Chapter Sixteen- Ramuh, Esper God of Thunder
"So she wasn't here for any more than a few minutes?"
"No Miss...but we were awfully frightened by it...I'm certainly glad it was no longer than a few minutes."
"Did she hurt anyone?"
"Well...no...she just...was unlike anything we had ever seen...we're simple country folk, Miss...fear of the unknown, I guess you could call it..."
"Well, thanks anyway."
Celes sighed and walked away from the last mother and child pair she could find outside of their homes in the village. All of the people had told her the same thing over and over again...that the girl ghost wasn't around for very long, and that afterwards she had shot back up in the sky and headed south, towards Jidoor. She entered a small shop, and spotted Edgar, shamelessly flirting with the young woman at the counter. Celes narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well my dear, if you perhaps wanted to join me on our search..."
"Ahem, darling, what do you think you're doing?!" Celes suddenly burst out, and Edgar turned around, blushing mightily.
"Um, Celes, I..."
"Please excuse my husband!" Celes cried, and stomped over to Edgar, grabbing him by the ponytail. "He's a dirty, dirty old man!" Edgar whined in protest and squirmed in Celes' grip.
"Celes, what do you think you're doing?!?!"
"Oh, ma'am, thank you for getting him out of my hair." The young shopkeeper said, and with that, promptly turned around and left through a door behind her counter, slamming it so hard that the entire shop shook. With that, Celes dragged Edgar out of the shop, and released him once they got outside. He pretended to sniffle and reached back, gingerly trying to readjust all the hair ribbons that Celes had messed up in his ponytail.
"Celes!!" Edgar cried. "You could at least be gentle with me!"
"I was being gentle." Celes smirked, and put her hands on her hips. "Flirting with girls when we were supposed to be looking for clues about Terra! How un-heroic of you..."
"Hey, you have perfectly handsome companions to travel with!!!" Edgar replied in a high tone. "And alas, I only have you, the ice queen!!! Have some mercy!"
"Rest assured, the last thing I have on my mind is getting cozy with my "handsome companions"." Celes snapped.
"Not even Locke?" Edgar taunted, and Celes felt her cheeks turn red.
"You're a royal jackass!"
"Who's a royal what?" Locke suddenly asked from behind them, and they both gasped, whirling around to face their friend, who was trying his hardest not to laugh.
"Locke!" Celes cried. "When did you...?"
"I just got here, but I imagine I could have heard the shouting from miles away!" Locke laughed, and gently messed with the top of Celes' hair. "You look silly when you're angry, Celes. Your cheeks go red!"
"Silly indeed." Edgar snapped. "But at least you're here now, Locke! So where is my brother...?" Locke shrugged, and Celes reached up to smooth down her hair again, keeping her gaze on Locke while he and Edgar discussed what they had learned.
It's like he's normal again... She thought curiously. Like nothing happened today...What is he trying to do?
**********
"S-Shadow!" Sabin cried, and smiled happily at the sight of his friend. "Why, I never expected to find you here, in a place like this!" The ninja, still clad in dark clothes, and still even wearing his black mask, slowly stretched and crawled out of bed before replying to Sabin.
"Well...my travels take me to the oddest of scenarios." Shadow said coolly, and looked to Sabin. "But what are you doing here, when you are supposed to be in Narshe?"
"Well, I did finally make it to Narshe...and Cyan did as well!" Sabin exclaimed. "But it's a long story..."
"I have time to listen." Shadow said, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, alright!" Sabin said, and sighed. "Well, we got to Narshe, and I met up with all of my friends, and then some others who had joined us...Gau, a young boy, and Celes Chere, a girl that my friend Locke had met. At that point, we all united together to drive Kefka and his troops out of town...and it worked! But when we went to see the Esper that we were trying to protect, my friend Terra had this...reaction with it, and sort of...disappeared." Sabin nodded to confirm his words. "So now, we're searching for Terra..."
"I see." Shadow said. "So the Empire is still at it, I assume?"
"We have no doubt." Sabin replied. "Cyan and Gau remained behind in Narshe to protect the Esper with our leader, Banon, and my brother, Locke, Celes, and I went on our search for Terra. The townspeople here said she went further south...how she could travel so far in so few of hours is beyond me but...we are determined to find her!"
"Friendship..." Shadow sighed some, and turned to look out of the small window that was in his room. "That is what is driving you to save her, isn't it?" Sabin nodded, although he knew Shadow couldn't see him.
"Friendship is what has gotten us this far." He said. "I barely know Terra...and yet, her kindness and gentleness is what compels me to believe that she did not rightfully deserve to be a victim of the Empire like she was. They brainwashed her and used her as a soldier because of her natural magic abilities...when she finally broke from their control, she had lost all her memories, and had lost anyone that could have protected her."
"And what of these other characters you mentioned?" Shadow asked, with his back still to Sabin.
"Well, Edgar is my brother, who has been fighting the Empire in secret for many years." Sabin explained. "We have also been separated for just as long, and now we have decided to combine our strengths to fight together. Locke is a friend of Edgar's...he helped rescue Terra after the Empire tried to attack her and take her back. The Empire has a lot to do with some pretty bitter events of his past. Celes is an ex-general of the Empire, who was almost put to death for supposed treason, but Locke got to her just in time too and convinced her to join us. And Gau...well, no one really knows much about the kid, but I think his father abandoned him at a young age, and he harbors incredible powers from living with monsters on the Veldt for his entire life. And then of course, there is Cyan, whom you already know." Shadow considered all these details for a moment and then shook his head sadly.
"You think that you seven can really defeat the Empire, and discover why magic has been brought back into existence?"
"You know about magic!?" Sabin cried, and Shadow nodded.
"The Empire has made it known to many villages that they will not put up with resistance." He said. "It's becoming known that there is more to Magitek Armor than just machinery and a pilot. Its energy has to come from somewhere...and it's the same energy that the Empire's own Generals can wield. And can't Gestahl, the Empire's leader, use it as well?"
"I have never seen or met Gestahl." Sabin confessed. "We know little about him. But we do know that General Leo can't use magic, and he is one of the Empire's finest warriors!"
"I remember Leo." Shadow replied thoughtfully. "He was a good man. But this Celes...she is the same General Celes of the Empire?"
"Yes, and from what I've seen, she isn't such a terrible person either." Sabin said. "She has a good heart, and a strong will. You don't think that having two magic casters on our side will be enough to finish off Kefka and Gestahl?"
"Of course not." Shadow said. "Kefka is not humanistic what so ever. He is a frightful clown of nightmares. You don't think you'll be able to persuade him to join the Returners, now do you?" Sabin's lack of reply made Shadow assume that as a no. "You see...getting Terra and Celes on your side was luck. It will take so much more than that to overthrow the Empire."
"Some people might call it fate rather than luck." Sabin said gently, and Shadow snickered some.
"If you let fate carry things out, we will get nowhere, Sabin Figaro!" "We?" Sabin questioned carefully.
"I've decided I'll join you for a bit longer." Shadow decided. "I want to meet this Terra and ask her what she knows about the Empire."
"But she has amne--"
"I won't worry about that for now." Shadow said, and suddenly held out his hand. "But my help is gonna cost ya."
"Cost me?!" Sabin cried. "How so?"
"Interceptor has got to eat too!" Shadow grinned. "So...you think 2000 GP is plenty?"
"2000GP!?" Sabin nearly fell over. "Does it look like I am made of money?!"
"No...but I hear your brother is the ever rich King Edgar Figaro..."
**********
"And....to make a long story short, Shadow basically helped me and Cyan to get back to Narshe, and, well, here he is now!" Sabin pointed to Shadow, who was staring at the small Returner group outside of the inn.
"Ehh..." Locke tilted his head a little and stared at the ninja. All he could think to himself was: Oh my Gods, this is the guy from South Figaro...the one who would slit his momma's throat for a GP! EEEEEP!
"Hmmph." Celes grunted, and tried to size him up with her glare.
"Oh brother..." Edgar sighed. "And the people at the palace complain of me hanging around the strange type...Sabin, do you know WHO this is?"
"Do YOU know who I am?" Shadow interrupted.
"I damn well do!" Edgar snapped. "I've heard about you, and I saw you in South Figaro! You're a...well...umm..." Edgar didn't quite know what to say, being that he had indeed heard of Shadow, but could not name one of his supposed crimes. "....I...uhhh... heard you would slit your momma's throat for a GP!!!!" Shadow stared at Edgar for a moment and then burst into hysterical, low laughter.
"Oh please..." He shook his head as Edgar turned red in embarrassment. "Well, we know that the mighty King of Figaro needs to do a little more investigation when it comes to his rumors...So does this make Sabin the brains of this group? I mean really, come on, throw me a bone here." At that comment, Interceptor let out a cheerful bark. He had slipped in from out of nowhere.
