Chapter Twenty-Four- The Espers of the Sealed Gate
"So who's going to come with Terra?"
It was the next morning, which was a little gray and dull. (Which was not surprising weather for Narshe.) Banon and Arvis had joined the Returners for a large breakfast in the Elder's home, and were trying to help them determine what to do next. Terra was pushing around her chocobo eggs with her fork while the others talked around her and discussed who was going to join her and who was going to stay behind. She felt a little guilty, for she harbored the secret thought that maybe no one wanted to go with her at all to the dangerous Esper World.
If I could go alone, I would... Terra thought to herself. If only I weren't so weak from my transformation...
"Gau want to go with Terra!" Gau exclaimed, and Terra suddenly looked up from her food into the child's eyes that were peering right at her.
"Gau!" Terra exclaimed in honest surprise. "Are you sure??"
"Yeah, Gau ready to go and fight!" Gau exclaimed. "Gau go and protect Terra!"
"That's so sweet!" Terra smiled. "Thank you, Gau." Gau grinned and suddenly grabbed hold of Mog, who was sitting next to him, and squeezed him to his chest.
"Gau bring Mog too! Mog want to go, right?!" Mog sputtered and choked on his eggs, kicking his limbs frantically to get Gau to loosen his grip a little. Gau finally complied, and let Mog go, who with a series of coughs fluttered onto the tabletop in front of Terra, who was trying not to laugh.
"I would love to go, if Miss Terra wants my company." Mog said politely, making Edgar glare daggers at the back of his furry form.
"Those are all MY lines!" Edgar steamed, and Sabin blinked.
"YOUR lines, big brother?"
"Oh Mog, I would be happy for you to come as well, as long as you are properly recovered from last night." Terra smiled.
"I feel much better, thankupo!" Mog exclaimed. "And I will gladly accompany you!"
"Thank you too, Mog!" Terra smiled more and clapped her hands together. "I think that we have enough...we'll be able to move around easier like this." Locke was about to raise his hand to volunteer to go anyway, but Terra quickly shook her head at him from across the table.
"Terra?" Locke asked, and she rested her hands on the table, leaning in.
"Locke, you've done more than enough for me as it is." Terra said concernedly. "It would make me feel better if you just stayed behind and rested for a few more days..." She could see that the fatigue in Locke's eyes was still heavy, as well as the turmoil in his heart. She couldn't bear to bring him along for this. It might prove to be too much for him. He may not have known his limits, but Terra could easily tell that he had had enough for a while.
"....Alright Terra, whatever you want." Locke replied tiredly. "I'll be praying for you."
"You stay with him too, Edgar." Terra suggested firmly, and Edgar blinked. "You're his best friend...You can help him out with whatever he needs."
"Of course, Terra." Edgar did a little bow of his head, and Setzer suddenly stood up at the table, banging his fist down.
"Two children going alone? With a Moogle? Ridiculous!" He suddenly exclaimed, and the others stared up at him.
"Sir Setzer!" Cyan exclaimed.
"I shall join you as well, Miss Terra." Setzer smirked some, and swept his shining hair back over his shoulder. "It would be truly a delight on my part to be able to escort a lovely woman such as yourself to the Esper World. Besides that, the Espers might have a few card games I should like to learn...heh heh heh!"
"You just called me a child, not merely a second ago." Terra pointed out tactfully, and Setzer laughed a little.
"Only a child in comparison to my ancient self." Setzer covered himself up somewhat gracefully, and Terra couldn't help but laugh lightly.
"Alright, so it will be myself, Setzer, Mog, and Gau..." She brought a finger to her chin in thought and then looked up at Arvis and Banon. "Now...if I remember correctly, you said that the Sealed Gate was at the eastern edge of the Empire? Does that mean it is on the same continent as Vector?"
"Correct." Banon said. "But as I also said before, there is an Imperial Base right at the entrance, and I am most positive you will have a difficult time getting through."
"Well, Shadow and I didn't have TOO much of a difficult time." Sabin noted.
"Yes, but you must also realize that we are much more known to the Empire now than ever before." Cyan pointed out. "And since Terra is going...well, no offense Miss Terra, but you will stick out like a sore thumb...just because mostly anyone in the Empire can recognize you. I mean, you used to work there and all..."
"I understand what you are saying, Cyan." Terra nodded. "But I have to go. And even if there was a way around it, I would still go to the Esper World. In a way, the Espers are like my family now, and I cannot forgive the Empire for both what they did to me and have been doing to the Espers since before I was even born. I've decided that if the Empire tries to attack us, I will fight back, with all my might!" Locke looked up from the table and blinked. He had never heard Terra sound so strong and determined before. It was suddenly very relieving to him, for he did not entirely trust Mog, Gau, and Setzer to take the best care of her they could. He had nothing against them, they were just...not him. There was just no way he could stand losing another friend right now, but he was confident that Terra just might be ok on her own. There was a strong soul hidden behind her frail exterior.
"That is very extraordinary of you, Terra." Edgar smiled and bowed his head slightly. "You are a woman unlike any other I have ever met..."
"Quit flirting Edgar." Sabin moaned. "This is serious!"
"It's alright, really!" Terra smiled a little. She had gotten used to Edgar's ridiculous comments by now. "Lets just finish eating and get this over with. I want to come back to Narshe as soon as possible..."
"Of course." Setzer said, and stood up from his place at the table. "Let me go tell the men on the Blackjack to start 'er up. You three can just meet me out there." Setzer gave a wave and winked. "See you all in a bit! Wish us damn good luck!"
"Good luck Setzer!" Everyone chorused, and with that, Setzer took a bow and exited the house. Locke turned to Terra again and furrowed his eyebrows in concern.
"Please, please, be careful." He said, and Terra nodded seriously.
"Do not worry...I have my magic if things get too out of hand!" She smiled, and stood up. "Come on Gau, come on Mog!"
"Kupo!" Mog exclaimed, and hopped out of his little chair. Gau finished shoveling the last of his chocobo eggs in his mouth, and jumped out of his chair as well. Terra gave him a little pat on the head, and proceeded to follow them out of the dining room.
"Take care, and hurry back!" Edgar exclaimed. Terra gave everyone in the room a small wave, and with that, turned away and left. As soon as her skin hit the cold air outside of the home, her smile fell and her gaze was cast down to the ground, where she followed the snowy footsteps of Gau and Mog, who had already scampered way ahead of her.
"Most normal people would be anxious to go back to their hometown..." Terra trailed off, and bit her lower lip. "But I'm so afraid of what we may see...We are crossing a threshold that no human or Esper has set foot upon for nearly two decades..." She shook her head a little. "Yes...I suppose I have yet to be considered a 'normal' girl..."
**********
"It's pretty overcast today." Setzer commented, more to himself than anyone else. Gau and Mog were comparing monster stories on one end of the deck, and Terra was just standing there, gazing out at the world which was so quickly passing below her. However, Terra raised her head and stared at Setzer, nodding to acknowledge his comment, much to his surprise. Terra had been quiet the whole way down to Vector thus far.
"I wonder if the weather is an ill omen?" Terra questioned, and Setzer blinked, turning back to the wheel of the Blackjack.
"You believe in that kind of stuff? Bad luck and everything?"
"I don't really know what I believe in, at this moment." Terra frowned a little, and Setzer sighed.
"Darn...I was hoping we would have something in common, heh heh..." He smiled and turned back to look at Terra, but she was not smiling with him at the joke. As much as Setzer tried, he realized it was very hard for him to imagine Terra as she was only a little while before, smiling and laughing like the others.
