Well, if you don't know the / blah / thing is a flashback. I will use it alot.

Well, if you haven't figured it out the black creature is an esper from the game. The name is Phantom. And here are the stats.

Level Bonus: MP +10.
Attack: Fader
Spells: Berserk, Vanish, Demi

The spells Phantom knows will come into play later in the story as well as some other ones that I chose. Well, I just wanted to clear that up and say that I really enjoy writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Disclaimer: Well I decided that if I had a million dollars I would not buy FF3 (FF6). I would buy Relm and Rydia from FF2 (FF4). I would buy Aeris (FF7), Selphie (FF8), Eiko (FF9), and Rikku (FF10). Yeah my fav females. I love Final Fantasy. Wait this is supposed to be a disclaimer. . . Well I don't own any of it. Okay, leave me alone. And this is a famous quote but I still don't know who said it.

Chapter 4When Good Girls Die Young

Someday you are bound to lose everything.
Everyone around you will be gone.
Squall Lionheart Final Fantasy 8

'Where in the hell am I?' Relm stood up. 'Okay I was reading the goddess statue's inscription. Then I was leaving. . .Now where am I?' She looked around. She was standing near the mountain range looking towards the sunrise. 'Sunrise? How long have I been away?' She looked around and started heading north-east, towards Thamasa.

This would be. . .interesting. Relm was supposed to have returned before sunset or there would be a search party sent after her. She must have been gone for at least 24 hours. She was looking around when she saw something on the horizon. Something black. . .It was getting bigger. . .Wait. There was something bright directly under it. 'NO!'

But, Relm's denial meant nothing. Thamasa was being burnt to the ground. She ran faster than she ever thought possible. When she got to the front gate she realized that the fire wasn't the worst part. There were men dressed in brown uniforms in magitek armor herding civilians into the center of the city. Relm had only ever heard of magitek armor. Now she could see its power first hand. The armor made the soldiers look twice as tall as normal men. The armor also gave them the ability to shoot magical beams much stronger than any of the mage's magic.

All of the people of Relm's home were either scattered on the ground dead or standing in the middle of their small town scared senseless. All of the strongest mages were left helpless. Then she saw Strago. He was looking frantically around. Then he saw her. He was so relieved to see her he started towards her when one of the soldiers grabbed him.

"Sir Kefka, what should we do with the mages?" The soldier looked towards a man that looked quite a lot like a clown. He was wearing a lot of make-up and laughing maniacally. "Well, are they of any use to the Empire? NO! So, I don't want them to live."

'Grandpa! My people didn't do anything. Our homes, our lives, ended for no reason.' She screamed. No, she didn't scream; she howled. A noise that sounded almost inhuman and could chill the blood of men.

Relm lunged forward through the gate to the invaders. She yelled in anguish and rage beyond measure. She lost control of everything. Relm didn't know what she was doing when she plowed into the first soldier she saw. She watched, as though in a dream, as she head butted him in the gut and then pounded a hole straight through his armor. She couldn't stop herself.

Before she knew it, he was dead. She had no time to think about that though, for she was already moving on to the next soldier. By now all the people had heard her cry for revenge and were watching her. Keftka watched with a sick fixation as she vanish into thin air. She was nowhere to be seen but the soldier she had been attacking was doubled over in pain. The soldier then fell backwards as a fireball was fired from directly in front of him; hitting him point blank in the face.

Now it was Kefka's turn to attack. He sent a powerful thunderbolt to exactly where the fire ball had come from. Thud! Relm hit the ground. She was almost completely unconscious when she heard, "Now this is what I wanted to find." Cue the crazy laugh. "I haven't seen this strong of magic in a human since. . .Well, myself." She was being lifted into the air. "That berserk spell was the strongest I have ever seen. This little witch will do nicely."

Relm awoke in a jail cell. It was smelly and dark and dirty. "Gross!" She heard footsteps approaching the cell's door. Another one of the soldiers in brown uniforms was looking in through the bars. She quickly stood up and glared at the soldier. "Where am I?"

"You are in a cell. Can't you figure that one out by yourself?" The soldier held a satisfied smirk.

"Sure, make fun of a little kid." She sat down with her back towards the bars. "I bet you feel really tough now." The soldier heard soft sobs coming from the cell. "Calm down. I'm sorry." The soldier lifted his keys and began unlocking the door. Meanwhile, with her back still towards the guard, Relm smiled. 'Cha-ching. Finally my acting classes paid off.'

"Don't you touch that door!" The guard turned to where the voice came from. "Sir Kefka." He saluted the crazy clown. "I was just checking on the prisoner."

"You idiot! Didn't anybody tell you why she is here?" The guard looked at Kefka with confusion. "You are so incompetent. This 'child' fried 2 soldiers in magitek armor in less than 30 seconds. She didn't even raise a sweat. This child is to die at dawn for crimes against the Empire."

"Oh, I get it. She is dangerous." (Brilliant isn't he.)

"Shut up and wait out in the hallway." The guard looked first at Relm, still curled up on the floor, and then at Kefka, who was looking more dangerous than usual. Finally, he shrugged and left the room. That left a psychopathic killer and a 10 year old girl alone in a jail together. (Does that sound weird?)

Kefka looked her over. She looked like a typical child. Short, blonde curls for hair. She was wearing an out fit that almost looked like it was made for little red riding hood. She looked absolutely normal. 'But where did that magical power come from last night.' This could be a problem. He needed her power but if he couldn't figure out how to get it from her, how could her use it?