"So...uhhh...why were you so rude back in South Figaro?" Locke questioned, trying to regain some of his friend's dignity back. Shadow turned to Locke and put a hand on his chin, as if he were thinking.
"Oh...I remember you now...you were the peppy guy trying to talk to me at the bar..." Shadow dropped his hand and shrugged. "So I didn't feel like talking, big deal. Doesn't make me a momma-murderer, does it? You know, not everyone in the world likes talking to strangers." Locke blinked and narrowed his eyes, not knowing what to say.
"Sabin, I guess the question is, can we trust him?" Celes asked. Sabin nodded.
"Yes...he helped me when I was all alone." Sabin said sincerely. "I am 100% positive he can be trusted."
"Yes, you would know about trust, wouldn't you General Celes?" Shadow asked coldly, and Celes shrunk back a little, narrowing her eyes as well.
"I-I'm not General Celes anymore...I'm just..."
"Cut it out already." Locke said quickly. "Shadow, I know that, speaking as a Returner, we could always use more help."
"I knew you would see things my way!" Sabin smiled happily. "What say you, brother?"
"I trust you Sabin." Was all Edgar said in reply, and looked away.
"I won't garrote you." Shadow assured them, and smiled some, not that anyone could tell through the mask.
**********
And with Shadow, the group of Returners went from 4 to 5.
But does Shadow think of himself as one of us now? Sabin wondered to himself. Oh well...it doesn't really matter what he claims himself as...as long as we have the same goal, right? To find Terra? To restore order to our world? But Shadow said we couldn't just fight with magic...that it would take much more.
What will it take?
Even more importantly, can we do what it takes?
Of course we can...there is no use in doubting ourselves now! Keep the faith Sabin...
Searching and gathering information in Kohlingen, not to mention the added encounter with Shadow, had taken most of the morning, and now the hot sun beating down on the Returners backs as they pain-stakingly made their way down to south to Jidoor informed them that it was surely noon now. The only road to Jidoor from Kohlingen was a narrow, dusty dirt road that was once used for a chocobo trade route between Kohlingen, Jidoor, and Zozo back in better times. But now that Jidoor was a rich and very prospering town, and Kohlingen remained the quiet village it started out as, and well...Zozo had completely gone downhill when it came to both prosperity and class, the road was very rarely used--usually only by stray travelers or adventurers every once in a while. Forests on the western side of the continent were only plentiful in the south near Jidoor and along the mountains...so there wasn't any shade for the Returners either. Shadow didn't seem bothered by the overwhelming summer heat at all, but everyone else was feeling it--hard.
"I wish I could make it winter right about now!" Celes moaned.
"Me too." Edgar sighed, and proceeded to pull off his very heavy cape. "Going from Narshe to this...it's not good for you."
"I love the sun!" Locke declared cheerfully, and stretched his arms. "I could settle for a nice nap right now, actually..."
"We can nap later!" Sabin corrected.
"Suck it up..." Shadow said, and chuckled some. "You act like whiny teenagers..."
"I am a teenager, thank you very much." Celes snapped. "And I'll have you know, I've traveled in far worse condi--" Celes narrowed her eyes when she saw that Shadow wasn't even paying attention to her anymore, and just shut her mouth right then as to not waste her breath on a cretin like him.
"Hey, what will we do when we get to Jidoor?" Edgar asked, changing the subject altogether.
"I suppose...ask more questions." Locke replied. "I wonder if the townspeople will even talk to us though...They're pretty snotty, from what I've heard."
"We can always force it out of them!" Celes exclaimed, slamming her fist against her other hand. I can't even imagine you doing such a thing like that." Locke joked.
"Well, I'm sure if Terra DID happen to visit them, they would be willing to discuss the details." Sabin added. "I mean, anything to get them in the public eye, right?"
"Right." Edgar sighed. "But what public is there over here to impress?! ACK, it's like the sticks over here!!!" He whimpered and hung his head.
"Look! I can see Jidoor ahead!" Locke suddenly exclaimed, and pointed off into the distance. The bustling town could indeed be seen a bit, although all that could be seen were the tall homes that sat on the hillier part of the town.
"What big houses..." Celes trailed off, as they got closer and closer and got a better view of it all.
"It is a pretty town." Locke admitted.
When the town finally reached the gates of Jidoor, a young woman in a fancy red gown carrying a parasol over her head for shade as she strolled by welcomed them.
"Oh, hello!" She exclaimed. "What brings you here to Jidoor? Are you here to see Maria?" Everyone looked at each other and blinked, but the woman didn't seem to notice.
"I'm afraid she hasn't arrived in town yet." She continued. "The poor dear has been dealing with a stalker of some sort, and I don't think it is easy for her to get out!"
"Er..." Locke didn't know what to say.
"We've been searching for a young woman." Edgar quickly cut in. "She had white hair, and ruby red eyes..." The woman with the parasol gasped.
"You know of her as well? Are you from Kohlingen?"
"Yes!" Sabin cried. "So you've seen her?"
"Of course, the entire town did." The woman said nervously. "She ripped across the sky like a shooting star just the other night. It looked like she had come from Kohlingen, but when we sent a messenger up there by chocobo, he returned, saying that all Kohlingen knew was that she had actually stopped for a moment in their town before taking off here. It made us all very nervous...we thought she was a monster. But she is a young woman, you say...?"
"Well, yes..." Celes trailed off and tried to figure out how to explain herself, but luckily, the woman didn't seem to have the time to listen.
"Well, I can tell you that she isn't here anymore." The woman said firmly. "She flew farther south...towards Zozo."
"Then we'll head for Zozo!" Sabin declared, and the woman looked at him as if he had just said the foulest word in creation.
"Why ever would you want to go there?!" She cried. "Are you looking to have yourselves killed?"
"Honey, what's wrong?" A young man suddenly asked as he came around the corner. He wasn't dressed like the woman at all--in fact, his clothes were quite the opposite of fancy--a pair of faded overalls with a long sleeved cotton shirt and brown boots.
"These people have told me they want to go to Zozo to find that creature we saw the other night in the sky." The woman explained. The man, looking concerned, turned to the Returners.
"It's pretty dangerous there." He said worriedly. "That's a town for thieves and murderers...you can get away with anything. No one goes down there without good reason..."
"We do have a good reason." Shadow grunted. "We have to find the girl." The man sighed a little and put his hands in his pockets.
"Well..." The man trailed off for a moment and sighed. "I happen to own the only chocobo stable here in Jidoor," He began, "And I could rent out some chocobos for you to travel on. They run fast enough to avoid any monster encounters you might have. However, they will be of no use to you in the city, for they have been trained to stay out of Zozo and to come home if the borrowers attempt to take them in."
"How much are these chocobos?" Locke questioned.
"200 GP a piece." The man replied, and Edgar's face fell.
"That's a 1000 GP for us all to ride...!" He groaned, but finally dug in one of his many pockets and produced two large GP's valued at 500 a piece. "We'll take them!"
"Very well, come with me." The man said, and the woman waved to the group.
"Be careful!" She exclaimed. "Do come back here after you have found your friend! We would love to have you!"
"You mean have our money!" Edgar cursed under his breath, and Celes elbowed him.
"Now Edgar, what's got to be done has got to be done." She said gently, and then narrowed her eyes. "SO GET OVER IT!"
**********
The chocobo ride to Zozo was speedy, much to the riders' fright, because after hearing all the horrific Zozo tales the owner of the chocobo stable shared with them before their leaving, the Returners were about ready to turn around and just go back to Kohlingen. However, the chocobo stable owner did reveal to the team that there was one person in Zozo they could trust- a friend of his dressed like a merchant. The further south they rode, they began to notice that the air was getting more and more humid, and that the sky was beginning to get darker and darker. Clouds were beginning to roll in as well.
"Looks like a storm." Shadow commented, looking up at the sky from his chocobo.
"It tends to storm down here often, does it not?" Celes questioned, and Edgar nodded.
"Yeah...they say it is the workings of some ancient dragon that was supposedly sealed up in these mountains long ago." Edgar explained. "The Storm Dragon."
"Too bad dragons aren't real." Locke laughed. "That's what the people of Narshe say about their weather too--That it is the cause of the Ice Dragon."
The boom of thunder, and the downpour of rain suddenly interrupted the Returner's conversation about Dragons and other mystical creatures. Edgar, the head of the group, urged his chocobo on faster, and soon they had crept along the mountain curve that kept Zozo well hidden from the rest of the world, and came to the city's boundaries. Besides the shadows of the storm clouds, the city seemed purged in a darkness all of it's own. Fog filled the dirty streets, in which several chunks were missing from leaving potholes scattered everywhere to catch an unsuspecting traveler. The very tall buildings were crumbling and decaying in several places, and there were many balconies on them that had rails broken or missing. Despite the rain, the town reeked heavily of garbage and even had a small stench of blood in the air. The puddles that had already began to form on the streets were filled with broken weapons and shiny oil-like substances.
