Chapter Thirty- The Beginning of the End, Atma Weapon
Part I- Alpha
The little town had recovered well from the brutal Empire invasion.
It was only a week after the disaster that had transpired, and the homes that had been burnt or destroyed were nearing completion. Meanwhile, families allowed other families to board with them, and children helped their elders out with the rebuilding the best they could. But while Thamasa as a town could easily pick up from where their lives left off after the Empire had come, it was different for the Returners.
Strago got the Innkeeper to let the Returners stay with him for free until they felt ready to move on, and while they recovered, he also took care of the burying of Leo's body in the eastern town cemetery. He ordered Relm to stay at home, and for once, she obeyed, and left Locke, Terra, and Celes alone.
Terra, completely worn out physically and mentally from everything that had happened, spent most of her time sleeping and flitting from nightmare to nightmare. While sleep had usually been her escape, now it was just as painful as anything else. A constant dream that Terra had was when she first woke up after the attack, and saw Leo's dead body, soaked in his own deep crimson blood and face down. She screamed out and crawled weakly over to the body, shaking her head as she shook him over and over again, begging him to wake up.
"Leo! Leo! Get up, get up! Kefka is gone...he's...gone..." She lowered her head and began to heave a sob, dropping her now dampened hands into the grass. "Leo...you promised...that we would..."
After that, the dream would blur out a bit, although Terra could hear the voices of Locke and the others in the background, questioning about what had happened frantically.
"Somebody call for a doctor!"
"I'll go fetch him, Grandpa!"
"Celes, cast a spell!"
"I...I can't...not for something like this..."
And then Terra would wake up, only to mumble something incoherent and immediately fall back asleep. She didn't have the energy to face the world. Her room was kept dark at all times, and the only people who went in were Locke and Celes, to bring water and food, which, when they came back at the end of the day, would see had not been touched...
Despite knowing Leo more than Terra, Celes was carrying on a lot better. However, she didn't seem to have much to say. She would disappear from the Inn at times during the day, and go to the cemetery, where she would simply walk among the graves, studying each one intently. She had never seen such a big cemetery in a town before, and when she read the graves, she would find some of them to be hundreds of years old.
"Leo...you don't belong here..."
Locke spent most of his time resting and browsing Weapon and Item shops, picking up whatever the party would need for their trip back to Vector, however they would manage to do that. He also was the only one of the Returners that would visit Strago and Relm from time to time. Part of him wished that the elderly man and the girl would ask to join the Returners permanently, but another part of him secretly hoped that for some reason, Shadow would of ended up back at their home. He hadn't been seen ever since he abandoned the group, and Locke was worried for him. Surely he would of come back so that he could join the Returners on the ride back to Albrook...
**********
On the final night that the Returners stayed in Thamasa, Terra had a dream, a dream that differed completely from the constant flashbacks of Kefka's attack and Leo's lifeless body. In it, she imagined herself, all alone, in a dead and empty void. The darkness was thick and overpowering, and she almost felt as if she were going to suffocate. But then slowly, ever so slowly, light began to pour in around her. When she looked to her feet, she could see that she was standing on a baron, cracked, dry piece of land, covered in white pebbles and dead, dried up roots of plants. In the distance, she could hear an ocean, but when she looked about her, she was positive that there was not one there. Instead of the large, rolling waves of sapphire blue water she had seen on her ship ride to Thamasa, there was instead a calm, almost still body of filthy brownish-red water lapping at the eroding shores. There was no sparkle from the reflected sun, and no sign of life anywhere within it.
Suddenly, a twisted, maniacal laugh broke through the silence, echoing off of the dusty red sky. Terra gasped and looked up, coughing softly at the dust that had gotten caught in her throat at the sudden intake of polluted air. Rapidly, on an island not too far ahead of her own, thousands and thousands of pieces of debris, both commercial and natural, were flying and being melded into each other into a massive tower by some invisible force. As the tower grew and grew, Terra began to cough harder and harder, closing her stinging eyes as dirt and dust began to swirl around her frail body in a miniature whirlwind. The laughing got louder, but all of a sudden, stopped.
Terra moaned softly and slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself in the same place as before. Only now, the tower ahead of her was complete, so tall and looming that she could not pinpoint the top of it from the land she was standing on.
"...Momma...!"
Terra blinked and looked down, shocked to see that a little hand had taken her own. It belonged to a short, blonde haired girl, with wide blue eyes and soft pink lips. She clung onto Terra's hand as if it were a life preserver, and gazed up at her lovingly.
"Momma!"
"Momma!"
"Momma!"
Suddenly, a chorus of children's voices began to fill the air along with the girl's, although there were no other children besides her. The ground beneath Terra's feet began to shake and break apart, causing her to cry out and grab onto the little girl's hand, running away before it could collapse underneath them.
"Faster, Momma!"
"There's no where to go!" Terra cried weakly, finding that the further and faster she ran, the closer the breakage got to catching up with them. Suddenly, the scenery changed, and Terra and the girl found themselves on a beach. Terra kneeled down as gasped out for breath near the shore as the brown ocean splashed over her boots, and the little girl kneeled with her, frantically trying to get Terra's attention.
"Look Momma, look in the sky! Is it an angel?"
Terra sighed and looked up to where the girl was pointing, her voice getting caught in her throat as she was about to reply. Not to far away from their location was a tall, cracked cliff hanging off of a rather disfigured hill. Standing at the edge of the cliff was a familiar figure, their hands clasped together with their head down, long hair covering their face. Terra knew who it was, she could of sworn it, but the name wouldn't come to her lips. The figure took a few steps forward and let out a soft cry, pushing back their hair and casting aside a sword that had been hanging from a sheath on their hips.
"No!" Terra cried, leaping to her feet and running towards the cliff. "Don't jump! You can't! It will be ok!"
But it was too late.
The moment the figure took a flying leap off the cliff, a large wave rolled out from the ocean, breaking onto the shore so violently that it struck Terra off her feet and made her fall to the ground. The little girl cried out as the wave pulled her backwards into the ocean, screaming out Terra's name as her head disappeared underneath the water.
"NOOOOO!!!!" Terra screamed, frantically looking back and forth between the drowning girl and the falling figure. "What the...wha...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
"WHEE HEE HEE HEE! COME! JOIN THE MAGICAL EMPIRE OF KEFKA!"
**********
"Ahhhhhhh!!!" Terra screeched, and with that, shot straight up in bed, cold sweat pouring down her forehead.
"Terra...?" Celes muttered, flipping over in bed as she looked over at her. "Are you awake...?
"Celes!" Terra cried, and in a tangle of sheets and lent bed-clothes (courtesy of Strago), fell out of bed and crawled over to Celes' bedside, gasping for breath. Celes widened her eyes and reached down in a rare moment of affection, pushing the girl's green, damp bangs from out of her eyes.
"Are you ok? Did you have a bad dream?" Celes asked, feeling rather stupid. Of course she had had a bad dream. People didn't just wake up and scream.
"It was...more definitely like a nightmare." Terra said softly, looking about their surroundings. "Oh dear...I must of woken you up...and Locke too."
"Don't worry." Celes said. "I'm alright, and Locke is in another room. You're really been out of it for the past few days..."
"I know." Terra admitted. "I'm sorry, I really am. It's just that...everything happened so fast...I think it all finally took it's toll on me. To think...Yura and Leo were both killed...and we couldn't do anything about it!"
"But it wasn't our fault, either." Celes explained as firmly as she could manage. "There was honestly nothing we could do. Locke knows that, and so does Strago and Relm. Besides...if it wasn't for Leo, we probably wouldn't be here now. I don't know what happened, but...knowing Leo, he gave his life for a noble cause. He wouldn't allow himself to die any other way!"
"...You're right." Terra sniffled, and looked away for a moment. "But still...Leo...he made a promise to me...a promise that he can no longer keep." Celes didn't know what Terra was talking about, but decided that it was not in her place to question her about it.
"He would of kept it, if the circumstances were different." Celes finally said. "Believe me, Terra, I've been with him my entire life. He was a good friend, even better than he was a noble soldier. I miss him just as much as you do...but..."
"But we have to move on." Terra cut in, suddenly remembering the dream.
"Terra?"
"We can't stay here any longer." Terra decided, looking back to her friend. "We have to hurry on, before Kefka can get to the Statues. It's only a matter of time before he breaks through the Sealed Gate and steals them away. If that happens, everything is over for sure. I...I just know." Celes nodded and looked down in her lap.
"You're right. We need to be moving on. We should pay our respects to Leo tomorrow...he was buried in a special, more isolated part of the cemetery, but none of us have actually been there yet. We...we were waiting for you..."
"I'm sorry." Terra apologized again. "It's because of me that we haven't been able to leave. But I promise, tomorrow, I'll be all better. I have to put this behind me. Leo wouldn't want us to mope around...he would want us to fight. We have to stop Kefka..."
"And we will." Celes assured her. "Tomorrow, as soon as we say good- bye to Leo, we'll find a way off Crescent Island. There has to be some sort of ship that is going to come through here sometime."
"And then we'll find the others, and make a plan." Terra nodded, and stood up. "Thank you for waiting for me...you've been taking care of me all this time, haven't you...? The water and food always by my bedside..."
"Somewhat." Celes smiled. "But when we bring you breakfast tomorrow, you'd better eat it all! You don't have an excuse anymore! You're going to make yourself sick."
"At least I drank the water, ok?" Terra made a face, but smiled. "But tomorrow, I'll eat with you guys. When we leave Crescent Island...we're going to leave behind everything that happened also. Not forget it, just leave the burden."
"Nice way of putting it." Celes agreed, and let out a slight yawn. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."
"Oh, right!" Terra laughed a little, crawling back into bed. "Good- night Celes!"
"'Night..."
**********
The next morning, Terra was back to her normal self, much to Locke's surprise. Although he was happy to see that she was well again, when he looked at Celes, she gave him a slight nod indicating that things had been worked out and were not to be brought up again. So, Locke did not mention a word of anything that had occurred the past week, except for when the group finally reunited at Leo's gravesite.
Strago and Relm had joined the group in their good-byes, but did not say anything out of respect and because they had not known the man. Terra, with a fresh bouquet of bellflowers in her hands, placed them at the foot of his gray marble tombstone and stepped back, a slight frown on her face.
"General Leo..." She sighed a little and raised a hand to her heart. "People only seem to want power. Do they really want to be like me? I...I wanted to learn so much more from you...!"
"Arf! Arf!"
At the unusual noise, the team whirled around and spotted Interceptor limping and dragging his way through the thin foliage that hid Leo's grave. The poor dog had cuts all over where chunks of hair had been ripped from his body, and his left back leg looked as if it were about to snap in half underneath his weight. Terra widened her eyes and Celes let out a short gasp as Relm ran up to Interceptor and clutched onto him tightly but gently, only the way a child could.
"Interceptor!" Relm cried. "What happened to your master? Where is Shadow?!" Interceptor let out another whine and lowered his head, as if to say what everyone else had been fearing was the truth regarding Shadow's whereabouts. Locke took a step up to Relm and Interceptor, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"We not only lost Leo, but Shadow, too." Locke muttered, and shook his head, clutching the fist that was not resting on Relm's shoulder. "Curse the Empire!" Relm looked up at him and suddenly tore of her cape, kneeling down behind Interceptor and wrapping it tightly around his leg.
"This will have to do." Relm said softly, and slid back.
"No matter what happens, I'll come with you!" Celes cried. Locke nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.
"But now I'm worried about how Edgar and the others are doing." Locke said.
"I wish I could say they were safe..." Terra trailed off. Strago stepped away from the grave and looked everyone over.
"If you would like, I would be glad to serve you some tea before you depart." Strago volunteered.
"Sure." Terra said. "Lead the way."
As the group made their way back to Strago's house, Terra thought she heard someone call out her name. She looked behind her, wide eyed, when she saw the large group of people coming towards her.
"Edgar!!!"
"What???" Locke asked, and whirled around, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Sure enough, there was Edgar and the rest of the Returners that had been left behind in Vector, running towards the group at full speed. Terra smiled and met up with Edgar, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she gasped out for breath from running so fast. However, Edgar wasn't smiling. He looked rather disturbed, as did everyone else with him.
"What's wrong?" Terra asked worriedly, and Setzer pushed up ahead of Edgar, cursing under his breath.
"We've been had! The Empire is a liar!" Terra got a look on her face that clearly stated "Oh, isn't that obvious?"
"But thanks to Edgar here, we escaped before anything bad happened..." Cyan trailed off, and Locke grinned.
"Way to go, Edgar!"
"I got to 'know' the gal that brought us tea." Edgar giggled, and winked. "After a while, she just blurted the whole crooked plan!"
"So...you finally hit pay dirt, eh?" Sabin smirked, and Edgar looked shocked.
"Watch your mouth!" Edgar exclaimed, and laughed a little. "There are LADIES present! I was...a perfect gentleman." Edgar looked from Terra to Celes, giving them each a wink. Terra looked down at the ground, and Celes rolled her eyes. However, it was comforting for her to know that nothing had changed while she was away. It felt...strangely good to be back.
"Listen..." Locke trailed off, and Edgar looked up. "General Leo is...dead. Kefka did him in."
"Sir Leo, dead?!" Cyan cried. "What a shame...he was their finest warrior!"
"We need to rethink our plans." Edgar said firmly. "Let's return to the airship."
"Oh, so that's how you managed to come here." Terra smiled, and Strago stepped up, a concerned look on his face.
"May I accompany you?"
"What!?" Edgar asked, and put his hands on his hips. "Who're you???"
"He's one of this town's citizens." Locke explained, and Strago nodded to confirm this.
"He's a descendant of the original Mage Warriors." Terra offered, to help convince the king. "I think he can be a big help." Edgar just blinked and scratched his head. Mage Warriors? What were those? He was lost.
