Chapter 11

Sabin helped his brother up, blue eyes watching Kodaka's escape. "Brother! We can't let him get away! It's now or never." Edgar turned his face away.

"We can't, Sabin. I...can't... he's our uncle, Sabin! On our mother's side. Mother was Arlorden!"

"No way! That can't be true! Then why didn't Father tell us?"

Edgar shook his head, clearing his mind. "I think... he was going to. Don't you remember? Before he died, he said he needed to tell us something, but he said he'd tell us on our eighteenth birthday..."

Sabin finished for him. "Father wasn't there for our eighteenth birthday... we weren't even together for our eighteenth birthday." He cleared his throat. "So...does that mean...we're Arlorden too? How come we could never tell?"

"I've been doing research. Basically, the only difference between Figaroans and Arlordens, is the eyes. Their pupils aren't round like Figaroans, but altered... sort of fire shaped... And their dialect is different of course, as well as their names. As to why we couldn't tell... we always looked more like Father than we looked like Mother. So, we look more Figaroan than Arlorden. It was Father's dark secret, eh?"

"That's why he wanted peace with the Arlordens... he didn't want to hurt Mother..."

Edgar nodded tiredly. "By killing Kodaka and ending the Arlorden resistance, Father would ultimately be killing Mother emotionally. How could you live with a man when you knew he killed your own brother? You wouldn't get over it easily."

Sabin frowned and shifted from foot to foot. "That's all very well, but I've got to tell you something! There's a monster roaming the castle Edgar! Or at least the basements near the Engine Room! Its ripped apart three guards Edgar! Three! And I would have been down there with 'em too, if it hadn't gotten a killer migraine or something at the last minute and ran away!"

It was Edgar's turn to frown, and he looked at Sabin closely. "Are you sure you weren't drinking or something? A monster? Of what kind?"

Sabin lowered Edgar onto the throne. "Well, it was like this big!" he stood on his toes and stretched as far as he could in the air. "Except two times bigger! And it was about three times bigger around than me, had a bunch of brown hair on top, and it was covered in horns like six inches long, and had teeth six inches long, mad yellow eyes, and... and... big huge clubs for arms! That had seven inch claws, I swear on the Fates and Father and Mother's graves that I saw it!"

"I am now almost convinced that you were totally drunk when this happened."
Sabin pouted. "Some brother you are, not caring a hoot when I'm about to get ripped to pieces by a giant monster that's eating your guards! Go look in the treasure room why don't you? It painted the walls a very stunning color of red I assure you! And besides, do I look like I'm having a hangover to you?"

Edgar pushed himself up, using the Sun-Sword for support. "Yeah, yeah sure... okay, I'll check later... but first... I think you should see, our dead." Sabin's heart froze and his mouth went dry.

"They should be performing burial rites about now... there will be a lot of them. And... the doors to the Royal Tomb will have to be opened again..." At this point, Sabin stood stock still, and his brain refused to work. There were tears in Edgar's eyes. "Sabin... you'll have to see this for yourself." he led his brother out the door where the dead were being laid to rest in the desert.

"Selena... Luca... Junior..." he saw his wife and childrens' smiling faces in his mind, and he wished with all his heart that he'd see them again. Locke was using the key-mace as a crutch and heaved himself over to Sabin. "Hey buddy... you okay?" Sabin nodded mutely. "Okay, I was just checking on everyone... I won't be able to walk without this trusty key-mace for a while... little Lok's okay, and Celes and Lockett are okay too... but everyone who ran to the basement disappeared, 'cept you. Don't worry, your family didn't run down there. I'm sure they're okay. Cyan's looking pretty bad, but he says he's fine. I think Gerad got in a hit or two too... you should be proud of that one Edgar, protected his mom..."

He winced as his leg pulsed with pain. "I'd better be getting back to Celes now... bye... and Sabin... I'm sorry, buddy..." he limped away. Edgar was kneeling by one of the covered up bodies. "Sabin... over here..." he called.

Sabin was suddenly deathly afraid of going near the bag. He wasn't sure he would be able to hold his grief enough to survive, it was killing him without even knowing who had died. He forced himself forward, one foot at a time, his breathing becoming more labored and haggard.

He reached a trembling hand forward and pulled off the sheet. He stared, uncomprehendingly for a minute, and it felt like his brain and his heart had exploded, and that he would never recover from this shock, ever.

It was Junior, his own little Junior, who had died, and the recognition suddenly broke the dam that was holding all emotion back. He held his son's body close to him, sobbing. "What... how... how?"

Edgar couldn't bring himself to speak and further his brother's grief. Locke, who had come back to comfort him, spoke instead. "An Arlorden, Sabin. Junior... threw himself in front of his mother, to protect her... he wasn't strong enough to survive the blast for long, but he Blitzed the guy... you would've been proud... He said to tell you... that he hoped you were proud of him, and he was glad that he had died to protect someone, like you almost did. He said he was always proud, that you were his father..."
Sabin moaned softly, beyond consolation at the moment rocking Junior's body back and forth, his own body shaking uncontrollably. "Junior... my Junior... If I had been there... you would still be alive... I'm glad... that you were my son..."

He put Junior's body down gently, covering it back up. "Where is... Selena? Does she know about Junior?" he asked softly. Locke pointed to the window of Sabin's room. "She's in there, and I think she knows, but she's got a surprise for you Sabin."

"It might make you feel a little better... you should go see." Edgar said. Sabin nodded and started to his room. He vaguely wondered what the surprise would be, but vague was all his pained mind would allow. He hoped that he wouldn't have to break the news to Selena, and that she already knew.

He opened the door slowly. "Selena?" she sniffed and from her red-rimmed eyes, he could tell that she already knew about Junior. Luca was sobbing in a corner, devastated by the loss of her twin brother. He would try to comfort her later, but for now he would have to concentrate his efforts on his wife.

But... he could hear something else too... a faint wailing. It was only then that he noticed that Selena was lying on her side in bed, rocking and looking into a cradle beside her. He peered into the cradle, and then at Selena. "Another... why didn't you tell me?" She shrugged tiredly, obviously wanting to curl into a ball and sleep, but she lifted the newborn out and cradled it instead, checking its eyes and mouth, seeing if it was breathing properly.

"Let me see." Sabin reached out to touch the baby, knowing full well that Selena never let him handle babies until they were older. The baby blinked slowly at his touch, eyes fluttering open. Big blue eyes, like Sabin's. Sabin traced the birthmark on the baby's cheek, a large f-shaped birthmark. The mark of Figaro, a genetic skin defect passed down through generations of the Figaroan Royal family.

Sabin was suddenly very tired. "Boy or girl, Selena?" Selena gave him a tired smile and touched his forehead. "A boy... we lose one... and get another..." he picked the baby out of Selena's arms, and she put up no resistance. The baby eyed him warily, and then reached out to touch him, giggling as he winced. He had touched a bruise. He examined the baby further, noting an uncanny similarity between them, a likeness even closer than Junior's had been to him.

He sat down on a chair, smiling as Luca came to investigate the new child. "I know what I'll name you..." he looked at the picture of his father, the same f-shaped birthmark on his cheek. "I'll name you... Enri... Enri Chrono Figaro..."