"Oh my God..." Celes trailed off, looking about her with disgust. Locke finished tying the chocobos up on the nearby chocobo post in front of the town's boundaries, and walked back over to the group, looking concerned.
"I don't even know where to start." Edgar admitted. "There are so many buildings, and--"
"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!"
A scream suddenly ripped out in the darkness, and the sound of fading crying could be heard echoing in the background. Celes gulped, and Edgar grabbed onto the thing closest to him--Sabin.
"We have to start walking, or else we will get nowhere fast!" Sabin cried, and shook Edgar off him.
"Stay alert and aware at all times." Shadow instructed. "It will be better if we move as quickly as possible. I'll lead."
No one objected to that, and Shadow, along with Interceptor, began to walk ahead further into the city. The rain began to pour down harder and harder, practically beating on its victims' backs like tiny fists. At one point, Shadow had to step over a woman's body in the road, her hair spilled out everywhere, matted with the blood on the street...Luckily, she was face down, so the Returners would not be able to see the potential look of fear and horror on her face.
"...Locke..." Celes trailed off, and understandingly, Locke gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.
"Don't worry, I'm here to protect you!" He reassured her, and she did not bother pulling away. However, she still kept her hand over her sword at her side, just in case. She shivered a little, the coldness of the rain finally beginning to sink in.
"HA HA HA!"
"Look out!" Shadow suddenly cried, and the Returners looked up to where the laughter had come from. A dirty bandit, with an eye patch over his right eye, was sneering at them and laughing manically from a balcony. He took a flying leap down, landing right in the middle of the Returners, and grabbed the closest thing in his reach, Celes' cape.
"AHHH!" Celes cried as she was yanked away from Locke and into the bandit's grip. He laughed some more and began to grope for any treasure she might have had.
"Celes!" Locke cried, and he, Edgar, Sabin, and Shadow all withdrew their weapons. Celes screamed louder, catching the bandit off-guard, and elbowed him right in the stomach, making him stagger back.
"Oooh...." He moaned, and before he could even stand up straight, Celes spun around and landed a high kick right in his face, causing him to shout in pain before collapsing to the streets, knocked out with a bloody nose. Celes snorted and put her hands on her hips.
"Jerk." She muttered, and shook her head.
"Celes!" Locke exclaimed happily, and she smiled, running back over to him.
"Maybe you should be protecting us." Locke joked, and Shadow rolled his eyes.
"Do you want to find Terra, or not?!" He demanded, and the others jumped a little.
"Yes, lets keep going..." Celes sighed. "Everyone, still keep on your guard."
As they crossed the rain-soaked streets, they came upon more bodies than they desired to see and more bandits and thieves looking for a quick pay-raise. The Returners easily took them out though, and no one got hurt seriously. As they passed buildings, a pair of members would break away from the group for a moment and try to open them, but sadly, most of the doors had either collapsed in to each other, blocking the doorway, or they were rusted shut. While it did eliminate buildings that needed searching, it also raised the possibility of Terra being trapped inside of one of those buildings, not able to be rescued.
After dispatching a particularly nasty little group of monsters called Greesemonks that were trained by professional thieves to attack people and steal their treasure, Edgar grew angry and slammed down his auto- crossbow.
"This place is nightmarish!" He cried. "The monsters and thieves never stop, and now I've run out of ammo!"
"We have to keep cool, brother." Sabin said worriedly. "Just use another tool."
"I can't keep cool!" Edgar cried. "What if Terra IS here? Can you imagine what they must be doing to her?! Arg, I can't even stand the thought of it!! And there are no way to get into these buildings!!! We're stuck and screwed at once!"
"Pull yourself together!" Celes cried. Edgar was taken back by surprise by her yelling, especially since she was right next to him, and stumbled over, falling into a large puddle in the road. Celes blinked and laughed nervously.
Edgar sighed. He was losing it. The traveling, the bad weather, and the whole idea of losing Terra for good was getting to him in the worst way. He looked up to the sky, and suddenly widened his eyes when he saw a person leap from the window of one building to another. Just like that, leapt!
"The hell?" Edgar asked, and Celes blinked, following his gaze. A few moments later another person leapt across the buildings safely, and went through the door on the balcony to get into the building. Celes trailed her eyes down and saw that the building they were all leaping into was another one of the rusted shut ones they had tried to get into before.
"So that's the secret!" She cried, and Locke looked to where the building was that the people were coming out of. It was only a few feet away, and the front door was wide open.
"That looks dangerous." Locke said immediately, seeing where everyone's attention was turned to.
"Let's do it." Shadow said, and Edgar crawled out of the puddle.
"It seems to be the only way." Edgar explained. "Come on...let's follow them."
"Oh boy." Sabin sighed, and shrugged to himself. He only hoped that jumping from a building would be just as easy as jumping on train cars!
When they entered the building, they found several lines of raggedy- dressed bums all moving towards a large counter in the back of the room, although it resembled more of a lobby. Behind the counter was a long flight of stairs.
"Let's just get to the stairs." Shadow instructed, and the group tried to slip by all the people as quickly as possible.
"Hey, you guys here teh werk!?" One of the men slurred, and Celes blinked.
"Uh, no!" She cried, and quickly ran towards the front of the group with Shadow. They finally reached the stairs and climbed them very carefully, as if they would collapse under the team at any moment. They were soon followed by lines of the men from the lobby, all grumbling about what they had to do for work that evening. All Celes had to hear was the words "hide well" and "blood" to get her to go faster.
"Let's hurry, I don't even want to see what they'll do to us if we keep them held up." Celes hissed between clenched teeth, and Shadow quickened the pace up the stairs. The next floor was filled with sagging beds and a few dressers, and almost appeared to look like the group room a lot of inns often offered to large groups of travelers, except for the fact it looked a lot more run down. Some of the beds were occupied by women, either sleeping in them or sitting up and making up their faces with the mirrors they held in their hands. On a closer look, Celes noticed that the mirrors were actually very jagged pieces of what might have been once a full mirror...
"Oh Gods, I'm beginning to think of what kind of establishment this might be..." Locke trailed off, and Edgar gulped.
"One of THOSE kinds of places?" He whimpered. "In THIS kind of town?"
"And I'm almost positive the people below us were not all workers..." Sabin trailed off as one of the men behind them showed a woman sitting on her bed a slip of paper.
"This ish my receipt!" He exclaimed loudly. "Looksh like I'm all yers tonight, hun!"
"Ugh!" Celes cried, and covered her ears, looking away. "And someone down there asked if I worked here?!"
"Stop right there, sweetie!" One of the women suddenly snapped, and the Returners froze. Shadow had reached another doorway, and had been preparing to go through it.
"Huh?" Shadow asked, and dropped his hand from the knob.
"I dun believe you're allowed in there without special permission from the boss!" The same woman snapped, and stood up from her bed, her mirror still in her hand. Her face was made up poorly, she almost resembled a clown in the heaviness and variety of her make-up. Her maroon dress, if you could even call it that, had two long slits going up the sides, leaving nothing to the imagination if she turned just the right way. Her dark hair was in a high ponytail, and her olive complexion glowered with anger.
"Well, we're not here...for...what you may think we're here for." Locke tried to explain, and cautiously slipped over to the door himself. "So if you'll excuse us, Miss..."
"I said STOP RIGHT THERE!" The girl shrieked, and with that, threw the mirror shard in her hand directly at Locke's head!
"Locke!" Celes cried, and managed to dive on top of him just in time. The mirror shard made a slight ringing noise as it flew over their heads and with a "thump" got stuck in the wall behind them.
"Geeze!" Locke cried, and he and Celes both scrambled to their feet. The girl snapped her fingers, and her fellow...partners in work appeared, all glaring at the Returners, with various objects in their hands. Celes gasped as one girl reached under her skirt and removed a knife that looked as if it had been bathed in pure rust.
"We're called the Slam Dancers of Zozo!" The girls all cried in a chorus. "You won't get away from us so easily!"
"Smile ladies!" Edgar suddenly cried, and out of his cape pocket, pulled out a rather large silver camera.
"EDGAR!" Celes cried. "This is no time for--"
"Click!"
"OWWWWW!" All the Slam Dancers started screaming in pain and rubbing at their eyes furiously.
"Come on, I've temporarily blinded them with my Flash tool!" Edgar exclaimed, and tucked it back into his pocket. "Celes, what did you think I was going to do?"
"We don't have time to discuss it!" Celes cried, and with that, threw open the forbidden door and took off running on the new flight of stairs ahead of them. This flight led up to another room, a little bit nicer then the previous, but not by much. All around them were half-open treasure chests full of money, some with weapons, and some with...well, exotic items for the Slam Dancers...