"We must expect the Empire to flex it's new-found muscle soon!" Strago cried, and the others couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"I want to go too!" Relm declared, and jumped into the air.
"I don't think so!" Strago snapped, and Relm snorted, suddenly raising her hand to make a rather rude gesture with her finger. Strago gasped and Sabin burst out laughing.
"Yeah right, kid!"
Relm turned to Sabin and made a dark scowl.
"What? Who is this !@$#ed-up aerobics instructor anyway!?" Sabin turned red but still could not help but laugh.
"This kid's got quite a lip on her!"
Edgar nodded a little, looking Relm up and down.
"Mmmm...yes she does..."
"Aaaaaack!" Relm shrieked, glaring at both of the Figaro brothers now. "I'm gonna paint your portrait!!!"
"Oh, no no no!" Terra cried, and dove on top of Relm.
"Please don't!!"! Locke added desperately, jumping on top of both Terra and Relm. As the three brawled for Relm's paintbrush, the other Returners all looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Strago let out a slight chuckle and shook his head.
"Alright Relm! If you insist..."
"That's better!" Relm sang, and began to skip ahead of the group, all ready to leave town.
"Lets go!" Sabin exclaimed. "Follow that brat!" With that, he took off after the girl.
"SHUT UP!" Relm screamed out from the distance.
"Welcome to the Returners..." Setzer tried to offer his hand, and Strago laughed as he took hold of it in a warm shake. "And welcome back, Celes."
"....Thanks." Celes smiled, and froze when she looked up at Cyan. He stared at her with dark, guilty eyes, and quickly turned away. Celes smirked a little to herself and let out a haughty laugh as she walked off, following Relm. The others soon proceeded to leave also, except for Edgar, who kept peering at Relm's backside confusedly. He just couldn't understand it. Why had Relm been the third woman in a row he had failed to charm?? It was beyond his comprehension!
"What is it with Returner women?" Edgar thought aloud, when suddenly, Relm popped up in front of him, glaring up into his thoughtfully narrowed blue gaze.
"What's wrong, lover-boy?" Relm pestered, and Edgar looked down at her.
"Hey...how old are you?"
Relm blinked and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm ten. Why?"
"Oh goodness." Edgar chuckled, and ruffled a bit of Relm's hair. "You're still pretty young! And you're cute, too! Wait until you grow up, and you become a beautiful lady! But until then, keep away from the boys! Tell them King Edgar has already made his proposal! Har har har!" Relm blinked and shook her head.
"I'm coming along too, ya know...so don't try anything funny, you twisted freak of a king." Edgar gulped and pushed his bangs out of his eyes as Relm turned her back to him and made her way back out of town.
"You've grown up entirely too fast as it is!" Edgar muttered to himself, and began to chase after her. "Lighten up, ok?!"
Outside the village, as the Returners were climbing up into Setzer's newly repaired airship, Relm gasped and turned to Strago.
"Grandpa! Oh my Gods, we totally forgot about what to do with Interceptor! We can't take him with us in his condition, but we can't leave him alone either!" Strago sighed and wiped some sweat that was building over his bushy white brows.
"You're right, child...Why don't I run back into Thamasa quickly and see what I can do?"
"Thank you!" Relm exclaimed, and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Strago muttered and shook the girl off of him, turning to climb back down the ladder he had just struggled up to get on board.
"Hurry up!" Setzer called from the upper deck. "We haven't all day!!"
"What happened to Interceptor?" Sabin blinked. "Why isn't Shadow with him...?" Locke and Terra looked at each other, and Terra reached for Sabin's arm to pull him aside for a moment.
"Hold your horses!" Strago bellowed back, and with that, ran back into town. He immediately spotted the dog resting at the steps in front of his home, but along with it was a familiar elderly character.
"Gungho!" Strago exclaimed, and waved. The man, dressed in light red robes, stood up and waved back as he gave Interceptor a slight pat with his other hand.
"Aha! I am Gungho!" He smiled. "The warrior extraordinaire from the town of Thamasa! First time I've been back in a while, and the village looks trashed. What on Earth happened?" Strago blinked and crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for Gungho to realize who he was. Gungho stared at him for a moment and let out a little gasp, bringing his spectacles from his breast pocket and slipping them on over the bridge of his nose.
"Oh! Strago, is that you?! Have you come back to hunt Hidon?" Strago shook his head and sighed sadly. Gungho guffawed and gave Interceptor another pat.
"You'll never change. That's who you are! When you were younger, you hunted Hidon, the legendary monster. But you quit before you found it..."
"I didn't really quit!" Strago protested. "While you have been hunting, Gungho, I have been back here raising little Relm and helping protect our village's secret! Besides, Hidon lives on Ebot's Rock...and that has been submerged underneath the ocean for some time now...I doubt it will ever rise again in our lifetimes." Gungho smirked and shook his head as he let Strago explain himself.
"You could never give me an honest answer...you're a buffoon for giving up!"
"...." Strago sighed again, but decided not to say anymore regarding that subject.
"Listen...I'm going out of town for a while with Relm. You see that dog? It's...uhh...Relm's new pet...and I was wondering if you could maybe..."
"Yeah yeah, I'll take care of him!" Gungho exclaimed. "So what's his name?"
"Interceptor." Strago answered. "His leg is injured, so..."
"Interceptor, eh?" Gungho looked the dog over curiously. "An odd name for a dog...and yet it sounds so familiar!"
"Yeah, funny, isn't it?" Strago asked slowly, and looked away. "At any rate, thanks..."
"Anything for a buffoon like you!" Gungho smirked, and gave a little wave. "See ya whenever you come back."
"All right." Strago said, and with that, turned away to go back to the airship, without even saying good-bye.
Back on the airship, the Returners were desperately trying to piece together the clues they got from the Empire to determine what move they would make next.
"The Empire is after the Sealed Gate!" Setzer cried as he kept his eyes at the steering wheel of the Blackjack. "They're lookin' for some Statues or something."
"WHAT!?" Strago and Relm cried together alarmingly. "OH NO!!!" Terra's face grew pale as she stared at Setzer.
"Are you sure? They said they wanted The Statues!?"
**********
"Oh, those silly Espers!" Gestahl let out a snicker as he and Kefka approached the now unsealed Sealed Gate. It had taken them days to restore their troops and be sure that they could take on any more Esper attacks when they arrived at the Sealed Gate, but now, here they were, moments away from treacherous victory! "To think they opened the gate themselves! The Statues should be just ahead. If we can just get our hands on them, we'll have everything we ever dreamed of!" Kefka burst out laughing and began to shake all over.
"Come quickly!" Gestahl ordered rather sharply, and with that, entered the Sealed Gate. Kefka leapt in surprise and quickly ran after him, laughing louder.
**********
"Ugh..." Terra moaned out and suddenly buried her head in her hands, closing her eyes as a pounding rush of pain ran through her forehead.
"Terra, what's wrong?" Celes asked worriedly, and rested her hand on Terra's rather cold shoulder. Her entire body felt as if the life had been sucked out of it.
"The island..." Terra mumbled, and slowly lifted her head, turning to look over the deck of the airship. Below them was the large island that contained the Sealed Gate, the one that connected to the main continent by means of the huge metal bridge the Empire base was built upon. "The whole world is groaning in pain..."
**********
At that very moment, there came an overpowering rumbling noise from the island down below the airship. Celes looked down with Terra and gasped, the tremors on the island so great that they could easily be detected from the airship. Setzer cried out for everyone to hold on tightly and took a sharp turn away from the island, and just in time, at that. Seconds later, the mass of land had completely lifted from the sea, and was somehow being dragged up into the sky above. Rocks and debris flew out from underneath the landmass as it passed over the airship, pouring down upon the Returners as they cried out and covered themselves for protection. The land lifted higher and higher, and soon it was completely covered and hidden away with the fluffy white clouds that dominated the sky.
On the floating island, Kefka, Gestahl, and three tall, shining statues of beautiful goddesses were set in the dead center, the two men laughing hysterically at what events had just come about. As the Statues gleamed with shining white and blue sparks of magic, everything green and alive that had once been on the island began to shrivel away and crumble underneath it's own dry weight. The dirt and rocks were all that remained, and they began to fuse into disproportioned rises and dips in the land. In other places, holes in the land split open, some so deep that you could fall right through the ground and plunge to your doom. Gestahl's face twisted itself into an even more ugly grin than Kefka could ever manage, and closed his eyes as he began to laugh deeply.
"Fuwa, ha, ha! Now THIS is power! This, and my Magicite... now nothing can stop me!"
**********
The glimmer of the Statues was so bright, that it could be seen on the upper deck of the Blackjack. Terra and Strago narrowed their eyes and stared up at the sky, the others looking to each other nervously. Everything was happening too fast to properly comprehend. Had the end come already?
"Those are..." Terra trailed off, and Strago nodded.
"They are the beginning of all magic...Do you remember, Terra? It is said that they somehow neutralized each other's power, then sealed themselves away... If the three statues should ever be moved out of alignment, the resulting imbalance of power would...rearrange the face of our planet..." Terra gasped, clasping a hand over her heart as her nightmare came screaming back into her thoughts.
"What!?!?!"
Part II- Omega
"There is no time!" Setzer cried, squinting his eyes as he steered the Blackjack ever further into the heavens, causing the rear of the ship to tip back a bit, and to make the Returners go with it. Terra and the others clung to the sides of the ship, the wind blowing so hard in their faces that they could barely breathe. Setzer suddenly ripped past the floating continent and continued flying upwards, hoping that he could get a glimpse of the navigation of the land before they descended. However, what he saw troubled him greatly. While the land mass was hardly shifting as much as it was before, all the new mountains and pits that had been created previously forced whoever was to travel upon them to stick on selected few narrow paths, and he could immediately tell that there was no way all of the Returners could come after Kefka in those conditions. The Emperor and his clown-prince were settled on a high-risen part of the land in the dead center of the continent, however it would take extreme maneuvering around the entire continent to reach them safely.
"Lets jump onto that thing already!" Locke cried impatiently, and Setzer looked back at him as he shifted the Blackjack's gears into neutral and walked over to his alarmed friend.
"Look down there Locke. See how complicated the path is to Gestahl and Kefka? There is no way we're all gonna be able to navigate through that together. I think only three of us should come along."
"Only three...against Kefka and The Statues...?" Celes trailed off, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm going!" Terra cried. "I'm taking it upon myself to avenge General Leo's death!"
"I need to come as well." Locke said. "What happened in Thamasa was too much for me to just let go."
"And who will be the last?" Setzer questioned, and everyone looked at each other. "I personally feel that I should remain on the ship, in case of an emergency."
Celes was about to open her mouth, but Edgar cut her off and stepped up beside Locke.
"I'll go! Terra, Locke, and I started all of this together...and today we're gonna end it!" Celes raised her eyebrows and turned away, looking down below at the continent.
"Ok, so Terra, Locke, Edgar, you'll be going." Setzer confirmed. "Everyone else will stay here and act as support. Come back right away if you get in trouble!"
"We will!" Terra cried, and took hold of Setzer's hands. "Please Setzer, you take care of everyone here, and take care of the Blackjack!" Setzer chuckled a little and smiled.
"You act as if we won't be seeing each other again Terra..." Terra bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment. Strangely enough, it was exactly how she felt. The numbing feeling was eating away at her heart as she spoke her next words.
"...Of course we will, Setzer...This...it's just like a regular mission."
"Of course." Setzer replied softly, and quickly cleared his throat. "I'll just lower down a bit, and then..."
"AHHHHH!" Relm suddenly screamed, leaping back ten feet. "Look, look!" The Returners all turned towards Relm, and discovered what she was afraid of. Flying towards them at a rapid pace were a whole fleet of metal winged contraptions, all auto-piloted Magitek air force armors.
"Shit! The IAF!" Locke growled.
"The what????" Sabin asked, and Locke looked to him.
"The Imperial Air force."
"They know we're here!" Terra gasped, and shook Setzer's shoulders. "Hurry, before they attack!"
But it was too late. The air force army, consisting of two different model types, Spit Fire and Sky Armor, began their assault on the Blackjack with exploding grenades and gunfire. The whole party proceeded to fight back as Terra, Locke, and Edgar made their way to the back end of the ship, preparing to jump off at a moment's notice.
"Take that, Imperial bitches!!!" Relm screamed, and waved her magical paintbrush. Several copies of the air force's machines were cloned and immediately began attacking their counterparts, giving the Returners the extra firepower they needed. Celes and Strago called upon various water and electricity spells to short-circut the fiends, and the others who were too far at a distance to fight summoned Espers. Terra, Locke, and Edgar anxiously anticipated Setzer's command to jump as he neared the continent slowly and carefully, but alas, they had one more trial before the continent would begrudgingly welcome them.
With everyone too busy fighting off the IAF, no one had noticed the odd combination of pink and purple floating through the sky and overhead the Blackjack's deck. With a loud "OOMPH!" the combo landed on the deck, scaring the living daylights out of Terra, Locke, and Edgar as they whirled around to see what it was. Locke widened his eyes and Edgar slapped his forehead as they both screamed in unison.
"Oh Gods, not YOU again!"
"Oh shut up!!!" Ultros screeched, banging his front arms on the Blackjack's deck. The large pink, almost cotton candy resembling creature behind him broke into a toothy grin and let out a garbled "Rooorrrrrrrraaaarrr!"
"Ultros, did you fly in on that thing!?" Terra cried nervously, eyeing the pink cotton candy ball.
"His name is Chupon!" Ultros defended. "Not 'that thing'! You never had respect for anyone, missy, and now I'm going to assure you that this WILL BE our LAST battle! Trust me!"