Relm realized that the creep was staring at her. She once again stood up and glared. "What do you want? If you want to stare at something go to a freak show." 'Kid's got quite an attitude.'

Kefka simply shook his head. "One day your attitude is going to get you killed." Relm shook her head. "Well, you said you were going to kill me today. So today is that day." She surprised herself how well she was taking it. She knew that she would die and wouldn't let them make her cry.

Kefka said, "Well, it depends on what you consider death." Relm thought for a second. 'Death is what happens in the absence of life. It when you can no longer live the way you were meant to.' She refused to talk to this killer anymore, and told him so. "Fine, I will leave you to think of death. May the Goddess' have mercy on your soul." Relm sat down. "May they have no mercy on yours." She muttered.

It was about 10 minutes till dawn and Relm was forced to wait just a little longer. She had accepted death as a natural part of life long ago, but she had never expected it so soon. 'I hope Grandpa is okay.' She never realized how long 10 minutes was.

Finally she heard footsteps. Someone unlocked the door, but she never turned to see the person. She stared out the window. 'I'll miss everything.' She stood up and turned around. In the doorway stood a girl about 18. She had long blonde hair and was wearing white armor. "I . . um. . . It is time to go." The woman's voice was almost musical; she sounded like a singer struggling to remember the words to her song.

Relm walked up to the woman, who was a foot taller than her, and nodded. The older woman led the way to the top of the castle-like building. Once on the roof, she realized how huge this building was. There was a giant staircase leading up to a small building. At the bottom of the stairs stood Kefka, a general, and a man in royal robes. The girl with Relm walked over to stand next to the general. They all stood there assessing her. Kefka finally broke the silence. "This is the witch from Thamasa." Kefka leaned over to the man in royal robes and whispered in his ear.

Relm, never one to wait, said, "So, how is this execution thingy gonna work?" Everyone looked at her like she just yelled, "Hi, I am related to a flying-purple, people eating monkey." Kefka finally spoke again, "How did you develop your magical powers?"

"Didn't you know? Everyone in Thamasa can use magic."

"Not everyone can use Esper's magic."

"Esper?" She had heard that recently. . .Where? Leaving the cave. . .Running. . . Darkness. . . Teleported. . .Back at the goddess statues. Someone said, 'All I have to do is make sure you are not human when you leave here.' That was it. She wasn't human. What was she?

She sat down right where she was standing. The wind whipped her blonde hair infront of her face. Her eyes teared up.

'I said I wouldn't cry for the execution.' She told herself

'But you didn't know you weren't human. Give yourself a break.' Finally she let the tears fall down her face. She looked up and the blonde girl was leaning down beside her. Relm's big emerald eyes met the older woman's blue. There was something there. She didn't want this to happen.

The girl stood-up and turned in one soft motion. "This is just a child. She can't control her powers yet. I will not let her die because she is inexperienced." She said it plainly, but everyone knew that to challenge her would mean death. "Emperor Gehstal, I beg of you, do not sentence this child to death."

"The thought had never crossed my mind, General Celes." That was the man in the royal robes.

Relm still on the floor, was shocked. "I was told I was going to die."

"You shall die but you shall not be put to death." Relm shock her head. 'This makes no sense. I don't care anymore.'

"Kefka, she is now in your custody." The Emperor turned to Kefka. "You told me that you could use her magic for me. You had better keep your word." Pause. "That attack on Thamasa was expensive, I expect you to make good use of the resources I have given you."

Kefka simply nodded and walked towards Relm. At first the woman stood infront of her, but when Kefka walked up to her she turned her head away and moved aside. Kefka grabbed Relm's wrist tightly and took her up another set of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a room that looked to small to be of any importance.

He pulled her inside mumbling, "That Gehstal. . .Thinks he runs this place. I have been running the show since I got here. 'Use your resources.' Baaa." The room was covered in machinery. All of it was far beyond Relm's comprehension. Kefka pushed her into a chair in the center of the room. Relm sat there and examined all of the trinkets.

Kefka stood behind her picking up something. She turned around to look and heard, "Sit in the chair properly or I will strap you to it." She quickly sat down in the chair. Suddenly shackles came out from the chair and ensnared her legs and wrists. She struggled but to no avail. Kefka walked around to look at her. He was carrying what looked like a silver crown with tiny levers on it.

Kefka took another step closer. "With this crown I'll practically own you." He laughed and stepped forward again. "Then I will be able to have my ultimate weapon." He was standing over her now. "The only problem is. . .A child can't be that scary of a weapon. Maybe after this is done I can fix that." He put the crown on her head. Slowly, she began to think back to childhood.

/Mom stood by the fire. There was a knock on the door. I was downstairs in the crib. Yelling. They wanted Daddy. Screams./

/ Grandpa picking me up. He had been crying. He said he was sorry. Hoped I would forget. There was so much blood. Poor Mommy /

Slowly all of the memories were gone. Relm looked around frantically. 'Where am I?' Then she realized something, 'Who am I?' Kefka laughed. "Just a few more seconds." Relm's emerald eyes blinked rapidly. She clenched her eyes shut. When she opened her eyes, they weren't the same. There was no sparkle of life or hope. They were dull and lifeless.

Kefka looked at her and nodded. Relm's head mimicked his movement. This body was now lifeless. Relm Arrowny was dead. Her body was still functioning but by Relm's definition, she was dead.

Did you really think I would actually kill Relm? Come on. She is the best. Her definition for death was. 'Death is what happens in the absence of life. It when you can no longer live the way you were meant to.' I thought it was cool. . .Fine don't agree with me. Just please review.