"So, if you were upset about this mission, why didja put on the fake smile before?" Setzer suddenly asked, and Terra blinked, raising a hand to her ruby pendant as if on instinct.
"How did you know?" Terra questioned, and Setzer shrugged a little.
"I know women. You guys can get moody, but not like this. I figured something was up when you stopped talking on the ship and put on that gloomy face. Are all you Imperial beauties the same? Can you guys predict doom?"
"What?" Terra blinked again and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"You're acting just like Celes did when I took her to Vector. She was upset about going there too...and with good reason, I guess, since she was found out."
"I don't think Celes was a spy!" Terra suddenly cried. "Please don't say things like that...you didn't know her, and she isn't here to defend herself."
"And I can tell by your tone that you didn't either." Setzer replied curtly, and Terra took in a sharp breath.
"....Well...she wasn't my best friend...but I could tell by the look in her eyes when we met that she was on our side..." Terra bit her lip. "Besides that...I'm just hoping for Locke's sake that she really wasn't a spy. He was the only person she let get close to her...it would break his heart."
"Why do you think so?" Setzer asked, and Terra blinked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Never mind why I think that. And for your information, the reason why I acted happy about going here is because I thought no one else would want to, and I wanted to make everyone feel better about me going. I mean...I don't want anyone worrying for me...anymore...I've caused enough trouble as it is...You really have no idea."
"I'm sure you've gone through a lot, considering the first time I met you I thought you were on your deathbed." Setzer said in a less harsh tone, and smiled a little. "Please don't take offense in my words Miss Terra, I do not mean to upset you. I have a lot of respect for you and the Returners..."
"You speak as if you are not one of us..." Terra trailed off.
"Sorry." Setzer chuckled a little and flipped his hair over his shoulder. "It's hard of me to think of myself as apart of some 'unit'. I've always just been one, Setzer Gabbiani!"
"Always just one?" Terra questioned curiously, and Setzer nodded, turning his back to her.
"Always one..."
"And so, with one whack of my spear, BOOM! Keeled over dead at my feet, kupo!"
"Leafers not hard to defeat, silly Mog!" Gau exclaimed. "One time, Gau take on 10 Brawlers!!!!!!!"
"You lie, kupo!!!" Mog laughed a little. "No kid can take on 10 of those suckers!"
"Gau can! Gau use special power Rage!"
"Sure kid, whatever you say!" Mog laughed a little and jumped up, scuttling over to Terra and tugging on the top of her boot. Terra looked down and smiled, kneeling to Mog's level.
"What is it?" She asked sweetly, and Mog hopped in her arms.
"When do we get there, kupo?" Mog asked impatiently. "We've been flying forever!!!"
"Don't worry, we'll be there any minute." Setzer answered for Terra. "We're over the southern continent...but I can't seem to find a safe place to land..."
"Take your time." Terra said worriedly, frowning a bit, and then turned back to Mog. "Don't worry--we'll be on the ground soon. Are you feeling sick?"
"Nooo, Moogles don't get airsick!" Mog laughed a little. "Don't worry so much Miss Terra, and put a smile on that pretty face! It suits you much better, kupo."
"Thank you." Terra did smile, just a little, and gently patted Mog's head. "But I cannot help but worry just a bit Mog...I really don't know what to expect..."
"I will protect you!" Mog exclaimed. "Ramuh called me to you, and I will do as he bids!" Terra smiled more and stood back up, clutching her hands into two fists.
"Thank you, and I will protect you too, Mog!" She exclaimed, however, the dramatic moment was ruined when there came a sudden loud sputter of the airship engine, and the deck began to shake violently. Terra cried out and fell to the floor as Setzer laughed happily and the shaking and noise came to cease. Terra groaned and looked up as Setzer waved to her and grinned.
"Rough landing!" He exclaimed, Terra suddenly felt an urge to slap him.
"That was FUN!" Gau exclaimed, and dived on top of Setzer from nowhere.
"Yeah, I know!" Setzer grinned and slapped Gau a high-five. "But I guess we should be going, huh Miss Terra?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Terra cringed as she pulled herself up, but gasped loudly when she saw what had been smooshed into a marshmallow with pink wings below her.
"Mog!!!" Terra cried, and peeled the poor Moogle off the deck. "Are you alright...!?"
"Kupo....!" Mog moaned, and fell faint in her arms.
"He'll snap out of it." Setzer laughed and gestured for Terra to follow him. "Let us go...The Empire must surely be expecting us."
"Oh dear..." Terra muttered, and pulled out a crimson bottle of Phoenix Down as they began to descend the ramp of the Blackjack and walk towards the tall, looming, metal Imperial Base just a few yards away from them. However, when the team reached the base, they were shocked to find it's doors wide open, and the inside of it completely abandoned. There was not a soul in sight. The path to the dark Sealed Gate could easily be seen just across the span of the empty base, as if waiting patiently for Terra and the others.
"That's odd...no Imperial Soldiers..." Setzer trailed off, and brought a hand to his chin in thought.
"Lets get this over with." Terra said sharply, feeling her determination begin to swell back within her heart.
They quickly cut across the empty, almost spooky base, and made it to the Sealed Gate, the name dubbed to the looming cave that supposedly led to the Esper World. The forest that Terra had seen in her memories of Madonna's murder had long since been destroyed by the Empire for it's own purposes, so now they were just in an empty field. Already, things were feeling cold and unfamiliar.
"C-come on..." Gau stuttered, and gently tugged on Setzer's trench coat. "We gotta go..."
"Right." Setzer nodded, and looked to Terra, who nodded back.
"I'll be on point." Terra volunteered, and with that, stepped into the cave, her hand steadied on the hilt of her sword, ready to strike at anything that was in her way.
"Oooh..." Mog groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly as they entered, still recovering from the Phoenix Down administered to him previously. "It's dark in here!"
"You're right about that..." Terra blinked and tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness quickly. The cave was cold and drippy, and what she could manage to see was all drenched in monochromes of blue and gray.
"Hey, I see light!" Setzer smiled happily, and pointed off not too far away from where they were standing. Sure enough, there was a small entryway erected in the cave wall, and a soft red light was emitting from it. It was sort of creepy, but at that point, Terra didn't care. She quickly began to advance towards the light, and as she did, her skin begin to feel warmer and warmer, and soon broke out into a sweat. All of a sudden, the environment had gone from freezing to boiling hot.
"What's going on...?" Gau questioned, but he was soon answered when the team stepped through the entryway and came across their first obstacle of the Sealed Gate.
"Lava...lava everywhere!" Terra cried, and wiped at her forehead furiously with her armguard. The entire room was filled with boiling lava, which was what was causing the red glow in the doorway. The only way to get across the lava that was feasible were the wooden planks built over the pool that led to the exit on the other side of the room. However...there was one little problem with that. The planks didn't seem to be staying put...meaning that they were erratically disappearing and reappearing in different sections of the pool, creating new paths across but also breaking others. If you were to be on a plank at the wrong time, and it disappeared...
"This...is a disaster." Mog sighed. "I can't even fly across this mess."
"Well never mind that, none of us can fly!" Setzer snapped.
"We'll have to move quickly...too quickly for a group of four." Terra sighed and brought a hand to her head to think. "The Espers...they did not want the humans to come back, and I suppose they made sure to keep us out for sure, this time around..."
