AN: This is an extremely long chapter, broken up into many parts and scenarios, so I hope that you will all try not to read it all at once for fear that your eyes may fall out. By the way, when you see the word "scene" it means I have switched scenarios, because I can not do the asterisk thing for some reason now. Sorry : (
Chapter Forty-Nine- "The End Comes…Beyond Chaos"
The next morning Terra awoke with a start, her heart beating frantically inside her chest.
Her window was open, and a soft late summer breeze was blowing inside her chambers, gently stirring the white silk curtains. It was sunny and bright outside, and the sky was painted a most perfect blue hue with tracings of white puffy clouds. Outside, she could even hear some of the attendants of the castle milling about in the courtyards, chattering. The castle had safely made its underground transfer after they had returned last night, and no one knew what had transpired in the Ancient Castle. Panting out, she looked about her surroundings, trying to figure out what had happened. A nightmare? Not that she could remember. Her door was locked exactly as she had left it last night, so no one could have come in and disturbed her. She could feel cold sweat dripping down her temples, and she shook her head, leaning back against her pillows.
The Earth is crying especially loud this morning…
Terra sighed, throwing back her covers and stepping out of her bed. She wasted no time washing up in her private bath quarters, pulling on her well-worn red Imperial uniform, and strapping on her dusty combat boots. As she swept her hair back into its traditional emerald ponytail, she watched herself in the pearl-framed mirror, she felt as if her heart were slowly and surely dropping into her stomach.
What is it…?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Edgar and Sabin were having a discussion in the brothers' royal chambers. Sabin had first told the story about what had happened in Doma, and then Edgar shared his story about the Ancient Castle. When they were both finished, Sabin heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair, glancing out the window. It had been a long night. After getting back from Doma and stopping by Locke's room to offer a reconciliation, which Locke was happy to accept, he went to he and his brothers' old chambers with the intent to brief over Doma and go to bed. Little did he know that something else of the paranormal had occurred back in Figaro as well!
"Is it morning already…?"
"I guess so…" Edgar yawned and sat up more in his chair.
"But I have more," Sabin said, and Edgar blinked.
"More what, news?"
"Yes…" Sabin trailed off. "You see…I think I have found Gau's father."
At first Edgar didn't say much. Sabin wondered if he even had heard him at first, and opened his mouth to repeat it when Edgar raised a hand.
"So you were looking into that too, brother?"
"Uh…well…" Sabin was a little confused, but shrugged. "I wasn't looking into it on purpose…it just so happened that I put some pieces together on my travels, and…" He stopped and scratched his head. "Does this mean you were looking into it?"
"Well…I have been ever since I met the boy…" Edgar stood up and went to the windows, slowly pulling the curtains open. "Mostly out of curiosity, I suppose. I had some of my men do some investigating. I mean…a wild boy that had been raised by creatures of the Veldt? It seemed unbelievable and besides that, he was a strong warrior for a teenager. I thought for sure that he was some sort of runaway merely hiding out from his real parents…" He sighed. "I just couldn't drag an innocent boy into this mess with Kefka. If I were his age, I might have been misled by the same ideas of justice and adventure. He reminded me of us when we were on the brink of adolescence…"
"What did you find…?" Sabin trailed off. "Is Gau a runaway? Is he just playing dumb with us?"
"Hardly, I'm afraid," Edgar replied. "There is a man who lives…"
"…Just offshore of the Lete River?" Sabin finished, and Edgar nodded.
"He seems out of his mind…but he kept telling my investigators that he had once had to throw a monster onto the Veldt that killed his wife…And citizens in both Mobliz and Nikeah told stories of a man who had thrown his baby onto the Veldt thirteen years prior…"
"I heard that story too…when I first washed into Nikeah from the Serpent Trench," Sabin sighed. "When I tried to ask Gau how old he was, he couldn't tell me. He said he forgot. But I had a sneaking suspicion that those two were linked somehow. When I first met the old man, he told me all the gibberish he told your men. But at the time, I hadn't even met Gau, so the thought didn't strike me until later…"
"According to what I found out, that man's name is Lucius Gray," Edgar said. "And he's actually not as old as he looks…but I'm afraid time has not treated him well. He was a fisherman, and he married a young woman a few years before they had their first child. Supposedly, they would take many trips to Nikeah and Mobliz together, and everyone that saw them thought they were the happiest couple in the world. The only problem was that apparently she was having trouble getting pregnant when the time came and they both wanted children. It was a miracle that she finally did, but unfortunately she died in childbirth and after that, the townspeople say Lucius snapped. At first they thought he killed himself because he never came to town anymore, but it turns out he was just living on his own off the land, away from anything and everyone."
"That's a terrible story," Sabin sighed. "He probably thought Gau was a monster in his deliriousness and that's why he disposed of him…Which makes me wonder if we should even bother telling Gau. I mean, will Gau even care? And besides that, will Lucius?"
"Even so, I would feel guilty knowing that Gau was still going to follow through with fighting Kefka without knowing what he may leave behind," Edgar sighed. "Even under his strength, he's still just a kid. I think you and I know best…kids that age need their parents…" Sabin looked down, and sighed. It was so true. He would pay any amount of Gil in the world to have his parents with him the entire time he was growing up.
"I understand where you are coming from, brother," Sabin said. "So let's take Gau to his father. Who knows…maybe the guy will snap out of it…"
"Let's surprise him…!" Edgar smiled slightly, his eyes brightening. "We can take him to the Figaro Tailor and get him a nice, new, distinguishing outfit too! I'll get the maids to do his hair!"
"Mmm…I think you might be a little too excited…" Sabin laughed, and got up. "I'm going to see if the others are up yet."
A few hours later, Sabin found himself trying desperately to get Gau to clean up his act in record timing as the others got things ready. The two were sitting at a table, and Sabin had ordered that the cook create a standard five-course lunch for Gau to try out his table manners with. However, things were not going so well.
"Gau, no!" Sabin cried. "For the last time, do not eat with your fingers!" Gau stopped pawing at his chicken and looked up at Sabin, grinning.
"Yahoo!"
"Arg!" Sabin waved his arms in frustration. "Don't say Yaoooo when you mean "Yes!"" Gau slowly nodded and parted his lips to speak.
"…HO!"
"…." Sabin sighed and leaned back in the chair. He figured that surely the tailor would be ready for them by now.
"How do you like these?" Terra gasped, pulling out a tight pair of britches and a ruffled white pirate-like shirt. "Wait!" She paused, dropping them and rushing over to an even more flamboyant ensemble consisting of a fur-trimmed sport jacket and matching pants. "What about these?" She caught the tailor giving her a horrified look, and she made a face and set the clothes down. "Did you say something?"
"Uh…no…nothing…" He trailed off, slinking away. Terra sighed and set down the suit. There was just so much to choose from! Oh well…
"Which is it going to be?" Celes asked, holding two outfits of her own. She was glancing between the two of them, shaking her head. "This one is nice…" She held up an open leather vest and pants. "But does it become Gau?"
The tailor, who had stumbled over to Celes, also looked fairly disgusted. Celes glanced at him and turned red.
"WHAT?"
"N…Nothing!" He cried, running away to the other side of his store. "Sorry!"
"What a jaunty hat!" Cyan chuckled, putting a big, feathered hat on Gau's bewildered head.
"Not for a young…" The tailor trailed off, quickly taking the hat back when Cyan wasn't looking. When Cyan turned around with a tie in his hands, he looked at Gau, blinking.
