CHAPTER 16

MARSHALL DESERT

"So, that's the story, Mustadio," Agrias finished. The group was in the main room of the airship, filling Mustadio in on what had transpired so far.

"Man, we're in a fix, aren't we?" Mustadio asked. "Delita's back and he's got help, Ivalice has conquered Zeratul and all our friends are working for him..."

"We should concentrate on finding your remaining friends," Celes said. "There's strength in numbers, you know."

"The next major city we can go to is Konra," Ramza said as he pointed to the seaside town on his map. "I'm sure that the people there can help us."

"Well then, what're we waiting for?!" Seifer asked. "Let's get crackin'! The sooner we nail Delita, the sooner I can get the hell outta here!"

"What, you don't enjoy our company?" Rad asked.

"I ain't sayin' you guys're bad company," Seifer muttered. "I just have stuff to do back home."

"Whatever," Amarant grumbled.

"Don't say that!" Seifer snapped. "You sound just like Squall!"


"YES!!!" Squall cried. "Finally, I get mentioned in one of these stories! It's my day to shine! I-"

A sixteen-ton safe fell on him.


"Ooooookayyyy..." Gau said as he read the above ATE.

"Are we going to fly to Konra any time this decade?" Agrias asked.

"All right," Ramza said as he went into the control room and started turning on the airship.

"WOW!" Mustadio exclaimed as he ran into the room. "Look at all this machinery! Ramza, can I sit and watch?!"

"Mustadio, you're drooling..." Ramza said.


"Oh, dear, oh, dear..." Chancellor Gideon fretted as he ran through Zeltennia Castle's corridors towards King Delita's chambers. At the door, he found Silas standing with his back to the wall.

"I wouldn't go in right now," Silas said as Gideon put his hand on the doorknob. "He's with Rafa."

"Again?" Gideon asked. "But he just got back from Zeratul and his meeting with the Senators..."

"She's obviously a favorite of his," Silas muttered. "I wonder if it's only because Ramza loves her, though..."

"Let us converse of other things," Gideon sighed. He believed that Delita knew best, but even he found the King's hobbies questionable. "I bring bad news from Zeratul."

"What would that be?" Silas asked.

"Two of our Zodiac Soldiers have been demolished," Gideon said. 'Zodiac Soldier' was the name Delita had coined when he had started forcing the Chrono Stones on Ramza's friends. "Ramza and his friends are swiftly retaking Zeratul."

"That IS a problem," Silas said. "I'll go get Adela and talk to Law. We'll stop 'em before they get too far."

"Please, go and do that," Gideon said. "We came here to rewrite history, not merely delay it!"

Silas walked outside to Zeltennia's garden, where he found Adela. She was cross-legged on the ground, focusing herself on the unnamed katana in her lap, just like when Silas had approached her before.

"Adela," he said.

"Hmm? Oh, Silas," Adela said as she got up and sheathed the katana.

"You didn't hear me coming?" the Ninja asked. "You're getting sloppy."

"I was focusing my attentions on the sword," Adela said in her defense. "Had I been in a lighter state of meditation, I would have sensed your presence."

"We need to go to Zeratul and help Law defeat Ramza," Silas said. "The King's self-proclaimed 'undefeatable Zodiac Soldiers' are dropping like flies."

"Yes..." Adela said. "We must help Law. Allow me to go and get my other katana."

Adela walked into the castle. Silas watched her go and sighed. "Adela, you're in denial. Law's just using your affections for him to make you do all the dirty work. Why can't you see it?..." he asked.


"All right, here we are," Ramza said as the Cassiopeia landed outside of Konra. "Let's see what we can see."

"Konra's a really nice city," Alma said to Ayla and Celes. "The port lets you see the ocean for miles around, and the sunsets are so beautiful..."

"I think someone's got a crush," Celes said to Ayla. "She's sure talking like it."

"Ummmmm..." Alma said as she blushed crazily.

"Allow me to go first, Master," Worker No.8 said as he walked to the door. He opened it and stepped outside. "All clear!" he beeped.