"Heh, yeah, if only we weren't human." Mog snapped sarcastically. "Then I am sure we would be a helluva a lot more in their favor."
"Hmm..."
Suddenly, it came to her.
Terra snapped her fingers, and smiled happily.
"I've got it!" She exclaimed. "We're human, but we also have the power of the Espers with us! Remember?" Terra held up a Magicite shard, and Setzer took his out also, staring at it.
"I do remember Terra, but I'm afraid that even a Blizzara spell would not freeze over this lava..."
"Of course it wouldn't, but I know other spells to get around that!" Terra winked and raised her hands in the air, tilting her head up towards the ceiling and closing her eyes.
"FLOAT!"
A sparkling yellow light suddenly surrounded the party, spiraling about each of their bodies once before flying up to their backs, where it paused and created a small set of glowing, yellow wings. A moment later, the wings burst into glittering sparks that faded away in the air, and each of the Returner's feet began to slowly rise off the ground until there was a good 12 inches of distance between their feet and the floor, when which they began steadily levitating on their own.
"Terra, that's amazing!" Setzer exclaimed, and Terra blushed a little.
"Well, when I awoke in Zozo, my range of magic increased significantly." Terra explained. "I just knew this spell would come in handy for something...!"
"Maybe we should stop gawking and hurry across before it wears out, kupo!!" Mog cried a little nervously.
"Good idea!" Gau exclaimed, and with that, went off sprinting across the lava pool, in mid-air. Terra, Setzer, and Mog quickly followed, and before they knew it, they were safe over land and near the exit of the room. The lava seemed to boil even louder in rage as the Returners quickly slipped through the doorway, and into the next area.
The new area was like the previous, being that it was filled with bubbling pools of hot lava and many plank paths that led across it to bigger patches of burned, scarred land. However, these planks did not disappear and reappear, and seemed safe to cross.
"Lets follow the path and see where we end up." Terra instructed, and the still-floating team walked across (or rather over) each plank until they reached the first large chunk of land. Stairs were cut into the land's side, which led up to the land's most elevated point and another plank. However, when Terra tried climbing the stairs with the float spell still on her body, she found that she could not climb the stairs, but rather just bump into them over and over.
"I guess we can't elevate with this spell." Terra concluded, and closed her eyes as she pressed her hands together.
"Esuna!"
"ACK!" Mog cried as he flopped back to the hot ground. "A lil' warning next time, kupo?"
"Sorry." Terra smiled a little. "But lets continue on."
At the top of the stairs, Terra looked around and found a switch embedded in the wall. Setzer came up from behind her and pointed to it.
"Should we pull it?" He questioned, and Terra shook her head.
"It's probably a trap..."
"Ack, Gau, I can get up on my own!" A struggling Mog cried as he hoisted himself up the stairs as fast as possible. However, that was not fast enough for Gau, who happily picked up his new friend and decided to help him out.
"Oh, no, Gau!" Terra cried, but it was too late. Gau gave Mog a gentle toss with his 'brawler' strength up the rest of the stairs, causing Mog to go flying and screaming up and into the stretch of wall that contained the switch. With a loud crash, Mog smashed into the switch himself and with a weak whimper, slid down the wall and hit the ground.
"Oh, Mog!" Terra screeched, and kneeled down to his side.
"No, Terra, look out!" Setzer cried, and managed to push her and Mog away just in time as a new figure made the scene, flying down straight at them from above!
"YAAAH!" The figure roared, and immediately positioned itself into battle-stance, with shocks of dirty blonde hair falling in his face.
"It WAS a trap!" Terra cried, and Setzer stepped back, raising a playing card to launch at the attacker.
"Get back!!!" Setzer growled, and tossed the card, which sliced right through the man's form and down into the lava, bursting into a cloud of smoke at the fiery contact. The man choked and began to sputter as blood began to drip from his mouth, taking a few struggled steps back.
"N-n-nuts!! I thought I had the monopoly on the stuff buried in the plaza beneath the grand stairway...ugggh....." With that, the man dropped over the side of the ledge and fell to his doom, the team turning their backs to the messy scene as his body burned and boiled underneath the lava bath that had become his grave. Terra raised a hand to her chest and struggled to catch her breath as Mog also made his recovery. Gau looked on at the team worriedly as Setzer turned back to Terra and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"You ok?" He asked her, and she nodded.
"That was frightening...that man...who knows how long he's been trapped in here..."
"No kidding...Kupo...." Mog moaned and struggled to his feet. "At least you released him, Gau..."
"Gau do what now?" Gau blinked, and Mog just shook his head.
"I wonder what he was talking about though?" Setzer asked, and Terra shrugged.
"He was probably just hallucinating..."
"You're right." Setzer nodded, and put his hands on his hips. "Everyone ok? Ready to continue?"
"Yeah..." Terra trailed off, and looked away, turning to the bridge ahead of them that led to the next chunk of land. The ambush had given her a horrible scare, and now her pulse was racing so fast, she wondered if her blood was boiling like the lava below. She suddenly felt less confident about what was ahead, whatever it might be.
**********
After what seemed like hours of climbing rocky stairs and crossing narrow bridges, Terra and the others finally reached solid ground in a new part of the cavern that was similar to the entrance. It was chilly again, enough to make Terra shiver and rub her arms nervously. Ahead of the team was a large entryway, with no sign of life behind it. It was pure darkness, and it seemed as if the coldness of the room was emitting from within it. But behind the team was another doorway, smaller, but definitely more promising because of the sunlight that was pouring through it's entrance...
"Is this it?!" Terra asked slowly.
"There are two doors..." Mog trailed off, and looked to his rear, and ahead of him. "What if one of them is a final trap?"
"There's only one way to find out..." Setzer trailed off and looked to the sunshine-filled doorway. "I'll just take a quick peek...you two stay where you are."
"Be careful, Setzer." Terra warned, and Mog suddenly pulled out his contracting spear, it's sharpened tip gleaming from the sunlight as it extracted to it's full size.
"I've got yo' back!" Mog exclaimed, and Gau crawled about Terra and Mog in a crooked circle, sniffing at the ground and in the air. Setzer looked back at the others one last time and disappeared through the doorway.
"....Hey...I'm back at the airship?!" Setzer cried confusedly as he looked about his surroundings. Sure enough, the Blackjack was right in his sight from where he was standing, at the edge of the Imperial base. "What's going on?!" He looked back behind him and saw that the entrance to the Sealed Gate had...disappeared.
**********
"Setzer!!" Terra cried. "Oh my Gods, where did he go!? The doorway is gone too!"
"Stand back, kupo!" Mog exclaimed, and with that, took off running towards the wall where the doorway had just been, and took a hard stab at it with his spear. However, the tip of the spear merely smashed and dented against the hard rock, and Mog stepped back, a little stunned at what just happened.
"Door faded away..." Gau trailed off, and gulped.
"That must of been the trap..." Terra trailed off and bit her lower lip. "So I guess the right way is..." She turned and looked up at the bigger, darker entrance. "We have to go on..."
"But what about Setzer?" Mog asked, and Terra sighed.
"I just have to hope he is ok until we can take care of this." Terra replied flatly. "Maybe after the Espers listen to my plea, they will tell us where Setzer went..." Mog gulped and nodded, not wanting to mention to Terra that as she had spoken, her skin had suddenly taken on a pale, almost ghostly white glow, and her eyes had played between shades of emerald green and ruby red.