"Wait a minute. Where's the hat?"
"There!" Sabin stood back from Gau, smiling. Gau was dressed completely in black, right down to his socks. He was wearing too-long black slacks, a black button-up shirt, and a black tie and hat. "Functional, yet sporty!"
"Me go to funeral?" Gau blinked, looking at himself in the mirror. "Funeral is Gau's surprise?"
"Oh my…" The tailor sighed.
"Phew!" Setzer shook his head. "Completely lacking in fashion…" He pulled the tailor aside. "Excuse me sir, could you just order him clothes like the ones I'm wearing…?"
"Setzer!" Relm rolled her eyes. "Impossible…how dare you think of sticking him in that kind of getup?"
"What?" Setzer demanded. "Trench coats are all the rage right now!"
"I got it…" Edgar grinned. "A tuxedo, silk hat…and…a rose in his teeth!"
"I think that's overdoing it just a bit…" Locke chuckled. "He should just have a bandana!"
"What's so great about a bandana?" Edgar demanded. "Most of the time I see them tied to dogs on the beach!"
"What's that supposed to mean!" Locke growled, and stepped toward Edgar.
"There…I think that is very flattering on you, Gau…" The tailor stepped back from the boy, and everyone stopped chattering and turned to him. Gau was standing by the mirror, smoothing down a handsome navy blue suit, with a smooth crimson tie, brown, laced-up loafers, and a navy blue silk ribbon that held his ponytail in place behind his neck. He turned and smiled, and everyone let out an appreciative "Awww…"
"Perfect!" Celes smiled. "The most handsome boy in the world!"
"…Really?" Locke pouted.
The time had finally come. Setzer was landing the airship in a field nearby Lucius' home, and Sabin was escorting Gau towards the ramp.
"You ok, Gau?" Sabin chuckled, and Gau shrugged, laughing with him and still having no idea what was going on. "Any father would be glad to have a son like you!" Gau paused and looked up at Sabin, for one second his eyes flickering comprehension.
"…Hooo?"
Sabin took Gau down the ramp, and the others followed. While they stopped in the unkempt front yard, Sabin led Gau all the way to the door, and knocked. The door swung open, and there stood Lucius, as wild-eyed as ever. He looked over Sabin and Gau, blinking and scratching his head.
"Excuse me sir," Sabin smiled, and Lucius stamped his foot.
"Who in blazes are you!" Lucius cried, and then stopped. "Oh…The repairman!" Sabin rolled his eyes, and the other Returners gave each other a look.
"Sir…" Sabin said slowly and carefully, forming every word deliberately. "You had a son…right? Are you with me?" Lucius looked as confused as ever, but something was happening to Gau. His eyes were getting misty, and he let out a small sniffle as he looked the man up and down, catching his scent.
"…Son?" Lucius asked carefully, almost not sounding psychotic.
"Right!" Sabin said. "A lost son. But the truth is, he's alive! Come here, Gau!" He thrust Gau forward, and Gau gasped a little, looking up into the man's face and whimpering as he smiled.
"F-F-F-F….atherrr?" He cried out happily and suddenly threw his arms around Lucius' waist, closing his eyes and nuzzling his chest much like a fuzzy creature would. Lucius stared down at him for a moment, understanding and affection slowly seeping into his gaze. He smiled some, reaching out to pat Gau's back. But suddenly, he blinked again, the distantness returning to his gaze, and pulled back abruptly, nearly causing Gau to fall forward on his face.
"What is this!" Lucius asked, and cackled. "What's with this "son" business?" He turned to Sabin, his hands on his hips. "I never had a son, you see. But now that you mention it, I once had a terrible dream. In it, a demon-child was born! I dreamt that it killed my beloved Diana and that I grabbed the creature, rushing off to the Veldt…It was crying like crazy when I got there, but I cast it off good and fast…" He started rambling so fast that he became incoherent, and Sabin looked brutally defeated. Gau straightened himself up and looked down at the porch he was standing on, letting out a little sigh. Sabin caught this and strengthened his resolve.
"But Sir…" He trailed off.
"I left the child there…" Lucius went on. "And without looking back, I turned and started to run!"
"No!" Sabin cried. "I'm trying to tell you…"
"Suddenly, the crying stopped. I turned, and to my surprise, I saw a frightful monster…Hideous! It still gives me the shakes…" Sabin sighed and looked away, afraid that he was about to lay one on the man at any moment now.
"I…I give up…"
Gau suddenly looked very tired and sad, until Lucius put his hand on Gau's shoulder, causing him to look up. Lucius grinned and patted Gau.
"But you, young man…your parents must be proud of you! They would be fools not to…But alas, I still dream of that demon child…it is frightening…"
"Why, you!" Sabin growled, pushing Gau out of the way and pulling back his fist. "He's completely out of his mind…"
"Uwaooo!" Gau cried, scrambling back up and grabbing hold of Sabin's wrist just in time. Lucius didn't even flinch, and do to the glazed over look in his eyes, he truly wouldn't have known what was about to hit him. Sabin stopped, panting out and looking down at Gau as he slowly lowered his fist. Looking embarrassed, he turned away, and Lucius took this as good-bye, stepping back inside his house and slamming the door behind him. Sabin slumped down the stairs, and the others came up to him, giving him condolences for at least trying. Gau came down the stairs, taking Sabin's hand as they started to retreat from the yard and go back to The Falcon.
"I'm really sorry…" Sabin shook his head. "I lost my temper and…" He stopped, and looked at Gau, who was smiling up at him.
"T..T…Thank you…" Gau drawled in his best possible pronunciation effort, his eyes bright. "F…F…F…Father alive…" He sniffled and rubbed away a smidgen of a tear. "Gau…happy."
On the deck of The Falcon, the Returners were standing together while Setzer stabilized the ship in mid-air. No one really knew what to say at this point, so they all fell into uncomfortable silence as the wind whipped past them. Gau was tugging idly at his tie, and eventually tore off all his clothes to be in his usual ratty shorts, leaving to retrieve his monster-skin cloak from the lower deck.
All at once, a loud explosion filled the air, causing The Falcon to shake violently as vapid, burning hot air filled the nostrils of the Returners and washed over the airship. Locke gasped and choked as he opened his eyes, just barely catching the pure white beam of light that shot past the ship and into the mountain range off of their horizon. The light smashed into some mountains, causing a massive explosion that shook The Falcon even harder and knocked some of the Returners down. A few moments later, another, more distant explosion went off, and smoke could be seen billowing up in a menacing, black tower.
Sabin pulled himself up from the deck and gasped. "It…It's…"
"The Light of Judgment?" Celes questioned, and Sabin nodded.
"Kefka is at it again?" Terra cried. "But why?"
"He must be getting restless!" Edgar growled, and Setzer quickly jerked The Falcon out of i mode, deciding he didn't want them to be a sitting target. As they started to pull away from the Lete River, another explosion let off, this time a beam zipping right above The Falcon and crash landing into the river, causing it to swell and explode beneath them, splashing everyone with water and chunks of destroyed, wet earth.
"This has to stop!" Gogo cried, holding onto the side of the airship for dear life. "Kefka is going to disfigure the planet even more than it already is!"
