was happening? What had they made him drink… what… what… wh…
So cloudy… everything seemed to float together. What strange colors…
He heard himself giggle.
'Oh God…' his fading mind whispered before it fell into deep mist.
"Where can we find the moogle and the yeti?" somebody asked, cold, patient.
"I shouldn't think that I should tell you that…" Shadow slurred, giggling again, "wait, what am I saying…"
Why was the world spinning? It looked funny…
"Tell us," the questioner said.
Well, why not? It wouldn't hurt anybody, would it?
"They're just dancing around in Narshe's mines… no problem finding Mog, he's the only one of those teddy-bears that talks. Funny thing, moogles that talk… isn't that very rare? What do you think?"
"I think that you should keep talking about your friends."
"Should I?"
Shadow giggled again, as the drug shattered every thought that tried to hang on to his brain.
"Well, okay," he slurred, smiling dizzily, "if you insist…"
"I insist."