"That's good," Mustadio said as everyone stepped out of the airship. "The first thing I'm gonna do is go get a big glass of-"

Mustadio stopped talking. Everyone was staring at the horrible scene that was before them. Konra was a wreck. Buildings smoldered, some still on fire. Soldiers ran through the city, looting and ransacking homes without a care. Even some monsters were loose, and they were attacking and terrifying the townsfolk.

"What the hello?!" Mustadio choked out.

"Who could've done this?!" Alma cried.

"It's pretty obvious, really," Cloud grumbled as he pointed to a flagpole with Ivalice's flag flying from it.

"All clear, huh?" Amarant asked. "Doesn't look like it."

"We have to help the townspeople!" Celes exclaimed as she drew Illumina.

"Come on!" Ramza said as he whipped out his Chaos Blade and ran forward. All of his friends did the same.

"Hey, you!" Seifer yelled at a Thief that was stealing fruit from a vendor. "Didn't your mama ever teach you to share?!"

"You snappy little brat! I'll fix you!" the Thief retaliated. He ran at Seifer with his dagger raised.

"Pathetic," Seifer snorted. "DEMON SLICE!!!" Seifer whirled around like a top and slashed the Thief all over. The downed crook crashed into the fruit stand.

"You ruined my stand!!!" the vendor yelled angrily.

"Whoops. Sorry," Seifer apologized. "Uh... While I'm here, can I get a fruit salad?"

"I don't have any," the vendor said.

Seifer picked up a handful of the smooshed-together fruity glop on the ground. "You do now," he responded.

"Ayla stop bad men!" Ayla declared as she charged through the town on all fours. She came upon a Knight that was trying very hard, too hard, to make a pass at a girl.

"C'mon, babe, you know what I want!" the Knight growled lustfully as he grabbed at the girl.

"No! Stay away!" the girl cried.

"Hey, you!" Ayla shouted. "You want knock girls? Try knocking ME!"

"What the-" the Knight said as Ayla's feet collided with his chin and sent him flying.

"Th-thank you!" the girl said before fleeing.

"Ayla rock!" Ayla shouted proudly as she pumped her fist in the air.

Celes and Gau approached a Monk that was punching holes in buildings and grabbing valuables from the insides.

"What we do, Celes?" Gau asked. "He look tough."

"I have a plan, Gau," Celes responded. "But it's not pretty."

Celes relayed her plan to Gau. His eyes widened, but he nodded in agreement. Celes stepped forward and confronted the Monk.

"Hey, big boy," Celes said as she put on a coy smile.

"...?" the Monk said.

"Get a load of THESE," Celes said as she unzipped her shirt and... revealed what was inside.

"Mommy!" the Monk cried as he dove at Celes. Suddeny, Gau leaped in front of Celes.

"FLARE!!!" Gau shouted as he cast the dangerous spell. The Monk was set ablaze and burnt to a crisp.

"Nice teamwork, Gau!" Celes exclaimed.

"Auooo! He must have had 'hots' for you," Gau joked.

"You've been hanging around Setzer for too long," Celes muttered.

"Hello?" Ramza asked as Alma, Everhart, Worker No.8 and he entered the familiar tavern that they had visited on their first trip here. "Is anyone here?"

"Who's there?" a voice asked. The three human travelers paused as the Konra Inn barkeep popped up from behind the counter with a pistol in his hands.

"It's all right, Mr. Barkeep!" Alma said as she threw her hands up. "It's us! Ramza Beoulve and Alma, remember?"

"Ramza Beoulve?..." the barkeep asked. Just then, his eyes lit up and he lowered the pistol. "Ah, yes! Ramza Beoulve! Please, Ramza, you have to save Konra!"

"What's happening here?" Ramza asked.

"Ivalice deployed two of its new Zodiac Soldiers to Marshall Desert," the barkeep said. "As soon as they appeared, the Konra reservoir dried up and a huge jungle base grew up in the desert. That's where all the soldiers are coming from. If you don't get rid of the Zodiac Soldiers, Konra will fall to Ivalice."