Terra felt her pulse start to race again, and suddenly, she understood why. She and Kefka were both creatures that could directly tap into the source of all magic, her being an Esper and him being the man who had somehow managed to come into it on his own. How, she didn't understand quite yet, but it was nonetheless a connection they shared. Terra could feel Kefka's anxiousness, his hunger for more destruction. It was pulsing through her body, the beams of light causing palpitations in her heart. It was a direct expense of his energies, and it was frighteningly powerful. To any magical creature, it was like a verbal expression of his emotions. Terra could feel it, and she saw that Mog could too by the look in his eyes. He was cowering behind Celes, clutching to her cape for dear life. Even Umaro looked upset, making low howls and hiding his purple snout with his huge hands.
"Kefka is waiting…" Terra trailed off, closing her eyes. "He's waiting…he knows we're alive and he wants to settle the score."
"Well then I suppose we'll have to take the bastard up on his invitation," Relm sneered. "I wouldn't want to keep him waiting…"
"Do we really want to do this now?" Setzer cried, struggling to maintain control of The Falcon and trying to pull it up and away from further attacks. "I'm just asking, because once I fly us to his tower, there may be no turning back!"
"I don't think we have a choice!" Terra cried. "If we fly anywhere else, he'll just hunt us down and kill us, along with all the innocent people in the town we'd be in! If we're at his tower, then at least he may be willing to hold fire on the world and deal with us!"
"That settles it. It's time to break into Kefka's domain." Edgar slammed his fist into his hand. Celes looked away, and Edgar looked over at her.
"Celes…what's wrong?" She looked up at him and Terra, frowning.
"Kefka…he's in there with the Statues, right? Could he be taking his power from them?"
"It's more than likely," Sabin replied. "But that has been his goal since before all of this even happened…so why bring it up now?"
Of course… Terra thought. Kefka must have succeeded in draining the Statues of their power…that's how he tapped into the magical energy he has…
"Well…" Celes coughed on the rush of air that was being forced down all their lungs and gasped. "The Statues give both Kefka and the Espers the energy they need to live, right? If we destroy the Statues…"
"What will happen?" Edgar questioned slowly, and Celes shook her head.
"I'm not sure…but…"
"The Espers…and magic too…will most surely disappear from this world," Strago said gravely, stepping in. "It is only logic. If the source of magic disappears, everything associated with it will die out as well." Edgar looked horrified.
"But then…"
"What will happen to Terra…?" Celes asked, turning toward her friend. Terra gasped and looked away, her face flushed with overwhelming distraught that she could not bear to show the others.
That's right…I am half-Esper…If the Statues die and Kefka as well…the energy half of my body needs to live will be gone…
Terra bit down on her lip.
I told Celes that sacrifices wouldn't be necessary for our final battle…I told her with full hope and confidence…but now I realize why she said it…she wasn't just thinking about herself…She was looking beyond…and thinking about me…
Terra shook her head, pushing past the others and gazing out at the scenery behind them. A good portion of the Lete River was now smoking, as were some of the mountains further back. Scanning those mountains, Terra's eyes fell on the abandoned valley that had once been Narshe. It was strange…even though she had hardly spent under two years of her life living outside the Empire's control, and even less of that in the snowy city, she had come to think of it as perhaps being her very own "hometown". It was in Narshe that Terra ultimately had been given a second chance at life by first an Esper brethren and then a wiry thief named Locke Cole. It was the town that Terra rushed to save by riding the Lete River with Banon, Edgar, and Sabin. When she had seen that it was abandoned, she felt as if she still belonged there.
Every aspect of Terra's previous life, her memories included, had been destroyed by Kefka. In truth, it was Kefka who had destroyed Terra herself the first day he placed the slave crown on her head. Although she wasn't exactly saddened that the Empire was gone, it was still something that Kefka had managed to sweep away with one wave of his hand. He was a powerful man to have been able to cripple her life so easily. But now, she was afraid that if she let Kefka win, he would destroy Narshe, the start of her new life. He would destroy Mobliz again, and all of the children. He might even steal her body and drain her of her memories once more.
She turned, slowly, and looked at her friends, whom were each watching her with gentle, loving eyes. There was no pressure for her to make a choice. Either way, they would still love her and see her through to the end, right? Her heart started to pound harder. It would be easy to take the safer road…but was that what they were fighting for, all fourteen of them, this whole time? Was that what each of the Returners had sacrificed for? At that moment, all she could think of were the things that they had given her…
And suddenly, the decision had become so easy.
"We need to go on," Terra finally said, her voice firm but proud. "I am not afraid."
"Terra…are you sure?" Celes asked worriedly. "We can wait…we can try to think of a different way…"
"It is not a risk I am willing to take," Terra smiled some. "We have far too much to lose if we do not defeat Kefka as soon as possible."
No one objected, but it could not be denied that right at that moment, Terra shined brighter than any star. She pushed some of her stray hair back, put her hand on her hip, and looked to Setzer. He watched for a moment, but the silence was broken by another loud and unexpected explosion, which occurred only about a mile from their location. At the sound of that, Setzer jumped and ran over to the wheel, grasping it tightly and looking back at the group.
"Then we're going!" He cried, revving up the engine and looking back at everyone. "If anyone wants to get off, tell me now!" The Returners all paused and looked at each other, but nobody said a word. Setzer shrugged, and giving the engine all he had, shot The Falcon forward like a bullet towards the south…
"Hold on tightly!" Strago cried, "And stay down!"
Terra moaned out as she felt the wind violently whip back her ponytail, closing her eyes tighter and clinging to a pipe that emerged from the deck. She couldn't believe that all of this was happening so fast, right now. Even though it was her idea, she was still in shock. They were going to Kefka's Tower. This was surely going to be the end. Were they even remotely ready?
I need strength… Terra thought to herself, biting down on her lip. I need a strength and power greater than Kefka's…We won't be able to run from him much longer…and I won't survive if I can't find it!
Suddenly, Terra felt cool air pass over her body, and slowly opened her eyes. The air was gone, but she could see a long, bulky shadow crawling across the upper deck. The Falcon had slowed down, and she caught Setzer staring up into the sky.
"Setzer…?" She trailed off, looking up with him and gasping out.
Above the airship was the most hideous winged beast she had ever seen. The body was long, twisted, purple, and horned at the head, where a bulging yellow eye washed over her like a headlight and a jaw full of shining white teeth hung open. Attached at each side were ragged greenish-brown wings, with purple gnarled claws emerging from each one, various bones and deformities jutting out underneath the bat-like skin. It let out a shrieking howl, flapping its wings and circling around to fly over the ship again.
"What is THAT?" Cyan cried, sitting up some and not believing his eyes.
"It must be Doom Gaze," Shadow said. "One of the two creatures that was released when the Earth became the way it is today."
"I was told about Doom Gaze…" Celes trailed off. "If you look directly into its eye…you'll perish instantly…"
"Just keep driving!" Locke protested to Setzer. "Maybe we'll shake it off!"
"I'll do my best," Setzer said, giving the wheel a sharp turn and pulling down the level on his steering deck. The Falcon shuddered and shot forward again, while Terra and Celes tried to keep steady enough to cast Holy spells to repel the creature. As Doom Gaze dared to fly in so close that the Returners could feel his cold breath, Edgar tried valiantly to jab and stab at it with his lance without looking directly at it. Sabin attacked it from behind with various Blitzes, and Gogo copycatted. All at once, Doom Gaze was hit with two Holy spells, the Grand Train lore, and various Espers who had come to the aide of all the other Returners that had summoned them. The creature started to shake and warble its cries, Shadow slicing off one of its wings with a dart just as it bounced off the deck, flying backwards and a sparkling heap and exploding behind the ship. The blast was so intense that it suddenly surged The Falcon even further forward, and Setzer cried out.