"Where do we go?" Locke asked, looking around, and Shadow pointed out the small window that was to their left. Outside of the filthy glass, they could just make out the shape of another building beside them, with a balcony.
"This must be where those people were jumping before..." Shadow trailed off, and pushed open the window. "Come on!"
"Shadow, wait!" Sabin cried, but before he could say anymore, Shadow took a flying leap off the window sill and with a thump and a curse, landed on the balcony across from him.
"Are you ok!?" Celes shouted, and Shadow nodded, waving for her to go on ahead.
"Hell no!" She cried, and took a step back. "All of a sudden, the building looks farther away..." She raised a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath.
"I'll go next." Locke said quickly, and brushed past her. Celes turned red. How lovely--he was abandoning her!
"Here I go!" Locke exclaimed, and took the same leap Shadow had. He gracefully landed on the balcony, and Celes looked out at him from the other building.
"Come on Celes, I'll catch you!" Locke called out. "I won't let you fall! It's not as hard as it looks, I swear it!"
"You'd better be right!" Celes called back, and gulped as she shakily crouched in the window sill and pushed off with all her might. She instinctively closed her eyes, but before she knew it, she stopped flying through the air, and instead of touching the balcony, had fallen into a pair of arms. When she opened her eyes, she saw Locke smiling at her.
"You did great." He grinned, and gave her a wink. Celes opened her mouth to reply, but felt as if something were caught in her throat. She quickly jumped down from his arms and walked over to Shadow, who was looking elsewhere.
"WHOOO-HOOO!" Sabin exclaimed, and took his leap a few moments later. Edgar followed last, and just in time too, for the sound of pounding high heels and angry shrieks could be heard approaching. A group of Slam Dancers appeared at the window sill, and began throwing more glass and knives!
"Run!!" Shadow cried, and they quickly moved into the room behind the balcony, and turned the corner as knives and glass shot past them and landed in the crumbling walls of the building. Locke stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and suddenly made a terrible revelation.
"Shadow, where is Interceptor?!" He cried, and Shadow turned to him.
"Don't worry, I imagine he is going his own way." Shadow said in his usual monotone. "Dogs are smarter then humans, you know." Locke's jaw dropped, but Sabin leaned over to whisper: "Don't worry, Interceptor always runs off somewhere and returns safely!"
"Lets just continue." Edgar said. "I suppose there is nowhere to go but up..."
The Returners managed to climb up the rest of the building without any more attacks from Slam Dancers or bandits. Celes was beginning to feel glad at their change of luck when they stepped out of a new doorway at the top of the building, and were about to cross over the small balcony to another one. However, something was blocking their way.
It was a fairly tall figure, which turned out to be a dark complected man with small wisps of black hair that were gathered into one small ponytail at the top of his head. He was wearing a deep azure vest over his muscular chest, and light orange pants that were rather puffy. He had no shoes, nor a shirt, but lots of glittering bangles and jewelry. He gave a smile and a short wave to the Returners, and Locke pushed to the head of the group, smiling back.
"Hi!" Locke exclaimed. "May we please get through, sir?" The man smiled some more, and bowed. Celes shivered and felt her hand instinctively going to her belt where her sword and whip were held. There was something wrong about this guy's smile...She looked to Edgar and Sabin, who seemed to be thinking the same thing by the looks on their faces.
"I do hate causing trouble!" The dark man exclaimed, and laughed. "So I guess I'd best let you though!" However, he didn't. He just...stood there. Locke blinked.
"Well, we're in a hurry..." Locke began, but before he could finish, the man suddenly leaped in the air and with a grunt, came down in a flying kick, striking Locke right in the shoulder!
"Ugh!" Locke cried in pain, and stumbled backwards into a surprised Edgar's arms.
"Locke, are you ok?!" Celes asked.
"I'm...alright..." Locke moaned and tried to stand up straight on his own, grasping at his shoulder. The man had kicked the arm Locke used for combat, rendering him useless for the battle.
"Come over here." Edgar said quickly, and moved Locke away from the attacker's reach. He laughed and put his hands on his hips.
"I am Dadaluma!" The man exclaimed. "And I'm afraid that this is the end of the line for you! How fitting that Zozo should be the site of your pathetic graves!"
"You look like an overstuffed toy to me!" Sabin challenged, and put his hands together. "Time for a lil' Blitz-Action!" He closed his eyes and began to concentrate very deeply. It was time to bring out a new Blitz in repayment for Locke's injury!
"AIR BLADE!" Sabin cried, and a burst of wind began to whirl about the group, causing the rain around them to start flying in small cyclone.
"Ack, what's happening?!" Celes cried, shielding her eyes as little flashes of light began to blaze within the cyclone. At that moment, the flashes of light grew and became boomerang-shaped. The cyclone sped up, and the wind made a shrill whistling sound as it began to fling the boomerangs out at Dadaluma. Each one that struck him caused him to scream loudly and raise his arms to protect his face. With each strike of the Blitz, small cuts began to accumulate on his arms and the rest of his exposed body. A few moments later, the spell ceased: The cyclone disappeared, and the boomerangs of light burst into little bits of sparkles that were washed away by the down pouring rain. Dadaluma, his energy exhausted, collapsed to the floor of the balcony, panting for breath.
"....I, Dadaluma, the strongest bandit, cannot be so easily defeated by a spell..." He groaned, and the Returners took a step back in caution as he struggled to his feet, using the railing behind him for balance. However, Shadow noticed how the railing shook considerably under his weight, but by the time he could say anything...
"ACK!" Dadaluma cried, as the railing suddenly cracked and collapsed from underneath him, sending him stumbling backwards in surprise before flying off the balcony...
"Oh my Gods!" Sabin cried, and cringed as there came a sickening 'thump' a few stories below them. After that, the only sound that could be heard was Locke's struggled breathing from the attack made on him and the pounding rain on the pavements below. No one said anything for a moment as the after effects of the battle sunk in. Finally, Shadow turned towards the team, who looked back to him.
"Come on, lets just go." He grunted, and Celes, looking back at Locke, half-nodded in reply. Locke looked up at her and smiled. Sabin sighed, and Shadow looked to him.
"Lets go." Sabin said, and with that, opened the door that had been previously blocked.
The room ahead seemed to be nothing but a long hallway, a mud-stained red carpet trailing up the middle as if it were a path. Edgar pushed ahead of the group and began to pound up the hallway as fast as he could manage after all his wet clothes and armor. Celes took in a deep breath when she stepped inside, and Locke looked to her.
"Something wrong?" He asked, and Celes shrugged a little.
"I feel an odd presence. It's just like when we were in Narshe..." With that, she broke into a run to catch up with Edgar. When she reached his side, she looked up and noticed that they were approaching the end of the hall. However, all that was there was a small bed and chair. The bed didn't even appeared occupied until Edgar and Celes had reached it themselves. When Edgar pulled back the covers, he revealed the albino version of Terra, shivering in her sleep and moaning softly every few moments, as if in a painful nightmare.
"Terra!" Celes cried, but she did not move. The others caught up to them immediately upon hearing her name.
"Terra???" Edgar questioned dumbly, and reached out to touch her shoulder. Suddenly, Terra's red eyes shot open, and with a cry of fear, leaped out of bed and began to fly back and forth across the room erratically, as if she couldn't control her own body.
"TERRA!" Sabin yelled, but she couldn't seem to hear him. There was a flash of lightning outside the window in the room, and Terra suddenly collapsed to the floor, out of energy. Locke was about to run over to her side, when a low voice suddenly called out:
"She's scared...you know."
The Returners all jumped in surprise and turned towards the chair, where the voice had come from. There, sitting in it, was a man who looked nearly ancient in age- He had a long, snow white beard that trailed on the floor, and long white hair to match. His robes were periwinkle blue and looked faded. They were also long, covering his feet and shoes completely. In his gnarled fingers was a wooden staff, with a small clear-ish orb at the top that sparkled with the mini-lightning bolts that were within it. He peered at the Returners with his squinted dark eyes, and clasped his staff tighter, making his knuckles turn white.
"Who are you!?" Celes demanded, bringing her hand to her sword. The man raised his hand and shook his head, causing Celes to furrow her eyebrows in suspicion, although she did slowly drop her hand back to her side.
"This girl...is your friend?" The old man asked, and Edgar nodded.
"Is Terra alright?!" He cried, and the man gave him a strange look.
"You call her Terra...Terra?? How odd..." He shook his head and sighed. "She is undamaged. But I fear that she cannot understand you. As for me, I am Ramuh. The Esper, Ramuh." Everyone looked to each other in confusion. Even Shadow looked confused behind his mask. The Returners all seemed to be thinking the same thing....