"And we certainly don't want that," Everhart said. "It appears that the two Chrono Stones inside these people are the Jungle Stone and the Sand Stone. Ramza, take four others with you to the desert. I will supervise your remaining friends in protecting Konra."

"Really?" Ramza asked. "All right. I'm counting on you, Everhart! Worker No.8, come with me!"

Ramza and Worker No.8 ran outside, where they found Tifa and Cloud exchanging blows with two Geomancers.

"Worker No.8, help them out!" Ramza ordered.

"DISPOSE!!!" Worker No.8 bellowed as his chest cannon emerged and fired, making the Geomancers airborne.

"Wow, thanks, Worker No.8!" Cloud said.

"I have to go to Marshall Desert to get two of our friends back," Ramza explained quickly.

"I'll come with you!" Tifa volunteered. "I need the exercise."

"Will you be OK, Tifa?" Cloud asked.

"Relax, Cloud," Tifa said. "Other than you, Ramza's the only one I'd entrust my life to!"

"OK..." Cloud said. "Good luck, guys."

"Come on," Ramza said to Tifa and Worker No.8. "We have to find Mustadio. He'll come in handy."

"I think I saw him over by the town fountain," Tifa said.

Ramza, Tifa and Worker No.8 ran a few blocks down to the town fountain. There, they saw Mustadio, Amarant and Rad being cornered by a gang of Archers.

"Hey, guys, take it easy!" Rad exclaimed. "Errr... We didn't mean any harm, honest!"

"Bring it on," Amarant growled as he cocked his arm back and readied himself to leap forward.

"You picked the wrong engineer to mess with!" Mustadio declared as he clicked his gun.

"Mustadio!" Ramza called. "C'mon, we need your help!"

"Just a second, Ramza! I'm a little busy!" Mustadio declared. "All right, where was I?"

Mustadio fired three times and all the Archers were blown to the ground. He spun the gun in his hand and blew the smoke away from the barrel, then leaped over to Ramza. "OK, I'm ready now," he said.

"That engineer's pretty good, eh?" Amarant asked.

"The best shot in Ivalice," Rad confirmed.

"Not bad for a ponytailed freak," Amarant complimented.

"Errr... Thanks, I think," Mustadio said.

"Who else do we need, Ramza?" Tifa asked.

"Why don't we round things out with Gau?" Ramza asked. "I really haven't gotten to know him very well."

"Gau, huh?" Mustadio asked. "I think he was fighting some Behemoths with Agrias and Celes up on Fifth Avenue."

"I guess we go there next, then," Ramza said. "Hurry!"

The foursome dashed up to fifth avenue. Mustadio had been half right. Agrias, Celes and Gau were fighting Behemoths, but they were King Behemoths (much nastier!).

"Watch it, Celes," Agrias said as she backed away. "Those guys have a killer Stab Up attack."

"We'll watch our backs," Celes said. She then began to cast a magic spell.

"Gau help too!" Gau said. "Rage: Behemoth! METEOR!!!"

Quick as a wink, Gau cast a Meteor spell, but it was a Meteor spell unlike any other that Ramza had seen. A huge hole opened in the middle of the sky and huge chunks of space rock came crashing out of it, pelting the three monsters until they couldn't move. They vented their frustration through lots of growling and foaming at the mouth.

"No wonder you want Gau to come," Tifa gulped.

"He's pretty strong, all right," Mustadio agreed.

"Gau, we need to go!" Ramza shouted. "Can you come with us?!"

"OK, Ramza! Give Gau one moment..." Gau said as he ran over to the Behemoths. "Rage: Stray Cat! CATSCRATCH!!!" His hands grew sharp claws as he rushed forward and thrust them into the monsters. The beasts were reduced to Behemoth skulls in the blink of an eye. After they were gone, Gau galloped over to Ramza. "OK!" he said.

"Can you guys help the others clean up Konra?" Ramza asked Celes and Agrias.