"I've lost control!"
A chunk of glittering Magicite bounced onto the deck from the explosion, but it went unnoticed as the team turned to see what had happened. Kefka's Tower was now in full view, and it was looming closer and closer by every second.
Setzer's steering wheel was spinning out of control. As the ship descended further and further down with greater speed, the panels of the tower becoming bigger and closer, it became obvious what was going to happen.
"Everyone hold on!" Celes cried. "We're going to crash!"
Terra closed her eyes shut and clung onto the closest thing next to her, Locke. She felt him pull her against his chest and dive to the deck, just as the sound of splintering wood, shattered rock, and breaking glass filled the air around them. Terra could feel nothing but the sensation of falling, falling, falling…her stomach leapt to her throat and she felt as if she were going to vomit. Suddenly, a violent crash erupted against her body, and she heard the sickening sound of The Falcon scrapping along a rocky surface at unbelievable speed. As she felt them start to slow down, she opened her eyes and tried to figure out if she was in one piece or not. However, all she could feel and see was Locke's body on her own. It was completely dark.
"Locke…" She whispered hoarsely. "Are you ok?"
The airship finally slid to a full and complete stop, by crashing into a wall. The stop jarred everyone, and caused the Magicite left behind by Doom Gaze to bounce a bit and clatter against the deck. Terra blinked and reached out for it, grasping it in her fingers as Locke moaned and started to push off of her.
"Yeah…I'm ok…" After he had managed to stand up and brush off his clothes, he helped Terra to her feet and they walked around, trying to rouse the others. It was still totally dark, and they could hardly see their hands in front of their faces.
"Terra…it seems like hardly anyone is around…" Locke said nervously. "I can't see anyone…" Terra swallowed and continued feeling around, her hand brushing over a body with long, silky hair and leather pants. It was Celes. Just as Terra had kneeled by Celes to wake her, three blinding spotlights came on, shining down on the ship and then slowly spreading away, although one light did stay near The Falcon. Celes moaned, sensing the light and opening her eyes, pushing herself up and wincing.
"What the hell was that…?"
"Edgar, Sabin!" Locke could be heard exclaiming from the other side of the ship.
Terra looked around nervously in the dusty yellow light. "I don't see anyone else here Celes…I think it might just be you, Locke, Sabin, Edgar, and I…"
The two girls looked around, disturbed at their surroundings. Everywhere they looked were high, jagged piles of melded rock, metal, and in some places, what looked like skeletons. At first, the rock appeared to just be dark brown, but Terra noticed every few minutes it would warm to a brighter and brighter color, like glowing lava, and then recede back to darkness. Every time the rock lit up, the eye holes of the skeletons would glow a bright, sinister red. Below the airship was what looked like a path of some sort, which cut through the jagged rock and led downhill. She couldn't see much further than that. Besides the lights, everything above them was pitch darkness.
Suddenly a loud crackling burst in the air. Terra realized it was just her radio, and turned it on.
"Hello?"
"Terra…it's me, Gogo."
"Gogo!" Terra cried. "Where are you, are you ok?" She let out a shudder as the dusty light washed over her, sliding down the rest of the ship.
"I think we got separated somehow…" Gogo was very heard to hear, and Terra had to strain her ears to understand. "I'm with Setzer, Cyan, and Gau…hold on a minute." Terra's radio went dead, and she sighed shakily, sitting up on her knees.
"What?" Celes demanded.
"Gogo is with three of the others…" Terra sighed. "But I can barely understand him, and…" Her radio started to go off again, and she flipped it back on.
"Gogo?"
"No, Shadow." Terra heard a grunt in the background. "And Umaro."
"And Relm!" Another voice chimed in.
"Mog too!"
"What about Strago?" Terra gasped. "Where are you guys?"
"I found him!" Terra heard Relm say in the background. "Wake up, you lazy ass!"
"I'm not sure where we are…" Shadow trailed off. "I know. Look above you…do you see the lights?"
"I do," Terra replied, looking up. She could see a light flashing and sweeping to her distant right, a light flashing and sweeping around their airship, and a light flashing and sweeping to their left.
"What light are you closest to?" Shadow asked.
"The center, for sure," Terra said softly. "It keeps running over us…it feels creepy."
"Well, if you're the center, then I am to your right," Shadow replied. "I just talked to Gogo. It appears they are to your left."
"What are we going to do?" Terra asked softly. "All I see is darkness…darkness and jagged rock everywhere…there's no way we can climb it. I only see one path."
"Well then you'll just have to take that one path," Shadow instructed. "We'll take ours, and Gogo and the others will take theirs. I'm sure that somehow they all manage to lead to the same place."
"Alright…I suppose we have no other choice…" Terra flipped off her radio and looked at Celes. Now she had been joined by Locke, Sabin, and Edgar, and they were all staring at Terra and awaiting her news.
"Everyone is accounted for," Terra said. "The only problem is we are separated by walls of rock…and we are pretty much being forced to take the paths that are laid out for us."
"All roads lead to Kefka," Edgar sighed. "At least that is what I am guessing."
"There is only one way to find out," Celes said, standing up. "Have your weapons ready. You never know what the hell we'll run into here."
"Speaking of weapons…" Locke held up a finger, and then ran downstairs through what was now the broken hatch to the lower part of the airship. When he came back up, he was holding a pretty silver hilted sword with a long blade of platinum. In the left side of the blade were inscribed many runes, and the end of the hilt had a dangling charm with the biggest diamond on it any of the Returners had ever seen.
"Locke, where did you get that?" Celes asked.
"It's the Ragnarok, the sword I told you guys about before," Locke replied, and handed it to Celes. "It's yours. Take it for the fight."
"But…" Celes took the blade, amazed at how light it felt in her hands. "You said before it was nothing special. Just the metal on this thing could be enough to make anyone a Gillionaire twenty times over!"
"Trust me when I say it didn't look like that when I found it," Locke said. "The forger said something about it possibly being a holy sword…that's what I think may be behind its transformation."
"Are you sure I can have it?" Celes asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"You can borrow it!" Locke said. "Just for the final battle…'cause you know, magic isn't going to be enough. After this, I'm selling it."
"None of us are going to have money worries if we don't hurry along," Edgar said. "It may be already too late…"
The pathways that each group took all led towards the top of the tower, in one skewed way or another. At some points, the Returners would be plunging further and further down, and then suddenly come upon a towering staircase that took them to a new level. Terra was horrified to find out first hand just what had become of the former Imperial city, Vector. Some of the chambers she would find herself in were eerily reminiscent of the Imperial Palace, and Celes revealed in that many rooms also looked like part of the Magitek Factory she had explored looking for the cure for Terra's coma.
"It is like Kefka absorbed everything he wanted to build his own palace…"
The corridors and chambers were all filled with the most gruesome and frightening monsters the Returners had ever stumbled upon in their journey. Undead beasts, zombie samurai, and huge, slimy tentacle monsters were only a part of the frequent battles all three groups struggled in. Luckily, they had the Espers who were always willing to help in battle, but only if the summoner could find the strength to call them.
The higher the Returners climbed, the more they found their radios beginning to fail and fade in and out, and the harder it was for the groups to disable the various traps and riddles that Kefka had lovingly planted for them, à la The Phoenix Cave. Nearly two hours into the tower, the first group was exhausted from having to constantly backtrack and make sure they hit all the switches they could find, and from fighting all the battles that came with it. The second team's hands and knees ached from having to crawl through tunnels and tubes that were reminiscent of the Magitek Factory. The third team had not been heard from once.