"ESPER?!"
"So she wasn't here for any more than a few minutes?"
"No Miss...but we were awfully frightened by it...I'm certainly glad it was no longer than a few minutes."
"Did she hurt anyone?"
"Well...no...she just...was unlike anything we had ever seen...we're simple country folk, Miss...fear of the unknown, I guess you could call it..."
"Well, thanks anyway."
Celes sighed and walked away from the last mother and child pair she could find outside of their homes in the village. All of the people had told her the same thing over and over again...that the girl ghost wasn't around for very long, and that afterwards she had shot back up in the sky and headed south, towards Jidoor. She entered a small shop, and spotted Edgar, shamelessly flirting with the young woman at the counter. Celes narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well my dear, if you perhaps wanted to join me on our search..."
"Ahem, darling, what do you think you're doing?!" Celes suddenly burst out, and Edgar turned around, blushing mightily.
"Um, Celes, I..."
"Please excuse my husband!" Celes cried, and stomped over to Edgar, grabbing him by the ponytail. "He's a dirty, dirty old man!" Edgar whined in protest and squirmed in Celes' grip.
"Celes, what do you think you're doing?!?!"
"Oh, ma'am, thank you for getting him out of my hair." The young shopkeeper said, and with that, promptly turned around and left through a door behind her counter, slamming it so hard that the entire shop shook. With that, Celes dragged Edgar out of the shop, and released him once they got outside. He pretended to sniffle and reached back, gingerly trying to readjust all the hair ribbons that Celes had messed up in his ponytail.
"Celes!!" Edgar cried. "You could at least be gentle with me!"
"I was being gentle." Celes smirked, and put her hands on her hips. "Flirting with girls when we were supposed to be looking for clues about Terra! How un-heroic of you..."
"Hey, you have perfectly handsome companions to travel with!!!" Edgar replied in a high tone. "And alas, I only have you, the ice queen!!! Have some mercy!"
"Rest assured, the last thing I have on my mind is getting cozy with my "handsome companions"." Celes snapped.
"Not even Locke?" Edgar taunted, and Celes felt her cheeks turn red.
"You're a royal jackass!"
"Who's a royal what?" Locke suddenly asked from behind them, and they both gasped, whirling around to face their friend, who was trying his hardest not to laugh.
"Locke!" Celes cried. "When did you...?"
"I just got here, but I imagine I could have heard the shouting from miles away!" Locke laughed, and gently messed with the top of Celes' hair. "You look silly when you're angry, Celes. Your cheeks go red!"
"Silly indeed." Edgar snapped. "But at least you're here now, Locke! So where is my brother...?" Locke shrugged, and Celes reached up to smooth down her hair again, keeping her gaze on Locke while he and Edgar discussed what they had learned.
It's like he's normal again... She thought curiously. Like nothing happened today...What is he trying to do?
**********
"S-Shadow!" Sabin cried, and smiled happily at the sight of his friend. "Why, I never expected to find you here, in a place like this!" The ninja, still clad in dark clothes, and still even wearing his black mask, slowly stretched and crawled out of bed before replying to Sabin.
"Well...my travels take me to the oddest of scenarios." Shadow said coolly, and looked to Sabin. "But what are you doing here, when you are supposed to be in Narshe?"
"Well, I did finally make it to Narshe...and Cyan did as well!" Sabin exclaimed. "But it's a long story..."
"I have time to listen." Shadow said, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, alright!" Sabin said, and sighed. "Well, we got to Narshe, and I met up with all of my friends, and then some others who had joined us...Gau, a young boy, and Celes Chere, a girl that my friend Locke had met. At that point, we all united together to drive Kefka and his troops out of town...and it worked! But when we went to see the Esper that we were trying to protect, my friend Terra had this...reaction with it, and sort of...disappeared." Sabin nodded to confirm his words. "So now, we're searching for Terra..."
"I see." Shadow said. "So the Empire is still at it, I assume?"
"We have no doubt." Sabin replied. "Cyan and Gau remained behind in Narshe to protect the Esper with our leader, Banon, and my brother, Locke, Celes, and I went on our search for Terra. The townspeople here said she went further south...how she could travel so far in so few of hours is beyond me but...we are determined to find her!"
"Friendship..." Shadow sighed some, and turned to look out of the small window that was in his room. "That is what is driving you to save her, isn't it?" Sabin nodded, although he knew Shadow couldn't see him.
"Friendship is what has gotten us this far." He said. "I barely know Terra...and yet, her kindness and gentleness is what compels me to believe that she did not rightfully deserve to be a victim of the Empire like she was. They brainwashed her and used her as a soldier because of her natural magic abilities...when she finally broke from their control, she had lost all her memories, and had lost anyone that could have protected her."
"And what of these other characters you mentioned?" Shadow asked, with his back still to Sabin.
"Well, Edgar is my brother, who has been fighting the Empire in secret for many years." Sabin explained. "We have also been separated for just as long, and now we have decided to combine our strengths to fight together. Locke is a friend of Edgar's...he helped rescue Terra after the Empire tried to attack her and take her back. The Empire has a lot to do with some pretty bitter events of his past. Celes is an ex-general of the Empire, who was almost put to death for supposed treason, but Locke got to her just in time too and convinced her to join us. And Gau...well, no one really knows much about the kid, but I think his father abandoned him at a young age, and he harbors incredible powers from living with monsters on the Veldt for his entire life. And then of course, there is Cyan, whom you already know." Shadow considered all these details for a moment and then shook his head sadly.
"You think that you seven can really defeat the Empire, and discover why magic has been brought back into existence?"
"You know about magic!?" Sabin cried, and Shadow nodded.
"The Empire has made it known to many villages that they will not put up with resistance." He said. "It's becoming known that there is more to Magitek Armor than just machinery and a pilot. Its energy has to come from somewhere...and it's the same energy that the Empire's own Generals can wield. And can't Gestahl, the Empire's leader, use it as well?"
"I have never seen or met Gestahl." Sabin confessed. "We know little about him. But we do know that General Leo can't use magic, and he is one of the Empire's finest warriors!"
"I remember Leo." Shadow replied thoughtfully. "He was a good man. But this Celes...she is the same General Celes of the Empire?"
"Yes, and from what I've seen, she isn't such a terrible person either." Sabin said. "She has a good heart, and a strong will. You don't think that having two magic casters on our side will be enough to finish off Kefka and Gestahl?"
"Of course not." Shadow said. "Kefka is not humanistic what so ever. He is a frightful clown of nightmares. You don't think you'll be able to persuade him to join the Returners, now do you?" Sabin's lack of reply made Shadow assume that as a no. "You see...getting Terra and Celes on your side was luck. It will take so much more than that to overthrow the Empire."
"Some people might call it fate rather than luck." Sabin said gently, and Shadow snickered some.
"If you let fate carry things out, we will get nowhere, Sabin Figaro!" "We?" Sabin questioned carefully.
"I've decided I'll join you for a bit longer." Shadow decided. "I want to meet this Terra and ask her what she knows about the Empire."
"But she has amne--"
"I won't worry about that for now." Shadow said, and suddenly held out his hand. "But my help is gonna cost ya."
"Cost me?!" Sabin cried. "How so?"
"Interceptor has got to eat too!" Shadow grinned. "So...you think 2000 GP is plenty?"
"2000GP!?" Sabin nearly fell over. "Does it look like I am made of money?!"
"No...but I hear your brother is the ever rich King Edgar Figaro..."
**********
"And....to make a long story short, Shadow basically helped me and Cyan to get back to Narshe, and, well, here he is now!" Sabin pointed to Shadow, who was staring at the small Returner group outside of the inn.
"Ehh..." Locke tilted his head a little and stared at the ninja. All he could think to himself was: Oh my Gods, this is the guy from South Figaro...the one who would slit his momma's throat for a GP! EEEEEP!
"Hmmph." Celes grunted, and tried to size him up with her glare.
"Oh brother..." Edgar sighed. "And the people at the palace complain of me hanging around the strange type...Sabin, do you know WHO this is?"
"Do YOU know who I am?" Shadow interrupted.
"I damn well do!" Edgar snapped. "I've heard about you, and I saw you in South Figaro! You're a...well...umm..." Edgar didn't quite know what to say, being that he had indeed heard of Shadow, but could not name one of his supposed crimes. "....I...uhhh... heard you would slit your momma's throat for a GP!!!!" Shadow stared at Edgar for a moment and then burst into hysterical, low laughter.
"Oh please..." He shook his head as Edgar turned red in embarrassment. "Well, we know that the mighty King of Figaro needs to do a little more investigation when it comes to his rumors...So does this make Sabin the brains of this group? I mean really, come on, throw me a bone here." At that comment, Interceptor let out a cheerful bark. He had slipped in from out of nowhere.