"Sure, Ramza!" Agrias said. "Celes, go help Alicia and Lavian with those Summoners! I'll catch up! Be careful, Mustadio!" With this, she dashed off after Celes.

"Let's go straight to the root of this problem," Tifa said.

"The 'Zodiac Soldiers' are in a base in Marshall Desert," Ramza said.

"Let us go," Worker No.8 blipped. The five chosen battlers dashed out of town towards the massive Marshall Desert.


"So, the Sand and Jungle stones, huh?" Tifa asked. "That's kind of an odd combination..."

"Jungles in the desert need lots of water," Mustadio explained. "That's why the reservoir was drained. If we can cut off the water supply, maybe the jungle will dry up."

"If there's a way to do that from inside the base, you can do it," Ramza said. "We have to fight and save the two friends that're in there."

"Why would Delita send two of them here?" Tifa asked. "It's not very logical..."

"Delita's not big on logic," Mustadio snorted. "He probably sent two of 'em for psychological damage more than anything."

"You mean, he send like a brother and sister?" Gau asked. "Auuooo! Double trouble!"

"Brother and sister..." Ramza said. "It could be Malak and... Rafa!"

"Whoever it is, they won't be giving up without a fight," Mustadio said as he pulled his gun out. "Let's be ready for anything!"

The group trudged over one more sand dune and saw the jungle base. It was a large ziggurat made entirely out of vines and jungle plants. Its intense green color made the rest of the desert look very bland. No monsters or soldiers were milling about in front of it, though.

"No guards?" Gau asked. "Very odd. No like. It quiet. TOO quiet."

"I agree with you, Gau," Ramza growled. "I bet there's something especially nasty waiting inside..."

"There's only one way to find out!" Tifa said as she threw a few punches and then started running down the dune towards the base.

"Wait up!" Ramza called. Mustadio, Gau and Worker No.8 followed as well.

They finally arrived at the side of the base. It was a huge wall of thorny vines and poisonous flowers. There would be no hope of climbing it.

"Well, my idea's been snuffed out," Mustadio sighed. "Does anyone have a plan?"

"Hmmm..." Tifa said. "Thorny vines... toxic plants... no chance of climbing..."

"I just said that," Mustadio grumbled.

"I've got it!" Tifa exclaimed. "Worker No.8, knock a hole in this wall!"

"As you wish," Worker No.8 said as he swung his fist back and then sent it smashing into the wall. The vines held firm.

"Drat!" Tifa huffed. "What went wrong?..."

"Hey," Gau said. "Maybe Mustadio and Tifa idea good put together. Shut off water supply, jungle dries up, easier to knock hole in!"

"Hey, that IS a plan," Mustadio said. "Nice one, Gau."

"One question," Ramza said. "Where's the water supply being channeled?"

"Tifa and I'll go look for it," Mustadio volunteered. "You guys stay here and be ready to break in when the green goes brown."

"Huh?" Gau asked.

"When the jungle dries up," Mustadio paraphrased.

"Oh," Gau said.

Mustadio and Tifa ran down the length of the wall, turned a corner and disappeared. "I guess we'll just wait, then," Ramza said as he sat down in the sand. "Strange, I'm not used to being left behind."

"Uwaaooo," Gau said as he got down on all fours and scratched his ear with his foot.

"Why'd you want me to come along?" Tifa asked Mustadio as they walked down another wall's length.

"I may need some brute force to shut the water off," Mustadio responded.

"But you could have taken Worker No.8," Tifa pointed out. "He's stronger than me."

"I like to enlist the help of the pretty ones," Mustadio smirked.

"Har har," Tifa snorted. "Come on, let's find the dumb water source."

"What? Just because we're spoken for doesn't mean we can't joke flirt?" Mustadio asked.

Tifa hadn't heard him. "Mustadio, look!" she exclaimed as she pointed to a huge vine attached to the side of the ziggurat. Water could be heard sloshing through it.

"This must be the source!" Mustadio exclaimed. "All right, let's get rid of it!"