Eventually, Terra and the others came into what looked like a long, majestic hallway. High above them, they could see a balcony, which was empty. The hallway was elevated slightly above what looked like two other hallways below them, one to the left and one to the right. At the end of each hallway was a switch on the floor. However, when Terra tried to hop down to one of them, she was thrown back violently into Celes.
"Whoa!" Terra cried, and Celes let out a grunt as she pulled Terra to her feet. "A force field!"
"I imagine the others are supposed to turn those on," Locke said. "It looks like we have our own switch right here." He pointed ahead, and sure enough, a switch was also lying on the floor for them. Sabin went over and stepped on it, but nothing happened.
"I hope the others come soon…" Terra bit down on her lip. "No one has radioed me."
scene...
"I wonder if it's dark outside yet?" Relm asked softly.
The party had stopped to rest in a portion of the tower that they had managed to lock all the doors to, so no one or nothing could invade and attack. It was an old part of the Magitek Factory, with a walkway built up above them, metal ladders and staircases everywhere. The room was dim and smelled of old, putrid metal, and in the distance, dripping water could be heard. Relm cuddled up closer to Strago, and he sighed.
"It probably is, by now," he offered.
"Arrrr…" Umaro yawned, and Mog reached over and gently patted his paw.
"Can anyone hear me?" Shadow grunted, talking into his radio. However, there was no static or any returning noise. He sighed, attaching it back to his belt. "It seems like we are completely cut off from everyone else…"
"I hope we see the others soon," Relm sighed. "I'm a little scared. What if something happened to them?"
"If all you can ask yourself is "What if", then it's not worth worrying over," Shadow said gruffly. "Trust me." Strago gave him a look, and Relm sighed, kicking at the metal floor and grunting.
"I'm really tired of wailing on monster ass."
Mog looked at her worriedly and smiled.
"If you don't want to rest, we can play a game, kupo." Curious, Relm scooted closer to Mog and Umaro, and Mog began to explain the rules of their "game", which apparently involved teasing Umaro with green cherries. While they kept themselves occupied, Shadow gestured for Strago to come closer. Strago narrowed his eyes, and the two men got up and moved somewhere else to talk without any of the others even noticing.
"What?" Strago demanded.
"I've been thinking, and I want to ask you a favor," Shadow said, and Strago raised his eyebrows.
"You want to ask me a favor…pray tell, what did I do to deserve this?"
"Don't be so pretentious, old man," Shadow sneered, and Strago crossed his arms over his chest.
"Just tell me what you want and get it over with." To Strago's surprise, he saw Shadow's eyes grow less angry and the ninja looked off to the side, watching Relm and the others play.
"After this is all done and over with…I want you to make me disappear."
Strago coughed a little. "Excuse me?"
"You know Blue Magic, am I not correct? Therefore your powers will not be affected even after we destroy Kefka and the Statues."
"I know that, but I'm not sure I quite understand…" Strago blinked, getting flustered. "I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're asking! I am not a murderer!"
"Calm down and shut up," Shadow snapped. "I don't want them to hear." Strago looked back at Relm, Mog, and Umaro, and sighed, turning to Shadow again. Shadow crossed his arms over his chest. "I know your kind has certain backwards magic spells that you practice, and I know one of them can cause memory loss." Strago sighed and leaned in closer, whispering now so that there was no chance his voice could carry.
"You just assume that I would cast that type of spell?" Strago demanded. "I have never used that in my life, and believe me, there was a point where I almost wanted to." He glanced back at Relm. "But just erasing your memory is not the answer. I don't care if you want to forget everything that happened. You can't. I don't care how much it hurts…you can't do it. We all have a penance!" Shadow glared at him.
"I don't want to erase my memory. What I want is for you to erase the memory of me in all the others." Strago paused, staring at Shadow. He could tell by the look in his eyes that he was dead serious.
"What…you want me to make the others forget about you?"
"Yeah…after all this is over with…I want to disappear. But the thing is…these people…they aren't going to just leave me be. They don't understand that they've given me a lot to think about. And I like to do my thinking alone." Shadow put his hand on his hip. "Do you understand?"
Strago struggled for words as he shook his head. "No…Shadow…I can't do this. I can't just make the Returners forget about you. It's the easy way out. And besides that…" He hesitated. "I don't care what you have to think about. If you leave…you are going to leave her and cut off any blood ties she might have to family. I'm not going to be around forever."
Shadow looked away, not saying anything for a moment. For one moment, perhaps, sadness flickered in his eyes. "She can never love another as she loves you. That is very obvious, even to me. Besides, she thinks you are her blood."
"But someday, some gossip in our town will reveal the truth…and she will hate me for lying." Strago glared.
"We both know that she will grow up happier and healthier without me." Shadow turned and started to walk away. "Just think about it."
Strago stared after him, using all his self-control not to swing his arms around and scream out his frustrations and what had just transpired. Mog suddenly tossed a green cherry out towards the set of staircases, laughing.
"Go get it, Umaro!"
Umaro howled and lumbered after the green cherry, causing Mog and Relm to burst out in a fit of giggles. Umaro slid on the floor a bit as he came to a stop and grabbed the cherry, popping it into his mouth and chewing loudly. Suddenly, there came a loud creaking, and everyone fell silent. The creaking got louder and louder, when all of a sudden, a writhing mass of twisted olive green muscles with three heads emerged from the large air duct above the stairs, diving down straight for Umaro!
"UMARO!" Relm cried, and the creature barely had time to look up before he scrambled down the stairs and rolled out of the way. The monster landed, crying out of all three of its mouths, two of which were revealed to be at the end of its stumpy arms. As it started to wriggle and slash its arms towards the others, pounding metal footsteps could be heard from behind him.
"Grrrrrr!" Umaro charged back up the stairs, lowering his head and ramming right into the back of the monster. It stumbled and fell over, howling and moaning and Umaro started to as Relm would say "wail on it". The two beasts rolled together, taking turns pounding and beating the life out of each other. Relm, a little frightened, stepped back towards Shadow and Mog.
"I've never seen Umaro get like that before…" She gulped right as Umaro climbed on top of the beast, swinging punches harder and bashing his head against the beast's.
"Umaro gets incredible strength and energy just from eating these little green cherries…" Mog said, pulling out some more from a little sack around his waist, whistling and throwing them toward him. Umaro looked up, craning his neck out and catching every cherry in his mouth. Relm gasped and covered her eyes as Umaro started to go berserk, tearing right into the monster before their eyes. A few moments later, the grunting and growling stopped, and there was a fading cry. When Relm opened her eyes again, the monster was gone, and Umaro was sitting down, blinking and picking his toes.
"Umaro, you crazy…you could have gotten hurt!" Mog exclaimed, bouncing over to him.
"You encouraged him with those damn cherries!" Strago protested, and Mog put a finger to his lips.
"Well that just goes to prove that we aren't safe anywhere in this hellhole," Shadow muttered. "So we should probably move on."
"I agree…" Relm shuddered. "I don't want to see one of those things jump out again."
scene...
"AHHHH!"
Gau was the last one to run screaming down the corridor, through an open doorway that he promptly slammed shut behind him. He started to pant out for breath as he leaned back against it, letting out a sudden scream as he felt something crash behind him and claw relentlessly at the door. Reaching back shakily, he snapped the lock and ran as far away as he could. At the end of the hall, he could see the others waiting for him.