"So...uhhh...why were you so rude back in South Figaro?" Locke questioned, trying to regain some of his friend's dignity back. Shadow turned to Locke and put a hand on his chin, as if he were thinking.
"Oh...I remember you now...you were the peppy guy trying to talk to me at the bar..." Shadow dropped his hand and shrugged. "So I didn't feel like talking, big deal. Doesn't make me a momma-murderer, does it? You know, not everyone in the world likes talking to strangers." Locke blinked and narrowed his eyes, not knowing what to say.
"Sabin, I guess the question is, can we trust him?" Celes asked. Sabin nodded.
"Yes...he helped me when I was all alone." Sabin said sincerely. "I am 100% positive he can be trusted."
"Yes, you would know about trust, wouldn't you General Celes?" Shadow asked coldly, and Celes shrunk back a little, narrowing her eyes as well.
"I-I'm not General Celes anymore...I'm just..."
"Cut it out already." Locke said quickly. "Shadow, I know that, speaking as a Returner, we could always use more help."
"I knew you would see things my way!" Sabin smiled happily. "What say you, brother?"
"I trust you Sabin." Was all Edgar said in reply, and looked away.
"I won't garrote you." Shadow assured them, and smiled some, not that anyone could tell through the mask.
**********
And with Shadow, the group of Returners went from 4 to 5.
But does Shadow think of himself as one of us now? Sabin wondered to himself. Oh well...it doesn't really matter what he claims himself as...as long as we have the same goal, right? To find Terra? To restore order to our world? But Shadow said we couldn't just fight with magic...that it would take much more.
What will it take?
Even more importantly, can we do what it takes?
Of course we can...there is no use in doubting ourselves now! Keep the faith Sabin...
Searching and gathering information in Kohlingen, not to mention the added encounter with Shadow, had taken most of the morning, and now the hot sun beating down on the Returners backs as they pain-stakingly made their way down to south to Jidoor informed them that it was surely noon now. The only road to Jidoor from Kohlingen was a narrow, dusty dirt road that was once used for a chocobo trade route between Kohlingen, Jidoor, and Zozo back in better times. But now that Jidoor was a rich and very prospering town, and Kohlingen remained the quiet village it started out as, and well...Zozo had completely gone downhill when it came to both prosperity and class, the road was very rarely used--usually only by stray travelers or adventurers every once in a while. Forests on the western side of the continent were only plentiful in the south near Jidoor and along the mountains...so there wasn't any shade for the Returners either. Shadow didn't seem bothered by the overwhelming summer heat at all, but everyone else was feeling it--hard.
"I wish I could make it winter right about now!" Celes moaned.
"Me too." Edgar sighed, and proceeded to pull off his very heavy cape. "Going from Narshe to this...it's not good for you."
"I love the sun!" Locke declared cheerfully, and stretched his arms. "I could settle for a nice nap right now, actually..."
"We can nap later!" Sabin corrected.
"Suck it up..." Shadow said, and chuckled some. "You act like whiny teenagers..."
"I am a teenager, thank you very much." Celes snapped. "And I'll have you know, I've traveled in far worse condi--" Celes narrowed her eyes when she saw that Shadow wasn't even paying attention to her anymore, and just shut her mouth right then as to not waste her breath on a cretin like him.
"Hey, what will we do when we get to Jidoor?" Edgar asked, changing the subject altogether.
"I suppose...ask more questions." Locke replied. "I wonder if the townspeople will even talk to us though...They're pretty snotty, from what I've heard."
"We can always force it out of them!" Celes exclaimed, slamming her fist against her other hand. I can't even imagine you doing such a thing like that." Locke joked.
"Well, I'm sure if Terra DID happen to visit them, they would be willing to discuss the details." Sabin added. "I mean, anything to get them in the public eye, right?"
"Right." Edgar sighed. "But what public is there over here to impress?! ACK, it's like the sticks over here!!!" He whimpered and hung his head.
"Look! I can see Jidoor ahead!" Locke suddenly exclaimed, and pointed off into the distance. The bustling town could indeed be seen a bit, although all that could be seen were the tall homes that sat on the hillier part of the town.
"What big houses..." Celes trailed off, as they got closer and closer and got a better view of it all.
"It is a pretty town." Locke admitted.
When the town finally reached the gates of Jidoor, a young woman in a fancy red gown carrying a parasol over her head for shade as she strolled by welcomed them.
"Oh, hello!" She exclaimed. "What brings you here to Jidoor? Are you here to see Maria?" Everyone looked at each other and blinked, but the woman didn't seem to notice.
"I'm afraid she hasn't arrived in town yet." She continued. "The poor dear has been dealing with a stalker of some sort, and I don't think it is easy for her to get out!"
"Er..." Locke didn't know what to say.
"We've been searching for a young woman." Edgar quickly cut in. "She had white hair, and ruby red eyes..." The woman with the parasol gasped.
"You know of her as well? Are you from Kohlingen?"
"Yes!" Sabin cried. "So you've seen her?"
"Of course, the entire town did." The woman said nervously. "She ripped across the sky like a shooting star just the other night. It looked like she had come from Kohlingen, but when we sent a messenger up there by chocobo, he returned, saying that all Kohlingen knew was that she had actually stopped for a moment in their town before taking off here. It made us all very nervous...we thought she was a monster. But she is a young woman, you say...?"
"Well, yes..." Celes trailed off and tried to figure out how to explain herself, but luckily, the woman didn't seem to have the time to listen.
"Well, I can tell you that she isn't here anymore." The woman said firmly. "She flew farther south...towards Zozo."
"Then we'll head for Zozo!" Sabin declared, and the woman looked at him as if he had just said the foulest word in creation.
"Why ever would you want to go there?!" She cried. "Are you looking to have yourselves killed?"
"Honey, what's wrong?" A young man suddenly asked as he came around the corner. He wasn't dressed like the woman at all--in fact, his clothes were quite the opposite of fancy--a pair of faded overalls with a long sleeved cotton shirt and brown boots.
"These people have told me they want to go to Zozo to find that creature we saw the other night in the sky." The woman explained. The man, looking concerned, turned to the Returners.
"It's pretty dangerous there." He said worriedly. "That's a town for thieves and murderers...you can get away with anything. No one goes down there without good reason..."
"We do have a good reason." Shadow grunted. "We have to find the girl." The man sighed a little and put his hands in his pockets.
"Well..." The man trailed off for a moment and sighed. "I happen to own the only chocobo stable here in Jidoor," He began, "And I could rent out some chocobos for you to travel on. They run fast enough to avoid any monster encounters you might have. However, they will be of no use to you in the city, for they have been trained to stay out of Zozo and to come home if the borrowers attempt to take them in."
"How much are these chocobos?" Locke questioned.
"200 GP a piece." The man replied, and Edgar's face fell.
"That's a 1000 GP for us all to ride...!" He groaned, but finally dug in one of his many pockets and produced two large GP's valued at 500 a piece. "We'll take them!"
"Very well, come with me." The man said, and the woman waved to the group.
"Be careful!" She exclaimed. "Do come back here after you have found your friend! We would love to have you!"
"You mean have our money!" Edgar cursed under his breath, and Celes elbowed him.
"Now Edgar, what's got to be done has got to be done." She said gently, and then narrowed her eyes. "SO GET OVER IT!"
**********
The chocobo ride to Zozo was speedy, much to the riders' fright, because after hearing all the horrific Zozo tales the owner of the chocobo stable shared with them before their leaving, the Returners were about ready to turn around and just go back to Kohlingen. However, the chocobo stable owner did reveal to the team that there was one person in Zozo they could trust- a friend of his dressed like a merchant. The further south they rode, they began to notice that the air was getting more and more humid, and that the sky was beginning to get darker and darker. Clouds were beginning to roll in as well.
"Looks like a storm." Shadow commented, looking up at the sky from his chocobo.
"It tends to storm down here often, does it not?" Celes questioned, and Edgar nodded.
"Yeah...they say it is the workings of some ancient dragon that was supposedly sealed up in these mountains long ago." Edgar explained. "The Storm Dragon."
"Too bad dragons aren't real." Locke laughed. "That's what the people of Narshe say about their weather too--That it is the cause of the Ice Dragon."
The boom of thunder, and the downpour of rain suddenly interrupted the Returner's conversation about Dragons and other mystical creatures. Edgar, the head of the group, urged his chocobo on faster, and soon they had crept along the mountain curve that kept Zozo well hidden from the rest of the world, and came to the city's boundaries. Besides the shadows of the storm clouds, the city seemed purged in a darkness all of it's own. Fog filled the dirty streets, in which several chunks were missing from leaving potholes scattered everywhere to catch an unsuspecting traveler. The very tall buildings were crumbling and decaying in several places, and there were many balconies on them that had rails broken or missing. Despite the rain, the town reeked heavily of garbage and even had a small stench of blood in the air. The puddles that had already began to form on the streets were filled with broken weapons and shiny oil-like substances.