With those words, Terra gestured for Gau and Mog to follow her up to the gaping mouth that was before them. Mog kept his rather sad-looking spear out, and Gau seemed more alert and ready for anything as he stealthily crawled behind Mog, who was marching behind Terra. Terra widened her eyes as she passed through the doorway and felt her pulse speed up again. Everything in front of her was strangely familiar. There was a long, swinging rope-bridge that led up to what looked like another giant mouth of a cave, only this one was covered by two huge wooden doors that appeared to be locked tightly. There was a howling wind, although there was no possible source that it could of been coming from. Even the sounds of thunder echoed in the distance, as if they were in the middle of a colossal storm. Terra let out a soft breath and drank everything in slowly. The visions and sounds that surrounded her acted as if they were tiny fingers that played at her senses and skin, alerting all her nerves and heightening them by a hundred-fold. Her skin began to take on the pale glow again, and Mog and Gau stared at each other, both frightened and intrigued at the same time.
"...This is the true Sealed Gate..." Mog trailed off, and Terra nodded silently.
"Beyond is Esper World..." Gau added, and blinked as he looked around more.
"It's all up to you now, kupo!" Mog exclaimed gently. "You can do it Terra!"
Terra nodded again silently, and with that, began to climb up to the rope-bridge. Mog and Gau watched on anxiously as she got closer and closer to the gate, both silently hoping that she would be able to break through the Esper's hatred against humans in order to save their world. It seemed as if everything the Returners had ever worked for was for this very moment....
"U'HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!"
"What?!" Terra suddenly cried, and whirled around, along with Gau and Mog, only to see...
"Kefka!" Gau snarled, although his tone was a little high-pitched due to surprise, and took a few steps back. Mog felt as if this brightly- colored and fully-plumed stranger who was only feet away from them was definitely bad news, and curled his mouth in a rather frightening glare. Kefka cackled happily and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Kefka...you followed us?!" Terra cried in disbelief, and Kefka cackled louder, his laughter overpowering the thunder's booms.
"U'hee, hee, heeee!!!! The Emperor was right! Let Terra fall into your hands, and you'd open the gate for us...! So!!!! How does it feel to know that you've been working for us....AGAIN!? MWA HA HA HA HA!" Terra didn't know what to say, she had truly been so horrified at the truth of Kefka's words, that they silenced her, but Mog let out a little growl, and Gau clenched his teeth together in frustration.
"Now I fear you have outlived your usefulness..." Kefka pretended to look upset as he cupped his hands together and began to form a glowing pink energy orb. Terra was frozen in place, but Mog quickly turned to her and waved his small hands frantically.
"Terra....the gate, quickly!!!" He cried. Terra blinked and snapped out of it, giving Mog a slight nod as she turned and began to run the rest of the way up the rope-bridge, despite the violent shaking her sudden weight stressed upon it. Mog turned back to Kefka and pointed his spear at him, letting out a little hiss.
"You'd better think again, Kefka!" Mog cried, and Gau held up his fists.
"Think again, Kefka!"
"Oh dear...you wanna fight me?!" Kefka cried out in a girly tone, and slapped his forehead in fake fear. "How dreadful...!" He shook his head and burst out laughing. "A wild animal and a Moogle with a broken spear...THIS should be good!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Gau screamed, and with that, took a flying leap on top of Kefka, knocking him straight to the ground and causing the fiend's energy ball to sizzle and smoke away at contact with Gau's bare flesh, causing Gau to scream louder as he pounded at Kefka mercilessly. Kefka began to howl as well and struggled to shake the child off, cursing and hissing as Gau leaned in and sank his fang-like front teeth into the squirming clown's arm.
"YOU LITTLE MONSTER!!!" Kefka shrieked, and with that, grabbed Gau by the neck and threw him aside violently, causing Gau to ram into a stone wall and completely black out. Mog squealed and quickly clutched at the Magicite encircling his chubby neck, closing his eyes.
"Life!!!" He cried, and a little golden and white angel appeared from a ring of light that poured upon Gau's body. The angel gently tapped the tip of Gau's nose and blew a kiss before disappearing in a burst of light, after which Gau moaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head softly.
"You ok, kupo?!" Mog cried, and Gau nodded a little as he staggered to his feet.
"I'll get you too, you little white rat!" Kefka snarled, pulling himself up to his knees. "Just you wait and--" But suddenly, Kefka cut himself off, and Mog and Gau followed his startled gaze up to Terra and the Sealed Gate. With a low rumble, the gate began to crack open, and Terra had made the total transformation into her 'Esper' self, watching silently as she floated over the bridge and waited.
"The gate!" Kefka squealed.
"It's opening!!" Gau exclaimed.
"Espers!" Terra cried, and clasped her hands together, closing her eyes. "Please....heed my call! I am the daughter of Maduin!!! I seek your help...." The door slid open completely, revealing more empty darkness to Terra and the others.
"It opened!!" Kefka cried, too stunned to climb to his feet.
"Terra, look out!!" Mog cried. "Something is coming!!!" Terra blinked and let out a small gasp as a blurry figure suddenly dashed out of the gate, nearly striking her as it flew past the others and disappeared through the doorway from which they had come.
"I, I, I, I, I feel so anxious!!!" Kefka squealed again, and pressed his lips together evilly. Suddenly, another Esper came shooting out, followed by another, and another, until they were coming out in large and dangerous masses, threatening to crush anything in their path. Terra was violently struck by one Esper and collapsed onto the bridge, her Esper form fading away.
"TERRA!" Gau cried, but before he could go to her, Mog had pushed him down flat to the ground, screaming at him to cover his head as the Espers darted over their bodies. Kefka, too idiotic to take heed, began jumping up and down excitedly.
"Frightful energy...!" He exclaimed, but was suddenly swept away by the giant wingspan of a bird-like Esper, his cries fading as he was blown out of the Sealed Gate's chambers. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaa.............!"
When the last of the Espers had flown from the gate, it began to suddenly slam shut hard, causing boulders and rocks around it to crumble and fall right over the gate's doors, forming a perfect wall that blocked anything else from getting in or out. Terra moaned and tried to pull herself up from the bridge, her entire body ravaged and weak from her sudden expenditure of stamina with her transformation. Mog and Gau also stood up, a little shaken from what they had just seen.
"Look, gate!" Gau cried, pointing at the now completely-blocked Sealed Gate.
"What are the Espers gonna do...?!" Mog asked worriedly, and Terra suddenly spoke up, both to their surprise as she climbed to her feet and staggered dangerously.
"....Look...lets just return to the airship...."
**********
Mog and Gau both aided Terra as she limped out of the chamber of the Sealed Gate, and all three were surprised to see the sunshine-filled doorway that had previously been there when Setzer slipped through it. Terra looked to both Gau and Mog, who stared at the doorway and then looked back to her.
"...Should we try it, kupo?" Mog asked, and Terra nodded.
"That must of been how the Espers got through." Terra reasoned, and with that, the three took a deep breath and stepped through. There was a flash of light, but when Terra could see fully again, she realized that they were at the exit of the Imperial base, with the entrance to the Sealed Gate now behind them. Terra groaned and suddenly collapsed to her knees, causing Mog and Gau to gasp out.
"Hold on!" Mog cried, and cast a Cura spell on Terra to help her recover some of her lost energy. Terra smiled weakly and thanked Mog as she sat on the ground to take a few deep breaths, when suddenly, there came pounding footsteps from ahead of them in the base. Mog gasped and Gau got in combat stance, ready to take on whatever was approaching them. Terra groaned and looked up, her eyes widening when she realized who was approaching them hurriedly...