Mustadio and Tifa ran over and inspected the tube. Unfortunately, it was made of the same rough vines as the rest of the base, so physically destroying it was impossible.

"Darn," Mustadio huffed. "Any chance of breaking it with raw force?"

Tifa kicked the tube and was bounced backwards. "No way," Tifa said. "I think these vines are from a rubber tree!"

"So, what do we do?..." Mustadio asked as he leaned on the tube.

"If we had some way of burning it, maybe we could destroy it," Tifa said.

Just then, Mustadio recalled a line that he had read in another Final Fantasy 7 fan fiction story: 'Tifa kissed Cloud so well that he could have been set ablaze.' Mustadio didn't understand that this was a metaphor, but it gave him an idea.

"Tifa, try kissing the pipe," he said.

"What?" Tifa asked.

"Try kissing the pipe," Mustadio repeated.

"I just don't get you, Mustadio," Tifa said as she shook her head in confusion.

"Trust me on this one! I've got a hunch..." Mustadio said.

"Well, all right..." Tifa said. "But if this is some kind of sick joke..."

"It isn't," Mustadio pushed.

"OK, here we go!" Tifa said. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against the vine pipe.

Much to Mustadio's surprise- and Tifa's too- the whole pipe caught on fire and burned to a crisp. "What the?!" Tifa exclaimed. "How'd I do that?!"

"I guess we can do whatever the writers want us to do," Mustadio chuckled. "That's what fan fiction is about: giving the fans what they want."

"???" Tifa asked.

"Never mind," Mustadio said. "Let's get back to the others."

Tifa and Mustadio ran back to where Ramza, Worker No.8 and Gau were waiting. "Hi, guys," Ramza said.

"You should be able to knock the wall down now," Mustadio said.

"All right," Ramza said. "Worker No.8, knock through the wall!"

"As you wish," Worker No.8 said as he swung his fist. The vines crunched to dust beneath his steel knuckle.

"One instant doorway, comin' up!" Tifa exclaimed.

"We go in!" Gau declared. Nobody disputed him, so they all ran inside.

Inside the dying jungle fortress were several rows of newly-made war machines: battle tanks, catapults and the like. "Looks like they're gonna launch a full-scale assault!" Mustadio exclaimed. "We have to stop 'em before that happens!"

"Who's there?!" a gruff voice asked. About ten Squires popped up around the heroes.

"It's Ramza!" one of them cried. "King Delita's prime nemesis!"

"..." Ramza said. It was a very tense moment as the five adventurers awaited what the rookie soldiers would do.

"Commence strategy omega-pi!" the lead Squire said. "Evade danger!"

All ten Squires ran away screaming and crashed through the dead vine walls, leaving little Squire-shaped holes.

"Smart kids," Gau chuckled.

"It's nice to not have to kill every enemy I see for a change," Ramza said.

"Curses! CURSES!"

"What was that?" Tifa asked.

"A man yelling curses," Worker No.8 said.

"Let's go check it out," Mustadio said.

The party ran a little deeper into the wilting ziggurat. "I was sure it came from around here..." Ramza said.

"Ramza! Look!" Gau cried.

Everyone looked where Gau was pointing. A few yards away, a man in a white cape with orange hair was standing with his back to the group. His arms had vines coming out of them and thrusting into the ground. In front of him was a woman with blonde hair and a blue blouse.

"I can't hold this place up any longer," the man growled. "My water supply's been cut off!"

"Ramza must be here," the woman snarled. "I can't think of any other reason."

"(Hey!)" Mustadio whispered. "(It's Beowulf and Reis!)"

"(Yeah, but they're still controlled by the Cativo in the Chrono Stones, it sounds like,)" Ramza replied.

"(How should we attack them?)" Tifa asked.

"Initiate battle protocols!" Worker No.8 said loudly.

"Quiet, Worker!" Mustadio hissed.

"Too late," Gau gulped. "They here!"

Ramza stood up and looked. Beowulf and Reis were standing a few feet away, glaring at the group. "So, you showed up at last," Reis said.