"Oh my God..." Celes trailed off, looking about her with disgust. Locke finished tying the chocobos up on the nearby chocobo post in front of the town's boundaries, and walked back over to the group, looking concerned.
"I don't even know where to start." Edgar admitted. "There are so many buildings, and--"
"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!"
A scream suddenly ripped out in the darkness, and the sound of fading crying could be heard echoing in the background. Celes gulped, and Edgar grabbed onto the thing closest to him--Sabin.
"We have to start walking, or else we will get nowhere fast!" Sabin cried, and shook Edgar off him.
"Stay alert and aware at all times." Shadow instructed. "It will be better if we move as quickly as possible. I'll lead."
No one objected to that, and Shadow, along with Interceptor, began to walk ahead further into the city. The rain began to pour down harder and harder, practically beating on its victims' backs like tiny fists. At one point, Shadow had to step over a woman's body in the road, her hair spilled out everywhere, matted with the blood on the street...Luckily, she was face down, so the Returners would not be able to see the potential look of fear and horror on her face.
"...Locke..." Celes trailed off, and understandingly, Locke gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.
"Don't worry, I'm here to protect you!" He reassured her, and she did not bother pulling away. However, she still kept her hand over her sword at her side, just in case. She shivered a little, the coldness of the rain finally beginning to sink in.
"HA HA HA!"
"Look out!" Shadow suddenly cried, and the Returners looked up to where the laughter had come from. A dirty bandit, with an eye patch over his right eye, was sneering at them and laughing manically from a balcony. He took a flying leap down, landing right in the middle of the Returners, and grabbed the closest thing in his reach, Celes' cape.
"AHHH!" Celes cried as she was yanked away from Locke and into the bandit's grip. He laughed some more and began to grope for any treasure she might have had.
"Celes!" Locke cried, and he, Edgar, Sabin, and Shadow all withdrew their weapons. Celes screamed louder, catching the bandit off-guard, and elbowed him right in the stomach, making him stagger back.
"Oooh...." He moaned, and before he could even stand up straight, Celes spun around and landed a high kick right in his face, causing him to shout in pain before collapsing to the streets, knocked out with a bloody nose. Celes snorted and put her hands on her hips.
"Jerk." She muttered, and shook her head.
"Celes!" Locke exclaimed happily, and she smiled, running back over to him.
"Maybe you should be protecting us." Locke joked, and Shadow rolled his eyes.
"Do you want to find Terra, or not?!" He demanded, and the others jumped a little.
"Yes, lets keep going..." Celes sighed. "Everyone, still keep on your guard."
As they crossed the rain-soaked streets, they came upon more bodies than they desired to see and more bandits and thieves looking for a quick pay-raise. The Returners easily took them out though, and no one got hurt seriously. As they passed buildings, a pair of members would break away from the group for a moment and try to open them, but sadly, most of the doors had either collapsed in to each other, blocking the doorway, or they were rusted shut. While it did eliminate buildings that needed searching, it also raised the possibility of Terra being trapped inside of one of those buildings, not able to be rescued.
After dispatching a particularly nasty little group of monsters called Greesemonks that were trained by professional thieves to attack people and steal their treasure, Edgar grew angry and slammed down his auto- crossbow.
"This place is nightmarish!" He cried. "The monsters and thieves never stop, and now I've run out of ammo!"
"We have to keep cool, brother." Sabin said worriedly. "Just use another tool."
"I can't keep cool!" Edgar cried. "What if Terra IS here? Can you imagine what they must be doing to her?! Arg, I can't even stand the thought of it!! And there are no way to get into these buildings!!! We're stuck and screwed at once!"
"Pull yourself together!" Celes cried. Edgar was taken back by surprise by her yelling, especially since she was right next to him, and stumbled over, falling into a large puddle in the road. Celes blinked and laughed nervously.
Edgar sighed. He was losing it. The traveling, the bad weather, and the whole idea of losing Terra for good was getting to him in the worst way. He looked up to the sky, and suddenly widened his eyes when he saw a person leap from the window of one building to another. Just like that, leapt!
"The hell?" Edgar asked, and Celes blinked, following his gaze. A few moments later another person leapt across the buildings safely, and went through the door on the balcony to get into the building. Celes trailed her eyes down and saw that the building they were all leaping into was another one of the rusted shut ones they had tried to get into before.
"So that's the secret!" She cried, and Locke looked to where the building was that the people were coming out of. It was only a few feet away, and the front door was wide open.
"That looks dangerous." Locke said immediately, seeing where everyone's attention was turned to.
"Let's do it." Shadow said, and Edgar crawled out of the puddle.
"It seems to be the only way." Edgar explained. "Come on...let's follow them."
"Oh boy." Sabin sighed, and shrugged to himself. He only hoped that jumping from a building would be just as easy as jumping on train cars!
When they entered the building, they found several lines of raggedy- dressed bums all moving towards a large counter in the back of the room, although it resembled more of a lobby. Behind the counter was a long flight of stairs.
"Let's just get to the stairs." Shadow instructed, and the group tried to slip by all the people as quickly as possible.
"Hey, you guys here teh werk!?" One of the men slurred, and Celes blinked.
"Uh, no!" She cried, and quickly ran towards the front of the group with Shadow. They finally reached the stairs and climbed them very carefully, as if they would collapse under the team at any moment. They were soon followed by lines of the men from the lobby, all grumbling about what they had to do for work that evening. All Celes had to hear was the words "hide well" and "blood" to get her to go faster.
"Let's hurry, I don't even want to see what they'll do to us if we keep them held up." Celes hissed between clenched teeth, and Shadow quickened the pace up the stairs. The next floor was filled with sagging beds and a few dressers, and almost appeared to look like the group room a lot of inns often offered to large groups of travelers, except for the fact it looked a lot more run down. Some of the beds were occupied by women, either sleeping in them or sitting up and making up their faces with the mirrors they held in their hands. On a closer look, Celes noticed that the mirrors were actually very jagged pieces of what might have been once a full mirror...
"Oh Gods, I'm beginning to think of what kind of establishment this might be..." Locke trailed off, and Edgar gulped.
"One of THOSE kinds of places?" He whimpered. "In THIS kind of town?"
"And I'm almost positive the people below us were not all workers..." Sabin trailed off as one of the men behind them showed a woman sitting on her bed a slip of paper.
"This ish my receipt!" He exclaimed loudly. "Looksh like I'm all yers tonight, hun!"
"Ugh!" Celes cried, and covered her ears, looking away. "And someone down there asked if I worked here?!"
"Stop right there, sweetie!" One of the women suddenly snapped, and the Returners froze. Shadow had reached another doorway, and had been preparing to go through it.
"Huh?" Shadow asked, and dropped his hand from the knob.
"I dun believe you're allowed in there without special permission from the boss!" The same woman snapped, and stood up from her bed, her mirror still in her hand. Her face was made up poorly, she almost resembled a clown in the heaviness and variety of her make-up. Her maroon dress, if you could even call it that, had two long slits going up the sides, leaving nothing to the imagination if she turned just the right way. Her dark hair was in a high ponytail, and her olive complexion glowered with anger.
"Well, we're not here...for...what you may think we're here for." Locke tried to explain, and cautiously slipped over to the door himself. "So if you'll excuse us, Miss..."
"I said STOP RIGHT THERE!" The girl shrieked, and with that, threw the mirror shard in her hand directly at Locke's head!
"Locke!" Celes cried, and managed to dive on top of him just in time. The mirror shard made a slight ringing noise as it flew over their heads and with a "thump" got stuck in the wall behind them.
"Geeze!" Locke cried, and he and Celes both scrambled to their feet. The girl snapped her fingers, and her fellow...partners in work appeared, all glaring at the Returners, with various objects in their hands. Celes gasped as one girl reached under her skirt and removed a knife that looked as if it had been bathed in pure rust.
"We're called the Slam Dancers of Zozo!" The girls all cried in a chorus. "You won't get away from us so easily!"
"Smile ladies!" Edgar suddenly cried, and out of his cape pocket, pulled out a rather large silver camera.
"EDGAR!" Celes cried. "This is no time for--"
"Click!"
"OWWWWW!" All the Slam Dancers started screaming in pain and rubbing at their eyes furiously.
"Come on, I've temporarily blinded them with my Flash tool!" Edgar exclaimed, and tucked it back into his pocket. "Celes, what did you think I was going to do?"
"We don't have time to discuss it!" Celes cried, and with that, threw open the forbidden door and took off running on the new flight of stairs ahead of them. This flight led up to another room, a little bit nicer then the previous, but not by much. All around them were half-open treasure chests full of money, some with weapons, and some with...well, exotic items for the Slam Dancers...