"So who's going to come with Terra?"
It was the next morning, which was a little gray and dull. (Which was not surprising weather for Narshe.) Banon and Arvis had joined the Returners for a large breakfast in the Elder's home, and were trying to help them determine what to do next. Terra was pushing around her chocobo eggs with her fork while the others talked around her and discussed who was going to join her and who was going to stay behind. She felt a little guilty, for she harbored the secret thought that maybe no one wanted to go with her at all to the dangerous Esper World.
If I could go alone, I would... Terra thought to herself. If only I weren't so weak from my transformation...
"Gau want to go with Terra!" Gau exclaimed, and Terra suddenly looked up from her food into the child's eyes that were peering right at her.
"Gau!" Terra exclaimed in honest surprise. "Are you sure??"
"Yeah, Gau ready to go and fight!" Gau exclaimed. "Gau go and protect Terra!"
"That's so sweet!" Terra smiled. "Thank you, Gau." Gau grinned and suddenly grabbed hold of Mog, who was sitting next to him, and squeezed him to his chest.
"Gau bring Mog too! Mog want to go, right?!" Mog sputtered and choked on his eggs, kicking his limbs frantically to get Gau to loosen his grip a little. Gau finally complied, and let Mog go, who with a series of coughs fluttered onto the tabletop in front of Terra, who was trying not to laugh.
"I would love to go, if Miss Terra wants my company." Mog said politely, making Edgar glare daggers at the back of his furry form.
"Those are all MY lines!" Edgar steamed, and Sabin blinked.
"YOUR lines, big brother?"
"Oh Mog, I would be happy for you to come as well, as long as you are properly recovered from last night." Terra smiled.
"I feel much better, thankupo!" Mog exclaimed. "And I will gladly accompany you!"
"Thank you too, Mog!" Terra smiled more and clapped her hands together. "I think that we have enough...we'll be able to move around easier like this." Locke was about to raise his hand to volunteer to go anyway, but Terra quickly shook her head at him from across the table.
"Terra?" Locke asked, and she rested her hands on the table, leaning in.
"Locke, you've done more than enough for me as it is." Terra said concernedly. "It would make me feel better if you just stayed behind and rested for a few more days..." She could see that the fatigue in Locke's eyes was still heavy, as well as the turmoil in his heart. She couldn't bear to bring him along for this. It might prove to be too much for him. He may not have known his limits, but Terra could easily tell that he had had enough for a while.
"....Alright Terra, whatever you want." Locke replied tiredly. "I'll be praying for you."
"You stay with him too, Edgar." Terra suggested firmly, and Edgar blinked. "You're his best friend...You can help him out with whatever he needs."
"Of course, Terra." Edgar did a little bow of his head, and Setzer suddenly stood up at the table, banging his fist down.
"Two children going alone? With a Moogle? Ridiculous!" He suddenly exclaimed, and the others stared up at him.
"Sir Setzer!" Cyan exclaimed.
"I shall join you as well, Miss Terra." Setzer smirked some, and swept his shining hair back over his shoulder. "It would be truly a delight on my part to be able to escort a lovely woman such as yourself to the Esper World. Besides that, the Espers might have a few card games I should like to learn...heh heh heh!"
"You just called me a child, not merely a second ago." Terra pointed out tactfully, and Setzer laughed a little.
"Only a child in comparison to my ancient self." Setzer covered himself up somewhat gracefully, and Terra couldn't help but laugh lightly.
"Alright, so it will be myself, Setzer, Mog, and Gau..." She brought a finger to her chin in thought and then looked up at Arvis and Banon. "Now...if I remember correctly, you said that the Sealed Gate was at the eastern edge of the Empire? Does that mean it is on the same continent as Vector?"
"Correct." Banon said. "But as I also said before, there is an Imperial Base right at the entrance, and I am most positive you will have a difficult time getting through."
"Well, Shadow and I didn't have TOO much of a difficult time." Sabin noted.
"Yes, but you must also realize that we are much more known to the Empire now than ever before." Cyan pointed out. "And since Terra is going...well, no offense Miss Terra, but you will stick out like a sore thumb...just because mostly anyone in the Empire can recognize you. I mean, you used to work there and all..."
"I understand what you are saying, Cyan." Terra nodded. "But I have to go. And even if there was a way around it, I would still go to the Esper World. In a way, the Espers are like my family now, and I cannot forgive the Empire for both what they did to me and have been doing to the Espers since before I was even born. I've decided that if the Empire tries to attack us, I will fight back, with all my might!" Locke looked up from the table and blinked. He had never heard Terra sound so strong and determined before. It was suddenly very relieving to him, for he did not entirely trust Mog, Gau, and Setzer to take the best care of her they could. He had nothing against them, they were just...not him. There was just no way he could stand losing another friend right now, but he was confident that Terra just might be ok on her own. There was a strong soul hidden behind her frail exterior.
"That is very extraordinary of you, Terra." Edgar smiled and bowed his head slightly. "You are a woman unlike any other I have ever met..."
"Quit flirting Edgar." Sabin moaned. "This is serious!"
"It's alright, really!" Terra smiled a little. She had gotten used to Edgar's ridiculous comments by now. "Lets just finish eating and get this over with. I want to come back to Narshe as soon as possible..."
"Of course." Setzer said, and stood up from his place at the table. "Let me go tell the men on the Blackjack to start 'er up. You three can just meet me out there." Setzer gave a wave and winked. "See you all in a bit! Wish us damn good luck!"
"Good luck Setzer!" Everyone chorused, and with that, Setzer took a bow and exited the house. Locke turned to Terra again and furrowed his eyebrows in concern.
"Please, please, be careful." He said, and Terra nodded seriously.
"Do not worry...I have my magic if things get too out of hand!" She smiled, and stood up. "Come on Gau, come on Mog!"
"Kupo!" Mog exclaimed, and hopped out of his little chair. Gau finished shoveling the last of his chocobo eggs in his mouth, and jumped out of his chair as well. Terra gave him a little pat on the head, and proceeded to follow them out of the dining room.
"Take care, and hurry back!" Edgar exclaimed. Terra gave everyone in the room a small wave, and with that, turned away and left. As soon as her skin hit the cold air outside of the home, her smile fell and her gaze was cast down to the ground, where she followed the snowy footsteps of Gau and Mog, who had already scampered way ahead of her.
"Most normal people would be anxious to go back to their hometown..." Terra trailed off, and bit her lower lip. "But I'm so afraid of what we may see...We are crossing a threshold that no human or Esper has set foot upon for nearly two decades..." She shook her head a little. "Yes...I suppose I have yet to be considered a 'normal' girl..."
**********
"It's pretty overcast today." Setzer commented, more to himself than anyone else. Gau and Mog were comparing monster stories on one end of the deck, and Terra was just standing there, gazing out at the world which was so quickly passing below her. However, Terra raised her head and stared at Setzer, nodding to acknowledge his comment, much to his surprise. Terra had been quiet the whole way down to Vector thus far.
"I wonder if the weather is an ill omen?" Terra questioned, and Setzer blinked, turning back to the wheel of the Blackjack.
"You believe in that kind of stuff? Bad luck and everything?"
"I don't really know what I believe in, at this moment." Terra frowned a little, and Setzer sighed.
"Darn...I was hoping we would have something in common, heh heh..." He smiled and turned back to look at Terra, but she was not smiling with him at the joke. As much as Setzer tried, he realized it was very hard for him to imagine Terra as she was only a little while before, smiling and laughing like the others.