"Trust you? That's a laugh!" Terra exclaimed, and folded her hands together, extending her two pointer fingers. "Firaga!"
In a sudden explosion of flame and flare, Ultros cried out and turned a delightful crispy, black color as he fell backwards on his round, bulbous head, squealing in agony at Terra's most powerful Fire spell yet.
"I lose AGAIN!" Ultros screamed. "But don't forget, today I have a friend! CHUPON! Come on down!!" With that, Chupon let out another queer roar and took in a deep breath, sucking in the air so fast and hard that the Returners nearly got sucked in with him. Chupon's pink body expanded to dangerous proportions as Ultros snickered and disappeared in a puff of smoke, like usual. However, the Returners could still hear his voice, although it was fading quickly.
"Mr. Chupon is taciturn, but terrrrrrrrrrrribly powerful! Heh heh heh!"
"Look out, he's gonna blow!" Terra cried, but it was too late. Chupon squinted up his beady black eyes and suddenly let out a massive...
...sneeze.
The force of the mucus-filled air smashed into Terra, Locke, and Edgar like a wild chocobo herd. Before they could do anything to stop themselves, the three Returners stumbled backwards over the rail of the ship, and proceeded to fall...fall...fall...
However, the worst wasn't over. A huge piece of metallic air force craft began to waft towards them, spotting their forms in its radar.
"This is it!" Terra cried, closing her eyes tightly. "This is..."
"KERRRRRRPOWWWW!"
"Ack, I can hear you blowing up, Locke!" Edgar screamed, his eyes also closed.
"I'm alive, you idiot!" Locke snapped, and pointed above them as they continued to plunge down. The air above them was smoky and spark- ridden, and standing at the edge of the deck of the ship was Celes, removing herself from her spell-casting stance and giving a wild wave to Terra, Locke, and Edgar. Locke cupped his hands over his mouth and called out:
"We'll be back soon, Celes! Tell Setzer that we're OK!!!!"
"Here we go!" Edgar called above the noise of the air that was rushing past their falling bodies. "Everyone, grab hands and pray to sweet Lady Luck!"
Terra, in the middle of the two men, grabbed onto Locke and then Edgar's hand, closing her eyes tightly. She was too afraid to look down, although she knew the continent was close. She was positive that the impact of the fall would kill them all! Time ticked by as if the seconds were days, and the minutes were month-spanned. Just when Terra thought she couldn't take it anymore, the team suddenly crash-landed on top of the floating continent, everyone's breath getting knocked out of them instantly. Terra gasped out and opened her eyes, her vision blurring as she tried her best to calm her senses and properly fixate her gaze on her surroundings. Locke moaned out and rubbed at his butt as he dropped Terra's hand and struggled to stand. Edgar was just lying flat on his back, almost as if he were dead.
"Edgar!" Terra cried, shaking him as she stared down at his face. Edgar quickly opened his eyes and grinned up at Terra, nodding to himself.
"Oh alas, Terra, you've come to profess your undying devotion to me!"
"I think Edgar hit his head harder then we did." Terra said, turning to ignore him.
"That should of hurt more than it did." Locke admitted, still wincing as he slid his hands up from his butt to his bruised lower back. "This continent is already stained in the Goddess' magic. I am positive that we are being...expected."
"...Oh dear..." Terra murmured, as Edgar finally climbed to his feet and slung his arm around Terra's shoulders. Terra squealed and ducked out from underneath his arm, taking a few steps back. "Edgar, please! This is very serious!"
"What can you expect from a leech!?" Locke laughed a little, but suddenly stopped as he heard a small moan emit out from somewhere nearby.
"....What was that...?" Edgar asked nervously, and Terra took a few steps ahead of the group, gasping as she rubbed at her eyes to make sure she was still seeing straight. Lying in a crumpled heap on the dusty ground, nearly camouflaged in it, was Shadow! The black-clad ninja moaned again and slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Terra kneeled down beside him and felt around for broken bones. Shadow glared at her and pulled back slightly, more from habit than anything else.
"Shadow!" Terra exclaimed, letting him pull away for now. "Oh my Gods!"
"You...you're alive..." Locke trailed off, a soft happiness laced in his tone. It was almost too good to be true...
"Down with the Empire!" Shadow grunted, slowly pulling himself up to his feet. "Once I outlived my usefulness, they tried to KILL me! Just like General Leo!!"
"You know about Leo..." Terra trailed off, and Shadow nodded a bit.
"I was told you were a goner!" Edgar exclaimed, and glared at Locke. "Nice faulty info there!" Locke turned red as he struggled to explain himself, but Shadow interrupted.
"Is Interceptor ok?"
"Yes, Strago Magus is having a friend in Thamasa dress his wounds and take care of him." Terra explained. "He came to us a few days after Thamasa was attacked..."
"Thank goodness." Shadow sighed. "At least I can let the reaper take me with some sort of peace residing in this dead heart."
"What are you talking about?!" Edgar cried. "You've got to come with us Shadow! Kefka and the others are here! Do you know about The Statues?"
"Of course I do, it's all Kefka talked about when he was too distracted to kill me!" Shadow barked. "Are they here too?!"
"Yes!" Locke replied. "If he...if he even moves them an inch out of alignment..."
"Well, forget about me." Shadow snapped. "It wouldn't be right to have me fight by your side..."
"We cannot just leave you!" Terra declared, and grabbed onto Shadow's hand. "Please, we must hurry! Time is of the essence..."
Shadow, surprisingly, did not protest any further.
With that, the three Returners and one ninja began their dangerous trek across the newly dubbed "Floating Continent". Many times, the paths they took would lead to a dead end or a hill far too rocky and high to climb, so they would have to turn around and try again. To make matters worse, not only had the land of the Floating Continent mutated, but the creatures that once lived on it as well did also, and went rouge as soon as they spotted the Returners, which they saw as prey. It took everything in the Returners power just to fight back and stay alive, only to be bombarded by another herd of creatures in moments. The rocks on the ground were pointy and some almost dagger-like, easily cutting through the bottoms of Terra's cloth boots and Shadow's lightweight footgear. The further the Returners delved on the continent, the more hopeless the situation seemed to become.
After what felt like days (which were really a few hours), the Returners emerged from a small tunnel and found that they had indeed, reached another dead end, despite how well their progress seemed to be until up to this point.
"Damnit!" Edgar cried, and smashed his fist into his hand. "What the hell are we supposed to do now!?" He lowered his head and sighed, nearly letting his emotions get the best of him as he whimpered out a bit. Shadow looked around and blinked, letting his hand drop from his hip as he slowly pointed ahead of the group.
"Edgar. Shut up, and look over there. Quietly."
Edgar blinked and looked up, as well as Terra and Locke, to see what Shadow was pointing at. However, all they saw was the same massive, dirty blockage that they had seen before.
"What...?" Terra whispered, and narrowed her eyes a bit. It was then, that she saw what was truly in front of them.
A massive beast...sitting so quietly and still that it could easily blend into its background. It was a pale taupe color, it's four legs slightly twitching with the massive muscles impacted so tightly underneath it's exterior. It's face was a mass of growths and horns, it's piercing blue eyes in only narrow slits as it exhaled softly, dust and god knows what else pouring from it's nostrils as it did so. Knowing that it was spotted, the beast suddenly flicked it's long and spike-ended tail (nearly 15 feet long!), smashing a large hill of rock and dirt beside it. Terra gasped and leaped up into the air, her body shivering all over as she felt something cold and piercing protrude into her mind...a voice. Apparently the others could hear it too, for she saw them widen their eyes and instinctively cover their ears.
"My name is Atma..."
"...I am pure energy...and as ancient as the cosmos..."
"...Feeble creatures, if you wish to pass..."
"...Then you shall soon find your final resting place...beyond hell, beyond heaven...but in the chaos that lies beneath my very form! The pain you suffer shall be so great...that even through death, your weak little bodies will not escape it! I will have a grasp on your vulnerable, everlasting souls...and thus, everlasting horror!"
Suddenly, Terra felt the cold grip on her mind release itself, as she gasped out, as if suffocating, and stumbled back. Atma let out a slight growl and closed its eyes all of the way, it's form beginning to glow with a soft, pearl-colored light.
"Meteor."
A barrage of flaming comets came flying from the heavens and striking each of the Returners repeatedly, causing everyone to cry out in devastating pain as comets slashed through their armor and clothing, making way for newer comets to burn and tear at their revealed flesh. Finally, the spell ended and Atma closed its eyes again, contemplating on what its next move would be. Terra, Edgar, Locke, and Shadow, now all stunned and paralyzed on the ground, could barely find enough strength to keep breathing and thinking at the same time.
"Ahh...hhh....Cu...rragga..." Terra whimpered, closing her eyes. A soft, yet sparkling rainbow light began to pour all over the fallen party, immediately bringing the revitalization and energy back that they craved. Terra lowered her head and took in another deep breath, knowing that they would need stronger magic for this battle. Magic that only her Esper form could make.
As Terra transformed, Locke took his turn and cast a Esuna spell, washing away all the searing effects of the Meteor spell from their bodies. Edgar stood up and pulled out his chainsaw, letting out a strained battle- cry as he ran forth and began to slash at the idle Atma. Surprisingly, this seemed to be effective. Atma let out a cry of pain and slashed at the king, desperate to get him away. Finally, it struck home and smashed the chain saw with one massive swipe of its paw, sending it flying across the continent in pieces before it could hit the ground. Edgar gulped and jumped back, leaving a window open for Shadow to throw shuriken darts at a safe distance. Terra, completing her transformation into her Esper alter- ego, narrowed her ruby-red eyes and scowled at the suffering Atma.
"Pitiless creature! Hateful, ancient scorn!"
"Do not be fooled by your own ignorance, Esper...HOLY!"
Terra and the others let out a scream as a blinding light suddenly surrounded their bodies, forcing them to close their eyes tightly as they were blindly struck by flying, glowing white orbs from all directions, the heat of impact in their skin nearly twice that of the Meteor spell. However, Terra's temporary form gave her an advantage against magic that Atma was not aware of, and proceeded to cast a healing spell even as Holy wore on. By the time the spell's effects faded away, Terra cast another Curaga spell, immediately restoring her comrades to full power once more. Glaring at Atma, she cast another spell, draining the monster's vital magic power and transferring it to herself and the others. Atma let out a feeble gasp, it's legs beginning to shake a bit as Edgar, Locke, and Shadow went back to attacking mercilessly. Terra, feeling her transformation already begin to wear off, fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Keep...going...guys! Atma cannot fight back...without...magic.."
Moments later, the battle ended. Locke, striking a final blow on the beast, jumped back as Atma's form began to quiver and then shake violently, fading away in a pale red light as it's screams softly echoed away in the Returners' minds. Terra moaned and finally climbed to her feet, smiling at everyone as she looked around.
"We...we did it! Wow...that's teamwork for you...!"
"Teamwork? Hell yeah!" Locke declared, taking a leap into the air. Shadow sighed a little and Terra turned to him, her smile fading.
"Shadow...?"
"I can feel it...Gestahl and Kefka are right up ahead." Shadow explained. "And...I...I sold my skill to the Empire. I cannot fight by your side."
"No, Shadow, wait!" Terra cried. But in one swift leap and bound, Shadow had disappeared from sight. Terra felt her heart drop a bit as she continued staring out ahead of her, hoping that somehow Shadow would change his mind and come right back.
"Terra..." Locke trailed off, and she turned to face him.
"Let's go...let's get what we came for."
"...Yes." Terra finally nodded, and Edgar smiled.
"Don't worry, Shadow will be back. Besides...as Returners...this is OUR battle."
"You're both right." Terra said, and stared up ahead, where Atma had been resting. A large slope of land that went upward was just ahead, and from it she could see the glimmer of The Statues, as brightly as ever. They weren't too late...!
"KEFKA!!!" Terra screamed, and with that, took off running up the slope of land, her pulse pounding in her ear. As she stumbled over the top, she was shocked to find Kefka dancing about the Statues, struggling to move them but not being very successful. Gestahl was standing by and watching, his lips pressed together as if he weren't quite sure of what he wanted Kefka to do. However, as soon as Kefka spotted Terra, and moments later, Locke and Edgar, he paused in his efforts and put on a slick smile.
"Goodness me, look who's come!!!!"
"Well, well..." Gestahl trailed off, and narrowed his eyes. "If it isn't Celes...welcome back!"
"What!?" Terra, Locke, and Edgar cried in unison. Whirling around, they saw Celes standing a few feet behind them, unmoving as she stared straight past them and into Gestahl's beady eyes. Parts of her uniform was torn and dust-covered, and her hair was blown back from her face in a tangled mess, but she never looked more cold and threatening.
"I came to stop you!" Celes cried, and climbed up to Terra, Locke, and Edgar's sides.
"Celes..." Terra trailed off softly. "Be careful...we're here together..."
"I wanted to come, Terra." Celes muttered, and got a frightening glint in her eye. Terra swallowed her next words and took a few steps back as Celes crossed her arms over her chest, and went back to Gestahl.
"You are all just in time to parish!" Gestahl exclaimed, and gestured towards the three stone goddesses. "Behold! THE STATUES!" He shivered and grinned as he rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Oooh...what power...I'm getting goose bumps!"
"Emperor Gestahl!" Celes ordered, taking a step towards him. "Please! Stop this madness!" In reply to this, Gestahl raised his hands and laughed softly, muttering foreign words under his breath. Moments later, shining blue stars flew down from the sky above and stuck each of the Returners, with the exception of Celes. As soon as the person was touched, they were forced down to their knees, paralyzed and helpless. Celes gasped and whirled around, widening her eyes as she watched Terra, Locke, and Edgar struggle against their new bonds and cry out painfully. Her train of thought about how to help them was suddenly interrupted by Gestahl's laughter, causing Celes to turn back to him.