"Where do we go?" Locke asked, looking around, and Shadow pointed out the small window that was to their left. Outside of the filthy glass, they could just make out the shape of another building beside them, with a balcony.
"This must be where those people were jumping before..." Shadow trailed off, and pushed open the window. "Come on!"
"Shadow, wait!" Sabin cried, but before he could say anymore, Shadow took a flying leap off the window sill and with a thump and a curse, landed on the balcony across from him.
"Are you ok!?" Celes shouted, and Shadow nodded, waving for her to go on ahead.
"Hell no!" She cried, and took a step back. "All of a sudden, the building looks farther away..." She raised a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath.
"I'll go next." Locke said quickly, and brushed past her. Celes turned red. How lovely--he was abandoning her!
"Here I go!" Locke exclaimed, and took the same leap Shadow had. He gracefully landed on the balcony, and Celes looked out at him from the other building.
"Come on Celes, I'll catch you!" Locke called out. "I won't let you fall! It's not as hard as it looks, I swear it!"
"You'd better be right!" Celes called back, and gulped as she shakily crouched in the window sill and pushed off with all her might. She instinctively closed her eyes, but before she knew it, she stopped flying through the air, and instead of touching the balcony, had fallen into a pair of arms. When she opened her eyes, she saw Locke smiling at her.
"You did great." He grinned, and gave her a wink. Celes opened her mouth to reply, but felt as if something were caught in her throat. She quickly jumped down from his arms and walked over to Shadow, who was looking elsewhere.
"WHOOO-HOOO!" Sabin exclaimed, and took his leap a few moments later. Edgar followed last, and just in time too, for the sound of pounding high heels and angry shrieks could be heard approaching. A group of Slam Dancers appeared at the window sill, and began throwing more glass and knives!
"Run!!" Shadow cried, and they quickly moved into the room behind the balcony, and turned the corner as knives and glass shot past them and landed in the crumbling walls of the building. Locke stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and suddenly made a terrible revelation.
"Shadow, where is Interceptor?!" He cried, and Shadow turned to him.
"Don't worry, I imagine he is going his own way." Shadow said in his usual monotone. "Dogs are smarter then humans, you know." Locke's jaw dropped, but Sabin leaned over to whisper: "Don't worry, Interceptor always runs off somewhere and returns safely!"
"Lets just continue." Edgar said. "I suppose there is nowhere to go but up..."
The Returners managed to climb up the rest of the building without any more attacks from Slam Dancers or bandits. Celes was beginning to feel glad at their change of luck when they stepped out of a new doorway at the top of the building, and were about to cross over the small balcony to another one. However, something was blocking their way.
It was a fairly tall figure, which turned out to be a dark complected man with small wisps of black hair that were gathered into one small ponytail at the top of his head. He was wearing a deep azure vest over his muscular chest, and light orange pants that were rather puffy. He had no shoes, nor a shirt, but lots of glittering bangles and jewelry. He gave a smile and a short wave to the Returners, and Locke pushed to the head of the group, smiling back.
"Hi!" Locke exclaimed. "May we please get through, sir?" The man smiled some more, and bowed. Celes shivered and felt her hand instinctively going to her belt where her sword and whip were held. There was something wrong about this guy's smile...She looked to Edgar and Sabin, who seemed to be thinking the same thing by the looks on their faces.
"I do hate causing trouble!" The dark man exclaimed, and laughed. "So I guess I'd best let you though!" However, he didn't. He just...stood there. Locke blinked.
"Well, we're in a hurry..." Locke began, but before he could finish, the man suddenly leaped in the air and with a grunt, came down in a flying kick, striking Locke right in the shoulder!
"Ugh!" Locke cried in pain, and stumbled backwards into a surprised Edgar's arms.
"Locke, are you ok?!" Celes asked.
"I'm...alright..." Locke moaned and tried to stand up straight on his own, grasping at his shoulder. The man had kicked the arm Locke used for combat, rendering him useless for the battle.
"Come over here." Edgar said quickly, and moved Locke away from the attacker's reach. He laughed and put his hands on his hips.
"I am Dadaluma!" The man exclaimed. "And I'm afraid that this is the end of the line for you! How fitting that Zozo should be the site of your pathetic graves!"
"You look like an overstuffed toy to me!" Sabin challenged, and put his hands together. "Time for a lil' Blitz-Action!" He closed his eyes and began to concentrate very deeply. It was time to bring out a new Blitz in repayment for Locke's injury!
"AIR BLADE!" Sabin cried, and a burst of wind began to whirl about the group, causing the rain around them to start flying in small cyclone.
"Ack, what's happening?!" Celes cried, shielding her eyes as little flashes of light began to blaze within the cyclone. At that moment, the flashes of light grew and became boomerang-shaped. The cyclone sped up, and the wind made a shrill whistling sound as it began to fling the boomerangs out at Dadaluma. Each one that struck him caused him to scream loudly and raise his arms to protect his face. With each strike of the Blitz, small cuts began to accumulate on his arms and the rest of his exposed body. A few moments later, the spell ceased: The cyclone disappeared, and the boomerangs of light burst into little bits of sparkles that were washed away by the down pouring rain. Dadaluma, his energy exhausted, collapsed to the floor of the balcony, panting for breath.
"....I, Dadaluma, the strongest bandit, cannot be so easily defeated by a spell..." He groaned, and the Returners took a step back in caution as he struggled to his feet, using the railing behind him for balance. However, Shadow noticed how the railing shook considerably under his weight, but by the time he could say anything...
"ACK!" Dadaluma cried, as the railing suddenly cracked and collapsed from underneath him, sending him stumbling backwards in surprise before flying off the balcony...
"Oh my Gods!" Sabin cried, and cringed as there came a sickening 'thump' a few stories below them. After that, the only sound that could be heard was Locke's struggled breathing from the attack made on him and the pounding rain on the pavements below. No one said anything for a moment as the after effects of the battle sunk in. Finally, Shadow turned towards the team, who looked back to him.
"Come on, lets just go." He grunted, and Celes, looking back at Locke, half-nodded in reply. Locke looked up at her and smiled. Sabin sighed, and Shadow looked to him.
"Lets go." Sabin said, and with that, opened the door that had been previously blocked.
The room ahead seemed to be nothing but a long hallway, a mud-stained red carpet trailing up the middle as if it were a path. Edgar pushed ahead of the group and began to pound up the hallway as fast as he could manage after all his wet clothes and armor. Celes took in a deep breath when she stepped inside, and Locke looked to her.
"Something wrong?" He asked, and Celes shrugged a little.
"I feel an odd presence. It's just like when we were in Narshe..." With that, she broke into a run to catch up with Edgar. When she reached his side, she looked up and noticed that they were approaching the end of the hall. However, all that was there was a small bed and chair. The bed didn't even appeared occupied until Edgar and Celes had reached it themselves. When Edgar pulled back the covers, he revealed the albino version of Terra, shivering in her sleep and moaning softly every few moments, as if in a painful nightmare.
"Terra!" Celes cried, but she did not move. The others caught up to them immediately upon hearing her name.
"Terra???" Edgar questioned dumbly, and reached out to touch her shoulder. Suddenly, Terra's red eyes shot open, and with a cry of fear, leaped out of bed and began to fly back and forth across the room erratically, as if she couldn't control her own body.
"TERRA!" Sabin yelled, but she couldn't seem to hear him. There was a flash of lightning outside the window in the room, and Terra suddenly collapsed to the floor, out of energy. Locke was about to run over to her side, when a low voice suddenly called out:
"She's scared...you know."
The Returners all jumped in surprise and turned towards the chair, where the voice had come from. There, sitting in it, was a man who looked nearly ancient in age- He had a long, snow white beard that trailed on the floor, and long white hair to match. His robes were periwinkle blue and looked faded. They were also long, covering his feet and shoes completely. In his gnarled fingers was a wooden staff, with a small clear-ish orb at the top that sparkled with the mini-lightning bolts that were within it. He peered at the Returners with his squinted dark eyes, and clasped his staff tighter, making his knuckles turn white.
"Who are you!?" Celes demanded, bringing her hand to her sword. The man raised his hand and shook his head, causing Celes to furrow her eyebrows in suspicion, although she did slowly drop her hand back to her side.
"This girl...is your friend?" The old man asked, and Edgar nodded.
"Is Terra alright?!" He cried, and the man gave him a strange look.
"You call her Terra...Terra?? How odd..." He shook his head and sighed. "She is undamaged. But I fear that she cannot understand you. As for me, I am Ramuh. The Esper, Ramuh." Everyone looked to each other in confusion. Even Shadow looked confused behind his mask. The Returners all seemed to be thinking the same thing....
"ESPER?!"