"There you are!" Cyan gasped. "We thought we had lost you!"
"Everyone accounted for?" Setzer asked, taking a quick look. "Cyan, Gau, Gogo…Ok…good." He sighed, wiping sweat off his forehead. "I can't believe the zombies in here were smart enough to actually plan an ambush on us."
"Yeah, but did we really want to get chased here?" Gogo sighed, looking around. The group had been forced to run down a straight path and ended up in what looked just like the prison from Vector, complete with cells, rusty metal toilets, and skeletons of forgotten prisoners. Martha Stewart would have been proud. As long as the horde of zombies was still clawing and clamoring outside, they would be stuck in there.
"What are we going to do?" Cyan questioned. "I'm afraid they have an eternity to wait on us, whereas we do no have an eternity to wait on them."
"Grrr…"
"…Did you hear that?" Setzer asked, and everyone quieted down. Another soft growl emitted from a closed cell. Suddenly, the door to the cell flew off the hinges, slamming into the doorway behind them and just barely missing Gau's arm. The crash rang in the Returners' ears as heavy footsteps slammed and shook the metal floor below their feet. Emerging from the now empty doorway was a familiar sight- A growling, tail-swinging Atma. Atma hissed and swung one of her mighty clawed feet, all the Returners diving out of the way just in time. An angst-ridden voice suddenly filled their minds, and all at once, they knew it was the beast speaking to them.
"I am Atma…Left here since birth…forgotten in the river of Time…I've had an eternity to ponder the meaning of things…And now I have an answer."
Atma began to slowly walk towards the Returners, pushing them into a corner. Gau spotted a doorway all the way in the back of the holding cell, and dashed off to try it, but it was rusted shut. Pulling out a knife, he started to slash at the rusty lock that was holding it closed, and Setzer and the others launched a full scale attack with their Espers, summoning every one in their possession. Surprisingly, however, Atma did not counter the attacks. She merely kept marching on, snarling every once in a while and swinging her tail behind her. However, no one wanted to wait to see what Atma would do if she did get the Returners cornered.
Out of the corner of his eye amid the chaos of the Espers fighting, he spotted a little spinning fan on the upper side of Atma's right thigh. Narrowing his eyes, he took a few cards, aimed carefully, and let them fly. Striking the fan in a blitz of sparks and smoke, Atma suddenly paused and looked back at what had happened. The fan sputtered and came to a stop, stuck on the cards and making a horrible "whirrrrrr" sound. Doing a quick dodge roll to the left, Setzer realized that was a fan on her other thigh too, and aimed carefully to strike it as well. When the fan became jammed, Atma let out a painful howl and slumped to the floor, closing her eyes and warbling as more smoke began to pour not only out of her thighs, but her mouth and nostrils as well. After a few more pathetic cries, she remained still, and soon disappeared in a flash of violet light. The Espers surprised that the enemy had been defeated so quickly, looked at each other with little shrugs and disappeared back into their Magicite.
"…Was that it?" Gogo asked.
"This whole time…Atma was a machine?" Cyan questioned. "Or…"
"Perhaps Kefka made her into one after her first battle with the Returners…" Setzer paused. "Either way…what surprises me is that she didn't even attempt to finish us off…"
"Maybe she wanted to die," Gogo suggested, and the others turned to listen. "Did you hear what she told us? She was left, forgotten…maybe she was in pain and just wanted someone to come and kill her. We don't know the history of creatures like Atma. Maybe once, before all of this, Atma was a normal human who became a victim of the War of the Magi. Who knows, right? She said she had a lot of time to think…maybe that meant she had a lot of time to remember too."
Everyone looked down at the floor. Gogo had a valid point. They knew that Kefka had used countless creatures and monsters to make victims. But they had never really stopped to think of anything they encountered being victims themselves.
"Of course…" Setzer sighed some. "We would be naïve to think that Terra was the only innocent Kefka used in his grand scheme…"
Uwao!" Gau cheered, and the others all turned toward him. He had managed to cut off the rusty lock that was keeping them from making their exit and pushed open the door.
scene...
Shadow lead the team down the metal stairs, and they crossed through a threshold and into a new corridor lined with rocks, skeletons, and god only knew what else. As they climbed higher, the air began to get thicker and hotter, and at the end of the stairs, the party found themselves in a chunk of the Imperial Palace. The corridor was simple and small, and surprisingly, no monsters were to be found. After turning the corner into the next room, however, the team stopped dead in their tracks.
They were in what looked similar to a reception room, with stained crimson carpet spread out on the floor and statuettes both in tact and broken scattered about the room. A small set of stairs led up to a higher, carpeted platform, where something large was collapsed and still. Upon closer inspection, the Returners realized it was a huge, ancient pile of bones, probably from some great beast that had expired within the tower or become food for another monster. In fact, it almost resembled a dragon. The soft whistling of wind could be heard in the chamber, despite there being no windows or holes in the metal bolted walls. The only other thing in the room was a darkened, empty doorway, which was currently being blocked by whatever it was that was dead.
One by one, the Returners carefully stepped over the bones, making their way to the exit. Mog was the last one, half-hopping and half-flying across as he struggled to beat his tiny wings. Just as he managed a last hop to join the others, something cold and hard curled around his leg, causing him to gasp out and then scream in pain as it tightened mercilessly and lifted him into the air upside down. The others turned at his scream, Relm crying out.
"Mog!"
"HELP!" Mog cried, squirming and struggling as he felt his captor cutting deeper and deeper into his leg. The Moogle was now dangling helplessly from mid-air by a curled, jagged tail that looked as if it were made solely of vertebrae. The pile of bones suddenly began to rattle and quiver, with the legs extending and pushing themselves up and the massive, razor-toothed skull lifting on its own and glaring back toward the Returners with empty sockets for eyes. When Mog saw that the skeleton had come to life, he let out another blood-curdling scream and suddenly fell limp, passing out from shock. The skeleton rattled as it dropped its jaw open, swinging its tail over and preparing to lower Mog into its mouth. The whistling sound became louder, and the Returners suddenly realized that the sound was actually the dragon's breathing.
"No!" Strago cried, immediately thrusting forth his staff and chanting an offense spell. Shadow launched a ninja star, which slashed through the dragon's tail and caused it to completely sever off. Mog, with the tail still curled around him collapsed to the ground in front of the dragon's mouth, while Umaro dashed out to grab him away. The dragon snapped at Umaro with the sharp sound of bone snapping against bone, Umaro dashing away just in time to avoid getting nipped by the jagged teeth. Angry, the dragon lifted itself higher, tilting its head back as if to roar with no sound coming out. Strago's spell came crashing down upon the beast, fireballs blasting everywhere and causing bones to fly in all directions. When the dust and flames finally cleared, only a few shattered remains were left behind, including a jaw bone. Panting out in relief, Strago leaned against a wall to rest as Relm went to work reviving Mog.
"It must have been the Death Dragon," Shadow snapped, kicking a bone out of the way. "Fairly easy defeat though, wouldn't you say?"
"I'd say that one of us almost getting eaten would not make this an easy defeat," Relm protested, familiar white light bathing Mog's body as her spell took effect, waking him up.
"Uhh...is everyone ok?" Mog moaned, slowly opening his eyes.
"Yes, thankfully, we are all ok!" Relm smiled. "And you?"