"Celes...come to me, my pretty! You and Kefka...you were given life to serve me! It is your birthright to rule the world with me!!!" Celes blinked and bit down on her lip, knowing that most of Gestahl's words were only too true.
"Kill the others, and we will overlook your treachery!" Kefka offered sweetly. He laughed and walked over to Gestahl, getting a sword from him. Then, slowly, as if being cautious, Kefka walked up to Celes and held out the shining, slim blade in his hands, grinning. Celes' gaze flickered back and forth between the sword, and Kefka's empty eyes.
A sudden wave of tiredness and blurriness came over her senses, making her realize how badly she just wanted it to all end, and quickly. She was tired. She was sick. She was alone...no matter what Locke told her...no matter what anyone told her. She was a soldier, born in a lab and developed through science to become the perfect Magitek knight. She was not born to befriend anyone, to become a lover, or to simply live. She was made to destroy. No one else in the world was like her...except...Kefka...
...Was she no different from the insane clown she hated so much, who was only inches away from her and providing her the means to quickly end her guilt and pain?
"Take this sword!!!" Kefka demanded, trying to shove it closer to her. "Take care of them! IMMEDIATELY!" Celes let out a slight sigh and reached down, grasping the handle of the sword in her expert hand, and lifting it up and away from Kefka. Kefka nodded and grinned harder as Celes turned, facing her bound friends, sword raised. When her gaze landed on Locke's, she felt a slight shockwave run down her spine.
Celes...oh Celes, what are you doing...? Terra thought to herself, her insides shaking as she watched the blade gleam in the light of the goddesses. Please, please tell me that it won't end this way...I thought...you were one of us!
Was this another trick we were set up for??? Edgar thought, closing his eyes. We were fools...such fools...
"Ce...Celes..." Locke groaned, gathering all of his strength to utter out his words as he stared up into her cold gaze. "...Why...why...are...you...crying...?" Celes gasped and reached up slightly with her free hand, shocked to find her fingertips damp with the warm tears that had discreetly slid down her cheek.
"Celes, think about it!" Gestahl exclaimed, raising his hands into the air. "Together, we can rule this entire world!" Celes nodded slowly and with that, walked right in front of Locke. Staring down at him with emotionless but damp eyes, she choked on a sob and raised her sword, prepared to bring it down upon his weakened and helpless body. Locke stared up at her with confused eyes, using his last bit of strength to close his eyes and look away as she did what she needed to do. Celes bit down on her lip and choked again when she saw the tears that were trailing down Locke's cheeks, like her own.
...What am I doing...?
...Why am I here?
...This is wrong...wake up...wake up! You are not what Gestahl says, and you are not Kefka. You are Celes Chere. You are a woman, not a machine... You joined the Returners because of...
Celes stared down at Locke and shook her head, crying out so loudly that her voice echoed back to her over and over.
"Power only breeds war...! I wish...I wish that I had never been...born..."
With that, Celes let out another cry and turned away from Locke, closing her eyes, and with all her strength, ran the sword through Kefka's torso. She let out a soft sob and quickly withdrew, opening her eyes and watching through blurred vision as Kefka gasped out and stumbled back, running his hand over his bleeding wound and holding his blood-drenched fingers in front of his face.
"B...Blood...?" Kefka widened his eyes, never seeing his own blood spill from his body before. It was unreal. It wasn't real! He wasn't a mere human! He was a GOD! A GOD! Kefka looked to Celes, his sneer turning into a frightful glare as he dragged his damp hand across his chest to remove the crimson stains from his fingertips.
"You...you vicious BITCH!" Kefka screamed. "GRRRR...ARGGG...I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE YOU! Grrr..." Celes ignored him and abandoned the sword, running over to Terra and the others to see how she could help. Terra looked up at Celes happily as she began to chant a spell.
"Celes...I'm glad...you're on our side."
"Goddesses!" Kefka screeched, and began jumping up and down, despite the wound on his body. "You were born only to fight! I implore you...show me your power!" Instead of that, the Goddesses let out a bolt of lightening, striking at Kefka and making him leap back.
"I command you! Give me your power! Arrrgh! Curses!" The Statues began to glow, and Kefka began to glow too...with anger.
"Listen to me, or you'll regret it! Give me...POWER!"
Gestahl shook his head and walked over to Kefka, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Kefka, stop it! Revive those statues, and you'll destroy the very world we're trying to possess!"
"Shaddup, would you?!"
"Kefka, are you crazy!?" At that comment, Kefka turned and looked at the emperor, the look in his eyes clearly confirming that question.
"Crazy...?! Emperor! Don't disturb me! I'm showing them the meaning of power!" Gestahl made a concerned face, and shook his head.
"I don't think so, friend. Your days are now over." Kefka squealed like a little girl and Gestahl raised his hands. "Now relax...I'm simply going to put you to sleep with the very power you unleashed......" At this, Kefka burst out laughing, and shook his head. Gestahl narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?" Kefka continued to laugh, this time even louder, causing Gestahl to grow angrier.
"Very well! It's only fitting that you should go to sleep laughing! Firaga!"
However, nothing happened, and Kefka continued his laughter, pretending to look shocked that nothing came of the spell.
"Flare!!!!!"
Kefka put on his surprised face again, and giggled madly.
"Nooo!" Gestahl cried, looking at his hands. "Why isn't my magic working?! Merton!!!!!!!" But alas, the third time was not the charm, and Kefka began to do a little dance as the emperor looked over his fingers confusedly. "Kefka...how...how are you doing this...?" Kefka smirked and gave Gestahl a hard push backwards, laughing as the old man stumbled over his own feet.
"How? Simple! I'm standing within the field of The Statues! Their strong field absorbs all magic sent their way! Or didn't you notice?!" Gestahl widened his eyes, shocked, as Kefka laughed and turned back to his precious goddesses. "And now, Statues! You've shown me a sign! It is time you show this old man your true power!"
"No, Kefka!" Gestahl cried weakly. "You don't know what you're doing..."
"I command you Statues, show me a sign!" Kefka exclaimed. In reply, a bolt of white lightning was shot straight into the ground a few feet in front of him. Kefka grinned and jumped up and down. "INCREDIBLE!" The lightning struck again, and Kefka shook his head. "You're WAY off! Where are you aiming?!" A few moments later, the lightning struck for a third time, much closer to Gestahl, but not close enough.
"There will be no one to worship us..."
"Whoa...a little more to the right!" The lightning struck again. Kefka giggled and waved to Gestahl. "Run, run, or you'll be well done!!!!!" Gestahl gulped and climbed to his feet weakly, preparing to make a run for it past the Returners, who were still paralyzed, despite Celes trying her best to heal them. However, Gestahl made a fatal mistake. As soon as he stood up to run, the lightning stuck him head-on, instantly killing the old man. Kefka let out a cheer as Celes watched on, horrified at what had just happened. Kefka danced over to Gestahl, and let out a delighted squeal.
"YES!!!" He began kicking at the emperor's dead body, but quickly grew bored of that and stared down at him. "Poor old...OH WELL!!!! He was a worthless excuse for an emperor ANYWAY!!!" With that, Kefka took hold of Gestahl's body, effortlessly drop-kicking it over the edge of the cliff that was just behind The Statues. Celes stood up and stared at Kefka, not believing that he just killed the only father figure he had ever known.
"Kefka, you have to snap out of it!"
"Oh Celes, just go to hell already."
To emphasize his reply, Kefka shot at Celes with a quick energy ray courtesy of The Statues, causing her to cry out and roll down a steep slope, the jagged rocks wrecking havoc on her already weakened body. Ignoring Celes' cries, Kefka began to push around the goddesses a bit, this time with the greatest of ease. Locke moaned out and struggled harder as Terra and Edgar racked their brains trying to think of an Esper that could help them escape.
However, Celes wasn't defeated yet. Pulling herself as far back up the slope as she could manage before collapsing on her stomach, Celes blew her hair out of her eyes and looked up at Kefka, shouting:
"Oh, that's really smart, Kefka! Disturb their delicate balance, and they'll go haywire...!" Kefka just ignored her and continued pushing the statues more, until a shrill whistle broke through the scraping sounds of the statues dragging across the ground. Celes looked up and saw a dark figure leap onto the scene, but she was too out of it to easily recognize them.
"WHO ARE YOU!?" Kefka growled, and the figure turned away, spotting Celes and immediately leaping to her side, sweeping her off her feet and bringing her back up to the others. Celes blinked and looked up at the figure's face, her eyes wide.
"Shadow!!!!!!!!"
Shadow nodded and gently set Celes down, dashing over to Kefka and giving him a hard shove between all three statues. Before Kefka could realize what was going on, Shadow had dashed about each statue, pushing them in even further so that they trapped Kefka within them.
"NOOO!" Kefka shrieked, and banged his fists against the statues. "What the hell are you doing?!" The reaction of all the statues shooting their magic sparks at each other caused a slight chain reaction that made several stars fly out at the paralyzed party, freeing them from their binds!
"Thank goodness!" Terra cried, leaping to her feet. "Is everyone ok?"
"I'm good." Locke said, and looked over to Celes. Celes climbed up to her feet and joined his side, not saying a word as she looked up at him.
"You're GOOD alright." Edgar smirked, and Shadow walked over to the group quickly.
"You have to go now!" Shadow cried. "There are people counting on...on your return."
"But Shadow!" Terra protested. "Wait, you..."
Terra became interrupted as the reaction from The Statue's destroyed balance began to take place. The Floating Continent began to shift and shake, tremors similar from before overtaking everything. The ledge that Terra, Locke, Edgar, and Celes were standing on collapsed from underneath them, throwing them down the same slope Celes had collapsed on and onto a new path that had been previously blocked. Shadow remained back by the statues.
"Don't worry about me!" Shadow cried. "Just run! I can't stop this chain reaction...but you'll see me again! Count on it!" Terra stood up and outstretched her hand towards Shadow, who all of a sudden seemed worlds away...
"Shadow!!!! Promise me, that when you come back, you'll stay!"
"....What!??!" Shadow cried. "I can't hear you....!"
"Shadow!!!! PROMISE ME.....!!!"
"Terra!!!" Edgar cried, roughly grabbing her by the hand. "Please, we have to go now!" Terra looked away from Shadow and nodded slightly, letting Edgar lead her away, with Locke and Celes following. Kefka let out a his from his binds, and pointed a finger near the end of the path the Returners were traveling on.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!"
As the Returners ran, chunks of the continent began to collapse everywhere, causing them to often have to dodge gaping holes and areas that collapsed as soon as they were stepped on. However, they made it to the end of the path without harm, that is, until a creature suddenly burst out of thin air in front of them, cackling madly and almost looking like Kefka.
"Mwa ha ha...you can't run!"
"Get out of here!" Celes screamed, and with that, withdrew her whip from her belt, slashing it across the creature in one swift stroke. It cried out and immediately disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving the Returners in the clear.
"Hurry Setzer, hurry..." Edgar moaned, when suddenly, as if his prayers had been answered, the Blackjack appeared, easily leveling up to leave just the perfect amount of space for the Returners to jump aboard. Setzer looked up at them and waved.
"COME ON!" Setzer screamed. "This place is gonna blow!"
"We gotta wait for Shadow!" Locke screamed back. "Please, just a little longer...."
Precious minutes past.
Locke could feel the ground beneath his feet beginning to tremble, knowing what was coming next. Closing his eyes, he sighed and bit his lip.
"That's it...we have to leave..."
"Without me? You little punk...after I saved your ass." Locke gasped and turned around, laughing a bit as Shadow appeared and winked.
"Lets get out of here! Even though I have more of a chance of getting blown to bits before getting my pay..."
The Returners, and Shadow, all leaped down easily to the deck of the Blackjack. The other Returners rushed on deck to greet them as Setzer hurriedly pulled away from the continent, making a getaway. However, now was not the time for happy reunions. Terra gazed up at the continent above and shivered, not even being able to imagine what would happen next.
"Oh lord...can't we diffuse those statues....?"
"Look at what's happening down there!!!" Mog shrieked from Gau's shoulder. The Returners all ran to the edge of the airship deck, with the exception of Setzer, and cried out. Terra felt as if her heart were about to drop into her stomach as she watched the chaos from The Statues' imbalance unfold before her very eyes.
The sea had begun to boil madly, swallowing up chunks of land that collapsed and broke away from their larger continents. Other continents were merely splitting open, swallowing up mountains and even pools of water before slamming back closed and splitting open again. The sky was also beginning to grow darker at a rapid rate, going from soft blue, darker blue, violet, and was now fading into pitch black. More flaming debris from the Floating Continent rained down from the heavens, crashing onto the Blackjack with full force. Lightning began to crackle and explode in the sky, and high, violent winds began to blow through.
Suddenly, without warning, a huge piece of land from the Floating Continent crashed into the Blackjack, side-swiping it hard before falling back down into the ocean below. The Blackjack began to split and splinter from the impact, shattering into two huge chunks. Relm, Cyan, Locke, Setzer, and Terra were trapped on the right side, while Celes, Strago, Edgar, Sabin, and Shadow were trapped on the left. Mog and Gau were nowhere to be seen. The left side immediately broke off from it's counterpart and began to sink away, Celes screaming out for Locke. Locke called out her name back and leaped from the right side to the left, kneeling down to grab her hands as she slipped over the broken railing. Relm and Sabin were suddenly blown off by a huge gust of wind, followed by Locke and Celes, who fell screaming into the ocean below. Terra and Setzer tried their best to cling on, but were also blown off. The Returners who managed to hold on sank with their respective parts of the ship...crashing into the ocean with a tsunami-like splash as the angry waves closed in around them.
Terra lost consciousness before she even hit the water, her mind blacking out in the middle of a prayer.