"Sorry about this, guys," Ramza said as he unsheathed his Chaos Blade. "There are some bad things inside of you that we need to get rid of..."

"Just try it," Beowulf huffed.

"Get back, guys!" Tifa cried. The party jumped backwards as Beowulf and Reis pulled out spherical stones; Reis's was tan and Beowulf's was green.

"Get ready..." Mustadio said as he pulled his Blast Gun out of his holster.

Beowulf and Reis held the stones up in the air and a huge blast of light flew out, briefly blinding everyone. When the light faded, Beowulf and Reis were replaced by two more Cativo.

Where Reis had been standing there was a beautiful, scantily-clad woman made entirely out of sand. When she moved, some of the sand poured out, but it was reabsorbed down at her feet. "Prepare to face the power of Quicksand, the Earth Cativo!" she shouted.

Where Beowulf had been was a small, flying, pixie-like creature. It raised its arms and vines shot up from the ground. "I, FloraSprite, Cativo of Plants, will send you to your final accounts!" it announced.

"We'll see about that..." Ramza said. "Tifa, Gau, Worker No.8, handle Quicksand! Mustadio and I'll deal with FloraSprite."

"You've got it, Ramza!" Tifa said as she went into a fighting stance and stared down the luscious sand woman. Gau growled and Worker No.8 prepared himself for battle. Mustadio aimed his gun and Ramza's Chaos Blade appeared as the two of them confronted the devilish pixie.

"Those who oppose St. Ajora must be eradicated!" Quicksand shouted as she lifted her hands. Huge wads of sand from the ground built up onto them until they were huge, and then she started punching at the threesome.

"Waaagh!" Tifa cried as she hopped away.

"Aguuuooooaaahhh!!!" Gau yelped as one of the sandy fists hit him in the face and he sailed backwards.

Worker No.8 ran up and tackled Quicksand. The two toppled backwards and rolled over each other a few times.

"Lucky robot," Mustadio growled.

Worker No.8 lifted his fist and punched Quicksand in the face. The entire head crumbled and fell into the sand.

"Way to go, Worker!" Tifa announced.

Suddenly, the sand beneath Quicksand lurched upwards and a new head formed. "Nice try, metal man," she hissed as she sent Worker No.8 flying with one super punch.

"Must stop sand lady!" Gau said. "Must have weakness somewhere!"

"Just try to stop me, kiddies!" Quicksand cackled. "You're gonna love this next move!"

Quicksand went down on one knee and sand from the ground leaped up to her chest. Her bust grew larger and larger with each passing second until she had the biggest chest anyone had ever seen.

"Oh, trying to be competitive, huh?!" Tifa asked angrily. "I'm hurt!"

"This is not for beauty purposes," Quicksand chuckled as the masses fused together and created a giant cannon.

"Yipes!!!" Gau yelled. "Gau not like where this is going."

Quicksand fired a huge ball of hard sand from the cannon. It was about to hit the two time travelers when Worker No.8 stepped in front and swung his fist. It connected and sent the ball flying in the opposite direction.

"What?!" Quicksand yelled as the ball flew forward and blew right threw her, disintegrating her entire top half.

"Now, while she's trying to rebuild herself!" Tifa commanded.

"Gau stop her!" Gau said. "Rage: Anguiform! AQUA RAKE!!!"

Gau's water attack hardened the mass of sand in front of them.

"Arrrrrggghhh!!!" Quicksand yelled. "DAMN YOU!!!"

She tried to move, but when she did, she crumbled into a mound of sand. Seconds later, Reis emerged from the mound, clutching a shining stone. "Huh? What happened?..." she asked.

"Reis is free!" Worker No.8 announced.

Mustadio and Ramza weren't faring quite as well. FloraSprite was hitting hard and fast. It was a fast little thing, and its small size made it impossible for Mustadio to target. It latched on to their backs and drained their energy, and it had the upper hand.

"OW!" Mustadio cried as FloraSprite landed on his back and zapped him with another draining spell.