"Well, if I had pants, I would be wetting them right about now," Mog sighed. "That scared the living daylights out of me."
"I think we should not overstay our welcome and move on," Strago urged. "Before that thing decides to reassemble itself…" The thought of that did not sound pleasing to anyone, so a hasty exit was made into the next corridor. It was long and straight, with nothing ahead of them but a dead end. Looking around, Strago gasped and pointed up above them. "Look!"
Standing a few feet above them were Terra, Celes, Locke, Edgar, and Sabin! Sabin was sitting on the floor, but he seemed fine, as well as the others!
"Terra!" Relm cried, jumping up and down. Terra and the others turned and cried out happily, waving.
"Relm, you guys, you're all safe!" Terra exclaimed. "We were getting so worried! Why didn't you radio us?"
"Our radios haven't been working, kupo." Mog said. "What are you doing up there? Come here!"
"We can't," Celes said. "There is a force field separating our hallway from yours, and there is another one to our right. There is a switch at the end that you need to press."
Umaro lumbered over to the end of the hallway, stared at the switch for a moment, and cautiously stepped onto it. However, once again, nothing happened. Terra got down on her knees and called down to them.
"Did you guys run into any trouble?"
"We fought one of the seven dragons…" Shadow muttered. "And some freak that was inside the Magitek Factory. Seemed like a leftover monster from before."
"I'm so glad you're all safe though," Terra said. "I'm worried sick for everyone…" Strago glared over at Shadow.
"Are you selfish enough to give up the love your friends have for you?" He hissed, and Shadow turned away, not saying a word. Suddenly, a low moaning sound rushed through the corridor as a hot wind blew in, brushing past the Returners and then disappearing. Locke sighed and looked over towards the empty hall, and Celes clutched Ragnarok.
They knew that they were not safe, not even for a second, as long as Kefka was alive.
scene...
Setzer was the last one to slide through the long tunnel that dropped him off on a small conveyer belt that was running forward into a darkened area. He could see a glimpse of Gau's hair just as he disappeared into the darkness ahead of him. The factory area they had stumbled in was surprisingly quiet and still with the exception of the conveyer belts, which of course just made it all the more creepy. Giant crane hooks were suspended in mid-air, and certain machinery was covered in dust and rust.
As Setzer passed through the dark opening, a rush of hot wind blew in his face, which made him squint. A few moments later, the conveyer belt ended, and dropped him off at the edge of a rocky platform with a door in front of it. It was where the others were waiting.
"Shall we continue?" Gogo asked, and of course, everyone nodded. Gogo pulled open the door and led the group inside what looked like a small, simple room, with a few pots resting against the metal walls, and a smooth red carpet on the floor. In the back of the room was a doorway. However, the lighting was dim, and the corners of the room were submerged in deep, black shadows. As the group crossed the room towards the door, they heard the sound of what seemed like nails scraping across the floor, and the most definite sound of a pot being shattered. Slowly turning, Setzer came face to face with a disturbing sight.
Staring him dead in his eyes were a pair of emerald eyes the size of eggs, eyes that were connected to a long, shining gold scaly head, which was connected to a long, sleek neck and a sleek, long body. On the silent creature's back were a delicate pair of golden wings, and it was being supported by two pairs of bony legs that had sharp ivory claws protruding from knobby feet. The creature gently tilted its head, still staring at Setzer, and suddenly opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing screech, baring its shining white fangs and saliva-soaked pointy tongue. Setzer gasped out and stumbled backwards, withdrawing his cards and shooting at the beast's neck. However, the cards merely bounced off and hit the floor, bursting into little piles of flame.
"What…what is that thing?" Cyan cried, and Gau pointed.
"Illumina Dragon! Must be! Shining and gold…illuminated!"
"Look out!" Gogo screamed, when suddenly, the Illumina dragon whirled around, swinging its tail violently and smashing it into the remaining pots behind the team. Cyan withdrew his sword and ran forwards, crying out as he took a leap into the air and came down onto the dragon's backside, hard. He suddenly cried out in pain, pulling back and dropping his sword as held his arms to his chest and fell to his knees.
"Arg…it was like slamming my sword into concrete…thy enemy has some type of armor-esque scales…but…there was something else there too…"
"Then we have to use magic!" Gogo said, and pulled out several Magicite shards, all glowing. As Gogo began to summon Espers, Setzer took out his own shards, holding them up in the air and calling out the names of his Espers, including Starlet so she could recover Cyan from his brutal mistake. Meanwhile, the Illumina Dragon was just getting started. Its eyes giving off a frightening gleam, lightning bolts suddenly began to shoot down from the ceiling above, striking in random places but almost hitting a Returner every time. As the lightning got stronger and faster, the scales on the dragon began to glow softly and spark a bit. Setzer suddenly realized that the dragon was not only casting the lightning spells, but was the source of their power. The dragon was made completely of electricity, which explained the shock Cyan felt and Setzer's cards lightning on fire. Gogo began to notice this observation as well, but before Setzer could say anything, a sudden bolt of lightening shot down and struck him right through the shoulder.
Setzer cried out in pain and stumbled to the floor, grasping his smoking shoulder and forcing himself to dodge roll out of the way just in time before he was hit head-on by another bolt. Gau jumped up and started to cast a healing spell as he dodged the bolts, and Setzer opened his mouth, only to taste smoke.
"Ugh…the dragon is made of electricity…We have to…use magic…" He started to cough violently, and Cyan rushed to his side, helping him sit up a bit in his arms and jerking him out of the way of more stray lightening.
"But how?" He asked nervously, watching as an Esper's attack bounced off the scales of the dragon and faded into thin air. "What can we use that won't bounce back?"
"A water spell, of course!" Gogo suddenly cried. "The water will fry the electricity!"
"I've got it!" Cyan said and right then, lifted up a Magicite Shard. "Bismark!"
The beautiful blue whale suddenly appeared before them, swirls of bubbles and ribbons of water surrounding it. Letting out a soft moan, Bismark turned and started to charge the dragon, the water ribbons suddenly forming aqua javelins and shooting out to stab the beast. A sick crackling noise could be heard, and the dragon writhed about and cried as the water splashed all over him and caused his flesh to start smoking and frying. With a mighty cry, Bismark slammed into Illumina Dragon and disappeared instantly in a burst of bubbles and water, which was more than enough to finish the suffering beast off. As the bubbles popped and the water began pouring down from them, the creature collapsed to the ground in a crackling mess of electricity and sparks and smoke, its skin rapidly melting away and revealing bone. When all the flesh had melted away, a few more pops of electricity snapped, and suddenly, all fell quiet. Gau completed his healing spell and cast it on Setzer, bringing back his breath and energy, and also causing the wound on his shoulder to stop smoking. As if by magic, the door behind them swung open, and a low whistling wind could be heard.
"Look at this…" Gogo trailed off, bending over and reaching within the remains of the dragon. Setzer strained his eyes to see, and realized that Gogo had found and picked up what looked like a very large piece of glittering Magicite.
"Did we just defeat the last dragon…?" Cyan trailed off. "Is that…Crusader?"
"Quite possibly...but I think before summoning it…we should let Terra have a look, don't you think?" Gogo replied.
"I whole heartedly agree," Setzer moaned, pulling himself up and brushing off his coat. "Is everyone ok to move on?"
The team agreed, and proceeded through the open doorway, leaving behind the remains of the Illumina Dragon…which had just begun to ebb away into dust…
"SETZER!" A voice cried out. "SETZER!"