On that day...the world was changed forever.
Part I- Alpha
The little town had recovered well from the brutal Empire invasion.
It was only a week after the disaster that had transpired, and the homes that had been burnt or destroyed were nearing completion. Meanwhile, families allowed other families to board with them, and children helped their elders out with the rebuilding the best they could. But while Thamasa as a town could easily pick up from where their lives left off after the Empire had come, it was different for the Returners.
Strago got the Innkeeper to let the Returners stay with him for free until they felt ready to move on, and while they recovered, he also took care of the burying of Leo's body in the eastern town cemetery. He ordered Relm to stay at home, and for once, she obeyed, and left Locke, Terra, and Celes alone.
Terra, completely worn out physically and mentally from everything that had happened, spent most of her time sleeping and flitting from nightmare to nightmare. While sleep had usually been her escape, now it was just as painful as anything else. A constant dream that Terra had was when she first woke up after the attack, and saw Leo's dead body, soaked in his own deep crimson blood and face down. She screamed out and crawled weakly over to the body, shaking her head as she shook him over and over again, begging him to wake up.
"Leo! Leo! Get up, get up! Kefka is gone...he's...gone..." She lowered her head and began to heave a sob, dropping her now dampened hands into the grass. "Leo...you promised...that we would..."
After that, the dream would blur out a bit, although Terra could hear the voices of Locke and the others in the background, questioning about what had happened frantically.
"Somebody call for a doctor!"
"I'll go fetch him, Grandpa!"
"Celes, cast a spell!"
"I...I can't...not for something like this..."
And then Terra would wake up, only to mumble something incoherent and immediately fall back asleep. She didn't have the energy to face the world. Her room was kept dark at all times, and the only people who went in were Locke and Celes, to bring water and food, which, when they came back at the end of the day, would see had not been touched...
Despite knowing Leo more than Terra, Celes was carrying on a lot better. However, she didn't seem to have much to say. She would disappear from the Inn at times during the day, and go to the cemetery, where she would simply walk among the graves, studying each one intently. She had never seen such a big cemetery in a town before, and when she read the graves, she would find some of them to be hundreds of years old.
"Leo...you don't belong here..."
Locke spent most of his time resting and browsing Weapon and Item shops, picking up whatever the party would need for their trip back to Vector, however they would manage to do that. He also was the only one of the Returners that would visit Strago and Relm from time to time. Part of him wished that the elderly man and the girl would ask to join the Returners permanently, but another part of him secretly hoped that for some reason, Shadow would of ended up back at their home. He hadn't been seen ever since he abandoned the group, and Locke was worried for him. Surely he would of come back so that he could join the Returners on the ride back to Albrook...
**********
On the final night that the Returners stayed in Thamasa, Terra had a dream, a dream that differed completely from the constant flashbacks of Kefka's attack and Leo's lifeless body. In it, she imagined herself, all alone, in a dead and empty void. The darkness was thick and overpowering, and she almost felt as if she were going to suffocate. But then slowly, ever so slowly, light began to pour in around her. When she looked to her feet, she could see that she was standing on a baron, cracked, dry piece of land, covered in white pebbles and dead, dried up roots of plants. In the distance, she could hear an ocean, but when she looked about her, she was positive that there was not one there. Instead of the large, rolling waves of sapphire blue water she had seen on her ship ride to Thamasa, there was instead a calm, almost still body of filthy brownish-red water lapping at the eroding shores. There was no sparkle from the reflected sun, and no sign of life anywhere within it.
Suddenly, a twisted, maniacal laugh broke through the silence, echoing off of the dusty red sky. Terra gasped and looked up, coughing softly at the dust that had gotten caught in her throat at the sudden intake of polluted air. Rapidly, on an island not too far ahead of her own, thousands and thousands of pieces of debris, both commercial and natural, were flying and being melded into each other into a massive tower by some invisible force. As the tower grew and grew, Terra began to cough harder and harder, closing her stinging eyes as dirt and dust began to swirl around her frail body in a miniature whirlwind. The laughing got louder, but all of a sudden, stopped.
Terra moaned softly and slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself in the same place as before. Only now, the tower ahead of her was complete, so tall and looming that she could not pinpoint the top of it from the land she was standing on.
"...Momma...!"
Terra blinked and looked down, shocked to see that a little hand had taken her own. It belonged to a short, blonde haired girl, with wide blue eyes and soft pink lips. She clung onto Terra's hand as if it were a life preserver, and gazed up at her lovingly.
"Momma!"
"Momma!"
"Momma!"
Suddenly, a chorus of children's voices began to fill the air along with the girl's, although there were no other children besides her. The ground beneath Terra's feet began to shake and break apart, causing her to cry out and grab onto the little girl's hand, running away before it could collapse underneath them.
"Faster, Momma!"
"There's no where to go!" Terra cried weakly, finding that the further and faster she ran, the closer the breakage got to catching up with them. Suddenly, the scenery changed, and Terra and the girl found themselves on a beach. Terra kneeled down as gasped out for breath near the shore as the brown ocean splashed over her boots, and the little girl kneeled with her, frantically trying to get Terra's attention.
"Look Momma, look in the sky! Is it an angel?"
Terra sighed and looked up to where the girl was pointing, her voice getting caught in her throat as she was about to reply. Not to far away from their location was a tall, cracked cliff hanging off of a rather disfigured hill. Standing at the edge of the cliff was a familiar figure, their hands clasped together with their head down, long hair covering their face. Terra knew who it was, she could of sworn it, but the name wouldn't come to her lips. The figure took a few steps forward and let out a soft cry, pushing back their hair and casting aside a sword that had been hanging from a sheath on their hips.
"No!" Terra cried, leaping to her feet and running towards the cliff. "Don't jump! You can't! It will be ok!"
But it was too late.
The moment the figure took a flying leap off the cliff, a large wave rolled out from the ocean, breaking onto the shore so violently that it struck Terra off her feet and made her fall to the ground. The little girl cried out as the wave pulled her backwards into the ocean, screaming out Terra's name as her head disappeared underneath the water.
"NOOOOO!!!!" Terra screamed, frantically looking back and forth between the drowning girl and the falling figure. "What the...wha...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
"WHEE HEE HEE HEE! COME! JOIN THE MAGICAL EMPIRE OF KEFKA!"
**********
"Ahhhhhhh!!!" Terra screeched, and with that, shot straight up in bed, cold sweat pouring down her forehead.
"Terra...?" Celes muttered, flipping over in bed as she looked over at her. "Are you awake...?
"Celes!" Terra cried, and in a tangle of sheets and lent bed-clothes (courtesy of Strago), fell out of bed and crawled over to Celes' bedside, gasping for breath. Celes widened her eyes and reached down in a rare moment of affection, pushing the girl's green, damp bangs from out of her eyes.
"Are you ok? Did you have a bad dream?" Celes asked, feeling rather stupid. Of course she had had a bad dream. People didn't just wake up and scream.
"It was...more definitely like a nightmare." Terra said softly, looking about their surroundings. "Oh dear...I must of woken you up...and Locke too."
"Don't worry." Celes said. "I'm alright, and Locke is in another room. You're really been out of it for the past few days..."
"I know." Terra admitted. "I'm sorry, I really am. It's just that...everything happened so fast...I think it all finally took it's toll on me. To think...Yura and Leo were both killed...and we couldn't do anything about it!"
"But it wasn't our fault, either." Celes explained as firmly as she could manage. "There was honestly nothing we could do. Locke knows that, and so does Strago and Relm. Besides...if it wasn't for Leo, we probably wouldn't be here now. I don't know what happened, but...knowing Leo, he gave his life for a noble cause. He wouldn't allow himself to die any other way!"
"...You're right." Terra sniffled, and looked away for a moment. "But still...Leo...he made a promise to me...a promise that he can no longer keep." Celes didn't know what Terra was talking about, but decided that it was not in her place to question her about it.
"He would of kept it, if the circumstances were different." Celes finally said. "Believe me, Terra, I've been with him my entire life. He was a good friend, even better than he was a noble soldier. I miss him just as much as you do...but..."
"But we have to move on." Terra cut in, suddenly remembering the dream.
"Terra?"
"We can't stay here any longer." Terra decided, looking back to her friend. "We have to hurry on, before Kefka can get to the Statues. It's only a matter of time before he breaks through the Sealed Gate and steals them away. If that happens, everything is over for sure. I...I just know." Celes nodded and looked down in her lap.
"You're right. We need to be moving on. We should pay our respects to Leo tomorrow...he was buried in a special, more isolated part of the cemetery, but none of us have actually been there yet. We...we were waiting for you..."
"I'm sorry." Terra apologized again. "It's because of me that we haven't been able to leave. But I promise, tomorrow, I'll be all better. I have to put this behind me. Leo wouldn't want us to mope around...he would want us to fight. We have to stop Kefka..."
"And we will." Celes assured her. "Tomorrow, as soon as we say good- bye to Leo, we'll find a way off Crescent Island. There has to be some sort of ship that is going to come through here sometime."
"And then we'll find the others, and make a plan." Terra nodded, and stood up. "Thank you for waiting for me...you've been taking care of me all this time, haven't you...? The water and food always by my bedside..."
"Somewhat." Celes smiled. "But when we bring you breakfast tomorrow, you'd better eat it all! You don't have an excuse anymore! You're going to make yourself sick."
"At least I drank the water, ok?" Terra made a face, but smiled. "But tomorrow, I'll eat with you guys. When we leave Crescent Island...we're going to leave behind everything that happened also. Not forget it, just leave the burden."
"Nice way of putting it." Celes agreed, and let out a slight yawn. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."
"Oh, right!" Terra laughed a little, crawling back into bed. "Good- night Celes!"
"'Night..."
**********
The next morning, Terra was back to her normal self, much to Locke's surprise. Although he was happy to see that she was well again, when he looked at Celes, she gave him a slight nod indicating that things had been worked out and were not to be brought up again. So, Locke did not mention a word of anything that had occurred the past week, except for when the group finally reunited at Leo's gravesite.
Strago and Relm had joined the group in their good-byes, but did not say anything out of respect and because they had not known the man. Terra, with a fresh bouquet of bellflowers in her hands, placed them at the foot of his gray marble tombstone and stepped back, a slight frown on her face.
"General Leo..." She sighed a little and raised a hand to her heart. "People only seem to want power. Do they really want to be like me? I...I wanted to learn so much more from you...!"
"Arf! Arf!"
At the unusual noise, the team whirled around and spotted Interceptor limping and dragging his way through the thin foliage that hid Leo's grave. The poor dog had cuts all over where chunks of hair had been ripped from his body, and his left back leg looked as if it were about to snap in half underneath his weight. Terra widened her eyes and Celes let out a short gasp as Relm ran up to Interceptor and clutched onto him tightly but gently, only the way a child could.
"Interceptor!" Relm cried. "What happened to your master? Where is Shadow?!" Interceptor let out another whine and lowered his head, as if to say what everyone else had been fearing was the truth regarding Shadow's whereabouts. Locke took a step up to Relm and Interceptor, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"We not only lost Leo, but Shadow, too." Locke muttered, and shook his head, clutching the fist that was not resting on Relm's shoulder. "Curse the Empire!" Relm looked up at him and suddenly tore of her cape, kneeling down behind Interceptor and wrapping it tightly around his leg.
"This will have to do." Relm said softly, and slid back.
"No matter what happens, I'll come with you!" Celes cried. Locke nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.
"But now I'm worried about how Edgar and the others are doing." Locke said.
"I wish I could say they were safe..." Terra trailed off. Strago stepped away from the grave and looked everyone over.
"If you would like, I would be glad to serve you some tea before you depart." Strago volunteered.
"Sure." Terra said. "Lead the way."
As the group made their way back to Strago's house, Terra thought she heard someone call out her name. She looked behind her, wide eyed, when she saw the large group of people coming towards her.
"Edgar!!!"
"What???" Locke asked, and whirled around, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Sure enough, there was Edgar and the rest of the Returners that had been left behind in Vector, running towards the group at full speed. Terra smiled and met up with Edgar, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she gasped out for breath from running so fast. However, Edgar wasn't smiling. He looked rather disturbed, as did everyone else with him.
"What's wrong?" Terra asked worriedly, and Setzer pushed up ahead of Edgar, cursing under his breath.
"We've been had! The Empire is a liar!" Terra got a look on her face that clearly stated "Oh, isn't that obvious?"
"But thanks to Edgar here, we escaped before anything bad happened..." Cyan trailed off, and Locke grinned.
"Way to go, Edgar!"
"I got to 'know' the gal that brought us tea." Edgar giggled, and winked. "After a while, she just blurted the whole crooked plan!"
"So...you finally hit pay dirt, eh?" Sabin smirked, and Edgar looked shocked.
"Watch your mouth!" Edgar exclaimed, and laughed a little. "There are LADIES present! I was...a perfect gentleman." Edgar looked from Terra to Celes, giving them each a wink. Terra looked down at the ground, and Celes rolled her eyes. However, it was comforting for her to know that nothing had changed while she was away. It felt...strangely good to be back.
"Listen..." Locke trailed off, and Edgar looked up. "General Leo is...dead. Kefka did him in."
"Sir Leo, dead?!" Cyan cried. "What a shame...he was their finest warrior!"
"We need to rethink our plans." Edgar said firmly. "Let's return to the airship."
"Oh, so that's how you managed to come here." Terra smiled, and Strago stepped up, a concerned look on his face.
"May I accompany you?"
"What!?" Edgar asked, and put his hands on his hips. "Who're you???"
"He's one of this town's citizens." Locke explained, and Strago nodded to confirm this.
"He's a descendant of the original Mage Warriors." Terra offered, to help convince the king. "I think he can be a big help." Edgar just blinked and scratched his head. Mage Warriors? What were those? He was lost.