"So, if you were upset about this mission, why didja put on the fake smile before?" Setzer suddenly asked, and Terra blinked, raising a hand to her ruby pendant as if on instinct.
"How did you know?" Terra questioned, and Setzer shrugged a little.
"I know women. You guys can get moody, but not like this. I figured something was up when you stopped talking on the ship and put on that gloomy face. Are all you Imperial beauties the same? Can you guys predict doom?"
"What?" Terra blinked again and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"You're acting just like Celes did when I took her to Vector. She was upset about going there too...and with good reason, I guess, since she was found out."
"I don't think Celes was a spy!" Terra suddenly cried. "Please don't say things like that...you didn't know her, and she isn't here to defend herself."
"And I can tell by your tone that you didn't either." Setzer replied curtly, and Terra took in a sharp breath.
"....Well...she wasn't my best friend...but I could tell by the look in her eyes when we met that she was on our side..." Terra bit her lip. "Besides that...I'm just hoping for Locke's sake that she really wasn't a spy. He was the only person she let get close to her...it would break his heart."
"Why do you think so?" Setzer asked, and Terra blinked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Never mind why I think that. And for your information, the reason why I acted happy about going here is because I thought no one else would want to, and I wanted to make everyone feel better about me going. I mean...I don't want anyone worrying for me...anymore...I've caused enough trouble as it is...You really have no idea."
"I'm sure you've gone through a lot, considering the first time I met you I thought you were on your deathbed." Setzer said in a less harsh tone, and smiled a little. "Please don't take offense in my words Miss Terra, I do not mean to upset you. I have a lot of respect for you and the Returners..."
"You speak as if you are not one of us..." Terra trailed off.
"Sorry." Setzer chuckled a little and flipped his hair over his shoulder. "It's hard of me to think of myself as apart of some 'unit'. I've always just been one, Setzer Gabbiani!"
"Always just one?" Terra questioned curiously, and Setzer nodded, turning his back to her.
"Always one..."
"And so, with one whack of my spear, BOOM! Keeled over dead at my feet, kupo!"
"Leafers not hard to defeat, silly Mog!" Gau exclaimed. "One time, Gau take on 10 Brawlers!!!!!!!"
"You lie, kupo!!!" Mog laughed a little. "No kid can take on 10 of those suckers!"
"Gau can! Gau use special power Rage!"
"Sure kid, whatever you say!" Mog laughed a little and jumped up, scuttling over to Terra and tugging on the top of her boot. Terra looked down and smiled, kneeling to Mog's level.
"What is it?" She asked sweetly, and Mog hopped in her arms.
"When do we get there, kupo?" Mog asked impatiently. "We've been flying forever!!!"
"Don't worry, we'll be there any minute." Setzer answered for Terra. "We're over the southern continent...but I can't seem to find a safe place to land..."
"Take your time." Terra said worriedly, frowning a bit, and then turned back to Mog. "Don't worry--we'll be on the ground soon. Are you feeling sick?"
"Nooo, Moogles don't get airsick!" Mog laughed a little. "Don't worry so much Miss Terra, and put a smile on that pretty face! It suits you much better, kupo."
"Thank you." Terra did smile, just a little, and gently patted Mog's head. "But I cannot help but worry just a bit Mog...I really don't know what to expect..."
"I will protect you!" Mog exclaimed. "Ramuh called me to you, and I will do as he bids!" Terra smiled more and stood back up, clutching her hands into two fists.
"Thank you, and I will protect you too, Mog!" She exclaimed, however, the dramatic moment was ruined when there came a sudden loud sputter of the airship engine, and the deck began to shake violently. Terra cried out and fell to the floor as Setzer laughed happily and the shaking and noise came to cease. Terra groaned and looked up as Setzer waved to her and grinned.
"Rough landing!" He exclaimed, Terra suddenly felt an urge to slap him.
"That was FUN!" Gau exclaimed, and dived on top of Setzer from nowhere.
"Yeah, I know!" Setzer grinned and slapped Gau a high-five. "But I guess we should be going, huh Miss Terra?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Terra cringed as she pulled herself up, but gasped loudly when she saw what had been smooshed into a marshmallow with pink wings below her.
"Mog!!!" Terra cried, and peeled the poor Moogle off the deck. "Are you alright...!?"
"Kupo....!" Mog moaned, and fell faint in her arms.
"He'll snap out of it." Setzer laughed and gestured for Terra to follow him. "Let us go...The Empire must surely be expecting us."
"Oh dear..." Terra muttered, and pulled out a crimson bottle of Phoenix Down as they began to descend the ramp of the Blackjack and walk towards the tall, looming, metal Imperial Base just a few yards away from them. However, when the team reached the base, they were shocked to find it's doors wide open, and the inside of it completely abandoned. There was not a soul in sight. The path to the dark Sealed Gate could easily be seen just across the span of the empty base, as if waiting patiently for Terra and the others.
"That's odd...no Imperial Soldiers..." Setzer trailed off, and brought a hand to his chin in thought.
"Lets get this over with." Terra said sharply, feeling her determination begin to swell back within her heart.
They quickly cut across the empty, almost spooky base, and made it to the Sealed Gate, the name dubbed to the looming cave that supposedly led to the Esper World. The forest that Terra had seen in her memories of Madonna's murder had long since been destroyed by the Empire for it's own purposes, so now they were just in an empty field. Already, things were feeling cold and unfamiliar.
"C-come on..." Gau stuttered, and gently tugged on Setzer's trench coat. "We gotta go..."
"Right." Setzer nodded, and looked to Terra, who nodded back.
"I'll be on point." Terra volunteered, and with that, stepped into the cave, her hand steadied on the hilt of her sword, ready to strike at anything that was in her way.
"Oooh..." Mog groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly as they entered, still recovering from the Phoenix Down administered to him previously. "It's dark in here!"
"You're right about that..." Terra blinked and tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness quickly. The cave was cold and drippy, and what she could manage to see was all drenched in monochromes of blue and gray.
"Hey, I see light!" Setzer smiled happily, and pointed off not too far away from where they were standing. Sure enough, there was a small entryway erected in the cave wall, and a soft red light was emitting from it. It was sort of creepy, but at that point, Terra didn't care. She quickly began to advance towards the light, and as she did, her skin begin to feel warmer and warmer, and soon broke out into a sweat. All of a sudden, the environment had gone from freezing to boiling hot.
"What's going on...?" Gau questioned, but he was soon answered when the team stepped through the entryway and came across their first obstacle of the Sealed Gate.
"Lava...lava everywhere!" Terra cried, and wiped at her forehead furiously with her armguard. The entire room was filled with boiling lava, which was what was causing the red glow in the doorway. The only way to get across the lava that was feasible were the wooden planks built over the pool that led to the exit on the other side of the room. However...there was one little problem with that. The planks didn't seem to be staying put...meaning that they were erratically disappearing and reappearing in different sections of the pool, creating new paths across but also breaking others. If you were to be on a plank at the wrong time, and it disappeared...
"This...is a disaster." Mog sighed. "I can't even fly across this mess."
"Well never mind that, none of us can fly!" Setzer snapped.
"We'll have to move quickly...too quickly for a group of four." Terra sighed and brought a hand to her head to think. "The Espers...they did not want the humans to come back, and I suppose they made sure to keep us out for sure, this time around..."
"Heh, yeah, if only we weren't human." Mog snapped sarcastically. "Then I am sure we would be a helluva a lot more in their favor."