Looking up, Setzer could see Terra standing at the edge of a platform above him, crying out his name. Although he could only see her, Celes, Locke, Edgar, and Sabin, he could have sworn he heard the voices of the others as well chattering from far off.
"Terra!" Setzer called back. "Are you guys ok?"
"We're fine!" Terra said. "And the others are down behind us! It would seem that we all made it!"
"Thank goodness for that!" Cyan exclaimed, and Gogo reached down, pulling out the new Magicite.
"Terra, I think you should have a look at this!" Gogo reached back and tossed the Magicite, but Terra cried out.
"No, don't! There's a force field…"
"But before she could finish, the Magicite easily flew through the air, as if nothing were there to obstruct it, and landed safely in Terra's hands. She blinked, taking the Magicite and holding it up to the little lighting they had in the room.
"What tremendous power…I can feel it practically quivering in my hands…" She blinked, and looked down at Gogo. "Where did you get this…? It feels…" She trailed off. "It feels dangerous…"
"We found it in the remains of a dragon we fought," Setzer explained, and heard Relm scream from across the room.
"We defeated a dragon too…!"
"So…that's it," Terra trailed off, looking the Magicite again. "We must have defeated all the dragons…and this must be Crusader." However, before she could finish, a loud rumbling broke out, and a door suddenly appeared in front of Terra and her party. She looked down, and saw that Gau had accidentally decided to take a rest on his group's switch.
"You guys don't move!" Celes instructed, and proceeded in through the new doorway. She immediately was faced with another switch, which she stepped upon. Outside, she heard a click, so she stepped off and joined the others to see if anything had happened.
"Celes, go back in there!" Mog exclaimed. "I don't know what you did, but do it again! A doorway appeared and then disappeared down here!"
"Same here!" Cyan exclaimed.
"Alright, I'm going!" Celes threw up her hands and went back inside, taking her place on the switch again and listening for the click. It came, but a few moments later, another click followed, and she heard groaning. Going back outside, she saw that everyone was exactly as she had left them.
"Why didn't you go through the door?" Celes demanded.
"When we stepped off our switches, our doors disappeared," Strago explained. "So…I would say that we are quite stuck."
"Mmmm…" Locke rubbed his chin and had a look around the room, suddenly brightening a little. "Maybe not!" He pointed up, towards a pair of balconies no one had noticed before. At the edge of each balcony was a weight, and if Locke was seeing things correctly, the weights were positioned exactly over the switches below the corridors. He ran in through the doorway, only instead of stopping at the switch like Celes, he took a left and came out on the balcony that was on Shadow, Strago, Relm, Mog, and Umaro's side. After making sure everyone was clear out of the way, Locke pushed the weight, and watched as it flew down and fell right on its mark- the switch. Then, running over to the right side, he did the same thing, and watched as the weight fell on that switch. He came back outside to the center hallway, and Terra spoke up.
"I'm afraid we may have to be separated again for a while…but everyone will continue to be careful, right?"
"Don't worry about us, Terra!" Relm said. "Worry about yourself!"
"Uh…what she means is, take care of yourself," Strago said, giving Relm a gentle smack upside her head, hissing. "Learn to be sensitive, Relm!" Relm made a face, but for once, didn't say anything. Terra smiled some and turned to her group members.
"Well…let us continue, yes? I'm sure Kefka is anxious to see us already."
"Terra…" Celes sighed, abruptly cutting herself off and turning away to walk ahead and turn on the doorway switch for the other groups. Terra bit down on her lip and watched her go, hearing the doors open for the other groups and watching them disappear to whatever Kefka's labyrinth had in store for them next. After they were all gone and they were alone, Terra silently led the boys in with her and motioned for Celes to let off the switch. Celes started to walk ahead faster than everyone, and Terra quickly caught up to her, gasping a little for breath.
"Celes…I…"
"Terra, quit making light of this," Celes snapped, and Terra blinked.
"What…?"
"Just don't joke, ok?" Celes glared at her. "Don't say things like 'Kefka is anxious to see us'! It…it's stupid." Celes looked down, and Terra reached down and took her hand.
"Celes…Please…I am not afraid of dying. You should not be afraid for me either…if I die, it will mean that we defeated Kefka…and for me…" She smiled some. "…For me…that will be the most wonderful thing." Celes down at her with an ice gaze.
"What…? No…the most wonderful thing would be you being alive, being with us…"
"I have taken so much from everyone," Terra suddenly said firmly, in a tone that surprised Celes. "Believe me…I will do anything to pay you all back. I am willing." Celes blinked and gave Terra's hand a squeeze before dropping it.
"So…you truly are…a soldier."
Meanwhile...
Kefka let out a tired yawn and pulled himself up from his seat, which instantly brought one of his remaining human lackeys to his side, bent on one knee. The rest, he figured, were surely dead by now, as he had transformed them into the most fabulous of monsters and sent them to attack the Returners hours ago, and they had not yet come back.
"My liege…what is it that troubles you?"
"Who remains in my tower?"
"Sir…?"
"Who remains?" Kefka asked icily, his idiotic smile not flinching a bit despite his tone.
"Uh…well…" The lackey gulped. "Atma…is dead…Inferno, Striker, and Rough…are dead…The two Dragons you captured have been slain…Oh, but, The Guardian unit is still operable and…"
"Enough, you pitiful cretin," Kefka snapped, and folded his hands together, as if in deep thought. "I thought it might come to this. Do not think I am unprepared."
"Oh, no sir, I never in the least thought…"
"Oh please…now you are just being a kiss ass," Kefka yawned again, and rubbed his eyes. "I've had enough of that." Thrusting out his hand, Kefka muttered a few words and turned away as his last lackey's neck instantly snapped, and he fell to the floor, dead. Throwing his cape back, Kefka walked back past his throne, past a few scattered bodies, and gazed out at the sight before him at the jagged edge of his royal hall.
Outside…it was nothing but darkness, and deep purple clouds had begun to crawl over the sky. Every once in a while, a crackle of white lightening would appear, quickly illuminating the black and the peaks of jagged mountains and then disappearing in a flash. For the first alternate dimension he had ever created on his own, Kefka thought he did a pretty neat job. Stepping off his platform and seemingly floating in mid-air, Kefka walked across some of the violent air currents that were rushing through, and raised his arms, closing his eyes.
"I am sorry that you will never get to see this sweet new paradise I call home…" Kefka smiled, and laughed to himself. "But my dear Returners, be rest assured that I will use it to plunge this planet into a beautiful darkness…I would let you stick around to watch, but the truth is just the spell to do it will tear your pitiful human bodies apart…and I don't think you will be able to fully appreciate what I am doing for our poor, dying world…" He cackled again, his voice echoing in the eternal distance, and nearly doubled over from his laughter. Wiping tears of joy from his eyes, Kefka tried to regain his composure and raised his arms again, causing the lightening to crackle louder and for thunder to boom in the distance.
"This is the end of the line, friends…but please be gentle to those that I will send to make your graves…My girls are tired and hunger for those sweet Esper powers you have inside of you…" Bursting out into laughter again, Kefka's fingers were suddenly struck by multiple lightening bolts, causing his entire body to light up and his blonde hair to stand on end, his colorful robes flapping in the wind.
"Take the last bit of energy you will ever taste, My Sweet Statues…and use it to DESTROY THOSE DAMNED RETURNERS!"
To be continued in Chapter 50: Finale….