"We must expect the Empire to flex it's new-found muscle soon!" Strago cried, and the others couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"I want to go too!" Relm declared, and jumped into the air.
"I don't think so!" Strago snapped, and Relm snorted, suddenly raising her hand to make a rather rude gesture with her finger. Strago gasped and Sabin burst out laughing.
"Yeah right, kid!"
Relm turned to Sabin and made a dark scowl.
"What? Who is this !@$#ed-up aerobics instructor anyway!?" Sabin turned red but still could not help but laugh.
"This kid's got quite a lip on her!"
Edgar nodded a little, looking Relm up and down.
"Mmmm...yes she does..."
"Aaaaaack!" Relm shrieked, glaring at both of the Figaro brothers now. "I'm gonna paint your portrait!!!"
"Oh, no no no!" Terra cried, and dove on top of Relm.
"Please don't!!"! Locke added desperately, jumping on top of both Terra and Relm. As the three brawled for Relm's paintbrush, the other Returners all looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Strago let out a slight chuckle and shook his head.
"Alright Relm! If you insist..."
"That's better!" Relm sang, and began to skip ahead of the group, all ready to leave town.
"Lets go!" Sabin exclaimed. "Follow that brat!" With that, he took off after the girl.
"SHUT UP!" Relm screamed out from the distance.
"Welcome to the Returners..." Setzer tried to offer his hand, and Strago laughed as he took hold of it in a warm shake. "And welcome back, Celes."
"....Thanks." Celes smiled, and froze when she looked up at Cyan. He stared at her with dark, guilty eyes, and quickly turned away. Celes smirked a little to herself and let out a haughty laugh as she walked off, following Relm. The others soon proceeded to leave also, except for Edgar, who kept peering at Relm's backside confusedly. He just couldn't understand it. Why had Relm been the third woman in a row he had failed to charm?? It was beyond his comprehension!
"What is it with Returner women?" Edgar thought aloud, when suddenly, Relm popped up in front of him, glaring up into his thoughtfully narrowed blue gaze.
"What's wrong, lover-boy?" Relm pestered, and Edgar looked down at her.
"Hey...how old are you?"
Relm blinked and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm ten. Why?"
"Oh goodness." Edgar chuckled, and ruffled a bit of Relm's hair. "You're still pretty young! And you're cute, too! Wait until you grow up, and you become a beautiful lady! But until then, keep away from the boys! Tell them King Edgar has already made his proposal! Har har har!" Relm blinked and shook her head.
"I'm coming along too, ya know...so don't try anything funny, you twisted freak of a king." Edgar gulped and pushed his bangs out of his eyes as Relm turned her back to him and made her way back out of town.
"You've grown up entirely too fast as it is!" Edgar muttered to himself, and began to chase after her. "Lighten up, ok?!"
Outside the village, as the Returners were climbing up into Setzer's newly repaired airship, Relm gasped and turned to Strago.
"Grandpa! Oh my Gods, we totally forgot about what to do with Interceptor! We can't take him with us in his condition, but we can't leave him alone either!" Strago sighed and wiped some sweat that was building over his bushy white brows.
"You're right, child...Why don't I run back into Thamasa quickly and see what I can do?"
"Thank you!" Relm exclaimed, and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Strago muttered and shook the girl off of him, turning to climb back down the ladder he had just struggled up to get on board.
"Hurry up!" Setzer called from the upper deck. "We haven't all day!!"
"What happened to Interceptor?" Sabin blinked. "Why isn't Shadow with him...?" Locke and Terra looked at each other, and Terra reached for Sabin's arm to pull him aside for a moment.
"Hold your horses!" Strago bellowed back, and with that, ran back into town. He immediately spotted the dog resting at the steps in front of his home, but along with it was a familiar elderly character.
"Gungho!" Strago exclaimed, and waved. The man, dressed in light red robes, stood up and waved back as he gave Interceptor a slight pat with his other hand.
"Aha! I am Gungho!" He smiled. "The warrior extraordinaire from the town of Thamasa! First time I've been back in a while, and the village looks trashed. What on Earth happened?" Strago blinked and crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for Gungho to realize who he was. Gungho stared at him for a moment and let out a little gasp, bringing his spectacles from his breast pocket and slipping them on over the bridge of his nose.
"Oh! Strago, is that you?! Have you come back to hunt Hidon?" Strago shook his head and sighed sadly. Gungho guffawed and gave Interceptor another pat.
"You'll never change. That's who you are! When you were younger, you hunted Hidon, the legendary monster. But you quit before you found it..."
"I didn't really quit!" Strago protested. "While you have been hunting, Gungho, I have been back here raising little Relm and helping protect our village's secret! Besides, Hidon lives on Ebot's Rock...and that has been submerged underneath the ocean for some time now...I doubt it will ever rise again in our lifetimes." Gungho smirked and shook his head as he let Strago explain himself.
"You could never give me an honest answer...you're a buffoon for giving up!"
"...." Strago sighed again, but decided not to say anymore regarding that subject.
"Listen...I'm going out of town for a while with Relm. You see that dog? It's...uhh...Relm's new pet...and I was wondering if you could maybe..."
"Yeah yeah, I'll take care of him!" Gungho exclaimed. "So what's his name?"
"Interceptor." Strago answered. "His leg is injured, so..."
"Interceptor, eh?" Gungho looked the dog over curiously. "An odd name for a dog...and yet it sounds so familiar!"
"Yeah, funny, isn't it?" Strago asked slowly, and looked away. "At any rate, thanks..."
"Anything for a buffoon like you!" Gungho smirked, and gave a little wave. "See ya whenever you come back."
"All right." Strago said, and with that, turned away to go back to the airship, without even saying good-bye.
Back on the airship, the Returners were desperately trying to piece together the clues they got from the Empire to determine what move they would make next.
"The Empire is after the Sealed Gate!" Setzer cried as he kept his eyes at the steering wheel of the Blackjack. "They're lookin' for some Statues or something."
"WHAT!?" Strago and Relm cried together alarmingly. "OH NO!!!" Terra's face grew pale as she stared at Setzer.
"Are you sure? They said they wanted The Statues!?"
**********
"Oh, those silly Espers!" Gestahl let out a snicker as he and Kefka approached the now unsealed Sealed Gate. It had taken them days to restore their troops and be sure that they could take on any more Esper attacks when they arrived at the Sealed Gate, but now, here they were, moments away from treacherous victory! "To think they opened the gate themselves! The Statues should be just ahead. If we can just get our hands on them, we'll have everything we ever dreamed of!" Kefka burst out laughing and began to shake all over.
"Come quickly!" Gestahl ordered rather sharply, and with that, entered the Sealed Gate. Kefka leapt in surprise and quickly ran after him, laughing louder.
**********
"Ugh..." Terra moaned out and suddenly buried her head in her hands, closing her eyes as a pounding rush of pain ran through her forehead.
"Terra, what's wrong?" Celes asked worriedly, and rested her hand on Terra's rather cold shoulder. Her entire body felt as if the life had been sucked out of it.
"The island..." Terra mumbled, and slowly lifted her head, turning to look over the deck of the airship. Below them was the large island that contained the Sealed Gate, the one that connected to the main continent by means of the huge metal bridge the Empire base was built upon. "The whole world is groaning in pain..."
**********
At that very moment, there came an overpowering rumbling noise from the island down below the airship. Celes looked down with Terra and gasped, the tremors on the island so great that they could easily be detected from the airship. Setzer cried out for everyone to hold on tightly and took a sharp turn away from the island, and just in time, at that. Seconds later, the mass of land had completely lifted from the sea, and was somehow being dragged up into the sky above. Rocks and debris flew out from underneath the landmass as it passed over the airship, pouring down upon the Returners as they cried out and covered themselves for protection. The land lifted higher and higher, and soon it was completely covered and hidden away with the fluffy white clouds that dominated the sky.
On the floating island, Kefka, Gestahl, and three tall, shining statues of beautiful goddesses were set in the dead center, the two men laughing hysterically at what events had just come about. As the Statues gleamed with shining white and blue sparks of magic, everything green and alive that had once been on the island began to shrivel away and crumble underneath it's own dry weight. The dirt and rocks were all that remained, and they began to fuse into disproportioned rises and dips in the land. In other places, holes in the land split open, some so deep that you could fall right through the ground and plunge to your doom. Gestahl's face twisted itself into an even more ugly grin than Kefka could ever manage, and closed his eyes as he began to laugh deeply.
"Fuwa, ha, ha! Now THIS is power! This, and my Magicite... now nothing can stop me!"
**********
The glimmer of the Statues was so bright, that it could be seen on the upper deck of the Blackjack. Terra and Strago narrowed their eyes and stared up at the sky, the others looking to each other nervously. Everything was happening too fast to properly comprehend. Had the end come already?
"Those are..." Terra trailed off, and Strago nodded.
"They are the beginning of all magic...Do you remember, Terra? It is said that they somehow neutralized each other's power, then sealed themselves away... If the three statues should ever be moved out of alignment, the resulting imbalance of power would...rearrange the face of our planet..." Terra gasped, clasping a hand over her heart as her nightmare came screaming back into her thoughts.
"What!?!?!"
Part II- Omega
"There is no time!" Setzer cried, squinting his eyes as he steered the Blackjack ever further into the heavens, causing the rear of the ship to tip back a bit, and to make the Returners go with it. Terra and the others clung to the sides of the ship, the wind blowing so hard in their faces that they could barely breathe. Setzer suddenly ripped past the floating continent and continued flying upwards, hoping that he could get a glimpse of the navigation of the land before they descended. However, what he saw troubled him greatly. While the land mass was hardly shifting as much as it was before, all the new mountains and pits that had been created previously forced whoever was to travel upon them to stick on selected few narrow paths, and he could immediately tell that there was no way all of the Returners could come after Kefka in those conditions. The Emperor and his clown-prince were settled on a high-risen part of the land in the dead center of the continent, however it would take extreme maneuvering around the entire continent to reach them safely.
"Lets jump onto that thing already!" Locke cried impatiently, and Setzer looked back at him as he shifted the Blackjack's gears into neutral and walked over to his alarmed friend.
"Look down there Locke. See how complicated the path is to Gestahl and Kefka? There is no way we're all gonna be able to navigate through that together. I think only three of us should come along."
"Only three...against Kefka and The Statues...?" Celes trailed off, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm going!" Terra cried. "I'm taking it upon myself to avenge General Leo's death!"
"I need to come as well." Locke said. "What happened in Thamasa was too much for me to just let go."
"And who will be the last?" Setzer questioned, and everyone looked at each other. "I personally feel that I should remain on the ship, in case of an emergency."
Celes was about to open her mouth, but Edgar cut her off and stepped up beside Locke.
"I'll go! Terra, Locke, and I started all of this together...and today we're gonna end it!" Celes raised her eyebrows and turned away, looking down below at the continent.
"Ok, so Terra, Locke, Edgar, you'll be going." Setzer confirmed. "Everyone else will stay here and act as support. Come back right away if you get in trouble!"
"We will!" Terra cried, and took hold of Setzer's hands. "Please Setzer, you take care of everyone here, and take care of the Blackjack!" Setzer chuckled a little and smiled.
"You act as if we won't be seeing each other again Terra..." Terra bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment. Strangely enough, it was exactly how she felt. The numbing feeling was eating away at her heart as she spoke her next words.
"...Of course we will, Setzer...This...it's just like a regular mission."
"Of course." Setzer replied softly, and quickly cleared his throat. "I'll just lower down a bit, and then..."
"AHHHHH!" Relm suddenly screamed, leaping back ten feet. "Look, look!" The Returners all turned towards Relm, and discovered what she was afraid of. Flying towards them at a rapid pace were a whole fleet of metal winged contraptions, all auto-piloted Magitek air force armors.
"Shit! The IAF!" Locke growled.
"The what????" Sabin asked, and Locke looked to him.
"The Imperial Air force."
"They know we're here!" Terra gasped, and shook Setzer's shoulders. "Hurry, before they attack!"
But it was too late. The air force army, consisting of two different model types, Spit Fire and Sky Armor, began their assault on the Blackjack with exploding grenades and gunfire. The whole party proceeded to fight back as Terra, Locke, and Edgar made their way to the back end of the ship, preparing to jump off at a moment's notice.
"Take that, Imperial bitches!!!" Relm screamed, and waved her magical paintbrush. Several copies of the air force's machines were cloned and immediately began attacking their counterparts, giving the Returners the extra firepower they needed. Celes and Strago called upon various water and electricity spells to short-circut the fiends, and the others who were too far at a distance to fight summoned Espers. Terra, Locke, and Edgar anxiously anticipated Setzer's command to jump as he neared the continent slowly and carefully, but alas, they had one more trial before the continent would begrudgingly welcome them.
With everyone too busy fighting off the IAF, no one had noticed the odd combination of pink and purple floating through the sky and overhead the Blackjack's deck. With a loud "OOMPH!" the combo landed on the deck, scaring the living daylights out of Terra, Locke, and Edgar as they whirled around to see what it was. Locke widened his eyes and Edgar slapped his forehead as they both screamed in unison.
"Oh Gods, not YOU again!"
"Oh shut up!!!" Ultros screeched, banging his front arms on the Blackjack's deck. The large pink, almost cotton candy resembling creature behind him broke into a toothy grin and let out a garbled "Rooorrrrrrrraaaarrr!"
"Ultros, did you fly in on that thing!?" Terra cried nervously, eyeing the pink cotton candy ball.
"His name is Chupon!" Ultros defended. "Not 'that thing'! You never had respect for anyone, missy, and now I'm going to assure you that this WILL BE our LAST battle! Trust me!"
"Trust you? That's a laugh!" Terra exclaimed, and folded her hands together, extending her two pointer fingers. "Firaga!"