"You guys are pathetic!" FloraSprite laughed. "How'd the Lucavi ever lose to you?!"

"That's how..." Ramza said as he got up. FloraSprite's last draining spell had weakened Ramza severely.

"Eh?" FloraSprite asked.

Ramza got up and charged. With one quick stroke, FloraSprite split in two. "Gyaaahhhhh!!!" it screamed.

"They were overconfident," Ramza finished.

FloraSprite exploded. When the smoke cleared, Beowulf and a green stone were in its place. "Ohhh..." Beowulf groaned. "What hit me?..."

"Beowulf! Reis!" Ramza exclaimed. "You're safe now."

"Ramza?" Reis asked. "What happened?..."

"Beowulf and Reis have Cativo inside of them," Gau said. "We kill Cativo and win back Chrono Stone!"

"...Who's he?" Beowulf asked.

"Let's explain on the way back to Konra," Ramza said as he helped his friends up.


When they arrived in Konra, they were pleased to see that Everhart and the others had driven off the monsters and soldiers. Zeratul's flag waved brightly from the flagpole in the middle of town.

"We got rid of all the monsters," Agrias reported when Ramza asked. "Piece of cake!"

"Who'd you find?" Alma asked.

"It's good to see you all again," Beowulf said as Reis and he stepped forward. "Ramza's filled us in about what happened."

"Beowulf! Reis!" Agrias laughed. "Great! Seven down, five to go!"

"It looks like you guys saved us again," the barkeep said as he came out of the bar. "The town's a mess, but at least no civilians were killed... Thanks, Ramza."

"No problem," Ramza said. "We'd better go stop Delita and make sure your city stays free."

"Goodbye and good luck," the barkeep said. "I also heard that the reservoir's water is returning. Thanks a bunch!"

Ramza and company said their goodbyes and reboarded the Cassiopeia to discuss their next move.


"So, Delita found the Chrono Stones and put them into us?" Reis asked. "Ohh... That bum!"

"Ramza needed help reclaiming the stones and you guys, so we showed up," Cloud said. "...At least, Tifa and I did. The rest of 'em are here because Delita messed with the Rooster Stone and caused temporal distortions."

"We must liberate Zeratul and dethrone Delita once and for all," Orlandu said.

"We must also gather the Chrono Stones and join them with the other stones..." Everhart said.

"Oh, that reminds me," Ramza said as he pulled out the Jungle and Sand Stones. "Everhart, did you want to use these?"

"Indeed," Everhart said as he took the stones in hand. He turned green and then tan, and then reverted to his usual black-armored self.

"Are you stronger now, Everhart?" Alma asked.

"Decide for yourself," Everhart said. He walked outside and looked at a lone tree near the airship. He swung his lance and pointed at it. "METEOR!!!" he yelled in a deep, commanding voice. instantly a giant rock flew down and destroyed the tree.

"Woah!!!" Beowulf cried.

"He cast Meteor faster than anyone I've seen before!" Mustadio exclaimed.

"His power grows with each stone we give him," Celes said. "It's kind of scary, really..."

"Hmmm..." Ramza said as he watched Everhart look up to the sky and plunge his lance into the ground. The warrior was a real enigma, and Ramza hoped he'd find out what Everhart wanted with the stones.


"Sir, Ramza has regained Reis Dular and Beowulf Kadmas," Silas reported to Law.

"He's goin' a hell of a lot faster than I expected," Law chuckled. "Good. I'll be able to see how strong he really is sooner than I had hoped."

"But what about King Delita's Zodiac Soldiers?" Adela asked. "He'll be really mad if we let Ramza beat them all."

"Fine," Law said. "Send any of 'em that aren't on a direct path from Konra to Berkana back to Ivalice. If Ramza gets past me, he can deal with them."

"Yes, sir," Silas and Adela said as they disappeared out the door.

"Well, my dear," Law said as he unsheathed Dark Rival. "It looks like your sister will come calling soon enough. Are you ready to settle the score?"

The evil sword flashed. Law smirked cruelly.