"Hmm..."
Suddenly, it came to her.
Terra snapped her fingers, and smiled happily.
"I've got it!" She exclaimed. "We're human, but we also have the power of the Espers with us! Remember?" Terra held up a Magicite shard, and Setzer took his out also, staring at it.
"I do remember Terra, but I'm afraid that even a Blizzara spell would not freeze over this lava..."
"Of course it wouldn't, but I know other spells to get around that!" Terra winked and raised her hands in the air, tilting her head up towards the ceiling and closing her eyes.
"FLOAT!"
A sparkling yellow light suddenly surrounded the party, spiraling about each of their bodies once before flying up to their backs, where it paused and created a small set of glowing, yellow wings. A moment later, the wings burst into glittering sparks that faded away in the air, and each of the Returner's feet began to slowly rise off the ground until there was a good 12 inches of distance between their feet and the floor, when which they began steadily levitating on their own.
"Terra, that's amazing!" Setzer exclaimed, and Terra blushed a little.
"Well, when I awoke in Zozo, my range of magic increased significantly." Terra explained. "I just knew this spell would come in handy for something...!"
"Maybe we should stop gawking and hurry across before it wears out, kupo!!" Mog cried a little nervously.
"Good idea!" Gau exclaimed, and with that, went off sprinting across the lava pool, in mid-air. Terra, Setzer, and Mog quickly followed, and before they knew it, they were safe over land and near the exit of the room. The lava seemed to boil even louder in rage as the Returners quickly slipped through the doorway, and into the next area.
The new area was like the previous, being that it was filled with bubbling pools of hot lava and many plank paths that led across it to bigger patches of burned, scarred land. However, these planks did not disappear and reappear, and seemed safe to cross.
"Lets follow the path and see where we end up." Terra instructed, and the still-floating team walked across (or rather over) each plank until they reached the first large chunk of land. Stairs were cut into the land's side, which led up to the land's most elevated point and another plank. However, when Terra tried climbing the stairs with the float spell still on her body, she found that she could not climb the stairs, but rather just bump into them over and over.
"I guess we can't elevate with this spell." Terra concluded, and closed her eyes as she pressed her hands together.
"Esuna!"
"ACK!" Mog cried as he flopped back to the hot ground. "A lil' warning next time, kupo?"
"Sorry." Terra smiled a little. "But lets continue on."
At the top of the stairs, Terra looked around and found a switch embedded in the wall. Setzer came up from behind her and pointed to it.
"Should we pull it?" He questioned, and Terra shook her head.
"It's probably a trap..."
"Ack, Gau, I can get up on my own!" A struggling Mog cried as he hoisted himself up the stairs as fast as possible. However, that was not fast enough for Gau, who happily picked up his new friend and decided to help him out.
"Oh, no, Gau!" Terra cried, but it was too late. Gau gave Mog a gentle toss with his 'brawler' strength up the rest of the stairs, causing Mog to go flying and screaming up and into the stretch of wall that contained the switch. With a loud crash, Mog smashed into the switch himself and with a weak whimper, slid down the wall and hit the ground.
"Oh, Mog!" Terra screeched, and kneeled down to his side.
"No, Terra, look out!" Setzer cried, and managed to push her and Mog away just in time as a new figure made the scene, flying down straight at them from above!
"YAAAH!" The figure roared, and immediately positioned itself into battle-stance, with shocks of dirty blonde hair falling in his face.
"It WAS a trap!" Terra cried, and Setzer stepped back, raising a playing card to launch at the attacker.
"Get back!!!" Setzer growled, and tossed the card, which sliced right through the man's form and down into the lava, bursting into a cloud of smoke at the fiery contact. The man choked and began to sputter as blood began to drip from his mouth, taking a few struggled steps back.
"N-n-nuts!! I thought I had the monopoly on the stuff buried in the plaza beneath the grand stairway...ugggh....." With that, the man dropped over the side of the ledge and fell to his doom, the team turning their backs to the messy scene as his body burned and boiled underneath the lava bath that had become his grave. Terra raised a hand to her chest and struggled to catch her breath as Mog also made his recovery. Gau looked on at the team worriedly as Setzer turned back to Terra and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"You ok?" He asked her, and she nodded.
"That was frightening...that man...who knows how long he's been trapped in here..."
"No kidding...Kupo...." Mog moaned and struggled to his feet. "At least you released him, Gau..."
"Gau do what now?" Gau blinked, and Mog just shook his head.
"I wonder what he was talking about though?" Setzer asked, and Terra shrugged.
"He was probably just hallucinating..."
"You're right." Setzer nodded, and put his hands on his hips. "Everyone ok? Ready to continue?"
"Yeah..." Terra trailed off, and looked away, turning to the bridge ahead of them that led to the next chunk of land. The ambush had given her a horrible scare, and now her pulse was racing so fast, she wondered if her blood was boiling like the lava below. She suddenly felt less confident about what was ahead, whatever it might be.
**********
After what seemed like hours of climbing rocky stairs and crossing narrow bridges, Terra and the others finally reached solid ground in a new part of the cavern that was similar to the entrance. It was chilly again, enough to make Terra shiver and rub her arms nervously. Ahead of the team was a large entryway, with no sign of life behind it. It was pure darkness, and it seemed as if the coldness of the room was emitting from within it. But behind the team was another doorway, smaller, but definitely more promising because of the sunlight that was pouring through it's entrance...
"Is this it?!" Terra asked slowly.
"There are two doors..." Mog trailed off, and looked to his rear, and ahead of him. "What if one of them is a final trap?"
"There's only one way to find out..." Setzer trailed off and looked to the sunshine-filled doorway. "I'll just take a quick peek...you two stay where you are."
"Be careful, Setzer." Terra warned, and Mog suddenly pulled out his contracting spear, it's sharpened tip gleaming from the sunlight as it extracted to it's full size.
"I've got yo' back!" Mog exclaimed, and Gau crawled about Terra and Mog in a crooked circle, sniffing at the ground and in the air. Setzer looked back at the others one last time and disappeared through the doorway.
"....Hey...I'm back at the airship?!" Setzer cried confusedly as he looked about his surroundings. Sure enough, the Blackjack was right in his sight from where he was standing, at the edge of the Imperial base. "What's going on?!" He looked back behind him and saw that the entrance to the Sealed Gate had...disappeared.
**********
"Setzer!!" Terra cried. "Oh my Gods, where did he go!? The doorway is gone too!"
"Stand back, kupo!" Mog exclaimed, and with that, took off running towards the wall where the doorway had just been, and took a hard stab at it with his spear. However, the tip of the spear merely smashed and dented against the hard rock, and Mog stepped back, a little stunned at what just happened.
"Door faded away..." Gau trailed off, and gulped.
"That must of been the trap..." Terra trailed off and bit her lower lip. "So I guess the right way is..." She turned and looked up at the bigger, darker entrance. "We have to go on..."
"But what about Setzer?" Mog asked, and Terra sighed.
"I just have to hope he is ok until we can take care of this." Terra replied flatly. "Maybe after the Espers listen to my plea, they will tell us where Setzer went..." Mog gulped and nodded, not wanting to mention to Terra that as she had spoken, her skin had suddenly taken on a pale, almost ghostly white glow, and her eyes had played between shades of emerald green and ruby red.