In a sudden explosion of flame and flare, Ultros cried out and turned a delightful crispy, black color as he fell backwards on his round, bulbous head, squealing in agony at Terra's most powerful Fire spell yet.
"I lose AGAIN!" Ultros screamed. "But don't forget, today I have a friend! CHUPON! Come on down!!" With that, Chupon let out another queer roar and took in a deep breath, sucking in the air so fast and hard that the Returners nearly got sucked in with him. Chupon's pink body expanded to dangerous proportions as Ultros snickered and disappeared in a puff of smoke, like usual. However, the Returners could still hear his voice, although it was fading quickly.
"Mr. Chupon is taciturn, but terrrrrrrrrrrribly powerful! Heh heh heh!"
"Look out, he's gonna blow!" Terra cried, but it was too late. Chupon squinted up his beady black eyes and suddenly let out a massive...
...sneeze.
The force of the mucus-filled air smashed into Terra, Locke, and Edgar like a wild chocobo herd. Before they could do anything to stop themselves, the three Returners stumbled backwards over the rail of the ship, and proceeded to fall...fall...fall...
However, the worst wasn't over. A huge piece of metallic air force craft began to waft towards them, spotting their forms in its radar.
"This is it!" Terra cried, closing her eyes tightly. "This is..."
"KERRRRRRPOWWWW!"
"Ack, I can hear you blowing up, Locke!" Edgar screamed, his eyes also closed.
"I'm alive, you idiot!" Locke snapped, and pointed above them as they continued to plunge down. The air above them was smoky and spark- ridden, and standing at the edge of the deck of the ship was Celes, removing herself from her spell-casting stance and giving a wild wave to Terra, Locke, and Edgar. Locke cupped his hands over his mouth and called out:
"We'll be back soon, Celes! Tell Setzer that we're OK!!!!"
"Here we go!" Edgar called above the noise of the air that was rushing past their falling bodies. "Everyone, grab hands and pray to sweet Lady Luck!"
Terra, in the middle of the two men, grabbed onto Locke and then Edgar's hand, closing her eyes tightly. She was too afraid to look down, although she knew the continent was close. She was positive that the impact of the fall would kill them all! Time ticked by as if the seconds were days, and the minutes were month-spanned. Just when Terra thought she couldn't take it anymore, the team suddenly crash-landed on top of the floating continent, everyone's breath getting knocked out of them instantly. Terra gasped out and opened her eyes, her vision blurring as she tried her best to calm her senses and properly fixate her gaze on her surroundings. Locke moaned out and rubbed at his butt as he dropped Terra's hand and struggled to stand. Edgar was just lying flat on his back, almost as if he were dead.
"Edgar!" Terra cried, shaking him as she stared down at his face. Edgar quickly opened his eyes and grinned up at Terra, nodding to himself.
"Oh alas, Terra, you've come to profess your undying devotion to me!"
"I think Edgar hit his head harder then we did." Terra said, turning to ignore him.
"That should of hurt more than it did." Locke admitted, still wincing as he slid his hands up from his butt to his bruised lower back. "This continent is already stained in the Goddess' magic. I am positive that we are being...expected."
"...Oh dear..." Terra murmured, as Edgar finally climbed to his feet and slung his arm around Terra's shoulders. Terra squealed and ducked out from underneath his arm, taking a few steps back. "Edgar, please! This is very serious!"
"What can you expect from a leech!?" Locke laughed a little, but suddenly stopped as he heard a small moan emit out from somewhere nearby.
"....What was that...?" Edgar asked nervously, and Terra took a few steps ahead of the group, gasping as she rubbed at her eyes to make sure she was still seeing straight. Lying in a crumpled heap on the dusty ground, nearly camouflaged in it, was Shadow! The black-clad ninja moaned again and slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Terra kneeled down beside him and felt around for broken bones. Shadow glared at her and pulled back slightly, more from habit than anything else.
"Shadow!" Terra exclaimed, letting him pull away for now. "Oh my Gods!"
"You...you're alive..." Locke trailed off, a soft happiness laced in his tone. It was almost too good to be true...
"Down with the Empire!" Shadow grunted, slowly pulling himself up to his feet. "Once I outlived my usefulness, they tried to KILL me! Just like General Leo!!"
"You know about Leo..." Terra trailed off, and Shadow nodded a bit.
"I was told you were a goner!" Edgar exclaimed, and glared at Locke. "Nice faulty info there!" Locke turned red as he struggled to explain himself, but Shadow interrupted.
"Is Interceptor ok?"
"Yes, Strago Magus is having a friend in Thamasa dress his wounds and take care of him." Terra explained. "He came to us a few days after Thamasa was attacked..."
"Thank goodness." Shadow sighed. "At least I can let the reaper take me with some sort of peace residing in this dead heart."
"What are you talking about?!" Edgar cried. "You've got to come with us Shadow! Kefka and the others are here! Do you know about The Statues?"
"Of course I do, it's all Kefka talked about when he was too distracted to kill me!" Shadow barked. "Are they here too?!"
"Yes!" Locke replied. "If he...if he even moves them an inch out of alignment..."
"Well, forget about me." Shadow snapped. "It wouldn't be right to have me fight by your side..."
"We cannot just leave you!" Terra declared, and grabbed onto Shadow's hand. "Please, we must hurry! Time is of the essence..."
Shadow, surprisingly, did not protest any further.
With that, the three Returners and one ninja began their dangerous trek across the newly dubbed "Floating Continent". Many times, the paths they took would lead to a dead end or a hill far too rocky and high to climb, so they would have to turn around and try again. To make matters worse, not only had the land of the Floating Continent mutated, but the creatures that once lived on it as well did also, and went rouge as soon as they spotted the Returners, which they saw as prey. It took everything in the Returners power just to fight back and stay alive, only to be bombarded by another herd of creatures in moments. The rocks on the ground were pointy and some almost dagger-like, easily cutting through the bottoms of Terra's cloth boots and Shadow's lightweight footgear. The further the Returners delved on the continent, the more hopeless the situation seemed to become.
After what felt like days (which were really a few hours), the Returners emerged from a small tunnel and found that they had indeed, reached another dead end, despite how well their progress seemed to be until up to this point.
"Damnit!" Edgar cried, and smashed his fist into his hand. "What the hell are we supposed to do now!?" He lowered his head and sighed, nearly letting his emotions get the best of him as he whimpered out a bit. Shadow looked around and blinked, letting his hand drop from his hip as he slowly pointed ahead of the group.
"Edgar. Shut up, and look over there. Quietly."
Edgar blinked and looked up, as well as Terra and Locke, to see what Shadow was pointing at. However, all they saw was the same massive, dirty blockage that they had seen before.
"What...?" Terra whispered, and narrowed her eyes a bit. It was then, that she saw what was truly in front of them.
A massive beast...sitting so quietly and still that it could easily blend into its background. It was a pale taupe color, it's four legs slightly twitching with the massive muscles impacted so tightly underneath it's exterior. It's face was a mass of growths and horns, it's piercing blue eyes in only narrow slits as it exhaled softly, dust and god knows what else pouring from it's nostrils as it did so. Knowing that it was spotted, the beast suddenly flicked it's long and spike-ended tail (nearly 15 feet long!), smashing a large hill of rock and dirt beside it. Terra gasped and leaped up into the air, her body shivering all over as she felt something cold and piercing protrude into her mind...a voice. Apparently the others could hear it too, for she saw them widen their eyes and instinctively cover their ears.
"My name is Atma..."
"...I am pure energy...and as ancient as the cosmos..."
"...Feeble creatures, if you wish to pass..."
"...Then you shall soon find your final resting place...beyond hell, beyond heaven...but in the chaos that lies beneath my very form! The pain you suffer shall be so great...that even through death, your weak little bodies will not escape it! I will have a grasp on your vulnerable, everlasting souls...and thus, everlasting horror!"
Suddenly, Terra felt the cold grip on her mind release itself, as she gasped out, as if suffocating, and stumbled back. Atma let out a slight growl and closed its eyes all of the way, it's form beginning to glow with a soft, pearl-colored light.
"Meteor."
A barrage of flaming comets came flying from the heavens and striking each of the Returners repeatedly, causing everyone to cry out in devastating pain as comets slashed through their armor and clothing, making way for newer comets to burn and tear at their revealed flesh. Finally, the spell ended and Atma closed its eyes again, contemplating on what its next move would be. Terra, Edgar, Locke, and Shadow, now all stunned and paralyzed on the ground, could barely find enough strength to keep breathing and thinking at the same time.
"Ahh...hhh....Cu...rragga..." Terra whimpered, closing her eyes. A soft, yet sparkling rainbow light began to pour all over the fallen party, immediately bringing the revitalization and energy back that they craved. Terra lowered her head and took in another deep breath, knowing that they would need stronger magic for this battle. Magic that only her Esper form could make.
As Terra transformed, Locke took his turn and cast a Esuna spell, washing away all the searing effects of the Meteor spell from their bodies. Edgar stood up and pulled out his chainsaw, letting out a strained battle- cry as he ran forth and began to slash at the idle Atma. Surprisingly, this seemed to be effective. Atma let out a cry of pain and slashed at the king, desperate to get him away. Finally, it struck home and smashed the chain saw with one massive swipe of its paw, sending it flying across the continent in pieces before it could hit the ground. Edgar gulped and jumped back, leaving a window open for Shadow to throw shuriken darts at a safe distance. Terra, completing her transformation into her Esper alter- ego, narrowed her ruby-red eyes and scowled at the suffering Atma.
"Pitiless creature! Hateful, ancient scorn!"
"Do not be fooled by your own ignorance, Esper...HOLY!"
Terra and the others let out a scream as a blinding light suddenly surrounded their bodies, forcing them to close their eyes tightly as they were blindly struck by flying, glowing white orbs from all directions, the heat of impact in their skin nearly twice that of the Meteor spell. However, Terra's temporary form gave her an advantage against magic that Atma was not aware of, and proceeded to cast a healing spell even as Holy wore on. By the time the spell's effects faded away, Terra cast another Curaga spell, immediately restoring her comrades to full power once more. Glaring at Atma, she cast another spell, draining the monster's vital magic power and transferring it to herself and the others. Atma let out a feeble gasp, it's legs beginning to shake a bit as Edgar, Locke, and Shadow went back to attacking mercilessly. Terra, feeling her transformation already begin to wear off, fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Keep...going...guys! Atma cannot fight back...without...magic.."
Moments later, the battle ended. Locke, striking a final blow on the beast, jumped back as Atma's form began to quiver and then shake violently, fading away in a pale red light as it's screams softly echoed away in the Returners' minds. Terra moaned and finally climbed to her feet, smiling at everyone as she looked around.
"We...we did it! Wow...that's teamwork for you...!"
"Teamwork? Hell yeah!" Locke declared, taking a leap into the air. Shadow sighed a little and Terra turned to him, her smile fading.
"Shadow...?"
"I can feel it...Gestahl and Kefka are right up ahead." Shadow explained. "And...I...I sold my skill to the Empire. I cannot fight by your side."
"No, Shadow, wait!" Terra cried. But in one swift leap and bound, Shadow had disappeared from sight. Terra felt her heart drop a bit as she continued staring out ahead of her, hoping that somehow Shadow would change his mind and come right back.
"Terra..." Locke trailed off, and she turned to face him.
"Let's go...let's get what we came for."
"...Yes." Terra finally nodded, and Edgar smiled.
"Don't worry, Shadow will be back. Besides...as Returners...this is OUR battle."
"You're both right." Terra said, and stared up ahead, where Atma had been resting. A large slope of land that went upward was just ahead, and from it she could see the glimmer of The Statues, as brightly as ever. They weren't too late...!
"KEFKA!!!" Terra screamed, and with that, took off running up the slope of land, her pulse pounding in her ear. As she stumbled over the top, she was shocked to find Kefka dancing about the Statues, struggling to move them but not being very successful. Gestahl was standing by and watching, his lips pressed together as if he weren't quite sure of what he wanted Kefka to do. However, as soon as Kefka spotted Terra, and moments later, Locke and Edgar, he paused in his efforts and put on a slick smile.
"Goodness me, look who's come!!!!"
"Well, well..." Gestahl trailed off, and narrowed his eyes. "If it isn't Celes...welcome back!"
"What!?" Terra, Locke, and Edgar cried in unison. Whirling around, they saw Celes standing a few feet behind them, unmoving as she stared straight past them and into Gestahl's beady eyes. Parts of her uniform was torn and dust-covered, and her hair was blown back from her face in a tangled mess, but she never looked more cold and threatening.
"I came to stop you!" Celes cried, and climbed up to Terra, Locke, and Edgar's sides.
"Celes..." Terra trailed off softly. "Be careful...we're here together..."
"I wanted to come, Terra." Celes muttered, and got a frightening glint in her eye. Terra swallowed her next words and took a few steps back as Celes crossed her arms over her chest, and went back to Gestahl.
"You are all just in time to parish!" Gestahl exclaimed, and gestured towards the three stone goddesses. "Behold! THE STATUES!" He shivered and grinned as he rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Oooh...what power...I'm getting goose bumps!"
"Emperor Gestahl!" Celes ordered, taking a step towards him. "Please! Stop this madness!" In reply to this, Gestahl raised his hands and laughed softly, muttering foreign words under his breath. Moments later, shining blue stars flew down from the sky above and stuck each of the Returners, with the exception of Celes. As soon as the person was touched, they were forced down to their knees, paralyzed and helpless. Celes gasped and whirled around, widening her eyes as she watched Terra, Locke, and Edgar struggle against their new bonds and cry out painfully. Her train of thought about how to help them was suddenly interrupted by Gestahl's laughter, causing Celes to turn back to him.
"Celes...come to me, my pretty! You and Kefka...you were given life to serve me! It is your birthright to rule the world with me!!!" Celes blinked and bit down on her lip, knowing that most of Gestahl's words were only too true.
"Kill the others, and we will overlook your treachery!" Kefka offered sweetly. He laughed and walked over to Gestahl, getting a sword from him. Then, slowly, as if being cautious, Kefka walked up to Celes and held out the shining, slim blade in his hands, grinning. Celes' gaze flickered back and forth between the sword, and Kefka's empty eyes.
A sudden wave of tiredness and blurriness came over her senses, making her realize how badly she just wanted it to all end, and quickly. She was tired. She was sick. She was alone...no matter what Locke told her...no matter what anyone told her. She was a soldier, born in a lab and developed through science to become the perfect Magitek knight. She was not born to befriend anyone, to become a lover, or to simply live. She was made to destroy. No one else in the world was like her...except...Kefka...
...Was she no different from the insane clown she hated so much, who was only inches away from her and providing her the means to quickly end her guilt and pain?
"Take this sword!!!" Kefka demanded, trying to shove it closer to her. "Take care of them! IMMEDIATELY!" Celes let out a slight sigh and reached down, grasping the handle of the sword in her expert hand, and lifting it up and away from Kefka. Kefka nodded and grinned harder as Celes turned, facing her bound friends, sword raised. When her gaze landed on Locke's, she felt a slight shockwave run down her spine.
Celes...oh Celes, what are you doing...? Terra thought to herself, her insides shaking as she watched the blade gleam in the light of the goddesses. Please, please tell me that it won't end this way...I thought...you were one of us!
Was this another trick we were set up for??? Edgar thought, closing his eyes. We were fools...such fools...
"Ce...Celes..." Locke groaned, gathering all of his strength to utter out his words as he stared up into her cold gaze. "...Why...why...are...you...crying...?" Celes gasped and reached up slightly with her free hand, shocked to find her fingertips damp with the warm tears that had discreetly slid down her cheek.
"Celes, think about it!" Gestahl exclaimed, raising his hands into the air. "Together, we can rule this entire world!" Celes nodded slowly and with that, walked right in front of Locke. Staring down at him with emotionless but damp eyes, she choked on a sob and raised her sword, prepared to bring it down upon his weakened and helpless body. Locke stared up at her with confused eyes, using his last bit of strength to close his eyes and look away as she did what she needed to do. Celes bit down on her lip and choked again when she saw the tears that were trailing down Locke's cheeks, like her own.
...What am I doing...?
...Why am I here?
...This is wrong...wake up...wake up! You are not what Gestahl says, and you are not Kefka. You are Celes Chere. You are a woman, not a machine... You joined the Returners because of...
Celes stared down at Locke and shook her head, crying out so loudly that her voice echoed back to her over and over.
"Power only breeds war...! I wish...I wish that I had never been...born..."
With that, Celes let out another cry and turned away from Locke, closing her eyes, and with all her strength, ran the sword through Kefka's torso. She let out a soft sob and quickly withdrew, opening her eyes and watching through blurred vision as Kefka gasped out and stumbled back, running his hand over his bleeding wound and holding his blood-drenched fingers in front of his face.
"B...Blood...?" Kefka widened his eyes, never seeing his own blood spill from his body before. It was unreal. It wasn't real! He wasn't a mere human! He was a GOD! A GOD! Kefka looked to Celes, his sneer turning into a frightful glare as he dragged his damp hand across his chest to remove the crimson stains from his fingertips.
"You...you vicious BITCH!" Kefka screamed. "GRRRR...ARGGG...I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE YOU! Grrr..." Celes ignored him and abandoned the sword, running over to Terra and the others to see how she could help. Terra looked up at Celes happily as she began to chant a spell.
"Celes...I'm glad...you're on our side."
"Goddesses!" Kefka screeched, and began jumping up and down, despite the wound on his body. "You were born only to fight! I implore you...show me your power!" Instead of that, the Goddesses let out a bolt of lightening, striking at Kefka and making him leap back.
"I command you! Give me your power! Arrrgh! Curses!" The Statues began to glow, and Kefka began to glow too...with anger.
"Listen to me, or you'll regret it! Give me...POWER!"
Gestahl shook his head and walked over to Kefka, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Kefka, stop it! Revive those statues, and you'll destroy the very world we're trying to possess!"
"Shaddup, would you?!"
"Kefka, are you crazy!?" At that comment, Kefka turned and looked at the emperor, the look in his eyes clearly confirming that question.
"Crazy...?! Emperor! Don't disturb me! I'm showing them the meaning of power!" Gestahl made a concerned face, and shook his head.
"I don't think so, friend. Your days are now over." Kefka squealed like a little girl and Gestahl raised his hands. "Now relax...I'm simply going to put you to sleep with the very power you unleashed......" At this, Kefka burst out laughing, and shook his head. Gestahl narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?" Kefka continued to laugh, this time even louder, causing Gestahl to grow angrier.
"Very well! It's only fitting that you should go to sleep laughing! Firaga!"
However, nothing happened, and Kefka continued his laughter, pretending to look shocked that nothing came of the spell.
"Flare!!!!!"
Kefka put on his surprised face again, and giggled madly.
"Nooo!" Gestahl cried, looking at his hands. "Why isn't my magic working?! Merton!!!!!!!" But alas, the third time was not the charm, and Kefka began to do a little dance as the emperor looked over his fingers confusedly. "Kefka...how...how are you doing this...?" Kefka smirked and gave Gestahl a hard push backwards, laughing as the old man stumbled over his own feet.
"How? Simple! I'm standing within the field of The Statues! Their strong field absorbs all magic sent their way! Or didn't you notice?!" Gestahl widened his eyes, shocked, as Kefka laughed and turned back to his precious goddesses. "And now, Statues! You've shown me a sign! It is time you show this old man your true power!"
"No, Kefka!" Gestahl cried weakly. "You don't know what you're doing..."
"I command you Statues, show me a sign!" Kefka exclaimed. In reply, a bolt of white lightning was shot straight into the ground a few feet in front of him. Kefka grinned and jumped up and down. "INCREDIBLE!" The lightning struck again, and Kefka shook his head. "You're WAY off! Where are you aiming?!" A few moments later, the lightning struck for a third time, much closer to Gestahl, but not close enough.
"There will be no one to worship us..."
"Whoa...a little more to the right!" The lightning struck again. Kefka giggled and waved to Gestahl. "Run, run, or you'll be well done!!!!!" Gestahl gulped and climbed to his feet weakly, preparing to make a run for it past the Returners, who were still paralyzed, despite Celes trying her best to heal them. However, Gestahl made a fatal mistake. As soon as he stood up to run, the lightning stuck him head-on, instantly killing the old man. Kefka let out a cheer as Celes watched on, horrified at what had just happened. Kefka danced over to Gestahl, and let out a delighted squeal.
"YES!!!" He began kicking at the emperor's dead body, but quickly grew bored of that and stared down at him. "Poor old...OH WELL!!!! He was a worthless excuse for an emperor ANYWAY!!!" With that, Kefka took hold of Gestahl's body, effortlessly drop-kicking it over the edge of the cliff that was just behind The Statues. Celes stood up and stared at Kefka, not believing that he just killed the only father figure he had ever known.
"Kefka, you have to snap out of it!"
"Oh Celes, just go to hell already."
To emphasize his reply, Kefka shot at Celes with a quick energy ray courtesy of The Statues, causing her to cry out and roll down a steep slope, the jagged rocks wrecking havoc on her already weakened body. Ignoring Celes' cries, Kefka began to push around the goddesses a bit, this time with the greatest of ease. Locke moaned out and struggled harder as Terra and Edgar racked their brains trying to think of an Esper that could help them escape.
However, Celes wasn't defeated yet. Pulling herself as far back up the slope as she could manage before collapsing on her stomach, Celes blew her hair out of her eyes and looked up at Kefka, shouting:
"Oh, that's really smart, Kefka! Disturb their delicate balance, and they'll go haywire...!" Kefka just ignored her and continued pushing the statues more, until a shrill whistle broke through the scraping sounds of the statues dragging across the ground. Celes looked up and saw a dark figure leap onto the scene, but she was too out of it to easily recognize them.
"WHO ARE YOU!?" Kefka growled, and the figure turned away, spotting Celes and immediately leaping to her side, sweeping her off her feet and bringing her back up to the others. Celes blinked and looked up at the figure's face, her eyes wide.
"Shadow!!!!!!!!"
Shadow nodded and gently set Celes down, dashing over to Kefka and giving him a hard shove between all three statues. Before Kefka could realize what was going on, Shadow had dashed about each statue, pushing them in even further so that they trapped Kefka within them.
"NOOO!" Kefka shrieked, and banged his fists against the statues. "What the hell are you doing?!" The reaction of all the statues shooting their magic sparks at each other caused a slight chain reaction that made several stars fly out at the paralyzed party, freeing them from their binds!
"Thank goodness!" Terra cried, leaping to her feet. "Is everyone ok?"
"I'm good." Locke said, and looked over to Celes. Celes climbed up to her feet and joined his side, not saying a word as she looked up at him.
"You're GOOD alright." Edgar smirked, and Shadow walked over to the group quickly.
"You have to go now!" Shadow cried. "There are people counting on...on your return."
"But Shadow!" Terra protested. "Wait, you..."
Terra became interrupted as the reaction from The Statue's destroyed balance began to take place. The Floating Continent began to shift and shake, tremors similar from before overtaking everything. The ledge that Terra, Locke, Edgar, and Celes were standing on collapsed from underneath them, throwing them down the same slope Celes had collapsed on and onto a new path that had been previously blocked. Shadow remained back by the statues.
"Don't worry about me!" Shadow cried. "Just run! I can't stop this chain reaction...but you'll see me again! Count on it!" Terra stood up and outstretched her hand towards Shadow, who all of a sudden seemed worlds away...
"Shadow!!!! Promise me, that when you come back, you'll stay!"
"....What!??!" Shadow cried. "I can't hear you....!"
"Shadow!!!! PROMISE ME.....!!!"
"Terra!!!" Edgar cried, roughly grabbing her by the hand. "Please, we have to go now!" Terra looked away from Shadow and nodded slightly, letting Edgar lead her away, with Locke and Celes following. Kefka let out a his from his binds, and pointed a finger near the end of the path the Returners were traveling on.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!"
As the Returners ran, chunks of the continent began to collapse everywhere, causing them to often have to dodge gaping holes and areas that collapsed as soon as they were stepped on. However, they made it to the end of the path without harm, that is, until a creature suddenly burst out of thin air in front of them, cackling madly and almost looking like Kefka.
"Mwa ha ha...you can't run!"
"Get out of here!" Celes screamed, and with that, withdrew her whip from her belt, slashing it across the creature in one swift stroke. It cried out and immediately disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving the Returners in the clear.
"Hurry Setzer, hurry..." Edgar moaned, when suddenly, as if his prayers had been answered, the Blackjack appeared, easily leveling up to leave just the perfect amount of space for the Returners to jump aboard. Setzer looked up at them and waved.
"COME ON!" Setzer screamed. "This place is gonna blow!"
"We gotta wait for Shadow!" Locke screamed back. "Please, just a little longer...."
Precious minutes past.
Locke could feel the ground beneath his feet beginning to tremble, knowing what was coming next. Closing his eyes, he sighed and bit his lip.
"That's it...we have to leave..."
"Without me? You little punk...after I saved your ass." Locke gasped and turned around, laughing a bit as Shadow appeared and winked.
"Lets get out of here! Even though I have more of a chance of getting blown to bits before getting my pay..."
The Returners, and Shadow, all leaped down easily to the deck of the Blackjack. The other Returners rushed on deck to greet them as Setzer hurriedly pulled away from the continent, making a getaway. However, now was not the time for happy reunions. Terra gazed up at the continent above and shivered, not even being able to imagine what would happen next.
"Oh lord...can't we diffuse those statues....?"
"Look at what's happening down there!!!" Mog shrieked from Gau's shoulder. The Returners all ran to the edge of the airship deck, with the exception of Setzer, and cried out. Terra felt as if her heart were about to drop into her stomach as she watched the chaos from The Statues' imbalance unfold before her very eyes.
The sea had begun to boil madly, swallowing up chunks of land that collapsed and broke away from their larger continents. Other continents were merely splitting open, swallowing up mountains and even pools of water before slamming back closed and splitting open again. The sky was also beginning to grow darker at a rapid rate, going from soft blue, darker blue, violet, and was now fading into pitch black. More flaming debris from the Floating Continent rained down from the heavens, crashing onto the Blackjack with full force. Lightning began to crackle and explode in the sky, and high, violent winds began to blow through.
Suddenly, without warning, a huge piece of land from the Floating Continent crashed into the Blackjack, side-swiping it hard before falling back down into the ocean below. The Blackjack began to split and splinter from the impact, shattering into two huge chunks. Relm, Cyan, Locke, Setzer, and Terra were trapped on the right side, while Celes, Strago, Edgar, Sabin, and Shadow were trapped on the left. Mog and Gau were nowhere to be seen. The left side immediately broke off from it's counterpart and began to sink away, Celes screaming out for Locke. Locke called out her name back and leaped from the right side to the left, kneeling down to grab her hands as she slipped over the broken railing. Relm and Sabin were suddenly blown off by a huge gust of wind, followed by Locke and Celes, who fell screaming into the ocean below. Terra and Setzer tried their best to cling on, but were also blown off. The Returners who managed to hold on sank with their respective parts of the ship...crashing into the ocean with a tsunami-like splash as the angry waves closed in around them.
Terra lost consciousness before she even hit the water, her mind blacking out in the middle of a prayer.
On that day...the world was changed forever.