With those words, Terra gestured for Gau and Mog to follow her up to the gaping mouth that was before them. Mog kept his rather sad-looking spear out, and Gau seemed more alert and ready for anything as he stealthily crawled behind Mog, who was marching behind Terra. Terra widened her eyes as she passed through the doorway and felt her pulse speed up again. Everything in front of her was strangely familiar. There was a long, swinging rope-bridge that led up to what looked like another giant mouth of a cave, only this one was covered by two huge wooden doors that appeared to be locked tightly. There was a howling wind, although there was no possible source that it could of been coming from. Even the sounds of thunder echoed in the distance, as if they were in the middle of a colossal storm. Terra let out a soft breath and drank everything in slowly. The visions and sounds that surrounded her acted as if they were tiny fingers that played at her senses and skin, alerting all her nerves and heightening them by a hundred-fold. Her skin began to take on the pale glow again, and Mog and Gau stared at each other, both frightened and intrigued at the same time.
"...This is the true Sealed Gate..." Mog trailed off, and Terra nodded silently.
"Beyond is Esper World..." Gau added, and blinked as he looked around more.
"It's all up to you now, kupo!" Mog exclaimed gently. "You can do it Terra!"
Terra nodded again silently, and with that, began to climb up to the rope-bridge. Mog and Gau watched on anxiously as she got closer and closer to the gate, both silently hoping that she would be able to break through the Esper's hatred against humans in order to save their world. It seemed as if everything the Returners had ever worked for was for this very moment....
"U'HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!"
"What?!" Terra suddenly cried, and whirled around, along with Gau and Mog, only to see...
"Kefka!" Gau snarled, although his tone was a little high-pitched due to surprise, and took a few steps back. Mog felt as if this brightly- colored and fully-plumed stranger who was only feet away from them was definitely bad news, and curled his mouth in a rather frightening glare. Kefka cackled happily and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Kefka...you followed us?!" Terra cried in disbelief, and Kefka cackled louder, his laughter overpowering the thunder's booms.
"U'hee, hee, heeee!!!! The Emperor was right! Let Terra fall into your hands, and you'd open the gate for us...! So!!!! How does it feel to know that you've been working for us....AGAIN!? MWA HA HA HA HA!" Terra didn't know what to say, she had truly been so horrified at the truth of Kefka's words, that they silenced her, but Mog let out a little growl, and Gau clenched his teeth together in frustration.
"Now I fear you have outlived your usefulness..." Kefka pretended to look upset as he cupped his hands together and began to form a glowing pink energy orb. Terra was frozen in place, but Mog quickly turned to her and waved his small hands frantically.
"Terra....the gate, quickly!!!" He cried. Terra blinked and snapped out of it, giving Mog a slight nod as she turned and began to run the rest of the way up the rope-bridge, despite the violent shaking her sudden weight stressed upon it. Mog turned back to Kefka and pointed his spear at him, letting out a little hiss.
"You'd better think again, Kefka!" Mog cried, and Gau held up his fists.
"Think again, Kefka!"
"Oh dear...you wanna fight me?!" Kefka cried out in a girly tone, and slapped his forehead in fake fear. "How dreadful...!" He shook his head and burst out laughing. "A wild animal and a Moogle with a broken spear...THIS should be good!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Gau screamed, and with that, took a flying leap on top of Kefka, knocking him straight to the ground and causing the fiend's energy ball to sizzle and smoke away at contact with Gau's bare flesh, causing Gau to scream louder as he pounded at Kefka mercilessly. Kefka began to howl as well and struggled to shake the child off, cursing and hissing as Gau leaned in and sank his fang-like front teeth into the squirming clown's arm.
"YOU LITTLE MONSTER!!!" Kefka shrieked, and with that, grabbed Gau by the neck and threw him aside violently, causing Gau to ram into a stone wall and completely black out. Mog squealed and quickly clutched at the Magicite encircling his chubby neck, closing his eyes.
"Life!!!" He cried, and a little golden and white angel appeared from a ring of light that poured upon Gau's body. The angel gently tapped the tip of Gau's nose and blew a kiss before disappearing in a burst of light, after which Gau moaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head softly.
"You ok, kupo?!" Mog cried, and Gau nodded a little as he staggered to his feet.
"I'll get you too, you little white rat!" Kefka snarled, pulling himself up to his knees. "Just you wait and--" But suddenly, Kefka cut himself off, and Mog and Gau followed his startled gaze up to Terra and the Sealed Gate. With a low rumble, the gate began to crack open, and Terra had made the total transformation into her 'Esper' self, watching silently as she floated over the bridge and waited.
"The gate!" Kefka squealed.
"It's opening!!" Gau exclaimed.
"Espers!" Terra cried, and clasped her hands together, closing her eyes. "Please....heed my call! I am the daughter of Maduin!!! I seek your help...." The door slid open completely, revealing more empty darkness to Terra and the others.
"It opened!!" Kefka cried, too stunned to climb to his feet.
"Terra, look out!!" Mog cried. "Something is coming!!!" Terra blinked and let out a small gasp as a blurry figure suddenly dashed out of the gate, nearly striking her as it flew past the others and disappeared through the doorway from which they had come.
"I, I, I, I, I feel so anxious!!!" Kefka squealed again, and pressed his lips together evilly. Suddenly, another Esper came shooting out, followed by another, and another, until they were coming out in large and dangerous masses, threatening to crush anything in their path. Terra was violently struck by one Esper and collapsed onto the bridge, her Esper form fading away.
"TERRA!" Gau cried, but before he could go to her, Mog had pushed him down flat to the ground, screaming at him to cover his head as the Espers darted over their bodies. Kefka, too idiotic to take heed, began jumping up and down excitedly.
"Frightful energy...!" He exclaimed, but was suddenly swept away by the giant wingspan of a bird-like Esper, his cries fading as he was blown out of the Sealed Gate's chambers. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaa.............!"
When the last of the Espers had flown from the gate, it began to suddenly slam shut hard, causing boulders and rocks around it to crumble and fall right over the gate's doors, forming a perfect wall that blocked anything else from getting in or out. Terra moaned and tried to pull herself up from the bridge, her entire body ravaged and weak from her sudden expenditure of stamina with her transformation. Mog and Gau also stood up, a little shaken from what they had just seen.
"Look, gate!" Gau cried, pointing at the now completely-blocked Sealed Gate.
"What are the Espers gonna do...?!" Mog asked worriedly, and Terra suddenly spoke up, both to their surprise as she climbed to her feet and staggered dangerously.
"....Look...lets just return to the airship...."
**********
Mog and Gau both aided Terra as she limped out of the chamber of the Sealed Gate, and all three were surprised to see the sunshine-filled doorway that had previously been there when Setzer slipped through it. Terra looked to both Gau and Mog, who stared at the doorway and then looked back to her.
"...Should we try it, kupo?" Mog asked, and Terra nodded.
"That must of been how the Espers got through." Terra reasoned, and with that, the three took a deep breath and stepped through. There was a flash of light, but when Terra could see fully again, she realized that they were at the exit of the Imperial base, with the entrance to the Sealed Gate now behind them. Terra groaned and suddenly collapsed to her knees, causing Mog and Gau to gasp out.
"Hold on!" Mog cried, and cast a Cura spell on Terra to help her recover some of her lost energy. Terra smiled weakly and thanked Mog as she sat on the ground to take a few deep breaths, when suddenly, there came pounding footsteps from ahead of them in the base. Mog gasped and Gau got in combat stance, ready to take on whatever was approaching them. Terra groaned and looked up, her eyes widening when she realized who was approaching them hurriedly...
